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

JuNE 29, 1900.]

reaper.~,

Champs de Mars, adjoining the Avenue de Suffren.

FRENCH AGRICULTURE AT THE
Unfortunately until quite a late date no printing
PARIS EXHIBITION.
machinery could be put in operation. In the
French and German Oourts t he machines shown at
THE sevent h group of the classification of the
the beginning of June only emerged from their
P aris Exhibition includes exhibits relating to all
packing cases and were not in running order ; Gerbranches of agriculture, illustrated by statistics,
many, which was the most advanced at that date,
processes, appliances, results, &c.; and from several
was only making very leisurely efforts to be ready.
countries have been sent important and interesting
British participation may be dismissed in a very
collections. Except as regards agricultural imp lefew words, as regards printing machines; it is
ments, this group does not possess any great value
r epresented by a Bremner press, sent incidentally
from the exhibitor s' point of view, that is to say,
obtaining direct business. It is rather in the inby t he proprietorR of the Gn tplllic; and by the
formation that is to be gathered, as to the profitable
"Printing Arts Company," who show a very ingenious Russian multicolour machine- the Orloffresults rendered possible by scientific culture, and
the actual agricultural importance of different counwbich has been described in our colun1ns, and
t ries, that the interest and value of the group is to
which has no claim to be regarded as an English
be founrl. France naturally takes the leading place
exhibit. But although t he very important exhibits of
in this, as in other groups of her Exhibition, and
France and Germany were in a backward state so
much can be learned from what she so tellingly
long after t he opening of t he Exhibition, a profitdisplays in a. difficult industry that is so carefully
able visit could be paid, even t hen, to the court of
fostered by the State. One of t he first impressions
the latter country, which contains some very imon t he mind of the visitor to t he agricultural courts
portant printing machinery, which well illustrates
of France refers to the position occupied by t hat
the position held by Germany in the printing
country in the art of scientific culture. A mass of
industry. Fig. 1 illust rates a fiat colour-printing
valuable information and statistics has been colmachine, exhibited by t he Maschinen Fabick of
lected bearing on this point, and we propose to
Augsburg, the capacity of which varies from 3000 to
make use of t hese in a brief r eview of t he progress
6000 sheets an hour, each 44 in. by 35.4 in.,
of French agriculture, according to official data and
delivered unfolded on tables.
the position sh e occupies to-day.
The bed is provided with four steel paths,
The entire area of France is 132,500,000 acres,
sufficiently strong to prevent any bending under
most of which-indeed no less than 125 million
t he greatest pressure; it travels upon a large
acres-falls wit hin t he officially defined domain of
number of steel rollers, finished with the highest
cultivable lands ; this includes about 87 million
attainable accuracy ; these rollers run on four very
:\Cres actually under cultivation, t he r emainder
strong rails, s upported at intervals, particuhrly
being vccupied by woods and forests (28, 750,000
below the impression cylinder, so as to avoid
acres), sandy areas, commons, mar$hes, and boggy
vibration and consequent imperfection in the work.
lands (10 million acres), the remainder being absoThe movement of the bed is effected by means of
lutely sterile, and the mountainous and rocky
a single pair of carrying rollers, and the number
districts. The estimated value of this land, excluof teeth in gear has been limited to the lowest
sive of buildings, is 91,600,000,000 of francs, or From 13 to 18.5 if produced by hand labou r.
possible fig ure. The guide frames of the steel
3,660,000,000l., and t he annual revenue it yields is
,
5 2 , 7.1
,.
,
horse power (t : am ).
rollers are in positive gearing. The other chief
,
2. 9 , 4. 0
,
,
,
(one).
about 2 milliards of francs, or 80,000,000l. sterling ;
parts of t he press have been correspondingly
,
2.1
,
2.
4
,
,
ox
teams.
this represents an average return of about 2! per
strengthened, so far as extra strength was called
,
1. 2 , 1. 9
,
,
oil engines.
cent. .Agricultural buildings throughout France
for. Further cross stiffening has been added in
,
1.3 , 2.0
,
,
steam engines.
represent a. further value of 10 milliards of francs,
,
. 5 , 1.1
,
,
hydra ulic motor.
connection with a hollow shaft which extends from
or 400 million sterling, and agricultural machinery
bearing to bearing right through the cylinder and
A
few
words
may
be
added
on
the
division
of
is estimated at 3i milliards (140 millions). There
the steel main shaft is of unus ual strength. ' The
cultivated
land
in
France,
where
small
holdings
are in France about 64 million acres under t he
sid~ frames carrying the impression cylinder, with
are
the rule, and cultivation is nat urally more
plough, for the cultivation of which t here are
their lateral stays, provide a very secure bearing.
costly
than
on
large
areas.
Of
very
small
farms,
r equired various implements, such as scarifiers,
Of all the types that are shown, the most
2,230,000
have
an
area
of
less
than,
or
equal
to
cultivators, rollers, barrows, pulverisers, manure
striking and attractive is certainly the enormous
2!
acres,
with
a
total
average
of
3,290,000
acres
;
distributors, &c. Of the above acreage, 37! millions
rotary
cylindrical
multi-colour
press,
exhibited
are under cultivation for cereals ; for these are 2,610,000 workings have areas of from 2t to 25 acres by the Maschinen F abrik of Augsburg, in Bavaria
used drills and other seed distributors, reapers, and a total of 28,100,000 acr es ; 710,000 farms of and a general .view _of which is . given in Fig. 2:
with or without binders, and so forth . There are from 25 to 100 acres have an area of 35,770,000 ; page 848. . I~ IS designed e~pecial~y for printing
21 million acres specially devoted to growing forage, and 138,000 farms of mor e than 100 acres have an cheap periOdiCals of large Clrculahon, such as is
not including pasture lands, which r equire mowing extent of 56,200,000 acres. Animal statistics show at~ined by many papers at the present time, and
machines, horse - rakes, gathering machines, hay the following figures : Of agricultural horses, whJCh has been rendered possible only by such
presses, &c. There are over 6 million acres donkeys, and mules there are 3, 380,000; of cattle, machi~e~~ as ~his; by t he ch~apness of paper, and
devoted to growing r oots ; in this work are em- 13,700,000 ; sheep and goats, 28,900, 000 ; of pigs, th~ faCihtles gtven by modern Illustrative processes.
ployed drills and other planting machines, horse- 7,400,000; and poultry, &c., 86,600,000.
This large Augsburg machine will print in one
During
the
15
years,
1882-98,
the
material
and
hoes, r oot diggers, &c. The vine cult ure occupies
two, three, or four colours, and is adapted for ~
processes
of
agricultural
industry
in
France
have
about 4i million acres; the implements used here
large range of '~ork, such ~s wall posters, brought
been
greatly
improved,
and
the
use
of
agricultural
are chiefly ploughs, vine hoes, pulverisers, sulphurat the present t1me to so high a standard of artistic
machinery
increased
to
a
very
large
extent.
In
ing machines, and the special plant at vintage
excellence, to coloured newspapers, or to the betterpresence
of
t
his
advance,
the
French
Government
time. About 10 million acres of those stretches of
class printing, either in black or colours, for catahas
been
active
in
the
development
of
organised
uncultivated ground known as the Landes are,
logues.
nevertheless, made useful to some extent, and agricultural education; and in 1889 the Minist er of . In the desi~ of thi~ press th~ Augsburg Enagricultural machinery, such as r oot extractors, Agriculture established at Paris a testing station for gine Works paid speCial attentiOn to facilitate
agricultural machinery, which is represented at the
winches, t renching machines, &c., are required.
the work of the machine hands. The gearina
Exhibition,
and
about
which
much
that
is
interestAs regards the crops that are utilised or treated on
being below and by t he side of the delivery
ing
may
be
said.
the farm, we find the following results are recorded;
~b~e, the wh?le ~achine, and especially the
(To
be
continued.)
in the preparation of such crops various kinds of
mkmg mechanism, I S very accessible. In maaQ"ricultural
machinery
are in use ; the q uantities
0

?hines ?.f older types, the inking device received

are closely approximate :
Its motiOn from a wheel placed in front of it.
SOME
PRINTING
MACHINES
AT
THE
259,000,000 tons of cereals, requiring thrashing
That arrangement necessitated the use of a very
PARIS
EXHIBITION.
and auxiliary machines.
long rack ; but in 'this new machine the length of
94,000,000 tons of grain treated by thrashing
PRINTIKG machinery and printing processes are the rack and of the gearing has considerably b een
machines, screens, mills, &c.
exhibited at Paris under Class I I., t he fhst of the reduced.
165,000,000 tons of straw, for which stacking third group which relates to Literature, Science, . The press is proyided with six pairs of impresmachines, chaff-cutters, &c., ar e used.
and the Liberal Arts, and to the means employed Sion and plate cylmders and six sets of inkina
155,000,000 tons of hay, treated with hay-presses, for their practical applications. The group includes r ollers in addition to a set-off device. The im~
cutting machine~, &c.
eight classes, that may be summarised as follows : pression and plate cylinders have a circumference
150,000,000 tons of r oots, not including the Printing and printing machinery, photography, of 2240 millimetres (88 in. ), and can therefore deal
crops sold direct to factories, sugar work~, and books and newspapers, scientific instruments with two sheets, each 44 in. in lenatb and of a
distilleries. The implements chiefly used for deal- surgical instruments, musical instruments th~
ing with this crop are washers, root cutters and mechanics of t he t heatre. Of these, printing ma- maxim~r.~ width of 900 millimetres (35.4' in.) at the
same
time.
All
the
six
inking
devices
half
of
pulpers, boilers, and crushers. It may be assumed chinery is of the chief interest to our readers,
that more than half a million tons of oil-cake are though, as we shall find later on, the collections of w~ich are. provided with six, and t he other half
~1th four mk r oJler.s, are fitted with very complete
used, in,-olving the use of breakers.
scientific instruments will claim much attention vibrators . and distributors, and contain each nine
The inventory of agricultural implements in from. us. The exhibits relating to typography are,
France shows as a minimum 3, 670,000 ploughs, as m1ght have been expected, of the highest import- or eleven 1ron r?ll~rs and ten or t welve composition
3, 000,000 harrows, scarifiers and cultivators, 52,000 ance, though t he space t hat could be spared for ro~le~s. ~he SIX mk roller sets ar e designed for
drills and other sowing machines, 251,000 horse them was far too limited. It is located on t he ~rJnting In black, and this operation may be the
hoes, 38,000 mowers, 51,000 horse-rakes, 23,000 ground floor in the Liberal Arts Building on the first or. th~ last o~ the cycl~ of operations.
The mkmg deviCe compnses four large ink rollers
2:34,000 thrashing machines, and n early
6,000,000 carts and other appliances for t ransport.
The propor tion of implements to land in France
may be deduced, though, of course, this prop ortion varies in different districts, and must be regarded as a. general average. There is one plough
for each 17.6 acres of cultivated land ; one drill
for each 830 acres put down to cereals or roots;
one hoe for 22.5 acres in roots ; one mower to every
530 acres of guss fi eld, not including pasture ; one
r eaper for e very 1400 acres of cereals; and one
thrashing implement of all kinds for every 150
acres of cereH-ls, exclusive of maize .
The agricult ural population is recorded at 18
millions, of whom about 7 millions are farm
labourers. In France (as in most other countries),
t his class of labour is steadily diminishing, especially
in the communes around Paris, where high culti''ation is general, but where t he uncertain fut ure
offered by t he city proves an irresistible temptation. In these communes only one resident
labourer per 50 acres cultivated is the rule, and
mechanical appliances and floating labour become
more and more necessary.
A great part of the cost of ' agricultural production is absorbed by the supply of power necessary
for cultivating t he ground and preparing it for seed
time. Car eful trials have shown that with soil
in good condition, the energy expended on cultivation varies from 20.millions to 159 millions of footpounds per acre, according to t he nature of the
crop in rotation ; for example, wheat and beetroot:
this energy has to be developed during a limited
time, which materially affects the cost. A close
approximation of the expense of producing this
energy by different means is as follows, tho unit
taken being 100,000 kilogram metres, or about
725,000 foot. pounds.
Pence

'

E N G I N E E R I N G.
and t he vibrators and dist r ibutors perform t heir
work excellen tly. The dr um which guides the
printed sheet to t he flyers is placed at a high level ;
the h old of th e grippers is t hus con tinued over a
long period and an absolute r egister insured. The
exceptionally strong construction of t his machine
admits of applying higher speeds than t hose recommended for the nor mal presses of t he A ugsburg
works. V ery complete ink distribution is on e of t he
features of t his machine ; t he impr ession is made
on on e side of t he sheet by means of t hree inking
rollers, each having four distribut ing r ollers, and
an ink ing table with six distributors. On t he
other side t here is on e inking roller wit h four
distributors and an inking table with six distributors. The number of distributors may be varied,
however, according to t he den sity of impression
that is required ; by this means a considerable
range in tone is obtained. The machine is, of
course, only adapted for web printing; t h e printed
area measures 35.4 in. by 43. 8 in., wit h pa per
35.4 in. wide, but a smaller size, 29.9 in. by

[ } UNE 29, 1900.

half its size ; afterwards it is b rought to t he

flyers which deliver t he finished sheets on t he t wo
tables.
The set-off paper which tak es up any excess of
colour on t he inner side of t he sheet, and p revents
sullying t he perfecting cylinders, is wound from a
reel placed above t he lower ink ing set on t he righ t,
and passes un derneath t he printed paper round
t he four perfecting cylinders on to a receiving
wooden reel, fi xed between the delivery table
and t he inking set j ust mentioned . Any of
the inking sets and cylinders not required may be
thrown out by t urn ing a central wheel. When it
is desired to print and to perfect in one colour only,
t h e paper is taken from t he first perfecting cylinder
underneath t he others to t he ripping cylinder, and
passes between the latter and another small cylinder to t he cut-off rollers and flyers. The set-off
paper also makes a much shor ter circuit in this
case, as it n eed only travel round on e impression
cylinder. A very accurate r egister is maintained.
The dimensions of t he ma( hine are : L ength,

special features which may be noted. The main

sha~ ti rests .in bearings made in two pieces instead
of In bearmgs r ecessed in the frame ; the guide
stop~ are arranged so as to secure perfecb register ;
an~ 1n all respects t he press is well made, and well
de~Igned fo~ excelle?ce and convenience in working.
This machine, which, as we have said is well
adapted for t he highest class of colour ~ork can
also be used for r elief printing, a class of ~ork
forming a special trade or a branch of t he bookbinders' art, but wh~ch can easily and profitably be
executed by the prmter. In Fig. 3 is shown a
mo.dification o.f t he same type, intended to produce
r ehef work w1th heated moulds. The machine is
adapted for electrical driving, and a special feature
is t he great strength introduced, so that the pressure of 80 tons can be used in regular working.
Either t he matrix or t he die, or both, can be heated
by steam or gas, according to convenience t he
.
. the heat to the die are' very
connectiOns
conveymg
simple and easily managed. When employed for
ordinary surface printing, a double inking table is

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

. .-: . . .

..

,..

'

..

'

ill

'

'

--

FIG . 1.

.~ --

-~

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

.....

~ *"

* .

F LAT COLOU R-P R I NTING lVI ACHINE, BY THE AUGSBURG M .ASCH INENFABRIK.

43.8 in., can also be prin ted, with a narrower web 10.25 metres (33 ft . 8 in.); width, 5.5 metr es
(29. 9 in. ). As already said, t he machine, which (18 ft.), inclusive of gearing and !?pace required
is driven electrically at t he E xhibition, can only be for drawing out t he set-off paper carriage. The
used economically in newspaper work for large height is 5.25 metr es (17 ft . 2 in.). and the
editions; its output of well finished work is 10,000 weight about 60 tons. These dimension s r equire
copies an hour. Some idea of t he impor tance special galleries and stairways for the convenience
of the Augsburg Maschinenfabrik, which was of t he machine hands, and t wo platforms have
established in 1840, will be gathered from been pr ovided, which are situated at levels of
t he fact t hat t he works cover an area of about 6 ft . and 12 ft . above t he flooring. The
about 40 acr es, and give employment to 30, 000 main gear pinion is placed by the side of the
upper set-off paper reel. T he impression, plate,
workmen.
The operation of t he machine is as follows : and ripping cylinders are grouped in a circle
From t he r eel t he paper is first taken to the damp- around t he main gear wheel.
ing device and past a small r oller on an elastic
On a much smaller scale t han t he for egoing is t he
bearing. I t th en passes over two large carrying exhibit of Messrs. Rockstroh and Schneider ,
drums and a ser ies of guide rollers to the fi rst pair manufacturers of printing machinery at Dresden .
of impr ession cylinders and afterwards on the right I t forms an interesting con trast to t he high-speed
to the second pair. Both t hese cylinders are rotary Augsburg press, with its capability for
situated in t he lower part of t he machine. T he enormous output, for the exhibit consists entirely
paper now proceeds upward to t he left to t he first of flat presses, work ing at a limited speed, but
pair of perfecting cylinders, and then, on an producing very high-class work . They are espeapproximately circular path, to t he other perfecting cially adapted for printing facsimile water-colour
cylinders, t he last pair of which will be seen in t he work in from four to six colours, and for t he promiddle of t he machine at t he top, Fig. 2. Per- duction of copies of oil paintings in which t he
fected, on the one side in two colours and on t he finish of the execution, dependent, of course, on the
other in four, the paper now t ravels downward to perfection of the blocks, would have been t hought
the right, between the large cutting cylinder and i mpossible a few years ago. Two of t hese pr esses are
another cylinder, placed above the former and of . illustrated in F igs. 4 and 5 ; t hey possess several

pr ovided, and the machine is worked eithe~ b_y

band or foot, alt hough if t he highest output . 1s
desired it can be driven by power. .A. specuu
feature' may be noted as belonging to this press.
I t has a reversible inking device, used when two
different coloured inks are employed at tha sa~e
time-that is when each half of t he forme IS
inked by a differen t colour. In producing shaded
effects t his device cannot be employed, because
it wodld mix t he different coloured inks, but an
attachment is provided consisting of a special inker
on which are a series of inkin g surfaces, .wh?se
positions can be shifted by ~eans of a~Justing
screws, so that a great variety 10 col?ur effec.ts ~
be obtained. A special feature ID t he mkmg
mechanism of this machine is t hat the pressureregulating screws for the feed act on t~e. blad? at _the
back, and not below it; a very sensttr~e dlStnbution is obtained in t his manner. F ig. 6 s~ows
the way in which t hese 'presses can ~e . driven
by p ower. The printing machine exhib1te~ by
Messrs. R ockstroh and ~Schneider a~e furrusbed
wit h a brake connected with t he t hrowmg-out gear ;
t his brake acts, not only against t he periphery of the
flywheel, but on each side of t he. run al.so, thus .securing considerable energy in actiOn while re~u~mg
t he wear on the bearin<Ys.
The same exhtbttOls
0
show also a fiat press for printing in colours at the

] UNE

29,

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

1 900.]

PRINTING MACHINERY AT THE PARIS EXHIBITION.

CONSTRUCTED BY ~IESSRS.

ROCKSTROH AND SCHNEIDER, DRESDEN.

1111

'11'

!I
j

FIG.

Fro. 6.

3.

FIG.

4.

tion work, and Table XV. as showing the ratio of

the various expenditures.
Table XVI. gives some results obtained in
St. Louis ; Table XVII. those obtained in Baltimore; and Table XVIII. t hose of the Chicago
West Side Elevated.
Table XIX. gives some interesting results
obtained in the Brooklyn stations, and Table XX.
those obtained in Boston. This latter is of particular interest, as showing the advantages to be
~ot by centralisation.
Table XXI. gives the average results obtained
THE COST OF ELECTRIC POWER
from some fairly large .American traction plants,
PRODUCTION.
all of which are not very recent, and undoubtedly
By Parr.yp DAWSON.
if put down with our presen t knowledge could be
(Concluded from page 740.)
worked more economically. Yet these figures very
TADLE XIV. is interesting, as representing some closely approximate those prepared by Mr. Parshall.
ef the average American r esults obtained in trac- We may, therefore, conclude that there is every
rate of 1500 copies an hour. The general characteristics of all the principal printing machinery
shown at Paris, apart from special devices, are excellence of workmanship, high speeds, and great
strength of parts, this last having become a. necessity, on account of the very high pressures that are
required to transfer on paper all the qualities
possessed by the half-tone blocks now used almost
exclusively, both for black and colour work.

FIG.

5.

reason to anticipate that power can be produced

in very large well-designed stations, all ch arg~s
included, such as interest on capital and sinking
fund, for little over one-half farthing per Board
of Trade unit at the s witchboard.
Tables XIV. and X V., page 843, are of great
interest, especially when compared with Tables I.
and IX. The costs given in Table XIV. are the
results obtained in actual practice since 1894.
Table XV. shows that the largest items are the
cost of fuel and labour ; they aggregate from 60 to
95 per cent. of the total cost of working. Interest
and sinking fund amount, as a rule, to from 10 to 15
per cent. The cost of the plant proper is, on an
average, from half to three-quarters the total cost
?f the compl~te installatio~, including land, buildlng~, an~ ma1ns ;, and a h ttle more expenditure,
wh1ch will result 1n permanently reducing the cos~

THE

COST

POWER

ELECTRIC

OF

T ABLE XX.-CosT oF PowER IN B osToN oN WEsT END SYSTEM IN PENCE PER UNIT IN

P R 0 D U C T I 0 N.

00

TABLE XXIV.-CosT oF PowER PRODUCED FOR ELECTRIC TRACTION DURING

1897.

1899

~
1\l

IN LEEDS AND GLASGow.

East Boston.

Pounds of coal per unit generated

..
..
..
..I
Load factor

Cost in pence p er unit of fuel

, lab our
,
,
,
water ,
oil, wast e, and r epairs
..

2.86 lb.
34.8 p er cent.
0.1946d.
0.0780d.

Total cost in p en ce per unit

3. 24 lb.
62.2 per cent.
0. 2100d.
0.1216d.

3.18 lb.
22.3 per ce~t.
0. 2070d.
0. 2800d.

2.61 lb.
46.4 p er cent.
0.1700d.
0.0935d.

2.48 lb.

33.6 per cent.

0.1625d.
0.1115d.

COST TB PENOE PER BOARD OF TRADE UNIT GENJmATED.

Allston.

East Cambridge
1600 kilowatts 1440 kilowatts
2000 kilowatts
600 kilowa
t ts
Cap acity of station in kilowatts\ 12,700 kilowatts 2400 kilowatts

Type of st eam-engine plant .. Direct-connected Belted triple- Direct-connected Dueot-connected Direct-connected Belt ed single
non-concom,pound concondens ers
compou~d concompou~d concompound and
densing
d ensing
d ensm g
d ensmg
t riple-condensers

NAME OF STATION

Albany-st r eet
(Central)

Charlestown.

Dorchest er.

4.13 lb.
47 p er cent.
0.2995d.
0.1605d.

0.0770d.

0.0910d.

0.1125d.

0.0690d.

0.0660d.

0. 0910d.

0.3496d.

0.4225d.

0.5995d.

0.3430d.

0.3295d.

0.5610d.

Pounds of
Coal p er
Board of
Trade Unit.

NAME OF FIRM.

Leeds
Glasgow

d.
August, 1898
September, 1898
October, 1S98
November, 1898
D ecember, 1898
J anuary , 1899
F ebruary, 1899
March, 1899
April, 1899 . .
May , 1899

..
..
..
..
0

..

0.0945
0. 0880
0.0738
0.0620
0.0500
0.0510
0.0565
0.0505
0.0625
0.0660

Oil and
Waste.

Coal.

d.

d.
0.1795
0.1790
0.1442
0.1225
0.1195
0.1280
0.1280
0.1215
0.1280
0.1280

0.0140
0.0150
0.0209
0.0130
0.0120
0.0110
0.0110
0. 0120
0.0145
0.0130

Water.

d.
0.0164
0.0115
0.0142
0.0065
0.0055
0.0045
0.0060
0.0055
0.0075
0.0080

Pounds of
T otal per
Units Pounds of Water
Unit, not
Manageincluding Total Units Consumed Coal p er
Evapoment and Interest and Generated. per Car- Kilowatt- rated per
Various.
Sinking
Hour.
P ound of
Mile.
Fund.
Coal.

d.
0.0063
0.0135
0.0034
0.0150
0.0090
0.0065
0.0065
0.0065
0.0175
0.0180

d.
0.3107
0.3070
0.2565
0.2190
0.1960
0.2010
0. 2080
0.1960
0.2300
0.2330

819,414
852,930
1,083,690
1,325,826
1,632,852
1,607,364
1,487,034
1,614,816
1,279,008
1,139,547

2.023
2.018
2.213
2.694
3.082
3.329
3.554
2.954
2.362
2.081
0

5.01
4.59
4.49
4.46
4.64
4.41
4.46
4.67
4.38

..

0.0655

0.0136

0.1378

0.0086

0.0102

0.2357

4.8
5.32
5.43
5.36
6.00

1,284,248

2.631

5.38

4. 57

Cap acity of plant a t end of May was four direct-connected 850-kilowatt railway generators and cross-compound condensing
Allis-Corliss e ngines .
Soft coal scr eenings costing 6s. 3d. a ton.
Average load factor for the 10 months, 56.5 per cent.

TABLE XXIII. -COST OF POWER IN PENCE PER BOARD OE TRADE UNIT, D ENVER STREET
RAILWAYS, 1894 TO 1898.

STEAM.

1894.

Units genera t ed
..

Wages in pence per unit...

Fuel in p ence p er unit ..

Steam pla nt m ainten an ce

Electrical plant maintenance . .

Water, oil, wast e, and sundries ..
Total .

. . . 5,636,000
. . . 0.165
0.495
0.025

0.005

.. 0. 020

0.710

1895.

1896.

7,130,000
0.145
0.430
0.045
0.005
0.010

7,473,000
0.145
0. 335
0.035
0.010
0.015

0.635

0.540

1897.

1898.

7,148,000 7,452,000
0.135
0.135
0.320
0.310
0.030
0.035
0.020
0.015
0.015
0.015
0.510

0.520

YEAR.

1895 ..
1896 . .
1897 ..

0.145
0.380
0.035
0.010
0.015

per cent.
25.05
64.45
6.25
1.54
2.71

..

..

..

Average for the above

three years
..
..

0.027
0.070

0.414
0.220

1895

TO

0.080

1897,

per cent.
22. 79 to 26. 87
60.52 , 69.20
3.98 , 7.21
0.63 , 2. 53
2.15 , 3.37

0. 585

Sundries.

T otal.

0.149
0.040

0.915
1.020

NOT INCLUDING INTEREST OR

'

..

3.9
3.3
3.6

6.2
5.3
4.8

976,000
994,000
2,030,000

0.270
0.348
0.418

0.017
0.018
0.018

0.611
0.564
0.379

0.123

0.368

0.898
0.930
1.306

3.6

5.4

1,333,00:>

0.346

0.018

0.518

0.041

0.123

1.046

Six combined Lancash ire and marine boilers, 175 lb. steam pressure ; four 300 indicated horse-power and one 600 indicated
horse-power vertical triple-e>..lJansion condensing, .110 revolutions, direct connected to four 275-kilowatt set ts, continu ouscurr ent, shunt 230 to 300 volts, and one 430-kilowatt shunt dynamo ; two batteries of accumulators of 140 cells each , and
total capacity of 1920 ampere-hours for ligh ting and one battery of 263 cells and 962 amper e-hou rs capacity for traction.
TABLE XXIX. - C osT OF PowER PRODUCED IN DtisSELDORF, 1895 TO 1898.
NOT INCLUDING INTEREST OR SINKING FUND.

YEAR.
Produced atl Supplied to
Station.
Customers.

Total Board
of Trade
Units
Generated
at
Station.

Coal.

Oil and
Grease.

I Wages.
and IMainten- ISundries.
Sa.lanes.
ance.

0.038
0.055
0.040
0.064

0.701
0.627
0.530
0.4.61

0.252
0.214
0.187
0.152

0.142
0.138
0.174
0.132

1.423
1.295
1.208
1.068

Avera.ge for four years

4.59

6.58

769,700

0.272

0.049

0.579

0.201

0.146

1.247

t%1
ti1
~

0.290
0.261
0.277
0.259

G)
........

Total.

566,000
652,000
814,000
1,047,000

CosT IN PENCE PER BOARD OF TRADE UNIT GENERATED.

7.15
6.35
6.49
6.33

t'11

4.93
4.53
4.53
4.37

1895 .
1896 ..
1897 . .
1898 ..

G1

Four t ubula r boilers, two tandem compound-condensing horizontal, 300 indicated h orse-power , 90 r evolutions; one tandem compound-condensing horizontal, 400 indicated horse-power, 90 r evolu t ions, 120 lb. steam pressure ; two direct-connected 350-kilowa.tt 400-volt continuous current; and two 150-kilowatt 300-volt continuou s c urrent, a nd sub-stations with storage oatteries.
TABLE XXX.-CosT OF PowER PRODUCTION AT BRESLAU, 1895 TO
SINKING FUND
.

Average Maximum and

Average p er
cent. of Minimum P erfor
Items of
centage of
Five
Power for I tems during
Years.
Five Years. Five Years.

There are five old-fashioned stations with uneconomical belted high-speed engines and non-condensing fuel cost s on an
average Us. per ton. Average fuel consumption for five years is 6.38 lb. per unit generated.

of producing the power; will add but little to

t h e item of interest and sinking fund; and is,
as a rule, well worth considering, especially
when a plant runs practically continuously, as

0.325
0.610

Maintenance.

TO;l'AL POUNDS OF COAL

CosT OF P OWER I N P ENCE PER BOARD OF TRADE UNIT.
PBR .BOARD OF TRADE
UNIT.
Total Board
- - - -......,.-- -- -lof Trade Units i - - - - - -----,.-- -- -- - - - - - - -- - - Genera.ted.

Produced Supplied to
Oil and
W~es. a nd Mainten- 1 Sundries. 1 Total.
Coal.
Gr ease.
Salaries.
ance.
at Station. Customers.

TOTAL P OUNDS OF COAL

PER BOARD OF TRADE
UNIT.

A ,erages for ten

m onths

Wages and
Salaries.

TABLE XX II. - C osT rN PENCE OF PowE R PER BoARD OF TRADE UNI'.l!, SouTH S IDE ELEVATED RAILROAD,
CHICAGO, 1878-99.

Labour.

809,101
545,830

Coal.

Oil and
Grease.

TABLE XXVIII.-COST OF POWER PRODUCED AT ALTONA,

SINKING F UND.

A vera.ge cost of coal delivered is 15s. 2d. per ton.

MONTH.

Board of
Trade Units
Generated.

1898,

NOT INCLUDING INTEREST oa

Pounds of
Boa rd of
Coal per Board Trade
Units
of. Trade Unit
Sold.
Sold.

YEA.R.
-

COST IN PENCE PER .BOARD OF TRADE UNIT GENERATED.

Total.
Coal.

Oil and
Grease.

1895
1896
1897
1898

Wages and
Salaries.

Maintenance.

9.02
9.52
9.94
9.16

503,000
554,000
721,000
882,030

0.504
0.737
0.646
0.653

0.048
0.070
0.099
0.108

0.948
0.974
0.909
0.782

1.269
0.293
0.378
0.334

Average for four years ..

9.41

665,000

0.636

0.081

0.904:

0.675

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

Sundries.

0.351
0.283

2. 796
2.074
2.382
2.160

0.158

2.353

This power station contains seven H eine boilers.

Three steam engines 250 indicated horse-power compound-conde nsing,
150 revolutioDB each, direct connected to two SO-kilowatt continuous-current 130 volts.
Two 750 indicated h orse-power
compound-condensing, 100 r evolutions each, direct connect ed to the 485-k.ilowatt 220 volt s cont inuous current. Three .batteries of accumulators, 140 cells each, and of total capacity of 1000 ampere-hou rs.

is the case in traction and power transmission. ~'hus in Table XVI., notwithstanding a consumpHad more economical compound- condensing
Tables XVI. and XVII. are instructive, and tion of 6.59 lb. of coal per kilowatt-hour generated, engines been admissible, this cost would have been
prove conclusively that e ven under unfavourable the tot.al cost of power, interest and sinking fund less than a farthing.
circumstances power can be produced very cheaply. excepted, is not much over one-third of a penny.
Tables XIX. and XX. demonstrate conclusively
0

I
\

.
1

c::

zt:7:j

to..)

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

'80

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

JuNE 29, 1900.)

XIV.-A verage Cost of Power in & cent Am.erican
Power Plants in Pence pe-r Board of 'l'rade Unit
Generated.

TABLE

d.

to 0.50
,. 0.28
,. 0.02
, 0 05
, 0.10

XV.-A verage Percentage to Total Cost of

P ower Produ otion-American Rc~ults.
..
..
..
..
..

..
..
..
..
..

P er Oeut.
50 to iO
13 , 26
1.5 , 6
:! , t}
2 11 6

..
..
..
..
..

XVI.-Oost of Producing Powe1 in Pence per

Borurd of Trade Unit Durinq 1898, Cass A venue Power
Station, St. Louis, Mo.

TABLE

I tems.
lb.
Pounds of coal p er Board of Trade unit
6.59
Totnl kilowatt-hours generated . .
. . 10,643,000

d.

Cos t in pence per unit fu el

..
.:
,
,
wages . .
..
,
maint enance of buildings
11
11
s team plan t
elect ric plant
,
,
Oil and waste
..
..
..
..
Tools, boiler compound, a.nd various . .
..
..
..
..
..
Watet..
Total

Insurance .
..
..
..
..
T nxes . .
..
..
..
..
..
Interest and sinking fund (6 p er cent.)

Approximate
pet Cent. of
Total Cost.

YEAR.

1895 ..

4.18

5.07

1896 . .

4.20

189'7 .

4.09

5.00
4.08

Average for three y ears

4.16

4.92

NOT INCLUDING INTEREST

Cos T IN PBNOB PBR BOARD OF TnADB UNIT GENERATED.

Coal.

Oil and
Orense.

Wn~es and

Sa aries.

Ma in
ten ance.

Sundl'ies.

Total.

691,000
1,011,000

0.441

0.043

0.792

0.132

1.408

0.396

0.060

0.060

0.156

1.2'12

1,243,000

0.385

0.042

0.577

0.186

0. 270

1.466

981,700

0.407

0.048

0.6'10

0. 168

0.092

1.381

Stein mUller b oilers, 175 lb. pressure p er squa re inch . Two 400 indicated h orse-powet triple-expansion \'ertical condenser11, 120 revo.
lutions, at 150 lb. pressure, 420 x 690 x 1050 milllmetres. T wo 500 to 600 indicated horse-power t riple-expo.nsion ' 'ertical con50V
densers 120 revolutions at 150 lb pressure 460 x 750 x 1150 millimetres. T wo direotconneoOOd 276kiJowatt, continuous
'
,
.
'
550
current, SOO-volt dynamos, and two 400-kilowlltt continuous-current direotconncotcd 300 volts. Two batteries or 136 cells and
22.36 ampere-hours ca.paoity.
AVERAGE FOR Two YEARS.

Mauch est er.

Board of Trade units sold
4,104,000
Cost of fuel in pence per uni~ s old
0.433
oil and wnste
0.164
"
"
Wages at power station
0.188
R epairs and maintenance

0.3535
0.0060
0.0095

1897,

TO

T ABLE XXXII.-CosT OF PRODUCTION IN So~rE BRITISH LIGHTING PLAN'l.'s .

p.c.
54 31
17.00
1.60
2.16
0.09
1.90
0.79
4.03

0.2365
0.0765
0.0065
0.0090
0.0005
0.0080
0.0035
0.01'i0

TOTAL POUNDS 01' COAL PBR.

BOARD 01' TRADE UNIT. T otal Board of
Trad e Un its
Generated at
Station.
Produced at Supplied to
Stat.ion.
C ustomer.

, O.'il

TABr.E

..
..
..
..
..

1895

TABLE XXXI.-Cosr Oli' PowER PnonuoEn AT BANNOVRR,

AND SINKING Fusn.

d.

Fnel
..
..
..
..
..
.. 0.00
Labour
.
..
..
..
..
.. 0.03
Oil and wnste
..
..
..
..
. . 0.008
Maintenance
..
..
..
..
. . 0.01
Water and sundries
..
..
..
. . 0.008
Totnl cos t of unit nll included, except interest on capital nnd s inking fund . .
. . 0.128

Fuel ..
..
..
Wages
..
..
Oil and waste
..
Maintenance
..
Water and s undries

843

"

0.226

11

Sta.fford.

Kingston . Islington. Old ham.

62,000
0.283

213,000
1.713

0.044

0.186
0.658

1. 280
0.154

0. 218

Hull.

Edin
burgh .

Newport.

Burton.

3,534,000
0.385

287,000
0.612

93,500
0.469

0.085
0.159
0.125

0.230

708,000
1177
0.294

389,000
0 620
0.040

605,000
0.607
0.091

0.716
0.228

0.351
0.209

0.431
0. 606

1.45
2.29

Total cost of power production

2.415
1.010
l.i61
2.765
Total cost, nll expenses included,
p er unit sold
2.975
7.970
6.535
5. 72

total
..
..
..
..
..
0.0560
13.39

Capital spen t per kilowatt ltl

Total cost p er unit, all charges
stalled in pounds ..
104
99

88
131

included
..
..
..
0.4260
Total ca.pac ity of station in kilo
Total rat ed capacity of plant 3250 kilowatts, direotconnected
watts . .
(600
200
465
1500

single cylinder AJlis-Corliss non-con densintr enrines-coal costs Ss.

a ton d elivered, water costs 7d. p er 1000 gallons.
TABLE XXXIII.-PowER AND CosT oF PnoouoTION IN
TABLE XVII.-Oost of Power in Pence pe1 Unit, Baltli-

0.973
0.083

0.168
2 364
0.212

1.120

1.636

0.722

1.248

3.013

3.565

4. 270

2.660

6.42

8.6i0

52

71

87

100

151

1832

2060

3148

950

500

SOME BRITISH PowER STATIONS.

more Oity Rail1oad 001npany, 1898.

Pounds of coal per unit generated ..

,
water ,
,.
..
Oost in p ence per unit generated,
fuel
..
..
..
..
..
Cost in pence p er unit generated,

\vater

..

..

..

..

..

Cost in p en co per unit generated,

labour . .
..
..
..
..
Cos t in pence p er unit generated,
maintenance . .
..
..
..
Oil waste and s undries. .
..
..
Total ..

1896.

Approximate
Per Cent. to
Total Cost.
lb.
3.23
28.52

d.

0.164
0.009

Cos t in
Board of
rrade Units P ence p er
Unit
Sold.
Generated.

NAMR OF TowN.

p. c.
65.25
3.75

Aberdeen
Blackpool

0.032

13.25

Brighton

0.028
0.014

12.00
5.75

Bristol
Dublin
Hove . .

..

..

0.247

Plnn~ cons ists of four belted 500kilowo.tt, and two direct Notting Hill ..
coupled 850-kilowat.t, and h orizontal tandem compound con Portsmouth ..

densers.
.Mc lntosh and Seymour's engines o.nd water-tube
Preston

boilers. Coal costs 10s. 7d. a ton d elivered.

TABLFJ XVIII. - Oost of Power, West Side Elevated Rail- Reading

Richmond
'way, (Jh:icago, in Pcnoe pe1 Board of T1ade Unit.

1897.
1898.
St. James's and Pall
d.
d.
Mall

FUel . .
..
..
..
0.1685
0.1S10
Sheffield

Labour
..
..
.
0.1010
0.0835
Oil, waste, &c.
..
.
0.0165
0.0100
Shrews bury ..

Wat er
..
..
..
0.0065
0.0080
Southampton

Main tenance and repairs ..

