ELECTRIC STREET RAILROADS.

By GEORGE W. MANSFIELD.

Why should we prefer electricity as the propelling agent of our street cars over all other known methods? I answer, without hesitation, because it is the best, and being the best is the cheapest. Briefly I will present the grounds upon which I take my stand.

To-day the only methods for tramway service are three in number: Horses, with a history of fifty years and over; cables, with a history of fifteen years; and electricity, with a history of two years. I give the latter two years on the basis of the oldest electric street railroad in existence to-day, and that is the Baltimore railroad, equipped with the Daft system.

The main points for consideration common to each are six in number:

1st. Obtaining of franchise.

2d. Construction of buildings, viz., engine house or stable.

3d. Equipment—rolling stock, horses, engines and dynamos.

4th. Construction of tramway.

5th. Cost of operation.

6th. Individual characteristics and advantages.

Each of these requires a paper by itself, but in as concise a way as possible, presenting only the salient reasons and figures, I shall endeavor to embody it in one.

1st. Obtaining of franchise.

I assume the municipal officers and the promoters honest men.

It is the universal settled conviction that a street car propelled with certainty and promptness by mechanical means is infinitely to be preferred to horses. Hence, if this guarantee can be given, there need be no fear from the other side of the house. Years of experience prove that this guarantee can be given.

The mechanical methods are electricity and the cable. To suit local conditions the former has three general applications—overhead, underground, and accumulator systems; while the latter has but one, the underground. Hence, the former, electricity, has three chances to the latter's one to meet the whims, opinions, or decisions of municipal authorities. Other advantages accruing from mechanical methods are cleaner streets, absence of noise, quick time, no blockades, no stables accumulating filth and breeding pestilence, and lastly the great moral sympathetic feeling for man's most faithful and valuable servant, the horse. These all are directly in favor of obtaining the right franchise.

The three general ways of obtaining the same are a definite payment of cash to the authorities, a guarantee of an annual payment of a certain per cent. of the earnings, and lastly a combination of the two. For the city or town the latter way is the safest, and the best, all things considered. As electricity is mechanical, and as it can be shown that it is the cheapest to construct and most economical, and has three chances to operate, it stands by far the most likely to obtain the franchise.

2d. Construction of buildings.

The governing factors under this head are the local land valuation and tax. The system necessitating a spread eagle policy on the land question will cost. What could be a more perfect illustration than the horse railroad system? The motive power of the New York Central Railroad between New York and Albany could be comfortably stowed in the barns of some of the New York City street railways. What a contrast! The real estate, buildings, and fixtures of the Third Ave. line are valued at $1,524,000, and what buildings! Cattle sheds in the metropolis of America. Surely they did not cost a tithe of this great sum. What did? The land, a whole block and more. Henry George advocates might find food for thought here. All this is true of the other lines in every city in the Union. Enormous expenditures for land. A good one half of their capital sunk in purchasing the necessary room. Go where you will, a good fifty per cent. of the capital is used for land for their stables. This obviously does not include equipment.

How is it with mechanical systems? The land is one of the minor considerations, the last thing considered. Let us look at some figures. From careful examination of many engine plants, considering the ratio between a certain number of horses with their necessary adjuncts and a steam plant of numerically equal power, I find it stands as 1 to 30. That is, a steam plant complete of 30 horse power capacity would need only one thirtieth the floor space of thirty horses. With larger powers this ratio is still greater, and from one estimate I found that it stood as 1 to 108, i.e., for horses I should have to have 108 times more floor space than for an equal number of mechanical horse power. It must be remembered also that the mechanical horse power is 50 per cent. greater than the best animal horsepower.

From one maker, taking the engine alone, I found that a rated 100 horse power engine, guaranteed in every particular, would have ample room in the stall for one horse in the average stable. Another instance showed that I could get a steam plant complete, engine, boiler, etc., of 50 horse power, in a space 5 by 6 feet, which is smaller than the average stall. Here is shown the enormous saving in land purchase.

For car room a building several stories high would answer perfectly, since quick-hoisting elevators could be put in and the tracks on each floor have wire connections with the dynamos, so that the cars could be run across the floor to where you please, facilitating storage and dispensing with handling. This would not be possible with the cable.

