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

HYDRAULICS OF FIRE STREAl\I. .

THE combustible nature of many of the buildings
in America, owing to the free use of t~mber in th.eir
construction, has led to very great Interest being
taken there in fire-resisting appliances, not only
among property ~wners, but al.so by . t he. gen eral
public. The efficie.n ~y of the .bngades ~s stimulated
by periodic compet1t10ns, while t he officers of t he
insurance corporations exhibit th e gr eatest interest
in all improvements tending to r ender buildings
better fl.ble to resist combustion, and in n ew
appliances for the purpose of extinguishing fires.
Among the many cle.vices ~hich have been i.ntroduced from time to time to Increase the efficiency

1 per cent. , and that probably the mean of. tl~e

values found for a. given nozzle was correct within
a somewhat smaller limit ."
Figs. 3 to 9 show examples of the forms of
nozzles most generally used, while the Table on
page 718 gives the results of the t~sts.
I t will be seen that the coefficients decrease as
the diameter increases from . 083 for a to . !J71 for e.
The larger coefticient of the !-in. a~d J in. nozzles
is due to the relative decr ease of fnctwn loss consequent on the area of t he waterway through the
play pipe bearing a larger r~tio t o the ~r:ea of the
nozzle and the smaller coefficient of the 1~-1n. nozzle
is due' to the r elatively small size of throat, or small
end of the play pipe. Several other con es of the

~ ~ -

pressure gauge is at hand, ~nd is conne?ted dire~tly

to the base of the play pipe by a su1ta.ble petzometer, is equal to all t~e requir~ments of a pumping engine test, and u; equal In accuracy to the
ordinary weir measurement.
nder: 80 lb. pressure four 1! -in. n ozzles, connec~ed duectly to the
main without hose, would discharge the full
capacity of a pump lifting 2,500,000 gallons p er
twenty-four hours.
.
.
F or the information gained In }us tests, . Mr.
Freen1an has designed the standard n ozzle Illustrated in Fig. 12. I t will be noticed that the end
is made very h eavy to resist burning, and that.the
lip is cut out to prevent the edg~s of the. ~nfi~e
being b urred. The washer by which the JOlllt Is

25,.

Fig. 9.

..
30

i'"'---

' I

f\J

Fig. 4-. e

Fig . ID.

Pig. 5. c
~~

Pig .71

.Piq. 12.

of the briaades, there have been many form of

nozzles d;sign ed to produce jets of exceptional
solidity and power. Some little time ago a large
number of these nozzles were submitted to exact
tests by Mr. J ohn R. Freeman at the expense. of
the Associated Factory Mutual Insurance Companies
of New England and P ennsylvania. These experiments were carried out with the very gr eatest care,
and have a value for many purposes besides those of
fire brigades.
Each nozzle was t ested in conjunction with a
short ''play pipe " of very much larger diameter
than itself, and the coefficient of discharge obtained
was practically that of play pipe and nozzle combined. The pressure of water at the base of the
play pipe was most carefully measured by means of
a. peizometer. This consisted of a. ring (Figs. 1 and
2) surrour.ding the pipe and connected t o it by
four holes drilled exactly square to the pipe and
without burrs. From the ring there was led a
pipe to a fixed mercurial column, on which the
pressure could be read within 0.15 of a pound.
The discharge from the nozzle was measured in
a tank which had been very carefully calibrated.
The jet was first allowed to become steady, running to waste, and was then deflected against a
screen, which guided the water into a tank for a
certain interval of time, which was read by a stopwatch to the tenth of a second. The a1nount of
water caught was then read off, and the discharge
calculated in gallons per minute. The dian1eters of
the nozzles were tak en with fine micromet er callipers, and were believed t o be correct within
rr~" in. In speaking of the many precautions
taken, many of which we have n ot space t o notice,
Mr. Freeman says: "To sum the whole matter
up, we may have confidence that in general our
determina.tions of the coefficient of discharge of
nozzles were certainly correct within one-half of

~:

F'iiJ.73

Fig. 16.

Fiy. 17.

Pig.15.

Ji'-?g .14.

, (\J
I

made with the play pipe is outside the latter, and

cannot project into the stream, while a rim prevents
it being blown out.
Some firemen have had a great belief in the
efficiency of ring nozzles, but t his will be swept
away by the experiments. We illustrate three
forms, out of many, in Figs. 13, 14, and 15. The
first has a coefficient of . 736, the second of . 713,
and the third of .582. The last is not a. style in
practical use, but was constructed for the sake of
the experiments. The ring nozzle has sometimes
an apparent advantage over the plain nozzle, since
it throws a smaller jet, even when of the same diameter, and thus the pressure in the play pipe is
better maintained when the water is delivered
through a long length of hose.
vVhile making tests of the jets Mr. Freeman also
investigated the loss of head due to friction in different kinds of hose. His results are extremely
inter esting, and demonstrated to what an enormous
exten t internal stnoothness increases the conduct~
ing power. Fourteen different specimens of 2!-in.
hose were tried in all with J l -in., 1! -in. , and 1 ~ in.
sn1ooth n ozzles, and in some cases with smaller
nozzles.
The hydrant pressure \aried fron1
15 lb. to 125 lb. per square inch, and the delivery
of the hose fron1 about 50 to 325 r nited States
gallons* a minute; the corresponding mean linear
velocity in some of the kinds of hoses varied fron1
3ft. to 21ft. a second. The loss of pressure by friction
was found to follow the common theory of being
proportional to the square of the discharge closely

same gen eral character as those engraved were

tested, the coefficient varying 1nostly from . 971 t o
.978. Two nozzles, however, fell below this
standard ; they are illustrated in Figs. 10 and 11.
The latter had a coefficient of . 946 owing to increased friction due t o the narrowness of the waterway n ear the down stream end of the play pipe.
In Fig. 10 the coefficient was . 961, the r eduction
being produced by inserting a h ollow con e, which
formed a sharp-cornered ridge projecting into th e
waterway -frr in. When the cone was removed the
coefficient was . 976.
These experiments show that the coefficient of
discharge of nozzles is not very sensitive to peculiarities of form and finish, but that nozzles of the
same gen eral style made at different times and
places may be relied upon to give, for a given
pressure and area of outlet, discharges which are
identical within t he practical limits of measurement. Mr. Freen1an argues fron1 this that by
means of smooth h ose nozzles of ordinary good
construction, water under high pressure may be
measured with extreme accuracy, and that this
* A United States gallon of water weighs Slb., or
method of tneasurement, provided an accurate .8 of an Imperial gallon.

718

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

enough for all practical purposes, but the fact

that there was a slight divergence from the law
was also clearly sh own. The results of a number
of experiments ar~ plotted in Fig. 18, in which t h e
full hnes sh ow t he r esults and the dotted lines are
math ematical curves of square plotted t hrouah
the
0
240-gallon point. The length of h ose varied from
50 ft. to 350 ft., and the friction loss was found to
be proport:o:1al to t he length. The pressures were

[DEc. I 5, I 893.

F igs. 16 and 17 show t he appearance of samples

K and G. This entirely upsets the manufacturer's
th eory t hat the roughness does not matter since
the w~ter "lies dead" all r ound t he periphe;y.
T o Illustrate th e effects of the diameter of hose
upon the loss of pressure by friction, Mr. Freeman
has calculated the following Table, which is based
on .the. well-known law t hat t he loss of pressure
van es Inversely as the fift h power of the diameter.

1 /

THE AMERIOAN SOCIETY OF NAVAL

ARCHITECTS.

//

'i

(FROM OUR NEW YORK CORRESPONDENT.)

Pig. 18.
FF?ICTION LOSS IN .CIR HOSE

figuru. 11/pYt lint-grvt-mean pf?I$Sure withinhofif-J

- number oF txp .t J~
DoUetl curvu gwe. lo53 cu propori:.Jonrui to
,

below

Sq,uare oF Quantity_ .sl:orting From l:h~

24-0 gallon point oftJ,e curve through
tht. o~crvatiDn3.

J CO

T .\.U LE SHOWING COEFI'I CI ENTS 01' DISCHARGE OF s~roOTll CoNE NozzLES 011' VAUIOUS SIZK?.
U)
~

Q.l
N

-- .
00

CISG?

S:: G.I
-.Cl

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1.001

1.126

ll

1. 250

1.375

(/)

(g)

Cl)

.880

(.A)

(e)

Cl)

.751

(b)

(c)

.
..
.
.0

play.pipe with
nozzle o ff

1.550

...

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50.0
40.0
25.0
80.0
60.0
50.0
30.0
50.0
40.0
30.0
50.0
40.0
~
30.0
20.0
, 54.0
50.0
40.0

30.0
25.0
" 15.0
30.0
25.0
20.0
20.0
12.0

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120.:3
117. 2
104.4
83.4
205.2
177.0
162.0
125.0
208.5
186. 4
161.0
266.5
238.2
205. 9
169.0
344.2
330.2
295.5
256.0
233.4
180.4
310.6
283.0
252.0
338.5
261.0

,VI

's:: '"'
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Q)
- en s::
os::
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ClJ . . Q ) .

.0 d

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::SQ.I::so
> ..... ....
c
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zG'Jo ~

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1
1
1
2
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4
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2
1
2
6
4
4
6
4

2
1
2

r ead at each end of the hose every half-minute,

and several independent tests were made of each
sample. Taking t he specimens marked in the
Table, t he worst (L) was unlined linen hose ; at a
discharge of 240 gallons per minute it lost about
27 lb. per 100ft. of length. The r ough rubber
lined hose J{ was nearly as bad; under the same
conditions it lost 24 lb. A notable improvement is
seen when we come to the very smooth rubber l in ed hose D , and the medium rubber-lined hose
G t hese both lost about 12 lb. The leather hose
J iost 11lb., and the very smooth solid r ubber hose
A 10 lb. Thus between the best and the worst the
loss varied from 10 lb. to 27 lb. per 100 ft. This
differ ence was entirely due to the varieties in the
smoothness of surface in the hose. Mr. Freeman
devised a most ingenious method of demonstrating
whn.t t he interior was liko; h e filled up a piece of
h ose with plaster-of-paris, and t hen applied a water
pressure of 100 lb. per square inch until t he plaster
set. The result.ing cylinder was then cut out.

Q)

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.46
.38
.31
.20
1. 21
.91
.74
.44
1. 26
1.00

.74
2.04
1.64
1. 22
.82
3.40
3.18
2.50
1.86
1.56
.9-l
2.80
2.2$
1.82
3.31
1.95

Cl) . .

60.46
50.38
40.31
25.20
81.21
60.91
50.74
30.44
51.26
41. 00
30.74
52.04
41.64
31.22
20.82
57.40
63.18
42.50
31.86
26.56
15.94
32.80
27.28
21.82
23.31
13.95

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94.83
86.56
77. 43
61.23
109.90
95. 18
86.87
67.29
87.31
78.09
67.62
87.97
78. 70
68.15
55.65
92.40
88.93
79.51
68.84
62.84
48.69
69.84
63.70
56. 96
58.87
45.55

cos::
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130. 9
119.5
106.9
84.5
208.3
180. 4
164.7
127.6
214. 1
191.6
165.9
273.0
244.3
211.5
172.7
363.4
340. 2
304.1
263.3
240.4
186.2
323.2
294.8
263.6
346.2
2G7. 9

From our r eaders' point of view the experiments

with the nozzles will have the greatest inter est.
Such nozzles appear to form measuring apparatus
which can be r elied upon to less than 1 per cent.
They are small in size, and can be procured in almost
all parts of th e world. Those who wish to gain
the benefits of Mr. Freeman's researches into the
h eight to which jets will rise we must refer to his
paper r ead before t he American Society of Civil
Engineers, and published in No. 426 of t heir
Transactions.

. . Q.I

s:: to
Q) ....

... CIS
t ..c:

fEO
a~

<1)
...

OQ

--- - :--- .988

.981
.977
.987
.985
.981
.984
.980

),

.983

J
.982

.9i4
.973
.970
.976
.975
.973
.979
.974
.971
.972
.972
.971

} .972

.97G

lJ

.971

.959

.976

.9G8
.9Gl
-960
.95G
.978
.974

The comparison in each case is for any definite

number of gallons per minute in hose of equal
smoothness, but of different diameter.
Comparison of Friction in H ose of DijJ'e1ent Diameters.
The loss of pressure due to friction in 3-in. hose is 40 per
cent. of that in 2~ in.
The loss of pressure due to friction in 2~-in. hose is 50 per
cent. of tha.t in 2~ in.
The loss of pressure cfue to friction i1a 2:{in. hose is 62 per
cent. of th at in 2~ in.
The loss of pressure due to friction in 2~in. hose is 78 per
cent. of that in 2~ in.
The loss of pressure due to friction in 2~in. hose is 29 per
cent. more than that in 2~ in.
The loss of pressure due to friction in 2!-in. hose is 70 per
cent. more than that in 2~ in.
The loss of pressure due to friction in 2~-in. hose is two
times as much as in 2~ in.
The loss of pressure due -to friction in 2-in. hose is 3.03
times as much as in 2~ in.

This Table shows how essential it is to fire

brigades t hat their hose should be the largest hose
that ca.n he conveniently handled.

THE first annual meeting of an organisation

attracts about as much interest and is almost as
much of an event as the first baby in a wellr egulated family. The writer is therefore inclined
~o go more into detail in the description of the
Inaugural meeting of the American Society of
Naval Architects and Marine Engineers, held in
New York City on November 16, 17, and 18 last.
The older societies gave to the infant one a most
cord~al welcome, as was its j ust due. Perhaps
nothmg better marks the progress of engineering
in the United States than the fact that no one or
half-dozen organisations can cover the field of
thought or inquiry, and it is a source of pride to
every American that naval architecture and marine
engineering have awakened sufficient interest to
require a separate organisation. This shows that
we are progressing rapidly as a maritime nation ,
and slowly but surely regaining the position which
was lost at the time of our civil war.
The chair of the presiding officer was most ably
filled by the president of our great American
Line, the International Navigation Company, Mr.
Clement A. Griscom. His opening add r ess, on
November 16, was most felicitous. H e held it a
happy coincidence that this Society should have
sprung into existence at the time the nation was
creating a new navy, and said the appropriations
of Congress for cruisers and battleships had
also stimulated an interest in maritime affairs
generally, and that a navy could not be maintained
without a merchant marine t o sustain it. H e
congratulated the Society on the splendid achievements of its members in the art of shipbuilding.
This eloquent address was followed by the r eport
of Mr. F. T. Bowles, chairman of the executive
committee. The Society has 4 life members, 260
active m<'mbers, 165 associates, and 2 juniorst otal 431. Its r eceipts were 5403 dols. and expendit ure 767 dols., leaving a balance in treasUJ y
of 4636 dola.
'he following persons wer e then elected to office :
President : Clement A. Griscom, of Philadelphia,
president International Navigation Company.
First Vice-President : Theodore D. Wilson, of
Washington, ex-Chief Constructor, U .S.N.
Vice-Presidents : Charles H. Cramp, of Phila~
delphia, president William Cramp and Sons' Ship
and Engine Building Company ; George vV. Melville, of Washington, D. C., Engineer-in-Chief,
U.S. N . ; George Vv. Quintard, of New York,
president Quintard Iron Works ; Irving M. Scott,
of San Francisco, vice-president and general
manager Union Iron Works; Francis A. Walker,
of B ost on, president Massachusetts I nstitute of
Technology ; William H. Webb, of New York,
naval architect (retir ed); Charles H. Loring, of
Brooklyn, ex-Engineer-in-Chief, U.S. N. ; .Philip
Hichborn, of Washington , Chief Constructor,
U.S.N. ; R. vV. Meade, Commodore, U.S.N.
Secretary and Treasurer: 'Vashington L. Capps,
of Washington, Assistant Naval Constructor , U .S. N.
Members of Council : Francis T. Bowles, of
Norfolk, Va., Naval Constructor, U.S. Navy;
F. E . Chadwick (associate), of vVashington, D.C.,
Commander, U.S. Navy; F. L. Fernald, of New
York, Naval Constructor, U.S. Navy; H. T.
Gause, of vVilmington, Del. , vice-president Harlan
and Hollingsworth Company; N. G. Hcrreshoff,
of Bristol, R.I., vice-president and general manager
H erreshoff Manufacturing Company; Philip Rich born, of 'Vashington, D.C., Chief Nav~l Constructor, U.S. Navy; T. W. Hyde, of Bath,
Maine, president Bath Iron 'Vorks; W. H. Jaques
(associate), of Sout h Bethlehem , Pa., ord nance
engineer Bethlehem Iron Company ; J. C. Kafer,
of New York, superintendent Morgan Iron Works ;
Frank King, of Sparrows Point, Md ., superinten
dent marine department Maryland Steel Company;

E N G I N E E R I N G.
F. E. Kir by, of Detroit, Mich., consulting and
constructing engineer Detroit Drydock Company;
Stevenson Taylor, general manager W. and A.
Fletcher Company; J. W. Miller (associate), of
New York, president Providence and Stonington
Steamship Company; Lewis Nixon, of Philadelphia,
Pa.., general manager hull department William
Cramp and Sons' Ship and Engine Building Comp any; C. B. Orcutt, of New York, president Newport News Shipbuilding Company; J. F. Pankhurst, of Cleveland, Ohio, vice-president and general
manager Globe Iron Works; Harrington Putnam
(associate), of New York, counsellor-at-law;
W. T. Sampson (associate), of Washington, D. C.,
Commodore, U.S. Navy, Chief of Bureau of Ordnance; H orace See, of New York, consulting
engineer and na.val architect; E. A . Stevens (associate), of H oboken, N .J., president Hoboken
Ferries; G. E. Weed, of New York, pres~dent
Morgan Iron 'Vorks ; F. W. Wheeler, of West
Bay City, Mich., president F. W. Wheeler Shipyard and Drydock Company.
Executive Committee: Francis T. Bowles, chairman; H. T. Gause, E. A. Stevens, L ewis Nixon,
Harrington Putnam, C. A. Griscom, ex officio;
W. L . Capps, ex officio.
The object of the Society is "the promotion of
the art of shipbuilding, commercial and naval, ':
and to be a member, one must be a naval architect
or marine engineer, or a professor of naval architecture or mechanical engineering, and he must be
not less t han twenty-five years old, and have been in
a responsible position for at least three years. The
meeting was extremely well attended, and many of
the most prominent engineers in the United States
were present; among them your correspondent
noted the following : J. F. Holloway, Past-President of the Mechanical Engineers ; Professor J.
E. Denton, Stevens Institute, Hoboken, N.J. ;
Professor W. F. Durand, Cornell University,
Ithaca, N. Y. ; S. Dana Gr eene, General Electric
Company, New York; Jas. T. Boyd, general
manager George F. Blake Manufacturing Cornpany, New York; C. H. Haswell, New York ; H .
B. Roelker, New York ; A. A. Henderson, Chief
Engineer, U. S.N.; A. P. .Niblack, Lieutenant,
U.S.N.; J. J. Woodward, Naval Constructor, U.S.N.;
A. H. Raynal, superintendent S. L. Moore and
Sons' Company, E lizabeth, N.J.; Professor C. H.
Peabody, Massachusetts Institute of Technology,
Boston; F. M. Wheeler, Wheeler Condenser and
Engineering Company, New York; R . W. Davenport, vice-president of the Bethlehem Iron Company, South Bethlehem, Pa. ; Charles E. Emory,
New York ; G. A. Cormack, secretary of the
Corinthian Yacht Club; Wm. Gardner, 1, Broadway, New York; C. D. Mosher, 1, Broadway, New
York ; Colonel H. G. Prout, editor of the B ail1oad
Gazette; M. N. F orney, editor of the A me1ican
E nginee? and R ctJil?oad J mwnctl; Charles Kirchoff,
editor of the b on Age; M. N. Baker, associate
editor of the Enginee?ing N ews; S. D. V. Burr,
mechanical editor of the I1on Age ; W. M. McFarland, Bureau Steam Engineering, U.S.N. , Washington; Colonel E. A. Stevens, president of the
H oboken F erries, Hoboken, N.J.; Francis T.
Bowles, Naval Constructor, U.S.N., Norfolk, Va.;
and there were many others of equal distinction,
but your correspondent is n ot blessed as was A rgus,
hence can only note those within the range of one
pair of eyes.
The first paper was entitled, "Evolution of the
Atlantic Greyhound, " by Chas . H. Cramp, of
Philadelphia.
He contrasted the caravels of
Columbus with the Lucania, and said this was the
evolution of four hundred years. H e considered
the great start in record-breaking was when the
Inman Company in 1869 sent out the City of
Brussels, which reduced the time of 8 days 4 hours
1 minute to 7 days 22 h ours 3 minutes. This ship
was 390ft. long, 40ft. 4 in. beam, and 3090 tons
gross. H er displacement at 26ft. load was 6900 tons.
The engines were simple direct-acting, two 90-in.
cylinders with 54 in. stroke, and steam at 30 lb.
Indicated horse-power, 3020; average speed, 14.53
knots. Next came the Oceanic (White Star Company), 3808 t ons gross, 420 ft. long, 40. 9 ft. beam,
and depth for t onnage 23.4 ft. Engines were compound, with four cylinders-high-pressure 29 in. in
diameter, and low-pressure 78 in. ; tandem, with
60-in. stroke, and 66 lb. steam. The same company brought out in 1871 the Adriatic and Celtic.
These boats ~ere 3886 gross tons, 417 ft. long and
41 ft. beam, had four-cylinder compound engines,
high-pressur e cylinders 41 in. and low-pressure

78 in. in diameter, and 60 in. stroke, carrying maximum horse-power 11,500 indicated. The.Rome
80 lb. of steam ; indicated horse-power 3880. The underwent some vicissitudes in her early htstOX:Y
record was reduced to 7 days 16 hours 26 min. Her first service in the Inman Line was not satisThe American Steamship Company constructed at factory, and she was thrown back o~ the hands of
the Cramps' Yard the Indiana, Illinois, Pennsy1- her builders. They then made constderable a~tera
tions of boiler arrangement and ~ther ~etails ~f
vania, and Ohio.
"The four ships of the American Line were com- internal econ omy, and she was put 1n servic.e again
missioned in 1872 and 1873. They a.re 357 ft. long by the Anchor Line, where she has remained to
over all, and 243 ft. between perpendiculars, 43 ft. this time.
During the year 1881 the Cunard Company
beam, with a tonnage depth of 24ft,. United States
measurement, and their gross register is 3126 t ons. brought out the Servia, built, as the Gallia was, by
They were powered with two-cylinder compound Thompsons. The Servia's dimensions are 615 ft.
engines, having piston diameters of 48 in. and by 53ft. by 37ft., and h er gross r egister is 7392
90 in., with 48 in. str oke ; and, carrying 75 1b. tons. Though a fine ship, t~e Servi~ .repeated the
steam pressure, t hey developed about 2000 horse- disappointment of the Galha, by failmg to reduce
power, which gave them an average speed of the record of either the Alaska or the Rome. Her
14 knots. They made eight-day trips, and for a propulsion was by a three-cylinder c01~pound
time attracted their share of the Transatlantic engine having one. 72-in. high and two. 100-m. low
traffic, but, as already intimated, they succumbed pressures, with 72 m. stroke, and, carrymg 90 lb. of
at length t o the competition of their subsidised steam, she developed 10,200 indicated h orse-power
British rivals, and ultimately passed under the in her best trip, whi eh was 6 days 23 hours 49
control of the International Navigation Company, minutes.
In 1883 the America came out for the National
by whom they have been considered worth reequipment with new triple-expansion engines after Line, the Aurania for the Cunard Company, and
twenty years of continuous service. These ships, the Oregon for the Guion Company. The last ship
though not so large or so high-powered as some lowered the record to 6 days 9 hours 22 minutes,
contemporary vessels, embodied the best ship- but closed her career off L ong I sland in a collision.
building practice of their date as to material and Her dimensions were 501ft. by 54ft. by 38 ft.,
workmanship, and are still creditable specimens of 7375 tons gross, 25 ft. draught with a displaceAmerican shipbuilding skill twenty years ago, as ment of 12,560 tons. Engines, three-cylinder compound. High-pressure cylinder, 70 in.; and two lowwell as of first-rate efficiency in their classe~."
The Adriatic, however, held the r ecord till1874, pressure, 104 in. ; 72 in. stroke, and steam at 170 lb.;
when the Inman Company put out the City of horse-power, 13,200. The Aurania being a disapBerlin ; gross tonnage, 5490; length, 499 ft., and pointment, the Cunard Company in 1884-5 built
44ft. beam; tonnage depth, 34ft. Two-cylinder the Umbria and Etruria, 501ft. by 57 ft. by 38ft.;
compound engine, high-pressure, 72 in., and low- 8120tons gross; displacement at 26ft. draught, 13,38C
pressure 120 in., with 66 in. stroke, and steam at tons ; three-cylinder compound Fa.irfield engines.
75 lb., and indicated horse-power 5200. The record The high-pressure cylinder was 71 in., the two
now became 7 days 15 hours 28 min. The White low pressure-cylinders 105 in., with 72 in. stroke,
Star Company replied with the Germanic and and with 110 lb. of steam, their maximum developBritannic. Length, 455ft. ; breadth, 45ft. ; 33ft. ment of horse-power has been 14,840 in the Etruria,
measured depth ; gross tonnage, 5008 ; compound and 14,460 in the Umbria. They reduced the
four-cylin der engines; high- pressure cylinder r ecord to about six days even, though each has
48 in. in diameter, and low-pressure 83 in., 60 in. made at least one passage slightly inside of six days.
stroke, 75 lb. steam, and indicated horse-power They brought the Cunard Line to the front again
5600. The record n ow became 7 days 6 hours for the first time in several years. From 1884 to
52 minutes, and this it was in 1879, although the 1889 the Umbria and Etruria maintained their
Cunard Company tried to lower it with the Gallia. supremacy. It was evident that in them the posIn the same season, however (1879), the Guion sibilities of single-screw propulsion had been
Line- a new R ichmond in this particular field, by exhausted, and owners and builders who meditated
the way--brought out the Arizona, built at Elder's, an advance beyond them had to contemplate twin
and with her took the pennant so long borne by the screws.
White Star ships. The principal dimensions of the
During the years 1885, 1886, and 1887 there was
Arizona are 450 ft. by 45.4 ft. by 35.7 ft., and she much activity on the part of the French and Geris powered with three-cylinder compound engines mans. The latter brought out the Aller, of the
having one 62-in. high and two 90-in. low pressure North German Lloyds, in 1885, the Saale and
cylinders, 66-in. stroke, and, with steam at 90 lb., Trave in 1886, and the Lahn in 1887 . These were
developed 6640 indicated h orse-p ower. Her gross British ships, built at Fairfield. They were all
tonnage is 5164, and her bes t trip was made in single-screw vessels, but they had the distinction
7 days 3 hours 38 minutes, involving an average all- of introducing the triple-expansion engine in Transthe-way speed of 16.27 knots an hour. The Arizona atlantic propulsion. Th e Aller, Trave, and Saale
carried the banner, by virtue of this performance, are substantially alike in hull and fittings, and
two seasons- 1879 and 1880. This success of the their engines are exact duplicates, except in cerArizona stimulated the Guion people to renewed tain minor or non-essential parts. These vessels
efforts, and in 1881 they brought out the Alaska, are 439 ft. in length, and register 4994 tons
also built at Elder's (or the F airfield yard), then in the Aller to 5380 tons in the Trave and
under the able management of the late Sir William Saale, their displacement a~ 26 ft. draught be!ng
Pearce.
10,400 tons. Their triple-expansion engines have
The Alaska's dimensions are 500ft. by 50ft. by high-pressure cylind ers 44 in., intermediate 70 in.,
38 ft. moulded, with a gross tonnage of 9500, and and low-pressure 108 in., with 72 in. stroke. Carryher power is a three-cylinder compound engine ing steam at 150 lb., these engines have developed
having a 68-in. high-pressure and two H>O-in. low- 8300 indicated horse-power, and their best f U Spressure cylinders, which, carrying boiler steam at tained speeds have been 17.7 knots for the Aller,
100 lb., developed in a mean of four days' perform- 17.1 knots for the Saale, and 18. 6 knots for the
ances 11,800 indicated horse-power, and drove her Trave. As the time of these ships is reck oned
across the Atlantic westward in 6 days 18 hours from Southampton, certain deductions are neces47 minutes, which involved an all-the-way mean sary for fair comparison with ships dating from
speed of 17.44 knots per h our. The Alaska now Queenstown, so it is not worth while to give their
took th e p ennant, but she did not hold it long. records, except to say that to equalise the records
The Barrow Shipbuilding Company brought out the of ships starting from the two points, allowances
City of Rome the same year, and that vessel was must be made in favour of the Southampton ship as
put in the service by the Inman Line, the title to follows :
the ship remaining with her builders.
For 17 knots speed, 16 hours 20 minutes.
The contest between the Alaska and the Rome
For 17! knots speed, 16 hours.
was fierce. Trip after trip they sped over the
F or 18 knots speed, 15 hours 30 minutes.
ocean '' n eck and neck, " as horsemen say, the
For 18! knots speed, 14 hours 56 minutes.
average difference between their records being but
For 19! knots speed, 14 hours.
a few minutes. Finally, however, the Rome got
The Lahn is 10 ft. longer, 1 ft. wider, and 10 in.
down to 6 days 18 hours, which beat the Alaska's deeper than her three consorts, and her gross tonnaae
best by 37 minutes, and then the Rome hoisted the is ?681. He~ engin~s are also ~f a d~fferent t.yp~,
banner in h er turn. The R ome was the laraest betng fiye c~lmd er tr1p~e-expan ~10n, w1th two highship of her day, excepting, of course, the G~eat pressure cyhnders 32?l 1n., one Intermediate 68 in.
Eastern; at all events, the largest single-screw and two lows each 85 in., the duplicate cylinder~
ship up to her date. Her dimensions are 560 ft. being arranged tandem, one high and one low
by 52 ft. by 37 ft., her gross tonnage 8144, and her working together. These engines, with 150 lb. of

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

720

SEWAGE

PlTRIF ICATION PLANT AT THE WORLD'S COLUMBI AN EXPOSITION.

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

721

SEWAGE PURIFICATION PLANT AT THE WORLD'S COLUMBIAN EXPOSITION.

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722

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

steam, developed 9800 horse-power, and produced without initial stability, and then make them stand of 150,000 inhabitants. It was necessary to adopt
a. speed of 18.40 knots, making a Southampton up by great quantities of water ballast or other a separating system, so that a pure effluent could
r ecord of 6 days 22 hours 42 minutes, which, at her dead weight which pays nothing. \Vhen I under- be discharged into Lake Michigan, for none of the
rate of speed, is equal to a Queenstown passage of took the design of the two steamships n ow building city sewerage was available for the purpose. A
6 days 7 hourd 30 minutes.
under our shipyard, Nos. 277 and 278, I avoided complete sewage purification plant was therefore
The Spree and Ravel, built at Stettin, in 1890, this fad at the outset."
required, and at this plant Mithe sewage from the
for the North German Lloyds, present n o essential
The author believed t hat any design which con- Exposition buildings was purified by means 0f
features different from the L1hn, and failed to templates the carriage of water ballast (or other chemical precipitation on the continuous plan, the
lower the record.
dead weight not cargo or coal) as an inseparable plant being modelled after t hat at Dortmund,
In 1889 90 the successes of their neigh hours condition of stability under any circumstances is Germany, designed by Mr. Carl Kinebuhler. The
stimulat ed the Hamburg Company to efforts which radically defective and should be condemned.
Chicago plant was located in the south-east corner
took shape in the Columbia, N orma.nnia, and Prince
" Under such a system no ad vantage can be of the grounds, near the stock exhibit, and close
Bismarck. The Columbia was built by Lairds, and taken of decreased draught caused by consumption by the car and power house.
the N ormannia at Fairfield ; the Bismarck being of coal or absence of cargo, but the ship must
A general plan of the purification works is
the only one of th3 thr~e built at home. The always be kept down to a load draught in order to shown by Fig. 1, and a combined elevation and
Columbia's dimensions are 463.5 ft. by 55.6 ft. by stand up.
section of the tanks by Fig. 2. From these two
35.5 ft.: and her gross register is 7363 tons. Her
" This is a purely English fad, and the English figures it will be seen that the plant consisted of
twin screw.i are driven by t.wo threecylinder triple- designers stick to it with characteristic tenacity. an elevated receiving and distributing tank (see
expan3ion engines, with cylinder diameters of In this, as in many other fads, the English appear F;g. 3), four chemical mixers, four precipitating
41 in., 66 in., and 100 in., and 66 in. stroke. With tenacious in the exact ratio of the density of their tanks, two boilers, a 50 horse-power engine, two
air compressors, three sludge r eceivers, two sludge
steam at 150 lb. these engines have developed error.
" The proposition that you must carry 1000 or filter-presses, two pumps, and other accessories, all
14,600 collective indicated horse-power, producing
m el.n speed for a. passage of 19.15 knots, and a 2000 tons of dead weight in water ballast when inclosed in one building. The building containing
Southampton record of 6 days 14 hours 2 minutes ; you happen to be short of cargo or run down in the plant was 100 ft. by 125 ft.
The main outlet sewer terminated in a vertical
equivalent to a Queenstown record of about 6 days. coal, is one that I cannot really discuss with
TheN orma.nnia is largar than the Columbia, and patience when it is possible to build the ship on standpipe 3 ft. in diameter and 40 ft. Of in. in
lines that will make her stand alone without de- height, which extended nearly to the top of the rehas more powerful machinery.
The Normannia's dimensions are 500 ft. by triment to any other desirable quality, and with ceiving and distributing tank, shown in section and
57 5 ft. by 34 ft., and she tons 8250. Her triple- vast improvement to her most important charac- detail by Figs. 5 and 6. This standpipe was made
expansion engines have cylinders 40 in., 67 in., teristic, that of safety at all times and in all con- of !-in. tank steel, riveted in 5-ft. lengths with !-in.
rivets having 1! in. pitch, the seams lapping 1~ in.
and 106 in., with 66-in. stroke, and, carrying ditions. "
Speaking of the increase in size, Mr. Cramp The pipe terminated in a bell mouth riveted to the
steam at 150 lb., they have developed over 15,000
indicated horse-power. Her best mean speed for thought on a basis of 28 ft. draught a beam of 70 ft. top of the standpipe, and the top of the mouth was
a passage has been 19.33 knots. The Fiirst Bis- could be used, with moulded depth of about 50ft. secured as shown by detail, Fig. 6.
The receiving tank (Figs. 2, 3, and 5) was 16 ft.
marck is chiefly remarkable as being the most and length of 600 ft. to 620 ft. He argued that
important commercial ship ever built in Germany, for more than 12,000 horse-power you must have in diameter and 10 ft. high, or 8! ft. high to t he
and as a r esult of the policy adopted by the two screws, and for over 24,000 horse-power three top of the grating, which gave a capacity to the
latter point of 12,750 gallons. Like the standGerman Emperor to encourage home shipbuilding screws. He closed with the following :
"We are, as is well known, building a couple of pipe, it was of !-in. tank steel, with 1! in. lap
by m~king marked discrimina.tions in favour of
such ships a~ compared with those built abroad. 536-ft. ships for the International Navigation Com- at the joints and !-in. rivets with 1t in. pitch.
Her dimensions are 502.6 ft. by 57.6 ft. by 38 ft., pany. They are both framed up about two-thirds The sewage discharged from the bell mouth of
and her tonnage 8874. ller engines are triple, of their length amidships, and plating is in progress. the standpipe on to a grate screen 18 in. below the
with cylinder diameters of 43{ij- in., 66"1)6" in., and They will be launched n ext spring, and will go in top of t he tank. This screen was in eight sections
in.
(see plan, Fig. 4), and was made of ~ in. by
106 [ 6 in., having a stroke of 63 in. She is re- commission about a year from now.
"Their principal dimensions and qualities are as bars on edge, spaced 1 in. centre to centre, as
por ted to have developed 16,800 indicated h or seshown in the partial plan of the grating (Fig. 4),
power, as a mean of six days on the trip which follows :
and by t he details of the long and short grate-bars
L ength on load-water line...
536 fb.
gave her, for a brief period, the Southampton
Length over all
...
.. .
55t ,
( Figs. 7 and 8). The sewage passed down through
record.
Rx.treme breadth .. .
...
63 ,
the grate-screens and from the tank through any or
D..tring all this effort on the part of the English
Moulded depth
.. .
.. .
42 ,
all of the four outlets E, E, shown in Fig. 2 on the
nnd Germlns, the French remained quiescent until
Gross register
...
...
About 11,000 tons
section of the tank (Fjg. 5), and also in detail in
1836-87, when they brought forward the ChamFirst ea.bin capacity
...
320 passengers
Figs. 9 and 10. Each of the outlet pipes was
Second
cabin
capacity
...
200
,
patYne
and
Bretagne,
built
at
St.
N
azaire,
and
the
0
14 in. in diameter , and was controlled by a gate.
Third cabin capacity
.. .
900
,
Bo urgogne and Gascogne, built by the Forges et
Sulphate of alumina. or copperas was admitted to
'' Their propulsion will be by twin screws, acChantiers de la. Mediterranee. These ships differ but
little in dimensions or performance, and detail of tuated by two quadruple-expansion engines on four the sewage as it flowed through the outlet pipe from
them is hardly necessary. except to say that their cranks, which, with steam at 200 lb., will prol)ably the diBtributing tank, as shown in Fig. 2. The
t onnage i ~ from 7087 to 7395 gross; they have com- develop about 20,000 collective indicated hors~ chemical was thoroughly mixed with the sewage by
p ound engines of about 9800 indica.ted horse-power power. To support the outboard shaft bearings, the machine mixers located in the special device
on a single screw, and the smartest of them, the the hull is built out in a. horizontal web to a steel in the outlet pipe, and shown in detail by Figs. 12
Bourgogne, has made a Havre and Sandy Hook frame having both bosses cast in one piece, and and 13, after which lime was admitted to the outrecord of 7 days and 9 hours, which, at her rate of weighing about 68,000 lb. The after deadwood is let pipe and a further mixing of sewage and
speed, 17.91 knots, is equal to a Queenstown record cut away, and the keel slopes up so that the shoe chemicals secured by means of the mixer, shown
of 6 days and 13 hours. These ships satisfied the meets the boss frame at the after end. It will be in the plan, Fig. 11, in the section, Fig. 2, and
French until 1891, when they brought out the observed that these ships are considerably larger also in detail by Figs. 14 to 16. The outlet pipe
T ouraine, built at St. N azaire. She is the first than the New York and Paris, or about half-way terminated a.t the cone mixer in a quarter bend of
French liner equipped with twin screws . Her beteen them and the Campania class. I will not !-in. wrought iron bolted to the pipe by means
dimensions are 520 ft. by 56 ft. by 34 ft., and she venture a prediction as to their probable perform- of a wrought flange with an 18!-in. bolt circle having
tons 8863 gross. Her engines are three-cylinder, ance, but I will guarantee them to be perfectly 16 bolt holes f in. in diameter. The cone mixer
was suspended in the central cylinder of the pretriple-expansion. Cylinder dimensions 41 in., safe, comfortable, and economical ships.
'' These ships are American from t ruck to keelson; cipitation tanks by hangers from !-beams, as is
60t in., and 100 in., with 65 in. stroke, and, carrying 140 lb. of steam, they have developed a mean no foreign material enters into their construction. shown by Fig. 2, and in detail 1y Figs. 14 to
averao-e of 13,600 indicated horse-power (French), They are of American model and design, of 16. This mixer discharged the sewage over
which drove h er from Havre to Sandy Hook in American material, and they are being built by its top edge down the central cylinder to be dist ributed by horizon tal arms throughout the lower
7 days 3 hours and 5 minutes, equivalent to American skill and muscle. "
part
of
the
tank,
after
which
it
rose
to
the
top
The
author's
r
emarks
were
r
eceived
with
great
a Queenstown record of 6 days 4 h ours and 35
of the large tank and passed out in a clarified
minutes. While the T ouraine has n ot made any applause, and some discussion followed.
The next paper wa.s read by Naval Constructor state, t he solid matter meanwhile having been
whole-trip record to compare with the Paris or
precipitated
to
the
bottom
of
the
tank,
from
J.
J.
Woodward,
U.S.N.,
and
treated
of
the
Teutonic, she has shown some remarkable spurts.
it
could
be
drawn
at
any
time
to
the
sludge
which
"Determination
of
the
Approximate
Dimensions
of
The author then passed to a consideration of the
New York Paris, Majestic, Teutonic, Campa.nia, a V easel to Fulfil a Given Programme of Require- receivers and filter presses.
The
central
cylinder
(see
Fig.
2)
was
6
ft.
in
ments.
"
It
was
also
followed
by
a
debate.
But
and Lucania. They were not described in detail,
diameter and 32 ft. high, made of -itr in. by
the
paper
was
mathematical,
and
discussed
the
but he claimed that the International Navigation
60 in. plates. At the lower part the sewage
methods
and
formulas
used
by
our
naval
conCompany were entitled to the ~redit of first J;>U~t~ng
was distributed downward into the conical-shaped
structors.
The
author
thought
our
designers
were
twin screws into passenger shtps, and subd1v1d1ng
bottom of the main precipitation tank by means
for
want
of
a.
tank
in
which
various
hampered
the hull so as to make it unsinkable when three
of eight horizontal radiating arms consisting of
be
tested.

models
could
compartments were flooded. He claimed that there
inverted V-shaped troughs supported at the outer
(To
be
continued.)
had been n o improvement in model througho?t.
ends by t-in. rods from the central cylinder, as
He asserted : "The principal fad of the great Engh sh
shown in the section, Fig. 2. After the sewage
builders is an aversion to statical stability, a re- THE SEWAGE DISPOSAL WORKS OF had passed down through the central cylinder
pugnance to me~~centric height: As one of their
and up through the main part of the tank, the
THE
COLUMBIAN
EXPOSITION.
standard authorities r emarked In a recent paper :
ONE of the great problems presented for solu- offiuent was collected at the top of t he tank by
'A ship will roll ; you cannot help that. Ther e
means of a system of suspended wooden troughs
tion
to
the
World's
Fair
authorities
was
the
disfore the problem is to mak~ he~ period as l_ong 7nd
resting on the top of the clarified sewage, as shown
posal
of
the
refuse
constantly
accumulating
.
a.t
h er motion as easy as possible. In pursUlt of an
in detail by the various plans, elevations, and
Jackson
Park,
equivalent
to
the
sewage
of
a
City
e::..sy r vll' they persisten~ly design their models

lt

E N G I N E E R I N G.
s~ctions

in Figs. 1 , 2, 17, 18, an d 19. The trough~

from each p air of tanks led t o a common effiue nt
standpipe. 12 in. in d iameter, which convey ed the
effl uen t d o wn to t h e g round , where i t passed
through an outlet p ipe to t h e la k e.
The p recipitating tan ks wer e 32 ft . in d iameter
for th e fi rst 32 ft. fro m their top d own, and then
diminish ed in the form of a con e for 22 ft. t o
a. diameter of 6 ft ., m aking th eir t ot al h eight 52 ft.
The effi uen t t r oug hs wer e 18 in. belo w the t op of
the tanks, leaving th e available h eig ht of t h e
circular p ar t of the tank 30! f t .
A llowing for
waste space, th e a vailable ca pacity of the tanks
may b e tak en as 237, 000 gallons, of which abou t
54,000 gallons was affor ded by the conical p ortion
of th e t ~nk.
Of course i t will be understood that
t he h old ing capacity of t hese t anks d oes n ot direct ly
indicat e th eir ser vice capa~ity, the t r eatmen t b eing
cont inuous.

t anks, the sludge was f or ced t o the sludge tank by

the head of sewage above it . When the sludge
tank was fill ed, compressed air was turned into it,
and the sludge was forced into one of the two
filter presses, sh own in plan by Fig. 1. Each fil ter
presJ h ad rl fty cells, 36 i n. i n d iameter and I ! in .
thick.
Each sludge cak e weig hed about 47 l b.,
and each pressful of sludge ab out 2350 lb. The
presses wer e made by t he .Perrin Compan y , of
Chicago, which ma nufacture filter presses for
separating g r ease at packing ho uses, t o which these
are simila r. The ironwork of th e presses was m a de
by the G. H. Bushnell Com pany, of Thompso n
ville, Conn.
A tramway, s h own in Fig. 1, was
provided for removing th e sludge cakes to th e
Engle garbage crematory, si\uated just east of the
disposal works. The two vertical b oilers, shown on
the plan, Fig. 1, were each of 40 horse-power, and,
ltke all the boilers o n the g r ounds, were oil-fed .
.. - 6 " ..

