O cT.

and blame the machine-tool maker for having and then spend money. on hi!fi that he may learn
claimed that the machines supplied will do more the sm~rtest ways ~f domg thmgs ; tha~ such knowwork than they (the direc~ors) have proved them I ledge, 10 turn, might re~ct upon t~eu own shop
methods _1 Would they th10k of sendmg such a man
capable of doing.
Sometimes the wise man decides that he will to Amenca, to Germany, or even to the Glasgow
take a fast hold of the machine-tool mak er by sub- E xhibition, that he might. pie~ up new _ideas to
mitting a sample of the work to be machined, and introduce int? the producmg std~ of ~heu shops 1
requiring a guarantee as to the rate of output, the No; they might send a ma.nagtng dt~ector, who
maker to supply all tools required. This, on the doubtless would overlook ~h e war certa~n tools are
outside, looks to be a more sensible proceeding ; made and fitted to a machine to msure 1ts success ;
but it must be followed up to do much good. The but a draughtsman or tool-maker, who would be

THE TOOLING OF MACHINES.

By JoHN

505

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

1901.]

1 r,

M. Inst. Mech . E.
Moon has been written and said of late about
up-to-date machine tools; comparatively littl~,
however, has been put forward about the using
of these machines. It is all very well for diJ:ectors to
see fine m~chines producing certain articles at a
great ra.te, within prescribed limits of size, and,
becoming infatuated therewith, purchasing them as
the right thing to modernise their establishments.
A s BFORD,

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It is quite another thing to prepare the tools and to economical director will expect the tools to do theil'
get the machines into proper working condition, full amount of work when lubricated with a trickle
producing at the speed they should. This part of suds from a drip-can, because a proper pump
of the business is more important than all else, yet would cost 4l. or 5l., and he could not countenance
it is usually left to the workmen or forEman to such nonsensical extravagance as the use of such a
scheme out the tools, and put the machine to work. lubricant as lard oil, costing goodness knows how
Probably neither of the men who are thus made many shillings per gallon. It is the old tale : pennyresponsible fo1 the working of the machines have wise, pound-foolish. A good lubricant applied to
eYer seon one like them before, let alone had cutting tools saves its cost many times over by the
experience in the tooling of them. ' Vhen it is increase of output possible by its use.
H ow many directors would think to select a
found that the cost of the productions is greater than
was expected, the directors open their eyes and smart intelligent young fellow, offer him a good
wonder how it i9 ; they then open their mouths, I wage to bind himself to them for a. term of years,

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keen to see such things-pay his expenses to learn

- never !
Much may. ~e. learnt even by a visit to the
Glasgow Exh1 h1t10n, or to other people's factories
if you look at the right things.
'
~at. a lot of good it.would do bright fellows,
qu1ck to understand a thmg and at retaining what
they see, if they could spend a. few hours around
the machines on Messrs. Alfred H erbert's stall for
example, looking into the tool arrangements ! Few
firms have spent more effort, time, and money in
the perfecting of small tools for turret lathes and
screw machines than they. Quite ~ number of

so6

N G t N E E R. 1N C.

[OcT. i

1,

i 901.

turret lathes and automatic screw machines may in order to l?revent t~e letters getting crossed, it Fi~. 16 there is a hardened and ground shank
there be seen at work upon many kinds of jobs.
must be posstble to adJUSt the markina tool to and whiCh acts as a journal, fitting into and runnina in
The tools for producing a little show piece-a fr~m the centre of t he machine. The tool-shank A the phosphor-bronze bush as a bearing, in the be~el
small hexagonal button, with a shank like an ordi- (Ftg. 8) has a slide cut transversely across its end wheel spindle (Fig, 13). It will be seen that this
nary shirt-stud-are cleverly constructed. The to receive the holder B for the letter marked C. shank or journal has a groove turned in it to receive
~ront of the button is tooled out, a hole is drilled The socket which holds the htter is inclined at an the ~pecia:l hardened steel key ment ioned in con1n each of the fiats, the back is undercut and the angle of 80 deg. to the centre line of the shank nec~t?n With the bronze bush. The key is placed in
firm'~ name is ~mpressed upon the iront. 'A sketch This gives the necessary clearance for the letters. pos1t10n from the outside of the bevel-wheel b oss
of this bu.tton 1s rep!oduced in Fig. 1. It is rarely so that those upon one side only touch the work: and it is held in place by a screw, half in the key
that ~o difficult a p1ece of work as this has to be The marker has a groove turned in its stem, so that and half in t he metal of the boss. When the back
machmed on an automatic lathe; but it, as is in- the end of a grub-screw through the holder may part of the drill carrier is put in position, the
tended, affords an excellent example of what can enter it and act as a retainer. A steel washer and shank or journal fitting in the bronze bush and
b~ done on these machines. Practical tool-makers set of balls are introduced t o form a ball thrust the key in place, the possible relative motions are
will a~ree, when they have looked into their con- under the marker, so that it may revolve freely rotary only.
The front half of the drill carrier (Fig. 17) has a
structiOn~ that .the tools used for making this button when in con tact with the work.
The third tool is one that is somewhat difficult projecting part shaped like a helix wit h one t urn
are very mgenwus.
. Let us now go carefully into the various opera- to describe in writing, and n o doubt it will require only, the two ends of the helix not quite meeting,
tiOns and the details of the different tools. The c~reful ~eading to clearly understand the construc- thu.s leaving a V -shaped depression between them,
~tock used is rolled hexagonal brass bar. It is held tiOn . . F1gs. 9 t~ 21 a.re drawi.ngs showing t he parts wh10h acts as a positive clutch, the helical shape
1n the p~ll-i? collet chuck illustrated in Fig. 2. The of this tool. F1g. 9 IS a sectwn and end view but facilitating engagement. Looking back at the
chuck,, 1t w1ll be observed, has a projecting dog these !'lone are insufficient to clearly show the' con- collet chuck (Fig. 2), it will be seen that projecting
upon 1ts front face. The object of this dog will be structiOn. By carefully examining each detail and from the front there is a V-shaped dog, which is
understood when the other tools have been de- no~ing i.ts positio~ in the complete tool, the .;hole intended to engage this helical clutch.
Turning again to Figs. 16 and 17. The two faces
~cribed. Fig. 3 is a detail of the chuck ring, which ~h1ng will be readily understood. Fi_g. 10, page 508,
1s screwed upon the end of the machine spindle IS the shan.k, made of cast ~tee], as .are nearly all the of these pieces which come together have a series of
This ring has two internally-coned parts-the on~ parts of th1s tool. A hole of two dtameters is bored semi-circular depressions milled in them, so shaped
t? receive the collets, and the other for the steady thro~gh its centre, and a key way is cut inside through- that the bevel-wheel drill spindles illustrated in
r1ng on the front of tool No. 3 (Fig. 4) to fit into. out Its length. A half-round groove is cut upon Fig. 18 may fit into them. To insure that these
Both the collet and chuck ring are made of cast the exterior where it fits into the turret. This depressions are true to each othe1:, t hey are fitted
groove, when in correct position, coincides with together with t hree dowel pins, and afterwards
steel hardened and ground.
The first operation after the bar has been fed the oil-supply hole in the turret from which the machined together and r eamod. The rear of t he
fo~ward is to advance tool No. 1 (see Fig. 4), to oil comes to flush the drills. This detail is well back plate (Fig. 16) is machined out to break into
dnll the central hole and face the end of the button.
Fig . 8
The second operation consists in bringing forl

ward tool No. 2, which rolls the name upon the
le~~ I
~----------------- 16
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part that has been faced.
'

rThe tool that is brought forward for the third

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o.rt. It carries six drills, which simultaneously

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drill holes in the centre of each of the fiats of thP.
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hexagon, and face same, the drills advancing trans.. . .~

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v~rsely to the lathe axis. The drills automatically

- - :fr--- - - - - - . .

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w1thdraw from the holes when their work is done,
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and the complete tool recedes with Uie turret. This
l
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tool may be called No. 3 for after-reference.

~---- -- -- ---
As the holes which are drilled through the sides
""j 'r.J---_
_ _ _ __ ,
of the hexagon enter the central cavity, burrs arc

left on the interior ; t herefore tool No. 4 is brought

up to ream them out, finish t he face, and take off
F4J.9
the inner edge with a small radius. At the same
time, and as part of this OJ?eration (the fourth), a
double tool, No. 5 (Fig. 5), on the front part of
the cross-slide, is fed forward to form the back
of the button, which, it will be noted, is undercut.
In order to do the undercutt ing, tool No. 5 is
assisted by the adjustable pin No. 6 (Fig. 4), carried
in a collar attached to the shank of tool No. 4.
For t he fift h operation, the carrier No. 7 (Fig. 4)
is brought into position by the turret, and then
tool No. 8 (Fig. 5), held in the re~r holder of the
the bevel portion of t he depressions in t.he face.
shown
in
Fig.
6.
The
driving
sleeve,
so-called,
as
cross-slide, is brought up to the work, to round
This is so t hat the bevel-wheel part of Fig. 13 may
it
drives
the
drills
into
the
work-or,
in
other
words,
the back and cut off the button at one motion. As
gear with the bevels in the drill carrier. It will now
puts
on
the
feedis
detailed
in
Fig.
11.
Upon
the button drops, the carrier No. 7 catches it, and
be understood that if the drill carrier as a whole
it
there
are
six
prongs,
or
fingers,
tapered
down
upon
it therein r emains until the carrier in its progress
is,.caused. to r~tate while the bevel-wheel spindle
the
interior,
one
to
each
drill.
The
inside
is
bored
comes to the position where there is a cam (No. 9),
(] 1g. 13) lS stationary, each of the bevel-wheel drill
out
with
an
annular
chamber,
wherein
a
spiral
which causes a slide in the bottom of the carrier
spindles will be caused to rotate about its own axis.
spring
is
compressed
when
in
working
condition.
to be withdrawn, and so allows the button to fall
The driving sleeve is bored out to fit upon the The drills illustrated in Fig. 19 fit into the little
into a tray beneath.
bevel spindles, and a small spiral spring is placed in
shank,
and
when
in
p
osition
thereon,
a
r
ow
of
So much for the various operations. Now turn
the recessed h ole under the collar of each drill.
the
sleeve
and
the
collar
of
balls
is
placed
between
to Fig. 7, where we find details of tool No. 1. The
These spiral springs always tend t o push the drills
the
shank,
with
retaining
ring
(Fig.
12)
to
keep
holder A is of mild steel, with a parallel shank
away
from
the
work,
and
t
hus
act
as
the
withdrawthem
in
place.
It
may
here
be
remarked
that
the
! in. in diameter, and a 156"-in. h ole through its sleeve above mentioned is free to revolve upon the ing agents after the holes have been drilled.
Let us consider now the means for feeding forward
length.
shank,
and
when
at
work
it
does
so
revolve.
The fore end is increased in diameter, slotted to
the drills when cutting. Both parts of the drill
The
next
detail
to
be
considered
has
an
imreceive the faciog cutter B, and screwed for the
c~rrier (Figs. 16 and 17) have gr ooves cut in their
p01tant
function
to
perform,
inasmuch
as
it
is
adj usting nut C. The drill D, fitting into the
peripheries, corresponding to and central with each
partly
the
means
of
rotating
the
six
little
drills.
central hole of the tool, has a. shallow groove cut
drill position. When the tool as a whole is built up,
It
is
called
a
bevel-wheel
spindle,
because
it
is
a
along its length for one edge of the facing cutter B
combinat-ion of both .those details. The spindle part the prongs or fingers described as part of the
to lie within, to insure a clear facing cut. A slot E
driving sleeve (Fig. 11) lie in these grooves, the drill
is
turned
to
fit
the
smallest
internal
diameter
of
the
is cut in the holder to receive the cutter, which
carrier being free to slide along inside the driving
shank,
and
it
has
a
feather
key
which
fits
the
keyway
has a small pip at one end for the adjusting
therein. This spindle may not revolve, because it sleeve for a certain distance. When such a sliding
nut to engage. The holder is also provided with a
is keyed to the shank which is fixed in the turret ; action takes place, the tapered ends of the fingers
set screw to secure the cutter when adj usted, and
there is not hing, however, to prevent it sliding gradually slide over the drills and so push them
it has a curved groove cut in its front to free the longitudinally. A bevel-wheel with a specially large inwards. Inside the driving sleeve there is a spiral
chips.
boss is formed at one end, and the boss is bored spring which presses against the back of the drill
i'he details of tool No. 2 are shown in Fig. 8.
out and fitted with a phosphor-bronze bush together carrier, always tending to push it out, which it
This t ool is for marking the letters on the face of
with a special hard steel key, the functions of proceeds to do as the turret recedes from the work.
the button, by impressing them into the metal. which will soon be noted. A retaining screw (Fig. 14) The thin steel cover (Fig. 20) is put on, and the
The natural way to indent letterB is to stamp them prevents the spindle, when in position, from bein~ conical steady plate (Fig. 21) is fixed, with its three
in but the machine on which these buttons are entirely withdrawn, and a bard steel plug (Fig. 15) screws passing through the front part of the drill
pr~duced does not lend itself to a stamping process ; takes t he thrust from the front part of the tool. carrier and sr.rewed into the back. The use of the
consequently there is but one alternative, and that The piece which actually carries the drills is made conical steady plate is not at first obvious. Refer..
is to roll them in. For this process to be a success, in two parts-the back (Fig. 16) and the fron t ring to the chuck ring (Fig. 3), it is seen to have a
the whole of the pressure on the tool. must be con- (Fig. 17). At the b~ck of t he piece illustrated in conical depression of a size corresponding to the
centrated upon but one letter at a time; further,

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steady plate ; and when No. 3 tool com es into

action, t hese reverse cones fit together and bring
everything truly lineable. I~ sh ould be n oted th~J.t
the illustrations of this t ool are not all dra wn to
th e same scale, but dimensions are marked upon
each part.
The way in which this t ool works will n o w be
understood if its action is traced. The button to
be drilled is r evolving with the chuck, and continues so to revolv e during the whole process of
drilling the s ix holes. The tool No. 3, carried in
the turret, advances, the button enters, and t h e
pl'Oj ect ing dog upon the chuck engages the helical
clu tch on the front of the tool, the steady plate at
the same time entering t h e r ecess of t h e chuck ring.
The pa rt of the tool comprising t he drill carrier,
wit;h the drills, the cover and the driving sleeve,
r evolve togeth er. The bevel spindle (Fig. 13) cann o~ revol ve, so the drills receive a r otary motion.
The t urret still advances, and as it does so the
d'rill carrier slides into t he drivin g sleeve, and
t he drills advance upon the bulton to drill the h oles
and face the flats.
Wit.h a tool of this kind, somewhat complicated
in its construction and wit h many wearing parts , it
is essential t hat it s hould be k ept in good condition,
and that metal cuttings sh ould clear t h e drills. For
this p urpose, and to insure the s uccessful working
o f t he tools, th ere mus t be a copious supply of lubric~nt, the method of supplyin g which has been
already m entioned.
'l'he fourth tool (Fig. 22) is very similar to No. 1
in its construction, with the difference that instead
of a drill t here is a d oubleD bit r eamer (Fig. 23).
I t is here spoken of as double, b ecause the larger
part is hollo w and r eceives the s maller one. To
fix: the inner one in its interior, the larger bit is
h alf cut away for a sh ort d istance at the end to be
fixed inside t he tool shank, so that a set screw may
tigh ten upon t h e s mall bit. A second set s crew fixes
the large one. There is another s mall difference in
the tool fr om No. 1. A second cutter is inserted
on the opposite side tJ the facing cutter, to put a
radius on the inside edge of th e face.
At the same time as t h e h ole is r eam ed, tool No. 5
is bro ught up on th e cross-slide from t he front of
the machine, to form the b1ck or stem parh of th e
button.
This back, as was previously n oted, is
undercut, and t he Wll.Y that i t is turn ed is as
follows : N o. 5 tool is mounted in a s pring h older,
and i t is fed into i ts cut before the r eamer comes
into action. When it has advanced forwar d as far
as is n ecessary, the tool is r eady for the und er cutting to commence. By t hat time t he reamer
will have been f ed up far enough for t he set sc re w
N o. 6 to push against t he spring slide, i mparting
to it a side moveme nt, so caus ing the tool to tur n
the undercut portion. When t h e reamer wit hdrll.ws,
the spring in the tool-holder causes i t to move back
t o its normal p osition, when the tool can d raw
a. way from the work.
The t ools Nos. 7 and 8 are too simple to need
detailed explanations; it will suffice to say that No. 7
is merely a r eceptacle to catch the button as it
fa lls. The lower part is made to slide so that it
can be drawn back by t h e cam, thus r eleasing the
button.
A spiral spring inside closes the slide
after the cam is passed.

(To be contimud.)

LITERATURE.
A Select B ibliography of Chemi&try, 17!l2 to 1897. By

HENRY CABRINGTON BOLTON. Section VIII. Academic

Dis<:ertation~. Washington : P ublished by the Smithsonian Institution.
IN n oticing t his large octavo vqlume of 534 pages,
we d o not so much desire to d eal with t h e particular subject, as to draw attention to the high
value o f the miscellaneous collections of t h e Smithsonian In stitution, of which this book forms t he
1253rd number and forty-first volume. The " Select
Bibliog raphy of Chemistry " was published in 1893;
the first supplement of 1899 brought the literat ure
down to the clos e of 1897 ; this volume, Section
VII I. of t he work, is devoted exclusively to
academic d isser tations, especially from t h e universities of France, Germany, Russia, and the United
States. What is offered in t his h ook is a list of the
independent ly printed dissertation~' i.e., rep?rts
on orig inal researches cond ucted with t~e o~J~ct
of o btaining a degree at one of t he universtt~es
of t he countries ment ioned, and printed as speCial
papers, as a rule, but n ot n eceesarily so, in

N G i N E E R t N C.

the respective university.

These dissertations
generally appear, eith er in extenso or in abstract, in
some important p eriodical, such as t he "Berichte
der D eutsch en Chemischen Gesellschaft ." The
book befor e us is, however, not an index t o s uch
publications or journals. Since d egrees are not
secured in this country in the same way as on t he
Continent and in the United S t ates, the U nited
Kingd om and its Colonies are not all r epresented
in th is list. The dissertations are arranged alpha betically according to t he authors' names, and the
t itles are reproduced in the original language.
M ost of the old dissertations were written in L atin.
On t he whole, German predominates in the b ook ;
a special list of Russia n titles has been contributed
by Professor A . Krupsky, of St. Petersburg. A
very car efully compiled subject-matter index, compris ing almost a hundred pagos, concludes the
volume. That some of the titles of the dissertations are rather general ca nnot be helped. The
work was commenced by t h e author- who acknow ledges his indebtedness to many librarians and
fellow scientists-in 1888, and contains so far more
t han 25,000 entries. The fourth volume, n ow in progress, will supply omissions. A glance t hrough t his
third volume certainly does n ot suggest the idea
that t his fourth supplement will be large. But
completeness is v ery diffic ult to realise in such
matters, and though there are, of course, a good
many dissertations of minor inter est among t he
number, a. good deal of valuable research is buried
in these small or large pamphlets, and Mr. Bolton
therefore deserves thanks for having bestowed so
mu ch care and painstaking labour on his compilation. Some of these dissertations are s carcely procurable, and t he addition of the letters G. S. and
S. I ., meaning that they are to be found in the
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Young
chemists are not r arely, on entering into practical
life, prevented from following up the particular line
of study which attracted them during their U ni ver s ity time, and thus useful, if not directly promisin g,
work is lost sight of. The volume is very well
printed, and apparently free of all misprints,
t hanks to repeated revisions.
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THE NEW SUBWAY IN NEW YORK

CITY.
By CHABLES

C.E., New York.

(Ccmtinued from page 480.)
THE S ubway line, as finally adopted, runs undergr ound for a. distance of 16 mile3, thus interfering
with the sewers of the city to such an extent that
i t became imperative to re-arrange the whole
system before proceeding with the active construction of the subway.*
In preparing the plans for this extensive and
laborious operation, a thorough study was made of
t he city drainage system, and the proposed r earrangement was carried out under the direction
o f Mr. Calvin W. Hendrick, member of the
American Society of Civil Engineers.
In purs uing his examinat ion, Mr. Hendr ick
found t hat some of the older sewers were too
large, while others were too small for t he area
drained, no scientific principle having seemingly
been used in determining the size of the sections
originally adopted; furtherm ore, some of the
ma ins showed evidences of having been built by
political contractors, who, for obvious reasons,
employed poor materials an d worse workmanship.
The drainage p ipes of New Y ork are generally
constructed on the perpendicular system, running
along the streets and avenues, and discharging in to
t h e mains built along some of the lowest-lying
streets of the city. These mains have outlets on
the East River or on the Hudson River, according
to the topographical conditions of the locality .
In t he work of r e-arrangement, the Rapid Transit
~ommiss~on adopted the general plan of building
m.terceptmg sewers along the s~bway, connecting
wtth all t he hous e and street drams on one side of
the r oad. Fig. 7 of our two-page plate shows the
construction of one of these intercepting sewers
built on Broadway, near 54th-str eet.
G r eat difficulties were encountered at many
points in lowering the mains, especially a t Canalstreet and at !lOth-street.
The line of the
subway crosses Canal-str eet 6 ft. below the meSln
high-water level, and intercepts the main sewer
wh~ch ~rai_ns a very ~arge section of the city, afte;
whtch It discharges Int o t he Hudson R iver. This
difficulty was met by tapping the old main west of
the subway line, and building a new one on the
east side, discharging into t he East River. The
ol~ Ca!la.l-street sewer was built in horseshoe shape,
w1th s ide walls 9 ft. apart , and each t hrown across
as shown in Fig. 8. 'fhe n ew sewer has different
sections in differ ent places. It is circular, 5 f t. 6 in.
in diam eter up to L eonard. street ; 6 ft. 6 in. from
Leonard-.stre~t t o Madison -street.. I t is box-shaped,
4! ft.. h1 gh 1n the centre and 7 ft. wide from
Madison-~treet t o South-street, where it passes
under old Pier 34 in a double wooden barrel sewer
4 ft. 6 in. in diameter.
Figs. 9 and 10 show the sections of the circular
sewer, Figs. 11, 12, and 13 the section plan and
longitudinal section of t he box sewer, ~nd Fig. 14
t he wooden barrel sewers and their connection
wit h the box-s ewer.
The circular sewers are built of brick upon a bed
P&ELIN I ,

PrERARD. Paris : Dunod. [Price 1.60 francs.]

The West African Y ear -Book, 1901. Second Edition.
L ondon : The W eab African P ublishing Syndicate,
Limited. [Price 5s. neb. ]
M ill Buildilng Construction. By H. G. Ty1 reil. New
* On page ~80 of our last issue a printer's error
York: The Engineering News Publisbmg Company. <'ccurred. makmg the date of commencing the New
[Pries 1 dol ]
Yo1k Sobway HlOl, instead of 1900.

'

so8

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

OF

TOOLING

[OcT.

It, 1901.

MACHINES.

(Fo1 Description, see Page 505.)

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of concrete. The box sewer is a reproduction of opening left on the floor of the sewer, and 2ft. 11 in.
the subway in miniature, having side walls resting by 4 ft. 6 in.
.
All the work of re-arranging the sewers was
on a bed of concrete, which, in treacherous soil,
is laid on a platform made of planks fixed to the done by open excavation, with the exception of
piles which were sunk into the ground; 1-beams that at Chatham-square, where a tunnel had to be
are laid acroEs the side walls and brick arches be- driven. The reasons for tunnelling at a depth of
tween the beams. It was found necessary to change only 29 ft. below the street surface were the heavy
the form of the section from circular to rectan- truck traffic across Chatham-square, the important
gular on account of the small distance be- lines of street railways which cross the site, and
tween the roof of the sewer and the surface the proximity of the footings of the elevated railof the street. The floor is paved with stone, way, all of which are shown in Figs. 24 to 29. The
inclined towards the centre, at which point the soil is generally a very fine dry sand, requiring the
sewer is, in consequence, 6 in. lower than at careful sheeting of any deep trench, so that tunnelthe side walls. The wooden barrel sewer is made ling in such a busy thoroughfare offered quite a
up of 63 strakes of oak plank 4 in. thick, bound number of advantages.
together with galvanised iron bands, 2! in. by tin.,
A shaft was lowered in the middle of Chathammade in two segments and bolted together; the square, and a tunnel 8 ft. by 8 ft. was begun in
both directions. Two other shafts were sunk at
bands are from 3 ft. to 4 ft. apart.
Figs.15 to 18 show the construction of the barrel the ends where the trench work was to be resumed,
sewer, and details of the connection of these so that the tunnel was attacked at four points
two barrels with the box sewer, while Figs. 19 simultaneously.
and 20 show the manner in which they are supThough the tunnel under Chatham- square is
ported by the pier structure. In Figs. 21 to 23 short, and the cross-section of small dimensions,
are shown the mouthpiece of the wooden barrel so that it might be considered a heading rather
sewer, which is tapped at the end, and which than a tunnel, yet it is marked by a novel method
dis ~barges into the river through a rectangular 1 of carrying out the minor details which may, perhaps,

be usefully employed in the construction of other

tunnels. The three new devices used in driving
this tunnel are : (1) the use of a single set -of
poling boards, or lagging, for the support of the
roof, which boards are pushed ahead by means
of a ratchet jack working horizontally ; (2) supporting these boards ahead of the finished masonry by
means of a cantilever ; (3) sheeting the front and
sides of the heading with horizontal planking laid
over canvas, which is rolled down as the side of
the excavation descends.
To prevent the running down of the sand from
the roof, one edge of each poling board was provided with a lapping plate, 3 in. wide, resting 1! in.
on the board, while the other 1 in. lapped over
the other edge of the next poling board, so that by
means of this device a continuous roof was obtained.
The planks used were 16 ft. long, and extended
4! ft. back over the arch. The roof was advanced
continuously, precisely in the same way as the
roof shield which was employed in the construction of the Boston S ubway. Since it wa'
not possible to apply the jacks at the rear
end of the paling boards, an arrangement was
devised which permitted their being driven from
the underside at successive intermediate points

'

OcT.

I I,

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

1901.]

THE

FIG.

31.

NEW

YORK

SUBWAY.

B E LL-YiouTH CoNNECTING SEWERS AT 110Ta-STREET .A N.L> FIFTH-AvENUE.

jacking bars rested on a beam laid across the

t unnel and s upported at both ends by pillars of
masonry, also previously built. The puling boards
of t he roof were supp0rted by an I -beam resr.ing
with its two ends on t he masonry of t he side walla.
The poling boards near the front of t he excavation
were supp orted by a similar ! -beam laid across the
section of t he t unnel and parallel to the first one.
This beam was supported at the centre by a cantilever beam of I section and similar to the other
beams, t he cantilever beam being supported by

another I -beam laid t ransversely to t he t unnel and

known as t he fulcrum beam. It rested on t he
masonry of the side walls. At t he rear end of t he
cantilever beam there was a ratchet jack which
caused t he front end of t he cantilever, and conseq uently t he beam that it s upported, to press hard
against the poling boards, t he beam being r eleased
by simply reversing the screw of the j ack. .All the
vertical faces of t he excavation were sheeted with
short lengths of horizontal boards, covered on the
outsid e with lap-jointed vertical strips of canvas,
from 3 ft. to 9 ft . wide and about 9 ft. long .
The excavation, t he concrete footing, the invert,
and the arch were all made in unit sections from
1 ft. to 4-t ft. in length. The maximum rate of
advance at a single front was 12 ft . in a week.
Important changes were also made in re-arranging
the se wers at !lOth-street. The n ew sewer starts at
!16th-street, runs south under t he western sidewalk
along L en ox-avenue, passing under the subway at
llOth-str eet at s. dept h of 22 ft. The section of
t his sewer is circular, being 5 ft. 5 in. in diameter
and built of brick. Since t he dept h of the subway
Fw. 30. J u NCTION 01~ .!!:WElt CHAMU E tt ON EACH SIDE OF S o nwAY A'l' llOTn -STREET AND
would not allow of t he construction of this circular
L~N OX- AVEN UE .
sewer under its floor, a chamber was built on both
1 ft. apart. At these points holes were bored being intended to r eceive the jacking bars, sides of t he rail way, and communication between
in the po1ing boards, and vrovided with steel against which the screw jack operated while these two chambers was established by means of
plates flush with the side surface, the holes abutting against the masonry already built . The three 42-in. iron pipes, as shown in Fig. 30.

SIO
Starting from the lower chamber, the sewer resumes
its circular section, b eing 6i ft. in di~meter, runs
east along !lOth-street, under the sidewalk to Fifthavenue, at which point it strikes a large 8-ft. by
12-ft. sewer, 2 ft. below mean high-water level.
The intersection of the 6~-ft. circular with the 8-ft.
by 12-ft. sewer was also- the point of convergency
for the sewers coming from the north and from the
south of Fifth-avenue. At this point a bell-mouth
arch was t hrown across the new and the old sewer.
It is a little over 20ft. in length, and is made of
brick reinforced with concrete. Fig. 31, page 509,
shows the interior of this chamber, vaulted with
the bell-mouth arch, and als'J the connection with
the intercepting sewers.
At !49th-street and Railroad-avenue, in the
Borough of the Broux, the subway crosses in such
a manner as to greatly interfere with the flow of
any projected sewer. In consequence, it was found
necessary to syphon the sewer. For this purpose,
the 6i-ft. circular sewer leads into a chamber which
is divided into two parts, and which may be opened
or closed at will by means of stop-valves. Each of
these parts is provided with a 4-ft. iron pipe,
having a catch-basin un<;ler the chute, where solid
materials can be deposited and afterwards removed
by means of the manhole built above. The elbows
at the end of the syphon communicate with anoLher
cham her similar to the first ; thence on ward the
circular form of 6!-ft. brick sewer is resumed, and
the flow discharged into the Harlem River.
Besides the sewers, there were other pipes for
gas, water, and electric leads, which had also to be
re-arranged ; but they did not offer such t echnical
difficulties as the sewers, because they could be displaced 'vertically and laterally within considerable
limits. Hence their re-arrangement calls for no
detailed description.

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

[OcT.

I I, 1901.

for August, believed that the moving charge drew

round with it an equal opposite static charge on
t he metallic framing, so that no external effect
would arise ; he also r eferred to continuous brush
discharges from the disc, and touched upon other
points. Dr. Larmor did not admib the cogency
of these arguments; Dr. Cremieu's experiments
seemed to be well devised and carried out,
though they would force us to abandon our notion
that electricity is something atomic. Professors
Schuster, A. Gray, Hicks, Glazebrook, and S. P.
Thompson also made suggestions, generally agreeing that the question required further experimental
investigation. Lord K elvin had no doubt that a
current of electrified particles must have an electromagnetic effect, and suggested further trials with
a simple disc charged by friction and an astatic
needle. On the whole, the Section seemed to be
influenced by Mr. Harold Pander's recent repitition of the experiment under R owland's supervision, just before the latter's death. Pender has
shown*
that the current induced in the coil

(Cr emieu's arrangement) by reversing a convection

current in its vicinity is equal to the current induced in this coil by reversing a conduction current of the same strength as the convection current
in a circuit, coinciding with the path of the con vection current; and Eichenwa.ld, t we may add, has
just come to the same conclusion. D1. Oremieu
does not admit that his experiment would revolutionise our ideas, and he grants that Pander's
experiment makes him rather doubtful. One point,
probably of no importance, was not touched uponthe comparatively slow speed of the moving charges;
discs about 1ft. in diameter, making up to 117 revolutions, and charged to several thousands of volts,
have been employed.

land frequently for making comparisons with absolute instruments ; the magnetic movements of
the needles were liable to change, and the permanent deflecting magnets likewise, and that would
not be detected on board. He had experimented
on the best way to adapt Lloyd's needles for use
on gimbal tables. Needles with cylindrical axles
resting on agate planes were unsuitable. His
needles had axles terminating in a cone with a
rounded-off point; the jewels were sapphires
fixed to t he bars of the Barrow circle ; he
drilled conical cavities in the stones and removed
the upper half, thus leaving cups into which the
axles of the needles could be lowered. Thus the
needles were retained in place, even when the
gimbal table r ocked. The needle ends came close
to the divided arc, so that direct readings were
taken by microscopes without the aid of a vernier ;
the device could be illuminated. The whole instrument turned about a divided circle, and could
th us be set on the magnetic meridian.
Dr. Glazebrook briefly explained the principle of
these instruments, and their use for determining
horizontal and vertical forces and declination, mentioning among other points that at Kew the dip
needle was brought back to the horizontal by weighting the end, while on the Discovery permanent
magnets would be used for this purpose, as temperature changes affected the length of the leverage
in the former case. Yet the instruments would
remain sensitive to temperature changes. Records
of earth currents had been obtained at Kew between
two earth plates of iron, 220 yards apart; exact
work was only possible there in the early morning
hours, when the electric tramway cars, half a. mile
distant, were stopped. In the discussion, Professor
Schuster expressed the conviction that verniers
would be unknown fifty years hence. Some amuseVrscosrTY oF MAGNETISABLE LIQUIDs AND SoLIDs ment was created by his inquiry about the tinned
(To be oontinued.)
I N MAGNETIC FIELDS.
cans store-room ; we might have a. secular change
Professor A. Gray had two papers dealing with depending upon the appetite of the crew.
the influence of a. mag netic field on the viscosity of
THE BRITISH ASSOCIATION.
NEw FoRM oF PERMEAMETER.
magnetisable solids and liquids. While the viscosity
(Continued from page 477.)
of soft iron was diminished as the magnetic inducThe new permeameter, which Professor F. G.
tion increased, that of nickel was augmented ; Baily, of Edinburgh, exhibited, seems to be a
MAGNETIC EFFECT OF CONVECTION CURRENTS.
SINCE a galvanic current deflects a magnetic vertical wires were longitudinally magnetised while very ingenious instrument for determining the
The magnetisable permeability of metals. A complete magnetic
needle near which it flows, a moving electrostatic under torsional oscillation.
charge should have a similar effect. The experi- liquids were ferrous sulphate and ferric chloride, circuit is formed by two lengths of the sample,
ment was tried by Rowla.nd in 1872, in Helmholtz's solutions of which were passed through a capillary surrounded with coils and joined by short iron
laboratory, with success, and was repeated w~th tube, placed in the lines of force, or at right angles blocks. In one of the blocks is a narrow gap, at
equal success by R ontgen, Rowla.nd and Hutchln- to them. The viscosity was diminished only in right angles to the lines of force ; above it a pair
son and Himstedt. Four years ago Mr. V. the former case. Professor A. Gray and Dr. W. of astatic needles is pi voted, the lower needle
Cre'mieu then wishina to take his degree in Paris, Stewa.rt also contributed a. paper on a. "New Elec- being influenced by the difference of magnetic
tried th~ experiment under different conditio~s tromagnet and an Echelon Spectroscope for Mag- potential between the two sides of the gap ; this
force is proportional to B. A small coil, in series
his object was originally not the same- and failed, neto.Optic Observat ions. "
as Lecher had before him. He devised other ar- MAGNETISATION AND ELECTRICAL CoNDUCTIVITY with tl1e magnetising coils, is placed round the
upper magnet, acting on it with a force proporrangements to meet ~1~ objections. raised b_y
OF IRON .AND NICKEL.
tional to H. The coil is rotated until the two
eminent French physicists who w1tnessed his
Mr. G. Barlow reported that the electrical resist- forces are balanced ; the instrument thus measures
experiments, but never obtained anything ~ike t he
ance
of
the
magnetised
wire
increased
noticeably,
the ratio B:H. F or high permea.bilities only part
calculated effect. Thus the famous Cremieu controversy arose, which the late Professor Fitzgerald approximately with the square of the magnetic in- of the magnetising coil is ut ilised ; the magnetisbrought up at the _Bradford. meeting last year. duction, and much more than we should expect ing force is separately determined by an amperefrom
the
changes
in
the
volumes
of
the
wires.
We
meter.
This year Dr. Cremi~u '!'as himself.present to de- may mention with regard to these papers that ProGRAVITATION.
scribe his apparatus In Its five. chief form s. As
This paper, by Dr. Cremieu, may appear out of
everything turns upon the deta1ls. adopted to pre- fessor Quincke has tried to study the volumetric
changes which ferric chloride undergoes in thermo- place here. But it concerns a bala nce, C)nstructed
vent possible sources o~ err.or, a1r currents, w<;>b- meter-like vessels under magnetisation, and h~J.s
on the Becquerel principle, which has proved an
bling of the disc, stat1c dtscharges, &c.~ wh10h
found his task exceedingly diflicult. Messrs. J. W . excellent galvanometer and electro-dyna.mometer,
Reem to multiply as the researches proceed, It ~ould Peck and R. A. Houston presented a paper on
bs useless to indicate more than the broad 1dea.. " Stress and Magnetisation of Nickel and Cobalt." and which, the author hoped, might be used to
ascertain whether or not the effect of gravitation is
Rowland caused a hard rubber disc, coated with gold,
to spin between two glass plates, lik~wise gilt .on MAGNETIC WoRK oN BoARD THE "DiscovERY. " instantaneous. A beam of aluminium, weighing
0.8 gramme, rests not on knife edges, but on an
their inner surfaces ; he charged the disc by a pmnt
Three papers dealt wit~ the determination ?f aluminium plate, fixed to the middle of a cocoon
or brush earthed the condenser plates , and maanetic force on board ship. Dr. Lees first satd
watched for the deflection of a magnetic needle a fe~ words, on behalf of this Committee, concerning t hread. From the one end of the beam is sussuspended above the plate and encased in met~l. the testing at Kew of Captain Creak's. instrum~n.ts, pended by a. thread a little mass S, from the other
Cremieu places a coil of 13,000 turn~ of coppe: wtre mentioning that the German AntarctiC Exped1t10n a small piece of iron which would be drawn into a.
in series with a. galvanometer outside the dtsc of had also one of these instruments on board the solenoid. Underneath S is a. large mass P . Now,
metal or silvered rubber, which is suddenly charged, Gauss. Capbain E . H. Creak, F.R.S., then de if P is suddenly dropped, S should tend to follow
and he looks for the induction current in the coil. scribed and exhibited his instrument, and Dr. Glaze- it. Mr. 0 . V . Boys was rather doubtful whether
But no effect could be observed when deflections of brook communicated a note on "Some R e&ults the inertia. of the apparatus and other reasons
nearly 1 in. we~e calcula~ed. He has surrounded obtained with the Self-Recording Instrument for really fitted it for experimenting on gravitation.
t he disc with an uon framtng, and has also _adopted a the Antarctic Expedition."
PHOTO-ELECTRIC CELLS.
cylindrical arranaement, charged sand b eing blown
Captain Creak said that most of the magnetic
Mr. G. M. Minchin, F.R.S., of Cooper's Hill,
by a current of c:rbon dioxide gas through a funnel surveying of the Antarctic Expedition would have
and a cylinder-a sort of sand kat~ode rays. As to be done on board of the Discovery. No iron spoke on selenium cells. A little selenium is melted
to the end of an aluminium wire; the black mass socn
it was objected that the meta.ll1c fr~me would was tolerated within 30 ft. of the mag netic hut
turns grey, and is then very sensitive to light.
cut off any external . effect of the ~ovmg charge, on the Discovery, even the rigging being all of The horizontal wire is placed within a gla.~s tub~,
h e has dispensed with the metallic screens, a.~d hemp. Good work had been done on the Erebus out of which only the end projects, and this free
returned to the astatic needle system, enca.sed In and T error in 1839 to 1843, and on the Challenger end dips into a. larger glass tube, filled with malonic
a box of 0.4 millimetre copper; when a gra.ph1te box in 1872 to 1876, with the R. W . F ox instruments,
ether : alcohol and lactic acid are also good, mustard
was used, an effect was o bserved due apparently to but very little progress had been made since. The oil n ot. If the cell is brought into the focus of a.
electrostatic action.
.
.
needles could not be reversed, hence they ought to telescope, the light from the star V ega. produces
Dr. H. A. Wilson, who opened the dtscu~sion, ~s
~n electromotive force almost equal to t hat of a
*
P
hilosophical
Magazilne.
August,
1901.
he bad criticised Cremieu's papers ~publtshed _In
paraffin candle at 8 ft. distance, and that candle
t
Phy3ikalisohe
Zeitsohrijt,
September
7,
1901.
the Oomptes Rend'ltS) in the Philosophwal Magaztne

OcT. I I, IgoL ]
would give 0.25 volb at 2 fb. distance. The law
that the square of the electromotive force was proportional to the light intensity held good only for
very small intensities or very large distances,
h owever.
According to recent experiments by
Mr. Shelford Bid well, the action was due to
t he formation of a selenium-hydrogen com pound in the cell. The sensitiveness of the cell
decreased rapidly; this might be due to conductivity of the glass, and Mr. Minchin now uses
varnish instead of the glass t u be.

