The Street Railway Journal

7. Vol VIII. MEW YORK fy CHICAGO, JURY. No. The Yonkers (N. Y.) Eleetrie Railway. On the portion of the route equipped with electric apparatus the same rails are in use as when the line was The increase in the earning capacity of a street rail- operated by horses. The construction consists of centre way caused by a change from horse to electric power is bearing tram rails of about thirty-five pounds weight, often considerable, and sometimes changes an annual de- spiked directly to the stringers and held to gauge by tie ficit in the balance sheet to the showingof an annual surplus rods placed at intervals. The return circuit is made of earnings over expenses. An instance of how a line in the by bonding the rails, and also by the use of the Sabold hands of a receiver, and with operating expenses greater return system, previously described in these pages. This than receipts, can be transformed by the adoption consists in driving between the rails at intervals of sixty of electric power into a profitable enterprise is shown in feet a galvanized iron rod, seven feet long, and electrically the case of the Yonkers street railway. The road was connecting these rods to the rail bonds on each side. Al- FIG I.—STREET SCEN E—YON KERS ELECTRIC RAILWAY. purchased from the bondholders about four months ago though there is a deep layer of broken stone under a con- by a syndicate who believed in the economy of electric siderable portion of the track, this method of return compared with animal power for street car propulsion, seems to give good satisfaction, and no trouble has been and at present electric motors are running on two of the experienced with the telephone service, although the lat- three divisions, and the entire line is being equipped as ter also uses a grounded return. rapidly as possible. The overhead construction was installed by J. G. The electric franchise at Yonkers was secured in the White & Co., and the trolley wire is supported by tubu- face of great opposition, owing partly to the telephone lar span wire poles for a considerable distance within interests and partly to that element existing in every the city. In the outskirts octagonal wooden poles, neatly community in greater or less degree, which is always op- painted, are employed. of every kind but it is interest- The station is located, with the offices of the com- posed to improvements ; ing to note that the divisions equipped with electric pany, near the railway station of the New York Central power are carrying from two to two and a half as many Railroad Co., from which the street railway tracks extend passengers as when horses were used to draw the cars, in several directions, and which is about the central point and that many of those who at first opposed the installa- of the street railway system. tion of overhead wires are now most anxious to have the The boiler equipment consists of three eighty horse electric line extended in the direction of their property. power boilers of the Stirling water tube type, so arranged 39 2 THE STREET RAILWAY JOURNAL. July, 1892. that the coal is delivered directly in front of the furnace one engine is used at one time, and the engines with gen- doors. The feed water heater was supplied by the Na- erators are run on alternate days. It is the intention of tional Pipe Bending Co. of New Haven. A Worthington the company to always have one engine, generator and pump is also located in the station, but as the pressure boiler in excess of the number actually required to oper- FIG. 2.— EICKEMEYER MOTOR TRUCK—YONKERS ELECTRIC RAILWAY. from the city main is about 125 lbs., no feed water pump ate the plant in case of an accident to any part of the or injector is usually required. power apparatus. The present arrangement of the The engines employed are two in number, of 125 h . engine room is shown in Fig. 3. The generators are of p . each, single acting, non-condensing, and were supplied the Edison make, 100 k . w . capacity each, and were com- by the Ball & Wood Co., of New York. The cylinder pound wound. The belts were supplied by the Jewell dimensions of each are 15X16 ins. The engines give Belting Co., of Hartford, Conn. FIG. 3.— INTERIOR OF POWER STATION—YONKERS ELECTRIC RAILWAY. very good satisfaction and maintain a practically con- The electric cars, of which there are at present six stant speed in spite of extreme variations in load. Dur- in operation, and two being equipped, are extremely neat ing a short circuit which occurred at one time on the and tasteful, and were supplied by the John Stephenson line and caused the generator belt to be thrown off while Co., Ltd., of New York. The registers were made by the one engine was running, the latter did not increase its Standard Index & Register Co., of New York, and Smith speed perceptibly with entire removal of load. Only headlights are used. The motor equipment immediately July, 1892. THE STREET RAILWAY JOURNAL. 393 attracts attention, and is of the Eickemeyer-Field type, crossing in the face of danger. When used in connection already described in these columns in connection with the with gate, A, it is arranged that a bell in the gateman’s plant of the Toledo Consolidated Street Railway in our cab, 13 rings, giving notice of the train in , approaching April issue. The single gearless motor used for driving time for the gateman to close the gates before the cross- the car is placed midway between the car axles, and is ing is reached. In case the gateman fails to close the flexibly supported on them by a frame of special design, gates, a signal instrument, C, placed at a suitable distance so that while the motor is rigid in the direction of travel from the crossing, and which stands at danger when the its entire weight, with that of the frame, is cushioned on gates are open, stops the train before it arrives at the springs vertically. As shown in Fig. i, which gives a crossing. street scene in Yonkers, and in Fig. 2, which shows the The operation of the signal will be readily under- arrangement of the motor on the truck, the armature of stood by an inspection of the accompanying engraving. the motor drives the car axles by means of connecting The principal, or track, instrument is shown at D and rods, jointed and provided with swivel boxes at their consists of a wooden lever properly balanced and so placed extremities, to provide for any slight vertical motion of that it will be depressed by the wheels of a passing train, the motor owing to its flexible support. its outer end at the same time forcing upward a piston Although the entire weight of the motor truck with which moves in a closed chamber, and communicates mo- twenty horse power motor for a sixteen foot car is about tion to a lever of the circuit closing apparatus. The 9,000 lbs., the manufacturers claim that, owing to the fact piston operates in an air chamber having two apartments STREET AND STEAM RAILWAY CROSSING PROTECTED BY THE HALL AUTOMATIC DANGER SIGNAL. that its entire weight is cushioned, the pounding on the connected by a port and so arranged that the confined air track is much less than with a lighter equipment, where constitutes a cushion which prevents the piston rod from part, or all, of the weight of the motor is supported being thrown forcibly against the top cap, and also re- directly by the car axle. This enables them, they claim, tards its fall and prevents injurious shocks. The track to operate on a much lighter rail, if necessary, than with lever is confined between two rubber springs which are so other equipments, and upon a roadbed which, like that of compressed that any weight less than that imposed by the Yonkers electric railway, was originally built for horse the car wheels fails to operate the piston. The circuit traction. being normally open, the operation of the lever conducts Another important feature of the equipment is that the current by means of a wire to the bell, which starts it car wheels of small radius can be used, owing to the posi- ringing, and at the same time locks the instrument so that tion of the motor between the axles and the small amount the bell continues to ring until the train shall have of vertical space required. The car wheels at Yonkers reached a second instrument on the other side of the are but twenty-six inches in diameter, making it very easy crossing, whicn breaks the contact and silences the bell. for passengers to enter or leave the car. The battery and interlocking instrument are usually located at the crossing. By a simple arrangement of interlocking and track instruments, the bell may be made to Electric Crossing Signals. ring by the approach of a train from either direction on a single track. The Hall Signal Co., of New York, have devised a These safety appliances have been in successful oper- type of highway crossing signal which is especially adapted ation on a number of lines and seem to present an effect- for use on cable and electric lines where there is a possi- ual way of reducing a serious danger element. bility of the power failing while a car is crossing a steam track.

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