Some possibilities of steam railroad electrification as affecting future policies

Electricity fills every requirement of railroad service, but as it involves a large investment, electrification has proceeded slowly. Electrification has also been retarded because the problem has been largely considered one of replacing the steam locomotive by the electric locomotive whereas in reality the problem is much broader. It really offers a fundamentally different method of train propulsion because the limitations of the steam locomotive disappear and the strictly limited motive power is replaced by one that is practically unlimited, thereby opening up many possibilities in the methods of railroad operation. While there are a number of different systems of electric traction all of the systems have many features in common and the possibility of unlimited electric power is a characteristic of them all. A brief review is given of electrified sections of railways showing the advantages which have been realized in both the freight and passenger service. Existing electrifications have been operated for a sufficient length of time so that operating statistics are now available, and any proposed undertaking may therefore be predicated on established facts. While electrification will greatly increase track capacity, there is a large railroad mileage which already has more than sufficient capacity, in which case electrification would not be justified. On the other hand, there are so many cases where its advantages are clear and conclusive that when the railroads are able to finance their required electrification it will test the capacity of the electric factories of the country to serve them.