'

DEc. r 3, I gor.]

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

793

commenced on Thursday last, when the five vehicles

started at an early hour to run the northern
triangle, with the road from Aldershot to Odiham as
TH.E trials of self-propelled waaons for military it,s southern base. The distance traversed was
purposes, whicl~ have been i.nstit?ted by the War about 30 miles . The Foden wagon started first
Office, and winch were ~ot1eed .1n ~ur article of and arrived home first, the two Thornycroft lorries,
la~t week, have been contmued since In accordance which came in together, being second. 'Ne believe
with the programme. A good deal of disappoint- I that, allowing for time of starting and una.voidme~~ has been felt at the small entry to the corn- able detentions, there was but four minutes'
pet1t1?11 t h.at the offer of so respectable a sum as diffdrence in time between the Thornycroft
850l. tn prtzes has called forth. As already stated, "No. 6" and t he F oden wagon. As we have said,
<mly four firms have sent competing vehicles ; the speed is not considered the leading quality, but it

THE MILITARY SELF-PROPELLED

WAGON TRIALS.

losing the cap of the pump valve-box, and being

delayed an hour.
With the exception of such small mishaps, the
trials have, as we have said, been aneventfu1. On the
two first days the roads were good, but the heavy
rains of Sunday made them extremely heavy going.
The Foden, Thornycroft, and Straker wagons, which
we saw on the road, seemed to take little or no
account of the soft country roads of the southern
triangle. Thornycroft "No. 7," which had been
running with oil fuel, was changed to coke by way
of experiment. We should iudge the Milne vehicle

. ----

~.

1.

FIG.

Fig. 2.

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J O

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I

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t - -- - - - - 1 t - - -- - - 1 1 - - - - - 1

11

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Tbornycroft Steam Wagon Company ent ering two

vehicles.
In t he present issue we give, in accordance with
our premise of last week, iJlustrations of the wagon
and trailer entered by the Straker Steam Vehicle
Company, of 9, Bush-lane, E. C. Fig. 1 on the
present page is a perspective view, Fig. 2 is a sid e
elevation, and Fig. 3 an end view. In our last
issue (Eee page 779 ante) we described this vehicle,
so there is no ned to repeat the details. The
general arrangement is very well shown in our
iJlustrations .
We also give in our present issue, on page 794,
a perspecti\"e view of the Thornycroft wagon,
which has been b uilt specially for military purposes
by the Thornycroft Steam Wagon Company, of
Chiswick and Basingstoke, and not by Mes~rs. J. I.
Thornycroft and Co., as was stated in one place by
error in our last issue. It will be remembered we,
last week, gave line drawings (see Figs. 5, 6, and 7,
page 776 ante) and a description (see page 771
ante) of this vehicle.
We also give on page 794 a perspective view of
Mesna. F oden and Son's steam wagon, which was
also described on page 779 of our last issue.
U p to the time of writing there is not much to
record of the trials . The competition is by no
means of the nature of a race, and the awards will
be made not to the vehicle which covers the g round
most quickly, but to the one which , in the opinion
of the military authorities, is best fitted for
the work of a campaign. The consumption of
fuel and water naturally forms a most important
feature in estimating total efficiency. These details
t he War Office authorities do not propose making
public, at present at any rate. The running trials

to be a little underpowered for the work. We do

not propose giving water and fuel consumptions
until wo get t he complete figures, for fear of
being led into error, but we think it may safely be
said that so far the Foden wagon has done ext remely well, a combined feed-water heater and
partial condenser giving good resuUs.

Fi!J. J.

11

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77'"3. c.)
THE STRAKER STEAM LORRY.

is evident that, other things being qual, the

vehicle that covers the ground most quickly must
have a great advantage in military operations.
The later trials have shown an advantage in speed
for the Foden wagon, t hough there is not Yery much
to choose between this vehicle and the Thornycroft ''No. 6" (Figs. 1 and 2, page 776 ante),
these two being, so far, at the head of the list.
On the first day, however, the Milne wagon, with
an internal combustion engine, was unfortunate in
regP .. d to its trailer, which came to grief, and caused
considerable delay; and t he Straker lorry has also
been somewhat unfortunate, on last Monday's run

TRAIN RKSISTANOES : ERRATUM.-In the abstract of the

paper on "TrainResistances," recently read by Mr. J. A. F.
Aspinall, before the Institution of Civil Engineer~, which
appeared on page 741 of our issue of November 29, a mis
print unfortunately occurs in the formula given in the
third column. The numerator of the fraction should be
"Vi" instead of "V/' as printed. The formula should
thus read:
vi
R = 2.5 + .
50.8 + 0.0278 L

GERMAN INTERNAL NAVIGATIONS.-The totall~ ngth of

German internal navigations is returned ab 8855 miletJ.
This netwo1k comprises 5813 miles of streams and rivers,
1461 miles of canalised rivers. 1519 miles of ordinary
canals, and 62 miles represented by the Emperor William
Canal. Of the 8855 miles representing the internal navigations of Germany, 1389 miles can be traversed by
vessels drawing 5 fo. 10 in. The sections accessible to
boats drawing 5 fb. have a total length of 1883 miles ; and
the length of the sections which can be frequented by
boats drawing 3 fb. 4 in. is 4422 miles. The balance of
1152 miles is only acceesible to boats drawing 2 h . 6 in.
and undH. The fleet using German canal navigations
comprised, ab a recent date, 22,664 boats, with an aggregate carrying capacity of 3,370,447 tons. The total of
22,564 boats comprised 1953 steamers, with an a~gregate
carrying capacity of 104,360 tons. The German Government has submitted proposals to the German Legislature
f<;>r the extension . and impr<?veme~b of Ge~an na.viga.
hone ; the collect1ve expend1ture mvolved 10 these pro
po:als is aefl down at 19,450, OOOl.

794
:

s?

,.

zr 3
~

RAILWAY SCHEMES IN
PARLIAMENT.

'

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

MILITARY

==

[DEc.

I j , 1 ~Qt .
a

LORRIES.

IN our last two issues we have dealt with the

(F01 Dest;ription, see Page 793.)
general ra~l way an~ other engineering work fores? adowed 1n the Bills of the next session of Par
halnent, and also described the scope of the
numerous deep tunnel schemes brought forward
..
for the b~nefit of t he Metropolitan area. We shall

!lo'." outhne t he nature of the light railways which

...
1t IS proposed to construct in different parts of
the country. In ~any cases it is extremely difficult to define t he difference between a light railway
and a. t1~am'Yay. A lawyer, we presume, would make
-~------~--~------~~~~--~---the_ distinctiOn depend entirely upon t he Act under

whiCh pow~rs.have been sought, and the Light Rail

way CommissiOners ha\re held in the Taunton case

that a lig~t railway cannot lie entirely within t he

area of a smgle borough. Nevertheless in manufacturing districts, where centres of 'population
are closely grouped, t he construction of a few
~ains. of tramway coupling up existing lines
'
wtll, tn many cases, permit of continuous travel
over a district of considerable size and when
the ~a.rs are dri ve!l electrically, su~h a. system
constitutes t o all Intents and purposes a light
rail way ; though it is true that the Boa.1d of
Trade regulations under which the traffic is work ed
may not be quite the same. In some respects the

management hnve a freer hand, whilst in others

th e~ are more restricted. A point to which the
STEAM L oRRY BY MEssRs. EnwiN FoDEN, SoNs, AND Co., LIMITED , SANDBACH.
offiCials of our great rail ways should direct t heir
attention is the closeness with which these projected light railways parallel in certain instances
existing lines. P arlia ment, we believe, will turn

a deaf ear to mere complaints from the great

companies that their receipts will be reduced by

the proposed intrusion, unless the companies
themselves undertake to give a somewhat similar
service. Taken by the large, the train services between principal stations is remarkably good;
t hough exceptions might, no doubt, be readily
brought forward. I t is in the matter of a.ccom
modating local traffic that deficiencies appear.
One general manager, in deed, has frankly stated
that such traffic is a. nuisance, and seems rather
to welcome the prospect of handing it over to
more en terprising undertakers. Obher companies
will, however, be less ready to pass a. self-denying
ordinance of this nature, but they will hardly
succeed in getting the ear of Parliament unless
they show themselves prepared to furnish equally
convenient suburban and local services. In some
respects t he electric tramway must have a considerable ad vantage, and that is in the readiness with
which t he cars can be boarded at any point of the
route, and in the frequency of the services. In other
regards, and in particular that of speed, the regular rail way is, or can bo made, unrivalled ; but
as yet few traffic managers seem to recognise that
STEAM L oRRY BY THE THoRYCROFT STEAM WAGON C oMPANY, Lil\ITTED, BASI NOSTOK.E.
to work suburban traffic in a really smar t way
proportionately as much power is needed as to run
an express service. In the case of a steam-worked
ser vice the boiler, it is true, need not be specially Urban District Council of Wo.lthamstow, since each over one- ~alf of the total length of soma 9! miles
large, but considerable cylinder capacity is needed is promoting a scheme, and these, to a certain of new hne proposed. In the \Vatford district
if t he trains a re to be brought rapidly up to speed. degree, clash. The company 's programme is the powers are sought to extend as light railways the
In the ~:letropolit an district n o work of a specially less ambitious of the two, the work foreshadowed authorised Watford tram lines to Bushey on the one
striking character is proposed, though the London by them being merely a number of junction lines side, and to Rickmanswor th on the other the agare0
comp etiUnited T ramways Company seek power to extend at Tottenham, and an extension to Walthamstow, g~te of .new w:ork being about 4t miles.
the lines of their system in West Middlesex. One about 3 miles long. This line it is proposed shall tiOn ~1th th1s scheme ~he Hertfordshire County
line proposed by them is to run through Isleworth cross the Lea ty a new bridge. The District Council have one of their own for the construction
in a northerly direction up to Heston and Council, on the other hand, propose the construc- of a light line from Watford to Bu hey arid a
Southall. At Heston there will be a junction with tion of lines aggregating 10 miles in length. number of locallinef:! at the latter centre. '
Coming to the provinces, the most impor tant
the t ramways proposed in an order now pending, These include a junction with existing tram lines
and at Southall a junction with the existing light at Tottenham and Walthamstow, through which propo~al brought forward this session is for the conrailway. The total length of this line will be about a number of lines will be laid down; whilst a struction of about 43 miles of light railway from
4! miles. Another line is to run from the authorised branch will extend to Leyton, and connect there Southend to Colchester, vict Brad well- on- Sea.
tramways at Hampton, through S unbury, terminat- with the present t ram lines. Another branch Starting at Prittlewell, which lies a little to the
ing in the Staines Road, in a junction with a. light will lead to W oodford, and a third to Ching- north of Southend, the line is to proceed t hrough
railway already authorised. A third line proposed ford. In the south a company is seeking an order Rochford, a nd thence in a. north-east direction across
in the Bill is to run from Hammersmith, along Old for the construction of a line from Lordship-lane t he Crouch to Burnham, and on to Southminster
where there will be a junction with t he Great
Oak-road, to H arlesden, whence a branch will lead to W estow Hill.
The above constitute the whole of the work Eastern R ail way. From Southminster the line is
to Acton. There will be junctions with existing
or authorised lines at each terminus. Another which it is proposed to construct as light railways to pass t hro ugh Dengie to Bradwell-on-Sea., at the
line to t he west of the Metropolis is that for which within the Metropolitan area. To the west, how- m.outh of ~he Blackw~ter, where the svuthern portion
powers are sought by the Metropolitan District e\'er, a scheme is being promulgated for a line in will ~er mi~ate on a. Jett~. ~he northern portion of
E lectric Traction Company. This line is to com- Berkshire from Windsor to Maidenhead, following the hne will commence 1n a Jetty on the other side
mence near H ounslow Barracks Station, in a junc- the line of the direct road through Clewer and of the Black water at West Mersea., and proceed to
tion with the 1\Ietropolitan Railway, and pass Bray. There is, however, to be also a loop further Colchester through Peldon and Abberton. From
through Cranford to Colnbrook, whence a branch south, passing through Fifield Green, Moneylow Colchester a. branch is to extend westerly to Stanwill extend to Slough, and another through H orton Green, and Holyport. In Bedfordshire a company way and Copford, where there will be a junction
to Datchet. The total length of the lines proposed is seeking an order for the construction of a line from with the Great Eastern Rail way. From the
is about 16 miles. In North L ondon there would Houghton Regis, through Dunstable, with a branch southern end of the line branches will proceed to
seem to be some antagonism between the Metro- along the Icknield Way t o Luton, in which place a Southchurch and South Shoebury. Another
politan Tramways and Omnibus Company and the number of lines will be laid down, constituting E::sex scheme is for the construction of a light

In

1JEC. I

3, 1901. j

rail way from the Great Eastern station at Clactonon-Sea to St. Osyth, following the line of high
road.
~ the West Riding a number of schemes are
be1ng br?ught forward, the most important, perhaps, betng the extensions which it is souabt to
make to the \~ akefie~d and District light raiiways,
already authortsed. 1n all, these extensions aggregate some 23 miles. They consist of a number of
~re.nc.hes, ~f which one, starting at Dewsbury in a
JU~ctwn w1.th the Spen Valley and Morley Light
Railway, will run east through O.ssett to Wakefield,
where there will be a junct ion with the Wakefield
and district light line. On the north a branch is to
extend from a j unction with the authorised line at
Roth":ell, near Leeds, through Oulton and Methley
to Wh1twood , where there will be a junction with the
authorised. vVest Riding tram lines. From Ardsley
a brAnch 1s to extend from a j unction with the
autho1ised line to Wakefield. On the south of the
Jatter city a. branch is to be constructed from a
junction with an authorised line at Sandall Magna,
east to Crofton and SharlsLon and Featherston,
where there will also be a junction with an
authorised line. Another branch is to extend to
Normanton. In the Doncaster district a private
company is seeking powers to construct a line
from Barnsley to Doncaster via WombwelJ, Mexborougb, and Conisbrough, with a junction at
Hexthorpe, near Doncaster, with the authorised
light line of the Doncaster Corporation. The total
length of new railway proposed is about 15 miles,
and it parallels very closely the existing rail way
between Barnsley and Doncaster. The lJoncaster
Corporation are themselves proposing some further
development of their lines in the shape of a short
extension from Bennitthorpe to the racecourse
stands. From Selby it is proposed to const.r uct a
light railway, about 13 miles long, to Goole, passing
through Barlow, Drax, and Armin. At Goole
there will be a junction with the existing NorthEastern lines, and at the Selby end junctions
with the North - Eastern line to Leeds and
with the Y Ol'k and Don caster line. In concluding
our notice of the proposals relating to Yorkshire,
we may add that the Yorkehire Vales Light Railway Company is seeking powers to raise additional
capital.
Coming to Lancashire, it has to be noted that
whilst in the sister county the bulk of the work
brought forward is due to individual enterprise, in
Lancashire it is the public aulhorities who are
r esponsible for most of the applications for provisional orders. A comparison of the results
obtained in each case during the next ten years
should prove interesting. In one regard public
authorities are in a position to give a better
service than companies, since they can break
the existing law as to speed with impunity, whilst
in case of accident a company is certain to be
accused of risking the lives of the public in its
greed for dividends. So far as our observation
extends, on no company lines are speeds attained
equal to those habitually adopted on the Corporation tram ways of Liverpool and Glasgow. Many
of the lines now proposed in Lancashire are. short
junctions coupling up the tramways of a~Jacent
towns, so that, in the absence of maps showmg the
lines already constructed or authorised, it is not easy
to estimate the full importance of much of the new
work.
In the Manchester district the \-Vest Manchester Light Railway Company seek to make a
deviation of their authorised line at Stretford,
making a junction with the metals of the Ship
Canal Company. In the same district they also
seek powers to make junctions with the rail way of
the Cheshire Lines Committee and to acquire running powers over a portion of this railway. The
Warrington Corporation are applying for an order
authorising the construction of a j unction at
Stockton Heath between their tram lines and No. 2
railway of the vVarrington and Northwich Light
Railway Order. From Stockton Heath they also
propose to construct a loop back to vVarrington
vid, Lacbford. Application has also been made for
an order authorising the linking up of the trams at
Acorington and Burnley by the construction of about
6! miles of light line closely parallelling the existing
r"ilway. A somewhat similar enterprise is that for
the construction of a line, 13 miles long, from a
junction with the Preston Corporation 'l'ramways,
through Waltonle-Dale, Chorley, Adlington, and
Anderton to H arwich. Fro1n Chorley a branch is
to extend to Standish. Another junction line is

f: N G I N E E R I N G.
that from Ramsbottom to RawenstalJ, through
Edenfield, which is again parallel to t he existing railway. In North Lancashire powers are sought for a
light line from Preston to Lytham, a distance of
a.bout 11 mil es. The route chosen, to a large
extent, follo,~s the high road between the two
towns in question, passing through Ashton, over
Freckleton Mar.;,h, and through \Vart on.
Considerable activity is foreshadowed in the
Derbyshire and Nottingham district. In the first
place, a company seeks powers to construct a line
from Derby, through Spondon Ockbrook, to Wilsthorpe, whence two lines will lead to the Nottingham borough boundary. The southernmost will
pass through Chilwell and Deeston, whilst the other
will follow a route through Sandiacre, Stapleford, Trowell and R!ldford. The total length of
the new line will be about 19 miles, and there
will be junctions with the Corporation trams at
each terminus. In another scheme, separately promoted, it is proposed to extend as light railways the
Nottingham Corporation Tram ways to Carlton in
the east, along the Mansfield-road to the north, and
Broomhill and Hucknall Torkard in the same direction, whilst still another branch is to extend westerly to Trowel!. From Mansfield it is proposed to
extend the authorised light line to Belper and Ilkeston. In the latter town there will be a junction with the authorised tram lines, and the line
will thence proceed northerly through Shipley and
Reanor to Codnor and Ripley. From this point
one branch will go towards Mansfield vid Blackwell, to Hucknellunder-Huthwaite, where there
will be a junction with the authorised Mansfield
Light Railway. A second branch will connect
The work in
Ripley with Belper via Heage.
question will comprise about 18 miles of 1ine.
Coming to the Black Country, we note that the
Dudley Col'poration are eeeking powers for a line
from Dudley, through Rowley Regis, to Halesowen,
where there is to be a junction with the No. 1line
of the authorised Halesowen Light Railway. This
will apparently clash, to a certain extent, wit.h the
schem e promoted by the Worc ster Rural District
Council for a line from Hill to Halesowen.
Fr01u Burton-on-Trent it is proposed to construct a line to Ash by de-la-Zouch, a distance of
8 miles, passing through Swadlincote on the way.
In I{ent it is proposed to construct a light line
from Canterbury to Herne Bay via Sturry and
Herne, the distance being about 11 miles. A
number of local lines will also be made in Canterbury and Herne Bay. In the DoYer district powers
are sought to construct a line from a junction with
the existing tram lines to Martin Mill on the north
of the town, whilst in another application powers
are sought for the construction of a lin e along the
Alk'am Valley in the we~t, having a junction in
Dover with the Corporation trains .
Iu Hampshire the London and South-Western
Railway Company are applying for an order
authorising the construction of a line from Salborne, through Kingsley and Binstead, to a junction
with their Farnham line at Bentley. In Devon
powers are sought for a line connecting Pt~.ignton
and Torquay. In North Wales application is made
for authority to make a deviation in the line of
Railway No. 2 of the authorised Llandudno and
Colwyn Bay Light Railway.
In our issue of November 29 we dealt with all the
Metropolitan deep-tunnel schen1es, but for lack
of space had to omit any reference to two provincial undertakingF. Of these the more impoltant em bodies a plan for the construction of a
Manch ester City Circle Railway. The particulars
giv~n in the Gazelte are insufficient to trace the
route which the line is intended to foll ow, but the
generating station and depot are to be on the Rochdale Can11l, near the Corporation's Hydraulic Power
Works. The other schen1e refened to is in substitution for the bridge between North And South Shield~,
for wl1ich powers were vainly sought last session.
The promoters now propose to tunnel underneath
the Tyne and to run through this tunnel a service
of electric trains .

THE FACTORY AND WORKSHOP

ACT, 1901.

I T will be generally admitted that .the m~bt

important Act which hu.s been passed 1n Parltament during the Session of 1901 is the Stat~te
which amends and consolidates all the law relating
to factories and workshops. Hitherto anyone des;rous of studying the rules and regulations which

795
govern a particular industry has been compelled to
refer, in the first place, to the l4,actory Act of 1878.
From there he bad to pass on to the two amending
Acts of 1891 and 1895 ; and if he eventually
obtained the required information without the
assistance of a lawyer, he was gifted with more than
ordinary skill. Frequent complaints with regard
to the unsatisfactory state of the law at length
induced the Government to introduce an amending and consolidating Statute.
The new Act, which contains 163 sec~ions and a
number of lengthy schedules, is divided into ten
parts, described as follows : Part I . Health and
Safety ; Part II. Employ ment; Part III. Education of Children; Part IV. Dangerous t!-nd Unhealthy Industries; P art V. Special Modifications
and Extensions; P art VI. Home Work; Part VII.
Particulars of Work and Wages; Part VIII. Administration ; Part IX. L egal Proceedings ; Part X.
Supplementary.
Seeing that the Act consists in the main of a reenactment of the older Statutes-e.g., the Factory
and Workshop Acts of 1878, 1883, 1891, and 1895,
and the Cotton Cloth Factory Acts of 1889 and 1897
- it will be unnecessary to go through its numerous
provisions in detail. But inasmuch as it incorporates numerous improvements and alterations in
the law, which were in the first instance presented
to the House of Commons in the form of an amending Bill [No. 130], it is necessary to examine the
consolidating Act with some care, in order to ascertain in what particulars the law has been amended.
The amending Bill was submitt ed to, and discussed
at considerable length by, the Standing Committee
on Trade. It was never published again in the
amended form, but was immediately incorporated
with the consolidating Bill in the drafting office.
It was thus that the consolidating Bill was submitted
to the Houee of Commons on the report stage.
To identify each section of the older Acts, as it
appears in the Factory and Workshop Act of 1901,
is a task of no mean order, because the language
has in many instances undergone considerable
alteration. In addition to that, in one or two instances the Act, as it now stands, :s an amending
Act on its own account, certain provisions appearing therein which were not inserted in the amendment Bill, or discussed before the Grand Committee.
In order to give the general effect of the new
measure, and with a view to showing in what particulars the old law has been amended, we propose
to give a short account of the whole Act, emphasising those portions which are new.
I. Health and Sajet-y.-Sections 1 to 9 of the
Act comprise a statement of all the law which in
any way affects the health of worke1s in factories.
Here may be found the provisions of the older
Acts relating to the sanitary condition of factories,
of workshops and workplaces, and overcrowding.
The previously existing law relating to sanitary
condition has undergone no modification; but with
regard to overcrowding, a new sub-.section has been
added (see Section 3 (3)), which provides that where
a workRhop or workplace is occupied by night as a
sleeping apartment, the Secretary of State may
make an order providing that the proportion of
cubic space to the number of workers shall be
greater than in cases where a similar workshop is
only used by workers in the day time.
With regard to the enforcement of the law relating
to public health as it affects factories, workshops,
and workplaces, an important alteration is mu.de
by the new Act. Formerly it was provided by the
first section of the Act of 1891 that if the Home
Secretary was satisfied that the law relating to
public health was not observed in workshop~, he
might order an inspector to take steps for the enforcement of those provisions. Thts sfction was
specifically repeated by the amendment Bill of 1901,
and a new clause was inserted in Grand Committee,, whieh has now become Section 4 of the
consolidating Act. It provides that if the Home
Secretary is satisfied th~t the provisions of the Act
and of the law relating to public health so far as
it affects factories, workshops, and workplaces, are
not carried out by any district council, he may
authorise an inspector to take the necessary proceedings for the enforcement of the Act. The
duty of attending to sanitary condition of workshops has always been imposed, in the first instance,
upon the sanitary authority of the district by the
Public H ealth Acts.
That duty is now extended to "factories, and
" workplaces," and default on the part of the dis-

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

CAPSTAN LATHE AT THE NATIONAL SHOW.

CON STR UC TED

~IES SRS.

BY

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HERB ERT,
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trict council may in future be remedied by immediate action on the part of an inspector, who is
entitled to recover the expenses incurred from the
district council at fault.
With regard to the temperature in factories and
workshops, Section 32 (1) of the Act of 1895 provided that adequate measures should be taken
to maintain a reasonable temperature. Section 6
of the new Act provides that in taking such measures there must be no interference with the purity
of the air in the rooms in which persons are employed. Badly-constructed gas or oil stoves undoubtedly raise the temperature of the air, but do
not improve it for breathing. Thermometers must
also be provided, if an order to that effect is made
by the Home Secretary.
Section 7, relating to ventilation in a factory or
workshop, is entirely new. It provides that sufficient means of ventilation, the standard of which
for different classes of factories and workshops may
be prescribed by the Secretary of State, must be
provided in every room. If the occupier alleges
that the whole or part of the expense of providing
the means of ventilation should be borne by the
occupier, he may apply to a court of summary
j urisdiction for an order apportioning the expenses.
In making any such order the Court must have
regard to any existing agreement b ehween the
p:nties. Thus it is presumed that if the occupier
were under covenant to maintain his holding
"subject to the existing law relating to factories,
or any fut ure modification thereof, the court of
su mmary jurisd iction could not make any order
fixing the owner with liability. A similar clause is
contained in Sect ion 101 (8). The former Acts only
provided that factories should be ventilated in such
a manner as to render harmless all gases, vapoura,
&c., generated in the course of ~anufa~ture, a provision which may now be found m Sectwn 1 of the
new Act; and that where polishing was carried
on in any factory or workshoi?, fans should be _p_rovided (see _Section ~4 of th1~ ~et) .. A provlSI_on
which requtres suffictent venhlatwn m an factones
and workshops is therefore a considerable advance
upon the old law.
.
.
No alteration has been made 1n the law wtt-h
reO'ard to sanitary conveniences, except that the
H~me Secretary is to prescribe what is suitable
accommodation within the meaning of the Act
(Section 9, Sub-sectio~ 2).
.
F encing of Machtne1y.-Vltth regard to t h e
fencing of machinery, there is but little change in

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the law, but new regulations have been made with regard to boilers.
Safety valves, steam gauges, and water gauges must be provided,
and every boiler must be insEected by a competent person at least
<>nce in every fourteen months (Section 11).
S elf-Acting Machines. -The .Act of 1895 provided that selfacting machines should not be allowed to run in such a way
that there would be any chance of a person being squeezed between
t he moving part of the machine and any other machine. As this
provision was found to press too hardly on owners of spinning

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machinery, the new Act makes an important exception in the case

of cotton or woollen machines (Section 12, Sub-Section i. ).
M achinery in M otion.- Children must no longer be allowed to
clean any part of a factory which is underneath machinery in motion,
except overhead mill gearing (Section 13, S ub-Section i.).
P1ovisions for M eans of E scape in Case of Fire.-The new Act re-enacts
those provisions of former Acts which impose upon the district council
the duty of seeing that adequate means of escape in case of fire are provided in every factory which employs more than 40 persons. In future,

........
\0
........

E N G I N E E R I N G.
however, sufficient means of e9cape must be provided
on the ground floor, as well as on the floors above
that level. The certificate, which must be given by
the local authority, must specify in detail the means
of escape so provided (Section 14 (2)). The means of
escape must be maint!l.ined in good order and condition, and the duty of providing the necessary
me~ns of escape is imposed on the owner, not the
occupier, as heretofore ; but if the owner t hinks
that the occupier ought to bear part of the expense,
he may apply to the County Court Judge having
j urisdiot.ion in the district, who, after hearing both
sides, may make such order as appears to him to be
just.
.
Dange1ons Machin~1y. - Certain amendments
have also been made in the law with regard to the
power of a Court of Summary Jurisdiction to make
orders as to dangerous machinery. Formerly
the power to make such an order only extended
to a dangerous " mll.chine " (see Factory Act,
1895, Section 4 (1)).
By Section 17 (i) of
the new Act it is provided that such an order
may be made with respect to any part of the
ways, works, machinery, or plant used in a factory
or workshop, including a steam boiler used for the
purpose of generating steam. Here again we have
boilers br0ught within the F11ctory Acts.
Accidents.-The provisions of the older Acts with
regard to accidents have undergone no alteration or
modification in the new Statute. Notice of accidents which cause death or bodily injury must
now, as formerly, be given to the inspector, and
certain accidents must be investigated and reported
on by a certifying surgeon, and inquests must be
held in certain cases (Section 21 ).
2. Howrs of Employment . - Certain important
alterations have been made in the law relating to
the hours of employment of w01nen and children.
It was this matter which gave rise to the discussion
on the report stage, as a result of which the
Government was out-voted when the matter w11s
pressed to a division. As the law now stands
(Section 24), where the period of employment of
women and young persons in a textile factory
begins on Saturday at six o'clock in the morning,
the period of employment, if not less than one
hour is allowed for meals, must end at noon
(formerly one o'clock), as regards employment in
any manufacturing process, and at half-past twelve
(formerly half-past one) in the afternoon as regards
employment for any purpose whatever; and if less
than one hour is allowed for meals, shall end at
half-past eleven in the forenoon as regards employment in any manufacturing process, and at noon as
regards employment for any purpose whatever. If
the period of employment begins on Saturday at
seven o'clock in the morning, it shall end at halfpast twelve o'clock in the afternoon as regards any
manufacturing process, and at one o'clock in the
afternoon as r egl:\rds employment for any purpose
whatever.
When the amending Bill was brought before the
Grand Committee, a clause was inserted which provided that a woman or young person should not be
employed on the same day both in a factory or
workshop and in a shop, except during the period
of employment allowed for her or him in the
factory or workshop. In this form the Section
failed to meet with the approval of the Committee
of the whole House, and it eventually became redrafted as Section 31 (4) of the new Act, which provides that if a woman or young person be employed
on the same day both in a factory or workshop, and
also in a shop, then the whole time during which
the woman or young person is so employed shlll
not exceed the number of hours allowed by the
Act for her or his employment in the factory or
workshop on that day ; and if the woman or young
person is employed i.n the factory or wo~kshop.
except during the penod fixed by the occupier and
specified in a notice affixed to the factory ?r workshop in purauance of the f1cb, the occupter ~hall
make the prescribed entry 1!1 the general register
with regard to her or hts employment: (See
Section 129 with regard to the General ReglSter.)
Pe'rishable Articles.- Certain important exceptions in favour of industries which involve the
manipulation of perishable articles are made in the
new Act. When introducing the amendment Act
in the House of Commons the Home Secretary
said : "Under the present law fruit-preserving .is
exempt from the provisions of the Factory Acts ID
the months of June, July, August, and September.
I can underst~nd th11t there should be somo relaxation of the rules relating to hours of employment

[DEc.

13, 1901.

during these months, in order to prevent the fruit It is provided by Section 79 that where the Secrefrom being spoiled; but I cannot understand why t ary of State is satisfied that any manufacture,
the workshops should be exempt from the sanitary machinery, plant, process, or description of manual
provisions. Therefore, while the Bill 1naintains labour used in factories or workshops is dangerous
the exemption so far as the houra of labour are to ~ealth, or dangerous to life or limb, he may
concerned, it brings the processes of fruit-preserving cert1fy such manufacture, &c., to be dangerous,
within the sanitary provisions of the Factory Acts. and may make r egulations to meet the necessity of
The same arguments apply to fish-curing." As the case. Before publishing any such regulations,
Mr. Ritchie points out, the older Acts exempted he must give not ice of his intention to publish the
the industries entirely from the operation of the same to all persons likely to be affected thereby,
Factory Acts during certain portions of the year ; and must give to such persons an opportunity of
and it was an anomaly that an industry like fish- stating their objections in writing. He must t hen
curing should have been exempt from the sanitary use his discretion as to whether he will alter the
laws. By Section 41 of the new Act the periods regulations in accordance with the objections. If
of employment, times for meals, and holidays are he does not withdraw or amend any draft regulanot to apply to women or young persons engaged tions in accordance with objections so made to him,
in (a) Processes in the preserving and curing of he must direct an inquiry to be held by a compefish which must be carried out immediately on the tent person to consider the propriety of the proarrival of the fishing boats, in order to prevent t he posed regulations . The chief inspector and any
fish being destroyed or spoiled ; or (b) in the persons who are affected by any of the proposed
process of cleaning or preparing fruit., so far as it is regulations may appear at the inquiry, by counsel
necessary to prevent t he spoiling of the fruit or solicitor, at the conclusion of which the referee
immediately on its arrival at a factory or work- must make a report to the Secretary of State (see
shop during the months of June, July, August, Sect ion 81). Regulations so made may apply to all
and September, but this exception is to be subject factories and workshops in which the manufacture,
to such conditions as the Home Secretary may by machinery, plant, process, or description of manual
special order prescribe. In the case of creameries labour certified to be dangerous is used, or to any
it is provided by Section 42 that the Secretary of certified class of such factories or workshops. They
State may by special order vary the beginning or may also (by Section 82 (ii ) ) apply to tenement facend of the daily period of employment of women or tories and workers.
young persons, and the times allowed for their
The regulations made in accordance with the foremeals, and allow their employment for not more going provisions may (inter alia) pro hi bit the employthan three hours on Sundays and holidays ; pro- ment of all or any classes of persons in any employvided that the order shall not permit any excess ment certified to be dangerous; or prohibit, limit,
over either the daily or the weekly maximum or control the use of any material or proceas. As
number of hours of employment allowed by t he a further measure of protection t.o all who are
Act.
affected by them, t he regulations, before coming
Ove,rti1ne. -The provisions relating to overtime into force, must lie upon the table of both Houses of
remain as before, but an attempt was made to Parliament for a period of 40 days. If within that
diminish the amount of overtime for women in non- time either House resolve that the regulations or
textile factories.and workshops. The Act of 1895, any of them should be annulled, the regulat ions
for instance, provided that a woman must not be em- after the resolution shall be of no effect, without
ployed on overtime for more than three days in any prejudice to anything already done thereunder, or
one week ; and that overtime must not take place to the right of the Home Secretary to issue new
in any factory or workshop on more than thirty ones. Any breach of the r egulations is punishable
days in any twelve months. In committee these with a fine not exceding 10l., and in the case of a
figures were changed to " 2" and " 25 " r espec- continuing offence not ex~eeding 2l. for every day
tively, but the provisions of the old er Statute were during which the offence continues after conviction
restored on the report stage of the Bill (Section 49). therefor. Notice of the regulations is to be pubFitness f o'r Employm ent.-Section 61 of the new lished in t he London, Dublin, and Edinburgh
Act provides that an occupier of a factory or work- Gazettes. All regulations under the Act are to be
shop shall not knowingly allow a woman or a girl judicially noticed.
to be employed t herein within four weeks after
The value of these new provisions becomes appashe has given birth to a child. The words in rent when we recollect that hitherto, in order to
italics are new, and were inserted in the consolida- discover w bather a trade was dangerous or not, it
tion Act, without any discussion either in the was necessary to inquire into the manufacture
Grand Committee or when the Bill was discussed carried on by individual employerd. The new proon the report stage. It is clear, however, that visions, which are founded on the reports of the
the amendment is a righteous one, because, as the departmental committee appointed some few years
law formerly stood, if an unfortunate girl under ago to inquire into certain dangerous trades, have
seventeen gave birth to a child, there was nothing much to commend them, as they will dispense
to compel the occupier of a factory to see that she with a costly inquiry in cases where rules established for one factory may be fairly and equitably
did not come back to work too early.
Limit of Child's Age.-Section 62, which prohibits applied to others of the same class. Another adthe employment of any child under the age of vantage which will be recognised by the repre!:>entatwelve in any factory or workshop, unless lawfully tives of labour becomes apparent. Hitherto a
so employed at the commencement of the Act workman has had but little voice in any discussion
(January 1, 1902), is entirely new. The limit of relating to the question whether a given trade was
age was fixed at ten by the Acb of 1878. This was dangerous or not. In fact, he could only interraised to eleven by the Act of 1891 (Section 18), but vene to discuss points where the actual objections
that section is now repealed, and t he law is as above had already been taken by his employer ; and this
limited right was further restricted by the fact
stated.
Dange1ottS and Unhealthy I ndustries . - Sec- that he mighthave been compelled to give security
tions 73 to 86 of the n ew Act contain all the old for costs. If we understand the above sections
law relating to dangerous and unhealthy indus- correctly, it is now proposed to place a w01kman
t ries, together with many important new regula- on an exact footing with t he employer so far as
tions. The Act of 1878 prevented the occupier of the right to take objection to regulat ions is cona factory fron1 allowing women and children to cerned.
Unde1'g1ound Bakehouses.-The next important
have their meals or remain during meal-times in
glass works, lucifer-match works, or certain parts change in the la w which is effected by the new
of earthenware works. The new Act goes further, Act relates to underground bakehouses. Bakeand provides by S ection 75 (i.) that in any factory houses underground were absolutely prohibited by
where lead, arsenic, or oth~r poisonous substance the Factory Act, 1895, Section 27 (iii. ), unless
is used so as to give rise to dust or fumes, a person they were so used at the commencement of that
shall not be allowed to take a meal, or to remain Act. By Section 101 of the new Act it is now
durin<Y the times allowed to him for meals, in any provided that an underground bakehouse shall
room
which such substance is used; and suitable not be used after January, 1904, unless cerprovision shall be made for enabling the persons tified by the district council to be suitable
The dist.rict council must
employed in such rooms to take t heir . meals . ~]se for that purpose.
where in such factory or workshop. Thls provision, be satisfied of its s uitability, both as regards conit will be noticed, applies to all persons, whethor struction, light, ventilation, and in all other reyoung or old, employed in a factory or workshop. spects. In the event of the district council refusing
Dange1'~tts T1ades.-W e next come. to t he p~ovi to certify, the occupier may make application to a
sions relatmg to dangerous trades, wh10h are entuely court of summary jurisdiction. If it appears t o
new. They are contained in Sections 79 to 86. that Coul t that t he premises in question are suit-

in

DEc. 13, 1901.]

able for the purpose, an order to that effeet may

be made, which shall have the same force as the
certificate granted by the district council. If
structural alterations are required, and t he occupier
alleges that th e expense thereof ought to be borne
in part by. th? ~w~er, he may apply to a court of
summary JUrisdlCt10n,. and that Court may make
such order as to apport10nwent of expenses as shall
seem to be just -subject, of course to the terms of
any previously existing contract bet~een the parties.
Laundl'ies. - Section 103 of the Act as it
at present stand s, is a. mere re-enact~ent of
S~c~ion 22 of the ~actory Act, 1895.
The
0~1~ma.l amendment Blll contained a clause proVldmg that every laundry carried on by way of
trade or for gain should be deemed to be a
non-textile factory, for the purposes of the Act, if
power was used, and a workshop if no mechanical
power was used. It was also provided that the
Secretary of State might 1nake special provisions
as to meal-hours, &c., in laundries but that no
order made by him should permit th~ employment
of children to exceed 30 houra, or that of women and
young persons to exceed 60 hours (exclusive of
overtime) in any one week.
It was also provided that fans should be provided
for regulating the temperature, that stoves used
for heating irons should be kept apart from the
rooms where work is carried on, and that floors
should be kept dry and in good condition. It was
further provided that in the case of a laundry
carried on by the inmates of a charitable or religious
instituti.o~, inspec.tion should be carried out by
some v1s1tor nomn1ated by the persons having
control of the institution and approved by the
inspector. This clause involved t he establishment
of a system of inspection over the Irish convents, where much laundry work is carried on .
For this reason it was bitterly opposed by the
Irish members in the House of Commons. In the
event, the Home Secretary withdrew the clause,
and the old factory law relating to laundries was
reinstated whon the Bill was consider ed in the
House of Lords. It seems to be illogical that
laundries, wherever or howsoever conducted, in
which large quantities of clothes having t he seeds
of infection are gathered together should be exempt
from the many salutary provisions of the factory
laws which have relation to the preservation of the
public health. We should not be surprised if 1n
the next session of Parliament t he Government see
their way to overcome t he prejudices of the Irish
members.

