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Engineering Vol 56 22nd December 1893
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7/17/2019 Engineering Vol 56 1893-12-22
http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/engineering-vol-56-1893-12-22 1/29
DEc.
22,
1893.]
A NEW PERU.
(
FRoM
A C oRRESPONDENT.)
THE
gigantic scheme of rail
way
communication
between
the
United
State
s and
the
most southerly
Republic of So
uth
America has been, for some
years, occupying the at tent ion of American capi
talists, who believe that
th
e full
lett
er of the Monroe
doctrine can only be put
into
practice by binding
toge
ther the
peoples of both continents with rails
of s teel over which the iron horse may run for
the
benefit of all. Already ve
ry
large sums of
money have been expended in reconnaissance, and
a vast amount of information has be
en
obtained re
garding
territory
mu < h of which was never before
visited by the foreigner.
The reports of the engineers who visited the
different sections of the
pr
oposed railway do not con
tain,
in
any instance,
an
expression of
the
imprac
ticability, not
to
say impossibility, of the scheme,
although at many po
ints
it has been fo
und
that the
construction will be a
hard
nut to crack, and, conse
quently,
the
shareholders will require pockets of
fathomless de
pth in
o
rder
to
meet the en
ormous
cost . But even supposing that
the
railway should
be built,
what
would be th e gain
1
It will
form a Brobdingnagi1n " switchback ,,
eystem along which the alternating eleva
tions and depressions will, in some parts,
have a range of over 8000 ft.,
and
therefore
pleasure-seekers would have th e full benefit
of
their
money's wo
rth
in the
shape of
wonderful combinations and changes of cli
mate.
Its
financial outloo
k,
however, is
different.
The
p e o p l e ~ of
South
and Central Ame
rica have not, up to
th
e present
at
least,
depended solely upon
the
U
nited States
for
their trade
-
either
export
or
import .
Indeed, th eir ideas
in
that respect are
thoroughly cosmopolitan, and,
in
Yisiting
their shops, one sees
just
as many classes
of goods stamped with Eu ropean
trade
-mar'ks
as
with
that of the American eagle.
The
Americans certainly put a
lot
of goods on the ·
market, but, with
the
exception of hard ware
and some lines of cotton fabrics, th ey do
•
not
even ho
ld their
own
with
England,
France, and Germany.
The
two latter countries
are well repres
en t
ed in fancy lines which are
ever
in
demand. The American carrying trade
would need a seco
nd
Diogenes
to
discover
it,
for, as
a
matt
er of fact, a
ship
flying the
stars and stripes
is an object of curiosity.
Of course
there
is
plenty
of enthusiasm regard
ing the project on the part of
the
different republics,
but when it comes to a question of j o i n i n ~ in the
financial part of
the
pr
<
gra.mme,
the
e
nthu
siasm
will assume a milder form. What the Republics
of South America
want
are railways that
run
bet ween points within their own territory, and
not lines from Chicago to the Antarctic Ocean,
with flag
stations
at almost inaccessible points
in the
Andes. The lines
requir
ed are those
that will tap the rich districts of
the
interior, such
as lie
in the
valleys between the three ranges of
the Cordilleras, and enable the
pr
oducts of such
territories
to be
conveyed
to either
coast as
the
necessities of commerce may dictate.
The
Argen
tine
Republic
and
Chili are engaged
in
such a
scheme, and, if
the
money is forthcoming,
the
Transandine railway will in a few years become a
powerful
rival
of the line at Panama. Of
the
latter it may be said that
the
sooner
there
is an
in ternational arrangement for its operation, the
sooner it
will
succeed
in what
it has done much
t owards- killing the trade of western South
America.
But while Chili
and the
Argentin e
are
engaged
iu joining hands over the Andes, or at ]east through
them, for
many
tunnels will be required, their
neighbour Peru is
busy
scheming
out internal
im
provements, which, if carried out, will raise
her
from
the
dust of the late
unfortunate
war,
and
place
her
once more
in
the van of
South
American Re
publics. Like mo
st
of her neighbours, her finances
are not
robust,
but it
is
to her credit
that
she
is
striving to recoup her losses
through
peaceful
c h a n n e ~ s and, if she is not dis
turbed by
any
int
ernecine struggles, she will gradually develop
her power as a member of the commercial and poli
tical world.
The
crisis brought
on by
the silver
question has affected her considerably, but not more
so
than
any of the other countries
tha
t have carried
E N G I N E E R I N G.
on business on the basis of th e white metal. When
the
news of the action of the Indian Government
arrived by cable, she suffered a great shock,
but
the
wise counsel of
her
Ministers wa s followed,
and
the
recovery in values was almost as rapid as the decline,
alth
ough the former s
tandard
was not,
nor
will it
be, reached. Peru has much to sell, and therefore,
i f any scheme is
put
in operation whereby contracts
can be
made
for gold or for silver, she will be abl e
to hold
her
own just as well as
her
neighbours.
The enormous territory that extends from the
latitud
e of Lima to the frontier of Ecuador and
Nu eva Granada, and from the western Cordilleras
to the
Brazilian bo
undary
line, is still practically
unknown,
and
for
the
sole reason that it is almost
as inaccessible as the African lake regions, owing to
the absence of roads. Of this territory more will
be said later on, as the first object of
this
article is
to deal with a district
but
a
short
distance from
the
Pacific coast.
One of the
greatest
drawbacks to
the
northern
coast of Peru is the absence of an
adequate
supply
of water. Throughout the territory lying between
the
eighth parallel of
south latitude and
the Gulf
of Guayaquil,
and
as far back as
the
foot-hills of
M P O
THE DEPART1f " OF
PIUR
.
•
•
••
:,
••
.
•
I
•
•
•
••
749
While this state of affairs exists in
the
valleys
proper the uplands remain at all times a barren
waste sand, because the water obtained during
the
rainy
season quickly percolates
t ~ r o u g h
the
loose soil,
and
the fine
sand
is
so
on
drifted
about
by the winds in much the same
manner
.as the ~ r y
snow in the north-west of Canada. Th1s sand
1s
a
source of great inconvenieJ?-ce a n ~ trouble to ~ h e
inhabitants
of the Immediately
bordermg
the
rivers. You may
build
a house in
an
appa
rently
good location, but.af.ter few m o n t ~ s you
will
hardly
be able to distinguish your residence
from
any
of
the
adjacent
sandhills.
The
fact
that
you
have er
e
cted
a barrier
to
the free course of the
wind will
result in the sand
being accumulated at
your
door so fast that unless you
prepare
to remove
your goods and chattels to other parts promptly,
you will wake up some morning only to find _that
you
are
living
in
a cellar, the ground having
attained
an altitude considerably
higher than that
of
your
ridge pole. In the town of Arenal may be seen to
day a church not only completely enveloped in eand,
but
also filled with it
up
to the rafters, and in the
vicinity
are many
houses that had
to
be abandoned
owing to
the
encroachment of
the
sand.
The
same
can be said of many
other
places in this
department.
Thus the inhabitants have to combat the
two
great
extremes of absolute sterility
and
over-abundance of water, which
alternate
a.t uneven periods, the
drought
being at
least
ten
times as prolonged as
the
floods ;
but, even under these difficult circumstances,
they are
able
to
produce a fair
amount
of
cotton, which commands a high price, as
it is very white,
and
long
in
fibre.
· ~ ~ ' " L f J . .
\
The possibilities of the Chira and Piura
Valleys are so very great,
if the
watershed
were controlled, and a thorough
system
of
irrigation practised, that the
subject
is now
under
consideration by several
prominent
engineers, who have
been examinirg
the
rivers from
their
sources
to their mouths,
with
the
view to
the
construction { f such
works as will
render
the
great
tracts of
land
fit for culture at all seasons of the year.
The
-
SC C
HU
R
DCS CRT
Sc
o l
tt
I
•
56
mtf r
/ ··
•
•
t
__
.. ...
-- -
.
..
the C o r d i l l e r a E ~
the seasons
are
marked
by
a
total
absence of
rain
during periods varying between
five and seven years. 'Vhen the period of rain
sets in, however,
it
makes up for
l o ~ t
time,
and
the
quebradas that for six years have
been nothing
but valleys of burning sand, become in the space of
a few days the channels of fearful torrents, that
carry
great
masses of rock along as if they were
pieces of driftwood. In a journey along the coast
some startling effects of
the
power of
the
water
are
to be seen. At
the
mouths of the
b r a d a s
rocks weighing many tons are piled up in a great
barrier, and
are
cemented together by the clay and
sand that have been deposited in the interstices by
the
receding water. To move such masses would
require months of labour,
yet
when the rain com
mences in the Cordilleras the wall of rocks is swept
into
the sea as if it was built of cane and mud.
The writer has seen in the vicinity of Cabo Blanco
(
Department
of
Piura)
rocks, which would weigh
at least 30 tons, buried
in
the
sand
of
the
beach,
and
on going up the q
ebrada
discovered that they
had
been
brought
down as much as two leagues by
the water, as the same formation was not met with
within that distance. Nothing can
be
done to remedy
the
destructive influenceof the wa.ter from the ce Tos
without
great
E\xpense,
but,
as the ta
bl
a:o or table
land is high, it is possible to store sufficient water
in the interi
or of
the
province for use
during
the
dry
period. This
remark
refers to
the
lands ly ng
between the Chira
and
u m b e ~ Rivers, which dis
trict has but a very small population, and that dis
tributed according to the positions of small streams
that flow
toward the
sea, the
greater portion
of the
territory
being a desert.
In
the valleys of the Chira
and
Piura
Rivers there
is the same uncertainty as regards water. During
the rainy season the rivera overflow their banks,
and
sweep
everything
that is movable
into the
Pacific.
'Vhen the dry
season
sets
in ,
the
people
has
ten
to
plant
cotton, corn, yucas, camotes, and,
in
fact, all sorts of vegetables, on the ground from
which the water recedes, and for two years they
harvest from two
to
four crops
per
year,
after
which
the land
becomes so parched that nothing
will grow on it
'
land is so light and friable
that
it would be
worse
than
useless
to cut
channels
to
lead
the
river water direct
to the interior
portions
of the ground. f a channel of, say, 2 ft. be
cut, the action of the water soon wears away the
soil,
and the
property
becomes
either an
island,
because of
the river
dividing itself,
or it
is trans
ferred to
the
oppos
ite bank
by
the stream
deserting
the old bed for the new.
There
is a
striking
instance of this near Sullana, where the
cotton
chac
t·
a
is
now in the centre of the river. Again, it
will be a
very
difficult matt£ r
to
take, as
it
is pro
posed by some, the water from
the river
imme
diately north of Sullana,
and
lead it do
wn
by canal
along the base of the tablazo because the owners of
the property along the river between the canal
inlet and the
point where the water
returns to
the
river, st rongly object
to
have their lands deprived
of the water that passes a.t present.
Pumping by
steam power has
been
tried, and was found to be
too costly, but a sys
tem
of waterwheel is to
be
introduced,
and this,
in places where
there
is
sufficient current, will do a
great
deal to irrigate
individual haciendas at small cost.
The
map,
Fig.
1,
on this
page, will
indicate
the
peculiar position of
the
watershed and its outlets.
From the
mouth, which
forms an extended delta to
Arenal, the
River
Chira no rmally flows between two
low banks, and has an average width of about 250
yards.
At
Arenal the land rises abruptly on the
southern and eastern
bank, while
on
the
northern
and ~ s t e r n
the change of level is
very
slight,
except
where spurs of the elevated
ran
ge jut out to the
water's edge. During the greater
portion
of
the
dry season the stream is divided up by countless
s a ~ d b a n k s
s o ~ e
of which
e ~ t e n d
for upwards of a
miJe, but
occas10nally-that
Is, when
there are
mists
in the
mountains
whi
eh
form the
watershed
of the
river-the
volume of water increases sufficiently to
cover these shoals, and the river then aesumes
an
i m p o ~ i n g a s p e c ~
a l ~ h o u g h there is really not
sufficient water In whiCh a
hen,
sufferioa from acute
suicidal mania, could accomplish
s e l f - d ~ ~ t r u c t i o n .
Farther
up,
the river
flows
through
a
definits
channel even when the water is very low, ar.d
in
some places a d e ~ t h of four
to
seven
feet
can always
be found. As will be seen
by
the
chart
the
river
is fed by
three
distin<tstnams - the
a c . l ~ a ,
Quiros,
7/17/2019 Engineering Vol 56 1893-12-22
http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/engineering-vol-56-1893-12-22 2/29
OBSERVATION AND PRI\TATE SLEEPING CARS AT THE WORLD'S COLUMBIAN
CONSTRU CTED BY THE PULLDIAN PALACE CAR
COM
PANY,
U L L ~ I A N ,
ILL.
(Fo1· D
esc1·ip
tion, see Page 755.)
EXPOSITION.
Pt
9.8.
2tJIC
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and Somatc- " hich
ha\'e
numerous tributaries
in
1
earth,
which holds the maj or porti on until
it
is Thi s
great
wo
rk,
which is but one instance of th e
th e mountains of Ayavaca and Fri as. These moun- evaporated ag
ain
next day
by
the action of the skill of the primitive inhabitants of Peru, was
tains form a spur of, and
are
overshadowed by, the solar rays. accomplished under a. system of
government
truly
western range of the Cord illeras, so that but little The
In
cas
had
evidently studied this question of communistic, and
it
ehould be a guide to th ose who
of the moi
st
ure- la
den
air
fr
om th e east reaches precipitation carefully before locating th e
ir
wond er - are going to undertake th e w
or
k of irr igation in the
them, it being cond ensed on the eastern slopes of ful canal between the head wate
rs
of the Chira and valley of the Chir a., as
tamperin
g
with the
riv er
the range tha t marks the western boundary of the Colan on the Bay of Payta, because
they
selected south of where it is joined by t he Somate can only
Department of Cajamarca.
The
supply of water for
their
inlets
the
two points Chocan
and
La res
ult
in failure to distribute the water equitably,
to the Rio Chir1. therefore dep ends solely upon
the
Solana, where th ey
not
only secured th e fullest
and that
will mean dissatisfaction, which may be
clouds from
the
Pacific, borne by
the
south-west complement of supply, but also the elevation neces- followed by energetic measures of self-
pr
otection on
winds which prevail tow11.rd
and after
sun set, but, 1sary to utili
se
t
he
force of gravitation.
The
Rio
1
the part of the various property-owners. A canal
a.s
the
pr
ecipitat ion rar ely t
ak
es the form of rain, (th ey would call a.
bu
c
ket
of wat er
a. lak
e in these properly loca
ted
will do much to lessen, if n
ot
the increase of
the
river
vo
lume is very gradual, as countries) Soma.te was igno
red
by them,
and
even prevent, the destru
ct
ive floods that
ar
e now looked
th
e clouds are condensed
by direct
contact with the , now
it
contributes but
little
to the general supply.
up
on as a matter of course, and even expected,
during the season of rain, and, when the long dry
period
has
arrived, there can always be on hand
a.
reserve of water for irrigation as well as for domestic
purposes.
It will be noticed
that
all the little u e b l u ~ are
si t
uat ed immediately on
the
banks of
the
rivers,
but
even to
these
the
water
has to be
br
ought on
donkeys' backs,
in
barrels holding
about nine
ga
llons each, and is sold from h ouse t o house
just
as is milk
in
London. The
port
of Payta is at
present wholely dependent
up
on the ra.ilwa.y for its
supply of water, which is
brought
from Vivia.te, a
station
marked on the map as La. Chira, dis
tance 17 miles.
It
is then hawked
about
the
-l
U l
0
I
t r1
z
C)
z
tT1
tr1
Id
z
C)
•
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t:1
t%j
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t\)
t \ )
...
.....
00
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7/17/2019 Engineering Vol 56 1893-12-22
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DEc. 22 1893.]
E N G I N E E R I N G.
751
OBSERVATION
AND PRIVATE SLEEPING CARS: WORLD'S COLUMBIAN EXPOSITION.
CONSTRUCTED BY THE P U L L ~ I A N
PALACE CAR COJ\IPANY, PULLMAN,
ILL
.Pig.n.
Partition A
11
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•
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•
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I
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•
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•
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0
'
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streets
and
sold at 20 cents
per
cargo (two barrels,
holding 9 gallons each). Should
there
ever be a
breakdown
on the
line, a
water
famine in
the port is
certain, as the
sup
ply
by
donkeys would not be
sufficient, a
journey
of 34 miles for every 20
aallons being necessa
ry
. A commendable effurt
is beina made
by the United States
Consular Agent,
Mr. J .°F .
Hopkins, to sink
a well for water within
the limits of
the
town, and, if he succeeds in o
btain
ing a sufficient supply,
he
will no.t
on
ly secure for
himself a handsome return, but will be the means
of
attracting to
the port of Payta ~ h e numerous
whaling vessels
that
now go for the1r
fr
esh-water
supply
to
Eten and Pacasmayo. However,.
if the
irriaation
question is solved, that of supplymg not
only Payta,
but
Piura,
which depends
during
the
dry season
u p o ~
wells only, ~ n d the other towns of
the province, will ~ o t be a d1fficult ?ne. .
If the Chira R1ver system requ1res regulat10n,
that
of
the Piura ne
eds compl
ete
reconstruction, as
the
full effects of
the
prolo
nged
drought
are felt
in
that
valley.
The map
shows h
ow
the watershed
supplying
the
Piura
River is
confined
to the
south-
·
•
I
:•
•
••
· I
••
..
11
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.
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t ;
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..
•
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•
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•
..
•
..
•
••
•
••
• •
••
·l ·
t l
-
....
I
•
•
-
·-
.
....
'
•
•
I
•
I
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•
•
•
•
•
•
•
.
··
-
a
I
•
, ..... ·· ····
..
• •
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
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•
•
•
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•
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•
.. .
--
..
.
• •
-·· ••. 2 )
..
-·
western slopes of
the
Altos de Frias, which face an
extensive sand dese
rt.
There
are
many tributaries
to
the
north
and
east of the river,
but
none to
the
south
and
west,
the
Sechura desert, extending as
far as the Pacific, being devoid of all vegetable life.
The Sechura Indians live mainJy on the coast,
and
follow
the
calling of fishermen. Thei r means of
existence depend on their harve
sts
at sea, as they
barte
r
their
fish
at Payta,
Piura, and other points,
for
the
necessa
ry
vegetable food. At Catacaos, where
there
are
other
tribes,
the
hatmaking ind ustry is
th
e
mainstay of the population. There, what
are
known
in England as ' 'Panama
hats, are
manufactured
in large quantities,
and
some of
them
are of very
fine quality, selling for as much as 150 solas-
after
t hey have l
eft the
possession of
the
makers.
Sunday is
their
day of sale,
and
it is a. wonderful
sight in the
Pl
aza
on
that day.
The
mode of
selling is very odd.
An
Indian will walk up to one
of
the
buyers, who usually
sit
on the footpath out
side their doors, and thrust a hat into his hands.
He does not open his lips ; in fact, not a muscle of
his face moves, and one could be pardo
ned
for
.
S /k
•
Pontl
•
•
•
•
•
s:
.
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
'
•
<:)
'
·
....
0
I
•
•
•
•
•
•
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•
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• 8av '
•
•
•
•
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•
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irrOr
•
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:
~ l ~
•
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. •
.
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··--
--
- ..
' I :
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• •
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: : : :
.. • . .
t :
f I
I o I o I
•
•
•
•
•
•
I
•
I
I
im
agining him
an
escaped effigy
fr
om Madame
Tussaud's. The buyer turns
th
e
hat
over, examines
it carefully, and names a price without even look
ing at
the
vendor, who remains perfectly sil
ent and
motionless.
I f the
price is
not
satisfactory he
increases it a little; still no answer. Then'
the
price is gradually raised, and when
the
~ q u i r e d
figure is reached a
' 'Si
is grunted out by
the
seller. The hat is
then
tossed into
the
house
and
the
money paid, without another word being
spoken. If
the
purchaser does
not
rise to
the
amount wanted by th e seller,
the hat
is
thrust
back
at
the Indian,
who moves off as before- silent.
One buyer after another is visited in like
manner
until all t he hats are sold, and
then
a large pro
portion of
the
money goes to
the
supplier of the
grass, who gives credit, and
the
rest is divided up
between solid f
oo
d
and
chicha.
The only means of improving
the
Piura
River
system is by curtailing
the
flow
near Yapatera,
and
forming reservoirs with proper
storm
overflows.
A good fall could thus be obtained for distribution,
but
the cost would be m ore
than
the landowners
•
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752
E N G I N E E R I N G.
(DEc. 2
2
I
893.
STEAM
BOILER
EX PER I
MEN
T S.
R
ESULTS OF
EXPERIMENT No . XVIII.
PARTICULARS
AND DIMENSIONS OF BOILER.
I PRINCIPAL OBSERVATIONS-cor.tinucd.
Date
of
Trial:
June 15, 1888 .
Place:
Royal Arsenal, Woolwich.
Type of
Boilo1· :
Portable boiler, locomotive.
Beating Surface :
Heating
surface of boiler
• • • •
••
• • •
Flregrate:
Dimensions of firegrate . . .
.
Ar
e
a.
of grate . . . . .
.
Ratio of h£ i n g surfa-ce to grate surface ...
• • •
Fluea:
•• •
.
• • •
.. .
• • •
...
...
285
square feet
3 ft. 1 in. by 3 ft.
4
in.
.
.
10.5 square feet
... 27.2
I
1
Coal and Ashes
-con
tinued
Total weight of pure and dry coal used l?er hour ... . .
Ratio of total pure and dry coal to coal moluding ash, c.
Tot
al coal used, including ash and clinker, per bo
nr
.. .
, weig
ht of
ash and cli
nk
er ... ... ... ..
Temperature of
Gases
:
... 104lb.
...
0.
912
.
. 114
lb.
261b. ash, 15lb. olinker
m ~ e r a t u r
of furnace gases
at
base of chimney ... . .
.
575 de
g. Fahr.
Rtse m temperature of
g a ~ e s
from temperature of air on day, about 515 ,
Draught:
Chimney draught . .
.. .
...
. .
...
.
.
• ••
.
PRINCIPAL
RESULTS
Combustion:
Pounds of coal
burnt
per square foot of grate surface per hour ..
, , , heating surface per ho
ur
0.25 in
10.8 lb.
0.4 ,
Kind of Hues a
nd
direction of gases
... ...
Transmission of Beat :
Th
ermal units per square foot of heating surface per hour
37
30 T. U.
{
No brickwork.
Straight
.
.
through small tubes to
chimney.
.
PRINCIPAL OB
SE
RVATIONS.
Evaporation:
Time:
Duration ...
•••
... ...
...
.
. .
Steam Pressure:
Mean steam pressure above atmosphere . .
.
, absolute steam pressure ... . . .
Temperature
Fahr.
corresponding to
thi
s pr
ess
ure
Feed
Water:
Temp
erature of feed ... ... ...
Total feed water evaporated . .
.
, ,
per
ho
ur
...
...
.
.
...
Coal and Ashes:
Total
co a.l put
on grate ...
...
• • •
. .
.
, dra.wn ...
.
...
.
.
.
.
.
, used, including ashes a.nd clinker
...
Per cent. of ash and clinker in total coal used
...
mois
tur
e in fuel
.
.
.
.
would relish. The work in this river
is
not likely
to be
commenced
until
the
Chira
improvements are
well
un der
way,
and their results noted.
I t
is
probable,
however,
that
a
scheme
will
be
proposed
to
supply Piura
and vicinity direct from th
e
Chira.
To sum up the
proposed
improvements
regarding
irrigation, it can be stated, as a
matter
of fact, that
the
amount of land now non-productive (reaching
hundreds
of thousands of acres)
will, if broug
ht
into
cultivation,
pay for the
work
in a very short
space of
time,
as
the
climate
is
admirably
suited
to
the
production of cotton,
coffee, tobacco, and other
valuable
vegetables, as will be
seen
by the follow
ing official
list
of
crops
harvested
from land that is
favourably
situated as
regards irrigation:
Crops per year.
Sugar-cane . . . . .. . 4
Cotton .
.
... ... ... .
.
2
Maize ...
..
. ... ... . . 4
Rice ..
..
. ... ... 3
Rami
e ... ... ...
..
. ...
4
Tobacco ... ... ... ... 5 to 8
Coffee ... .
. ..
. ... .. . 2
Hemp
. . ... ... ... ...
2
Cacao .. . .. · .. · .. · .. · {
; : a ~ r ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
P otatoes .. ... .
..
... 2
Camotes (sweet potatoe;,) .. . ... 3
Yucas ... ... . . ... .
..
2
Beans ... .. ... ... ... 4
Cocoa-nuts ... ... ... .
.
{ ; a ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ d
To be continued. )
STEAM BOILER
EXPERIMENTS.
No.
XIII.
By Mr. BRYAN Do
NK
IN, Jun.,
and
Pr
ofessor
A. B.
\V.
KENNEDY, F
.R.S
.
Exp
e1·i
ment
N o XVIII.
J une 15, 1888.
This experiment
was
made
at
the request
of
the
authors at the
R o
yal Arsenal, Wool
wich,
by th
e
kind p e ~ m i s s i
of
Colo
nel English,
R .E , and the
authorities.
The
boiler used
was
made by Messrs. Marshall,
Sons, and Co. ;
it
was
of
the multitubular loco
m otive
type,
and
was
not new.. T h ~ feed water
was
weighed
in a tank
on
a
weighbridge, but the
gases were un fo
rtunately
not analysed.
Li
e
uten1nt-
Pounds of water evaporated per pound of coal from f
ee
d te
m-
8
.03
lb.
5.3 hours
pera
tu r
e . . . . . . . . . .
E } ~ ~ h ~ ~ v a p o ~ ~ t i o n ~ ~ r p o ~ ~ d ~ ~ ~ m a ~ ~
at
~ ~ 2
d e ~
...
. .
Equi
vale
nt
evaporation per pound of coal pure and dry ... . .
, , , square foo t
of
grate per hour
..
.
9.
57
,
10
.5 ,
104.4 "
3
.85
,,
1.192
• • •
• • •
...
•
72lb
86
.7 "
,, , , , heating surface .. .
Factor
of evaporation ... ... ... ... ... ... ..
. .
. . 317.7 deg. Fahr
. .
60 deg.
Fahr
Percentage
Bala
nce-Sh
ee
t of H
ea
t
..
.
...
4
869
lb
.
. 920
Heat
Ev
olved.
1
Per Cent.
Heat
Ab
sorbed.
Per
Ce
nt
------ -------------------------------
...
616 lb.
H eat from pure and dry coal ... 100 Heating and evaporating water 65.2
Radiation and una
cco
unted for
.
.
.
10
.. ..
.
60
6 ,
.
..
4.3 ash, 2.5 clinker
by difference .
.
...
..
. 3 . 8
T
ota
l
• •
.
ota
l
100
0
00 ..
.
.
.
.
2
Colonel
Englis
h,
P r
ofessor
D w ~ l s h a u v e r s
Dery,
Iment,
and
9
lb. in
the
first. L:1stly,
the
evapord.
and one of the authors, were present. The boiler tive
efficiency in No. XI. Experiment
was 70 per
was ho
used,
but not surrounded by
brickwork
of cent., and inNo.
XVIII. 65
per cent., or
5
per cent.
any kind, and the
barrel
only covered
in
the usual better
efficiency
with
11
per cent.
mo
re
h
ea ting
way
with
wood
lagging and
sheet
iron. Stoking
surface, all
the
other
re
s
ults being approximately
by
hand was
done by
the
ordinary
f i r e m a n
the the same.
The d
et ailed
figures are
given
in
boiler
was
not forced, and there was no economiser. the Table annexed. A radiation trial in this case
The steam
generated was
employed to drive
a
steam
unfortunately could not be
arranged
fo
r.
engine.
The boiler
was
in
re
gular use
at the
Arsenal, and was worked under ordinary
conditions,
THE AMERICAN
SOCIETY OF
NAVAL
nothing
being
especially prepared
for
the
trial. ARCHITECTS.
I t
is not co
nsider
ed necessary
to
g ive a
drawing
of
this boiler, as,
though
smaller,
i t
is
si
milar in
all respects
to
the one illustrated in
ENG
INEERIN
G
on
page
344, March 18, 1892, and
was by
the
same maker.
No time curves
have been ptepared.
The duration
of
the experiment,
viz
., 5t hours,
was
rather
short,
but could
not
well
be prolonged.
Colonel English kindly gave
the
authors
every
assistance
po
s
sible
to insure good reliable results.
The
gases
from
the fire went
straight
through
the
tubes
and up
the
chimney. Steam
pressur
e was
about
72
lb.
The
temperature
of the furnace
gases
leaving
the
boiler,
viz ., 575 deg.
Fahr.,
was too
high
for
the most
economical working; however, 8
lb. of water
were
evaporated per
pound
of
coal
fr
om
the
temperature
of the
cold feed. About
11 lb. of
coal
were
burnt
per square foot
of grate.
As this experiment
(No.
XVIII.)
was
made with
a locomotive
tubular boiler
of
the
same construction
as that
used
in Experiment
No. XI., and as the
two boilers are very nearly
the
same size, it may be interesting to compare the
chief
results. The same
coal was burnt,
and
both
were fired by
hand.
The
heating
s
urface
was about
11
per
cent. less in Experiment N o. XVIII.
than
in
Experiment
XI. The
g
rate
areas,
pressure
of
steam, feed
temperatures,
and
the
coal burnt per
hour differed very little. In the latter
test
the
water
evaporated
per
hour was rather
less.
The temperature
of the
gases and
the chimney
draught did
not
differ
mu
ch
in
th
e
two
cases.
The
pounds of
coal
burnt per
square
foot
of
grate per
hour were
10.8 and 12.5 resp
ective
ly.
The thermal
units
transmitted per
square
foot
of heatin
g surface
were very nearly the same
; 8 lb.
of
water
were
evaporated per
pound
of
coal in the last
experi-
F n.oM ouR
NEw
YORK CoRRESPONDENT.)
(Contilnued from page 722.)
IN
SPECT ION
oF MA C
HINERY
AND BoiLERS.
THE " United States Treasury Rules for the
Inspection
of
Machinery and
Boilers
was
by
James
T. Boyd,
and
produced
an
active
discussion.
Mr. Boyd
demanded
a
revision.
Among other
matters, he wished the
clause
requiring a chief
engineer
thirty
years of age, and who
se
service
as
first
assistant had been for five years, in
cases
where
the
engines exceeded
2000
horse
power, struck
out;
likewise that which made
the
law
apply to
boilers
now
in
service, the
effect
of
this being
to
reduce the working pres
s
ures 10 per cent.
of
existing boilers. He thought
the laws
and rules should
be revised by engi
neers of
pro
mi nence, one
from the navy,
one
from the
revenue
marine, one from the
merchant
marine, and
one captain
fr
om
the
merchant
marine.
He illustrated the defects
of
the present laws by a
letter
from Mr. J . F. Pankhurst, general manager
of the Globe
Iron
Works,
of Cleveland, 0.,
to the
Board
of
Supervising
Inspecto
rs,
with reference
to
the safety valves on the new Belleville boilers which
the
Globe
Works
are bu i
lding for t he
Great
Northern
twin-screw
passenger steamers.
The
existing United States rules for calculating the size
of
safety
valves
were adopted in the days when
30
lb.
was considered a high
pressure for
a
marine
boiler,
and
i t
takes no
account
of
the steam
pressure
in
the
boiler.
The
absurdity of this rule is shown
by
the
fact
that
if
the
sa
fety
valves
on these
Belle
villa boilers were
made
the full size called for, they
would have
an
area times as great as the cross
secti
on
of the main st
eam
pipe, and would
empty
•
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DEc.
22,
1893.]
E N G I N E E
RI
N G.
753
:
the
whole boiler
in
17 seconds at 250 lb. pressure.
The sudden
opening of so large
an exit a.t
high DETAILS
oF
HoLLOW
SHAF1'ING; BETHLEHEM
RuN "
roRKS.
pressure is generally c
::
mceded
to
be exceedingly
·
-
dangerous, and quite likely in
itself
to cause
the
-
explosion of a weak boiler.
In
the
discussion, which was
extended, it ap·
peared that
all
present
desired a g
reat
ref
o
rm in
t
he
existing methods, although
they
diffe
red
as
to
the
method
to
be employed.
The
speakers
thought
there was too much
theory, and
a
number
claimed
that
technical mechanical
formuh:e
should be ex
cluded, so
as to make the rul
es confo
rm to
pro
gress.
Th
e spe:1.kers all scored
the
present
methods
in unm
easured
terms.
Col.
E.
A.
Stevens thought
the
re shou
ld
be an
officer with
the
rank
of a Cabinet
officer
to reprdsent the merchant marine at
Wash
ington. Thi s view was favoured
by Mr. Stratt
on,
who also
thought, and most
agreed with him, that
the
establishment of a
Department
of Commerce,
of
equal imp ortance with
other
departments, and in-
cluding
the
Bureau
of Navigation,
the
Life-Saving
Se
rvice,
the
Lighth
ouse Board,
Hydrographic
Office,
Revenue Marine
Service,
and Steamboat Inspection
Service, would
be
productive of incalculable good
to
t he
merchant
marine.
Mr. Stratton
said
that
if
a Secretary
of Commerce could, in his official report
to CJngress, give force
to re
co
mmendations
need-
ful to a proper conservation and
development
of
our
marine, such as is given
to
the
recommenda
tions of
the Secretary
of
War
with rega
rd
to
river
and harbour impr
ove
ments, it
would be of g
reat
value
in taking
away
the appearance of
lobbying,
now so necessary
in putting through
Congress even
the
smallest
measure
desired
to benefit
Americ.1n
shipping.
HEAVY STEEL FoRorncs.
The
next
paper
was
by
Mr.
R. W.
Davenp
o
rt,
and
e
ntitled
:
"Production in the United States
of
Heavy
Steel
Engine, Gun, and A r m o u r - J . I l ~ i t e
Fvrgings.
' Thi
s paper should be
printed in
full,
but
space does n
ot permit, and the
condensation
will of courae
on
ly present
its salient
points. The
author
traced
the
development of forging plants,
statin
g
that
five ye:1rs ago
th
e
United States
had
none.
In
1885
the Bethlehem
Company, of which
the
author
is vice-president, decid
ed
to establish
a. plant
of
the
firat order.
The contract
was given
to Sir
J oseph
Whit
worth
and
Co
., and the
prin
cipal
items
were : Two
hydraulic
forging presses
c o m p ~ e t e . with
engines and pumps,
one of
1500
and one
of 4500 tons capacity,
together with two
\VhitwOJth hydraulic travelling forging cranes
and
other
necessary appliances for each
press;
a com
plete fluid compression
plant,
including a press of
7000 tons capacity
and
a 125-ton hydraulic travel
l ing crane for serving
it
(the
upp
er
and
lower
heads of
this
press, weighing respect ively
about
135 and 120 tons, were mllde at the Bethlehem
works); some
lar
ge machine tools, such
as lathes
and
boring
milh,
typ
ical of
the best
development
in
their
r espective classes
; a]
so designs
of
open
hearth
furnaces
and
special tools. These machines
were
guaranteed to represent the latest practice
of
the Whitw
orth Company,
and this
was fulfilled,
although it
was erected
and put in
operation
by
the e m p l o y e ~
of
the
Bethlehem Company, who
at
the
s\me time constructed
a fine
plant
of
four
open-hearth
furnaces of 110
to
120 tons,
and
a
machine
shop
of g
rand
dimensions,
partly
equ
ipped
with
t ools exceeding
in
capacity
and
power
any
ever
in the country. Preparations were
also
made
for
the production of arm
our-plate,
the
U
nited
States
Navy having decided
on
all-steel plates.