5I I

E N G I N E E R I N G.
thing like a peculiar fungus growth made the
lenses dim. Dr. Buroh, F.R. S., stated that it was a
fungus, and the remedy was simple- aseptic treatment and varnish.
DIF"FRACTION GRATI NOS.

H. S. Alien, M.A., read a paper on the

'' Effect of Errors in Ruling on the Appearance
of a Diffraction Grating," explaining the dark bands
parallel to the rulings of the grating noticeable in
monochromatic light.
Dr. J. Kerr, F.R.S., spok e on the "Brush
R1DIATION OF HEAT AND LtGHT FROM PoLISHED Grating and the Law of its Optical Action; " Dr. G.
AND DULL S UR.F ACES .
J. Stoney, F.R.S., read a pnper on the "Light
Dr. J. T. Bottomley, F .R.S., of Glasgow, has from Different Sources ; " and Professor Everett
m\de experiments with bright and with blackened spoke on the '' Resolving Power in t he Microscope
platinum strips heated up to white heat, the t wo and Telescope."
strips being placed in parallel glass tubes, and both
THE MICHELSON-MORLE Y EFFECT.
connected to the same air pump so as to be under
The presence at the meeting of Professor E . W.
identical conditions of pressure. The wires end in
copper spirals joined to a battery from which the Morley, of Cleveland, Ohio, induced Principal
h eating currents are taken. The temperatures H icks, F.R.S., of Sheffield, to contribute a paper
were measured with air thermometers, or calculated. on the Michelson-Morley effect. The question
The first grey light was noticed about 400 deg. Cent. dates back to 1887, when Professors A. A.. Michel'l'he energy losses from the blackened surfaces were son and E. W. Morley first described their experimuch higher than from the polished platinum ; ment-often r epeated since- in the Philosophical
that means that for the production of light a bright Magazine for December. The problem concerns
surface is much more economical than a dull surface. aberration and the luminiferous ether. The unBut with a temperature rising from 425 to 891 deg. dulatory theory does not fully account for the
Cent ., t he ratio of these two energies went down aberration of fixed stars, which Bradley first exfrom 7.86 to 4. 06, showing that at higher tempera- plained in 1725. If it did, the aberration could not
tures the state of the surface is less important. remain unchanged-as it does-when we fill the
There was also a suspicion t hat the two platinum telescope tube with water instead of air. The
strips were not quite alike. Dr. Bottomley is point is, whether there is any r elative motion
working with his assistant, Mr. Evans. Professor between the earth as it rushes through space and
Bn.ily thought that the results were hardly com- the ether ; in other words, whether the ether is
patible with t he experience of incandescence lamp carried with the earth or passes t hrough the whole
makers, who found no difference in the efficiency of ma~s of the ear th, as it is supposed to pass through
flashed and unflashed filaments. The crux of transparent bodies, and, though not unobstructed,
the matter is vrobably that the temperatures stated also through metals. To test the question, Michelson
and Morley set up a system of mirrors, some only
are low for incandescent filaments.
reflecting, others also transmitting the light, and
GLA sEs FOR S or E t'\ TIFIO P uRPOSEs.
watched the interference bands of certain rays.
The discussion on this subject was opened by The whole system was mounted on a. stone slab,
Dr. Glazebrook, F. R.S., who re,iewed the progress 5 ft. square, floating on a trough of mercury, and
made during t he last twenty-five years and indi- sets of four mirrors were arranged at each of the
cated the lines for future research. Instead of four corners to obbain long ray paths. As the
achromatising a crown and a flint lens for the rays whole system moves with the earth, an erration
C and F , when the blue would be more dispersed should produce a certain displacement of the
than t he r ed in the flint, we could combine two bands, and the displacement should be doubled
glasses, in which, for any given total dispersion, when the whole system with t he slab is turned
the distribution of the rays would be more through 90 deg. The observed displacements
uniform in the two spectra. To shorten the were very feeble, showing that if there be any
blue and lengthen the red of the flint (or to obtain relative movement between the earth and the
the opposite effect for the crown), we had, afte r et her, it can only be very small. Thus a disFraunhofer, t he experiments of Harcourt, who crepancy appeared to exist between observation
tried 166 glass mixtures after 1834 ; there were also Rnd the most accepted theories of Fresnel, H. A.
Stokes's experiments. Harcourt was on the right Lorentz, S tokes, and others, and this discrepancy
track; he observed that boron lengthened the red has not yet been explained. Professor Hicks n ow
and t itanium the blue, although the latter effect suggested a possible way out of the difficulty, but
might be due to the presence of phosphates. But Professor Morley was not prepared to discuss a
he had not the required technical means at his paper of which, owing to the pressure of time,
disposal. When Abbe and Schott took the re- Professor Hicks could n ot give more than the
sear ch up in 1882- their glass-technical laboratory merest outline.

in J en a was established in 1884-practically only

THE N E OESSITY FOR P osTULATING ON ETHER.
five substances were used by glass makers: silica,
Mr. B. H opkinson, of Wimbledon, pointed out
s )da potash, lime, and lead oxide. They soon introd~ced 28 elements. Boron reduced the ratio of in this paper that, so far as the facts of gravitation
blue to red ; but some borate flints, containing and of terrestrial light phenomena are concerned,
alkalies, needed protection in the air ; phosphates the necessity for an ether was purely metaphysical.
gave satisfactory achromatic combinations with But such modes of expressing the facts failed to
them. Potassium, sodium, and fluorine had the cover the phenomena of spectroscopic double stars,
r everse effect ; but the sodium effect was weak, which, as we conclude from the periodic doubling of
potassium rende~ed th.e glass hygroscopi~, . and the lines, consist of two components moving about
tluorine, the best 1ngred1ent, destroyed the sthca.tes one another. When the two components were in
of the crucible, so that platinum pots had to be the line joining the stars to the earth, there was
employed. Lithium tended to form crystalline no doubling, although one component was moving
( mstead of amorphous) silicates, but t hat evil could to the right and the other to t he left. The angular
h a cured by admixing soda. Dr. Glazebrook drew amount of separation of the t wo should be equal to
n.ttention to the physical properties of some of the twice the orbital velocity divided by the velocity of
J ena glasses ; Hovestadt's book, from which he light, an amount which should be visible. But no
partly quoted, counts 76 glasses in addition to 13 such doubling was observed; hence it would appear
specially suited for uHra. violet and ultra red spectra. that aberration could not simp1y be explained in
Dr. Glazebrook further showed how three glasses terms of r elative motion of t he source and lhe
could be combined with ad vantage for achromatism, r eoei ver, and in this way t he ether was made manitouched upon photographic lenses, for which J ena. fest to our eyes as having position ..
r ecommends light barium flints, and finally r eferred
t J the national economical side of the question, the ABSOLUTE AMOUNT OF GRAVITA.TIONAL MATTER I N
ANY LARGE VoLUME oF INTERSTELLAR S PACE.
importation of J ena glasses . into this country,
By gravitational matter, L ord Kelvin said in
which had a. value of 250,000l. m 1898. Mr. A. R.
Hinks mentioned that the experience gained at introducing his discourse, he did not understand
Cam bridge with some slightly alkaline J ena glasses ether. For if the ether extended to all space, it
was not quite satisfactory, though he knew of no could not be subject to mut ual attractions, as otherbetter alasses. They were sensitive to temperature, wise differences in density would give rise to
which ;.as awkward in autumn nights, and some- enormous pressures. This wa.s very critical ground ;
Mr.

but we were coming back to the derided impon

derables of sixty years ago. If we co~fine~ our
universe- there might be others outstde It-to
the widest space from which light reached our
telescope that space would have a r adius of
3. 09 x 1010 kilometres-for the amusement of ''dull
fools" Lord Kelvin wrote the figures out in oenti
metres on the board- and a star at the extreme
distance would have a parallax of 0.001 second.
Lord K elvin then referred to Green's problem of
73 years ago to demonstrate that, for ?is object,
it was immaterial whether this untverse was
spherical or irregular in shape. The radial force
(acceleration) to which any body on the boundary
of that space were subject would be very small
compared to terrestrial gravity, and amount only
to 1. 37 x 10- 13 kilometre per secon d per second.
The velocity acquired in a year would be 4. 32 x
10- a kilometre per second ; in five million years we
should have a velocity of 21 kilometres per second
-about two-thirds of the actual velocity of the earth
in its orbit-32 kilometres. The average velocity
of stars seemed now to lie between 17 and 50 kilo
metres per second; 110 wa,s possibly the extreme,
and the maximum observed in our line of sight
was 96 kilometres. In 25 mil1ion years the velocity
would be 108 kilometres, and the space traversed
greater than the assumed radius of the sphere
(3. 09 x 10ta), which showed that the rate
of acceleration could not remain constant for
25 million years. If we n ow imagined that
this space was studded with 1000 million stars
of ~he size of our sun, why was n ot the whole
firmament aglow 1 Estimates as to the number
of visible stars differed great1y : N ewcomb had
assumed 30 to 50 millions, Young 100 millions (for
the Yerkes and Lick telescopes); he would assume
1000 millions, though nine-tenths of these might
be dark. If we accepted that number, 1000 million
stars of our sun's size, only4 x 10- 13of our firmament
would be dotted with stars ; if we reduced the size
of the stars, adhering to the total mass, to 1 centimetre in diameter, still only 0. 027 of our firma
ment would be set with stars. Lord Kelvin then
diminished the stars to molecular dimensions,
commenting favourably on the nebular theory.
There was, he cont inued, strong evidence to prove
that the life of our sun as a. luminary could not be
more than 50 million years. The life of many stars
would pass before their light could reach our
earth, and the earth would never receive any light
from more t han a very small portion of all the
stars. At some period our universe had probably
been a luminous mist ; meteoric stones Lord Kelvin
was inclined to regard as remnants of star oolli

SlOnS.

The vote of thanks was proposed and seconded

by Dr. L armor and Professor Schuster. The latter
alluded to the final problem, the state of the
universe at what we might call creation. He
could imagine matter which would not at tract, but
r epel, a kind of negatiye matter.
A STRONO?tH OAL pAPERS.

In taking the chair in the As~ronom ical Department, Professor 1!. H. Turner, F .R .S., of Oxford,
regretted that he had not had t ime to prepare any
address. Dr. Copeland, the Astronomer Royal for
Scotland, who was to have presided, was unfort unately ill. Professor Turner contented himself with commenting upon scientific co - operation, upon the importance of which Major
MacMahon had dwelt. Though scientific co-operation was a great boon, if not a. necessity in zoology,
for instance, it had also its disadvantages and weak
points. At the end of the eighteenth century a.
number of astronomers had divided the sky for a.
common search for minor planets ; but the first
discovery fell to one not of their number, and not
engaged in that work. There was something in
the suggestion of a London schoolmaster, that he
never knew any good to come of any work where
they had not a man looking after it with his hands
in his pockets. Splendid work was done on the
astrogra.phic chart at Oxford, in conj unction with
eighteen other observatories. Major MacMa.hon
had referred to the joint work on Eros. Those
observations had thrown back much of that
very important work, and only a. few of the
eighteen observatories had nearly finished their
task yet. Astronomical work was, moreover
terribly liable to settle down into routine, and of
crippling originality and initiative. But when
workers found that rules laid down would not work
the danger was averted in a natural way. Whe~

512

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

[OcT.

MESSRS.

I I, 1901.

MATHER AND PLATT'S ELECTRIC EXHIBITS AT GLASGOW.

( For Description, see Page 514 )

'

Fru. 5.

VARIABLE STROKE P um .

lf) n ,

~U

N '?6 .HIGH UFT CENTRIFf.JGAL PUMP. SINGLE CHAI'IfB11.

8UCKETZ8f D/AitfETEflf600"'"J

Uuv& slwwl.TlfJ re.lo.doru buwu:rr/Ibtoll &at:V& SptMLal.tro

El'ltciertcy.EamptlelWerirrfj 01 Wn6toJtl! ~of 1280
&allonsper~.
180
120

~.W

110

~*

100

80

FIG. 1.

1000-KILOWATT GENERATOR FOR SALFORD ELECTRIC 'l,RACTION STATION.

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RRA!obuiortsper ~N!'6 HIGH UFT CENTRIFUGAL PUMP. SINGLE CHAMBER
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FIGS. 2 TO 4.

the eo-workers on the astrographic chart met last

July, they found that they had arrived at practically
the same conclusions by a di versity of routes.
Professor Turner afterwards exhibited a copy of
a photograph of t he spectrum of a lightning flashthe first ever taken- just r eceived from Professor
Pickering; the complicated spectrum of the broad
flash showed many brigh t lines. H e also read a
paper on an '' Exceptional Case in t he Determination of the Constants of a P hotographic Plate from
Known Stars."
Mr. A. R. Rinks spok e on the "Essentials of a
Machine for the Accurate Measu rement of Celestial
Photographs," and on the "Possibil~ty of S.ys t~:
matic Error in Photographs of a Movmg ObJect
negating t his possibility .
AuTOMATIC E cLIPSE 0BSERV ATIONS.
Last year Professor D. P. Todd had described a
mechanical device which he had employed at
Tripoli for automatically operating the eclipse in-

ELECTRICALLY-DRIVEN HIGH-LIFT CENTRIFUGAL PUMP.

struments during t he eclipse of May 28, 1900.

Having the roof of t he British Consulate at his
disposal, he could t hen drife t he cords from the
commutator by gravity. This was an exceptional
circumstance, and he now described t he modificat ions and general improvements adopted at Singkep,
in Dutch India. Instead of a single drum, as
many drums as t here are instruments are used.
They are turned by hand to t he beats of a pen dulum ; the unwound commutator cords trip the
escapements, and are returned over pulleys to t heir
respective drums.
ON THE PosiTION OF A P LANET BEYOND NEPTUNE.

major planet, capturing comets, beyond Neptune.

Dr. I saac Roberts then failed to find it on his photographic plates, but the search had now been recommenced by Mr. W. E. ' ilson, F.R.S. The comet
of the ye&I'S 1264 and 1556 (if the same) was supposed to have been lost, as it did not reappear
between 1830 and 1840, unless it were identical
with one of t he comets of 1843 and 1844. Professor
Forbes had calculated that that comet would have
come near the supposed planet, which would probably have a greater mass t han Jupiter, and
might have disturbed the comet. It would be
most interesting if once more, as in the case of
N eptune- independently calculated by Adams and
In this paper Professor G. Forbes, F.R.S., by Le Verrier- a new planet should betray its
ret urns to a problem on which he worked twenty presence by the disturbances it causes.
years ago. From a decided grouping of oometary
aphelia at a distance about a hundred times that DRIFT IN LoNOITUDE OF GRours OF SuN F ACUL.JE.
of the earth from our sun, similar to the groupThis p~per, by the Rev. A. L . Cortie, of Stonying at t he distances of Jupiter and Neptune, Pro- burst, afforded strong evidence in favour of the
feasor Forbes concluded that t here might be a . assumption that facuh:e as well as sun spots follo w

OcT.

I I,

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

rgox.]

COMBINED STEAM ENGINE AND DYNAMO.

CON~ TRUCTED

BY MESSRS.

~lATHER

AND PLATT,

ENG I~EERS,

(Fo1 Desc?iption, see Puge 514.)

l\1ANCHESTER.

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Fig. 7.
- 250 --'1"1

-++

THE SEISMOGRAPH AS A SENSITIVE BAROMETER

Mr. F. Napier Denison, of the Meteorological

Office, Victoria, B.O., explained in a long paper,
illustrated by charts, that the horizontal pendulums
of the British Association (Milne) pattern really
indicated vertical movements on the earth's crust
in accordance with the variations of the barometer.
High-pressure areas were depressed and low-pressure
areas raised, and seismographs could and should be
employed to give warning of the great Atlantic
storms, since these indications preceded by 18
and even 24 hours the variations of the barometer. Mr. Denison stated that the pendulum
swings towards the area of high pressure. Thus
when a storm was approaching from the west,
the pendulum moved steadily eastward. On the
other hand, the pendulum would swing westward
before the position of a high-pressure area in the
wes t could be ascertained from the weather charts.
Mr. Milne confirms these conclusions in his report,
having found that a gradual but decided movemeLt
of the Shide pendulum towards the west precedes
stormy weather. He had, moreover, observed a
close relationship between pendulum displacements
and barometric gradients in Tokio, and commented
upon this matter in the Report of 1895. That high
atmospheric prassure should depress the earth
crust sounds only natural. But the question is
very delicate, and the connection between the
observed effect and its assigned cause was doubted
in the Section. Yet Mr. Denison's observatior.s
extend over two years, and he has examined more
than 3000 ft. of photographic records, afterwards
taking the Victoria tidal curves also into consideration. The general easterly swing (on the
Pacific Coast) during the winter, and the westerly
in summer ; the reversal in the pendulum with a
storm which afterwards proves to be followed by
a high barometer; the diurnal range of the pendulum which has its maximum in the summer
months; all these points are in his favour.
UNDERGROUND TEl\IPERATURE

.!9&/.H

course, full of interest. It comprises several pap~rs

by Mr. J. Milne, F.R.S., Secre~ry of the Committee, one by Dr. Chree, on "SeiSmograph Records
at Kew," and one by Mr. Horace Darwtn, F.R.S.,
on '' An At tempt to Measure Earth Movement~ at
Ridgeway Fault " (in Dorsetshire). Of stat10ns
fitted out with the Milne seismogr~phs, there
are three in England-at Kew, ~idston, and
Shide two in Scotland-at Edinburgh and
Paisley; and thirty-six altogether on the eart~ ;
Mr. Bernacchi is in charge of one o!l the Discovery (Antarctic Expedition). At Shtde, on t~e
Isle of Wight, Mr. Milne has two l?hotograph1.c
recording pendulums, two other paus of honzontal pendulums writing on s~oked ~aper, a
spiral spring seismograph for verbcal mott?n, and
a balance for showing tilting. The report diScusses
the frequency of earthquakes at diffe~ent s~tions,
compares the registers fro!ll Kew, S~tde, Btdston,
and Edinburgh and ment10ns expenments by Professor Turner ~nd Mr. Milne on the stiffness of
piers. A rope was tied round the top of . the
column, a brick pier, 3ft. by. 1.5 ft., 6 ft. htgh;
this showed a maximum deflect10n of 0.192 second
of arc per pound of pull. At Kew, high winds
undoubtedly affect the seismograph standing on
the floor, and to a very small extent also that on
the cement bed.

the anomalous law of 1otation discovered by Car- magnetic phenomena.

Such a cycle should be
rington, a point of considerable importance.
traceable through our meteorological data, and this
evidence he found in Briickner's analys s of water
A LoNG-PERIOD SoLAR VARIATION.
levels, rainfalls, fogs, glacier movements, harvest
Dr. W. J. S. Lockyer, of the Solar Physical dates, &c., which point to a climatic period of 34.8
Laboratory, South Kensington, advocated in this years.
paper a thirty-five years' period of su?- spots.
METEOROLOGI CAL ]:>APERS.
That period is not to do away With the
The Meteorological Department had no special
well-known eleven years' period. Going back chairman ; Dr. L~rmor and Professor H. H.
in his researches to 1610, Dr. Wolf, of Ziirich, Turner presided on different mornings.
had suggested a fifty-five years' period. ConfinSEISMOLOGI CAL INVESTIGATIONS.
ing his analyses to the more reliably known records
since 1833, Dr. J.Jockyer finds a well-characterised
The sixth Report of this Committee, which, owing
cycle of thirty-five years for both sun spots and to the pressure of time, was taken as read, is, o...

Pr9fessor J. D. Everett, Chairman of this Committee, whic~ has been dormant for several years,
was able thts year to present a very interesting
Report. The first point concerns the rate of increase
of temperature on the tongue projecting into Lake
Superior from Michigan, on which the Calumetand
Hecla Company mines and the Tamarack shaft are
situated. The latitude is 4 7 deg., the mean annual
temperature 39 deg. or 40 deg. Fahr., and below
240 ft. depth (the mean depth is 900 ft.) the
yvater temperature was also 39 deg. Fahr. As this
!S the temperature of the maximum density of
water, it will probably remain constant throughout
the year, so t hat the boundary conditions are as if
the water were removed and the air had access to
the bottotu. ~rofessor A. Agassiz, president of
the first-ment10ned company, announced in 1896
that the increase in temperature was only 1 deg
Fahr. in 224 ft. That would be abnormally low:
Mr. A. C. Lane, the ~tate Geologist of Michigan,
has, however, now arrtved at the conclusion that
1 deg. in 100 ft. or 115 ft. is correct, and Professor Agassiz has withdrawn his statemant

E N G I N E E R I N G.
The Report further coQ.cerns the deepest borehole known, made by the Prussian Government. It is at Paruschowitz, near Ratibor, in
l!pper Silesia. Though finished in 1893, partiCulars of the valuable observations made have
never been published until now they are supplied by
the Prussian Government to the Committee. The
t<?tal depth is 2003.34 metres (about 6572 ft. ) ; the
diameter decreases from 92 millimetres down to
69 millimetres (3.6 in. to 2. 7 in.). The upper half
of the bore is tubed. The hollow tools-diamond
drills through which water was forced-were first
made of wrought iron, then, with considerable adv~ntage, of Mannesmann steel. The ground was
difficult ; the marl of the upper strata was inclined
to swell and to grip the tubes; lower down followed
coal seams alternating with sandstone and shale.
Six overflow mercury thermometers were each
time enclosed in a steel case, and as there was
danger of caving in, observations proceeded from
the depth upward at intervals of 31 metres,
64 determinations being taken in all. The curve
is satisfactorily r egular, and the average increase in
temperature is 1 deg. Cent. in 34.1 metres, or
1 deg. Fahr. in 62.2 ft. There is, however, some
doubt about the reading of 12 deg. Cent. (53. 7 deg.
F ahr. ) near the surface at 6 metres (20 ft.) depth;
this tern perature, the report argues, should be
8 deg. Cent. (46.4 deg. Fahr.) In any case, the
general result is almost the same as that resulting
from the observations made on the Schladebach
borehole, which is near by, and 256 metres (837ft.)
less in depth; there the increase was 1 deg. Fahr.
i~ 65ft.
The reading of this Report involved Professor
Everett in a controversy with Professor Sollas,
F.R.S., of Oxford, who last year was President
of the Geological Section, on the escape of
heat from the earth, geothermic gradients, and the
conductivity of rocks. There was no further dis
CUSSlOn.
THE BEN' NEVIS COMMITTEE.

In presenting this seventeenth Report, Dr. A.

Buchan, F.R.S., stated that the work continued,
thanks to donations from Mr. Mackay Bernard and
two anonymous friends, and a grant of 250Z. from
the Meteorological Council. Dr. Buchan himself had
investigated the records from the 65 Scottish lighthouse stations. Storms and fogs had their cycle, both
following the sun, but storms had their maximum
in December, and their n1inimum in June, and the
reverse applied to fogs. He had further submitted
the records for 12 years from 120 rain stations to
an elaborate study, and had found the clue to many
phenomena in the corresponding records from the
high-level station on the top of Ben Nevis, and the
low-level station at Fort William. These differences
indicated certain types of weather likely to follow.
Observations made in the United States showed
that the cumulus base was at about 4000 ft. on an
average. Ben Nevis, with its 4406 ft., exceeds that
height a little, and hence its great importance.
Mr. Osmond was engaged in a comparative analysis
of the records from the 27 high-level stations of
Europe and Algiers. The res~lts o~ all these ve~y
laborious and important studtes will come out lll
three octavo volumes which t he Royal Societies of
Edinburgh and London have undertaken to publish,
at a probable cost of 1000Z. ; the first volume would
soon be published. It will contain, a~ong other
things, a new set of tables for the :educt.wn .of b~ro
metric data to sea level, and an Investtgatwn mto
radiation with clear and clouded skies. Mr. A. L.
Rotch and Mr. W. N. Shaw testified to the exceptional value of the work done in the Ben Nevis observatories.
SEASONABLE T EMPERATURE VARIATIONS IN
BRITISH IsLES, AND WIND DIRECTION.

THE

This paper, by Mr. W. ~ Shaw, M.A., F.R.S.,

director of the MeteorologiCal Office, and Mr. R.
W aley Cohen, B. A., was read by the latter. If
the twentyfive year me'l.ns <?f t~mperat~re for each
day he said at the four pr1nc1pal statwns-Kew,
Fal~outh, Aberdeen, and Valenci~-were :pl.otted,
the curves showed a number of trregular1t1~s, so
that no normal mean temperature could be ass1g~ed
to any day. Comparing the ~ctual day means w.1th
simple harmonic curves having an annual. penod
and a maximum about July 21, a lag of ~prmg and
an acceleration of autumn, a:n. ex~ggeratwn of. the
summer maximum and a m1ttgat1?n of the wmter
minimum, were noticed. T~o sme curves w~re
then combined, the first havmg an annual penod

and, at Kew, an amplitude of 12.04 deg. Falu., and

the second a semi-annual period and an amplitude
of 1.4 deg. Fahr. The maxin1a of the first-order
curve fell at the four stations, between July 20
and August 1 ; the second-order curve had maxima
between January 28 and February 3, and again between July 30 and August 5, and minima about the
end of October and April. The first-order curve was
assumed to represent the primary solar effect, and
this paper was to ascertain the nature of the secondorder effect. I t was found to be meteorological
and not planetary, since matters were quite
different at Vienna and at Agra. It was not
connected with the frequency of cyclonic and anticyclonic weathers, but the influence of the wind
direction could be traced. Grouping the winds as
cold, from north and east, causing an average
divergence of temperature of - 3.5 deg. Fahr.,
temperate, from north-west and south-east, and
warm (divergence about + 2.2 deg. Fahr.), the
respective temperature curves of the groups
resembled the second-order curve.
EFFECT OF SEA TEMPERATURE ON THE SEASONAL
VARIATIONS.

This paper, by Mr. W. N. Shaw, deals with the

influence of the sea t emperature on these features.
There was a considerable lag in the occurrence of
seasonal variations at coast stations compared with
inland stations, and a still greater lag in the sea
temperature itself ; and the author showed how
this periodic cause of variation could geometrically
be compounded with the primary solar effect.
Assuming the latter effect, then, to be the same
for places in the same latitude, analyses of
seasonal temperature variations could be made.
The effect of the sea was not, as generally supposed, actually to decrease the amplitude of annual
temperature oscillations, but to increase it, although
to a less extent than a corresponding surrounding
area of land. Mr. Cohen had gone so fully into
details that Dr. Larmor, who was in the chair,
had to limit the time allowance for this latter
paper and the discussion. Dr. Buchan did not
appear to be convinced of the advantages of these
analyses, which did not take account of many modifying features.
SYSTEMA.TIO EXPLORATION OF THE ATMOSPHERE
AT SEA BY MEANS OF l{ITES .

Mr. A. Laurence Rotch, of the Blue Hill Observatory, Boston, Mass. , this year brought his
report on meteorological kite-flying before the
Geographical Section, probably with the object of
making this promising method of air exploration
more widely known. Scientific kite-flying had been
practised by Dr. A. Wilson, of Glasgow, 150 years
ago, a little before Franklin. Having briefly
referred to the revival of this work by Mr. Douglas
Archibald, and the work now done in the United
States, France, Germany, and here, he made the
important communication that he had taken kites
out on boats in Massachusetts Bay, and then on
his steamer in crossing the Atlantic. The United
States Weather Bureau had arranged for regular
ascents of kites fitted with the meteorographs
of Mr. Ferguson, Mr. Rotch's assistant, at seventeen stations. Unfortunately, the wind failed
often, and that had to be abandoned.
On
board a steamer, a good wind could almost be
depended upon, and they had all the machinery for
hauling down the kite at easy command. He had
brought his kites up to nearly half a mile on five
days out of eight on which he would not have been
able to do anything on land. It is to be hoped that
the suggestion will find energetic support. We
could thus, as Mr. Rotch emphasised, collect information about the equatorial belt, where we hav e no
observatories, the trade winds, and atmospheric
currents over the sea in general. Mr. Dines, President of the Royal Meteorological Society, MrW. N. Shaw, Mr. Mackinder, who occupied the
chair, and Mr. J. Aitken warmly approved of the
proposal ; the latter suggested motor cars, which
have already been tried in France, for starting the
kites. Mr. Mackinder hoped to interest the owners
of steam yachts ; sailing vessels, Mr. Rotch had
stated, would be less suitable, but Koeppen was
going to try one in the equatorial regions. We
should think with Mr. Shaw that warships
cruising about might interest t hemselves in this
question, which the British Association promotes
by a grant.
(To be contVn.ued.)

[OcT.

II, 1901.

MATHER AND PLATT'S EXHIBIT AT

GLASGOW.
h.ave &!ready, in preceding issues, referred
to ~n~ Illustra~ed some of the more interesting
exhibits of. this well-known firm, notably their
new bleachmg plant (page 441 amte) and their
water filters (page 402 all'l!te), and we now have
pleasure in noticing t he splendid exhibit of t he
electrical productions of the firm, the most notable
being the immense generator which has been constructed for the Salford Electric Traction Station,
and of which an engraving is given on page 512
(Fig. 1).
This generator is intended to be coupled direct
to a 1100 horse-power steam engine by Messrs.
Browett, Lindley, and Oo., and is to run at a speed
of. 100 revolutions per minute. The Salford Electricity Works has not only to supply current for
the Corporation's tramways, but also for the general
lighting of the town. It was therefore necessary
to design the dynamos so that they could be run as
compound machines in the former case, and as
shunt machines in the latter ; and, further to make
provision for a possible considerable overl~ad. The
yoke-ring, the lower part of which will be below
the floorlevel of the engine-room, is of cast-steel of
high magnetic quality, and is made in halves
which can be bolted together. The pole-piece;
and shoes, of which there are ten, are also of caststeel, made separate and bolted up to the yoke-ring,
after th~ spools containing the field windings have
been shpp~d ove~ the!fl ; .they can be readily
removed Without d1sturbmg e1ther t he yoke-ring or
ar~ature. This latt~r is of the usual drum type,
built on a double sp1der ; the core is made up of
soft-iron punchings, and the insulated conductors
are imbedded in slots in t he periphery. The halfcoupling for bolting to the engine flywheel is cast
directly on the spider, so that no stress passes
through the shaft. The commutator has been built
up i~ such a way that the individual plates are
read.Ily removed; the brush spindles are carried by
a sp1der attached to the outer bearing.
T~e total weig~t of. o~e of these dynamos, exclusive of the eng1ne, lB JUSt over 50 tons, of which
the armature accounts for half. The normal output
as a compound machine is 775 kilowatts at a pressure of 525 volts; and as a shunt machine the same
at a pressure of 480 volts ; but the dynamo will
carry an overload of 25 per cent ., thus bringing the
output up to 1000 kilowatts. The results of tests
carried out on machines already completed show
that t he efficie~cy is slightly over 95 per cent. ; the
5 per cent .loss Is accounted for as follows : hysteresis
and eddy current losses 2.27 per cent., Q2R losses
2. 57 per ~~nt., and frictional loss 0.16 per cent .
In add1t10n to the generator we have described
there are several electrically-driven fire and feed
pumps, elect ric motors, electric drills, and overhead
elect ric carrier, &c., all to be seen in operation.
Fig. 2 shows one of Messrs. Mather and Platt's
patent high-~ift centrifugal pumps, driven direct
by an electric motor. The plant was designed
for an outputs of 1250 gallons per minute aCYainst
a total head of. 96 ft., w ~en running at a ~peed
of 700 revolutwns per rotnute. The combined
efficiency of the plant is then 66 per cent.
the. Il!-otor requiring 55 electrical ho1se-powe/
Th1s size of pump has a bucket 600 millimetres in
diameter, suction and delivery branches being 250
~illi~etres in diameter, and it is capable of dehvermg up to 1600 gallons per minute aaa.inst a
head of 180 ft. with a single chamber at an increased speed, the resultant efficiency of the
pump bemg over ?2 per c e~~
The special
feature of the pump IS the prov1s1on of guide passages arranged round the vanes. On entering t he
latter, the water passes through curved passaaes in
the ~anes. themselves, and is. then discharged tangentlally mto the above-mentwned guide passages
the object of which is to allow the pressur~
due to the velocity of rotation to be transformed
easily and without shock into pressure head the
lift and efficiency of the pump being mate;ially
increased by this means. The pump can be made
either with a single chamber, as illustrated or with
a series of cham hers, in each of which o~e set of
vanes revolves. In the latter case t he water to be
pumped is discharged at a certain pressure from the
channel surrounding the first set of vanes, and then
passes to the second set of vanes, which delivers the
water at a pressure double that with which it left
the first set, and so on until the final discharge is
effected.
WE

..

OcT. r r, 1901.]

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

Thus the output of a pump of the same size as

that described above, but made with four chambers,
would be 1250 gallons per minute against a total
head of 4ft. x 96 ft. = 384 ft. at 700 revolutions
per minute. In the case of a single chamber pump
the water enters the bucket axially and symmetri.
cally on each side thereof, so t hat all axial thrust
is eliminated. In the case of the multiple chamber
pump a certain amount of axial thrust occurs, but
this is taken by a special thrust ball bearing working in oil. ]'igs. 3 and 4 are diagrams illustrating t he efficiency of the pumps.
Fig. 5 illustrates the company's variable stroke
pump, which is electrically driven, and is specially
suitable for feed purposes in lighting stations. The
stroke of the plungers is readily variable by hand
while the machine is running, and the output can
be at once reduced from 1naximum to zero, or 'Vice
ve?sd, without any wasteful absorption of power by
resistances, the speed of the rnotor remaining constant. The pump, as shown, consists of three
cylinders mounted radially on a. frame at angles of
120 deg. with each other, the plungers being driven
from a common crankpin by connecting-rods in the
ordinary manner. The crankpin is arranged eccen
trically on a disc fitting into a recess in a toothed
wheel, which engages with a pinion on the motor
shaft. The rotation of this disc, which causes the
desired alteration of the stroke, is obtained by
gears situate in the hub of the wheel, and operated
by a suitable hand l ever conveniently arranged.
An indicator is fixed to the stroke-varying attachment, which shows the length of stroke, and therefor e the corresponding output of the pump at the
time. To change the stroke all that is required is
to raise the hand lever until the indicator shows
that the desired amount of water is being discharged,
whereupon the lever is released.
An electrical-driven pump, although costing more
than a steam-driven pump, has a higher efficiency
throughout its whole range of working, with a
corresponding reduction in stean1 consumption, and
to demonstrate t his we give below a Table showing
actual tests made with a pump of the type illustrated, delivering 2500 gallons per minute.
Combined E fficien cy.
Duty of Pump.

Full load
..
..
Three-quarter load ..
Half load
..
..
Quarter load . .
..

By Variable Stroke.

By Variable Speed.

p er cent.
72.6

per oent.

72.5
54.0
36.0
18.0

68.0
60.5

4fi.O

A second Table shows the pounds of steam utilised

by four types of pumps when delivering even q uantities of water at varying loads, and it will be seen
the variable stroke pump has a great advantage.
The figures for a high-class compound steam-driven
pump are the very highest that are guaranteed, and
will, in all probability, not be reached with a pump
that hag been working some time. The figures in
the last column are based on Mr. F. Proctor's paper
read before the British Association in 1898, from
which it will be seen that with a pump of this type,
which has been in use for some time, the steam consumption is very high.
Three-Throw ElectricalDriven Pump.

---:-----

Output.

Variable
Stroke.

Variable
Speed.

High-Olass Steam
Pump.

- - ---:----New
Pump.

After several
Years' Work.

- - - - ----1 -----

lb. of steam lb. of steam lb. of steam lb. of steam

Full

400
820
240
160

400
400
400
400

'140
560
380
200

1100
850
650
450

The pounds of steam debited to the electrical

pumps are on the assumption that 1 kilowatt at
the motor terminals corresponds to 32 lb. of steam.
The capacity of the pumps in the above comparison
is 6400 gallons per hour, against 160 lb. per square
i h
nFigs. 6 and 7 illustrate a combined steam engine
hi f
1
d h
I'1 ht'
and dynamo suita e or louse an s op g mg,
pilot lighting in mills, or for use on board ship.
This set consists of a high-speed single-acting enclosed self-lubricating engine, capable of developing
40 brake horse-power at a speed of 470 r evolutions
per minute, with a steam pressure of from 70 lb. to
100 lb. per square inch ; the cylinder is 430 millimetres in dil;l.meter by 180 millimetres strok{). Th{)

crank is double-webbed and balanced, and the

overhung dynamo at one end is balanced by the
overhung flywheel at the other. The dynamo is
bolted direct to the engine case, a h eavy bed being
unnecessary. These sets r equire but lit tle in the
way of foundations.
The company, by the use of well-made models,
designed, decorated, and arranged to simulate
farms, illustrate the system of sewage purification
adopted ; but as we r ecently illustrated t he main
features-the retaining and discharging valve (see
vol. lxxi., page 110)- it is only necessary to mention that t he outstanding aims in the design of the
plant is the application of automatic distributing
gear to the feeding of bacteria beds ; different
modes of spreading the sewage over the surface
of the beds; and the mode of holding sewage in
contact by means of the valve mentioned. The
company's water-softening plant is also exhibited;
but this also we have illustrated and fully de
scribed (see ENGINEERING, vol. lxvi., pages 149,
166, 186, 230).

