ELECTRICITY AT THE WORLD'S FAIR. 727 



veying water at a hundred pounds pressure, and have a consump- 

 tion of nearly twenty-one million gallons per twenty-four hours. 

 The central jet or grand geyser formed by a two-inch stream rises 

 to a height of a hundred and fifty feet. The color screens are in 

 the shape of fan blades arranged to rotate horizontally, and are 

 grouped so as to be capable of producing an almost unlimited 

 combination of color effects. 



If any demonstration were needed of the capacity of the elec- 

 tric motor to take the place of steam on such roads as the ele- 

 vated in New York and Chicago, or of the enormous superiority 

 of electric traction in the matter of cleanliness, comfort, and 

 freedom from noise, the intramural would furnish it to the satis- 

 faction of any impartial observer. This road is a double-track 

 elevated structure something over three miles in length, which 

 forms the highway of communication between the different build- 

 ings. It is purposely laid out with many an unnecessary curve, 

 to accentuate the conditions of actual travel, and demonstrate the 

 ability of electric traction to do its work satisfactorily under 

 extreme conditions. The trains are made up of a motor car and 

 three trailers, all four cars being arranged to seat passengers, the 

 space occupied by the motorman at the extreme front end of the 

 motor car being no greater than that of the ordinary trolley car. 

 The cars are open, with the seats extending clear across the car 

 body, each pair facing upon the entrance aisles. These aisles are 

 closed by sliding gates, which are connected so that all those 011 

 one side of the car may be opened or closed at the same time by 

 the movement of a lever at the end of the car. This construction 

 might be very readily adapted to a closed car, and would seem 

 to be admirably suited to cars having the phenomenally heavy 

 traffic of those on the elevated roads of New York. A very 

 noticeable feature of the cars is the perfection of the lighting. 

 Too often, when electricity has been called upon for the light- 

 ing of public conveyances, there has been but little improvement 

 over former results, due both to the bad habit of placing the 

 lights in the aisle spaces and stinting in the candle power. In 

 the intramural cars particular attention has been paid to secur- 

 ing abundant light, the lamps being up to candle power and 

 placed in the most effective position along the sides near the car 

 roof. 



The electrical equipment of the motor car consists of four 

 motors having a combined capacity of over five hundred horse 

 power. These are geared to the axles by a single reduction gear, 

 and take their current from side rails through the medium of slid- 

 ing shoes. The side rail was adopted in preference to a central 

 one on account of the greater simplicity of the switching arrange- 

 ments, the facility in getting at the contact shoes, and the very 



