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AN ELECTRICAL POSTAL SYSTEM'
An Italian engineer,^ named-; Count
Piseicelli l'eaggi, lias invented a system
of carrying letters by electric post at
the rate of 250 miles an hour, and by
which letters posted in' London would
reach Brighton in. a quarter of an hour,
York in three-quarters of an hour, and
Edinburgh in less than two hours. The
invention consists, of a light but staple
wireway supported by high steel lattice
work towers, running, say, from London,
and connecting. all the principal towns.
A torpedo-shapod vehicle, weighing
about a hundred-weight and a half, runs
along between the wires, which are
"gripped" by the tension exerted by a
central wheel fixed in the centre of the
carrier. This wheel, which is.the main
driving wheel, has a deep groove in
it, and runs between two thick wires, one
under and one above. Two smaller
wheels engaging two smaller wires at
the sido of tne car preserve its balance
when running slowly. When, however,
it attains maximum speed, it no longer
requires its balance to bo preserved by
"balance," or "guard," wires, just as the
ease with a bicycle once in motion. One
half of the car contains the letters, etc.,
and the otiior half the electric motor
that propels it. The equipment is call
able of attaining the enormous velocity
of 250 miles an hour. The power is
transmitted to the motor in the carrier
by the main supporting wires, through
the medium of the main driving wheel,
which acts as a collector, and by another
smaller wire. By supplying the current
through threo wires, if ono wire breaks,
the supply is continued by the other two,
the working pressure being maintained.
An ingenious part of the invention is the
mothod by which ono of the vehicles can
bo switched off the main line to the
branch linos leading to the particular
town which is its destination. Tho post
boxes in London and all largo towns
would bo cleared by an automatic pro
cess, and the possibility of tho mails be
ing tampered with during transit has
been provided against, would-be robbers
being circumvented in summary fashion.
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