Although the contract made
with theNavy Depart
ment
did not
specify forged heavy
armour,
yet
the
company decided
to make it by this
process,
and
made
a. contract
with
the Creusot
Company for
drawings of machinery
and
full
information
as
to
m
h o d s and shop pract
ice, a.s well as
the
right to manufacture
armour-plates
under their
patent
s. \Vhile
the new plant
was in general
modelled
af t
er that at Creusot, modifications were
introduced,
Ruch
a,, the incr
ease of
the
weight of
the hammer from
100
tons to
125
tons, the length
of the
forging dies from 6 ft. 6 in.
to
10
ft., and
the
stea
m
pre
ss
ur
e from 75 lb.
to
125 lb.
The
valve
motion
was also
greatly impr
oved,
and
hydraulic travelling cranes us
ed instead of power
swinging ones. Likewise
improvements were
made
in the
be
nding press
ani
in the
tern pering
plant.
In
two years
and
a
half
after
ihe actual
work
on
the
plant had
be
en
begun,
the
first
armour-plate
was forged.
The
result
of
experiments on the
forging presses
led to the constructi
on of a double-
Comparison
of
Three
Steel
Shaf
ts.
Case I.
·••Q
•G
I.,-
....
•
...
• • ...
Q
.
w - ~ ' j ...
Cl.
gS Q ii s P . - ~ - . a
< C D . . . . , ~ -
•
0 ·- C
IS
< g ~ ~ p .
os ~ ~ s o .
~ A · ; ;
.... .
...... ....,
.
s:: C: l l g.
·z
8 w ·
CD ... a - o .r1
::::>
Q ....
_. en
s o ~ .0
Q
gS( /)00
.... 0
a>·.- G _.,.
--a....... c
d
........ -
....
: oo A ' ag d
OcoA ( ) ....
e .. . ·; ; c
~ p .
~ ~ C D -
.s::c .......
So CJ
- c : ~
» t ,.. 1) .
....... c
os
..s::
• c
... ~ o ~ Q ) .a
~ c d eno ...
..s::
.,.
0
a) . ... ril
Q
...., -
..s:: s:l - (") tl
en bi....J... .a -
0
::::o
""aQ)
o.
cr.
= . .
..
s:: 'j Q)g
-oo
... · , . ~ ~ ~ g . . c
· ·x
C...,:i
Q ) a :
Q
~ a : l
() 0
' j O ~ . . . ,
: : : ~ : . : : :
·
t
-·-o
a
_, . . .
...
( )·a'
( /)
g . ~ ~ ( / ) p.w o
-AZ
p.< -4 ril /)
a _.. ..
c
-
•
Aru s o f ser t
ions
• . . . • . . . . . . . . . . . . sq . tn .
Weig
hts per yard
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
.1
b
131.95
13
.Z
i 3
280 65
1346 1354 2861
C o m p l
a ~ h · e strengths under
applied
loads 10 flex u
r e, or
under apph
o d
horse
-powers in ion . . . . . • . . . . · · . · · . · ·
307
100
307
Load, in p ounds , at
middle
of a sp an of 12f t.
oo two
suppo. tta,
whtch
st r
atns
to one-halt elastic limit . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
276,200 89,900
276,200
Lengt.h
of beam
on
two
supports,
whi
ch is strc&ioed by its own w e i ~ to one·
half elastic limits . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
·.
. .
121ft
. 6 in.
77
ft
. 6 in . 83 ft. • iu.
Ho rse -powers transmittEd at 60 revc lutioos per minute whc n strainEd to
one ·
ba
' f elast io l imits . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
15,780 6180
15,780
cv: • Q • Q
. ....
.......
Q • • . . . Q •
s:: .. 1j c ..
Cl. os Q Q
, - C l , Q ) ~ - . . o
<§ tQ)P .
::::
< CD ...., Cl.-
·- os A........ <JS
ea . . , ~ E g
. . . . J ~ QC
....,
CD
0 •
o
Q
s:: ra; er
.,.
m
.
= 8 ... .c
)..... .0
.... 'j .... .,.., /)
s ()
osQ)-
Gl(1} _()
. ·=
ea
· _..
--a
...
·- os :
w .s . -
:ooA -9
o a oO O? ,...
~ · l ~ Q )
~ ~ 1 J
: ' , . j f
0 0 0 .... _p.
. ,...... e o
.... li 0 .......
/)
.
....,
....
-d
; ; i . . c ~
. , . we...,
' j · . o o ~
.0
QSQS en
..s:: ...., 0 a)
.... r:z:l
Q ) : : > ~ . . - 4 ~ - -
..s::e
.
s:: .e
/) Cl..,J
... c;
s ~ o , . . s G I O •
fl.)
. . . . gS
....
~ g $
S:: 'jQ) ... ...:(/)
. ) dO_ :
oc><Q) o
' j ~ Q ) ~ t - t l , . .
~ : : : : . . . . , c11 oo.,
;.::
2
...
·
r
............ 0 . ~ Q I
_ . . ~ _ . .
cet.li:cAZ..r.
....
Cl.< ra; n
( / )
,-4 ( /)
p.
•
Comparison
of
Th ree Steel Shafts.
Case
11
.
-·
120.
17
1
2 1.
28
2i6.34
1227 2513
. I
Areas
of sections
. . . . . . . . . .
..
. . . . .
sq
. 10 .
1226
eights
per yard . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
lb
Comparative st rengths under appliEd loads
in
flexure,
or
under applitd
293 100 29S
orse
·powe1 s
in torsion
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Load, which, at middle of a beam 12 ft . in span on t wo supports,
c a u s e
227,2CO
77 ,500
2'17,200
trains equal t o
one-half
e'a.stic limit . . . . . . . . . . . .lb .
of beam on two suppo rt s which is st rained
by
its own wc..ight to one
halC elas t ic ltmils . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
11 5 ft . 6 in.
75 ft. 9
io.
80
ft.
8
in.
Horse
powers tran
s
mitted at
50
re v
o
lu
tions per
minute \\hen st r
ain<d t.o
12,980
44 30 12,930
ne-half ebsti
c
l.mits ..
. . . .
..
. . . . . .
..
. .
cylinder forging press of 14,000
tons
capacity,
with
pumps
driven by
15,000 horse-power
e n ~ i n e s , the
design of
Mr
. John
Fritz, and with Mr.
E.
D.
Leavitt,
jun.,
as consulting
engineer
on the pumps
and
engines.
The author then
divided his
subject into
the
following heads :
1. "
The
Casting of
Ing
o
ts ."
2.
' 'The
Conditions of
Shaping
and Forging."
3.
"Treatm£-nt
after
Forging/'
4.
"Introduction
of
U
ou
s
ual
Ing
redients into the
Composition
of the
Steel
intended to
give
to it De
sirable Qualities."
He
considered the
best meth
od for avoiding defects
in casting
to be
the
Whitworth
process of fluid
compression.
He
thought
unif
o
rm
heat
at
a
pr
o
per
t e m p e r a t u r ~
the
first
requisite in shaping
and
forging
; but the
next
one
was
the
use of
proper
machinery.
Internal strains and
defects
frequently
resu
lted fr
om
shaping
with
hammers
of insuffic
ient
power .
Hydraulic pressure of such
a
character as
to penetrate
to the
centre
and
cause flowing
through
out the
mass, and
continued
for a
suitable time,
so
as
to insure thorough
action, is fav
ourable to
the
best
results. A similar effect is
attained,
thou
gh
to
a.
less degree,
by
the
use
of
a
hammer
develop
ing ample power
for
the
wo
rk,
especially
if
such
power is
due to
a
great weight
falling
by gravity
only.
The author
continued :
' ' A most important factor in
the
use of hydraulic
presses for forging is, the
ability
to produce with
them
long
lengths
fo
rged
hollow
over
a mandril,
and this
class of forgings is especially
adaptable to
marine sha
fting
and
the part
s
of built-up
guns.
In the manufacture
of hollow forgings
the
con
ditions of shaping
are
in all respects favourable
to
the
production of
sound
w
or
k of
the highest
quality.
A hole of
suitable
size is bo
red
throughout
the
cen
tral
ax is of
the
unforged ingot,
thereby
r emoving
the
po
rtions rendered
defective
by
segregation
and
'piping,' and
disclosing
any
interior
defec
ts that
may
not have
been removed
by
boring.
The bored
ingot
fo
rms
a hollow
cylinder with
walls
much
thinner than the cr
oss·section of
the
solid
ingot
;
this
condition great1y facilitates
heating, and
prac
tically removes
the
danger of
internal
cracking
during that
operation.
The
forging of
the
com
paratively
thin
walls of
the cylinder
over a solid
mandril
also
insures thorough work,
and
makes it
possible
to turn the
forging
out at
a low
and unif
o
rm
heat,
thus
fixing a
unifor
mly fine
or amorphous
grain.
A solid forging,
on
the
other hand, of the
same
outside
diameter,
would be much
hotter towards
the
central
axis
than on
the
outside,
and the
gradual
loss
of this
high
internal
beat
will
tend
to
coarsen
the grain by
crystallisation
and
set up
internal
strains.
In
the
hollow forgings
any
internal
defects show themselves
on the inner
sur-
face, while
in
solid forgings
their
prese nce is
hidd
en
and
can
only be
disclosed
by
boring.
Hollow
forgings of
beautiful appearance and of
a
large
variety of dimensions
are daily produ
ced
under
the hydraulic
presses at the Bethlehem forge, and
this
class of work was well
repre
se
nted in
the
com
pany 's
exhibit at the
Chicago
Expo
s
it i
on
by
several
fine specimens,
one
of which is
a.
s
haft
20
inches
in
o
utside diameter,
67 feet long,
with
a
hole
8
inches
in
d iameter forged
through the entire length.
"
After
forging, two processes
are
employed, ' ' viz.,
annealing and tempering, or hardening, or
a con
bination
of
the
two.
To these
must
be added
sur
face
or
case
hardening,
which, while
heretofore
fr
equently used in the treatment of
small forgings,
has recently
come
into prominence on
a large scale
in the
application of
the Harvey and other
processes
to the producti
on
of
hard-faced
armour-plate."
Then
followed a description
of these
proceesea
and
their
effect.
Under
"unusual ingredients introduced
for
the
purpose
of
imparting
physical
qualities,"
the
author
specified chromium,
tungsten, manganese
(in mol'e
than
usual
quantities), aluminum and nickel, and
stated
some
experiments had been made with
copper.
He alAo described
the
effect of each
on
the
steel.
In regard
to gun
forgings,
he
sa id
it
r
eq
uired all
the
resources of
the
stee1maker to o
btain
a
pet
feet
product,
a.nd
th
o
ught
a
steel
alloy would
probably
give
the
best
results. \Vhile
chrome had been
u ~ e d
for
parts
of
small
~ i m e n s i o l s ,
he
thought
n1ekel gave
the best promise for Improvement in
physical qualities. In reg11rd
to armour-plate,
he
claimed
the
intro
duction
of
carbon by
cementation
~ n t o
the face of
the plate,
with subsequent
harden
Ings,
kn
own as
the
Harvey
process,
had
given
the
b e s ~ r e s u l t ~ . In respect to marine shafting
and
engine forgmgs
there
was a field
for great
improve
ment.
He conceded that
soft steel had some
ad
vantages,
particularly when manufactured at
forges
where
the
harder
class of steel was not understood
or
could
not
be
handled properly, and
that
it
would
bear rougher treatment; it also
cost
less
for
machi
ning.
Against
all
this he
set
the
low elastic
limit
of
soft steel, and attributed many
failures
in it to
this
cl.use.
Th
e
desire to reduce the
weiaht
of
parts in the marine
engines
without
sacrificing
stiffness
had led
hollow forgings.
The danger of
too
great reductwn had led to making
the axial
holes too
s ~ a l l
to
allow of
p r o p e ~
hollow
forging
on
a
mandrtl, a?d r e s u ~ t e ~ 111
sohd
forgings
with
subsequent bonn
gs,
brmgmg about
a
distinct
loss
the quality
of
the metal. The remedy seemed to
him to be the use of
a
material with
a
greater
elastic
limit and
a
degree
of toughness
able
to
resist
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•
E N G I N E E R I N G.
75
5
PECKHAM'S
EXTENSI ON TRAl\IW
AY
TRUCK.
CONSTRUCTED
BY THE
PECKHA \1
\
IOTOR TRUCK
AND
WHEEL.
C01IPA
NY,
KING
STON,
N.Y.,
U. S.A.
•
•
•
••
Fig. 1
Fc g.2.
_
-
-
_I;
--
-
0
0
0
0
0 0
0
10
O
0
0
0
0
0 0
0
Pir
-
I
• ~ ~
-
I
'I
I: := . ·
~ w
I
I
I
- ; LJgg O)
I
.:e
I
'
I
'
r Pl '
1
\.
'
•
.--
.:
I
I
-
I
r \
tY
•
I
\I
I
p
I
•
e
C)
llf
I
lo O
o
I
0
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-
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.,
a
fi)
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I
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•
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b
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Z016 8
a gain in strength
of
three to
one,
and
a
reduction
in
weight of more
than
one-half as compared with
so
lid
soft steel sh
afts
of equal
weight
a
nd strength
respectively. "
Thi s
paper
called for th a very interesting dis
cussion, which drew forth
valuab
le
opin
ions and
sugg
es t
ions.
CoAL BuNKERs.
Next came Coal
Bunkers and
Coaling Shi
ps,
by Lieut
. A.
P. Nittack, U.S
.
N. The author
t hought the disposition of
the
bunkers and the
lack of adequate facilities
prevented
the
rapid
coaling of
a
man-of-war. He
showed by
the follow
in
g T
ab
le
what
was
the
capacity of
the bunkers,
and the time required
to
fi ll
them,
in cer tain
men
of-war:
Atlanta .. .
.
Chicago .. .
Charles on
...
Yorktown ...
Baltimore . .
San Francisco ...
Newark ... .
.
...
...
• • •
...
...
...
Total Coal
Capacity.
Tons.
... 490
... 824
... 7
58
...
...
11
45
... G28
... 800
Time re
quired to
Fill Bunkers.
Hours.
33
28
26
24
60
33
28
What was needed
in future ships
to coal rapidly
was:
1.
As
few
and as
l
arge bunkers as are consistent
wi\h the requirements of coal
pr
otection, water
tight sub
division,
and
considerations of stability.
•
0
2.
The
spar
-deck
scuttle
s or
hatches to take in
coal
in
bulk over all, supplemented by side por ts
to
adapt
the
ship
to coaling by
ot
h
er
met
hod
s .
3. Im
proved mechanical
app
liances for
handling
coal, not only in hoisting and
dumpin
g it on board
in
bulk, but in g
etting
i t out of the
bunkers
into
the fire-rooms.
In cru ising ships he would place the bunkers
below the
protective
deck, extending t hem t he
breadth
of
the ship
, but dividing
them by
a fore
an
d -aft bulkhead amidships.
A
pair
of bunkers,
starboard
an
d port, would
thus
take
up
all the
space vertically
betwee
n t
he
pro
tective deck and
the
inn
er bo
tt
om,
and,
longit
udin
ally,
be
t w
ee
n
the
at
hwart ship watert ight bulkheads. I t is
pro
posed
that one pai
r be
forward
of
the
fire-room,
and another between the eng in
e a
nd fire-rooms;
or
in
case
there are two
fire-rooms, as is usual,
and
it
is
desired to
add
a
third pa
ir of
bunke rs
,
then
between the two
fire-rooms.
From their
l
arge
size
they would admit of
ra pid
coaling, and from their
position would be
a gre at
protection fr om
raking
fire
eithe
r f
orward
or
af t
. Fo r each
pa
ir of
bunkera,
in t he amidship li ne, he would have a rectangular
trunk
, at least 6ft.
by
12ft. ,
from the protective up
t o
the spar
deck-
th i
s to
be
u
sed
as
a
coa
li n
g
ha t
ch ,
and to
be strong
enough itself to ho
ld
coal
when
the
bunkers
are
full. I t
shou
ld
be divided fore and
aft by
th e l
ongitudinal
bulkhead
between the pa
ir
of b
unk
ers ca
rried up
to
within
at
le ast 10ft. of
the spar
deck
.
The auth
or
then described
in d
et a
il
the arrangements and the apparatus necessary,
toge
the
r
with
the various
advant
ages that
he
claimed
for
his
s
ystem.
To be continued. )
PULLMAN
OBSERVATION
AND SLEEPING
CAR.
FIGS. 9 to 1
5,
on pages 750 and 751, show the arrange
ment of two more of the
very
elabo
ra t
e railway
cars exhibited
at
t he Columbian Exposition by
the
Pullman Company. Both are
triumphs
of luxu
ry
in
railroad accommodation, and, as will be seen from
the plan, Fig. 10, there
is
no crowding possible in the
observation car. One half is arranged w
ith
fixed seats,
and the
other
is disposed as a drawing-room,
th
e
tw
o
compartmen
ts
being separated by two private Eections,
each with four seats. In
the
cent re of the car is th e
ladies' ret irin
g-
room, divided into a vestibule, a b
at h
room,
and
a toilette; a second l
avatory
is provided at
one end of
the
car.
The
seats in
the
drawing-room
are arranged in the best manner for com
fort
and
for seeing the country,
and
at the end is a covered
platform on which chairs can be placed ;
in
th e centre of t,he drawing-room is a writing-tabl e
The fittings throughout are of the most elaborate
character; marble is replaced by onyx, and th e
bath-room
and
lavatories are tiled throughout. The
outer platforms at the ends of the car are protected by
railings and gates,
and
t
he
whole
width
of
the plat
form is
avai
lable
fo
r stand ing room, beoause
the ste
p
can be covered with hinged flaps that when lowered
form an extension of the platform. The slee
ping
-car
shown by the plan, Fig.
13,
is of a very se
lect
and
luxurious kind.
I t
is divided
in t
o
ten
rooms, accom
modating
twenty
persons : th e rooms
are fi
t
te
d
with
silk, plush, and carved woods, the colours and d e ~ i g n s
of each vary ing, and every room is provided with its
own lavatory
co
ncealed beneath
triangular
cushions
in
one corner of
the
comp
artment
.
Fi g
s. 11
, 12, 14,
a
nd
15
are cross.sect
io
ns g iving some i
dea
of
the style
of
decoration adopted.
PECKHAM
D O U B L E
EXTENSION CANTJ
.
LEVER
TRAMWAY
TRUCK AT THE
WORLD
'S COLUMBIAN EXPOSITION.
"'E
illustrate on
this
page a form of
truc
k for elec·
tric cars, constructed by the Peckham Motor Truck
and Wheel Company, Kingston, N. Y.,
U.S.A.,
for
the
Brooklyn City
Ra
ilroad Company, and exhibited at th e
vYorld's
Fair,
Chicago.
The
prmcipa-1 feature of
the
truc
k is
the
care
taken
to
pr
event
end and
side oscilla
t ions of t he ca.r body, which, it has been found by
experience, seriously diminish th e adhesion of th<'
wheels. The woodcut, Fig. 1, shows
very
well
the
general construction of
th
e
tru
ck, whil
st
fur t
her
details
are given in the line engravings, Figs. 2 to 5. In all
motor cars it is advantageous
if
the
motors can be
easily
got
at on simply lifting off the car body.
This,
of course, m
ea
ns an open-topped bogie,
the
usual
ce
ntrepin
bearing being inadmissible. In
the present
case the car body is carried upon a frame supported by
eigh t s
pir
al sprin gs resting upon the frames of the
truck
pr
oper,
and
by
four ordin
ary
ca
rr i
age
spr
ings.
Th
e
springs, as will be seen, are placed so as to reduce
end
or side oscill
at
ion to
a.
minimum. The main truck
frame is supported by spiral springs from
the
axle
boxes, the
o n s t r
of which is sho
wn in Figs
. 4
and
5. To
the ax
les
1s
keyed
a
spurwheel,
into which
gears a pinion on the end of the motor shaft. The motor
itself is ca.rried by a frame, one end of which
rests
on
7/17/2019 Engineering Vol 56 1893-12-22
http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/engineering-vol-56-1893-12-22 8/29
the axle of the
whee
l it
drives, and
the
other
end
on
the
spring
banger, shown
in
detail
in
Fig.
3.
Two
motors can
be
fitted to
each truck, as
shown
in
Fig.
2,
from
which al
so
the
general arrangement of th e brake
gear
will
be
apparent
. The principal dimensions of
the
truck are as follows :
L e
ngth
of car sill . . .. . . .
, truss support .. . .. . . .
, truck frame .. . .. . . .
, spring base . . .. . .
.
, wheel ,
..
. . . .
Width of tru ck fra.me .. . ... . .
Height of truck frame with empty car
ho
y
. . . . . . . .
26ft.
20ft.
16 ft .
12ft. 8 in.
6 ft. 6
in
.
5 ft. 11 in .
25
in.
-
FOUR -
CYLI
NDER
TIVE A'r THE
EXPOSITION.
COMPOUND LOCOl\1:0-
WORLD'S
COLOMBIAN
\ VE publish below
and on
page 75 engravings showing
the details
of const
ruction
of
the
four -cy l
inder
compound
consolidation locomotive
wh
i
ch
formed
the
subject of
our two-page plat
e of Dec( mber 8, and of which a
woodcut
was also published in our issue of
the
20th
E N G I N E E R I N G.
between the inner
and outer
firebox is from in. to
4 in. wide, but p
ockets
are
formed in
the outer
plating
to
give room for
the
ax le-boxes of
the trailing
wheels.
This
necessit:ttes a cor
re
sponding
cutting
away of
the
mud
ring, as
shown in Fig. 10. The firegrate is fitted
with rocking bars of cast iron, details of which are
illustrated in Fig. 11. The frames, of
the
usual Ameri
can
bar
type, are of wrought' iron, and are shown in
F ig. 12, whilst Fig. 13 shows the arrangement of brake
gea
r, which has
been
supplied by th e
New York
Air
Brake
Company.
Coming
to the
cylinders, these
ar
e
arranged
tandem
fash ion,
the
high-pressure lead i
ng
. As will be seen
fr om Jfig. 14, page 754,
the
diameters of
these
cylinders
are 13 in. and
26
in. respectively,
the
stroke being 2ft.
2 in. The
cylinder
ratio is therefore 1 : 2. 8 7. The
valves, as
usual
in America, are placed on top of
the
cylinders
(see
Figs
. 15 and 16) ; that for the
low pres
sure cy
li
nder
is
of the ordinary D type (F igs. 20 to
23), balanced
by re
lief frames behind. The high-pres
sure
va lve is of
the
pi
ston type
(Figs.
17
and 18), and is
dr iven
by linkw
ork from the low-pressure valve-rod in
such
a way that the two val \·es move in opposite direc
tions. This is accomplished by placing a rocking arm
.
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October.
Th
e engine in question was exhibited. in
the
Tr ansportation Department of the C o l u m b ~ a n
Exposition,
Chicago, by the
Brooks
L o c o ~ o t n : e
Works of Dunkirk,
N.
Y. ,
who
have hu1lt 1t
for t h ~
Great Northern
Railroad
of America.
The
eng
ine as will be seen
by
reference
to
Fig. 1
of our'
two-
page plate of December 8, has ei
ght
coupl
ed
wheels and a two-wheeled. bogie in f r o n ~ .
End views and sections of the eng me
ar_e s h o ~ v n
Figs.
2 to 5. The boiler_(Figs. 6 and 7) lS 63 m. 10
diameter and
11
ft.
7 m . long
betw
een
tubeplates.
I t is of the Belpaire type,
and
is
built
e n t i ~ of steel,
the
plates being
,rr,l
in
. thick, and the w o r k t ~ pressure
180 l
b.
per
square
inch. The
tubes,
208 m number,
are of
ir
on,
2
in.
in diameter,
No. B . v V . ~ .
~ h e
firebox is 9 ft. 6 in. long insid e, a
nd
1s 5 ft:
6 m:
w1de
at
the
top , being narrowed down to 32 m . w1de at
th e
grate
in order to pass
the
bar frames. The space
in the intermediate receiv
er,
as shown
in
Fig. 14, one
end of which is attached by a
link
to the low-pres
sure
valve-rod, a
nd tb
e
other to the
high-pressure piston
valve. The lubricat ion of
this
rocking arm is accom
pl i
shed by
mounting it on a hollow spindle, connected
to
the
low-pressure lubricator. The general
part
icu-
lars of the valve setting are as follows: .
H igh-pressure valve, trave l ... ...
, , lap ... . .
,
''
L ow-
pr
essure
va
l ve,
,
,
inside clearance
lead ... .. .
travel ... .. .
outside lap .. .
inside clearance
lead ... .. .
1n
.
...
4
t
0
...
...
...
...
7
l
..
•
•
..
.
h
The main
steam
pipe, at i ts
connect
ion
with
the
high-pressure cylind
er
, is fitted
with
a 2-in. vacuum
[DEc. 2 2, I 893·
valve, and
relief valves
of the
same
size are
fitted
to
the
low-pressure
cylinder
.
Th
e
starting valve
con
sists of a
reducing
val ve fitted between
the
main
steam
pipe and
the
low-pressure va hre.chest. Thia
valve
is
shown in place in Fig. 16, and in detail in Fi g. 19.
As
wi ll be seen, it consists of
a
sp ring-loaded va lve which
is normally closed, and this is
the
position in which
it
is
shown
in our engraving. I t will, however,
be
seen
that the thrust of the spring is transferred to a
forked
rod, l in. wide,
between
the two
branches
of
which
the va
lve
spind
le passes. This
rod
is widened
out
beyond
the va
lve at either end t o 1 in., and by
forcing
this
widened
porti
on
past
the spindle
the
spring
is
shoved
down,
and
the
valve
opened and held
open until
the
pressure on
the
low-pressure steam
chest is sufficient to again compress
the
spring and
close the
valve
. The
fork
ed
rod
aforementioned is
connected to th e
reversing
lever in such a way that
whenever this l
eve
r is in its extreme position, in either
backward
or
forw
ard
gear,
the
reducing valve
ope
ned,
but is cloeed on
bring
ing
the
lever
back
towards
mid gear.
Details
of the connecting and
coupling rods are given in Figs. 25 to 27, whilst the
construction of the two-wheeled bogie is shown in
Figs. 28 to 30.
ENGINES OF THE ITALIAN CRUISER
'' ARETUSA."
ON the two-page plate published with
th
is issue
we reproduce
drawings
of
th
e engines of
the
Italian
cruiser Aretusa, des igned
and
constr ucted by Messrs
Orlando
Brothers
in
their shipbuild
ing yard and engine
works
in
Leghorn.
The Aretusa,
of
wh
ich an
e n g r a v ~
ing is gh·en on page 759, is a torpedo cruiser of 850
tons, and is s intil
ar
to
th
e
Skipjack
and She l
drake,
and
other vessels of
the
British
Navy.
The hull and arma
ment have been designed by
the
late Commander Vigna,
of th e Italian Royal Navy, while the eng ines
were
designed by Eng. Sal
vatore
Orlando, a
nd
constructed
under th e
direct
supervision of the late Mr. Giuseppe
Orlando
The
total
wei
ght
of engines, boilers, water, spare
pieces, &c., is 173 tons, making about 86 lb. per indi
cated horse·power. The stroke is very short, owing
to
the
necessity of
bring
ing the cylinders below
the
protective deck. The
principal
dimensions of the
cylinders are as follows :
Diameter of high-pressure
cylinder ... .. . ...
Diameter of intermediate
pressure cy linder ...
Diameter of low-pressure
cylinder ... ... .. .
Stroke ... ... .. .
0.590m. (23.23
in
.)
0. 919 m. (36.18 in.)
1.375 m. (54.13in.)
0. 460
m. (18.
11
in.)
The shortness of stroke does not involve any
in
con
venience in working, wh ich is ~ m o o t h
and
regu lar
The
eng ines
are
placed in two
separate
compartments,
the
reversing and
starting
gears being in the
centre,
and
the
condensers placed at the sides of the ship.
Each condenser has 1787 brass tubes, 16 millimetres
(.63 in . ) in
diameter,
with a condensing surface of 237
square metres
(2551.14
square
feet).
The
condensing
water is
driven
through the condensers by two centri
fugal pumps,
the suct
ion and discharge pipes being
250 millime
tr e
s
(9.
84 in.) in diameter. The condensers
are made en tirely of
delta
metal. The feed and bilge
pumps are of
th
e
Worth
ington modified
pattern,
and
their working was very effective during
the
whole
of the tr ials , and also when the vessel was under st
ea
m
•
•
•
m
co
mmiss1on.
The low-pressure slide valves are fitted with Joy 's
assistant cylinders,
this
being their first application in
Italy. Each of these developed
during the
t rials 8 to
10 indi
cated
horse-power. The slide valve and rod ·
weigh 326 kilogrammes ((
71
8.7 lb.)
The
low-pre
ssure
eccentrics worked smoothly, and did not show any in
dication of heating at a speed of 270 r evo
lutions
.
The boilers, four
in number,
of the open-bottom
locomotive type, are placed
two
forward and
two aft
of the eng ines,
the
former
supplying
the
port
and
the
latt
er
the
starboard engiuea. The
total
heating sur
face is 782 squa
re
metres (8417.68 square feet), and the
firegrate surface 17.28 square metres (about square
feet). The air blast is delivered under the grates
through a closed
ashpit,
each boiler
having
its own
funnel of 1.60 me
tres
(62.99
in.
in diameter. The
boilers proved
very
satisfactory. No leakage, priming,
or
other
defect was noticed under
natura
l or forced
draught steaming.
The
propellers ' bosses are of gun-metal, with blades
of
Stone
's patent bronze, the
diameter
being 2.400
metres(8 ft .
),
and th e pitch 2.760metres (9ft. 0.66in. )
Under
the contract two t
rials were
to
be
made,
one of
ten hours'
duration under natural draught,
tohe power dev eloped
to
be not less
than
2000
indicated hor se-power, and a three hours' trial under
forced draught, with an indicate d hor se-power of
not less
than
4000.
A
premium
was t o he
paid
for
ex tra power developed
in
the forced
draught
trial.
The natural draught trial
was
made
on September
22,
1892,
with
a
co
mmission of naval officers on board,
under
the presiden
cy
of Comanda
nte De
Simone. The
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I
ENGINEERING, DE CEMBER 22, 1
893
TRIPLE-
E XP
AN SION
E NGI
NES
OF
TH
E
ITALIA
N TO R
PE
DO
GUNBOAT ARETUSA.
Fig .2
( 11 \
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Fig.3.
I
., ,
CO
N
STRUCTE
D BY MESSR-S. ORLANDO BROTHERS, LEUHORN.
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E N G I N E E R I N
G.
757
INDICATOR AND VIBRATION DIAGRAMS; ITALIAN TORPEDO GUNBOAT "ARETUSA."
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Pressurt in
lht
bodtrs · · · · -----lbs __ 173
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lht
tngmt rooms __ _ .,
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tc ttvtr
• __ ,
__
60
•
in
th t su ond rtct
tvtr_
_ • __ 15
Vacuum·---- -- - -- --
zz•
Rl'
vo(utions
ptr Minute ___ _______
__ 260
Fig.
5 .
M an prtssun
Kg
·4
551
HP
54d'lJ'1ir--...
Fig . 6.
Mtan
prtSsurt
Kg .2.
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HP n1
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an
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inth t su
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Va
cu
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JOY s INDICAT
OR
DIAGRAMS.
Pr
t.SSur
t iA. bodt rs llu;.176
. R e v
2&6.
RfvO lutions ptr Mi
t7utt
. ______ _____ Z64
Fig. 8 .
Pig
.
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tan prt'ssr
J.rt Kg 5.01.1
HP
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M e a : ~ PrusurC/ Kg .
8, 90 . I .H .P. 9, S8
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Colleclt'vt I HP 2253.
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IHP for th t two Eng,nts 44 4
9 , 4 2 .
Frg.16. .Extrcm ,
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rv.:volution.e 230.
r - - - - - - - · - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
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Extrer:.e .Afv. Jl e
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15. Extrane
.AIL
. Revol:o.iums 2 78.
_, ______________________
________
______________________________
1::9 c
~ ~
•
firm
wa
s re
prese
nt
ed
by
~ I e s s
Orlando,
jun., the
ship
being in comm
and of Ca
pt
ain
Parolda.
Th
e
wea
ther wa
s fine,
with
a sli
gh
t no r th-w
est
wind
blowing.
Th
e
tr ial
commenc
ed at 6.
15 a..m .,
the
eng ines being under full s team at
about
230 r
ev
olu
tions
per minut
e
with
natural
dr
aught.
The
ship
st arted opposite
th
e r i a . Tower.
Th
e mean
average of
the
revolutions indicated by the con
tinu
ous
recording
apparatus
for
th
e
ten
hours was for the
port engine
21
.7 revolutions,
and
for
the
starboard
engine 218.5 revo
luti
ons. During
natu
ral
draught
tria
ls i t is allowed
in th
e Italian
Navy
to
run th
e fans
t o
ass
ist
the
ve
ntil
a tion, but not to give
any air
pressure in
the
sto l(eholds. Th is time
th
e fa
ns
were
not
p
ut
in motion during th e tr ial , as
the
contracto rs
did not
conside r it necessary. Th e distance of 72
miles fr
om
the
Meloria. to Nervi, in
the
Gu lf of
Genoa., was
run
in 3 hours 59 minutes, giv ing a. mean
speed of 18.06 knots.
The
ship was th en turned and
put on her ret
urn
course, complet ing her trial a t
4.15 p. m., south of Leghorn, without
a.
sin gle
hitch during the
whole
of
th
e
ten
hours '
run. The
mean indicated horse-
pow
er for
th
e ten hours was
2129, being 129 over the contract . The vibration of
the
hull
was very slight ; t he annexed curves (Figs.
13, 14, and 15) were taken at the extremes forward
and aft, and
on
the
brid
ge ,
which is
a
little
aft of the
centre of the ship. I t should be not ed that the
number of revo
lutions
a.t
th
e time of t ak ing these
vibra
tion
diagrams varied
slightly,
as indicated
on
the
diagrams.
Th e diagrams t aken from the Jo y 's assistant
cylinders
gave
a
collect
ive
indic
a ted
hor
se-po
wer
of
13.0 . Th e working of th e ma.in engines
wa
s very
sa
tisfa
ctory and
no
i
se
less, wi tho
ut h
eating or tr o
ubl
e.
Th e forced draught three
hours'
tr ial was also suc
cessful. The contrac t power to
be
obtained on this
trial
wa
s 4000
horse
-power, but th is was excee
ded by
422, the mean
in
di
ca
ted ho
rse-power
for th e
three
hours being 4422, with a.
mean
of 264 revolutions per
minute for the st a
rb
oard engine a
nd
265.23 for the port
en
g ine.
Th
e assis
tant
cylinders
ga
ve 16.80 indicated
horse-power,
th i
s power being
added
to
the
power
developed
by the
main engines.
Dia
grams we
re tak
en
e,·ery quarter
of
an
hour;
we a rc able
to
g ive
th
ose
of
1.15 p.m. (Figs. 5 t o 10}.
The
mean indicated horse
pow
er
being 422 over the co
ntra
ct ,
the ma
x imum
of
the
premium,
about
5000t. has been paid
to the
firm.
•
The
highe
st
number
of revolutions
per minute,
reached
sever
al
tim
es during the
trials, was 269 for
the
sta r
board engine and 270 for
the port
;
the
approximate
maximum power reached
was
n
cady
4 00 indic
at
ed
horse-pow er. Ann exed
are
also
th
e diagrams
of the
Jo y
's assis ta
nt
cy
linder
(Figs.
11 and 12
). A me
c.
n
sp
eed
of 20.70 kn ots was obtained du ring the
th r
ee
hours'
tria
l.
Th
e
re was
ra in a
nd
wind
blowing strongly
from
th
e
south-wes
t towa
rd th
e finish of
the
tr ial.
On the same day, befor e s
ta r
t ing
the
official trial,
curves were taken t o show
th
e vibrations under diffe
r
en
t speeds .
Th
e curves are reproduced on Figs. 16
to 18. Th e grea
test
vibrations were observed at a
speed of from 2;: 0 to 240 rev o
luti
ons, while at
a. hi
gher
speed the vibrations diminished. On
th
e preliminary
trials, however,
the
v
ib r
at ions were very remarkab le.
