the fissures have increased in siz~ .

The road-bed, I but for the existence of t he Pongo de Manserich~, a

rails carriages and engines of the line would be narrow gorge cut out of the solid rock by the actwn
very' much improved if they were all re-made, as of the water (see Fi~s. 3 and 4). .
. .
they are in a wretched state of dilapi~ation. If the
Th.e Maraiion Rtver, after bemg JOined by t~e
proposed new road is to be worked with any degree Sanhago, suddenly contracts, and through this
of success, the present line must be thorough1y over- ' ' gut " t he whole vo~ume o~ wat~r h as . to paes.
hauled, as it forms the connecting link between The Pongo de Man serlChe ( ~tg. ~) IS
mtles lon g,
Piura and t he coast.
and averages about 250 ft. In w1dth, Its narro~e.st
The line for which the righ t of way has been part being l~ss t han ~50 ft. When rains pre vail In
obtain ed is to run from Piura t o Tambo Grande, the mountam s formmg the great watersh ed of the
and t hence to Morropon . This line will tap a very Upper M arafio n valley' the fl~od of water thro~ gh
good district, that will increase in value as the the narrow r ocky p~s~ Is terrific,. and ev~n durmg
work of irricration procrresses but its real value will the "dry " season It IS only navigable with bolsrus
lie in the tact t hat it form~ th e first section of a or rafts under the control of Indians, who are t h e
road, the importance of which has not b een eq uallcd only people who can !1an~le t h ef!l in such a dangerous
in Peru, or, indeed, one could safely say, in western locality. At SanBorJa(FJg. 2), ~Ituated at t.heeaste~n
Sou th America. For some time past several pro- end of the Pongo de Manseriche, the nver aga1n
minent men have been trying to obtain the conces- widens out, and becomeg navigable for all clas.ses of
sion for a railway from Piura to Huancabamba, and vessels. About eleven leagues from San BorJa the
th ence t o the R io Marafion on the eastern side of 1.\-Iarafion is joined by the Rio Morona, from the
the mountains (see map, Fig. 2). No one has yet north, and by the Rio Pastaza, also from the north,

A NE\V PERU.
(F R

0 l\I

00

777

N G l N E R 1 N G.

D Ec. 29, r8g3.]

R RE . J:> 0 N DENT.)

(Concluded from page 752.)

PROJ EC'l'S.
AT present t he Depar tment of Piura, which is
r eckoned as the rich est agricultural department in
the Republic, h as but one railway- that between
Paitl\ and Piura (33 miles), with an extension to
Catacaos of a. few miles. The latter portion is
operated by a separate corporation, but may be
considered as forming part of the longer road. The
distance of 33 miles is travelled in t he alarming
t-ime of four hours ! Thus the Paita.Piura Rl.ilway
may lay j ust claim to the title of a '' recordbr eaker " -oxen teams barred.
The Por t of Paita is the third most important in
the Republic, and is called at by all t he mail
steamers, as well as th ose plying between Europe
and South America cia th e Straits of !\I agellan.
The h arbour is well sheltered on the north-east,
NEW R AI LWAY

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east, south, and south-west, by a high bn l'I'Ctlnca or

bluff, and is unaffected by any strong winds t hat
may blow from those q uarters, while t he west and
n or t h-west winds ar e generally light. The water is
deep close t o shore, enabling the large P acific 'team
Navigation Company 's vessels to anchor wit hin
about 200 yards of the small pier opposite th e
Custom House. A new pier, to extend to deep
water, so that vessels may lie alongside, is contemplated, and would d o much to enhance the
impor tance of the port.
The town itself is small, b eing confined to the
beach, and back ed by th e high bank on all sides. It
is also n ot over-clean , as there are n o sewers, owing
t o the absence of any water supply, and to the
existen ce of a " go-as-you -please" sanitary system.
I t is wonderfully healthy, however, as is evidenced
by t he fact that. n ot on e in twenty of t h e inhabitants could tell you where the graveyard is located.
The port is the only gateway through which the
exports a nd impor ts from and to the Provinces of
Piura and Ayavaca pass, except, it may be added ,
an occasional cargo that finds its way ashore at
night a sh ort distance away, in order to avoid any
dispute with the Custom H ouse authorities as t o
the correctness of the duties.
The railway station is in the town, and trains
have t o climb a rath er stiff gradient along the face
of t he bluff before arriving on th~ tablazo, where
the surface of the ground is perfectly level as far as
Huaca, a distance of about six leagues. The per
ma.nent way between the town and the top of th e
t(( blaz.o is uot such as will engender enthusiasm for
t ravelling of ten by the line, for t he first im pression is- and it is apt to be a lasting one- that
some day t he vibration <Jf the moving t rain will
be too much for the clay shelf upon which the
sleepers are laid, and there will be a fall in railway
stock (rolling) t hat will be attended by most
disastrous consequences. As it is, the clay is
cracked in many places, and one imagines, when
passing t he place for t he second or third time, that

succeeded in securing the righ t, which, wi thout

doubt, will open up a part of Peru vastly superior to
the portion now occupied, both as regards natural
resources and geographical position.
The northeastern department of Peru, known as L oreto, has
an area almost equal to th at of all the other departments taken together, a nd throughout this vast district is a network of rivers that render it capable of
producmg unlimited quantities of all kinds of grain,
fruit, and vegetables. The territory is as yet
covered by a. virgin forest, containing all classes of
trees, from t he rubber tree on the Brazilian frontier
to the hard wood on t h e slopes of the Andes. In
mineral wealth it is also very rich , gold and copper
being discovered in many places by travellers who
had the courage to pass through its trackless forests.
But all these are inaccessible. The journey from
Lima to t he capital of the department, Moy obamba,
can be made by hard riding in about 30 days, and
t he journey t o I quitos, the important Governmen t
station on t h e Rio Marafio n, in not less than 80 or
90. By the accompanying map it will be seen that
the only gateway to the district is from the direction
of P iura, and it is for the privilege of opening this
path t hat so many are n ow seeking.
The west.ern chain of t he Cordilleras is broken
at t wo points on the boundary line between the
Department of Cajamarca and t h e Department of
the Amazonas. Through the most south erly depression the Rio Tamborapa flows from the foothills west of Tabacon as, thus forming an easy
crossing of the Cordilleras to the Maraiw n , where
the count ry is level, in the direction of the ~ Lream.
1'he oth er depression is n ear the h ead waters of a
small river that also flows into th e Marafion, and if
this route were adopted the line would pass through
Chirinos, as shown on the map. There are but two
difficult portions on the line : the first, t h e ascent
to Huancabamba, and the other th e crossing of the
Rio Santia~o, which has a strong current, and is of
considerable width. The terminus of the road
would have been located in the town of Santiago

at abou t 20 leagues. Those two rivers are fed by

nine lakes, besides d raining a con siderable watershed which ex tends into Ecuador. Thirty leagu es
from San B orja t he Rio Huallaga enters the
l\1arafion from t h e south. This tributary has its
source in t he mountains of which the famous Cerro
de Pasco is the principal point, and it thus drains
a territory extending over six degrees of latitude
along the eastern slop es of the western Cordilleras.
From the junction of the Huallaga the Rio Maraiion
b ecomes a n oble river, in which vessels of large
tonnage could n avigate, and as it flows eastward its
volume is further increased by the Rios Ucayli and
Napa. T he Ucayli is th e longest river in t he
Republic, r eaching as far southward as t he D epartment of Arequipa, where it is k nown by the local
name of Epurimac. The Napa, on the other hand,
is a large river, flowing from the n orth, where it
taps the watershed of the mountains in southern
Ecuador, and drains the enormous district to the
south -west of t h e mountains on the borders of
N ueva Granada.
At the junction of the Napa, the !\iaraiion merges
its identity with that of the Amazon , of which very
little need be said here, except that it would form
a connecting link between the Peruvian territory
of L oreto and the Atlantic Ocean, the Marafion
being both deep and wide enough to admit of
vessels of large tonnage reaching even the t own
of San Borja.
But it is from the Pacific side that th e im port.
anco of the rail way proposed can be seen. Through
out the west coast th e Republic is dependent for
timber upon California and the extreme south
w bile in th e Department of the A mazon as alon~
t h ere is sufficient to enable h er to enter into competition with all the lumber-producing countries.
Not only that, in t he Department of the Amazonas
the cofte e plant is found in abundance, an d the
samples of wild rice that have been brought from
t h ere are equal to a great deal th at is imported.
The railway, allowing for all curves, would be

E N G I N E E R I N G.
less than 350 miles, and the gradients, even in the navy. The first class of navy vessels considered
ascent to Huancabamba, would not exceed the limit was cruising gunboats. These are protected only
of 3 per cent. Ample timber for sleepers is close against the fire of ligh t guns, and at present we
at hand, and the climate, if the fevers met with in have nine ships of t his class, which have proved
all thickly-wooded districts are excepted, is healthy. eminently satisfactory, although t heir speed is not
The Indians of the district are known to be of a to-day equal to the requirements due to a developvery peaceful temperament, totally unlike those of ment in the line of torpedo-boats. In regard
the southern Andes, who have a very unfriendly to protected cruisers, Mr. \Vilson st:J.ted as
habit of introducing their rnachete::; to strangers follows :
before they go through the ceremony of making
''It is in the protected cruiser class that the
their acquaintance themselves. They live in bliss- greatest progress has been made. ln all sixteen
ful ignorance of the efforts that are being made to vessels h ave been built or are building. Their
obta1n permission to open up their country, b ut size varies from 2000 tons in vessels of the Detroit
when that is accomplished, t hey will perhaps be the class to 7350 tons in the Columbia and h er sister
means of developing the land for the benefit of ship, the Minneapolis. The Olympia may be r etheir western brethren.
garded as a developmen t of the design of the San
The following is a summary of the two routes by Francisco, t h e horse-power being relatively inwhich a road can be built :
creased, and the first step being taken t oward the
1. From Piura the line would run directly east- more complete protection of the heavier guns of
ward to the bank of the Huaramaca River, when it t.he main battery by placing them in pairs in turrets.
would change direction and follow the west bank The military value of the vessel is much gr eater
of that stream. It would then rise by easy gradients than of any of the ships of this class that have
toward the town of Huancabamba, but it is ques- preceded her. "
tionable if the construction of t he line would
In respect t o armoured cruisers, Mr. Wilson
not be rendered less difficult by crossing the river said :
at Sera n and gradually working into the valley of
" The earliest design of armoured cruisers was
the Rio Huancab amba sout h of the town of S6udor, that of the Maine. The New York, whose design
keeping San Filipe on the east. The gradient at followed that of the Maine, contains all the features
this point would reach the maximum, as a ridge of of protection , buoyancy, and stability embodied in
comparatively high mountains would have to be t he designs of the later protected cruisers. In t he
crossed before the valley of the Tarn borapa could be Brooklyn the displacement was increased for the
reached. Once the ridge is passed, the gradients purpose of allowing a h eavier battery to be carried,
would become light, as the slopes on the eastern and additional protection was given to all of t he
side are easy. Passing through J aen la Viega, the guns of the main battery. The Brooklyn has
line would follow the course of t he Rio Marafion, more free board forward than the N ew York ; but
crossing the Rivers Parcasa and Turumbusa about the principal differences consist in the increase of
two leagues from their j unction with the main battery and its additional protection against high
explosive she11 fire. "
stream .
Speaking next of battleships, Mr. Wilson r e2. The line after leaving Huancabamba would
cross toward Chirinos, and thence through the marked :
pass at the head waters of the Parcasa River to the
"Five battleships have been begun. The T exas
eastern slope, where it would join the first line.
may be considered as an isolated type, whose feaA third line, although longer than either of t he t ures have not been repeated in mor e recent ships.
above, is one which, on r eaching t he valley of the She was followed by the three vessels of t he Oregon
Huancaba.mba, follows it until near Pimpingos, a.nd type, which, it is believed, may be regarded as t he
then turns n orthwards along the side of the river. most powerful additions yet made to our navy, or,
This line can be carried across the Marafion at for that matter, to any navy. Both t he 13-in. and
Yam on, close to where t he Huancabamba j oins, and t he 8-in. guns are p rovided with complete armoured
then over practically level country along the east protection. The I ~wa, the last battleship designed,
bank of the l\1arafion . By this route the crossing differs from the vessels of t he Oregon class in
of the Rio Santiago can be avoided, and that would having improved nautical qualities, due to an inmean a large item of expen se, as t he bridge for such crease of freeboard forward. The calibre of t he
a river would have to be a very impor tant structure, heavy guns is reduced from 13 in. to 12 in., and
and the foundations alone would prove more costly the armour is generally r educed in thickness, t he
than the side-cut necessary to pass th e P ongo de side armour being 14 in . thick on t he I owa, as
against 18 in. on t he Oregon ."
Manseriche.
The next class was the monitors, of which there
It is stated that an estimate of 2,000,000l. has
been made, but that is a rather low figure for the are six, with a displacement of 26,020 tons; five of
work considering the difficulties in t he vicinity of th ese were built nearly ten years in advance of the
Hua~cabamba. Anyhow, the matter is now being time under consideration, although work on them
discussed with great inter est, and no doubt the was suspended for a number of years. In 1885 to
present .)ongress at Lima wil~ take some .action in 1887 their designs were so modified that they may be
definitely settling the q uestwn of openmg up a considered as belonging to the new navy. Of these
territory whose riches are known, but at present but one is completed, viz. , the Miantonomoh. The
Monterey, the last monitor under construction, is
unattaina.bl e.
modern in design, and has greater speed, thicker
THE AMERIOAN SOCIETY OF NAVAL armour, and heavier guns. She also has large
ballast
tanks,
so
t
hat
her
freeboard
can
be
water
ARCHITECTS.
materially reduced. There are four special service
(FROM OUR NEW YORK CoRRESPONDENT.)
boats and two first-class torpedo-boats, but Mr.
(Concluded f rom page 755.)
"\Vilson did not go into details. As to torpedo gunboats he was emphatic, and declared:
STEEL SHIPS OF THE UNIT~D STATES NAVY.
"In t he class of torpedo gunboats absolutely
THE next paper was one of genera~ importan~e,
and presented by a man w ell .kno~~ 1n the s~ee1al not hing has been accomplished, and when the
line treated of. It was entitled, Steel Ships of marked development which t his class of vessels has
the United States Navy," and was prepared by received in all foreign services is considered in conTheo. D. Wilson, late Chief Constructor U.S.N. nection with the great military value that may be
This was the most elaborately illustrated of any given to these small and comparatively inexpensive
their
total
absence
from
our
fleet
is
greatly
vessels,
paper presented, and was sai~ by. many. to be
one of the most impor tant; certawly it ~as hstened to be r egretted. Taken in connection with the
to with though tf ul attention and discussed at want of torpedo-boats, t he absence of any torpedo
gunboats in the list of our new vessels must be relength.
'b d h
garded
as
a
serious
we8:kness,
a!ld
one
t~at should
The distinguished author dcscr~ c
t e conbe r emedied at the ear h est poss1ble date.
ditions under which the constructwn of the new
Considering the protected and armoured cruisers
navy of t he United States was undertaken, and together, the Commo~ore con sider ed them larger,
stated that as we had no plant suitable for hea~y faster and more h eav1ly armoured t han any t hey
forgings or guns, the development was ~t first. 1n would have to encounter, and complimented the
the Jirection of construction most r eadily carrte.d United States on their possession. H e thought,
on. To-day conditions were .changed,. and th1s however in what is known as fleet service, our
country can produce eve~yth1ng requ~ed for a navy w~s very weak, and t his was d ue to the facts
man-of-war, and in q uant1ty and quahty ~ns.ur already stated, of the inability to construct such
passed. He h eld that to-day t~ere were no. hmlta- ships at t~e t~me. t he new navy :vas und~rtaken,
tions on designers in producmg a warsh1p, not but that oLJectwn iS now r emoved; 111 fact, Ius stateeven that of cost. Since 1883, forty-three vessels
men t was as follows :
and two torpedo-boats have been added to our

"In continuing in the immediate fu t ure t he development of our national policy of naval construction, t he classes of vessels of which we have t he
greatest need are battleships, torpedo gunboats, and
torpedo-boats. With the material resources now
available, there is n o longer any limitation to the
r esults t hat may be accomplished other than that
which the wisdom of Congress and the Executive may
place upon the naval designer through the limitation of cost."
The author th en concluded thus :
'' I t is impossible to conclude t his brief summary
of the work accomplished towards t he construction
of a modern fleet wttho ut r eferring especially to the
manner in which t he pri vate shipyards of the
count ry have contrib uted to the success of the results obtained . When it is remembered that all
but four of t h e new steel ships have been built by
contract, t h e aid r endered t he country by private
shipbuilders will be appreciated, and higher praise
to the thoroughness of t heir work cannot be given
t han is implied by t h e simple s tatement of fact
that i n no c~tse has the contract speed of any vessel
failed to be obtained on trial. "
THE ENOHiES OF UN ITED STATES w AR VESSEL.

The n ext paper, being by the Engineer -in-Chief

of the United States Navy, naturally dealt with the
topic he knows so much about. It was entitled,
" Notes on Machinery of t he N ew Vessels of the
United States Navy, " by George \V. Melville,
Engineer-in-Chief U. S .N.
This distinguished author considered t hat our
new navy began with the construction of the Roach
cruisers Atlanta, Dolphin, &c. As horizontal
engines were used coming below the protective
deck, n o vertical armour is required. In the days
when the speed was 12 knots, it was not a problem
to run at 8. But now, when 18 to 20 knots is demanded, a reduction to 10 knots is a different
matter. The friction alone is an enormous factor,
and t he immense cylinder condensation is another,
when t he question of running 16,000 horse-power
at a greatly reduced speed is considered. The
earliest method to solve this was that of having
two sets of engines on one shaft, and throwing
out one when reduction was desired. Anoth er
method suggested by triple-expansion was to t hrow
out the lo w-pre~sure cylinder , and r unning as a
compound engine with the two smaller cylinders,
which, although n ot economical, was yet more so
t han running a large triple-expansion engine with
reduced power.
" The next method which suggested itself is the
subdividing of the very large power among three
engines instead of two, giving us the triple-screw
ship, so that ~t very low speeds only the central
engine need be used, t he propellers of the side
engines being disconnected and allowed to revolve
freely. Of course, in this case t here is t he loss due
to the work necessary to drag t hese propellers
through t he water, and to offset t his is the gain
from saving the friction of running two large
engines in a t win-scr ew ship. The experiments by
Chief Engineer Isherwood, at the Mar e I sland
Navy Yard in 1874, on the power n ecessary t o turn
screw propellers, when disconnected and allowed
to revolve freely, show that the loss in this way is
very slight, and there can be little doubt that this
will by no means be equal to the power which
would be absorbed in the friction of the large moving parts of two large engines. Then, as has
already been pointed out, we shall have a single
engine working up to pretty nearly its full power,
when the steam economy would be good, while in
t he case of the two large engines working at very
reduced powers t he steam economy reduced by
condensation would be very low. Tho first of our
triple-screw cruisers, the Columbia, has just had
her official trials, which have been a gr eat
success as far as working at maximum power is
concerned. Of course, there has been no opportunity yet to determine the economy of working
at reduced powers by t he use of a single screw, but
by a study of the logs of t he New York and the
Columbia for a couple of years, we shall be able to
form a very clear idea as to which of t hese met hods
is the better one for economy.
" Still another very ingenious method of combining an engine which shall be fairly economical at
full power wit h one which shall have good economy
at moderate powers is the engine which we have
just designed to go in Gunboat No. 7 of our navy.
The primary conception of this idea is due to Professor Hollis, of Harvard University, until recently