0. 0185
0.0275
South port

T otal ..
0.3110
0.3100

Stafford

Total units g enerated

..
13,570,000
16,976,000
38.4 p. c.
I.oad factor . .
.
47.6 p.c.
Sunderland

Pounds of coal p er unit

Tunbridgo W ells
generated . .
..
..
3.84 lb.
3.62 lb.

Coal cos ts 10s. 3d. p er ton. Station contains two 1500-kilowatt Wes tminster
directconn ected continuous-cur1ent railway generators and two Worcester

?50-kilowatt direct-connected units and vertical c ross-compound

Yarmouth

conden s ing Corliss engines, and water-tube boilers.

X IX.- Cost of Power in Brooklyn Oity Railroad

CO??tpany's Stations in Penoe pe1 Unit Generated during

1897.
Cost in
Pence per
Unit
Generated.

Oost in
Pence per
Unit Sold.

287,100

1.96

412,400

1.65

1.78

2.55

2.17
3.41
1. 76
3.42

2,648,700
1,362,800

1.87
1.79

1.68
2.39

350,400

2.54

3.00

Cost in
B oard of
Pence p er T1ade Units
Unit Sold.
Sold.

1898.

Cost of
Total Units
Cost or
Unit
Sold.
Jenerated Unii Sold.

210,200

~ . Sol

2.64

356,100
1,388,800
650,800

2.39

3.32
2.04

429,';00
1,992,500
657,600

1.44
2.05

518,300
208,200

2.64
2.83

3. 'i2
3.28

3.03
1.86

3. 23
2.31

465,900

2.80

2.95

1.44

1.71
2.08

473,5CO
200,600
230,800

2.78
3.41

2.75
4.21
4.07

2.77

3.01

839,400

1.97
2. 'i6

2.12

366,000
981,300
371,300
123,700

2.19

2.41

448,000

3.5L

3.01
4. 73

4.65

5.22

4.61

5.02

188,900

3.52

3.86

160,3CO
166,100

1.68
3.96

2.63

2.93

2,401,400

2.05

3,028,300

1.99

2.23

3,448,900

1.77

1.97

483,400

1.63

2.29
2.21

746,100

1.58

23,800

4.89

6.09

131,800
245,500

3.t7
1.72

3.68

44,700
191,900

1.13
2.93
2.19

2.35

376,600

1.62

689,400

1.05

1.45

43,600
146,400

2.38

65,500
270,200

2.31
1.71

68,000

2.08

2.79

2.28

174,100
3,603,100

1.95
2.52

3.37
3. 27

2.29
3.19

2.82

288,600

1.95

2.27

3.48
3.18

3.21

1.78
2.31

2.27

2.29

1.38

1.78

3.24

100,0CO

1.76
2.34

6,055,200
4i4,400

2.78

333,600
155,300

4,355,800
429,300

3.14
2.75

3.35

232,800

820,500
82,200
97,100

390
2.60

T ABL'E

1897.

Name of station ..
Ken t Avenue
Ridgewood Southern
T otal capacity in
kilowatts ..
9600
1800
6000
T yp e of s teo.m
Direct connected
Belted
Bel ted
cross-compound compound compound
plant
horizonto.l Allis non-con condensing
Co rli ss com densing
pound condensmg , 75 revs.
Load factor . .
..
36 p er cen t .
45 p er cent. 30 per cent.
Pounds of coa.l p er
unit generated ..
3.00 lb.
5. 7 lb.
8.5 lb.
Oost in p en ce per
uni t~enerated, fuel
0.120d.
0.225d.
0.140d.
Cost m p en ce per
unit gene r ated,
labour
..
..
0.085d .
0. 146d.
0.130d.
Cost in p ence, water,
oil was te, a nd re
pairs
..
..
0.065d.
O.OOOd.
0.07fid.
T otal ..

0.260d.

0.460<1.

0.345d.

TABLE

XXI .-Puel Constvm,pti(}n on SO?ne Ame1-ican

Roada.

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

XXV.-Oost in P ence of Producing Board of

T1ade Unit, N iimberg Oity Eleot1icity Worb.

TABLE

I tems.

Fuel
Name of Company.

Brookly n Oit y Railroad Com

pany
..
..
..
..
Union Trao~ion Company, Phila
d elphia ..
..
..
..
Kansas Oit.y Railroad Compnny
Metropolitan ~l evated, Chicago
South Side Eleva ted, Chicntro .
Cnss Avenne Station, St. Louis
Baltimol'e Oi~y Railroad
..
West Side Elevnted, Chicago . .
Boston Elevated, Centraf Stn
tion
..
..
..
..

Coal costs d eliver ed, 6s. 6d. a. ton.

..

..

..

..

..

Oil, grense, &c.

..

..

..

\ Vages

..

..

..

..

..

..

..

1896.
Cost in
Pence.
1.188
0.168
0.400
0.336

Salaries . .
..
.
..
..
..
Maintenance of powet st-ation and feeders,
lamps, cables, &c. . .
..
..
. . 0.096
Ins urance, rates nnd taxes, and \'arious .. 0.216
Interest on capitAl and sinking fund . 1.020
140

3.00

0.100

0. 2697

140
140
160
140
90
126
140

3.50
2.62

0.186
0.121
0.170
0.120
0.237
0.104
0.175

0.2956
0. 248
0.285
0.230
0.304
0.247
0.310

120

~.85

4.67
6.69
3. 23
3.73
2.86

0.195

0.349

Total

..

..

..

..

3. 424

1897.
Cos t in
P ence.
1.224
0.060
0.384
0.240
0.108
0.264

0.864
3.144

XXVI.-Cost. in Pence of Power p,odJuction per

Board of Trade Un1t, Cologne Ctty Electricity Works.

TABLE

Items.
Fuel ..
..
..
Wages and salaries
..
Maintenance
Conden sing water ..
Station lighting ..

T otal . .
..
..
T otal kilowntt-hours generated

1898.

1~97.

d.

d.

0.415
0.200
0.160
0.062
0.014

0.499
0.266
0.065
0.038

0.861
1,187,000

1.061
857,000

0.1~3

saving it effects in the cost of production of energy.

that a direct-connected condensing plant will, under The influence of size on the economy of a plant is
in
the
case
of
Glasgow.
This
is
at
once
evident
favourable conditions, save the extra expenditure also clearly shown, and the consequent advantage of
which may be entailed, over and over again, by the centralising as much as possible, as has been done on consideration, as at least one man and an electrician in the engine-room, and one man in the

[JuNE 29,

E N G I N E E R I N G.
600

1900.

HORSE-POWER BLOWING ENGINE WORKED BY BLAST-FURNACE GASES.

CONSTRUCTED BY THE

SOCIETE J OHN COCKERILL,

ENGINEERS, SERAING.

(For Description, see Page 84().)

T ABLE

XXVII.- Cost cmd Data of Power, F1ankjort

E lectricity Works.
1895. 1896.

Board o f Trade u nits supplied

nt switchboard
..

Number of incandescent lamps

,. arc lamps
Motors in horse-power

Cost in pence per uni t, ruel ..
,
,
water
Oil, g rease, a nd waste..
..
..
..
Wages nnd sa la ries
Tnxes, in terest, and sinking
fuad

1 9 7.

TAB LE XXXIV.-CosT

0.758
0.042
0.184
1.261

..

0.634
0.064
0.034
0.896

2,696,000
65,133
658
1,600
0.755
0.054
0.036
0.628

3,194,000
75, 51
93
4,532
0.652
0.054
0. 046
0.606

NAME OF TOWN.

1.336

1. 413

oiling of th e engines, the maintaining of steam

pressure, water level in the boilers, firing,
taking away ashes, bringing in coal, keeping t he
power-house clean, c., become n ecessary, then it
is that labour-saving and automatic machinery
b ecome indispensable. By t he use of such appliances the same staff which handles a. small p lant can
manage a. plant 100 times gr eater .
Table XXII. gives the results obtained on t he
S outh ide Elevated Chicago, a. gen erally well-

c:

E-1

....:>

d ....

E:

O GS
._ E-1

-P.
'O -

s..p.
c'll ='

<I) ....

~ 0
c'll to

0 '-
o -g
fl) '0 .....

0 (/2

~ 25

c'll .uC
o ;:>
E-1

Pop..~ t:o

<:

1,130
18,000
2,400
1,200
450
730
1,600
900

1,572,000
14,230,000
603,000
882,000
168,000
257,000
568,000
403,000

5,000
5,000
3,000
2,000
800
2,000
1,700
3,500
2,000
1,600
70

2,696,000
10,500,000
1,087,000
1,187,000
332,000
815,000
790,000
2,950,000
4,696,000
2,931,000
955,000

0 '0

""'0
0<11

.-i

d<ll

s.. ...
> .9
0X <11
s.. ,>o
- c
p.. 0 ::::: c

Altona
..

Ucrlin ..

2.932
2.809
Total ..
2. 21
3.571

Dr<'men

Tota l efficiency of system
76.1 p.c. 71.5 p.c.

Dreslau
..

Cnsscl ..

Plant composed of four tandem compou ndcood ensing steam

..
engines, 5 revolutions, d irect.con nected , 115 lb. stenm, 522kilo Dnrmstnd t
wntt, 3000volt nlter natingcurrent ~enera.tors, and two tand em DUsseldorf ( )

compound couclen ing, &5 revolu tions, 115 lb. stenm pressu re,
Elbcr fc ld
..

1032-kilowatt simila r nlteroators.

T A BLE X
XV. - T otal Cost of Power p er B oar d of T raclc F rankfort on the
Mnine


Unit Generated in Pri~ate Plants in A merica ( P. R .
Hamburg
..
llioss).
d.
IJnn nover
.
.
Large hotels
..
..
..
..
..
..
0.83
IColncamRhine
Small ,.
..
..
..
..
..
.
1. 225
l'"lnts (apa rtmen ts)
..
..
..
..
..
2.35
K ~n igsbe rg

L arge shops (stores)

.
..
..
..
1.425
L<'ipzig

Small .,
..
..
..
..
..
..
2. 05
Large offi ce buildi ngs ~
..

..
..
2.1 5
stcttin

Small ,.
,.
..
..
..
..
.
2. 53
Dtcsd en (ligh t)

b oiler-room are always required, n o matter how

(trams)

"
small t he station ma.y be. vVh en t he machinery t uLtgnrdt

increases, and more men t o look after th e N cuhnldenslebcn

1.326 1.304

....

<11~(100

....:>

p.C

cS

-d~(j)
00

COST

(11-

'0

<ll ..c:

RESULTS o~

~ ~

<11

- c '
_g0 - p::j<11
E-1'0 <11

1 98.

AND FINANCIAL

-o ... Q.
C: cS O.
='0!:'
O p::j(/2
p..

6.82
9. g.

<11

p.

Q.l

(.)

....0

CD

.u
:n

-....

<11

0
0

&!

16 0

0. 41

15 3

16 9
18 0
15 0

12 8

<11

c:' ,..
0fl) .... 0 '0
C: 'O

cS

>

1.306

<11 l:Q p.
to c: 43 <11
~ o
G>C: t..C:
<11 ~
" (/243

e:Q

-4. 4
1 37
6.46

0.446
0.37
0.299
0.271
0.390
0.615

0.092
0.351
0.650
0.690
0.15
0.202

1.99
') 3 )
2.39
2.96
l. 'i3

9.40

0.036 0.630

0.056 0.313 0.073 0.022

0.042 0.577 0. 186 0.270
0.266 0.193 0.139

0.173 1.052 1.012

1.27
0. 15

3.69
4.9 l
7.10

0.798
0.60
0.2
0.48
1.11

0.051
0.13
0.06
0.02
0.18

0.4 74
0.59
0.1
0.37
0.72

o c:c

~o.. ._

E-1& ....
g <11
~

0.8.U
0.909
1.322
1.16!
0. 761
1.080

0.56 0.03 ,
0.645 0.099
0.216

0. 49 O.OS2
0.397 0.027
0.623 0.14

s ~~C)....

::3
0

0.192 0.332
0.23

0.06

0.08

0. 60

wo

..

..,-)/
--

1.47

1.05
3.17

... "'
!:' ~
C:
o --o

-.s"'

Q.l

19 3

-::;a

CD

-0 ,:.: 43
0
c:c:
43
- -o.O
ooUl
~ c: <11
s.. !:' "O
<11 ~ :J

,.. o(.

5.9'
G 79

C)

')

9.69
4.40

1. 5
1. -l
0.0
1.1

.....c

>. c:
-c:
llSQI
!:' Q 43
c: ... c
C: GI<II
<: p.P.
UJ
'O C:

- ~o

0.611
0.361
0.3 5
0.44
0.936

..

c:
d
c
<11
....:>
c:

0. 018 0.379 0.123 o.3e8

L IGHTING PLA?\"rS.
~

PENCE PBR BOARD 0 1-' TRADE

UXITS SU PPLIED.

6.64
3.66
4.6

AND

cS

14 9
11 ..,

11.36
19.06
7.7
8 81
6.06
3.48

GERMAN PowER

10.36
6.49
9.04

.H

lN

c
0
E-1

8. d .

4.77

s oME

...

0
~
0

r:.

-~ ~~~
c -

'0

~ ~

<11 1:::

~ P.
d
d ::l

.::
'00
,!1: ..,

~ <11

.s

... ...

d o

CD

<11<11

c:GS._c

-H o ,...

.<~

3.14
4.4

62

'.1.00
5.97
4. 0
3. 'iO
3.66
.19

24

(/2

6.45
3.6S
0.00
6.27
6.33
2.06
4. 56

44
!4
32
62
I

46

s
39
35
29

s.oo

"' Th ts mcludes stnk

tng fund nnd m tcrcsL on llg
htmg
mams,
transformers, lnmp , &c.

designed a nd very modern station ; the re ul ts here

shown a re certainly remarkable, and prove what can
b e obtained by careful design and careful running of
a plant. Table XXIII. is instructive, showina that
good results can be obtained even with a.n oldfashioned and badly-designed plan t , when it is practically run oontinuously and wit h prop er care.

The great p oint is to get as long working homs

as p ossible ; t hen, a nd only then, and with a
p roperly d esigned station, can power be generated
most economically. A station which runs for
ligh ting purposes only will n ot generate power
cheaply, and vice persd. T o design a.n economical station f01: tlaat ion or power transmissioJ\

JUNE

29, I 900.)

TRIPHASE

ALTERNATOR

CONSTRUCTED

BY

THE

AT

COMPAGNIE

GENERALE

EXHI BITI 0 N.

PARIS

THE

ELECTRIQUE

DE

NANCY.

(For Desc'ripflion, see Page 846.)

k-~----- - --

I, 900 ------- ---

6. 05 0

- CENT/lE
.
.
--LINE OF ENGINE.

l-

6.400

()

IQ
Q)

,...,

.... ......
_

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

)1

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

.-

..,,""

, .--

,.,

__________ ________ :__ ___+!

if-------1,490 ._ __

.,.,

J._________________

- -- -- - - __

.....

I __ _L ________ ,________J -.-*.. ____ _______ _..,..___________ _______ ___ _

_____ __ __ _i

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -- - - -- ---- --- 6f 066

I
I-

--~~

- "' or' 0

--*t- 720

,,

----U------ - _, ,.,"'"'
----------- ---- ---...._,.,
---,.,.

- . -41--

--

- -

- - +---

- ~-

- 1-1~ ----------- !--------..\?'-- - 11,600

---+
--- - - - - - -

ptg.Z.
...:

II
I

..L .'C.-1
work requires a great deal of special knowledge and
experience, which can never be gained in the lighting field.

It is interesting to compare the above results

with those so far obtained in European lighting

....
and combined stations.
1 Tables XXIV. to XXXI. give the results
obtained at Leeds, at the very small experimental
plant of Glasgow, Dtisseldorf, Altona, Frankfort,
k-----
--- :l_OOO
Cologne, Niirnberg, Breslau, and :S:~;mover.
It will be seen that whereas ''"the quality and ; n earest in size to the American ones, yet there the
cost of coal can b e practically assumed as equal total cost of the Board of Trade unit is only just
in the case of the American and European plants under ld. The new t raction station at Dublin is
given, . and a~though ~ages and. salaries are generating current at id. per unit, all charges
higher In America t han Is the case ~ ~urope, the included.
The tables r egarding cost of production may be
cost of coal per ~oa.rd of Trade u~nt IS three to
four tim~s greater 1~ the E~ropean hght and p~wer concluded with Table XXXV., page 844, which
plants gtven,_ tha~ m Amenca, .and the labour Ite!D was compiled by Mr. Percival R. Moss, after a most
is five to SIX times greater In Europe than m exhaustive investigation. It at once shows the
America.
.
.
.
.
economy of practically continuous running, such as
These superior result~ are achieved by pracbcally is required in large hotels, where electricity is not
running the plant continuously, and by the use of only required for lighting purposes but works lifts
labour-saving devices in handling fuel, water, &c.
fan s, and countless other small motors.
'
Tables XXXII. to XXXIV. give some more
results obtained in English and German power
stations. In comparing the American and European stations mentioned, it must not be forgotten BLAST-FURNACE GAS ENGINE AT THE
PARIS EXHIBITION.
that t he former are all larger, and t hat the larger a
SoME .months ago (see ENGINEERING, page 87 ante),
station the more economically it can be run. The
size, however, alone does not account for the we published particulars of a blowing engine, in
which waste gases from the bla~t-furnace formed the
remarkable difference of cost of coal and labour. source of energy, installed at Messrs. John Cockerill's
The Berlin lighting and power stations come works, Seraing; and more recent ly, on the occasion
I

..1

----- -- ..

. - -

..

of the last meeting of the Iron and Steel Institute, a discussion was raised by a paper read on the
same subject by Mr. A. Greiner (see E NGINEERING,
page 624, ante). A part of the exhibit at Paris of
Messrs. Cockorill is a blowing engine of this type, and
we publish an illustration of it on page 844. Of
course it cannot be driven by blast-furnace waste gas
at the Paris Exhibition; but its efficiency was very
thoroughly tested before it left the works at Seraing,
and the result of t hese tests, contained in a report
recently issued, may be considered as a supplement
and completion of the exhibit. The engine, which is
the joint invention of M. Delamare-Deboutteville and
the Cockerill Company, is the first of the special type
that has been constructed , and the blowing mechanism
also contains special details. The trials were carried
out in the presence of a large international committee
of engineers, and were of a very complete character.
Some particulars of the gas engine are as follow :
Diameter of cylinder
...
1.300 m. (51.18 in.)
1.400, (55.15 , )
Length of stroke . ..
. ..
Diameter of piston-rod ...
.244 ,, ( 9.6 ,, )
,
shaft . ..
.. .
.460 , (18.11 , , )
Height of engine . . .
. .. 4. 000 m. (13 ft. 1. 48 1n.)

E N G I N E E R I N G.
Length of engine ...
Width
,
.. .
Weight of flywheel . . .
Total weight of engine

.. .11.000 m. (36ft. 1
.. . 6.000 , (19 , 8
.. .
33 tons
...
127 ,

in.)

, )

Double-Acting Blowing Engine:

Diameter of cylinder
Length of stroke . . .
Diameter of piston-rod
Height...
...
...
Length
...
...
Width...
...
...
Weight
...
...

... 1.700 m. (66.93 in.)

. .. 1.400 , (55.15 ,, )
.. .
.244 , ( 9.6 " )
.. . 4.000 m. (13ft. 1.5 in.)
.. .
5.500 m. (18 ft.)
.. . 3.500 m. (11 ft. 6 in.)
.. .
31 tons
The gas used was delivered from five blast-furnaces,
making Bessemer pig chiefly, into a chamber, where
it was cooled and thoroughly washed with water jets;
but by another arrangement the gas could be admitted
direct to the engine after passing through a. meter,
careful observations being, of course, made during the
trial of the amount of gas consumed. The apparatus
used for this purpose was the same that had been
devised in 1898 for testing the first large engine of
the kind built by Messrs. Cockerill. This earlier
engine, which was of 180 horse-power, gave very
satisfactory results ; the consumption of waste gas per
horse-power per hour was 3.329 cubic metres (117.600
cubic feet). The engine recently tested showed a
saving of about 7 per cent. over the earlier efficiency.
The best result that was recorded during the \rial was
the development of 900 indicated horse-power, giving
effective work of 725 horse-power in compressed air,
with a. consumption of 2.853 cubic metres (100.800
cubic feet) per hour. This Delamere-Deboutteville
and Cockerill engine is certainly one of the important
novelties of the Exhibition, and suggests a considerable
economy in blast-furnaces for the early future. The
concluding words of the report we have referred to,
which was prepared by M. H. Hubert, Director of
Mines in Belgium, may be quoted as a just summary
of this interesting work. "If we remember that the
first and very elementary trials i~ the direction of
using blast-furnace gases direct only date back for
about five years, since the first experimental eighthorse motor was completed at Seraing in 1895, when
it was considered necessary to furnish it with extensive appliances for cleansing and scrubbing the gas,
we cannot fail greatly to admire, and thoroughly to
appreciate, the ability and perseverance with which
M. Dela.mare-Deboutteville and the engineers of the
the Cockerill Company have met and overcome all the
difficulties that attended a complete solution of the
problem."

armature it is made in halves for convenience of

transport and erection, and is mounted on the shaft
by bolts and rings shrunk on bot. The coils are
machine-wound on insulating shells, the section of
wire being such as to insure a full margin of safety
under all C'onditions ; the cross-section of the coils is
oval, which gives the best utilisation of space, specie.!
facility in manufacture, and a minimum length of wire.
The poles are wound so as to avoid crossings and
long connections, and the finish of the work is excellent. Two carefully insulated cables, passing down
one of the arms, are in connection with two rings,
whence is brought, by means of rubbing contacts,
the continuous exciting current required. The weight
of this part of the generator wound complete is 9.6
tons. On the overhanging end of the main shaft is
mounted the armature of the six-pole exciter which
gives a continuous current of 120 volts for exciting the
alternator. This machine is wound in series, in order
that only one rheostat may be required. The output
of this dynamo, at 93.5 revolutions, is 120 volts and
75 amperes. It is almost unnecessary to say that the
Compagnie Generale Electrique de N ancy, is one of
the leading electrical companies in France.

THE JAPANESE BATTLESHIP "ASAHI."

(Concluded from page 681.)

THE AUXILIARY MACHINERY.

THE auxiliary machines are very numerous, and to
give a complete description of each individual machine
or system would suffice for an article in itself. They
include Brown's steam tiller and telemotor gear, air
compressors, engines and dynamos for electric power
and lighting, searchlights, workshop engines and machines, ventilating fans, refrigerating machinery,
capstan engines and cable gear, combined heating and
ventilating apparatus for crews' quarters on the
patent thermo-tank principle, coaling winches and
Temperley's transporters, boat-hoisting winches.
Steering is effected in the Asahi from different positions of the ship, and by alternative methods. The
chief and easiest method is by the hydraulic telemotor,
which is used in conjunction with the steering engine
in the steering compartment aft. The arrangement
which is ft1irly well known, is the patent of Messrs.
Brown, of .Rosehall Works, Edinburgh.
The air-compressing machinery is contained in two
rooms on the lower deck. The machinery is used
for charging the air chambers in the locomotive
torpedoes, the air, of course, actuating the propelling
mechanism of the weapon. The sensible course has
rHE PARIS EXHIBITION
ELECTRIC
'
been adopted of keeping one end of the ship indePOWER STATION.*
pendent of the other, so that one could be fought after
THE TRIPHASE ALTERNATOR OF THE NANCY GENERAL the other has been put out of action. This part of
ELECTRIC C01\'IPANY.
the equipment has been supplied by MeRsrs. BrotherCoNTINUING our notices of the various installations hood and Co., London, who have fitted out many
that compose the great electric power station of the warships with machinery. The hydraulic machinery,
Pd.ris Exhibition, we this week giYe illustrations (on to which reference should be made, is also in two
page 84-5) of the triphase alternator exhiLited by the engine rooms on the lower deck. Tbe power is used
Compagnie Generale Electrique de Nancy, which is for operating the barbette turntables, hoisting amdirect coupled to one of the several engines supplied by munition, elevating and loading guns. The rooms are
Mtsard. Weyber and Richemond, and which we shall all well ventilated, a point which is not always
describe on a future occasion. The generator belongs to sufficiently attended to.
The ship is lighted throughout internally by electhe class of altern>1.tors with fixed armature and revolving inductor; it is de3igned for an output of 450 kilo- tricity. The engines and dynamos for this purpose
watts at 50 periods and 93 5 revolutions per minute. are of the most approved design, and the electric
According to whether t he load is inductive or non- lighting arrangements are complete in every respect.
inductive, it absorbs from 530 to 660 effective horse- The coal bunkers are, of course, supplied with the fixed
power. The armat ure is built up of very soft iron lights, customary in the most modern of battleships.
plates ! millimetre thick, insulated with paper; it Two yard-arm reflectors, each wit h eight 50 candleis held together by four rigid and well-ventilated power 80-volt incandescent lamps, are also fitted. Six
cast-iron frames bolted together. For convenience searchlight projectors are placed at different positions
of transport and erection, the armature has been on the ship, one on each mast anrl one a t each end of
made in halves, the lower part of the frame carry- the forward and after bridges. These searchlight proing the feet by which it is bolted to the bedplate, jectors are very powerful and are fitted with aut omatic
while four rings are attached to the upper half, as carbon feed lamps, those in the tops being also supplied
shown in the illustration, for convenience of erection. with distant controllers with watertight Bifranner
On each side of the circular frame of the armature are switch. Electric lighting is arranged also for distant
placed six radiating tie rods secured to a central collar signalling purposes. All such items as compasses, teleand the periphery, and pro':i~e~ with adjusting screws; graphs, and instruments on the upper deck and bridges,
by this arrangement the ngtdity ~f the armature .can conning towers and torpedo direction towers, the bow
be greatly increased, at the sa~e t 1me that the weigh~ and masthead, are all fitted wit h incandescent lights.
is diminished, and the proporli1ons between the ma.ss The dynamos, which are placed iu. a room on the middle
of the cast-iron frame, and t he wroughtiron plates of deck, are three in number of 600 amperes 80 volts, and
the armature, reduced. The winding, which is of t he are supplied by the well-known firm, Mes<~rs. Siemens
and Co. , Limited ; the engines are supplied by Messrs.
ording,ry triphase type, .is so arrange~ as to avoid
cro~s ;ng in the connectwns ~f the coils, as wel.l a~ m Bellis and Co., Birmingham. All wire leads are of
the coils themselves ; cable IS used for the wmdmg, the best high conductivity copper and form a complete
instea.d of copper strip ; the coils are insulated by tubes wire circuit, no earth being formed by the ship.
of micanite. The clear opening of the armature is There is also a complete system of electric bells
4.50 metrt>s (14ft. 9.17 in.) in diameter, .and the out.side throughout the ship with tell-tales fitted in the
diameter is 5 050 metres (16 ft. 6. 82 m.); the wtdth various importan t positions. All the work in connecof the cast-iron body is 580 millimetres (22.84 in.); tion wi th the fitting out of the ship with the electrical
it carries 96 coils, of which 32, connected in series, power has been carried out by the electrical departconstitute tbo winding for one phase ; the total weight ment of the Clydebank works.
A workshop- for the use of the engineers has been
of this fixed part of the generator is 14 tons. The inductor revolving within the armature consists of a arranged on the middle deck a midships, and is
cast-steel ring with eight arms, and having 64 poles fitted with all the most useful of machines ; in fact,
screwed into the periphery of t he ring. Like the it is really a floating repair-shop. Nothing has been
omitted which would prevent any repairs from being
expeditiously carried out.
S,ee pa~es 647, 712, 746, 775, and 815 ante

a:n

(JUNE

29,

1900.

For ventilation there are six fans dri vem by steam,

arranged three forward and three aft, below the pro
tective deck and within the citadel. These supply
fresh air to all the compartments beneath the water
line and thus all hatches can be closed when in action.
All the downca.sts to these fans are fitted with armoured
gratings where they pass through the armoured deck~.
The compartments above the water line are ventilated
naturally through cowls. Special ventilation is provided for the coal bunkers, all of which exhaust
into the main funnels. There has also been adopted
in the crew's quarters of this vessel a patent known
as "Stewart's patent ventilating thermo-tank," which
combines heating with ventilation and can be regulated as required. The principle is intended to combine an efficient ventilating system with an improved
arrangement of heating. An efficient form of heater
is combined with a steam or electrically driven fan,
and placed on deck or outside the compartment to be
heated or ventilated. This heater is connected to the
ventilating trunking through the compartments and
rooms, and any required volume of air at any desired
temperature can be delivered to the compartment.
By a suitable arrangement of valves on the connection
to and from thermo-tanks, air may be exhausted from
the compartment to the atmosphere ; or may be circulated in the comparliments throughout the beater, and
thereby raise the temperature. It may also be delivered direct into the ventilating trunks without
paesing through the heater. The temperature can
also be reduced when the vessel is in hot climates by
means of direct expanded gas from a refrigerating
plant.
The capstan and cabla holders are actuated by a
vertical inverted engine, having two cylinders each
16 in. in diameter and 14 in. stroke. The whole of the
capstan cable-holders are driven from the engine by
means of mitre gearing. There are two cable-holders
suitable for the size of the cable carried. They are of
cast steel with solid stops. They are arranged to run
loose on their shafts with gun-metal bushes. Each
holder is provided with one wrought-steel reliever
fitted into a cast-iron rubbing block. A cast-steel
drwnhead is fitted firmly to the centre cable holder
spindle between the forecastle deck and the upper
deck, to enable the capstan on the upper deck to be
worked by hand. The vessel is fitted complete with
all cable gear, and during the tests everything worked
satisfactorily. There is also a vertical inverted capstan
engine fitted aft, having two cylinders each 10 in. in
diameter and 12 in. stroke, and is similar in construc
tion to the forward one. A warping capstan is also
fitted on the upper deck aft and is arrcl.nged to work
by hand as well as steam. The lower portion is in the
form of a cast-steel cable-holder suitable for 1f in.
cable. The bo<;ly of the capstan is portable and the
head is arranged to take full set of capstan bs.ra.
The anchors and cables are of the best make, and
were thoroughly tested before delivery. There are
four bower anchors, t>ach of 120 cwt., ex-stock; one
stream anchor, of 40 cwt., ex-stock ; three kedge
anchors, each of 25 cwt., ex-stock. These anchors
are all of the latest p9.ttern. They are stowed on bill
boards specially constructed and adapted for the speedy
transit of the anchor overboard when they are released.
There are four cables of 2r01r-in. stud chain, and one
cable of 1f-in. stream chain. These are stowed in
lockers constructed forward on the lower deck, and
are so placed that they are convenient for the cable
.
being easily led to the holders.
The Asahi is amply supplied with boats, there be10g
no fewer than 16 of all kinds. These boats are all
stowed in such a manner so that they can be manipulated
in the easiest fashion when required.
THE PROPELLING MACHINERY.
The Asahi is propelled by two sets of three-cylinder
triple-expansion engines which are illustrated by en
gravings on our two-page plate. E~ch of the two sets
is designed to develop 8000 indicated horse - powe~,
giving a .combined indicate~ power of 16,000. Stea~ IS
supplied by water-tube b01lers of the latest Bellevtlle
economiser type, working a.t a pressure of 300 .lb. per
square inch which will be reduced at the engmes to
250 lb. Each set of engines is plaqed in a separate
engine-room, divided by longitudinal watertight bul~
head, which extends the whole length of the machtnery space. Each engine-room is in all respects similar
.
to but entirely independent of the other.
The main engines are of the vertical mverted
type, supported on cast-iron columns at the back,
and inclined wrought-steel columns at the front.
The soleplates, or main bearing frames, whic.h are
made of the oast-steel skeleton type to msure
lightness, are strongly bolted together so as to
form one homogeneous stiff foundation for the engines. All the cylinders are fitted with separate
liners, and are steam-jacketed. The diameter of
the high-pressure cylinders is 32! in. ; that of the
intermediate-pr~ssure cylinder.s, 52 in. ; ~nd that of
the low-pressure cylinders, 85 1n. ; all havmg a ~troke
of 4ft. The high and intermediate pressure cyhnd~rs
are fitted with piston valves of the ioaide type, haVIng

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

29, I 900.]

JUNE

approved adjustable packing rings; whiJst the lowpressure cylinders are fitted with trebJe-ported fiat
slide valves, having a special type of relief frame fitted
at the baok to relieve them of steam pressure. The
weight of all the valves is suitably balanced in order
to reduce the strain on t he valve gear as far as possible; the latter is of the double-eccentric link-motion
type. The cylinders, which are entirely independent
tastings, a re connected together by attachments
which, while allowing for the expansion of the differ~nt parts, insure, at the same time, longitudinal
stiffness ; and to further increase their stability in the
event of ramming, &c., strong struts are fi!ited between
the high-pressure engine and the forward structure of
the Yessel, as well as transversely between the respecthe cylinders in each engine-room.
The air pumps are not worked by levers in
the usual -manner from the main engines, but are
entirely separate. Close under the main condensers
are placed a pair of direct-driving, single-acting air
pump<~, actuated by steam cylinders working on the
compound principle, the pumps running at a. speed of
30 strokes p er minute. The suction pipes of these air
pumps are cross-connected, so that at lower speeds the
one set of pumps suffices for both engine-rooms, which
may prove of great adYantage in the event of accidents.
The main condensers, which are built of riveted
brafs plates, a re placed in the wings of the ship and
have a collective cooling surface of 16,000 sq uare feet.
Adj acent to them, a t the aft engine-room bulkhead,
are placed two auxiliary condensers, one iu each
engine-room, having a combined cooling surface of
2220 square feet. Water is circulated through the
condenser by two 18 -iu. centrifugal circulating pumps
E>ach driven by independent engines, having, in addition to auctions from the sea, the usual bilge connections.
The boilers are placed in three separate compartments, there being in all five stokeholds r unning
a.thwa rtships. The forward and middle groups consist of ten boilers, placed five ia a row, back to back ;
and the aftermost group consists of a single row of
fiye boilerP. There are thus 25 boilers with economisers, viz., 15 boilers having eight elements and seven
pairs of tubes; 10 boilers having f even E1ements and
seven pairs of tubes; 15 economisers having eight
elements and ten pairs of tubes; and ten economisers
having seven elements and ten pairs of tubes.
The main feed system consists of three main and
three auxiliary pumps of .M essrs. G. and J. W eirs'
well -kn0wn double-acting type.
The ma in steam supply is conveyed by two lines of
steel steam pipes, one line being arranged on each side
of the ship, and leading into a la rge steam separator
on the aft boiler-room bulkhead. Each line of main
steam piping is entirely indepenrlent of the other, as
are also the connecting pipes from the boilers to each
of these lines. Any boiler may, therefore, be cut off
from the steam without interfering with the p erformance of the others in the compartment, as may ah~o
any compartment from which these main steam pipes
lead, without affecting the working of the other compartment. Any group of boilers may supply steam to
any of the engines ; and the same remark applies to
the feed system.

instead of which she steamed on to Plymouth, and was

safe at anchor in the Sound by 7 p. m. On Thursday she
remained at anchor, adjusting the draught to meet the
requirements of the sptlcification, and on Friday she
commenced her full-power t rial between Start Point
and Barry Head, a distance of 12.26 knots. Four
runs were made between these points, the mean results
obtained from the series being as follow :

Full-Po11Jer Trial.
280 lb.
Steam in boilers ...
...
Starboard. Port.
Vacuum
.. .
. ..
...
25~ in.
25~ in.
RevtJlutions per minuto .. .
108.4
108 3
High
.. . 115 2llb. 115 32 lb.
M ean pres- Intermediate
49.09 ,
46.69 ,
sures
Low...
...
20.93 ,
19.3! ,
Indicated High
...
2508
2516
horaeIntermediate
2737
2608
power
L ow
...
3105
2886
Indtcated horse-power
.. .
8350
8010
Collective I. H.- P. .. .
.. .
16.360
. ..
.. .
18.3 knots
Speed of vesstl
This is certainly most satisfactory, the ship ha ving a
mean d raught of 27 ft. 3i in., corresponding to 15,340
tons displa-cement.
After the full-speed t rial circles were made to port
and starboard with each steam-steering engine, and
with the ship still at full speed. Then at a speed of 15
knots, the hand-steering gear wa s successfully tried,
after which stopping, starting, and reversing trials
were carried out. '1.1he ship then ran the remaining
90 knots t o Spithead at a speed of 17 knots, anchoring
there shortly before midnight.

RECENT LOCOMOTIVE PRACTICE IN

FRANCE. -l<
By M. Eoou.u m AUVAGE, lVI t'mber, Assistant Engineerin-Chief, Rolling tock and Running D epartment,
W~soorn Railway of Fra.nce.
(Trwnslated frorn the French. )
REOEN'l' locomotives on the French railwaya arc chiefly
remarkable for their high power, rapid incre')se in the

used : there a re to day in France more than 8~0 locomo

ti ves of this kind in service or under constructiOn. The
four cylinders drive either two . three, or four axles.
Wir h two driving axles the macJ1u?-es ha ve large .wheel~,
and are intended specially for workmg express trams, but
they may also be employed advan~ageousl_y for the
h~aviest passenger trains, and even m certam caces for
~oods trams. Tbe locomotives with three axles ha~e also
large wheels. They draw easily long goods trams or
heavy passenger trains ; they have been employed to work
expre~s trn.in1, but e xceptionaUy rather t~an r~gul~rl:y.
This type of engioe ron~ers _very greg.t se~VIce, su~ce It IS
euitable for almost all trams ; 1t a llows considerable mcrease
in speed for goods tra ins, which beco mes more and more
necP~ary on the r e twork of th~ pi~ncipal French .Jine_s.
F or heavy and slow trains, prmc1pa:lly on steep mc!m~
fou r driving axles are used; but thts type of macbme l S
geoPrally less in favour t han the preceding : almost all
ens-ines with four driving axles have already become
a )Jttle antiquated.
It is important to observe that much importance is
attached to the preservation of the coupling of these
axles together, instead of driving separately one axle or
a g-roup of axles by each pair of cylmders. *
The advance in the power of ensioes has brought aboub
an increa-sed weight upon each pa1r of wheels. A Joa.d of
about 17 tons per axle is generally allowed to-da.y io France
although a few years since 15 tons were seldom exceeded .
Amongst the details of construction one should notice
first of all the dimensions of the fire-grates and of boilers.
To obtain a sufficiently large diameter, especially with
large wheels, the axis of the boiler has been raised much
more than was done formerly generally a height of
2.50 metres (8ft. 2i, in.) above the rail-level is to-day the
normal height, although formerly this dimension was
nearer 2.15 metres (7ft. OH in.). This necessitates the
short chimneys characteristic of modern locomotives. lb
is scarcely necessary to add that engineers have never
regretted this increased elevation of boilers ; if there
still exists a divergence of opinion in this matter, it is
between those who think that there is no disturbance in
the stabilitr and those who think that there is a distinot
advantage m this respect.
The effeotive pressure of steam in boilers has been
carried to 14, 15, and even 16 kilogrammes per square
centimetre (199, 213, and even 228 lb. per square inch), the
compound system making good use of these high pressures.

TABLE I.-FouR-CYLINDER CoMPOUND LocoMOTIVEs, IN UsE oR oN ORDER ON JANUARY 1, 1900.

(ORDINARY FRENOH GAUGE.)
:See

p'~g

8J9&8.J1

Numbers of the Series. I Number.

Total.
Year Ordered.
-
LOCOMOTIVES WITH Two DRIVING AXLEB.

Railway.

Fig. 1
2

Nord (Northern)

3
ll

701

2121-2123, 2137
2138-2 167
2168-2160, 2161-2180
26112642

17
20
2a
2

1885
1890

and 1892

Ouest (Western)
Eta.t (SLate)

Paris Orleans
Midi (Southern)

7
8

THE STEAl\'[ TRIALS.