In order to obviate th is, the constructo rs decided to
change
th
e low-pressure pistons. The original low
pressure
pi
stons
were
of
the
usual form, with cas t -iron
rin gs similar to
those
of
the
high and
in t
erm
edia
te
cylinders,
and weighed each 540 kilogramm es
(11
90 lb
.}
.
Th ey were
c
han
ged
for
new
pisto
ns
wi th
b
rass
rings,
eac
h weighing 430 ki logrammes (948 lb .).
Th e result was a decided
impro
vement, as it dimi
nished th e v ib rations
in
th e hull, and allowed
th
e
engines to be run at t heir very high
power
witbcut the
sl ightest trnuble.
I t may be added that the
Ar
etnsa is
ft.
lo
ng
by
25 ft . 6 in. beam, and a t 11 ft. 9 in.
draug
ht
di
s
pl
aces 740 ton s. Her ar mament consists of
one
12-
centimctre
gu
n, six 6-pounders, and th ree 3-pounder
qu ick-firing gu n
s,
and three
ma
c
hine guns
. She can
lau
nch
fi
ve
torpedoes simulta neously .
NOTES FROM
THE
UNITED STATES.
PHU
.
ADE
LPUIA,
Dece
mber
11 , 1893.
Tu
E pu rch
ase
of 4:3,000 t ong of
rail
s by th e
P e
nn
sylvania. Railroad
Company probably
marks a
new era
in
rail h
ny
iug. Sc,·era.l oth er s
ys t
ems are
in
need of su ppli es, and
ma k
e
rs
expect th eir o
rders in
J anua ry.
Th
e mill price is fixed
at
24 dols.
The
de
pr
elJ
s
ed
con
dition
of
trad
e c
ontinu
es
in
a
ll
o
th
er
branches.
Manufacturer
s are
tr
ying to for ce business
by moderate concessions.
Locomotive
builders are
ob t
a ining
a.
little mo
re
work, but
the
demand for
rolling s
to
ck has
not
yet
improv
ed .
Foundry
ir on is
moving slowly
at
14 dols. for No. 1, forge iron
12
dols. ,
steel bill
ets
19.50 dols.
in
e
astern mark e
t s. Old
iron
rai ls a re
14
dols
.; th
ere is no
demand. e r c h a n t bar
mills are running half
capac
ity. The
ta r
iff agit
at
ion
is now on, and
the expectat
ion is
that
a decision will
be
reached
within two weeks. ome
are
in favour
of
postponing
the date
of
the
fnforcement of
the
Bill
until
'eptt-mber
. Th e general situation
in
business has not
improved.
Ther
e is an
unpreced
e
nt ed
ly
la rge
volume
of
money in banks. Competition is very
severe in
all
channels of trade. Idleness is quite
ge
nera
l,
a·
1
there
is
but
little res
umpt
ion of work. Large buyt..
....
in all
direc
tions
are
pu r
chasing very meagrely. This con
dition of things will continu e into
January,
when a
revival of
grea
t er
or
less magnitude may be expected.
ARLBEllG
RAILWAY. - A new tunnel 1486 ft. long has
been built alo
ng
the Arlberg Railway. Tbe tunnel was
rendered necessaryby the fall of an a.valancba in July, 1892.
Nsw A ~ J E S Ex cunsiON STEAMER.-The Fairfield
Shipbuilding Company have ju
st
laid down in th eir
works
at
Govan
a.
new
light
-
draught
paddl
e steamer,
which is to be built on the American principle with four
decks. This vessel, ordered by
Mr.
Arnold \VilJiams,
and
intended for a new co
mpany
registered as the Palace
Steamer Company, will be 330 ft. long, with
a
beam of
40
ft., a. moulded dep th to the upper promenade d
ec
k of
21 ft. 6 in., a
nd a
draught of 8 ft. 6 in. The hull will be
composed of steel thr oughout,
and
th ere
are
to be no
fe wer
than
eleven bulkheads, designed to give rigidity
and
safety to
the
wh
ole structure. In all there will be
four d
ec
k
lowe
r,
main,
upp
er,
and
promenade deck.
The last ment ioned, exte
ndmg
over th e vessel for th ree
fo
urths
of its length,
and
free from all obstructions except
the bridge, the ('hart-house,
and
the ventilators, is to be
reserved exclusively for first ·class passe
ng
ers, while ample
promenading space will be provided for second-c
l8.8s
passe
ng
ers on
the upp
er deck, which will correspond to
the promenade d
ec
k of
the
Royal Sovereign
and other
popular
Tham
es pleas
ure
steamers. Th e
ro
will for first
class
pa
sse
ng
ers
be
two
hand
some dining-rooms,
situate
one on the lower deck
and
the other on tho main deck,
the total
seating being for 400
and
ample dining
space is being
arran
ged for seco
nd
-class
trav
ell<>rs. The
vessel, which is
to
be well appointed
th r
oughout,
and to
cost U
O,OOOl.,
is
intend
ed for a new summer service either
to B oulogne or
to
Ostend, or to both
al t
ernately, and her
engines, capable of st>curing a continuous speed of
20
kn
ots, will allow of
th
e return journe-y being made
to
either
pla
ce from
London
in a day.
The
vessel will be
co
mpl
e
ted
by
June
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E N G I N E E R I N G.
[DEc.
22,
1893.
PISTON
AND
PISTON VALVE
PACKING.
CO
NS
TRU
CTED BY THE LEEDS
ENGINEERING
AND HYDRAULIC COMPANY, ENG
INEERS,
LEEDS.
Fig
.3
·
P¥J 1
:H-+Cop.IC'
l u L S p r ~ 9
Bf tJ.4Sl4J19<U
p ;;e
cit.eo eh,
(1(1/go ru 9 .
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,.I
,,
.
,
/ I
1
962
.A
A.
B .
•
..
\VE
illus
trate
on
this page
a form of packing for
piston rings now being manufactured
by the
Leeds
Engineering and Hydraulic Company, of the Provi
dence Works, Cross Stamford -street, Leeds. The
packing represented
in
F igs. l and 2
is
the form
adopted for a 29-in. piston, whilst
ia Figs
. 3
and
4
the
same
type
of packing is shown as applied to a
marine engine piston-valve. Essentially the
pa
cking
cons
is t
s of
four rings,
of
wh
i
ch the inner pair are
n
ot
split, and are turned to fit
the
body
of
the
piston
on
the inside. Externally they are turned
to
a conical
form, so that when
in
position
the
two form a
pair
of
truncated
cones placed base to base.
ro
ckets
varying
in
size a nd number with th e diameter
of
the
piston
are cast in these rings, and in them are
placed spiral s
prings,
as shown, the pre
ssure
of
which
tends
to keep
the
rings
apart
from each
other.
The other pair
of rings
are
spli t, and fit
the
cylind
er
externally, whilst internally
they
are turned
to fit
the
conical
portions
of
the
inner pair of rings.
As
these
latter are
always
being pressed apart by the
springs aforement
ioned,
it is
obvious
that the
result
of this will be th at
the split
rings
are
pressed out-
wards against the cylin<Jer walls. As will be seen,
there
is
always solid metal between the body of the
piston and
the
wall of
the
cy
linder. The
only point
s
in
which
the packing
varies
with the size of the piston
are in the
number and stiffness of
the
springs used, and
in
the thickness of
the
rings themselves. The makers
have,
we
understand,
fou
nd
it
advantageous to
replace
two
or
threP, of
the
spiral
springs
by
brass
pins, wh ich
tit tightly into the boles
in
o ~ e
of
the
inner
~ i n g s and
loosely
into the other
. TblS keeps
the rmg
s more
securely in position.
ORE AND COAL WASHING MACHINE.
ON
the present
page we illustrate a
ne' type
of
jigging machine, designed for c o n c e n t r ~ t m g ores,
coal-washing,
and
other purposes of
eJ:
like a t u r ~
In jigging machines which have x e d .s1eves, w h e r ~ m
mineral
s or other substances, haviDg d1fferent ~ f i c
gravities,
are
separated
by means.
of a.
st r
eam of water,
the
plung_ers mot10n
to
the water
g e n e r a rece1ve, _m ex1stmg ty pes,
their reciprocatory mot10n from etther
cranks,
eccen
trics, or levers and tappets. .
Such arrangements
nece
ssitate steam
or
other
mottve power
and shaft
ing
and the
chief
merit a ~ e d
for
the
p p a r ~ t u s
we' now descr ibe
is
that experunve permanen t fittmgs
are
dispensed
with, and,
i f
there
a
n a ~ u r a l
bead
of
water,
no
other s o u ~ c c : >
of
p_ower
requtred.
ferring to our
i l l u s t r . a t l O n ~
Ftg . l lS a c.ross sect10n
of
the
machine, wh11Bt F1g. 2 IS a sect10n through
the ,ralve cylinder on a larger sca le.
The
a p p a r a . ~ u s
will be seen to consist of a trough
or tank,
wh1ch
is divided at its upper part into two compartments;
_
I -
,
'
:,0
I I
' '
I
I o
A
- ·
-- -,
a
is
the
rec iprocating piston
by
which motion is
given to
the water
used for w
ashing; b
is
the
sieve
or screen on which the ore or coal is washed. As
the
rectangular piston moves up and dow n, it causes
a backward
and forward
flow or pu lsa tion of the
water
contained in the
tro
ugh. This is communicat
ed
to
the
water in
the oth
er half of
the
trough, and
the
water is thus made to pass backwards and forwards
through the
sieYe,
keeping the material operated
upon
in ag itation.
This,
of course, is the ordinary
jigging machine, well kn
own
to mining engineers.
r ~ g . t
•
-
-
Referring now
to
Fig. 2, we seo how
the
reoipro
ca t
ing motion is gh·en t o th e wooden piston, and
this
const
itutes
the
novelty
of
the apparatus.
V\'a
ter
at
pr essure flows into the h a ~ b e r a a. .
Th is is closed
at th
e
bottom
by a d1aphragm of
indiarubber
or
other flexible material. A rod,
the
top of whi ch is shown
in
Fig. 2, connec ts the dia
phragm to
the
rectangular ~ v o o d ~ n piston, which
agitates
the
water, as
shown 1n
F1g.
l .
The upper
part
of
the chamber
a terntinates in
a v a ~ v e case
into which fits a piston valve,
the latter
bemg con
trolled by means of
the
le,·
er
an? weight shown,
?r, i f
necessary, a s
prin
g
may
be used
1n
pl
ace.
of
t_he
wetght,
the
action being the same, ~ o w e v e r
1n
e ~ t h e r case.
The
chamber
a a being filled w1th water havlDg a head,
its interior is subjected
to
a
static
presRure. Upon
the
piston valve being rai sed,
water
flows fr om
the
chamber by
the
ports (two of which ~ r e s h o ~ in
the
illustration),
and
the
static pressure belDg
reheved,
the
S
ectwn,
A
.
B
Fig.4.
I
•
I
I
·- ·-
·- ·t
-·---
o-
8
1
•
I
diaphragm rises, assumi
ng the
position shown in Fig.
2,
and
carries
with
it
the
rectangular pis ton . I t is
assi
sted
in this by the reaction of
the
spr ing shown
coil
ed round
the
connecting-rod (F ig. 1) ; at
the
same
time
the valve actuated by the l
ever
and weight
descends.
The
flow of water, being thus
suddenly
arrested
by the
closing of
the
va.lve, expends its ki netic
energy by causing th e diaphragm to reciprocate, forcing
down the
rec
tangul
ar
wood
en
pis
ton, and thus
pro
ducing
the downward
stroke.
The
momentum of
the
water
also
at the same time
causes the
valve
to rise
•
•
•
.
•
(its premature opening being provided against
by
pro
vidi
ng a suitable amount of lead
,
and the same cycle
of
movements is rep
eated
.
t would appea
r
at
first sight
that
after the
machine
had been
in work
for a few
strokes it would
cease
to act, as an equ ilibrium of pressu
re
would be
set
up
in
the
chamber
a
so that
the
piston
in the
cylinder
abo ve would be forced upwards sufficiently to
open
th
e ports
wid
e enough
to
give a balance
to the
two
opposing forces - namely,
those
of the
weight
and le \
•er above, and of
the water
pressure
du e to
the
head. Such, however, is
not the
case,
the
action being somewhat similar to that of
the
hydraulic ram, or water
hammer,
often experien
ce
d
in pipes. The apparatus will, we understand, work
with
a head of from 10 ft. to 20 ft. or more.
After
the water
has
pa
ssed through
the
motive part of
the
machine, it is utilised for supplying the hutches, and
it is said that experience shows but little more water
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THE
ITALIAN
TORPEDO
GUNBOAT
ARET US A."
.H::: ·••
·••·
is
requir
ed for
the
double purpose of
dri
ving and
washing
than
would
be
necessa
ry
for washing alone.
The
machine has
the
undoubted advantage of being
co
mpact, portabl
e,
and easily insta lled, no foundat
ion
being re
q
uired, whil
st
it can be put in any
position
wher
e
a. pipe ca
n
be
run
to
it
.
V
a.riation
in
speed of
running
is obtained
by adjustment
of
the weight or
spring, the
speed of
the
machine being
adjustable from
80 to 350 strokes
per
min
ute
with a 25-ft. head, and
to
high
er speeds
with
a
greater
head.
In
a
ll
jigging
machines
of t
his nature some head
of
water is requi
r
ed
to carry off
the skimpings,
" or
light
was
te
material ,
and
als o
to
for ce
the
water through the
sieves
and
j i
gg
in
g
hutches.
vVe recently
had
an opportunity
of seeing one of
these
m
ac
hines
in pract
i
ca
l
work
at
Brentford,
when it was engaged in
separating
cinders
from ashes,
and it
is
probabl
e
that in manufacturing
es
tabli
sh
ments, where there is any considerable amoun t of
steam power em ployed, it would
pay
very well
to
wash
ashes in this way,
for
the
sake of
the
useful fuel r
e
covered in
the
sha pe of cinders. The following are
particulars of
a
tr
i
al
made
previous ly to our
v
isit:
The si
ze of
the hydrauliccylinder was
6 in.
in
di
ameter.
The number
of
strokes
made was 120 per minute,
th e
ir len
gth
being I in. to in .;
the
amount of water
was 50.55
lb.
per minute, and
the
bead of
water
25ft.
The
size
of
the
plunger was
2
ft
.
11 in. by
1
ft.
3
in.,
(For D
es
ription,
see
Page
756.)
the sieve
being of
the sa
me
dimensions.
The horse
power of th e machine wa s 0.38. In coal -washing by
the
ord
inar
y process, it has been found
that
a
weight of water equal
to
one-half
the
weight of
coal washed was required, so
that
washing 30 tons
of coal would require 15 tons of water. The amount
of
water used with
one of these
ma
c
hines, to get
the
same result in coa
l
-washing, was
13.5
tons, thus
show
ing
a saving of
water
of 1.5 tons
in ten hour
s, in addition
to the saving resultin
g from
th
e f
act th
at no
steam or
other motive power was made
use of.
The
advantages claimed
are
as follows: Th e machine
is
entire
ly
independent
of all
other pl
a
nt, and
may
be
used
in places
where no motiv-e power is ava ilable. I t
is extremely s
imple; ther
e
are but
few
moving parts;
no
shaftin
g,
with the
necessary
attention and
lubri
cation, is required.
Ther
e is no belting to
perish.
Th e
machines can be fitted in
any
position,
and their speed
regulate d without rega rd
to
the other plant. This
is a
matter
of grea t importance, as, for
th
e proper
and
e
ffi
c
ient
performance of
their
work, jigging
ma
c
hines req
u
ire a. steady and uniform
speed,
whereas
the
speed of th e shafting in mining plant is subject to
var
iation du e to the chang
in
g load in the
ore-crushers
and other machines, and it
is often
necessar
y to
employ
coned pulleys
or
other gear to enable
the
speed of
the
jigging
machinery
to be altered.
Th i
s
hydrauli
c
jigging
machine,
producing its
own motive power
and
I ./'.
•
'
-·
being quite distinct
from
other plant, can
be
regulat
ed
as to speed by
the
simple operation of altering
the
tension of
the
contro
llin
g s
pring or the
position of
the weight
upon
the
lever,
as the
case
may
be.
There
is also
an ab
sence
of
l
atera
l
vibration, which
is in
herent to the
use of eccentrics,
c
.,
and
as modern
pra
c
ti
ce
tends to the
use
of
a.
considerab
ly
increased
speed,
this is
also
a.
m
atter
of
import
ance.
The
machine may be driven
by wa t
e
r, which
is used
over
and
over again,
or
it can
be actuated by
means
of a
ram in
a
running st
ream
at
a distance
from it,
the
ram
ra ising
water, and thus giving
the
required
head.
The ma
chine is
the inv
ention of Me
ssrs
.
Sennett
a
nd
Duri
e, of
Brentford,
London,
and
is
being introduced
by
them.
R ussiAN
ROAD
S.- A
most
important
Russian
road along
the
north
coaet of the
Black Sea.
is approac
hing
its com
pletion.
Its
length is over
200
miles,
and it
s con
st ru
ction
will undoubtedly have
the
greatest influence
upon the
culti
vat
ion of
large tract
s which are
at pr
ese
nt
very
thinly populated,
a.
fact which has mad e the work con
siderably more difficult. Both from
a.
commercial and
a
military point
of view, the new
road
possesses great
advantages
.
RAILWAY
COLLISIONS AT RO SCREA AND
EN
FIELD
t )
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)
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00
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•
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,
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·-·
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----
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- . - ·- . z
)
· -
--····
· I 11
General
Hutchinson's
repo
rt
s on two s
light
collisions
have
just
appeared.
The
first, which occurred on October8
near Roscrea station, on
the Great Southern and
W
astern
Railway of Ir eland, was
ca
used by the driver of a light
engine attempting to
bank a.
passenger train up an
incline, although this was contr ary to
th
e block rules and
necess
itated hi
s passing
two
signals of
danger
H e ran
into
the train he wished to a-ssist, and six passengers were
injured, and the guard,
wh
o was at the
do
or of his van,
was knocked off, but
happily
not seriously
injured.
After the collision the train was found to be divided, and
the driver of
the
lighb engine alleges
tha.b it
was
th
e
dividing of the
train that
caused
the
collision,
but Ge
neral
Hutohinson that
this was
the
effect of bhe collision,
rather than the
cause.
The
second collision was
a.
slig
ht
one
at
Enfield Town
terminal station,
on the G
reat Eastern
Railway, where, on October
17
,
a.n
incoming passenger
train collided with the buffer-stops. Seven passengers
complained of injury, and the buffer-stops, which were
old, were damaged. Like mo
st
buffer-stop collisions,
this was
due
to
running into a.
terminal station
only to the continuous brake, which in this case, however,
did not fail to ac
b,
but caused the
wh
eels to skid. Such
collisions will continue to occur
until
all railway co
m
panies
adopt the
rule of allowing the use of band
brakes
on
ly
when entering terminal stations, reserving
th
e con
tinuous
brake
for other occasions,
and
see
that it
is
str
ictly
ca
rried
out.
To
limit
the
speed
to
"
hand-brake
" speed,
without forbidding the use of the continuous brake, is
quite
useless.
Mu
st we
wa.ib
till some duke
is
killed
before the Board of Trade insist on
thi
s?
z
tr1
trl
z
C)
•
V \
\0
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THE
CANADIAN
COURTS AT THE WORLD S CO LUMB IAN EXPOSITION.
(Fo
·r
Dc::x; ·iption see Page
772.)
- ··
-
- ~ ~ -
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\ .•· _. .. . : · 1 r
t
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, . _..............
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:
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;r a-;s-
;a •
. - -
•••
. :r
..-
Frc.
10.
N E ~
A ~ D J N I ~ c .
Frc. 11. AGRI C
ULTl RAL T I O ~
•
•
·-
•
F I G.
12.
A CRICl;LTURAL
l\1ACliiNERY.
FI
G .
13.
N E R Y
ExnnnT .
-1
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C)
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DEc. 22, 1893.]
AGENTS FOR "ENGINEERING."
AusTR
IA,
Vienna: Lehma.nn and Wentzel, Kii.rntnerstra.sse.
OAP ToWN :
Gordon
and Gotoh.
EDTNBURGn: Jo hn M
enzies
and Co. , 12, Hanover-str
eet.
FR.L'lCE, Paris : Boyveau
and
Chevill et , Lib rai rie
Etrang
ere, 22,
Ru e d e la Ba.nque ; M. Em. Terquem, 3lb
le
Boul
ev
ard
Haussmann.
Al
so for
A d v e r ~ i s e m e
n L B
Agonce
ll
a.vas, 8, Pl ace de
la
Bo urse.
(See below.)
GERMAN Y,
Be
r
lin:
M
ess
rs .
A. Ashe
r
and
Co., 5, Unter den
Linden
.
Le
ip
zig :
F.
A.
Br o
c
khaus.
Mulhouse : H .
Stuck
elber
ge
r .
GLASGOW : Willia.m Love,
•
I NDIA, Calcutta.: Thacke
r,
Spink, and Co.
Bombay: Thacker and
Co.,
Limited.
l'rALY :
U.
H
oep
li , Milan, and any
po
st office.
Lr
V
RP
OO L : Mrs. Ta.ylor, Landing Stage.
MAN
C
ITEST R.:
J
ohn
Heywood, 143, Deansga.te.
NR w SouTu WALRS, Sydney : Turner and H end
ers on,
16 and 18,
Hunter
-st
r
ee
t. Gordon and Gotoh, e e t .
Qu ENSL.AND
(SO
U
TH)
, Br isbane:
Go r
don ana Ootoh.
(NORTD), Townsville: T. Willmett
and
Co.
ROTI'RRDAM : H . A. Kra.mer
and
Son.
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TO
AUSTRALIA, Adelaide: W. C. Rigby.
UNITRD STATRS, New York: W. H . Wil
ey,
63, East l Oth -stree t .
Chica g
o:
H.
V.
H ohn
es
,
44,
La
keside Building.
VICTORIA ,
M ~ L B
O U R N B :
.M
elviUe,
Mull
en andSlade, 261/
264
, Collins
st reet. Gordon
and
Gotoh, Limited, Qu een-street.
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IBERS.
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GN'BERING
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ow
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ect to
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she r ,
MR
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nd
36, B
edfo
rd
street, St rand, London, W
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or to our acc redited Agents for th e
United States, Mr. W. II . WrL Y, 53, East l Oth -st ree t, N
ew
York ,
and
Mr
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olmes
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es
ide
Buildin
g, C
hi
cago. Tbe
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ces of
Subsc
ription (pa
yable
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va
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01Bce for Publication and
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Nos.
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and
36, Bedford·street ,
Strand,
London. W.\;.
TELRGRAPHIO
ADDRRSS
- ENGINEERING, LONDON.
T
ELEPHONE
NUMBKR -3668.
ENGINEERING is r
egis
t ered for t r
ansmissio
n
ab road
.
CONTENTS.
PAGE
A
New
Peru
llmtrated
) . . 749
Steam
Boiler
p ~ r i m e n t s .
No . xnr. . .
........
... 762
'l h
e
American Society of
Nava
l Arch ite cts .
. . . . .
.. 752
Pullman Obser
vatio
n and
8leeping
Car
Illu
strated)
75
6
Pe
c
kh
am Do11ble-Extension
Can tileverTram way
Tr uck
at the World 's Columbian
l : xposition
tlUuatrated) . . 755
''our -
Cylinde
r
Compound
Locomotive
at the
World's
Colum bian Ex p
ositi
on
Il
lustrated)
. . . . . . . . . . . . . .
766
Eoginesof th eItalian
Cruise
r
" Ar
et
usa"
Il
lustra ted).. 766
Notes
fr
om
the United
States . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 757
P iston and Piston Val ve
Pack llmtrated ) ..
..
758
0 re and
Coa l
W
a.shing
Machine
l
l lmtrated
. . . .
758
Notes from t he North ..•• . . 760
Notes from Cleveland and
the
No
rth ern Counties ..
'760
Notes from
South Yorkshire 760
N
otes from the
South-West 761
Misce llanea . . . . . • • . . . . •••. 761
Th
e
Debate on
t
heN
avy
. . 763
Dangerous O
cc
up at ions . .•• 764
The
Dist
ribution of Power
from Niagara
.. •
.•••
•. •.
.
'766
PAGE
The Evol
ut
ion of the Atlan -
tic Grey hound
.. ..
_
. ..
• 766
Notes . . • . . . . . . . . . . . . . . • 766
Shipbuilding
and
Marine
Engineerin g in 1893 (I llus
tra ted)
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
767
H
.v
dra.ulic
Po w
er S
uppl
y in
London . . . . . . . . . . . • . . . . 769
Th
e Stability of Armour-
c
lads
. . . . . . . . . • . . . . . . . • 770
Steam J ets . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 770
The
Unemp l
oye
d . . . . . . . . . . 770
Economica l ~ p e e d of St e
am
-
s hips . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 770
Patent Office Library . . . . . . 770
M
et
hod
of
Taking Out
Str
es
ses . . . . • • . . . . . . . . . . 770
Ve
rtica l
Engine
and Centri
fugal
Pump
l l lmtrated ) 771
Ba
xt
ers' Lock Nut Il lu&
tra ted) .. . . . . . . . . . . . . • • 771
Industria l
Notes
.
. . • .
.• . .• 771
British Colonies at
the
World's Columbian Ex-
position (I ll
ustra
ted) . . . . 772
Some Pr a
ct
ical Ex am
pl
es
of
Blasting IUmtrated)
. ..
. 773
Rail
way
uollision
at
Droit
wich . . . . . . . . . . . . .. .. . . . . 774
Laun
ch
es and Tr i
al
Trip
s .. 774
•• Eng ine erin
g
Patent Re·
co
rd (Illustrated )
. . • • . • . •
77 6
lJ'ilh a
Tw
o-Page EngraiJing of the TR
IPLE
-
EXPAN
SI
ON
EN
GIN ES OF TilE ITALIAN TORPEDO GUNBOAT
A.RET
USA.
•
E N G I N E E R I N G.
riff
SPECIAL NOTICE.
The Publisher begs to state
that
he has recently
received
a
number of communications having
re
ference
to a special
number of the "Engineer ing
Review," for which advertisements are
being soli·
cited. Many telegrams have apparent ly
been
sent
out by the publisher of
that
periodical so
worded
as
to unintentionally
convey the Idea
that
the
advertisements were
being solicited
for ENGI·
NEERING. The Publlsher begs to state
that
the
two periodicals above mentioned have no connec·
t ion
whatever
with
each other.
NOTICE.
The
New Cunarders CAMPANIA and LU -
CANIA ;
and
the WORLD'S COLUMBIAN
EXPOSITION OF
1893.
The Publlsher begs to announce
that
a
Reprint is
now
ready of
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ENGINEERING.
FRIDAY,
DEC
EMBER
1893.
THE DEBATE ON THE NAVY.
THE debate on th e state of the Navy, which took
place
in the Hou
se of Commons on Tuesday last
followed the course that might have been expected:
I t is
the
misfortune of our system of government
that
it is almost impossible to sepa
ra
te t he adminis
tration of the
Navy
from
party
politics. The fact
although deplorable, is inevitable, unless some r a d i ~
cal change be made, and i t is useless to blame thi s
or that individual for a defect which is
inher
ent
to
t
he
p e r n i i o u ~ s ~ s t e m
that
has grown to be a part
of o
ur
ConstitutiOn.
Lord
George
Hamilton
was
careful to say that his motion was of a non-partisan
character,
and
we are willing to give him credit for
a
ll
candour,
but the task
of lif ting
the
administra
tion of
the
Navy out of the mire of party politics
was entire
ly
beyond his powers ; as, indeed, it is
b_eyond
the
p o ~ e r of a n ~ a t e ~ m a n so
to
do
by
s1mple declaratiOn of a
v:
·1sh or Intent ion. What
ever may have been said, or might have be en said
by the leaders on either side, had the P r i m ~
Minister accepted L o
rd
George Hamilton 's motion
it
would have been looked on as a party victory for
the Opposition, and would have been made use of
at the polls.
I t
is n
ot
for th is reason
that the
course taken by
Mr. should meet with p ~ r o v a l although
parhamentanans appear to cons1der
it
an all
sufficient excuse. So degraded hav e we become
that political self-preservation is
un
blushin
CTly
ackn
owledged
the
first law of
nature
for
f r ~ n t
benches.
' ' I s it
likely," say t
he
supporters of the
Government, "that Mr. Gladsto
ne
should acknow
ledge his adversaries
right
and himself wrong 1
It
would be sin1ply political suicide
"
Such senti
ments
are not dishAd up raw and undisCTuised for
the
consumption of
the
British public ;
that
is not
our modern British m_anne:. We cozen
an
d gloze ;
we obscure counsel with wtndy rhetoric· we ignore
facts which do
not
serve our purpose '
or
unduly
emp.
ha
sise others t h a ~ do; we
attribute
unworthy
mot1ves to others, posmg ourselves as
the
most dis
interested of pat riots : but perish ordor ar ts
learning, national honour,
and
public security
long as we can sit
tight
in
the
sunshine of 'the
Treasury Bench, dooming our opponents t o the cool
shade of Opposition : and there is not a pin to
choose between
either
party.
H owever,
the
administration of
the
Navy is
in
the
g
rip
of
party
politics, a
nd
it
is t
he duty
of
every non-political journal to make as good a fight
as l)ossible for
the true interest
s of
the
country.
A few weeks ago* we published a simple statement
* See page
593
ante.
of facts which showed
what
would be, at a
future
date, th e posit ion of
the British
Navy in relat ion
to that of two o
ther
P owers. We
then stated
that
we were too near danger poi
nt
for inq
uiry
into
this question t o
be any
longer delayed,
and
we
think an unbiassed examination of
the
Tables we
put forward can lead to no other conclusion.
Certainly n
othin
g said
in the
d
ebat
e of
last
jTuesday
evening has weakened o
ur
opinion
in
this respect.
Lord George Hamilton was repeating our previous
statement in asserting that "our command of the
sea is
at the pr
esent mo
ment in jeopardy," alth
ough
the
danger might
be
prospective
rather
than im
mediate,
and
we
can
ther
efo
re
suppo
rt
the
Con
servative ex-First Lo
rd
of the Admiralty without
fe
ar
of accusation of political bias. Time is indeed
iu this
matter
the master of the situation.
I t
is
not as
it
was in days past, when wars were prolonged,
and th e construction of vessels could be pushed
forward t o
take their
place
in the
line of
battle
though they might
not be
c o m m e n c ~ d at
the
time
peace was broken. In this way England 's ship
building resources have stood her
in
good
stead
in
the
days of th e o
ld
wars ; but such
thin
gs will
not
happen again. As a nation now finds it se
lf
on
the
decla ration of war, so will i t have to fight its way
to
the
end. P otential
energy
is not
lik
ely
to be
a factor of mo
dern
naval s
uc
cess, although ship
yards and engineering shops will be of value to
make good quickly the damages of battle. Modern
wars are of
short duration
on land,
and
are
li k
e
ly
to be still
shorter
on sea.
Th
e e
nd
might come
before we
had
t ime even
to
la
unch half-a-dozen
torpedo-boats.
When
the
Naval Defence
Act
of
1889
was passed,
the Government of
the
day undertook
that
the
British Navy of 1894 would be equal to any t wo
navies of
Europe. Lord
George Hamilton claimed
that
this promise was fulfilled,
or
would be
by
April
next,
but that there
was li t
tle
margin to spare.
Looking to
the
fu ture, however, he found that at
th
e co
mm
encement of t
he
next financial year
France
will have six battleships building, and
three
more will be commenced in
that
year.
The
dis
placement of th ese nine ships would be 106,000
tons. will have six
battleships
building,
and
two
w1ll be
commenced
next
year. This gives
eight altogether , with a displacement of
90,000
tons; or, taking.both France and Russia, seventeen
b
attl
eships, with
an
aggregate t o
nn a
ge of
196,000
tons. Of course we
ha
ve not
next
year
's pr og
ramme
re
vealed,
but
as
at pr
ese
nt
arranged
G
reat Britain
will have three ships building,
representing
42,000
tons,
and
two of th ese have only
been
commenced
w
ithin the
last
three
weeks or so. In addition
to
these line-of-battle ships,
France
and R ussia have
each
two
coast defence
ve
ssels in construction,
having
an
aggreg
ate
tonnage of
2
1,000 tons
and
th e
se vessels
are
so heavily armed and armo
ur
ed t
hat
they might take their place in the line of batt le were
they present; and the course of naval warfare would
likely be such
that th e
y would have every chance
of being present. Passing to first-class cruisers
L ord George Hamilton pointed
out
t hat F r a n c ~
will
have
fiv e building, r
epresenting
a displace
~ e n t of
30,000
tons,
and
Russia two, equal
to
a
d1splacement of
23,000
t ons. Against th is,
En
CY}and
will h ave only one building, representing ; dis
placement of
1.4,000 ton
s, a single vessel not
yet
begun. Summ1ng up these figures, it will
be
found
that
at
the
comlll:ence flent of
the
next
naval y
ea
r
F r ~ n ? e and Russ1a: Will have twenty-eight ships
bu1ldmg, re
present1n
g a displacement of
270
000
ton
s,
and Great Britain
will have four ships
b ~ i l d -
ing, re_presenting a displacement of
56,000
tons.
Summtng
up, Lord George
said
that in the course
of next
year France and
Russia will have
twenty
one armoured ships
in
various stages of construc
tion, with a total displacement of 217 000 tons
which would be equal to
half
the total
~ u m b e r
of
battle
ships ava ilable for
the
Navy of G
reat Britain.
We
find a good deal of comfort in Mr. Glad
stone's reply to
the
late First Lord 's attack. With
th? :political
part
of the question, which
th
e Prime
Minis
ter
resolu te
ly
refused
to
ignore, we have
little
concern. I t is a satisfaction that Mr. Gladstone
acknowledges
it
to be the capital duty of the
Government
to
make adequate
pr
oposals for the
defence of the country. " Such a phrase may of
course,
mean
no
thing,
but in
the pres
e
nt
case' we
think it
means
a. great deal.
The
present Govern
ment
have found
they
have made
rather
a mistake.
U
n d ~ r
pressure of a falling revenue, and with a
~ e f i c t t o face, t he old tactics-common alike in
tunes past to both parti
e s -
have been to squeeze
7/17/2019 Engineering Vol 56 1893-12-22
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the
Navy.
I t
was an easy and popular course,
but of
late years
the
Press has done
some
thing to
enlighten the public,
and
since
the
great exposure of 1884, a new temper
has been engendered.
The
average citizen sees
how essential a strong Navy is to national exist
ence ;
not simply to natio
nal
self-glorification,
but
to
th e continuance of that commerce by which W
all live. The present Government have been some
what
slow
to
recognise
this
salutary awakening,
but
the course of affairs out of doors during the
last few weeks has
apparently
opened their eyes.
If
we
can
read
between
the
lines of Mr. Gladstone's
speech, therefore, we shall have a fair shipbuilding
programme when
the
Estimates
are brought
for
ward early next year. Doubtless it would have
pleased
the Government
well enough to have
acquiesced in that which
Lord
George Hamilton
asked,
but
it does not do for old parliamentary
hands to climb down.
I t
exalts the wisdom of
the
other side.
There is one circumstance in connection with the
provision for naval expenditure which seems as hope
less as ever. When the
late
Government brought
forward
the
Naval Defence Bill, it was
attacked
by
the Opposition for reasons which appeared to us,
and
which we still believe, to have been purely partisan.
I t is difiicult
to
see how business men, accustomed
to the conduct of large constructive works, could
seriously question the wisdom of
prov
iding some
thing
like a continuous programme.
