. Street and electric railways, 1902 .. . third rail is thatextending from Wilkesbarre to Hazelton, Pa. The con-tact rail, which is the main feature of the system, so faras this section of the report is concerned, is protectedfrom sleet and snow by means of a hood, made of 2 by 6inch pine plank held directly over the rail, supported byoak posts spaced every 8 feet. Both guard and rail arecarried by unglazed vitrified clay insulators, spacedevery 10 feet on the ties. Owing to the protection overthe third rail the contact shoes or plows are in the form ofa tongue or thick plate extending outward
. Street and electric railways, 1902 .. . third rail is thatextending from Wilkesbarre to Hazelton, Pa. The con-tact rail, which is the main feature of the system, so faras this section of the report is concerned, is protectedfrom sleet and snow by means of a hood, made of 2 by 6inch pine plank held directly over the rail, supported byoak posts spaced every 8 feet. Both guard and rail arecarried by unglazed vitrified clay insulators, spacedevery 10 feet on the ties. Owing to the protection overthe third rail the contact shoes or plows are in the form ofa tongue or thick plate extending outward horizontally, from the car truck, so pivoted and ratcheted that its ad-justment to the rail can be changed readily. There isalso a switch governing the connections between thethird-rail shoe and the overhead trolley, which is em-ployed for use within city limits. This railway is in length and the journey by steam road betweenthese two cities has hitherto occupied two hours. Atthe same average speed the Wilkesbarre and Hazelton. INTERURBAN RAILWAY CONSTRUCTION AND EQUIPMENT. 216 road can carry passengers in sevent} minutes or lessbetween the same points. The speed ordinances gov-erning the movement of the cars in the streets of therespective cities leave only forty minutes out of sixtyor seventy in which to cover the distance over the pri-vate right of way. There is a diflference of 1,200 feetin the*ftltitude of the terminal points and the right ofway, 60 feet wide, is so laid out that throughout theentire line there is not a grade exceeding 3 per cent andonly one curve of 18°. The grade thus establishednecessitated some heavy fills and deep rock cuts and atunnel 2,600 feet long through the Penobscot mountain. Another interesting third-rail system is that of theJackson and Battle Creek Traction Company, connect-ing the cities of Jackson and Battle Creek, in Michigan,about 45 miles apart. This road is single track andbuilt on private right of way. It has a third-rail
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