It is the universal settled conviction that a street car propelled
with certainty and promptness by mechanical means is infinitely to be
preferred to horses. Hence, if this guarantee can be given, there need
be no fear from the other side of the house. Years of experience prove
that this guarantee can be given.
The mechanical methods are electricity and the cable. To suit local
conditions the former has three general applications--overhead,
underground, and accumulator systems; while the latter has but one,
the underground. Hence, the former, electricity, has three chances to
the latter's one to meet the whims, opinions, or decisions of
municipal authorities. Other advantages accruing from mechanical
methods are cleaner streets, absence of noise, quick time, no
blockades, no stables accumulating filth and breeding pestilence, and
lastly the great moral sympathetic feeling for man's most faithful and
valuable servant, the horse. These all are directly in favor of
obtaining the right franchise.
The three general ways of obtaining the same are a definite payment of
cash to the authorities, a guarantee of an annual payment of a certain
per cent. of the earnings, and lastly a combination of the two. For
the city or town the latter way is the safest, and the best, all
things considered. As electricity is mechanical, and as it can be
shown that it is the cheapest to construct and most economical, and
has three chances to operate, it stands by far the most likely to
obtain the franchise.
2d. Construction of buildings.
The governing factors under this head are the local land valuation and
tax. The system necessitating a spread eagle policy on the land
question will cost. What could be a more perfect illustration than the
horse railroad system? The motive power of the New York Central
Railroad between New York and Albany could be comfortably stowed in
the barns of some of the New York City street railways. What a
contrast! The real estate, buildings, and fixtures of the Third Ave.
line are valued at $1,524,000, and what buildings! Cattle sheds in the
metropolis of America. Surely they did not cost a tithe of this great
sum. What did? The land, a whole block and more. Henry George
advocates might find food for thought here. All this is true of the
other lines in every city in the Union. Enormous expenditures for
land. A good one half of their capital sunk in purchasing the
necessary room. Go where you will, a good fifty per cent. of the
capital is used for land for their stables. This obviously does not
include equipment.
How is it with mechanical systems? The land is one of the minor
considerations, the last thing considered. Let us look at some
figures. From careful examination of many engine plants, considering
the ratio between a certain number of horses with their necessary
adjuncts and a steam plant of numerically equal power, I find it
stands as 1 to 30. That is, a steam plant complete of 30 horse power
capacity would need only one thirtieth the floor space of thirty
horses. With larger powers this ratio is still greater, and from one
estimate I found that it stood as 1 to 108, i.e., for horses I should
have to have 108 times more floor space than for an equal number of
mechanical horse power. It must be remembered also that the mechanical
horse power is 50 per cent. greater than the best animal horsepower.
From one maker, taking the engine alone, I found that a rated 100
horse power engine, guaranteed in every particular, would have ample
room in the stall for one horse in the average stable. Another
instance showed that I could get a steam plant complete, engine,
boiler, etc., of 50 horse power, in a space 5 by 6 feet, which is
smaller than the average stall. Here is shown the enormous saving in
land purchase.
For car room a building several stories high would answer perfectly,
since quick-hoisting elevators could be put in and the tracks on each
floor have wire connections with the dynamos, so that the cars could
be run across the floor to where you please, facilitating storage and
dispensing with handling. This would not be possible with the cable.
Comparing electricity and cable on this point, all things favor the
former clearly and beyond all question. Furthermore, if locality so
favored, the subject of land purchase for electricity could be tabooed
entirely, since distance can be so readily overcome. Way out in the
suburbs or back in the country by the side of some waterfall, your
station might be, while the current is sent to the great city over
heavy conductors. Here land rent or tax would be at the minimum. With
horses or cable plainly proximity must be had. It is estimated that
the land occupied by the Madison Avenue line of New York City is worth
the cost of 40 miles of ordinary double track.
3d. Equipment at station and rolling stock.
The rolling stock would be in each case approximately the same.
Consisting of cars of equal seating capacity, the difference of cost
would be the necessary attachments for the mechanical systems.
A first class 16 foot horse car costs $1,200;
A first class 16 foot cable car costs about $1,800; and
A first class 16 foot electric car costs about $2,200.
