The Birmingham age-herald., 1907-05-26
Steam or Electricity.

Steam or electricity, which? This Is the problem facing every railroad in the United States from the shortest branch line to the great trunk routes.
 The problem Is wholly financial. It has been thoroughly demonstrated that there are no mechanical or electrical dif- faculties in the way. No one looks for ward to a sudden change but the cleo trical engineers say the change will be made on all the principal lines within the next decade. Those sections of road which carry the heaviest traffic and the greatest number of trains are already be- ing electrified, tunnels and mountain grade divisions are following and the ex" tension of this plan is inevitable. All the electrical inventors are working on the problem and the railroad managers arc hopeful for several important discoveries which will work revolution in electric traction science.
 The electric locomotive made possible the large tunnel systems in New York Washington, Detroit, Chicago and other large cities, by abolishing the smoke and fire nuisance It has been demonstrated that electricity is the very best power for handling heavy passenger traffic and nearly all the interurban roads about the large cities are now run by electricity. The New York Central, New York, New Haven and Hartford, the Erie and other roads have adopted the electric locomo- tive for hauling their fast express trains These and other roads use the motor car system for local service The electric roads are reaching out Into the country about the cities where the clumsy steam engines do not go.
 Among the best arguments for the cleo tric locomotive are the abolishing of all smoke, cinders and ashes. The cars arc cool and clean and can be run more fre- quently than the steam cars. Stops can be made at almost every convenient place. The speed is higher and more stops can be made without increasing the running time. Nearly all the towns and villages about cities are now connected by electric lines and country people can go to the city for days shopping or pleasure and return the same day. The electric lines create new business where ever they go. In time of serious wreck there is no danger from fire or scalding
 steam. The new automatic block system in use on electrical lines, which cuts off
 the power when accident threatens, is the
 best safeguard in modern travel. By this | device 1t is impossible for two electrical | trains to collide, as the power Is automat- | ically shut off between the trains when they come too close. That is, for a cer- ] tain distance behind every train there Is l no power
 when the nTSI general electtlC lOcollp- l tive was tested at Schenectady, N. r.,
 it showed it's superiority over the steam , engine in every way. It ran faster, start | ed quicker, did more work was under 1 better control and even proved more | economical The test showed that 1t took | a steam engine 203 seconds to attain a
 speed of fifty miles an hour, while the ] electrical locomotive reached that speed l in 107 seconds:
 Careful estimates recently made for the | identification of seventy-eight miles oi 1 steam road indicated that there would be
 a saving of 21 per cent in the operating | expenses of the road. Lewis R. Stillwel ! and Henry St Clair Putnam, two eminent
 engineers have made exhaustive calcula- i tions which show that, taking the entire | 216974 miles of steam roads in the United 1 States, a reduction of operating expenses 1 to S3 per cent of the present outlay would be made by the identification of all the | roads. This would mean a net saving of l $S37 mile none year.