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SEPT

I I 893·]

E N G I N E E R I N G.

259

. -

:

a

STONE-DRESSING MACHINE.

CO N ST RU CT E D

BY

:MESSRS.

BR

UN TON AND TRIER ,

LONDON.

LITERATURE.

Scientific

and

Technical

a

pers of

W er•ncr

von S

ieml nS

.

Vol. I.

Translated

from

the

second German edition.

London : John Murray. 1892.

T H IS is the first of three volumes in which

it

is

in

tended to publish an

English

translation of the

second

German

edition of the collected

papers

of

the late Dr.

Werner

von Siemens, together

with

a

biography, as well as an

account

of the ri se of the

great elect

ri

cal firm

of

Siemens and

Halske.

The volume consists of his scientific papers alone,

which

are

now publis

hed

in a collected form in

English

for

the

first time, and in the preface

it

is

stated that it is believed that

it

will prove ' 'Dr.

v

ern

er

von Siemens

to

be

o

ne

of

the

fo

remost

amongst

the many workers who, during the present

century,

have revolutionised

the manner

of

li

ving

by dev eloping science,

and applying

its me

thods

to

the problems of everyday lif e.'

I t

has long

been

recognised that

the

Brothers

Siemens, from th e nature of

their

work, occupied

an important place in the band of practical scientific

men who have

been the mean

s of

making the

great

changes in social and national life which have

occurred

during th

e l

atter half

of

this

century.

P ossessing,

as

they did, a knowledge of

the la t

est

ad va.nces made in science, and the resources of

minds

trained in the

practical school

of

manufac

ture,

they

ably discharged the respons ibilities that

fell upon them as indu

st

rial leaders.

At

the time

when their

public work began,

the

ele

ctric

tele

graph, which has, as much as anything else, r evo

luti

o

ni

sed our commercial life, was in

it

s infancy,

and

was

only being

adopted

for

land

lines

;

ocean

telegraphy had not been attempted, for the difficul

ties connected

with

the effective

insulation and

protection of

the

wire rendered success improbable.

'fhe great interest of the present volume

will

be

reft.lif ed

when it

is conside

red

that it contains

•

•

• • •

For Description, see

Page

268.}

memoirs up on the

state

of telegraphic engineering

in 1850, and again, after ten

years'

further work,

papers on

duplex

working ; th e elec

trostatic

induc

tion observed upon land lin es ; the mercury unit

of resistance ;

the

laying

and testing

of s

ubmarine

cables ;

the

influence of

light

upon sel

enium

; pho

tometry ; bes

id

es a number of papers of

general

in teres t as specul

atio

ns

upon the

causes of natural

phenomena. A few of the papers have been

written

by

Dr. Warner

von

Siemen

s conjointly

with

the late Sir

William Siemens; most, however,

are by the former

worker,

and were originally pub

li

shed

in

the

Oorn

pt

es

R

en

dt S, P

oggendor

A?Wtetlen,

and

the

reports of

the

Berlin Academy of Science,

of which he was a member since 1874.

The

fir

st pap

er

in the

vo

lume

deals

with the

hot

air engine, which the

author

viewed, with many

others

of

the

time,

as

a powerful

rival to the steam

engine. Th e

awkward

bulk of the apparatus

had

not then

come fully in to view, and the author states

that if

untrammelled

by

patent la

ws, o

ne cannot

avoid looking up on

the

invention

as

one of the

most important of the age.  

But it

may well be

questioned whether this opinion of

the

action of

patent laws was always held by him.

A po.per u

pon the

application of

the

el

ectric

spark

to

the

measurement of

high

velocities follows,

in which we

get

a lesson h ow easy i t is, owing

s

imply to

an incomplete

st a

te

of

knowledge, for

even

a man of undoubted scientific skill

to

imagine

that a higher degree of accuracy had been attained

1

than

was really

the

case.

The

100 000

of a second of

I

time

is

spoken

of as being a practically measur

able

in t

e

rval by

the

aid

of

the

meth

od,

but it

is

now recognised

that

the measurement of intervals

of

time

by

the

aid of

the spark is

subject

to

er

rors

amounting t o n early 100 times this.

I t is

stated

in

a

paper

on

the

electric tele

graph,

published in 1860, that , as early

as

1847,

•

•

Dr. Siemens

having

seen

some

samples of

g u t t a ~

percha,

then

a

fresh importation, recognised

its

suitability

for

the

purpose of

insulating

underground

wires,

and had

bro

ught

experiments with it to so

successful an issue that a

short trial line

was put

down.

Without

doubt

this should

be

considered

one of the important events in the history of the

e

le

ctric telegraph. Strange r es

ul t

s were soon

o b ~

tained from the long underground wires, the capa

city

of

the line

giv

in

g

rise to phenomena

but

little

understood

at

the time,

just as the introduction

during the past few years of high voltages and

freq

uencies

ha

s

attracted attention to

the self

induction of circuits

carrying

alternating currents.

In

another

memoir presented to the

Academie

des

Sciences

in

April,

1850, we

have

a

clearly-written

account

of the

state

of electric telegraphy at that

time.

The

overhead wires,

used from the

first in

this country,

are described,

as

well

as

the

best

forms of

insulators

for them;

but

much is made of

the

difficulties caused by

varying atmospheric

influ

ences. Lightning conductors to the poles are not

even mentioned ; evidently they had not then

come

under

the observation

of

the author,

who is

con

fessedly in favour of underground wires. The

discussion

of. t h ~ s e latter is taken up, and the

modes by wh1eh 1t

had been

proposed

to

insulate

t hem: and to us

it

is interesting to

read

that

in

England

and in the united States tubes of cast

iron. or lead

w e r ~

used for sho

rt

. lines

to protect

the

coat1ng of

va

rn1shed cotton w1th which the

wires

were covered against the

dampness of

the

soil.''

Had this not been

thrown into

the shade by

the appearance of gutta-percha, the use

of oil

as an

in

s

ulator mu

st

have

followed

earlier

than has

p r ~ v e ~ to be the. case. We. have

on

page 34 a

de

scriptwn

of a. b1t of pract1eal testing of

the day

A covered core

is to

be tested,

and

the w o r k m ~

h.olds one. terminal induction coil, the o p p o ~

Slte

t e r m n ~ l Wbtch

l  S ~ O I } U e 9 t e d

W i ~ h the

Wire,

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260

wire itse

lf

is passed slowly throucrh a tank of

ac1dulated

water

in which the

w o r k ~ a n

keeps his

hand. As

soon a s any defective part (such as

may

ue

du

e

to an atr-bubble

encloseu in the autta

per cha covering) passes

in

to

the tank, ' ' the ~ o r k -

men e c e i ~ e s

such

sharp shocks as could n

ot

escape

the attentwn of

even

t he dullest."

Education

has

probably

since in

r

reased the

"fi

gure of meri t " of

th

e

human

galvanoscope

to

s

uch an

extent as

to

r 9

nder its

use

und

esirable,

bu

t

this remind

s me of

some of Cavendish's expe

rim

ents. There can,

o w e v e no do

ub

t

th at

few, i any, weak

pl

aces

1n the

coattng

wo

uld

escape t.

he sea

rch

in

g test of an

alternat

in

g electromotive force of several

hundr

eds

of

_v

olts.

The

. finished wire was

further teste

d

by

be1ng placed 1n a tank, and the

steady

current

i n g .thr?ugh. the core

to

th e water when placed

c ~ r c u t t wtth e1ght cells was considered too great if

1t

u r b e d

a sensitiYe galvanometer. The

mor

e

sat1sfactory

tests

by loss of

potentials inv

olving

the

use of

an

el

ect

r

ometer

are desc

rib

ed

in

a jo

int paper

of later da te

(1860),

and the well-kn own test for

faults

bearing the author's

name

is asrecentas 1874.

There

was

much

to say in 1850

in

favour of

r o u n d wire

s

on

account of their

exemption

from

1nterference

by

atmospheric influences.

But

a s soon as ~ e l e g r a . p h i s t s had

lon

g well-insulated

hn es

on

whtch to operate, they experienced the

effects

due

to the

ve

ry considerable electrostatic

capacity of

the

line. Th ese effects are

re f

err

ed to

in the memoir,

and their

cause poin

te

d out, but

the

l i m i t t ~ thereby

imposed upon

the

speed of

s1gnalhng does not

app

ear

to

havA

be

en felt until

rapid aut01natic inst

ruments had been

perfected

and brou

ght .

into general

u

se

. The

preferen

ce

by

the author

for dial

instruments, whether prin

ting

ones or not,

to

t hose of the Morae type, is shown

as

ea

rly as this

date,

so that the es

sential

dif

ferences

be

t ween the practice of the workers

in

this

country

and

on

the

Contin

ent

had already

ex

hibited themselves. The disadvantages of

the

system adopted had

in some meas

ur

e

been

felt,

but in

such

ha

nd

s as

those

of the

author and

his

eo-workers we

re

minimised, in order that the con

current

advantag

es mi ght

be

retained.

In

a pap er

publi

shed

in

1856, the

author

deals

with the

practicability of

sending

several signals

simul taneously

by

one wire,

and

mentions all the

mor

e

important prin

ciples

that

have since

be

en

followed

in

practice. Singularly enough

he

con

sid

er

ed Kruse

's m

et

hod

to

be out of the range of

pract

icability, whereas it is

at present in

use

on

the mor e

important

circuits of

this

country,

th

ough

many important

detai ls

had

to

be invented

before

this was possible.

Th

e methods advocated for

iuplex working, though similar to those now

ado

pt

ed,

were

not

at

t

hi

s date sufficientlydeveloped

to render

i t possible

to apply them to

lines having

much

e

lectrosta

tic capacity.

Some

experiments

on

electrostatic induction,

published in

1857,

furnish

interes

tin

g reading,

particularly when

it

is

cons

id

ered

that they

were

undertaken with

a distinctly practical

end in

view.

In

the course of

these

experiments, Siemens

fo

und

by accident

that by

heating a glass plate,

used

as the dielectric of his condenser, there was

an apparent

increa

se in the dielectric constant ; so

much

so, that

on

heating the glass

up

to the melting

point

of lead,

the

deflection of the needle of

hi

s

balli

st

ic galvanometer was increased some 30

times

by the extra

charge.

He

was ul tim

atel

y led

to the

belief that the increased capacity of the condenser

was really

due

to an e

lectrolytic

separation

fr

om

the

glass of metallic sodium

and

potass

ium at

the

coating answering

to

the negative electrode.

Thi

s

hypothesis

has be

en confirmed

in

a

striking

way by

the

recent experiments

of Wartburg

and Teg

et

meier, who have satisfactorily shown the actual

substitution

as well as the

transference

of ions

in

a

glass

plate submitted to

electrical

stress at

a simi

larly elevated temperature.

The state of

electrical science was such

that the

author considers the differences between the so

called

' ' free

" and

' ' jar

" electricities,

and

pro

ceeds to verify F a

raday

's view

that

the surface

charges

on in

s

ulated

conductors

are due to

the

presence

of a

similar

opposite charge _upon

the

walls of the

room

in wh1ch the conductor 1s placed,

and

hence

that

no

true dist inction exists. At th e

same time the

difference

between ' '

electric force "

or

potential and

the ' '

density

" of charge_ is well

appreciated. The author

proceeds

to

cons1der

the

nature

of the molecular work

done by the silent

discharge

through

a dielectric, and describes

his

apparatus in whi<:h ozone can be produced by such

E N G I N E E R I N G

m

ea

ns.

Th

e causes

by

which the discharge

takes

the form of

sparks

when a conducting

fi

lm is

opposed

to

an un

stab

le dielectric, such as a laye r of

air, are very clearly

pointed

out,

and then, after

stating that

he

st ill

did

not consider the

experimental

wo

rk

sufficie ntly advanced

to

dogmatise, he adds,

' 'Finally, I will only r

emark

thereon, t h

at

it is

very

l ikely t h

at

the

seat

of the electricity is re

moved from t

he

conductors

to

t he non-co

ndu

ctors

s

urrounding

them,

a

nd

may be defined as an

electrical polar

isat

ion of t he latter." He

did

not

l

et the

m

atter rest

·here, for

in

a l

ater paper

we find

h im describing experiments

upon

the

heat

ing effect

of successive charges

upon

the dielectric of a con

den

ser

.

It

is a little amusing to-day, when

it

is

proposed to rationalise the electrical units,

to

find

that practical el

ec t

r icians

and

scientific investigators,

in the

per

sons of Dr. Sieme

ns and

Lo

rd

Kelvin,

discovered a difference of ' ' 4 b

et

ween some of

their

indepe

nd

e

ntly

devised formul

re

.

In

a b

oo

k

offerin

g

so

much solid readin g, it is a

change

to

see a li tt le of the humorous side of the

author.

In a

de

scription of a

visit to

the

top

of

the Cheops

pyramid during

a sandsto

rm,

we

are

offered

an

account of the initiation of an

Arab

escort

in

to

t

he

mysteries of western science. Grave

doubts existed in the sober minds of the Arabs as

to

the legitimacy of certain proceedings upon the

top

of the pyramid with electric

sparks drawn

from

t he Mg

hl

y charged air.

The

remo

nstran

ces of

the

Arabs

proved to

be wit

h

out

avail,

so

t he

la

tt er

de

cided to

rem

ove the savants by force, and with eve

ry

prospect of success,

un

til the effect of a -in. spark

from a L eyd

en

jar (

exte

mporis ed out of a bot tle of

champagne covered w

ith

wet paper) was

tried up

on

the

nose of the m

ost

powe

rful and

aggressive of

the

Arabs.

The

w

ay in

which

the

astonished son

of the desert fell, picked himself up, and then,

with

a

great

howl,

disapp

eared as fa st as he could,

followed

by

his companions, is vividly described.

P e

rhap

s

the

moat impor

tant chapter in the

b

oo

k

is

that

r elating

to the pr

oposal for a reproducible

unit of e l

ec tri

cal resistance.

Th

e

Brot

hers Siemens

e

arly rec

ognised the importance of exact resistance

tes ts, and, like V arley and

othe

rs, had sets of coils

made.

Now

that t

he

mercury unit of Siemens has

at last been

expressed

in terms

of t he C G

S unit

to fo

ur

significant figures,

it

is a useful check upon

other

standards,

but

Siemens

at that

day could

hardly

have realised the

di

fficult ies

in

the reproduc

tion of a

standard to the

high degree of accuracy

soon deman

d4td

by

the

advance of science. On

the

other

hand, his unit is readi

ly

reproduced for com

paratively rough

purp

oses, and

it

is only lately that

one has been able to say

what an

' 'ohm" is. Now

that the Royal ComGl.ission on electrical

standards

has completed its labours the matter is diffe

rent,

but

if

Siemens's essentially practical

unit had

been

ado

pted, it

would have saved years of

doubt

a

nd

difficulty,

and

afte

r a

ll

would have

been

upon as

satisfactory a

ba

sis as

the metre

itse

lf

, or our much

abused sta

ndard yard.

His

searching criticism upon the first

determ

ina

tion of the o

hm by the British

Association in 1860,

proved

to

be

o

nly

too well found ed, as, for example,

hi

s r

emarks

upon the length of the wire of the

r otating coil,

and alth

ough

the

unit was not

s

ome

few per cent." in

error

, as he thoug

ht might

pos

sibly

be

t

he

case, still it

pr

oved

to

be over

per

cent. different

fr

om wh

at

was intend ed.

In

1860,

for practical purposes, d

oubt

less Siemens's

unit

had

more

to

commend it than now, for an exact

ne

ss

of per cent. was then sufficient; the

contrast

to-day is but a measure of t

he

rate

at

which elec

tric::l l

science

ha

s advanced

in the

m

eantime

.

Th

e remarkable

properties

of selenium form

the

subject

of several papers,

and

one

point

to

which

further attention

ought to be

directed is the obse

r

vation

that,

without any indication of polarisation,

the

resistances of

certain

forms of

se

lenium

' 'cells

"

vary

with the

size of the p

os

itive eleotrode, so

that: if

one of these cells

be

made with differently

sized electrodes, i

ts

resi

sta

nce will be found

to

have a different value if the direction of the test

ing

current

be

reversed. The exp

lanati

on giv

en

of

the

behaviour of selenium

und

er the action of

lig

ht and

heat, is

that

depolymeri

sat

ion occurs,

and

this

seems good

on

gene

ral

grounds.

One

of these papers, in answer to one by

Dr.

Bornstein,

goes

on to

discuss

the

use of sel

en

ium

in photometer

s, as well as the

subject

of the bril

liancy of illumination.

Th

e

author

ho

lds

that a

correct

photometer

should show differently-coloured

lights as ~ q u i v a l e n t when they make

di

stant

objects perceptive

n

the same degree.

[SEPT

I , I

893.

If

, however, it is

attempted to

measure light

in

this

way by t

he

eye, t

he

resu

lts

obtained will

be

wholly dependent upon the observer,

and

in some

experiments upon

the

visibility of objects under

differently- coloured illumination, this personal

effect

quite prevented any

concordant table of

the

coefficien

ts

of the brilliance of differently-coloured

lights from being obtained.

Th

e

author's

lamp for

the

pr o

du

ction of a

un it

of white light, simil

ar

to

that

ado

pt

ed by t he

Pari

s Convention, was more

successful.

geological paper occurs

in the

vo

lume, suggested

by

a visit

to

Vesuvius.

In

a review of the various

theories that have from t ime

to time been

sug

gested as

to the st

rucLure of

the

earth, the neces

sity of t ime for the propagation of tides in viscous

matter is advanced

in

opposition

to

the assumption

that the earth need necessarily

be

solid

in order to

be rigid.

A ma

sterly

examination of

the

variation of

the

conductivity of carbon with change of

temperature,

shows how easy it is for

an

investigator working

alone

in

a wide field of research

to

arrive

at

inaccu

r

ate

resul ts,

and

it als9 shows how necessa

ry

it is

that the

details

in

even a simple experiment sho uld

be varied in all possible ways.

A distinct

dis

agreement existed between the resul ts of the

work of Matt

hi

esen, Betz, and Auerbach upon the

co ndu ctivity of carbon,

and

this is proved by con

clusive experiments

to

be due

to

a different mode

of

attachment

of

the

metal wires

to the

carbon

rods

und

er

te

st

.

The imp

ortan

t , though still de

fect ive, generali

sa

tion that the conductivity

diminishes with t he heat ene rgy possessed

by

body, is

in

sisted

up

on by

the

author

to

an ex treme

degree.

Perhap

s he is ri

ght,

but that

the

high

tempe

rature

of

th

e electric arc is

due

to

a forcible

disengagement of the heat of po

lym

erisation of

carbon (or of wh

atever

material of which the poles

may be made)

und

er the effect of electric

st

ress is

a view

that

will have

to

be

supported

by

fur

ther

evidence before

i t

can be accepted.

Th

e phenomena

of polarisation of carbon,

and

of bad conductors

generally,

and

particularly the recent exper iments

of

Profe

ssor Dewar upon co

ndu

ctivity at low

tem

peratures, lend, howe\

'e

r, much suppo

rt

to such a

•

VleW.

A somewhat heavily-written

chapter up

on t ube

magnets contains a modificat

ion of

the

Ampere

Weber theory of ma

gnet

ism, and, incidentally, a n

acco

unt

of

an

experiment of a ve

ry

similar cha

racter to

that recen

tly

published

by

Dr. Robb,

proving the oscillato

ry na

t

ur

e of t he discharge of

a Leyden

jar. But

it is remarkable that Siemens

did not actually discover this phenomen

on

himself,

for in a

paper

upon the velocity of electric signals

in

wires,

aa ea rly

as 1875, he records how, when dis

charging a condenser th rough a sho

rt

circuit, he

obtained a single

spark

upon a rapidly-revolving

steel drum, whereas when

the

discharge took place

th rough a circuit of considerable resistance (and

possessing much

induct

ance) he obtained not a

single spark, but a series of sparks

fr

om the singl e

disc

har

ge.

He

gives

an

elabor

ate

exp lanation of

wh

at he

considered

to

be t he cause, a

nd kn

ew

that

the discharge had taken a longer time in the

latter case, but

had

evidently

quite

missed

the

im

port of

the

observat ion.

Th

e very impor tant subj

ect

of radiation from

flames,

in

connection with which

the

name of Sir

William Siemens will

be

remembered, is

ente

red

in to in an

accoun t of some

exper

iments performed

at the glass works at Dresden. I t is

th

ere shown

that

furnace gases

heated to

a

temp

er

at

ure of

1500 deg. Cent., ex

hibit

no luminosity

unl

ess

active combu

st

i

on

is

in

progress, or

unl

ess

dust

be

present. Nevertheless

so

me experim

ents

are de

scribed

in

which it would appear that heat is

radiant

so as to affect

th

e thermopile, but t

hi

s was

with

the hot gases from a s

hi

elded flame, ar d open

to objection

on that

ground.

Th

e

ether

di

st

urb

ance caused by

the

coalescing of the mol

ec

ules

undergoing combination is assigned as the cause of

luminosity, so that the

author

sums up

by

say ing

that "the

light of flame might then

be

called elec

tric

light

with

the

same

propriety as the

li

ght

of

ozo ne

tubes or Geissler tubes, which o

nly

differs

from

the

first principally

by

containing

a

dielectric

of very slig

ht

maximum polarisation." As this was

written in

1882,

it

will

be

seen how advanced

the

views were th

at

the

author

held

up

on abstract

physical science.

'Vhen,

however , we come

to the

treatment

of geological

and as t

ronomical questions,

we

find the author in the position of an actively

hostile critic, holding views that are distinctly

•

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heterod

ox ;

but

as the

statement of

hi s opinion is

acc om.panied by the descript.ion of many novel

experiments, our knowledge 1s very

considerab

ly

enriched on

that

account

alone.

One of these

experimentg

is

with

a Loyden

ja r, one coating

of

which is a sheet of flame ; and al thouah

suc

h a co

n

denser shows

much

loss,

similar that

due

to

leakage, it is quite capable of receiving and sub

sequently parting

with A c

harg

e.

The

work of trans

lating this volume must have

been

very

heavy

indeed, but has been on the whole well performed.

A number of passages are written in

what

is a

somewhat involved style, but this can hardly be

av

oided. Surely, h owever,

in the

e

xe

cution of such

im portant and responsible work, the

translator

ought

to

have the cr

edit,

and the reader the satis

faction, of having the

tr a

nsla tor 's name

which

is

.

not gwen. Then,

too,

in

an

English

edition the

w?odcuts, of

which

there are n ot a large number,

mtght

su re

ly

be

made afresh

with

English lett

ering,

~ h e r e a s we have ~ o b e content with those employed

1n the

Germa.n ed1t1on.

There

are a f

ew misprints,

too, as,. for instan?e, in

the

formulre on page 127 ;

but

th1s can east

ly

be attended

to in a futur

e

edition. There is an excellen t portrait of

the

author,

and the

vol

ume

is o

ne

which

can

be

read

with

g

rea

t profit by any one possessing an interest

in

physical science,

and muoh

in its pages is so im

portant

as to

ca

ll for further investigation now

that

the author's

lab

our is past.

In

his inaugural

address, when admitted

into the

Berlin Academy

of Science, he

pointed

out

that

science did not

exist

o

nly

for

the enjoyme

nt

of

the

limited number

of its professors, lmt

that

the task of those who

studied

it

was

to

increase the store of knowl

edge

of the human r

ace

so as to lighten the hard fight

for material existence

by

pressing

into service the

slumbering fo

rces

of nature. " Towards this end

Siem

ens

did his full

s

ha r

e

of work,

as

the

present

volume amply shows; and when we receive the

se

co

nd

and third

volumes

we

shall probably see

that the

hard fight

for

material existence has been

ma t

erially less

ened by

his labours .

THE ENGINEERING

CONGRESS

AT

CHICAGO.

(BY

ouR

NEw

YoRK

CoRRESPONDENT.

Continued

rom

page

246.)

\V EVXESDAY's proceedings were opened by four

papers on steel,

as

follows :

The

Treatment

of

Metals for

St r

uctural Purposes, by J ames Christie;

Th

e Use

of Basic Mild Stee

l as

Material

for Co

n

struc tion

in

Germany, " by C.

Weyrich

, Germany ;

' '

A

P r

oposed

Method

of

Testing

Structural

Steel,

"

by A. E . Hunt; and The Use of Mild Steel for

Engineering

Structures,

by

George C. Mehrtens,

Germany.

Mr. C. C. Gleim, after announcing

that

Messrs.

'-tVeyrich and Mehrtens

were

leading

German

advo

cates for the use of mild steel, stated

that

in

Germany specifications permitted

the

rejection of

stee

l which exceeds the higher figures, as i t is

liable to be

defic

ient in

elongation and ductility.

The general tone of the discussion favoured

mild

steel

for st

ru ctural

purposes

in

stead of

wrought

iron. Two instance3 of its

value

were cited, as

f

ollows:

Mr. George

H.

Morison

referred

to the case of a

schooner

stri

kin

g

the

steel drawspa

n

over

the

St.

,John 's River,

Florida,

and t he

on ly

damage was

the

bending of a

vertical

post,

which

was struck by

the

bowsprit with

such force as to break

the

latter where 26

in.

thick. He thought the post

would have

been

more badly damaged

if

of wrought

•

OD.

Mr.

Robert H.

Moore

sai

d

that his

fear of

mild

steel

and of screw threads on steel

had

disap

peared. In

one

case he

used iron a n c ~ o r bolts

f ~ r

a

steel st ructure

owing

to

the

preJUdice against

steel,

but some

of

the rods broke at

or near

the

screw

thread.

The rods

had

been up set and

anneal

ed.

Th

e President who is at the head of

stee

l manu-

facturers

h

ere

~ n t e r e d

the

discussion.

He

said

there w a ~ much said about making steel mild by

CYivina it

a low tensile

st

rength

;

he thought

it

was

in fa;t

' ' rotten " when

too

low in ten

sio

n and

too

l

ong

in

elon

gation.

By

melting too

low

to

r

ed

uce

the

phosphor•Js, or by blowing

too low

to reduce

the carbon

the steel is

damaged

by

the

excess

of

hydr

oger and

nitrogen

w h i c ~ is blown i n t ~ it and

cannot be eliminated. g 1 n e e r s should rtd them

selves of the idea that the maximum strength means

N G I N R I N G

maximum safety. The

danger in

the u

se

of

steel

is largely

increased

by

making it

too

mild. The

damage in

melting is not

due

to

the

eiimination of

phosphorus,

but

to the consequent

introd

uction of

hydrogen and nitrogen.

River and harbour improvement here and

abroad

was discussed, and much preference expressed for a

system of providing sufficient appropriations

at the

outset to

finish

the

work. Captain Black described

a system of making

estimates

for the appropriations

and construction

of works.

These remarks were

in

c

on

nection with the

following

papers

:

~ A m e r i c a n

Grai

n

Elevators,

"

by E. L. H

eidenreich ;

" Manufacture

and

se of

Paving Brick, " by D . W. Mead ; " Carbon and I ts

ses

in Electrica

l Engineering,., C. M.

Barber;

Inland

Tr

ansportation," Captain

F.

A. Mahan ;

" The

Impr

ovement of Harbours on the

South

Atlantic Coast of the Uni t

ed

States,

Capta

in

W.

M. Black, U.S.A.

;

The Electric Light

Plant

of Guadalajara, R . M. de Drozarena,

~ i e x i c o ;

' 'Practical and t E ~ t h e t i c

Considerations

in the Laying Out of Cities, "

F. Stubben

;

The

Relative

Me

rits

of

Working Hoisting Machinery

by Steam,

Water,

and Electricity, by Mr. G.

A. Goodwin.

These papers were n ot

di

scussed

at

length, and

the ses sion closed with abstracts of

three

papers

from Mr. Fulscher, chief

engineer

of the

North

Sea

and

Baltic

Cana

l, describing the sand dams,

the lock

at the

Baltic end, and

the

canal

in

general.

Th e first paper of Thursday received some

pretty

hard raps. I t was " The Gauges of Railway

Track in General, with

Special

Consideration

of

Narrow

Gauge

Railways, by E. A. Ziffer, of

Germany. After

condemning the paper on

the

ground

that

its

assumptions were

not

ju

stified by

the facts as to economy of operation and equip

ment,

the objectors

proceeded to annihilation by

the

stateme

nt that the

s

ubject

was of

little

imp

ort

ance

in

the United States, as the advantages of a

standard gauge were recognised everywhere. This

is the o

ld argument

based on the answer of a man

to the charge that his dog had killed some chickens :

I t is impossible, he was

ti

ed

up at home at

the

time specified ; my dog died the day

before

this

s

lau

ghter ;

and

finally, I n

ever

h

ad

a

dog., Some

years ago an

eminent

writer on engineering matters

storme

d a

narrow-guage

convention

in

Cincinnati,

where they had been

havin

g a lovefeast hitherto,

and

had

about

decided on

a single

suspended

rail

as the acme of narrow-gaugism. His text was,

' ' Whatever you ca

n d o with a

narrow

gauge

you

can do better with a standard gauge. One of his

a

udit

ors

told the writer he did not mind this state

ment,

but the trouble

was that he

went in

and

proved it.

I t was further

shown that the

author had made

no dist inction between street

rail

ways

and

indus

trial railways,

although

the

latt

er are for special

use

in

warehouses, on plantations, &c., and are

built

for

convenience

rather than for

any

other

consideration. The writer

once laid

out an 8-ft.

gauge railway,

but it

was for conveying

granite

from a quarry to the cutting sheds, and was

only

a

mile

long.

It would be unfair to contrast this

with

any ordinary

road.

Next

came

the

following papers :

' ' Transmission

of

Power

in Operating Cable

Railways,

by Robert

Gillham

;

A

New Method

of

C a l c u l a t i n ~

Cross

Sections

of

Roads

and Railways, by F . S. Ribeiro,

Portugal

: Distinctive

Features and

Advantages

of American Loc

omot

ive Practice, :' D. L. Barnes ;

Railway Signalling,

by

G. Kecker, Germany. I t

was noted

in

respect to

the last

paper

that

there

should be a distinction made between signalling and

operating signals.

Th e paper of Mr.

Gelbeke,

of

Germany,

Surveys

for Railway L

ocat

ion, was next read, and it was

apparent

that

his methods in Germany,

wh

ere the

G o v e r n m ~ n t maps

and

cartoons were

so

accurate

that

he

could

almost locate in his office, were very

different from

those

possible

in

this

country, but

the use of the compass and camera was corn

mend

ed .

F ollowing this came Mr. Engel's paper on

The

Limits Attainable in Improving

the Navigability of

Rivers by Means of R egulation . The difference was

remark

ed

between exact problem

s

in land

construc

tion, and dynamic forces e n c o ~ n t e r e d .in h y ~ r a ~ l i c s

that r

eq

ui re extensive analysts

and

1nvesttgat10n,

many

of

the

forces

being

insidiou9, as in. the

sippi River, where in a

bend

of o n ~ m1l.e radms a

two.mile

~ u r r e n t

may cause a 2-In. dtfference of

261

head

that

will

erode

banks

and

form crossing bars

there. Also, a rise of surface level is often accom

panied

by a

rise

of bottom, and erosi0n occurs

in

falling stages.

Colonel King

noted

the exceptional nature o f the

Tenness

ee

River, a completed, not shifting st r

ea

m,

and

has a fixed regimen

to

sec

ur

e gr

eatest depths.

Upstr

eam

pools must not be lowered, nor the

current

made

too great.

In

deepening

the

channel

the cross-section must be kept approximately co

n

stant. Impr

oving

the

worst

obst

ructio

ns

first gave

some

relief, and left

more

secondary ones for

future improvement

as

demanded.

Three

f

eet

was

u r e d and locks

built

for

5

ft. Improvements

are comparatively permanent; dams built of very

small stones

laid

shinglewise withstand great

floods that would demolish wall masonry,

Th

ough

the

German

enginee

rs may not be

able

to im

prove their rivers beyond a

ce

rtain point, we can

ours.

Next came a

series

of

papers

on waterways and

their

improvement and

preservation. The

titles

were as

follows:

History of the Conversion of

the River

Clyde

in t

o a

N A.vigR-ble Waterway, and

the Progress of Glasgow Harbour from Its Com

mencement

to the Preseut

Day,

James

D e a ~ ,

Glasgow; The Developme

nt

of Quay

Cranes

in

the

P

ort of Hamburg,

" C. N ehls,

Germany ; The

Plant

of Maritime Commercial Ports of France,"

by H. Despres, France; Railways in New South

Wales, " T.

F.

Birrell ; "

Study

for

Rail

waye

from

G u a d a l a j a r ~ to the Pacific Ocean, S. V.

Pa

scal,

Mexico ; Railways of Mexico, E.

B.

Basave,

Mexico; ' 'The Rearrangement of the Railway

System of Cologne, " F. L ohse, Germany ;

' '

Com

parison of Modern Engine Lo

ading

with Standard

Specifications for Spans fr

om

10

to

200 Yards, " by

C.

D.

Purdon.

That

evening

Mr.

F.

V l Skinner

presented a

paper with stereopticon views

showing

the Americ$\n

method

of

bridge

erection.

The subject

of

water

ways was continued on Friday. An abstract of

a.

paper by L. Franzins, of Germany, was read ; the

subject

was ' 'Description of the

Lower

Weser

and

Its Improvements." Here it was proposed to deepen

the river

by stirring t.he sandy bottom

and

allowing

the current to carry off the sand. So

me details

of

this plan were given. One of the United

States

enginee

rs

showed

that scrapers, pil es, and even

dynamite

had been empl

oyed for this,

A.lso that

steamers had been sent, deeply laden , so

that

the

propeller might

effect

the

same purpose,

but the

re

sult was simply to

redeposit

the sediment

at

a point

lower down.

Th

e harbour papers were closed by submitting

the

following :

A Brief Account

of

the

Building

of

Leixoes

Harbour, by A. J.

N.

Soares,

Portugal,

and

Method Used to Secure the Stab

ility

of a

Quay

\Vall

at

the

Port

of Altona,

on

the Elbe,

which has Shifted its Position after Cornpletion,

by

B. Stahl,

Germany.

The meeting next

proceeded

to consider sewerage

and water

supply, when

the

following

papers

were

presented and read by abstract : Purification of

Sewage and of Water by Filtrati

on,

by H .

F.

Mills ; ' ' The

Sewerage

System of Mil waukee, and

th e tiilwaukee River

Flushing

Works," by G.

H.

Benzen

berg ;

' ' Experi

ence Had during

the

Last

Twenty-Five

Years with

\Vater Works h a v i n ~ an

Underground Source of Supply, B. Salbach, Ger

many

;

' 'Some

Questions

concerning

the Filtration

of Water, by W. Keummel, Germany.

In regard to the

paper

on underground sourceR

of supply it was pronounced to be very valuable,

and a

regret

was expressed that the character of

the

wells

and

methods of sinking

had

not been

stated. I t was shown also

that

a stream might be

polluted, while

a subterranean flow

directly under

neath which rose 3 ft. above the water lev el of the

stream

was

pure.

Other

in sta

nces were

cited

where fresh water had risen through

3

ft. of salt

water. The writer

can

add to this

a

small experi

ence. The soldiers frequently obtained fresh

water

in

Morris

Island during

o

ur war

by sinking

wells

RO

near the ocean's

edge

th

at

they

were

often

submerged

by a

high

tide.

Mr. Rudolph Hering. one of our be t authorities

on sewerage

and

sewage, thought too much stress

was

laid

on utilisation of sewage,

and

not

eno

ugh

on its

purifi

cat

ion . Sewage

is

not

purified

by

flow

ing

in

water, but

on1y diluted. F1ltration was the

best

method of purification. He also stated that

the chemical treatment

at

the Exposition r emoves

only the organic matter held in suspension, or

about half, leaving

that

held

in

solution.

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http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/engineering-vol-56-1893-09-01 4/33

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AUTOMATIC

HEATING

AND

VENTILATING FREIGHT

CAR AT

THE

COLUMBIAN EXPOSITIO

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speaker approved of filtration provid

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nature was

given

tim

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puri

fication and not

hurri

ed.

This interesting session was then closed

by

rea

din

g by

title

t he following : Possibility of

ncreasin

g the W

ate

r

Supply fr

om the Soil for

urposes of Irrigat ion and of Augmentir1g the

low of Rivers,  

by

G. H. 0. Volger, Germa

ny

,

nd On the Distributi

on

of vVater in the City of

o,

  by

L.

Salazar, Mexico. The meeting then

ed .

The ne

xt

meetings to be cons idered in this Con

re

ss we

re

t hose of t

he

American Soci

et

y of

al Engineers.

Ab

out 300 assembled

on Tu

esday. Aug

ust

1, at

Art

Palace. President Eckley B. Coxe was in

chair, and presid

ed with

his usual grace

and

of

manner.

The

fi

rst matter of in terest was t he report of the

ttee

on a St andard System of Tests of

terials. As the conference of engineers in

in was so rec en t Mr. H e

nnin

g, chairman,

ent ed an account of the confer ences held

Europe for

the

purpose of

establi

shing

unif

onn

ods of t

est ing materials

and it was suggested

the society memorialise

the

United States

to send duly

accredite d represent

at

ives

the conferences abroad to further the movement

establishing in te

rnational standard

s of tests.

this he

read

a

paper by

Pr ofessor Debray,

of P o

nts et

Chaussees,

in

France,

the desirability of a ge

neral adoption by

all

ountries

of a

uniform

method for the

tests

of

CONSTRUCTED BY THE EASTJ\fAN CAR COl\ilPANY, BOSTON AND CHICAGO.

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or De

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ription , s

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materials of construction. R esolutions present ed

by

Cha

irman Henning

7

s co

mmittee

in fav o

ur

of

in

ternat ional

standards

of

tests

w

ere

then

adopted.

Professor Mar

tens

of Berlin spoke in German

in

support of the movement to secu

re

unifo

rm

ity in

the n1ethods of

te

sting. He said that t

he

orig

in of

th

e moveme

nt

in Germany was due to a

pr

oposition

emanating from Professor Egleston of this country

in 1884. Hi

s r emarks were translated by Presid

ent

Coxe, who adds a know edge of German t o his other

accomplishments. A motion was

then

adopting

r

eq

u

est

ing the American Society of Mechanical

Engineers to take

charge of t his s

ub

ject.

The

report of th e Committee on a

Standard

Me

thod

of Condu ctin g Locom

ot

ive Test s was

pre

se

nt

ed by the chairman, Mr. William F orsyth. The

prin

cipal f

eat ur

e of t

hi

s report was the shop t e

sts

for l ocom

ot

ives as practised

at Purdu

e University.

The

appa

r

at

us is arranged

with

the drivin g wheels

of t he locomotive resting upon wheels tha t are

part

of a dynamometer.

In

this way

certain

points could

be

better

determin ed than by a road test ;

but the

committee thought the road test should supplement

the other.

Pr ofessor Lan za inquir ed as

to

the pro

babl

e e rr or

lik

ely

to

occur

in

de termining

the

amount of

water

in a boiler

at

the conclusion of the test by observing

the heig

ht

by the water glass, as he thought

the

error

might be quite large, and also as to the ad

visability of using two indicators

in

engine tes ting

in

place of one

indicator

with long

pip

e connections.

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Mr.

Forsyth favoured

tho

use of water meters

in

boiler testing.

Mr.

George

Gibbs said he found

no difference n

the use of long or short indicltur piping

when

taking

cards under

the

severe conditions

of a road

test. He also

believed

in the accuracy of meters,

and that

thera was li t t

le

error

in determining

water

level in a boiler at

end

of test by a guage.

Mr. E. B. Meier called attention to differences

in

r epor

ts

of

committees on standard

loc

omot

ive

and

boiler tests. In

the latter

it

was not ad vised

to pump

cold

water

in

the boiler

at

the

end

of

the

test

to bring the water up

to

the

initial

level, as

the water at the

end of the

test

would

be at

a

much

lower

temperature than when st arting.

This report was

particularly interestin

g, becau8e

there had been some slight feeling that the society,

by

making

official

tests

of

various

locomotives,

might

seem to

be

advocating some particular form

of

construction, and

thus

favour an individual

manufacturer. This is evidently not

the

proper

ground to view the case.

Th

e society,

as

a body, is

eugaged

in the search fvr and dissemination of such

mechanical

facts

as

will be of value to its

member

ship

and t.he world of scie

ntists. If in the

course

of

f

ai rly conducted and

impartial tests

one

locomo

tive shows better

r

esults

than

another.

there is

no

reas

on

why

such tests in

detail,

with the con

clusions drawn

by the expe

rts, should

not be made

kn ow

n.

Several things are probable : one is that

hardly any

f

orm

of locomotive will show

superior

results in

all

rospects. It

may be more

excellent

in

one

way

and inferior

in

another; and,

moreover,

if the tests

are

published

in detail,

the

results

drawn

by

others may not be

in

strict accord

with

those drawn by the investigators; but

finally,

sup

pose

both these

results should appertain

to

one

locomotive, who is

more interested in knowing it

than

rival

manufacturers They

can ascertain

exactly

what

they

must

do

to improve their own

form of

machine.

The ground taken in regard to

an official investigation by the society would, if

carried further, put a stop to

all

acquiring of know

ledge

by its mem

hers from it,

for

it is hardly

pos

sible to

find

a machine

which

is

n

ot in

some

form

made by various

manufacturers,

and the usefulness

of

this

society

might

be

almost

said

to have

ended.

There is one case parallel to this view, and that is

the

meth

od of excluding from

a

jury any one

who

has read

abo

ut the

case

to be tried. The result

wa.,

to obtain as

jurors

men of such

a low ord er of

intelligence t h ~ t they were incapable of forming an

opinion, or else those who had not sufficient

general

information to lead them to

take

any

interest in

everyday li f

e

Naturally

following

this

matter came a

paper

enti led, ' 'Test of the Locomotive at Purdue

Uni\·ersity

by

ProfessorGoss. This

was commen ted

on

very

favourc1.bly by Professor Denton. He

showed the great ad vantage.s of

this method

of

test ing, and s t

ated it

was a

very

easy

matter

to

secure and

maintain

any

desired

condition as

to

pressure,

speed,

point

of cut-off,

ra t

e

of

combus

tion, load, &c., in ftict, to do those things which

all experience had shown

could n

ot be done

upon

the road with any

decree

of accuracy, l eaving for

the

road

test

those points

which could be

deter

mined only on the road. The

form

of dynamo

meter

u

sed had proved to be of

the

g

reatest

value

in this

work,

the mere turning

of a small valve

serving

to

change

the l

oad

at will, and when once

set

the load r

emained constant for any desired

time. In

this

way

it had been

found

entirely

practicable

by

the committee,

who

had

inspected

the apparatus, to

get

and ste.adily maintain

any

desired

load

upon

the locomot1ve up

to

250 horse

power for each wheel, or a total of 1000 horse

power,

and there was

no

burning of blocks nor

trouble of any kind. He

concluded

by

favouring

the appointment of a

committee

of

this

society.

to

test in

this way a

simple

and compound locomotive.

Th

e Purdue University, it

may

be said,

were

willing to

place their

apparatus

at

the

disposal of

such a

committee.

The

value

of this

method

re

ceived at

this point

a confirmation

from one

of

England's greatest engineers,

to

wit, Sir Benjamin

Baker who

being

an

honorary member

of the

society,

had

come in

to

li

sten

to

the

discussion.

He

stated he would

have

bean

greatly

pleased

to have

had this

report some two. months. ago,

when

he

was

on the witness-stand

In

a smt

between

the

L

ondon

and

North-Western Railway

and the

Manchester Ship Canal. The tracks had to be

elevated above

the

masts of

vessels

in the

canal,

and t he

canal

require i to bear

the

increased

E N G I

N

E E R I

N G.

cost of handling

the

railroad

traffic

over

the

heavy

gradients.

I t was st artling at the trial

to

hear the

diverse testimony of engineers on the

economy

of

types

of locomotives.

In his testimony

for the

canal company,

he h

ad maintained

that

one ton

of

the Welsh coal us

ed

in the locomotives of the

road

would lift

600,000 tons 1

ft.

high,

w htle those

on

the other

side

had maintained that it would not do

nea r

ly so much-in

fa

ct,

about

400,000 tons

only.

He was pleased to note that the r esul ts obtained

by Professor

Goss and

given in

the

paper, when

corrected for the

diff

erence

in

value of the

coals

used,

sustained his

opinion,

being about

641,000

tons 1 ft. high. Just hefore leaving England he

had talked with Mr.

Webb

regarding

the perform

ance

of one of

his

la test compound locomotives,

Mr.

Webb

informing him

that these locomotives

were now carrying traffic over

the

road at

an

ex

penditure of

2

oz. of coal per

ton

per mile, a

per

fo

rmanc

e which was r

egarded

as exceptionally

good. ,

Domini

on of South Africa) are

embra

c

ed

in this

map,

as

jn considering a

subject of

such general

interest

as

railway enterprise,

no

distinction can

rea

lly be drawn between them, and they must

be

considered as

the

concrete

whole which it is to

be

h

oped

they

may

become in the not remote future ;

and that rail way development has and will largely

and powerfully

contribute

to this result,

no

one can

doubt.

The

hi

story

of

railway

enterprise

in

South

Africa

may be gene

rally divid

ed into three

periods. The

first period, extending

roughly

from

1857 to 1877,

may

be

called the period of

private

enterprise. The

second

period, from

1877 to 1887, may be termed

one

of

intra-colonial

Government

enterprise.