The Aeahi left her moorings in Portsmouth Harbour
on Tuesday, March 20, and proceeded to Spithead,
where, a fter adjusting compa.sees, sh& commenced her
preliminary trials by running a. series of progressive
miles in Stokes Bay, with the following results :
Progressive Speed Rwn.s.

2701-2i06

2801-280~

1 2')

r
and Mediterranean) l

P. L. M. (Paris, Lyons,
9

Est (Eastern)

10

601-502
603-642

1701-1714
1751-1774
17i61784

1895

and 1897
Type

1898

2
40

cc

Atlantic.''

1893

42

1897 o.nd 1899

6
4

1895
1899

American locomotives, Vauclain system.

10
20

1898
20

H
2l

1893
1895

10

and 1896

1897
48

0 1 2

1887

C3
0 11-12
0 21-60
0 61-150

1
2
40
00

1692
1891
1893
1898

2401-2432

Driving axles not coupled

radial axle in !root.

189!
63

4
6
6

R EMARKS.

Two driving axles between

two car.rying axles.

135

32

1898
32

Total number of locomotives with two driving axles

350

LOCOMOTIVES WITH THRl~E DRIYHW AXLES.

Nord (Northern)
31213170
50
50
1897
Ouest (Western)
2601-2626
25
23
1898
1701-1725
Paris-Orleans
26
25
1899
These data. having been obtained, the ship anchored
at Spithead for the night, and on Wednesday morning
left for the westward at 6.30 to carry out her highspeed coal-consumption trial, the results showing
that a t 12,947 indicated horse-power the consumption
was only 1.6 lb. per horse-power per hour. The following Table gives the mean results:
H igh-Speed Ooal- Cons'lllmptifm Trial .
Steam in boilers
.. .
.. .
270 lb.
Starboard. Port.
25i in.
2f>i in.
Vacuum
...
...
.. .
100.4
100.45
Revolutions per minute .. .
High
.. . 110.2lb. 107.6 lb.
M ea.n pres- Intermediate
39.5 ,
37.7 ,
sores
Low...
.. .
16.1 ,
17.0 ,
2223
2170
Indicated High
.. .
2042
1944
horaeIntermediate
2340
2228
_POWer
Low . . .
. ..
6605
6342
Indtca.ted horse-power
.. .
12,947
.. .
Collective I.H.-P. ...
17.5 knots
~peed of vessel
...
. ..
Coal
consumption
per
I.H.-P. per hour ...
...
1.6lb.
The high wind and heavy Eea prevented the ship
anchoring at Torb9.y, as had been previously a rra nged ,

16

Midi (Southern)

16

P. L. M. (Paris, Lyons,}

and Mediterranean)

17

Est (Eastern)

18

19

2
10
1
ll

3261-3300
3401-3550

40

8401-3450

1895
1897

27

and 1898

1896
1S98
1897

50

90

1898

60

60

189S

Total number of locomotives with three driving axles

..
277
LOCOMOTIVES WITH FOUR DRIVING AXLRS.
Nord (Northern)
UOl-4120
20
1869

20

1::301,1302
1303-1312
1401
1402-1416

P. L. M. (Pans, Lyons,

and Mediterranean)

3201-3202
43014302
3~11-3260, 33013862
4601-4540

2
2
1H
40

176

Total number of four-cylinrler locomotives

..
..
..'
(This does not include .Mallet locomotives for the metre-gauge
light railways)

1887
1887

1892 and 1893

1891 to 1895

Locomotives with four driving axles converted.

Woolf's system, tandem cylinders.

Converted engines.

808

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

power of locomotives being not, however, pecul;a.r to

Frn.nce.
F our-cylinder compound locomotives are frequently

Referring to the frames of locomotives, the Ieadinoo

* Thi~ remark does ~ot apply to M. Mallet's articulated

locomotives employ~d m ~ranee on the light railways of

* Paper read before the I nstitution of 1\Iechanical En- one-metre gauge, WJth wh1oh the present paper does not

gmeers .
dea.l.

ENGINEERING.

[JUNE 29, I900.

THE IMPERIAL JAPANESE BATTLESHIP '' ASAHI."

CONS TRU C TED

BY

l\1ES RS.

JOHN

BROWN

AND

CO. ,

LIMITED,

(For Description, see Page 846.)

CLYDEBANK,

N.B.

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

---

...

b ogie has come mto general use in France. All compound locomotives with four cylinders and two or three
driving axles are thus furnished, with the exception of
four constructed before 1889; many of the simple locom otives have also a. bogie. Another ins tance of the
favour with which b ogies a re regarded in France is seen
in the addition of the bogie to old machin~. His also
worthy of rem ark that elegance in the design of locomotives now receives more attention than formerly.
The following information concerning the seven great
Jail way lines of France, Nord, Ouesb, Etat, Paris-O rleans,
Midi, Paris-Lyon-M editerra.nee, Est,* has been gathered
with the kind co-op eration of the chief mechanical engin ePrs of these admini~trations, J\.IM. du Bousquet,
Cle ra.ult, Desdouits, Solacroup, M offre, Ba.udry, and
S alomon.
The present paper does n ob deal with light railways of
on~ metre, which would merit special consideration; it
doe3 not treat either of electric locomotives on trial or on
order for the working of special lines. The author prefers
to abstain from all comparison with English locomotives
or those of other cou ntries. Compound locomotives with
four cylinders, other locomotives, and various d e tails of
cJn 3truotion will be examined successively.
I.-COMPOUND L OCO?IIOTtVES WITH F OUR CYLINDER .

Table I. (page 847) gi ves a list of the compound locomotives with four cylinders, in aervioe or on order on
,January 1, 1000,t for French railways (not including the
M alle t locomotives for light railways of on e m etre, as
stated above). Amongst these locomotives of n ormal
gauge, four. (N os. 2801-2804 Etat)1 constructed in A merica,
A.re of the V a ucla.in system, witn sup erposei:l oy linde rs;
twAnty others (Nos. HOl to 4120 Nord, construc ted in
1889) have tandem cylind e rs, with three piston -rods in
ea.cb g roup, a nd one valve for a group of two cylinders ;
these locomotives do not belong to the category of ordinary
compound machines with intermediate receiver, but to
* These se,en lines work the g reater p a r t of the n etwork of F re nch ra ilways; there r emains a system compo~f d of light rail ways, generally with on e-metre gauge.
t S ince that date n ew orders have been given for locomotives of this kind. The W estern Railway has d ecided
c,n a. constr uction of a lot of 40.

.. --

that of the W oolf type, with steam traversing direct from

one cylinder to the other.
Putting on one side these two categories of locomotives, all others ha.ve four separate cylinders, ea~h
with its own valve and valve gear. The oldest of these
locomotives is No. 701, N ord, Fig. 1, d esigned, like
several of the following, by l\IL de Glehn, director of the
Societe A lsacienne de Cons tructions lVleca niques. The
two driving axles of this locomotive, No. 701, are not
coupled. 'rhe hi(3'h-pressure cylinders are in side and the
low-pressure outs1de the frames.
In the followin g locomotives the p ositions of the
cylind ers ha ve been changed, which gives the d ouble
advantage of placing the exhaust passage from the lowpressure cylinders beneath the smokebox and fixing the
smaller cylinders outside.
L ocomotives with two driving axles developed from the
fi rst type have been constructed of larger and la rger
power ; then followed the type with three dri ving axles,
often with wheels large enough to p ermit their taking all
except the most rapid trains . In ord er to still further
increase the dimensions of the boile rs of high -sp eed
e ngines with two driving axles, the type called
" Atlantic," with on e carrying a xle placed behin d the
two driving axles, Fig. 11, has been introduced. Two
locomoti VtiB of this type a re being constructed for the
Northern Railway. One may consider the " A tlantic "
type as de rived from the three-axles-coupled machine,
where the trailing a xle ceases to be a driver.
There is considerable uniformity among the two a nd
three driving-axles locomotives em ployed on the d ifferent
French railways ; howe ver, the P11ris-Lyon-M editerrnnee
has desi ~ned types of two, three, and also four-coupled
axles wh10n are peculiar to this line.
As already said, the coupling-rod h as been preserved
for two driving axles, to omit which would appear
possible without incon venience. It h as b een found in
France that the dis turbing forces due to the reciprocati ng
movement of the pistons a nd the obliq uity of the
connecting-rods can be diminished by thus coupling the
wheels; the machine runs more smoothly and wea.rs the
permanen t way less. In addition to this, the coupled
wheels are less prone to slip; in fac t, with two independent axles, if on e slips, the steam immediately acts
with greater effort upon the other, makmg it slip in its
turn.

T able II. g1ves various dimensions of four-cylinder locomotives. In the most recent locomotives it will be seen
that the gra te a rea is about 2.5 squa re metres (27 square
fee t) ; for certai n among the m the heating surface app roaches 200 square metres (2153 square feet). T hese
heating surfaces are reck oned on the s1de of the pla tes and
tubes in contact with the fla me and hot gases. The surfaces indicated are not al ways comparable, for they ~re
n ot alwa ys calculated in exactly the same manner ; w1th
the Serve-ribbed tubes ver y frequently used, the depth
allowed in the calculations for the ribs is not always the
sa.me ; b esides, more or less is allowed for the omis~i?n of
the ribs for expanding purposes at the two extrem1t1es of
each tube.
The greate r number of locomotives have a bri?k
a rch in the firebox. On certain e ngines of the _P an s
Orleans and :Midi railwaya the T enbrinck heater exlSts.
The weights have been given, in T able I I., as they
a ppear on t he re ports furnished to t he au thor; . b~t
it is clea r that these weigh ts cannot be exact m thm
50 kilogrammes (1 cw t.) ; t hey must vary with the
condition of the engine.
T he weights cannot be
g iven for certain very recent an d not ye t completed
locomotives .
Figs. 2 to 20 represen t the partic ular types of fourcylinder locomot ives. Those of t he Paris-Orleans and
=--tate rail wa ys not given resemble the late r typ~ of the
ou t hern li ne, with t he exception of the Amen can loco
motives of the S tate railway.
.
The \ Valsohaert val ve-goar is employed genera1ly_m
locomot ives with four cylinders. This mechanism, ha.vmg
only one eccentric, is sui table for outsido cylinders . Io
is also applied for i nside cylinders i n ever theless, t he
Gooch link h as been employed for i1H1de cylinders on the
latest compound engi nes on th e Paris-Lyon -J\IM iterranee.
The \ Vahchaert system gi ves good distribution of steam
at t he various p oi nts o f out-off.
The t wo lifting .shafts, one for t ho t wo hi~h-pressure
cyl inde rs, t he other for the low-p res uro oylin~ers, a re
act uated by t wo re ve rs ing screws placed opposite. each
other, F ig. 21, or one a prolon gation of the other, F1g. 22,
p age 852 ; the two can be re versed at will, e i the_r toget~er or
separately. The drivers are thus able to adJust su1tably
the dis tribution for all requirements, and ha ye foun~ !rom
practice in a. very short t1me the b est workmg pos1t10ns.
Admission of steam to bhe large oylinders should always

J UN E

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

29, I 900.]

RECENT LOCOMOTIVE PRACTICE IN FRANCE.

No . 701 , Nord.

TitJ .1.

F<' .5 .

'

llo

'-.

.-

542, Ot~est.

Nos. 503

F4J . G.

r"'

.- .

- - - - - - - - -i

I_

.
..,:. . ---

.1-J

..

....

.. ..

f~

o-~

~~

"tfl)':

. --

I~

Fig.2. Nos. 2138

. ~:'\_

\.

_,

,
~_;;.

- - -~

\\;!

- - ..... - / ' ~ ,

-+:-y--\

11 '
~

~'-

,_ h

- ~-

.......

__...,

'

2157, Nonl.

N os. 170I-l7I--t Jltidi.

Fig . 7.

I
I
1

".

Nos. 2r6r- 218o, N o1'd.

...-

<;- (

./

r-

... -

.. -~- :. .....
.,./ /

;~

"~
,.;~.-~!!_.l~J

'-.

'

,/

.1. .....

!::
f'

Firf .4.

\:

r.
A
11

-.

~tl

~I

/.

'.

- - --

,_

,~ .

.......

..

- -

~ -

'5\.\

,_

.......

flllflllfl

.... /

,.

'

- - -

1l
~....
~

~" -

-- -

'

\ .
.

..
~

,;, I

I.

~~-r:.< ~~

iJ

'
,,

/~-:::--~

~rr:
!' "'
1'-'
.,

('\

....,

.- .

.:0

...

;il~

'f

, ,

1"1

lJ

10

.n;\ os. 2 6 41

.I

..

I
I
I

umu.r

Bv!Ji"

c-_-,

!Jt.. .

>- :

..

~.

l=lR.F

11
'

J ,-....

-~

,_

~ 11t

~
J L

.:ii

'

. --

..

~~::~::::r==-====-~-=f-=-~.:.~.
_ -;;-;.-~- ~

,.;;- r-

- ...

- . - .. - ,..- ... I

- -

~!A

J;-~c

'" ,

:. .. .

'

- ..

'

..

'.
{ . ,

rt

.~-

--

. -- -- .. -
'~

"" ... ~ -

r,-

'

- .-;-.....

'...

~.!!_JI_.!);W6_

30

3D

Feet.

'

~--

'

~ ~~~
.

1\
--

I~ -~

--

__, j;;] ( ~
.,

'

~
'

/ \I

3170, Nord .
-

,,,

d.s ~

-- -

:-.'''

- --- ~ !

~ n:-~

:l'~

-!';... - - i ~-

'-

A
I

be at least from 40 to 50 per cenb. of the stroke, and later

for higher speeds.
On the Paris-Lyon-:Mediterra.nee the reversingshafts
are on the contrary, actuated ab the sa.me time, so that
they always take the sa.me fixed relative position.
In order to give the engines a. sufficient starting effort,
a. special valve permits the direct admission of steam
from the boiler mto the receiver, where a. safety \'&lve
limi ts the pressure. When the two connecting-rods
situ&ted on the same side of the engine are opposite
one another, ab 180 deg. (the out3ide for the high-pressure

..

...1

''

I'
.

'' '' -

Nos. 3121

Re./2.

. .. . .

'I

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

2432, Est.

M e(res.

"'

Fig .10. Nos. 2401

,...

0 . '

10

-~

'

- -- -

- - -- - - }v

'

'

''

" A tla11.Lic '' t"""'c

:.rr .

N oni .
'

2S

'

I
I

20

N 2 6 42,
nnu

., _

IJJ

\~

- I
.. .

.'

~~

0(/v

I I

.; ,., . 11 .
...p ""::!

'

1 2.

l l lllfl lll

~"

-- r
~

~.

.~.

....

- -

~,

/ ~:I'
'\
"~
--~,

.
.
.
.
.
'-.. ... .. --'_,--
~ :!-.
1\: 0 'J \ . 1 D

Dll,o)J

'

'\. . - . . . ,., v '-' - ,...., ,.~

,
'
,
'

-'-,

.... +--'-~--~----"

s:::z

- -t-

'\

r "

.,.
&-~ ~

' IC it I~~
'J

'I

--

.; ~-~ -- '

"

Nos. I7S L-I77.f, A1idi.

FLg. 8 .

Nos. C 6r-rso, Pa1is-Lyons-Mediterranee.

,.

>-.

.t ...~" ~ o ~-;;;;;;~~o~ D
. --

11 ....;

...

'\

r- . -

: ~

'

- - 1
- --

.. ~~...

...
:. -!
t .. . .. ..... .....

or

ur

'

'

Nos. sor and 502, 'Guest.

w -q-.
:~ -

r-'

. ~

~ , --~
; o~- ..

!::

~ ~'\.-;

, "S '

I'

- i
.,

..., 1-:--

"ij'

. .... :rx.."!" ---

IV - f...
~

'-

\.

t\

~
r-e'~ . , - I . )-

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

......

-.. - -- 7:

r~ . B.

\\

" .

~C)
:~ Li '

- ~)I

:(\,

,._

r.

....... ,

--- :S!\

'"

1;,

1\

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

./'

"

Teru!.er

Fig.J.

Su wiU'eled

l--

~...

1..

'

....: .... .

..

:. --

. ~

IO

~-

f5464C l

CJ Iinder, the inside for the low-pressure cylinder), the

starting effort is not sufficient in certain posi tions of the
engine, on accoun t of the coun ter pressure upon the small
piston of the steam admitted to the receiver ; it ha-s been
found necessary to place between the two groups of
cylinders special starting apparatus, Fig. 23. It consists
of a. large cook which can interrupt the passage from the
small to the large cylinder, and which opens at the same
time a. direct escape for the small cylinders. A similar
cook exists on each side of the ens-ine. The opening of
this cook transforms the locomot1ve to a. simple four

cylinder engine; in ca.se of inj ury to one group of

cylinders, it rendera possible working with the other
group only.
The system of the Est, Fig. 24, coneists of a special box
furnished with a ftap-valYe, which sen~es to separate the
high-pressure and low-pressure cylinders, and a. valve
which opens. a di rect escape for the former. This
apparatus receives the exhaust pipes from both highpressure cylinders.
If the two cranks for the high a.nd low pressure, instead
of being opposite each other, a.re constructed with a.

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

(}UNE 29,

I9CO

TABLE !I.-PRINCIPAL DIMENSIONS OF THE FOUR-CYLINDER COMPOUND LOCOMOTIVES.

I

TonEs.

BOILERS.
N UM BERS
FIG.

R AILWAY.

Grate
Area.

01<' TUE

SERIES.

Heig'ht
Length
Internal of Axis
Di)meter. above Pressure. Between
Plates.
Rail.
m.

m.

ft. io.

ft. io.

k g. per
Pq . cm .
lb. per
sq. io.

Heating
Surface.

DRIVING

O!LINDB.RS.

High Pressure.

WUEEL S

WEIGUT IN
WORKfSG ORDER .
REMARKS.

Low-Pressure.

External
Dia.m eter ' IN urnber

D :ameter.

Total.

m.

kg.

kg.
tons

Ad he
81\'e,

Diameter. Stroke. Diameter. Stroke.

m.

.mm.

sq. m .

sq. m.

mm.

mm.

mm.

ft. io.

m.

sq. rt.

sq. ft.

m.

m.

1n.

m.

ft. in.

toos

6 10
24
640
25!
64ll
251
640
25k
640
251
640
254640
25l

460
181
L30
20i
630
20i
630
20i
530
20g
530
20i
660
22
500

610
24
640
25!
640
251
640
2j6
6! 1.1
25i
640
25l
640

251
640
25k
640
25!
660

19 ~

2.100
6 10H
2.130
6 11 ~
2.130
6 ll i
2.130
6 lli
2.130
6 lli
2.130
6 11 ~
2.040
6
8l'u
2.010
6
7!
2.010
6 7i
2.130
6 lli
2.140
7
O!
2.090
6 lOl.,
2.130
6 lli
2.180
6
2. 130
6 llt
2.000
6
6!
2.000
6
6!
2.000
6
6:!
2.000
6
6i
2.000
6
6ll

37,80)
37.20
477800
4 .04
48,620
47.8.5
48,930
48.16
60,460
49. 66
52,400
51.57
64,00:>
62.99
46,05:>
45.3Z
49,600
48. 72
50,000
49.21
54,880
5 1.02

mm.

LocoMOTIVES WITH Two DRIVING A .xLRs .

1

Nord (Northern)

701
2121-2122

2 123-2137
2

2138-2167
2168-2t eo

2161-2180
26!126!2

~}

Quest (Western

601-602
503542

Etat (State)

2701-2706
2801-2804

Par is-Orlean@
7

1-20

Midi
(Southern)

1701-1714
1751-1774
1i751784

P.L. M.
(Paris, LyooP,
and
Mediterranean)

1
02
03
0 11-12
0 2160
0 61-160

9
10

12
13)

14 }

2401- 2432

Est
(Eas tern)

Nord
(Northern)
Ouest
(Western)
Paris-Orleans

3121-3170

Midi .
(Southern)

1301-1302

2501-2j25
17011726

1303-1312

16

1401
15

1402-1415

17

P .L.M. ( Pa ris, 3261-3300

Lyons, and
Mediterranean) 3401-3550
3426-3460

Est (Eastern)

1.236
4
1.260
4 1t
1 .260
4 li
1. 266
4 l ?J
1.350
4 5{~
1.350
4 5 r'~a
1.456
4 glll
1.296
4 3,-l,;
1 380
4 6i
1.256
4 1i a
1.688
5 2~
1.378
4 6!
1. 260
4 1i
1.380
4 6~
1.370
4 6t\
1. 260
4 1i
1.260
4 1~
1.320
4 4
1.320
4 4
1.320
4 4
1.440
4
1.463
4 9 (l~

ot

su

1.381
4 6f
1.446
4 8+&
1.380
4 6!
1 380
4 6jl
1.376
4 6i\
1.380
4 6!
1.376
4 6r\
1 .400
4 71,
1.440
4 8H
1.466
4 9!

2. 160

OH

2.25U
7
4 r~
2.250
7
4y'lll
2.250
7
4t n
2 450
8
Oi6
2.450
8
OiG
2.5~0

s Si

2. 231)
7
4
2.486
8
1{ ~
2.250
..,
4 l0G
2 . 7 ~5

9
0~~~
2.450
8
OlG
2. 250
7
4l tl
2. 450
8
OiG
2.450
8
o,u
2. 2~0

4/6
2.250
4 I!1ll
7
2.250
7
4/a
2 250
7
4le
2 .250
7
4t"s
2.470
8 1!
2. 590
8
6U

2.420
7 11!
2.410
7 l Ot
2 42J
7 nt
2.420
7 11!
2.420
7 11!
2.345
7 '8j
2.345
7 8~
2.260
7
4H
2. 435
7
2 450
8
Ois

nH

11
156
14
}99
14
199
15
213
15
2'3
15
213
16
228
14
190
H
199
15
213
15
213
15
213
l4
199
14
199
16
2'3
15
2 13
15
213
15
213
15
2l3
15
213
15
213
16
228

15
213

14
199
15
213
14
199
15
21 3
14
199
15
213
15
213
15
213
16
228

3.660

11

8~

3.900
12 9.\.
3.900
12
9!
3.900
12
Q!
8. 900
12 9~
3.900
12 9!
4. 200
13 9!
3.800
12
6/6
3.800
13
5,~
3.900
12 9!
3.670
12
0 1'13
~

a.eoo

12
9i
3.897
12 9!
3.900
12
9!
3.900
12 9!4 035
13 2i
4. 035
13 2~
3.000
9 101
3.000
~

l Ql

3.(00
0 10i
3.400
11 1H
3.400
11 1n

204

70
2f
70
2ft
70

107

9!

21 ?~

9!
94

2~

2!

70
2f
70

106
126

2~

70
2!
50

tU

45
1!
65
2l OJ
6'1
2f1f
65
2,~\l

65
2fl

7::/

88
96
94

22~.,

282
111
94
111
111
185
224

Nor d
(Nor thern)

4101-4120

P. L~I.

32013202

t 301 4302

1.478
4 10,\
1.400

2.050
6 8H
2.260

]42

4 7llf

4U

213

1.500
4 ll l'.r

Do.
Dll.
19

Do.

3211, 3260,
} 1.400
anti
4 7i o
330: -";362
1.600
4601-4610
4 llr\r
1.500
4511 4520
4 11 rliJ
1.50U
4521-4630
4 llt'-J

26}~

2.43
26i\r
2.43
6r~

133
133
133
150
140

2:l

2.2ao
7

4{ 8

10
15

15
213

4.099

13

5f

4.350
14

3!

4.150
13

~6

60
199
1H
40 and 15 307 and
247

2.43
26r\
2.43
26 r'~OJ

2. 38
25i
2.43
26H
2.52
27i

50 and 55 247 and

1U & 1r~lf

2.08
221
2.45

210

2.21
23!

2. 260

7 HR
2.2611
7 4H
2.200 .
7 4tS
2.260
7 4ft

15
213

8. 000
9 l Ot

15
21:3
16
2 l3
15
213

2.996
9 9a
3.0'17
9 trv
3.007
9 10~

suitable angle, a. sufficient starting effort in all positions

of the engine ma.y be obtained without special apparatus
other than the admission valve direct to the receiver.
This was done on the first locomotives of the P~ris-Lyon
M editerra.nee; but this arrangement, which does not
balance the weights of the p!.rts so well, ha.s been
abandoned in recent designs.
For lubricating p istons a.nd valves, the beat apparatus
consists of a kind of oil-pump. set in motion by the
looomoti ve gear. This pump distribute3 oil to the four
cylinders in precisely regulated quantities.
The preference given in France to four-cylinder com-

103. 03
1109
155.27
1611 ? \l
155.2i
1671
166.10
1669!
176.76
1891!
173.00
1862!
211. 30
2274 ~

123.20
1326i\J
133.70
1439l1u
157.6tl
1697t
176.87
1903i
175.61
1890/6'
151.95
1635i
175.44
1888!
173.31)
18651.,
119.06
1281!
129. 29
1391t
148.09
159i h
148. 09
1594?\l
148.07
1593i
189.5l
2039U
184.70
1988#

330
13
3!0
13i
310
1 3~

340
13!
340
13~

340
13il
340
13~

320
2 t,on
3t0
p~

310
13 ~

330
t:l
350
13~

340
131
350
1 3~

350
13!
310
121\
310
12r\
34ll
131
340
13i
340
13ij
340

65
2f'w
65
2/.,

139

18~

05

18 1

2,n6'
65
2/e

184

6~0

26.~

640
25k
640
25!
6:10
25k
6:!0
2oi
620
24i
620
2~ i

620
24 ~

620
24~

620
24 ~

530
20i
b30
20i
5SO
22
550
21i
530
20i
650
211
550
21i
600
19H
500
t 9H
540
21t
540
21!
510
21!

620

6~0

13 ~

24 ~

350
13!

640
251

21!
660
21i

6~0

25!
6l0
25l
6 !0
25t\
610
251
6t0
25i
6t0
25k
610
251
650
25fs
650
25f~

550
21i
660
21i
550
21&
&50
2 1~

550
21i
550
2 li
650
2 1i
59J
23!
640
2 1!

55~

25~

640
26*
6l0
25~

640
25i
660
26~iT

640
25.
640
25!
6l0
25!
6 t0
25#

53,501J
52.66
53,500
62.66
44,980
44.27
47,910
47.16
56,600
49.80

29,600 A oarryin~~: axle at

29.13
each eod.
29,600
Ditto.
29.13
30,370 A carrying axle in
29.89
front.
30,150
29.67
31,880
31.30

69,218
58.29

33,778
33.24

1 .750
5
8i
1. 720
5 7H
1.750
5
1. 750
6 8i
1.750
5
Si
1.600
5
2U
1 .600
6
2+8
1. 600
4 llfi
1.650
5
4tG
1.750
5 8i

58,570
57.65
58,400
57.48

42,470
41.80
41,500 113 ribbed tubes of
70 mm., or 2i in.
40.84
and ~smooth tubes
of 45 mm., or l i in.
diameter;
41,700
41.04
44, 300
43.60
40,700
40.06
44.100
43.41
44,010 Converted engines.

52,800
51 97
56,900

na

6~0

2-ti
620
24if
620
24i
620
24y
62LI
2-li
620
2l*
660
26fl~r

640
263
640
25t\
640
25
640
25k
640
25!
640
251
640
25#
650
6

25/~

2.00 ,

6f
2.070
6
9!

sa

25 ,-'~

650

50,800
60.00
64,000
63.15

27,600 Low-pressure
out
27.16
side cylinders.
30,500
. 30.02
30,520
30.04
30,779
30. 29
31,010
30.62
32,400
31.89

33,000 Atlantic type.

32.48
28,650
28.20
31,000
30.51
32,135

31.61
32,060 Va.uclaio system.
31. 56
Tenbriook beater io

the firebox.

31,8()('
31.30
32,800
32.28

57,600
66.69
60,10.1
59. 15
56, 500
66.61
59,900
68.96
58.110
67. 19
65,368
61 3!

6 l0
25!

21i

380
15
340

650 I
251""6
650

660
2611J
640

650
650

1.300
4
3r\
1.500

13!

25f ll

21!

25f lf

4 11 ( 6

56.00

360

650

640

650

1.260

57,100

141:16

26ls

21!

25t~G

360

650

14 t\-

25,-'~e

340
13f
340
13f
340
131

650
25111\l'
650
25/ll
650
25/.r

690
23!
520
206\f
62
20?.,
620
211 io

650
25 196
650
25196
6' 0
25lllll
650
25/8

1.500
4 11 -h
1.300
4
3,~
1.300
4
3 1\
1. 300
4 31\

640
25i

F ouR DRIVING AXLES.

2~1

1/'8" and 1!

Do.

2.38
26i
2.46
26!
2. 02
21!
2.46
26!
2.49

LocmroTI VE~ WITH

(Paris, Lyons,
and
Mediterranean;

20

2.30
28
2.30
28
2.74
29.\2.00
21f tr
2.40
26fij
2.05
~

2~

50
2
70
2*
70
2l
7J

1.95
21
1.99
2117~

2~

70

2.27
24, 7a1.99

L OCOMOTIVES W ITH THREE DRIVING A XLES.

2 34
180. 70
350
4 100
70
107
13 5jll
13f
19! !J!
25 r\
2i
350
4.300
194.00
2.45
iO a nd 45
117
14 l {i- 2! " 1~
2088!
13i
26f
2.38
187.97
350
70
107
4.100
13
25i
20231
13l
21!
6i iJ
360
2.46
18 t. 5 l
4.100
70
111
13
1953H
13i
2!
26!
5i ll
2.49
350
181.74
4.1CO
70
111
13
1956-{,;
26U
13f
21
6?"
350
2.46
181.51
4. \00
70
111
13
5,Jo)
26!
t 953U
1 3~
2~
18 1.74
350
4.100
70
111
2.49
13
19j 6l iJ
13!
2~
26H
fits
P.OOO
65
139
2.45
lot. 74
360
9 lOt
1665i
26!
14 r"o
2l'lf
3.400
160
2.48
189. 31
340
65
11 1 t'~s
219o3
26H
2Cl39U
13!
4.100
130
2.61
205.3 1
350
70
13
27
2210
131
2~
6in

Do.

45
1!
70
2!
70
2l
70

2.4/5
26i
2. 10
22&
2.14
23
2.10
22i

124.30
1338
164.74
and
154.89
1773[6
an
1667!
159.55
and
151.12
1777?,
and
t626H
154.74
1665i
202.06
2175
202.10
2176?6
202.88
2183i

pound locomotives appears justified. In the first place,

when a. very great power of the locomotive is required,
the compound system permits the use of steam a.t a high
pressure, 14 to 16 kilogra.mmes p 3r square centimetre
(199 lb. to 228 lb. psr square inch), whilst preserving
simple distribution a.nd ordinary valves. The system
gives economy of steam, or a larger power for the sa.me
expenditure, a.nd when the engine ha'3 to be driven hard,
this economy increase3, because the boiler is less forced.
In addition to this, compound locomotives with four
cylinders have certain advantages over those which have
only two or three; each cylinder producing only a smaller

~ 61'\l

li

56, 20

Pressure reduced to
15 kg. per square
centimetre,
or
213 lb. per sq. in.

43. 3~

47,096 Pressure reduced to

15 kg. per square
46.35
centimetre,
or
213 lb. per sq. in.
5 ~.800 Tllodem oyrm ders.
51 97
56,900 :30'i tubes of 40 mm
or 1 1~ in., on on e
engi ne, and 247 of
45 mm., or l i io.
66.00
'
oo the other.

247 tubes of 60 mm.

or 1U in., oo one
engine, and 21~ of
65 mm., or 2H to.
66 .20
'
on the other.

57,100

63,700
52.86

51,700

61,nOO
50.69
50,900
60. 10
61,660
60.85

51,500
50.69
60,900
50. 10
6 1,660
50.85

6 ~.86

Converted
tives.

locomo

Ditto.
Ditto.

fraction of the total work, the engines are less strained,

a.nd rem'l.in in good order a longer time. It !s well.known
to what rapid wear very powerful locomotives wt~h two
cylinders are exposed, because it is scarcely possible. to
give to the wearmg parts sufficient bearing surface. In
practice, the cost of maintenance does not appear greater
with four than with two cylinders from this reason. .
The arrangement of four cylinders, whilst {>reservmg
the coupling nf driving axles, leads to a balancn~g of the
moving parts. The oscillations of the l~comot1ves apd
the variation of the weights upon the ra~l are r~duced.
In one examp~e, given by M . Baudry, chtef engmeer of

Bsr

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

JuNE 29, I9CO.]

RECENT LOCOMOTIVE PRACTICE IN FRANCE.

2525, Guest.

Nos. 2501

Fig .14.

FUj . l3

FUj.77Nos. 3401

3550, Paris-Lyons-Mediterranee.
J

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Metres.
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the Paris-Lyon-Mediterra.nee, the additional weight UJ??n

each wheel due to speed was only from 1100 to 1200 kilogrammes (1T'e- to 1i\r ton) instead of 3600 (3~ tons) for
locomotives with two driving axles, and from 1400 to
2500 kilogrammes (li to 2! tons) in place of 6600 kilogrammes (~ tons) for locomotives with three driving
axles, the Wheels being 1.60 metre (4 ftJ. liy1lf in.) in diameter.
If compound locomotives with four cylinders cosb a.
little more than ordinary two-cylinder locomotive~, this
excess is largely compensated for by economy in fuel,
because the cost of up-keep and repair does not &{>pear to
increase. The observations made upon locomot1 ves 501
and 602 of the Ouest, which have been in service for some
years, confirm these favourable opinions. These two
machines have been compared with eight equivalent twocylinder locomotives of the series 900. Care has been
taken to pub them to varioua duties, to employ exactly the
same kind of fuel for all the engines, and to change the
men often. The two compounds, compared with the other
en~nes, have shown an economy in coal of 12 per cent.
Th1s economy would have been greater if the total amount
used by engine 502 had not been always greater than that
of engine 501, due no doubt to some small hidden defect.
The cost of oil has not been greater for these compounds
than for other locomotives.
With regard to wear, the tyres of locomotives 501 and
602 have run about 58,000 kilometres (or 36,000 miles),
between each returning, whilst the other locomotives
have run about 62,000 kilometres (32,000 miles): the
removal of the wheels is the occasion of a slight general
repair to the mechanism. The wear of the valves is
considerably leas with the compound locomotives, in
spite of the high pressure in the boiler (14 kilogrammes per square centimetre in place of 12, 19D lb.
per square inch in place of 171 lb.): the valves of the
eight ordinary locomotives have been withdrawn after
running about 69,000 kilometres (about 43,000 miles).
The
valves of compounds have given the following Eer

F4J.~.Nos. 32 I I-326o, 3301

..._
f

..11

Air

ll.ut.r~6,,.

t======~-====;:

- -

built one grade in excess of Lloyd's highest class to designs

prepared by the builder, is of the following dimensions :
Length, 149.6 ft.; breadth, 22.8 ft.; depth 12.3 ft.; and is
of particularly graceful appearance, havins exceptionally
Ion~ an~ beautiful overhangs at;ld a.rtist10 b<?w carvi_ng
endmg m a pretty figure. She 1s schooner-ngged wtth
two pole masts. An interesting feature in the equiP.menb
is the fitting of Simpson's patent diaphragm ventilators
which oa.n be closed from either deck or below, or may
be left open in wet weather without fear of shipping
wa:ter. Th~ machinery consists of a large cylindrical
botler workmg at a pressure of 160 lb., supplying
ateam to a twin set of triple-expansion engines, each
capable of developing about 300 horse- power when
making 160 revolutions. The screws revolve outward
when propelling the ship ahead, and the machinery is
supported on polished steel columns throughout, having
a separate copper condenser for each engine. A complete installation of electric light is prr>Vided throughcub.

VlceS:

Locomotive 501 High-pressure valves, 216,000 and

332,000 kilometres (134, 000 and
206,000 miles).
Low-pressure valves, 311,000 kilometres (193,000 miles) for both.
L ocomotive 502 High-pressure valve~, 206,000 and
265,000 kilometres (128,000 and
165,000 miles).
Low-pressure valve!3t 362,000 kilometres for both (2~, 000 miles).
(To be continued.)

3362, Paris-Lyons-M ecj,~terr.qnee~

On Saturday, June 16, the Dutch torpedoboat Scylla

was successfully launched at P oplar. This is the second
of five i~proved first-class torpedo-boats in the course of
construction by Messrs. Y arrow and Co., Limited for
the Royal Dutch Government, two of which are t~ be
sent to the Dutch Ea.st Indies.

Messrs. William Simons and Co., Limited, Renfrew

launched on the 18th inst. the first of three 800-ton hoppe~
steamers recently ordered by the Mersey Docks and
H~rbour Boe:rd. T~e vessel is propelled by one set of
tr1ple-expanston engmes and has a return tubular boiler
of sufficient power to _propel the vessel at a speed of 10
knots when loaded. Stea.m appliances are fitted to work
LAUNCHES AND TRIAL '!'RIPS.
the hopper doors from independent engines placed at the
A NOTABLE addition hae been made to the magnificent fore and aft ends of the hopper.
fleet of English-owned yachts by the launch, on the 14th
inst., of the steel twio.sorew vachb Za.ida, built ~y Messrs.
The Stag, torpedo-boat destroyer, underwent a sucJ. Samuel White and Co., Limited, of East Cow~, for cessful three hours' full-speed trial on Tuesday the 19th
Mr. Alfred Shuttleworth. The vessel, which haa been inst., and returned to Cha.tho.m. Her average speed was

'

30.345 knot~, whlle for the six runs on the measured mile
the average speed was 30.615 knots. The highest speed
attained when going with the tide was 32.727 knots. The
official details are as under : Draught of water-forward
6 ft. 91 in., aft 7 ft. 1~ in.; steam pressure in boilers,
213 lb.; vacuum in condensers-starbOard 24. 7, port 24~8 ;
revolutions per minute-starboard 385, port 381.6; mean
indicated horse-power-starboard 2768, port 2791-total
5559.
On the 21st insu. Messrs. John Reid and Co Limited
~w,..~iteinch, launched the twin-screw steam~r Maule;
built by them to the order of Mr. Thomas DewsLury of
Leeds, for the Compania Sud Americana de Vapo;es
Valparaiso. The Maule, which is a!a,s..'3enger and oarg~
vesse~, measures about 1000 tons, an will be fitted with
ma-ehmery by Messrs. Dunsmuir and J a.okson, engineers
Govan.
'
The tw~-screw steamer Cons?elo, built for Messrs.
Thomaa Wtlson, Sons, and Co., Ltmited, Hull by Messrs
C. S. Swan and Hunter, Limited, of Wallae~d-on-Tyne.
made 13 knots on sevex:al runs over the measured mile. Th~
Consuelo has been destgned for the New York service of
the. owners, and is intended to carry a large general cargo
bes1des a number of cattle. Her leading dimensions are~
Length over all, ~76 ft. ; beam extreme, 52 ft. ; depth
moulded, 34 ftJ. 2 m. to upper deck; above the upper
deck a. complete shelter deck has been fitted for ca.rrymg
~he ca.~tle, above which aga~ there is a. complete bridge,
m whtch the accommodatton for crew engineers and
o.ffi~ers has been provided, besides st,ate-rooms for a
limt~d number of passengers. The engines have been
p~ov~ded by Messrs. Thomas Richardson and Sons
Lumte~, of HB:rtlepool, and ~nsists .of two sets of triple:
expansto~ e~gtn~, each havmg cylinders 22 in., 37 in.,
and ~4 m. m dtam~ter by 42 in. stroke, steam being
s~pplied by four ~gle-ended boilers 16 ft. 6 in. in
dl8.meter by_11 ft. ! 1n. long, working at 200 lb. pressure
and fitted w1th Elhs and Eaves' induced draught.
'

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

(JUNE

29,

1900

RECENT LOCOMOTIVE PRACTICE IN FRANCE.