Application ofOertain P1ovisions of the Act to Docks.

E N G I N E E R I N G.
order forbidding the occupier of any factory or
workshop from sending out any work connected
with wearing apparel to that house. Hitherto this
precaution has only been enforced in the caRe of
scarlet fever or small-pox ; but it now applies to any
complaint which may for the time being be regarded
as infectious.
Pmticula1s of W ork ancl Wages.-Seotions 116
and 117 of the Act are a re-enactment of the
old law relating to the particulars of work and
wages which must be given to pieceworkers.
Weavers in the worsted and woollen t rades have
always been entitled to written particulars showing
the method by which their wages are to be ascertained. This provision is now extended by Section 116, Sub-Section (1) (b) to weavers in the
cotton trade, and may by Sub-Section 5 of the same
section be applied by the Secretary of State to any
class of non-textile factories or to any class of
workshops.
Certifying Su1geons.- Under the old law, where a
surgeon was employed to draw up a certificate with
regard to the fitness of a child or young person
for work in a factory or workshop, the employer
was allowed to deduct the cost of that certificate
from t he wages of the child or young person. This
power has now been withdrawn, and t he cost must
be defrayed by t he employer. This would seem to
be an amendment of the law in accordance with the
principle of t he Truck Acts.
Gene1al R egiste1s.-New and important provisions
on this head are made by Section 129. It is there
provided that in every factory and workshop there
shall be kept a general register showing in the prescribed form: (a) The children and young persons
employed in the factory and workshop; and (b) the
lime-washing of the factory or workshop; and (c)
every accident occurring in the factory or workshop, of which notice is r equired to be sent to an
inspector ; and (d) every special exception of which
the occupier of t he factory or workshop avails himself; and (e) such other matters as may be prescribed. Entries in this register are p1'i,md facie
evidence as againsb t he occupier of the factory of
the facts therein stated, and an omission from the
register is pri1nd facie evidence that the provisions
have not been observed.
Legal Proceedings.- The only change in the provisions of former Acts relating to legal proceedings
under t he Factory Acts is that no officer of any
association of persons engaged in the same trade as
a person charged with any offence under the Act
shall act as a justice of the peace in hearing and
determining the charge. Hitherto this restriction
has been confined to '' a person engaged in , the
same trade as the accused.
Definitions.- Two new and important definitions
may be found in Section 14:9. A "tenement factory , is defined as ''a factory where mechanical
power is supplied to different parts of the same
building occupied by different persons for the purpose of any manufacturing process or handicraft in
such manner that those parts constitute in law
separate factories, and for the purpose of the provisions of this Act with respect to tenement factories, all buildings situate within the same close
or curtilage shall be treated as one building., The
expression '' tenement workshop , means any
workplace in which, with the permission of, or
under agreement with, the owner or occupier, two
or more persons carry on any work which would
constitute the workplace a workshop, if the persons
working therein were in the employment of the

owner or occup1er.
Application of the .A ct .-The Act is applied by
Section 160 to factories and workshops belonging
to t he Crown; but in oases of emergency the
Secretary of State may exempt either Crown factories or factories where Government contracts are
being executed from the provisions of the Act.

-The new Act makes a very important alteration in

the application of t he Factory Laws generally to
docks. As those who are well acquainted with the
Workmen's Compensation Act of 1897 are aware,
many of the provisions of the former Facbory Acts
applied as if the term " factory , included every
dock, wharf, quay, and warehouse; and so far as
relates to the process of loading or unloading therefrom or thereto, all machinery or plant used in
that process. In future t he same provisions are to
apply to all machinery or plant used in the process
of loading or unloading or coaling any ship in any
dock, harbour or canal (Section 104, Sub-Section (i.);
and for the purposes of the section the expression
"plant, includes any gangway or ladder used by
any person employed to load or unload any ship or
in coaling, while the expressions "ship, and "harbour , have the same meaning as in the lVIerchant
S hipping Act of 1894. (See Section 104 (2).)
Railway Sidings.- Railway sidings, which are so
often used by private firms in connection with their
factories, are brought within the scope of the
Factory Law by Section 106. Up to the present
time, unless premises of this kind happened to be
wibhin the R ail way Employment (Prevention of
Accidents) Acb, 1900, there was n othing to compel
List of Facto1"ies amd Workshops to 1vlllich the
the proprietor to take any of the precautions
required by the Factory Acts to be observed in A ct .Applies.- This will be found in Sohedu1e 6.
connection with ordinary factories. In future, Electrical stations-that is to say, "any premises
however, t he provisions of the Act of 1901 relating or that part of any premises in which electrical
to dangerous machines and trades, accidents, energy is generated or transformed for the purpose
powers of inspectors, and fines in case of death or of supply by way of trade, or for t he lighting of
injury, are to apply as if such premises were part any street, public place, or public building, or
of the faotory. If the siding is used in connection of any hotel, or of any railway, mine, or other
with two or more factories, it is to be r egarded as a industrial undertaking "--are now included for the
first time.
separate factory.
H omewo1k.-The most important changes in the
law relating to " homework , are connected with
T HE NEW ZEALAND ~lrUL .-Arrangements are lx:ing
infectious disease. It is provided by Section 110 mtlde for a daily mail service between Auckland and
that if the inmate of a house is suft'ering from an Wellington. At present the mails are carried four days
infectious disease, the district council may make an per week.

799
THE NEW VICTORIA STATION AT
NOTTINGHAM.
(Oontim,ucd from page 737.)

THE station buildings, with a frontage to Mansfield-road, are illustrated on page 800. The general
effecb will be better appreciated by the engraving
on page 801, prepared from a photograph by Mr.
Morrison, the well-known photographer, of Nottingham. On page 800 Fig. 111 showA the front elevation, Fig. 112 t he plan of the first floor, and Fig.
113 the plan of the ground floor at the level of
Mansfield-road. In front there is a large open
area, on the opposite side of the thoroughfare
are several handsome public buildings, while
alongside a new station hotel has been built.
The main faQade of the booking-office is about
250 ft. in length. The style of architPcture adopted
is rat her a free treatment of classic; the lower part
is faced entirely of stone ; t he first-floor portion is
brick with s tone dressings, stone bein~ adopted for
the dormers and gables. The central feature is a
hlgh clock-tower, finishing with dome and cupola,
and the general result r eflects credit on Mr. A. E.
Lambert, the member of Mr. Parry's staff responsible for architectural details.
In front of the booking-office a cab-awning has
been built, 100 ft. long and extending into the yard
for 40 ft. The roof is divided into five bays of
varying spans. The main girders are carried by
the main wall at the building end, and on columns
in t he cab-stand. These girders; of the lattice
type, are 2 ft. 6 in. deep, with a girder of similar
construction along the front of the awning. Vertical glazed screens are provided as shown jn
Fig. 114. The principals are placed ab 10-ft.
centres, and at the end of each bay they are hipped
in the usual way.
Referring now to the plan, Fig. 113, it will be
seen t hat the booking-hall occupies the central part,
and is 104ft. 7t in. by 65ft. 3 in. There are three
entrances, 10 ft. wide, and booking-offices for the
Great Central and the Great Northern Companiee,
situated respectively at t he north and south ends
of t he hall. The walls of the hall are of brick
and plastered, with pitch-pine panelling 11ft. high,
and the floor is of oak blocks.
As already
mentioned, there is direct access to the passenger footbridge across the station, from which
there are stairways to the platforms. Luggage
is dealt with by two lifts working from the basement below, and there communicating with the
underground passage, in which there are hoists to
each platform. At the south end of the hall there
is a !eH-luggage office, with an entrance from the
hall, and a separate one for the use of porters only.
This office is 50 ft. by 42 i t., with a lantern roof,
so that it is well lighted. There is also a hoist
in the office to the basement. A covered way has
been made to the new hotel from the bookinghall along the front of the left-luggage office.
This arrangement is shown on the plan (Fig. 113).
To t he north of t he booking-hall two parcels
offices and a van-yard are provided. Over t hese
parcels offices, van-yard, and booking-offices a
first floor has been provided, affording rooms for
offices, &c. (Fig. 112). The booking-hall oxtends
t hrough two floors, and its ceiling is divided
into a series of semi-elliptical coves, which are
carried by t he roof principals. The entrances
and exits for passengers are provided in t he front
elevation. In each parcels office, as already indicated, there are lifts in connection with the basement, where extensive stores are arranged, with an
approach-way on a gradient of 1 in 14 from the
Mansfield-road, as shown on the plan, Fig. 1,
page 678 ante. This approach is also convenient
for the fish, horse, and carriage-loading and other
platforms shown on t he same plan. There is a
similar arrangement of banks, &c., at the south
end of the station, with an approach from the
Parliament-street bridge, a part of this approach
being built on arches of 16 ft. span to provide
storage accommodation.
The walls in the basement are lined with white
glazed bricks, with a 6-ft. dado of brindle brick.
The ground floor is constructed of plate girders,
steel joists, curved steel plates, and concrete,
supported on steel columns. The supporting
girders vary much in span and depth, the largest
being 68 ft. long and of 4 ft. 6 in. depth. This
extends across t he booking-hall, projecting into the
station as a cantilever to support the gangway
between the passenger footbridge and the public

,8co

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

[DEc. I 3, I 90 1.

THE VICTORIA RAILWAY STATION AT NOTTINGHAM; THE BOOKING-OFFICES.

EDWARD PARRY, lY! . lNST. C.E., LONDON AND NOTTINGHAJ\If, ENGINEER .

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UPPER PART

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BOOKING

HALL

OFF ICE
OFFICE
OFFICE

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TOWER

Fig. 113.

GROUND

FLOOR

PLAN.

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ELECTRIC POWER IN CARRIAGE
coaches. Th e advent of railways led the original
footbridge across the station. The girders, howfirm to be one of the first builders of railway rolling
WORKS.
ever, only average about 3 fb. 6 in. in dept h,
~

.:J. 1.._

1\u

the load arranged for being 1i cwt. per square foot.

By

ERNEST

D.

Jrv

PHILLIFS.

stock, and since that time their reputation for ever

being abreast of the times has been steadily maintained. In 1862 the present company was founded,
and acquired the business from Messrs. Joseph
Wright and Son, a firm well . remembered as a
leading one in the early days of rail way engineer

business of the Metropolitan Railway Car

riage and \Vagon Company, Limited, is one of the
oldest established of its kind in the world. It
COAL FOR THE AMERICAN NAVY.-The Navy of the
United States consumed lasb year 324.108 tons of ooa.l, dates from the early years of the past century,
cosbing 2,273,111 dols. The corresponding consumption when it was founded in London, and the bulk of
the work undertaken was th e building of stage mg.
ten years since was 73,000 tons per annum.
THE

(To be continued. }

E N G I N E E R I N G.
gase~,

ready mixed in the best proportions, are proper can be proceeded with, and the applications band, and circular saw$, tenoning and morticing
adm1tted. The quantity of this best mixture of the electric power noted.
machines, and various other automatic wood-workadmitted per stroke is proportional to the load on
The iron foundry is a new building, about 150 ft . ing tools. They are driven by belt from lengths
the engine. The gas and the air supplies feed each long by 50ft. wide, and contains the usual plant of shafting instaUed under the floor. The steam
through a valve into the mixing chamber. These for making smaller sized castings. The pattern- engine and the boilers are shortly to be thrown
valves are capable of easy and definite hand adjust- making shop is built at one end of the foundry, out, and 160 horse-power of motors now being
ment, so that the proportional quantities of gas and along one side are arranged the brass foundry, installed to drive all the machinery.
and air allowed to pass into the mixing chamber cupolas, and casting-dressing shop. Between the
The assembling of the carriages and wagons
can be readily adjusted once and for all to give latter and the pattern-shop iCJ a pump-house, is carried out in a large new building built on
the best results for the quality of the gas available. in which a 30 horse-power electric motor is in- the eastern side of the grounds. The roof is in
Between the mixing chamber and the cylinder stalled. This motor iq used at the present time five spans supported by wrought-iron columns.
valves is a valve controlled by a sensitive fly-ball for driving the machinery in the dressing-shop, Each of the five bays thus formed is traversed
governor. It will thu ~ be seen that the engine is and also some of the machines in the pattern- throughout by three rail-tracks, the tracks running
not controlled on the old-fashioned "hit and-miss" shop.

right out at each end on to a traverser, which is

principle, but that the numbet of impulses per reBetween the foundries and the smiths' shop is wide enough to accommodate the largest railway
volution is always constant and maximum ; also placed the new machine and fitting-shop, which is carriages built. The traverser tracks on the
that the constituents of the explosive mixture, now practically completed. The building is about southern side run the extreme width of the works
admitted to each cylinder every cycle, are in 500 ft. long by 80 fb. wid~. It was built over buildings, forming a direct line of connection
con'ect proportions, whereby the best effect and other smaller shops, in which work went on during between the smiths' shop, the frame-shop, the old
the greatest possible economy is insured for all building operations; these shops ha \e been taken and new car-shops, the new paint-shop, and the
loads. The well-balanced construction of the en- down. The new machine-sh op is now in full opera- packing-shop. The traverser tracks on the northern
gine, combined with this principle of governin<Y, tion. The southern end is devoted to the grinding side are shorter, and simply connect the car-shop
has enabled it to show highly s~tisfactory result~. department, where several griodstones are driven and the paint-shop. The traverser carriages are
It is claimed that more useful energy can be drawn by belt fron1 overhead shafting; the shaft is now being fitted with electric motors of a sufficient
from a pound of coal by its use than can be by the coupled by belting at one end to a 30 horse-power power to drive them at the speed of 4 miles an
use of any other type of engine. Its operation is motor. The other motors installed are three hour. A gallery along the inside of the car-shop
unaccompanied by vibration, and the exhaust its of 40 horse-power each. They are arranged at contains at the centre the foreman's office, which
practically noiseless. The ignition of the explosive intervals along the eastern ~ide of the building, thus overlooks the whole department, and storemixt.ure is accomplished by an electric spark. The each driving by belt a section of the overhead rooms for patterns and templates.
spark contacts are in the clearance space at the shafting. The first section i3 taken up principally
The paintshop forms practically an extension
cylinder heads. The pairs are in duplicate in each with the smaller lathes, drilling machines, &c. The to the e~st of the car-shop building. It is 260 ft.
cylinder, to insure reliability of operation. Current second and third sections drive larger machine long by about 140ft. wide. It has a three-span
for ignition is supplied by a battery of six primary tools. A fourth. n1otor of 40 horse-power is about roof, and nine rail-tracks running through its length
cells when starting up the engine; but when running, to be installed at the north end of the shop, which direct on to the traversers, as just mentioned. The
gallery of the paint-shop contains rooms for the
a small magnetic dynamo driven by the engine was the last part finished .
The smiths' depg,rtment occupies a ground space upholsterers and wood-polishera. Several small
maintains the supply. The engine is started up
by compressed air, a storage cylinder of which is of about 80,000 square feet, and is at present wood-finishing machines are installed in this shop,
kept constantly charged. The electric motor drives probably the most bustling and over-crowded of for the correct fitting and finishmg of panels, &c.
also the hydraulic circulating pump, by which any branch of the works. The old buildings are These are to be driven by about 30 horse-power of
water i~ drawn from a small reservoir just outside being considerably altered. The roofs are all being electric motors.
'fhe motors installed throughout the works are
the power-house, passed round the engiue cylinders reconstructed, raised much higher, and arranged to
for cooling purposes, and afterwards discharged give greatly improved sky-lighting. The smiths' all identical in construction, differing only in size.
hearths are also all being rebuilt ; originally the They"are Westinghouse type "C" alternate-current
into the reservoir.
Each of the gas engines is direct-coupled to a brick chimn eys and hoods for the hearths were built induct ion motors. This motor has become so well
'Vestinghouse alternate-current generator. Thfse to the main walls of the shops. The result has been known amongst electrical engineers and power users
are of the revolving armature type, each of 150 that the vibration caused by heavy drop-hammers that .a lengthy description of it here is almost unkilowatts capacity, yielding two phase current at a and other machinery has practically shaken them necessary. It will be well, however, to point out
pressure of 220 volts per phase, running at a normal down. They are now being built entirely indepen- the particular advantages gained by its use in conspeed of 200 revolutions per minute. The field con- dent of the walls of the buildings. An electrically- nection with such work as is undertaken at the
sists of 36 pole-pieces. made up of soft steel stamp driven Sturtevant blower, provides draught for some Saltley Works. Having no rotating coils and no
ings, projecting radially from the 1nside of a circular of the smiths' fires. Other power machines in the collecting rings or commutators, skilled attendance
ring into which they are cast. Each pole-piece smithies are still driven by steam engines, but for the motors is not required. The only rubbing
carries a coil of the field-winding. The coils are 150 horse-power of electric motors is to be put surfaces are the bearings, and these are fitted with
machine-wound on bobbins which slide easily into down to take their places. The hydraulic shop at automatic lubrication. They are self-starting under
position on the pole-pieces, where they are secured the n or thern end of the smiths' department con- load, and the operation of starting is simplicity
to the field ring by set-screws through projecting tains examples of modern heavy hydraulic forging itself. A two-way switch is provided with each
lugs. The armature is built up on a cast -iron machines. Two electric motor-i are installed in motor; the switch is in a vertical position when
spider. It is of the slotted-core ironclad type. this shop-one of 40 horse- power and one of 50 the current is cut off from the motor. Throwing
The conductors are of copper bar, insulated before horse-power. The larger one supplies power to the switch down to one side, the motor is started at
beino- threaded into the core slots, where they are the large forging machines ; the smaller motor a reduced pressure. When speed is up, the switch is
secu~ely held by the overhanging lips of the slots. drives an air compressor with which ritreting ma- lifted and thrown over to the opposite side, by which
Ample provision is mad.e for the. vent~lat~on and chines, chipping, drilling, and other portable pneu- it is placed direct across the supply mains from the
main station switchboard. The reduced starting
cool running of the machme, the sp1der nm 1s cored matic tools are supplied.
There are at present three shops devoted to the pressure isdrawn from the secondary of a small transout, and is practically only a supporting framework and slots are turned on the periphery of construction of steel underframes. Here are in- former placed in the ~ox below the starting switch.
the c~re, so that a constant stream of air is forced stalled the shearing, punching, and riveting ma- This transformer, or "auto-starter, " has additional
round the conductors and through the core when chinas. Electric power has not yet been applied loop wires brought out from its secondary, so that
the machine is running. The machine has conse- in these shops, but will be in the near future. the secondary pressure may be varied to give the
quently a large overload capacity ; overloads of Electric motors are particularly suitable for the best starting effect for the work imposed on the
50 per cent. can be sus~ined for a ye:y .consider- driving of this class of shop, the machines being motor. This is adjusted once and for all for a
able time without ca.us1ng undue or lllJUrlous heat- each driven by an independent motor. Like the fixed motor used constantly for certain work.
ing to a;ny part of the machine, and overload~ of smithies, the frame-shops are over-crowded, and Another advantage of this motor is that, having no
75 per cent. can be safely negotiated for short they are to be extended to a large building, which part of the electrical circuit exposed , it is indepenthe
present
been
devoted
to
the
paintdent
of
climatic
condition
s
or
surroundings.
It
is
has
up
to
runs.
unaffected by moisture, dust, or dirt, and it can be
Each alternator has its own exciter, which is ing and finishing of carriages and wagons.
The wood-working department consists essen- used with perfect safety in shops where inflammable
driven by belt from the opposite end of the engine
shaft.. These are small machines of the well-known tially of three timber-store sheds and a large wood- materials are worked. The Westinghouse type "0,
working mill. It is situated away from the other motor, being practically a constant-speed motor,
W estinghouse direct-current multipolar type.
The main switchboard is installed at one end buildings on t.he northern side of the ground. One is, however, somewhat unsuitable for the operation
of the engine - house. It consists of six w?ite shed, measurin<Y 122 ft. by 83 ft., forms the store of the traversers. For this purpose type "F ''
marble panels, s~pported on a wrought-uon for the expensive wood panellings which are re- motors are to b~ u~ed. ~hi~ is an induction moto~,,
framework. There IS a panel for each generator, quired. It is placed over 200 ft. away from the and work s on stmilar prm01ples to the type "C,
and three feeder - pane1s. The generator panels nearest of the other works buildings. The large but the secondary, or rotating part, is modified to
carry the exciter circuit switches . and regulators. timber yards are stocked with vast quantities of give variable speeds.
Carriages and wagons manufactured at these
the main alternate - current sw1tches, and the teak oak, mahogany, and all other ldnds of
usual indicating instruments ; in addition to this lumber. The handling of the huge timber logs is works are, with very few exceptions, to be found
they are fitted with voltmeter and tr~n.~former carried out by a steam-driven jib-crane. The jib amongst the rolling stock of. all the British railway
plugs, and indicating lamps for syll:chronising pu~ of the crane is of a peculiar shape, the upper end companies, notably the M1dland ; South-Eastern
poses. The generator sets are designed to run In being bent over to a horizontal position; the object and Chatham; London, Tilbury, an.d Southend;
parallel and they do so in an excellent n1anner-a of this is to secure easily a vertical lift of material North Eastern ; Taff Vale ; Cambnan, Furness,
decided' proof of the even turning moment and the from railway wagons or trucks .. This crane runs on an~ Cheshire lines; Glasgo'_V and South-Weste~n;
the railway tracks which pass Into and between all M1dland Great Western l~a1lway (Ireland); Shgo,
close speed regulation of the gas engi!le.
Having thus given. a short descr.Ipti?n . of the buildings formin a quite a network. The large Leitrim, and North Count1es, &c. The works are
electric power~generat1ng plant, whiCh 1s 1n con- saw-mills' are at pr~sent driven by a horizo.ntal slow- constantly e~gaged on Gov~rnment c?ntracts
st1nt use day by day, the description of the works speed steam engine. The machines compr1se frame, for South Afnca, Ceylon, lnd1a, Australta, and

E N G I N E E R I N G.
other colonies. Many large foreign rail wayii are
also supplied, such a~ thos e of Brazil, Argentina,
Japan, China, and oth ers too numerous to m ention
here.
When the alterations and improvements now in
progress are completed, the Sal tley Works will
certainly be the largest and b est-equipped of any
similar engineering concern i n t he kingdom .
Two oth er large m an ufaclmring concer n s in Birmingham have already profited by the results of
this plant, and contracted with the British Wes tingh ouse Electric and Manufacturing Company for
s imilar i nstallations .
The writer is indebted to lVIr. G. D. Churchward, the company's general manager and engin eer, for many of t h e particulars included in this
article.

CAPSTAN LATHE.
L AST week, in gi ving an a ccount of the machine
too ls exhibited by ~Messrs. Alfred Herbert, Limited,
at the N ational Cycle Show, we mentioned t hat
exigencies of space prevented t he inclusion of t he
lathe named above, and we now therefore illustrate
a.nd describe i li in accordance with our promise. The
lathe is a new to ol, s pecially adapted for high-speed
work, and marked by s pecial novel features. The
illustrations, F igs. 1 to 14, on pages 796 and 797, give
a co:nplete series of views of the machine.
T he bed A is of the flush-topped type, very rigid,
and is support ed in asud-tray, B, with loose strainer for
removal of the chips. I t is fitted with various handy
accesories which contribute to enhance the value of a
hand-operated turret lathe.
The headstock, detailed in Figs. 5 and 6, is fitted
with freedom of adjustment at the sides of the bed,
with set screws, by which Hs alignment can be secured
and corrected as necessar y.
No keys are used to
fasten the u ri ving pulley to the cone spindle, but a
taper fitting, a, at the front and a. tightening nut , b,
behind, secure the two without risk of the banding
and springing th~t frequ ently results from the use
of keys in small lathes, especially in a spindle of
th is kind, which is really a t ube. The spindle tbru'3 t
is taken by ball bearings.
The wire-feed for !-in. bars is of t he standard design,
which is operated by a lever C and ratchet barD, all the
details of which a.re E-hown clearly in the illustration
Fig. 5, together w_ith the stand, a_nd ~n extra ~tand
(Fig. 4) for supportmg t he bars, wh1ch 1s us<:ful, m the
case of those of sma.ll diameter and of soft metal, to prevent whipping. The backward movement of the lever C
in sliding the cone backwards causes t he t:>ggle levers
E E t o thrust the chuck tube forward, and so tighten
the chuck round the ba.r. Adjustment of the chuck
is by means of t he knurled nuts F, Fat the r ear of the
~pin dle, by which the use of spanners is a voided. The
s upporting bush G for the bar at the back of t he
spmdle is secured in its place by a scr ew thread.
The spindle is finished by g rind ing on dead-centres
and runs i n bearings of hard phosphor bronze. All
the wearing parts of the chuck are hardened and
t e mpered. ~Ve_hav~ an object-lesson of_ the value. of
precision gnndmg m t he t;)lodern shop m the fittmg
on these and similar tubular par ts of lathes and screw
machines, some of which a~e very long and slender,
and in which perfect balancing and concentricity for
running at hi gh speeds is essential, and in all of which
the most accurate fitting in bearing necks ana in
conical parts is of first importance. Apart from this,
which . though most accurate and precise, is comparatively inexpensive, the production of high class tools
would be so costly as to place them beyond the range
of common shop service, in which they are now employed.
'l'be capstan rest, ~hown ~n F igs .. 7 to 9 in p~an,
elevation, and end v1ew, w1th secttons dotted, IS a.
new design, having strong locking and t urning arrangements, which are all closed in anq protected from
chips and dirt. The base H fits on t he flush-topped
bed A, to which it is clamped with strips, a nd the slide
moves in this in the usual manner, with square edges
and gibs fitting in grooves of square section. The
locking bol t J and its connections are covered in with
a. thin pl:1te K, seen in the various views, and fastened
down with counteraunk headed screws, so that the
parts are easily got at, and adj ust ments of t he long
taper wedge L at the side of the bol t can be made by
means of the two nuts on the stem of the wedge.
The stem of the bolt is held by a grub screw d in the
top slide, and t he backward motion of the hand-le~er
M wi thdraws the tapered end of the bolt J from 1ts
notch against the pressure of t he coiled spring that
encircles t he stem. The turret then comes round
auto matically to bring the next tool into operation,
whereupon the spring forces t he bolt into t he ne x b
notch a.nd looks the turret again. The bolt and the
ring are both harden.ed.
The mechanism by which the turret is rotated in
unison with the withdrawal of the bolt is seen in t he
plan and elevation, Figs. 7 and 8. A push -piece

or paw l N is screwed into the turret base. Its

end is formed to a small rad ius, which, by the backward motion of the slide, is made to enter one of the
sfmicircular recesses in a ra.tchet-wh.eel 0 riveted to
the underside of the locking-ring, and eo pushes the
turret round t hrough an a.rc of a cir cle until the
locking-bolt enters the next notch.
The neat attachment of the turret to its base, and
the means provided for the lubrication of t he pin, s hould
be noted (Fig. 8). '!'he locking of the tool stems is
seen in Fig. 9. Two adj ustable stops are fitted, one,
P, at th e rear and one, Q, at the side of the slide in
the groove.
The cross-slide or cu t-off rest is of plain construction,
shown in detail in Figs. 10 to 14. It is actuated by a
hollow lever (Fig. 14), which is simply clamped upon its
spindle, so t hat it can be set ataoy angle that happens
to be most convenient. Two tool-stops f. fare fitted ,
each wit h a square head and a lock-nut. The t ools are
clamped upon serrated wedges R, R t hat prevent slip,
in ord er t o give a variable adj ustment for setting the

THE ELECrRICITY WORKS OF THE

SALFORD CORP ORATION.

ON Wednesday, November 20, the opening cer amony t ook place of the ext.ensi ve syst em of tr~m ways
laid down by the Corporatwn of Salford. Th1s,_ ho'Y'
ever is not the first venture of the Co~poratt on ID
electric engineering, for in th e year 1895 it ~stabli~ h ed
elecliricity works which generated alternatmg current
at a pressure of 3000 volts. The. capacity of the
station being s mall, i t was very rapidly fully loaded,
and when the question of the s~pply t<? tramways had
to be considered, the CorporatiOn de01ded to erect a
new generating station whi0h would supply both the
moti ve power for the t ramways, and also meet the
demand which bad arisen for electri city for power
and lightiA~ purposes. The Corporation h~d previously acquired about 5 acrPs of land in thq cent re of
the boroug h sit uated on the Bolton a.IJd Bury Canal,
which wa.s suitable for t he site of the generating
station {see Map).

COUNTY BOROUGH o;: SALF'ORD.

FCEOER BOJCES. CABLES k .

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cutting edges level with the centres. They are pinched

by t he set-screw above.
The pump arrangements from the oil trough under
the strainer to the Fpreader pipe are clearly Ehown in
t he general views (Figs. 1 to 4) . The pump S draws
its supply from the trough T underneath the strainer
in the sud-tray B. The legs which support the bed
are cast in one with this tray. The tool tray at t he
rear-of cast iron- is better and cleaner than one of
wood. Altogether this new lathe is an example of a
compact little tool which a lad can operate by simply
taking charge of three handles- one for the wire-feed,
one for the turret, and one for t he cross-slide.
As in ot her lathes by this firm, the chuck and the
sleeve at the r ear are protected with light cast-iron
coverl', which keep a way dirt, and prevent oil from
flying off.
BRAZILIAN L IGHTHOUSES.- The Hrazilia.n Minister of
Marine has issued orders for the construction of the
Itaja.by Lighthouse on the Ganta Catherina. coasb, as soon
as the 8a.nta. Anna. Lighthouse has been completed.
GERMAN OoALMINING.- The aggregate outpub of coal
in Germany in the first three quarters of this year is
returned at 75,761,092 tons, as compared with 75,826,875
tons in the corresponding period of 1900, showing the
small falling off of 65,783 tons, or 0. 09 per cent.

Early in the year 1899 the Corporation appointed

Messrs. Lacey, Clirehugh, and Sillar to be their consulting engineers for t he scheme, a.nd the whole of the
works have been er ected to t heir ~pecification s a nd
under their direction. After careful consideration,
the engineers came to the conclusion that the area.
could be most economically served by continuous
current at a preesure of 550 volts to the tram ways, a.t
440 volts to power users, and at 440 or 220 ~olts for
lighti1_1g pur~oses. .One advantage of this arrangement 1s that It permtts of one type of generator being
used f?r both tramway and ligh ting purposes, and
he~ce It r educes. the amount of st~nd- by machinery
whtch need be laid down. By varymg the excitation
of the fields, any machine will give 440 or 550 volts
as ma.y be desired, and can be changed from the tram~
way to the lighting circuit, and vice versa, a.t will.
Some of the outlying portions of the borough, however
cann~t be well supplied by the t hree-wire system, and
the h1gh-pressure a lternating current will be continued
to them. I t is proposed eventually to bring t he
present alternators from the old station to the new
and drive them by means of continuous-current motors'
thus enabling the old works to be closed.
'
It will be of interest in the f_uture to compare
the a ctual cost of current per car-mile in Sa.lford
and :Manchester. The latter city, which adjoins
Salford, and has running powers over certain of ita

 N G I N E E R I N C.

[DEc. I 3, 1901 .

ENGINES AND BALANCERS AT THE SALFORD ELECTRICITY WORKS.

.

Yt:ESSRS. LACEY, CLIREHUGH, AND SILLAR, ENGINEER , MANCHESTER AND LONDON.

(For Desc't ipUon, see Page 803.)

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INDICATED

1250

HORSE-POWER ENGINES AT THE

SALFORD ELECTRICITY WORKS.

tj

CONSTRUCTED

BY

MESSRS.

BROWETT,

LINDLEY,

AND

CO. ,

LIMITED,

t:j

PENDLETON.

()

(For Description , see P age 803.)

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li~es_. has adopted high -tension multiphase tra.ns

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

[DEc. I J, I 90 I.

1500 lb. of coal should generate 12,000 lb. of steam.

