Perth Amboy evening news., 1911-03-17
RUN ELECTRIC
CAR OVER THE
RAPID TRANSIT
Storage Battery Idea Tried
Out More Throughly on
Staten Island.
MAY ENTIRELY REVOLUT-
40NIZE SUBURBAN TRAFFIC

New York, March 17:-Thomas A.
Edison and his assistants, through
experiments with the electric storage
battery car of the type In use on the
Twenty-eighth and Twenty-ninth
street cross-town lines, have perfect
ed the "multiple-unit control" sys-
tenn and are about to place in oper-
alton a two-car vestibuled train on
the Staten Island railway. between
st. George and Tottenville. Staten
Island, that promises to entirely rev.
olutionize interurban trafic.
Practical railroad men see In this
first success promising substitute
for the necessity of electrif1cation OF
suburban tracks, the elimination of
the unpopular overhead. trolley sys-
TEN, and a more efficient and less
costly interurban line that will soon
supersede ali of the present sys-
TENS.
AS preliminary test the trains
to be operated on the Staten Island
road, which were built under con-
tract with the Baltimore & Ohio
Railway Company, will be made up
of two cars. Ralph H. Beach, of No.
SO Church street. transportation ex-
pert for Mr.. Edison, made the an
lnouncement yesterday.
Two Sections of Battery Car. W
Mr.. Beach displayed diagram OF
the two-car train. The battery car
will be divided into sections. The
forward car will be fitted as COM
bination baggage and smoker. The
second car will be for the exclusive
nf Thn xxrf19 IN
fitted with electric light and heated
by electricity. They will also be Ut
ted with toilet rooms.
A recent test OF car mnde espec-
Tally Cor uae on city streets was given
over the Erie tracks from West Or
ange to Forest Hill; thence to Green
wood Junction, to Newark, and on to
Paterson, returning to West Orange
and Forest Hills. The battery was
charged for one hour for this run
The power consumption on the
forty-eight miles averaged 625 watt
hours per car mile, or 43 watt hours
per ton mile. Electric current cost
ling two cents per kilowatt hour
cost in this case one and one-quarter
cents per mile.
In this special run, to test out the
car over greater distances, the max
imum speed attained was thirty-two
miles per hour. and the average be-
tween stops fwenty-iiye miles per
hour, IN getting the car away from
stations the battery car Is remark
ably efficient.
Estimating the cost OF operating
these cars, including crew. cost of
power and basing the cost of the
battery on the guaranteed life only
tsix years.. with interest and all
fixed charges. 1t is thought that If
teen cents per mile will cover the
entire operating expense per car.
Pennsylvania To Use Cars.
This systems II generally intro
duced, In expected to prove of inval-
liable aid to the farmers residing
along the lines, as well as to COM
muters. 1t may be possible for the
prudent agriculturist to have his own
side track into his barn. own his
storage battery car and market his
products himself.
The Staten Island line is t4.s
miles in length, The Pennsylvania
railroad has already arranged for a
supply OF the cars, which may be
seen In operation on some of It's
branches II not on the main line. In
Philadelphia they will soon be in use
on the streets where the overhead
trolley is doomed.
The Edison-Beach car is of steel
and wood construction. with ample
provision for safety, in the way OF
steel II" beams and channel girders
on the sub-structure. Arched roofs
are used instead of the usual mon
itor OF double-decked roof. The roof
Ia supported by steel tubing, the YER
teal poles resting on the lattice
steel gtrder. which serves as rest
for the seats, and as g receptacle for
the batteries.
II is pointed out that such train
would be able to handle all the pas
senger and express business on most
branch lines, and 1t would enable,
through development. to handle traf-
fic that at present is Improbable
with heavy steam trains.
Chain drive is used for these cars
instead of the ordinary gear pin af-
fair The truck Is fitted with roll
er bearings and the wheels rotate
on the axle, the Independent wheel
action thus derived, eliminating
friction at curves, and even on
tangent track, because ali car wheels
vary In diameter. II is due princi-
paily to this device that the Edison
Beach cars have sueh low power con-
sumption.