OCR Text |
Show "DEATH KNELL OF STEAM" Expert Electrician Sounds a Nev Note in the Old Song. There Is nothing particularly new In the mere announcement by Presldt nt West-Inghousc West-Inghousc that the death knell of steam i as a motive power In railway transportation transporta-tion has been sounded. w. hpve been hearing that for a considerable time; but the announcement Is coupled with a series Of arguments which It Is Impossible to Ignore and Mr A estlnghouse by reason Oi his position as the head of a great ' electrical i onstrui t Ion compunv. and the further f ut that he has Invented a large number of electrical devices of great economic Imnortanc;-, Is entitled to a hear- rg. He believes the revolution In eteum roads Is to be wrought b the "single-phase "single-phase alternating; current." which Is essentially es-sentially au American system, and that i th.- third rail and direct current systems have brought In dangers In the use of electricity which win ultimately lead tu thrlr downfall The noted electrical expert, In his communication com-munication notes that the use of the direct di-rect current leads to electrolytic action, so thut a sort of decomposition sets In In steel and Iron structures which become ' more ..r less elect Titled In the New York subway, he declares Its direct current In- stallntion Is bound to result In electrolysis to such an extent thit th. steel structural part of the SUbWay ultimately will be de- stroyed by electrical action. Some du a terrible accident will occur, due tu electrolysis In the structure's material, nnd the accident win be excused on the ground that the electrolytlt action could not have been for.-s.eii 1 Mr Westing-house Westing-house would adopt a system which would Ho away With this danger to 8 large ex-t ex-t id Furthermore, he argues that It Is Cheaper In Installation and maintenance, .-..-.ling less than half as much as the .11-i .11-i . . t current system Without entering Into the controvers) between electrical experts at all, it seems likely that the American system of using nn alternating current win ultimately be the one adopted on American roads. It Is In use on several of the long distance tiolley roads of the West, where motors capable of hauling 2E0-ton loads nt th-late th-late of twenty-five miles on hour are In use It has the advantage for long distance dis-tance communication, of requiring powet stations not Ies4 than 100 miles apart, and this would seem to settle the current question In its fa..r in ani electrification of the steam railways This Is the system wlinh the New York, New Haven & Hartford railroad has adopted for taking Us cars into and out of New York, and the order given by that Company Indicates Its further extension along Its lines between be-tween New York and this city. New Ha en Times. |