Applied Science 807 



M 



Big Electrical Feats 



In Great Britain the electrification of main railway lines 

 is in its infancy. On the Continent and in the United States it 

 has been developed considerably. Switzerland, Austria, and Italy 

 are electrifying long stretches of their railways, and tunnel sec- 

 tions through the Alps have been worked by electric locomotives 

 for some time past. The longest "all-electric" runs are in the 

 United States, and electrification is revolutionising heavy haul- 

 age; trains of 5,000 tons are handled in easier sections, and even 

 heavier combinations are foreshadowed. 



Naturally, America has most to show in the way of mam- 

 moth electric locomotives and the biggest electrical engineering 

 feats. Here physical and other conditions demand engines of 

 great power. We have heard a great deal about the mighty steam 

 Mallet locomotives, some of them weighing over 400 tons, but 

 not so much about their electric rivals. 



Some time ago a unique contest between steam and elec- 

 tricity was carried out at Erie. Two powerful modern steam- 

 engines of the class used for hauling the big "limited" trains on 

 the New York Central Railway were linked together and pitted 

 in a pushing match against a single electric locomotive, designed 

 for similar service on the most westerly section of the Chicago, 

 Milwaukee, and St. Paul Railway. The electric pusher was 

 driven backwards some distance without opposition, but when 

 current was switched into its motors the steam-engines were grad- 

 ually brought to a stop and then made to retreat in a regular 

 rout, with throttle still full open. Surely an omen of the future! 



The tests included another of great interest. The electric 

 locomotive was driven ahead for a time by the others, then it was 

 called upon to check them, which it did by simply reversing the 

 motors so that they acted like dynamos and pumped power into 

 the conductors and back to the power-station, the contribution 

 amounting at times to over 2,600 horse-power. 



