before the winter of 1892. Up to the present the enquiries for the light had been very few indeed. The Council might rest assured that they would be well within the statutory time, and, if there appeared to be any need for it, they would gladly press forward its introduction. Councillor Rugg thought they were trying to "put off the evil day," and said that several tradesmen were negotiating for their own installations.

Canterbury.-A proposal was before the Canterbury Town Council last week "That the offer of the Brush Electrical Engineering Company to take over the Canterbury Electric Lighting Order, on the terms of their letter, be accepted." The terms were that the company were prepared to undertake the formation of a local company to take over the provisional order which the Corporation had obtained, and to refund to the Corporation the cost of the order, which was understood to be about £200, as soon as the necessary capital had been raised. As an earnest they would deposit 10 per cent. of the cost of the order at once, to be forfeited if the company be not formed, and the total consideration for the order paid within three months from the date of acceptance of the proposal by the Corporation. Alderman Mount explained the proposal, and moved its adoption. Mr. Dean opposed it, and proposed it be not accepted. The town clerk suggested that a committee be appointed to confer with the Brush Company as to terms, and report to the Council. Alderman Mount agreed to this course on the understanding that immediate steps were to be taken, and a committee was accordingly appointed.

Harwich.—A special meeting of the Harwich Town Council was held last week to confirm a resolution passed at the last Council meeting, instructing the town clerk to make an application to the Board of Trade for a license to supply electricity under the Electric Lighting Act, for all public and private purposes within the area of the borough of Harwich. The town clerk, in answer to a question, said the cost of the order would be about £150. Mr. Rose said the Council could specify terms if they obtained a provisional order. They could then ask for tenders to light the town, and retain the option of supplying private persons, the limit of time being 42 years. After obtaining the order there would be no difficulty in getting a company to supply public and private consumers, and he believed that if they adopted the policy of lighting the town by electricity they would have no cause to regret it. Mr. Norman seconded the proposition of Mr. Rose. Mr. Hill moved as an amendment that the proposition be deferred for three months. He thought the plant would cost £7,000 and the maintenance £15 a week. Mr. Everard pointed out that Mr. Hill's amendment meant delaying the matter

another 12 months. Mr. Rose said that Mr. Hill seemed

to be the only objector. If this proposition were carried and an order obtained, the Council would not be bound to put down Messrs. Crompton's plant, but they would get tenders from other firms. The proposal to obtain an order was carried by a large majority.

Heilmann's Combination Engine. Our readers will remember that some months ago we gave the outline of a proposal of M. Heilmann, late chief engineer to the Société Alsacienne des Constructions Mécaniques, for the introduction of a new principle in railway practice. It is well known to engineers that the difficulties in getting higher speeds on railways lie chiefly, if not entirely, first, in the difficulty in getting rid of the steam from the quickmoving parts, and secondly, especially on ascending grades, of the need of greater adhesion between engine and metals. Both of these M. Heilmann proposes to obviate at one stroke, by having his engine, a triple-expansion compara

tively slow-speed engine, coupled direct to a dynamo, the dynamo to supply sufficiently high-speed motors attached to the axles of to the axles of every carriage, thus driving each carriage separately. The engine proposed is of 600 h.p., the dynamos and motors of the Rechniewski type. A speed of 50 miles an hour on gradients of 1 in 200 is looked for, and a speed of 70 to 80 miles an hour on the level. M. Heilmann has recently formed a syndicate with a capital of 300,000f. to work out the invention, and it is stated that the authorities of the French railways have accorded permission for experiments to be tried upon their lines. The profits of the syndicate, when made, are to be divided as follows: 10 per cent. to the directors, 45 per cent. to M. Heilmann, and 45 per cent. to the shareholders.

