A 2,t40.Mile TOUR IN A too.mile Fritchle Electric BY THE CAPIl'OL. DENVEH. COLO. OLIVER P. FRITCHLE At the time this trip was planned, it was supposed that charging stations within my mileage capacity could not be found between Lincoln and Denver, hence it was decided to begin the journey at Lincoln, Neb. Since then, a route has been mapped out furnishing stations sufficient for a loo-mile car between the capitals of Colorado and Nebraska.
lllload PllILADI';LPHlA My resolve taken, I left Philadelphia about 5 0 'clock Sunday evening, in a drizzling rain, Two hours and a half brought me to Wilmington. The rain continued all night. The auto was charged at the Bradford Company's Garage, and about 9 0 'clock on December 7 I left for Baltimore-82 miles away. My trials never ceased. There was a strong headwind and rain. Expecting to easily make this stretch on one charge, I did not look up any intermediate stations. For a short distance out of Wilmington there was fine pike, but this s'oon turned into awful clay, the like of which I had not encountered since Western Iowa. Not knowing how far these mud roads might extend, I began to inquire for electric power. For ten miles no one knew of any power, and very little about the condition of the roads, directions or distance. It was Cecil County, Maryland. I stopped at a little cross-road country store and after inquiring of half a dozen different countrystore, rainy-day loafers, I felt as if I had a scant lmowledge of an electric water-power plant about five miles south. In trying to follow the road they laid out for me, I got completely lost and had to use my compass as a gllide until coming across a high tension electric power line. As this current was alternating, it could be of no use to me till I reached the power house, where there was bound to be at least an exciter dynamo. After following this "juice line" for about ten miles, I finally arrived at the water power plant of the Gilpin Mills Electric Company.
FOLLOWING A "JUICE LINE" TO THE POWER HOUSE lletween DEL., AIm PERUYVILLE, MD. The next problem was to locate the superintendent. Mter some difficulty he was found by phone in a neighboring town. He gave his permission to use the reserve exciter dynamo. But this had to be set up and belted to the water-wheel power shaft! Still another problem presented itself, more serious than any before. We discovered that it was impossible to get the auto nearer than about half a mile of the Power House. After measuring all the wire I had and all there was in the stock room, we found that there was not enough to reach. We then decided to tap the wire of the lighting circuit which extended along the pipe line board walk and up to the dam. It was strung on poles a few feet below the two high voltage circuits.. The poles were very damp and it was somewhat dangerous to climb up to the lighting circujt to connect my charging cable. Mr. Edgar Renn, the day superintendent, being a very obliging electrician, donned rubber gloves and coat and climbed the pole to make the connections for me. We were very careful not to touch the auto or wiring when standing on the ground, for fear of receiving a shock from the high voltage current, which might leak across the wet insulators to the lower lighting circuit. That night I slept in the Power House. My bed was a hammock, one end of which was hooked to the valve of the large water wheel. My right shoulder rested on the large iron casting of the water wheel. But in spite of the noise and cold (the side of the power house being open for ventilation to the dynamo), I enjoyed several hours of sound sleep. This was the nearest I came to sleeping out of doors during the entire trip.
'rapping THE LIGHTING cmcuit OF GILPIN'S FilLS ELECTRIC COMPANY, NEAll BAY VIEW, MD. The waterfall between the dam near the old bridge and the power house is most picturesque. The scenery along the route is of sufficient interest to tempt me to go over this muddy, difficult course again from Wilmington to Baltimore.
There is a quaint old country store at Bay View, about a mile from this Water Power Plant. A Mr. Reid is the proprietor, and Mr. Renn and I took supper and breakfast at his home. As this was the first electric automobile to travel in this section it was quite a curiosity to the inhabitants. Mit. RF.ID'S COUNTRY STOltE, BAY VIEW, CECI L COUNTY, MD. The roads were frozen the next morning so I had little difficulty in getting out of this muddy locality-except for the alternative that it was very rough riding. LEAVING BAY VIEW, MD.- EAHLY IN THE MOHNING 'l'he MUD WAS FHOZEN