ing rails, each thirty feet long and connecting them as specified, why should there be any more destructive electrolytic action between the copper and iron than there is with the copper bond wires which are used to connect our rails together on the surface? Mr. Pearson: I think as a rule, in track construction to-day, we use supplementary wires as well as bond wires on the rails; the former having a low resistance as compared with the bond wires and joints; the greater current passes on the supplementary wire and does not go through the joint. If you cut the supplementary wire, and compel all the current to pass through the bond wire, there will be trouble; but as long as you have a good supplementary conductor, so that the current does not pass through the bond wire, the joint will remain cool, and there is no great tendency to oxidation, especially if tinned rivets are used. Mr. Richardson: Do you think there would be any more heat generated with the rails four feet underground than with those at the surface? Mr. Pearson: The heat would depend on the amount of current passing and the resistance of the joint. Of course the proof of the pudding is in the eating, and the only way to decide this question is to lay the rails as you suggest, several miles in length, and lay them in such a place that a large volume of current will pass through them. REMARKS OF MR. F. S. HOLMES. Mr. F. S. Holmes: I asked an experienced engineer, a pioneer, I believe, in street-railroad work, some days ago, what was his experience in ground plates; and he said that in case there was a sufficient number of ground plates along the line, he found that the amperes of current divided about equally between the rail return and the ground wire. Now, in an ordinary battery, the positive pole is the pole that gives and is consumed, and the negative pole is the pole that receives deposit. The construction we have to-day where ground plates are used for return currents makes the trolley wire and the various plates and supplementary wire along the line of the railroad positive and the large ground plate at the station negative. This is wrong, because where this is done the supplementary wire and ground plates along the line are rapidly corroded and eaten away, while the negative plate at the station is uninjured. The conditions should be reversed, the station plate being made positive and the line plates and supplementary wire and trolley negative to it. rosion will thus be largely confined to the station plate, which can be easily replaced, and the plates and supplementary wire along the road will remain nearly intact. Of course, to accomplish this the current will flow out by the ground, which will be positive, and back by the trolley wire, which will be negative. COMMITTEE APPOINTED ON THE SUBJECT OF AN The President: I will announce the Committee on the subject of an Industrial Institute: Messrs. Henry C. Payne, of Milwaukee, Wis.; D. F. Longstreet, of Denver, Col.; O. T. Crosby, of Boston, Mass.; William Wharton, Jr., of Philadelphia, Pa.; Henry A. Everett, of Montreal, Canada. REPORT OF COMMITTEE ON A PERFECT OVERHEAD ELECTRIC CONSTRUCTION. The President: The next business is the Report of the Committee on "A Perfect Overhead Electric Construction." The Secretary then read the report, as follows: TO THE AMERICAN STREET-RAILWAY ASSOCIATION, Gentiemen :-The President has appointed me a Committee on "A Perfect Overhead Electric Construction." In thus selecting me to prepare a paper on this subject, he evidently intended to pay a passing compliment to my imaginative or inventive powers. He asks me to describe something that does not exist; something that I have never seen, although I have searched diligently for it. I can therefore give only my ideas of how an electric overhead line should be constructed, based upon facts and information derived from personal experience and observation. Iron or steel poles have proved to be the most desirable. I would therefore recommend the following: the poles to be of tubular iron, thirty-two feet in length, and made in three sections, in the usual way. The lower section should be at least seven inches in diameter, and the other two sections six inches, and five inches, respectively. The poles should be set in concrete, and at least six feet in the ground, and should not be more than 125 feet apart. The top of the pole should have about two per cent. of rake away from the curb, and should be fitted with a suitable pole clamp, so that the span wire can be easily adjusted to the required height, which should be twenty-two feet above the track. On top of the pole should be a malleable iron cross-arm to carry the feeder wire, and guard wire spans. This cross arm should be insulated from the pole by means of a wooden plug inserted in the top of the pole. The insertion of the joints of the pole should be at least eighteen inches, and the joints should be made solid throughout their entire length by means of shims, or other contrivances. If these joints are not properly made, the poles will not stand the strain. For curves, or extra strain, there should be larger poles of the same make. Span-wires should be of No. 4 " B. W. G." silicon bronze wire, and should be fastened to pole clamps by means of insulated turn-buckles. Great care should be taken in insulating these turn-buckles from the poles. All well-built lines should be sectional, and the trolley-wire should not be of too great a size, as it would then call for clumsy supports. As it is not the main current wire, it can be of a smaller size. I would therefore recommend No. 4 B. W. G. silicon bronze wire, which affords sufficient carrying capacity, and has great strength and durability. Sections should not be of a greater length than two miles, and should be separated by trolley-breakers, of which there are now a number of good ones in the market. In cities and villages, where there is great