A NEW ELECTRIC TRAMCAR.

Otago Daily Times, Issue 7191, 4 March 1885, Page 4

A NEW ELECTRIC TRAMCAR.

The perseverance which the Electrical Power and Storage Company have shown in developing' the capacities of accumulators as motive power seems at last in a fair way of attaining complete Buccess. Under the direction of their engineer, Mr Beckengatim, they have fitted a car with battery and > electric motor, and have completed the interior with every comfort in the furnishing, They have, moreover, made a tramway 400 yards long for the car to run upon. The experimental trials with it have been going on for many months, and tho results have been entirely satisfactory. Indeed, the car has been passed for public service by General Hutchinson on behalf of the Board of Trade, and in a short time it may. be - expected to mako its appearance on one of the London tramways. The working of tramways, and the heavy expenditure on horses in running the cars, havo long been subjects of genera discussion; and the difficulties which have attended steam-engines and compressed airengines have not been surmounted. The field is therefore quite open to electricity, if it can be made to do the work. Cars propelled by accumulators have been many times essayed in London, as well as in Paris and Brussels, but - hitherto without approaching-that practical success which is requisite, for street locomotion —the excessive weight of the lead battery and the comparatively small amount of power developed bringing this means to serious disadvantage when inclines of ordinary steepness had to be encountered. Accumulators havenow been produced of much less weight and far greater power, and this result is attained without sacrifice of durability. The whole series of accumulators in the present car weigh only 1J ton, and tho motor, gearing, and accessories . weigh about half a ton, bringing the total weight of the motive power to 1J ton. The car, which has been transformed out of an old one for many years running on the Greenwich and Westminster line, weighs 2J tons—the modern cars on the American lines weigh only 52cwt —and its load of 46 passengers brings the total up to 5$ tons. Comparing the weight of this motive power with steam or,compressed air locomotives, which do not weigh less than eight to 10 tons/ the comparison shows well for electricity.. Another distinct'advantage is that the electrical power can be increased when.-needed, as in going up steep gradients, to 16-hors'e power ; and the , power can be diminished to one or two horses' on levels, or shut "off entirely on down-hill journeys. The motive power is thus expended or economised completely in accordance with the nature of the road. The car, moreover, is put on two bogies, each with four wheels, whereby the wheel base is diminished, and the . cars can turn corners and enoounter curves of very short radius. Another advantage of this arrangement is that there is no such overhanging, and consequently no such rocking in travelling, as there is in the ordinary care, which have their four wheela placed at short distances from the centre.

The experimental line at Millwall is a difficult one. The line makes a bend of nearly a . right angle, and an actual curve of 33ft radius has to be passed. The inclines vary from a . level on the portion from the shed end to the curve, and rise thence from 1 in 40 to a gradient of lin 17 at the opposite termination. The stoep incline has consequently to be faced without a run, a rush being prevented by the sharp curve intervening. The new car overcomes all these difficulties, and makes its way up with surprising speed and steadiness. It has been considered very adverse to the economical use of Btored electricity that so many transformations of energy had to be encountered; but the practical experience of the Millwall experiments is asserted to be that the: running costs, including 15 per cent, for depreciation of machinery and 50 per cent, on accumulators, are about half the cost of horsing on tram-lines,. The car at Millwall can be run for two hours with one charging of the accumulators, starting, stopping, and reversing every minute. The used accumulators can be taken out, and the car supplied with fresh charged cells in as short a time as is occupied by the changing of horses. This operation is accomplished with ease by means of a trolly fitted with rollers. The new car, as fitted, has a very elegant and even a luxurious aapect. The accumulators are plaoed under the seats completely out of sight; the motor ia placed under the car very neatly, and is only seen when looked for. The interior is furnished with four 20-candle-power incandescent lights, and with pushes for electric bells for communication between the passengers and the conductor, The travelling • is perfectly free from vibration or tremor of any kind, and is absolutely faultless in that respect. Existing rolling-stock of the various tram companies^ it has been demonstrated by these experiments, can be easily converted ; and by the placing of the car on two bogiea the average weight-on each wheel:.is brought under one ton, so that no damage to existing light tramway-lines would be incurred. Every detail, mechanical or electrical, has been well thought of and well worked out. There is one other question—that of cost; and this appears to be equally satisfactory in < its solution; The average cost of a steam locomotive-worked tramway would be £780 to £800 per car. For the electrical tramway the cost of six cars, including the charging station, would give an average of £700, and the charging station 'would occupy leas space than the stabling of 10 horses. The absence of Btnoke and noise, apd the perfect nature of the control of the power, brings to a climax all the good qualities ' and qualifications of electric motion.—London Standard, January 2. .