Frank J. Sprague Invents the Constant-Speed Dc Electric Motor

JohnJohn L.L. SpragueSprague history Frank J. Sprague invents the constant-speed dc electric motor

ON A MISERABLY COLD SPRING day in 1998, it became necessary to The “History” column in the November/December 2015 issue of IEEE Power clean out a little-used storage barn in & Energy Magazine was about the remarkable life and career of Frank Julian Williamstown, Massachusetts, so that Sprague, the accomplished inventor and electrical engineer. That article, au- it could be sold. The barn was part of thored by Frank’s grandson, John L. Sprague, focused on Sprague’s multiple the estate of Robert C. Sprague, who had unit control system, still in wide use today, chiefly in railway applications. This died in 1991. Although the winter snow was mostly gone, a misty drizzle made issue’s article, also authored by John L. Sprague, delves even deeper into Frank the muddy walk down to the barn’s en- Sprague’s career, centering on his pioneering work on dc motors. His inven- trance slippery and treacherous. Once tions, still in use, include constant-speed motors, which are nonsparking and used to house riding horses, the stalls fully self-regulating under changing load conditions, and the design of ad- O vanced railway motor trucks. were long gone and the building was almost completely filled with rotting Born in 1930, John L. Sprague holds an A.B. degree in chemistry from wet hay and broken pieces of equip- Princeton University and a Ph.D. degree in chemistry from Stanford Univer- ment, along with seemingly useless files sity. He served as a line officer in the U.S. Navy during the Korean War, includ- that once belonged to electrical inventor ing two years in naval electronics. He joined the Sprague Electric Company Frank Julian Sprague, Robert’s father. in 1959 as a research scientist and retired as CEO in 1987. Since then, Sprague The inventor had died in 1934, nearly 60 has headed a small consulting firm, John L. Sprague Associates, now head- years before his son, and it seemed im- quartered in Williamstown, Massachusetts. John, an IEEE Life Member, has possible that the barn could still hold anything of value. The building was sagging, authored or coauthored more than 20 articles, primarily in technical journals, and, once inside, broken light bulbs and and holds six U.S. and three foreign patents. He coauthored “A Frank Sprague wooden supports from Frank Sprague’s Triumph: The Electrification of Grand Central Terminal,” which appeared in failed late 1920s programmable elec- the “History” column of the January/February 2013 issue of this magazine. tric sign business made moving around John’s first book, Revitalizing U.S. Electronics: Lessons from Japan, was pub- nearly impossible and dangerous. With lished by Butterworth-Heinemann in 1993. He edited The Birth of Electric its stagnant hay and years of collected Traction, the Extraordinary Life and Times of Inventor Frank Julian Sprague, rodent droppings, the space reeked, and a book written by Frank Rowsome and published in 2014 by the IEEE History it seemed best to get a front loader, empty Center Press. More recently, John authored Sprague Electric, An Electronics out the structure, take the contents to the Giant’s Rise, Fall, and Life After Death, a book published this past April by dump, and hope for a buyer who could the IEEE History Center Press. see more value than was apparent. We are honored and pleased to welcome John Sprague back as our guest However, over in the far southeast cor- ner there was a small room with a broken “History” author for this issue of IEEE Power & Energy Magazine. door, which contained a table covered with the remnants of a metal lathe and —Carl Sulzberger miscellaneous, mostly unrecognizable, Associate Editor, History Digital Object Identifier 10.1109/MPE.2015.2501085 Date of publication: 18 February 2016