The
opposi
tion,
fortunately
unavailing, was, however, so
strong and
so explicitly
stated
that even parlia
mentarians have not been able to eat their words,
and the Navy Estimates will
st
ill remain the
sport of public opinion, as it blows hot
or
cold
from year to year, whilst the prospect of a
poor Budget is likely
to
produce
that
state of
danger which unscrupulous Chancellors of
the
Exchequer-and
they are all unscrupulou have
no hesitation in bringing
about
by curtailing the
Navy
Estimates. One would have th o
ught
that
Governments would have been only too glad to
be protected against themselves,
or
against
the
breath of unp opularity due to a rise in taxation ;
and
so
they
would
have been
were
it
not that poli
tical tactics demand opposition to one of the wisest
measures ever brought before Parliament.
DANGEROUS OCCUPATIONS.
PuBLIC opinion is rapidly changing
on
the
sub
ject of dangerous occupations. Formerly the con
ditions of employment were regarded as a matter of
consideration for the workman only,
and
if he
accepted them it was assumed
that
he found ~ h e
risks were counterbalanced by
the
advantages. He
was free to follow or to leave a calling as he
chose, and the fact that he
retained
it was assumed
to be evidence that he found it more remunerative
than other and safer occupations. The Manchester
school of politicians, which preached
the
doctrine
that individuals
and
classes were quite able to safe
guard their own interests,
both
personal and finan
cial, without
aid
from
the
State, is now pretty
nearly extinct, for experience has clearly shown the
fallaciousness of
its
views. Freedom of contract
between an employer with capital,
and
a workman
witho
ut
capital, either in the shape of money in his
or
of a share in the funds
and
protection of
a
trade
union, is a
very
one-sided affair.
The
claims
of an
empty
stomach cannot be deferred until better
times, like those of capital,
but
must
be
met
day
by
day, and, if possible, several times a day.
Hence the
isolated workman is not usually in
a
position to make an
i n e p e n e n ~
bargain with his
possible employers, and demand n c r e a ~ e d payment
to cover
the
risks of a dangerous occupation. I t is
only in times of great commercial prosperity, when
every
possible hand is employed, that
the
less
skilled and unorganised workers
are
able to make
successful deman ds for increased remuneration.
At
all
other
times the demand for employment keeps
waaes down to a point at which the risks to life
and limb are n
ot
provided for, and it further pre
vents
any
systematic agitation f or improved means
and processes
by
which these risks may be mi li
mised. The
better
class of workmen- those w1th
more
than
average ability-naturally avoid call
ings which threaten their lives, and hence it comes
that
these
are
filled with
the
least
able of the
lab
ouring classes. Those with no education or
skill
and
those who from physical or
mental
reasons
are i'nept in fighting the battle of life, find them
selves impelled by a force too powerful to be re-
•
N G
I
N RING.
sisted into trades in which the dangers are
greatest
and
the pay small
es t
.
The sense of a civilised community now demands
that
the State should endeavour to exercise a
paternal care over those that
are
not competent
to
take care of themselves. Women and children
have long been the
subject
of special
industri
al
legislation,
and
now this is even being extended
to
adult male workers. Provided this is not carried too
far, no reasonable person can object to it.
The great
majo rity of employers
are
anxious to deal justly
with
those
that
work for them,
but
the task is
render
ed
difficult-and
sometimes almo
st
imp
os
sib l e -by an unscrupulous minority, whose com
pet ition iu the
market
renders lib eral
treatment
almost impossible. Legislation is required in
many
trades to
bring up
a few members to the
standard of humanity that the majority desire
to
practise, and which they would readily adopt, were
it
not that
it
would put
them
at a disadvantage in
the market,
and
lessen not only their profits, but
the amount of employment
that
they could pro
vide. Further, legislation is valuable in prevent
ing the evils that come from long acquaintance
with danger.
I t
needs some
external
pressure to
cause even a gentle-hearted
man
to
adopt
new
systems of working, even when they do not entail
any great
expense. Habit is very powerful,
and
most of us e
ndur
e inconveniences in our daily life
simply because we continually defer making the
slight effort
re
quired for
their
abolition.
We
con
template in
all seriousness making
the
change
next
week
or next month, and
years slide
past
without
it being effected. Not without reason the demon
said, To-morrow always was my favourite day."
An
Act of
Parliament
is useful when
it
obliges us
to fix a date for the reform which we have not
hither
to
been able
to
find a fitting opportunity
to
undertake.
The present Home Secretary, the Right. Hon.
H.
H.
Asquith, has turned his
attention to the
ques
tion of dangerous occupations,
and
wi th in the past
few days two reports of department committees
have been issued regarding them,
on
" Various
Lead Industries," and on Potteries respectively.
The former is
the
more impo
rtant
of th e two, as
the industr ies in question
are
no toriously dan
gerous, particularly that dealing with the manufac
ture of white lead. For some time past much
ha
s,
however, been done to
render
it less noxious to
the
work people by the issue of rules whieh require
the
employers
to
pr
ovide overalls
and
respirators
for use in certain processes, and also accommoda
tion for washing
and
bathing.
The
employer is
required to see that the wo
rkp
eople wash faces
and
hands before .each meal-time, and take a weekly
bath
. He
ha
s to provide all necessary appliances
for t heRe purposes, and insist on their use. By these
means
the constant
absorption of l
ead throug
h
the
skin is greatly reduced ;
the
overalls
prevent the
clothes becoming fouled, while the cleansing pre
vents
lead particles being carried in to food, or
accumulated under the nails and in the pores of
the skin. To minimise the absorption of lead dust,
the
plates of lead carbonate are required to be
wetted before they are removed from the white
beds,,
and
again at
the
crushing mills. But in
spite of these precautions much dust is created.
That this is so will be understood from a descrip
tion of
the
process of manufacture. Gratings
or
thin
plates of metallic lead
are
made
into
stacks
within a brick cell. Thi s is done as follows : The
floor of the stack is first covered with a layer of
tan ; on this are arra nged as closely as possible
stoneware pots filled
with dilute
acetic acid,
and
on the top of these
are
placed four
or
five
layers of lead plate. The whole is covered over
with boards, forming a second floor, upon which
fr
esh
layers of tan, pots, and plates are arranged. This
is in
its
turn covered
in
th e same way,
and
so
on
until
the
stack is full, as many as
ten or
more
layers going into one stack. When it is complete,
it
is closed and left
ten
to fifteen weeks ;
the tan
heats
and
evolves carbonic acid, the
heat
volatilising
the acetic acid. Chemical action between
the
lead,
the
carbonic acid,
the
acetic acid,
and
the air takes
place, leading through a series of changes not
clearly understood
to the ultimate
pro
du
ction of
an
amorphous basic carbonate of lead,
or
white lead .
'Vhen
the
process is supposed to be complete, the
stack
is opened
and taken
to
pieces.
The
corroded
lead plates
are
carried in trays, generally by
women, to corrugated rollers, over which there
passes a constant stream of water. In front of these
rollers the corroded lead is tipped,
after
being
[DEc 2
I
893.
dipped in water or thoroughly wetted
by
a
hose,
otherwise much dust
arises,
and
even this
does not
entirely
prevent it. In passing through
the rollers the wbite lead is separated from any
remaining blue
or
metallic lead.
The
crushed
material next passes into a shallow
tank,
having a
perforated
bottom,
in
which it is raked about, com
pleting the separation. 'l'he blue lead is rak€d
out, and
th
e white lead passes with the current of
water to
grinding mills, where
it
is ground up anu
run into a series of washing
tanks
or becks.
Her
e
the
lead
settles, and the water is
run
off; the white
lead is
then
removed,
put into
earthenware
or
copper pans, and placed in drying ovens. Th ere
it
remains from three
to
five days ; the pans
are
taken from the ovens
by
hand labour,
and
the
dry
white lead is ei ther packed directly
in
casks or
thrown into
bin s for
subsequent
conversion into
paint. The emptying of the ovens and the packing
of the white lead is necessa
rily
a
very dusty
opera
tion, since the white lead, being perfectly
dry
and
friable, rises readily as dust.
Such i a general outline of the process.
The
chief
danger arises fr om the inhalation of the dust ,
which is carried directly in to
the lun
gs, and also by
the
saliva into the stomach.
There
is also danger
from absorption through the skin, and by particles
being dropped
into
food from the hands. These
two latter
are
fairly provided against
by
the
present
regulations, and it is to the former
that
the com
mittee directed their principal attention. They
found, by
inquiring
of
the
medical officers con
nected
with the
various works, that women
are
more
susceptible to lead poisoning than men,
and
young
girls than full-grown women.
I t
is well known
that
lead is capricious in
its
action on the
human
constitution, and that while some can resist its effects
almost perfectly,
others
succumb
very
readily.
From
the evidence
taken
it would appear that a
strong
organisation is the best defence, and
that
conse
quently
the weaker sex
are the
chief sufferers. As
it is impossible to predict what will be the effect
on a given person of the absorption of lead, the
committee have
taken the
bold course of recom
mending
that
no female labo
ur
be permitted, after
January
1, 1896, in
the
white beds, the
roller
s, the
wash becks, the stoves,
or
in packing dry
white
lead . Practically this covers the entire manufac
ture,
and, if the recommendation be adopted, must
have very serious consequences on the trade.
I t
is
little
less than a revolution to
prohibit
women working
at
a manufacture t
hat
has hitherto
been carried on almost entirely by them.
I t
means
either that higher-priced male labour
must
be
employed, or
that
machinery must be adopted as far
as possible. Engineers are n
ot
likely to grumble
at this latter a
lt
ernative ; at some of
the
best
organised works many of the processes
are
con
ducted
by aid
of automatic mechanism,
and in
all
machinery might be adopted
to
a
greater
extent
than it is. I t shows how crude processes survive
when labour is cheap and ignorant
when
we relate
that,
in forming the stacks, in some works wom
en
carry on their heads plates of lead, varying from
30 lb.
to
50
lb.,
up ladders 10 ft. to 15 ft.
high.
At
others women cast these plates fr om
the molten
lead. Evidently
the
owners
need
some
pre
ssure
br
ought to bear upon
them
in order to
enable them to recognise
that
they live at the close
of the
nineteenth
century, and to see that not only
is
it
indecent
to
allow igno
rant
women
to
continue
in such tasks, but also that
it
is uneconomical.
Th e disinclination
that
we should otherwise feel
in concurring in the recommendation to abolish
female labour at two
years
' notice is a good deal
reduced by th e knowledge that it is now used, in
part,
for such unnecessary purposes.
From
t ime
to
time processes for t he manufacture
of white lead in a perfectly innocuous manner have
been placed before
the
public,
and
some of
the
se
are now at work,
but
their output is, relatively, so
small
that
the committee pass them over in a few
words. Foreign competition in white lead is so
~ e v e that regulations demanding a radical change
1n
1ts method of manufacture would kill the home
industry entirely. Besides white lead, there is
manufactured sulphate of lead, red lead , orange
lead, li tharge,
and
yellow lead . None of these
la tter are so poisonous as white lead,
and
beyond
general recommendations concerning T
en t
ilation
and personal cleanliness
the
committee have
little
to suggest.
The
Potteries Committee of
Inquiry
found that
the chi
ef
evil they had to deal with was the
dust
of
clay and flint. These haye a serious effect
O{l
the
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DEc. , 1893.]
~ e a l t h
of
the
workers,
setting
up inflammatory action
1n the
lung
s, and
ending in
gradual consolidation
and
abolition of the functions of the organs. Analysis
of the
mortality
ret
urns
for males above the aae of
f
ourtee
n f?r the .year 1890, of
the parish of
Stoke
on
-Trent, 1nclud1ng
the county
borough of
Hanley,
the
boroughs of
Longton and Stoke, and the lar
ge
town
of
Fenton,
show that, of the
total
mortality
fr
om all causes among
potters,
bronchitis accounted
for 42
per cent.,
pn eumonia and
pleuri
sy 8
per
cent., and
pulmonary consumption
21
per
cent.
Thus
71
per
cent. of
the
deaths
arose from
chest
disea3es. Among pressers, bronch itis was
the
cause of
death in
47
per cent
. of
the
cases
and
other
l u ~ g
diseases in 7 per cent. ;
p u l m ~ n a r y
consumpt10n accounted for 21
per
cent. In this
clags, therefo re, 75 per cent.
di
e from
chest
diseases.
In males above fourteen, living in the
district,
but not engaged
in
pottery labour,
d i ~ e a s e s
of
the
chest
produced
26
per
cent., and pulmonary
con
sumption
14 per cent. of
the
deaths. The dust is not
directly poisonous,
in
the
ordinary
sense of the
word,
but
it is so deleterious that the average
len
gth
of life among
potters
is forty-eight
year
d while
among
non-potters
in
the
di
strict
it is fifty-three
years. I t is
evident
ly impossible
to
abolish clay
and
flint
n the pottery
trades,
or to prohibit adult
male
labou
r,
and therefore the
committee could
only insist
on
improved
vent
.ilation
and greater
clean
lin
ess.
Lead
poisoning also occurs
in the potteries
from
the glazes employed, and is especially liable to
attack young
women
and
lad s, especially if they are
ill f
ed
or debilitated. The
bad
effects of the lead
are, however. being gradually reduced,
as
shown
by the statistics of the hosp
ital
s
and
the experience
of medical men. This is probably due to gr
eater
personal cleanliness,
to
an improved
standa
rd of
living, and
po
ssib ly
to
increased
in t
elligence among
the worker3.
The committee su
ggest that in
future
no child
under
four t
een be
employed in
the
dipping
hou se
or the dippers' drying
room, or
in any
process
of ware-cle
aning afte
r
the dipp
ers, glost placing,
china
sco
urin
g,
ground
laying,
or
majolica
paint
in
g,
or in any
process in which
lead
is used . Over
alls
and
head
coverings
are to be pr
ovided for all
workers exposed to
lead
du
st ; no food is
to
be
eaten
in a
room
in which lead is employed; efficient
ventilation
and dai ly cleansing
are to
be provided
f
or;
washing appliances
are
t o be
supplied
ex
cessive temperature in
the
wo
rk
shop s is
to
be
avoided, and
no
female under sixeeen years of age
is t o
be employed at treading the
lathes used
by
turners.
These
recommendations
are much
less
drastic
than
those propounded by the
Committee on
Lead Indus ries,
the danger to be met
being
less
imminent
.
They amount to little
mo
re
than
common-sense su
ggest
ions
that any humane
employer would wish
to car
ry
out.
I t
is ev
ident
,
however,
from
the tone
of
the rep
o
rt, that
greater
oppos
ition
is
to be
expected from
t h ~
work
people than from the employers. Dust 1s pre
ferr
ed
to drau
hts,
overalls are found
to
be irksome
to
work in :crupulous cleanliness inv olves more
trouble t h a ~
work people
often care to take, and
in
ma
ny
ways the proposed
reforms
will provoke
opposition. Th e position of an
emp
l
oyer thus
becomes very
unple
asant.
He
is urged to
spend
money and thought for the benefit of
his
work
people
and he
finds his efforts resisted
by the very
p e r s o n ~
who
reap
the gain of it .
must c o n s o ~ e
hims
e
lf by the
reflection
that
were
It
not
for
thts
want
of
though t
-
this
preference of r e ~ e n t
ease
to
future
well-being-
he
would find It d1ffi.cult to
obtain
hands and
would have
to
pay
greatly
increased w a ~ e s
for those
he
did
ge t.
I t
is un
doubtedly t r ~ e that the office of
t ~ e
Inspector of
Factories is as
much concerned
w1th workpeople
as with employers, and that a c o n s t a n ~ and stea
dy
pr
ess
ure
is r
equired to bring o t ~ partles up
.to the
level of practice which
b ~ t ~ ~ d m t t
to be
desuable.
One
great
u
se
of
these
Inquiries will be
to
demon
strate to the lab
o
ur
e
rs that
t h
ey must bear thei
r
part in the steps taken
for
the preservation of their
health.
THE DISTRIBUTION
OF
POWER
FROl\1 NIAGARA.
AT
the meetinrr of the Instituti
on
of Electrical
En
CTineers
held
Thursday,
the 14th i n s ~ the
d i s ~ u s s i o n
on
Professor
F orbes's
paper on
The
Distribution
of P ower from Nia.gara" w ~ s r e s u m e ~
The firat
speaker
was Mr. Fen·ant1, who
sa i
d
E N G I N E E RI N G.
that
he
had
not been present at
the reading of
the
paper,
but had
been able
to study it
since. A
remarkable fact
in
connection with
the
scheme was
that,
although
a number
of
the
best designers
in
the
world
had
been asked to
prepare
plans,
and
done so,
none
of these had been found
entire
ly
satisfactory, but
the
information supplied had ap
parently
furnished
a
very good basis for
the
designs
actually adopted. In the dynamos
there
were
several novel features, such as the oil insulation of
t ~ e
coils.
On this
head he
might
mention
that he
hims
elf had
taken
out a provisional
patent
f
or
a
very similar method some years ago, but had after
wards abandoned
the
idea,
and
he thouCTht wisely.
The engineers to
the
Cataract Corn
pany
had been
round
the Continent examining designs
and
col
lecting information,
and in
the dynamo designed
by Professor Forbes
he recog
ni
sed
features
due to
Mr. C. E.
L. Br
ow
n, of Baden, such as
the
mica
insulated
armature
coils, which were a special
featur
e of
Mr. Brown's
design.
He
was
surprised
t ~ a t after
all the researches made a
higher
poten
tlal
than
2000 volts was
not adopted in the
dynamos.
The
practice of transforming up
had
o?jectionab
le
f
ea tur
es.
Ther
e was
a
very
great
d1fference
between
designing
and
building dy
namos
as
a regular every-day practice,
and
designing t
hem after
getting
all
the
infor
mation available in the world,
and
then doing
the work,
without
great pe rsonal experience in the
making,
and
above all
in the running,
of such
machines.
f
this matter
ha.d
been
left
to those
who sent in the b
est
designs,
and
t he work of im
provement
placed in
their
hands, it would, he
thought, h
a.ve
been
better
. I t was,
he not
ed, pro
posed
to
use 20,000 volts on
the
line. This was
adopted on
the
assumption that since 10,000 v<:>lts
difference between one wire
and
the
earth
was used
at
Deptford,
there
would be no more difficulty in
using 20,000 volts between
the
two leads.
This
was a
fallacy.
At
Deptf ord concentric wiring was adopted,
in
which,
though the outer
mi
ght get
to
earth,
no
harm
was done, whilst if one of
the
mains
at
Niagara
did
so
the
electromotive force would fall to 10,000
volts. In limiting
their
first
attempt at
high poten
tial w
ork to
20,000 volts,
he thought th
e
author and
his assistants were very wise. Looking
at the
subway
as shown in
the
drawings, he t hought
it
would be
a very " hot " place. He had
been
very clo
se
to a
very high electromotive force himself,
and
fo
und
10,000 volts
quite
alarming when it
got
out of
control. He
thought
the proposed periodicity of
16
wa
s too low,
and
even with
one
of 25,
li
ghting
would hav e
to
be sacrificed. Forty would be a
much more satisfactory
number,
as with it
both
arc and
incandesce
nt
lighting were possible. One
side of the question was
most
imp
orta
nt,
viz., the general principles on which the
Cataract
Company
got its
information
and
assistance.
They
proceeded
in
a very clever way.
They
form
ed
a commission, including t
he greatest
scient
i
sts
in
the
world, to obtain
and report on
pl
ans
and
specifications, for which very inadequate prizes
were offered. Though these plans were pre
pared
by
experts,
one
firm alone having spe
nt
1000l. on
them,
nothing
was found satisfactory,
and
so
the
next
year
the company sent
its
engineers round the
world
to
ga ther information, though
intending
all
the
time
to have the work exec
uted
in America.
In
short, the
designs as adopted were based upon
the
unrecompensed work of the world.
He
did n ot
attach any blam e to Professor
Fo
rbes personally,
but he
must
r
eg
ret that t he beautifully worked
scheme of
the
company had been so successful.
Mr. Alexander
Siemens, referring
to Mr. Ferranti'
s
cha.rae aaa.inst the Cataract Company,
thought
it
was
right to point out
that
the c o ~ d i t i o n s
of
the
competition clearly showed
that
1t
was In
tended
to
execute
the
work in America..
His
own
fi
rm
had
n
ot thought
these
conditions were suffi
ciently favo
urable
for
them
to
undertake the
pre
paration
of detailed plans, and they
had
accord
ina
ly only sent in an ou tl
ine
scheme, and so
were
out of the running for the prizes.
The amount
of
the
pri
zes was also clearly
stated, and
all
tenderers
must
have
acted
with open eyes.
With
regard
to
the
potential
of 20,000 volts, he
did
no t.perceive
any
difficulty
in
making
c a b l ~ s
to
carry
th1s. In some
experiments made by
hts firm, 50,000 volts
~ a d
been safely carried. In
respect
to
one other
.pomt,
was
it
so absolutely
certain
that
the
contmuous
current
cou
ld
not have
be
en used
by
runnin
g
the
machines in series ? P ersonally, with
the
experi
ence he had gained,
he
would be afraid of under
taking the insulation of the dynamos. He
had
on
va
ri
ous occasions,
for
different classes of work,
made comparative
es t
imates for
the
alternating
and
continuous
current
systems, and, up
to the
present,
had always found
the
advantage to lie with
the
continuous current.
Mr. S.
H.
Evershed
remarked that much
fault
had been found with
the
low periodicity adopted,
but he
thought
previous speakers
had
not con
sidered the effect of the back electromotive force
caused by mutual induction between the mains.
Taking the
mains as of
3
square inches
in
section,
and
the
current
density as 333 amperes
per
square
inch, the back electromotive force at a periodicity
of 100 would be 880 volts
per
mile, whilst
the
loss
due
to direct
resistance of
the
cables would be
27
volts only.
At
a periodicity of
25 the
back electro
motive force would be r
ed
uced to 192 volts,
the
loss
due
to
resi
sta
nce remaining as before.
From
these
figures it was evident that Professor F orbes had
a
st
rong argument
in
favour of a low frequency.
There was a point, however, on which
he
wished
for information, viz.,
the
reasons for adopting an
artificial load f
or
facilitating
the
working of
the
machines in parallel.
The
device appeared un
necessar
y,
as al
terna
tors were successfully paralleled
without such aid.
Mr. Crompton found fault with
the paper
in that
no information was given as to the estimated cost
per
horse-power
transmitted to
Buffalo. All other
questions
as
to details of design, insulation, perio
dicity, were subordinate to
this
one question, Would
the enterprise pay
7
His own firm had had many
simila r schemes, of course on
a
smaller scale,
brought
befo
re
them, but
in
every in
sta
nce
they
had to abandon
the project
on account of
the
cost
involved, even
wh
en
the
distance to which
the
power was to be transmitted was only
ten or
fif
teen miles.
With
regard to
the
question of ethi
cs
raised
by Mr. Ferranti,
he
quite
agreed that
there
had been a barefaced
attempt to
pick
the
brains of
the
world.
Ife
spoke feelingly on the subject,
because
the last
corner in variably did this, since
no system of
patent
laws
yet
devised could
protect
the
pioneers, who were, of course, unable to cover
every possible
meth
od of accomplishing a given
end
in their
specifications. He agreed with Mr.
Siemens as
to the
comparative advantages of
the
continuous current, holding
that
with a given
amount
of copper more could be done
by
the
con
t inuous than by the altern
ating
system. Mr. Sie
mens claimed
that
he could supply cables
sa
fe f
or
working at 20,000 volts, but he had said nothing
as
to the cost of such cables. R e wondered if
Profe
ssor
Forbes had
ever seen a high-tension
switchboard during a
thunde
rstorm. Be did not
mean a
natural thunderstorm
due to
the
elements,
but a
real
artificial" one, due to the vagaries of
high-tension
current
itself. He th
ought
that if
arcing occurred at one
end
of
the
18-mile conduit,
it would soon reach
the other
end. He had a good
deal of experience with porcelain insulators, which
he saw it was proposed to use
in the
conduit,
and
had
found that what was good enough for
the
telegraph
depa
rtment
was
not
good enough
fo
r use in und
er
ground lighting conduits. After much trouble
he
had, however,
got
a material which worked satisfac
torily
a.t
an
electromotive force of 200 volts ; but
20,000 volts was
a
very different
matter
. Oil in
sulation
he
did
not
believe in, nor did
he
agree
with previous speakers
that
a
periodicity of
42
was
satisfactory in arc lighting.
Mr. Kapp
read a communication from
Mr.
C. E. L. Brown
to
the effect that
he
had found no
difficulty in working alternators
in
parallel even at
high
peri
odicities. In fact,
he
had been unable
to
detect any
difference
in the
working between a
range of 15 periods
and
100. He had worked
a machine of his successfully
in
parallel with
a
Ganz machine having a totally difl'erent curve of
electromotive force.
No
artificial load was neces
sary. As regards transformers, a high frequency
was certainly best. I t should fur
ther
be
kept in
mind
that large transformers wo
uld not run
co
ol as easily
as small ones.
For
motors
a
high frequency was
quite
as good
as
a
low one,
and
fo
r arc lighting
a periodicity of less than 40 was useless. He
thought
the adoption of a two-phase system with
four wires was good, but
apparently
the worst
possible design for
the
dynamos had been selected.
In reply, Professor
Forbes
congratulated ths
Institution
on
the discussion that night, w
hi
ch had
risen far above tho level
to
which it
had sunk
at
the previous meeting.
The
speakers that evening
had at
least
attempted to
grasp ihe problem,
whereas
on
the previous occasion
he had felt
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766
nothing but sorrow
at
the failure of the various
speakers
to take
a comprehensi ve view of the sub
ject, though there was some excuse in the fact
that but little time had been available for the study
of the paper before the discussion took place.
For
.
a
work of
this
kind
months
of st
udy
were
requtred
. One
remarkable feature
of
the
discus
sion was, however,
the
fact
that nearly
every
adverse. criticism had been combated
by
some
succeedmg speaker. He was astonished
at
the
way
in which the. proposed a d o p t i o ~ of low frequency
had
been
rece1ved.
He
had
claimed
no credit
for
it, as he had believed himself
to
be a mere plodder
but, judging from the discussion, he appeared to be'
in fact, a discoverer. In noting the varyin<Y
o p i n i o n ~
expressed from different
parts
of the h ~ h he had
observed a
sort
of reflection of
the
course of rea
so
ning he
had himse
lf
gone
through
before draw
ing up
his .final plans, and he had no
doubt
that
when
the various speakers
had had time
for further
c o n s ~ d e r a t i o n , their opinions would be greatly
m o d 1 f i ~ d . . In 1890 every member of
the
Niagara
Comm1ss1on was opposed to the adoption of the
alternating current, but since then all but one had
been converted. In his report, drawn up at that
time, the use of the alternate current, an electro
motive force of 2000 volts, step-up transformers
and Tesla motors, were all outlined. The only
mi
stake he made
at
the
time was
to
recommend
th
e Mordey
alternator,
which had, by
further
experiment,
been
found
unsuitabl
e for the con
ditions obtaining
at
Niagara. Mr. Mordey would
remember
that
in experiments made to teat this
in which it was
attempted
to run
the
m a c h i n
in parallel with a high resi
sta
nce, consistin 7 of
glow lamps interpolated between the machines,
the
lamps went up and down with a perio
dicity of several seconds. In his remarks, Mr.
Mordey had entirely failed to grasp the fact that
this was a power plant, and not an electric lighting
one. The machines used must
run
in step without a
waste
current, and no ri
sk of breakdowns could
be
faced, such as
had
occasionally occurred with the
Mord
ey alternator, which, in short, did not work
well enough for his company. He had adopted
the
principle of the artificial load as an additional pre
caution against breakdown.
He
had anticipated
that
manufacturing firms would raise difficulties as
to
providing transformers to work
on the
plant, and
had therefore
himself prepared designs for eve
ry
special case required. He had given experimental
proofs of the advantages of low frequency, with
which proo fs no speaker had dealt. Mr . Mordey
wanted him to use 500 volts, but in that case 400
square inches of copper would be required.
I t
should be
remembered
that the
space required for
insulation in a 5000 horse-power mac
hine
was pr
o
portionately less than in a smaller machine.
Pro
fessor
E.
Thomson had objected to
the
design of
the
dy
nam
o on one point, and had the suppo
rt
of Mr.
Kapp. But Professor
Th
omson 's criticism was based
on
the
common American system of proportioning
the parts, not by Kelvin's law, but by
the
drop of
electromotive force. The dynamos in question
could, no doubt, have been improved in efficiency
by aiding more copper or more iron, but he had
st
opped short
at
the point at which an expenditure
of 60 dols. would not increase the output by 1 h orse
power.
Mr.
Ferranti
had
charged
him
with
appr?
priating the
ideas of
Mr
. C.
E.
L . Brown,
but 1n
answer it was only necessa
ry
to
re
call
the
fact
that
in
the
letter read
by
Mr. Kapp, Mr. Brown said
that the worst possible design
had
been adopted.
He
had to
thank Mr.
Kapp
for
hi
s study of the
dynamo,
and hi
s
~ r a b l e
. criticism of
the
same. Ris own calculatwns
d1d
not agree per
fectly
with
those of Mr. Kapp, but the difference
was not large, and Mr. Kapp could not be ex
pected to go into the
~ i n u t i r e
of the
d e s i g ~ .
Re
turning
to Mr. Ferrant1, he absolutely den1ed that
that there was any plausible resemblance between
his own machine and any of
those
submitted
to
the
Cataract Company. Though
he had not intenti
onally
tried to make his machine of an original type,
the
fact
nevertheless remained
that the
design differed
mo
re
from those
submitted to
the company than
these latter
did inte r .
Mr. Ferranti
had
also
said
that
if
one of his conductors were
put
to
ground,
the electromotive force would be reduced
to
10,000
volts, and had advocated the claims of concentric
wiring in which one of the conductors was already
to ground. What would happen, though, to the
ele
ctromotive
force if
the
otherconductor grounded ?
He would
have no
e
lectromot
ive force
at the
further
end
at all Of course
the
risk of
this
was
E N G I N E E R I N G.
~ e d u c e d the c o n c e n t r ~ c system ; still he
thought
1t mo
re hkely
to occur w1th it than with one of the
conductors in the subway. He had to thank Mr.
Evershed for his calculation of the ba.ck electromo
. v ~
force, showing the necessity of a low perio
diCity. Mr. Crompton complained
that
no details
had been as to cost,
but neither
now nor at a
future date
was it
lik
e
ly
that
this
information would
be published. In conclusion he would
state
that he
had
now not one particle less confidence in his
designs than
he
had before
the
discussion took
place.
THE EVOLUTION OF THE ATLANTIC
GREYHOUND.
MR.
C
HARLES
H. CRAMP H paper, read
at
the
first meeting of
the
American Society of Naval
Architects
and
Marine Engineers, has already been
~ e f e r r e d to .in these columns.
We
had a full
report
1n
our last
ISsue,
and
we recommend its perusal to
those of our readers who
are
interested in
the
subject. Mr. Cramp was assuredly well advised in
his choice of a starting-point. For some reason
which we must confess we have never been able
appreciate,
the
fashion has been to take
the
Ari
zona as the first of the distinguished family, and to
ignore her immediate predecessors, who were little
inferi?r
speed,
and
.possibly were actually her
superwrs
In results
attamed
for expenditure.
Mr.
Cramp
's
paper takes
the
famous City of Brussels
as
the
starting-point. There is some reason in doing
so.
She
was
the
first vessel
to
cross the Atlantic
under
eight days, and if a line must be drawn some
where, as it obviously must, here is a convenient
place to rule it. In his description of this ship
however, we at once fiud a divergence between h i ~
notes and our own. fie says her engines were
simple direct·acting, with two cylinders 90 in. in
diameter and 54 in. stroke. We have thought
that they were horizontal trunk engines, with
cylinders in. in diameter and 48 in. stroke.
This discrepancy is n
ot very important, but
it
serves
to show how difficult it is
to
arrive
at
absolute
accuracy concerning
things
not a
quarter
of a
c e n t ~ r y old. L e . a v ~ n g her, he mentions
the
Oceanic,
Celhc,
and
Adnat1c. The former he surely gives
100 t ons too much. For her gross tonnage was
3707, not 3808 tons.
The
error in
re
spect to the
two
~ a t e r
is more
important,
but
it
is
probably
a pnnter s m1stake. The length of
the
Adriatic
should be 437 ft., not 417 ft., and
the
steam pres
sure carried was never as high as 80lb. These points
should be emphasised, for to
the
great length of the
early White Star boats is largely attributable the
regularity and comfort which characterised them,
whilst their economy in working with what nowa
days would be called low-press
ure
st eam should not
be
minimised. So far,
Mr.
Cramp
ha
s been com
paring
vessels
by their
length between perpendi
culars,
but in
speaking of
the
City of Berlin some
other measurement is taken, for we should call
her
length 488 ft . 6
in.,
not
499ft.
In speaking of the Britannic
and
Germanic,
the
vessels which competed so successfully with the City
of Berlin for the Atlantic record, justice is again
inadvertently denied to the economy of th e Bel
fast ships by putting their steam pressure and indi
cated horse-power too high.
The
most
important
point of difference between ourselves and Mr.
Cramp's history is in regard to the competition of
the flyers of 1881. We agree that the Servia was
"out of the hunt as regards the blue riband, but
Mr. Cramp asserts
that the
City of
Rome
held it
with a passage of 6 days 18 hours,
and beat the
Alaska
by
some 37
minut
es.
We
know
that the
City of
Rome
was claimed as a record boat, but
we do n
ot think the
claim was sustained. Whilst
she was in
Inman's
hands she never got near
the
record, and her subseque nt passages were mea sured
in a provoking and confusing manner, some pub
lished times being reckoned from Roche's P oint. to
Fire Island, and on other occasions
the
Fastnet
was taken as the eastern end of
the
course.
The America was surely worth a fuller notice
than
is given her, for she was a very remarkable
ship, even if her career was
not
a financial success.
Her
rival,
the
Oregon, is credited with a steam
pressure of 170 lb.
This
would
be
a good pressure
for
tripl
e-expansion engines.
The
Oregon
had
only compound engines, and we
think Mr.
Cramp
will find 100 lb. nea
rer her
li1nit.
Mr. Cramp
th
en goes
in t
o interesting details
regarding
th
e triple-expansion vesse
ls
built for the
North German
Ll
oyd Company
at
Fairficld, and
•
(DEC. 2 2 I 893 .
gives a
t a b l ~
of allowance for Southampton pas
sages
at
var1ou s mean speeds to bring them into
the parity of Queenstown. Here he says that at
19 knots some fourteen hours must be allowed
for the extra distance to Southampton.
In
four
teen
hours at
th
at speed some 273 nautical miles
would be
run.
This s
tatement by the
builder of
~ u t u r e competitors with
the pre
sent record-holders
1s
of
great
value,
and
sho uld be pigeon-holed for
future reference when controversies
on
records and
ports
are
to the
fore.
Curiously .enough,
whilst he
gives full
and
accurate particulars of
the
Colurn bia, Normannia
and Furst Bismarck, he ignores the Hamburg
L ~ n e ' s Augusta Victoria, and speaks of the Fiirst
B 1 ~ m a r c ~ the
first
really important
merchant
ship
bmlt
1n Germany.
Surely the
difference
b e t ~ e e n th
e ~ w o ~ h i p s is not enough
to
destroy
the
e ~ r h e r
~ e a s e l s
cla1m. f n w o r t h y of
the
distinc
twn
claimed for her later s1ster,
she
might at least
be deemed worthy of mention. The criticisms on
present
British practice are brief,
and the
same
remark may be applied to those
on
future American
building. The theory is excellent. No one wishes
to carry unremunerative deadweight, but if it be
found that to do so promotes the objects for which
the ship was. b:uilt, viz., the c?mfort of passengers
and the rap1d1ty and regularity of transit,
better
and
more cheaply
than other
means could do
the
diminution of cargo capacity earnin(7 o ~ i n a
fr
eights may be,
and
possibly is, a go
6
od inv
est·
ment.
NOTES.
