as a maximum 11/2 horse-power when so much is needed. A wire connects one
pole of the motor with the leading wheel of the train, and a second wire
connects the other pole with the trailing wheel; the other wheels are
insulated from each other. Thus the train, wherever it stands, bridges a
gap separating the insulated from the uninsulated section. The insulated
sections are supplied with electricity from a dynamo driven by a
stationary engine, and the current passing from the insulated section
to the uninsulated section through the motor drives the locomotive. The
actual line is quite short, and can only show two trains, one on the up
and one on the down line; but with sufficient power at the station any
number of trains could be driven in a continuous stream on each line.
The appearance is that of a line of buckets running along a single
telegraph wire of large size. A block system is devised and partly made,
but is not yet erected. It differs from the earlier proposals in having
no working parts on the line. This system of propulsion is called by us
the Cross Over Parallel Arc. Other systems of supplying the currents,
devised both by Professors Ayrton and Perry and myself, will be tried on
lines now being erected; but that just described gives good results. The
motors employed in the locomotives were invented by Messrs. Ayrton and
Perry. They are believed to have the special advantage of giving a
larger power for a given weight than any others. One weighing 99 lb.
gave 11/2 horse-power in some tests lately made. One weighing 36 lb. gave
0.41 horse-power.

No scientific experiments have yet been made on the working of the line,
and matters are not yet ripe for this--but we know that we can erect a
cheap and simple permanent way, which will convey a useful load of say
15 cwt. on every alternate span of 130 feet. This corresponds to 161/2
tons per mile, which, running at five miles per hour, would convey 921/2
tons of goods per hour. Thus if we work for 20 hours, the line will