Prizes Offered.-The Société Industrielle of Amiens has offered for the season 1891-2 a number of prizes, consisting of money, and gold and silver medals. These are for answers to questions, amongst which several are with reference to electrical or kindred subjects. If a subject is not completely solved a portion of the prize may be awarded. 1. A gold medal for a brake dynamometer capable of replacing the Prony brake, with more convenient apparatus than the latter. 2. A gold medal for a simple and cheap dynamometer capable of measuring the work absorbed by a tool or machine driven by belt or gearing. 5. A gold medal for a water purifier for steam boilerssimple, cheap, taking little space, and requiring little supervision. 6. A gold medal for the best electric light installation working in an industrial establishment, and costing less than gas, taking works of 300 to 500 burners, making its own gas. 23. A gold medal for a chemical application of electricity in the district. 24. A gold medal for impor. tant improvement in 'the bleaching of wool or silk. 25. A gold medal for the best treatise on the bleaching of hemp and jute, comprising a theoretical study and the exami nation of the various methods employed in practice. Further, a gold medal of 200f. value will be awarded to all papers that merit this prize-in arts or mechanics, in spinning, in natural history, physics, chemistry, or agriculture; and in commerce and political economy. Manuscripts must be sent, prepaid, to the President, de la Société Industrielle, rue de Noyon 29, Amiens, by the 30th April, 1892.

Queenstown.-At the monthly meeting of the Queenstown Town Commissioners on Monday, Mr. Doran proposed the motion that advertisements be issueed inviting tenders, to be under £300 a year, for the electric lighting of the town for five years from June 30th, 1892, the candlepower not to be under 20,000. He said that the town of Carlow was 17 acres greater in area than Queenstown, and the electric light there was eleven times more powerful than the present lighting of Queenstown, and the cost was only £170, whereas in Queenstown they were paying £474. In Carlow the electric light cost the ratepayers 2d. in the pound, whereas Queenstown was at present paying 6d. in the pound. He had fixed a limit at £300, and if the

tender amounted to the fixture it would save the town

£144, which would be a saving of 3d. in the pound. Mr. Farrell moved that the matter be adjourned for two months, and that the clerk be instructed to write to the town clerks of Carlow and other towns lighted by electricity to get particulars of the cost of lighting, and its working. Mr. Fitzgerald was not in favour of the Commissioners pledging the rates of the town to the extent of £300. If any company liked to come and make the experiment he would be the last to oppose Mr. Doran said that on account of the statement made by Major Curry at a previous meeting that the electric light in Carlow had been unsatisfactory, he had written to the

it.

town clerk of Carlow, and he had replied that the arc lamps at present there had been most successful, but the incandescent lamps had not yet been put up. The amendment was carried by four votes to two, and the town clerk will therefore require particulars of various systems.

Wertz Arc Lamp.-Abolish the commutator of your dynamo, and abolish the mechanism in your arc lamp, and you will have an ideal system of public lighting. Some attempts, more or less successful, have been made towards the abolition of commutators, and alternating dynamos are practical without commutators. The other requirementan arc lamp without mechanism-if not nearer solution, has at all events been tried and tested. M. Xavier Wertz, of New York, is credited with the solution of this problem, and has produced a combination arc and incandescent lamp which may develop into a successful article. The carbons are placed in an exhausted glass globe, and burn so slowly that no feeding is required, the lamp simply being entirely replaced when burnt out. The construction of the Wertz lamp is as follows: A short, thick, hollow carbon is taken, connected to a conductor, and inserted in a globe. The second carbon passes inside the first, having a solid core and round head, which rests upon the cylindrical carbon. The space between is filled with an insulating layer of asbestos, which prevents any current passing except at the upper surface of the cylindrical carbon, where the two carbons touch. At this point of contact an arc is formed of sufficient size to produce a light of considerable power. The lamp is intended for high-tension series working, and may be fitted with a cut-out and used on ordinary are lamp circuits. It is possible that we have here the 200-c.p. simple arc lamp that has been sought for. No details are given of its luminous efficiency as regards an ordinary arc lamp. The saving of first cost and attendance, however, might well pay for increased cost of current in many circumstances.

