ELECTRIC RAILWAY
\ɪlˈɛktɹɪk ɹˈe͡ɪlwe͡ɪ], \ɪlˈɛktɹɪk ɹˈeɪlweɪ], \ɪ_l_ˈɛ_k_t_ɹ_ɪ_k ɹ_ˈeɪ_l_w_eɪ]\
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A railway on which electricity is the motive power. Many cities in U.S. now have electric street railways. On one of these the wheels of the carriages are set in motion by a dynamo-electric machine placed between them and below the floor. This machine is actuated by an electric current produced by another dynamo-electric machine, which is stationary and driven at a high rate of speed by a steam-engine. The current is conveyed by underground wires to the rails, and these being insulated, it reaches the carriage through them.
By Daniel Lyons
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