(For Description, see Page 847.)

Reversing Gea1's for 4-Cyl. Co11zpound: Locotnotive,

Fig.29. Starting Gear of th.e. Societe A lsacienne .

.?-
..

FU;]. 2 1. With parallel screws .

Scale 1J8th.

with Mee:hanical Cut-off Gear

for 4-Cylinder Con'tj;ound Locomoliv.es.

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Fif] . zg_. Starting Gear of the Est

for CoTnpo.u nd Locomotives.

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Fine-Screw Adjustn1ent
,

31

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:
H. P Exrva!Mt !

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- , - -o

DIAMOND SAW FOR STONE.

1N our issue of June 22, 1883, we published an article
entitled "The Tools of the Pyramid Builders," in
which we gave an account of the res'IJ.lts of .the researches made by Mr. Flinders P etr!e int o the methods
and tools used by the an.cient Egyptians. There is
good evidence that t hey used reciprocating saws
and hollow drills set with jewels, and that they
worked them ' under great pressure, so as to get
coarse cuts. Unfortunately none of the tools have
ever been found, and we are quite ignorant how the
jewels were fixed in the metal supports so as to stand
the heavy side strain upon them, especially when it
was a reciprocating strain, as in the case of a saw.
Even with moders appliances it has always been a
matter of difficulty to fix diamonds satisfactorily in a
saw, with the certainty that they should not work
loose. In well-sinking with diamond tools the matter
is comparatively simple, as the speed is exceedingly
slow. But when heavy cuts and high speeds are
attempted, the difficulty makes itself felt very acutely;
for, although the diamonds used are of inferior quality
from the lapidary's point of view, yet they are by no
means cheap, and it is a serious matter to lose a
number of them.
The usual method of fixing diamonds used by the
well-sinker is to bore small holes for their reception in
the end of the hollow drill, and then to fix them by
burring the metal over them with a hammer or a
caulking t ool. This plan, although fairly satisfactory
for the purpose for which it is intended, is Quite in-

effectual :when applied t o a circular saw running at a

high speed. A much more secure method of attachment is then required,.and has been lately introduced
by Messra. George Auderson and Co., of Carnoustie,
N.B., who, at the York Show of the Royal Agricultural Society of England, held ]ast week, exhibited a
circular saw set with diamonds and cutting hard sandstone blocks at the rate of 5 in. per minute. In this
saw, which we illustrate on the opposite page, each
diamond is fixed in a small steel block or die, w hieh
is afterwards fitted into a dovetailed recess in the
periphery of the saw. A hole of the required size
is drilled into the block from the back, the
drill being stopped before its point appears at the
front . The diamond is then dropped into the hole
thus formed, aud a steel wire peg is driven in behind
it. The block is then put between the jaws of an
electric welding machine, and t he temperature ra ised
until it becomes quite soft. Pressure is t hen applied
unt~l the metal is squeezed firmly round the diamond,
making good contact with all its facets, and the steel
wire peg is welded into position. The front of the
block is then filed away until the diamond is just
visible, and its edges are milled to fit the dovetailed
recess in the saw. Naturally the positions of the
diamonds a re different iu successive blocks, so that
the saw may clear iteelf.
The machine shown at York did most excellent
work, cutting sandstone blocks cleanly at the rate of
5 in. per minute. The blocks were merely laid on the
table, and were not clamped down in any way. i'he

table t ravels endwise, and the saw can be traversed

along its shaft, t ogether with the steadying blocks
and the water pipes, to ehift it ready for another
cut, . there being no altel'a.tion in the position of the
stone after it has been set on the table. The rate of
cut can be varied t6~ suit the kind of stone on the
t~le.

The saw illustrated by us is at work at Portland ;

the blade is 7ft. 4 in. in diameter, and cuts a stone
3ft. thick.

NOTES FROM THE UNITED STATE.S.

PHILADELPHIA, June 23.
THE downward trend of prices in iron, steel and
coke continues. Coal is stationary because of heavy
demand and because prices in most cases are fixed by
long runnin g contracts. Business is restricted ~
actual necessities, not only in iron and steel, but 1D
nearly all other avenues. Shapes were reduced last
Saturday 7 dole. to 8 dols. per ton, but billets are
still held 5. 00 dols. above their fair market values.
The only threatening condit ion before the iron a:nd
steel industry is t~e fact that wages for the ensumg
year have not yet been fixed. The iron and steel works,
including puddlers, rollers, sheet mill workers, and
tin mill men, are compactly organised in two associations, one the Amalgamated Association of Iron and
Steel Workers and the other the Tin-Plate Workers'
National Protective Association. Meetings between
the companies and the workmen will be held in & few

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

}UNE 29, 1900.]

DIAMOND SAW FOR CUTTING STONE.

CONSTRUCTED BY MESSRS. GEORGE ANDERSON AND CO. , ENGINEERS, CARNOUSTIE, N.B.

(FOT Description, see opposi'e Page.)

days The puddlers want an advance of 25 cents per out the duties of an executive officer, yet, by the wording
ton, 'the r ollers and others an advance of 4 per cent., o~ his commission, he has absolutelv no legal ~uthority to
and the t in-plate workers au advance of 15 per cent. glVe an order or to be obeyed. Can anythmg be more
The Republic Iron and Steel Company, owning absurd ?
Yours truly,
d
35 mills and six bla.st-furndacdes, bads flahtly .refuset
Hong Kong, May 26, l900.
H. K.
to pay the advance deman e , an t e tm-p1a e
workers will meet this week with a similar refusal.
These workmen have been accustomed for years to
THE BOILER EXPLOSION AT
winning victories, and as they would prefer to take a
'VELLINGTON.
few weeks' rest, there will probably be a r efusal to
To THE EDITOR oF ENGINXERING.
accept old wages. A long stop is a probability. The
Srn,-I shall be obliged if one of your readers will
managers prefer it also in order to correct or at least inform me as to what is the best method of ascertaining
tone up the markets which have been declining since the thickness of the platos of boilers in all parts while
:M arch. There is hardly a ny business being done. the same are in posit10n and in ordinary working condiPeople want to find out what bottom prices are going tion.
to be. No. 1 foundry iron is down to 19.50 dole., and
I s it considered correct to harumer the plates all over
with a heavy spike.ended hammer with the idea that
forge iron is down to 17 dols.' a drop of 5. 00 dols. when you come to a thin place, the spike will go through
Billets are still stubbornly held at 29 dols. , when they and demonstrate the weakness ? Or should an ordinary
ought not to be over 25 dols. All kinds of finished iron workmen go to work with a drill and ratchet brace and
are down, bar iron selling at 1! cents a pound, or 30 dols. drill holes through every place where he may suspect the
per ton net. Plates are down, but rails keep up, and plates to have worn away so as to ascertain their actual
there is a good demand for both. In fact, the strength of thickness?
the whole situation is due to the railroad requirements ;
lb appears to me a very easy matter-after the explosion
traffic is steadily increa.sing and so are earnings, but -to !Jla~e ~he report made by Mr. H~ughton, ~':lt the
the stock markets refuse to listen. The situation is questton ts, 1f Mr. Houghton had been m t~e posttton of
sound all around, and a great deal of work will be the workma~, Jam~ Clay (before ~he exploston), coul~ he
d t th
ket st as soon as every one feels have so east,ly fur~nshe~ tbe part10ul&;rs of plate thtckh urne
m o e ~ar
JU
.
nesses of irJ m., ~ m., i m., &c., espemally when so far as
assur~d that P.rtces have touched bottom. Export I can gatller he (Clay) had nob been required by his emmachmery reqmrements do not appear to abate. The , ployers or anybody else to ascertain and report these
German markets appear to be badly scared at us, but thicknesses?
.Personally I consider that these workmen who are sent
so far no new orders or inquiries have come from that
quarter. Blast-furnace production is 2000 tons above about the country to keep boilers in order at a minimum
.May 1 but quite a number of old fashioned furnaces of cost, have nob half a fair chance, and I should recomwill bl~w out. A new and large steel plant to make mend them to insis.t i~ having all small boilers ~isma:ntled,
armour-plate and other heavy castings will be built thorou~hly scaled I~stde and oub, and ~xammed m the
near this oity. The Secretary of the Navy will soon open atr, finally testm~ them by hydrauhc pressure 50 per
11 0f
1 te 8
cent. above the workmg pressure, and carefully noting
f
arrange or a. very mrge supp Y a.rmour-p a
by gauge rods, &c., prepared previous to the test, whether
the firebox or crown collapses at alL
Yours faithfully,

British interests consists in the permanent existence in

Great Britain of a large trained and organised force,
ready ab a moment's notice to go anywhere, and to aou
rapidly and effectively at any threatened point. Also
that such a force must be independent of the reserves, and
consequently must consist of long-servioe men.
The force must be a trained force, perfect in every
detail, organised into fighting units, and ready to embark
with its arms and ammunition, with its stores and equipment, with every button in its ri~ht place, and no more
buttons than are actually nee~ed m '_Var; tha.t is to say,
the for~ must be clothed I.n a stmple but soldierly
dress, wtth the smallest posstble amount of those orna
mental but useless gewgaws which have to be imme
diately
discarded when the troops are ordered on active

service.
Mr. Wyndham, in his speech on Army Reform on
March 12 last, used several arguments whioh he intended
to employ adversely to the system of Ions service. He was
"profoundly conv:inced that. five years IS ~ong enough for
any man to serve 10 the tropics., No one IS likely to take
any other view. But how does Mr. Wyndham suppose
this to be a ~act ad verse to long service? Surely, a. statesman possessmg so much common sense as he must see that
a troopship will carry a regiment of long-service men
fully as easily as a regiment of boys. He added that if
we "are tempted to em bar~ on any Iong.eervice system,
we shall burden ourselves With a. whole army of pensioners
and .invalids/' 0~ course, pensions are earned by long
serv10e, whether m the Army, the Navy, or the civil
departments. Such pensions are really deferred pay, and
are very properly employed to prevent the accumulation
of. an a~my of impecuniou~ vagabonds which might otherWISe anse. If thus exammed, the word p ensio'ners in the
above-quoted sentence loses all its intended sting and the
word i nvalids is left. But why should this word 'be more
applicable to long-service than to short-service men? As
a fact, it is precisely the opposite, always a.ssumin~ tha.t
the long-service men are not left to stew .in .the tropics for
mo~ than fiye ~ears- Mr. Wyndham's limtt. The young
so.ldier w.ho IS pitchforked for five years into a tropical
climate 1s really the man for whose health, &c., the
Secretary of State for War should be anxious.
NAVAL ENGINEERS.
JAArES FERRABEE.
The old soldier knows better how to take ca.re of himTo THE EDITOR OF ENGINEERING.
self, !l'nd the riper average age of a. regiment of such men
SIR,-There left here on the 24th inst. in the P. and 0.
p~ovtdes a muc~ stronger defenceaga.inst the onslaught of
s.s. Japan about 150 naval ra.tin~s, being the paid-off
THE WAR IN SOUTH AFRICA.
disease. The Immature boys who now form so large a
crews of H .M.SS. Fame and Whiting and a few other
To THE EDITOR OF ENGU\TEERING.
prOJ?Ortion <?f the drafts to India and other tropical
time-expired men. This party is placed in the sole
SIR,-In my letter to you last week I ventured to assert stations, owmg to the short-service system a.nd to the
charge of a chit\f engineer {Jate Fame) who has to carry , that one of the first requirements for the defence of method of the linked battalions, are the m~n who often

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

return to England after a very short service indeed, and

encumber the wards at Netley Hospital.
It is, therefore, astonishing to find the late Secretary
of State for War, now leader of the Opposition, agreeing
with Mr. Wyndham in considering long service as utterly
unsuited for our tropical garrisons.
They do nob really look a.t the subject fairly.
They compare the results of the old long-service
arrangements in India and elsewhere (when men and
regiments were kept abroad for terms far exce~ding five
years in duration) with the results now produced by short
service and quinquennial reliefs. But it is not entirely a
question of disease, to be settled a.t Netley. It is also a
matter of military efficiency, to be settled by the Commander-in-Chief. No great commander, from Alexander
to Napoleon, has ever failed to be keenly alive to the
superior value of the veteran as compared with the recruit, both in regard to endurance on the march and to
efficiency on the field of combat. Sir Charles Dilke very
truly pomted out, in the debate before referred to, that
the scheme favoured by a large and organised body of
members in the House of Commons was one giving elasticity of service, by letting the men sort themselves out
into those who prefer Ion&" service and those who prefer
short service, With theobhgation of keeping up their training in the Militia. and Volunteers. Precisely: but let those
who select long service be grouped together into regiments entirely composed of long. service men; and let
these regiments be dealt with in other respects similarly
to the regiments consisting of short-service men - an
equal number of regiments of each description being employed; (F ) on foreign service, and (H) on home service.
Statistics would then in a very few years be obtainable,
setting at rest finally and decisively the untenable pretensions of th ose who advocate short service for our ordinary foreign service in times of peace, and for our home
force which should be ready for active work at a moment's
notice.
After the demonstration of the superiority of long
service, we may then hope that means will be taken to
fill up more battalions with long-service men, the relief
being regularly effected every five years.
If it were possible to fill the whole of the 162 battalions
(81 F., Rl H.), with long-service men, the short service
could then be very short service indeed, and be trained
in additional and separate battalions at various dep6ts,
from which also the recruits for the 162 long-service
battalions would be chosen and selected, as in all probability it would be found that the long service would
become so popular that selection would become necessary.
In such case bad characters would not be retained ; and
this :punishment, combined with the forfeiture of a man's
pens10n if he were discharged with ignominy, would produce a tremendous lever for the extinction of crime and
the encouragement of good conduct in the army.
As regards cavalry, artillery, and engineers, there
cannot be a doubt that the highest efficiency can only be
obtained in these arms by long training, and consequently
that all troopers, gunners, and sappers should be long
serv1ce men.
If we ever should arrive at the ideal su~gested, viz., a
solid nucleus of 162 battalions, filled w1th long-service
men, and always k ept up to war strength, we must still
bear in mind that tblS would be no more than the provision for the first strong effort in a modern \9'ar of any
magnitude, such as the present war in South Africa..
Only 81 battalions would be available for this effort, and
a strong reserve of some kind would be imperative.
Hence the necessity of the short-service regiments, in
order to pass men quickly into a reserve to be called up
in case of emergency.
The number of these short-service depbt battallions
could of necessity depend greatly upon the number of
men who could reasonably be anticipated as recruits;
unless, indeed, some form of compulsory service of an
exceedingly lenient nature were adopted, and this can
only be done when the general public agrees in the
necessity.
An additional advantage gained by the adoption of a
long-service army would be that a certain percentage of
recruits might be c,btained from our colonies and other
dependencies.
At the present time one of war feve_r-if som~ recruiting sergeants were sent to Austraha, New Zealand,
Canada, &c., it is quite possible tha t a. considerable
number of fine colomals would offer the~psel ves for service, and especially in those regiments which have become household words for their deeds in the present war.
There ought to be no difficulty in recruiting for service
in the British Army, when we bear in mind the enormo_us
p~pulations under the gentle rule of Her Impenal
Majesty, our gracious Queen.
I am Sir, yours faithfully,
FmLD 0FFIOER IN '84.
June 24, 1900.

THE MAXIM MUIJTI-PERFORATED

POWDER.
To THE EDITOR OF ENGINEERING.
SIR -That the misapplication of the phrase, "applied
for " 'for the word "dated" in my letter published in
yo~r issue of February 9, and replied to by Mr. Hudson
Maxim in your issue of June 8, does n0t exc~ed
clerical significance, is borne out by the folloWing
quotation from United States Law: "Letters Patent
always have upon them, in the space under the title, a
memorandum that the application therefor was filed on .a
particular specified da,-. B_ut no sue~ memor~ndum 18
evidence of the fact 1t reCites. It 1s not ev1dence at
common law nor in pursuance of any statute. That
section of tb~ Revised Statutes* which gives evidential
*Revised Statutes, Section 892.

character to certain certified copies, does not include any

such memorandum, because it IS no part of the Letters
Patent upon which it is placed, and because it is nob a
copy of any record, book, paper, or drawing belonging to
the Patent Office. It is an indication of what some such
record, book. or paper appears to show, but it is not
evidence of its own a-ccuracy, nor is it covered by the
certificate attached to the document upon which it is
placed." [Chap. VI., Section 129.]
TBOJ\fAS A. HILL.
1, Devonsbire-street, Portlandplaoe, W.,
June 13, 1900.
[This discussion must now oease.-En. E.l

NOTES FROM THE NORTH.

GLASGOW, Wednesday.
Gla3g011J Pig-Ir<m Ma~rket.-Some 5000 t ons of iron were
dealt in at the market on Thursday forenoon. Scotch a~d
hematite iron were again called up, and the former rose m
price 9d. per ton at 68s. 9d. per ton, and the latter 1s. 9d.
at 82s. 6d. per ton. Scotch touched 693. per ton cash. Cleveland fell off 7! d. at 67s. lO!d. per ton, and at the afternoon
market 10 000 t ons were sold. Scotch fell off to 67s. 1ld.,
and Cleveiand to 67s. 9d. per ton. The settlement prices
were : Scotch, 67s. 9d.; Cleveland, 67s. 4~d.; Cumberland
and Middlesbrough bematite iron, 82~. .Business was
done in the. pig-iron w~rrant market on F_r1day f_orenoon
ab a mult1tude of priCes, but the closmg pnce was
66s. 10~d. per ton cash buyers. At the last Scotch wa'3
down 7d. per ton, while Cleveland was up 8d. per ton.
The settlement prices were: 67s. 3d., 67s_. 6d., 803., ~c.
The business done was almost at a standstill all mormng
on Monday. The tone was a litble irregular, and at the
close Scotch was down 5d., and Cleveland 3d. per ton .
The sales amounted to 5000 tons, and at the afternoon
session other 5000 tons were sold. Scotch rose 1d. at
67s. per ton. The settlement prices were: 67s., 67s. 3d.
and 79s. 6d. Some 5000 tons were sold on Tuesday forenoon. Scotch warrants were very scarce, and
rose in price from 67s. 4!d. to 67s. 1l~d. per ton.
without finding a seller. The net rise for the forenoon was 1s. per ton. Hematite iron was called a.t
82s. 6d. per ton, and the ''back" on it was 3s. 6d. per
ton. At the afternoon meeting of the market some
5000 tons were sold. Prices were very strong. Scotch
rose to 68s. 7~d. per ton, and hematite iron ~ade 4s. at
84s. per ton cash, and the settlement pr1ces were:
68s. 6d., 68~., a.nd 84s. per ton. The. market was
again excited this forenoon, hub the deahng was on a
small scale, not exceeding 8000 or 9000 tons. Scotch
warrants improved 7!d. per ton. Some 7000 or 8000
tons were done in the afternoon. Scotch warrants
closed 7d. up on the day at 693. 1d. per ton cash.
The settlement prices were 69d. 1!d., 68s. 3d., and
83s. The following are the shipments of Scotch pig iron
for the week ending June 23 and since January 1 : For
South America, 100 tons; for Australia, 345 tons; for
Italy, 2050 tons ; for. Germany, 386 tons; for ~olland,
650 tons ; for B elg1um, 320 tons ; for Chma and
Japan, 110 tons; for other countries lesser quantities; and coastwise, 3964 tons. The total wa.s 8236
tons, against 4602 tons in the corresponding week of
last year. Here are given the quotations for pig-iron
warrants, makers' No. 1 : Clyde, 84s. 6d. per ton ; Gartsherrie, 85s. ; Calder, 86s.5d. ; Summerlee, 89s. ; Coltness,
90s. per ton-the fore~oing all shipped at Glasgow ;
Shotts (shipped at Le1th), 90s. ; Carron (shipped at
Grangemouth), 883. per ton. The dull trade reports from
America and the Continent have no influence meanwhile
on prices here. These prices, abnormally high as they
are, are maintained without difficulty by the fatuity of
every "bear" wanting to back his opinion as to the
course of trade, but forgetting altogether that the small
and constantly decreasing stock must be oversold to anr,
large extent without automatically causing a "corner.'
A glance at the fluctuations and the variously discrepant
quotations show the Scotch pig-iron market to be firmly
held in the vice abovedescribed, and emphasise the fact that
if trade aspects do not call upon investors to buy warrants
they should certainly deter speculators from selling them
" short," however great the temptation to do so may be.
In makers' prices, Gartsherrie and Calder are quoted 1s.
and 1s. 6d. per ton higher respectively, and Carnbrae is
down 1s. per ton from last week. The furnaces in blast
number the same as last week, namely, 85, against 83 at
this time last year. The stook of pig iron in Messrs.
Connal and Co.'s pig iron warrant stores stood at 112,567
tons yesterday afternoon, as compared with 122,424 tons
yesterday week, thus showing a reduction amounting
for the week to 10,857 tons.
Filnished Iron and S teel.- The joint threat of the steel
and malleable iron trades must be regarded with gravity,
as preparations are on foot for a general shutting down of
works next month. The acute position cannot be passed
over lightly, for with fuel at from 75 to 100 per cent.
above the normal value, manufacturers are running machinery at a po~itive loss. It now rests with coalmasters
to save the position by relaxing prices. Coalowners for
six months have enjoyed unprecedented prosperity, and
the course of prices this year has been one uninterrupted
rise. Makers of iron and steel have made it known that
under present working conditions they cannob carry on,
as the extravagant price of fuel has swamJ?ed all prospect of profit. With matters so critical, it IS no wonder
that specifications have been again withheld, and that
makers are precluded from lowering current quotations.
All depends upon the action of the coalmasters, and
one gives it out that, owing to the reduced output in
the chief centre in Lanarkshire, be could get a ready
market for the whole of his production, the prospects
for the large consumer are not hopeful. A prominent
steel company is paying at the rate of 50,000l. more per

(JUNE

29,

I 900.

annum for coal, and as there has been no compensation

in the matter of higher prices for its product, it is not to
be wondered at that the directors favour a complete
shutting down of the gates.
Ironma.sters make a
similar complaint, and as the blast- furnacemen are
working badly, the waste alone is a heavy item.
It was reported on 'Change a few days ago that
a shipment of American steel plates -some 3500
tons-has been arranged. The plates will be shipped
during July and August. The price is not mentioned,
but it is reported that the plates were bought at a
cheaper rate than is now ruling here. Structural steel
is bemg offered in larger quantities a.t prices much lower
than Scotch makers are quoting. An order for 1000 tons
of steel plates, which was tendered for locally, has gone
to Belgium. The price was so muoh below the figure
asked by a Scotch house that the contractors had had no
alternative but send the order abroad.
Glasgow Copper 1lfMket.-There has again been a week
of no business in this market, no transactions having
taken place.
.

NOTES FROM SOUTH YORKSHIRE.

SHEFFIRLD, Wednesday.
Hadfield's Steel Fownd1y Ccnnpany.-Tbe directors of
this company propose to increase the preference share
capital from 160,000l. to 200,000l. by the issue of 4000
preference shares of 10l. each ; to increase the ordinary
share capital from 110,000l. to 200,000l. by the issue of
90,000 shares of ll. ea-ch ; and to subdivide each of the
existing ordinary shares of 10l. each into ten shares of ll.
each; and in the case of the present partly-paid shares,
each ll. will be credited with 153. paid up, and the remaining 5s. per share will be called up within a. short
time. The increase of capital is required, the directors
state, to enable the company to meet the growing re
quirements of the business and tbeconsequentenlargemenb
of works.
Steam Coal Contracts.-Two of the railway companies
drawing supplies of steam coal from the collieries of this
district, have accepted .the terms of the owners.. The
Lancashire and Yorkshue and North-Eastern Rail way
Companies have agreed to pay the price demanded, 16s.
per ton for best Barnsley bards. The Midland Railway
Company has replied that the prices cannot be accep~ed,
but the other oompa.nies have not yet taken any a.ct10~.
The price is an advance of from 5~. to 6s. per ton, an~ Wlll
make a difference of 100,000l. each to the two railway
companies who have accepted the tenders in the half-year
over which the contracts extend.
Iron a;nd Steel.-The reports as to the condition of t~e
iron trade are not so satisfactory as they were. There lB
a scarcity of new orders co~ing for~ard _for finished ma
terial, but there are suffic1ent speClficatlO~ on band to
keep the greater part of the makers in ful ~ wo~k for some
time to come. They, however7 do not dtsg~tse the fa~b
that fresh orders are not commg up in suffiCient quantt
ties to replace those that are being cleared off. Prices
remain about the same : Bars, 10l. 15s. to lll. 5s. per
ton, and sheets 12l. to 12l. 5s. per ton. Wi~b re~rd to ra~
materials hematites retain their old priCes Wltb a. fatr
demand.' West coast bematites delivered in S~effield are
quoted at 93s. to 94s. per ton, and east coast .di~to 92s. to
93s. per ton. The commoner qualities of pig _uon have
receded somewhat and now stand: Lancashire No. 3
foundry, 73s. to 7~. 6d. ; forge ditto, 70s. to 7ls. per ton;
Derbyshire No. 3 foundry, 75s. 6d. to 76s. 6d. ; and forge
ditto, 70s. to71s. At the same time it is ~in~d out t~at
there is little room for further. sh~n~a.ge m pr1oes~ owing
to the high cost of fuel. This, 1t 18 ti~ought, will keep
prices on a fairly firm basis for the remamder of the year.
The mills and forges are all very fully en~aged. T_he
demand for all classes of open-hearth steel 18 well m':l'mtained; bub makers of certain descri~tio~s _of cruc.tble
steel complain that orders are n.ot c_omm~ m m suffic1enb
quantities to enable them to mamtam theu output.
Coal a;nd Coke.-So great is the all-round demand for
coal, that in several _quarters i~ is intended to p~1t up
prices from July 1. The trade 18 firme! now than It was
m J a.nuary last. The home gas_ compames are ~nde;avour
ing to secure a stock for the wmter mon~hs, m vtew of
there being a scarcity then, and are puttmg pressure on
the owners to increase their s~ppli~. Export _owners a.rd
in excess of the supply, and htgh prtce;s are bemg offe.re
to secure deli varies. The coke trade IS ext.r~mely _bnsk,
both blast-furnace and steel-smelting qua.lit1es bemg as
active as ever.

NOTES FROM CLEVELAND AND THE

NORTHERN COUNTIES.
MIDDLBBBROUGH, Wednesday.
The Olevelamd Ir<m Trade.-Yesterday t~ere was only
a moderate attendance on 'Change and bustnees was vehy
quiet. An unsatisfactory feature of the mark~t :was } e
desire shown on the part of merohants to sell pig u:on or
delivery well ahead a.t a less figure than was ruhng for
prompt delivery. Though sellers were loath to reducd
rates the tendency was undoubtedly. downwards a~b
buyers were very backward. Some busmess was done
68s. 6d. for promp_t f.o.b. delivery of No. 3 g.m.b. Cleveland pig iron. That price was generally qu_otedN an~
there were merchants ready enough to sell at 1b.
Cleveland pig was put at 70s. 6d. ; No. 4 _foun !Y
67s. 6d.; and grey forge 66s. 6d. There was not~mg_d01ng
in Middlesbrough warrants. East coast be~a.t1te ptg '!as
unobtainable for early delivery, and the nomma.l quotati?t!
for Nos 1 2 and ~ was 87s. Middlesbrough hemat1
' 'quoted. Spamsh
ore was s tead Y a.nd firm
warrants not
Rubio could not well be bought under 21s. exshtp Tees,

d.

JUNE 2 9, I 900 ]
and freights Bilbao-Middlesbrough were 7s. 3d. to 7s. 6d.
To-day the market was stronger, ~ut prices for makers'
iron were not quotably altered. Middlesbrough warra~ts
were once more quoted, opening at 67s. 6d. and ad vanmng
by the close t o 68s. oa~b ?uyers. ~Iid~lesb~oug~ hema.tite warrants were stlll Idle. V ery h ttle Iron IS now
lefb in the warrant stores, the quantity of Cleveland
being only 14,000 tons odd , and the quantity of ~st
coast bema.tite having been reduced to th~ a ltogether m8ignificant quantity of 750 tons. The re 18 every_reas~m
to believe that before long the warrant stores will dl8
appear altogether. Shipments of pig iron continue pretty
good to foreign ports, but c~astwise t~ey a~e sm~ll. Continental buyers are purohasmg very httle u on JUSt n'?w,
but such was to be expected after the rather free placiDg
of orders a little while ago. Prospects for the future are
very uncertain.
Manufacttwed Iron aiYld Steel.-In the manufactured
iron and steel industries there is little new t o report.
Producers of most d escriptions have still a good deal of
work to execute, but new orders come slowly to b a~d.
A fair amount of Ad miralty work has been placed w1th
M essrs. Bolckow, Va.ugban, and Co., and with the S~uth
Durham Steel and Iron Company. Market quotatiOns
are about the same as those given a. week ago; bub some
firms would accept orders at rather below t~em. yommon
iron bars are put at 9l. l Oa., besli bars l Ol., 1ron sbtp- pla.~s
8l. 10s., steel ship-plates, iron ship-angles, and steel shipangles each 8l. 7s. 6d., and heavy sections of steel rails
7l. l Os.- a.llless the customary 2i per cen t. discount for
cash, except rails, which are ne b at works.
Shipbuildilng and Enginee,r ing. - Shipbuilders continue
well employed and engineers a re busy. In consequence
of the re fusal of the F ederated Engineering employ ers on
the north-east coast to receive a. deputation from the
Amalgamated Society of Engineers to discuss the appli~a
tion for an advance of wages. the members employed have
ceased to work overtime. T he men seek a n advance of
3s. per week for tit_De wages an~ 5per cent. on pie~e ra~s
for those working ID shops, while those employed ID _shtp
yards seek 2s. and 7! per cent. Rdvance respecttvely.
Several large engineermg firms deny that they have refused t o meet a. deputation from the Amalgamated Society
of Engineers.
Coal and Coke.-Gas coal is firm for this time of year,
and deliveries a.re good, but they are mostly on old contrac~. Bunker coal in fairly good request at last week 's
rates. An enormous consumption of coke continues,
and 293. seems to be the minimum rate for average blastfurn ace qualities delivered at T ees-side works to the end
of the year.

NOTES FROM THE SOUTH- WEST.

Oardiff.-Steam coal has been still showing a.n upward
tendency, if anything. The best descriptions have made
23s. to 248. per ton, while secondary qua.hties have brought
21s. 6d. to 22d. 6d. per ton. House coal has also ruled firm ;
No. 3 Rhondda large has been makwg 22s. 6d. to 23s. per
ton. F oundry coke has been quiet at 36s. to 38s. per ton,
and furnace ditto 33s. to 33s. 6d. per ton. As regards
ironore the current quotations for the best rubio is 20s. 6d.
to 21B. per ton.

Coal in the JVest.-Last year there were 1989 p ersons

employed in the Bristol coalfield, 5011 in the collieries of
the F orest of Dean, and 5194 in those of Somerset. Mr.
J. H. Martin, inspector of mines for the Eoutb-western
district, re-ports that in Bristol 422.288 t ons of coal were
raised last year; in the Forest of D ean, 1,105, 726 tons;
a.n d in Somerset 983,973 tons. These figures show that
the Bristol field turned out 11,211 tons more than in 1898,
the Forest of Dean, 70,986 tons 1~, and Somerset, 6814
tons less. L ast year's output was, however, largely in
excess of the figures for 1897.
Cardiff T ra;m'luays.-A special meeting of the tramways
committee of the Cardiff T own Council was held on
M onday for the purpose of appointing a. tramways electrical engineer from t he following selected candidates:
Mr. Nelson G ra.bum (superintendent of rolling stock,
Glasgow Corporation Tra mways) ; M r. H. E. M. Kensit
(engineering department!, British Westinghouse Electric
Company, L ondon) ; Mr. A rthur Ellis (general manager,
B olton Corporation Tramways) ; Mr. Adam S. Ba.rnard
(Hull electrical en~ineer and joint eng-ineer with the c~ty
en~ineer on electr1c tramways) ; Mr. H. G. J eken (ch1ef
a.ss1stant electrical engineer, L eeds Tramways) ; and Mr.
W. H. Collis (assistant electrical en_gineer, Liverpcol).
The voting rested between Messrs. Ellis, Grabum, and
Ba.rnard; and finally Mr. Ellis was appointed, subject
to the approval of the Council.
New Bridge for Newport.-Tbe Parliamentary Committee of the Newport T own Council has asked Mr. Arnodin,
the engineer of a ne w transport bridge which is to be
erected for crossing the U ~k on the plan of cne now in
use at Rouen, to at once proceed with the plans and specifications, so that the work may be commenced without
d elay.
E bbw Vale Steel, I ron, and Coal, Company.-Tbe report
of the directors shows a profit for the past year of 246,374l.,
to which has to be added 6094l. brought forward. After
meeting debenture interest and writing off depreciation,
there is a balance of 193,147l. A dividend of 6 per cent.
is recommended, the directors adding 61, OOOl. to the
special reserve account, and setting asid& 5000l. to a
special improvements fund. The directors state that they
have under consideration the remodellin g of the blastfurnace ~la.nt:, and tbs extensive introduction of electric
power. The iron foundry is also being modernised, and
1ts output capacity increased. The works are busily employed in all departments, and the directors look forward

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

sss

to a. prosperous year, provided there are no seriou~ labour E lectrical and mechanical engineers would also profit by

troubles. The directors add t hat the abnormal m_crea.se

in the market value of Sout h Wales steam coa;l dtd not
take place until November a.nd December, ~nd 1t_was not
until t he latter end of December t hat the htgb pnces now
ruling were reached.
Bristol Docks.- The accounts for the year ending April
30 show that after providing out of the revenue 2099l. f~r
th~ reconstruction of the ri ver wa.lJ, and other extr~or.di
nary expenditure 4243l. for renewal and depreciation
funds, and 10,823i. for sinking fund, there is a s~rplus of
2243l. t o be carried forward to nt>xb year. T akmg dock
revenue from city dues, &c., the accounts show that ~be
surplus of ordinary revenue on the dock estate and 01ty
dues account without! taking into account renewals, depreciation a.~d sinking fund, is sufficient t o pay 3.59 \)er
cent. on the ou tstanding capital of the do_ok estate, wbtch
amoun ts t o about 2 500,000l. T he foreign tonnage for
th e year was 8 4'i,632i., and coastwise, 764,098l., making a.
t otal of 1, 611,730 t ons a.gains~ 1,_619, 397 tons Ja.st year.
The dock and city dues on sb1ppmg and goods 118, 123l.
last year, against 119,328l. in 1899.
The Wa ter Works Engineers.-The fifth annual general
meeting of the British Asso~ia.ti_on of. Water W orks
Engineers has been held at Uardiff d urmg the last few
days. Mr. P riestley! the pre.sident ? f. the year, stated
that the capital now mvested ID mum01pal water works,
was 48,434,000l. Of 64 county boroughs, in E ogland a~d
Wales, th e water supply was now under public control m
all but 19 and in 141 boroughs other than county
boroughs i39 had municipal s_upplies. If L ondon went
on increasing as it bad done, 1t would be ra.tber to the
ad vantage of Wales than otherwise t o supply water t o the
Metropolis.

such work in Paris. Mr. Ga.strell S!Jggests that the

expenses of such technical delegates m1ght1 be borne by
rou s of manufacturers or by l'! hambera of comm erce,
~nd p ints out that the German Government are defray ..
ing lh'e cost of sendi~g a cer~ain n umber of wor~men to
repor t on various subJects of mteresb to German md ustry
and agriculture.