80 ieee power & energy magazine 1540-7977/16©2016IEEE march/april 2016 Following a call for help to the Shore Line Trolley Museum in East Haven, Connecticut, a team was soon on the scene and tentatively concluded that it could be a demonstration model of one of Sprague’s early electric motors, possibly the only one still in existence. Gleefully offering to take the object back to the museum to see if it could be brought back to life, the team left with the motor and several of the files. Then the front loader came, emptied out what was left in the building, and headed for the town dump. Although now gone from the barn, Sprague’s memory lives on in Connecticut where, a year later, the motor was running again, lovingly figure 1. The restored 1884 Sprague dc motor in the museum display. (Photo worked on by Fred Sherwood. Today courtesy of Jeff Hakner, Shore Line Trolley Museum, operated by the Branford the motor (see Figure 1) sits on display Electric Railway Association, East Haven, Connecticut.) as part of the museum’s permanent exhibit, “Frank J. Sprague: Inventor, pieces of rusting metal. Centered on the vealed a startling date, “1884.” Clearly, Scientist, Engineer,” which opened on table was also something of substance the front loader would have to wait until 15 May 1999 at a private reception with covered with grime and cobwebs. Wip- the identity of this unexpected object many Sprague family members pres- ing away the dirt on its name plate re- could be determined. ent, including the author.

A history that spans the past century.

A vision that spans the next century.

www.DeltaStar.com • 1-800-368-3017 Finding this motor seems es- ard of Menlo Park,” it wasn’t long pecially appropriate since the before tensions flared between the largest percentage of the inven- two men. Sprague made an impor- tor’s 95 patents dealt with electric tant early contribution by develop- motors: how to make them (the ing a mathematical approach for constant speed motor), how to use calculating the values and loca- them (urban railways and eleva- tions of the electrical street mains tors), how to control them [eleva- for new electric lighting installa- tors and multiple unit (MU) con- tions. It replaced a tedious and in- trol systems], and how to make accurate modeling approach and, the vehicles that used them safe in the process, reduced the time (Sprague Safety Company). required for the exercise from weeks to hours. As a uniquely Early Years competent and intuitive inventor, Frank Julian Sprague was born Edison always seemed uncom- on 25 July 1857 in Milford, Con- fortable when technically trained necticut, but grew up in North Ad- engineers, such as Sprague, found ams, Massachusetts, when, in 1864, ways to solve problems other than his mother died and his father left by pure experimentation. Also, to find his fortune in the West, Edison wanted electricity primar- shipping Frank and his younger ily for lighting purposes while brother, Charley, to live with their Sprague viewed it as a new motive Aunt Ann in North Adams. The power for transportation. Only 11 Sprague family had originally ar- figure 2. Frank J. Sprague as a cadet-ensign in the months after joining Edison, fol- rived in the New World in 1629 U.S. Navy, circa 1878. (Photo courtesy of John L. lowing an angry exchange of from Upwey in Dorset, England, Sprague.) letters, Sprague departed, to con- when Ralph Sprague and his fam- tinue his motor work begun at the ily disembarked from the Lion’s Whelp in Farmer at the Torpedo Station became Torpedo Station and form his first com- Salem, Massachusetts. They first settled his mentor. Encouraged by Farmer, pany, the Sprague Electric Railroad and in Charlestown and then spread out across Sprague created his first electric de- Motor Company (SERM), incorporated New England. While they were substan- vice, a unique inverted-type dynamo, in late November 1884. tial, good, hard-working citizens, none designed such that the relationship be- showed the creative genius that would tween the magnetic field and armature Early dc Electric Motors blossom in eight-year-old Sprague some circuits became the basis for series-par- Although he arguably developed the 235 years later. Although Sprague was allel controllers used on direct current first truly useful electric motor, Sprague physically unimpressive, as he was small, (dc) railway motors to this day. Filed was the first to admit he certainly didn’t wiry, with sandy hair and eyes that glit- 4 October 1881 and issued 26 August invent the electric motor. Actually, the tered with intelligence, he quickly demon- 1884 (assigned to the U.S. Navy), this foundation for the electrical revolu- strated that he was no one to take lightly. was Sprague’s first patent, U.S. 304,145: tion began in 1831 when English sci- In North Adams he attended Drury “Dynamo-Electric Machine.” Farmer entist Michael Faraday discovered that Academy, where he excelled in mathemat- then helped Sprague gain assignment electricity could be generated by the ics and science, and then won a competi- to the 1882 Crystal Palace Electrical movement of a conductor in a magnetic tive exam for the U.S. Naval Academy in Exhibition in London where he served field. Then in 1834 Vermont blacksmith Annapolis, Maryland (surprising since he as secretary to the awards jury. His Thomas Davenport developed a crude thought the exam, taken in Springfield, “Report on the Exhibits at the Crys- electric motor followed two years later Massachusetts, was for West Point!), en- tal Palace Electrical Exposition” won by a small 2-ft (0.61-m) diameter electric tering as a plebe in 1874. His technical him considerable notoriety (and saved model railroad. Motor work accelerated skills and fascination with electricity blos- him from certain court martial since around the world, in Russia, Scotland, somed at Annapolis, and he graduated in its preparation caused him to be six Britain, the United States, Italy, and 1878 with honors in mathematics, physics, months AWOL). It also led to his 1883 elsewhere. However, the electric power and chemistry (see Figure 2). resignation from the Navy to take a job for all these different devices came from In 1881, while serving on the train- working for Thomas Edison on electri- storage batteries, making them imprac- ing ship USS Minnesota, at the time cal distribution systems for lighting. tical for most applications. stationed in Newport, Rhode Island, Although he was initially enthralled This changed dramatically when, in inventive and influential Prof. Moses by the opportunity to work for the “Wiz- 1861, Italian physicist Antonio Pacinotti

