The Daily News. THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 3. TRAMWAY SYSTEM.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LII, Issue 305, 3 February 1910, Page 4

The Daily News. THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 3. TRAMWAY SYSTEM.

Assuming that New Plymouth is likely to he committed to the installation of a system of tramways in the near future, it may be well to consider what particular system will best meet our requirements. Up to the present time, we believe we are correct in saying, we Slave in the Dominion only one description o- trams —tlios'e with permanent rails and overhead wires. These have been generally acknowledged to be superior to the cable system, as in use in Melbourne, although certainly more unsightly and, as has been proved much too frequently, dangerous to life through breakages or displacements; of the overhead wires. Electrical engineers have long felt that this invention, superior us it has proved itself over the old locoInotive engines so long used in Sydney, as well as to that just alluded to ol Melbourne, is by no means the last word in electrical traction, either for freight , or passengers. As we believe it has been already proved by practical experibnce that better and cheaper systems can be seeured j we shall do well if we • can add to our other attractions that T of a superior tramway service. From a Information which we have now before " us"*"we believe that such an improved method is' well within our grasp. To „ gay that electrical science, as well as its developments in modes of transport, ') 5s yet in its infancy would be to assert a mere truism. Improvements in this Uirection have already been proved posf feible; our care should be to take advantage of any such available and to be sure that, so far as we are able, we I instal the best and latest of these. Such, for instance, is the trackless car system, which, worked by overhead wires, is capable of running on any wellformed road, by s'o flexible an attachment as to enable the driver to pass r tiny other carriages and to work his way precisely as does the driver of a carriage worked by horses. Were our streets formed for theiT whole width, with a r smooth and even surface, this clatte of electric carriage being s'o cheap in installation, might be worthy of serious consideration. But it appears to us that ■ 5n view of the actual condition of our ' streets at present, this method is unsuitable. Another s'ystem, called, from its inventor, the "G.B. electric tram," tetrikes us as being far more likely to ' meet our wants. No poles or. overhead wires are required. The power is obtained in a very curious manner, and ■ yet in one that has proved to be as 'effective as it is simple. When laying

. the tram rails, which are of the ordinary > type, an electric cable is' also laid in the centre of the track. To this is attached a series of studs at Bft Gin • iipart. Immediately above these are "contact studs," the tops of which are Jevel with the roadway; these latter ' are, however, never in contact with the ' cable except when the carriage is passing over them, and are thus in no way dangerous to ordinary traffic. The carriage, which is long enough to cover 'three of tlies'e studs at one time, has fitted under it a chain, termed "the conductor," and when the conductor touches the top of the stud—which it does by magnetic attraction—a spring ' causes 'the latter to touch the corresponding stud on the cable. In this way the electric power is conveyed t.o the carriage in a continuous stream which impels the ear. Nothing more simple or ! more effective can be conceived, nor j anything less .harmful to the traffic on j •tlic street, while the 6'aving in installa- j tion as compared with overhead wires,! poles, etc., is said to be very consider-

able, Another advantage claimed for this system is its economy in the expenditure of electric power, which is confined entirely to the three studs in contact with the cable. We understand that this s'ystem was first installed in •the city of Lincoln, in England. The patentees had such confidence in their '■ invention that they entered into an r 'agreement with the authorities to make the installation at their own expense and to wait for their money until the City Council was fully satisfied as to the results. These were so satisfactory that payment was made them at the end of a month. This' occurred more than three years since, and our information is that the line, although not more ■than a mile and a-quarter long, has been a dividend-paying proposition from the first. We have in our midst a gentleman connected with the new Opunake '■motor service whoso father, as Mayor of the city of Lincoln last year and 'chairman of the Tramway Committee, tons had an intimate connection with this system since its inception. Mr. White als'o himself visited the works of the company at Ilford, where he reVnained sonm time, and by a careful •study of the system satisfied himself I

?>oth as to the value of the invention Hind of the excellence of the workmanship executed. We shall be glad to hear that the Tramway Committee recently 'set up by the Borough Council is taking .steps to mate itself fully acquainted

■with a system that, s'o far a* wo are fthle to judge from the information at our disposal, appears to be well suited to our requirements.