Experiments were made with copperas, sulphate

of alumina, and lime, as precipitating agents. 'Ihe
plant was operated with e jght-h our shifts, and e~h
shift was instructed what chemicals to use and In
what quan t ities. The m orning shift incl';lded an
engineer, a fireman , and a pressman, w1th two
h elpers, and a. man to a t tend to the screens, the
chemicals, and t o t ake the weir meas urementE-a
t otal of six men ; from the afternoon shift the two
labourers we re omitted ; and, on the night shift, only
an engineer, a fireman, and a chemical tender were
e mployed .
A s each of t he four tanks could be
o perated independently of the others , it was possible
t o use different kinds and amounts of chemicals
with t he ~a.me sewage. The cost of the chemicals
was ab0ut 8 d ols. per 1, 000,000 gallons.
The cost of the installation, exclusive of the
building, was about 32, 500 dols. The plant was
b uilt under the direction of W. S. MacHarg,
eng ineer water supply, sewerag e, a nd fire protection. Mr. C. E. Chester was in charge of the
mechanical portion of the work, and the chemical
treatment was in charge of Mr. Allen Haze n, of the
Lawrence Experiment Station of the ~Iassachusetts
State B oard of Health .

A DDITIONS TO THE NAVY.- The Naval Construction

and Armaments Company have received orders from the
Admiralty to build three torpedodestroyers of the Ha.vock
type. These boats have a. displacement of 230 tons, 4000
horae-power, and a guaranteed speEd of 27 knots. They
will be fitted with water-tube boilerl', the patent of Mr.
Blechynden, engine works manager of th 3 Barrow works.
The dockyard authorities at S heern ess ha.ve received instructions to proceed with the building of the new station
gunboats Torch and Alert, which a.re provided for in the
Na.vy E stimates of the current financial yea.r. It is proposed to build the vessels side by side in No. 2 dock,
which ha.s been found just wide enough to admit of their
construction. The Torch a.nd Alert belong to an entirely new cla.sa of gunboats, and will be built from the
designs of Mr. W. H. White, C.B., Director of Na.va.l
Construction. ThE> are to have a. length of 180ft., a
breadth of 32ft. 6 m ., a.nd a. mean loa.d draught of 11ft.
6 in. Tbey will have a. displacement of 960 tons, and
will be fitted with maohinery of 1400 horse-power under
fcrced draught and 1050 horse-power under natural
draught, with a. speed of 13.25 knot::J a.nd 12.25 knots resp~ctivel,Y.
Thell' a.rma.mez;tt ~ill consist entirely of
qUlckfirmg guns, each carrymg s1x 25-p oundera and four
3-pounders.

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Some of th e d eta ils of riveting and supportin g

the conical part of t he tanks a r e sh own by Fig. 20.
The pile and t im ber fo undations of the tanks are
s hown in Fig . 2 ( most plainly on the left). There
were three concen t ric r ows of piling, thirty in
each r ow ; they were p laced 30 in. apart centre to
centre, one beneath a nd on e on each side of the
outer edge of th e tank.
The sludge pipes started from the b ottom of the
precipitation tanks, and extended upward and out
of the tanks, as sh own in Fig. 2. The lower end of
each pipe terminated in a bell m outh supported on
three legs, as sho wn in detail by Fig. 22. E ach pipe
was 6 in. in diameter, and connected with a 6-in.
pipe leading t o th e thre e sludge tanks or r eceivers,
as sho wn in Fig. 1. The detail of the sludge pipe
at i ts passage through the conical b ottom of the
tank is also shown by Fig . 21. The thre e sludge
tanks were each 4 ft. in diameter , and 8 ft. high in
t he clear, th e ends being curved outward, giving a
capacity of about 100 cubic feet, or 750 gallons.
The sludge passed in at the top and out at the
bot tom of t he t ank throug h a special casting
(Fi?. 23). Compressed air was admitted throug h
a 2 ~ -in. air pipe ent ering the top of the tank. A
hand-hole was provided in the t op of the tank, and a
float and indicator to sho w when the tank w~s fu11.
Up on opening the proper gate in th e sludge pipe
connecting the precipitation tanks with the sludge

The 50 horse-power high-speed s team engine was

made by the New York Safety Power Company. By
means of a b elt the engine drove the line shaft,
which in turn transmitted p ower to run an elevator,
a pulveriser which ground clay for earth closets, the
four chemical mixer~, by means of r ope transmission, and three centrifugal pumps. The two air
compressors were put in by the Norwalk Iron
Works Company, S outh N orwalk, Conn., and had
8 in. by 10 in. steam cylinders. The Worthington
pumps, as ahown on the plan, Fig. 1, were used to
pump the local sewage of the disposal building,
including the liquid from the presses to the tanks,
and were also used to empty the tanks. The h eavy
flow of sewage, as would be expected, was from
9 A. M. t o 6 P. M. \Veir measurements of the effiuents
were taken every hour, and both chemical and
bacteriological analyses were made to determine the
results obtained. The plant was put in operation
on April 14, 1893.
The average dc1ily flow of
sewage since the beginning of May was as follows :
Moo th of M a. y .. .

June ...
...
",
July
.. .
,
August
...
September .. .
,,
First week in October .. .
Second week in October
Chicago Da.y, October 9

...
...
. ..

...

..

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...

. ..

...

...

...

...

Gallons.
9!0,000
1,630,000
2 ~ 21G~COO

2,497,000
2,425,000
2,358, 000
2,5821000
2,935,000

L ONDON ASSOCIATION OF FOREMRN E KGINEERS AND

DRAUGHTSMEN. - The usual monthly meeting of this
Association was held in the Cannon-street Hotel on
Saturday, the 2nd inst., when the President, Mr. W. S
Coa.tes, occupied the chair, a.nd Past-President Mr. J. E.
Bart.l e was in the vice-chair. Among other business
constdered was a. report by the committee recommending
the disposal of a. quantity of ~he older books in the
library, to ma.ke room for more modern a.nd useful works
which wa.s agreed to. After the ordinarr. business wa.,;
finished, a paper wa.s read by Mr. J. G. G tbbon, a. former
member of the Association, on "Reclaiming the Foreshore of the River Thames. " Mr. Gibbon stated tha.b
the arguments in favour of this were usually under three
?,ead~-first, "to find work for the ~me.mployed ;"secondly.
to Improve the health of the dtstrtcts near the river "
and thirdly, "to improve the trade of the Port of London~,
but he di~ not think it would be likely to do either. He
thought tb very doubtful whether many of the olass of
~en who are out of work would be employed in reclaimmg the foreshore, a.s such an und ertaking would probably
be lE't to contractors, who would employ men accustomed
to that class of work. With reference to the second
argument, he did nob think there was much in it a.s
alt~oug~ Poplar ha.s. the largest river frontage of' any
pa.nsh m L ondon, 1ts dea.th-ra.te is lower than Bow
which is more inland ; and since the new sewage work;
~b the outfa.lls ha.ve been in full operation, a marked
Improvement has taken place in the condition of the
foreshore~ of the river. 4s there were many entrances to
docks, shpways, &c., whtch would ca.use brE>aks in the
e~bankment, there would be largb deposits of mud oppo~tte those entrances; the narrowing of the channel would
mc~ease the cu~rent and the difficulty of navigating.
whtle the reduct10n of the width of waterway would tend
to _crowd t~e centra more, and so iucrea.se the risk of
~ertou~ accidents.
~he cost of such an undertaking,
mcludmg compensatton to J?resent occupiers of riverside
property, would probably mvol ve an annual charge of
not less than 600,000l., which, added to the present _port
ohar~es, would very. s_erioutt~y handicap the Port of London 10 the competttton w1th other ports for shipping
trade. He thought, therefore, it would be a mistake to
emba.nk the r~ver above Woolwich; but that it might be
an advantage 1f a.n arrangement could become to between
the vestries and the County Counoil to send the dust and
other refuse down. t~e river in large barges, mix it with
sewage, and depostt 1t on the low lands in the lower reaches
o~ the river, where it would soon become good soil, and
g1ye employment to numbers of people to cultivate and
ratse pr<;>fitabl~ and useful crops upon it. A discussion
ensued, m whiCh seyeral mem~e~s took part, and a. vote
of thanks t_o Mr. Gtbbon for hts mteresting paper closed
the proceedmgs.

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

[DEc. I 5, I 893.

DOUBLE-CYLINDER STEAM FIRE ENGINE FOR CALLAO.

CONSTRUCTED BY THE FIRE APPLIANCE) :MANUFACTURING COlYIPANY,

LIMITED, NORTHAMPTON.

... .

..-.
- -

-- ...

- ..

WE illustrate above a. steam fire engine constructed

by t he Fire Appliances Manufacturing Company,
at their Vulcan Works at Northampton, for the
Callao Fire Brigade, Peru, whither the engine has just
been shi pped. The engine, although of the standard
type of the company- the Vulcan type, siz~ No. 7with double cylinders and pumps, differs in general
design from t he steam fire engines usually adopted
in this country. It is mounted on a crane-necked
frame, provided with laminated springs, steel axles,
anci wrought-iron wheels with polished steel hubs.
The design of the crane-necked frame permits of the
locking of the large fore wheels. Brackets are provided
on each side of the engine t o carry two 10-ft. lengths
of suction hose, one on either side. The fore car riage is fitted with a windlass, with drag ropes for
manual haulage.
The boiler is constructed entirely of Low Moor iron,
with welded shell, and is of the vertical cross-tube
type, similar to those in use by the Metropolitan (London) Fire Brigade. It is stoked from behind, and fitted
with the usual mountings, and covered with ornamental, highly-polished brass lagging. The steam
cylinders are two in number, cSLst t ogether in one
piece, and fitted with steel covers and pistons. The
piston-rods and motion work are entirely of steel. The
pump valves and pistons can be readily examined by
removing six nuts. The engine is also fitted with a.
swivel suction-bend, so that the suction can be led
away from either left or right of t he engine. Two
feed pumps are provided, a~d are worked. from_ the
crankshaft, feeding the holler on oppos1te s1des.
The diameter of the steam cylinders is 8! in., that of
the pumps 6 in., and the stroke ~ in. .The engi~e,
running at an average fire speed, 1s des1gned to discharge 400 gallons of water p er minute through five
jets.
.
The engine has been purchased by the Compagma
Italians. Pompeiri Italia,. the leading fire brigade i?
Callao, Peru, in celebrn.t10n of the twenty-fifth a.nmversa.ry of the brigade, and has been named the
"Fra.ncesco Toso," in commemoration of the foun~er
of the institution. This type of engine has met w1th
much favour in South America., where they have

been hitherto accustomed to engines of the horizontal contact with t he stationary hand-rope, and, a.s long as
type.
the speed does not exceed the normal, do not put any
The engine ha.s been tested by a.n engineer sent over sensible strain upon it.
from PHu for the purpose, and he has expressed himself hig hly satisfied and pleased with the way in which
the contract has been executed.
STANDARD ROLLING STOCK ON THE

VICTORIAN RAILWAYS.
HYDRAULIC PASSENGER ELEVATOR.
THE hydraulic passenger elevator, illustrated on the
opposite page, was exhibited at the Columbian Exposition, and is of the high-speed type, constructed by the
Eaton and Prince Company, of 70 to 76, Michigan
street, Ch icago. The mechanism is placed in th e
cellar, and is of the usual pattern, with multiplying
pulleys. The car is stopped and started by means of
a lever, instead of the man grasping the hand-rope
directly. The water supply to the hydraulic cylinder
passes through the valve shown in Fig 2, which gives
a very easy mot ion in stopping and starting, and produ ces no shock. At the top and bottom of the car 's
travel the cross-head of the ram operates a special
valve to cause the motion t o cease, an arrangement
that puts the passengers' security beyond the care of
the attendant and the integrity of the hand-rope.
This latter valve-or rather valves, for there is one in
the supply pipe and another in the discharge-pipeis shown in the upper part of Fig. 2. The two valves
are on one rod, and block one passage or the other,
accordingly as they are drawn to the right or left.
The supply water comes through t he left passage,
and, entering the lower valve case, turns to the right.
If the lower valve be open (it is shown closed), the
water passes through openings in the brass liner
into the bulbous swelling which is in communication
with the hydra ulic cylinder. When the lower valve
is moved to the left, the supply water is first cut off,
and then, as the motion proceeds, the hydraulic
cylinder is placed in communication with the discharge pipe. The valve stem carries two extra pistons,
besides those forming the valve, in order that it may
be always in equilibrium. It also carries a. controlling
piston, to r ender its movemant easy and gradual.
Figs. 3 to 7 show the governor. The pulleys run in

\VITH a view to facilitating maintenance a.nd

economising in the cost of repairs, a complete set of
standard designs of rolling stock has been adopted
on the railways of Victoria, and all fnture engines
and vehicles will be constructed upon these lines.
The older stock, which is of varied types, will also be
gradually replaced by those of standard for m as time
goes on. All passenger stock (whether old or new) is
fitted with the Westinghouse automatic brake; and all
new goods wagons are also supplied with the "quickacting " 'Vestinghouse. The whole of the stock, it
should be noted, is of Victorian manufacture, hav ing
been built to the designs of Mr. A. D. mith, the locomotive superin tendent, but in this article we propose
to deal only with locomotives, reserving our description of the carriages and wagons for a future issue.
\Ve may, howe,er, in passing call attention to Figs.
1 to 4 {see page 732 and our twopage engradng), in
which the general features of every one of the etandard
forms of engines and carriages are shown, with th e exception of the D class, light line engine, which, however,
closely resembles both in general appearance and in details of construction the A class engine shown in Fig. 4.
Coal is used almost exclusively as fuel , the g reat danger
of bush fires, resulting from wood combustion, precluding its use; to minimise t he risk of fires as
far as possible, all engines are fitted with sparkarresters, or screens, consisting of iron rod grids
placed in the smokeboxes, and enveloping the blast
pipe3 and connecting them with the chimney opening.
As will be seen from Figs. 1 t o 4, and from the more
detailed views of engines A, Y, and E (Figs. 5 to 9),
the locomotives are essentially British in design,
having copper fireboxes, brass tubes, plate frames,
and, in the case of the bogie engine, the bogie itself is
built on British lines.
Class A engine (Figs. 5 and 6) is designed for th e

ENGINEERING,

15, 1893.

DECEMBER

TYPE LOCOMOTIVES FOR THE VICTORIAN GOVERNMENT RAILWAYS.

STANDARD

CONSTRUCTED FROM THE DESIGNS OF

A. D. SMITH, LOCOMOTIVE SUPERINTENDENT, NEWP ORT, NEAR .MELBOUR N'E.

MR.

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COLUMBIAN
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WORLD
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HYDRAULIC PASSENGER ELEVATOR AT T
E"NGINE. . ERS, CHICAGO.

OON,'TRUCTED BY THE EATON AND PRINCE COMrANY,

(For Description, see opposite P"-9e.)

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L-

- - - - -Jj
"'N--
y

-- -

----~ --- --------- - ---.

I

long-distance intercolonial traffic, and is a powerful

t ype of express engine, having cylinders 18 in. in
diameter by 26 in. stroke. It has two coupled driving
wheels 6 ft. in diameter, and a four-wheeled bogie in
front wi th 3 ft. Gin. wheels. The boiler is 4 ft. 4~ in.
in diameter and 10 ft. 6 in. long between tu beplates.
The tu bes, 212 in number, are of brass, and are 1l in.
in external diameter. The firebox is of copper, and
has the roof supported by radial stays. The heating
surface is 1151 square feet , of which 1050 squ are feet
are tube surface. The grate area is 21 square feet.
The cylinders are placed between the frames, with the
valve chests arranged between them. The gauge of
the Victorian lines being 5 ft. 3 in., this does not
necessitate such close packin g as is necessary in standard gauge engines of similar-sized cy linclers. The
re\Tersing gear is of the ordinary tephcnson link t ype.
The engine has in workin g order a total weight of
43 tons 12 cwt., of which 29 tons 4 cwt. are concent rn.ted on the dri vers. Its total estimated tractiYe
power is 11,700 lb. The t ender designed to accompany
this engine is of the mmal six-wheeled type, and is
designed to carry 2200 gallons of wat er and 70 cwt. of
fu el. Its weight in working order is 28 tons 14 cwt.
lass Y engine (Figs. 6 and 7) is an ec1 ua1ly powerful goocls locomotive. Like the A type, it has inside
cylinders 18 in, in difl.m~ter by 26 in. stroke, The

:---.- 8

------------it .

---

k----

------r- -- 7'Ye"------------

Vc. --- - - - - - - - - - -

:c----------!-- '2~------ -----

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

boiler, t oo, is almost identical in construction, the

principal dimensions being the same, thou gh the
different arrangement of wheels has necessitated some
slight differences at the firebox encl. The number of
tubes, heating surface, and grate area a re the same for
the two classes, though there is a slight difference in
weight, Class Y weighing 40 tons 9 cwt. , all on, as
compared with 43 tons 12 cwt . for the A type. The
tracti ve power of the Y t ype, owing to all its weight
being utilised for adhesion, and its smaller drivers, is,
of course, greater than that of the A engines, viz.,
15,600 lb., as against 11,700 lb. The same tenders are
used for both classes of engine.
Class B (Figs. 9 and 10) is of a less powerful type
than either of the foregoing. It is a side tank locomotive, intended for suburban and similar passenger
t raffi c. It has inside cylinders 17 in . in diameter by
26 in. stroke, and has four coupled drivers 5 ft. in
diameter. The boiler is 10 ft. 6 in. long between tubeplates, and is 4ft. 2 in. in diameter. The tubes, as
before, are 1! in . in external diameter. The firebox is s maller than in the case of the engines already
described , the grate area being 17.8 square feet. The
t otal heatiog surface is 1054 square feet, of which
97 1 sqnare feet is in the tubes. The weight of the
engine in working order, with 1300 gallons of wa ter
in the ta.nks 7 and 5Qcwt, of cot\l ou board, is 50 tons

16 &/.0
7 C - .. -- -- --..1
~

6 "cwt., of which 32 tons 4 cwt. is available for

adhesion.
As already mentioned, all the rolling stock is
colonial-b~ilt. This is done no~ in the railway shops,
b.ut by pnyate fin~s; the destgns, as already menttoned, bemg furm~hed by the locomotive superintendent. As, however, the engiues already number
upwards of 500, and the ca rs of various types nearly
10,900, large works are required for the repair a.nd
mamtenance of these. For this purpose extensive
new works have been erected at Newport, some five
miles from Melbourne, where an area of 147.5 acres has
been laid out in workshops and stores. On this space
buildings covering an area of 8 acres have been erected
at a. cost of 160,000l., t o the designs and under th~
supervision of Mr. A. D. Smith, the locomotive superintendent. In the various departments of the works
about 1250 men are on the average employed. The
buildings at present completed consist of three main
blocks, viz., the central, east, and west blocks and
a tarpaulin factory. The central block, as its ~ame
implies, is situated between the east and west blocks
from which it is separated by clear intervals of 46.5 ft:
This block, which has a frontage of 1034.75 ft. and is
294.5 ft. deep, is subdivided into offices (semi-detached)
stores, patteru a.nd coppersmiths' shops, and bl'a.s~
foundry, to which will shortly be added ~n ifon

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

OF STANDARD ROLLING STOCK : VICTORIAN RAILWAYS.

DIAGRAMS
-

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Fig. 3.
c ...

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Fig. 4. .
-

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foundr y. The offices are two storeys high, surm ounted with p~ts to ~llow the running gear to be reached. ning at GO, 60, and 100 revolut ionf', and having a
by a square clo~k tower 65 ft. high; t he ground plan The tnmmers room, 92.75 ft. by 33ft. , is fitted up maximum diameter of 4 iu- in., reducing to 2~ ~ in . ;
has an area of 3514 ft. Attached to the offices are with con veniences for storing finished articles; the they are of cr ucible cast and mild steel, and run
dark rooms for opera.ting the "ferro-cyanide" process, sewing machines employed upon the cloth and leather in cast-iron adjustable bearings, carried by the xoof
nearly 10,000 prints being made per annu m.
The work are driven by a small high-speed compressed air trueses, "hich are specially strengthened to support
stores are situated immediately behind the offices; motor. The adjoining five bays are taken up with them. All pulleys, &c., are perfectly in balance;
they are two-storeyed, with floor spaces 86.5 ft. by cars and trucks under repair; they do not possess any there is, therefore, absolutely no vibration perceptiLle.
40.5 ft., and a.re plentifully su pplied with shelving, features of special interest. The sawmill is in tbe the power required to run the three lines at 1.1ormal
bin~, &c. , for the reception and distribution of general next bay ; it is built o\er a basement containing the speed light, as deduced from experimen t, is th e surwhole of the running gear. There is a fine collection prisingly s.mall amount of 3.1 hon e-power. All handstores received from the contractors for supplies.
The pattern shop (two storeyed), 8 L. 5 ft. by 61 ft. , of wood-working machines in this shop, principally of ling in this and other portions of this block is accomcont ains the usual conveniences for classifying and American manufacture, although English makers are plished by hydraulic power. Common to this and the
storing patterns; the plantconsists of a band saw, power also represented. Care ha.s been taken in arranging erecting shops is the t ool store, con tainin g a full stock
lathe a.nd emery tool g rinders. Separated from the the tools to give the minimum amount of labour in of engineering requ isites, including complete sets of
patte~n shop by a brick wall is the coppersmiths' shop, handling, the timber in the rough log entering at one ~hitworth screwing ta ckle, rimers, nose-bits aud
86.5 ft. by 39 ft. In the centre of this shop (p:1sed end and passing from machine to machine until it standard gauges. The stores are surmounted by
with brick) are placed eight double fires for metalling emerges as the finished article at the other end of the foremen's offices commanding t.he entire shop. The
brassee, tu be and general work. Attached to this shop. The motive power consists of a single-cylinder next four bays are used by th e erectors. There are
shop is the brass foundry~ 86.5 ft .. by 40 ft., p~~ed non-condensing horizontal engine, having a cylinder eight lines of pits, and four throu gh roade giving a
with hard brick, and hanng sandptts, and proviSIOn 20 in . in diameter by 40 in. stroke, speeded to lOO per c?mbin ~d a,ailnble length of 3200 f.t. Each b~y is profor sand and coke storage. The furnaces (three in minute, fit ted with cut-off val ve and automatic expan- vided w1th two .25-ton trav~llers, w1th l ongitudinal and
number) are arranged to work eit;her with natural or sion lin k, act uated by a Hartnell's governor ; the transve~se mot 10n~, and q mck and slow lifts ; they 1 un
forced draught ; they are contained in a small annexe engine indicates up to 250 horse-power, 120 horse- upon gtrders earned by the roof pillars, and are run
opening from the main shop; the. waste gases are power being the usual load. Steam is supplied by a by 3-in. ~1anil1a hemp ropes (high speed) driven fr om
utilised to hea.t the core ovens. The uon foundry, the water-tube boiler, consisting of t.wo distinct sections, the machine-shop shafts. The locomotives are run in
erection of which will shortly be undertaken, will form each of which contains 150 tubes, 4 in. in diameter by on the through roads and transferred to the de~ired
a continuation of the brass foundry, and will measure 16 ft. ia length ; either section will generate an ample position over the pits at either side by the travellers.
86.5 ft. by 120 ft., and will be fitted with the most quanti ty of steam to run the mill. ~~eed water is fu r- The boiler shop fills the next two bays, in wh ich there
nished by Worthington duplex pumps, and is deli- are two roads. There is a tr&\reller similar to the above
modern plant.
Immediately behind the central block stands the vered into the boiler at 208 deg., after passing through ~n each bay, but to lift 10 and 15 to:11s reEpectively
water tower the erection of which was rendered neces- a feed heater heated by the exhaust. The boilers and mstead of 25. One of the bays contams the machine
sary by the fact that although, under ordinary circum- engines are placed at the basement level, and coal is tools and furnacee.
Motion is derived from two lines of shaft similar to
stances, the water supply derived from th~ city mains delivered direct into underground bunks from hopper
that in the machine shop ; the boiler is also identical
is ample still in the height of summer, w1th the ther- trucks.
Debris from the sawmill is conveyed in wrought- with th ose already described. The tngine has a
momete~ regi~tering over lOO deg. in the shade, the
call on the mains through the day becomes so great irou flumes from the machines by means of an ex- cylinder 16 in . in diameter by 36 io., by 11cKab
that the supply is inadequate, although a pressure of hau st fa.n, and is delivered in to a tower erected over of Gla~~ow, horizontal automatic expansion, non~
80 lb. per sq uare inch and upwards can al~a~s be ob- the boiler-room; the air, after it has been freed from condens~ng. The t hr ee . pump~ for supplying the
tained at night to fill the tank. The bUlld mg s~p dust, &c., by a system of wire gauze and canvas hydraulic system are dn_ven direct from the engine
shaft.
The
accumulator,
mstead
of
the
usual
weights
screens,
escapes,
the
refuse,
wood,
chips,
&c.,
r
emainp orting the tank is 60ft. high f~om t~1e ground hne
is loaded by the head of water from th e t ank '
to the top of coping, with an outside d1af!1ete~ a.t b_ase ing to be used as fuel. In proximity to the engine- acting upon a large piston co nnected to the ram:
of 36 ft. 10 ~ in, ; there are fiv~ storeys m thts bUlld- house will be placed the timber-drying stove, 68 ft. \Vith the except~on of t~e last- me_ntioned engine, the
ing, which is utilised as a. dupl~cat~ store. T_he t~nk long by 16 ft. wide. The system which it has been whole of th e engmes, L01lers, shaftlDg, &c., are of Vicitself is of wrought iron, 35 ft. m d 1ameter, w1th s1~es decided to adopt is that of runnin g the timber (suit- t orian manufn.cture, t o designs supplied by the loco16 ft. 3 in. deep, thus ghing a total head of 76ft: :-lm., ably stacked) into the stove on trucks, and circulating moti ve t ranch. The smithy occupies t he last two
w ith a capacity of 100,000 gallons; the bottom ts con- large volumes of moderately hot air over and throu gh bays in this block ; i~ contains nine steam hammtrs
the stacks by means of an air propeller driven by a
cave with a radius of ~5 ft.
.
from. 2 cwt: ~o 10 cwt., with steam stamps:
The east block is d evoted to carnage and truck high-speed stam motor, the air to be heated by pass- ra~ging
ing over a series of pipes heated by exhaust steam from ohver~:~, &c., m add1t10n. The forges, sixty-eight in
r epairs metal work excepted. It has a frontage of the mill engine, or live steam when that is not procu r number, are constructed in cast iron throughout. The
a1id a depth of 294.5 ft. T~ere are twenty- able, suffic1ent air being allowed to escape each cycle specialfeature of this shop is its freedom from smoke
378.75
t wo d istinct roads in this block, havm.g an aggregate
and grit; this cleanliness is arrived at by turning
to
prevent
saturation.
length available for use of 4400 ft. A1r at 80 lb. p~r
The west block has a frontage of 272.75 ft. by a the forge uptakes{?) downwards into two firebricksquare inch is laid on throughout. the shop, and 1s depth of 294.8 ft. ; it comprises machine, erecting, and lined concr~te flues connected with a large chimney
tapped a.t various points by stand ptp.es, connecte~ b_y boiler shops, and smithy. The two bays next the stack. Tbts system has pro"ed an unqualified
flexible hose pipe to any of the car.rtages when 1t IS central block form a very complete mathine shop, success. The stack is 176 ft. high ; the in side
desired to test the \Vestinghouse. air brak es. Hoses replete with th e latest appliances. The tools are dimensions at bottom are 9. 5 ft . aud at top 8.5 ft.
are plentiEully distributed for use m case of .fire. The chiefly by 'Vhitworth, and are of a high class. The This chimney serves the boiler-shop furnaces and
two bays next the centr~l b~o?k are occupted b~ car- motive power is derived from an engine and boiler engine-house also, and will be connect ed with the
. ge painters this shop 1S d1 vtded from the remamder precisely similar to that opera.ting the eawmill, and scrap furnaces, &c., when they are completed. The
~~\he block by a brick wall, and is s~bdivided to fo_rm is transmitted by three overhead longitudinal lines coal and iron stores (300 ft. by 48 ft.) are at the rear
a trimmers' room. The floor i~ of hnck, the cars be~ng of shafting 300 ft., 300 ft., and 290 ft. long, run- of this shop, The forge, when built, will be 150ft.
operated upon standing on s1.x: roads, two supplied

ft.,

D Ec. 1s, 1893.]

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

by G. 5 ft., fitted with a 25- t on steam h a mmer rolls

and all other a pplia n ces necessary for t h e productio~

of blooms fr om scrap and their conver s ion into bar &c
The ta.rpaulin shop h as a floor s p ace 91ft. by 7
ft.:
bu~ ~ co~tract ? as bee n concluded for an exten s ion
wh tc:l wtl_l e~ns tderably inc r ease its len gth. The presen t cJ.pa.city 1s equal t o an output of 500 new tar pa ulins
pe~ ~o nth . The sides are constructed u p on the louvre
prt~ ? Lple, to allo_w of a thor ough through draught, to
f~cthtate. the dry10g of ~he wa_terproof varnish (having
lmseed o tl ~s a base) w1t h wb1ch the can vas is coat ed .
After coatmg u p on the con cr ete fi0or, the shee ts are
snsp_end ~ 1 fro m th e roof by s nita ble tl.ck le until dry.
ewm g ts p crfor'!led b y_ four doub~e and two s ing le
n eetlle l~eavy ~pectal sew10g machine~, r u n fr om a. line
o f s h o.ft mg dr1 ven by a 10 h or se-power engin e.
( ro be continued.)

.5

CA K-MAKING MACHINERY
AT the ordinary m eeting of the Ioqtitutio~ of Civil

Rogmeera, h eld on Tu~sday, J?ecember 12, Si r B enj a.min

Dl>ker, K .C. ~ G , y1 ce~~rest d ent, in th e chair, a. pa.per
was rea~ d eahng w1tb
Cas k -Making 1\Iachinery, " by
Mr. L 9 WlS II. Ra.nsome, A ssoc. M. Ins t . C.E.
The ch_ief d ifficulties t o be overcome in th e application
of machmery t o th~ ma.nufa~ture of barrels were ata.ted
t o be, first, th e d1ff~rent. s1zes and varying shapes of
barrels :. second, t_h e dtversJty of the materials employed;
a~d, thtrd, the dtfficulty of working wood by machinery
wtthout und ue waste.
Casks might b e _divided into three classes, vi z. , slack
cask R, used for holdmg ftour and ce~ent; semi-tight cask s,
for gunpowder, butter, &c. ; and ttght casks for liquids
Th~ paper wM con fi ned t o one type of slack ba.rrel that
used for cement, and one type of tight <.:ask, that used
for beer, and t~e process~s d esct:ibed r eferr ed only t o
~a ks _as made m th_e U mted Ktngd om , th e selection
m cludmg those machmes which gave the b eat practical
r esults.
Th e first operation in the manufacture of the cem ent
~9-:rrel was t o jo_int the edg:es of the staves. A r ectangular
JOIDt ~as suffi.ctent f~r th1s style of ca~ k. The mac-b in~
for tbts purpose ?On stst~~ of a. bench. carrying a revol ving
cu t~er -block, ba.vmg a. r1smg and falhng m otion imparted
to 1t by a t emplate hollowed out to the cur ve to which
th e edges of the staves bad to b e planed . Several staves
were p laced t ogeth er edgewise in a. carriage travelling
over the cutters, and thus the joints were planed to the
r equired curve. . The staves were n ext heated by a ho t
pla.te! after v,;htch t~ey were r eady for trussing. Th e
trussm~ roach me con sts ted of a oast-iron con e shaped bell
the _ins tde of which was turned to the shape of th~
outs.tde of tb~ barrel; two circular grooves cut in it
recetved th e tron truss- h oops. The cask was forced into
this b ell by means of a table worked by hydrauli c pressure
and, after bein g taken out w~th the h oops on, wa<J turned
end for end and the operatiOn r e peated. Th is gave it
th e requ ired form. The cask was n ext taken to the
chiming machine, where the e nds of the staves were
bevelled t o allow of the insertion of the head. The b ead s
were round~d in pai~.s, the pieces forming the had being
cramp~d std~ by side between two cast -iron plates
revol vmg h orizontally. The lower pla.te was driven a.t a
h igh speed . Wh en the matbine was set in operation a.
parting-tool, working in a vertical slide, out 'the b ead s ' to
the required diameter. Both wood and iron hoops were
used for cement barrels, and the iron hoops were sheared
off to length and punched to receive the rivets ; they
were then passed between hardened steel roller~ which
b ent them to the r equired shape, and also gav'e them
a conical form t o fit the shape of the barrel. They were
ri veted together by a simple machine adapted to the purpose. The head was n ext inserted by hand, and th e
hoops were tighten ed up, after which the cask was r eady
for use.
Th e manufacture of tight casks was a much more c.>m plica.ted process than that of the slack type. That was
especially the case with beer casks, th e staves of which
varied betw~en 1 in. and 1! in. in thickness. The joint
made by a circular saw had been proved to b e absolutely
tight, but some people h ad a prej udi ce in fa vour of planed
joints. \Vhen jointed with a. eaw the stave was h eld in a
carriage sliding on a table bent to the required curve, and
fed past the saw by hand, the carria~e being canted to
give the necessary bevel. The maohme in most general
use for prod ucing planed joints was one in whi ch the
ata.ves are placed one above the other on a sliding carriage.
As the staves pas!ied along, the cutters being shaped to
the required bevel, made the staves narrower at the ends
than at the centre, after which they gradua.lly fell again
until the staves bad passed, thus giving them the proper
form.
A fter being jointed, the staves had t o be backed and
hollowed, that was, the bac:k of eaoh must be planed
convex, and dressed to a curve formi n g an arc of the
outer p eriphery of the ca.sk, the insidf:\ at the same time
bein~ hollowed to allow of its being bent r eadily. The
ba.ckmg and hollowing of such staves as were more or less
crooked r eq u ired a sp ecial machine. Th e stave was
carried past the cutters by two parallel chains, u nited at
intervals by dogs hinged to allow of their rising and
fall ing. The cutter -block to which the hollowi ng kni ves
were fi xed was placed immediately a bove that which pl an ed
the backs, and the table on either sid e of the cu tter-blocks
was raised slightly for a length of abou t 6 in. This left
the stave operated on free t o rock on the table, so that it
adapted itself t o the cutters a3 it passed along, and its
original form was maintained .
After the cask bad been "raised," it was placed in a
eteaming chamber until it was thoroughly soft and pliable.

It was th en taken t o the windlassing machinf' which

~~t.hered U{> the ope~ end. ready for the trus ing ~achine.
1s machm~ cons!s~ed of five dog , with steel clips
attached. ~avmg a r1s1ng and fall ing m otion, worked by a
screw. ~be c~sk was plar.ed on th e floor in the centre of
the m_achme wath truss hoop3 on; the dogs closed again&t
the stdes of t~ e cas~, . and, descending, drew d own the
tru~s h oop unt1l th e JOtnts of the s taves were close a fter
wbtch they were ~aused t o rise again, and the ope~ation
was repea.t~d unttl all the h oops were in p oaition. The
n ex t ma.c_h me ~o which the caek was taken was most
valuab_le ID sav~ ng: labour, . as it p erformed the various
operatton s o! chmung, orozmg, an d h owelling b oth ends
of the cask simultaneously, besid es trimming off the ends.
The cask was clamped b~tween two revol viug chuck~,
and th e cutterblocks, bemg brought into action s imult an eously, completed th e opera.tion in a s ingle r evolution.
The f~ces of t~e h ead s were planed, and the joints
mad e wtth an ordma.ry hand-feed planing- machine and
~he dowel holes were b ored by a small auger fitted
mt_o the end of the planing spindle. The b ead wh en
fim hed must be . lightly oval, as the external pressure
broug ht to b e_ar upon it was considerable, and th e wood
was more eas1ly compressed, and a lso had a. greater t en d ency to. shrink oross'_Vise than end wise of the grain.
The ovalhn~ and bevelhng were pffected in on e operation
the head bemg cramped b etween two ea. t-iron revolving
pla;tes. T _wo cutter-block s were employed, each carrying
kmv es. whi c~ cut the t op and bottom be vel and at th~
same t1me tr1mmed the edge of the h ead. Th e machine
was. so arra.nged that th e cutters always worked with the
g r~ t? of th e wood, whi ch insu red a clean out.
The
dnvmg on ?f the permanent iron hoops was accom plished
by hydrauhc power.
Tb ~ chief obstacle to the introduction of cask-making
machmery was th_e h osti_le. atti.tude of the coop ers ; as
ma_n y ma. ter~, while a~mttt mg 1ts great value, hesitated
to to cur th e mconvem ence attending the s trikes wbic:h
gen erally followed its introduction into works. I t had,
ho wever, b een proved by pra.ctical results that casks
could be turned ou t far more economically by machinery
than by h and, and thP-r e was li ttle doubt that before long
hand made casks would be things of the past.

THE PHYSICAL SOCIETY.

