OIL-ELECTRIC TRAINS.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXIII, Issue 19303, 16 April 1926, Page 11

OIL-ELECTRIC TRAINS.

AMERICAN EXPERIMENTS.

CAR ON PENNSYLVANIA ROAD.

Petrol-electric traction is being extensively adopted by American railways. The Pennsylvania Railroad has recently obtained an experimental car of this type for suburban service. It has seating accommodation for 61 passengers, a baggage compartment and a small smoking compartment. A generator capable of developing 250 h.p., driven by a Six-cylinder engine, supplies power for the motors. The car was built by the J. G. Brill Company and the Westinghouse Electric Company. On a trial trip it averaged two miles to a gallon of oil, and developed a speed of 52.9 miles an hour. Judging by its performances, the engineers considered the car could haul a trailer at 35 miles an hour. Of all-steel "construction, the car is 60ft. long and weighs 90,0001b. It cost about £BOOO complete. The engine is coupled from its main shaft to a direct-connected 160 kilowatt, 600-volt railway type generator. This generator is,coupled to two 140 h.p. railway motdrs mounted on the front truck. There are but two control handles to each of the control stations. One is the throttle, the same in principle but Smaller in design than on a steam locomotive, and an air brake handle. Hung on the sides of the car are two cases of storage batteries for lighting and feeding the exciter on the generator. Also on the side is tho storage tank with a capacity for 150 gallons", or sufficient fuel to run tho cac continuously for 24 hours. The cost of running the car, including wages and all other expenses, is estimated at 2s 6d a mile.