The third,

from

1887 to the present time, has been

one of extra-colonial Go

vernment

enterprise.

During

the

first twenty-year period all the earlier

colonial

lines

were

planned,

constructed,

and

passed

out

of the hands of

the

private companies who made

them into the hands of the Colonial Governments.

The Government

of

the

Cape Colony

did

not, how

ever,

wait

to commence the

planning and

construc

tion

of rail way lines on

its

own account

till

it had

purchased

all the un d

ertakings

in private hands,

but

several

years

previously, say

in 1873, in

consequence of

the

impetus imparted to trade by

the successf

ul

w

orking

of the Diamond Fields,

an

exte

nsi

on

to

Worcester in

the

Wastern Province

was for the second time authorised.

The Natal

Gove

rnmen

t followed exactly

in

the footsteps of

the sister colony in the matter of purchasing private

lines

and undertaking Government

extensions.

It

appears, therefore, that the second period slightly

overl

apped the

first,

and during this ten·year

period,

within

the Cape Colony at least, the bulk of the

main

lin

es

and

branches, the objective of which was

the

Diamond

and Gold Fields tra ffic, have been

corn

pleted

and opened, either directly or indirectly,

by

the

Government

concerned.

During the latter

half

of

this period

an attempt was made to revert

to the original

principle

of subsidised lines con

structed by private

enterprise,

with

far

from en

couraging

results. The

third

period

of extra

colonial Governm ent enterprise was

inaugurated

by

the Convention f()r the

extensi

on of the Cape

Gove

rnm

ent rail ways

into

the

Orange

Free State,

the Transvaal, and British Bechuanaland,

by

which

the Cape Gover

nmen

t Railway

Department

became

construct

o

rs and

workers of foreign lines, ratified

by the Cape

Parliament

in

1889.

The

secretary

then

presented in abstract

Mr. A.

Mallet's

paper on Locomotives

Operating by

Total

Adhesion on Cu

rv

es of

Small Radius,

which

was followed

by

that on The

Development

of the

Compound Locomotive, by

A

von

Borries,

of

Hanover,

Germany.

Th i

s paper showed much

patient research,

bein

g for the

most

part historical.

8uch papers

are

always of in terest, because they

afford a target for the iconoclast

to shoot at. There

is

one

craft,

however, which

has thus far

resisted

them, and that

is

Noah's Ark ; the reason

for

this

will

appear to

the

Bible student, for

Moses' account

of the Author of the

design

precludes any anterior

claim ; but for

t h i ~ no doubt, a certain write

r

would

announce

that he

had often

thought of such

a

design in

a previous state of existence,

only his

ideas were of a more ..esthetical character than

those shown

in

the Ark.

Experiences in the Construction and

Opera

tion cf Rack

Railways, by

Albert Schneider, was

then

read

by

the

secretary.

This

was discussed

by

Mr. Hildenbrand, who repr

esents

the Abt system

in the Un

ited States,

and

to

whom we are

indebted

for

the

Pike's Peak Railroad. Mr. Hildenbrand

gave the

paper credit

for its comprehensiveness and

for the many illustra

tions

of the roads

and

rolling

stock. He thought almost any load c0uld be

handled with

a

suitably

designed locomotive. He

set down the cost of

this

sty e of

road

with a rack

over an ordinary

one at

15 ,000

dols. per mile,

and

stated further, owing to

the

fact that a much shorter

road

could

be constructed between two terminal

points in a hilly or mountainous country where

the

grades made

possible

by

the rack were used, the

total

cost of

the road

would bo,

in most

cases, less,

and

the

operating

expenses

as

well.

Chairman Nason

then r

ead

the report of the

Standing

Committee

on Standard F1anges, giving a

statement

of

what

had

been done

in

conjunction

with

the

Master Steam and Hot

Water

Fitters .

The

effort

made to

secure the

adoption

of standard

flanges

by manufacturers

is making

general

pro

gress, only one concern

having

thus

far

refused

to

do so.

To be continued. )

THE

DEVELOPMENT

OF

SOUTH

AFRICAN RAILWAYS.

IT is doubtful

whethe

r the

general public

would

agree

with

the assertion that rail

way

enterprise

in

any country is a subject second to none in impor

tance for that

country. But

few engineers would

dispute

the

fact that in

the

present century

the

development

of a

country,

that is, its progress in the

r

anks

of civilisation, is chiefly

dependent

on the

means and facilities it affords for external and in

ternal

communication, a

nd

rail ways rank first

among such means. The subject matter of this

article will be

dealt

with under the following

heads : 1 General History of Railways in South

Africa. 2. Details

of

Location, Construction,

Equipment, and Maintenance

of

South

African

Railways. 3. Past and Probable Future Cost.

4. Traffic

and Earnings

of

Constructed lin

es. 5.

Government v. Private Railways. 6. The

Ox

Wagon

v Locomotive

Train.

7.

Objects to be

aimed

at

in Future Railway Extensions.

1. The plan on

the next page,

prepared from

the

Cape Government rail way maps, shows

the

various

existing and proposed lines in a way which will

suitably

explain their origin

and

object.

t

will

be

seen

that the whole of the South African colonies

and

adjacent territories and states (the future

The terminal starting points of

the

South African

railway systems

have been determined by

the posi

tion

of the

somewhat limited number

of points

al

o

ng

the coast of

South

Africa a.t which

nature

has

afforded fairly good

roadateadand harbour

accommo

dation, and in the neighbourhood of which the more

important centres

of population

have

arisen.

t

is

somewhat remarkable that natural harbours and

safe roadsteads should

have been

so conspicuous by

their

absence

in

the long co

ast line

abutting on

either side at the second most so

utherly

and tem-

pest

uous cape

in

the world,

and

which is the most

important natural passing point for the world's

commerce. I t

might be

almost s

tated

that there

are no natural

harbours,

and only seven partially

protect ed road steads-

Port

N olloth, Table, Kalk,

Port Elizabeth,

East London, Durban, and

Delagoa

Bays,

and

two

river mouths,

Port

Alfred and

Pungue,

which

have

so

far been

utilised

as

ports

n

connection with rail way lines alo

ng

some three

thousand

miles of

South

African co

as t

.. Enormous

as

the

passing traffic has always

been

and is, this

absence of natural

harbours has

militated to a

great

extent against the

possible increase of merchant

shipping touching thereat,

beyond

the

bare

neces

sities of the

South

African

trade it s

elf, and , as a con

sequence, against the

rapid

settlement of thecountry,

which has

therefore

somewhat lagged behind other

and less favoured colonial sites in this respect.

Rail

way construction

in the

Cape Colony com

menced with a line

from

Cape Town to W l l i n g t

in the

Western Province.

An Act was passed m

the s e ~ s i o n

of

1857 by

the Colonial

Parliament,

gua

ranteeing a

minimum

rate of

interest

(6

per

cent.) on

a

sum

not exceeding

500,

l

. and

for a

period limited to fifty years from the p e n i ~ g of ~ h e

railway for traffic,

to any

company

or pnvate

m

dividual who would

undertake

the working

and

construction of the line. Like

many others

of

the

more

important steps

towards progress which have

been taken in this colony, this

Act

was

due

to

the

foresight of Governor

Sir

George Grey, who

him

self

turned

the

first sod on

March

31, 185  .>. Half

the

Government gua

r

antee

was secured in a very

7/17/2019 Engineering Vol 56 1893-09-01

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,

SEPTE? IB'ER

1,

1893.

/

,

/

,

. ..

-------,

,

r ,l

L L

 

COMPOUND ENGINES, WITH

WALKING

  OF THE

PADDLE STEAMER

HONAM.

CONSTRUCTED

BY .MESSRS

.

A. AND J.

INGLh,

Ll

ENGINEERS AND SHIPBUILDERS, G

LA SGOW

.

Fo ·

lJucnpl

d

1

set P lgt

26 >.)

•

r r ,

L. _ _

I

- .

. - -

I

7/17/2019 Engineering Vol 56 1893-09-01

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SEPT. I, I893·]

peculiar way, viz., it was not

to

be

charged to the

general revenue

of

the

colony, but

to

~ h e

r e v e n ~ e

of

the

divisio

ns

mo

st

benefited

by

the

hne,

that 1s,

the Cape, Stellenbosch,

and

the

Paarl. Th_is

principle ha

s

been largely adopted

els

ewhere

In

fo

rei

gn countries, both in

Europe and

America,

and

seems to

be

a

very sound and expedient

one,

and

in so

me resp

ects it is rather unfortunate that it

was n

ot given

a more

extended trial

in

Sout

h Africa,

as

it might

hav

e materially assis ted

in the

dev elop

ment of subsidiary and

local lines,

though it

was

in

applicable

to the

t

runk lin

es lead

ing to the

in

teri

o

r. In projecting this line fr

om Cape

Town to

Wellin gto n, only local

wants

and

reaso

ns were

con

sulted

;

it ran

through a rich agricultural and

p opulous

di

s

trict

which could

readily supp

o

rt

a

railway service,

ir r

espective of

the

development of

interi

or

trade or ulterior

extensions,

althoug

h

when

the latter came to

be

pla

nned

this line became the

ground

wo

rk

of

the main

trunk rail way

from the

west

to the

in

ter io

r.

N

I N

R

I

N G

in

the meantime was q

uite

as

anxious

to ? o m ~ e n c e

extensions

on

a.

l

arger

scale

towards the

InteriOr

as

th

e

sist

er colony of

the

Cap

e,

but it labour

ed

under

the

di

sability of bein

g a

Crown

colony,

and had _not

a

free

hand

in guiding its

o

wn

railway

Many at

tempts were

made to

induce

the Colon1a.l

Office

to sanction the

raising

of

a l

oa

n for

these

purposes, but

all

efforts

were

fruitless

till the

colony

consented

t o

contribute

200,000l.

towards the

Z ulu

war bill

and

relieve the home Government to that

extent

~ o m

th

eir

liability.

Th

e only

thin

g effected

during

the

peri

od

ending

1877 was

t h ~ purchase of

t

he private lin

e

ab

ove me

nt i

o

ned.

ThiS

for

th

e las t

two

or three

ye

ars

of its

existence

had

become a

m

ost

valuable

pr

operty,

and the example

affor_d

ed

by its

success

made

the

Natal v e r n m a ~ x w

to acq

uire

it

as the starting point

of

their pr

oJe

cted

sys

tem.

An Act,

N o. 6

of

1875, was

passed

authoris

ing

its purchase

by

arbitration,

b?t

a most

unusu

al a

nd unfair

proviso was

inserted Into what

was

prac

tically a compulso

ry

sa

le,

to the

effect

that

n

T I $ J

~

T C

J

- - 1 '

.

•

The

company who

undert

ook

the making

of

~ h i s

lin

e successfully

completed the

task

of constructiOn,

and opened their

58 miles of railway

for p u ~ l

traffic

in

No

vemb

er

, 1863.

The

traffic

on the hne

was

excellent,

and still

continues to

stand

at

the

top

of

the li

st of So

uth

African

Government

rail

ways in

this

respect ; but the

terms

offered

by

t he

Cape Government

when

the

policy of owning rail

wa

ys

was

adopted, were

so advantageous,

that

a sale

of the

company's undertaking

was

negotiated,

agreed to, and

finally san.ctioned

by_ an

Act

of

the

Session of 1872, and th e hne

pas

sed

Into

the

hands

of

the Rail

way

Dep

a

rtment

for 773, 019l. ,

or

13

,328l. per mile, as part of the projected trunk

lin

e to

the interi

or .

As

a

co nsequence

of

this, the

separate

liabili ty of the divisions

through

which the

lin

e

ran

for

half the guarantee,

was rescinded

by

Act

19 of 1874,

and the principle of that

liability

has so

far

never been again

adopted

in

So

uth

Africa.

Although

the

Cape Colo

ny

was

the

first to pro

je

ct railways

in

South

Africa,

to

Natal

belongs

the

hon

o

ur

of first actually using steam

thereon

for

public

traffic ;

for

a s

hort line

(two miles

in

l

ength)

from Durban

to the

wharves

at the Point (Port

Natal

) was

opened by

a

private

co

mpany in

1860.

Shortly after that the Government, for the purp

o

se

of

bringing

do

wn

stone

to

the

harbour works,

made

a

sh

o

r t extensi

on of

three

miles

up to the

Umgheni

River,

and this

was

leas

ed

to the

private

company.

The hi

s

tory

of

this

private undertaking

for the

first

ten or twelve

years was

by

no means

enc

ouraging, as

it did not pay

.

Th

e col

ony

of

Nata

l

MAP O F SOUTH

A F R I

eh<lWln g

R ILWAYS .

C >

> G o . t

1/  ll ~ ~ ~ ~

• * • r

•

lll rt.r .Jf

t/llt

• • • .

 

1 aiQ • o,. .

- - ·•

I

~ h l r • CD ¥'lld• • ; ; :==

I . x l l f l > o ~

the price

to be paid sh

o

uld not

exceed

40,0

00l.

for

the

two miles.

The actual commencement

of

the

Government

exte

nsions

did

not

take place

till1879 ,

and

will be co

nsidered in its

proper

place.

A

branch

line

to Wynberg was

the

next

railway under

t a ~ e n in the Western Province

of

the

Cape,

and

was also the

work

of a private company. The first

sod was

cut on

August 14, 1861,

and the wh

o

le

l

engt

h of

six

miles

opened to public

traffic on

December

19, 1862.

This

br

anch

commences

with

a j unct ion

at Salt Rive

r

with

the

old

Cape

To

wn

and vVellington Railway,

and has been,

as was

originally

intended, exten

ded to Simonstown (the

Imperial naval s

tation

in

False

Bay). The

line

was

made

partly to serve the

r

equirem

e

nts

of

the

dis

tricts traversed,

and

partly for military and naval

purpo

ses. I t was

purchased by Governmen t,

und

er

Act

8

of 1876, for 75,000l.,

or

12,500l.

per

mile,

and

has

since

been extended to Kalk Bay

(nine miles

in

1882)

and to Simonstown

(five miles

in

1890.)

An extension

of

theWellington line toWorcester

(64 miles),

with

a

branch to Malmesbury from

D

'U rban-road

Junction (36t

miles

), was

sanctioned

by

an

Act in

1861,

but

nothing

was

done by the

Cape Town

and Wellington

Railway Comp

an

y

under

the Act beyond

the

executi

on

of some

heavy

cut

tinge

in the Tulbagh

Kl o

of

(or Ghat),

which

were

undertaken to provide

employment

for

a

number

of

navvies

thrown

out of

work

by the completion

of

th e older

li

nes.

The

se wo

rks

cost 42,000l., a

nd

were

found to

be

o

nly partly

available

for the

ex

tension when it was

undertaken on Government

account, a

nd the cost

was c

harged to

r

evenue by

Act

in

1870.

Act

13

of 1873

re-authorised

the

e

x

tension of the

railway to

Wo

rc

e

ster, and

the

sum

of 315,

OOO

l. was

app

ro

priated

for

this purpo

se

(4922l . per

mile

).

Turning

now to t he Eastern

P r

ovince of

the

Cape, we find

.that an ~ e t was

passed in 1862 for the constructiOn of a hne

fr?m

P

or

t

El i

zabeth

to Grahamstown,

but

nothing

was

done under the auth

o

rity

of

th i

s

Act.

A company was inc

o

rp

o

rated in

1871 Poz t

Elizabeth

and

obtained

the concessiOn for

a

rail

way from

Zwaartkops to Uitenhage, 13

miles in

le

ngth

;

this

co

mp

a

ny was

fo

rm

ed

by

a

few

local

merchants in

Port

El i

z

abeth

;

they had

plenty

of

cap ital at

th e

ir

command

,

and

the

under

taking,

as experience

has

shown, was sound

and

re

munerative, but

th ey

unfortunat ely

made

a

bungle of th e financing, and the Cape

Government

stepped in and took

over the

~ e f o r e

comple

tion

for 63,

760l., or

4904l.

per

mile,

In

1873.

The

timber for

the

bridges on this line, which was

colonial,

and impr

ope

rly

seasoned, had to

be

re

newed

at

once before

t

he

lir..e was

opened

for

tr

a

ffic, at

a

cost of

13,000l.

(or

1000l. per

mile).

I t is

necessary to

t urn

to Namaqualand for

the

next instance

of

private railway enterprise during

our first peri

od. The Port Nolloth Railway

was

constructed to connect

the

Cape Copper

1\fining

Company

 s

mines at

O 

Okiep

with

the

small har

bour at

Port Nolloth.

This railway was built for

and

by

the company, and

opened for

traffic

in

January,

1876. For

this

p

urp

ose the following

A

ct

s we

re obtain

ed

: (1)

in

18

69, a

ut h

o

rising

the

con s

truction

of 48

miles

: (2) in 1871, for

12

mi les

mo

re to

I{

ook

fo

ntein

; (3)

in

1873,

for 38 mil

es to

O Okiep. Port

Nolloth is

300 miles

fr

om Cape

Town,

co

mmunication bein

g

maintained by

coast

ing steame

r

every

ten days.

The lin

e

is of

a

2 ft. 6

in.

gauge (b

eing

the narrowest

gauge

adopt-ed

in South

Africa,

with the so

le

exceptio

n

of the

Beira Railway, which is

2

ft.).

Locomo

tives were

originally

used, but scarcity of water

and over-ab

undance

of sand

made

their em

plo

yment so expensive and unsatisfa

c

tory that

they

have

been

abandoned,

and

the

traffic

is

now

worked by

mules,

assisted by gravitation on

the

downward

journey.

There

is

a

mi

ss

io

nary station

a t Steinkopf,

near

t

he end of

the

line, but

a pas

se

nger

carriage,

running three

times

a

week,

amply

serves

the traffic.

We may, however,

rank this

line as one

of

the best,

if

not the very best, paying

railways in

South

Africa.

( l'o be continued.)

BEAM ENGINES FOR PADDLE

STEAMERS.

IN

the Transportati

on

Building

at

the Chicago

Exposition

one can trace

the changes

which have

taken

place

in

the different

means

of locomotion

for two or three

hundred

years

pa

st,

and

can form

a fore

cast as to future development

.

Nowhere

is

th i

s

clearer than in the

methods

of

marine

pro

pulsi

o

n. The twin-screw

is displacing the

single

screw, a

nd the paddle-wheel giving place

still

more

decidedly

to the sc rew

propeller; while in

t

he

method

of

propelling

the

paddles the

beam

engine

is destined soon to pa ss away. One finds

several services

which were

former.ly

carritd

on

by

paddle

s teamers having

beam

engines

now

conducted

by

screw

steamships. Th

e

Bergen,

Bremen, and

Hamburg

of

the

Hoboken

Ferry Company are

cases

in point,* while several

paddle

steamers have

now

been

fitted with oth

er

types

of engines than

that of

which

the

walking

beam was such an

attractive

feature. I t is true it requir

ed

marvel

lously

li ttle attentio

n ; but it

was

far

from

€cono

mical. I t

can serve ' lo

pur

_ ose

to ~ i n g

a

requi

em

- many of

our Amencan

friends might claim that

it

is yet too soon

for that. Certainly in th i

s country

the

be

am engine

belongs

to

the

past. It never

gai

ned

any

distinct

ho

ld on British

fav our al

th

o

';l

gh

admired

by Scott Russell, but s e ~ e r a l

engmes of

the

type have been made

in ~ h i s co

untxy

for service

in foreign wat

ers,

and a record of

m?dern engineering

-practice .would n

ot be

co

mplete

without

a

reproductwn,

typiCal of

the British de

sign. Messrs.

Inglis some years

ago

made

probably

the most

successful

engines of the

class ·

and one

is

illustrated on our

two-page

plate th i

s

w ~ e k

and on

pa

ge .271.

Th ese

we

should

ha

ve been glad

to

de

s

cribe

l

ong

ago ;

but

c

hara cteristic modesty on

the

part of Messrs. In glis

sugges

ted

excuses as

frequently

as

we

urged the

claims

of ou

r

readers.

See

ENGINEERING,

vol.

liii.,

pages 223 and

263.

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PLA T E

-

: . : ; ; : : > ~

•

- -

- -·

••

-

-

- = : : : : ~ -   - =

The present

time,

however, is not inopportune,

since

we may be said to be in

the

tran

sitio

n

stage

.

Soon the trip le-expansion direct-acting engine wiJl

be

extensively

adopted for pa

ddle steamers,

as it

already is for screws.

It

is not difficult to trace the evolution of the

beam engine as

applied to

the

pr

opulsion

of

paddle steame

rs. The g

reat

difficulty

in paddle

engines was to get a sufficient length of stroke of

piston,

while keepin g the engine low in the

ship,

and

minimising

the

length of space required. t

was

soon

recognis

ed

by 'Vatt and some

American

engineers that the most natural and possibly most

pictur

esque arrangement was io adopt

the

simple

old-fashioned

beam

used

by

N ewcomen for

the

SHEA R S

FOR

CLYDEBR I DG E

S T EEL

0 R K s

CONSTRUCTED BY MESSRS. CRAIG AND DONALD, JOHNSTONE, N.D.

For Description,

see

P  ge269.)

'

colliery pumps and land engines. While

American

enginee rs adopted this system, R obe rt Napier,

'Vatt,

Maud sley, a

nd Faw

cett continued to

use

the

side

lever e

ngin

e, t

he

first

named

bringing

it

to

its

perfect stage in the

Pe r

sia and Scotia. This side

lev er may be termed the English form of the bea m

marine engine.

Here it

was

c o n s

i d ~ r undesir

able to obstruct the deck with the walking beam,

while the adoption

of the

side

lever

e

nabl

ed

the

engineer

to

choose any proportion

of

stro

ke and

an y size of

paddle

wheel

that

wo

uld

best

r v ~

th e

purposes of the sh ip.

American

engineers

hav e continued to use the

baam engine, although, as we have ind icated, there

ar e evidences which encourage the belief that

.

c ::

-

 =....;

-

. . . . _ . - - - - ~

•

-

· 

it will be superseded. Messrs. In glis

were the

only firm in this

country

which largely

adopt

ed

the

and

the

engines

of the

H onam , which

we

illustrate this

week, are a typical design.

One

of the large

st

beam engines

constructed,

however,

was for the Puritan in the Fall River

Company's

New

York and

Boston

service.* of which

we

have

already published

a full description wi th engravings.

The lnf lis beam engine indicates several departures

in the details when compared with the American

engine of that

day,

and was n  o re strongly built.

The gallows frame, which supports the

main

centre

of beam, instead of being of woo

d,

as was the usual

* See EN GIN

EERIN

G, vol. li. , page 64.

'

practice in the United States,

was

of

steel plates and

angles, and of

box

section. It was

secur

ed to ma

ssive

box

keelson

s

on

the

flo

or of the ship. This style of

framing had

not then

been adopted

by

any

ot

her

firm, and it gave gr

eat

satisfaction. The woo

den

frame

adopted in

the

American

engine

wobbled,

"

and allowancehad o

be

made for

this

in

the

clearance

between the piston

and cy

lind

er

ends, 6

in.

being

not uncommon.

t

is easy, therefore,

to

und er

stand that there was considerable waste of

steam

and conseq uent

lo

ss of efficiency.

The

steel frame

- which, by

the

way, is now

adopted in

Ame

rica

-

is

perfectly rigid, and o

nly

the ordinary clearance

is

necessary.

The

H ona m's engines wero on the

compound principle,

and

in

this respect also were

t-.)

"'

z

C)

z

t:r1

t:r1

z

G)

•

r 1

fl

i

•

-

 

) )

\0

w

•

7/17/2019 Engineering Vol 56 1893-09-01

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SEPT I

I 893·]

E N G I N E E R I N G.

I

1

ROTARY STEAM SNOW SHOVEL AT

THE

COLUMBIAN EXPOSITION.

CONSTR

UCTED BY T

HE

LES

LIE

BRO

THERS

:MANUFACTURING COMPANY,

PATER

SON,

N.J.

(For D

escrip

tion,

see

P

ag

e

268.)

-

F

ig.

1.

21 ··· ·· · ·

· ··

- ···

· · ·

·

 

· ···· -

  ····

.

.............................

1.

• • • • • • • • •

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ot •

·· ··

-

--  

--

 

············

ot

··-·-

··

· -· · ··· ·

·· ·· --·

-

/ -.

Jik _

' "- • •• .. • • . • • • • • •••••• V

fT

•

.

- 

~

I• '-= .1

·

11

V

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_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ :s:::

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., .,

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t ----·······-·-· ··· · ········ IG

.....................

- ..... -

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¥-

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·· .................. 8  

n

700() 8 .

------- ----- i

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~ l :

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aJ IQ

/l

····· ·· · -··· ..... ·--· ....... ........ ....

..........................

 

...........

- ...

I

a departure . The cylinders, as sho

wn

on the fro

nt

of results, more especially as

the

former is worked

elevation, were inclined towards each

ot

her

at the

under forced draught with

Sturtevant

fans,

and

head, admitting of the piston-rods being co nnected I wo superheaters ut ilising the waste gases before

to the one point on the forward end of the beam.

they

pass into the smoke-stack.

I t

may be noted, how

This secured a perfec

tly

balanced motion.

In

the ever,

that the

indicated horse-power

in th

e

Puritan

engines of the Puritan a1ready referred to, the is at the ra te of about 9 per square foo t of grate

cylinders are nearly vertical, and are co

nnected

at area, while the power was 1 indicated horse-power

two points to the walking beam. to 3 square feet of heating su

rf

ace ;

in the

The great difference in the size of the two engines Honam the results were 9.7 indicated horse-power

he Puritan's indicate 7500 and the H onam's only I o 1 square foo t of grate area, and 1 indicated

2900- militate against any reliable comparison horse-power to 2.73 square feet of heating surface.

I

The reJative coal consumption results wou]d be inte

re

st

ing,

but they

are not given

in the

case of

the

Puri

tan. In the

Inglis boats

fuel economy has

always been a marked feature.

The

high-pressure

cylinder

of

the

Honam's

engines is 40 in. in diameter, with a stroke of

10 ft., while the low-pressure cylinder is 72

in.

in diameter, with a stroke of 9 ft. 10 in., the dif

ference in stroke being due to

the

inclination of the

cylinders. Double-beat steam and exhaust valves

are provided, while the high-pressure cylinder

7/17/2019 Engineering Vol 56 1893-09-01

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268

P  t

..

t irulars nf Some Pa

dd

le Stexme1·s tcith Ream Enqincs

Constructed b f M

 u s

. l { l i ~ Glasgow.

-

•

JC3: :

-

($

·

.c

.5

01

. b d ~

Q) CS

a.,.c

•

n

.

-

-

3076

292

I

42

15

11

920

Oroas to nnage . . . . . .

l..engt.h on load-water line ft .

Breadth moulded . . . . ,,

Depth moulded . • . . ft. io

Load d r . L u ~ n t . . . . . f t.

I > ~ a d w e

g - b t

capa

··ity

. .

ton,

I

•

seos

Men.)urement

ca

pa.

dty

in

to1u o

40ft . . .

.. . . .. .

Passenger accommod1tion, Euro

pe n . . . . . . .

•

21

I

16

Passenge r

accommodat

:on

0 .1inese, first class . . •

'

•

164

13

P

l.•He

ne-er

ac

.:ommoda tion

Cbincse,

second

claE& . . .

S >eed on

tr i

al . • . . k not

Diam ete r of C)linder . • in

•

68

r o k e

. .

• •

•

•

•

•

ft .

12

I d i c a

hor

~ w e r

•

•

• •

1450

Stea.m press

ur<:

. .

••

1

.

27

Consumptio n of fuel at full power

per hour .. . . . . C\\

t.

3J

.

•

•

•

$

-

 

bO

0

,.bd

IS

c

.c

IS

0

I:Q

•

-

•

17

81

3168

242 308

36 42

12

6

16

10

1

11

6 ~ 6

876

1972

I

soo

1s I

u

a 18

1

C6

170

12

1

21

62

7

2

10 14

1

20

0

1840

33

:35

27

40

I

-

•

•

•

8

IS

c

0

•

-

28

00

2

70

38

13

3

10

0

a

3

23.

13

daY ·or

•

li

gbt

•

ser

Vl CC

0

r..ly.

1

B

.·

{

P. 40

J1.· P. 72

J 10 0

l 9 10

2900

75

is fi

tted

with expansion valves. The surface co n

dens

er

is placed al

o ngdide the

cylinders, as show

n

in the

forward elevati

o

n,

while th e

pumps are

worked hy a. rod

fr

om the

walking

b eam,

as shown

on

the

fr ont ele vation. The cooling

surface

is 5395

square fee

t.

The

walking b eam,

which is

con

structed in

the same way as is usually adopted

in

Americln

vessels, with cast-ir

o n centre and fo rge d

steel strap,

is

23 ft . in length, 11 ft. d

eep,

and

weighs

14 t o n ~ . Th e sec

tion

of

beam

strap

is

7 in. by 9 in .,

and

the main centre is 14 in. in dia

meter

in th e main b earings.

The

piston-rod

is

6f

in .

in

diameter

in the

case of

the

high-press

ure,

and

7

in . in that

of

the l

ow-pressure engine,

and of

steel, while

the co

nnecting

-

rod

is 23 ft.

long from

ce ntre t o centre, and 13 in. in diameter. The crank

shaft

is

17t

in. in diameter.

The

paddle-wh eels have

feathering floa ts ,

and are

entirely of steel. They

are 21 ft. in diameter,

and the floats are

15 ft.

by

4ft .

These

lat ter

measurements are very unusual,

and it

would certainly

be

very

interes ting to

kn

ow if

the builders of so

me

of

the

recent fast paddle

steamers have gone s o far as to

reduce

the

diameter

of their wheels t o 2.1 times

the

s t r o k ~

or

to

increase

the tloat area t o 60

square

fe e t.

Steam is supplied from

th r

ee double-ended

boilers

placed athwartships and

fired

from th e

wings. These b o

il

ers ar e 14 ft. in dia met er and

14

ft. long, and ha ve in all l 8 furnaces.

The

gr

at

e

area.

is 297 sq ua r

o f

ee t

, and the

he a

t

in

g sur face

7939 square feet. They

work

at a

pressur

e of

75

lb. ,

and at 33

revolutions

the

engines

d e velo

ped

2900 indicated h orse-power.

The

steamer,

which,

with

the

engines working

at

th i

s p ower,

attained

a speed of 16  kn ots , is

270 ft. lo

ng,

the breadth m o

ulded being 38

ft ., and

the extreme breadth 72 ft .

6

in., the d epth

moulded 13 f t . 3 in., and

the

ex tr

eme

30

ft.

The tonnage is 2800 t o

ns.

The sponsons,

while supported in

the

us ua l way by beams

and

stay:J, the

beams b

ei

ng

8

ft . apart, are carried

round th e e n t

ire

shi p . There

are

th r

ee

d

ecks.

T he l

ower deck, whi

ch is for cargo,

is

of st

ee

l,

while th e

two

above are of wood,

the

distance

between

e

ach bein

g

9 ft.

The

t op

deck is

e

ntir

ely

re se rved for promenading,

and

on

th

e main deck

there

are large sal

oo ns. The

Chinese

sa l

oo

n is

abaft of the

engines,

and 72 ft. lo

ng by

45 ft.

mean

wid th. }.,orward of the

machinery

are

un

U3ua1Jy la rge s tate-rooms for European passenge rs.

Th e dining saloon is forward on this deck. I t

is 44 H. long by 36

ft.

mean

breadth,

and is

se ated f or t we

nty

pa ss en

ge

rs.

ROTARY SNO\V PLOUGH .

E N G I N E E R I N G.

-

I t is shown hy th e Leslie

Brothers

:Manufacturing

Company,

of P a.terson, ew ,Jersey, and is th e

out

come of va rious oth e r and

e:lrlier

patterns

that

bowed

th eir weak points by th e

st

r

ess of serv

ice. The per

specti

ve

view g ives a good idea

of

th e machine,

wh i

ch

in

use trave

ls ahead

of a

train, an

d

cu t

s

its

way

thro

ugh drifts of any height.

t will be seen

that ex t

ernally

it

res

embles a covered

car,

bu t with

the addi

ti

on of a formidabl e wheel su rr ounded

by

a.

casing a nd mounted

at

th e front end of the car .

\Y it hin the car, whi

ch

is ca rried on t wo fou r -wheeled

tr ucks, is

the

ma

c

hin

e

ry for driving the wheel.

As a

co

mp

arison

with

the pr

esent type, there

is

a lso

shown

the No . 1 rotary , made

by the

sa me firm.

This

was

pu

t into service in J a nu

ary,

1887, on

the

Union Pa cifi c

Railway, and during t h

at

winter i t ran 2930

miles,

and

cleared the t

ra c

ks over that dist ance

at

a cost

of

16.9 cents, or about

8 ~ d .

p er mile; or ,

in

c

luding

t he

pushing

engine attached to

it,

for 33.5 cent s per mile.

Up to April 1, 1893 ,

this

rotary No. 1

ha

d clea red

67,319 mile

s ; i ts last wo

rk

was in

Echo

Canon on

?vlarch 29 of th is yea r, where the snow had filled t he

cuttin gs to an al

most

unprecedented depth; the

m

ach ine

was

almost

im m

ediately

aft

er eent

to

Chicago

for ex

hibiti

on. Th e wh eel

in front

of

the car

,

and

on

whi

ch

the

efficiency of

the

snow

pl

o

ugh

depends, isabout

lOft. in diameterand 40in. deep. To th e cast-iron cent re

are bolted

ten

rad

ial

sco

ops,

open on

th

e front from

the

cen t re

to

t he pe r ipher y .

On

each side

of

the scoop is

hin

ged

a

cut ting blade so

arranged

as to re v

erse

auto·

matically;

th e c

apacity

of each

knif

e

is

such

th

at

it

c

uts

sufficient snow to fill

the

scoop t o which i t is

atta

ched during

one

revolution

of

t he wheel; by this

means all

cho

king of

the

mach

ine

is avoided. Th e wheel

is inclosed in a circular cas in g

ra t

her larger th an the dia

meter

of

the wheel, with

a

squa

re

hood above,

t he

top

of

whi

ch is c

urved

over as shown, to deflect

the snow

.

At th e

top

of th e ho od

is

an ope ning

which

c

an ue

cl

osed

on

th

e righ t or left

with

a slide, operated

from

th e inside

of

the

car, so as to

th

row

the

st ream of

snow on one side or other

of

the t

rack

as may

be

desired.

Th

e boiler

plac

ed

within the car

is of

th

e

r

eg

ular loco moti ve

ty p

e,

bolt

ed to

the

frame of the

machine, whi ch cons

is t

s of heavy I and channel iron

s;

there

is considerable weight and soli d

ity

in this fr ame,

rendered necessa

ry

by the hea\'y st ra ins th ro

wn

up on

it . Th e engines are al so

of

the l

ocomotiv

e ty pe, with

a p air

of horizontal

cylinders bolted

to

the fra

me,

17 in.

in di

ame t

er

and 22

in

.

st

roke.

Po

wer is tr ans

mitt

ed t o

two

crank

discs on t he co

un t

ershaf

t,on

wh ich

is

mou n

te

d

a.

bevel pinion th at gears in to the bevel wheel on

the

main shaft carrying th e wheel. Both shaf ts run in

long bearings, and a. thrust

jo

ur nal is fitted t o the

whee

l

sh a

ft. Th

e trucks on

which

th e

snow

plough is

moun te

d

are substantia

ll y of

the

ordinary

Ameri

can

four

-w

hee

led type; the fron t tr uc

k,

how

eve r,

ha

s an

extra

frame for carrying an ice

pl

ough

an

d Ba nger .

Th e former protects

th

e machine from being derailed

by snow

or

ice adhering

to

the

rails

or

tie s. I t is swung

from th e front of the ex t

ra.

frame in su

ch

a way

that

it

ca

n be lowered until

the

points of

th

e

two

ice cut

ters

and chisel edges it carries

ca

n be lowered to within l in.

of

the

top of

the

ra ils, whi ch are

thus

k ept c

lear

of

ice. Any accumulation is r emoved by t he flanger which

is hung fr om the

back of

th e ex tra frame. Bo

th of

these

devices are operated by an

air

c

ylinde

r

ar r

a

nged

with

s team

connect

ions

in

case th e

supply

of com

press

ed a ir shou

ld

fa il ; t hey are con

tro

lled

fr

om t he car ,

and an indicat or is provided t o show whe

ther

they are

up or down. The following

are

some of t he principal

dimen

sions of th e snow plough whi ch

we

ill

us

trate :

Di

sb

nce from cent re to cent re

of

tru

cks ...

...

. .

...

...

T otal wheel base . . .. ..

R igid wheel base .. .. .. .

N

um b

er of w heels ... ... . .

Diameter of w heels . . . ..

,.

journ

als ... ... .. .

Leng

th of jou

rnals .. . .. . .

i a m e of axles ... ... .. .

Outside

width of c

ar

. . . .. .. .

Total length of car .. . . . .

H eight from rail to top of smoke

s taok .. ... . . ... .

Diameter of snow wh eel ... ..

W

idth of w heel.. . ... ... .. .

Number of scoops .. . .. . ..

15

ft. in.

19 "

1 1 ~

"

4 " 6 ,.

8

33 in.

5t

"

,,

5t H

9

ft. 7i in.

30 ', 4 ,,

13 , in.

9 ,

3 , 4 ,,

10

Projection of wheel

sh a

ft from face

of car .. . . . . .. . . . 4 ft. 9± in.

A Mo:-w t he striking novelties to

th

e Eugliah visitor

at

the

Colum

bian

Exposition,

are the snow

ploughs

ex

hibited in the Tran

spor

tatio

n

Building

.

Probably in

no European country, exce

pt

Russia.

or Scandinavia,

need a snow

ploug

h form a pa r t o f a railroad equipment.

The occasions wh en rail way traffic is arr ested, or ev eu

in te rfered with, in this

r.

ountry

ar e compa ratively rare,

and under

no circu

mstances have vast masses of snow

t o

be dealt

with,

as in

th e United

States.

In t he

n orth

of

Scotland,

indeed,

th e mo

re

ri

goro

us climate

renders

the me

ch

an

ical clearing of

the

tracke more

frequently necessary. America. is th e h

ome

of

the

snow

p lough, and the latest l o p m e ~ which

are

ex hibited

at

Chicago, are, indeed, su rp nsmg and mas

s ive machines.

On e of

these

we

illustrate on

page 267.

Diamete r of shaft

to

face of thrust

bearing

... .. . ... ...

Diameter

of shaft

to face of cast-

iron boss ... .. . ... . .

Diameter

of shaft

at en

d . . .

Length of thrust bea rin g ... .. .

Diame

ter

of wh eel casing .. . ..

Extreme width of ,. ... ...

D epth of casing from front of car ...

H e1gbt of casinfr from rail ... .. .

Projection of hood of casi

ng

from

fr

ont of

ca

r . . ... . . . .

Ty

pe of boiler . .. .. .. ..

Diameter ... .. . ... . .

Thickness of plates . . . . .. .

Lengt h of firebox ... . . .. .

'V idth , . .. ...

Bt in.

8 in.

G

'•

3

ft .

4

in.

10 ftl.

10ft. 6 in .

4 ,, 1 "

10 " 1 "

5 ,. 7 ,,

Belpaire

5t

in.

,

92 "

4G

,

(SEPT. I , I 893.

~ L a t

r i a l

of firebo

\.

and boilf r

Number of

tub

es . ...

Out ide diameter of t ubes ...

Length

of tubes

..

..

~ f a t e r i a l .. .. . . .. .

Diamet

er of s

team

dome ..

Height

, ,. ..

Number of

cy

linders ... ..

Diameter , , .. ..

Stroke

.. . ... .. . ..

Diamet er of crank disc ..

, count er haft .. .

Pitch diam

eter of bevel pinion

Number of teeth . . ..

Pitch di amete

r of

berel

wheel

Number of teeth . . ...

Class of Lrake ..

..

..

•

...

.

Rte£-1

l l

2 in

...

9 ft. 10 in

... Iron

B.

\V.G

...

.

•

..

.

..

...

...

...

• •

.. .

30 in.

.,

2

1 i

in.

22 ,.

2 ft. l in.

in.

30- ,.

22

49

.

63

in .

39

... W

estioghou

e

automatic

As to

the cost

of working

the

snow plough a few

words may

be added,

ta k

en from an officia l repor t

by

the

Union Pacific R l.il way

Company

of th e service

done du

rin

g t he

month

of ll.,ebruary ,

l e 7.

Th e report

refers to a e ~ s modern ty pe

of

rota.ry machine tha.n

th e one we illustrate :

ota

ry

Sno

 WExcavator :

D ots

Do

a.

Engineer and fireman 'd wages

270.20

l •uc l (5 tons)

...

... .. .

116.

)(i

Oil, tallow, and waste ...

...

36.42

~ 1 a t e r i a l .. ...

.

.

70.01

492 63

Pushing L ocomotive:

E&gineer and fireman's wages

1

84

.20

Fuel (1 11 tons) ... . . . .

222

.

00

Oil, tallow, and wast.e ... ... 10.85

Ma t

er

ial ...

.

...

.

7

5

L

abour ...

.

..

.

...

65 .

b3

490.43

T

ota

l

..

.

.

983.06

During

the

mon

th

that this expense was incurred

the

machine clear

ed

293

miles

of tr a

ck,

a.\·eraging a.

total

cost of

33.5 cents, or l

ess

than Is. 5tl. , per mile.

\V e

may

add

in

co

nclusion

th at when desired t

he

snow ca n be pr oject

ed

to a distance sufficient to

clear ten or twelve tr acks

;

i t

th e

refore finds con

siderable occ upation in th e station yards of Americ

an

railwaye.

TRIER

'S DOU BLE ACTION STONE

DRE SING MA C

HI

NE.

TnE stone ·dressing machine we illu

strate

on page

259 is des igne d to act on two edges of a block simul

taneou

sly, producing

at

their intersect ion perfect

arrisses. The c

utting

tools are the we

ll

-kn own discs

invent

ed by :Messrs.

Br u

n ton

and

Tr ier, which have

su

p

erseded

all others

f

or

th i

s class

of

work.

Tw

o of

them a re em ployed, one h

aving

a hor izonta l and

the

oth er a vertical motion ,

the

direction

of

cut bei ng in

all

cases

at

righ t angles t o t he length

of

the

stone.

Each t ool is

mounted

on a spindle in a.

holder,

so

ar range d

th

at it has

an auto

mat ic motion at each end of

it s st roke,

wh e

r

eby

th e tool is put n pos

it i

on for

cutt

ing

both

in going and re tu rning.

Th

e

cuts

are alternate ly

roughing and finishing, th e tool in tra veiling in one

direction tak ing off t he bulk of the

stone

that has

to

be removed, an d in returning

skimming

off the re

mainder. Th ese operations

take pl

ace at two

different

leve ls, and

in

lines of wh ich o

ne

is in

advan

ce of

the

other. The feed varies from 1 in . per minute for hard

granite to 4 in. on hard sandstone, and ta kes place at

the end

of

the cu t . Th e d

epth

of cut may be

anyth

ing

up t o 1 in .

The tool

rests

are carr

ied backwards a

nd

forwards

on th e slides by

connecting-

rods wo

rk

ed from crank

discs, whi ch are themselves

driven

by spur ge aring

from t he first motion shaft. The stroke

of

the crank

pin

s

can be

va r

i

ed to

suit

the

size of block

und

er

treat

ment,

and the two cr ank

discs

are so a.rrangec.l

re

la

tively

to each

other

that

the tool

-

boxes

never fou l

each other.

The

position of

the

tool -boxes

ca

n also

b e ad justed

by

screws,

both

hor izontally and verti

ca

ll

y.

The

power r equired t o drive the ma chine varies,

according to the s tone,

from 3

to 6 h

orse-power.

I t

wi

ll cut

th

e

hardest sto

ne s,

su

ch as

granite,

syeni

te

,

or bard

limestones

, as we

ll

as

th

e softer

kinds. The

ma

ch

ines are ma de in th ree si zes to dress blo cks of

the

fo

ll

owing dimensions : (1)

12

in . by 1 in.

by

9

ft. ;

(2) 24 in . by 36 in . by 9 ft . ; {3) 36 in. by 48 in. by

12

ft . By having two tables

the

time l

ost

in c

han

g ing

blocks can ue red uced

to

a very small amount. Three

d

ri

ving worms

are

prov ided to

gear

into

th

e wor m

rack shown, and by

their

a

id

t

he

table can be

run completely off the guides, and another table

ru n

on.

I t is claimeLl

that

th is is

the

on ly machine pro·

ducing

su

rfaces

superior

to and closely re

sembling the

best ha

nd

tooling, with

stra.igbt tool marks a t right

angl

es

to

the l

ength

of the

stone, as

requ

i

red

by archi

tects.

The

finished stones are unplucke<l and uns

tunned

and can be

ru

bbed

with

great r apidity.

The

makers

are ~ I e s s Brunton and T

rier,

19, ;reat Geo rge

st

r

eet,

\Yes t

minster.

•

7/17/2019 Engineering Vol 56 1893-09-01

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/engineering-vol-56-1893-09-01 12/33

SEPT. I, I893·1

AUTOMATIC

BEATING

AND VENTILATING

FREIGHT

CAR.

