£ s. d. Driver's wages. 1 10 0 Cleaner's " 0 12 0 Coke, 58½ cwt. at 25s. per ton. 3 13 1½ Oil, 1 gallon at 3s. 1d. 0 3 1 Tallow, 4 lb. at 6d. 0 2 0 Waste, 8 lb. at 2d. 0 1 4 Depreciation, 15 per cent. on £750. 2 3 3 ---------- Total. £8 4 9½
The distance run was 312 miles. Also, from actual experience, the electrical car, drawing a second behind it, and hence providing for the same number of passengers, consumed 18 lb. of coke per mile run. Hence, calculating the cost in the same way, for a distance run of 312 miles in a week--
£ s. d. Wages of stoker of stationary engine. 1 0 0 Coke, 52 cwt. at 25s. per ton. 2 15 0 Oil, 1 gallon at 3s. 1d. 0 3 1 Waste, 4 lb. at 2d. 0 0 8 Depreciation on stationary engine, 10 per cent. } on £300 11s. 6d. } Depreciation of electrical apparatus, 15 per cent. } 2 0 4 on £500, £1 8s. 10d. } --------- Total. £5 19 1
The total mileage run is very small, on account of the light traffic early in the year. Heavier traffic will tell very much in favor of the electric car, as the loss due to leakage will be a much smaller proportion of the total power developed.
It will be observed that the cost of the tramway engines is very much in excess of what is usual on other lines, but this is entirely accounted for by the high price of coke, and the exceedingly difficult nature of the line to work, on account of the curves and gradients. These causes send up the cost of electrical working in the same ratio, hence the comparison is valid as between the steam and electricity, but it would be unsafe to compare the cost of either with horse-traction or wire-rope traction on other lines. The same fuel was burnt in the stationary steam-engine and in the tramway engines, and the same rolling stock used in both cases; but, otherwise, the comparison was made under circumstances in favor of the tramway engine, as the stationary steam-engine is by no means economical, consuming at least 5 lb. of coke per horse-power hour, and the experiments were made, in the case of the electrical car, over a length of line three miles long, which included the worst hills and curves, and one-half of the conductor was not provided with the insulite caps, the leakage consequently being considerably larger than it will be eventually.