Batteries Always Made More Sense In Trucks

[Bret Cahill]

Edison's battery division made a lot of money compared to most of his
later endeavors. Edison came out with an improved battery in 1909 but
by then Ford had cars on gasoline.

After that batteries were only used electric delivery vehicles.

If necessary the rails can be electrified for long haul and batteries
can once again be used for local work.

As for commuting . . .


Bret Cahill

 

[hhc314@yahoo.com]

On Oct 18, 12:49 pm, Bret Cahill <BretCah...@aol.com> wrote:

Edison's battery division made a lot of money compared to most of his
later endeavors.  Edison came out with an improved battery in 1909 but
by then Ford had cars on gasoline.

After that batteries were only used electric delivery vehicles.

If necessary the rails can be electrified for long haul and batteries
can once again be used for local work.

As for commuting . . .

Bret Cahill

Indeed Bret, right on up to the late 1950s, the Curtis Publishing
Company in Philadelphia used a fleet of ancient battery powered flat-
bed trucks to the supplies around the city.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Curtis_Publishing_Company

While a student at Drexel, we would daily see them traveling up and
down Market Street. These were ancient at the at that time (likely
made in the early 1920s) but still in regular use -- and may even be
still in use today. (Damn, I've love to own a car that would last
that long.)

What I still remember about them was that they had an electric motor
slung beneath the truck body that drove a unprotected chain to power
the rear wheels of the truck. Racks of the old Edision batteries hung
on both sides of the vehicle, and it appeared rather thin tires likely
made out of solid rubber. I'm told that they used a classiic "Cam
Controller" like a trolley car or early subway train to adjust their
traction and speed.

Other d.c. powered vehicles also roamed the streets of Philadelphia,
including a type of electrified bus that roamed the streets on rubber
tires just like any bus, but but had two poles that contacted their
d.c. power source fed to them through an overhead catenary.

So far as commuting is concerned, in Philadelphia circa 1950,
everything from subways (rapid transit) to mainline commuter rail was
already electrified. Subways then, and still today, are powered by
d.c. suppied to the trains through an electrified 3rd rail that
typically operates at between 600 and 700 volts. Mainline rail in the
Philadelpia area generatlly operated its commuter trains on a.c. fed
to the train by an overhead catenary system that operated at a high
voltage (I believe, but aren't sure, that it was 7,000 volts) at 20-
Hz. Mainline commuter trains were pulled by classic General Electric
GG-1 locomotives. At the time, non-mainline commuter trains were still
being pulled by steam locomotives (typically Atlantics),

Just for fun, here are a few links that transportation buffs may
enjoy:

http://www.spikesys.com/GG1/
http://www.american-rails.com/atlantic-type.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PCC_streetcar

Bret, it's amazing how much science has changed technology, but for
surface and underground transportation, little has changed simply
because theose guys designing transporatation products during the 1920
through 1940 were such damn good engineers, even without
computers!

Harry C.

 

Edison's battery division made a lot of money compared to most of his
later endeavors. �Edison came out with an improved battery in 1909 but
by then Ford had cars on gasoline.

After that batteries were only used electric delivery vehicles.

If necessary the rails can be electrified for long haul and batteries
can once again be used for local work.

As for commuting . . .

Bret Cahill

Indeed Bret, right on up to the late 1950s, the Curtis Publishing
Company in Philadelphia used a fleet of ancient battery powered flat-
bed trucks to the supplies around the city.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Curtis_Publishing_Company

I'll check with old folks from that area.

While a student at Drexel, we would daily see them traveling up and
down Market Street. These were ancient at the at that time (likely
made in the early 1920s) but still in regular use -- and may even be
still in use today. ďż˝

That really _is_ fascinating.

(Damn, I've love to own a car that would last
that long.)

What I still remember about them was that they had an electric motor
slung beneath the truck body that drove a unprotected chain to power
the rear wheels of the truck. Racks of the old Edision batteries hung
on both sides of the vehicle, and it appeared rather thin tires likely
made out of solid rubber. I'm told that they used a classiic "Cam
Controller" like a trolley car or early subway train to adjust their
traction and speed.

Other d.c. powered vehicles also roamed the streets of Philadelphia,
including a type of electrified bus that roamed the streets on rubber
tires just like any bus, but but had two poles that contacted their
d.c. power source fed to them through an overhead catenary.

