Some impressions of the electric traction situation in Europe

No attempt will be made to go into descriptive accounts of the various installations as these have already been well covered by articles in the technical press. At the present time there is evidence of considerable activity in making plans for rather extensive electrifications for steam railroads in the various European countries. In different sections of the continent the conditions bringing about electrification are varied, the more prominent perhaps being the greater capacity obtained for tunnels where the traffic is now limited by problems of ventilation, the utilization of cheaper grades of fuel for the generation of power, the attractiveness of utilizing water powers which may be developed at low cost, the elimination of expensive steam pusher service on mountain grades, and the electrification of steam tracks where the limit of the quantity of transportation which can be supplied under steam-operated conditions has been reached.