84 ieee power & energy magazine march/april 2016 figure 3. A drawing for the Sprague electro dynamic motor figure 4. The first page of the Sprague regulator for electro- patent U.S. Patent 295,454, issued to Sprague on 18 March dynamic motors patent, U.S. patent 313,247, issued to Sprague 1884. (Photo courtesy of John L. Sprague.) on 3 March 1885. (Image courtesy of John L. Sprague.)

developed the first dynamo, where one Now there was a practical replace- The Self-Regulating or more wire coils rotating in a magnetic ment for storage batteries, and only 42 Nonsparking dc field created an alternating electric cur- years after Faraday’s initial observa- Electric Motor rent in each one. When the ends of the tion, an explosion of activity to im- The dc electric motor field that Sprague coils were connected to terminals, elec- prove control of motors and dynamos and SERM were entering in the early trical circuits could be designed such began, including Sprague’s inverted 1880s was already crowded, with ma- that a direct current was created. Rapidly dynamo design. Surprisingly, while jor players such as Edison, Siemens, improved upon by scientists around the nine years later at the 1882 London Esmond, and Deprez. Former furniture world, in 1870 Belgium-born French- Crystal Palace Electrical Exposition manufacturer Thomas J. Van Depoele man Zénobie T. Gramme demonstrated there were numerous exhibits of dif- was especially prolific with some 243 the first truly practical continuous cur- ferent power-generating dynamos, issued patents between 1881 and 1894, rent self-exciting dynamo-electric ma- there were still no practical electric with the majority covering inventions chine. Then in 1873 at the Munich Exhi- motors. This was because up to that in electric motors and electric railway bition, Gramme and Hippolyte Fontaine point none could maintain constant transportation. It is impossible to di- of France stunned the rest of the world power under a changing load. An elec- rectly compare all the competitive pat- by jointly demonstrating what was tric motor-driven railway engine pull- ent claims with those of Sprague since called “reversibility of function.” Using ing a load up a hill slowed down while many are almost identical. However, the one dynamo to generate electricity and just the reverse occurred on a down- patent content is dramatically different. a second one to transform this electric- grade. While this was impractical, As we shall see, rather than hide exactly ity back into mechanical power, they it could become exciting, especially how his motors worked, in many of his laid the foundation for all modern elec- down a steep grade. Sprague and oth- patents Sprague reveled in supplying tric power transmission. ers were about to change this. detailed information that he referred