Electric Ventilators for Steamships.-The Commission of Plant and Machinery for the French Minister of Marine has just contracted for the supply from the Société L'Eclairage Electrique of seven electric ventilators on board the steamship "Le Magenta." The ventilators will be fixed under the ironclad bridge, and the whole will be covered in with an outlet communicating with the system of distribution. The disposition of the ventilating plant was required to be easily maintained and taken apart, and each piece is to be as light a weight as possible. The fans are mounted direct on the shaft of the electric motor. Special precautions have been taken to prevent the oil from coming in contact with the insulated wires, and oil ducts are arranged for the escape of used oil. As these ventilators will be required to run continuously for long periods, every arrangement has been made to prevent the various parts of the motor from overheating. The interior coils of the motor have been so arranged as to give at will two different speeds by the simple movement of a commutator, the normal speed being 1,200 revolutions. The lower speed is 600 to 900 revolutions, the alteration taking place without addition to the exterior resistance to the motor circuit. The following are the general details: Pressure, 70 volts; current, 18 to 20 amperes; revolutions, 1,200; pressure of air in height of column of water, 2 cm.; diameter of disc, 64 metre (224in.); total weight, 616lb. In the Government test the ventilator was placed in a wooden box, whose dimensions reproduced the space left free in the "Magenta." The opening was reduced to an outlet of 6 decimetres square. The ventilator, with 70 volts at the terminals, and a current of not over 20 amperes, was found to maintain a pressure of 2 cm. of water, corresponding to an output of 4,000 cubic metres an hour.

These tests were carried out to the entire satisfaction of the commission.

Electricity in Mining.-At the annual meeting of the National Association of Colliery Managers at Newcastle on Friday, Mr. Henry Palmer, of East Howle Colliery, Ferryhill, the president, alluded in his address to one subject which is growing daily in interest and importance, and one which will soon force itself upon his notice-electricity. "It is true," said Mr. Palmer, "that some of us have ventured to employ this new and mysterious agent in a few cases, and I am proud to think that our association counts as a distinguished member one who has been a veritable pioneer in the application of electricity to mining, and more particularly in the way of underground pumping. To Mr. Frank Brain I owe a deep debt of gratitude for assistance freely given. There are at the present time several small electrical pumping plants at work in the county of Durham, and at East Howle we are pumping 1,000 gallons per minute in that manner. It is also being introduced in the North for hauling and other purposes. I advise colliery managers to begin to accustom themselves to the new agent, and to make themselves familiar with the rules relating to the measurement of an electric current. The necessary solution of many unsolved problems in mining lies with you, gentlemen, and I have every confidence that whether absolute scientific and practical rules can be established or not to satisfy the ever-varying conditions of mining, the consideration of such subjects may be safely. left with you, and I am content that the results will in the future, as in the past, be received by the mining world as steps towards the higher social, scientific, and intellectual position of colliery managers, and a simplification of the manifold duties they are called upon to perform."

Closed-Conduit System.-An interesting exhibit at the Frankfort Exhibition is a novel and simple closedconduit system of electric traction by Messrs. Schuckert and Co., of Nürnberg. The closed-conduit systems hitherto tested in practice in this country comprise two kinds-that advocated by Mr. Lineff, in which a continuous conductor laid underground is drawn up into communication with the conductor sections, one after the other as the car proceeds, by the attraction of a magnet placed on the car; the other, advocated by Mr. J. Gordon, charges the conductor sections by a return insulated circuit actuated by magnets placed not in the car, but in a box under the pavement. Schuckert's system is of the first order, based upon the Lineff principle; but instead of using a continuous thin strip of iron which is raised magnetically to make contact, Messrs. Schuckert employ iron filings, in the following simple expedient. The conductor sections are laid along in the roadway upon solid wood planks, bedded in the ground, under which is the main strip conductor. Each wooden plank is pierced downwards at intervals along its length by taper holes of 1in. to 2in. diameter, which have the smaller diameter at the top. Before laying the iron conductor rails over the planks, these holes are each partly filled with a handful of iron filings, which drop down upon the main conductor. As the tram passes, its magnet energises the roadway beneath it, and the iron filings rise in a heap and make contact with the surface conductor, falling again as the car passes. The taper form of the hole prevents their continued contact after the car passes, and the number of holes and the mass of filings is said to obviate all difficulty with reference to contact or sparking. The car was not working when we had the pleasure of visiting the Frankfort Exhibition, and we cannot, therefore, state from experience whether the project is practicable. It was, however, stated to work well on the experimental line.