NoT only do

many

parts of the Unit

ed

States

suffer

from

au extreme range of climate, varying

from

Arctic

cold

to trop

ica l

heat,

but the

count

ry is so

vast that

a

railway journey may begin in

one extreme, and

end

a

few

days

la

ter in

the other. The

passenger

t

akes

this

a9 a. ma

tt e

r of cour se ; th e

hum

an frame w

ill

bear

very

violent changes of

temp

erature without

mu

ch ill

effect. But

it

is not the same

with

many varieties of

food. ~ l o s t peris

habl

e

articles rapidly

de

cay

under

exccssi \'e

heat, and

if

they

ar e

to

be

transported

for

long

distance

s

in

h

ot weather they must be

artificia

lly

cooled. H ence th ere

has arise

n

in

America

the refr ige

rator car, in which

beef

and

fish

ca

n be

carried

t'

or

tho

usands of miles

without

suffering a

ny injur

y. o

pe

rf

ect is the system

that

meat

can be

dehvercd

in

New York in

better condition

if

it be

dr e

ssed

in the

w

ester

n

plains

than if the

beast

be carried alive a

nd

Pla.ugbtered imm e

diately

at the

journey

's end. All

this

we in

England ca

n

readily understand,

although

the necessity for

refrigerator

cars

has

not yet gro\Tn

sufficiently

urgent here to

l

ea

d

to

t he

ir introduct

ion.

Bu

t

it will be

news

to

ma

ny of

our re

ad

ers

that

hea

ted ca

rs

are pro,

rided in

the States for

ce

rt

a

in

products. Euly fru its and veget

a bles gr

own in

th e

warm c

limat

e of

Florida

cannot b

ea

r exposure

without

in

jury to

the

freezing

atmo

sph

ere

of

the north.

I f

they are

pack

ed

in

the

ordinary

wa

y,

and despatch

ed

by train, the

chances are

that

th ey will be frozen

and spoilt in transit, to th e gr eat detriment of their

quality. To meet this

difficulty, the Eastmau Car

Company, of Boston

and

Chicago,

constru

c

tautomatic

heating

a

nd

ventilating

freight ca

rs,

and are now

~ b o w

them in the Columbiau Exposition. As will

be

seen from the illus

tration on pages

262 a

nd

263, the

he

at

is

furnished

by a

stove

(Fig. 2) fed

with petro

leum from a

tank. This stove is

below the

leve

l of

the ca

r floor (Fig. 4 ,

and

delive

rs

its

products

of

CJ

mbu s

tion

in to a stovepipe fitted

betwe

en the frames,

and finally rising above th e car roof

(l .,

ig. 3), where

it

ends in

a cowl. The stovepipe is inclo

sed within

a

second

pip

e, and the

channel

con

taining it

is

lined

with asbes

t os a.nd

galvanised

iron.

Th

e

temperatur

e

is reg

ulated by a.

t he

rmostat

comprising

a.

Bourclon

tube

filled

with

kerosene oil.

The

whole

car has double

\V a.

lls,

separat

ed

by

a

space for hot air, and each wall

is

hollow

to prevent

co

nd u

c

tion

of

heat through

it.

At the

e

nd

of

the

car

there

is a

wide spa

ce

for

t

he

distribution

of th e

warm air. The ca

r is

ca

rried on

two

four-wheel tr ucks, and has a

capacity

of 50,000

n'.

•

HEAVY PLATE SHEARS FOR CLYDE

BRIDGE

STEEL

WORKS.

N G I N R I N G

LOCOMOTIVES AT

THE

COLUMBIAN

EXPOSITION.

ON

page

274 we

publish

perspec

tiv

e views

of

th ree

of t he eleven l

ocomot

ives that

form

the magnifice

nt

exhibit

of

t

he Brooks

Locomotive

"\'Y

orks,

Dunkirk,

in th e •

tate

of

New York

.

They are

a

ll of normal

gauge, aud

form part of an

order

to be

deliver

ed

to an

American

railway

c

ompany

after the close of th e

Ex

hibition. As we propose to

publi

sh

detailed drawings

of one of the s imple, and one of the compound Brooks

engines

exhibited,

we

shall

content ourse

lv

es thil: week

by adding a.

Table

of some of

th

e

leading di

mensions of

the

t

hree engines of which we give illustration

s. Of

these Fig.

1 is a

ten-wh

eel

ed pa

sse

nger engi

ne ;

Fig.

2

a

six

-wheeled

sw

itc

hing or

yard lo

comot

ive;

and

Fig.

3 is

an

eng ine of

the

"Mogul "

type.

P rincipal

Dimensions

of

Three Locomotives

Exhibit

ed at

the Golumbian Exposition by the Brooks L ocomotive

Works,

D

unkirk

,

N ew Y ork.

See

page

274

.)

-

I

Fi

g. l

1

Fig. 2.

r

·-

Fig. 3.

E n.qine.

To ta l g h ~ in workins

orde r

..

. . . . l b.

Weight on dr h·ing wheels "

,, truck wheeh

.,

Tot al l eng

th

of wheel

base

..

Rigid wheel b a t ~ e . . . .

138,000

111,000

27,00J

25 ft.

114 ,000

114,000

118 000

102 ,000

16,000

10 ft. 8 in . :H ft.. 6 in.

14

ft

. 6 in. LO

11

8

.

14 ft.

19

Cylinden d:c

Diamettr

of cylinders

•

ID .

St r

oke of piston ..

••

26

19

26

Kiod of piston packi ng

{

M

et a

lli c, by }

C.

C.

J

er

ome,

Chicago

Same

Diameter of

p

isto

n·rod in.

Size

of

~ e a m po rts . . , ,

1

g

x

3

,,

exhaust po r

ta

,.

3

x

1

8

I t X 18

3

X

18t

Wheels, d:c

Diamcterofdrivingwbeelein .

11

tr uck wheels ,.

., driv ing axle jo';lr

nal

. . . . . . n

Diamete

r of

tr u

ck

axlE-

journ

a l . . . . in .

Diame te r of main

crankpi11

journals

. . . . in .

Diamete r of c

oupling-

rod

jou rnals . . . .

in

.

Length

o

driving sp rings ,.

Boiler.

Description of boiler

.

72

3J

8

6t

&

61t and

H

- e6 •

49

8

-

6

/s and 5

36

8elpaire type, , )

by Wellman

1

I ron and Steel

J

' Same

Company,

Thurlow,

Pa.

Inside diameter . . in . 60 58

Material

of barrel of boilt>r . . Steel

St

ee l

Thi

ok

nees of

plates

. •

in.

t o

t to

No. U B.W.G.,

1

at

e

rial cf tubes

• •

Number , . . . .

Diameter ., . . in .

Distance between cent

re

of

by

Duquesne

I

Tube

Work

s J ame

Company,

Pittsburg

202

2}

l SO

2}

19

24

Same

-

IgX l8l

3

X

1

8

1\5

30

8

6i

6

6

36

Same

58

Steel

J to :•

.

Same

212

2

tuues . . . . . . in . 3r'a-

Length of tubes . . . .

13ft

. 10 in.

3l

21

:1

tl

1

..

firebox . .

in

. 1H

Wi

dth

of

.,

. . ,. S2

,. water

spaces r

ou

nd

firebox . . . . in .

Material of

outer

fir

ebox

sh f et

. . . . . . .

Thi

ckn ess

of

plates in f i r e b o ~

sheet .. . . .. in .

Material

of

inside

of firebox

Tbioknesa of plate in fire·

box . . . . . . in

Thickness of tubcplates (fire·

brx) . . . . . . in.

Th ickness of tubep

la t

es

(smoke

box)

. . . . in .

Size a.nd n umber of crown

pl ate stays

. . • . .

Working

pr essure

•

lb

.

Grate surface ..

sq. ft.

Firebox

h

eating surface .,

Tube

Total

,

11

.

11 11

Tende>·

lb .

•

•

Weight of tender

emply

,. ,. full

Number of whe r:ls ..

•

JO

.

e.meter , ••

to

4

Steel

S

St e

r:

l

220

at

1 in.

25.3

..

1646

1798

36.400

~ 0 0

Ei.(ht

33

11 ft . 1 in . 1L ft. 1 in.

9 98

32 32

S

?t

Steel

Steel

to

S teel

Steel

" and

t

l l ..

r and ::

1 " "

:\-

-

-

G

I>

190atl in

. 190atlin.

180

180

21.7 21.7

141 134

1186 1232

12

SO

1366

34,000

35,400

69,730

84,600

Eight

Ehrht

31

33

TH

E

two engravings

on

page

266

illustrate

a

very

power

ful

se

t of

plat

e

shea

rs

mad

e

by

Messrs.

Craig and

Donald,

of J ohnstone,

N. B., suitable for la rge stee

l

works where

the

heav iest class of

plates are

rolled.

The

blades in

this machine are

9ft. 6 in. long,

and

the standards

have 37 in . depth of

gap,

so that a

plate

6 ft. wide and of any

length

may be cut

into two

piecs

of 3 ft. wide.

Ther

e

is

a clear distance

betw

een the

standards of

6ft .

6 in. The machine is driven by two

20·iu. cylind

er

engines, and as there ar e no flywheels

the apron carrying the top

blade

can be stopped at any

point by shutting

off

the

steam

where required,

so th at

a lo

ng

plate

may with safety be

pass

ed between the

standards and

cut across

at any part. This arrange·

ment is also advantageous in c

utting

a

rectangular

plate

of

any length into

two

tapered

p1ates

suitable

for scnrphing in th e case of shell plat ing.

Th

e

plate

is cut diagonally from the low

er corner

on the one end

to the

upper

corn er on the other. The great depth of

gap provides for

very wide plates

of th is description

being dealt with.

From

shipbui

l

ders,

&c.,

tapered or

scarphed

plates

are

o

ft

en called for,

and

in

most plate

mills,

where the

facilities

for shearing are not as

de

sc

ribed

above, a

great waste

is

in

c

urred through having

to shear each plate

from a r

ectangular plate

instead of

rolliog the plat

e

double the width

of the

broadest

end

of th e tapered

plate and

cutting two

tapered plates

from

it.

The

saving in

the

production

of such plates

becomes a matter of great importance

when

much

work

of the kind requires to

be

done. This machine

cuts with great ease a 1 i n . steel plate of the full

leng

th that

th e

blad

es.

'_Vill admit, but

is sufficiently

po,verful

to

cut

up to I t- m. stee

l

plate. The

gearing

is

all

of , iemen

s-

Ma.rtin

cast stee

l ,

and is very

massive.

The total weight of the machine

is

about

90

tons.

One

of these machin

es,

as described, was re

cently

put

down

for

the C

lydebrid

ge Steel Company, near Glas

gow, and has proved a t horough success.

Total wheel base ..

•

10

ft.

6 in .

-

ofiam ete r

aod

lengt h

journals

. . . . . .

Water capacity

. .

ga

ls

Fuel capacity

• • ..

tona

l

-

-

4000

8

3100

6

7-TON

TRAVELLING

JTB

CRANE.

-

41)

00

8

269

On th is rear shaft are tw o

bevel

wheels, eit her of

which can be driven through

a

friction clutch

.

These

whee

ls

gear with

a third beYel

wheel

on a

short

vertical shaft,

from

wh

i

ch motion is

conYeyed

through

spurwbee

ls to a eeco

nd vertical

shaft

ca

rr

ying

a

pinion

gea.t

ing with

th e

larg

e s

pu

r

ring cast

on the

base

platE'.

Th

e travelling

wheels

are

worked hy

a ve

rtical

shaft

passing

down

the crane -p

os t

,

and

gear iug ·

with

a

for

e

and-aft Ehaft on

the

leve l of

the

axles. The vert ical

shaft is dr iven through the in t

ermedia

ry of a second

short vert ical shaft from a

be,

·el

wheel

on the in terme·

diate

s

haft.

Th

e boiler is 4

ft.

in

diameter

by 6

ft.

5

in.

high.

I t

will be noti

ced

that all

th e

handl

es arc

convenient

ly grouped toge

th£r.

HARBOUR vVORKS.

To

~

EDITOR

OF

ENGINEERING.

Sm, - In your issue of the 25th ult. you illustrate

and

describe

th

e Bilbao breakwater works at present in

co

ur

se of construction. Those members of th e eng ineer

ing profession who devote themsel ves more especially to

marine works must. like myself, be exceedingly pleased

to

find such a detailed and well illu

strated

desc

ripti

on

of

these important

works, showi

ng

fully

th

e design,

the

method of exec

ut

ion,

the plant

employed,

and the cost of

the

und

ertaki

ng.

On

looking at

the

section of

the

brea.kwatE'r, Fig.

2. on

page

230

of your

la

st week's issue, I was astonished at

the

immense amount of material which is being swallowed

up in

this

work. Per met re

in

le

ngth

of

the

breakwater

there is no l ess

than

860 cub ic

metr

es of ma.terial (fxclud

ing the

parapet),

and yet

the total height from founda

tion to top (para pet excluded) is only 21 m

et

res, so that

were all

the

ma t

erial

put

into

th

e form of

a.

rectangular

oross-sec

tion

of

the height

given

(21

me

tr

es)

it

would

ha ,

·e

a.

width

of not l ess

than

41 metre ?.

The

design is

the

o

rdinary

composite

arrangement

of

assorted

rub

ble from

the

foundation

up to

6 mE'tres below

low-water level ; from

th

ence

up to

1

metre above

low

water

le\'el there

are

large concr

ete

blocks of 60

and

100

SCCTIOH oF BILBAO

BREAKWATER

•

tons weight.

with rubble

filled

in

between

their

in terstices,

and

from this level

to

the

top

it is concrete

in

mass faced

with 10-ton concrete blocks

As you are well aware, I have lifted

up my

voice

time

after

tim e against the continuance of

this

unsightly, un

reliable, unscionti£c,

and

E'xtravagant system of cons

tru

c

tion,

and

I

think

I shall be

rendering a.

service

to the

engineering profession

in

poi

nting out the

defects

of

this

c

la

ss of wo

rk

whenever

an opportunity pre

se

nts

it

se

lf.

Th e accompanying figure shows a sec

ti

on of

the

Bilbao

break

water

(taken

from your

la

st week 's issue),

and

on

t h i ~

sec

tion l

have shown, by means of

th

e central por

tion etched crosswise, the section of monolithic work

which would be am]Jle for the nnder-water portion of the

st ructure, instead of t

he

immense mass of loose rubble

and huge concrete blocks, as actually constructed. Th e

c ~ n t r a l

monolithic portion I

have

shown would

be built

of bloc

ks

of

moderate

weight,

say

9

to

12 tons,

and

ce

mented together by neat

P o

rtland cementgrouted into a.

so

lid

mass, founded on

the top

of

a. grout

ed

rubble and

s h i n ~ l e

base below

the

level of

the

Eea

bottom, and

ex

tendmg

well beyond the

width

of the breakwater.

The

triangular portions on each side of

the

breakwater above

the

foundation would be of loose

rubbl

e to guard

sgainst

undermining action, should

there

be

any

at

this d ~ p t h

which I think

hardly

likely.

I

might point

out that the St.

Helier's breakwater

J ersey, which I carried out. is somewhat higher f r o ~

fo

undation to

co

pe than the

Bilbao one,

and the width

of

the

under-water

porti

on, shown

on the

accompanying

figure(13 me

tres

), is

that

whi ch I

adopted at Je rse

y,

and

with th

e

most

success

ful1

esults. I m1gbt further

remark

that

the

St.

Helier's breakwater,

like

that

of Bilbao is

exposed

to the

Atlantic, so that in this respect

the

~ i r -

cumstances are

furth

er comparable.

.Now t o d

ea

l

with

the details of the const ruction of the

B1lbao work. For

handling

and depos

iting

the 60 a.nd

100 ton blocks, expe.nsive b l ~ ~ k i n g plant, powerful

trav

ellers, and speCial 1 t m ~ barges

are

neceseary

a n ~ l i ~ e ~

b ~ ~ g e s

for

dep?sitmg

the

rubble; all of

whiCh

l B

m add1t10n

to the

ordmary

plant

for

constructing

the

II?Onolithio

u p e r ~ t r u c t u r e

ot:l

top

of

the

100-ton blocks.

1s

wo

rthy

of not1ce that th1s su

perstru

ctut e, which is

subJect

to the

full force of

the

waves, is faced

with

blocks

of only 10 t ons weight, whilst

the

enginee,rs for

the WC\rk

ha

ve de.emed it necess

ary

t o

have

blocks of GO

to

100

tons wetght below low water, whe

re

there will

be

less

force of ~ h e sea to be

re

6is

ted.

I do not call in question

the

shgbtest

degree

the

adoption of the 10-ton blocks

m the one case

and the

60 to 100 ton blocks

in

the other

b   ca.use

the

circumstances are different. '

THE CuNARn STEAMER L

ucANIA."- The

Cunard

steamer Lucania has been redocked at Birkenhead

in

con

sequence of

her

taking

a list when

fl

o

ating out

of

dry

dock,

and

beyond

the

abrasion of a. few feet of her

paint

at the turn

of

the

bilge amidships,

not the slightest

appearance of damage

ha.

s been found.

The Cunard

Company, being thu s satisfied of

the

perfect condition of

the

vessel, have

arrang

ed to

take

her over from

the

bui '

der

s

as

soon as

she

undocks.

There

is, therefore, nothing

what

ever to prevent her s \iling to·mo

rr

ow a9

already arranged

.

Tn E 7-ton travelling jib

crane which we illustrate

on page

270

was constructed by

the

Yale

and

Towne

Manufacturing

Company, t a m f o r d , Coo

n.,

U.S.A.,

and

is now on view

a t

Chi

ca

go

Expo

sition. I t has a

radius

of

21

ft., and is des

ign

ed

to

run

on

lines of 7-ft.

gauge. The

jib ca

n be ra ised and lowe

red

by means

of a separate drum

driven

by a

worm

and

wormwhee

l

the r o p ~ runniDg round a snatch block. The

drum

is

driven by spunvheel

a

nd pinion, and

is

fitted

with

a

powerful brake capable

of

sus

taining

the

full

load. Th e

cylinders

a

re ar r

a

nged at each side

of the

fr

a

ming,

the

valves being

dr iven by a

cross-shaft

from

eccentrics situated

near the

centre of

the crankshaft.

Th e turning motion is

operated from

a r

ea

r shaft

driven

from the crankshaft through an intermediate

shaft.

The

10-ton blocks

are all cemented

toge

ther and to

the

concrete

hearting,

thus

forming a solid mass,

whi

l

st

th e

60 to

100 ton

bl

oc

ks have

each

to

depe

nd

on

their

own

weight

for resistance

to displa

ceme

nt.

V ~ a . t

I do

£nd

fault

with

is

the monolithic work

com

me

ncmg

only above low-water level. Had

the monolithic

work be£n commenced at

the

foundatio

n,

th en the whole

structure,

not

merely the facing, but ikewise the hearting,

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E N G I N E E R I N G.

(SEPT. I 1893·

SEVEN-TON

TRAVELLING

CRANE

AT

THE

COLUMBIAN

EX

POSITION.

-

CONSTRUCTED BY THE YALE AND TO,VNE :MANUFA CTURING COMPANY, STAMFORD, CON·N.

For

Description 

see Pag

e 269.)

ig . 2.

I

I

4-

-------- J l l : .• • .

•.

l.

L.

 

..

'

•

•

•

I

•

I

I

I

I

I

•

•

•

I

•

1 11 180

I

- 0-

""'::::..

_ -

 

,

91

J . . . . . . . . . .

•

•

•

•

•

I

•

•

•

•

•

•

•

•

I

could have been

constructe

d of 9 to 12 ton blocks, and

the

cost

of the

very

expensive

plant

for c

onstructing

depositing tobe 100-ton blocks,

and

the

barge

s for deposit

ing t he

rubble,

would

ha

ve been

saved; and,

further,

an

immense

redu

ction

in

sectional area of

the

work would

h a v ~ been effected, as shown by the figure.

The engineers of the Bilbao work have evidently not

known bow

to construct

monolithic work under water,

or they

would ha

rdly

have

be

en responsible for the design

now being carried ou t.

I already

state

d _

hat

the

cub

ical c o n t e ~ t s per

metre in length of

the

B

1lu

ao r e a k w a t ~ x c l u d m g

the

parapet) is 860 metres,

bu_t

had monoh th10. work been

carried

out, as per the sectiOn etched crosswi

se

, the

t e

nt

s per metre in length would

only

have

bee

n 300. cub_10

metre

s. There would thus

have

been a. reductiOn m

quantity of

about two-thirds, whilst

the

cost

of

the

~ r k

would ha ve

been

r

educe

d to about one-half. As

to

mam

t enance,

the

cost for such of

the

monolithic

st

ructure

would be practically nil, which can hardly be hoped for

from the rubble base and loose block str uctu re.

Yours

truly,

WALTER

R

oBERT

KINIPPLE, M.I.C.E.

3,

Victoria-street,

\Vestminste r, August 28, 1893 .

EN

G

INE

VIBRATION.

To THE EDITOR OF

EN

GINEERING.

SIR,- Vith reference t? your

in t

eresti

ng

ar ticl,e

on

the

balancing of marme engmes, and Mr. Y arrow s

experiment,

I

in

close

.a

sketch of_ an arrangement of the

recip

roca

ting

parts

wh

10

h would give a perfect

ba

lan ce.

I t

is an old idea

to balance

by means of

cranks

oppo

s

ite to

one another,

but

the arrangement e

ket

ched may

ha ve s

ome

novel featu res. . . .

The reciprocating parts

of a c ~ cyhnder are m o v m ~

m

opposite directions, and the we1gh;ts

lih

e parts bemg

made equal,

the

stresses due to mert1a are equal and

oppositely dir ected. . . .

By us

ing two

valves to each

cylmder,

the mertia. of the

valves might be sim

ilarly

balanced.

'

.,

/ I

•

+

..

I

Fig

1.

,

:

.

~ · J

t

-·-·

. 

•

-

'

··· -

-

I

--

.  .

.

• r.. "

I

'

•

•

•

•

I

I

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I

I

•

•

0

•

'

•

•

0

•

•

'

I

•

'

'

I

I

I

I

'

•

•

I

•

•

I

•

•

-  t

•

0

•

I

I

'

I

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k-----·

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st

·--

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-1

--

-------·

fJ

1

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---

-- -

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•

•

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-·· · · - · 4

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•

•

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::::

.

•

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•

•

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<:

~

: : : : : : : = = = = = = ~

r

•

•

'

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•

•

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•

• •

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•

I 0

I I

I

~ ~ ~

 

'

• •

' I

;(

•

•

•

•

- . --.

-- -

. . :'::  ~ f f i f f i f f i m ~ ~ ~

•

I

I

•

•

I

I

I

•

•

•

•

o

I

..

V)

0

I ;)

•

•

I

I

I

Bes

ide

the balancing effect, the friction of the crank

sha ft bearings would

be

reduced, as the bearings would

be

relieved from a

ll pre

ssure

du

e

to the

ste

am

on

the

pi

ston.

Of courea the objection to such an arrangement is

the

multiplication of

par

ts and t h e e x f e n : : ~ e of the crankshaft.

r .

-

-

-

-

I  S

I

•

I

•

I

•

I

1

I

-

-· I

I

-

I

I

I

I

1

I

I

-

I

•

I

r

,. I

-   r

-o-

I

I

I

_I

- .

-

 

-

This might be reduced by placing

the

ce

nt r

e lines of ~ h e

two

cylinders

at

right angles to one another, and couphng

the connect ing-rods into the s

ame

cranks.

Balancing in a vertical direction by means of a revol

ing weight,

lea·1ing

the

la teral stresses unbalanced,

1s

only a. partial solution of

the

difficulty.

Fo r pleasure steamers, where the continual throbbi

ng

•

I

•

• •

.....

CS>

•

-

  l

I

•

•

I

I

I

I

•

' .

-

 ,

.

I

I

I

•

'

•

'

I

'

I

•

•

I

•

of the engine is so objectionable, the absence

of

vibration

could ha-rdly

be

too

dearly

bought.

Yours faithfully,

w. H.

TOZ

ER

.

August

22, 1893.

To

THE

EDITOR OF ENGINEERING.

SIR-I hav

e read with great interest your article on

engine v

ibrati

on in

ENGINEEUING

of August 11. I have

previously

mad

e

and ga

in

ed

experience which coincides

pre

cisely with

th

ose experime

nt

s

mad

e

la t

ely by

Mr.

Ya

rrow on a small engme indicating 1600 horse-power,

and as I imagine that my experiruents will be of inte

rest to many of

your read

ers, I will describe them as

fo

ll

ows:

One

of

the

mai

l s

team

ers belonging

to

the

Austrian

Llo

yd s

Steam

Navigation Company

bad her

old com

pound engines conve

rt

ed

into trip

le-expansion engines,

by putting on each cylinder of the old compound emrine

a small high-pressure cylinder, as usually done.

For

merly th ose engines ran 70 revolutions per minute, and

it was

intended

to keep the same

numb

er of revolutions

for the converted engine, and to keep also the

sa

me pro

pe

ll

er. After

the

conversion of th e e

ngine

was effected, it

was found that when

th

e engine reached the same

numb

er

of revolutions as formerly, such terrific vibrations were

set up that all the steam pipes and connections were in

danger,

and

the scantlings fo

rming

the engine foundation

w

ere lik

ely to

be

loosened. At the stern of the s

hip

the

vibration was so

bad

that no p a . s s e n ~ e r could have slept

in his berth . To obviate such a sen ous defeat, a series

of experiments was made.

1.

The

engines were

stayed

by

lo

ngitudinal

and

athwartship stays,

but

without any favourable results.

2. 60 tons of

cast

iron were put under the engine founda

tion

to

give more resistance

to

the ship, which improved

things a.

little,

but not very much.

Vibrations at

the

stern was

just a.s bad

as before.

3. The two high-pressure piston valves wo

re tak

en

out.

the boiler

pr

essure was reduced to six at mospheres, a.nd

the engines run as before, compound, with the only dif-

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COMPOUND

BEAM

ENGINES

OF

THE PADDLE STEAMER "HONAM."

I

1/ W BEJiNETr

•

f

erence

that

the weight of the moving parts

of

each

engine was increased

by the

weights of

the

high-pressure

pistons

and piston-rods which

were added

to 1t. Th e

~ i b r a t i o n of engine and ship was

just

as before, perhaps a

little

mor

e ; this could not be precisely

ascertained

, as

we are not the

lu

cky owners of the scientific

in

s trument

called"

the vibrometer/' Now th ese

experiments

were

a clear proof that

the

whole mischief has been don e by

increasing

the

weight of

the

movin g parts. As

the

engines were already built into

the

sh ip, and an experi·

ment

such as Mr. Yarrow has made in his shop would hav e

been

impo

ssible, I therefore

took

rE'fuge in a

model

ex

periment. A wooden model,

1 

in. to the foot. of the I

engine was mad e,

and the

weight of

the mming

partfl

reduced to

the

same scale, was put in

the

s

hap

e of a disc

on the up-and-down moving piston-rod. Th e bedplate

of this model was supported by four little spiral sp rings,

so

that the

model was

fr

ee

to

mo ve

in any

direction ;

the crankshaft was driven from outside

by

a little

flexible rod.

In

turning round the model it was sean

that it

jumped off from its

suppo

rting

springs

after a few

turns

of

the

handle of

the turning

gE>ar which cor responded

to

the

aotual

state

of affairs on board ship.

Th

e next

thing was to put balance weights on th e m o d ~ l and

change th

e weights of

tho

se balance weights

by

adding

CONSTRUCTED

BY

~ l E S S R S A. AND J. INGLIS, ENGINEERS, GLASCO "'"·

(Fo .

Description 

s

Page

265.)

•

and de

creasing

resp

ec

tively until th

e r

ight proportion

f }<:J

• •

..

,,

) '

.

..

I

I

tJ

'

•

•

h

T o ~ 9 Cca .

1-

 

. -ft

- u

1-

 

18 .

.3i

-

•

•

I

,

•

•

•

,..,I-

J

•

F< fJ 24;

.......

• •

•

••

•

- ...

 

. - .

:o

; •

•

, J

r ·•

;

was attained between moving parts and balance weights.

•

After this experiment bad

been

ca

refully carried

out,

one could turn the model round at any number of

revolutions without setting up any considerable vibra

tions. It must be remark ed that

the

model was

secured against athwartship vibrations, and could

show only vertical vibration, for

th

e

athwart

ship vibra

tions are of

no

consequence to the ship. After the pro

portions

of

the

balance weights has been thus experi

mentally determined, they were carried out full size,

put in place, and a trial trip made ; the result was

that

~ h e

engines were perfect ly steady at any number of

revolutions, and

no

vibrations were

felt

at the stern of

the ship, and the difficult question of

preventing

vibra

tion in marine

engines was, in this way, solved

in

a most successful manner.

Th

e experience which I

gained only corroborates Mr. Y arrow's last experim ent,

and I

quit

e

agr

ee with what he says, that th e vertical

vibrations in marine engines can be completely annihi

lated by judiciously and carefully oalculating and placing

th

e balance weights.

Tr us

ting

you will excuse me for trespassing upon

your

valuable space,

I remain, Sir, your obedient servant,

F . KODOLITSC

H.

Trieste, August

21 1

893.

t4Di> ·C

FEED-\V

ATER

HEATING.

To THE

EDITOR ENGINEERING.

Sm, - M. .J. A. Ko rmand, in his

clear

and inte

resting l

ette

r, leaves very little more to

be sa

id

by

us, as

th

e points of difference between us

are

ve

ry

few. It is

gratifying to us to find a ge

ntl

ema n of such

authority and

expertence in almost perfect accord with us on so impor·

tant a subject

We

may, however, be allowed to say that our aims in

ad voca.ting feed

heaters

are :

1. To heat the f

eed water,

and thus by

equalising

tem

peratures relieve the boil

er

of the alarming and injurious

strains due to unequal expansion.

2.

To

extract the- air

fr

om

the

heated water in order to

render the feed water non -corrosive.

3.

To

remove all greasy

matters fr

om

the

feed water.

4. Placing

the

heater on

the

delivery side of the feed

pump, thu s at once obviating any trouble in

the

working

of the

pump,

and

at

the

same

t ime securing the maximum

of h eat being imparted to

the

water

\Ve think each of

the

above points

are

of equal import

ance,

and

that

the

machine which we manufacture deals

with tbe whole of them in a simple and satisfactory

manner.

We

quite agree with M. Normand as

to the

utility

and

(f)

t lj

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...

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OQ

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•

I )

t Ij

z

CJ

z

tT1

tT

z

C l

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H

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E N G I N E E R I N G.

[SEPt. t,

1893.

visability o£ fitting a t e r

filters and

think

with

that the proper pos1t10n for them

ts

on the Ruction

of the

feed

pump. The

results

we have obtained

filters

so far

confirm

this opinion, but we

also

con·

that it is impossible, even with

the most

efficient

to completely remove all the

~ r e a

matter, as we

find,

even where great

C'are

has

been

taken. that

quantity of

grease

is

found

in the heater

on

its

being

out after a. long run; of course this would not

be

case in a. heater where the water and

the

steam

used

heating it came

in

contacb

and mixed with each other.

35s.

3d. Cum berland and vliddlesbrough hematite iron,

respectively, 45s. and 43s.

3d.

per ton. The market

was

somewhat

uregular on Friday forenoon. At the opening

the

tone for Scotch

was

firm, and 42s. 7

d. cash

per ton

was paid. Subsequently

the

price dropped to 4 2 ~ . 5 ~ d . ,

but

finally rallied to

42s. 6 ~ d . About 10,000

tons were

sold. One or two lots

of Cleveland

were

sold

at

35s. 3d.

per ton

cash.

A

fair

amount of business was done in

Scotch

iron in the afternoon,

largely

of an option charac

ter,

however,

4000 tons having

been

done

at

4 2 : ~ .

6d. a

month, with ls. forfeit in sellers' option, and

2000

tons at

42s.

and

42s.

5d.

this

week

with "plants."

Th

e

casb

business was

done

at

42s. 6 ~ d . Monday and 42s. 6d.

ot her days this week. Business was also done at

423.

5 ~ d .

cash,

and

at the

close

se

llers

were quoting

42d.

6 ~ d . ,

or

the

pr ice current

at

the

forenoon's

close. Including

option bu

s

ine ss

,

fully

12,000

tons of iron

c

hanged bands.

In Cleveland 1{)00 ton

s we

re

dealt in

at

35s. 3 ~ d . and

35s. 4d.

cash,

and the pr i

ce at

the last

was

1 per

ton

better than in the forenoon.

One

lot of Cleveland

bema

tite iron changed hands

at

45s. ld.

cash.

The

closing

settlement prices

were

- Scotch

iron,

42s. 6d. per

ton;

Cleveland,

35s.

Cumber

and

and Middlesbrough

hemati

e

iron,

4os. and 43s. l ~ d .

per

ton

re

s

pectively.

Monday

's forenoon

market

wa

s fairly active. Scotch

iron was

firmer, and

was

dealt in

a.t

42s. Sd. and 42s. 7d.

per ton, busi

ne

ss leaving- at

the

higher figure.

Some8000

tons

changed

bands,

including

3000

tons

at

42s. 7d.

one

month, with

1s. fo

rfeit in

sellers'

option.

A few

thou

sand

tons

of Cleveland

iron

were

so

ld at 5 s . 5id.

to

353. 6d.

per

ton cash,

and

at

35s. 7id.

to

35s. Sd. one month; and one

or

two

lots

of bematite iron were disposed

of.

In

the

after·

noon th e market

was

steady but quiet. For Scotch

42s. 7d.

cash

next

day, and

4 2 : ~ . Sd. Friday

were

done,

also 42s . 6d.

Friday, with

a.

"plant.

"

Only

some 6000

tons were

done, and

at

the close the cash pr i

ce was

un

changed from

t.

he

morning. Nothing

was

doJ?-e in Cleve

land

or hematite

irons.

Th

e

se

ttlement

prJCes

at the

close

were

-Sco tch iron, 42s. 7

d.

per ton ; Cleveland,

35s.

6d. Cumberland and J\iiddlesb rough hematite iron,

re

spectively, 45s.

and

43s.

l d . per

ton.

Only

a

mod

erate

amount of

business was done on Tuesday

forenoon. On

the announcement that the Durham miners

were

not

going

to

strikE" and that consequently the blast furnaces in the

north of'England w)ll not Le shut down, some sales

were

made, and the cash price

of

Scotch iron dropped to

423. 5 ~ d . , reco

ve

ring to

42s.

6 ~ d .

p ~ r ton. About 8000

tons were so

ld,

a

large number

of the lots

being

of a

forfeit

chara

cte

r.

On

e

or

two lois of

Cleveland were

sold,

and the

cash

pr i

ce

fell l ~ d . per ton. Hematite irons re

mained un changed.

The

market

was

steady

at

the

opening

in

the afternoon at about

423. 6d.

cash for Scotch,

but

th

e tone became flatter later

on. Scotch was idle,

only

a few

thousand

tons being d

ea

lt

in;

but the

price

fell

to

423. 5d.

cash, with

sellers over

at

that quotatlOn

or ~ d . per ton

down

from the morning. Business was

al

so

done at

42s.

7 d. Friday with

a call,

and at

42s.

l O ~ d .

one

month with

6d. forfe

it

in buyers'

option. Cleveland

iron

was

very act

iva

demand, e t ~ e e n . S O O O and 10,000

tons being sold 

ne operator alone

d1spos10gof 6000 o ~ s .

The

price

was very

fiat,

down

to

35s.

l ~ d .

cash

be10g

done with sellers at 35s. 2d., or ~ d . back from the fore

no

on:

In addition to

the

cas

h

t r a n

t i ~ n s , d

ealing

took

pla.ce at 36s.

l id.

a

month

fixed, w1th

forfeit

m

sellers' option.

At

thfl close the

settlement pnces were

Scotch

iron,

42d. 4 ~ d . per ton Clevel.and

1

35s.

l ~ d . ;

Cumberland and Middlesbrough hematite

tron,

respec·

ti

vely, 45s.

and

43s. 1 ~ ~ · per ton. Business

was

very

quiet

in

the

market

this

foren

oon,

but

the

tone was

steady on th

e whole.

From

8000

to

10,000 tons of Scotch

ammonia

has been

considerably reduced,

with the

result

that the

prier,

of the

commodity

has now

run up to

15l.

5s.

per ton, whereas the p ri

ce

a year ago

was

only lOl. 5s. per

ton. The advan

ce

in price

had

already been in

progres

s

for some month s, hub a very marked impetus has just

been given to th

e

advance by the action

of the

iron

masters; indeed,

within

th e past few weeks, the

price

ha s

been run up 2l per

ton.

The importance of this

question

of

feed heating, advo

by us for so

many years, and

only now

generally

will, we

trust,

be

considered a

sufficient excuse

again

trespassing on

your

space.

Yours faithfully,

JOHN KIRKAL

DY

, LIMITED.

John

Kirkaldy, 1\'Ianaging

Director.

40, West India. Dock-road, L o

ndon,

August 28, 1893.

CONGRESS OF

HYGIENE.

To TB

EDITOR

oF ENGIN RING.

SrR, -I

beg to

ask

you

the favour kindly

to insert

the

publication the

ne

xt issue of your.esteemed

aper:

I t is

well

known that the next

(the

eighth) Interna.·

tional

Congress

of

Hygiene

and Demography will

be

held

at

Budape

st

in September of

next year,

under the

high

patronage

of

His Imperial and

Royal Majesty.

The

prelimi

nary workisalreadyprogressing very

br i

skly. T h e p a ~ r s o f

subjects

for

the

nineteenth

(hygienic) and seventh (demo

graphic) s e c ~ i o n s being already

selected,

the

referees for

these papers have also

b sen

asked

to

receive them,

and

many

of

these gentlemen have already

se

nt

in

their

acceptance

of

these

duties. The

series

of further questions

will

be

arranged according to

sections

about the beginning

of

next

month,

and

will

then be sent

out

to

the

foreign

scientists in order that

the preliminary

works for. th e

scientific part of the Congress may, as nearly as pos

s

tbl

A,

be co

mpleted before

the

e g i n n i n ~

of autumn.

The executive

committee

espe01ally desire

to realise as

far

as

po

ss

ible th e

decisions

of the

London

Congr.ess.

Special international committees have been orga.msed

with

regard

to several deci

s

ions

a.ccepted

at

the L o

ndon

Congres

s ;

they are at

pr ese

nt c ~ u p i e d

with

the s0lution

of the

various que

s

tions thus mooted

.

To

England it

will be o

.some

special

interest

to

kn?w

that

one important dectston

was

a c c ~ p t e d the m ·

atigation of

the

L0ndon

Congress.

Th ts. decJston r e ~ e r s

to

the

organisation of a. p a r ~ t e s e ~ t 1 0 n f ~ r trO_PlCal

countries.

The presidEmt of th ts spe01al sect10n

wtll be

Dr.

Theodor

Dicka. and the

two

secretaries

will be

Dr.

Isamb:ud Owen and Mr. S. Digby. Th

ese

gentlemen

kindly consented

to accept

these p o s ~ an:d are now

e n ~ a g e d arranging the programme of thts

s e c t ~

on. .

The

honorary presidents of the

several

sect10ns w1ll

be

elected by

the executive committAe

as

soon

as

t h ~

names

of those

foreign

celebrities

shall bs known

who wtll take

pa.rt in the

Congress.

After the

t e

rmination

of

the

Congress several

excur·

~ i o n s

will

be arranged, amongst which one

will

be to the

Irongate on

the

lower Danub

e,

to

l g r a d e ,

and to

Con

stantinople,

which,

doubtles

s,

wlll be

of

some attrac

tion.

I remain, Sir, yours obediently.

C. M uLLER, M .D.

(Chief Secretary).

THE UriLlSATION

OF

SMALL

COAL.

To

TH

Eor'l'

OR

oF

ENGIN RING.

SIR - In your article on

the

utili

ga.tion of small

coa

l

(pa.ge'248

of last i s s u ~ we

. find

you refer to

the

Perret

furnace, but

make no

ment10n of

ours,

although we

constructed

and

erected

a

larger

number of

dust

-

burn10g

furnaces than any other firm. In South Wale

  ,

.

for

b u ~ n -

ing

anthra

cite, we ha ve fitted hundreds b 0 1 l e ~ s w1th

most satisfactory

resu

lts ; these are dea:lmg wtth .

the

exact form of fuel to wh i

ch

you r e f e r r ~ d

m

your a r ~ t c l e ,

and

do

i t in a.

way that leaves.

t b 1 0 g

to be

desired.

They

meet the difficulty of util1s10g

small

coal,

both

anthracite and

soft coal,

with a.n efficiency that has

never been equalled.

.

We are, S1r, yours truly,

MELDR

UM BROTHERS.

Atlantic Works, City-road, Manchester,

August 29, 1893.

NOTES FROM THE NORTH.

GLASGOW, Wednesday.

Glasgow P

ig

Iron Market

 

In

consequence of a p r e ~ i

sure of sales of Scotch

iron,

the warrant market

was

du

last Thursday

forenoon.

About 6000 tons we

re

soldi and

the cash price dropped to 42s. 5 d. per. ton. One ?t ?f

Scotch sold

ab 42a.

9 ~ d . one month, w1t.b ls. forfett

m

buyer's option.

The

market

opened

flat

t.n the

afternoon

on

the

announcement

of the bank rate

bemg advanced to

5 per cent. and business

was done at

42s. 4d. per ton cash

on M o n d ~ y of this

week.

The

re was

a. r e c o ~ e r y after-

were

sold, the cash price varying between 42s. 4 ~ d . and

42s.

ijd.

per ton. Some lo

.

s were

sold

at 42s

 

4d. a.nd

42s. 4 ~ d . on Friday with a "plant," 42s. 6 ~ d . Frt?,ay 1 t ~

a call and 42s. 3d. one m o

nth

open wtth a. plant.

The ~ a r k e t was very

quiet in

the afternoon

u ~ t i l just

about the

close

when

one dealer came m

and

bought

5000

t o ~ s ,

which

stiffened

the ~ a r k e t ,

and

sellers

were

asking 42s. 6 ~ d . at

the

~ n L B h , an

vance

of l ~ d . per ton

from

the mormng. Ontstde

of this

there

was

very

little

doing, but

1000 .

tons

changed

hands

at

42s. 6 ~ d .

and

42s. 7d.

cext week wttb

a

call. A few

lots

of Cleveland

iron were

d ~ a l t

in,

and the

pr i

ce

also mad& l i d.

?f advance.

The clos10g

settlement

prices were

Scotch

uon,

42s. 6d. per

ton

;

C l ~ v e l . a n d ,

35s. 3d. ; Cumberland and Middlesbrough b e m a t 1 t ~ 1ron,

respectively,

45s. and 43s.

Hd. P.

er

ton. The

folloWip.g

are

some

of

the pric

es of No. 1 spe01al brands of

makers

1ron :

Gartsherrie

and

Summer

ee, 49s.

per ton Calder, 6d.;

Langloan, 54s.

6d

.

Coltness,

66s.

--the

for egomg

all

shipped

at

Glasgow; G l e n g a r n ~ c k

(shipped

at

48a. 6d. ; Shotts

(shipped at

Le1th), 5ls. C a r ~ ~ h 1 p p e d

at Grangemouth).

53s. 6d. per t

on.

Last weeks s

htpments

of

pig iron from all

Scotch P'?rts

amounted

6230

to n

s,

as

co

mpared with

5124

ton

s m the correspondmg

week

of

la

st year Th ey included 650 tons

for

Canada., 405 to ns

for I n d i ~ , 150 tons for Australia, 170 t?ns for Italy, 450

tons for Germany, 220 tons for Ru ssia, 140 tons f ~ r

H o

lland,

300

tons

for

China

and

Japan,

m a l l ~ r quanti·

ties for other countries,

and 3451

tons coastwtse.

T ~ e

stock of pig iron in M essrs. Connal a:nd

Co.'s public

warrant s

tore

s s

tood

at 336,780

tons, aga10st

337,790

ton

s

ye

ste rday w ~ e k , thus showing for the past

week

a reduc

tion amountmg to

1010

tons.

Shipbuilding Oontracts. It is pr

ob

able

tbab

con tracts

for s o m ~ t h i n g like 40,000

ton

s of new

shipping

have been

placed with Clyde

s

hipbuild

ers

during

the

past month;

one

new

spaper

pu t

s th e amount at even 60,000

tons,

and

speaks of a "

boom

"

having again overtaken

this

bran

ch

of

local trade.

The more

rece

nt contracts include an

order

for

a

cargo

and

passenger steamer of

45

00

ton

s,

which

is

to

be

built by the

L o

ndon

and

Glasgow Ship

building and

En_gineering

Company.

Me

ss

rs. D.

and W.

Henderson

and Co.

have also secured

an

order for

a screw

steamer

of

about

3000

tons

gross.

•

NOTES FROM SOUTH YORKSHIRE.

SH FFl LD, Wednesday.

The Hea

vy

Trad

es

 

Business in connection with the

iron and steel

trades

has

been

redu

ce

d

to

a. minimum by

the dispute with th e c olliers. I t is

now

cP.rtain that next

week th

e majority

of

the

blast furnaces in this dist ri

ct

will

have to be damped down, as supplies

of

coke

are

o

nly

available at ex

tortionate prices

. li'orge

pig

is nomi ·

nally quoted

at

2 ~ . 6d., and foundry

a t

448. 6d. but no

new business

is

doing,

and, in fact. the iron trade is

rapidly approaching a

deadlock.

