276 TELPHERAGE. 



many men had experimented, and it i.s well known that some fort}" 

 years ago an electric railway was operated having a speed of several 

 miles per hour. It seems that it is necessary, with all successful 

 applications of power to the transportation problem, that much pre- 

 liminar}^ work, seming-ly unproductive, must be done. It often hap- 

 pens, as in the case of early telpherage, that the times were not ripe 

 for its commercial adaptation. In the history of telpherage in Eng- 

 land, a telpherage line was installed using what was then called the 

 series system, whereby it was necessary to use a telpher with a num- 

 ber of trailers. One section was positive and the next negative, the 

 current passing from one section of the track to the other through the 

 motor, thereby completing the circuit. In passing over the insulator 

 between the positive and the negative sections, there necessai'ily 

 occurred considerable sparking, which greatly increased the cost of 

 maintenance. It was also necessary to always have trains of certain 

 lengths. There were many other disadvantages, such as having to use 

 a track made of round bar rail and the difficulty of manufacturing 

 reliable electric motors. If it was desired to install a telplierage 

 plant it was alwa3^s necessary to put in an engine, boiler, and d>mamo. 

 In comparison with its early history telpherage to-day possesses the 

 advantage that every factory, where there is need for telpherage, 

 either has its own electrical plant or the power ma}^ be rented from 

 existing central stations or even street-railway stations. There are 

 also to-day for aerial transportation most excellent cables made 

 especially for telpherage work, and likewise, where it is more desir- 

 able to use than solid rail cable, special shapes have been devised 

 which give most excellent results. Motors, controllers, and carriers 

 of great reliablity are now manufactured following the methods 

 developed by the best railroad practice. 



Before it was decided to enter into the present commercial adapta- 

 tion of telpherage, an engineer visited all the electrical manufacturing 

 plants and electrical installations in Europe, and found that nothing 

 was being done in the transportation of materia! electrically. In the 

 United States many experiments had been made, but the inventors 

 were always seeking the unobtainable. Upon careful research, it 

 wa.s found that there were 450 })atents directly applying to telpherage 

 and several hundred more which pertained indirectly to this sul)ject. 

 Most of these original inventors were, however, too ambitious, and 

 there was hardly any limit to the luimber of miles pei' minute which 

 was to be achieved l)y the new and wondei'ful agent, electricity. Not 

 only material was to be transported, ))ut also i)assengers, and ))eauti- 

 ful cars of mahogany were built and put in e.\p(>rimental operation. 

 Cigar- shapt'd cari'icu's were de\ise<l, some of which made a speed of 2 

 miles per minute or more, and when it was impossible to attain a 

 greater speed there was great discouragement. There are no authentic 