AT a mn~ting of th e Physical Society, h eld on D ecembFr ~ 1893! Professor A . W. R iicker, ~LA, F .R S. ,

Prestd~nt, m the chair, Messrs. .J. H . G illett and F .
H ovenden were elected meD?Lers o f the Society.
A paper by 1\fr. J ames S wmburne, on "A Potentiometer
for Alttrnat~ng Currents," was r Aad by Mr. Bla.kesley.
A fter referrtng t o the many advantages of the potentio meter m ethod of m e~surement, the au thor d tscribes an
arrangement by whteh alternating pressures can be
m~asu red. A quadrant electrometer, with a. double fi h
ta.tl n eedle s us p~nd ed by .a torsionless fi bre, is employed.
The electrostatic attra.ctaon exerted by an alternating
pressure between the needle and one pair of qua.drants is
balanced by the force due to a steady pressure between the
needle and the other pa~r of qua~rant s. The magnitude
of the st eady pressure 1s d etermmed by a potentiome ter
and. standard cell, and the effective value of th e alternatmg pressu.re thus_d ed uced. For m easuring alternating
current~. a dtfferenttal _electrodyna.mometer, having t wo
~xed coi ls an~ on e movmg coil, and n o controlling spring,
~~ used. A dtrect c1;1rrent, m easured by the fall of p oten tta.l over a s mall res1stance, is passed through one of the
fixed c~ils, the alternating current through the other
fixed cOil, and the moving coil is included in both alternating and direct current circuits. Wh en the two forces
~a.lance, t~e curren~s are taken as equal. Several small
ma.ccura.Cies t o wh10h the m ethod is subject are mentioned in the paper.
ProfessorS. P. Thompson inquired if the fishtail-shaped
n eedl e o f the electrometer was n ovel.
Mr. Blakesley said the author had mentioned the n eedle
r.reviously. He (Mr. Blakesley) th ought the name
'potentiometer " was not very suitable. In effect the
so-called measurement of pressures wa.CJ a. compa.ris~n of
two powers.
The Presid ent announced that Mr. Preeoe's note on the
"Specific Resistance of Sat Water " bad been temporarily
withdrawn.
Profe.qsor G. M. Mincbin, M. A ., made a. communication on the "Calculation of the Coefficient of S elf-In ducti on of a Oircutar Curren t of given Aperture and CrossSection ." Ins tead of assuming the cross-section of the
v:ire sm~ll, and the current d en si ty constant over the secti0n, as ts usually done, the author takes into account the
dimens ion s of the section, and the n on -uniform distribution of the current. Making use of the expressions for
the vector potential {G) of the current given in his previous papers (" Pbil. l\1ag., " April and August, 1893),
the author calculates the total n ormal flux of force
through a surface intersect ed on ce in the p ositive direction by every tube of force emanating from the given
curr~nt. This fl~x divi_d ed by the current g ives the coeffiCient of self-mduot10n. 'l'he surface chosen is the
circular aperture of the current, and half of the an chor
ring formed by the wire. \Vh en the current density is
inversely proportioned to the distance from the axis of
the circular current, the value for the coefficient of aelfinduction is found to b e

thi s in the principal t erm. A s an example of the

closen_ess of the approximation, the caEe of a cu rr ent 10 a wire 2 millimetrPS in diamet er bent to
a. circle of 2 centimAtre3 m ean diameter bad been
taken, th e approximate and corrected coefficien ts being
58.866 and 59.207 absolute units r espectively. \Vben the
current in th E! wire is superficial, as in case of alternating
currents of_ hag~ fr equency, the codficient is som ewhao
greater, bemg glVen by tl. e exprs~ i o n

i J + 1~ a
2

.,. { 4 a (L - 2)

+ 2 c (L +

(4 L

+ 11)}

Incidentally it was pointed out that the function G.c

wh er e G is the vector potential at A p oint distance x fron~
th e a xis of a circular current was the same as , tokes's
currer.t fufl,ction in hydrodyna.'mics.
An~the~ papa~, ~n t~e " Marmetic Field of a Currl'nt
R-u;mn~g ut a Cylu~drt~al CCJi~, ". was r ead by Professor
Mmchlr;t. Th e. cy hnd rtca.l coal IS r egarded as a. seri e~ of
equal otrcles lymg cl~se t ogether _and form ing a cylindrical . surface. Rep~acang each Circular current by its
eqUival~nt mag~etic shell, the problem of finding the
m agnetic potenttal at a. point resolves itself into calculating the g ra vitational potential due to the circular
plate~ of a~tracting matt~r, one posi tive and the other
n eg:att ve, st tuatcd rcsl?ectt vely. at opp os ite ends of th e
cylmder . . The magnettc p otent1al due to one plate is tb~n
deduce~ JD ~erms of elliptic integrals of the first, second,
and tbtrd ~mds .. The_Pre3id ent bad pointed out that
th e expre_sston s gtven m the printed proof of the paper
only appli ed wh en the perpend icular from the point t o
the J?la.te fell within the circle; the author had. tbereforf',
m<;>d1fied the formula so as to b e true generally. From
th1 s formula. the equipotentia.l curves can be constructed.
The same sys tem o~ cur ves serve ~or the plate at the
other end of the oy_hnder by changmg the signs of the
numeral s r e presentmg the p otentials and giving the
our_ves a _motion c;>f tr~nslatio_n equal t~ the length of the
cylinder m the d~rectton of 1ts a xis. The eq uipotential
cur ves for the cOil can then be d educed by drawing
through the p oi nts of intersection of the two sets of
curves .w~ose numerical values have a con stant sum. In
det ermmmg the curve , the author bad to calculate
tables of elliptic integrals of the third kind, and these be
hoped t o comple.te before the paper was published . In
reply t o a questt?n on the first paper, which had b een
brought b efo_re btm by Professor P erry, the au lihor said
that as the dta!l'leter _of the wire _diminis hed indefinitely,
both the self-mduct1on and r e 1 tance became infinit~
but the ratio L / R became zero. It was interesting t~
exa~ine what ~el.ation ~etween the apertnr~ and crosssec tt~n gave mmuuum urpedanc:e. If the ordinary ex presston for L be taken, the problem was impossible but
the corrected form admitted of a solution.
'
Professor P erry h o~ed the work Professor Mincbin
had done so ~ell. for CI~cles and cylinders would be extended t o _cyhndrtcal co1ls of r ectangular cross-section. lb
was most 1mportant t o be able to fin d the shape of the fi eld
produced by such coils.
Professor S: P. Th ompso ~ inquired if there was any
way of d educmg the ex pressiOn for the magnetic force at
a. P?int _other than . that given in the paper on the " l\Iagnettc Field of a Ctrcular Current" C' Phil. l\Iag. " April

1893).

In reply, Professor Mincbin explained how the formula.

followed at once from the fundamental theorem that
magnetic force is the work of the vector potential. Th is
was based on La place's ex prassion for the force between
a. magnetic pole a.od an element of current which had
b een proved experimentally.
'
~TREET RAILWAYS AT SAN FRANCisco.-An effort is
bemg mad~ to place the whole of the street railways of
S an Fra.nCis~o ull;der one manag_ement. With this object
a company 1s b Nng formed, w1th a. proposed capital of

3, 600, OOOt .
A MERICAN RAILROAD PROP&RTY.-America.n railroad
property appears to have become, upon the whole less productive during the last five y ear s. In 1 7 the ~ggregate
leng~h of line worked was 13G,989 miles; the r even ue
acqmred was 931,385,154 dols., and the n~t income realised
~as 331,135.676 dols. In 1892 the aggregate length of
hoe worked had increased to 170,607 m iles the rough
revenue acquired was 1, 191,857,0!)9 dols. but the net
profit r ealised did n ot exceed 352,817,405 dols. In other
words, while the n et r eceipts per mile worked were 2141
dols. in 1887, the corresponding r eturn in 1892 did not
exceed 2068 dols. per mile worked.

---

0 TAG O CENTRAL R AlLWAY. -Tbe works on this lin e

have been en ergetically proceeded with. The earthworks
between Middlema.rch and Hyde may be regarded a.s
practically finished, and the masonry abutments for m ost
of the bridges have also been erected. The contract for
the manufacture of th e iron s uperstructures of the bridges
was let to Messrs. Anderson, of Cbristchurch, in December, 1892; to expedite the work a b onus was offered to
the contractors for the completion of their contract before
t _h e specified time, and the girders are n ow being deliver ed ; as soon as possible after their erection platelay ing will be proceerled with. The bulk of the sieepers
are already in band. Con tracts for the supply of the balance
2
have been let, and all the rails and fastenings req o1ired are
.,. { 4 a (L - 2) + 2 c ( L - ~) - ~ a (2 L + 19) } ,
in store at Dunedin. The New Zealand Government hopes
where a is the radius of the central filament of the cur - t o ba able to open the n ew line for traffic to Hyde in the
early part of next year. It is proposed to at once proceed
rent, c the radius of the cross-section of the wire, and
with the nonstruotion of the section between Hyde and
Eweburn, a. distance of 21 miles 67 chains. An extension
= loge ~ .
c
of the line to Eweburn will promote settlement, and will
materially assist in openin~ up Central Ota.go.
ap;>roxima.to
exprers
:on
agreeJ
with
Clerk-1\faxwell's

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REFRIGERATOR CAR

COMPA~Y,

CONSTRUCTED BY THE UNITED STATES CAR

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HEGEWISCH, ILLINOIS, U.S. A.

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EXPOSITIO~T.

SYSTEM) AT THE WORLD'S COLUMBIAN

(HANRAHAN'S

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W E ill ustrate on this page a. refrigerator car, con struc ted on Hanrahan's automatic system, by t he
Unit~d States Car Company, Hegewisch, Illinois, and
exhibited by t hem at the World's Ool umbian Exposition, Chicago. The car has t he following general
.dimensions :
Ft. In.
L ength of car over end sills
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The details of const ruction will he r eadily appre - A t hird line of twine then follows, after which t he out- same way as before. This second frame is in its turn
ciated from t he elevation and plan , Figs. 1 and 2, side sheathing of {~- in. white pine is na iled on with 2! -in. covered with p ap er laid over a line of twine, and
and the cross-sections shown in F igs 3 and 4. The nails. On t he i nside a line ot twine a.nd a layer of paper abo,-e th is comes the fi nal s heathing of { ~ -i n. cottonice box is placed at the centre of the car, and is lined are fixed as before, followed by a second line of twin e, wood, a line of twine being, as in aU other cases, t acked
with galvan~sed iron. Very great care has bee~ taken 1 and a._ layer of ~- in. pine put on hori zontally, th~ joi~ts ?etween ~t .and the l~yer of paper imm~diately below
in constructmg the walls and floors of t he car m such of whtch are whtte-lea.ded and caulked. Over th1s a lme 1t. The J01Dts of tlus final layer ar e wh1te-leaded and
a way as to reduce their heat conducti vity as much of twine is again laid, and one t hickness of pap er. caulked as in previous cases.
as possible, and as this is the mo_st i~~ortant. featur~ of 1 ~ver ~his a ~ -in. by 2~-in .. oak frame is nailed 1 The roo_f of the car is insula~ed in a very similar way.
a refrigerator car, we shall descnbe 1t m deta1l. Tak ~ng 1m1~1 e<.h~tely above t~e mau:~ frame ?f the car, ~om~en cmg on. the under stde of th e car lines, there
the sides an d ends of the cars first, along the fra.mmg whteh 1s covered w1th a hne of twme and one l 1s na tled first a. hne of twine, t hen a thickness of" P and
on the outside a line of soft twine is first na iled ~it_h thickness of pap:r a~ before.
Ov~r t h is _comes ~ :' t hree-ply pape1, and then a ft-in. pine ceiling wit h
3-oz. tacks~ in . from the edges of the frames. Thts 1s ~second la~er of ~-m. pme, pu_t O\T:r a_h?e of t wme, ~s JOlll~s wh.it e-leaded; under t his four 1! in. by 5 in.
covered wit h a t hickness of" P and B " three-ply pa.per, m the prevwus case, a~d hav10g 1ts JOlDts caulked m furrmg p1eces, placed lengthwise of car , a re securely
well nailed. A second line of t wine is th en tacked OD t~e sante manner. Thls second layer is again covered fastened . To t hese furring p ieces is nailed a a- in.
oYer this, and t hen a. second layer of paper is put on . 1 Wlth paper and a second oak frame in exactly the cottonwood ceiling, with joints white-leaded, thus

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E NGINE

E R I N G.

DOUBLE PLATE PLANING MACHINE.

CONSTRUCTED

BY

THE

NILES

TOOL \VORK S

COl\IPANY,

IIA~fiLTON, OHIO, U . . A.

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forming a diaphragm to create a circulation from the

extreme upper ends of the car to the ice chamber,
as shown to the right of Fig. 1. Over this ! in.
by~ in. strips are nailed on the sides of the carlines
at a height of 3% in. from the bot tom of the carline
to the top of the strips. The space to the top of
the strips is then filled with ground cork. On the
top edge of theije strips a line of twine is tacked,
over which comes a course of g-in. sheathing. This is
covered with one thickn ess of "P and B " three-ply
paper, the paper turning up on the ca.rlines and
being secured by strips placed over it and nailed
to the carlincs. The spaces between the carlines are
filled with ground cork. On the t op of the carlincs,
the ridge pole, and the plates, a line of twine is nailed,
followed by one thickness of paper, then another line
of twine is put in place, on top of which comes the lower
course of roofing. The whole is surmounted by a
'' Drake and \Veir " roof.
Coming to the floor of the car, the insulation of this
has been done with equal care. Commencing a.t the
bottom of the sill, on each side of the centre and
intermediate, and on the inner side of the outside sill,
A in. by 1~ in. strips are nailed. On top of these
strips comes a line of twine, as before, followed by a
floor of g-in. pine, th en a second line of twine and one
thickness of "P and B " three-ply {>&per, turning the
edges up 1~ in. on the sill. Over this is nailed another
~ in. by 1! in. strip to the sills as before. On top of
this floor six~ in. by 1~ in. cross-pieces are put in each
space between the sills, thus dividing the space between
the longitudinal and end sills into seven parts. A third
line of twine is tacked on top of the ~ - in. strips, and
another, ~ in. in thickness, of pin~, over which comes a
fourth line of twine, and one thickness of paper with
edges turned up as before. Over this ~ in. by 1~ in.
etrips, with cross-pieces dividing the space as before, are
nailed, followed by a line of twine and a floor of i -in.
pine. After this comes a line of twine and a layer of

------

- ..
paper again, lapping 1~ in. on the sill. Over this
come ~ in. by 1~ in. cross-pieces, as before, then a line
of twine on these strips, then another course of ~ -in.
pine, then a line of twine, and one thickness of paper
lapping 1~ in. on sill, then the ~ in. by 1! in. strips
with cross-pieces coming flush with the top of the sill,
then a line of twine on top ~ in. from the edge of each
sill, a thickness of paper, another line of twine, a
second thickness of paper, a third line of twine, and
then the final flooring of l :i-in. oak. All joints in
floorin g are white-leaded and caulked, as previously
described.

DOUBLE PLATE PLANING 1\IACHINE.

THE illustrations aboYe give front an d rea.r views
of a plate planer constructed by the Niles Tool \Vorks,
of Hamilton, Ohio. These works have furnished two
machines of this design to the United States Government, one of them for the Boston and the other for
the League I sland Navy Yard. The machine consists
essentia lly of a heavy box bed, at either end of which
are attached uprights joined by the heavy steel box
beam seen at the top. Jack screws placed under this
beam, and upon the sheet, hold the latter firmly in
place while being planed. The beam overhangs, permitting sheets of any length to be planed by resetting.
At one end of the main bed is pivoted a shorter bed,
upon which is fitted a saddle for planing the end of
the sheet at the same setting. This bed has an adjustment, by r ack and pinion movement, 10 deg. in each
direction from a right angle. It rests upon a heavy
slotted table on a level with th e main bed. In its
adjusting movement this bed carries with it a slotted
table on a level with the main bed, th e end of the
sheet being secured to this. The t ool saddles are
moved by powerful screws, which are supported along
their entire length to prevent deflection. The main
saddle has two tools and cuts in both directions, one

._-

.. ~........

of these tools having an angular movement the same

as an ordinary planer, while the other moves in a
horizontal plane only. There is one tool only in the
butt planing saddle, and the cutting is done in one
The saddle is therefore provided with
direction.
quick r eturn movement.
A safety device is provided , which avoids the possibility of a collision between the tools. Should both
saddles a pproach the corner of the sheet simultaneously, the main saddle reverses the motion of the
other, and no harm can result. Tappets attached to
rods automatically reverse the saddles by shifting open
and crossed belts. The machine, of course, enables
sheets to be planed much more accurately, as wen as
much more expeditiously, where the ends are to be
planed square or at an angle, than can be done on a.
single plate planer. As will be seen, the machines are
of very rigid construction throughout, and they are
built for the heaviest work, those furnished to the U . .
Government being adapted to plane plates 1~ in. thick,
24 ft. long at one setting, and 6 ft. wide.
R USSIAN ..\ND AMERICAN PETROLEU.M.-Ne~otiations are
reported to be on foot with the view of endmg competi
tion between Russian and American petroleum interests,
a.nd forming a. great international trust. The alleged
scheme is that Russian oil producers sh&ll control the
Eastern European and Asian markets, while America.
shall hold England and W eatern Europe.
GAS A'l' PARIS.- The revenue of the Parisian Company
for Lighting and Heating by Gas in October amounted to
299,070l., as compared with 306,83Gl. in October, 1892,
showing a. decrease of 7764Z., or 2.53 per cent. The
aggregate revenue acquired to October 31 this year was
2,376,G95l., as compared with 2,418,361l. in the corresponding period of 1892, showing a decrease of 41,666l.
or 1.52 per cent. The competition of the eleotric light
would appear to be still affecting the company's revenue,
although not to any serious extent

730

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

NOrES FROM CLEVELAND AND THE

NORTHERN COUNTIES.
MIDDLESBROUGH, vVednesday.
The Cleveland Iron Trade.- Y esterday there was a
fairly good attendance on 'Change here, and, although
there was n ot a very great deal of businees doing, the t one
was cheerful and quotat:ons were fi rm. It was said that
one or two H> !culators were desirous to operate. believing
that ne.xt year will eee an improvement in trade. There
was ev1dently more confidence in the future, for it is
a. couple of years or so si nce speculation cf any consequence was don e h ere. Both makers and m erchants
quoted 35s. 6d. for prompt f.o.b. d eli very of No. 3 g.m. b.
Cleveland pig iron, and several lots were sold at that
price, though some sellers ask ed a trifle more, and one or
two buyers endeavoured to purchase at rather below that
price. The lo wer qualities were in good reques t, and
wMe not very easily obtainE'd, being rather scarce. No. 4
f0u nory was 31s. 6d. to 3ts. 9d. , and grPy forge 3~s.
No. 1 Cleveland pig was quoted 37s. 3d. There was n ot
much doing in M iddlesbrough warrants, but th ey were
very firm throughout the d ay at 35s. 10d. ca"h buyers.
L')cal h ematite pig was steadv, but the demand was not
so good as conld be wished. Fur early delivery of mixed
n urn ber 3 433. 3d. was quoted, though some makers were not
i nclined to m ention less than 433. 6d. Spani h ore was
easy, rubio b eing 123. exship T ees. T o-day the market
was very strong, and some sellers asked ~53. 9d. for
prompt No. 3, but transactions were recorded at 353. 6d.
l\Iiddlesbrough warrants opened at 35s. 10d., and closed
firm at 36s. cash buyers.
llfanujacturei Iron ancl Stecl.-Only a mojerate account is given of the manufactured iron and steel trades.
Certainly what little change there is, is in the right direction, but quotations do not improve. \Vh ilst there are
reports of rather better inquiries, there are complaints of
difficulty in securing new work, and competition continues
keen. ~lost establishments, however, manage to keep
fairly well gving. Common iron bars are quoted
41. 17s. 6d, best bars 5l. 7s. 6d., iron ship-plates 4l. 15s.,
steel sh ip-plates 5l. 2~. Gd., iron ship-angles 41,. 12~. 6d.,
and steel hip-angles 4l. 15s., alllP.ss the usual 2~ per oe~t.
discount for cash. Heavy sections of steel rails remain at
3l. 12;. 6d. n et at works.
Conciliation Movement in the North.-Ia compliance
with the re~ olution passed at the c~nference at Auckland
Castle on October 27 and 28, which suggests that a public
confer~nce should be held, at which the various organisat ions connected with the coal, iron, and steel trades of
Northumb3rlaod and Durham should be represented, t o
rliscuss the de~i rability of forming a Board or Boards of
C0nciliation for the~ e counties, and that the Bishop of Durham should con vene it, his lordship has issued a circular
inviting representati \'es of th e coal, iron, and steel trades
of Northumberland and Durham t o a conference to be
h eld at the T own Hall. Durham, on the third Saturd ay
in January (January 20), unless some other day or place
should prove to be more convenient. The Bishop concludes: "A full and frank exchange of opinion on the
conside ration~ of the problem t o be s0l ved will. I trust,
contribute to the establishment of aB )ard or Boards of
Conciliation which will command the lasting and intelli
gent confidence of all who are interested in our great local
industries."
The Fuel Trode.-}l'uel is firm. S o far ~s ste:1m coal is
concerned collieries have little to sell, and for any prompt
supplies that are in second hands, and are a~ailable, high
prices are asked. At Newcastle 15s. f.o.b. IS quoted for
b est Northumbrian steam coal. Small steam varies from
63. t o 6s. 6d. Bunker coal is somewhat easier with a more
abundant supply, but the price. is not quotably alte_re~;
about 10s. f.o.b. in Tyne D ock 1s named. Gas coal 1s m
good request, hut supplies are larger and pri ~es are a
little easier. Coke is very fi rm. H ere 13s. Gd. IS quoted
for blastfurnaoe qualities delivered at Cleveland works.

NOTES FROM THE NORTH.

GLASGOW, vVednesday.
GlaSflOW Pig-Iron M arkct.-There was less business
doi ng in the pig-iron warrant market last Thursday foren oon. About 4000 tons of Scotch, 2000 t on s of Cle veland,
and a few lots of hematite iron changed hands. Parb of
the Scotch was done at 43s. 9d. per .ton on~ month fi~ed.
At the afternoon market there was httle.domg, and pnoes
were just ateady. About 40~00 tons of :::;cot<?h were de~lt
in includi ng one lot at 433. o~d. p er ton th1s week, With
a :~plant." The dealing in Clev~lan~ amounted to 3000
tons No transaction s in hematite tron were reported .
Pric~s all round were practically un~hanged at the close
from th e forenoon. The settlement pnoes at the close were
-Scotch iron, 43s. 7! d. p er ton; Clev~lan.d, 35s. 7~d.; 9umberland and Middlesbrough hf\mati.te non, respeott yely,
45s. 7~d. and 43s. !Jd per ton. A fair amounb of busmess
was don e on Friday forenoon. Some 3000 tons of .Sco~ch,
4000 tons of Cleveland, and 5000 tons of hel!lat1te 1ron
w~re sold, a. portion of the Cleveland sales bemg done at
36s 1d per ton three m onths open. The market was
fir~ in' the afternoon. Only about 2000 or ?OOO t ons of
Scotch iron changed hands, but the cash pnce rose 1~d.
p er t on from the forenoon, at 43 ': 9~. sellers. A good
businea 3 in Cleveland and homat1te 1ron was reported,
;\Dd the buying was said to come fro~ L_ondon:
Fully
6000 or 7000 tons of each were dealt m, m.cludmg 3000
tons of the former at 3Gs. l !d. and 3Gs. 2d. three
months open. "fhe cash price of Cleve~an~ made
an ad vance of 3d., and Cumber land hematlte tron 2d.
per ton from the forenoon. At the close the settlement
rices were-Scotch iron, 433. 9d. per ton; Clevela~d,
35s. lO~d. ; Cumberland and ~Iiddlesbrou~h hemat1te
jron, r espectively, 453. 10~d . and 43J. 9d. per ton. The

market was strong on Monday forenoon, n otwithstanding

the close of the miners' strike, which was expected by
some persons to h ave an adverse influence on prices.
Scotch warrants opened ab 43:1. 8d. per t on cash, and
business was done up to 4Rs. lO~d . , at which there were
buyers at the close. Cleveland was dealt in at from 363.
t o 363. 2d. one month, and frmn 353. 10d. to 35s. 11~d .
per ton cash, sellers rem aining firm at th e close. Cumberland hematite iron was also in d ercand, bei ng d on e at
46s. 2d. one m onth. The market opened in the afternoon
at 43s. lld. per t on for Scotch warrants, receding t o 43s.
9~d. on a little pressure of selling. T owards the close,
however, large buying took place, about 15,000 tons
changing hands at from 43s. 9~d. to 43s. 1ld. cash, buyers
r emaming over ab the latter price. Cleveland iron was
easier, closi ng 1~d . down from the forenoon, and bema.tite
iron was not dealt in. The closing settlement prices wereScotch iron, 43s. 10~d. per ton; Cleveland, 35s. 10~d.;
Cumberland and Mtddlesbrough hematite iron, 45s. 10~d .
and 43s. 9j . per ton resp ectively. Tuesday 's foren oon
market was steady. Scotch warrants opened at 4~s. 11d.
per t on cash, receding t o 43s. 9~d., after which 433. 10 ~d .
(Monday) was paid for some 5000 tons. Cleveland was
done at ~5s. 9~d. per t on cash and 35s. ll!d. one month,
closing even firmer. No business in hematite iron
was reported, and the close was-buyers 45s. 9d. , sellera
l~d. more.
The afternoon market was rather quieter.
Scotch warrants were done at 43s. lOd. and 43~. 9~d.
cash t o about 10,000 tons. A moderate amount of Cleveland was done at 36s. t o 363. 1d. one month. Hematite
iron was again neglected. The closing se ttl em~nt prices
were-Sovt ch iron, 43~. 9d. per ton; Cleveland, 35s. 10~d.;
Cumberland and :M iddlesbrough hemat ite iron, respeoti vely, 45s. 9d. and 43s. 9d. p er ton. The market wa~
firm this forenoon, but business was quiet. About 1000
tons of Scotch, 3000 tons of Cleveland, and 1500 tons of
hematite iron were sold. Scotch made ld. a nd Cl~vtland
!d. of ad van re. The market for Sc~tch was idle in th e
af t~rnoon, but prices were firme r. A larg-e amount of
Cleveland iron changed hands, probably 20,COO t ons. The
fo1low in~ are the 4 uotations for several No. 1 spe:;ial
brands of makers' iron: Gartsherrie and Calder, 52s. Gj.
per ton ; Summerlee, 53s. ; L angloan and Coltntss,
56s. 6d.-the foregoing all shipped at Gla~gow; Glengarnock (shipped at Ardrossan ), 5l s. ; Shotts ( hipped
at L eith) and Carron (s hipped at Grangemouth), 54s. Gd.
per ton. As the coal strike has clo5ed , and the
miners are rE:turning to their work at the old rate of
wages, arrangements have been made for turning on the
blast at a number of the blast furnaces, more especia1ly
at th e Gartsherrie and Summerlee Iron ' Vorks. It is
expected that by the close of the present wek at least
fi fteen add itional furnaces will be on full blast, or thirty
in all. L ast week's shipments of pig iron from all Scotch
ports amounted to 4345 t ons, against 5223 t ons in the
corresponding week of last year. They included 133
tons for Austral ia, 370 t ons for Italy, 205 tons for Germany, ~00 tons for Russia, 340 tons for Holland, smaller
quantities for other countries, and ~766 tons coastwiE.e.
The stook of pig iron in Messrs. Connal and C .>. 's warrant
stores stl)od at 322,340 t ons yesterday afternoon, as compared with 322,791 tons yesterday week, thus showing a
reduction for the week amounting to 451 tons.

M cdleable Iron and Steel T1ades.-Th~ local fi nished

iron and steel trades have suffered sever~l y by the strike
in the coal trade. M ost of the works have for a t ime
been either wholly or partially suspended, as regards
manufacturing operations, and neither m erchants nor
manufacturers ha \'e been in a position to undertake fresh
work to any ex tent; as a n e~essary consequence anum
ber of orders have been lost. The prices of fi nished iron
and steel have lately been almost purely nominal, although
small lots urgently wanted ba~e to be paid for at enhanced
rates. During the enforced idleness the annual repairs
of machinery, &c., have in many oases been made, so that
i b is not unlikely that the stoppage for th e New Year
holidays will be more limited in ex tent than is usually the
case.
Glasgow CoppEr Market. - The price of copper remai~ed
unchanged last Thursday forenoon, the cash quotat1on
being 43l. 5s. per t on. In the afternoon, h.owever, the
price receded 2a. Gd. p er t on. On the followmg foren oon
an advance of 5s. was made, to 431. 7s. 6d. No change
was made in the afternoon. ~Ionday forenoon saw a
ril:le to 43l. 15s. per t on, but in the afternoon 5s. of the
advance easerl off. There was a further d ecline of 2s. Gd.
on Tuesday forenoon, followed in th~ afternoon by an additional reduction of l s. 3d. The pnoe went back 5i. per
ton this afternoon.
Scotch Coal Shipmcnts. - The late strike told very
severely on the Scotch coal shipments last week, these
amounting in all to only 62,467 tons. E ven on the reduced shipments of the preceding week, these returns
show a furth er heavy derrease of 23,338 tons, while, as
compared with the C?rrespond ing week of last y~r, they
exhibit the great falhng off of 78,757 tons, or cons1derably
more than half. The decline was not confined to the
west coast, bnt extended to th~ east ooas~, ow~ng to the
coals originally intended for sh1pment bemg dt ve~ted to
other districts for home use. Tha effects of the stnke on
coal cargoes from the west may, again, be judged from
the followi ng comparative figures; Last week, 17,224
tons ; corresp:>Dding week of 1892, ~4, 958 tons. The
aggregate shipments for . the forty-nm e weeks of ~he
present year still show an mcrease over the corresponding
period of last year, o~ing, of. course~ t o the demand
during the English strike, but 1t has now been reduced
to G!, 215 tons.
Mr. J arncs R lid and the Glasgow Tram1.uay Company.Owing to the de~th of ~Ir. R obert Young, who was for
many years chairman of the Glasgow Tramway and

Omnibus Company, ~1r. James Reid, the head of the

Hyde Park L ocomotive W orks (Messrs. N eilson and Cv. ),
and who has been a member of th~ board of directOJs
ince th e year 1879, has been elected to the vacant post.
Mr. Reid is also at present the head of the M erchants'
H ouse of Glasgow, and therefore L :>rd D ean of Guild, in
virtue of which he has again become a member of the
town council.
.Atlas Locomotive Wo'Tks.- M essrs. Sharp, Stewart, and
Co., of the Atlas L ocomotive W orks, Glasgow, ha ve been
successful in securing two orders-one of ten engines for
the Midland R\ilway Company, and anoth er of two
for Sweden. The machine t ool d epa rtment of the same
works is also busy.
.
H iphland R ailway I mp1ovementa.- The directors of the
Highland Railway Company have just resolved t o proceed with the er ection of a. n ew station, offices, waitingrooms, &c., at Kinguesie, which, in addition t o being the
recognised half-way stopping place for refreshments, has
in recent years become a. great and fa vourite summer and
autumn health resort.
Fraserburgh H arbour I mp rovements.-At a meeting of
the Fraserburgh Harbour Commissioners, held lasb
Friday, it was resolved to accept the Public Works L oan
Commissioners' offer of 7000t. t ') be expended on the
strengthening of Balaclava Breakwater, and, further, to
proceed with the Provisional Order of other measures
n ecessary for furnishing collateral security for a furth er
loan required for deE'pening Ba.laclava Harbour.
North B1idge, Edinburgh: R econstruction Scheme.-A
special meeting of the Town Council of Edinburgh was held
last ThurPday for the purpose of considering the question of the reconstruction of the North Bndge, which
spans the valley in which the vVa.verl ey Station of tho
N"orth British Rail way is situated. S ir William A rrol
was present and explained three alternative plans whi c h
he hn.d prepared, giving a- preference t o that which provided for th e removal of the present structure and th'3
substitution of an entirely new bridge at a cost of about
SO,OOOl. The Lord Provost moved th e adoption of the
committee's rE-port, which was to the t-ffect that, taking
into account the rights and interests of the corp1ration
affected by the proposed Bill of the North Brit1sh Railway Company, the council should proceed with a Bill in
terms of the notices already given. Two different amendments were proposed, but they were both rejected , and the
motion was carried by more than two to one.
Death of Mr . .Alexander L eslie, C. E. - ~Ir. Alexandt:r
L eslie, C.:E., of the fi rm of J. and A. L eslie and R eid,
Ueorgestreet, Edinburgh, died last Thursday. H e took
infiut nzl., \\- hioh developed into a painful trouble. The
deceased, who was abou t forty-nine years of age, was the
eldest son of the late Mr. J ames L esliE>, founder of the
firm. Besides studying his profession in his father's
office, he was for a tima under the late Mr. Thomas
Hawksley, of L ondon.
Since his father's d eath,
two or three years ago, Mr. Le~li e had been head
of the firm, and associated with his brother-in-law,
Mr. R. C. Rei d. The firm were the engineers of the Edinburgh \Va.ter Trust, and as such carried out large works,
such as the new Moorfoot supply in 1875-79. Mr. L eslie
was till th e other day President of th e Scottish Society
of Arts. H e leaves a widow and one son. Mr. L eslie's
fathE'r carried out the original works at Monikie and
Crombie for the old Dundee Water Company, and many
other water works throughout Scotland. Deceased was
associated with his father and Mr. Stewart, C. E , in
carrying out the Lintrathen water scheme.
Mr. Jamcs R iley on Sir William Siemens.-At the last
meeting of the Glasgow and West of Scotland Technical
Collf'ge Scientific Society, Mr. J am es Riley, general
manager to the Steel Company of Scotland, gave a comprehensive and interesting lecture on "Sir Williaru
Siemen s and his Work. "

NOTES FROM THE SOUTH-WEST.

South Wales Coal and Iron.- The shipments of coal
from the four principal Welsh ports in November
were: Cardiff - foreign, 825, 9GO tons ; coastwise,
194,119 tons. N ewport-foreign, 180. 587 t ons; coastwise,
109,400 t ons. Swansea-foreign, 85.431 tons ; coastwise,
65 138 tons. Llanelly- foreign, 13,456 tons; coastwise,
5077 t ons. It follows that the shipments of thA month
were : F oreign, 1, 106,45~ tons ; and coastwise, 373, ~34
tons. The shipments of uon and steel from the fou r prmcipal \Velsh ports in November were: Cardiff, 2971
tons N ewportl, 2970 tons; Swansea, 4 tons; Llanelly,
'rtil ' t otal 5945 tons. The shipments of coke from the
fou~ ports' in November were : Cardiff. 7562 tons; Newport, 238 tons; Swansea, 76 tons; Llanelly, nil; total, 787G
tons. The shipments of patent fuel from the four ports
were: Cardiff, 22,518 tons ; Newport, 5304 tons; Swansea, 26,270 t ons ; L lanelly, 'Tiil; t otal, 54,092 t ons.. ';['he
aggregate shipments of coal from the four pr~nClpal
\ i\f elsh p orts during the fir at eleven months of th1s year
were as follows: Cardiff, 10,905,046 t ons; Newport,
2 706 804 t ons Swansea, 1,467,333 tons ; Llanelly, 181.246
t~ns ; tobl, 15,259,429 tons. 'fhe aggregate shipments of
iron and steel from the four ports to November 30
this year wdre: Cardiff, 31,836 tons; Newport, 18,127
tons Swansea, 1493 tons; Llanelly, 25~ tons ; total,
51,4Bl! tons. The aggregate shipments of coke were :
Cardiff, 75,933 t ons ; Newport, 4043 t~~s ; Swansea,
2680! tons ; Llanelly, nil; total, 82,656:t t?ns. _The
aggregate shipments of patent fuel were : Cardiff, 26o,022
tons; Newport, 40,590 tons; Swansea, 312,721 t ons ;
Lla.nelly, ntl; total, 618,333 tons.
T he Mails at P lymouth.- The Postmaster-General
having recently issued instructions that mails landed

731

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

is of the central t ower suspension type, a.nd is 127ft. long

over all divid ed into two arms of 75ft. and 52 ft. respectively;' its weight when swinging is about 8 l t o_ns. It
connects the company's yard at ~r~fford road wtth the
Cheshire lines at Cornbrook, and 1s m tend ed for uso only
until the permament swing railway bridge below th~
Trafford-road swing bridge is completed.
In conclud ing a. paper, "Incrustation in Steam
Boilers,, recently read by him before the Hul~ and
District Institution of Engineers and Naval Archttects,
Mr. J. C. Simpson, of the Boiler Insurance and Steam
Power Comp~ny said that if the following three rul es
were attend ed t~, 1eas trouble would be experienced with
incrustation : 1. The blow-off tap should be opened fint
thing in the morning, and again at starti ng after stop~age
at each mea], and kept open for 20 seconds at ~ t1me.
2. A suitable fluid should be put in regularly w1th . the
feed water. 3. \V hen the time came round for b01ler
cleaniog the water should be kept in after the steam is
blown o'u t the dampers opened, a nd the brickwork
allowed to' cool for thirty-six hours if pra0ticable, after
which the water should b e run out, and the cleaners s~nt
in as eoon as possible. \Ve most thoroughly agree with
th ese recomntendations.
The International Tramways Congress, which meb
this autumn at Buda-Pestb, passed the following resolution
bearing upon electric tramways: "The electri c working
of tramways with direct continuous supply of cu rrent from
a central station has given satisfaction on severa.llines on
the Continent, now in operation, and this applies both to
tramways with und erground and to tramways with O\-erhead conductors. The statistical figures hitherto available are, however, not sufficient t o form a definite opinion
abou t the financia l aspect. The em ployment of electricity
is, however, in the interest of th e public, as not only will
a greater speed be obtained, but it will also be possible t o
carry a larger number of passengers. The Congress
as.,erts tba.t in its opinion the electric system of working
should, therefore, be recommended to authorities and
tramway administrators. The Congress further holds
that the authorities should endeavour t o make it possible
for tramway companies to undertake th e expense of a
b on and Steel.-The tone of the iron market is fi rm, change from horse t o electric traction by ext ending the
both for raw and manufactured descriptions. Local-mad~ concessions, and p ermitting the use of overhead conforge pig runs from 4ls. to 43s. p er ton and, foundry 43s. ductors. "
to 45.s. Orders for bar and sheet are coming in on home
Within the last few weeks a new society, under the
account, and for the Continent, India, and Australia. The
heavy steel trades are rapidly becoming busy on orders name of the Northern Socie ty of Electrical Engineerkl,
for marine and rail way material, with prospects improv- has been founded, with its headquarters in Manchester,
ing. Armour-plate and engineering hous~s are now nicely to hold meetings for th e promotion of electrical science
and its commercial and other applications, and for social
employed.
intercourse between members. It ba.s for some time past
Coal.-There are full supplies of coal of evPry descrip- been felt that little or n o opportunity has been afforded
tion, and prices are down to the figure~ ruling before the the members of the electrical profession and trades- now
strike, with sev~ro competition for manufacturers' orders. very numerous-in the midland and northern counties of
The miners recognise that great diffi culties will present meeting outside L ondon for the purpose of scientific disthemselves in J.i'ebruary, when the settlement has to be cussion and social intercourse. A movement was recently
effected.
set on foot by two or three gentlemen, in order to bring
some local members of the profe~sion togeth er to discuss
the matter. The result has been th at several meetings
MISCELLANEA.
have been held, and the new society founded. It is
AT the last monthly meeting of the L eeds Association of pointed out that the society is not founded with any view
Engineers, a paper on "Coal-Washing Machinery " was of rivalry or opposition t o the existing Institution of
read by lVIr. J. Olark J efferson.
Electrical Engineers, but simply to enable members of
At a meeting of the University College (London) Engi- the profession who are unable t o attend m eetings in
n eering Society, held on D ecember 12 last, a paper on London t o do so in the provinces, and at the same time
"Graphics applied to Yachts, was read by Mr. A sh croft, to become better acquainted with each other. The h on.
secretary is Mr. J obn Darney, 102, Portland-street, ManA .lVI. I . C. E.
chest er.
We learn that Messrs. Noble and Lund, of the
At the meeting of the Livupool City Council, on \Vd
Northern Machine \V orks, formerly of the Forth Bank,
Newcastle on-Tyne, have, owing t o the rapid exten sion of nesday, a. resolution was unammously adopted that it was
thei r busineRs, been compelled to transfer their works to des i~a~]e that a joint ~0mmittee should be appointed,
lfelling-on-Tyne, where they have acquired and fitted up conststmg of reprel:len tat1 ves of the corporation, the D ock
large works capable of turning out the heaviest type s of Board, and the various rail way companies in th e city, to
make inquiries as to the effect likely to be produced on
machine tools.
the trade of Liverpool by th e working of the Manchester
The Thames Iron \ Vorks and Shipbuilding Company Ship 9anal, and to rep?rt thereon. The Warrington Cot
have acquired the sole right of manufacture for the pora.tlrm have now arrtved at a settlement with the Ship
United Kingd om of Mr. lf. J. R owan's electric magnetic Canal Company on matters which have been in negotiadrilling, ri\'eting, and caulking machines, which have tion for some time. The company have undertaken to
already m et with much favour among shipbuilders and complete the dredging of the river within six months after
bridge-builders.
the opening of the canal for traffic. Those manufacturers
The traffic receipts for the week ending December 3 who ar~ now using barges and boats on the river are to
on 33 of the principal lines of the United Kingdom have the use of the canal and the ri~ht of using the Runamounted to 1,3 7,604l. , which was earned on 18 388 corn and Latchford Canal, passing mto it at Twentystep
miles. J.i'or the corresponding week in 1892 the receipts Bridge free of toll until the dredging is completed, and
of. the same lines amounted to 1,410,282l., with 18,199 all other manufaoturera and traders of Warrington will
miles open. There was thus a decrease of 22,678l. in the have the right to use the canal on January 1 from Eastreceipts, and an increase of 180 in the mileage. The ham t o Latchford, and also the right to use the Jock at
aggregate receipts for 22 weeks to date amounted on Twe~ty step Bridge and the canal leadi ng to the river on
the same 33 1in~s to 32,451, 628l. , in comparison with prec1sely the same terms as those contained in the Act of
34,718, 45t l. for the corresponding period last year ; 1885 for the bene~t of ~h.e tra~ers of \Varrington- namely,
decrease, 2, 266, 826l.
4d. p er ton. Thts prtvtlege 1s secured to the traders until
An interesting series of views, reproduced from photo- the dam and the look at Walton are completed and made
graphs, are published in the December number of L oco- available for traffic.
rn.otivc Engineering, showing the rapidity with which the
trains of t~e Ill~nois Centra_! R~ilroad were loaded during
ToRPEDO - BoAT DESTBOYERs.-The Admiralty have
the \Vorld s Fair. The trams were com pl~tely tilled in
15 seconds after stopping ab the platform. The cars were ordered from the Naval Armaments and Construction
~peci_ally built with a . view to facilitating this, and Company,. ~arrow-in-Furness, three torpedo- boat de
Judgt_n~ from th~ en~ravmgs, are practically the ordinary ~:~troyer~, stm tlar to the Havock and Daring described in
Enghsh car, w1th s1de doors-or, rather, openings for recent Issues. Tbe price to be paid, it is s~id, is 99,300/.
the_re are n~ d o_ors-the advantages of which in subu~ban for the three. essrs. Hawthorn, L eslie, and Co., on the
trams are mdtsputable, whatever claim may be made Tyne, h_ave r~ce1 ved an order t o construc t one, the confor the superiority of the American car for long-distance tract prtce bemg 38,200l. ~fessrs. Armstrong Mitchell
tra.ffic.
an~ Co.! Elswick, have also had an order f~r on e, th~
prtce bemg 3G,550l., while two are to be constructed by
The fourth ordinary meeting of the Owens College the Earle C?mpany at I;fuH, ~he sum for the two b eing
Rngineerin~ _Society was held on Tuesday, D ecember 68,300l. .T his makes thutystx orderrd. ThP prices for
12, Mr. Wtlham J ohnson in the chair. Mr. Stanford
the prev10u~J y ~rdered ~raft range from 36,000l. to
read a paper by Mr George Wilson B. Se. on " The 38,000l. It 1s sa1d that s1x more will yet be ordered in
Temporary Swing Bridge at Throstle Nest." This bridge the course of a few days .

from steamers arriving at Plymouth should not, as during

the past twenty years1 be forwarded by special train,
a conference on the question took place in the House of
Commons on Friday, between a deputation of the Port
of Plymouth Chamber of Commerce and several members
of Parliament. It was pointed out that the effect of the
recent order will be in many cases to delay mails la nd~d
at Plymouth from twelve to twenty hours in th eir delivery
to L ondon and throughout the North of England and
S cotland, and that, as special trains were only reqnired
when mails happened to arrive shortly after the despatch
of the night mail tr<lin, the cost of such trains would be
small compared wi th the great public inconvenience which
their non-employment would involve. The deputation
was requested to communicate with Chambers of Comm er~e throughout the coun try with the view to organising a deputation to the J>vstmaster-General on the subj ect.
Card1:(f.- Tha demand for steam coal for prompt shipment has been active; the best descriptions have been
making 16 ,. t o 16s. Gd. p er t on, while secondary qualiti es
have brought 14s. 9d. to 15s. 3d. per ton. Household
coal has ruled firm; No. 3 Rhondda large has made
14s. Gd. per ton. Patent fuel has been quoted at 123. tU.
to 13j. 3d. per ton. Fo.mdry coke has made 20a. to 21s. ;
and furnace ditto, 17s. Gd. t o 18s. per ton. The iron ore
trade baR ruled quiet. '!'he manuf actured iron and steel
trad~s have shown little change; business has been
generally dull.
K eyham College. -The a ccommodation for students at
the Royal Naval Engineers' College, K ey ham, has been
found so inadequate that, actingon authoritative instructions, the local officials have preparfd plans for a new
wing block capable of accommodating 54 additional
pupils. The new block is t o ba built between the sou th
end of the college and th e north (:-nd of the t errace of the
dockyard official residences. lb will comprise a la.rge
recreation-room, cloak-rooms, servants' bedrooms, bathr oom, and other accommodation in the front, while overbead 5! bedrooms on two floors will be provided. The
south wing, as it will be termed, is to be c~>nnected with
the college by a bridge joining the first floors, and under
which vehicles will be able to pass. The studies now at
the north and south ends of the college will be converted
ioto a recreation-room and library respectively, and the
whole of the t eaching will be carried on in the new wing.
The extension will cost aboub 30,000l.
Welsh Coal Con~racls.-Tba Taff Vale and Barry
Railway Companies have entered into contracts for
their coal supplies for 189 ! at about 13s. per ton,
delivered at Cardiff. A part of the B:1.rry ComEa.ny's cvntract was gi van to Messrs. Thomas and
Davey, of Cardiff. Se\eral other contracts have been
entered into recently a~ prices ranging from 13s. to
13s. 6d. P'='r t on, or an ad va:1ce of 4s. t o 4~. 6d. upon
last yoar's prices. The R oyal Mail Steam Packet Company are inviting tenders for their Southampton supplies
for 1894.
B .trr;ll .Rccilway. -Th e construction of the first section of
a new dook for Ba.rry will be commenced almost immediately. This initial section will afford a.ouomodation for
six or eight tips.
The" M ajcstic."-The Naval Construction and Armaments Company has secured a contract for supplying the
machinery for the line-of-battle ship Majestic, shortly to
be laid down at Portsmouth. The engines are to develop
12,000 horse-power.
The" CJlossus. "-The Colossus, line of-battleship, which
is to take the place of theN eptune at Holy head, has been
placed under the sheers at Port~mouth to receive a new
45-ton breechloading gun, in p lace of one removed a. few
weeks since. 'l' he gun which has been removed is t o be
re-t ubed ; it will then be fit for further service.
The .Avon Vallcy.-Pcogress iRbeing made with boring
for coal in the Glyncorrwg district. The dis~overy of the
Rhondda seam at Y nyscorrwg gives gTEat encouragement to the promoters, and operations are being pushed
forward with the view of discovering No. 2 seam. At
Blaengwyng the operations of the Glyncorrwg Colliery
Company have met with success, and coal is being
worked in large quantities from No. 1 Rhondda seam.
It is expected that the No. 2 seam will also be found
here.
The "Hermione. "-The whole of the machinery for the
Hermione, recently launched at D evonport, is now on
board. Messrs. Thompson, the contractors, have made
generally good progress in fitting out the vessel.
Dock .Accommodation at Ca?diff.-A movement is on
foot among sbip-repairins- firms at Cardiff to secure an
addition to the commercial dry dock a ccommodation of
the port. Representation~ upon the subject have been
lately made to Sir W. T. L ewis by various engineerin g
and shj p-repairing firms who are tenants of the Bute Dock
Company.

