DATA OF ELECTRIC RAILWAY CONSTRUCTION AND MAINTENANCE.—The electric railroads of the United States now (January, 1S)2) number nearly 500, and they have been in operation long enough to furnish some very interesting data as to the cost of construction and maintenance. whether as compared among themselves. or as contrasted with horse or cable street railways. It is to be noted, however, that many of the earlier roads were crude, and hence are expensive to operate, while in other eases the original cost of equipment as horse railroads still figures as part of the investment upon which the electric service has to pay dividends. The tables presented here are the result of a careful investigation of the subject in 1891. Table t. shows that, taking street length as the unit of comparison in the cases of the roads under consideration, the total permanent investment of the electric roads is only 15 per cent. more than that of the horse roads, while the cable roads cost more than nine times as much as the electric roads. The average speed of cable and of electric cars is about the same ; conse quently the eahle roads ran about four times as many ears per mile of street length as the electric. This would be expected, as the cable roads generally occupy the routes of heaviest travel. The horse roads ran more cars than the electric, for an equal length of road, but the latter, having an advantage in higher speed, greatly exceed in car miles run. The cleetric roads carried fewest passengers per ear mile, but carried nearly as many per mile of street occupied as the horse roads. On account of their more favorable location, the cable roads exceed both the others in passengers per mile of route. The column showing passen gers carried per mile run gives a general idea of the relative number of passengers on a ear at any one time.
In Table TI. we have operating expenses per car mile, with all taxes and fixed charges ex cluded, for the three systems ; the interest charge per mile at 6 per cent. upon the total per manent investment ; the total of operating expenses and interest per car mile ; the cost per passenger carried, interest charge excluded, and the same with interest charge included.
It deserves pointing out that, as cable roads operate only in centers of dense population, they carry at present four times as many passengers per car mile as the electric cars, few of which have yet penetrated to the heart of the larger cities, and hence the slightly lower cost per passenger shown by the cable roads.
In Table III. we have the ratios of the three most important items, and the proportional traffic that must be done per mile of street occupied, for each system, to pay operating ex penses and 6 per cent. on the investment A few details are now in order as to the nature of the work done by electric roads in fur nishing cheap passenger transportation. It will be seen from the subjoined Table IV. that
many of the items are susceptible of wide variation.
The items of expense in the operation of electric street railways may be divided into— roadbed and track ; maintenance of overhead line : maintenance of power plant ; total cost of power making : repairs to rolling stock : incidental transportation expenses, and what may be called executive charges. Below is given Table \'., which supplies the averages of American electric trolley roads. varying in length from :3 to 51 miles. with from 3 to 140 cars in daily operation, making 80 to 150 miles daily per car, or an average of 110 miles for each These figures bring out some interesting facts as to the mechanical and steam-engineering features of this work. The cost of coal on the above roads varies from $1 per ton fur slack, to $3 for R. 0. M. (run of mine), and $3.80 for lump. The wages of conductors and motormen vary from 10 cents to 20 cents per hour. The consumption of coal varies from 4.3 lbs. of slack per ear mile to 12.2 lbs. R. 0. M. per ear mile.
The station output varies from 3.7 E. II. 1'. (electrical horse-power) to 8.4 E. IL P. per car in operation, for roads equipped with 16-foot ears and Edison motors. In the latter case the road had many heavy grades and sharp curves. One road. equipped with 30-foot double truck cars (weight complete about 10 tons), 15-horse-power equipments, traffic medium and grades moderate, required an average of 10.7 E. H. P. per ear in operation.
The best station performance here included is 1 E. II. P. for every 5 Ills. of slack or 4 lbs. of nut consumed ; and evaporation of 71 lbs. of water for every pound of slack con The following is an estimate of electric railway equipment, using the trolley system : The cost of an electric car equipment, including two' motors, truck and car body com plete, is from $3,200 to $3,500. There should be installed in generating capacity for power plant, twenty to twenty-five horse-power per car operated. which will give reserve power. One mile of single track construction will cost complete, with 65-1h. girder rail, ties 2-1 ft. on centers, bonding of rails, paving, etc., $9,000 to $10,000. The cost of the electric part of power plant, including generators, switch-board, etc., installed, is $35 to $45 per horse-power.
Line construction per mile, complete, including track bonding, plain pole work, cross sus pension or bracket with feed wire. $2,000 to $2,500. Sawed and painted poles, $2,500 to $3,000. Iron poles. concrete setting, cross suspension, double track, feed and guard wires, $6,500 to $7,500. Same with center poles, $4.500 to $5,500.
An electric car averages 1110 to 125 miles a day.
[For more detailed information on Electric Railways, the reader may consult Martin & Wetzler's The Electric Motor and its Applications, Crosby & Bell's The Rallicag. and the electrical journals.] Railroad Signals : See Switches and Signals.