Professional Documents
Culture Documents
E . G I N E E R I N G.
73
The total length of natural and artificial water- steeply to the plains of Mingrelia, with one branch Only from Zardob to the mouth-200 miles- is
ways in European Russia is estimated at 53,000 j utting out to the south towards Erivan and Kars. navigation carried on uninterruptedly, and all the
miles. Of this total 4000 miles represents the In consequence of this formation the rivers all year round. The vessels used are 21 ft. to 49ft.
artificial routes, namely- canal and rivers, portions begin as mountain torrents and rapidly change to long, and 5 ft. to 9ft. broad, carrying 8 to 40 tons
of which have been rendered navigable artificially; streams with a very moderate and often sluggish on a draught which must not exceed 4 ft. There is
whilst the length of canals and canalised portions of current, winding their way through sandy plains, no steam navigation.
The Rion is a short river, but the largest which
rivers, i.e., those portions which have actually been whose navigation is much obstructed by sandbanks,
rendered navigable artificially-is 1300 miles.
shallows, and snags. The quantity of water brought falls into the Black Sea on the southern slope of
From what has been said in these articles, it down by the ri\ers is very great on the whole, but the Caucasas. It rises in the snow mountains
is very clear that the present condition of the varies very much and very rapidly in accordance between Elbruz and Kazbeck and enters the Black
waterways of Russia is not satisfactory. After with the rainfall in the mountains, because the Sea at Poti. I t tumbles down very rapidly t o the
the initiation of various works by Peter the Great, mountains are generally barren and do not store town of Koutais through narrow defiles. At that
and the impetus given by his energy, there was much water. Hence floods and scarcity of water point-66 miles from its mouth-it emerges into
not sufficient force to keep t hings going, and after alternate very often. Most of the rivers are short, the open plain of lower Mingrelia, and from there
a time everything was neglected. In this century and some of them on the northern slope are lost in to its mouth it is navigable by small craft. At
the question of water communications was again the sandy plain and do not reach any other river Koutais its greatest width is 210 ft., and smallest
taken up, and considered in a half-hearted way, or the sea.
126 ft. ; the mean surface Yelocity there is 7 ft.
from time to time. But nothing was done systeAs waterways these rivers are very unimpor tant. per second, and at high water-when the water
matically till the Ministry of Ways of Communi- Only four will be mentioned here-the Kouban rises 10! ft. to 14ft., it is 13! ft. per second. In
cat.ion decided to undertake a study of the water- and Terek on the northern slope, and the Koura the last 30 miles it flows in a very winding course
ways in 1875. Up to that time there were no and Rion on the southern slope; and of these a between low, but steep, banks, through a splendid
proper surveys of the rivers and waterways in very brief notice will suffice.
forest, the trees of which constantly fall into the river
existence. These were then undertaken, and inThe K01tbatn flows from several of the glaciers of and greatly obstruct the navigation. The current
formation was thus gradually acquired to guide Elbruz, and has a number of tributaries on the here varies from 1ft. to 12ft. per second. The river
the Government engineers in dealing with this left side- all more or less mountain torrents. It is enters the Black Sea in two branches, the northern
important question. The effect of this was that 550 miles long and flows by numerous branches one takes one-third of the whole stream, and is 490ft.
the Administration gradua1ly awakened to the through its delta into the Sea of Asov at Temriouk, to 630ft. broad, and 8ft. to 20ft. deep. It is the one
importance of the problems to be dealt with, and at the base of the Taman peninsula. This penin- principally used, and the new port of Poti, with a
systematic work was at last commenced from 1880 sula, with its numerous lakes and streamlets, is the depth of water of 20 ft. to 25 ft., has been conto 1885. It was thought, when railways were first delta of the Kouban. One branch, called the structed at its mouth. Two-thirds of the stream
started, that they would supersede waterways; for Protock. goes off on the left side to the Black Sea. tlows by the southern branch, on which is the old
some years past now this has been recognised as a The river is navigable by small steamers for 150 Turkish fortress and the t own of Poti. The river
great mistake. Both means of communication are miles to the town of Ekaterinodar, 56 ft. above the brings down an enormous quantity of deposit,
wanted in order to develop the resources of the sea . At t he normal height of the river the volume which continually extends the bar and the whol&
country and meet the requirements of trade- they flowing past Ekaterinodar is 18,700 cubic feet per delta seawards. In the last 30 miles or more it is
mutually assist each other's development. Mr. second. Above the River Protock this falls to fully navigable by small steamers, and a good
Horschelman says nearly all the large Russian 16,300 cubic feet. After the Protock has left it, many of these run there, with 3ft. to 4ft. draught
rivers lend themselves admirably to t he formation the flow is 8200 cub:c feet per second, whilst t he of water. The ordinary craft used for carrying
of an extensive network of waterways by connect- Protock carries off 7900 cubic feet per second, goods as far as Koutais are small, flat-bottomed
ing their upper parts with canals. Often the sources which dwindles down to 2700 cubic feet at its mouth boats, carrying 6 to 10 tons of cargo on 2 ft. to
of the rivers are separated by inconsiderable eleva- showing how the watet gets absorbed by the nume~ 2! ft. draught of water.
tions of small extent. Most of t he large rivers have rous small branches and lakes which are here formed.
Th e Ca spian Sea.- 'Vith the exception of its
not much fall and a considerable body of water, The river is navigated by flat-bottomed decked vessels southernmost end, which is in Persia, it is surconditions particularly favourable for navigation 70 ft: to 105 ft. long by 12! ft. to 16 ft. broad, rounded by Russia, and it may, therefore, fairly
against stream. Very few rivers present any great carrymg 80 to 160 tons on 5 ft. 10 in. to 7 ft. be considered a Russian inland sea. This short.
difficulties to navigation . But in spite of these
fa\ourable conditions, very little has as yet been
accomplished, and most of the rivers remain in their
natural condition . The Mariinski Canal route is the
only one which has been fairly developed. Good
permanent work has also been done in a few port ions of a good many rivers; but very little effect
has been produced on the efficiency of the waterways
as a whole. Expense is one of the great difficulties ;
but a great deal of money has been and is being
expended on rail ways, and it is a question, in the
writer's opinion, whether it would not be bet ter
for the development of the country to do more for
the waterways and less in the way of rail way extension for a time.
Mr. H orsehelman gives an interesting Table of
comparison between the waterways of different
European countries, from which the following is
taken:
E N G I N E E R I N G.
74
NEW
PROMENADE,
1IR. .J.
NORTH
\VOLSTENHOLME,
[JAN. I 9, I 900.
SHORE,
BLACKPOOL.
BOROUGH ENGINEER.
FT/00
SIJO
/OOOFUT.
_JiL
-
- - -
PROMCN.AOC
QUEENS
--*- --1$ 0 : __
. :7.
Fig.4 .
Fio-8.
-...
.... -s-;.. . . :-.
. . "
, : ... "'- ~
DRIVE
..C
't
('ZO,.
STRETCHERS.
FAC/Nv
BLOC
I<.S
~ --LOW~? -- "
: PROMNAOE
..
~-16 o ----
' c.
1,..
1.-
f I
FifJ.5 .
_,
----i
--------------------. . .---
L-
,<-9
SEC TION ON LINE A. A .
r
f.SI~DI)
HORE
c~nt inucd.)
IMPROVE~IEL T.~
AT
BLACKPOOL.
who has been at Blackpool during the
last five-and-twenty years will remember that at
t he north end is Claremont Park, a district enclosed within gates and fences, through which
nothing that was objectionable ha ever been
allowed to intrude. The district was, we under'3tand, owned privately, and was not under the jurisdiction of the Blackpool Corporation to the same
extent as are the other streets and roads. Along
with the privileges which resulted from this state of
ANYONE
E N G I N E E R I N G.
..
aff~irs there was always the respon sibility of maintaining the foreshore, which he~e consi~ts of a soft
cliff, \'ery little capable of w1thstand1ng the onslaughts of the sea.. As eYery~ne kuows, the '~aves
at Blackpool are very much
earnest at times,
and in course of years they carrted e:l.w~y .l~rge portions of the foreshore. The respons1b1hty. of r esisting these attacks appears to have been 1n the
hands of a number of individuals, each of whom
lu\d his own length cf cliff to attend to, with the
u:
FIG. 2.
75
Fw. 3.
VIEW BEFORE CoMMENCEMENT OF WoRKS, LOOKING SouTH FRortr THE GLYNN SLADE.
we are considering, they have not been content merely to build a sea wall which sh ould secure
the cliff, but have also availed themselves of the
opportunity to construct a double promenade offering space for thousands to enjoy themselves in a
part of the town which is relatively quiet. The g reat
bulk of the people who go to Blackpool are quite free
from t he reproach of taking their pleasures sadly ;
they come rather to work off their energy than to
recuperate it. But there are, of course, large numbers who are not in this happy p osition, and who
find their delight in quiet enjoyment. The n orth
shore has always been appreciated by such, and
they will now find its attractions increased.
The plan, Fig. 1, on page 74, shows the locu.lity of
the new work ::;. It takes in all north of Bailey's
E N G I N E E R I N G.
Founded on the inch as a unit, the 'Vhitwor th
standard held its own against metrical innovations,
by reason of the fact that we t hen enjoyed an overwhelming strength as engineers. Iu t he U nited
States the , ellers thread found immediate favour,
partly because, until very recently, there was no
question of exporting machin ery. In Germany
:::>wi~zerland, and to a les3 extent in France, t he
Whttworth standard took firm hold, despite more
or less futile efforts to metricise the inconvenient
unit.
The last few years have, however, witnessed great
changes. The metric system is recognised as that
which must be universally adopted, sooner or later;
we no longer hold the lead so securely that we can
force feet and inches on our foreign customers, and
still less force the acceptance of our units on manufacturing countries that only recognise the more
convenient metre and its subdivisions. I t is indeed
clear now t hat while Sir J oseph 'Vhit worth must
always be r egarded as the originator of a standard
thread, and while any fu t ure system must be based
on what he gave to the world, a uni-versal system
if it is ever decided on, must be whol1y met ric,
and t h e manufacturers of thid country, and for
the matter of that, of t he U nited States also, will
be obliged to adopt it, unless they prefer to r eta.in
excellent standards, based on what may in time
become an obsolete unit of measurement.
That consummation, however, is for the future;
the efforts commenced 60 yeard ago, and continued
intermittently ever since, to establish a standard
thread for universal adoption, have not been
successful, and have indeed resulted in some confusion. Of t he advantages that would attend the
existence of one ty pe of thread for every dimension of screw or bolt, t here is no need to insist,
t hough there do exist applications where uniformity
is of little importance, or even of positive detriment. Thus a. great railway company, being wholly
self. contained, ruay manufacture its own types without inconvenience, and, in the case of railways that
may possibly serve the h ostile purposes of an
invasion, with positive advantage. Again, for
military works, special threads, whether for t he
blocks of guns, for the connections of mountings
and so forth, possess evident advantages. But for
the general manufacturer and purchaser all t he
world over, ~t1.ndardisation of screw threads would
possass enor mous usefulness. ' Ve shall see later
on, that for minute purposes, such as watch-making,
the Thury system has been widely adopteJ; but
for large work so much diversity of opinion exists,
th1t the question is beset with infinite difficulty.
On one po1nt alone is t here a general (though not
unanimous) concens us of opinion, that if a univers~l sydtem should ever be adopted, it will be based
on the metrical unit. I t will be long, however,
before such a result is obtained. ln France a
standard t hread is recognised, yet there are about
50 different types still in use ; in this country, the
Whitwor th , and in t he United States, the Sellers,
threads, will long continue to he the recognised
standards. In Germany it is probable that the
Whitwort.h system will still r emain largely in use,
~nd be gradually replaced by a modification of t he
French ~t lnda.rd ; while Switzerland will most likely
adopt the latter, after cert~in modifications to be
discussed at t he next International Screw Thread
Congress, have been formulated. Apparently for
certain classes of fine work, the Thury thread, n ow
widely adopted, will approximate most closely to
a univers1.l standard for many years to come.
The proposal for a general unification of screw
threads appears to be due to the engineer Delisle,
of C~rlsruhe, who in 1873 showed, at the Vienna
E1hibition, a series of screws, taps, and dies
according to his system. Messrs. Ducommun and
Steinlen, of Mulhouse, who had been working in
the matter with Delisle, induced t he Munich District Society of German ~ngineers to take action,
and in 1874 they sent out. no less than 2000 circulars to European managers, asking t heir views
on the possibility and usefulness of substituting
a met rical, for t he Whitworth, system. The result
of this firdt effort was not encouraging ; only 365
replies were received, and of these 316 were from
makers using the Whitworth thread, and who proposed to retain it ; the remaining 49 employed
their own modifications of t he same system. In
1877, the Carlsruhe Eogineers' Society brought the
question before a general meeting of the Society
of German Engineers, who dismissed it rather
abruptly ; but t he following ye3:r t heir efforts. met
with more suc~ess, and a. committee was appomted
[]AN. I 9, I 900.
to inquire into it. This may be regarded as the have increased, and are increasing enormously
commencement of t he International Screw 1.'hread every year. Thus it is becoming more and more
Congress, which h~s conferred on several occasions. desirable to red uce existing confusion, and to
The last meeting of this body, held at Zurich in decide on some unification-at least, to a large ex1898, was of considerable importance, because it tent-of those elementary pieces that must always
was enabled to recommend for general adoption be used in the construction of machinery, which, if
with certain modifications, the Sa.uvage standard, exported, may become absolutely useless because
that during the last few years has been largely of the impossibility of replacing broken screws or
adopted in France. These modifications were bolts made to some unknown gauge.
carefully discussed at t he meeting of the Congress
Among the various systems, most of which are in
referred to above, and conclusions were arrived at use to-day, t he following have been selected for
which will be s ubmitted to t he third meeting of description and illustration, as having the greatest
the International Congress for Railway U nification , practical or historical interest. They are : .Armanto be held at Berne shortly.
gaud (1860); Bodmer (1861); Poulot (1862); Sellers
One of t he Italian representatives at t he Z urich (1864) ; the Prussian State Rail ways ; Thury (1878);
meeting above r eferred t o, was Signor A. Galassini, French Marine (1875-85) ; Northern of F rance and
memher of t he Turin Society of Engineers and Orleans Railways; Western Railway of Frdnce;
Architects ; this gentleman has presented to his Paris-Lyons and Mediterranean Rllilway; Eastern
Society so complete and interesting an account of Rail way of France ; Lomb~rdo ; Italian Artillery;
the proceedings of the Congress, and also of the Delisle (1873); Ducommun and Steinlen (1873);
history of t he s ubject, t hat we have not hesitated Kreutzberger (1876) ; Reuleaux; German Engito summarise the information he has collected, neers' Association (1888) ; French Artillery (1891);
supplementing it here and there by data from other Sauvage (1894) ; Delisle (1898) ; Swis3 Committee
sources. We regret that we are compelled to (1898) ; Turin Engineers and Architects (1898).
abridge Signor Gala.ssini's review.
Alt hough so many able engineers and theorists
In relating the history of screw thread standards, have worked consecutively at the question of unifit he author of the r epor t dwells at considerable cation for the past sixty years, they have, as we
length on the successful efforts of J oseph Whit- have seen, so far failed in achieving their object.
worth, continued through 20 years, and he then The difficulty does ~ot lie in the elaboration of
turns to t he United States, where no standard had a practically perfect system of screw threadexisted, although t he Whitworth system was in use Whitworth, Sellers, and Sauvage have long since
by 1864. It was on April 3 1, 1864, that Willi~m demonstrated t hat-but in obtaining its universal
Sellers read a paper before t he Franklin Institute, adoption. The utmost that can be hoped for
pointing out the evil r esults arising from t he seems to be that Whitworth in Eogland, Sel~ers
absence of a r ecognised system, urging defects in in t he United States, Sauvage for metrical countries,
the "\Vhitworth standard, and recommending a plan and Thury for special work everywhere, may exist
of his O\Vn for general adoption. The Franklin as four recognised and universally employed stanInstitute, at that time a more influential body t han dards. Such a resul t \vould at least reduce C)mit is at present, appointed a committee to consider plications and prevent confusion.
We have already seen t hat so long ago as 1874,
Mr. Sellers' proposition, and t his committee
having r eported favourably, t he Institute set its the Munich District Society of Engineers comseal of approval on t he Sellers standard, and re- menced taking active steps to shndardise a s~rew
commended it strongly for adoption by manufac- thread; it was t he year before t hat Delisle, of
turers and Government construction departments. Carlsruhe, opened a discussion on unification by
0 wing to t his recommendation, the new system publishing a memorandum, illust rated by a series
was rapidly adopted throughout t he United States, of metrical taps and dies made by the firm
and in 1868 it was officially endorsed by t he Govern- Ducommun and Steinlen, of Mulhouse. They
ment ; thus in a few years it became the standard were shown with a series of screws in t he Vienna
for t he whole of North America. The Sellerd, like Exhibition of 1873.
Somewhat later, Delisle proposed a. modified
the "\Vhitworth, system, however, being based on
the English unit of measurement, it was a natural system, which he aga.in altered in 1877. This
consequence that in those countries employing t he action of Delisle aroused considerable interest, and
metric unit (although in Germany the Whitworth his example was followed by many other designe~s,
system was largely adopted) other standards bac;ed who submitted their plan to the General Associaon t he subdivision of the metre should be evol ved, tion of German E ngineers. In 1888, after Ion~
so soon as t he advantage of a fixed type was de- discussions and careful investigations, both theoretimonstrated. It was also a natural consequence cal and practical, t he same association definitely
that, as no means existed for arriving at a. com- approved, and r ecommended for general adoption,
mon understanding, a large number of so-called Delisle's t~econd system of 1877. At the same
standards- the author of each of which naturally time, associations, representing the makers ~f
claimed preeminence for his creation-were pro- 'i nstruments cle p'recision, as well as electrical engiduced in a very short time. So t hat tile laudable neers, agreed to adopt the type chosen by the
desire of constructors to arrive at one common German Engineers' Association, adapting it fur
metrical system for standardisation has defeated special convenience to minute diameters. The firm
its object, and rendered realisation more and more of Reinecker, of Chemnitz, undertook to make
standard scr ews, together with any series of taps
di fficul t.
Thus at the present time most rail way companies and dies, which were to be after wards distributed
on the Continent nse their own special systems of among manufacturers who were sufficiently intescrews and screw t hreads, and often the same rested to undertake practical experiments.
As we have already seen, t he invitation to the
company employs two or more different types.
The same remark applies to Government Arsenals German manufacturers did not meet with a favourand Navy Yards; while many private engineering able response, the opinion held being that the
establishments have created their own metrical Whitworth thread was so generally employed that
screw thread, without any attempt to arrive at a. any change to a. metrical standard would be u~
creneral understanding, or due consideration of the advisable, unless it were universally adopted. Thts
inconvenience and confusion arising fl'om a. multi- decision was certainly a. prudent one, for if Germany
plicity of t hreads. To these numerous types in had adopted the Del isle, and France anot~er,
current use, have to be added others, elaborated system, unification would have becol?-1e, if not m~
theoretically, and recommended by scientists and possible, at least a great deal more difficult. '?lhby technical associations, with a view to ultimate ma.tely t he Association of German Engineers deci~ed
unification. From the for egoing, some idea can be to bring the matter before a more comprehe~s1ve
arrived at of the confusion that exists at t he t ribunal, and this was done at an Internatwnal
present time in many engineering works on the Congress held at Aix-la.-Chapelle in 1895. The
Continent. In a report addressed to the Societe Association had sought information from eighte~n
d'Encouragement, and published in its Bulletin in engineering societies in England, A~erica, Russt.a,
1891, Mr. E. Sauvage described twenty-seven dif- France, Austria-Hungary, I taly, Belgmm, and Switferent metrical systems of screw t hreads, and it is zerland, on the subject of establishing an iot~r~a
probable that the total number of existing systems tional standard for screw threads, and ascertarmng
would exceed fifty. A selection of the more im- \Vhich unit of measurement should be adopted for
portant types of these will be given later. It must such a system.