THE wATER RE
QU
IRED FOR FL
US
HING CLOSETS
AND
DRAIN
S.
A S " ' E C I ~ L committee of the Sanitary
Institution
have_Just 1ssued
report
on
the
quantity of water
required for flushmg water-closets, in which a very
s u b s t ~ n t i a l increase in
the
amount now commonly
used 1s
re
commended. In
th
e course of
their
work
the
committee
ha
ve carried out a series of over
800 experiments, and their recommendations are
therefore, of great weight. A number of d r a i n ~
were
~ a i d ,
consisting partly of pipes and partly of
half-p1pes and OJ?en
c h ~ n n e l s .
The gradients
a d o p t ~ d for the
4 - u ~ .
drains
50ft.
long were 1 in
30,
11n
40,
n:nd
1 1n 76, a ~ d for
the
4·in. pipes
26ft.
long
11n
40.
The
6-m.
drain
s 50 ft. long
were laid at 1
in
30
and
1 in 40, and those 26ft.
long
at
1 in 40.
At the
head of each drain a
s
im:pl
e short hopper ?asin of good
type
was fitted,
havmg an S trap w1th a 2-in. sea eadin(7 with a
bend into
the
drain,
the
top of
the
c l o s ~ t basin
being 2 ft. 3 in. aboye
the
~ r a i n . A good syphon
waste-preventer, d1schargmg 2 gallons in five
c o n d ~ and 3 gallons in .ten seconds, was placed
4 ft. 3 1n. above
the
basin, with which it communi
cated with a 1 -in. pipe. Artificial excreta, made
out of.soft soap, cocoa fibre, and clay, together with
five pieces of newspaper, were placed in the basin
and the flushing ciste
rn
discharged, notin(7 in
each case how much
material
was left inb the
closet traps, in
the
drains,
and in the
dis
conn
ect
ing traps placed
at the
lower
end
of the
drains.
The
amount
that
passed through was
also noted. As regards the closet
trap,
it was
fo
und
that
a 2-gallon flush left,
on the
averaCJe
5
per cent. of
the
m ~ t e r i a . l in
the
trap, whiist a
3-gallon flush practiCally cleared,
the
retention
being 1 per cent. only. In
the
drains little dif
ference was found between the 4-in. and the 6·in.
When 50 ft. long, and laid at 1 in 40, with a
2-gallon flush 21 per cent. of the material was
r ~ t a i n e d , a.nd with a 3-gallon flush 3 per cent.
In
d1sconnectmg traps 36 per cent. was retained with
a 2-gallon flush, and 26 per cent. with a 3-gallon
flush.
?
t h ~ case of
t ~ e
26-ft. drains, 3 per cent .
~ a s r e t a 1 n ~ d
1n
t
he d r ~ 1 n s , and
26
per
cent.
in the
d1
sconnectmg
trap,
with a 2-gallon flush whilst
with a 3-gallon flush these figures were reduced
to
1
per
cent
and
19 p ~ r cent . espectively. Taking
a general v
1ew
of the1r exper1ments the committee
consider
that the
minimum flush s h ~ u be fixed
at
3 gallons,
and tbe
maximum
at
not less than
3
gallons.
CARRIA
G
E-WAY
PAVEMENTS.
A very interesting paper on "Carriage-way
Pavements" was read before the Society of Arts on
December 13, by Mr. Lewis
H. Is
aacs,
F.R.I.B:A.,
Assoc. In st. C.E., surveyor to t
he Board
of Works
for
the
Holborn District. One of
the
difficulties
in
.constructing a satisfactory pavement was, he
po1nted out, due
to
the extension of tramways,
7/17/2019 Engineering Vol 56 1893-12-22
http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/engineering-vol-56-1893-12-22 20/29
as
it wa
s
exceedingly di fficult
to
maintain th
e r
oa
d
near the
tram
rails.
In
theNorth of
England, pave
m ents were fr eq uen tly made of gritstone sets,
wh ich
did
n
ot
t a
ke
a p
ol
ish
and become
slipp
ery
like
g
ranite, and
were che
ap
er t o lay,
though
le ss durable.
' fhe bloc
k s
varied in width fro
m 5
in.
to
7 in
. ,
and
wer e
fr
om 7 in. to 10
in
. lo
ng,
a
nd
8 in. to 10
in
.
deep . \V it h granite sets, blocks 3 in .
wi
de
pr
oved
in tho
lon g
run
m or e econ om
ica
l
than
t h
ose
4
in
.
wide. Th
e
fi rst
c
ost
of lay
in
g 3 in.
by
n n.
se t
s
of Aberdeen grani te in Gracechurch-s trcet was
l 4s.
6d.
a
yard, and when ta
k en
up at the
e
nd
of
twenty
-
ti
ve y
ea
rs,
the tota
l out lay ,
in
cluding
r
epai
r
s,
h
ad been
18s.
9d.
p er
square ya
r
d, fr
om
which
2s.
3d.
sh ould
be
taken for
the
value
of the
o
ld
mat erial.
The
n
et
cost
per
year was th us 74d.
per
sq
ua re yard. A t p r
esent prices
this
would be
in
creased to
~ d .
per yard. \V
oo
d is more expen
sive
,
costing about 1s
. 4
d.
pe
r
sq
uare
yard
per
a
nnum,
th
e initial cost being Ss. 6d . p er ya
rd. This class
of pavem
ent sh
ould n
ot
be used on steeper
grad
es
t han 1
in 30, or a t
n1
ost
1
in
27.
Asphalte
was
the
favourite
pavement in Berlin, and was
yearly
being extended
.
The
h or
ses did not slip
on
it
much, as
it was kept
ve
ry
clean, being washed
do
wn
every morning and
after
eve
ry good
shower
of
rain. Its tota
l c
os
t
is
about
ls.
9d. per yard
per
annum
for laying
and
maintenance.
As
regards
street clean sing, m ost Co nt inenta l cities were
be
t ter treated in thi
s resp
ec
t
than
London.
The
p roper
method was
to
wa s
h
the
st re
ets
with copious
supplies
of water,
and
it
would be
a gr
eat
ad van
tage if
L o
nd
on
had
a
municipal
supply
of unfilt
ered
water laid on specially for this purpose. The fol
lo
wing Table shows
t he
compa
rative merits of
as
phalt
e, g
ranite,
and wood
under
various heads :
Fi r
sb. Seco
nd.
Third
.
A ~ p h a l t e
G
ranit
e W
oo
d
'V
oo
d
Asphalte Granite
Pu blic hygiene
..
.
No iselessness .. .
Sa
fety for horses,
under exis
ting
conditions for
cleansi
ng
...
Cleansing . . . .
Durability ...
Economy ... .
.
Facility
of repairs
for tram-
W
oo
d
Asphalte
Granite
As
pba
lte
G
ranite
Wood
Granite
Asphalt
e ,
,
W
oo
d Asphalte
Aspha.lte
, Granite
Granite
,
Asphalte
ays
...
SHIPBUILDING
AND M AR INE
EN
G
INEERING
I N
1893.
THE
fact
that
the total
production
of
new shipping
t hrougho u t
the kingd o
m
in the ye a
r now closing is
3 5,000
tons, or ne
a
rly
a
fourth,
less
tha
n th e aggre
gate of las t year, is not surprising, and,
from
some
point
s
of
Yiew,
no
t a
ltogether unsa t
isfactory.
I t is
true
it indicates that
w
here
fo
ur men found
employ
me
nt in 1892 only
th r
ee
men
were
required in 1893 ;
and
t
ha t
,
therefor
e, th e
re wa
s
but three-fourth
s th e
mo
ney earned
at s
hipbuilding.
But a
ct
ivity in s
hip
building can only
be satisfactory in the best
sense
when
the
condition
s wa
rrant that prosp
eri ty.
I t has
been s
hown
by official stati
st
ics
compiled
by
Lloyd's
that
the
w
aste of
s
hipping
does
not much
exceed
300,000
tons
per
ann
um.
As
a ma tter of f
ac
t ,
if we
t ake the removals from that re gis
tr
y,
owing
to
all
causes,
for
the
pa
st year
given in the
re
port
issued
quite
recently,
we
find th
at the vesse ls
l
ost,
stranded,
or r emo
ved
from
a
ct
ive se
rvice mad
e
up
a
to
tal of 257,048 ton
s.
This, of
course,
takes
no
cognisance of vessels
removed
by sa
le
to other cou n
trit>
s,
and these are as
ac
tive, if not
more
so,
in their
comp
etit
ion
and trade as wh
en c
ar
rying
the
union
jack
. Another point to be
noted
is that
as Lloyd's
includes a great preponderance of the tonnage of
nearly every maritime nation
within its purvi
ew
,
the
257,048
tons
indicated represent, within a compara
tively
few
tons, the
loss
of
o
cea
n
cargo-carry
ing
craft
throughout the
world.
The loss
in the British
merchant
fleet
in th
e
twelve months
was
144,746
tons,
and
with this
latter
figure
we hav
e
prob
a
bly
more
to
do. There is,
it is
tr ue, some room
for
excess
to
dea
l
with the increase of merchandise
to
be
car
ried,
due
to natural
expansion of trade; but this
is
really
a
limited
quantity,
and
as the production in
past year
s
has
been l
argely
exceedi
ng the legitimate
demands, the
fact
that there is decr
eased output is
not without
it
s adva
ntages
.
Eve
n
this year, as we
s
hall pres
e
ntly
show,
the
total merchant tonnage
for British
owners exceed
s
what
we
ha v
e
termed the waste of
shipping,
although
not
so
larg
e
ly
as
in
some recent
years,
a
nd this
ci
rcum
stance r
eally
gives
courage in the hope
of
future
im
pr
ove
ment
.
The extensive machinery now in
u
se
in the
shipyards
a
nd engine works
tends
to facilitate produc
tion
at a rapid
pa
ce, and this,
combined
with the
popul a
rity
of e
norm
ous
cargo-carryin
g vessels
of 5000
to 8000
tons dead weight
capacity,
aggravates the
s
itua-
E N G I N E E R I N G.
tio
n.
t
is
beco
min
g
more
and
mo
re e c o g n that
sa
l
vati
on
for
the
shipbuilder as
we
ll s h p o ~ n e r
lies in occasional
cessat
ion, or part1al cessat10
n,
a
nd the fact that
s
toppage
of works
b.
rings in
it
s
wake dire re
s
ul t
s t o w
orkme
n does n
ot
10fiuence
greatly . Probably the m
en
or t.heir represen
tatives
a re
in
part to blam
e.
The
t1me
was when
employers
we
re willing
to ta ke wor k
even.
a.t .t
er
ms
necessitating
some
sacrifice, sa tisfied to ~ a m t the
bond
of
uni
on.
No
w,
however,
co
mmer
ctal cons
td
era
tions dominate mor
e
and more,
and the growing
ten
dency of parliamentary interference seer:ns likely .to
further
th is e
nd. In stead
of la bour a
nd
cap1tal
re
cognts
ing
a
community
of
in terests,
th e
re is
apparent on
both
s
ide
s a s
pirit
of
ind
e
pend
ence
which
is
derogatory
. t o
the
maintenance of
mutual
adv
an
ce
men t.
In
th e cl
osmg
year,
notwit hst a
ndin
g the extr.eme d i f i i
u ~ t y
of ~ n d i n g
work
th
ere
have
been
many
disputes,
wh1c
h,
w1th t he
exercise
of a little self-control and good sense, might
we
ll have been
o b ~ i a t e d . The
joiners
' dispute at
Gl
asgow
is
an insta
nce
in
po
int.
On
the
C
lyd
e th e
re
is
a most
hopeful des
ir
e on th e part of
the
e
mployers
for mutual
action between
the masters' and
men
's
asso
ciat
ions.
Yet th
e
workmen
s
eem
at times des
i
rous
of a c
ting indep
ende
ntly,
ir resp
ective
of
pr
e
vi
ous agree
ments.
The purpose of a. trades ~ n i o n p p a . r
n t l ~
is,
at
least occas
ionally
,
to mak
e
stnkes,
not
to obvtate
them,
and
certainly lib
erty, if not also th e other
high-s
ounding but
q u i ~ e
term
s, u - l ~ t y
and fraternity,
are sacnficed
. Is 1
,
th erefore, surpnsmg
th at commerc
ial
co
nsiderati
ons outweigh the
de
sire t o
keep work
s goin
g? In severa
l cases firms wr.
ite us
stating
that they h
ave no
return to
make, as It
imposs
ible
t o get
work except
at less
than cost
pnce.
Under the
c
ircumstanc
es they
we
re
clearly
better t o
ac
t
as
the
y
di d
.
In
view
of
a
ll
the
facts,
it is,
ind
ee
d,
surprising that
the
tonn
age is
as
high as
it
is.
These
are the
conditions w
hieh operated.
Let us
now
con
sider the
r es
ult.
' Ve
hav
e said that th e waste of sh
ippin
g in the
Br it ish fleet
in the
y
ea
r
was 144,746
tons. The
out
put
from private ya
rds
in
the
United
Kingdom
this
year
was
883,874
t o
ns. Th i
s
repr
ese
nts the measure
me
nt
of
742
c
raft,
sma
ll
and
great-from th
e
tiny
launch
to
the
Cu
n
ar
d li ner
Lucania,
of
something
like 1
8,0
00 ton
s
displacement
and 12,950
ton
s
measure
ment. Of th i
s
total,
h
owever
, 158,292
tons
w
ere
for
foreign
countries,
and
deducting l ~ o
th e
tonnage for
the
Briti sh
Navy-
this year, unhappily, very
small-
the
t otal
British merch
a
nt tonnage
is 710,000
tons,
which
is 565,000
tons more
than the
waste.
The tonnage
c
onstruc
t ed
for
foreign
nati
o
ns,
how
e
ver,
mu
st
really be
cons
idered,
since i t
enters
into
compet
i
tion,
and thu
we
find tha.t Britain a
lone has much
mo re than met
the loss
due to wrecks, &c ., wi
t
hout
cons
id ering the
increa
sing
tonnage constructed
by other nations . The
T ABLE
I . -A
ggregates of Production i1i. the United
St
eamers* . •
Sailing ships ..
•
•
T
ota
ls . . . .
British Navy
yar
ds ..
K ingdom.
Aggregat es of Produotion.
1893. 1892.
-
-
tons
tons.
749,838 974,826
134,036
275,136
883,874 1,249,962
31,640 50,450
-
1891.
tons.
1,003,796
228,749
1,232,546
68,100
1890.
tons.
1,139,015
141,929
1,280,944
22,620
•
1
n 1892 and 1891.
In
th e la tte r years
it
bore a
propor
ion to
the
total merchant tonnage of ~ 4 · ?
a
nd
20.2
er cent.
respectively.
Th is ye
ar
th e rat
1o
ts per
ent.
The merchant tonnage
t h e r
added lS
,
coO?
arativ
e
ly speaking,
a
trifle more : f f i c 1 e n t on the bas
iS
f
ca
rgo-carrying th an
it a t first
stght aJ?pears. f we
ss
ume
that
a s
hip
is
able
to
do bu
t a
thud of the work
f a ste
ame
r, and
bring
t he
m e r c h a . ~
o n n a
for
he
year to th e basis of steam
tonnage
, 1t.
i l ~
be
found
h
at the produc t
ion
of
the yea
r
now
closmg
1s
equal
to
29 000 s
team tons, wh
ereas in 1892
it wa
s 948,000
o n ~
and in 1891 about one
mill
ion
tons.
Th e
de
crea
se
,
f o r e in production
,
although
it
represents
a
ou
rth so'far
as wage-earning
goes, is
only
equal to
an
t
p
c
p
0
a
0
t
t
8
t
t
f
'1
8SG
6 6 2
ROSS rONS
1. a
o
.ooo
I,JOO
.
OO
1,
250
,
00
1.200. Q
1,1
50
.
00
I, 100,
00
/, OSO ,OO
,
I
'
'
·
000,00
,,
JSO.
OO
900
. 00
850 . 00
800
,
00
750, 00
700, ooo
65 0.
00
600
,
00
550,00
500
.
00
450 ,00
100,
00
350 0
0
300.
00
250
,
00
20 ), 00
/J
0
'
I
, I
0
0
0
'
v
0
71
'\
I
I
4 G 8 70 2 4 6 8 80 1 4 G (J 90 Z 4 8
...
A
'
\I/
V
...
I J
18S&.8
60 2 I G 8 70 2 4 6 8 80 2 4 G 8 90 Z G 8
f 4 3 ) 1860. 1870. 1880. . 1890.
eighth so far
as cargo-carrying
or fr
eigh
t
competition
s
concerned.
I'he
de
c
lin
e
in
the sa
ilin
g
tonnag
e
pro
bably
indi
cates less spec
ulative building,
a
lt h
o
ugh
ately the principle
h ~ s
.
growing
.of a m ~ n a g e r
organising a.
co
mp
any
b n l l ~ a n : t p r o m s ~ s .
w h10h
' -re
not r
ea lisable
accord10g to ex1st10g cond1t10ns, w1th
the
vi
ew
pr
ima
r
ily
of
se
c
uring
com miss
ion on gross
e
arnings.
The
total sail tonnag
e is
134,036 ton
s,
the
mea
surement of 234 vessels. I t is barely hali what it
was
a
year
ago,
wh
en
it
r eac
hed an abnorma
l le\ el,
but it about equa
ls th e totals
of
1890 and 1889.
The
decreas
e
is mor
e in the general size of the craft th an
in number
, there be
ing
a
le
ss dispos i
tion for the
moment
to
construct immen
se
craft,
a
nd it may
be
that the mishaps to some of the big
sh ips
hitherto
bu
i lt h
ave had
so
me
effect
in bringing
about
this
result.
•
1
1
The tonnage
of
steame
rs
shows
a
very grea
t
decr
e
ase
on
several past year
s,
the
a
ggregat
e being
749,838, the
measurem
ent of 508 vessels. This
is
225 ,000
tons
of a
de
crea
se
.
The
tota
l, in other words,
is only
two-thirds
of the steam tonnage of
the
two pa
st
years. f
com
parison is made with th e three
preceding
year
s,
the
drop
is st
ill more mark
e
d, being in the
case
of 1889
about 430,000
ton
s.
In
the t otal of 1
889
, t oo, a com
parativ
ely small numb
er of
warships
were
included.
Instead, howev
e
r, of
being
matter
for
sa t
i
sfact
ion , i t
is qu
it
e poss
ib l
e
that
th is
total
of 1,1
88,000 tons has,
in large me
asure,
necess
it
ated the short total this year.
That it
is a c
ase of
necess
it
y not
only th
e l
owness
of
1
916,514
871,436
98.6
G and totals
..
Steel tonnage of pri·
v
ate
yards . . . .
Per ce
nt
. of total ..
1,300,412
1,207,311
96.8
1,300,646
1,195,083
1,303,464
fr e
ights
*
obtaining,
but
the exten
t of
idle tonnage,
1- - - - - dem
o
nstrate, as
we
ll
as
the
low re
muner
a
ti
on
to
1,
208,7
2
3 capital sunk in steamship companies, on which subjects
_
4
..
1
_ we
wrote quite recent
ly
.
t The decrea
se in
steam
7.00
Foreign · owned ton-
nage . . . . I
Per cent. of total .
·I
Total
mer
chant ton·
naget.. . . •
Per cent. of steam mer
chant
onnage to total
In
dic
at
ed horse·power
of engines . . . ·I
Per cent. of all war
158,292 188,312
17.94
15.1
872,449 1,131,816
84.6 75.5
227,462
18.46
1,130,816
79.8
-
I
272,963
21.3
1,1
94
,705
88.2
917,354 1,003,529 1,022,206
I
1,078,256
ships
to
merchant - - -1- - - •
- - -
1 - - - -
sbipsbuilt ..
.. ,
4.95 1
3.
1 9 6.1
* Includes warships
built
in pri vate yards. t Exc
lu d
es British
and foreign warship
3.
'
h
•
e
a
-
t
1
'
.
n
y
-
t
e
s
tonnag
e
of the year, however
, is
fr
om
400,000 to
500,000
ton
s less th an in the f
our previous years
although
in
1888
i t
was about
as
low,
as will
be
see
from the diagram ac
c
ompanying this arti
cle,
whic
gives the
aggregate production
in all private yards
The
falling-off,
however,
is n
ot qu it
e so
marked if
w
exclude
ships-of-war, for d
urin
g the past three
years
la rge number of vessels
have be
en constructed through
o
ut th
e co
untry
for
the
N a
va
l
Defence
Act fl
ee
t.
I
i
s,
th
er e
fo
re,
des
irab
le that,
as
in
Table
I. ,
the
tota
me r
c
hant tonnage built should
be s
hown
se
parately
since it
refl
ects
on
the
general quest
i
on of freight
From this Table
i t
will be seen
that
the
decrease
i
merch
a
nt tonnag
e
is
not
mor
e
than 330
,0
00 tons in an
year
sin
ce 1888,
and is
about 260,000 t o
ns when
com
parison
is made with the
past two years.
A
poin
which
is not
without
its significance is
that
th
sail tonnage is
very
much
less
th i
s year
than it wa
tonnage has, of
course,
materially aff
ec
ted the marine
engineerin
g
indu
s
try,
and
pr
obably this may
not
be an
inappropriate point a.t
which
to r efer eo it. Table
I l l .
gives
the
collec
tive
po
wer of the
eng
in
es const ruc
ted
a t
the
various po
rt
s.
In
c
luded,
of co
urse,
is
the
power
for
st eamers re-cng
in
ed. The total is affected,
mor
e
than
is
that
of
tonn
age,
by work
for the
Government,
for altho
ug
h the Admiralty are
more
inclined
now than
formerly
to
allow
the
engine
works
in connect
i
on with
th e
Dockyards
to construct
new
engines for
cruise
rs and
gunbo
ats, there
is
still a la r
ge
number
of
wa r
s
hips
e
ngined by private
firms.
In d
ee
d,
fully one-fourth of
th e
total pow
er is
for British
and fore
ign Government vess
e
ls, for
the London
firms,
the
Thomson,
Fairfield, Ea r
le,
and the Barrow
Compani
e
s, as well as Mes
s
rs
. Hawthorn,
Leslie, and
Co., have
their to tals augmented by Government work
l\1oreover, a
goodly
part of the
tota.l
is for sh ips
re
e
ngined,
although not so l
arge as
in
some previous
years
.
The total
p o v n ~ r
including all marine
engines,
was, therefore,
917,354,
as against fully
a
million
indicated horse-
pow
er in the three
preced
ing years.
Excepting
Gove
rnm
e
nt
vessels,
compa ratively
few
high
-
speed steamers ha
ve
been constructed,
the
great
majority
of
the
engines being
f
or cargo-carrying
steamers, and in these latter the
a
im is
to
pro
duce the
l
owest power consistent
with a moderate
* See
ENGINEERING,
page 486
ante.
t
l b1'd. , pag
e 5 44 ante.
7/17/2019 Engineering Vol 56 1893-12-22
http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/engineering-vol-56-1893-12-22 21/29
•
E N G I N E E R I N G.
[DEc.
22,
1893.
TABLE I.-STATISTICS OF SHIPBUILDING
IN THE
UNITED KINGDOM
IN
1888·
93.
I
Per
Cent . of Steam to Total
Ton
s. I
•
Total Production.
I
Per Cent. of
Steel
to Total Tons.
Per Cent. of
Foreign owned
to Tota l Tons.
District.
1893.
1892. 1S91.
-
1890.
I
889.
1888.
1893. 1892. 1891. 1888.
189
3.
I
1892. 1891.
I
1888.
I
1893. 1892. 1891. 1890. 1889. 1888
- -
Scotland. tons tons tons
tons
tons
tons
Clyde (in c
ludin
g outports) . . 279,916 335,191 335,076 353,7H>
335,201
278,970
99 .48 98.87 98.68
96
04.8
52.3 68.00 81.6
14.7 21.37 26.72 36.6 34.4
18.3
ther ~ c o t po rt s
••
• •
22,723 59,361 67
9 5 ~
69,155
60,664
30,047
100 95. 17 94.88 90
96.9
52.2
54.79 93
36 6 25.3
32.2
14
10.4
E n g ~ a n d .
•
26.4
27.2
34 21.2 27.3
yne
• •
•
•
••
• •
147,248
229,469 185,369
234,754
281,710
213,205
98.88 97.2
96.36
94 6 98.28 96.31 98.94 99.34
26.85
10.95 10
.2 12.85 17 6 22.2 23
ear
•
•
• •
•
•
••
122
,535 190,8
02
192, 114 197,481 217,336 142,410 1
00
99.8
100 98.6 98.19 90.3
79.18
100
11.28
67
7.68
ees
• •
• • •• • •
93,915 99,279
120,132
127,739
110,436
57,170
98.14
93.05
97.56
76.71
98.18
95.15
95.42
96
I
35.3
12.1
4.3
1.35
11
.8
6.6 13.23 8.9
est Hartl
epool . . . . 66,641 90,924 96,993
99,847
Ba.rrow-in-Furness(including
Work
ington
Wbitebaven)
26,791 33,489 36,845
27,549
Mer
sey
..
• • • •
• •
9,071
40,125 25,975
30,253
Blyth and Whitby . . . .
5,010 21,277 11,754
16,059
Humber (Hull and Grimsby) 9,143
14,094 19,070
9,624
Thames
and other English
and Welsh ports
• •
• •
13,625 33,123 37,795
37,388
I reland.
Belfast and Londonder
ry
37
87,256
99,827 103,466 77,376
speed when the vessel is heavily
la de
n. In most
cases
th
e
triple-expansion engine has been adopted, and
there are
two
or three
instances where
it has
been
introduced
for paddle
steamers, driving
three
cranks.
Messrs. Inglis la
st year,
and Messrs.
Denny
this
year,
have so fitted
steamers,
and the
results have been most
satisfactory.
There are this year,
too,
for the first
time, i
we
mistake not,
instances of
the quadruple
four-
cr ank
engine
in large steame
rs.
These are the
large International liners Kensington and Southwark,
built by ~ I e s s r s .
Thomson
and Messrs. Denny respec
t ively,
but
the quadruple, as a rule, does not seem t o
have met
with
that favour which was anticipated.
T
BLE
I I I Ind icated H orse-Power of Engines
Constructed.
e
• •
••
r
Scotch
ports . .
Clyd
Otbe
Tyn
Wea
Tees
liar
Ilum
Ba rr
Mer
Bl
yt
Tha
e
• •
• •
• •
r
• •
• •
••
• •
• •
•
•
tlepool
• •
• •
ber
• •
• •
ow and district .
• •
ey.. . .
hand
Whitby
• •
mea
and
.Bn
Irela.
The
glish ports
nd ..
•
•
Tot al
• •
Docky
ards
other
• •
•
•
• •
•
•
1893.
1892.
1891. 1890.
255,435 275,899
332,906
374,324
23,010
3l,405
39,090
41,671
114,147
2 2 8 0 0 ~
185,741
206,311
77,665
104,261
98,070
97,000
51,471
43,378
73,480 60,000
48
,550
67,460
57,990
57,000
28,290
2 ~ 6 4 3
67,923
H,380
31,480
36,300
26,975 62,720
15,468
34,850
17,075 28,403
2,080
10,942
6,89
4
8,830
70,112
89,048
98,006
69,432
55,720
48,390
45,950 38,285
-
892,354
1,003,529 1,022,206
1,078,256
27,000
I
3,500
- -
917,354 11,007,029
-
-
T-
he coal saving,
it is
urged,
does n.ot
c o m p ~ n s a t e
for
the
i n c r
e a s ~ in
working
parts, part1eularly m a cargo
steamer, where
the tear and wear is great and the
facilities for repair under emergency not
too
many.
'fhere is indicated in the past two years a
tendency
to go back to the
compound
engines for coasti ng
steamers
as
well
as steam trawlers.
The
contention
is that while the coal efficiency is
not
so great,
the
engines are more readily ma
nipul
ated
by
men
w l ~ o a ~ e
not
over skilful, and the
tear
and wear questiOn 1s
again
brought forward. . .
As will be see
n
from Table Il l .
a
ll
distn
cts have
suffered, although those depending
on
Government
work do
not
show
the same h
eavy
decreases.
Moreover,
the districts
that
undertake re -eng
ining work have
done fairly
well. On the Clyde,
although
there ha s
been
a la r
ge
decrease in the total
t o n n a g ~
it been
largely
in
sa
iling
vessels, so
that
the manne
eng
meer
ing output is not so
much
less, the decrease on 1892
being
only
20,000 indicat
ed
horse-power, or about.7
per cent.
I t
s much great
er
on the totals of
pr
ecedmg
years. In
the
other parts of
Scotland
it is about 20 per
cent. On th e Tyne it is particularly heavy,
the total
being but
a
half
what
it was. This
is also the case
with
tonnage, being in
both
instances
consequent
on
the fact
that
less
Governme
nt
work has
been
under
taken.
Messrs. Hawthorn,
Leslie, and ~ o .
,have. not
completed
the
same
la r
ge number
of
cru
isers engmes,
and Messrs. Palmer had not
two
battl
eships wi
t h their
engines.
T h e ~ e
were
completed during the ye
ar,
but
were included m the t ot als of 1892. The total
power
of
the \Y ear shows a
decrease
of about 25 per
cent
. ; ~ h e
Tees is
rather
higher, owing to the greater proportiOn
of steam
tonnage.
The other ports s
how
a less total,
that in th e case of the
Mersey
being but a
half,
due
again to
the
warship engines constructed last year.
This
also
accounts for
the.
increase
the
T h . a ~ e
total,
whil
e
Ireland
occup1es a
~ r e d 1 t a b l e
pos1t10n,
show
ing
an increase over
a
se
n
cs
of
years,
no t
withstanding
that
the
vesse
ls
were all of
mode
ra te speed, alt h
ough,
as a
rule, of
greater aver
aae size than the
fleet
se
nt from
any
other
port.
Nearly all firms indicate decreases except
where
Government
work is the chief product. 1-Iessrs.
84,109
73,909
100
97.98
100
.1.00 1
00 100
100 100
17.1
41,691
12,471
99. 32 100 100 88.5
75
75.75
86 33 19
I
23.4 5.17 17.19 0
88.5 15.5
35,773 22,538 I
98.1
88.6
93.44
90.3 97.6 67.7 50.65 72
21.6 186
10.78 22.6
38
15 5
24,118
20,202
98.43
100
99.14
79
ij 57.5
100
99.14 100
0 8
0
6.8 9.8
5.2
21,712
7,474
37 66 43.76 43.8
100 100 9 8 . ~ 4
1
00
1.67 5.77
5.49
0 32.62 0
'
10,3i6
14,785
98.75
96
93.02
73
95.7 67.2 74.56
66 I
.87 7.65
15.29
17
25 17
I
87,265
40,308
100
100 100 93
94.1
78.4 85.05
87.7
I
2.96
I
13
7 0
3.6
3.6 5.7
Humphrys, Tennant, and Co., London, have
com
pleted engines for
British and
foreign
vessels
which
aggregate 83,600 indicated ho rse-power ;
bu t,
of
course, these have
not
been ex clusively
bu ilt this
year. In
like manner, Messrs.
Ma.udsl
ey,
Son, and
Field completed
engines
of
about
54,000
in dicated
horse-power. Messr s. Penn
have completed
engines
and Germany have taken a fair tonnage, but there arc
evidences in consular re p
o
rts of
activity
in
s
hipbuild
ing in these centres.
T BLE IV Countries where B1·itish-built Forei{ln·owncd
Ships were Registered
Norway
of nea rly 30,000 indicated ho rse-power. The
Fair
field
Company top the
l
ist of
firms
in the provinces,
with a total
of
48,300 to ns, the aggregate
of
six S
sets
of engines,
including
those for
the
Lucania,
the
F
•
pam ..
Russia.
new Cunard steamer. The five years to ta l of th is
ranee
••
• •
•
•
• • • •
•
•
•
•
•
•
• •
• •
• •
•
•
1893.
I
1892.
1891.
•
•
27,737
19,850 50,
17,17l 3,699 3,637
•
••
16,083 10,365 7,690
••
12,021
2,064 7,597
Aust
r ia
• •
• •
• •
• •
21800 1,179
0,37d
olonies
and India
..
• •
• •
9,718 25,964 39,894
ermany
•• • • • • • •
8,379
19,623 31,392
outh Amerioa
• •
• •
••
7,6 5l 9,182
14,148
elgium
7,538 1,782 -
• • •
•
•
••
ta.ly
5,060
-
-
.
• • • • •
•
• •
est ln dies .•
• •
••
• •
3,9 21 1,087 2,399
urkey
2,329 -
-
• • • • • • •
bina
. .
• •
••
• • • •
1,830 1
,8
55
3,218
reece
• • • •
• •
•
•
1,817 7,073 11,812
enmark 614
- -
•
••
• •
•
•
frica . . 110
-
-
•
••
•
•
•
•
ther
nations
and not classified 26,935 63,968
53,790
158,292
1 188,312
227,462
firm is 208,300 indicated horse-power, with which
C
the
engineering management have reason to be
sa t
isfied,
in view,
parti
cu larly, of the high speed
s
B
got
with the steamers.
The majority of
the vessels
1
were of
20
knots speed. Messrs. Thomson, of
Clyde-
W
bank, come second
with 42, lOO
indicated horse- 6
powe
r, also
for high-speed
craft,
includ
ing
three
G
paddle steamers,
and a
British
c
ru i
ser built
in
one
D
of
the
Dockyards
. Messrs. Harland and
'-.,.
olff, A
Belfast,
come
next with 41,640 indicated
hor
se-
0
power. These
were mostly
for
cargo or
"inter
mediate" steamers, many of them tw in -screw. Last
year this firm
took
second place
amongst
engineers,
th eir total being 37,550 indicated horse-power. The
Central Marine Works,
West
Hartlepool,
completed
The total
t
onnage of
vessels for
British owners was,
therefore,
725,582
ton
s ; and
as
the
fore
ig
n-owned
tonnage
i
nd
i
cates
a decreasi
ng tendency,
it follows
that
the
home shipping
is on a r is
ing ratio. The
point
of
interest is
really as
to its
dist ribution amongst
the ports. Last year London took
27.6
per cent
.
of
the total; this year the ratio is 28.1 per cent.
Gla
sgow this year comes second with 18.8 per
cent.,
against only 9.85 per cent. last
year. Li
verpoo l, wh i
ch
was first among
the ports two
years
a go, is
but
third
this year, with 15.26 per cent. of the total,
aga
inst
25 per cent. last year. The n
orth-easter
n ports from
Blyth to \Vhitby take 15.15 per
cent.,
agains t 17.6 per
cent. last year,
the
Tyne and Hartlepool taking the
greater proportion.
Card
iff and
the
Br isto l ports
took 4. 73
per
cent. ;
Hull
and Gri msby about
4 per
cent. Of the total England took
73.5
per
ce
nt.,
nearly
the
same proportion as
l
as
t
year
.
Scotland
took
25.3 per ce
nt . - 22
per
cent
. be
ing
for
the Clyde
the
proportion
of the
north country
last
year
havh1g
been 18 per
cent.
Ireland,
however, has not
spent
much in
tonnage, her
proportion of th
e total being
only
1.2 against
7 per cent.
in
th e previous y
ear, and,
curiously enough,
Scot
land has sent
nearly
t:he whole
of that tonnage. The Ir i
sh,
however, ha ve sen t more
tonnage
to
cotland
than
they
go t. Similarly the
north-east ports have contributed la rgely to the
Glasgow
tonn
age,
while
but one steamer was sent fr om
the
Clyde to the north-east ports. One steamer built
on
the
Clyde had her eng ines from
the
north -east coast.
Last year it was
the
other way about.
25 se ts of engines, of 36,550 in dicated horse-power, in
cluding three sets for old steamers. This is above
the average, and is in addition to tw elve ordinary
ma.rine
en g
ines built for a
sugar refinery in China
The total
of
this
firm f
or
five
years has been
169,800
indicated horse-power
for 135 vessels, so
that the
mean is
about
1260
indicated horse-power. All were
for the
merchant service.
