Evening Republican, Volume 18, Number 179, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 31 July 1914 — HOW TRAINS ARE LIGHTED [ARTICLE]

HOW TRAINS ARE LIGHTED

Three Systems That Are Used to FurI nlsh Current for the Electric Lamps. The electrically lighted passenger train Is no novelty on any first-class road, but there are few passengers who can tell how the electric current Is produced which keeps the electric lamps burning regardless of whether the train is in motion or not, says the Electric News. First-class passenger trains are not only lighted by electricity but the current has been adapted to drive electric fans during the hot summer months, and, in one or two instances, It Is also used In the kitchen of the dining car, where the food Is cooked over the invisible fires of electricity. In lighting a passenger train provision must be made for supplying the current whether or not the train is in motion. To accomplish this a storage battery Is generally installed in connection with the electrical generator. There are three systems In use for train lighting. The first IS" ttfe straight storage system, which consists of a storage battery large enough to store sufficient current for the needs of the train en route between termlnals. Of course this storage battery has to be charged before each trip. The lamps are lighted by merely turning the switch, which - draws on the current stored in the battery. In the second system a small generator is geared or belted to the wheels of one of the cars. This generator supplies electricity directly to the lamps and also to an auxiliary storage battery, which keeps the lamps burning when the train Is standing in stations or yards. This system is rather more complicated than the first, but has the added advantage that the storage battery does not have to be charged at the terminals.- ——— — In the third system a small generator, driven by a steam turbine engine, which obtains steam from the locomotive boiler, Is used to supply the current. This tiny turbo-generator may be mounted on top of the locomotive boiler or in one corner of the baggage car. It takes up very little room. A small storage battery is used in connection with this set so cars may be lighted even If the locomotive Is uncoupled and removed.