The majority of the

mills

are

only running two or three days

a week, and

many

of them have

totally

suspended ope

rations. Some

good

orders

for

bar have recently

come

up

from

Sou

th

Africa. and Australia, but as th

ey

are

at

rates prevailing

a

month

or six

w

eeks

ago,

th

ey hav

e

to be placed

aside

awaiting more fav ourable circumstances of production.

Sheet

roller

s

would

be

bu

si

er on better-class work, i they

could

accept the

rates

of a

month ago,

but they

cannot.

Best qualities of boiler plates are

go ing

well, and

home

buyers are paying the advances

for

immediate deliveries.

There is a further lull in the demand for marine and rail

way material, as customers

will not

pay th

e revised rates,

preferring to wait. Some

of

the tyre-makers have

accepted a reduction of 5 per

ce

nt. in their wages.

Agents

of

Bessemer

billets ha

ve cleared out stocks,

but are taking

few new

orders,

and no contracts

at

current quotation of

5l. 17s. 6d. to 6l per ton. Crucible steel makers are

very busy on

best tool qua.litiQs

for

delivery

to the

United

States,

South

Africa,

and

the mining

co

untries

of So

uth

America.. Many of

the manufactorie

s in the

old staple

trades are

closed unti

l engine

coal

returns

to

a.

reasonable

•

prtce.

Rolling i l l Proprietors and tke Situation. The mem

bers of the

Rolling Mill Proprietors

' Association

have

i

ssued a. circular

in

which

they

say

:

In

consequen

ce

of

the high pri

ces

which

are now being charged

for coal,

and

in view of the fact that

the

r@lling

mills

are e i n ~ worked

at

a.

loss,

we

re

gret

to have to inform you

that

either

the

mills

must

be

set down or

a

high

er

charge made for rolling

during

the

continuance

of the

strike. Th

e

rolling mill

proprietors are

reluctant to adopt

the

former alternativ

e,

but

recommend

their customers

to give

out

as

little work

as

possible until the

coal

dispute is settled; m

ea

n while,

in some measure to mitigate the loss consequent on th e

excessive

pr ice we have to pay for

fuel,

tbe association

have

resolved that

until f urther notice the

discounts will

be as

follow

s: Rods,

15

per cen

t. cast-steel

sheets, net;

Bessemer steel

sheets, 5 per cent.; circulars, 15 per

cent.''

The Coal Orisis.-Until th is we

ek

th e men in th is

di

strict hav

e

been very

peaceable, and

have expressed

their

intention of

abiding by the de

cisio

ns

of

the

federation. In th

e

meantime

prices of coal

are at ex·

treme rates

; engine slack

that was

6s. 6d. a

month

ago

is now 13s. 6d., and 6s.

to

Ss. per ton is

the

average

increase

in the

rates for house coal. North

co

untry coke agents

are

pressing

business

in this

locali

ty,

but the

commodity is

only taken where ibis absolutely

ne

ces3ary

to

c.mtinue

operations. Ib

is

believed

tha.t

when the dispute is settled it

will be found

a.

consider·

able portion

of

the

coal

trade

will

have permanently

lefb

the district.

d however on

the

announcement that etght blast

f t : r ~ : ~ e s

had

b e ~ n

d a m p e ~ down and two blown out, and

t 42

6d

cash

was pa.1d

for

Scotch but

at t b ~ close

~ t i e r ~ s ~ l l e r s

at

42s. 5 ~ d ..

w ~ i c b made price

un-

h d f

m

th a

t ab the

opemng

10 the morn10g. A bout

c a.nge

ro

· ·

1

d '

two10

000

or

12 000

tons

were

dealt

m,

m e u

108,'

one or

.

lots

at

42

3

9d

and 42s.

9 ~ d . one month, wttb

l s.

forfeit

in

buyer./

option. Several

t h o ~ s a n d

to n

s of

Cleveland

abo changed hands,

and the priCe

dropped

ld . per ton.

Cumberland hamatite

iron was

done at 45s. 3 ~ . a

m o n ~ h

for

a sm1.ll quantity. The settlement prtces

at

t e

eLse

~ o t c h iro

n,

423. 4jd. per ton ; Cleveland,

Scotck B last Furnaces  S o

me

eighteen

blast f u r n a

have

been

damped down during

the past

week or

so, m

consequence

of the action of the ~ i n e r s .

At

end of

la

st

week

th

e

re

were only forty

-stx .

urna

ce.s

.m

actual

operation. The

i r o n m a s t ~ r s are

now

10 a postt10u to J;>Ut

their

coal

on the market

and

get the benefit

of the

high

prices

that

ha

ve lately been

reached.

Sulphate

of Am m

onia. Owing to.

the stoppage of

so

many blast furnaces, the product10n of

sulphate of

N ational A ssociation of Ooll iery M

a;nag

e1·

The

annual

general

me

e

ting

of

this

body will be held

in

Sheffield

on

Friday, S e p t e m b ~ r 1 The repo

rt

of the

council states

that "

the wide influence

of the

association

may be

gathered

from

the fact that it has

now

amongst it s mem

bers colliery manag

e

rs from Scotland,

N

ortbumberland,

Durham, Yorkshire, Cumberland, No

rth

Wales,

La n ·

cash

re,

Cheshire,

Derbyshire, N ottingba.ms

bire,

\Var·

wi

cks

hire, Leicester

s

hire,

Staffordshire, Worcester

shire,

Gloucester

s

hire,

Monmoutbsbire, and South

Wales.

The

~ f f e c t of certain steps adopted in

accordance

with th e

committee's

sugges tions

is

that the

balance-sheet is th

e

most

fa ,•ourable

one

that

th

e

cou

ncil

has eve

r issued.

The council sugge

sts to

branches

the

desir ability of co

operating

with

the tf'cbnical education committee of the

county

council

of

their district

in arranging for

high

class lectures on mining subjects. One of the chief

objects

of

the

association is

to improve the

scientific and

intellectual p o

sitio

n of co

lli

ery

managers,

and the

cou

ncil

is of opinion

that lectu

res

on

mining

problems

by expert s

are most useful means

to

that e

nd.

Th e

executive

learn

with plea

s

ure

the

success

which

ha

s

attended the

se

l

ectu

res

in some distri

cts, and

strongly

reco

mmend the

branches to approach their county

councils

at once with a.

view to a r r a n ~ e for such le

c

tures during

the winter.

Happily

famiharity with fatal accidents, which

is the

experien

ce

of

various colliery

managers,

does

not engender

7/17/2019 Engineering Vol 56 1893-09-01

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/engineering-vol-56-1893-09-01 16/33

SEPT I ' I 893·]

th \t indifference to

them

which familiarity with less

. 1 d ,

senous occurrences

a

ways oes.

Facts from a Coalowner.-At the

annual meeting

this

week of Messrs. H e

nry

Briggs. Son, and Co.,

Limited,

colliery J>roprietors,

Mr.

A. C. Briggs,

managing

di rector

and cbatrma.n of

the

Yorkshire Coalowners' Association,

presided. In th e courcSe of an address he said th ey had a

fleet of steamships which had

run

to Continental ports

and found regular e

mployment

for miners

until lat

ely,

wh

en contracts te

rminat

ed,

and

much of the

trade

was

allowed to

lap

se because they could

not

compete in price.

They had taken prices even as low as

in

1888.

It

was a

qu

es tion of closing th ose pits which got coal for expo

rt,

or

having wages reduced.

There

was a

g e ~ e r a . l

sion

in

the country,

and

they must

take

th e

tr

share of tt.

f

in

stead of seeking to assist the masters to keep

up

wages under existing circumstances, the colliers would

prevent

the

sinking of a

lot

of new collieries that under

sold to

get

a connection, they would be taking a more

practic Joble course.

NOTES FROM CLEVELAND AND THE

NORTHERN COUNTIES.

MIDDLESBROUGH, Wednesday.

Tlte Cleveland

Iron

Trade. 

Yesterday the attendance

on 'Change here was only small, and little business ~ a s

done.

Early

in the day the tone of the

market

was f a t ~ J y

cheerful, and quotations were but,

later

on, affa.trs

eased somewhat. At the opemng, sellers asked 35  s. 6 ~ .

for prompt f.o.b. delivery of No. 3 g.m. b. C l e v e l ~ n d

pt.g

iron, and reported that they were able to

obtam thi

s

price.

Tran

sactions, however, were recorded

at 35

s.

4 ~ d . ,

and

buyers were

not

inclined to

pay

more

than the

lat ter

figure. No. 4 foundry

wa

s quoted 33s. 9d. ; grey forge

was in

better

request,

and

was generally

quoted 3 2 ~ . >d.

In

quiries for

the la

st-mentioned

quality

were reported

more num erous, and a good deal of it

might

have

been sold at

32

s. 6d.,

but

sellers,

as

a

ru l

e, would

not li

ste

n

to

such a price. :Middlesbrough wa

rrant

s

ope

ned 35s. 4d. cash buyers.

By the

close of

the market

buyers we

re

very shy,

and

were

not di

sposed

to pay quite

so much for

pig

iron

as

was realised in

the

morning.

Oa

the

other hand, sellers were firm, and we

re

most unwilling

to

reduce

their

quotations.

t

was diffic

ult

to

pur

c

ha

se

prompt

No.

3

under 35s. 4 ~ d . Middlesbrough w

arrant

s

closed 35s.

ld.

cash buyers.

Notwi

th

st anding the

falling

off

in the

demand from Sheffield

and

distri

ct

, hematite

pig

iron keeps steady. Mixed numbers of makers' east

coast brands are st ill quoted 4-

33.

6d., a] though some

buyers s

tate that they

~ a v e

d o ~ e b u . s i ~ e s s

at

.rather l.ess

than

this figure. Spa.msh ore

1s

qUletish, ~ h t s

b e u ~ g

low. Rubio may be quoted 123 3d. to 12s. 6d. ex·sh1p

'l.'

ees.

To

-day

the

market was

stea

dy,

but

No. 3 Cleve

land

pig

was

sa

id to be obtainable at 35s. 3d.

pr

ompt

f.o

.b

. delivery. Middlesbrough

warrant

s closed 35.i. 2d.

cash buyers.

Manufactured

Ir

on and Ste

el .-

A

somewhat unsatisfac

tory account

must

again be given of these

t.wo

imp

o

rtant

indu

st

ries. Manufactured iron

mak

ers are badly off for

work, and orders for steel material are

by

no means easily

secured. Quotations have altered ve

ry little

since we

last

rep orted ; but probably most firms would accept contracts

a.t rather less

than the pr{)

sent

market

ra tes. Common

iron

bar

s are quoted 4l. 17s. 6d.; best bars, 5l. 7s. 6d.;

iron ship-plates, 4l. 153 ; steel ship-plates,

5l

2s.

6d ;

iron sb tp

·a

ngles, 4l. 12s. 6d.; and steel ship angles,

4l. 15s.; all less 2 

per

cent. ab works.

Heavy

sections of

steel rails are quoted 3l 15s. to

3l.

17s. 6d. net at mak er

s'

work3 

The Fuel

Trade.-Fue

l

generally is firm. The announce

ment that

the

Durham miners' ballot has not resulted

in the requis

ite

maj ority

in

favour of a

strike ha

s given

considerable

sa

tisfaction

in

trade circles here. I t is still

difficult to fix quotations for fuel, for they continue to

vary a good deal. High rates, however, are asked, and

whilst the

output

is very large a good demand is reported.

Coke is dear. 'Few consumers here are as yet necessi

tated

to buy,

as they

have

contracts running

on

much

cheaper terms

than ca

n

at

present b

P.

obtained.

As

much

as

14

s. 6d. has been asked for good blast-furnace coke

delivered

at

works here.

NOTES

FROM

THE SOUTH-WEST.

C

 

rd({f.-Tbe state

of business affairs is

just

now so

unsettled that

it

is difficult to give quotations for

any

de

sc

ripti

ons of

steam or

house coa

l ; but,

upon

the

whole,

prices of

stea

m coal appear

to be

falling, while

the

value

of

the

b

est

households will be regulated

by the

daily sup

plies. There is

not

much doing at

present in patent

fue

l.

Coke, which has been in good demand, is extremely scarce,

and those

mak

ers who bad stooks

in hand

are realis

ing

good prices. The iron ore

trade ha

s ruled quiet. Opera

tions have been resumed at seve

ral

collieries,

and on

Friday

and

Saturday

several heavy

trains

of OC\al reached

the Bute

Docks.

Wat£r Supply

of

Pembroke.-An

apRlication

to the

Lo

cal Government Board from

th

e

Pembroke

Town

Council for permission to borrow 1280l. for wo

rks

in con:

nection with the water supply of Pembroke Dock has

been refused,

the

inspector

sent down

having reported

unfavourably.

A

Sm11ll De

von3hire

Rai/

w.Jy.

--The di r

ectors of

the

Buokfastleigh, T

ot

nes,

and

South Devon

Rail

way report

that the revenue for

the

half-year amounted to 3H6l.

After

payment of all fixed and

other

charges,

there

was

a

ba

lance of 274l. available for dividend,

admitting

of a

distribution of 2 per cent.

per

annum upon

the

pre

ference shares.

The Great Western

Railway Company

ha

s declined to

take

over

the

line. The

Great

W estern

E N G I N E E R I N

G.

di rectors are complaining that

the

si

ding c c o m ~ o d a t i o n

at

the

s

tations

is insufficient to m

eet

goods trafi:i

c,

a ~ d they

are

pre

ss

ing

the company to

make

large

x t e n s i o ~ s ,

m

vo

l

v

ing an outlay

of several thousand pounds.

:I;

he

e c t o

f

the B u o k f a s t l e i ~ h

Company do not constd

er

that 1t 1s

responsible for

this

outlay.

The

Ferret "

ancl

th

e Lynx.

"  The Ferret and

the

Lynx, two of

twenty

torpedo-boat destroyers, which are

to have a guaranteed speed of

27 knots

per hour, are to be

r

eady

for trials at Devonport during

th

e early part of the

next year. Both these vessels are being built .bY Messrs.

Laird

Brothers, of Birkenhead.

The

F e

rret

IS to be

out

of the contracto r

s' hands by

F e

bruary

20, and

the Lynx

by

April

5.

No.

97

torpedo-boat, which is one of

ten

now

in

course of construction, will be r

ea

dy for transfer from

the contractors to Devonport

by the end

of December.

Miljord D

ocks.-The directors repor t :

Th

e business

of th e company exhibits s tea

dy

progress. T.he steam

s

hip

Spree left

the dry

dock at

the

end of Aprtl,

and

the

directors hope

the

dock will be used

by

other ~ e a s e l s ~ f

the sa

me line. With reference to

the

Canad1a.n mall

service mentioned

in

the last report, it is understood

that

the ma.tter has been

in

abeyance in consequence of

the

absence of

the

Canadian Premi{)r

in

Europe. The

directors

rE\gr

et that they have

not yet

been able to give

effect to an arrangement with

the National Provident

In st itution for th6 purchase of the railway and

pi

er,

but

negotiations are still pending

with

that

object. : ~ ; h e

general manager reports the tonnage of vessels e n t e ~ m g

the docks during the half-year as 133,043, as

agamst

126

291 in

1892." The earnings of the company for the

half·year

amount

to 4995l., and the expenditure to 4583/.,

leaving a profit of

412

l.

Gas at Bristol.-At the half

-yea

rly

meeting of

the

Bristol

Gas

Company

on the

24th ult.

the

maximum

di

vi

d ~ n d

wa

s

de

clared.

The

chairman

said

the sa

le

of gas

was

three tim

es as much as it was

twenty

years

~ i n c e ,

and the in

crease

in the hi r

e of gas sto,·es in

the

same

period was nearly 25 per ce

nt.

Severn

and

Vye Railway.  The

directors that

th

e serious depression

in the Forest

of

Dean

coal trade,

which commenced early

in

1

892,

became ac

ute during

the past

half-year,

and

that

the

company's revenue for

that period is insufficient

to di

sch

arge the interest

on the

debenture

stocks.

The

prolonged

lab

o

ur

difficulties in

the

Forest

mi

ning

indu

stry,

which chiefly occasioned

the

depression referred to, have res

ul t

ed in

the

stoppage of

the

principal house coal collieries.

Mr. E.

V.

Elhs,

of

Gloucester,

having obtained a judgment

against

the

company m respect of

unpaid

debe

nture

interest, pr

e

se

nted

a

petition

to

the High

Court of

Justice,

in

accordance

with

which

an

order

ha

s been made

appointing the

directors, manager&, and

the

general

manager

and the secretary, receivers of the

und

er

taking. The management of the lin e will, therPfore,

continue as hitherto,

but

all receipts

and

expendi

ture will be accounted for to

the

court,

and the

surplus will be distributed from time to time under

its

di r

ectio

n.

The net

revenue for

the

past h a l f - y e ~ r amounts

to 5287l. ; and

after

deducting

689l.

for rent cha rges and

bank

interest,

there

remains a balance of 459'i

l.

, equal to

a b o u t ~ per cent. per annum on

the

debenture stock of

the

company, which bears interest at

the

rate of 4 per

cent.

per annum

. I t is intended,

with the

necessary

authority of

the

cou

rt,

to

make

a dist

ributi

on as early as

pr act icable.

The Halcyon

and

the

H

arrier.

The

stea

ms

hip

Cragside, of Newcastle, arrived at Devonport on Mon

day, having on board

the

machinery

and

boilers for

the

Halcyon and the machine

ry

for the Harrier gunboats,

now building at Dev onport. The boilers for th e Harrier,

together

with

the machine

ry

and boilers for the Hu ssar,

are expected to arrive from the contractors, l\1essrs.

Hawthorne

and Leslie,

in

the courM of a few weeks.

Ectst Usk Ra ilway.-The

tender

of

Me

ssrs. Linton and

Co., of Newport, which the di rectors of the Great

\Yes

ern

Railway have accepted for the const ruction of

th

e

East

U

sk line, is for

the

road

between Somerton

Bridge and

Cold

Harb

o

ur Farm,

a dis

tan

ce of

about

2-i

miles.

For the present

a si

ngle line

of railB will

be

laid.

but th

e

bridg

e will

be

ere

cted

so

as to provide

for a

double

lin

e if necessary.

273

Water Supply

of Newpo?·t.-No.twithstanding a.

f e ~

day

s' rain during the la

st

s1x or 1 g ~ t w e e k s ~ the

tion

of

the wa t

er

supply

of

Newport

1s becommg

n o u ~ .

The present storage a c c o m m o ~ h ~ t i o n

for

the

borough S

262,000,000

~ a l l o n s

of water, d1v1ded

as

follows:

Panty

reos reserv01r, 144,000,600

gallons;

~ y n y s y b r o , 8 2 , 0 0 0 , 0 0 0

gallons·

and th e subsi

diary

reservotr,

~ 6 , 0 0 0 , 0 0 0

gallons.

But

the' am

ount of

wa t

er

in

store is

~ n l y

1 ~ 6 . 0 0 ~ , 0 0 0 g ~ l

lons. Possibly the

autumn

will

brmg

w1th 1t heaVIer

•

rams.

THE FASl'EST

PADDLE

BoAT IN

THE

WoRLD.-In re·

ference to

our

n

ote

u n d t : ~ r

thi

s

heading in our

issue of

August

11

the

Societe Cockerill

point out that the

speed

of 22.16 k ~ o t s obtained

by the

L eopold I

I

.was

t b ~ mean

of a number of runs on th e measured mtle,

wh1L'lt

the

speed of 22.2 knots

attained by their boat

the

Marie

H enr iette was

the

mean of four ru ns from Cloch to

Cumbrae, over which th e mean speed of the L eopo

ld II.

was 21.955, the

run

s being as follows:

Tim

e.

hr . min.

37 6

37 40

37

1i

37

3 7 ~

Knots.

2210

21.77

2215

2180

}

}

Number

of

Revolutions.

51.40

51.75

S A ~ l U D A SHIPBUILDING YARD. So

me

time ago We

called

attention

to the fact that Messrs. SamudaBrothers

had decided to discontinue work

in their

famous estab

lishment on the

Thame

s, at Poplar (vol. 1v., page 599),

and

now

the

whole of

the plant is to

be

brought

to the

hammer.

The

event,

as

we

then

indicated,

marks an

important

epoch

in the history

of

Thame

s industries,

which we

th

en reviewed,

as

the

firm was

estab

lished

some thirty-five years ago,

and

since

then many

vessels

of all ty pes, wardhips

and

mer

chantmen, have

been

cons

tructed in the yard. The

list

in

c

lude

s

eighteen

warships for

the British and

foreign

navi

es. Th e

yard,

which covers

over

six acres,

wa

s well equipped,

and the

sale, which is

to

be co

ndu cte

d

by Mr. Brad

s

haw Brown,

Billiter-square Buildings, will

la

st

fr

om l\Ionda.y

ne

xt

until Friday, the ca talogue including over

1300

lo t

s.

THE

PosniAS'l'ER- GxNER

.

u,

ON M

uNICIP.\L TELE

PHONEs.

  A n

important

quest ion connec

ted with

tele

phonic extension

wa

s raised on W ednesday

by

a deputa

tion

which waited upon

the

Pos

tmast e

r -Ge

neral in

his

pri

va.te room at

the Ho use

of Commons. Sir

Charles

Cameron, M.P.,

introduced the deputation, the leading

members of the Glasgow Town Council, who asked that

the

corporation of that

city

shou ld be allowed a licence

to

start

a

municipal telephone exchange.

Mr. Provand,

M.P.,

supported the

views of the

deputation.

The

Postmaster-General, in

reply,

said

he

wou

ld

come

to

no

decision adverse to

muni

cipa.l enterprise. The Govern

ment

would

not

at all

interfere with

the freedom of

municipll

enterprise

with

regard to

any matters

it

cou

ld

legitimately control for the public in terest. The

tele

phone, however, was

not

a part of municipal business,

butbelonged to the telegraph system, which was conducted

by

the State.

It was

not

confined to

the

municipal area

like water, gas, or

tramway

works. In continuance of

the policy of the late Government,

he

was now engaged

in

purchasing

the

trunk lines of the telephone system,

and until

that was completed

it

was impossible to con

sider the question

rai

sed by th e pr e

se

nt application.

The movement

might

possibly develop

into

the Govern

ment's taking

over

their entire

management, but any

s

tep taken in

advance in local districts would complicate

m ~ t t e r s : He was s t r o ~ ~ l y ~ n . favour of

further

powers

bemg r ~ e n to the ~ ~ m c 1 p a h t 1 e s to

manage

affairs which

were strictly mummpal, but be could not enter into

f u r ~ h e r details on the question raised

by

the

deputation

until the agreement as to the trunk telephone lines bad

been finally settled.

VENTILATING AND

H EATING

. Ventilating and heating

systems .

are

a

byword

for

i n ~ f f i and

pl'Oba.bly

always

will

be

wh1le people of d1fferent

constitutions and

temperaments

congregate in

the

same

building. A room

which

one man

calls

draughty

is

declared by another to

be

.stuffy. But

the principal

reason is

that most

venti

A N eu: Ferryboat. 

Me

ssrs Ma

chlacblan, of

Paisley, latmg

arrangements

. r ~

under

very

little

control.

They

laun

ohed on

Wednesday a

double-ended steel paddle d

epend on the

suct10n

of heated columns of

air

vessel,

built

to

the order

of th e Cardiff

and Penarth Steam and this cannot be

easily

altered.

When

it

Ferry

Company.

She

is

named the Rate. de

s

ired

to.

~ a v e the ventilation

really

under

control,

The Electric L ight

at

Newport.-Mr. R. Hammond, ~ m o r e P

081

ttve

system must be adopted

. For

in

stance,

author

of

Municipal Electricity Work,

"

has

been ap- t h ~

Houses of Parliament air

is

pumped both by

recip

pointed co

nsulting

engineer t o

the

Town Councils of New- r?oa.t

1

.ng

pumps and rotary

fans

into the chamber, being

t d W k

fi

ld t

1

t . l '

ht'

k

hkewtse

o o l ~ d or w a r ~ e d ,

as

the. case

may

be.

At

the

por

an

a e e

0

carry

out> e ec n o tg

mg

wor C.en.tr.al Instttute of .C1ty

and Gullds

of

London 1'n

Exh1'-

under

provis

io

nal orders.

Mr. Hammond, as

a con- h

tractor, ha&

erected electricity works at

Dublin, Hasting

s,

l ~ l t t . o n - r o a d ,

a fan IS used

to distribute air through the

Eastbourne.

Brighton, West Brompton,

Madrid, Black-

bulldmg. At the Law

Courts, also,

there

is an

elaborate

1

L d

y ~ t e m of

m.

echanic.

al ventilation,

wh icb, however,

often

poo ' ee s, c.

f 1

t t f d I

a1

s. o

sa

ts

o ~ r JU

.ges. . n Amertca, where

systematic

The

Re

nown.  The contract

for the engining of

the heatmg

of

buildmgs 18

carr1ed

furth

er

than with

us th e

Renown

lin

e-of-battle

ship

has been secured

by

Messrs.

u ~ e

of fans is exte0;ding:, an? one

method adopted there

Maudsley, Sons, and Fi{)ld. The Renown, which is to be With

great su

ccess ts bemg

mtroduced into this country

built at

Pembroke,

is aline·of-ba.ttle s

hip

of 12,350 tons. by.

~ e s s r s .

Charles Erith and Co., of 13, Little

Her bottom is to be sheathed

with

wo

od

and coppered- Trm1ty-lane, London, E. C.

In

the buildings of the

Her length will be 380 ft., the same

as

vessels of the Knowles. Loo.m

'Vorks,.

at

Worceste

r, ]\- assachusett$,

Ramillies class,

but her

breadth will be 72ft., or 3ft . less

t?e

entt.re atr, .

amountmg

to

one and

a half roil

than the

Ramillies.

During this

year

2l2,96ll. will

be

h ~ n

cub1c feet.

1s

ch9:nged

by this system

eYery

six

spent on

the

vessel, of which 35,320l. will be for dockyard m

mutes

by .a fan spectally co

nstructed

to deliver

large

96,750l. for ~ i a l

53,000Z. ~ o r .

contra

ct

work, volumes

agamst

pressure,

wtthout

allowing any to blow

and

13,36ll. for e3ta.bhshment .

and

~ 1 d e

n t a l

c h a r g ~ s . back

through

th e centre. 'Vhere considerations of

cost

The

armaiJ?-ent of

the

e n o w ~ w1ll s 1 s ~ of four 10·

m.

do not :r.revent its adoption, there is n o

doubt

as to the

breechloadmg guns,

ten

6·m . quick-firmg guns, and desirability of mechanical ventilation The d f

t w e n ~ y

6-pounder and 3-pounder Hotchkiss guns, besides I he public

distribution

of electric energy will ' s ~ r ~ l a ?d

ma

cbme gunCJ

and

torpedoes.

its

introduction. or a Yat

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T

•

-

 

.

-

274

I •

•

•

•

,·

.

-

.. _

-

E N G I N E E R I N G

-

[SEP

T I, I

893.

L 0 C 0 M 0 T I V E S A T T H E C 0 L U M B I A N E X P 0 S I T I 0 N 

CO

NSTRUCTED BY THE BROOKS LO COMOTIVE \VORKS, DUNKIRK, N.Y.

or escription  see Page 269 .

- -

  I

G.

1

T EN-

vV

EEL

PA

SSENGER

L OCOl\IOTI VE.

•

IG. 2. Six WHE.F:L

SwiTCHING

L o c oMOTI VE•

Fta. 3. MoGUL   L o c o .HOTIVE •

7/17/2019 Engineering Vol 56 1893-09-01

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  GENTS

FOR

ENGINEERING.

AUSTRIA,

Vienna: Lebmann and

Wentzel, K ~ r n t n e l 8 t r a e a e .

0APB

TOWN : Gordon

and

Gotob.

ED

INBU

RGH: _ ohn Menzies and Co

.,

12,

Hanov

er-atree

t.

FB.ANOll, Par1s : Boyveau

and

Cbevill

et

, Libr

airle

n g ~ r e 22

E N G I N E E R I N G.

NOTICE.

The New

Cunarders CAMPANIA

and

LU-

CANIA ;, and the

WORLD

 S COLUMBIAN

EXPOSITION OF 1893.

Ru

e d e

la

Banque; M.

Em

.

Ter que

m

3lbl.e

Bouleva rd B B ~ a

Also

tor

Adver

tisements,

A

ge

nue

Ha

ve.s 8

Pl a

ce

de la

BoU1'9e:

The Publlsher begs to announce tha t a Reprint is

(See below.) ' '

fully suppor t wh at was said by the honourable

member as to

th

e meagre

na

t ure of the

in f

ormation

given this year on many points upon which the

public should be informe

d. I t

is imp

os

sible to

arrive at any definite co nclusion from the official

figures in regard to matters of cost, and in this way

the great aim of Admiralty officials is r eached to

an

extent almost cynical in its completeness.

' 'There

ought

to

be proper means for making a fair com

parison between the cost of a ship built

in

a dock

yard and

the

pr ice of a similar ship built in a

private yard,   said Mr. Hanbury, and the propo·

sition is so

ev

ident that none can gainsay

it

; a

nd

yet every obstacle is thrown in the way of such a

comparison being mad e. Admiralty and dockyard

officials seem never

yet

t o have realised the fact

that it is public money they have to spend,

and that their salaries are paid by the nation

at large. E xcepting in cases wh ere it would

be giving an advantage to foreign P owers

at

the

possible expense, in case of war, of

this country- there is no just

ifi

cation for secrecy.

In spite of this the Admiralty and dockyards resent

any

effo r t to get particulars of cost, as if they were

the di rectors of a private trading establishment;

indeed, they are far more r

et

ice

nt

bhan most people

engaged in commercial pursuits.

Th

ere are, of

co

urse, difficulties in the way of making compari

son between the cost of

pr

oduction

in

a dockyard

and in a private yard, the chief being ''establish

ment

charges.  No one expects a public depart

ment t o work with the same economy as a private

bu

siness where

th

e heads have the direct incentive

of personal emolum ent. We know that the dock

yards are a na tional insurance j ust as o

ur

wh ole

Navy is- not necessary excepting as a provision in

time of war. The public would make allowance for

th is, and

at

any rate we have a. right to kn

ow

what

GBilllANY,

r l i ~ :

Mess ra. A. Asber

and oo.,

6

,

Unterden

Llnden. now

ready of the Descriptive

Matter

and Illustra·

L

e1

pz1g: F . A.

Br

oc

kbaus. tions contalned

in

the

Issue

of

ENGINEERING

of

Mulho

use: H . Stuckelberger. AprU 21st, comprising over 130 pages,

with nine

GLABOOW

: William

Love.

lNDu, Calcut

ta :

Tb

aoker Splnk,

and eo. two

-page and

four single

•

page Plates, printed

Bombay: Tb

acker

and

Co.,

Limited

.

througho ut on special Plate paper, bound ln cloth,

ITALY: U. Hoepli, Milan, and any pos t oftioe. gUt let tered. Price 6s. Post free, 6s. 6d. The ordl·

L IVERPOOL: Mrs. Taylor, Landing Stage.

nAwov edition

of

the

issue

of

AprU 21st ls out

of

print .

M

ANCDESTRR:

John Heywood,

143, D

eansgate

. -

Nsw SOUTH

W

ALBB,

Sy

dn ey :

Turner

and Hende

rson,

16 and 18, = = = = = = = =

 

= =

Hu nte r

-st

ree t. Gordon and Gotoh, Geor

ge-st

reeb.

QUBL'iBLAND (SOUTH), Brisbane :

Go

rdon

an

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ENGINEERING.

FRIDAY,

SE

PT E1lBER 1, 1893.

THE NAVY

ESTil\

1ATE

S.

T HE discussion on the

Navy

Estimates has been

resumed in the H ouse of Co mmons this week, and

has followed the usual desultory

co

urs e. The

re

is

nothing to which P arliament co uld more profitably

turn

attention

- nothing more vital to the in terests

of the nat ion than the state of the

Navy

- but no

subj ect is handled in a more lame and inconclusive

fashion

by

o

ur

legislative a

nd

tax-imposing Chamber.

We

need not seek far for the reason of this ; the

explanation lies

in the

want of comb ined attack.

Th

e

Admiralty

is like a compact force in a strong

citadel-

that

citadel being gene

ral

indifference to

na

va

l mat ters-whilst the criticising members are

like a disorganised levy, aimlessly hurling them

selves against

the

secure walls of

the

fortress.

•

•

Advertisements

iD

ended

for l.Dsertion

in the our·

rent week's

issue must be delivered

not la ter

than

6 p.m. on Thursday.

In

consequence of the necessity

for

going

to press early with a portion of

the

editton,

alterations

for standing

Advertisements should be

received

not later than 1 p.m.

on Wednesday after·

noon

1n each

week.

I t is much to

be

regret ted th

at

there is no orga

nised naval party in the House ; a par ty

that

would

think

n

ot

hing of political

in te

rests-so far as the

Navy is concern ed- bu t would simply st rive for

such things as would be for the prosperity of

the

fleet, as an engine of national defence ; a

nd

not , be i t remarked, either as a means of providing

a profession for younger sons, of keeping private

shtpyards and engine shops emp loyed, nor for the

suppo

rt

of the working men

and

tradespeople of

the d

oc

ky

ard towns.

I f

these personal in terests

could be sunk, the

re

would be the makings of a

strong party

in

the H ouse ; for there are

numbers

having a kno

wl

edge of all the elements which build

up

the

service.

The party

would, of co

urs

e, always

be in opposition, and its members should be pledged

never to acce

pt

oftice ; so, do

ub

t less,

afte

r all,

the

id

ea is Utopian . In deed, when we

co

me to

think deeper, the scheme bristles with di ffic ulties.

F or instance, th e doc

ky

a

rd

members, whose poli

tical mission is simply to get all the work and the

hig

hest pay

for dockyard hands, could ne\·er be ex

pected to support any measure which would im

pr

ove the regulations as to

co

ntract-

built

vessels,

an

d we should hardly find the admirals helping to

improve the status of the engineering branch, if the

proposals clashed with the interests of

the

executive

officers.

Yet

these two things stand

in

the for e

most place of n ecessity

in

naval reform. Whatever

may

be

the difficulties

in

.

he_

way of

<?

f

an independent and consc1enbous naval party, 1t

1s

certain t

hat

very

little

good will be done until some

cohesion is effected between the units which now

criticise t oo often from

the

faddist point of view

- the naval policy of whatever side happens to be

in

power. N o wonder

the

H ouse empties when

the Naval Es timates come on. The fig

ht

is al to

gether too one-sided to be _of interest ; the res

ult

is always a forego

ne

concluston.

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CONTENTS.

PA

OB \

PAOB

Lit erature .. .

. .. .

.. .

. • •.•• 259

from Sou

t h York·

Th

e E n

gi

neeri

ng

Cong ress 1 sh1re

. . . . .

. .. .

. . . . . . . . . • .

272

at

Chicago . . _

. . . . ..

..

..

261 No tes from Cleveland: and

T

he

De\ el

opment of South

t

he No

r

thern

Count

1es

.. 273

Afri

can

Railway

s

Il

lus -

Notes from

t h ~

South-Wesb

273

t

1

·ated) . . . . . . . .. . ..

264

Th

e

N ~ v y

a t e ~ . . .. ..

275

B

eam Engines

for

Th

e

Ra1l

ways

of I ~ d 1

.. .. ..

276

S

tea

mPrs

Illustrated) .. 266

M

ancheste

r Sh1p

Ca

nal

Ro ta ry

Snow

Pl

oug

h Illus-

e c t s

: .

..

. . . . .

. . . .

277

trated

)

.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 268

Bnt1sh

qolome.s at 9 h1

cago

277

Tr

ie r 's Doub l

e-Action

Stone· Non·Arc

lDg-

Ltgh t mng Ar·

Dre ssing

Mach

ine

l

llus- I rester

U llu8trated)

. .

.. .. 278

trated) .•

..

.  

•. . . . .

2681

1

No tes (I llustrated)

. . . . . . .

279

Au t

omatic IIeating and Ven- Notes from

the

•

tilatiog Freight Car (R - States . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 279

lustrated

)

.. .. . . . . . . .. .. 269 A Wat er-Cooled Bra ke Ergo-

H eavy Plate Shears for

th

e t e r

l_llmtrated)

. . . . .

28

0

Clydebridge Steel Works Manne Boller l O n 280

l

llu.strat

e

d)

••.• . .. . . . . . 269 L ~ u n c h e s

and

T

nal

Tn ps .. 282

Locomotives at

the

Colum-

Mi

sce llanea . . . . ..

. . .

. . .

. . . •

282

bian Exposition l

llus·

6-

ln

ch

Foot

L

athe lllus·

trat

ed)..

. . . . .. .. . • .. .. . . 269 t_rated) .. ..

: . .

. .

..

.. • . .. 283

7-Ton

Tr

avelling

Jib

C

ra n

e

Bn

er 's Reduc10g Valve ( l l·

Ill

us trated) .. .

.

. . . . . . . .

269 lu sltCX Ud) . . . . . . . . . . . . .. 283

H arbour Works lllustrated)

26Q Iodu

stnal

N o t e ~

..

. . . .

:

. . .

283

Engine

Vibr

ation

ll

lus-

I mp rovemen

ts 1n

t he

R1

ver

traud) . . . . . . . . . . • . . . . . .. 270 T

ees

(l llust,·ated).: .. . . . . 284

'Feed- Wat er

Heating . . . . . .

271 Fast

Ocea

n Steamsht ps (n -

Congress

of

H

yg

ien e . . . . . . 272

I lustrated)

. - . .

· •

. . . . . . . . 286

The Ut

ilisn

ti o

n

of

Small

Th

e

Port of

Ve01ce l

llus-

Coal..

..

..

. .

..

. . .. .. . . . . 272

t r a t ~ d

.. ..

,-- . . . . . . . . . . 287

Notes from the North .•

.• .

. 272

cc

Eog1oeer1Dg

Pa

te

nt R

e·

cord (

nt u

strated) .

. • • . .

289

With a Two Pa

ge

Engrav ng

of

the COJ POUBD ENG

IN

ES,

WITH

u WALKING" BEAJf . _

OF

' HE P ~ D D L E

--

~ M J R H HONAJf.

'fhe discussion of this week was on

th

e usual

party

lin es. L o

rd e ~ r g e Rami]

on made a

speech, the aim of wh1Ch was to s h o ~ how a d ~ I r

ably the late

First

Lo

rd

of the Admualty gu

1d

ed

naval policy, whilst Sir

U.

Kay-Shuttleworth a

nd

th e Chancellor of

th

e Exchequer attempted

to

throw discredit on that which

had

been done

during the previous Administration, magnify

their

own

wisdom

in the

conduct of affaus.

Fr

om

a lawyer's point of view nothin g could have

more

admirable

than much of the verbal fencmg

and quibbling, but to the - m ~ n d e d Briton it

is very sad

to

see the most

v1

tal m terests of the

co

untry

made the shuttlecock of party politics.

The debate was opened on Monday last, August

28, by Mr . Hanbury,

up

on th e shipbuilding vote of

1

797

l.

bein

  Y

bro

ught forward. 1\Ir. Ha

nbury

~ a d e an

excall:nt speech, which was a

capit

al

illustr

at

ion of what we have advanced above; the

futility

of attempting too much s

in

gle-handed.

We

We would go further th

an

Mr. Hanbury, a

nd

not

only pit

the

Government establishments again

st

private yards, but dockyard against dockyard. If

half a dozen s

im

ilar ships are to be built, they

should be

distributed

amongst as many different

establishments, Government or private, a

nd

the

results compared. The proposal is, of course,

far from novel, and there are, equally of course,

several far from novel objections to it. The chief,

in rega

rd

to t

he

inter-dockyard competition, is

that some of the dockyards are more favourably

situated in

regard to carrying out work

than ot

hers.

Thus

at

Portsmouth there is more concentration of

offices

than

at

Ch

at

ham ;

but

this

is

an

argume

nt

th

at

the offices should be remodelled. The plant

and machinery in some yards are more efficie

nt

than

in

others, and t

he

same reasoning applies h ere ;

in fact, the chief argument in favour of the competi

t ion syste m is th

at it

would necessitate a

cl

ean

sweep of much that is obsolete and

inefficient-not

to say deplorably rotten .

I t

is the latter fact,

however, which is th e true obstacle to refo

rm in

this direction. Too many sleepy, obsolete, com

fortable ways and customs would have the disquiet

ing glare of public

ity

turned upon th em, and the

unne

ce

ssary

wo

uld become painfully obvious.

Happily for

the

unnecessary, the British public

cares for none of these things

at

present ; nor will

it

until

we have to put our naval resources to the

ir

ultimate use, when we shall find, at the cost of men

and treasure, how lamentably deficient we are in

our organisation.

The Naval Defence Act occupied a good deal of

at tent ion during the debate.

The

subject was quite

we

ll

thrashed o

ut

at the time the Act was passed, and

all that can be added to what was then said is that

the prognostications of evil

then

made regarding

it, have not been ful fi lled, bu t, on

the

contrary,

it

has resulted in goo d for the Navy.

Lord

George

Hamilton in his speech showed h

ow

fallacious are

many

of the comparisons made between the navies

of different nations. I t is said that one country

p

os

sesses so many first-class battleships and so

many of the second class,

but in

many cases the

first-class ships are first-class only in size, being

unfit for r.hat catego

ry in

nearly a11 respects as to

offe

nsive a

nd

defensive powerR. Brassey's Annual 

gives England thirty-five first-class bat

tl

eships, but

many of these are ve

ry

slow and have but

an

elemen

tary secondary armament- that important factor. in

the offensive power of a modern war vessel- w ulst

some have really obsolete muzzle-loaders. Lord

Geor

O'e

Hamilt

on would de

duct

thirt

een vessels

from bthis list of so-called first-class   battleships,

namely, the five echelon

turret

ships Agarnemnon,

Ajax, Inflexible, Edinburgh, and Colossus. These

7/17/2019 Engineering Vol 56 1893-09-01

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/engineering-vol-56-1893-09-01 19/33

vessels

are

all very slow, and have no subsidiary

armament. To these

should be ad

ded the

Devas

tation, Thunderer, Dreadnought, Neptune, Superb,

Alexandra,

and

Temeraire.

The sunken

Victoria

makes

the

thirteenth ship

to be

deducted from

the

original list. No one can question that the older

ships above named could never hope to compete on

anything

like equal

terms with the

more modern

vessels

recently turned

out,

both in

this

country

and abroad, but in making comparison

it

is

necessary to see

in what

case the

ot

her side

stands.

The la t

e

First Lord

has made

the

neces

sal'y inquiry,

and he

finds

that

only

one

ship

- t h e Redoubtable- should be deducted from

the French li

st of

first-

class battleships, leav

ing that country with

a t

ota

l of fifteen vessels

worthy of

the

class.

From the

Russian list one

ship also is taken-the

Peter the

Great-so

that

ten

vessels remain.

We thus

see

that,

according to

the amended list, Great Britain has after all but 22

first-class line-of-battle ships against 25 of

the

two

other

Powers combined-

and that

tht'y might be

com

bined in

line of

battle

we suppose no one doubts

the

possibility

in

light of recent developments.

L o

rd

George advised a supplementary estin1ate to

provide funds for building a ship

to

replace

the

Victoria, and instanced the fact that he asked for

money in a supplementary estimate when the

Sultan

was sunk.

The

Government, however,

thinks there

is

no

necessity for haste.

It may

be

point

ed out

that had we gone to war with any

nav

al

Power, or

combination of naval Powers,

within the

l

ast

few months, we should have

started with what would have been equiva

lent to a serious defeat to

the

b a d -

the

Victoria at

the

bottom of

the

Mediterranean, t he

Howe with

h

er

bottom ripped open

fr

om stem to

stern, and

the

Camperdown unseaworthy from

the

damage to her bow. The placing of

th r

ee first

class battleships

out

of action, without

any

damage

received in return, would be

the

equivalent to our

foes of a very sat isfactory engagement.

Th

e work

on

the

Howe should also form

the

subject of

a

supp

leme

ntary

estimate, as it is

qu it

e

extra

work,

out

of the category of fair wear and tear," but

this proposal was also negatived by

the

authorities.

As was said during

the

discussion, The Treasury

had completely overmastered the Admiralty. 

A point that was touched lightly upon during

the

deba.te,

but

one upon which more is likely

to

be

hea

rd

bAf

o

re

long, was

th

e

treatment

of con

tract

ors by the Admiralty. Sir Edward Reed

quoted some particulars of cost of cruisers- the

figures also serve

to

illu

strate what

we

ha

ve a

lr

eady

said as to the difficulty of arriving at conclusions as

to cost-by which it was shown that th ree vessels

of

the Edgar

class,

built

by private contract, cost

respectively 334,000l.

and

337,000l.

per

ship, which

was 30,000l. less

than the

Admiralty estimate. Two

similar ships were

built

n t he dockyards, and cost

37,

OOOl

more

th a

n

the

estimate. The Secretary to

the Admiralty exp lained that the increase was due,

first, to additions and improvements made to the

ships during their construction, and, secondly, to

increase of wages.

