155 Miles an Hour

Germany Hopes to Be First in the Field With Ideal Railway.

That Germany is making brig strides in the direction of the development of electrical railways is shown in a report which recently reached this country.

During the present year a railroad, with electricity as the motive power, will be in construction, the report says, from Berlin to Zossen, on the military line, and it is hoped that trains will develop a speed of 155 miles an hour.

This news was contained in a report sent to Washington by Richard Guenther, the United States consul general in Frankfort. Under date of January 16 he wrote:

“It is reported from Berlin, under date of January 14, 1901, that the railway of the future was the subject of discussion at an audience which Privy Councillor Rathenau, superintendent of the works of the General Electricity Company, has recently had with the Emperor. The Emperor expressed himself as being in favor of a complete change of the entire railway service.

“Mr. Rathenau gave the Emperor detailed information, emphasizing the necessity of constructing electrical railways for direct and rapid connection between Berlin and the principal cities of the German empire. For the purpose of furthering this project a number of prominent industrial and banking firms formed some time ago a society for investigation. The deliberations of this society will probably result in the opening of traffic during the current year of an electric railway the secretary of war has placed at the disposal of the society — namely, the military line from Berlin to Zossen.

“It is hoped that a speed of from 125 to 155 miles per hour can be attained with cars, of which one will be built by the General Electric company and one by the firm of Siemens & Halske. By raising the speed, which now averages thirty-seven miles per hour for fast trains, to 155 miles per hour, and by dispatching the cars singly, the ideal railway of the future will have been realized.”

Electricians in this country, and especially those who are concerned in the construction of railways, were much interested in this report. Nikola Tesla, who has not given much thought to the practical operation of railroads, said:

“While I am not acquainted with the details of the project, I heartily commend the use of electricity for the propulsion of passenger trains. There are two ways in which it may be made available for this purpose without considering the storage battery. Either electricity is supplied to the cars, as by the third rail system, or it is generated on the train itself. The latter plan has been tried in France by Hellmann, and I consider it a rational departure.

“It can be readily shown that by adopting a proper steam engine and dynamo a train can be propelled with greater speed by the electricity generated than by the direct application of steam. The same considerations also apply to the ocean liners, and the adoption of multiphase motors driven by steam turbines would materially increase the economy of propulsion of ocean liners and also the speed. The first departure of this kind will be a signal success, and I believe that at a time not distant the idea will be carried out.

“I conjecture, however, that the plan contemplated in Germany involves the supply of electricity in some way to the trains from central stations. In this manner, unquestionably, the greatest speed is attainable, as the amount of energy is not limited by the weight of the cars.

A. M. Young is an expert in electrical railway construction. He is a leading spirit in the Albany and Hudson Railroad and Power company, which operates a third rail road extending from Hudson to Albany, a distance of thirty-five miles. On this line passenger and freight trains are run at an average speed of thirty-five or forty miles an hour, while a speed of sixty miles has been attained. Mr. Young said:

“It would not surprise me in the least to see a speed of 155 miles an hour attained on an electric railway. It all depends on the construction, of course. In this country, I expect to see electric trains running at a speed of 100 miles an hour regularly, and that before long, too.”

Charles W. Price, editor of the Electrical Review, said:

“I see no reason why 150 miles an should not be covered by an electric train. It is entirely feasible, and, indeed, speaking with experts some time ago on this very subject, they said 200 miles an hour would not be impossible.”

“Other men in positions to speak authoritatively spoke well of the project, and asserted that electricity was the motive power of the future.”