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The battery system provided another alternative.
- With battery operated streetcars system-wide failures were unlikely.
- Battery systems could often use existing horse-car tracks without the need for an expensive network of trolley wires or conduits.
Despite these advantages, by about 1890 American streetcar companies had come to view battery and conduit systems with disfavor.
- In the battery system the cars carried over 3000 pounds of batteries—reducing acceleration and making it difficult to climb hills.
- The batteries themselves proved to be expensive and short-lived, requiring replacement after two years.
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