86 ieee power & energy magazine march/april 2016 to as “Sprague laws.” Since his Key Sprague dc years at Annapolis, Sprague had Motor Patents repeatedly argued that almost Of his some 30 electric motor any action in the electrical field, patents, the following are some of or any other technical field for the most important ones related to that matter, could be explained this motor. U.S. Patent 295,454, using scientific first principles; “Electro-Dynamic Motor,” was hence the beginning of his laws. filed 2 May 1883 and issued 18 Reviewing his patent note- March 1884. Following steam books provides fascinating in- engine practice, speed control is sight into how his mind worked maintained “using a mechanical and the process involved in the centrifugal governor attached to development of his self-regulat- the axle of the armature which, ing dc electric motor, a process as speed of rotation changes with that took place almost entirely in varying loads, through a second- 1884. In one notebook entry he ary apparatus, changes the posi- describes the derivation of a series tion of the switch that controls the of “Sprague laws” that interrelate relation of the armature and field E (initial emf), e (counter emf), circuits in such a way as to com- m (magnetic moment of the main pensate for changes in the axle shunt coil), and u (magnetic mo- rotation” (see Figure 3). Sprague ment of the differential series coil). was never very happy with it be- Several examples of specific laws cause it was mechanical, crude, are shown in the patent discussions and above all, inelegant. But it that follow. In a notebook discus- worked and was a start. sion of self-regulation of one of his U.S. Patent 313,247, “Regu- motors, one finds an entry headed lator for Electro-Dynamic Mo- “Suggestion,” which proposes tor,” was filed 21 February 1884 We know that to get a con- as an improvement on U.S. Patent stant current with a variable 295,454. The mechanical regulator external resistance (R or load) is still present, but the motor con- in a dynamo-electric gen- figure 5. A drawing for the Sprague electric motor trol is improved by adding a small erator, and to get a constant and generator patent U.S. Patent 428,732, issued to auxiliary motor between the gov- Sprague on 27 May 1890. (Photo courtesy of John speed with constant potential ernor and the commutator switch. L. Sprague.) in a motor with varying load, Also, for the first time there is a it is necessary to have identi- “Sprague law” describing how the cally the same windings (in each). modified the theory as necessary. As control system works. An excerpt of the If so, it is probable that if a dynamo we shall see, development of his self- law is shown in Figure 4. It theorizes that generator can be wound to give a regulating nonsparking dc motor was in a motor with armature and field coils in constant potential at its terminals an iterative process covering a little shunt relationship, power, economy, and under a varying external load, if it is over a year. efficiency depend upon the initial and then used as a motor it will maintain a constant speed under constant current with varying loads. So we’ll first try the generator …. Pages of calculations, curves, circuit diagrams, and measurements follow. This is a perfect example of how his mind worked in solving complex problems such as creating a constant speed motor. Using first principles and prior experience, he developed a theory or law. He then went about making dynamos or motors according to the figure 6. A group of constant-speed motors manufactured by the Sprague Electric law, measured their performance, and Railroad and Motor company, circa 1884. (Photo courtesy of John L. Sprague.)