T~e gove~nor ~s of the high-~peed centrifugal type,
mtss1on to converter sub-stations. It is somewhat The stokers are driven by electric motors through and 1s conta.med 1n a hood carr1ed on the engine frame
curious to note that at as recent a date as February, round bands (Figa. 4 and 5) working on cone pulleys, and close to the starting valve. It is under forced
1899, the Manchester Corporation proposed to run their the amount of coal fed at each revolution being a lso lubrication throughout, and runs at a speed of 400
tramways at a pressure of 400 volts delivered on the car adjustable by the device shown in Fig. 6.
revolutions p er minute. The governor gear is driven
~nd. it 'Y'as only .after. the Salf~rd Corporation, at th~ ~t the back of. the range of. boilers is a long flue by a chain made by Messrs. H~ns Renold, and a spray
1nst1gat10n of thetr engmeers, potnted out the difficulties (Ftg~. 2 and 3), wtth an economiser and a chimney at of oil is always playing on the chain whilst working
which must arise in connection with running powers each end. The economisers were ~upplied by Messrs. to insure efficient lubrication.
over neighbouring lines, that 1\l anchester agreed to E. Green and Son, Limited, Manchester, and each conThe connecting-rods are of mild steel. The crossadopt the standard pressure of 500 to 550 volts.
tains 800 tubes. These 800 tubes are arrangGd in six head pins ara case-hardened, and are forced into the
The buildings deeigned by Mr. John Holt, architect, groups- namely, four groups of 120 pipes each, and connecting-rods by hydraulic pressure. The crossof Manchester, comprise engine- room, boiler- house two groups of 160 pipes each, the various groups being heads are of the "~Iarine" type and are cottered to
.
pump-rooms, econonuser-rooms,
switch-rooms, storeEI,' coupled by copper expansion elbows. 1.'he dampers the piston-rods. The slippers are of cast iron and
offices, &c.
and feed-pipes are so arranged that either half can be work under forced lubrication. The piston-rods are
The following is a list of the contracts entered into worked separately. The top boxes are fitted with in- of .4 carbon steel, and are ground up perfectly cylinfo~ the supply and erecliion of machinery, together ternal lids, and the total heating surface of the 800 drical.
wtth names of the contractors and amounts of their pipes is about 800 quare feet.
The high-pressure cylinders are 15 in. in diameter
contracts, and it is intere~ting to note what a large
In addition to the heating surface provided by the by 30 in. stroke, and are fitted wit.h loose liners.
proportion of the work has b :en done by local manu- boilers and the economisers, there are sixteen super- Both the cylinders and the cylinder covers are steam
facturers :
heaters placed opposite the ends of the furn!lce flues jacketed with steam at boiler pressure. The high-presimmediately behind the boilers, and between them sure piston is of cast iron fitted with plain Rams bottom
No. 1. Ei~hb 775- kilowatb abeam dynamo~,

and the main flue, as shown in dotted lines in Fig. 3. rings. The bottoms of the high-pressure cylinders and
Messrs. Mabher and Pla.tt, dynamos ;
.and Browebb Lindley, engines...
. .. 72,000 The guaranteed capacity of the superheaters is to the tops of the low-pressure cylinders are fitted with
raise 10,000 lb. of steam per hour at least 100 deg. packings of th e "United States" make, and are suitA.ble
No. 2. Stxteen 30 fb. by 9 fb. L9.noashire
Fahr. E~ch superheater consists of two boxes united for working with steam at a temperature of 100 deg.
b Jilers, and superheaters, Ga.llowayP,
Limited, Manchester ...
...
. .. 15,200 by a number of U tubes, the steam from the boiler superheat. The valves of the high-pressure cylinders
entering one box, passing first downwards, then are of the piston ~ype; the valve boxes are fitted with
No. 3. Sixteen mechaniclll stokers, electricallydriven, J a.mes Hodgkinson, Sa.lford ...
2,495 upwards through the U tubes into the other box, and hard cast-iron liners forced in by hydraulic pressure.
No. 4. E conomisers, two batteri~, comprising
The low-pressure cylinders are 32 in. in diameter
thence to the engines. There is lifting tackle over each
1600 tubes in all, Messrs. Green and
superheater, by which it can be removed rapidly for by 30 in. stroke, and, like the high-pressure cylinders,
Sons, Manchester
...
. ..
. ..
2,860 inspection or repair. Each pair of boilers is directly are steam jacketed, The low-pressure valves are of
No. 5. Eighb condensers and Edwards' pumpo,
connected to one engine, so as to reduce the waste by the balanced slide-val ve type ; the clearances in the
steam exhaust and water -pi pes, Messr.:~.
low-pressure cylinders are extremely fine. Both the
16,500
condensation
to
the
lowest
amount,
the
steam
pipe
W. H. Bailey and Co., S.\lford
.. .
passing from the superheater through the wall of the high-pressu re and low-pressure valves are driven from
No. G. Six elecbrically.driven feed-pumps and
engine-house to a. separator, and thence to the en- eccentrics on the engine &haft. The low-pre~sure
feed-pipes, ea.ch delivering 4000 gallons
gines. In addition, there is a longitudinal by pags pist-ons are of stamped steel and are provided with
of water per hour, Me~srs. Bertram
3,157 main along the top of the mg.in flue (Fig. 3, two-page plain cast-iron R amsbottom rings.
Thomas and Co. . . .
...
..
. ..
The speed of the engines is controlled by mean3 of
No. 7. 30-ton travelling crane, 4i ft. span, 220 fb.
plate), which can be connected to any boiler, and
travel, Messrs. J a mea c~rrick and Sons
622 to any engine. All the ~team, exhaust, and blow- the governor acting on a throttle va.l ve supplying
N o. 8. Electrically driven ash conveyor, Messrs.
off pipe3 were supplied and fixed by Messrs. W. H. steam to each high-pressure cylinder. The overload
Gra.ham, Morton, and Co., L eeds ...
1,569 Bailey and Co., Limited, Albion Works, Salford. The is obtained by an auxiliary throttle valve worked
No. 9. Tw..> elecbrically- driven travelling jib
steam pipes are of mild steel with welded flanges, the from the main governor, which admits high-pressure
cranes for coaliog, Clayton Eogineeriog
steam to the low-pressure cylinders when necessary.
1,270
main
steam
ring
being
14
in.
in
diameter.
The
main
Com p1.ny . ..
. ..
. ..
...
. ..
exhaust pipe is 18 in. in diameter with 15-in. A knock-off gear is provided for high and low speeds,
No. 10. Overhea.d equipment for tra.mwa.y:1,
8,599 branches to each engine. In the main steam pipe there which, in case of need, disconnects the throttle val ve
M es3ra. George Hill and Co. . . .
. ..
are three~ expansion bends of copper, each bend con- from the governor and allows it to drop on its seat ;
No. 11. U aderground cables for lightiog and
sisting of two 10-in. copper pipes with ca.ststeel boxes. thus shutting the engine down immediately should
p')wer purpose3, including tlra.mw!l.y
The steam a.~d exhaust valves are manufactured under any accident happen to the governor.
feeder.i, Me!!srs. W. T. Glover and CJ.,
Limited, Manchester . ..
. ..
. .. 159,6!8 Garvie's patent. They are of the parallel face type
All the handle~ of the drain cocks, speeder gear,
No. 12. Lighting and power switchboard, Me3srs.
with renewable expansion seats. The interior gate lubrication and stop valves are brought to one end of
S. H. H ey wood . . .
. ..
...
. ..
2, 280 consists of a pair of parallel discs arranged to slide the engine frame, and are within easy reach of the
N .l. 13. Tca.ction switohb')a.rd, M~srs. John
between parallel seat~. These discs fit on oppo- attendant. The vertical rod of the stop valve is
2, 684 si te sides of a circular supporting plate, through which provided with a handwheel on each platform.
F owler and 0...>., Leeds ...
. ..
. ..
No. 14:. Balancing trausformera, Messrs. Mabher
The flywheels are 16 ft. in diameter, and each
1,060 the rising spindle of the valve passes, and are capable
and Pla.~b, S.\lford
...
. ..
. ..
of rotation on the plate to allow them to bed them- weighs 18 tons. They are made in halves, and are
No. 15. Electrical conneobions in engine-rooms,
bolted and cottered together on the rim, and also
4,179 selves properly on their seats.
and signals, Messrs. Lightfo:>t Brobhera
The engines were constructed by Messrs. Browett, cottered on the boss, on which heavy steel hoops are
N.>. 16. S~ecl p oles for tramway equipment,
... 17,450 Lindley, and Co., Limited, Patricroft, and each is shrunk. The wheels are secured to the crankshaft by
Messra. J ames Ruesell and Sons
No. 17. Sba.tion lighting, Alliance Electrica.l Corndesigned to give 1250 indicated horse-power as a four steel keys. During tests made at Messrs. Browett,
598 normal load, but is capable of withstanding an Lindley, and Co.'s works, the drop in speed from no
pany . . .
. ..
. ..
. ..
. ..
. ..
over-load of 25 p er cent. They run at a speed of load to full load was 2~ revolutions; the temporary
3l2, 171 100 revolutions per minute, with a steam pressure run-up, when all load was thrown off, was seven
The whole of the works are now nearing completion, of 140 lb. to the square inch, and when exhaust- revolution~ .
Each engine has its own cast-iron separator carried
and their size can be gathered from the plan and sec- ing into a condenser having a 26-in. vacuum. The
tions on our twopage plate. It will be seen that the engines are of the three-crank vertical tandem type, on a. bracket on the engine-house wall, the separator
main building is 324 fti. 9 in. long by 106 ft. 10 in. the high-pressure cylinders carried on the top of the being provided with water-level gauge fittings and
wide, and that at each end, outside the main building, low-presgure cylinders on polished steel pillars acting protector glass.
The cylinders are completely covered with asbestos
there is a chimney. The engine-room is 221 ft. by 44ft., as disttJ.nce-pieces, as shown in Figs. 8 and 9 on
and provides accommodation for eight sets of main en- page 805. Between the bottom cover of the high-pres- composition, and lagged with planished steel.
It should be noted that the engines are running at a
gines. It is separated by a wall from the boiler-housP, sure cylinders and the top covers of the low-pressure
which is of the same length and of 55 ft. 9! in. in cylinders is sufficient space to allow the latter to be speed of 100 revolutions per minute, although of the
wid th. In this there are sixteen boilera, together raised in order to renew the piston rings in the low-pres- enclosed forced lubrication type, and suitable for at
with superheatera, self-acting stokers, coal bunkers, sure cylinder when required. E1ch low-pressure cy- least double the speed. This was done to meet the
and ash-conveyors. At each end of the boiler-room, linder is oarried on the top of a cast-iron distance-piece views of the E~ectricity Committee. No doubt the
but divided from it by a wall 2ft. 9 in. thick, is a containing the wiper gland. These distance-pieces low speed will conduce to a longer life, but as the
pump room, cllntainiog three feed-pumps. Similarly, also contain the bored guides for the crosshead slippers, capital cost was increaRed by 20, OOOl., this is someat ea ~h end of the engine room there is an apartment, and are securely bolted to the t op of the engine frame. what doubtful economy.
The air pumps a.nd conden~ers are of the Edwards'
one beinO' the bJ.lancer-room, with the switchboard- The frame is strongly ribbed, and provided with hinged
room abo~e, and the other being devoted to stores.
doors both at the front and at the bick of the engine type, and were made by Messrs. W. H . Ba.iley and
The boilera, supplied by Messrs. Ga.lloways, Li- to give easy access to the working pa rts of the engine. Co., Limited. They are eight in number -one for each
engine. They are of the three-throw type, each barrel
mited, Knott Mill Iron 'Vorks, Manchester, are of Each frame weighs about 14 tons.
the L ancashire type, and of large dimensions. They
The baseplate of the engins is of very massive de being 21 in. in diameter, 12 in. stroke, running at .100
a.rd designed for 160 lb. workmg pressure, and are sign and contains the four main bearings. The outer revolutions per minute, and each pump is capable of
9 ft. in diameter by 30 ft. long. 'f h e shell-plates are bearing next t o the flywheel is 14 in. in diameter by dealing with 18,750 lb. of steam per hour. The chief
1 in. thick, the ll)ngitudinal seams being butt-jointed 2ft. 8 in. long; the other three bearings are 13 in. in feature of the Edwa.rds' patont air pump is the absence
and double butt-strapped, with six rows of rivets, diameter. The b3arings are of gun-metal, lined with of bucket valves, and this decreases the l iability of
and the circular seams being lap-jointed and double- Dawrance's white metal. The crankshaft is of the breakdown and the number of parts r equiring attenriveted. Tae flues (Fig. 5, two-page phte) are built of built-up type; the crankpins are 13 in. in diameter, tion ; it also allows of very litt le clearance between
twelve rinO's, m ostly varying from 3 ft. 10 in. to 3 ft. and a 4 in. diameter hole is bored right through the bucket and discharge float. The pumps are fixed on
9 in. in di;.neter, the eleventh ring, however, tap~ring shaft, and also through the crankpins. The ends of a level above that oi the discharge pipe, which is adfrom 44 in. to 3S in., and the twelfth being 38 in. these holes are plugged up, and the holes act as the vantageous, as they can be run with the covers
in diameter.
The thickness of the furnace t ube- reservoir and conductor for the oil supply to t he main for access to the valves r emoved, EO that the
plates is i-~ in. for the first ring, aud -~ ~ in. for the bearings and crankpins. The eccentric clips are of action can be observed. Those pumps draw condenser
water thr.>ugh a 20-in. suc~ion pipe from the ca.nal
others. Taese boilera, it will be noticed, are of very cast iron working on cast-iron sheaves.
great siz9 and .weight. They are fitted wi lih self-acting
The whole of the working parts of the engines are and discharge ioto a 40-in. pipe wilih six outlets to
,.,tokers and self-cleaning firebars, supplied by Mr. under forced lubrication, ttle oil being forced under the canal. EJ.ch pump is driven through double
Ja.mes Hodgkinson, o.f S!llford. E~ch pair of sto~ers press ure into each bearing by means of two simple reduction gear by a 50 brake horse-power electric
ii ca.pabl~ of consummg 1 t?n of fuel per hour wtth- valveless pumps driven by an eccentric on the engine motor constructed by Messrs. P . R. Jackson and Co.,
out cJ.usiog a n emission of black smoke. They are of shaft. E~ch pump is fitted with a filter, t hrough which Limited, Salford, and each pump has a 15-in. autothe coking type, and the specifica,ion required thg,t the o~l is pumped, a?d which insures clean o.il being matic exhaust \ralve and 15-in. stop and back-pressure
from 1350 lb. of bituminous slack per hour there supphed to the bearmgs. A pressure gauge 1s fitted yalve, so that th e engine can exhaust to the condenser
or to the atmosphere. The pumps are fitted wi t h
should he produced 10,800 lb. of steam wi th feed outside thq frame which shows the pressnre of the
B11iley's patent rr..agazine dial lubricators, which pro
wt~tcer at 1.40 deg , and th~J with foNed draught . oil on the bJariog3.

DEc. 13, 1901.]

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

vides a.n independe ntly adj ustable feed for each p art it may be pointed out that in certain parts of Lanca- which much of the loss of gum, usual with the procedure
of the pump. The motor and second motion shaft shire, of which 1 alforcl is one, coal is d elivered in now general , is avoided. In heating fossil gums 10 an open
are carried on a.n extension which is bolted to the boxes, each carry ing a bou t 2 tons. These boxos fit vessel preparatory to varnish-making, the gum first
softens, then water distils over; this is followed by a
p um p b edpla.te, and is shown in Fig. 2.
into barges, and are lifted by t he crane. T hey are distillate of inflammable vapour, and finally by one of
The gen erators, of which there are eight in a.ll, are fitted wi t,h collaps ible bottoms, th us enabling t he coal an inflammable liquid. In this way abo.ub 40 t?. 50 p~r
each coupled directly to the engines described above. to be tipped direct int o the bunkers. Shoots connect cen b. of the origin al weigh b of. the g~m IS ~olat1hsed . ID
T he a lford Electricity Works, as already explained, the hopper on each mechanical stok er direct wi th th e the melting proces~, Mr. mtth av01ds th1s by melbtng
has no t only to supply current for t he Corporation bunkers, and each shoot is fi t ted with a record ing the gum under pressure. In this case the gum dissol ves
tramways, but also for the general lighting of the appa ratus for measuring t he coal d elivered into each in t he oil ab a much lower t emperature, and as a result a.
b orough. It w a.s therefore necessary to d esign the hopp er . The storage capacity of the bunkers over the varnish hu b li ttle darker than the original oil is obtained,
whilst there is a great saving of gum.
dynamos so that t hey could be run as compound- boiler s is a bout 1600 tons.
wound machines, g iving 525 vol ts in the former
S pecia l a ttention has been ghen in designing the
T he B oard of Trade have recently confirmed the folcase, and as shunt-wound machines, giving 480 station to reducing the labour as far a.s possible. The lowing lighb railway orders: 1. Halesowen Light Railvolts in the latter; and, furth er, to make provision coa.l is never touched by h and from the time it leaves way Order, 1901, authorising the construction of light
for the p ossible considerable overload. The yoke t he colliery screens. The clinker and a shes are con- railways in the rural district of Halesowen, in the County
ring, the lower part of which is below the floor level veyed by a.n ash-conveyor to t he far end of the building of Worcester. 2. Amesbury and Military Oamp Light
of the engine-room, is of cast steel and high mag- and automatically tipped into either a. barge or cart Railway (Amendment) Order, 1901, amending the Amesn etic quality, and is made in halves, which can be bolted as may be desi red. The six teen boilers, capable of burr and 1\Iilitary Camp Light Rd.ilwa.y Order, 1898.
3. Bardfield and Dible H edingbam Light Ra.ilws.y
together. The poles and pole -faces, of which there evaporating 200,000 lb. of water per hour, can be Order, 1901, authorising the construction of a. light
a.re ten, are a lso of cast steel, separate from and bolted operated by two men, and t he eight steam dynamos, railway, in the county of Essex, to join the proposed
up to the yoke-ring a fter the spools containing the capable of indicating 10,000 horsepower even if E lsenbam, Tbaxted, and Bardfield Light R~ilway with
winding have b een slipped over them. The spools running simultaneously, would only r equire four men the Colne Valley and Halstead Railway. 4. Bridgeau t hus be readily r emoved for repaira wi thout dis- per shift .
water, Stowey, and Stogursey Light R ailway Order,
turbing either the yoke-ring or armature. The shunt
In an early issue we shall give further p articulars 1901, authorising the construction of a light railway in
and series winding on each spool are in sepa rate com- and illustrations of t his interesting and important the cou nty of ~omerseb, from Bridgwater to Nether
Stowey and Stogursey.
partments, t he shunt fields being excited from the electric station.
In the P hilosophical Magazine, Lord Rayleigh dis(To be continued.)
station bus-bars at 445 to 480 volts. The armature
cusses the common induction coil, and remarks thab the
is of the drum type, the core being made of punched
ordinary theory of t ra nsformers is not applicable to suoh
sof t iron sheets in segments bolted on to a. double
apparatus, since the primary circuit is nob t raversed by a
spider. The insulated conductors are buried in slots
MISCELLANEA..
continuously varying current. lb turns out, indeed, thab a.
T rtE O{>ening meeting of the new session of the G lasgow closed magnetic cirouib is unfavourable to a good length
r ound the periphery of the coil.
The half-coupling for connecting to the engine fly- Associa.t1on of Students of the Institution of Civil E ngi- of spark. The core, moreover, should be fairly short, as
wheel is cast direct ly on the spider, so that no tor - neers was held at the Institution's rooms, 207, Ha.thst reet, with long cores the iron is saturated magnetically, and
sional stress passes t hrough the shaft. Specia l con- Glasgow, on the 9th inst., when the new president, Mr. much of the energy of the primary current is wasted.
sideration has been g iven to ventilation of all p arts of C. E . Lindsay, ~!. Inst. C. E ., delivered an inaugural Further, witJh a. sufficiently rapid break a longer spark is
obtained without a condenser than with ib. Thus with an
the machine. The commutator bearing is of the addrees.
Some careful experiment3 on the expansion of P ortland Apps coil a longer spark was obtained without condenser
spherical selfaligning typ e, lu brica.ted by oil su pplied
cement with beat have bAen recently made in the labo- when the circuit was b roken by pistol bull et~, than when
under pressure.
The total weight of one of these machines, exclusi \'e ratory of the Worcester P olytechnic. The mean results the break was made in ordinary way and a condenser was
for t emperatures between 46 deg. and 168 deg. Fahr. used. Results, however, depend upon strength of prima.ry
of the engine, is over 50 tons, of which the armature show
a coefficient of expansion equal to 0.000,0051 per current, as the stronger this is the more rapid musb the
accounts for about 22 tons. The output of each, ag a degree. The corresponding figu re for wrought iron is break be, if condenser is to be dispensed with. W ith
compound machine , is 775 kilowatts a t a. pressure of about 0.000,0066.
each strength of primary current there is a. particular
525 volts; and as a. shunt machine, 775 kilowatts a.t a
As experience increases, American furnace managers capacity of condenser most suitable.
pressure of 480 volts; but the machine will carry an a.re finding it possible to use larger and la rger proporAt a recenb meeting of the Society of Chemical Inoverload of 25 p er cent. , this bringing t he output up tions of the easily-mined bub fi nely-divided Mesaba. ores; dustry, a plan of rapidly estimating the oxygen present in
t o 1000 kilowatt~. Thc peripheral speed of the arma- and the I 'r on Age reports that in special case3 oharges a sewage effl uent was described in a paper due to Proture is 2670 ft. p er minute, and that of the commu- ent irely of this ore have been suocessfully used. One fessor Ramsay and Miss Ida. Homfray. The method is
t a tors 2550 ft. , there being 600 sections in the latter. furnace q uoted is using oharges consisting of 87! of this said to be well adapted to unskilled use, and is based on
the fact that whilst an ammoniacal solution of cuprous
The diameter of the shaf t is 13 in., a nd the length ore as its regular practice.
of the bearings 25 in. At a speed of 100 revoluThe I r on Age states thab the Pennsylvania. Railroad chloride is colourless, it turns blue on oxidation. The
tions the energy stored in the armature js 950,000 Company will expend no less than 5,000,000l. on new effluent to be t ested is passed from the co1lecting bottle
foot-pounds. Results of tests which have b ten made rolling stock nexb year. About 1,200,000l. will be spent into one of two comparison tubes, each 12 in. long by
show that the efficiency is slightly over 95 p er cent. ; on new locomotive~, the remainder being needed for ne w 2 in. in diameter, mounted on a stand. These tubes are
closed with movable caps, through boles in which paes
ca,rs,
the
estimated
requi
rements
being
400
locomotives
the 5 p er cent. loss b eing made up of hyster esis and
wires carrying a.b their lower ends disc3 of opal glass.
and
19,000
cars.
In
1901
the
company
in
question
pub
on
eddy current loss, 2 27 p er cent.; G~R loss, 2.57 p er
In using the apparatus, the ea.mple to be tested is passed
their
lines
300
new
locomotives
and
between
6500
and
The
cent. ; and frictional loss, 0.16 per cent .
into one of the comparison tubes, in such a way that it is
7000
car~.
gua ranteed output of engine and g"nerator was one
nob aerated in the process. The other tube is filled to an
Owing to the scarcity and consequent high price of equal hei~ht with distilled water eatura.ted with air. A
kilowatt-hour of energy for 24 lb. of steam a.t full
coal, bhe power required for working the Nacosa.ri Copper layer of paraffin oil on the free surface in each tube checks
load, and for 29 lb. at half load.
In connection with t he generators, .Messr~.1-father a nd Mines, Sonora, M exico, is supplied by eight Otto gas the passage of oxygen into or oub of the solutione. A
of 125 horse-p ower each, the gas being furnished charge of cuprous chloride dissolved in hydrochloric acid
Platt, Limited, h ave supplied t hree continuouscurrent engines
by producers using wood fuel. With web wood aboub is run into each tube, and a. suitable quantity of ammonia
balancing tr.msformers, which are shown on p age 3 lb. are needed per horEepower hour. The "wood "
added. The density of the colours produced in each case
804. Each transformer con sists of two independent gas is said to be in some regards superior to that pro- is then compared, by noting bhe deptJhs below the surface
four-pole machines mounted on one bedplate. The duced from coal, its average composition being about in each tube ab which the opal discs appear equally blue
p eculiarit y in the con struction lies in the fact t hat 14 per cent. CO. 20 per oent. H ., 47.7 per cent. N., and when viewed from the top.
b oth independent a rmatures of each set are mounted 1~ per cent. 002. No trou ble whatever is experienced
Mr. Andrew Ca.rnegie, it will be remembered, lately
u pon one an~ the same axle, so that there a re only w1th tar.
presented t o the Iron and Steel Institute debenture bonds
two bearings p er set r equired. The commutators are
At the fourth annual soiree of the Hyde Pa.rm L ocomo- of the value of 64,000 dols. for the purpose of founding a
mounted upon an extension of the core, so that either tive Works, Glasgow, Mr. A. T. Reid referred to the research scholarship, or scholarships. at the discretion of
a.rma.ture can be readily withdrawn from the sha ft for placing of Britisli and Colonial orders for locomobives t he council of the Institute. M r. Bennetb H . Brough,
repairs. With this con struction there is no a ppre- abroad. In many cases this had been done because British the secretary of the Iron and S teel Institute, has now
maker.:J could not guarantee early delivery; and, indeed, issued a circular, giving the conditions upon which the
ciable bending or vibration of the shaft .
The dynamos, which are supplied with carbon his own firm bad during the lasb year been exceptionally council have decided that the scholarships shall be
brush es, work sparklessly throughout the entire range busy, distributing over one-quarter o~ a milli?n in w~g:es. awarded. The competition is irrfspective of sex or
The firm, he claimed, bad done thell' share 10 proVIdmg nationality, and tbe circular has been translated into
of load, either as motors or generators. The field modern t ools, but he was nevertheless of opinion tha.b the French, German, Spanish, Italian, Swedish, and Rusmagnets are compou?d w~und, the shunt .windings output was n ot wha t ib might be if the employea had sian, and will be circulated in tho2e countries. Candibeing sepa rately exmted e.tther from t he sw1tohboard shown some of the American's push.
dates, who musb be under thirty.five years of age, must
bus-bars, or a lternatively from the bat~ery a:t 'Yill,
Lieu tenant T. J . Baynes, whose sad death from drown- apply on a special form before the end of March t o the
or from the station battery. The sen es wmdmgs ing near Kroonstad was announced last week, w~, unti l secretary of the Institute. The object of this scheme
of two m achines, forming one balancer, are con- the spring of this year, a member of the seoretarj 's staff of scholarships is not to facilitate ordinary collegiate
n ected in p a rallel with one another in such a way of the Institution of Civil Engineers, and was favourably studie~, hub to enable students who have passed
that t he c urrent in the middle wire passes throug h known to frequenters of the library for the alert intelli- through a college cu rriculum, or have been trained in
th em to the two armatures. In this way the ma- gence in the efforts be displayed to meet their behests. industrial establishments, to conduob researches in the
metallurgy of iron and st eel and allied subjects, with the
H
e
was
a.n
ardent
Volunteer
ofhcer,
and
having
obtained
chine whic h is acting as genera tor nt any par~icula.r
view of aiding its advance or its application to industry.
a
commission
in
the
Imperial
Yeomanry,
rE'signed
his
time has its field strengthened by the curre~t m the
There is no restriction a.s to the place of research which
appointment
at
G
reat
George.street
in
:
M
arch
la-ab,
to
mi ddle wire, while the fi e~d of the motor 1s a t the
may be selected, whether U niversity, technical school, or
proceed
to
the
front.
His
untimely
end
has
cast
a.
gloom
same time weaken ed. By thts means a. p erfect balance of
over his colleagues ab the Institution, among whom he work~, provided ib Le properly equipped for the prosev oltage can thus automatically be o~tain~d at all loads.
cu tion of metallurgical investigations. The appointwas very popular.
ment to a lcholarsbip shall be for one year, but the
Each balancer is capable of d eahn g w1th au out-ofIn a recent issue of the E lectric R eview, Mr. F . Z. council may at their discretion renew the scholarship for
balance c urrent of 200 amperes in the middle wire,
the output or inpu t of each armature being l OO amp eres Maguire describes the Cra.wford-Voelker incandescen t a further periodz instead of proceeding to a new election.
electric lamp, which is, we gather, shortly to be placed The r~sults of tne research shall be communicated to the
at a. differ ence of potential of 220 ~o 240 volts .when on the market. This lamp has a filamentJ of carbide of
running at a speed of 600 revolut10ns per mmute. titanium, and is claimed t o be specially suibable for high Iron and Steel Institute in the form of a paper, to be
submitted to the annual general meeting of membe~s ;
The efficiency of the ba lancer under full load is 80 p er voltages, as satisfactory working has been obtai ned even and, if the council consider the paper to be of sufficient
cent.
.
1 with 500-volb lamps. Experiments made by_~Golonel merit, the Andrew Carnegie gold medal shall be awarded
Over the en g ines and genera.tor3 th~re 1s a havc H. C. L. Holden, supermteudent of the W oolwioh to its author. Should the paper in any year nob b e of
ling crane, supplid by M e:srs. Carnck a nd Sons, Arsenal, with a batch of 50 lamps, e.howed that ab the sufficient merit, the medal will nob be awarded in that
Limited, of Edinburgh. Th1s h as .a spa n of ~3 ft .. start the lam ps took 2.535 watts p er candle, and 3.35 watts year.
an d is cap able of liftin.g 30 t?ns, w1th a defie~t10n of per candle a.b t he end of 1000 hours. The average life of
t h e girders not exceedmg t m. There arc s1x s teel the 50 lamps was 787 hours. It is further claimed that
BELGIAN R AILS - The exports of rails from B elgium in
with
these
lamps
there
is
no
blackening
of
tJhe
bulb.
ropes of 2f in. in circumferen ce, wound on a d rum
October were 13,000 tons in round figures. This total inM r. A. J. Smith describes, in the Journal of the Society cluded 3000 tons of rails for tramways forwarded to
18 in. in diameter.
.
.
The method of c laling may be seen 10 F g . 3; but of Chw~icat I ndustry, a method of preparing varnishes in Eng ) :1.nd,

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

8o8

THE METROPOLITAN RAILWAY CARRIAGE

( For Description,

S6e

AND WAGON WORKS,

SALTLEY.

PCJtge 800.)

. t '

...

.-

FIG.

1.

!NTEP.IOR

oF PowER

STATION

Gas

E NG I NE .

..

f.

FLG .

2.

WESTI NGHOUSE

ENGI NEER I NG,

13, 1901.

DECEMBER

SALFORD ELEC1RICITY WORKS.

MESSRS.

LACEY,

CL I REH UGH,

AND

M ANCHES 'I' ER

SlLL.AR! ENGJN!<:ERS,

AND

L ONDON.

(For Desc1'ipwrn1 see Page 80:3.)

.Fig.!l

--

-~ ~

- ~c.. -

1'/JMP

ROOM

R OON

t:ao
fl
.

,,
I

----:u

:J-

ea.ow

"'

0"' "'"'L"'C

ECON O M ISeR

cONON I S ER

1Z

CON O NISER

ECONO M ISE'/!

~'~~,,~~'~

=-----------------==::........-.. .-==-==---=nn-------...--------'4(7"

_.._ _. --- _..AI _== -- ---1, - - - - - -' .. -- "7.;..~

-- --- ----"t ... - --..---..--.- -.- ----- --

JJ

'

...

'---------->1

S W ITCH

'

ROON

BOARO

i'
''I

. .________. ,

,&

i u

..!--------~- ----:------:

,:

I
I

'

4/i '.:

.:-----:.-.--

----. 2.1 (f. --~-:':-~-~-~

--s;~~
'' "'
'

'

I
I

----.J

1,::

, .

"

STORES

I'

11

4.f

I
: "
I '
!;, ~~~ ' c!.J
------~ 25-{1 r.----- ~- -

~-.;;::~:::::;:::;r'<:!J

~-------.112 -----------~

'

'

:a : .'i1~ : '

tO! 3
-

ABOVE

;:;

.
40

VAPOUR CYL

BAILA N C ER

'

----~--------L------L--------

0 ----- --

.n

'

F1.9-8.

.FirJ.G.

.Fig.4:
H~----2

.F'ig.5.

J-----.---.:1 ,j -----H'l

I 11----"

'
,Cocr/ BunM r

'

ss 9i

--- -

4--'.-

'
"

~.-JL~

I
~

'

, ------------

;:
-----

---- -.

H---~. - - , -~- :ao.tr '

:'
.

----11------------ -----t!--->

Fi{j. 7.

-- ... -~..... ...--~---=..:.:.:~'-+

.' ,. -...,-: ...:

....

I-- 1-- i--

o

'

T...JI>y I< l'<wo1:.$-":'

' /

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

DEc. 13, 1gor.]

ings have been characterised by the utmost celerity

TRACTION and TRANSMISSION. throughout, and everyone, even including those
AGENTS FOR "ENGINEERING."
(Publilhtd on the first T uada.y in each month. )
AUSTRIA, Viemaa: Lehmann and Went:r:el, Ki.rntnerstr&.888.
whose views have not found acceptance, must feel
APB TOWN : Gordon and Gotch.
PART IX. NOW RBADY.
gratified that such a complicat~d <,luest.ion h~s been
EDINBURGH: John Menzies and Co., 12, Hanover-street.
P&JOB 28. Net ; POST .FiulB 28. ~
dealt with so rapidly. 'J.lhe wmnmg stde ~111 now
Fa.ANOB, Paris : BoyYeau and Chevillet, Librairie Etrangllre, 22,
Rue de la Banque ; M. Em. Terquem, 31 bla, Boulevard Hauss man. p ubllahed atJ the Offices of ENoiNBBRINO, 86 and 86, Bedford Street, be able to devote themselves to the practical work
St rand, London, W.O.
Also for Advert isements, Agence Hava.s, 8, Place de la Bo'!-rse.
of conBtruction, while the losers may gather up their
GnllA.NY, Berlin: Messrs. A. Asher and Co., 5, Unter den Lmden.
CONTENTS OF PART IX.
Frankturt-am-Main : Messrs. G. L. Daube and Co. (for
forces and strengthen their position in readiness for
Advertisemen ts).
COMPLETING VoL. 11.
the next contest in which t hey may be engaged.
Leipzig : F. A. Brockhaus.
P &OR
PAO P.
The decision of the Board of Trade is that the
Mulhouse : H . Stuckelber,er.
The Economics o f Rallwa y11. B y
systom11 of RlooLd c Tmot.lon . By
Phi lip J)aws?n ( 1lluatmtl ons In
the H o n. R obort P. P o rter ...... 228 Inner Circle shall be worked on t he direct-current
GLASGOW : WiUiam Love.
T oxt.) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 193 l' he Zurich Ul oct.rlo P ower P lnnt
INDIA, Calcutta : Thacker, Spink, and Co.
Ed u cnLion a tlll Comtneroln l Supro
(Plutes L VII. to rJXI.,nnd IIIUB
system, and not on the three-phase, or so-called
Bombay : Thn.cker and Co., Limited.
m noy. Jl y G. H. Du n e! I. ...... 207
tmt.l ons ln Toxt) .. ... ..... ..... 234
ITALT : U. Hoepli, Mila n, and any post office.
'l'h o Inner Circle .............. 2-11 Ganz system.
This verdict will 1neet with the
'1'1to LeccoSomlrlo (Otm z) Eleot.l'lo
Jtnll wt~y ( Pin to~ XL IX. to LVI. ,
'l'ho W WIW llcnt K.ngtne (Plates
LIVERPOOL: Mrs. Taylor , Landing Staj:re.
general approval of the engineering profession and
ami l llust.n~tlun a In Toxt) .. .. . . 213
LXII. to LX I V.. aud Ilhutm
MA.NoBEST~R: John Heywood, 143, Deansgate.
l>~~l T ntdlng.
By :Mnj or
t.lona ln T olo.t.) ...... ....... . ~2 of t he rail way world, although there will be few who
NoRWAY, Chris tiania: Cammermeyers, Boghandel, Carl J ohans Munlcl
~'lood l)nge . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22'l
Gade, 41 and 43.
will
not
sympathise
with
Mr.
Blathy
in
his
defeat
;
I N DEX 1'0 VOL. l l. SEPT EMBER TO DECEM mm , 1001.
N sw SoUTu WALES, Sydney: Turner and Henderson, 16 and 18,
for his splendid ol?timism and his invinci.ble b~lief
Hunter-street. Gordon and Gotch, George-street.
QtTKBNSLAND (SOUTn), Bris bane : Gordon and Gotch.
in the powers of sctence to overcome all d1fficult1es,
NOTICE
TO
CONTINENTAl
ADVERTISERS.
(NORTn), Towns ville : T. Willmett and Oo.

