the axle so as to turn it when desired; it also has a sleeve D, extending nearly to wheel A, and coupled by a crotched arm E, with a rock shaft below (seen at F in the bottom cut) by which the driver, by means of a lever at W, shifts the gears as required for stopping and starting. The sleeve D, is also the bearing for one end of the shaft G, on which is a wheel I, for gearing with wheel A, also a wheel H, for gearing with wheel B, and also a drum K, for winding up a spring or springs L, and which has its other bearing in the arm J, of the rock shaft F, so that by the oscillation of the rock shaft through the medium of the lever at W, the shifting is effected. When the car is moving forward, if the driver by a movement of the lever at W, gears the shaft G, with the wheel A, by means of the wheel I, the drum K winds up a chain which compresses the spring L until the car stops, the wheel B being at this time disconnected with the clutch C, and free to move around. At the signal to start, the shaft G is thrown out of gear with the wheel A, and the wheel B at the same movement engages with its clutch at C. The spring then reacts, and in unwinding the chain from the drum K, starts the car through the medium of the wheels H and B. The wheel B, being larger than wheel A, affords a greater leverage to the power of the spring in starting, than that applied in compressing it when stopping. The Fireless Locomotive. Upon the subject of mechanical motive power for street cars, to which reference was made on page 240, it seems proper to mention an invention of Dr. Lamme of New Orleans, consisting of a small locomotive with a boiler of about 60 cubic feet capacity, but without any furnace or other appliance for heating it. The principle upon which it is expected to work may be stated briefly as follows: "When required to start the car, the boiler is nearly filled with cold water, and the locomotive is run alongside of a large stationary boiler, working at a pressure of 200 lbs. The steam pipe of the stationary boiler is connected with the locomotive boiler, steam then rushes into the latter, and in a few minutes it raises in the cold fireless boiler a pressure of 180 lbs. The connection with the stationary boiler is then uncoupled, and the fireless locomotive is ready for work." The experiments which were made with this fireless engine were tolerably successful on roads that were level or had only very low grades, and while there were very few stoppages; but upon steep grades and when operating with frequent halts, its limited power was soon rendered inefficient by the constant loss of heat by radiation. As street railways must adopt the ordinary grades established for other vehicles, and as the stoppages must necessarily be frequent to allow passengers to get in and out, and must be made, even upon ascending grades, unless they are exceptionally steep, Dr. Lamme's locomotive will require extensive modification and improvement before it can be accepted as a practical solution of this question. There are such strong prejudices in the mind of the general public against placing a steam boiler in a car occupied by passengers, even although it may be kept entirely out of sight, and so arranged as not to interfere with their comfort or convenience, that it is doubtful whether a self-contained steam car can ever commend itself to popular favor. It is to be hoped, for the benefit of all, that the inventors who do not share this view, will be able by mechanical contrivance and skill, to remove the objections on which it is founded. Statistics of Street Railroads. The following tables, giving the chief particulars of certain horse railway companies, have been arranged at the request of the author, by Mr. Isaac Newton, Engineer, of New York city, from the annual reports of the Massachusetts Railway Commissioners, and the State Engineer and Surveyor of the State of New York for 1873. The examples have been selected so as to give information respecting the operation of such railways in the crowded streets of cities, as well as on ordinary country roads or turnpikes. The particulars given may be divided in two classes: first those regarding the cost of the construction of the roads: second, those referring to the cost of maintenance, including all operating expenses, and the amount and source of the revenue. In the case of the New York railways, the figures respecting the cost of construction are not in all cases reliable, but those regarding the operating expenses are, in the opinion of the writer, correct: the latter are obviously of the most importance. Engineers can estimate with all needful accuracy the cost of constructing and equipping a proposed horse railway; but respecting the cost of operation, the facts obtained from experience with existing roads are the only safe guides to a close estimate. Regarding the Massachusetts Roads, both classes of figures may be taken with confidence, as accurate statements of the facts. |