All the societies applied to were favourable to
be rem em hered that, owing to the great development of mechanical industry, and the vast exten- the metric system as a basis for unification, except
sion and international character of manufacturing the English and American, who did not feel the
trade, the inconveniences understood by \Vhitworth necessity for any change.
Among others, the Unio11 of Swiss Ivlechanics
as eady as 1841, and felt keenly by Sellers in 1864,
E N G I N E E R I N G.
AMERICAN COMPETITION.
No. XVIII.*
By SPENCER MILLER, Engineer, New Yot k.
B usiNESS depression in America, coincident with
English prosperity, will invariably lead t? A merica
receiving the overflow orders from English shops.
This may be successful competition from one standpoint, but it is hardly to be considered in the light
of a great achievement. England is now prosperous,
its shops are busy, and while in individual cases
American goods have affected the English market,
the English have quickly adjusted themselves to
the situation, or found something else for their
workmen t o do, so that England as a whole can
hardly be suffering from American competition ; in
fact it is quite possible that England profits by
American competition.
The English locomotive builder certainly does
not suffer from American competition, when with
work to keep his shops busy for two years he finds
a few stray orders booked in America, and, again,
the railroad buying the American locomctive profits
by the circumstance, because of time saved, if for
no other reason. An American tool shipped to
England may mean a loss to one English tool maker,
but England profits by its use. With American
shops filled with American orders, there will be
little disposition to compete for foreign trade.
"Necessity " coupled with "Ambit.ion " h~s
played an important part in the development of
American industries.
The early English settlers immigrating to America
found themselves on the coast of New England face
to face with a rigorous climate and the "necessity "
for self-preservation. New England so settled
produces the largest percentage of successful inventors. Had the same people located on the coast
of Florida there would have been no such '' necessity, , the climate would have dulled their ambition.
_
_ _
* See pages 347, 379, 413, 445, 479, 515, 549, 583, 617.
647, 677, 713, 743, 777, and 813 of vol. lxvui., and pages 12!
and 40 ante.
- -No. XIX.
By W. J. KEEP, Superintendent, the
Michigan Stove Company, Detroit, Mich ., U. S.A.
IN stoves, as in any other article produced from
iron or steel in this count ry, it is a well-known
fact that n o country in the world produces articles
finished to such a high degree of excellence as those
made in the United States. The main r eason ~or
this is that our goods are finished by high-priced
workm.en who tak.e a prid~ in turning out goods
t hat w1ll be a credit to their shops, and, furthermore, the systems cf inspection prevailino- in
American factories are so rigid that imperfect ; ork
is rarely allowed t o pass.
Owing to the rapid. increase in population, the
home market for American stoves is enorn1ous and
littl~ effort ha~ been made to demonstrate to p~ople
?uts1de A;meriCa that they are superior to all ot.hers
1n op eration, economy, and appearance.
Ord.e~s from a?road come unsolicited, and large
q uantities are sh1pped, showing that we can control
the stove trade of many countries if we make an
77
...
'
E N G I N E E R I N G.
12-IN.
COAST-DE:FENCE GUN
AND
[JAN. I9,
1900.
ro.
FIG. 688 . .,
design. On an average an entirely new design l
appears about every three years. 'l'he castings are
very smooth and perfe~t on account of the high
grade of the iron and t he s uperior quality of moulding sand used.
P opulcwity of American Stoves Ab~roacl. -Canadian
manufacturers have contracts with manufacturer.s
---------------------- 1800
in the United States to take duplicate patterns of
all of their new stoves as fast as completed, to be
~-------- --- ----- --- - - - - - - - - - - -Z 120 -------------------------------------)1I
used as patterns to make stoves from ; but they
have never taken a single set of patterns made in
any other country. American s toves have been
used as patterns in S cotland and in Germa.ny; but
there has neYer been a case where a manufacturer
in the United States has used, or has imitated, a
stove or range made in any other co untry. A good
thing will be imitated.
F reight Rates.- Under the present prevailing conditions, good~ can be freighted about as cheaply
from New York, to almost any foreign market, as The slide is of cast steel, and consists of two by m eans of a small pump fitted to the bolster
they can from Liverpool or London. From our cheeks stayed in front and strongly bolted on the and worked by two handwheels on each side of
lack of banking facilities, all American exporters bolster. The latter is of cast steel ; in its centre the mounting. 'l,he pump draws the liquid from
are obliged to pay the English bankers a profit of is t he pi,ot-ho using, and underneath is a circular t he r ecoil cylinders through a conduit in the rods,
from i to 1 per cent. Still, this charge does not r oller path. The transom is also of cast steel, pro- and delivers it in the running-in cylinder through
cut much figure in the general result. Owing t o vided with a pivot lined with gun metal, and is a passage in the plunger.
the proximity of coal and iron fields, and the vast made with a circular racer ; the transom is b olted
Elevation ranges from - 7 deg. to + 20 deg. A
supply, we are able to produce goods made from on the elevator platform. The series of r ollers toothed sector fitted to the gun acts in conj unction
iron and steel as cheaply, when Y. ua.lity is taken placed between the bolster and the platform, con- with a pinion j oined through a fri ction cone, to an
into account, as any na tion on the face of the globe. sis ts of 24 forged- steel conical r ollers, joined endless screw ; B elleviJle springs allow a certain
The high wages we pay are off. set by the prices at together hy two rings. The two r ecoil cylinders amount of play between the various parts t o
which we can purchase our raw material, and th e and the cylinder for running in the gun are cast counteract violent shocks. The handwheel fur
appliances which we use to facilitate product.ion. in one piece with t he moun ting ; they are lined giving the required elevation do not follow the
'Vhen one r eflects that we h(we been able to export with gun m etal. The two r ecoil piston -rods ar e recoil, and can act whatever be the position of the
to Great Britain anu Europe all kinds of iron and fixed to two shoulder s in the rear of t h e cheeks ; gun, by working a square shaft, on which slides a
steel materials, from pig iron up to axes and door the plunger for r unning in the g un is joined to the conical pinion carried by the mounting. The gun
locks, it will be seen that our position in point of slide s tay-piece. The recoil cylinders are made is trained through a pinion fitted t o t he bolster, and
cheap manufacturing is uns urpassed by that of any with constant resistance. During r ecoil, the liq uid which engages a circular rack fixed to the transom.
other manufacturing nation, and that in normal flows from the front to the rear of t he pis ton The pinion is worked by a set of wheels and an
times we can beat the world in our prices, the same through two openings, which are partly blocked up endless screw, the latter being driven by two cranks
by two rods fixed to both ends of the cylinder. keyed on the same shaft and placed near the hande.s we do in the qualit y and finish of our goods.
The section of these rods at various parts of their wheels for elevating the gun. Cramps in the front
length is so designed that the free opening for t he and rear of the bolster clasp a ridge on the transom,
1
flowing of t he liq uid varies wi th t he r ecoil speed, and prevent the raising of the mounting.
l\IESSR~. SCH NEIDER AND CO '
the
r
esistance to the flow beiog const :l.nt (Figs. 689
WORKS AT CREU, '01'.
o. LXXV I.
to 691). The volume of liq uid, which corresponds
'OCIETY O:B,
THE Al\IERICA
12-IN. CoAST-DEFENCE GoN AND M ouNTING.
to that of the r ods, when driven from the cylinders,
~I ECHANICAL E GI NEEH, '.
THIS m oun t ing is fitted on an eleva tor, and dis- flows thro ugh two pipes cmd a valve chest in the
appears in a pit for loading the gun. The dis- cylinder for running in the gun, and tills exactly
(BY ouR NE'\ Y oRK CoRRESPONDENT.)
appearing action cai?- only !ake place when. t he g un the Yoid caused by t he withdrawal of the pl unger.
(Co ntinued from. page 47.)
is run in, and a speCial devtce has been destg ned to The valve chest is arranged in such a way that the
GASoLIN}; GA FOR BoiLER H EATING.
maintain it in that posit.ion after firing, and to run liquid passes in t he running-in cylinder after
THE nex t morning the session opened with a
raising a valve, and can only return in the r ecoil paper enti tled, "Experiments on U sing Gasoline
it out again after it has been loaded and raised.
The mounting (Figs. 688 to 696 on t h e presen t and cylinders through a vent, t he opening of which is Gas for Boiler H eat ing," by H erman Poole. The
opposite pages) i~ cent.ral ~ivoting, with inclii?-ed regulated by a rod which is worked from a handle results of this arc given below :
slides and hydrauhc r ecOil cyhoder, the return ta.kmg placed on the side of the mounting. If the rod is
The quantity of gasoline used was 35 gallons, costing
place by gravity. The carriage is of cast steel, and is driven h ome in the vent, t he gun r emains run in, 10 cents per gallon. This generated 1000 lb. of steam at
made to c~rry the gun on its trunnions ; it is fitted and it runs out quicker t he more the rod is raised. 60 lb. pressure, equivalent to 1211 lb. evaporated from,
with forged-steel r ollers, which run on th e slide. The manc.euvre for runnin g in the g un is effected and a t, 212 deg. It was intended to have a fllll time
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E N G I N E E R I N G.
4,550,000
FRICTION OF STEAM
100.0
p ACKI NGS.
This was followed by "Friction of Steam Packings," by C. H. Benja min, d etailing a series of experiments sh owing the extent o f loss from th;s
cause. After d escribin g t h e apparatus at leng th,
the author said :
The routine of each trial was about as follows: The
apparatus was first tested em pty of packing to determine
friction. The packing was then inserted and adj usted in
each end, according to direction~, and the steam t urned
on. The very least pressure which would prevent leakage was used on the gland nuts. The pnckmg was then
te.ited under various steam pressures, each run lasting
from 15 to 40 minutes. The nuts were then tightened to
various pressur~, and other sets of readil!gs taken.
Cylinder oil was next applied_to the rod, the only lubrication in the tests so far having been that contained in
the packing itself. Finally, a last run was made with
the boxes empty, as a t first. A Flather recording dyna.mometer was used on a. few of the runs, so as to d eter mine the nature of the variations in power. The majority
of the tests were made with a W ebber box gear dynamometer, readings being t aken at short intervals and
averaged.
S even teen kin ds of packing were t ested ; as we
h ave publish ed t his p ap er (see page 67 ante), we
shall not de vote space to it on t his occasion.
T EsTs OF L ocoMoTIVE SLIDE V.ALVES.
The next paper was entitled "Friction T ests of
a L ocomotive Slide Valve," by F. C. " ' agn er.
The following is a brief account of t h is :
rhe changes made upon the locomotive to adapt it to
the tests were as follows: The steam valve on one side
was disconnected and blocked in middle position, so that
no steam could enter the cylinder on that side. The locomotive was moved on the track until the piston on the
other sicie was approximately in the middle of its stroke,
and then the roam drivers were securely blocked. A t the
same time the crosshead was also blocked. The bftck-up
eccentricrod was then disconnected, and an extensionpiece was bolted to t he link for the purpos~ o.f connect~n g
with an external so~rce of power for dnvm~ th ~ lmk
motion and through 1t the valve. The power m th1s case
wa3 fu;nished by an electric railway motor of 15 horsepower. On the end of the electric motor shaft was keyed
a forged crank, wit h a 1~in . .steel cran~pin. .The P.in
worked in a link block, whtch, m turn, shpped m a SUitable slot cut in the extension piece to the main link. By
this arrangement the forward eccen t ric. rod pin SArved as
a ful crum for the link, and a. reciprocating motion was
imparted to the link by the electric m~tor through the
medium of the crank and slot. The hnk block of the
locomotive mechanism was left in place, and imparted
mo ion to the valve in the usual way. The movement
of the val ve could be regulated slightly by raising or
loweri ng the link. Additional regulation of the amount
of steam admitted to t he cylinder was obtained by openng and clo3ing the throttle. Indicators were connected
F R t CTION
[JAN. I 9, I 900.
steam chest was substantially a straight line, showing
that with the valve speeds used, a constant pressure was
maintained in the steam chest. One interesting point
disclosed by the indicator diagrams, is the time required
for the opening or closing of th e ports to make it.c;elf felt
upon the pressure in the cylinder. The distance on the
indicator diagram between cJosing to steam and opening
to exhaust, should be equal tL' the sum of the steam and
E:xhaust laps, that i~, 1 in. The distances upon the
diagrams vary from 1! in. to 1g in., showing an appreciable lag between the actual closing and openiog of the
ports and the corresponding points on the mdic;a.tor diag-ram. I t is to be kept in mind. however, that these
mdicator diagrams correspond with the motion of the
val v~, and not, as in the ordinary diagram, with the
motion of the engine piston. and alao that the piston
remained stationary a.t the middle of its stroke.
I t was obj ected in the discussion that as t he
cylinder pressu r e is absent, t he working conditions
h ad n ot been fairly presented, and t hat t he total
Fig.4.
~m Steam~ Otes~:~.
---------------~----------~------------
TEST N t? 2 .
.BoilerP~
(SZf/8J
81
E N G I NE E RI N G.
located around where the segment was bolted to
the arms.
There was a consultation of experts, and the
suggestion adopted was : "That the tie rods take
h old fur ther from the edge of the plates than was
shown in the design. " In respect to the repairs
the author said :
It wag determined to fasten the s~gments to the hub of
wheel by mea.ns of flat steel plates i in. thick, one bolted
on each side of the flange where the segments a.re connected, and by two iron tie rods with turn-buckles and
triangular plates fitt ed over the heads and nuts ~f the
bolts binding the arms to the hub. To get a complete
metal bearing on the tie rods from the hub to the rim,
the bolts were removed from the segment flangP. one
plate laid to its place, and the holes marked on it 1 ~ in.
m diameter. The holes through the steel plate wore to
be only 1~ in. in dia.meter, and were not drilled in the
8.
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FLYWHEEL D ESIGN.
concern1ng :
( n) The power developed.
(b) The gas consumed.
(c) The speed regulation.
(d) Incidental, as
1. Heat given to jackets.
2. Temperature of exhaust.
The author stated, three important conclusions
were derived :
.
1. That the proportion of gas to a ir is a very
important factor in fuel economy.
2. That one test at a light, and one test at a
heavy, load would serve to locate the line, from
which a quite approximate prediction could be
made of the gas consumption under intermediate
loads.
3. That these considerations hold for the fu el
consumption per brake horse-power hour and per
electrical h orse-power h our.
This paper, and the following, we shall ~hort1 y
publish.
STRENGTH OF STEEL BALLS.
'
1,000,000
in ., wbile the
~.'-~.ooo in.
E xcuBSION.
The Waldorf A storia being quite convenient., a
number of members of the Society inspected its
power plant. This is, in general, as follows:
There are in all 25,200 electric lights.
There
are six Allis-Corliss engines and 12 BabcockWilcox boilers. The r efrigerating plant consists
of t hree 50- ton machines, and there are 200 ~enti
lating fans and 34 elevators. One hundred and
fifty tons of coal per day is used, and the force in
the engine and fire rooms is about 150 h orse-power.
'fhe v~itors were shown around, and every courtesy
extended to them ; they all were greatly pleased at
the exhibit. The great reception at Sherry's closed
this day, and was very largely attended.
(To be cont inued.)
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JAN. I 9, I 900.]
E N G I N E E R I N G.
FOR
BOGIE
ORE
IRON
50-TON
, ~'
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--- ------------
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THE
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RAILWAY.
CALEDONIAN
------------------------- ------------
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delay making up trains or car loade until goods to fill
them are forthcoming. This is an unanswerable argument. The same holds good as to produce from the
English counties. A great outcry is made because
one farmer's basket of eggs or barrel of apples is not
sent forward as cheaply as a 20 or 30 ton consignment
of the same produce from a Continental source, forgetful that bulk is the cause of the differential rate.
Were growers to combine to fill a truck the same bulk
rates would be possi ble. With mineral traffic the
railway companies and traders are not exerting
themselves as they might. We say traders, for in this
~ountry many of the coal wagons are owned by them
and not by the railway companies, a system which
creates great difficulties. Where coal is to be sent
from the mine or iron ore from the port to large
continuous users there seems no reason why the same
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by 7~ in.
E N G I N E E R I N G.
SHIPBUILDING AND MARINE
ENGINEERING IN 1899.
(Concluded frout page 50.)
As was indicated by the diagram given on page 29
ante, the Clyde last year added 20,000 tons to the phenomenally large production of 1898, when there was a
great increase due to the shortage of tonnage in 1897
owing to the engineering dispute. The total for that
unfortunate year was 341,817 tons; in 1898 it leaped
up to 473,~14 tons; and last year it was 493,793 tons.
The question as to whether it will touch the half
~illion this year, is one that greatly interests ClydeBid~rs ; and although ma~ufacturers in every branch
of Industry look for a filhp from the conclusion of the
w ar, there are some, whose opinions are not to be
de.spised, shaking. their h~ads a nd doubting. Certa.mly the producmg capa.e1ty of the Clyde di strict
was la~t year severely taxed, for the total is 70,000
tons higher than the former best figure, recorded in
1883. The number of vessels making up this total
of 4~3, 793 tons is 348, as compared with 339 in the
previous year, from which it will be appreciated that
there were~ large number of craft of small dimensions
beyond the purview of Lloyd's Registry. We r epeat
this, mentioned in connection with other districts,
not~bly the miscellaneous ports of England, in explanatiOn of the fact that Lloyd's figures, issued this
week, show a total for the United Kingdom of 170,000
tons less than our aggregate, while their Clyde total is
about 30,000 tons less. Their total number of vessels
for the kingdom is 726, excluding warships, ours 1271,
for all of which we have returns from builders; and
while the " estimated " tonnage ghen by some builders
may exceed the ultimate r esult of the measurement on
behalf of Lloyd's, it may be taken that the difference
ndica.ted in the aggregate is due rather to the inclusion
of small vesself', t ha o to discrepancies.
Thus, on the Cls de, to revert to our analyses of the
r eturns sent to us by builders, there were launched
206 vessels und~r 500 tons, many of them under 50
tons, leaving 142 deep-sea. craft ; and of these latter
29 were between 500 and 1000 tons, 32 were hetween
1000 and 2000 ton s, 15 betwe en 2000 and 3000 tons,
30 between 3000 and 4000 tons, 12 from 4000 t o 5000
tons, seven from 5000 to 6000 tons, and 17 were over
this measurement. Of the larger ships the Cly d ebank,
Fairfield, and Denny yards provide nearly all. They
include the Japanese battleship Asa.hi, of 15,200 tons,
the British armoured cruiser Sutlej, of 14,000 tons,
and the Cunard liner Saxonia, by the first-name d; the
armoured cruiser Cressy, of 14,000 tons, and the South
African liners Kinfaun s Castle and Kildouan Castle
from the Fairfield Works, while Messrs. Deony built
the Allan liner Bavarian and Messrs. Connell and Co.
the Custodian. All these were oYer 9000 t ons. A feature of the year was again the number of twin-screw
steamers-24, most of them of large size, and one or
two for firms who have up till now maintained the
singlescrew system, whereas last year the number
was only nine.
As to the shi ps built there were few vessels of outstanding importance in respect of speed. We exclude
of course warships, but of the others the two Castle
l iners named, a P. and 0. steamer by Caird, the
Allao liner by Denny, and one or two Channel steamers
by the last-named builder and Messrs. Inglis, claim
notice.