evoked warm admiration and the hope that he may,

RO'M'BRDAM : B A. l<ramer and Son.
Advertisements from Germany should now be sent in the future, under more favourable circumstances,
SOUTB AUSTRAl lA, Adelaide: W. C. Rigby. .
t hrough Messrs. G. L. Daube and Co., Frankfurt-am achieve the success which he so eminently deserves.
UNITBD STATBS, New York: W. H . Wiley, 43, East 19th-street.
Chicago : B. V. Holmes, 12571258, Monadnock Main, who have been appointed our Sole Agents for
Block .
t hat country for Trade displayed Advertisements. For the present his project has failed to find
VIOTORIA, Melbourne : Melville, Mullen, and Slade, 261/264 Collins Advertisements from France, Belgium, and Bol acceptance, for an undertaking of the importance
street. Gordon and Gotch, Limited. Queen-street.
1and should be sent through the Agence Bavas, of t he Metropolitan Railway mu.st be conducted on
We beg to announce that American Subscriptions to .ENGINKBRING 8 , Place de la Bourse, Parts, our Sole Agents for business principles, and neither scientific enthumay now be addressed either direc t to the Publisher , Mr. C. R
siasm nor personal sympathy can be allowed to
JouNSON, at the offices of this Journal, Nos. 35 and 38, Bedford t hose countries for simUar Advertisements.
str~et, St rand, L ondon, W. C., or to our accredited Agents for the
its
policy.
It
has
been
suggested
that
as
dictate
RBADJNG CASBS.- Reading cases for containing twenty-six
United States : Mr. W. H. WILEY, 43, East 19th-s treet, New York
and Mr. ll. V. HOLMES, 1257-1268, Mon adnock Block, Ch icago numbers of ENGINBBRlNG may be had of the Publisher or of any the award only relates to the Inner Circle, the
Metropolitan Company will still equip their outThe prices of subscription (payo.ble in advance) for one year ar e newsagent. Price 6s: each.
For thin (foreig n) paper ed1tion, ll. 16s. Od. ; for thick (ordinary )
lying branches on the three-phase plan, but it is
paper eJition , 2Z. Os. 6d.; or, if remitted to Agents, 9 dollars fo r
inconceivable that they should deli berately adopt
thin and 10 dollars for thick.
NOTICE8 OF MEETINGS.
NOTICE TO AMERIOAN ADVF..RTISERS.
Nirt.Tfi E AS'l' \ OAST I NSTITUTION Of' ENOINMRRS A ~O SJIII>BU ILDER!'l. two distinct methods of traction on a system of such
American firms d esirous of advertising in ENoiNRBRIN& nre -Friday, D<cem ber 13, at 7.40 p.m., in the Lecture Hall of the limited dimensions as theirs.
Even if the Ganz
k
requested to apply to Mr. H. V. HoLMBB, 1257-1258, Monadnoc
S underland Lit erary Society, J.i'awcettstreet, Sunder l \Dd. T he
Block, C hicago, or Mr. WILI.ARD C. TYLBR, 150, Nassa.u-street discuss1on on Mr. J. W. E. Lit.tledale's paper on "Tbe Speed system had every n1erit which is claimed for it,
Room 1910, New York City, from whom all particulars and prices of Mo.ch ine-Shop Tools " will be resumed. P~per on "The Ba11~st these would not outweigh t he disadvantages of

can be obtained.
I ng of Modern T ramp Steamers," by Mr. E. C. Ohaston .
having the network of lines divided into two secSOCIET\' OF ARTS.-Monday, December 16, at 8 p.m. Cantor
ADVERTISEMENTS.
Lectures : " T he C hemistry of Confection ers' Materialg and Pro- tions, each requiring a different type of locomotive
The charge for advertisements is three shilllnr for the flrs t cesses" (four lectures), by Mr. William Jago, F. C. S., F. I. C. for its working.
four lines or under, and eightpence for each addit1onal line. T h e Lecture I V.--confectionery- Flavoured by fruit, cherries, curIt would be a waste of our readers' time for us
line ~verages seve.n words. Payme.nt mu~t a~m{>any all orders rants, raisins, nuts, walnuts, almonds ; preierved fruits, jams,
for smgle advert1sements, otherw1se the1r m sertion cannot b e essential oils, lemon, orange, almonds ; fruit essences ; vanilla- to recapitulate t he features of the two rival systems.
guaranteed. Terms for displayed advertisements on the wrappe r their composition and properties. Wednesday, December 18, o.t In a leading article of October 11 (page 521 an te)
and on the inside pages may be obtained on application. Seria1 8 p .m. Fifth ordinary m eeting. "Range Finders," by P rofessor
advertisements will be inserted with all p racticable regularity, bu t Geor~e Forbes, F.R.S. Sir F rederick Bramwell, Bart., F.R.S., we went over the whole ground, setting forth in
a bsolute regularity cannot be ~uaranteed .
will p reside.
detail the points which could be urged on either
Tll~ I NSTITUTION OF C IVIL ENGINBRRS.- Ordinary meeting,
Advertisements intended for insertion In the cur
side. Further, we r epor ted at g1eat length the
Tuesday,
D~cember 17, at 8 p .m .
Paper
to
be
discussed:
rent week's issue must be delivered not later than "Mot ive Power from Blast Furnace Gases," by .Mr. Bryan evidence laid before the Arbitrator (pages 612,
5 p .m.on Thursday. Inconsequence ofthenecessity Donkin, M. lobt. C. E.-Students' meeting, F riday, December 20, 658, 689, and 722 a;nte), while in TRACTION AND
for going to press early with a p ortion of the edltioD at 8 pm. Paper to be read : "Transmission Dynamometers," by
alterations for standing Advertisements should b e Mr. A. M. Morgan , 8-:;ud. lost. C.E. Mr. F. S. Cour tney, TRANSMISSION the subject has been treated
Inst. O.E., will occupy the Chair.
exhaustively from every point of view. As
received not ter than 1 p.m. on Wednesday after M.ROYAL
ME'Ison.o t.OGICAL Socnnv. -Wedoesday, the 18th inst., at long ago as May, in a geueral article on "The
noon In each week.
7.80 p.m., at the Institution of Civil E ng ineerl', Great Oeorgestreet, Westminster, S. W., the following papers will be read : E lectric Railway,, we discussed the cascade system
SUBSCRIPTIONS, BOMB AND FOREIGN.
Further Obser vations and Conclusions in relation to Atmo of electric t raction, and pointed out that, whatENGINEERI NG can be supplied, direct from the Publisher , sph erio Transparency," by t he Hon. F. A. Rollo Russell, F.R. ever its advantages, it failed
to answer to
p ost free for twelve months at the followini rates, payable m Met. Soc. "Remarkable Phos phorescent Phenomenon observed
in the Persian Gulf, April 4 and 9, 1901," by Mr. W. S. Hoseason. t he particular requirements of the Metropolitan
advance:" On tbe Mechanical Principle of Atmospheric Circulation," by Railways, its economy in first cost and working
For the United Kingdom .............. 1
9 2
Captain R. A. Edwin, R . N., F . R. Met. Soc.
, all places abroad :T us J l\STIT UTIO~ Ol'' ELECTRICAL ENGINBBR8. - Thursday, De- expenses being more than counterbalanced by its
Thin paper copies . .. .. .. 1 16 0
cember 19. at 8 p. m., at the Institution of Civil Engineers, Great inability to respond to sudden demands for inThick
,
.. .. .. .. .. 2
0 6
George-street, Westminster , S. W. Ordinllry genera l meeting.
All accounts are payable to "ENGINEERING " Limited Adjourned discu ssion on "Some P rinciples Underlying the Profirr creased speed, and by its general inelasticity. In
Cheques should be crossed " Union Bank, Oharing Cross Branch " able Sale of Electricity," hy Mr. Arthur Wright(Associate Member) .
the issue of September we illustrated the BurgP ost Office Orders payable at Bedford-street, Strand, W.C.
TilE lNSTITUTlON OF MBCIIANICAL ENOINSSRS.- F riday, Decem
When F oreign SQbscriptions are sent by Post Office Orders ber 20, at 8 p.m. Tbe followin g paper will be rend and dis- dorf-Thun three-phase electric railway, which,
advice should be sent to the Publisher.
cussed : "Tbe M:croscopical Examination of the Alloys of alt hough not on t he cascade system, is the most
Forei~n and Colonial Subscribers receiving incomplete copi es
Copper and Tin," by Mr. William Campbell, B.Sc. , of Columbia
through newsagents are requested to communicate the fact to College, New York, late of the Royal College of Science, London. prominent and instructive line on the alternatethe Publisher, t ogether with the agent's name and address.
(This is a por tion of t he work of the Alloys Research Committee.) current system now existing. In November we
Offices for Publication and Advertisements, Nos. S6 gave a history of t he Inner Circle, and par ticularly
and 36, Bedford Street, Strand, London, W.C.
of the period during which the question of electrification has been under debate, and negotiations
We desire to call the attention of our readers t 0
the fact that the above is our SOLE Address, and
have been carried on between t he two companies
that no connection exists between this Journal and
who are interested in t he working. In December
FRIDAY,
DECEMBER
13,
1901.
any other publications bearing s omewhat simUar
(the current issue) there is a lengthy article on
titles.
" Systems of Electric Traction," in which all the
TBLB&RAPifiO Ano&xss- ENGINERRING. LONDON.
different methods are explained, whilst a second
THE ELECTRIFICATION OF THE
TBLBPDONB NUMBBR-3663 GePP&rd.

article describes, with the aid of many illustrations,

METROPOLITAN RAILWAYS.
the Lecco-Sondrio Electric Railway, which is now
THE Board of Trade and the Hon. Alfred in proc~ss of being equipped with the Ganz system,
CONTENTS,
Lyttelton
are
to
be
congratulated
on
the
expediand whteh was constantly r eferred to during t.he
PAGE
PAOB
tious manner in which they have dealt wit h the arbitration. A third article recapitulates all the
T he Military Self-P ropelled
The Height of Shallow UnWagon Trials (lllus.) .. 793
derg round Tramways 8 14 problem of deciding what system of electric tracexper t reports which have been presented to the
Railway Schemes in ParTest of a Gas Engine . . .. .. 8 14
tion should be adopted on the Inner Circle of t he Metropolitan and Metropolitan District Railways
liament .. .. .. .... .. 794 Flooring for
Engineers'
T b e Factory and Workshop
Shops
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 814 Metropolitan and Metropolitan District Railways by the various engineers who have been consulted
Act, 1901 ...... .. ...... 795 L'>comotives for Ind ia . .. . 814 of London.
It was only on September 18 that t he by them and by Mr. Yerkes, and gives long exThe New Victor ia Station
Notes from the Nor th . . . S15
arbitrator was appointed ; the preliminary sitting tracts from most of them.
at Notti n ~ham (l llu$. ) . . 799 Notes from C leveland and
Elect ric Power in Ca rriage
the Nort h ern Counties . . 8 16 took place on October 7, and the regular sittThe entire problem has b een dealt with by us in
Work~ ( lllttstrat'.d) . . . . . 800
~otes from the South-West 8 16
ings commenced on October 29.
They were a broad manner, and both sides have had a full and
The Elect r ioi' y Wo rks of
Notes from South York
the Salforc1 Corporation
eh ire. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 816 continued on t he 30th, the 31st, November 5th, fair exposition. At the same time we have never
f1l/ .. RirnfNL) .. .... .. .... 803 Ligh t Railway Commission 816 6th, 11th, 12th, 13th, and 15th.
On December 10 been in. doubt as to whi~h system was the proper one
Miscellanea .. .. ....... .... 8 J7 Tbe Hydroleum System of
it was announced t hat t he a ward of t he Arbi- to ado:pt u~der the cu cumstances. Immediately
The Elett.rl Mea t.inn or the
Bnrn in~r Liquid Fuel (ll
Met.ropolitan Railways . . SOil
lustratd) .. .. .. .. .. . .. . 817 trator had been delivered to t he Board of Trade
the arb1trat10~ comme~ced, g?od taste required that
Mexican Coal and I ron .. .. 810 Notes from the United
The Conti nuous Fi lt ration
s ootes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8li for it3 consideration. It must be remembered that, we should av01d anythmg wh1ch looked like advoof Sewa~e . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 810 Industrial Notes .. .. . .. .. 817 according to t he terms of the Act under which
cacy of either method, and that we should confine
The Smithfteld Club Show 811 Submarine T eleg raph E othe arbitration was held, the decision rested with ourselves to statements of fact and to a report of the
Notes . . . . . . ....... 812
ter pt ise . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 818
High-Speed Engines . . . . . . . . 813 Launches nod Trial Trips . . 819 t he Board of Trade, and not with the Arbitrator. proceedings, which is privileged matter, although it
Oyroscopio Action nod t he
Uydraulic Pumpin~r .Ma
It was the duty of t he latter to hear the evidence, contained a good deal which could not be called fact
I..oss of the Cobra" (ll
chinery (Illu strated) ... . 821
weigh it, and to report to the Board, but the ulti- and which is best described, in the French fashion'
lt"trated) .. .. .. .. .. .. .. 813 " EnginE'e :ing " Patent Record (lllmtrated) . . . . . . . 8 23 mate responsibility had to be undertaken by t he
" 1nexac
.
t ., Tl1a t cond tbon
. .
'
as
of
affairs
is
now
With a Two-Pa9t Engraving of t/; t" S A. LF'ORD ELEC1'R IOJT y Doard. Generally, such a division of duties would
past ; we are at liberty to say that in our opinion
WOltK .
have involved delay, but in this case the proceed- he Gam~ Company had no case tha.t could appeal to

ENGINEERING.

11

81o

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

business men under the particular circumstances.

It must be remembered that the two Metropolitan
Companies are in a very critical condition. The
opening of the Central Lonuon line deprived them,
all at once, of several thousand pounds' worth of
traffic per week, and they are threatened with still
further losses in the future. .An Act has been
passed for a deep-tunnel line along Brompton-road
ancl Piccadilly, and nothing but the most unheardof good luck can prevent that line being continued
along the Strand. A line is in course of construction between Waterloo and Baker-street,. offering a.
route along the diameter of the Circle instead of
around its circumference, and there are schen1es
to connect Paddington to Yictoria, and Charing
Cross to Euston. There 1s the prospect that
al ternative routes will be opened for traffic in
1nany directions in rivalry to the Inner Circle,
and the only chance for the Metropolitan lines
to attract new traffic i3 for them to offer the best
possible service, and to do it quickly. They
must r elieve themselves of the deterrent conditions
of slow speed combined with smoke and dirt, which
have driven away so many actual and potential
passengers, and no time must be frittered away in
experiment. A capital of over 15 millions sterling
is the stake for which they are playing, and more
must be added to it if the original sum is not
to dwindle still further than it has already
done. The circumstances are not those in which
salvation can be found by timorous counsels. The
time for exercising a nice economy has gone past;
the shareholders' money cannot be redeemed by
the methods of the careful housewife. It is rather
the policy of the bold gamester which is required
-the courage to follow Fortune when she beckons.
The plan of doing nothing has been tried, and
failed ; the directors have sat waiting upon Provid ence during the years the "Tube '' has been
under construction, and then, when its opening
knocked millions off the market value of their shares,
some of thorn proposed to adopt an unknown and
untried system of electric traction because it was
cheap. They were like soldiers in a fortress
who had idly watched the erection of an enemy's
batteries all around them, and then, when they
opened fire, proposed to strengthen the walls with
some newly-invented composition, because it was
cheaper than stone. It is difficult to believe that
the Metropolitan directors can realise, even now,
the gravity of their position, and the struggle
for existence which will occur when there is not
only one tube railway, but half a dozen within
their area, each crossing the Circle at two points.
They are not in the position of an old-established
firm which has a 4 'goodwill," which may be
likened to the flywheel of a steam engine. They
have n o hold whatever on the public, and it is
straining one's charity to suggest that their new
attempt will r eceive a fair trial ; for yeard of neglect of the interests of the public have raised a
prejudice against them. If electric traction is to
do for the Inner Circle what is expected of it, it
must run without a hitch from the first ; there
must be no stoppages or breakdowns, and no unsuccessful experiments.
.
We trust that no bitterness will be left now that
the struggle between the rival systems is over. The
secretary of the Metropolitan Corn pany declared
that his directors only desired to obtain the
best system, and that once the point was settled,
they would work loyally with the District. Time
enough has been lost already, and it now behoves
eYerybody connected with t he companies to urge
the matter forward with the greates t possible
celerity. The traffic of L ondon is increasing
weekly, and it is a pity that the Underground railways should not have t heir share of the growth,
and that all of it should go to t he omnibuses and the
"Tube." It is to the bene1ili of the public that as
much of it as possible should be diverted from th e
streets, but this is not to be expected while the dirt
and foul air rule below. The sooner they are displaced the better for all concerned.

MEXICAN COAL AND IRON.

WITH the inauguration of a large steel p lant at
Monterey, lVIexico may be said to have entered
upon a new era. The country is admittedly one
of the richest in mineral and agricultural r esources
in all the world, but save in silver-mining, and during
the last ten years in gold as well, it cannot be said
to have done much credit to itself, in the matter of
minerals at all eventF;. It would problb1y n ot troub'e

about anything but silver were it not that the fall in

prices during the last quarter of a century has
made that industry anything but the profitable
The people are not imbued
one it used to be.
with any superabundance of energy ; the country
~s ve!y imperfectly explored, though this reproach
1s bemg wiped out gradually ; the richer districts
are badly-many of them not at all- served by
the rail ways ; and, for all these reasons, capital
has been but fitfully attracted, and not a. little of it
has been absolutely wasted through dish on est or
incompetent management. Moreover, American
adventurers have palmed off a number of swindles
as bonanzas, and the men who are prepared to take
reasonable risks in return for the promise of excellent results-just the class of investors needed for
mine development- have b een discouraged. But
this kind of experience is common to all mining
districts, and it does not argue exaggeration in
calculations of the resources. of a co~ntry as a
whole.
Coal is an example of Mexican mineral wealth
tardily brought to light. Down to little over
twenty yeard ago native geologists of high standing affirmed that there were no coal measures of
any consequence in the country. But in 1881
the occurrence of anthracite was reported from
several widely scattered parts ; the specimens
sent to the National College of Engineers for
assay justified the reports, and as a result the
Department of Public Works appointed Commissions-first, to investigate the particular localities from which the coal had come, and afterwards to make a systematic survey of all the likely
parts of the Republic. At Barranca, on the Yaqui
River, in Sonora, anthracite beds containing up to
90 per cent. of fixed carbon were located, and found
to be extensive enough to revolutionise the whole
of the north-western section of the Republic. .At
other places in the same State the ''black gold"
was found, as well as in numerous localitieA in the
States of Michoacan, V era Cruz, Guerrero, Oaxaca,
Puebla, and others. The late Mr. 0. P. Huntington, the American railroad magnate, bought some
mines in Coahuila, which are now yielding 300,000
tons or more annually, the better part of this quantity going to the Southern States by way of the
International Railroad. More recently at Piedras
N egras, in the same State, a deposit of coal having
"continuous, powerful, and compact seams" was
discovered; twelve trial shafts were sunk, and, from
the examination of the French engineer, about
9, 000,000 tons of high-grade coal were found to be in
sight. This mine is not being developed, we
believe, for the simple reason that the railway
rates were raised, possibly to prevent competition
with the Sabenas mines. I t has been estimated
by the engineer Ramirez that in the one province of Coahuila there is a carboniferous region
covering nearly 5000 square miles, and extending from N acimiento to Ciudad Porfirio Diaz,
on the Rio Grand e, followine- the margin of that
river as far as the Sabine, and terminating on the
South at the Patos ridge. The coal n1easures of
Sonora are computed at 7000 square miles ; and
within the carboniferous belt are deposits of gold,
silver, copper, iron, and other metals. At San
Marcial a 6-ft. searr: was found at a depth of no
more than 17 ft., and this seam, containing coal
"great in quantity and excellent in quality," has
been followed for a distance of 10 miles. Mining is
being carried on- in no very energetic manner,
because of the born-tired at ~itude of the pelmsabout 40 miles from Ortiz, a town on the Sonora
Rail way between Hermazillo and Guaymas. There
is talk of developing a foreign trade by way of
Guaymas, and we have no doubt that, with English
or American money and enterprise, quite a big
connection could be cultivated with the Pacific
slope of the two Americas, which obtains its supplies at present mainly from New South Wales and
the United Kingdom. Three veins besides the
the one referred to have been discovered, one of
them as much as 23 ft. thick, with fuel said by test
to be equal to the finest Lehigh V alley product.
It would be possible to fill a column or n1ore of
this journal with the mere enumeration of the
various localities in Mexico where coal measures
have been found. Puente de Piedras and Playa da
Jimenez, in Tabasco (the last covering 217 square
miles) ; Villa Aldama, Lampazos, and Galeana,
in N uevo Leon ; Texcoco and Guadalupe Ridge, in
Mexico State ; the Sierra Rica, Rayon, Aldama, in
Chihuahua ; T exaluca and Limontla, in Pueblathese are only a very small se loction from the list

[DEc. I 3, I 90!.
at our elbow. We do not say that every occurrence
of coal is in payable quantities, that ib is invariably of good class, or that it would in every instance
pay to improve the n1eans of communication, and
tap it. Such a contention would be ridiculous. But
it has been placed beyond a doubb that fuel of high
quality exists in many parts, and now that a real
start has been made in the exploitation of some of
the principal deposits, there is ground to anticipate
some definite progress in the coming years. The
augury is all the better as regards iron and steelmaking for the reason that iron and coal are found
in close juxtaposition. Near Limontla, in Puebla,
for instance, are Tepexco and Moreno, where
specular and hematite iron of excellent quality
occurs in uncounted quantities . Bancroft commits
himself to the assertion that if its iron ores could
be " even partially utilised, Mexico would become
one of the wealthiest of modern communities." In
Durango is the Cerro del Mercado, or Hill of
Iron, of which we have all heard-a solid mass of
mineral 640ft. high, averaging about 70 per cent.
of metal and capable of yielding over 300,000,000
tons of solid iron. A good authority says that when
Durango shall be in direct communication with
every section of the Republic, and with the United
States of America, then one or more companies
working this mountain of iron might export its
products at such prices as would almost defy competition. This prophesy takes some dubious conditions for granted, but certainly a big industry
might be created. There are a few iron mills in
the neighbourhood now, but, Mexican like, they
make for merely local requirements, and are quite
incapable of enterprise on a grand scale. Iron deposits only less rich than those of Durango are
found at Nochis tlan and Zimatlan in Oaxaca, the
first being in proximity to coal at Tlaxiaco . At
Zimapan and J acala in Hidalgo are ex ten si ve beds
of magnetic iron, and in those neighbourhoods are
located the only foundries which have hitherto been
of any consequence. In the State of Guerrero ore
in abundance is found on the Cuitlanapa and
Jumilar Hills, near Huitzuco; and more occur in
that portion of the Sierra Madre which lies in the
State of N uevo L eon, as well as in numerous districts of Vera Cruz and elsewhere.
It may be well to remind the reader that the
plant of the Compania Fundidora de Hierro y A.cero
at Monterey represents an investment of 10 millions
of dollars in gold. Construction is making good
progress, and manufacturing will soon begin with
an output of 1000 tons a day and a capacity of
2000 tons: To handle the freights of this enterprise, estimated at not less than 700,000 tons
annually, the Mexican Natior:J.l Railway is improving its road-bed, straightening its l'lne, easing its
grades, and providing additional rolling stock of
ore and coal cars. The product of the new plant
will be pig iron, steel rails, beams, channels, angles,
plates, and merchant bars. It is only a pawn on
the chessboard, perhaps ; but pawns, especially if
there are enough of them, are sometimes very inconvenient in embarrassing ihe movements of the more
important pieces of the game.

THE CONTINUOUS FILTRATION OF

SEWAGE.
I N one of the classic experiments on sewage
purification made some years ago by the Massachusetts Board of Health, the filter was made of
small pebbles. Our recollection of the experiment
is that these were of a size between that of horse
beans and chestnuts, and that the filter received a
dose of sewage which was sufficient to fully wet
all the surfaces. The charge gradually dripped
away, and in its progress very efficient puriAlthough the result was
fication took place.
encouraging, this method of filtration was not
followed up. The experimenters in America
seemed to prefer sand fil ters, which were
periodically flooded with sewage that found its
way slowly to the effiuent opening; while in this
country the tendency was to use coarse filters, and
to keep them full of sewage for an hour or two,
when it was rapidly discharged by opening the
outlet. One person in this country, howeverMr. F. \Vallis Stoddart, F.I.C., F.C.S., of Bristol
- has improved upon the early experiment we
have referred to, and has introduced the continuous
sewage fi.lte~. From a pamphlet we h ave received
from him, he appeared to have attained a high
measure of success, and there are evidently good
theoretical r eu,sons for his doing so.

D Ec. I 3, I gor.]

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

The sewage filter, or bacteria bed, or con tact b ed,

or whatever it may b e called, d oes its work by aid
of aerobic organisms, and t hese can only live and
p rosper when t hey have a sufficient supply of
oxygen. All such beds must be completely
aerated at. frequent inter vals, and occasionally they
n ee.d prolong~~ rests to a~low t he bacteria " to get
the1r breath, after havmg b een r epeatedly immersed in sewage devoid of oxygen. Managers
of sewage works are always apt to imitate t he man
who t ried to teach h is horse to live without food
by gradually reducing his rations, with much the
same r esult. The beds ar e worked harder and
h arder, t he period of aeration is r educed, and t he
doses of sewage made more frequen t , until t he sewage is fo und to leave much as it en tered, while the
capacity of the b ed gr ows steadily smaller. The bacteria are evidently perishing for want of oxygen, and
time must be allowed for them to multiply under
mor e favourable con ditions. Then the bed has to
be laid off for a week or two, for although t he
bacteria are amphibious, t hey cannot live in water
devoid of oxygen. Their work is to oxidise t he
organic matter of the sewage, and t his they cannot
do without oxygen. A great deal of t his becomes
entangled in the por es of t he fi ltering medium
each t ime t he bed is drained, but the supply
is probably less than t he organisms could utilise if
t hey had t he opportunity. Mr. Stoddart aims at
giving t h em a constant supply. To t his end he
makes his fi lter of very coarse material, such as
washed clinker in pieces of 1i in. cube or larger .
T he e may be contained in a tank , and t hey may
be laid in a heap on a concrete floor. The angle of
repose is fairly st eep, and there 1s not much g"' tn
in cub ic capacity by t he use of retaining-walls all
roun d, while t he addition al cost is considerable.
Over t he surface of the heap the sewa2:e, previously
..,
scr eened or passed through a septic tank, is
dropped in a constan t rain, at such a rate t hat it
flows over all the surfaces of t he ston es in th e heap
in fine fil ms. The rate must n ot Le great enough
to waterlog any par t of the filter. All t he inter stices must be kept quite open, t he liquid being
Q

confined to exceedingly thin films on t he stones. A

very large amount of sewage can be passed through
a filter in t his way wit hout causing waterlogging ;
' th
t' 1

d.
w1 par tc es rangtng rom 2 1n. to 3 1n. In 1amet er 10' 000 ga11ons p er square yar d p er d ay, equal
to 50 million gallons per acre per day, can be passed
without causing waterlogging.
I t is not an easy mechanical problem to distribute sewage in fin e drops constantly over the
surface of a fil ter. All kinds of n ozzles or minute
or ifices are useless, because they clog up in a short
time, while complicated apparatus r equiring constant att en tion are too expensive. The difficulty
has, h owever, been solved by making the liquid fall
from metallic points, which, of course, suffer n o
loss of efficiency even if th ey become covered
with a mucilaginous layer. Across the top of
the filter there are placed a series of V -section
zinc gutters, side by side, forming, as it were,
a roof to the filter. Above, and at right angles
to the length of these, ther e runs a distribution channel which receives t he sewage from
th e tank. I t is exactly level, and the sewage overflows its edge, falling into the gutters btmeat h in
equal quantities. These gutters, which are closed
at t he ends, have n otches cut in t he edges, while
t here are pointed p rojections at frequent intervaltJ
along t he bottom. The liquid, t herefore, escaping
at t he notches r uns down t he sides, and falls off
t he points in fine drops, t here being 360 points to
each squar e yard of filter. The arrangement is exceeding simple, and ought to work well. The
liquid is evenly d ist ribu ted ; it runs in an almost
invisible fil m over t he surface ef every ston e, which
is covered wit h t housands of bacteria, and finally it
reaches t he concrete floor , which slopes outwards
from the centre i n all directions. The liquid
emer ging from t he edges of t he stone heap is
caught in a surrounding chann el, and led away t o
the outfall.
The first continuous filter of t his k ind was laid
down at t he sewage works at Knowle, Bristol. At
the time of its construction t here wer e in operation
a septic tank and t hree contact b eds, each 30 square
yards in ar ea; but t he p urification was insufficien t,
and the Brislington Brook, into which t he effluen t
fell, was badly p olluted . I t was t her efore decided
to convert one of t he existing fil ters into a con tinuous fi lter, with an area of 29} sq uare yards. I t
was filled wit h 6 ft . of washed clinker, r etained
bet ween l in . and ! in. scr eens. In a sh or t time,

8 11

however (June, 1900), t he filling was exchanged

for 2!-in. clinker. Through t his filter t he whole
of the sewage of the district, sowered on the
separate system, was passed, t he amount on Ma.y 28,
1901, being 46,800 gallons, or 1560 gallons per
squar e yard of filter p er 24 hours. The r ain
from r oofs and back premises also enters the
sewers, and at times r aises the flow to 10,000
gallons per square yard. The whole of this passes
through t he works, any excess over five times the
normal flow being diverted from t he tanks and
passed direct to the filter. The nuisance in the brook
ceased soon after the filter got to work, and in t he
County Court, where proceedings were being taken
against the authorities, the Judge made an order
t hat the proceedings should be abandoned. The
following are analyses of the tank and filter efiluents
on September 12, 1900 :
Pa~rts

pe1 100,000.

----

-----

Tank.

Filter .

2.6 1
6.12
Saline a m monia

.13
Albuminoid ammonia
..
..
.50
Nitrog en as nitrates and nit rile -J . .
None
1.46
8.60
~.60
Ohlorine as chlorides . .
..
..
Oxygen absorbed in 4 hours at so
1.36
deg. Fa.hr.
..
..
..
..
3 37
None
Odour
.
..
..
..
. . S~rong s ewagt
Dis3olved oxygen after eaturation a nd
standing in open vessel 24 h ours.
Per cent. of saturation figure
..
92

Incubation test-3 minutes'}

.432

oxygen absorption a t so F re3b

deg. Fahr.
.428 (quite
Ditto, after six days' incub~tion}

I s w~e l)
in closed vessel

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

R ate of flow per sq uar e yard of filter per 24 hours = 1060 gallons,
or about 5 million gallons per acre.

1
1 1
This is a very satisfactory ana ys1s, parhcu ar y as
r egards t he proport ion of nit rogen and the incubation test.
hl
We have taken t hese fac ts from the pamp et
before us, but we have no reason to doubt their
accuracy, beyond that of t he general experience
d b
d
that bacterial action always procee s etter un er
the eye of the inventor of a particular system
than in t he bands of other p eople. Confirmat ion
of the analyses is, however, available, for at the
Local Government inquiry held at Kingswood, on
E
0 k F I 0 F cs
March 6, 1901, Dr. rnest oo , . . ., . . . ,
and Mr. Chas. Waterfa11, F . I . c., F . c. s., gave
evidence and analyses which showed that 'he
filters did their work admirably. The following
fil
H fi ld K
1
dS r
analyses for ters at or e , . now e, an
a ISbury were made by Mr. Waterfall. As to the

Saline Albuminoid Oxygen Nit rat es.

Ammonia Ammonia. Absorbed.

- ---

H orfi"ld.

July 27, 1900:

Sewao-e
,...

Ta nk E fflu ent
Effluent
Jul~r

--

6.31
3.78
1.35

13 30
10. 62
U !4

1.25
0.736
0.123

3.12

0.140

13.17
10 Qij
4.01

1.060
0.770
0. 180

5.08
4. 40
1.40

2 40
2 29
0.6 1

0.3H
0. 180
0.030

2.0-l
1.80
0.54

6. 78

K?low:e.

24, 1900 :
Effluent
February 23, 190).
Sewage

Tank

E tli uent
S alisbury.
July 17, 1900:
Sewage

Tank

E ffl uent

0.57<1

value of the system of con tinuous filtration without waterlogging t here can be no doubt, for it is only
by it t hat continuous aerobic action can be obtained.
I t is very probable t hat much of the work done in
the usual contact beds is p erformed by anaerobic
organisms. They are present in the sewage after a
long t ravel underground, or a. stay in a tank ; and
they do not find the conditions very inimical in a
bacter ial bed with large spaces filled with liquid.
Probably b oth t hey and the aerobic variety cont inue
their operations together, with some difficulty but
yet not ineffectually ; and t his accounts for crude
sewage receiving much purification in one bed. It is,
however, self-evident that two such dissimilar processes as those carried on by these different bacteria
cannot be prop erly conducted simultaneously, and
t hat the right method is to separate them. If the
final purification can be done at anything like five
million gallons p er acre of bed, it is a wonderful
feat, for hitherto one million has been an ideal performan ce, which has been seldom maintained for
any great length of time. Of course, this is n ot
the first time a filter had been made t o which the
air had access at all sides. There have been filters
in which air was mechanically blown through

pipes, and also filters of. which the walls were

perforated tiles, and wh10h could not be waterlogged. But in none of these, so far as we k now,
was the plan successfully carried out ?f k eeping an
almost invisible film of moisture continually travelling over stone fragments entirely surrounded by
air and it is in t his feature t hat the success of
Stodda.r t's method seems to lie. If, as he
states, the capacit y of such a filter is determined
by the actual amount of organic matter in t he
sewage, and not by the volume of water it contains, then t he question of st orm overflows becomes simplified, for a large proportion of t he
r ainfall can be passed through the fil ter.

M;.

THE SMITHFIELD CLUB SHOW.

THE cen tenary of the S mithfield Club was celebrated three yea1s ago, and t his the first year of
the new cent ury finds it with a r ecord membership and a prize list amounting w 3585l. In addition to its primary obj ect of improving the q ualit y
of fat stock, the Club has also afforded space for
t he display of agricult ural implements of every description, and year after year we fi nd the same
firms occupying the same stands with n early the
same display of machinery. U nkind critics have,
indeed, suggested t hat n1urh of t he machinery on
view has made its appearance in every Show since
the first held at Wootton's yard, Smit hfield, in 1799,
but we are inclined to believe that t his remark
exaggerates the unchanging character of t he displays made by some of the firms in question, though
we have a suspicion that one firm at least has exhibited ident ically the same engine for many years
past. Standardisation is such an excellent thing in
its way that it is a pity to see some firms making
it an excuse for practically absolute mental iner tia .
The farm labourer- and, indeed, the farmer himself- is not commonly considered as specially int elligent, yet he ap pears t o be able to t ake care of
a class of machine which no electrical engineer
would admit within the four walls of a central
station, in spite of the highly skilled assistance on
which he can rely. In central-station work every
effort is made to reduce the duties of the attendant
to a minimum ; engines, even when not enclosed,
are automatically lubricated; delicate Corliss gears
and trip gears are being more and more avoided,
and, in short, every step taken to reduce the likelihood of a call on the services of the highly skilled
staff responsible for the running of the sta~ion.
In none of the engines now on view at the Agricultural Hall has much been done in embodying
the improvements worked out by the builders
of electriclighting plant. The numer ous bearings, which in many cases will be exposed to the
weather, are quite unprotected, and the lubrication invariably depends solely upon the j udgment of the attendant. In spite of this the
long experience of the builders seems to have
led to t he adoption of limi ts of speeds of journals
and of pressures on b earings which enables t he
engines to run s uccessfully, even under t he badlyt rained superintendence which is often all t hat
can be provided for them. Unoiled bearings
do wear, no doubt, and may seize ; but b eyond
a little delay no special harm results, and a
farmer does n ot object to a certain amount of knock
in connecting-rod brasses or in the knuckle j oints
of valve-rods. The boilers themselves are thoroughly
well constructed, and, as the B oard of Trade repor ts
show, are capable of withs tanding an inordinate
degree of ill-treat ment before they give way.
Generally speaking, the p01table and t raction
engines shown are of a simple type; but a. number
of firms also show beautifully-finished horizon tal
engines, in some cases fitted with elaborate tripgears. It is difficult to believe that these are
intended to fall into the hands of the ordinary
farmer 's help, but we are assured that a market for
this class of engine is found at the Show. Apparently, compounding in the case of portable and
traction engines does not grow in fav our. P ower
for power, the first cost is naturally greater,
and fu el economy is often of little moment to the
proprietor, who very frequently is not a. farmer
himself, but hires the engines to all the farmers of
a district in turn. As the latter supply the fuel
and are n ot prepar ed to pay more for the hire of
a. compound than they do for that of a simple
engine, the proprietor n aturally prefer3 the cheaper
type of machine, t he more espec~a1ly as its maintenance charges are also lower than those of its mor e
economical rival. In respect t o oil engines, which

812

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

are e_very year forming a feature of constantly inAnother Lincoln firm, Messrs. Ruston, Proctor,
creaslng prominence at this Show, one can similarly ~nd ~o., Limited, have a very varied exhibit,
observe the clashing of two opposing sets of ideas . 1ncludmg an 8 horse-power portable engine, a 10Some firms regard simplicity as all important, and ton road roller, a finely-finished horizontal engine,
redu~e the nu~ber of wor~i~g parts and of b earings and a. high -speed vertical engine for dynamo
nee~1n~ attentwn to a m1n1mum by adopting auto- driving.
The Ruston oil engine is also on
ma.tlC mlet valves, and a gravity feed for the oil view, the specimen shown being capable of desupp~y. Other_s, on the other hand, provide for the veloping 14 horse-power on the brake.
This
pos1t1ve operatwn of every valve, and supply the oil engine was, it will be r:'membered, one of the
under the pressure of a pump driven by an eccentric prize-winners at the recent Cardiff trials. The
on the valve shaft. The possibility of a breakdown makers claim that, in large sizes, 1 horse-power
is !lo doubt in this way materially reduced ; but, we hour is developed for less than five-eighths of a
thmk, many farmers will elect to take the risks of pint of Russian oil. The engine has automatic
the si!npler and cheaper type. Indeed, the matter ignition, and can, it is cl aimed, be started from
of prnne cost has, quite rightly, a. special interest the cold in less than ten minutes. Messrs. E. R. and
to the farmer in his choice of implements. In the F. Turner, of Ipswich, have always a well-filled
nature of things, he can only expect to use t hem stand at the Smithfield Show. As usual, the
for a very small proportion of his total working "Inkoos" mill, which, originally designed for
hours, and with this low "power factor," to adopt the South African market, and is now a favourite
a. term made common by our central-station engi- with farmers here, is shown in its seve1al sizes ;
neers, the question of capital cost acquires an whilst the other exhibits include a portable engine
and a "John Bull" horizontal engine of 10 brake
enhanced importance.
With respect to individual exhibits, we note that horse-power. This engine is fitted with a PickerMessrs. Richard Rornsby and Sons, of the Spittle- ing high-speed governor, and has a hand adjustment
the speed to be regulated whilst the
gate Iron Works, Grantham, have remodelled their allowing

engme
1s
runnmg.
mowing machine. As now made, t his machine has
Messrs. Ran some, Sims, and J efferies, Limited,
roller bearings to the main shaft and ball bearings
to the wheels, so that the machine is much lighter of Ipswich, occupy their accustomed stand with
behind its team, and it may be anticipated that the a selection of tract10n and portable engines,
wear, which with plain bearings generally becomes threshing machines, ploughs, and cultivators.
noticeable in the third season of the machine, will Other exhibitors of traction or portable engines
b e very substantially reduced.
The Hornsby- are Messrs. W. Tasker and Co., of Andover;
Akroyd oil engine is also on view at this stand, and Messrs. \Vallis and Steevens, of Basingstoke ;
is, we learn, being exported to Russia in large Messrs. Aveling and Porter, of Rochester ; Messrs.
quantities. This engine, it will be remembered, Brown and May, of Devizes ; Messrs. Charles
can utilise as working agent a much heavier oil Bun ell and Sons, of Shetland ; Mr. J ames Coultas,
than most of its competitors, which is doubtless a. of Grantham; and Mr. \Vm. Allchin, of North,
substantial advantage in Eastern Europe, where ampton.
Oil engines are numerous at the Show. Those
a surplus of heavy oils is produced. In this
engine, it will be remembered, the vaporiser, by Messrs. Hornsby and Messrs. Ruston we have
having been heated by a. blow lamp at the start, already mentioned, and in addition Messrs. Crossley
has its temperature maintained subsequently by Brothers, of Manchester, show one of 10 brake horsethe heat of the explosion. The governing is power, one of 5 brake horse-power, one of 2! brake
effected by adjusting the oil supply and not horse-power, and one of 1!- brake horse-power. In
by missing explosions.
The arrangement for all sizes the valves are mechanically controlled.
spraying the oil into the vaporiser has recently The vaporiser is of a pattern very readily cleaned,
been considerably simplified.
In addition to the passages being all straight. This vaporiser is
the above exhibits the firm also show at their placed above the ignition tube and is heated by the
stand an 8 nominal horse-power portable ongine, same lamp as the latter. In all but the smallest
a threshing machine, and their newly-introduced size shown, centrifugal governors are fitted in place
" tubular" ploughs. Messrs. Clayton and Shuttle- of the inertia type, which appears to be steadily
worth, Limited, of Lincoln, show a 5 horse-power losing ground. The Campbell Gas Engine Comagricultural engine, having a single cylinder of 7!- in. pany, of Halifax, show three engines, the largest
in diameter by 12 in. stroke, the designed boiler giving 17 horse-power on the brake. This firm do
pressure being 150 lb. per square in. For travelling, not use th e usual side shaft and skew bevel gearexhaust valve by a simple
the engine is provided with two systems of gear- ing, but operate the
0
eccentric
driven
by
one to two " gearing from the
ing, giving r espectively 2 and 4 miles per hour.
An undertype engine, having a cylinder 10 in. in crankshaft . The inlet valve is of the automatic
diameter by 12 in. stroke, is also shown at this type, and the oil is fed in by gravity merely.
stand, as well ~l.s a portable engine of similar Another firm working on somewhat similar lines is
-ize. Both these engines are now fitted with bored that of Messrs. C. lf. Wilson and Co., of Old
guides, which is, we believe, a departure from the Ford-road, Aberdeen. Messr~. Alien and Barker,
firm's previous practice. Messrs. John Fowler Limited, of 'faun ton, show their '' A .H " oil enand Sons, of Leeds, who occupy their old stand at gines at their accustomed stand, and near by is a
the north-ea~tern corner of the main hall, show similar display by Messrs. Fielding and Platt, who
specimens of their well-known traction anC. agricul- occupy, if our memory serves, a portion of the
tural engines, in addition to a large steam plough. stand held by Messrs. R obey and Co. in former
In the opposite corner of the hall is the stand of years. Messrs. J. and F. Howard, of Bedford,
the Wantage Engineering Company, Limited, of also show a couple of oil engines, as well as
Wantage, who show a 7 horse-power portable their well-known straw p ress, and in the galengine and a small high-speed "automatic " en- leries Messrs. Black& tone and Co., of StamThe portable oil
gine, rated at 10 brake horse-power. The next ford, also show oil engines.
stand is occupied by Mes~rs . Marshall, Sons, and engine exhibited by this firm has a.n improved
Co., Limited, of the Britannia Iron Works, water-cooler, by which the supply required for a
Gainsborough, whose exhibit of traction, hori- day's run has been reduced from about 30 gallons
zontal and portable engines is practically identical of water to 6. This, we should add, denotes the
with tbat of last year, though the traction engine whole charge carried, and not the loss by evaporanow shown is of the compound type, whilst last tion and waste. The exhaust is used to induce a
year a si m pie engine was shown. In t his engine flow of cold air over the cooling pipes.
In the galleries, Canada is represented by the
all the valves-stop, safety and slide valves- are
placed above the cylinders, and are therefore very famous Massey-Harris firm, who show one of the
readily accessible. Messrs. Wm. Foster and Co., reapers and binders to the development of which
Limited of Lincoln, ~how a 7 horse-power trac- they have so largely contributed. The binder will
The
tion engine, having a cylinder ~tin. in_diameter always be considered a mechanical triumph.
by 12 in. s~roke, and fitted w1th. cr';lc1ble s~eel problem of tying a knot in a string would seem
gearing throughout. A _sm~ll ele.ctrlc-hght engu~e, one to be solved solely by highly-finished and
having a cylinder 5! 10. 10 d1ameter by 5 1n. delicate machinery. Yet makers of harvesters sucstroke, and desi~ned to run a:t 500 revoluti.ons per cessfully accomplish the operation by the use of
minute, is also shonn at this stand. It 1s fitted little but rough castings, and market the machines
with Robinson's shaft governor, which was de- at what seems to be an astonishingly low figure.
scribed in ENGINEERING, vol. lxviii., page 707. A On the same side of the gallery as the Masseyso mew hat larger engine of a similar type, ~apab~e Harris stand will be found that of the McCormick
of developing 30 horse-power at 490 reyolutwns! 1s Company, of Chicago, who are, we believe, the
also on view, the shaft governor ID thlB case bemg largest builders of agricultural plant in existence,
and show an interesting selection of their products.
of the firm's own design.