Considerable progress has been made with the Sta.ines

reservoirs, which are being constructe.d by the West
Middlesex, G rand Junction, and New Rtver ~ate! Companies acting in conjunction .. The t\\"O reservou~ Wlll ea ch
be about li miles long, by ID the one case 1 mile broad,
and in the other 5 furlongs. Th~ sma ller of the two
reservoirs is so fa r advanced that It should be read y for
use in about a year's _time. The. embankment surrounding the reser voirs will be 4! miles long from 21 ft. to
39ft. high a.nd 14 ft. wide on the top. The outer slopes
are 2 to 1 and the inner 3 to 1. The puddle wall
is 6 ft. wide at the top 7 ft. at the ground level, and
4ft. at the bottom, wh~re it is ~othe~ into the L ondon
clay. Ibis this wa ll which has gtven r1Se t o ~~c? absurd
criticisms on the part of a weU-know~ pol!tlctan, who
happens to be entirely ignorant of engiDeenng ma.tte~s,
but has managed t o convillce himself that the reserv01rs
are a menace to the population of the L ower ~ham~.
The sole object of this wall is to s~cure w~tertightness,
and theoretically a much smaller th10kn~ wool.d suffi.ce
for this, though there might then be ~ract10able d1~cult1es
in its construction. T o protect agamst wave actiOn and
burrowing water animal~, the inner slopes C?f t be bank are
covered by a layer of concrete slabs ca.rrted down to a.
depth of 15ft. below top-water level. When completed
the reservoirs will enable the water supp1 y to t he M etropolis to be increased hr 35 n;tiUion gallon~ a day, a. figure
which, if t he necesstty anses, can be mcreased ~o ~5
million gallons. The are~ C"?Vered b:y ~be reserv01rs 18
MISCELLANEA.
L ORD SELBORNE has announced that tenders for the 421 a cres, and their capamty l8 3300 milhon gallons .
construction of the Proposed Pacific Cable are t o be called
A
case of great import;ance to a.ll county councils and
for almost immediately.
county borougbe, and to all who own a_nd use road locoTHE traffic recei pts for the week ending June 17 on motives was argued before Mr. Just1ce Channell and
33 of the principal lines of the United Kingdom Mr. J u~tice G rantham in the Queen's B~ncb, on Thursamounted to 1,867,812l., w~ich was . earned on 19,~60i day the 14th inst U nder the Locomotives Act, 1898,
miles. For th e corr espondmg week ID 1899 the rece1pts " all locomotives not required to I?e lic~n~ed, " which
of the same lines amounted to 1,833,806l., with 19,60t! means agricultural engines, locomotive engmes used for
miles open. There .was thus an in~rease o! 34. 006l. in d riving saw benches, stone c~shers, &c., at:ld s~m
the receipts, and an m crease of 261! m the mileage.
rollers, have to "be registered 1n the ,~unty I~ wh1~h
IN continuation of the ex periments for testing the they are ordinarily used or . to be used;, . For thl.S regisdefences of Portsmouth against sudden and unexpected tration "a fee n ot excdtng 2s. 6d. l S to be charged.
t he driver of .a steam
raid~, t orpedo boats 26 and 'J:l were sent out from the In this case, "EvelE:igh v. M.a irs," _
Vernon, torpedo school, Capt. C. C. Robinson, after roller was convicted in Devonshire for workmg the
dark on Monday night, with instructions t o force their roller in that county without a. Devon registration ~late,
way into harbour if poesible. It is . eupposed that the although the roller bad a Dorset P,late. ~h! Na.tlo~a.l
torpedo boats crept out Cif harbour unobserved, and they Traction Engine Owners and Users Assoctatlon, actmg
had shot pas t Southsea. Castle on their return before a on behalf of Messrs. Eddison at:d De Ma.tto~, ? f Dorgun was find. They were, however, detected hugging cbester the owners of the roller, asked the magiStrates
the shore side of t he harbour channel, and when they to sta.t~ a special case, and the _Court has now ruled th.at
approached the long curtain the guns op ened fire. The if an engine is once registered m any county, that ~gts
boats, however, p ushed on at:d tried to rush llast tration is sufficient for all places and for all time.
Blockh ouse Fort, but the cannonading was ~o furious When ib is considered that Mes~rs. Eddison anrl De
that they were compelled t o turn back. At a. later hour Ma.ttos have 80 engines working all over the southern
they were p etmitted to return to t heir parent ship. As half of the country, and very many firms have rollers
a surprise attack it was one of the best efforts yet made, and agricultural engines w~rking_ . in t.hree or .four
counties, the importance of tbi~ dec1s1on ~111 be obv1ous.
though the boats were unsuccessful.
This is the first case on the mterpreta.t10n of the new
The Select Committee of the House of Commons, pre- L ocomotives Act th a t the Engine O wners' A.s sociation
sidd over by Mr. W . H. H olland, has concluded the has fought and they are to be congratulated on the
con~ideration of the Bill promoted by the L ondon County result. T h'e counsel in the case was Mr. E dward Boyle,
Council asking for powers to equip electrically and Q.C., instructed by Messrs. Hicks, Da.vis, and Hunt.
operate the W estminster t o T ooting tramway and the
Blackfriars to Kennington line, to erect a generating
station at Ca.mberwell with sob-stations, and to construct
CATALOGUES.-We have received from the BaJdwin
11 junction lines and extensions in connection with the
Council's tramways on the northern side of the Thames. Locomotive Works pamphlets d eEcribing a. number <?f
After bearing the addresses of counsel, the committee engines of different types recently turned out of t heu
decided that the preamble of the Bill bad been proved, shops. - The R ugby Portland Cement Compa.ny, of
inclusive of all the new tramways asked for, and refused Rugby, have a useful little pamphlet on Portland cement
the applications of the local authorities of Lambeth and and concrete, containing notes on the uses of these two
Wandsworth for a veto on the use of the surface-contact materials, and some information as to the product of
system of electric traction and in re~ard to other matters. their own works.
In respect to injury arising from n01aance, the committee
considered that the Council should be liable fur any
T HE INsTITUTION OF MEcHANICAL ENGINEERS. -The
in jury caused by their own n egligence, but not for injury
otherwise arising. So far as the frontagers were con- annual dinner of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers
cerned, whilst undoubtedly individual cases of hardship was held at the Hotel Cecil on W ednesd ay e'\"ening. T he
were inseparable from public improvements, they did not number of guests was quite unpreced~nted, the occasion
feel free to exclude any of the suggested tramways un the being of unusual interest, owing to the presence of a large
gTOund of such hardship. The committee also considered number of American engineers who are in L ondon on
1t was inevitable in the march of improvement that their way to Pnris. A fte r the loyal t oasts, L ord Rosse
om nibuses should be supplanted in some s treets to meet proposed " Her Majesty's F orces," response being made
the needs of the growing population. The clauses having by Rear-Admiral A . K . 'Vileon, C.B., for the Navy,
and Sir Evelyn W ood for the Army. Admiral Wilbeen adjusted, the Bill was ordered to be reported.
son said that the water-tube boiler bad given the
The Marquis of Salisbury has forwarded to Mr. E. W. ships which poose~sed it one-half to one knot greater
Fithian, the secretary of the Association of Chambers of sp eed than t hey would have had with cylindrical
Commerce, a. memorandum received from Mr. Ga.strell, boilers. That meant ~reater mobility-the p ower to
Commercial Attache at the British Embassy at Berlin, evade and to overtake a foe-and we had la tely
on the subject of the German exhibits at the Paris Ex- learned the value of mobility in South Africa. U nhibition. In this Mr. Gastrell remarks on the extraordi- doubtedly t he water -tube boiler gave trouble, but it wns
nary care the German Government has taken in providing worth all it cost. It was impossible to go to pressures
a. satisfactory representation of the Empire's IDdustrial of 250 lb. and 300 lb. without meeting trouble, and
capacity. Only approved goods have been accepted, the Admiralty did not expect to do so. The engiand the exhibits represent the best that Germany now n eers and the men bad to ~ain experien ce, a nd
produces. As the same kind of products from different wit h a. large fleet this took ttme. In every case
countries are for the fi rst time shown alongside one an- in which a. ship bad broken r ecords it had been fitted
other, quite an exceptional opportunity is afforded of with water-tube b oilers. The P owerful had lately made
mak ing accurate comparisons of British and German pro- a voyage at 20 knots, and the M editerranean Fleet has
ducts. It would be well, th erefore, that experts on the cruised 800 miles at four -fifths sp eed without a hitch in
leading British trades should be sent to P a ris t o examine the machinery. Sir Evelyn W ood spoke of t he la.rge
thorou~bly the best syecimens sf German handiwork. amount of engineering work that bad been dcne during
It would be time wel spent for technical men in the the war in South Africa in repairing bridges and ra ilways.
textile, iron, ebipping and chemical trades to study closely T he American Ambassador, Mr. Joseph H. Cboate,
German exhibits affecting their bran ches of industry. rt>plied for the g11ests in an eloquen t e.peech.

TRIPLE-E XPANSIO N ENGINES OF T I-lE Il\IIPERIAL JAPANESE BATTLES HIP "ASAHI."

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JuNE 29, 1900.]

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'h!Maumo ADDaus- ENGINEERING, LONDON.
TBLBPaoNB NUllB:&&--8668

Gerrard.

CONTENTS.
P.AQ.
French Agriculture at th e
P~ris Exhibition ...... .. 839
Some P rinting Machines at
the Paris Exhibition (Il
lustraUd) .............. 839
The Cost of Electric Power
Production .... .. .. . . .. . . 841
Bla9t;-Furna.ce Gas Eogine
at the Par is Exhibition
(fllmtrated) . . . . . . . . 846
The Paris Exhibition E lec
trio Power St~tion (l llu.t
ttated) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 846
The Japanese Battleship
"Asahi" (lUmtrated).. . . 846
R ecent Locomotive Practice
in F rance (lllttstrated) .. 847
Launches and Trial Trips . . 851
Di"mond Saw for Cutting
Ston e (RlustratMl) ..... . 862
Notes from the United States 852
Naval Engineers ... . .... .. 863
The Boiler Explosion at
Wellington . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 863
The War in South Africa .. 863

PAQB
The Maxim Multi-Perto
rated Powder . ... . ..... 863
Notes from the Yorth . .. . .. 85!
Notes from South Yorkshire 854
Notes from Olevelc.nd and
the Northern Counties . 864
Notes from the SouthWest 856
M.iscellanea . .......... . .. 855
T he Cen tral London Ra.ilway .... . ...... .. ... .... 857
The Paris Congresses . . .. .. 858
The International Tramways
and Light Railways Exhi
bition, 1900 ( l llust1ated) 859
The Institution of Mecha.ni
cal Eng ineers ............ 861
The K imberley Gu n u Long
Oeoil " ( IUustrated). . . . . . 865
Industr ial Notes .. . ....... 867
Automatic Coal Handling
P lant at the Electric Light
Works, Leeds (Rlm. ) .. .. 869
The Physical Society . . . . . . 870
" Engineering" Patent Re
oord (IUustrated) ... 871

With 4 TwoPfVJ4 E'IV)raving of the TRIPLE-EXPANSION

E.VG I N8S OF 7 HE IJ1PERIAL J APANESE BATTE.
SHIP ".A SAHT."

Bs7

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

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8 p.m. The Pr esiden tial Address, by Mr. Wilson Noble.

ENGINEERING.
FRIDAY, JUNE 29, 1900.

THE CENTRAL LONDON RAILWAY.

AT length London is on the point of having an
electric railway running along its greatest thoroughfare, and ser ving all classes of its population. On
Wednesday last the Prince of Wales opened the
Central London Railway, which runs from Shepherd's Bush in the west to t he Bank of England,
the centre and focus of the City. The line is certain of having an immense t raffic, for along its
entire stretch there is great business activity, and
along its western half an immense residential
population. If there is any place in the world
where a deep tunnel railway can earn satisfactory dividends it is here, for t he need of it is
urgent, not only morning and evening to carry
men and women between t heir offices and shops
and their homes, but also at all hours of t he day,
for along the line of route the calls of business and
pleasure are never hushed until long after midnight, and even then there is t raffic en ough to constitute a bustle in many a provincial town. A deep
tunnel line is one that needs a heavy traffic for its
success, for its cost is enorn1ous. Upon the 5-f
miles between the t ermini of this railway there has
been spent 3,114,000l., at least that was the amount
of t he contract, !:l.nd 124, OOOl. will be needed
annually to pay 4 per cent. on this amoun t . F our
years have been spen t on the construction, and
the opening has been looked for with great
eagerness, as upon the results of the working will
depend whether we are to see a great extension of
this method of transport. H itherto the public has
been sceptical about it, and two other lines which
are in progress were financed with difficulty, the
experience of the City and South London Rail way
having raised doubts as to their ability to earn
satisfactory dividends.
As engineers we must view the new line with
mixed feelings. We have cause to congratulate
ourselves on its execution, and t hat London has
always led the way in the matter of deep tunnel
lines, each step in the progress having been worked
out here, in consequence, in a great part, of t he
inventive ability and the great engineering skill of
the late Mr. T. H. Greathead. At a time when we
n o longer monopolise the h~ad in p roblems of transportation, it is gratifying to think that in this particular department of the subject we still stand in
the van. On the other hand, it is subject for mortification to know t hat practically the whole of the
mechanical and electrical appliances comprised in
t he equipment of the line are of American design and
construction. The engines, the generators, the converters, t he locomotives, and t he hoists were all made
in America, and are the product of American.brains.

At the time they were contracted for, many

of the apparatus were far larger than had
been attempted before, and could only be safely
undertaken by engineers or electricians who had
a deep fund of experie?ce to dr~~ upon, and a
large confidence in t heir own abil1ty. Such experience did not exist in this country; all opport unities of acquiring it had been destroyed by
legislation, which had subordinated privat e enterprise to municipal greed. ParliaJ?ent allowed the
capitalist to undertake t he very d:fficult proble~s,
while it debarred him from the easier ones on whiCh
he might have gained t he experience he required.
Consequently, when this railway was undertaken,
those who were responsible for it felt that their only
prudentcoursewasto placetheirordersfor equipment
in the United States. There is ground for hope that
we shall not be again found in q uite so hopeless a
position : British engineers are accumulating knowledge in respect of electric traction, and new firms,
like the British W estinghouse Company and t he
English Electric Manufacturing Company, of Pres
ton, are more American than the Americans in their
desire to adopt the newest and the best of manufacturing processes.
The new line is, we believe, unique in t hat every
station is placed upon an eminence, and hence
the outgoing train is aided by gravity and t he
incoming train retarded. With stations placed
at average distances of half a mile, the question of
stopping and star ting is of immense importance,
s~eing t hat the speed is determined by t he rate of
acceleration and deceleration. When approaching
a station the train runs up a gradient of 1.66 per
cent, and immediately after leaving it descends
one of 3.3 per cent. This latter is equal to a pull
of 74 l b. per ton, and the effect of it is quite
evident to a passenger in the train . In running
into a station, energy equal t o 100 horse-powerminutes is stored in t he train, ready to be expended on the down grade. The motors are thus
relieved of a great deal of work which would otherwise be thrown upon them, and the general average
speed is increased beyond what would otherwise be
practicable. On Wednesday the trains ran very
smoothly, and their general appearance left nothing
to be desired. I t is anticipated that the line will
be opened to the public in a few days; it is the
state of the stations, rather t han t hat of t he track,
which stands in the way of traffic being undertaken
at once.
We have alread y described this railway so completely in an earlier stage of its construction that
it will not be necessary to go over t he details
again. Those of our readers who desire to go into
t he matter carefully will find a general descript ion, with a map, in our issue of February 18, 1898.
The locomotives, by the General Electric Company,
of Schenectady, were illustrated on the two-page
plate published on February 25 of the same year.
In t he following week we gave acceleration diagrams, plans of the power station, and detailed
drawings of the rotary converters (of t he British
Thomson-Houston Company), while in our issues
of April 8 and 22 were descriptions of the contractor's plant and of t he 1nethods of t unnelling.
The electric lifts, by the Sprague Electric Company,
were illustrated by us on March 3 and 10, 1899.
In view of all this, a general account is all that we
shall attempt on this occasion.
The Central London Railway runs from Shepherd's Bush to the Bank, a distance of 5 miles,
the whole distance being in deep tunnel, at depths
varying from 60 ft. to 90 ft. For the greater part
of the distance t he two tunnels are side by side,
but near t he General Post Office, where the ro~d is
narrow, one is above the other. Each tunnel is
11 ft. 6 in. in diameter, and is encased in a castiron tu be, on t he well-known system devised by
Mr. J . H. Greathead, which has been often described by us, particularly in connection with the
City and South London Railway and the Blackwall
Tunnel.* There are 13 stations on the line, and
it is intended to cover the distance from terminus to
terminus at an average speed of 14 miles an hour
t he maximum speed being 25 miles an hour. E ach
train will consist of seven carriages designed to carry
336 passengers, and weighing, when loaded, 105 tons
without the locomotive. The trains are to follow
each other, at the busy hours of the day, at 2!
minutes intervals, and 28 locomotives have been
provided to work the traffic. Each locomot ive has
t wo four-wheeled bogies, and weighs 97,000 lb. It

* See ENGINEERING, vol. lix., page 397.

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

(JuNE 29,

1900.

==================================================================
has four motors, one on each axle, of 117 horse- Each is placed at the bottom of a lift shaft, and be t~eated on are . first . considered ;. and general
power, the armatures being built on tubes, afterwards forced on to the axles. The length over the
body of the locomotive is 26 ft. 7 in. and over the
buffers 30 ft., the width being 7ft. 8 in. The general
appearance is very different to that of a steam locomotive, owing to the absence of the boiler. The armatures are built directly on to the axles, and hence
the motors lie between the frames, quite low down.
Over them is a deck, on the central portion of which
is a very roomy cab, from which an excellent view of
the road can be obtained. Forward and aft of the
cab are resistances, placed under sloping covers,
which give a wedge-shaped appearance to the ends of
the locomotive. The coaches have been built partly
bythe AshburyRailwayCarriage and Iron Company,
of Manchester, and partly by the Brush Electrical
~ngineering Company, Limited, of Loughborough.
They are entered at the ends, and have central
passages, the seats being arranged both lengthwise
and crosswise ; the lighting is most excellent.
The power for working the railway is generated in
a very spacious house at Shepherd's Bush, and transmitted through the tunnels to three converting and
distributing stations. There is a boiler-house 148ft.
long by 87 ft. wide, containing 16 Babcock and
Wilcox boilers, each having 3580 square feet of
heating surface. The boiler- plant has been laid
out with t he greatest regard to economy, the plant
being supplied with Archbutt-Deeley water
softeners, feed-water filters, and Green economisers.
The coal is delivered on the ground by the railway
trucks, and is dealt with entirely by elevators and
conveyors ; provision is also made for dealing with
the ashes in the same way. Draught is afforded
by t wo chimneys, 250 ft. high, and 10 ft. in diameter inside. The engine-room is 200ft. long by
86ft. wide, and contains six cross-compound Corliss
engines, constructed by the E. P. Allis Company,
of Milwaukee, U.S.A. Each engine has cylinders
24 in. and 46 in. in diameter by 48 in. stroke, and
makes 94 revolutions per minute. It is designed
to give 1300 indicated horse-power normally, with
an increase up to 1900 horse-power on overload.
There is an emergency governor in addition to the
governor controlling the Reynolds-Coi-liss gear,
which cuts the steam off completely when the
speed reaches 105 revolutions. The steam is first
passed through a separator, and after passing
through the high-pressure cylinder it is drained
and slightly superheated in a reheater. The exhaust steam is condensed in a jet condenser, the
condensing water being cooled in four BarnardWheeler cooling towers, each served by four double
fans driven by Belliss engines.
Upon the crankshaft of each engine is a threephase alternate-current generator. This shaft is
22 in. in diameter in the wheel seat and 20 in. in
the journals, which are 36 in. long. There is a
flywheel 18 ft. in diameter, weighing 100,000 lb.
The armature is stationary, and surrounds the
revolving field. There are 32 magnet cores in the
field, the weight of which is 34,000 lb., while the
complete armature weighs 48,000 lb. Each generator has an output of 850 kilowatts at 5000 volts
and 25 periods per second. The commercial
efficiency at full load is 95.5 per cent., and at
overloads it is upwards of 96 per cent. There are
four six-pole exciters to energise the fields of the
main generators ; each is of 50 kilowatts and
125 volts, and is driven direct at 450 revolutions
by a compound tandem Allis engine, with cylinders
9! in. and 15 in. in diameter, with a stroke of 6 in.
At the north end of the generating station
there is an elevated switchboard on a gallery, comprising twelve double panels of white marble
bolted to angle- iron up~ights. This board . is
fitted with the usual Instruments, and w1th
very ingeniou~ sw~tche3 and _ interl~cking gear,
which we descnbed 10 our prevwus articles. There
are four outgoing mains from the switchboard,
to carry t he current at 5000 v~lts pressure t? thr~e
sub-stations, situated respectively at Notting-hlll
Gate ~Iarble Arch, and the Post Office. Each main
con1prises three copper conductors insulated with
paper. These mains were constructed by the
National Conduit and Cable Company, and have
each a total copper cross-section of .1875 in. between the power station and Notting-hill Gate, and
.125 square inch between Notting-hill Gate and
Marble Arch. Two of the cables end here, and the
other two go forward to the Post Office, where the
high-tension line ter~in~tes. Altogether there are
19 miles of cable, weighing 78.4 tons. As alr~ady
mentioned, there are three converter-sub-stat10ns.

is situated below the level of the station platform,

occupying, at Notting-hill Gate a chamber 30ft. in
diameter and 21 ft. high, and at the other stations
two chambers, each 23 ft. in diameter by 15 ft.
high. At each of these sub-stations the current
received at 5000 volts is first transformed, in t hree
transformers, to 330 volts, and is converted by a
rotary converter to 500 volts for delivery to the
third, or contact, rail on the railway. For this
purpose there are provided seven transformers,
two rotary converters, switchboards, and blowers.
Each transformer has a capacity of 300 kilowatts
at a pressure of 330 volts on the secondary
side, and the t ransformers are coupled up on the
delta system, on both the primary and secondary
sides. They are ventilated by blowers, made by
the Buffalo Forge Company, and driven by 6 horsepower three-phase induction motors.
The rotary converters are rated at 900 kilowatts
output-1800 amperes at 500 volts. They have
12 poles, and run at 250 revolutions per minute;
the nominal potential difference between the collector rings is 330 volts. The armatures are 7 ft.
in diameter outside, the inside diameter of the core
being 5 ft. 2 in. 'Ihey are of the drum type, wound
with bar conductors. The commutator is 54 in. in
dil).meter, with 576 segments, and runs beneath 12
sets of carbon brushes. The total weight of the
armature is 24,800 lb., of the magnet frame19,500 lb.,
and of the whole machine 48,350 lb. The current
from the converter is delivered to a third steel rail,
of 85 lb. weight per yard, fixed between the other
two rails, and at a height of 1! in. above them.
This third rail is carried on stoneware insulators spaced 7! ft. apart. The current is picked
up by the locomotive by two heavy heavy castiron shoes ; it passes through an automatic circuit-breaker and switch to the controller, and
thence through the motord to the track rails.
These are of 100 lb. weight, of bridge section, and
are bolted to longitudinal sleepers. They are
double-bonded with Crown bonds, having a total
cross-section of .62 square inch.
The motors on the locomotives are of the serieswound four-pole ironclad type. The frames are of
soft cast-steel, and the magnets are wound with
copper strip.
The armature is of the seriesdrum type, with 366 bars, .6 in. by .1 in., and
weighs, wit hout the axle, 3000 lb.
The engineers to the line are Sir Benjamin Baker
and Mr. Basil Mott, and the contractors, the Electric Traction Company. The British ThomsonHouston Company, as sub-contractors, have acted
under the advice of Mr. H. F. Parshall.

meetmgs, for full discussiOn. The dtsoussions will

be held in French, English, and German and no
memb~r taking pa~t can speak for longer than
15 minutes at a time, nor more than twice on
the same subject, without special permission.
This, it seems to us, is a far too liberal allow.
ance. Members speaking will be expected to furnis~ the secretary of the Congress with a copy of
their remarks, t hat they may be printed within the
twenty-four hours following. Failing this a summary will be published, the accuracy of which
cannot be officially guaranteed. The four sections
of the Congress work are divided into nine questions
and a full if not a complete list of those member~
who propose to make formal communications upon
them, is already issued. It is highly characteristic,
but not the less to be regretted, that this country
is conspicuous by an almost complete abstention.
The first question deals with the Influence of Regulating 'Vorks on the R egime of Rivers, a subject
on which English engineers could find much to say.
Nine members supply the material for discussion on
this question. The second question is on the Progress of Mechanical Appliances to Feeding Canals ;
there are three contributions to this subject. Question three, with four contributors, is on the Utilisation of Natural Navigable Channels of Slight Depth.
This refers specially to methods of working and
material, for shallow draught, especially applicable
to the colonies. The fonrth question is on the
Progress in the Application of Machinery to Working Navigable Channels ; there are seven contributors to this. The fifth question relates to the
instruction and improvement of canal populations.
The sixth question is on Recent Practice in Lighting
and Buoying Coasts, with three contributors. The
seventh refers to Works Recently Carried out in
Large Littoral or Marit ime Ports. There are ten
contributors to this question, the only one in which
England appears represented, by the names of Mr.
A. G. Lyster and Mr. Vernon-Harcourt. The
eighth question (five contributors) deals with the
Adaptation of Commercial Ports to the Requirements of Naval Material. The ninth question
refers to the Progress of Mechanical Appliances
and Plant in Maritime Ports. The following Table
will show at a glance the proportion of international
participation at t he Congress :

AMONG the large number of International Congresses to be held in Paris in connection with the
Exposition, there are several of technical imp~rta.nce, and the proceedings of which will be dealt
with by us in due course. We have already referred to one-that of Applied Mechanics, and
may now have a few words to say about two others
- those on Navigation and on the Merchant
Marine ; the former of these will be held from
July 28 to August 3, and t he latter from August 4
to 12. The general rules and conditions under
which these congresses will be held are practically
the same a9 those we have already described (see
ENGINEERING, page 55! ante). The business of
the Navigation Congress will be classified into four
sections, with nine questions to be submitted for
discussion. During the Congress there will be
sectional, and full meetings, and excursions . The
work is divided among the four sections as follows :
1. Internal Navigation ; Construction Works.
2. Internal Navigation; Management and Work
1ng.
3. Ocean Navigation ; Works.
Ocean Navigation; Management and Work4.

1ng.
Each of these sections is divided into several
subheads, which will be dealt with in communications made by various memhers, and upon which
discussion will be raised. It is needless to say
that t hese various communications will come from
international sources ; they will be printed in three
languages- English, French, and German-and
will be distributed among meiubers of the Congress
before each session takes place, so that those wishing to participate in the discussions can be prepared
to do so usefully. There will be two classes of
meetings-sectional meetings, where the subjects to

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It will be noticed that Germany takes nearly as

large a part in the Congress as France, and the
number of contributors do not inaptly suggest the
relative importance of the nations at the Exhibition.
The International Congress of the Merchant
Marine will be held during the week of August 4
to 12; we have not got any list of communications
to be read and discussed, but judging from the
honorary International Committee, this country
appears to be taking more interest in the Congress
than in that of navigation. Rather more than one.
fifth of the committee are Englishmen, but it remains to be seen whether our participation in the
proceedings is at all active. The business of the
Congress is divided into five sections, each of which
has its own president, and a larger or fewer number
of official rapporteurs. There are six honorary presidents, a distinguished body, including the Ministers
of the Marine; Commerce ; Public works; the
Colonies; and M. Casimir-Perier. 'fhe programme
may be summarised as follows: The first section is
general and statistical, and has six divisions. 1.
The changes that have taken pla~e during the ~ast
30 years in the merchant fleets of different countne.s,
in their steam and sailing ships, in tonnage, tn
speeds, and in lines of travel. 2. State interference
in tnerchant navies, especially with regard to technical maritime education, recruiting and discipline,
sailing contracts, efficiency of captains and other

jUNE

29,

1900.]

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

tages to the public of up-to-date tramway equip- in the oar int~rior. The other car .shown is one
ments; and as they acquire more complete know- ordered for the lines of the London United
ledge of the subject, we may hope for their assist- Tramways Company between Hammersmith and
ance in the removal of such legal restrictions as Kew Bridge. This car is provided with two
still unnecessarily harass tram way managers anel 35 horse-power motors ; and with t he '' B. and L. "
motor rheostatic brake equipment. This arrangeexasperate the public.
The largest single exhibit at the Hall is made by the men t is also shown separately at the stand, a motor
British Westinghouse Electric and Manufacturing fitted with brake being mounted on r ollers so as to
Company, Limited, of the Westinghouse Building, allow its wheels to revolve. The device consists
Norfolk-street, London, W.C., who, in addition to in using the motors as generators, and turning the
the whole of a single bay of the great hall, have current produced through suitable resistances. A
also a stand near the main entrance to the latter. peculiarity of the Thomson-Houston controllers,
The main exhibit consists of a short but fully- switches, and lightning arrester, lies in the use of
equipped electric tramway, about 310 ft. long, on the so-called magnetic blow-out. Thus, to take
which is run a large double deck bogie-car, fitted the lightning arrester. This consists of a spark
with two 30 horse-power motors. The generating gap placed between the poles of an electrostation is provided with a W estinghouse three- magnet: On the one side t he gap is connected
cylinder gas-engine, having cylinders 13 in. in to the line, and on the other to earth through
aiameter by 14 in. stroke, and rated at 112 brake a graphite resistance, and also by a shunt
horse-power, though capable on emergencies of through t he electromagnet aforesaid.
'Vhen
generating some 12 per cent . more. This is lightning strikes the line, the impedance of the
coupled direct to '75-kilowatt 500-volt compound- coils of the magnet is so high that but a
wound generator, the leads from which terminate minute fraction of the discharge passes through
in a switchboard of the Westinghouse standard them, t he charge as a whole taking the altertype. The road itself is of the open-conduit type. native path provided by the graphite . r od,
At the one end the permanent way is filled in as it which, though of considerable resistance, has,
would be in ordinary street work, but for the main owing to its straight form, but little self-inducpart the track yokes and bracing are exposed, so as tion. The gap being bridged by the lightning
to show more fully the details of construction. The discharge, an arc is established along which
Westinghouse Company have adopted the plan of the trolley line current endeavours to escape
di viding up the positive main in the conduit into to earth ; but since this current has not the
sections each 300 ft. long; each successive section instantaneous character of the lightning flash,
is " cut in " with the feeder, as the car enters it and an appreciable portion of it flows through the
is cut out as it leaves, so that with a single car on coils of the electromagnet inclosing the spark gap.
the road, but one 300-ft. section would be liYe at The shortest distance across this gap is parallel to
any moment, and loss from leakage can be cor- the magnetic lines of force, but as a mova hie electric
respondingly diminished. The automatic s witches circuit always endeavours to set itself at right-angles
cutting the sections in or out are operated by an to the lines of magnetic induction, the moment
electromagnet fitted to the car. This magnet the magnet is energised the arc is shot out
is energised by the main electric supply, but for t ransversely to the gap, and its path being then too
use in st,rting and in emergencies, a battery long to be maintained by the voltage available,
of accumulators is carried, which is charged by it is inf>tantly extinguished. The central-station
the live current through a small motor trans- switch, also exhibited, embodies in its construction
In this s witch when closed
former. The car running at the Exhibition is the same principle.
fitted with an exceedingly ingenious system of the current passes mainly through a low resistance
brakes. Between the bogies and near the rails is of flexible copper plates connecting t he two teran electric magnet, suspended from each side of minals; but arranged as a shunt to this are high
the car by a system of linkage. Springs hold the resistances . forming the coils of a electromagnet.
magnet pole-pieces clear of the rails under ordinary In breaking circuit the low-resistance shunt is
conditions. But should a current be sent through opened first, and there being an alternative path
the magnets, these are attracted down, forcing the for the current t hrough the magnets aforesaid,
shoes with which t hey are fitted on to the rails. 'l'hese there is no sparking here. 'l'he high-resistance cirform an effective drag brake, and at the same time cuit is then broken at points within the field of the
the drag of t hese shoes on the rail is employed, by electromagnet, and just as in the case of the lightmeans of suitable linkwork, to force ordinary brake ning arrester, the arc formed is immediately extinblocks on to the bogie wheels. The pressure of guished by the effect of the magnetic field . The
the blocks on the wheels is proportional to the controllers mount ed on the tramcars are similarly
friction experienced by the drag brakes. In wet arranged. Included in the casing is a powerful
weather the rails are slippery, and consequently electromagnet, between the poles of which a11
there is less friction. It follows, therefore, that contacts are made and broken, so that arcing is
the pressure between the brake blocks and the entirely a\oided. The trolley poles shown on this
wheels, being proportional to this, is correspondingly stand is also worthy of attention, owing to the
less, and hence skidding of the wheels and con- arrangements by means of which very great uniformity of pressure is maintained between the
sequent wearing of flats on the treads is avoided.
Another interesting exhibit at this stand is the collector and the line ; even if the height of the
electro-pneumatic control system, by means of latter above the car varies considerably. For a
which it is possible for one driver to control the difference in height of fully 5 ft., the variation
motors of two or more cars. Thus the trains on of pressure, as shown by a Salter's balance did
THE INTERNATIONAL TRAMWAYS an electrical railway may b e conveniently made up not exceed llb.
'
A ND LIGHT RAILWAYS EXHIBI- with motor cars at each end and ordinary cars
An excellent combined exhibit of traction
TION, 1900.
between. An air-pipe and a system of conductors machinery is made by Messrs. Dick Kerr and
THE first large display of electric t raction plant in run from end to end of t he train. The conductors Co., Limited, of 110, Cannon-street E.c: the
this country is now on view at the International are made up into a cable, so that the insertion of a English Electric Manufacturing Compa~y Li~ted
Tram ways and Light Railways Exhibition, which single pl~g connects up all t~e conductors between and the ~m~ctric Rail way .a~d .Tramway Carriag~
was opened at the Agricultural Hall, Islington, on two carnages. The electrtcal arrangements are Work~, L1m1ted. The exh1b1t includes specimens
the 22nd inst. , and is to close on Wednesday next. such, that if the controller handle at one end of rails from 65 lb. to 96 lb. per yard much special
By a curious irony of fate, a gentleman who, as a of the train is operated, currents sent to the trackwork, and a number of ata.nd~rd designs of
trusted leader of the so-called Progressive Party, other ~nd operate the valves of a compressed air- poles and brackets. F our cars are also shown the
has long played the part of '' wicked uncle " to the motor 1n such a way that the movements of the largest of which has a seating capacity of 64' passtruggling if sturdy electrical infant, has been controll~r han~le are r epeated there. The ~ir- sengers. This is obtained by the adoption of the
chosen president of the Exhibition Committee. s?pply 1s prov1de~ by ~ean~ of a small. electrJCal "rev~rsed stairway," invented by Mr. Bellamy, of
Not many years back , the section of the London mr-?ompressor., dtschargmg into reservOir~ of .the the. Ltverpool Tramways. In this arrangement t he
County Council with which Mr. Dickinson is so ordmary West1nghouse type. An automatiC sw1tch stairway opens on to the upper deck at its extreme
closely identified, boiled over with indignation at cuts.off the current from the compressor when the end, and r oom is thus obtainfld for four seats more
what it was pleased to describe as a proposal to dis- receiver-pressure a~tains the desir~d limit:
. than is possible with the more usual arrangement.
figure certain second or third-rate London subu rbs
A se?ond fine display of. ~lectrlC tractiOn appli- The plan also lends itself well to the enclosing of
by the adoption of electric traction. To-day we ances IS ma~e . by the Br1t.1sh Thomson-Houston the end plat form by glass, so as to protect driver
find the same individuals actively promoting Bills Company, L1mit~d, of 83, C~n;non-street, London, and conductor from the weather. The car is
even more far-reaching in their scope than those E. C. Included m ~he . exh1b1t ar.e two powerful mounted on ''maximum traction " t rucks. These
which at the outset excited their ani madversions. All mo.tor cars, one of whtch I S of exceptionally elaborate trucks are four-wheeled bogies having the motor
this is, of course, ancient history, and the modern fin1~h, the upholstery. being quite unsuited for driving one axle only. The 'centre of pressure
politician has too often to do his speaking first and ordinary tramw~y serv1ce, where the fact .that so of the car body on the truck is such that nearly
his t hinking afterwards, for him to aim with much larg~ ~ pr?port1~n of the passengers are likely to the whole of the weight is taken on the drivsuccess at consistency. The important point is b~ r1dmg ID the1r workd~y clothes makes it ad- ing axle; whilst the other axle, having little to
that these gentry have at last perceived the advan- v1sable that a washable fimsh should be employed carry, is provided with small wheels, thus reducing

officers, mobilisation and surveillance of merchant

ships. 3. Statistics of development during 30
years. Changes that have taken place in the same
time, in salaries, wages, and cost of materials. 4.
The relation and competition between sea-borne
freight , and similar freight carried on railways,
canals, and rivers. 6. P oints connected with
various systems for protecting and encouraging the
merchant marine ; this subhead includes questiions
as to premiums for speed, subsidies, and subventions. 6. The relations between the merchant service and the navy; the obligations of merchant
crews; the utilisation of passenger and freight ships
in time of war, as despatch boats, t ransports, &c.;
the conditions under which such ships should be
reserved by Government .
The second section relates to fiscal matters, and
has four divisions: 1. What influence do existing
systems of dues and taxes exert on the merchant
marine 1 2. What is the organisation of free ports
and zones, and the influence of these ports on the
merchant service 1 3. Statistics on the fluctuation
of freights during a certain number of years, and
the principal causes of such fluctuations. 4. Various
methods of measurement.
The third section is technical, and has three
divisions. 1. What modifications can be int roduced into existing international rules to prevent
collisions, with special reference to signals, alterations in speed, safety apparatus, ocean routes, &c.
2. International agreement on the load-line question. 3. International work to be under taken
to increase safety at sea, such as investigation of ocean currents, destruction of floating
wrecks, the path of icebergs, meteorological stations, marine and pilot charts, wireless telegraphy,
lighting coasts and dangerous localities, systematisatiou of help at sea. The fourth section has five
subdivisions; it refers to matters connected with
the working of the merchant marine. The first
subhead deals with improvements that might be
introduced in ships, their hulls, engines, boilers,
fuel, &c. 2. The nature of cre ws employed and
their wages, especially with reference to negro and
lasca.r crews. 3. Rules, monopolies, tariffs, &c.,
in the merchant service. 4. The reforms that
could be introduced with reference to pilotage and
salvage. 6. The neutralisation of submarine cables,
their improvement and extension. Section 5 deals
with the moral aspect of the merchant service, and
baq three divisions, as follows : 1. What measures
can be adopted to improve the material and moral
conditions of the merchan t sailor 1 2. The best
methods of organising provident associations,
savings banks, insurances, &c. The advisability
of State interference and the resu],~s of exist ing
3. The best
private philanthropic enterprise.
arrangements for shore and floating hospitals, and,
generally, the hygiene of the merchant service.
From the for egoing summary it will be seen that
this is a very important Congress, and its work
should be of great value if the proceedings are
printed in extenso ; it will be strange if these meetings are not attended strongly from this country,
where the material and moral improvement of the
merchant marine is of capital importance.

86o
weight and cost. The exhibit also includes a single
de~k summer car capable of seating ?5 passengers,
butlt for the Blackpool Fleetwood hne. This car
is intended for high-speed running, and is provided
with air brakes. Axle-driven compressors are used
to supply the air. In view of t he fact that the
manufacture of electric traction plant was almost
~es~ro~ed in .this country by hostile legislation,
1t 1s mterestmg to note that lost ground is
now being r ecovered ; and the companies who
have united to make the exhibit just dealt with,
have their works situated within the United
Kingdom.

Another firm, which is also prepared to supply

plant of exclusively British origin, is the Brush
Electrical Engineering Company, Limited, of 49,
Queen Victoria-street, E.C. This firm shows a
car of the central vestibule type, to seat 44 passengers, constructed for the Swansea Tramways
Company. The car is mounted on maximum
traction trucks, each of which is fitted with a
motor rated at 25 brake horse- power.
These
motors will maintain the output named for one
hour, with the temperature rising to n ot more than
115 deg. Fahr. The specifications of many engineers permit a greater temperature rise than this,
75 deg. Cent. or 135 deg. Fahr. being not uncommon ;
so that unless this is borne in mind, the relative
power of this motor as compared with others
may be underrated. The armature is of the
usual laminated type, but built up directly on
the shaft. It has radial and axial air ducts,
which take the air at low velocity, and discharge it at the periphery through ventilation
slots that are left in the pole-pieces in a position exactly opposite the radial air ducts in the
armature. By this means a very good natural ventilation is secured. A further improved detail, based
on experience, is the winding of the field coils on
spools which fit snugly over the pole-pieces, and
are fastened down by studs to the frame. The usual
arrangement requires some skill in adjusting, as
otherwise the unsupported coil may be left loose to
hammer its insulated corners, or else is squeezed
to such an extent as to damage the insulat ion. A
feature bf the Brush motors is that the carcasses
for the 17, 25, 30, and 35 horse-power motors are
interchangeable; so that if ~xperience shows a
tramway engineer that more power 'is required on
the cars than he originally anticipated, the change
can be made with little difficulty. We reproduce
on this page a performance curve showinfl the
principal characteristics of the 25 horse-power
motors :fitted to the car exhibited. The :firm also
show four types of controller, the most interesting of these being devised by Mr. E . H . Tyler,
traction engineer to the company. By means of this
controller the motor, though series-wound, can be
used to work back into the line while descending
long gradients. An efficient brake is t hus provided,
whilst at the same time the work of t he station
generators is lightened. The arrangement is one by
which the motors are automatically coupled up to
the line, so soon as their voltage, working as generators, exceeds t hat of the line, and are automatically
out out when their voltage falls below this limit.
Messrs. R. W . Blackwell and Co., Limited, of
59, City-road, E.C., who have been the contractors
for as great a proportion of the electric tramway work
carried on in Great Britain, have a large display of
plant and :fittings. Taking t he permanent way first,
the firn1shows t he manganese steel frogs which they
consider to give the most satisfactory results in
practice. The wear and tear on points and
crossings is much greater than on the r est
of t h e line, but by constructing such parts of
Hadfield's manganese steel the repair account
can it is claimed, be very largely reduced.
Bo~ds of various kinds are also shown at this
stand. The well-known "Chicago" bond and the
'' Crown " bond, which has the ad vantage that it
can be fixed without exposing both sides of the
rail are well known; but the Edison-Brown plastic
bodd though used for some years in America, is,
we b~lieve, less familiar to British engineers. The
bonding material in this case is pl~stic amalgam,
which is compressed between the ra1l and the fi shplate. The points of contact on both rail and fishplate
are prepared by cleaning off t he scale and rust by
means of an emery wheel turned by hand. The
clean surface is then amalgamated, the plastic alloy
put in place and surrounded with cork washers,
which, on screwing up the fish-plate, make an
elastic and water-tight joint between plate and rs.il
preventing any access of moist ure to t he bond. A

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

[JUNE 29, I 900.

modification of this bond has lately been brought

out by Mr. Brown. In this the current is not
carried by the fish-plate but by a strip of copper.
Another exhibit at this stand is the Price momentum friction brake. In this arrangement a friction
clutch is mounted on one of the axles of the trucks,
and when thrown into gear causes a chain to be
wound up, thereby putting on the brakes. The
clutch is thrown into gear by the motor man, and
the pull on the chain and consequent pressure on
the brake blocks is directly proportional to the
pressure he exerts on the operating lever. It will
be seen that with this brake the momentum of the
car itself provides the power by which it is :finally
brought to rest. The firm, as agents for the' Christ ensen Engineering Company, of Milwaukee, also
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show the Christensen quick-acting air brake, which

is claimed to have certain advant-ages. The plant
includes an exceptionally compact electrically-driven
air compressor, provided wit h an automatic switch
for cutting off t he current when the receivers are full.
These compressora are also used for other purposes,
and one, mounted with its receivers on a truck,
and capable of compressing 50 cubic feet of free
air per minute, weighs but 1200 lb. This equipment
affords a ready means of providing the air necessary
to operate pneumatic tools in out-of-the-way places,
since it is easier to run up a temporary elect ric main
than a pipe line.
Coming to the overhead work, t he firm have at
their stand a number of trolleys, insulators, and
frogs . A specimen of the junction-boxes supplied
to the Liverpool Corporation is also on view ; and
in addition to the usual switches, lighting arresters,
and the like, this box contains, in a separate compartment, a telephone switch, by means of which
a conductor can, in case of emergency, communicate with the central station. In connection
with t he steam equipment of power stations, t he
firm show a variety of gun-metal valves and fittings,
mostly of American manufacture. The " Bundy"
oil separator is also exhibited. This device consists
essentially of a series of grids, the constituent
bars of which are hollow, and have openings
opposed to the flow of the steam. The spaces and
bars on successive grids alternate, so that the steam
has to follow a zigzag course. As a consequence,
the oil is flung against the grid bara, and, collecting
t here, passes in to the interior by the openings
provided, and is :finally drained away at the base
of the :fitting. Another interesting exhibit at this
stand is a specimen of a cast welded joint. These
joints are highly efficient, but, unless a very large
number are to be made, are expensive.
A large working model of the L11ne closed-conduit system of electric traction is exhibited by
the Electromagnetic Traction Company, of 39,
Hamilton House, Bishopsgate-street Within,
London, E. 0. The conductor in this case consists
of a flexible strip of iron resting on glass insulators,
at the bottom of a closed conduit. At t h e crown
of the conduit are pole-pieces of soH iron, the
tops of which are level with the rail surface, and
along t hese slides a collector, attached to the
car. An electromagnet, also carried by the car,
attracts the strip in the conduit below, and
holds it against the pole-pieces immediately''under
the car. As the latter passes along, the strip being
no longer held up by the attraction of the magnet,
falls back to the bottom of its conduit by gravity,
so that only those pole-pieces immediately under
t he car are ever live. To prevent oxidation of the
contacts between the conductor and the pole-pieces,

Mr. Lane :fills his conduit with coal gas or similar

inert fluid.