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

also have been. This method enabled the speed to

be accurately determined with leas difficulty than
T AB LE SHOWING E xPENDITU RE~ o .P C OAL o N U. S. S. "CrrA RLE TON " AT V ARI OCS SPEEDS.
any other which had been suggested. Patent logs
....
1>-.
are out of the question, and. the run. ove~ a lon')g
Total Coal Used per Hour,
d

p..
Indicated Horse-Power of Auxiliari8.
A~
Pounds.
course, which the department 1s now usmg, 1nvolv~s
0
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the attendance of a. very large staff .of ?bserv~rs,
0
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---1 - - - - - - - - " The objection s to the trial over a long cou!se
42S 1,3?; 14.75 17.76 5.41 3 1.1
4
107 4.0
23. 7 19'4
6
474
100
2.5
79.0
375
6.9
26.5
0
occur at once to any one who gives much attentiOn
630 1,58e 16.99 19 99 6.oo 39.~
180 3.6
23.0 20. 1
100
2.8
6
48 1
375
6
6 .9
26. 6
80 2
0
878 1, 42 19.76 22.76 6. 33 47.3
100
270 3. 25 24.2 20.8
375
6
3.1
0
6.9
26.5
81. 6
6
489
to the matter, in the difficulty of laying out the
~3.
9
380 3.0
100 1,140 2, ll 4 22.65 25. 65 6.65
24.6 2 l.7
7
499
375
6.9 20.5
3.6
0
83.3 1 6
course accurately in the first place, and then t~1e
100 1,466 lt,446 26.22 ~9. 22 6.67 59.5
o20 2.8
25.1
615
375
6
8
6.9
26 6
85.9
23.2
4.2
0
2o. 7 24.6
100 1,820 2,827 30.30 33 30 6. 48 64.4
9
700 2.a
6.0
632
375
fact that everything which may go at all amiss
6
26.5
8a.7
6.9
0
10
960 2.5
26.5 27.3
660
500
100 2,400 3,1;60 38.13 41.13 5.83 b7.4
6
6.2
93.4
6.9
0
26.5
operates against the contractor. One of th~ great
5S>5
100 3,096 4,291 45.96 48.96 6.39 72. 1
11 1290 2.4
27.6 30. 6
7.5
99.1
6
500
26.6
0
6.9
advantaaes of the standarised screw method 1s t hat
12 1710 2.3
29.0 35.9
6Z5
646
100 3,933 6,30 l 56.79 59. 79 4 82 74. 1
9.3
0
6.9
6
26.5 107.G
100 4,88 l 6,434 68.94 7UN 4.34 75.9
13 2220 2.2
3<'. 7 41.1 11.4
6.9
26.5 116.6
7:>0
6
700
0
in case the performance of the vessel improves from
78.
3
553
so
94
83.94
4.00
6,922
7
H
2820 ~. 1
32.7 47 .5 14.0
781
750
IOU
2.5
6.9 26.5 130. 1
6
the very beginning, the trial may be prolonged an
90L
100 7,100 8, 51 91 83 Sli.83 3.68 80. 2
15 3550 2.0
35.2 58.0 17.1
6.4
6.9
26.5 1F0.1
6
750
100 ~. 303 10,230 109 62 11 ~.62 3. 41 ~1. 2
37.9 70.0 20.6 17.6
1077
16 4370 1.!)
750
6.9
26.5 179.5
6
hour or two, and thf.n any consecutive four hours
40.7
1318
100 10,962 13,130 l40.68 143.68 2.84 83.5
750
84.8 24.0 36.8
6
1'i 5220 2. 1
6.9
26.5 219.7
taken as the one on which the record will be based.
18 6120 25
43. 7 114.0
6
1732
100 15,300 17,S82119 1.60 l 9J.60 1 2.22 85 5
750
28.0 69.6
26.5 288.7
69
1
Of course, it goes without saying that, if the last
I
four hours of the trial are bett~r than the first four,
one of my assistants in the Bureau of Steam Engi- for ced draught, and all who have had experience the Government is getting a ship whose excellence
neering, and the subsequent working out has been on her and on other ves~:~els speak in the highest has been demonstrated more conclusively than by
under my direction, and modified to suit all the terms of praise of the greater facility, convenience, the performance of the first four hours. An addiand comfort which attend this method.
circumstances of the case.
tional advantage of this standardised screw method
''It is to be noted, also, with this method of forced is that the progressive trials over the measured
' 'In this case it was desired to combine as mtny
desirable features as possible, so that the machinery draught, that when there is any care at all taken in mile enable data. of gr eat value to the designers of
was not only to be economical, but to be very light. the fire.room to keep the grate bars covered, leaky both hull and machinery to be obtain ed in getting
vVith this latter end in view, more than two-thirds tubes in the combustion chamber are unknown, the relation of horse-power to speed at the various
of the boiler-power is in the shape of tubulous while, with the closed fire-room forced draught, speeds run.
boilers, whose weight, as is well known, is, roughly they are not at all uncommon."
" Ags.in, at the risk of being considered someH e then treated of high chimneys, which he what away from my subject, I think it may not be
speaking, only half that of the ordinary cylindrical
boiler. The special novelty in the design consists decidedly favoured, and told how he had nearly amiss for me to say a word which is based on the
in having the engine designed as a quadruple been thwarted in putting them in the Brooklyn by matter of economy of machinery at low powers, of
expansion engine for full power, taking steam to some gentlemen in the Navy Department, whose which I have already spoken. This is a design for
the highpressure cylinders from the coil boilers, resthetic ideas were shocked by their appearance. an economical peace cruiser. I t hink all who have
while the remainder of the boiler-power, which As to tubulous boilers as an expedient for reduc studied the matter car efully cannot fail to be struck
consists of two cylindrical boilers, will furnish tion in boiler-weight, he considered the only objec with the idea. that it was a mistake to build small
steam to the first r eceiver, a reducing valve being tion was their possible failure to last long, on vessels of very high speed for duty as cruisers. I
fitted so that the pressure in the receiver will be account of the thinness of t heir tubes, although he mean vessels of, say, 1500 to 1800 tons displacejust equal to the pressure of the steam discharged knew of some which had been in use six years ment, designed to make 17 or 18 knots. The
from the highpressure cylinder. Of course, while without deterioration, and some used for over ten machinery necessary to produce this power occupies
this is entirely novel, it is really an extension of years with fresh water. They were being tried on so much available weigb.t that the amount left for
the idea which has obtained for some time of a large scale on the l\fonterey. As to reducing the coal is relatively small, atrd the radius of action very
exhausting from the auxiliaries into the receivers. " weight of the engines, t his had been done to a con- limited. These vessels very rarely in peace time
The Table given above shows the comparative siderable extent by the use of forged steel for are called on to run at a speed anywhere near their
consumption of coal at various speeds, as well as certain parts, and of cast steel for others ; but he maximum, so that, n.s a matter of fact, during their
the amount expended for t he auxiliary engines, eaw no immediate prospect of replacing cast iron entire lives, barring a war, they are simply carrying
which was treated at length by Mr. Melville in his for cylinders. When this could be done, a. material aro und a. large weight of engines and boilers which
difference in weight would be attained, and by the would be useful in an emergency, but which, as
paper.
He then considered the question of detaching all use of nickel steel, if that could be employed. things actually go, are entirely useless.
auxiliaries from the main engine, and evidently did a great reduction on all parts could be reached,
" In case of war these vessels are not sufficiently
not consider it an economical plan. He alluded in As to coal consumption on full-power trials, while powerful to fight any real war-vessel, and they are
this connection to the paper of Mr. Dickie, an ab 1! lb. per horsepower is frequently quoted, he had not fast enough to capture any very valuable merst ract of which appeared in ENGINEERING, among not found results better than 2 1b., and in some chantman, even leaving out cf consideration the
those of the Marine Congress, in which he ad vo cases 2.6 lb. He alluded to the difficulties encoun- fact that no vessel would remain under the flag of
oe.ted making the air pump an integral part of the tered in standardising the indicators. This is an ex one of the belligerents in time of war.
design of t he main engine, and spoke of Mr. Frank tremely important subject, especially where a pre
"It would seem, therefore, that it would be an
H. Baileis plan for an air pump run from the mium is paid on horse-power above the contract r a- economical thing for the Government to l?uild a
main engine of a torpedo boat, or other fast running q uirement, and a fine imposed where it falls below it. number of vessels which should be intended enengine, where , under ad verse circumstances, a 'fhe navy had taken this matter up, and devised tirely as peace cruisers, and which, in timO of war,
vacuum of 21 in. was obtained, at a speed of the most elaborate testing apparatus for this purpose would be laid up. The office of these cruisers
1000 r evolutions per minute. As the boilers are in existence. As an evidence of the effect of this would be to go around and show the flag, to look
the heaviest parts of the machinery, an effort has on instrument-makers, he stated that 72 springs after the interests of American citizens abroad, and,
been made to reduce their weight by the use of were purchased from one maker under a guarantee in case of necessity, as happened recently at Hono
forced draught. He commented on the fact that we that the error should not exceed 3 per cent., and lulu and elsewhere, to land troops. Consequently,
had followed recent English practice when Colonel only seven springs were rejected.
they should be able to carry a relatively large crew,
Stevens had introduced it during the early part
This paper, so full of interest, may be closed by and should have as large coal capacity as possible.
of this century, and the Hudson River steamers the following quotation, your correspondent ventur"It seems to me that a. vessel of about 2500 tons
had used it for years; and, further, that Chief Engi- ing to remark that the task of condensing Corn displacement, with engines of, say, about 1500
neer Isherwood built, during our war, nineteen modore Melville's remarks to their present size has horae-power for full power under forced draught,
gunboats fitted with ashpit forced draught. The been one of great difficulty, because of their prac- would fulfil these condition~ admirably. This
practice, having fallen into disuse, is now revived, tical character.
would give us a speed of about 12 or 13 knots at
and all the various navies are employing it. He
"Jt may possibly not seem strictly german e to full power under forced draught, so that with
then stated his own views as follows :
the title of this article to bring in t he matter of natural draught at full power she could steam with
"As between the two methods of forced draught speed trials, but I do so merely to call attention to great economy at 8 or 9 knots. The coal capacity
in most common use, that by closed fire-r ooms and a method which I had the honour to bring to t he would be about 675 tons ; and, as the arrangement
by closed ashpits, I am decidedly in favour of the attention of the N ~wy Department, and which was of auxiliaries could be designed with special referlatter when it can be applied. I make this proviso unanimously approved by t he Board of Construc- ence to economy, she could be safely put down for
for the r eason that some may a.t once ask why, if I tion of that department, and was used with great a radius of action of about 13,000 knots at a speed
a.m a believer in ashpit forced draught, nearly all success in t he trial of the Ba.ncroft early in this of 9 knots. I would by all means have such a vessel
of our large vessels recently designed have forced year. It consisted in a series of progressive trials sheathed, echoing most heartily the efforts which
draught on the closed fire room system. It is simply for the purpose of Rtandardising the screw and my good friend, Chief Constructor Hichborn, of the
because in a warvessel, with a protective deck and determining accurately the number of revolutions Navy, has been making for so many years. The
minute watertight subdivision, it is extremely diffi- corresponding to a particular speed. Then, having boilers and engines of this vessel would be specially
cult, where there is a number of large boilers, laid a curve to show the r elation of speed to revo- designed with regard to the maximum economy at
to so arrange the blowers for closed ashpit forced lutions, the vessel could be taken to sea anywhere, cruisiug speed, and I believe that a. dozen- euch
draught as to ventilate the fireroom thoroughly. and the continuous endurance trial run ofl', and the vessels would save enough during their career to
This is a point which is sometimes forgotten, but, speed at once determined as soon as the average more than pay for themselYes. "
if it is, the fire-room would simply become intoler revolutions for the entire period were known.
ably hot, and while the boilers themselves will work Doubtless many of you are a.war~ that the fast
THE S UPERI ORITY OF AMERICAN CARGO SHIPS.
admirably, the men will simply be killed by the Argentine cruiser, the Ninth of July, was tested in
The next paper must not be considered a piece
heat. The San Francisco, of our navy, has ashpit this way, and I believe several other foreign vessels of "spread eagleism, " although the author claimed
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E N G I N E E RI N G.

FIFTY-TON ELECTRIC TRAVELLING CRANE AT NIAGARA FALLS.

CONSTRUCTED BY MESSRS. WILLIAM SELLERS AND CO., PHILADELPHIA.

(For Description, see Page 782.)

I

Fig. 1.

superiority for America. It was enti~led, "Comparative Performances of Americ~n and Foreign
Freighting Ships : Our Superiority. " The author
was Captain W. W. Bates, late Commissioner of
Navigation, United States Treasury Department.
Captain Bates's paper was given up entirely to a
discussion of the different ships engaged in the
~rain-carrying trade from the Pacific ports of the
United States to Europe, was largely supplemented
by tables giving data of performance, and conclu- i
sively proved the superiority of the Americanbuilt ship in each particular department of performance considered, notwit hstanding which, Captain Bates informs us, the underwriters of Great
Britain, and other European nations, discriminate
against the superior American ship in favour of the
inferior foreign ship, which gives them an advantage in freight carriage, and thus perpetuates the
control of foreigners upon this large branch of our
foreign carrying trade. Captain Bates's argument
is unquestionably in favour of the present practices in American shipyards of building nothing but
first-class ships, and he contends, as he always has,
that our ships need protection in employm,ent more
than in any other way, believing that., this once
accorded, our superiority would once more put our
ships in demand. He concluded as follows:
"Thus it results that the comparison may assume
the following shape :

On deli \'ery in good condition ...

,
damaged
.. .
...
...
lost . ..
.. .

"

T otal loss ...

...

...

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Fig.3.

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I

American
Superiority.
Per Cent.
... 1.713
.. . 0.039
.. . 1.666

...

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3.418

''It has n ow been shown that American ships

built of wood have no superiors in the CaJifornian
trade, nor is it likely they have in any other. When
compared in fleets with the best. of .the fore~ost
nations, they are found to excel 1n s1ze, capactty,
value of cargo, cheapness of freight, safe delivery,
speed in sailing, c!ficiency in work, esca.12e from
disasters, preservatiOn . from loss. b.oth of hfe a~d
property, and in reducmg to a mm1mum the pertls
of the sea. ' Vhat could we have more- what could
we have better, by g iving up our own super.ior
building and becoming dependent upon for~1gn
countries for inferior tonnage of any ma.t~nal 7
Manifestly, we would not get from Great Britain
the equals of the wooden fleets that her under-

Fig.4.

I 1

..t ..:

I
2019 8

..

.......

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

FIFTY-TON ELECTRIC TRAYELLING CRANE AT NIAGARA FALLS.

CONSTRUCTED BY MESSRS. \VILLIAM SELLERS AND CO., PHILADELPHIA.

(For Description, see Page 782.)

r

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Fig.7.

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Fig.74.
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writers have driven out of trade by their discriminations. There is not a single benefit to be gained,
but several sure to be lost, by substituting imported
for domestic ships in American commerce. The
problem of the American ship is one of protection

or abandonment of the sea. Our shipbuilders and

our navigators have done their duty as mechanics
and seamen. They have well pressed the button,
and our Government must do the rest. The only
thing wanting is protection to employment- de-

fence of our rights on the sea as on the land.

Wisdom, justice, and patriotism in Congress will
restore our fleets to the ocean and fill our shipyards
with work, rush our counting-houses with business
crowd our ports with our own ships, and open ne~

ENGINEERING.
careers to our ar chitects and engineers in the inte- couraging because of t he impossibility of meeting
rest of the people of our Republic."
all demands without some waste through the escape

ptpe.
WETTED SURFACE AND SKIN FRICTION.
' ' The auxiliary machinery of modern ferryboats
"The Wetted Surface of Ships," by D. W. consists of an air pump, circulating pump, feed
Tc:~.ylor, Naval Constructor, U.S.N., was the next pump, fire and bilge pump, steering engines, elecpaper. It cannot be condensed, as it was of the tric light engines and dynamos, and with an engine
nature of an argument. It treated of designs and and fan used for ventilating and blowing h eated
methods, and cont~ined many tables of great value air into the cabins.
to naval architects.
"The designs of New York ferry b oats divide
themselves generally in to two classes - paddleMARINE ENGINES AND SHIPS' DBSIGNS.
wheel vessels . and screw propellers. The paddle"The Influence of Speed and Weight of Machi- wheel engines have been mostly of the beam type,
nery on t he Determination of the other Elements of with jet condensers, carrying pressures ranging
Design cf Steam Vessels, " by James J. O'Neill, was from 30 lb. to 50 lb. The wheels in these engines
r ead by title. The paper proposes to show "that are radial. This engine was really very well suited
the weight of t he propulsive element, coupled as it to its work, and still retains its place b eside its
is with the speed desired, will play an important most modern competitors. L ow-pressure inclin ed
part in the fixing of the elements of the ship in engines have been built and used to a certain
which the machinery is placed." The author extent, but have n ot n1et with t he same favour as
thought high speeds could only be attained by the beam engine."
more car efully considering the propeller problem.
Paddle wheels do not stop t h e boat as efficiently
He t hen compar ed various types of vessels, and as the screw, and occupy more space, and while
sh owed what could be done. He thought in the the boat is more easily steered when forereaching
case of t he Paris, with high-speed machinery fitted, it is at the expense of manre uvring power at low
accepting the dimensions, the conditions are that speeds. He considered the beam engine simple and
on her length she should easily reach 2 knots economical as to coal comsum ption, and as the
greater speed. He also noted the Campania and wheels could not be placed in the midship section,
oth er fast vessels. This paper had numerous dia- the ends steered differently. He added that on
grams and tables.
crowded ferries the screw propeller was better t han
the paddle wheel. All the screw propeller boats
FRICTIONAL RESISTANCE OF VESSELS.
built for New York are m odifications of one type,
The next paper was read by title, "On the Law and have a rigid shaft running from end to end,
of Frictional Resistance," by Professor W. F. driven by one or two engines, with a screw at each
Durand. It was a discussion of this law, and end . The n ecessity for prompt r eversing has led
illustrated by diagrams.
to the adoption of two engines, with the object
FIGHTING YACHTS.
of securing two high pressure cylinders with
A very interesting paper was r ead by Mr. Wm. crankpins at right angles to each other. The
Gardner , entitled, " The Steam Yacht ag a Naval Bergen, described in ENGINEERING, vol. liii., pages
Auxiliary in Time of War. " Mr. Gardner, as a very 223 and 253, was t he first scre wferryboat inNew York
successful yacht builder, had full command of his !!arbour. All sorts of misfortunes were predicted,
subject ; but the paper is unfor tunately not avail- but never did she break propeller blades in the
able, although in general it may be said the author ice ; h er shaft stay ed in line, and the bearings did
advocated an arrangement by which steam yachts n ot heat, a nd she stopped quickly. He then conshould be modified in design, so that they could be trasted the Bergen with the latest boat on t h e
r eadily adapted for use as torpedo-boats, small H oboken F erry, the Netherlands, and showed what
cruisers, or despatch vessels, in case of war, the improvements the latter possessed.
In conclusion, Colonel Stevens expressed a belief
Government inducing owners to adopt such modifications by the payment of their cost and by in the future adoption of coil boilers with a proper
attending to the inspection of the vessels during design for a forced draught. He is also considerconstructior. and service. S0me of the fastest ing t he working of auxiliary machinery by hydraulic
boats, it may be noted, are from the designs of power, and closed with this suggestion :
''I have studied the following plan for the
M essrs. Gardner and Moshier, such as the N orund
and t he Feisoen, already described in E NGINEER- motive power of ferryboats. It invol ves a large
driving engine of the marine type coupled directly
ING.
to a dynamo and carefully governed. The dynamo
NEw YoRK FERRYBOATS.
is to supply all the power necessary for t h e driving,
The concluding paper was by Colonel Ed win A. lighting, and ventilating of t he vessel, the main
Stevens, president of the Hoboken Ferry Com- shafts being as short as possible, thus doing away
pany, an able engineer and astute t hinker, as this with the present long and rigid shaft. I may add
paper showed. The title was, '' Some Thoughts on that, while this plan is eminently inter esting, I do
the Design of New York Ferryboats. " A few not believe that electric science is as yet sufficiently
extracts will serve to show its character.
advanced to allow of its application to this branch
The requirements and limitations of designs v. ere of marine design."
noted, as follows :
After the usual courtesies between this Society
hAs to the hull, it must have rigidity to carry and i ts various hosts, the m eeting adjourned, all
its shaft in line ; it must have a longitudinal feeling enthusiastic over the prospects of t he new
stability to resist burying with a. large load on the organisations, and receiving on all sides congratubow and must steer well even when t rimmed by lations and good wishes for this m ost successful
the 'head; it ought to have a fair manre uvring gath ering.
power when fore-reaching with the ~n gines stop~ed;
it must carry h eavy teatn loads wtthout stra1n1ng,
should be of good shape to fight ice with an easy FIFTY-TON TRAVELLING CRANE FOR
THE CATARACT CONSTRUCTION
form ; its weight should be kept as small as p~s
COMPANY, NIAGARA FALLS, N.Y.
sible ; its rlraught not to exceed 11 ft ., and tts
stability should be enough for safety and n? more .. TrrE central power-house for the Niagara Falls
"The engine must start and reverse qutckly; ~t P ower Company, erected by t he Cataract Construcshould be capable of g reat va~iations of po.w er tion Company, is designed for ten 5000 h orse-power
without sacrificing economy ~t 1ts usual workmg, generating dynamos on vertical shafts, each driven
or say two-thirds power ; its balance should be as by a separate t urbine situated at t he bottom of the
go'od a~ can be secured ; but, abov~ all, it m.ust be wheel-pit. The large size and weight of the various
simple, strong, and easy of opera.t10n, repatr, and par ts of the machinery, as well as t he great dept h
inspection, and, let me r epeat, must reverse most at which the wheels are placed, make a quick acting
promptly. The b oilers should be fre~ fr?m any power crane a necessity for prompt installation and
suspicion of priming, and shou~d be able w1th least successful subsequent operation. Not only is such
possible waste to meet the varytng demands. Steam a crane r equired for handling machin ery, waterh as t o be stored at each stop, or some other method wheels, shafts, girder s, dynamos, &c., before and
after installation, but also to continue the excavaof att3.ining the same. object rn u~t be devised.
''As fir ed in servtce, the boilers do not supply tion of the grea t wheel-pit beyond its present limits.
enough steam to run the e ~gi~e continuouslY:. The The house, as fi rst erected, will accommodate only
result is that a t the begmntng of each trip the four dynamos, and it is proposed to close one end
steam pressure is above the average, and at the end with a temporary wall provided with doors through
of the same below. S kilful firing, while most which the crane can pass to t he outside, and t her e
desirable is hard t o secure, as it demands more serve to h oist broken stone from the excavation,
than a\'e~age intelligence, while the work is dis- and lower brick, cement, and other materiab as

