. Electric railway gazette . gnets, while theother plate is connected by a wire with the othermagnet. When, therefore, a car approaches theswitch, the driver can swing the switch tongue ineither direction, to open or close the switch to themain or the side track, by simply pressing on thefoot piece to bring the roller on the lower end of thecontact maker down upon one of the contactplates in the roadbed, the current then beingmade to energize one or the other of the magnetsto move the sliding rod connected with the switchtongue. The box containing the magnets isclosed at the top by serrated co
. Electric railway gazette . gnets, while theother plate is connected by a wire with the othermagnet. When, therefore, a car approaches theswitch, the driver can swing the switch tongue ineither direction, to open or close the switch to themain or the side track, by simply pressing on thefoot piece to bring the roller on the lower end of thecontact maker down upon one of the contactplates in the roadbed, the current then beingmade to energize one or the other of the magnetsto move the sliding rod connected with the switchtongue. The box containing the magnets isclosed at the top by serrated covers in the usualway. For our illustration we are indebted to theScientific Ameiican. Prof. Elihu Thomsons Opinion of the IntramuralRailway Plant. In a general review of the electrical exhibitsat the Worlds Fair published in the Januarynumber of the Engineering Maganne, Prof. ElihuThomson has this to say of the Intramural rail-way: The largest single exhibit of an electrical na-ture was, without doubt, the Intramural railway. ELECTRICALLY OPERATED TRACK SWITCH. and its power house—together a grand practicalexempllcation of electricity applied to was remarkable in many ways as a piece of en-gineering and operated with the greatest emphasized the fact that the days of steam lo-comotives on elevated roads in cities are num-bered, and that just as surely as the horse-carhas given place to the trolley-car, so must theelectric motor supply steam propulsion on theroads in question. Yet In 1876 there was no hintor suggestion of such extended use of electricityon railways—and, in fact, no such applicationhad been made. On the Intramural road a con-ductor rail with the ordinary rails for return cir-cuit was used, the current being taken up bysliding shoes bearing on the conductor rail. Themotor car at the head of each train, besides theordinary seats, was supplied with four electricmotors, one geared to each axle individually,while the controlling mechanism was
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