ROI1LING STOCK CONSTRUCTION IN

ITALY.
THE Officina Meccaniche of :Milau are probably the
best known and best equipped works in Northern
Italy, dedicated to the manufacture of all classes of
rolling stock; and both the works and their products
can be taken as an example of what Italians are capable
of industrially. The works were established in 1868
by the firm of Miani Silvestri and Co., for the production of railway rolling stook. Their present capital is
of Si million lire (340,000l. ), and the factory occupies
an area of 12 hectares (29.65 acres). A branch of the
Milan girdle railway connects them 'with the Alta
Italia system, and they are provided with ample
sidings to the standard gauge, besides owning a
narrow gauge system of their own connecting the
various shops. In addition to railway equipment
generally, bridgework, passenger coaches, goods
wagons for standard gauge, &c, the works produce
all classes of light railway and tramway stook and
locomotives, signals, turntables, &c. The equipment
of the works, which is very much up to date, ho.s been
converted from steam and hydraulic, to electric, to
utilise the current generated by a waterfall acquired
by the company some 21.86 miles from Milan.
They employ 1500 workmen, and the output
averages 20 locomotives, 200 passenger coaches,
1000 goods wagons, 200 tramway cars, and some
3000 to 4000 tons of bridgework, girders, castings,
&c., per annum.
Without attempting to review
anything like a representative selection of the
various products of these works, a few remarks on
some recent examples of the rolling stock they turn
out will be of interest, and we opine that it will be
apparent therefrom that Italy in this branch of
industry does not hang behind her competitors, and
that relatively she is one of the most progressive
nations.
The first example we havd selected for description is
a saloon restaurant carriage built for the International
Wagon-Lits Company. Outwardly, this carriage resembles the type generally affected by this well-known
transportation company; but, internally, it presents
several points of novel interest. The principal dimen
sions are the following :
Length over buffers
... 19.74 m. (64 fb. 9 in.)
,
of under frame ... 18.24 , (60 ,. 3 , )
Maximum distance between
centres of bogies
.. . 13.20 , (43 , 3 , )
Distance bebween axles of
same bogie
...
... 2.50 , { 8 , 2 , )
Total length of body . .. 18 50 , (61 , 1 , )
Maximum width over all 2.864 ,
(9 , 5, )
,~
height above rails 4.027 , (13 , 2 ,,
Internal width ...
... 2.662 , ( 8 , 8 ,
,
heighb ...
... 2.80 ,
( 9 ., 2 ,
Weight of carriage
. .. 35,500 kilos. (34. 93 tons)
The carriage comprises a pantry and a kitchen, a
dining-room, saloon, and a lavatory; it is entered
as usual through two vestibules with lateral
doors. The interior arrangements have been very
carefully thought out to eecure easy service and increased comfort, and in this way the culinary departmentis completely hidden, and its odours prevented
from pervading the interior of the carriage. The
convenience and comfort of the staff is provided for,
the ventilation recesses being provided with seats.
The pantry is very completely fitted up with cupboards for bottles, plates, linen, plate, and a
refrigerator ; this pantry communicates with the
kitchen by a trap-door, and opens on to the
passage leading to the diningroom. The latter is
provided with twenty-two seats, and is 6.58 metres
(21.69 ft.) by 2.67 metres (8.76 ft.) The decorations
throughout are of the Louis XV. style, the wall
panels are in carved walnut, with frames and mouldings
m ~bony and cbis~lled and gilt bron~e. Between

the large windows, the panels are of leather embossed

with allegorical devices, and surmounted with views
of the principal Italian cities on enamel.
The
ceiling is of; canvas painted in oils, the centre being
an artistic representation of an Arcadian sC'ene, sur.
rounded by Louis XV. decorative devices. The sides
of the ventilating lantern are decorated to match,
and the ftoor is covered with a thick Smyrna carpet.
The seats are in walnut with embossed leather up
holstering. At the end of the dining-room is a large
door formed of a single clear glass panel, through
which the drawing-room can be seen and entered.
This is in Louis XVI. style and fitted with light
coloured wood with carved maple panels, the
frames, the mouldings, and ornaments being of
chiselled and gilt bronze. In the saloon the panels
between the windows and the pivoting arm-chairs
are covered with a red silk material specially woven
to designs harmonising with the general scheme of
decoration, and furnishes the bright note of colour
ing required to set off the general effect. In front
of the windows are fixed console tables in " verde
ant ico," and two folding movable tables are at the
passengers' disposal. The ceiling is tastefully painted
with a central medallion. The electric lighting
is on the "Stone " aystem, and heating is by the
thermosyphon system. The carriage having to work
over various railway systems, it is provided with the
French alarm signals of the Paris, Lyons, and Medi~
terranean type, as well as those of the Rayl and Kohn
or German type, with quick-acting automatic Westing
house, adjustable Henry and vacuum automatic Clay
ton brakes. The carriage as a whole is one of the
finest examples we have seen of the saloon bogie type
for long journeys in use on the Continent, and reftects
the greatest credit on the Officina Meccaniche.
The type of goods wagon specially adopted by these
works is furnished with tubular frames- their closed
wagons on this principle are well deserving of mention.
Before giving the details of these wagons, it is inte
resting to recall that it is largely due to the enterprise
of these works that the way to one of the most
important transformations currently taking place in
the working of Italian rail ways has been prepared.
We allude to the replacement of the heavy goods
wagon of small capacity, generally in use on English
and French and other Continental railways, by wagons
of high capacity with a relatively small deadweight.
The relative merits of such goods stock, which has
long been recognised in the United States, has often
been discussed in these columns. The chief outward
indications of the change are evinced by the prevalence
of bogie trucks to support the underframes and wagon
bodies, the general substitution of metal for timber
in the former, and the replacing of heavy angular
forms and combinations by the lighter and more
resisting tubular shapes with which cycle and motor
construction have rendered us familiar. The Officina
Mecoaniche made a start by building open wagons of
the American type (Goodfellow and Cushman), which
they extended to the closed wagons for transport of
corn in bulk, and finally they evolved the type of
wagon which we describe and illustrate. The under
frames are both the most characteristic and interesting
portion of these wagons, and are each formed of two
superposed tubes connected together by special pieces
made of malleable cast iron ; the four longitudina.ls
are united at their extremities by the cross-pieces of
the frame, which are of U section, the whole being
stiffened and made exceptionally strong by under ten
sion ba.rs (Fig. 1, page 520). The tubular longitudinals
have an external diameter of 0.073 metre (2.87 in.), and
are 5 millimetres (0. 20 in.) in thickness; they are spaced
18 centimetres (7.09 in.) from centre to centre, and, in
addition to the malleable cast-iron connectors, there
are double concave-sided cast spacers bolted thereto.
The tightening up of these bolts puts the entire frame in
tension, and insures it behaving as a solid whole. The
upper connectors have a bracket cast on their sides to
support the planking of the wagon. The two middle
connectors of each pair of longitudinals are prolonged
downwards by two cast struts, which carry saddles
for the longitudinal tension-rods. These struts are
strengthened by oblique tie-rods. The transverse
frame ends are completed by special cast malleable
sleeves fitting between the wings of the U pieces, and
provided with sockets for the longitudinal tubes.
These ends are provided with the ordinary buffers
and coupling hooks, but the tension. rods are
arranged in a. very ingenious plan.
Under the
frame is fitted a central coupling piece by which the
tension of all the dra.wbars is adjusted. The underframe rests on the bogie trucks with two intermediate
cross-pieces of oak 2.50 metres (8.20 ft.) by 0.36 metre
(1.18 ft.) by 0.10 metre (0. 33ft.), which a.r e strengthened
by two U -irons. The extremities of these crosspieces are held between two cast plates bolted to
gather. At the centre is fixed the malleable castiron pivot which works in a spherical socket carried
on the bogie truck- on each side of the pivot are
fixed check blocks also of malleable cast iron.
The bogie trucks are of simple construction, as will
be seen from Fig. 41 page 516, the longitudinal

516

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

[OcT.

fra~ing being a triangular system of flat bs.rs

wh1~h f~rm the axlebox frames. Centrally, the two

ITALIAN

l~ng1tudmal frames a re united by double transverse

p1eces of oak scantling. The upper of these is supported at both ends on the lower by coiled springs.
The upper tr<~.nsverse pieces carry the eockets and
check blocks corresponding to the pivoting pieces on
t~e und~rframe of the carriage. The twelve suspenstot;t sprmge are so arranged that when ~he carriage
osc~llates, e~pty or und er ~i~ht load, the eight lighter
sprmgs, wh1ch are 16 mllhme~res (0. 63 in.) longer
tha~ the remainder, alone come into play; all take
the~r share a~ fulllo~; ~ut by this arrangemen~ undes~rab_le sprmg. fattgue 1s avoided, and the spring
ac~10n 1s proport10nal to the effects to be neut ralised.
The w~eels are of a special charcoal ca.st iron, with
tyres . chtlled ~o a depth of from 22 to 26 millimetres
(0. 87 m. to 1 m.). The principal dimensions of the
underframe and bogies are t he following :
Underframe:
Length over buffer3
...
. .. 11.47 m. (37ft. 8 in.)
of frame ...
...
... 10.30 ,, (33 ,, 7 , )
.,
Dtsta.nce between centres of ex,
.. . 2.265 ,, ( 7 , 5 , )
_terior longitudinal~ ...
D1sta.nce between centres of ext erior l~mgitu?ina.ls ~f bogies ... 7.250 , (23 , 9 , )
T otal weight w~th bogtas .
... 7.690 kg. (7.568 ton:)
,
,
W1 thou t bogies ... 2. 325 , , (2. 283 ,
)
Bogies :
D~stance between axles
.. . 1.470 m. (57.88 in.)
Dt~meter of wheels
.. .
. .. 0.840 ,, (33.08 , )
W:td th of treads .. . .. . .. . 0.130 , ( 5.11 , )
Dtameter of axle ends .. .
.. . 0.110 , , ( 4.32 )
L~ngth ,,
,,
...
... 0.200 ,, ( 7.87 :: )
~amet~r of axles
.. .
. .. 0.125 , ( 4. 91 ., )
Dm1ens10ns of upper cro2spiece 0.308 m. by 0.250 m .
(t2.3 in. by 9.84 in )
"
lower
,
0.300 m. by 0.130 m.
.
(11.81 in. by 5.11 in.)
W etght of bogie ~thou b brakes 2.550 kgs. (2.509 tons)
"
,
Wlth
,
2.815 , (2.668 ,, )

RAII_JW AY

CONSTRUCTED

BY THE

I I, 1901.
;

ROLLING

OFFICINE

MECCANICHE,

S T 0 C K.

MILAN.

The wagon body has not been less carefully thought

out than the underframes, and certain features have
been added, especially in the direction of automatic
unloading, which are unusual in European rolling stock.
The. wooden body of the wago~ rests on the decking
carrted by the underframe (Ftg. 2, page 520). This
body is of the largest dimensions possible with the
loading gauge of the lines for which it is designed.
The roof is of sheet iron. The internal dimensions
are 10.015 metres (32.86 ft.) by 2.74 metres (8.99 ft.)
and the average height is 2.28 metres(7.48 ft. ). The internal covered space amounts to 64 cuhie metres (2260.19
cubic feet), and 41 cubic metres (1377.30 bushels) of
cereals can be loaded, the wagon having been specially
designed for the grain traffic. Four sliding doors for
loading have been provided- the lower sides being
double. The tare is 13.4 tons, and the gross load
30 tons.
To facilitate discharging, four shifting
trap -doors are fixed in the floor opening on to
iron hoppers, the ou tlets being below the underframe, are conveniently worked by means of slides
and connecting-rods. When the wagon is used for
ordinary goods the trap-doors are shut down upon
the hoppers, and the floor presents an unbroken
surface. In transporting corn in bulk the trap-doors
are removed and are fixed upright in front of the
sliding doors, where they are immovably fixed to the
frame3 by hinge bolts, screening the opening to the
height of 1.36 metres (4.46 ft. ), and leaving the doors
free. The wagon can thus be loaded through the
space above the bulkheads thus formed, the capacity
of the wagon being then 38 cubic metres (1046! bushels);
it can be discharged when required through the hoppers
by working the slideEJ.
A difficulty presented itself in this form of construction in that the body had to be made independent
of the underframe. The latter had to be given an
upward camber of 25 millimetres (0. 98 in. ), so that it
should be horizontal when the wagon is loaded. An
elastic play of this amount was necessarily out of the
question in the sides of the wagon body, as it would
have prevented the sliding doors from working. For
this reason the wagon body is made to rest entirely on
the end cross frames. At intermediate points t he
wagon aides are connected with t he frames by t ies
formed of angle-irons, and are held firmly to it by
horizontal tie rods, which leave the frame free to
A.lter its shape, while at t he same time they prevent
t '1e sides from bulging under the act ion of the load.
The advantages of the design need not be insisted
upon, for the combined s~rength and lightness of the
framing, and the convemences of the hopper system
of unloading are self-evident. It will be easily understood that a saving of a large proportion of the
deadweight is realised.
The drawbar arrangement on stock built by the
Officina Meccaniche has already been alluded to ;
it is illustrated by Figs. 5 to 8. From these it
will be seen that one of the sleeves which the tension screw tra,erses has a couple of trunnions, which
lie in a vertical plane when the carriages are coupled
up. This sll3eve is held in another sleeve provided with

F1o. 3.

B ooTE T&u oK FOR 30-ToN CovERED Goon s \YAOON.

:Fig.6 .

u
I

.FitJ.s

'
I

I'
I
I
I
I

.
--.
I
-----..
~ -

--------

A--1- -- - ----

t
-

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

+-

-i

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

.f
:
I

II

I
I

I
I

''

'

Fig 8 .
f'

. -----

Jc _-_--~ i~~ e:~

------.
------------- ... -------

DETAILs oF CoUPLING; 30-ToN Goons WAOON.

horizontal trunnions, on to which are jointed the two

short connecting-rods attached to the draw hook.
This outer sleeve is provided with two hollow semicircular branches which embrace the vertical trunnions
of the inner sleeve in such a. way as not to interfere
with its free motion in a horizontal plane. Two small
cross-pieces, held by gudgeons, prevent the trunnions
from working out of the slots. Fig. 8 shows that by
this arrangement the coupling drawbar adjusts
itself always to a straight line, without being
subjected to transverse strains tending to cripple it,
no matter how acute the angle between the axes of the
two coaches may be. All the stresses which previously
would have tended to deform the drawbar have now no
other effect beyond twisting the coupler in the sleeve.
The details of the device are simple, and its component

parts do not seem likely to weaken the drawbar in any

way.
The same general principles are followed out in all
t he rolling stock produced by the Officina Meccanichet heir open wagons for coal traffic are specially noteworthy, wi~h their low tare of 10,800 kilogrammes
(10. 73 tons) and their loading capaci~y of 30 metretons (29.53 tons), the length of body is 10.2 metres
(~3.47 ft. ).
The self-propelling tramway cars for summer service
on electric tramways built by this company merit
some description. In Italy, as elsewhere in the past
throughout Europe, summer service cars have been
closed with open end platforms. Designers sought,
howeTer, to produce self-propelling cars with floors
raised as little as possible above the roadway, and

OcT.

t,

go 1. J

'\

EN G I N E ER I N G.
GAS ENGINE AT THE GLASGOW EXHIBITION.

CONSTRUCTED

BY

THE

FORWARD

ENGINEERING

COMPANY,

LI:MITED,

BIRMINGHA11.

Fig .1.

------

accessible by a single step, the motors remaining beneath this floor. Designers have endeavoured also to
support t he motors directly from the axles and
the underframes so a-s to reduce the vibration
to a minimum.
The floor of the car is only
0.68 metres (2.23 ft.) above rail level, so that
a single step is sufficient.
Around the trapdoors through the flooring, which is of iron with
wood en laths, giving access to the motors, the
flooring is slightly raised to g ive t horn the necessary room even when the car springs receive a maximum load. 1'his difference in floor level is unnoticeable.
The motors are suspended from a special truck wholly
independent of the underframe and body of the car,
eo t hat t he latter receives and transmits no vibrations. When the wheel axles and motors require
examination, the car body is slung and the truck is
run out. The car has this further peculiarity, that
while retaining its open character, it can be barred on
either side to prevent passengers ascending or descending on the wrong side by a movable continuous handrail made of jointed tubes, one of the jointed pieces
for ming the horizontal portion, the other being a. vertical support. When removed, the handrail is folded up
in the shape of a Z, the horizontal arm being applied
against the edge of the car roof, carrying with it the
vertical support, while the hinged extension folds up
against one of the uprights.
This carriage wtighs 4150 kilogrammes (4.08 tons)
without the motors, and 6700 (6.59 tons) with them;
it has accommodation for twenty-eight passengers
seated and twenty standing.

GAS ENGINES AT THE GLASGOW

EXHIBITION.
WE illustrate on this page a. gas engine specially
designed for dynamo driving, which is being exhibited
il.t Gle.egow by the Forward Engineering Company,
Limited of the Bloomsbury Works, Birmingham.
The engine has a cylinder 7 in. in diameter ~y 15 in.
stroke, and is designed to run at 260 revolut10ns per
'I
I

I
I
I

I
I

..

cylinder is a single casting, jacket included, thus avoiding joints . The compression is high , a;nd t he ignition
is r egulaed by means of a timing valve. The engine
is, moreover, pro vided with an air silencer and exhaust
muffi.er, thus rendering it comparatively Eilent in work
m
g.

NOTES F ROM THE UNITED STATES.

PHILADELPHIA, October 2.
THERE is less business in iron and steel to report
for the past week, to which several influences have
contributed, among them the oversold condition of
most mills and furnaces, the inability of owners to
accept early delivery orders, and the strength of prices,
which might result in an actual advance were large
orders to be precipitated. The general situation is unchanged, however. The enormous consumpt ion con
t inues, and production is almost back to normal
requirements. Prices of pig iron have been advanced
in the South. Large sales of Bessemer and basic
pig have been made in the W est. Lower q uotations are being named on crude steel for next year's
dAJivery. The rush of inquiries since the strike has
had the effect of hardening prices on bar~, hoops,
slieets, and rods. Steel rail orders booked for this
year foot up 3,000,000 tons, but upwards of 400,000
tons cannot be delivered until next year. Everything
points to an enormous demand. Productive capacity
is generally estimated at about 4! million tons, counting in the latest expansions of capacity. T his year'e
orders were 650,000 tons more than last year, and
next year's orders wiJl be about 1,000,000 tons more
than t his year. Exports of rails are estimated at
300,000 tons. The r equirements from the Texas oil
fields are very urgent. There are at present about
fifty "gushers," which average from 20,000 to 70,000
barrels daily; and this enormous prod uction has to be
distributed by pipe lines, tank cars, and other methods.
Hence the activity in material necesary for facilities.
The scarcity of material is general as to early de
liveries, and to all appearances there will be an advance in _prices on plates and shapes. The American
Bridge Company are booking large orders for next
year's delivery, keeping elastic dates in sight. Among
the wild rumours is one stating that copper would be
cu t to 131\ cents. The indications are that there will
be a rush"'of orders this autumn that will fill the mills
to their greatest capacity by December. Higher prices
are unnecessary and undesirable, but the urgency of
demand is such that premiums will be paid on many
finished mill products.

GLASGOW EXHIBI'.rroN

ELROTIUOAL ExHIBITS.-We have

received from the proprietors of the Scottish Electrician,
37, Queensferry-street, E dinburgh, an electrical souvenir
---------------...
lnu./1,
----- - --- - -- ---~- -- -of the Glasgow Exhibition, which gives a description of
the electrical exhibits reprinted from the Scottish
minute. The indicated horse-power is 18.3, and the Elect1ician, which is uEeful as a record. The exhibits are
brake horse-power 14. 7. The engine has therefore not classified, the arrangement being in alphabetical
a. mechanical efficiency of over 80 per cent. The gas order, according to the name of the firm.
used per brake horse-power at full load is 18.2 cuhie feet
THE LATE CHARLES H. CRAMP, PHILADBLPHIA.-The
per hour. As shown, the engine has two heavy flywheels. The crank is balanced and has narrow webs, death has just been announced 0f Charles H. Cramp,
whilst its bearings are all of large size, and, being self- J!!Obably the foremost shipbuilder in the United States.
lubricating, do not r equire constant attendance. The He was the elder son of William Cramp, who in 1830

established the now famous Cramp yard at Kensington,

Philadelphia. William Cramp began as a builder of
wooden vessels, mostly for the coastwise trade. At the
time he launched his first vessel Philadelphia had a dozen
shipbuilding yards, but the Cramp yard is the only one
wh10h has survived. The pioners of the American line
were built in the early seventies, when the late Charles
H. Cramp was in charge at Kensington, and his career as
a shipbuilder may be said to date back to the building of
the Indiana, the Illinois, the Pennsylvania, H.nd the Ohio,
forming the first fleet of the American line. This enterprise ultimately failed, nob from any defects in the
vessels, but from the keen competition of faster and later
built ships of British lines. Failure notwithstanding,
t he late Mr. Cramp always took an immense pride in the
pioneer vessels of the American line of the seventies; and
m one of the shipyard books of the Cramp Company he
claimed that these four iron ships had served to tide the
name of the American merchant marine over a score of
dreary and disheartening year&, '' and now in the dawn
of a brighter epoch they remain sturdy links connecting the promise of the future with the glories of the
pi'St." Tbis was written after the St. Louis and
~he St. Paul bad been launched from the Cramp yard,
and when the new movement in America towards
shipbuildmg was well begun. Followine- the building of
the first vessels of the old American lme there was a
period of stagnation, and as late as 1884 there were only
three shipyards in the U nited States in which iron
vessels were built. Cramp's was one of these. The
others, according to an American correspondent of the
Glasgow H erald, from whom we quote, were the Roach
yard at Chester, and the Harlan and Hollingsworth
yard at Wilmingtbn, Delaware. In this period, bowever, there was usually some fairly important! work going
forward in the Cramp yard. From 1874 to 1883 the
double-turreted monitor Terror, a vessel of 4000 tons displacement, was in building for the U nited States Government. From 1877 to 1880 Mr. Cramp built an iron
cruiser for the R ussian Government, and also converted
three merchant vessels into cruisers for the Russian navy.
These, however, were the days of comparatively small
things at the Cramp yard, and the yard did not begin
to achieve its more recent fame until the United States
began to build its present navy. The first of these
ships-four in all-went to the Roach yard, and it was
not until 1887 that Mr. Cramp entered on the work
which brought him his greatest distinction. In 1887-8
he built the protected cruiser Baltimore for the
U nited States Government, and since then there has
not been a. year in which either cruisers or battle.
ships have not been in building for the American
navy at Kensington. The Indiana, the Massachusetts,
t he low~, the . Alabama, and th~ M.aine (No. 2) are the
battleshtps wbtcb have been bmlt m the Cramp yard,
which has added more tonnage to the American navy than
any other yard either on the Atlantic or the Pacific
Coa-sb. It was after the Cramp yard was well started on
this Government work that it builb its first steel vessels
for the Atlantic trade. Between the middle seventies
and 1894 not a single ocean-going merchant vessel was
built at Philadelphia. Bob in 1892. when the American
line took over the Paris and the New York, and by Act
of Congress obtained American registry for them, tb was
made a condition that two vessels of equal size should be
builb in American shipyards. The connection between
the American line and the Oramps has always been close,
and as a matter of course the orders for these vessels,
the Sb. Louis .and t~e St. Paul. went to the Cramp yard.
Both were fintshed m 1894. In 1896 the yard built its
first war veSEel for Ja_pan. In 1898 the old connection
between the Russian Government and the Cramp yard
was renewed, and since then there have been built there
the battleship Retvizan and the cruiser V a.riag.

E N G I N E E R I N G.
N0TES FROM THE NORTH.
.

GLASGOW, Wednesday.
Glasgow Pig-Iron Market.-The market was reported
tJo be steady last Thursday forenoon, but quiet, only some
6000 tons being dea.lb in. Scoboh warranbs, after being
done at 54s. cash_per boo, left off unchanged a.t 53s. 11d.
per ton ; while Cleveland, after opening at 45s. 3~d. per
ton cash, improved bo 45s. 4d. per ton, wibh buyers over.
Dealing in the afternoon was again restricted to 6000
tons Cleveland, to which business was confined, closed ~d.
per ton up on the day a.t 45s. 6d. cash, with buyers over.
Scotch warrants were quoted unaltered at 53s. 1ld. per
ton cash buyers. At the closA of the market the settlement prices were: Scotch, 54s. per ton; Cleveland,
45s. 4~d.; and hema.tite iron, 59a. l~d. per boo. On
Friday forenoon a. moderate amount of business was done
with prompt delivery, and there was a. rise of 2d. per ton
in the case of Cleveland. Scotch was neglected, and
losb 2d. per ton. The sales of Scotch were made at
53s. 3d. and 53s. 2d. per ton, with delivery at the end of
the year. Cleveland iron changed hands as high as
45s. 8d. per ton cash, and sellers wanted 45s. 8~d.
per ton cash. That price was paid in the afternoon, and business was done at the same rate seven
days. The sebblemenb prices were: 54s. 45s. 7~d., and
59s. lO~d. per ton. There wa.s a. dull market on Monday
forenoon, the turnover not exceeding 5000 tons. Scotch
warrants declined 2d. per ton ab 633. 7d. cash buyers,
hub Cleveland was unchanged at 45s. 7id. cash, with
buyers. From 6000 to 7000 tons of Cleveland changed
hands in the afternoon, the closing quotation being
just the turn easier on the day at 45s. 7d. per ton cash.
buyers. Scoboh warrants, which were not dealt in, were
quoted at 53s. 9d. per ton cash sellers, a decline from
F riday_ of l~d. per ton. The settlement prices were :
53s. 7~., 45s. 7id., and 59a. 9d. per ton. On Tuesday
forenoon the pig-iron market was quiet, the turnover
amounting to about 7000 tons. Scotch warrants, a.fber
being done a.t 53s. 7~d. per ton cash, eased to 53s. 6d.,
leaving off ld. per ton down a.t 53s. 8d. p er ton
sellers. Cleveland wa.s dealb in ld. per ton up ab
453. 8d. cash, and finishing at 45s. 7~d. per ton
buyers. At the afternoon meeting about 5000 tons
were dealt in, and the close was easier, Scotch finishing
4id. per ton down on the da.y, and Cleveland id. The
settlement prices were: 53s. 7~d., 40s. 7 ~ci ., and 59s. 9d.
per ton. The market was steady this forenoon, when about
10,000 tons changed hands, generally around the la.st
quotations. Business wa.s confined to Cleveland iron,
which opened a.tJ last price, 45s. ~d. per ton cash, and left
off a.t 45s. 7d. per ton. Scotch warrants were quoted
unchanged ab 53s. S!d. per ton cash. Only 1500 tons
changed hands in the ahernoon, and prices improved.
The sebtlement prices were: 53s. 4~d., 46s. 7~d., and
59a. 9d. The following are the quobabions for makers'
iron No. 1 : Clyde, 66s. 6d. per ton ; Garbsherrie
and Calder, 67s. ; Langloa.n, 693. 6d. ; Summerlee, 71s. ;
Coltness, 72s. - the foregoing all shipped at Glasgow; Glengarnock (shipped ab Ardrossa.n), 663.; Shotts
(shipped a.b Leith), 70s. ; Carron (shiJ?ped at Grangemouth), 67s. 6d. per ton. Here are the shipments of Scotch
pig iron for last week : To I ndia, 264 tons ; to France,
104 tons; to Italy, 1637 tons; to Germany, 467 tons; to
Holland, 862 tons ; smaller quantibtes to other countries;
and coastwise, 2511 tons. The total for the week wa.s
6303 tons, as compared with 3914 tons in the corresponding week of last year. Up till and including lasb daturda.y the shipments for the year amounted to 209,485 tons,
againsb 264,547 tons in the year 1900. Two or three
transaobions in Scotch warrants a.b from 53s. 11d.
to 54~. per ton cash, tolerably well covered all
the dealings in thab security for the week. Cleveland
warrants again claimed most attention, and a fair
amount of business was transacted. P rices are being
steadily forced upwards, reports say, winh the intention
of catching the "bear," which ha-J been impr~denbly
increased of late. At any rate, the past closed w1th near
cash dates ab a good premium over forward dates.
American reports are strong for prompt delivery, bub
somewhat indefinite for forward delivery. Continental
reports are almost more depressin~ than ever, and home
reports are losing some of their bnghbnes!. The number
of furnaces in blast is 83, against 80 ab this time last year,
and oue has been changed a.t the Da.lmellington Works
from ordinary to hematite iron. The stook of pig-iron
in Messrs. Connal and Co.'a public warrant stores stood
a.t 58,235 tons yesterday afternoon, as compared with
58 3ll tons yesterday week, thus showing a decrease
fo~ the week a.moun bing to 76 tons.
Finished Iron ancl Stcel.-Some of the malleable iron
works are very busy, and the furnace hands and hammermen are quietly adapting themselves to the altered rate of
wages. In Wesn Ooast hematibe iron warrants only a few
transactions have taken plnce ab between 59d. 7~d. and
59s. 10~d. per ton ; while sales of Scotch hemattte iron
are reported at 63s. per ton for the local steel works for
prompt delivery. Fmished steel is increasing in demand,
and prices are well maintained.
S tdpkate of Ammonia.- The demand keeps very brisk
for sulphate of ammonia., and the price ranges from
10l. 12s. 6d. to 10l. 18s. 6d. per ton, according be the port.
The la.~t week's shipments at Leith amounted to 1143
tons.
Sale of Coal for Genoa.-It has just been reported on
Oha.nge that a. sale of 2000 tons of Scotch coal has been
made for delivery in Genoa next year ab 163. 6d. per ton
o.i.f., and exclusive of duty.
Craigend!unton Water Works.-When the Corporation
of Kilmarnock purchased the town water works some
years ago, they soon found that ab least on~ ~ther reservoir was sadly needed, and they set to app01ntmg & water

committee, with Bailie James Brown as convener. L and

was purchased in the Fenwick Moors, about eight miles
from the town, for the construction of a new reservoir,
and Messrs. Leslie and Reid, engineers, Edinburgh, were
selected to carry out the work{', which were c~m
menced about six years ago. 'hat firm pub the thtng
in train and then ceased to have anything further
to do with it. Eventually, Bailie Head, who had
fallen heir to the oonvenership, arranged that Mr.
Niven, engineer, of Glasgow, should be entrusted
with the work of seeing the reservoir completed, whioh
he did in a most capable manner, and wtbhin the past
few days the works were inspected by Provost Maokay
and his colleagues of the T own Council and declared
open. They consist of a reservoir which is about 800 fb.
above sea level, and has an area. of water surface amounting to about 30 acres in extent. Its greatest depth is a.bollt
40 fb., and ita capacity is about 135 million gallons, the
sources of supply being the Dunton Burn and its tributaries. The new works also include three large filters
and a. clear-water tank with a capacity of 450,000 gallons
a.b Amlaird, a.nd a. 20-in. main has been laid from the
reservoir to the filters. By the completion of the new
works, ab a. cost of 62,470l., the water supply of the town
ha.s been practically doubled, and ought to serve the
population for many years to come.
Messr s. John Brown artd Co., Litmited, Olydcbank. -

Many of our readers who had business associations with

this firm and their predec~ sors in the occupancy of the
Clydebank Shipbuilding yard, will regret to learn that,
owing to continued ill-health, Mr. Arohibald McMillan
has been compelled bo retire from the position of secretary
to the company at Clydebank, a position he has filled
with rare tactfulness and ability for many years. In fact,
his association with the worlts dates almost from their
commencement. Mr. J. B. Henderaon, formerly assistant,
succeeds Mr. MoMillan.

NOTES FROl\i SOUTH YORI{SHIRE.

SB&Fb'IELD, Wednesday.
Yorkshire College Engineerin{; Olasses.-ProfessorGoodman delivered on Friday evemng the opening lecture in
connection with the evening engineermg classes ab the
Yorkshire College, there being a. numerous abtendance.
The lecturer announced that the number of students had
so largely increased that it had been found absolutely
necessary to enlarge the department, and bring it
up to date. The Committee, in making the selection for
the plant, had determined to have nothing but the
best and most modern appliances. In many instances
manufacturers had very generously either presented the
machinery to the department, or had supplied it ab a.
nominal cost. During the evening the prizes and certificates for the work done during the last session were
awarded to I\1r. F. Millard and Mr. Rayner for the
examination in "Mechanics Applied to Engineering,"
and to Mr. J. G. Dougill for the examina.tJion in "The
Streng th of Elasticity of Metals."
Gramts to Yorkshire CoUeges.-The Technical Instruction Committee of the vVest Riding County Council
pro p~e this year to make ~rants amounting to 1375l. to
the Yorkshire College, ab Leeds, and 870l. to tho U niversity College, Sheffield. Ab the former institution
250l. IS to be devoted to a course of extension lectures
a.nd work in connection with coalmining classes ; 400t. to
the supply of technical instruction ; and 200l. to the
establishment of a Department of Commerce. The
Sheffield University College is to devote 500t. to lectures
in ooalmining; 200l. to instruction given in the Technical
Department of the College; a.nd 120t. to technical instrucbion generally.
T he German Tar~tf. -The Dewsbury Chamber of Commerce has decided to report to the Board of Trade that
the proposed increase in the German tariff of 29 per cent.
upnn heavy woollen goeds would be entirely prohibitive,
and to express the hope that the Government would do
all in their power to prevent the increase. The duties on
yams are also condemned as seriously prejudicial to the
spinning and dyeing trade of the district.
T he H ull Coal Trade.-The exportation of steam coal is
still decreasing. The official return of the Hull Chamber
of Commerce for last month shows that 284,128 tons
of coal reached the port, being over 8!, 000 tons less than
in the corresponding month a. year ago, and over 87,000
tons less than were dealt with in August. The tonnage for the nine months pa.sb has reached 2,383,280 tons,
roughly 710,000 tons less than were eent during the
three quarters of la~b year. The quantity of coal sent to
foreign countries shows a serious deficib. Last month's
figures- 13?,652 tons-are 89,420 tons behind the qul;'ntity sent 10 August. The export trade for the nme
months has now exceeded one million tons, whereas last
year this figure was reached in ,J ..~Jy. The g.uantity sent
coa-stwise last month-31,640 tuns-shows a shght advance
over the August figures. The decrease in the export
business is of a s-eneral character rather than any particular market bemg affected.
Iron amd Steet.-The departments producing railway
material have been running very well on the whole,
but new orders would now be welcomed, as the leading
home railway companies are distributing their favours
somewhat sparingly. There are some good inquiries in
the market for parts required by e~ectrioa.l and hydraul.io
engineers, and prospects of an tmproved busmess 10
these branches are good. Small and medium castings
are only i~ poor ~equest! and some ~rms are experiencing
difficulty m keepm~ theu pl~nt .s01ng. T~e d~mand for
crucible sbeel of htgh .quahby IS well. mamtamed, and
work is consequently fauly steady. F1rms who make a.
speciality of labour-saving machines are fully employed.

[OcT. 1 t,

1901.

The file trade is now quieter than ib has been for some
time, and work is far from plentiful, a.parb from Government orders.
South Yorkshire Coal Trade.-The demand for steam
qualities maintains a fairly satisfactory level, and some
collieries are scarcely able to meet the calls made upon
them. The request for common sorts is not so good.
There has been during the week a. slight falling-off in the
sales of house qualities, but a. season of severe weather
would, no donbt, stimulate business, and in all probability stiffen prices. The coke trade is good all round,
and the inorea.sed prices that are being obtained for blasbfurnaoe qualbies is helping to lift the oosb of steel coke.
In the OJ;_>en market 26s. per ton is being asked for steel
coke deh vered by carts in the works, and best washed
qualibies of blast-furnace are realising a.t the pit from 13s.
to 14s. per ton.

NOTES FROM CLEVELAND AND THE

NORTHERN COUNTIES.
MIDDLESBROUGH, Wednesday.
The Olevelartd Iron Trade.-Yesterday there was only
a moderate attendance on 'Change, but the market was
very strong, and a good deal of business was transacted.
Buyers appeared more disposed to do business than did
sellers, and quotations had a deoid~d upward tendency.
No. 3 g.m.b. Cleveland pig iron was pub at 45s. 6d.
for prompt f.o.b. delivery, and certainly transact10ns
were recorded a.t that figure, but it was a price at
which sellers were in no hurry to do business, a.nd, in
fact, makers reported that they experienced no difficulty
in obbainin~ a higher rate. In several oases named,
brands real ased 45s. 9d., and even more was asked by
some of the_producers. No. 1 Cleveland pig was quoted
47s. 6d. The lower qualities of iron were anything
but plentiful, and they were very strong in price.
Grey forge was practically uuobta.inable. No. 4 foundry
and grey forge were each 44s. 6d. ; mottled, 44.s. ; and
white, 43s. 6d. Inquiries for Ea.st Coasb hematite
pig were rather numerous, but they led to very little
business, the demand being chiefly for early delivery,
and few sellers being able to guarantee delivery before
the middle of next month. Makers reported that they
had sold their outpub for a month to come, and they
quoted November delivery of mixed numbers ab 60s. ;
No. 1, ab 61s.; and No. 4, ab 55s. Spanish ore was steady
and firm, rubio being 15s. 9d. ex-ship Tees. To-day
there was no alteration whatever in quotations.
I ron T rade Statistics.- Figures just issued by the
Middlesbrough Cha.m ber of Commerce show that ab
the end of September, wibhin the porb of Middlesbrough,
54 blast-furnaces were blowing and 34 were damped down,
whereas at the same time a year ago 69 furnaces were
blowing and 18 were damped down. Of the furnaces now in operation, 37 were making ordinary
Cleveland pig iron, and 17 were produoin~ hema.tite,
spiegel, basic, &c. The total output of pig uon for the
pa.sb quarter wa.s estimated at 492,000 tons, as against
480,000 tons during the previous three months, and
573,500 tons during the third quarter of 1900. The total
value of exports, other than coal and coke, was 888,397l.,
a.s against 1,440,8G9l. in the corresponding period of last
year, and the total for the nine months was 3,173,587l., as
against 5,066,213l. in the nine months of last year. Five
vessels had been launched from shipbuilding yards during
the past quarter, the total gross register tonnage being
15,605, as against 9216 in the corresponding period of last
year, and the firsb nine months of 1901, 34,065, a.s compared with 33,763.
Blastfurnacernen' s Wages.- The ascertained average net
selling price of No. 3 g.m.b. Cleveland pig iron for July,
August, and September, 1001, is 46s. 10.9d. per ton. This
gives a. reduction in Cleveland blastfurnacemen's wages
of 1.5 per cent., a.nd lowers wages from 18.75 per cent .
above the standard to 17.25 per cent. above the standard.
The ascertained price for the previous quarter was
47s. 0.58d.
Mam:ufactured Iron and Steel.-In mosb branches of
these two important industries a. lob of work continues
to be turned out, and for some de'!oripbions a fairly good
inquiry is reported. Mosb producers have well-tilled
order-books, and are not necessitated to make great concessions to secure new contracts. Common iron bars are
6l. 5s. ; best bars, 6t. 15s. ; iron ship-plates, 6l. 17s. 6d. ;
steel ship-plates, 6l. 5s. ; heavy steel rails, 5l. 10s. ; and
cast-iron railway chairs, 3l. 10s.-tbe two last named
being net cash a.b works, and the other descriptions less
2! per cent. discount.
Coal and Ooke.-Fuel keeps pretty steady. Bunker
coal is, if anything, a little easier. Gas coal is in good
request and firm at 12s. 6d. Coke is very strong and in
good demand, especially for home consumption. Average
blast-furnace qualities are 16s. Gd. delivered here.

NOTES FROM THE SOUTH-WEST.

Carc.W;tt:-There has been a moderately good inquiry
at late rates f~r large abeam coal for prompt shipment.
For future dehvery, however, the demand has been less
active. The best steam coal has made 17s. 3d. to 17s. 6d.
per ton, while secondary qualities have brought 16s. 3d.
to 16s. 6d. per ton. There has been a good demand for
house coal, which ha.s exhibited a better tone; No. 3
Rhondda. large has made 15s. 6d. to 16s. 9d. per ton.
Foundry coke has been quoted ab lOa. to 20s. per ton and
furnace ditto a.t 163. 6d. to 17s. 6d. per ton. As regards
iron ore, the best rubio has made l4s. 3d. to 148. 6d. per
boo, while tafna. has been q noted at 15s. tJo 15s. 6d. per
ton.

OcT.

I I,

1901.]

