84 ELECTEIC TRACTION. 



electric traction is not now confined to the region of scientific- 

 experiment, but is an established commercial success. In the 

 United States there are 310 tramways or railroads worked by 

 electricity, with 4,000 cars and 7,000 motors. In the city of 

 Minneapolis a new and expensive cable has been abandoned 

 and electricity adopted, and it is estimated that one-third of 

 the street railway mileage in the States is worked by electric- 

 traction; and further, the following tramways, amongst 

 others, pay a dividend of 8 per cent. :— The West End Eoad, 

 Boston (probably the largest tramway company in the world),, 

 the Springfield, Troy and Lansenbury, and Utica and 

 Mohawk tramways. These facts are sufficient to show that 

 electric traction for tramways and railroads is a commercial 

 success. I am speaking now of the overhead system, and on 

 the general principle, for, of course, there are electric railroad 

 companies which do not pay dividends, as in all commercial 

 ventures. With regard to steep grades I may add 1 in 7 is 

 not too steep for working. I believe the steepest grade in the 

 proposed Hobart line is 1 in 16. 



It is interesting to note further that electric traction has 

 also been successfully applied to tramways for mills and 

 manufactories, as well as to street railways, and is found a 

 convenient method of transporting raw materials, manufac- 

 tured products, coal, and other commodities from one part of 

 the works to another. Electricity fully meets the require- 

 ments of such a case. The special advantages claimed for 

 electricity over steam motors or locomotives are three in 

 number, viz., safety, the removal of obstacles presented by 

 grades, and economy. Its safety is seen from the fact that 

 the road may be run through the mills and store-houses 

 without increasing the insurance rates. Steam is unsuited to 

 indoor work, and even when used entirely out of doors there 

 is always some danger of fire, and there is the smoke and the 

 noise and dirt arising from the locomotive. In the matter of 

 grades, whilst 4 per cent. (1 in 25) is about the maximum 

 which steam can overcome, grades of 12 per cent. (1 in 8J), 

 or more, are easily surmounted by electricity. The expense 

 for horse-power of running a steam locomotive in comparison 

 with a large stationary engine, where all the advantages of 

 concentration are available, shows decided economy in favour 

 of the large plant. Electricity furnishes a means for trans- 

 mission of power with minimum loss and cost, permitting the 

 concentration of the generating plant, whether steam or 

 water power, and thus appeals strongly to the business man 

 on the ground of economy. One advantage possessed by 

 electricity alone is that the overhead wire may be tapped 

 anywhere, and a stationary motor, an electric hoist, a pump, 

 or any form of electric-power machine operated from it. 

 Electric traction is in use at the works of the Baltimore 