Comparing electricity and cable on this point, all things favor the former clearly and beyond all question. Furthermore, if locality so favored, the subject of land purchase for electricity could be tabooed entirely, since distance can be so readily overcome. Way out in the suburbs or back in the country by the side of some waterfall, your station might be, while the current is sent to the great city over heavy conductors. Here land rent or tax would be at the minimum. With horses or cable plainly proximity must be had. It is estimated that the land occupied by the Madison Avenue line of New York City is worth the cost of 40 miles of ordinary double track.

3d. Equipment at station and rolling stock.

The rolling stock would be in each case approximately the same. Consisting of cars of equal seating capacity, the difference of cost would be the necessary attachments for the mechanical systems.

A first class 16 foot horse car costs $1,200;

A first class 16 foot cable car costs about $1,800; and

A first class 16 foot electric car costs about $2,200.

Rates: Electricity, 1; horse, 0.54; cable, 0.81.

I believe, however, that the mechanical system is bound to work material changes in car construction, in fact it is almost imperative. In all probability a car with 15 to 20 per cent. greater seating capacity than the horse car can be constructed on a different plan for the price given for the electric car. This price, it must be noted, is the one for attachment of motor to the present horse car. The horse cars produced to-day are most carefully planned, thoroughly built, and admirably adapted to their service, but the inexorable law of progress decrees their extinction, for something better.

Motive power. To represent clearly the costs, etc., of the three systems under this head, let us assume a road. Take, if you please, a double line 6 miles long, and operating 24 cars with speed of 6 miles an hour, and running 20 hours out of 24. This would call for 48 horses on the track and 192 horses in the stables, or a total of 240 horses; at $160, counting harness, etc., this would cost $38,400.

With electricity we will proceed as follows: The weight of car with 30 passengers and motor attachments would be about 9,000 lb. It is easily calculated that to propel the same at the specified rate on a level would take about 1.75 horse power, a total of 42 horse power. To make allowances for grades we can calculate that, if the entire road was one gradient of three per cent., each car would take about 6.4 horse power, or since only 12 are going up, a total of 76.8 horse power. It will be fair now to take the average of these two, or 59.4 horse power for an average road. Allowing 35 per cent. loss from engine to work done in actually propelling car, we would have to have 91.3 horse power. Allowing a good safety factor, it would be well to put in a 150 horse power plant. This would cost complete $7,000; necessary dynamos, $3,500. Among these figures should be counted cost of conductor of sufficient size to allow of but three per cent. in energy to overcome its resistance. This I have calculated using a potential of 600 volts; and find that the total cost of six miles copper conductor is $16,000 with above conditions. The total cost is now seen to be $26,500.

As to cables, since the recovery of energy available for tractive purposes is but 35 percent., then the engine of 169 horse power represents what must be had. Allowing a generous factor of safety, let us say that a 250 is all sufficient. This would cost complete and erected about $12,000. The cable would cost $15.000, and gears, etc., $8,000, making a total of $35,000.

The ratio of the three systems stands: Electricity, 1; cable, 1.09; horse, 1.45.

4th. Construction of tramway.

Figures upon this point must necessarily be either averages or approximations. The nature of the locality socially, naturally, and we grieve to say it, politically, has a strong influence upon its construction. Estimating on single track only, a horse road would cost as an average $9,000 per mile. With electricity we have several methods we can avail ourselves of: Surface, costing about $10,000; overhead double conductor, $15.696; underground, $23,500.

With cable but one method, the underground, is possible. This cost is variously estimated at from $30,000 to $110,000 per mile; however, the latter figure is excessive. A fair average would be $35,000.

The ratio of constructions could be fairly placed as follows, putting electricity as 1, by taking the average of the three methods at $16,732: Horse road, 0.53; cable, 2.09.

Unquestionably a great majority of roads of the past have not been constructions of engineering, and of all places requiring care, skill, and engineering, the street roads are the places.

5th. Cost of operation.

A fair figure for cost of one horse for one year is $220.

For electricity, allowing 35 per cent. loss in transmission, etc., 1.54 horsepower would be the work done by engine to get 1 horse power on the track. There are to-day plenty of steam plants producing 1 horse power for work at from $30 to $50 per annum. Take the average, $40. With electricity then $65 would well represent the price of producing 1.54 horsepower.