[DEc. I 3,

190 r.

Near them is the stand of another American firm,

the Johnston Harvester Company, of Ba.tavia, New
York, who have a very similar display.

NOTES.
NAVAL ARCHITECTURE IN JAPAN.
THE Japanese Society of Naval Architects have
had a most successful annual meeting in Tokio. The
Society consists of some 370 members, including
the Inspector-General of Naval Construction (Mr.
Sasso) and other officials of the Admiralty staff,
the chief officials of the Imperial Dockyards, the
professors in the Engineering College of the
Imperial University (the curriculum of which
includes naval architecture as one of its important courses), and several private shipbuilders.
The papers read at the meeting were : "The
Docking of Battleships," by Commander M.
Asaoka, a chief constructor to the Imperial Navy,
and at present on the Admiralty staff; "Refrigerating Plant," by Commander I. Takakura, a
chief engineer constructor on the Admiralty staff;
"The Relation which should exist between the
Naval Architect and the Seaman," by Captain
T. Hirayama, director of the Mercantile Training
School, Tokio ; and "Floating Docks, " by Dr. I.
Ishiguro, chief of the technical staff of the Bureau
of Naval Extension. The proceedings were entirely in Japanese ; the first paper discussed matters
of such interest and importance that we propose to
give a translation of it at a.n early date. After
the adjournment of the meeting, the members reassembled at a. local restaurant for their annual
dinner.
DR. BANG's ELECTRIC LAMP.
Dr. Bang, the well-known Danish physician, has
constructed a new electric lamp, which is likely
to prove of great importance, even outside the
field for which he has intended it. In the ordinary arc lamp the carbons are heated to some 3000
degrees, but Dr. Bang has succeeded in avoiding
this high temperature by making the carbons hollow
and letting a strong current of water run through
them. The effect is very singular. Almost the
whole of the energy of the electric current is removed to the light arc between the two electrodes,
whilst the latter themselves remain so cool that
one can touch them with one's fingers whilst the
lamp is burning. In addition to this the carbons
are consumed so slowly that the usual automatic
adjustment can be dispensed with. In science the
new lamp will no doubt be invaluable : its cold
light is able to kill bacteria in one-eighteenth of the
time required with the light of the ordinary arc
lamp. 'fhe electrodes can be made from different
substances, according to the use for which the lamp
is intended. For medicinal purposes, carbon, silver,
and certain kinds of iron appear preferable.
Metallic electrodes have been used for several
years by doctors, but they have had many drawbacks ; they gave a great heat, the metal melted,
&c., and it was necessary to place the patient at a
comparatively great distance from the lamp. All
these objections have been overcome-or rather,
entirely removed- in Dr. Bang's lamp, which is
very small and handy, and 4'1 which consumption of
electricity is exceedingly small.
THE DIRECTOR OF NAVAL CONSTRUCTION.
The appointment of Mr. Philip Watts to succeed
Sir William White as Director of Naval Construction to the Royal Navy will not come as a
surprise to the nation. No one in this country
outside the Admiralty has had the same experience in being responsible for the designing of
large warships as the chief of Elswick shipyard ;
and in this case, the experience has been so
eminently successful that the country may feel
assured that one of the most important positions in
the public service will be well filled. Of the debb
the country owes to Sir Vvilliam White we have
often spoken, and little can be added to what we
have already said. When Sir Nathaniel Ba.rnaby
retired, about sixteen years ago, through failing
health, Mr. White, as he then was, gave up a highly
lucrative position, and one which had many other
advantages, to re-enter the service of the Crown. He
came at a period when public opinion had been
awakened to the dangerous condition into which the
.Royal Navy had been allowed to fall. With the pressure from outside thus created, the Government
was impelled to a duty it had long shirked. The
consequence has been that by unparalleled
exertions, and with the aid of the magnifi-

813

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

cient private resources of the country, a n e w

fleet was created in an extraordinarily short space
of time. The work thus thrown on the constructive and engineeril1g branches of the Admiralty is little appreciated by the public. In a private
shipyard a rush of work is met by the enlargement
of the staff ; but there is very little elasticity
of this kind with our public offices.
The coneequen ce has been that the period which has
elapsed since Sir William White took office
has been one of excessive stress. The anxiety
that must always accompany important work done
under pressure- in this case work involving the
safety of thousands of lives, and the very existence
of the country in an extreme case, which might
easily have arisen--has been too great a burden
for a man with originally even so robust a
const.itution as Sir William White. It is well
the country should recognise t his ; and should
insist that one who has laboured so s trenuouely for
the general good should not be forgotten, now
that he is compelled to lay down the burden h e
hl\s so well borne. We n1a.ke no mention of Sir
William White's high professional attainments ; he
has a stronger claim on our gratitude than would
arise even from a consideration of his brilliant
talents. From the h our he returned to the Admualty he has been prompted by the one purpose
to advance t he efficiency of t he Navy. The fleet
as it now exists is witness to his success.
CALCIUM CARBIDE AND ACETYLENE IN AUSTRIAH UNGARY.

Though the municipality of T otis, not far from

Budapest, was t he first to introduce public acetylene illumination, this industry did n ot, owing to a
few minor accidents and a natural prejudice, at
once become so developed as had been predicted
in Hungat y . In the absence of s nfficieut experience and of definite regulations, poor materials
and defective apparatus were applied and offered,
and it took some time b efore the public g~ined confidence. During the last year, however, promising
progress h as been made, the State rail ways and
other railway companies having adopted acetylene
light for their stations. Hungary do~s not possess
any carbide works, but manufactures acetylene
generators; no carbide concession appears to have
been granted as yet.
Austria has five carbide
works- at Meran, Lend Gastem, and J ajce, and at
1\{atrei and Paternion ; the latter two are of more
recent date. The aggregate power of these and
other plants under construction (23,000 horsepower) mounts up bo 80,000 horse-power.
As
the general over-production of carbide made itself
felt also in Aus tria-Hungary, three of these works,
which are controlled by different companiesnamely, those of Meran and Ma.trei (both in Tyrol)
and Jajce (in Bosnia)- formed a kind of syndicate,
known in Austria under the tern " Car tell." The
carbide produced in the united works is sold in
Vienna by a concern which is under the immediate
control of the Bosnian company. Their carbide enjoys
a good reputation, and a n acetylene generation of
280 litres per kilogramme of carbide is guaranteed.
The syndicate charges from 33 to 40 crowns per
100 kilogrammes of carbide ; the price had previously gone down to 24 crowns (a little over 20s.).
The Gastem works have not joined t his combine,
but they have bound themselves n ot to sell any
carbide within the Dual Monarchy ; their market is
in Bavaria, and their chief customer the Bavarian
State Rail way D epartment. N or has Paternion
joined. These works are near the Italian frontier,
the seat of the company is in V en ice, and all bhe
business done is practically with Italy. Foreign
competition need not much be feared in Austria, as
an import duty of 20 crowns is levied per 100 kilogrammes of carbide. The annual consumption of
carbide in Hungary is now estimated at about 600
tons. The total annual carbide production has b een
estimated at 60,000 tons ; that figure is probably
too high, h owever. The State Railway Depa rtment
has made contracts for a supply of about 60 tons for
three years. The question of standardising calcium
carbide and acetylene generators, or of enforcing
du~ safety measures at any rate, has recently again
occupied the authorities and expet ts, and an early
understanding on the basis of the counter proposals
made by t he manufacturers is confidently expected.

Crankpin main bearing journal . "1 n..oo in;nt~ ro no m.

Low-pressure crankpin . .. .
...
1 ~1uJ m.
HIGH-SPEED ENGINES.
High-pr~sure crosshead pm...
...
n:o ,
IN a paQer on "High.-Spe~d Engi~es," recently re.ad
Valve-rod crosshead .. .
. ..
..
r~ ~n ,
before the Liverpool Engmeermg So01eby, .Mr. J. DaVIdLow-pressure
cylinder.
.
..
...
T ~~n "
son gives the following figures as repr~entmg ~he average
High-pressure crankptn
...
...
T~ ~n "
present-day practice in the type of engme constdered :
Eccentric sheaves
. ..
...
..
, 014~~" ,
Revolutions
Piston
L ow- pressure cross head pin . ..
. ..
1
I H. -P.
per Minute.
Speed.
High-pressure cylinder
.. .
..
t onG '
1
50
550
475
Piston rings, open ab joints . . .
.. . 1 1J 1n. full.
lS

1J
lOO
500
500
The total wear of the shafts and brasses was r nna mT. a
150
450
600
the governor end and r~~w in. ab the flywheel end.
he
200
400
600
thickest feeler which could in any way be passed bebween
300
375
625
the
solid
valve
ring
and
the
valve
cham_ber
bore
was
400
350
650
found to be 1 ;~rr in., representing, say, r~~a m. wear from
600
325
700
the original dimension.
1000
300
700
6

n:o "

The difficulty in attaining still. higher spe~ds o_f revolution lies nob only in the great mcrease of mert1a. forces,
but also in obtaining sufficienb ~rea. through the ports. to
a.dmib and release the steam qu10kJy eno~gh. ~eferrmg
to the facb thab excellenb .double-a.ctmg htghspe~d
engines were now obtainable, the author stated ~hat. m
these wear was avoided by the excellenb lubr10a.tn~n
afforded, and by the care taken ~o provide. ample ~rea m
the bearings. Thus, in a.n ordma.ry marm.e e~gtne the
maximum pressure on the crosshead pm IS a.~oub
1500 lb. per square inch, the pressure on the gut~es
60 lb. to 70 lb. per square inch, on the cra.nkp1~s
500 to 600 lb. per square i~oh, and on t_he m am
bearings 400 lb. per aqua.re mch. . In a htgh-speed
double-acting engine the corres~ondmg figures would
be aboub as follows: Crosshead pms, 1000 lb. per ~quare
inch; guides, 40 lb. per square inch; crankpin, 400 1~. per
square inch ; and main bearings, 250 lb. per squ~re 1n~b.
All these bearings would, moreov~r, be supph~d With
oil under pressure by means of an .otl pump. .In lllustration of the small amount of wear m the workmg parts of
a modern high-speed engine, lVIr. Da.1dson gave the res~lts
of mea~urements taken on a. Willa.ns central valve engme
of 80 indicated horse-power, after five years' work, the
a vera. ge day's run being 13 ~o.urs. In t~e five years bhe
engine had made over 535 mtlhon.revolub10ns. The results
of the measurements are given below:

GYROSCOPIC ACTION AND THE LOSS

OF THE "COBRA. "
To THE EDITOR OF ENGINEERING.
Sm,-Mr. Jordan objects to my using th~ w~rd "precession" in connection with the change of d t~ectlon o! the
axis of a revolving body; he. sa..ys, "there IS nob, e1ther
in the phenomena. of the spmmng top, or those of the
gyroscop,e, any counterpart to the earth's mobion of prece~sion, ' &c.
I am well aware of the value of your space, and I have
been as great a. sinner as anyone in tlhe recenb correspondence which has occupied so large a portion of your
columns. The discussion is now getting away _from ~he
original question- namely, whether gyrostat1c a?bton
wrecked this ship, and (by a perfectly ne.tural tram of
thought) bhe whole question of gyrostatics has been introduced.
Sbill, if you think there are many of your readera who
think as Mr. Jordan does, you may consider ib worth while
to publish the following explanation of the use of the word
'' precession" in meohani~, and of bhe fact that bhe earth
is only a. top acted on by a tilbing couple; and that, cons~quently, the slow change in the position of the pole,
and of the earth at the spring and autumn equinoxes,
are merely gyrostatic phenomena.
L~ng before the mechanics of the subject were understood, the advanced position of the earth in the heavens
at the equinoxes, year by year, was observed. Ib was
appropriately called "prece~ion, " because the earth had
gone jor1vard on its orbit every year a short distance beyond the position for the equinox the year before. The
yearly difference is nob much-about 50 seconds of arc. Ib
was aho observed that the pole was gradually changing by
an equal amount; the two phenomena, of course, are not
distinct, but are really one and the same.
The explanation was deferred until the discovery of
universal s:~.ttraction : I saac Ne wton himself gave the
reason of the slow conical motion of the earth's e.xill. }'~or
the benefib of Mr. Jordar;1, and any other readers who may
not know it, I will explain it by the following figure:

Low-Presswre Trumks.

Wear from gland rings; steam gland

ring has reduced trunk ...
. .. . 002 in. in dia..
Air buffer ; steam gland ring has
reduced trunk
.. .
. ..
.. . .015 in. in dia..
Ins:de wear, due to the valves, could
not be measured accurately; but
.002 in.
io amounts to about...
...
. ..
High-P1cssure T rwnks.

Outside wear due to gland rings ...

Inside wear due to valves (approximately)
...
...
...
...

.003 in.
.002 in.

Cyli'fiAlers.

Low-pressure: Wear at the top

portion
...
...
...

Low-pressure: Midway, wear

.008 in. and

.001 in. oval
. 007 in. and
.0015 in. oval

Low-pressure: Bottom of cylinder,

.009 in. and

.002 in. oval
High-pressure: Wear ab top portion . 022 in. and
. 0015 in. oval
HiRh-pressure: Midway, wear ... .0265 in. and
.001 in. oval
wear

. ..

..c

S is the sun, E is the earbh in ibs midsummer position

The latter is not a. perfecb sphere, but an oblate spheroid :

it may be considered as a. sphere with a belt round it, as
High-pressure: Bottom of cylinder,
shown in black ab a and b. 'he a.bbraction of the sun on the
wear . . .
. ..
...
. ..
. .. .025 in. and
central sphere passes through its cenbre of gra.viby, bub the
OOlp in. oval
abtraction on the belt does not pass through its centre of
gravity (which is in bhe centre of the sphere), beoa.use the
Connecting Rod Brasses.
half of the belt a nearer the sun is more strongly abbracbed
.02 in.
Worn in bhe crown .. .
.. .
. ..
than bhe more remote half b. It is worthy of remark thab
Orosshead-Pin.
while the law of attraction is that it varies inverdely as
lVIa.ximum wear on one portion ...
.002 in.
the square of the distance, a;ny law by which bhe attraction was stronger as bhe distance diminished would proValve Guide-P in.
duce
bhe
same
sort,
hub
not
the
same
degree,
of
effect\Vear due to Iitble end of eccentricviz., the resulbanb pull of the sun on the ee.rbh does not
. 00! in.
rod
. ..
. ..
. ..
...
. ..
pass through. the ~entre of gr~vi~y of the latter, but
Connecting-Rod.
through a pomt e. httle south of Ib 1n the (northern hemiSm8tll end bush, wear...
. ..
...
nil
sphere) summer, and a little north of it in the winter.
Bub the centrifugal force of bhe earth in its curved pabh
E ccentric Rod.
Wear in the bush in the small end is . 002 in. in dia. which is equ~l and opposite to. the pull of the sun, do~
pass through Its centre of gravtty; consequently there is
Total wear between eccentric shaft
a. couple tendi~g to pull bhe polar axis square to the
and pin amounts to...
...
...
.03 in.
In the strap varies from
...
. .. 075 in. to .15 in. plane of the orb1t.. In the. figure, t~e upfer line joining
the earth and sun 18 the line of a.ct10n o bhe centrifugaL
Crankshaft.
force, and bhe lower the line of resulba.nb attraction. The
The grooves worn a.tl the ends are
distance between these two lines is the arm of the couple.
-(,. 10. in depth ab bhe governor
The pla.ne.b, howeve!, ~oes not obey bhis .couple in the
end, and -/'! at the dynamo end.
way tha.b It. would 1f .Ib were ~ob revolvmg; ib is, on
accounb of tbs revolub10n abo~b .Its own axis, a g1rosta.t,
Journals.
an~ obe!s the ~ot~ple by descrtbmg a cone with Its axis,
The wear on the journals varies from
~vb1?h, 1f the tiltmg couple were constant, would remain
.001 in. to .002 in., while tha.b on
mchned at the sa~e angle to bhe plane of the orbib. The
the eooen trios is nil.
couple, however, IS notl constant, being zero ab the spring
That on all four crankpins is .007 in.,
and autumn equmoxes, when the sun, the centre of gre.viby
all being quite alike, but they may
of the half of .the earth's belb nearer to the sun, and the
have been as much as .003 in.
cenb.re of ~ravtty of the tr;lO~e remote La.lf belt, are in one
below standard size originally (this
stratg~b lme. Thus the t~tmg couple varies from a maxibeing the maximum deviation
allowed from the standard size).
mu~ m su!Dme~ to zer~ 1~ ~ntumn, increases again to a
ma~umum m wmber, dtmmtshes again to zero in spring
All pins and journals are absolutely
round.
a.n~ ~ounts once more to bhe summer maximum. Thi~
Main B earings.
var1a.bt~n of t~e cou_ple c9ruses the ~utation, or nodding, of
th.e a~ns, wh1ch shghbly, very shghtly, changes its inThe wear in these varies from nothing
at. the governor end to . 016 ab bhe
~hnatt?n to the plane of ~he orbib. I believe I am right
FRENOH CANALs.-The French Navigation Commiesion
dynamo end.
m saymg (some astro~onuca.l reader will correcb me if I
has rt>jeoted a proposal of 1\I. Labusoiere for bhe establisham !'fOng) tha.b the sue-monthly_ solar n~tabion is imperment of a canal from the Loire to the Rb6ne ab an estiCorresponding figures from a B~lliss double-acbing cept~ble exc.epb to bhe most! highly-tra.med observers,
mated cosb of 12,000, OOOl.
engme, after a run of three years, were as follows:
furniShed wtbh the very besb instruments. The lune.r

--

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

--

[DEc.

j,

90 I.

nu~.1.tion is. much greater in amount; and while ib re- tiercelr rotating engines (whether rotary or rec!procating) I enough to con bin ua.lly urge the p oint of the pr~j ~ctile
qUl~es

an liJ?mense amount of labour to calculate its

p ertods and 1ts measure, yet its cause is a'3 easily understood - viz., the attraction of the moon on the oblate earth
does nob pass through. t~e centre of gravity, and consequ.ently produces a tlltmg couple, and the variation in
th~s couple causes a nodding, or wavering, of the earth's
ax1s.
WelJ, then, by a natural and r easonable transition the
word " precession," oame to b e applied by mechani~ians
t o t~e general case of the movement of the axis of a revol vmg body w:hen a coup~e is. applied in a plane passing
thr~:>Ugh the ax1s; the motiOn lS at right angles to that
wh1~h the coup~e would produce if the bony were not rev~lvmg. I thr~1k an.y one who a pproaches the subject
wtth an open m1nd will see that the conical motion of the
eart~, of the spinning t op, and of the gyroscope, are only
pa,rticular cases of the eame m echanical properby
. Ind~ed, it is not .too much to say that every change of
direc~lOI} ~f the &XIS o~ a revolving body is a precessionthat 18, 1b Is ac9omp~n1ed by a. c~uple in a plane at right
angles to that m wh10h the ax1s 1s moving. In the case of
the free gyrosco~e, or the top, the couple is visible and
palpable; but m the case of the constrained gyrostat
such as the screw shaft of a ship, the gyros tatic couple i~
not so apparent. It springs into existence however
when the sh~ft is f?rcib~y d eflect ed, and so th~ deflectio~
may be considered m this ca.se also a~ a precession.
. M~. Jordan says. I made a mistake in aayin~ that he
ur~agmed gyrostat1c effects . wer~ due to gravity. Certam.ly he kn<?WS b est what his opmions are, but the follo~,mg.are hiS w_ords, quot.ed fro!D his letter on page 647.
It IS the act10n by wh10h UD!versal gravitation resists
all impressed motion."
Again, "As a the?ry of the actri.on, which is a cknowledged ~y ~oth parties to the controversy, the resistance
of gra.V1tat10n stands alone."
Mr. Jordan's language is so loose and unscientific that
i t is difficult to know re~lly what he does mean. What
is the " resistance of gravitation "? Such expressions as
"the ~ownward. force of gravity is 16.1 fb. per s E-cond"
are qmte mea~mgless. I gather from his letter {page
647) that he thmks that the mere up-and-down motion of
a shaft, parallel to ~tself, without angular displacement,
produces gyrostat1c effects: because he arrives ab
numer~cal. results without as~um~ng any rate of angular
deflectiOn. He takes the p1tchmg motion at 10 ft. per
second ; no~, pitching.motion cannot be expressed in feet
p er second , 1b must be m degrees or other angular units
per second.
On the oth~r hand,,his letter on pag~ 625, with a figure
of two revolvmg turbmes, conveys the Idea that he thinks
that the mere rotation of the turbines, without mQtion
either of bodily translation or angular deflection, causes a
force pushing t he shafts farther aparb.
I fear it would be very difficulb t o convince a. man
firmly imbued with a fallacy, and who has published
books in which he endeavours to teach his views to other
people, that his mechanics are utterly unsound. It would
probably hurt his pride to advise him to begin again,
purchase an elementary book on dynamics, and humbly
study it with an unbiassed mind.
Mr. Ernest Ha,hn's letter is disappointing, because he
does not, after a fair d isplay of mathematics, sum up in
a formula. the conclusion he arrives at, nor bake a numerical example and show what the gyrostatic couple would
be under certain ~sumed conditions. He says your corresponden ts arrive at conflicting res ults ; but besides Mr.
Jordan, the only two who have given numerical resuHs are
Mr. Macfarlane Gray and myself, and we agree absolutely. It is true that he arrives at 47 foot-tons for the
couple, under the conditions he assumes, and I ab only
1400 foot-p ounds for my conditions: that is, Mr. Gray's
couple is 75 times as great as mine. Yet the difference
is simply due to the greater weight, radius of gyration,
and speeds assumed. Thua, he takes 2! times as much
weigh t , 4 times as much k 2 (i.e., twice as much k), 1.885
times as much rotation, and 4 times as much pitching,
and these proportions multiplied together come to 75
times. Will M r. Hahn take the same conditions as Mr.
G ray and show us what couple he arrives at? I shall be
surprised if he does not find the same result.
Your obedient servant,

c.

A.

MATTHEY.

To THE EDITOR OF ENGINEERING.

Sm,-I joined in this d iscussion for the purpose of
showing that the rotation of turbines in any vessel musb
create such gyroscopic stresses in rough weather as t o
j ustify the classification of some such stress as the "lasb
snraw '' which broke the Cobra's back. It ha'3, however,
become evident t o me in the course of the discussion
that the stresse.CJ so created must be more important than
I ab first supposed, as I have already pointed out; and
you may, perhaps, find some fur t her suggestions which I
offer on the s ubj ect not out of place.
1. I n eome of the vessels of the same cla'3s as the
Cobra, but furnished with reciprocating, instead of rotary
engines, the greater rad ius of gyration of the cranks
must to a g reat extent make up for the slower robation,
a'3 regards the ~reabion of gyrosco:pic stresses.
.
2. Equ~l weights of metal,, wtt h th~ same rad1~s of
gyration, m the propellers and m the turbmes respectively,
mus t be more effective in the propellers in proportion
with the greater lengt h ? f leverage for gyrosc~pic actio~ ;
so that weight for weight, the most effective s tress IS
created 'by the propellers and is dependent. on their radius
of gyration and velocity of rotation.
.
3. The practical course to adopt for meetmg the above
conditions, if recognise? t o be ex~stent, may, p~rhaps, be
best expressed by saymg that, mstea.d of gtvmg extra
strength and weight to a vessel because des tined to have

fixed m her, the supports of the forward bearmgs of the

sha~bs should be extended, as an intrinsic parb of t he
engmes, the whole length and breadth of the ship, wi th
strength to bea~ allstres,ses; and then, inst~d of requiring
extra str~ngth m the s.h1p to carry the engmes, the ve~sel,
t o be bmlt on the engmes, would not require such heavy
framework and plating as ordinary s hips, as the pressure
?f the water which floats the ship would be the only stress
It would have to bear, all other stresses being borne by
the ~ngines. In vessels in which speed is the paramount
consideration, the idea of fi x ing engines into the ship
should be abandoned, and substituted by that of fixing
the ship on the engines .
I am, Sir, your obedient servant,
December 9, 1901.
W.u . LEIGHTON JoRDAN.
To THID EDITOR OF ENGINEERING.
SIR,-Some two weeks ago I had occa.sion to criticise a
letter which ahpeared in your columns signed "K. Y."
"Ignoramus " a d ask e d a s1mp
. I e questiOn
. as to whether
the gyroscopic action of the turbines on board the Cobra
mighb nob have contributed to breaking that craft in two.
He asked that some competent reader of ENGINEERING
should reply to this, and Sir Hiram Maxim replied in a
very short and concise letter stating that under the conditions which obtained in the Cobra there could have
been no flyroscopic action, and consequently the action
of the turbines could not have contributed in any degree
to the breaking in two of that vessel. This statement of
Sir Hiram, although exactly in acc0rdance with fact is
not according to the generally accepted idea. on s~ch
matters, and "K. Y.," like other~. fell into the pit which
had b~en d?g for them. But ' ' K. Y .," in order to show
that Str Huam does not understand the question him
self, quotes a previous letter which Sir Hiram had wribten
on the drift of projectiles; and to carry his p <:>int he
makes Sir Hiram say exactly the reverse from what he
actually did say, which appeared to me to be extremely
unfair. "K. Y." now attempts to wriggle oub of this
mis-statement by saying :
"I assumed th at the ren.'3on why he arrived at the
wrong direction of deflection wa~ that h e h ad taken the
right couple acting on the bullet, and a ttributed the
wrong deflection to that couple; whereas I now see, and
oug ht to have seen before, that what hM led him to the
'!rong deflection is t a,king the wrong couple. The directiOn of deflection corresponding to the cou ple Sir Hiram
supposes to exist would be to the left ; but the couple
really is the other way, because the principal pressure
caused by the rush of air against the m olined surface of
the bullet is forward of the middle point of the len.,.th."
It will be seen from this that "K. Y ." is of the opinion
that if pressure is applied in an upward direction to the n ose
of the projectile, it will cause the projectile, wit h a righthand spin, to drift t o the right, although the projectile
itself is moving in an exactly opposite direction t o the
atmospheric pressure referred to; that is, he imagines that
the pressure, ins tead of the movem ent, c1uses the deflection
to the right or left. Nothing could be further from thA
truth, and consequently this statement is n ot according to fact. The instant the projectile is m1.de long
enough, so that the atmospheric pressure raises the
point, just ab that moment the projectile commences
to rotate on its major as well as on its minor axis,
and it is very evident that under such conditions it would
have an "end-over-end " motion and an extremely shorb
flight. The original question was as to what strain was set
up by the gyroscopic action of t he turbines, and as there
were no strains, the question was easily ans wered. But
"K. Y." thinks there might have been internal strainsthat is, that the framework holding the two turbines
might have ~een subject.to local strains. I think "K. Y., "
however, will find that there are very strong internal
strains set up in the boiler, very much stronger strains
than could possibly have been set np by the turbines, and
still these internal strains in the boiler would offer no re
sistance to the rolling and pitching of the ship, beca,use
they are self-contained, exactly as was the case with the
turbines, consequently neither offered any resistance to
the pitching of the ship. I quote the following from
'' K. Y.'s" letter:
"Sir H. Maxim and 'Experientia D ocet' answer :
With the same number of pounds that it would pull if it
were revolving in the other direction, at the same speed,
but the OJ.>posite way. D o they really, seriously, think
that is an mtelligent answer ? "
It has already been shown, in this correspondence, that
a gyroscope may be spun in a frame at a hi~h velocity,
and then mounted between the centres of a lathe, the axis
of the gyroscope being perpendicular to the axis of the
lathe, and rotated on the centres with p erfect freedom,
whether the gyroscope is spinning or not.
In Sir Hiram M axim's letter on "The Drift of Projectiles " in your issue of September 14, 1900, he says :
"No matter ab what speed a gyroscope may be spun,
ib can be rotated with perfect ease in any other direction
ab the same t ime. A gyroscope spinning in a p endulum
does not in the least prevent the pendulum from vibrating, l'rovidin~ that the mountings of the p endulum are
suffiCiently rtgid to prevent it from being twist ed or
moved out of its plane of vibration by the action of the
gyroscope."
It is q uite true that the atmospheric resistance which
produces a lifting effect on the underneath side of a projectile, whilst it is travelling over its trajectory, is
stronger at the front end of the projectile than at the
base; but the momentum of the centre of mass w hich
urges the projectile forward is situa ted at a considerable
distance above the lower surface of the projectile ; conseq uently, in urging the projectile forward, it pushes the
nose down and the ba'3e up, and this force is always great

towards the p ath in which it is t ravelling

Yours t ruly
ExPERIENTIA Domn'.

THE HEIGHT OF SHALLOW UNDERGROUND TRAMvVAYS.

To THE EDITOR OF ENGINEERING.
S IR, -With referance to the proposed sha llow undt:r
ground t~amways, i b will s urely be desirable, if the cars
take outside passengers, to allow sufficient room for them
to stfJind up in the tunnels, otherwise there would be no
end to the accidents due to carelessness or undue haste.
I am, &c.,
A LFRED J . ALLEN.
L ondon Insti bution, Finsbnry-cirous, E .C.
December 6, 1901.

TEST OF A GAS ENGINE.

To THE EDITOR OF ENGINEERING.
SIR, -Wi llh reference to the letter in your issue dated
November 29, p g.ge 753, sign ed by ' 1 Disappointed " I
cannot think that your correspondent has taken the tro~ble
t o carefully read the Report of Test on " Stock port " G:ts
E ogine, by M. Mathot, which appeared in you r isme of
November 15, because in M. Mathot's very detailed
rep orb he gives :
1. The calorific value of the fuel
2. The calorific value of the gas.
3. The consumption of fuel per horae-p ower.
What more is necessary ?
SATISI!'IED.

FLOORING FOR ENGINEERS' SHOPS.

T o THE EDITOR OF ENGINEERING.
Sm,-I note that your corresponden t, ''Enquirer, " is
interested in the construction of machine-shop floors.
For his information I beg to send a copy of reprintJ fro m
ENGINEERING of some articles which appeared in your
p aper, describing our company 'd shop.:~ in Berlin.
On p age 43 is illustrated the construction of our fl0ors,
and on page 46 reference is made t o this construction.
'Ye.ha.ve found these extremely satisfactory. We have
a smularly constructed fl oor at our L -:> ndon warehou3e, if
' ' E nquirer " would like to see i t.
From several years' experience we are convinced that
there is nothing to equal the American maple for machineshop floors. There are various ways of laying this, however. The illustration shows bull one of several good
methods.
Yours truly,
H. F. L. Onc u'l'T.
30 and 32, Fa.rringdonroad. L ondon, E.C.,
D ecember 9, 1901.

LOCOMOTIVES FOR I NDIA.

To THE EDITOR OF ENGINEERING.
Sm. -Apropos of the curren t locomotive con t roversy,
and in s upport of L ord Rosebery's claim for a Government of business men, may I instance t he followin!! as a
comparison or contrast between "business " and "official"
methods?
When the India Office calls for tenders for locomotive
work, it generally stipulates for the offers remaining open
for seventeen d ays. This is deemed necessary b ecause
the ~usiness is usu~lly brought into the market before the
offi.01als concerned rightly know what they wanfl, a nd
many p oi nts almost invariably rema,in open for settlement after the t enders have been lodged. This is t he
"official" style; a.nd as an instance, I may remark
that twelve engines were indented from India on
July 10 last, for delivery at earliest possible date after
M arch 1, 1902. Invita tions to tender were issued by
the India Office on September 28, the t enders being
returnable on October 22. The order for s ix of these
was placed on November 16. T he other six engines
have yet to be placed, a reference to India having been
found n ecessary, intimation of which was sen t t o the
tender~rs on November 30. Thus, a fter offers have been
lodged for six weeks, the quotations have to remain open
indefinitely. At t he present date we are wi thin two and
a half months of the time when delivery is called for, and
even the preliminary stage of placing the order has not
yet been reached. It will be readily understood that t he
India Office h as to p ay for this system of cond ucting its
business, as manufacturers are obliged to protecb them-'
selves in their prices for market variations.
Cont rast this with the " business" method. On October 10 last year, the Midland Railway Comr any
invited tenders for 70 engines, the offers to be lodged on
00tober 18. On t hat day orders were issued for 130
engines, the whole business having been concluded before
noon. The Midland system being kno wn, builders at tend
personally with their offers, and wait ready to answEr any
q uestions that ma,y be p ut to them by the directors.
These que3tion3 are, as a rule, m~rely formal, as the company know what they want before they come into the
market, and their printed specification rules the contract
wibhoub any emendation being necessar y . This is not an
exceptional case, but is typical of the business style
w hich rules in this count ry.
When L ord George Hamilton is insbituting his reforms,
perhaps he might find the "business " method worbhy of
adoption in the India Office.
Even little J apa.n knows what it wants, and can look
well ahead. As an exl\mple of this foresight, the Imp erial railways of Japan are at present invitmg manufacburera to offer for 30 locomotives to be delivered io
1903.
I am, &c.,
A B usiNEss MAN.
L ondon , December 10, 1901.