The
Naval Construction
Company, of
Barrow, who were
third last year with
26,975
indicated
horse-power,
have
this year a total
of 30,800
indicated horse
-power, the largest engines
bei
ng
for an Indian
troopship.
Messrs.
Denny
and
Co.,
Dumbarton, take a
creditable
place with 30,060
indicated horse-power,
all
for m
erc
hant
vessels. Very
few of
the
other firms exceed 25,000 indicated horse
pow
er.
One of the most rema
rk
a
ble
features is
the
decrease
in foreign-owned tonnage built in
the
kingdom. There
has been
a
steady decrease over
a
se r
i
es of years
from
293,093
tons in
1889 to 158,292
tons this year. This
latter
is about half the former,
but
on
e
must at the
same time
consider the
decrease in
the aggregate.
Withal,
however,
f
oreign countries
are taking a less
proporti
on
of our tonnage
. In 1 89
other nations took
22.37
per cent
.
of
the tonnage
produced,
and this de
creased to 15.1 per cent. last year, co
nsequent
,
as
we
then conjectured,
to a less inclination to
risk
money
at
a
time
when the
shipping
trade was depressed than
was
displayed
by the Br i
tish
shipowner. Even with th e
aggregate
output so low,
the
foreign
proportion
is
now
on ly 17. 94
per
cent. I t can scarcely
be
said that this
is due t o any decrease in the activity in building
up merchant navies, for one might almost say
that,
notwithstanding the condition of
the
shipping trade,
there is manifest on all hands
a desire for a
merchant
navy, and, as
a consequence,
we are taking
a
le
ssen
ing
s
hare in
the
carrying
trade
of other
co
untrie
s.
Pro
bably Norway indicate
s
greatest vitality
for
her
posi
tion amongst
the
nat
ions.
Her
courage is worthy
of
the
Viking, and,
to
jndge
from the figures
given
in
Table
IV.,
she
seems, while supporting her own
builders
to patronise
British
firms, for in three years
nearly
100,000
tons have
been sent thither. The time
was
when
they
were
sa tisfied with our old discarded
barks
but
now
they are
constructing
a la r
ge
fleet
of
modern sh ip
s
and stea
mer
s,
whi
c
h, with the dari
ng
and hardihood of
the
Norwegian, are worked most
economically, and therefore most successfully, in com
petition
with
our.
e s s e l ~ .
I t is sc.arcely
n?cessary to
indicate our
vanous
clients.
S
pam,
Russia,
France,
Little
need be
sa
id as to the
c
haracter of the
vessels
la
unched.
The
most important
was the
Lucania,
con
sort to the
Campania.
\Ye
have already placed
on
record
not only full
details
of the vessels, but also
of
their
performances.
* They
have
done well in
their
first
year, having
by success
ive runs reduced
the
rec
ord
to 5
days
12 hours 47
minutes outwards,
and
5
days
12
hour
s 7 minutes homeward, the former
being the run by the
Lucania
and the latter
by
the
Campania.
Both
w
ere made
at the same time, in the
end of October and beginning of November, and the
mean speed was, respectively, 20.93 and 21.28 knots.
The Campania in seven runs outward has ma
in t
ained
an
average
of 20.1 knots,
her
highest
mean for a
voyage being 20.94: knots, while
the
average on the
seven homeward runs was 20.90 knots,
the
highest
sp
eed
being
21.3
on
her
maiden
trip
home.
The
Lucania
in her
runs
o
ut
and
home has
averaged 20
7
-
-
*
See ENGINEERING, vol. 1v. ,
pag
es 461
660
71-:l 771,
838 912 and
pages
46
,
309
, 342 ,
399
,
460 517
580 , 648
ante.
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770
THE
STABILITY OF ARMOURCLADS.
To THE
E DITOR
OF ENGINEERING.
SIR,-The considerable importance of the constructive
stability
of
ships is
probably sufficient reason for
intrud
ing the
subject further
to your notice; and as Mr.
J. J.
O'Neill in
his
letter
asks,
A ~ a . i n , in the light
of
the
Victoria
's midship structure, 'N. A. ' might, perhaps, be
good enough
to
show
that injury in th i
s region would
be
at least equally
disa
strous as a.t the ends,"
in reply to
the
opinion might be expressed
that
injury to the
m1dship portion could
not be
more disastrous than
injury
to the ends.
And
to
show that it is
equally
so is
not
a difficult
matter,
for,
~ _ i t h
injury. to
the
midship
structure, the
shou
ld
er
or
sta.b1hty
there
1s
dest roy
e
d, there
is
no
reserve of buoy
ancy
or stability
left
to either
side
to
which
the
vessel
may incline, and she rolls over.
A
v e s ~ e intact has
a shoulder
or righting
power at
the
water lin
e to right the vessel upon
any
inclination or
p o w ~ r ac
ting
on
the
Vt\ssel.
f
a
portion
of
the midship
structure
is destroyed, the vessel loses so
much
of her
original buoya.nGy and shoulder in proportion to the
volume destroyed. The vessel
sinks
deeper
in the water
in
proportion to the volume destroyed,
thus
increasing
the
upsetting power
of the
bottom
buoyancy ;
and, with
a
reduced volume of shoulder or
stabi
lity at the water line,
there may
not
be
suffic
ient
power
to
resist
any
inclination
of the vessel,
and
conseq
uent
capsize.
The object of constructors should be to place a reserve
of buoyan
cy shoulder
and
st a
bility
within
the
vessel that
shall resiet
this overturning
power of bottom buoyancy,
and
maintain the
vessel
upright
on
the
surface of
the water.
Double bottoms
in
the vicinity of the portion in
jured
only add to this
upsetting
vqlume of bottom buoyancy,
and helping
to
the
capsize.
Cofferdams would
hardly meet
th e case. \Vhat is
wanted
is a
i ~ i v e
internal reserve
of
shoulder or sta-
bility
that
sh a
ll be equal to, or
greater
than, the original
should
er or stability intact
.
But in the present
s
ys tem
of cons
tr u
ct
ion the
sligh
test
injury
to the hull seems to prove disastrous,
and
to render
the
vessel unstable
and
liable
to
capsize. Is it too
mu
ch
to conceive that some attempt should be made to render
th
e vessel more unsinkable
and stable
under
the
co
ndition
of injury?
Here is a <ireadful disas ter which should be a warning
in
time. Cannot we hope that some consideration and
investigation should be made
in
the matter by our
pr
esent
B oa
rd
of
Admiralty?
In
referring to the
ea
rlier
type
of vessel, we do
not
notice any very great alteration in the
internal
construc
tien of
the
present
type
of vessel,
with the
exception of
the addition of the "protective deck." But this ' 'pro
tective de
c
k"
is of but
little
valne as giving
internal
reserve
of buoyancy and stability to the vessel, as proved
in
the
case
of the
Victoria.
I t
is to
be
hoped that
the
Lords Commissioners of the
Admiralty may be disposed to look more
into the
matter of the
const
ru
ction of armourclads
internally
for
protection
from
sinking or
fou
ndering
in any
future
de
s
ign
s for shi ps for
the Royal Navy.
I am, Sir,
Your very obedient servant,
N. A.
L ondon, S. E., December, 1893.
STEAM JETS.
To TRE
EvrToR oF
ENGINEERING.
SIR,-A month or
nwo
since
many
of the technical
journals,
under th
e heading of "Duplex Nozzles," pub·
lished
certain
disparaging statements as to
the
s
tatus
of
an
old
and tried
friend, viz.r
the
solid, s
impl
e,
or
central
steam jet as ap p
li
ed to blowmg
purp
oses.
As
strong con
se
rvatives in
this matter,
we
wish you to allow
us to
reply
on
th
e
other
side.
Sir Willia.m Siemens was, we believe, one of
the
first to
claim higher efficiency for
the annular
over the
central or
solid atea.m jet for blowing purposes. We bad, however,
supposed
that
no one
in the
se
days
who
had
given
th
e
subject any
practical consid
erat
ion would now
s ~ p p o r t
the propos iti on. t should, howev
er,
be noticed, m the
first place,
that
a.
nominally
annular jet
is
not
really so
unless
the
air, or whatever
other
fluid
is
to be
p r o ~ e l l e d ,
is
admitted into
the
annulus t h r o u ~ h the
ce
ntre, as 1 the
blowers designed by
Sir
Willia.m Stamens. In the duplex
nozzle refe
rr
ed
to
above, not only is no provision made
for
admitting air
inside
the
annulus, but
t h ~ an
nular jet
itself acts as a shield to
prevent
access of
air
to the
tral or
solid
jet. Th i
s explains
the ad
vantage of
the In
terrupted
annulus of. the duplex no
.zz
le, the three four
jets
in
the ring
allowmg access of
au to the
ce
ntral
Jet
well
as
all round tbems el ves.
We
have
made
the
subject of
jet
blowers a special
study
for
the
l
ast ten
years, and,
with
respect to
the
form of
nozzle have come to a definite conclusion that
the
central
or
solid
jet
is
the most
efficient for
all ordinary
purposes,
and that any
departure
from
this
nob only increases the
first cost and adds useless complications, but actually de
tracts
from
the
efficiency.
Having these very decided opinions, we were rat.ber
surprised a.t
the
prominent
position given
in the
techmcal
press
to
the alleged advantages claimed for
~ h e
duplex
nozzlt'.
To
leave no room for doubt,
y ; ~ obtamed o n ~
of
the
du{>lex nozzles (as well
as the
o m b t m ~ g
~ u b e
supphed
with it),
and
conducted a series of tests wtth It, the e s u ~ t
of
which
we give
below. '.ple
z z l ~ has
a.
c e n ~ r a l Jet
in.
in
diameter,
and
three Jets m a r t ~ g surroundmg th.e
cent
ral
jet, and having
a var1able ope
mJ?-g,
.
the
full maxl
mum
area
being
equa
l to that of a sohd Jet upwards of
7 millimetres
in
diameter. .
The
duplex nozz
le
was
regulated
so
as to
gtve
the same
E N G I N E E R I N G.
effect as a so
lid central
jet
of 4 millimetres diameter,
which
is considerably larger
than
our
ave
rage size.
This
size of nozzle, viz., 4 millimetres, was taken as a.
standard
for comparison,
as being the
size of nozz
le in the third
tyRe of blower referred
to
la ter on.
The position of the regulating screw in the duJ?lex
nozzle was f
ound after making
several
tests with
vanous
forms
and
sizes of combining tubes, giving
equa
l vo
lum
e
of
outlet air at equa
l pressures.
The air
lpressures te
ste
d
were j in.
water
column, which
may
be
taken
as a normal
ashpit
pressure, 1 in.
wate
r,
and
2 in. water.
To
a
rr i
ve at
the
proportional efficiency of
the
nozzles,
an air receiver of a ce
rt a
in capacitywas fi lled
with
cold dry
air
ab 20
lb
.
pre
ssu
re
above
the
atmospere,
and emptied
fi
r
st
th r
oug h
the
duple
x nozz
le
with the r e ~ u l a t o r in the
p_roper position,
and then through
the s1mple nozzle.
This
was
repeated
several times, and it was found that
the duplex nozzle reduced the pressure from 20 lb . to
5 lb.
in 25
seconds, whereas
the
simple nozzle, giving
the
same effect, required 45 seconds. In
othe
r words,
the
duplex
no
zzle,
to
give
equa
l effect, re
quir
ed 80
per cent
.
more steam th an the simple
central
nozzle.
We
presume, howeve
r,
that
the
efficiency of
the
nozz
le
as
such is of secondary consideration,
and
that
the
really
in teresting question is to the relative efficiency of the
compl
ete
blowers.
To
ascertain
this
a. series of experi
ment s were made
with
the duplex nozzle and
the
com
bining tube
supplied
with
it,
with our
own blowers of
various sizes, and a third form of blower which has
recently bt: en in evidence. The air pressures tested with
were
as
mentioned above,
v i z . ~ in.,
1 in.,
and
2-in. water
column, the correspon
ding steam
pressures being 16lb.,
42lb., and
70 lb. above
th
e atmosphere.
The net result of the series of experiments is to show
that
to
do a given
quantity
of work, where
our
blower
required a unit weight of steam, say
llb. , the
duplex
arrangement used between lb.
and 3J
lb.,
and
the
third
form of blower from 2 lb.
to
4
.f
lb.
As the question of forced or assisted draught is con
tinuously coming
mor
e to
the
front,
and
as
the
steam
jeb offers
the
simplest a.nd, for most purposes, th e best
form of blower, we think the figures given above should
be
of
in terest to many
of
your
readers.
Yours
truly,
MELDRUM BR OS.
At
lanti
c Works, City-road, Manchester,
Dec
ember 19, 1893.
THE UNEMPLOYED.
To
THE
E DITOR
m· EN
OINEERING.
Srn,-In
your
re
view lasb week of
th
e Blue-Book tssued
by the
Board of Tra.de upo n
the
unemployed, you refer to
"' trade societies a.s being effective agencies " dealing
therewith,
and state
that these
"pay their
members when
out
of work from 3s. 6d. to 18s. per week, " some of these
extending
over
"on
e
or
two quarters" of
the
year.
You
also
state
that those
"agencies are
best which give unem
ployed benefit," one reason being
they
relieve
th
e
ra t
es,"
and
that
"in the
skilled trades 10
per
cent.
are
unem
ployed. "
In your Indu
s
trial No
tes " you say more
than
one·
seventh of the engineers
are on
the funds, " costing l s. 8d.
per member
per
week."
You
also
state the '' Ir
onfounders
are granting
5s.
per
week
to
time-expired
members,, &c
.
Now, for
my
own part, although I freely
admit the
pro
blem of
the
unemployed is a very difficult one
and
that
trade societies are showing an
~ x c e e n t spirit'
of " help
one
another" in the matt
er, I
cannot
see
the
wisdom
of
having, say, 5 to 10
per
cent. of
the
whole of
the
workers
ah_vays out of work from year's ~ n d to
year'
s end, and
bemg
o ~ e .o
r
le
ss well
s u p p o r t e ~ m
enforced idleness by
the rema.mmg 90 to 95
per
cent. m emp loyment;
neither
ca
n I see that
trade
societies o
ught
to
be
specially required
to relieve the rates.
Th ere is one
thing
about
th
e unemp loyed question
which always puzzles me-namely,
Why
does every person
you ask give a different reason for
it, and
generally a pre·
ju
diced
one? Th
ere
mu
st be a correct reason,
and
some
of our best-informed .men
must
know
the
reason. Why
cannot the
laws wh10h govern labour economics
be
laid
down simply
in
text-books
and taught
in schools ?
I t ap pears to me
that
if every man
in the
country made
the
greatest
possible prod uction of useful commodities
by
means of
the
most improved machinery, and that every
gaol, workhouse,
&c
.,
wa
s conve
rted into
a modern high
class factory, we should then be
in the
best wealth-pro
ducing condition. But I am told no. t would interfere
with
free labour to put prisoners to useful work or employ
workhouse people usefully.
They
say,
in
effect, the less
the output the
richer we are;
the
fewer
the
workers,
and
the
more numerous
th
e idlers,
the
higher
the
wages
and
the better off the people. One man says we want a good
war
to reduce
the
population. Another, l
et
us build war
ships to employ the people. The building trades pray for
fires
and earthquakes, the
deco
rator
s for royal
w e d d i n g t ~ ,
the
shipbuilders for gales
and
shipwrecks,
&c
.
I
cannot,
however, see
bow limiting
production,
or de
stroying
what
is already produced,
or putting people
criminals or
not-to
unproductive labour
can
be of
the
l
east
service
in in
creasing w
ealt
h, nor
can
I see how in
creased production of useful commodities can fail to
increase wealth.
You
rs faithfully,
J.
F.ERRADEE.
Stafford, Dec ember 19, 1893.
ECONOMICAL SPEED OF STEAMSHIPS.
To TITE EDITOR Ob ENGINEERING.
Sm,-
In his
letter
of October "
Se."
calls at en·
tion to an
error of
Mr. W. J. ~ l 1 l l a r
s, where
he
asserts
[DEc. 2 2 1893.
that the work done will
vary
as the producti of
the
power exerte
d
and
space traversed."
f
that is the
actual wording it must
undoubtedly be a
slip of
the pen.
"B. Se.,
"
to
prove
the erro
r, makes use
of the assumption that the power
varies
a3
the
cube
of the
velocity;
and though I am perfectly aware that
this
is
stated
on
the authority
of Rankine, I
am
afra
id
it is rw
t
at
all
in
accor
dan ce
u·ith fact.
No one has a higher
r
espect
for
the writings
of
Rankine than
I have,
butl
I
ca
nn
ot accept
them
as infallible, and when his statements
do
not
agree
with
actual
experiment, ·I, for one, part com
pany with him
on
this
road to knowledge.
f
"B. Se." says
he
believes
Rankine
notwithstanding
-which
is
equivalent to "so much the
worse for
the
facts "
- there is
an end
to
the
arg
ument; but
if
he
thinks my
statement
is
not
corr ect, I hope
he
will give
me
a few
examples (one
or tw
o good ones will be sufficient) of ships
or torpedo-boats whose horse-power
varies
as
the
cube of
the velocity.
I
ca
n
give
him dozens where it is either very
mu
ch less or ve
ry mu
ch more, whichever he pleases. Of
course
there must be
no nonsen
se
about
the
examples.
They mu
st emb
ra
ce a wide range of speeds. " B. Se."
will find that
at
low speeds
the
power varies considerably
lower
than
V 3: at
about
10
or
12 knots it is somewhere
about V3;
the
power then increases much f
aste
r
than
V3
up
t o about 17 knots, above which speeds it again increases
at a lower
ratio
than V 3
Th e
re
s
istanc
e does
not vary a.s
V 2 but
as
kt or
f J
et, or Ey
V,
or
l Oa
V, up to
about
17
knots, where
t=time,
V
=v elocity;
k {3, y,
and
a being constants.
Above 17
knots the
law changes.
R.
DE
V
L L A ~ l i L .
St. Hel
ena,
November 24,
1893.
PATENT
OFFICE
LIBRARY.
To THE EDITOR
OF
ENGINEERING
.
SIR,- fully indorse
the remarks
of " Disgusted "
re
the delay
in getting
periodicals a.t
this
library. '.fhere are,
however, some foreign periodicals, such
as the
"Revue
Generale des Chemins
de
Fer," the "Organ fiir }
i'o
rt
schritte," which
appear
ve
ry
ir r
egularly, so that thP
Patent Office librarians
ca
nnot
be
altogether blamed for
the unpunctuality with
which the se appear on
the
tables
of
the library
rooms.
A good
cata
logue is sadly wanted, also some arrange
ment
whereby
re a
d
ers
would
be
enabled
to
find
out what
new books
are
put on
the
shelves.
There
is also much
delay in th is respect, for one wou
ld
naturally expect
that
a Patent Office library would t
ry to keep abreast
of
the
tim es
with
rega
rd
to
te
chn i
ca
l li tera ture.
The lighting
of
the
l
ibrary
leaves
mu
ch
to be de
sired,
and ibis
a wonder to me that
th e
re
are
so
many
visitors
ab night. Several systems of gas lighting hav e been
tried, but
I
thin
k
the present
arrangement is the worst
of all. \Vhy has
not
electric
light
been introduced ? \Ve
hope
to
see
marked
improvements
in th
e new
Pate
nt
Office
library,
for
the
present manag
e
ment
is
in
ma
ny
respects most unsatisfactory.
Yours faithfully,
London, N., December 18, 1893.
M ERNOK.
METHOD OF TAKING OUT STRESSES.
To THE EDITOR OF ENGINEERING.
SIR,- notic
e that
in
my letter
of November 1
4,
kindly
published by you on
the
,15th inst
., ther
e is
an
error,
viz., in the formuhe for flanges "cosine" should read
' 'sine
"
in
every case. I believe
this
is
my
mistake.
With apology for giving you so much trouble,
I am, yours
truly,
B URNET
ADA.MS.
December 17, 1883.
T HE "BnYri
SH A ssociATION Scmnv
T BREAD Sr
sT
EM
-M essrs. SeHg,
So
nnenthal,
and
Co. , London, have
brought out one
of
their
"Lightning "
pattern
screw
plates
adapted
to
the
"British AssociatiOn system" of
screw th read. The case contains nine sizes, Nos. 0 to 8,
and
should do much towa
rd
s extending
the
adoption of
th is valuable system of threads.
The
dies are circular in
form,
and are
held
in an
elastic stock.
The adjustment
is made
by a.
conical-hE-aded screw, which tends to separate
the dies, whilst
th
ey can be forced together by a tighten
ing
screw on
the
stock.
They
are
th u
s held very rigidly.
Th e thread is out full
depth
at one operation.
CATALOGUE
S. - We hM
·e
received from the General
Elecric
Company, Limited, of
69
and 71, Queen Victoria
street, London, a copy of th eir catalogue of electric p lant
for 1894.
Incand
escent
lamp
s
are
a new feature in
this
catalogue,
the Edis
on ·Swan monopo
ly
having expired.
Of these, two classes are supplied by the company, viz.,
long life
lamps and
high-efficiency lamps.
'l
'he former
take 56 watts for 16 candle-power lamps,
and ha
ve
an
average
lif
e of 12
00
hours.
An important
note is added,
to the effect that Continental candle-power is 14 per cent.
less
than the
E nglish
st andard, a fact
of which con
sumers would do well to
take
note
in
purchasing foreign
ma<ie lamps. In addition to
lamp
s,
the
catalogue in
cludes
illustrated and
priced descriptions of practically
every variety of electric
plant,
from dynamos
to
medical
coils.-We ha
ve also received a copy of
the
new catalogue
issued
Me
ssrs. J . Copeland
and
Co., of
the
Pul teney
street Engine
Works, Glasgow, con taining reprodu ctions
of photographs
taken
of
the
different
types
of engines,
boilers, evaporating plant, hydraulic presses,
and other
machinery con
structed by
them.
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•
DEc.
22,
1893.] E N G I N E E R I N G
VERTICAL
ENGINE
AND CENTRIFUGAL PUMP.
C)NSTRUCTED BY ~ I E S S R S . THWAITES BROT
HE
RS, LIMITED
E ~ G I N E E R S BRADFORD.
WE illustrate on this page a centrifugal pump and
engine combined, which is being
exhibited by
Messrs.
Th waites Brothers, Limited, of Bradford, along with
other
machines,
at
the
Industrial Exhibition
at
New
castle-on-Tyne. The pump is constructed on
th
e
Capell
prin
ciple,
and
is capable of discharging 450
tons of water per hour. The engine is,
as
will
be
seen, of the vertical type, the cylinder being sup
ported on four
stee
l columns of
ample
size, so
as to
insure complete stiffness in working. A
ll the
working
parts
ar
e
made adjustable and with large
wea
rin
g
surfaces,
and
the
lubricatio
n is automatic and
adapted for continuous running. The combination
is specially
suitable
for
draining
docks,
or
for circu
lating the water through the condensers on board
ship,
and
owing
to the
special
constr
u
ct
ion of
the
pump,
it
is c
laim
ed that
it ca
n
be
run
at
a slower
speed than any other pump of the same size. The
results of trials supporting this c
laim
were
published
in our issue of February 3, 1893. We und erstand
that
Messrs.
Thwaites have
a
large number
of
these
machines in
progres
s
for
va
ri
ous vessels in our Navy.
•e
THE M
EXICAN
NAVY.-The establishment of a Govern
ment dockyard is being
co
nsidered in
co
nnection with the
proposed improvement of
the
Mexican Navy. The
port
of Guayma.s is said to be its probable site. Vera Cruz is
to have
an
arsenal and a floating dock. The latter is
being built in France.
BAXTERS' LOCK NUT.
THE accompanying
illustrat
ion represents an ar
rangement introduced by Messrs. Baxters, Limited
Sandiacr
e, No
tt
s,
with
the
v
iew
of co
unteracting
t h ~
tendency
of
nuts to
slacken
under vibration, with
out
in
terfer
ing with fre edom of
adjustment. There
are
really
two nuts.
That touching the
work has
as shown in the illustration , a fem ale cone, and t h ~
upper
nut
is
shaped
to fit
into
this. The upper
nut
is split through,
and
is sprung on to the stud, so that
771
th
ere is always a certain pressure between it
and th
e
stud. Any loosenin g of the lower
nut,
due to work
ing, will tend to press
it
upwards, and, by
means
of
the cones, the pressure of the upper nut ou the stud
will
be
increased.
INDUSTRIAL NOTES.
THE state of the skilled labour market , as disclosed
by
the
Board of Trade Jou rnal
and
the Labou1·
a
zette
shows a decrease in
the
proportion of unem
ployed o r th e first
ti m
e this year. Indeed, the
pro·
portion
is
even slightly
under
that
of 1892
at
the
same
d
ate
.
In
the thirty
-
two
societies
which
r e
ported
there was an
aggregate
of 338,689 members,
the total
number of unemployed being 24,534,
or 7.2
per cent.,
as against
7.3
per cent.
in
October. In October and
November of las t year
the proportions
were
7
9
and
7.8 per cent. respectively. Considering that the total
numb
er of societies
reporting
is ten
more
this
year,
with a largely increased membership in nearly all
cases, the returns are more favourable than was
expected. rhe
percentage
of
unemployed members
in
th
e thirty-two societies shows a larger proportion
out
of
work all through th
e year,
as
compared
with
last year, but, whereas
the
number increased rapidly
from the end of August
up
to the end of November,
in
1892,
the variation
th is year in
the
same
thre
e months
has been very ttlight, and the curve is now towards a
lessened
proportion,and
this, too, in spite of
the
disloca
tion of trade by
the
coal crisis, lasting over four
months.
In the shipping and iron and steel
trades
the propor
tion out of work was large,
being equal
to 12.2 per
cent. of the total, bn , on the whole, the prospects are
br
ig
hter
than
for
some
time past.
In
the
building
trades the proportion
out
of work was
only
3.7 per
cent
., as
compared with
3.6 in the
previous
month.
The furnishing trades
show
some
improvement,
the
ratio being 5.4 per cent. out of work, as against 6.1
in
the
previous
month.
The
co
tton trades are
brisk,
but
the
woollen, silk, hosiery,
and
lace
trades
are
depressed.
The
clothing
and
boot
and
shoe
trades hav
e
been very f lack, especially for this season of
the
year,
while the printing and allied trades have fallen from
5.2 per cent.
to 3.8 per
cent. of unemployed. The
classified percentages show that only 1 per cent. of
the
engineering
and sh ipbuilding industries
report
trade
as
good,
while 81
per cent. represe
nt it as
dull
to very bad. This is the worst case of all the detailed
trades.
The
number
of fre sh disputes is fewer,
and
the
numbers involved smaller than in
any
month of
this yea
r. Of
the 35,7
69
members affected
by disputes,
32,000 belonged to
the
Scotch coalmining industry,
in which the dispute has, happily, ended.
The
engi
neering
and c o ~ n a t e
trades appear
to have
no
dis·
pute worth
recording.
Unusual attention has been given
to the state
of
trade in the unskilled branches of labour, and some
rather
curious
results
are given
as the
outcome of
special inquiry.
t
appears that the dock
and
river
i d ~ workers have,
a
s a
r u l ~ b e e ~ steadily
employed,
an Improvement bem g mamfest m
London
and Liver
pool, while
at
Cardiff work continues brisk. As re
gards the emp loyment
of dock labourers in London at
all places except Tilbury,
the
total employed in the
last week
of
November was
7736,
as
compared with
6886 in
th
e first week of the
month.
The average for
t he four weeks was
7151,
as compared with
7313
in
November, 1892. The average
n
October
was
6698
as compared with 6812 in October la
st
year. The m o r ~
detailed figures in
the
c
hart
show a larcre
rise n the
proportion
of employed during
the
two last weeks of
November. But the total number of paupers has in
creased
rather
largely, and some curious suggestions
arc thrown
out
as to the cause. Th e coal strike
affected
very many
adversely,
by
slackness of
work
and
decreased wages.
Illness
also
has
contributed to
the increase of pauperism in various districts. But it
appears
that the most
notable feature
in the increase
of pauperism is from the ranks of the common lodging
house class, a class
which,
from one cause aml another
such as unfitness from sickness, priv
at
ion
and
a
roving
disposition, seldom
ta
kes permanent employment.
These people
have,
doubtless, also suffered from the
coal
st
rikes, for the money collected for the miners in
the
streets of London
was div
er t
ed
fr om
the
ordinary
beggar. But in West Ham
the
increase has been ab
normal, there
being over
3000
paupers more than
in
November, 1892. In mo
st
of
the east-end
districts of the
m e t r o . p o l ~ certain trades are very slack, but the chief
suffenng 1s
among the
labouring
class of a
rather
un·
certain character as to regular employment, that is to
say, the
casual
labourers
generally. Many
railway
em
ployes,
and those
whose work is in connection with the
railways and the other carrying trades, north, south,
east, and west, have
suffered owing
to
the coal dis
pute. that. disput
e is
now ended,
it
is .
probable
that
the mdustn
es affected will
revive
somewhat
and
thus lessen
the
number of unem
ployed
and of the
paupers.
The
report of the Boilermakers and Iron Ship Builders
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•
~ o c i e t y
for December shows a
very bad state
of
trade,
m so
far as employment
is concerned
in
those
indus
tries.
The
total number
on the
funds was
8743,
as
against
8486 last mon th .
The number
on
donation
was
3889,
as compared with
4060
last month,
a de
crease of 171
;
but there was an increase of 187 sign
ing the vacant book, which more
than
counterbalances
the decrease. The number out of work was 6852, or 18
per cent. of the total members, exclusive of the sick
and superannuated. The cost of benefits was 7075l.
nearly. The report says : All th is does not look very
bright, but we
are
inclined to think that soon after th e
New Y eo.r has
co
mmenced there will be
an
improve
ment. There are
indica-tions in
the right
directions.
\Vith all the depression, the
number
of members
in
creases, whi ch is a most
unusual
thing in the history
of trade unions. An increase of contributions is im
posed upon all members who
run out of
benefit, so
that neglect to pay
up
imposes upon
them
ex tra pay ,
with the loss of benefiL for a time. Efforts
are
also
be
ing made to
restrain
the agents
of some employers
touting for
men out
of t
he district. Th
e report re
minds such
employers that
the
society
often
he
lp
s them
when trade
is
brisk
and
men
scarce, so that
there ought
to be
some reciproc
ity. But, generally, the emp
loyers
and
the union work harmo
niously
together, as the last
four years abundantly prove. The report contains an
item of 17l. l ls. 4d. paid to a shipbuilding firm for
losses sustained by the bad workmanship of four mem
bere. But the men named have to repay the amount
to the soci
ety
before being entitled to benefit. The
bonus claims are rather heavy- 2125l. for accidents,
nine of which
ar
e for 100
l.
each, and 23 for
50l.
each,
the other& being 25l. each. The outlook in the several
chief s
hipbuilding di
s
tr i
c
ts
is
not very
promising,
but
on the Clyde alone there
are about
177,000 tons in
hand . On the Tyne things are
quiet
. On
the
Tees
there is
an
improvement. In the boiler and bridge
making
dist ricts
things
look a
little brighter,
and
especially in th e
St a
ffordshire
districts.
As the
ship
joiners' st rike
is
ended, things
will be bu sier en the
Clyde
for some
time
to come. There is me
ntion
of
an
appeal to the Government
rP.specting some
recent
con
tracts.
In
th e La
nca
s
hir
e
districts there
is a
mor
e hopeful
ton
e
in
th e engineering
bran
ches of
industry, although
just
at
pr esent the signs of revival are few and not very
apparent. Heavy stationary engine bu ilders have a
fa ir amount of work on hand, and machine tool mak ers
are tol erably well employed,
but
generally th e estab
lishme
nts
for t he most p9.rt are only moderately sup
plied
with
w
ork
. In the boilermaking branches
trade
is quieter than it
ha
s been for some time p
as t
, and in
the locomotive branches the trade outlook is far from
satisfactory.
In th
e :
Manchester distri
ct
the
engineers
describe trade as bad; the
steam
engine makers as
moderate, but
with
a
slight
increase in the number of
un
emplo
ye
d the
ma
chine workers
and
metal planers,
and also brassfounders and finishers,
report
th e
state
of
trade
as moderate, but
the
boilermakers as bad,
th ough the
number
out of
work
has not increased. In
the iron
trade
there
h
as be
en a firmer tone,
but not
so
mu
ch on
account
of a largely increased demand, as
because of
the
sc
ar
c
ity
of
su
pplies. The expec
tati
on
is that
pr i
ces will
advance during
the
next
two
or three
months,
a
nd therefore
the
re appears to be
some
de
sire
to pla
ce
orders
for
delivery
at
present rates during that
period. Manufactured iron is firm
at
recent rates,
but
there is no quotable advance at present. In the
steel trade raw material has advanced by about 1s. per
ton,
but
for ste el boiler plates quotations are merely
nominal, as there is very
little
inquiry.
In
the
Oldham and Bolton
district
s the iron and s
te
el in
dustries are a
little
brighter; two large iron works,
long closed owing to the coal
di
spu te, have been re
opened,
and
generally
there
is a more hopeful tone.
In the
Barrow
district the steel works have re-started,
and at \Vorkington the men
at
the steel works
ar
e on full time. The shipping
trades
are, however,
quiet. In
the Li
verpool
distri
ct
the ~ i p p i n g
dust ries an d
all
cognate branches
are
qUlet, and m
some cases
ver
y dull. But
the
general
run
of
~ h e
cot ton industrie
s
keep
well employed,
and
the build
ing
trades are
f
ai
rly well off for work,
bearing in mind
th
e season of the
year.
On
the
whole the outlook is
not altogether di
sc
oura
ging,
thou
gh
there ~ r e
few
actual indi
c
ations
of
activity
.
In th
e chem1cal
and
glass indu
st r
ies trade has been resumed, af ter the long
stoppage for lack of coal, but many men are still o
ut
of
E N G I N E E R I N G.
request. Armour and
s
hip
-
pla
te ma
kers are very
slack,
but
a few firms
are fairly busy
in
the
r
ai
lway
t
yre
and
ax
le
departments.
Skate
an
d
joiners
' tool
makers are fairly
bus
y, and iron
a
nd steel
found
ers
are
a little
better
off
for work,
th ough 7 per cent .
ar
e
st ill out of work, while many are on short time. Steel
smelters are moce active, for the demand for Bessemer
and Siemens steel billets is fairly good, and that for
steel wire is causing exceptional activity. There is
also
an in
creased demand for best crucible
cast
steel,
both for export and for
th
e better classes of cutlery.
In t
he
general staple
trades
of the dist rict it is alleged
that fully 50 per cent. are only pa.rtially employed, and
th
e Sheffield C
orporation
is finding
work
for
the
labouring class in levelling, laying, and improving the
recreation grounds of the town,
in ac
cordance
with
the c
ir
cu
lar
of
the
Local Gove
rnment
Board. The
building
trades are busy, very
few
re
ally s kill
ed
men
being
out
of work.
In
other
districts
of
Yorkshire the
engineering and cognate
bran
ches of trade are ve
ry
dull. In Leeds and th e
surr
ounding district one
large
firm is stated
to
be busy, a
nd
that one is on
special
work, the
manufac ture of elec
trical
appliances,
for which th ere is a good
demand
at
pr
ese
nt.
The
ironfounder
s and st ee
lworkers are ver
y
sla
c
k, the
close of
the
coal
strike not having had the
full effect
expected as yet.
But th
e glass trades are better off
for work now that fuel is no longer scarce. York
shire generally suffered much from the coal dispute,
and the districts a.re very slowly reco
ver
ing from th e
di sorganised condition of
tr
ade conseque
nt
thereupon.
The industries not large
ly
dependent upon the coal
supply are in a bet ter condition, but all have suffered,
and
are still
suffering, from the sa.m e cause.