brass, which forms the lead, the return being the stalk and junction-box. W is the insulating material, being also formed of hard wood boiled in paraffin. The upper end of this is tapered to prevent moisture from lying across the top and causing a short circuit. A spring plunger is attached here to ensure good contact. To prevent the possibility of an arc being formed, in the event of the fitting getting loose, the plunger is made so long that the fitting must fall clear of the box before it breaks contact

In the old form a central contact lamp was screwed into nipple on the lower end of the stalk. In the new form the wood is carried right down into the lamp carrier, L C, and another spring plunger is attached. By this arrangement we have only two joints instead of three. A small tapered shoulder is turned on the wood, which, being jammed between the end of the stalk and the nipple, N, prevents it from changing its position. This form of pendant is now being used by Messrs. Denny for ship lighting.

PRIORITY IN ALTERNATING-CURRENT MOTORS.

The question of priority in the discovery of the alternating-current motor would seem to need definite settlement, both on account of historical accuracy and the avoidance of acrimonious discussion. It has been usual, in Europe, to ascribe to Prof. Ferraris the priority in the demonstration of the possibility of rotary motion being obtained from alternating currents, and in a recent résumé of the subject M. Hospitalier so accorded the credit. The dispute, so far as fundamental principles are concerned, is limited to Prof. Ferraris and Mr. Nikola Tesla; and the New York Electrical Engineer this week vigorously asserts the priority for America in the person of Mr. Tesla.

The following are the words of our contemporary: "Prof. Ferraris has been credited with the discovery now in controversy on the strength of his admirable paper, read before an Italian scientific society, in March, 1888, and published in Italian shortly afterwards. But five months before this, in October, 1887, Mr. Tesla had already filed appli cations for patents embodying the discovery, and several months before that time had so far perfected his invention that a company had been formed to exploit it. Many prominent persons, including several electricians, then saw the Tesla motors at work; and during the winter of 1887-8 one of the best-known scientific men in this country (America) examined and reported favourably upon them. Some time in April, one of the present editors of the New York Electrical Engineer, knowing of this new work, saw the motors which had then been running for some time in a temporary laboratory, and induced Mr. Tesla to bring his discovery before the May annual meeting of the American Institute of Electrical Engineers. The motors were actually shown in New York before a large gathering, "On May 1, 1888-the same year-patents were issued to Mr. Tesla in America as the result of his application in October, and were then accessible at once in every European country. But the work of Prof. Ferraris was not brought to light in English-speaking countries (and others, too, for that matter) until it was given prominence by the publication of it in Industries, May 18, 1888. That interesting article was freely copied, as it well deserved, and its publication in this wise created the false idea that Prof. Ferraris's striking work was simultaneous with that of Mr. Tesla, or even prior. But the description of the Tesla invention must have evidently been made public on the patent, in England and other countries, before the date of the Industries article, and besides the fact of the issue of the patents there is the fact that a contemporary, the New York Electrical Review, had given a short illustrated description of the Tesla motors on May 12.

"More than this, in his essay of March, 1888, Prof. Ferraris expressly denied the practicability of motors that Mr. Tesla already had in successful operation! He hinted at the possibility of using a proper generator for such motors, but no further did he go. Mr. Tesla had already taken coal out of the mine before Prof. Ferraris had made his geological survey of the region. With this admission from Prof. Ferraris, it was not very likely that practical men would recognise the great value of the new principle.

"On examination of Mr. Tesla's now familiar work, we find that he, on the contrary, had not stopped short at a mere rotating field, but dealt broadly with the shifting of the resultant attraction of the magnets; that he had evolved the multiphase system; that he had shown the broad idea of motors employing currents of differing phase in the armature with direct currents in the field; that he had shown both synchronising and torque motors;

that he had shown how machines of ordinary construction might be adapted to his system, and had with specific purpose advanced boldly into new territory, of which there was not the slightest hint or suggestion in the work of Prof. Ferraris. In other words, Mr. Tesla not only went to the bottom of the fundamental principles, but tried them in every detail that inventive ingenuity could hit upon. If this is not so, it is time to have the contrary state of affairs proved before Mr. Tesla loses the credit that such work must give him."