required. The importance of securing a quickInoving crane, easily handled and thoroughly adapted
t o the somewhat unus ual conditions of t he case,
was early recognised by t he company, and in asking
bids a wide latitude in design was permitted in
order to bring out a variety of constructions. The
crane illustrated on pages 780 and 781, we learn,
was selected as most nearly filling the requir ed
conditions, as well ' as being the cheapest of those
submitted, in first cost. The d esigners and b uilders
of t his crane are M essrs. William Sellers and Co.,
Incorporated, of Philadelphia.
The size and
capacity of the machine may be stated as follows :
Span of bridge, 60ft. between centres of carrying
wheels ; maximum load, 100,000 lb. ; maximum
hoist of lift, 164 ft. ; t he full load is to be lifted at
5 ft. or 10 ft . per minute, proportionately lighter
loads at 20 ft. and 40ft. per minu te ; the travel of
the carriage across t he bridge may be at 50ft. or
100 ft. per minute, while the bridge itself is geared
to travel along the runway at 100 ft. and 200 ft.
per minute. The highest position of the hook
above the floor of the power-house is 24 ft., t he
rails carrying the crane being 29 ft. above t he floor,
and supported by longitudinal girders on columns
which are connected with the columns carrying the
rafters of the roof. The supporting rails are 5 in.
high, 85 lb. per yard, h eld to the girders by bolts
and clam ps. Attached to these rails on the inner
side on both run ways are cast-iron r acks, into which
gear t he pinions which serve to drive and square
the bridge. These racks ar~ of 2-in. pitch, 3-in.
face, made in 5-ft. sections, bolted to the rails and
resting on the runway g irders. Racks for driving
and squaring were obligatory in the original specification to shorten the length of wheel base.
Fig. 1 shows the crane as i t will appear looking
from the south towards t he n orth in the powerhouse, the platform carrying the operator being at
the end which comes over the wheel-pit, in order to
permit him to see th e h ook at its lowest position.
The crane bridge is composed essentially of two
plate girders, about 5 ft. deep, strongly cross-braced
together across t he top and near the centre, and
carrying t he trolley wholly within the bridge girder s
below the bracing, upon the shelf angles near the
lower flanges (Fig. 8), the eccentric load on the
latter being provided for by heavy vertical stiffeners
at short intervals. This form of construction ,
uniting as it does the two plate girder s into one
compound beam, gives great lateral stiffness to the
bridge, with a comparatively light s tructural weight.
The bridge is carried upon four 37 -in. wheels with
turned steel t yres, double flanged. These wh eels
are suppor ted in bearings on either side, the axles
being 6 in . in diameter in t he journals. It will be
noted that this crane is one of those in which the
hoisting apparatus is stationary at one point on the
bridge, and t he trolley (Fig. 11) is simply a sheave
carriage or upper block on wheels. This type
seems to have marked ad vantage for this particular
case over the arrangement in which t he h oisting
drums and mechanism are mounted in the carriage
itself. The great height of lift and consequent
size of drums would necessitate a large carriage of
great weight, giving command of much less floor
space than is covered by t he hook in the crane
shown. I t is, we believe, usual in such cranes to
put tho drum at one end of the bridge. In this
case it was deemed best to place the drums, which
are two in number (Figs. 6 and 7), in the centre.
They are each 48 in. in diameter by 6 ft. 3 in. long,
and have securely bolted to one end a spurwheel
66 in. in diameter. These wheels are driven by the
same steel pinion of thirteen teeth about 3 in. pitch
on a shaft which extends across the bridge, and is
driven by a bevel wheel also of 66 in . diameter.
The drums are provided with right and left hand
grooves ; two l Asteel r opes are used, being conn ected to t he dru ms at each end, the course of each
of t he ropes being as follows : From the drum to
which it is attached it passes to the end of the
bridge, around a sheave, back to the carriage,
down around the block (Figs. 13 to 15), back to
the carriage, around another sheave, down to the
block again, thence back to the carriage, thence to
the opposite end of the bridge around a sheave, and
back to t h e end of the other drum. There are
thus four strands of r ope, two on each drum
winding towards th e centr e of the drum, and the
load is carried on eight SJtrands of r ope. T o provide against unequal stretching, one of the sheaves
at the end of the bridge is made adjustable horizontally by means of a 3-in. screw, and is provided
with clamps for securing i t in position (Fig. 3).

E N G I N E E R I N G.
The operating mechanism is carried upon a castiron frame (Figs. 4 and 5) secured to t he side of
t he bridge girders, and it receives its motion from
a constant-speed electric motor of about 45 horsep ower capacity, situated upon a platform upon the
opposite side of t he bridge, and connected by a belt
with the r eceiving pull~y. This f rame wor k, or
housing, carries three sets of friction clutch es on
parallel shafts, which operate as many spurwh eels
run ning loose upon the shaft (Fig. 3). These spurwheels gearing t ogether, receive th eir motion from
the pulley through another clutch shaft connected
with the pulley shaft by gears of two ratios, thus
providing a fast or slow movement for the whole
train. An idler, or an intermediate shaf t, is employed to reverse the motion of one set of clutch
gears. By this al'rangement it will be n oted that
the clutch wheels on any shaft run in opposite
d irections, and that by engaging one or the other
of th e clutches the shaft may be made to rotate in
either direction desired ; t hus, without reversing
the motor, which runs continuously in th e same
direcbon at the same speed, any motion of t he
crane can be effected in eith er direction and
at a variety of speeds. These three operating
clutch shafts are coupled respectively by r: uitable trains of gearing to t he bridge t ravelling
mechanism, the trolley travelling mechanism, and
to the hoisting machinery. In t he hoisting train
we find, after leaving t he operating clutches, first,
a reduction th rough another pair of clutches of a
larger size, giving two additional speeds of hoist.
They operate a long h ori zontal shaft running
parallel with t he bridge, and carrying a bevel pinion
which gears into the large bevel wheel before men tioned. To prevent the overhauling of the l0ad,
a \Veston clutch upon a long pinion shaft is combined with a self-acting brake, which permits
rotation in one direction only. The load may be
driven up or down at will, but th e r eaction of
the load causes th e friction clutch to clasp the
brake disc, which is p reventing from rotating by
t he self-acting brake. The load is therefore au tomatically sustained at all times, and th e operator is
freed from the responsibility of working a h and
brake.
A third shaH extends across the bridge, directly
coupled at one end to t he traversing clutch, and at
the oth er carrying a pinion gearing into a wheel on
the shaft of the rack pinion. A similar reduction
is made at t he other end of the bridge. By this
means the bridge is squared and traversed positively and regardless of the wh eel base, which n eed
be no longer than actually required for the width
of the bridge. The carriage, or tr olley, is drawn
back and forth by two ~ -in . steel wire r opes, altern ately coiled upon a 2-ft. d rum at one end of the
bridge, one rope passing directly over the under
side of the drum to the carriage, and tbe other being
taken off the top of the drum, around a sheave
at the far end of the bridge, and thence to the
carriage. As the drum shaft is rotated in one direction or the other, th e carriage is t hus drawn back
or forth as desired. The levers for operating the
various movements are four in number, and are
conveniently grou ped for handling by the operator.
Three of these operate the three trains of mechanism. On e operates t h e stopping and starting
clutches, by means of which the whole t rain of
mechanism is put in motion at a slow or n.pid rate.
\Vith these levers a central position means th at
the clutches are out of gear, and n o motion
r esults. The fi fth lever op erates the change
of speed clutches in the h oisting train, and, of
course, must be in gear with one or the oth er reduction at all times. In order to prevent t h e
operator throwing any clutch too suddenly in to
operation, all of the connecting-rods are compelled
t o act through stiff springs locked up in cases, so
that t he motion of a lever in either direction must
first compress a spring before it can move the
clutch. The clutches are all operated by a rod working t hrough t he centre of t he shaft and connected
to the sliding sleeve by a transverse pin. The carriage (Fig. 11) consists of a framework of 15-in.
chann el beams, attached by Ion~ b olts to two transverse box-girders of 10-in . b eams and plates. The
axles, 6 in. in diameter, are carried in these transverse girders, and the carrying wheels, 26 in. in
diameter on the t read, are provided with doubleBanged steel tyres. The siK h oisting sheaves are
carried upon a 6-in. steel pin, passing through and
supp9rted by the 15-in. channels. They are
bushed wit h bronze, and oiled through the centre of
the pin.
The engraving also shows the method of

attaching th e t raverse ropes and the Aye-bolts by

w hi eh th ey can be ad j usted.
The lower block (Fig. 13) consists of a forged
beam, 10 in. by 14 in. in the centre, with 7-in.
trunnions upon which are carried t he rope sheaves.
An open hook with 4!-in. shank is car ried upon
250 g-in . hardened steeJ balls between hardened
and ground plates, a ball washer b eing also provided to insure an equal distribution of weight.
These balls are made with great care, ground accur ately true 1 and of exactly the same diameter. They
are not guided by any grooves, but are allowed to
move at will under the load. The makers of the
crane claim to have had great success with hooks of
this construction, and t hey regard the ball bearing,
while n ot essential, as at all even ts very desirable,
since accidents to workmen occasionally occur on
account of the difficulty of t urning the hook when
loaded, and the difficulty of stopping when once in
motion. With the ball bearings it is said that
there seems t o be but little difference between the
p ower required to start t he load and t hat required
to continue the motion after it is started. The ideal
condition is, of couse, a uniform resistance from rest
to motion and during motion to avoid the sudden
star ting before mentioned. A hook was selected
by the engineers in place of a. clevis as being more
convenient for rapid adjustment of hoisting slings.
A Ithough it was recognised by the engineers in
charge t hat the present tenden cy of crane-builders
is to apply a separate mot0r to each _movement,
which is stopped, started, or reversed, as required,
and that such an arrangement permits t he mechanical details t o be somewhat simplified, they at
the same time regard it as q uestionable whether
t he electrical complication involved is not more to
be dreaded. In the many-motor crane, each motor
must be star ted from a condition of rest under the
full load, and at a considerable sp eed. This is the
condition under which the tramcar motor works,
and it is ~ecognised as severe work for t he motor.
In fact, such motors are designed to have an
en ormous starting t orque, and absorb in starting
an amount of curren t entirely out of proportion to
that which is required to keep the load moving. In
the crane under consideration, the motor may be
any ordinary constant-speed mot or, direct or alternat ing current. When the crane is in service the
motor is running light and at speed ; when the
load is added , the inertia of the motor is
ready t o assist in maintaining its velocity,
while with proper clutches t h e work is applied
so grad ually that n o extravagant demand is
made upon t he generator, an important matter
where the same machine is also used to supply
lights. Of course it is realised that the success of
such a crane depends upon t he kind and size of
clutches used. Th ey must be of a character tbal
will allow an occasional slip wi th out t oo great an
amount of heat, and also without such an expansion of the par ts as would affect the amount of
holding power of t he clutch. There are friction
clutches of various makes t ha.t fully answer these
requirements, and it is deemed better t o alter
the speed of hoisting by a change of gear readily
applied than to alter the speed of the motor whieh
i~ driving the crane. Extreme slowness of hoist
at any one time in such a case as this is limited
only to the moment of starting or stopping. When
on ce started without shock, motion may continue,
wit hout slipping the clutch, at whatever speed may
be deemed advisable. The crane under consideration is capable of hoisting, by proper manipulation
of t he clutches, at an infinitesimally slow speed,
and also at any increase of velocity up t o the full
speed of the gearing which may b e in op eration at
the time.

THE U.S. POST-OFFICE EX HIBIT AT

CHICAGO.
THE Post-Office D epartment of the U nited States
Government had a most interesting and instructive
exhibit in the Government Building at the Columbian Exposition. In order t o provide for the
handling of postal matter addressed to persons at
the Exposition, the exhibit of the D epartment was
made in the f orm of a working post-office, through
which all mails addressed to the Exposition grounds
passed, thus giving visitors an opportunity of eeeing
the details n ot only of post-office equipment, but
also the acti ve and actuai working of a very busy
office.
It was the intention of the Government to make
this post-office n ot only a working office, but also a

model in design and detaiJ, thus exhibiting the

latest and best-arrangements in use in the Dep~r~
ment. The organisation and conduct of the exhtb~t
were, t h er efore, placed under the direct supervision and control of General A. D. H azen , formerly
Third Assistant Paymaster-Gener~J, t hus obt~ining
the benefit of his experience and JUdgment 1n ~he
preparation and execution of t he work. A destgn
for the office was prepared under the direction of
the P ost-Office Department, but was subsequen.tly
laid aside, and in its place there was adopted a des~gn
submitted by the Yale and T owne Manufacturmg
Company, of Stamford, Conn., and con~ainin~ many
d etails devised durin g its long expertence 1n the
construction of p ost-office equipments.
The development of special equipmen ts for postoffice work in the U nited States is closely connected
with this firm. As long ago as 1869. shortly after
the commercial introduction of the Yale lock, the
manufacture of p ost-office lock-b oxes was com menced by this company, t he imm~ns~ numb~r of
permutation s of the ~ale.lock r.endermg 1t especta:lly
applicable to a serVlce tn whtch not only a h1gh

7051 A

FIG.

FIG.

1.

2.

Fw. 3.
degree of security, but also absolute non-in terchangeability of keys was essential. Since that
time the Yale lock and lock-box haYe b een adopted
for post-office service, and the department of the
company 's works in which post-office equipments
are made, has grown t o important dimensions in the
twenty-.tive years that have elapsed since its inception.
Th e handsome post-office which was one of the
principal objccte, of attraction in the Government
Building at J ackson Park, was therefor e representative of the latest developments of t he work of the
most experienced builders in the United States
~nd as sue~ was worthy of careful inspection by ali
Interested 1n methods of post-oftice administration.
In order to permit an unobstructed view of the
interior of the office t o the public, those portions
of the partition work usually made of panelled
wood were, in this office, made of plate glass and
ornamental copper grille work. The post-office
was provided with ten wickets for eale of stamps,
both wholesale and retail ; for "Inquiry Depart

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

COMPOUND SIX-WHEEL COUPLED LOCOMOTIVE: COLUMBIAN EXPOSITION.

CONSTRUCTED BY THE RHODE ISLA~D LOCOl\IOTIVE 'YORK , PROVIDENCE,

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ment, " where information was given regarding

post-office service; also for "General Delivery "
service, where letters were delivered which h ad
been addressed t o visitors in car e of the " World's
Fair Station, " without other address. Drop boxes
for mailing letters, papers, and parcels were also
p r ovided, t hese being designated ''North, " '' East, "
''South " '' West " '' City " '' Foreicrn " The
0

central 'section of ' the office' was devoted

t o the
" Money Order " and "Registered Letter " divisions, occu pying a floor space of about 200 square
feet, fitted with desks, closets, spaces, and pigeonh oles to accommodate t he var ious forms of blanks,
books, &c. The total length of the office was 100ft .,
the central part, containing the money order division, bearing the n ame " W orld's Fair Post-Office,"
and being surmounted by a handsome clock, t his
being embodied in t he design.
The post-office was also provided with a section of
Yale brouze front lock-boxes, these showing the
latest improved form of box, with the new Yale
paracentric lock , with heavy bronze door and fron t,
and metal grated bottoms, t he latter to prevent
accumulation of dust. The Yale lock-box es are
arranged in three sizes, proportioned so as to n est
in combinations of three, two, or one in width.
This enables various combinations to be made
from tne standard sizes to meet the r equirements
of any office without involving t he construction of
a special size. Other interesting features of the
equipment were: The carrier delivery windows,
designed for delivery of mail by the carriers after
the h our of r egular delivery ; distributing cases
through which carriers received the mail for their
districts ; stamping tables ; distributing cases for
sorting letters to outgoing points, a nd many other
essentials for use in handling the mails rapidly and
correctly. While this important exhibit was of
especial value t o all connected with matters associated with post-office administration, it was also of
universal interest. Visitors t o the World's Fair
from foreign countries found in this post-office a
clear exposition of American m ethods, and also a
m ost interesting exhibit of the m ost recent production of an important d epartment of the Yale
and T owne Manufacturing Company.
The corner ston e of this department of t he company's business is the Yale lock, which , from t he
beginning, has been pre-eminently adapted to postoffice use, lock-boxes being a peculiarly American
institution , and in use in every important postoffice t hrough out the U nited States. For t his
reason the characteristics of the Yale lock itself are
interesting in this connection.
Its newest and
latest form, the " paracentric," has only this year
been perfected and placed on the market.
As before mentioned, the "Yale" lock is the base

102J '

COMPOUND SIX-WHEEL COUPLED

LOCOMOTIVE.
ON the present o.nd opposite po.ges we give another
example of the locomotives exhibited hy the Rhode
Island Locomotive Works, which are sit uated in Pro
vidence. This engine (see Figs. 1 and 2) has six
coupled wheels; a four-wheeled truck in front and a
two-wheeled radial truck at t he rear of the engine.
The following are some of the leading particulars of
this engine :
Gauge .. .
. ..
. ..
.. .
4 ft. 8~ in.
Diameter of cylinders
...
21 in. and 31 in.
Length of stroke
. ..
. ..
26 in.
Diameter of driving wheels ...
78 in.
Number
,
,
..
6
Number of front truck wheels
4
,
back
,
2
Diameter of boiler .. .
.. .
G2 in.
Size of firebox . . .
...
. . . 120 in. by Mi in.
Number of tubes
...
...
272
Outside diameter
. ..
. ..
2 in.
Driving wheel base . ..
...
13 fb. 6 in.
Rigid wheel base
...
. ..
13 ft. 6 in.
Total wheel base
...
...
29 ft. U.i in.
,
wheel base engine and
tender .. .
.. .
. ..
.. .
50 ft. 6i in.
Total weigho ...
...
...
150,000 lb.
Weight on dri vera
.. .
.. .
90,000 lb.
,
front truck
...
41,000 lb.
,
rear truck .. .
.. .
19,000 lb.
, of tender
.. .
..
75,000 lb.
Tank capacity ...
...
...
4,000 gallons
Number of wheels in tender...
8
F uel employed ...
. ..
.. . Bituminous coal
The formal specification to which this engine was
built is appended.
BOILER.
Made of homogeneous steel, g in. thick; riveted with
1-in. rivets placed not over- in. from centre to centre;
all horizontal seams and junction of waist and firebox
double ri.veted,; all longitud~nal seams pro''!ded with lap
welt, w1th rwets alternatmg on both e1des of main
seams, to protect caulking edge~, and all parts well and
thoroughly stayed; bo.ck head a perfect circJe, butt
joints. ~11 plates .Planed o_n ed ~es and cau~ked with
round.-po_mted caul km~ tools., msurmg plates agamst injury
by ch1ppmg and caulking wtth sharp-edged toole. Boiler
tested with 220 lb. t o the square inch steam presure and
260 lb. warm water, to carry 200 lb.
'
Waist, G2 i~. in diam~ter at smo~e- box end ; extended
wagon top, w1th extens1on arch, w1th one dome 30 in in
diameter placed on wagon top.

Tubes of charcoal iron, 272 in number, 2 in. in outside

diaDJeter, and 12 ft. 8g in. in length ; with copper ferrules
on firebox end.
Firebox made of best firebox steel, 120 in. long and
33~ ~n. wi?e; a~l plates thoroughly annealed after
flangmg; s1de y'fr m. and back sheets ~ in. thick crown
sheet ~ in. thick ; flue sheet ~ in. thick.
'
Wa~r space .3! i~. wide at sides, 3~ in. wide at back-,
and 3~ m. to 4~ m. Wide at front; stay-bolts ~ in. and 1 in
in. diameter, screwed and riveted to sheets and not ove~
WATER SuPPLY OF K ntBERLEY. -The quantity of water 4 10. from centre t o centre ; fire-door ~pening formed by
sold by the Kimberley (South Africa) Water Works Com- Banging and riveting together the inner and outer sheets,
pany last year was 121,171,564 gallons. The revenue Engine furnished with firebrick.
oollected was 49,879l. 12s. 6d.
Crown supported by radial stays 11 in. in diameter,

of t he whole equipment; it has many advantages

over the old form of lock, and is n ot t oo well
known in England, but that a description may be
acceptable. Before the invention of Linus Yale,
Jun., a round key was in gen eral use, and the
idea that its size should be proportional to the
size of the lock was generally accepted ; its length
was necessarily such as to enable it to reach
through t he thickness of the d oor, and it was
clumsy and heavy in proportion ; t h is large oldfashioned key is well known in England, a nd largely
used at t he present time. The original Yale key
that t ook its place is shown in F ig. 1 ; it is a small
flat key, the same size for all sizes of locks, the keyh ole being reduced to a small narrow slit. This was
rendered possible by separating the key mechanism
of t he lock from t he case which contains the bolt,
and inclosing it in a separate cylinder inserted
from the front of the d oor, and connected permanently through it with the lock case behind. The
details o the construction of the cylinder are shown
in Fig. 2. The security and key changes are
obtained by means of pin tumblers. The small flat
key is inser ted into a slit in a cylindrical plug, and,
as sh own, adjusts t he heigh t of the pins so that
divisions in them coin cide wit h t he line of division
between the plug and the body of the escu tch eon,
thus permitting the plug t o be rotat ed and the bolt
mechanism to be operated by any suitable cam connection with t he end of t he plug. The number of
t umblers and freedom from play and lost motion
make an enormous number of k ey changes possible.
The next change was the introduction of the corrugated key, removing all tendency to tilt, greatly increasing the inaccessibility of the tumblers, and
extending the possibility of the key changes almost
indefinitely. A still further improvement was the
int r oduction of the Yale paracent ric lock and key,
Figs. 2, 3, and 4. The new form of key way is shown
in Fig. 3, and it will at once be seen th e projections
extend far beyond the ver tical axis of t he keyway,
and are of such a shape as u tterly to preclude the
ver tical movement of any instrument which might
be introduced with the intention of lift ing the pins,
and so surreptitiously opening the lock. The new
key differs absolutely from every predecessor, so
that n o key heret ofore made can ever e nter on e of
t he new paracentric locks, t his making it of peculiar
ad vantage for p ost-office work. Where a man has
to carry a great number of keys, the small fla t key
forming so great a feature of this equipment is of
special interest, and its use cannot be too highly
r ecommended.