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

Water Su pply of Stoo.nsea.-On Taesda.y the Ma.yor of

Swa.nsea. (Mr. W. Watkins) la.id the foundation stone of
the masonry da.m for a. new reservoir ab Cray. The
original contraob having fallen throu~h, bhe workR ha.ve
passed u~der the supervision of Mr. D1x, who acts for the
CorporatlOn as ma.nager. The works are ab present in a.
backward sta.te. A dam a.cross the valley to impound
1,000,000,000 gallons, or a. water area of 100 acres has
still to be constructed. EKtensive excavations ha.ve'been
made, however ; and on arriving on the scene the mayor
and the consulting engineer (Mr. Hill) ab on~ conducted
the company to the rock bottom from which the dam is to
rise. The stone having been laid, lunch eon was served
in a mission-room erected in connection with the works.
Pembroke Dock.-It is understood that the War Department and the L?rds of bhe Admiralty have come to a.n
arrangement w1th regard t o Hobbs' Point Pier, Pem broke Dock. The store-rooms now used by the Admira.lby are to be burned over, and will be used as stores, &c.,
for ordnance purl?oses, and for making arrangements for
embarking and dlSembarking troops.
.Th~ El~ctric Lig~t at Cardi,ff.-A meeting of the electno hghtmg comllllbtee of the Cardiff Town Council was
bel~ on Thursday, Mr: Alderman Carey presiding. The
engmeer (Mr. A. Elhs) reported that 91,247 units had
been generated dur ing September, as against 72,497 in
August. The works cost was 1.25d. per unit in August
and 1.10d. per unit in September; and the whole cost
wa.s reduced from 3.39d. in August to 2.8d. in September.
The Radoli.tfe Line.- Mail advices from New Orleans
state that the first s~amer of the ne w Radcliffe Line,
the Llangollen, which is working in connection with the
Illinois Central Railroad, has left New Orleans for
Rotterdam with a full cargo. The Llangollen is owned
by M essrs. Thomas RadcJiffe t~.nd Co., of Cardiff, who
have a fleet of twenty-seven vessels; and the following
s teamers will be engaged in the ne w service a-s the
necessity arises: The Llanberis, the Llandrindod, the
Llandudno, the Llangollen, the Llangorse, the Llanisben,
the Llanover, and other vessels of the fleet.
Oardi:O' Corporation Water Wor ks.-A meeting of the
water works committee of the Cardiff Town Council was
held on Friday, Mr. Alderman J ones presiding. The
engineer (Mr. C. H. Pries tley) stated that at the Heath
the filter-beds were working above their normal capacity.
There were six filter-beds, and ib was necessary to keep
one empty for purposes of cleansing, &c. A branch byepa-ss main was necessary, as it would be impossible
to keep up the supply to the town in the case of
a burst in the mains ab Llanishen.
Ab the same
time they were ab present unable to stop the supply
for the purpose of cleansing the mains. Many of
the mains in the town were old and too small for
the requirements which had arisen since they were
laid, some of them forty or fifty years t~.go. Many bursts
reported recently were in these old maillfl. The following
expenditure was required : Rhubina extensions, 13,686l.;
Cogan extensions, 6789l. ; new reservoir Leckwith, 8488l.;
Can treff cottages, 434l.; new mainEI, services, and meters
(six years ab 4000l. a year), 24,000l.; Heath extensions,
22,398l. ; branch bye-pass main from T aff Fa.wr conduit
to the Heath filters, 4500l. ; renewing and relaying old
mains and service& (l500l. per annum for six years),
9000l. ; purchase of property, 1000l.; cost of obtaining
provis10nal order and contingencies, 500l. ; total, 90, 795l.
More Admiralty Coal Oontraots.-On Tuesday the
L ords of the Admiralty placed orders at Cardiff for
60,000 tons of best Welsh smokeless double-screened coal,
delivery to be made between now and the end of the
year. N ine firms participate in the order, the quantities
ra nging from 5000 to 10,000 tons. The lowest tender
accepted is 16s. 6d. per ton, and the higheso 17s. 6d. per
per ton, free on board steamer.
CoAL IN SouTH AFRIOA.-Tbe Cyphergab Coal ~fining
Company, Limited, has secu red a contract to supply the
Cape Government with 18,000 tons of coal at 18s. per
ton. The oon t ra.ct is for a year from October 1.
CoAL IN TRE NORTH 0.11' FRANOE.-The combined prod uction of coal in the N ord and the Pa.s-de-Calais last year
was 5,669,518 tons. The corresponding output in 1899
was 5,660,430 tons; and in 1828, 5,698,481 tons.
P.ERSONAL.-Mr. H. Alfred Roobling, and his partner,
Mr. H. B. M olesworbh, have opened an office a b 39,
Victoria-street, S. W.-Messrs . .A. Reyrolle an.d Co.,
Limited, announce that they have transferred tbe1r head
office bo their works at Hebburn-on-Tyne.
WATER SuPPLY Oli' BIRMING HA~r.-The Water Committee of the Birmingham City Council has determined
to propose to the next meeting of the council t?at an
application should be mado to Parliament next sess1on for
extended powers for the completion of the Elan Valley
water works. The time for completion under an Aob of
1892 will expire on June 27 next year ; and as ib will b.e
imJ?OSSible oo ~omplete the works by that d~te, ~n appltcatlOn to Parbamenb for an extene10n of t1me 1s necessary. Advantage ~11 be taken of the occasion to obta~n
the sanction of Parliament to the abandonment of certain
works authorised under the old Act, but found t o be unnecessary, and the substitution of others in certain oases.
None of these variations are of particular importance, but
their general effect will be a saving on the entire scheme,
which it has been found possible to advantageously alter
in certain oases. Tho committee are looking forward to
obtaining the water supply in 1903, although the entire
completion of the scheme will only be effected at a considerably later date.

MISCELLAl'{EA.
THE Remington Compa.ny have received the Royal
Warrant as typewriter manufacturers.
An exhibition of laboursavin~ machinery is to be
opened ab the St. J ames's Hall, Manchester, on March 6
next. Applications for space should be directed to Mr.
William A. Carson, 2, Parson age, Manchester.
Sodium, which a few years back was sold by the
ounce, is now manufactured electrolytically to the extent
of some hundreds of tons per annum. The product is
mainly used for producing cyanide, but a considerable
proportion is also converted in the peroxide.
The ninth annual congress of the National Free L abour
Association is to be held ab the M emorial Hall, Farringd on-street, E . C., on Monday, October 14, and subsequent
days. It is stated bhab the Association have now some
300,000 names registered on their books. The secretary
of the Association is Mr. W. Oollinson, 5, Farringdonstreeb, E. C.
By experiments on twenty-one different alloys of coppei
and zinc, Mr. T. J. Baker has shown that the heat of
formation iA a maximum in the case of the alloy containing 32 per cent. of copper. In this case it is 95 B.T.U
per p ound of alloy. The experiments were made by
determining the beat generated by dissolving in suitable solven t..'\ equal weights of the alloys tested, and of
corresponding mixtures of the metals.
According to the American Machinist, the promoters
of the Tripler Liquid Air Company succeeded in obtaining
some 50, OOOt. from a credulous public. The company was
organised with a capital of 10,000,000 d ols., and the stock
was sold through the agents, who proved very successful
advertisers. There are, of course, no manufacturing
profits present, p~b, or prospective, as the whole ~cheme
was based on mechanical fallacies which were repeatedly
exposed in the technical press.
The Empire Roller Bearings Company have recently
fitted the whole of the tramcars for the Southport Tramways Company with roller bearings, and have also secured
the contract for similarly fitting the oars for the Mumbles
Railway. A reoentJ examination of bhe bearings fitted to
a. steam motor van which has been in..regular service between Maidstone and Ton bridge Wells for upwards of
two years shows the bearings to be in a.s good condition
as when they were put in two years ago, and the eavings
in haulage are stated to have been highly Pabiafactory.
One of the largest single contracts ever awarded for
electric ra ilwA.y power plant has just been given by the
New York Underground R apid 1'ransit Company to the
Westingbouse Electric and Manufacturing Company.
This, the "firsb installation," will comprise six alternators
of 5000 kilowatts capacity each, three exciters of 250 kilowatts each, 26 rotary converters of 1500 kilowatts eaob,
and 78 transformers, each of 550 kilowatt..q capacity. Ab
the present time the work of building the tunnels is in
progress. There wiJI be in all some 21 miles of track
and 48 stations. The line will be operated by directcurrent, fed to the train motors by a third rail. .A
detailed and illustrated description of the installation
will appear in the November part of TRACTION AND
TRANSMISSION.
According to a consular report to the Government of
the U nited State~, the artificial buildingstone industry
has taken a considerable development in Germany. The
raw ma.terials are lime, preferably hydraulic, and sandthe cleaner the better. After grinding, the lime is mixed
with the sand in the proportion of 4 to 6 J?er oenb. of the
total bulk. The mixture is then pressed m to bricks and
transferred to a steel drum, where ib is subjected to the
action of steam ab & pressure of aboub 120 lb. per square
inch for a boat 10 hours. U nder the action of the steam a
silicate of lime is formed which acts as binding material.
The bricks are ready for use on removal from the drum in
question. Mouldings are as easily produced as rectangular work. The bricks thus manufactured are said to be
both cheaper and stronger than ordinary brick, the crashing strength being about 500 tons per square foot. The
factory needed is small, as compared with the output, and
work can be carried on all the year round.
In.a report to the United States Department of Agriculture, Mr. W. R. Bea.tbie describes the plan used for
freeing a b otanical laboratory from a plague of cookroaches and other inseob pests. The agent used
was hydrocyanic acid gas, liberated by the action of
dilute sulphuric a-oi~ on potassium. cyanide, about _1.5
grains of the latte~ be1~g used per oul;>Io foot o~ the bUllding. The sulpbur1c a01d wa-s placed m glass Jars, above
each of 'vbich was fixed a pulley. A line passing over this
pulley carried the packet of cyanide, ~bich could t~u~ be
lowered into the acid from the exter10r of the bulldmg.
All outside op~nings were .closed as ~ar as po~il;>le, and
the cyanide bemg lowered m to the amd, the bUlldmg was
left to itself for three hours, which expetience has shown
to be a sufficiently long time. The insects le.ave their
biding-places as the fumes reach them and d~e on the
floor, where they can be swept up next mormng. Mr.
Beattie suggests tha.b the method may prove ueeful
elsewhere, and may possibly be adopted in the case of
dwelling-houses ; but in view of the exceedingly dangerous
nature of the agent used, the method is evidently one for
experts only.
The American commercial agent ab Vladivostok, in a
recent rep ort, abates tha.t the coal.used in East~rn S~beria
is obtained from the Sa.ghalin mtnea, from m mea m the
neighbourhood of Vladivostok itself, and from J a.pan.
The Sagbalin mines are worked by cc;mviob labour; thC?se
near Vladivostok need modern appliances as well as mtelligent working. Cardiff coal is imported for steamers

519
in spite of the ~eat distance. The Sagba.lin mines are
not very extens1ve, and the coal is mostly bitumino~a,
but it is excellent for steamers. There are abundant mdications of lignite coal all over Siberia and Manchuria.
About 20 miles from Vla.divostok, on the property of the
Ussuri Mining Company, a layer of grey coal from 8ft.
to 10ft. thick and of excellent quality has been found at .a
depth of 75 fb . . Io is described as remark!3'bly clean, 1t
contains no foreign substances, and burns wttb great beat
and small waste. The la.ck of cheap fuel is one of the
dra wbacks to the development of t he region, and it is
hoped that t he new mines may drive out the Japanese
coal. A British firm has lately purchased a larg~ mterest
in one of the Siberian mines, and proposes to mtroduce
modern machinery and metho~s, and Americans are a:Iso
interested in some of t he mmes. One of the leadmg
officials of the port of Vladivostok estimates bhe annual
demand for coal locally ab 81,000 tons, and says that ~he
supply of Siberian coal is about 60,000 tons, half of wh1cb
comes from Sa.ghalin. The Government us~s <;Jard_iff
coal on all i ts vessels ab Porb Arbbur a~ well as m S1bena.
The Delany rapid telegraph is, according to the Railroad Gazette, to be introduced experimen bally on the
P ennsylvania Railroad. This system of rapid ~legrapby
is a modification of the Wheatsbone aubomat10 system,
but in place of using a M orae record er printing on
tape, the record is effected electrolytically on pap~r
impregnated with red prussiate of potash. On a~ artificial line of 1200 ohms resistance and a capa01ty of
12 miorofarads, 1000 words a minute have been transmitted, the electromotive force used being 104 volts.
With copper wire weighing 400 lb. per mile, it is
expected that 2000 words per minute can be sent over
a. 1000-mile line. A new type of perforating ma
chine, having but one key, is used for preparing the
transmitting tape. Depressing the . key pun<:hes .a
bole near one edge of the tape, whilst allowrng It
to return again punches a second bole near the other
edge. As the tape travels continuously, the distance
between the holes varies with the time during which the
key is depressed. A long interval corresponds to a dash,
and a short one to a. dab, so that the manipulation of the
key is precisely the same as in transmitting a message by
the ordinary Morae machine. The aotual work of punc~
ing is effected by eleob~ic .magnets, and af~r the tape IS
perforated, the punch IS msoa.ntaneously Withdrawn, so
that the motion of the t ape through the machine is continuous and nob intermittent. In sending, the perforated
tape is passed beneath a. couple of spring conta.cts, corresponding to the two lines of boles. As a sprin.g completes circuit through one hole, the current entenng the
line causes a blue mark to appear on the prepared tape
a.b the receiving instrument.
When the circuit is
broken, this electrolysis does nob cease simultaneously,
bob is mainta.ined by the capacity current of the line.
When, however, bbe other spring makes contaob, a reverse
current is sent into the circuit, which discharges it, and
breaks off the record sharp, making it into a dot or a
dash , as the case may be.
A conference on water supplies and river pollution,
organised by the Sanitary Institute, will be held in St.
Andrew's Hall, Newmanstreet, London, W ., on Wednes
day, October 16, and on Thursday, October 17, meet
ing on each occasion ab 10 a.m. On the first of the days
mentioned, the chair will be occupied by Sir A. R. Binnit:>,
M .I.C.E., and the subjects for discussion will be introduced as follows: "Watershed Areas. the Physical
Conditions and Standard of Purity to be desired, and the
Prevention of Contamination," by Mr. J. Parry, M. Inst.
C. E. ''The Protection of Underground Suuroes of
Public Wabflr Supply," by Mr. E. C. Seaboo, M.D.,
F. R. C. P. " Rainfall and Population in Relation to
Water Supply," by Mr. H . R. Mill, D.Sc., F.R S .E.
"The Desuability for Reports on the Water Suoply of
Each County," by Mr. A. Greenwood, M . D., D.P. H.
u The Rivers of Glamorganshire, with Remarks on the
Rivers of adjBcent Cnunties," by Mr. W. Williams. M. A .,
M. D., D.P.H. "Water Supply to Isolated Cottages
and Sma.ll Groups of Cottages," by Mr. J. C. Thresh,
M. D., D.So. "~he Present Inadequate yYater Supply for
Villages and V11lage Sohools," by Miss C. Cocbrane.
In the afternoon the testing shop of the New River
Company at ()lerkenwell will be visited, as also the
works of the East London Water Works Compan~, Lea
Bridge. On Thursday, October 16, Mr. ,V, Wh1taker,
A.M.I.C.E., F.R.S., will preside, and bhe subjects for
discussion 'vill be introduced as follows : "Water Supply
and River Pollution,'' by Professor H. Robinson,
M. Inst. C.E. "The Control of Weirs and Dams on
Rivers in Relation to River Pollution," by Mr. A. G.
L eigh. "Prevention of Pollution within the Thames
Watershed, and Thames Water Supply and Storage,, by
Mr. H . W. Russell, Barks County Council. "The
Chemical Standard of Purity of Water Supplies/' by Mr.
H. R. Kenwood, M. B., D .P.H., F. I. C. "Sterilisation
of Water,'' by Mr. S. Rideal, D.So., F.l.C. "The
Commercial and Industrial Value of Soft Water," by
Mr. Frederick Verney, Bucks County CounoiJ. The
afternoon will be devottid bo a visit t o the Staines
reservoirs, and in the evening the annual dinner of the
Institute will be held at the Holborn R estaurant.
A RECORD MAIDEN ATLANTIO VoYAGE. - The North
Deubsoher Lloyd's Company's stt>amer Kronprinz Wilhelm, described on pa~es 370 and 458 wnte, arrived ab
Plymouth on the 7th lDab., on ~er maiden voyage from
N ~w Y ork, of 5 days 9 hours 4~ mmu bee, her speed average
bemg over 23 k~ots. The .daily runs were 480, 536, .634,
532, 540, 365 miles. The lmer has made a reoord matden
voyage, although the Deubsohland has steamed to Ply.
' mouth at 23.51 knobs.

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

RAILWAY

[OcT.

ROLLING

CON TRUCTED BY THE OFFICINE

~IECCANICHE,

It,

1901.

S T 0 C K.
MILAN.

(For Desc"ription, see Page 515 )

I '

'

~-

Fw. 1.

T uBULAR UNDERFRAME oF 30-T o N G ooDs WAGON

. ... . ..'. .

..

Fw. 2.

30- T oN CovERED Goons

"\VAOON.

I RRIGATION IN J NJHA.-The receipts from irrigation

works carried out in British India, and the working expenses and other charges attending the same for the last
ten yearP, have been as foJlows :
Year.

Receipts.

Expenditure.

18901
18912
1892 8
1893-4
18945
189fi6
18967
l fl9i 8
18989
18990

1,448,385
1,514,693
1,612,601
1,680,940
1,559,2 l0
1,533,301
2,100,426
2,879,909
2,308,716
2,399,862

1,828,337
1,963,349
1,960,280
1,908,282
1,968,201
1,984,061
2, 167,168
~ 096,010
2.110,950
2,263,475

The receipts for the 10 yelr3 were accordingly 18,388,043l.,

while the ex penses w~re 20,250,119l. The exp~nses of
the 10 yeard acoordmgly exceeded tb.e recetpbs .bY
t ,862,076l. Still t he substantial fact rema;ms that. Indtan
irrigation works are nearly self.support~ng, w~tle they
confer, of course, great benefits upon I.n dtan agn~ulture,
and so promote the general prosperity of l~d 1a. It
should be observed that the charges set aga.m~b e~ch
year inolude interest on capital expended for 1mgat10n
purposes.

Fro 4.

B oc i E T RUCK AND l\IoTORS FOR Sn!E~T RAILWAY CAR.

ENGINEERING,

Oo'l'OBER

11, 1901.

T II E

NEW Y O>R K S UBWAY.

(For De.scri1

-_

.15.

set Paye 507.)

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OcT.

It, 1901.]

E N G 1 N E E R I N G.

Of course, such reasons are absurd, b ut so was t~e

TRACTION and TRANSMISSION. plan of spending several thousands of pounds m
AGENTS FOR "ENGINEERING."
(Publilhtd. on the fint Tuud<liy in each month.)
AusTRIA, Vienna: Lehma.nn and Wen~zel, Kii.rntnel'!trasse.
demonstrating a matter which was perfectly well
CAPE TowN : Oordon and Qotch.
PART VII. NOW RBADY.
known. How long the whole affair might have
EDINBORon : John Menzies and Oo. , 12, n anover-street.
hiOll 28., Net i POST F BBll 28. ~cf.
remained under consideration it is impossible to
FRANCB, Paris : BoyYeau and Ohevillet, Librnirie Etra.n g~re, 22,
Rue do la. Bo.nque ; M. Em. Terquem, 31 bia, Boulevard lla.ussmnn. Publlehect at t he Otllcea of ENOINBBRlMO, 85 and 86, Bedford Street, say if Mr. Yerkes had not appear ed on the scene,
Strand, London, W.O.
Also for Advertisements, .Agence Hava.s, 8, Place de la Bourse.
and set to work wit h characteristic American
G.BRMANY, Berlin: Messrs . .A . .Asher and Co., 6, Unter d en Liuden.
CONTENTS OF No. 7.
Fra.nkfur~am-Main: Messrs. G. L. Daube and Co. (for
ardour to push matters for ward. ~e began by
Advertisements).
P.A.O a l
.tAGE buying up a large amount of the ordmary stock of
'l'
hc
Legal
Rcsponslhlllllca
o(
Elec
Com
nd
W.
Cooke
(Illust.ra.Uon
s
Leipzig: F. A. Brockhaus.
tri o 1'mm way Comp:mlcl\. By W.
In Text.) ....... . . . ... . ... . lOIS the District Ra.ilway, so that he was able to control
Mulhouse: H . Stuckelberger.
V"lentlu o &11..... .. ....... .. . . ~ Rnllwr~y a lt1 OuiN~ ................ 110
GLASGOW : Willinm Love.
Kl cct rlu blot.ons on Dnttlo!lhlps. Dy
'l ' ho GrcuolJieOhapnrolllnu Elec
its policy, an d then he started a limited company,
I nDIA, Co.lcutto.: Thacker, Spink, and Co.
,J. W . K ollogg (J' lntc., XVII. to
t.rlc Ra llwn)' (.Pla tes XX VJU. to
XX. a.nd l llua tmllon a In Text) . . 71
XXXI. a.nd lll uatmt.lousln Te xt.) IllS with a capital of a ~illion sterling, for the pu~~ose
Bombay : Thi\Oker and Co. , Limited.
1~'0110 m ica of St reot J\ull wnys.
ltlox I blo T nuuuuleslon . Hy Slduoy
ITALY : U. Hoepli, Milan, and any post office.
Uy the H on. ltoborl. P . P ortor
Jl.up.sell (llluat m t.lmll! In Text) .. 120 of converting the hne from steam to electr1c1ty.
LtVBRPOOL: Mrs. Taylor, Landing Stage.
(Pinto XX I.) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 81 Tmct.lou tmd Tnmt~m iMi on Notes :
If h e had had to deal solely with the District
MANCilESTKR: John lleywood, 143, Deansgate.
Mu n icipal Trndlng:
The Wh itehead Euclo11ed Go
(11) By Dixon H . D.~vies . .. .. 00
vornor (Jllu11tmted ) ........ 126 Company, he would have had no difficulty in
NORWAY, OhrisLlania: Cammermeyers, Boghandel, Carl J obans
(li} By the llon. Robert P.
Aut.omr~Uc Rwl t.ch for 200Volt
Onde, 41 and 43.
1
P orter.. .. . .. .. . . .. .. . . . 100
CnrretJ t.(lll uRtrnted).. . . . .. 127 carrying out his scheme, but as, the train~ o~ b?th
Nsw SoUTn WALES, Sydney: Turner and Henderson, 16 and 18, Tho Kubcl
Turhl n o l nstnlln t.lon .
'fho Sout.hport }; loot.rlc Tmm
Ilunter-street. Oord~n and Ootch, George-street.
Jly P rof. Pnu:ll, Zurich (Plates
ca r ( P II~to XXXU.) ........ 127 companies run over each others metals, 1t IS I m XXJI. to X X VU . and IlhutrnTll e l3rltt&h Sohuokor t Com
Q o.&BNBL.AJ(D (SOUTH), Dnsbane : Gordon and Gotch.
perative that one system shall extend all round t he
tlone
in
Text)
.
...
.
.
.
.....
.
..
101
pn.ny'IJ
Exhlblt.l!
at
Glasgow
(Non.Tu), Townsville : T. Willmett and Oo.
'l' h o Krlegcr Elcct.rom obllc. By I
(Pluto XXX Ul.) . . .. .. ...... 128 Inner Circle.
Mr. Yerkes, therefore, had to come
ROTTERDAM : 11. A. Kramer and Son.
SOUTH AUSTRALIA, Adelaide: W. 0. Rigby.
to an agreement with his neighbour, t he stronger
UNITBD STATES, New York: W. ll. Wiley, 43, East 19tbstreet.
NOTICE TO CONTINENTAL ADVERTISERS.
member of the partnerdhip, before he could comChicago: H. V. Holmes, 12671268, Monadnock
Block.
Advertisemen t s from Germany should now be sent mence work. Now the Metropolitan Company had
VtoroRIA Melbourne: Melville, Mullen, o.nd Slo.de, 261/264 Collins- through Messrs. G. L. Da.ube and Co., Fra.nkfurt.am previously en tertained the idea of providing electric
etreet. Gordon and Ootch, Limited, Queen-street.
Main, who have been appointed our Sole Agents for power for both companies, as the District was not
tha t country for Trade displayed Advertisements. in a position to raise money except on very onerous
We beg to announce t hat American Subscriptions to ENOINEBRINO Advertis ements from Fra nce, Belgium, and Hol terms. B ut when Mr. Yerkes suggested that his
may now be nddressed either direct to t he Publisher, Mr. 0 . R. la.nd should b e sent through the Ag ence Havas,
company should undertake the whole work, proJ <tJJJ!\SON, at t he offices of this J ourno.l, Nos. 36 and 3e, Bedfordstreet, Strand, London, W.C. , or to our accredited Agents for the 8, Place d e la Bourse, Parts, our Sole Agents for viding plant, r olling stock and power, at a
United States : Mr. W. H . W1 ur, 43, East l Oth-street, New York, those countries for simUar Advertisements.
fixed charge of three farthings per passenger,
and Mr. H . V. IIOLMES, 1257-1258, Monadnock Block, Chicago.
The prices of subscription (payable in ad vance) for one year are:
they declined; the idea of receiving assistance,
REAJ>INO
OASES.Reading
cases
for
containing
twenty-six
For thin {foreign) paper edition, ll. 16s. Od. ; for t hick (ordinary) numbers of ENOLNEBRINO may be bad of the Publisher or of any instead of giving it, was not congenial to them.
paper edition, 2l. Os. 6d.; or, if remitted to Agents, 9 dollars for newsagent. Price 6s. each.
Mr. Yerkes then amended his offer, practically
thin and 10 dollars for thick.
offering to take over the entire line and work it for
NOTICE TO AMERICAN ADVF.RTISERS.
NOTICE~ OF MEETING S.
the benefit of his company, subJect to the debenAmerican ftnns desirous of advertising in ENOIN'KERING are
TuE IZ'STJTU'rlON Ol" bltNI NO AND 1\IBTALI,URGY. - Thursday,
requested to apply to Mr. H. V. liOLAIBS, 1267-1258, Monndnock October 17, lOO L, at o o'clocl< p.m., at the rooms of the Geological t ure and preference charges, and a dividend of
Block, Chicago, or Mr. WILLARD 0. TvLER, 150, Nassa.u-street, Society, Burlington House, P10cadilly, London, W., the following
per cent. on the ordinary stock. This offer,
Room 1910, New York City, from whom all particulars and prices papers will be read aod discussed : "GoldMioing in Egypt," by which represented a better state of affairs for the
can be obtained.
M r . C. J . Alford (Member of Oouocil) ; " A Method of TesLing
CJ anide Solut ions containing Zinc," by 1\Ir. Leonard M. Green shareholders than they had ever enjoyed, was
(Assoc. R.S.M. ; " Note on a Curious Occurrence of Gold," by also refused, on the plea that it was a case of
by Mr. B. H. Bennetts (Associate).
ADVERTISEMENTS.
'' Heads I win, tails you lose " for a concern with
The charge for o.dvertisements ie lhree shillin~s for the first
one million capital to guarantee dividends to
four lines or under, and eightpence for each addit10nal llne. The
another with five millions. When Mr. Yerkes
line averages se,en words. Payment must accoml?any all orders
for single ad\ertisements, otherwise t heir insert1on cannot be
offered to hypothecate all his plant and rolling
guaranteed. Terms for displayed ndvertisements on the wrapper
stock, and double his capital, he did not meet with
and on the inside pages may be obtained on application. Serial
FRIDA
Y
,
OCTOBER
11,
1901.
a more favourable reception .
advertisements will be inserted wiLh all practicable regularity, out
a bsolute regularity cannot be ~uaranteed .
During t he progress of these negotiations the
Metropolitan Company's engineers- Sir W. H .
Advertisements intended for insertion in the cur
THE ELECTRI FICATION OF THE
Preece and Mr. T homas Parker- had been asking
rent week's issue must be delivered not later than
METROPOLITAN RAI LWAYS.
for tenders for the equipment of the line, and had
6 p.m. on Thursday. In consequence of the necessity
for going to press early with a portion of the edition
L AST Monday the H on. Alfred Lyttelton, the r eceived a very favourable one from Messrs. Ganz
alterations for standing Advertisements should be arbitrator who has to decide what sys tem of electric and Co., of Budapest, which t hey recommended
received not later than 1 p.m. on Wednesday after traction shall be employed on the Metropolitan and for acceptance. Unfor tunately, the features of the
noon in each week.
Metropolitan District Rail ways, held a preliminary scheme were absolutely distinct from those recomsitting at the Board of Trade. The business, how- mended by Mr. Yerkes's engineers, and as neither
SUBSCRIPTIONS, HOME AND FOREIGN.
ever, made no progress, because Mr. Cripps, the company would give way, the result was a deadlock.
counsel for the Metropolitan Company, asked for It is the business of t he arbitrator, who has been
ENOINEERINO can be supplied, direct from th Publisher, delay in order that he might obtain the presence of appointed by the Board of Trade, to decide bepost free for twelve months at the following rates, payable in
his expert witnesses. The other side, the District tween t he two parties, and select one system for
advance:Company, urged that the inquiry should pro- both. The direct-curren t system advocated by
For the United Kingdom.... ... . . .... . 1 9 2
ceed at once, but it was ultimately decided Mr. Yerkes is practically that employed on the
, all places abroad :to open the evidence on the 29th inst. This Central London line, and also generally in the
Thi n paper copies .. .. .. 1 f 6 0
delay is disappointing, after the newspaper discus- United States; it presents no novelty, except in
Thick
,
.. .. .. .. .. 2 0 6
sion which has been carried on between Mr. Yerkes the means for fitting it to t he structural condiAll accounts are payable to u BNGINRBRING " Limited.
Cheques should be crossed " Union Bank, Oharing Oross Branch." and the Secretary of the Metropolitan Company, tions of the tunnels and covered ways which conPost Office Ordens payable a t Bedlord-st reet, Strand, W.O.
each p rotesting that the other was seeking to post- stitute the greater par t of the line. The alternateWhen Foreign Subscriptions are sent by Post Office Orders,
pone the matter, and professing that his side was current system, advocated by Messrs. Ganz, comadvice should be sent to the Publisher.
Foreign and Colonial Subscribers receiving incomplete copi~s mostanxious for it to be undertaken at once. Now prises features which have never yet been worked
through newsagents are requested to communicate the fa.ct to three weeks will elapse before a commencement can on any railway, and the usefulness of which rethe Publisher, together with the agent's name and address.
be made, and no one knows when the decision will mains to be demonstrated. Up to a certain point,
omces for Publication and Advertisements, Nos. 35 be r eached. In the meantime both railways are however, both systems are alike, except that
and 36, Bedford Street, Strand, London, W.C.
suffering from the competition of the Tube, and Mr. Yerkes proposes a periodicity of current of
from the unpleasant condition of their tunnels which 25, and Messrs. Ganz of 15. The p ower plant
'h:LzeRAPHIO ADDR&as- ENGINEBRING, LONDON.
keeps away many possible passengers. However, in each case generates three-phase cunent at high
TzLZPBONll NUllBBR-856 3 Gerrard.
they are quite used to the latter cause of loss; voltage, and distributes this to sub-stations at
indeed, from the procrastination they have both intervals along the line. Her e it is reduced to the
exhibited for years past in the matter of electric pressure at which it is to be employed on the
CONTENTS,
traction , one would imagine that they were proud locomotives. Therefore, if both systems are equally
PAQB
PAGE
of it .
efficient, practically the same power station and
Tbe Tooling or Machines
The Eleotrifico.Lion of the
It was in August, 1898, that an Act was obtained feeder mains would do for either. The first diversity
(lllmtrated) , . . . . . 606
Metropolitan Railways .. 621
Literature . . . . . . . . . . . . 607 AngloSpanieb Ore Combine 623 for the electrification of the Metropolitan Railway, is found in the sub-stations. Those for direct current
Books Receivetl . .. . .. . 607 The Tarf Vale Deoieion .... 623
The New Subway in New
British Railway Economics 524 so that three years have passed without any- contain statical transformers and rotary converters,
York City (lllu~trated) . 607 Conveyor Bridges .. .. ... 626 thing practical being don e, even without the producing direct current at 500 or 550 volts, while
The British Association.. . . 610 llenry J uliua Smith . . ...... 626
two companies coming to an agreement as to the Ganz sub-stations are equipped only with
Mather and Platt's Ex
Current Railway Construe
hi bits at Glasgow ( l llu!
lion ......... . . ..... .... 626 the general principles of the scheme. The only statical transformers, reducing the voltage from
trated) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 614 Boiler
Explosion
near
evidence of activity was the equipment of the short 10,000 to 3000. At this point all r esemblance
Rolling Stock Construction
Chelmsford . . . . . . . . . . . . 627
The direct
in Italy (l lltutratcd) . . . . 615 The Losa of the " Cobra " .. 628 piece of line between Earl's Court and Highstreet, between the two systems ceases.
Gas Engine at the Glasgow
Foreign Competition in New
Kensington. Ther e have been several theories cur rent follows the established lines of a contact
Ex hibition (l llust,r ated) . . 617
Zealand .... .. . ..... .. 628
put forward to account for this work. One is that rail, geared motors, and series parallel grouping, all
Notes from the United
The Reconst ruction of ~he
States ... . .... .. ...... 617
Turkish Battleship u Me
it was laid down to show the directors what an of which are well known. The Ganz system trans
Notes from the North .... 618
sc.udie" (lllU8t rated) . .. 629 electrically-driven train looked like ; another, that mits its threephase 3000.volt current on to the
Notes from South York
Industrial Notes ........ 680
it was to enable the engineers to educate t.hem- locomotive by means of two trolley wires, and
shire .. . .... . .. . ... ..... 618 Modern Practice in Railway
Notes from Cleveland and
Signalling (lllmtrated) . . 681 selves in the subject before they undertook the utilises it there by induction motors. It is in
the Northern Counties .. 618 Launohes and Trial Tripe .. 684
expenditure of larger sums than 10,000l.; while a these features that its economy must be sought,
Notes from the South-West 619 I" Engineering " Patent Re
MieoeUanea . . . . ........... 619
cord (l llmtratcd) . ....... 686 third is, that it was to provide a good excuse if it is to be found at all.
In the coming contest before the arbit rator,
With a TwoP(Jgt Eng ..aving of THE NEW YORK SUBW.AY. for deferring the main work for several years.

3a

ENGINEERING.

E N G I N E E R I N G.
t~e direct-current system will be in the posi- and telephones.

twn of a man in possession, and the old saw

tells us that that counts for much in legal
matters. It is in use on hundreds of miles
of line, and its capabilities are perfectly well
known. One day's sitting should suffice to make
clear to the arbit rator what are its capabilities
and its limitat10ns, and furnish him with a standard
of comparison wit!l which to measure the advantagef!l
and disadvan tages of the Ganz system. These are
likely to provoke prolonged discussion, for they are
in part theoretical, and in part founded on data
which lack experimental confirmation. The only
instances worthy of being q uoted in evidence are
the Engleberg and Burgdorf-Thun* lines, t he
former of 14 miles, and the latter of 25 1niles
length , and both worked with three-phase motors
at 750 volts. It is a far cry from t hese Swiss r oads,
with their leisurely tourist traffic and infrequent
stations, to the Inner Circle which girdles the City
and the West End of L ondon. Here success lies in
rapid despatch, in quick stops, in swift acceleration, and in the ability to deal with sudden influxes
of traffic. There is very little similarit y between
the t wo cases. The Lecco-Sondrio Chiavenna line,
of 66 miles, is not yet in working order, and lit tle
or nothing can be proved by it.
The advant..ages claimed for the Ganz system are
that it is cheap to instal and cheap to work. It is
stated that as the su b-sta.tions contain no moving
machinery, t hey can be left without supervision,
and that not only is the cost of converters saved,
together with t h e loss of efficiency they occasion,
but also the continual expense of a staff of attendants to look after them. In the matter of contact
wires there is the economy which results from using
3000 volts instead of 500, and this alone represents
a large sum to the good. These three points may
b e freely conceded. It is well known that con verters are expensive apparat us to buy, and that
they n eed attention, and t hat con tact rails to transmit hundreds of horse-power at 500 volts have to
be of large section. In relation to these, the
Ganz system offers distinct advantages; the
q uestion remains, D oes it entail equivalent, or
more than equivalent, defects ~
An alternate-currant system, which contains
motors, is subject, as every one knows, to self-induction, and this involves t he presence of a magnetising curren t in t he generator and mains. This
current does not represent power ; but, nevertheless, it req uires increased size in t he gen erators and conductors, and is j ust as real as
the current which transmits energy to t he
motors. It is assumed that the Ganz system
will have a power factor of 0. 7, and this
means that practically a quarter of the generating
plant will be in service, when all the trains are
stationary, in gen erating the magnetising current.
The feeders also will have to be of increased crosssection to t ransmit the current. All this leads to
increased expenditure; and to this outlay must be
added t hat required by the enormous rush of
current which takes place in starting an induction
motor, and which is t hree to five times t hat for a
direct-curr ent motor. Unless the mn.ins are large
enough to supply this, rapid acceleration is an impossibility, for the torque varies as t he square of
the voltage, and a small drop in pressure means
a large loss in t ractive effort. On t he other
hand, when rotary converters are used, t hey
can be constructed to give a leading current
which balances t he lagging current of self-induct ion, and produces a power fac~or of unit.y, and
in t hat case ther e is n o necesstt y to provide for
t he circulation of '' wattless amperes."
The use of the rails as the r eturn conductor is
also much less efficient wit.h alternate currents
than with the direct current. Owing to the
skin effect, a steel rail will only t ransmit onesixth to one-twelft h of i ts normal capacity, and
hence it must be assisted by heavy copper cables,
or else t h e transformer sub-stations must b e placed
very near togeth~r, eit~1er plan being expensive.
The Lecco line Is des1gned for a 50-volt drop
in t he r eturn t rack, or seven times that hitherto
allowed in t his country ; and unless the Board of
Trade is prepared to mod.ify its rules very largel?,
the Metropolitan line wlll need to be very differently equipped. Alte~nate currents ~re, doubtless, less likely to give r1se to electrolysis than are
direct currents but, on the other hand, t hey are
exceedingly tr~ublesome in relation to telegraphs

-- * See ENGINEERING, vol. lxx., pages 99 and 133.

[OcT.

I I, 1901.

