210 ELECTRICAL ENERGY. 



whether we have reached a point where it will be more economical to 

 consolidate the stations in the best possible location for economical 

 production of energy, and make use of the means of distribution which 

 have been developed in the last few years to increase the radius at 

 which energy can be supplied. 



As far as traction stations are concerned, their efficiency and output 

 would be increased by the use of batteries, both because the machinery 

 would be steadily loaded, and because the most efficient type of appa- 

 ratus could be used, as is the case in lighting stations. By the consoli- 

 dation of railroad properties that has taken place in the last few years 

 single corporations operate electric lines over extended areas. It is the 

 custom to build a number of stations, each running a certain section of 

 the line, the idea being that the decreased cost of copper and the 

 decreased possibility of a shut down would more than compensate for 

 the increased cost of operation and fixed charges. It is, again, impor- 

 tant to consider the question whether we have not reached the point 

 where a single station can be built in such a way that there is little or 

 no possibility of any accident causing a suspension of the entire traffic 

 of the system, and where improved methods of distribution will decrease 

 the amount of copper, so that it will not exceed that required by the 

 present method of using a number of generating stations. 



If storage batteries are used, the two types of variable load belonging 

 to lighting and power stations demand different types of battery. For 

 lighting stations a considerable capacity is required, while the momen- 

 tary variations of power stations do not require any great capacity, but 

 demand as great a maximum output as battery manufacturers can 

 obtain. 



In water-power plants the conditions of economy are different. The 

 location of the plant is of course definitely fixed, and the advisability 

 of obtaining a uniform load by means of batteries depends upon the 

 local conditions. If the water power is limited and is less than the 

 demand, then it might be well to use batteries in order to increase the 

 amount of salable power. Again, if the development is expensive, it 

 might be cheaper to develop a smaller amount of power, pay for a 

 smaller amount of machinery, and increase the output by the addition 

 of batteries. These are questions that can only be decided by a knowl- 

 edge of the local conditions. 



We may conclude that while the practice in large lighting and trac- 

 tion systems is to multiply stations near centers of consumption, yet 

 the economy of a single large station makes it important to consider 

 whether it is not possible to concentrate our power at some point where 

 the expenses will be a minimum, and distribute by some of the methods 

 which have in the last few years proved successful and economical. 

 It is important to make the station load steady, and this may be done 

 for continuous-current lighting and traction plants by means of storage 

 batteries. 