88 ieee power & energy magazine march/april 2016 counter emfs and the resistance of the armature. Speed and/or power can be increased by weakening the magnetic field and decreased by strengthening it. The pace of filing and complexity of the motor accelerated with U.S. Patent 315,179, “Electro Dynamic Motor,” filed 30 April 1884 and issued 7 April 1885. To improve speed and power regulation even further, a second centrifugal governor is added to modify the electric field of an ad- Get the Power ditional series of field coils. And for the first time, Sprague addresses the problem of automatic regulation of the brush of Knowing with position to minimize sparking by adding a solenoid in the TM armature circuit as a control device. Frustrated by the complexity of the latest version and by doblePRIME still having to use a mechanical centrifugal governor to move switches, he rationalized that, since a change in load causes Condition Monitoring changes in the current flow and magnetic effects in a motor, the motor could be designed such that these changes are au- Platform for Transformers tomatically compensated within the motor itself. Using intu- ition, detailed analysis, and experimentation, he was finally able to determine the required relationships between the motor’s different magnetic windings for self-regulation. So on 19 July 1884, Sprague filed U.S. Patent 315,181, “Electric Motor and Generator.” Issued 7 April 1885, this patent contains the Integrated On-Line Monitoring most complex and important of his laws. For what he refers & Analysis Backed by Decades to as a “differential” motor (one with two sets of field coils, the so-called “governing coil” in series with the armature and of Diagnostic Experience the second shunting the armature) the law states that, “if the number of turns in the shunt coil bears the same ratio to the number of turns in the series coil as the resistance of the shunt coil bears to the sum of the resistances of the series coil and the armature, then the motor will be perfectly self-regulating.” Other configurations are also discussed. The earlier cumber- some centrifugal governors and their auxiliary motors are gone, and the control device for self-regulation of speed and power is a simple solenoid in the armature circuit. Filed 19 July 1884, the same date as U.S. Patent 315,181 (but because of extensive patent interference actions not issued until 27 May 1890), U.S. Patent 428,732, “Electric Motor and Generator,” closed the loop, covering the last link in the truly self-regulating nonsparking dc electric motor (see Figure 5). The design of the motor is such that, rather than automatically shifting the nonsparking point as the load changes, the position of the nonsparking points is always the same so that the position of the brushes never has to be changed. Simple and elegant, the motor has field-magnet cores extending in different directions from the pole pieces, on one set of which there are uniform windings, while the other set is wound so that it exerts a greater influence on diagonally opposite parts of the Learn more about condition monitoring TM magnet than it does on other parts. As a result, a compensating possibilities with doblePRIME force is generated as the main magnetic field changes, and the www.doble.com/doblePRIME nonsparking point remains stationary.

SERM In the fall of 1884, SERM’s new constant-speed motors (see Figure 6) were introduced at the International

90 ieee power & energy magazine march/april 2016 Electrical Exhibition in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, to almost uniformly rave reviews, including a particularly handsome one from an unexpected source, Thomas Edison. The “Wiz- ard” applauded, saying, “A young man named Sprague, who resigned his position as an officer in our Navy to devote himself to electrical studies, has worked the matter up in a very remarkable way. His is the only true motor; the others are but dynamos turned into motors. His machine keeps the same rate of speed all the time, and does not vary with the amount of figure 7. An example of the steep and muddy grades on which the Richmond City Railway had to operate, circa 1888. (Photo courtesy of John L. Sprague.) work done, as the others do.” But as Sprague soon learned, inevitably each new application required major rede- and grew up to become a fine Cornell- seemingly impossible contract to elec- sign of his motors, especially when trained engineer. He worked for his fa- trify Richmond’s 12-mi (19.3-km) used in the demanding weather envi- ther on several projects, including MU horse-drawn street railway, a system ronment of rail transportation. train control when he was only ten, and with up to 10% grades, tight turns, and Somehow during this flurry of ac- of Frank’s three sons by two marriages, an uncertain muddy track (see Figure 7). tivity, Sprague met, wooed, and, in the Desmond was his favorite. Further, SERM had to accomplish this spring of 1885, married a beautiful electrification within 90 days. Sprague southern belle named Mary Keatinge. Richmond, Virginia brought his new motors, the concept of Over time she was unable to deal with After repeated failures in trying to in- an overhead “trolley” source of power, Frank’s frantic work habits, and they terest New York City’s Manhattan El- a new “wheelbarrow” motor truck de- were amicably divorced in 1895. Their evated Railroad to use his new motors, sign (see Figure 8), (which is used to only child, Desmond, was born in 1888 in the spring of 1887 SERM signed a this day on street railways, elevated ing in 1992, having been nominated by the IEEE Richmond Section.