The same holds good as regards paddle
steamers, of which each year has usually had some
notable example. Last year eight only were built, the
only notable one being the Waverley for the Clyde,
and the Duchess of Fife for the south coast, built
1espectively at Messrs. Inglis' and Clydebank. Sternwheel steamers were in brisk favour during the
year, and the tonnage of the seven vessels launched
was fully double that reported in last year's returns. Renfrew and Paisley yards ha.V'e been fairly
busy with dredging plant, twenty dredgers and
hoppers having been built, against twenty-nine in the
previous year, with the total of 17,126 tons, as compared with 17,522 tons. In barges and lighters there
is a. considerable increase this year, t he total of 14,789
tons showing an advance of fully 10,000 tons. Only
twenty-seYen trawlers and fish carriers were turned
out during the twelve months, as compared with
nearly double that numb.e r a year ago, the nort~
east ports in England havmg been very su ccessful m
their competition with Clyde builder3. There was
also a comparati vely restri cted market for steam
yachts and lauu.ches, .of which twelve of 1752 tor:ts
were built, agamst six teen of 4920 tons. No big
boats were built for American millionaires. The
chief vessels floated were the Mingary, 640 tons,
for Mr. C. D. Rudd, Shielbridge ; the Katoomba,
469 ton~ for Mr. K. ~f. Clark, Paisley ; and the
Lutra SOO tons, for Lord Poltalloch.
In racing
yacht~ the feature was the building of the Gleniffer, a
schooner of 317 tons, owned by Mr. James Coats,
whose rac ing flag ha.s been sported on several famous
cutters the Gleniffer is the largest schooner yacht
afloat. 'The other yachts launched-there were in all
nineteen of 645 tons- were mostly of small size, fi ve
of them being 20 ton craft. And this brings us to the
[JAN. I 9,
I 900.
Nnm e of Firm.
I ! 9~.
1806.
--
I.li.P. I.II.P.
John Brown and Co., Limited,
Clydebank
..
..
.
Fairfield Company, Limited,
Govan . .
..
..
..
Denny and Co. , Dumbarton ..
D. Rowan and Co., Glasgow
Muir and Houston, Olafgow*
R. Napier and Sons, Limited,
Glasgow
..
..
..
Hall-Brown, Buttery, and Co.,
Govan . .
..
..
..
Dunsmuir & Jackson, Govan
Barclay, Cur le, and Co., Ltd.,
Glasgow . .
..
..
..
Scott and Co., Gr eenock
..
Rankin and Blackmore, Greenock* . .
..
..
..
A. Stephen and Sons . .
..
Dlackwood and Gordon
..
J. G. Kincaid and Co.
..
D. and W. Hende1aon and Co.
Caird and Oo., Limitd
..
A. and J . Inglis . .
..
..
llutson and Sons
..
..
London and Glasgow Com pany, Limited
..
..
Ross and Duncan*
..
..
Wm. Simons and Co., Limited
Bow, M'Lacblan, & Co. , Paisley
Lobnitz and Co., Limited
..
Mcl{ie and Baxter, Govan* . .
Fleming and Ferguson, Ltd. . .
D. J. Dunlop and Co. . .
..
Shanks, Anderson, and Co.
Glasgow*
..
..
..
W. V. V. Lidger wood, Coat-,
bridge ..
..
..
..
Camp bell and Calderwood . .
Fisher and Co. . .
..
.
Ri tchie, Graham, and Milne . .
Lees, Anderson, and Co.
..
Alley and MacLellan . .
..
1897.
J. H.-P. J.H.P,
I 53,480
72,300
55,300
50,860
51,650
35,700
29 600
24:700
74,300
30,1 20
17,050
22,800
39,200
40,500
16,100
20, 200
36,650
44 ,000
18,500
14,t:OO
10,3f0
10,100
18 000
15,562
12,045
21,200
7,450
22, 05(1
4,125
14,265
14,098
13,950
15,733
27,500
14,300
1,000
16,500
15,000
13,750
13, 282
13,000
12,980
12,700
12,500
ll ,200
10,600
9,200
12,700
8,600
11,390
12, 600
21,4 00
10,800
16,000
10,100
s,eoo
5,190
25,:80
6,000
8,E 0
20,360
22,600
11,820
4,400
10,100
10,070
9,705
9,550
8,3&0
7,825
5,820
13,900
13, 250
10,tl50
17,720
12,580
4,820
6,800
3,000
6,050
7,000
! 0,600
6,960
9,325
1 ,8 j0
8,300
1,500
28,160
10,755
9,125
12,0 0
12,850
570
9,':'00
5,100
4,1SO
1,900
1,795
3,050
2,3l)O
2,085
1,620
1,500
400
2,595
840
7,i00
1,(.05
1,630
100
12,600
6,t.OO
11,740
15,000
20,000
4,600
-1:>20
1,505
000
20,820
20,350
4,1.00
] AN. I 9, I 900.]
..
E N G I N E E R I N G.
ss
by
86
E N G I N E E R I N G.
CREEPING
RAILS
ON
THE
[JAN. I 9, I900.
ST.
LOUIS
BRIDGE.
-A,
,---------r.i"----------'fl,~,"-- -----10 -6-- -------------- ,---------- ---- ~
c: :]
rhl-+--- --~r--
r--------------------s-~__o_o_~_"_~~a~xt,~Py~~--~~-"~~~~~~~~~--------~~-8_''i_:p__an_.,~-~~~--~~--~~-~-~-~-~!~~J-~-=-~~-~-~~~~~~~Sl~id~in~g~~~a.n~~-~--------------------.
';
'
\ "
\. --~.~
11 I OJl
l~loll
I1
1 - ~
o
:I
'
'
2 6 Bend
Set. Screw
.~
with
I
I
I
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I
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o l)
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lllc c
rorc
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IPicl
D --- 2 0- ---I
- I
, -~
Ran .
L en.vewun Base1 on outside of Poi nt .
P.}J:in e Top 8 Side Point Planiug
'- Sliding
'-+-l - _ __
L_j_
R~l
----2 11 '
I
Plane ijase o n inside cu~rd
Il
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.t;. - - - -------------------~--------------------------->J
Plan.
Pcg.3.
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.r
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ll o
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t.
2>1
<P
Wrought. Iron
serv1ce.
This firm has four vessels of 9740 tons on
hand.
The trade in Aberdeen has been exceptionally busy,
the total being swelled by a 4508-ton and a 2983-ton
steamer built by Messrs. Hall, Russell, and Co. for
local owners. The other vessels built at Aberdeen
were steam trawlers, without exception, and the
totals for all the firms are given in the Tab]e on the
preceding page.
IRELAND.
The two Belfast firms continue to produce ships
with a rapidity which surprises even shipbuilders,
and seems to suggest that there is in Ireland nothing
indigenous which precludes successful industrial pursuits. The success of Messrs. Workman, Clark, and
Co.'s establishment is only excelled by that of Messrs.
Harland and Wolff; and for the past year they have
produced together over 127,000 tons of new shipping,
the latter firm topping the list for the kingdom, and
the former occupying fifth place. Messrs. Harland and
W olff's record for several years is a striking one :
Section c.-
steamers, bring ing the power up to 29,950 indicated the east approach trestle, where one of the~e devices is
horse-power. The figures appended for some years pub on each track. Rails placed in the creeping adjustment at the east end of the west-bound track, go through
back are interesting :
the straight track around a 5 deg. 45 min. curve, 340 ft.
1894.
1895.
1896. 1897.
1898.
1899.
long, and out again on a tangent, until taken out at the
32,453 43,723 38,440 24,743 53,475
45,01 8
Tons . .
west end of this section of track.
I.H.P...
16,100 32,520
29,950
"We endeavoured to find the relation between the
The company have only in recent years undertaken creeping of track and the amount of tonnage hauled over
the building of engines. Messrs. M'Coll and Co., or the number of trains, to try and find some key to the
Limited, built a small ferry steamer of 35 tons and pet liar performance, b ut have not been able to. as yet.
30 indicated horse-power, a 120-ton sail-boat1 and The fact remains that the rails creep from 30 fb. to 60ft.
machinery of 150 indicated horse-power for a s teamer per month, or from 1 ft. to 2 ft. per day, so that a rail
built by the Larne Shipbuilding Company-all these creeps across the bridge in from 28 to 56 days. It gives
craft being for local owners. The yard at Londonderry, one a kind of " creepy'' feeling, but t he facts stand, and
long vacant, has been reopened by the Londonderry explanations are in order."
Shipbuilding and Engineering Co., Ltd., with Mr. W.
H. deRusett as managing director. They have launched
SOUTH AFRICAN BRIDGE REPAIRING.-A quantity of
their first vessel, the Parkside, a steamer of 3766 tons, bridge
work ordered by the War Office from Messrs. Head,
for :iY.Iessrs. Mac Vicar, Marshall, and Co. , Liverpool, Wrightson, and Co., of Thornaby-on-Tees, for the pursupplied with engines of 1400 indicated horse-power by pose of repairing structures destroyed in the course of the
Messrs. Dunsmuir and J ackson, Go van. The company war, is bemg delayed in deli very owing to an unfortunate
have two steamers on hand, one for H oulder's Line accident to the transport Pondo which conveyed it from
and t be other for Messrs. Elder, Dempster, and Co. the Tees. Durin~ a severe storm most of the girders,
The Channel Company at Queenstown bui1t no ne'v some of which wetgh 10 tons, broke loose, and besides
vessels, but state that they were busier with repairs endangering the safety of the ship, were seriously
than usual. The longest British sailing ship and a damaged. On the vessel arriving in London, the girders
large oil tanker have been more than half r ebuilt were unshipped for inspection, and the most seriously
were sent back to Thorna.by. Messrs. Head,
in their docks, and they have in hand the build- damaged
Wrightson, and Co., have been making every effort to
ing of five-eighths of the length of a steamer 's hull to deliver fresh girders.
l.Je connected to the existing after portion of the
vessel in their dry dock in a manner similar to the
GoLo.- The war in the Transvaal is seriously affecting
method adopted with the Milwaukee, recently r ebuilt the deliveries of gold from South Africa., the total which
on the River Tyne.
came to hand in December being only 15,920l., as com
pared with 1,233,598l. in December, 1898, and 1,505,&70l.
in December. 1897. The receipts of gold from all quarters
CREEPING RAILS ON THE EADS BRIDGE. in December were 1,998,422l., as compared with 2,253,187l.
We quote the following from our contemporary Loco- in December, 1898, and 2, 589,346l. in December, 1897.
motive Enginee'ring :
The aggregate imports of gold from all quarters last year
" One of the 'fishiest' soundin~ stories we have run were 32,533,497l., as compared with 43,722,960l. in 1898
across lately is the creeping of ralls on the Eads Bridge and 30,808,858l. in 1897. In these totals the three goldacross the Mississippi, and yet, strange to say, it is borne producing districts figured as follows: South Africa.,
oub by facts and statements that cannot be dtsputed.
16,014,631l., as compared with 16,768,997l. and 13,621,336l.;
" Through the kindness of Mr. N. W. Eayrs, we are British India, 1, 725,563l., as compared with 1,656, 135t.
able to show the creeping points which are used to take and 1,496,614l.; and .Australasia, 5,065,630l., as com
care of this and not dlSturb traffic. This is so clear as to pared with 7,566,249l. and 10,604,052l. As regards
need practically no explanation, the rails from the bridge the general movement of gold last year, the largest
simply creeping off and past the points, which are deliveries to this country were made by Germany,
securely fastened to the solid approaches at the ends. 2,396, 790; H olland, 1,403,838l. ; France, 1,840,646l. ;
At the other or rear end (counting the direction of traffic) the United States, 2,379,046l.; and South America and
extra rails are fastened on, and are dragged through and the West Indies, 1, 141, 652l. The exports of gold from
into position by the creep of the rails.
the United Kingdom in December amounted to 1, 455, 915l.,
" When a complete rail-length has been worked through as compared with 4,458. 509l. in December, 1898, and
they add another at the tail of the procession, and take 2,490.080l. in December, 1897. The exports for the
off the one which has crept through. This one is trans- whole of last year were 21,536,062l. , as compared with
ferred to the other track and immediately starts back.
36,590,0601. in 1898, and 30,808,571l. in 1897. There was
''There are four of these devices on the bridge, one for a large increase in the exports of gold to South Africa
each end of each track. These take up the motion of the last year, in consequence, no doubt, of the war; the total
track over the bridge, a. distance of 1700 ft. At the east forwarded was 4,225,554l. The quantity of gold forend is a double crossover, which is also protected against warded to Germany last year was 4,420,873l.; to South
creep by a pa.ir of these devices, one on each track. East America and the West I~!dies, 2,822,415l.; and to JJriti. h
600
HORSE-POWER
BLAST-FURNACE
GAS
MOTOR
AND
BLOWING
ENGINE.
SERAI NG.
>
"'
2!
\....0
\.0
I
0
0
t'I1
()
.........
z
t'I1
t'I1
?0
.........
()
-::::-....-;;;;iii..;::J
... ~:tr.~F----------J7f..__
. . . - ...._..,~~~ . -
'
'
. . ..
--;;-: "
~......,.._........._
.....
11 oo
~
88
E N G I N E E R I N G.
~ounted on t~e cran~shaft, the weight being m~ke and with the consumption of pig iron.
Makers'
pnces. are, generally speaking, easier all round.
Amencan reports are steady, but the general consensus of opinion seems to be that no immediate advance in pnces need be looked for on the other side.
On the other hand, high freights are hindering all
attempts to sell at present prices for export. The furnaces that were dam pf:'d down are again in blast, there
being 83 in active operation, as against 82 at this time
last year. The stock of pig iron in Messrs. Connal and
Co.'s public warrant stores stood at 237,620 tons yesterday afternoon, against 240,886 tons yf'.sterday week, thus
showing a reduction amounting to 3266 tons for th e past
week.
F inh;hcd Iron a:nd Steel.- The market for shipbuilding
steel is steady, the quotation for plates bei ng from 8l. to
8l. 10s. per ton, less 5 per cent., d elivered on the Clyde;
but there is not much fresh business d oing.
teel rails
are in dull demand, with a great absence of fresh inquiries. Finished iron is s till in brisk demand.
Sulpha te of A.'mmonia.-The market for this commodity
is very firm, the spot price being lll. 7s. 6d. to lll. 103.
per ton f.o.b. L eith or f.a.s. Glasgow. For forward deli~ery-January to June-the price is lll . 10s.
[J AN. I 9, I 900.
gaining more ~ts normal c_ondition. Strong pressure,
however, contmues to extst for all classes of coal.
Manufacturers are without stocks, and are still dependent on daily supplies, a state of affairs which
does not tend to a healthy condition of trade. Several
collieries have further advanced their prices during
the week, and the demand for manufacturing fuel
and all kinds of common coal is very heavy. With regard
to domestic fuel a large number of orders which were
placed before Christmas are s till on the books, but supplies are steadily increasing and arrears are being gradually wiped off. Prices have been ad vanci ng for some time
past, but local merchantd have not put up rates to the
proportional extenb that has occurred in London. The
large consumption of small coal, slack, and smud ge hy
coke-makers is causing a great carcity in engine fuel, and
values are in some instances double what they were a. few
months ago. The export trade is brisk for the season. of
the year, all the Humber ports taking a large tonnage.
E N G I N E E R I N G.
upon their shares, would come to a percentage of a little
over double the amount of the percentage to which the
preferred shares would be eutitled in excess of their 6 per
cent. The directors had determined to adopt the policy of
building up a. strong reserve fund . They would soon be
in a. position to take full advantage of the producing power
of their new plate-rolling mills, which, be might venture
to say, were unequalled in the kingdom, but bad never
yet been worked to their full capacity on account of
the insufficient supply of steel ingots from their ten
open-hearth furnaces. The drawback was now being
remedied by the approaching completion of three
new 50-ton furnaces, one of which, bad been at
work several weeks. Dividend warrants at the rate of
6 per cent. per annum, calculated from the respective
dates of payment cf the instalments on the preferred
ordinary shares to December 31, would be payable on
February 1.
MISCELLANEA.
T BE Pioneer relates a curious incident of the late
drought in the Bombay Presidency, during which it
states the telegraph wire insulators near the sea became
so coated with salt that they bad to be scraped before
proper insulation could be restored.
. F rom data collected for R yland's Iron Trade Circula'r,
It appears that the number of furnaces in blast throughout tbe U nited Kingdom numbered 402 on December 31
last! being an increase of one on the returns for the precedmg quarter. Five furnaces are now building; whilst
24 are being rebuilt.
. Strikes and lock-outs in Sweden during 1899 amounted
lD the aggregate to 62, against 134 in 1898, and the number of men implicated in these stoppages was only 8667,
against 15,700 the previous year.
4n address on "Foreign Competition in J apan " was
deh ':ered b~fore a meeting of the Yorkshire Co1lege Engineenn~ SoCiety, on January 15 last, by Mr. E. E. Matheson, who called attention to the great efforts now being
made in the States to Eecure the largest share of the
Japanese trade.
The traffic receipts for the week ending January 7, on
33 of the principal lines of the U nited Kingdom,
a~ounted to 1, 503, 590l. , which was earned in 19,865~
miles. For the corresponding week in 1899, the receipts
of. the same lines amounted to 1,514, 766l. , with 19, 604~
miles open. There was thus a decrease of 11,176l. in the
receipts, and an increase of 261 ! in the mileage.
In their "Annual Trade Review, ' just issued, Messrs.
Boiling and Lowe, of 2, L aurence P ountney-bill, London,
E. C., remark that the rise in the Bank rate is likely to
~e prejudicial to tr9:ders generally. <?wing to the incr~ase
m the cost of matenals a larger workmg capital is needed,
and under present conditions a higher rate of interest
must be paid on this than hitherto.
Beech ..
Oak
Birch . .
Aspen ..
Willow
..
..
-.
..
Carbon.
Hydrogen.
49.89
60. 64
60.61
50.31
61.76
6 07
6.03
6.23
6.32
6.19
Oxygen . [ Nitrogen
4311
42 05
42.04
42. 39
4J.08
0.93
1.28
1 .12
0.98
fD
Q)
c
ce
bO
1::
1::
...
Cl!
Compound used
.. Fe 2 0 3
Aluminium r equired .. 0. 484
Heat developed, ca.ls. 3456
Heat consumed :
(a) For reduction . . 1796
(b) ,. melting slag
548
The ice-breaking steamer, which the town of Abo, in
(c) ,.
, metals 362
::s '
1-i
I s:3
....
Q)
Mo '1 0 :~
Mn0 2
g
0
--....en.
(.>
s0
...
,J:l
Q)
~
111
~
Q
='
Si0 2 Cr 2 0 3 WO"
0.656
4b84
0.492
3512
1.272
9082
0.520
3712
0. 29"
2099
2115
742
535
2000
1)50
535
7830
1439
435
2200
582
434
1100
32!
360
Finland, last winter received from the Howaldt Ship.. 2706 3392 I 3091
9704 3216 1784
yard, at Kiel, continues to do excellent work, and the Total beat used
entrance to Abo Harbour has again this winter been kept Excess to cover losses,
421
672
497
&c. . .
..