E N G I N E E R I N G.
departments for boiler and machine construction. T be
NOTES FROM THE SOUTH-WEST.
NOTES FROM THE NORTH.
splendid arrangement of the shops, and the aystems.tic
Oa.rd(O'. -There have be~n numerous. a.nd pressing inGLASGOW, Wednesday.
manner in which the work is carried out, are of special
Glasgow Pig.bon Market.-At the forenoon market interest to those studying economic a.nd speedy pro::Juo. quiries for steam coal, and Ib has been d1ft:icult to arrange
last Thursday only some 1500 tons of iron changed hand~. tion.
for a cargo of moderate size with d eJi very before ChristThe bone was dull, and Cleveland lost ld. per ton. At
mas. The best steam co!Ll has been making 16s. 9d. to
the afternoon meeting of the "ring , the amount of metal
17~. per ton. while secondary qualitie3 have brought
dealt in was 2000 tons. Scotch was steady, and Cleve15.3. 9d. to 16s. 3d. per ton. H ouse coal has been held
NOTES FROM CLEVELAND AND THE
with firmness at late rates; No. 3 Rhondda large has
la.nd bad a sharp rise to 433. 2d. per ton sellers. The settleN<JRTHERN
COUNTIES.
ment prices were: Scotch, 55s. 7~d. per ton; Cleveland,
made 163. to 16s. 3d. par ton. Cilke ha~ shown little
MIDDLESBROUGH, Wednesday.
423. 9d ; Curuberland hematite iron, 56s. 4~d. At the foreT he Olcvelamil Iron Trade - Yesterday there was only change; foundry qualities have made 21s. 6d. to 26s.
n oon se~eion of the market on Friday eome 5000 tons were a thin attendance on 'Change, but the market was less per ton, while fnrnaoe ditto have brought 17s. 6d. to
dealt in, and price3 were very firm, but Scotch warrants cheerless than ib has been of late, and buyers were nob 183. 6d. p er ton. As regards iron ore, ru bio has made
remainfd unchanged in price. Between 4000 and 5000 quite so backward as they have been. No. 3 g.m.b. 143. 3.:i. per ton, and Tafna 15s. to 15.s. 6:i. per ton.
tons changed hands in the afternoon, and prices were Cleveland pig iron realised 433. 3d. for prom pb f.o.b. de
Colliery Developmen ts near S wansea.-The firsb soda of
rather easier. There were seller3 of Sooboh at 553. 4Ad. livery, and sellers, as a rule, quoted that price, but bwo
shafts of the proposed Cefngyfelach colliery on the
per ton for the nd of the year, and ab 523. 6d. for two there were buyers who reported that they bad done Penllerga.re
were cub on Saturday afternoon by
months; and the settlement pricbs were : 553. 6d., business ab 433. H-d. No. 1 Cleveland pig was put Miss Gladyaestate
Llewelyn,
and
Mr.
C.
Llewellyn.
The
433. l ~d., and 56s. 9d. per ton. At the foren oon market a.n 443. 9d., and N'o. 4 foundry 433.; grey forge iron taking extends over 1000 acres, and it is intended to work
on l\'Ionday a. good busmess was done, the amount of iron was still scarce, and mainba.ined its rela.ti vely high the 5- ft. and the Graigola 6.ft. seam. The two shafts will
dealt in being about 20,000 tons, or even fully that amount. rate of 433. 6d. Mottled and white iron were each
Dealing was almost entirely confined to Cleveland iron, of about 42s. 9d. East Coast hematite pig was decidedly prob!Lbly reach coal a.t a. deJ?th of a.boot 300 yards, and it
which one broker bought 10,000 tons in one line. Scotch weaker, the supply being now fairly plentiful, and cJm- is hoped eventually to attam an output of 2000 tons per
fell 3d. per ton . and Cleveland ! d. In the afternoon petibion with West Coast makers for Sheffield ordera day, for which quantity machinery is being fitted up.
Oard~f! T ramways.-At a meeting of the tramways
some 3000 or 4000 t ons changed hands, and prices were IS keen. The general ma.rkeb quotation for Nos. 1. 2,
~d. per boo up for C!eveland and hematite iron. The settlecommittee of the Cardiff Town Council on ~.1onda.y a
a.nd
3
Ea.sb
Ci>ast
brands
was
59s.
for
early
delivery,
but
ment prices were : 553. 3d. , 433. l~d., and 563. 6d. per bayers, a.s a rule, endeavoured to purchaEe a.b 583. 6d. letter was r ead from Mr. Barber Glenn, secretary to the
ton. The pi~-iron market was very quiet on Tuesday No. 1 wa.s 593. 6d., and No. 4 about 553. Gd. Spanish Provincial Tramways Companv, accepting on behalf of
forenoon, wh ~n only about 5000 tons were dealt in. ore, after holding to its price for some considerable th e company 50,000l. for the Cardiff lines, that sum to
Businees was oon6ned to Cleveland, which wa3 firm ab time, fell, and rubio was bought at 15.s. 6d. ex-ship include good will, prospective profits, and Parliamentary
a.nd engineering expenses. The council will h~ve to re43s. 2d. per ton cash, with buyers over, an improvement of Tee~. To day prices were unaltered.
construct portions of the lines.
1~. p er ton. In the afternoon only 1500 tons of Cleveland
Manufactuted Iron and Steel.-The manufactured iron
were dealt in ab 43s. 3~d. one month, finishing ab 43~. l~d.
The Swansea Valley.-Orders for a.ll kinds a.nd sizes of
and
steel
trades
keep
steady.
Though
there
is
nob
much
cash buyer~, being ld. per ton up on the day. Scotch
tinplate for delivery as fa.r forward a.s March, 1902, a.re
warrants were quoted ab 55 J. 4~d. cash sellers at the new business doing, mosb firms keep pretty well employed to hand; but as the prices offered are comparatively
ulose, being the s ame as ab the finish on Monday. The on contracts they have in band, and they are very un- unremunerative, makers are disposed to hold their bands.
settlement prices were: 553. 3d., 43.3. 3d., and 563. 7~d. willing to reduce their quotations. Ab the same time
The Dowlais Works.- There is no need for apprehenper t on. Some 2000 tons were dea.lb in on the pig iron new orders a.re difficult to secure, a.nd there is no doubt
market thi~ forenoon. The tone was steady, and Scotch that most producers would accept work at a little below sion concerning the Ivor Works, D owlais, as their closure
iron was called 4~d. per ton dearer. Business in the the recognised ma.rkeb quotations. Common iron bars is only temporary. A IVIorgan mill and other new plant
afternoon oonsi~ted of ~o lots of Cleveland-500 tons ab are 6l. 5.s.; best bars, 6l. 15s.; iron ship. plates, 6l . 12s. 6d ; is to be laid down.
433. 2~d. per ton one month, and 600 tons at 433. 3~d. and steel ship-plates, 6l.-all less the customary 2~ per
three months. Cash quotations wera better, both for cent. discount for cash. Heavy sections of steel rails
THE INSTITU'riON OF J uNIOR ENGINEERS. - At the
Scotch and Cleveland, than at mid-day. The settlement remain a.b 5l. lOa. net at worke.
meetin~ of this Institution on December 6, held ab the
prices were: 55s. 7~d., 43s. 1~d., and 563. 7~d . per ton.
Wages in the Shipyards.-A meeting of the North-East Westmmster Palace H otel, the Chairman, Mr. Percival
The following are the market quotations for makers' Coast shipbuilders h a.s been held, at which, we are iniron : Clyde. 66~. 6d. per ton ; Gartsherrie, 67s.; La.ng- formed, the wages question was considered, but no deci- Ma.rshall, presiding, the pa~er read was on ''Street
loan, 68~. 6d.; Summerlee. 7ls.; Coltne:s, 7ls. 6d.-a.ll sion was arrived a.b in view of the imminent close of the Railway Construction for Electric Traction," by Mr.
the foregoing shipped ab Glasgow ; Glenga.rnock (shipped year, an.d the necessity of finishing contracts in band F. S. Filling (l\1ember), of Devonport. In introducing
f\t Ardrossa.n), 663.; Shotts (shipped at L eith), 70s.; which close with the yenr. There was very considerable the subject, the author pointed out bow necessary it was
Carron (~hipped ab Grangemouth), 67s. 6d . per ton. The opposition to any proposal for a. reduction a.b present. in laying out a. tramway scheme, to keep well in mind
general situation of the iron markets has of late become one The closeness of t he Christmas and New Year holidays the object of such a.n undertaking, viz , to attract the
of considerable interesb, and it looks as if the struggle was taken into account, and it was felb that if anything largest possible number of pa~sengers. U nless the
going on between American activity and European dul- of the kind was to be put forward, it bad better be ab the engineer were familiar with the working of the system
from the traffic manager's point of view, there woold
ness was fa.sb reaching a. crisis. This Wek the news to beginning of next year.
ultimately be failure somewhere, preventing the lines
band is as strange as ever; indeed, a.t the moment pig iron
Coal cvnd Ooke. - Fuel is strong and in good demand. from being worked ab their full earning capacity. Reis the strongest feature in the American trade position,
with the pnce 1 d ol. up for foundry grades. All furnaces Inquiries for this year's delivery of coal and coke are ference was made to the a.rra.ugemenb of termini as
have contlracted well into nexb year, a. few for six months, very ea.tisfa.ctory, bot the forward demand is only very affecting the oar-mileage, a.nd to the mistake often
and several t) J a.nuary a year hence. Th~b pig iron com- moderate. Best Durham gas coal is about 12s. 6d. f.o.b. committed of constructing double jonotions between main
mands a. premium of 2 dol~. per ton. Ib is sa.1d that the rise Medium qualities of blasb-furnace cJke are strong ab and branch lines with no provision on the main line ab
in prices in America. is owing to the scarcity of supplies; but 16s. 9d. delivered here, and in some cases more is asked. the junction for transferring a car from one line to the
other, with the result that when the cars were being
perhaps the most interesting item of news is that of the
distributed in the morning and rettirning in the evening
purchase by American consumers of 30,000 tons of German
~,RENOH SRIPBUILDING.-The ~,ranch shipbuilding C)D they frequently have a. profitless run of perhaps 300 or 400
bematite iron for prompt shipment. A purchase such as
that mu3b go fa.r t a relieve the G erman dullnes:r, and earn known as the Societe des Att~liers et Chantiers de la. yards to the nearest cross-over in order to be transferred to
lessen the competition from Germany in this country; L oire has approved the accounts for 19001, and has fixed the right line outwards or inwards. The objections to con
and, if followed up by fur bher contracts, must even end its dividend for the year at 2l. per share. The profits atant radius curves were dwelt upon, and the writer
in impartin~ some vigour to the German markets, a. realised in 1900-1 were 163,813l., as compared with showed that the application of rail way practice to {>ermanent way construction for tramways on public highstate of a.ffd.trS that would soon t ell beneficially here. 147,145l. in 18991900.
ways was a. mistake. In considering the construction of
Middlesbrough warrants have been moderately active
THE INSTITUTION OF CIVIL ENGINEERS: MEETING OF the track the difficulty was to make a.nd maintain it in a.n
during the week, prices fluctma.bing considerably. Scotch
warrants are still held in dread of the end of the STUDENTS.-A meeting of students of the Institution of absolutely rigid condition. The weakness arose in the
year settlement. Vl esb Coast hematite iron has still Civil Engineers was held on Friday evening-, the 6th inst., joinbing of the rails, the most satisfactory type of which
a. downward tendency, and has fallen as low as the President. Mr. Charles Hawksley, in the chair, when ab present, to meet British requirements, was the girder
56~. 6d. per ton. The furnaces in blast in Scotland re- a paper on "Gas-Engine Construction " was read by Mr. with a. weight of nob less than 90 lb. per yard. Conmain ab 83, as oompa.red with 82 a.b this time lasb year. R. W. A. Brewer, Stud. Inst. C.E. The following is an siderations affecting the design of rail section for electric
The stock of pig iron in Messrs. Conna.l and Co.'s public abstract of the paper : In this paper the author d eals, in traction purposes were then entered into, and the chemical
warrant stores stood yesterday afternoon ab 57,932 tons, a. general way, with the principal features of modern composition touched upon. In treating the question of
as compared with 57,592 t ons yesterday week, thus practice in gas-engine construction in this country. The rail joints, and to show the neceEsiby of perfect rigidity in
showing an increase for the week amounting to 390 tons. various parts of the engine a.re successively considered, them, the author theoretically investigated the problem
and the author's remarks are concerned chiefly willh the of a. loaded ca.r meeting with obstruction through an imFinished I ron and Steel.- Nob much change has taken larger types by well-known makera. The formation of perfect j oint, proving that the defacing force of the blow
place during the week in respect of finished iron a.nd the bedplate, and the advantages of girder fram~, are upon the joinb would be equal to that giYen by a. steam
steel, and the wages a.re well maintained. Every week considered first; the means of obviating as much as pos- hammer, the head of which weighed 4000 lb., falling a.t a.
sees a steady importation of manufactured iron and steel sible the internal stresses set up during cooling being velocity of practically 3 ft. per second at the moment of
into Glasgow, which mu3b have some effect on lccal in- dealt with. The methods of fixing the crankshaft brasses impact. Sole plates were not to be commanded. The
dustries. Last week about 800 tons of bars, plates rails, in their pedestals, and of taking up the wear of the brasses, a~option of a dee.per rail section wit h a very much
tubes, nails, &c., came in from the States and Belgium, and the grouting of the pedestals on to the foundation, wider sole than IS usually employed, to?ether with
::and tha.b is a smaller quantity than usual, but the im- are d escribed. The means of fixing the cylinders to the the use of deepribbed fish-plates secured by means
portation of 800 tons p er week lessens the demand to that frame, and the advantages of a breeohend are then of six pairs of bolts, would probably be found adextent on the looa.l manufacturer~, and helps to keep investigated, and the usual forms of piston, with their v~nta.geous; the bonds taking th~ form of copper
slippers a.nd rings, are discussed. Several methods of rivets of large area, compressed mbo holes drilled
down prices.
Sulphate of Ammonia.-There is still an active demand watering large pistons are explained, and illustrated by through both plates a.nd the web of the raiL Referand their relative merits are compared. Pro- ence was made to the Falk system of ca.sb weld solid
for this commodity, t be price for which runs about drawings,
to the connecting-rod, the author compares the jointing, it being stated that the joint produced was an
lOl. 18s. 9d. per ton f.o.b. Lasb week's shipments at ceeding
various a-djusting arrangements for the bra.~es of the small expensive one and liable to fracture, though the perLeith amounted to 481 tons.
and la.rge ends respectively. The relative advantages of centage of failures was claimed to be extremely low. 'fhe
Glasgow University Er~gineering Society.-A meeting ben b and cub cranks, and the means of counterbalancing p~oceeses in connection 'Yith ra.il.laying were then dealt
of the Sooiety was held on Thursday, the 5bh inst., Mr. them, are then discussed. In treating of flywheels, the With, a~d the ve~y great 1mpo.rtance of good bonding was
Bamford occupying th~ Chair. A paper was read by author describes the methods of cons truction adopted for emphasised. Pomts and orossmgs hav\ng been considered
Mr. Thomas Ewan, Ph. D., on th~ " Utilisation of different sizes of wheels, the means of fixing together questions relating to the preparation of the conoret~
Electriciby in Chemical Manufa.obore." Beginning with the pa.rta of built wheels, and the different systems of forming the bedding were treated, and, in conclusion the
the electric refining of copper a.nd the manufacture. of keying the wheel to the sha.fb. In conclusion, the action best .materials to em ploy in th~ laying of the paving ~ere
aluminium, be went on to the processes for obtainmg of the valve ge!l.r is explained; the vertical and horizontal co~stdered; the use of .a.ll kmds of wood-block paving
caustic soda. from common salt. In conclusion he de- types of balanced, watered, exhaust valves are described; be10g regarded as unsUlta.ble. In the discussion which
scribed the manufacture of oarborundum, for emery, and a few observations are made on the best positions for the fo11owed, 1\Iessrs. A. F . Gatrill, A. H. Sta.nley, H.
the preparation of calcium carbide In the discussion air valve and ignition gear; and the different arrangements Stevenet, A. H. Tyler, V. H. Chabot, W. J. Tennanb,
which followed, P:. Anderson. Dr. Gray, Mr. Ohristison, for con trolling- the speed are briefly referred to. The paper T. C. Morewood, K. Gray, L . H. Rugg, C. J.1IcNaught,
De. Henderson, and several others took part. On is illustrated by dra.winga and indicator diagrams. The T. E. Moorhouse, and the Chairman took parb a.nd the
Saturday mornin g, the 7bh inst., more than fifty members, reading of the paper was followed by a. discussion, in proceedings closed with the announcement of 'the visit
including Dr. Ba.rr, visited the works of Me~srs. D. Rowan which lHe~sre. J . Holli.da.y, F. Wrighb, B. M. Duke, on Sa.tu~da.y a.ftern_oon, Decem~er 14, to the Croydo~
and Co., Elliotstreet. :rvr~srd. Rowan, Creighton, and A. B. Linscotb, and T. H. IVIann, students of the Insti- Corporatton Combmed Electnc Light and Traction
Riddell conducted the parties round all the different tution of Civil Engineers, took parb.
Works.

8!6

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

NOTES FROM SOUTH YORKSHIRE.

.

. SHEFFIELD, Wednesday.
Leeds Assocwtton aj Eng~-neers.-The annual dinner of
tb~ above associ~t~on was held on Saturday, Mr. J. H .
W 1ckstee~ pres1dmg. The chairman proposed the toast
' 'Prospenby to the Association,'' and indoingsocommented
on ~he number of fres~ branc~es of_ the engineering trade
wh10h. had ta:ken root ID t~e 01by smce their organisation
came mto bemg. The Pnnce of Wales had said we must
wake up. He (the chairman) agreed with the remark.
~here .was no doubt that all the important engineering
1.nvent10ns. had been m~de in England, and ib would be
~orth whtle to mentwn one. 'here were imported in
dtfferent. parts of the world large numbera of American
automatic gear. cutters. The Americans did not invenb that
cutter. . More than twenty years ago, at Messrs. La.wson's
wor~s ID Leeds, he saw those automatic gear-cutters
cut.tmg wheels all the day. with only one attendant to
wa1t upon them. The English made the invention but
he th ought ther e was an inertia, a. certain contempt for
~efinem~nt, an objection to being disturbed. and coerced
IDbo gomg one better. The average E oglisb workman
and the average small employer considered that ib did not
pay to d epart from the way a thing had always b een done
before. Now bad come the time when ib would be as well
for them t o open their ey~s to the value of improvements,
t o ~ry as. far as they P<?Sstbly could to make an improved
a rticle ~Ithout enbancmg the cost. If they did that, they
w<?uld hbera.~e an amount of mechanical talent which was
Jymg ltl.t~nti m the m echanic3 of this country, and which
wo~ld g1 ve ~ogland the sa.me precedence for mechanical
aptttude wh1ch ~he had been credited with hitherto.
Alderman J. H. Wurt zburg, in proposing "The City and
Trade of Lee~s,': referred to the competition from Germs.~~, and sa:td 1b had nob been altogether a fair oompet.l&Ion. Wuh regard to the contract for electrical work
whtch the Germans bad just obtained in Manchest er
their tender beiog 35,000l. leds than the lowe3b Eoglish
tender, they need nob much regret that the work ha d
gone, because at the price the German'!! would nob make
their own by i b.
Mr. C. H. Wilson's H ull Schemcs. - Speaking on the
nighb of Wednesday, D ecember 4, Mr. C. H. W1lson,
M . P., referred to his purchase of Earle's yard, and said it
h~td been stated in Hull that he bought the place for the
North-Eastern Railway Company, or that ha bought it
to. sel.l it to them. As a matter of facb, he asked Mr.
Glbb 1f he wanted to buy the place before he went in for
in, and Mr. Gibb replied that he did nob. Therefore all
rumours of that sort could be stopped. He had no doubt
undertaken a heavy responsibility. A great deal of money
would have to be spent upon the yard to modernise ib and
introduce electric power. He hoped that, by a little good
t emper on both sides, those labour difficulties would be
avoid ed which had been so fatal to the c.ompa.ny in the
past. His son (Mr. WE:llesley Wilson) wa-s the active
man who was putting the place i nto order, and as soon
as tbat bad been done they must try and get oommis~ions for building steamers to keep the men ab work.
The yard would require a good deal of supervision and
attention if i t was to be made a succese_~.
The H ull Coal T1ade.-The return of the Hull Incorp orated Chamber of Commerce, showing the coal trade
of the p ort in November, discloses a sharp decline in the
tonnage dealt with. The total weight of coal forwarded
tlo the port las b month was 316,608 tons, as C.)mp!l.red
with 385,000 tons forwarded in N0vember, 1900, a decrease
of 69,092 tons. The eleven months' trade has been equally
unsatisfactory. The tonnage forwarded in the eleven
months just closed was 2,989,64.4 tons, as compared with
3,864, 960 tons in the corresponding l?eriod of last year, a
d ecline of 875.296 tons. The coasnw1se trade las t month
'b
h
1
28
835
h
8
totalled
.
tons, t e e even mont
U~IDess amounting to 288,386 tons. In November of the present year
105,585 tons were shipped to for~ign p orts, and this is a
d ecline of 56,586 tons when compared with 1900. In the
eleven months 1,323,100 tlons have been exported, against!
1,915,993 tons in the like period of 1900, a d ecline of 31
per cent. on the trade of the present year. The falling
off in the export trade is of quite a ~eneral ohara.ober, and
extends to e very country with whiCh the p ort has dealings. The return shows that there has been no change
in the distribution of the trade; South Yorkshire collieries having suffered the smallest proportion of loss.
Denaby and Cade Main heads the list of contributing
pits with the h uge total of 56,976 bona, an increase of no
less than 24,208 tons upon the quantity sent in November,
1900. Several other collieries also show increases.
I ron cvnd Steel.-There is no improvement in business
among the large iron and steel works. but, on the contrary,
the slowing.d own process is still going on, and more men
are being discharged. . The dem~nd for open-hearth
s teels is ve1y much qu1et er, and, With one or two except ions the out>put is very much b&low the means of supply.
Pric~ are firm, and are likely to continue so for some
li btle time. The crucible steel trade is in an unsatisfactory
condition, and ahhough a. few orders have r ecently come
in work s are only partially employed, and in conseq uence
tb'e r olling mills and forges are running shorb time.
There has been a very marked falling off in the demand
for heavy files, on account of the d epression in the engin eering shipbuilding, and railway branches ; but for
small fi'tes there are some very fair orders on hand. For
light-edged tools there is a steady inquiry, but for engineers' tools generally comparatively few orders are on the
books.
South Yorkshitre Coal Trade.-The majoriby of the railway contracts have now been placed, the prices ranging
from 8:4. 6d. to 9~. 6d., but ib is only in exceptional oases
that the higher figure has been secured. The owners have
not attempted on this occasion to amalgamate to secure

[DEc. 13,

1901.

LIGHT RAILWAY COMMISSION.

. W E are ind~b~d to ~Ir. Alan D. Erskine, the Secretary, ~o! the !ollowing list of applications made to the Light
Railway Comm1ss1oners m November, 1901, for Orders anthortsing Ltght Railways :
TlTLE.

PROMOTERS.

ENGINEER.

Mileage.

--------------------------------------------------------------- --- .
England.
1. Accrington and Buroley

ft. in.

. . Auxiliary and Light Rail ways and Tram C. Chadwell ..

4!
ways Company, Limited.
2. Ashby, Swa.dlincote, and Burton
. . T. ilall, W. H. Buokley, R. Lt"wton, aod C. H. Gadsby ..
It

W . J. Kershaw.
3. Barnsley and Donoa.ster
.. Sir Henry Wood, T. Mitchell, and W. H . Preece and Cardew and

16t
Chambers.
J . N. Shoolbred.
4. Canterbury and Herne Bay . .
. . 0. W. Bowen and W. J. Kershaw . .
. . Pritohard, Green, & Co.
11
6. Cheltenham and District (Extensions) Cheltenham and District Light Railwa) E. Dodd ..
..
..
6f
Company
6. Claoton-on-Sea. and St. Osyth..
. . T. Lilley, S. J. Stiff, G. Riley, and others. . J. Russell
..
4!

7. Uounty of Hertford (Bunet) No 2 .. Hertfordshire County Uouneil
..
. . V. B. D. Cooper
2

a. County of Hertford (Bushey) No. 3 .. Hertfordshire County Council . . . . V. B. D. Cooper

2t

9. County of Middlest>x (Enfield Exten- Middlesex Cl)unty Counoil ..

..
.. H. T. Wakelam ..
]~

sion)
10. Crystal Palace ..

. . Crystal Palace Light Railways and Tram- V. B. D. Cooper

2!

waye <Jompany, Limited
Mackenzie, Bt., J. Fell, and}
11!11. Derby and Nottingbam. .
..
{ SirW.J ames
J. Kershaw
C. H. Gadsby ..
..
5!
12. Derby, Nottingham, and District .. Sir Bache Cunard
..
..
..
. B. Peytoo Legare
2tt

13. Doncastt>r Corporation (deviation and Donoaster Corporation

..
..
. . W. H. R. Crabtree
i
extension)
14. DJver River and Alkham Valley
. . Sir Wm. Crundall, R. Tritton, G. Olark, W. T. Pressland and
2!
and A. Olark
Mark Parker
15. DoMve. r , St. Margaret's, and Martin Sir Weetman Pearson, Sir John Jc1ckson, W. T. Pressla.nd and
5
111
and Sir Wm. Crundall
Mark Parker
16. Dudley and Rowley Rt>gis
..
. . Dudley Corporation and Rowley R('gie R. P. Wilson . .
l Ot

Urban District Council

17. Erewash Valley . .
..
..
. . Sir Bache Cunard
..
..
..
. . B. Peyton Legare
1a
1a. Grimsby and Salt.fteetby (amendment) Grimsby and Saltfteetby Light Railway
Company
19. Halesowen. .
..
..
..
. . Halesowen Rural District Council . .
. . W. Whitworth ..
I!

20. Hounslow, Slough, and Datchet
. . Metropolitan District Electric Traot.ion Sir Alex. R. Binnie
12
Company, Limite.:l
21. London and South-Western Rlilway London and South Western Railway Com W. R. Galbraith, and
4i
(Bentley and Bordon)
pany
J. W. J. Hood
22. London United Tramways (Light London United Tramways, Limited
12!. . J. Clifton Robinson ..
Railway Extensions) No. 2
23. Luton, Dunstable, and District
.. J . Fell, W. J. Kershaw and C. Osborne . . Pritchard, Green, & Co.
10
24. Mansfield and District (Extensions to Mansfteld and District'Lio;ht Railway Com A. Dickioson and Co. .
2Jf
Belp e ~ and Ilkeston)
pany
25. North Lt~dsey (amendment) . .
: . North Lindaey Light Railway Company . . L. B. Wells

26. Nort.h Sh1elds, Tynemouth, and D1s- Tyoemouthand District Electric Traction S. Sellon ..

tr~ct (Extensions)
C.>mpany, Limited
27. Nottmgha'll Suburban . .
..
. . Sir Jarn~s Mackenzie, Bt., J. Fell, and W. C. H. Gldc:tby ..
11

J . Kershaw
28. Poole and District (Extensions)
. . Poole and o strict Electric Traction C >m S. Sellon . .
J!

pany, Limited
29. Preston and Horwich ..
. . Sir James M lCk.enzie, Bt., G. Hunter, J C. Chadwell

23:\
Harlick, and C. O;iborne
30. Preston and Lytham ..
. . Sir James Mackenzie, Bt., G. Hunter, J C. Cha1well

..
9!
H nli ck, and C. Oshorne
31. Ramshottom, Edenfield, and R:1.wten C. L. Dovet, J. Thorn ton, and A . Want .. J. H. Rhodes ..
..
6!
stall
32. Selby and Goole ..

. . R. Creyke, G. Stubley, A. F. Hood, and W. B. M.vers Beswiok

13!
others .
and R. Elliott Co.>per
33. Southend (and district), Bradwellon- Rail way and General Construction and M. N o~l Ridley . .
..
3 1~
Sea, and Colchester
Maintenance Company, Limited
34. South Norfolk
..
. . Sir Reginald Beauchamp, Bt., N. H. B~con,

and others
35. Torquay and Paignton ..
. . Provincial Electric Supply and Traction Pressland and Fippard
10

Company
36. Tottenham and Walthamstow
. . Metropolitan Tramways and Omnibus Com- S. Sellon ..

7!

p:my, r.imited
37. Wakefield and District (Dewsbury Wakefield a.nd District Light Railway Pritchard, Green, and
25
and Castleford Extensions)
Comp1ny
Co.
3a. Wa.lthamstow and District (Urban Walthamstow Urban Dhtrict C oun~il G. W. Holmes .
..
District Council)
39. Warriogton Corporation
..
. . Warrington Corpoution
..
..
. . Preece and Cardew ..
40. Wattord and District ...
..
.. Watford and Distri(}t Tramways Company Pritchard, Green, & Co.
41. West Manchester (extension and West Manchester Light R~ilways Company W. B. Myers Beswick ..
amendment)
42. Windsor and Maidenhead
.
. . Metropolitan District Electric Traction Sir Alex. R. Binnie
Company, Limited

a!

3
3

6
6

4
4
4
4

a!

at
a!

8!

~;

Wales.

. . E. S. Sinnott
Glamorgan County Council (Morris- Glamorgan County Council ..

ton to Pontardawe)
Llandudno and Colwyn Bay (devia- Llandudno, Colwyn Bay, and Rhyl Electric Hewitt and Rhodes ..
tion smd amendment)
Traction Company, Limited

..

8!

a;

a!

4
4

Et
at

a!

at

5~

a~

4
4

44.

43.

Gauge.

a!
6

8!

a!

at

S!

at

8.\-

8!
8!

a!

4
4
4

~t

at

8!

a~

~!

the additional 6d. on the late rates, but have acted individuaJly. The pits continue t o be reg ularly worked.
Notwithstanding the general depression in the iron trades,
there is a good demand for manufacturing fuel and there
is also a fair export trade for bards. House coal is somewhat listless, but the ad vent of the present sharp weather
is expeobed to quicken this market into aotivitJy. Good
hand-picked Silkstone coal is quoted at 14s. 6d. to 153. 6d.
per ton, and Barnsley thick l:ieam at 12:~. 6d. to 13~. 6d.
per ton. The demand for gas qualities continues strong.
Prices of coke are stiffening, but there is nob much change
in the amount of business doing.
STEAM v. ELEOTRIOITY.-Some information has reached
us this week from New Y ork which is not altogether
without importance. We refer to an announcement by
the Pennsylvania Railroad Company of its intention to
discontinue f:lectrio trolley traction between Mount Holly
and Burlington, New Jersey, and to substitute steam for
it. The trolley service was brought into operation in
June, 1895 ; bu b the power-house was r ecently burned
down, and the company has decided not to rebuild it.
This is regarded as an indication that the management
has come to the conclusion that electricity as a motive
power is less satisfactory than steam. We regard this as
an impor tan t announcement, because the Pennsylvania.
Railroad Company, which was incorporated so long since
as 1846, is one of the largest, oldest, most prudentt, and at
the same time most proe-ressi ve rail way undertakings of
the U nited S tates, as it IS also one of t he most prosperous.
Not only, too, has the Pennsylvania Railroad Oompany
d iscontinued the use of the electric trolley system upon
one of ibs seobions, but it has also ordered 400 additional
steam locomotives for delivery upon its system in 1902,

although 300 E-imila.r locomotives were builb in its own

shops, or by other firms and companies in the twelve
months now drawing to a clos~.
I NSTITUTION OF M ECHANICAL E NGINEERS.-On Mon
day avenin~, D ecember 9, at 7.30 p.m., a meeting of the
graduates of the Institution was held at the Institution
House, Westminster. Mr. Henry D"vey, Member of
Council, took the chair, and a paper was read bf Mr.
W. Sba.nley-Bott, graduate, on "Twelve Months Revision of a Drawing-Office." The author described the
oban~es made in the conduct and management of the
dra.wmg- office of a works which had removed from
London t o the country. He first mentioned some of the
existing methods in the drawing-office before the removal. Among these wer~ t~e habit of sendin~ tracings
into the works, no blue prmtmg apparatus bemg used;
the absence of detailed drawings of castings; and the
irregular sizes of the drawings made. In the revised
office three alterations were at once made- namely, (1)
every drawing had a. number and was known by thao
number ; (2) all drawings were made to sba.ndard sizes,
and of as few sizes as possible ; (3) a copy of ev~ry
drawing remained in the office. As regards alterat10n
(No. 2) above, a standard size of 36 in. by 24 in. was
adopted, ~nd any ~maller sizes. were m.a.de 24 in. by
18 in., 18 m. by 12 m., and 12 m. by 9 m. The office
copy ~as always a tracing. This last poi~b led to much
discuss1on. The author subsequently descr1bed the elaborate method of filing the drawings, and the orders for ~he
work~, &c. A good discussion followed, in whioh many of
the graduates took part. The chairman gave a ~oat interesting description of the methods of reproducmg drawings firs t instituted by J ames W a.tb. A vote of thanks to
the author and to the ch airman terminated the meeting.

DEc. 13,

1901.

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

The following figures have been supplied to us as

THE HYDROLEUM SYSTEM OF BURNING
the r esults of tests which have been made:
LIQUID FUEL.

INDUSTRIAL NOTES.

THE Parliamentary Committee of the Trades Union

. WE recently bad an opportunity of seeing in opera- T est of the Evaporati1'e Power (from and at 212 deg .
Fahtr. ), of Coke Constlltned under Forced Draught in the Con~ress h~ve ~ecided to. prepare a Bill for next
tlOn ~ new system of burning liquid fuel which has
Fu~nace of '!' 50 Horse-P ower H ornsby Water-Tube sess10n, deahng w1th the pomts raised in the Ta.ff V ale
been mtr?duced by the Hydroleum Company, Limited,
Botler belongtng to Messrs. Mtt-iTheacl and Co., Elmer's cas~ and other cases. They took counsel with several
of 323, H1gh Holborn. The example in question has
E nd, K ent.
emu~ent men, one of whom was Home Secretary in the
bee? fitted up at the establishment of Messrs.
Date
.'
... .. .. . !\fay 15, 1901 Parhament ?f 1892 5, so that the provisions of the
Mutrhead. and Co.,. at Elmera End, for firing their
Duration of test
...
...
. ..
9 hours
measure de01ded upon ought to be such as to insure
works bo1ler, &nd 1t was through their courtesy
Mean temperature of feed-water ... 60 deg. Fa.hr.
strong supporb. Upon one or two points there ought
that ~e were enabled to see the apparatus in
,
pressure on boiler
.. .
. ..
90 lb.
to b~ no. mistake: Picktting has been the bone of con
operat10n. The novelty of the system lies in a comPounds of water evaporated...
...
10,100
tent10n m mo.st ~nsta.nc?s, and the question is what
bination of the particular form of burner or feeder
,
coke consumed . ..
.. .
1792
demands the umons w11I make. In the progrees of
water evaporated per
,,
used,_ and th_e .construction of the furnac'e in which
legislation, in the year~ 1871, 1875, and 1876, the
aound of coke from and a~ 212 deg.
the Jet of. 011 18 burnt. In Fig. 1 on the present
lab~ur leaders of that penod were emphatic upon the
E ahr. . . .
...
...
. ..
6.73

page w~ g1ve a partly sectional view of the feeder.

