French Broad hustler and Western Carolina Democrat. [volume] (Hendersonville, N.C.) 1915-1916, 1916-05-11
!. END OF STEAM RAILWAYS.
st. Paul's Electrified Mountain Divi-
sion Proves Great Advantage of
Current Power.

New York, May 1.-Great impetus to
the movement for the substitution Of
electrical locomotives for steam on
American railways has been supplied
by h success attained in the opera
ton of the st. Pau1's electrified division
over the summit of the Rocky noun
tains. Four months experience with
the new system, over one of the most
difficult stretch of track anywhere,
has about convinced doubling engin-
GERS that electricity asa motive power
is available for generating current at
a low cost.
The st. Paul experiment was begun
on Dec. 9. last. when the fast CONT
Mental train, the Olympian, was taken
from Butte, Mont, to Piedmont. A
month later the steam freight locomo-
tives were removed from the electrified
division. D.. A. GOOdnow, assistant to
the president of the st. Paul, in charge
of electrification, reports that the mile
age of the electric trains for twenty
four hours is 200, as against ia by
steam engines, and that tw~enty-fOur
heavy locomotives have been released
by the substitution of nine electric 10
ComOtives. Moreover, the work is be-
ing performed faster and cheaper with
The new power.\
The Railway Age Gazette finds that
the electric equipment on the st. Paul
all had a very severe test during the
past winter, which because OF the deep
nov and severe cold was o0e of the
: ~ors in the history of Montana. Elec-
tric operation during thistfpefiod was
conspicuous for reliability and free
: dom from trouble. Two advantages of
the%new system became especially
prominent. One was the superiority
of an electric locomotive ove steam in
very cold weather, as it operates bet
ter at low temperature than it does
in warm weather. The other was the
saving accomplished by electric brak-
ing ON the steep grades.
The st. Paul is the first road to in
troduce electric braking with the direct
current locomotive and it has shown
gTeat, operating benefit. When the mo-
tors are driven mechanically, as when
a heavy train pushes the locomotive
down the grade, they act as a brake
and convert this power into electricity,
which becomes available through he
trolley system for the upgrade haul.
Aside from the economics resulting
1EOm 010CtF1C tDIdhlAS, FWnICu d0 q pO0-
sible saving of so per cent of the total
power demand, the elimination Of the
brake shoe and Wheelsrwear and the
easier operating on thettracKs parttc-
uIaFly when rounding curves, the
greatest advantage resulting from the
use of electric brakes lies in the elm
nation of the difficulty attending the
use of air brakes in holding back long,
heavy trains when descending noun
tain grades. The electric brakes ell
tirely relieve the air brakes except for
the stopping of trains or for emergency
use. They provide a duplicate brak-
ing system, each n capable of hold
ing a train on a down grade. Under
air braking even on a 2 per cent
grade, it frequently happens that
brake shoes become red hot and wheel
rims greatly overheated, as practically
all of the potential energy stored in
the train at the. top of the mountain
grade must be d~issipated As heat in the
brake shoes and wheels during the de-
scent.