NO'ES FROM SOUTH YORKSHIRE.

SHEFFIELD, Wednesday.
Colliers and L?ck-out P ay.-Tbe Council of the Yorkshire Miners' Association has this week been engaged in
considering an appeal made by the Denaby Main miners
for a continuation of pay, contending in their case that it
was a lock-out. The men complained of having been
unable to resume work, owing to a. disease which had
broken out amongst the horses and ponies, caused by
a prolonged cessation from work . The Council decided
t?at the case should go before the district on the questiOn, Shall members be allowed lock-out pay until they
go back to work ? It was also resolved that meetings of

the branches should be called ab once to decide the

matter.
Profcss?r Ripper on American En:;inecring.-A large
number of engineers and others attendf'd a. meeting at the Sheffield Technical Rchool on Saturday to
bear an address from Professor Ripper, based on \\hat
be bai seen at the Chicago Exhibition, and h~ving
special refere-nce to loca.l indu;) tries. Professor Rtpper
stated that the boilers at the E xhibition were all
of the tubular type, of the R oot pattern, or variations upon it, and supplied with hot feed water. The
whole of the boilers were supplied with liquid fuel
brought by a. line of piping from the oil fields of
Indiana t o the storag~ reservoi rs in the grounds.
The feed water passed through the feed heaters, contai ning- a saries of shel ves or trays on which the impurities
in the w~ter were deposi ted. There were no boilers of the
Lancashire type. '!'be engines exhibited were, on the
whole, of two disti nct types-the large compound engine
fitted with Corliss valve gear, and running from GO to 100
revolutions p er minut~, and a la rge variety of small highspeed engines runn ing from 200 to 350 revolutions per
minute. This exhibit g~ve a good idea of the kind of
power used in America for electri c lighting. The d emands
of the electrical engineer for high speeds and great regularity bad much to do with the state of perfection n ow
reached by steam engine builders. The maj ority of the
engines were of the hori zontal type. It was claimed for
the large slow-speed engine that it was capab!e of bei ng
worked with great economy, the best results obtained from
these engines being abou t 13~ 1b. of st eam p er indicated
horse-power per hour. It was difficult to obtain results
of tests of high -speed engines, but, judging from tes ts of
similar engines made in England, the steam consumption
for non-condensing engines was about 3-llb. per indicated horse- power per hour. The \Villans type of engine,
so common in England, gave, however, a. mu ch lower
consumption than thie. F or high power and fairly constant load, nothing could be better than the large compound ed slow-speed engines, properly proportioned for
the load; but, where the lead varied, a number of small
engines was best.

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T TIE H ooK OF' HoLLAND. - T he German Minister for ' twin-screw 18-knot steamers, to be called the Berlin and
Railways, Herr Shielen, has just decreed that through Amsterdam, and being vessels of 1700 tons measurement,
carriages shall be run on the trains called the "English they will be the largest passenger steamers running
North Expresses " between Berlin and the Hook of between England and the Continent.
H olland, in connection with the Harwich steamers. 1
They are to be new bogie corridor carriages of tbe latest
type, and it is hoped they will be ready for the Christmas
traffi c. The distance between Berlin and L ond on via 1 ELEYA1'ED RAILROADS AT NEw YoRK.- The business
the Hook of H olland is the shortest of any route, ancl the of the Manhattan Elevated Railroad of New York conconcession of the German Government is another proof tinues to make steady progresR. The number of pasof the favour with which this direct cheap English service E~en gers carried in 1892-3 was 221,407,197, as compared
is looked upon in Germany. T he Great Eastern R a ilway with 213,692,570 in 1891-2; 196? 714,199 in 1890-1;
Company have ordered for next summer's eervice t wo 185,833,632 in 1889-90; 179,497,433 m 1888-9; 171,529,789

in 1887-8; 158,963,232 in 1886-7; 115,109,599 in 1885-G ;

103,354.729 in 1884-5 ; and 96,702,620 in in 18834. T he
revenue acquired in 1892-3 was 11,226,359 dols., as cornpared with 10,835,978 dols. in 1891-2; 9, 959,710 dols. in
18!>0-1; 9,3881681 dols. in 1889-90; 9,080,881 dols. in
1888-9; 8,673,871 dols. in 1887-88 ; 8,102,662 in 1886-7;
7,426,216 dols. in 1885-6; 7,000,566 dols. in 1884-5 ; and
6,723,832 dols. in 1883-4. It will be seen that the traffi c
and revenue have experienced an unchecked increase for
the last t en years. The total of 221,407,197 passengers
carried in 1892-3 was made up as follows: Second
Avenue, 33,685,1 85; Third Av:nue, 83,297,044 ; Sixth
Avenue, 78,086,146; Ninth Avenue, 20,470,974 ; Suburban
'

Branch, 5,867,848. \Vhile the gr<'ES revenue collect ed in

1892-3 was 11, 226,359 dols. , the working expenses of the
year were 5,568,300 dols., leaving a profit of 5,640,059 do) s.
The correspond ing profit for 1891-2 was 5,410,629 dols.,
and for 1890-1, 4,984,586 dols. The fixed charges for 1892-~
amounted to 2,661:$,767 dols. , a.s compared with 2,414,916
1
dols. in 1891-2 and 2,8S7,181 dols. in 1890-1. The amount
paid away in divid ends in 1892-3 was 1,800,000 dols., as
compared with 1,800,000 dols. in 1891-2, and 1,620, 000
dols. in 1890-1. The dividends for 1R92-3 and 1891-2
were at the rate of 6 per cent. per annum. Altogether
elevated railroads in New York appear to have bt-en a
solid financial success.
1

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

733

AGENTS FOR "ENGINEERING."

AUSTRIA, Vienna. : L ehmann and Wentzel, K:irntnerstra.sse.
CAPM TowN : Gordon and Gotc b .
EoL.~BURcm: J ohn .Menzies a nd Co., 12, lla no,er -street .
FRANCK, P aris: Boy,reau a.nd C h evillet, Lib rair ie Etrangere, 22,
Rue d e la Ba nque; M. Em. T erquem, 31bl& Boulevard Uaussmann .
Als o for Advertisements, Agence lla\as, 8, Place de la Bourse.
(See below.)
GERMANY, Berlin : .Messrs. A. As h er and Co. , 5, Unter d en Linden .
Leipzig : F. A. Brockhaus.
Mulh ouse: H. S~uckelberger.
GLASGOW : William Love,
INDIA, Calc utta: Thacker, Spink, and Co.
Bomhay: Thacker and Co., Limited.
I TALY: U. lloepli , Milan, and a.ny p ost. office.
L1 v~RPOOL: Mrs. Ta.ylor, Landing SLage.
M.\NCIU;.'iTP.R. : J ohn H eywood , 143, Deansgate.
NP:w tic.>UTU WALES, ydney : Turner a.nd H enderson, 16 and 18,
llunt.e r -street. Oordon a nd GoLch , Oeorge-street.
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(NORTH), T ownsville: T. Willmett and Co.
R O'I'TERDAM : H . A. l{ramer and Son.
SOUTH AUSTRALIA, Adela ide: W. C. Ri~by .
UNJT&D STAT&S, New York : W. H. Wiley, 53, East l Oth-street.
Chicago : H . V. Ilolmes, 44, l..akeside Building.
VICTORIA, l\hLBOUIL"<K: Melville, Mullen and Jade, 261/264, ColliesStreet. Gordon and Ootch , Limited, Queen-street.
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-CONTENTS.
PAGE
H yd raulics of Fire Streams
(ltlustraUd ) ...... . . .. .. 717
The Amer ican Society of
Naval A rchitects .. .... . . 718
T he Sewage Disposal W or ks
o f the Columbian Exposi
tion (Illustrated) .. ... .. . 722
Double-Cvlinder Steam Fir e
Eogine for Callao (l llustrated) .... .. . ...... ... . 723
H ydraulic P assenger Elevator (I Umtrated) .. .... . . 723
Stand ard Rolling Stock on
the Victor ian Railways
(Illustrated) ..... . ...... 723
Cask-Making Machinery . . 727
Th e PhYsical Society .... .. 727
Refrige'rator
Car
(Banra han's System) at the
World 's Columbian Exposition tiUustrated) .... . 728
Double Plate P lamng Ma
chine(l llustrated) ...... 720
Not es from the Nor t h .. . 730
Notes from Cleveland and
the Nor ther n Counties .. 730
Notes from the South-West 730
Notes from South Yor ksh ire 731
M.JSCe 11an ea ...... ... ...... . 731
Battleship S team T r ials . :. 733
T he U nemployed : Ag enc1es
a od .Methods .... ...... .. 734
The Antwerp Exhibition .. 735
Directories and Annuals .. 736
With a Two-P age Enuraving

MOTI VES F OR THE

.R.Al L WA l'S.

PAGE
Books Recehed . . .. .... . . 736
Notes .... .. . ............ . 736
Notes from the United
States ........... . .. . ... 737
T h e Vibrations of Steamships and t he Balancing
of Mar ine Engines .... . . 737
The Wat er Supply of Tene
riffe .. ............ . . .. . . 738
T he Elect rical Corrosion of
U nder t round Pipes ... . .. 738
T he Anc o rages of Suspension B ridges .... - ... ... - 739
T he Eigh t-Hours Day .. . ... 739
Patent Office Libra r y ..... . 730
Method of Taking Out
Str esses (l llttstrate4) . . . . 739
T he Efficiency of a. Cer tain
Heat Eogine . . . . . . . . . . . . 739
The Stab ility of A rmourclads ........ .. .. - ... . . 739
B.M.S. ccBlake" a nd U.S.S.
cc Col umbia" ... . . . . ..... 740
The Desig n of Air Pumps .. 740
The Br unsviga Cal culating
Mach ine (I llustrated) .... 'i41
I ndustrial Notes .... ...... 741
British Colon ies at the
World's Columbian Exp osition (Illustrated) .... 742
Boiler E x plosion at Iiindley 745
Launc hes and T rial T rips .. 746
" Engineer ing" P atent Re
cord (IUustrated) ... .... 747

of ST.AN DA. R D TYPE L OCO

VICTOR IAN

GOVERNMENT

tractors.
I ndeed, soroe of t h e vessels wer e
finished within two year s, and t he country may,
The New Cunarders .. CAMPANIA" and "LU- t her efor e, be assured th at so soon a~ th e L ords
CANIA ;" and the WORLD'S COLU M BIAN of t he Admiral ty and t h e Legislature d eterEXPOSITION OF 1893.
mine upon any new programme of ship construcThe Publlaher begs to announce that a Reprint is tion, the wor k will be carried throug h most
now ready of the Descriptive Matter and mustra- expeditiously.
tions contained in the issue of ENGINEERING of
Our purpose at pr esen t, however , is to analyse t h e
April 21st, comprising over 130 pages, with nine r esults obtained on t he steam t rials of the sever al
two - page and four single page Plates, printed vessels, with a view to a ccentuating some of th e i rr ethroughout on special Plate paper, bound In cloth, con cilable p oints in the comparison , as indicati ng
gUt lettered. Price 6s. Post free, 6s. 6d. The ordt some necessity for eith er g reater car e in acquiring
nary edition of the issue of April 21st is out of print. data, or a change in t h e method of establish ing th e
s team power or speed of our sh ips-of-war. In t he
NOTICE.
fi rst place i t may be inter esting t o indicate th e main
The attention of R e aders and Advertisers is featur es of t he design of t hese vessels and t h eir
drawn to the altera tion in the name of the machin ery .
This may be bri efly d one, since
Publisher.
we have already f ully en ter ed into detail, and
Owing to the retirement of Mr. Charle3 Gilbert,
communications for the Publishing Department h ave illustrated the t ype with the machinery
should now be addressed to Mr. C. R. JOBNSON, of t he R amillies, one of the most s uccessful of t he
class, and h ope later to publish illustr ationo of
Publisher and Manager.
--=--= =~~--~-====~=--===========~====~~ others. E ight of t he vessels are alike, and b elon g
t o wh at is k no wn variously as th e Royal Sover eig n
NOTICES OF MEETINGS.
T u& l NSTJTUTJON 01' C IVlL ENGtNBERS.-Ordinary m eeting, or R amillies class. The only essen tial di ffer ence is
Tuesd1y, December 10, at 8 p . m . Paper to be read with a view to that one of t h em, t h e H ood, is fitted wi th turret s,
discussion : "H yd raulio Power Su pply in London ," by Mr . E. B.
Elliogton, ltl. Inst. C.K-Students' m eeting, F riday, D~cember 15, whereas the oth ers have their large gun s fi tted CJ"
This has been done as a con cession to
at 7.~0 p. m. Paper to be read : "Continuous Automatic .Kail way ba1bette.
Brakes," by M r . H . J. Orford, Stud. I 11st. C.E. Sir Douglae the vie w still h eld by a few in favour of th e extr a
Qalton, K.C.B., F .H..S., in t he ch air.
itoVAL METROR.OLOGICAL SOCl'ETY. -Wednesday, the 20th inst., protection afforded by the t urret, al th ough in
at 25, G reat Oeorge-street, Westminster, at 8 p .m.
T he official circles t h e bar bette is m or e favo ured.
following papers will be r ead :
" T he Great Stor m of Practical experien ce in war can alon e d etermine
.November 16 to 20, 1893," by Mr. C ha rles Ha.rding, F.R.
Met. Soc.
" H.ainfall and Evaporation Obser vat ions at the th is as well as m ~ny oth er qu est10n s. The dimenBombay Wate r Wor ks," by Mr. s. Tomlinsoo , M. l ost. C. E. , F. R. sions of the vessels ar e: Lengt h, 380 ft . ; b r ead t h ,
Met. Soc. O n Changes iu the C ha racter of cer tain Months," by
75 ft . ; and a.t their loaded d raught of 27 ft. 6 in.
Mr. A. E. Watson, B.A. , F . R. Met. Soc.
Tns CnARTERED I NST11'UTK OP PATENT AG&NTS.-W ednesday , their displacemen t is 14,150 tons. F or th e details
the 20th inst. , a t 7.15 o'cl ock p recise ly. To discuss Mr. Fell's of con struction we may r efer our r eaders to
paper on "Anomali es of th e Swiss Pateut Law Admmis t ration."
To r ead and ditcuss a paper by Mr. F. Walsh, .for . M em., on "The previous ar ticles descriptive of the ships,* but
T rade Mar ks Amendment Act, New South Wale!!."
r efer ence may incidentally be made to t h e features
Ut.E'i'~LAND l NSTlTUTION OF E NGlNBKM.-1\londa.y evening, DeI n addition t o t he comp ound
cember 18, at 7.30 p recisely, io the hall of the Literary a nd Philo- in t heir d esign.
sophical Society Corporatioo-roa.d, Middlesbrough. Paper on armour of 18 in ., exten ding fo r about 250 ft. of t he
' ' ll:t.rbour Impr~vemen ls at Sunderland ; New Protecting Piers, " length of the vessel, wit h thwartsbip armoured
by Mr. G. T . Nicho lson, A. M. I . C. E. , Sunderland.
CuESTY.R.YJY.LO AND MIDLAND CotNTIY.S lNSTJTUTIO:s or E NGINEERS. bulkh eads forward and aft, ther e is an a uxiliary
-S:Ltu rd ay, Decem ber 16, in Un ivers ity Collega, Notti~gbam , at ar mour plating 4 in. thick fr om t his bel t right up
2. 3ll p . m. Tbe following papera will he ope n for d1scusston :
February, 1 03.-" A Portable Safet.y Lamp with Ordinary Oi l to t he top of the hull, affording p r otection to
lllumina ting Flame. and Standard H ydrogen F lame fo r Accurate th & deck from which th e large installation of
and Delicate Gas T esting," by P rofes9or Frank Clowes, D.Sc. 6-in. quick-firing g uns are fi red. The vessels h ave
F ebr uary 1893.-" Spontaneous Combustion in Coal Mines," by
Professor ' Arnold Lnplion . June, 1893.- ' ' T he Suppor t of Build a fr eeboar d which is exception ally high for a modern
ings," by Mr . Willia.m Spencer, F.G.S. July, 18!:J3.-' ' Descr ip- battlesh ip. In the matter of big g uns, t oo, th e
tion of an Improved Water Gauge," by Mr. A. H . Stokes. July ,
1803.-" Safety Lamp with S tandard Alcoh olic Flame Ad just~ent idea of con cen t ration in a few weapons h as no t
for the Detection of Small Percen tages of Inflammable Gas, by been followed, and there are two 67-t on g uns
Mr. A. U . Stokes. The foll owing p:lpers wi ll be read or taken as forwar d an d t wo aft ; while in t h e matter of
read : "The H y drogen Oi l Gas-Testing Safet y Lamp," by i>ro
ressor F rank Clowes, D. SC'. "Automatic Expansion Gt>ar in L'se auxiliary ar mament t he vessels are m uch m or e
at Bla.ck well Colliery," by Mr. Maurice Deacon .
effectively armed t han any pr eviously constructed
T m: SouTH STAFYOKDSII IRB 1 ~ 'TITUTE Ol'' I n.o~ .um STREL WOR.I\S B ritish battleship, m or e par t icularly in view of t h e
.M A~ \G &Rs.-Sat u rday, the 16t h ins tan t , at t he Inst..itute, Dud lt>y,
when Mr. R. Dou~las Mun r~ , M. I. Mecb . E., w ill dt-~1\ e ~. a. lec~ure par t t o be played in futur e warfar e by the torpedoon "Boil er Exp losions, t.heu Causes and P r even uon.
Chaa to boat, for there are on board t en 6-in . q uick-firers,
be taken at 7 p. m . p rompt..
T ilE SURVEYORS' l NBTITUTION.- Mond ay, December 18, when a sixteen 6~pounders, an d t wenty-two machine guns,
pap er will be read by Mr. E. J . Castl e, Q.C. (Associate), entitled, besides m eans fo r launching seven t orpedoes si m ul"The Valuation (Metropolis) Bill , 1893." The chair t o be taken taneously.
at eight o'clock .
B ut it is with the m achinery that we have for
NORTDEAST COAST I NSTITUTION OF ENGINEERS AND SBTPBUILDBRB.
- Wednesday , December 20, at 7.40 pm. , in the lecture-ball of t h e m oment most concern , an d it would be idle
the Subscriptiou Liter a ry Society, Fawcett-str eet, Sun derland .
The discussion on Mr. W. H ok's paper "Oo a Meth od of Com- t o pretend t hat t hor oug hly satisfactory r es ults
The success is
par ina Steamship Perfor mances and of Estimat ing Powers and have in all cases b een attained.
S peed s of Ship s" will be reHumed. Disc ussion on Mr. Joseph a r elative qu an ti ty.
The
ships
and
engines
were
Nodder's paper .~On t h e Dangerous Wor king Heat of Mild Steel
and the Effect of Annealing and Air-Cooling," will be r esumed. designed so th at t he power developed would
P a per " On Cer tain P rincipl es of Motion, as T aught by the P en- b e 13, 000 indicated horse-pow~r and t he speed
dutu m and as Illustrated by the Resistance of Ships, and other
Now in n o case h as this p ower b ee n
Bodies 'movie~ throug h Fluids, together with a b rief sketch of the 17! knots.
attained for even t he sh or t stipulated p eriod of
Pendul um Speed-Power Meter ," by Mr. Frank Caws.
four h ours, an d although t h e speed in m ost cases
was 17t knots or over , with less p ower d evelop ed,
the d isplacement in such cases was consider ably
less than it would be when t h e vessels ar e fully
equipped. The story is the familiar one of leaky
FRIDA Y, DECEMBER 15, 1893.
tubes, t he evils and r em edy for which h ave b een
====================-========--:-=-===============:=::;-- so ex ha us ti vel y discussed in our scient ific societies,
a nd in t h e columns of E NGINEERING, and we h ave
BATTLE SHIP STEAM TR IALS.
t h er efor e n o inten tion of enter ing into th e q uesTnE ten b attleships constr ucted u nder t h e Naval tion. After i t was foun d that t he boilers of the
Defence Act h ave n ow completed th eir steam t rials, first vessel tried, the Royal Sover eign , could n ot
a nd th er e is every pr ospect t hat b efore t.h e current withst~nd the air pressure necessary to develop t h e
fi nancial year terminates in M ar ch they will be contract power, the Ad miral ty d eter mined th at
fitted with th eir armam ent a.nd b e r eady fo r com- n on e of the other vessels should be subj ect ed t o
m ission. This fac t alon e is matter for congr atula- the 13,000 indicated h or se-power test, but that
tion since it indicat es t hat th e work of b attleship 11,000 indicat ed h orse-power would be r egarded as
con; tr uction can b e expeditiously carried out in sufficien t . It is wit h t h e results of th e t est s for
t h is country, a mat ter of consider able importance this reduced power t hat we h ave to d eal. The
at t he p r esen t t ime. These ten battlesh 1ps were eng ines for the eig ht battleships of th e R oyal
order ed towards th e latter end of 1889 - six S overeign class ar e alike in gen er al dim ension s.
from t he D ockyards and four fr om pr iva te estab~ I n n o case has any gr eat var iation been m ade in
lish ments - and th ey have ther efore been com- t he d esign. S om e sligh t al teration s in d etail have
pleted within t hree and a quarter year s of com- b een intr od uced by the r esp ective firms constructm en cemen t n ot with standing, too, t h at an unus ually large numb er of cr~iser~, &c., wer e at t he
*See . ENGINEERING, vol. li. , pages 251 and 283 ;
same t ime under con struct 10n 1n the D ockyards, vol. liii., page 531 ; vol. li v., pa.ge 197 ; and vol. 1v. ,
and the completion of t hose d eliver ed by con~ page 716.
NOTICE.

ENGINEERING.

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

734
ing the machinery, but these are not material.
Moreover, there were only four contracting firms.
Messrs. Hum~hrys, Tennant, and Co., London,
fit~ed the engmes to all the four Dockyard-built
shtps- R oyal Sovereign, Empress of India Hood
and Repulse; Messrs. Palmer, J arrow-on-Tyne t~
the R evenge and Resolution ; Messrs. Thom;on,
Clydebank, to the Ramillies, and Messra. L9.ird
Br~thers ~o the R oyal Oak.
The cylinders are
40 1n., 59 1n. ~ and 88 i~. in diameter respecti Yely,
the stroke be1ng 4ft. 3tn. As a rule, the cylinders
are separate castings, and ~re braced together by steel
rods. The fra.me work dtffers from that ordinarily
adopted, the cylinder3 being carried on turned
pi1lars, with the usual A -frame at the back the
cros3head slipper guides being formed in the l~tter.
The condensers, ~ith 14,000 square feet of cooling
surface, are enttrely separated from the engine
frames. As to the boilers, we have already illustrated those of the Royal Sovereign* and Ramillies.
There are eight, single-ended, with a total surface
in tubes of 17,016 square feet, and in furnaces of
3018 sq~are feet, giving a total of 20,034 square
feet, while the grate area is 718.6 square feet. The
a~ea through tubes is 97 .6 square feet, and the
dtameter of tubes 2~ in. The furnaces are divided
into pairs, with a combustion chamber for each
J:!1ir. ~n ~he forced draught trial of the Royal
Snveretgn 1t was found that during the fourth hour
of the run the tu be ends commenced to leak the
air pressure throughout the three hours had been
1. 6 in., and the mean power worked out at 13 312
indicated horse-power. Thus it was that the ve~sels
subsequently tried were only subjected to an 11,000
indicMed h orse-power test.
'l'he natural draught trials are all on the same
basis ; perhaps in some cases the fans were worked
at a higher speed, affording a greater air pressure,
which may account for the differences in power;
but on comparison a great variation in the relation
between power and speed is noticeable. vVe have,
in tabulating the results, given t he exact displacementon trial, without which no comparison could
be accurate. The Royal Sovereign, for instance,
was loaded to her full designed draught., and displaced 14,262 ton3, and with 9661 indicated horsepower, had a speed of 16.375 knots. The Empress
of India, on the other hand, had 1000 tons less displacement, with only a slight reduction in power,
and yet her speed was only 15.25 knots, more than
a knot less. The Repulse, on the other hand,
had 2000 tons less displacement, with practically the same power, and her speed was 17.78
kno ts. It is pretty evident, therefore, tha.t all
three cannot be correct, especially as n one of the
vessels experienced abnormal weather. The H ood,
too, shows a variati0n, but seems to bear out the
r esults of the Royal Sovereign. The Ramillies,
R esolution, and Itoyal Oak seem to agree fairly
well, but the Revenge, with a similar displacement,
but slightly l ess power, seems to ha.ve got more
than half a kn ot more speed.
The forced draught results show still more remarkable results. We have not thought it desirable to give the air pre~sure of the forced draught,
a<3 in no instance was any effort made at uniformity.
In some cases, indeed, the variation was from considerably over 1 in. to } in. There is, of course,
grelt variation in the mean air pressure and the
p ower, but we do n ot think that this need at the
present enter into the comparison. Careful stoking
and supervision certainly insure a high _evaporative efficiency, and consequently a eat1sfactory
power for the air pressure recorded. Moreover,
c.u aful workmanship always affects the result more
or less. The Ramillies only required a mean air
pressure of
in. to get her power, and in a
subsequent run, when on her way to the Mediterranean where she is n ow flagship, a steam trial
was unde~taken with res ults which corroborate this
r ecord. The R evenge worked with a mean pressure
of .46 in., while the Resolution, by the s!lm~ firm,
r equired nearly double that pressure, and did n?t
m1.torially add to the power. The _Empress. of. Ind~a
and Royal Oak required about 1 1n., b.ut 1t 1s satd
in the case of the latter that the stokmg was bad.
th
f th R
1
0
The mean air pressure tn
e c~se
e ~pu ~e
wa~ . 91 in. The Royal Soveretgn took 1. 6 tn. atr
ressure to develop her 13,363 indicated horseP
d raug h t mad e 18 k no t s,
ower,
and
at
her
load
P
which
seems to demonstrate that so far a3 the
d the deductions of
f h 1
mode1 ? t e sup was c~ncer~e
ed a m~rcrin for
11
the destgncr were accura e, an a ow
o
* See ENGINEERING, vol. 1v., page 700.

DETAILS o~ R E::>ULTS OI<' STEA~r TnrAL. OI<' NAVAL DEl'ENCE A c T BATTLESHIPs.

Draught of We.ter.
Ships.

Forward.

R ?yal Sovereign

R oyal Sovereign

E mpr ees of India

R t>pulse ..

1Iood

{ 4 runs M.M

.,

Ramillies

Resolut.ion

R evenge . .

R oyal Oak

centurion,.

Barfleu r *

N.D.
F. D.

N.D.
J!'.D .
{ N. D.
. F. D.
N.D

1~'.

D.

N . D.
F. D.
i' N. D.
> 1<'. D
N. D.
I<' . D .
N.D.
F. D.
N. D.
li'.D.

{
i N. D.
{ F. D.

f c. 10.
27 0
26 8
27 0
27 8
25 4
24 11
22 5
22 5
25 6
2i 3
21 3
24 3
2! 4
23 10
24 2
2l 1
24 6
24 4
25 0
25 0
2L 6
22 0

Aft.
ft. in .
28 0
2~ 0
28 0
2d 0
26 4
25 9
25 9
25 9
27 4
27 4
26 1
?6 1
25 9
2~ 8
25 9
25 8
25 6
25 5
26 0
26 0
25 6
25 6

Indicat ed Horse-Power.

Displacemeot.

14,260
14,150
H,260
H,26)
13,210
13,070
12,100
1 2, lOO
13,580
13,500
12.800
12,800
12,730
12,530
12,680
1'3,610
12,690
12,610
10,590
10,590
9,500
9,650

Starboard.
4928
6653
4879
4935
4762
5!>78
5000
5997
4636
5694
4718
5847
4592
5683
4614
5694
4477
6689
4785
640 L
5003
6580

SpEed by
Log.
Port.

Total.

4733
7710
4597

4844
4746
6647
4688
5518
4903
6752
4725
5721
4G56
t718
4563
5830
4744
6882
49 18
6773
4931
6583

9/61
13,363
9,476
9, 779
9,508
ll ,625
9,588
1J ,315
9,539
11,446
9,443
11 ,571
9,2 18
11,401
9, 177
11,524
9,221
11,57l
9,703
) 3, 17!
9,Q3!
13,163

knots.
16.375
18
16.82
16.77
16.25
18
17.78
18.~

15.75
16.9
16.75
17.25
16. 73
17. 9~

li. :1i5
17.5
16 5
l .27
17.5
18. 5l
17.1 65
17.537

* The Centurion and Darfl eur are of a different type to the others, as iodi cated in the articlE>.
N.D. mea os natural draught, and F. D. forced draught, t he d u rat ion of the trial under the former condition bt>ing
eight houre, and under the latter four hours.

emergency. This, indeed, one might have been certain

of, for experience has proved the extreme accuracy
in all cases of Dr. White's calculations as to speed
and other conditions. The same speed was got by
the Empress of India, but the displacement was
1000 tons less, and the power 1700 less. It would,
therefo~e, appear as if ~he power for a given
speed tncreased at 1f ttmes the displacement.
But again this hypothesis is upset, for if cornparison is made with the Repulse, which also
got the same speed-indeed, a trifle more- the
power only increased paTi pa s::Hlt with the displacement.
In t he rase of the Hood, however,
we find that, although the displacement is but
650 tons short of that of the R oyal Sovereign, the
power, being 2000 less, only gave 16.9 instead
of 18 knots. The Ramillie3, Resolution, Revenge,
and Royal Oak again agree closely in all except the
speed. The Revenge, too, it should be recalled,
experienced very bad weather, which doubtless explains the small difference in speed on the natural
and forced draught conditions.
The Barfieur and Centurion, included in the
Table, are not of the same class. Their length is
20ft. shorter, they have 5 ft. less beam, and 2 ft.
less draught of water, so that the displacement is
3600 tous les3. This was determined upon to
enable the vessels to pass through the Suez Canal,
which of itself is a great advantage. The armour,
as well as arm~ment, is lighter, the main belt
being 12 in. instead of 18 in. thick, but they have the
same auxiliary 4-in. armour on the upper part of
the hull, above the main armour, exposed to the
attack of an enemy 's quick-firing gunP. They have
also four guns mounted in pairs e?t. ba1bette forward
and aft, but these are 29-ton guns instead of being
67-ton, while they have ten 4. 7 -in. quick-firing
guns instead of ten 6-in. guns, and eight 6-pounder
guns instead of sixteen in the Royal Sovereign
class. The machine g uns, however, are about the
same in number, and they have the same amount
of torpedo armament. The engines were constructed by the Greenock Foundry Company
( Messrs. Scott), and in general design are si milar
to those of the Royal Sovereign class ; but here
the engines were driven under forced draught, the
boilers withstanding an air pressure of 1i in.
without discovering any weakness. The Barf:leur
on natural draught run experienced rather worse
weather than her consort, which explains the discrepancy; but it is difficult to explain the remarkable difference between the forced draught speeds
of the two, par ticularly as the powor was the same.
The speed of the Barfleur is a knot less, not withstanding, too, that the displacement was nearly
1000 tons less.
It seems difficult, under the circumstances, to
arrive at any conclusion, especially in respect of the
Royal Sovereign class. The discrepancies se~m
irreconcilable. Either the power developed does not
repre~ent a fair mean on the eight and four hours'
run , or the speed is inaccurate. It has been said
b
d
h'
1
that the horse-power can ondy'f e hassubme as_ wtt m
5 per cent. of accuracy, an 1 t at e so 1t were
well that a change were made in the conditions of
trial. Diagrams are taken every half-hour, and the
mean of the lot taken as a fair indication of the

result. This may seem satisfactory, but we fancy

it will be admitted that it is quite possible to work
the engines to get an abnormal result at the
moment the diagrams are taken, especially when
there is half-an-hour in which to work. The
taking of diagrams more frequently, and the
careful noting of all circumstances, would give
results of much more value to the contractors as
well as the Admiralty. \Ve do not know that there
would be r.1uch gain to the country eJ:cept in ~alu
able data being got, but clearly greater confiden~e
could be placed in the r esults. The speeds recorded by logs t.re certainly not thoroughly
accurate. That is universally admitted , so that
there is n o public record of t he performances so
far as speed is concerned. N o doubt the Admiral ty
authorities have the exact data of the performan ces
on the measured mile of the Royal Sovereign, but
the question may come in as to whether or not this
was affected by drag consequent on a limited depth
of water-a possibility which has been clearly
established in the case of other high-speed steamers.
Certainly if this were eliminated, and the exact
revolutions neces~ary for the measured mile ascertained, it would be easy, and probably much more
accurate, to determine the speed of a vessel by
using her own screws as the l0g.

THE UNEJ\fPLOYED: AGENCIES AND

METHODS.
THE Labour Department of the Board of Trade
has issued a Blue-book, in the shape of a "Report on the Agencies and Methods for Dealing
with the Unemployed, " which will be valuable at
the present time. The volume extends to 438
pages, and deals with the permanent agencies in
Part II. , t tmporary echemes in Part Ill., foreign
and colonial examples in Part IV., and historical
examples in Part V., and some other useful and
even valuable information. Mr. Giffen, in his
letter to the Secretary of the B oard of Trade, refers
to the initial difficulty as to what is comprised in
the term "unemployed, " and to the distinction
between chronic lack of employment, and out of
work at certain times owing to seasonal and other
cau~es. The other difficulty referred to is irregularity of employment, as distinguished from out of
work- that is t o say, where the worker is employed
at haphazard, sometimes for a week or so, at other
times t.wo or three days per week. The memorandum states that the scope and plan of the present
report are confined "to the effor ts made in various
ways to deal with distress and other evils resulting
from want of work. " The "irregularity of employment and the evils caused thereby "-that is, " the
extent and causes of such irregularity "-are not
dealt with, except in so far as efforts are being
made, or have been made, to deal with the distress
occasioned. The question as to the causes and
extent of want of employment is left to be dealt
with in future reports. The present report is,
therefore, confined to an outline of the chief
agencies now existing for dealing with the unemployed problem.
The term "unemployed " is used in four different senses, but sometimes one meaning overlaps

E N G I N E E R I N G.
the other. The follow ing are the several meanings as forty unions give out-of-work ben efit; in t~e
explained in the volume : Work ers on short engage- building trades twenty-three societies ; in the texb.le
ments who are out of work in the interval between trades for ty-one, in the clothing trades thirteen, ~n
finishin g one job and en tering on another ; those the printing an d bookbinding trades ninetee~ , 1n
b elonging t o tr ades in which the r olume of the various furnishing trades, &c. , twenty e1ght,
work fluctuates, or is seasonal, and who are unable and in the mining indust ries ten. Some of th~
to get work at other trades in the interval ; work- newer unions boast of being fighting unions only,
men in \ arious trades which may be termed oYer- and in th ese there is no provision for out of work,
stocked, in which there are more workers than except on strike. Those agencies are t he best in
work ; those below the standard of efficiency, and the whole kingdom which give unemployed benefi t.
who only obtain work when trade is busy. In reality, I t preserves self-r espect., encourages industry, rethe chronic unemployed belong to the latter chss lieves the rates, and prevents privation and suffermos tly, including in the category the large maz:s of ing among the workers.
L:1.bour bureaux, or employ ment r egistries,
men who have n o rell industrial training in any
kind of industry whatever- men who pick up a job occupy about 38 pagfs. These agencies can scarcely
now and then, and are content to exist upon the be considered as bona ticle institutions of a permaprecarious earuings of occasional employment, eup- nent kind. Hitherto t hey have been in bad odour
plemented by the earnings of their wives, and dules with labour organisations, inasmuch as they are
of charity in times of exceptional distress. In the associated with the idea of supplying what is called
present instance the mass of r eal unem ployed was " free labo ur " during a strike in some impor tant
largely increased by the gr eat coal dispute, which industry. Recently, however, t hey h ave become
has thrown out of employment vast numbers in a a little more popular. During last winter 25
variety of trades more or less dependent upon the labour bureaux wer e established in this country,
uae of fuel for manufacturing purposes. Of course, 15 being temporary, and 10 are described as pert he latter con tingent of unemployed was exceptional manent. The temporary r egistries wer e opened by
during the strike, but every one will admit that vestries and other local bodies, mainly for local
the condition of the labour market is, and has been purposes. I t is found to be expedient to register
for some time, immensely influenced and affected on ly those of good character and fitness for work,
by this cause. This fact is n ot d ealt with in the or the "office, will be shunned by employers.
vol ume, though the dispute existed nearly four This method of registration is nat urally r estricted,
months, and has a most impor tant bearing upon the while other methods, such as registering all corners,
actual state of employment, in most of the industries only becomes a cent.r e for casual labourers and lads
to which reference is made. If we are to deal with for odd jobs. Those at Ipswich and E gham are
the unemployed problem in any effective manner, give n as examples of good agenc-ies. The former
all the causes that contribute to it mu ~t b e fa.ced ; found work fur 33 per cent. in permanent situanot one of them can be justly ~hit k ed.
tions, and 31 per cen t. in temporary situations.
There is speci!il significance in the fact that Egham found employment for 76 per cent. of the
among the permanent agencies dealing with the applicants. The experience afforded by these
unemployed, the action of trade societies occupies bureaux leads to the conclusion that work can be
the first and most prominent place. These societies, fo und for a large number if the applicants are of
when well managed, are the most extensive and good character, trustworthy, sob er, industrious,
effective agencies at present dealing with the and both capable and willing to do the work found
problem, so far, at least, as r egards their own for them. But it is a remarkable fact that skilled
members. The modes in which t he best trade men are, as a rule, absent from the list. The
unions deal with this question are: (1) By assisting larger pr opor tion consists of labourers of various
the ms mbers in finding employment for those out grades, clerks, charwomen, and persons who do
of work, (2) by the payment of their fares to situa- odd jobs on emergency. This is shown by th e
tions away from their homes, (3) by travelling relief lists, where lists are given, in places where such
in search of employment, and (4) by a weekly registries have been opened, both in L ondon and
allowance for a long but definite period while out of elsewhere.
work . The least satisfactory of these four methods
Various other agencies are enumerated, such as
is Lhe third, but tramping in search of work is now societies for finding work for seamen, soldiers, disvery much r estricted in most of the unions. The charged prisoners, women, and girls, and also newssalutary effects of trade union action are distinctively papers as an employment agency.
The Charity
set forth in comparison with other agencies. The Organisation Society and its eighty-eight branches
members ke13p a watchful eye upon each other, in or independent committees are dealt with at some
order to prevent fraud and "malingering." Cases length. The cr;ntral idea of this organisation is
sometimes occur in which fraud is practised, but dealing with distress in localities, rather than by
fi nes or expulsion constitute a wholesome check class. Its efforts are directed rather to pP-rmanent
upon members who may be inclined to use the removal of the causes of distress than its r elief,
funds as a means of liviog in wilful idleness. There except temporarily with a view of permanent
is another wholesome check which is the outgrowth benefit. The social wing of the Salvation Army is next
of better education and a cheap press. The names dealt with, including its national labour exchange,
of the idle malinger ers ar e published in th e night shelters, two workshops, and the farm colony
monthly returns when such are found out, so that in Essex. The table given shows that out of
t he officers in other districts are able to refuse 10,743 applicants at the bureau, 6654 were dealt
further assistance, and the members d ecline either with, of whom only 421 found permanent employto help or work with the unscrupulous idler. No ment outside the Army's workshops. Of the
other agency, not even the Charity Organisation total number r egistered, 1272 are described as
Society, is so exacting in its conditions of relief, clerks and warehousemen, 3968 general labourers,
and that, too, wh en the member is part contributor and 1165 unspecified ; total, 6905 out of 10,743.
to the fund by which he is r elieved. The condi- I he remainder includes 810 d escribed as engin eers,
tions are h ealthy, while the r elief is substantial.
shipbuilders, and metal-workf'rs, and 721 building
The " unemployed benefits" of trade unions are operatives. In the skilled trades th e proportion
dealt with at eome length, considerably over 100 of men out of work appears t o have r eached the
pages being given to the subject, more or less in level of 1887, that is, about 10 per cent. The
detail. The weekly amounts paid to members out of lowest point touched was about 2 p er cent. in 18UO.
work vary considerably, from an initial payment of The various attempts to grapple locally with the
3s. 6d. per week , to as high as 183. per week in one unemployed are given in some detail. Out of the
society, the Coachmakers. Many of the best unions 673 local authorities to whom application was
pay 93. or lOa. per week for a quarter, and then made, only 73 took action. Of the others, 527
less for another quartt r in the year. This is stated that there was no exceptional distress, 19
described as the average scale. I n 1891 some 202 stated that ' 'distress was observable, " and 54
societies, with an aggregate of 682,025 member~, ignored th e question altogether. The dangera of
paid 222,088l. in the year to out -of-work members relief works are alluded to, and especially that such
alone, irrespective of all other benefits. In some works would scarcely touch the r eal difficulty of
societies the member 's weekly contribution is de- tempor ary distress caused by depr ession in trade.
ducted from the pay ; in oth ers the weekly contribuF oreign agencies are also dealt with, as well as
tion is remitted during lhe time he is in r eceipt of the "Mansion H ouse scheme," and some historical
benefit. The member out of work must sign his examples are quoted . Part V I. of the volume is
name in a book for the purpose each day at the devoted to a "concluding summary." . The whole
society's house or office. That being done, h e can problem of dealing with the unemployed is in the
seek for work, and he is bound t o accept an eligible experimental stage, while most of t he agencies,
~ituation if offered t o him. In the engineering, except trade unions, have been in existence for t oo
non, steel, shipbuilding, and cognate industries, short a. period to form any satisfactory judgment as

735
to th e final results. The con clusion is that th?se
agencies rather t ouch the frin ge of the questiOn
t han go to the h eart of the evil. It is suggest ed
t hat ther e shall be mor e direct co-operation by .all
t he aaencies that the out-of-work proVIsiOn
shoull' be e:X:tended among trade unions ~ that
labour bureaux should carefully select apphcants.
Farm colonies on the German system suppress
vaaabondaae and help to r elieve society of
va~rants :x~prisoners, and the like, but do not
soh,e th~ unemployed <1uestion . . It is stated t~a.t
76 per cent. in the <;ier~an co~on1es have b.een ~m
prisoned and there 1s h ttle eVIdence of the1r bemg
r eformed. Temporary relief works ar e n ot cornmended.
The economic deteriorat ion of t he
casually and insufficiently employed must b~ met
by preven tion rather t_han cu.re, and the pubhc are
caution ed against any 1mmed1ate r emedy on a large
scale. Further reports are promised on some of
the points merely indicated in the vo~ume. ~ho
r eport is useful , on the whole, for th e mformatwn
brought together, but w~ are left with no s.olut ion,
n o suggestion of a. solubon. The concluswns are
neaative rather than positive, but t hey may help to
sober down some of the advocates of wild schemes,
the eff~cts of which would be t o pauperise large
masses of the population .