. . 750 1292
315
open. T he steamer is owned by a company, with a
capital of 200,000 marks. The State has given a subvention of 400,000 marks, to be repaid in 20 years, and the
Some really excellent re~ults have been obtained with
town defrays the annual expenseEl, about 50,000 marks.
the new turbo-alternators built by Messrs. C. A. Pareons
Co. for the Cambridge Electric Supply Company,
The twenty-eeventb annual dinnE.r of the Old Students and
Limited. Tenders being called on for a 500-kilowatt set,
of the Royal School of Mines is to be held on Friday, the
tender of Messrs. Parsons was much below that of
January 26, 1900, at the H otel Cecil. Mr. H. G. Graves, all other
firms,
and
they
were
further
prepared
to
Assoc. R .S.M., M.I. Min. Eng., who for eight years guarantee a lower steam consumption per kilowatt-hour
has acted as eecretary to the Dinner Competition, will than any of their competitors. Further, the space
on this occasion take the chair. Tickets can be obtained available at the existing Cambridge station was insuffion application to Mr. Hugh C. McNeill, 29, North cient to accommodate any one of the sets proposed by
Villas, Camden-square, London, N. W. The presentation other makers, so that bad one of the latter btcn adopted,
of a loving-cup to the chairman will be an item in the an increase in the size of the building would have been
proceedings.
necessary, whilst the room available was large enough
The " Metal Report for 1899," w hicb, according to cus- to take two of the Parsons sets. As tested at the makers'
tom, has just been published by Messrs. Stedman, Crow- works, the following figures were obtained :
ther, and Co., of 4, Lime-street, E.C., draws attention to
I
the phenomenal rise which has occurred in the values of Boiler pressure ..
127
145
140
139
..
lb
copper and tin. The price of the former metal was Vacuum . .
24.5
26.5
27. 5
..
. . iu. . 2i. 75
highest in April, when it reached 78l. per ton, bub even at Barometer
..
..
1 29.6
7029
4180
..
lb. 13,400 12,675
the close of the year it was quoted at 70l. per ton. Tin has Water per hour ..
526.4
256.1
124
698
..
shown even a greater rise in value. At the beginmng of Output in kilowatts . .
24. 1 I 27. 5
33.7
22.4
Water per kilowatt-hour
.
the year it was quoted at 87l. 7s. Gd. per t on, but rose Exciting
3.1
3.0
3.5
3.3
curren t
kilowatts
rapidly, until in September a price of 151l. was attained.
-Since then there has been a fall, the value being 112t. per
The condenser used was, it will be seen, not quite equal
ton on December 31.
to its work, the proper one have already been despatched
The Trade and N avjgation Returns for December to
Cambridge, but, nevertheless, an excellent efficiency
show exports amounting to 22,038,439l.,an increase of
1,060,031l., or 5 per cent., on the corresponding month of was attained.
Quite a respectable quantity of iron is, it would seem,
1898, the imports amounting to 40, 738,896l. , a. decrease of
4 625 890l., or 10.1 per cent. The value of the iron and still manufactured by the inhabitants of Madagascar,
steel ' exports was 2,618,825l., against 1,907,529l., an in- especially at the small town of Emyrne, where there are
crease of 37.2 per cent.; and of coal and coke exports 25 hearths engaged in the reduction of local ore. This
2, 204,457t., agamst 1,759, 031l., an increase of 25.3 per ore is obtaiuable of great richness, containing 65 to 75 per
cent. Exports for twelve months ended December 31 cent. of the metal, but owing to its hardness the workmen
amounted to 485,075,514~. , an increase of 14,696,931l., or prefer to use~ softer ore, containin~ less of the metal.
3.1 per cent.; imports to 264,660,647l., an increase of This soft ore IS crushed and washed m a stream of water,
31,301,407l., or 13.4 per cent.; and re-exports to the residue then remaining being very rich and free from
65,019,549l., an increase of 4,364,801l., or 7.1 per CP.nt. impurities. r.:fbis ore is then pla<?ed in a fu~ace 2 ~t. ~o
2ft. 3 in. in dtameter and 2ft. 6 m. to 3ft. high, wbtch IS
The German shipbuilding yards continue to. receive _an built mainly from the debris from a furnace used in a.
increasing number of orders for the construct10n of sh1ps previous melting, and is luted with clay inside. A hole near
of war for foreign Powers. During the year 1899 three the bottom serves for the escape of the slag, whilst a second
German firms-the Germania in Kiel, the Vulcan in on the opposite side admits a tuyere made of refractory
Stettin, and the Schichau in Danzig-bave been ~ngaged clay, which is c~mnected in t.um to two bellows. The cha~
in building three armoured and four torpedo cnnsers, as ing of furnace 1s started w1th a layer of charcoal, which
well as four torpedo-boat destroyers for the Russian is lighted, and this done, a charge of ore is added ; this is
Government. Eight small torpedo-boats have bee~ sup- followed by more charcoal, and this, again, by a second
plied to Japan, and the V ulcan yar~ last year bUilt the charge of ore, and so ~n un.t il the furnace is f~ll. ~be
Yakumo a cruiser of 9850 tons displacement for that ore is always placed m a rmg, the central portion bemg
Power. 'The Schichau yard is building. torpedo cruisers occupied entirely by a column of fuel. The total charge
for Italy. The Tamoyo, a . torpedo crUiser. <?f 1080 tons of a furnace is about 4 cwt., and the reduction takes
displacement, has ~en bUilt fo~ the Brazihan Govern- from seven to eight hou.rs, the return being a~ou~ 1i cwt.
ment in the Germama yard at K1el.
of metal which has still to be refined. ThLS IS accomA very neat little watch-shaped pocket revolution plisbed in a precisely similar ki~d of furnace where t~e
counter is now being_introquced by Messrs.. 0. Berend and masses of iron are heated to a bnght red, and the sc?na
Co Limited of Dunedm House, Basmghall-avenue and other impurities can then he expelled by hammermg,
E. C. The oo'dy of the counter is of oxidised gunmetal: the final forgmg being effected by a gans: of six me~-a
and the face is enamelled. The riJ?g for~s a g~a.rd for bellows man, a forge master, and four stnkers. The uon
the spindle, which, we may add, IS . proVIded with cap- thus made is sold at the rate of about 45s. per hundred
pieces suitable either f?r h?llow o_r po~nted centr~. The weight at the forge.
mstrument will count m etther duect10n of rotat10n, the
scale being numbered in one direct~on 'Yitb . red ~gures,
DURBAN. - Durban is now benefiting from an excellent
and in the other with black. The duect10n m whtch the
reading is to be taken is jndica~d by a red ?r black sector steady channel, the depth at the bar averaging 26 ft. at
being automatically moved bebmd a _hole p1erced tbroug_h high water. Sometimes there is a depth of 28 ft., and
the dial of the instrument. If red 1s seen through th1s recently the transport Armenian oame in with a draught
bole, the readings are to be made on the red fi~ures, and of 27ft.
============
,.
I
NEW
NORTH
P R. 0 M E N A D E,
WOLSTENHOL~IE,
J.
MR.
S H 0 RE,
BLACKPOOL.
\0
BOROUGH ENGINEER.
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E N G I N E E R I N G.
j AN . I 9, I 900.]
qo.
'
ADVERTISEMENTS.
The charge for ad ve rt~se m ents is t hrt:'e shilli?SS for . the first
fou r lines or under, and e1g h t pence for each addit 10nal bne. The
line averages seven words. Paymen t most accompan y all orders
for single ad vertisernen~, ot her wise t~eir inser tion can not be
guaran teed. Tenns for displayed ad':'er ttsemcn ts ~m ~h e wrapp.er
and on the inside .pages. may be ~btamed on . application . . Senal
ad vertisemen ts w1ll be mser t.ed wtth a ll practicable regularity, but
absolute regularity cannot be guaranteed .
CONTENTS.
PAGE
PAGE
The Waterways of Russia . .
Transatla n tic Pa.c;sengers . . 93
Shore I mprovemen ts at
The Late M. Bourdelles
Blackpool (IUmtrated) . . 74
(Wi th P or trai t). . . . . . . . . . 93
The Standardisation of
The Workmen's Compensa
Screw Threads . . . . . . . . . . 75'
tion Act and t he Miners'
American Competit ion. F ed eration . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 94
Nos. XVIII. and XIX. .. .. 77 Notes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 95
Messrs. Schneider and Co.'s
The New J a paneEe De
Works at Creusot. - No.
stroyers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 96
LXXVI . (fllustrated) :. .. . 78 Notes from t he United
The American Society of
States . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 96
Mechanical E ng ineers ( I lRoyal Meteorological Solustrated) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 78
ciety . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 96
Fifty-Ton Bogie Wag ons for
The War in Sout h Africa . . 97
The R. E . Officers' List . . . . 97
t he Caled onian Railway
(1Uustrate4) . . . . . . . . . . . . 81 Veter an Locomotives . . . . . . 97
Shipbuildi ng and Marine
Naval Engineers . . _ . . . . . . 97
Engineering in 1899 . . . . . . 84 Purifying Water . . . . . . . . . . 98
Varying Weigh t on Locomo
Creeping Rails on t he Eads
Bndge (l llus.) . . . . . . . . . . 86
tive Dri ving Wh eels . . . . 98
600 Horse-Power Blast F urMotor Cars ..-. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 98
nace Gas lr!otor and BlowLaunches and Trial Trips . . 98
ing Engine (lllmtrated).. 87 Freight Locomotive for t he
Union Pacific R ailway (l l
Notes from the ~orth . . ... . 88
Notes from South Yorkshire 88
lustrated} . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 99
Notes from Cleveland and
Year Books a nd Annuals .. 100
the Northern Count ies . . 88 Books Received . . .... . .... 101
Notes from the Sout h-West 89 Indust rial Notes .. . ...... . 101
Miscellanea . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 89 Elec trical Installa tions on
Prevention of Acciden t s in
Battleships (fllu strated) 102
t he Ootton Trade . . . . . . . . 91 " Eng ineermg " Paten t ReCopper Production
and
cord (Illustrated) . . . . . . . . 107
Values . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 92
With a T wo-P age Engraving OJ a T EN WHE E L E D FRE I GH T
731
LOCOMOTIVE FOR T H E
WAY .
U)II ON P A CI FI C
ENGINEERING.
FRIDAY, JANUARY 19, 1900.
PREVENTION OF ACCIDENTS I N THE
COTTON TRADE.
92
that there shall be no danger between the guard
and the wheels.
3. That loose pulleys and strap forks be provided
for all machines.
4. That plate wheels, or wheels filled in, be sub
stituted, wherever possible, for exposed arm wheels
running at high speed; where this is impracticable the wheels should be guarded.
5. That exposed shaft ends be securely covered.
6. That all persons oiling mill gearing or otherwise employed near it, be supplied with and shall
wear close-fitting jerseys or boiler suits.
With most of these suggestions engineers will
h eartily agree. As regards t he first, no one can
deny that projecting set screws are 1nost dangerous ;
it is impossible to be in a mill or a workshop very
long wit hout seeing some narrow escape from a
nasty accident caused by them. It is only the
flimsiness of the fabrics worn by operatives that
saves them in many cases. Nevertheless, the
immediate removal of all set screws in cotton
mills would mean a very serious expense, for they
are often to be counted by thousands. The inspectors seem to suggest that, in certain instances,
the heads might be cut off, and screwdriver
gates made in the screws themselves, but this
method is only practicable for very light work ; a
screwdriver iR a very poor tool for tightening
machine screws. The proper way, of course, is to
thicken the boss, and form a deep recess in it for
the head of the screw, which is then turned by a
box key. This alteration cannot be made in
existing bosses, and involves new wheels and
pulleys. In some cases it can only be made by
extensive alterations in design, as many set screws
in cotton machines are awkward enough to get
at with an ordinary spanner, and could not be
reached with a box key. In regard to (2) the
covering of toothed wheels there can be no question.
They are too dangerous to be left open, and when
an accident occurs in connection with them it is
always serious. L oose pulleys and strap forks (3)
are generally provided now, the exceptions being
in the case of the lightest and the heaviest machines.
In regard to the former the maker doeR not alw~ys
know from which side they will be driven, and the
women grow skilful in manipulating the belt by
their hands; the practice is, however, not entirely
devoid of danger. In large machines it is the carding engines which are most frequently found without
strap forks, as t hese are often in the way when t he
cards are being ground. This is a difficulty which
can be overcome, and it ought to be, for evidently
it is running a very serious risk not to be able to
stop a machine except by throwing off the belt.
'Ve do not quite understand the objection (4) of the
inspectors to pulleys with arms. The arms are
usually well inside the rim, and at reasonably high
speeds they are no more likely to catch anything
than is a disc. At the same time, plate pulleys
are cheap enough in the smaller sizes, if they are
preferred for new work. The covering of exposed
shaft ends (5) has our hearty approval. They are
most dangerous, particularly if th_ey have keywa.ys
in them as they often have. It IS generally quite
easy to put guards over t hem, or it ought always to
b o done. The provision of tightly fitting garments
for those employed on or near mill gearing would
undoubtedly be a safeguard, b~t it would be un~air
to make the millowner responsible for them bemg
worn. When all projecting set screws and keys
have been covered, and all unauthorised persons
forbidden to deal with the gearing, the millowner
has done all that can be fairly expected from him.
In addition to these general recommendations,
the inspectors have a number of det~iled ones
referring to different types of maclunes ; but
these are mostly comprised within those. alr_eady
set forth. We notice, however, that they gtve Illustrations of a guard for keepin~ shuttl~s from flying
out of looms which they say 1s effechve, and does
n ot interfer~ with the work. It is the invention
of Mr. Henry Dawson, of Bolton, and if it fulfils
all that is claimed for it, will be of great value,
as a blow from a flying shuttle is bad enough to
bear on t he wrist or the ribs, while on the face it
not infrequently invol_ves the loss of. an eye. A
number of guards are Illustrated for d1fferent parts
of n1ules such as t he quadrant scroll and pinions,
the rim-band carrier, the draw-band pulley, the
scroll on t he back shaft, the faller stops, the back
of the headstocks, the scroll and pulley of th~
middle drawing-out band, and the carrjage wheels.
The inspectors have devoted a great _deal of
trouble to their task, and have added to then report
E N G I N E E R I N G.
a brief account of the various processes used in
cotton spinning, together with a large number of
illustrations of the machines. They might, however,
have found a great deal of valuable informat.ion
ready to hand if they had consulted the very
valuable volume published by the Society for the
Prevention of Accidents in Factories, of Mulhouse,
Alsace.* This book has always been of great use
to those anxious to minimise the risks run by
their workmen, but since the passing of t he \,Yorkmen's Compensation Act the need for such a publication has increased. It deals with motors, transmission and gearing, lifts and hoists, wood-working
machinery, cotton spinning, wool spinning, weaving, printing, dyeing and finishing, and miscellaneous industries. To illustrate the appliances
recommended, there are thirty-seven double plates,
printed in colours, each much larger than the
double plates found in ENGINEERING. Those devoted to cotton spinning comprise safety appliances
for beaters and openers, for battening machines,
for willows, for carding engines, for lapping engines,
for drawing frames, for combing machines, for
frames having flyers, for mules, and for ring frames.
All these are very fully illustrated, and although
there are doubtless other ways of attaining the
same results, yet the results put forward by a
philanthropic society comprising manufacturers of
very high 8tanding must command our respect.
The work has already attained a second edition,
and is well worth perusal by all users of machinery.
The responsiLilities of manufacturers under the
\Vorkmen's Compensation Act are so great that
considerations of expense no longer stand in the
way of alterations to secure safety. The provision
of a single life-pension to an injured workman will
often represent a capital sum sufficient to effect the
necessary changes in a number of machines, and it
is, therefore, good economy to take precautions in
time. If the recommendations of the inspectors
be not adopted, an accident in a cotton mill will
often be followed by an order to effect changes
which may extend to dozens of machines,
and this expense will be added to the amount of
compensation payable. Self-interest and humanity,
therefore, pull in the same direction. Cotton machines do not now enjoy the wonderful longevity
that they once did. The high speed at which they
run, and the constant improvements which are
made, render their use unremunerative in a few
years, and t hey have to be renewed. It should cost
very little more to obtain them fitted with all the
requisite safeguards by t he makers, and in future
this will, we trust, be always insisted upon.
VALUE~.
* "Collection of Appliances and AQparatus for the I>revention of Accidents in Factories." Thirty-seven Plate~,
with Explanatory Notes in French, German, and English.
London : Dulau and Co., 37,. oho s1uare. [12s.]
December 31, 1898, 27,896 tons, and on December 31, 1897, 31,955 tons. The statistics to the
15th inst. show a further contraction to 22,035 tons,
and a decrease of 782 tons on the fortnight. Supplies continue on an abnormal scale, a total of
11,305 tons being reported ; but deliveries are
also large, amounting to 11,737 tons, an excess of
432 tons which, with a further shipment of 350
tons to the United States, accounts for the fall in
the quantity of metal in sight. Instead of the rise
in price which might have been warranted, given
more healthy conditions, as a result of the decline
we have actually had a net fall of 3l. 5s. in the past
six weeks, the present value of 70l. !Os. per ton
comparing with 73l. 15s. a month ago. The recent
stringency in the money market had something to
do with inducing realisations in copper; and one
leading authority has expressed the opinion that,
bot for the buying back of large quantities of the
metal sold for forward delivery two or three
months ago, the decline would have been more
pronounced, consumers abstaining from all but
absolutely necesslry purchases; while the American
interest, holding the chief part of the public
stocks, has given but little support. An analysis
of the situation confirms this view. The increase
in deliveries which was a feature of last month,
is not likely to be repeated; whereas there is every
reason to suppose that the high level of new supplies will be maintained. In previous discussions
of t his question, we have been careful to warn the
public against any expectation of an immediate and
considerable increase in the quantity of copper put
upon the market, as a result of the mining exploitation which was an inevitable consequence of
the high range of values, because of the lengthy
preparatory work n eeded to bring mines to the
productive stage. But there has been no lack of
energy in t he pro3ecution of this work, and the
results are now beginning to be felt. "Nearly
everywhere, , we are told, on the best trade
authority, ''but chiefly in the United States, Australia, British Columbia, and Mexico, the openingup of new and t he extension of old mines, is
going on at a great pace." Up to the middle of
December the supplies to Europe and the United
States had, according to Messrs. J ames Lewis and
Son, increased from 342,000 tons in 1898 to 396,000
tons ; but they add : ''Considering the long time
it takes to develop such mines, a much more
abundant supply of this necessary metal may conconfidently be hoped for, thus preventing scarcity
and corners; which latter we have been told
officially the Americans do not desire, and, in fact,
'positively dislike' ." As r egards consumption,
there will, no doubt, be an increase for war
material and ships ; but it is extremely unlikely
that, under present conditions of the money market,
&c., anything approaching the average number of
new enterprises, electrical and otherwise, will
be promoted in Europe and America. Already
America can spare us more copper, the exports in
Decen1ber reaching the record quantity of 14,000
tons.
This brings us to another point. I t has been
the policy of the Amalgamated Copper Corn pany
to limit t he production of the metal on the mines
under its control ; and in order to weaken the
London position artificially, it has, in recent
months, taken '' standard" copper off t he market
for shipment to the United States, to be converted
into electrolytic, and then re-shipped hither. The
other contributories to the European supply, with
the one exception of Chili, which remains stationary,
have sent us larger quantities of metal, the good
prices being an inducement to them to make as
much hay as possible while the sun shines. For
1899, the receipts from Australia were 19,700 tons,
against 15,750 tons in 1898 ; from Spain and
Portugal, 23,557 tons against 23,057 tons ; and
from miscellaneous sources 46, 868 tons against
33,931 tons. America, however, has sent us no
more than 112,650 tons, compared with 133,303
tons ; and allowing for the increase from other
quarters, we have still a decrease in the aggregate
supplies for the year of over 3200 tons, the total
of 227,625 tons, shown in Messrs. Henry R.
Merton and Co.'s figures, comparing with 230,892
tom; for the prc,ious twelve months. The year's
deliveries, on the other hand , are also lower222, 816 tons against 234,959 tons ; and were it
not for the shipments to America for the levellingup purposes of the speculatorR, we should havo
seen an improvement in this statistical position .