Rates: Electricity, 1; horse, 0.54; cable, 0.81.
I believe, however, that the mechanical system is bound to work
material changes in car construction, in fact it is almost imperative.
In all probability a car with 15 to 20 per cent. greater seating
capacity than the horse car can be constructed on a different plan for
the price given for the electric car. This price, it must be noted, is
the one for attachment of motor to the present horse car. The horse
cars produced to-day are most carefully planned, thoroughly built, and
admirably adapted to their service, but the inexorable law of progress
decrees their extinction, for something better.
Motive power. To represent clearly the costs, etc., of the three
systems under this head, let us assume a road. Take, if you please, a
double line 6 miles long, and operating 24 cars with speed of 6 miles
an hour, and running 20 hours out of 24. This would call for 48 horses
on the track and 192 horses in the stables, or a total of 240 horses;
at $160, counting harness, etc., this would cost $38,400.
With electricity we will proceed as follows: The weight of car with 30
passengers and motor attachments would be about 9,000 lb. It is easily
calculated that to propel the same at the specified rate on a level
would take about 1.75 horse power, a total of 42 horse power. To make
allowances for grades we can calculate that, if the entire road was
one gradient of three per cent., each car would take about 6.4 horse
power, or since only 12 are going up, a total of 76.8 horse power. It
will be fair now to take the average of these two, or 59.4 horse power
for an average road. Allowing 35 per cent. loss from engine to work
done in actually propelling car, we would have to have 91.3 horse
power. Allowing a good safety factor, it would be well to put in a 150
horse power plant. This would cost complete $7,000; necessary dynamos,
$3,500. Among these figures should be counted cost of conductor of
sufficient size to allow of but three per cent. in energy to overcome
its resistance. This I have calculated using a potential of 600 volts;
and find that the total cost of six miles copper conductor is $16,000
with above conditions. The total cost is now seen to be $26,500.
As to cables, since the recovery of energy available for tractive
purposes is but 35 percent., then the engine of 169 horse power
represents what must be had. Allowing a generous factor of safety, let
us say that a 250 is all sufficient. This would cost complete and
erected about $12,000. The cable would cost $15.000, and gears, etc.,
$8,000, making a total of $35,000.
The ratio of the three systems stands: Electricity, 1; cable, 1.09;
horse, 1.45.
4th. Construction of tramway.
Figures upon this point must necessarily be either averages or
approximations. The nature of the locality socially, naturally, and we
grieve to say it, politically, has a strong influence upon its
construction. Estimating on single track only, a horse road would cost
as an average $9,000 per mile. With electricity we have several
methods we can avail ourselves of: Surface, costing about $10,000;
overhead double conductor, $15.696; underground, $23,500.
With cable but one method, the underground, is possible. This cost is
variously estimated at from $30,000 to $110,000 per mile; however, the
latter figure is excessive. A fair average would be $35,000.
The ratio of constructions could be fairly placed as follows, putting
electricity as 1, by taking the average of the three methods at
$16,732: Horse road, 0.53; cable, 2.09.
Unquestionably a great majority of roads of the past have not been
constructions of engineering, and of all places requiring care, skill,
and engineering, the street roads are the places.
5th. Cost of operation.
A fair figure for cost of one horse for one year is $220.
For electricity, allowing 35 per cent. loss in transmission, etc.,
1.54 horsepower would be the work done by engine to get 1 horse power
on the track. There are to-day plenty of steam plants producing 1
horse power for work at from $30 to $50 per annum. Take the average,
$40. With electricity then $65 would well represent the price of
producing 1.54 horsepower.
With cable these figures would hold true, but more work is required. A
greater loss is entailed. Since but 32 per cent. is recovered, the
figure for 1 horse power on the track would be 2.86 horse power. At
the above rates this would be $110 per horse power per year.
Our ratio here is: Electricity, 1; cables, 1.71; horses, 3.38.
This is by no means the whole of the story, for just here must we
compute the depreciation and hence repairs due to time. Let us take
the road figured on heretofore, and make three tables.
In the following I have under each system taken the estimated costs,
allowed a fair per cent. for depreciation, summed up and obtained the
ratios.
Any figure then like interest, etc., which would not affect ratios, I
have omitted.