THE ANTWERP EXHIBITION.

B uT little has been heard in this country of the
International Exhibition that is to be opened in
Antwerp next May, and be closed about the middle
of the following November.
Nevertheless the
undertaking is of considerable importance and
extent, and will prove attractive alike to exhibitors
and the public for a vatiety of r easons. Antwerp
is one of the principal shipping ports of the world ;
it is ~he maritime capital of a leading industrial
country; it is readily accessible, and possesses those
attractions in itselt which are alway s necessary
adj uncts to insure the full success of an Exhil,ition.
Of couree it must n ot be supposed that the coming
Antwerp Exhibition is to be comparable in extent
or magnitud e of buildings to the World's Fair at
Chicago ; it is to be h oped that the error of excessive size committed ther e will nev er be repeated.
N evertheless, t he scale of the Antwerp Exhibition is quito large enough to ser ve its full purpose. I t will be held on ground covering 200 acres ;
of this t he main buildings will occupy about 25
acr es, besides all the various annexes and pavilions
that form nece~sary adjuncts to every Exhibition.
Probably the whole of the Luildings collectively
will not cover more gr ound than did the great
palace of Manufactures and Industrial Arts at
Chicago, but we think that this concentration may
be welcomed as a relief both by exhibitors and
visitors after t he vast magnificence of Chicago.
There will be mor e time and inclination to do business and to examine exhibits when these are more
closely assembled. At the same time, pleasureseekers will find a. full programme on the Exhibition grounds, and of course in the city itself, with
its famous picture galleries and other resorts. The
Antwerp International Exhibition of 1894 is under
the patron age of the King of the Belgians, and the
President of the R oyal Commission is the Count of
F landers. By virt~e of this high patr onage, and by
decree of the B elgtan Government, the Exhibition
is in al~ r espects an.ofn:cial under taking, carrying all
the we1ght and d1gn1ty that Royal co operation
and the support of Parliament can confer. But
inasmuch as n o grant has been made on its b ehalf
the r esponsibility has to rest upon private enter:
prise, which has not been wanting to find the fun ds
n ecessary for carrying out the work. The large
sums of money r equired have been provided, and the
directors of the undertaking look to the various
sources of revenue furnish ed by Exhibitions, to
r ecoup them, but n ot to r eturn a profit, which
would bring the Exhibition down to the level of
speculative ventures. The chief sources of revenue
are: r~n.tal of space by exhibitors; entrance money
from v1s1tors ; and payments for concessions. It
has been found by experience that exhibitors do
not object to the relatiYe~y small tax chargEd upon
the s pace they occupy, wh1le concessions if a ranted
in a liberal spirit, as will undoubtedly be the case
next year, are a source of profit to concessionaires
and autho.ritiea alike, especially when t he charge for
en trance 1s low. Although the Exhibition is to be
es.sentially. a commercial one, the whole range of
F1ne Arts 1s to be carefully look ed after in a special

t N G I N E E R l N G.
indep endent exhibition to be h eld by the Antwerp
Royal Society of Fine Arts.
The classification of the Antwerp Exhibition is
simple and compreh en sive. I t is arranged in 22
groups and 68 classes. The first gr oup includes
Fine Arts, which, as just stated, will belong t o
another organisation. The following list gives a
general idea :
~r "'me.
urn ber
G roup.
J."\..,
ofNClasses.
Fine Ads . ..
. ..
.. .
.. .
4
Education . ..
.. .
...
...
3
L iberal Arts...
...
.. .
. ..
4
A rt Industries
.. .
...
. ..
4
Mineralogy .. .
. ..
. ..
. ..
7
G.
Engineering Construction
...
~
7.
Small l\Iechanical Industries . . .
3
8.
Electricity ...
...
...
...
2
9.
Textile Industries . ..
.. .
.. .
4
10.
Clothing
.. .
.. .
.. .
.. .
5
11.
Building and H ouse lc~urnisbin g
7
12.
L ocomotion .. .
.. .
.. .
. ..
3
13.
Chemical Industries
.. .
.. .
4
14.
Industrial Food P roducts
...
5
15.
Civil Engineering . ..
...
. ..
1
16.
Navigation ...
.. .
.. .
...
1
17.
T rade...
...
...
...
...
3
18.
The Arb of War ...
.. .
...
1
19.
AgriculturA .. .
. ..
.. .
...
1
20.
Forestry
. ..
...
.. .
.. .
1
21.
F isheries
.. .
.. .
.. .
.. .
1
22.
Horticulture
. ..
.. .
.. .
1
This Exhibition should prove a very attractive one
to English ma nufacturers; on account of the commercial importan ce of Antwerp ; because of the
cheapness and facility of transporting goods ; a nd
because it would a ppear from the publish ed r egulations, that the restrictions imposed on exhibitors
are unusually easy. For these r easons we may
hope t o see the British section well filled by two
classes of industrials : those who exhibited at
Chicago, and who can at once t ransfer their exhibits
with but little expense, and stor e them free of
charge within the buildings ; a nd t h ose who
abstained from showing at Chicago on account of
d istan ce, cost, tariff, and for other reasons, but
who can do so cheaply n ext y ear . Time for pr eparation is so sh ort that we would urge on such
exhibitors that t h ey sh ould display articles of
current m anufacture, rather than t hose s pecially
manufactured. The facilities that will be given for
sale of objects in the Exhibition, should prove a
great benefit t:) exhibitors. Our own Government has favourably recognised t h e Antwerp
EKhibition, and h as appointed as CommissionerGeneral for G reat Britain Mr. Perry, H.B.M.
Consul at Antwerp.
In ord er t o promote
the welfare of the British section, t h e Right
Ilon ourable t he L ord l\1ayor, in con j unction
with Mr. Perry, has formed a comm ittee of twelve
members, to be called the Antwerp Committee,
meeting in Antwerp and at the Mansion House.
The fo rmation of this committee is such as to be
a guarantee t o exhibitors t hat their inter ests and
w elfare will be closely watched ; their functions
a re, of course, purely h on orary. In addit ion Sir
A . R ollit and the L ondon Chamb er of Commerce
have formed a large and influential committee
to secure exhibitors ; t his sh ould be a p owerful
oraanisation, which, in conjun ction with t he
A~twerp Committee, sh ould command as full a
meas ure of success as the limited time available
will permit.
F or the benefit of intending exhibitors, we may
give a very brief summar~ of t h e mo~e important
general rules and regulatiOns pre~~n.bed by t he
Exhibition authorities. Goods arr1vmg by the
Belgian State Rail ways will be r eturned free at
the expen se of the Exhibition authorities . This is
a point of little interest to E nglish manufacturers,
who will, of course, avail them~elves of_ t~e ch e.ap
and efficien t n avigation companies, but It IS of Interest to France and Germany, b oth of which countries will exhibit largely.
The Exhibition authorities undertak e the handling of goods within the
Exhibition free of ch arge, up to weigh ts of 1! tons.
This includes t h e delivery of packages on the space
allotted and the eventual r eloading on rail way
truck! ~ithin the Exhibition limits. The arrangements 'for storina empty cases will be satisfactory
and cheap the fixed charge being 2s. per square
yard, b ut ~pecial ter.ms will b~ arra.nged for" hat~d
ling goods a nd s tormg empties w~th all countnes
officially represented." FoundatiOns, and what
may generally be called fixtures, w.ill be at ~he
expense of th e exhibitor ; as also will the serVI.ce
connections for steam, water, gas, compressed au,
and electricity. A charge per ~quare foot of space
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.

occupied, will be levied on each exhibitor, this charge

varyin g according t o location ; ample passage ways
for the circulation of visitors will be provided by
the authorities. E xhibitors requiring m otive p ower
of a ny n ature will be charged for it on a fi xed and
moderate tariff; it will be delivered upon a main
transmission shaft, all minor transmission s being
at the cost of exhibitors. Exhibitors will be invited to fix selling prices to their goods, and
4
' articles of every-day sale, also those manufactured
on the spot, may be sold and d eliver ed to visitors
on p ayment of a percentage to be fi xed by agreement. " This very fra nk way of meeting a constantly recurring diffic ulty in International Exhibitions is much to be commended, and should be of
great b en efit to exhibitors. I t is impossible to preven t such sales, and it is un j ust to attempt it, fo r
in many cases exhibitors can far more than repay
th eir expenses by a cur r ent sale with immediate
delivery.
I t is intended t h at expert juries sh all be appointed to examine exhibits, and that graduated
awards shall be given early in the summer, so that
exhibitors shall have the benefit of displaying t heir
diplomas during the m ost cr owded m onths. In all
r espects the r egulations appear to h ave b een prepared with a due regard to exhibitors, and bearing
in mind the success that attended t h e last International Exhibition h eld in Antwerp a few y ears
ago, and the close commercial relations that exist
between t his count ry and B elgium, we think t h ere
can be but little d oubt that par ticipation in n ext
year's undertaking will b e of benefit to our languishing trade,

DIRECTORIES AND ANNUALS.

indicating t h e necessity of discoun ting the r osy

pictures of the service, because of the difference in
the n ominal and exchange value of the rupee and
other considerations.
Now t hat th e latter is
likely to r emain for some t ime at about 1s. 4d., the
exact worth of t h e salaries offer ed may b e appr oximately determined. I t may be n oted that a slight
change has been made this year in connection with
the duration of voyage of studen ts to India. Formerly a date was fixed for embarkation, and if the
student a.rri ved within two months, his salary was
paid from the date of embarkation, otherwise from
the date of arrival. The salary, it would appear,
is now to be paid from date of departure, without
any exception.
The M echanical World P ocket Dia1y and Y ear-Book for

1\Iancbester : Emmott and Co., Limited,

New Bridge-street. [Price Gd.]
In t his pocket-book there is a large a mount of info rmation on a variety of s ubjects, which may
assist y oun g engineers, who do ubt less will find
s ufficient scope for practice in determiniug the
accu racy or sui tability of th e formulre and dimen

swns g1ven.
1804.

BOOKS RECEIVED.
Elementary T'rigonomet1y. By H. S. HALL, M.A .. and
S. R. KNIGII'l', JYI.B., Oh. B. London and New York:
Macmillan and Co. [Price 4s. 6d.]
Notes on Cylinder Bridge P iers and the Well System nf
Foundations. By JOHNNEWMAN, Assor.. M. Inst. C.E.

London : E. and}'. N. Spon ;

and Uhamberlain.

New York:

Spon

Mining: An Etcn~-Cntary T reatise on the Getting of M inerals.

By ARNOLD L oPTON, M. Inst. C.E. London and New

York : IJongmans, Green, and Co. [Price 9s. net.]

A T ext-B ook on E lectro-Magnetism and the Const'r uction

of Dyna'fMs. Vol. i. By D uGALD C. JacKSON, B.S.,

C.E. London and New York :

[Price 9s. net. ]

~Iacmillan

and Co.

London :
Kelly and Co., 182, 183, and 184, High Holborn, W.C. T he Progress of M a'rine E nginee'ring, f1om the T ime of
[Price :12s.]
Jfatt until the P1esent Day. vVith sixty-seYen illustraT111s is th e ninety-fifth annual publication of t his
ttOns. By T. MAIN, ~I. E . New York : The Trade
Publi hing Company.
Directory, a circumstance which at once establishes
its value. It is an immense volume, including T he Design of Alternate Current Tran sformers. By
R . W. \V EEKES. Illustrated. London : Biggs and Co.
official, street, commercial, trades, Jaw, Cour t,
[Price 2s.]
Parliamentary, postal, City, clerical, con veyancing, H a=ell's Annual for 18Dt : A Cyclopn dic Record of Men
and banking directories ; a nd not only ar e t h e
and T opics of the Day. With seven maps. L ondon :
Hazell, 'vVatson, and Viney, Limited.
L ondon firms included, but the provincial firms
who h avo offices in the metropolis . When one Elerncntary L essons in Steam M ctchinery and the lllanual
Steam Engine. By Staff- Engineer J . LANGMAIJJ
reflects on the fact that practically all t h e large
R.N., and Engineer H . GAINSFOnD, R.N. Ne~
manufacturing firms have n ow their L ondon oftices,
Edition. revised and enlarged. London and New
it will at once be appreciated that within the
York : ~Iacmillan and Co. [Price Gs. net.]
volume before us one may rely on findi ng the most The M ine Foreman's Handbook. By RoBEnT MA t'CHLINE.
New r~vised an~ enlarg.ed Edition, illustrated by 114
r epresentative firms in t h e kingdom in every branch
engravmgs. Philadelphia : Henry Carey Baird and
of industry. Taking the case of marine en gineers
Co. ; L ondon : Sampson Low, ~larston, and Co .
as example, we find that on e-h alf of the firms named
Limited.
ar e manufacturers in the provinces. As to the L e Cuiv're. P ar P AUL W F.ISS. Paris: J . B. Bailliere et
F ils. [Price 5 fr.]
accuracy of the compilation-a most essential
feature- it is almost un n ecessary to write. Past I ndectors: 'Pheir Thcorzt, Con struction, and W orking. By
W. \V. }"". Pt'LLEN. U pward li of 100 illustrations.
experience testifies. As in former y ears, too, there
M:anchester: The Technical Publishing Company.
has been an effort made to bring the information
up to date. Thus we find t hat the n ew commission
of Lieutenancy of th e City of L ondon, gazetted on
N 0 TES.
N ovember 28, are given in the City section.
FOUNDATIONS IN QUI CKSAND.
Admiral Sir Anthony Hiley Hoskins an d Admiral
A NOVEL method of making foundations in quick
Sir Michael C ulme Seymour, who were gazetted
G.C.B. and K.C.B. r espectively on N ovember 17, san d was described by Mr. F. N eukirch, of B remen
are so described in t h e Court and Official section. at . the International Congress of Engineering;
The b ook, in view of its great size, therefore, is a Chicago. The sand on which the foundation is to
proof of expeditiously executed wor k. A word of ~est .i s conve.r ted into solid concrete by blowing
high commendation is merited for the g reat 1nto It, .by air pressure, dry cement in powder.
strength of t h e binding; while t h e mounting of F or this purpose a 1!-in. pipe is used which
the map of London on cloth is a welcome change. is drawn t o a point at its lower end, and h~s t her e
~hree or more ~ -in. holes. This pipe is joined at
T he Railway Diary and O,(}icials' D irectory for 18D4. Its. upper end by a rubber tube to an inj ector,
London : McCorquodale and Co., Limited, Cardingw h10h IS connected to a source of compressed air,
ton-street, Euston-square, N. \V. [Price 1s.]
In addition to a conveniently-sized diary, there is a~d is fed with dry cement. The sinking of the
in t h is p opular annual publication, r eady reckon- p~pe to t h e depth required is facilitated by blowing
ing tables suitable for a ll the calculations carried air through it during its descent and setting it in
out in railway offices, and lists of the directorate motion . Depths of 16 ft. to 19 ft. can t hus be
This done, the cement is fed in,
and officials of all t he leading railway companies quickly r eached.
in th e k ingdom, with information regarding capital, and is carried into the sand by the air, which,
traffics, a nd divid ends in past y ears, which make b~iling up ~hrough the former, insures a thorough
the work interesting and valuable for refer ence m1xture of It an d t h e cement. The t ube is then
not only to railway officials, but also to share- slowly wit hdrawn, the supply of cement beinO' continued t ill it reaches t he surface.
The co~crete
h olders.
formed in t his way takes several weeks to harden,
T he R oyat Enginee1ing College. Cooper's H ill. Calendar
f or 18D34. London: W. ll. Allen and Co., Liu::ited, and requires some months to attain its full str ength.
The whole area to be treated is divided into a number
13, Waterloo-place.
This publication, issued by authority, gives details of of small areas of about 1 square foot each, and the
the Indian s~rvice, of the curriculum of the college, t ube is s unk s uccessively in all of t h em. I t is
and of the examinations which must be passed for found that ~he mixture of cement and sand pr oentrance to the I ndian service. We h ave on pre- duced occup10s less space than the sand alon e did
vious occasions referred to the admirable education before t he operation. The method has been, it is
given at this institution,* while at the same t ime stated, successfully applied t o the water-tightening
of an iron cofferdam. a~ t he harbour of Vegesack,
Bremen, and to a similar purpose on a sewer laid
* See ENGINEERING, page 149, ante.
T he P ost O.Uice London D irectory for 1894.

in quicksand in a narrow street. The sewer, which

was egg-shaped, was very leaky--so much so that
the sand passed into i t , and was carried away with
thesewage. Settle ment then took place, a nd it was to
prevent this going furthe r that the '' air " gr outing
process already d escrib ed was adopted, and proved
quite successful.
FIREPROOF FLOOR.

In a paper r ecently read before the Civil Engin eer s' Club of Cleveland, Mr. Wm. Sabin describes
the forms of fireproof flooring m ost comn1onJy
adopted in America. The oldest m ethod was t o
place fl oor beams about 5 ft. apart, a nd turn a
4 in. brick arch between them, the b eams b eing
tied together t o r esist the thrust of the arches.
The space above the arch es was levelled up with
concrete, in which were bedded strips of wood for
the flooring . The plastering was applied directly
t o t he b ottom of the arches and over the flanges of
the s upporting b eams. \Vhen exposed t o a fire,
h owever, it soon cracked off, and a special tile
skewback is n ow used. Such a floor weighs about
70 l b. per square foot, exclusive of the weigh t of
the floor beams. Its cost in America is about
1.44 d ols. p er square foot. A s imilar floor in
which t he brick arch is r eplaced by one o f corru gated ir on has also been tried, but as t h e m etal is
exposed to the h eat it h as n o advantages. I ts
weight is 70 1b. , a nd its cost 1. 39 d ols., p er sq uaro
foot . The n ext improvement was th e use of iicl.t
arch es of t erra-cotta. In t his case the b eams were
placed 6 ft. to 7 ft. apar t, the tiles being 10 in.
deep, and the weight of the floor was r ed uced
to 40 lb. per square foot, and its cost to 1. 34 dols.
A furthe r r eduction of weight was effected by
t he use of porous terra-cotta, obtai ned by mixing
sawdust wi th the clay. The weight of floor wa
t hus broug ht down to 35 lb. p er sq ua re foot, whilst
its cost was 1. 36 d ols. In a test made at D enver
an a!'ch of por o us terra-cotta 4ft. wide, a nd having
a spau of 5 f t. , bore a l oad of 15,145 lb., with a d eflection of 0. 65 in., and it took 11 blo ws of a weigh t
of 134 lb. falling from a h eigh t of 6 ft. to 8 ft. to
e ntirely d estr oy the arch . Both systems of terracotta 11oor have successfully wit hstood sever e fires.
In a method of construction n ow be ing largely
adopted, the span of the fl oor is increased to 12 f t.,
and it is s upported by 12-in. ! -beams.
B etween
these b eam s is strained a gal vanised wire n et, said
to be capable of carrying 1000 lb. per sq uare foot.
A centre board is fixed below this n et, and t he
space b etween it and the t op of the floor fi lled wit h
a very light concrete m ade wit h crush ed coke, cork,
cement, and a little sand. This floor is 8 in. deep,
the b ottom flanges of t h e I- beams being protected
by carrying t he cement r o und them. I ts weigh t is
only 18 lb. p er sq uare foo t, and it has b een tes ted
with a load of 580 l b. per squar e foot, t h e deflection b eing only t in. Its cost is about.!. 05 d ols. per
square foot. In connection with the ab ove prices, it
should perhaps be n1entioned that !-beams are very
costly in t he States.
TuE vVR E cK L1. T.
The boisterous weather of the past few days
creates interest in the wreck lis t j us t isl:!u ed by
Lloyd's R egistry of Shipping. It d eals with the
three summer months, and yet indicates that
224 vessels have been lost, and these r epresent
130,465 tons-equal t o a good month's work of th e
thousands of artisans engaged in the shipbuilding
and cognate industries of the U nited l{ingdom .
The fate of twelve sailing vessels and their crews is
shrouded in mystery. N othing is k nown of them,
n otwithstanding t hat news had been a waited for
many months even before h ope was abandoned.
Again, 25 vessels, of 13,045 tons, almost entirely
ships again, were abandoned at sea, and of this
number, as in ships missing, N orway h as much
more than her proportion. Ships, again, accoun t
mostly for the number of vessels brok en up or
condemned, the total b eing 35, of 18,532 tons.
Peculiarly enough, t oo, ships burned are m ore
numerous than the s team ers meeting that fate, for
of the total of eleven, nine were sailing vessels, the
average tonnage being 1000. When we come to
collisions, h owever , we find that steamers predominate, so far as tonnage is concerned. L arge
ships give each oth er a wide berth ; but steamer s
have less need of doing so, con sequently a false
move often involYes collis ion.
The tonnage of
steamers lost in collision is 11,842 ; of ships, 3013.
In wrecks, steamers escape best, partly due to
their m odernity ; but s till 25 steamers, of 24,546
tons, were wrecked in the three m onths, against 80

737

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

ber ed that the " Teatern P ennsylvanian steel rail interests arc not in harmony with maintaining_ any agreement with other mills at this time. There 1s not room
for more t han one-half th e existing r ail mill cap acity,
and it will be a "fight to the finish " bef?re.the matter
is settled . Inq uiries have been made w1tlun a day or
two for large lots of r a ils a nd plate and structu.ral
material for building operations. The bar m1lls
throughout the country are making less iron than
ever, and prices have sunk to 1.30 to 1.40 cents p~r
pound at mill. The nail manufacture.rs have ~g~m
entered upon a bitter cont est for the little remammg
t rade, and a r e offel'iug strong inducements for the
retail dealers to stock up now for the spring distribution. Pig iron is dull, and prices arc weak. 'fh e whol~
situation is disappointing, and will remain so . until
the question of tariff is settled. The bridgcbml?ers
have had inq uir ies from railway managers as t o bndge
work, and it is probable that a few large contracts
will be placed in January, for material t o be delivered
a nd erected in the early spring. 'The Atchison Company ha ve placed one order for seventy locomotives
with the Bald wins, of Ph iladelphia; a number of other
systems n.re iu g reat n eed of additional motive power;
but the economic mann.gement of the past year will be
continued un til the skies clear ; then heavy orders
THE GROSS EARNINGS OF R AI LWAY P ASSENOER
will be placed . There ar e immense quantities of old
CARRL\.O'ES .
iron and steel rail, and all ldnds of scrap, a vailable,
There are in the United l{ingdom 40,079 railway but as t here is no demand, prices are merely nominal.
carriages for th e conveyance of passenger s onl y ,
sc1 that probably about 3i million p eople could
THE VIBRATIONS OF STEAMSHIPS AND
travel at t he same m oment. If these carriages were
THE BALANCING OF MARINE ENGINES.
placed in one train, they would extend from L ondon
'0 THE Emron. OF ENGINEERING.
t o Berwick, a distance which r epresents a sixth of
Sm,- Tbe growing interest atta-ched to-day to this
t he total railway m ileage of the United IGngd om. question leads me to send you the following deductions,
It may t her efore be said that the rail way traffic is which may have some interest for some of your readers.
To begin with, I must recall some well-known facts
conducted with a fa irly small number of carriages. The number of passenger j ourn eys, ex- and principles, laid down in a ma~te rly manner in th ~
well -known work of Professor Rad inger, "Dampfcluding t hose made by the million and a. h alf of maschinen mit hoher Kolbengeschwinrligkeit " ("Steam
season -ticket holders, was 864} m illions, so th at Engines with Hi~h Piston , 'peed "), and shall t ry to
each carriage in the year took over 23,000 pas show bow these prmciples can be put into practice.
If a steam engine runs infinitely slow, th e pressures,
sengers. The exclusion of th e season -ticket h olders,
however, g r eatly r educes the r ecord of work. P er - acting in opposite sense, of the steam shut in between
the piston and the cover or the bottom of the cylinder
haps the passenger r eceip ts m or e fa ir]y indicate respecti vely, will completely neutralise one another in
the avera ge of work d on e . It is inter estin g, first, the beam or framing between th e C\ylinder and crankshaft
to n ote that ther e are, as near as possible, t wo car- bearing-.
As soon, however, as the engine has acquired a certain
riages for each mile of rail way in the U nited l{ ingdom, and that this proportion has b een steadily speed, the moving parts of piston, piston-rod, connectingrod,
and
crank,
take
up
at
the
beginning
of
the
stroke
increasing , for ten years ago t he ratio was 1. 73 part of this steam pressure for th E;ir own starting and
per mile.
There are 3000 m or e carriages n ow acceleration, and return, towards the end of the stroke,
than there were t en years ago. Each carriage seems th e energy stored up in them to the crankshaft. The
to take more passengers ; but the fare paid by pressures upon cover near bottom of cylindE\r no longer,
each passenger is less, so that the earnings per at every moment, exactly correspond to the pressure
upon the crank bearing. As a matter of consecoach are less in all parts, excepting Scotland. exerted
quence, a horizontal engine shows a tendency to move to
Each carriage t hrough out the kingdom in 1883 and fro in its seat. In a. vertical engine there will be no
earned about 7H69l. , and last year th e total was shifting, but only a variation in the load to be supported
ab out as low as it h as been for ten y ears, having by the foundations, or a sort of verti cal pulsation. For
been 75481., 100l. lower than in 1891. In England this reason the vertical engine will stand more firmly and
and \Yales the d ecrease has n ot been so gr eat, but more steadily than the horizontal engine.
Before proceeding further I should like to introduce a
it h as been pretty steady- fro m 8087l. 18s. to few symbols. L et
7613l. 16s. - which is proba bly due to the large
P =the weight of the reciprocating parts in kilo
number of travellers formerly of th e hig her classes
grammes.
n o w going ' 'third. "
r = radius of crank, l = 2 'I' = stroke of piston in
metres.
A verage E arnings of Railway Passenger C01rriages.
n = number of revolutions per minute.
2ln = mean pts
. t on speed 10
. metres par second.
v
=
1889.
I 1883. 1886.
1891.
1892.
sailing vessels, of 39,339 tons. One-third of these
were Norw egian vessels. Indeed, al t;hough N orway has only one-seventh th e total tonnage of t~ e
U nited Kingdom, h er losses are n early as g r eat 1n
tonnage- 28, 071 tons as against 38,076 tons; while
the nu m ber of vessels is 54 against 36. Of the
principal maritime countries, Britain has t~e
lo west rate of loss- . 33 per cent. on tonnage, Russia
and Spain being less. Norway is highest, 1. 64 p er
cent. In t h e B ritish colonies it is 1. 05 per cent. ,
principally owing to the losses of s mall ships.
The U nit.ed States has a rate of .85 per cent.,
France of . 67 per cent., Germ any of . 52 per cent.,
Italy of . 76 per cent. , and D e nmark of . 66 per
cen t . In p oint of t onnage the ship losses are
d ouble those of steamers, but in r espect of number
4! ships are lost for each steamer- du e to th e large
number of small craft lost by Norway, France,
Germany, and the United States. Those four
nations are respon sible for five-eighth s of t he s hip
losses. M ore than half of th e vessels lost are of
wood or composite build, a third of iron, a nd o nly
seven, of 12,753 tons, of steel.

60

E ng land and Wale3

cotland

rela nd
..
united Kingdom

8087.90
6695.66
8887.17
7968.81

w =

7733.3i 7 38.70 7719.20 7613.80

6:394.37 1 6502.19 6783.50 0710.72
7 07 .fl2 8 431.78 8407.08 8 175.69
7585.95 7713. 33 76<16. 31 7548.30

f=
Q=

In Scotland, on the other hand, there has b een a

r ecovery, and the total n ow stands just over the
total of 1883--6710l. 15s. But it should b e borne in
mind that while i n Scotland t h e average number of
carriages per mile of r a ilway has r e mained about 1. 3,
it h as increased in England flom2 to2. 39, a diff~rence
due t o the necessity for preparedness against emergencies, which are m or e frequent and pron ounced in
the vicinity of L ondon t han elsewhere. In Ireland
the companies get m ore p er carriage t han in any
other part of the kingdom. Ther e the proportion of
the three classes is m ore equal, so that there are
more second-class carriages per cent. of t he total.
M oreover, there are only six carriages to each t en
miles of railway. Each carriage earns n o w 8 175t.
14s., but ten years ago the total was 8887l. 3s.

q=

2r1r n
.
= mean Circumference speed of crank in
60
metreR.
piston area in square centimetres.
total pressure of acceleration.
_g_ = the force necessary to effect the change of

veloC'ity per un~t area of piston, in kilogrammes

per square centtmetre.
q1 = the pressure at the dead point.
w = t~e _it;lclinat.i ~n at any moment of the crank to its
tmt1al pos1t10n at the dead point.
Now the acceleration prassure, i.e. , that part of tha
steam pressure which during the first half of the stroke
has. to effect the a.cceleratio~ of the mass, is for any inclination w equal to the ~ortzontal (respectively vertical)
component of the centnfugal force F which this mass
would develop if ib were centred in th~ crankpin hence
F cos w.
'
Q
A t the dead point w is= Orleg. ; the force there is hence
2
equal to the full centrifugal force F = p w This presUr
sure must be exerted upon the whole piston area, leaving
2
per unit area. a partial pressure q1 = ~ = 1 . P W

9 '1'

If ~n engine, ~or k ing with a. pressure of three atmo-

NOTES FROM THE UNITED STATES.

PniLADE LPIIIA, December 4, 1893.
T HE steel r ail makers have finally agreed upon
24 dols. p er ton for mill quotations, but it is to be
doubted whether this figure can he maintained in
view of the purpose of the free-traders t o reduce rails
to a 25 per cent. cul valorem duty, which would probably let English steel rails into Atlantic coast
markets a,.t 22 dols. ; and 1 besides this 1 it is to be rem em-

spheres only, reqmred, for _the purpose of starting, 3 kil og~ammes per square ?ent1m ~ tre, 1t would, at the beginmng of the stroke, be.1mposs1ble to transmit any g reater
power t o the crankpm. ~t the highest position of the
?rank, when w = 90 deg., th1s component becomes 0 that
1~ t? sar. no pressure is sp~nt in accelerating the ~ass.
Tbl'3 w1ll at once be reoogntsed, for then the piston &c
must h.ave a~tained the same speed as the crankpin.'
.,
It w11l ea.stly be u~derstood ~hat in a hori?.')nta.l engin~

E N G I N E E R I N G.
the component tending to produce reciprocating motion
may b e neutralised by means of a balance-weight, acting
in the opposite direction, suitably attached to the crank
or to the fl ywheel. There would remain the vertical component pushing and pulling against the resistance of
the foundation bol ts of the bearing of the orank~haft.
If the bolts are too weak, the bearing will vertically
jolt out of its seat. In gen~ral, however, the weight of
the. shaft and of the flywheel will suffice to keep the
eng-me s~Ea1 y.
Tbe matter bec0mes much more difficult in the case of
a locomotive. True b..1.lancing of the m oving parts is here
most essential, lest the relatively w~ak framing b ecome
overloaded, and the engine b f'gins t o roll. If we go too
far in n eutralising the horiz:mtal compon ent, the vertic1l
component may become t roublesome. Whilst directed
downwards, this vertical component will increase the
pressure on the rails, a fen.ture not to b a desir ed when
trains are crossing bridges at h igh sp eed ; and whilst
directed upwards, the component will counteract gravitation, which may cause the engine t o leave the
rails. This would occur when lf = Q, that is,
when the centri fugal forces of the counterweights become
equal to the adhesion weight of the engine. For this
reason it is customary to balance in locomotives only
about half of the pressure c f acceleration. Otherwise we
must limit the speed of the engine too considerably, and
have the remainder of the pressure ab30rbed by the
framing and the bulk of the engine, where they would
give rise to a milder sort of rolling.
We are, moreover,
anxious to make the m oving parts as l ight as possible.
Engines not properly designed, with heavy rods and
large balance-weights, are n ot unlikely t o run off the rails
when at high speed. \Ve see here already that high-speed
engines req uire as light and smooth a set of r ods as p ossible. The conditions are much more favo urable f or the
vertical stationary engine. Such engines do not, as a
rule, require any balance-weight:i t o keep steady. On the
contrary, the addition of balance-weights would call forth
the very defect we wish to guard against, masmuch a s
the horizontal component of the centrifugal force would
have free play. In the case of the vertical engine, we
have to take care that the engine, togGther with its bedplate, be so hE-avy, and the m0ving parts of so light a
construction, that there can be no jumping or tearing off of the engine. It must be acknowledged that
our stationary vertical engines are not yet by any m eans
p erfect in this respect. But in the case of light highspeed marine engilles, to which I shall refer in a m0ment,
the real isation of our aim is not so far removed as is generally a~sumed . In :1.n engine of a weight of, e.g , 3 kilogrammes per square centimetre of pist on area, the b edplate would tend to lift itself from its foundation as soon
as a speed corresponding t o an acceleration presc;ure of
3 atmospheres ha3 been reach ed. For thE"re would, wh en
the pist on co mmences to descend, be 3 atm ospheres more
pressing upward on the cover of the cylinder than downward on t he bearing of the crank. If the mo ving parts
bad a weight of

~ = .3
/

kilogramme per square centi-

metre of area, and if the stroke werd l = .5 metre,

there would, according to the formula given above,
2
q1 !. . p u , or if we substitute q1 = ! ~ v2 , result
f
[Jr
f l
an upward pull already at a. velocity'/) = 3.1 metres per
second-that is, at 190 revolutions per minute. The
fo:.1nd ation s and foundation bolts alone would prevent
the engine from yielding to this pull. vVe observe that
here, t oo, the m oving parts must be very light if the
speed is to be h igh.
M arine engines have t o satisfy the very high est requirem ents. We want here united the greatest piston speed,
the greatest steam pressure, and the smallest p ossible
weight of the reciprocating puts. The maximum piston
speed to be attained a.l ways d epends upon the initial
steam pressure in the cylinder, the charge, and the weig ht
of the moving parts. The velccity must n ever become so
great that the stea~ at disposal ~ould no longer. suffice
to impart that veloctly to the movmg parts. If th1s were
n ot so there would occu r a moment during the stroke
wh en th e piston would no longer be pushed by the steam
and press upon the crank, but b3 dragged along by the
crank. We should, therefore, during the single stroko,
have a change from push to pull, atft:lcting all the moving
parts. A s we must allow for elasticity of the rods, and
clearance in the bearings of the cro~shead of the connecting-rod, there would arise j erks _a nd concussions which
would seriously endanger the engme. OnJ y a~ th e de~d
p oints this reversal of p~essure ta.keo place wtth.out dt sturbance since the velo01ty there 1s sl1 ght, and smce the
compress'ion and the s team that has entered in advance
act as a cushion.
If however th9 change takes place during the p eriod of
the 'stroke then the piston-rod, &c., dra~ged alon~ by
the crank ~nd countarpoised, therefore, wlll sudd enly be
jerked by the stearu pressure against the crankpin which
has taken the lead, and will bit it ~ith the force of a
steam hamm er. 'l'he intensity of this blow ts proporti onal to the relative velocities of th e crank and of the
piston -rod, &c. , and will hence in gene~al be gr~ater at
the commencement of the stroke than m the rotddle of
the stroke. It is easy to see how even the strongest
engine may be destroyed in this way. Th~ steam pres:
sure at disposal for starting and acceleratlDg th e r ods,
therefore limits th e pistoB sp eed and the numb_er of revolutions: In en~nes wiLh !Ylul tipl~ &?'p~nston, the
pressure in th e l_ow-pressure cy hnder wtll hm1t the speed
of the whole engm e.
.
.
.
Tbere is one remedy for th1s d efect, wh10b has alrea:dy
b een applied in the construction of seyeral larger ~arlDe
engines. We can hardly- g > further m th e reductton of
the weight of the movtng parts. The rods of a. good

[DEc. 1 5, I 893.