Chilled castings are less in favour in the British

Isles than in some other countries. Still for
tramway work, there is a steady demand for' this
product for oar wheels, and in many cases also for
points and crossings. Specimens of such goods
are shown by 1\Iessrs. Miller and Co., Limited, of
t he London Road F oundry, Edinburgh. Chilled
wheels are also shown by the British Griffin Chilled
Iron and Steel Oompany, Limited, of 18, St.
Swithin's-lane, London, E. C. The makers last
named claim that the body of their wheels is
nearly as soft and tough as wrought iron, and
show specimens which have been punched without
cracking. This remarkable toughness is at the
same time combined with a satisfactory chill on
the treads. Another noteworthv
., exhibit at t his
stand consists of specimens of motor axles, finished
by cold rolling. The surface left is perfectly
cylindrical and highly finished, whilst it is further
claimed that the metal is so much hardened by
the process as to be sensibly stiffer than if turned
in a lathe. Messrs. Askham Brothers and Wilson,
Limited, of Sheffield, show a fine selection of tramway points, crossing and special work, in crucible
cast steel. The firm also show t heir "drain" rails,
which are special rails used at points where wet
tends to collect. The grooves in these rails open
into drain boxes, and the latter are connected to
the sewers.
The Electric Construction Company, Limited, of
Wolverhampton, show at their stand a large railway generator and a 30 horse-power tram motor.
The most prominent feature of this exhibit is, however, a 70-kilowatt variable ratio transformer, a
number of which are in use on the City and South
London line, to reduce the high-tension voltage of
1000 to 500 volts for the working conductors.
A very :fine and varied display of machine tools
is made by Messrs. Chas. Churchill and Co.,
Limited. Most of the tools are standard patterns
already well known on this side of the Atlantic,
and include a Warner and S wasey turret lathe,
operating on stock 2 in. in diameter, a HendyN orton screw cutting lathe, two Bullard boring
mills, two Cincinnati milling machines, a Colburn keyway cutter, and a number of lathes and
drilling machines by various makers. A tool more
especially connected with tramway work is a 4spindle rail drill. In t his machine the spacing of
the drill spindles can be varied within wide limits,
since each spindle is driven by a telescopic shaft,
provided with Hooke joints at either end. The
feed is given by raising the table, and an automatic
throw-out is fitted for stopping the feed when the
work is done.
Another interesting show of tools is to be found
at the stand of MessrB. C. W. Burton, Griffiths, and
Co., of 12 and 13, Ludgate-square, Ludgate-hill, E. C.
The n ovelties h ere include a lathe of the firm's
design, embodying a modification of the HendyN orton system of altering gears in screw cutting.
In the lathe in question there are two notched
index plates, one having nine notches and the other
four. With the principal shift lever in one of the
nine notches, four different threads can be cut by
shifting the second shift lever in succession to the
four notches of the second index-plate. Hence, to
cut any of t he 36 threads within the range of the
lathe, it is merely necessary to change over two
handles. The lead screw is placed under the shears
inside the bed, and the reverse for screw cutting or
turning is effected by a handle near the headstock,
and not by reversing the countershaft. All the
feed screws have divided heads. The lathe exhibited has 8-in. centres, and t he back gear can
be thrown in and out without stopping the lathe.
Another special tool to be seen at the same stand is
a machine for cutting straight or spiral oil grooves in
brasses, and where large numbers have to be operated
on this machine should prove highly efficient. This
firm also show the aluminium calliper gauges, which
are n ow coming into general favour. In this gauge
the body of the calliper is of a stiff aluminium alloy,
but the gauge distance is taken between two
hardened steel plugs screwed into t he calliper
arms. When desired, the gauge can be set above
or below standard, by screwing one of these plugs
in or out. The lightness of these tools makes them
very handy in use, even the larger sizes of 18 in. or
2-ft. gap.
Messrs. R. Becker and Co., of 50 and 52, Rjving
ton-street, Curtain-road, London, E. C., also show
a number of tools, amongst which is a very con-

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

JuNE 29, 1900.]

venient shearing machine, by which plates can be
cut up to any length and width, the depth of cut
not being limited as usual by the depth of the gap.
A circular cold sawing machine, having a swivelling
head, permitting rails to be cut any angle, is also
on view at this stand.
Wood-working tools are exhibited at the stand
of Messrs. J. B. Stone and Co., of 135, Finsburypavement, E.C. Amongst them is a chain mortising machine described in our issue of July 14
last. Another interesting tool at this stand is a
belt-lacing machine. The lacing is done with wire,
two sections of belting being sewn together by
means of a somewhat closely-wound spiral of wire
which is afterwards flattened. The machine is
nearly automatic in action, and the joint is made
in a very few moments.
We have already referred to the gas engine ~x
hibited by the W esting-house Company, but other
firms are also showing this type of motor. Messrs.
Crossley Brothers, Limited, of Manchester, have
at their stand two highly-finished gas engines, one
rated at 19 brake horse-power, whilst the other,
specially designed for dynamo driving, is capable
of generating 12 actual horse-power in continuous
runs. These engines are .standard designs, and
embody no novelties of importance. Their general
construction is too well known to need recapitulation here. Messrs. Tangyes, Limited, of 35,
Queen Victoria-street, E. C., also show a gas and an
oil engine. In the gas engine a novel feature is
introduced iu respect to the gas valve. After a
missed ignition, the exhaust leaves behind it
in the cylinder air containing little of the products of combustion from previous charges.
Consequently, at the end of the next suction stroke
the volume of oxygen contained in the cylinder is
more than in normal working, and a richer mixture
of gas can be satisfactorily consumed. T o provide
for this, Messrs. Tanyge have fitted a simple device
by which the governor, whenever it fails to open
the gas valve, causes a small wedge to move up in
the path of the tappet, so that it will open it ! in.
wider than normally. More gas is thus drawn into
the cylinder, producing a richer mixture, and increasing the econo.rp.y of the engine at low loads.
The most striking departure in gas engine practice is, however, to be found at the stall of Messrs.
John Gibbs and Son, of 15, Victoria-street, S.W.,
who show engines constructed by the Blaxton
Engineering Company, Limited, of 69, Old-street,
London, E . C. This engine gives an impulse every
stroke. Its arrangement will be best understood
by referring to the annexed engravings, of which
Fig. 1 represents a longitudinal section through the
engine, and Fig. 2 the details of the valve by which

Jl-0.2.

Fig. 7. .
f

with the exhaust pipe by a non-return valve F.

The cylinder pressure is therefore immediately
reduced to that of the atmosphere. The pistons,
however, continuing their stroke, a valve H,
Fig. 2, is opened by a tappet controlled by the
governor, and communication is thus established
between the working cylinder and the partial
vacuum in C. The products of combustion
in B, therefore, flow into C, and at the same
time a fresh charge flows into the working
cylinder by the jnlet valve A. On the return
stroke, compression begins as soon as the back
piston covers the ports E . As the piston continues its return stroke, its back edge finally uncovers these ports, thus providing an escape for the
contents of C thrpugh the non-return exhaust valve.
The ignition of the charge is finally effected by a hot
tube in the usual way. It would be quite p ossible
to dispense with the equilibrium valve H altogether,
and thus do away with mechanically-operated
valves entirely, _but by using this valve a ready
means of governing the engine is provided. If the
speed rises, the governor prevents this valve being
opened; and hence no fresh charge is drawn into
the working cylinder, so that the n ext outstroke of
the pistons is an idle one.
Coming to sundries useful in station work, attention should be drawn to the automatic railway
signals shown by Mr. Washington Hume, of 9, New
Broad-street, E. C., and to the exhibit of the boiler
and steam-pipe coverings at the stand of the Cape
Asbestos Company, Limited, of 8, Minories, London.
These asbestos coverings are made up out of the
peculiar variety of this article found in Cape Colony.
This blue asbestos, as it is called, is of remarkably light weight, and has very strong fibres. The
coverings are made on the principle of the common
eider-down quilt, the packing, however, being loose
asbestos, and the fabric enclosing the same being of
asbestos cloth, stitched through with asbestos twine.
Jackets can, in this way, be made to fit most irregular contours ; and since the material used is rotproof and unaffected by hot steam surfaces, the
covering will last as long or longer than the boiler
to which they are fitted. The ease with which
they can be removed and r eplaced greatly facilitates
repairs to the boilers or pipes which they clothe.
Octreful tests have shown the high efficiency of these
coverings as heat insulators.
Messrs. Holden and Brooke, Limited, of 110,
Cannon-street, E.C .., show at their stand steam
fittings suitable fot central station work. These
include grease separators, feed-water heaters, the
Sirius steam trap and the firm's well-known injectors. Another useful appliance is the " Test "
water-gauge, which is of the type which shuts off

861
'' graphited wood grease," which it is claim~d
greatly reduces both noise and wear. The matenal
is a mixture of graphite, petroleum grease, ~nd
finely-ground cedar sawdust. The sawdust, owmg
to its absorbent properties, holds the grease well,
and prevents it from being squeezed out from between the wheel teeth. Another application of
graphite to be seen at this stand, is to the construction of high non-inductive r esistanccs, capable. of
passing a large momentary current. These resistances are used in the Thomson-Houston lighting
arrester a.s a. shunt to the coils of the magnetic
blow-out, as explained in an early portion of this
article.

THE INSTITUTION OF MECHANICAL

ENGINEERS.
ON the morning of Wednesday last, the summer
meeting of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers was commenced. The summer meeting this
year is being held in London and about a month
earlier than usual, this so mew hat exceptional
course being taken in order to entertain more
effectually the members of the American Society
of Mechanical Engineers, who are visiting this
country for the purpose of taking part in the
Paris Exhibition, and the various meetings which
are to be held in connection therewith.
At the time appointed for the meeting a large
number of American engineers and members of the
Institution assembled in the hall of the Society,
which was crowded to overflowing. In the regretted
absence of the President, owing to ill health, Mr.
Edwa.rd P. Martin, Vice-President of the Institution, occupied the chair. The proceedings were
opened by an
ADDRESS OF WELCOME TO THE AMERICAN
ENGINEERS,

in the course of which Mr. Martin expressed his

regret that Sir William White was not present, to
extend to the American guests of the Institution
that cordial welcome which was in the hearts of
all. Mr. Martin said that he had the good fortune
to be one of those who visited the United States
on the memorable occasion of about 10 years ago.
He remembered then t he words Mr. Carnegie used
in his speech in which he extended to the visitors
the greetings of America : '' Welcome, thrice
welcome," he said, '' to our guests ; ,. and Mr.
Martin felt he could not do better than repeat the
eloquent words of the great American steelmaker.
It was then a very short time before the English
visitors, of which he was one, felt that they were
not strangers in a foreign land, "And what we
felt then, he continued, " when we visited your
shores, we hope you will feel now that you have
come in a body to see us ; and we trust that when
you return from that vast exhibition in the beautiful city of Paris, with your faces turned westward
that you will think here you have made one step t~
home."
Mr . . E. Windsor Richards, Past-President, in
addressing Mr. M organ and the other members of

the American . party, had pl~asu~e in endersing all

that t~e chai.riDan. had sa1d, In most cordially
welcoming the engineers from the United States
to England. He trusted their visit would afford
A
them occasion for. the interchange of new ideas, and
beyond all that 1t would lead to the making of
8.
many
true
and
lasting
friendships
.

Mr. Charles H. Morgan, the President of the

Ame.rican Soci~ty of Mechanical Engineers, in re
turnmg thanks m a few words, said that he and those
with h.im were almost o_v~rwhelmed by the generous
receptiOn they had received. It was a great thing

to them to feel they were at home in the house of

this Institution, and in the great capital of the
country.. Whenever English engineers came again
to Amenca they would be heartily welcomed; and
he would only add, '' Oome, all of you ! "
The secretary next read a letter which had
auto~atically the st~am. and water in case of a glass been sent by Sir 'Villiam White, in which he
breaking. As ordinarily constructed, there is no stated his great regret that the state of his health
method of testing the condition of t hese automatic prevented his attending the meeting.
valves, but in the gauge in question an alternative
blow-through is provided, giving sufficient Yolume
RoAn LocoMOTION.
of flow t<f operate the valves if they are in working
The adjourned discussion on Dr. Hele-Sha.w's
order.
paper on " Road Locomotion" was next brouoht
Some interesting applications of gr~phite will be on. It will be reme~bered that ~his paper
found at the stand occupied by the J oseph Dixon read at the last meeting and partially discussed.
Crucible Company, of 28 Victoriastreet West- The paper was printed in full in our issues of
m~ster. For lu!:>ricating 'the gear wheels 'of elec- Ma_y 4, 11, 18, and 25, pages 597, 630, 663, and 696,
triC tramcars this firm have lately introduced a. wh1lst a report of the discus&ion will be found in
0

0
0

0
0

0
0

D.

the governing of the engine i~ accomplished. The

engine 'has two pistqns connected to a common
trunk. The back piston fits the ordinary working
cylinder B, whilst the front one fits the bored
guides C. The annular space left between the
latter aud the trunk constitutes a pump chamber.
During an outstroke a vacuum is created in th!s
pump chamber, the degree of which is adjusted to
the point desired, by connecting the chamber with an
air vessel D of suitable size. On nearing the end of
its outstroke the back piston unc?vers a rin~ of
ports, marked E on the figure, wh1oh commun1cate

;as

862

our issue of May 4, page 577. The author had

prepared an addendum, which he first read, and in
which he dealt with the 1000 miles road trials that
were in progress at the time his original paper
came before t he last meeting. In this addendum,
which we shall print in full next week, Dr.
Hele-Shaw referred to the satisfactory manner in
which these trials had passed off, and the severe test
that the vehicles were put to on some of the steep
hil~s encountered en rmtJte between London and
Edmburgh. One car, that of the Hon. C. S. Rolls,
was able to take the steepest of these ascents at 16
miles an hour, whilst the first and longer part of
of Shap Fell was ascended at the almost incredible
speed of 27 miles an hour, and the long and
steep ascent of Dunmail Raise was made at 20i
miles an hour, there being four passengers on
the car. The number of vehicles entered was
83, but 18 did not start. No electric vehicles
competed, and only two propelled by steam, all
the rest having petroleum spirit motors. There
were 33 carriages, 24 voiturettes, and eight motor
cycJes.
Fifteen of the carriages achieved a
speed of 12 miles an hour throughout the trials,
whilst three voiturettes and two motor cycles
proved themselves capable of the same performance : 50 of the vehicles out of 65 which originally
started r eturned to St. Albans to complete the tour
by running into London. The list of breakdowns
is instructive. In one case a crankshaft was
broken; in another there was a fractured pistonr od and broken countershaft ; in another the steering actions were fract ured ; in another the parts
were strained in consequence of a collision
with a wall. One of the two steam vehicles
failed o~g to a cylinder head breaking, but
it safely r eturned to London; in another case
the front axle bent through excessive strain;
another broke its crosshead and wore the cylinders;
in another vehicle the frame and wheels turned out
to be faulty, and would not stand the wear of the
run; while in one the body of the vehicle itself (i.e.,
the woodwork) gave way. In some cases speeds of
40 miles an hour were attained upon roads free
from oth~r traffic. In one case .11o well-known vehicle
successfully raced an express train for several miles.
The author next referred to the Paris and Lyons race,
in which the winner covered 353f miles in 9 hours
8 minutes, thus beating the express train, which
takes 8 hours 23 minutes to travel the shorter
route of 320 miles. With t wo exceptions, all the
vehicles in the run employed pneumatic tyres: a
fact which the author considered accounted for the
general freedom from failure of the working parts.
The discus.sion on the paper was opened by Mr.
E. J. Chambers, who said that he had had some
experience in motor cars, as for some time past he
had possessed a French carriage of this nature
which had been running with the very best r esults.
He considered the Institution might do very good
work in supporting the motor car industry, more
especially in keeping a watchful eye on obstructive
legislation which was likely to hamper the manufacture of these vehicles. His car happened to
have been bought in France, but he believed that
equally good work could be done in t~is country.
The greatest difficulty he had experienced was
from the attendants upon horses met: upon the
road. It must be remembered, however, that there
h ad been opposition to .the introd~?tion of the
bicycle but in what a different positiOn the trade
of the ~ountry would have been had this opposition
been successful.
The same experience would
follow in the case of motor oars. Having said this,
he would enter his protest against the extremely
high speeds at which it see~ed to be the delight
of some persons to run their motor cars. He was
an owner of horses, and frequently horses were
driven at the rate of 18 miles an hour by
those who were fortunate enough to own good
ones he therefore did n ot see why the motor
car ~houid not be ' allowed that speed also. It
was considered by some that motor oars were
dangerous and his partner, who was the owner of
a car mad~ by a firm whose name he would n ot
mention, had been unfor tunate eno~gh to be
turned over in an accident, when his car was
burnt up in a few minutes. A car which could be
so destroyed was evidently wrongly designed. He
thouuht makers would do well to study the question ~f safety, and also the many little conveniences
that might be introduced and were necessary for
perfect comfort. He ~onsidered there was~ splendid
opportunity for engineers and coachbmlders to
combine and produce a really excellent vehicle.

ENGINEE .RING.
Mr. Bryan Donkin had prepared a Table giving
particulars of certain tests made at Richmond and
Birmingham. This he had handed to the secretary,
and it would be included in the Transactions. His
object had been to get the cost per 10 miles. He
considered, however, that the questions of steering,
safety, and some details of construction were far
more important than fuel expenditure. The problem of road locomotion was more difficult than
that of r ailway or tramway locomotion, because
they had all manner of roads to deal with, and in
spite of improvements serious defects still existed.
.In the vehicles themselves he considered the chief
defect was noise, and this principally came from
the spur gearing used, which was the weak point .
The smaller motors ran from 600 to 2000 revolutions per minute, and it was necessary to reduce
this speed, thus leading to complications ef the
mechanism. The worm and wormwheel gearing
of Lanchester was a good solution to the diffi'culty, but the alteration from one gear to
another, so as to change the speed, must always
caUE~e a jerk. The next great defect was vibration
or trembling of the whole carriage. That was not
felt on short ri~es, but after 10 or 12 miles it became very distressing. The chief cause again was
in the gearing, and the want of balance in the quick
running parts. There was also the annoyance from
smell, the oil engines being, of course, the great
offenders in this respect. The steam-driven motor
car was also liable to be a nuisance through emitting
smoke and steam. He considered the oil engines
best for long continuous journeys, the steam motors
as more suitable for heavy loads, and motors driven
by electricity as adapted chiefly for short town journeys ; though the weight of batteries was against
the adoption of the latter form of p ower. All types
of vehicle, however, damaged the r oad less than the
horses' hoofs did. He would point out that there
were no experimental data recorded as to the ratio
between indicated horse-power and useful work, for
his own part he thought that the mechanical efficiency was about 50 per cent. There had been,
however, some excellent French experiments, and
he thought it would be useful if the secretary would
summarise them. At the present tiine there were
600 makers of road carriages in France, and 6000
owners. He was in Paris last week, where there
were 100 to 150 motor cars exhibited. Of these, by
far the greater number were oil engines, he did not
think there was very much new to chronicle of
them, as they all seemed very similar to each other.
Mr Harry Jones said he would give a little advice
to drivers of these vehicles. I t would be well if
they would adapt themselves more to the exigencies
of ordinary traffic. They should remember that
horses were easily terrified by the sight of anything
unusual and also by a strange smell. It was a curious
fact that horses were so frighte!led by smells as
well as by noise. It was necessary that those who
used the roads should know the rule of the road.
He gave OJ?-e. instance of offence in this respect.
He was driving a team of horses when he met a
motor vehicle which he knew would frighten his
team; he therefore held . up his whip in order to
stop the . driver who, however, did no~ stop, the
r esult being that he nearly had an acmdent. On
another occasion he met a similar vehicle and he
held up his hand and t he driver stopped at once
and all troubl.e was avo~ded. These. were t wo instances showmg the different behavwur of motor
drivers.
Mr. Sturmey thought that it would be well if
those who drove horses would remember that they
had not a. prescriptive ,right to the use of the road,
and that If they took horses o~t they must see that
they were properly brok en 1n. Most owners of
motor cars were also owners of horses or were
cyclists, and all who drive motor cars observe the
la'Y's of the. r oad. The gentleman ~ho last s~oke
evidently did not know the law, as 1t was provided
that the dri'Ver should hold up his hand, whereas Mr.
J ones held _up his whip. Drivers of motor cars kn~w
that the strict law could not always be observed w1th
advantage, it being sometimes r eally safer to go on
rather than stop, an~ so they took ~ little latitude. The author: ~aid th~t the quest.wn of motc;>r
cars was now receiVIng a httle attention. Re d1d
not know why he. used the word "now," aA the
subject should have received att.ention fo~r or
five years ago. In th~ companson of ra1~way
charges t~at had beet?- g:tven, only heavy vehiCles
~vere co!ls1de:ed, ~ut 1t s.hould bo remembered that
1~ the hgh~er. veh10l~s tunc was saved up to any
distance within 50 miles. He had recently travelled

[} UNE

29, I 900 .

from Cam bridge to London, a distance of 60 miles

in t)vo ~nd a half hours. The question of roa~
was an Important one. I n America they were' pr0posing to lay down steel ways for cycle and motor
traffic, and it was calculated this would not entail
greater expense than macadam. Pneumatic tyres
afforded an enormous saving by reducinu the strains
on the vehicle. There had been an idea t hat for
goods traffic iron tyres would do very well, but it
was found that they shook t he machinery so as to
put the mechanism of oil engines out of running.
They had therefore put rubber on the front tyres
only r etaining iron for the driving tyres, and had
found considerable improvement. The Hon. C. S.
Rolls, who had a very extended experience, calculat~d that his pneumatic tyres cost him 2d. per mile,
whtch was 200 per cent. more than the cost of oil.
~ anyone could devise a means of preventing vibratiOn without recourse to costly india rubber and
perishable canvas he would effect a great step in
advanc~. Another mechanical point was the large
prop ortiOn of power tak en up by the transmission
gear. They had been able to reduce the cooling
water needed for oil engines to a very large extent,
having come from 15 to 4 gallons. This had been
effected by adopting special radiating surfaces.
The failure of the circulating pump was one of the
most fruitful sources of trouble.
Mr. Gus. C. Henning, speaking as an American
engineer, said that the average noise was less in
American machines than in those of Europe, and
such noise as they emitted was chiefly due to the
puffing of oil from the exhaust. In considering
this matter he thought engineers paid too little
attention to the elasticity of materials. If th~y
would mount a wheel on an elastic shaft with
bearings not close in, they would get a vibratory
effect like that of a big piano string. The description of gear wheels used was also of importance in
regard to noise. He had been taken over a factory
in order to be shown the silent gear used for
driving. When he got into the shop, however, he
could hardly make himself heard in speaking to
his companion on account of the din, and he ultimately found that this noise proceeded from the
" silent gear. " With regard to smoke, he would
say that there were two ways of getting over it,
one was to use the best American oil, and the
alternative was to burn American smokeless an-
thracite.
Mr. F owler had had an experience of six months
with a. heavy motor lurry which had run most successfully, a fact which he attributed to the flexibility of steam driving. Practically speaking, horses
had no objection to motor cars so long as the drivers
let them alone. If, however, they j umped down and
rushed to their horse's head, as it were to . call
attention to the fact that there was something
of which the horse might be frightened , then the
latter became nervous, and was apt to back into
the ditch. The only trouble they had had was
with a bull ; it was tied to the back of a cart which,
with others, was left standing outside a publichouse. The bull had taken offence at the motor
car, and had attempted to attack it. Fortunately,
however, it did not get loose, but only turned the
cart over ; it was a fortunate thing for the bull
itself, as had he attempted t o rush one of Mr.
Thornycroft's staam vehicles, with five tons on board,
the r esult might have been serious. Mr. Fowler
thought it would be desirable if somewh_at longer
competitive trials could be made than those which
had been attempted. He thought six months would
be a better period than a few days. In the north
the roads were very trying to the machines, the
surface in the centre of some of the pig towns
being a disgrace to the authority. This was not
felt so much at the extremely low spe'eds at which
horse wagons travelled; but when a steam wagon
travelled at five miles an hour, carrying a very
heavy load, it was a serious matter. He would
wish to lay particular emphasis on the evil that had
been wrought by the three-ton tare arrangement
that had been enforced by the Government. The
regulation necessitated a very large use of aluminium,
and he considered that the limit should be raised so
as to avoid using this costly material. Another point
which required consideration was the size of the
boilers. They were apt to be made too small, and
he had seen vehicles stopped on a long continuous
r ise in order that pressure might accumulate. Feed
pumps were also often too small, even if the boiler
were large enough for a long hill. He thought
coke was used rather than coal for these purposes,
and that was a smokeless fuel.
Steam was not

j UNE 29, I 900.]

seen, except, perhaps, for a. few damp days in

winter, but there was the danger from sparks to
be coilSidered, and on this account insurance companies might object to these vehicles backing into
sheds or r eceiving houses. If these vehicles were
to be used they must be capable of being driven at
all times, and he would be glad to know how-as
had been r eported- they had got over the difficulty
of a fall of snow. Was this by putting shoes on
the wheels 1 If so it was an infraction of the letter
of the law. The streets of Liverpool were, however, so well swept that probably the difficulty
from snow did not ariso there.
M. Sauvage said that in his country, France,
horses had become accustomed to motor cars, they
being much used. It did not take a horse ~ery long
before it became indifferent to what was new and
terrifying at first. In this way they had got over
the difficulty of rail way trains, electric cars, and
cycles. They often saw motor cars in to wn~ going
at dangerous speeds, but the horses took no notice
of t hem. The development of this industry in
France was due to the happy absence of official
regulation : that was a fortunate exception to the
general rule in his country. All proper-minded
motor-car owners desired that driving at excessive
speed should be stopped.
Mr. J. I. Thornycroft said that the point of
greatest importance to the motor-car industry was
the check due to restrictive legislation.
Mr.
Fowler had stated that in order to comply with the
statutory tare limits, aluminium had to be used,
and he also said that boilers should be made larger.
When, however, they had done all they could with
regard to the adoption of aluminium, there was
still not sufficient margin for the bigger boiler.
The industry must inevitably be crippled unless
legislation in this respect were altered. In r egard
to horses they soon learnt all about the motor
car and took n o notice of it. The rdal trouble
w"s not in the towns hu b in the country, where
horses were less ace tstomed to unusual sights and
sounds. Vibration due to bld roads was a very
serious disadvantage, and it would be well if roads
were b etter attended to. Still there might be a
virtue in a bad road, for it would lead builders to
exert themselves more to counteract vibration, so
that they would get a. good car, and then if the
good roads came afterwards, they would reach perf ~ction.

Mr. Worby Beaumont also pointed out that the

r oad question was one of great importance, and
he suggested that the tops of bills might in
many cases be advantageously cut off and the
gradients otherwise improved.
He considered
the road question might be reduced to one of
maintenance.
We constructed roads at great
cost and then let them go from bad to worse.
The owners of horse vehicles were also interested
in this question; for instance, they might have to
send a load of 1 ton, for which they would be
obliged to provide two horses in order to get over
a short distance of difficult ground. He did not
c onsider the ton-mile a good basis of comparison for
the cost of road locomotion ; loading and unloading had also to be considered. With regard to
oil motors, in using a vaporising carburetter in
summer weather there was very little necessity for
heaters. There was the difficulty with the light
oil that the lighter part would be taken first, leaving the heaYier oil with which perhaps it would
not be possible to get the vehicle to start. The
spray carburetter did not give a vapour, but that
was nob of importance, as the spray really ignited
more readily than the vapour. In regard to governor.3, many vehicles were run with them for part
of the time until the owneJ;s got tired of the slower
pace, when they would put into play what was known
as an "accelerator" which was simply a device for
throwing the governor out of use. An owner tired
of dawdling along at 15 miles an hour would thus run
a machine supposed to perform 750 revolutions a
minute up to 1500 a. minute ; this might appear a
dangerous speed, but the motor part was not that
which soonest gave out. In regard to circulating
water, coolers were used with a natural circulation,
and they required little water; he mentioned a case
in which 2 oz. only had been used on a 50-mile
run, but 20 per cent. of the mechanical efficiency of
the whole machine was thus lost. The shaking
noticed when cars were standing was not at all a
question of balancing, as had been supposed, but
was vibration resulting from infrequent ignition.
Mr. Sidney F. Walker said that no one doubted
that the motor car of the future would be electri-

E N G I N E E R I N G.
cally driven, a proposition which did not meet with
universal assent from the meeting. He pointed
out that fuel burnt in small motors was largely
wasted. At present there was the drawback to
electric accumulators that at present, owing to their
weight, they could only be carried to provide power
for a run of about 40 miles; moreover, in a motor
car the accumulators were in the worst possible
position for working. He had come to the conclusion that lead plates would have to go. The lead
only performed the same functions as the carbons
in a primary battery- to collect current which
was generated in the lead oxide; he thought that
the oxide should be built up in a framework of
some other metal. He knew that this would be
met with the objection that it would be forming
a galvanic battery ; but with the present accumulators there was a galvanic battery formed by th e
lead plates and the oxide ; the matter was one for
the inventor to take up.
Mr. Holroyd Smith considered it was the duty
of the Institution to deal with mechanical details.
He referred to the application of a geometrical
principle which 1\'Ir. Davis had devised for steering
gear, and which gave absolute accurate movement of
the wheels for every position of the steering lever.
This was illustrated in the author's paper. Mr. Smith
would ask why some arrangement could not be
made for getting efficiency in steering when running backwards as well as when moving forwards.
He would be glad if the author would give a full
geometrical explanation of this. The author had
stated that heavy oil engines for internal combustion had been tried for motor vehicles, but the
difficulties of starting and smell had not yet been
satisfactorily overcome. In connection with this
matter, some recent experiments by Mr. Henry
Barcroft promised well for the future, for he had
succeeded in maintaining constant mixture and
compression under varying load. The speaker
had seen a model in which varying power was
obtained by varying the length of stroke, but
that introduced the objection that the ratio of
clearance space was also varied. An arrangement
had, however, been invented to get over the
difficulty, and he would be glad if Mr. Hele-Shaw
would give some information upon the matter.
The author had said that there was a steady and
certain tendency towards the use of electric
ignition. As long as the electric ignition was
limited to either primary or secondary cells which
required charg;ng and attention, this was n ot the
case, b ecause, in spite of the claims as to the
number of miles the cells would run, th ere was no
means of being sure as to the amount of the charge
until it had ceased to work. Now, h owever, the
magneto-electric ignition in which the current
is obtained by the revolution of the motor itself,
or by t urning a handle previous to starting, has
removed these objections. Mr. Holroyd Smith
thought that those who had had real experience with
electric ignition would know there was a difficulty of
always making contact at the proper time. The usual
plan was to have a fibre disc, out of which pieces were
cut and metallic plates were inserted, to make up
for the part removed. In this way the perfect
circular form of the disc was maintained, and contact was formed by the rubbing part coming in
contact with the metallic plate. This, the speaker
said, worked well enough in the workshop, but in
the motor car oil from lubrication would get on the
disc, the brush also gets saturated, and either
there was no contact or some delay occurred in
making it. What was wanted was a device in
which the contact would be always reliable, and
take place at the precise moment needed. In regard
to balancing, Mr. Smith pointed out that Dr. HeleShaw had stated in his paper that in order to
understand the action of the Lanchester system
"it must be remembered that the two cranks are
disconnected, the two flywheels moving in opposite directions ; of course, with only a singlecylinder engine the piston is not balanced." He
was surprised to hear Dr. Hele-Shaw make this
latter statement, as he-the speaker- had shown, at
a meeting of the Institution, a model of a singlecylinder with absolute balance. In regard to the
question of wheels, he thought that was of sufficient importance to be the subject of a separate
paper. There was a great tendency to seek the
solution of the problem of vibration by relying
on the tyre alone. He had given a great deal
of thought in the past to the question of spring
wheels proper, as differing from those which
depended on their own elast.ic tyres.
lie had

investigated t he subject closely and had examined

the work of a great many people in this direction,
the majority of whom had not even formulated the
conditions of the problem they attempted to solve.
What was needed to prevent vibration was perfect
radial movement between the hub and the tyre,
and no other movement. In one case the principle
had been grasped, the hub moving in a slide whilst
that slide was free to move in another giving motion
at right angles to the first. That device, however,
suffered from mechanical causes, but the same end
could be obtained and the difficulty obviated. This
the speaker proposed to accomplish by compounding
two sets of parallel motion which would be mounted
in the wheel and enclosed in a frame.
Mr. Ventrice said that he spoke as a local authority only, and as a user of the Thornycroft steam
van. He had had considerable experience with
one of these vehicles in a central part of London,
and could bear testimony to its satisfactory working ; it created n o nuisance, and there had been no
complaint of any kind.
Mr. Higgins said that the pleasurable use of
motor cars was entirely a matter of road surface.
Now the London County Council were going to put
down tramways, and spoil such good road surfaces
as existed.
Mr. Henry Davey said that one speaker had
referred to the prescriptive right of the road, and
said it existed for no one vehicle; that was an error,
as the prescriptive right came from time.
Mr. Henry McLaren spoke as a traction engine
builder, and referred to the manner in which the
frames of motor wagons might be strained by the
manner in which the steering wheels were sometimes mounted. In the ordinary traction engine,
owing to the front axle being free to r ock on its
central bearing, the engine stood practically on
three points, so that there would be no cross strain
put upon it by the fact of its being on an uneven
road. In a motor car having the two steering
wheels each capable of swivelling on an independent vertical axis, however, lhe car was virtually
carried on four points, and under certain conditions these four points would not all bear on
the road, and severe cross strains might be set up.
Mr. McLa.ren endorsed what had been said about the
difficulties thrown in the way of motor-car builders,
by the restriction of the tare weight of vehicle.
Some little time ago his firm had been asked to
execute an order for vehicles of this nature, but
found they could n ot carry it out under the statutory limit of three tons. If they had been
allowed four tons they could have produced a
satisfactory design. He was of opinion that the
Instit ution should turn their attention to this
matter, the law being extremely unsatisfactory ,
His firm had for a long period had some experience
in France, where they had run 1000 miles every
fortnight in carrying mails. They had there found
the weak points in the tyres. When a tyre gets
thin in any place it stretches there, and thus pulls
off the rivets. They had tried the effects of putt.i ng
on the tyres in short lengths, and had successively
reduced the lengths of such portions until t hey got
to short plates. Not being restricted to weight,
they had put on plates 6 in. long and 1-! in. thick,
there being !in. spaces between, which soon
became filled up with dirt, and thus made a smooth
surface. In this way they had run successively
60,000 miles. As r egarded elastic wheels, he had
tried the arrangement, Mr. Holyroyd Smith suggested, of compound parallel motions, and had
found it would not work ; it would wear out
directly.
pr.. Hele-Sha~, in r~plying to the discussien,
sa1d 1t woul~ be 1mpo~s1ble to answer the majority
of t~e qu.estwns put m th_e ~ourse of a long discussiOn, 1t was very gratlfymg to him that the
paper had excited so much interest, and he would
ask those who had put questions to him to allow
him to answer them in writing ; then they would
appear in the Transactions . There were, however
one or two points to which he might refer very
briefly. The first was the terrible case of the
burnt car, which had been held up as an awful
example. The burning of the car was a trifle
but the burning of the owner would be a very
serious matter. If a tank burst when a car
turned over, and the owner became saturated
with petrol, nothing would save his life if the
oil got alight, as it might do in the case of igni
tion by a naked flame and a very h ot tube.
That was the danger of tube ianition but if
there were electric ignition, the ;wner ~ould be

E N G I N E E RI N G.
..

(}UNE 29,

1900.

THE KIMBERLEY GUN "LONG CECIL."

(For Desc?iption, see OP1:nsite PcJ{Je.)

.
I

'

(a) Q. Labram, Late Chief Engineer D. B. C. M., kirted gth Feb., xgoo.

Fig.2 . 41

(b) E. Goffe, Chief Draughtsman, D. B. C. M.

GtNn- Long C(!;oa

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1
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Rifling

for

18

Calibri?/S

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B reeolv

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Elcva;tmg

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Bloolv
,

fi.rv<L

Obtur(htor.

Fig. 5

Fig.4

Ft_g.3.

As FirwUy

As" Macl,e; for A.:daL Firing.

As First- M~.

M~.

