Electric Locomotives Ten months ago I went to a trial of an electric locomotive, made to the order of the Birmingham Tramway Company (also without plans or specifications), who were then running steam traction engines, each weighing 14 tons. Mr. Parker was asked if he could make an electric locomotive to do the work of the steam engines, and for how much. His answer was - "yes, for £700 each." The loco he turned out only weighed 8 tons, and one third the size of the others. I was the first to get on it and rode into the centre of Birmingham, where we picked up the members of the corporation and the chairman and directors of the Tramway Company, and representatives of the London and provincial press, about 66 in all. We took the stiffest hill along the route, a grade of 1 in 17 and surmounted it without the slightest difficulty. At a dinner held at a sub-station four miles out, the chairman of the company delivered a grand oration, in which he pronounced the thing a great success. He introduced the company to Mr. Parker, at whom a perfect volley of questions were hurled, and all were answered as promptly. That locomotive has been running on the streets ever since, alongside one of the steam engines, for purpose of observation. The company have decided on a car after the Julien system (as they prefer the storage under the seats to the locomotive and car), combined with the other two patents. The motor is fixed on a bogey in front of the carriage. Of these they have ordered 12. No difficulty is experienced in turning corners, the bogey principle obviating that. A Boom in Electricity I received a copy of "The Star" with a report of the discussion by the Mechanics’ Institute committee with reference to the electric light, and showed it to Mr. Parker. He was much interested seeing that I had described Ballarat to him, and he was not altogether unacquainted with the probable needs of the institute. One fact he mentioned that will be interesting to your readers. At present lamps that cost the manufacturers 8d each are retailed at 5s, owing to the patent rights. In 4½ years those rights will have expired. What will be the difference in the cost? The Ballarat Star. Saturday, 19th April, 1890 After nearly four years in England, James Oddie returned to Ballarat to an enthusiastic reception at Western Station. All the leading citizens were there to greet him. The party was driven to the City Hall where he was formally welcomed back. They next went to the boardroom of the Benevolent Asylum for light refreshments and then visited the Fine Art Gallery which was built during Mr. Oddie’s absence. After inspecting the smaller gallery the party proceeded to the boardroom for light refreshments. A toast was given to Mr. Oddie and in his reply he confirmed that the gallery would receive the £10,000 that he had already promised. He also mentioned Philip Horseman when he said that “In the small town of Wolverhampton a man arrived some years ago with his carpenter’s tools on his back, and he had just left to the town a building worth £30,000. They did not want man to die before making these gifts, but to experience the pleasure of giving while they were alive”. The Ballarat Star. Wednesday, 23rd April, 1890 Mr. James Oddie was last night entertained by the citizens of Ballarat, at a banquet at the City Hall. In a speech he said the following: “Electricity too, was coming to the front, and in a thousand different ways going to administer to our wants. One of the leading authorities in England foresaw by it a distribution of motive power as well as of light amongst the homes of the workmen. Then, too, they would have tramways run by electricity all over the country. In about 6 weeks time Captain Baker would probably be able to show them at the Observatory, illustrations of six different styles of traction by means of electricity… In two years time he believed they would have the trams in Ballarat run by electricity – perhaps they might have a chance in six months”.
The Daylesford Advocate. Thursday, 27th August, 1891 Lecture on Electricity
On Tuesday evening the large lecture room in the Daylesford School
of Mines was packed with an audience to hear Mr. James Oddie of
Ballarat talk on the subject of “Electricity: Its harmony and
contrast with other economic forces of nature, and its modern
applied development.” He talked about electric lighting and electric trains and trams, and he spoke of his recent visit to England: When he visited Blackpool in Lancashire, he saw the only practical railway in Britain, by means of which 950,000 people had been carried on two miles of railway run by electricity. In Birmingham last year a dozen electric cars had taken the place of a dozen steam engines, and these were worked by storage batteries, which were composed of cells 10 x 12 x 15 inches deep. These were charged with current and when once charged would run for a distance of 40 miles without further attention. To travel on such a line was a pleasure, as there was no smoke, and no smell, and everything ran smoothly and pleasant. He saw a tram tried through the streets of Wolverhampton, and it went off at the rate of 15 miles an hour without any difficulty whatever. He saw an electric locomotive in Birmingham, and it worked so well that it supplanted the ugly steam engine, which weighed 14 tons, its place being taken by the eight ton locomotive. By means of a magic lantern view, the lecturer then exhibited pictures. The first was a likeness of Mr. Parker, the electrical engineer of Wolverhampton. It was sent out to Ballarat only about four months ago. The lecturer explained that Mr. Parker was the great electrician of Europe. He started from a foundry, and by his own intuitive intelligence, learned the science of electricity. In the picture were also shown dynamos, manufactured and patented by him. The construction, use etc. of the transformers and galvanometers for measuring quantity were pointed out and explained. The next view on the screen was an electric car running on an electric tram at Blackpool, in Lancashire. The distance it ran was two miles, for which 2d was charged, while at certain times of the year the fare was only 1d. Other slides included a view of the undertaking to light Oxford, for which 10,000 volts were used at the machine. Note: The painting of Mr. Parker that was exhibited at Wolverhampton Art Gallery, was transported to Australia and hung in the Ballarat Fine Art Gallery. It has since disappeared, they have no knowledge of its whereabouts.
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