Nearly 10,000 tons have been taken off the m~rket
E N G I N E E R I N G.
93
tory records. F or the past year t h e highest average
number of cabin and steerage passengers combined in first-class liners is to the r ecord of the
North German Lloyd, who add to t heir 179 cabin
passengers, 541 steerage, making an average of ~20.
F ollowing this with 665 is the White Star Ln1e,
who were ever strong in steerage passengers, and the
Oceanic must now s well t he total. Next come t ho
Cunard wit h 643, the Hamburg-American, 636, the
American Line with 559, the French Line 637, the
Red Star Line 483 and the Anchor Line with 344.
There are several lines trading from Mediterranean
ports which carry only steerage passengers, or but
few cabin pasRengers; and in some cases theRe ships
average over 800 per t rip, but it is scarcely necessary to go into details.
We give a list of the companies with their totals
for t he past three years. The N orth German
Lloyd figures include t he passengers taken from
the Mediterranean, as well as those from Bremen
and Southampton. Under both headings there is
a great increase, 2000 more cabin, and 22,000 more
steerage passengers, when compared with 1898;
while on the cabin total of 1896 there is a gain of
6400, which indicates the influence of a r ecordbreaking steamer. The Cunard total is distinctly
t he highest since 1890, if not t he highest on reReturn of Passengers Landed at N ew York by
Principal Compa;nies.
1899.
Line.
1898.
- - -
~
.
~
Q
~
-
oo
.8
Q)
1897.
QJ
......
1 rn 1 o
16,692 20,463
8,486 24,245
6,037 6,819
10,332 20,764
5,203 16,511
5 099 19,765
3,881 11,984
3,365 14,273
1,3i4 1,128
16,196
10,866
14,443
10,104
6,044
6,478
4,493
2,871
1,823
~
~
4&,)
m
40,415
17,30lJ
17,323
11,322
19,271
14,264:
19,372
10,557
10,603
1,050
1,872 1,820
679 2,661
860 3,201
241 13,687
11 1,010
7 12, 1 ~8
22 11,374
118
925
12tS
958
56
667
71
877
cord. The \Vhite Star have participated in t he increase t o the extent of 2400 cabin and 4600 steerage passengers, but in 1892 and 1893 the numbers
were still higher. The H amburg-American have
done very much better than for several years. The
return of the French Line is about an average. The
American Line in 1898 was somewhat disorganised
owing to the war, but last year r ecovered their high
position. The ret urns of the other lines do not call
for comment.
* See
r 94
EN G I N E E RI N G.
- - -- -
--
[]AN. I 9,
I 900.
-- -
--------
-----
E N G I N E E R I N G.
object and scope of the Act. Foremost among
these suggestions is that advocated by more than
one delegate, namely, the payment of compensation
as and from the t ime of the accident. Truly, the
old adage, ''give an inch and he will take an ell, "
has more than h oary respectability to commend it.
The one object of the Act was to make provision
for those seriously injured, or the dependants of
those killed in the battle of life; and wh o will have
the temerity to say that this object has not been
attained 1 Granted that the working classes have
long been denied sufficient compensation for
injuries sustained in the course of t heir labours,
should they not be more than satisfied with the
provision now made for them 1
A reference to the resolution which was
unanimously passed at the meeting will show that
it was agreed on all hands that a minimum compensation of 10s. a week should be granted to all
disabled workmen entitled to compensation. The
one fatal objection to this proposal is contained in
the answer to the question, "Suppose the man's
wages amounted to 9s. a. week- what then ?" No;
it is clear that in order to make a Compensation
Act capable of just and automatic application, t he
amount paid must bear a fixed and definite ratio to
the wages of the sufferer.
In the absence of details, it is difficult to say
whether the allegation (made by more than one
member) that the Registrar of Friendly Societies
has favoured the employers when called upon to
sanction a sch eme, is, or is not, founded upon fact.
It is impossible to imagine why this important
official should be accused of s uch a gross breach of
faith. In adverting to this topic, Mr. Pickard,
!vi.P., stated that the workmen who had consented
to their rights being administered under a scheme
for compensation, had allowed themselves to be
overawed by the masters' representatives. In these
days of trade unions and labour agitators, it is hard
to understand how the workmen could allow themselves to be imposed upon in this way. The whole
t ruth of the grievance, i.e. , that the certified
schemes are not so beneficial as the provisions of
the statute, doubtless lies in t h e fact that an overestimate has been formed of the benefits conferred
by Parliament upon t hose wh o have not been fortunate enough to agree with their employers as to
the proper amount of recompense which should be
paid in time of disaster.
Perhaps the most interesting p oint brought to
light in the course of the discussion was t hat
referred to by Mr. Pickard, M.P. He stated that
many of the prognostications which were made as
to its probable effect when the Act first became
Jaw, have proved to be entirely erroneou~. Thus,
it was supposed that the sense of Increased
responsibility might tend to make employers chary
of employing old or married workmen when younger
and unencumbered men could be found to take
t heir place. Experience has now shown that no
evil of this kind has resulted.
Moreover, the effects of the Act, as t ending to
increase t he cost of output, has been so small as to
be inappreciable. Thus it was thought by colliery
proprietors-a class of employers whose workmen
are continually exposed to danger, not to say the
risk of catastrophe- that the payment of compensa
tion must involve an increase of 3d. per ton on t he
price of coal at the pit mouth. This estimate has
turned out to be very wide of t he mark, it having
been stated by a delegate from Cum berland t hat
the rise in price barely amounted to one-third of a
penny in the ton.
I n truth, the Workmen's
Compensation Act has been the cause of many
surprises !
95
1,326,239
1,073,301
029,112
g6
E N G I N E E R I N G.
Ovncr.\ t
T RiaL, DECEliDER
AND Co
21, 1899, OP THE "N 1.11 " Dxs TRO\ ER, Co~~TRl CTlm DY ~lEs:n .
, Lo~noN, FOR TIIE h LPERIAL JAP.\NESE Go' ERNMENT.
YARRO\\
Pre.sent o~ the t~ial wer e : Rear Adrui ral II. 1\aO?!.mura, Chief of the Japanese Na~al Commission ; Constructor Ca tajo II.
Kurobe , Captam r aka.rabe, Commander of the NIJl ; Commander Constructor Takag t ; and Lieu~-Constructor K. Yam~oto.
Draught of water to bottom of propellera, 7 ft. 10 in. aft, 4 ft. J 1 io. forward. Load carried 35 tons.
Run s on the Maplin Mile.
Boiler
Steam.
Runs.
IReceiver.
Fi rst
I .
203!
52
24
SlW.2!
206
2J
62
7l
3 7.13
1 4 l~l
33.()88
204
52}
(l.\
23~
38~
2 4 ,11
C)
In.
4l
m. e.
2 4
20!>
52~
"3"
3Si.5J
204
5'>1
-~
6t
'>31
3 7. ~2
204
52g
3 i 0~
204~
52t
0!
231
23}
387.4
4i ,~
Fir t
peed.
ID.
Mean on mile
Second
Mean
Air
Mean
Recei ver. \'acuum. Pressu re. Revolutions.! Time.
Second
)Jean.
~[ran.
Admiralty
Mean.
29.032
3l.OCO
31.019
30.9i
. 69
31.0i0
:H,1G3
33. 157
31.145
31.100
hnot.s
31.12
J
1 40,'0
2S. 00
31 100
Si 253
33.707
Means for three hours' t r ial: 204 lb. ste~m, 53 lb. ln first r eceiver, 7 lb. in second receiver, 231 in. , acuum, ~ in. to l0 in, a.ir
pressur e m stokehole. Mean revolutions per minute 8&8.06.
Mean speed during thr ee hours 31.1~6 k nots.
After the speed t rial \vas completed tsts were made of the way t he engines handled also ot the steering both by steam and by
hnnd, allot which wer e to the satisfaction of the Japanese authorities.
'
it needful to provide against v~ri~tiou in length due I 5 to 50 miles-the purpose of which will be to develop
to change of temperature, but 1t 1s also necessar y to t raffic, fu rnish facilities to henefit existing lines. Very
s~ppl_y some ready means of obt~ining sufficien t elasti- li ttle b uilding was d one last year east of the Mi sisC1ty m the system of steam p tpes, .s? .that t hey can sip pi River - this year it will catch up and probably
a.cc_o ~moda~e themselves to the flex1 b1hty of the hull. overtake the west in its railroad mileage.
Thts 1s considerable when the vessels meet '"vith rough
weather. ~Ie~srs. Yarrow are of opinion that there
ROYAL METEOROLOGIC L SOCIETY.
is more risk of accident to steam pipes from the conSpeed (under
.
THE annu~l meeting of _this Society wa held on WedA dmiral ty Conditions P Atr
stantly varying movements of t he hull than from ex
of Trial).
ressure.
pa.nsiou t hrough change of temperature; it being re- nesday evem ng, the 17th Inst., at the Institution of Civil
Great George-street, W estminster j Mr. F. C.
Knots.
In.
membered t hat t he bending of pipes beca.use of hull Engineers,
Ba.yard, LLJH., President, in the chair.
lka<:lduchi
31.32
2.5
I n four of rthe vessels each boiler is p rovided with an library from 22, Great George-street to new rooms at 70
Oboro
31.262
13
independent feed pump, this being considered the Victoria-~t~~et. This step wa.s ren.d ered necessary by
Niji
...
31.15
0.9
safest and most efficient method of feeding boilers. In t?e acquts1t10n of the former p rem1ses by the CommisThe contract speed was 31 knots carrying 35 tons t he last two boats, however, wit h a view to test the stOners of H er ~1ajesty's W orks and Public Buildingij
load on a three hours' continuous run, i.e. , the same compara ti ve merits of the systems, two of the boilers for the erection of new Government offices.
conditions as d emanded by the British Admiralty for were supplied with water by ordinary feed pumps . Mr. F. Campbell Baya~d, in his presidential address,
d1scussed the meteorological obser,ations made at the
their 30-knot d estroyers. A point which all engi worked off the main engines.
Royal Observatory, Greenwi~h, during the 51 year&,
neers will appreciate is the low air- pressure with
Provision is made on board for 90 t o 100 t ons of 1848 to 189 , a.nd brought out tn a novel way many intewhich t he speP-d were obtained, especially in t he coal, and this bunker capacity is found to be amply r~ting features in the variabili ty of the varions observa.later boats. A ppendcd is a d etailed report o f the sufficient to make any of t he run at from 11 to 14 twns of the barometer, maximum and minimum tempeofficial trial of t he last of the six d estroyer s- the knots between t he coaling stations on t he Yoyag e to ra~ures, reJative humidity, direction of the wind, and
Niji.
he was launched on December 16, the first Japan.
ra.mfall. These were shown in a diagrammatic form on
preliminary trial took place on December 18, and the
the screen by means of a. number of la.ntern slides. The
address was also illustrated by various views of the Royal
official t ria l on D ecember 21 ; so t hat there was a gap
Observatory and of the instruments employed.
NOTE FROM THE UNITED STATES.
of only five days between t he launching and the official
PHILA DEL'PIII.\, J an nary 10.
trial. On the Niji, th e air pressure during the three
hours' run varied from :J in. to ~ in., and the conTHE increase in pig-iron making CApacity in the
T HE 0LTEN-Aannunc PowER T RAN ' Mr ION: Ennasumption of coal for t he three hours worked out at United tates, as against a year ago, is about 3! TOM.- \Ve regret that some errors appear in the state1. 98 lb. p er indicated horse-powEr per hour. The million tons, according t o bes t estimates. There is a ment of expenses of this installation given at the bottom
consump t ion per square foot of g rate was 52.3 lb. p roportionate incr ease in the output of finished iron of the first column of page 40 of our last issue. The tota.l
There were four Yarro w straight-tube boilers for t he of all kinds. The ent ire production is going steadily expenditure as given is correct; but the detailed items
supply of steam, and although the grates are large in into consumption, and there is not the lightc t indi- should read as follows :
Francs.
proportion to wh a t is customary, with a li ttle experi- cation of an accumulation of stock or of demand
Administration and general charges ...
40,000
ence there was no difficulty in stoking, as the results over taking supply. R umours of this kind are, howMaintenance and repairs
. ..
. ..
5,000
obtained indicate. I t w ill be noticed that from t he ever , heard every week or two, but on in vestigation
Salaries and wages
. ..
. ..
. ..
40,000
commencement to the end of the tria ls there was a and inquiry there is found to be no good g round for
Sund ries .. .
. ..
. ..
. ..
. ..
2,000
a
steady advance in performance. This is to be attri ny such anticipation. On the contrary, every week's
buted to various i mprovements introduced as ex peri- d evelopment shows that there are a good many new
T otal
87,000
ence suggested. The circumstance is suggestive of the enterpri~es and new requirements co ming forward,
fact t hat finali ty has not been, nor is it likely to be, and that t he entire iron and steel-making capacity will
PERSONAL.-Mr. Emile Cloes, civil engineer and re-pre
r eached in t he designing of these very special craft, probably be taken up to keep the new channels of trade sentative for Belgian works, 122, Cannon-street, L ondon,
a. ta k which needs, perhaps, more than a ny other filled. All apprehensions a ppear to be past as to the E. C., has retired from business, and has transferred his
branch of marine engineer ing, the best scientific know- apprehensions of the Lake ore fields to keep t he furnaces agencies to Mr. Adolphe Corin, who will carry on busiledge. It is this which gives those who devote them supplied wi t h ore. Prices are fixed for the coming ness a.t the same address under his own name. Mr.
Cloes has started business as inspecting engineer and
selves more exclusively to the subject a d istinct ad- year , and there appears to be no occasion for a ppre- representative
for English works in Belgium. - ~1r.
vantage ; for though othors may copy, the man who hension in that direction. Bar iron and steel mills Edward L omer, 12, t. Mary xe, E.C., has been ap
originates will always be in the fron t, and, what is throughout t he country have increased their capacity,
inted agent in this country of the Accumulator Works
have put in new machinery and have rounded up their Accumulataren Fabrik A. G.), of Berlin and Hagen
more, will be able to keep his customers there.
Three of the ves els are now out ln Japan, oue is equipments in a. way which gives them facilities and Westphalia), for the sale of the1r stationary and portable
in t he China seas on her way out, the fifth has left ad,~antages which they never before possessed. This accumulators and accessories, as well a.s electric boats.London within the last few days, and the Niji wHl be is true also of the pipe mills, merchant steel mi lls, The Secretary of State for the Colonies has ap{>ointed ~Ir.
rail mills, and all other mills. Iu fact, the iron and F. Bedford-Glasier, general manager of the S1erra L eone
star ting shortly.
The engi nes are ba lanced on the Yarrow, Schlick, steel-making capacity of the_U nited, tates is in better Government Railway, the only British line open for traffic
and T weedy system, and t he absence of Yibration at shape than it ever has been. New mills are to be built. in West Africa..
a ll speeds was considered by the Japanese authori ties Work will be started just as soon as the weather
EARLE'S SHIPBUILDING AND E NG INEERING COMPANY,
perm its, contracts for equipment have been asked for LnnTED.-The report of the directors of this company
to be highly satisfactory.
A detail in these boats, a s well as of others built by two or three months, and the machinery will be ready for the past year, which was issued on Saturday, shows a
Messr s. Y arrow and Co., which deserves attention, is jus t as soon as the buildings are ready for it. Prices loss of 60,0001. on the year's trading. This loss has arisen
the syet em adopted in the steam pipes for allowing for have not fluctuated within the pa3t week or two, and no in a great measure from the great rise in wages, and the
variations in length, as described in our for mer notice fluctuation is p robable, One reason is that the iron a nd consequent abnormal cost of Her ~Iajesty's ships Perseus
of the engi nes. It will be remembered t hat in~tead of steel interests are controlled by corporations, and these and Prometheus, which were contracted for in 1896,
thA ordinary stuffing-box arrangement allowtng the do not propose t o allow fluctuations t o occur without when work was scarce and prices were low. On the
other hand, all the work in progress at the date of the
any
good
cause.
The
benefi
t
of
the
combination
is
now
steam pipes to work in and out ?f . a socke t, there is a
recent stockta.king was coming out satisfactorily, and the
recognised
on
all
sidee.
The
greatest
buyer
of
iron
and
special wivel joint something s1_m~lar to that adopted
directors anticipate a substantial profit for the current
steel
and
equi
pmt-nt
will
be
the
railway
system
of
the
in an ordinary gas b racket, but 1t 1s so ~rranged a to
year. It was announced in Hull on atnrday that Mr.
be i n perfect equilibrium. In vessels of hght constru?- United ' tates. While only 4500 miles of road were A. E. ea.ton, who has been general manager since 1885,
tion, such as torpedo- boats or destroyers, not only 1s added to the mileage t his year, it is quite safe t o say has submitted his resignation to the directors, and that
that at least 7000 miles will be added nex t, and this it will take effect when fresh arrangements have been
is
r
egarded
as
a
very
low
figure
by
a
good
many.
The
made. Mr. Seaton, it is understood, will be proposed
* See ENGINEERING, vol. Jxvi., page 854.
hulk of the work is done on short lines ranging from for election as a direetor.
t I bid., vol. lxvii., page 847.
E N G I N E E R I N G.
THE vVAR IN SOUTH AFRICA.
T O THE EDITOR OF ENGINEERING.
SIR - The storming of Ladysmith on the 6th inst. by
the Boers which terminated in our favour after a sanguinary cdntest lasting from sunrise to sunset, ha~ prov~d
our foes to be indeed wortl!J of our steel. P rev10usly m
this war, i t looked as if the Boer were loth to attack as he
did t wenty years ago. On the other ban?, our brave
soldiers after enduring for months a harassmg bombard
ment, have proved themselves to be the best fighters at
close quarters.
.
Should General Buller be able to accomphsh the turning movement he has commenced, the Boers may not
offer so bold a front to hi~ ~fter ~heir failure a.t Ladysmith. The list of casualties 1S cur1_ous, as the killed on
our side are in very heavy proportion to the wounded;
indeed, the whole campaign bears this out; for w~ereas
in the Peninsula the killed were t o the wounded m the
proportion of one to five, and even less, here the propor.
tion is as much as one to three..
The patriotism evoked by th1s war 1s one of those unexpected results which only a very small number of ext~emely long-headed people could P?Ssibly have forese~n.
Our Colonies and ~reat dependencies are m9ve4 as w1th
one perfervid tbr1ll of loyalty and enthusiastic Imperialism. The voices of the Little E nglander and of the
Irish Nationalist are hushed, or, at all events unheard
amid the Saxon shouts of Forw_ard! . ~iniste;s are
carried off their feet, and for once m their lives discover
that the actions of our soldiers and sailors are o~ almost
as much importance as those of Board School miStresses
or even County Councillors. British p olitics, in fact, have
suddenly become militant, and parochial miitters have
taken a back seat. Even Boniface, who. obj~cts so much
to a man in uniform, may have altered his mmd of late.
Everyone with a sword is cleaning off the rust, the boys
are learning to shoot, and even the L ord Mayor, who
went to Southampton yesterday, donned a cocked bat
and "looked a soldier, every inch of him," and there
must be at least seventy of them.
A few Dutch farmers, well-armed, and owning good
ponies, have brought about. this wonderful .transform!l-
tion scene wonderful, certamly, to our Contmental eVIlwishers, and, I think, also to ourselves.
Out of evil good often cometh, and .the g~eates~ and
most enduring result of our present dlfiicultus w11l n o
doubt be the fuller recognition of the value and truth of
the Imperialistic ideas associated with the names of
Disraeli Chamberlai n, R osebery, and others; and the
corollaries tlaerefrom, producing, as they must, important alterations in our organisations, both political and
military.