E N G I N E E R I N G.
Cleaning h ole3 in corner of fi reb ox, and blow-off cock
GENERAL FEATURES OF CONSTRUCTION.
with convenient handles. Smoke-stack suitable to fuel.
All principal parts of engine accurately fitted t o gauges
Grates, cast -iron, suitable to fuel. Ashpan wrought iron,
and t emplates, and thoroughly inter changeable.
dampers front and back.
All movable bolts a.nd nuts, and all wearing surfaces
Ba.lanced Poppst throttle valve of cast iron in vertical
m1de of steel or iron, case-hardened.
arm of dry pipe.
A ll wearing brasses made of ingot copper alloyed w ith
FRAMES.
tin as hard as can be worked.
l\Iain frames of best hammered iron, forged solid.
All threads on bolts cut to U.S. standard.
Ji'ront rails bolted and keyed t o main frame, and with
Driving box linings and connecting rod bearinga of
front and back lugs forged on for cylinder connections.
Dd.mascus bronze.
Pedf\stals protected from wear of boxes by cast-iron
T ENDER.
gi \;>s and wedges, secured by thimbles and through bolts.
T/l.nk strongly put t ogether, of steel, well braced with
angle-iron corners. Bottom plates, :} in. thick; side
M ACTIINERY.
! in. thick ; inside of legs,
Cylinders 21 in. and 31 in. in diamet er, and 26 in. plates, i in. thick ; t op plates,
7
stroke, of best close-grained iron as hard as can be !in. thick; riveted with 1 a-in. rivets 1~-in.pitch ; capacity,
worked. Each cylinder cast in one piece, with half 4000 gallons.
T ender frame substantially buil~ of white oak, strongly
saddle placed hori zontally; right and left hand cyli nders
reversible and interchangeable, accurately planed, fitted braced.
T ender trucks, two centre bearing trucks, made with
and bolted t ogether in the most approved manner ; valve
face and steam chest seat ra.ised 1 in. above face of wrou~ht iron side-bard and cross-beams of wood with
cylinder t o allow for wear; cylinders oiled by double sight addit10nal bearings at sides of back truck.
Springs, two cast steel springs in each truck, made by feed placed in cab, and connected with steam chest~ by
Chilled wheels of approved make 33 in. in diameter.
copper pipes running under jacket; pipes proved t o
Brakes on both tender trucks.
200 lb. pressure. Balance valve in steam chest.
Axles of besb hammered iron; outside journals 4} in.
Piston heads and followers of cast iron, fitted wi th castiron "pring ring packing; piston-rods of hammered iron in diameter and 8 in. long; oil-tighb boxes with brass
bearings.
k eyed to cross heads, forced and riveted to piston.
Three tool boxes of bard wood.
Guides of hammered iron.
Brake front of all dri vera and for tender truck.
Crossbead of cast -st eel, ba.bbitted.
Metallic piston and valve rod packing.
Val ve motion of ruost approved shifting-link motion,
graduate::! to cut off equally at all points of stroke (all
working joints provided wi th removable hardened bushings t o facilitate repairs) ; links, sliding- blocks, pins, STANDARD R OLLING STOOK F OR THE
lifting links, and eccentric-rod jaws made of the best
VICTORIAN GOVERNMENT RAILWAYS.
hammered iron, well case-hardened ; sliding-blocks with
Tnl!: rolling stock of the V ictorian Government
long fia.nges t o give increased wearing surface; rocker
sha fts and reverse shaft of wrought iron, with arms Rail ways is in the transition stage, as the older- and
forged on .
it may be said a ntiquated- t ypes are being rapidly
D riving wheelR, six in number, 78 in. in diameter ; replaced by stock to designs by the locomo tive branch,
centres of cast iron, with hubs and rims cored out and embodying the most modern practice, and suitable
t urned to 72 in. in diameter to receive tyres.
for Victorian requirem ent s.
'teel underframes are
Tyres of Krupp cr ucible st eel 3 in. thick; first and used exclusively, for cars and wagons alike, and the
third pairs ftanged 51 in. wide; second pair plain 6~ in.
Y\Testing house brake is fitted to all classes of stock.
wide.
The standard t ype of first-class carriage is shown
Axle~ of hammered iron ; journals 8 in. in diameter and
~; in. long; driving boxes of strong close-grained cast -iron in Figs. 25 to 27, page 788, and the second class
(excepting the upholstery) is exactly si milar. This is
wi th wide fhnges and heavy brass bearings.
Spring; of best cast steel, tempered in oil, made by - also the case with the first and second composite cars,
Equalising beams of wrought iron, and of most approved and suburban brake vans; but in the latter case the
arran gement, with steel gibs and keys.
end com p:Lr tment has a monitor roof for guards. The
Connecting and parallel rods of hammered iron forged s uburban traffic is worked with simi lar vehicles, but
solid, with solid ends on parallel rods, back end of main t he carriages are divided into seven compa rtments
rod forked, all panelled. Crankpins of steel.
instead of six.
Feed water supplied by two injectors.
Long-distance l uggage vans have the same type of
ENGINE T RUCK.
underframe, but have a raised monitor roof in the
Centre bearing swivelling four-whPel swing motion centre. For long runs, and intercolonial express,
sleeping cars are being introd uced, and several of
truck (front).
Centre bearing swivelling two-wheel s wing motion these are now in course of construction at Newport.
truck radial (back).
They are 75 ft. long, b nilt on steel underframes,
Truck frame and braces of wrought iron, with cast-iron mounted on six-wheeled bogies, and c.re replete with
cross spider fitted with swinging bolster and cast-iron every convenience. The internal fittings are of blackpedestals.
wood and mottled Kauri (native woods); the sides and
'Vheels, four, steel-tyred, 33 in. in diameter (front).
'Vheels, two steel-tyred wheels with retaining rings, ceilings are "Lincrusta 'Va.lton, " combined with
mirrors and hand -painted panels; the cars are lit by
42 in. in diameter (back).
Axles of best hammered iron, with inside journals 5} in. electricity, supplied by storage batteries replenished
by a Crompton dynamo, driven by a hig h-speed motor
in diameter and 10 in. long (front).
Axles of best hammered iron, with inside journals 6 in. on t he locomotive. These vehicles will be supplemented by dining-room a nd palace cn.rs later on.
in diameter and 10 in. long (back).
Springs of best cast st eel tempered in oiJ, made by Coming back to the first-c)ass cars, that illustrated
conn ected by equalising beams, resting on tops of boxes. on page 788, Figs. 25 to 27, is of the compartment
type. The divisions between the compartments are
ACCES ORIES.
not carried up full height. As will be seen , it is a
C ..b of good pattern, built of ash, well seasoned and bogie car, and it may be t a ken as typical of the
finished ; fitted together with join t bolts. Pilot of wood. standard adopted for passenger stock. A second class,
Cylinders lagged with wood and neatly cased with
first u.nd second class composit e, and combined smokNo 14 iron.
ing carriage and ,a.n are manufactured for use on
Cylinder head casi ngs of cast-iron, polished bande.
Steam chest casings of cast-iron top, sheet iron centre, suburban roads; the ca.rs are all identical so far as
body, underframe, and bogies are concerned, and
p olished bands.
clif!er in internal fittings only, though in the vans a
Dome lagged wit? wood and cased with ca:st iron.
.
Boiler lagged w1th asbestos, wood, and Jacketed w1th raised compartment is provided and fitted for the use
p 1 ani shed iron and secured by _planisbed iron band~.
of the guard. The stock for the country roads is also
Handrails of iron pipe. Running board nosmgs of similar, the only change made being that the cars are
fla.t iron. 'Vheel cover nosin~s of iron.
divided into six instead of seven compartments, thus
Engine to be furnished w1th sand-box, brackets, and increasing the space a llotted to each passenger. The
shelf t o receive head-lamp, bell, whistle, blower, and
two 3 in. Poppet safety valves, heater, steam gauge, ?ab mail vans are constructed with a sorting-room in the
lamp, gauge cocks_; a lso a. complete set of tools, consist- centre, w ith second-class passenger compartments at
ing of two heavy Jack screws and levers for same, ~ne either end.
Throughout the b ogies and underfra.mes, iron and
h eavy pinch bar with st eel point and heel, one 18-m.
cas ~- hardened monkey wrench, one 12-i n. case- hardened mild steel have been used wherever practicable, to the
monkey wrench, one 2-lb. machinist~' hammer, one soft almost entire exclusion of timber, t he result being a
hammer, one flat chiseJ, one cape ch~sel,_ one poker, one structure not subject to climatic influence, stronger,
scraper, on e slice bar, one set of packmg u ons, one set of l ighter, and mor~ durab!e that?- th e various forms of
hardened double-ended wrenches for all nut_s and bolts on tim her construct10u prev10usly 10 use.
engine larger than_! in. in diax_net er, inoludmg two packThe bogies are each mounted upon four 3ft. 1 ~ in.
in '7 wrenches (duphcates) for ptston and val vestem glands, wrought-iron wheel~, with steel _axles, running i_n
one 16-in. fllt bastard tile, one 16-in. half-round blstard
The we1ght of the car 1s
file, one 16-in. round bastard file, two padlocks and keys Bl.bbitt metal bearmgs
for t end er boxes, two cab seats with c:overs and l?c~s, t !'ansmitted to each set of wheels t hrough six double
twocab seat cushions, one clamp for pulhng d own drtvmg elliptical s prings a~d cradle links, ~d is fur ther di~
box oil cellar, one stud for same, one eye- bolt ~or sa~e, tributed and equalised by compensatmg bars a nd cml
one gal vanised iron water-p~il, one steel_ screwdr1_ver wtth spring~. This mode of suspension-combined w ith
10-i n. blade, five oil cans, v1z.: one sgUlrt cat?- w1th brass the comparatively long car-gives very equaule and
b Jttom two 1-quart long snout cans w1th casb-uon bottom, smooth running. .The underframe is wholly of mild
one 2-g~llon can with cast-ir on bot~omr one? quart tallow st eel (having a n ultimat e t ensile strength of 28 tons,
pot with cast-iron bottom; one 2310;- neadhght.
.
with an elongation of 25 per cent.); the side bars are
Engine and t ender t o be well pa.mted and varms~ed, of channel section, 9 iu. by 3 in. by j in., trussed to
w ith the ro.1d mark, number, a.nd name put on as specified
withstand vertical loads, and s trongly braced, by
by purchaser.

[DEc. 29, I 893.

d iagonals, &c., to resist transverse fiex ure, ami the
other and var ying stresses to which they are subjected
on the road. All wheels are provided with cast-iron
brake blocks, connected to, and actuated by, a 10-in.
d iameter \V estinghouse cylinder placed under the
centre of the car; the brake power used is calculated
to equal 90 p er cen t. of the t otal w eight of the
vehicle.
The body of the carriage is qu ite distinct in its construction from the underframe; the only connection is
the holding-down bolts, p assing through ulocks of
ru bber inserted between the sol e bars a nd longitudinals
t o minimise vibration. The long itudinal bottom sides,
diagonals, and framework generally, as well as most
of the internal fittings, are of blackwood ; this is a
native t imber, strongly resembling teak in appearance,
but closer in structure, and p ossessing a greater transverse strength ; it is susceptible of a high degree of
polish. Kauri pine is used for outside panels, roof
sticks, lining flooring, &c. ; this is a New Zealand
timber, close-grained, hard, and t0ugh, and procuraule
in almost any size, free fr om knots or defects. This
timber is used almost exclusively in the const ruction
of a ll kinds of goods stock . Oregon is introduced for
cant rails and longit udinals, where it is n ecessary to
have the whole length in oue piece. New Zeala nd
white pine (varnished) is used for Yene tians ; glass
fra.mes a re of teak. The external woodwork is painted
with dark chocolate "hematite" paint, relieved with
chrome lines, and varn ished. The running gear and
ironwork is japanned black. Internally, the secondclass cars are fitted wit h polished wood seat s and
fittings. The first-class Ct\.rs are upholstered in dark
green split buffalo hide, each seat or back consisting
of a single piece, without seam or join. The roof,
sides, and panels are of "Lincrus ta. 'Valton, , mounted
on straw board, and suitably decorated in Yarious
coloured bronzes. L arge be,el- edgerl plate-glass mirrors are placed on t he div isions; this gi ,-es a depth of
effect, and also serves to reflect the lig ht fr om t he
lamps at night, to facilita t e reading. To assist in this,
na rrow m irrors are also placed at suitable angles on
the cant rail in the elevated r oof. T he mouldings,
cornices, mirror-frames, &c. , are in polished blackwood. All metal work is either nickel-plated or giltlacq nered. Ample an<l a djustable ventilation is obtained by means of movable sashes, glazed with opal
glass, op ening from the elevated roof. This system to
a great extent obviates draughts.
A high standard has been a imed at in the production
of this stock, the specifications requiring the very best
quality of material and work manship; and to insure
the specifications bein g adhered to in t heir entirety, a
st rict system of inspection has been ini tiat ed and
mainta ined.
The bog ie brake-van (Figs. 11 to 14, on ou r two-page
pla te) is, in it3 running gear and unclerframe (except in
leng th), almost identical with t hat already describedin fact, all bogie stock has been made to dupl icate as
fa r as possible.
eat s are provided for drovers a ccompany ing mixed or cat tle trains, and other details of
construction will be gathered from the engravings.
The double bogie milk-wagons (Figs. 20 to 23)
were constructed to supply a long-felt wn.nt, by providin g for the rapid conveyance of milk from the
country districts to Melbourne, especially in the hot
season , when special precautions are absolutely necessary to insure the delivery of th e milk in a wholesome
condit ion. The loading is conducted eit her i.tt the cool
hours of the night, or from cool storage chambers, at a
moderat e t emperature, and the trucks are so constructed as to guarantee the arrival of the milk at its
destination in the same condition. In add ition to the
usual outside panelling, there are two inside )inings,
separated by n.ir spaces, a nd further r endered n on conducting by insulating layers of felt.
Air is admitted through suitable openings into the
space between the outside panels and th e tirst lining;
the effect of this is t o lower the t emperature of th e
outside of the first lining to the shade tempern.ture,
rarely exceeding 90 de g. Fahr., wbitst the outside of
th e boards may he above 160 deg. Fahr. The full load
is 252 cans, equal to about 17 tons. As extreme case
or smoothness of runnin g is not requisite in this class
of stock, the bogiP. previously described is replaced by
one of simpler and stronger construction. In this the
equalising beams and elliptical springs are omitted,
the entire weight being sustained on "Timmis, coil

sprmgs.
The bogie meat-wagons are very similar to the
above, except that the partitions are omitted, and
that receptacles for ic~ are provided at each end.
l\Ieat slaughtered in the country is conveyed by
t hese wagons to Melbourne, where it is stored in cool
air chambers, and delivered as required. Extensive
s torage chamber&, cooled by ' ' Hnslam" and "BellColeman" refrigerators, form part of the railway plant
at Newport.
The bogie horse- box, shown in outline in Fig. 1,
page 726, of our issue of Decembe r 15, is built to
carry twelve horseE~, with compartments and seats for
attendants. This class of wagon is chiefly used for
the transit of the more valuable classes of stock. Ea.ch

FOR TH E VI C TORIAN RA I LW A VS.

ROLLI N G STOCK

STAND A RD

MR. A.

D.

SMITH, LOCOMOTIVE SUPERINTENDENT, NEWPORT,

NEAR MELBOURNE.

(FM Description, u e Page 786.)

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E N G I N E E R I N G.
computment is ca~c_fully padded with stufT~d leather
cushions, and proviSIOn 1s made for fodder, &c.
The bogie fla t t ruck, shown in the ame d iagram, is
co nstructed to ad mit of the expedi~ious handling and
conveyance of long timber and rails.
The sta.ndard "f.I edium, wagons are made in two
varieties, viz., bogie and four-wheeled. The former
(Figs. 28 to 31, page 7 9} is a.daptcd for long loading, alsc, for gnl>in, or TJherevcr large quantities of
merchand ise have io '
' dlt:d, "<\ the hogic system
m:1.terially reduces
umnng load. \\T here it
is necessary t o spltt l o .1.d~, or where the quantity
carried does not jus ti fy the use of large wagons1 a fourwheeled car is used.
All open trucks arc provided with t arpaul ins,
dressed with waterproof co mpounds, and secured
when in use by lashings. To pre\ent the canvas
resting on t he goods in wet weather , the t arpaulins
are supported by chains threaded t hrough wooien
balls, and str etched betw~en iron stanchions at the
truck ends. This arrangement has the effect of
causing the covering t o l.l>ssume the fvrm of a corrugated roof, and effcctua1ly prevents damage fro m r ain.
In the four and six-wheeled standard vehicles, as in
the t .>gies, iron and steel are used as fa.r as possible to
replace timber.
The live-stock trucks (Fig. 2, page 726 of Ollr issue
of December 15} are four-wheeled wagons, with partly
open sides, protected by iron bars. The sheep wagons,
shown iu the same d iagram, arc similar t o t he preceding, but are constructed with an upper and lower
floo . The sheep ar e drafted from the sta~ion yards to
the .1pper and lower floors simul taneously, from suit ab} ramps, at different levels. The fish and fr uit
tru'-ks are built with side_s and ends d oubled , with
t w distinct systems of louvres, wire gauze being
interposed in such a way as to ventilate freely, by
giving access to air curren ts, but preventing the
entrance of dust. The six-wheeled goods van, shown in
Figs. 15 to 19, is in tended for goods or mi xed trains,
or for short dis tan ces, where the traffic does not
warrant the use of t he bogie goods vans. This stock is
similar in details and materials of constru ction t o the
bogie vans already described.
J

INDUSTRIAL NOTES.

TilE year 1 93 will long be remembered by

reason of the general d epression in trade in a variety
of industries, intens ified by several g igan tic labour
disputes. Altogether, th e industrial world has been
in a state of unrest up t o near ly the close of the
year. But at its close, just before Christ mas, most of
the di~ putes of any consequence had been arranged,
so that no dark cloud overhangs the land in
se far as these are concerned. But the outlook as
regards exports is by no means encouraging. Dowu,
down down, these have been trending month by
montl; except t hat machiner y and some iron and steel
manuf~ctu res have taken a favourable t urn , and in
some respects also t he cotton_ trade. The one fea~ure
wh ich gives enco uragement 1s that st ocks of all kmds
appear to be unus ually low, as production has decreased with demand, so that when trade looks up
there will possibly be a spurt in order t o supply ~hat
is short and also current demands at the same tlme.
From a parliamentary and national point of view,
labour had made an advance. A L n.bo ur D epartment
has been instituted by the Government. The questions of a fair wage and a living wage have been
advanced consid erably by concessions both by the
fiovernment and by various municipal coun cils, county
cou ncils 1 school boards, and other local bodies. The
eight-ho urs system has been introdu ced as an ex periment by several eng ineering and other firms, and on
the whole t he experiment seems t o have g iven satisfaction. The right of combination, in connection with
Governm ent establishments, has also been conceded
where hitherto it had been withheld. Then the
Employers' Liability Bill seems within the bounds_of
probability of becoming law. T he on~ great c~uest~on
remains, of the unem ployed, but th1s also 1s hemg
made a subject of experiment in various parts of the
country. T he feeling is becoming general that for
willing and able workers useful employment should
be found without the ta int of pauperism . T his is a
healt.hy sign, and will eventuate in good if directed
with prudence.
The Employers' L iability Bill came before the House
of Commons again last week, when the Lords' amendments were discussed and disposed of. The real fight
was over the " contracting-out clause." :Mr. Asquith,
the H ome ecretary, mo,ed to disagree with the
Lords' amendment, and was supported by a majority
of fi fty-two. Those who form erly supported Mr.
McLa.ren's amendment now supported th e Govern ment on the grou nd t hat the L ords' amendment went
furth~r than that proposed in the House of Commons.
This accounts for the large majority of the 'oventment. But it was also noticed in the House that
several of the Conser Yative Lancashire members
abstained from voting, the feeling in that part of the

country being strong for the Bill of the Government.

The motion to disagree with the L ords' amendment as
regards seamen was agreed to without a division and
a Committee was appointed to d raw up reasons fo~ d isagreeing wi th the L ords. The fate of the measure
now rests w ith the Honsc of Lords; but it is thought
that possibly some other form of amendment may
be propo~ed , giving time to certain co mpanies t o see
the workmg of t he Act and decide as to the insurance
funds. S ubsequently to the d isposal of the Bill in th e
H ouse of Commons, Lord Salisbury received two
imp :>rtant deputations- one from the L ancashire and
Cheshire miners, mainly on the question of the desire of
the latter to have the Bill as it stands, notw ithstanding
a. declaration by previous deputations in favour of the
contracting-out clause from those districts. The second
deputation was r emarkable from the fact that representatives from the great n.ffi liated orders of friendly
societies, consisting of over 1, 700,000 members, as well
as the representatives of some 1, 750,000 trade unionists,
were unanim ous in their desire that the Bill should be
passed as it stands. The conjunction of these two
forces as r egards this question is most important, and
will, it is thought, greatly influence the Peers in their
fin al decision.
It is generally expected that some
rnorlu.s l'il:emli will be found, so that the measure will
not. b~ lo~t, especially in the face of such a large
maJonty m the Commons as fift y -two. It is also
agreed on all hands t hat ther e is no solid reason why
the insurance fund s should be dissolved.

