The star and Newark advertiser. [volume] (Newark, N.J.) 1908-1909, 1909-01-07
EDISON SURE He
GAN SOLVE STREET
GAR PROBLEM
Wizard Tells EVENING STAR
About His New Battery Sys-
TEN for Electric Lines.
NEW INVENTION WILL
BE TESTED IN SPRING
Vehicles of Near Future to Run
100 Miles Without Tying
Up Traffic.

That the genius of Thomas A.. Edison.
the electrical wizard. of Liewellyn
Park, West Orange, win be applied to
the solution of the vexing problem of
transit facilities for Newark and its en-
virons vas assured a reporter for THE
EVENING STAR today by the great
inventor himself in his laboratory in
Valley road, West Orange, when he
spoke about his new storage battery.
Mr.. Edison ras had for years under
consideration a storage battery for mo-
t~or-propelled vehicles, and his investi-
cations have relentlessly been pursued.
and last night he said he was certain
the present one would be a success and
would, when utilized for surface street
cars, settle the question for time to
come of providing additional transit
facilities.
Why, in fifteen years your city of
Newark will have doubled its street
passenger traffic" said Mr.. Edison as
he hesitated for a moment from an eA-
pertinent with a problem concerning the
location of the batteries in a car, a
model of the under structure lying be-
1Ore MIN on MS table.
Then will come" he continued, "a
serious question of properly caring for
it. The battery I have been working
upon and which l call my accumulation
battery, will fill the bill nicely. There
ore at present powerhouses where the
electricity is generated during about
ten hours of the day and the expensive
works are idle the remainder of the
twenty-four hours. Cars equipped with
batteries could be charged during
the hours the. works are now idle for
their daily runs and as one charge
would ben ecessary for a days run.
Can Use Present Equipment.
The present equipment would an
swer for the purposes. No new poles
would be needed, no additional wires,
the present tracks an be used, and
the only additional investment will be
the cost of the cars, which must be
purchased in n event to meet the adj
ditional. traffic requirements.
1.-THE present cars could be continued
as usual and my cars could provide
added service. The batteries are to be
located under the seats of the cars, and
one of the best arrangements of the
battery is that the mechanical effort
needed. to stop the. cars for passengers
will be utilized to recharge the bat
teries with an additional supply of cleo
tricity. The cars will be charged for
a run of about one hundred miles, and,
with the additions to the supply fur
nished by the frequent stopping of cars,
will be amply equipped for a good days
trip"
How about the batteries ability to
carry the cars along steep grades?"
asked the reporter.
mo need to worry about that
smiled Mr.. Edison. my batteries will
carry the cars anywhere they now run
under the present overhead wire or
ground slot system, They can run on
street or steam road tracks, and if
they leave the tracks. they can run
along the cobblestones until they are
back on the rails"
The financial question involved in
further service extensions Mr.. Edison
spoke of as being the easiest part of
the problem to be solved. Big. power
houses and other equipment he de-
clared to be expensive factors in the
elaboration of present systems, and
this will be avoided by utilizing his
Sdi GJ0lCIll VI SAOldSC DdtlCIICC.
Mr.. Edison said he had his agent get
a car from the Brill Company. 1t will
be finished in the spring, when there
will be experiments on the Third ave-
surface line. The car will differ
slightly from present vehicles in use,
n the mechanical arrangements will
be only slightly altered from the ar
rangement now in vogue. Mr.. Edison
is enthusiastic over his battery, and
said it is now approaching the highest
stage of perfection, III had even sur
prised him by its adaptability and eff
cheney.
Wizards Tip TO Reporter.
Mr.. Edison ono called attention TO
his own notion of reporting, and as the
reporter for THE EVENING STAR
began taking notes on his mention of
mechanical terms and said: Now.
young man, stop taking notes and let
me explain my plan. Vol will under
it better and not spoil your men,
Dry by jotting down notes. Then when
we finish l can say you will have a bet
ter story. You nay pad out your recol-
lections, but o will be sure to have
the facts better than if o simply mark
down ideas to refresh your memory. OF
course, if you get a name it will be nee
for accuracy's sake to make a
note of it, but you will find it is much
better to depend entirely upon memory
than to pin YOU faith to the cold
And the renorter had tn admit the