File:The boys' life of Edison (1921) (14752836892).jpg

Identifier: boyslifeofedison00mead (find matches)
Title: The boys' life of Edison
Year: 1921 (1920s)
Authors: Meadowcroft, Wm. H. (William Henry), b. 1853
Subjects: Edison, Thomas A. (Thomas Alva), 1847-1931
Publisher: New York : Harper & Brothers
Contributing Library: New York Public Library
Digitizing Sponsor: MSN

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building light electric railways to perform thisservice. As we have already noted, he started on his elec-tric-light experiments, including the dynamo, whenhe returned from the West. He had not forgottenhis scheme for an electric railway, however, for,early in 1880, after the tremendous rush on theinvention of the incandescent lamp had begun tosubside, he commenced the construction of a stretchof track at Menlo Park, and at the same time beganto build an electric locomotive to operate over it. The locomotive was an ordinary flat dump-caron a four-wheeled iron truck. Upon this w^asmounted one of his dynamos, used as a motor. Ithad a capacity of about twelve horse-power. Elec-tric current was generated by two dynamos in themachine-shop, and carried to the rails by under-ground conductors. The track was about a third of a mile in length,the rails being of light weight and spiked to tieslaid on the ground. In this short line there weresome steep grades and short curves. The locomotive 170
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EDISONS ELECTRIC RAILWAY pulled three cars; one a flat freight-car; one an openawning-car, and one box-car, facetiously called the*Tullman, with which Edison illustrated a systemof electromagnetic braking. On May 13, 1880, this road went into operation.All the laboratory boys made holiday and scram-bled aboard for a trip. Things went well for aw^hile, but presently a weakness developed and it be-came necessary to return the locomotive to the shopto make changes in the mechanism. And so it wasfor a short time afterward. Imperfections of onekind and another were disclosed as the road wasoperated, but Edison was equal to the occasion andovercame them, one by one. Before long he hadhis locomotive running regularly, hauling the threecars with freight and passengers back and forth overthe full length of the track. Incidentally, the writerremembers enjoying a ride over the road one sum-mer afternoon. The details of the various improvements madeduring these months are too many and too techni-

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