But I know
the Jandel patent."
"It is about the best there is--and the most recent; but it
does not fill the bill. Not for the H. & P. A., anyway," said Mr.
Bartholomew, shortly.
"What does it lack?" asked Mr. Swift.
"Speed. It's got the power for heavy hauls. It could handle the
freight through the Pas Alos Range. But it would slow up our
traffic so that the shippers would at once turn to the
Hendrickton & Western. You understand that their rails do not
begin to engage the grades that our engineers thought necessary
when the old H. & P. A. was built."
"I get that," said Tom briskly. "You have come here, then, to
interest us in the development of a faster but quite as powerful
type of electric locomotive as the Jandel."
"Stated to the line!" exclaimed Mr. Bartholomew, smiting the
arm of his chair with his clenched fist. "That is it, young man.
You get me exactly. And now I will go on to put my proposition to
you."
"Do so, Mr. Bartholomew," murmured the old inventor, quite as
much interested as his son.
"I want you to make a study of electric motive power as applied
to track locomotives, with the idea of utilizing our power plants
and others like them, and even with the possibility in mind of
the continued use of the Jandel locomotives on our more level
stretches of road.
"But I want your investigation to result in the building of
locomotives that will make a speed of two miles a minute, or as
near that as possible, on level rails, and be powerful enough to
snake our heavy freight trains through the hills and over the
steep grades so rapidly that even two engines, a pusher and a
hauler, cannot beat the electric power.
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