---

1\ fr. Bousfield, the honourable and learned member

for North Hackney, has i ntroduced into t he House of
Commons a Bill affecting industrial organisation in
this country. His proposals are : "The establishment
by law of trade societies, consisting of employers in a
trade, and of workmen in t heir employ, with district
councils, provincial councils, and a gran d council.
The d istrict councils are to be composed of an equal
number of representaii ves of employers and employed,
with a chairman chosen by such body. The provincial
councils are to comprise a group of distri cts, with
representatives from the district councils. 'Ihe g rand
council is t o consist of represen tati ,es chosen by
the provincial councils, one representative for every
2000 memLers. :M embership is to be p urely ,oluntary until five-sixth~ of the t otal e1uployers and
workmen in t he district are enrolled, when membership of the society shall be compulsory. The
grand council is to be specially constituted for
certain p urposes by t he addi tion of trade union delegat es, one delegat e fo r every 2000 members in the
particular union, and by delegates from th e employers' unions in an equal number. Six months'
notice is to be given by public advertisement to enable
trade un ions and employers to elect delegates. 'Vhen
thus constitu ted, the grand council shall have "(>Ower
to make bye- laws as to the settlement of trade disputes, hours of labour, r egulation of the admission of
apprentices and of others who may desire to work at
the trade, the formation of registers of workmen seeking employment, the t emporary relief of unemployed
members, and such other matters as may be authorised
by the Board of Trade. Such bye-laws shall bind all
members of t he trade, both employers and workmen. "
For th e special purposes of this section the grand
council is to be streugth enecl by t he addit ion of dele
gates from friendly and benefit societies, hav ing members in the t rade, at the rate of one delegate fo r
every 2000 members, and a like number of delegates
from employers' associations, so as to make the t otal
number of delegat es equal, both of employers and
em ployed, on the grand council ; due notice of election to be given by pu blic advertisement prior t o the
election.
In addition to the powers to make bye-laws in section 6, as given above, t he grand council is to have
power to make bye-laws in relation to the forma tion
and administration of a fund for compensat ion for
in j uries to workmen ; of sick fu nds, old-age pension
fun d, and other matters authorised by the Board of
Trade. The~e bye-law s shall be binding upon all
members of the trade, both employer s and workmen.
The unions and societies to be admitted into the
g rand council, as before specified , are to be called
affiliated unions and societies, and are to be enti tled
to certain privileges. \Vhen members are in receipt
of sick allowance or old-age pensions, the hoard s of
guardians are to pay to the fund 2s. 6d. per week for
each such member. The district coun cil to supply to
boards of g uardians a. weekly stat ement of all claims
for such weekly allowance in sickness or old age. In
t he case of affiliated unions or societies t he nmoun t
of 2s. 6d. per week payable by t he g uardians is t o be
hand ed over to s uch societies. If the allowa,nce is less
than 5s. per week, boards of guardians are to pay
one-half of such sum. The contributions t o the
council are to be an equal amount by the employer and
workmen. The employers to collect t he contributiens
at specified times, and pay the same to the d istri ct
council. District coun cils may be constituted for any
trade, and the provisional council may draw up a
scheme to regulate t he constitution of the for mer ;

such scheme to be sanclioned by the Board of Trade.

The grand council shall ha \'e power to make bye
laws, which shall be binding upon all members of
the society, r elating to the several subjects in section
6 and section 7, and which are recapitu lated in
section 14. The necessity for l\lr. Bousfield's Bill
i~ not very apparent.
All the objects that he
has enumerated in his Bill eau be attained now,
under existing Act s, save and except one-namely,
the com pulsory powers to bind all t he men in
th e trade by s tatute. Em ployers and workmen may
co mbine and r egister under the Trade Union Acts.
They may form boards of arbitration and conciliation under the Acts of George I Y., or s ubsequent
Acts down t o t he Act of 1 72. If the principal
object of l\lr. Dousfield is to give the power of legal
compulsion to such corporate bodies, he will fail. The
Act is in direct antagonism to the Employers and
\Yorkmen Act, the Conspiracy a nd Protection of
Proper ty Act, and to several other Acts, all of which
would have t o be repealed. Bu~ he has not eYen
attempted to r epeal them by his Bill.
Though there is quietude generally in the engineering trades in all the chief iudustrial centres of Lancashire, yet there is a disposition t o take a rather hopeful
view of the prospects for the new year. Yery little
has been stirring during th e holidays, and t he lack of
pressure has had t he effect of prolong ing the holidays
in some instances. Generally speaking, the engineering establishments are ouly indifferently supplied with
orders, and those to hand are not of any great weight.
Many of the establishmen ts have been really run.uing,
as i t were, from hand to mouth, especialJ y since the
coal dispute began, nearly six months ago. The most
for t unate thin g in connection with the engineering
branches of trade, and all the cognate industries, is that
there has been a remarkable absence of serious labour
disputes throughout L ancashire durin g t he whole year,
except in regard to certain red uctions at Bar row, and
these were settled without any prolonged resistance,
mainly by th e prudence and moderu.tion of the great
unions t o which the men for the most part belonged.
There were rumours of intended or suggested reductions
in wages in the earlier months of the year, but t hese
appear to have been either unfound ed, or the employers
p referred to wait hopefully rather t han begin a.
struggle which might end disastrously to all concerned.
A nd it is very satisfactory to kn ow that generally
cordial r elations exist between t he workmen in the
several engineering bran ches of trade and th e employers. The iron market has beeu quiet generally,
the inquiries beiog limi ted, with no material change in
prices, except that fou ndry qualities of pig iron are
said to be rather easier in price. Forge qualit ies, on
t he contrary, arc scarce, the finished iron works having
some d ifficulty in getting sufficient supplies to keep
them well going. District makers are well sold for
some time forward, and only quote for foundry qualit ies
of iron at present. Makers of finished iron appear to
have little to offer, and what they have stands at the
full r ecent rates. N ut and bolt makers r eport only a
moderate amount of busine~s, and orders of any weight
are cut d own to very low figures. The steel trad e is
very quiet, little b usiness being done. But as makers
have Yery little to offer, and co nsumers are no t buying
to any large extent, the quoted prices are but nominal.
The general metal market is quiet, but prices are firm
at th e recently advanced rates. The cotton trades
continue to be pretty active, and the building trades
have slackened down very little consi dering the season
of the year, the open weather being favourable.
In the , heffield and Rotherham district trade has
not und ergone that material change for t he better
since the coal strike ended which was expected, but
the prospects are more cheering in scver~.l depa rtments. The year is ending rather favourably for
the steel trades, December hav in g been the busiest
month of th e year, and the prospects a re very hopeful,
except that fuel is still much above what is regarded
as the normal price. The heavier indus tries have
been much depre sed for some time, but there is a
hopeful fC'eling on account of the decision of the
Government t o strengthen the N Mry. More activity is
also apparent in the shipbuild ing and railway branches ,
consequent upon t he turn of the tide in those trades.
The large armour-plate ,,ork s expect to be busy
during th e coming year. A mon g the lighter industries
of the district, the makers of cutting tools are kept
busy with orders from Rus~itt.
These h<we been
div erted from Germany by the recently established
preferen t ial tari ft's iu fayou r of England by Russia.
I n the \Yoherhampton district acti\ity has b een
manifest in the manufactured iron departments more
than for weeks past. This may be attributable to the
desire to execu te all the orders possible before the
holidays had set in, and to clear th e books as far as
possible before the close of the year . In most instances
operations have been either partially or wholl y susp ended t his week, in view of the gP-neral quietude of
trade. The export demand ha.~ fallen off considerably

MR.

A.

D.

RAILWAYS.

GOVERNMENT

STANDARD FIRST-CLASS CARRIAGE FOR THE VICTORIAN

'-1

00
00

SMITH, LOC0}.10TIVE SUPERINTENDENT, NEWPORT, NEAR !\!ELBOURNE.

(For De:x;riptimt, see Page 786.)

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during the last few weeks, and makers report that,

with the exception of some few orders of a limited
extent, very little bu ying is being done at present.
But some ordera have recently come to hand for sheets
and the commoner qualit ies of wrought material for
Australia and South Afric~ ; Russia has been a
good customer for certain kinds of material for some
time past. B eyond this t he shipping orders have not
been very active of late. Some buying for home con sumpt ion has been going on, in wh ich the smaller firms
have largely p articipated . It appears that a large
amount of business has been done for forward delivery,
so much so that ironmasters feel rather anxious abo ut
t he course of trade in the early spring, especially as
prices are now lower than they were at the beginning
of the present year. The complaint of makers is that
at t he present price of iron and fuel very little margin
is left for manufacturers. Some of the st eel works are
busily engaged on large r ounds, squares, and angles, at
fairly good prices. A good deal of steel girder and
boiler plates have, it appears, been obtained from the

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north of England and Scotland, much of which material

has been returned to those districts in the shape of
finished goods. Generally the district has had a good
run of late, and the prospects for the new year are not
bad.
I n the Birmingham district there was considerable
activity in th e iron and hardware branches during t he
past week, manufacturers being anxious to clear off as
much as possible ere the year closes. The general condition of trade in this distri ct has not been so satisfactory as it was this t ime last year. Business has been
of the hand-to-mouth character for some t ime past in
most branches. Moreover, competition ha s been keen,
leaving only a small margin for profit. N ever t heless
there is a hopeful feeling with r espect to th e coming
year in many departments. In most branches the works
will not r esume t ill t he new year, but some of the busier
tra.des, such as bedst ead makers, tube mak ers, brassfounders, especially for cabinet-work, resumed work
on Thursday. In the iron trade there is a general stop-

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00
\0

STANDARD

BOGIE
MR.

A.

WAGON

D.

FOR

THE VICTORIAN

Sl\tUTH, LOCOMOTIVE SUPERINTENDENT,

GOVERNMENT

RAILV\TAYS.

NEAR ~IELBOURNE.

NE,iVPORT,

d
tt1

(Fvr D escription, see P age 786.)

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page for the week, for the demand is not very pressing
just now. j

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At a conference of the South 'Vales and Monmouth

------------------ ----- ---.
shire miners, held at Cardiff on ~aturday last, repre1.,.
senting about 51,656 miners in favour of t he sliding
~

scale, out of a total of about 100,000 in the districts,

'>I

some strong objections were raised to the operation

of the scale, and especially to the practice by coalowners

and merchants of long cont racts extending over a year or
~- 11~1! 1 1
more, the price including cost of transit by rail or sea.,
-*- - lPfllt's:- t$f ~
or both, thus making it next to impossible for the representatives of the men to ascertain the exact pr ice paid
for the coal, exclusive of all charges. These contracts,
it seems, are not taken into the audit, and the men
think that they might influence the scalP- wages. The
--- -.e.J. -- - 't" -.-- - 4/ .JJ- -chairman, Mr. W. Abraharn, M.P., stated that the
- -- -- - - - - r P- - - - - - - -~5 - .. ----- .,:tJ!:
total did not exceed about 2i per cent. of the whole,
and therefore could not, to any appreciable extent,
influence wages. But t he conference resolved to invite to be a little restive under the scale, and it will be wise 1 held at Swansea on Saturday last, representing some
160,000 hands, and attended by over lOO delegatt>s, a
the auditor to attend the next meeting of the conference to give full explanations.
resolution was passed \lrging the Government to stand
to explain the matter, and also how the wa ge rate
At a conference of the Tinplate \Vorkers Union I firm by the Employers' Liability Bill as it originally
for the colliers was really arrived at. The men appear

\.J" ~

passed the Commons. The conference also finally

adopt ed the revised code of rules, as recommended
by the Cardiff council meeting t hat took place three
months ago. The state of t he tinplate trade was r eferred to in the course of the discussions, and the men
were urged to stand fast by the union, in view of
possible eventualities arising out of the state of trade
in that industry, caused by the effects of the American
tariff and other ad verse influences .
At a special meeting, representing l:Ome 50,000
South ' Vales and Monntouthshire colliers, a deputation
was appointed to wait upon Lord Salisbury to assure
him t hat of the 60,000 miners in the :M iners' P ermanent
Provident Society the majority were not aware when
they joined that society that by so doing they were
contracting out of the Employers' Liability Act., and
that they were in favour of the Bill of t he Government,
and a.\erse to t,he contracting out clause. It is feared
that the attempt to use the permanent relief societies
in fa vour of the contracting-out of the Act will have a
d isastrous effect on those societies, as the m em hers
generally resent the action of the officials in Lanca-

'-t

00
\Q

790

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

s hire, Cheshire, Durham, Northumberland, and now will not be eager to renew the conflict at so early a date. occ.urrf'd, and ~everal blast _furnaces are damped down
South \Vales and other d istricts w h ere such r elief T o-day 's quotations at Gla~gow Harbour are as under :
owmg to scar01ty of matenal caused by the holidays.
soc~ot~es exist. T his will be a great mis fortun e, for t he
Yesterday no market was held here, and today very few
F.o.b. per T on.
soc1ettes h ave done a vast amount of good.
people were seen on 'Cha nge. It is said t hat No. 3 g. m. b.
Splinb
...
9s. 6d .

Cleveland pig iron can be bought just now at 35s. 6d. for
M ain coal ...
9s. 9d. to 10s.

prompt f.o.b. deliver y, but few sellers would dispose of
The. unemployed question s till agitates l ocal bodies
Steam
...
. . . lls. to lls. 6d.

much at that price. Makers have a good few orders on
~he Government, an d t h e gen er al public. The meet~
Ell ...
. ..
...
lts.

h and, and are not an xious for new work at present
1ng, however, called in Trafalgar-square on Sunday
Glasgow Coppe1 Market.- Coppe.r on Glasgow Exchange rates, believing that quotat ions are li kely to improve
l ast was only attenued by a score or two of demon- was quoted at the openin g last Thursday at 43l. l s. 3d. before long. The lower qualities of pig iron a.re
strators. The.se wer e addressed by a new organiser, per ton, but in th e afternoon the quotation ran up to rather quiet, and No. 4 foundry pig might be bought at
wh.o s poke :Vlldly, and then the meeting dispersed 43l. 3s. 9d. On th e following day there was an ad vance 34s. 6d., whilst 34s. m ight be accepted for grey forge,
9u1etly. It 1s d readfully sad to see willing workers to 43l. 5s. per t on, and to day there has been a decline to both for prompt delivery. Hematite pig iron is steady,
1d le when able to work, but these organised a-ttem pts 43l. per ton cash .
and Nos. 1, 2, and 3 of makers' east coast brands may be
to us~ th e unempl oyed for political pur poses a re even
Th e L ocal Steel T rade in 1893.- T o the manufacturers pu~ at 43s.. 6d. ~or early f.o.b. delivery. Span ibh ore keeps
more sad. If, however, th e Tower Hill scenes, the of ?pen_-heart? steel in the W est of Scotland, the year qUJ et, rubto bemg quoted 12s. ex-ship T ees. Yesterday
Trafalgarsquar e me~tings , and the p arades t h roug h whiCh 1s closmg has been on e of great anxie ty, almost Middlesbroug h warrants closed 35s. 5~d. cash buyers.
the streets o.f the Ctty and the ' Ves t E nd can stir up without a single ray to relieve the gloom of the deep
Manu..jacturccl!?on and Stecl.- Th ere is little or nothing
the loc~l bod1es to find em ployment at useful la.bo ur, depression which has been cast over all the busi ness. The doing in manufactured iron and steel, but prospects on
good w1ll be d one to the co mmunity . London is never improvement, small though it was, which had set in t he whole look somewhat better. It is expected that next
before th e termination of last year, proved very year establishments will be kept more regula rly going.
so clean as it ought to be for a great and w ealthy shortly
short -lived, and very early in th e new year di ed out. Common iron bars are 4l. 17s. Gd. ; best bars, 5t. 7s. 6d.
m etropolis, a nd much can be effect ed for comfort anu Prices of ship plates, which had advanced to the extent
iron ship plates, 4l. 15s. ; steel ship plates, 5t. 2d. 6d. ;
heal th if the vestries do their duty .
of something like 7s. 6d. per t on, gradually fell away, iron ship angl es, 4l. 12s. 6d. ; and steel ship angles, 4l. 15s.
until by the month of June they were as low as at all l~ss the usual ~~ per ce~t. discount for cash. Heavy
any previous time. Since then, however, a slight sections of st eel ralls are qmet at 3l. 12s. Gd. net at works.
impro vement has again taken place, and the year
NOTES FROM THE NORTH.
T he Fuel Trade.-~"'u el continues dear, and prospects
closes
with
prices
just
about
the
same
as
at
its
GLASGOW, W ednesday.
for the future are encouraging. Good blast-furnace coke
commencement.
These
remarks
also
apply
equally
Glasgow P ig-bon M arket.-Only a small amount of
is between 13R. and 14s. delivered at works here over th e
to
boiler
plates
;
but
with
regard
to
angl
e~,
the
year
has
busmess wa~ done in the pig-iron warrant market on
next three months.
witnessed
the
commencement
of
k
een
competition
from
T~ursday forenoo? . . Prices, however, were well maint a med, and hemat1te 1ron was in special r eq uest. Scotch t he North of England in these products such as had pre
warrants were dealt in at 43s. lO~d. and 433. lOd. cash viously been experienced in plates, and as a consequence
NOTES FROM SOUTH YORKSHIRE.
the market closi ng with buyers at the latter . Cleveland angles were recently at the lowest price ever known. The
SHEFFIELD, W ednesday.
changed h ands at 353. lOd. cash, closing buyers ld. per steelmakers of the west of Scotland are now quoting
Grimsby Trade Council and Government W ork. - The
ton less, the same as on the preceding afternoon. Cum- angles 4l. 15s. , ship and bridge plates5l. 10s., boiler plates
b~rland hematite iron was done at 45s. lO~d . and 5l. 17s. Gd. , all with extras and for delivery at Clyde or Grimsby Trade and Labour Council have unanimously
4os. 9~d. cash, t~e finish being 453. 9d. cash buyers, equal, but in all likelihood business could be done at adopted the following resolution, and SE'nt a copy of it to
and. sellers wantmg ld. per ton more. While little 2s. 6d. per ton under the prices named for ship plates and the Secretary of S tate for War: "That this meeting is
busmess was don e, a very firm tone prevailed in the angles. During the year there has been a considerable of opinion th at th e Governmen t can grant an eight-hours
day without reduction of pay to all employes at work in
afternoon. Business was done in Scotch warrants shortness of work in the diRtrict.
Government factories without loss to the State, owing to
at 43::~. lld. cash, at wh ich there were buyers at t he close.
Malleable I ron T1ade.-The makers of finished iron are the cost of prod uction being far less than that done by
Only one or two lots changed hands. Cleveland was in some cases very busy -so much so, indeed, that they
done a_t 353. lO~d. cash, closing buyers at 353. 11d. will stop their works for only a. very short t ime at the pd vate contractors." It is understood that further
Hemat1te iron was again in demand and a moderate forthcoming New Year holiday season. P rices show prac- measures will be taken to agitate this question.
am ount of business was done at 45s. it!d. cash also at tically no change of any importance. l'he past year in
H ea,ting R ailu:ay Oarriages.-Th e Great Northern Rail463. ld. t o 463. ~d. per ton on~ month, closing b~yers at this branch of the iron trades has been one of compara- way Company have recentl y conferred a boon on their
the latter 9uotal10n. The closmg settlement prices were ti vely level prices; indeed, th e range of quotations n ow passengers in some parts of the \Vest Riding by providing
-Scotch 1ron, 43s. lO ~d. per ton ; Cleveland 35s. lO~d. ruling is almost exactly the same as that which existed the_m with trains heated with Haycock 's apparatus. A
Cumberland and Middlesbrough hematite iron respec~ at the beginning of the year. On the whole the cyhnder filled with a non-freezing liquid is placed in each
tively, 4G~. and 43s. 7~d. per ton. A moderat~ amount works have been fairly well employed, although compartment, and heated with steam by a pipe from the
of business was transact ed on Friday forenoon. About the business done th rough th e year has been much engin e. When once charged, sufficient heat is generated
10,000 tons were dealt in- 5000 tons of Scotch 2500 of a "hand-to-mouth " character. During the first half to maintain an even temperature of 70 deg. Fahr. in the
of Cleveland, and 2500 tons of hematite iron. ' Most of the year prices gradual1y came downwards, owing to cold est weather for four or five hours. A heat regulator
of the Scot ch iron sold at 44~. 2d. and 44s. 3d. per th e severe competition amongst both the manufacturers is p rovided in each compartment, by which means paston one month fi xed, with l s. forfeit in buyer's option. and the merchants ; during the latter half of the year, sengers can lower or raise the temperature as desired.
Prices were easier all round to the extent of l~d . per however, prices gradually crept up again to the former The trains thus fitted were constructed in the company 's
t on. V ery little support was extended t o the market standard, mainly on account of the ad vancing price of shops at D oncaster.
in the afternoon, and _prices were easier than in the coal before and during the colliers' strike. So far as
Y orkshire Mi n er~ Stilt Out of W ork.-Th e miners remorn ing, Scotch and Cleveland each dropping ld. per profits are concerned, the year's work has brought very cently employed at East Gawber and \Vharncliffe S ilkton, and Cumb_erland hematite iron l i d. About 10,000 poor results.
stone Collieries, near Barnsley, are out of work and are
t ons would agam completely cover the transactions-5000
a ppealing to tb e public for support. They state that
M
essrs.
James
H
owden
and
Oo.
amd
Forced
D1aught
for
ton~ of Scotch, 4000 tons of Cleveland, and 1000 tons of
they are unable to resume employment because of a disBoiler
Fu1
nru:es.lt
is
stated
that
Messrs.
J
ames
Howh ematite iron. The settlement prices at the close werepute bet ween the colliery owners and t he ground landden
and
Co.,
of
this
city.
have
booked
orders
durin
g
1893
Scotch iron, 43s. 9d. per ton; Cleveland, ~5s. Bid.; Cumber
lord. About a thousand miners are idle, and as they are
for
the
application
of
their
system
of
forced
draught
under
land and Middlesbrough hematite iron, 45s. 9d. and 43s. 7!d.
members of the u nion, some assistance is to be gi ven from
royalties
to
52
steamships,
mostly
of
large
size,
including
p sr ton respectively. Owing to the C hristmas holidays,
it3 funds.
the
large
passenger
steamers
n
ow
building
at
Philadelbusiness was n ot resumed till to-day. It was very reT he Fo1thcoming Coal Contracts. - It is understood that
stricted this foren oon, when S cotch warrants chan g~d phia for th e American L ine, by Messrs. Cramp and Sons.
hands an 43s. 8d. to 43s. 6d. cash, the close being even The aggregate power of thase 52 steamships amounts to the Yorkshire owners of steam coal ha ve held a. meeting
and decided on a united course of action with respect to
lower. Cleveland was done at 35s. 9d. to 35s. 8d. one 145,600 indicated horsepower.
month. A fair amount also ch anged hands at 35s. 6~d .
T he Glasgow Locomotive Trade.- Th is branch of local th e new contracts with the railway companies for steam
F riday. In th e afternoon a large business was done, and trade is more destitute of good prospects t han it has been coal. The following figures show the course of prices
prices were lower all round. At the close the settlement for many years. During the past year locomotive engines durin g lhe past few years: 18889, 8s. 6d. per ton ; 188990,
prices were- Scotch iron, 43j. 4~d. per t on ; Cleveland, have been supplied from Glasgow for railways in India, 8a. Gd. ; 1890-1, l Oa. 6d. to ll s.; 18912, 10s. 6d. to 10s. 9d.;
~5s. Gd. ; Cumberland and Middlesbrough hematite Japan, Cape Colony, Australia, China, Ceylon, and 189:l3, 9.3. 6d.; 1893, J anuary, 9s. 6d.; June, 7s. 9d. It
iron, re3pecti vely, 45s. 3d. and 43s. l!d. per ton. Assam in the East, and Mexico and A rgentina in the has been agreed that tenders shall be at an aci vance of
The following are the current prices of a few special western hemisphere, as also for many railways at home, about l s. 6d. on the last mentioned figures.
brand~ of No. 1 makers' iron : Clyde, 49s. 6d. per ton ; includ ing the Glasgow and South -W est ern, the Great
I ron, Steel, a;n,d Engineering.-Pros pecta, so fa.r as the
Gartsherrie, Summerlee, and Calder, 52s. 6d.; L angloa.n North of Scotland , the Highland, the Midland, and Irish iron and steel trades are concerned, are of an encouragand Coltnes~, 56s. 6d.-th e foregoing all shipped at railways. Prices have been reduced to a very low level. ing character. L ocal smelters find a ready market for
Glasgow; Gleugarnock (shipped at Ardrossan), 51s.:
T he L ate M r. David H enderson, of M eadowside Ship- their output at higher prices than ruled previous to the
Shotts (shipped at L eith), 54s. 6d. per ton. Since the yard.-Thi s wellknown gentleman, who was the senior coal stoppage, and they arQ not disposed to commit
close of the strike of the Scotch miners, 13 blast fur- partner of Messrs. D. and W. Henderson and Co., engi- themsel ves to lower figures in forthcoming contracts.
naces have been fired up afresh, making a total of neers and shipbuilders, Glasgow, died yesterday morning Local made forge pig r ealises 40s. to 42s. per ton, and
2S in acti ve operation, as compared with 76 at this somewhat suddenly, at his residence on Gareloch, at about foundry 42s. to 44s. Orders and inquiries are coming
time last year. Last week 's shipments of pig iron from 76 years of age. In early life, like his brothers, he was in thickly for best and medium qualities of bar
all S cotch ports am ounted to 3017 tons, as compared a sh ipmaster, and was a captain both of sailing ships and on home account and for export, and it is probabJe
with 3589 tons in the corresponding week of last year. eteamers. During the Cri mean War he had com mand of that the mills will be put on full time at an early
They included 200 tons for It.1.ly, 175 tons for Germany, the troopshi p Clyde, which was employed in the transpor- d ate. Probably India, Australia, and South A frica
427 tons for Holland, 100 tons for Spain and P ortu gal, tation of troops bet ween this ~oun try and the scene of opera- will supply the earliest heavy ord ers for bar for export.
smaller quantities for other countries, and 1927 tons tions in the Black Sea. S hortly after the close of t he war Sheet-rollers are receiving som~ fair lines on colliery
coastwise. The stock of pig iron in M essrs. Connal and he retired from t he sea, and togeth er with his brother account. Circumstances point to a heavy trade superCo.'s public warrant stores stood at 321,111 tons yester- William h~ established the marine engineering business at vening in the steel departments, both in rail way and
day afternoon, against 321, 597. tons yeste~d ay week, thus Finnieston Steam Engine Works, frequently called the marine material, particularly in heavy forgings, and as
showing for tbe week a reductiOn amountmg to 486 tons. Anchor Line vVorks, from the fact t hat they did all the there are many pressing orders on the books, business will
be resumed as rapidly as possible. Coke is likely to reengine
repairs.
&c.,
for
th
e
Anchor
Line
steamers,
owned
W est of Scotland Coal T rade.-In the coal market the
main at its present comparati vely h igh price. Bessemer
by
Messra.
H
end
erson
B
rothers.
About
twenty
y~ars
demand for all classes continues ~ood. Some producers
billets find a ready sale at 5l. 17s. 6d. to 6l. , and Siemens
since
the
firm
acquired
Me~srs.
T
od
and
Macgregor's
are experienci ng difficulty in keepmg their men fully emat
Gl. 5s. to 6l. lOo. per ton. Armour-plate manufacturers
famous
shipyard
at
Meadowside,
where
they
carried
on
a
ployed on account of the s~arcity of w~gons, but so far no
are kept fully going on all-steel work. The engineering
large
shipbuilding
business
for
the
Anchor
Line
and
serious d elay has ooourred m the loadmg of vessels, and
trades throughout the district are all benefiting by the
many
other
owners.
They
also
built
some
of
t
he
most
by the end of the week all orders arranged for should be
partial revival, and promise to be busy before the spring
n
otable
yachts
afloat,
including
the
T
histle,
Valkyrie,
p retty well run off. Th~ min~rs will stop ~ork on Friday,
months
are
reached.
and it is expected the ptts will be open agam on Thursday and Britannia.
of next week as the men, it is thought, will not be

