Atlanta tri-weekly journal. [volume] (Atlanta, Ga.) 1920-19??, 1923-05-05
.S15,O0O,0OO To- De
SPENT ELECTR|FY ING
VIRGINIAN RAILROAD

vIh0lIVIAlV nAILnUHD
ROANOKE, Va, May Fin or
der to increase its traffic capacity
and to secure important operating
economies, the Virginian railway
has decided to electrify 213 miles of
it's track lying between Roanoke,
Va, and Mullens, w. Va. This I'M
dertaking will involve the expendi-
ture of S15,OOO,O00. The order for
the electric locomotives, power
house, transformer stations, and
other apparatus has been awarded
to the Westinghouse Electric &
Manufacturing company and forms
the largest railroad electrification
contract ever placed. The division
to be electrified crosses the Allie
gheny mountains. The alternating
current, single phase system will be
used.
"The Virginian Is a recognized
leader of American railways as re-
CARDS heavy tonnage operation, ana
this undertaking will be epochal in
the history of American railroads"
stated Frank H. Shepard, director
of heavy traction for the Westlng-
house Electric e Manufacturing COM
pany. Built by the late Henry II.
Rogers in accordance with the most
modern engineering practice, it has
been renowned for the excellence OF
it's construction, the immense size
of it's trains and its low ton-mlle
costs, ever since it started opera
tions in 1909. The Virginian rail-
way has always been the chief eX-
ponent of mass transportation, that
is. the handling of traffic by means
of the largest and heaviest trains
instead of by means of an equivalent
number of small trains.
Uses Heaviest Trains
"As a matter of consistent policy
the Virginians management has
regularly increased the size of the
trains with every improvement In
railroad equipment, until today this
railroad is operating the heaviest
trains in the world and hauling
them by the most powerful steam
locomotives.
with it's present equipment, the
Virginian is moving 100000 tons
Of coal per annum, but this capacity
is not enough to take care OF the
growing demands of the area served
To obtain additional capacity by
still further increasing the size OF
the trains is no longxF possible with
steam operating, for~the SIMPLE rea'
son that the limit in the power of
the steam locomotive has been
reached. Hence, after a thorough
study, it has been decided to cleo
trify with the alternating current
system this mountain grade d1vi-
sion, which represents the neck-of-
the-bottle Of the railroad.
1.-THE chief advantage of electric
operation is the greater power that
can be applied to each train. The
largest steam locomotives now IN
use on the Virginian are the articu'
lated mallet type, with twenty dr1v-
ing wheels and four cylinders. Three
of these huge engines are used to
move 5,500-ton trains over the
grades, but their combined power
dose not exceed 1000 horse power
and their speed on the grades is
only miles per hour. The new cleo
trio locomotives, however, develop
ing 10000 horse power per train
will haul 9,000-tOn trains up the
grades at the rate of IA miles per
hour, and it will be entirely practi
cal in the future to further increase
this power so that 12,000-ton trains
can be handled at the same speed.
FOrerunner of Others
"This identification is one of the
largest railroad improvements under
taken since the World war 1t is
undoubtedly the forerunner Of many
other undertakings of the same ma
ture, because it is generally recog-
nized that the traffic-carrying ca
pacity of a number of our leading
railroads must be increased in or
der to take care of the demands upon
them, and that identification is, in
general, the most practical method
of obtaining the necessary increase
for the traffic of the future.
GA feature of the electric locomo-
tiveS will be the use of regenerative
braking on the down grades. This
method of braking will not only re-
duce the wear on the brake shoes
and wheels and improve operation,
but will also save 100000 kiloWatt-
hours of electric energy per year.
Power for operation will be sup
piled by a 10000 horsepower gener-
ating plant to be erected on the New
river. This will supply $4,000 volt
current to the main transmission
line. For use on the trolley wire
from which the locomotives will
draw their power, this high-voltage
current is to be stepped down to
II, 900 volts by transformer stations
placed at regular intervals along the
line. On the locomotives this is re-
duced to low value for the OPERA
ton of the motors.
1.-THE electrical apparatus will be
built at the East Pittsburg works of
the Westinghouse Electric and Man
ufacturing company, where the large
order for the electrification of the
Chilean State railway is nearing
completion, and work on contracts
for the Pennsylvania, Long Island,
Norfolk and Western, and New York.
New Haven and Hartford railroads
is in progress. The Virginian order
will fill the Westinghouse locomotive
shops to capacity for the next eight