The

increase

in

wages was only

4000l ; consequently 33,000l. had been spent in

additions and improvements. These additions

and

improvemen

ts,"

said

Sir

Ed ward, ' 'had been

forced on the contractors, who had naturally ap

plied for some corresponding allowance. But the

Admiralty had

refused

to

give

them

more

than

a

third

of

the sum they had

themselves expended

on a d d i t i o n ~ and improvements, with

the

result

tha

t the contractors were, if not practically ruined,

subjected

t.o

a loss of

the

most shameful kind.  

In

replying to

this

point, Sir U. l{ay-Shuttleworth

said that

the

extras ' 'were adjusted item

by

item

on the

basis of

the

prices asked for by the con

tractors."

\Ve are

not

aware what value is to be attached

to the l

atter

statement, but it is evident that either

it is grossly misleading

or

else Sir Edward Reed

has been quite misinformed. .No contractor w o ~ l d

ask for prices for extras whtch would leave

h1m

with a heavy pecuniary loss, and we are forced to

the

conclusion

that the "basis

of

adjustment>

r eferred to by the Financial Secretary,

_bore

but a

d istant relation to the actual

payment;

1n fact,

the

phra

se was a piece of that political

jugglerr w ~ i c h

Government

officials

are

so clever

at

putt1ng tnto

the mouths of Ministers for parliamentary use.

\Vhatever may be t

he

merits of

the

present case,

however we know

that

t

he

Admiralty have of late

taken

a

very ill-advised attitude with regard to

contractors, and we have no hesitation in saying

•

E N G I N E E R I N G.

the Board

has used

the

enormous powers

it

re

serves

to

itself in a

mann

er

that

is oppressive

and unfair . \Ve hear complaints on this score

from some who were formerly

the

closest

frie

nds

of

the

Admiralty,

and

amongst

the

most

trusted of naval contractors. We are pre

cluded from giving instances, because con

tr a

ctors

are

naturally timid, and conversations

on

these

points

ha

ve

to

be

regarded

as confidential,

but

in the

mat

te

r of extras" great

inju

stice has

been shown. These extras are forced on

the

con

tractor,

and the

Admiralty officials determine

the

prices paid. Unless contractors have

entered into

a sudden conspiracy to misrepresent facts,

the

sums

allowed are now often quite inadeq

uat

e to pay f

or

the

work

and mat

erial.

I t will be a bad thing for the country

i f

the

Admiralty succeed

in

destroying the confidence of

contractors,

and the

new departure seems likely to

lead to this end. Agreements to supply articles

are drawn

in

such a way

that the

department has

quite desp

ot

ic powers, and so long as

the

con

tractors

felt

that they

could depend on t he good

faith of

the

department they were content

it

should

be so, a tacit understanding being sufficient guaran

tee to protect

them

from injustice.

That

has been

the

tradition between

the

service and contractors for

ages, bu t a new policy has aris

en

lately, and con

tractors have found

that not

only will

the

powers,

hithert

o

justly

exercised,

be

used for

the

purposes

of extortion, but even finesse will be had recourse to

to

gain an

advantage

in

settling a contract. Certain

persons at Whitehall appear to act as if a

ll

con

tractors were dishonest, and to take ad vantage of

them were a clever and creditable thing to do.

THE RAILWAYS OF INDIA.

THE depression in trade, which has been experi

enced la

te

ly over such a widespread region, conse

quent on a great variety of causes, has affected

India most adversely, owing in large measure t o

the

difficulties of

the

silver problem, and it is sur

pr i

sing t

hat the report

of

the

Director-General of

Rail ways for

the

year ended with March last does

not indicate a greater falling-off

in the

financial

return.

The trade

influence is sufficiently felt

in

the checking of the progress which has marked

preced ing years. A year ago Lieutenant-Colone l

Sargeaunt,

R.E.,

was able

to

indicate a

net

profit

equal to

5.

76

per

cent. on

the

capital expenditure,

which far exceeded the returns of most countries.

For the year und er review the r

eturn

is 5.43

per cent.,

so

that

t he falling-off is

but

.33 per

cent., due, as we shall presently show, to a

decrease

in

the goods traffic-almost entirely in

the

export grain trade. Even greater economy

hss been manifested

in

working ;

the

ratio of ex

penses to gross receipts has been 46.92 per

cent., rather less than

in the

preceding year.

The percentage

return

we have given, of course,

represents the statistical result, being

the

one

by

which comparison may most properly be made with

ot

her countries, as, for instance, Britain, where

the

average

return

has decreased now to 3.85

per

cent., while in the case of the Australian colonies

from 3 t

 >

4

per

cent. is about

the

return. Unfor·

t unately, however,

the inter

est on a large propor

tion of

the Indian

railway stock has to be

paiJ,

n

ot

in

the

currency of the country, but iu the currency

of

Britain-go

ld, and

the

depreciation of silver

involves very heavy losses. During

the

year there

was a very heavy fall in exchange, which makes

the results still more unfavourable. The recent

decision of t he Government for

the

maintenance of

the

exchange

va

lue of

the

r upee

at

1s. 4d. will

assist matters ; but the railways will sti ll be en

cumbered with

the

heavy rates of dividend on

auaranteed stock.

Under

its co

ntracts

with guaran

teed railway companies the State has to pay interest

at high guaranteed rates until

the

c o n t r

c t ~

te r

minate and is consequen tly unable

to

obta1n any

ad

a n t ~ g e

from

the

increasingly easy condition of

the

money market. The State could now ra ise

money at 3 per cent. to pay off loans raised at high

rates of

in

terest, but

the

contracts compel them to

continue to pay a mean rate of 4.8 per cent. In

deed, owing to the f l ~

in

e ~ c h a n g e the amo_

unt

remitted to Eno-land raised this to a sum equiva

lent

to

7.

6

per

0

cent. on

the

t otal capital raised.

These circumstances explain why

the net

revenue,

equal to 5. 43 per cent. on

the

capital, is insufficient,

and

that a

further

sum, equal to about f

per

cent.

on capital, is involved as loss, meeting the guaran

teed dividend, &c.,

in

gold currency. After allow-

[SEPT. I, I ggj.

ing for contributions for sinking funds which will

redeem

the

capital

at

the expiry of

the

periods for

which the annuities run,

the

apparent loss is 135

lakhs of rup ees. I t is

not

our purpose, however,

to ente

r into any question associated with currency;

it will be sufficient to consider some of the pr in

cipal features of

the

year's operations.

Next to

paying off

the debt

which now absorbs

large sums annually for

interest

charges, a most satis

factory method of reducing the apparent loss will

be

the

construction of railways, promising financial

success, with capital raised

on the

easy terms now

possible.

The

surplus ea

rned

will ass

ist

lines less

favoured in raising capital.

The

practice of the

Gove

rnment

is to expend annually

in

extensions

about two

and

a half millions, and while this may

n

ot

by some be considered sufficient, the regularity

and consistency of

the

development is commend

able. Much depends upon

the

direction of

the

extensions, a subject to which we may refer at some

future time; but it may be said generally that

special

attention

has been given to

the

linking up

of many small systems.

The

new mileage opened

during the year, although considerably less than

the

previous ye ar, is about the average of

the

past

fifteen years, abo

ut

490 miles. 1\iore

than

one-half

is on metre gauge. This brings the total mileage

up to 18,042 miles, of which 10,345 miles is standa

rd

gauge. The average cost of single track for

standard gauge is 125,256

rupe

es, while

the

metre

gauge single track cost 63,256 rupees. The dif

ference is

thus

almost 100

per cent

.

The

traffic

is much grea

te

r on

the

standard gauge lines,

due to the more populous, fertile, and industrial

districts having

the

broader gauge. The net

revenue is four times that on

the

metre lines, on

which, too, a greater propo

rtion

of revenue is

absorbed for expenses, but, as wa s shown in our

analysis of the returns of the previous year,*

it

does

not

follow

that the metre

gauge lines are less

efficient for their purpose, although this year the

standard lines ret

urn

a higher ra tio of net earnings,

6.47

to

5.26

in the

case of the metre lines. The

metre

lin

es

are

most serviceable as feeders, which,

doubtless, explains how, in the past t hirteen years,

while 2176 miles of rails have been laid on the

standard gauge, 3720 miles have been laid on

metre gauge.

As has been indicated, the gross earnings show a

decrease equal

to

3. 61 per cent.,

th

e receipts per

mean mile open equalling 13,141

rup

ees, aga

inst

14,110 rupees in the previous year. As can readily

be imagined, there are great differences in the earn

ings of

the

various railways, but

it

is

.sa

tisfactory to

note t he development over a period of years ex

perienced by all classes of rail way, from the East

Indi

an, on which

the

traffic per mile of line worked

has doubled

n thirty

years.

The

same can

be

said for many of the other railways, while on some

of the metre gauge lines, which do

not

date so far

back, as in

the

caee of the Rajputana,

J

odhpore,

Burmah, &c , the traffic has doubled in

ten or

fifteen years. Evidences, indeed, are afforded in

all directions that the railways create the traffic.

The

fluctuations of a year

br

two are

not

of g

reat

importance when progress is steady over a period

of years. In the earnings from passenger trains

for

the

year there is practically li ttle difference on

the

preceding year ;

there

is a fra

ct

ional increase

on

the

number and t otal payments of passengers,

but

receipts incid

enta

l to

the

traffic make

th

e n

et

result a slight decrease, notwithstanding

that there

has been an increase in passenger train mileage. In

each case, however, the differences are within 1

per

cent. The pa.sstmger train earn ings per mean mile

open were 7210

rupees-in

our cu

rr

ency abo

ut

4 80l

- or 3. 19 rupees per passenger

tr a

in mile.

Turning now to goods traffic, th e decrease in

earnings is more decided, having been 5. 34

per

cent., although the goods actually dealt with made

a slightly greater aggregate- 1490 tons

per

mile

open, or 4. 79 rupees

per

goods train mileage. The

ton mileage, however, was 4.63

per

cent. less,

the

average haul having been 160} miles. t should

be recalled that in

the

previous year there was

an

unusually large export traffic

in

wheat

and

seeds

- -the decrease on the year is 885,903 tons- and the

totals this year are, under the circumstances,

favourable, and well above the average. Indeed,

but

for

thi

s decrease in grain,

the

tonnage of goods

traffic would have been very great, for grain makes

up 5 million tons out of the total of 18,874, 000

tons dealt with, and it contributes a

third

of

the

See

ENGINEERING,

vol. liv., page

420.

7/17/2019 Engineering Vol 56 1893-09-01

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/engineering-vol-56-1893-09-01 20/33

•

SEPT

I

I

893·]

goods earnings. Bombay,

by the

way, is very

steadily absorbing the

majority

of the wheat export

traffic, to the disadvantage principally of Calcu tta.

Coal, which comes

next

to grain, stands about the

average, 2.88 million tons.

Metal

s

and

oils show

increases ; but the most remarkable difference is in

the

carriage of sugar , of which over 1 million

tons

have

been

carried,

against

29,159 tons in the

previous year.

Other pr

oducts show little changf'.

The

results per

train

mileage may

be tabulated

:

Re

sults p r

Trai

n

il

  in

Ru

pee

s

- -

 

Standard Gauge. Metre Gauge.

--

1892 a

1891·2 . 1892·3.

1891·2.

-

 

-

 

Earnings

•

•

.. ,

4. 23 4.39 3.03 3.01

Expenet>s

1.93

1.98 1. 52 1. 58

• •

•

Net earnings . .

I

2.30

2.41

1.

51

1.4 3

Th

ese results should

be

considered in conjunc

tion wi

th

the fact

that

the cost of

the

metre gauge

lines is

but

half

that

of

the standard

lines.

The

sta

ndard lin e trains on

the

average

carry

209

passengers, each

tra

veiling 43.64 miles, while

the metre train takes 230

pa

ssengers, each going

40.43 miles.

The

case is reversed

in the

g

oo

ds

trains, where each standard train

takes

140 tons,

each ton going 178 miles, against 77.69

tons

going

131 miles.

The

rates do

not

differ much as between

the two systems, although

there

is

great

variety.

The

lowest fare

in

some cases is

~ d .

per

mile,

but

usually 1d. to l

  d.

; third-cla

ss

fares range

fr

om

1 d. to 2 d.

per

mile ; second-class, 3d. to 4 d. ;

and

the first-class from 6d.

to

9d. Of

the

total

number of passengers carried the two lowest classes

constituted

97.37

per cent

.,

the

second-class 2.24

per cent., and the

first-class .39 per cent. of the

whole. Goods rates vary so much

that

unl ess de

tails of the classification were given the figures

would

not be

interes ting,

but it may be

noted

that

food grains are carried

for

l id. to 3d. and 4d.

per

ton per

mile,

and

coal at sligh

tly

cheaper rates.

As to

the

expenses, the increasing use of Indian

coal f

or

fuel

tends

to economy. 875,000 tons

out

of the

tota

l of 1,080,000

tons

of coal used last year

was

fr

om

Indian

mines.

In

addition, of co

ur

se,

there was the native wood, patent fuel,

c

.

The

following as

to the

working expenses

per train

mile may be

interesting

:

Standard.,

Metre.

British.

r

upee

rupee

d.

Maintenan

ce

• • ••

• •

.50 .87 5.19

Loc

omoti

ve . .

••

• •

•

•

.64 .6

3 8.31

Ca

rr iag

es

and wag

o

ns

• •

.17

.11 2. 98

Traffic . . . .

• • • •

.32 .25

9.71

General

• • • •

• •

• •

.18

.21

1.39

We have given the British results for a normal

year. Taking the rupee

at ls.

4d. value,

it

is seen

that only in traffic charges can the Indian railways,

even of metre gauge, claim a lower

rate

of expenses.

The employm

ent

of native labour

lar

gely accounts

for this

item

being less. Of the 17,000 employed

only 4500 are now Europeans, the great

majority

of whorn are on the main lines, while of

East

Indians there are 5807.

l\IANCHESTER

SHIP

CANAL

PROSPECTS.

THE

shareholders of

the Manchester Ship

Canal

have never met under more satisfactory auspices

than

they did

at the half-yearly meeting

on

Mon

day. Lord Balfour of Burleigh, the arbiter on the

claim of the London and

North-Western and

Gr

eat

\Vestern Railway Companies for compensation for

the deviation of

their

lin es,

had

a warded a

sum

equal to a fourth of the original claim. The total

sum claimed was

about

450,

OOOl. and

the canal

company had even to deposit 383,713l. by agree

ment

before possession of the old lines was

granted.

But now the total sum awarded is 100,66ll., so that

althou

gh

probably

2o ,OOOZ

of expenses have

been

incurred, the Canal Compa

ny

have secured an ad·

vantage by resorting

to

arbitration.

The

progress of

the

works

during

the half-year was decided the

droughthavingproved of

great

advantage.

The Run

corn section, which involved the

greatest

difficulties

from

an

engineering

point

of view,

and

was t

her

e

fore

~ e t a i n e d

in

the

hands of

the

engineer

instead

of bemg let to contractors, has practically been com

p l e ~ e d

so t

hat

now t

here

is every prospect of navi

gahon to

Manchester being open

in

six months,

and

Lord

Ro

sebery has been officially asked, as

Foreign

N G I N R I N G

277

Secretary,

to make the fact known

throu

ghout

of warehouses

by private

enterprise.

t is

also

the world, so that goods may be shipped direct to propos

ed

to encourage the construction of 1200 to

Manchester

against

the

opening of the canal.

Th

e 1500

ton barges

for transfer

or st?rage o_f

go?ds, a

canal as

far

as Saltport, a length of

J

1 miles, indeed, system which should commend Itself,_ In. VIew. of

has

been

opened for some time.

During

the half- the large

number

of canals in communtcatLOD: With

year 708,169 tons of merchandise traffic have been the

ship

canal. Lord Egerton, the chau ma l

c:u ri

ed

o,·

er

the opened po

rtion

of the canal, as ' of the company, is certainly

c o ~ f i d e n t

of

u l ~ I -

against 423,579 tons during the corresponding period mate success. There is no questiOn of the s u ~ t -

in 1892.

Saltport,

indeed, has become a

port

of ability of

the proportions

of the canal,

and It

s

gr

eat

importance, and already Lloyd's have an great convenience, on which he en l

arged

at th_e

agent there,

'vhile

regular

services

are

conducted meeting, and

further

of

it

s being a

e a t

engi

to

L o

ndon and

GlasO'OW

for

the transport

of Man-

neering undertaking

which does c r ~ d

to the

chaster products. One of

the

vessels carried 4000 ability

and

courage of

Mr. Leader ' \ V I l l u ~ ~ s ;

but

tons, the draught of

water

having

been

21 ft., merit is not always rewarded. .His

o ~ d s h i p

urged

indicating a satisfactory

depth

of

water

at

the that the population

of

the district

contiguous

to the

entrance at Eastham. Of the traffic only 48,132 canal, which, including only the area to a ~ d from

tons was chargeable with tolls,

the remainder

which traffic is

carted around Manchester, IS

put

at

being for the construction of

the

canal works, two millions,

must

be fed, and he looked for a large

but

this was sufficient

to

pay working expenses

import

of foodstuffs,

notably

from

Ireland,

as. we

ll

and leave a balance. Along

the

li ne of the canal as raw material. But

as Sir

John Harwood p01nted

establishm

ents are

being

er

ected ; a pontoon dock out,

in

a speech studiously

moderate,

a

great

part

300 ft. long

and

70 ft. wide is already in

the

of the traffic would

be

taken from other places,

and

dock (see page 250

ante  ;

graving docks

are under there

would

be

a

desperate

fight

for

it,

although

construction, while ten d r e d g ~ r s are at work

cutting

he believed that the canal would win in

the

end,

the

waterway

and

removing

the

dams.

Th

e finan- because

the

cost of

transport by water

is

much

cial

situati

on is settled, the needed funds having cheaper

than

carriage

by

rail.

It

is well that this

been

provided

by the Manchester

Corporation, who co

ntest

should be

borne in

mind,

particularly in

ha

ve

now borrowed 4i millions

for the

scheme,

the arrangement

of

agreements

f

or

warehouses,

while

the

cost of

the important

work

carried out

&c. ; for,

after

all,

victory

usua

lly rests

up

on

during

the year

has been within

the

estimates. details. Financial differences whic h

determine

the

The sa

les of

plant not

now

required are

realising choice of ro

ut

es or of

ports

of discharge

are not due

good p

ri

ces. There is, moreove

r,

compl

ete

harmo

ny

so

mu

ch

to

transport itself as to the

lit t

le con

between

the

corporation

and the

shareholders ' veniences

and despatch

which

insure quick and

directors, so

that

there was cause for satisfaction economical discharge

and

loading.

at

th e meeting, which, however, was very properly

blended with a

due app

reciat ion of

the

necessity

for

very careful action.

The

present

stats

of the works justifies the ex

pectation that the canal will be open within the next

half-year.

I t

was

at

one time anticipated that

the

works at Runcorn would occupy two

yea

rs, owing

to the arrangements made

with

the

WeaverTrustees

to pass traffic through the canal docks ; but the

work has been carried forward so expeditiously

that it was practically completed in

fourteen

months, and now

water

is

let

i

nto the

canal for

miles in front of Runcorn. This work in volved the

construction of heavy

embankment, extending to

2 miles, on

ground

reclaimed from the Mersey, and

which passes

fr

om ' Veston

Point past the

old

Runcorn

Docks

and under the great Runcorn

Bridge. The canal thus divided

fr

om the

estuary

of t he Mersey is being dredged to 26 ft. depth,

but

there

is st ill a series of openings below

Runcorn

where sluices, &c., will subsequently be placed, in

order to in terrupt, as

little

as possible,

the natural

flow of water

into

the Mersey. The works at th is

point also included the construction of the Wedton

Mersey Lock (600 ft. long), of a lay-by with a depth

of 12ft.,

and

of a swing bridge described,

with

others, in a series of articles on bridges in our

previous volume.

Foundations had to be

made f

or

ad?itional line in c o ~ n e c t i o n with a possible

w1dening for accommodatmg

the

Scotch mail traffic

?f the London and Nor th-Western Railway, accord

mg

to a g r e e m ~ n t ; but

if

the

company do not

apply for parliamentary powers to widen their line

within

three

years,

they mu

st recoup

the

canal com

pany ~ h e cost of the f o ~ n d a t i o n s now being put in.

Th

e h1gh-level road bndge near

Latchford is

almost

completed,

and

the

water

l

et

into the

canal from

Latchford

to Warburton. The new aqueduct

carrying

the

Bridgewater Canal at Barton and

which is 1100 ft. long, weighing, wh

en

full of

a t e r

1400 tons,

is

about completed.

From

B a r t o ~

to

Manchester

the

work is

nearly

finished,

and

in

othe

r l

engths

the process of removing

the

old rail

ways

an

d of excavating is proceeding.

The

directors

~ o o , _are m a k i ~ g everY: effort to have the sewage a s s ~

mg

Into

the nvers trib

u

tary to the

canal deodorised

or purified.

.

While thus

pushing forward operations,

the

duectors are s tr enuously endeavouring to insure

a

large measure of financial success from

the

open

ing.

In

the sale of

surplu

s land

the

principle

on

_ w h i c ~

they a

re

proceeding is to encourage works

whiCh will foster traffic.

Th u

s a large sawmi

ll

is

to be erected

at Ellesmere

Port, a co-operative soap

work at Ir lam, large frozen

meat stores

at Mode

Wheel,

pon

toon

and

ship-r

epai

rin

g works

at

Elles

mere, and a

pontoon and

gravi

ng

dock at Mode

Wheel, where, also, large abattoirs

are

to be con

s ~ r u c t e d

by the M a n c h e s t e ~

and

S a ~ f o r d

Corpora

tiOns. Other works are bemg negotiated for while

agreements

are under

consideration for

the

e ~ e c t i o n

BRITISH

OOLONIES AT CHICAGO.

I I - CEYLON.

GREAT BRITAIN s

hin

es at

the

Columbian

Expo·

sition

by the

reflected light of her colonies,

which

have

never

before appeared

to

s

uch advantage at

any

International Ex position. Some, it

is true,

have ab

s

tained altogether

- a wise proceed

ing

for

any co

untry

not prepared to

make

a fully

credit

ab

le display ;

but

those which have

taken part

have

cover

ed

themselves with

credit,

and have to

some

exte

nt

made

good

the

deficiencies of

the

mother

country.

Prominent

among a

ll our

pos

sessions

are New South

\Vales

and

Canada,

but

that is

because they

are the

most

imp

ortant

and

the

richest.

Relatively it

is

hard to judge

who

has

done

the

best

where all have done

so well. In a

recent issu\3 we endeavoured to give an idea of the

ex

hibit made

by

Cape Colony ; to-day we propose to

have something to say about the

display

of Ceylon.

In

July,

1891, Lord Knutsford, Secr

etary of

State for the Colonies, informed the Govern or of

CeyIon that a R oyal Commission

had

been

appointed to look after the interests of Great

Britain

and

her

colonies at

the

Co

lumbian

Exposition, and suggested that if it was in

tended

that

the

island should be

represented,

arrangements should be made direct with the

Co

_mmissioD:.

A local

committee

of

eight distin

gmshed residents was fo

rm

ed,

and

this committee

decided that

it

would

be preferable to maintain an

independen_t position, while ~ o u r s e working

in

harm

ony with the Royal

CommlSSLOn.

The

Colonial

Secretary approved this course, and the work of

preparation_ was

c o ~ m e n c e d The persons

chiefly

Interested In makm

g a successful

exh

ibi t

fr

om

Ceylon were

the member

s of

the Planters

' Associa

tion, their desire

being

to open up new market

l l

for Ceylon

tea in the

U

nited States. So far as

can

be judged,

they will fully achieve this

object,

and reap an

ample

return on

t

he money and trouble

expended by them . In 1891

the Hon. J.

J .

Grin

linton, a

member

of

the

Legislative Council wa

8

appoint

ed

as

spec

ial Commissioner,

and

h e w ~ s in

st r

ucted to

go

to

Chicago

in

1892

to make

arranO'e

ments

for space, &c. ,

with the

Executive of the

Exposition.

One result

of

Mr. Grinlinton 's visit

w

as t ~ e

allotment of

about

28,000 square f

eet

in

four dtfferent

parts

of

the Exposition building

s

and

gro unds, as follows :

The Ceylon Pa vilion

Agricultural ,

1\IIanufactures ,,

Women's

Building

•

...

••

• • •

. .

.. .

.

.

.

.

.

• • •

Sq. Ft.

24,000

1,684

1,350

540

27,574

The

Ceylon Pavilion is beautifully si tuated on

t

he north ~ i d ~

of

the grounds, not far from the

~ e ~ m a n

Bmld1ng,

a n ~

facing

the lake.

Its

design

IS Simple,

rectangular

m

plan, with

a

bold

octagonal

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rotunda

in the centre,

and

entrances at the

c e ~ t r e

of

each

end

and at front and back. The

obJect ?f the architect in designing

this

pavilion

lvas

to ~ n t r o d u c e

as much native work

as possible.

-:A-ccordmgly,

find

t h a ~

the_four stairways lead

Ing

to the main

floor, whiCh

1s

rais

ed

4 ft.

above

the

ground, are in .r

ichly carved

stone, copied or

a d a p ~ e d from the r ~ 1 n s of temples

that

still

mark

the s1te of the ancient capital of Ceylon,

and

date

from 545 B. c. to 1235

A. D.

Pa

ss ing

through the

handsomely carved

portals,

the

visitor

finds

him

self

in the main hall, the ceiling of which

is

B ;Jpp

o

rted

by

t ~ e n t y

-

f?ur

e

laborately

carved

pillars ~ r r a n g e d 1n.

two

he rs, the upper portion

supportmg

the higher r oof of the pavilion ;

all of these columns, with their curious cross

bracket capitals, are copied from

the

finest ex

amples f decorative work possessed hy c ~ y l o n .

T h ~ cetlmg the pavilion is

di

vided into panels of

sat1nwood riChly carved, and the inner faces of

the

w a ~ l s are filled with paintings executed

by

native

art1sts: Perhaps

the most important

feature of the

court

1s

the

tea-room that

is

placed at the

top of

th_e

~ e n t r a l .

u n ~ a

access being obtained

by

a

wInding starrway,

Inclosed

within

a

screen

of very

elaborately carved wood. This

room which

com

mands beautiful views of the lake and grounds,

has

proved. a great attraction to

privileged visit

ors, and

from It a general

knowledge

of the virtues of

C e ~ l o n tea has been distributed to

all

parts of the

United ~ t a t e s : The exterior of the

building is

f r a ~

In

satmw.ood,

and

t

he

steep tiled

roofs

are

copied from classic Ceylon architecture. Th e cases

within this characteristic building are of satinwood

and ebony, and a

re

crowded with the natural and

m a ~ u f a c t u r e d products of

the

island, specimens of

nahve art, &c.

The

architect of

the

pavilion is

Mr.

H.

F. Tomalin,

Public

Works D epa

rtment

,

Ceylon. The

smaller

courts-those

in

the

Agricul

tural, Manufa

ct

ures, and "\Vomen's Buildings

though,

of

course,

much less o

rnate, are

conceived

and executed

in

the same

spirit.

We

have

said

that

the primary inducement to

exhibit at

Chicago was the

wish

t o make known

Ceylon tea in t he

United

States;

it

followed

naturally

that

everything

should be made

to reflect

the importance of this growing industry. Even

in

this country few pe ople realise how great has been

the development of tea plantation in an island

whose staple product we are accustomed to believe

is

coffee.

As

a matter of fact, however, this la

tte

r

indu

st

ry

is

in

decadence, hav

in

g

been

a

few

year

s

since irreparably damaged by disease ; the conse

quence of this disaster was

that

coffee planters

started

on

the cultivation of tea.. Th e first imports

were made to this country in 1873 , when 23 lb.

were sent over ; in 1880 this had grown

to

162,575 lb. ; in 1885 to 4,372, 000 lb.; in 1890 to

45,799,000

lb

.; and in 1892

to

71,809,000 lb. At

the

present

time no

less than 265,000 acres are

under tea

cultivation, and it is worth

noting

that

while the profitable limits

of coffee

cultivation

are

fixed

between

2000 ft.

and

5000

ft. above sea

l

eve

l,

te

a

plants

flourish

fr om near

sea

level

to 6000 ft.

above

it, the

more

deli

cate and lesser

yields coming

from the higher elevations.

The

crops

vary fr om

350 lb. to 700 lb. per acre, though this rises

as

high

in

some

cases

as

1000 lb.

The climate appears

especially favo urab le

for

tea cultivation,

as

the

le aves are

picked

aJmost

continuously

at

intervals

of

ten

days.

When

b

rought to

the

fac

tory

it

is

spread thinlyon shelves and left to wither for

twenty

four hours (or longer in wet weather), after which

it is

put

on to

rolling machines

for

a

short

time,

and allowed to ferment in shallow trays for a few

ho

urs.

Th e final process consists in exposing the

fermented mass to a temperature of from 180 deg.

to

240 deg. for about a quarter of

an

hour. After

cooling, separation

by

means of screens assorts

the

tea

into different

q

ualities,

and it

is ready

for pack

ing,

an operation preceded

by

a

second heating

to

150 deg.

India

and

Ceyl

on

h

ave

well-nigh

driven

China

teas

from the

British

market,

and

Ceylon

may

be proud of this

comparatively

new

in.dustry,

wh.ich

places her in the van of

tea-producmg countries,

and as3ures

for

her a s

ource

of weal th not

likely

to

be troubled by disastrous co

mpetition.

The

area

of land

placed

under cultivation

for

this purpose is

annually increasing, and it appears a moderate

estimate to expect that within the next five years

300 000 acres will be devoted to the production of

at ~ a s t 100 million pounds of tea. With

the

ex

ception of some 5 million pounds c?nsumed in

the

island, all

the

rest

must

find a foretgn market, and

N G I N R I N G

hitherto th.is has been

attended with

no difficulty.

The

following Table

shows

the

proportions

in

which

foreign

countries purchase tea

from

Ceylon,

and

indicates

great possibilities of

increase

in the

near

future:

Countri

es.

United Kingdom

Austria. ... .. .

Belgium . . .

France

..

.

Germany ...

Holland ..

• ••

•

••

Italy .. .

Russia.

..

.

• • •

•••

Spain

..

.

Sweden ..

•••

• • •

Turkey .. .

India ...

.

•• •

Australia. .. .

• • •

America .. .

• • •

Africa. .. .

• •

•

China ..

•••

Singapore . .

~ I a . u r i t i u s ..

• • •

• • •

~ I a l t a

..

Total

• • •

1891.

.

63,7

44,987

... 74,426

.

85

. 21,210

. . 92,291

. 2,280

.

4,

649

.

11, 2il0

... 16,995

...

300

. 4,211

. . 620,161

. 3,210,5

98

... 1

63

,187

.. 70,828

.. 163,041

. 3, 618

. . 68,783

. .

2 000

. 68,27

4,

420

1892.

64,815,075

93,793

605

1u,374

123,077

970

4,279

400

13,380

3,130

528,037

5,166,154

100,8D3

64,728

103,988

11,381

89,617

18,326

71,153,657

This

very

extensive

industry

gives

employment

to a

la r

ge

number

of persons, pr

obab

ly

not

less

than

200,000.

Out

of the three million of inhabi

  auts of Ceylon,

more

than two millions are engaged

In agriculture. Of

other industries the principal

are

as

follows :

Small

traders, 62,000 ; coir workers,

64,000; carpenters, 46,000; fishe

rmen,

25,000;

j e ~ e l l e r s

19,000

; ca.rters,

58,000;

plumbago

miners, 8000 ; blacksmiths, 13,000 ;

gem

diggers,

800.

By

the last census

the na

tionalities

were

thus

defined:

Europeans . . . .

4,

678

Singhalese . . . . 2 041,158

Burghers . ... . . ... . . 21,231

Tamils . . . . . 723,853

Moormen... ... ... ... ... 197,166

:Malaya . . . . .. .

10,

Veddahs . . . . . . .

1,229

The

Europeans

are

chiefly

English.

The

Sin

ghal

ese aud

the V

eddahs form

th

at

part of

the

population peculiar

to Ceylon.

The former

are

of Aryan race,

fr

om the north of India, the con

nection between

these

remote

places

being proved

by monuments

datin

g from 250

B. c., and

by Indian

literature

still

more

remote.

The Tamils occupy

chiefly the northern part of the island, and are a

dist inct race, coming

fr

om Southern India,

which

st i

ll

furnishes

a

la r

ge

number

of immi

g

rants.

The Moorm en are of Arab stock, and

in Ceylon, as in Southern India, control a

large part of

the

local t ra de,

but

live quite

distinct fr om

the

other races, following their

ow

n

customs, religion, a

nd

laws. Th e Ivlalays are

chiefly descended from transient dwellers on the

island coming from the Malay Peninsula. The

Burghers are also a race apart.

They

come

from

the

Portuguese, who owned

the

island from

about 1500

to 1650, and f

rom

the

Dutch,

who succeeded them

and

remained

in

possession till near the end of the

la

st century, when

it

became

the property of

this

country.

Of

co

urse

t h ~ Burghers, with

but

few

exceptions, cla1m

Sing

halese as well as European

ancestors.

These

three millions of very

mixed in

habitants live in a country

richly

endowed by

nature. Th e island has an area of 25,333

square

miles,

of which about one-sixth is mountainous

country,

attaining

a

maximum

height

of 8296 ft.

Th

e famous

Adam's Peak is the fifth in altitude of the moun

tains

of Ceylon. Most of these

mountains

are

wooded to the summit. Rivers are not numerous,

and carry but little water in the

dry

season the

most important is the Mahaweli·ganga,

the

Ganges

of

Ptolemy,

which has a main stream of 150 miles

and

drains

one-sixth of

the

island. The heat is

not

excessive, and almost any variety of climate

can be found between

the

sea

level

and

the moun

tain

tops.

The

rainfall has

a great range, from

about 35

in.

in some pa rts of the

island

to 228 in .

in ot

hers.

The rate

of m

orta

li ty in th e

towns

ranges from

1.6 to 4

per cent.

n the CeyIon

Pavilion at Chicago the physical and

ethnographical

features of the country

are admirably illustrated

by

maps and

diagram s prepared by

native exhibit

ors,

and

by life-sized m o d e l ~ of the different

native

races . The

mineral

resources ar e also shown by a

la rge collection of spec

im

ens. \1inerals in Cey Ion

are very

numerous,

but

on

ly

e

few

are

found

in

paying quantities. Iron is abundant, but coal does

not

exist.

Gol d, platinum, cobalt, t in, copper,

&c., are also found, but n

ot

in paying quantities.

Plumbago in splendid quality is obtained in qua.n-

[SEPT.

I , 1893.

tities

large

enough to add sensibly

to

the revenue

of

th

e

country. Gems are abundant,

though few

are fo

und

of great size

and perfection.

They are

chiefly

sapphires, rubies,

zircon , amethyst, cat's

eye, moonstones, garnets, &c. The pearl fisheries

of Ceylon have long been famous.

As

we

hav

e

already

said,

more

than

two

millions

of the three million inhabitants are occupi

ed

in

agriculture.

Rice fo

rms

the staple food of the

population,

and the

cultivation

of

paddy,

from

which the rice is produced, gives occupation to a

p r o p ~ r t i o n . There

are.

no less than sixty

different

kinds

of

paddy

cu

lt i

vated,

one

of

which

is grown on non-irrigated

land,

and a few varieties

are grown with tank irrigation. The remainder all

~ e q . u i r ~ swampy land, which can be submerged by

Irr1gatwn canals for some weeks, until the surface

has become quite free fr om weeds. The seed mean

time is spread on

the

ground and allowed to ge

rmi

nate,

and after a succession of soakings it is in a con

dition to

be

sown.

The

field

is then

drained

and

smoot

hed,

and

the

germinated

seed is

spread

broad

cast

;

after

a

delay

of

seven

days the water is

ad

mitted,

and the field is kept

submerged

until the

grain ripens, attention

being paid

during the

two

or three months occupi ed, to

careful

weeding.

When

nearly

ripe, the water is again

withdrawn

and

the

harvest

takes place.

The

various pro

cesses are well illustrated in the Ceylon Pavilion.

So also are the industries connected with the

palm

tree, of which several varieties are of great import

ance.

The kitul

palm yields sugar

and

toddy,

a

favourite intoxicating drink,

obtained

from the sap

flowing from the excised flower stalk. As

much as

two gallor•s of sap is thus obtained from a single

stalk in twenty-four hours. After filtration and

boiling the sap crystallises into

the

native sugar;

about

six

million cakes, or 893 tons,

of

this

product

are

made

and

sold in the island. The wood of

the

kitul

palm

is used for construction, and especially

for ir rigation

flumes.

B r t ~ s h

fibres

are

also

manu

factured from

this palm. The

areca

palm is

very

largely cultivat

ed

for

the nuts

it

produces, and of

which about 6000 tons are

exported

annually ; the

wood of this

palm

is also

used

in building.

Rattans, aloes, and h

emp

are the

other agricultura

l

staples of the island . These

are

illustrated at

the Exposition by raw

products

and

manufactured

articles in great variety.

As

with other Crown colonies, the

Governor

of

the island,

aided

by the

Executive

and Legislative

Councils,

makes

and

administers

the

laws,

which

are

subject to the approval of the Crown. The

Execu

tive Council consists of five of

the

principal Govern

ment officers. The Legislative Council is composed

of

the

Executive, four other Government officers,

and

eight

un oilicial members chosen by

the

Gove

rn

or. A very complete system of

native

village

councils has established

the

principle of self

government. Public education has been largely

developed in the colony,

under

the aid of a

Govern

ment grant and

with the co-

operation

of various

missionary

societies,

no

le

ss

th

an

154,000

childre

n

being r egularly

instructed.

No one can

examine

the various exhibits of this

interesting

colony without receiving the

impression

that its prosperity is great

and

steadily increasing

under British rule.

We

believe, as we

have

already

said,

that the planters of Ceylon will be well r epaid

for their

enterprise,

and will

estab

lish

large

and

profitable business relations with the United

States.

And we are quite sure that they could not have

intrusted

their

interests to a commissioner better

adapted in all respects to protect and promote

them, than

the

Hon. J. J. Grinlinton .

A NON-ARCING

LIGHTNING

ARRESTER.

MR.

ALE

X

ANDER tT

W ultTS

has done

good

service for the

protection

of electric

lighting and

electric

power stations

by

his lightning

arreste

r.

In

a heavy thunderstorm there

is

always the possi

bility

of the discharge finding its way through the

line to the

dynamo

and injuring

some

vital part.

Many devices have been designed to protect

vari

ous

installations

aga inst this danger the

extensive

experience of the

We

stinghouse Co

mpany,

of Pitts

burgh,

favours that

introduced

by 1\Ir.

\Vurts.

I t is

plain

that an efficient

lightning

arrester

must

1)

affo

rd

a

ready

pas

sage

to earth

for

the

dis

charge, and (2) it must

pr

event th e dynamo fr om

short

-circuiting itself on the passage of the flash.

Mr. \Vurts' arrangement is shown in Fig. 1,

where

seven cylinders of his all oy are arranged

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SEPT. I, I893·]

•

vertically and at a very short distance

a p ~ r t

th' s

forming six air-gaps. Tho number of cylinders In

an arrester depen

ds

upon the chara

cter

the

circuit for which it is constructed.

The

cy

lmd

ers

are usually 1 in . in diamete r, 3 in. long, the in

terval being t' in

The

diagram, F1g. 2, shows

the

.

dynam

o t.er

mina.ls conne cted to the extreme cylmders, whil st

the middle one is

put

t o

ea

rth. One arrester,

th erefore, serves to protect both sides of the cir

cuit. When the lin e becomes charged, spurks leap

across

the

air-gaps on both sides

the

grounded

cylinder,

through

which

the

disch

ar

ge is harmlessly

conducted to earth. As

the

cylinders are massive,

there is no danger of their being burnt

out;

and,

moreover as

the

alloy used will not maintain an

a.rc it foliows that the heavy current which may be

will not follow in the

path

of the dis

charo-e and the dynamo cannot short-circuit itself

for : ny appreciable length of time.

Th

e s

urf

aces

of the cylinders being roughened, there are

hundr

eds

of confronting po

ints

to facilitate the discharge.

Piu. 1.

1

86/ A

•

The

action of

the

arr ester is easily illustrated by

passing the discharge from a L eyden battery

through

it,

when bluish sparks

are

seen correspond

ing to the air-gaps.

The following test has also

been

made.

An

arrester

similar to that shown in

Fi

g. 1 was placed

in

c

ircuit

with

a.

dynamo. Six of

the

ai r-gaps

were bridged over with a thin piece of

tinf

oil. On

closing t.he switch, often only one

bright

spa

rk

was

seen, the

strip

s of tinfoil remaining in tact, thus

showing how very rapidly

th

e short circuit was

interrupted. Had any other than a. non-arcing

m

eta

l been used, it is evident that the machine

would run

ser

ious risk of being completely de

stroyed.

Thi

s arrester is substantially made ;

and

as

it

contains no moving parts, no coils to offer any

impedan ce

to the

pas3age of th e discharge, it re

quires no adjustment and no special attention.

During

the

past year more than 2000

ha

ve been

in

use in various

parts

of the Uni

te

d StateS', their

performance giving everywhere great satisfaction.

Several instances are recorded in which the lig

ht

ning sparked incessantly across the cylind ers with

out damaging the ar resters or even

interrupting

the service.

Experience shows, however, that in cases of

excessive discharges a division may occur

at

the

station arrester, a part going

th r

ough the air-gap

S\nd the re

st

through the dynam

o.

'£his leads to

the conclusion that long lines mu st be

further

pro

vided with their own arrester. When this is done,

E N G I N E E R I N G.

no severe

strain

will ever be put upon the station

arrester

and

th e dynamos

and

transformers will be

perfectly

sa

fe. Of course,

it

is ass

umed

t h a ~ good

earth connection is made by as short

and

duect a

lin

e as possible. .

Electric railway circuits

are

also very hable to

inj ury fron1 lightning discharges. This arises from

the

fact t

ha

t

the

t rolley

lin

e is

dir

ectly exposed

to

th

e influence of the electrically disturbed atmo

sphere. I t is true that one pole of

t ~ e

dynamo

also of the motor is grounded (see Fig. 3).

At

first

it might seem that this arrange

ment w ~ m l d

be ~ u ~ -

cient

to

carry

off a

ny

charge

that

mig

ht

preJ udt

cially affect

the

working conditions of

~ h e

lin e ; but

it

is found in practice that th e field coils an.d

ar

ma

ture

coils of

the

dynamo offer some considerable

impedance to discharges of an oscillatory

and

high

fre que

ncy

character, as lightnin g flashes

ar

e known

to be, the result being a remarkable to

"side-flash" to the frame of the machine, thus

breakin   Y down the insulation

and

disabling t he

b

dynamo.

,.

" 

. .

LIN

/16(8

- ··

•

I '

I 1

I

o

4

i

•

o

I o

'

Fig . 2 .

•

CROCI

NO

•

'

.

To provide against these dangers, the Weating

house Company have devised the

"keyst

one

arrest

er "

sh

own in Fig.

4. By

comparing Figs. 3

and 4, it will be seen that the path of th e discha rge

will

be fr

om the

lin

e across the air-gap of the

arrester, and thence t o earth. In leaping across

this air-space, sufficient h

eat

is produced

to

expand

th e air inclosed within the chamber; and thus

violently to blow out the two carbon rods or arms

(shown as black heavy Jines) passing

throu

gh

the

marble sides of the apparatus. As the carbon tips

se

parat

e

fr

om

the

carbon blocks, against which they

slightly press, two new arcs are formed, which

further

increase the suddenness

and

violence of the

expansion of the air within the chamber. The arms

are thus

driven

out

into t

he

position shown by

the

dotted lines (Fig. 4), thereby breaking the circuit

and

protecting the machines.

The

arms

strike

a

horizontal bumper and fall back at once into their

normal position,

the arrester being

then ready for

further

discharges.

The

action of the

appara

tus

is

infltantaneous as

a pistol shot ; the duration of the discharge is prac

tica

lly inappreciable, and the t ime during which

the dynamo is

short

-circuited is infinitesimal, and

hence no damage can ensue. In a recent trial the

entire

power-house of one of the large electric

railway compa

nies

of

New York

was short-circuiied

th r

ough this arrester,

and

the circuit was inter

rupted so promptly

that

no spark whatever could

be noticed at t

he

brushes of

the

generators.

The arresters used by the Westinghouse Com-

279

:

pany

depend for their ele

.ctric

e ~ c i e n c y o.n the

complete absence of all coils of wire.

I t

IS ld

mitted

th a

t rapidly s c i l l c h a r g e s are im·

peded

not only by t

he

ohmic resistance of the ?

On

ductor through which they pass,

but

also and f i y

by

its

self-induction. These

arrester

s o f f e S i m ~ l e

and direct path to earth for t he dtsruptive diS·

charge, a

nd

the mechanical

~ r r a n g e m e n t s are

so

determined as to ope rate with

promptness

and

certainty, thereby offering protection

to

the gene·

rat ing machinery.

N 0 T E

S.

THE NoRTH

SEA

-BALTIC CANAL.

THE approaching t i o n of the North Sea·

Baltic Canal (the canal w11l no do

ubt,

be opened,

accordino- to the original plan, in 1895) has caused

quite a. ~ u m b e r of

important

enginee

ring und

er

takino-s t o be t

ake

n in hand , or , at any rate,

se

rio; s

ly proj

ected.