modern marine engine weigh only a fifth, and even a and framing of the sh ip, n o free forces likely to produce
tenth, of those of a stationary engine, if referred t o unit vibrations can arise, and the engine should work absoarea of piston.
lutely steady and without vibrations, even at the highest
Progress can, therefore, be made only by increasing speed.
the acceleration pressure in the low-pressure cylinder.
We p erceive now why steamers with engines whose
This can be achieved by dividing the big low- pressure cylinders are far apart, and connected only by tu bes or
cylinder into two smaller ones, joined each in tandem to light braces, are so subject to vibrations. The leverage of
a high-pressure cylinder. The triple-expan~ion engine the reciprocating centre of pressures is Yery great. Bewould then have two high-pressure cylinders, two for sides this, the upper flange of the girder has simply been
low pressure, and on e for middle pres~u re, with the usualj cut in two. Such a system can have no int~rnal stabili ty.
three cranks at 120 deg. \Ve can n ow increase the piston The lower flange alone, and the wrought-iron bedding
speed in the large low-pressure cylinder by utilising the I which supp"'rts it, cannot do much towards rPlieving
high-pressure steam. 'rhus we safely realise the highest strains. Such an arrangement can only be fatal t o the
piston speeds. The initial pressure in th e m ean-pressure engine and the steam~r. It is l ittle use in such an instance
cylinder will always be great enough not prematurely to t o strengthen the bed plate and the intermediate members,
limit the piston speed.
the Llocks on which the cylinders rest. One neat girder,
Our modern big marine engines work with pist on speed3 with a strong truss below and above, easily transmits any
of about 5 metres per second, equivalent to 1000 ft. per strains. A heavy cast-iron beam with bulky, he~vy interminute. 'rhe arrangement just explained enabl es us to mediate parts, scarcely connected with it, does not dego higher still. But there is one additional point to be serve the name of a girder, and is incapable of absorbing
considered. It has been explained that the maximum the sli ghtest strain.
velocity will ha ve been reached aldo when the steam
Yet many of our largest modern engines for high est
pressure necessar_y for starting the moving parts becomes speeds are co~structed af~er this fashion. .we can. o~ly
equal to the we1ght of the engine itself. For at that account for th1s by a ssumlDg that the necess1ty of bUildmg
speed the engine might be lifted from its foundation, if it an engi ne as one whole, strong in itself, has not been
were not for the foundation bolts.
sufficiently recognised. The old-fashioned notions wilJ,
To the weight of th e engine we have, in the case of however, no longer avail when still higher speeds are de~ta~ionary engines, to add the weight of the stone foun- maJ?de~. We are approa ching the limit, and we. are
dat10n down to the depth of the bolts. As the weight of begmnlDg to become aware of th e fac t. If we contm';le
a stationary engine is relati vely much greater than that to proceed on the old path, we may have to face other st1ll
of a marine engine, these considerations have at present, more pernicious consequences . . I need h~rdly recall here
and will have for some time to come, little importance in the sudden breakdown of the C1t~ of Pans.
their case. But we have already triple-expansion ILarine
I am, S1r, yours truly,
engines with a total weight of ~or 1.5 kilogrammes per
R. A . ZIESE.
square centimetre of pist on area of the low-pressure
cylinder. If the moving part~ weigh .1 kilogramme, the
whole engine 2 kilogrammes per unit area, the engine
THE WATER SUPPLY OF TENERIFFE.
would simply tend t o jump out of its bed at a piston
To THE EDITOR Ob"' ENGINEERING.
speed of 6.2 metres p er second, 1 metre stroke and about
SIR,-All those who have any acquaintance with the
185 revolution'3 respectively at 4 m etres per secoc. d, Canary I sla nds know that their great want is an adequate
.4 metre stroke, and about ~00 revolutions. There would supply of wat er for irrigation purposes. T enE:l riffe forms
result an upward s trese:, immediately followed by a down- no exception. This beautiful island, with its splendid
ward stress corresponding to the double load, and the capabilities, is famishing for a supply of that water
engine bed, light in itself, and the whole hull would which th e hidd en caverns of its grand mountains conta in
undergo a periodical trembling and vertical vibrations.
in possibly unlimited abundance.
The permissive limit is given by the general equation
Here, th en, is tbe water imprisoned. H ere are th ou 2
sands of acres of some of the most fertile ground-in the
G = F = ~ p 3!... , the letters retaining their previous m ost p erfect climate in the world- waiting for water to
l
yield their increase.
values.
may here state that the existence of water is no mere
It is manifest that these vibrations have nothing or little suIrmise.
It was my pri vilege recently to accompany
to do with the construction of the bull and of the proa gentleman who is one of a syndicate formed for the
peller. On the contrary, they should be at least as strong express
purpose of making an attempt to tap the source
when the propflller is removed, and it has often been at the base
of th e Cauadas. Their efforts, in spite of unproved by experiment that this is so. For similar con- skilled workmen and the inadequate m eans employed,
siderations stays can be of little use, unless they are put have in a measure been rewarded with success.
in with a full understanding of the causE's and direcFinding indications of water in a barranco, they traced
tions of the stresses. Balance- wei ~ hts have been recom - it to the almost perpendicular walls of the mountain,
mended from various quarters. But even if we assume under which they have run three tunnels, varying in
that rotating balance-weights would call forth horizontal length from two to four hundred yards. In my opinion,
stresses which probably would prove as unpleasant, if tbe longest was extended another hundn:d yards, suc
and that devices with vertical movement require special cess would crow n thei r efforts. At the present time
mechanisms, such a solution of the problem can hardly there is a considerable flow of water from the tunnellings,
be approved of by the marine engineer. We take but to get it has cost so much money, time, and labour
the greatest pa.ins to dispense with every avoidable that the syndicate are discouraged, and feel that they
kilogramme to realise the maximum possible speed and are n ot working on the r ight lines. It is their opinion
etfi ciency, and we are to render all we gained illusory by that it wants a skilful Englil: h engineer t o bring matters
adding several tons of balance-weights. There are better t o & satisfactory is5 ue.
m eans of obviating these troubles.
I went up the dark tunnels as far as it was possible to
We have first t o bear in mind that the limiting values go, and the steady drip on all sides seemed t o con vey the
given above are applicable only to one and to two- idea of a leakage from a large subterranean body of
cylinder engin e&, th e latter having their cran ks at 90 deg. water not very far a way. A fter coming out again into
In the modern three-cylinder eugine, with three crank s at dayli ght, I was more than ever con vinced that the true
120 deg., the inertia forces neutralise on a another, since modus operandi for this work was to be found in d rillmg,
the sum of the three cosines is equal 0. This would apply and not blasting. I have little doubt that steady work
in practice with mathemat ical a ccuracy, if, firstly, the with a diamond drill for three months would accompli h
three rods were of exactly the same weight, and if, more than the present method would in eighteen months.
secondly, they a ct d in the same plane. The first condi- A fortune-and that a large one-awaits the man who
tion can almost be fulfilled. The second cannot be ful- can successfully bore the mountains of these islands and
filled. As a consequence, the bed plate is lifted by the one liberate the liquid treasures th ey contain. The effort
cylinder at the commencement of the dE'scent of its already made is most praiseworthy, and it now remains
piston, at the same time when it is depressed, though for an Englishman to bring it to a successful issue, which
with half the force only, by the two other cylinders. would not only bring him renown and fill his p ockets,
This gives ri~e to internal bending strain~, and to a vary- but earn the gratitude of thousands who now find no
ing distribution of th e loads at the ends of the plate, employment through the lack of water.
whilst the total pressure, the load upon the bottom of the
I remain, Sir, yours,
shio. does not vary.
A vVELL-wrs HER ol!' THE CaNARY I sLA NDs.
We see, therefore, that although the triple-expansion
engine does not in general require any balance-weights,
inasmuch as there is neutralisation of th e inertia effects
THE ELECTRICAL CORROSION OF
owing to the arrangement of the cranks, y et vibrations
UNDERGROUND PIPES.
are set up because the centre of the pressures mo\es in a
fore-andaft direction.
Many suggestions have been
To THE EDITOR OF ENGINEERING.
made to prevent these vibrations common t o fast steam ers
SIR,-In the interestin g descriotion of the Marseilles
and S t. L ouis Electric Railway, Dr. Prellermentions, on
with powerful engines.
But as the sole cn.use of these vibrations, given cranks page 564, the danger of electrically corroding underground
at 120 deg., is to be found in the reciprocating m ovement pipes and cables by driving the current through th e rails,
of the centre of pressure of the moving parts, this move- wh eele:, car wiring, trolley connectione:, and overhead wire
ment being in the direction of the longitudinal a xis of the rather than in the more usual overhead wire t o rail order.
engine, and due itself to the cirou mstance that the three In this country we have had an experien ce with such a
rods do not act in the same plane, it is clear that our first method of operation in Cambridge, Mass., one of the
aim must be to bring the three cylinders as near to one suburbs of Boston. There the wires, pipes, and house
another as possible lengthways, that is t o say, t o con- connections in the earth disappeared in a remarkably
struct an engine of the least possible length. Further, short time, and the tramway company was forced to
the three cylinders have to be connected to form one reverse the direction of its currents in consequence.
Even when the current is sent out from the p ower
strong whole, and to be provided with suitable stays for
the bedptate. The mass of th e three cylinders now stations through the overhead wires, we are having conhelps to counter act the changes in pressure, a nd the siderable difficulty with electrolysis. In Boston and
whole frame of the eng ine, together with the cylinders Brooklyn the trouble has genemlly been with the lead
and the bedplatP, forms one e.tiff girder, with a strong coverio g of the t elephone wires, although in the lattf'r
truss above and below. With proper arrangement all city the water pipes are also affected. In Trenton, N.J.,
stresses should neutralise one another in this girder. If Columbus, 0 ., Saginaw, Milwaukee, and Sault Ste. Marie,
this system, firm in itself, is further connected horizontally Mich., L os Angeles, Cal., and Hamilton, Ont., electroand lengthways by strong stays with the deck plates lysis of the wa ~r pipes, both lead and iron, has been

lt==================

E N G I N E E R I N G.
observed, and in moot of the cities the officers of the
water department or of the railway have kindly sent me
careful descriptions of the corroded pipe, and such local
conditions as enable an opinion to be formed as to the
nature of the corrosion. It seems perfectly certain to me
that the electrolysis occurs as follows :
The return current through th e rails and supplementary
wires, if the latter are employed, reaches some point
where the earth and the pipe3 embedded in it ha.'e less
resistance than the m etal ctrcuit. Consequently the electri city follows along the pipes until the rails a~a.in offer
a better path, when it returns to its theoret10~l path.
F rom co rre~ pond ence and personal observation of the
effect of this fickle behaviour of the return circuit, I am
p -etty certain that the electrolysis occurs at the points
where the current lea,es the pipes to return to the rail
circuit, a1 might naturally be expected. The effect of
the current is first t o eat a series of lit tle cavities in the
surface of the pipe, which gradually enlarge until the metal
may be completely d~troy ed around the entire circumference. A remedy that I have known to be applied successfully in a number of cases was to connect the pipes
where corroaion was noticed with the rails of the tramway, so a~ to have a complet e m etal circuit. The leading
ramedy is one wLich the railways are slowly adopting as
a mat:er of economy, without any reference to the wants
of the water works, telephone. or gas engineer, viz , the
b j t ~er bonding of the rails. The connection illustrated by
Dr. Preller on page 499 is not considered the best practice
i n th is country to-day, although it wa'! two yea.rd ago,
when good bonding was not r c?garded as so import ant as
n ow. In the single track illustrated the cross section of
the two raih is about 10.8 square inches. which is cquivale:l t in conductivity t o about 1.6 sq uare in cb e.~ of copper,
spsaking approximately. T o bond this single track, there
are two c:>pper and two iron wires, each 7 millimetres
in diamete .., which have a t otal conductivity of about
0. l4 square inch of c::>pper. T hat is to say, the cond uctivity
of the bond is only about a t enth of that of the rails. In
thi s cou ntry we are now making the bo nd ~ heavier, and
t~us try to prevent the watts from straggling on their
return home.
Yours truly,
JOHN M. GoonELL.
W orcester, M!),ss., November 21, 1893.

THE ANCHORAGES OF SUSPENSION

BRIDGE .
To THE EOI'l'OR OF ENGINRERING.
Sm -O rave fears are being entertained as t o the
sound~ess of th e anchor chain of a suspension bridge now
in use for fifty years. The chai~ is ~ade UJ? of 6 i_n. ~y
1 in. iron bars bolted t ogether m pttch cham fa.shton m
lengths of 10 ft. The lower lengths are sPoured t o the
anchor 30 ft. below the surface a nd of course i_mm ersed
in water and no human eye 6as seen th em sm ce fifty
yeara. Rust must be affecting the strength of that chain .
rrhe q uestions t o decide are :
1. H ow quickly will rust eat into iron immersed in
water'?
2. At whs.t rate will it operate on iron b3tween wind
and water in a well where the air is always damp and
foul ?
3. At what rate, if exposed to the atmosphere in the
open air ?
4. After r ust creates a coat on the iron, will the oxidatio n still go on at the same rate ?
5. In how many years might the above bridge chain be
expected to become affe<?ted so as to be .a~ 3olutely dangerou~ assuming the cham to have ortgmally b een four
t im'es as strong as its a bsolu te requirement of safety ?

W ..T. S.

[We publish the above letter, aa it may perhaps induce

some of our readers t o send particulars of the results of
examinations of susp ension brid ge anchorages, and such
data a re worth putting on record. At the same time,
however we must say that it is quite impossible to give
'
. toth e quest10ns
.
definite rephes
w h'tc h " w . J . . proposes.
The rates at which corrosion would take place und~r the
various circumstances he describes depend upon so many
unknown conditions- such as the character of the iron or
stoE.>l used the nn.ture of the paint (if any) originally
applied, the chemical comp:>sition of the water ~nd soil in
contact with the anchorages, &c.-that no general ans wers
can be given.-Eo. E]

s"

in June of the same year, not as an experiment, but

as a permanent change.
We do not for a moment wish to detract from Mr.
Alla.n 's conceqsions to his workmen, when we point out
that it was some m onths later- we believe towards the
end of the year 1800- that he adopted the same system,
but with this difference, that whereas our employers made
the arrangement a. permanent one, and paid weekly wages
of the same amount for the forty -eight hours of labour as
they bad pre viously done for the fi fty four, some of those
who followed after adopted the system experimentally,
and made a corresponding reduction in the week ly wages
by agreement with th eir workmen, and we believe it was
upon this plan that Mr. Alll\n's experim~nt was started.
\Ve should like to refer you and your readers to a paper
read by Mr. R. A. Hadfield before the Sheffield Trades'
Council. Ou r employers furnished statistics to Mr. H adfield, and we should like t o specially refer to some of their
statements :
"They found no increase in cost of production, but, on
t he contrary, a decrease."
"There are many incidental savings by shorter hours. "
"More time being afforded t o the men and lads t o improve th emsel vr~s, they attend technical classes in the
evening. ''
' ' 1\Iessrs. J ohnson con sider that the workers secure a
good two hours extra for recreation and improvement. "
"We get out more work."
"The cost of production is not increased, and from our
experience of C0ntin ental workmen we do not think tht'y,
working longer hours, could hold their own with our m en
working ~horter ones."
As far a s we can sp eak, we can but confirm those
matte1 s u pon whi ch we are compet ent to speak, and those
of u s wh o work piece-work find we are able to earn just as
much in the shorter a~ in the longer period of work
referred t o. We ha \'e also been ~nab led t o establish an
Improvement Association, entirely due to the shorter
hours of work, and we n ow have opportunities of meeting
t ogether and discussing various t echnical and social subjects, from all of which we have deri ved great benefit.
In justi ce to ou r employers we only thought it right to
c01 rect the erroneous s tat ement~, wh ich, no dou ut, Mr.
K eith has quite inadvertently made, and which he, upon
inquiry, will no d oubt be the fi rst t o admit.
~ign ed on behalf of the employ e ~.
W. SntE, Fitting Department.
F . .JoHNSON, Storekeeper.
C. ')11TH, Turnery.
S. H . BoLLOUGH, Foundry.
T. EASTON, L abourer.
T. BRANDON, Smith.
II. CooK, Pattern Shop.
S. H. Johnson and Co. 's Engineering W orks,
Stratford, E., D ecember 7, 1893.

PATENT OFFICE LIBRARY.

To THE EDITOR oF E NGINEERING.
Sir,-Some little time back you were so good as t o
insert a letter of mine complaining of the delay in getting periodicals at this library.
'!' his is the 1 tth of t he month- that is to say,
accordin g to publishers' reckonin g, more than half the
month is over; yet at the Patent Office we fi nd the
monthly journals for D ecember have not yet been delivered.
I have not looked yet for any of the foreign journals,
because we know at least a fortnight is occupied by the
transit from Paris t o Southampton-buildings, and three
weeks or so from New York.
Again, when I wish to consult any of the papers for
the early parb of this year, I find they are "at the
binders ' "-been there 6. ve months and not finished.
I do not know who is responsible for this delay ; but
there is no reason why I should have t o pay twice over
for my b ooks. If booksellers can have the papers in good
time, surely such & place as the Patent Office ought to
have them.
Yours faithfully,
D ISG OSTED.
December 11, 1893.

METHOD OF TAKING OUT STRESSES.

739
Brace&.
Stress on A W = z. sec 0
AB= A W - P I. sec 0
B c = A B -P2 SEC f)
,"
CD= sB C - P 3 sec 8
"
&c.
Flanges.
S tre3s on A L = W A. cosine 8
BR= AL + cosine 0. AD
"
C~1 = B R +cosine 0 B C
"
S D = CM + cosine 0 D C
"
EN= S D + cosine 8 'D }1;
&c.
F rom the above it will be seen that to take out th e
stresses on each brace you have only t o multiply a constant number (sec 0) by the load on each brace, and take
it from the previous brace stress, and in the flange3 to
multiply a constant .number (eosin~ fJ ) by each brac~ stress
in order, and add It t o the prev10us flange stress. Of
course, a fter p1ssing the centre, the stresse~ on each brace
increasP, and decrease on the flanges . Thts formula can
be applied to evenly loaded as wel~ as partl y loaded
~irders, and is ?f great help when movmg loads are taken
mto consideratiOn .
I should be glad to know if anyone has ever used thia
formuh.
Yourd truly,
B unNRT .An.urs.
November 14, 1893.
( Whil~t we do not remember having seen exactlJ the
same method of determining the stresst.s in \ \ _arre_n
gi~ders as is gi v~n by our cor.r~pondent, we .questton 1f
it ts ne w. Certamly a very stmtlar m ethod w1l1 be found
described in Burr's "Roof and Bridge Trusses" (New
York : J oho \Viley and S ons), wbil~t it is also gi Vl n
in Rankine's " Applied Mechantcs. "-En. E. )

THE EFFICIEN CY OF A CERTAIN HEAT

ENGINE.
T o THE EvrTOR OF E~GINEERING.
Srn,-To say that it is possible to design a beat engine
whose ideal efficiency shall be jndependent of the temperature of the source, sounds paradoxical. N everthelts~,
I propose t o sho:w that to a cer~ai~ air eng:i ne pertain~
this singular attribute. The engme m quest1on doe~ n ot
perform a complete cycle in respect of tb~ W<?rking fluidwherein it resembles so far the non condensmg steam engine- and in the foregoing no mention has been made of
t he exhaust temperature. Yet even with these reEervations the st atement is sufficiently startling, and appears
novel ~nough to justify in some measure a detailed d iscussion. The idea. occurr~d in this way : the thermodyna.ru ics of steam, as compare~ with air engines, is
complicated by the fact that the mternal energy of saturated steam and water is on the one hand a function of
volume and temperature, whereas on the other the int ernal energy of air is practicall y a function of the t emperature alone. What would result if one merely ~ub
stituted air for water in the case of the non-cond ensing
steam engine ? The remainder of this communication id
an answer t o the question.
Premise, if you please, that the boiler is EO big that the
volumes of the feed pump a nd working cylinder are relatively very small : th en the boiler pressu re and temperature
for a given arrangement may be regarded as constant!.
L et th ese last quantities be denoted respectively by PL
and r 1 absolute ; and further, lE:t the feed be drawn from
the atmosphere at pressure and temperature Pu and r o
absolute. Then for the work done by the pumps per
pound mass delivered one finds
-y - 1
\VI = K p r 0

{ (

;~)

'Y

- 1 }

(1)

Where K p is the specific heat of air at constant pressure

in mechanical units, and r is th e ratio of that quantity to
the specific heat at constant volume. The wot k done by
the fluid on the piston of the working cylinder when the
exhaust pressure is p 0 is similarly
'Y-1
(2)

W = Kp r1. 1 - (
- I' } .

~~)

The work of the complete engine is, say, W; th en

To THE EDITOR m' ENGINEERING.
SrR,- On looking over some of the latest b ooks on W = W 2- \V1
bridge designing, I have not noticed one that gives what
-y- 1
'Y - 1
I
consider
the
shortest
method
of
taking
out
stresses
on
THE EIGHT-HOUltS DAY.
\Varren, lattice, and oth er girders. Th is formula. I de=Kp
)' - -ro( ;~ )
(3)
T1 ( ~ )
T o THE EmTOR OJ..' ENGINEF.IUNG.
0SrR,-Oa behalf of t~e whole of the.workn:en emplo~ed duced myself, and I do not know if it has ever been
in thes3 works we destre to commumcate wtth you wtth printed. It is shorter and simpler than any I can fi nd
Thll corresponding amount of heat communicated Ly
reference to a ~tatemen t in the "Industrial Notes" in a
the boiler is, 1n mechanical units,
pJ
pS
P'
P'
P"
recent issue concernin g a con tribution t? th~ "~ist?ry of

'Y-1l
'
Lab:>ur ''by Mr. James Keith .. We thmk, 1f th1s 1~ the
t
'
'

'
,
R
:
s
way in which h istory is made, 1t ~1ust be very unre~ table,
T
u
H = Kp .,.1 - r o ( ~l ) 'Y j
V
(4)
and we feP;l certain that Mr. K e1th ha~ not pub htmself
10
Hence the efficiency is
in c >rrect possession of the facts wh1ch he now puts
fo ward.
.
Mr. Keitb state~. in reference t o the etght- ho~r~ ~ystem,

(5)
that Mr. \Villia.m Allan, M.P., wa,s the first to tmtlate the
p
Q I
0

;
syst em in engineering work~. . "~essrs: J ohnston, of
t
t
y
i
It appeal's, therefore, that the ideal efficiency of such
London followed "&c. Thts 1s enttrely mcorrect. Our
p'
P''
P'
.1914
an. en gme is indepEndent of th ~ temperature of the
employ~rs, Messr~. S. H . J ohoson and. C.o. (S. H. J oh~son
and C. C. Hutchinson ), not only or1 gmated t~e etght- given, and perhaps might save some of your readers un- b01ler or heater. M oreover, the engme, though not working
a closed cycl_e, becomes, according to (5), absolutely perjct
hours movement in the engi neering trade, but first com- necessary trouble. The formula is as follows :
when the b01ler pressure is incrE>ased without limi t. ~till
menced the division of the homs of labour that have been
B ow's notation is used, each line being represent ed by further one obser ves that the efficien cy nmains constant
adonted by the other firms m entioned, who h ave follc,wed th e respective lett~rs each side of it.
for nxed values of p 1 and r 0 , irrespective of the amount
..ubetr
. ex an p ,.e.
.
h
of work done, and preserves that value in th e extreme
0 =angle made by a brace with a vertical line.
'!'oey anu ounced their int ention of adoptmg th e etg tcase where the work done is zero. Zero work correY and Z= reaction at abutments.
hours sy~tem to us about April, 1890, and after c~>nsulta
sponds to an arra.ngeruent whereby the workin~ cylinder
A B, B C, &c. =stress on A B. stress on BC, &::.
tion with us with respect t o the hour of startmg and
p 1, P 2, p :;, &c. =distributed weights on girder.
simply performs the operations of the pump lDvenely.
finishing work, meal times, &c., inaugurated the scheme

ri+r

)' -

740

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

Since, however, the boiler t emperature cannot be less contend that it remains for th ose who d eny this t o spethan that of the pump d eliver y,
cify what th ey consid er m eet s the case.
Again, in the light of the Victoria's midship structure,
'Y - 1
" N. A . " might, perhap3, be good enough to show t ha t
injury in this r egion would be at leas b equally disastrous
(
'Y
>
as at t he ends.
H en ce
Had ' N. A. " r ead my previous letter car efully, it
would h ave been unnecessary to direct m e t o obser ve
E <1that, in th e event of in j ury, the loss of buoyancy not only
affected the trim, but at the same t ime reduced the staand the second law is satisfied.
I shall now sh ow that for fi xed t emperatures the engine bility. This had b een expressed already in somewhat
can b~ designe~ first for maximum work p er pound mass different language, and was m entioned because I have,
o f flu1d taken m a~d exhausted, or, seoondly, for max i- for some ti me, fear ed this has no t been dnly a ppreciated
mum power per umt bulk o f eng ine. I t is worth remark in fixing the load -line of merchant steamers-more parthat these things meohanical form more or less close ticularly so, si nce p apers have beGn read on this subject
leaving t he stability queRtion untouched, taking account
analogies t o certain things electrical.
of the effect on trim, and ratio of extrem e draught t o
. If the ratio of the culJic s pace swept by t he working only
p1ston to that swept by the pump piston in the sam e t ime depth of vessel.
Reser ve buoyancy can only be of value when coupled
be denoted by a, then
with initial stability, a nd even then d epends on its disposition. It surely is needless t o say that its virtues are
only apparent so long as the ship remains unda)maged,
(6)

'To
and that principally to increase the range of s tability,
due t o the freeboard it g i ve~. When, however, as in the
Eliminating by (G) from (3) the rtl.tio p 1/p 0, one finds
case of the Victoria, the whole side was ruptured, this
reser ve buoyancy possessed no value whatever in avertW
KP { T 1 + 'T0 -a'T 0 -~ }
(7)
ing the disaster. 'l'he loss of the 110-t on buoyancy above
the p rotective deck t o the original water line, being, in
'\Vith fi xed limits of t emperature the work W done by fact, the only c.tfective buoyancy the vessel had und er the
the engine p or p ound mass of air deliver ed will be maxi- circumstances, rend ered the upper structure useless for
mum when
pu r poses o f increased range of stability and completely
des troyed its influen ce.
a = '\1-'T-;
(8)

This suggests the idea that, if this fixi ng of the mer'To

chant load-line has not r esul ted in rendering the vessel so
In the3e ci rcum3hnoes the preceding quantitie3 becom e limited unsinkable, then its only effect is to ha ndicap
the British ship in competing with foreigners who load
1
'V = K p ( ~;;_- ~'T~)'

(9)
at pleasure, and probably as safely.
I
H o wever, "N. A. "says that when th e Victoria bad
(tO)
H = Kp ('Tl- "'T1 T 0 )

11
1 n ft. metacentric height she was unstable.
Yet the
and
Minute declares this heig ht would have p ermitted the
. (11)
E = 1 - J'TO
vessel to incline to 30 d eg., and still re:tained a righ ting

'Tl
moment of 6000 foot-tons. This gi ves a leverage of about
When the pump and working cylind er pist ons make 7 in., equal to that of a n ordinary cargo s t eamer loaded
str oke for stroke, the combined Yolume of pump and homogeneously t o Ll oyd's load -line at her maximum
angle of s tability. The reconciliation of these two statecylinder will be per pound mass of air dealt with
ments, whi ch contai n wholesome morals, does not come
Vll (1 + a) .
within the limits of t his letter.
The assert ion that the Victoria would not have foundered
where vo is the volume of 1lb. o f air at atmospheric pres
sure. 'l'he work done per unit of combined volume per was basE:d upon the actual cond ition of m erchant vessels
which run continuously with an initial stability no
double stroke will be
g reater -and very often less-when intact than th a t
specified for the seriously-wounded battleship. The
_ KP
{'Tl +'TO - Ct, 'TO- 'Tl f)
vo (1 + a)
a
range of stability in both instances being equal when undamaged, tells enormously in favour of the war- vessel in
And this expr ession is maximum when
the event of collision.
That the exist ence of reserve buoyancy which" N. A."
a = 7 1 + J2 7 1 ( 7 , +'To)
(12)

fancies had escaped me is appreciat ed, will appear if he

'T1 + 2 'To
will refer t o my letter under the heading of the " L oss of
The corresponding efficiency is
the V ictoria " in your last issue.
The method s suggested there, to confine the effects of
E = 1 _ To. Tt + A) 2 7"1 (7"1 + 'T,,)
the injury, in d ealing with an ideal battleship, realise
(13)
71
'TJ + 2 'T o
somewhat his own views. excepting in so far as the adIf, however, one seeks merely to m ake the work per ditional strengthening of the shell to r esist ram attack.
When he considers the force of the blow at G k nots
unit bulk of the working cylinder a maximum, then
only, estimated to equal the muzzle velocity of a projec2 T1
tile issuing from a 12in. gun capable of perforating
. (14)
a=
;

22! in. of wrought-iron armour, let alone a higher force

'Tl + 'T 0
a.nd
of impact d ue to increased speed and torpedo explosions, I fancy an y arrangement of structure, within
E = 'TJ -'To.

(15)

r easonable limits, will be inadequate to r esist this kind

'TI + 'T o
of attack; a nd so long as the longitudinal s trength of
Th e engine her e discussed for the sake of the pecu- the vessel is maintained, no extra provision seems necesliarities and analogies already mentioned is identical with sary in this relati on. Retaining the buoyancy already
that proposed by Joule in 1851: Rankine gave an inte- in the vessel can, no doubt, lJe obtained in the manner
resting in vestigation in "The Steam Engine," 3ec. 276.
pointed out-viz. , the fitting of cofferdams, minutely subYours faithfully,
divided below and above protective deck, filled with celluA. c. ELLIOTT.
lose. TbiR arrangement will g reatly lessen the possibility
U ni versity College, Cardiff, November 20, 1893.
of foundering.
The last paragraph of H N. A .'s" letter is not quite
clear to m e. I am not ad vacating any vessel. I have
THE STABILITY OF ARMOURCLADS.
been simply endeavouring to d efend a ship which has
been very much adversely cri t icised in this and other
To THE EDITOR OF ENGINEERING.
SIR,-In the absence of any important m od ern naval countries, on what I conscientiously believe t o be insufconflict, and the behaviour of the various types of w:l.r- ficient grounds. This has somewhat pained me, and
vAssels engaged therein. an armourclad necessarily be- s upplies the only r eason for my appearing so prominently
comes a compromise. If perfection had been r eached, in tbe matter. 'Vhile thanking you for permitting me to
then I admit t hat "N. A.'s " contention would be true; occupy so much of your valuable space, may I also exbut I submit that it can only ha when r eliable data are press t he hope tha t, wh en the promised st a temen t of Sir
available, or, in other words, when all the condition s su r- E . .J. Reed appears, those more competen t inside the
r ound ing actual warfare are k nown and duly valued, Admiralty may then, if neceAsary, com e forward?
Yours, &o.,
both separately and collectively, that an y vessel will cease
J. J. O'NEILL.
t o be a eom prom is e.
S underland, Dec. 11, 1893.
That time is very r emote. Again, it must not be forgotten th at, in the event of war, success must come to
that vessel which controls the manre uvre, let the r ela tive
H.M.S. "BLAKE" AND U.S.S.
value of the opponents be what it may. This introduces
"COLUMBI A."
the hum an factor, probably the most important of all.
To THE EDITOR OF ENGINEERING.
Regarding the unsinkability of ships, it was stated in
Sm,-Tb e following short T able of com parison between
a previou~ letter of mine that this d epends on th~ extent
of the injury inflicted. If this could be determmed, no H .M .S. Blake and the U.S.S. Columbia. may help your
d ifficulty will be experienced in desi gning vessels so as to readers t o a conclusion as to which of the vessels is likely
to have the h ighest sp eed :
secure the desirable quality of unsinkability.
Unfortun ately, a ss umptions have to be made in dealing
Displacement Total Heat- B 01'le
with this matter. In the comparison of the battleship
L ength.
at L oad
ing Surface p
r
and the liner, it was shown that th~ former. was more
Draught.
in Boilers. ressure.
favourably si t uated, on the a ssumptwn constdered ~uf
ft.
t ons
sq. ft.
lb.
ficient to entrust the safety of, on an average, 1000 hve3 Blake
...
375
~JOOO
27,836
150
per voyage in crossing, at all seasons of the year, the Columbia .. . 412
7350
49,248
160
stormy Atlantic.
.
.
..
The boilers of the Blake are double-ended, with a comThe question naturally a r1ses, What 1s ample stab1hty ?
The natal authorities declare that in the Victoria this mon combustion chamber for the eight furnaces of each
was considered sufficient, a nd in the absence of any b oiler, a type which has not been found very suitable for
vessel of any type possessing as great initial stability, I forced draught~ where~s the Columbia has four wet-back

~): )

~:-

[DEc. I 5, I 893.
combus t ion chambers in each eight-furn ace boiler, one
chamber being common t o two furnaces from the same
end, a similar desig n to the boilers of H .M.S. Edgar,
whi ch wer e hi ghly successful on trial.
Mr. Cramp did not choose triple screws for the Columbia , and h is recorded opinion that no more than
12,000 indicated horse-power can be efficiently t ransmitted through one scr ew is ther efore not t o the point.
Even if this view bad been shared by the act ual de ~
s igners, this could have h a d nothing to do with their
d ecision in this case, as with twin screws the maximnm
indicated horse-power expee:tPd through each screw would
have been less than 12,000. The following quotation from
the r eport of the Chief of the Bureau o f Steam Engineering at Washington for the year 1890 will show the
reasons that influenced the actual r esponsible designers of
the machinery :

"7350-Ton P rotected Oruiser. [" Columuia."]

" This ship is intended to maintain a sea speed of 21
knots, and, to attain this, it has been found necessary to
provid e her with m otive machinery capable of developing
from 20,000 to 21,000 indicated horse-power.
"Knowing that i t was extremely improbable that
shafting of the great size necessary to transmit this
enormous power t o twin screws could be obtained in this
country, either in r easonable tim e or with an y guarantee
as to its streng th, the Bureau decid ed to depart from the
usual p r actice, and to divide the power into t hree parts
instead of two, each being developed by a separate engi11e
driving its own screw."
After r efArrin g to the greater safety to t he ship, due
to m ore subdi vision, and to arrangements for disconnecting each propeller shaft by means of clutches, the repor1l
goes on:
"A s till furth er ad vanta ge is that in moderate cruising, say, with one-third power, a few boiler.3 can be
used with the high steam pressure for which they are
intended, and one engin e driven at the full power for
which d esign ed . By this means t he power will be obtained economically ins tead of wastefully, as is the case
when a large engine is run at a low p ower. . . .
" Ther e is but little information a~ band in r egard to
p ropulsion by three scr ews. . . . It is not supposed
by the Bureau tb d.t three scr ews will prove a more efficient
mod e .of propulsion than t wo. On th e contrary, it believes that, except for the highest power, they will prove
slightly less efficient, but its r easons for adopting them
have already been gi ven."
Of course, fighting qualities have bad to be sa crificed
in the Columbia for the sake of speed, and t o what extent this is wise is a matter of opinion, and depends
largely on the duties of the vessel. For instance, the
U. S. cr uiser would be better advised to use her superior
speed to get away from the Blake rather than t o get at
her, supposing the t wo to be enemies ; but, on th e other
hand, the A merican ship would be more than a match as
a fighter for any m erchant vessel. If it were considered
d esirable to have such a ship in our Navy, it is questionable if the E ngineering Department a t the A dmiralty
would have sufficient power and freAdom t o p roduce it.
Your comparison of t he cost of the Blake class and
the Columbia shows bow much more expensive shipbuilding is in the States than here.
Yours, &c.,
NEMO.
December 9, 1893.

THE DESIGN OF AIR PUMPS .

T o THE EDITOR OF ENGINEERING.
Sm,-Th e illustrations and description of the various
~etails of t.he 3000 hor.se-power qu~druple engine in your
1ssue for th1s and prev10us weeks glVe scope for discussion
on many points, which differ much f rom what is considered to be good practice in this CJountry.
But the most marked feature of the whole combinatien
and as to which there ought t o be no d ifference of opinio~
of what is the best, is the air pump. If constructed as
shown on page 695, i~ wil~ certainly not be able to produce
a good vacuum, for 1t w11l be n oted that t he discharge
valves are about 8 _in . ~elow. the .t op of _the pum p-body ;
a large volnme of a1r will be 1mpr1son ed m this s pace and
which will prevent the p ump (on its down s troke) 'from
formin~ a hi gh vacuum, and that in the condenser must
be correspond ingly bad.
I saw it stated s?me time since in ~ contempor ary that
a ~ac~um of. 26~ 1?- bad been obt.amed, but this seems
qutte rmposs1ble w1th such an unsuitable cons truction.
. I t is strange, but s till it is a fact, that badly d esigned
a1r pumps are not unfreq uently met with, and the le a 3 incurred from th eir use is often overlooked.
Yours truly,
ScnoNnErDER.
D ecem her 12, 18!J3.

'N.

BELGIAN METALLtiRGICAL INDUSTRY. - The Angleur

S teel Works Company has announced a d ividend of 5 per
cent. for 1802:3. The quantity of st eel ingots made by
the company 1n 18923 was 52,600.tons, as compared with
50,984 t ons m 1891-2. The quan t1ty of finished iron a nd
steel made. by the ?Ompany last year was 59,839 tons.
The quan t1ty of mmerals worked by the company in
1892-3 was 18 1,3~4 tons. T he quantity of pig produced
by the compan y m 1892-3 was 59,404tons. The quantity
o f coke and coking Goal consumed by the company last
year was 363,665 t ons; the amount paid away in wages
:vas 106,G31l. The rough profit realised by the company
m 1892-3 was 55,443l. Valuable discoveries of minerals
have been made by the company dur ing the last few
months; these dit.coveries promise to be a source of con
sidE>rable future p rofit.

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

THE

BRUNSVIGA

CALCULATING
I

) I
I

11 ....

Irt l . -

1-i.g.:l

MACHINE.

Fig: B.

-~
1
l':J I
I

741

~ --~ I
1

,r--'
It. -

-... . .

.Fig.4:

.t., ..

I
I
~-

il,.-.,jl
,; - I

r .

.-:-.~ ,,...,...,.====='"':-=-:d - - -

Ir. 1 1'

'

1I I
J

'

f I

,~,

', __
.. .., ., ,
- " I I
' ___ .,., '
\

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J---_.j

'

ing. , In su btradion one of these teeth acts, and in

addition the other. These teeth permanently project
from the edge of the disc carrying them, but are held
by a light spring out of line with the main teeth, and so
pass to one side of the teeth operating the number
wheels.
hen, however, a. number wheel is at 9, a cam
connected with it comes into such a position that, on
any further rotation of the wheel, a. stop is caused to
project in such a way that it gets in behind the
carrying tooth in th e next disc, pressing it into line
w~th the main te~t~, so that it is brought into gear
w1th the teeth dr1vmg the next number wheel, which
it accordingly turns through one division and the
"carrying, is effected. Any number record~d on the
num?er wheels below ea~ be quickly cancelled by
turnmg round the thumb-p1eces shown at either end of
the bar carrying the number wheels. The thumb-piece
on the right (}' ig. 1) is used to cancel any numbers
appearing at the large openings, whilst that on the
left performs the same function for those appearing at
the small openings. To this end the shaft on which
th~ number wheels ar~ mounted is capable of a slight
ax1al movement, but lB normally kept from so moving
by a spring. ~t h_as projecting fr?m it a. number of
pms, one of wh1ch lB shown a.t cl, F1g. 3. These pins,
when the shaft is in the working position, do not prevent the rotation of the number wheels, which are cut
a. way so as to afford a free space for these pins. When,
however, the shaft is moved outwards a small distance,
the pins come into contact with stops on the number
wheels, and carry these latter round with them.
These stops are so placed that when the shaft has
finished
its rotation each wheel shows zero at the

opemngs.