This point, and also the question ning parallel, every element tending to frighten
whether 3000 volts on naked wires over t he and annoy p ossible passengers must be eliminated.
tracks of a passenger line will be permitted by What is wanted is a certain, rapid, and safe
the B oard of Trade, seem to require determina- service, and n othing t hat detracts from such
tion before the arbit ration commences, for t he cost a service is economical.
Supposing that one
of the Ganz scheme largely hinges upon them. If system works out at 2d. per train-mile less
the aut horities follow the Swiss precedent, and t han another- a fairly wide assumption- a loss of
refuse permission for even 1000 volts on a rail way, t wo t hird-class passengers would eat up the saving.
t he possible advantages of the polyphase system Between any two systems of electric t raction, the
dwindle almost to n othing, while the defects re- expenses, reckoning wQrking costs, interest and
main of t heir original magnitude. Surely this depreciation, cannot differ more than a very few
matter should be settled before the arbitration pence per train-mile ; while an inefficient system
commences, or else t here will be no solid ground to may easily drive a way possible t raffic worth 1s.
fight upon, and more wasted time will be added to per train-mile. The problem before the directors
the years already frittered away in useless talk.
of t he Metropolitan rail ways is how to attract
So much for t he line equipment. We now come t raffic, and not how to deal with it most cheaply.
to the locomotive. This has two trucks, with There are plenty of people wanting to t ravel, but
two motors on each, or 600 horse-power in all ; they have a choice of means, and have neither the
and as t he equipment of t he two trucks is time nor t he patience to assist at experiments.
identical, a description of one will serve for both.
The Ganz system of electric t raction makes no
The two motors, although of equal power, are of promise of dealing wit h the traffic more efficiently
very different construction, and together t hey con- than the direct-curr~nt method. I t offers nothing
stitute the ''cascade t~ystem," which is the leading to the public, neither higher speed, more rapid
feature of t he Ganz system, although not invented acceleration, nor greater safety, t han t he direct
by t hem. The first motor has its stator connected current is already giving. The sole plea that can
up to the 3000-volt circuit; its rotor generates be advanced in its favour is its economy. That is
current at 300 volts for delivery to the sta.tor an excellent plea for certain situations, but it is of
of t he second motor. The r otor of the second very little weight in this particular instance, and
motor is coupled to a water resistance at starting, it yet r emains to be proven. As we have already
and is afterwards shor t-circuited.
When the shown, the system has i ts own special losses to
current is switched on to the first motor, a set against its intrinsic economies, and, on t he
current is generated in its rotor of equal periodi- showing of its promoters, its consumption of
city, and t his is transmitted to the stator of the energy is greater than that of some existing lines.
second motor , tending to rotate its r otor. As the But we know by experience that promises, howspeed of the train increases, the periodicity in the ever honestly made, concerning new systems, do not
first rotor diminishes, owing to its more rapid rota- always turn out to be true, and when t hey relate to
tion in the same direction as t he field, and con - such a difficult subject an multiphase currents,
seq uently the periodicity in the stator of the second they are really of no value whatever. Until they
motor does t he same. When the train attains half its have been definitely demonstrated, t hey exist only
rated speed, the second motor has reached t he limit in the r egion of hypothesis.
There is another view of t he matter which needs
of its power, for at any higher speed it would absorb
mechanical energy instead of emitting it. It is {hen no electrical knowledge for its appreciation. The
cut out of circuit, and t he first motor has to do t he two companies have been badly hit by t he Central
remainder of the acceleration up to full speed.* London Railway, and have lost t raffic representing
'l'hus half t he motor equipment becomes useless thousands of pounds a week. They are contemas soon as half speed is gained, and con- plating t he change to electric traction in ord er
sequently a very heavy amount of machinery has to recover this traffic, and, if p ossible, to obtain
more from other sources. It is always hard work
to be carried.
It is difficult to get to know what is the efficiency pulling up a failing enterprise, and it is
of t he Ganz t hree-phase motors; but it is under- bad policy to take any unnecessary risks in
stood that t he scheme is based on an expenditure the matter. In any case an immense sum
of 72 watt-hours per ton-mile, after crediting the must be ventured, and, if things go wrong. much of
motors with returning 20 per cent. of t he energy to it may be lost. I t is only common prudence to
t he line during t he period they are used as brakes. spend enough to ensure a mechanical success.
Now, on t he Central London Railway, 41.5 watt- Commercial success can never be guaranteed, and
hours are expended per ton-mile, and on the City it is quite enough to have one unknown q uan tity
and South London line 38 watt-hours.
The to deal with at a time . To add an untried system,
Liverpool Overhead Railway shows 70 watt-hours about which there is every reason to feel misper ton-mile, meter ed at the station. All these givings, to a problem which is inherently full of
figures are better t han the hypothetical figures of difficulties, is voluntarily to put success to the
Messrs. Ganz, and those of t he South London line hazard. The British public is hard to deal with.
are almost twice as good, so that t he expected It is utterly unreasonable in mechanical matters,
economy in working seems hard to realise. Twice and makes no allowance for breakdowns and
the watts means not only twice t he coal, but double delays. One hears passengers denouncing t he
the amount of boilers, engines, generators, and general manager of a line as perfectly incapable
mains. In tests made on the Sondrio line the because a train is a q nar ter of an hour late in a
Ganz motors consumed from 65 to 85 watt-hours run of 200 miles. They take no account of the fact
per ton-mile, according to the length of the run, and t hat the train r uns by t he concerted action of at
that with an acceleration of only 0..! ft. per second least 100 men, scattered over a long line, and that
per second. As on the Metropolitan line the all these have to be drilled and kept up to their duty.
acceleration must be from 1 ft. to 11 ft. per second The very same people, who expect such perfect
per second, it would seem that a much greater action on a railway, find it impossible to insure
t heir cooks having the dinner ready when they
expenditure of energy would be needed.
We do not know what guarantees Messrs. Ganz reach home, while a r ebellious housemaid puts their
have offered to the Metropolitan Company in r egard domestic aftairs into complete confusion. Use
to the working of their plant, but that is not a matter has partly r econciled t hem to the shortcomings
which concerns t he arbit rator. He is not sitting of steam 1ines, but their unreasoning ignorto decide whether the companies can obtain penal- ance comes all alert to an electric line. If
ties from the contractors if the conditions of the they were obliged to travel, their grumbling would
specification are not fulfilled, but to see that not greatly matter, but it is just those people who
a safe and reliable means of traction is pro- can choose other means of conveyance in whose
vided for the public. Other things being equal, hands lies the success of the new venture, and it
he would naturally give the award to the system is most desirable to avoid giving t hem cause for
which was the cheapest to instal and to work, dissatisfaction. As we have already said, t he difbut the first consideration is efficiency. Not only ference between the dearest and the cheapest
is that so in the interests of the public, but scheme does not represent more than two or three
also in t hat of t he companies themselves. They passengers per mile, while t he difference between
are each burdened wit h a capital of more than a pleased and a dissatisfied public will probably
five millions sterling, and it is only by handling a mean dozens per mile. Even if we grant all that
great traffic that they can pay dividends upon it . is claimed for the Ganz system, the petty defects
The first element of success is the convenience of which must attend all new enterprises would t urn
t he people who may use t~e line. ~ith penny the scale against it in this case. When you must
omnibuses overhead, and with tube railways run- s wap horses crossing a stream, it is imperative to
choose one t hat is known to be quiet, or drowning
may ensue.
* See ENGINEERING, vol. lxxi., page 379.

OcT. t t, I901.]

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

ANGLO-SPANISH IRON COMBINE.

I T is interesting to find the combination fever

breaking out in the Bilbao district of Spain. That
n.egotiati~ns which promise a satisfactory terminatiOn are 1n progress for the fusion of some of the
leading interests of the district is not denied but
the energetic correspondents are at a lo~s to
explain their exact scope and character, and (as is
not un~sual at this period of the year) they
seem d1sposed t o exaggerate. At first we were
told that the Viscaya, Altos Hornos, and
Mudela foundries were uniting t heir forces for
t he strengthening of their hands in the home
market, that they would have command of
500,000 tons of metal yearly, and that their joint
capital would be increased to 75,000,000 pesetas.
Such a fusion as this appeared not unreasonable,
and not without a fair chance of success, save
t.hat the capitalisation was excessive. From what
seemed a reliable source of information, it was
learned, however, that the actual capital would be
42,000,000 pesetas, equivalent to about 1,200,000l.
sterling. Iron manufacture is carried on in only a
small way in S pain, in spite of the country's enormous deposits of ore, and the companies named
are a mong the few of any consequence. But the
industry is well protected, and although at present
fuel is costly, this protection admits of profitable
operation, which should be further improved with
the adequate development of the country's extensive coal measures. And being situated right in
the midst of the best ore-producing ground, these
works are singularly well located. But between
this simple amalgamation and the ambitious
project of which we have been told, there is
a great difference. According to the latest
tales, we are to have an Anglo-Spanish iron
and steel combine, comprising the Viscaya, Iberia,
Altos H ornos, a"'d Zota and Azuca.r Companies,
together with the Sierra Company, controlled by
Messrs . Charles Camm ell and Co., and the Orconera,
in which the Consett Iron Company is interested.
In order that there may be no mistake, we quote
the rest of the details as the Madrid correspond en t sends them along :
'' Seilor Martinez Rodas and Sefior Zota, representing the Spanish interest, are now in Lond~:m
negotiating with the British concerns. Definite
papers of amalgamation will not be signed until
assurances of support are given by English ironmasters. Conferences are now being held to fix
a fair cont ract price, and when this is determined
and aareed to by English dealers, there will be no
furth:r delay. Present prices charged by the
American Steel Corporation in the English market
are taken as a working basis, and the Combine is
offering a s ubstan tial reduction below these.
The capital is fixed at 6,000,000l., and the output
during the first yea.r will be 3,~00,00~ tons of metal,
but t his can be mcreased Indefinitely, the Zota
and Azucar Company alone being in a position to
place 100,000 tons a week on t~e market. ~he
arrangements between the .Spanish and ~nglish
concerns provide that the VIscaya, the Iberia, and
the Altos Hornos Companies bet ween them shall
provide l,OOO,OOOl. of the joint capital, and shall
put 500 000 tons of metal on the market ; the Zota
and Az~car Company shall provide 2,000,000l., and
produce 1,000,000 tons, and th~ Eng~ish companies
shall furnish 3,000,000l., and provide 1,500,000
tons."
Quantity in Jl.feflric-Tons.
Steel.

Foundry.

lt)

Cl)

-m
Cl)

Cl)

Cl)

CD

m
Cl)

lXI

CD
CD

CIS
~

~
0

1-4

Cl)

b.O
ll-4

t.

~
.....
'0

'0

::s

ll4

'0
Cl)

Cl)

96,135 3317 62,457 101,696

.. 24,232 28,235
Ll\ Vizoa.ya
101,320 5296 66,143 29,627
Altos Hornos . L3,360 62,305
24,000

22,ooo

Sa n Francisco ..

These figures are on the face of them. wrong. A

little examination of the actual accomplishtne~~ of
the various companies shows that they are rtdiCulous. We turn to the latest Foreign Offi.c~ report
on Bilbao district, and we find that. the rron ore
consumed in the local iron works 1n 1900 was
614 129 metric-tons of which the Viscaya accounted
for' 238,395 tons, the Altos Horn os for 191,722
tons the Fabrica Mudela for 110,602 t ons, and
the ~maller works 73,410 tons. The work turned
out was as given above.

This Table, which we take from the Foreign

Office Report, appears to be incomplete, there
being no mention of the production of the Mude]a
and other works. But making reasonable allowance, it is obvious that the correspondent is all at
sea, and that his :figures are in a large degree arbitrary. The output of manufactured iron for the
whole of Spain in 1899 (the last figures we can put
our hands upon) was only 885,310 tons. The truth
appears to be t hat the gentleman responsible for
the paragraph quoted is mixing up iron ore producers and native manufacturers of raw and finished
iron and steel. The Oroonera Company, for
example, produced 1,408,469 tons of ore in 1900,
but nearly every ton was sent abroad. The Zota
and Azucar and Sierra also belong to the category
of mines worked for the benefit of smelters abroad.
In the face of all this, what assurances of support
are wanted from the English ironmasters ~ And
where lies the sense of the reference to the American Steel Corporation ~ In the absence of autho-
ritati ve inforrr:ation, we are inclined to believe
that the English ironmasters who have ore interests
in Bilbao and other parts of Spain are making some
agreement among themselves as to output, and that
the Bilbao ironmasters are endeavouring to insure
their own future by the acquisition of desirable
mines before they are all snapped up by Englishmen, and that they are in other ways consolidating
their position.
We fail to see any good reason for a close working agreement between English and Spanish ironfounders, and after showing above the insignificance
of the Spanish industry, it would be superfluous to
argue the matter at length. The domestic market
is capable of expansion, but it does not possess
such potentialities of growth as would justify the
erection of enormous works of the class foreshadowed in the Bilbao neighbourhood. If it be
pointed out that contiguity to the ore counts for a
great deal, it may be observed that this advantage
is largely neutralised by the costliness of coal. The
neighbouring maritime province of Asturias produced 1,425,000 tons last year out of about
2,772,000 tons for the whole country, and with the
opening of the new Musel port in Gijon Bay, transport to Bilbao should not be costly. .But last year
the best screened Asturias coal f.o.b. at Gijon was
24s. 6d. per ton. If it were intended to develop
the coal beds of this province and of Leon, and
to introduce a class of labour such as Spain itself
cannot show, then one might understand the
reasonableness of a large Anglo-Spanish combine.
Anything short of this is not going to benefit English
interests, and the English firms credited with
being concerned in the deal are not in business in
order that Spain may thrive. At the same time,
given the investment of a large amount of capital,
modern works on a large scale, and an intelligent
and energetic class of worker, the iron industry
of this part of the country might make appreciable
progress. The richest Bilbao ores are being rapidly
exhausted, but there is an inexhaustible supply of
medium grade stuff, and Asturias is credited with
having about 2,822,000,000 tons of anthracite and
11,767,000,000 tons of bituminous coal, the former
contained within an area of 56,000 acres, and the
latter within 277,000 acres. Leon is supposed to ~e
even better off t han Asturias. In a paper on the
mineral possibilities of this province read before
the Bristol meeting of the Institute of Mining Engineers Mr. J. A. J ones said : '' Ooal promises to
beco~e an important branch of mining in the
province, in view of the extent of its ~oalfiel~s.
It is now being developed on a gradually mcre~sing
scale. The railway from La Robla to B1l~ao
passes within reach of one run of coalfields whiCh
have good seams of coal. Matallana, Sabero and
Valderneda are opened by this railway. The workable seams here vary in thickness from 18 in. to
8 ft. and more, they are heavily pitched, and
worked by gallery and modified longwall. The
coal from these coalfields is for the most part good
coking, and up to the present time what is made
in the locality is coked in mounds. " The same
aentleman is authority for the assertion that Leon
possesses an abundance of iron ore, which has not
been developed because of the distance from seaports and the high railway c~arg~s. Mr. Jot;les
instanced three beds of Devon1an uon ore, whiCh
run westwardly, with three series of outcrops.
The most n orthevly, beginning at Busdongo,
can be followed westwardly throughout the
formation.
Two of these beds are 10 ft.
thick, and the middle one 7 ft., with a heavy

clip (70 deg. ). The ore is coarse, grained with

fossils of the pecten order, and includes very small
rounded pebbles of an older iron ore. I t assays
42.68 per cent. of iron, 0.98 per cent. of phosphorus, and 23 per cent. of silica. The second
series of outcrops are followed from below Villamarina to Lanjaron, nearly parallel with the former.
The ore was partially worked many years ago near
Villamarina, by open cast, for the Mieres Iron
Works. It has about the same percentages as those
given above, but there is a far greater abundance
of fossils, whose lime-casings have been replaced
by iron. It is the old story: Spain is rich in
minerals, but some of the principal deposits are not
readily accessible, and unt il Englishmen provide
railways and working capital they will not be made
accessible.

THE TAFF VALE DECISION.

AT the annual conference of the Miners' F ederation of Great Britain, held on October 2, at Birmingham, the President (Mr. B. Pickard, M.P.),
in the course of his inaugural address, made some
allusion to the Taff Vale decision, which has created
such a flutter in the dovecots of every trade union.
H e said: "In the opinion which we have obtained
from Mr. Atherley Jones, K.O., we are told that
in that gentlemen's judgment there has been much
exaggeration on this matter. Mr. Atherley J ones
does not think things are quite so bad as t hey have
been depicted.'' I t seems that Mr. Atherley J ones's
opinion may be summed up as follows : (1) It is
doubtful whether an unregistered union would be
liable equally with one which is registered; (2).
although trade unions are in future to be held liable
if wrong is done, they cannot be held responsible
for any wrong committed by local officials, unless
the latter are authorised by the executive to do such
wrong ; (3) a civil action may follow the wrongful
act of an authorised official of a trade union, but
whether the assailants can make out a good cause
for compensation is another matter; (4) a trade
union can neither sue nor be sued for contributions
or pay ; (5) the net result of t he Taff V ale decision
is that an action can only be brought where anybody is authorised to attack and intimidate with
violence, and by show of force in any strike ; (6)
and lastly, Mr. Atherley J ones suggests that the
unions must let their rules be so framed that no
official, either local or district, can do anything in
the way of bringing out the men on strike, so that
their funds may be protected.
These opinions expressed by Mr. Atherley Jones
give one some food for reflection. His first statement that there is some doubt whether an unregistered union can be held liable appears to be
of little importance, seeing that all the influential
unions- the Miners' Federation included-are
registered, and, being so, are in the same boat with
the Ama1gamated Society of Rail way Servants,
who now have an action for 20,000l. damages
pending against them in respect of the damage
caused to the Taff Vale Railway Company by the
strike which formed the subject of the famous
lawsuit.
The next expression of opinion- that a union
cannot be held responsible for the wrongful
acts of a local official, unless expressly authorised
-seems to be a little startling. It might just as
well have been argued that the officials who
authorised the picketing in the Taff Vale cases
were acting of their own responsibility, and that
therefore the union which supported them could
not be held responsible. We trust, however,
that , in accordance with Mr. J ones's suggestion
(paragraph 6), responsibility and authority will be
taken from the hands of local officials, whose
meddling interference is oftener more worrying
to employers than temperate communications from
the head office. With regard to paragraph (3)
S'ttpra, the question whether compensation shall
be paid to employers for the disastrous effects
of a strike will fortunately be entrusted to a jury
for determination. To the judge who presides
at the trial may be entrusted the faithful application of the maxim, Ubi jttS, ibi re.medi'l.um. The
statement that a union cannot sue or be sued for
contributions or pay is common knowledge to any
one who has studied the Trades Unions Acts. We
agree with Mr. Atherley J ones that the net result
of the Taff V ale case is as stated by him in paragraph (5), but we anticipate that the principle
there laid down can be applied either for the purpose of restraining, or obtaining damages for,

E N G I N E E R I N G.
other wrongful acts of the unions, wheresoever and
whensoever committed.
The Taff Vale case also formed a subject of discussion at the Railway Servants' Conference at
Exeter Hall. The following resolution was unanimously passed on October 3:
" That in the opinion of this Congress the recent decision of the House of Lords, based upon bhe Taff V ale
case, rendering the funds of our and all other trade societies
liable in damages for the illegal acts of their agents, is, in
the opinion of those most conversant with trade union
hietory and bhe Acbs of Parliament giving trade organisations legal existence, a distinct reading in of the law
which did nob previously exist. Further, such decision,
directly opposed e.a it is to the high legal authority of the
Courb of Appeal, shows a. wide di ver~enoe in the minds
of that high profession a.s to the mea.nmg of some of the
laws on the statute book. We are fully convinced that
the remedy can only be found in electing a.s our la.w
makera and administrators those who have a. practical
knowledge of industrial work and are in sympathy with
the reasonable aspirations for industrial freedom and advancement. "
The hope which is here expressed that some
future Government m~y remove a barrier to the
reasonable aspirations for industrial freedom and
ad vancement is not likely to be realised for
years to come. In the meantime it is interesting
to note that Mr. Edmond Browne, standing
counsel to the Trades Union Congress, expressed the opinion at the above meeting that,
whether registered or not, trade unions are liable
for the illegal acts of their agents, and he went on
to say that he was about to advise the Congress to
so alter their rules that that portion of their funds
set apart for provident and other purposes shall be
so tied up that even the society will be prevented
from using it for the purpose of strikes. In this
recommendation of the learned counsel we recognise
the wisdom of a lawyer coupled with a laudable
desire to persuade the unions to do what is best in
their own interests. Submission to the inevitable,
and a revision of the rules which will protect the
funds set apart for the fatherless and the widow,
is the most prudent course which can be adopted.
In recent years tho vigour with which great
strikes have been prosecuted on the part of the
employed, and the facility with which the coffers
of the unions have been opened for the purpose
of sustaining strikers and their families in war
time, seems to have fostered the idea that the
primary and only object to which the funds should
be devoted is the humbling of the " tyrannical
employer." If it has worked no other blessing,
the Taff V ale Rail way case has at least compelled
the unions to ear-mark a certain portion of their
funds to be devoted to a purpose to which no employer-nay, no Englishman, howsoever bitterlf
opposed to trade unionism-c~n take the slightest
exception.

BRITISH RAILWAY ECONOMICS.

THE steady increase in the expense of working

our railway system, so forcibly established by the
recently issued Board of Trade analysis of the
balance-sheet of British railways for last year, is a
matter of the greatest importance from the industrial point of view; the advantage of cheap transport is too obvious to require more than a casual
mention, and it is equally appreciable that with a
diminishing net revenue, notwithstanding great
expansion of business, and with Parliamentary and
other claims necessitating capital outJay, some of
it without direct prospect of earning a return, there
are possibilities of higher rates for such transport
facilities. It is therefore interesting to investigate
the details of this officially drafted balance-sheet,
with the view of determining possible directions of
economy in the immediate future. In the first
place it is satisfactory to note that there has been
an increase in the average t rain load ; the trainmileage has not gone up pro ?ata with the volume
or earning value of the traffic. Thus the passenger
receipts increased by 3. 8 per cent., and the nu mher
of ordinary passengers by 3.2 per oent., yet the passenger train-mileage was only 1.6 per cent. greater.
In mineral traffic the minerals conveyed made 3.3
per cent. more in weight than in the previous year,
the aeneral merchandise 1.3 per cent., the tonnage
of all goods traffic being 2. 7 per cent. greater and
the receipts 2.6 per cent. ; but the addition to
goods train-mileage was 1.4 per cent. This may be
a small gain, but it is in the right direction, and we
are inclined to think that much advantage would
accrue by a further increase in the train load. Unfortunately, the Board of Trade are not able to

[OcT.

I I, 1901.

give the ton-1nileage ; the railway companies raise cent., almost entirely due to the working of engines,
somewhat flimsy excuses against giving such a use- although repairs and renewals also involved an
ful basis for comparison. Nor have we here even addition to the labour bill. In the traffic departthe engine-mileage, which would assist towards & ment there is an increase of 3. 9 per cent. Of the
determination of the question as to whether the total increase in the working expenses of 4,652,000l.
practice of double-heading of trains is on the in- on all rail ways, it would therefore appear that
crease, as some urge. This is admittedly an ex- quite two-thirds is due to the increased cost of
pensive method of dealing with heavy traffic, and labour and 1naterial under the two heads indicated.
we are glad to note the experiments being tried Even the inflated price of coal is in part attributby several companies with locomotives of great able to appreciation of the rate of miners' wages, and
tractive power, and with large wagons for minerals thus a considerable proportion of the increased
capable of taking a load three or four times the expenditure is almost certain to be permanent.
'' tare," In both directions there is distinct room But there are other items which continue to grow
at a disconcerting rate. In ten years, for instance,
for great improvement and also for economy.
It is in this item of traction charges that there rates and taxes have gone up from 2! to 3f million
is greatest need for serious consideration. The sterling, or at the rate of 67 per cent., wbile the
gross receipts per train-mile have not for years, if gross revenue of the railways has only increased
ever, been greater, the sum earned for passenger 26 per cent.
trains being 49. 08d., and for goods trains the high
With such largely increased items it is not diffirate of 71.06d., the mean for all trains being cult to understand that whereas five or ten years
59.01d. The goods rate is from lid. to 2d. higher ago the percentage of expenses to gross revenue was
than in previous years, but is still 6d. to 8d. short fairly constant at 56 per cent., it has since 1896
of the amount got per freight train-mile in the gone up one unit each year, and 1900 added 3 per
United States, even with their low rates ; but our cent., the rate becoming 62 per cent. This latest
passenger receipts per train-mile are as high, if step-up is due partly to abnormal causes ; but the
not higher, than in the States. These results are situation, apart altogether from such unusual connevertheless on satisfactory lines ; but, unfortu- ditions, demands careful consideration and a pronately, in adding l id. to the revenue per train-mile gressive policy towards economy by improved
during the past five years, the expenses have gone mechanical means. In this connection, too, it is
up 4!d, which means a reduction of 3d. in the not without interest to note the wide variations in
profit realised from each train-mile-now 22.17d. the several items of expenditure. For maintenance
instead of the 2od. to 27d. earned from five to ten of way the cost per train-mile varies between 4.39d.
years ago. Should this diminution continue, resort and 8.29d. Six of the principal lines return a sum less
may be had to increased rates.
than 5d., two between 5d. and 6d., and five between
On almost every item of expenditure there 6d. and 7d. There is, perhaps, more excuse for
is a n increase ; but t raction and traffic charges wide differences here than in such items as locomotive
account for the greater part. The train mile- power, under which the variation is as great, between
age only increased by 1. 5 per cent., and the 9. 27d. and 13.85d., excluding the Ta:ff Vale Comwork done was really greater, as represented pany, which, owing to the strike, had to pay
by the advance of 3.1 per cent. in the gross 19.64d. per train-mile last year. Four of the lines
receipts ; but the locomotive charges are dispro- have kept this item under lOd.-Great North of
portionately greater- 4. 7 per cent.
In other Scotland, 9.27d. ; Great Southern and Western of
words, the train mileage increased from 396.2 to Ireland, 9.69d. ; North British, 9.93d. ; and the
402.1 million miles in one year- a difference of 5. 9 Midland Great Western of Ireland, 9. 97d. The
million miles ; but for this increase in work the other companies are : Great Eastern, 10.41d. ;
expenditure on locomotive power rose from 16.53 London and South- Western, 10.87d.; Great
to 19.31 million sterling, or 2. 78 millions. Of Northern of Ireland, 11.02d. ; Great Western,
this the greatest part is attributable to the higher 11.07d. ; London and North-Western, 11.16d. ;
price of fuel ; this has been influencing the returns Great Northern, 11.39d.; Caledonian, 11.40d.;
for three years.
Up till 1898 the mileage Lancashire and Yorkshire, 11.51d. ; Midland,
and expenses cost advanced almost on the same 11.60d. ; Glasgow and South-Western, 11.86d. ;
gradient, but in that year the increased ex- Great Central, 12.43 ; Furness, 12.57d. ; London,
penditure on coal was 15. 2 per cent., wbile the Brighton, and South Coast, 12. 79d.; and Northaddition to mileage was only 3.4 per cent. ; in 1899 Eastern, 13.85d. In traffic charges again there
the cost of fuel went up 22.5 per cent. for 4.2 per has been wide variation, between 8 36d. and
cent. more mileage ; and in 1900 the companies 15.09d. It may not be without interest to give
had to pay ;19. 9 per cent. for the fuel required for a Table showing the lowest cost recorded for each
a train mileage only 1. 5 per cent. longer. This is, department amongst the twelve principal comno doubt, to some extent abnormal ; and the Board panies compared with the average for the United
of Trade report, usually conservative in prophecy, Kingdom:
suggests some decline in the current year ; but
Expenditure per Train- Mile.
reliable and permanent sources of economy must
Average for United Lowest RecordEd among the
be looked for. The price of coal at the pit's
Kingdom.
Twelve Principal Lines.
d.
d.
mouth last year averaged 10s. 9td., and it is very Maintenance of wo.ys . . 5.69
4. 30 (Oreat Northern and
doubtful if it will return to the level of five
Great Central).
Locomotive powt>r
. . 11.53
9.93 (Nor th British).
years ago, when it was 5s. lOtd.
Rolling atock . .
. 3.09
2.66 (L. o.nd S. W.).
We note that the quantity of coal used by the Traffic expenses ..
. . 1l.64
9.49 (G reat Western).
. . 1.47
various railway companies of the United Kingdom General charges
1.02 (Midland).
and taxes and} 2 45
for locomotive purposes was 11,166,388 tons, as Rates
1.45 (Nor th British).
Government duty

compared with 10,636,172 tons in 1899, the in- Miscellaneous . .

. . 1.08
0.47 (Midland).
crease being equal to 5 per cent., whereas the
36.85
29.31
work done was only 3.1 per cent. greater, as indicated by the gross revenue. The caloric value of
The difference is great, and although no company
the coal must be considered before attempting any ~ay achieve t~~ distinction of possessing all the
deduction as to coal consumption per unit of work vutues by attammg the "lowest recorded," it is an
done; but it is a notable fact that the increase in ideal, not quite unattainable, which should be aimed
the amount of coal used is disproportionate to the at. Even if the difference could be reduced by
paying work done; and it is always open to ques- half, there would be a satisfactory gain, bringing the
tion whether an inferior coal, assuming such to net revenue per trainmile back to the average of
have been used, leads ultimately to economy. In five years ago. The item "traffic expenses" seems
four years the quantity of coal used has increased to offer some opportunity for economy ; it is
20 per cent., the train-mileage 8! per cent., and difficult to understand, for instance, why the
the total traffic receipts 12 per cent. The situation London and North-Western required 15.09d. when
will probably encourage the discussion of the 9.49d. sufficed for the Great Western, always prepossibilities of electric power reducing the tractive suming that the method of classification is the same,
charges on the railways.
and the fact that the total rail way expenses per
The item of wages is another serious factor in the train-mile is 5d. greater in the case of the firstincreased cost of working the rail ways, and here, named company than in that of the latter supports
unfortunately, there is not much likelihood of any the assumption.
relief in future years: labour-saving appliances can
It is scarcely necessary to enter into details as
do little; but greater hauls and no double-heading to the general results, since full extracts of the
may help. The wages bill of fifteen companies is Board of Trade report have been published so
analysed in the .Board of Trade report, and it is widely in the daily press. There are satisfacfound that in the locomotive department the in- tory evidences of trade activity, the volume of
crease in 1900 over 1899 was at t he rate of 4. 7 per mineral traffic having increased by 9.8 million

OcT.

r, 1901.]

tons, and the receipts 1,03t>,000l., while the

general merchandise conveyed bulked greater by
1! million tons, and t he receipts therefrom by
304,000l. But satisfaction at the contemplation
of these figures is nullified now by the fact
that the imports last month dropped 3 million
sterling-equal to 7.3 per cent.- and the exports
by 2! million- equal to 10.5 per cent., when
compared with the total in the corresponding
month of last year, a reduction due in large measure to lower ~rices. This, too, is but a premonition of a condttion which may be e ven more acute
in the near future. But to return to our main
E>ubject, one more notable fact may be indicatedthe continued favour of the second class by railway
passengers. We have always contended t ho.t on
long j ourneys there are many who, while they demurred to pay the great difference between first
and t hird class rates, were nevertheless willing to
give more t han the ''Parliamentary fare" to secure
some measure of seclusion and comfort. Since the
second-class rates have been re-arranged there
has been a steady increase in the numbers and
receipts. Last year there was an addition equal
to 0. 9 per cent. in the number of second class
passengers (excluding season-ticket holders), but a
gain of 6.3 per cent. in receipts, showing that the
increase was in long-distance journeys. In five
years the receipts from second-class passengers
have increased by a million sterling, or 64 per cent.;
but after all, the third-class passenger is the mainstay. They constitute over 90 per cent. of the
number, and provide 76 per cent. of the income
from all passengers.

E N G I N E E R I N G.
has to be constructed to carry; and the live load
can by no means be unduly concentrated, even
in the case of a. heavy-road locomotive. The
first reason is obvious, t he second can best be
explained by a comparison. A conveyor bridge of
600 ft. span would only have to support a total
live load of 60 tons, whereas an ordinary road
bridge of the same span, and 30 ft. wide, would
have to be built strong enough to support a live
load of 900 tons at 1 cwt. per square foot of road
area, as laid down in the Board of Trade requirement. The third is governed by the length of the
wheelbase of the trolley on which the suspended
car travels. In the case of the Portugalette bridge
the conveyor is capable of taking over a road locomotive weighing 20 tons. This, on an ordinary
bridge, would be concentrated on a wheelbase of,
say, 8 ft., or 2. 5 tons per foot run, whereas in the
conveyor bridge this load plas the moving bar
would be 30 tons, distributed over 60 ft., or 0. 5 tons
per foot run.
The conveyor bridge could not, of course, compare either with the steam chain ferry or the steamboat ferry in the question of cost; its claim for consideration in competition with these is entirely
due to the improved facilities offered. Up to the
present no attempt has been made to adapt the
conveyor bridge to rail way work, but there seems
to be no reason why they should not be used as the
pioneer of ordinary bridges in new countries, as
they would require no transhipment of goods or
passengers.
'

THE
CONVEYOR BRIDGES.
THE firRt conveyor bridge was opened at
Portugalette, Spain, in 1893, the second at
Bizerte, and the third at Rouen. In 1898, Mr.
.T ohn T. 'Vood, M. Inst. C.E., of Liverpool,
conceived the idea that this form of bridge
was t he solution to the problem for crossing
the estuary of the Ribb1e, so as to connect two
large divisions of Lancashire, and for this purpose
he, together with Mr. St. George Moore, M. Inst.
C. E., of Westminster, visited Spain and inspected
the conveyor bridge at Portugalette. The result
of this visit was that a Liverpool syndicate promoted a Bill in Parliament in the Session 1898 9
for powers to construct a conveyor bridge over the
navigable channel of the Ribble with low-level
approaches. This Bill met the fate of nearly all
pioneers. After about 5000l. had been spent in
plans, models, and going to Parliament, the
Bill was thrown out ; but the advantages of the
system were so clearly demonstrated by the promoters, that in the Session 1899-1900 there were
no less than three similar schemes in Parliament. It
is almost unique in Private Bill legislation in recent
times to have three separate schemes following upon
an abortive effort to pass one. Of the three projects
referred to, one was the revival of the scheme to
cross the Ribble with a span of about 600 ft., one
to cross the Mersey at Runcorn, about 1000 ft. wide,
and another to cross the Usk at Newport, Mon.,
also of about 600 ft. All these were successful, and
received the Royal Assent. Again, in the last Session, 1900-1901, there was a Bill deposited to sanction the construction of a conveyor bridge across the
Tyne at Newcastle; it was, however, thrown out.
The conditions under which a conveyor bridge
c1n ad,antageously be adopted are : Where an
ordinary high or low level r oad or rail way bridge
would be too costly. When the h eadway required
under the bridge would render the approaches
eit her too extensive or impossible. Where it is
desirable from any cause not to haul heavy loads
up long and steep approaches. Where a steam
chain ferry, such as plies between Portsmouth and
Gosport, or a steamboat ferry, is impossible owing
to the tidal waters receding too far, such as in
sandy estuaries-the Ribble, for instance. Where
the height of the banks or the rise and fall of the
t ide is so great that the access for the road vehicle
to the steam ferry is attended with difficulty and
expense. Where a steamboat ferry is liable to be
impeded by heavy fogs. Where greater speed is
desired than is possible either by a steam chain
ferry or a steamboat ferry.
The principal reasons why these conveyor
bridges can compare so favourably as regards
cost with ordinary bridges are three in number:
the approaches for a high-level bridge already
mentioned ; the small live load which the bridge

PROPOSED

NOTES.
ELECTRIC ExPRESS

RAILWAY TO

BRIGHTON.

MucH attention has lately been called by the

daily press to a proposed electric express rail way to
Brighton. It is stated that the London terminus
will be on t he site of the block of buildings between
Ranelagh-street and Claverton-street, Pimlico, t hat
the line will be carried across the river by a bridge
and that there will be a viaduct to Croydon. It is
further stated that the route chosen is such that not
a single public building or public-house is interfered
with. Whether or not this is considered to be
a triumph of engineering skill we do not know.
Public buildings are not so thickly scattered over the
counhy between London and Brighton as to render
their avoidance a matter of serious difficulty, while
public-houses, although possibly more numerous, are
still sufficiently far apart to allow a line to pass
between them if so desired. We are further informed that the line is perfectly straight to Red
Hill, where there will be a curve of over 3 miles
radius; and there will be another curve of over
6 miles radius at Hayward's Heath. A map has
been issued by the promoters in which the proposed railway is indicated by a broad gently waving
line, keeping very close t o the existing Brighton
Rail way through the greater part of its course. It
is not difficult to draw such a line on paper, but a
railway engineer would desire to know more about
the features of the country traversed before expressing an opinion on the route. At Brighton the
terminus is to be at Furze Hill, and will thus be half
a mile nearer the sea than the terminus of the existing railway company. The steepest gradient is stat~d
to be 1 in 100, but this is for only a very short
length. By the route followed the distance between the termini is given as 47 miles, and it is
proposed to run this in half an hour. U nfortunately, the information available as to the means
by which this result is to be obtained is too vague
for criticism.

be high, and long-stroke engines work the best.

Lubrication is more difficult than with petrol,
as the latter has certain lubricating properties
in itself, which are absent in the case of alcohol.
The best results are obtained with a mixture
of 60 per cent. of alcohol with benzine. With
this mixture, and an initial compression of
100 lb. to 110 lb. per square inch, the maximum
pressure on explosion is about 170 lb. to 215 lb. in
the earlier engines, and as much as 284 lb. per
square inch in some of the later types. A small
percentage of water in the alcohol appears to be a
positive advantage, as the expansion curve seems
better maintained. Ignition of the charge is less
rapid than with petrol. At present prices the
60 per cent. mixture of alcohol and benzine is, in
Paris, somewhat less than that of an equivalent
amount of petrol. Tho f.rice of the latter is, however, somewhat artificia , and would probably be
substantially reduced if the demand fell off owing
to the competition of alcohol.
At present some
400 tons of petrol are annually used by the automobilists of France.
CE'YLON RAILWAYS.

Although Cey lon has not for six years added to

the length of her railways, there is every indication
in the official records of rail way administration of
a developing internal trade and of economical
management. The tonnage of goods traffic has in
that period increased from 411,916 to 606,750 tons,
equal to about 4 per cent. per annum, the receipts
from the same source having advanced almost in
the same proportion, from 3,984,276 to 4,942,508
rupees. Rice accounts for a fourth of the tonnage
and tea for an eighth ; but rates for the latter being
higher, it provides more than a sixth of the revenue
from goods ; there has been a steady development
in the tea traffic. It is further recorded that the
Boer camp at Diyatalawa involved an addition to
general goods traffic. As there has been a corresponding growth in passenger traffic, the gross
receipts have mounted up to 8,272,351 rupees,
or about two millions moro than six years
ago. This, on a mileage of 297! miles, gives
an income of 27,841 rupees per mile of railway
open, as compared with 22,950 rupees six years ago.
Excepting in the early stages of rail way history,
when the mileage was limited to urgent necessity,
this is the highest result attained, and would seem
to justify the extension of the system; in a developing country it is of importance that work should
progress steadily, and as only 600,457 rupees
were expended on new works last year, there
is room for greater enterprise. The heavier
traffic over the lines, of course, necessitated an
addition to train and locomotive mileage, but this
has not gone up in the same rat io as the income.
The percentage of expenses to income has decreased from 55.19 to 62.88 per cent., which, however, is still higher than in some previous years,
owing to the higher cost of maintenance, attributable to dearer material. Rails of 88 lb. are
being substituted for 72 lb. on curves and gradieLts,
and cost 143 rupees per ton against 97 rupees in
1897. This, however, is more or less a transitory
cause; locomotive charges were much less. Thus,
while the receipts per train-mile have in the six
years increased from 6 rupees 46 cents to 6.23,
the expenses have only gone up from 3.1 to 3.29,
so that the net revenue is nearly 3 rupees. In
other words, the 297g miles of railway have earned
3,898,041 rupees of profit on a capital cost of
63 million rupees, which means about 7! per cent.,
apart from the fact that renewals and some new
works have been paid for out of revenue.

ALCOHOL ENGINES FOR MOTOR-CARS.

In a paper recently read befo1e the Paris Society

of Oivil Engineers, M. Lucien P erisse discussed
the question of using alcohol to replace petrol as a
working agent for the engines of motor-cars. The
experiments made so far show that it can be used
thus without much difficulty, but at present is certainly not as easiJy dealt with as petrol. Where
more fa vourable opinions have been exprestied,
the oar has usually only employed alcohol for
a single trip, whereas, to obtain trustworthy
results, runs on consecutive days are n ecessary. In using alcohol it is es9ential that it
shall be completely vaporised before it enters the
motor cylinder. Much greater dilution with air is
necessary than with petrol, and with this air it must
be very thoroughly mixed. This mixture should
further be at a temperature of about 100 deg. Cent.
as it enters the cylinder. The compression should

Low TEl'liPERATURE R EsEARCH.