An army reorganisation will probably come first, and
will be by far the easier ~f. the twain. I ndeed, the prese~t
enthusiasm should be utlhsed for the purpose. There 1s
no difficulty whatever in procuring for the British Empire
the largest and probably the best army that this world
has ever eeen. It is almost made for our hands to seize
UJhlD, if we will but open our eyes to se,e the facts t~at
stare us in the face. Our present forces m South Afnca
should form the germ of a great future force, useful
mainly in defending the interests of the Empire wherever
attacked. Ctt.nada, Australasia, South Africa itself, with
other smaller colonies of the Anglo-Saxon race, are assisting the Mother Country to fight down a dangerous
conspiracy against the Empire, and an assault on freedom
itself. Moreover, the regulars in our own army are
t o be assisted by t he yeomanry, the militia, and the
volunteers. There is the germ, the E~eed, ready to hand,
and from it should ~row rapidly and naturally a solid
heart of oak capable of withstanding every storm. Think
of it! Think of the recruiting_ ground, and the population ;
450 nlillions of people! Each country organising its
quota according to its ability, whether regulars, militia,
or volunteers; and each organisation p erfecting itself t o
the utmost.
Those who with despondent sighs declare th at the
British Army must in f uture be recruited by conscription
must be very deficient in imagination. If greater pains
were taken with the training and equip mPnt of our
auxiliary forces a. great step in advance would be accomplished. In addition, every able-bodied man outside the
regular forces or the yeomanry or militia might be compelled to join either the naval vol unteers (which should
never have been disbanded) or a. volunteer regiment, and
to put in so many drills and so much ball practice per
annum for three years, between the ages of, say, eighteen
and twenty-four years.
The Boer War has distinctly demonstrated that modern
wea{lons and tactics t end to bridge the great gap of
effiCiency hitherto claimed as existing between the highlydrilled regular and his con fr~he in the auxiliary forces.
As a corollary, we should reorganise in the direction
of increasing the numbers and efficiency of our auxiliary
forces.
As regards our regulars, the same argument applies,
viz., that a. proper efficiency can apparently be obtained
in a shorter period than has hitherto been regarded as
necessary. H ence a shorter service with the colours
should succeed, and with this we should soon obtain a.
larger reserve per unit tha.n at present.
But India. blocks the way. Her requirements are distinctly otherwise. The Bntish garrison in this greatest
of our dependencies should be long-service men, as of old,
each regiment having its depO t at home for recruite, and
their drill and instruction prior to embarka tion; and the
same may be said of the garrisons of many, if not all, of
our sea fortresses abroad, and of our coaling stations. A
considerable force of long-service men should, therefore,
be organised for foreign service-India and other stations
abroad-and such action would clear the way and help
)mmensely in the adoption of some short-service plan for
97
E N G I N E E R I N G.
r ank and titles for the "scrat ch collection'' of assistant
engineers I spoke of in a previous letter. M y object in
calling attention to the "scratch collection , was t o p oint
out the improbability of there being any esprit de corps
among its members; but a.s these officers ar e all consider ed
eligible to rank as commission ed officers in the Royal
Navy, and to do what I consider is combatant work, I see
n othing illogical in their having combatant titles.
"Far Eas t , says in his ln.st letter that I failed to show
him that h e misquoted me. If he will read the paragraph
in my letter of Augus t last r eferring t o Japanese officers,
he will find that I there pointed outl a. misquotation.
Your correspondent appears to think there are three
methods of superseding the present engineers. Firs tly,
by "glorified engine-room artificers r anking with warrant
officers " ; secondly, by some of the '' tens of thousands
of compet ent engineers in England and S cotland; " or,
thirdly, by the executive officers of the Navy, who, we
are told, ' 'are n ot so ignorant of engineering as is commonly supposed.,
Let ns look into these suggested m ethods, calling in
side lights from some other expertS:on naval engineering
mattere. Firstly, as to the "glorified engin e-room artificers, , why n ot go a. step further ? Y our correspondent
Efficien cy " told us a few weeks ago of a. sch eme prop osed by a Command er, R.N., in a.n essay which obtam ed
for him the gold m edal of the Royal U nited Service Inst itution (which scheme, by-th e-way, b e seems to have
borrowed from an A dmiral-Superintenden t of Naval Reserves) for substituting g reasers in the m er cantile marine
for engine-room artificers. Well, Sir, why not skip the
intermediate s tep, and instal these ' ' glorified " firemen as
engineers, R oyal Navy?
Secondly, as to the " t ens of thousands of competent
engineers, &c.," who are to be called upon to engin eer the
N avy. U nfortun ately for this J?r oposition, the members
of this body show a marked dtsi n clination to join the
Navy. During five years of this decade I believe that
only sixteen did so, although m ore were urgently required.
Then a.s to the ' 'executive officers" who "are n ot so
ignorant, &c.;" when there are en ough of them for their
own b ranch, some may possibly be spared to learn a.
little more engineering and tak e charge below. I .suppose that even "Far East " would relent so far as to
allow one of these officers to be called a lieuten ant for
en~ineering duties, or Lieut. "E. ," or would h e con sider
th1s a "bogus title," unconnected with the m an 's profession ?
I n otice that your correspondent prophecies that the
naval engineers "will get the apple they are crying for."
It may be so, but that will be a matter for Parliament to
d ecide. L et m e remind him of what one of his colleagues
said r ecently of this question, viz. : "The Admiralty
officials and the senior officers of the Navy have always
been chary in their approval of necessary reforms. They
opposed s team. They opposed m asts and yards being
taken out of steam vessels. They opposed iron clads.
They opposed the breechloading and the quick-firing gun.
They opposed t he increase of the Fleet, and thought ' six
more cruisers sufficient, though not necessary, ' a. few
weeks befor e public opinion compelled them to bring in an
exten sive shipbuilding programme, i~clud.ing seventy
ships." He advocated a. d epartmental m q,utry as to the
n ecessity for reform, lest a P arliamentary mquiry should
be asked for.
Trusting that the efforts now being made t o obtain
proper r ecognition for the 25,000 officers and men of the
steam branch of the ~a.vy may be successful; and that
these " n aval U i tla.nders,, " memhers of an alien profession, " " in the Navy, but not of it," may shortly have
reason to be as p roud of th eir position as of their profession.
I a.m, yours t ruly,
H orEFUL.
PURIFYING WATER.
T o THE E DITOR OF ENGINEERING.
SIR,-May I be allow~d ~o suggest the followin.g as an
efficacious means of purtfymg the waters of the r1 vera of
Great Britain ?
L et it be en acted that during the year 1901, and every
followin g year, the inhabitants of every t own situated. on,
or within one mile of, any named river sh all be reqmred
t o present to the Mayor, or other authority, one freshly
caught salmon or trout captu.r ed within two ~iles of s.uch
town boundary, and not ha vmg been placed m such n ver
within two months prior t o the date of its <'apture. In
d efault of such presentation being made every mhabitant
of such d efaulting t own shall ~e fined ld. in t~e. pound
on his r at es, s uch tax to be lev1ed by the authonttes, and
to be devoted to the purifying_of the river.
Yours faithfully.
,J, FRRRABEE.
Stafford, J an ua.ry 15, 1900.
MOTOR VEHICLES.
To TDE EDITOR OF E NGINEERING.
Sm,-Mr. Wilck e, in his interesting letter this week
on the tare weight of m otor vehicles., alludes to the practice of depending on the load for adnesion, the weigh t of
the engine and boiler being exclusively on the front or
steering wh~ls. Apparently in&.bility to ascend a hill
when unloaded is regard ed as a ver y n atural characteristic
of a motor car ; but surely the mere existen ce of such an
anomaly shows that there is something fundamentally
wrong in the general arrangement at present accepted as
the s tandard. To take away the sha fts of a cart, put an
en gin e and b oiler over the fore wheels, and pile on ballast
to make the hind wheels adhere, does nob seem quite the
m ost common -sense way of going t0 work. Surely there
should be en ough of the weight of engine and boiler on
the drivin g wheels to insure their adhesion even a.t n o
load. Perhaps, however, we shall begin to realise some
day that a. motor car partakes m ore of the nature of a.
locomotive than of a. h orse-drawn vehicle, and that the
new con ditions n ecessitate n ew features in the general
d esign.
I am, &c.,
A. J . A.
January 16.
[JAN. I 9, I900.
pany. The cylinders aro 16 in., 25! in., and 42 in. in
diameter, a nd 30 in. stroke. The bo1lers are 14ft. 1 in.
in diameter and 10 ft. 6 in. long for a working pressure
of 175 lb.
M essrs. A . J\1cMillan and Son, L imited, Dumbarton,
recen tly launched the steamer Vladimir, which they bA.ve
built to the order of the Volga Steamship Company, of
St. Petersburg. The V ladimir is a duplicate of the
Rourik, which 1\Iessrs. McMillan launched previously for
the same owners. H er dimensions are 178 ft. by 26ft. by
14 ft . The machinery of both vessels is being supplied
by M essrs. M cKie and Baxter, Glasgow, and will have
cylinders 15 in., 20 in., and 40 in. in diameter, by ?:1 in.
strok e, supplied with steam from a s teel boiler 13 ft. 6 in.
in diameter by 10 ftl. long, and designed for 160 lb.
working pre.C!Bure.
TaE LATE Mn. CHARLES Gn.DERT.-lt is with greab
regret thatl we announce the d eath, on the 8th inst., of
Mr. Charles Gilbert, who for nearly 28 years was the publisher of this journal. He joined the staff of the paper
when it was b rought out in the commencement of 1866,
and r emained on it until failing health obliged hiru to
retire in the autumn of 1893. During that period nearly
ever y on e who en tered these offices came in con tact with
Mr. Gilbert, and many will retain a kindly recollection of
his unfailing cour tesy and genial manner.
GERMAN METALLURGICAL I NDUSTRY.- T he production
of pig in Germany for the fi rst eleven months of last year
was 7,384,231 tons, as compared with 6, 740,399 tons in
the corresponding period of 1898, showing an increase of
643,852 tons. The total of 7,384, 234 tons was made up as
follows: R efining pig and spiegel pi~, 9,633,170 tons;
Bessemer pig, 495,844 tons; Thomas ptg, 4,060,956 tons;
and cast ing pig, 1,344,264 ton s. S tocks of pig in Germ any
were reduced in November, having fallen to 39,654 tons
a.t the close of the month, as compared with 39,849 tons at
the close of October. T he corresponding stocks held at
the close of N ovem her, 1898, were 64, 963 tons, so that the
g rea:t increase in production is shown t o have been f~lly
j ust1fied by the growth of the demand. T he vaneus
metallurgical districts of Germany contributed as follows
to the 7,38i ,234 tons representing the g_ross production of
pig in the first eleven months of 1899: Rhemsh and ' Vestp_ha.lian provinces, 2, 960,692 tons; Siegen, Lahn, H esse, nnd
Nassau, 620,497 tons ; Silesia and Pomerania., 766,301 tons;
Saxony, 22,679 tons ; Hanover and Brunswick, 319,222 tons;
Bavana, Wurtemburg, and Thuringia, 436,703 t ons; and
Sarre, L orrai ne, and L uxembourg, 2,573,937 tons. The
production of finished iron and steel in Germany in the
first eleven mon ths of last year was 4,352,830 t ons. This
total was made up as follows : Rails and accessories,
807,170 tons ; railway sleepers and accessories, 168,533
tons; axles, wheels, tyres, &c., 145,536 tons; merchants'
iron, girders, &c., 1,858,370 tons; plates, 658,986 t?ns;
wire, 442,661 t~ns; tubes, 29,247 tons ; and forged 1ron,
pieces of machmery, &c., 226,284 tons. There were 170
steel works in operation in Germany and the L uxembourg last year, and the prod uction for the first eleven
months of the year was 441,600 tons of ingots and 986,574
tons of steel of other descriptions.
SHIPBUILDING IN F oREIGN CouNTRIRS.-According to
Lloyd's Return, we in Great Britain built two to!ls of
shipping for every on e ton bui lt by all the countnes _of
the world combin ed. Thus, last year there were bu1lb
in this country 726 sea-goiJ?g steamers, ~otalling 1, ~16, 791
tons while m the colom es and fore1~ countrtes 543
vesse'ls, of 704,947 tons were b uilt, makmg the addition
to the world's tonnage 2,121, 738 tons, or more than double
the wastage due t o decay and disaster. It is remarka~le
tha t while we built no sailing ships, foreign countnes
constructed 174,002 tons of such craft. Among foreign
countries, the thr ee leading p laces are h eld by the United
States of America (225,000 tons), Germany (211,000 tons),
and F ran ce (90,000 tons). Of the mercantile tonnage
reported from the United S tates, a considerable proportion does not affect the general commer ce of the world,
being intended for service on the.Great L akes . .As showing the size of vessels employed m tha t ~rade, ~t may. be
mentioned thab 11 steamers have been butlt for 1t durmg
1899 of upwards of 4000 tons ea~h, besides two sailing
barges of 6000 tons each. Germ&.ny has launc~ed the
Pa.tricia., of 13,293 tons, and the G rosser Kurfurst, of
12 600 tons besides six other steamers of 10,000 tons and
ov~r. In F'rance, the con struction of large sailing Tess~ls,
almost abandoned elsewhere, has continued to fiounsh
under the influence of the bounties gran ted by the State.
Twenty-four such vessels, of 2000 tons an~ upwards, have
been launched during the year under re~tew . .rr:he largest
of these, and likewise the largeab sea-gomg ~iling vessels
built in t he world during_the year, are the Ville de :Mulhouse and the Ville du Havre, of 3214 tons each .. Bot.h
have been b uilt at H avre. No great expans10n JS
n oticeable in the construction of s team ers i~ France.
In Italy, tht\ mercantile output of the year ha:s tncreased
to 49 500 tons. The returns of vessels now m progress
amo~nt to about 107,000 t ons, as comp ared with only
34,000 tons a t the end of 1897, and with 90,000 ton.s. ab
the end of 1898. Allowing for wastage, the aailm g
tonn age of the world has been reduced by a:bout 206,000
tons d uring 1899 ; the steam tonnage ha.s m creased by
about 1,601,000 tons. The n et increMe of the ~or~d:s
mercantile tonnage is, therefor~ 1, 39~,000 tons. Brttam s
net in crease of 313,000 tons 1s eqmva.lent to 22.5 per
cent. of the total. In the net increase ~f the .world's
steam tonnage, viz., 1,601,000 tons, the Umted Kmgdom
has shared to the extent of 498,000 tons, or 31 per cent.
Of the n ew tonna.~e launched during 1899, the U nite<:\
Kingdom has acqutred 54 per cent.
99
E N G I N E E R I N G.
JAN. I 9, I 900.]
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-- - 0-
I
I
I
I
I
...
l
I
.I
r--+~~~
-~-~-~-~r;~~
-7
~
-~t=~~
-~,ryff~==
-~
-=
~
-~
-~
-=
=L-~~-~~
,,
.......
- --------- ---- -- 4
4
-------------------.
. . . r. , .
0
____________
____________
I -------- ------ ------
~9t.. C. .
r - j - - - -...
lt'
., .
. . . Bituminous coal
...
Kind of fuel to be used
. .. 134,000 lb.
...
Weight on drivers
...
...
36,000 ,
...
,
trucks
...
... . .. 170,000 ,
W eight, total ...
. ..
... 110,000 ,
,,
~nder, loaded
------
Cylinders
...
.. .
. ..
... 20 in. by 28 in.
28 in.
PISton, s troke . . .
. ..
.. .
.. .
4 ,
Piston-rod, diameter . . .
.. .
.. .
9 ft. 9 in.
Main rod, length, centre to centre ...
18i in.
Steam port, length ...
...
.. .
1~ ,
Steam ports, width . ..
. ..
.. .
18. ,
Exhaust ports, length.. .
...
. ..
,
,
width . . .
. ..
. ..
1 ,
Bridge, width . . .
.. .
. ..
. ..
Valves :
Allen.. .
... ...
Kind of .. .
Richardson
6 in .
...
Grea.te.qt travel .. .
...
Outside lap
.. .
1 "
one
... ... ...
Inside lap
.. .
... to in. negative
...
...
Lea.d in full gear
B oiler:
.. . ... ... Crown bar
Type of ...
wagon top
200 lb.
Working steam pressure
...
...
i in.
Thickness of material in barrel
,
tube sheet
...
! ,
68 ,
.. .
Diameter of barrel
. ..
. ..
...
Dome, diameter
...
. ..
30 "
Firebox :
. . . Over frames
.. .
Type
...
. ..
...
114 in.
...
Length ...
. ..
Width . . .
. ..
. ..
41 "
...
79 ,
...
Depth, front .. .
...
79 ,
.. .
,
back .. .
. .. Tu be, g in. ; sides,
. ..
Thickness of sheets
i in.; top,
i in.;
.
b l.C1c, '3~ m.
Brick arch
...
Mud ring, width
W ater space at top
.. .
...
...
Tubes, number of
. ..
.. .
...
.. .
Tubes, material
, , outside diameter
...
, , length over tube sheets
Smokebox :
Diameter, outside
...
...
...
L ength from flue sheet
. . . Charcoal iron
...
2 in.
.. . 13 ft. 2Hin.
...
.. .
71 in .
53
"
Other P arts :
Exhaust nozzle, single or double ...
Double
,
,
diameter .. .
. ..
3h in.
,
,
distance of tip below
centre of boiler
.. .
. ..
...
27~ ,
Netting, wire or plate
.. .
. . . Wire, in top of
stack
Netting, size of mesh or perforation 3 in. by 4 in.
Diamond
Stack, ~tra.ight or taper
.. .
.. .
,
diameter
.. .
.. .
.. .
16! in.
42 in
...
, , hei ght above smekebox
Tender:
... ... .. . .. . Eight-wheel,
Type
...
wood frame
Tank, capacity for water
...
... 5000 gals.
,,
,,
coal
... .. . 12 tons
...
.. .
Oak
Type of underframe
.. .
, , sprmgs
.. .
...
.. . Double elliptic
33 in.
Diameter of wheels . . .
...
. ..
,
and length of journals ... 5 in. by 9 in .
5 ft. 3 in.
Distance between centres of journals
Diameter of wheel fit on axle
...
6i in .
5j ,,
,
centre of axle .. .
. ..
23 ftl
Length of tender over bumper beams
Length of tank
.. .
.. .
.. .
20 "
9 ft. 10 in.
Width of tank .. .
.. .
...
...
H eight of tank, not including collar
56 in.
THE HAMBURG LINE.- The Hamburg American Line
will shortly organise a service between Hamburg, and
Bombay, and Calcutta. The same comp_!l.ny will also
organise in A pril a line between Italy and New York.
lOO
E N G I N E E R I N G.
[JAN. I 9, I 900.
London :
Kelly's Directories. Limited, 182, 183, and 184 High
Holborn. W . C. [Price 32s.]
'
Tnr year'~ direct ory b egins a new century, for it is
the 101st. tssue, and we are surprised t hat the fact
ha3 n ot been b rought forward as an unanswerable
arg~ment in the controversy as to whether or not 1900
begms. a new century ; becaus e if there is one authority
o~ wh1ch Londoners pin implicit faith, H is on Kelly's
Dtrectory , and the century question ought t o be
ruled by its precedent. This faith is only the reward
of the scrupulous accuracy which cha racterises the
publication. We have not read through the 3317 pages
of the new volume; but experience of ma.ny years is
sufficient to jus tify the remark we have made. The old
and handy arrangement continues, and th e corr ections
made include events up to December 5. A word of
special commendation should be said about the binding , which is of special importa nce in a book of s uch
immense siz~ used so frequently .