The

Cope

nh

agen

free

harbour,

which will entail an expenditure of about 1,000,000l.,

must be

classed among these, a

nd at

Dantzic

the

buildino of a. free harbour is now under discussion.

In

Sweden

the

Malmo will be materially

ex

tended,

and

othe

r schemes have also been

to

the for e.

Liibeck has extended her quay acccommodation;

and

the

Trave-

Elbe

Canal will, no do

ubt,

soon

be

commenced. Pillau and Konigsberg will be con

nected by a ca.nal20 ft. deep, which will cost about

375,000l. The town of Stettin is expending 550,000l.

upon

an

extension of bulwarks

and harb

ours,

and

Br

emen will

apply

1, 500,000l.

to t.

he

deepen

in

o

of th e vVeser.

Hamburg,

finally, is

building

a deep harbour at Cuxhaven; a n ~ at Kiel material

extensions of the

harb

our are be1ng

urgently ad

vo

cated; in any case some additional quay accommo

dation will

be

prov

id

ed for.

ELECTRIC RAILW

AY

S.

The recent

repor t of the

Committee

appointed

to

frame clauses for inser t ion in the Bills promoted by

electric railways (see page 85 ante emphasises the

well-known fact that there is a la rge

amount

of

leakage when the rails are used as conductors for

the

current. When

only one rail is used for

this

pur

pose the leakage is into the earth, and

thence

along

any

pipes

or

wires that offer

an

easy path.

When

iho rails are used as the positive and n egative con

ductors respectively, the leakage becomes very much

more serious, and, indeed, is practically prohibitive

of

this

method of working.

Our

co

lumns

cont.ain

accounts of several

at t

e

mp t

s to avoid

this

difficulty

'

Fig .

l

ig.2 .

--·-

- -

- - - ··--

by carrying the

current in

buried conductors and

connecting short lengths of rail to these at intervals,

so that

the

leakage is localised. A more rece

nt

method, proposed by Lord Alfred

Spencer

Chur

chill, is to make connections

to the

buried

insulated conductor every 20ft.

or

so, and at each

to

erect

a special

contact

piece ab ove

the

road

way. On the vehicle is a brush so long that it wiH

always touch one of those contacts, and thus

always be in communication

with

the

main

con

ductor.

In

the annexed

view C is t

he buried

con

ductor, A the contact piece, and E

the brush.

HI

GH

SPEED ON RAI

LWAYS

.

In a paper read bef

ore

the Engineers' Club of

Phi adelphia, Mr. C. S. C

hu r

chill, permanent way

i n e e r

to

th e orfolk ~ n d

'Y

es ern

Rail

way,

discuss

ed

the questwn of

h 1 ~ h

speed on railways.

The

speeds

Mr.

Churchill

had

in view were such as

100 miles per hour, and for th is he considers that

the maximum grad es should not exceed 20ft.

or

possibly 30 ft . per mile. The quickest curves

should

not exceed 2 de g. (2864 ft. radius). Tho

road-bed should have four tracks, the inner ones

being

reserved for the high-speed passenger traffic.

The tracks should be spaced at least 13 ft. centre

to· centre,

~ n d every

precaution

ta

ken

to

prote

ct

them by usm g

moderat

e slopes of the cuttino-s and

embankme

nts. In

aarth

the

slopes should lt

to

1, in solid rock

t

to 1, and

in

o s e rock from

t

to

1 t o 1 t o 1, as

may

be required.

Berm ditches

should be provided at the

top

of all cuttings. N

0

level crossings

should

be permitted. The bridges

where the

span

is not too great should be

of

masonry, and elsewhere plate

girders should

be

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280

used

up to 100 ft. span ,

and

up to 120 ft. span all

truss bridges should

be of

the riveted

type.

The

sleepers

sh

ould be 7 n.

by

7 in. by 8t ft., and

there

should be 3000

per

mile.

The

rails should we igh

100 lb . per

yard,

and n1ight

be 5f in.

high,

with

a base

l in. wide, and a head 2i

in.

wid e. The number

of

rail j oin t s

should be reduced

by

layin

g the rails

in

60-ft.

l

engt

hs, the s

paces

for

expansion between the

rails

being

as

a maximum t in. Some

better

method of securing

the

rail to

the

sleepers th an

s pikes should

be

u

sed.

The

Bush

in terlocking bo

lt

is s imple, and has

given

good results. Guard rails

should be used on

all

bridges,

the

distance between

the

guard

rail

and

the

main

rail being

7 in

. All

sw

it ches sh o

uld

be protected by distant sign a

ls,

set

sufficiently

far from

t he switches for the trains t o

be able

to

stop after

sighting the signal and befor e

reaching the switch.

THE EL ECTRI C LIGHT IN B uD A-P E

sT

.

The

la t

est example

of

a gas co

mpany

 s adapting

itself to m odern requirements and subst ituting

incandescence

lamp

s for

ga

s burners is re ported

from the Hungarian capital. The General

Austri

an

Gas Company,

of

Buda-Pest, have

commissioned

Messrs.

Schu

ckert

and

Co., of

Nurnberg,

to supply

everything

necessary

for

the illumination

of th e

capital, the company retaining the

mana

gement

of

EM

DC

OM

L

s

the

installation.

Th

e

actual

plant

is for 16

,000

incandescence

lamp

s of 16 candles

;

provision is,

however,

to

be

made

for a considerable extension,

probably

tripling, of

the plant. The lighting of

certain

districts

is t o commence with December.

The installation will be intere

st i

ng not

only for

ils

dimensions, but chiefly for t he combination

of

the

continuous and the alt

ernat

ing or rather diphase

current s

ystems.

Th e feeding

of the lamp

circuits

will

be

effected

by means of co

ntinuous

-current

dynamos and accumulators .

Th

e p owe r house

b eing, h owever, at a distance of

two

miles from

the t o

wn,

high-pre

ssure

al tern

at o

rs

have

be en

selected as primary generators

not

to require

t)O heavy conductors. Two triple-expansion

steam

engines of 50

0 h o

rs

e - power eac h are

being ere cted in t h e powe r house. They are

coupled

directly

with two

dipha

se dynamos for

1800

vo

lt

s and 100

amperes,

connected in parallel,

who

se

fi

e

lds

are

excited

by

two smaller dynam

os.

These exciters will supply

the

current for Jighting

the

p ower ho

use.

The

main

currents

pass through

three

lead-covered

cables

to th e two diphase

mo tor s. Each of

the

iro

n-sheathed

cable

s con

ta

in

s two concentric leads, the third cable remain

ing for reserve. The m oto rs are again

directly

coupled with the continuous-current dynam?s,

whose

current

flows t o tw o accumula

tor

batten es

of 148

cells eac

h of a capacity of fr om 1500

to

2200

ampe;e-

hours, disc

ha r

ging

at

ab

o

ut

500

amp

eres. The three-wire system will

be

adopted

for

the

lamp circuits. The annexed

di a

g

ram e

x-

plains the connections. S represents lamps at the

station,

E D t he exciting dynamo,

EM

the exciting

magnets

D G alternate

double-current ge

nera

to

r,

D

M

a l t ~ r n a doub le-

current

motor, D continuous

current

dynamo, L line, A battery. R ot

ary

trans

formers

of the

polyphas

e ~ y p e are al

so

spok_en

of

in

t he

in f

o

rmation

supplied

t o

us.

A l

.a

rg

e In

stallation of this kind will b e watched w1th con

siderabl

e

interest.

CoNCRETE PIERS IN

NovA

ScoTI A.

In a

pap

er presented to the International Engi

n eering Congress,

Chicago, Mr

.

Martin

Murphy,

E N G I N E E R I N

G.

C.E., de

sc

r ibes the u

se

of conc

rete in

brid<>'e

sub

structur

es

in N ova

Scotia

. For s

uch

o ~ e s

con

cre te has, he claims, many advantages. Suitable

stone

for ashlar work is often

unobta

inable at a

reasonable price, and

th

en conc r

et

e is much

cheap

er .

Concrete piers can also be built by unskilled labo

ur

,

and

with

great rapidity. During the past

ten

years

the piers and abutme

nt

s

of

147

bridg

es have b

ee

n

built

of

con crete in Nova Scotia, and of th ese o

nly

one has fa iled,

and in this

case the want of success

was due

to

ca

reless

workmanship. Th e

climate of

Nova Scotia is very

tr

y

in

g

to

or

dinary

masonry,

as

i t ra nge s from 15 deg. below zero Fahr. t o 90 deg.

above .

In

one

case

t he masonry

piers of

a la r

<>e

bridge proved

a constant so

ur c

e of ex pen

se to

the railway company. The water pe

netrat

ed the

masonry

at high tido, and on

the tide

re ceding

fr

oze

there ,

dislodging

th e s tones . I t

was

finally

determined to case the whole pier

in

concrete, a

nd

since t hen th er e has

been

n o

furth

er trouble. In

forming

piers

of

concrete

the heart of the pier w

as

made out of

ru

bble concrete, and t he face out of

fine concr et e . This fine concrete consisted of one

part clean gravel, t wo parts

sand

, and

one pa r

t

P ortland cement.

Th

e hearting

was forme

d by

laying

the

rubble stones

in

position by hand .

None

of

th ese

stones

weighed less than 20 lb . , and

th ey

were placed

2

in.

to

3

in.

apart. The who

le

was finally

D

grouted up with

fine

concrete, so

that

the

co

mp

osi

ti on of th e hearting was five

parts

rubble stones, one

part g

rave

l, two

sa

nd, and o

ne

P ortland cement.

Many arches were

al

so built of concrete . At fi rst

care was taken to avoid hori zon ta l planes of

wea

kn

ess by build

ing

up

the concrete

in la

ye r

s

with

radial j oints,

so

that each layer resembled a

voussoir. t

present,

however, the a rches are

built en masse  sufficient material being

pr

ovid ed

to complete the

job at

once. In depos

itin

g con

cre te under water,

Mr

. Murphy

ha

s made

us

e

of

paper

bags stiffened

with

g

lu

cose, a

nd holding

1

cubic

fo ot of

con

crete eac

h.

Th

ese

a.re mad e up

qu

ick

ly and deposited rapidly one after the oth er.

The

paper is immediate

ly

d

es t

roye d by t he sub

mers io

n,

and the

con

cr

ete

remains. Th e cost

of

the b

ag

s is about 35 cents pe r cubic yard of con

crete. Th is method has been successfully employed

in 15ft.

to

18 ft. of

wat

er.

NOTES

FROM

THE

UNITED

STATES.

PHILADELPHIA ,

August 22, 1893.

IT is safe

to say

that at no time in the history of

th

e

co

untry was there so much business held in check,

awaiting t he ac

ti

on of the Government on quest ions of

finance. R ail

road

companies three

months

ago bad

plans completed for consid erable work in track-laying,

the putting in of machinery, and the extension of

facilities ; much of this

pr

ojected

work

is

at

a stand

still

.

Hundreds

of

enterpri

ses have been set aside f

or

the

tim

e being, which, if prosecuted, would

sust

ain

q

ui t

e a demand for iron and steel

pr

oducts. A

ll

branches of the

iron

trade suffer a

lik

e. The li ttle

bus

iness that is coming in is coYering only immedi

ate

requirements. Prices have not \ ar i£d for two or three

a

nd

it seems impossible

to make

any impres

sion on them. The wee

kly

production is now

about

100,000 tons of crude iron. Pig tin has dropped, and

t inplate moves sluggishly. Th e ar rival of large ship

ments of gold,

and th

e prospect of

an

ea rly vote upon

th

e silver question

at

vVa

sh

ington,

are

creati

ng

anticipations of relief. Coal pr oduction continues

heavy in

all

regions. The coke output has very

largely declined , owing

to

suspension of furnaces,

mill s, and foundries. Manufacturing in terests hope

for a reaction as soon as

the

public mind is set at rest.

[SEPT.

I 1893.

A WATER-COOLED BRAKE

ERGOMETER.

By FREDERICK J. SMITH, Millard L ecturer in

Mechanics, Trinity College, Oxford.

TH E difficulty of keeping the coefficient of friction

co

n

s

tant

in

th

e brake ergometer must have been experienced

by many who have tried

to

determine

th

e work done by

motors of different descriptions, wh en subjected to

various elect rical conditions. In some of my earliest

wo rk on thi s subject,

an

account of which

wa

s published

in 1882, I fi

nd th

at an unlubricated web band

or

rope,

acting as a brake on a well-polished pulley, ave

E co

n

s

tant

frictional resistance, as long as

the

temperature

was

kept

lo

w,

n

ot

above

25

deg. Ce

nt

.;

I al

so

found thab

the rope did not wear much at such a temperature. By

using a hollow

cy

linder, ha

vi

ng a rather thm face, as the

brake pulley, filled with ice,

th

e tempe

rature

was pre

vented from rising during a short test, last ing about sixteen

minut

es

.

These tests were far more sa

ti

sfactory than any made

with lubricated brake-blocks or lubricated ropes.

Th

e

web or rope is preferable to the brake block, in that its

mass is small when c1mpared to that of a row of bl

oc

ks

attached to a metal band.

Since

th

ese experime

nt

s were made, I find that in

the

motor trials made for the Society of Arts, in which gas

engines were t es ted, a dry rope quite free from lubrica

tion was used,

th

e rise of temperature being prevented by

a

drip

of water on

the

inside of

the

pulley. The results

were excellent. The

l i n ~

of the brake pulley by

means of water has been put mto a practical form by ::1\Ir.

F.

Ga

rr

ett and by Mr. Halpin,

th

e brake pulley i n each

case being furnished with flanges for keeping the water

against the internal surface of the wh eel (Proc. In st .

C.E., vol. xcv., page 17).

In

the brake wheel of Mr.

Halpin the water is supplied to the trough and con

st a

ntly removed by a scoop pipe.

Th

e amount of resist

ance due to this method of removing

th

e ·Water is nob

mentioned.

8

A

D

c

7S?

Believing this method of braking a pulley to be simple

and easily managed, I have constructed an absorption

machine, in which a constant

ci

rculation of cold water is

kept up, the water being introduced and removed along

the

axis of rotation,

so

that resistance to rotation due to

the removal of the water may be as small as possible.

By means of the machine in

th

is paper, a t

es

t

may be easily extended over a long period. A r

eco

rding

cylinder has also been added, so that changes in tension

can be readily obse rved.

The

co

nstruction of the water -cooled wheel is shown in

the figure appended. The water enters

a.

tubular steel

shaft D C

at

C ;

the

shaft carri es the brake pnlley A

and

the dri ving pulley B the water fills A and ows ou t

through the shaft a t D. When the

ma

chine is in a

ct

ion

the

effect of the movement of th e colder and there[Qre

denser

wat

Q  from

th

e ce

ntre

is to keep

it

where

it

is

requ

ir

ed, namely, against the inner face of

th

e pulley.

I

he rope is usually tak en once round A ; one end 1s fixed

to a spring balance above

the

machine, and

the ot

h

er

end

ca

rr

ies n

know

n weight.

Th

e rotation of

the

pulley con

stant l

y tends to lift the weight. The spring balance is

furni shed with a poin ter which writes a line upon a

revolving cylinder, so

that

changes in

the

pull on the

sp

ring can be easily observed.

Th

ese are usually found

to be

ve

ry small.

MARINE B OILER

CONSTRUCTION.*

By C. E. STROMEYER, Assoo. M. In st . C.E ., Engineer

Surveyor, Lloyd s Register, Glasgo

w.

IN responding to

th

e request to contribute a paper on

some subject connected with marine engineering, it was

fe lb by th e author that, as his work on boilers is on the

point of being published, and as his time has only re

centl y been much occupied in considering

the

numerous

problems connected with

th ei

r construction,

it

might be

possible to place before this Congress both a

co

ncise and

yet a fairly exhaustive summary of

the pr

esent process of

manufacture. That

th

ese few remarks cannot claim to

be more tha n a. very brief outline will, it is hoped, soon be

apparent ; but that the field is also a very much larger

one than would

at

first si

ght

appear, will

be<'ome

evide

nt

on recalling the various subjects co

nn

ected with it, and

which affe

ct

either the sizes or the process

es

of manufac

ture.

Th

ere are all the

va

rious conditions of working a boiler

at

sea, the ques

ti

on of coal

co

nsumption, leakage, and

corrosion, the

f:ffio

ienoy, heat transmission, funnel

draughts, and priming. All these are impo

rtant

and may not be neglected in determining

the sizes

of

Pa_per read before the

In t

ernat ional Mar itime

Co

n

gress, London Meeting.

-

•

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SEPT

I

I

893·]

boilers. As regards scantlings,

it

is also neressary

to

know how

stee

l behaves after being under the various

treatments to which

it

is subjected in the boiler

yard

as

well

a.s

at sea, to what extent heat affects

it,

what injuries

punching and drilling will produce, and what are the

various causes of spontaneous or mysterious cra

cks and

failures.

But

when all these matters have been sat isfactorily

ascertained, there r

emai

ns

the

as

yet practically

unex·

plored field of stresses in boilers.

The

problems seem

simple

enough-give

n a cylindrical shell, a cylindrical

furnace, a screwed stay or a fiat plate, find what pressure

any one part will sta nd without giving way. But if these

questions

are

examined carefully,

the

simplest of them

grows complicated. Tbuq, screwed st ays of 1 square inch

section might be expected to withstand a pull of from 25

to 30 tons, yet in

a

boiler they sometimes break before

apparently 10 tons is reached. Th is is most probably

due

to a combination of tension and bending stresses, caused

by the re

lative

change of form of the boiler shell

and

of

the combustion chambers, but which is not easily deter

mined. f this uncertainty did not exist, if one could

a c o u r a . t ~ l y calculate

the

st re

ngth

of

the

various

parts

of

a boiler,

then there

would be no need for

the present

high

factor of safety.

On account of the extensiveness of the general subject,

the

following remarks will be re

stricted

to

a

description

of the various workshoP. p r a c t i c e ~ , though to

do

this

without very numerous tllustra.tions

must naturally

be a

difficult

and not

altogether

sa t

isfactory task.

On rer.eipt of the steel plates at the boiler yard they

are

measured, and th en

marked

off, ready for planing the

edges and

fo

r drilling

the

holes. Sometimes the holes

in

the shell plates are drilled before the edges are planed,

sometimes afterwards, and in shops fitted with the newes t

appliances, the boles

are

not drilled until the shell plates

hav

e been bent and bolted together. Thi s plan is recom

mended as being the best, but it is slower

than

drilling the

plates before bending-, because otherwise

the

drilling of

the holes cannot be commenced uutil the planing and

bending is completed, whereas in the

other

case the two

OP.erations end together. Besides, on account of the possi.

bllity of

u s i n ~

multiple drills,

this part

of the work is

ElO

much accelerated,

that

in some shops all holes a re drilled

before bending the plates, and are subsequently enlarged

when the plates have been bolted together. Finally, these

should be separated and the burrs removed, in o

rder

that

none of them may o d ~ e between

the

plates, thus pre

venting

them

from commg into close contact.

The

?rilling of the

s . h ~

plate holes naturally takes up

more t1me than the drtlhng through the thmner plates in

the int

erior of the boiler, not only because these holes

are

fewer and smaller, bub also because

more

drills

ca

n be

employed at one and the same time. On account of the

proximity of flanges, and because of irregularities in the

shape of ruost of these seams, the slower process of hand

dril ing is s t i l ~ indulged in in .many works, only a few

hav10g supphed themselves w1th the necessa

ry

special

drilling machines.

After being planed on their edges, and either before

or

after drilling, the shell plates are bent by passing them

through a system of three rolls which are placed ei ther

horizontally or vertically.

The

operation is very simple

but, for obvious reasons, the ends of every plate that

passes through these rolls cannot have been bent to same

curvature

as the r  st of the plate, and requi re to be set

by

othe

r means. Numerous attempts have been made to

arrange

three, four,

and

even five rolls in such a

manner

that th is additional work is not necessary, and presses

have also been used for this purpose; but the results are

not satisfactory, and th e plan now usually adopted is

eithe

r t o leave the plates longer than requ ired, and finally

out off the two

end

s

and

use thEtm as

butt straps,

to heat

the ends of the plates before rolling and to hammer

them

to the proper shape, to press them

into

s

hape

after rolling

between the jaws of a riveting machine, or even to leave

them flat and to

sp

ring them

with

the help of

the

two

butt

st rap

s with which they are covered. Where lap

joints are used, the c u l t y is still greater, because the

Oluvature of one plate 1s reversed, and this change is a

very

sudde

n . In some works Ion$' iron beate

rs

are

placed along th1s lme,

and the

pr

ojectmg

lap hammered

down.

To those engineers who have studied the failures of the

la

st

ten yaars, such a treatment

at

once suggests that it

may ser iously endanger the st rength of the st ructure and

a

few

remark

s on

the injury

done

to

steel

by

w o r k i ~ g

it

at

a. ce

rt

ain temperature, called either blue heat or black

heat, may be of mterest, or rather the following simple

e x p e r ~ e n t s ~ i l l show w ~ a t t h ~ danger is.

Stnps of mtld steel1 i m.

thtck

and 1 in. or 2 in. wide

n.re sbeared about 6 in. or 9 in. long. Of the se No. 1 is

placed half. way under a steam hammer or press and its

projecting end bent down with a sledge hamme; through

an angle of 45 deg. The steam hammer is then lifted

and the

bent part

of

the

angle placed uppermost

and

again hammered down. According to the toughness of

the steel this operation can be repeated from t en to thirty

times before the sample breaks.

No. 2 is placed between two bars of iron which have

b e ~ n heated to a dull redness, and is kept there until the

brtght sheared edges have changed their colour to a straw

or purple one. Tb is sample is now treated in

exactly

the

same way as No. 1, but it will break

after

one or two

bends. f it been heated till

it

had grown dark blue

or even grey. tt would ~ a v e stood as many if not more

bends than No. 1. Thts shows

that

there is a critical

temperature at which steel or iron is rotten.

.. 3 is treated

in

exactly

the

same way as No. 2,

with

thts dtfference, that bending is stopped as soon as a

su r

face crack shows

1t

self.

I t

should be

put

aside for

a

d a y ~ and t h e ~ b ~ broken by simply

throwing

it on an

a.nvtl or

strtkmg

1t wtth a hand hammer. This shows that

N G I N R I N G

•

by

this special treatment steel and iron can be

made

per·

manently brittle. This brittleness is removed

by

anneal

ing,

but

not by long·continued rest.

I t

can be produced

by any mechanical treatment if carried out at a blue heat,

and

it

is not c e ~ s a r y that surface cracks should show

themselves ;

this

is only recommended as a guide to insure

a

s u ~ e s s f u l

experiment.

Applying th is losson to the above-mentioned case of

bending a shell plate near the end of

it

s lap

at

a blue.h

eat,

it is but too probable that

it

will account for many fatlures

at

this

point-that

is, o n inch or two inside of

the

inner

row of rivets.

Heaters are also vory freque

ntly

applied to furnace

mouths and saddles, and it is these ~ a r t s more than any

other which fail

by

c

racking after bemg in

use for some

time. Fortunately,

this

never occurs under steam,

but

afterwards when the boilers have cooled down.

I t would, however, be rash to assume that all such

failures

are

due to injurious treatment

in

boiler

shops;

for

tbare

is only too muoh

ground

for believing that the

temperature of boiler

p l a t ~ s

when

stea

ming

ofte

n reaches

a blue heat,

particularly

under forced draught;

and

where this is combined with a concertina action of

the

various co

rn

ers, brittleness of material and subsequent

cracks may be expected.

Some of these

remarks apply

to the treatment of

internal parts of boilers, but before discussing them a f

ew

remarks on riveting the shell seams are necessa

ry

.

A riveted joint should be both st rong and w a t e r t i ~ h t ;

wheth er thi s is so or not depends not only

on

the destgn,

but also on the workmanship, whether the boles are fair,

wheth er the plates

are

in close contact, and whether the

riv

ets

fill th e holes.

To attain

these various objects

the

plates should not only be well fitted,

but during

the

riv

eting

operation

they

should

bt

firmly screwed together

by num erous bolts, and the press'llre of the hydraulic

ri veter should not be removed until th e riv et 1s fairly

cool, otherwise the

e m a i n i n ~

spring of the plate tEtnds to

stretch

it,

thereby

reducing 1ts

diameter and

also allow

ing_ he seam to open.

The

usual plan of ri'\ 'et ing boiler shells is to

do

all the

long

itudinal

seams first and then

the

circumf

erential

ones,

starti

ng at

the

back end seam. But then, unless

the front

plate

is flanged outwards, its seam

ha

s to be

riveted by band . In a few works special

hydrauli

c

riveters or special steam hammer riveters

do th i

s work.

The following

are

some of the troubles and dangers to

be expected with riveted seams. Lea

kag

es frequently show

themselves

at

the ends of the longitudinal butt-

st

rapped

joi

nt

s, and up to the

present

the only real1y effective means

of preventing this is to

plane

or draw out the

ends

of the

outer butt straps of

the

inner strak es, and to tuck them

in under

the adjoining

strakes. It is customa

ry

either

to drive steel wedges into the

butts

of the outsi

de

strakes

or to substitute ecrewed plugs for the rivets w hieh pass

through their centre lin es. These studs or plugs

are

also

often

used in

stead

of rivets

in

varioud difficult cor·

ners in the combu

stio

n chambers

and

elsewhere.

In

some works such corners and

the

e

nds

of tr oublesome

seams

are

welded. One danger which attends hydraulic

r i v e ~ i n g is, that if too much pressure is applied, or if it is

a.pphed too suddenly,

it may

lead to

the

immediate or

subseque

nt

bursting

of a riv

ete

d seam, so

that

manu

facturers who can boast of the heaviest riveting

unless they use them judiciously, may be

doing

m o r ~

harm than good. Indications of excessive pressure

having been applied to the rivPts can be detected

by

the

u n ~ u l a t o r y sha.pe of the originally s t r a i g h ~ edges of the

var1ous r1veted seams.

During the period that

th

e sh'ell plates of a boiJ er have

been planed,

bent,

drilled, riveted, and caulked, the

plates

of

th

e

i n t e ~ n a l

p a ~ t will have been fianged and fitted to ·

getber, dr1lled, riveted, and caulked ready to go into

place.

To describe the flanging operations in

c

tail would

r

equi

re

far

too much time, and therefore only a very short

summary

ca

n be attempted.

The

edge of

th

e

plate

to be

flanged is heated to redness, about 2 ft. to 4 ft.

at

a time

for hand flanging, and 6ft. to S ft. for machine fianging

the

length n d i n g somewhn.t on the

thickness

of t b ~

plate,

the

thmner ones

g r o w i n ~

cold sooner than the

thick ones.

Th

e plate is placed

on ir

on blocks with

th

e

heated e

dge

projecting, which is then

bent

down eit her

by

an hydraulic press, a steam

hammer,

or

by

heavy

wooden mallets. Hand ftanging is

impra

cticable for

plates above 1 in . in thickness.

but as regards

accura<:y

of

' ~ o r k

all

three

processes

are about

e

qual.

zones may have become brittle. At

any ra t

e, it is well

known that the elongation

d i m i l } i s h e ~

and the tena01ty

increases the slower a steel

test

ptece 1s b r ~ k e n . f tom

asunder by

a dynamite

explosion,. a t e s ~ ptece elongates

about twice

a.s much

as under ordtnary

cucurr•s

tan

ces.

Th

ere is nothing particularly st range in the fact

t h ~ b

such

fra

ctures sometimes extend right across a plate, for 1t

must

be

remembered

that the metal on either side of a

fractu

re is

at

first

moving at

a v e l o ~ i t y

equa

l that

with which sound tra,·els on steel , vtz. , three mtles per

second or about five times fast er than a rifle bullet.

Another

tr

oub

le conn

ecte

d with fla.nging, is that

due

to

the

ve

ry

serious change of f

orm

of all flanged plates

after annealing: v a r ~ o u s m

ea

ns had to be

a ? o p t ~ d

to

preve

nt

it, for otherwise furn

.acE;

holes would r t a ~ l y

be at

least l in. ova

l. Th1s

IS

also

one

of

the

chtef

reasons why

it

is practically impossible to anneal plates

after they

have

been fitted, unless they

are

kept bolted

together

while in the furnace.

That

suflir.ient allowance

(usually in .) is ra rely made for end plates where they

have been hea ted for fittiog together,

ca

n be demonst ra ted

on nearly every boiler,

the

shell plates

at

these

points

generally showing a slight depression

where

they have

been mad e to follow the retreating ruaterial of the

co

rn

ers. Si

milar

remarks apply to the flanged plates of

the combustion chambers.

The

flanging of furna

ce

s

addle

s is

one

of

th

e m

ost

diffic

ult

operations in the boiler yard.

Recently, on

account of numerous failures, much attention has been

directed to th is point, and

the

corn ers, which at one ti me

were

made

almost square, are now only bent to the

gentlest

possible eurves. This is effected

ei t

her by

arranging for the sad dle seam to be on the water side of

the tubeplate, or by making th e flanges deeper. I t is

thought

that the cause of the cracking of

the

se flanges is

due

to

working them

at

a blue heat, which

has already

been exp

lained,

to

th

e injudicious use of heaters during

construction, or to over

-heati

ng

comb

ined with local

s

training

while in use

at

sea

.

All

such riveted-boiler

seams

as are exposed to the

direct

action of the flame, are

liable

to

crack

on Mcount

of over· heating, for

not

only

are

there

tw<>

thicknesses of

ruetal, but the se are se\)ara.ted by two layers of iron sca

lE',

and perhaps by an a.tr or by spongy charred oil

which was used for drilling, and

then

not removed. As

every

one

of

these

substances are ,·ery effective non-con

du.cto:s, no pains should. be spared

removing

them and

brmgmg the two

plates

mto metall1c

contact.

With this

end

in

view,

some

works bore out th e combustion cham

ber

fro

nt

plate,

and machine the back

end of the furnace ·

others

pickle the plates so as to remo

ve

the scale and

others, again, wash the seams with sal-ammoniac but none

of these means wm be efficien t unless

the very

greatest

care is ta

ke

n during the riveting

operation

to

draw the

two ~ l a t e s

quite close toge ther by numerous bolts.

As

the d1fference of the diameters beh•een the furnace and

h o l ~ into which it has to fit is

often more

than in.,

1t

1s

evtdent that the

plates

cannot be brought

into

con.

tact

. unless

th

ey ~ r e s

tr

etched,

eit

her .bY

be

ing

very

hea.

v1 ly

hammered

1f cold, or screwed

up

1f warmed with

heaters .

That

there is danger in both methods has

already

been mentioned, but in practice it seems that

failures need

not be

apprehendE'd

if the plate

s

are heated

beyond a blue

heat.

The riveting of the internal

parts

prese

nt

s no special

difficulties,

and

is chiefly done by hand.

Caulking is the final operation to which

the

plates are

subjected, and

ca

lls for few r

em a

rks.

I t

is customary to

c a - 1 all boiler seams both inside and

out,

and apparently

th t

s ts necessary, for experience seems to show that if

only the outside edges of the seams are

cau

lked they

very

?ften

give. trouble while under s

team,

and

the

general

1 d e ~

pr

eva1ls

that th

ose seams are

the most perfect into

wh1ch no

w a t ~ r

can enter. B u ~ it only re

quires

the most

O';Irsory attentton to the oaulkmg

operations

to be con

v.mced that a

sea

D? cannot be

dep

ended

upon

for water

tightness

UI?-less 1t h.

as.

been

caulked with

the

water

pressure

on

tt, and th ts

1s,

of course, impossible

with the

mner edges. To caulk

th

em for the sake of making

them

watertight would t h e r ~ f o r e appear unnecessary. But if

th e two p l a ~ s are ~ o t JD l?erfect cont act, and if

there

is

a n ~ chance of tbetr rookmg on each other

d u r i n ~ the

various changes of pressure

and

temperature

it

is evtdent

that

und

er certain unfavourable

c o n d i t i o n ~

the outside

~ d g ~ D?ay

open

and leak, and to guard against th is roc

k

mg

1t

IS

necessa

ry

to

cau

lk, or

at

l

east

fuller all the inside

edges, so

that

even

tho

se

jo

in t

s in whi ch

the

pl

ates are

not in COt;ltact wip be firmly

i n g

at least on their two

while the rt vets are holdmg them together

Th e n a l c a u l ~ i n g .

operation

proceeds while the

b y d r ~ u h p r e s s u r ~ IS

bemg

slowly ra ised until double

the

workmg pre ssure

IS

reached.. The necessity for this high

test has been ~ e p e a t e d l y d ~ s p u t e d . but many instances

could be. ment10ned of bo1lers which failed only just

before thts press

ur

e was reached, or whi ch have

exploded

under s t ~ a m pressure a.fter

having

been

only

recently

tested With water; a;nd until such cases can

be

reasonably explamed as bemg due to

other

causes th a

t r e a c h of.

the material,

or

ignorance

of the actual

s t r e s s e ~ at

the

pomts of fra

ctu

re,

the

general public at

leas.t wtll prefer to be assured that their boilers have been

subjected to a severe proof test, and

have

shown them

selves to

safe

under

conditions

which are not likely to

r

ec

ur whtle they are under

their

care.

. Lt ke the other OJ?eration, Banging is also not without

tts

d a n g e ~ s . Burmng

and wasting away and undesirable

deforruatton

may be guarded

against,

but,

in spite of the

v ~ r y

~ e a . t e

ca

re, J?lates which have been fianged and

latd s i ~ e are somettJ?eSfou.nd to

have

crac

ked

overnight.

Anneahng a .Plate m m e ~ a t

after flangin&

is not

always

praott

oable, and m order to reli

eve

1t of

it

s

s e v e

~ e s t

strains

some s

mith

s have

adopted th

a plan of

~ e a t m g t ~ e

centre of every plate immediately after fiang·

tng. t 1s. also affirmed that only such

plates have

cracked wb10h were ke

pt

carefully fiat during flanging

whereas the puckered ones esc

aped

uninju red. '

. Why

plat

es should crack spo

ntan

eously in this manner

1s

as yet a mystery for although there can be no doubt

that one of the oo.uses is th e slowly increasing strain on

th

e

~ l D f l a n ~ e ~ end durin

g

the

period that the flanges

are

co_ohng,

st1

ll1t

seems unreasonable

that

a material which

w 1 ~ l elongate 20 per cent. in a testing machine and show

a s11ky fracture, should

tear

asunder \Vben worked into p c\.CU'IC N A

a Aa:oged

plate,

and then reveal a coarse

stru

ctu re.

To

by the

a n a d i a . ~

P T I < ? f i

yangC

ents have been made

attr1b.ute

these

failures to in

ci pient

flaws

whi

ch

wa

s at

stea

m service

bet

act c V ai way o{z;npa.pny f.or a monthly

o:ne t1me a favourite explanation, is

n o w ~ d a y not

con- and Brisban d Seen a.ncouver tts a016c terminus)

st

der

ed one.

The

only other one

which

at

Victoria

B ~ ~ i

h

bdley.b.

Th

e

dtHmer

s

are

also

to

call

sugge.sts 1s, that

the

slowness with which

the

stresses a conn c . ' .

8 0

um ta, onolu.lu.

At Sydney

grow: m m f e r e n of

th

e plate

destroys

its

du

ctility all

oth r ~ ~ t s w ~ ~ l l ' e : f f r ~ t e d W i t ~ l o c a l

hnes running

to

and mcr eases 1ts hardne

ss to

such

an extent,

that certain .

and

Tasmania. ua

ra

la, as we

as

to New Zeal

and

7/17/2019 Engineering Vol 56 1893-09-01

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/engineering-vol-56-1893-09-01 25/33

I

LAUNCHES AND TRIAL

TRIPS.

ON the 24th ulb. the s.s. Olive was taken out on trial

at

the

measured mile at

Tynemoutb,

when a speed of

9 ~ . knots.

was ob

tained , ~ b e vessel

being

loaded.

The

trtal was 1n every way sat1s

fa

ctory. The Olive has been

built by M essrs. W. Harkess and Son, of

Middlesbrough,

for Messrs. J. Burnett

and

Sons, of L ond on, for th e

ir

London and Paris line, a

nd

is fitted with lowering masts

an? funnel, to n a b l ~ h

er

t o pass und

er

bridges across the

Seme. The

dtmens10ns are 173 ft.

by

26 ft. 6

in. by

12ft.

9

in.,

and th e vessel oarries

about 60

0 tons

on

a

d r a u ~ h t of 11 ft. The ~ g i n are by Messrs. Westgarth,

Enghsh, and Co., of M1ddlesbrough, and ha ve cylinders

1 5 ~ in.,

25

in., and

41 in. in diam

ete

r

by

27 in. stroke,

the

steam pressure being

160 lb.

The

second-class cruiser Bonaventure carried out her

four hours' trial of her machinery under forced

draught

in

a h

ig

hly satisfactory

manner

on :Friday, the 25th ult.,

off Plymouth.

On Wednesday

particularly good results

were realised in the

natural

draught trial, when a speed

of 19.2 knots was obtained with an indicated horse-power

of 7340.

On Friday

an indicated horse-power of 9279

was developed, giving a mean speed of

20 knot

s. Th e

contractors' estimated speed was 19.3 knots and 9000

horse-power.

Th

e engines worked smooth

ly

throughout,

and

there

were no signs of a leak anywhere when an

examination of the machinery was made at the comple

tion of the trial. Details follow: Mea.n steam

in

boilers,

145

lb.

; mean steam in engine-room, 136 lb. ;

air

pres

s

ure

in stokeholds, .87 in. ;

vacuum-

starboard, 26.4;

port, 26.1; revolutions

-starboard,

144.9; port, 141.4;

mean pressure

in cy

lind

ers,

high pressure-starboard,

53.1; port, 54 .1 ; intermediate-starboard, 29.5; ~ o r t

29.0; low pressure-starboard, 14

.5;

port, 14

.5;

mdi

cate

d horse-power

- s t arb

oard, 4685; port, 4594-tota.l,

9279 ;

speed by

log,

20

kn ots. The mean speed of three

run

s

along

the land

was

20.3

knots;

in

one

a speed of 22

knots was reached. Before returning to th e Sound gun

trial

s

and

trials of

th

e capstan and steering engines were

successfu lly carried out.

The

helm was put

hard

a-port

from

hard a-starboard in 22 seo .

Th

e s.s. Olimpia, built for

Spa

nish owners by Messrs.

W. H arkessand Son, of Middlesbrough-on-Tees, has just

completed her loaded

trial

on the measured mile. The

dimensions of

the

vessel are 1

60

f

t. by

24 ft. 6 in.

by

12 ft.

3 in. moulded. Th e engines lire by W estgarth,

English, and Co . of Middlesbrough.

Th

e cylinders are

13

in., 21

in .,

and

34

in.

in diameter by

24

in. stroke,

working with steam at 160 lb. presRure. Although a

heavy sea was coming over the bows, the speed was fully

I;Dain

tai

ned .

Messrs. J . M'Arthur and Co., Pa isley,

ha

ve launched

a

"double-ended,

paddle steamer named Kate, built to

the order of

th

e

Penarth Stea

m Ferry Company, of

Cardiff. Engines to propel the steamer at a high rate of

speed are now being fitted on board by Measrs. Bow

M'Lachlan,

a

nd Co.,

of Paisley.

MISCELLANEA.

THEYosb Ty pewriter Company,

Limited ~ v e

removed

their Ir ish branch

from

Central Hotel BUildmgs, Berry

street, to

9,

Rosemary-street, Dublin.

The annual summer excursion of the

Junior

Engi

neering Society, particulars of which were given in our

issue of August 4 la

st,

pas

sP

d off

very

successfully, and

the

members return

ed to town

on

August 19.

Our readers will regret to l

ea

rn that, owing to ill-health,

Mr.

Thomas Urquha

rt

has found

it

necessa

ry

to resig n

his position as manager of the Nevsky

Iron

Works, St.

P eter sburg, and ret ire to this c o ~ n t r y Mr. U a ~ t

has

spent

twent y-five

years in

Russia, and the v a ~ u e of h1;5

contributions

t o

the

advancement of locomotive

eng

i

neering is universally recognised.

We recently mentioned the proposed employme

nt

of a

diving-bell at the barrage across

the

Nile. Mr

.

Lieurnur's

ingenuity seems to have been rewarded. I t IS e p o r t ~ d

that the

di

ving

-bell operations h a ~ e been success

ful

m

locating the

leak in

the bed

of

the

r1ver

on

t ~ e up

stream

side of

the

dam, and endeavours were bemg made to

close

the

passage before

the barrage

gates were opened.

The

flow of water was

utilised to

send a

puddle

of clay

through

the

passage, and it was

hoped

.that some of

th e clay would remain and eventually close 1t up.

From

experiments made

by

Messrs. S ~ e m e and

Halske Berlin it appears that

the

average hfe of m can

descent'Ja.mps different expenditure of watts per candle

p ower is as follows :

Expenditure

of Energy.

1.5 watts per ca

nd l

e... ... .. .

2 ... ... .

2.

5

''

. . .

.

3 " " ... ... .. .

3.5 ' ' . . . .

Life of

L a.mp.

45 hours

200 ,,

450 , ,

1000 ,

1000 "

Th e traffic receipts for the week ending. A u g u 20 on

33 of the principal lines . of the. Umted Kmgdom

amounted

to

1,4

89

,048l., wh10h, havmg been

on

18 388 miles gave an average of 80l. 19s. per mtle. For

t h ~ c o r r e s p ~ n d i n g week in 1892 t ~ e receipts of .the same

lin es amounted

to 1,707,347l., with 18,19 ) mtles open,

giving an

average of 93l. lO

a.

There was thus a d ~ c r e a s e

of 218,299l.

in th

e receipts,

an

i ~ c r e a s e of 189 m .the

mileage and a decrease of 12l. 11s. m

th

e weekly receipts

per

i l ~ . The

aggregate

r e c ~ i p t s for seven weeks. to

date

amounted on

the

same 33 hn es to 1 6 1 1 m c ~ m -

parison

with

11,808,4921.. for the correspo

ndmg

pertod

la

st.year ;

de

crease, 492,379l.

E N G I N E E R I N

G.

In a r

ecent

issue of

the Electrical World

1\ Ir.

E.

F.

N orthup st ates that

quartz

fibres can be obtained in a

similar

manner

to glass fibres. Any

wh

eel more than

3 ft. in diameter

and

4

in. wide

at

th

e rim may

be

used.

The

circum ference is first covered with smooth

black paper, across which a

strip

of fly-paper 1 in. wide

with the

sticky

side

up is

pasted.

A

quartz rod -P

  i

n.

to i

in.

in diameter is next prepared

and

fastened on to

a brass rod. The quartz is then melted in the oxy-hydro

gen flame, and

another

rod is

then

brought

in

co

nta

ct

with t he fu sed end. By

means

of this seco

nd

rod a

th read is drawn over

the

wheel, which is rapidly re-

volved, and any le

ngth

of fibre can

then

be drawn out.

The fine fibre

thu

s produced is equal in quality to that

obtained

by

Mr. Boys' arrow

method,

but th

e coarse fibre

is rather

brittle

and weak.

In formation

was

received at Portsmouth on Tues

day

from the

Admiralty

to

the

effect

that

the Ramillies,

tirst·class battleship, will

re l

ieve the Inflexible in

th

e

Mediterranean

Squadron,

and that

the

latter s

hip

will

be

substituted for the Nelson as

port

guardship at Ports

mouth. The Resolution, sister ship to the R amillies,

will take

the place

of

the

Rodney in

th

e Chann el Sq uad

ron, the

latt

er proceeding to

the

Medi terranean to relieve

the Ed inburgh. The Devastation, which

ha

s been reno

vated

at Portsmouth,

is to be port guardship

at

Devon

port

in place of the Swi ftsure, while the Empress of

India, another battleship of the Royal Sovereign class,

will supersede th e Colossus in th e Medi t

er

ran ea.n. the

latter

relieving

the

Audacious as coastguard

ship

at

Hull.

Th ese alterations are made in fulfilment of

the

detel'

mination of the Admiralty

that

the Mediterranean

Squadron

shall

be

exclusively oomposed of high freeboard

ships.

Some experiments on the st rength of concrete beams

recently

made by Mr.

S. R. Lowcock, A.M.I.C .

E.,

show

some interesting results. The beams used were of th ree

sizes, n

amely

, 21

in.

by 18 in.

by

4

i ~ .

30

in. by

18 in.

by

6

in., 39

in. by 18 in. by 19 in.

The

cement used

had

a

tensile stre

ngth

of 665 lb. at seven day s,

and

th e aggregate

was clinker obta.ined from furnaces burning ashpit refuse.

The beams were supported

with

clear spans of 12 in.,

18 in., and

27

in. respectively, and were broken by

weight ing them in

the

ce

ntre.

The

result s show that

the

breaking weight might appro

ximate

ly be represented by

the following formula :

W

=

.06CB D2

L

where W =breakin g weight in cwts., B br

eadt

h, D

depth,

and

L

length, all in inches;

and

C = 1. 9 for 1 and 4t con

crete, 15 days old, and 2.8 for the same 21 days old. Fo r

1 to 6 concrete C = 1.2 for 14·days, and 1.1 for 21·days

concrete. Fo r 1 to 8 concrete C = 0.3 for 14·days, and

0.4 for 21-da.ys concrete.

Th

e Scarborough Electric Supply Company,

Limit

ed,

commenced

the

supply of elect ricit y in Scarborough on

Saturda y last.