THE LIGHTING OF RAILWAY TRAINS ELECTRICALLY.*

BY J. A. TIMMIS.

It is not advisable here to enter on any lengthened dissertation as to the relative merits of oil or gas or electricity as a means of lighting, as such, to be complete, would involve many intricate side issues connected with the expense of first cost, and the attendant and complex ones of maintenance and labour.

There can, however, be no doubt, and we may take it as generally admitted, that the light from oil lamps is not sufficient to supply the wants of the travelling public.

The light given by the most approved system of gas lighting is undoubtedly far superior to that supplied by oil lamps, but it is not equal to that given by high candle-power incandescent electric lamps.

The test which must be applied to any system of train lighting is a light equal to daylight on a fairly clear day-in other words, a light sufficient to enable anyone to read at night with the same ease and comfort that he can when travelling in broad daylight. This is self-evident on reflecting that at most stations papers are gold, and that the sale of papers, periodicals, and books on railways has grown into an enormous trade.

Our experience after hard and anxious work, spreading over four years, gained from the lighting of some 300 carriages, most of them long bogie cars, is, that while it is perfectly easy to light any carriage or any train successfully, and to give absolute and constant satisfaction to the railway authorities and also to the travelling public, it is a matter (now that it is attained) of imperative necessity to give a system which is not extravagant in first cost, and is (and this is of far greater importance) economical in labour and renewals-i.e., in working and maintenance.

We may lay it down as a law to begin with, that, in order to obtain the greatest efficiency and economy, a whole railway system must be lighted and not merely a portion of it.

But as it is most improbable that any large railway company would light the whole of its stock at once, it is an evident advantage to have a system which enables the stock to be fitted gradually.

Having stated these primary conditions, we will consider a number of other conditions which we find are imperative in detail. 1. Each and every carriage must carry its own store or reservoir of electricity, because it may be attached to any train throughout the system, and then may be taken off or slipped from the train it is travelling with and attached to another (or the same) train at any important station, and while detached the carriage, if lighted, must remain so. In addition to this-(a) The weight of the electric battery in each vehicle must be small, on account of weight and expense. (b) The batteries must not be liable to be charged when the carriages are in regular work, neither must any carriage be detained at any point to have its battery charged. Every carriage must be free to be used in traffic always.

2. In order to give such an amount of light (as mentioned above) as shall be equal to daylight-(a) The lamps used should be 16 c.p.

fitted with a dynamo, and also with a large battery. The expense entailed being beyond all reason, as, if there is a dynamo on the train, there should not be any electric battery to light the main lamps. 2nd. Another method is to drive a dynamo on the train by a special engine, using locomotive steam (in special cases we have used a special boiler in a very large van; but the circumstances were exceptional, and the objections to its general use are so obvious that it is not necessary to mention it further).

3rd. The third method for the generation of electricity is to employ a plant at certain important stations to light the stations and yards, and at the same time to charge the batteries used in lighting the trains.

These two latter systems each have their advantages.

With a dynamo and special engine on the locomotive-(1) Which are self-contained, and which only vary less than 1 per cent. in speed, with a variation of up to 50 per cent. in steam pressurei.e., which are constant in speed and also in electrical efficiency. (2) Which are not over 3ft. 6in. high by 4ft. by 2ft. (3) Which start automatically when steam is turned on. (4) Which are boxed in from dust and wet, and do not heat. (5) Which do not require lubrication for several days when in constant work. (6) The locomotive driver has very little extra work and no attention to give to this. And we have obtained all these points.

It is clear that the generation of electricity for lighting trains becomes simple and economical, especially when (a) the high voltage necessary to run the lamps efficiently and economically can be readily obtained. (b) A main battery is not necessary by our system. (c) As will be seen hereafter the total weight of batteries on a train of 12 long bogie cars is only about one ton.