'V

Fiy. 1.
THE com pact little arithmometer which we illustrate on this page is now being introduced into this
country by :Mr. Charles Bradbury, of 249, High
Holborn, London, W . C. It is the invention of ~fr.
'Villgodt Odhner, of 't. Petersburg, and is known as
the Brunsviga calculator, being manufactur ed by
Messrs. Grim me, N atalis, and Co., of Brunswick,
Germany. It performs mechanically the first four
rul es of arithmetic, viz., addition, subtraction,
multiplication, and di vision, but, like all other
machines of the class, is best adapted for the two
latter. It will give products not exceeding thirteen figures, or dividends not exceeding eight figures,
in much less time than it is possible to obtain them
by ordinary calculation. Its general appearance is
well shown in Fig. 1, whilst the details of its construet ion will be easily understood from Figs. 2, 3, and 4.
Like all machines of its class, its operations are based
on mechanical addition. Thus, to multiply by six, the
quantity in question is added six times to itself. The
handle shown to the right of the machine turns a small
spurwheel which gears with a second, keyed on the
main shaft of the machine, on which are also k eyed a
number of discs marked a in Figs. 2 and 4. Of these
discs there are nine, corresponding to the nine slots
shown in the upper pa rt of the frame of t he machine
(F ig. 1). Throug h these slots project levers, one to each
of the nine discs already mentioned. The handle being
at rest in its normal position, if a lever is moved opposite any one of the numbers at the side of its slot, a
corresponding number of teeth are caused to project
from the previously smooth edge of the disc to which
it is attached. If now the handle is turned round
through a complete revolution, this disc revolves with
it, and the projecting teeth move one of the number
wheels below into such a position that a figure corresponding to the number set by the lever appears at one
of the openings shown below. T o mult iply by 2, the
handle is turned round twice; by 3, three times, and
so on, the number of revolutions of the handle made,
being registered at the small openings shown on the left
of the machine, To multiply by27, the handle is turned

round seven times, thus multiplying by 7, and then

the sliding block 'carrying th e number wheels is moved
a space to the right, as indicated by the dotted lines
to the right of Fig. 2, and the handle turned round
twice. The operation is, in fact, identical with the
process in ordinary arithmetic. The figures 27 will
now appear in the number spaces to the left of the
sliding block. In performing division the operation
is the inverse of this, and the handle is turned round
in the opposite direction, thus subtracting the numhers set. by the levers instead of adding it. When
setting the levers the handle must always be in its
proper position. To insure this, a stop is attached to
the s ide of the machine, and the handle is fitted
with a spring latch as shown in Fig. 3, and is
thus held securely in its correct position, whilst any
numbers desired are being set by the levers. As will
be seen, the important part of the mechanism is the
discs carrying the movable teeth. The construetion of these is shown in Fig. 4, where a is the disc,
whilst b denotes the lever which is set opposite the
desired number on the frame. This lever is, as will be
seen, simply a. projection upon a slotted plate, having
a cam groove c in it. In this groove lie pins, secured to
the movable t eeth, which run in slots, in the main disc.
When the slotted disc is moved relatively to the main
disc, a greater or smaller number of the teeth pins
will come into the outer portion of the slotted groove,
and a corresponding number of teeth will project
from the main disc. A triangular stop fitting into
angu lar notches on the movable disc, insures that
this disc s tops always in such a position with respect
to the main disc, that the movable teeth are
always in or out, and that no one projects half-way
only. Were it not for the necessity of" carrying" from
one number wheel to another, no further device would
be necessary, but when one number wheel is at 9, any
further addition must, of course, invohre the carrying
over of one unit to the next wheel. To this end each
main disc, in addition to its nine movable teeth, carries
two other teeth, one at either end of the row of the nine
principal t eeth , which t eeth are used for the "carry-

INDUSTRIAL NOTES.
THE coal di.spu te in Scotland is at an end, the
men having returned to work on the masters' terms.
The effect of the strike of the Scotch miners h<i.s
been to keep up prices, and even to raise them
above the level at which they stood within a week of
the conference at the Foreign Office. In addition to
the further hardships for the poor at this season of the
yenr, the state of trade is kept in dangerous suspense,
and numerous works have either been stopped or
partially laid under the obligation of short time. The
action of the Scotch miners was different to that of
the English miners in this respect: the former s truck
for I s. per day ad vance, whereas the latter struck for
t he old rates at which they had been paid.
The state of trade generally in the engineering
branches is anything but encouraging.
In the
Amalgamated Society of Engineers, with 73,746 members, there n.re no fewer than 11,035 on the funds,
under the heads of donation, 6567 ; sick, 2112; and
superannuation, 2556. To meet the cost of 46571. 3s.
requires an expenditure of nearly 1s. 8d. per member
per week. It appears that there is an apparent
decrease in the number of unemployed to the extent
of 256, but this is due to the fact that the report of
the American branches is late, so that, reckoning
those, the total out of work would be about 7000, or
160 more on donation than last month. The proportion out of work reaches 9 per cent. for this benefit
tLlone. The worst feature in the case is that there are
no signs of revival ; indeed, the anticipations are that
things will be worse as the winter advances. The
members are urged to use every effort to find situations
for those out of work, and to keep their contributions
and levies well paid up, so as to be able to meet the
pressure and strain like brave men, and thus help to
tide over the difficulty. Reference is made to the
effort to induce the Government to introduce and
carry into effect the system of 48 hours per week in
the Government e3tablishments. The deputation to

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

742
the Secretary of State for War elicited the fact that
the Government was favourable to the scheme, but it
cannot yet be said that it is adopted. The Portsmouth School Board have passed a resolution to the
effect that any contractor or sub-contractor shall pay
the standard rate of wages in each class or branch,
and also recognise the normal hours of labour and
the general conditions in the district. Trade is bad
in all the chief branches of engineering at home and
in our colonies, and also in the United States of
America. It cannot be said that it is much, if at all,
better on the continent of Europe.
The report of the Ironfounders is scarcely more
encouraging than that of the Engineers. Out of
15,0i6 members, 3097 were on the funds, as against
3085 last month. Of the total, 1726 were on donation,
and 198 on the trade funds, beside~ 58 on dispute. Of
the remainder 451 were on the sick list, and 664 in
receipt of superannuation allowance. The total cost
of relief under these beads was neally 1002l., while
the balance in band was 36,69ll., as against 46,437Z.
last year at the same date. The report states that
trade does not manifest any signs of improvement,
and that the members on donation do not by any
means indicate the real state of trade, because of the
large numbers on short time that do not come on the
funds. It is expected that the lowest level is about
reached, but there are no signs of revival in the
immediate future, certainly not for several weeks to
come, in the worst of the winter season. An examination of details indicates that the actual change in the
situation is a little better, due, perhaps, to the close
of the miners' dispute. In order to meet the pressing
emergency of bad trade, the Ironfounders' Union has
resolved, by a. majority of 5181, to grant 5s. per week
to members out of work whose donation benefit has
ceased by the lapse of time provided for in the rules.
This is a most salutary and wise provision. It is also
suggested that, instead of higher contributions in bad
times like the present, the rates shall be raised, so that
the good times may the better proYide for the bad.
The report of the Ironmoulders of Scotland is a little
more reassuring, for t he total number of members in
work exceeds the number last year at the same date
by 250 members, though the actaal number in work is
slightly under that of last month. The total number
working was 4142, while 628 were in receipt of idle
benefit, and 371 were out of work but not on benefit,
and 254 were on superannuation allowance. The
a ctual income and expenditure would balance very
nearly, except for two extra items in the latter of lOOt.
to the miners, and lOOt. as accident benefit, gi\en t o a
workman at Montrose.
The report of the Associated Black smiths shows only
a trifling increase in the number of unemployed, the
tota l being 307, while those on the sick list and in
r eceipt of superannua.tio~ were only 140. The state .of
trade in the cotch d1stncts has been very much disorganised. by labour disputes in the co~l .trad~ a.nd in
the shippmg trades, the latter by the JOmers ~~spute
on the Clyde. The report urges a more concihatory
spirit at the present time, and it adds, "Labour has its
duties, and capital its resp.ons~bilit.ies." The claims for
the unemployed in the Smiths SoCiety have been la~ge
during the present year, the total for all benefits bemg
nearly 4802l.

---

The Amalgamated Society of Carpenters and J oiners

has 41 665 members, of whom only 1525 were unem ployed: 1160 on the sick list, and4~6 on superannuation
allowance. \V ere it not for the d1spute on the Clyde,
the society would be almost wholly free from labour
disputes. The society is helping to induce the Government to adopt the eighthours day in all their workshops.

---

time past, w bile machinists generally are very quiet.

It is only on special work that there is any activity.
Taking the whole of the Lancashire centres, the state
of trade in the engineering branches is reported to be
bad in 68 places, in some districts very bad, and only
in 18 is it said to be moderate. This is the gist of the
returns by trade union secretaries. Fortunately there
are no serious labour disputes to complicate the situation, and possibly the new year will witness some
revival.
In the Sheffield and Rotberham district trade is
still very depressed. In the heavier branches little
relief has come with the end of the coal dispute. The
spurt in the marine departments was checked by the
same dispu tc, and has not yet recovered. The demand
for railway material has been slack; the compailies
generally appear to be withholding orders for the
present. The rolling-mill proprietors have determined
to revert to the discounts prevailing before the coal
dispute. The steel and file trades are very dull, and
the cutlery trades are by no means busy. The usual
seasonal spurt in silver electro-plate and best cutlery
seems to have fallen off, and generally the staple
trades are very quiet. The engineering branches in
the entire district are described as bad, without a
single exception. The only favourable aspect is the
absence of labour disputes in the district.
In the South V\' ales districts the steel trade at
several of the works has been brisk, the output of
rails having considerably increased, but the prices
have not materially advanced. Hematites advanced
somewhat, but generally trade is quiet in most
branches. The pig iron market stiffened through the
stoppage in Scotland, but otherwise there was little
change in the situation, either in iron or steel.
In the Birmingham district a better tone continues
to prevail, but the business put through has not as yet
greatly increased, except in common bars and sheets.
In the \Volverhampton district things are better, and
the feeling is more hopeful. Ironmasters, as a rule,
are well supplied with orders to carry them over this
year, but the margin of profit is said to be small. The
demand for iron is equal to the total output, so that
stocks do not increase.
The House of Lords have practically destroyed the
Employers' Liability Act for this session, by the decisions arrived at in Committee on Friday night last.
The first three clauses having been agreed to, the Earl
of Dudley moved to amend Clause4, by which contracting out of the Act is prohibited, by the insertion of a
provision that the clause shall not apply to any agreement for assurance against injury which had been
made before the passing of the Act, and which should
be afterwards approved of by a ballot of the men ; nor
to any agreement, certified by the Board of Trade,
which provides reasonable compensation in all cases
of injury, and, in the compensation so paid, the employer is a. contributor. Perhaps no amendment could
be drawn in which there is more apparent fairness,
and the noble earl, in moving the clause, did so in
a speech in which there was no bitterness, and
none of the wildness of exaggeration which speak ers
elsewhere have indulged in. Earl Dudley is a very
large colliery proprietor, perhaps the largest single
owner in the kingdom. He is also a large contributor
to insurance funds. And he marshalled his facts very
clearly, and put the case very temperately to the
House, the listeners being in sympathy with the
object of the amendment. After considerable debate,
the amendment was carried by 148 to 28. Afterwards
the Earl of Denbigh moved that instead of a bare
majority it should be a majority of two-thirds ; this
also was carried. The clause relating to seamen was
considerably modified by an amendment by L ord Cros--.
The proposal of Lord Londonderry was to reduce th.e
limit of 300l. to 100l. before the county court, but th1s
was rejected. The other clauses of the Bill were
agreed to, and the Bill as amended was reported to
the House. It is understood in the House of Commons
that the Lords' amendments will Le resisted and
disagreed with, as the principle introd uced by Earl
Dudley was the one against which the House of
Commons fought strenuously and successfully after
several long debates.

The Cotton Spinners' report shows that out of 16,203

members only 242 have been on the funds, and 14 halftimers. The total is under 4 per cent. of the members.
There have been 32 cases of dispute, mostly of a technical character. These are generally mutually dealt
with by the officers of the association and the chiefs
or managers of the fir~s.. 0~ the whole, trad~ has
The very important paper by Mr. Owen Fleming,
been fairly good, but 1t 1s said .t hat the . margm. of
profits is small in most cases. Sull, trade 1s healthier read at the rooms of the Royal Society of British
Architects, deserves more than a mere passing notice.
than it was.
It is not the first time that the education of the
The condition of the engineering tr~d~s ~ Lanca- workmen has been discussed in those rooms, but the
shire manifests but little change, nor 1s 1t hkely that discussion of Friday night last was of a broader
there will be any material change during the next few character than formerly. The author of the paper
weeks. Here and there establishments are fairly busy was clearly of opinion that the standard of skill and
on special work, but generally the several branches of excellence in work attained by the majority of skilled
trade are indifferently off for orders, and there se~ms artisans in the building trades was fa.r below what it
to be no great weight o~ work. in prosi_>e~t. Mac~lDe ought to be. He asserted that on all sides there was
tool makers are kept fa1rly gomg, but 1t 1s except10nal evidence of want of knowledge and of care. He even
where they have any weight of work ahead. H eavy went so far as to assert that only in the plumbing
branch
was
the.l'e
any
real
progress
during
the
last
ten
engine builders are moderate~y well off.for orders, and
locomotive builders have a farr amount m hand, but the years. The writer referred to the fact that the
latter ha\'e no prospective orders to any large extent. system of apprenticeships was dead or dying in the
Boilermakers are quieter than they have been for some building trades. This has been deplored over and

[DEC. I 5, I 893.
over again in those branches of industry, but the
employers, not the men, are respone.ible for that state
of things. He then urged that the architects and the
workmen's associations should co-operate in order to
insure technical training, to make up in some degree
for the abolition of apprenticeships. This also had
years ago been urged at the Association of British
Architects. The difficulty has been to secure cooperation.
The suggestion has also been made to
endeavour to revive the systtm of apprenticeships,
but for a shorter term, say from three to five years,
instead of seven years, as formerly. The latter
cannot be revived in the building trades, but a
shorter term might be. 1'here is a demand for higher
skill. The old days of jerry building are passing
away. The evils of that rage for cheap houses are
being felt by the decay of the buildings of some
thirty or forty years ago. In all trades a higher
degree of skill and excellence will be conducive to
better employment and more regular work. Employer and employed may well co-operate to bring
about a change in this respect. Those who require
work to be done, especially in repairing and re-decorating, hesitate to undergo all the inconvenience with
the possibility staring them in the face of slo\enly
work, of structural injury, and of some disarrangement in existing conditions, which may inYolve
further expense. Architects are often to blame for
passing bad workmanship.

--

The report of the Committee appointed to inquire

into the circumstances connected with the disturbances
at Featherstone on September 7, 1893, has been printed
and circulat ed. The report does not appear to give
complete satisfaction to all members of the House of
Commons, but generally it is regarded as a fair report.
It is asserted that a fter the first volley the mob
shouted, "It is only blank," meaning blank cartridge,
and at once resumed the stone-throwing which had
been going on. After a review of all the facts, the
Committee exonerate the officers and soldiers from
blame. But the report also, to some extent, exonerates
the Ackton Hall miners from blame, for it states that
the attack on the colliery was conducted by persons
from a distance, that it was premeditated, and that
the mob was violent and dangerous. Further, the
troops were in danger of being outflanked and surrounded, and that they had no alternative but to fire.
But the ead end of it all was that the innocent were
shot dead, while the ringleaders of the riot mostly
escaped. The Committee suggest that the rifles to be
used in such caEes should not be so deadly in their
effects, and that the law with respect to rioting shall be
codified. In the opinion of the Committee it appears
that if a sufficient number of police had been on the
spot, the riot might have been prevented, and the destruction of property averted and the loss of life
avoided. After all, the one lesson of the sad affair is
that disorder, rioting, and injury to persons and property will not help labour, but intensify the bitterness
of labour struggles.
The Miners, National Federation haYe lost no time
in selecting and electing their representati,res for the
Miners' Conciliation Board. The same men who were
delegated to represent the miners at the Foreign Office
have been chosen for the permanent board. It is to be
hoped that the work of iihe board will be of such a
character as to prevent any further great disturbance
in the coal trade such as that which extended for over
four months, and from the effects of which trade and
industry arc still suffering in all parts of the country.
The fact of the constitution of such a board is re
assurmg.
The coalowners had a meeting last week in reference
to the same matter, but it does not appear that they
settle<.l upon the whole list of their representatives.
There may be a greater difficulty in their case, as the
representatives will have to sacrifi ce a good deal of
time, and they are not paid delegates, as those of the
Miners' Federation are. But there is not likely to be
any hitch in the matter of selection, so far as reports
go at present.
BRITISH COLONIES AT THE WORLD'S
COLUMBIAN EXPOSITION.*
By J AMES D REDGE, Member of the British Royal
Commission.
( Omtinued from page 712.)
Iron.-Iron ores formed an important part of the New
South Wales display; and much interest attached to th-m,
inasmuch as they represented an important source of as yet
undeveloped wealth. About twenty-fi ve years ago iron
smelting operations were begun, and were carried on for a.
short period on a. limited scale in two localities; but they
were not financially successful, owing to labour troubles,
a,nd the extremely low price of imported pig iron brou~hb
out as ballast. It is confidentl y anticipated, however,
that at no distant date the iron smelting industry will be
established in one or more centres in the colony. The
most available deposita are close to railway carriage and

* Read in abstract before the Imperial Institute.

DEC.

Is, I 893]

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

A n interesting display was made of alumstone and alum

in proximity to both coal and limest one. The ores are
chiefly brown hematites and magnetites. Lar~e bulk crystals from a recently discovered deJ>osit in the Glousamples of these ores from all the principal depos1ts were cester district. The Australian A lum Company, which
exhibited, as well as a. genera-l collection of show-case made the exhibit, has commenced operations at Bullaspecimens from all the known iron-bearing localities. delah, wh ere the alumstone occurs as a massive outcrop
Included amongst the bulk saruples was an exhibit of resembling limestone. It is the intention of the company
magnetite from Port Stephens near the great coal port of to sh ip the stone as ballast to England, and thus to treat
Newcastle. This ore is from the only extensive bedded it where sulphuric acid is obtained ch~aply, for though
deposit as yet discovered in New South Wales, and is very good results can be obtained locally by ordina ry
close to water carriage a nd limestone. The presence of roasting, dissol ving, and evaporating, yet infinitely
a. high percentage of titanic acid unfortunately renders superior results can be obtained by the addition of sulthis ore ab the present time practically unworkable in its phuric acid.
present condition, owing to the difficul ty of fusion and
The western portion of the New South 'N ales space was
the destructive action of the titanic acid upon the furnace davoted t o non-metallic minerals, building stones, and
lining; but no doubt this difficulty will be overcome in fossils. The entrance was in the form of an arcbw:.t.y, con the future, in view of the faob that titaniferous iron structed of polished marble slabs and tiles. These marbles
possesses special qualities which render ib p eculiarly are of excellent quality and colour. So far, little has
adapted for certain manufactures.
been done in marble quarrying and working for building
Chrome iron ore and manganese oxide are as yet practi- and ornamen tal purposes; and the finest sla bs ex hibited
cally unworked, though limited quantities of each have were from surface outcrops, being t he first cut and polished
been shi pped abroad, there being no local market for such t herefrom . Serpentine, of varying shades of colour and
ores. The conditions of la nd carriage and freight to a texture, wa.s shown from B ingera and near Young, and a
foreign market very materially bar the colonial article, in ha ndsome verde antique porphyry from near Cowra.
view of the more oheaply-won material of other countries.
Three large trophies, chiefly of sandstone in 1-fb . cubes,
Chrome iron ore occurs m quantity in several localities, represented the building stones which are extensi,ely used
as also manganese oxide ; exam plea of these were ex- in the city of Sydney, and in the Hunter River district.
Sydney is situated on the Hawkesbury (Triassic) sandhibited.
Cobalt.-Coba.lt ores in the form of sesquioxide in manga- stone formation, and many quarries are at work within
nese, and as arsenide with mispiokel, were also sho wn in the city limi ts. The stone is of excellent colour and
the NewSouth Wales court; an attempt t o work t he former grain, of great durability, hish crushing stress, easily
by a leaching process was not brought t o a successful workod, and capable of recei Vlng and reta ining very fine
issue. The arsenide of cobalt is likely to prove an im- edges.
portant discovery. The lode occurs at the junction of
The sandstone from the Permo-Ca.rboniferous measures
1ntrusive diorite, along the contact of which with the of the Hunter River di strict is usually of very fine grain,
slates it forms bunches ; reliable assays of average samples colour, and quality, and is extensively used in the city
have yielded 14 per cent. of me tallic cobalt. A trial ~bip of N ewca.stle.
ment of 30 tons of this ore has recently been despatched
G ranites from M oruya and Trial Bay were exhibit ed in
t o E ngland.
the collect ion in large rough, and smaller dressed blocks.
Traces of nickel only have as yet been discovered in the The ~Ioruya granite is a. handsome grey st one, and is
colony.
used for columns and pedestals; the tall polished pillars
P lat1inum.-Platiniferous sand was exhibited from the in the colonnade of the Sydney Post-office are from the
nort h coast, where it occurs in several localities, chiefl y M oruya granite quarry; also the pedest als of the prinbetween the Richmond and Tweed Rivers. Fine gold cipal statues erected within the city. Granite of excellent
occurs associated wit h it in the black beach sand, and for qua.litr. and great V3-riety of colour abounds in the colony,
many years beach working has been carried on for gold, and will in the future be largely availed of for building and
especially after easterl~ gales. In. the miners' ord inary ornamental purposes.
cradles a. small quanttty of platmum collects on th e
A very durable stone from Bowral-syenite- was
blanketings; but no efficient means of sa ving this metal exhibited in rough-dressed blocks. From its compac t
has yet been tried. T he sand cont:~ists of ordinary quartz texture, hardness, durability, and resistance to the
grains, titanic iron ore, zi rcons, a nd a little cassiterite. ravages of sea. water, this stone has been select ed as the
Platinum in limited quantity occurs also in small g ra ins most suitable mat erial for t he construction of piers,
in the auriferous gold drifts of the colony in several buttresses, sea-walls, &c. ; it is also largely used for raillocali t ies. Platiniferous lodestuff, with assay yields way permanent way construction, erection of public
varying from a trace to 1 oz. or 2 oz. per t on, has buildings, street kerbing, and blo ckio~.
recently been discovered in the Broken Hill d istrict;
Paint oohz es of all shades, from hgbt yellow to rich
but so far, owing to the ex trem ely fi ne state of di vision red, yellow, and purple, were shown by the Gordon E mery
of the met al in t he ore, no practical method of treatment and Colour Com'pany, J. Clabby, and the Kalsomine and
has been suggest ed.
M etallic Paint Com-pany. The latter company also disMercury; L ead; Zinc.- M eroury ore {cinnabar } has played a large exhibi t of prepared kalsomines of exquisite
been discovered in three localities in t he colony, but not shades of colour. The Gordon Emery and Colour Com
in payable quantity. At the first discovered locality it pany have recently est ablished works for the grinding
occurs as scattered grains in drift, and in the others in and preparation of the ochres from their property.
serpentine and quartz veinst one respectively. Examples
The Cullen Bullen Lime and Cement Company mad e
of the latter were shown in the display.
an important display of hydraulic cement, and illustrat ed
L ead ores are so intimat ely associated wi t h the sihrer- its charact er and preparation by a serie~ of samples of
bearing deposi ts of the colony, that no special mention the raw material and of the different stages of preparation
need be made of them. As showing the importance of the t o the finished article, and pract ica.Uy demonstrated its
Broken Hill Proprietary Mine as a l ead producer, it may high ch aract er by a number of fine castings, and printed
be mentioned that in six years the output of this metal reports of properly authenticated Government t ests and
reached a fraction less than 152,000 tons.
uses. This cement-known as the Kangaroo brand- is
Zinc ore (zinc blande) is also, unfortunately, perhaps, largely comi ng into favour.
associated m large measure with the silver lodes below
Amongst the numerous other economic minerals in the
water level; but there is little doubt that when an N ew South vVales court which may be briefly mentioned
economic process has been discovered for treatment of are kaolin of hi gh grade, barytes, limestone, calcite,
ores of this class, large quantities of zinc, probably try polite, whetstone, &c. Six large show-cases were devoted
in the form of zmc oxide, will be produced in the to geological specimens, and these were arranged near the
colony ; an extensive display was made of the ores referred display of geological and mining maps of the colony.
to.
The fossils consisted of characteristic forms from the prinTungst~n ~res (wolfram and scbe~lite) were sh own from cipal sedimentary formations of New South Wales, and
se,era.l d1 str1Cts m N ew South Wales. These ores a re ranged in geological age from th e Upper Silurian (which
not yet worked; but the recent great advance in their is t he oldest formation yet indentified by orgamc evivalues will, doubtless, cause exploration of Rome of the dence) to the Q uaternary, each of the important
known deposits.
di visions of the geological record within this range being
Gemstonu.-An interesting display of cub and uncut represented. The whole were grouped, classified, and
gemstones was made in theNew Sout h Wales court, by the adequately labelled, and formed an interesting and valuable
Department of Mines, Professor Li versidge, and Mr. illustration of the geological formations depicted on the
Isaa.csohn. T he occurrence and as!dociation of the dia- m l.ps. Of the latter th e most valuable was the geological
mond in the colony was fully illustrated by a series of map of the colony, brought up to date of the present y~a.r.
carefully prepared and excellently displayed samples of Th1s map showed great advancement u~on any prev10us
the diamond-bearing g ravels, associated gems, mmeral s. issues, in gen eral artistic feat ures, colourmg, and elabora&c. , from a. number of localities in which the di amond tion of details. A atriking feature in this portion of the
has been found. About 60,000 carats of diamonds have display was the number of natural-size sections of the prinbeen obtained from the diamond workings of N ew South cipal coal seams of the colony; these formed an important
Wales ; but mining for them h as neither been extensive illustr ation of the massive sections of coal already mennor continuous. The stones exhibited were characteristic tioned.
of the size and quality of the N ew South Wales diamonds,
The great value of the unique display which N ew South
bein~ small but brilliant. A recent discovery of emerald- vV ales made of her vast mineral resources was enhanced
bearmg matrix was illustrated by a number of samples of by a carefully prepared detail catalogue, which describes
the veinstone, and out and uncut emeralds from the New minutely each and every exhibit from reliable reports ;
E merald Proprietary Mine, Vegetable Creek, New E ng- gives statistical information as to analyses, assays, and
land, N.S. W. The colour of these gems is good, but the bulk yields wherever obtainable; and furnishes a concise
hardness of some of the matrices renders thair extract ion introductory a.ccounb of the nature, occurrence. and
without injury rather difficult. B eryl and topaz, of associations of all the elements of ht r mineral wealth.
grea.b beauty, were shown from the a lluvial tin leads of
New South Wales W ool Exhibit. -From th e foundaNew E ogland in which they occur, together with tion of the fine wool industry of Australia., by Captain
sapphire, cairngorm, amethyst, &c. A small display of John Macarthur, of Camden Park, New South Wales,
opals was made from White Cliffs, but these specim ens were at the close of the last century, 1b has made steady
more of mineralogical interest than economiC value ; opal and rapid progress, till in 1891 Australia. owned
of highest quality occurs in this field, and finds ready 124,450,000 sheep (more than one-fourth of the sheep
local sale; recently a rush has taken place t o White of the world ), and produced 710,392,902 lb. of wool
Cliffs because of the quality and beauty of the lat er finds. (more than one-half of the wool grown in the world ). Of
Opal ah~o occurs in a vesicula r basalt a t the Abercrombie this New South Wales owned 61,831,416 sheep, and proR1ver, samples of which were shown.
duced 357,096,954 lb. of wool, valued at 11,036,018l., her

743
sheep having increased from 6,119,163 in 1860 to 1_6,308,585
in 1870 t o 35 398 121 in 1880, and to 61,831,416 1n 1891rates of incre~se ~hich unmistakably prove the re?lark~
able suitability of New South Wales for the breed10g: of
merino sheep, and the production of t.he finest menno
wools.
Holding, therefore, the premier position in the world as a
fine-wool producing country, her ende_ayour was to ma~e a
display at Chicago worthy uf t hat pos1t10n, and we beh eve
that she has done so on t his occasion to the fullest extent;
for both as regards the number, v~riety, and ex_cellenoe ?f
her merino wools. and the attract1 ve a nd practiCal way m
which they were shown, it is allowed on all bands that it was
t he finest and best arranged display of merino wools that
has ever been made by a. single country.
A large, commodious, and very suitable well-lighted
courb was secured by D r. Renwick, the able executive
commissioner for the colony, where the wool was shown t o
best advanta~e. It consisted of 200 fleeces from the lea:d~
ing pure-brea flocks of the colony, and 197 oommerCJ al
bales select ed by the Sydn ey wool brokers from their
constituents' clips. Each of the fleeces was exhibited
under glass in a well-arranged and well-lighted separate
compartment, and the bales were shown in lofty arches
supported on handsomely constructed pilla rs of excellent
des1gn erect ed around the court, while inside there were
several trophies formed of Lales of wool and decorated
with curtains and flags. The whole of the bales were open
at the ends, a nd in this way the pillars, arches, &nd
trophies appeared to be constructed of solid wool, which
could be handled by manufacturers and others interest ed
in the staple; and where the bales were oub of reach,
samples of the wool were taken out and shown under glass,
so that the wool of every exhibit, whether in the fleece or
bale, could be properly handled and examined when
required.
While referring to the wool ex hibited by New South
\Vales, the sheep which produced this grand exhibit,
the sheep which produced this-the Austra lian m erino
-and their orig in and history call for more than a
passing notice.
High-class merino sheep were first introduced into Australia in 1797, when a small number of pure- bred Spanish
sheep, a portion of a lot presented by the King of Spain
to the Dutch Government, were brought from the Cape
of Good H ope t o S ydney.
Of these, Captain Macartbur, afterwards of Camden
Park, near S ydney, secured three rams and five ewes,
and it was t o the care he bestowed, a nd the skill and
ability he displayed as a breeder, that the colony is indebted for the est ablishment of what hat-: been, and still
is, the leading industry, not only in New South Wales
but also in all the other Australian colonies.
'
Captain Macarthur was exceedi ngly jealous of the
purity of his sheep, and the only instance in which fresh
blood was brought into his Spanish merino flock was in
1804, when he imported ten rams and ewes from the
merino stook of George Ill., the original of which had
been presented to him by the King of Spain.
From that time till the Camden flock was sold in 1854
the Camden sheep were bred strictly within themselves'
and there is scarcely a flock of long standing of any not~
in any of the Australian colonies which d oes not trace
its est ablishment to the Camden ~beep. The very few
which d o not are of Sa.xon ex traction.
But while t his i~ the ca~e, <?Onsiderable numbers of highclass German mermos, prm01pally Saxon, have at various
times been introduced in to New South Wales. These
im portations, which commenced about 1803 were comparatively numerous from 1815 to 1830, wh en 'they began
to fall off, and very few German sheep were introduced
until wit hin the last three years, when several small lots
were imported.
The pure-bred sheep in all the other colonies which had
their origin from th e same source, the Camden fl.ook had
also mo~e or less of t_be German blood, especially th~se in
Tasmama, from whtcb a very large portion of the stud
sheep required in the eastern colonies of Australia. are
now drawn. A few rams of t he Fren ch merino blood
have also been introduced from the Rambouillet
fle ck.
Bome 25 or 30 years ago a small lot of American merino
rams were imported, and ten y~ars back, importations of
these sheep were resumed, wbtch have since been continued, till p erhaps 1200 or ] 300 h ave within that time
be_en intr<?du_ced in New South Wales: They have been ob~
tame~ prmo1pally on account o! thetr density, fulness of
covermg, and yolk but as theu wool, as compared with
that of_ the Australian m erino, i~ wanting in several d
th~ pomts of excellence for winch the Australian is so
umversally not ed, and the defects show in the progeny
of the A merican rams, the question as t o whether the
introduc~ion of the American blood is to prove advantageous, 1s yet t o be settled.
lb_ wi~l thus be seen that the high-class Australian
mermo ts of the purest and bluest blood. Their style and
character, a~ well a~ the wool they produce, confirm this,
th~ A?stra.han.D?ermo w<?ol to-day bringing the highest
pnce 1~ the Bnttsh, Contmental, and American m arkets
and bemg unapproaohable for the qualities which the manu~
factur~rs d esire, such as softness, silk iness, lustre, br jghtness, ti~en~~s, strength, trueness of fibre, elasticity, freeness, pha:bthty, length of s_taple, evenness in the length
and qu~hty of the . wool, l1~htnees of wast e in scouring,
a~d spmnmg quahtr. Th1s m ay be consid ered a very
h~gh charact er t o glVe Australian wools, but ib is no
h1gher than they really deserve, for not only is it confirmed by the excallence of the competitive fleeces shown
bJ:' New South Wa~es, ~ut it is so, even m or e th oroughly
st1ll, by the splendtd d1splay made at the instance of the
wool brokers of Sydney of wools from the ordinary flocks
in what are t erm ed " commercial bales ; " for the wool i~
these bales, t ak en as a whole, is of very great excellence,

BRITISH COLONIES AT THE COL UMBIAN

EXPOSITION: NEW SOUTH WALES AND CANADIAN

COURTS.

(Fo't Desc'ription, see Page 742.)

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--

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DEC.

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

Is, I 893]

and in many instances little, if any, inferior to that of the

competitive fleeces in breeding and quality. These baleai
shown as they were with the ends exposed, and the woo
nicely set up, formed one of the most practical, attractive,
and impressive displays in the Great Exposition.
I am indebted to Dr. Renwick, the able executive
commissioner of New South Wales, for the particulars
of the Mining and Wool exhibits.
TheNewSouth vVa.les Court occupied by transportation
exhibits was small, but well filled with maps, photographs,
and models; the Machinery and Manufactures Courts
contained but little of interest, excepting the examples of
typography and engraving, which prove beyond doubt
that the coJony is able to produce such work in a highly
creditable manner. Finally, a few words should be added
a. bout the Fine Art Section. No less than 230 works of
art formed the contribution of the colony to the Exposition. Both as regards number and quality of work,
this display of pictures, arran~ed in the New South
Wales Pavilion, astonished the visitors. E specially to be
mentioned was the collection of 99 water-colours of the
flora of Australasia., painted and exhibited by Mrs. Ellis
Rowan, of Derrewit, Upper lVIacedon, Victoria. This
collection is a. famous one, and will no doubt find a. permanent home in one of the art galleries of England or
Australia.. Enou~h has been said to show that the colony
of New South Wales must occupy a leading position in
the future records of the World's Columbian Exposition,
and that the exhibits in her numerous courts were, both
actually and by comparison: of the first order. The
skilful and untiring efforts of the Colonial Commission,
and especially the ability and energy displayed by the
:Executive Commissioner, the Honourable A rthur Reowick, were the agencies that brought about this successful
result, which will, undoubtedly, strengthen the ties that
already bind New South Wales to the United States.
2. CAPE COLONY.-Tbe Cape of Good Hope Court presented a most attractive display in the Agricultural
Building. With the restricted space at his disposal, Mr.
Ludwig Wiener, the Cape Commissioner, succeeded in
setting forth the varied resources of Cape Colony in a
striking manner. The extremely varied nature of the
exhibits largely conduced tlo this satisfactory result. In
the centre of the court was a trophy consisting of two
splendid specimens of the ostrich tribe, with chicks, e~gs,
and the natural bush upon which the birds feed. Close
by was a pyramid of ostrich eggs, some of them in the
natural state, and others tastefully painted. Along the
glass walls of the court strings of painted egss were used
for decorative purposes. But the fi nest display of all
was eight trophies of ostrich plumes, constituting, no
doubt, the most magnificent exhtbit of feathers ever made
at any international show. The plumes were nntouched
by dye, and the white, black, drab, and fancy feathers
were all displayed, the beautiful snow-white and clean
black plumes predominating. At the foot of each of the
lofty stands lay bundles of the feathers as made up for
the market.
The whole back part of the court was occupied by
fleeces of wool shown under glass. The two characteristic kinds of Cape wool, the Karoo and the Grass
V eldb, were both on exhibition, there being no fewer
than 500 fleeces in all. In addition to the wool were
some 220 fleeces of mohair, the silvery texture of which
is much admired. The object lesson as regards the
Cape pastoral industry was completed by stuffed
specimens of the Angora goats, both kids and full grown animals, the fat-tail sheep, and the Boer goat,
together with a tine display of skins of these animals,
and also of the Cape merino. Generally it may be aaid
of the wool and mohair exhibits that they were extremely effective, and proved at an extremely opportune
moment, when the Umted States wool duties are on the
eve of being abolished, that the Cape can produce large
supplies of the two fibres admirably adapted to the
requirements of American manufacturers.
The excellently arranged display of Cape wines was
an object lesson which may nob improbably open up a
wine export industry to the United States, and well
illustrated the viticultural resources of South Africa.
The selection made was judicious and illustrative; it
was arranged in a fine trophy of miniature barrels,
flanked and crowned by bottles.
The agricultural resources of the colony were indicated
by choice samples of wheat, oats, barley, mealies, beans,
peas, and lentils. Some of the wheat represented crops
of 68 lb. t o the bushel. Tobacco was shown in the
natural leaf and in the manufactured state ; there were
also to be seen several varieties of bark used for tanning
purposes. Forest resources were well illustrated, slabs in
the rough on one side and polished on the other, affording
effective representation. A few logs, both in the rough
and with polished tops or faces, supplemented the timber
slabs. Among forest products should also be mentioned
the samples of Cape gum.
Not the least popular feature of the court was the fine
display of elephants' tusks. Skins of th e lion, sprin~bok,
leopard, silver jackal, gold jackal, and other varietnes of
wild beasts, and heads and horns of many kinds of deer,
adorned the walls and the stands. A fine collection of
Cape birds, of all sizes and of wonderful brilliancy of
plumage, was shown in a. large case. Among them were
specimens of penguins, and close by were bottles of guano,
indicating yet another source of wealth at the Cape. South
African fishes were shown by coloured pictures collected
in album form. Etbnologywasnot forgotten in the display.
There was quite a large collection of assegais, oxhideshields,
trumpets, daggers, knives, clubs, belts, head-dresses,
snuff-boxes, dishes, and other implements and utensils of
many kinds, as used by the natives of South Africa.
There was a fine collection of photographs of Zulu, Kaffir,
andotherna.ti vetypes. Scattered about u.Pon the walls were
11umerous photographs of cbaracterist10 Cape scenery,

and scenes of everyday life. There were also portraits of

leading men in the Cape Colony, Natal, the Orange Free
State Republic, and other South African territories. Yet
another feature of the court was an immense map of South
Africa., showing the country as far north as the Zambesi,
and indicating at a glance the districts of wool, mohair,
cattle, wheat, gold, copper, and diamond production.
Statistics were also displayed showing the value of the
chief Cape products : wool, mohair, bides and skins,
ostrich feathers, copper, and diamonds, in the outturn of
several of which South Africa holds a virtual monopoly.
The figures also give the number of sheep, horses pigs,
and ostriches in the colony ; the total mileage of railways;
and the shipping tonnage, inwards and outwards.
The formal opening of the Cape of Good Hope Court,
in the Mining Building, took J>lace on June 5, when the
first sieve-full of Kimberley d1amondiferous "blue " ever
washed upon American soil was examined upon the sorting
table in the presence of a keenly interested gathering.
The most interesting contents of this court were a fine
collection of specimens indicating the varied mineral resources of South Africa, from the Cape to Zambesi. The
collection numbered 245 specimens. Around the show
cases were stacked piles of copper ore, and among the
other objects of interest were diamondiferous gravel from
the Vaal River, Cyphergat coal, white and blue asbestos,
and crocidolite. The last-named substance was shown
both in the natural state, and also polished and fashioned
into a great variety of beautiful and useful articles.
There were also facsimile representations of tlwo famous
Cape diamonds : the De Beers diamond, the largest ever
found in South Africa, weighing 420~ carats ; and the
Litkie diamond, 205~ carats, the second finest, but the
finest for size ever got from the river diggings. The remaining space in the court was devoted to diamond washing,
cutting, and polishing. Large plate-glass panels permitted
every operation to be watched from the outside ; and all
through the day, but especially when the washing machinery was in operation, densely packed crowds surrounded
the inclosure. The machinery used was on a small scale,
but was very efficient; it treated 450 loads a day; the
sorting table was a model of t he standard pattern used
at Kimberley. In addition to the washing process, those
of cutting and polishing diamonds were also shown.
Actual stones to the value of 35,000l. were exhibited; the
largest of theRe weighed 282 carats.
In the Transportation Department a small but interesting exhibit was made by th e Cape Government. A plan
of Table Bay Harbour Works, m charge of Mr. Henry
Thwaites, resident engineer, gave an idea. of the return
got from the vast expenditure of nearly 2,000,000l. sterling, while a model of the Cape Town Graving Dock
informed shipping men that South Africa possesses facilities for refitting and repairing upon the most adequate
scale, the dock being 541ft. long, and therefore caJ>able
of taking the largest Australian and South African hners.
Plans of East London Harbour and the Buffalo River, a
bird's-eye view of Port Elizabeth, and a map of the coast
line of Algoa Bay, together with photographs of wharves
and shipping, completed the exhibit.
3. CEYLON.-In July, 1891, Lord Knutsford. Secretary
of State for the Colonies, informed the Governor of
Ceylon that a Royal Commission had been appointed to
look after the interests of Great Britain and her colonies
at the Columbian Exposition. The persons chiefly interested in making a successful exhibit from Ceylon were
the members of the Planters' Association, thei r desire
being to open UJ? new markets for Ceylon tea in the
United States. So far as can be judged, they will fully
achieve this object, and reap an ample return on the
money and trouble expended by them. In 1891 the H on.
J. J. Grinlinton, a member of the L egislative Council,
was appointed as special commissioner, and he was
instructed to go to Chic~o in 1892 to make arrangements
for space &c . with the Executive of the Exposition. One
result of Mr. Grinlinton's visit was the allotment of about
28,000 square feet in four different parts of the Exposition
buildings and grounds, as follows ;
Sq. Ft.
The Ceylon Pavilion
...
24,000

Agricultural Building ...
...
1,684

Manufactures ,
...
1,350

Women's Building
...
540

27, 574
The Ceylon Pavilion was beautifully situated on the
north side of the grounds, not far from the German
Building, and facing the lake. Its design was simple,
rectangular in plan, with a botd octagonal rotunda in the
centre. There were entrances at the centre of each end
and at the front and back. The object of the architect in designing this pavilion was to introduce as much
native work as possible, which was copied from monuments, some of which are of a. date prior to the Christian
era.. The smaller courts-those 10 the Agricultural,
Manufactures, and Women's Buildings-thougl:i, of course,
much less
ornate, were conceived and executed in the

same sp1r1 t.
As already said, the primary jnducement to exhibit at
Chicago was the wish to make known Ceylon tea in the
United States; it followed naturally that everything
should be made to reflect the importance of this growing
industry. Ji~ven in this country few people realise bow
~reat has been the development of tea planting in an
tsland whose staple product, we are accustomed to believe,
is coffee. As a matter of fact, however, this latter industry is in decadenee, having been a few years since
irreparably damaged by disease ; the consequence of this
disaster was that coffee planters started on the culti vation of tea. The first imports were made to this country
in 1873, when 23lb. were sent over; in 1880 this had
grown to 162,575 lb., in 1885 to 4,372,000 lb., in 1890 to

745
45,799,000lb., and in 1892 to 71,809,000 lb. At the pre_sent time no less than 265,000 acres ar~ under tea cultivation and it is worth noting that while the profitable
limits~ coffee cultivation are fixed bet~een 2000 ft. and
5000 ft. above sea. level, tea plants flouns~ from near sea
level to 6000 ft. above it. the more dehcate and lesser
yields coming from the higher elevations. .Th~ crops v~ry
from 350 lb. to 700 lb. per acre, though th1s nses as htgh
in some cases as 1000 lb.
The exhibits other than those referri ng to the tea.
industry of Ceylon, contained i? the .P~vilion_, and th~
small courts in the several roam butldmgs, illustrated
admirably the agricultural, mineral, and industrial r~
sources of the country, a.s well as the means of communication and the educational system in operation.
(To be continued.)

BOILER EXPLOSION AT HINDLEY.