A s

yet the current is only available

in

a portion of

the

town, but

the

remaining connections are

being completed as fast as possible,

and

it is expected

that

in

the

colll'se of a week

or

tw

o

the

whole of

the

mai

ns

will

be

in

operation. The company was formed

at

the

e

nd

of last

year

by Mr. A. A. C. Sw in ton under an agree

ment with the Corporation of Scarborough,

and

is work

ing under a transfer of the provisional order obt ained by

the corporation.

The

alternate cur rent high-tension

system, with low-tension distributi on from sub-stations,

is emp loyed. Th e

charg

e for elec

tr

ic

ity

is

at

th e ra te of

7d. per Board of Trade

unit, with

a cash discount and a

slidmg scale rebate amounting to

20

per ce

nt.

as a maxi

mum for large consumers. Colonel R. F. Steble is chair

man, and Mr. A. A. C. Swinton managing di rector and

engineer-in-chief to the company. Th e whole of

the

electric generating plant

and

transformers have been

supplied by Messrs. C. A. Parsons and Co., of Heaton

Works, N

ewca.

stle·on-Tyne.

Mr. Y erk es , of Ch icago, has an observatory being

built for him which

will

ec

li p

se the Lick Observatory in

having the

la rgest telescope in existence. Cost is to be

no consideration as long as

the

observatory becomes

the

largest

in

existence. th ~ i e w the new observat<?ry

is to ha

ve

a refr

acto

r

40

m. m dtameter, that of

the

L10k

Obse

rvatory

being only 36 in. The lens is now being

made

by

Mr. A. Clar

k,

W

ashin.gton, while

the

support

ing column and telescope are bamg con

stru

cted

by

Messrs

Warner

and Swasey, Cleveland, Ohio.

The

column will

have a height of 30ft. , and will weigh 45 tons. Upon it

the steel polar axis, 13 ft . long and

w e i g h i n ~ 3i

tons, is

mounted and

upon this,

agai

n,

the de

clinatiOn axis, 1 ft.

in diameter

and

weighing 1  tons. The latter supports

the telescope, which has a ~ n g t h 59 ft . a nd a maximum

diameter

of 4

ft.,

and we1

ghs

s ~ x tons. l t ~ 1 0 u g h

the

total weight of

the

telescope and tts countet:weights IS

7.5

tons, the great instrument may brought mto any post

tion

by

a slig

ht

pressure. Some Idea may be formed of

the height of

tp

e obser vatory

ibis

stated that, if

refractor is pomted to

the

zemth, th e centre of the obJec

tive is 69 ft. above the earth's surface.

In

discoursing in his la test official report to the Colonial

Office on the future of British Honduras, the Governor,

Sir

Alfred

Maloney, refers

to the

question of

rail

way

communi

ca t

ions in Cen tral America as a subject in which

the colony has a. deep i ~ t e r . e . . q t As to the American

inter-continental hne, whlCh IS sa1d to be contempl

ate

d,

it is probable, be s ~ y s that its course would be o n g

the

western

or

Pacific sl

ope

or base of

the

ce

ntral highlands

that

represent the backbone of the .isthmus that e c ~ s

Nort

h with

South

America. Whilst

any

such

hne,

1f

ever constructed, would nob, in Sir Alfred's opinion, fail

to be of moment to British Honduras, the interests and

position of

the co

l

ony

lie so

much

to

the eastward,

and

-

(SEPT. I, I

893

along the

opposite slope of

th

e great

watershed

re

fe

rr

ed to, as to preclude, he fears,

the

hope of any

connection with such inter

-c o

ntinental scheme; so

what comes

more directly

home to Le considered is,

What can

the

co lony do for it self,

and

how soon ?

The survey for a line of railway to the frontier of the

co lony has been entered

up

on. The result will

ma

terially help th e Government to come to a decision

whether or not British Honduras

ca

n in the near future

undertake

such an

ent erprise, which it is generally

acknowledged is essential to open

the

locked-up Crown

lands to

the

south and west, that ha ve been for genera

tions and still are

practi

cally a

terr

incognita and likely

to remain so without a railway.

f any railway approac

h

ing British Honduras

cou

ld be

met

by

th

e extension of a

local line beyond the colony

in

whatever direction

may

prove practicable,

the

ad va

ntag

e for

the

colony would be

great, and Belize might be re·established as

an

entrepot

for Southern Mexieo and no small portion of the nor the

rn

part

of

the Republic

of Gua.temala.

Further, the va

lue

to the colony of a branch ser vice along th e valley of

the

Upper Sibun River th rough and in to Crown lands is

evident.

Tu esday 's Ga

zette

c o n t a i the provisional regulations

for th e navigation of the Corinth Canal. They include

the following :

The

net tonnage, resulting from

the

sys tem of

mea

surement laid down by

the

International

Commission of Constantinople, and inscribed on the

vessel's official papers, is the basis for levying the navi

gation dues, which at

present

are as follows: For steam

vessels proceeding to or from

the

Adriatic-75 centimes

per ton for mail

steamer

s, and o s ~

that

habitually carry

passengers;

50 centimes per

ton

for all oth

er

vessels. For

stea

m vessels not proceeding to or from

the

Adriatic-50

centimes p

er

t on for mail

steame

rs, and those that habitu

ally

carry passengers ;

and 40

ce

nt i

mes per

ton

for all

other

vessels. A charge of 1 fr. per passenger will also be levied.

Th

e following will

pay no

tr

an

si

t

dues: Hellenic

vessels

of war, except vessels assimi

la t

ed to them

by

special con

ventions. Fi s

hin

g

and

other boats

und

er

the

H ellenic

fia.g whose

tonnage

does not exceed 3 tons. The charge for

towage

in

the canal by the tugs of the society is fixed

at

10

cent imes per ton ;

the

minimum charge to be

50

fr.

The

charge for pilotage is fixed at 1  centimes per ton; the

minimum charge to be 10 fr. Vessels may be towed by

tugs not belongin g to.

the C a . ~ a . l

Society. S u e ~

tugs

must

pay

the

dues to wh ich ordmary vessels passmg through

the

canal are subject; except when going through

the

canal to meet vessels of

th

eir owner, which they

intend

towing;

or

when return

jng

to their usual berth after

having towed a vessel through, when they shall not be

subject to payment of the dues. Th e Canal Socie

ty

accepts, in

payment, draughts

at sight drawn by masters

on th eir owners, and accepted by

the

society. Payment

in cash at

th

e entry of the oanal must be in gold coins, of

the

type of coins of

the Latin Unio

n, or in sterling pounds

at the fixed

rate

of exchange of 25.15 fr.; or in coins of

20 marks at

the

fixed ra te of exchange of 24.85 fr. ; or in

T u

rk

ish pounds

at

the fixed r

ate

of exchange of 22.75 fr.;

or in Egyptian pounds at

the

fixed

rate

of exchange of

25.75 fr.

Silve

r coins, such as

are

legal

tender in

Greece, are accepted in payment as odd money up

to

10

francs.

The

dimensions of

the cana

l, when corn·

pleted will be as follows: Depth,

26

i ft.; width at

the

bottom, 70 ft . ; tota.l length in statute miles 3 miles

1610

yard

s.

From

the last BritishConsular report it appears that

the

manufacture of

Portland

ceme

nt

has been commenced

in

China.

Th

e works are &ituated at Tonshang, 80 miles from

Tientsin, and were opened three years ago.

The plant

is

of

th

e most modern description. A branch line connects

the

works with a railway

running to

Tientsin.

The

raw

materials used are

mountain

limes

ton

e, fireclay, marl, and

a rough kind of china clay, all of which are found in

the

immediate neighbourhood of the works. The fuel used

is hard

furna

ce coke made on the premises from

the

lo

ca

l

bituminous coal.

The

process of manufacture is some

what more el

aborate than

that adopted in the

Th

ames

works, much

greater

care a

nd

attention being necessary

to insure the production of good Portland clinker.

The

present o utput is 300 tons per week, and is the limit of

thecapacity of works.

I t

is all used

at

the variou s works

of

the

Imperial Governme

nt

harbours, forts, Yellow

River embankment,

railways, arsenals, &c.,

very

little

fi

nding

its

way into the bands of private consumers.

There is every

probability

that

the

demand will soon be

largely in excess of

the

existing works.

The

cement is

guaranteed to stand a tensile s t r a i of 400

~ b .

per squ.are

inch at seven days. Fo r some

ttme

considerable diffi

culty was experienced in obtaining cement of uniform

quality. I t was no easy matter to get the ignorant,

slovenly Chi nese coolie to understand the absolute neces

sity of accuracy

and ca

refulness in every

stage

of

the

process. No reliance whatever could be placed on

the

native for emen nor any assistance expected from them,

their ideas being as loose and crude

as

those of

the

coolie.

Bnt something like system has at l

ast

been established,

and

th

e work techn ically proceeds with the utmost satis

faction,

the

output being as uniform in

qual

ity as it is

possible to obtain anywhere. The furnace coke employed

in the kilns was also a great source of trouble at first.

The teohnical work, including a large chemical laboratory

and

assay office, in which the minerals from the various

mines

and

establishmentsof the Chinese Engineering and

Minin g Company, as well as of the

Government,

are ana

lysed

and

assayed, is under the control of

an Englis

h

manager, whose sole foreign as

sistant

is

an En g

li

sh

i l l ~

wright. Owing to the severity of the winter,

it

is impos

sible to do any

mixing

for f

our month

s in

the

year, so

that the output is limited to about 9500 tons per annum.

The work goes on for sixteen hours a day, including

Sundays.

7/17/2019 Engineering Vol 56 1893-09-01

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/engineering-vol-56-1893-09-01 26/33

E N G I N E E R I N G.

6-INCH FOOT LATHE.

CONS

TR UCTED BY MR.

W. H. ASTBURY,

N T H

TR IS lathe has

been designed

for

too l -room pur

p oses and the higher grades of mechanical

work

re

quired

by e

lectricians and amateur

s. vVhil

st

it is not

marked by any new featu res in construction, the

proport

ions adop ted, combin

ed

with the various fix

t ures , adapt t he machine to performing effectua lly

a

wide

range

of work,

as

sliding, surfacing, screw

cu

tting

, milling, elot-drilling, groov

ing

taps and

reamers, wheel-cutting, dividing,

c.

The lathe s

hown has

a gap

bed of

ra th

er

unusual

length, viz ., 7-ft. , admitting p i e c ~ s

4

ft..

6

in. between

t.he cen tres,

and

by

removing

the bridge

pi

ece oYer

the gap

th

e

swing

is

24

in.

Th e headstocks are in. height of

cent

r es.

The

fast h

ea

d

is

double geared, the wh eels and pinions

being of gu n-metal, with mach

ine

-cut

tee

th. Th e

spindle is

of crucib

le st eel.

t

h

as

conical necks

hardened and

ground

t rue, and running in harden

ed

steel bushes

wi

th

pro,

·ision

for adjustm

e

nt.

Th e rear end of

the

headstock carries a reversing

motion with steel cut

pinion

s. A d idsion

plate

and

stop, and also a tangent

whee

l and worm, are fitted to

the s

pi n

dle for divi

ding

for wheel-cutting, grooving,

c. ; th

ey

having an ind ex reading

to thousandth

s

of

an inch. Various chucks are

pr

o,·ided for boring,

d

rilling,

c .

The

saddle has T -slots on the top, and

tr ,werses the full length of t he bed, having positive

se

lf-a

cting,

sliding, and

surfacing

motions,

contro

lled

by friction and driven by

a

back feed-rod from t he

cha

ng

e gears. The cross-slide carries a compound tool

rest graduated

to swivel

to

a

ny

angl

e;

a

separate

vertical attachment to the cross -slide, also g raduated,

is provided, upon

which

th e upper,

or

tool slide,

can

be

mounted,

affording

a

conven

ient arrangement

for

making angu

la

r milling

cutters,

bevel

gears,

and such

li ke. To the tool slide can also

be

fixed

vert

ical and hori

zontal cutting and drilling sp indles,

driv

en by

the

over

head works

from

th

e treadle-

wheel

by

end

less bands,

a.s shown, for

tap

grooving, cutting key seats, c. For

sc

rew-c

utting

a

quick

-with

draw

motion is fitted

to

the cross-slide screw, which has a d ivided index and

point

er reading

to

thousandths of an inch. The

guide screw is of steel, cu t four th re

ad

s per inch, and

has twenty-two change gears; these,

and

all g

ears

thro

ughout

the lathe, including

th

e rack, are machine

cut from th e solid. The t ail stock has a steel spi

nd

le, the

feed

screw of whi

ch

ha

s a collar

at th

e handwheel

end

divided to read to thousandths. An a

dju

st a

ble centre

is also pro vided

to

set

over

for

slid

ing tapers.

The additional compound slide-r es t, sho

 ft w . n

out of

the

way at t he further end

of

the bed, is provided

to

avo

id unne

cess

ary wear

of

th

e s

liding

parts

of

sadd

le

and

bed at the headstock

end

when doing short pieces

of

work

by hand.

The

equipment

includes

a

collar plate, combined

with

a

drill

rest , to

support

t he

oute

r e

nd

of lon g

pieces for boring with flat drills in conjunction with

the

tailst

ock. An

adjustabl

e T -reat

and

set of tools

for hand turning, face a nd angle

plat

es to secure wo

rk

for chu

ck

ing

work

on the live s

pindl

e, are pa rt of the

equipment. The treadle

has an

easy motion, th e

cra

nkshaft running in antifriction bearings, and being

driven by

chain

connection at

the ou

te

r

end as shown,

with

two

well-designed balance-wheels. The la th e is

const ru

cted by

Mr. \V. H.

Astbury,

Ora.ntha.m.

BRIER'S RED UC IN G VALVE.

THE ingeniou s reducing va l

ve

which we

illustrate

on

t his page has been designed by H enry

Brier,

1 . I.

1I.

E., who has for some years past been connect

ed

with

the cot ch and Irish

Oxygen

Co mp

any, Limited

,

of

Hamilton

-st

r

eet,

Po

lmadi

e, Glasgow.

The va

l

ve

is

in

tended for at

tachin g

to

the

cy

linders

of

com

pre

ssed

gas

supplied by t he above company,

an

d by

its

means

the press ure of the gas,

as

it issues from the cylinder,

is reduced to such a low point that

ordinary

rubber

tubing

can be used

to

co

nvey

it. The construct ion

of

the regulator is clea

rly

sho_wn in ~ u r engr_aving.

consists of a gun-metal casmg

havmg

an m

le

t vah e

f

or

the gas

at

one

end

and

an

ou tlet to the

r ~ b b ~ r

tubing at th e other. The interior

the

casmg ts

d

ivi

ded

into

two parts by a bellows p h r ~ m made

entirely of met al,

but

nevertheless very flextble.

sp

rin

g be

hind

th is bellows

tends

always

to

f

orce

1t

back against the

pr

essure of the gas . Connected

to

•

  SI

'

a

nd

moving with the bellows is a spindle, to

wh

ich are

attach

ed

a

series of link

s

of the

type

used in

the

pneu

matic ri veter . s the bellows is forced out by the

gas

pr essure,

t hese links ac t with a

continuo

us

ly in

creasing leverage on the

gas

valve, which c

an

thus be

eas

ily

closed

against

a.

very

considerable pressure .

The

regulation thus obtained is

st a

ted to be very per

fect, t he gas pressure in the out let chamber being k ept

pr a

ct ically co

nstant.

[NDUSTRIAL NOTES.

THE coal

dispute

still overeh

adows

every

other inc

i

dent in the labour world, and gives colo

ur

to

all

lab our

ques

tions.

t

is peculiar in many res

pects,

inasmuch

as the dispute is not

a

squa.re one as between coal

owne

rs a

nd

min ers merely, but is also a dispute

be t

ween different sec

ti

ons of miners. I t was thought

th at th e

re

cent conference held in London wo

uld

lead

to

some

kind of

modus l ivemli

by

whi

ch

at

l

east

the

area

of the di spute would be circumscribed, by

allowing sections of the men

to

return

to work

wh

ere the reduct ions in wa.ges were not ins isted

upon

. The r esolu t ions

arrived at, however,

sca rce

ly

pointed to such a.n arrangement. The possibility

of an arrangement upon the basis of no further

advance in wages u

ntil

the

pr

ices of 1890 were

reached w

as

indicated,

but

th e cea.l decision was th a t

no partial

settl

ement should

be agreed to.

The ex

pul

sion of the Durham delegates rather

pointed

to a pr o

longation of the d

isput

e

and to

the

possibility of

its

extension, especially

as

it was followed by a delega

tion

to visit

the northern

counties, so

as

t o c

ount

eract

what is alleged to have been lukewarmness on t he

part of the local officials. Altoget

her

the situation

has

been

rather

co

mplicated

th

an

simplified by

the

London conference. Some of the

prominent

leaders

are inc lin

ed

t o t

hink

that the ref u

sa

l of

arbitration

was a mistake, and such

a

course of action was equiva

lent to

t he burning

of

the

bridges,

so that

there

should

be

no

retr

eat.

T he

situ

a tion in th e

,y

elsh coalfields has changed

somewhat, but the federationists and

the

sliding

sca

le

men face each other

as

combatan ts. In deed, the fight

in Wal

es

s

mainly be

tw

een

these two

sec

ti

ons, the

coalowuers having

littl

e to do in the quarrel , except that

they employ the law

to

enforce the

ex

istin g co

ntracts.

t

appears

that a. large ba tch of men

have

been al read y

fined

for

breach of contr act,

though

the fines were of

small amount.

But

the cases decided govern other s, so

t hat a large

number

may be pr osecuted and fined un less

they r

esume

work .

Upon

th is

matter there

is a

very

stron

g divergence of opinion,

though

the fee lin g

in favour

of

a r

esumptio

n of

work

has

bee

n growing

st ronger an d stronger of late.

One of the misfortunes in connection with the So

uth

\Vales dispute is the dead set made

aga

inst :Mr.

'Villiam

Abraham,

.M.

P.

'

Vhatever

compl

aints may be

made

aga

inst the sliding scale, he and his colleagues only

voi

ced th

e decisions of the

men's own

conferences, by

la r

ge

majorities,

a

fter th

e

matter

had been

thrashed

out with

much

vehemence, a.nd

some

bitterness .

That

the le

ad

ers believe the scale t o have worked

w ith

advantage

on the whole is most

true.

Their

conte

nt ion is

that,

over a series of

years, the

sliding

scale has

te

nded to equalise wages; that

i

it has not

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tended to

advance wages

to

the highest point, it ha

s

prev

ented the falling

of

wages

to

the low

est

point.

.£he

recent redu

ctions

in South Wal

es

caused

a

divergence

of

opinion

upon the value

of

the

scale

as

a

r

egu

la.tor of wages.

But

the

circumstances

ha.ve

been

somewhat

peculiar.

The situation is new. In no

oth.er

instance have .the

wages

been

kept up

by

a fede·

:atton. The

experience

thus

gained may

be

valuable

In

the future. But events have

not

quite justified the

split among the men at this juncture.

The F o ~ ~

of

Dean

men

are to be pitied. The

dis

pute

ongmally c o m m e n c ~ d in

that

district, in so

far as

the

federation

is co

ncerned.

First

came

shortness

of

work

; the pits

were

partially closed,

and

large numbers

we

re

idle.

Then came

a deter

mination to strike,

but

the

relief rather

took the

s

hap

e of

out·

of-work pay than

strike

p

ay

. For a

time

the

men

got

more

by not working than by parti

al em

ployment.

But

when

the real st r

ike

commenced the

pay

was stopped, so as

to

plac

e all

upon

an equal foot·

ing of

no

pay for

the first week

or

two,

or longer.

Now it appears that

strike pay is

not forth

coming,

and the men

are

wavering

to

the verge

of giv

ing

way.

The

reasons for

the peculiar

circumstances

are that

the

local associations

have the

command

of

their

own

funds, the federation having

no

large

central

fund

s at

command. Hence the position

in the Forest of D

ean,

and

he n

ce their

present attitude.

The

condition

of affairs

in Durham

remains much

the

same as

before.

The ballot

indicates

a resolve

not to strike.

This

resolve seems

to have been

strengthened by

the conduct

of

the recent

co

nfer

ence

in

expelling

the

Durham

delegates.

But in

some of

th

e

districts the men

are

stron

g for a

strike. There

is

a

feeling of

sympathy

with

the

efforts of

the

federa

tion to

keep

up

wages,

which

is

natural and in

evi

table.

The

times

are trying to the men and to their

accredited

officials.

In the Midland

coalfields

there ha

s

been and is

some

wavering. Most

of

the

local

miners'

associations are

w

ea

k

in

funds,

a

nd

inducements have been

held out

to return to

work

in

many in

stances. The restiveness

of the

men incre

ases

as the pinch

of pove

rty

comes

home to

them.

The strength

of

the

federation

appears to

li

e

in the

Yorkshire and

La

nca

s

hire

distri

cts,

both

of

which are

well organised, and

pretty

well off for funds.

They

have

also sturdy

leaders who

are

prepared

to

risk

n1uch for the cause they

have

espoused.

f their

policy

fails,

they, at least, can point to

a great

struggle

for the

co

ndition

s

which they ha v

e

formulated, and

in

which

nearly

300,000

men

h

ave

tak

en

part. They

know

the cost of fa.ilure. The

very

existence of the

federation depends upon

some

arrangement

which

shall

not

spell

defeat.

f

they

ca

n

secure

conditions

whi

ch

do

not

amount to defeat,

the

organisa t

ion

will surv

ive,

and

will

perhaps

become

all the stronger

for

the

con

test. f they

fail,

the

federation

will

become a me

re

matter of

history.

The

condition

of the

engineering indust

ries

in Lanc

a

shir

e, as elsewhere, is affected

by

the coal

dispute, the

scarcity

of fuel

and

its

dea

rn ess.

Otherwi

se

the

pros

pect

s of

trade

are, if

anything,

b

ette

r

than they

were,

though the

general

run

of engineering

industries re

mains

in a quiet

sta

te. :JY ost

branches continue to be

only

mod erately

supplied

with

work,

e.nd new

orders

come

forward very

slowly, but some

hav

e been

and

are

being

placed.

Stationary

engine

builders have

a con

siderable

amount

of

work, while

boilermakers

are

fairly

well off

for orders.

Locomotive

builders

h

ave recently

secured moderate orders,

but not sufficient

to keep the

works

going

at

full speed.

~ a c h i n e toolmakers are

fairly well employed here and there, but, as

a

general

rule, they are

short of work. Labo

ur

questions are

quiet in

all

the

engineering branches,

there

being an

almost total

absence of disputes,

and

no

indication has

been

given

of any in ten tion

to reduce

wages, or

to

alter

the working

hours, either

as regard

s

the

fifty-three

hou

r::J

per week,

or

the

eight hour

s in the few firms

where

the

experiment

is

being tried. I t

is

expected

th at

t he

report

to

the latter experiment

will

be

of a

favour

ab

le

cha

racter

when

t

he

time

comes

to

review

it

s

working over

th e year

during

which

it

is

being

tried. The

iron

trade is

very quiet; very

little busi

nes s is be

ing

done. The finished

iron

trade

is

even

worse,

the works

being

either

partially or

wholly

stopped

for

want of fuel,

or

be

ca

use of its

high

price.

1foderate inquiri

es

are reported

for

stee

l,

but bu

siness

gen

e

rally

is

very

slow .

•

In the

Cleve land district

things

a

re

less bright

than

they were.

The dispute as

to the use of the

r a t ~ h e t

machin

e

in the

iron

sto

ne

mines

has

developed

mto

what might

be

termed

an acute

st

age; the

men

think

that

they

will be able

to

command

their

t erms. They sa.y

generally

that they will refuse t

work the ratchets on

th e t erms

now in

vogue on

and

after

Se

pte

mber

5. The

tippers and daymen

also

•

~

N

G

N E

E R

l

NG

agree

not to

go into the

mines and fill

the stone.

The

agitation

is

against

the

system,

not

against

the

ratchet,

th ey say

.

The Scotch iron and steel trades have entered into

a

rather

serious

crisis.

The

min eow

ners,

under

g

reat

pressure, ha

ve

agreed to

advance

th e wages of th e

miner

s 2s. per

day.

The

first adva

nce of b . not be

ing

deemed

sufficient,

the men went

for

another

Is., so

that

there have

been

two

advances

of ls.

each within

a

fortnight or three

weeks.

The

pric

es of

ir

on and

steel

will not permit

of

working

at such

high

r a

te

s ,

and

many furnaces

have been damped

down,

and the

iron

works have

been

partially or wh

o

lly

closed.

Large

purchases were

m

ade

of Cleveland iron,

it would

seem,

but nothing

has

been abl

e to put life

into

the

ir

on

and

stee

l

trades.

In

South

Wales

all

the

large

works

have

been

upset

by the coal dispute,

and the excitement consequent

thereupon.

At Ebbw

Vale

Iron and St eel

Works

the

men had

to

turn

out

to defend

the non-strik ers, one of

the most

curious of

all

modern

labour development

s.

As matters hav

e

now

quieted

down,

those

men

have

res

umed work.

But at the

large

iron an

d

steel work

s

at

Dowlais,

Cyfarthfa,

Blaenavon,

Briton

FeiTy,

and

Swansea,

many

furnaces

have been damped

down, and the

works

have

been

wholly

or partially

stopped. A

large

number

of

the t i n p l a t ~ works have

had

to

suspend

operations.

Thousands of

iron

and steel

workers,

copper

and tin

workers,

have been

thrown id

le

by the

excitement

and

stoppages

at the

pits,

and by the

threatening

conduct

of

the strikers. Singularly

enough,

the

prices

have

not

materially advanced in

any

of

these trades, though

the

price

of fuel

has

gone

up

conside

rably.

The

condition of

things in

the

South

\Vales

districts

is

deplorable

just

now, and

no o

ne can

forecast

the result

of

the

coal crisis.

In

the

Wolverhampton

district

generally the

condi

tion

of

things

in the iron,

stee

l,

and

cognate

industries

h

as not

been so

bad

as elsewhere.

The

1ocal

iron trade

co

ntinues fairly

busy, and the

mills a

nd

forges

have

been

better

employed since

th

e

great heat ha

s subsided

and the

weather

become more favourable for working.

Here

the

fuel question

is

not so

acute, the

firms

being

able to get

supplies from collieries

not

on

strike.

Bar

and plate orders app

ear

to be tolerably plentiful at

th

e

old rates,

and maker

s refuse

to

acce

pt

forward

contracts except

at the rate

of from 10

to 12i per

cent.

advance

in prices.

Makers

of common

sheets

are

pre- · y well employed,

and steel plates are

in

demand

owing to the stoppages

in Wales.

In the

Birmingham

district the

supply

of

pig

iron

has

been

restricted in

consequence of

the

damping

down of

furna

ces

in Yorkshire

a11d

Derbyshire,

and

prices are

somewhat higher.

There

is a

steady demand

for finished iron,

and pri

ces

ha

ve

hardened.

The

local

trades

have

not

been

so

acutely

touched

by the

coal

dispute as in

some

other

districts,

but they

have felt

the pre

ss

ure

in

many

instance

s.

No

serious

disputes

exist in

those

distri

cts .

The Trades Union

Congress will open

it

s

sittings at

Belfast

on

Monday

next,

but

it

s doings

an

d proceed

ing

s

will be

left

for

general

treatment until the sittings

have

ended. The

Zurich

Congress has not

left

its

mark

behind

it, as was

anticipated

, for the different factions

continue to

attack each

other just

as

much

as

they

usually

do the

capitalists.

The

fact

is the leaders of

the "new

mov

ement"

do

not quite

know where

they

stand

,

or what their

policy is.

Th

e men see

many things

that

are

wrong, and need to

be remedied;

but th ey

are

not at one as to the remedy,

and

even

if

they were,

they are

not at one as

to th

e m

ea

ns

and

methods

to

be

adopted.

Th

e

state

of

things on

the

Continent

of

Europe

has

been rather strained in

several

instances

in

Italy

between

French

and

Italian workmen;

in Spain

partly

over indu

st

rial

and social,

and

par t

ly

over

p

olit

i

ca

l

matters

;

in

Belgium,

parts

of

France, and

in Austro-Hungary,

over

the

cond

it i

on of miners,

st irr

ed

up,

no

doubt,

to

some

extent by the

coal

strike

here.

The British

Governmen t has

made

a

further

advance

in

the

improvement

of

the

con

dition

of

its

employes.

The

War Office a

nd the Admiralty

h

ave

a

greed

generally

to

a minimum wage for

the

labourers.

This

fixing of a minimum wi

ll

ha,·e the effect of

lifting

up

the

entire

labouring class

to that standard. The

wages

hav

e been low enough

in all

conscience.

IlHPROVEMENTS

IN THE

RIVER TEES.*

By

Mr.

GE

O

RGE J. CLARKE,

of Stockton, Engineer

to the

Tees Conservancy CommiAsion.

T

ees

onse

rvancy

. Forty

.one

years ago

the

Tees Con

servancy Commission was con

stitute

d by Parliamentary

authority,

and

took over

th

e co

nt r

ol of

the

River Tees,

Paper

read before

the In st

itution of 1-Iechanical

Engineers

together with the liabilities of the

then

existing Tees

Navigation Company.

The

jurisdiction of

the

Tees

Conservancy extends from well·defined limits

in

Tees

Bay to

a

point

in the

riv

er

at High

\Vorsall, a distance of

25 miles from Tees Bay.

The

area. comprised within

their jurisdiction is about 8000 acres ; 7500 acres

in the

estuary

and 500

acres beyond

th

e estua

ry.

hannel of R

iver. At one time the

re

were no less than

four different channels of

the

river between Middles

brough

and

the sea ; these channels were so tortuous,

varying,

and un

ce

rtain that

several of

the

leading lig

hts

were placed upon rollers so

that

they cou

ld

be the more

easily moved as

the

main channel shifted. The

depth

of

water

on the

bar in

1863 was 3 ft. at low

wat

er of ord

i-

nary

spring

tid

es.

At

th

e present

tim

e

the

dep

th

on the

bar

is

20ft.

at low water and

37ft. at

high water. Thi s

material improvement has been effected

by

the

judicious

construction of training walls,

by dr

edging, and by

the

construction of breakwaters.

Training Walls. A t

present there are about

24

miles

of training walls

in

the

river

and

estuary ; th ese training

walls

are

carried

up

to about 5

ft

.

a.bove

low-water level,

and

are cons

truct

ed entirely of slag

fr

om

the

local iron

works.

The

greater

part

of

the

slag was broken at

the

iron works

into e c t ~ s that

cou ld easily be handled,

loaded there

into

keels and

punt

s,

and

cast

out by

hand

on

the site of

the work;

but, wherever the depth per

mitted, th Abroken slag was dropped

fr

om hopper

barg

es

to form

the

foundations of the walls. Occasionally during

the

progress of

the

work

the

sand overlying th e clay on

the site

of

the

walls was scoured away to a depth of 18 ft.

or 20 ft., while

in

some cases

th

e deposit of slag

ha

s been

continued by keels and hop per barges for a period of six

weeks before

the

wall began to show above low water.

The

formation of

the

se walls was

in

progress for twenty

seven years.

By the

construction of

th

ese training walls

and the

other works referred to,

the

river at low water is

now confined

in

one channel, as shown on

the

accom

panying plan.

Breakwaters. T he

Sout

h Gare breakwater for

the

pro

tection of

the

entrance to the river was begun

in

1

863

, and

took twenty-four years to

build;

it is a

Portland

cement

concrete structure, upon a foundation of slag, with slag

hearting between

the

exterior walls near

the

head, where

it has

an

extreme width of 220ft. at

the

level of the road

way. Nearly 5,000,000 tons of slag

and

over 18,000 tons

of cem

ent

were used

in its

co

nstruction.

Th

e whole

structure is upwards of

2

miles

in

length. Owing to

increased sco

ur in the ri

ver and other causes, it has been

fouad necessary to prote

ct the

head of the breakwater

by

a wave·breaker of concrete blocks, varying

in

weight

from 300 tons to

40

tons each.

For

the

manufac

ture

of

the

larger concrete blocks a

timber platform was prepared on a suitable

part

of the

foreshore, a

little

above

the

level of low water.

Upon

this platform blocks were built

in

frames, and when the

concrete was carried about half the height of

the

block

two timber baulks we

re

built into

th

e block; these baulks

were laid across

the

block, with their ends projecting so me

little

distance beyond

its

sides,

so that

chains for lifting the

block couldbe readilyattached to

the

timbers. For deposit

ing

th

eseblocks two barges were rigidlysf1cured some

20ft.

apart

by means of two heavi

ly

tru

ssed timber beams laid

across and secured to

the

decks of

the

craft, one beam for-

ward,

the

other aft; these beams were also used as lifting

beams. When a

co

ncrete block had to be deposited,

the

barges were brought to

the

platform on

the ea

rly flood

tide,

and

placed so

that

the

block to be removed lay

directly unde

rn

eath

the

lifting beams

and

fairly between

the

barges.

Th

e

cha

ins attached to

the

tim hers of

the

concrete block were made fast to

the

lifting beams ; and

as

the

tide rose,

the

block thus secured was

lift

ed from

the

platform and carried where required between

the

two

barges ;

the

barges we

re

then moored, the chains released,

and

the

block dropped into position . Blocks were also

built upon launching ways laid across

th

edeck of a

barge;

the

barge so loaded was towed into position, and

the

blocks launched where required. Large masses of

co

n

crete were also deposited

by

sinking old and otherwise

useless craft filled with

co

ncrete .

Blocks of

60

to

70

tons are now built on launching ways

laid at

the

level of the roadway of

th

e breakwater, and are

launched

by

screw or hydraulic ja.cks some two or three

months after their manufacture. During stormyweather

it has freque

ntly

happened that a 60·ton block has been

washed off

its

ways and driven

by

the

sea a couple of

hundr

ed feet along

the

roadway before being finally

washed over

the

side of the breakwater.

The

glass in

the

lant

ern of

the

lighthouse, 55ft. above

the

level of high

water, has also suffered

in

stormy weather.

The Nort

h Gare breakwater

ha

s been completed for

a

length of

3330

ft., and

a

return wall formed across

the

end of

the

work to protect the slag backing on

the

har

bour side of

the

breakwater.

The structu

re of the break

water consist s of a solid Portland cement concrete wall

on

the

sea face, averaging 12 ft.

in

thickness

by 26

ft.

in

height. On

the

harbour face

the

wall is backed

by

slag balls for a.n average width of 50 ft.

The

slag

balls used for

k i n ~

weigh about 3i tons each, and

are brought from

the

Iron works in barges

~ p e c i a l l y

con

structed for

th i

s purpose ; each barge carri es forty slag

bogies on cradles, and each bogie carri es a slag ball. The

loaded bogjes are

lift

ed from the barge by means of

an

overhead

Titan

cra

ne, and placed on

rails;

ten or fifteen

bogies are formed into a

train

and

run

to

the

tip

bead

behind the breakwater. About 1,000,000 tons of slag

have so far been used

in the

construction of the break

water. This work has been temporarily discontinued,

in

order

that

observations may be made of

the

changes, if

any, which

may

take place

in

the entrance channel or

North Gare sands.

Rcclarnation of Foresho1•c. Tbe

reclamation of

the

fore

shore of

th

e

Ri

ver Tees has engaged

the

attention of

the

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Commission from

time

to

tim

e. The total area of the

land present reclaimed from the foreshore of

the

river

is about

2400

acres.

In

1892 the Commission obtained

parliamentary powers for a further reclamation of the

foreshore near Port Clarence and Cargo Fleet ; th is addi

ti onal rec la mation is shown on the plan.

Dredg

ing.

By the combined action of dredging and

tidal scour , the increased depth now obtained by the

former is maint ained by the latter. Since 185 4, about

29

million tons of material have been removed by e d ~ -

ing from the bed of th e ri ver; nearly the whole of this

material has been deposited

at

sea by hopper

barg-

es.

The more recent enginee

ring

improvements in the r1 ver

have been

the

res

ult

of increased dredging operations, by

means of which

not

only

have

deep-water be

rth

s been

formed in

the

ri ver at Port Clarence, where vessels draw

ing from 15

ft

,

to 21

ft. may safely lie afloat at low water,

but

also the navigable channel has been considerably

widened, deepened, and improved. t is intended

to

construct a channel having a low-water depth varying

from 12 ft.

ab

Stoc

kt

on to 15 ft. at Middlesbrough, and

maintaining at least the latter depth from Middlesbrough

to the sea. The total length of channel to be thus deepened,

I

PLAi -J

OF THE

RIVER TEE

S

E N G I N E E R I N G.

Th

e hopper barges

are

built of iron. Their principal

dimensions

ar

e : Length, about

90ft.

; breadth, 27

t.

;

depth,

11ft.

They hav e six doors,

th r

ee on each side,

hinged to the keelson; each doo r is ab

ou

t ft . long by

6 fb. wide.

Th

e doors are rai sed by hand-winches arranged

on th e after deck of the hopper. Two men are req i ~ e d

for each hopper targe. The tugboats used for towmg

the hopper barges are mostly double engine paddle boats

of from 40 to 60 horse- power, and carry a crew of five

men : one master, t"'o enginemen, one fireman, and one

deck hand.

So many and so varied are the fact0rs affecting the cost

of dr

edging- the

natur

e of

the ma

terial

to

be removed,

the de

pth

of

cut

which

may

be made by the bucke

ts

at

6ach revolution,

the depth

of

the

c

uttins

required,

th

e ex

posure of

th

e situation,

the

length of.

tune

~ u r i n g

work may be carried on each day Without mterrupt10n,

the distance

to

which

th

e ma terial has

to

be towed, &c.

that only the mos t general comparison can be made of

th

e

cost of dredging at one place with

the

cos t of dredging at

another. On

the

T ees alone,

the

cost of some of the

dredging done during the year 1891-2 varied from 4d. to

20.4d. per ton, while

th

e average cost of the whole year 's

rROM VICTORIA BRIDGE . STOCKTON , TO

TH

SEA .

•

B t . ~ c o n s

IN T£N £

. t ~

l • 1 e

{

£

widened, and improved, is about 12 miles ; and the whole

of the work in connection therewith is in a forward state

of p r o ~ r e s s towards completion.

Durmg the two years ending

Oc&eb

er, 1891, the total

amount of material dredged from the bed of the river was

nearly

3,

700,000 tons.

At that

time

the

Commission

kept

fully employed a fleet of six powerful dredgers, namely,

five double· adder dredgers and one single· adder dre

dg

e

r;

also between forty

and

fifty hopper barges carrying from

200 to 300

tons each,

and

nine steam

tug

boats for towing

the

barges

to

sea.

The

shortest distance towed

~ about

10 miles ;

the

longest

31

miles. The greater

part

of the

ma t

erial removed by dredging consisted of stiff boulder

clay; but

no less than 302,000 tons of rock-gypsum with

red sandstone-were remo

ve

d by one dredger alone,

without the aid of any explosives whatever. During

th

e

summer months dredging operations were carri ed on by

night as well as by day. An immense number of old oak

tree

trunk

s 60ft. and

70ft.

long, boulder stones up to

7f tons weight, horns and bones of various animals, also

some ancient hnman remains, have been dredged from

tim e to time out of the bed of the riv er.

The larger dredgers have double ladderR working in

wells, and are capable of excavating to a maximum depth

of from

33ft

. to

34ft

. Their principal dimensions are:

L ength, from 125 ft. to 140 ft. ; breadth, 34ft. to 34 ft. ;

moulded d

ept h, 9 ft. to 10 ft. ; length of bucket ladder,

72

ft

.

to

80

ft. As

a rule

36

to 40 buckets are placed on

each ladder ; the capacity of

eac()h bu

cket is 9 cubic feet ;

the

buckets, wi th

their

links, pins, bushes, &c.,

are

all

interchangeable amongst the various dredgers. The

engines on the dredgers

ar

e single-cylinder jet-condensi

ng

of from

50

to

55

horse·po" er ; the cylinders are

35

in . in

diameter by 40 in. stroke. All thE- dredgers are fitted

with steam winches fore and aft, ha ving the usual diffe.

rential e a r i n ~ so that

th

e movement of the dredger IlJay

be regula ted either longitudinally or transversely. When

dredging rock, five or six bucket s are removed fr om each

ladder, and r

ep

laced by heavy forged-iron or cast-steel

claws, there being generally about six buckets between

ea

 )

h pair of claws. Fo r many years cast steel has been

largely employed in the construction of &he working parts

of the dredgers. The upper and lower tumblers

are

of

steel,

cast in one piece ; these castings weigh

23

cwt. and

35

cwt. respectively;

the

backs

and

mouthpieces of the

-.,u

ckets, also the links, pins, bushes, and

spur

pinions

are

of cast steel ; the tumbler shafts

and

ladder roller·

spindles

are

of forged s teel ;

the

bodies

and

bottom-plates

of the buckets

are

of g-in. steel plate.

The

various parts of

the

buckets and attachments aredrilled,

turn

ed, punched,

stampe

d, riveted, and

put

together at

th

e commissioners'

workshops. The crew of a double-ladder dredger usually

consists of nine men : namely, one master, one engine

man, one fireman, two laddermen, th ree winchmen, and

a coo

k;

but

while dredging clay, two additional men are

employed to the clay in the as they pass

the level of the deck of the dredger.

.

 

t I

l

N 0 R T H

;

. "-

-;.{.a trwllf 8UOJ

dredging was 8.62d. per ton. During the same period the

cost of towage varied from1.65d . to 4.98d. per ton. The

cost of dredging here given includes the cost of the dis·

posal of the dredgings, the cost of all wages, coals, stores,

repairs, chains, tow-ropes, &c

.,

for dredgers, tug s, and

hopper

barges;

but

is exclusive of

the

first cost of

the

dredgers, tug s, and hopper barges.

gh t

i1U) of Oham.nel.-Th ere

are

altogether fifteen

lights upon

the

Tees : one white revolving flashli

ght in th

e

lighthouse

ab

the

end

of

the South

Gare breakwater,

visible for a di

sta

nce of ten miles ; two red lea

ding

lights

at the fifth

bu

oy,

tw

o similar lights

at the

ninth buoy,

two green lights, four fixed

white light

s, one occulting

white light, two gas buoys, and a pilots' shelter. Of

these, the two gas buoys,

the

pilots' shelter, and three of

the beacon lights are supplied with compressed oil gas,

e a ~ h having a storage capacity available for six weeks,

burning day and night continuouRly. The application of

th i

s illuminant, instead of oil, is now being extended to

the whole of the lights on the river, with the exception

of the south breakwater light, and the fifth buoy leading

lights. The gas is manufactu red by the Commission at

their Graving Dock Works at Cargo Fleet, near Middles

brough. A barge carrying two large welded storehold ers,

ha,ring a total storage capacity of 900 cubic feet, is s

pe

·

cially reserved for

th

e purpose of refilling

th

e cylinders

of

th

e various lights ; these

sto

reholders

ar

e charged

at

the gas works

with

a

u r e

of 10 atmospheres,

and

towed from

light to

lignt as occasion requir

es; the

pres

sure

in the

storebolders

is

sufficie

nt

to

recharge

th

e

cylinders of the lights by simply connecting

them th r

ough

a fl

ex

ible pipe. The

barg

e containing

the sto

reholders is

kept always afloat

with th

e storeholders fully charged.

Moorings.   There are altogether about a hundred

mooring buoys in the river and estuary, the property of

the Commisson, besides some forty moo ring dolphins.

The more recent mooring buoys are made of mild steel

plates, with cast-steel crossheads and nu ts, a

nd

forged

steel spindles and shackles; they are 8 ft. in diameter by

9ft. long. Both the ebb and flood buoys in a berth

are

secured by a 3·in. stud chain, shackled to

thre

e bridle·

chains which lead from th ree ,Piles placed in the form of

a

triangle;

these pil es are

dnven

well below

th

e

surfa

ce

of

the

river bed.

Results

of

I mprovements  As some

indi

cation of

the

de·

velopment of

th

e river, it may be of in terest

to note

that the

largest cargo s

hipped

from Middlesbrough Dock in 1864

was

70

8 tons. The largest in 1

89

1 was 5000 tons, while in

1892 v e s ~ e with 6500 tons deadweight cargo left the riv er.

Br1 efiy

It

may be sta ted that by

the

energy, enterprise,

and forethought of the Tees Conservancy Commission, an

exposed and dangerous estuary has been converted into a

safe a

nd

co mmodious harbour of refuge ;

a

shallow wan

dering, and uncertain river has been converted in to'a safe

navigable waterway; and a Jarye tract of waste and use

less foreshore hae been reclaimed, and made available for

profitable

and

useful purposes.

.

FAST OCEAN STEAMSHIPS.*

By Mr

.

FR .\.N CI .

ELGAR

1

LL.D ., F.R.S.E.,

Vi

ce-

Presid

ent .

WH N

the

present meeting was arranged f0r I was

ask ed to read a paper upon

th

e above subject, with

special reference to vessels of

th

e largest type . such as

new Cunard steamships Campania and Lucan a, for wh1.ch

I am the consulting naval archi tect: Th e t a ~ y m

formed me

that

th e subject was considered very sUitable

to th e occasion, especially no .paper upon it has .

b.e

en

contributed to our'fransact10ns smce

th

e late Mr. Wilham

John

-one of the abl

est

and m

os

t valued members

this

In

sti

tution has

had

during

the third of a century it

ha

s

existed-read

one upon

At

l

antic

Stea

mers

/ '

in 1886.