An interesting contribution has recently been
added to the Proceedings of the Royal Institution
by Miss Agnes M. Olerke, summing up the work
done by the Institution in connection with low
temperatures. The funds for carrying out this
investigation have largely been provided by an
American, Mr. Thomas G . Hodgkins, who in
1896 presented a sum of 100,000 dols. to the
Royal Institution for the promotion of research.
Much, it is true, had already been acconlplished, as the work of Profeesors Dewar and
Flaming on the resistance of materials at temperatures approaching the absolute zero was carried
out in 1893, and few of the months of the following
two years were unmarked by new developments of
Professor Dewar's researches. The axpense was,
however, great, and the work done must certainly

E N G I N E E R I N G.
have been restricted but for the timely present of
Mr. Hodgkins, which has later on been supplemented on two occasions by the Goldsmiths' Company. Miss Clarke's summary of the work done
and the results attained will be welcomed by
all who have been unable to follow in detail
Professor Dewar's accounts of his work which
have appeared from time to time in different
publio~tions. The culminating point was reached
when In 1898 hydrogen was obtained in a statio
liquid condition. It proved to be an extremely
light colourless liquid, only one-fourteenth as
heavy as water and boiling at a temperature of
:- 252.5 deg. Cen~.
Somewhat later, hydrogen
10e was also obtamed, having a freezing point
of about 15 deg. Cent. absolute. For years
hydrogen remained the one so-called permanent
gas, but no sooner had its volatility been
subdued. than it was found that helium, a gas but
newly discovered, had a still lower critical point
as it refused to liquefy even at the temperature of
- 262 deg. Cent. By its aid, however, it is hoped
that before many years a temperature within about
5 deg. of the absolute zero will at last be reached.
Expensive as the liquefaction of hydrogen has been
that of helium will necessarily be much greater.
means of these low-temperature researches it has
been shown that ordinary air contains about 1 part
of ~ure hydrogen in 5000. This is undeteotable by
o~dmary !Dethods of analysis, but by liquefying the
arr contained in a tube by immersing it in liquid
hydrogen, spectrum analysis reveals the presence
of this gas, as also of helium in the uncondensed residue. It will moreover be r emembered that by
fractional distillation at low temperatures Professor
Ramsay and Dr. Travers detected the presence of four
new gases, besides argon, in the air which but a few
years back was supposed to contain nothing but
oxygen, nitrogen, a little ca1bonio acid, a,nd water.

By

'' RECORD " A CTIVITY IN THE SHIPBUILDING

TRADE.

Never has the tonnage of merchant vessels in

course of construction been recorded at such a high
figure as that notified this week by Lloyd's Register of Shipping- 1,414,120 tons, t he gross measurement of 477 vessels, all, with t he exception of
20,655 tons, being steamers. This is 210,000 tons,
or 17! per cent., more than at the corresponding
date last year, and 105,000 tons higher than recorded in the return for the quarter ending with
June, the increase being almost entirely in Britishowned ships, The nearest approach to this record
total was in December of 1898, when t he aggregate
was 1,401,087 tons. The total now is the more satisfactory as the vessels launched have been as numerous
as at any previous period. Thus during t he quarter
just ended 159 vessels, of 430,425 tons, were floated,
making for the past nine months 1, 104,000 tons. It
follows, of course, that the number of vessels laid
down has greatly exceeded t he experience of preceding months. Thus in the first quarter of
the year the t onnage of vessels commenced was
only 375,97 4, in the second quarter 350,931 tons ;
but during the past three months the vessels
laid down mounted up to 496,088 tons. The
reason, of course, is the decrease in t he cost of
material, notably steel and coal, and, to a less
extent, cheaper labour ; and it is to be hoped that
no precipitate action on the part of the workers,
either in shipbuilding, metallurgy, or mining, will
affect the satisfactory conditions prevailing at the
mon1ent. Nearly all districts are sharing in the
improvement recorded. Thus the Ty?e, with
279,426 tons of work on hand, has Improved
its position of a year ago to the extent of 51,000
tons; but as compared with three months ago,
the addition is only 13,600 tons. The Wear,
with 190,509 tons, has gained on the total of a
year ago about 28,000 tons, and on the figures
of thr ee months ago, 12,000 tons. Hartlepool and
Whitby vary little, their quota being 95,2~0 ~ns;
while the Tees, with 100,050 tons, IS In a
worse p osition t han three months ago, when
there were 112,275 tons on hand, but the total a
year ago was only 94,778 tons. At Glasgow
there are 107 vessels building, of 280,265 tons53 500 tons more than a year ago and 35,600
to~s in excess of the total in June last ; while
at Greenock the 54 vessels, of 168,275 tons, represent an increase of 11,460 tons on the figures of
October last year, and of 6000 tons when compared
with June last. Belfast shows a record : 26 vessels,
of 229,018 tons- 35,000 tons more than a year
ago, and 39,000 tons over the total of three months

[OcT.

I I, I 901.

ago, and t his brings us to the r emark t hat t here are

~ow 18 vessels building of over 10,000 tons, in additiOn to three of over 9000 tons, as against 14 and 2
respectively t hree months ago. Unforhunately,
however, the number and tonnage of warships
building has decreased, but ere many weeks
ar~ over ~e hope to hear of six large British warshJps bemg ordered from private firms, totalling
65,500 tons, with three ships, of 42,800 tons, for the
dockyards. Meanwhile the condition now as compared with th ree months ago is as follows :
October, 1901. July, 1901.
tons
tons
Merchant ships ...
. .. 1, 414,120
1,300,179
British warships (Dock...
. .. 171,270
yards} . . .
172,340
British warships (private
works} ...
. ..
... 182,400
209,3!)0
Foreign warships...
. ..
2L,375
21,495

---

Total . . .
. .. 1, 789,165
1, 703,404
There is thus an increase over all of 85,761 tons.

by the blue tops of the circling Orange Range on

the others.
The mansion itself is an interesting object.lesson on
the application of electric energy to the wants and
comforts of life, as electricity is used for lighting the
apartments and grounds, and for such domestic purposes as cooking, ironing, churning, driving fans
'
sewing machines, and coffee-mills.
Mr. Smith's hobby of late years was the automobile
and his only distraction consisted in trips through th~
borough with a congenial friend by his side. He liked
on such occasions to watch his ammeter and voltmeter
and to discuss with his electrical partner the back
electromotive force of the motor, and kindred topics.
The end came rather suddenly; while yet in the
full vigour of manhood he was stricken by the hand
of death. All Pompton followed his remains to the
gra.ve ; for to him the borough was indebted for most
of the improvements which make it today one of the
finest and most thriving in the State of New Jersey.
Conspicuous in t he funeral co'rtege was the favourite
automobile draped in mourning and laden with the
floral tributes of those who appreciated Mr. 1 'mith
for his electrical ability, his public services, or domestic
virtues.
The distinguishing traits of his character were a
strong will and a high energy-potential, both governed
by an even and winning serenity. In all his enterprises and all his dealings with his fellow-men, you
were sure to find thejo1titer in 1e, but always accompanied by the sua/uite1 in modo. These are the qualities
that beget esteem and command success. Like the
philosopher's stone, they change the dross of life into
the golden amenities that make it profitable and enjoyable.

HENRY JULIUS SMITH.

By M. F . O'REILLY, D.So.
A DISTINGUISHED American elect rical engineer has
passed away in the person of Mr. Henry Julius Smith,
of Pompton Lakes, New Jersey. He did not belong
to the class of scientific wort hies that quote Maxwell
familiarly, and glibly discuss the views of Heaviside,
but rather to the small body of men who have a clear perception of the subtle workings of the electric current.
Born in 1844, he received his early training in t he
schools of Boston; and, as it was conducted on the
older lines, he became and always remained a
CURRENT RAILWAY CONSTRUCTION.
stickler for the classics. However, the thoroughness
with which modern languages and their literature are
WE are now in a position to review the constructive
taught nowadays made him less encomiastio about the operations in which the principal rail way companies
value of Homer and Virgil in evolving the mental of the United Kingdom are at present engaged. The
faculties of the tyro, and more willing to admit the financial conditions of the p!l.st half-year were not at
strong claims put forward by colleges ancl uni \ersities all favourable for the prosecution of new works, and
several companies have greatly curtailed their expenin favour of modern subjects and modern methods.
Young Smith was still in his teens when forced to diture of additional capital. Among the companies
leave the olaes-room for the workshop. His career which have adopted this policy is the Belfast and
was carved out for him by oiroumstauces, and accord- Northern Counties, which only disbursed 10,842l. on
ingly he became a mechanical engineer. He took capital account in the first half of 1901. The prinkindly enough to his work, and sought to improve cipal work which the Belfast and Northern Counties
every opportunity that offered in order to become has bad on hand of late has been the improvement of
familiar with the scientific principles connected with the Antrim station. The additional capital expendihis manual labour. Books were bought and eagerly ture of the Great Southern and W ea tern during the
conned by the aid of midnight oil. Mechanics, past six months was 74, 7lll., the principal item being
heat, and especially electricity were his favourites. the Drumcondra link line, which involved a.n outWith characteristic firmness he eliminated distrac- lay of 13, 606l. This link line has now been
opened for traffic to North W e.ll. Sea protection
tions, and welded himself to study.
In 1870 he gave up mechanical for electrical engi- works at Youghal have been completed, and have been
neering, in the manufacturing department of which attended thus far with satisfactory results. 'J;he
profession he rose to eminence and affluence. In 1885 outlay involved in these works in the first half of this
he had charge of the electrical work connected with year was ll09l. The capital expenditure of the Great
the removal of Flood Rook reef, which obstructed Northern of Ireland in the first half of this year was
navigation at Hell Gate, and the memorable blast of 59,253l. The principal item in this expenditure was
October 11 told the thousands of spectators that lined the Sutton and Howth electric tramway, which has
both shores of the East R iver the efficient way in now been opened for traffic. The outlay made upon
which he had dealt with the 300,000 lb. of explosives this tramway (including working stock) in the past
half year was 16,377l. The Great Northern of Ireland
used on t he occasion.
A few years later he removed to Pompton Lakes, also expended 8774l. during the past six months in
a picturesque spot in the State of New Jersey, 38 doubling its line from Portaaown toTrew and Moy. The
miles from New York. Attracted by the beauty of London, Tilbury, and Southend expended 69, 783l. on
the scenery, but especially by the facilities which the capital account for the first half of this year, the
place offered for the utilisation of water power, he principal items being a ~ubsoription of il5,000l.
purchased 900 acres of land on both aides the W anaque to the Whitechapel and Bow Railway, and 13,392l.
River. At one point in its course the stream leaps for sundry work!3 on the company's own main
over a ledgE' 16 ft. high, and from this miniature line. The Whitechapel and Bow Railway is makNiagara the sure eye of the engineer saw t hat be ing steady progress, and it is expected that it
could deriYe all the power necessary for the operation will be ready for opening by Easter, 1902. The
of the extensive electrical plant which be had in con- new capital expenditure upon the Metropolitan
templation. This was in 1888, when there was so in the first half of this year was 36,075l., in which
much talk about harnessing Niagara and converting sidings and widenings figured for 10,572l. As, of
some of its vast mechanical power into the energy of course, is generally known, the great question which
presses upon the attention of the directors of the
the electric curr~nt.
A dam was built and a slender portion of the stream Metropolitan is the electrification of the town lines of
diverted into the wheel pit 25 ft. below the level of the system, so as to enable it to deal more effectively
the river. Geared to the vertical shaft of the turbine with the competition of the Central London. The
are two direct-current dynamos, one of which sup- Metropolitan District expended 47,742l. of additional
plies 10 horse-power to the works, and the other 20 capital in the first half of this year, the principal items
being 12,239l. paid out in connection with the Ealing
horse-power to the little borough of Pompton.
In the shops are constructed the igniting dynamos and South Harrow line, and a subscription of 35,000l.
originally patented in 1887, and subsequently in 1895, t o the Whiteehapel and Bow Railway. We have already
for blasting and mining purposes, and also the electric said that the Whitechapel and Bow Railway, which is
fuses of various kinds that are required for such promoted by the London, Tilbury,andSouthend and the
Metropolitan District jointly, is approaching compleoperations.
The portable dynamo has achieved considerable tion ; and the same may be said of the Ealing and South
success, having found favour with engineers in all Harrow line. The Metropolitan District is also endeaparts of the world. One hundred of them are turned vouring to attain the best system of electrification, but
out per month, while 30,000 fuses are made every week. nothing definite has been at present decided upon.
The dynamo-shops and fuse-making huts are distri- The expenditure of capital by the Midland Great
buted along the river front for quite a. distance, form- Western is almost at a. standstill. It only amounted
ing together a sort of straggling eleotrica.I hamlet. The in the first half of this year, so far as new works progenius of the place chose for his residence the crest of a perly so-called are concerned, to 2963l. ; but 21, 793l.
knoll which commands a view of the works and of the was expended for additional working stook, making
country for many a mile round, being limited by the the whole addition to capital for the half-year 24,7561.
well-timbered slopes of the Wanaque on one side, and As usual, the North Staffordshire is add in~ very

OcT.

11,

1901.]

cautiously to its capital account, the additional exp enditure for the first half of this year having been no
mo~e than 23,947f. ; the Leek and District Light
Railway figured m this total for 2895l. The new
capital exf enditure of the Taff Vale in the first half
of this year was 76,357l. The principal item in this
total was the outl~y made on the \Vmdsor dock, viz.,
23,529l. ; the remamder represented various improvements carrh d out upon lines already opened for traffic.
Thus fa r '!e have only dea lt with undertakings of
second-rat e Importance. The la rger companies have
bee~ ~xpend ing capital more freely, and have had more
am~1t10us works o~ band; still, even the larger compames have pract101lly completed their construct ion
pro~r!lmmes,_ a~d have been pr~nci~ally engaged upon
~dditlOnal stdmgs, further wtdenmgs, and station
1mpr~vements. T he capital expended in the firs t half
of thts year by the fourteen larger companies has been
as follows :
Company.
Expenditure.

Cii.ledonian .. .
...
...
. ..
. .. 778,880
G lasgow S . Western
.. .
.. .
... 221,622
Great Central
. ..
...
...
.. . 216,653
,
Eastern
...
...
...
.. . 559,114
Nor thern .. .
.. .
.. .
.. . 438,678
11
.. .
.. .
.. . 929,733
" W astern . ..
Lancashire and Y orkshire
.. .
.. . 554.146
Brighton ...
...
...
.. .
.. . 702,617
North-W astern .. .
.. .
. ..
. .. 746,349
South-Western ...
.. .
...
... 579,528
Midland . ..
. ..
.. .
. ..
.. . 1. 376,709
North British
...
. ..
.. .
.. . 452,135
,
Eastern . . .
. ..
.. .
.. . 596,187
8outb-Eastern and Chatbam ...
... 620,411
The fourteen companies accordingly expended
8! 772, 762l. between them in. the course of the past
BJX months.
At the compan1es' half-yearly meet ings,
however, a good deal of alarm has been expressed as
to the constant tendency of capital accounts to increase, whether the surrounding conditions are favourable or not; and it appears probable that the companies will have to postpone many new works to a
more convfnient season. In the new capital expenditure of the Caledonian, subscriptions to other railwa.ys fig ured for 127,500l. The Shieldmuir, Wishaw,
and Mewmains Jine has been completed, and an ex
tension of the pier at Wemyss Bay has also been
finished; while good progress has been made with the
new dock at G rangemouth, and the Cathcart and
N ewton section of the Lanarkshire and Ayrshire line.
The Glasgo w and South-Western has opened five new
platforms in connection with its t. Enoch station;
the company ha s also made more or less consider
able progress with its Barrhead line, the Gateshead and Hurlford line, and the Dalry and North
J obnstone line. The Catrine branch and the Cairn
Valley light line has been commenced.
The
directors of the Grea~ Central have not yet placed
a contract for an authorised line from Neasden
to Northolt; but they will probably do so shortly.
A cont ract for the Great Western and Great Central joint line from Northolt to High Wycombe
has been let. A further expenditure of 26, 114l. was
made in the first half of this year upon the Great
Central extension to London. In the cours~ of th9
past half-year the Great Eastern expended 37,385l. in
widening works between Ilford and R omford. A
further expenditure of 31,000l. was also made upon
the Norfolk and Suffolk joint lines ; while 56,774l.
was paid out in connection with the construction of
the Woodford and Ilford line. Of the more important works which t he G reat Western has in
hand, the South W a les and Bristol direct line, the
Acton and N ortbolt line, the Truro and N ewquay line,
t he Roath branch, and the Bristol Harbour lines have
been well advanced during the past half-year. The
Wrington Vale light line, th e East Usk extension, and
the Rhos lines near Wrexham, are approaching corn
pletion. The G reat Northern has opened for mineral
trAffic the Pleasley and Langwith section of its
Leen Valley extension. A viaduct over the main
line and ~ idiogs at Red Bank, Don caster, has made
good progress ; all the brickwork and approaches
have been completed, and two of the spans of steelwork have been erected and fixed. The Lancashire
and Yorkshire has a new line in hand from South
Shore t o Kirk ham; six of seventeen bridges have been
completed, and nine are now in progress. About twot hirds of the earthworks have also been completed.
The principal work upon which the London, Brighton,
and South Coast was engaged during the past halfyear was the enlargement of the Victoria station and
the widening of the line between Victoria and Batter
sea. The outlay made under this head during the six
months was 384:,4lll., of which 379,896l. related to
]and and compensation payments. The London and
North -Western is now working by means of new
subways nearly t he whole of the goods traffic at
Crewe separately from the passenger traffic; about 46
milett of additional lines and sidings are now available for goods and mineral traffic, and a new shed for
dealing with trans-shipped goods has been brought
inbo uAe. ['ho London and North-vVestern has heavy

E N G I N E E R I N G.
widening works in hand upon its Trent Valley and
Chester and Holyhead lines.
The London and
South- Western has opened a light line between
Basingstoke and Alton, and its Amesb ury a,nd
:Military Camp light line is approaching completion ; t he works of the Meon V alley line and the
Exmouth and Salterton Jine are also making good
progress. The Midland materially advanced its
New Mills and Hea ton Mersey line ; a tunnel at
Disley has been completed, with the exception of about
250 yards; the stations are in hand, and the line is
expected to be available for goods t raffic by the end
of this half-year. Good progress has also been made,
by the Midland with its Heysha.m harbour works. A
considerable portion of the harbour has been excavated
to its full depth; the north quay has been completed
for the greater part of its length, and the south quay
is also under construction, together with the breakwater beads. The North British has made fair progress with its Methil Dock protection works; a large
number of 50-ton blocks of concrete have been made,
and a travelling crane has been provided to deposit
them on the outside of the east pier. The masonry
work on tho Leith Walk branch is weJl advanced,
but the cuttings and embankment s have been d elayed by a large amount of rock having been
found in a deep cutt ing at Lochend. The cutting
is now, however, nearly completed. The greater part
of the works of the Corstorpbine branch have been
fini shed, and the permanent way is being laid. The
North-Eas tern expended during the past half.year
59,373l. upon an extension of its Middlesbrough dock,
and 49,989l. upon its Seaham and Hartlepool line.
The outh-E:1stern and Chatham has bad no important
new work in hand; but has been occupied with
almost endless widenings, especially in and about the
metropolis. In the course of t he past half-year
34,027t. was also paid out in connection with carriage
and wagon shops at Ashford.

GRIMSBY ELECTRIC TRAMWAYS.- Mr. Trotter, Board

of Trade electrical inspector, visited Grimsby on Fridav,
and tested the electrical appliances of the Grimsby
tramways system between that town and Cleethorpes.
The inspector expressed his satisfaction at what he had
seen.
BELGIAN METALLURGICAL lNDOSTRY.-The number of
blas t-furnaces going in the Hainaub last year was 17,
while three were out of blast. The number of steam
engines in the Hainaut in 1900 was 140, representing an
aggregate force of 5883 hors~-power. The number of
wo.rkpeople employed was 1332. The quantity of iron
minerala consumed in the Hainaub last year was 926,500
tons, of which 898,000 tons came from abroad. The quantity of coke used (all BeJ~ian) during the year was 479,350
tons. The quantity of pig made for refining in the
district last year was 165,610 tons, of the estimated value
of 574,210l- The quantity of pig made for casting in the
Hainaub last year was 2585 tons, of the estimated value of
11,082l. The quantity of steel pig made in the Hainaut
last year was 194,440 tons, of the estimated value of
792,544l. The total quantity of pig of all kinds produced
in the Hainaut last year was. accordingly, 362,635 tons
of the estimated value of 1,377,836. The output of pig
in the Hainaut last year showed a falling off of 35,755 tons,
as compared with 1899, when an output of 398,390 tons
was attained. The average price of the pig made in the
Hainant last year was 3l. 15s. 4d. per ton. This was the
highest price reached since 1873. Pig was imported into
the Hainaut last year to the extent of 305,628 tons, of
which 155,833 tons came from G reat Britain, 73,283 tons
from France, 53.684 tons from Germany, 12,260 tons
from the United States, 6770 tons from the Luxembourg,
and 3798 tons from other countries. The imports of
American pig, which did not commence until 1896, are
still small; but it should be ob:Jerved that pig of
American origin delivered by British firms to the
Hainaub is officially treated as coming from Great
Britain- that is, as being made in Great Britain. The
number of iron works in activity in the Ha.inaub last year
was 24 out of 25 existing. These works employed 74,441
workpeople ab an average remuneration of 33. 5d. per
day, and they consumed 472,520 tons of coal, 207.605 tons
of Belgian pig, and 81,040 tons of foreign pig. The pro
duction of finished iron last year was 262,995 tons, of the
estimated value of 2,000,200l. Last year's production of
finished iron showed a falling off of 81,685 tons, or 23 per
cent., as compared with 1899. The average price of rails
in the Ha.inaut last year was Bl. per ton, as compared
with 6l. 19s. 2d. per ton in 1899; 5l. 13s. 5d. per ton in
1898 ; 5l. Ss. 4d. per to~ in 1897; and 5?. 5s. ~1~. p~r ton
in 1896. There were nme steel works 1n activity m the
Hainaub last year; they employed 3765 workpeople,
a.b an average remuneration of 3s. ld. per day, and
they consumed 166.240 tons of coaJ, 46,735 tons of
Bessemer pig, 197,085 tons of Thomas pig, and 8610
tons of Belgian and foreign pig. They produced
210,165 tons of steel ingotfl, and 12,470 tons of casting
steel representing a total value of 1,359,952l. The production of finished steel last year in tlbe Hainaub was
54,330 tons below that ?f 1899. The prod?ction of steel
rails ls.sb year was st1ll moderate, but 1b showed .an
increase of 3485 tons, or 61 per cent., as compared w1bh
1899. The average price of the steel rails made in ~he
Hainaub last year was 5l. 2s. per ton ; the correspondmg
average in 1896 was 4l. lOa. per ton.

BOILER EXPLOSION NEAR CHELMSFORD.

A FORMAL investigation has been conducted ab the
Shire Hall, Chelmsford, by the Board of Trade, with
regard to the cause of a boiler explosion which occurred
on February 5th, ab the Roxwell Corn Mill~, Roxwell,
owned by Mr. E. S. Ray. The Commissioners were
Mr. Howard Smith, barrister-at-law, and Mr. G. Fullerton Bell. Mr. K. E. K . Gougb appeared for the Board
of Trade, and Mr. Suthe~:y, solicitor, for Messrs. Coleman
and Morton, engineers, Chelmsford, who were interested
in the case, bA.ving made repairs to the boiler.
In opening the yroceedings, Mr. Gough said that the
boiler was of the smgle-flued or Cornish type, 12 ft. 2 in.
in length by 4 fb. 6 in. in diameter, no information could
be obtained as to the name of the maker or the date, hub
it was purchased with the Roxwell Mills in 1868, by the
father of the present occupier, Mr. E. S. Ray. It was
only used occasionally when the adjoining stream was too
low to drive the water-wheel. In 1885 the boiler was
taken to Messrs. Coleman and Morton's works at Chelms
ford, and a new steel furnace tube was pub into it. The
aame firm in July, 1899, cleaned the boiler out and pub in
a new fusible plug, afterwards applying the hydra.ulio
test to 70 lb. pressure, twice the pressure to which it was
presumed the boiler was ordinarily worked. On January
27 last the furnace tube leaked, and M.r. Ray communicated with Messrs. Coleman and Morton, who sent over a
boiler-maker to effect repairs. The boiler-maker, it was
said, then told Mr. Ray that all the brickwork ought to
be removed and the boiler thoroughly examined ; but being
busy ab the time, Mr. Ray said he wished to run it a little
longer, and therefore did so. On Wednesday, February
5bh, the boiler exploded, the bottom plate of the middle
ring of the shell ripping longitudinally, and being torn
away close to its longitudinal seams and circumferentially
ab one side through the solid plate, and at the other side
partly through the solid plate and rivet holes at the sea.m,
leaving an opening measuring about 7ft. in length by 2 fb.
in width. The steam and water rushing from the orifice
thus ma.de, wrecked the walls of the engine and boilerhouse, and scattered the brickwork of the exterDal flues.
The boiler itself was carried 60 fb. into a road, striking
the mill in its flight, many of the windows being broken.
1tfr. Ray, the owner, who was attending the boiler ab the
time, was severely scalded and otherwise injured. The
boiler had been examined by an engineer-surveyor to the
Board of Trade, and the cause of the explosion waa found
to be wasting of the plates through corrosion.
1tfr. Gough then called a number of witnesses, amon~
them being Mr. South, engineer-surveyor to the Board of
Trade, who stated that the plate ab the bottom of the shell
where it had rent had thinned away through corrosion,
due to dampness arising from the seating. The plate ab
that part was only -fri in. in thickness. 'he evidence of
the other witnesses need not here be reproduced, inasmuch
as the substance of the greater part is included in the
lengthy summing up of the proceedings by the presiding
Commissioner, Mr. Howard Smith.
Ab the close of the taking of evidence Mr. Gough submitted a list of questions to the Court and requested
judgment thereon. The main question was whether the
explosion was due to the neglect of the owner of the boiler,
Mr. Ray, or to the neglect of the boiler-maker who had
examined the boiler, and whether Messrs. Coleman and
Morbon, the employers of the boiler-maker, were responsible for such neglect.
Mr. Suthery addressed the Court on behalf of Messrs.
Coleman and Morton, and contended that when their
workman, Charles Potter, told Mr. Ray, as he had done,
that he might work the boiler at a. pressure of 20 lb. or 25lb.
per square inch, it was merely by way of conversation for
which his clients could nob be held responsible. On the
two occasions on which Potter had been sent to the boiler
he did precisely what be was instructed to do, and if he
chose to give voluntary ad vice, sound or unsound, that,
Mr. Suthery said, was outside the scope of his authority.
Mr. Ray, addressing the Court in his own defence, said
that, knowing very little about the boiler himself, he con.
suited Messrs. Coleman and Morton with regard to it, so
as to be on the safe side. He felt that when they attended
to the boiler in July, 1899, they bad made a thorough
examination of it, and so had put him on a firm footing.
He sent to them because be wanted to have the boiler safe,
and when it stood successfully the test of 70 lb. be thought
it was safe enough for anytbmg. In January last he saw
a little leakage ab the back of the furnace, and again sent
for Messrs. Coleman and Morton, and their man, Potter
after doing some repairs, advised him to have the boiler
thoroughly examined, as it was corroding a good deal.
He {Mr. Ray) said a-s he was very busy ab the time he
would like to use it a little longer before doing that, and
Potter replied that he must use it for a.s short a time as
possible, and ab as low a pressure as possible, mentioning
20 lb. or 30 lb. Apart from the personal injury he had
sustained, Mr. Ra.y said be estimated the damage done to
his property by the explosion ab 350l.
Messrs. Ooleman and Morton's bill to Mr. Ray for 1899
mentioned "journey and time examining and cleaning
boiler," &c., the total amount of the charges being 4l. 10s.
Referring to this account, Mr. Howard Smith commented
upon the uee of the word "examining " as applied to the
boiler. Mr. Coleman replied that the word was perhaps
a wrong one to use in the account. H e denied that his
firm bad ever received instructions to really examine the
boiler. They could nob make a thorough examination for
the amount named, nor could they ha~ done so in this
case without taking the brickwork down.
Mr. Gougb, replying on behalf of the Board of Trade,
commented upon the action of Messrs. Coleman and
Morton's man, Potter, and referred to the test of the
boiler be had made in 1889, to a. pressure of 70 lb., as
having been mt\.de without sufficiont de,ba. Potter

admitted that when he was sent to the boiler the

second time he saw that th e soot taken from the flues
was damp hub be took no steps bo a~oerbain the source
of that da~pness. He (Mr. Gougb) did not prof~ss to be
an engineer hub he should have thought that 1t would
have suggeated a leakage fro~ the b1iler. There ~pp~a.red
to be at leas ~ some j ust.icat1on for l\1r. Ray oontmmng to
work the boiler, having rega.rd to the faob tha.b the pr~
sure at which ib might be worked had been named to h1m
by a. oompetenb man, or ab least by one sent oub by his
employers as a competent man.
Mr Ho ward Smith pointed out that Mr. Suthery contend~d that Potter was only sent to the mill to do oartain
repair3, and that the ad~ice whio~ be afterwards gave
was outside the scope of hts authonty.
Mr Gough replied that this was true, but could it be
urged tbab when the faob was brought to Mr. Coleman's
knowledge that Potter had been t o Mr. lt~J.y's and had
found the boiler in the bad condition described, no
information had been sent to Mr. Ray by Messrs. Colaman and Morton ?
Mr. Howard Smith said that at present he thought
Potter was acting within the scope of his autho~ty, but
it was a point of law which he would have to conPider.
Mr. Coleman said that the principal part of the work
charged for was nob by a.~y means the exami!lation of the
boi1er. There were repaus mad e and the bo1ler was then
tested by hydraulic pressure. He thought the use of the
word " examining," in the accounfl, was wrong.
Mr. Howa.rd Smith then gave j udgement. He dealt
very ably and at great length with the e vidence which
had been given, and traced the history of the boiler up to
the day of the explosion, together wibh all the vanous
details of its construction and working. The owner,
Mr. Ray, who had given evidence, had had no mechanical
training, but he had seen his father work the boiler and
engine, and from what he had eeen he worked them
himself. According to his statement, aboub July, 1899,
he requested M essrs. ColE:man and M orton to examine the
boiler for him. Mr. Colema.n in his evidence had told the
Court that he received no instructions to examine the
boiler in the sense of seeing that it was in good condition;
but that he undersbood his instructions to be to see what
repairs were necessary and to effect such repairs. Accordingly, Charles Potter, who had had 26 years' experience
in boiler repairing, and bad been employed by Messrs.
Coleman and Morton for two years, reoei ved instructions
from the foreman to go to Roxwell Mills, as ib was thought
there was a. leakage ab the flange of the feed pipe. Potter,
and others with him, cleaned the boiler outl and pub in a
fusible plu~. Potter said the boiler then looked in very
fair condit10n, and th~ thickness of the plate where he
bored a hole for the inserbion of the plug was h of an
inch. No brickwork was t aken down from the shell so
that he could not make a real examination of the boiler.
He subsequently applied a cold water test to a pressure
of 70 lb., or twice the presumed ordinary working pressure. The account for this work as rendered by Messrs.
Coleman and Morton r ead ''journey and time examining
and cleaning b:>iler &c." The question was, What would
an ordinary person think from the oonduob of Potter ab
the boiler, and from the aocounb afterwards sent in ? The
Commissioners, Mr. Howa.rd Smith said, had come to
the conclusion that such a person would suppose thatl the
boiler had been examined in the sense of being thoroughly
examined, although of course any one acquainted with
such matters would have known that such was nob the
case. The Commissioners thought that Mr. R'l.y was
justified, considering what he knew of the management
and upkeep of bo~ers, in belie.v~ng that ~he boiler was
examined and was m safe conditaon, espemally as he had
stated in his evidence that his objeob in going to M essrs.
Coleman and Morton was to get the boiler examined.
In January, 1901, there was a leakage in the furnace tube,
and M essrs. Coleman and M orbon, who were again called
in sent Potter, who removed the defective rivets, caulked
th'e plates that were sprung, and put in a new fusible
plug. The boiler had been short of water, and 1\{r. Ray
mquired if much d~mage bad been don~, and Pott~r
replied in the negat1ve. Potter then noticed damp m
the soob taken from the flues. On taking oub some
bricks near the blow-off tap where he thought leakage
would be found, he ascertained that there was corrosion going on, and he told Mr. Ray that the boiler was
getting into a bad state. and that the soo~er he had ib
examined the better. M.r. Ray, however, w1shed to work
it a little longer, and Potter informed him that a pressure
of 30 lb. t o 35 lb., at which it bad been working, was t oo
much, and that it should nob exceed 20 lb. or 25 lb. at the
utmost. Potter moved the weight on the le ver, thinking
the val ve would blow-off at 20 lb., and then left. He never
inquired from Mr. Rar as t o the age of the boiler, a
question the Commiss10ners were rather suprised he did
not put. On February 5th, the fire was lighted, and soon
afterwards the steam gauge registered 28 lb., bub the
safeby valve did nob bl~woff. Sot:ne little time !lfter this
the boiler exRloded, w1th the ser1ous resulbs laid before
the Court. 1 he boiler was subsequently examined by
Mr. South on behalf of the B oard of Trade, and he fou nd
thab the explosion was due to the wasting of the bottom
plate of the shell for abou t 2 fb. circumferentially, through
external corrosion caused by dampness. The plate born
from the shell, and which was found among the d ebris in
two pieces, was about .J, in. thick at the thinnest part,
and Mr. South was of opinion that it wsts of even less
thickness at the original line of fracture. The b oiler was
unable to stand any useful pressure A.b all, and burst from
sheer weakness through the wasting of the shell plates
externally.
In answer t0 questions pub by the B oard of Trade, Mr.
Howard Smith said the Commissioners found that no
specific instructions were given by Mr. Ray to Messrs.
Coleman and Morton, and that he was justified in thinking

. E N G I N E E R I N G.
that the boiler was thoroughly examined by their man in
July, 1899. Bub the boiler wa,g certainly n<?t thorou.gbly
examined on that or the subsequent oooa.ston. Ne1ther
was it properly te3ted by hydraulic pressure, because
Potter, not knowing the working pressure or the age of the
boiler had no reliable data tlo go upon. He was nob
justifi~d in giving assent to the boiler b3ing worke~ ab
25 lb. pressure.. Mr. Ray di4 n~t take pro~er precaub10ns
to cause the bmler t o be per10d1~ally ~xa.mme~ by .a cam
patent p erw n. but he was j ust1fied m workmg 1b after
the information given him by Potter. Proper mea.sures
were nob taken to insure the boiler being worked under
safe conditions. The explosion was nob caussd by the
noglecb of Mr. Ray, hub by the neglect of Charles Pobter,
who had behaved in a most negligent manner. He was
sent in January last to see to a leakage in the fu~naoe, and
this he remedied, and he then found the holler to be
much corroded. As the representative of a oo~petent
firm he ouO'hb to have told Mr. Ray that the b01ler was
nob 'safe b~b instead of this, although he advised an
early exa~ination, h~ said t.he boil~r could work ab 20 lb.
or 25 lb. for a shorb t1me. What nghb bad he to say th!l't,
seeing that the boiler was not fib for any pressure ? W1th
regard to Mr. Suthery's cont~ntion. t~e Commissione~S
considered that Potter was acblng w1thm the scope of h1s
authority when he gave his opini?n as to the cond~tion of
the b~iler and that what he d1d was nob outstde bhe
ordinary ~ork of an engineer. Therefore, having found
him negligent, they mus~ find ~essra. Coleman and
Morton responsible for the1r servants neglect. The Commis.~ioners did this with reluctance, because they thought
Potter had not wittingly been guilby of negligence, and
also because Messrs. Coleman and Morton were a firm of
engineers of experience and repute.
On this findmg of the Court, Mr. Gough asked that
M essrs. Coleman and Morton should be ordered t o pay
a. parb of the co~t of the investigation. The total expense
would be about 60l.
Mr. Subhery urged thab no such order should be made,
as Potter had not done anything which be believed to ~
improper. He ought, of ~ourse, to h~v~ reported to his
employers without expressmg any opm10n to Mr. Ray.
It was just one of those cases where an unfortunate event
had occurred without anyone being particularly responsible.
.
.
Mr. Coleman, in reply to Mr. Howard Smith, satd thab
Potter's wages were 26s. a w~ek., That .showed they
never intended him to "exam me the boiler, although
wages were very much lower in thab locality than in
London.
Mr. Ho ward S mith said that some order must be made,
hub ib should be as light as possible. He thought tha.b
Messrs. Coleman and Morton should pay to the Board of
Trade the sum of 10l. He was sorry to make such an
order, but it would be of no use to make any order
against Potter.
Mr. Suthery said he a.greed :with the ju~gmenb, the
Courb having found Potter guilty of . n~glgence, bub,
with all deference~ he asked the CommtSSlOners to grant
a case on the point as to whether employers were bound
by the voluntary advice given by their servants.
Mr. Howard Smith declined to do this, and said he
musb leave 1\!Ir. Suthery to obtain a wri t of mandamus if
he wanted a case.
The proceedings then terminated.

THE LOSS OF THE ''COBRA."

To THE EDITOR OF ENGINEERING.
Sm, - In such reports, &c., as I have happened to see
concerning the los3 of the Cobra., nothing whatever has
been said about the provision made in the boat for resist
in~ unusual sbresse3 due to the "gyroscopic" effect set up
by the rotation of her turbines and screws.
It appears verv surprisin~ that such a matter should be
overlooked, but possibly 1t may have been. If so, it is
clearly important to call attention bo it.
Ib seems plain that the stresses produced by "gyro
scopic " effect musb have been vastly greater than anything of the kind to be met with in a veesel of usual
design, thab they must have been added to usual stresses,
and that the shape of the boat was such as to afford a
great leverage tending to break her back.
N otwibhstlanding all the distaste which one must feel,
under present circumstances, for anything tending to
call the design of the b~at into question, ib seems but
proper to snggest thab this point should be "thrashed
out."
Yours respectfully,
Enw. W. SERRELL, Jun.
7. Rue Drouot, Paris, October 5, 1901.
[The point referred bo by Mr. Serrell was raised by a
correspondent in our last issue.-ED. E .]
To THE E DITOR 01!" E NGINEERING.
SIR,-Although my name is nob mentioned by "Ignoramus" as one of the "competent readers " who might be
able t o solve his question, nevertheless, I venture to reply
and hope I may put the matter sufficiently plain so that
even an ignoramus will be able to understand H.
The two sets of scr~ws that were employed in the
Cobra revolved in opposite directions at the same speed.
When two gyroscopes are mounted in the same frame,
provided that they are of the same weight, and are r obated
ab the same velocity in opposite directions, they do not
offer any real or apparent stability or stiffness to t he
frame. On the contrary, the frame will rotate or turn at
any angle with the same freedom that it would if the
gyro3copes were nob spun at all. However, if one is
stopped then there is some apparent stability. Then,
again, a. single gyroscope spinnmg in a frame offerd n o
resistance to being tilted in a vertical direction, providing
that the frame is sufficiently rigid to prevent the gyro-

[OcT.

