746 THE POPULAR SCIENCE MONTHLY. 



current going to the locomotive by one rail and returning by the 

 other ; while, in other systems, a third or auxiliary conductor is used. 

 To collect the current and pass it through the motor, two strips of 

 copper or brass in the circuit of the motor extend from the locomo- 

 tive and press upon the conductors ; so that, as the car advances, 

 these keep up a scraping contact. Two wheels in circuit with the mo- 

 tor are also sometimes used as collectors. 



The distinction of being the first to conceive and suggest the idea 

 of an electric railway seems to belong to Dr. Werner Siemens, of the 

 celebrated firm of Siemens & Halske, which has been more identified 

 with the practical development of electrical science than any other 

 firm in the world. In pursuance of his idea, Dr. Siemens constructed 

 the first electrical railway at Berlin in 1879. 



In this railway, whose length was about three hundred and fifty 

 yards, and whose gauge was about three feet and three inches, a third 

 or auxiliary conductor was used to convey the current from the 

 dynamo to the motor. This conductor lay between and parallel to the 

 other two rails, and the current was taken from it by a metal brush 

 connected with the motor, which extended from the car and pressed 

 upon the conductor. After going through the motor, the current 

 went to both rails and by them back to the dynamo, the rails acting 

 as the " return." The motor was placed upon a car, attached to 

 which were three other cars, the first thus acting as the locomo- 

 tive. Such was the interest excited by this novel system of trans- 

 portation, and such its success, that it continued in operation for sev- 

 eral months, and carried thousands of people, the money received 

 for fares being contributed, it is said, to charitable institutions in 

 the city. 



The success of this experimental railway led the Messrs. Siemens 

 to plan another upon a more extended scale ; and they applied to 

 the authorities for permission to build an elevated road in Berlin, 

 six miles long, on which single cars, each fitted with an electro- 

 motor, were to be run by means of electricity. Permission to do this 

 was refused, on account of the inconvenience to the inhabitants which 

 would result from the structure ; but, ultimately, leave was given 

 the same firm to build a surface electric railway from Lichterfelde, 

 one of the suburbs, to the military academy. This railway is still 

 running, and its operation has throughout, for more than two years, 

 been of the most satisfactory character. No auxiliary conductor is 

 used, the current going from the dynamo along one rail, through one 

 of the wheels, through the motor, through a wheel on the opposite 

 side of the car, and thence to the other rail, which acts as the "re- 

 turn." No trains are made up, but each car is fitted with an electro- 

 motor, which lies beneath the flooring. As the authorities declare 

 these cars to fall under the same heading as tram-cars, the speed at 

 which they may be run is limited by law to twelve miles per hour. 



