Electric Railway Journal

Allows the reader to deepen their understanding of various technologies for both fixed power supply installations of railway systems and for railway rolling stock This book explores the electric railway systems that play a crucial role in the mitigation of congestion and pollution caused by road traffic. It is divided into two parts: the first covering fixed power supply systems, and the second concerning the systems for railway rolling stock. In particular, after a historical introduction to the framework of technological solutions in current use, the authors investigate electrification systems for the power supply of rail vehicles, trams, and subways. Electrical Railway Transportation Systems explores the direct current systems used throughout the world for urban and suburban transport, which are also used in various countries for regional transport. It provides a study of alternating current systems, whether for power supply frequency or for special railway frequency, that are used around the world for the electrification of railway lines, long-distance lines, and high-speed lines. In addition, this resource: Analyzes multiple railway systems from a theoretical and realizable vantage point, with particular regard to functionality, electromagnetic compatibility, and interferences with other electrical systems Studies electric traction railway vehicles, presenting various types of drives and auxiliary devices currently in circulation Discusses solutions employed to ensure interoperability of vehicles that run along lines powered by different systems (e.g., DC and AC, at different frequencies) Electrical Railway Transportation Systems is an ideal text for graduate students studying the subject as well as for industry professionals working in the field.

One of the most colorful yet neglected eras in American transportation history is re-created in this definitive history of the electric interurbans. Built with the idea of attracting short-distance passenger traffic and light freight, the interurbans were largely constructed in the early 1900s. The rise of the automobile and motor transport caused the industry to decline after World War I, and the depression virtually annihilated the industry by the middle 1930s. Part I describes interurban construction, technology, passenger and freight traffic, financial history, and final decline and abandonment. Part II presents individual histories (with route maps) of the more than 300 companies of the interurban industry. Reviews "A first-rate work of such detail and discernment that it might well serve as a model for all corporate biographies. . . . A wonderfully capable job of distillation." —Trains "Few economic, social, and business historians can afford to miss this definitive study." —Mississippi Valley Historical Review "All seekers after nostalgia will be interested in this encyclopedic volume on the days when the clang, clang of the trolley was the most exciting travel sound the suburbs knew." —Harper's Magazine "A fascinating and instructive chapter in the history of American transportation." —Journal of Economic History "The hint that behind the grand facade of scholarship lies an expanse of boyish enthusiasm is strengthened by a lovingly amassed and beautifully reproduced collection of 37 photographs." —The Nation

This highly illustrated 1897 handbook by a leading electrical engineer offers unique insights into the earliest days of electric locomotion.

In the early 1900s, privately-generated electricity was the booming technology, and with it, profitable electric railways. Prosperous London, Ontario manufacturer (also Mayor and Conservative MLA), Adam Beck nevertheless believed in the benefits of a publicly-owned electricity grid and argued government-ownership could spread electric technology well beyond the use of a privileged elite and could cost people less. Beck's political acumen resulted in the 1906 creation of Ontario Hydro -- the world's first publicly-owned utility. Two years after public power first flowed through the wires to Berlin, Ontario, he mused aloud that what was really needed was to link the province's many municipalities through a series of electrically-powered railways to two core areas: Hamilton serving the western end of Lake Ontario and the burgeoning hub of Toronto. It never happened. An antagonistic Premier Ernest Drury deflected the issue to a Royal Commission, whose avowedly anti-radial chairman delivered a damning conclusion: the popularity of automobiles meant Beck's project was not financially feasible. David Spencer's study of power politics and skulduggery shows how dark provincial politics could be in the first two decades of the twentieth century. Perhaps current events demonstrate that hasn't changed?