Cra.cluJ., hue,-

'

;S~GS

lJJ

Shews where- ~ brok,e; ,off, on- .ftrt,ng

s~, o/ur altuati?1v1 tlw bolt, drooebaik, knocki.n.g o~ p~, a.s slwwrv, aruL w~
founit also orailteiL Q.1/ s1wul.der .

perfectly safe from destruction by fire. ' It was

for that reason he considered electric ignition a
system of the future. Mr. H olroyd Smith had
drawn an electrical device which did not exist. [In
reply to this, Mr. Smith said that the latest car
from France was arranged as he had described.]
Dr. Hele-Shaw, continuing, said that if this were
so, it ought not to be. The proper arrangement for
electric ignition was a disc having a metallic
part protruding from the periphery. A spring
arrangement kept the contact piece near to
the disc, and when the metallic part came in
contact with the brush, contact was invariably
made at the right time, the presence of oil being
a small matter. It was possible to regulate the
igniter so that the engine would be kept running at a speed t hat would just carry it over
the end of the stroke, and thus vibration was done
away with. He would send a drawing of the device that was used when running in snow, respecting which an inquiry had been made by Mr.
Fowler. Briefly, it might be described as a temporary attachment consisting of a large framework

of wood placed round the wheel. If this were used

on a hard road it would wear out; but on a soft
road or on snow it acted well. He sincerely hoped
that the Institution would do something or cooperate with other authorities in raising t he question of the legal tare. The law was an absurdity
as it stood ; the car carries a load, and if the law
dealt only with the total load, and restricted the
load carried per wheel, there would be some sense
in it. In regard to the cost of carrying goods by
motor car, he would refer to a diagram which had
been made by Mr. Shrapnel Smith, who he hoped
would have spoken on the subject ; the diagram
would, however, be published with t he other additional matter. They proposed next Spring to make
a thorough practical trial of the utility of motor
cars for delivering goods in some of the chief towns
in L ancashire, and to t hi1:1 end they had been promised the co-operation of merchants and others,
which would enable them to carry merchandise between Manchester and Liverpool, and other places.
He was pleased to hear Mr. McLaren speak, as he
was a traction engine maker, and connected with a

class of engineers with whom the great bulk of

experience rested.
The meeting then adjourned until the next

mornmg.
On the second day of t he meeting, Mr. E. P.
Martin again occupied the chair. The first paper
read was a very interesting one by Mr. Edward
Goffe, entitled ''Notes on the Construction of
'Long Cecil,' a 4.1-In. Rifled Breechloading Gun in
Kimberley During t he Siege, 1899-1900." This we
print in the present issue, together with the illustrations on t he present and opposite pages. There
was practically no discussion on this paper, t he only
speaker being Mr. Donaldson, of Wool wich.
The next paper taken was M. Edouard Sauvage's
on" Recent Locomotive Practice in France. " This
gave rise to a long and interesting discussion, with
which we shall deal more fully in our next issue.
A paper on ''Polyphase E lectric Traction, " by Professor C. A. Carus-Wtlson, was finally read, but time
did not permit of any discussion.
We shall continue our report of the further pro
ceedings next week.

jUNE

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

29, 1900.]

THE KIMBERLEY GUN "LONG CECIL."

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Fig. 7.

F-0 8.

Bormg (Roughing)

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Boring (Finiskin,g)

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D.B.C. MinAu during ~ s~g(!,; if Kimbe-r~ 1899 -1900.

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w itlt, IViMLeJ.

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Rings

R .A & D . F. A.

'. . .
I '
o I

THE KIMBERLEY GUN "LONG CECIL."

.

"

. ,

Note_s on the Const?"UCtum of . L<mfJ Cectl, a ~.1-In.

R~tled BreeohlOO.d tng Gun, tn K tmberley d'IIIT'tng the

Suge, 1899-1900.
By Mr. EnwARD G91<'.E, Associate Member,
of Kimberley.
THE object in view was to make a gun of greater power
than those possessed by the garrison, which were 2. 5-in.
ri fled mu zzle-loading guns (7-pounders), and were not big
enough to effectually reply to the enemy's 15-pounders, or
to make any impression on his works.
A gun of about 4 in. bore, firing a shell 25lb. to 30 lb.
weight, appeared to meet the case, and to be possible of
constructiOn.
The possession of a billet of hammered mild steel
(originally intended for sha.fting and ordered as such),
10i in. in diameter and 10 fb. long, made by !viessrs.
Sybry, Sea.rls, and Co., of the Cannon Steel Works, ~heffield, and of several bars of 6-in. by 2~in. L ow Moor ~ron,
in the workshops of the De Beers Consolidated Mm~,
really suggested to the late Mr. George La.bra.m, ch1ef
engineer to the company, the possibility of making the
gun, by boring the steel La.r to form the tube, to be
strengthened by rings shrunk on, made of the Low I'rioor
iron.
This resulting gun would evidently be of a. type similar

* Paper read before the Institution of !vieohanical

Engineers.

to an early" Arms&rong," heavy for the work done compared with one of a. more modern type! but in this case
weight was a. minor point to be considered, ease and
quickness of ma.nufa.oture being, perhaps, the leading
ideas.
The first difficulty met with was the resistance of the
military authorities to the attempt to make the gun, but
as this was hardly a mechanical difficulty, further. reference to it may be out of place. H owever, on Chnstmas
Day, 1899, Mr. Rhodes, chairman of the company, gave
the order to Mr. La.bra.m to make the attempt. Work
was immediately started, and then the difficulty, consequenb on ignorance ~m the part o_f both Mr. L a.bra.m ~nd
the author, of practical gun design, was first met w1th.
This was overcome by a search in all books available, and
the scattered information so obtained brought together.
The sourc~ of ~~formation w_ere: . Th~ a.~ticles o~ _gunnery, &c., m the Encyclopredia. Bntanmca ; the mthtary
~rea.ti_s~on ~mmuni~on (which ha.d been previo~sly used
m gamt.ng mformatu:m ~o make. shell an~ cartndges for
the 2.~10. guns earlier m the Siege); art1?l~ on ~,odern
gnns m ENGINEERING, &c. ; and the mihta.ry
_Te~t
Book on Gunnery," broug?t forward by a.n enth~tastic
volu!lteer officer, and which Pt:<>Ved very serVI~ble.
Durmg the progress of the work 10 the shops, a.ss1stance
was also given m many details of gun-shop practice, the
form of special tools used, &c., oy several of the employes there, whose previous experience in W oolwich
Arsenal, the Elswick W orks, and elsewhere, was willingly
given to forward the work in hand.

Approximate calculations only were made, for two

reasons, one that it was nob considered necessary to go
into very fine calculations when the two princip3.1 factors,
the powder pressure and the test strengths of the materials to be used were not known, and could only be estimated, recourse being preferably made to comparisons of
the performances of similar guns. The obher reason was
that time was pressing-the designing, and supplying of
sketches going on simultan eously with the making of the
gun in the workshops.
The stock of powder in the town was of many kinds,
ranging from "mealed" to compressed cylinders 1~ in. in
diameter by 2 in. lone-. Most of it had been kept for a
long time, much of 1b over 10 yea.rs for certain; but it
did not appear to have deteriorated, still retaining a
good glossy surface.
The cylinder powder (black) was evidently the most
suitable for use; but there was not very much of it, so
preparations were made to compress the finer powder
m to blocks, and so form a slower burning powder. The
possibility of the compressing not being successful when
the stock of cylinders was exhausted, and of having to
use a.ll kinds, had to be faced, but there proved to be
sufficient cylinders to provide cartridges as long as the
gun was fired.
From. data. available, it appeared th~t 50,000 lb. to the
square mch would be a suitable maXImum pressure to
a.llow for, that being about the maximum pressure calculated, when using a. charge of 5 lb. of powder in the
space which would be available for a. powder chamber

866

But while using the slow-burning powder the shell presum~bly would begin to travel before that pressure was
a.tta.I.ned. . Many cbarg:es of 6 lb. were used while the gun
~as m actiOn_, the max1mum preesure due to these conditiOns appea.nng to be about 90,000 lb. per square inch;
but for the same reason, probably the actual pressure
reacheri would not much exceed that obtained from the
use of the smaller charge.
A powder chamber of 4.25 in. bore it wa-s found would
just contain seven cylinders of powder, four of 1ft in. in
diameter, and three of 1! in. in diameter, th eir combined
weight for 2 in. of length being justllb. With this diameter of chamber, to obtain a normal air-spacing, the
length required was about 12 in. Next the breech screw
must necessarily be about f>~ in. in diameter, and allowing
a. length of thread equal to 1t diameters, and about 2 in.
for obturator, the length of the breech block would be, say,
10~ in. The totallen~th of the steel billet was 10ft. Qi in.,
so deducting from thiS 1 ft. 10~ in., the length available
for the bore was 8 ft. 21 in., very nearly 24 calibres in
lei!_gth.
Upon this basis the strength was next figured out, and
the tube alone first taken. Using a. formula for the
streng-th of a thick tube subjected to 50,000 lb. per square
inch mternal pressure, the greatest stress in the material
was found to be 70,000 lb. per square inch. This showed, a..'\
expected,
that the tube could not be used without shrunk

nngs.
By shrinkin g on two rows of rings, each 2 in. thick, a
reduction of the greatest stress in the tube to about
40,000 lb. per square inch, and in the rings to 20,000 lb.
per square inch, was calculated, and this it waa
considered safe to allow. That there was sufficient
strength was evident; but the author would like to know
really what pressure was attained at any time, the only
sign of strain being that the powder chamber was
enlarged slightly, and is now barrel-shaped, the diameter
at the centre being fully .Jy in. greater than as originally
made. This is apparently due to direct compression of
the metal, as the outside diameter was carefully gauged
when an opportunity was given by some of the rings
being removed, and was found to be exactly as made.
The order to make the gun was given on the evening
of Christmas Day, 1899, and at the start of work n ext
morning the billet of steel was taken into the machine
shop. A lathe of 12-in. centre with bed 14ft. long was
used, the extra length of bed required for working the
boring bars and rifling gear being obtained by the use of
the bed of a. similar lathe set in line with it, with the
headstock removed. This was already in position, being
used when working on lengths of shafting, &o.
Most of the men required on the work had to be temporarily withdrawn from the redoubts where they were
stationed, forming part of the town guard. During the
building of the gun and making of ammunition, the workshops were always under fire from the enemy, many
shells, including 94-pounders, bursting around and passing over the building, none however actually doing
da.ma.ge ; but it was very trying for a man to stay at
work at a lat he or other machine, hearing shells bursting
around, a.nd not knowing whether the next would come
inside or not, and all those who had that experience deserve appreciative mention for the way in which they
stuck to their posts.
The figures on the preceding page show the general construction of the gun. 1'he steel billet was first turned all over
outside, a shoulder of! in. being made to take the thrust of
the trunnion ring, the largest diameter being 10.5 in. It
was turned tapenng towards the muzzle, a parallel part
about 9 in. long being left there to be used as a journal
when boring. For boring, the breech end wa,g held in a
dog chuck with the muzzle revolving in a hard wood bearing, and first a twist drill 1 ~ in. in diameter, put right
through. This was followed by a. twist drill 3in. in diameter,
then the end counterbored with a tool and a boring bit,
Fig. 7, started enlarging the whole in one out to 3H in. in
diameter. The bit was plentifully supplied witn water
through the bar, which was one belonging to a diamond
boring drill. All went through without any special
difficulty, but experience showed that the boring cut was
too heavy, and It would have been better to have taken
two cuts for that amount.
While t his turning and rough boring was being done,
which occupied about a week, the rings were forged, nine
being wanted for the first row, lOi in. in diameter inside
(less shrinka~e), and four wanted for the outside row,
about 14! in. m diameter. These were all made from the
6 in. by 2i in. L ow Moor iron, a. length of bar being cut,
bent to a circle, and the ends welded together. As these
were finished they were passed on to the machine-shop,
where they were turned, faced, and bored to gauge.
The trunnion ring was a greater undertaking than the
plain rings, and the difficulty of making a satisfactory
weld in so heavy a piece of work, with the appliances at
his command, was overcome by the leading_blacksmith, by
working it out of a length of 6-in. by 6-in. Low Moor iron,
startins- a small bole through the centre, and enlarging by
successive heats until he had it to the required size for
ma-chining.
By the time the rings of the first row wit~ the trunnion
ring were made, the tube was ready to receive them. For
shrinking, the tube was held vertically under a convenient
derrick in the yard, first with breech end upwards. The
ends of the bore were plugged, and a circulation of cold
water arranged inside to keep the tube cool. The rings
were heated on a plate over a wood fire, the bore being
gauged until sufficient expansion was evident, t hen lifted
by the derrick over the end of the tube and dropped into
place, the trunnion ring being the fir~t to g? on, res~ing
against the shoulder. As a precaution aga.mst possible
travel endways while cooling, each ring was clamped by
longitudinal bolts, and the adjoining one on which it
rested kept cooled down by a stream of water from a hose

E N G I N E E R I N G.
pipe. The t ube was reversed to put on those rings in front
of the trunnions, and the whole of the first row being in
place, it was returned to the lathe, and the outside of the
rings turned up to form a eeating for the second row
over the powder chamber. The procEss of shrinking
these was the same as for the first row, and when they
were on, the barrel was again returned to the lathe for
finishing.
The final boring was then begun, the tool used being a
studded bit with double ended cutter, Fig. 8.
Meantime, the question of rifling bad been gone into,
and the increasing twist appearing more desuable and
ea-sier on the gun than the uniform twist, it was decided
to make it so. To effect this the rifling attachment, as
shown in Fig. 6, was devised, the idea being given to the
author by remembering one of S ir W. Anderson's lecture
diagramfl. The author has since learnt this. method is
still used in gun factories. The drawing shows a channel
iron bolted to cross-channels, which are bolted to the ends
of the lathe bed. On this channel iron the developed
curve of the spiral-a semi-cubical parabola-was set out
by its ordinates. A lla.ned bar to act as a. forme was
bent to the curve, an sor~wed down with countersunk
screws. The hardwood blocks forming the guides to the
ra.ok and bearings for the rifle bar, were bolted solidly
together and to the saddle of the lathe. The end of the
rack (whiob was a stock one as used on the washing machines) is furnished with one little roller, travelling on the
"forme" bar, contact being kept by a. cord attached to
the underside of the rack, carried over a pulley at some
distance, and having a weight at the end. A small guide
pulley should be shown on the saddle to allow for vibration of cord with travel of saddle. The traversing of the
saddle was done by the leading screw of the lathe, a
small belt pulley being put on in the place of t he usual
"change" wheel, with a belt from the overhead drive.
A detail of the rifling head one-tenth full size is shown,
Fig. 9. It was formed of a solid block of steel, turned to
fit the bore of gun, into which the end of the rifling bar
wa.s tightly screwed. The tool was able to revolve
slightly on its pin as a. centre, being kept up to position
by the set screw and packing block, which also regulated
the depth of the cut taken, while clearance on the return
stroke was possible by the giving of the spring. A felt
pan held by a washer was attached to the head in front of
the tool_, while the head drew another wad of felt behind
it, to clean the bore of cuttings as made, and a supply of
soapy water, under pressure, was forced in behmd the
head, the two semicircular grooves being provided to
allow the supply to &'et to the cutting edge. The only
serious trouble expenenced in the workshops processes
was a.t this point, when it was found most difficult to get
the tool to out properly, and a. lot of time was spent in
trying to find the reason, three grooves only being got
through between about ten o'olook one mornmg and late
the following night. The material could not be at fault,
as it had been found J!erfectly good, without flaws, and
very clean cutting up t1ll then, and new tools and different
lubricants were tried, but with no success, until the packing block, which took the pressure off the tool, and which
consisted of a small piece of iron, was noticed to be denting, when a new one of cast steel hardened was put in its
pla.oe, and no further trouble was experienced, the remaining 29 grooves being finished in about eight hours
from then.
The rifling was started from the extreme end of the
barrel at the breech, so that there was about 2 ft. of
length to spare, to be afterwards bored out for breeoh
and powder chamber, so that should a false start have
been made with a. groove by a~ciden t no damage would
have resulted. After rifling, the bore was lapped out to
take off any roughness left by the tool, and then reversed
in the lathe and the powder chamber bored out, a. doubleended tool similar to that shown by Fig. 8 being used.
The breech-block screw having meanwhile been made,
the inside was cut, and the block fitted in. In cutting
this thread in the barrel the question of the ending of the
cut inside had to be met, and the simplest way seemed
to be to let the tool fi nish in a. clearance hole and
to drill this hole inside ; the little drilling machine
Fig. 101 was made, being worked by a gut band from a
convement source of power.
The breeoh-blook and obturator are shown in detail in
Figs. 3, 4, and 5. The De Bange system of obturation
was adopted, that appearing to be the most efficient and
easily made. The obturator pad was made 0 rings of
sheet asbestos soaked in melted tallow, and proved quite
successful. The breech-block, as made first and used with
radial firing, is shown in Fig. 3. The block was of
hammered mild steel, the same material as the tube of
the gun, screwed with a V-thread of ~-in. pitch, with
flattened top and bottom. The handle-bars and plate are
one forging, fastened to the scre w with six tap bolts.
The obturator bolt with mushroom head was made of
mild steel, H in. in diameter, shouldered near t.he middle
to 11 in. in diameter, and held by lock-nuts in a recess at
the back. As thus made, about 100 rounds were fired
with this obturator. Figs. 4 and 5 show it as subsequently
made, the reason for which alterations will be described
in due course.
It was arranged originally to have a.n interrupted screw,
out away in three sections, so that one-sixth of a. turn of
the handle-bar would release the breeoh-blook; but coqsidera.tion of the time to be saved by not cutting it,
which it wa.s thous-ht would be at least two days, and the
further oonsiderat10n of strength, induced the author to
urge keeping the screw intact, the actual extra time taken
in unsorewins the whole wa.y being only a few seconds.
With the mterrupted screw, a safety-vent closing device was necessary and one was made. One handle, as
turned to unscrew the block, moved a. plate sliding on the
end of the barrel, which, by means of a. pin working in
a diagonal slot, closed the ven t with a light plate, the re-

(JuNE

29, 1900.

verse action taking place when the handle was turned to

screw up the breech, so. that the .vent could ,only be open
when the breech was t1ght. W1th the pla.m eorew this
was not so urgently required, and although the guard
over the vent was retai ned for a time, it was not used.
The vent hole was drilled in the gun barrel after the
powder chamber was bored and the breech fitted, and was
!l ~n. in: diameter. About an inoh at the top was tapped
With ~-m. gas thread, and a copper plug fitted as tightly
as possible for the whole length, being screwed a.t the end
to fit the bole. This copper plug had a small hole drilled
through it to fit the friction tubes used.
A relieving hol~, ~in. in diameter, was also drilled through
the underside of the barrel from just behind the obturator,
to prevent any damage to the thread from the product of
explosion, should the obturator ever act imperfectly. But
at no time during firing wa~ any smoke noticed coming
from it. A flat place, t rue with the axis of gun, was
planed on the top for standing clinometer upon. A gunmetal casting, bolted to the underside, was cup-shaped to
fit the end of elevating screw, which was turned to a ball.
This it was found neceesa.ry to replace by a hinge joint, as
the gun jumped on firing, and the elevating screw, when
in an inclined position, tended to faH over, and the CUJ:
did not come fairly on to the ball end. The back Eigh t.,
copied from that of one of the 2.5-in. R. A. guns, wa.s
provided with a. fine traverse for wind allowance, &c.,
and was set at an angle of 2 deg. from the vertical (to the
right) to allow for "dri ft " of shell, which was found on
firing to be almost exactly correct. The front site on the
trunnion was first made as a. bead in a small tube, hut was
afterwards altered to a knife-edge without the tube. This
completed the gun itself, ready for mounting on its carriage, as firat turned out of the workshops.
Oarriage.-The carriage having been made in the meantime was ready for the gun. Its general construction is
well shown in the engraving, F ig. 1. It was formed
of four steel plates i in. thick, cut to shape,
riveted together in pairs, 2! in. apart, with distance
sleeves on the rivets, and with gun-metal castings also
acting as distance-pieces and riveted in, for trunnion a.nd
axle bearings. The two pairs of plates were bolted
together with shouldered bolts, 17i in. apart, and with a
rubbing plate at the trail end, wbicb was also provided
with an eye-bolt for han~ing to limber. The elevating
screw was of steel, 2:i in. m diameter, with square thread
i in. pitch, working m a nut pivoted between the side
frames, and provided with a ba.ndwheel. The a-xle was
4~ in. in diameter keyed into the side frames.
The wheels were the only parb not actually made, and
they were a pair belonging to a portable engine and
suited the purpose admirably. They were bored out, bad
gun-metal bushes driven in bored to fit the axles, and
brass dust caps screwed on outeide. The ht-ight of the
centre of the trunnions from the ground is 5 ft. Tbe
centre of trunnions is 5 in. forward of, and the point of
contact of the trail with the ground 9 ft. 6 in. behind, the
vertical line through the axle, and the wheels are 5 fb.
centre to centre.
With 24 days of continuous work the gun was ready,
and on J a.nuary 19, 1900, it was taken out for testing and
ranging, a. firing platform and redoubt having been builtl
at No. 2 Washing :Machine, Kimberley Mine F lool'fl,
whence the Beer headquarters (the Intermediate Pumping
Station of the Kimberley Water Works Company) and
several of their gnn {>OSitions could be commanded. The
ranging wa.s done wtt h the assistance of the Company's
snrveyora, one having a theodolite at the point of firing,
while ~notber, also with a theodolite, was stationed at a
point about a mile distant, nearly at right angles to the
line of fire. On firing each took observations to the spot
the shell struck, and the angle of firing was shown by
clinometer, time of flight, charge of powder, &c., also
being observed and tabulated, the muzzle velocity was
calculated, and range tables made for subsequent use, by
Mr. C. D. Lucas. The back sight was not graduated .for
rang~, only being used for laying the gun, the finng
party preferring to use the clinometer. The ene~y al?peared much disturbed when the first shells burst m thetr
headq ua.rtera, and could be seen hurrying out in all
directions, not expecting that they could be reac(}hed there,
and there was no reply from any gun of theirs during .the
ranging trial. Mr. R hodes was present the whole tune
and personally fi red most of the shots, being very pleased
with the performance of the gun, and the artillerists ~o.rk
ing it also were well satisfied with its shooting quahttes.
Tlie t rials having been completed, the gun was returned
to the workshops for one or two minor a.lterationfl, including a. new front sight and _altered a.ttaohm~nt for elevat
ing screw, as already mentiOned. These bemg co~ple~,
it was handed over to the firing party and was m aotion
on J a.nuary 23.
While in action 255 shells were fired in all by it, most
of them being at ranges of 5000 and 6000 yards, these
being reached with elevations of 12 deg. to 15 deg..re
speotively, with a p~_wder charge of 5 lb., the shell bemg
29 lb. in weight. With the same charge a. range o~ 8010
yards was reached with an elevation of 24 deg. 15 mm.
Amnnwnition.-It will be convenient here, befor~ men
tioning some further and serious difficulties expen~n;ced
while the gun was in action, to describe the ammunition.
The powder used has already been described. A good
wool serge was chosen for t he bags to form the cartridges,
a.nd they were made b?': a local drap~r, being h?Ope~ with
silk ribbon. The ' ring , shell IS shown m Fig: 11.
The "common " shell wa.s similar, the only dtfference being in the absence of the rings ~t in. Both
kinds were used, t heir weight, when .fill~d With the bu~t
ing charge of 1lb. powder, being exactly 29lb. In makmg
the shells the rings were first cast separately, then
were mounted on a clay core, al terna~mg tooth and
space as will be noticed, the shell burstmg better when
thus arranged. This clay core with rings wa-s then used

JuNE 29, 1900.]

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

as an ordinary core in the mould, and the metal poured. shots-which statement somewhat relieved the anxietyINDUSTRIAIJ NOTES.
At firs t it was tried to cast them wi t h the base solid, the and he fur ther suggested annealing in oil as a.n excol.e at that end supported by a "star," but t his was not pedient which wighb help. This w~ immediately done,
IN the monthly circular of the Durham Miners
~u ccessful, th9 base being spongy in nearly every casting. several bolts being made for emergencies, but none Association there is an important etatement on " the
Other methods were tried, and that adopted was to core broke after that. The present breech-block is shown wages settlement " as r ecently effected by the Conthem right through the ba~e, that beiog do wnwards, and by Fig. 5, which also shows the peculiar drawing- ciliation Board. The feeling among the men was that
to pour in at a poin t about one-third t be height from the down action taking place in these bolts. Three of they were entit led to from 20 to 25 per cent. advance,
end. Sound castin~s resultd, 'rhe cored hole in the them were used with two breech-blocks from that whereas the settlement agreed to resulted only in
base WM plugged w1th a bra~s plug screwed in tight, and time until February 15, when Kimberley was relieved,
before issuing fo r service every shtll was tested by steam aboutJ 50 rounds being fired by each boln. The only 5 per cent. adva nce. Of course, under such cit:cumat a pressure of 125 lb. per square inch to detect blow- way to account for the action seems to the writer st ances t he council of the association had to justify
holes ; but none failed at that test, and no " prematures" to be thab the shock of the explosion drives the t hemselves to the members. Mr. John Wilson, M.P.,
were complained of. The sb.ells after casting were t urned whole bolt back, compressing the a~bes tos pad. Then on set himself to this task. He has pointed out that
t o guage, the point screwed for the fuse, and grooved for the relief from the pressure, the pad exrands again, tend- t he demand of the men for 25 per cent. was based on
the copper gas-check, that being made from a ring turned ing to bring the bol t back to its origins. position, which is reports in the press as to t he selling p rice of coal ;
and cut off to width required, then cut through with a opposed by the inertia. of the body of the bolt, causing a such data, he asserts, were far from complete, and,
saw, sprung into place and expa nded into the dovetailed tensile stress in the bolt which is sufficient to cause per- t herefore, any claim based thereon was untenable.
groove, af te rward~ being turned, and the relieving manent seb a.t the point where the greatest stress comes, The position he takes up is this : That current selling
grooves cu t. The insides of all shells were lwquerod.
close to the head.
Kimberley was relieved before any further difficulties prices do not represent eoalowners' pr ices, because they
The percussion fuse was devised by Mr. La.bram, his
idea bein~ to have the simplest possible one to make. The arose, and the gun is now resting, waiting for its next have to make long contract s, that is to say, they cona~tion of 1t is, that when tbe shell strikes and its forward position, which it is expected will be in a prominent tract to deliver coal over a period from six months,
motion checked suddenly, the (>lunger, which is filled position in the town, forming part of a. monument to the say, to a couple of year s, it may be, and such conwith mealed powder, continues Its motion forward, its memory of those who fell in the defence of Kimberley, tracts may be, oiten are, at prices which may be far
impetus being sufficient to overcome the resistance of the and chiefl7 of him who originated it-George L a.bram- below t hose ruling during a port ion, sometimes a long
safety sprin~ an_d wires. _The nipple s~rikes and explod~ who, by hlB great mechanical skill and general resource- portion, of the period covered . Some would reply
the cap, whtch 18 an ordmary percuss10n cap as used m fulness in all matters, contributed in no small d egree to t hat the miners have nothing t o do with this; that
sporting shot guns, the mealed powder is ignited and fires that end, and who was most regrettably killed only a few low-pr iced contracts are at the seller 's risk, and that
the charge in the shell.
days before relief came.
t he men have no need t o consider their losses. Mr.
It may be mentioned in passing that ammunition, both
Wilson shows, however, that long contracts are a
cart ridges and shells- " common " and " ring " -had been
T AMPrco.- The construction has been commenced at necessity, that they t end to equalise employment,
made in the workshops and supplied to the garrison since Tampico of what will be one of the largest steel wharves
making it more regular for all concerned. " Large
early in November for their 2.5-in. rifle muzzle-loading in the world.
collieries," he says, " such as we have with a heavy
guns, the Government SUJ?ply having been exhausted in
a"lout a. month. This 2 5-m. shell is shown in Fig. 11.
CHESTER SEWAGE Somnm. - An important L ocal working cost, need some security for regular work."
From the time of its being handed over to the firing Government Board Inq_uiry was held on the 13th inst. He goes on to show how disastrous a loose hand-top arty on January 23, the gun was fired steadily, the only by General H. D. Croz1er, R E ., into an application of mouth policy of output would be, sometimes at full
trouble being a tendency for the end of the breech-block the Chester Town Council for a loan for t he purposes of speed, often slack, always uncertain. This defence
to "upset " and geb too tight in the Ecrew. This was ~ewage disposal. T he en_gineer, Major H. Tulloch, C.B., of the contract system ought to have weight with t he
easily remedied by first easing the t hread and subse- R.E. (past E ngineer-in-Chief to the L ocal Government workmen in all d epartments of labour. Mr. W ilson
quently removing one and then two threads a.t the end. Board), described the scheme in detail, stating that it was also deals with the questien of lost time in a manner
On Saturday night firing ce~ed as usual, S unday being an absolute necessity to pump the sewage. The main which reflects credit on a Labour Leader.
The
be
extended
about
50
yards
in
a
straight
sewer
would
observed a~ a day of rest- from gun-firing- by t he Bosrs.
facts and figures he adduces are i mportant and concourse,
and
at
the
end
of
that
extension
the
sewage
would
But at; d~ybreak on 1\tlonday morning the first shot fired

vmcmg.
by "Long Cecil " was productive of an extra loud and flow into a. sunk well, across the centre of which would be
peculiar report:, and the idea. that somet hing had gone fixed a screen. F rom the other side of the screen the
Mr. Ben. Pickard, M.P., stated fast week that the
wrong was general. A telephonic message came from sewage would be pumped by means of centrifugal pumps
tbe redoubt immediately a.fterwa.rdll, and an examination into a conduit which would convey it to a Ion~ inlet miners' increase of wages to 45 above tbe standard of
Bhowed that the Eecond ring in the outer row had burst channel to be constructed adjoining the precipitation 1888 brought in to t he miners 98,000l. per week in inthrough the line in the vent hole. The gun was at once tanks. From the inlet channel the sewage would be crea~ed wages, or several millions a year, but the total
sent down to the workshops for repair. To take off the conveyed into circular precipitation tanks, each tank increase only amounted to 6d. or 7d. per ton, whereas
fi rst ring the foundry cupola was lighted, the gun hung having the capacity of about 68,000 gallons; and as these the coalowner's increase was from 9s. to 10s. per t on.
from the crane wi th the breech in the sand, and a ring would be eighb in number, the total capacity of all the
of metal run round the firs t ring, which in t wo or three tanks might be taken a.t nearly 550,000 gallons. D uring An authoritative statemen t on this p oint would be very
minute3 expanded and d ropped off, releasing also the storms the tanks would be capahle of dealing with nearly interesting, showing the proportionate advance per
broken one, to replace which a forging was already in five times the dry-weather flow of sew~e (1,250,000); that ton in wages and in prices, the latter of course reprehand. On removing the gun from the sand a further was giving t he sewage two hours' rest m the tanks. The senting profits. As stated by Mr. John W ilson, the
examination showed that the two rings of the clarified water would flow into a long channel, by the results would be very different from what many
first row immediately under the outer broken one side of which would be placed eight roughing filters, people would expect.
were also broken, these having broken straight a.cro3S having a total area of 888 square yards, whose object w~
on alternate sides of the gun. To remove these necessi- simply to further clarify the sewage before it passed on
The A!1nerican Fede1ation:ist, j ust to hand, gives, in
to
the
circular
aerobic
polarite
filters,
each
of
which
a.re
tated a repetition of the process, one more outer ringt he form of a supplement, ''A Sketch of American
50
ft.
in
diameter,
and
each
having
a.
superficial
area
of
the third and the first inner ring having to be expanded.
abour Federation- its Origin and Progress," prepared
New forgings were pub in hand, and opportunity was 218 square yards, or a total area of nearly 3500 square L
taken then to make a careful examination of the tube, bub yards. Before being passed over the filters the sewage for the "Internat ional Exposition, Paris, 1900." The
no flaw or crack of a.ny sorb could be detected, nor any would flow into a. small chamber, from which, when "sketch " shows that t he first known t rade union in
change of dimension beyond the slight barrelling of the filled to the required height, i b would be discharged on A m erica was the New York Society of Journeymen
powder chamber already mentioned, which does not seem to the surface of the filter, the size of the chamber being Shipwrights, established in 1803. The tailor s and
to have increased with subsequent firing. The cause of so adjusted that it would hold sufficient sewage to flood carpenters founded t heir unions in 1806, the hatter s
the failure was not at all evident. Faulty welds were the the surface filter to the depth of from 2! in. to 3 in. The in 1819, from which date unions spread to other infirst things looked for, but in vain; and although in the discharge.~ would take place intermittently and automati- dust ries. Their firs t combined effort was to obtain a
outer ring one paro of the broken surface looked as if it cally. By placing the filters in two tiers it would be ten hours' da.y; this was conceded in all Government
might be an imperfect weld, in the two others there was quite possible to secure double filtration. In all filters works in 1840. Then the fight commenced to obtain
no mark whatever, and no sign anywhere by which to w~ioh worked_ successfully, large quaD;tities of oarbon~c a like concession in all private establishments, which
trace the position of the weld. The outer ring had aCid gas were mvolved by the desbructton of the orgamc
certainly broken through the vent hole, and from marks matters con tained in the sewage. Dr. Carter Bell was accomplished in 1844, commemorated by the erecon the rings which appsared to be powder-smoke stains, had analysed for him four different samples of the tion of a bell-tower near the riverside at Fourththe conclusion wa<3 come to that the radial venting was the ~as at t~e bottom of the ~ter, and it was foul}d th~t street, New Y ork, called " the lYiechanics' Bell." The
cause; the copper vent tube not being tight enougli to with- 1t contamed about ten times as much ca.rbomc amd p~oclamation of the abolitio? of slaver y by P resident
stand the great pressure, had allowed the gases to travel as the atmospheric air. It was evident, therefore, thab Lmcoln, January 1, 1863, 1s t he date given as the
around it, and get under and between the rings, bursting if they could remove that gas from the bottom of the commencement of t he wider development of labour
them by direct pressure, this action being assisted by a filter the atmospheric air would rush in from above the unions in t he U nited States. The first " National
combination of favourable circumstances, namely, firing a surfa{}e of the filter to fill the vacuum, and would occupy ~hour U J?ion " was e~tablished ~ 18~6, and collapsed
6-lb. charge of powder for the first shot in the morning, the innumerable interstices between the grains of the m 1872; 1t resulted m the nommat10n of a certain
after the gun bad been exposed to the cold air of tlie filteri ng materials. The aerobic bacteri!l. would, in candidate for the Presidency of t he U nited States.
nigh t, when the metal might be expected to be less tough fact, be better supplied with oxygen, and would perthan ordinarily. The outer ring being weakened by form their functions of destroying the organic matter The " Knights of Labour " was established in 1869 at
having the veno hole through it, with the possibility of contained in the sewage in a much more expeditious Philadelphia, and was a secret society. The " AU:erithe weld happening to be at the same spot, the radial and satisfactory manner. H e proposed to make use ca.n F ederation of Labour ' ' was established in 1881
venting was condemned, and the breech prepared for an of the purified effiuent from the uvper tier of filters and now flourishes as t he most powerful of all such
axial vent, experiment being first made to see whether to drive a small turbine and fan, which would draw out American labour unions. It has held nineteen annual
the "friction tubes" would strike through the distance the carbonic acid gas from the bottom of the fil ters. conventions, and its income has increased from 174 95
necessary which it was found ther would do easily. The With reference to the sludge, each precipitation tank dols. in 1881 to 36,757.13 d ols. in 1899. The total
vent hole in the gun tube was tightly plugged, and the would be fitted a.t the bottom with a perforated revolving number of delegates present at the last convention was
new rings when read y shrunk on. N'o alteration was arm, worked by simple gearing on the surface, so that all 189, rep~esenting 158 labour organisations, estimated
made in the breech-block beyond boring the vent hole the sediment on the Roor of the tank could be drawn off at to contam 700,000 members. The FederatiO?tut for
through the obturator bolt, and providing a safety device will, through a. pipe brought! up to nearly the top of the tank,
to prevent the friction tube blowing out b~hind and pos- and could be discharged wherever it might be desired to t his ~onth ~as ~n ~rticl~ on . "J~dge Freedman's
sibl~ injuring some person. These alterat10ns, as shown deliver it on the land. The liquid from the sludge would ~otortous InJunCtiOn agamst pto.ketmg, which seems
in Fig. 4, being . completed, ~he ~n was taken out to flew back by gravitation to t he pump well, to be pumped hkely to cause a good deal of ir ritation in the American
the rF<foubt agam and p ut m action, but a.t the first a.nd treated again. H e wa~ satisfied that by the proposed States. It is asserted that there was no violence or
shot under the new conditions, the obturator bolt (the works a very high standard of purification would be intimidation, that, indeed, it was the absence of it
same one as had been used all the time, and with which attained. Mr. Hibbert, Alderman of Chorley Town tha.t led t o th? a:ttempt~ to crush t he unions by legal
about 100 rounds had been fired) broke, as shown in Council and a member of the Ribble Joint Committee, pressure. Thts ts the v1ew of the F ederationist and
Fig. 4. A spare breech:block had: alr~ady be~n p~epared described the working of a similar system of pola.rite filters the unions have determined to resist it.
'
at
Chorley.
The
scheme
for
Chester
was
an
improvement
with the obturator bolt moreased lD s1ze to 2m. diameter
- -without shouldering, and the end brought right through on the one for Chorley, and he would not hesitate to say . Th_e enginee~ing trades
throughout the Lancashire
the back plate, but at the first shot th~s one also ? ro.ke off that, if it was properly managed, it would be almost
short under the mushroom head, and 1t was begmnmg to possible to produce drinking water. Reginald A rth ur d1stn ots are still fully employed on work in hand but
be an an xious time to know what to do to make some- T at ton, C. E., chief inspector of the Mersey and Irwell new work is not coming forward so freely as it' was
thing which would stand the shock, when one of the Joint Committee, gave it ~ his opinion t hat the system some time ago. The demand for labour seems to be
fitters let out that he had known a time at Woolwich put forward produced good results. The scheme was also quite as brisk, except perhaps in some branches of
when six or seven similar bolts h&d broken with successive supported by the city engineer.
the textile machine-making indust ries. In several

..

868

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

(JUNE 29, 1900.

AUTOMATIC COAL-HANDLING PLANT; ELECTRIC SUPPLY STATION, LEEDS.

CONSTRUCTED BY MESSR S.

GRAHAM, MORTON,

AND CO., ENGINEERS, LEEDS.

(F(rr Description, see opposite Page.)

Fig.

