312 HIGH-SPEED ELECTEIO INTERURBAN RAILWAYS. 



single dii3'. Large additions are contemplated — about doubling the 

 present mileage. Power is generated in a central station at Anderson, 

 containing three 1,000-kilowatt Westinghouse alternators, and is trans- 

 mitted by 3-phase alternating current at 14,000 volts to 8 substations, 

 which are supplemented l\y storage 1)atteries. 



One of the greatest possi])ilities of the interurljan road lies in the 

 development of freight traffic. It is well fitted for the transfer of 

 farm produce and supplies for farmers and for carrying package 

 merchandise, and it can often give great convenience of delivery and 

 the possibility of handling freight economicall}^ especially in small 

 cities. The Chicago, Harvard and Lake Geneva Railway has not only 

 a large freight traffic of its own, l)ut carries on an interchange of busi- 

 ness with steam roads to a greater extent perhaps than an}^ other 

 electric road in the United States. Its southern terminus is at Har- 

 vard, on the Chicago and Northwestern Railway, and at Walworth, 

 8i miles north of this place, the road crosses the Chicago, Milwau- 

 kee and St. Paul Railway, thence running 2 miles northeast to Lake 

 Geneva, one of Wisconsin's most popular summer resorts. One-third 

 of the business of the road is in handling freight. Freight cars from 

 the railroads are hauled to sidings on the electric road at a fiat rate of 

 $5 per car, and piece freight is transported on a one-rate plan between 

 any two points on the road for 5 cents per 100 pounds, no package 

 being handled for less than 10 cents. A freight motar car with a crew 

 of 2 men carries package freight and hauls from 1 to 4 jjteam-road 

 freight cars. There are 6 freight sidings along the road, not including 

 the company's yards. Live-stock shipments are an important part of 

 the business. In summer refrigerator cars are run twice a week over 

 the Chicago and Northwestern Railway for the benefit of creameries 

 situated on the electric road, and last wintei- 3,000 tons of ice were 

 hauled from Lake Geneva for local use along the line. The company 

 receives $500 per jquy for hauling mail two trips daily each way. 

 Passenger tickets are sold by the electric road to points on the steam 

 roads and baggage is carried free. The power house is located at 

 Murray and contains two generators of 500 kilowatts each. The 

 equipment consists 10 motor cars and 6 trail cars. The maximum 

 speed is 45 miles per hour. 



While many electric roads have been constructed cheaply and of 

 light materials, the tendency is more and more toward a substantial 

 type of construction similar to the best steam-railwa}^ practice. The 

 Grand Rapids, Gralid Haven and Muskegon Railway, recently com- 

 pleted, is equipped with standard 70- pound T-rails laid on a private 

 right of way. The road runs from Grand Rapids to Muskegon, Mich., 

 a distance of 35 miles, with a branch 7 miles long to Grand Haven. 

 It piirallels steam roads to both cities, the running time of the electric 

 and steam cars being about the same. The country is ,well developed 