Edison General Electric, Thompson-Houston, and General Electric The euphoria of success lasted only briefly given the realities of the mar- ketplace. Undercapitalized SERM soon figure 8. A drawing of the Sprague “wheelbarrow” dc railway motor truck design. found itself facing heavy competition (Image courtesy of John L. Sprague.) from Edison General Electric (EGE), Westinghouse, and a relative newcomer, railways, and other urban rail systems), and his team prevailed, and when the Thomson-Houston (T-H, after founders a small but extremely talented team, his contract completion was finally accept- Elihu Thomson and Edwin J. Hous- own indomitable spirit and skills, but ed by the city of Richmond in mid-May ton) of Lynn, Massachusetts. T-H was no experience whatsoever in executing 1888, Sprague and SERM had done the headed by tough, aggressive Charles a project of this magnitude. seemingly impossible. Not only had they Coffin. Forced to sell SERM to EGE in It was a nightmare from the start completed the world’s first commercially late 1889, only a year and a half after and financial disaster when completed successful electric street railway system, success in Richmond, Sprague found (although sales in the motor part of the they had started a worldwide revolution himself reduced to a consultancy and enterprise kept SERM from bankrupt- in urban transportation. By 1890 there a relative outsider in his own company. cy); his beautiful motors kept burning were more than 200 trolley lines run- Thomas Edison’s earlier brief support out, commutators pitted and failed, and ning or being built in the United States, had long since evaporated, and he did brushes had to be continually changed either by or under license to SERM. The everything he could to both undermine (until carbon finally replaced a variety Richmond City Railway was named an Sprague’s influence and attack his rep- of different metals and alloys). Still, he IEEE Milestone in Electrical Engineer- utation. Ever the self-promoter, Edison

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3350 38th Ave S, Fargo, ND 58104 701.280.8500 www.ulteig.com 877.858.34 49 always had difficulty in sharing credit by the end of 1898, the elevator inter- tives dictated that distributed power with others. His final insults included ests of SEEC had been sold to Otis so was required. But how to control this threatening to replace the overhead trol- that Sprague could concentrate on the distributed power from single different ley in street railways with his own im- Sprague Electric Company (SEC), incor- locations throughout the train remained practical pet idea of taking power from porated in the spring of 1898 to capitalize the key unsolved problem. Sprague was the rails, and, even worse, he ordered on the MU train control system. the first to intuit it (in the Postal Tele- removal of the Sprague name from any graph Building elevator installation) equipment manufactured by EGE. The MU Train and first to install a successful operat- Then in an ironic twist of fate, Control System ing system, in 1887 in Chicago’s “Alley when, in the spring of 1892, T-H pur- As urban railway systems began to L” elevated railway. Westinghouse and chased EGE, the merged company was use electricity for their motive power, especially GE soon offered competi- renamed simply General Electric (GE), the impracticality of using locomo- tive approaches, but Sprague’s superb leaving out the Edison name and much of the famous inventor’s influence. But by then, having resigned in June 1890 to seek other opportunities for his be- loved motors, Sprague was on a new, TM exciting vertical track. SpanLite Sprague Electric Elevator Company Self-Illuminated Catenary Marker As far back as 1884, a Sprague stationary electric motor had been used to power a freight elevator in the Pember- ton Mills in Lawrence, Massachusetts, believed to be the first practical every- day electric elevator in the world. How- ever, when Sprague, Charles Pratt, and Ed Johnson incorporated the Sprague Electric Elevator Company (SEEC) in Meets the newly released November 1891, it was to capitalize on FAA Advisory #70/7460-1L Pratt’s unique screw-type elevator that Catenary Marker/LED Lights was suffering a variety of problems, in- 1/2 cluding burnt-out motors. At Sprague’s suggestion, cast iron grids (resistors in the motor control • Aluminum marker Installs system) solved the motor problem and, directly on live lines throwing caution to the winds, in Octo- islandup to 500 kV (2,000 A) ber 1891, SEEC signed a contract to install two express and four local elevators • Patented “ﬂux capacitor” in New York City’s new 14-story Postal picks up electrical ﬁeld Telegraph Building (see Figure 9). The generated by line terms were even more onerous than the PR• Two steady red 810 LED Richmond contract and included guar- anteed performance superior to that of lights each produce 32.5 cd well-established hydraulic companies, • Long life LED lights ensure such as Otis, at a fraction of the cost. years of trouble-free service During construction, Sprague continued to improve the motors and designed most • Fully green solution of the control systems, including one for control of multiple elevators from a • Made in USA single location, the forerunner of his MU control system. The Postal Telegraph installation was successfully completed in April 1894, and others followed. But making life visibly safer 800-722-8078 • pr-tech.com 6643 A Cooler Approach to Conducting Bal Spring™ canted coil springs don’t just ensure reliable, consistent current flow—they do it with minimal heat rise and greater power density. Which makes them the coolest, most efficient electrical contact elements for your critical T&D equipment designs. To learn more about Bal Spring™, call or click today. See us in Booth 3340 at IEEE PES 2016