In the Hull
district
engineering
and
shipbuilding have
been in a
bad
state for some time pas
t, fr
om 20 to 25
per
cent. of workmen being out of work. But owing to the
recent gales and damage to shipping, a good deal of
rep
airing has come in, which
ha
s given a degree of
ac t
ivi ty
not
otherwise
obtainabl
e, the
number
of un
em
pl
oyed
ha
ving th e
reby be
en
redu
ced.
The other
s
hipping
and
riverside
trades
ha
ve
be
en bu
sy
since the
close of the coal
dispute,
and the
demand
for
sea
men is
grea
t
er than
for some
time past
. On the whole,
things are
b
etter
and
bright
er
in Hull than
f
or
a long
t ime
has
been
the
case.
The pr
ospects for
the
new
year also are regarded as tolerably favou
rJ..b
le, as trade
goes.
In the W olverhampton dist rict some good business
was done during the
past
week, th ough the orders
booked were of limited weight, mos
tly
for home con
sumption, aud for the
co
mpletion of contracts. There
were also good inquiries for galvanised sheets,
co
mmon
bars,
and
hoop
ir
on,
by export
agents.
But
the
wou
ld
-be buyers
co
mplain of high prices, and hold
back. t is said that Belgian makers and competitors
ara again
in the mark
et
with
building
and bridg
e
building requisites, underselling th e
British
makers .
t
is s ta ted that
the
Belgian pr ices
are
15s. p
er
ton
below local makers
in
St aff
ords
hire,
after
all
the
cost
of ca rriage. Yet
the
local
makers
declare that th
ey
cannot
make at a
profi
t
whil
e coal
and
fuel
are
so
dear
in pr i
ce. The
mak
ers of finish
ed ir
on, bars,
plate
s,
and
angles especially complain, a
nd
even hint
the
possi
bility
of closing
the
works
in
preference
to
reducing pre
sent pr ices. Steel plates and billets are in fair demand,
and fair offers are made for common sheet , angle, and
ship iron for home consumption. In
th
e engineering
branches trade is regarded as fair,
but
some are out of
work. Puddlers, mill rollers, steel workers, and blast
furnacemen are busy when coal is
av
ailable. Bridge
and girder makers, boiler and ta.nk makers, and
gasholder makers are well employed, as also
are
the
heavy iron founders. In the ha
rdwar
e
trades
business
is dull,
except in
the
l
oc
k
tr
ade.
Th
e
br
ass a
nd
co
pper
trades
have improved
in
some branches, and so also
have edge.tool
and
agricul tural implement makers.
Short time is being worked in the tinplate, iron-plate,
and
steel
toy trades;
t he anvil-smiths
and
vice-makers
are
also slack. Genera
lly
the
district
has well main
tained ita own for some months
past, but the
competi·
tion
of
other districts
will now
be
felt
in
m
ost
cases.
In
th e
pottery distr
ict s of Staffords
hi r
e
the iron and
ste
el and the engineering
trades
suffered severely by
the
scarcity of coal fuel generally.
Fully
10 p
er
cent.
of
the
engineering
trad
es
are unemp
loyed.
But
it is thought that t rade will improve with the New
Year in all the local industries, as well as in the iron
employment.
and steel trades. Among the miscellaneous trades of
In the Sheffield and Rotherham
district
the local the dist rict there is a slight improvement in some,
indust ries generally are
not
so active as usual
at
th is while others maintain the general activity which has
time of year. The silv
er
and electro-plate trades are prevailed for some tim e past , in cases not much affected
not so well employed as
in
previous years at t ~ i s by th e high pr ice of fuel. The worst tr ades report
date. th ey
are
working twelve hours
per
day m- 10 per cent. of the men out of work, while some
are
stead
of fifteen
usually in
Dece
mber. There
is a
as
low
as
4 per cent.
The
general
average would
be
larger demand for
railway
material than for the last about 7i
per
cent. unemployed in the dis
tri
ct.
three months but
the
accumulation of
work
is said . .
ot
to equal'
the
losses
resultin
g from
the recent
In
the
Bristol, Gloucester,
and S o ~ e r s e
t 6 h 1 r rlis-
~ t o p p a g e .
Cutlery,
files, a
nd
steel generally
quiet
tr icts e n ~ i n e e r i n g is not so ~ o o d as m but
to
dull,
but engineering work is
said to
be m
bett
er . the electr1cal branches are fa1rly busy . Shipwrights,
[DEc.
22
1893.
boilermakers,
and ironfound
e
rs report
no improve
ment in trad
e,
but
the iron and
tinpla
te work
er
s
are
fully emplo
yed.
The
iron trade
is a lso
reported
good
in Gloucestershire.
The miners in
th e
Forest
of Dean
are busy,
but
not over bu
sy
in the Bristol and
Somerset coalfields gen erally.
In the Birmingham district, engineers, toolmakers,
machinists, bedstead-makers, and cycle-makers are
more active,
but
a goodly
number
of men are out of
employment. Bra.ssworkers on electrical work are
busy, but not for cabinetwork or house furnishing.
Ele
ctro-plate workers,
metal
rollers, tubework ers,
wireworkers,
and the
several branches
of
th
e iron
trade
are tolerably
well employed. The tinplate
trad
e is fairly good, but some are out of work.
\Vork
ers
in malle
abl
e
iron are
busy, and iron fencing
is
in
demand. Enamelled sig n
and
advertising
trades
are so
bu
sy th at some are
working
night
and
day. Many of the miscellanous
trade
s of the dist
rict
are fa
irly
well
empl
oyed, a
nd
several that were
depressed
are
feeling some improvement .
The
bed·
stead.
maker
s
have
sec
ured an advance
of 5
per ce
nt.
by
federating with
the employers.
This
appears to
be
one of
the
poss
ible
methods of
industrial pe
ace in
the future.
In
the coal tra.des the first ste p has been taken in
the constitution of a Board of Conciliation,
a.
meeting
of the reprenta.tives of the coalownersand the federated
miners having been held to prepare a code of working
rul es and elect a. chairman.
'fhe
lat ter they were
not able to agree upon, so that the
matter
is referred
to the Speaker of the House of
Co
mmons to nominate
one.
I t
is a
matter
of
regret
th
at
the
conference could
not
agree upon a chairman, bu t the provision of a way
out
of the difficulty in case of
any
want of agreement,
has been found
to
be most valuable. The
re
seems
to be little
doubt
as
to
the successful launching of
the Conciliation Board at the date originally fixed.
The
Scotch miners
ha
ve
arrang
ed
their
diffi
cu lty,
and
coal no longer blocks
the way
to indus trial ac
tivity.
The question for the
public
now is, \Vhat is
to
be done
to
r
ed
uce prices ?
The
min
ers are ge tting
no more
wages now
than they
were six
month
s ago, except in
So
uth
Wales, where th ey have
an
increase of
per
cent., and in some parts of Scotland an d in the
Forest of Dean;
but
the price of coal is
at
least 6s.
or 7s. p er ton dearer in London, and much dearer else
where tha.n it was six months ago.
The House of Lords has passed the Employe r& '
Liability Bill through Committee, and also the
third
reading. Now it will ha
fe
to be returned to the
Commons wi
th the contracting-out
clause in
it
,
and
some
further
amendments .
The
question is, \Vhat
will the House of Commons do ?
The
answer is believed
to
be : Reject the amendments of
the
House of Lords,
and
resto
re
th e Bill to
wh
ere it was when it
left
the
Commons.
Th
e
re
is some t
al
k of a possible mod lls
lirendi, after a conference
with
the Lords,
but
much
will
depend upon
the
way in
which
the
advocates of
the
chang
e
made
in the Bill condu
ct th
eir cause in
the
Commons. f no
arran
gement can
be
effected , the
work
expended on
this
Bill is
practically
lost .
For
the
present t he Bill is
bung
up. ,
BRITISH
COLONIES
T THE
WORLD'S
COLUMBIAN EXPOSITION.*
By J AlfES DREDGE, Member of the British Royal
Commission.
(
C )l lcluded
fr
om page
7 45.)
4, 5,
AND 6. J A hfAIC
A,
TRINI
DAD,
BRJTISR GtHANA We
must
pass over with only a few words the
sp
lendid e
ff
o
rts
made by these little
co
loni
es
t ') do credit to the Mother
Country, to show th e world
th
e
ir
special resources, and
to aid in
the
success of the Columbian Exposition. The
view of
the Jamai
ca Court in
th
e Manufactur
es
Building
will suffice
to
show how well arranged and varied were
th
e
contri
butions from this island. They comJ?rised
specimens of all the useful animal, vegetable, and mmeral
products, plans and photographs, pottery, textile goods,
aud other
nat
ive manufactures. and statistics. The
J a.maica
ex
hibit was
und
er
th
e charge
of
Co lonel C.
J.
Ward,
the
commissioner for
th
e colony.
The ve
ry beau
tiful display
of
timber in
the Forestry
and
u l t u ~ a . l
Building, made by Trinidad, under
the
care of
JV
r.
Vm·
cent, opened up new possibilities to American builders,
and especially to the constructors of rai l way cars, for
wh om nothing is too costly in the way of wood for
in ternal deco ration. t is satisfA ctory to note that it is
the earnest desire of this colony to present its co llecticn
to your Institute.
British Guiana, with Mr. J . J. Quelch as commis
sioner, shone chiefly in the Agrioultural Building,
wh
ere
in a. very beautiful pavilion the agricultural products of
th
e
co
lony were well displayed.
1 I NDIA.-India was, unfortunately, but very poorly
represented, th ough the handful of f'xhibit
oJ
s in the
Manufactures Building exhibited In dian textile, metal
work, c., of great value. The
~ s i o
Mr.
Read in abstract before
th
e Imperial Institute.
I
7/17/2019 Engineering Vol 56 1893-12-22
http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/engineering-vol-56-1893-12-22 26/29
•
D
Ec
. 2 2, 1893.]
Blechynden, however, erected a. very beautiful Oriental
pavilion in
the
grounds, chiefly for the benefit of the
Indian Tea. Association, and in this building, eight
differe
nt
di ·
trict
s and about 100 different companies were
represented. t
ap{>ear
s probable
that
one result of
the
Co lumbian E xpos1t10n in
the
U nited St
ate
s, will be a
large t ransfer of
the
tea t rad e from
China.
to
India
a
nd
Ceylon.
8. C.\NADA.- Th ere remains for notice the exhibib made
by
the
Dominion of Canada.. As may be nat urally sup
posed, thi s exhib
it
was of
th
e highest
imp
ortance, and one
of special
interest
to that section of
the
Americ
an
people
who l
oo
k f rw
ard
w
ith
hope
to the
Dominion seoe
dmg
from allegiance a
nd
throwing in
its
l
ot
with
th
e
Stars
and
S t r i p ~ s
pr
oba.bly
th
ere is nob a
ve
ry large
numb
er of
serious people e
ither
in t b ~
United S ta tes or Canada. who
regard th is
n t i n ~ e n o y
as a possible one, and
the
mphat
ic loyaHy displayed during
the
whole period of
th
e Exhibition by Canadians of all shades of politi
ca
l
opinion, who visited Chicago,
mu
st have been sufficient
to set
at rest
any doubt
which might
pr
eviously have
j
•
•
•
I •
E N G I N E E
RI
N G.
Building, the trophies of bituminous and anthracite coal
from British Co lumbia, and of
ot
hers from the Nova.
Scotiacoalfi elds,
hint
ed at the wide
exte
nt of th is sour
ce
of wealth. The se and displays of nickel and nickel ore
formed
th
e chitlf f
eatu
re of
th
e
Ca
nadian mining court,
but
there we
re
also remarkable collect ions of minerals from
all
part
s of
the
Dominion.
Th
e
Forestry
Building showed
how
ri
ch Canada is in woo
d,
b
ot
h of fine
qu
a
lity
and
colour for cab inet and decorat ive work, and in pine and
cedar. The Douglas fir from the Pacific slope was exhi ·
bit
ed in planks 4 in. thi ck, 4 ft. wide, and of prodigious
length, and the Quebec
pine
and spruce were also we
ll
r
ep
resented. E specially worthy of notice was
th
e tro
phy
of w
oo
d p ulp in all stages of
manufa
c
ture
, from
th
e rough
timber
to
fini shed
pa
per, a
nd many
ot
her a
rti
cles
manu
factured from th is material. The pa ,·ilion of Canada
in
the Agricultural Hall was one of the beautiful objects
within the building; it illustrated in a concentrated form
the mag ni fice
nt
resources of
th
e soil enjo.ved by the
Dominion. Ooe of
the
objects
that at t
racted most
po
pular attentio
n was a monster cheese w
ei
ghing 11
to
ns,
,
•
•
FIG.
13.
H ORTICULTURAL
SE
CT
IO
X.
existed on
the
subject.
Th
e various pictures thrown on
the
screen will serve
to
gi
'
e an idea of
th
e
exte
nt
and
oba.raoter of the diapl
a.y
wade
by Canada. in almost eve
ry
department
of
the
E xhibition.
In
the
Manuf
actur
es
Building th e crowded space behind th e handsome screen
upon
the
main aisle was filled with ex
hibit
s attesting the
manufacturing power of the Dominion.
Th
ere were shown
cases of t extile f
ab
rics, furs, leather, cutlery, and porce
lain ; trophies of bard ware, wall papers, stoves,
and
graphite;
exhibits of furn
itu
r
e,
musical
instrum
ents, and
carved stonework.
In the
Machinery
Hall th
e
Ca
nadian
section was hig
hly
creditable,
a l t h o u ~ h
of course
it
was
dwarfed by th e fine display made by Germany and some
ot
her
na t
10ns.
In
the
Tran
sportation Building, the
Canadian section was of exceptional interest. Bes ides
th
e magnificent exhibits
mad
e by
the
Canadian
Paci
fic
R ailw
ay
Company,
th
ere were a large
numb
er of objects
connected
with
railroad
equipment; there
was a fine
model of
th
e Chignec
to
s
hip
rai lway, which, when com
pleted, will sho
rt
en
the
ocean voyage to ports on the L ower
St. L awrence, and
spa
re vessels a long s
tr
etch of dangerous
navigation. T here was a. fine collection of road c l e ~
for which
Canada
is famous, including a large series l' f
sleighs. T h ~ r e were many models of vessels, amon
gst
which was a specially
fi
ne one of
the Empr
ess of J
apau.
one of the Pacific fleet wo
rkin
g
in
connection with
the>
trans
co
ntin
e
ntal
railroad ;
th
ere were also specimens
of na.tive canoes. The fishing indus
try
of Canada is
very impo rtant, and it was we
ll
represented
in the
Fi s
he
ry
Building by models, prepared specimens of all
kinds of fi sh
take
n in
Ca
nadian waters, fishing ap
pliances, fish
presened
for f
oo
d,
and
general products.
Th
e ad
va
ntage of prox
imity
t o Chicago, enjoyed by
Canad
a.
, e
na
bled her, among all
the
foreign countries,
to
make an exceptionally fine display
in
th
e H o
rt i
cu
ltur
al
Building, where she occupied 9000 ft ., divided in to th ree
court s, devoted to fruit, vegetables, and wine respectively.
In th is section
the
province of Ontario was conspicuous.
Especially interesting
wa
s
the
display from
an
experi
mental Government fa
rm
at
Ottawa
, from which were
sent one
hundr
ed
and thirty
varieties of grapes,
thirty
six of
ra
spbe
rr
ies, fifty-seven of c
urrants,
seve
nt y
-four of
gooseberries,
and
fo
rt y
-four va
ri
eties of che
rri
es. D
e
spite the fact that Canada. lost a large amount of her fruit
display by
the
destruction of
the
co
ld
storage bui lding,
she occupied one-sixth of
the
space set aside in
the
Horti-
cultural Building for fruit.
In
the vlines and Mining
and manufac
tured
for
the
Dominion Government ; one
of
the
Chicago newspapers, comment ing on
this
prodigious
effort of
the
dairy, sta ted
that
"ib was
due
to
the
col
labora
ti
on of no less
than
1400 cows.''
Finally
reference
should be made to
the
Canadian
}>av
ilion, where
the
executive representa.th·es had thetr offices. Of the
officials,
the
chief commissioner was
Mr.
T. S. Larke ; the
com
mi
ssioner for Central Toro
nto
was lVIr. G.
N.
Cock
burn;
for Ontario,
Mr. Awrey;
and for Quebec,
Mr. John
Mcintosb.
Th
e World's Columbian Exposi
ti
on of 1
893
was full of
wonders-
the
triumph
s of soience, of
art, and
of
industry
in
all its forms; it was a bewildering forecast of th e
legacy which th e energy and skill and civilisation of
the
expi ring century will bequeath to its successor. But
surely none of
the
illustrations of progress gathered
toge
ther
within
the
limits of J ackson Park exceeded
those co
ntribut
ed
by the
colonies of thi s cou
ntry
, whose
cr&
d
it
has indeed been nobly
maint
ained by her children.
SOME PRACTICAL EXAMPLES OF
BLASTING.*
By Mr.
PE
RRY F. Nu RSEY ,
Pa.sb
Pre
side
nt.
Contilnued
from
page 714.)
Demolition of a Bridge
t
R eadi ng .- n
the
course of
widening
the
Great Western Railway between Maiden
hood and Didco tJ several brick and timber bridg
e3
bad to
be demolished and supersed ed by s
tructur
as on
mor
e
mode
rn
principles.
The
diffic
ulty
which
had
to be non
te
nd
ed
wit
h in
the
removal of these
bridg
es was that
th
ey were over
the
main line,
and
it was a
sine qw non
that th
e traffic should be in no way
in t
e
rf
ered
with
or
obst
ru
cted. t
wa
s originally in tended to put in skeleton
centre rib s wi th laggings under
the ar
ches, and
up
on
these to remove
the ar
ches piecemeal.
There
was not ,
however, sufficient room between
th
e minimum
st
ructure
gauge and
the
soffit of
th
e
ar
ches
to
introduce
the
ribs
a.od
lagging, so
that plan had
to be
ab
andoned.
Among
others w
as
one of Brunei's brick over bridges,
kn
own as
Mustard
L ane Bridge,
ca
rrying
the
ro
adway
across
the
line at l2 miles
71
chains, at the eas t end of Sonning
Cutting, near R eading. The contractors for that po
rt i
on
Pllper read before
th
e Society of Engineers.
773
of the works in which the bridge was si t
uat
ed were
Messrs. Lu cas and Ai
rd,
whose engineer, Mr .
Herb
ert
Ashley, consulted the author in
th
e spring of
1891,
to
the feasibility of removing
the s t ~ u c t
by blastmg.
Having
inspected
the
bridge and sa.t1sfied
the
con
tr a
cto rs
on
that
point,
and
having
submitted a.
scheme for
ca
rry
ing
out
the ope
rati
on,
th
o
auth
or was ins
tr u
c
ted to pro·
ceed with
th
e work.
The bridge consisted of th ree semi-elliptical brick spans
of 31ft. 6 in., and 28ft. 6 in. high from rail level to sof? t,
with brick abutments,
parap
ets
and
w ng walls, the u t ~ m g
here being 30
ft
. deep.
Th
e two p1ers were 5 ft. th1c
k,
and the
bridge was
19ft.
wide between
the
parapets.
~ b e
lines of rails passed
under the
ce
nt r
e
s p ~ n the two s ~ d e
spa
na bei
ng
over
th
e slopes of
th
e
cuttmg.
An outhne
of
th
e bridge,
with th
e
parapet
removed
ready
for
b l a s ~
ing, is seen at Fi g. 5 (next page). T.he
~ e m e
of
tion
pr
opounded by the author conststed m first cuttmg
thr
ough the crown of each of
th
e side
ar
ches by blasting,
and
th
en through
th
at of the cent re
ar
ch. 'l'his would
leave
the
piers standing
with a.
half-span
attached on
e
ith
er sid
e.
Then
by simultaneous
ly
firing charges on
the
inside of
the
two piers
at the
springing of the
centre
arch, it was conceived that
the
pier wou
ld
be thrown out
wards on to th e slopes of
the
cutting, th e two hal ves of
the
centre
arch falling on to the rails. T h i : ~ point was
important in view of clearing
a.
way
th
e debris, as
the
time
during
which the wo
rk
of denaolition
had
t o be carried
o
ut and the
line cleared was very s
hort
.
t
wast more
over, ordered
that
no explosive was
to
be placed m posi
ti
on
until a.
given train, which
mark
ed
the
commencement
of the longest
in t
erval, which was two ho
ur
s, bad
pa
ssed.
Th
e bridge was pre
par
ed by removing the road metalling
and
th
e_parapetsi and the holes were drilled as shown in
plan
at
Fig.
6. b will be seen that there were five sets
of fo
ur
holes, markoo respectiv e
ly A, B,
C, D,
and E.
In
deciding
U{>On the quantity
of explosive
to be
em
ployed, while us
mg
sufficient to bring down
the
bridge,
great
care
had
to be
tak
en
not
to damage
the
telegraph
wires. nor to injure a co
ttag
e which was situate just ab
the end of the bridge. Carbo-dynamite was the explosive
selected by
the
author for
the
work,
and ib
was decided
to c
har
ge each of
the
boles
in
row A with 8 oz ., those
in
row C
with
6
oz.
,
and
those
in
row E
with
6 oz . These
c
harg
es were for
cutting th r
ough
the
crowns of
the three
arches,
the
borebolee for which were 13 in. deep,
just
passing
t h r o u ~ b th
ree
gut
of
the
five rings of bri c
kw
o
rk.
In the two sertes of boles
Band
D, which were 5 ft. 6
in
.
deep,
and
were drilled
in
the haunches of the ce
ntral
arch, the charges for the t
op and
bottom boles were eaoh
16 oz., and those for
th
e two
intermediate
holes 14 oz.
each. The
quantity
of c
arb
o-
dyn
ami te used was there
fore
12lb.
8
oz.
, plus
tw
ent_
1-
oz.
prim
ers, which
brought
the
to
tal
to
13
lb. 12
oz
.
Th
e c
har
ges wera
tamp
ed
with
dry
loco
sa
nd.
'£he method of exploding the charges simultanrously
in three sets of fours
tn
th e crowns of
tbe ar
ches and one
set of eight in
the
two c h e ~ was a.s follows : A
length of ins
tantan
eous or lightning fu:Ge, burning at
the
rate
of 150
ft
. per second,
Wa
d attached to
the
de
tonator
in priming charge, and was led
io t
o a coupling box.
Here
th
ey were coupled
up to
a l
engt
h of
ordinary
30-
second safety fuze , which, on being lighted, burned down
to
the
group of instantaneous fuzes, igniting them
and
ex ploding the de
tonator
s,
and
through
them th
e charges.
The
arrangement of
th
e fu zes for exploding
the
chargE's
in the
crowns is seen at
Figs
. 7 and
9,
and that for ex
ploding
the
charges
in th
e haunches at Fi g. 8.
Th
e s
afety
fuze is marked S,
and the
ins
tantane
ous fuze I.
The
sim
ultan
eous explosion of
the
various cbarge3 was neces
sa
ry
in order, firstly, to get th e maximum effect out of
the combined c
har
ge ; secondly, to save tim e;
and
thirdly
to
p r e v
the possibility of the ex _plosion of one h a r g ~
separatmg
an
un
exp
loded one from tts fu ze, or otherwise
dislodging it so that it might cons
titute
a source of
dang
er to
the
workm
en
when clearing away
the
debris.
The day fi
xed f
o.
r
the l i t i o n
was
Sunday, April
19,
18
9
1, and everythmg
was
1n
re
adme
ss for c
harging the
holes at 2 p.m., ab which hour th e
train
which marked
the commencement of the longest interval was to
pa
ss.
As a. matter of fa
cb,
however, the
train
was 15 mintutes
late, but
di r
ectly it bad passed
th
e holes in row A were
b ~ r g
and
simult a
ne
ously fired,
the
crown of
th
e
ar
ch
be
mg
c:ut completely
th r
ough.
Rows
C
and
E we
re then
success1ve
ly cha
rged
and
fired
with
similarly satisfactory
resul ts.
Then
came th e heavier charges in
the
haunches
which were likewi se put in and fired.
t
was hoped that
would have ha.d the desired
e f f ~ t
of th rowing
the
pters over on to
the
slopes of
th
e c
uttmg, and permitting
th
e two halves of the ce
nt r
e span to fall inwards on to a
bed of st
raw
below. U nfo
rtunat
ely th is was
not the
case
for
th
e piers moved s
lightly
r
ound
upon themselves
and
the tw
o
hal
ves of
th
e cent re s
pan
jam
med
at
the
f ~ o n t
the
whole str uctu re, however, being broken up i n t ~
numerous partR, and ready to fall down directly the
nip
a.t
the
front was o v ~ r c o m e . To
th i
s e
nd
heavy ropes were
thrown
over
the r1m
of
the
arch,
ju
st at
the
bite,
and
a.tt a
.c
hed
to
a goods locomot1ve which bad
br
o
ught
up
a
tram
of wo
rkm
en a
nd ma t
erials
prior to the
blast.
After
.
two br
ea
kag
es o
f. the
ropes,
the
bridge
and
one of
the
p ~ e r s
ca
me .down w1th a c
ra
sh, se
nding
clouds of red
du.st mt o
the
atr. The
want
of success in bringing the
br1dge clean by m
ea
ns of
the
explosive was doubt
e a ~ due to
th
e 0 1 r c u m
a n c e that the
final charge was just
a. httle too
Tht
s was th e result of
an
xious care
fulness not
to
mj
th
e telt'gra.ph wires or
the adjacent
house .
On
mou
ntmg
to
the top
of
th
e
br
idge,
after the
explostons,
to
a
rrang
e
the
hauling
ta
ckle,
the
struc
tu re was seen to be re
nt
~ n d
fi
ssured
in
all directions.
t
was a l ~ o clear that a trtfie
t r o n ~ e r
chuge
in
each of
t h ~
boles. m.
the b a u n
of
the
c:e
ntre
arch would have
re :
ulted
m 1ts comp.lete, mstead of lt
ti partial,
collapse.
As soon
as the bndge
was down, a
ga
ng of
about 40 men
7/17/2019 Engineering Vol 56 1893-12-22
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774
ENG INEER ING
set to work to clear the down line,
which
was more free mite, roburite, secur
it
e, bellite, von Da.hmen's safety
from debri s than the up
lin
e. A
large portion
of one
pier dynamite,
fortis powder,
Hengst's
powder,
lith
ofra.
ct e
ur,
had deposited
it
self over
the
latter, while
the
other pier and carbo-dynamite. I t will be seen, however, that for
was
only slightly
shift
ed
from its
normal
position. As his
practi
cal work be has se
lect
ed th e two latter only.
the
larger
masses of
bri
c
kwork
were
broken
up, the debris This is not because of their
greatly
superior power over
was loaded into
tru
cks and the trusses of straw finally
the
others, for there is not, in his opinion, such
a.
ve
ry
cleared off, the down line being opened for traffic in about wide margin between any of them as regards strength as
two
hours
from the collapse of the s
tructure.
Th is wa.s is sometimes claimed for
them.
The
re
is, however,
a.
some
time after
the period assigned,
and
consequently
the
difference between some
of them a.s regards the
wa.y
in
traffic was delayed. As soon a.s the wa.y had been cleared, which they exert that strength. L et us
take,
for example
the
waiting
trains were passed through, and the traffic dynamite, which is the oldest and bes
t-kn
own high
e x ~
both
up
and down was
carried on
over
the
down rails. plosive
(but
which is now gradually being superseded by
The removal of
the
wreckage was no easy matter, as other nitro-compounds), and compare its action with
that
Brunei's
brickwork
held sp
lendidly together,
the pi
er on of
lith
ofracteur, which
at
one
time pr
omised to become
the up line obs
tinately re
sisting demolition on a
larg
e
its
formidable rival. Th e explosion of
dynamite
ta kes
scale,
and
yielding on
ly
to piecemeal disintegration and place with flashing rapidity, and its full power being so
removal.
I t
was a fine
night, though
rather cold, and a mstantaneously developed, its action is more or less
liberal
supply
of refreshments being provided by
the
con - locally in tensified, resu
lting in
a smashing effect within
tractors,
the
navvies and labourers stuck to their work a comparatively limited area. In lithofracteur, however
throughout the
night
as onlyEnglish navvies and labo
urer
s the power is developed a little more slowly, and the
can stick.
Nor
is less
to
be
sa
id for the company's
tardation
causes it. to act w.ith greater.liftiJ?R' and_
n d ~ n g
sectional engineer
and othe
r officials, who,
with th
e con- effect than dynamite,
and
Its power IS ut1hsed m domg
tractors' engmeer, remained by with the author and his work over a wider area. There are also two
ot
her featurea
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
I
.
'
•
•
I
•
•
•
•
•
Fig
.5.
Fig
.6.
t ...
I
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
.
-
•
•
•
•
I
•
Fig .1.
(1970
£)
I I
L
l tnt of bort holeJ .J
I
I
-
D
'
to 0
A]o
...0
•
80
0
1o
0
..
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
I
•
•
•
•
•
•
I
' '
•
•••
....
.. .. ....
. .. •6
•
•
I
I
0
CO
0
0
s
colleague, Mr . W
alter
F. Reed, all night. By 7 o'clock on
Monday
morning bo
th
lines were cleared,
and the
re·
mova.l of
the
wreckage sufficiently ad va.nced to permit of
the finish being left in the
hands
of subor
di
nates who
had
arrived to
relieve
guard
. Not being
able
to get
at
the
quantity of brickwork moved, the author can only sum
marise
th
e res
ult by
s
tating the
broad fa
ct that
one of
Brunei'
s
bridg
es, consisting of
three
spans of 31 ft. 6 in.
each, over
the Great Weste rn
Railway, was demolished
by
a di vided charge of 13 lb . 12
oz
. of carbo-dynamite.
With the exception of the delay caused t o the traffic, the
result
was conside
red
to be most satisfactory.
As
regard s the quantity of explosive employed to per
form a given
amount
of work,
the re
sult compares favour
ably with
that
in
the case of
another r i ~ g e in
n ~ i n g
Cutting, which was subsequently demohshed bla
st
m
g.
This bridge,
although
in the same cu
tting,
did not come
within Me
ssrs. Lucas and
Aird's
contract. It was
taken
down
in
September, 1891, but
not
by the author.
The
bridge had one semi-elliptical arch of
30
ft . Ppan and a.
roadway
width of
18 ft. 3 in., c
arrying
a. road over the
railway. The bridge was str i:r;>ped
in the
same way as
that removed by the author, In addition to which the
brick and conc
rete
backing was cleared away from both
sides of
th
e arch. In this case
the total
charge was 23
lb
.
12 oz. of tonite, disposed in thirty holes. As a matter
of course the disin tegration of the structure was more
complete: and the
c l e a r a n c ~
of
the b ~ i s
t h e r
effected more q u i c k ~ y than m the auth?r s case, as, m
deed,
it
should be
with lb
. of explos1ve for
.o
ne
ar
ch,
as
against
on
ly
l3i
lb. for th ree arches. In v1ew, how
ever of
the
delay
that
took
pla
ce
in .the
clearance
i o n after the blast in
the
author 's bndge, he would
undoubtedly
slightly increase his c h . a r ~ e s to a o s s
amount
of
about
16 lb.
in th
e case of a Simllar demoht10n,
other things being equal.
As r ~ g a r d s the precautionary measures taken, the
author
may menti
on that
in
order
to prevent
damage
to
the
rails by the projection downwards of
the
bottoms of
the shot holes,
or
by the fall of the bridge, the
permanent
way
was protected
by
a double layer of trusses of
straw
,
placed crosswise one over the other.
The
author, bow
ever, would not adopt this method again, for .the reason
that it binders the removal of the smaller port1pns of the
debris. In
pla
ce of
straw
he would use
stout
timbers .for
protecting the rails from injury. A further
pr
.ecautlOn
was the presence of a staff of telegraph w1th tools
and
material
s for repairing n y d a m ~ g e d w1res, but whose
services fortunately were not
r e q m ~ e d
although a ew
brickbats
were hurled tbroue-h the air at each explosiOn.
The windows of the
a . d j o ~ m n g
~ o t t a g e were opened,
and
the
tenants were temporarily evJCted. No
da.m
.age,
ever was done he
re
only a few fragme
nt
s of
bnck
falhng
b a r ~ l e s
although
not
noiselessly, the slated roo
f.
The
e a s o ~
for
th
is immu
nity
was ma.mly
du
e
to the
fact
that the holes we
re
all
put
in vertically, and
that
the
charges were well
di
stributed. . .
Selection of Explosivea.-In
the course of his experience,
th e author has had to x p e r i m e n ~ with and to demonstrate
on a working scale t b ~ p r a c t 1 o a ~ c h a . ~ a c t e ? f a. con·
sidera.ble number of
btgh
explostves, mcludmg dyna.·
I
I I
1
Ltnl or
/tlrt
holts
.-4
I
•
... . . .
.
• • .
.
.
.
,J )
0 0
0
00
Eo
0
0
0
I
I
•
• • - - 1
Ftf1
.9-
s .
which commanded lithofracteur and carbo-
dynamit
e
to
the author
in the circu
mstan
ces
under
which
he
employed
them. These are plasticity and resistance to the action of
water. Plasticity enables an explosive
to
be pressed well
home
in
o a borehole of larger size than the car
trid
ge,
or
one of irregular shape. I t can also be made to readily
conform to
the
s
hap
e of a cleft
or
crevice
in
which
it
may
be desired
to
use
it.
Capability of resisting the action of
wat
er, too, is of the greatest
imp
o
rt
ance
in
sub-aqueous
operations, or in the event of accidental exposure to
water. such as occurred
with
the
author
both
at Je r
sey
and Wapping.
Water,
moreover, from
its
incompres
sibility, forms an excellent tamping, and in vertical holes
and
holes bored at an angle which permits of the water
being retained, it is
not
unfrequently used
to advantage
with explosives which permit of it. In dwelling upon
these features, the author would by no means be thought
to dec
ry
the excellent qualities of the
other
explosives
mentioned
by
him,
and
still others
to
which he
has
not
referred. There are circumstances in which the use of
lithofracteur and carbo-dy
namit
e would be inadmissible,
and
where some of
the
others alone could be employed.
To
be
contilnluecJ,.)
RAIL\VAY COLLISION AT
DR
OITWICH.
ON October 26 the 1.25 p.m. down Midland
p a s s e n ~ e r
train
from Bristol to Birmingham
ran
inbo six
trucks
which had been left on the line just north of Droitwich.
Five
passengers
co
mplained of injury,
and
some damage
was done to
the
tram
and the
permane
nt
way.
From
Major Marindin's report, which baa just appeared, we
gather
than an up goods
train
had,
after
doing some
shunting at
an
up
siding, been shunted through a cross
over road on to
the
down line to allow an up goods to
pass, and, as it was about to turn at Droitwicb
to
form a
down goods, ib
had
already been marshalled
at
a siding
some three-qu arters of a mile before reaching Droitwicb
Junction, wtth
the guard's brake-van next to the engine.
After
the
train had
been placed on the down line, it drew
f
or
ward towards the station, leav
ing
six trucks on
the
down line unknown to any of the shunters or guards.
The engine was
then
un
co
upled a n ~
ran
round its
train,
usi
ng
the same cross-over road that 1t
had run
through
to
get on to the down line, but, a . l t h o u g ~ the n g i n c a ~ e
within 180
yard
s of the wagons, the dr1 ver failed t o nottce
them. Th e engine then coupled on to its
train and
drew
it
forward on to
the
Great
Western
lin e clear of
the
branch
to Birmingham, to allow the Midland passenger
to
pass.
The passenger
train
le
ft
the station with all
the
signals
off
and wh
en
the
engine was some
200 yard
s from
the
t r ~ c k s the driver saw them
1
but,. owing to there being
sidi
ng
s
at
the
spot,
and the hne
bemg on a curve about
24 chains radius, he
did not
realise that
they
were m fro
nt
of him until he was about
50
yards from them, when he
did all he
co
uld
to
stop his train . Th e first wagon was
complete
ly
broken up,
and
.
it
derailed
the
engine,
c a u ~ i n g
it to foul the up line, whtle the other five were driven
ahead a q ua.rter of a mile.