On the other hand, if the main lighting is effected by main batteries in the vans, and they are charged at central stations by large plants which also light the stations, the following economies are effected: (a) A few large plants serve to generate the electricity required to light all the trains on a railway system, and also to light the stations instead of a large number of small ones. (b) A few skilled men only are required. (c) The deterioration of large plants is much less than in the case of dynamos on the (d) The efficiency and economy of large plants is proportionately greater.

trains.

We come now to the point where it is necessary to describe the arrangements which we find most suitable and economical for carrying out the above conditions, and getting over all difficulties.

We fit the carriages with 16-c. p. 50-volt lamps, and we light these lamps either with a special engine and dynamo on the train, or with a battery consisting of 26 accumulator cells placed in the guard's van. These lamps, which we call the main lighting lamps, consume 6 of an ampere each, whereas a 32-volt lamp consumes over an ampere. This is a very great advantage and economy in against 18-being far more than counterbalanced by the saving of the working of railways. The extra number of cells-viz., 26, as nearly 50 per cent. of electricity (i.e., cost of charging and weight of lead per cell), and the increased amount of light.

But as each carriage has to carry its own storage of electricity for the reasons stated above, and as it is not practicable to put 26 (or even 18) cells in each vehicle, because of (a) the weight; (b) the first cost and maintenance; (c) the difficulty to charge them with a dynamo on the train, and impossible to do so with central charging stations, we have worked out and patented all over the world-even in Germany and the United States our claims have been fully allowed--the following arrangement, our main object being to minimise the weight and cost of electric batteries.

In addition to the main lighting we place small voltage lamps (eight volts we find sufficient) in the carriages, and a small four-cell accumulator battery in each carriage to light them. The leads and couplers and switches will be described presently.

These small lamps may be separate from the main lamps, but we have patented and are regularly using lamps with two filaments in. These lamps are shown in Messrs. Edison and Swan's catalogues and in the drawings herewith. They are so arranged that as soon as a pair of couplers are separated they are automa

circuit, by the small batteries. They are also under the control of the guard.

3. The light must be under the control of the guard. There are three methods by which electricity may be generated for the lighting of railway carriages.

1st. By a dynamo driven from an axle of the train, and this is sometimes necessary, but never advisable. A dynamo must be driven from the axle in the case of a Waggon-Lits train, because this company does not own or work the locomotives, neither do they possess any rights in the railway stations. In addition to these conditions, the speeds of their trains are uniform and the distances between stoppages are very great, so that the conditions are not only special but as favourable for axle driving as they can be. In Russia, also, the very long runs and the low and uniform speed of trains, added to the difficulty of fixing a dynamo and engine on the locomotive, make it sometimes advisable to use axledriven dynamos. But under ordinary circumstances, axle-driven dynamos are most objectionable, because-(1) The field magnets have to be larger in proportion in order to deal with the increase of speed between that at which the dynamo cuts in to charge the batteries and the maximum speed of the train. This is sometimes as 1 to 3. (2) The gearing is very soon worn and destroyed. (3) A special set of skilled workmen have to be employed in order to keep them in order. (4) Practically, every van would have to be Paper read before the British Association.

The small batteries are very light (weighing per carriage less than lcwt.), they are not costly, and they are kept charged by the engine and dynamo or the main battery in the guard's van as required. Thus every carriage is free to be used in any train, and the only batteries that require special arrangements for charging, if any, are those in the guard's van.

In order to effect the charging of these at central stations, we designed, some three years since, special light trucks, with the top flat platform adjustable as regards its height, and sufficiently large to hold two complete main batteries.

One of these trucks takes a freshly charged battery at a charging station to a guard's van, receives the battery from the van, and the fresh one is put into its place. The contacts are made automatically.

It must be remembered that the only times the auxiliary lamps are used are when a vehicle is taken off a train and perhaps put, for a few minutes at the longest, into a siding and then joined on to another train, or when a vehicle is slipped from a train and while it is brought to a stop at a station, and during this time the auxiliary batteries give 6 c.p. to 8 c.p. in each auxiliary lamp.

In the case of division of a train, for instance, where a long train of some 20 or more coaches splits up into, say, three divisions, then each division has at least one guard's van, and so it is, electrically and otherwise, if main batteries are used, a complete train; and if special engines and dynamos are used, the lighting is equally complete.