I I, I

901.

scope from moving to the right or to the left. It is the

freedom of the angle to ohang~ in a hori z~>nta.l direo~ion
which gives the stiffness or restStanoe agan~sb a v~rti~l
movement; stop either, and the other vaDlBhes wtth 1t.
Consequently, m any case, the gyroscopic ~otion ?f the
turbines and the screws could nob have conbnbuted m the
least degree to the breaking in two of the Cobra.
Yours truly,
Lmdon, October 9. 1901.
HIRAM S. MAXIM.

FOREIGN COMPETITION IN NEW

ZEALAND.
To T:WC EDITOR OF ENGINEERING.
Sm,- I have been not only a. reader hub a student of
your excellent p9:per for many years, and. ~nowing the
interest you take m the development of Bnblsh trade, I
venture to address you shortly on one or two phaseshome and Colonial- of the subject. I enclose you one or
two newspaper clippings to indicn.be what is taking place
here ; these could be multiplied- for instance, there is a.
British steamer from New York ab our wharf discharging twenty-five Baldwin . locom~tives. I may sa.y. in
passing that these machmes wdl nob bear compa~1son
with English locomotives; they are, however, considerably cheaper, being like ready-made boots, made to
siz~. They are rough, but moderately stron~. and are
well suited to the class of driver {as a rule) we have, who
seem to be incapable of feeling any sympathy with their
engines. and bang them about accordingly.
Our Government have been more than loud in their
Imperialistic professions, and have done much to justify
them, ab no ex~ense to themselves; indeed, when you
consider everythmg, their chief motive seems to encourage situations which give a J_>lausible justification for
their drawing exorbitant travelhng and other allowanc9:9;
how otherwise can you account for the fact that wh1le
they were loudest with their professions of devotEd
loyalty and were bleeding the peoplE>, to confirm them,
they were entering into a. contract with an American
firm {Spreckles}, subsidising. its steamers to the excl~s~on
of the local Union Steamship Company and the Bntish
lines-discriminating against the m, in facb, and sending
its orders for locomotive3, carriages, and wagons to
America. On the other hand, it is only fair to say that,
so far as the mercantile community othH than those connei'Jted as agents with the London shipping lines is concerned, they are unable to understand the position ;
these lines will carry from New York and Hamburg vid
London to New Zealand, at L ondon to New Zealand rates,
and when a loading direct oa.n be obtained at considerably lower rates ; and, again, when we see how British
railways discriminate against British goods in favour of
the foreigner, ib appears to us poor colonia.ls as simply
monstrous.
When you further consider all this in the light of the
utter absence of interest in, and sympathy with, Bribish
trade that seems to us to obtain with your official class;
indeed, the reading of official Acts, the replies to qcestions in the House of Commons, give us the impression
that the British merchant and manufacturer is a nuisance
to be discouraged, and they are discouraged by the
encouragement of the German and American manufacturer; men of the Lord Lansdowne and Balfour type, and
a. large unmber of the Civil Service superior people, should
be impossible in the modern properlyequipped 1 State.
They are, however, hastening the day when salaries
shall be paid o capable men and pell8ions only to the de
serving. In the struggle which is clearly impending
there wHl be no places for such men if Britain is to main.
bain her posibion.
Yours faithfully,
JOHN RANT\.IN,
Wellington, N.Z., A ugust 26, 1901,

S coTTISH INDUSTRIES, NATURAL HISTORY, AROHLEO

LOGY, E DUCATION, &o.-In connection with the Glasgow
meeting of the British Association there were prepared
by a special committee, over which Mr. Roberb Caird,
LL.D., presided, t hree hand-books, dealing {1) with the
Fauna, Flora, and geology of the Clyde area; (2) with
local industries of G lasgow and the \Vest of Scotland ;
and (3) with arcbmology, education, medical and charitable institutions. The treatment of the several subjects
is so admirable and complete that ib is s~tisfactory to
learn that the books oan now be purchased by any one.
The first volume especially is most comprehensive and is
the fullest record ever prepared, and will be welcomed by
all in terested in natural history. The volume dealing
with indus.bries ~ u.seful, altho~gh, perhap~, not so uni<t.ue.
It deals with mmmg, quarrymg, metallurgy, mecbantoa.l
engineering, marine engineering and shipbuilding, trans
porb, textile industries, chemical industries, &o. ; but in
one or two instances the treatment is too suggestive of
the catalogue-a result probably of an effort to include
the greatest amount of information in limited space.
The third volume is, fr om some points of view, even
more interesting, for Glasgow, although perhaps not
so rich as some other cities in its arobceologioal fe1t ure~,
has the undoubted merib of J?OSsessing the finest of
educational and medical institub1on~, while excellin~ in
charity; and a study of the records of such organisat10ns
affords a. useful object.lesson which may bring profit.
Accompanying the volumes is a s plendid map of the district, illustrative of the subjects dealt with. Altogether,
the series is worthy alike of the city and of t he British
Association; and on its high merit those concerned, and
notably Dr. Cn.ird, are to be elicited. Information tegarding the publication of the books may be had from
the Glasgow secretary of the British Association, Mr.
John S. Samuel, 30, Georgesquare, Glaegow.

"MESOUDIE.''

THE RECONSTRUCTION OF THE TURKISH BATTLESHIP

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A VERY interesting work is just being carried out

at Genoa in connection with the reconstruction of
the Turkish batt leship Mesoudie. It will be remembered that h er sister ship the Memdouhiye, which was
purchased for the British Navy at the t ime of the
R usso-Turkiah war, and re-named the Superb, was
re-armed in 1890, and new propelling machinery fit ted
i n her , but the single screw was retained.
The Turkish authorities, however, determined at all
costs to have the vessel converted for t win screws, and
Messrs. Ansaldo, of Genoa, to whom t he work of
r econstruction was entrusted, have carried out the
n ecessary modifications in a very substantial way.
With a vessel not intended for t win-screws the

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attachment of the stern brackets t o a stern, not specially strengthened and constructed to receive them, is
likely to be a source of weakness, necessitating a
stiff covering being fitted to the shafts, carried from
the V-brackets t o the after ring of t he stern tube, so
as to tie them firmly to t he hull, and prevent any foreand -aft motion. But as will be seen in Figs. 1 and 3, in
the case of the Mesoudie ad vantage has been taken of
the existing screw opening t o bring t he propellers close
togE:ther, thus reducing the leverage as much as possible. The stern brackets have an extra breadth
of base attachment to the hull, e.nd their weight and
that of t he stern shafting being well supported by the
flange of the J_-shaped bar at the bottom of the stern

frame, a very rigid structu re is the result, and it

was possible to dispense with the covering in of the
shafts without fear of any undue vibration, or foreand-aft movement of the V-frames.
.Bot h the inner and outer bottoms were found to be
in most excellent condit ion, and t he vessel was so
thoroughly well built (by the Thames Iron Works in
1874), and of such excellent material, that when she is
completed she will be a most serviceable ship, and
good for many years of service.
The new propelling machinery consists of two sets
of triple-expansion four-cylinder inverted engines of
11,000 horse-power, the steam being provided by
sixteen water-tube boilers of the Niclausse t ype,
a rranged in four groups of four boilers each. Both
engines and boilers have been constructed by Messrs.
G. Ansa.ldo and Co., in their shops at Sampierdarena,
near Genoa, and it is noteworthy that this is the first
set of machinery constructed in Italy t he material of
which (with the exception of the largeshafts and t he
boiler t ube) has been forthcoming in the country itself,
the cast e.nd ma.llea.ble steel and the malleable cast

iron being furnished by Messrs. Ansaldo's new steel

works, and t he special bronzes from t heir yellow metal
works, both situate at Cornigliano. Ligure.
The armament is by Messrs. Vicker s, Sons, and
Maxim, Limite d, and consists of two 9.2-in, wire guns
of 45 calibres, breech-loading; twelve 6-in. wire guns
of 45 calibres, breech-loading and quick-firing ; fourteen 3-in. quick-firing guns ; ten quick-firing 6-pounders
and two 3p ounders ; besides two light boat guns
complete, with their carriages.
The 9.2-in. guns are mounted on a revolving platform on t he upper deck, car rying a complete shield of
hardened steel armour, 6 in. thick at the front and
3 in. at t he back and sides. The twelve 6-in. guns
are placed in t he citadel and mounted on central pivot
carriages carrying a semi-circular shield of hardened
steel armour, 4-i in. thick, which completely closes the
gun aperture.*
The vessel and her machinery are completed.

Ul
t-o)

* This mounting was illustrated in

ENGINEERING

by

Fig. 23, on page 197 a.nte, and described on page 199 atnu.

\0

530

A further instalment of the vessels to be reconstructed

by Messrs. Ansaldo is expected to arrive in a short
time. These consist of the Orkanieh, the Osmanieh,
and the Azizieh, built at Glasgow, the Mukadem-iHa.ir, built at Constantinople, and the Mahmudieh,
Fethi-Bulend, Avni-Illah, and Muin-i- Zaffer, built
at Blackwall. These three last - named and the
Mukadem -i-Hair are to be refitted throughout and
have new engines and boilers, whilst the other four
vessels are to have a general overhaul, and be rearmed.
The main armament of the larger vessels will consist of one 8-in. wire gnn at the stem, one 6-in. wire
gun at the stern, and eight 6-in. guns in the citadel,
whilst the auxiliary armament includes eight 3-in.

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

[OcT.

I 1, I

901.

judgment of the House of Lords on the Taff Vale case.

It is arousing a feeling of more intense interest in
the labour world than anything since the passing of
the Labour Laws in 1875. The remarks of each of
the judges are given without comment. Perhaps the
most important contribution in the number is the series
of paragraphs dealing with the loss of time question.
The general secretary states that be had received a letter
from certain works, not mentioned, in which the local
secretary explains that '' stopping work is the only
means whereby we can make our manager understand
that we have a. grievance." The writer of " Gleanings,"
who is the general secretary, replies that the" manager
must be deficient in intellect not to observe that the
men have, or think they have, a grievance." He then
tells the members that this is not the way to proceed
in order to get a. grievance righted. He states that
there are men ever ready to throw down their tools
and go home for a day, but these are mostly the
greatest cowards when a deputation is appointed to
wait upon a manager to thresh the question out. He
impresses upon the men that it is more clifficulb to
arrange a dispute when ill-feeling has been aroused by
an illegal stoppage. He then proceeds to deal with
the less serious, but still most inconvenient practice of
men individua.Uy leaving work without the knowledge
of the manager. He insists that members must, in all
cases, see the manager, or person in authority, before
leaving thair posts. He drives the lesson home in
various ways in order to make the members understand their duties and responsibilities.

Another hitch occurred in the Grimsby dispute at

the end of last week, when the "sharemen," shippers, and mates refused to accept arbitration on the
lines suggested by Lord Y arborough and Lord Heneage.
The chief ground of refusal appeared to be to the
proposal to sign on at the Federation office, the proper
office under the Board of Trade being preferred. 1'he
engineers and fishermen had agreed to accept arbi tration, and these were much disappointed when they
found that further obstacles to a settlement blocked
the way. The whole story of this dispute is one of
complexity. Those engaged in it appear to be incapable of arranging matters mutually; and when
arbitration is proposed, it is eithH wholly opposed,
or accepted with reservations. When all seemed to
be going smoothly for arbitration, one section of over
1000 men had stood in the way, and those the most
gultthis projected work is completed, it will certainly
important of all- the skippers and mates. The reports
make the reconstructed Turkish fleet a force to be
indicate that they were quite rude to LordYarborough,
reckoned with, should it be properly manned and
the peacemaker, at the meeting called to consider the
maintained, as it ought to be if it is to prove of real

q\lestion, his remarks and those of other speakers

serv1ce.
being impatiently listened to by thoEe present. His
overtures at the meeting were rejected by about 1000
INDUSTRIAL NOTES.
to 30. There was therefore another dead-lock in the
TilE suggested Conference of Friendly Societies on
situation. With trade dislocated and distress general,
Old-Age Pensions has taken place, and a committee
a feeling of sad discontent was apparent. The
has been appointed to draw up a scheme. But there
Board of Trade appears to have done all it could to
is this drawback, the conference did not represent the
promote a. peaceful settlement, but so long as nny
chief affiliated orders, nor the Hearts of Oak, so that
powerful section opposed it, nothing of a feasible
its proceedings and action will not carry very mnch
character could be effected. The dispute has been a
weight. As reported in last week's "Industrial
stubborn o11e, in its way as bad as that at the Bethesda
Notes," six of the great affiliated orders and the Hearts
qu~rries, one side or the other being unbending just
of Oak have refused to take part in the preparation of a.
at the time when a. little compliance would probably
The monthly r eport of the National Union of Boot effect a settlement. Happily, at the last moment, the
scheme. These seven societies represent 2, 782,649
members out of an aggregate of 3,587,513 in the and Shoe Operatives states that, with the exception "F5haremen" gave way, and arbitration was agreed
affiliated orders; the importance of their abstention of Bristol and Kingswood, the complaint generally is upon.
cannot therefore be exaggerated. The composition of that the state of trade is "about as bad as it cn.n
the conference was hardly such as to carry weight in be." It goes on to say that usually at this time of
In the Wolverhampton district the iron trade was
year
orders
for
winter
goods
are
coming
in,
but
it
friendly society circles. Of the delegates elected to
regarded as favourable last week, though, being on
form an executive committ ee to draft the scheme and appears that but few heavy orders have as yet been t he eve, as it were, of the quarterly meetings, buying
promote it, five represented ~1iners' ltelief Funds and booked. As a natural consequence there have been was limited to small lots of finished iron. Agents for
one the Locomotive Driver's and Firemen's Society. more disputes. When trade falls off these are more shipping houses were supposed to be holding back in
The miners' representatives are quite apart from the numerous than in busy t imes, and when there is a. turn the expectation of concessions ; but the higher prices
various miners' associations. The tontine bodies and t he for the better they also increase. In the former case of coal and of raw iron render it unlikely that lower
railway interests are also represented. Old-age pensions they are alleged to be caused by employers, in the prices will rule. Raw iron advanced in most qualities
may be very desirable, but, as State-endowed institu- latter case by the men. In one case, at Hackney, a. from Is. 6d. to as high as 10s. for certain q~alities.
tions they cannot be forced by sectional conferences dispute arose, and men were discharged. The matter Finished iron was firm at full quoted rates 10 most
by whomsoever called. The convening body was the came before the committee of inquiry, and then before cases, and tube strip was in great demand at the
Royal Hearts of Oak Dividing Society, with 10,000 the Conciliation Board; but the employer refused to higher prices. Black sheets were firm, as were also
mem'Lers, not the Hearts of Oak Society, with its 100,000 reinstate the men, and, instead, took on some Jewish hoop and rivet iron. Employment has been fairly
members. One can understand that a. dividing society hands. Then all the workers struck, union and non- good in the engineering and allied trades; in some
would desire a pension scheme-it suggests .the ide.?' of union hands alike. In a few days a settlement was branches there is continued activity, with good
making the best of both worlds. The N abonal Cen- effected, and the men resumed work. This dispute prospects ahead. In the hardware industries there
ference of Friendly Societies was not represented, and might have been arranged without a strike. Another are variations, but most of them are ft1irly employed ;
yet that body stands to those societies in much the small dispute over 2d. occurred in the same district, in very few is there any serious slackneEs manifest
same relation as the Trades Congress does to trade but was settled. In another case, at Desborough, a as yet.
unions. If any body had a right t o take up the quae- strike took place over.a.lleged injury to a pair of boots;
and formulate a scheme, it is the National Conference, after about two days the matter was settled. A
In the Birmingham district the iron market was
similar case occurred at Glasgow, but it was arranged.
which holds aloof.
The strike at Ayr, after lasting three months, has been rather flat last week. Buyers were withholding
mutually settled by the president of the union and the orders, apparently with an expecta tion o_f some
The Amalgamated ~ociety of Rail w_ay Se~van~s firm. Some other disputes are recorded, but not of changes in current rates. As coal and r aw Iron are
have been holding thetr General Coun01l meetmg m serious consequence. In one case it was thought that dea.rer, makers of iron were cautious as to accepting
London the proceedings of which lasted throughout the discharges by a firm were a sign of antagonism to new business at quoted rates. There has been a steady
last we~k. The London Council welcomed the dele- the union; but it was shown that they were caused by demand for best bars at current rates. Makers of
gates by a ba.nquet at the H olborn Restaurant, with slackness in trade-the men would be taken on nga.in unmarked bars are well supplied with orders at full
rates. The meeting of the Unmarked Bar Association
Sir Charles Dilke in the chair. Mr. Lough, ~1.P., as soon as the trade became a little more brjsk.
to discu~s a revision of prices came to no decision,
Mr. Bell, M. P., Messrs. George Howell, W. C.
but adjourned till the present week. The wages of
Steadman, L .C.C., W. M. Thompson, and others
responded to the various toasts. Naturally, both at
The conference of the National Federation of ~liners puddlers have been reduced 5. per cent..under the
the annual general meeting and at the ba.uquet, .the just held in Birmingham went over pretty much the sliding seal~, other workers 10 proportion. The
Taff Vale ca.e occupied a. good de_a.l of attentt?n. same ground as previous confe;ences ~ince the f~de~a. engineering branches of trade are moderately employed
There is still hanging over the soCiety the pendmg tion was instituted. The Mmes E tghtHours Btll, as a whole, though the activity has slackened off
law action for damages in connection with that case ; the 1\iines Regulation Acts Amendment Bill, and somewhat. The other iron, steel, and metal-using
a matter which has yet to be tried. One of the some cognate matters occupied, as usual, the attention industries vary ; but for the most part they are
methods proposed to be adopt~d in .order to ave~t. the of the delegates. On one point there was a new de fairly well employed, a few only beiug slack.
consequences of the recent lDJ uncttons and dectstons parture, the outcome of which it is difficult to for~see.
The position of the engineering industries throughin the House of Lords, is a large increase of Labour The federation has been all along pledged to an Etght
M emhers in the House of Commons. One of the Hours' Bill, from bank to bank, and hitherto that body out Lancashire remains about the ~ame, but the
speakers at the banquet cautioned the unions agai!lst has not attempted to obtain an eight hours' d~y by the outlook is thought to be less encouraging. The activity
being too sectional in this respect, the tend~~cy bemg usual trade union means. Whether the act10n of the so long reported is generally well maintn.in~d. Electo put forward ~iners to r~present nunmg con- Scottish miners has stirred the English miners up, or trical engineers are still busy, and have a fan amount
stituencies, and ratlway men m places where they not it is certain t hat efforts will now be made to of work on hand, but it is said that orders are mostly
predominate. That is a grav.e d~nger. .The narrow obt~in the eight hours without comi.ng to Parliam_ent for quick delivery, those of a heavier kind being less
idea of sectional representa.t10n 1s growmg amongst for its sanction. Notices are to be gtven to the mme- plentiful. Machine-tool makers are mostly fairly well
the very class who formerly denounced class repre- owners with a view of bringing about a conference on engaged, but the orders coming f?rward ~re not .resentation; but, after all, the whole is greater ~ban a. the subject. It is probable that many, if not most of garded as satisfactory. The t exttle ma~hme- ma.kmg
put. One speaker said that the. r~cent act10n of the coalowners, would prefer mutual a.rr~ngement to industry is still ' 'ery slack, no gr~at 1mproven:ent
employers was in the nature of retahat10n, becau~e. the the hard and fast lines of an Act of Parhament, the being manifest. Other branches contmue fairly acttve.
unions and their leaders went too far. The decisions provisions of which would be enforced by legal On the whole the position is not discouraging. In
of this General Council meeting are more or. less of a measures probably by the help of the mines inspectors. the iron trades business has been slow, transactions
legisla.ti ve character a.?~ as t? matters of pohcy. T~e This wo~ld be often harassing alike to employers and being limited. There is, however, a firm tone generAnother prominent subject before the ally. Makers hold. to th~ full quoted rates, bot.h ~s
executive are an admtmstrattve body, bound to car1r employed.
out the conclusions arrived at. Generally, the CounCil conference was the determination of the miners to run regards raw. a~d fimshe? Iron. The steel trade 1s m
considered how best to advance the ~nteres~s. of the labour candidates at Parliamentary elections. The a strong post t10n, both 10 respect of orders and rates.
railway workers, and imp~ove t~etr pos1t10n, by miners have already five members- Durham, NorthumThe Penrhyn di~pute drags its slow length along.
greater security for life and hm.b? higher rates of pay, berland South vVales and Yorkshire send repre- There does not seem to be any indication of a real
shorter hours, and better cond1t1~ns of employme?t sentaLi;es- not including the member for Merthyr. settlement between the parties. Mr. E . A. Young,
One of the points before the meetmg was the quest~on There are doubtless some other constituencies that the manager at the quarries, has replied categorically
of the companies ~llowiog t~e ~fficers .of the umon could return a working miner. In one th~ng the to the hon. sec. of the Christian Social Reform League
federation is vastly gaining grou~d, namely, ID conft1cilities for attendmg the somety s meetmgs.
solidating miners' interests under 1ts control. There as to th c origin of the dispute, and ~he conduct of the
have been no defections; on the contrary, the federa- management and of the men respecttvely. The letter
The Ironworkers' Jou1"1'l,O;l for October contn:ins, as so tion is extending, and it is well supplied with funde.
of ~Ir. Young, and the copies of documents given in
many other trade union reports have conta.med, the

OcT.

r, rgo1.]

1
~=======================the pamphlet, deserve careful attention, not only by
the general public, but by t he officers of trade unions
and labour leaders. It is useless t'J ignore facts, for
they stanu the test of time. s~me of those given
reflect badly upon the men, especially the conduct of
those which led to the closing of the quarries.

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

531

In th; facing point lock and d~teotor, t? e sliding bar Y

works the poin ts a~ sho'"Yn,. a,nd 1ts end 1~ con~ected by

suitable cranks to e1t her msiqe Y 1 or outs1de Y lock-bat~
SIGNALLING.*
for facing points. Further, 1t not only detects}tnd lo~ks
both tongues of the points by p~unge~
en termg
By M:R. I. A. Tnun., ~I. I NsT. C.E. .
THE chnnges which steam effected when 1t en-rue m to ~se the d etector bars z, z,. but _the .JMV X 1~ ?f such a shape
tl. , an aid to more rapid movement o~ pcopl? aud m.atol'lnJ, as to firml y lock the pomts m e1~her p,os1t10n.
2. The Low-P1essw~ P?WU!11Utttc (] 1gs. 4 and 5).- The
on land nud wn.ter, cre..'l.ted an ever-moroasmg de~1re and
The r ecent G~rma.n Socialist Congress did little to wttn t for more perfect and faster means of etfeotmg that main operating force 1s a~r at a P\essure of about 15 lh.,
while
the
controlling
is effected by a1r at half that pressure.
movement.
And
now
that
n.nother
force
of
nn,ture,
advance the cause of labour. It showed bow intent
pressures can he increa.c;ed.. All t~e levers are
socialists can be in the ende.1.vour to prevent freedom electricity, hns come to the u.id of steam, t he gr~wth of These
interlocked mechanically in the stgnal oabm by tappet
railways
has
d_eveloped
en'?rm<;
m
sly
t
and
the
des~
re
tmd
of thought and speech in their own ranks, if the

1
differen ce be only on mattera of policy. Two of the necoss1ty for m tercommumcat10n, ~u all ~ountr10s, hus looking.
When a pair of points have to be moved, t_he .s1gna man
not
only
in orea:~ed , _but must g<? on morens mg.; a..."i a conchief leaders were pitted one against the other, and sequence the engmeers of ratlways are <?bhged to fit pulls over his lever, but only part ~vay., agam st ~stop T .
one bad to submit to what was pra.ctica.lly a vote of new ~:;ign~lling systems in order to d~al ~Vlth the ~a~ger A valve in the cabin is opet~ed, winch IS a red':lcmg_valve
censure by the Congress. Tyranny is bad in all ca.ses, stations wi th a greater number of mam hues and s1dmgs U, and sends a curren t of air ~lot:tg a con.troll~n&' p1pe P,
but it is well known t hat the tyranny of a mob is the and larger ~:;ig-nal cabins, and the increase in number of to the valve R at the points. Th1~ supphes an fr?m th.e
most intol~rable.
trttins and ~1gher spe~ds. ~t has become neces~ary to main supply to one end of the cybnd~r, and the p1ston IS
place the pom ts and d1sbmt s1gna.lg at a greater q1~tan~e pushed over. This operates the mott<?n-plate throug;~ a
from
the
cabins.
The
result
of
these
altered
condt
tlOns
IS complete stroke, and th~ work done IS as follows : I he
There is seriou3 unrest among the miners, both in
that
some
other
power
is
required
to
tal~e the place .of first portion- say one-thud of the movement- unlC?cks
France and Belgi um, just now. At Liege, out of manual. 'f hree new forces have been trted- hydrauhc, the points and olo es any selector ports. Then the pomts
22,883 men employed at 48 co3.l pits, 15,064 were on pneumatic, n.nd electric.
are pushed over, and the last third of the move~e~t lo~ks
strike at the close of la.st week. Those who did not
them again, completes and s~ts _anY. elector an: ctrcu1ts.
come out a.nd join the strike were s ubjected to intimiAt the same time a return m ch cat10n current IS sent to
HYDUAULI C YSTEMS Ob' R .\ILWAY IGNALLING.
dation, and the gendarmerie ha.d to be employed.
The experience gained from . ignal work. operated by the return valve in the cabin, which . remove the stop
There were seYera.l violent collisions, and many arrests, this force proves that it cannot com.Pe.te wtth t~e pmm- against the point lever and completes 1ts stroke.
All the valves are now ready for a reve~e movement.
but no serious injuries are reported. A general strik e matic and electric sy terns, and so 1t 1s not t\dv1sable to
It will be seen thn.t there are two reducmg valves and
is proposed.
take up time in de.')cribing it.
two piston stops for each lever, and two valve n.n d
one cylinder and piston and five tubes A, B, C, 1'>,
P
NEUMATIC
YSTEl\fS
Ob'
RAJT,WAY
SlON.\Ll,fNG
.
The French coa.lminers ha.ve declared in favour of a.
and 0, for each pnir of points, . apart from. selector
There aro two systoms that use n.ir n.s an operating tubes. In order to lower t\ s1gnal, th~ sign!llmfl:n
general strike, on November 1, for a minimum wage,
pulls his levor over to it~ full extent. ~his admits an
an eight-hours' da.y, and a. pension of 2 francs per day force :
1. The lVestinghouse H igh-P'lassWIe.- In the fir~t inRtal- from the main . upply m to the reducmg. valve conafter twenty-five years o service, irreJpective of age.
that were fitted in the U nited tates the cont rol- nected with the lever, and then n. con~rolling ourre~t
The mineowne rs declare that they ca.nnol:i grant the lations
ling power used was water, under pressure, or a combina- is sent to one of the valves R on t~e .s1gnal post ; th.1s
demands, and the men resol ve to strike.
ti on entitled hydro-pneuma,tic ; but as it was found that may be called the operating valve.. Th1~ op~ns the mam
electricity was a more convenien t power, it was substit uted, supply into the cylinder A. The piStOl~ lS ra1sed and the
Another dockers' strike has taken pla~e at Havre. and the present prnotice is called t he electro-pneumatic
is lowered to " Line clear," and IS held there. I!l
Some 200 men em ployed at the docks sudd enly cea.sed system. Th~ opeyatiug- power is high-pt:essure air, which signal
order to return the signal to " Danger, " the lever 1s
work on Friday in last week, and every effort was is conveyed m i-m. pipe.~ from the mtun supply tC? the pushed back and is stopped about half way by I. Then
wade to cause a general strike. Some disturbances operating cylinders, o.f which there is on~ ~tt each stgt~a l the other co;1trolling pipe conveys a su~RlY. of air. to t~e
arose, the military were called out, and some of the and at each pair of pomts. There are auxthary reservOirs other controlling valve on the post. Il;u s admits an
near each ignal and each pair of point , to collect any from main supply to the up,per ~1~d of cyhnder, and _the
strike leaders were arrested.
moisture in the air supply.
.
. . signal returns to " Danger pos1t10n. At the sam~ time
T o operate a signal : When the lever m the oabm 1s a return indication current is sent through the p1pe to
The Canadian woollen workera have struck aga.inst
a. redllction in wage3. The employers s~ty that it is pulled over, an electric cu~rent is sent t? the magnet ~I the valve in the cabin, and the stop is removed, and tl~e
(. eo Fie-. 1, page 532), and 1ts armature B I S attracted to 1t. signal lever completes its stroke. There are two mam
necessitated in order to compete with British manu- 'fhe
spmdle F then closes the exhaust t:>Ort and pushes the valves and one sub idiary one, and one cylinder piston at
. facturers, whose goods sell a.t a lower price.
SJ?inclle P off its sen.t, admitting an through E above the signal post, and there is one reducing valve and a cyp1stou P, and the sigt1al is put to " Line clear." When linder and piston in connection with the signal lever, and
The great stri ke a.t St1.n Francisco, commenoel on the electric current is broken1 either by a track circuit, if there are four pipes between cabin a.nd signal.
July 21, has collapsed, the employer s being victorious used, or by the signalman, B 1s raised by the spring round
If a track circuit is fitted, the track blocks are insulated
P, the air admission is closed, and ex haust opened at H, with a primary battery in each block circuit, and at any
all along th o line.
and the signal goes to " Danger " by th e counterwei~ht.
signal that the track circuit may control an electro1'o operate n, pair of points : The chamber A (]ig. 2) magnet, which is in the circuit, controls the air valve,
n is reported tha.t 1800 miners employed at a col receives air pressure from the m~tin l>ipe, and the . lide and thus holds the signal nt " Line clear " as long as it
liery in tbe Swansea Valley have struck against a fore- valveS controls the ports C and D aclm1tting the air to the is ener,Psed; but when a short circuit is mad e by a train
man who had instituted a. successful prosecution cylinder, whilst the port E leads to the ex haust. Ou each or vehicle, or the oironit is broken, the magnet is deagainst a man for having a match in his possession s1de of the slide valve chamber nre placed small cylinders energised, the air admission valve is closed, the exhaust
while in t he mine. The men clamour for safety a.nd V N and V R, with pistons K and K, of which the rods is opened, and the signal goes to "Danger., If, howpass through stuffirig-boxes and bear agniust the slide ever, the track is empty, and lowering electric contacts
yet resent measures to insure it.
valve. A passage connects the slide-valve chamber A are closed by a train ahead of the block automati0ally or
with a passage leading into a piu-valve oham~er, an_d
The employers at the steel and t inpla.te ,\lorks at therefore the latter always contnms compressed an. Th1s by a signalman in the cabin, the signal is lowered to
Morriston have conceded a.n advance of 3d. per ton. chamber surrounds a small spindle valve\ of which the " Line clear."
The men d emanded 6d. advance. Some works have prolongn.tion bears against the spindle of tne armature of
ELECTRIC SYS1'ElJS 0 1!' RAILWAY SIGNALLING.
refused to give the advance.
the magnet lVI N. Tlle lower end of this armature spindle
Many systems have been tried, and several have been
nets as an exhaust valve.
carefull y thought out and worked. One of the first that
The audit in the South 'V ales coa.l trade has resulted
The magnet lVI R on the left side is of precisely similar was fitted in the United tates was by the Union witch
in a. decraase in wages of 3i per cent. from the construction, but the electric circuits are so arranged that and Signal Company. The electric current was supplied
1st inst. The rates are now 68! above the wages when the one magnet is magt1etised the other is demag- from primary batteries, and as their electromotive force
netised.
is small, and the current generated also small, it was
stat; dard of 1879.
In the position shown, the magnet M N is magnetised, necessary to give special a ttention to the design and
and consequen tly air from the chamber has been admitted construction of the semaphore arm and to the coun tarIt has been usual for workmen in t he ha.rdwd.re in- to push t he p1ston K with the slide valve S into weight and general fittings, so as to eliminate friction.
dustrie3 in Staffordshire and Worcestershire to keep the position shown, and thus admitting: air from the As a result a light, thin, smooth arm of aluminium Wt\S
1
holiday at the "Uak carnivals." The employers com- chamber A through por t D into the rig11t cnd of the adopted, w1th
the spectacles as a counterweight. A
plain of loss of time and neglect of work. Last week main cylinder, and placing t he piston T and the small, low electromotive force motor was fitted, running
a number of men were summoned for absenting them- points in to their normal po it10n. If now i t were desired over 1500 revolutions per minute, and the revolutions of
selves from work, and were ordered to pay substantial to reverse the position of the points, the sigt1nlman the motor were as 1080 to 1 of the semaphore hH~ft, or
in the box has simply to move a lever. This movemeut 180 revolutions to clear the signal arm to " Line clear "
damages.
changes the electric oircui ts, and an opposite set of move- through GO deg. ; this took six seconds. The motor
ments are effected. In order to prevent au accidental nl ways runs in one direction. When the signalman pulls
A dispute has arisen in connection with the rubber displncemeut of the slide valve , a looking-pin Q is proover his lever, the elee;tric circuit is closed and a current
trade a.s to the right of combination. lt is said tha.t vided.
sent to the motor, and the signal is lowered to " Line
some union officials were discharged for belonging to
Air from the cen tral chamber A finds its way through clear." This movemen t swite;hes in an electromagnet
the union.
}.fen strike beca.use others will not a small port under the t:>iston ~I, and passes through a which holds t he signal n.t " Line clear," and cuts out the
belong to the union. Where is the difference ? It is a small hole in the piston mto the cylinder end 1 thus eq un.- motor. When the electric circui t is broken, an electric
lising the pressure on both sides of the ptston. 'fbe slot frees the signal arm at the ame time that the magnet
policy which cuts both ways.
spring W th en pushes the piston M down, and brings the is de-energised, and the signal goes to " Danger " autoRepresentatives of the Coal Port~rs' Union and of locking-pin Q into one of the recesses in the back of the matically ttnd instantly.
Another system fitted in the United tates by the
the Coa.l Merchants' Association ha.ve been in confer- slide valve S. When it is d esired to release the slide
val ve, the magnet M L is excited by an electric current Taylor Signal Company is entitely electrical, and both
ence on the question of wages, and it is said that the from
the signal-box, and an exlutust val ve P L is opened. tl~e points and signu.l~ are operated by electro-motors
employers, while not admitting all the grievances com- The exhaust port being larger thttn the hole in the piston
plained of, have agreed to some new conditions, which lVI , the excess of pressure on the underside of the piston With secondary batten es. The whole are mechanically
interlocked in the signal cabin; the rails are used as a
will mean a. substantial advance in wages to carmen, will force the latter up, thereby releltsing the slide valve circuit
where advisable. When the signalman has to use
and other concessions to the men generally. The re S. As soon as the magnet lV.l: L is demngnetised, the a pair of points, he pulls his lever over and closes the
movements are reversed.
suits will be r eported to the union for its sanction.
circuit to the motor at the points, which revolves twenty
As soon as, and not before, the points are in their new t~es while the point driving ~heel is making one revoposition and locked, an electric circuit IN or I R (Fig. 3) lutiOn. The first quarter of 1ts revolution unlocks the
MERSEY DocK E sTATE.-The statement of tonnage and 1s completed by the switch in box I , and an indicating cur- points, and, after the points are moved over the last
receipts of the 1'Iersey Dock estate for the past year shows rent is sent to the sig-nal-box. As Ion&' as the signalman quarter revolution r e-locks them. The locking rev~rses
that 12,500,000 tons of shipping paid rates inwards or out- has not received th1s indication, he 1s preven ted by a the pole-changing mechanism, and reverses the armature
wards, yielding a revenue, including town dues on goods, httch from completing the stroke of his point lever, and connec~ion.s fo.r the. rev~rse movement, and also closes the
of 1,190,994l., an increase on the year of 63,000l. The therefore he is unable, on accom1t of the mechanical re~urn md~cat1_on CircUlt .. The p~wer required to effect
total receipts from all sources exceeded 1,500, OOOl. The interlocking, to lower any conflicting signal until the this reversmg lS from a coiled spnng which is compressed
expenditure included 600,000l. pa.id in interest on the points are properly set nnd locked.
by the locking, but is released at the end of the travel
bonded debt, and 100,000l. carried to the sinking fund,
The points are moved in the contrary direction by a set
which now amounts to 250,000l. The capital expenditure
* P aper read before the In ternational Engineering of reverse movements. The return indication current
on he dook system is over 25,000, OOOl.
_
Congress, Glasgow, 1901.
ection I. : Rnil ways.
to the cabin releases the point lever, and completes the

MODERN PRACTICE IN RA.IL\VAY

.u, u-

532

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

freei!lg of _the. signals that may have to be lowered in connectiOn With 1t.
T o lower a signal to " Line clear'' the lever is pulled
over, and a Cl~rrent is sent to the .:notor (1 to 6 horsepo~er). It w1nds up a chain which raises the counterweig~,t an? _lo~ers the signal; as it reaches the cc Line
clear pos1t10n 1t actuates the pole-changer, switches in

Pr{J.l.

[O cT.

" 1. There . must always_ be qne or more signals at

Danger " m rear of a trnm.
2. It must ~ot be ~ible for t he signals in any block
to b~ lo~ered if any v~h1cle of a train is left in thn.t block,
or wttht.n reasonable distance ahead of the next cc starter."
'fhe signals are all operated by lon~pull ~Jectromagnets
(F1gs. 24 and 25, page 533) hy the passmg tram. The points,

a!ld 12), which operates a breaking contact BC close to the

Signal, and ns the magnet is short-cirouited the armature
falls, and the spectacle counterweight sends the signal to
cc Danger."
Having sent both the signals to " Danger ''
and stop~ at t he n~xt station, the train goes on to a
farther station, and as 1t passes the "starter" it puts it to
cc D anger. "
Th ere are now t h ree signals

at " Danger " in

RfJ. 2.

'

Fig .'I.

1 I, I go 1.

r-

I~

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----- --,.,,.,
II IllI .
Y'
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Fig.3 .

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Fig.S .

Fig.fl.
Fig.11.

Fig.10

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MC

Fig.8.

s
B

Fig. 7.

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an electromagnet which holds the signal at "Line clear,"

and cuts out the motor. When tlie magnet ci rcuit is
broken, the counterweight sends the signal to ''Danger,"
and restores the gearing to its normal position.
In this country, the first -practical electrical system was
fitted to work autou1atically on the Li verpool Overhead
Railway by the anthor. The conditions which were provided for and sanctioned by the Board of Trade were :

---
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~.aaTER

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which are only u~ed for "cross-over" purposes, &Cl., and,

except at the terminal stations, are hardly ever required,
are operated by means of manual power, a.nd interlocked
me<lhanically and eleP.trically with all signals that either
protect or conflict with them (Figs. 6 and 7).
As a train leaves a station, the two sie-nals "Starter"
and next station "Home" must bo at "Lme clear." The
last vehicle of the train hns a striking bn.r S B (Figs. 8

rear of the train. When the train gets over a full trainlength ahead of the '' starter, " and it has gone to, and is,
at "Danger," the striking bn.r on the rear vehicle closes a
pair of contacts MC (Fig. 7), and this Clircuit is completed
by the signal just passed being at ' 'Danger" CC. A current
goes throngh this circuit to the "starter" and " Home"
m the rear block, and each is lowered to " Line clear " by
its electromagnet. As the magnet attracts its armature,

OcT. r t, 190 1.]