Price paid for coke . . .
. ..
subJect. They declared, and by that declaration they
. .. H. 1s. 8d. per
It. cons1sts of two concentric cylindrical chambera
ton = .ll6d. per are bo~d, that th~ . trad.e u~io~s. of ~he country did
w1~h no~zle-shaped ends, and a long taper rod copound
not desue to legtLtmat1se mt1m1datton or coercion.
a.xtal w1th the chambers. The plug is moved backwards or forwards by means of a. disc wh et-1 at T est of the Evaporative P ower (from afld at 212 deg. The utmost demanded was that trade unionists should
Fahr. ) .of Water Gas ~ar Conswmed on the H yd1oleum be able peaceably to persuade their fellow-workmen
the back and a screw wh ich is inside the feed er
S ystem tn the sa;me Boiler as the P'I'Cvious Test.
in the s~me way and to the same extent as peaceabl~
and thus acts as a fin ely adjustable valve control~
...
...
. ..
... August 14, 1901 persuas10n could be exercised by other citizens not
Da.te . ...
~ing the flow of liquid fuel. Steam at pressure passes
D urat10n of best
...
...
...
2 hours
m~mbers of trade unions. That was endorsed by the
mto th~ an~ular cha~ber formed by the two
Mean temperature o~ feed-water ... 70 deg. Fahr.
umons. It was urged in Parliament by those who
concentnc cyhnde~s, . and tss?es i~ a n annular jet from
,
pressure on holler
. ..
.. .
90 lb.
suppo~ted the workmen's demands, and by the band
the noz~le. The 01lis contamed m the inner chamber,
Pounds of water evaporated...
...
2400
of emment men who voiced thtir views outside
~nd as It flows out round the central spindle, it also is
,
tar consumed
...
...
211
Parliament. The Legislature w?uld not, or did not, con,
water evaporated per pound
m the forD?- of an annular stream (Fig. 2). In this way
cede that m~c_h, but the conce~stons made approximated
~f tar from and at 212 deg. Fahr. ..
13.47
the steam 1s made to surround the oil as the two emerge
Pnce of bar
...
.. .
.. .
...19.:~. O~d. per ton to ~ recogmt10n of such a r1ght. This sufficed for a
from the nozzle. The form of the latter is such that
= .1U2d. per lb. penod of nearly fifteen years, but during the last ten or
the steam jet en~arges iu diameter at first, and it afterN. B.-~n mal~ing the test the tar was taken as received, ele~e~ years there has been an implied claim by trade
~momsts for more power, and, whether given or not
no deduct10n bemg made for any water it contained .
.1
The hydroleum system has also been fitted to a 1t has been exercised. This has led to the adoption of
crucible furnace and to a. boiler on a motor car. The me~sures of resistance, culminating in the decisions to

which reference has been made, and as to which there

latte~ was under s~e.am in Messrs. Muirhead's yard at
the time of our v1s1t, and acted very well for a time has been a lo~d outcry. The country has had a pro?ut, with the inh~rent perversity of new inventions: long~d expen_ence of the so-~lled peaceful picketing,
703/.A
and 1t has dtscovered that 1t generally is a more or
~t man~ged to fall when specially brought out for
mspect10n. The defect was, however, in the mecha- less veiled form of intimidation.
An.other point is . the right of compulsion to force
nism, and h~d no~hiog to do with t~e fuel-burning
men
m to a trade union. That right was never claimed
system. Th1s vehtcle was fitted w1th a specially
designed watertube boiler. It had one burner and when t~e Acts of 1871-96 were under discussion. The
steam was maintained while the vehicle made' very com plamts bad been that employers claimed the right
short runs, btopping and starting in the yard wi~hout of deciding whether those whom they employed should
or should not belong to a union. When trade unions
any appearance of smoke at the chimney.
were unlawful combinations, there was some show of
legal rights so to act; but when the Combination L9.ws
NOTES FROM' THE UNITED STATES.
wer~ repealed, ~nd the right of belonging to, or not bePHILADELPnu, December 5.
long mg t~, a umon bec~~e a matter of individual policy
THE pressure for iron and steel material continues or con vemence, the leg1t1mate exercise of the right con
but the outward evidences of activity are not so appa: ceded by s_tatute could not be gainsaid. Trade unions
ren t as a week ago. The plain sense of the situat10n were descrtbed as voluntary associations for th e mutual
is about this: early in autumn it became apparent from advantage of their members. If trade unionists seek
the rush of orders for large requirements, and whtch, in to compel men to belong to a union, they are violating
fact, began to assume enormous proportions-that raw th~ first pr~ciples of their own charter. They claim
material would soon be in extraordinary demand. a r1ght demed to employers. If it be right to compel
The larger interests then began to quickly cover, men to belong to a union, i~ is equally right to compel
especially in Bessemer and basic material, and in men not to belong to a un1on ; and Parliament is not
forge iron. Heavy contracts were also placed for likely to assent to any provision in any Bill which will
billets, but the coverings were largely confined to the confer this right of compulsion. In the United States
needs of t he rest of this year. As weeks passed the a~ the prese!lt time the cou.rts ~re restricting the exervolu~e of business expanded, and demands began to CISe of coerc10n. The conflLct, if conflict there be, will
flow m from new sources, such as from foundries, not conduce to the advantage of the higher principles
shipyards, car and locomotive works, implement of tr~de unionis~. Th~re is plenty of scope, within
and vehicle concerns, and from municipalities re- the hn_es of equality of r1ghts, for the exercise of legili
quiring water and gas pipes, a nd from companies mate mftuence ; beyond that, the influence will be
requiring electrical equipment (trolley lines). These baneful. In drafting a measure for debate in Parlian e w requirements created greater demands, which ment, the rightful limits of association will have to be
resulted in orders for dehvery through the win- considered; if personal liberty is attacked there will
ter and spring. The latest phase of this extra- of necessi~~~ be resistance. ~here are p~ints in th~
ordinary movement is a quieter demand for supplies recent decJsions open to quest10n. As given no court
for delivery during the lat.ter half of 1902, made in a can over-ride them. But Parliament can ~mend the
way that would impress the observer with the belief law so as to prevent further decisions to the same
that buyers were anxious to avoid auy undue stimula- effect, if it so determines. It iR to that tribunal that
1(){)1.8
tion of the market by visibly frantic endeavours to the trade unions must appeal.
The l ronworke1s' J ou1nal for the current month
secure supplies to cover work contracted for.
wards again contracts, the theory being that a vacuum The difficulty of placing orders for delivery during reports at length the proceedings of the first council
is formed inside the annular steam jet. This prevents the first half of the year have been increasing, meeting since the election of the new council. Among
combustion commencing at first. The jet is confined especially as manufacturers have been showing a other matters discussed was the Midland sliding
within a small firebrick chamber (Fig. 3) and impinges reluctance to make concessions. A great deal of new scale as compared with the North of England scale.
on a firebrick placed at a suitable distance from capacity is now nearly on the point of production, and It would appear that the differences in rates did not
the nozzle. In this way the annular formation of the during the coming year the output of this added capa- correspond with the basis. Instead of the Midland
j et is broken up, and combustion can take place. city, especially in the last half of the yea r, will be men getting 6d. per ton more than those in the North
A good deal of importance is attached to the exact large enough t o induce buyus to adopt a less urgent of England, thei~ wages had been the same during the
posi~ion of the fire-bricks. It will be _seen that the policy of ordering during the coming winter than they last four ascerta.mments. The whole question will be
oil orifice is beyond that throug h wluch the steam have been pursuing during the past few months, raised at a meeting to be held on the 14th instant at
escapes, and the liquid fuel is drawn up by t~le escap- during which time prices have advanced chiefly on Wednesbury, ~s to the present eliding-scale basis.
ing steam jet. In this way the oil reservotr can be raw material. The consumers are sustaining a some- Another questiOn before the council was the threeplaced at a. lower level_than the bu~ner, without the~e what artificial demand Ly reason of their anxiety to shift system of eight hours each, instead of two of
being need for the 01l to be subJ ect to pressure m accumulate material. The car-shortage has not been 12 hours each. Full particulars are to be given and a
order to make it rise. The supply of oil to the feeder materially overcome. A switchmen's strike at Pit.ts- ballot to be taken on the three-shift SJ stem. The
burgh is creating some inconvenience. Congress has council agreed to a contribution towards the law costs
thus automatically stops when steam is shut off.
The boiler which we saw under steam was of the opened this week, and it has to face a number of incurred by the Bla.ckburn picketing case the final
Hornsby water-tube type, and was fitted with three national and international questions of supreme im- ~ea~ing of which ~as not yet taken place.' A report
1s
g1ven
of
a
mectmg
of
the
Welsh
Committee
of
the
portance,
but
which
do
not
directly
concern
our
inburners. :Messrs. Muirhead were led to adopt the
Midland Iron and Steel Wages Board, when a case
hydroleum system owing to trouble they had with dustrial in tere~ ts.
was considered of the Orb Iron Works ; it was of a
the local authorities through the emission of smoke
technical character, resolutions thereon being carried.
when they burnt coal under their boiler. Since the
BRAZILIAN RArLWAYs.-Tbe public works committee of
The
report
of
the
accountant
of
the
North
of
England
the
Brazilian
Senate
have
reported
favourably
on
a
conliquid fuel system has been substituted there has been
Board is also given, but the result has already been
cession
for
a
railway
between
Rio
and
Nictheroy.
Accordno trouble, a nd certainly during the time we were on
ghren in "Industrial Notes." In reports of meetings
the works there were no indications at t he chimney ing to this project, the two cities will be connected by a
top that the boiler was in operation. The fuel then submarine tunnel, through which an electric railway will held in various districts, the president of the union
stated at Hanley that during the 50 years which he
be
laid.
being burnt was water-gas tar.

..

8I8

[DEC. I 3,

901.

I t is stated that at the end of the year the steel

efforb. But the union has been the mea.ns of t he
arrangement, the joint committee being t he instrument works in Scotland will remain closed for a month after
the Christmas holidays, in consequence of the close
of negotiations.
competition on the parb of competitors on the ContiIn t he Wolverhampton district it is reported that nent of Europe and elsewhere, and the dearth of new
the condition of the finished iron trade shows no im- orders for Scotch steel. I t would appear that compeprovement, and that there is a general slackening off tition is becoming acute7 in most of the steel-producing
_The report of the Associated Iron :Moulders of in demand all round. lviakers of marked bars, it is centres in Scotland, \\ ales, the Midlands, and some
Scotland indicates that employment is not quite as said, have barely sufficient new business coming for- places in the North.
good as it was, for it says that the outlay on idle ward to r~place orders that are being rapidly cleared
Some 5000 miners are reported to be out on strike
benefit was heavy as comps.red with the previous off their books ; they are able, however, to maintain
month. The income for the month exceeded the ex- the list rates. Very little business is doing in commoner in Yorkshire over the question of timbering. The
penditure by 143lt. 83. 1d., but it is ex plained t ha.t qualities, even when offered at reduced prices to case of safety is involved, and also, more or less, that
576l. 1713. 3d. of the surplus came from interest on stimulate buying. Black sheets ha ve been further of ease to the men in getting the coal.
invested capital, a source of income which used to be reduced ; but tube-strip is in steady demand, as also
The question of " t ipping, has arisen in the coal
much neglected, but which is now cultivated because are boiler and tank-plates, and strong sheets, and
trade, in consequence of some r evelations made at the
of the reserve fund s for provident benefits. During generally hoop-iron.
Steel is less in demand, and Black burn Chamber of Commerce. Coal merchants, it
the past month there was a good deal of negotiation concessions are made off quoted rates. The engineeron the wages question, which had stood over for some ing and allied trades continue to be fairly well em- is alleged, have been in the habit of tipping mill
time. The society had ma.de a demand for an increase ployed, though in one or two branches there is less stokers and firemen, according to the amount of coal
in wages of a farthing per hour; this the Employers' pressure than there was. Boiler and tank-makers, they consume. Coalowners, it is stated, will see what
Association refused. After a good deal of corresp'>nd- bridge and girder constructors, and those engaged on can be done to abolish the system.
ence, there was a meeting. The negotiation9 finally rail way work generally are still actively employed for
I t is reported that the men are grad ually going in
ended in a mutual arrangement to postpone the demand the most put. In the hardware ind ustries there are to work at the Penrhyn quarries. During the last
for a p eriod of three months, when, if trade be as variations in activity ; but, on the whole, there is a three months 103 men have returned to their work.
good as now, the ad,rance is to be granted. It was fair amount of work in progress. Employment has The output has increased, so that it has now reached
for some time contended that the words should be, not slackened down very Rerionsly. The position is
"if trade improves;" but this wa.s abandoned by the not quite so favourable as it was, but the prospects some 35,000 tons per annum.
employers. 'he way in which these negotiations can scarcely be said t o be discouraging.
The report of the Committee on the Employment of
were conducted reflect credit upon both parties.
Child L1;1.bour indicates that a large number are emA trade c9nsus is being taken of the number emIn the Birmingham district a little more animation ployed who are still under school age, at very long
ployed, wages - day and piece-and hours worked is reported in the iron market, but buyers are still hours. While fathers of children clamour for an
in the several shops. Every member in the union very cautious in committing themselves to forward eight- hours day, some of thos~ children work nearly
will thus be able to ascertain the condit ions in all the purchg,ses. lvla.kers of finished iron in almost e\rery 48 hours per week, besides attending school.
distric ts where the union has branches. The proposed department are well employed, their books being full
reYision of the rules of the Engineering Federation of t o the end of the year. This is especially the case
The effects of the coal dispute in France have been
Trades has been agreed to by a very large majority, with marked-bar makers, who are able to command rather serious for the poorer consumera. The men
only 125 being against it. Tha.t Federation is apart full list rates, and in some casea an advance upon those who struck get no advantages, but the poor in the
and distinct from the General Federation of Trades.
rates. Unmarked-bar m!l.kers are also doing bet ter, towns had to pay higher rates for their fuel. The
and in some instances t~1ey are able to sell at advanced merchants got the plum; in some c1ses the owners
The report of the National Union of Boot and Shoe rates. Hoops and strips are rather lower in price, and shared it; the men got nothing.
Operatives indicates extreme slackuess of trade. A steel is still somewhat weak in price. There are still
large majority of the branches furnish unfavourable complaints as to the scarcity of pig iron. The engiaccounts, such as" quiet, " " bad," "very bad ." The neering and allied industries continue in about the SUBMARINE TELEGRAPH ENTERPRISE.
strain on the funds is severe; some members have been same condition ; "moderate employment" is the term
THE gross receipts of the Eastern Extension, Auson the funds for weeks and months, and special local used to describe the situation in the reports of trade tralasia, and China Telegraph Company, Limited, for
help has bsen given in some instances. The fact is union branch secret1;1.ries in the district. On the whole the firat half of this year were 346,336l. , as compared
that improved m 1.chinery a nd greater speed enable there is not much to complain of as yet , though the V?it h 313,2Z7l. in t he corresponding period of 1900.
manufacturers to keep so fully abreast of the demand prospects are not wholly bright.
The working expenses, includ ing ~8,338l. for the
that production has to be slowed down when the
maintenance of cables, were 115, 78lt., as compared with
In the Lanca.shire districts the position of the engi- l08,660l. in the corre3ponding period of 1900. The
demand slackens. There is no need of large manufacturera' stocks; the retail establishments haYe always a neering trades remains nearly the same as last reported. net profit realized for the first half of this year was
E:ufficiency to meet current demands, and focus their It varies considerably in different branches. Electrical accordingly 230.555l., as compared with 204,567l.
requirement3 to this or that kind in a few hours. engineers continue to be fully employed, under pros- Interim dividends, amounting altogether to 2~ per
Fortunately, disputes have been few, and none of sure, and there appears to be no slackening off in new cent., and a bsorbing 75,000l., were paid for the first
them very serious. The dispute between the union orders if the firms are able to undertake them, with half of this year, leaving an availa.ble balance of
Locomotive, railway 140,023l. Of this amount, l25,000l. was transferred
and the B ishop Auckland Co Operative Society has guarantees as to delivery.
be9n settled, a statement being agreed to. The men carriage and wagon builder3 are also fully engaged, to the general reserve fund, and 15,023l. wa1
ar e out in an East London firm over the Indoor excf.'pt that with the latter less work is coming in carried forward. Daring the half year under reWorkshop \greement, but negotiations for a settle- from the collieries. Machine-tool makers have only view the company, in conjunction with the Gre1;1.t
ment have taken place. At Heckmondwike the mem- been securing a smdl weight of work recently, but the Northern Telegraph Company, duplicat ed the Taku
bers employed by the Co-Operative Society struck principal firms are still well employed. Boiler- and Chefoo section of international cables which they
Textile- m& established to the north of Shanghai in the autumn of
owing to the discharge of a man ; the general secretary makers generally are well employed.
wired them to resume work, and that the matter chine makers are very slack; depression in this branch last year. Partial renewah of cables between Singashould be attended to, but they refused. The dispute is only too apparent. Those engaged in general engi- pore, Malacca, and J a.va were also carried out during
at Northampton as to the classification of chrome neering are reported to be only moderately employed. the past half year; the cost, amounting to 7810l., was
glace work bad been referred to a rbi tration ; as the In the iron and steel trades quietude is the order of charged against the general reserve fund. A contract
award wa"' not regarded as sa.tisfactory by the em- the day. There is a scarcity of pig iron of the Midland entered into with the Netherlands Indian Government
ployers, the matter was referred to the Boa.rd of brands. Finished iron has been in slow inq uiry, and for supplying and laying a cable between Java and
Trade, who appointed an umpire. The award has local makers complain of finishing their contracts with Borneo, on account of that Government, has been
been given. There is a difference on a t echnical point, small prospects of a sufficiency of new work to replace satisfactorily completed. The Cape and Australian
cable has been opened for traffic as far as P.erth,
them.
but is likely to be mut ually arranged .
W astern Australia. The manufacture of the remainThe report of the cotton spinners states that " the
Rumours haye been flying about of a proposed reduc- ing section between Perth and Adelaide is making
out-of-work list still continues a large one." The pro- tion in wage3 of men engaged in the shipbuilding satisfactory progress; and the whole line is expected
p ortion is at the rate of 6. 06 per cent. , and the previous trades on the North-E!l.st Coast, and of preparations to be in working order by the close of February,
month the proportion was 6.16 per cent., and a year on the part of the unions to resist it. It is reported 1902.
The expenditure made by the company on
ago 9. 75 per cent. It is remarked t hat a few years that a meeting of the shipbuilders of the Tyne, Wear, accoun t of the Gape and Australian cable to the close
ago a percentage of about 3 per cent. of unemployed Tees, and Blyth was held t o discuss the question, but of June, this year, amounted t o 583,24ll. ; of t his
was regarded as a large proportion. It cannot be no decision was arrhred at. The shipbuilding indus- amount l 25,137l. was debited to the general reserve
that the demand now is less ; the increased proportion tries cannot be described as slaek, but circumstances fund last year, and 458,104l. has also now been
of unemployed is doubtless due to improved machinery, unconnected with labour have caused some anxiety as charged against the general reserve. As the cable was
greater speed, and more spindles. The united member- to prices and profits of late; hence, probably, t he pro- not , however, completed to Adelaide at the close of
ship is now 13,605-a decrease of 602 in the year, posed action.
June, 1901, a still further charge will have to be made
chiefly of piecers. There were 18 disputes in the
against t he general reserve in raspect of it. Substanmonth, all of which were settled by negotiation
tial reductions of tariff have been brought into force
A crisis is reported in the Welsh steel trade. The for local telegrams exchanged between South Africa
between the union officials and representatives of the
employers. There were 24 accidents in the month. employers have, it is said, demanded reductions in and Australasia. By an arrangement with the
wages,
in some instances amounting to 40 or 50 per cent., American authorities in the Philippines, the tariff for
Two members were granted lOOl. each from the Accident Fund . In connection wi t h the Workmen's Com- in consequence of, it is alleged, German and Canadian telegrams exchanged between Europe and Luzon has
competition.
The
men's
representatives
absolutely
been reduced from Ss. 7d. per word to 53. 9d. per
pensation Act there were 16 claims on behalf of injured
members. The report adds : "And I find this Act to refuse to entertain t he proposal. The present rates word, the rate to the other islands being at t he same
be of the greatest service in assist ing members who were established about two years ago, as a result of time reduced to 6s. 2d. p er word. Considerable reJose work and wages through accidents "-good testi- prolonged negotiations between the employers and ductions have also been made in t he tariffs for local
mony to a much-abused Act. A furth er sum has been workmen's r epresentatives. From 8000 to 10,000 men international messages to and from the Philippines.
\Vith a v iew to meet the company's requirements in
added to the Superannuation Fund Accoun t , which are involved in the dispute.
connection with t he maintenance of the Cape and
has now reached 37221. 3s. 8d., of which 3000!. have
Last week the weavers employed at the Tay vVorks, Australian line, and also with the view of strengthenbeen invested with the Oldham Corporation at 3~ per
cent. for fi ve years. The secretary often refers to the Dundee, struck work, the cause of the dispute being ing t he company's fleet in the Extreme East,
stationary character of the association ; the full the price t o be paid for a new fabric introduced at the directors have entered into contracts for the
members seldom increase. The automatic arrange- the jute establishment in que3tion. Spinners and construct10n of two more repairing steamers. The
ment of claims in dispute caseR causes the operatives to other mill hands t o the number of about 1000 were general reserve fund stood at the close of Dacember,
I 1900, at 1,248,396l. 'l'he amounv received for the pist
believe that all these things arise naturally, without thrown idle in consequence of the wea.vers' strike.

bad spent in the iron trade wages were neYer relatively

so high in proportion to prices and profits as now.
He said that the men could do even better if they
li lted ; they alone were as brakes on the wheels of pro
gras 3, or at least they were chiefly to blame if things
were not better.

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

DEc. r 3,

1 go 1.

half-yea.r upon inv estments m ade for tho fund was

10,89ll. B ut ev en with the help of this income and a
t ransfer of 125,000l. from r evenue, the fund had been
red?ced at the .close of June, 1901, t o 918, 373{. The
pohcy of the d trectors in charging off the cost of th e
new Cape and Australian cable aaainst the general
reserve is hig.hly to be commanded, ~s t he effect of the
a rrangement 1s that the company will obtain an important and lengthy ne w cable which wi ll enable it to
compet e more effectively with the n ew Pacific cable
witho~tt any addit ion t ') the capihal a~coun t.
The
e.stabhshme.n t of the new a~terna.tive Cape and Anstrahan ~able w1ll a lso prevent 10 future th o vexa t ioua interropttons of communication which h ave occurred from
time to .time in t he p ast, and which h ave induced the
Austrahan GoYernm ents t o encourage the esta blishment
of a ne'v competi~g line. \Yith the help of t he n ew
Cape and Austraha.n cable, and with the consid~rable
reductions which it h as m ade in its tariff r ates t he
E a.stern ~xtension Company will, no d oubt, be' a ble
to deal .vigorously a nd effectiv ely with its new Pacific
compe~ttor. T he Ea~~rn E xten sion Com pany is in a
finan01ally strong pos1t10n, as i t had not only at the
close of J une, 1901, a general reserve fund amounting
to 918,373l., but it had also at the s am e date five other
r eserve fund~, viz., a maintenance shi ps' reserve
fun d amou~ti.ng t o 126,947l. ; a maintenance ships'
and c~bles m surance r eserve amounting to 124,347l.;
a fire m sura nce and guarantee reser ve amounting to
90,269l.; a d ep~eciation of buildings and cable d~p o t
reser ve amount mg to 28,429l ; and a removal of h ead
offices reserve amou nting to 15, 000l. Altogether, the
reserves formed by the comp3.ny amounted a.ccordiugly a t the close of June, 1901, to 1,303,364l. These
reserves are pract ically s o much working capital
a -:cumulated out o.f profits qy keeping the dividends
upon the share captt a l d o wn to the moderJ.te b ut still
substantial level of 7 p er cent. p er annum . The spare
cable and other stores held by the E ast er n E xtension
Company a t t he close of June, 1901, were r alued at
151, l OOl.
.T ?e r e venue of the Western Telegraph Compa ny ,
L1m1ted, for t he first half of this year a mounted to
228,892l. , while the work ing expenses of the six
m onths were 98, 90ll., lea ving a n et balance of
129,991l. After providing for fixed an d other charges,
adding 35~000l. to the gen er al reserve fund, and 2000l.
t~ ~he mamtenance sh ips' reserve fund, a nd p aying a
div idend and bonus a m ounting altoge ther to 7 p er
cent. per annum for th e year ending June 30, 1901,
the dtrectors were enabled t o carry forward a final
balance of 3369l. Dividends r eceived on investmen.ts ~ade by the company in other t~legraph comp ames m creased t he revenue for the fint half of this
y ear t o the extent of 14,072l. The company 's general
reserve stood at the close of June, 1901, at 744,69ll.,
while the maintenan ce ship l' reserve amounted at the
E'ame date to 4000l. The reser ves accordingly amounted
at the close of June, 1901, to 748,691l. , as com pared
with 706,297l. at the close of December, 1900. The
W estern Telegraph Com pa ny, like the Eas t ern Exten -

..

sion, Australasia,, and China Telegraph Comp any, has

al ~aye ~ndeavour~d. to increase i~s reser,es ; and with
t h1s obJect the dn1dends upon 1ts s hare capital a r e
r estricted for the p~esent to 7 p er cent. p er annum.
The s pare cable wh10h the V..Testern Company had i n
hand at t he close of June, 1901, was valued at 80,240l.
The cable laid by the company in 1874 b etween Lisbon
and Madeira was recen t ly brok en. It has since been
r e air d t d th 0 f
1 2~
f th
d h
00
P e a a ep
neat: Y " . a oms, an ~. en
br~ught up and recovered It was m a good cond1tt1on .
Th ts m ust be regarded as a r emarkable record.

LAUNCHES AND TRIAL TRIPS.

THERE was launched on Thursday, the 14oh olt., from the
works of Messrs. A lexander Stephen and Sons, Limited,
atJ Linthouse, Glasgow, a large twin-screw steel steamship for Ddt Forenede Dd.mpskibs.Selska.b, of C~pen
hagen, for their pa~senger and cargo trade between Denmark and America . The st eamer, which is 520 fb. in
length and of 10,000 tons register, has a. depth from the
keel to bighesb deck of fully~59 ft., and her construction
has been done in record time-nine months only having
elapsed since a start was made upon her, while the forward state of her equipment is ind icated by the fac b that
ib is definitely expected she will be ready for service
early in January. She ha'3 seven complete or partial
deoks, mostJ of them steeJ, wood sheathed, the exposed
weather- deok covering being of teak. The ener~y and
great interests of the Copenhagen company are well
known in this country from their trade with us in the
carriage of butter, eggs, bacon, &c., and from their fleet
numbering close upon 160 steamers, many of which are
employed in the principal passenger and tou rist line
between Scandina.via a nd Eogla.nd, v ilt E sbjerg a nd
Parkeston. The new vessel will reduce the present
steaming time from Oopenhagen to New York bo five days.
The emigrant and third-class passenger berbhs occupy
the whole length of t~he upper ' tween decks, an~ accommodation is P.rovided for over 700 person~. The thirdclass is divtded into two, fo ur, six, and eighb-berth
sleeping-cabins, and the emigrant space into separate
compartments for not more t han t\velve people each.
Spacious dining and sitting-rooms, finished in polished
wood, are fitted up for eaoh of these cJa.ases. The vessel

8rg

E N G I N E E R I N G.
has rooms for doctors and assista nts, while four hospitals
and a large modern dispensary have been fitted out with
every appliance for the use of invalids under medical or
surgical treatment. The first and second-class passengers
occupy the awning deck under the bridge, while special
rooms have been built for superior rst-class on top of the
bridge deck. Each class have dining-saloons, smoke- rooms,
and deok promenades and lounges, while the entrance hall,
mosicsaloon, writing-room, library, and ladies' boudoir
adjacen t t o the grand staircase have received special abtention and t reatmen t, in conjunction with tJwo large and
lux uriously fitted bridal state-rooms. R ooms are fitted up
for 150 firstclass an(i 80 second-class passengers (and
the saloons-occupying the full width of the vessel-can
dine every person of each class at one time). In all some
thing like 1200 souls will be on board each journey, and
to provide for these, six pantries, three kitchens, six
dining-rooms, and five ba.rs, will b e completed, with every
appliance for efficien t service. T o develop the frozen
goods tirade, large holds and store-rooms are insulated
for the conveyance of game, butber, milk, and vegetables.
0 wing to the large increase of trade be tween Copenhagen and America. the vessel has been designed to carry
abou t 8000 tons of dea.dweigh~, and her fa-cilities for
rapidly loading and discharging general cargo are
thoroughly modern and very extensive. T he steamer
will be propelled by tJwo independent sets of very
powe rful t rj ple-expansion engines, nine boilers supply
mg t he necessary steam. The vessel was named Oscar I I.
On Tburada.y, the 2lsb ulb., the B1ybh Shipbuilding
Company, Limited, launched from their shipbuilding and
graving dock works at BlytJh the screw steamer Lady
Mildred, which is 296 fb. in length and 43! fb. beam.
The en gin&~, which are of large power, will be supplied
by the NorbhEastern Marine E ngineerin g Company, of
Wallsend.
The trial trip of bhe s.s. F Jy nderborg, built by the
E lsinore Iron Shipbuilding and Engineering Company,
Elsinore, Denmark, to the order of the Sbea.m Navigation Company "DannGbrog," of Copenhagen, took place
on Saturday, the 23rd ult., in tJhe Sound, and was considered very satisfactory. The vessel is built of steel,
and her d imensions are 260 ft. by 36 fb., by 18ft. 4~ in .
depth of hold. The engines are of the triple-expansion
type, wi th surface condenser. During the trial trip the
engines indicated 775 horse power, with an average speed
of 10.75 knots.

Thornaby-on-Tees, a large steel screw steamer of the

following dimensions, viz. : 372 ft. by 48 h . by 30 ft. 11 in.
depth moulded. The machinery has been constru cted
by the N orth-Eastern Marine Engineering Company,
Limited, Sunderland, the cylinders being 25 in., 42 in.,
and 68 in. in diameter by 48 in. stroke, wi bh t hree large
steel boilers working at 1RO lb. pre~sure. The vessel baa
been built t o the order of Messrs. Deaa, Foster, and Co.,
London, and was named Heathglen.

On Tuesday, the 26bh ult., there wa~ lau nched from

the yard of 1\fessrs. J an Smit and Co., at Alblas serdam,
a steamer of over 2000 ton s measuremen t. She has been
built to the order of M eser&. J oseph De Poorter on behalf
of the L eonora Steamship Company, of R otterdam. The
steamer is 326 fb. long, 48 ft. broad, with a. mould~d
depth of 24ft. She is expecbed to carry aboutJ 5100 tons
deadweight on a draught of about 20~ ft. During construc tion the work has been supervised by M essrs. Flan-.
nery, Baggallay, and Johnson, of L ondon. The eng ines,
which are of the inverted triple.expansion surfacecondensing type, and have cylinders 24 in., 40 in., and 65 in.
in diameter respectively, and a stroke of 42 in., a re being
made by Messrs. Blair, of Stockton, who will also supply
two boilers with a total heating surface of over 4300
square feet and a working pressure of 160 l b. The
steamer is designed with double bottom and peaks for
water ballast, and has altogether t en separate compa.rt
menta for this purpose, parb of the double bobtom being
arranged a.s trimming tanks.
~~e

--

Tyne Iron Shipbuilding Corppany, Limited, of

W tlhngton Quay-on-Tyne, launched on Wednesday, the
27th ult., a steel screw steamer built to the order of
"Prince Line." Limited, of N ewcastle-on-Tyne, and of
the following dimensions, viz.: Length, 330ft. 6in.; breadbh,
44 ft. 3 in.; depth, 27 ft. 3 in. The engines, which are
to be supplied by M essrs. Blair and Co., Limited, of
Stockton, are of the triple-expansion type, having cylinders 25 in., 42 in., and 69 in. in diameter by 45 in.
stroke, and working at a J:>ressure of 180 lb. The vessel
was named t he Merchant Prince.
Messrs. Mackie and Thomw n launched on W ednesday, the 27th ulb., from their yard at Govan, the a.s.
Redhall, of 820 tons gross, built to the order of the Aberdeen Coal Company, Limited. Her dimensions are :
205 ft. between perpendiculars by 30 ft. 6 in., by 15 ft. 4 in.
m~ulde~ to mam ?eck. ~he stea!ller wi~ be supplied
wt~h tri ple.expan~lOn . eng10ea, havt_ng cyhnders 16~ in.,
27 m., and 44 m. m diame.t er by 3010. stroke, work ing at
a pressure ?f 160 lb. A l!l'rge steel m~i!l boiler and patent
donkey botler for workmg the auxllta.ry machinery are
being supplied by Messrs. M'Kie and Baxter, Copland
E ngine Works, Govan.

The s.s . Marie, built to the order vf the Steam Navigation Company H Ka.rin," of Helsingborg, was launched
on Monday, the 26th ult., ab the yard of tJhe E lsinore
Iron Shipbuilding and E ngineering Company, E lsinore,
Denmark. This steamer is built of steel, and her dimensions are: 290 ft. by 42 ft. 6 in., by 20 fb. 7~ in. dept h of
Two s team trawlers were launchd on W ednesda.y the
hold. The engines are of the t riple-expansion type, with
27th ult., from the shipbuilding yard of 1\tl essrs. Hall
surface condenser, indica.ting 900 horse.power.
Russell, and Co., Limited, Aberdeen. One of the vessels'
named the Benrinnea, has been built to the order of th~
Messr~. John Brown and Co., Limited, Clydebank,
North B ritish Steam Fishing Company, Limited, Aberlaunched on Tuesday, the 26bh ulb., t he twin-screw deen, and the other is for the Castle Steam Fishing Comsteamer Merion, which t hey have built for the Interna- pany, North Shields. The dimensions are: L ength,
tional Navigation Company, Philadelphia. The vessel is 116 ft. ; breadth, 21 ft. ; depth, 12 fb. 4~ in. They a re of
a sister ship to the Haverford, which the firm launched in aboub ~85 ton~ gros~ register .. Steel boilers a.nd tripleJ\lla.y last for the same owners. The vessels are of the in- expansiOn engmes wtll be supphed by the builders.
termedia.te cla-ss, combining large cargo.carrying capacity
with fairly high speed, and accommodation for a. considerMessrs. R . Oragga and Sons launched from their T ees
able number of passengera. The dimensions of the
Merion are: Length between perpendiculars, 630 ft.; Dockyard, Middlesbrough, on Wednesday, the 27t>h ult.,
breadth, 59 fb.; depth moulded to upper deck, 39 ft.; and a. fine s~el cargo ateamer, 340 fb. 8 in. long, 46 ft. beam,
2~ ft. 4 m. deep, .and of ~boub 5200 tons deadweightJ oapathe gr?SS tonnage is about 11,600 t ons. Th~re are ten Olty. The machmery wtll be fitted by Messrs. Richard. water bight bulkheads, so arranged thatJ fiotat10n may be sons, Westgarth, and Co., Limited, of 1\Iiddlesbrough
maintained with any two c:ompartments flooded. The hav.ing cylinders 24 in.,, 38 in., a~d 64 in. in diameter
bunkers are o.f ample capac1ty, and are arranged so as to 42 10. str?ke, steam ~em~ supphed by two large singleprot~cb ~he ~oilers should t he vessel be used for transport ended boilers 15 ft. 3 10. m d iameter, working ab a presser vice m t1me of war. The cargo holds occupy the sure of 160 lb. to the square inch. The vessel is being
whole of the shi p below the upper deck, except the port ions required by machinery and bunkers and the store- b~il t .to the order of Sir Christopher Furnesa, for J\IIessrs.
rooms in the peaks. There is capacity for an enormous R10kmson, Sons, and Co., of West Hartlepool and was
named Agenoria..
'
q uantity of merchandise, with insulated chambers for
the carriage of refrigerated goods. On t he upper deck
<;>n Saturday, the. 30th ulb., the A rad, which has been
amidships is a long bridge, con taining accommodation for
about 600 third-class passengers. The forward portion is bUilt by Messrs. Wtgham-Richardson and Co. Limited
fitted wibh p ortable berths for some 300 of thess in large ~?r th~ ~OYI!-1 ;Hungarian Steam Navigation ' Company
Ad rtA , L1m1ted, of Budapest and Fiume went for
rooms on both sides of the ship, wibh dining-tables along
the centre, and the after part con tains state-rooms, each ~ very successful trial trip. The steamer 'is 375 ft.
holding four or six pa.asengers. The cabin a-ccommodation m length by 48 ft. beam. The propelling machiis above the shelter deck, and is placed in a bridge-house, nery has also been constructed by ~Iessrs. Wighamabout 150 ft. long, exbending the full width of the ship. R~chardson ~nd Co., Limited, being of the three.crank
'here are large state. rooms for 160 pa-ssengers along the tr~ple-expans10n type, and worked on the t rial trip
WttlhoutJ the slightest bitch, d ri ving the veseel at a
sides, and a dining-saloon at the forward end capable of speed
of nearly 11 k~ots per hour.
seating 112 persons. Overhead is the ca.bin passengers'
promenade, with the entra.n ce hall and ladies' sitt>ingT~e s.a. Moorfield was launched on Wednesday, the
room in a house at the forward end.
4b~ ~nst., by Messra. Joseph L. T hompson and Sons
Ltmtted, of the North Sands Shipbuilding Yard, Sunder~
On T uesday, the 26th ulb., Messrs. Ropner and Son,
Stockton-on-'l'ees, launched a steel screw steamer of the land, an~ has been buil~ t~ the order of the Northfield
following dimensions, viz.: L ength, 336 fb.; breadth ex- Steamshtp Company, L1m1ted, of Liverpool, of which
treme, 48 ftJ.; depth moulded, 24 ft. 3 in., designed to M~ss~s. J os~ph ~rown and Son are the managers. The
carry about 5200 tons deadweight on Lloyd's freeboa.rd . prm01pa! .dtmenstons of the vessel are : Length overall,
The vessel will be fit ted with a set of triple-expansion 38 L ft 6 10. ; brea~th ex treme,, 49 ft. 6 in. ; and depth
engines by Messrs. Richa.rdsons, \Vestgarth, and Oo., moulded, 29 ft. 6~ tn. The engme and boilers have been
L imited, Middlesbrough, having cylinders 24 in., 38 in., constructed by Messrs: John Dickinso? and Son~, Limited,
and 64 in. in diameter by 42 in. s troke, steam being supplied of .Sunderlan<;], the s1z~ of the oyhndera being 26 in.,
by t wo steel boilers, 16 ft. 3 in. in dia meter by 10 ft. 3 in. 44m., and 72m.,. by 48 m. st.roke, supplied with steam by
three large mult1tubula.r bo1lera working at 180 l b. preslong, at a working pressure of 160 lb. per square inoh. sure.
The vessel has been built t o the order of Sir Christopher
Furne~a, Wesb Hartlepool, for accoont of Messrs. The
Northern Steamship ComJ)any, Limited, Sb. Petersburg,
T HE CAPE PosT 0 Fl!'IOE.-The revenue of the Cape
and was named Hermann Lerche.
Colony Department of Posts a~d T elegraphs in September
was 67,,246t . as compared With 64,082t. in September,
On Tuesday, the 26bh ulb., lv!essrs. Oraig, T aylor, and 1900. The unsettled state of the coleny accounted of
Co. launched from their Thornaby shipbuilding yard, courEe, for the d ecreasE'.
,

by

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

HYDRA U LIC

P UM PING

[DEc. I 3,

I 901.

MA C HINERY.

(For Description, see Page 821. )

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MACHINERY.

PUMPING

HYDRAULIC

-Fw. 22.

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-- J>o

8 21

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

Ib mighb still be m9ntioned that pressure-equa.rtsers ~re

joined to the pressure wa.ter-adm~ion. and return-pt~s
line. Their construction, as shown m Ftg. 24, page 822, 1s
similar to the above de tailed accumulator of the surface
plant The two piebons have diameters of 135 a.nd 330
milli~etres (5.3 m. and 13 in.) and a str.oke of. 600
millimetres (23.6 in.). The press~re wa.~r 18 furmsh:ed
from the equalisera to the reve~mg cyhnders conta.m
ing the distributing val v~ (Ftgs. 25 and 26). Th.e
suction-valve boxes, the dehvery-va.lve box, fit~d v~rtt
oally above the pump cylinders, and the oonneotmg p1pes
are of oast steel, while the suction air ':'esse!. a.nd the
suction pipes are of C3.St iron. A suct10n atr v~el,
into whteh extend the suction pipes of both suc~10n
val ve-boxes, is placed on each aide of. the ~a.chU?e.
They are connected by a single suction p~pe w~th
the sump in the mine. The end of the suct10n ptpe
is closed by a. valve. The delivery pip~ on both_ sides of
the machine are joined to a single p1pe, lea.dmg to a.
separately placed air vessel in the shaft, and thence to
the surface of the mine.
.
The admission pipe for the hydraulic pressure consiSts
of cold-drawn steel pipes 60 mi_llimetres in ~ia:meter;
for the discharge mlm welded ptpes of 70 mtlhmet~es
diameter a.re applied. All the pipe lines a re fitted w1th
expansion glands.
Fig. 23, annexed, shows the arrc~.ngement of the pump
ing machine on the bottom of the ehafo. Care has been
taken that the single parts were constructed in the
smallest dimensions possible in order that their weight
might be comparatively small.
The following Table gives the dimensions of the prin
cipal parts of the machine :
------------------------------------------~---I

.....
..Q

..Q

....CO

Object.