With cable these figures would hold true, but more work is required. A greater loss is entailed. Since but 32 per cent. is recovered, the figure for 1 horse power on the track would be 2.86 horse power. At the above rates this would be $110 per horse power per year.

Our ratio here is: Electricity, 1; cables, 1.71; horses, 3.38.

This is by no means the whole of the story, for just here must we compute the depreciation and hence repairs due to time. Let us take the road figured on heretofore, and make three tables.

In the following I have under each system taken the estimated costs, allowed a fair per cent. for depreciation, summed up and obtained the ratios.

Any figure then like interest, etc., which would not affect ratios, I have omitted.

ELECTRICITY.

Conductors, 1 per cent.$160.00

Engine and dynamos, 5 per cent.525.00

Cars, 10 per cent.5,280.00

Roadway, 10 per cent.2,007.00

Total.$7,972.00

HORSES.

Horses and appurtenances, 20 per cent.$7,780.00

Cars, 10 per cent.2,880.00

Roadway, etc., 10 per cent.3,500.00

Total.$11,740.00

CABLES.

Cable, 50 per cent.$7,500.00

Engine and boiler, etc., 5 per cent.1,000.00

Cars, 10 per cent.4,320.00

Roadway, 10 per cent.3,500.00

Total.$16,320.00

These totals put in ratio are as follows: Electricity, 1; cable, 2.04; and horses, 1.47.

Placing all the ratios obtained in a table, we have the following:

Electricity.Horses.Cables.

Depreciation.11.472.04

Operating expenses.13.381.71

Construction of tramway.10.532.09

Motors, cars, etc.11.631.21

Cars.10.540.81

Totals.57.557.86

Average.11.511.57

Now this table must stand by itself for what it represents, and no more. It will be noted that I have not introduced the subject of men. This would unquestionably show favorably for both electricity and cable. Again, note, please, that this table does not represent your profits exactly as per ratios. I have to get them operated the same number of cars and under the same headway. Now with either electricity or cable a higher rate of speed can be maintained with but a very small proportionate increase of cost. This means quicker time, more trips, and greater receipts.

Evidently, as a financial investment, even if cost of maintenance and operating is greater, the cable is to be preferred to horses.

How is it with electricity? The ratios of expenses, etc., stand for themselves, the law of speed is far simpler than with cable, bringing even greater receipts, and again in practice the saving of coal in proportion to work done on track day or night is immensely more economical than with the cable. This point will be touched upon later.

6th. Individual characteristics and advantages.

Under this head a few of the salient features of each system will be mentioned. As the possibilities and limitations of the horse railroad system are, however, so well known, it is needless to go over them. I therefore will confine myself to the electric and cable systems.

With electricity single track lines, crooked streets, all descriptions of turnouts, crossings, branches, etc., are as easy to construct and operate as with horses. With the cable system they are either impossible or enormously expensive.

With electricity the line is not a unit, so that the complete stoppage of the whole line is absolutely impossible. With cable it is a unit and it is possible.

With electricity the life of the conductor is infinite; with cable, two years.

With electricity, and the improvements now being made in traction wheels, etc., the heaviest grades are as easily surmounted as with the cable; although it is true that for grades exceptional in character, such as 20 per cent. grades or over, I should be willing to give the contract to cable.

With electricity any speed can be attained by the individual cars. They are absolutely independent. Lost time can be made up, etc. With cable the cars are dependent upon speed of cable. Lost time cannot be made up except on down grades.

With electricity work done by engine is synchronous with work done on the track at any time of the day or night, with the loss of 35 per cent. due to the conversions in each case. In other words, for every horse power of useful work done on track the engine does 1.54 horse power. This ratio is constant. It makes no difference whether 1 or 100 horse power of work is necessary on the track, the engine has but to do 35 per cent. in excess.

With cable, if 1 horse power of work is all that is required on the track, the engine may be doing 25 horse power to get that amount there through the gears and cable. With heavier loads this is somewhat diminished, but about the very best figure that can be put forth is but 35 per cent. recovery, with 65 per cent. loss—the exact converse of electricity under heavy loads.—Street Railway Journal.