anxi ous for a prolonged holiday so soon after t~e strike.

NOTES FROM CLEVELAND AND THE
NOTES FROM THE SOUTH-WEST.
For the opening of next year the prospects are faul y good,
G-reat W estern Rail1uay.- Th e Brent and Kingsbridge
NORTHERN COUNTIES.
and if the men show inclination to work, there need be no
extension of the Great W estern Railway, which has just
MIDDLESBROUGH, Wednesday.
fear of k eeping the pits going at about the present prices.
T he Cleveland I ron Trade.- Th e absence of bu~:~i ness been opened for traffi c, has involved an outlay of a bout
In some quarters hints are being thrown out that work may
be suspend ed about th e beginning of February, but looki ng renders it somewhat difficult to report on th e t rade of th e 250,000l. Its length is twelve miles. It is a single line
to the result of th e recent struggle, it is th ought t he men district this week. Few transactions, ind eed, have branch, falling into the previously existing Great Vvestern

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

pressure of 150 lb. and an air-pressure of . 35 in. The

trial, although a successful one as far as developed .p ower
was concern ed was marred by th e troubl~ expertenced
with the impu: e S heernefls water with which the boilers
had been fi lled before startin g . 1'he ship left th e Nore
for the preliminary tlial at 7.15 a.m., a nd pro_ceeded t o
sea for the officinl eight hours' full p0wer tnal und:r
natural draught. A fter sh:e had been running for sor:ne
time, during which the engmes de veloped a mean of ?GOO
indicated horae-power, it was found that ~he a fter b01le~s
were priming, the impure water no~ havn~g been ~ot rtd
of- and that it would not be poss1ble, Without n sk, to
run the engines at a. h i~her SJ?eed. It was ~herefore
decided t o postpone the trial unttl after the b01lers had
been thoroughly cleansed and fil~ed with fresh water. The
final official trial of the machm ery w!ls r.ompleted la t
week when a continuous seven hours' run und er na tural
draught gave t he following mean resul ts: With an ~ir
pressure of .43 in. an ample supply of stea:m was l!lamtained at a. boiler -pressure o~ 149.4 l b. p~r _square u~ch,
and with vacuums of 27 2 m. and 27 m . th e engmes
attained a speed of !)6.18 and 96 3 revolutions per minute,
and developed 5:315 and f?293.4 horse-po~er, .i n starboard
and port engines respect1vely, or a totalmd1cate~ po~er
of 10 608.4 horses, th e resultant speed of the sh1p bemg
18.66' knots her draught at the time being 22 ft. 3 in.
forward and 24 fb. 4 in. a ft. The power is 608 above that
stipulated by contract . The Theseus, whi<.:h has al ready
been described in thie volume (pages 180 and 330 ante),
is 360 ft . long , GO f t. beam, and at a m ean draught of
23 ft . 9 in. has a. displacement of 7391 tons. H er propelling machinery cons.ists o~ two . independ ent. ~hree
cylindered triple-expans10n twm engiDes, each dr1 vtng a
t hree bladed gun-metal screw propeller l G ft. 9 in . in
diameter . S team is supplied by eight single-ended circular tubular boilers, designed for a workin g pr eRsure of
155 lb. per square inch, capable of generating ample steam,
when under forced draught, for the developm ent of
12,000 ind icated horse-power by the engines. The The~eus
is armed wi th two 9.2 in. 22-ton breechloading guns, ten
6-in. lOO-pounder guns, sixteen quick-firers, two 9-pounder
field guns, and five .45 in. Nordenfeldts; she has also
four 14-in . torpedo-tubes, two of which are submerged
and two above water.

system at the South Brent station. lb runs virl AvonLAUNCHES AND TRIAL TRIPS .
wick, Gara Bridge, and Loddiswell, and there are stations
T nE steel screw steamer Snowflake was taken to sea. on
at each of those places.
T uesday, the 19th inst., for her t ri al trip. She ha:s been
The "Hwricr."- The lla.rrier, gunboat, now building built at the Walker yard of Si r W. G. Armstrong,1\l1tchell,
ab Devonport, will be ready for launching by Tuesday, and Co. for t he Bear Creek Oil and Shipping Company, of
February 20. It was at first arranged that the Halcyon IJi verpool, of which IYlessrs. C. T. Bowring and Co. are
should be the ne:\.t vessel launched ; but as th e Lords of the managing owners. ller prin~ ipal dimensions a.~e:
the Admiralty are anxious that a starb should be made L ength, 305 ft. ; breadth. 39 ft. G m. ; depth, 27 ft. 9 m .
with the new cruiser 'falbot, instructions have been given She is capable of carrying about 4000 tons dead weight on
for ex pediting the construction of the Harrier, as it is a moderate draught of water. The propelling machinery
upon her sli p that the Talbot is to be builb.
is on the triple-ex pansion system, manufactured by ~be
The Electric L ight at Cardiff. - The Lighting and Elec Wallsend Slipway and E ngineerin g Company. Owmg
trical Committee of the Cardiff Town Council has accepted to the rough state of the sea, no speed r uns were made
t enders for 250 lamp columns, lamps, and lampholders. on the measured mile, but during the few hours the vessel
It is proposed to erect 40 additional lamps in various was on trial the machinery gave every satisfaction.
--parts of the town.
There was launched on the 23rd inst. by M essrs. C. S.
The T inplate T?'ade.-Prepa.rations are being made Swan and liunter, shipbuilders, Wallsend, a. steel screw
for layiog down four extra. mills at the Gwendraeth Tin st eamer, named Indralema, of the following dimensions:
plate \Vorks, Kid welly. The mills are t o be laid down in Length over all, 341 ft. ; breadth, 41ft. 6 in. ; with a
the parb known as the New Works.
moulded depth of 28 fb. 1 in. The vessel has been built
Barry R ailway.- Tbe directors of the Barry R9.ilway t o the order of Mr. T. B. R oy_den, Liverpool. H er engines
and D ock Company will let in the course of the n ext six are by the Central Marine E ngine vVorks, W est H artleweeks a contract for the first section of the new dock with pool, with cylinders 24 in., 38 in., and 64 in. in diameter
which they are about to proceed. Th ~ section will cover by 42 in. stroke.
aboub 20 acres. Accommodation will be provided for ten
A steel screw steamer, named Stefania, was launched
additional coal tips.
on the 23rd inst. by Messrs. \ Vigham, Rie:hardson, and
Cardiff. - Tbe coal trade has maintained a firm tone; Co. , Newcastle-on-Tyne. The \'easel is for the Royal
steam qualities have, however, been somewhat more Hun~arian Sea Navigation Company "Adria," L im ited,
plentiful for prompt shipment. The best qualities have of lf1ume and Budapest, and is 293 f b. in length by
made 16s. to 16s. Gd. per ton for immediate shipment, 39 ft. 9 in. beam. The engines. whichtor!"ith the boilers,
while 15s. to 153. 6d. per ton has been the quotatiOn for are also being constructed by Me~srs. wi gham, Ricbarddeli varies in January. H ouse coal has continued in good eon, and Co , are intended t o drive the vessel at a good
demand; No. 3 Rhondda large has been making 14s. 6d. speed.
per ton.
The "Car ysjort. "-The Carysfort, cruiser, which is to
It may be remembered that, about two years ago, the
be brought forward for service with the train ing squadron, National Lifeboat Institution placed on t rial ab H arwich
is to Le fit ted with two 14in. Whitehead torpedo tubes. the first mechanically-propelled boat intended for life
The vessel will not be supplied with quick firing guns at savi ng purposes. This vessel, named the Duke of
present, and it is also nob intend ed to make any altera Northumberland, was constructed by M essrs. R. a nd II.
tion with her a rmament of machine guns or her 7-pounder Green, the widely known shipbuilders of Blackwal l, and
engined by M essrs. Thornycroft, of Chiswick. She is
and Dpounder muzzle-loading guns.
ft. long, 12 fb. beam, and h er loaded displacement at
Welsh Co al Contracts.- M easrs. Elder, Dempster, and 50
Co., of Liverpool, have concluded a contract with th e 3 ft. 6 in. draught is 23 tons. H er propelling machinery
U mted National Collieries (Limited) for a su pply of abont consists of a horizontal compound surface-condensing
of about 170 h orse-power, driving a nearly hori
70,000 tons of Newport-Abercarn steam coal. The contract engine
price is stated to be 12s. per ton, free on board. The coal zontal turbine of 30 in. in diameter, which deli vera its
thus contracted for is to be shipped ab Newport. The water through two outlets in the sides of the boat, and
draws its supply through a vertical scoop -shaped inlet
Cambrian Coal Company h as secured a contract for the amidships.
1'he boiler is one of Mr. Thornycroft's patent
sup ply of 75,000 tons of coal t o the Campania Trans- water-tube type,
with a heating surface of 606 square feet,
a tlan tica, of Ca.diz and Barcelona. The contracb price in and grate su rface of 8~ square feeb. This boat, a fter
this case is about 13s. per t on.
going through an exhaustive series of trials, making
T he " T allJot." - The Li verpool Engineering and Con- durin g one of them the passage from H arwich t o H oly
denser ConJpany has received instructions to supply a head, a distance of 1000 miles, without the least mishap,
pai r of diRtilling condensers, S!Dare tubes, and circulating was eventually placed on the station ab Harwich, and has
engines for the Talbob. A tender of Messrs. J. and G. since done excellent service in the saving of m any lives
\Vei r has also been accepted for the supply of two evapo- and much valuable property. The success attained sugrators for the Talbot.
gested the construct ion of two other boats by Messrs.
A Harbour Tru st for Cardiff.-A special meeting of the Green, one for the Royal National L ifeboat Institution,
Cardiff Harbour Trust Committee was held on :l!'riday, and the other for the Lifeboat Institution of South
ab Cardiff, under the presidency of the Mayor. The Holland. These vessels have the following principal
mem bers were instructed at th e lasb meetin~ of the dimensions : L ength, 53 ft. ; beam, 16 ft. ; de,Pth, 5! ft. ;
genera l committee to communicate with the vanoua inte- and their load:d displacement is 30 tons, gtving them
rests involved, stating t hat the T own Counc il had adopted a draught of 3 ft. 3 in., at which they will carry
the principle of a harb0ur trust, and asking those interests from 30 to 40 passengers, fou r tons of coal in the bunkers,
whetheor t hey were willing t o receive a. depu tation upon and half a t on of fresh water in their reser ve tanks. l'be
the subject. Favourable replies have been received from fi rsb of them- or that intended for the Royal National
i r W. T. Lewis, L ord Tredegar, and others. 'ir \V. T. Lifeboat Institution-lamched some months ago, is nearly
ready for her official trial ; the ~econd - that for the kin L ewis has, however, asked for further particulars.
dred institution in South llolland-waslaunched on FriA Welsh I ndustrial Exhibition.-A proposal has been day of last week. Instead of propulsion being dependent,
mad e for holding a n industrial and fine art exh ibition at as in the case of the Duke of Northumberland, upon one
Card iff. The managers of a si milar exhibition at Bristol turbin e and inlet to feed ib, the ne w vessel is fitted with
will shortly be in a position to di spose of their buildings, two vertical centrifugal {>Umps placed on the starboard
and this, of course, is a consideration. Mr. H. J. Spear, and port sides, driven duect from the crankshaft - t o
Aecretary of the Bristol ex hibition, had an inter view on which they are coupled and co-axial-of an inclined com
}i' riday with the M ayor of Cardiff, wi t h the view of pound direct action engine of 200 horse-power. For for arranging terms of sale.
ward and backward motion, go-ahead and go-astern,
The "Cambrian."-The trial of the el ectrical fittings outlets-the former in the bottom, and the lat t er in the
and the search lights of the Cambrian took place on sides of the vessel- are connected by p i pes to each of the
Tuesday nighb. The gear was worked under the d irec pumps, and to give a lateral propulsion t o the boat a
tion of Messrs. J. Border and ,V. Proub, electrical fitters, spemal side outlet has been arranged- which has been
from D evonport. The trial was generally successful, the p atentEd by M r. J . F. G reen both in England and abroadthe advantage of which when man<.euvring round a wreck
earch light being very effective.
considered invaluable, as th e water can be discharged
The " Sharpshoote1."-The S harpsh oot er, gunboat, will is
through the outlet n earest the wreck, and thus act as
be ready for her steam trials by the middle of February. a buffer or fender in keeping the boat and the wreck from
To insure this, it has been neceesary to put nearly 100 colliding, and assisting it by sideways propulsion in
mechanics from K eyha m factory t o work. With new getting clear away when desirable. The buoyancy of the
Belleville tubulous boilers it is expected that a. speed of new vessel has been very carefully considered, and t o add
19 knots p er hour will be attained by the Sharpshooter.
to her safety she is d ivided into no less than 1 ~ waterDeath nf Sir George Elliot.- The death of Sir George tight compartments; bu t should one of these be stove in,
Elliob, whi ch occurred on S unday, has depri ved Newport provision is made to connect it with the centrifuga,l
of a powerful friend. S ir George provided th e necessary pump inlets in such a way that the inflow of water would
capital for the completion of th e Newporb Dock works ; be utilised for the boa.t'e propulsion. The boiler for
and when the first Alexandra D ock was opened in 1875, supplying st eam to the compound engine of th e V(')ssel is
he was regarded as the hero of the occasion. In 1874 of the water-tube type, and will, t ogether with the whole
the exports from Newport amounted to 1,000,000 tons of the propelling machinery, be fitted by M essrs. J ohn
annually; now they have risen t o nearly 4,000,000 tons Penn and Son~, of G reenwich. It is expected that the
annually. Sir George E lliot also lent powerful aid to the official trial of the first of the improved type of st eam
Pontypridd, Caerphilly, and Newport Railway, which lifeboats will shortly take place.
brought th e Rhondda and Aberdare Valleys into closer
communicat ion with Newport.
The official machinery trials of her Majesty':J first-class
cruiser Theseus, built by the Thames Ironworks and S hipCO.\L tN THE UtHTRD STATES. -Theoutput of coal in the building Company at Blackwall, and engined by M essrs.
U nited States last year is officially returned at 179,000,000 Maudslay, Sons, and Field, of L ambeth, were complet ed
t onAin round figures. In this total Pennsylvania figured last week off the N ore. The preliminary trial of the
for 99,000.000 tons, or more than on e-half. The val ue of ship- which was a progressive one-was under~one on
the American coal raised la.qt yea.r is officiall y computed D ecember G, when a maximum of 10,300 indicated horseat 207,566,381 dols.
power was developed by the engin es with a mean boiler-

Instructions h ave been received at Chatham D ockyard

that the ne w gun-vessel Dryad is to be prepared for her
machinery trials in February, so that the vessel may be
ready for sea during the preseut fi na ncial year.
Th 9 official trials of No. 93 torpedo-boat, the first of the
nE: w type of boat ordered in 1892, and the only one fitted
with twin screws, were compl et ed on the 21st inst. off
Sheerness. At the trials the A dmiralty was representd
by Mr. Pledge and Mr. E ll is, of the Constructive D epartment, a nd Mr. Hard in g. The trial on the mile was undergon e on th e 14th inst., when the following mean results
were attained : With a steam pressure of 225 lb. per
square inch, the engines made 472 revolutions per minute,
and the ship attained a speed of 23.846 knots. On the
continuous three hours' tri al which took place on the 21st
the mean revolutions of the engines per minute were 467,
and the speed of the ship 23 5 knots. This new type of
t orpedo-boat has a length of 140 ft. and an extreme
breadth of 15 ft. 6 in., and her loaded draught is 5 ft. 4 in.
S he is fitted with tripleoxpansion three-cylind er engines,
driving twin screws capable of developin g 2000 indicated
horsepower, st eam for which is supphed by two Thornycrofb water-tube boilers. H er armament consists of three
3-pounder guns, and she has three 18-in. torpedo tubes .
The craft was constructed and engined by ~Iessrs.
Thornycroft.
The Rona, recently launched by M essrs. D. and W.
Hendereon and Co., of Partick, is a notable addition t o
the st eam division of the British yachting navy. Sbe has
been designed by Mr. G. L . W atson, and has b een built
for Mr. A. II. E. W ood, of Rugb~ who last year boughb
the racing 20-rater Chiquita. The Rona, wh ich will
measure about 1000 tons B. M ., is upward s of 270 ft.
over all, with a. beam of 30 ft. 3 in., and a. moulded depth
of 19 ft. 8 in. She has been built under special survey,
and is classed 100 A 1 in Lloyd's yacht register. The
engines, which h ave been made by the builders, are of the
tri.J?le-expansion type, with cylinders 23 in., 38 in., and
64 m. in diamet er by 36 in. stroke, horse-power about
380. In regard t o accommadation the R ona will be quite
a model vessel, and when complet ed she will start on a
voyage round the world.
H er Majesty's ship H ornet, which is the sister vessel to
the Havock, was safely launched from th e works of
Messrs. Y arrow and Co., of Poplar, ori Saturday. The
Havock has recently been described fully in previous
issues ( voll v., page 848 ; page 5~5 ante), while the tubulous
boilers of the llorneb have also been described (page 612
ante). This is practically the only ditferdnce in the two
vessels.
CAPE GovERNMENT H AlLWAYS-At the close of last year,
2171 miles of railway bad been constructed in the Cape
Colony, at a cost of 19,770,000l. The revenue acquired
per mile last year was 1035l. , while the working expenses
were 631l. per mile. The movement of goods laab year
over the system was 713,521 t ons, the average amount
collected being 2l. 4s. per t on. The number of passengers
carried laE~t year was 2,258,234, and the fa res collected
amounted to 748,10ll. The working expenses amounted
last year to 1,370,904l. , viz. : M aintenance of way and
works, 406,83::Jl. ; locomotive power, 606,470l. ; traftic expenses, 242,851 ; and general charges, 32)8G9l.