CV

Bedpla.te, in three parts

Ea.ob of two outer pieces
Middle piece
..
..
Pump cylinder delivery . .
Valve box

Air vessel

I
k g.
. . 33 l0

1200
9l0
1170

t.OO

+>

..

""c0.0

~
CV

mm.

mm.

mm.

2000
1600
1500
950

1250
1250

300

Q)

1100
I

..Q

sso

600

650
550

300

820
900
4000

I I I.
CoNTRAc r T RIALS.

The results of contract trials of some plants constructed

by- the Berliner Maschinenba.u-Aotien-Gesellsohaft a.re
g1ven in the followin~ Table:

..c---...
: :' .:,...
<

::-.:--ll.

-,~

'~--.

~~- - -tl

COLLIERY " K<ENIGSDORN, " NEAR U NNA.

-.- ... .JJ

..

'

' I

. . . . 4.1

'

I o

'/"'
-
,
.... .,.

'

Date of Trial, January 8,

Su rface Plant
Twin-oy linder engine of 850 millimetres cylinder diameter
and 1000 millimetres stroke
Area of cylinder ...
...
. ..
Diameter of piston-rod . ..
. ..
. ..
U seful area of cylinder .. .
Mean revolutions per minute .. .
Piston speed per second
. ..
Mean pressure derived from the
diagram, right ...
. ..
. ..
Mean pressure derived from the
diagram, leh . ..
..
.. .
Indicated power of right engine ... 5590 . 2.33. 2.45 =

75
Indicated power of left en
5590 . 2.36 2.45
gme ... ---7
=5~-- =

Total

...

...

...

1899.

5674.5 sq. cm.

84.5 "
5590.
"
73.5
2.45 m.
2.33 a.tmos.
2.36

"

425.5 H .-P.
430.9
856.4

"
"

SubterrQ/TI.ea'lt Plaint.
Twin-:lylinder pump of...
... 325 mm. dia. a.nd
800 mm. stroke
Mean number of strokes per mi
nute
.. .
. ..
. ..
. .. 21i double strokes
Water pumped per minute
...
5596 litres
Pressure in a.ir vessel .. .
. ..
49.9 a.tmos.
Height of surface of water in
sump to surface of water in
a.ir vessel
...
...
. ..
6 m.
Efficiency of pump 5596505
638 H .-P.
60.75
Total useful effect of plant 638 0 = 73.3 per oentJ
856.4

CoLLIERY "HERKULEs, , NEAR EssE~.

FIG,

~IAOHINERY.
H ydraulic P umpi1tg P lan ts, Bui lt by the B erUne1 lfla-

HYDRAULIC PUMPING

sohinenbat(, A ctien-Gesellschaj t, vor-mals L. SohwaTtzkopff. *

By FR. FR<ELIOH, Berlin.
(Concluded from page 790.)
T HE two pumping machines of the subterranean
installation are p1aced behind each other in a. long
E ngiae-room.
Ib is of importance to call attention to
the comparatively narrow construction of the pumping

* Abstract of a paper read before the Society of German

Engineers (Verein DeutRcher Ingenieure) at Witten.

23.
machines, a.s a lob of &{>aOa can bs spared in the width
of the enginerootn, a. cucumstance especially important
if weak stone is met with in the mine. Tbe principal
dimensions of the pumping machine (Figs. 20 to 22) are
given in the following data :
Diameter of pressure pistons .. . 135 mm. (5.3 in.
,
pump pistons
.. . 325 " (12. 8 "
Common stroke . ..
. ..
. .. 800 , (31.5 ,
N umber of strokes per minute ...
15
Output per minute
...
. ..
3 cub. m.
(105 cub. fb.)
Height t o which the water is
raised
. ..
. ..
. . . 300 metres (984 fb.)

...

Da.te of TriaJ, August 24, 1899.

Stwfaoe P lant.
Twin oy linder engine of 850
millimetres diameter and 1000
millimetres stroke
Area of cylinder .. .
.. .
.. .
6674.5 sq. cm.
Di~metera of piston-rod, respectively
...
...
...
... 120 mm. and 85 mm
JYiea.n area of piston
...
...
84.5 sq. cm.

Useful area of cylinder ...

...
5590
JYiea.n revolutions per minute . ..
63"
Piston speed per second
. ..
2.1 m.
Mean pressure derived from the
diagrams, right.. .
. ..
...
2.35 atmos.
~Iean pressure derived from the
dia~ms,
left ...
...
. ..
2. 21 ,
o-

NGIN~R . tNG.
Indicated p')wer of right en
gme
... 5590. 2.35. 2.1 75
Indicated power of left engine
. .. 5590 . 2 21 . 2. t
75
To~al

...

...

[DEc.

r j , r96t.

HYDRAULIC PUMPING MACHINERY.

367.8 H.P.

345.9 "

...

713.7 ,

Subtenanean Plant.
Twin-cylinder pump of 325 millimetres diameter and 790 millimetres stroke.
Mean number of strokes
. .. 18.5 double stro~es
'\Vater pumped p ar minute
...
4750 litres
r.; ...
1). a t mos.
Pressure in air vessel . . .
. ..
o
Htigbt of surface of water in
sump to surface of water in air
vessel
6 5 m.
Total resisti~g height 52o+ G. 5 ;
526.5 ,
Efficiency of pumps 4750 526 5

555.7 H.P.
60
75
Total useful t:ffdct of phnb 555 7 = 77.8 per cent.
713.7
COLLIERY "HEDWIGWUKSOHGRUBE '' 0:1!' THE BORSIGWERK l
IN UPPER SILESIA.
Date of Trial, July 12, 1900.

Surfa ce Plant.

Twin. cylinder tandem engine of

550 and 850 millimetres cy linder diameter and 1000 milli
metre~ stroke .
Area of high. pressure cylinder ...
2375.8 eq. cm.
,
low-preEsure cylinder . ..
5674.5 ,
Diameter of high-pressure pistonr od
...
120 respectively
115 mm.
Diameter of lowpress ure pistonrod
...
115 respectively
85 ,
Mean area of high - pressure
pis ton. rod
.. .
. ..
.. .
108.4 sq. c~.
1\Iean area of low - pressure
pis ton-rod
.. .
.. .
.. .
80.30 ,
Useful area of highpressure
cylinder ...
. ..
...
...
2267.4 ,
Useful area of low- preEsure
cylinder ..
.. .
. ..
.. .
5594 2 ,
65
1\Iean revolutions per minute ...
PUiton speed per second ...
...
2.17 m.
1\Iean pressure derived from the diagrams :
For the high-pressure cylinder,
right
.. .
.. .
.. .
...
1.88 atmo~.
For the highpressure cylinder,
left
. ..
...
. ..
. ..
1. 74 "
For the low-pressure cylinder,
right
...
...
.. .
...
0 74 ,'
F or the lowpressure cylinder,
0 93 : ,
left
...
...
...
Indicated power of right engine>,
(2267.4 . 1. 88+6594.2_:_~74) .~:...~7= 2-!3. 1 H.-P.
75
Indica.ted power of leH engine,
(2267.4 . 1.74 +5594.2 . 0.93). 2.17
264.7 ,
75

Total indicated power

...

507.8 ,

S ubterrcvnean Plamt.

Twin-cylinder pump of 325 millimetres diameter and 800 millimetres s troke.

1\tiean number of strokes per
minute ...
...
...
.. . 20 double strokes
5200 litres
Water pumped per minute
.. .
30 atmos.
Pressure in air vessel .. .
.. .
Heigb t from surface of water in
s ump to surface of water in
5 m.
air vessel...
.. .
...
. ..
305 ,,
Total resisting height 300 + 5 =
f
5200 . 305
.
353.4 H.-P.
'J
01ency
o
pumps
=
Effi
60 . 75
353
:
Total useful effect of plant,
69.7 per cent.
507.
NoTE.-The pump constructed for a depth of 500 metres
has been provis ionally placed in 300 metres depth. After
the shaft has been sunk it will be lowered accordingly.
Owing to these very favourable results, the application
of these pumping machines has become general for f\ubterranean pumping plants. In a ehort period the Berliner ~Iaschinenbau Actien-Gesellschaft, vormals L.
Sohwadzkopff, has executed more than 30 similar plants,
m ostly in the colliery dis trict of vVestfalia, Germany.
Some plants have also been i nstalled in foreign countries,
where mining ab great d epths has become necessary.
The output of the different pump3 varies between 0.2
and 7 cubic metres per minute. The largest plant yet
constructed by the Berliner Maschinenbau-Actien-Gesellschaft is installed in the colliery Altendorf, near Langendreer, Germany; 14 cubic metres of water per minute
are raieed to a tem porary height of 400 metres, which
will be increased later on, if the shaft goes deeper, till
800 metre~ .

THE I NSTITUTION OF ELKCTRIOAL ENGINEERS.-The

thirteenth annual dinner of the Institution of Rlectrical
Engineers was held ab the Hotel Cecll on Monday evening
) Mt the Chair being occupied by th e President., Mr.
W1liiam Langdon. The guests included Sir G. Cricb ton

FIG. ~4.

FIG.

25.

FIG. 26.

( 702/. ><)

Brown, Admiral Sir vV. J. L. Wharton, Mr. C. Hawkr- are at present introducing to tl:. e British market. Th is machine differs from the ordinary type of automatic scrPw
ley, and Mr. R. T. Glar.ebrook, F.R.S.
machine in having a number of spindles equal to the
ARGENTINE \VORKING EXPENSES.-Tbe ratio of the work- number of operations t o be performtd. Hence all the
ing expenses to the traffic receipts of the principal Argen- operations are performed simultaneously by the machine
tine railways is shown by the latest official information in place of in s uccession. - The 1\tietallic Valve Company,
to be as follows : A1gentine Great Western, 63.70 per of Tower Buildings, Water.strfet, Liverpool, haw~ iEsued
cent.; Buenos Ayres GreatJ Southern, 48.06 per cent.; a. new catalogue of their metullic valves for circulating,
Buenos Ayr~ and Pacific, 55 31 per cent.; Buenos Ayres air, feed, and bilge pumps.-~Ie~srs. J. Halden and Co. ,
Western, 46.81 per cent.; Central Argentine, 46.37 per of 8, Albert.square, ~Ianch es ter, have efnt us a copy of
their new catalogue of tbec. d olitee, levele, and surveyors'
cent. ; and Buenos Ayr es and Rosario, 52.91 per cent.
materials.-We have receivPd from the L cnd c n Emery
PERSONAL.-The firm of Messrs. Priestman Brother~, Works Company, of 58H, Hatton-garden, E.C., a copy
Limited, are removing from their present offices in Queen of a. new catalogue of moulding machines ar.d foundry
Victoria-street, and from the 16th inst. their address will specialities. The firm direct special attention to their
be 32, Victoria.streeb, Westminster, S.W.-The Electric coremaking machine, which is stated to automatically
Cons truction Company, Limited, will open a bran<'h offi ce mould cores of almos t any description. It is further
ab Prudential Building~, King.street, Manchester, on or claimed that, by following the procees worked out by the
about the 20th inst., and Mr. Sidney Crouch, A.M. Inst. company, the cores are so porous that air passages can
E.E., has been appointed the representative of the com- usual1y be dispensed with, and they dry very rapidly, a
pany for Lancashire, Yorkshire>, and neighbouring dis- core 4 in. in diameter drying in 3o minutes.-We haTe
received from M eesrs. Norman and Young, of 36, Camotricts.
miJe.street. E. C. , agents to the Colthias Alloy Company,
of I vry Port, a. copy of a catalogue illustrating the
STEAM- SBIPPI~G EooNO.i\IICs.-The receipts of the "finished" castings product:d by the firm in question.
Peninsular and Oriental Steam Navigation Company Many of ilhese castings are very complicated, bub they
for the year ending Septfmber 30, 1901, from pasEengers, are, it is stated, cast so perfectly that no machining is
freigh~, &c., were 2,761,230t., while Government contract needed.-Messrs. I eaac Storey and Sons, Limited, ha\'c
services produced 335, 125l. This latter item included issued a pamphlet containing an illustrated description
11.625l. for an armed cruiEers, &c., subvention- that is, a of their new works at Cornbrook, near Manchester.-vVe
subvention received from the Treasury in consideration of have receivt:d from the Kempsmith Manufacturing Comthe company holding some of its 8teamers at the disposal pany, of Milwaukee, U.S.A., a copy of t heir new catalogue
of the Government with a view to their being converted, in of milling machines and acceseoriee.-Tbe General Eleccase of nece~sity, in to armed Cl uiser.~. The cost of navi- tric Company, Limited, of Queen Victoriastreet', E .C.,
~atin g the company's s teamers for the year was 1,367,663l. have issued a new lis t of supplies for the equipment of
The provisioninp: of pMsengers, officers, and crews cost electric tramway~, such as "strain " insulators, fr ogs and
309,515l. ; Suez Cann.l dues absorbed 201,85Gl. ; and gen- crossinge, trolley standards, and the like.-The Horsley
eral administration at home and abroad involv ed a. further Company, Limited, of Tipton, have sent us a copy of a
charge of 194,684l. The company also paid during the pamphlet describing their works, which claim to have
year 39,257l. for miscellaneous expenses, 245,175l. for turn ed out the first iron steamship, in 1821. AtJ the
maintenance charges, and 174,189l. for insurance chargee, present day the energies of the company are mainly COll
while 318,936l. were written off for d epreciation. Ab the centrated in bridgework.- Mesns. Babcock and Wilcox,
close of September, 1900, the company 's fl eet s tood in the Limited, of Renfrew, Scotland, have issud a pa.mphl~t
Looks at 2, 747,019l. 'rhree steamers- the Persia, the describing witJh coloured illustrations the arrangement of
Plassy, and the Sicilia- were added during 1900.1, ab a cost their superheater.-The British Schucke1t Electric Comof 593,873t. On the other hand, 205,870l. bad to be pany, Limited, of Clun House, Surrey-~treet:, S trand,
written off for steamers lost or sold, while 318,936l. were W.C., have issued a new price list of measuring-instrucharged off for d epreciation. The fleet accordingly ments, such as voltmeters and ammeters, both for constood in the books ab the close of September, 1001, at tinuousand alternate-currentplants.-1\Ir. A . S. Ostreicher,
2,816,085l. At the same date, payments had also been of Cu1lingham-road, Ipswi ch, as British representative
made for new ships to the extent of 292,655l. Tender~, for J\.'Iessrs. E. Capitaine and Co., Fra.okforton-Mair,
launches, and lighters stood in the books for 85, 743l. ; has senb us a catalogue describing the different types ( f
coal, naval and victualling s tores for 62,261l. ; and por~able tools su pplied by his principals. These tools
gravingdocks, workshops, machinery, wharves, build- are driven through fle xible shafts by eleotromotors.-A
ings, land, &c., for 258,545l.
new catalog ue of air compressors has been is~ued by
TiJghman's Patent Sand Blast Company, Limited, c. f
CATALOGUES.-lVIessrs. Schischkar and Co., of Stafford- Broadheath, near :Manchester. The firm supply comstreet, Birmingham, have sent us a pamphlet describing pressors bUitable for any svstem of driving, whether by
the multiple-spit:dle automatic screw machine which they belt, rope, elr crioity, or steam.

E: N G 1 N E E R I N G.
"ENGINEERING" ILLUSTRATED PATENT
RECORD.
COMPITiEO BY

w.

LLOYD WISE.

SELECTED ABSTRACTS OF REOENT PUBLISHED BPEOIFIOATIONB

UNDER THE ACTS OF 1883- 1888.
T~ mnnb~r oj views given in the SpecijLCation Dm,wings i8 stated
ut. e.ach case ; where ncme are mentioned, the Specification is
not tllust1'a.ted.
Where inventions are commtmicated fr(J'In abroad1 the Nannes1
~~., of the C~nm~.mica.tors are given in italics.
Cop~es of Speoijicatwns ma.y be o~ta.~ned at the Patent Ojfice Sale
B1anc~, S6, So~ttllampton Build:tngs, Chancery-lane W.C. at
the unt/Orm prwe of8d.
'
'
The d~te of. t~ a~vertt$ement ~I the accepta11ce of a Complete
Svecijication tB, tn each case, gwen ajter the abst1act, unless th e
Pat~nt has bee11. sealed, ~hen ~he.date of sealing i8 given .
.Any p~son '!lav, at any ttme wtthu l. two months {'rorn the date of
t~e adv~ttBement of the acceptan~ce of a Contplete Speoijicat;io-n,
gtve notwe at the Patent OUice of oppositi01t. to the grant.t of a
Patent on any of the grounds mentioned in the Acts.

r equirement accordin~ to tbie in ven tion motors are provided

which normally bnve their fields excited by coils in series with the
armatures- that is to say, when the motors a. re taking power from
t he line they possess all th e characteri~tics of series motors; but
when they o.te required to not as dynamos and generate c urrent
either for braking purposes or for r eturning current to the line
or to an accumulator the field coils a re then excited with current
6242. W. Cowderoy. Brighton. Electricity Demand from an independent source-for instance, from a motor generator
Indicators. [2 F igs. } March 25, 1901.- This in,ent.ion r elates to or from a n accumulator or throug h a separate conductor laid
t hree-wire system demand indicatora, and is devised with the a long the track. (Accepted October 23, H>01 )
object of approximately compensating for the excess reading
22,599. A. Just and R. Falk, Vienna, Austria. In
which (in view of the fnot t hnt the heating effect developed in a
r esistance is as t he square of the current) would otherwise be candescence Filaments. December !1, 1900.-A fi lament
caused by un eq ual loading of the positive and oe~rative leads, the for an electrio glow-lau1p, and operating in pnrt by electrolytic
indications on euob an instrument being produced by the added conduction , according to this in vention comprises metallic zirconium and zirconia. The filaments are made by taking finely
divided zirconium nod zircooia, mixed preferably in the propor
Lions of t heir" molecula r weights," and d amped with water, the
+damped mass being pressed in moulds. ( Accepted October 30,
1901. )

this invention is made nod placed upon or into the cage of con
ductors in such manner thnt there is no direct surface connection
across t he strip between conducto1a on opposite sides thereof. In
the examples illustrated the paper strip is c ut from a tube or
notched a.nd bent into L section, and in either case is wound or
drnwn into h elic al form. (1lccepted October 16 1 1901.)

GAS ENGINES, PRODUCERS, HOLDERS, &c.

2~,643. C. Bumfrey, Bartford, Chester. Burner
for Producer Gas. l-1 Figs.) Dectmber 12, 1900.-Io this

AGRICULTURAL APPLIANCES.
18,738. D. ~ Eakeman. Low Fulney, Lincs. Skim
Plough. [6 Ftgs. J September 19, 1901. - A horse-traction

gas burner for steam boiler or o1 her fur nnceP, and in which the
gag might come in co1 tact with cold smfaces, and in ordH

skim plough nccordiug to this invention ond intended for tur11

ing completely a surface la} er of oil with the object of destroy

'

separate beatin~ ~.ffeots of currents in the positive and nfgative

leads. Accord ing to this invention, which ie described and iUus
trated in r eference to a demand indicator of t he kind r eferred to
and in which there are two bulbs-one called the expansion bulb
and t he other the compr ession bulb- resislaoces in series with
the positive nod negative lends respectively are wound on the ex
pansion bulb, and n resistance in series with t he neutral wire
upon the compression bulb. (Accepted Octobe1 28, 1901 .)

.Ffs.J.

Fig.3.

W. Whiteley, Junr Lockwood, Yorks.

Electromotor. [2 F igs.] December 21, 1900.-Wheo electro
23,366.

motors have to be used under conditions wher e cooling by means

of free air is not practicable, t hey are, according- to this ioven
tion, made with combined o r applied jackets t hrough which

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

...

ing the weeds therein , comprises a t hree-wheeled frame adjust

ably eupportin ~ t hree breasts, each of which has a. sbnre and is
preceded by n coulter mounted on a rod carried in a clevie.
(Accepted October 23, 1901.)

EIECTRICAL APPARATUS.
18,179. J. B. West. Berltn.
Electric Cables.

[9 Pigs.) September 11, 1901.- An air insulated electric cable

according to this invention is made by folding n paper strip zig
z1g, g rooving th e folded mass longitudinally, laying wires in the
g rooves and at the same time drawing t he strip so that it forms a

Fig. 7.

Fig.2.

,- - -

~#

t hat a short Oame bavinv complete combustion within a reason

able distance from the bnrner tip mR.y be produced, either part
of t he ni_r or all. the gas is fed through a sheaf of tubes, the other
combustible bemg fed around the tubes and air around the
flame. (.Accepted October 23, 1901.)

GUNS AND EXPLOSIVES.

21,493. Sir W. G. Armstrong, Whitwort~ and Co.,
Limited, Sir A. Noble. and G. Stuart. Newcastle-on:z'yne~ TlmeF~ses . [13 Figs.] November 271 1900.-This

tnven t ton has for 1ts obJeCt the !construction of a time.fuse of

suo~ n nature t hat the time of burning may be twice that of an
o.rdm~ry short-rnnge fuse. To a~tain this objeot two composi
t10o rmgs are u sed. The upper l'IDg carries t he m eans of igni
tiool and, after burning a. certain time, ig nites the lower by
water flows in order that they may be cooled either directly or means of a flash-bole in it. The two rings are genred together
through the medium of t he confined air circulating ther ein. The by the following means : A pinion carried by the lower ring geara
invention is limited in t he claim to euob apparatus in which t he into two ci rcula r racks-one on the face of the body, where t he
water "circulates from bottom t o top." (Accepted Octobe1 23,
1901.)

19.072. G. J. Gibbs, York. Electric Accumulators.

[10 .Figs.} October 25, 1900.-As a means of uniting the connect
ing lugs of contiguous storage cells according to this in ven t ion

[]]
series of bearing insulating contaots with the w ires, and wrapping
the whole a round with a binding serving which may be a single
tbrend or a complete insulating air and w atertigh t metallic or
other covering or casing. A number of such cables may be
twisted together to form one large cable nnd finally insulated in
detail or as a whole. (Accepted Octobe1 16, 1901.)
18,180. J. B. West, Berlin. Electric Cables [23 Figs.}
September 4, 1901.-Tbis invention relates to air-insulated electric

an acid-proof collar is placed over the two lugs and an acidproof

wedge or plug driven between them, either the collar or t he
wedge (prefer ably both) being of lead or some acid-proof alloy.
(Accepted October 23, 1901.)

lower ring r ests, and on e on the upper ring-so that when t he

20,135. E. B. Tyler, London, and A. G. Hansard, ~pper ring is rev.ol.ved by tur~ing t~e dome which is keyed to it,
Limpsfteld, Surrey. Controlling Electric Vehicles. 1t actuates the ptn1on, and tbta aga1o t urns t he lower ring at half
[3 Figs. ] November 8, 1900.-In a system of electrio traction t he speed of the upper, so t hat if t he fuse is set at full lengtb
the upper ring will burn the fall length and then ig nite tb~
bottom ring nt the flash-bole, which, in its turn, will burn ita
fulll.e~gtb. Each rin11; has its own escape for th.e gas .generated,
a nd 1t IS stated there ts no danger of the lower rmg bemg ignited
from t he upper ring until t he Oasb-bole is reached on t he lower
ring, the composition rings aoting as independent fuses. The
rings are kept in contact by springs, so that a out need not be
used. (A ccepted October 23, 1901.)

C. B. Curtis, London, and G. G. Andre

Glenlean, Argylleshtre. Smokeless Powders. Nov
19,773.

e~ber 3, 1900.-This inv~otion relates to powders

m1.xt~re of. s olu~le and tn~oluble. nitro-cellulose.

Fig.2.

with continuous curren ts where it is r equired that t he motors

shall be aNe to generate current it is desirnb)e t hat s uch machines
ltJ;so
wben used as generators sh all bnve the cba.racteristlcs of inde
cables suitable fo r telephonic use, and in which t he conductors pendently -exoited dynamos, but it is p referred that when used as
Clre held apart by a paper strip. The paper strip according to motors l b t y shall be of the eeries kind. In order to meet thi:J

comprising a
According to
thts m veot10n mtroglycerme (w1th or without a "restrainer "
such as vaseline) is added to the nitro-ceJlulose in suffioie~t
quantity to render t h e resulting material homogeneous, with t he
o~ject of renderin.g t~e rate of ignition or burning in all cases
ahke. Fo~ explos1ve m sheet form the r elative proportions sp eci
6ed nre l!ltro-cellu~ose 1 16 ; nitroglso.er ine, 4 ; vaseline, 1 ; and
for ex.plos1ve m~de 10 cord or other squ1rted shape, nitrocellulose,
76; mtro-glyocrme, 24; and vaselioe, 5. The nitro-cellulose will
be used in t he relative proportions of insoluble nitro-cellulose
1 par t , and soluble nit rocellulose 4 pnrts, when made with an
ether alcohol solvent ; and t he reverse of this-that is to say insoluble oitrocellulose 4 parts, and soluble nit ro-cellulose 1 pa~t
wbt n r..cetoo e is uHd. (iJ cceptcd October 23, 1901.)

E N G I N E E R I N G.
Sir B. Grubb, Rathmlnes, Dublt.D, and t ion No. 24,310 or 1897. The major corrugations are t h e corruga plate of the revolving frame, a sligh t t urn of which (t he tool being
A. T. Dawson, London. Gun-Sights. [8 Figs J Novem- tions proper of the furnace, t he minor corrugations are formed meanwhile held if necessary) ie sufficient to turn t he various
20.813.

ber 17, 1900.- Thls invention relates to sights for protected guns,
and in wh ich t he gunner views the target indirect ly by means of
a refl ector or reflectors In one arrangement t h e s ighting device
comprises a aiJZht proper, means for rendering luminous rays proceeding th erefrom parallel to one another, and a lower reflector
(through which an image of the sigh t produced by t he p arallel
rays can be seen) and an upper reflector, eo arranged in relation
to one another and to the gun to be sighted (or its cradle ol'

between t he major corrugation which projects into t h e water space valves so as t o change the inlet from one port of t he fi xed eleev
of the boiler and the major corrugation which projects into t he
fire space of t he furnace. The major corrugations which project
into t he wator apace and the major corrugations which projeot on
t he fire side of the furnace are give 'l the same contour or radius,
and in some oases the central por tion of one or each of t he ma.jor
corrugations is made cylindrical. Part of t he minor corrugations
which are formed between the m'ljor corrugation which projects
into the water apace of t he boiler and t h e major corrugation which
proj ects into the fire space of the furnace is made cylindrical. la
some oases ribs or thickened bands are made on the rounded
portion of t he major corrugations which project into the water
space of t he boiler (one on each side thereof), and such ribs or
bands will also projeot int o the water space of the boiler. The
metal of which t he furn ace or flue is constructed may be uniform
in thickness throu~rhout, or it may be thickened at the corru~a
tiona projecting into t he water Epace of the boiler. (A ccepted
Ootobe1' 23, 1901 )

16,807. C. P. Altma.nn, LyonValse, France. Steam

Boners. [3 Figs.] August 21, 1901.- Io a marine boiler accord-

ing to this invention t here are on each side of t he furnace col

leotora connected on one band by vertical or slightly inclined
tubes cf larg e diameter, and on the other hand by symmetrical to the other, and t o bring t hat outlet port which has been
groups of t u bes subject to the action of heat, t he upper coll ectors covered into use, and to cover th e other. (A ccepted October 16,
communicating wit h a superheater, which may comprise a oylin 1901.)
. .
drical reservoir, having a series of vertical tubes, within which
( zO,B/1. I

mounting) t hat lumlnom rays p roceeding from a distant object

and falling upon th e surface of the upper reflector can be reflected
downward and caused to fall upon the lower reflector eo t hat
images of th e distnnt object and the sight can be superposed and
viewed simultaneonsly and under practically the same optical conditione, t he s:gh ting d evice and upper reflector moving hori
zontally wit-h the gun, and the upper reflector being caused to
turn t hrough a vertical angle half t hat through which the gun
turns when t ba same is elevated or d epressed . . Various dispo3itions and modifications are provided.
(Accepted October 80, 1901.

MINING, METALLURGY, AND METAL

WORKING.
12,752. J. L. BentbaU, Chesterfield, Derby. Tem
perlng Steel Plates. July 14, 1900.-Thia inven tion relates

to imparting to armourplates and other ar t icles made of alloy

steels containing nickel or chromium, hard ness at certain parts,
and softness and toughness at others. This is effected according
to this invention by b eating the articles to a high temperat ure
and bending to shape, then allowing t hem to cool slowly in t he
air, again beating them and allowing t hem to cool in the air (thus
avoiding t he risk of their cracking in the subsequent t reatment},
and further beating the articles to a moderate h eat and cooling in
water or oil, t hus producing t he necessary toughn ess, and leaving t he plates sufficiently soft to be machined. After t he ar ticles
are machined they are uniformly heated and cooled in oil, t h e
backs of t h e plates or corresponding parts of other articles being
t hen softened by warming and afterwardR cooled slowly in t he
air. It is stated t hat great hardness is produced on the face of a
plate t reated up to t he fi nal process as above set fort h, and then
h eated on t he face only to a high temperature, while t he back is
kept comparat ively cool by bedding it in sand or other non-con
duoting material, t he whole being afterwards suddenly cooled in
water. (Accepted October 23, 1901).

Fif!.2.

Fig.1.
~H~--f--Ca

22,03f. G. F. Buckingham, London. Making Block

Ice. [4 F1'gs.] Decem ber 4, 1900.-Tbe mould for making

block ice according to t his in vention comprises a t rough having

partitions across it, such partitions not reaching quite to t he top
in order t hat when t he mould is filled with water, aod frozen, the
result ing ice shall be produced in t he form of a number of blocks
connected by a sla b. A number of s uch moulds are hung from
t heir ends side by eide in a t rough which is somewhat d eeper
than t he moulds, so that
a space is left below
their bottom ~, and

. . f.
I

II

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

\
--------

(zt.f.H)

--------are concent ric tubes communicating wi th anoth er cylindrical

drum arranged wit hin the cylindrical resen oir, and h aving such
parte as are su bject to the action of great h eat protected by a
layer of refractory material. The steam outlet tube has its
t urned end situated at a lower level than the steam inlet and
serrated. (Accepted October 23, 1901.)

L=~==:i~=~~=::i:::~~:;5E=:~L.J

their sides are preferably inclined so that longitudinal pa ~a.ge s

are left between them. Or t he mould may be in t he form of a
t ray having both transverse and longitudinal hollow partitions
supplied with the circulating cooling fluid. Along one side of
such a trough there may be a pipe perforated with a hole opposite each (of t he t ransverse passages or hollow partitions of t he
mould or moulds, and on the other side of t he trough an overflow
weir and an outlet. A perforated pipe ar:d a weir or ou t let pipe
may also be placed at t he two ends of the trough. (A ccepted
October 16, 1901.)

TEXTILE
MACHINERY.
S'rEAM ENGINES, BOILERS, EVAPORATORS, &c.
7734. W. B. Whea.tley, London. (W. P. R oy, Jf ontreal,
17,788. F. J. R. Jelleyman, Kiddermt.Dster, Can
ada.) Cement Foundations. [2 F igs. ] April 15, 1901.
15.694. C. Bagens, Erfurt, Germany. Compound Carpet Looms. [8 Figs. ] October 8, 1900.- In reference to
Locomotives. rs .lfi gs.] August 2, 1901.-A compound lOCO this invention it is stated t hat hitherto in the manufacture of -A pillar-like cemen t foundation, well adapted to withstand t he
motive with couoled driving wheels according to this invention has four cylindena, located outside the fram e, and drivingrode, m ovin ~ io opposite directions, the cranks rotating in the
same directiOn. The cylinder axes are located in t he same
almost horizontal" plane, or " t he parallel or almost parallel
axes of the cylinders " are "located in almost horizontal planes."

tube frame s for carpet looms the row of guide-tubes has u sually
been soldered on to a. t hin tinned angle iron, which has then been
affixed by nails or sorews to a strip of wood moulded to t he angle
requ ired to give the required slope or pitch to the row of guide
t ubes, t he strip of wood also imparting t he necessary rigidity to
t he tube frame. A length of wire or a strip of flat metal has
sometimes been affixed to the wood at t he point where the t uft

ordinary causes of shifting, according to this invention is made

as a com rete mass in the form of t wo cones united at their
summits, and with or without an inserted metal bar connecting
t hem.
Such a foundation is convenient ly made by driv

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The locomotive may compr ise a "radially adjustable and laterally

nlO\'able driving axle, ball-ended half-axles fitted in a sleeve and
cross-pins connecting the ball enda to t he sleeve, the ball ecds being
journallrd in spherical bearings in t he sleeve." Such a radially
adjustable and laterally movable driving axle may have t he outer

bear ing cup for the ball ends pressed by means of adjustable
wedges against t he ball-face ends on t he half axles. (Accep ted yarn enters the guide tubes in order to reduce t he chafing of the
tuft yarn on entering t he guide tubes. According to this invenOctobe1' 23, 1901.)
tion the row of guide tubes is soldered on to a len~th of angle
28,191. 0. Meredlth, Rock Ferry, Chester. Boner metal, the shape whereof is such as to give the reqmred slope or
Furnaces and F.lues. [4 F igs. ] December 19, 1900. - Fur- pitch to t he r ow of guide tubes, and ha\'ing a beading formed
naces or fl ues according to thi'3 in,ent ion are of the corrugated upon one edf!e at the point where the t uft yarn enters t he guidetype, r..nd the object of t he invention is to minimise the deposition tubes in order to reduce the chafi ng of the tuft yarn on entering
the latter. The angle metal must. be of sufficient strength to
give the necessary r ig idity to t he t ube frame. (Accepted Octobe1
16, 1901.}

MISCELLANEOUS.
18,775. G. c. Evans and The New Talte u 6 ward
Pneumatic Tool company, Limited, London. Air
Motor Valves. [10 F igs. ] October 20, 1900.- The object of

. .

.3.

' '

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I'

(2.3, /SI.)

of sediment or scale in t he furrowa or hollows of such corrugations on t he wate r aid e, and to increase t he stren~th of t he shell.
A corrugated furnace according to the present invention p ossesses
major and minor corrugations, as descr ibed in Patent Speclflca-

this in \ention i~ to provide a valve by means of which the motor

d escribed in Specification No. 8088, of 1897, can be readily
reversed. In t he motor referred to a port in the end of the
cylind er of a singleacting oscillating t runk engine alternately
comes O(>posite to fi xed admission and exhaust ports. According
to this mvention t here is an exhaust port on each side of the
admission port and the valve is surrounded by a fixed sleeve in
which there are t wo por ta only. By t urning the valve t he porta
in th~ sleeve can be caused to coincide with the admission por t
a.nd e1ther of t he exhaust p orts, tl~us making t he engine reverstble. The arrangement p referred 1s as follows: A stem connecting t he top and bottom plates of t h e revolving frame carrying
the cylinders (as described in the former specification) passes
t hr ough each valve, which, at its central portion, is contracted
to flti air-tight to tbe stem , and Is thus d ivided into t wo chambers
t he upper of which la filled with live air, and t he lowe;
in communication with the atmosphere. Each valve carries
a. pinion engaging wilh a circular rack of teeth o!lrrled by t he top

ing the ecd <.f a metal bar for t he r< quired depth vertically
into t he ~round , and by t hen twisting t he bar round a.nd round
pressure being at the same time applied in an outward direction'
so t hat t he b~r makes. an opening ?f th e required shape, perhap~
partly filled wtth debns f rom the s1des of the hole, liquid cement
being finally poured in and mixed t horoughly, and an iron bar
inserted into the middle of the pillar. (A ccepted Octobe1 28
1901.)
,

21,870. G. E. Beyl Dla, Warrlngton, Lancs. Hose

Pipe, Packing, and the like. Ll F ig.] November 26,

1900.-This invention has for object to provide a method of

making hose-p ipes and engine paokinga and other flexible tubes
so that t hey may be mor~ ft~xible than (while h aving substantia.JJy
the same strength as) extstmg tubell, and the Eaid invention com1 prises t he use of a knitt~d tube or t~b~s, instea~ of o. l.arer or
layers ~f co.nvas or braidmg. Any kmtt1ng ma.chme whtoh will
make a c.ompl~te t ube. cl?sely flttmg round a t ubular nucleus of
the req mred stze ea~, ~~ IS stated, be e_!Dployed. In one met hod
of manu facture an mdt9:-r';Jbber tube IS passed. up the cent re of
t he m.achlne, and th~ k.m ttmg te:kes .Place outstde t h e same. In
so!lle mstances a kmttmg maohme IS arranged so that t he same
spmdle ~ay carry tw~ or more h eads, one above the other . e~oh
h ead bemg supphed Wlt b a. separate thread, eo t hat one kn~tttDg
cover~ ove~ t he othe~ ; or t he tube can be brought to a eer1es of
mach!nes ID succ~BSlon. F urther, t he tu~e ~ay pass t~rough a
machme of any ~n~ whereby a layer of .md1a-r~bber IS placed
over t~e first kntttlDg before a second IS apphed. (Accepted
OctobeJ 29, 1901.)

UNITED STATES PATENTS AND PATENT PRAOTIOB.

Descriptions with illustrations of invent ions p atented in the
United States of America. from 1847 to the present time and
repor ts of trial~ of patent law ca8es in th e United States, m'ay be
consulted , gratts, at the offioes of ENGINBSR.ING, 85 and 86, Bedford
street, Strand.