Electricity as a Means of Locomotion.

Te Aroha News, Volume VIII, Issue 485, 5 July 1890, Page 6

Electricity as a Means of Locomotion.

Electricity as a means of locomotion has not made much progress in the United Kingdom ; Bessbrook, Blackpool, Brighton, and Portrush being the chief existing examples (the “Builder” says). We shall shortly possess a far more important installation in the City and Southwark Subway, which may now be looked upon as an assured fact. Its extreme length, however, is under four miles, oven if completed, and there are some difficult problems for the engineers yet to solve, fn the United States this same slow progress is not observed, if we may judge from a paper lately read by Mr F. J. Sprague, of New York, before the National Electric Light Association of America. Two years ago, the paper tells us, the electric railway business was in an experimental stage, and it was difficult to get a dollar for investment, but to-day it demands the best energies of two great corporations and a number of smaller ones. The business done this year, it is said, will probably amount to §6,000,000. There are about 130 towns in the United States with one or more electric railways in operation, construction, or under contract. These comprise 1,500 miles of track, and 1,700 motor cars requiring 3,000 motors of an aggregate capacity of 45,000 horsepower, and a daily mileage of about 100,000. Gradients of 12£ per cent., and more recently 14 per cent., have been ascended with loaded cars. Gradients three miles long, varying from 4 to 8 per cent., have also been aecended, the work done being beyond that possible with horses. In crowded cities speeds have been doubled 50 per cent., and the electric car has shown that it can be run faster on both up and down gradients, and can be stopped or started faster, than can a horse car.