THE following details of a fatal explosion which recently
occurred from a boiler of the Babcock and Wilcox patent
construction may, perhaps, be of service to our readers,
especially to those who own or attend boilers of this class,
a number of which are used in connection with electric
lighting and for other purposes not only within the city of
London and the immediate neighbourhood, but also in
various parts of the country.
The explosion occurred on Monday, September 4, at a
cotton mill at Hindley, near Wiganl owned by the Plattlane Manufacturing Company, Lim1ted. The boiler was
of the water-tube type known as Babcock and Wilcox's
f>atent, and was made by that firm in 1888. Its dimenRions were as follows: Drum, 23ft. long, 4ft. in diameter,
made of steel plates ! in. thick ; tubes, 18 ft. long, 4 in.
in out side diameter, made of iron plates i in. thick. The
safety valve was loaded to 200 lb., the daily working
pressure being from 190 lb. to 200 lb. on the square inch,
though at the time of the explosion it was stated to be
185 lb.
The explosion consisted of the failure of one of the
water tubes-viz., the second from the right-band side in
the middle horizontal row. This tube rent along the
bottom for a length of about 5 ft., and opened out flat.
The engineman had left the boiler-house a few minutes
before the rupture, but his son, a youth seventeen years of
age, wh o was in charge at the time, was so severely
scalded by the flood of steam and bot water that rushed
into the firing space that he died in a few hours. Some
of the doors in the brickwork flues were blown off, but no
other damage r esulted.
The cause of the rending of the water tube admits of a
very simple explanation, viz., overheating through the
accumulation of scale. The engineman, it was stated,
had been in the habit of cleaning the tubes from time to
time in sections, but without removing the back end
caps. As a resul~ of this imperfect cleaning, scale was
formed, and large pieces, instead of falling into the muddrum, as the engineman expected, were pushed through
the tubes and lodged in the "sinuous headers, " where
they were e-radually ce~ente? together by the fresh
sedtment wh1ch was depos1ted m the course of working,
so that ultimately some of the '' headers " at the back
end became completely choked. This was the case with
the "header" to which the exploded tube was attached
and, in consequence, the circulation was stopped th~
steam generated would, in escaping, blow the wate~ out
of the tube, with the na.tural result that the plate became
overheated, and rent as above described.
It wa.s stated that considerable trouble had been experienced, and that numeroue tubes had had to be removed
and renewed from various causes. In some cases local
overheating had led to small splits occurring in the
tubes, and even since the explosion the failure of another
tu be had been reported. The boiler was said to be insured, and fr~quently examined by an i_nsuranoe company,
who bad pomted out that the cleanmg did not receive
proper at~ention, and had ~efer~ed to the danger of allowmg depostt to accumulate m thts type of boiler.
'fh e Board of Trade formal investigation under the
B<?il~r ExplosionR Act occupied two days. The CommtsslOners were Mr. Howard Smith, barrister-at-law
and Mr. Alexander Gray, consulting engineer. Mr:
Goug:h co~ducte~ the proceedings !or the Board of Trade,
a~d m bts openmg. statement reCited the main facts and
Circumstance~ relat1ve to the explosion, after which a.
n~mber of ~1tnesses were called.. We do not propose to
gtve a detailed report of the eYldenoe, but its general
tenour was to the following effect :
The. Babcock and ~ilcox Co~pany supplied the boiler
new. m 1888 for dnvmg a triple-expansion engine, it
~avmg been constructed to work at 200 lb. on the square
mch, and w~ tested to 300_lb. by hydraulic pressure.
The wrought-uon tubes, whtch were made by Messrs
Stewart, of the _Clydesdale W ?rks, were tested to 1000 lb:
on the squa!e mcb, and the1r calculated bursting pressure.t-...accordm~ to 1\;lr. Slack, engineer in the employ of
the ..t5abcock and Wilcox. Company, was as high as from
3000 l)J. to 3300. A prmted sheet of instructions was
supphed by the ~akers as. to the care of the boiler, one
parag:raph of which spectally d ealt with the subject of
clea.rung, and was as follows :
"9LEANI~G.-All heatin:g surfaces must be kept clean
outstde and m, or there wtll be a serious waste of fuel
The frequency of the cleanings will depend on the fuei
and water. As a. rule, never allow over r'n- in. scale or
soot to collect on surfaces between cleanings. Hand-holes
shou_ld be f~equently removed . and s~rfaces examined,
part1cularly m caEe of a new boiler, unttl proper intervals
have been established by experience.
"The .~a:bcock and ~ilcox boiler is provided with
extra faciltt1es for cleanmg, and, with a little care can
be kept up to its maximum efficiency where tubular

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

~>r loco?loti ve boilers would be quickly destroyed.

]for
mspectwn remove the bandholes at both ends of the tubes
and by holding a. lamp at one end and looking in at th~
other, the condition of the surface can be fully seen. Push
the scraper through the tube to remove sediment or if the
scale is bard, use the chipping scraper made fo; th~t J?Urp ose. W ~ter through a hose will facilitate the operatton.
In repla01ng handhole caps, clean the surfaces without
scratc~ing or bruising, smear with oil, and screw up tight.
Examme mud-drum, and remove the sediment therefrom ."
. The feed supi?ly, which, according to the CommisS10t;ters, was !auly good for the purpose, consisted
ma10ly of ram water, collected on the mill roof
though this was supplemented when necessary
water from a. brook. Mr. Atherton, who was formerly
the engineman, but was now a director of the company, sta.ted in evidence that he had frequently expressed his disaP.proval of the manner in which the
cleaning of the botler wa.s being C'arried out, and bad en
deavoured to obta.in a sight of the interior of the boiler
whilst the caps were removed, but he had nob succeeded,
as they were genera.lly replaced when he wenb to the mill.
The tubes, it wa.s further stated, ha.d given considerable
trouble from time to time, and several of them had failed,
one a.s early as May, 1889, although the boiler had only been
put to work the previous February. New tubes bad been
supplied in place of those which bad given way, and it
was one of these, put in on July 30 last, that bad burst,
a.nd led to the present inquiry. The boiler was insured in
theN ational Boiler Insurance Company for 800l. , and thab
company bad made frequent recommendations as to the
importance of cleaning. On one occasion, in October, 1890,
it wa.s pointed out that some of the tubes were lammated
and fractured, and that in places the incrustation was from
1 in. to 2 in. thick. No special notice seemed t o have
been taken of these reports, and their contentR were not
communicated to the engineman. The chairman of the
company {Mr. Makinson) informed the Commissioners
that th~ directors were aware that the tubes had failed at
various times, but it had never occurred t o them tha.t this
was due t o overhea.ting, and they attributed it to the
iron being bad. The method of cleaning adopted by the
engineman was to remove some of the caps every three
m onths and clean the tubes in sections ; in this way the
whole of the tubes would be cleaned once in twelve
months. He only remo ved the caps at the front end, and
pushed a. wire brush up the tube from the front, being
sa.tisfied that ib had gone through by "hearing the rod
bump against the cap at the back end." He expected
that the scale thus removed would drop through the backend'' headers " into the mud-drum, and that it could then
b e easily taken away. All the experts who had examined
the boiler since the explosion, viz., Mr. Hiller, the chi~f
engineer of the National Boiler Insurance Company, Mr.
Bond, his assistant, and Mr. Hewett, one of the inspectors;
Mr. Wisha.rt, engineer surveyor to the Board of Trade ;
and Mr. Slack, of the Babcock and Wilcox Company, gave
evidence to the effect that the explosion was due to over
beating owing to the back-end " header " being choked
by deposit, the circulation in the tube being thereby
arrested, and overheating of the plate resulting.
At the close of the examination of witnesses, 1\Ir. Gough
submitted the following questions for the consideration of
the Commissioners :
1. Whether the Pla.tt-la.ne Manufacturi ng Company
intrusted the management of the boiler t o compet ent
persons?
2. Whether the water used for feeding the boiler was
suitable for the purpose?
3. Wh ether the boiler was properly and sufficiently
olea.ned from time to time, and was it examined by a competent person after cleaning?
4. Whether on September 18, 1890, and on April 26,
1892, the attention of the company was particularly
direct ed to the necessity for cleaning the tubes ; and, if
so, were proper measures taken by the company to insure
that they were properly cleaned ?
5. W ere proper mea.sur~ taken by the company to
ascertain the cause of the tubes giving way, and as far as
possible to prevent it ?
6. How frequently were the tubes cleaned in 1892, and
were lthey properly and thoroughly cleaned upon each
occasion?
7. \Vas the boiler worked at a pressure above that
a.llowP-d by the insurance compa,ny's p~licy?
8. Did the Pla.tt-lane 1\Ianufacturmg Company take
proper and sufficient measures to }~?sure that this boiler
was being worked under safe cond1t10ns?
D. What was the cause of the explosion and loss of
life?
10. \Vhether blame attaches to the Pla.tt-lane Mannfac
turing Company, to Mr. Makinson, and t o :Mr. Cha.r1es
H. Roberts, or either of them ?
Mr. Howard Smith, in giving jud~ment, recapitulated
the facts of the case as elicited durmg the inquiry, and
stated that the explosion was caused by overheating, as
pointed out by the scientific witnesses who had been
called. The Court did not consider that lVIr. 1\-Iakinson,
the chairman of the Platt-lane Company, was personally
to blame, except than he did not call. the at~ention of the
enginema.n to the reports on the b01ler whtch had been
sent in by the insurance company. The syst em adopted
by the owners of the boiler seemed to have been very lax,
a.s practically little notice had been taken of those reports.
Mr. Atherton, one of the directo~s, seemed to have sho.wn
aomea.nxietyon the subject, and Wished to replace the b01ler
by one of the "Lancashire '' type, but the board appeared
never to h ave even tried to ascert~in the _cause of the
failures of the tubes wh ich had from ttme to t1me occurred.
Further no member of the board seemed to have exercised a~y super vision of the cleaning, and no one bad
been present when the front caps were off, the matter

by

hav~ng been lefb entirely to Charles H.

Roberts, the
engmema.n, with whom good t estimonials had been received. Roberts was seriously to blame. He had disregarded the printed instructions bung in the engine-house
as well as the instructions received from the insura.n~
com.pany, ~nd the boiler had ne~er been properly prepared
for mspect10n. Roberts bad htmself stated that he did
not remove the caps at the back end, being satisfied to
bear the cleaning-rod bump against the back end. In
the opinion of the Commissioners what he had baken to
be the back end cap was, in many instances, bard scale,
and the brush had probably not been through the tubes
ab all. The Court were, therefore, bound to find that he
had seriously neglected his duty. He had nothing to do
but to look after the engine and boiler. They could not
sar that. he ha~ erred from ignorance, as he bad the
prmted mstruct10ns~ already referred to, to guide him,
bnt he had disregaraed them. The explosion was due to
his negligence, for which he had been severely punished
by the loss of his son. For the negligence of the engine
man the Court must find his employers, the Pla.tt-lane
Manufacturing Company, to blame, but the Commissioners wished to add that in a case of this kind the company should have had skilful ad vice.
On this finding of the Court, ~fr. Gough asked that the
Platt l~ne C_om~any sh?uld be ordered to pay the costs
of the mvestigatJOn, which, he stated, amounted to about
125l.
The Chairman of the company addressed the Commissioners, and whilst admitting the fairness and justice of
the judgment, asked for leniency in the matter of costs,
as the company wa,s not in a. flourishing condition financially at the present time.
After deliberation, Mr. Howa.rd Smith ordered the
Platt-la.ne Manufacturing Company to pay to the Board
of Trade the sum of 50l. towards the costs and expenses
of th e investigation.

LAUNCHES AND TRIAL TRIPS.

So:arE important trials with Martin's induced draught
have just been completed on board tho gun-vessel Gossamer at Chatha.m Dockyard. The experiments ha.,e
proved so successful that the principle will be applied to
many other vessels in the Navy, a.nd also to some abonb
t? be builb_. In former trials much difficulty was expenenced owmg to the smallness of the tubes, but this has
now been overcome.
The new twin -screw steamer Gothic, which Messrs.
Harla.nd and Wolff, of Bt'lfa.st, have builb for the White
Star Line of steamships, is now completed, and has
arrived in the Thames. She is the largest steamer and the
largest carrier in the Australasian trade. She is 490 ft.
long between perpendiculars, 53ft. in breadth, and 33 fb.
depth of hold, while she has a gross t onnage of 7720. The
Gothic has been specially designed for the New Zealand
service, a.nd will be despat ched from London by the Sha.w,
Savill1 and Albion Company on her first voyage on the
28th mst. A ccommodatiOn is provided for 104 saloon
passengers am idships. In the quarterd eck aft there is
accommoda.tion for 114 steerage passengers. The Gothic
has ~n insulated capacity in the refrigerated chambers for
stowmg 75,000 carcases of sheep. Provision is also made
~or the conveyance of dairy _produce, the export of which
ts a. new development of New Zealand enterprise. On
Saturday, the 16th inst., the vessel will be on view in
the Thames for the benefib of the Seamen's Hospital
Society's dispensaries, and especially the branch hospital
at the R oyal Albert Dock. The Gothic is the largest
vessel, with the exception of the Great Eastern, that
has entered the P ort of London.

The St. George, th e last of the first-class protected

cruisers laid down in accordance with the Nava Defence
Act, has beAn delivered at Portsmouth for her steam
. The fa~ts abo.ve given may be useful to those engaged trials by Earle's Shipbuilding and E ngineering Company,
m a.ttendmg boilers of the Babcock and Wilcox type, and H ull.
act as a warning to them to see that effective cleaning is
re~ula.rly carried out. The accumulation of scale in any
The new second-class cruiser F orte was successfully
holler le~ds to waste of fuel, and may tend to induce Jaunched on Saturday, the Dth inst., from Chatham
overhea.tmg of the plates and consequent injury, but with D ockyard. The F orte is an improved cruiser of the
water tu be boilers or any type of boilers involving the Apollo class, ordered under the Naval Defence Act of
use of water spaces of small dimensions, it ia essen tial, for 1889 ; her first keel-plat e was laid September 2 1891.
safe and efficient working, that ~ystematic and thorough Her principal dimensions are: L ength, 320 ft. ; b;eadth
cleaning should on no account be neglected.
extreme, 49 ft. 6 _in. ; and her displacement, at a mea~
dra.u~ht of 19 ft., 1s 4385 t ons. She will be: fitted with
AMERICAN EtEVATOns.-Buffalo now claims t o possess a. pa.1r of three - oy linder triple exp::~.nsion twin . screw
the largest grain elevator in the world. Its capacity is engines, constructed at Chatham Dockyard. These are
calculated to develop 9,000 indicated horse-power under
45,000 bushels per hour.
forced draught, and t o give the ship a speed of 19~
AMERICAN TARU'l!' RE~'OR?ti. -The Tariff Bill as elabo- k~ots .. The ar.mament <;>f the Forte will comprise two
rated by the Democratic majority of the Committee of 6-m., e1ght 4. 7-m., and etght 6-pounder quick-firing guns
Ways and M eans of the House of Representatives has seven .45in. ma"?hine (Maxim) guns, and one 3-pounder and
been given to the public. Its provisions fulfil every on~ 9-pounder nfled muzzle-loading guns. In addition to
expectation of those who predicted that it would be this gun armament the vessel is fitted with two 14-in.
a. radical measure of reform . In many respects it comes fixed torpedo tubes - one forward and one afb-and
as a. surprise even to the D emoorati c members of Con two swivelling ones of the same size on the broadsides.
gress1 as it is unprecedented in many of its provisions, The ship has a steel proteoti ve deck throughout her
~hicn include _matte~s. upon which the party has never length, and an armoured breastwork 5 in. thick for the
giVen any defimte pohtiCal utterance. The free list is of a protection ~f her machinery. H er complement> of officers
scope sufficient to satisfy the most radical ad voca.tes of rP.- a.~d men w1ll be 300, a nd her cost, exclusive of anginAs,
f?rm, a.n_d the Bill is a refut~tion of the principle of recipro- will be 131,000l. The machinery of the Forte which is
ctty, wh10b has been the prtde of the Republicans and the already completed, will be put on board as soor: as she is
btte noire of the Democrats for a number of years. lb is broughb into the steam basin at the dockyard.
decisive and emphatic. Thus the Bill, in addition to the
Mess~s. Ram age and Ferguson, Limited, launched on
reforms which it makes in the tariff, will necessi tate
a readjustment of the treaties with the South American the 9th mst. the first of the two steamers they are building
countries which enjoy practical or theoretical reciprocity for Messrs. J. T. Sal vesen an~ Co., Grangemouth. They
with th e United States. The bounty on sugar will be carry over 1300 tons dead wetght, and are expected to
r epealed by easy grad~tions, and the clause in this regard steam 9 knots loaded. The steamer was named V ala..
will not reach a conclusive effect until after the end of
On Thursday, the 7th inst., Messrs. Furness 'iVithy and
the preeenb century. Confining ourselves in dealing
with details to the iron and steel sohedule, we begin with Co., Limited, Hartlepool, launched a steel s~rew ste~mer
free ore. The discovery of immense deposits of Bessemer named Twilight, built fo~ M essrs. Joht;t Wood and Co.,
ores in the lake regions and of foundry ores in Alabama "o/esb H~rtlepool. She w11l be ~tted wttb triple-expanhave given an impetus in the U nited States to the SIOn engmes by the Central Ma.rtne Engine Works, W est
production of iron and steel, and have brought near Hartlepool.
at band great progress in the great field of manufactures. The use of steam shovels reduces the cost
The new fi rst-class cruiser Theseus went out one day
of mining to a. point where the wages paid for la~t week from Ch~tbam to run her natural draught steam
natu ral labour are irrelevant. Pig iron is reduced from tr1als ; b~t the .trt.al had to be. stopped, owing t o the
6 dols. 72 cents per ton, which is 50 to 90 per cent., to after boilers pnmmg, due to Impurities in the feed.
a uniform duty of 22i per cent. The rate IS somewhat The necessary work will be taken in hand at Chatham
higher in proportion than in the rest of the schedule, Dockyard, . and the ship prepared for another trial.
because of the cheap freight rates on foreign pig, this The gun tnals of the Theseus have been deferred until
being a. favourite freight for westwa.rd voyages. Steel the completion of her machinery trials.
rails are reduced from 75 p~r cent. to 25 per cent. As
the pool which kept up prices so many years in this
?-'h.e Tyne Iron Shipbuilding Company, Limited,
country seems now t o be disorganised, other produ~ts \VIlhngton Q~ay, on the Tyne, launched on the 9th inst.
will soon need protection more against Ca.rnegie at a large tank 01! steamer named Duffield whi ch has been
Pittsburg and Stirling ab Chicago than against foreign built to the order of the Northern 'Petroleum Tank
producers. The residue of the schedule varies from S teamship Company, L imi ted (Messrs. Hunting and
25 to 30 per cent. Tinplates are reduced t o 40 per Son, of Newcastle-on-Tyne, managers}. The vessel is
cent., or a little more than half of the M'Kinley rate. of the following dimen~ions, viz. : Len~th, 351 ft. ; breadth,
This is a. revenue duty, and at the same time is enough 44ft. .i depth, 30ft. 2 10. ~he macbmery, which is to be
to permib any existing rcills t o li ve and flourish. The supphed. b~ the VV:allsend Shp~ay a nd :En~iueering Comchea.per grades of pocket cutlery are placed at 35 per I?an_y, L~mited, wtll b~ve cylmders 25~ m ., 41 in., and
cent. ; the hi~her gTades ab 45; and table cutlery at 68 m. diameter by 48 m. stroke, with three large single
35 p~r cent. ad valorem. These are very substantial ended boilers.
reductions from th e present rates, which, being specific,
reach in some grades of pocket cutlery as hign as 90 per
cent.; but with the release of the taxes on raw mater1al,
ELLIOTT'S S~lOKR ANNIHILATOR AT THB 1tfiNT BIR
especially motherof-pea.rl and ivory for ha.ndles, seem MINGHAM.-Mr. Samuel Elliott the inventor ~f the
a. m ple. Both copper ores and pig copper are made free, annihilator illustrated and des~ribed in our issue la t
the S tate3 being large exporters of the latter, and the week {page 70 ante), writes to state that the annihilator
duty serving only to enable the producer to sell at higher deals with the smoke from six boiler and ~even muffle
prices to home customers than to foreigners. Nickel is furnaces, not four boilers and six mufflers as we stated in
free. L ead ore has the sma.ll duty of 15 per cent. Pig the article, and that the installation is driven by two
lead is 1 cent per lb., while silver lead ores are restored small engi!les with 12-in. cylinders, and not by a 40 horsepower en~me .
to the free list.

---

747

E N G I N E E R I N G.
"ENGINEERING" ILLUSTRATED PATENT
RECORD.
CoMPILED BY

W. LLOYD WISE.

8ELEm'ED ABSTRACTS OF RECENT PUBLISHED SPECIFICATIONS

UNDER THE ACTS 1888-1888.

p eripheries, and guides are attached to the tyre, between _whi ch

the hub is adapted to mo,e. The bolts I ar e ronnected ~1th t~e
tyre and passed th rough boles cz in th e h ub. The 6lhni F IS
formed \\-i~h holes Fl, a.::1d straight or inclin ~d sides. The cent ral

21,029.

1 892 . -Tbl~

Cases . (8 F'i{ls.) November 19,

_C a rtridge

t?ven.tlOD r elates to
metallic cart ridge cases in which a paper hmog IS adopted to
reduce the powder chamber and to protect t he powder fr om contact" ith metal. A strip of pap er is coiled to a dia.!Dete~ leEs
than that of the neck and the coil is slipped into t he 1ntenor ~f
thl' ca.~e through the ~ecked part. The coil is then expanded 10
position withi a the powder chamber. ( .Accepted N ovember 1,
1893).
22 585. A. J. Boult, London. (U. Ma ,.ga, Brussels,

5020.

s. Bamer, Swlnton, and J. Wllklnson, Irlams

o'th'-Beight Lancs. Coupltng and Unco_UJ?llng

Railway Wag ons. [10 /rigs. ) .March 8, 1S93.-Ths m ventiou ba.s tor its object to enable ra il way \\ agone to be coupled or
uncoupled without going in b etween the!D To uncouple the
wa.g:on the., j ib" is brought for ward agawst the back of the
curved' plate d hanging from the centre liJ?k and pusbes ~he latter
for ward3, so a.s to raise its front edge agams t the u nd er s1de of the

T M number of vitws given in the Specification Drawinqa i8 ~tat~

in each caae ; where none are mentioned, tM Specificatwn 1.8
not illustrated.
Wl~re inventions are communicated from a l>road, tM Namea,
&c., of the Communicators are given ~n italica.
Copies of Specifications may be obta1-ned at tM Patent O.lfice
Sale Branch, 38, Cur8itor-street, Chancery-lane, E . C. , at tM
un;jorm price of 8d.
T he date of tM advertisement !'f the acceptance of a com pZete
specification w, in each caae, gw en after the ~bstr.act,, unless the
Patent has been sealed, when tM date of aealtng 1.8 gwen .
.Any person may at any time within two months from t~ da~ 9f
the advertisement of the acceptance of a c~plete specificatton,
give notice at the Patent Offtce of oppoSttton to the grant of a
Patent on any of the groun.d8 mentioned in the .Act.

GUNS, &c.
G. Bookha m , Blrming:t;ta;m.

.Fig.

Fig. 1.

of its driving wheels is t ransmi tted by frictional con~act to tbo

wheels a upon \\hich thl'y bear with the whole wer~bt of the
locomoti ~e, the motion being transmitted through gearmg to the
winding drum. (..d ccepted November 1, 1893).

. ig .7.

parts of th e s~uds I are m~e la.r~ r than the ends, to sen'e as

rl1etance pieces, against whtch the mner faces of t he plates G ~re
firml y held by nuts J screwed upon t he ends of the s tuds, whtch
are slig htly r iveted over them. (~ ccepted N ovember 1, 1893).

.Fig.4

15,150. C. B. Macneal, Phil~delphla. Penn., U.S.~

Metallic Railway Ties. [6 Ftgs. ) August 8, 1893.-Tbts

invention relates to m etallic railw!l.y ties. The of!set Al at each

end of the croPs piece is adapted to engage t~e 10n ~r ~a.nge of
t he tro.ck r ail X. Th e end pieot>s B are .prov1ded w1th 10ver ted
Bctgl u.m.) Cartrid~e Extractors for Bree~h~oadl!J.g T -shaped slots B3. The r il.Jbed overhangmg br ace Bl upon the
Firearms . ( lt l"l.f!R.) December 8, 1892. -T~Js 10vent10n u er sur fare ot t he end piece B engages the outer fl ange of . the
r elates to rigid car tridge extractors for ~reeobloadmg fi r~ arms, tia~k rails X. nais the inver ted T -shaped slot of the end p1ece
which oompnses a.la.rge-bize.d hook on t~e_n!lg B. In .o rder to 1 osu ~e
the book cat ching the cartndge hefore ltlS Jam m e~ m t he barrel,_a
emall plunger p is provided, thus effectually secunng the engage.

Fig . 1 .

Fig .1

Fig .Z.

Fig .3 .
.....

B. The track rails X res~ on the fl:~.t upper sur face of t he end
pieces B. A securing key D fits into a. h ole Dl at the end of the
cro9spiece. When t he par ts are put t ogether the track rail X
is clamped bet\\ een the r ibbed brace B1 of the end piece on its
outer side, and the offset A' of the crosspiece on its inner side,
the parts B' and Al fi tting snugly over the outer and inn er
flan ges of the rail r especti vely. ( A ccepted N ovember 1, 1893).
24,163. J. H. F. Roussel, Parts . Engines. [3 Fi,qs.]
December 31, 1892.-Tbis invent ion relates to means fo r applying
a loromotive engine to operate as a stationary one. The friction
discs a are in two pairs, each keyed on a. shaft, and so mounted
that the tr eads of the rails c are tangential to the hi~rhest point of
their peripheries, t he rails being interrupted to give passage to
the fr iction wheels so as to admit of the two pairs of dr iving

free link, which it raises against the stops on the centre link. The
whole can t hen be lifted free of the d raw-hook b, and brought
back from it, by pulling ba.ck the chain f and shackle e connected
to the back end of the centr e link. To couple the wagon t he
.. jib" is brought for v.:a.rd to ~aise the fr ee link , an~ if ~he cor.r esponding d rawbook 1s sufficently far away, t he hnk 1s earned
forward and lifted by the universal action of the hand lever over
the book and then lower ed on it. (~ccepted 1/ovember 1, 1893).

STEAM ENGINES AND BOJI.ERS.

7360. G. w. Llnford, London. Valves for Con
trolling the Supply of Steam t o Steam Engines.

(3 F i J S.) April 11, 1893.-This in,enl.ioo has reference to ,ah es

used on steam gener ators for controlling the supply of steam t o
the enginl', and has for its object to provide one whi ch will act
as a. governor, and a.s an automatic stop - \'a.l ve in case of any
breakage or failure of the steam supply. The valve a is disposed
on the steam pip e of th e eng ine, and so ad apted that the pr essu re
of t he steam fr om t he steam generator t ends to operate t he val ve

Fig.Z
ment of the hook with the r im of the cartr idge rase and with a
small spring holding t he case in pos_ltio~ until it com es in co~t~t
with the cartridge extractor El, whlCh 1s bracketsbaped , ~hdm_g
r eely between the ring B and the bolt, and so contnved ~hat 1t
does not t ransmit to the bolt the shock caused by its backward
motion. (.Accepted N ovember 1, 1893).

Fz.g. 1.

'

''

'
''

'

MACHINE TOOLS, SBAFTING, &c.

6498. R . L a ng, Johnstone. Glasgow. ~oldin~
Twlst DrUls. [3 .FigB.) March 28, 1893..- Th~ obJect ~f ths

1J 60

invention is to bold round tools, such as tw1st dnlls, s uffic1en tly

r igid to enable them to be sharp~n ed ~n th~ cutting .lips. The
centre at the shank end of the tw1st dnll A 18 placed m a corre-

and close t h e steam p~ssage. A spr ing acts on the valve in an

opposite d irection to that of the steam fr om the gener ator, and
tends to oper ate t he valve and open the steam passage. When
normal conditions p revatl , the valve a is opl'rated and the steam
passage kept open by the spr ing, but wh l'n these conditions ar e
broken, and a n abnormal volume of stE-am flows past t he valve,
the spr ing is unable to r esist t he pressur e, and t he valve is caused to
shut o.tJ the Bow of steam agains t the pressur e of t he spr ing. (Accepted N ovember 1, 1893).

Fig . 2.

IIISCELLANJCOtJS.
164. J. Morlson, Dalkeith, Midlothian, and A.
Kesson, D. Campbell, and S. Potts, Hamilton,
Lan.a rks, N.B. Washtns ~nd ~eparattng Coal, &c.

(1 F t.g. ) January 4, 1893.-Thls mvent1on r elates to washing or

separ~ting coal, &o. Th~ co~l is ! ed into a. tank containing a
quant1ty of water, and as 1t SlDks, 1s acted upon hy a horizontal
motion of the water, which produces a separation between the
mater ials according to their specific gravities, so t hat dhergent
descendin~ streams of the materials are fo rmed. The lower part
of the t ank is divided into compar tments by plates capable ot
adjustml'nt, so as to be exactly between the descending streams.
The materials ar e taken out of t he tank by Sl'parate end less
bucket elevators. The motion of t h e water is p roduced hy a
r eciprocating pist on wor king in a vessel whioh is mad e with a
ver tical p erforated plate. The m aterial is fed in so as to sink in
front of the p erfor ated plate, and so as to be acted on by the
motion produced in the water by t h e piston. (.A ccepted N ovember
8, 1893).

U 9f

spoodiog cenLre C on th e apparatus prepared to rect>ive it, the

otbfr cod of the tool being placed in a V -slot cut out of a thin
plate D of steel, and so arranged that it can be h eld by the band
sufficiently r igid while being passed across an emery wheel t o
sharpen the cutting lips. (.Accepted N ovember 1, 189a).

2f/6JA

RAILWAY APPLIANCES.
wheels with which the engine is p rovided, resting directly on them,
22 267. B. S. Maxim, B exley, aud L. Silverman, the rails bei ng also continued sufficiently close up to and between
Crayford, K ent. Wheels. [2 ft"igs.] D~cember ~. 1892,- t h e two pairs of discs to permit. the engine to be run on and off.

Tbismvention r elates to wheels of tram and ra1lwa.y ,.eh1clt>s, &r. ,

and consists of a hub having a corru~rated outer periphery and a
t yre with a corrugated inner per iphery , the proj~ctions o~ . the
latter fi tting into the g rooves of the former. A tubng of res1hent
material, suoh as elastic, is placed in the space between t he

Each shaft bas keyed upon it a toothed wheel/, these wh eels being
in ~ear with a wheel g on a countershaft lt, common to both, and
wh1eh is in turn geared by a pinion with the ring of teeth i on
t he barrel of t h e wind ing engine. When stcured, the engine is
incapable of moving either backward or for ward, and t he rot ation

24,~50. J. C. Stewart, Edinburgh. Cleaning Seeds.

[1 .F11J. ) December 30, 1892.-The object of this invention is to
provide an apparatus tor husking seeds. I n a. framing is arrangE d
a. d r um having its shaft h orizontal and being cover ed with wire
card. On the descending side of th e drum is arranged a conC'a\ e
board. the surface of which is covered with wire car d. The con
cave board is adjustable so that it can be set in pr oximity to
the d rum, and a r eciprocating m otion is impar ted to it by an
adjustable rotating crank. The s~ed s ar e fed fr~m a. hopper abO\' e
the d rum, s~ as to enter between 1t and t he reCiprocating board,
and on pass~ng below the latter , ,ar e subjected to an air current
from f\ blow10g fan . The m a.tenals pass on to a jiggin~ s creen
and .\\hat passes thr ough d csceo_ds on t<;~ a lower sieve, the seed~
pa.ssmg th rough the latter betng rece1vE d in a box and the
cock's-foot being deliver ed O\' er the lower end of the scr een
~~ ccepted N overnber 8, 1893).

E N G I N E E R I N G.
22,185. A. Govan. Glasgow. Looms. [12 F igs.] Decem
ber 3, 1892.-This invention consists of a method of instantaneously stopping the pattern barrel mechanism by the action
of the weft fork when the weft thread breaks or runs out, and
before the stoppage of the loom, so as prevent the necessity of the
pattern barrel being turned back. When the weft thread breaks,
the driving surface of the cam on the wiper shaft is accelerated,
eo that the burel will not begin to move until the mechanism has
acted, the latter acting when the weft b reaks or runs out, and
preventing the barrel f rom turning the tooth which the weaver
requires to turn back. Tbe cam which operates the pattern
b:urel is mounted loose on its shaft, and a movable clutch is provided, which is shifted out of gear by the weft fo rk when the
thread breaks. On the lower end of each of the pattern pendant
le,ers a loose pawl lever is fitted with a weighted and dis
engaging tail which falls into gear with the cross-tail banging
levers. Means are provided for turning the Dobbie pattern barrel
back the card for the two shots it has run without weft. (Accepted
N ovember 8, 1893.)
22,176. J. Mactear. London. Raising Liquids.
[5 Figs.] December 3, 1892. -Tbis invention relates to apparatus
for raising liquids. Air in minute bubbles is injected into the
lower part of a column of liquid, which, at its lower part, is in
communication with the supply to be raised, so as to cause the
g ravity of the column of liqwd to be lessened relatively t o that
of an equal column of the supply, the surplus gravity of the latter
being thus rendered instrumental in raising the column of commingled liquid and air in a continuous stream to the desired
l evel. A delivery pipe is arranged within t he well, descending to
the necessary depth below the surface of the water. At its lower
end the pipe is fitted with an inlet adapted to mechanically direct
the supply to within the deli very pipe, the inlet being in communi
cation with a compressed air reservoir, which is kept charged by
a connected air compressor. (.Accepted N ovember 8, 1893).
22,409. J. E. Carter and s. A. Wrlght, Halifax.
Turning Nuts. [2 Pigs.) December 7, 1892.- This invention
r elates to apparatus for turning nuts. The lathe is set in motion,
a nut placed u pon the mandril 6, and the tools 27, 28 on the
compound slide-rest 26 are b rought up to and turn the face of the
nut 8, and at the same time chamfer it; a grooved cam 23 on the
upper side of a wormwheel 22 operating the elide rest, the
chamfering tool being caused to remain st~tionary fo r a short
time to put a better finish on the nut. As soon as t he nut is
turned, the cam withdraws the slide rest, another cam 36, on the
under side of the wormwheel 22, being so timed as to operate a

,.

Fin.
1.
~

--

--

.--

----

--... _...

1---ll

_______..,.

_. ; ...

..

--- --r: .,.~r-- - ---

::110.11oi'~:\:-'IT1--1L ....JI

-- -

--

L 4,;

- '-">a 1---1

---

specific g ravity, is c1.used by centrifugal force to rise into the

narro w passage, accompanied with a little of the air, the rest of the
air, which returns to act on the gnin, bein~ thus freed from the
principal part of its dust. (.A ccepted November 1, 1893).
22,822. T. and G. M. Parktnson, Doncaster. Yorks.
Dus~ - Collecting
Apparatus. December 12, 1892.This invention relates to apparatus for removing dust and
fine particles from ai r. The surfacea of the plates against which
the air impinges are roughened by being coated with an adhesive
such as varnish, and Calais sand or powdered glass is sprinkled
upon it. (Accepted N ovember 15, 1893).

439. J. Dewar, Cambridge. Producing Vacuum.

January 9, 1893.-Tbe object of this imention is to obtain

a high vacuum in a closed vessel. The vessel to be exhausted is filled with a condensable vapour, so as to entirely
exdlude atmospheric air. A part of the vessel which can be bermetically sealed off from the main body is then subjected to a
lower degree of temperature than the main vessel, so that tbe
vapour contained in the latter descends into the subsidiary vessel
and becomes condensed . The subsidiary ' 'essel is then separated
by being hermetically sealed off. (A ccepted No vember 15, 1893).
20.184. B. Forman, Chellaston, Derby. Ploughs.
[4 Ji'igs. ) November 9, 1892. - The object of t his invention is to
provide a fork plough by which weeds are turned over and caused
to lie on the surface of the ground. Prongs D are arranged,

.Fig. J.

23901

Fig . 2.

having a number of points F, r~nging diagonal~y with the slipe of

the plough, these points follow10 g each other 10 echelon, and the
prongs being arranged so as to turn over and t horoughly break
up and pulverise the soil. (.Accepted N ovember 1, 1893).
21,178. B, Banks, Leeds, Y~r~s. ~oi~ts. [3 ~0s. ]
Novemher 22 1892. - Tb e object of tb1s tnventton 1s to pronde a
hoist to wo~k vertically or horizontally. The lifting pulley
is constructed with a flat or grooved rim with its axle proje~t
ing a sufficient length fo r two small pulleys E to be fitted on 1t.
On these pulleys are fixed straps F wrapped on alternate ways,
so that the unfolding of either is winding the other. On each of

with close-back rims. The shrouded wheels A, B are alternately

made fast and loose on the shaft C for the reversing motion of the
lever D, which, when moved over by the arm E, carries the clutch
lever F with it. The clutches G on t he slee,e F engage alternately in pockets in t he bosses H of the sbrouded wheels, thie
engagement, fo r the time being, making that wheel the fas t one.
(.Accepted November 1, 1893).
23,703. W. R. Green, London. Lifts. [1 Fig.) De
cember 23, 1892.-This invention relat es to hydraulic lifts in
which the cage is raised by chains receiving motion from the lining
ram. The cylinders A, Al are secured by their feet a to a wall,
and are fitted with rams B, Bl, B2, working downwards throug h
glands, and attached to a lower crosshead C common to all.
Sid e rods D connect this lower crossbead C with an upper one .E,
carrying two multiplying sheaves F, Fl. The ropes start from
c ~

I~

i.I. I'}

@)

\i Ii

11

--

Ff&.J

37

so that if rotation be ia::parted to either spindle, the other rotates

simultaneously to an equal amount in t~e rev~rse d irection. _To
each spindle a large vane 2, 21 , respectively, lS at~ched, whiC'h
lies normally in an approximately fo re-and-aft direct10n. To s~op
the motion of the vessel, the Eopindles a re operated so as to swmg
the arresters 2, 21 until they stand athwartsbip. The a rresters
on one spindle are a rranged alternately with those on the. other,
and the spindles are placed sufficiently fa r f?rwa.rd t.o brmg t he
leading edges of the arresters close _up behmd the stem ?f the
,-easel a strong bulkhead beiog bUllt across the latter tmmediatel) aft of the apparatus. (.Accepted IX ovember 1, 1893).
23,901. Sir E. Green. Bart.. Wakefield, .Yor~s.
Economisers. [3 F i{Js.] December 27, ~892. -Tbt~ m vent1on
relates to mitre gear wheels of fuel economtser re,ersmg mechanism and consists in the employment of shrouded bevel wh~els
to ob'viate both the jingling and shook noises. The mitre wheels,
which have hitherto been open-back rimmed wheels, are formed

' '11

_.. , _

rod 37, and, by a le\'er 38, connecting rod 39, lever 40, the sneck
15 in t he lever 14 within the g roove of the c~utcb boss 10 eng~es
with a sneck 16 thereby stopping the rotatJon of the mandril 6.
at the same tim~ d rawing the nut against the serrated face of ~be
bush 5 the latter causing the nut to rotate, and tbu~ unscrewmg
it fro~ the mandril. As soon as t he cam has done 1te work, the
clutch boss 10 is d rawn against the spindle end and the unso~ewed
part of the mandril is caus"d to project throu~h the ~ush m the
7.) 17 8
spindle nose. As the slide rest recedes, the nut 3~ 1s brought
against the screwed end of the mandril, and is thereby screwed these straps a further cord is attached, which extends to the dept h
the hoist has to work. Around the liftin~ pulley is an endless
on. (Accepted November 1, 1893).
band a to which are fixed the oages. By pulling the cord attached
19.388. B. Simon, Manchester~ Cleaning Wheat. to the straP. OD the small drU!DS, ~be larger . wheel is c_aused to
[4 F igs.) October 28, 1892.- Tbis in\entlon r~lates_ to a method work the hfting cord more rap1dly m proportion to the s1ze of the
of clearing the air from dust so as to render 1t avatla~le for COJ? two pulleys, and at t he same time wind on the other cord for the
t\nuouslv repeated use in cleaning t he grain. A onestded f_an JS return journey. (.Accepted N ovem ber 1, 1893.)
a rranged to draw air in at a central aperture and to blow 1t out
21,427. B. Slmpson. Liverpool . Arresting the
by a narrow passage at the ci rcumference. This passage leads to
an annular pocket, forme~ in t~e c~ing of the fan, through Motion of Navigable Vessels. [12 F tgs. ) November 2i,
wbiob the air is carried 10 a dnect1on fi rst fonvards and then 1892.-This invention has reference to apparatus for suddenly
causing a large increase in the resistance to the motion of
r._.
?
...Clf} -

..

Fig . 1.
- -.--
I

'

-.

''

...

_._.-

....

.......

,,,._,,.., ..,

"'

'

backwards floalJy issuing into a channel by which it is led to be

passed to 'the grain-clearing apparatus and ~ack to th~ central
aperture of the fan. In order ~hat t~e au thus Cll'Culated
may be cleared from a large port10n of 1ts dust, a narrow pas~e is provided around the annular pock~t of the fan .cas~,
an opening leading from the pocket into th1s _passage, wblCh_Is
l ed to a small dust-collector K. As tbe ~m and: dust w~rl
rapidly round in the pocket, the dust, owmg to 1ts supenor

l l ~ t7

navigable vessels in order to arrest their motion. Two shafts

3, 31 are mount;d vertically in hearings _near the bow of ~he
vessel, tbe spindles being placed symmetncally one_on each s1de
of tbe central line of the vessel and geared together b~ spurwheels,

a fixed point, pass under the sheave F, over a conveyance

sbea,e H rotating on a stationary axis under the sheave Fl, and
then away over the overhead sheave I to the lift cage J . The
side rods D, which serve as guides, are ea.ch in two lengths, joined
up by coupling nuts d, which are arran(ted to come in contact
with lugs on the upper and lower cylinder feet a, so as to form
stops for limiting the t ravel of t he ram.
(.A ccepted .November 1,
1893).

---

UNITED STATES PAT.ENTS AND PATENT PRAOTIOE.

Descriptions with illustrations of inventions patented in the
United States of America from 18~7 to the present time, and
reports of tria.ls of patent law cases in the United States, may be
consulted, gratis, at the offices oi ENGINURING, 35 and 36, Bed!ordstreet, Strand.

CATALOGCEa.-America. haa long been famous for big

things, and in the matter of catalogues Messrs. Manning,
Maxwell, and Moore, of 112 and 113, Liberty-street, New
York, seem to have broken the record with their new
illustrated priee-list of rail way and machinists' tools and
supplies. This catalogue contains upwards of 1000 pages,
of about the same size as that of ENGINEERING, and is
stoutly bound in cloth boards. The illustrations are
numerous and well executed, and a copious index facilitates reference to any desired item. Prices are also
appended in most cases. It is impossible to give an
adequate idea of the contents of the volume, but nearly
every type of machine tool or rail way appliance will be
found illustrated and described in it.-Mr. J. H . Sank~ ,
of Ironbridge and E ssex Wharves, Ca.nning T own, E.,
ha.s sent us a copy of his handy little catalogue of
sanitary stoneware, firebricks, glazed tiles, and other products of the Potteries, but prices are appended only in a
few cases.-]Hessrs. Adams and Co., of Little Queenstreet, Westminster, have also sent us a copy of their
catalogue of sanitary appliances, amongst which we note
a large selection of flushing tanks. The catalogue is well
illustrated, and the prices of nearly all manufactures given,