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figure 9. A drawing for the Sprague screw-type IEEE_PE_Ad_3.375x4.875_01.16.indd 1 1/14/16 4:56 PM elevator patent U.S. Patent 647,239, issued to Sprague on 10 April 1900. (Image courtesy of John L. Sprague.)

TRANSFORMING U.S. Patent 660,065 prevailed, forcing GE’s combative president, Charles Coffin, to acquire Sprague Electric in THE WORLD OF May 1902. In the process, Sprague received a consul- ENERGY USING tancy until 1918, which was then renewed, and became a wealthy man. OPEN STANDARDS At almost the same time as this dramatic change in his professional life, his personal life took a new and decid- edly improved direction when, in October 1899, he married Harriet C. Jones. She was 20 years his junior, and, while fascinated by his technical world, she also added a whole new dimension to his character, including bringing him into › CIM Adapters and Services an entirely different social world that included such lumi- › IEC 61850 – CIM Integration naries as Samuel Clemens (Mark Twain). There was a new › ICCP-TASE.2 Interfaces summer home in Sharon, Connecticut, more travel together, › COMTRADE for the Enterprise and three more children, Robert, Julian, and Althea. Robert › Solutions for OSIsoft PI® would go on to found the next Sprague Electric Company, a highly successful manufacturer of electronic components. But Sprague was not about to retire in his mid-40s.

