Power Supply to DC Electric Railways, 1890–1920

NOTES AND REFERENCES

• Reviews of early street tramway equipment, set in historical perspective are given by O. T. Crosby & L. Bell, The Electric Railway in Theory and Practice, (W. J. Johnson Co. N.Y.IElectrician Printing & Publishing Co., London, 1892); F. H. Whipple The Electric Railway, (Detroit, Mich., 1889), reprinted Orange Empire Railway Museum, Perris, CA, USA, 1980. D. Kinnear Clark, Tramways: Their Construction and Working, (1894). A remarkably thorough and well-illustrated review of all forms of tramway, reprinted by Adam Gordon, 1992. The general condition of electrical engineering during the pioneer period is illustrated by R. Wormell & R. M. Walmsley (from German of A. R. Von Urbanitzlcy, Electricity in the Service of Man, (Cassel, 1896) or the 1905 revised edition by Walmsley.
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• A general review of this transfer is given by papers in Cassiers Magazine, (Anon), Electric Railway Number Vol. XVI, August 1899, No. 4, pp. 257–540, reprinted as Tramways and Electric Railways in the Nineteenth Century (Adam Gordon, 1992). The evolution of electrical engineering equipment by 1915 is shown by R. Kennedy, The Book of Electrical Installations: Electric Light, Power, Traction & Industrial Electric Machinery, 3 Vols, (Caxton, London, 1915).
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• The dates by which the London underground system was opened and electrified are given by G. Beecroft, et al., London Transport Railways Handbook, (Foxley Press, Chelmsford, 1983). A general history of the system is H. F. Howson: "London's Underground" (6th Ed.), Ian Allan, 1986 (1951).
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• A side elevation technical drawing of a Brooklyn Elevated compound Forney 0-4-4 locomotive is in W. A. Lucas: 100 Years of Steam Locomotives, (Simmons-Boardman/Rail Heritage Publications, Omaha, USA, 1957, 1981), p. 22. The Beyer, Peacock Metropolitan Railway 4-4-0 tank egine of 1864 is briefly described by E. L. Ahrons, The British Steam Railway Locomotive from 1825 to 1925, (Locomotive Publishing Co., 1927), reprinted, Ian Allan, 1986, p. 156.
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• Illustrated histories of rolling stock, with technical details, given by I. Huntley, The London Underground Surface Stock Planbook 1863–1959, (Ian Allan, 1988); J. Graeme Bruce, The London Underground Tube Stock, (Ian Allan, 1988) From Steam to Silver: a History of London Transport Surface Rolling Stock, Capital Transport/London Transport, 1970, 1983.
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• General engineering discussions about the need to electrify rapid transit, and other services, with details of equipment, traction policy and economics are found in: L. Calisch, Electric Traction, (Locomotive Publishing Co., London, 1913); W. B. Parsons, New York Rapid Transit Subway, Proc. Instn. Civ. Engrs. Vol. 173, (1907/8), pp. 83–213; C. Hopkinson, 'Electric Tramways' Proc. ICE, Vol. 151, (1902/ 3), Pt. 1, pp. 39–141; H. F. Joel, 'Electric Automobiles', Proc. ICE, Vol. 152, (1902/3), Pt. II, pp. 2–71; W. M. Mordey & B. M. Jenkin, 'Electrical Traction on Railways', Proc. ICE, Vol. 149, (1901/02), Pt. 3, pp. 40–199.
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• M. Bezilla, Electric Traction on the Pennsylvania RR, 1895–1968, (Pennsylvania State University Press, 1980), describes electrification of terminal lines under legal compulsion. Early electrification of rapid transit, including the New York lines is covered by Y. M. Tassin, F. Nouvion & J. Woimant, Histoire de la traction Electrique: Tome 1, Des Origines a 1940, (La Vie du Rail, Paris, 1980). C. W. Condit, The Port of New York: A History of the Rail and Terminal System from the Beginnings to Pennsylvania Station, (University of Chicago Press, 1980).
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• H. F. Parshall & H. M. Hobart, Electric Railway Engineering, ( Constable, London, 1907). A thorough, well illustrated engineering review of electric traction covering heavy-duty rapid-transit and street tramway systems.
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• W. M. Middleton, The Interurban Era, (Kalmbach, Milwaukee, USA, 1961); The Time of the Trolley, ( Kalmbach, USA, 1967); When the Steam Railroads Electrified, (Kalmbach, 1979).
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• Typical early systems are described by J. H. McGuigan, The Giant's Causeway Tramway, ( Oakwood Press, 1964); M. Goodwyn, Manx Electric (Platform 5 Publ., Sheffield, 1993). See Op. Cit. in refs. 11–13.
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• T. S. Lascelles, The City & South London Railway, ( Oakwood Press, 1955, 1987). See also P. V. McMahon The City & South London Electric Railway, pp. 527–540 of op. cit., ref. 2.