An Annual Biographical Dictionary. London: Ade.ru e.nd Charles Black, Sohosq ue.re. [Price 23. 6d. net.]
C~t~iosity ~s t o the p ersonality and the history of indt vtduals 1s not a g rowth of modern times, but an
innate peculiarit y of mankind, but it has become
mor e evident by the extent t o which it is catered for
in the public Press, by a svstem which is sometimes
obnoxious. But a most useful and instructive part is
played by t he invalua ble work before us. T o understand intelligently the significance of opinions and of
work done, it is necessary to know something of the
experience of the writer , speaker, or worker, and in
r eading our daily paper or weekly review it is well
t o have at hand (c Who's Who. " The war must
increase interest in noted actors on t he field , and here
w e have, in concise form, a note of the services of
There are slip9, t hese are
many of the officers.
unavoidable : it is, for ins tance, news to learn that
Kruger should be pronounced Kru'yer. The name of
the cruiser Africa has long since been changed to the
Good Hope, And t he det ails of t he progress of warships
ou pages 44 to 50 require revision : Admiral H olland
was appointed to Chatham Dockyard this year, not in
1895, and Admiral Aldrich t o P ortsmouth this year,
and not in 1896. These mistakes we haYe noticed only
in r andom glances at t he book.
Who's
Who: 1900.
---
A Cyclopredic Record of
~!en and Topics of the Day. Edited by W. P ALMER,
B. A. (Lond. ). L ondon : HazGll, W atson, and Viney,
Limited, 1, Creed-lane, Ludga.te-hill.
This is the fifteenth year of publication, and
'' Hazell's Annual " is fast becoming one of the indispensable books of the yea r. I t is as difficult to indica te
all that it contains as t o suggest what it does not include, for here we have short comprehensive articles on
countries, men, events, scientific attainments, with information on every subject that makes up the contents of our daily paper with its multifarious int erests.
Of course the incid ents of t he past year
get prominent notice, and t he great event of the
moment has suggested Eeveral contribut ions. It
is uot p erhaps widely known that while the
Director of Transports is a.n Admiral ty officer, th e
r esponsibilities for the expenditure l est with the
W a r OfficP.. I t would be interest ing to consider
the influence of such dual cont rol. I n dealing with
ocean speed records no menti on is made of 1899
p erformances. E NGINEERI NG is quoted as predicting
in 1897 great possibilities for the Kaiser Wilhelm der
Grosse ; it would have been interesti ng t o add t he
realisation of th ese in th e summer of 1899. Under
"Navy " we haYe an interesting article, so t hat one
or two slips are the more r egrettable; t he Bedford
class, for instance, are to be 23-knot cruisers, not
2l knots ; and the destroyer Lee is by Doxford, not
Earle.
---
---
1900. ~ L ondon: Witberby and Co., 326, High H olbom. [Price 3s. net.]
This is a hand y-sized diary, with good paper, and
- --
6d. net. ]
W e have fr equently commended t his annual during
t he thirteen years it has Leen in exist ence, as most
useful to workmen and students, E'S it gives much
interesting data concerning the propE>rt ies of materials,
gases, &c. , wit h notes on t he streng ths of working
parts of mach ines, &c.
----
E N G I N E E R I N G.
JAN. I 9, 1 900.]
BOOKS RECEIVED.
T he l 'TICO'r pora ted Gas Insti tu te.
IOI
INDUSTRIAL NOTES.
THE report of the chief labour correspon d ent of th e
Board of Trade on trad e unions in 1898, is a belated
report, for it comes to us only the second week of
1900. It may be that t he r ep ort was reudered
late by the effort made t o include trades councils and
fede rations "hoae reports are n ot, as a rule, so regularly published as those of t rade u nions proper.
The total number of trtJ.de tmions and other bodies
dealt with is 1267, with an aggregate membership of
1 ,644,591. The number of separate unions decreased
in the y ear by 40, but the number of members increased
by 33,207, or a little over 2 per cent., showing a slower
rate of advance ment than in 1897. The groups of trades
with the most important increases in member~hip
were the mining and the building trades, the greatest
decrease being in the engineering trad es and in ra il way workers. The decline in membership in the enginee rs' unions was due to the protracted strike and
lock -out. In the engineering and shipbuilding group
the decr ease in members is probably due to the extra
charg es upon members to make good the expenditure
during t h e dispute. The great dispute in the coltl industry of South Wales and :Monmouthshire produced,
it is said , comparatively little effect on the funds of
trad e unions, the men being for the most part nonunionists. A new feature in the report is an a nalysis
of the financial rules of the chief trade unions.
The introduction to the general repor t reviews the
history of t he work of t he departm ent from th e date
of its firs t report in 1887, showing the growth and
character of that work, and some of ita difficulties.
In 1887 on ly 18 trade unions were reported upon ; in
1888, only 87, and in 1889 only 104, whereas the present r eport deals with 1267 unions. The chief difficulty has been to get information as to unregistered
trade unions, which societies are not compelled to
make ret urns. Why trade unions should object to
registration is not very clear, for they obtain very
d istinct lrgal advantages by r egistration. If the
officials object, the members ought to insist upon registration.
For the purposes of comparison, lOO of the principal
unions are selected. These include 1,043,476 mem bers,
or 63 per cent. of the total, leaving only 601,115, or
37 per cent. of membership to the other 1167 societies.
One very e xcellent reason for the selection of lOO t rade
unions out of a total of 1267 is the comparative cornpleteness of their returns : the other societies' returns
are very incomplet~. The selected unions are also
representative in character of the different impor t ant
industries. Thus, fou rteen belong t o tb e building
t rades, fourteen to mining a nd quarrying, fourteen to
e ngineering, shipbuilding, and iron and steel trad es,
twent y to the textile trades, four to the clothing
trades, ten to transport labour, seven to t he printing
and cognate industries, five to wood working and
furnishing t rades, t hree t o the food and tobacco
trades, t wo to the glass trades, the r emainder covering
gene ral labour and miscellaneous industriee.
During 1898 t here was a decrease of unions from
1307 to 1267. The total number dissolved was 56,
new unions established 35, amalgamated with other
unions 19. The number of branchEs of uni (ns increased from 13,335 to 13,738. The increase of membership was from 1,611,384 to 1,644,591, equal to
33,207, or 2 per cent., as compared ~i c h an increase of
8 per cent. in 1897. The number of regis tered unions
was 594, with a total of 1,234,635 memb ers. In 140
un ions females are members, the total being 116,016,
or 7 per cfnt. of the whole. In the unions to whi ch
they are admitted they form 4 1 per cent. of the whole.
The following Table Hfe rs to the 100 chief unions
already enumerated.
This Month.
State of Trade.
Places.
--------------------e: t Memt-erF
d
Expt>ndi un a ship at
Increase.
ture.
End of 1 End of
Year.
--1892
1893
1894
1895
18~6
..
..
..
..
..
..
..
..
..
numbers
1,459,214 1,421,169 1,616,800 909,643
1,619,298 1,854,999 1,381,599
214,311
1,632,243 1,435,804 1,878,038 9!:8,105
1,559:914 1,391,908 1,746,044
917,950
1,675,535 ' 1,235,720 2,18'5,859 I 961,80!>
1,981,251 1,898,01:j5 12,269,015 1,065,91 0
1,91 5,4f5 1,489,671 2,694,799 1,043,476
,
1897
..
1898
Percentage in- '
- -~1crease(+ )orde- 1897 1 (- ) 3.3 ( - ) 21.5 (+ ) 18.8 (- ) 2 1
cteue(-).>f1898 1892 (+ )31. 3 t -t ) 4.8 (+ )44.7 (+ ) 14.7
compared wi th .
1
- - - - - - -- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - The mode of expenditure has special interest for
the general public. Here is a brief summary of tho
ex penditure for th e seven y ears to the end of 1898:
Expenditure.
On unemployed and other
...
be nefits
.. .
. ..
On labour disputes .. .
...
l for working expenses
...
Aggregate expenditure
Amount.
6. 355,609
2,473,036
1,895, 721
10,727,366
Per Cent.
of Total.
59
23
18
- lOO
Last Month.
Very good
Good ..
Not so good
Moderate
Improving
Declining
Slack
Totals
~embers .
Places.
Members.
94
26
1
1
3
2
9,861
6,468
292
437
108
597
1C8
20
125
17,9'11
125
17,871
77
35
1
6
13,897
3,218
386
2~ 2
108
The r eport of t he Amalgamated Society of Carpenters and Join ers for January shows t hat the season of
the year, and the holidays at the end of the year,
h ave caused a. large incr ease in the number of unemployed , but not a serious increase when the time and
the circumstan ces are taken into a ccount. Out of a
total of 6 1,871 members, 153 1 were on unemployed
benefit ; th~ totals inc~ude all the foreign members,
and those 1n the Umted States, Australasia, and
South Afri ca. There were also 1508 on sick benefit
and 842 on superannuation benefit. In r eferring to
the past year, the report~ states that it was one of
exceptional activity, and also of exceptional anxitty.
The latter was more especially in resp ect of the housebuilding trad e. It w:l.s not caused by any lack of work
but by unsettled conditions and thre:l.tened lock-outs
the Employers' Federation. The P lasterer s were to
b lame for a good deal of the tron ble and uncertainty.
by
102
E N G I N E E R I N G.
[} AN. I 9, I 900.
.*
E N G I N E E R I N G.
ON
10"
.)
ME RICAN BATTLESHIPS.
Fi[j.10.
~
r:-
I'LAT '0/I.NI
F"OR o,-~lfATOR ,
' I
.Arr1G
' ~tl ~
- 4 .?=---
501#.1!
..
..
t;'
l
II
I
I
I
Q3
II
I
~
C1)
~Q
-.
,...
'
~-
'
(~
5/SI. H.
I
I
-I
I
I
I
Piece
Piece No.me.
No.
1 Motor extension shaft
2 ' roes abaft
,
5
"
"
"
7 Thrust
8 Bevel gear" bearing
9
..
..
"
,
"
. abaft
Upper bearing for verttcal
10
lt Lower
,
,
11
12 Bedplate, right side .
,
left ,
13
..
"
Wanted
Mater ial.
for One.
1
Wrought s teel
11
,"
Cast iron
".. ..
"
"
" "
"
Cast steel
,
' . ,,"
"
..
..
Piece.
No.
17 Bevel gear
18
19
II
1
1
1
4
1
2
2
Wanted
Material.
for One.
2
.. Steel and bronze
2
Wrought steel
Piece
Piece Name.
14 F riction clutch
lli Worm
16 Pinion
..
No.
Piece Name.
"
"
,
,"
"
"
"
Roller
, cage
20
21
22
23 Circular rack
24 Upper track
..
25 Lower ,
..
Material.
Cast steel
"
..
"
"
"
" "steel
Wrought
Cast steel
" "
..
..
"iron
"
Wrought
26 Oil casing for worm, right aide
,
,
left
,
27
11
11
",
28 Casing for bevel gears, len side
right side ..
,
~9
"
"
..
...
"
Wanted
for One.
1
1
1
1
1
l
1
1
1
1
1
104
E N G I N E E R I N G.
var?-ou~ combinatio~s are made on a single cylind~r; when the armature fai1s, to release the arm, which will
while ~n the ?ther kmd, used for boat-cran~s, the. brakmg be thr<;>wn o.ff by the spring. This magnet considt~ of one
effect lS obtamed by means o~ a second cybnder mdepen- , spool m ser1~s w~th the motor field~ .. The pi roted iron
dently operated. In both kmds. of th~e controllers the armature whtch 1t attracts, engages w1tb a detent spring
cont~c~s a:re arranged, so that m hois~mg a load the upon the starling rheostat arm, and locks the latter as
opera.t10n IS exactly tb~ same as on one s1de of the R con- long as the mag:net is energised, but releases it when the
~rollers, but when actms as a bra~e-controller for lower- field current fatl~. The iron armature should never touch
m g a.. loa.d , O! for carrymg very hght loads, a d~fferent the iron pole-piecee of the m~gnet, but should always
combmat10~ lS made, so .that the rbe<;>stat. to w~1Ch ~be be separated b a. 5mall gap of non-magnetic material,
controlhr lS connected, mstead <?f b~1ng m senes w1th because tb~ residual magnetism of the magnetic circuit
~he at mature and graduall~ short-cucUlted as the ar~atu~e would be hable to hold the armature after the exciting
~~ broug:ht up to speed, 1s ~onne?td across the hoe m cu rrent had ceased. This magnetic contact is prevented
shunt w1th the arm~ture. By th1s arra.~gfment a ~ ma11 b~ a brass screw in each end of the armature projecting
amount of c~rrent 1s ~aken from the hne tbr~11gh ~be shghtly so R..S to strike the pole. piece first. The~e ecrews
rheostat duri.n g the tune that the arm~ture 1s bemg are adjustable, and must never be drawn back so as to
operated, .bestdes the current taken or gnen out by the become inoperative.
armature Itself. On. the first brake position <;>f this cono1:erload Magnet. - A ma net at the lown ri ht-hand
troller the.rh~ostat 1s co!lnected across the lu~e and the corner of the rheostat, is d:EiP~ed to rotect t:e motor
armature ts 10 s~unt With . a very. small port10n of the against overloads. This coil is connec1ed in series with
~heo.stat, so that 1f the load 1s suffiCl.ent to start. the motor tbe motor armature, and attracts an iron armature pi voted
It will operate as a generator, passmg a . certatn amo~nt at one end and resting horizontally below it. This armaof current throug~ the !Lrm.at~r~ and thts sm~Jl por t10n ture has a leaf copper strip supported at its free end
of the rheostat with whiCh 1t IS m shunt_; but ~f the load 'Vhen the armature is raised, the strip connects tw~
does not start the motor, the a~mature wtll recet ve a small brass post~, which are themselves connected to the taramount of current from the hn~ thr~ugh .t~e raeost.at. minals of the release magnet. ComequentJy, when the
If the armature d~es not start 1~ th1s posttt.on,, tun:nng current in the motor armature exceeds the amount for
t~e controller cyh~der further wtll connect It t.n s~unt which this device is set, the armature is raised, the release
Wlth a grea~r portlOn of .the .rheostat, thus causmg 1~ to magnet short-circuited, and the rheostat arm released
run fas ter 1f the load dnves 1t as a genera~or, or causmg causing it to pass to the off position and open the moto~
more. current. to pass through the rheostat .m to t~e arma- armature circuit. The guide in front of the overloadtu.r e m case 1t does not sta~t. As the cyhnder 1s turned magnet armature is stamped with a scale showing the
sttll further the armature will. be bro~ght up b.full.speed, number of amperes at which the device is set to operate,
no matter whether the.loa.d 1~ suffi01ent to dr1ve 1~ a.s a the armature having bee~ Fet at the proper position when
gen~rator, or whether 1t. reqmres current from the hoe to the motor was not runmng. If the starting Theostat or
ru.n 1.t as a moto~.. In tb1s way the speed ca.n ~e ~on.trolled the field rheostat be moved too rapidly, the overload
w1thm prop~r hmt~, no matter ~hetber 1t 1s hftmg t~e magnet may act. If this runs while starting the motor,
load or IS dn\'en by ~ts load. Thts. does not tak~ place. m the overload armature will be held and must be replaced
the case of the ordmary rheostattc controller, m whiCh by hand
'
G
l D
.~
case more resistance turned into the circuit will cause the
0
armaturE:' to run faster when it is driven by its loarl, and
ene?a
esc npttOns J S~lcno-ld B:(~kes.-. ulen01d
there is no W9 y of reducing its ~peed below its full load brakes !ire used ~~on th~ 13-m. ammumt~on hotsts. and
speed
the cbam ammumt10n botsts. The Eolen01d brake IS an
Th;ee kinds of B controllers are used, designated as electrically operated band. brake, des~gned to s~op the
B 15, B 15 B, and B 17. The B 15 controllers are used motor whe~ the curr~nt fatl~. It consists .essentially of
with 8in. and 1 ~-in. ammunition hoists, th~ B 15 B with the folloWJ~g parts. Wheel, band, solenoid, and lever.
the 6-pounder ammunition wmche~ and the B 17 with The wheell.S a. flR.t- fa.ced pul~ey, located on the .a.rmat~re
boat cranes
'
~haft. The brake band consl.Sts of sheet steel hoed With
.
.
leather, the ends being atta-ched to a lever turning upon
P Controller.-ThlS type o~ controller .ts ~Eed where the central pivot between them. This lever has at one
the ~oltage of the generator ts to be var1ed. m order to end a weight, which ordinarily acts by gravity, thus
obhm a cha~ge of speed of the motor, and 1~ therefore drawing the band tightly around the wheel, and preventc~lled a vanable voltage controlle:. There 1s only one ing the armature from turning. \ Vben this weight is
kmd of tb~e controllers. on these ships, known .as tb~ P 2, lifted, the brake band is released and the wheel turns
f~r controlling the rotat1on vf the turrets.. It ~~ radtcal~y freely. The solenoid consists of two spool8, the cores of
dtfferent from the other con~roller~ both lD des1gn and 10 which are attached to the brake lever and lifts the same
s~sten~ of contro), altboug~ 1~ retams the genoral ~eatures when energised; consequently, when the current is passed
g1 ven m the gen~ra.l descnpt10n, ~ut t~e proport10n and through the cores, due to the operation of the controller,
arrangement of 1ts contacts are qu1te different.
the brake is automatically released, and remains off until
Ge1U.ral Description of Controlling Panels. -Controlling the current is broken. There are means provided for
panels are supplied with all chain ammunition hoists and adjusting the distance between the ends of the brake
blowers. T hey are similar in design and construction, strap and the lever. The brake should alwars be kept
but differ in details in order to make them applicable to free to move, as it is the ultimate safety devtce iu case
the three kinds d motors which they operate.
other means of control fail. The wheel should be ke{>t
The panel consists of an enamel slate slab 24 in. by clean and free from oil or dirt, the leather on the band m
12 in., carrying on its face the fuses, switches, and good condition, and the band adjusted so that it does
rheostat arms, the rbeostats being on the back. The not bear upon the wheel at any point when lifted. The
rheostats are protected at th(:' side but not at the top and connection of the solenoid should be examined whenever
bottom. The front is guarded by perforated-hwged the motor is inspected.
Description of Generating Sets.-The engine is of the
cover fastened by a padlock. The terminals for w1res
are on the back of the slate at the top and bottom.
single crank, vertical, tandem, comround, double-acting,
Main Switch.-1he main switch of the panel is at the enclosed type, and has a. speed o 310 revolutions per
top, being triple. pole double-throw on all except those minute at full load, with 100 lb. steam pressure, and 25in.
for the exhau~t blowers, which are double-pole single- vacuum exhaust. Figs. 5 to 7, page 99, illustrate the
throw.
arrangement. There 1 a heavy bedplate bolted to the
This triple-pole double-throw switch is connected foundation ' upporting the engine and generator, and part
through fuses to the three lines of the mains, the binge of this bedplate forms a. reservoir for the oil used for
po::ts being connected to the motor. The lower and lubricating the moving parts of the engine. Th~ crankmiddle right-band posts are connected to the middle one pit, which is enclosed by the column, is acce sible through
of the upper po3ts. so that when the switch is thrown up a large door in front of the engine, and a smaller one at
1he armature of the motor is operated at 150 volts, and the back. The range of steam pressure for this engine i
the field exeited at 80 volts; when the switch is thrown between 80 lb. and 120 lb., but the normal as well as the
down both armature and fields are excited at 80 volts to most economical preEsure is 100 lb., and it is advisable to
give approximately one-half speed. It is necessary to maintain this P.ressure. The lowe t pressure at which
excite the sh unt field at the same voltage in both ca~es this engine w11l carry full load is 80 lb., with 25 in.
in order to obtain the proper field strength.
vacuum. The engine will carry an overload of 50 per
Field Rheostat.-The field rheostat is connected in cent., and may be run on a steam pressure up to 150 lb.
series with the field, and reg ulates the speed of the motor. without any trouble. The cylinders are 10! in. and 18 in.,
A plate above the rheostat contacts indicates that the with a stroke of 8 in. The cylinders are ea t in one
arm should be turned against the sun to reduce the speed, piece with the low-pressure cylinder on top. Both
and with th e sun to increase it, the plate being marked cylinders have relief valve , and are tapped for drain and
" fast" and "slow."