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

a swito~ (Fig. 11) automatically switches in a resistance wh10h reduces th~ lo,~ering current of 3 to 5 a.m res
~o 0.3 to 0.5 or 0.1, wh10h 18 amply sufficient for the hold
m~ current.. The cost of electrical energy with a three
mm~e serviCe and for 20 hours l>6r day is 400 x 1 second
~ 5 - ~000 am~reseconds per s1gnal ; and assuming each
St~a1 1s at " Lme clear " 600 minutes per day and taldn
0. of an ampere, the total consumpt10n a.t Sd. per kilo~

533

'

Fig. 10.. :rhe " makers" t\~d '' breakers" are on the 1 (Figs. 15 to 19). Suppose we take one cabin containing 300
same prm01ple as those of Ltverpool. 'fhe electric our- levers, or about one-fourth of all the big Crewe system.
rent was from small secondary batteries, the special de- There are some 150 cables of 3 in. diameter from the cabin,
sign . of. M . L~v~zzari,, the honorary secretary of the and eaoh cable may contain six leads. It is quite clear that
lnst1tut10n of C1vil Engmeers of France, who is associated these cables, though they are placed in wooden troughs,
could be supported on posts overhead. But if the lowwith the author in all tiis work in France.
Another important piece of signal work is on the pressure pneumatic system were fitted to the same 300W estern Railway of- France, close to P aris. The signals lever cabin, it would neces.<3itate 1200 tubes at least being

Fifj. 13

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Pig . 16

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taken from the cabin to work the signals and_points ; and

.in addition it should be pointed out that at Crewe (as at
many other stations) the distant si~als could not be
work~ ~y pneumatic power alone, owmg to the distance.
;Ele?tn 01ty wo~ld have to be employed as well, owing to
1ts mherent qmckness.
The working of a pair of facing points is explained by
igs. 13a~d14. Theeleo~romotor, designed at Crewe, works
~
m a cast-u on box sunk m the ground, and in an oil bath
(Fig. 14). As the motor revolves, it actuates a worm work~
in~ two oom wheels, which engage respectively with the
pomts and locking gearing. The points are unlocked by

half the throw of one rod ; then th.e complete throw of the

other rod moves them over, and the completion of the throw
Fig./..3 .
?f ~he ~rst rod locks the po~nts again and sends a return
- -------------- -------------------------,r'
md1cat10n current to the cabm, wnich allows the compleM
1
_all ! I
..---.
.. ,., 0 I I
tion of the movement of the point lever which was stopped
when only half pulled over, and also completes the selector
rod movement at the points. The trailing points are
actuat~ by long-p~ll electromagnets (Fig. 18). The lever
frame IS also t\ pe01al feature of the Crewe system with
and points are worked from small levers in the cabin, and tappet interlocking. 'rhe signals (Fig. 19) are o~rated
are all operated by electromasnets. T he points are looked, by long-pull magnets, in conjunction with resistances and
and all repeating and selectmg work done by one com- witch~ for automatically reducing the lowering of the
plete throw of a point magnet. Drawings of the arrang~ holdi!lg curren~, as .alre9;d y explained.
It 1s not ~ss1ble m th1s systen~ t~ lowe~ any signal or to
ments are not sliown, as the regulations affecting traffic
in France are so widely different to those insisted on by move any pomts unless the confhctmg pomts are "right ,
and locked, and all controlling signals are at ' Danger ,
t he Board of 1,rade in this kingdom.
We come now to the most important of all the modern It will be noted t~at in the lever frarue at Crewe (Fig.17)
systems of signalling in this kingdom-the Crewe system, there are two t1ers of levers, thus reducing the size
fitted at Crewe under the supervision of Mr. W ebb of the cabin and the work of t he signalman. But

(Q t

_...._ _!!!... _ ._ -- - - - J
(704Lf )

watt-hour for the whole railwn.y is about the cost of one

man's wages for one day.
At the Paris Exhibition an automatic system was
fitted, covering 2 miles of line (Figs. 8, 9, and 10), on the
same broad lines as at Live~ol, but on a reduced scale
all round. The signal arms S are light frames covered
with red cloth, and pivoted nearly at the centre of gravity.
Each arm and its smallruagnet M, resistance, switch, and
contacts are enolosed in a weathertight case with a glass
in front and a lamp behind, as is clearly shown in

1-- . . J

534

E N G I N E R 1 N G.

[OcT.

I I , I 96 t .

launched on 'l'hu rsday, the 3rd inst., the seventh vesse I

there nro ''ariations which can be uande by taking
LAUNCHES AND TRIAL TRIPS.
built by them to the order of the Boulder Line, Limited,
certain parts of systems that hav~ been fitted, and have
ON Saturday, the 28bh ulb., there was launched from of L :mdon. the twin-screw steamer named Dra.yton
stood the test of ttme and hard work, and making n.nother
combination. The following is such a one: it i entirely the shipyard of M OSEra. Cochran and Co., at Anoan, a. G range. The dimensions of this vessel are as foJlow:
electrical, and can be worked either with or without a large steel double-bowed foursorew steamer named Sea- Length between p erpendiculars, 450ft. ; breadth, 55 fl'. ;
comhe, constructed to the designs and specifications of depth moulded, 33 ft. 4 in. ; with a gross tonnage of about
track circuit (Figs. 22 and 23).
The description embraces a track circuit by which Mes3rs. FJannery and Given. L ond on, for the W al- 6500 tons. The Drayton Grange has been built to the
signals are put automatically to "Danger, by a passing lasey Urban District Council. The principal dimen- special requirements of the owners, for their regular trade
train, but they are lowered to "Line clear, by the signal- sions are: Length, 140 ft. ; beam, 50 fb. ; and moulded to Australia, the Cape, and the River Plate, and is
man, and not automatically. Automaticity is p erfectly depth, 13 h. There are four steam gangways of special designed to suit the many requirements of a vessel eneasy to arrange if it i desired. All the levers in the design, 12 fb. wide. The machinery consists of two gaged in a. lare-e cargo and passenger trade. The refricabin tl.re tappet looked. E ach signal is lowered by a long- set~ of engines of the triple-expansiOn type, working gerating machmery for freezing the dead meat in insulatwo propellers-one in the bow and one in the stern, ted holds is placed between the tunnels in the after
pull electromagnet, as described above.
The points are worked as follows (Figs. 20 and 21): with cyhnders 13 in., 22 in., and 34 in. in diameter, and main hold. A cold chamber for carrying the more perishable provisions, &c , for the passengers' consumption durIn t he case of facing points, it seems better theo- length of stroke 22! in.
ing the voyage is fitted up convenient to the refrigerati ng
retically to operate the points by one pair of ma~nets,
The s.s. Arad, whioh is being constructed by Messrs. machinery room. All the accommodation for the pasn.nd the bolt and locking bar by another. PractiCally,
however, there are objections to this, the most serious Wigbam-Richardson and Co . Limited, Neptune Works, sengers and officers is provided in a lar~e steel deokhouse
being the almost absolute necessity of having two main Newca.stle-on-Tyne, for the Royal Hungarian Sea Naviga- built round th e engine and boiler casiDgs. The roof of
current switches at the points ; this rut\y be got over by tion Company" Adria.," Limited, of Budapesb and F iu rue, this midship house forma a. very spacious promenade, being
u ing a separate lever in the cabin, but that entail extra was successfully launched on Monday afternoon, Septem practically free from obstruction. Access to this proexpense, time, &c. I prefer, therefore, to work them ber 30. The steamer is 375ft. in len!{bh by 48 ft. beam. menade from the saloon is had by a. stairway leading to a
by one pair of magnets, of a slightly incren ed power over The propelling machinery is of the triple-expansion type. d eckhouse above the saloon, attached to which is the
~hose for working trailing points. This I do by inorea .
captain's room and a smoke-room. Her ma.ohinery and
Oa M onday, the 30th ulb., the e.s. Corinthia wa.a boilers are also conatructcd by Messrs. W orkma.n, Olark,
mg the stroke to 7 in. (7 in. to 8 in. being the usual
travel of a bar), which is divided up as follows : The launched by Messrs. Joseph L. Tbompson and SonP, and Co., Limibed.
point lever is pulled over half way; the first 1~ in. of Limited, of the North Sands Shipbuilding Yard, Sundertravel of the magnet moves the bar and unlooT{s t ho land, having been built to the order of the International
Meesrs. Furness, Wibhy, and Co., Limited, Hartlepool,
poit?-ts, t he middle 4 in. operates the points, and the final Line Steamship Company, Limited, of Wbitby, and is the launched
the la rge steel screw steamer Manchester Market,
1~ m. comple tes the travel of the bar and locks the seventh vessel M essrs. Tbompson have bnilb for these
built to the order of Messre. The Manchester LinerP,
points- total, 7 in. At the same time the selector bar is owners . She is built to Lloyd's highest class on the three- Limited,
their Manchester Canal, New Orleans, and
operated. In addition to the ordinary plunger bolt look- deck rules, but with only one deck laid, and the prin- Canadian for
service. The vessel is 372 ft. in length, a nd hag
in~ th~ two switch rails, the meohamsm working the cipal dimensions are : Length between perpendioulara,
capacity
of
354,549
cubic
feet,
and
a
total
ballast
a
total
49
ft.
6
in.
;
breadth
extreme,
49
fb.
6
in.
;
depth
pomts ts also locked by the magnets themselves, as will
capacity of 1350 tons. Tri pie-expansion engines will be
be evident later. The bolt does not look in the St\me moulded, 27 fb. 6 in. The propelling ma.ohinery has been supplied
and fitted by M essrs. Ricbardsone, Westgarth,
notch for the different position of the point , two constructed by Meesrs. John Diokinson and Sons, and Co., Limited,
Hartlepool, with cylinders 25 in., 40 in.,
notches being cut, one top and one bottom, correspond- Limited, of Sunderland, the diameter of the cylinders and 68 in. in diameter
by 48 in. stroke, steam being
ing" feathers , forming part of the bolt engaging with being 34! in., 40 in., and 66 in. by 45 in. stroke. Steam supplied by three single-ended
boilers 14 f b. 6 in. by 11ft.
them, and making the lock. The whole travel of the is supplied by threa large multitubular boilers working a t long and 100 lb pressure.
magnets is communicated to the bar and bolt. Thus it 160 lb. pressure.
will be seen that the magnet exerts its force only on the
On M onday, the 30th ulb., Messrs. R opner and Son,
bar and bolt at the commencement, when the bar re~uires
M ONTE VI DEo.-Dredging machinery for Monte Video
most force to lift it. 'Vhen the bn,r is partially hfted, Stooktonon-Tees, launched a steel screw steamer of the
and consequently requires a considerably diminished following dimensions, vi z : L ength, 358 ft. 3 in. ; breadth harbour has been contracted for with a Bruges firm. The
extreme, 46 fb. 6 in. ; depth moulded, 27 fb. 3 in. The contract amounts to 200,000l. The machinery is to be
force, the magnet takes up the movement of the points.
. The method of conveymg the movement to the points vessel is fitted with the builders' patent trunk deck. The deli Vf red on the spot early next year.
1s by means of the well-known tumbler and jaw type. The engines will be triple-expansion, supplied by M e&rs.
CATALOGUE .- M essrs. Kirchner and Co., of 21 to 25,
link connecting the two magnets engages with the tumbler Blair and Co., Limited, of Stocktonon-Tees, having
at T (Fjg. 21). The first movement (namely, 1~ in.) of the cylinders 24 in., 40 in., and 66 in. in diameter by 45 in. Tabernacle-street, Finsbury-square, L ondon, have senb
t umbler unlocks the jaw J . It then moves it over (4 in.}, stroke, with two main boilers, each 15 ft. 9 in. in diameter us a good-sized catalogue, which, we understand, is an
and finally locks it again. The jaw forms part of a bell- by 10 fb. 6 in. long, the workin~ pressure of same being extract from a larger catalogue in course of preparation.
crank, the other arm of which is arranged to give an 160 l b. The vessel has been bmlb to the order of Messrs. Th~ present volu~e deals with machines for builders,
adju table throw. Thi is very necessary for accurato R . Ropner and Co., of W est Hartlepool, a nd is named cabmetmakers, cbam manufacturers, wagon works, agricultu ral implement makers, pianoforte and organ builders,
working, as the slightest wear or movement of the stock Tolesby.
p~rquetry floo~ing w9rks, &c. The .complete catalogue
rails should at once be provided for i if cranks of set length
or motion plates cut out of the solid are used, no adjustThe Shirakumo, torpedo-boat destroyer, built for the wlll also contam parbtcuJa rs of maohmery for sa.w-miJh,
ments can afterwards be easily made. 1'he bolt and bnr Japanese Government by Messrs. J ohn I. Thornyoroft planing-mills, and cork and brush factories. In the
are fitted with detectors for conveying the return current and Co., Limited, of Chiswiok, was launched on Tuesday, present volume there are illustrations and particulars of
to the cabin, and this completes the movement of the the 1st inst. The vessel, which is the firsb of two now several series of machines, together with many views
lever. By an air cu hion arrangement to the magnets, completing ab Chiswick, ba.s a guaranteed speed of illustrating the varieties of work they will torn oub.the blow usually associated with magnet-operated mecha- 3l knots carrying a. load of 40 tons. The length is T.be ~inclair comet la~p. manufactured by Messrs.
nism is practically eliminated.
216ft. 9 in., and the beam 20ft. 9 in. The engines are S mclatr and Co, of 19, E ldon-street, London, E. C., is
It should be carefully pointed out here that there have triP.le-oompound, with four cylinders, and there are four made in many sizes and forms, most of which are illusbeen many complaints made in connection with electrical b01lers of the " Thornyoroft-Schuls " type. The arma- tra ted in the makers' new catalogue. In addition to those
fittings, of leako.~e, short circuits, &c. The reason for ment is the same as that of British war vessels of this for giving light, there are others for blue flames, which can
these complaints 15 quite olear: improper and insufficient class. The keel of this vessel was laid on February 28 be used with petroleum engines, for melting lead oub of
insulation, flimsily-made contacts, and so forth. It has last, so that she has been built practically in seven wa.ter-p.ipe joints, for hea~in~ tar, and other purp'?Ses. A
been tated in print that induction currents have a months. Six destroyers have already been built by this Small ltghtJDg. lamp, Wetghmg 8~ lb 1 and elVlDg 100
candle-power~ 1s made for platelayers working m tunnels.
erious effect on electrically-worked signals and points. firm for the Japanese Government.
For steam boilers petroleum burn ers are made of 2 to 20
But it must be asserted in the plo.inest language that
neither induction currents nor tne mo t violent atmoThe Alexandrian, the latest addition to the Fleet of horse-p ower. Smaller burners are made for cooking, and
pheric electrical disturbances affect a current of 50 volts Messrs. F. L eyland and Co., Limited, Liverpool, com- are extremely bandy for this .purpose.-Tbe Brush Eleoor over, having a volume in accord with the resistance of pleted a successful trial trip off the Tyne on Tuesday, the tri~l Engineering Comp~n~, Ltmited, havesentus a copy of
1st inst. This steamer has bePn constructed by Messrs. thet~new.cataloguedescnpt1veof the output of their Falcon
the conducting lead~ = C; and as r~gards the in ulation Wigham-Riohardson and Co., Limhed, at their Neptune Engme and Car Works, Loughborough. These include
W orks, Newcasbleon-Tyne. She is of steel, 425 ft. in st~m locomotives of all types, from special engines for
and fitting of leads, and the dressing, making, and length, by 46~ ft. breadth, by 30~ ft. in depth. The narrow-gauge plantation lines up to fairly powerful stanfitting of contacts and switches, if the ~:~ame care and pro~elling machinery consists of a set of triple-expansion dard gauge freight and passenger eng ines. The comthought are taken about them t hat are taken in the engmes, which, with the boilers, have been built by pany also make steam tramway engines, railway coaches,
makw~ and fixing of hydraulic and pneumatic gearing, Messrs. Wigham-Richardson and Co., Limited. During and tramoe.rs.-The Jones and Lamson Machine Comthere ts less risk with the electric gearing ; and, on the the trial trip they worked without the slightest hitch, ~~ny,, of Springfield, Vermont, and Ex?hange BuildingP,
other hand, there is more certainty of its working pro- giving satisfaction to all concerned.
Btr.mu~gham, b_ave sent us a o~py of theu ne w Clitalogue,
p erly than with hydraulic or pneuD?atic arrange!Ilents.
wh1ch IS a. oap1ta.lly gob up hotle volume describing the
Then ru:1 to qUlckn~ss. There 1s no force m nature
Messrs. 0. S. Swan and Hunter, Limited, launched on flab turret lathe, and illustrating various pieces of work
whidh is so in tantaneous in its notion as electricity, or W ednesday, the 2nd inst., a steel screw steamer named for the production of which it is specially recommended.
so amenable to the varied wants for which it may be Mira, designed for carrying oil in bulk, which has been -The L ondon R:ubber Manuf!-"cturing 9ompany, of De:ptused. Consider the present question of operating signals built to the order of Messrs. Bessler, Waeohter, and Co., ford, have pubhshed a new h sb of the1r goods, which mand p oints. It takes con iclernbly less tnan a second to of L ondon, for whom M essrs. Stephens, Sutton, and olu.d~ sheet rubber.r..gland paokin~, and rubber tyres.-Mr.
lower a signal or to move and lock a pair of points by Stephens, Newoa.stle, are the managers. The leading W1lliam Boby, of \:>alisbury House, L ondon Wall, has pubelectromagnets; and the tottll time taken to complete an dimensions of the vessel are : L ength over all, 355 ft. ; lis~ed a new li.st of users of the Cbevalet Boby hea.ber-deoperation, including the return indication current, is far beam extreme, 47 ft. ; and depth moulded. 29 ft. 1 in. tanse~ fo~ freemg feed waters from scale-forming materiale.
less than that taken by any other force. This is a known She will carry a total dead weight of oil and bunkers of The list moludes a number of important electric ligh ting
u.n d proved fact. Pneumatically. worked signals at 500 5600 tons. The machinery has been constructed by plants.-Messrs. John Spencer, Limited, of t he Globe
yards distance take nine or ten seconds to complete the Messrs. Blair and Co., Limited, of Stocktonon-Tees, and Tube Works, Walsall, have issued the twenty -first edition
return current ; and it is not practicable, even if it i pos- consists of a seb of triple.expansion engi nes, having of their list of gas pipes, weld less tubing, and fittings of
sible, to work signals at 1200 yards (ttnd it is often cylinders 25 in., 42 in., and 68 m. in diameter by 45 in. all kinds. The lisb also illustrates patterns of trolley
advisable to increase that distance) by any power except stroke. steam being supplied by two single.ended boilers, poles as s~ pplied to a. number of different towns.-We
electricity.
16 fb. 6 in. in diameter by 11 ft. long, working ab 180 lb. have rece1ved from M essrs. Robey and Co., Limited of
the Gl?be W o.rks, Lincoln, copies of steam engine c~ta
preesure.
logues m Enghah and French. M easurements are given
F uEL IN R ussiA.- The deliveriesofcomhustible upon the
in. both the English. and the. metric systems, and the
There
was
launched
on
W
ednesday,
the
2nd
insb.
,
from
outhem Ru ian lines last year amounted to 454,251 ,390 the yard of Messrs. Allsup and Co., Limited, P reston, R 1ob.ardson automab1o e~pans1on gear is described in
poods, as compared with 3G9,048,280 p oods in 1899.
Geo. R10hards and Co., Limited of
the steamer Scotb, the first of two -powerful twinscrew detail.-Messrs.
Broadhea.tb, n ear Manchester, have issued a oata.lo~e of
bugs
built!
for
the
L
ondon
and
Indu.t
Docks
Company.
BounN~UOUTH TRA.MWAYs.-At the Bournemouth T own
machine tools . The tools of thia firm, it is well known
L
ength
between
p
erpendiculars,
90
ft.
;
breadth
moulded.
Council on Friday a long and hea.ted discussion took place
are marked by great originality in design. The ma.ohine;
depth
moulded,
12
fb.
The
vessel
is
to
be
fitted
2
l
ft.
;
on a proposal to obtai n p ower to construct an electlic with water-tube boilers of modern type, working ab 200 l b. illustrated in this catalogue inolude side-planing machines
tramway from Lansdowno, along Bath-rond, to the Pier, pressure, and two sets of compound Eurface condensing of various k inds, lathes, millin~ machines, boring milla
and from the Pier, along Exoter-road, to the quare. The engmes, 19 in. and 40 in. in diameter by 24 in., working and pa.tt er~-~aking plant. - The Steel Company of
proposal was defeated hy twelve votes to ten, hut a proScotland, L1m1ted, of GlMgow, have published a. souvenir
ab
120
lb.
pressure,
and
capable
of
developing
1000
in.
}>osal to ex tend the proposed tramway at Pn.rkwoocl-road, dica.ted horse-power.
of the G la.egow Exhibi tion. which contains a number of
Boscombe, was carried. A scheme to construct tramwayH
capi.t~l illustrations. ~f the ~uildings and court~ in
in other parts of the borough at a cost of noarly 250,0001.
add1t1on to engravmgs relatmg more directly to the
Mese r~. 'Vorkman, OJark, and Co., Limited, Helfast, products of the firm
will be shortly commenced.

OcT.

1 1,

E: N G 1N E E R 1N G.

19or.]

"ENGINEERING" ILLUSTRATED PATENT

RECORD.
COMPILED BY

w.

LLOYD WISE.

SEI.ECT.IID ABSTRACTS OF RECENT PUBLISHED SPEOIFIOATIONS

UNDER THE ACTS OF 1883- 1888.
The num-ber oj views given in the Specification D1awi'11{Js i8 stated
in each case ; where none are mentioned, the Specification is
not illustrated.
Where inventions are communicated jrom abroad, the N ames,
&:c., of the Communicators aTe ,qiven in italics.
Copies of Specifications may be obtained at the P atent Otlice Sale
Branch, !6, Sot~thamptm Buildings, Ohamcery-lane, lV.C., at
the ttni{orm price of 8d.
The date of the advertistment of the acc.eptance o.f a Complete
Svecification i.s, in each case, given aJIM' the abstm ct, unless the
Pattnt ha.s been sealed, when the date of sealing is given.
Any person may, at any time within ttco months from the date of
the advertU;ement of the acceptance of a Oo1nplete Specijication,
give notice at the Pate-nt Office of opposition to the g1ant of a
Patent on any of the grounds mentioned in the A cts.

AGRICULTURAL APPLIANCES.
17,345. P. J. Parmlter, Salisbury, Wilts. Flat
Hoeing Machine. [6 F igs.] OotiOber 1, 1900.-:-Ia t his ma-

tion No. 12,466 of 1901, when m eans must be provided for .causlog
t he inte" als between making and breaking and breakmg a nd
making contact respectively t o be unequal, as, for example, when
a storage battery has tiO be charged , and when the .ma ke and br eak
of contact in eaoh oase must occur when the potential of the battery
and of t be charging current are equal and iJ? opposition, accord!ng
to this invention, and with the ob~ect of contmuo?sly c~mpensatmg
for variat ions In battery potential, the battery Itself IS ca?sed to
determine, in accordance with its potential for the time bem~, the
instant of the make a nd break of contact. The battery may etther
be included in the circuit of t he actuating electromagnet, or it
may be caused to not indirectly by various means. (Accepted
August 7, 1901.)

535

space, ther eby causing loss of gas and _irreg:ularities in . the

ini t ial velocities and gas pressures, fo?hng m the oartlldge
chamber and possibly in the br eech mecbamsm, and, pe~b~ps, de!lts
and rents in t he oases themselves. Accord ing to thiS mvention
the mouth of the cartridge case is made to act as a gas check, its
outer edge being made to project sufficiently far b~yond the rest
of the exterior surface to cause it to tit olosely mto t he cart
ridge chamber. In some arrangements illustrated, th.e front e nd
of the case is t hickened or formed with a bead or With an outwardly bent channel, or ia bent or curved outwardly so as to
produce a flaring e nd which tits t;he barrel. (Accepted .A. ugust 7,
1901.)

11,400. E. Edwards, London. ( W. Kent, Chicago. l ll.,

U.S.A.) Smokeless Powder. June 4! 1901.-Sr;nokeless
Measuring powder
for firearms according to this inventiC?n comp r~ses pre

17,642. W. D. B. Duddell, London.

[1 Fig. ] October 4, 1900. -A deli~te .m e~ns

for indirectly measuri ng current for the purpose of mdicattng
c urrent 6ow or potent ial differ ence, according to this invention
comprises a radiomicrometer (for example, as d escribed by V.
Doys in Yol. 180, P hil. 1'rans. ), with a preferably noninductive

Electricity.

ferably equal quan t it ies of pic rate of a~~oma and mt~~te of

barium, with an added 15 per cent. of ptcrio aoi~ wh~n durability " is desired. The substo.no~s are damped, mtxed m a. whee},
mill, and 11 granulate4 by reducmg the pressure of t he wheels.
(Accepted .August 7, 1901.)

MINING, METALLURGY, AND METAL

WORKING.
1408. L. W. de Grave, Derby, and B. Davis, Duf
field. Coal-Cutting. [7 Figs.] Januarr 22, 19~1.-1. M~nns

for securing tools in the holders of coal-cuttm~ or hke machtnes

according to this invention comprise sockets m such holders to

'

chine for thinning t urnips and ot~er plants there. IS a whe.e~ or

d isc having a series of arms carrymg hoes at theu extremities,
and arranged in such a manner and a t such an angle with t he
g round t hat the h oes a t one por tion of t he circumference of t be
wheel only ar e in cont.not with the ground a t one time. As t he

,...

...

,-

_.,

''"''"''

.3.

implemeLt is caused to travel a rotary motion is imparted to the

wheel or disc owing to its contact with the grou nd, t hus giving
the hoes a combined rotary and forward cut t hrough the row of
pla nts, substan tially as described. In one a rrangement, in addit ion to the rotary wheel having peripheral hoes there a re flat
hoes for working t h e ground between t he r ows to be thinn ed .
(.A ccepted Augusl7, 1901.)

ELECTRICAL APPARATUS.

12,466. Siemens Brothers and Co., Limited.

(Siemen-s and B alske Company, Berlin,. ) Deriving Uni
directional from Alternating Current. (7 Figs].

June 18, 1901.-In apparatus for deriv in~ discontinuous pulsatin~

unidirectional currents from an alternat mg current circUit, and of
the kind in which a polarised electromagnetic oscillating or
vibrating periodic contact-making d evice is u sed, according to this
invent ion, and in order that the electromagnetic coil may be provided with current so much out of phase with the current flowing
in t he interrupt ion circuit as to allow of the separation of the

receive t he tools, and a curved opening approximately at right;

resist..'\nce arranged to beat the thermocouple of the radio- angles thereto to receive a curved pin which en~ages one of one
micrometer. When the r esistance, its couplings, and surround or more notc hes or recesses or openings formed In the shanks of
ings are truly non-inductive, a similar expenditure of electrical the tools, so as secure them in position. (Accepted .August 7, 1901.)
energy by current of either continuous or alternating kind will,
13,653. A G. Grunway, Llandrindod Wells.
of course, lead to an equal development of heat in each case, and Purification
of Metals. (3 Figs.]}July so, 1900.- Fluid metal
consequent ly like indications from the radio-micrometer. (Ac at high temperatures,
possessing comparatively high electrical recepted A ugttat 7, 1901.)
sistance, the inventor pro{>oses to elimmate phoshorus from iron or
14,463. P. Schoop, Dozwen, Switzerland. Eleotro steel, and perhaps other Impurities from various metals by passing
lysing Apparatus. [5 Figs. ) August 13, 1900.- In reference
to this invention it is stated in the specification that 11 The effect
produced has never been achieved in any other apparatus, and
now, for the first time, t he technical production of bleaching
liquids is economically attained." The a{>para tus appears to be
of t he kind in which a number of eleotrolysmg vessels are coupled
in series by means of electrodes which pass through insulat~nlr
part itions, the whole uncover ed surface of these electrodes bemg
utilised for electrolysing. The electrolysing vessels are of small
sectional area and considerable length, and the solution to be

fiJ.f.

an electric current through them when molten. For remov

ing phosphorus from iron in the b&sic process of steel manufac
ture, electrodes are used whose outer surfaces are covered with a
mixture of tar, graphite, lime, and magnesia. (Accepted August
7, 1901.)

S'rEAM ENGINES, BOILERS, EVAPORATORS, &o.

12.221. P. 11. Justice, London. ( Du Temple Company ,
Part:S.) Water-Tube Boilers. [8 ~B.] June 14, 1901.treated passes through them at the ate of about one metre per Apparatus
according to this invention is b roadly claimed as "a
\

con~acts

a t the time when no current is passlng through them

for the purpose of preventing rapid wear on such contacts by
r eason of sparking, t he electro ma~net is coupled in series with a
condenser which effects the desired alteration in the phase of t he
actuating current, an adjustable self-induction deVlce being in
some oases used to modify the action of the condenser. The
vibrating contact-carrier, when the intervals between making and
breaking a nd breakio~ and making contact respectively ar e to be
unequal, may also be m part controlled by a spr ing whose tension
is adjustable. (Accepted August 7, 1901.)

minute. The soluUon in t he trough-shaped vessels is ~llucled to water-t ube steam generator heated by liquid fuel , provided with
as .. liquid filaments." There a re two claims, as follow : 1. In two collectors, two sets of water-tu bes so arranged as to present
apparatus for electrolysis of liquids, electrodes arranged in long a t riple course for the gases through the entire furn aces, and
narrow parallel channela of inaulat ing and resistant material, in
such manner that the liquid continually flowi ng through each
channel is electrolysed while it is in t he form of filaments, substantially as described. 2. In apparatus for elec trolysis of liquids
FifJ.2.
such as is referred to in Claim 1, electrodes which are wetted by
the liquid to be electrolysed on botb sides, and are thus active on
the whole surface, substantia1Jy as described. (Acpepted .Augmt 7,
1901.)
. ~

12.508. Siemens and Co., Limited, London.

(Siemens and Halske Company, Be1lin.) Deriving Unldi

GUNS . AND EXPLOSIVES.

18,022. A. Retohwald, London. (Jilried. Krupp, Essen,
Ge1:many. ) Cart~idge Case. [6 Figs.] O~tober 10, 1900.-

I t IS stated t hat m order to enable a cartridge to be easily

inserted into a g un, and to admit of the ready r emoval of the

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empty CMe after tbe discharge of the weapon, a cer tain- not too
small.- amount of clear ance space must be allowed between the
case and the cartridge chamber. When the gun is fired
reotiohal from Alternating Current. [5 Figs.] J une cartr1dge
19t 1901. -ln apparatus of the kind described in Paten t Speciflca- howeYer, gteater or less quantit ies of gas pass over the front
end of the case, and find their way into this intermediate

cond.uit for supplying air to maintain the combustion at the r ear

~r dtstant pomta, s~bstantially as described." In the boiler
Illustrated the fl ame IS produced in the upper flue between fire
olay baffles at the top and bottom, and closely-set tubes at t he side
and the ~ase.s then pass at the. back into the lower flue, wber~
combuet10n IS completed by au admitted through passages in
the fireclay bamee, the products of combustion finally passing

into and through the general tube sy&tem from the fron t of the
lower flue, where the tubes of t he inner row are differently bent.
and open out in order to allow the gases to have entry. (Accepted
A ugu.st 7, 1901.)

1'1,469. Galloways, Limited, and B. Foster, Man

cheater. Beveraing Gear. [2 Figs. ] In rolling-mill engines

and similar engines which require frequent reversal, as they are

usually arranged after t he steam supply is out off from t he engine,
the steam already in the cylinde rs and in the lengt h of the steam
pipes between the abut-off valve and the cylinders continues to
dr1ve the engine until it is exhausted, and this le more especially
the oa.ee when the engine exhausts into a condenser. Thus every
time that the en~ne has to be reversed time is lost in stopping it.
This invention relates to means for removing this difficulty, which

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a puJley in the upper part of the loom, both cords being connected
respectively outside the loom to the upper and the lower ends of
rectangular tubes or equivalent connected paralle~ pla~s, each of
which has pivoted within it, at about the centre of tte length,
a flat lever ~vith ita opposite e.nds. adapted to el'lgage the pre- .
viously menttoned vert1oally os01Jlating le!ers. T~e r~otangular
tubes or their equivalent a re arranged s1de by s1de 10 a fram
SHIPS AND NAUTICAL APPLIANCES.
iog, which also carries the card cylinder: O~e or other end
of the lever within each rectangnlar tube IS or 18 not projeoted
16,614. A.
and
Bazter, 8~. Leonards. beyond
the tube, as is determined by t he oard and needle~ con Anchor. [3 Figs. ] September 17, 1900. - This anchor has a nected therewith.
If one end of the lever be protruded, 1t wiJl
divi~ed shank, both parts of which are pivota~y connecte~ to the ue engaged by its contiguous vertically oecilla.tiog leyer, and the
shackle head and to the fluke base, as ebown 10 the drawmg. It corresponding beald will be r aised or lowered as r eqUired t hrough
the aa-enoy of the cords attached to the r ectangular tube as al~eady
described. The card cylinder is operated by tbtl two v~rttoally
oscillating arms or levers. Transverse rods or the like are
arranged above and below the series of r ectangula r tubes, to
ensure the assemblage of the levers ther ein at the. moJ?lent when
the card cylinder is pushed by one of the oscdlatmg levers
(A ccepted Auoust 7, 1901.)

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MISCELLANEOUS.
10 925. Viscount de la Vega, Madrid, Spain.
Bot' and Cold Tap. [6 Figs.] May 28, 1901. - ~ tap _for

1-

1901.

the tube. The Bourdon t ube, it is stated, is suitably .bent,, and i 1

closed up in some suitab!e manner by a plug, betng e1t~ated
within a suitably shaped casing, and operating .a valve of SUlta~le
type controlling the water supply to some suttable pump or m jector. (.Accepted .August 7, 1901.)

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

536

r+r.

supplying two liquids either sepatately or together, and 1n varymg

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is stated that anchors with swin~iog flukes constructed according

to this invention are more readily driven into the ground, and
have a greater tendency to leave the same than single-shank
anchors of similar kind. (.Accepted .Augmt 7, 1901.)

are as follows : A shut-off valve is placed in the exhaust pipe of

the engine, and eo arranged that it is opened and cl?sed by the
same action which opens or closes the valve that admtte steam to
tbe cylinders. Thus by a t~ingle operation steam is prevented
from being admitted to the engine, and simultaneously the flow
of the exhaust steam to the atmosphere or to a condenser is
stopped. Conversely, by opening the valve to admit steam to the
engine, and at the same time t he valve which allows the pent up
steam to exhaust from it, starting of the engine is effected.
Accepted .Augtut 7, 1901.)

TEXTII.J: MACHINERY.
!13'1.

c. L. Jackson,

Textile Fabrics.

[2

Bolton, Lancs. Embossing

.Figs.] January 31, 1901.-Io that kind quantity while of like

rela~ive ki.nd or propor t ion, accord~g to

of embossing machine in. whic~ a ~entral eograYed rolle~ h li.S a t his invention has a plug wtth a smgle taper bole through It, t he
oalender bowl on each Side of tt, etther of the bowls betog re- p!pes and passage~ for conve~ing the liquid being formed and
movable away from the engraved roller, according to this inven- dtsposed as shown 10 the drawmgs. (.Accepted .Augt~t 7, 1901.)
tion and in order that when a removed bowl is brought back on

10,09S. J. J. Meldrum, Timperley, Chester, aDd

18,1'13. B. B. Armatrong and A. J. Day, South

ampton. Water-Tube Boners.

[6 Figs.] September 11,

1900.-In this water-tube steam boiler a number of groups or

Meldrum Brothers, Limited, Manchester. I:!eatr~c

tor Furnaces. [3 Figs.] June 1, 1900.-Thts mvent!on

Fig.1~t:==

bundles of water tubes are arranged in inclined positions over and

t ransversely to a flregrate and hearth, the adjacent l{roups or
bundles being inclined in opposite directions and bavtng their
upper and lower ends respectively connected to upper and lower
water vessels, the upper water vessels being connected to a

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relates to destructor furnaces of the kind used in connectiOn

with steam generators in suob a manner that the bot gases from
the destructor furnaces are utilised in the production of steam.
The destructor furnace unit consists of one or more cells arranged
on one or both sides of t he steam generator, and the ~team gen~
rators receive the bot gases from the cells at the stdes of thetr
furn aces. According to t his iJ?veotioo, each ?elJ con.taios t'!o
sections one being that to which t he refuse 1s supplied and 10
which it is dried and the other that in which the refuse is burnt,
and from which' the bot products of combustion pass to the
generator. Either the drying or the burning sections of the cells
are a rranged in line with the front ends of the steam generators.
If the burning sections of the cells are so arranged, the roadway

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to the engraved rotating roller it may not damage the surface of

the engraved roller owing to iteown inertia, the bowls a re elastically
geared tol(ether preferably by means of an endless rope or band,
against which pre88es a weighted tension pulley, so that either of
the bowls continues to rotate at its normal speed should it be removed from the surface of the engraved r oller. (.Accepted Augmt
7, 1901.)

18,809. W. G. Beys, Manchester. (Societe Ohaize Fn~res,

common steam drum and by downtake:pipes to the adjacent lower

water vessels beneath them, and the groups or bundles being so
disposed and provided with longitudinal walls, partitions, or
baffles as, in conjunction with the boiler casing, to for m four lonri
tudinal combustion chambers. In one arrangement each group or
bundle of water-tubes is connected to separate upper and lower
water ve88els, ~nd forms therewith n. complete steam-generatior
section or element. (.Accepted .Augmt 7, 1901.)

Fig.I.

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is carried above the back ends of the generators sufficiently high

to enable the r efuse to be delivered through hoppers or openings in the to~s or the back walls of the cells. If, on the ot.her
hand, t he dry mg sections of the cells are arranged in line with
the fronts of t he generators, tbe r oadway is carried in front of
them at a sufficient height to allow headroom for the attendant&
to ba\'e access to the boiler tlttinga and furnaces and to the cella
and to permit the refuse to be fed through the tops or the front
walls of the cells as may be required. If the r efuse is fed through
the top of the oell, a supplementary door can be formed in the
outer wall of the drying space of each oell, through which the
progress of drying and burning m.ay ue observed and through
which the refuse may be fed forward. Hoppers or bunkers are
arranged in connection with the cell supply openings to receive
tbe r efuse from tbe oarts1 and from wbiob it may fall or be raked
into the cells. (.Acceptea .Augu,st 7, 1901.)

operating upon a Bourdoo tube is made to produce a throttling or

stoppage of the waterway b:y means of a .valve to which the tube is
connected. The apparatus ts organised 1n such manner that little
resistance to the movement of t he tube is created by the valve, and
the Bourdon tube is provided with means for adjustment to compen.sate for wear in the valve or for any permanent bending of

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1900.-According to thts inventtoo, and In order to regulate the

supply of water to motor oar or other "flash " boilers in propor
tion to steam used, increase of steam pressure beyond the normal

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14.041. T. Clarkson, Great Dover Street, Surrey.

Boner-Water Sup~ly Replation. [2 Figs.] Auguat '

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Pa;ri$.) Loom Dobbles. [6 Figs.] September 21, 1900.- ln

dobbies and similar machines used in connection with power looms,
according to this invention the motions of the healds are produced

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from two vertioally oscillating arms or l~vers. The motions are

conveyed to the h ealds ttrougb cords wbtoh are secured above and
below t he bealds, that cord which isseoured to the lower part of the
beald p~si~g under a pulley in the lower part of the loom , and
. that whtcb 18 secured to the Ppper part of the heald passing over

UNITED STATES PATENTS AND PATENT PRAOTIOE.

~ascriptions with illl!straLions of inventions patented in the

Umted Stat~s of America. from 184J to the present time, and

reports of tnn.ls of patent law cases 10 the United States may be

consnlted, gratis, at the offices of ENGINEEIUNG, 85 and 86, Bedlot
street., SLrt:~~nd