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• A. Jarvis, Portrait of the Liverpool Overhead Railway, (Ian Allan, 1996).
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• J. W. Gahan, The Line Beneath the Liners: A Hundred Years of Mersey Railway Sights and Sounds, (Countyvise Ltd., Rock Ferry, Birkenhead, 1983).
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• M. C. Duffy, Mechanics, Thermodynamics & Locomotive Design: The Machine-Ensemble & the Development of Industrial Thermodynamics, History and Technology, Vol. 1, No. 1 (1983), pp. 45–78; H. R. Sankey, 'The Thermal Efficiency of Steam Engines' Proc. ICE, Vol. 175, (1896), pp. 182–242, The Thermal Efficiency of Steam Engines, ibid, Vol. 154 1898), CXXXIV, pp. 278–312.
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• Lascelles, op cit., re f. 11.
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• G. Woodward, 'The Liverpool Overhead Railway: Innovations in Engineering', in The Liverpool Overhead Railway, proceedings of Research Day School, Merseyside Maritime Museum, Liverpool, 13 November 1993, pp. 56–81.
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• J. Perry, The Steam Engine and Gas and Oil engines, (Macmillan, London, 1899,1902,1920), p. pp. 249–250 of 1920 ed.
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• M. C. Duffy, 'The Mersey Railway and the Electrification of British Rapid-Transit Railways, in The Mersey Railway, proceedings of Research Day School, Merseyside Maritime Museum, Liverpool, 11 March 1995, pp. 19–61.
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• Ahrons, op, cit., ref. 4, pp. 283–284.
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• J. Shaw, 'Equipment & Working: Results of the Mersey Railway under Steam and under Electric Traction', Proc. ICE, Vol. 177 (1909–1910), Pt. 1, pp. 19–46.
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• General Electric Company (USA), Electrification by General Electric, collection of 11 papers pub-lished between 1923 and 1929 as GE Bulletins which review the electrification of major North American systems from the late 19th C onwards. Collected and published as Bulletin 116, by Central Electric Railfans Association (CERA), Chicago, Ill. (1976); see also Tassin et al., op. cit, ref. 7.
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• Compare op. cit., ref. 21 with Westinghouse Electric and Manufacturing Company (USA), 'Westinghouse Electric Railway Transportation', collection of 11 papers published between 1915 and 1936 as Westinghouse Special Publications reviewing the company's work in railway electrification. Collected and published as Bulletin 118, CERA, Chicago, Ill. (1979).
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• F. J. Sprague, 'The Multiple Unit System for Electric Railways', Cassier's Magazine, (1899), op. cit., ref. 2, pp. 439–460.
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• An illustrated account of boiler evolution forms part of H. W. Dickinson, A Short History of the Steam Engine (Babcock & Wilcox/Cambridge UP, 1938). Engineering drawings of power house equipment, including boilers, are found throughout Parshall & Hobart: op. cit., ref. 8. Also R. W. M. Clouston, 'The Development of the Babcock Boiler in Britain up to 1939', Trans. Newcomen Soc., Vol. 58, (1986–87), pp. 75–87.
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• F. J. Sprague, op. cit., ref. 23, p. 455.
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• J. V. Dobson & F. C. Hanker, 'A History of the Development of the Single-Phase System', Reprint 357, March 1929, Westinghouse Electric & Manufacturing Company, East Pittsburg, Pa. in op. cit., ref. 22. See also T. Reid, 'Some Early Traction History', pp. 357–370 in op. cit., ref. 2.
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• J. V. Dobson & F. C. Hanker, op. cit., ref. 26, p. 3.
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• Early history of the traction motor is given by C. T. Hutchinson, 'The Development of the Modern Electric Railway Motor', in op. cit., ref. 2, pp. 337–356. A comprehensive history is Tassin, Nouvion & Woimant, op. cit., ref. 7.
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• R. H. Parsons, The Early Days of the Power Station Industry, Babcock & Wilcox/Cambridge UP, 1939). See also Snell op. cit. ref. 37.
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• ibid., pp. 146–147.
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• ibid, p. 147.
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• C. P. Steinmetz, Transient Electrical Phenomena and Oscillations, ( McGraw Publ. Co., USA, 1909); Theory and Calculation of Alternating-Current Phenomena, 5th ed., (McGraw-Hill, N.Y., 1916). S. P. 213 Thompson Polyphase Electric Currents, (London, 1900); The history of analytical methods, such as use of the 'Circle Diagram', is given in B. A. Behrend, The Induction Motor, 2nd ed., (McGraw-Hill, N.Y., 1921). The use of empirical formulae, theory and experiment is demonstrated in H. F. Parshall & H. M. Hobart, Electric Generators (John Wiley, N.Y., 1900). Network problems are tackled in C. L. Fortesque, Method of Symmetrical Co-ordinates Applied to the Solution of Polyphase Networks, AIEE, Vol. 37 (2), (1918), p. 1027. M. Walker Specification and Design of Dynamo-Electric Machinery, (Library Press, London, 1918).