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779661_SISCO.indd 1 04/12/15 12:35 am but marginalized. He started more compa- whether used as a generator or motor, and nies: Sprague Safety Control and Signal except that both were founded on basic Corporation (1906), Standard Third Rail principles developed by others, there was Company with William Wilgus (1907), no more similarity between the Edison dy- and Sprague Signs, Inc. (1929). While namo and the Sprague motor than between none were a commercial success, he al- a brindle pup and a greyhound.” It should ways maintained that the Safety Company be noted that, while Sprague is often found was some of his best work. arguing about words someone else has Sprague served as a key member of credited to Edison, the “Wizard” seldom, if the Electric Traction Commission that ever, took issue with their validity. planned the electrification of Grand Cen- Another view on where credit is due tral Terminal in the early 20th century can be found in a letter T-H cofounder and during World War I served on the Na- Elihu Thomson wrote in May 1932 to val Advisory Board chaired by Thomas Sprague for the 25 July 1932 celebration Edison. May 1913 entries in the Sprague of Sprague’s 75th birthday (see Figure 10). guest book, made when Edison and his figure 10. Frank J. Sprague on his At the time, Thomson was director of the second wife, Mina, visited Sprague and 75th birthday, 25 July 1932. (Photo Thomson Research Laboratory of GE in his wife Harriet in New York City, hint courtesy of John L. Sprague.) Lynn, Massachusetts. at the complexity of the relationship: My Dear Sprague, Edison: Everything comes to those who they were at it again after the war. Follow- I remember well the time we hustle while they wait. Mina: It is only ing an interview with Edison, a 10 August first met at the Franklin Institute the great hearted who can be true friends. 1919 New York Sun article credited him Electrical Exhibition in Philadel- The mean, the cowardly can never know with the invention of the street railway phia in the fall of 1884 when you what true friendship means. system. Recalling his Richmond success, explained the work in which you Still, if the two men maintained some a furious Sprague replied, “Neither of us were engaged, in the design of ad- form of a limited truce during this service, invented the dynamo-electric machine, vanced types of electrical motors EIG-033 IEEE P&E Utility 1/20/16 12:13 PM Page 1 Next Generation Power Quality Meter for direct current work. Now I have been more or less familiar with your subsequent work and career ® and take this occasion to emphasize the fact of its Nexus great importance, especially to the art of electric railway control and propulsion. I think it can be tru- 1500+ ly said that your trials of the trolley system in Rich- mond, Virginia were a definitive starting point in the development of trolley systems in the United States. Needless to say, the subsequent electrification of the whole of the street car lines itself followed and created a profound extension of the electric railway systems throughout the country. Better than all this, I have appreciated our many years of acquaintance and friendship. Critical Substation Metering Very truly yours, Elihu Thomson Precision Energy metering using Advanced utility protocols including Constant Calibration™ technology - meter Modbus, DNP 3.0, IEC 61850, GOOSE, HTTP, When Sprague died of pneumonia on 25 October self-calibrates every ten seconds FTP, SNTP, SMTP, IEEE 1588 1934, he richly deserved his mantle as the “father of Advanced Power Quality analysis with Highly secure Port Control to electric traction.” sampling rates up to 50 MHz per channel insure safe substation communication Compliance with international standards PQDIF and COMTRADE Compliant For Further Reading IEC 61000-4-30 Class A and fully Designed for Grid Automation, Power J. L. Sprague, “A Sprague invention, multiple unit train customizable EN 50160 reporting Quality, and Fault Analysis applications control,” IEEE Power Energy Mag., vol. 13, no. 6, pp. 88–103, Nov.–Dec. 2015. F. Rowsome, Jr., The Birth of Electric Traction, the Extraordinary Life and Times of Frank Julian Sprague. 1-877-EIMETER | 1-877-346-3837 | www.electroind.com Piscataway, NJ: IEEE History Center Press, 2013. F. Dalzell, Engineering Invention, Frank J. Sprague and the U.S. Electrical Industry. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press, 2010. W. D. Middleton and W. D. Middleton III, Frank Ju- Transformer lian Sprague, Electrical Inventor and Engineer. Bloom- ington, IN: Indiana Univ. Press, 2009. Bags H. C. J. Sprague, Frank J. Sprague and the Edison Myth. New York: William-Frederick Press, 1947. J. L. Sprague and J. J. Cunningham, “A Frank Sprague triumph: The electrification of Grand Central Terminal,” IEEE Power Energy Mag., vol. 11, no. 1, pp. 58–76, Jan.–Feb. 2013. Frank J. Sprague Papers (1874–1939), New York City Public Library, Rare Books and Manuscripts Divi- sion, Accession number *88 M 28. Frank J. Sprague Seventy-Fifth Anniversary Books. Wil- liamstown, MA: Chapin Library, Williams College, 1932. Frank J. Sprague Seventy-Fifth Anniversary Pro- gram, New York, 25 July 1932. P. Israel, Edison: A Life of Invention. New York: Wi- reefindustries.com • 1.800.231.6074 ley, 1998. H. C. Passer, Frank Julian Sprague, Father of Electric Traction. Cambridge, MA: Harvard Univ. Press 1952. F. J. Sprague, “Electric traction in space of three di- mensions,” J. Maryland Acad. Sci., vol. II, nos. 3 and 4, pp. 161–194, Dec. 1931. F. J. Sprague, “Electric traction in space of three di- mensions,” J. Maryland Acad. Sci., vol. III, nos. 1, 2, and 3, pp. 1–36, July 1932. p&e

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