IOS
E N G I N E E R I N G.
The circuit bre1.ker consists of two p.l.irs of contacts,
and for each pair is a lever carrying a contact ~ade of
flexible copp~r leaves arranged to press firmly agamst the
contact blocks, and thus completing the circuit.
The levera are held closed by suitable tog-gle levers,
which are released whenever the currellt i n the trippio~
coil is sufficiently great to attract its armature. E~ch
lever is controlled by a sepl.rate handle,. an.d eac~ s1~e
may be closed independently. but the tr1ppmg cml will
release both levera at once. The le vera are made to act
independently, because it allo ws the fir.it one to open
instantly when the second one ii closed, if t here should
h~ppen to be a short circuit ; while if both levers operated
by one handle, they might be h eld clos~d long enou~h b.Y
the hand to do injury to the machine. The c1rcu1t
breaker may be easily tri.Pped by hand by pulling a small
le,er. In this way the ctrcuit braaker is used, not only as
an automatic protective device against overloads and
~hort circuit~, but is also used as the main switch for
opening and closing th9 generator c~rcu~t.. To prevent
the burning of the contacts wh~n the c1rcmt IS opened, the
contact blocks ara provided wi th a block of carbon, and
the lever is provided with a small copper bar with contact
blocks at the ends, which touch the carbon blocks before
the main boards are closed, and ~m openi ng the circuit,
leave the carbon blocks after ma10 contacts are opened.
This allows whatever arcing or burning there may be
on clo3ing or opening the circuit to take place on the
care on blocks, which may be e~ily renewed when
n(cessary. .
.
.
.
.
.
The tripping cm.l armatur.e I S .Provtded wit h an adJustable spring by wluch the ctrcu1t breaker may be set to
open at any desired current within its limits between 600
and 1200 ampereg, the setting being determined by a small
p 1inter~
.
.
.
A pilot lamp IS prov1ded, connected to the lower termtnals of the circuit breaker, which will show approximately
the Yoltage of the generator. ~t is protected by a pair of
small single-pole cut-outs, which also carry current for
the voltmeter on the instrument panel, the latter being
connected by pressure wires so that the pressure at the
bru~hes may always be indicated, whether the headboard
switches be opene:l or closed.
The negative shunt field lead is br<;mght to the lower
left-hand binding post of the c::ircuit breaker, and the
positi\'e lead of the ~hunt fi eld is taken to a small post
on the right-hand side, and from ther~ to t he main g:enerator switchboard. From the lower nght-ha.nd termmals
of the circuit breaker is tak en a lead througl? the field
rheostat to the main generator board. In th.is way the
field circuit of the generator is not disturbed when running self exciting, if the circuit breaker is opened, although
the ~hunt circuit may be opened at the m~in generator
board.
In the centre of the headboard i'3 a switch with a removable blade, which short-circuits. when it is closed, the
series winding of the generator, so that it may be operated
as a shnnt-wound generator for turnin~ turrets.
Distribution Boards.-D.istribution boards are di vided
into two classes, main and auxiliary; the main boards
being those connected by the feederd to the switchbo~rd
bus-bars and located upon the splinter deck. The auxiliary
boards are fed from the main boards, and are located at
the various centres of distribution. There are three main
distribution boards and seven auxiliary boards. Their
location and the general manner in which the circuits are
con trolled are described above, under the head of
"Description of Distribution."
Descrip_ttion of the T1trret- Tu1ning S ystem and Apparatus.-Each double turret (Fig~. 8 to 10, page 103) is
turned electrically, the method of the speed control of the
driving motors being entirely different from that of any
other mo~or in the ship. Tbe:-e are two 50 horse-power
electric motors, located below the floor of each 13-in. turret.
These motors are regulated in speed and direction by a
controller, situated under the sighting hood, between the
13-in. guos. The operator has only to turn his controller
handle from the "off " position in the direction in which
he wishes the turret to move, and the motors will drive
the turret as desired, the speed of travel being dependent
upon the amount which the handle has been displaced.
The method of control depends upon the fact that the
speed of a motor armature running in a constant magnetic
field is proportional to the volts impressed upon its
brushes. Therefore, by conveniently varying this voltage
the apeed of the motor is changed. In this case each
turret requires one independent generator for the supply
of the turning motors; but the dynamo switchboard is
so designed that any generator may be used for either
turret. The fields of the motors of the generator are
separately excited from the switchboard bus bars, and are
consequently independent of the voltage generated by
the armature of the dynamo. The field rheostat on the
generator panel board is cut out, and in its place another
rheostat in the turret operated by the controller is used,
the generator field wires being carried to the turret for
this ~urpose. The series coil of the generator is shortcircmted by a switch on the headboard. The armature
terminals of the generator are connected through the
necessary switches, &c. directly to the armature terminals of the motors. The motors are in multiple. As
the engine drives the dynatno armature at a constant
speed, the volts delivered by it to the motor armatures are
approximately proportional to the shunt field excitation,
and consequent-ly the speed of these armatures and of the
turrets is directly controlled by the operator in the turret.
The current required is dependent upon the turning
moment n e~sary to overcome mechanical resistance,
and will not vary greatly at any constant speed, regardless
of what that speed may be. The circuit is so arranged
that either motor may be electrjcally cut out, and the
other motor be operated to the extent of its capacity. If,
when the motor IS in motion, the controller is t urned to
ro6
E N G I N E E R I N G.
lower frame and are drilled for bolting the motor to its
foundation. The upper frame is held in position by six
steel ta.p bolts. The pole-pieces are of cast steel, and are
bolted to sea ts bored in magnet frame and located at
45 deg. from the horizontal. The armature bearings are
cast on the lower trame, and are fitted with rem(}vable
caps and split linings. They also have large pockets for
catching the waste grease. The caps are held in position
by steel bolts, and liave large grea~e boxes cast on, fitted
with bronze covers held in place by copper-plated steel
springs. The armature bearing linings are cast iron
ba.bbitted, made in two halves, the upper halves being
supplied with slots for admitting the grease lubricant to
the shaft. The brush rigging consists of a revolving castiron yoke made in two halves fi tting on commutator end
bearing. This yoke supports four insulated brass studs,
which are cross-connected by flex ible cable, r ubber insulated and braided. Each stud has six brush holders
wi~h carbon brushes.
The carbon is taken from each
brush to the brush bolder by a small flexible cable or
" pig-tail." The brush-bolder cables are rubber ins ulated
and braided, and are brought through rubber-bushed
boles in the lower magnet frame.
Field Coils.-Tbere are four field coils fitting around
and held in position by the pole-pieces. The coils are
thorough ly covered with varnished cambric and taped,
then coated with japan. Each end of the winding is
soldered to a copper terminal, or binding post, for holding
the field leads. The field leads are made of flexible
cables, rubber insulated and braided to ! in. diameter.
The field leads are brought through holes in the frame
insulated with soft rubber bushings. The armature is of
the drum-wound type, multiple connected. The core is
made up of sheet-iron laminations, supplied with slots
for carrying the armature conductors and supported by a
cast-iron spider, which is keyed to the shaft. The core
and slots are thoroughly insulated with paper and mica.
The commutator segments are each thoroughly insulated
with mica. The controller is Form B 17, referred to
above under the head of "B Controllers."
Afte1 B oat Cram.es.-There are two after boat cranes
located at frame 53, starboard and port, having a capacity
of 4000 lb. at 40ft. per minute.
Each crane has the same height and reach as the
forward cranes, but is built lighter; all of the mechanical operating machinery is of the same design but
smaller, so that the description previously given for the
forward crane applies equally well to the after crane,
except in case of the motor and some of the electrical
apparatus.
Thirteen-I'flch A mmunition H oists. - One 20 horsepower, 160-volt motor is located under the central
girder of the turret for the operation of each of the
13-in. hoists, being supported by the bottom plate of
the turret. A drum on the intermediate shaft operates the ammunition car bv a flexible steel rope,
passing over leading sheaves. VThe car travels on girder
rails.
M otors.-The motors are of the armoured type. They
have four poles, are shunt wound with fields excited at
80 volts, and give an output of 20 horse-powe~ at 16Q
volts, with an armature speed of 350 revolutiOns per
minute.
E ight-I nch A mmunition H oist.-One 6 horse-power,
160 volt motor is located outboard of each 8-in. gun, on
the gun floor under the sighting hoods, for the operation
of the 8-in. ammunition hoist. A shaft extends across
the turret from one motor to the other, which is divided
into four sections, the two outboard ones being c::arri~d Ly
bearings cast on the motor frames, anq formmg m~er
mediate shafts for the motors, the two nuddle ones bemg
carried by bearings formed in the deck lugs of the 8in.
guna. The tw<? outboard or end s.ecti<?ns are coupled to
the middle sechons by mean~ of cyhndncal shaft coupler.s,
which are keyed to the end seet10ns and f~tened to. the
middle sections by set screws. The two middle sectiOns
are both keyed in a cylindrical shaft cou ~ler at tb~ cen t~e,
thus acting as one shaft. Each end sectiOn carries at 1ts
inboard end a gear meshing with a pinion. at the armature
shaft and ab its outboard end a drum which operates the
amm~nition car by a flexible steel rope passing over leading sheaves. The drum is attached to the shaft by a
clutch operated by a. hand lever, so that it may either run
loose or turn with the shaft, as desired. It also has a
band brake operated by a hand lever.
For ordinary operation the end sections of the. crossshaft will be disconnected from the central portiOn by
means of the set screws in the shaft couplingR, so that
each motor operates its hoist independently, and ~be load
is hois ted and lowered by startmg and reversmg the
motor by means of the con troller, the drum being held
tight on the shaft by its clutch, and the band brake not
used. If, however,. one of t~e motors should be m~de
inoperative both h01sts can still be worked by connectmg
in the cen t;a.l portion of the cross-~baftl by means of ~be
set screws in the shaft couplers at 1ts ends, thus makmg
the crossshaft act as one solid piece, and allowing both
drums to be operated by the unin jured motor.
Six-Pounder Winch Hoist.~.-Tbere are two 6I?Ounder
winch ammunition hoists located at frame 74, JUSt aft
of the after barbette on the berth deck, starboard and
port.
.
.
f
t .
b d
De.cwription .-Each bmst con.s1sts o a cas -Jion e plate on top of which is bolted an armoured motor, and
unde~eath the motor is located the resistance box. ~he
bottom of the bedplate is extended, and the operatmg
controller bolted to this extension. T~e sha.ft for the
drum is supported on brackets ~r beanngs,. wblCh are
part of the motor casing. Motion IS commumcated from
the armature of the motor to the drum shaft
J?eans
of a cut caststeel pinion, having 14 teeth, mesbmg 1~to a
cut cast-steel gear, having 66 teeth,. and s~cured m an
oil-tight covering. On one end of th1s shaft IS keyed the
py
[JAN. I 9, I900.
reversing switch closed in the direction it is desired to
run the hoist; that is, up for hoisting and down for
lowering; the field rheostat arm at the extreme left for
the slowest speed, and the star~ing rheostat arm in the off
position; then throw the main triple pole switch up if
desired to run at 160 voltS or down for 80 volts, being
careful to close it a.s far as it will go in order to be sure
that the field discharge resistance clips are opened.
The field will now be excited by a current of about
three amperes; and the solanoid brake with a. current of
about two ampere~, which will raise the cores and release
the brake. Now turn the startin~ rheostat arm with the
sun from the off position; this completes the armature
circuit with the two halves of the starting rheostat in
multiple, and star ts the motor; and as the arm is slowly
turned to the last position and held there by the spring
catch, the rheostat is cut out and the armature connected
directly to the line ; at the same time the resistance of
onehalf of the rheostat is inserted in series with the
solenoid brake, reducing its current from about two
amperes to abont one ampere. The speed of the motor
may now be increased by slowly turning the field rheostat
arm with the s un, cutting in the field rheostat, thus reducing the current in the field. Should this be done too
fast, the load will be increased so rapidly as to lift tbe
armature of the overload magnet and shut down the
motor. This same thing will occur if the machine is
overloaded by any accident to the machinery, as, for
example, an ammunition box jamming in the hoist, which
will be stopped automatically and without injury to any
of its parts.
Description of Rammers for 13-I n. Gun.- One 5 horsepower, 80-volt, series.wound motor is located outboard of
each rammer on the 13-in. gun .floor. The shaft cou~lea
direct to the rammer, in the mechanism of which IS a
friction sheave, which may be adju sted so that in case too
great obstruction is met, as would occur if the r~mm~r
reached ita limit before the motor is stopped; this will
slip and prevent so great a load as to cause the fUes, or
circuit breaker, to act.
Motors.-The motors are of the armoured type. T hey
have four poles, are series-wound, and give an output of
5 horse-power at 80 volts with an armature speed of
775 revolutions per minute. The controller is form R 23,
previously described , and is supported horizontally on
top of the rammer.
Description of Electric Elevating Gear for 13In. Guns. One ~ horsepower, 80 series-wound motor, located in
the central girder below the 13in. gun floor, elevates each
13-in. gun. It stands with the. commutator to~~rd the
centre line of the turret, and dnves tbrou6b a pmi<?n and
train of gears. There is an idler gear m serted m the
mechanism of the right gun, in order that the two
motors may not be exactly opposite each other and thus
render access to the brushes difficult. It is operated by
a controller situated beneath the telescope under the
sighting hood. The rheostat is located below the controller and the switch panel is fastened to the ma.ntlet
plate ~t a convenient point. The motors are the same as
those used for the 13-in. rammer, except that the field
and armature have different windings so as to give a
speed of 300 revolutions per minute at 80 volts and
2~ horse-power output.
The controlling devi~es are
generally similar in principle to those used w1th the
rammers for the 13in. guns.
. .
Description of Ventilating Fans.- 50-In. Ventt.latLng
Blo-zoers.-Tbere are ten 50-in. ventilating blowe~, each
driven by an electric motor, located as follows :
T wo on the splinter deck at frame 26, starboard and
port.
.
.
Two on the splinter deck m the dynamo-room at frame
39, starboard and port.
Two on the berth deck at frame 40, starboard and port.
T wo in the engine batch on the main deck.
.
T wo on the splinter deck at frame 65,. sta.r l,oard and
port.
.. ,
.
.
Descrtption.-Each blower lS duect- connected to a
12 borsepower electric motor, supported on a shelf pr~
jecting from the side of the blower. They are set m
pairs, equally Clistributed between star board a~d port.
Description of Motors.-Tbe motors are entue]y open,
shunt wound, of the multipolar type, having an outp?t,
with 160 volts on the armature, of 12 borsepower w~th
an armature speed of 500 revolutions per minute. With
field regulation tb~ speed can be reduced to 400 r ev~lu
tions and by runmng the armature on 80 volts about oueba.lf the above speeds can be obtained.
Method of Ope1ation.- To start the motor on 160 volts,
assume the triple pole switch to be thrown up, tb~ field
rheostat arm to be turned to the extrem~ left for slo~
speed, and the startin~ rbeo;:,tat arm t o be m the off position. Fields will be exmted from 80 volts. When th~ ~tar~
ing rheostat arm is turned clockwi~e from the off pos1 t10n 1b
completes the a-rmature circuit with the two halves of the
rheostat in series. This starts the motor, and as tb~ arm
is slowlY. turned to the last position, the rheostat IS cut
out until the motor is running on 160 volts at about 400
revol utions per minute. The speed .of the m~tor may
then be increased to about 525 revolutiOns per mtnut~ by
slowly turning the aonta~b a~m of the field rheostat m a
clockwise direction, cuttmg m the field rheo.stat, thus reducing the amperes in the field. Sbou~d tbts be d~ne too
fast, the load will be increased so ra.p1dly ~s t<;> .lift the
armature of the overload magnet, short-cJicuttmg the
release magnet and shutting do~ tb~ motor. The same
thing will take place. if the machine 1s overloaded by any
accident to the machinery.
107
E N G I N E E R I N G.
a
LLOYD WISE.
ately substituted for it. The rods are enclosP.d wi~bin a gla~s
channels, are subjected to beat, an~ the me~l, w~en in a molten ~lobe
furnished with a common or mutual resistance, and
condition (the plunger in the c hnder be1n~ ra1sed), flows a!ld beati~gand
coils which a re cut out wben one of the r ods has bte n
rises to its liquid level in the channels. The plunger on 1ts
rendered incandescent. Incandescent ~odi~s of. the ~1~ referred
to may thus be a rranged either to perm1t .h1gb 11lummat1oD, ~r to
burn continuously fCir a lengthened penod as may be dts1r ed.
(.4ccepted December 13, 1899.)
183t. 11. Btrst, London. and J. V. Zealander. Salford. RaU Bonds. [5 F igs.] J a nuary 26, 1899.- This in
vention relates to bonds for connec ting rails which a re used as
return conductors, and has for object to permit the use of an
ordinary fishplate joint, which is bridged in such manner that
the electric continuity is not disturbed by expansion and contraction due to changes of temperature. The bonds consist of a
pair of cur ved conducting strips, one of which is p rovided with a
~--Piy.1.--------- ~ ........
Organ ~o~pler.
pedal combination , the device which operates the manual c::>mbination is provided with a doub~e touch, so that when. a.c~ate.d
to a certain extent a change 10 the manual combmat10n 1s
effected; at this point incr eased r esistance is felt, a nd when this
is overcome, and the device is further actuated, a change takes
place in the pedal combination, corresponding to that effected
on the manuals. These changes may most conveniently be
effected by pneumatic or electro-pneuma.tic agency ; and an
elec tro-pneumatic mode of carrying out t he invention is described
by way of example ; the invention is, however, not limited by the
applirant to this particular application, or method of carrying it
into effect. (.A ccepted December 13, 1899.)
-- . .. -------------
-- ~-~{Q]
~-
FifJ.3.
more chases or aper tures of sufficient length to per mit the lubr ication of every portion of the bearing. The spindle is secured in
the fork with the lubricating chase at the bottom of the tube, by
means of a split pin passing t hrough holes in t he fork ; and its
ends are fitted with screw caps, so that the tube may be readily
filled with the lubricant. (Accepted December 13, 1899. )
Lamps. [4
+ -
-r
r-
....
Fi.fJ.2.
+
108
ENGINEERING.
. . 2.
(zs.J2
hy
MISCELLANEOUS.
17,696. J . C. Swan, Newcastle-on-Tyne. Cement
Kilns. [3 Figs.] August 16, 1b98.-A vertical kiln adapted
for contmuous treatment of cementmaking materials has in it
upper part.a number of iron tubes of downwardly increasing dia
meter, wb1cb are heated by the waste gases in their ascent to
wards the outlet flue. The slurry is admitted into these tubes
a~d ie dr~ed .as it de.soends throug~ them into the body of th~
k1ln, wh10h JS of bnckwork, tapermg downward, and in which
the silicates are dehydrated, and the carbonates decarbonated.
The m.teria.l de1oenda into a wat erja.oketed ooniinllatieD, wilieR.
. . :l .
Fig.1.
is supplied with furnace or producer gas; the beat of combustion
. ..,
.
bein~