ELECTRICAL CAR OF THE FUTURE.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LIII, Issue 140, 22 September 1910, Page 3

ELECTRICAL CAR OF THE FUTURE.

LVVESTIGATIOSfc 'BY THE MAYOR 01 GKBI K^ „ , , ~„vi eel a telegram, Yesterday we pabftA ° . from Wanganui regar&a ~ ... „,. •■ connection car invented by Edison,, ffl with which a good deal of in, o t ner being taken in New Plymouth st!k . . town contemplating the iastalMk electric trams. ~\ The Mayor of Gisborne (Mr. Ly«fc. !.' writing to his Council from %e\v Yo*V under date July 12, supplies the' fbWow-j ing interesting details of the cair, wMeb f is "now being operated in: that cityr— I have been making careful enquiries regarding the different, systems of tram traction In the United States, and so far I believe our borough will have all we require in a new car called the "Beach Battery Car," equipped with Edison's electric storage battery. I had a special appointment to interview Mr. T. A. Edison, the inventor, on this question yesterday, and he is very strong on the question that he has no"w a perfect car. The estimated cost is 6500d0l (or £I3OO in English money) per car complete in every detail. This car can be run. and worked by one man only. He checks the passenger's in and controls all doors front, where he stands to drive the car; he Jets them out as well as driving the car. The tottery would be charged at night while the cars are idle by the borough's general electric plants. The maximum capacity is fifteen miles per hour. It seats ' twenty-six passengers, but as many as seventy-six have travelled in one of the cars in this city by standing. It has . been running four months in _ that city, and during that time no serious damage has taken place—the only damage being' eight lighting lamps have been broken. The cars, or rather one car, has already run 10,500 miles without a hitch. The lighting of the car is distinct from the power. The car is provided with hot water circulating system for the cold weather. Mr. Edison will give his personal guarantee that the battery will give 90 per cent, of the stipulated power for three years. At the end of three years he will renew the positive plates for one-half the original co-ft, and guarantee them for another three years—thus we will practically get a six years' guarantee. I put the question very poiiut'dlv to Mr. Edison as to whether he coui.'. conscientiously recommend our borough to adopt it, and as to whether the car was entirely out of the experimental stage, and he assured me it was out of the experimental stage, and that he would not put it out until it was thoroughly complete and reliable. The car weigns about four and a-half tons, and Mr. Edison says there is no machinery that can possibly get out of order. It is driven by a chain, and he says that is the only thing that might go wrong, and that the man should carry a spare one, so that if anything should go, wrong with it, a new one could be put on with a minimum loss of time. The intake cf the battery each day for its full working capacity is forty-eight kilowatt hours. I understand it uses 850 watt or 85-100 of a kilowatt hour per car mile by actual practice. I do not quite understand these figures; I have no'doubt an electrical expert will. The mileage capacity of the car with one charge Is eighty-six miles, and it takes 4.4 hours | at 155 volts and sixty amjjeres to charge the battery. Direct current,. .112 volts. I The car can be charged at any stoppingplace' where the el ctrieal wire extends to, 'by merely.sticking a plug into the car and connecting it with the electrical wire. This should be provided for in installing' the borough electrical system. There is another important matter that will have to be taken into account as regards our electrical 'plant we are installing. Mr. Edison has now completed a reliable electrical waggon suitable for delivery waggons. I myself propose to go in for one of these; and the borough must look ahead and provide 'for tlie charging of these * machines with their genera- system. To charge such a waggon as I propose to get, with a capacity for hauling up to two tons, it will take a three horsepower dynan.o with 120 volts at 50 ampere hours. This is the minimum power that will cliarge such a battery; but I am told that the dynamo should hava at least a capacity of 130 volts and 48 ampere hours and the dynamo runni ig at 1300 revolutions per minute. I told "Mr. Edison that we were only providing for 100-kilowatt plant, and it seemed a question whether we should not increase that. He did not seem to realise any urgent necessity for increasing it. He said: "If you find your plant too small, you could double the capacity up later," but it does seem to me that the Council should handle this question carefully, I and, with the possibility of having to use our general system to charge our street cars and electrical waggons, that the question of increasing the size of the plant should be seriously,considered. J Mr. Edison did say that we should not I have to increase our electrical plant at | all, for the reason that the street cars I and electrical waggons would be charged* i at night time. When the waggon comes in at the end of its day's work, the elecl trical plug would be attached to it, and 5; in the morning it would be fully charged, j | So in this way it seems to me that the r I capacity of our plant should be guaged -by our lighting at night, and the charg--j ing of the storage batteries at one and .1 the same time. Of course it would be an fleasy matter in charging the borough a electrical ears to arrange that they, s should be charged after the requirements jfor general lighting purposes are slacksi ened off, and, say, stare to charge the I ei batteries at eleven o'clock at night. This ..! would not be so with private motor j I waggons. The borough would have to tj provide so that when the es rblishment sj knocks off work to have su- ient curh rent to charge the batteries immediately j. after knocking off work. Otherwise it d would mean that a man would have to L . return to his business establishment to ,f connect the battery in order to charge t . the waggon. The base of the whole car J is all welded; there are no rivets' whate: ever used. Mr. Edison says he has done d | this to stiffen the structure, as bolts by dj degrees wear loose. If you look into ,f the photo carefully you will notice the gj base being all one structure. Another J important feature is that the car can ~ make any curve. It has divided axles, .. the same as motor cars, and can be used 0 ' on a 4ft or over guage.