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• See Y. M. Tassin, E Nouvion & J. Woimant Histoire de la Traction Electrique, Tome 2, De 1940 et nos fours, (La Vie du Rail, Paris, 1986). Also Tome 1, op. cit., ref. 7. An early review of equipment is by D. C. Jackson, 'Polyphase Alternating Currents for Electric Railways', pp. 487-501 in op. cit., ref. 2. C. F. Jerikin, `Single-Phase Electric Traction', Proc. ICE, Nov. 1906, vol. 167, pp. 28–101.
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• H. Lloyd, 'Storage Batteries and Electric Railways', pp. 507–517, op. cit., ref. 2, p. 507.
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• ibid, p. 509.
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• ibid, pp. 513–516.
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• The supply to pioneer systems is reviewed in R. W. Blackwell, 'Electric Tramways of Great Britain', pp. 283–302 in op. cit., ref. 21; Brief references to power supply are made in the histories of individual electric railways in London and are provided by M. A. C. Horne, The Central Line (1987): The Bakerloo Line (1990), (Douglas Rose Publ., London). Distribution and construction of the supply grid in discussed by J. E C. Snell, 'Distribution of Electrical Energy' Proc. ICE., Vol. 159 (1904–1905), pp. 143–254. A. P. Trotter, `Overhead Transmission Lines', Proc. ICE, Vol. 169 (1906/1907), pp. 183–267. A complete system is described in W. B. Parsons, New York Rapid Transit Subway, Proc. ICE, Vol. 173, (1907/8), pp. 83–213.
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• R. F. Snow, 'Dynamos at Dusk', Invention & Technology Spring/Summer 1989, pp. 4–5. Note in popu-lar magazine.
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• F. W. Carter, Railway Electric Traction, (Arnold, 1922), p. 252.
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• ibid, p. 254.
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• F. J. G. Haut, The History of the Electric Locomotive, (G. Allen & Unwin, London, 1969), p. 69; Tassin et al., op. cit. ref. 7, pp. 356–366. M. C. Duffy, 'The Motor-Generator Locomotive', Proc. IEE History of Electrical Engineering Weekend, Guildford, July 1992.
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• The evolution of converters can be charted through E. Arnold & J. L. LaCour, Die Wechselstromtechnik, (Julius Springer, Berlin, 1913); A. Gray, Electrical Machine Design, 2nd ed., ( McGraw Hill, N.Y., 1926).
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• A. S. Langsdorf, Theory of Alternating Current Machinery, 2nd ed., ( McGraw Hill, 1955), p. 546. This work is an excellent review of the theory and principles of AC machinery, and complements his Principles of Direct-Current Machines, 5th ed., (McGraw Hill, N.Y., 1940).
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• Condit, op. cit, ref. 7; Bezilla, op. cit., ref. 7; F. Westing, Pennsylvania Station: Its Tunnels and Side Rodders, (Superior Publishing Co., Seattle, 1978); R. L. Vickers, D.C. Electric Trains and Locomotives in the British Isles, (David & Charles, Newton Abbott, 1968).
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• H. Quigley, Electrical Power and National Progress, (G. Allen & Unwin, London 1925) reviews power generation in Britain, Europe and the USA related to economics. Parsons, op. cit., ref. 29.
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• Dickinson, op. cit., ref. 24, esp. pp. 225–246. R. H. Parsons, The Development of the Parsons Steam Turbine, (Constable London, 1936). General electrification is described in P. Dunsheath, A History of Electrical Engineering, (Faber, London, 1962), R. A. S. Hennessy, The Electric Revolution, (Oriel Press, Newcastle, 1972).
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• Anon. The New York Central Electrification, GEA-902, General Electric, Schenectady, N.Y., Jan. 1929, in CERA, op. cit. ref. 21.
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• ibid., pp. 6–11. Power generation and distribution by Westinghouse is described in 'New York, New Haven & Hartford Railroad Electrification', Special Publication 1698, Westinghouse Electric & Manufacturing Company, June 1924, in CERA: op. cit., ref. 22.
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• Quigley, op. cit, re f. 45.
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• Howson, op. cit., re f. 3.
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• D. W. Rudorff, Steam Generators, (Charles Griffen & Co., 1938) describes the major types of steam generator which evolved between the world wars. Also Dickinson, op. cit., ref. 24, pp. 225–246.
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• The British electric rapid transit railway is reviewed by W. A. Agnew, Electric Trains: Equipment andOperation, 2 Vols., (Virtue, London, 1937), which concentrates entirely on developments of the Sprague Exemplar. Progress can be judged by comparing it with A. R. Bell, ed. Railway Mechanical Engineering, 2 Vols. (Gresham, London, 1923), of which Vol. 2 contains P. Dawson, 'Electric Traction on Railways', pp. 123–259.
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