DISCOVERY 



21 



electric automatic signalling and train control are now- 

 undisputed. 



For lines of longer distances and less dense traffic, 

 this feature, although still present, does not dominate 

 the situation in the same way. Centralisation in a 

 power house enables fuel to be burnt with an economy 

 unapproachable in the furnace of an isolated locomotive, 

 and presents opportunities for utilisation of other 

 sources of power not otherwise available for railway 

 purposes. In countries where water-power is relatively 

 abundant and fuel expensive, electric traction enables 

 the natural energy of the waterfalls to be used for 



of electric traction on the London underground 

 railwaj's. On the Chicago, Milwaukee, and St. Paul 

 line, the power to negotiate steep gradients was the 

 consideration which outweighed all others. 



Disadvantages 



Against the economy in power production must be 

 placed not only the great capital cost of the plant, 

 ])articularly great when the power is generated by 

 water from an extensive area, the cost of the transmis- 

 sion of the power where the distances are considerable, 

 interest on capital cost of the line, and its maintenance. 





-A LARGE ELECTRIC PASSENGER LOCOMOTIVE USED ON THE CHICAGO, 



An example of the high-tension current sj'stem. 



MILWAUKEE, AND ST. PAUL RAILWAY. 



railway purposes, a point of enormous importance in 

 view of the almost prohibitive rise in the cost of fuel 

 in some coimtries since the war. This has been the 

 predominating factor in Sweden, Bavaria, and Italy, 

 and in certain parts of America. In other countries 

 different features have formed the deciding reason 

 for adopting electric traction. For example, the main 

 lines outside New York, where heavy railway electrifica- 

 tion began in the United States, were electrified after 

 a tunnel accident attributed to an accumulation of 

 noxious gases. Likewise, to avoid smoke in tunnels, 

 the railways through the Baltimore tunnel in America 

 and in the Simplon tunnel on the Continent were 

 electrified. This was also a factor in the adoption 



Both the capital cost of plant and equipment and that 

 of labour required for maintenance and operation have 

 risen considerably since the war. On the other hand, 

 both the vastly increased cost of fuel and the rise in 

 the cost of labour handicap the steam railway more 

 seriously than the electric, owing to the smaller 

 operating and maintenance staffs required. In many 

 cases, therefore, the comparison from the point of 

 view of running expenses is more in favour of electricity 

 than it was before the war. 



Economic Considerations 

 The point that must be investigated in each indi- 

 vidual scheme is whether the advantages to be expected 