Our present knowle

dg

e and experience of

many of the

conditions that limit

or

influence speed

at

sea, and of

their separate or m b i n ef e cts, are by no means.exact

or exhaustive. In constdermg the

ge

neral question of

the proportions, power,

and

detailed

arra

ngement s requi

site for a ship in order to absolutely insure. that the

highest poss ible average speed shall be obtamed, and

kept up over an indefinite number of o n ~ ocean v o y a ~ e s

und er th e restrictions imposed by the existing condittons

of ship, engine, and boiler constru ction, harbour and dock

accommodation, &c.-a question which would be a mere

matter

of calculation if all the eircumstan ces affect ing it

were fully

and

accurately known- we find

that th

e

answer depends ultimately, to a gr

eat

extent, upon

pe

r

sonal judgme

nt,

and is open to be materially affected

by

hopefulness or imagination. I t would be unprofitable to

attempt to

enter upon such a specu

la t

ion here, and I

resist the temptation to do so. t

might,

pe

rhaps

, be

more useful and

approp

riate to call attention

to

a few of

the

principal points that affect speed at sea, and some of

th

e directions in which th eory and experie

nc

e show the

way to continued imp rovement.

The G r

eat

Eastern is

the

most wonderful instance

the

world has seen of attempts to obtain high speed over l ong

nistan ces at sea. She was designed forty years ago, and

her name is b a b l y assoc

iat

ed in the minds of most

people only With errors and disaster. Our

Tran

sactions

contain but little about her, although her constructor,

Mr. J. Scott Russell, was one of the founders of this

In

etitution, and was for over twenty years one of its most

prominent members.

I t

is universally known

that

she

was remarkable for her enormous size ; but it is often

forgotten

that

there was anything el

se

about

her

worthy

of notice

or

admiration. Every new s

hip

that is

built of

greater dimensions

than her

predecessors is naturally

compared in size with

the Gr

e

at

Eastern. The Great

Eastern was remarkable, however, nob only for the vast·

ness of h er proportions, but also for the

thought,

care,

and skill employed in her design

and

construction,

and

for the ex tent to which problems relating

to high speed

upon the long

est

ocean voyages, some of which are, ab

times, thought

to

be peculiarly modern , were understood

and worked out by her designer. I have thought ib

might be interesting to compare th e l

atest

large steam

ships with the Great Eastern more in detail than is

usually done, and to bring into the comparison not

merely b

ut

so

me

of

the leading

details of design a

nd

constructiOn.

In the latter part of 1851,

Mr.

Brunei began to work

out his

id

ea of a

great

s

hip

for the

Indian

and Au

stralian

tr

ade. He spe

nt

two years in

inquiri

es, investigations,

and

calculatwns i n g

to the

numerous problems

many of them

q U ~ e

novel

then, though

more familiar

now-that were

r&l

sed by such a tremendous

stride

in

advance

of

all.former experience

and

ideas. Th e magni

tude

of

th

e s tnde was as great as would now be involved

by the construction of a ship 1200 ft. long and 30

to

35

knots speed.

Th e following is a comparative statement of particulars

of the Great

Eastern

and Campania :

" Great Eastern. "

Len

gth

over all .

..

L ength between

perpendiculars ..

Breadth moulded

D epth moulded

to

upp er deck ...

Register { gross . ..

tonnage under deck

L oad

draught

...

Pa

ssenger 1st class

accomm

o- 2nd

,

dation

.. .

3rd

,

In dicated horse-

ft. in.

692 0

680 0

82 2

58 0

ton s

18,915

18,837

ft . in.

30 0

800

2,000

1,

200

powt\r of engines about 8,000

Speed at

sea in

"Campania."

ft. in .

622 0

600 0

65 0

41 6

ton s

12,950

10,267

ft. in.

27 0

600

300

700

about 30,000

kn ots at full power 14 to 14  22 to 23

Great t ~ r l

had two

separate

sets

of propelling

ma

ch.mery; one

dr1

vmg a screw propeller, and the other

a pa1r of paddle-wheels.

Th

e screw engines we

re the

mos t powerful, and c o u l ~ i n d ~ c a ~ e up

to

45

00 hor

se-power

at Th.e P,addle engines

md

10ated R500 ; so that the

ma

x1mum mdi cated horse-power was about 8000. Th is

power gaye a speed of 14

to

14  knots at sea, with a co

al

u m ~ t 1 0 n

of about 400 tons per day. Th ere were

f o u ~ y h n ~ e r

to

s e ~ of engines ; those of the screw

engmes bemg 7ft. m d t a m with a st roke of 4 fb .•

a ~ d tho se of the paddle engmes 6ft . 2 in . in diameter'

wtth a r o k e of 14 fb. Th

.e

screw was four-bladed, and

had

a

dtamet

er of

~ 4 f t

.. With

44ft

.

pi t

ch.

Th

e

paddle

wheels were 56 ft. m

dia

meter.

Th

e working steam

pressure appears

to hav

e

been about 20

lb.,

and stea

m

*

Paper read before

the Institution

of Na.va.l Architects.

7/17/2019 Engineering Vol 56 1893-09-01

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•

was cut off in the oylinders at one-third of the stroke.

The boilers

were

tubular a.nd of the

square

box

type,

and

they

were double-ended. There were ten boilers

in

all,

18 ft. long, 17ft. 6 in. wide, and 14 ft . high,

with

112

furnaces.

The

Campa.nia.

has

also two

separate

sets of propelling

machinery,

but in her

case

they drive twin

screws. The

propelling power

is fully

three-and-a-half times

that

of the

Great Eastern,

and

the speed

more

than 50 per

cent. greater.

This increase in power and speed is ob

tained with a daily coal consumption that is but little in

excess of the Great Eastern's. There a.re five cylinders

to each set of the Campa.nia's

e n ~ i n e e ,

and they work

three

cranks

.

There are

two htgh-pressure

and

two

low-pressure cylinders,

and

the high-pressure cylinders

are

placed upon the low-pressure. The cylinders

are

37 in., 79 in., and 98

in. in diameter

respectively,

with 69 in.

stroke. The

screw

p r o p e l l e r ~

are smaller than

that

of

the Great Eastern. The boilers are thirteen in

number, twelve being double-ended, and one single-ended,

E N G I N E E R I N

G.

done

to

increase the s

tren

gth, and prevent the

undue

straining, of such a structure as a ship's hull

by

extra

riveting. In the Campania, three of the edges of the

bilge strakeR and the top edges of the upper strakes of

plating on e eh side are treble riveted, and

the

remainder

are double riveted ; and all the

butts,

which are lapped,

as

in the

T eutonic and Majestic, are quadruple riveted

except at the extreme ends, where

they are

treble

riveted.

Mr. Brunei communicated his views

respecting

a

great

steamer

for

the

Indian trade

to the

directors of th e

Eastern Steam Navigation Company, after discussing

them with Mr. Scott Russell and others. This compauy

was formed in 1851, to convey mails, passengers, &c., by

the

overland

route

between

England and

India

and

China.,

with

a.

bran

ch to

Australi

a. The Government,

howeveri

gave

the

cont

r&et for the whole service to

the

Peninsu

ar and Oriental Company

in

March, 1852;

and

the Eastern Steam

Navigation

Company

found

itself in

the position

of

being unable

to

c

arry

out the objects for

which it had been incorporated.

TW

I N S C A( W

SH .

A

IH

A C.AMPA N

IA

'

-

PI :UINL

I -

(SEPT. I,

1893.

room for about 800 separate cabins,

larger

th an those now

fitted up in

packet

ships, with large saloons capable of

accommodating 1000 or 1500 first and second class ~ a s

sengers, and would carry 3000 ton ; weight of cargo, With

out making any allowance for that

in

crease of speed pro

portiona.te to the mere increase of size, of which we see

every

day

fre sh

proof;

the average

speed

of

the

ship,

with

the

proposed power of

engine and

calculated con

s u m ~ t i o n

of coal, would be 14 knots at the average,

makmg the passage out in 34  days, say 36; but With

that increased speed which has been shown to take place

with increased dimensions, we may speculate upon the

voyage being performed

in

30 days.

"This

same

vessel,

fitted

up

for

the

Australian

voyage,

and

loaded deeper, would carry coals to Australia and

back;

would

take

out 3000

pa

ssengers easily, and

a.

small

amount of cargo only,

but

co

uld

bring back

any

amount

that could be conveniently collected ;

or if

proVIsion were

mad e for taking in 3000 or 4000 ton s of coal in Australia,

that

add

it ional amount of cargo might be taken on the

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CRtAT EASTERN

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with

100 furnaces -o r tw elve furnaces less than in the

Great Ea stern.

Figs. 1 to 4 show

the

main

structural features

of

the

Gr

e

at

Eastern and

the

Campania. One of the chief

differences

is that

the main

structure

of the

hull is mu

ch

deeper

in the f

ormer

vessel than in the latter. The Gre

at

Eastern was a flush-decked ship, with

no

erections on

deck, except a few small houses at the middle lin e, shown

by dotted lin es ; and the moulded depth from

this

deck

was 58ft. , making the vesse

l l l .7 depth

s

in

length. The

Campania carries

upon

her

upper deck-in conformity

with

the type of vessels

that

has been developed for

the

accommodation of

the

largest nu mber of passengers- two

tiers of decks. The first,

or

promenade, deck consists of

forecastle, poop, and midsbip deck for passengers, nearly

400ft.

lon't.

This

deck is practically continuous;

the

midship part being separated from the forecastle and poop

only by a small

break at

each end. Upon

the

promenade

deck a large

amount

of first -class

pa

ssenger accommoda·

tion

is provided, which

includes

library,

drawing and

music rooms

1

smoking·room, twenty state-rooms, c.

The second,

or

Rhade deck, is carried right across the

promenade deck as a

shelter

to the passengers, and it

extends fore and aft over the whole length of

that

deck.

Upon it are carried

the

boats, cabin accommodation for

the captain

and officers,

cha rt-room,

wheel-house, &c.

The

moulded

depth

from the

upper

d ~ k of

the

Cam

pania is 41ft.

6 in.,

making

1 4 ~ depths m length.

The

moulded depth from the

shade

deck is 59 ft., which is

only

ft. more than the moulded depth of the Great

Eastern from the upper deck.. .

Apart

from

this

d1fference m moulded depth, the mam

features of the

structural

design of the bull are ~ e r y

similar

in the

two cases.

There

are several

complete

non

or steel decks-the

upper

one

being

of gr

eat ~ x t r a

strength

·*

a

bottom made

very

strong

by means m ~ e r

bottom plating and longitudinals, and a very s1m1lar

amount and arrangement of internal subdivision of the

hull

by

watertight bulkheads. . . . .

The

framing

of

the hull

was

entuely long1tudmalm

the

Great

Eastern,

and the inJ?er ~ o t t o m was carried

as shown

in Fig.

3. The longttudmals

were

2 ~ t . 10 m.

deep,

and

in. th i

ck.

They were about

2 ft. 6

m.

apart

on

the

flat

of the bottom,

and 5

ft.

apart from

the

bottom

to a height of 36 ft. The scantlings of the hull seem

to

have been

arranged

upon a simRJe principle

.

for Mr.

Scott Ru ssell says,

in

his work on 'Naval A r c h 1 t ~ c t u r e , "

page 394, "there

is

one th icJ:cness of pla:tes, m., for

skin

outer

and

inner;

one thickness for

mternal

work,

in.'; one size of

vet_, i

iJ?.·; one P,itcb, 3

in.; and

one

size of angle iron, 4 m. oy 4 m , by

j

m.

The shell plates, which we

re f

in. th ick, were only

10ft. long

and

2ft. 9 in. wide ; being,.

it

may be pre ·

aumed, the large3t obtainable

at

that

tu n

e. The weight

of one of these plates would be und er 7i cwt. The bulk

head plates, which were in. t ~ i c k , were .about

9ft.

long

and

3 ft. wide. The progress smce made m

th

e

manufac

ture of

ship-plates is

shown by the fact

that

the h ~ l l

plates of the

a i n ~ o r t i o n

of the hull of

th

e <;Jampama,

which are i 1n.

thick,

average o ~ e r 2? ft. m le

ngth,

5 ft. 3 in. in breadth, and 45 cwt. In weight. .Mr. ~

Russell says, '' The

Gr

e

at

Easter? ~ a s en t.1rely built

with

single

riveting,

the

double

nvetmg

bemg

at

the

butts mostly."

We

have since learned that much can be

*

In

the

Great

Eastern

this de

ck

is cellular in

con

struction

and consists of

longitudinal girders plated at

the top bottom with i-in. plates.

•

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They

th en

turned their attenti

on to the main oversea

route followed by British commerce round

the

Cape

towards

India,

China,

and Australia,

wh ich was nearly

the

same as far

as

Ceylon. "On

the

fact of

th i

s great

pathway

of commerce they grounded, and not witho

ut

plausible reasons, their sche?le f ~ r t ~ e profitable employ

ment of various vessels of gtgantw stze between England

and Ceylon, from which place sl laller vessels to

diverge to

the

other parts of India, as well as to Chma,

Japan

and Australia;

the

intention, however, be

ing

to

p a t ~ b their firsb

gr

eat vessel, when

ready, di r

ect to

Calcutta, Sydney, and Melbo

urne

."*

Mr. Brunei

reported as follows, in March, 1

85

3,

to

a

committee appointed

by

the direct_ors confer.with ~ i m

upon the design of ~ b e great.shtJ?: Th e

arrived at by calculatiOn for this sbtp would be, m round

numbers, 670ft. long and 80ft. beam. T h ~ sized vessel

would combine

mo

st of the

advantages

which we

seek

to

obtain.

I t

wo

uld carry

coa

l

to Diamond

Harbour

(in

the

Hooghly),

and

b ek to Trincomalee ;

it

would afford

* "History of Merchant Shipping and Ancient Com

merce," vol. 1v., page 488. (W. S. Lindsay.)

pa

ssage

out. The pa

ssage o

ut

to

Port Philip ~ l d

be

made

easily in

36

days, and home by

Cape

Horn m the

same time. "

Mr

. Brunei was authorised to continue his communica

tions with shivbuilders and n ~ i n e r s , and to invite ten

ders. The co

ntract

s for bu ildmg the vessel, as slightly

enlarged

to 680 ft . by 82 ft., were signed at th e end of

18

53. Th

e

hull and paddl

e engines were

gi

ven t o

Me

ssrs.

Scott

Rus

se11 and Co., of London,

and th

e screw eng ines

to Messrs. Ja mes Watt and Co., Soho Works, near Bir

mingham. Mr. Scott Russell wrote as follows to th e

Times

on

April

20, 1857 : " My sha re of th e me

rit

and

responsibility is

that

of builder of the ship for the

Easte

rn

Steam i g a t i Company. I

her

line

s a.nd constr uc

ted

the Iron hull of

the ship,

a.nd

am

respons

ible

for

her

me

rits

or defects. as a piece of naval

architecture. I am

eq

ually responsible for the

paddl

e

wheel engines. . . . I t is to tb ecoUlpany's engineer, Mr.

I. K.

Brunei,

that

the

original c

oncepti

on

is

d u ~ of

building a steamship large enou gh to carry coals suffiCient

for full steaming on th e longest

vo

yage. He, at the out

set, and long before. it

bad

assumed a merca.ntil.e. form,

communi

cated

his views

to

me, a.nd I have

parti

cipated

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•

•

:

288

E N G I N E E RI N G.

THE

L I D

0

ENTRANCE

OF

THE

POR

T

OF

VEN I CE.

Fig. 2.

PORT OF

LIDO

/8S2.

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/ 8 8 ~

Fig. 3

N.W

Section

From 0

/tj92 .

188 2.

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Fig .4 .

West Section Tom 10. ..,

t 7 U C

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Fig. 5.

..

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. . .. . ...

Section between 20 t 12.

1892 .

Fig . 6

N.

E Sectio,? From 23

11lf

. 0

- - - - - - - -

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - ~

•

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--

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•

having a.

depth at

places of more than 8 metres and an

average

width of 100 metres.

After

crossing

the

bank

thi s new channel of the Lido

joins

that of the Treporti,

and

one channel is formed,

having an

ave

rage width

of

250

metres and a depth of not less than 6 metres.

Further on

the chann

el

de

creases

in depth, and ultimately

is blocked by a slight

bar

having 5.

70

m ~ t r e s depth,

but

more recent observations have

indicated

a ten

dency

to increase

in

depth.

The new canal porb " or entrance channel

is

stated,

for

navigation

purposes, to

have

a.

depth

of 6 metres, and

when

it

is

considered

that the

north-ea

s

tern dyke

reaches

to a point at which on

ly

th is depth originally existed,

th ese results are considered very satisfactory.

Th

e effect

of the s c o u r i n ~

action of

th

e

new

c

urrent

s

ha

s been, amongst other thmgs, to remove

the

sand from

th

e remains of some old wrecked ~ a l l e y s supposed to have

gone

down

in

the wars of Chiogg1a (1377-80).

The increase of depth in

these

new channels

is con

tinu

ous,

but

from the experience at the

Malamo

cco port

and elsewhere it is concluded that some years must pass

efore

the new channe

ls

may be

considered

permanent,

and in

this interval many additions will re

quire

to be

made

to t h ~ works.

It is believed that

when

the two

d y k e : ~

are completed,

accordance with the

origina

l scheme, the entrance

th e parallel

portions

of th e embank

will have a depth of 8 metres, and will branch out

two distinct channels,

one towards the mouth

of thA

and the other towards that of

the Lid

o.

The mouth of the

St.

Erasmus

will not

probably

r e

main

but will join that of the Lido if

any

ten

ency in this direction be encouraged by judiciouR works.

Fig .

8.

"

•

a

...

,

tU t .

•

•

I 

..

:

 

-

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L L I ~ ~

,  ..

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.

E 

18 9'2

;

l

t88'l

. a ~

:

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lt.oo

-··

Fig ?.

-

1719 r.

Secl:.ion

26 to

14

..

: l

..

..

lt

;

;

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5

i :

3

: 5'

..

..

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:r

13

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....

.-

.........

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l..

Section 32 to 8

--.....

, 

1 ; • ; i : .= =.

:

;::

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-

 

-

J

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..

..

f·

I·

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11111

:::::

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........

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c:s

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•• •

lA

........ ........

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/ ti

...

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V

Secti

on

88

to

2

'

""

\

•

1 1

5

j

..

IS

_E.

-

-

-

  411

.. .

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···-·-

..

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.

•

;,

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__;

~ .J

-

I•

•••

:.-

. . : . 1 ~ ~

>: 

.... ..

........ -·

decided to order

the

construction of two steamers

in

E ng - S ou th American fire departments. The engine is fitted

land,

one of which,

with

a

tonnage

of 1200, will

ply

be-

with the

firm's new

patent

valve box with 9-in. ~ u m p s ,

tween the Bulgarian ports and Constantinople, while the and, worked by fort y-eight men, is capable of dehvering

other, with a tonnage of

800, will und

ertake the local

250

gallons of water

per

minute and of

throwing

a jet

co

ast

service. I t seems probable that

the

local service

150

ft. high.

The

machinery :md

pumping

levers

are

will prove remu nerative, but the Austrian Ll oyd steamers b r i ~ h t

throughout,

steel

being

used to a great extent. Th e

will be dangerous competitors for

the

traffic with Con- w orks are fitted

in

an open mahogany cist

er

n, the f

ore

.

st a

ntinople.

The

new

venture

gives evidence of

the

enter- carriage being

arrang

ed m order

that the

engine

may

be

BuLGARIAN

SHIPPING ENTERPRI

S

E.-T

he first

Bulgarian

prising spirit of

the

Bulgarians, which is also

indicat

ed

drawn

by men. I t is, perhaps, th e most powerful

hand

Navigation Company was ina

?gurated

at a by

the

numerous co-opera.tive societies now being formed fire engine e.ve cons

tru

cted,

~ n d

is furnished ~ i t h a l a ~ g e

e

ting

of subscribera on

August

29,

at

wh10h a. board of in

all

parts of the country. amount of mimed

and

ou t

lm

ed hose, an a r t 1 c

_a

lso m-

s was nominated. Th e new ~ m p a n y w1ll hav e a trod_uced

by

M r s . Mer_ry_weather, the

outh

nmg pro-

of 2

000 000

fr . and will recmve a Governm e

nt

A P owR RF

t.:L HAN

D·WORKRD F a

E

EN GJNB'. - A new tectmg th e fabnc from m)ury or wear when used on

q u ~ l to 9 per cent. of the paid-

up

capital; design of a u d fire engine has juE.t bet n constructed by rough roz.dwal

and alEo

r v i n g th e canvas from

fr. have been a l r ~ a d y subscribed. I t has been I essrs. Merryweather and

Sons

for

one

of the leading

1

rot.

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SEPT.

i , 1893·]

ENGINEERING 

ILLUSTRATED

PATENT

RECORD.

OoMPILED BY W.

LLO' Y..,..,D

WISE.

BELBCTBD ABSTRACTS

OF RECENT

PUBLISHED

SPEOIFIOATI

ONB

UNDER

THE ACTS 1888-1888.

I M number

of views

given in the

Specification Drawf,ngs 8

stated

in

each

case;

where none are

mentioned, the

Specification

u

w

illmtrated.

Where I nventions are communicated from abroad, the Natmt8

c., of

th

e

Communica

tors

are

given

in

italiC8.

Copiu of Specifications

mmy be

obtained at

the

Patent

O{ftce

Sale Branch, SS , Cursitor·street, Clutncery-latM, E.C. , at the

uniform price o  Sd.

Th e date of

the

advertisem-ent

of

the

acuptame oJ

a complete

specification is, in each

case

given

after

the

abstract, u1lless

the

Pa t

ent has been sealed, when the date of sealing is given.

..t

ny

pe1·son may at any time wit hin two

months from

the date If

the advertisement of the acceptance of a complete specification,

give wtice at the

Pa t

ent

Office of onosition to the gramt of a

Pa t

ent on

any

of

the grouniis

mentioned in

the .Act.

;

GAS, &c.,

ENGINES.

16,339.

S. Grlftin, Bath, Somerset. Liquid Hydro

carbon,

&c., Engines.

[3

Figs.) September

13, 1892.

Th is

invention

relates to

liquid

hydrocarbon, o. ,

engines

.

When

the

p r ~ s s U T e

in the motor

oylinde

r re aches a. certain point,

it

act s

on

the

available area. of the enlarged

ste

m of

the

valve C

and

op

ens i t,

allowing com munication between

the

passages

A, E,

the

compressed

and

inflammable

charge being t h u ~ admitted to

the igniting tube and fired. The val ve C is held open by the pres

su

re in the

cylinder until

the

exhaust

v

al

ve is

open

e

d, when it

is

g r

adually

returned to

its

seat by the spring

D, thus again

cutting

off communication between the ignition

tube

and the motor

cylinder. The valve C is

thus

opened at the same point of each

r r i o ~

compression

stroke,

the

reby timing

the

firing

of the

ohar

ge.

To temporarily r elieve the pressure on the sp ring D in

starting,

the adjusting screw is tu

rn

ed back. When the engine

is runn ing

the adjusting

screw is

turned in

the re verse direction

until

the

stop nuts

reaoh the opposite

limit

of

their

mo

ve

ment.

.Accepted

J uly 19, 1893).

GUNS.

&c.

15,070.

G.

F.

R e

dfern,

London. (E.

Te

ms

trom ,

A snu res, Seine, Jl,·ance. )

Armoured

Turrets. [4 F igs.)

A u ~ u s t 20, 1892.-Th is invention rel ates to an armoured turret

having an uppe

r

cu pola a ar

r

anged so as

to admit o

nl

y the

gu

n

and the imm ediately adjacent parts of t

he

moun ting

above

the

l

eve

l of the ground. Th e cupola tits on to the outer armour c

and

springs

are

introduced between the two in orde

r

to

r

educe

-

•

•

•

•

•

•

•

•

••

Pig. I

...

•

ISO 70.B

the frict ion

between

t

hose parts.

The gun is supported

in

a

cylinder having trunnions carried in bea rings in the cupola,

ringel, m being ~ n g e d for loc

king the gun

in firing- position

and

mea

ns

for preventing t he

mechanism from being handled or

the

jlun wo• ked until after

it

is locked to the

cylinde

r

r

In aiming

through an orifi

ce

io the oylinder supporting the

gun,

a

tele

scope s is provided with

a

mirror to

reflect the

image of the

object

to a.

point below

the

guo. .dccepted

Ju l

y 19, 1893).

E N G I N E E R I N G.

come backwards out of the space, and thus releasing the

sear

and allowing it to

be

pulled

off

and the

hammer

to

fall,

the

bolt

Pig

.

1.

8

Fig .Z .

16Jgg

A

r

euuining outside, behind

the

projection C,

until

the

l

ook is

again cooke

d,

when the

space is

again

filled as before. (A ccepted

J u ly 19, 1893).

RAILWAY APPLIANCES.

15,700.

W. R. Sykes, London. Railway Signalling

Apparatus. [6 Figs.) September 1, 1892.-

Th_is

in\'enti<?n

ha.s r

efe

r

ence to balance

lev er

plates

fixed

upon th

e

etgnal P?St

10

conjunction with operating the signal arm.

Wh

en the dtstant

&ijtna·l lever is ope rated in the far cabin, and the balance lever c

which operates the

cam

piece i t h r o u ~ h

a roller Q

is

D?oved,

the sway

beam m. is r

aised

by the

connecting-

rod

l m\o a

•

Fi g

.J.

~ ~ i

Fig

.3.

slanting

position,

and a movement givEn to

the

middle up·

right rod o to the diAtant arm, eo

that

the bottom

of

a slot

'bears against a pin . Upon the

stop

signal being

operat

ed

in

the

rear

cabi

n,

the bal

ance lever d

is wor

ked

, and

th

rough a

roller

actuates the cam

pi ec

e j, to

which

is

conneote

d the rod k to the

stop signaL The

stop

aod distant signals a re thus lowered.

Acce,pted

Ju l

y 19, 1893).

STEAM

ENGINES

AND

BOILERS.

16,494.

N. Macbetb,

Bolton,

Lancs. Furnishing

Suppor t for Piston-Rods. [6 Fi

gs. )

September 16, 1892.

- Thi s invention relates to horizontal steam

engines,

and the

object is to dec reaae the tendency the pistons haYe to bear

hea\'ily upon the lower

parts

of

the inter iors

of

the

cylinde

rs and

r

ods,

&c.

Below the piston-rod

a

bearing

is

applied, this bear·

ing being made

in

two parts, aod being not quite r

igid,

to enable

it to

ac

commoda te itself to

the

slight irregularities of the piston·

rod. One part

of the

bea ring is

of

gu n-m

etal,

aod

the

other steel.

The bearing rests

upon

four carriages d,

each

formed with two

Ff{J

. 7.

Fig.2.

a

projecting ri

bs. Two

of

t he

ca rriages are sustained by

a

larger

one e, and

the

other

two

by a corr

esponding

carriage el, these

two larger ones being sustained by a bottom

ooe

f, the connec·

tions allowing any

uppe

r i a ~ e to rock

upon

its s u p p o r t i n ~

ful

crum oo

the lower

carr iage.

Endwise movement is preven ted

by the

bed

being provided with

two side studs which

enter slots

in

the

faces

k2. The bed i sustained at eight separate points, and

each one of these is capable of

independent

ver tical motion owing

to the

carriages

being

mounted on

fulcra. t e d

J uly 19,

1893)

MISCELLANEOUS.

15,918. W. Button,

London. ( M. Brown,

W

oo

dstock,

Cape of Good IIopa.) Shields of Axle

-

Boxes. [5

F

igs

.)

September B 1892.- Th is invention relates to paoking the shields

em

ploye

d

in axle-boxes

to prevent

entry

of

dust

and

es

c

ape of

Fig .

Z

•

16

,298.

T.

Southgate, London. Small Arms. (10

Fi rJs J

Sep tember

12, 1892. -

The

object of this

invention is to

pr e

ve

nt

the

accidental dis

c

harge

of

small arms.

Th e l

ocking

bolt

A is pi\•oted oo tbe ta i l B

of

the sear B

1

, and is free to be rocked

on its

cent

re so as to release

the

latter. A stop block is form

ed

on the

inner

su rface of the

looking plate D

above

t he sear tail

When

the

lock

is

o o ~ k e d

the bolt

A

is

press

ed by its sp

r

ing into

the e.pace between t h ~ sto p

block

and thE>

tail

B, thus locking and

~ o l d t n g

the.eear nose m the e n ~ of the

tumble

F;

The trigger

G

1s

formed

wtth a spu r

Gl

extendtng upward s behtnd

th

e se ar ta i l

and

in

contact with the

in

ner eod

of

the locking bolt, this spur

being sloped eo that wheo the t rigger is pulled it presses the inner

end

of the

lockin

g

bolt forwa

rd ,

thus causing the

bolting end

to

oil,

and

to pro

vide

m ~ a n s for pre,·enting rattling. T

he

faces

of

the shield next the

axle

hole are gr

ooved,

and a gasket

of

mate

r ia l

suc h

as

sheepskin with the wool on is fixed

the

rein, with a pro

je

ct i

ng f

rin ge

to bear against the

circumfe

rence

of the

axle

to

lead escaping

oil

or liquid grease into the oil well and. to ~ r e v e n t

it passing to the outer side.

The edge the

s ~ 1 e l d •s. also

similarly

treated and

packed, the

end bemg. proVIded W l ~ h

a

leather,

as

a packing to

e x c l u d ~

dust. The J ~ e s

of

the shtelds

a re reces.sed and: e c t a . n g u l a ~

~ m s

are fitted 10

them,

the

cas·

ings

ha vmg

sprmge held w1th1n the r

et u

rn ed:ges of

them

to

retain

the

sp rmgs in their

positions

and Y':t gtve play

for com

pression.

The

open parts

of

the ca.smgs

fit

1n the recesses

of

the

shields, aod the

outer

parts

bear against the

walls of

the axle

·box.

.Accepted

July

12, 1893).

17,904.

J B. Atherton, Manhattan, Ralnh

.

llJ,

Lancs.

Chain.

Making

Machinery,

&c.

4 F ~ g s . J

Ootober

7

1892.-

Th

is

in

vention relates

to

t

he

machines

deecnbfd

in

Patent'No. 1063

of

1892, and its object is to enable ~ e m

to

fo.rm

a we ld less ohain in whi oh the ends of each length of wu e formmg

the link

are

twined

upon

themse

lves to a greater ~ x t e n t .

sprocket-whee

l

C

is 6xed upon the spindle

B

to re

ce1ve

the

cham

after the principal operations

of

Its f?rmation are o m p l e t e d . Th e

ratchet-wheel D is fixed upon the epmdle B, on wht r h ts also fixed

a notched

wheel.

Th e lever F is pr

ovided

with a pawl

at

-

F

•

•

•

c

its lower eod, and rece

ives

an

oscillatory

movement

about

a pivot

Fl.

The

pa

wl

engages with

th e

ratrhet

-

wheel

D.

The

leYer G

is

provided

with arms

G3,

the

forme

r

of which

extends upwards

in the path of

an a.ntifriction

roll

er H carried at the end

of a

recipr ocating

elide

Hl.

One end

of

a spring is connected to

the lever G

and

the other to the f

raming

of the machine.

The

a rm Q3 has projections

Jl,

J 2. Th e

lever K is

connected

to

the

le ver G, from which

it

r

eceives

oscillatory movement by

the

link

L. The lower end of the lever K is provided with a centra l rid ge ,

on each side of which is

a su

rface

curved

to

fit the

wire of which

the chains are

formed. (d

cce,pted

July

12, 1893).

16,132.

G. Watson, Kilmarnock, Ayrs, N.B.

Sluice

Valves.

[3

Figs.)

September 9,

1892.-This

in ve

nt ion relat

fs

to sluice valves. The main

valve

A is made with do uble doors B

having parallel

faces

and fitting r ings C, and slidin&r betwe<n

opposite faces, encircling ports in the valve casi

ng

E.

The main

vah·e

is work

ed

by a.

tubula

r screw spindle

F,

whirh,

without

•

Fig .1 .

Ft9.Z

£

mo ving on eod, acts on an internally screwed nut Fl fixed to a

projecting part of t he main valve. T

hrough

the tubular

spindle

extends a

sm all screw

one

G,

which similarly acts on an

inter·

nally screwed nu t secured to a sm a

ll

va l

ve

between the plates of

t he main

on e

, and is

adapted

to close a small port

th

rough the

latter.

In d icato

rs are

provided for

Rhowing sepa

ra t

ely the

posi

tions of

t he main

and

small valves. (A ccepted Jt tly 12, 1893).

15,510.

C. de Bail l lencourt , Brussels,

Belgium.

Combing,

&c., Long

Fibres

for Spinning.

[2 Fig

s. ]

August 29,

1892.-This

invention relates

to

dressing

and

prepar

ing

lo

ng fibres for p i n n i n ~ r in which the latter,

ca

rried in clamps,

are caused

to

move

intermittently

along beams having vertica

l

movement,

wh

e

reby

the

fibres

are

brought under the

action of

teeth of aprons

and

thus comb ed. Each press m

m1

as

it

occupies

successh·eJy positions

m

to m3 presents a longer portion of

the

fibres

suspended from it to th

e action

of the combs during

··------

 

-··--·---

-

ISS/ 

the prf'limina.ry combing, whether the la

tt e

r are extEnded

or

sho r tened and repeated. When the fibres, however pass under

tbe.action of the finishing combs they are dres.sed th roughout

thea whole

length,

the co

mbs be10g

of

gradually s i n ~ fine

n ~ s s .

The first and second machines of the set operate wlth in

~ m e d ar.bors to the aprons, while the. finishing

machine

is pro

v

tded

wtth aprons wt

th

combs of mcreasing

fineness

upon

horizont

al

arbors parallel

with the

beam.

(A(c

e. .

ted

July 12

1893). r ,

17,552. D.

B.

Farqubarson, Newcastle-on-Tyne

P < t a : t o · D ~ g g l n g Machines. Fi

gs.)

O ~ t o b e 3,

1892._:

Th1s m vent10n relat<s to

potato

dtggers, m which an en dless

travelling screen driven in a t ransverse direction is used this ba r d

being

composed of loniitudinal tubes

P

attached to

IiX:ka of end-

•

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290

Ieee chaloe driven

by

sp

rocket wheels from ge aring on the axle

c a ~ r i e d

by

the two d riving .wheels. The potatoes,

afte

r being

rat eed by

a share, are

de h

vered on

to the inner aide of

t he

Fig

.2.

•

ITSSZ.

t ravelling- screen, where

they

are separated from the

so

il, lea ving

the

potatoes to roll off

the

screen on to

the

surface of

the

grou nd

at

th

e rear end of the

machine. (.Accepted

J uly

6,

1893).

15,428. B., B. c., and F. Wren, Manchester.

Balling

Thread.

[4 Fig

s.] Auctust 27, 1

892.-

This invention relates to

a m

achine

for

balling

thread,

c.

,

and consists

of a

main frame

to

the

fron

t

part of

which is attached a

swingi

ng fra me c ca rrying

a series of spindles d d r

iven

by

bevel

whee

ls e on a shaft car ried

in the

swing frame, and actuated by pulleys

and

endless band

s

from the main

d r

iving

shaft. The

swinging

motion

is

imparted

to tbe frame

c by

bellcrank l

evers and links

, the

bowl g2 of

the

bellcrank lever g working on t he outer edge

of

the cam

h

a

bole

in the pe r iphery of

the plate h

being

ma d

e at the p

oint

where t he

d

ep

ress ion for

c o v e r i n

~ : t

in"

is

to be

situated , this r ecess

being

fi

tted with

an ad justable

and mo

vable

section

,

so

th

at it ean

be

al

te red to the r

equi

r

eme

n ts

of an

y

special

sh

aJ?e of

ba

ll

. The

flyers 17 are mounted in fixed rai ls, and a re

dnven

by

gea rin g

from the main

shalt.

On

the end

of each spindle d is fixed a

small box

which is

supplied

with an

adhesive cement. When

tbe

balls are ready for netting" the m

achi

ne st

ops,

and the attend ·

ant places a

ticket

up on th e ad h

esive

end

of

each spindle, and

then sets t he me.chine on again for

"netting."

Means are pro·

,

;ded

for a c t u a t i n ~ the stop

motion

for   netting," for altering

the speed

of

the spmd le automatically, and for va r

yi

ng the te n

sion u pon the th read as requir

ed. A

ccepted Ju ly 12, 1893).

16,193.

G.

Mltchell,

Dalswlnton, Dumfries

.

By·

drauuc Machinery.

[2

Figs

. ]

September

9,

1

892,-

This

in vention consists in the arrangement

of

the balance cy linder a

at the back of the main

hydraulic

cylinder b, in which is a

su

p

plementary

piston

c

having

cup leathers fo r

workJng

under pres

sure from either side. Th e piston c is connected by a r

od

t of

smaller dia meter to the main ram e, the p

isto

n-rod

passing

th r

oullh

a gland

situated

between the two cylinders, and which works

hydraulically

tight from

either si

de. A hole

dl

is provided in

the

p

iston-

r

od

down its centre from end

to

end, the orifice g

being

always within t he main hydraulic cylinder b  a

nd

affordi

ng

com·

munication between

the

mai

n

cy linder

ba n

d t he baek of t he

sup

pleme

ntary

aylind

er

and pist o

n

c. Th

e annular ar

ea

around the

r

od

of the supplementary p

iston

on the front side forms the effec

t ive ar

ea

for balancing the main ram e back into its cylinder .

c

Fcg .1

16193.

When

this

is heincr effected th e

front

side of t h e supplementary

piston

c is

exp

osed to

the

pressu

re fr

om

the hydraulic

main

th

roug h

the

inlet branch

h while th

e

main cylinde

r and

bac

k

of

th

e supplementary one through the hole d

1

are in communication

with the exhaust. When these conditions

are

reversed

and the

ma

in

ram

is being

for

ce

d

out,

a g reater

pressu

re is exer ted than

E N G I N E E R I N

G.

lea ther is maintained

in

place hy a r ing n having a concave face

to fit the top of the forme

r,

which fits into th e

annu

lar space and

h

as

a flange

forming

a me ans

of attachment to the cylinde

r

bead

.

.A ccepted J

uly

12, 1893).

15,859. W. Button. London.

M. Br01

vn , Wood1tock,

Cape Town, Cape of Good H o

pe.) Bydraullo

Ltftlllg

Jaoka.

[3

Figs.]

September 3, 1892  Th is

in ve

ntion relates

to hy d raulic liftin g jacks, and its object is to prevent the ram

reced ing

after

pressure is put on for lifting purpose•.

Th

e ram

A is fixed

up

on

the

v e r s i n ~

sc

rew base B

t.nd

ca

rr ies

the slid·

ing cy

lind

er C, not ch

es

D bemg arranged in parallel order on

8

-

c

0 0

0

the ram A for engaging the

sp

rin g c atches E when

the CD.m

levers

Far

e

folded backwa

rds oJose against

the sides of

the

cylin

d er 0

to

pr event it from

d i n ~

alter pre

ssu

re is pu t on . Th e handl

es

F

are

p

i\

foted to

sp

rings H attached t o t he cylinder, and by pull·

ln

g them

down the

sh

oulders formed by

th

ei

r fo rked

pivot

ed

ends

turn against

th

e f

ace of

the

cylind

er and withdr

aw

the spring

catch

es

E from the notches D for

allowing

free downward

move

ment of th e cylind er C on the r

am

A. .Aectpted Ju ly 19, 1893).

16,590.

J .

Noltsch, Chemnitz,

Saxony.

Sitting

Machtnes for Flour

,

&c. [4

Figs. ]

September 16, 1

892.

This in venti on relates to the revolving vanes

of

sifting machines

for

g

rt.nular material,

suc

h aa

fi

ou

r. T

he

ma

ch

ine

i8

mounted

in a

frame consiating

of fou r posts

M and

a pair of beariDgs

b

h

which

suppo

rt

a.nd guide the s

haft d, th

e lat ter

being

pro vided

with a journal / and belt pulley n. The hushes g, i

of

the bear

ings h

an

d ba re divided

and

adjustable .

Th

e sta

nd

is divided

into

th

r

ee

compar tments A,

B

0 by means of partition plates

.Z.

o,

ol,

oll, oa fixe d to the frame

by

screws, a sheet metal trou

gh,

r iveted to

the

bottom plate, forming a fourbh

compartment

. On

the dri vi

ng shaft

da

re

conica

l drums c, cl,

c2

, having incUned fan

blades, while tile corr

es

pondingly c

oni

ca l

sieves

su rrounding tbe

la tt e r a re mounted on wooden ba rs pla

ce

d in the compar

tm e

nts

A, B, 0, and a

rr

an ged in circular rows, t hA

uppe

r ends being

s

ec

ured to

th

e par titions o, ot,

o

2

by a n ~ l e i r o n

rings, while

the

lo

wer ends are

sc

r

ewed

upon other partitions secured to the

framework . .Accepted July 19, 1893).

16,282. A.C.

Kirk,

Glasgow. FlangiDg. Shaplllg, &c.,

Metal Plates. [4

fl

ips.] September 12, 1892.-

Tbis invention

relates to machinery for f\anging, shapi ng,&o., metal plates so

as

to

be available for various ope ra t ions

in

making metal

structures su

ch

as

boilers, especially

where the

di rect

action

of

an

hy

draulic ra

m

is not suitable. The table A

has

an hyd raulic cylinder B under

nea th, having a piston-rod C extending up above the

table,

and

a

rr anged to pull down and

rai

se

a lever D,

to

tbe

end of

whi ch a

ftaogiog bl

ock

F is

attached,

the

cou

nterpart bl

ock G being

fi x

ed

to the table. The

die

F is attached to the l

eve

r D

by two

links

H, the upper ends of

whi

oh are conn ected by a pin

which slides

Fig .   .

Fig .2. .

•

A

(

SEPT. I ,

I 893.

the counterpar t

die

. A cu tter T is fixed across the piston-rod

under the

lever D, to raise the lt. tt er when the fCirmer la moved

upwa

r

ds, the

d

ie F being raised

with

it

by the

links H. .A

cupttd

Ju l

y 19, 1898).

14,507. J . IL Collllls, Glasgow. Dyelllg aa4

Soourlllg YarD. [11 Figa.]

August

11,

1

892.-This

inventi

on

retates

to

machinery for dyeing

and

scouring yarn . The

re

volu

t i o ~ s of the b ~ t 8 operate " h e e l

? 1

and cam,

t.nd

the lt.tter

aa tt revolves gtves an oscalla taog motaon to leven pt, pl, t.nd

cra.nk p ,

the

r

eby

partially r

evo

lving

backwa

rds

and

forwt.rd.e the

•

•

••

•

.1

I

,

.

I I

•

tf.

•

•

ch ain

wheels

dl

, d2, from which are suspended the two eeta of

pol

es

j

with their hanks of yarn. The

poles are

suspended by

the chains pa88ing over

th

e

whee

ls dl, d2

so that

they balan

ce

eac h

ot her an d t herefOt e, at each partial tu

rn

of the

wheels

ln one

di

r

ec

ti

on,

the

ya rn at one side of the maobine is

dipped

whilst

that

on t he other sid e is r

aised

up,

and

vic1 veraa. .Acupttd

July 19,

l ~ S )

.

16.259. G. Mltehelt. Dalawinton, Dumtrles. Ex·

pressing 011,

&c., from Substances contatntng t t.

[4

Figs. ]

Septembet 10, 1

892.-

T

bis

in vention r elates to means

tor

exp reaaing liquids, such aa oil from

seeds,

c. f the main

r am

g

is

drawn

back and t he yress boxes ha r

e

open,"

the

hopper,

which

is full

ef t he

ma t

eria to

be pressed,

is drawn

along

the

top,

and

as

it paeses

o

ve

r the open epaoes n , be

tween

the pre es

plates, th e

la

tt er are filled with the

mate

rial, the hopper being

d ra wn back to its original position, and

the

hyd raulic pressure

•

-

 

•

Yt.g.3 .

Fig .2 .

• • •

• •

•

I

f

f I

I • o I

•

•

•

Jii:g .l .

applied froo1 th e pumps. .As tbe liquid is ex pre ss ' d it falls on to

the rem ovable plate,

and

from th ere

into

t he channels in the sole

plate a, and further into

the

i v i n ~ tanks . The pressure

being

co

mpl

eted, the ram is withdrawn , and with 1t the boxes,

lea

v

ing the cake s

standing

loose in th e open spa-ces between the

press

plates,

and

on the removable plate being withd

r

awn

fa ll

through

the boles in the

sole-plate

on

to

an

adjus t

able

r

ece

tv

iog

ta ble,

when

the plate is r

eplaced

and the

process

r epf'ated.

(Accepted July 19, 1893).

UJIITED

STATES PAlB.lirB BD

PATENT

PJUO'l'IOB.

Desoriptions wi th Ul';JBtr tions of inventions patented in the

United

States

of Amenca from 18t7 to t he

present

time,

and

r

epo

rts of trials of

patent law

oases

in the

United States

may be

consulted

, gra

tis, t.t

the o ffioea of EN&ni••ntNG,

a6

t.nd 36,

Bedford·

at1eet, Stnnd.

in a s

lot

K in a small piece L fix ed on t he leve r . The lever D, at

the

end op p

osite t o that at which the

die

F is

attached

, is co

n-