So far as commuting is concerned, in Philadelphia circa 1950,
everything from subways (rapid transit) to mainline commuter rail was
already electrified. Subways then, and still today, are powered by
d.c. suppied to the trains through an electrified 3rd rail that
typically operates at between 600 and 700 volts. Mainline rail in the
Philadelpia area generatlly operated its commuter trains on a.c. fed
to the train by an overhead catenary system that operated at a high
voltage (I believe, but aren't sure, that it was 7,000 volts) at 20-
Hz. Mainline commuter trains were pulled by classic General Electric
GG-1 locomotives. At the time, non-mainline commuter trains were still
being pulled by steam locomotives (typically Atlantics),

Just for fun, here are a few links that transportation buffs may
enjoy:

http://www.spikesys.com/GG1/http://www.american-rails.com/atlantic-type.htmlhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PCC_streetcar

Bret, it's amazing how much science has changed technology, but for
surface and underground transportation, little has changed simply
because theose guys designing transporatation products during the 1920
through 1940 were such damn good engineers, even without
computers!

On the other hand it may be that energy/transportation, as opposed to
high tech/communications, doesn't always respond to greater
sophistication.

Brawn = energy & brains = microchips.


Bret Cahill

 

[zzbunker@netscape.net]

On Oct 20, 2:36 pm, "hhc...@yahoo.com" <hhc...@yahoo.com> wrote:

On Oct 18, 12:49 pm, Bret Cahill <BretCah...@aol.com> wrote:

Edison's battery division made a lot of money compared to most of his
later endeavors.  Edison came out with an improved battery in 1909 but
by then Ford had cars on gasoline.

After that batteries were only used electric delivery vehicles.

If necessary the rails can be electrified for long haul and batteries
can once again be used for local work.

As for commuting . . .

Bret Cahill

Indeed Bret, right on up to the late 1950s, the Curtis Publishing
Company in Philadelphia used a fleet of ancient battery powered flat-
bed trucks to the supplies around the city.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Curtis_Publishing_Company

While a student at Drexel, we would daily see them traveling up and
down Market Street. These were ancient at the at that time (likely
made in the early 1920s) but still in regular use -- and may even be
still in use today.  (Damn, I've love to own a car that would last
that long.)

What I still remember about them was that they had an electric motor
slung beneath the truck body that drove a unprotected chain to power
the rear wheels of the truck. Racks of the old Edision batteries hung
on both sides of the vehicle, and it appeared rather thin tires likely
made out of solid rubber. I'm told that they used a classiic "Cam
Controller" like a trolley car or early subway train to adjust their
traction and speed.

Other d.c. powered vehicles also roamed the streets of Philadelphia,
including a type of electrified bus that roamed the streets on rubber
tires just like any bus, but but had two poles that contacted their
d.c. power source fed to them through an overhead catenary.

So far as commuting is concerned, in Philadelphia circa 1950,
everything from subways (rapid transit) to mainline commuter rail was
already electrified. Subways then, and still today, are powered by
d.c. suppied to the trains through an electrified 3rd rail that
typically operates at between 600 and 700 volts. Mainline rail in the
Philadelpia area generatlly operated its commuter trains on a.c. fed
to the train by an overhead catenary system that operated at a high
voltage (I believe, but aren't sure, that it was 7,000 volts) at 20-
Hz. Mainline commuter trains were pulled by classic General Electric
GG-1 locomotives. At the time, non-mainline commuter trains were still
being pulled by steam locomotives (typically Atlantics),

Just for fun, here are a few links that transportation buffs may
enjoy:

http://www.spikesys.com/GG1/http://www.american-rails.com/atlantic-type.htmlhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PCC_streetcar

Bret, it's amazing how much science has changed technology, but for
surface and underground transportation, little has changed simply
because theose guys designing transporatation products during the 1920
through 1940 were such damn good engineers, even withoutcomputers!

Nobody said that weren't.
The claim is still that were just like "scientists" They weren't
post-Ford Batterry,
post GE Syncoid, post-McDonald's Holograms, post-AT&T Fiber Optics,
Laser-Guided Laser,
Maser, Optical Computer, RISC++, HDTV[], CD+rw, DVD-stack,
Adaptive PV Cell, Cruise Missile, Drone, AAV, AUV, AVV, AHV, XML,
USB, Blogs,
Elibrary, On-Line-Publishing, neo-neo magnet, neo-Wind Energy,
biodiesel,
Post-GM Robotics engineers

Harry C.