Major VIa.rindin considers that no blame attaches
to
(DEc. 2 2, I 893.
this driver,
though
it would
have
been wiser of him to
have
slackened speed on first seeing the tru cks, even if be
was not sure of their fouling his road. Although
it
was
ju
st possible for the sig
nalman
to Ree the two nearest
trucks, yet. owing
to
the si
ding
s and
it
was
ex
tr
emely difficult for him to notice
that
they were on the
wrong road, and therefore he cannot be held to blame.
The foreman sbunte
r,
however, should have seen that they
were properly coupled ;
and
even if, as
he stated
in his
eviden ce, he bad coupled them on to the other trucks be
fore the train had backed on
to
the down line, be should
have seen
that they had
not become
unc
oupled
and
been
le
ft
behind when the train drew forward n.gain. The goods
guard,
though
not responsible while
shunting
operations
were going on, should
have
seen
that
n
ear
ly a th ird of his
train was missing, and it is certainly curious
that
the
driver
of the goods train failed
to
see the trucks when
running
round his
train.
Any
of the many devices for automatically protecting
trains shunted on to the wro
ng
road (a plentiful crop of
which have appeared s i n e the Taunton accident) would
not ha
ve protected these trucks; but,
had it
been
the
practice for all trains shunting at the rua.nr. sidings ab this
s
pot to
always run
with
a van
at
their tatl, the failure to
do thi s would
ha
ve
at
once called the signalman
's
atten
tion to something being wrong. I t is always dangerous
to
allow a train
to
be on a
main
line
without
a. van at its
tail,
and it
is to be hoped
that
this accident, which might
easily have b€en as disa
st
rous as
that
at Taunton, will
lead to every endeavour being made to always arrange f
or
this
in
future•
LAUNCHES AND
TRIAL TRIPS.
THE new screw steamer St. Brieuc, built to the order
of Vicomte
Le
Guales
de
Mezaubrant
by
1 e s s r s .
J.
J ones
and Sons, of Li verpool,
went
on
trtal
on the 11th inst.
The
dimensions of the steamer
are
: Le
ngth
between
perpendiculars, 1
58
ft.
; beam,
25
ft. 6 in . (moulded) ;
depth, 12
ft.
She
is
about
400 ton s gross,
and
is in
tended for the passenger
and
cargo trade between
Havre
and St. Brieuc. She is fitted with triple-expansion engin
es
,
the cylinders bei
ng
14 in., 22 in • and
36
in. diameter
resp
ect
ively, having 2ft. st roke. The pumps
ha
ve a uni
form stroke of 16 in. The dimensions of the pumps
are:
Air, 12 in. ; circulating, 7 in.; feed, 3 in. ;
and
two bilge
pumps of 3 in. The engines
are
supplied
with
steam by
t
wo
single-e
nded multitubular
s
te
el boilers 9 ft. 9 in.
in
diameter by 9ft . 1 in.
in
length, each
with
two furnaces,
the grate
area
being 52.7
squa
re feet,
and
beati
ng
surface
1442 square feet. U nder the cross bunker, which
ha
s
a capacity of
50
tons, is placed a fresh-water ballast tank
for supplying the boilers,
and
on deck a tank is placed
for
the
exhaust steam of
the
deck winches. On
the
t rial,
a speed of
12
knots was attained with a working pressure
of 160 lb., 98 revolu tions, and 420 indicated horse-power,
an ample
supp
ly of steam being given with partially
closed dampers
du
ring
the
gr
eate
r part of the trip.
Several special cabins are provided for passengers.
The s.s.
Hotham
Newton left the Cleveland doc
kyard
of Sir Raylton Dixon and Co., Middlesbrough, for her
official trial trip on the 12th inst. This vessel has been
built to the
order of l\Iessrs.
J.
M.
Lennard and
Sons, of
Mi ddlesbrough, for carrying oil in bulk. The principal
dimensions
are
: L e
ngth,
322 ft. ; beam, 41 ft. ; depth
moulded, 26 fb. 6 in. The hull is divided into tanks for
the carrying
of
oi
l by
thir
teen
tran
sverse bulkheads,
and
a. centre line bulkhead which runs right fore and aft.
Water ballast is provided for under the engines
and
boilers
and
pump-room,
and
also
in the
fore
and
af
ter
peaks. This is the first oil steamer built on Kenda.ll's
patent system of expa.nsion trunkways for
co
nt rolling the
oil cargoes
under
v
arying
degrees of e m p e r a ~ u r
Th
ese
trunkways allow a clear spa<le in the middle of the ship
for the stowage of coal and gel?era.l cargoes, as they
are
fitted
at
the sides of
the
vessel mstead of on each side of
the centre- line bulkhead, as in previous _systems. A
cofferdam is provided at each end of the otl tanks, and
can be
rapidly
filled
with wat
er
in
case of nee
d.
The
e
ngin
es and boilers
are
placed
right afb,
a
nd
these
hav
e
been fitted by the North-Eaetern Marine .Engineer ng
Company,
Limit
ed, of
Sund
erland,
the
h n ~ e r s
bemg
24 in., 39 in.,
and
64 in. in
di
ameter
by
42
m. st
roke,
with two large steel boilers working ab 1
60
lb. pressure.
On the
trial
everyth ing worked satisfactorily, a speed
of
over 12
knots
being
attained.
The last of the three l a r ~ e cattle steamers builb by
Messrs.
Fu rn
ess,
Withy, and
Co. , L im
it
ed, Hartlepool,
for the Chesapeake
and
Ohio Steamship Company,
Limited, was taken out to sea for trial trip on the 2 ~ h
insb. The engines, which were
built by
Messr .3. S.
Ric
hard
son
and
Sons,
Hartlepo
ol, worked satisfactorily.
The
twin-screw steamer
Sout
hwark, built
by
Messrs.
William
Denny and
Broe., Dumbarton, for
the
In ter·
national Navigation Company, has completed a seri
es
of
steam a
nd
co
al consumption trials, with sa.tisfa<'tory re
sults. The dimensions
are
480 ft. by 57 ft. by 40 ft.,
the
gross tonnage being
8650
tons,
and the
net 5600 tons.
Th
e
dead weight carrying capacity exceeds 10,000 tons, and she
has accommodation for 200 saloon passengers,
and
be
tween decks 1000 em
igrant
s c
an
be carried.
The
engines
are of the quadruple-expansion type, with four cranks,
the
cylinders being 25 in.,
3 7 ~
in .
5 2 ~
in.,
and
74
io.,
with a. stro
ke in
each case of 54 in. On
tbe
trial
the
vessel
carried more than half her deadweight, and the mean of
two
run
s on the measured mile gave a. speed equal
to
16. 38
knot
s, the boilers supplying a sufficiency of steam.
The boilers
are
fitted with Brown's system of induced
draught. The steamer is intended for service between
Li\'·erpool
and
Philadelphia.
7/17/2019 Engineering Vol 56 1893-12-22
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DEc. 22 , 1893.]
"ENGINEERING" ILLUSTRATED PATE NT
REC ORD.
COMPILED
BY
w. LLOYD WISE.
SELECTED ABSTRACTS OF RECENT PUBLISHED SPECIFICATIONS
UNDER THE ACTS 1883-1888.
Th
e number of views
given
in the Specijica,tion Drawings is
stated
in
each ca,se ; where none are mentioned, the Specification is
not illustrated.
Where I
nventions are communicat
ed f
rom
abroad,
the
Na mes,
<f&c ., of
the
Communicators are given in it
alic .
Copies
of
Specijicatunu; may be obtained
at
the Pa t
ent
Office
Sale
Br
anc
h, 38, Cursitor-street,
Chan
cery-lane, E. C., a t the
un;form price
of
8d.
The date of the
advertisement
nf the acceptance of a comple
te
specification is ,
in
each case,
given
o:fter the aJ>stract,
unless
the
P atent has been sealed, when the da te of sealilng is given .
.Any
person
may
at
any time wi t
h
in
two
months from
the
date of
the
advertisement of
the acceptance
of
a complete specification,
give notice a t the Pa te
nt
Office
of
opposition to the gram.t
of
a
Pa
tent
on any of the
grounds
me
ntioned Wl
the A ct.
GUNS, &c.
20,215. A. Chapman, Wlgst
o
n,
Leicestershire. R
e·
peatt
ng
Fire-Arms.
[11 F igs.] Nov
embe
r 9, 1
892.-
This
tove
nt i
on refers pa r ticu larly
to
repeating
ft
re-a.rms of the Le e-Met
ford " type , and its
object
is to dispense with the pr esent form of
and to provide an a rrangement for
feec:H
ng th e cartridges
to t
he
c
ham be
r
of a
g un
by mea
ns
of
a
belt h
passi
ng through an
opening
in
the under side
of
th
e
fi
r
e-arm
. T
he
mo'"ement of
this
•
-
.,------
--
,_
f . . I
Ji ig .
2 .
i
I I
.. _
'11.
·--·----
:.
.
..... ,.--
--
•
- -l
- • N
.
o
I
o
. . . t•
~ · : a . : - .
..,
--
.
20 21J:
Fig.J .
belt is effected
by
means of a sp
rin
g cylinder
ope
rat ed by a hand·
knob, and provid ed with studs to engage
the
car t rid
ges
,
from
whence th
ey
are r
em
oved by
the
ex tract or for d elivery to the
cham ber in t he
ha
rrel by the action of the b reech-bolt g. Thi s
ex tracto r is
con
nect ed to a sp rin g-con trolled
pl
at form k, whi ch,
when depre ssed, is level with the ca rtridge on t he top of th e
cylinde
r,
a.od when ra i
sed by t
he
a
ct
ion of
the sprin
g
l is in
a
line
w
ith the
chamber
in the barrel
. A
ccepted .November
8, 1893).
11,509.
T. B
ergma
n
n,
Gaggenau, B
ad e
n ,
Ge r
many. Small Ar m s•. [13 Pigs. ) June 12, 1
893.-
This _nveJ?
tioo
relates to b reec hloadmg small
ar
ms. Wheu a cartrtdge 1s
fired in the ba rr el by pulling the trigge r, t he pressure of the
gases
is
generated so
ra
pidly, and
is so
e a t upon th
e
side wa
lls of
the
c
ar
t
ridge
-ca
se,
t
hat
t
he latt er, with the
br
eech-b
olt
B
and
b
ree
ch cl
osure,
ca
nnot move ba
ck imm
ediatel
y.
Afte
r t
he pro
jec -
.Fig
.z.
,
•
Ft..g
J.
;
' ---'
S09
til e
ha
s rea ch ed
a
sufficient amoun t of propelling
for
ce, the
powd er
gases
still
in
excess open
the breech,
and
the
br eech-bolt
is
for
ced back to
its
ut m
ost
limit,
the
spent ca
rtridge
being
ejected and t he l
ock
being cooked an ew. Du ring the forward
movemen t of th e breec h-bolt B another
cartrid
ge is passed out
of the
m a . g a
i n t ~
into
the barrel. The finger allows the t rigg er to
mo
ve
back
for
renewed
pulli
ng
,
and
the
weapon
is ag
ain
r
ea
dy
for firing.
.A
ccepted N ovember 8, 1893).
MACH INE T OOLS, SBAFT I NG, &o.
21,'129. G. Br own,
Eastfte
l d, Galashlels, N.B. Dr iv·
1ng Ba nds. [1 Fig.] Novembe
r
28, 1892.-Th
is
in
ven
tion
re
lates to mean
s
for
r
egulati
ng and
equalis
ing
the
t ens
ion of
spindle
-
dr i
ving
bands. Th
e
band
A d ri
vt>
s
the spindle B from
the
power -dri ven
cylinde
r C, and
in
descending
runs over the
c
0
pulley D, which
slides
on rods E fixed into an a
rm
F on the
frame of t he machi ne. Th e pulley D is dr awn forward or let
bac
k
by
a
weight
H
hu n
g
on the end of
a c
ord
G w
hi
ch
runs over
a. sma
ller fixed
pulle
y
J, the
r
eby
re
gu la ti
ng and e
qualising
t h e
tension
of t he band A.
A
ccepted
.N
ovem ber 1, 1893).
RA IL WAY
APP
LIAN
C
ES.
22,903. T. Marsden and I. Th omps on, Nelson,
La n cs. Actuating RaUway
Signals.
[3 Figs. ) Dece mber
13, 1
892.-
T
his invention comprises
a le
vt>
r A j oin ted
to th
e
rail
s
an
d inclined upwar
ds,
so
that whe
n
an
engine or carriage
pa
ses
over one
end or it, the
other
end raises a c
atch
to ca use
the
re
lease
of a c
hain fi
xed to a
balance leve
r
at ta
c
he
d to the
se
maphor
e,
and
thus
r aise
the signal
automatically
and
retain it
so
long as the
E N G I N E E R I N G.
joi nted leve r is dep r essed. Within th e ca b
in
is a le,•
er
whio_
the
sig
nal wire is
atta
ched. By pulling
this
lever the stgnal1s
A
l
ow
er
ed an
d
the
wire drawn forward
until
t
he catc
h
is in
p
osition
to
s
ecu
re it with
the
s
igna
l de
pre
ssed .
.Acc
e
pted
N ovember
8,
1893).
23,284. E. Barton and W. Seddon, Bol ton , Lancs.
Railway
Signals.
[2
Fjg
s.J
D
_e
c
embe
r1 7 ,
8 9 ~ .
vent ion has r
efe
ren
ce
to
railway stgoal
s,
and
con s1s ts of a stg nal
wire
compen
s
ato
r
and
multip
ly
ing
whe
el for
facilitati
ng
t ~ e
mo
vem
ents
of s
igna
ls
and in
suring their a
ct
ion.
An
eccen tn c
wheel G
is attached to
the
opera ting hand le
A
by a rod
H,
an d is
provided with grips L which come in
co
n tact with
a
chain M
.
•
P
f
..,
·
,
••
L ig J
N
,
, ,
, ,
,
,
/
. "'
coupled
to
the signa
l
wire
N. As
the
full
sid
e of t he wheel
pre
s
ses
dow
n
the
c
hain during
i
ts operation
,
it
incr
ea
ses t he
speed of
t.
he
signal.
The ohain passes beyond
the ecce
n tri c wheel
an
d
over
anoth
er pu lley ,
it
s end
being
a t
ta
ched to a
frame
carrying
weights
w
hi
ch compri
ses
th e compensato r , a
nd
insures
the
signa l i n ~
when the ope
rating han dle is r eleased
by the
poin tsman. ( Accepted
o v e m b e r 1893).
18,485.
L. B. Kenney, Da nsvme, Livin
gs ton
e, N
ew
Yor k .
Car
Couplings.
[7
Figs. )
Octobe
r
a,
1
893.-Th
is
in vention has r
elation
to t win -j
aw couplings
of the
Janne
y "
type, a.od i ts
object
is to provide means for automatically t hrow
ing open the pi voted jaw and maintaining i t in ~ b a t position while
uncoupled.
A is
the drawhead,
B
the coupling jaw, b
a
non
ro tatable pi
v
ot bolt on whi
ch is
pi
voted
the
j
aw
B. A
co
il s
prin
g
surrounds t h e
bo
lt
at one
e
nd, and ha
s
one
of
its ends en
g
aging
it,
and its other
end be a
rin
g
on an adjacent
part of
the
jaw . A
removab
le c
asing
surrounds t
he
sp ring, and has one of i ts
sides
Fi
.1 .
Fig .S.
r j .
J.
A
open,
through
which one end of t he sp rin g works, means being
pr
ovided for
r emo vably c
lampin
g
the
cas
ing in
pl
ace
. A
lo
cki
ng
plate is
pivoted
on
the side opposite the jaw,
a s
prin
g
normally
closing 1t.
A hori
zo
ntal
l
eve
r
works through the side of the draw
head, and
has
its inner
end c
onnected
to the
lo
oking
plate
,
this
lever being
capable of bE.in
g locked to
hold
the locking plate out
of
op
erative
posttio
o. The
dr a
whead has a ftanged mouth,
and the
locking
jaw
is provided with a
lookin
g
ann, the
locki ng p la te
normally bearing against the flange
round
the mouth of the
draw
·
head. A vertical pin passes
through
ears on the end of the
locking plate oppos1te the jaw, the spriBg normally pressing the
l
ocking plate forward. ( Accepted N ovember
8, 1893).
STEAM
ENGINJCS AND BOILERS.
38
06
. G. B
ar
k er, B
i rmi
n gh a m. S. P . H utchinson,
P hi ladelphia, P enn., U.S.A.) F
ur n
aces. [5 F igs. ] Feb
ruary
1893.
-This invention relate
s to
furna
ces. 4
is the
shEll, 1 t
he ashpit,
11 t
he
g
ra te, 20 the dome,
18
the staves, and
9
an
adjufltable
rin
g.
Th
e
ashp
it
1
is
pro
v
ided wit
h air-tight
fit ting doors
and
a pe
rforated
g ra
te
bearing 8. Means
are pro
v
ided
for admitting and regu
lati ng
air
t o t
he shell
4,
stave
18,
and per
forated arch 16 from the ashpit 1.
ThE.
fire is kindled by light
fuel
pla
ce
d
on the
g
ra
te, the
c
oal
or
coke for the
permanent
fire
added ; the feeding door is
then
closed, and
a.s the
staves 18 be
come heated
, the air
from
the
a.s
hpit passes t
hrough apertures
8, 10, through g rooves 19, and mi ngles wit h the gases above the fuel,
and burns
at
a high temperature. The arch 16 becomes highly
heated, and de
flect
in
g
heat back upon the fuel, increases the
heat
a.t
the
c
entre of the furnace
.
The temperature ris
es
in the
furnace
chamber
abov
e t
he
fuel
to an
intense he at , which o
an be
moderate
d by
partiall
y
closing
the
apertures
8 by
th
e leY
er
30
and
rin
g 9,
and
can
be
a
rr este
d by entirely olosing t
he apertures
8
775
and the ashpit doors 7. The product s of combustion pass up
wards
t
hrough th
e
perforations in the arohes
16
and
17,
and
are
. .1. . 2 .
..
19
, 2 )>
18
.
-
.
• •
•
•
•
•
• •
0
..
9
13
10
I
utilised by passing_ hrough the flues
_o
f a boiler, and then
around th e air -h eatmg ftues of the hot-au apparatus. (.Accepted
November 8, 1893).
68'10. J .
W oo ds Bo s ton
~ h ~ e .
. Steam,
&c.,
En
gines.
(3
F igs.] Aprif 1, 1893.- Thl s mvent10o ~ a t e s
to means for actuating th e cut- off val 'es of s team, &
c.,
engmes,
so that it is inc reased or diminished equally at ea ch end of the
st
ro
ke
of
the valve
as
the
lo
ad
on
the
en
gine ~ s .
A
slo tt ed
quadrant i
is
employe
d ,
wi th
wh
ic
h t
he
valve spmdle
n ~ a g
one
end of t he
link being
c
onnected
by a rod to a lever
n
p1votea
on
the engine
framt>,
th i
s lever being joi
ne
d
by
a r
od o
.to
a_n
eccentric q on t he eng ine shaft,
while
the
ot
he r end of t he
hnk JS
Fig.
1.
•
Rg .2.
conne cted by a rod to one end of a lever
adju
s tably pi voted on t he
eng ine fram
e,
the
o
ther end
of
th
is l
eve
r
being
s
lotted
so as
to
engage
a
pin on the
firs t lever ;
the
c>c
ce
ntri
c
th u
s
operatt'
S
the
two ends
of the
lillk in
oppo s
ite di rections. 'I h
e h
eig
h t
of
the
gov
ernor
balls
adju
sts t
he
p
osit
ion of the link r e
la tively
with the
val ve s
pindl
e,
and
the movement of the v
alve
will
be
varit'd to
increase or diminish the cut-off
equally at
each end of
the
s trokE. .
.A
ccepted N
ovem
ber 8, 1893).
1 14 1.
J . E . L. Ogd en,
Goole,
Y
or
ks. R e
ducin
g
Valve
s .
[3 Figs.]
January
26,
1
893.-Thi
s
inve
ntion
relat
es
to
s te am, &o.,
pr
e ·ure reducing valves. When t
he
steam pre esure
acts on the t op of the valves,
an
d
the
l
ow-p
r
essu
re side B has
s team
eno
ug h to keep
dow
n t he diap
hragm F against
the action
of a spring G, then when the low s team pre ssure is a li tt le more
reduced,
t
he
s
prin
g forces
up the diaphragm
,
open
s
the
s
mall
ste
am
va
lve,
an
d
admits high
-
pres
sure s team
to the hollow
of
the
lar
J,re
valve, and t o
its balan
cing
cy
linder
and piston
. The
dia
phragm being re
leased from the pr essu
re of this
steam
on
the top
of
the sma
ll valYe,
moves up
further,
and
th e latter , by
co
ming
i
nto cont a
ct with a bridge,
pe
rmits
st
eam to have acceBB to the
low-pressu
re side,
till
the pr essure rises sufficiently to move
the
diaphragm
against
its
spring,
and
so close both
s
mall
and
l a r ~ e r
steam valves, and cut off steam supply to the low-preBSure s1de
until
a
further
fall
o ~ o u ther
e.
.Accepted N ove
mbe
r
8, 1893
).
169.
B .
Bock
t ng W
al t
ou ,
La n
cs.
Reduc
in g
Va l
ve
s .
[7
Figs.] January
4,
1
893.-
This inventio n has
referen
ce
to
va
lves employed to
dist ribute
fluids un der a
high
pre ssure
in
mains,
at
a reduced preBSure. When the
steam on
Fig
.2.
the
outlet side of
the va
lve c re ach es a p ress
ure
above the desired
one,
this pr
essure within the apparatus a , acting
upon
its dia
phragms
l-1,
causes each two of t
he
latt er which are adjar.ent to
mo ,·e a httle way aw ay from each other, the combined small
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mo ,·ements of all tbe
diaphragmq
, through the spindle
b
and
lever d, thus
mo,
•
ing t.h
e
c towards
its
seat cl,
and r
es
tr icting
the p a s s a ~ e for
the
tt )\V
of
steam,
and
r
ed u
cing
the
pressure
admitted
to
and ex
is·
.ing in the case d and chamber a on the
delivery slde of the valve c. (Accepted November 8, 1893).
260. T . W a l k e r a n d G. F . Alder
Tewl te sbury
Gloucester . Expa ns t on Gear .
[9
F igs.)
Januar y
6,
1
893. -Thi
s 10,
ention
re
lates
to t rip e x p c ~ . n gea r for fluid·
pressure t ngiues, and
consists
of steam admission valve gear
ha ving a
wrist
pla te with
proj
ec tion s
on it
s periphery in c-rder
to
duw with it
the valve-rods
C
so as to
open
the
admi
s ion
Ft.g .Z
c
c
•
valves, t he trip plates H,
Hl having
a
project
ion
G
on
each,
to
r
elease
the valve-
rod
C
from
the wris t plate A, the t rip plate
being actuated by
the
engine
gover
nor,
and
moved
upon the
same
axis as the
wrist plate. A sp ring D is provided for h o l d i n ~
the
valve-rod C in contact with the wrist plate. (Accepted N o·
vember 8, 1893).
24,134. T., R., a n d W .
L e e s
,
Bol l lnwood
,
L an
es ·
Expa ns i on
Va l v e s of S t eam Engines .
[8 Figs.) De·
oember
31, 1892.-
This invention
relates to the c
onst
r
uction of
expansion valves for
steam
engines in
orde
r
to vary the quantity
of steam admitted
to
the cylinder
at
each
stroke to
corr espond to
the
work on
the
engine. In apply
ing
it to an eogine in which
the
lifting
of a
single va
lve
cont
rols
the quantity of steam, two
rocking
shafts
are used, one of which is operated by a lever
from
an
eccentric
on the crankshaft, so that the
va
lve
is lifted
twice
during
each
revo
lution of
the crankshaft,
and
steam
ad·
mitted
to
each end of the cylinder On
ea.c
h of the rock shafts is
moun ted a bellcrank lever, th e upper arm s of which a re con·
nect< d by a link, so that both levers move simultaneously, but
in opposite directions. On the lower horizontal arm of each bell
crank
le
ver are t riggers, also shaped as bellcrank levers, the
•
I
.;
lower a
rms
of which are eo formed as to engage
unde
r
latera
l pro
jections
on
the
va
l ve
spindle,
and raise the
spind
le
at ea.
ch lift
of
either
of the trigge
rs.
Th
e
ltft
of
the
valve
and
the t
ime it
r
emains open de p
end
on the
length
of
ti
me
during
which one
of
the
tr iggers is a c t i o ~ on the under surface of the lat eral proj ec·
tioos of the v11l ve spmdle.
To
modify the shock
due
to the rapid
clos
ing
of the valve, the valve spindle is
co
nnected with an air
dashpot, the
piston
of
which is
prov
ided with
air passages
cover
ed
at the
top
by a s
lidin
g
plate
.
When
the valve S.Pindle
is raised the piston
of the
daehpot is
de
pressed, and tbe
a.u con
tained
in it passes
th
r
ough
the air pas sages
by the
sliding plate.
On
the
spindle falling, the pis ton rises, and drawing air through
a small orifice, its free motion is impeded, and thus a too r
apid
des
cent of
the
vahre
spindle
is checked.
(Accepted N
ovembe)· 8,
1893).
llriiSCELLANEOUS
.
1109.
J . M. B ethe r ing ton Manches te r . B ear ings
fo r
Mu l e s
, a c . (1
F ig. )
January 18. 1893 .-Thi s in vention
r
elates
to bearings for mules.
The
shaft is fitted to revolve in
bearings, and an annular collar
c
is
mounted upon it, and le
secured by a ecrew. A washer e is mounted upon the flange of
th e
bearing
bush b.
In
the opposite faces of the pa r ts
c
and:
e
channels are formed to receive hard steel balls/ , the c
hannels
10
the
two
faces form
ing
an annular race.
(Accep ted November
8,
1893.)
18,245.
M . Todd , Ne w B e ~ f o r d B r i s to l, Mass. ,
U.S.A. ThUl Coupl ings . [5 F u J ] September 29, 1893.-
Ftg . / .
Fig 3;. ..
A
E N G I N E E R
I
N G.
hinged
to
the first.
Th
e bow A of tbe
clip is secu
r
ed
to tbe
axle
a.
tieplate
and
nuts.
Upon the fo
rward
arm of the bow of the
c
hp ts formed
th e lower half of a squa re
box
made to receive the
forward pi
rot -
pin
carried by
the forked inner
end
of the thill
-
iron
D. To
the
r
ea
r
upper part
of the lower half A2 is
hinged the
upper
half. When
the
cover is down
its
front part is
kept
from longi·
tudinal or lateral displacement by two dowel pine entering ho les
corr espondingly located in
the
lower half on each side of
a.
screw
tapped
perforation made
to receive the bolt B. Within tbe
cen·
tro.l part of the lower and upper hah es, rectang ular
bearing
blocks E a ~ e placed,
these
blo
ck
s
consisting
of vulcanised
rubber,
and each ha ,
r
iog formed
in
it
a
semi
-cy
lindrical
g roove.
TrarJeversely each block is a narrow groove of lar ge r dia.met< r
than
the
groove e,
to re
ceive a cylindrical collar for med upon
a pin centrall y between
the
forks of
the
thil1-iron. .Accepted
November
8, 1893).
20,46
0.
J . W hi tehead To t t l ng ton .
La.ncs. Sup
p ly ing Fue l to
Furnaces .
[2
.Figs.] November
12, 18{:12.
-
This invention relates
to fuel
supp
lying and
dis
tr
ibuting appa·
r
atue des
c
rib
ed in
Patent
No.
ll,0
82 of 1890,
and consists in
meanA for conv eJ iog tbe fuel along
the distributin
g t r0ugh
and feeding it to the discharge funnels in front of the
I -
•
:I
----· . ____
_.
0
.: ----- -
0
0
•
\
0
\
I
70460
0 • 0
furnaces. In place of t
he
endless belt a. shaft a is employed
along the trough D, and is arranged to move about. To these
shafts a series of scrap ers are attached, which
se n
·e to mO\ 'e the
fuel
along
until
it
is
guided
by ga tes g extending
h r o u ~ h
ope
n·
inge into the
funnels io front
of the
furnace. (Accepted November
8, 1893).
23,840. B . a n d F . A.
Bol t, R ochda l e,
Lancs . Ree l ·
ing c., Machines .
[4
Yigs.
]
December
24,
1892.-Thi s
invention relates to appliances fo r holding down spindles in
spinning.
&c., macbinfs. In s
tead
of the spring hook usual1y
employed for each spiodl<', a
rod
is
mounted upon
the spindle rail
•
•
•
•
•
•
.
'
.
• •
. ,. .... .
,.- .: ,..
•
' ' ~ ' '
_,.,
,.
,
,.
.....
. ..., . ...,. ..
·
. a\ . \ . '
' '''-'-' -. 4.
; , •
' ' '
' ' ' '
.
.
• •
• •
a
ll .HO
a,
so that i t
pr ojec
ts
over the
edges of the wh
an
res
c
of th e
spindles
b,
and pre
vents th em from
being lifted
du r
ing
doffing.
Thi s rod is mounted upon the s pindle rail, so that when requ ired
it can be moved back clear of
th
e edges of the wharves to free the
spindles, and replaced to hold and lock
them
in position. (Ac -
cepted November 8, 1893).
21,601.
M.
T . N ea le
London. Sea Signal l ing Ap·
para tus . [5
Fig
s. ) November 26, 189
2 . -The
vessel A
i>J
fitted
wit
h a
gong
0 ,
and
B
with
a resonator
and mi
cr
op
hone D for re·
ceiving the
sound emitted
from the gong when struck by th e
hammer E,
th a
t can be operated from
the
deck.
Wh
en the bell is
struck, the mechanical vibration is conveyed through the water in
eve
ry
dire
ct
ion, but especially in a di r
ect
line
ahea
d of the part of
the bell struck. T
he
resonator D is
pla
ced at t
he
same level as t
he
.Fig
.1.
B
-
-
A
-
,
.0
bell,
and
its diaphragm is in vibratioo
a.
leJm patby with the
bell C.
The
mechanical vibr
ations
received by th e diaphragm I cause the
electrical pulsations in
the
wires J or
Jl
to defttct the needle in ·
st rumf:nt to the left or
right, according whether
the sounds are
received on
the starboard
or
port
side. The
ne
edle
instru
ment is
in electrical connection with a magnet , ahove which is a rranged
a short reed for reproducing upon the receiving vessel the sounds
or signals sent by the JZODg of the ,·easel communicating. Ac·
cspted N IVtmber 8, 1393).
8058.
J . a n d A.
Moss.
B ebden B r idge,
Yorks .
Pick ing
Mot ion
o f
Looms
for
Weaving .
[6
t
ins.]
April 21, 1893.-This
in
v
ention
refers to the picki
ng
mechanism
of looms for weaving. Overh ead picking a rms are employed,
composed of fiat spring steel,
eo
tb at after being bowed and sud
denly released th ey exe rt sufficie
nt
force to p ropel the shuttle
backwards
and
for wa
rd
s acro
ss
the loom. Th ese
spring
picki ng
arms are co
nnected at
th eir upper ends to short cross-
shafts
[D
Ec.
2
2, 1893.
wheels. The
horizontal
rod carrying the star\\ heel S is rotated
hy means of a clutch H, arJd
slotted
Je ,·er r
iding over
a flxed
stud
project ing
from the
lcom
frame, eo
that
as the stay moves b
ac
k·
Fig
.2.
Fig.1.
•
EOS
ward and
forwa
rd
the rod
is
made to rock,
and
so giv£s the
necessu y
movement
to
the
etarwheel. (
i ccepted N
ovembe1
·
8,
1893).
23,679. J . Wild Oldham
,
Lancs . Mor t i s ing a n d
B or ing B o le s. [3 Oecember
23,
1892.-Thi s in ,•ention
consists in means for mortising
and
bor
ing
timber eo that it can
be worked by either hand or power. Oo a frame A
is mounted
a
sliding
head
b which carr ies the chisels and
bits c
to which a
toothed
r
ack d
is
secure
d. Furthe r ba
ck on
the same
frame
another
tooth
ed rack
e
is fitted,
and
so
a n ~ e d that it
c
an
be
sec ur
ed to
the fram
e A or elide up
and
down. Between
these two
Fi.g .1.
Fig .
2
.1=
I
:
A
-
t I
.
i l )
t o o t h ~ d racks
d,
e, a.ud gearing into
th
em, and mounted on a stud
r n e d by a hand leve r, but eo
a r r a n ~ r e d
th a t it oan be secur
ed
to
tbe lever {J or
ld t
pe
rf
ec tly free to r
evoh
•e on the
stud
.
, S a
spurwhee
l h,
so
that
when it
is r
equ ired
to
mortise by
band
1t 18 only necessary
to
secure t he spurwheel h to the lever
g,
and
the ~ c k e to _he frame
A,
and loosen the s t
ud
in the framework.
bJ; t he hand le\'er g up or down, a
co r
responding
mot10n ts given to t h ~ head b. Means are
pro
vided
tor
mortising
by powe r and for bonn g by power or
hand
.
(A ccepted
.N
ovember
1, 1893).
UNITED STATES PATENTS
AND
PATENT PRAOTIOE.
J?eso
riptions with
i l l u
t r a t i o n s
of inventions
patented
in the
Umted Sta.tC:e
of
Amer1c1. from 18
4_7
to the present
time, and
reports of
tnal
s of patent law ca.ses
m
the United States may be
consulted, g
ra
t is,
at
the offices ot ENGINEERING,
35
and
36
, Bedford·
street, Strand.
AN AMERICAN SHIP CAN'AL
. A proje
c t for
cut t ing
a
sh1p
cana
l b e tween
Chesa.pea.ke
Bay
and
the Delaware
ha
s b £en recently rev iYed.
- - -
A
VI
CTORIAN SuSPENSION
BRID
G
E . -W h
en
the ques·
tion re
-erecting a
bridge over the Snowy, de
s
troyed by
floods m
1891,
was before the
Orbost
co un
ci
1, a suggestion
of suspension ~ r i d g e ,
made
by
Mr.
George Seymour,
en
gmee
r to the sh
tr
e, was a cc epted. The
bridge
consists
of four bays of 27 ft. each on th e
eas t
si
de
of the river
a?d three of the s
ame
length on th e w es t s ide, a p e n ~
span
of
and two sp
an
s o f 55ft., on e on either
s
1de of the su s
p en siO
n. Ther
e
are
f
ou
r 6-in.
cablefl
ca pabl
e o f a
strain
of 1
50 tons each. Th
e su spe
nd
er s:
pl a
ce
d
a t
a
di
s ta nce of 5
ft. apar t ,
we re t es ted to 10 tone
Th e t ow ers
are 26ft.
ab ove th e de ck
ing
of
the
bridge, and
are
form ed of four pi les of 18 in.
in
dia·
met
er,
s tayed
by a. strut pile o n ea ch sid e,
and
le t into
a foundation
of fourteen
heavy pi l
es
. The base o f the
foundation on w hi ch ea ch t
ow e
r s ta :1d s
cove
rs
an
area
of 180
square
f
ee b. The
piles
ba
ve b e
en dri
ven down
to
th
e r
ock,
and are braced togeth
er
and
cl
ose
b
oa rded
to
pr e
ve
n t the
lodgm
en t
o f
t imb
er. The cables are ancho
red
to th e piers
on the bank
of the
ri
ver, a
nd
these, again,
are
s tayed
and
braced. Th e dec
king
is
fr om 25 ft. t o 30 ft .
aboT"e summer lev el. The width varies fr
om
17ft . to
55
ft.
The susp en s
ion
span
is
s t iffen ed by la tt ice ~ i r d e r s