The Leavenworth echo. [volume] (Leavenworth, Wash.) 1904-current, 1908-11-20
NEW ELECTRIC LOCOMOTIVES
A Description of the New Locomotives.
Their Weight and Hauling
Capacity

OhS Va NAAS ASHA SASSdiS locomotives
ordered by the Great Northern railway.
will soon be here. Great interest is
manifested by railway men in their ap-
pearance and the possibility Of their
displacing steam power. Thru the
kindness of Mr.. L. R. Alden, a repres-
entative Of the General Electric COM
pany who has been here for the past
two months directing the installation Of
the electrical machinery we are able to
give a fair description Of the motor as
well as some Of the details OF the ma
chine. In general appearance it
resembles a large passenger coach
mounted on four sets Of driving wheels,
all the same size, with a trolley appar-
atus mounted on the roof. These
motors will be in the FIVE thousand
class, the first being numbered 5OOl.
The following, taken from the General
Electric Review, may be found Of
interest to railroad men as we'll as to
others:
The length Of the Great Northern
tunnel through the Cascades-about
two and three-quarters miles-together
with the fact that it is unequipped with
ventilating shafts of any description,
has rendered the employment of some
motive power other than the steam
locomotive an imperative necessity; for
in addition to the danger arising from
the gases emitted by steam locomotives,
and the possible obscuring Of signal
light by smoke, the accumulation Of
sooty matter has given rise to slip
periness OF the rails that materially
increases the difficulties of the grade,
which, throughout the tunnel is IL
per cent.
To meet the requirements of the
traffic, four of these locomotives have
been ordered.
Each of these units will have a
weight of approximately 113 tons, this
weight being entirely on the drivers,
and will be equipped with four 400 hip.
three-phase induction motors mounted
on two articulated boyle trucks.
The locomotive units are designed
to be operated by the Sprague-General
Electric Multiple Unit control, so that
three or four may be operated from one
controller on any unit. In normal op-
Grafton, two of these units will haul a
train having a gross weight of from
1900 to 1900 tons up a grade varying
from 1.6 to ID per cent. at speed Of
IS m.p.h.
The motors will be wound for 500
volts per phase, and will be fed from
two step-down transformers located on
the car. They will be controlled by
resistance steps in the secondary or
armature circuit.
On down grade, the motors will
tend to control the train by regenera-
ton, and at any speed in excess OF IS
miles per hour, will return energy to
the line, thus tending to assist other
trains that may be ascending the grade
at the time. If, at the moment, there
is no such train to utilize this returned
energy, it will be dissipated by water
rheostats at the power house. An adj
ditional advantage in thus using the
regenerating feature OF the motors on
descending grade, is, Of course, the
braking effect and the consequent saw
ing of brake shoes and tires.
THE power will be supplied from a
generating station, located on the We
natchee river, and distant about thirty
miles from the tunnel. The generating
equipment will consist OF two 2oOo
XIV, 25 cycle, three-phase generators
which will be driven by water power.
From the station, the power will be
transmitted at $4,000 volts by means
OF duplicate transmission lines, and VIII
be stepped down by transformers at the
mouth Of the tunnel to 5000 volts.
The locomotives will take the current
from an overhead wire, which will be oil
a modified catenary type, utilizing the
new fish tail strain insulator OF the
General Electric Company.
Advertised Letters
Remaining in postofice, uncalled ioi