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DONKE Y
ENGINE S

important branches there is still a plethora of work,

as, for example, wit h machine-tool ma kers, boilermakers, locomotive builders, and all sections of the
electrical engineering trades, which branches are in
most cases supplied with orders which will keep t hem
fully going for soipe time ahead. The iron market has
been suffering something like depression, engendered
by a feeling of distrust as to the future as regards
prices and supplies. Customers buy only from hand
to mouth, and hesitate to enter into renewals of contracts at present rates, while makers equally hesitate
t o make concessions sufficient to induce purchases. In
the finished iron branches the position is still st rong
as regards bars, so strong, it is said, that makers feel
independent for at least three or four months. Possibly the uncer tainty will pass away with the advent
of t he quarterly meetingE'.
The iron trade in the W olverhampton district is described as quiet. Something like uncertainty prevails
as to prices, although t he list rates appear to rule
generally. As regards marked bars, manufacturers
report a good volume of orders on hand for best
branded qualities, for railway and bridge material,
chiefly for export to South Africa. Unmarked iron
has not been in such pressing demand, and concessions
in prices are reported, but not, it is sai.d, by the association makers. The agents of Amertcan producers
have been offering both raw and finished materialiron and steel- at lower rates than local producers
cue to book at, but the extent of transactions has not
b een large. Some well filled lines have been received
for tank-plates, roofing sheets, gas and water t ubes,
&c., from South America a nd Australia. Black sheets
are only inquired for in limited lots, and generally
business is restricted to immediate requirements. It
is scarcely expected that the tone will improve unt il
t he quarterly meetin~s d?cide a~ to t he fu ture. .The
b cal iron and steel-usmg 10duetnes generally contmue

busy ; there is no serious falling off in any important

branch. Engineers, ironfounders, boiler and tankmakers, bridge and girder constructors, t he men in the
railway sheds, smiths and strikers, are all well employed, and so for the most part are t hose engaged in
the hardware and various other industries not so classified. There is an absence of serious labour disputes
t hroughout the district.
In t he Birmingham district there are complaints
that business is restricted by high prices, and orders,
it is said, are being withheld in anticipation of a
general reduction in rates. This, of course, has a tendency to weaken rates, but t he leading houses have a
sufficiency of orders on hand to keep the mills and
forges fully employed; and, t herefore, they await
developments with complacency. Marked bars cont in ue firm at full list rates, but it is reported that some
list houses have been accepting less than the list rates
for unma rked iron, in spite of the list rates. This,
however, may not be the case. The iron, steel, and
other metal-using trades continue on the whole to be
fairly well employed.
The dockers' strike in London seems to have been
very much of a fizzle. Started by the men at one of
the docks without the sanction of the Dockers' Union,
that body endorsed t he action, and declared a general
strike. It was alleged at first that some 10,000 men
were involved, but t hese exaggerated figures were the
imaginat ive creation of newspaper press reporters, or
miscalculation of some of the dockers' leaders, who
expected that men would obey t heir trumpet call to
arms. It seems that 1000 was t he extent of t he
possible number who could be relied upon to come
out; and of these only about 300 were out at the
Tilbury Docks early in last week. It appears t hat
the Dockers' Union believed that t he other riverside
unions would also join the strike, but all attempts to

call out the members of those unions failed. Strikes

'' in sympathy," as they were called, were popular on
the platform a few years ago, but t hey never were
popula r with the men. Then, again, the Dockers' Union
expected large financial help from other unions ;
in this also they were disappointed. The Shipping
Federation was able t o supply a number of "free
labourers " to take the place of those who were out,
but the complaint of t he shippers was that they were
unused to the work, and took too long a t ime to diecharge the cargoes. This doubtless was the case, but
t hat was the only alternative to no unloading a.t all,
or granting to the dockers all that they demanded.
Whether or not the dockers have real grievances, one
thing is cer tain, that hasty, ill-advised strikes are
disastrous. If the union is to continue to exist as a
force, and to exercise influence with men or employe3,
it will have to exercise' more restraint upon the more
fiery spirits in the society, and be able on occasion to
put its foot down when its members become obstreperous. As a mere fighting machine its power is wel~
nigh exhausted. The Shipping Federation meets 1t
at every turn.

---

The dispute of the iron miners at Roanhead mines,

Furness, is being investigated by the Board of Trade,
:Mr. H. Foun tain having been deputed to do so by the
P resident of the Board. He has obtained an exhaustive
statement from the representatives of the men, and
by this time probably from t he managing owner ; but
there was no agreement up to the date of writing.
It appears that the differences as to the provisions
of the Factories Act will prevent any further progrells
with the measure. It is better so. Any further
amendment ought to be closely watched by all wh?m
it may concern; and it ought also to be accompamerl
by consolidation, otherwise the Acts become difficult.
of application.

_, JUNE

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

29, I 900.]

stores and trim by hand. This Mr.

Dickinson found to be of considerable
A
TOMATIC COAL-HANDL IN G PLANT AT LEEDS. expense; and in designing the present
plant his object was an arrangement
CON TRU TED BY ME R . GRAHAl\I, l\10RTON, AND CO. , ENGINEER.. L EEDS
whereby the carts could come in at one
end of the house, a.a shown in Fig. 1,
and tip their contents into the screen
or grating, one a fter another, and from

thence their contents could be elevated

and conveyed automatically a long the
coal stores; and by means of t he same
conveyor coal could again be conveyed
to the end of the house, in conjunction
with the elevator and conveyor, which
are shown fixed ovor the boilers. The
introduction of this scheme overcomes
the difficulty experienced in handling t he
large amount of coal for the generation
of steam to a total capacity of 5000 horsepower.
A general descript ive view of the plant
is as follows : The coal is tipped from the
carts a t one spot, when it falls into t he
boot of an elevator. It is raised by the
elevator, and delivered to a conveyor
which carries it along and deposits it in
heaps in the stores. These are on the
ground floor, on the same level as the
carts en lier. Below the stores is a con-
veyor trench, along which the coal can
be drawn from aiJy part of the store~
to a second elevator, which delivers it
t o a p ush-plate conveyor running over
t he fronts of the boilers. , 'pouts on the
conveyor lead to t he self-acting stokers
on the boilers. Referring t o t he illustrations, specially to Figs. 1 and 2, page
868, it will be seen t hat t he coal is tipped
into the screen shown next to the entrance of the boiler-house, on the left of
F ig. 2, which will hold a cartload of coal.
Underneath this screen and hopper is
fi xed a Graham's patent automatic
feeder, which regulates t he supply of
coal to t he elevator boot, and by t his

'
means each bucket of t he elevator
receives a regular feed, and any possi.FIG. 3.
bility of choking the elevator boot is
I
avoided. A great mistake experienced
in many plants is that no simple arrangement is fixed for governing the feed of
t be elevators, and consequently it requires t he attendance of one man for this
purpose.
The coal is delivered by means of a
15-in. standard elevator on to a cont inuous conveyor, as shown upon Fig. I ,
and is carried along over the coal stores
into which it is automatically fed at
varying positions. By t his system a. full
length of coal stores can be fed automatically by opening t he whole of t he
doors, or slides, as the coal is deposited
through t he first opening and gradually
accumulates until it rises to the slide,
when the conveyor carries it over to the
next opening, and so on until the whole
of the stores is full. If it is required,
a lso, to only deposit certain amounts of
coal in certain positions, this is very
easily effected by the attendant. The
chains used in these conveyors are
stamped steel roller chains, so t hat the
friction is reduced to a minimum. The
conveyor is built up of channel iron and
necessary supports, t hus formi ng a substantial structure. There are t wo endless
strands of steel chain for this conveyor
the rollers running along the channei
irons of the trough. The conveyor is
adjusted by means of an hexagonal drum
a rranged with tight ening screws. The
driving end of this conveyor is built up
of rolled steel joists fixed to the wall, as
shown, and the trailing end is supported
by means of necessary hanging brackets
in the trench .
. The st~res are divided into two por tiOns, owmg to the ra.mpway having to
be left for car tage. Underneath the coal
FIG. 4.
stores there is a. trench excavated a nd
built up, 130 ft . long, 5 ft. wide ' and
The boiler-house, as shown in t he views upon th is 6 ft. 6 in. deep. In this conveyor trench the
W E have pleasure in laying before our readers an
illustrated descript ion of the latest system of con- and the opposite pages, is 177 ft. long by 62 ft. return half of t he continuous conveyor is fixed
veying machinery for automatica11y handling coal at wide, and is divided into two parts by means of the and directly underneath t he coal stores floor ar~
the electric supply station of Leeds. This system, chimney and economisers. There are four Lanca- fixed seven Graham's patent automatic feeders conwhich was inspected by the Municipal E lectrical shire boilers, 30 ft . l<JDg by 8 ft. 6 in. in diameter on nected to the conveyor by means of shoots as
Associat ion last week, takes the coal first to the coal one side, and four similar boilers, together with a shown upon F ig. 1. Each of these feeders is driven
stores and then t o the boilers; it has been designed and Babcock and Wilcox water-tube boiler on the other by means of spur and pinion wheels from the line
shaft, and connected up with claw clutches which
erected by Mr. Harold Dickinson, A. M. I. C. E., chief side, as shown by the illustrat ions.
When the house was originally designed, it was are operated by levers fixed in t he rampway and by
engineer of this works, the contract bein~ placed in the
hands of 1l essrs. Grab am, .Morton, a nd Co., E levating arranged t o bring the whole of the coal in by this means there is no necessity for the atte~da.nt to
means of carts, and tip it into the present coal go down into t he trench for t hat purpose, WhQn it
tmd Conveying Machinery Manufacturers, Leeds,

E N G I N E E RI N G.

is required to use the coal from any portion of the

stores, any of the seven feeders can be put in motion
by means of these levers, and the coal is then delivered
by me~ns of the conveying plant to the conveyor over
the bo1lers. It will also be seen that there is no necessity to have slides or valves over these feeders, as
they themselves act as the valves to prevent the coal
falling from the stores below.
The coal thus received is then delivered, as shown
upon the engraving, to a spiral conveyor (it being necessary to use a spiral conveyor for running under
the roadway as a deep trench could not be obtained),
and from thence to the elevator which is next t o the
Babcock boiler; from here it is elevated on to a 12-in.
push-plate conveyor, as shown.
. This conYeyor is 177 ft. long, and is of sufficient
s1ze to handle the whole of the coal r eq uired. It is
provided with three outlets in front of the Babcock
boiler, and two outlets in front of each of the Lancashire boilers, these being connected to their respective
mechanical stoking hoppers by means of steel shoots.
At the top of these shoots are the necessary slides and
levers for regulating the supply of coal.
In the centre of the boiler-house are three 8 nominal
horse-power horizontal engines, one being for reserve.
These engines drive one main shaft running t he full
lengt h of the house, supported from the roof principals, and rotating at a speed of 200 revolutions per
minute. The whole of the mechanical stokers, as well
as the conveying machinery, receive the power required to drive them from this shaft. It will be seen
that th~ necessary drives for the conveying plant are
belt 4rrves, except the one required for driving the
elevator and coal stores, which is a double train of
spur gearing. The shaft driving the feeders is operated
by_ means of a bel~. The total horse-power for driving
th1s large plant 1s only 11 brake horse-power, and is
distributed as follows :
Four brake horse-power is absorbed for driving the
conveyor in the stores.
Two-and-a-half brake horse-power for driving the
push-plate conveyor over the mechanical stokers.
One brake horse-power for driving the spiral conveyor.
One and three-quarters brake horse-power for driving
each of the elevators.
The remainder for the shafting.
This plant has now been running for some months,
and t he amount of coal handled is considerably above
the quantity set forth in t he specification, which shows
that the plant is capable of being driven ha rd when
the necessity arises. The amount of coal handled by
this plant in ordinary working has been 15 tons per
hour. The coal at the present time is brought to the
electric light works by barge, and is lifted by means
of a steam crane; it is then carted from the river to
the boiler-house. Mr. Dickinson, however, has under
consideration a small aerial ropeway for conveying the
coal direct from the steam crane to the screen hopper
in the boiler-house, and by this means there would be
a considerable saving effected, and independence of
cartmen could be attained.
Every praise, therefore, is due to Mr. Dickinson for
the plan which he has designed for handling the coal
in this boiler-house, which was already constructed;
but in the new extension of plant which he is designing, he has arranged that the coal bunkers should be
directly over the boilers, and by this means the coal
will be lifted from the barges direct on to the conveyor
over the coal bunkers, thus automatically distributing
it throughout the continuous lengt h. The coal will
then fall by gravitation from the coal bunkers to the
stoker and the boilers.
WORKMEN'S COMPENSATION CASES-ERRATUM.-In the
report of Stead v. Moore, on page 827 of our last issue,
the words Mason v. Dewne, at tne commencement of the
eighth paragraph should be deleted, and the seventh and
eighth paragraphs should be continuous.
CANADIAN METALLURGICAL I NDUSTRY.-The Cataraqui
Mining and Development Company has entered into
preliminary arrangements with the city council of Kingston to establish a blast-furnace there.
It will cost
60,000l., and its output is to be not less than 100 tons per
day. On its part, the city is asked to grant an annual
bonus of 800l. for 15 years, a free site, and partial relief
from local taxes.
THE LoNDON AND NoRTH-WESTERN IN YoRKSHIRE. The London and North-Western Railway Company has
now virtually completed a line between Heaton Lodge,
near Huddersfield, and Wortley, L eeds. The running of
through goods trains will be commenced early next
month, and passenger traffic will be begun on August 1.
The line will be a great advantage to the London and
N orth-Western Company, as it will give it four lines from
Heaton Lodge to Leeds. The line is 13~ miles in length,
and in has been carried out in three seotions by Messrs.
J. Wilson fl-nd Sons, of Huddersfield; Messrs. Monk and
Newell, of Liverpool; and Messrs. Baldry and Yerburgh,
of Westminster, under the superintendence of Mr. L.
Trench, and M.r. A. A. Macgre~or, resident engineer.
Some of the gradients are heavy-10 one case 1 in 70.

THE PHYSICAL SOCIETY.

AT the meeting of the Physical Society, held on

Ju~e 22, Mr. T. ~ Blakesley, Vice-President, in the
cha.u, a paper entitled "Notes on Gas Thermometry,"
by Dr. P. Chappuis, was read by Dr. Haaker. The
author having been led to recognise that hydrogen could
not be used as a thermometric substance at high temperatures Ot;l account of its action on the walls of the glass
reservous, has had recourse to a constant-volume nitrogen
therm_o~eter, with an initial pressure slightly under
800 ~1llimetres. The value of the coefficient of expansion
of mtrogen at constant volume is variable, diminishing up
t<? 80 deg. Cent., and then increasing slightly. In fact,
mt~ogen at 100 deg. Cent. behaves like hydrogen at the
ord10ary ~emperatures, its compressibility being less than
that reqmred by Boyle's law. A table of corrections was
t~erefore prepared. The readings of the constant-volume
mtrogen thermometer are too low, but the corrections are
small, amounting to about 0.04 deg. Cent. at the temperature of boiling sulphur. The mean result of the author's
experiments for the boiling point of sulphur is 445.2 deg.
under a pressure of 760 millimetres. Callendar and
Griffiths resu!~s obtained with a. constant-pressure "'air
thermometer 1s 444.53 deg. The difference is attributed
to the joinb action of several causes : 1. The correction~
for a constant-pressure thermometer are about double
those of a constant-volume instrumenb. This correction
applied to Callendar and Griffiths resultl would raise it
about 0.1 deg. 2. Oallendar and Griffiths ha.vt' used a
valu~ for the gas constant which is larger than that
obta10ed by more recent experiments. Adopting the
latter val~e, the boiling point would be raised to 445 deg.
3. The _divergence may be due to the expa~sion of the
reserv01.r. The most accurate way of determining this is
by the 10terference method of Fizeau. This method is
used with small pieces of the material, and the author
has employed it to determine the coefficient of expansion
be_tween 0 deg. and lOO deg. Extrapolation to 450 deg.
m1ght cause errors. The linear expansion has recently
been determined by Bedford between 0 deg. and 840 de~.
~y a compal'ator I?ethod. The homogeneity of porcela10
IS doubtful, espemally when glazed, and the great differences occurring between the expansions obtained from the
above methods is attributed to the change in form of the
tu~e in Bedford's experiments, broughtl about by unequal
thickness and_ want of homogeneity, and consequent unf'qual expanSI<?~ Th~ autho~ therefore adheres to his
value <;>f the boihng pomt obta10ed from the expansion by
the FJ_zeau method, whilst recognising the uncertainty
attach10g to the application of the coefficient of expansion
of the reservoir over an interval four times as great as
that over which it was determin~d.
A paper on ".A. Comparisoo of Imptvre Platinwm Thermometers," by Mr. H. M. Tory, was read by Professor
Callendar. The object of this paper is to investigate the
~robable_ order of accuracy attainable in the determinat~on of h~gh temperatu_res, by ~he use of ordinary commerCtal speCimens of platmum Wire. Five wires wer~ compared from 400 deg. to 1000 deg. Cent. The fundamental
coe~cients of the wires varied within 40 per cent. of the
maxtmum value, hub the temperatures observed by them
wb~n calc';Ilated on the pla:tinum scale by means of the
ordmary simple formula, d1d not differ by more than
9 deg. a~ 1000 deg. Cent. Ea~h wire was directly compared With a pure standard Wll'e, the two being wound
side by side in the same tube. Curves have been drawn
with the platinum temperatures of the standard wire as
~bs?issm, and the diff~rences between the temperatures
md1cated by the two Wires compared as ordinates. These
curves are all straight lines within the limits of observation, and hence the determination of two constants is
sufficient to enable us to compare an impure platinum
thermometer with the standard, and therefore with the
scale of the gas thermometer. The two constants can at
once Le obtained from observations at the boiling point
of sulphur and the freezing pointl of silver, and thus a
practiCal thermometric scale can be established, which
between 0 deg. and 1000 deg. never differs by more than
2 deg. or 3 deg. from the gas scale.
Professor Callendar said he was unable to agree with
the correction to his observations made by M. P.
Chap~uis. He con~idered that the uncertainty in the
ooeffiment of expansiOn of the gas was due to uncertain
changes in the volume of the bulb, and to uncertainty in
the coefficienb of expansion of mercury. The fundamental
coefficient of mercury was .00018153, according to Regnaul t, .00018216, according to the later reduction of
Broch, and .00018256, according to experiments by Chappuis with a hard glass bulb. It made a difference of no
less than 4 per cent. in the fundamental coefficient of
expansion of the glass, according as the original results of
~gnault, or phe value found by Chappuis, assuming the
hnear expansiOn of the glass, were adopted. The importance of the changes in the volume of the bulb had
been fully pointed out, and a method of taking approximate account of these changes had been explained in the
paper on the boiling point of sulphur in 1890. Unfortunately the glass employed was rather ~oft, and the
changes of volume which occurred were too great to permit
of the most accurate determination of the coefficient.
The boiling point, when corrected for the smaller expansion of the bulb, came out lower than 444.53 deg. With
regard to porcelain, Professor Callendar did not consider
it a good material on account of the gla~e. He did not
think that the average coefficient of a tube or bulb over
a large range of temperature could be inferred from a
small and possibly asymmetric specimen. The results
might be less inconsistent in the case of homogeneous and
well-annealed metallic bulbs. The correction for the
expansion of the bulb was, he believed, given by the
expression d t = (c + b 8) t (t- 100). He did not agree
with M. P. Ohappuis that the correction was independent

(JUNE 2 9, I 900.
of c,_ although the value of b was c~rtainly most important
at h1gh temperatures. He also WlBhed to take exception
to the . method adoJ?ted by Ohappuis of calculating the
correction of the mtrogen thermometer. According to
Joule and Thomson, the correction should be greater .
according t_o other ..au.thorities, ib might be less. H~
ho~d to diScuss thiS m a future communication to the
So01ety.
. Mr. Glaz~~rook said that although he plaoed confidqnce
10 ChappuiS formula for a definite piece of porcelain
between certain temperatures, he thought further and
careful work was neoessa.ry before fixing on a formula for
ordinary use.

Professor Carhart said he would like to see a comparison

made between the re~ults of _experiments ~ith gas thermometers and those w1th plat10um and platmum-rhodium
couples .
Mr. Rose-Innes expressed his interest in the behaviour
of nitro~en about 100 deg. Cent., as mentioned in M.
ChappulS' paper.
Dr. Lehfeldt said the peculiarities of the nitrogen scale
between 70 deg. and 80 deg. might be explained by the
reversal of the properties of nitrogen between 0 deg. and
100 deg.
A paper on "The Law of Oailletet a;nd Math,ias and the
Oritical ~ensity" was rea? ~y Professor S. Young. The
law of Cailletet and Mathia.S lS very nearly, though in mosb
cases not absolutely, true, It appears to be only strictly
true when the ratio of the actual tlo the theoretical density at the critical point has the normal value 3. 77. The
curvature of the '' diameter " is generally smaller the nearer this ratio approaches its normal value. The curvature is in nearly every case in opposite directions,
according as this ratio is greater or less than 3. 77. The
curvature is generally so slight that the critical density
may be' calculated from the mean densities of liquid and
sa~urated v~p<;>ur at temperatures from &:b?ut th~ boil~ng
po10t to Withm a few degrees of the crit1cal pomb, wtth
an error generally not exceeding .1 per cent. If, however, the critical density is calculated from the mean
densities at low temperatures, the error may be considerable ; in the case of normal deoane, it is between 5 and
6 per cent. The law does nob, as a rule, hold good at all
for substances the molecules of which differ in complexity in the gaseous and liquid states.
Mr. Rose Innes said that 10 his paper the author had
used the generalisations of Van der W a.als, although the
author himself had shown that they were not strictly
true.
Professor Young said that the aeneralisations held in
some cases, although they did not m others. In all cases
they were approximately true, and it was therefore
advisable to use them, and study the results as far as
possible.
The Society then adjourned until next October.
TRANS-SIBERIAN RAILWAY-ERRATUM.-In our article
on the "Industrial Prospects of China" it was inadvertently stated on page 786 that S~retensk is west of Lake
Baikal. This should have been east : it is nearer the
Pacific.
VULITE BoiLER CoMPOSITION.-The true old saying,
'' Of making books there is no end, and much study is a
weariness to the flesh," though it has lost none of its
point or truth while coming down to us through the
centuries, might, perhaJ?S, in these latter days be altered
as follows: "To the m crease of boiler dlSincrustants
there is no end, and the use of them tryeth the temper
of man." Undoubtedly many of the nostrums offered
have a very limited efficiency, while others, though
effective, scarcely produce results commensurate with
their cost. This being the case, we are glad to have
met with a composition called "Vulite," which does
seem to fulfil whab the makers claim for it, at any rate
so far as the prevention of new and the removal of old
scale are concerned. We have tried this composition
for some considerable time in boilers under our charge
with very satisfactory results. It is composed of purely
vegetable matter, and appears to have no effecb whatever
on the plateEt. It is made by the Vulite Syndioa.te,
Limited, 40, Wilson-street, Finsbury, E.C.
THE WoRLD's PIG IRON.- The United States, Great
Britain, Germany, France, and Belgium produced last
year 34,548,900 tons of pig iron. This total was made up
as follows : U nited States, 13,620,703 tons; Great Britain. 9,305,319 tons; Germany, 8,029,305 tons; ~'ranee,
2,557,388 tons; and Belgium, 1,036,185 tons. The corresponding production in 1889 was: U nited States,
7,603,642 tons; Great Britain, 8,322,824 tons; Germany,
4, 524,558 tons ; France, 1, 732, 964 tons ; and Belgi urn,
832,226 tons; making an aggregate of 23,016,214 ton~. Ib
follow s that the increase in the pig-iron production of the
fi ve countries during the last ten years was 11,532,686
tons. Carrying the comparison back still further to 1884,
we find that in that year the five countries made
18,132,556 tons of pig, viz.: U nited States, 4,097,868
tons; Greab Britain, 7,811, 727 tons; Germany, 3,600,612
tons i France, 1,871,537 tons/ and Belginm, 750,812 to?S
The 10crea.se in the production during the 15 years e~d~ng
1899 was a.ceordingly 16,4151344 tons. The most strilnng
feature about these calculatiOns is the remarkable progress
which is observable in the production of American pig,
the output having increased more than threefold in the
15 yeare. The production of German pi~ has also more
than doubled in the same period. On the other hand,
the increase in the output of British pig has been only
moderate- barely 20 per cent. The increase in the
French production has been something over 33 per cent.
and Belgium makes a. very similar showing.

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

jUNE 29, 1900.]

respectively connected together inside t he service box by bridge

pieces In the ordinary manner, but in place of both the bridgepieces being also connected to the t erminals of the branch or
consumer's circuit, all is usual, only one of them is so connected,
the other being connected to a contact ring, whilst the other
COMPILED BY
LLOYD WISE.
terminal of t he branch or consumer's circuit is connected to a
IILBil,_.i'BD
...... ABSTRACTS OF RBOBNT PUBLISHED BPBOIFIOATION8 second contact ring. In order to close the circuit a plug is
inserted into these rings. The plug is made in two pieces of
UNDER THE AOTS 1888- 1888.

The number oj 'Views given Vn. the Speciftation DTawings is stated

in each case ; where none Me mentioned, the Specification is
Fig.1.
' not illmtrated.

Where inventions Me communicated from abroad, the Names, &c.,

of the Communicators M e given in italics.
Copies of Specifications may be obtained at the Patent Of/i.U Sale
Branch, !6, SOtthampton Bui ldings, Chancery-lalne, W.O., at
the uniform price of 8d.
The date of the advertisement of the acceptance oj a CO'mlplete
Specification is, in each case, given aJter the abstract, unless the
Patent has been sealed, when the date of sealing is given.
A ny person may at any time within two months from the date of
the advertisement of the acceptance of a complete Specification,
give notice at the Patent Ojfice oj opposition to the grQIIl,t of a
Paten t <m Qlll,V of the grOtnd:s mentioned in the A ct.

"ENGINEERING" ILLUSTRATED PATENT

RECORD.

w.

ELECTRICAL APPA.R.ATUS.
25,,972. F. de Mare, Belgium. Electrolytic Inter
rupter. [7 Figs.] December 18, 1899.- The negative electrode

comprises a. vessel of lead oast in one piece, and havin ~ a s piral

g roove on its outer surface wherein a current of water mroulates,
a sheath of copper covering the open part of t he spiral groove.
The level of t he acidulated water within the vessel is indicated
by means of a glass float. The ''essel is connected to a water
suotionJ nozzle, designed t o draw away at the same rate as it
is being produced, t he explosive mixture of gases generated
during t he working of t he mstrument. According to one of the

on board ship or in the magazine. The erosion in t he interior of

gun barrels is principally caused by the passage of the highly
heated explosion gases between the projectile and the bore. In
order to prevent t his t he projectile near its base, behind the
ordinary driving band, is provided with flanges preferably made of
copper, forming between t hem grooves for t he reception of plastic
packing and lubricating material. These flanges may either be
separately attached to the projectile, or they may be formed on a
ring or band, separate from or forming a. continuation of the driving

FitJ.Z.

band. The flanges are made of such section, that whilst t hey offer
sufficient support for the plastic material between t hem. it requires comparatively little force to make them take the rifling,
and there is space between them into which any one of them can
fold back should it meet with excessive resistance, so that t hey are
not liable to be torn off during the passage of the projectile along
the bore. The flanges may be of such diameters that, when the projectile is pushed home t he rearmost flange comes first in contact
non-conducting material ~tting one within t he ot her, and each with the interior surface of the chamber. (.Accepted M ay 16, 1900. )
carrying a conducting band. These bands respecthely fit the
2180. B. Preener, Birmingham. Cartridge CUps.
contact rings and are connected by a fuse wire which lies wit hin
the out er part of the plug. The positive conductor, which is [7 Figs.] February S, 1900.- Tbe subject of this invention is a.
usually the inner conductor in a t riple cable, oa.n be similarly supplementary magazine or cartridge carrier for Lee-Speed
connected to the circuit t hrough one of the conducting rings. magazine rifies1 and the construction iR such that when the bolt
In this case the bridge-piece connecting t he bared ends of the of t he action 1s drawn back to load, the lower portion of t he
negative conductor is not connected to the circuit. (.Accepted back end of the supplementary cartridge carrier can be inserted
ltlay 23, 1900.)

Fig.1.

GAS ENGINES, PRODUCERS, BOIDERS, &c.

12,357. A. G. New, Woking, Surrey. Gas Engines.

[3 Figs.) June 14, 1899.-To reduce the noise caused by exhaust

gases iesuing from internal combustion engines into t he atmo
sphere, a valve which can completely close the exit passage from
the exhaust box to the atmosphere during each cycle of the
engine is provided, and at t hat period at which noise t ends tO

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arrangements described in this specification, the current is regu
la.ted by mounting t he platinum wire of the positive pole upon an
adjusting screw. This wire passes t hrough a small stuffing-box,
and slides in a platinum t ube which is attached to a fine glass
tube that forms a. prolongation of a. larger tube, ground at its
upper end against a moulded plate of glass or porcelain which
rests in a recess formed in t he upper portion of the leaden vessel.
I t is stated that "if there is no water available, the cooling and
the drawing off of the gases may be effected by means of a jet of
air under pressure, or of carbonic acid, without altering the
apparat us in any respect." (Accepted 111 ay 23, 1900.)

13,233. Max Gehre, Dusseldorf, Germany. Wind

Motor for Producing Electric Current. [2 .Figs.]

June 26, 1899.- Tbe wind motor is arranged to operate ratchet

mechanism, which raises, by means of a drum and cord or
chain, a weight. Periodically the ratchet mechanism is released,
after a l ar~e number of ratchet movements, so that, by the action
of the wetgbt, a longer }asting and always constant, backward

....~

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between the walls of the shoe, over the back end of the magazine ; the front end of the carrier then rests against the face of
t he action and its back end against the extractor on the bolt
bead, in which position the cartridges may be forced into the
(a,u .r) c:
rifie magazine by the thumb. I t is stated that the whole operation can be easily performed with one band. (A ccepted luay 16,
occur it is caused to close, and opens again to allow the exhaust 1900.)
gases to escape as soon as thei r state of dist urbance in the box
has subsided. It is proposed that t he valve be actuated either by
SHIPS AND NAUTICAL APPLIANCES.
motive power from the engine, or automatically by means of the
high velocity of the escaping gases impinging against t he valve,
8271. A. Buchanan. Barrow-in-Furness. Uprights.
which is in such case spring-balanced to remain open under the [2 Figs.] June 7, 1899.- This inv~ntion relates to improvements
normal pressure. (Accepted May 16, 1900.)
in, or in connection with, stagings for use in building or operating
upon vessels on stocks. Sockets are carried at certain distances
apart into which the uprights carrying the staging are attached.
GUNS AND EXPLOSIVES.
These sockets are sunk in the ground and the uprigh t ii Recured
9482. A. Reichwald, London. (Fried. K t-upp, EsSJen, thereto by bolts. The upright is formed of iron girderinl( of
GeTmany.) Rammer. [9 Figs.] May 5, 1899.-In the tele- such cross-section as to take the form the series of steps for the
scopic rammer a toothed wheel engages successively with toothed purpose of enabling individuals to ascend through the medium
rods. The improved ram mer consists of a number of toothed rods,
the first of which is formed from a. single rod, and is furnished
with a rammer bead or plate, while the remaining toot hed rods
are each built up of two parallel cheeks connected at. tbeit rear
FUJ
ends by a crossbar. The single toothed rod lies within the cheeks
of the second, this within the cheeks of the third, and so on. By
means of dovetail tongues and grooves the several rods are accurately guided within eaoh other long-itudinally. The t ravel of each
of the toothed rods within the other is regulated by means of
stops. At the rear end of each toothed rod, except the last, there
are provided notches into which, when the rods are fully extended,

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rotation of t he ratchet mechanism is produced. The wind motor,

however, remains in motion during t he backward rotation of the
ratchet wheel, in order to be strong enough in weak winds to
effect a fresh lifting under t he influence of its impetus. The re
leasing mechanism may, as shown, be of t he kind described in
specification No. 5934, of 1899. It is stated t hat the arrangement
is particularly well adapted for feeding electric accumulators by
peric<}ioa.lly operated dynamo machines. (Accepted lltay 23, 1900.)

11,693. Callender's Cable and Construction Com

pany, I.tmited, and T. E. Callender. Connecti.ng
up Branch Circuits. [4 Figs.) June 5, 1899.- The bared
ends of the negative conductor and of the neutral conductor are

- -1-=--' a:

spring-pressed pawls, attached to the next succeeding rod, take,

and thereby prevent the rods from closing up automatically. It
is stated that t he whole system of rods when closed up, does not
take up more space longitudinally than that occupied by a. single
toothed rod. The last rod which surrounds t he ot hers is contained
in a casing which ent irely encloses the completely closed up series
of rods. In the fore partof t his casing is mounted a toothed driv
ing wheel, whiob, when rotated, causes the several rods to be
pushed out in succession. To this end the front teeth of the
second and followin g rods are slightly shortened, so that every
one of these rods is only extended after t he one preced ing it has
been fully drawn out, this latter drawin$' the rod following along
with it. Contributory devices are proV1ded. (.Accepted May 16,
1900.)

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of the steps. The upright is adapted t o carry staging at the

required height. The sockets are so arranged t hat it is possible
to remove an upright from one socket to another as required.
this being effected by releasing one or more of the bolts, and
allowing the upright to binge or pivot upon one bolt, when it may
t hen be allowed t o tumble upon 1ts bolt, being lowered by suitable
taokle on to a t rolley after which the remaining bolt may be
removed to t he upright, then taken t o the next sooket, one bolt
8758. A. T. Dawson and S. T. Buckham. London, being fixed, raised by t he tackle and again secured in p osition .
and L. s. SUverman, Crayford, Kent. Projectnes. (Accepted May 16, 1900.)
[2 Figs.) April 26, 1899.- This invention relates to the construc
tion of projectiles for heavy guns. The gas check, according to STEAM ENGINES, BOILERS, EVAPOB.ATORS, &c.
this invention, is intended not to be torn off by the rifling when
the project ile is fired, and the plastic material which forms part
10,624. R. G. Brooke, Macclesfleld, Chester. Water
of it is g uarded against deformation when the proj ectile is stored Gauges. [3 Figs.] May 19, 1899.-Tbe steam boiler water

...

E N G I N E E R I N G.
gauge is provided with a ball in both upper and lower arms,
arranged to be forced by the flow of steam or water against seats,
upon a full bore discharge occurrini (as on the breaking of a
gauge glass), but to be unaffected by a sufficiently less discharge
such as occurs in blowing through. The discharge aperture in-

29,

(JUNE

1900.

c.

Platts and T. Lowther, London. like machines, and has for its object to provide means whereby
Steam Boner. [6 Fips.] May 31, 1899.-0ne construction of the aperture existing between the ends of the doors in front of
11,363. B.

boiler according to this mvention comprises a cylindrical outer

shell having concentrically arrangeti within it a. furnace tube.
Within the annular space between the exterior of the furnace
tube and the inner surface of t he outer shell t here are, at the

the mule carriage can be effectually olosed and the dust thereby
prevented from entering the carriage through the said apertures.
Applied to each or every alternate door end is a slide or flap
adapted to close the aperture between two door ends, which slide
or the flap may be actuated either by hand or automatically when
opening and closing the said doors. When adapting the said
slide or flap to be actuated by hand it is furnished with a button

fYl 7.

tended for testiog is of a slightly less cross-sectional area t han

the bore of t he gauge ~lass, while the discharge opening for ordinary blowing through IS of a cross-section large enough for ordi
nary blowing-through purposes, but too small to bring about the
action of the balls. (.Accepted May 16, 1900. )

10,859. G. F. G. Des Vignes, Chiswlck, and w. A.

Cloud, Gnnnersbury. Steam Generator. [10 Figs. ]
May 24, 1899.- The body of the boiler constitutes a steam and
water vessel, and is, with the exception of its extreme ends, en
closed within a casing. Projecting downwardly from the steam
and water vessel are two rows of t ube boxes, each closely inter
sected by smoke t ubes extending t ransversely from all sides, so
that one set of tubes crosses the other set at right angles, and the
sectional tube boxes const ituting each row are arranged with two
of their angles in juxtaposition with adjacent boxes, so t hat all
sides thereof are exposed and access may readily be had to t he

by which, when opening or closing t he said doors, the slide or

flap can be slid or turned over or from the aperture r espectively.
In arranging the slide to move automatioa.lly there may be upon
the door a bar or rod under the influence of a spring, the upper
end of which bar or rod is connected with the said slide, and
t he lower end adapted to bear against t he carriage or fram e
two opposite sides of the boiler, a couple of return flues of seg- to which t he said doors are attached, so t hat when opening the
mental cross-section, provided with water-circulating tubes. door t he spring causes t he bar or rod to recede or fall and there
The upper t ubeplate of each return flue is at its highest part by wi thdraw the slide from the aperture. (Accepted M ay 16,1900)
not above t he level of the highest part of t he furnace tube or
flue. Va.rious modifications are described and diagrammatically
VEHICLES.
shown. (Accepted Jzay 16, 1900.)
9258. C. de Mocomble, Paris, France. Propelling
8554. B. Siebert, Elblng, Prussta. Water-Tube Vehicles.
[5 Pigs.] May 2, 1899. (Convention date DeBoners. [9 .F igs.] April 24, 1899.- A water-tube boiler, ac- cember 29, 1898.
)-According to this invention a winch driven
cording to t his invention, comprises a steam chamber and a water
cylinder, with an inclined circu~ a~in g stand-pipe connecting t he by an eleotrio or other motor is suspended by an adjustable
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spring with a roller driven by t he winoh gear bearing against t he

rail of a t ruok or other movable body above it. This roller being
P.ressed upwards by the spring has such friction on the rail that
1t propels the truck or other movable body to which the rail is
attached. (A ccepted May 16, 1900.)
'

8446.

whole of t he smoke tubes. Eaoh t ube box is at its upper end

connected with the steam and water vessel and the lower ends of
the tube boxes or sections of each row are connected with an external pipe arranged to communicate with the water space of the
steam and water vessel. The furnace is arranged beneath and
between the two rows of sectional tube boxes, and the space be
tween t he said rows constibutes the combustion chamber, so t hat
t he smoke and products of combustion play partly upon two
angles of the t ube boxes of eaoh row and paSB through the smoke
tubes into a flue constituted by the shell or casing, and t hence
around the body of the generator and away to the uptake. (..Accepted Jlay 16, 1900.)
10 959. A. J. Liversedge, London. Steam Boiler.
[4
May 25, 1899.-This invention has for its chief objects
to provide a better circulation of t he water, and to provide a
greater heating surface in steam generators having co rru~ated

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crankshaft. The outside of t he casing on the crankpin is turned

to form a bearing surface or groove, and the casing is perforated
so that lubricant can pass from the interior of the casing to it .
Upon the g roove or bearing surface, and eo as to be capable of
rotation t herein or thereon, is placed a recessed ring or collar
0
which is also perforated and may have a flexible 01 jointed pi{>e
leading to the croSBhead or slide blocks. The casing is also tn
divided into two or more sections, one or more of whioh are communioation with passages or channels whioh pass through
sealed, and t he remainder open. It can be used with or without the substance of the crankpin and keep its bearing surface lubri
a. jet of steam, and is for t he purpose of directing and controlling cated. (Accepted M ay 9, 1900.)
the currents of liquid with the object of increasing the oiroula.tion
in the cross flue tubes of such boilers. Specification No. 5688 of
1892 is referred to. (Accepted May 16, 1900.)
UNITED STATES PATENTS AND PATENT PRAOTIOE.
I f

TEXTILE MACHINERY.
flues than has hitherto been obtainable. According thereto
water-circulating tubes are inserte~ direo~ly in the. corr~gated
10.099. T. Wilde, Oldham, Lancs. Self Acting
flue by expanding one or both of thetr ends.tn th~ con ugattons of
the flue. The drawings show several ways m wh1oh the form and Mules. [10 Figs.] May l S, 1800.- This invention relates to imarrangement of the tubes may be varied. (Accepted May 16, 1900.) provements in and relating to selfacting mules, twiners, and the

Descriptions with illust rations of inventions patented In the

United States of America from 1847 to the present time, and
reports of trials of patent law cases in the United States, may be
consulted, gratis, at the offices of ENaiNBKRtNa, S5 and 36, Bedford
street, Strand.

THE END OF THE SIXTY-NINTH VOLUME .

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Lubricators.

[6 Fig.] April 22, 1899.-This invention aims at producing a

more simple means tor heavily lubricatin~ t he moving parts of large
par~ of large machinery in motion whtcJ:l cannot be served by
lubrtoa~ors such as are used .for eh aft bear.mgs. As apJ?lied to the
crankpm, crosshead, and shdes of an engme, the lubr1cant is led
from tts chamber to a casing formed within or upon or attached
(MH)
to the crankpin , t he cranked pipe which conveys the lubricant
steam chamber to t he water cylinder, headers taking up a group having one of its ends entering the casing and the other entering
of water tubes and arranged in step form at t he front and rear of the lubricant chamber or receptacle in a line co-axial wit h the
the boiler, and which form stand-pipes connecting the steam
charuber with the water cylinder. The headers are arranged so
as to form a "smoke-tight" wall. (A ccepted May 16, 1900.)
10,276. J. R. Rhodes, Manchester. Improving Circulation in Boners. [2 F igs. ] May 16, 1899.-According to
this invention, t here is provided in internally fi red steam boilers
of the Galloway type, which have a stay extending from end to
end, an attachment to the cross flue tubes, extending above the
surface of the water into the steam space, and bifurcated or

Fii/s.]

MISCEILANEOUS.
C. B. Berry, Manchester.