792

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

TRIPLE- EXPANSION

ENGINES

OF

THE

s. s.

CONSTRUCTED BY THE FORGES ET CHANTIERS DE LA MEDITERRANEE,

THE Condor, the engines of which we illustrate 1 struction ; the hull is composite, with copper sheathabove, is a small composite schooner, built some ing over the wood and steel frames; it is divided
t ime since at Havre by th e Forges et Chantiers de la into five watertight compartments by four transMediterranee, for the Chilian Government. The fol- verse bulkheads.
The forward compartment conlowing are her principal dimensions :
tains the sail and cordage stores; in the next
are the sleeping quarters of the men; the centre
Length between perpendiculars
88 ft. 7 in.
compartment contR.ins the engines, boilers, and coal
Breadth ...
. ..
...
...
18 ft. 8 in.
bunkers ; the fourth and fifth are devoted to the
D~pth
. ..
.. .
.. .
...
9 ft. 10 in.
ammunition and general stores a nd officers' quarters.
.. .
8 ft. 1 in.
M ean draught of water
The engine, of which we publish an illustration
Displacement ...
...
...
145 tons
above, is triple-expansion, with t he three jacketed
'Engines
...
..
.
...
..
.
250
horse-power
I
cylinders placed side by side, and an independent
Speed on trials ...
. ..
.. .
10' knots
conden ser with brass tubes, tinned inside and out;
Approximate tonnage...
...
115 tons
th e circulating pu mp is driven by a separat e motor.
This little ve3eel presents no sp ecial features of con- The boiler is cylindrical, with two corrugated fur-

'' CONDOR."
HAVRE.

naces and return flues; the shell is of Siemens--M artin

steel , and t he furnace plates are of iron. The
following figures give some pa.rticu] ars of the engines
and boiler:
Diameter of high-pressure cylinder 12.20 in.
,
intermediate
,
17.72 in .
,
low
.,
,
26.77 in.
L ength of stroke
. ..
. ..
.. . 17.72 in.
Numbar of revolutions
.. .
.. .
130
Diameter of boiler .. .
.. .
.. . 9 ft. 6 in.
,
...
.. .
Length
... 8 ft. 7 in.
Internal diameter of furnace
.. 2ft . 7~in.
Area of grate . ..
.. .
.. .
... 30.14 sq . ft.
Total beating surface . ..
...
. .. 807 sq. ft.
Authorised working- presaure 142 lb. per sq. in,

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

793

Yet he cannot have supposed that men of or~inary

~ S PECIAL NOTICE.
common sense would run the risk of _trustm g to
AGENTS FOR " ENGINEERING."
The Publish e r b egs to s t a t e tha t he h as recently their own inexperience in the draftmg of t~e
AcsTRlA, Vienna.: Lehmann and Wentzel, K!irntnerst rasse.
receiv e d a number of communica tions h aving r e - documents upon which the value, to them, of their
CAPE TOWN: Gordon a nd Gotch.
EDJNBURO U : John Menzies and Co., 12, Ha.nover-street.
fer e nce to a specia l number of the " Engin eering invent ions must so largely d epen~.
B ut a fe';,
FRANCB, Paris: Boyveau and Chevillet, Librai rie Etranger e, 22,
Rue d e la. Ba oquc; :M:. Em. T erquern, 31bia BouJ evard H aussmann. R eview ," for which a dvertisem ents a re b ein g soli- fussy persons of the " every man ht~ _own la wyer
Also for Advertisemen ts, Agence lla.\'9.8, 8, Place de la Bourse. cit e d. Ma ny t e l egr a m s h ave apparently b een s e nt
stamp had, presumably, to be co~Cll~ated ; so the
.
( ee below.)
ou t by the publtsh e r of tha t p er i odical s o worde d
and
a
grand
deception:
It
has
proved.
thing
went
on,
GBR.MANY, Berlin : Messrs. A. Asher and Co" 5, Unter den Lrnden .
a s to uninte ntionally convey the idea tha t the
Leipzig : F. A. Brockha.us.
a d vertisem e nts w e r e b ein g s olicit e d for ENGI- P ersons of a certain class, who tmagm e themselves
Mulhouse : H . Stuckelberger.
GLASGOW : William Love,
NEERING. The Publish er b egs to state tha t the to be in ventors are very much like those busy I NDIA, Calcutta: Tha.cker , Spink, and Co.
bodies who are ' prepar ed t o pr escri be a cure f_or
two
p
er
i
odica
ls
above
m
e
ntioned
h
a
ve
no
connec
Bombay: Thacker and Co., Limited .
every ailmen t. Just as one of t~e. latter feels satlStton whateve r with each ot h e r .
ITALY : U. H oepli , :Milan, and any post office.
LrvRRPOOL: Mrs. Ta.ylor, Landing- Stage.
fied that his knowledge of medictne exceeds_ th~t
-MANCHESTER: J ohn H eywood, 143, Deansgate.
of any doctor, and t hat the _med ical professiOn IS
NOTICE.
NEw SOUTU WALKS, Sydney: Tumer and H enderson, 10 and 18,
Hunter -street. Gordon and Gotch, George-street.
The N ew Cunarders "CAMPANIA.. and u LU- represented by quacks and Impostors; so do. soQuEKNSLAND (SoUTH), Brisbane : Gordon and Ootch .
CANIA ;" and the WORLD'S COLUMBIAN called inventors of the class r eferr ed t o beh ave
(NORTU), Townsville: T. Willmett and Oo.
themsel ves t o be m ore capable than t he _m ost. exR OTTERDAM : H . A. J{ramer and Son.
EXPOSITION OF 1893.
SOUTII AUSTRALIA, Adelaide: W. 0 . Rigby.
perienced patent agent to draw the spee1ficatwns
UNITED STATES, New York : W. H. Wiley, 53, East J.Oth -~re~t.
The Publlaher begs to announce that a Reprint 1s for a patent. If the mischief went no further, no
Chicago: H . V. H olmes, 44, Lak es1de Buildmg._
But, unforVICTORIA, MSLBOURNB : :M:elville, .Mullen and Sla.de, 261/264, Colhn8 now ready of the Descriptive Matter and Illustra- great loss would ensue t o any one.
tions contained 1n the issue of ENGINEERING of tunately a system such as t hat inaugurat ed by the
street. Gordon and Gotch, Limited, Queen-street .
AprU 21st, comprising ove r 130 pages, with ntne
Patent
Act
of
1883
causes
disaster
to
many
unwary
two -page and four single page Plates, printed
NOTICE TO AMERICAN SUBSCR I BERS.
We beg to announce that American Subscl"iptions to ENOINBKRINO t hroughout on special Plate paper, bound 1n cloth. inventors who have n ot the r equisite knowledge
may now be addressed eith er direct to the publisher, MR. 0. R.
to prevent their being misled by the plaus~ble progUt
lettered.
P
rice
6s.
Post
free,
Gs.
6d.
The
ordtJ on NSON at th e Offices of this J ournal, Nos. 35 and 36, Bedfordvisions of the Act. It does n ot enter their h eads
street, Stra nd, L ond on, W.C., or to our accred ited Agents for the nary edition of the issue of AprU 21st 1s out of print.
United States, Mr. W. H. WlL'EV, 53, East l Oth-street , New York,
----==-==== -= - - that the L egislat ure and the Govern~ent can have
-and Mr. H . V. Holmes, 44, Lake ide Building , Chicago. The
laid a trap for them. A man of educatwn- alt hough
NOTICE.
prices of Subscription (payable in advan ce) for one year a re.: F or
thin (foreign) paper eait ion, ll. 16s. Od. ; for thiCk (ordinary)
The a ttention of R eaders and Advertisers is not a patent agent -may often be able to draw _a
paper edition, 2l. Os. 6d., or if r emitted to Agents, 9 d ollars for dra wn to the altera tion in the name of the good title, provisional specification, complete specithm and 10 dollars for thick.
fication, and claims. As a rule, however , the more
Publish er .
Owing to the r et ir e m e nt of Mr. Charles GUbert, competent he is to do the work himself, the more
ADVERTISEMENTS.
communi cations for the Publishing Dep a r t ment likely will h e be t o seek advice; because his kno~
The ch arge for adver tisem en ts is three shillings for th e first tour
lines or under, and eigh t pence for each additional line. T he line s hould now b e a ddress e d to Mr. C. B. JOBNSON, ledge and experience will have enlightened htm
averages seven words. Paym ent must accompany all orders for Publish er and Ma n ager .
t o the many difficulties and dangers a paten~ee
single adver tisem ents, otherwise their inser tion cannot be
.- as
is liable to encounter with a successful In guaranteed. Terms for disp layed a.dv.ertisements <?" t_he wra.p~er
and on the inside pages m a.y be obtamed on apphcatton. . Senal
NOTICES OF MEETINGS.
vent ion - difficulties and dangers that do not
advertisem en ts will be inserted with all practicable r egulan ty, but
GBOLOOI8T8' ASSOCIATION, LONDON.-The next m eeting will be usually crop up un til a period of commer cial success
absolute r egularity cannot be guaranteed.
held i n the Botanical Theatr e, University College, Gower-sereet,
Adve rttsementslDtende d for insertion 1n the our- W.C., on Friday, J anuary 5, at. 8 p.m. , wh en t h e following paper has been enter ed upon ; difficul ties and dangers
rent w e ek's issue must be d elivered not later than " ill be rend, and 1llus erated by t h e oxy-hydrogen lantern, " T he which, if due (as is frequently the case) to defects
5 p.m. on Thursday. In conse que nce of the necessity Oeneeis of th e Chalk," by Dr . W. F r azer H ume, F.R. S.
specifications
and
claims,
it
may
then
be
too
in
the
HE
J
tJNlOR
ENOlN~EB.I
NO
SOCIRTY.-Frida.y,
January
5,
at8
p.m.,
T
for going to press early with a portion of the edition,
alterations for standing Advertisements should be at t he Westminster Palace H otel, lecture on tioiler In cr us late to surmount. But these p oints are not realised
r e ceived not later than 1 p .m . on Wednesday after- t ations and Deposits," by P r ofessor Vivian B. Lewes, F. I .C., by the average inventor, who is induced to o1tain
F .C.S. , Honora ry Member.
noon 1n each week.
forms at a post-office, t o apply straigh tway to the
The sole Agents for Advertisements from the Con
Comptroller for a patent, and is lulled into a false
tlnent of Europe a nd the French Colonies are the
feeling of security when (it may be after corre AGENCE BAV AS, 8, Place de la Bourse, Parfa.
spondence with t he Comptroller, and various
--~~--------------------------------~- SUBSCRIPTIONS, HOME AN D FOREI GN.
amendments in the documents, suggested by the
FRIDAY, DECEMBER ~9, 1893.
officials or other wise) he receives, first, offi cial
ENG I NEERI NG can be supplied, direct from the p ublisher,
post free for Twel ve Months at the following r ates, payable in ==========-----:-= ---- -----=====::-:::- notice of acceptance of his provisional specificaadvance :tion ; and, secondly, official notice of acceptance
For the United Kingdom . .. . ........ . . .. 1 9 2
DEFECTIVE P ATENT SPECI FICATIONS. of his complete specification. Now, how is it that
, all places abroad :MR. CHAMBERLAIN must have laughed in his an applicant is thus deceived ~ I t is because the
Thin paper copies .. . ... . ....... 1 16 0
sleeve when introducing the Bill t hat ultimately law holds out to h im two apparent safeguar ds,
Thick
"
..... . ........ 2 0 6
developed into th e P atents, Designs, and Trade each of which is in reality as unr eliable as a brok en
All accounts are payab le to " ENG INEERING," Limited.
H e is far too astute ever to reed. The applicant, having deposited a provisional
Cheques should be crossed " Union Bank, Charing Cross Bra nch." Marks Act, 1883.
Post Office Ord ers payable at Bedford -street, Stra nd, W.O.
have imagined t hat the institution of preliminary specification, is misled by its acceptance, because
When foreig n Subsrriptions are sent by Post Office Orders
examination and comparison of provisional and the application has been r eferred to an examiner,
advice should be sent to the Publisher .
Foreign and Colonial Subscribers receiving complete specifications would enable the average who has ascer tain ed and repor ted to t he Comptr oller
Incomple te Copies through N ewe-Age nts are re- inv~ntor to obtain a va1icl patent on specifications wh ether the natur e of the invention has been fairly
quested to communicate the fact to the Publisher, of his own drafting. Befor e t he Act in question, described, and the application, specification, and
together with the Age nt's Na m e and Address.
O.fllce for Publlcatton and Adve rtisements.z. Nos. the practice was t o grant a patent on a provisional drawings (if any) have been pr epared in the pre86 and 36, Bedfordstreet, Strand, London. W.'-i.
specification, making it a condition that the patent scribed manner, and the title sufficiently indicates
should become void unless within six months the the s ubject-matter of the invention. Having subTKLEORA.PHIO ADDRRSS- ENG I NEERI NG, LONDON.
grantee filed an instrument in writing, under his sequently deposited a complete specifi cation , the
T ELRPBONE NUbfBBR-3 663.
hand and seal, fully describing and ascer taining applican t is again misled, when h e receives official
ENGINEE RING is register ed for t ransmission abroad .
the nature of the inven tion, and in what manner notice of its acceptance, by th e circumstance (to
------I t was, however, which he, in his ignorance, not unnaturally at tach es
READING CAsss. -Reading cases for containing twen ty-six the sa;me was to be p erformed.
number!! of EH<HNERRING m ay be h ad of the publisher or of any not essential that a provisional specification should
undue weight) that it and his pr ovisional specifican ewsa~ent. Price 6s. each.
be lodged in the fi rst instance. Then, as now, a tion have successfully passed the ordeal of reference
complete specification might be deposited with the to an examiner, for t he purpose of ascertaining
CONTENTS.
ap plication . Obj ections urged to t he old pr actice whether the complete specification has been prePAOK
PAGE
A New Peru (I llustrated) .. 777 Notes (i llustrated) . . . . . . . . 796 were, that there was no proper control over the pared in th e prescribed mann er, and whether the
Notes from t he United
The American Society of
specifications ; tha t the patent ee could never t ell, invention part icularly described in the complete
States . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . 797
Naval Archi tects ...... . 778
until he got into a court of la w, whether his speci- specification is substantially the same as that which
Royal Meteorologica l So60-Ton Travelling Cr ane _for
ciety . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 797 fications wer e in proper form ; whether what he is described in the provisional specification.
the Ca taract Construct1on
" A New Chapter in t h e
Company, N ia.gara Falls,
described
and
claimed
in
his
final
specification
Warnings avail but little. Thousands of invenH istory of Labour ". . . . . . 797
N . Y. (i llustrated) ...... 782
Steam Jets . ....... . ... .. . 797 would be held to b e cover ed by his provisional tors never see them- many because journals of the
T he U.S. Post Office E xhibit
at Chicago (l Uustrated) . . 783 T h e Distribu tion of Po wer
specification, or whether his claims were sufficien t . class they r ead are silent on the subject, and many
from Niagara .. .. .... .. .. 798
Compoun d Six-Whet:! Co uF u rthermor e, it was urged that , in consequence of more because, from one cause or another, it is not
pled Locomotive (lllus. ) 785 The Indet erm ina te Cases in
Grap h ic Statics (fllu s. ) . . 7P8 the absence of control, specifications were lodged their habit to r ead technical journals, much less
Standard Rolling Stock fo r
A Catena ry Problem (l llus.) 798 with claims the meaning and extent of which it
the Victorian Governmen t
treatises on patent law and practice, r eports of
Railways (lUm trated) .. 786 Econ omical Speed o f Steam
ships . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 798 was often impossible to determine. All these dif- commit tees, or reports of patent cases. 'Vera it
Industrial Notes . . . . . . . . . 787
Notes from t he No rt.h . . . . . . 790 Low v. High P ressure :oasficulties were to be swept a way by the new measure, other wise, it is probable that the pr oportion of
h old ers ... .. . . .. .... ..... 798
Notes from Cleveland and
as many people fondly imagined ; and the inventor applicants comparable t o the man who is his own
the Nor th ern Counties .. 790 Miscellan ea .... . ..... ... ... 790
would only have to fill up some blank forms, ob- lawyer would be much smaller t han is at present
Notes from Sou t h Yorkshire 790 Diag ram s Sbo wiDg F luctua tions i n t h e Prices of
Notes from th e South-West 790
tained from a post-office, in order to secure a valid the case. Soon after the passing of th e Act of 1883,
Metah,
from
Oh
r
:s
tm
a.s,
La unches and T rial Tri ~ s .. 791
Triple-Ex pansion En gin es of
1892, to Ch ristmas. 1893 800 paten t without any professional assistance. I ndeed, Mr. Theo. As ton, Q. C., in his t r eatise on the law,
Tho Sand Dtedger " Dran ct he S. S. "Condor" (lllusso satisfied did Mr. Chamberlain appear to be with said it ought. n ot t o be assumed by pat entees that
ker " .. . . ... ..... . .. . .. 800 his draf t Bill, that notwithstanding a memor ial pretrat ed) . . . . .. . . . . . . . .. 792
they wer e, under the new system, relieved from
Some P ractical Ex amples of
Defecti ve P atent Specifications . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 798
Blasting .. . .. ... .. . . .. 802 sented to him, and bearing the signatur es of over 4000 the r esponsibility Qf filing specifications which must
Warship Build ing ... . ... ... 794 The Working ot Mild Steel 803 persons, from the most eminent scientific men of the
be legally sufficien t . Notwithstanding any assist ' ' Engineering" Paten t Re
Electr ical Sig na lling by t h e
cord (Illmtrated) . . . ... 805 age down to the artisan (of whorn thousands had ance and guidance that might b e afforded under
TeJep bot os . . . . . . . . . . . . 795
T he Late Sir Geor~e Berk ley 796
signed), he did n ot con descend to make provi- the new system of official examination, specificaWith et T'Wo- P age E ngraving of STANDA.RD R OLLIN(;} sion for the registration of patent agents, and their tions would (he said) probably still have to undergo
S T OCK FOR T ilE VICTOR I.4. N R A.IL JJ'AYS.
removal from the r egister in case of miscond uct. j udicial criticism when taken in to a co1.1rt of law.
41

E N GI N EERING.

