Trolley Roads In England

John Buil has at length come to the realization that there aro such thinga as electric roads in the world, and that possibly they may be a good thing. An American syndicate has secured tat franchise for an electric road in the city of Coventry, which has about 60,000 population, and the work is going anead. An experimental road of six miles was put down in the suburbs of the city of Leeds, and the city fathers of varous cities and towns have been "junketed" over to Leeds and introduced to the mysteries of the American trolley system. The Coventry authorities were the first to yield to its seductions. The method of building street railways in England greatly lessens the eost of installation to the promoting capitalist. The city puts down and owns the tracks or permanent way. The operating company leases the track fcr twenty-one years, and at the expiration of the lease it may be renewed, or the city may buy the plant and rolling stock at an appraised valuation. The Coventry road has eight miles ot track, which is all single track, but with long sidings. The estimated cost of rolling stock, poles, wires and powei station is $250,000. Everything is to be furnished frorn America, even to the poles for Uie wires. It was originally supposed that English poles would do, but when put up they were found unequal to the strain of supporting the wires, and the necessary poles had to be ordered from Philadelphia. If the innovation taKes with the English public there will be a pot of money for the American syndicate, which will probably be called upon to put in similar roads in nearly all the English cities. The conservatism of the English people on this subject aeems to be as pronounced today as it was in the time when Citizen George Prancis Train put down hls first tramway in Parliament street, London, and was then compelled to take up his rails by the outraged and indignant public. The Continental cities have taken more kindly to the electric railroad system, and in fact the first trolley roac] in the world was in the streets of Berün. This road had a trolley ridIng on a wire at the side of the street, with flexible wire connection to the car. The upward pressure system with the familiar trolley pole of today was a later invention. A Srm of Bnglish electricians hve recently taekled the conduit eleotric road prob!om, and produced something n the nature of a small tunnel and motor therein, with a projection which reaclies through tho slot and pushes the street car along.