Evening Republican, Volume 18, Number 198, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 22 August 1914 — GREAT CHANGE COMING [ARTICLE]

GREAT CHANGE COMING

STEAM LOCOMOTIVES LIKELY TO BE ABANDONED. Before Many Years Electricity May Be Adopted as Motive Power by the Railroads of the United Btates. • - Newspapers and students of municipal problems have long prophesied that the time was not far away when the railroads would substitute electricity for steam as their motive power. But the silejpge of the railroads on the subject has been somewhat disconcerting, even though some of them have already carried the change beyond the experimental stage. Recently, in Atlantic City, was held a convention of the master car builders, railroad master mechanics and railroad manufacturers of the country, and they made the same prediction. “Pretty soon," they said, “there will not be a steam locomotive in the country.” This is indeed encouraging. Practical constructors of railroad equipment would not make such a statement unless they were sure of their ground. And there are facts understandable by non-railroaders which bear them out. After two years spent by one big railroad system in expensive investigation, the conclusion was reached that there was nothing in electrical development to warrant the abolition of the steam locomotive. But before the directors could act on the report, new progress Was made and they provided their great terminal in New York with electrical propulsion and are extending' the Bystem on their lines in other parts of the country. Over three hundred miles of one western railroad is operated with electricity. One great advantage of electricity to the railroads is that it cheapens construction. Electric locomotives can haul loads up grades which would stall the most powerful steam locomotive. Riders on interurban electric cars see confirmation of this every day. And the steam locomotive uses only about 15 per cent of the power of the coal it consumes and the smoke is not only a nuisance, but it inflicts heavy damage on the railroads and the cities and towns through which they pass. “Pretty soon” is rather indefinite, but it is more than probable that the last of the steam locomotive will be seen by many people now well on toward middle age.