liability of fires, it would be advisable to put trolley-breakers at shorter intervals. Trolley-wire hangers and pull-off brackets should be of the lightest make possible, and still have the required strength and the very best insulation. There is a variety of such hangers and brackets now in the market. As it is important to have as small a number of joints as possible in the trolley wire, it should be put up in mile lengths; and twisted splice joints should be made, and brass cone-shaped tubes slipped over the wire before the splice is made. After completing the splice, the larger ends of the tubes should be brought together over the splice and a little solder dropped through a small hole made in the tubes for that purpose, in order to keep the joint in place. Overhead switches, or switch-pans, should be avoided, if possible, as they become a source of great annoyance. I would strongly recommend a double trolley wire for a single track road. Great care should be taken in erecting the guard-wire spans. They should be properly insulated from the cross-arm by means of a strain insulator, cr something equally as good, and should be of at least No. 6 best galvanized iron wire. There should be two guard wires over each trolley wire at least three feet apart and four feet above the trolley wire. The guard wire must be well insulated from the guard spans; in case of other wires falling, this would be of great importance. Pull-off and anchor guy-wires, or other wires for the same purpose, must be of the very best material, and of at least No. 8 galvanized iron wire. Feed-in taps must not be more than five poles apart and should take the place of the trolley span-wire at that point. They should be of at least No. o insulated wire. The trolley wire being sectional, it is necessary to run a feeder wire to each section. I would therefore recommend that the feeder wire be at least thirty per cent. larger than the occasion demands. It will be found that this is money well invested. The insulation on the feeder wire should be the best that can be procured, and I would advise using locust or iron pins with mica insulators or something equally as good, for the purpose of fastening the feeder wire to each pole, and great care must be taken to protect it from trees and other obstructions. A cut out box should be located on the pole at each trolley breaker, and should not carry a fuse. It should have the same wire running through it as there is on the outside. The fuses should be at the station, with ampere meter and cut-out switch for each section; then, in case of trouble on any section, the location can be easily seen, and that section cut out, if necessary, until repaired. Lightning arresters are of great importance on the line, and I would strongly recommend using them at least every thousand feet. They can be easily attached to the poles, and can be protected by means of a box. In conclusion, I would say that no matter what expense is incurred for material, or care used in constructing, a good line cannot be ensured without a thorough daily inspection. It is to be hoped that in the near future a perfect overhead electric construction will be realized in some of our large cities, for the example or fact will be of much more value and interest than any paper on the subject. Respectfully submitted, CHARLES H. SMITH, Committee. ACTION CONCERNING REPORT. Mr. Bean moved that the report be received and spread upon the minutes. Carried. RECESS. On motion, the Convention took a recess until 10.30 o'clock, Thursday morning. THURSDAY'S SESSION-MORNING. The meeting was called to order at 10.45 o'clock by the President, Mr. Thomas H. McLean, of New York. LETTER FROM THE PRESIDENT. The Secretary then read the following communication from President Holmes : MY DEAR MR. RICHARDSON: THE HOLLENDEN, CLEVELAND, OHIO, Į I have concluded that my first duty is to meet my wife at Buffalo and leave on the 1.25 train. I have given Mr. McLean the Committee on Nominations to announce in the morning. I am very sorry to leave, and regret this unceremonious way of leaving. I hope everything will go along smoothly. Yours in haste, JOHN G. HOLMES. The Secretary: This letter is based upon the reception of a telegram by Mr. Holmes late last evening, stating that his wife's father had had a stroke of paralysis and could not recover, and demanded his immediate attention. Mr. Rugg informed me this morning that Mr. Holmes' father-in-law died last night. NOMINATING COMMITTEE APPOINTED. The Vice-President: I have been asked by the President to designate the following gentlemen as the Nominating Committee: Messrs. Hardin H. Littell, of Buffalo, N. Y.; Charles Cleminshaw, of Troy, N. Y.; William A. House, Jr., of Baltimore, Md.; Albert L. Johnson, of Cleveland, O.; Julius E. Rugg, of Pittsburgh, Pa.; George W. Baumhoff, of St. Louis, Mo.; and V. Cronyn, of London, Ont. Mr. Littell: I ask as a favor that you will excuse me from serving on that Committee. The Vice-President: I will then appoint Mr. Watson, of Buffalo, as Chairman of the Committee. Mr. Watson I respectfully decline. The Vice-President: I will then appoint Mr. W. Worth Bean as Chairman of the Committee in place of Mr. Littell. DISCUSSION FOLLOWING REPORT ON A PERFECT OVERHEAD ELECTRIC CONSTRUCTION. The President: The subject now open for discussion is the report submitted last night on "A Perfect Overhead Electric Construction;" and I would suggest that the gentlemen limit themselves as much as possible, as we have been delayed by a very important session of the Executive Committee. DISCUSSION LIMITED TO HALF AN HOUR ON EACH REPORT. Mr. Stephenson: Before we proceed with the discussion, as there are several reports to be considered, I move that the debate be limited to a half hour on each report, and the speakers be limited to five minutes each. Carried. The Vice-President: Remarks are in order. Is it desired to discuss this report? |