318 HIGH-RPEED ELECTRIC INTERURBAN RAILWAYS. 



made in .some of the more thickly populated Eastern States. At Hud- 

 son, N. y., ])eg'ins a long- electric railway system which extends a dis- 

 tance of 105 miles to Wari-ensburg, near Lake George, running for a 

 great part of the way along the Hudson and through a semimountain- 

 ous country and giving a view of the Catskills and the Berkshire Hills. 

 The first 37 miles is covered by the Albany and Hudson liailway, a 

 small part of which is operated by trolle}^ and the remainder l)y the 

 third-rail system. Except through city streets, the company owns its 

 own right of way, which is fenced in and laid in a very su'))stantial 

 manner. Both running and conductor rails are of T section and weigh 

 80 pounds to the .yard, the third rail being somewhat lower in carl>on 

 than the service rails in order to reduce the electrical resistance. The 

 track has been heavily ballasted and the ties are laid 2 feet center to 

 center, evGvy fifth tic being extended to support the third-rail insulat- 

 ors. The latter are supported C inches above the tie and are made of 

 wooden blocks, topped by malleable cast-iron caps or chairs. At all 

 highway's and farm crossings the third rail is interrupted, Ijut the con- 

 tinuity of the circuit is not broken. Power is supplied from a 

 h3^draulic plant at Stuyvesant Falls, on Kinderhook Creek, about 10 

 miles north of Hudson, and is transmitted by 3-phase current at 

 12,000 volts to three substations along the line, where it is transformed 

 to direct current at 600 volts. * * * 



In view of the high-speed experiments with 3-phase motors that have 

 recently been carried on in Germany, it is gratifying to note that sim- 

 ilar experiments with direct-current motors are shortly to be made in 

 America. The Aurora, Elgin and Chicago liailway has been designed 

 for a continuous maxinuim speed of 70 miles per hour, and the track 

 is of such substantial character and easy alignment that higher speeds 

 can be attained. The service rails are to weigh 80 pounds to the yard, 

 the track is to be rock ballasted, and all In'idges will be of concrete 

 and steel construction. The third rail is to weigh 100 pounds to the 

 yard and is to be supplied with direct current from substations, to 

 which power will be transmitted at 26,000 volts by 3-phase alternating 

 current over aluminum feeders. The schedule speed will be 40 miles 

 per hour, including stops at stations 3 miles apart. Cars are to weigh 

 40 tons, and are to run at a maximum speed of 65 miles per hour, 

 with a possible 70 miles per hour on a level track and with normal 

 voltage on the third rail. The cars are to be operated either singly 

 or in trains and are to be equipped by the General Electric Company. 



This paper might seem unduly partial if no mention were made of 

 European roads. However, of high-speed interurban roads in Europe 

 there are extremely few. In Great Britain it can truthfully be said 

 there are no high-speed electric roads at all. The difference between 

 America and Europe with respect to the development of electric trac- 

 tion is very strikingly shown by the following figures: The miles of 