794
~t

the .same time, it might be hoped that specificatwns, 1f prepared, as they should still be, under
proper and experienced care, would, after passing
official examination and approval, be better able to
withstand criticism t han they had, as a rule, been
theretofore.
Subsequently, Mr. Morton Daniel wrote that the
critical examination of the Act and Rules, which the
preparation of his work thereon had required him
to make, had convinced him, notwithstanding all
that had been said to the contrary, that skilled
assistance was as necessary as ever to the patentee,
!o guide him safely through the process of acquiring the exclusive privilege he desired to obtain.
In 1885 the Board of Trade appointed a Patent
Office Inquiry Committee, which, as enlarged in
1886, consisted of the L ord High Chancellor (Lord
Herschell), the E arl of Crawford, Baron H enry de
Worms, :1\'I.P., Sir B ern hard Samuelson, Bart.,
M.P., Sir Richard Webster, Q.C., M .P., and Mr.
C. T. D. Acland, M.P. No doubt, in its way, this
was a strong committee ; but its recommeudations
would have had more weight had it included one or
two experienced members of the profession most
concerned in t he tn.king out of patents, and,
therefore, in a position to indicate, with authority,
weak points of a kind about which men such as
those of whom the committee was actually composed would be likely to know little or nothing.
However, it is not with the conclusions (some of
them ridiculous enough) of the committee that we
are now concerned, so much as with some of the
evidence given before it.
Amongst the witn esses was the D eputy Comptroller of Patents,
who said : ''There is the poor inventor, with
whom we have to frequently communicate, and
eventually we have to pass what we know to be a.
very inferior specification . . . An ignorant inventor
very often puts in a specification describing absolutely no invention whatever.
We return the
specification to him and ask for a fair description.
He then puts in a description that may or may
n ot be a description of the invention he had in his
mind at the time he made his application, and
there is very great danger there of our giving an
unfair advantage to the applicant. Also, in asking
for a fair description there is this danger, that h e
m~y put in more than the provisional speeification
is required to do, and thereby possibly invalidate
his patent by putting in something at variance with
what he does eventually describe as his invention
in his complete specification. " The witness went
so far as t o recomm end that the examiners should
be relieved of the duty of corn paring the provisional
and the complete specifications.
In these columns, and elsewhere, it has been
repeatedly pointed out that the examination which
takes place is misleading ; it has been held to be
n o bar to the adverse decision of a court, where
validity has been denied on the ground of disconformity between the provisional specification and the
complete specification ; the examination, though
costly, is practically a dead letter, especially in reference to the claims; and judges have commented upon
the character of the specifications that have passed
muster ; as, of course, insufficient specifications
are bound t o do, notwithstanding any attempt to
cure defects by a system of preliminary official examination. A r ecent case in point is that of Alien
ve'r.sus Duckett and Son, in which Mr. Justice
Hawkins made some amusing remarks, albeit his
judgment would be very much the revers~ of am usin()' to the unfortunate patentee. The act10n was for
infringement of a patent, ~nd his lordship co~
menced his judgment by saymg he had made up h1s
mind that upon every ground the defendants were
entitled to his judgment. First of all, he tho_ught
that both the provisional and complete speCifications were bad. This in itself was a pretty strong
commentary on the futility of the examination for
which the Act of 1883 provides. His lordship,. in
the course of his judgment, furthermore said :
'' The provisional specification is in these t~rms :
'The invention consists of an earthenware p1pe of
any r equired section divided into t~ree parts, tw_o
of which contain air chambers leading t o a ventilating shaft, and the r emaining part forms a
cham her for the excreta to pass through from the
closet seat to the main drain.'
. .
.
"It should be said that the provlS10nal speCification purports to be f~r an imp_roved form of basi~
and pipe of any requtred sectwn, and the comb~
nation of the same with air chambers and ventilating shaft for use in self-flushing water-closets or
otherwise.

E N G I N E E R I N G.
'' I may state, at the outset, that it was distinctly opening, and the hole was to be of such dimensions
stated to me- and the case was tried before me on as to prevent the possibility of a dead cat being
this supposition-that thel'e was no alleged infringe- thrown through it, or an old jacket, or a pair of
ment of the combination , and that all that was boots, or something of that sort. Of course, whether
alleged to have been infringed was the patent for it would prevent the cat, or the old bootil, or the
' an improved form of basin and pipe of any r e- jacket going through would depend very much
quired section.' The invention, I have already indeed on the size of the cat, the boots, and the
said, and I repeat i t, consists of 'an earthenware jacket. An old tom-cat who died~in agony with his
pipe of any required section divided into three tail spread uut, and his legs also, would probably
parts, two of which contain air chambers leading find a difficulty in getting through a hole 2! in.
to a ventilating shaft, and the remaining part forms wide; a little kitten just born would probably find
a chamber for the excreta to pass through from the no difficulty in it. So a child's boots would find
closet seat t o the main drain. '
no difficulty in getting into the drain if they were
"The complete specification really is but little thrown down the water-closet, nor would probably
more than the provisional specification. It practic- a little jacket such as some babies do wear, and, proally gives no further information. It alleges that bably, will continue to wear so long as there are
it is an improved form- that is, following the babies to go on wearing them.
description of the invention as stated in the pro"Speaking seriously, can anybody reading this
visional specification. Then the plaintiff says : specification form any judgment as to what the
'I, William Thomas Alien, declare the nature of object of this invention is ? If it is said merely
this invention, and in what manner the same is t o that the form of basin is more elegant than any
be performed, to be particularly described and other, that it is more fit for particular houses than
ascertained in and by the following statement : It any other, and more convenient, and in what way
consists of an earthenware pipe of any required it was so, one might see something in it; but it is
section divided into three parts,' exactly as in the not claimed as having any particular object in
provisional specification. Then he says, ' two of view."
which contain air chambers marked A A' on certain
After further comment, his lordship said : "I
figures which are on the complete specification, feel it would be absurd to go on commenting upon
'and flues marked BB,' which are upon the figures, this in detail. I could make a thousand objec' leading to a ventilating shaft marked C C '-all tions to it. The more I look at it, the more satisthat description is utterly immaterial to the present fied I am that both the provisional and the comcase-' and the remaining part marked D D ' - plete specifications are absolutely wanting in the
which I do not find at all upon the figures-' forms essential features which ought to present thema chamber for the excreta to pass through from the selves upon both provisional and complete specificloset seat to the main drain.' There is no figure cations ; and I therefore hold that it is bad for
marked D D, and even if I could say that one that reason. . . . It is not necessary to go further
D was to be found on one figure and another than to say the specification is bad to entitle the
D on another, there is a little ambiguity about defendants to the verdict. I therefore give judgthis part of the case, because th ere are three ment for the defendants, with costs."
D 's, and I do not know to which two it applies.
W e have quoted fTom the learned judge at conThat is merely a minute criticism of it; but there siderable length, and we have done so advisedly.
it is. ' Fig. 1 in annexed drawings is a plan of Many persons who will not listen to advice will
the basin and pipe horizontally fixed.' This gives r ecognise the grave import of such a judgment as
me absolutely n o information whatever. It is the one in question, because every patent specificaabout as rough a figure as one can very well tion is liable to have to undergo criticism in a court
imagine. It shows literally nothing, except what of law ; and the judgment emphasises the fact that
purports to be the interior of the basin with an the circumstance of a speciti cation having been
elongated opening denoted by two parallel lines passed by the Patent Office officials in no way indirunning from one end of the basin to the other ; cates that it will be capable of withstanding the
but I can get no information from it. 'Fig. 2 is a test to which it must inevitably be subj ected
side elevation of the basin and pipe. ' That is abso- should the patentee have to enforce his rights
lutely useless for the purpose of showing what is against an infringer.
The Deputy-Comptroller, to whose evidence
claimed. 'Fig. 3-longitudinal section of the
basin and pipe.' That does show, it is true, a before the Board of Trade Committee we have
basin with the sloping sides, but that does not already refGrred, having pointed out that under
show the opening itself. Figs. 4 and 5 are very the Act, owing partly to the reduction of the fees,
much the same thing, and Fig. 6 giveR no informa- and, he thought, partly to the examination system,
tion of any sort or kind. The patentee goes on to many ignorant inventors applied direct without
say : 'Having now particularly described and the assistance of an agent, and having expressed
ascertained the nature of my said invention, and in the opinion that a benevolent examination would
what manner the same is to be performed, I declare tend to lead the public still more to apply for
that what I claim is (1) the use of a basin and pipe patents t hemselves, went on to say, "That I t hink
of the above form, constructed of earthenware or is a bad t hing, because their specifications are so
other suitable material, and I also claim (2) the badly drawn. Very often t he ~pecifications we
combination of the same with air chambers and have t o pass we know are not such as could be
ventilating shaft for use in self-flushing water- maintained in a court of law."
In the face of such evidence, confirmed as it is
closets or otherwise. ' I have already said that the
claim for the combination is not made the subj ect of by the judgment of Mr. Justice Hawkins, can any
the present action, and therefore all I have to ask inventor doubt that when he has occasion to apply
myself is whether t he claim for the use of the basin for letters patent it will be prudent (notwithstandand pipe 'of the above form 'is a sufficient description ing the official examination, which experience has
of the invention to satisfy the r equirements of the repeatedly shown to be so ineffectual) to think
statute. I am of opinion that it is not. Looking twice before trusting to his own unaided efforts in
at this description, and looking at these figures, I t he preparation of those documents upon which
fail absolutely to be able to appreciate what was his exclusive rights must ultimately stand or fall?
the invention therein which is said to have been
the invention. I fail to see it. I do discover from
WARSHIP BUILDING.
tho evidence, what is a totally different thing, that
D uRING the year which is now closing, operations
what he claims is a basin with sloping sides. I do
discover from the figure that there is to be an open- at the Royal Dockyards have been confined mostly
ing, a hole, at the bottom of the basin, but there to t he completion of vessels launched in the precertainly is no novelty in having a hole at the bottom ceding year, when the tonnage floated was considerof the basin of a water-closet, nor is there any ably above the average, but there were, in addition,
novelty at all in having sloping sides- that is per- nine vessels of 31,64.0 tons corn bined displacement
floated from the five Dockyards. Adding the tonfectly certain.
" Well, then it is said 'Oh, but you must look nage of vessels completed and commissioned, or
at this Fig. 1,' and looking at Fig. 1- I really will r eady for commission, the total becomes 123,000
not say what it is like, because I cannot tel~, b_ut I tons, and the estimated value of these is 6. 9 millions
do know that it gives me not the smallest Intlma- sterling. Out of this sum, 2i millions were distion of the object of thCi' invention, or what this bursed in the Dockyard for wages alone, the reinvention is supposed to carry out. We were t?ld maining 4. 4 millions being spent in material,
in evidence that the object was to have an openmg machinery, armament, and fittings. But this does
at the bottom communicating with the drain below, not by any means r epresent all the money spent on
which is intended to carry off the soil. We were warship building during the year. There are a
told, moreover, that it was to present this form of number of vessels which have not been launch ed,

?ut h~ve been advanced towards completion, and

If we 1nclude these, the total is greatly augmented.
The value of ships and engines and armament
complete~, or advanced during the year, in conn ectwn w1th the Naval Defence Act is 13,680,000l.,
and to this may be added 5,400,000l., the value of
work ordered during the year apar t altogether
from the Naval D efence Act. This includes the
battleship Renown, of 12,350 tons, started at Pembroke several m onths ago, while the en()'ines of
10,000 indicated horse-power under natural drau~ht
b
'
were ordered from M essrs. Maudslay; the 14,500ton battleship Magnificent, just laid down at Chatham, and to be engined by Messrs. Penn, and the
sister ship Majestic, laid d own within the past day
or two at Ports~outh, and to be engined by the
~aval ConstructiOn Company, Barrow. In additwn there are three second-class cruisers of 5500
t ons, a:nd four ~loops of .960 tons. The only work,
excepting m ach1nery, gtven out to contract since
the Naval Defence Act ships of three years ago,
a re tho torpedo-boat destroyers of the Havock or
Daring* type, and of these about thirty have been
ordered, the prices ranging from 33,000l. to
38, OOOl. each.
We have said that the vessels launched from the
R oyal yards during the year numbered nine, and
aggregated 31,640 tons displacement. This is very
much less than in the two preceding years m Gre
particularly in view of the small number of ~essels
launched by private firms. The total tonna()'e
launched for the British Navy is about 33,700 to~s
displacement, including torpedo-boats, which is
very much less than it has been for several years.
The follo,ving indicates t h e t otal for five years
without taking cognisance of torpedo-boats :
'
1889 ...
1890 ...
1891 ...
1892 .. .
1893 ...

...

...

...

795

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

DEc. 29, 1 893.]

...
.. .

...

Vessels.
31
20
19
22
14

T ons.
52,110
64,260
107,985
14l,200
33,330

It will therefore be seen th at the average is about

80,000 tons. But, as has been pointed out, great
progress has been made during the year with the
vessels previously lau nched.
In several cases
vessels built by private firms have had improvem ents made after delivery at the D ockyards, as
the result of experience gained in the trials of
the first vessels of the various types. All
the ten battleships built under t he Naval
D efence Act have bee n completed, and the
re.sults were analysed by us in ENGINEERING a
fortnight ago. Of the nine first-class cruisers of
the Edgar type, only the St. George remains to be
tried, and she has been delivered to the D ockyards
by t he contractors. All the 21 second-class cruisers
of the Apollo class are completed, the last, t he
Brilliant, having been launched in January of t his
year . The results sug~e~ted an. improved type,
the Astrrea class, the bUlldmg of e1ght of which has
been practically accomplished this year ; six of the
nine vessels launched belong to this class. All the
11 torpedo gun boats of the L eda class have been
launched, and the only one launched from the
Dockyards, the Antelope, this year remains to be
tried. The only vessels of the Naval Defence Act
fleet to be launched, therefore, are the F lora, of
the Astrrea class, and four of the five vessels of the
Dryad class. This latter class, of which on e has
already been launched, are improved Ledas or
Bharpshooters ; a nd here it may be suggested t hat
the vessels of the Naval Defence Act have been
completed, all things considered, within a very
small margin of the estimated cost. It is true the
cost is very much gr eater than contemplated ; but
this is in large measure due to the increase in wages
in the Dockyard ~ranted by the B oar d of Admiralty,
sundry changes In armament, but more particularly
to the adoption of improved classes, as in the Astrrea
and Dryad classes. The changes are clue principally to admit larger boilers than were originally
designed, the necessity for greater spacing of tubes
&c., having made this, or some other improvement'
almost essential to permanent success. The exces~
in cost, h owever, has been well earned, for not
only has the efficiency of the vessels been added to,
but, as a rule, also the coal endurance, and not unfrequently opportunity has been taken to increase
the freeboard.
In the ca~e of the Astrrea class, for instance, t h e
length is 320 ft., t h e beam 49 ft. 6 in., and the

draught 19ft., at which the displacement is 4360

tons. The Apollos had a length of 20 ft. less and
the beam 5 ft. 10 in. less, the difference in draught
being 18 in., and in displacement 760 tons. This
difference is made up mostly by adding to the
machinery, the general construction being similar.
The protective deck is the same, 1 in. on the h orizontal and 2 in. on the slopir.Jg parts. Two more
4. 7-in. g uns are carried, the armament of the
n ewer class being two 6-io., eight 4.7-io., and eight
6-pounder quick-firing guns, one 3-pounder quickfirer, and four machine guns. The diff~rence in
price is from 35,000l. to 40,000l. Th ere was n ot
much difficulty in getting the power and speed with
the Apollos, but there are those who contend that the
maximum or forced draught results cannot well be
5 ~ vn ordinary occasions. Of this improved class,
as we have h inted, eight are building. One- the
Bonaventure-,vas launched in 1892, and the lastthe Flora- remains yet to float. She is building
at Pembroke, and is n early ready. The six vessels
included in this year's output are the Astrc.ea and
Hermione, built at DE-vonport; the Cambrian, at
Pembroke; the Fox, at Portsmouth ; t h e Charybdis, at Sheerness ; and the Forte, at Chatham. It
is interesting to note that while the machinery of
three of the vessels was constructed in the D ockyards, the engines, &c., of the others were given
out to contract. The result of the experiment,
from a financial point of view, will be carefully
noted at the Admiralty when the work is completed.
The F orte's engines were constructed at Chatham,
the Fox's at Portsmouth, and th e Astrrea's atDevonport.
Messrs. Thomson, Limited, Clydebank,
s upply the engines of the H ermione ; Messrs.
Hawthorn, Leslie, and Co., Newcastle-on-Tyne
those of the Cambrian; and Messrs. Earle, Hun:
those of the Charybdis. Of the improved Sharpshooters of the Dryad class, five were ordered, one
of which has been launched-the Dryad- from the
Chatham yard. These are considerably larger,
being 1070 tons displacement. Their l~ngth is
20 ft. more, or 250 ft., beam 30 ft. 6 in., and
draught 9 ft. They cost 76,000l. each, against
62,000l. each for the Leda class, although the armament is the same. But greater weight ha~ been
given to the machinery, and the resul t should be
more satisfactory and more to be depended on.
The Dryad gets her machinC':ry from Maudslay's
works in London, and will be ready for trial in six
or seven weeks. T.he oth er four vessels, too, are
al most ready for launching. Messrs. Hawthorn,
L eslie, and Co. will fit the machinery into three of
them, while the fourth is already being s upplied
with her propelling machinery by the Fairfield
Company. The other vessels launched were th e
Brilliant- t h e last of the Apollo class built at the
Sheerness yard, and already tried-and the Antelope, t h e last of the L eda class, from the same
works. This latter is of 810 tons displacement
and has been supplied wit h machinery by Messrs~
Yarrow. S he will undergo trials in a week or two.
The output of the Dockyards may thus be tabulated:

1893.

----Devonport. .

1892.

No. l Tons. No.

!
'
3
9,630

Sheerness . .
Por tsmouth
Pembroke..

1890.

Tons. !No. Tons.

No. Tons.

7,960
2
5,430
1
4,360
1 1 4,360

1
4
1
2
1

4,360
3,240
10,500
18,300
14,1EO 1

1
1
3
2
1

3,600
3.600
24,900
21,850
14,150

3
2
1
1
1

12,500
1,4';0
3,400
2,575
2,575

I Sl,6i0

5o,s5o

68,100

22,520

Chatba.m . .

1891.

1-

vVhile in the previous year there was, as incidentally

st~ted, a large J?-Umber, of vessels launched by
pnvate firms, this years total only includes t he
torpedo gunboat Speedy, by Messrs. Thornycroft, and already fully described, one torpedo-boat
destroyer of 27 knots speed by the same firm, two
by Messrs. Yarrow, a nd one by Messrs. Laird.
These firms h ave also launched several torpedoboats. All th e Naval Defence Act vessels have been
launched, and the great majority have been tried.
All built by contract h ave been delivered. Only
two or t hree of the Astrrea and of t h e Dryad types
will r emain to be completed after March 31 n ext
wh en it was arranged t hat all the vessels were t~
be completed. This performance r eflects credit
not only on the Naval Constru ctor's department
but u pon the Director of D ockyards, and upo~
t h e superintendents a nd their assistants and
* S ee ENGINEERING, vol. lv., page 848; pages 545, 612, officials at the various establishm ents. Of the
promptitude in carrying out work, the best indi(mte.

cation was in connection with t h e repairing of

the Howe at Chatham, which we described at
length (pages 19 and 3~0 an~e), aJ?d the Admiralty
specially expressed t h eir satisfactiOn. The ot~er
repairing work was extensive, several vessels being
almost entirely reconstructed. At Portsmouth
there were the Devastation, Sultan, Warrior, and
Cordelia; at Chatham, the Howe, Monarch, and
Agincourt; at Devonport, the Northumberland,
Warspite, and Phaeton ; and at Sheernoss, the
Vanguard. In quite a number of instances new
machinery was supplied.

ELECTRICAL SIGNALLING BY THE

TELEPHOTOS.
THE-RE was exhibited at the R oyal United Service
Institution, on Friday, the 15th inst., an invention
by Mr. C. V . Bough ton which he h as called th e telephotos. It is designed for si~nalling by night or day,
at sea or during military tactics on land. At the same
time a paper was read on the subject by Col. G. E.
Gouraud, late of t h e United States Army. The
object aimed at is to signal by the Mor se alphabet,
displaying simultaneously all the ~ymbols which go
to make up a letter or signal, instead of flashing
them from the masthead in succession, as in t he
present system of Admiral Colomb. This latter
system has been found to work well, but, as Lord
George Hamilton, who presided, r emarked, all
present tendencies are towards concentration, and
the mobility of a fleet depends in large measure
on the success with which means can be adopted
for facilitating co-operation and combination. An
e.ssential !eature, ther efore, is rapidit.y of signalling, and It seems possible to attain higher speed in
showing all the symbols simultaneously, than in
flashing them in succession. It is claimed that
100 letteriJ were sent per minute by the teleph otos.
The theory of the telephotos is the production of t he
symbols by electric light in lamps mounted on a
long shaft, ten lighted lamps in a line of 5 ft.
length representing a dash, and one lioht a dot.
There is a n unlighted interval between e~ch dot or
dash of at least 5 ft. in length. The number of
lamps required is 53, and these are mounted on a
shaft 27 ft. long. The switch-board is only 11 in.
by 14 in., and may control lamps for two shafts.
I t is fitted in a case moun ted on a pedestal. At
one e~d of the pedestal is fitted a keyboard correspondnlg to that on a typcwriting machine, and
the keys have raised on their under sides the Morse
characters, for the respective lettera, in brass with
platinum points. The crossbars, 106 in number
a re flexible a nd imbedclecl in h ard rubber . Th~
pressing down of the k ey makes contact with such
cro~sbars as are immediately opposite to the
platinum-p?inted brass projections on the k ey
correspondmg to t h e Morsc syn1bols which represent the particular letter. 'Vires are led from
each ?rossbar to a lamp on the shaft, and thus
the s1gnal corresponds with the sytnbols. A
groove under the k eys contains a number of fine
steel balls similar to those used in the bearinO'S of
cycles, with y\ in. of lost motion-the thickn:ss of
the key. The pressing down of the key causes
~hese ball~ t o lock all. the oth er keys.
1' he lamp
1s of spec1al constructiOn. It is flatter in the face
tha~ the usual incandescent globe, resembling an
ordmary door knob, a nd the lament of 10 coils iCJ
placed crosswise in order to secure the O'reatcst
light surface. Each lamp is fitted into a especial
bell-mouthed casing with a parabolic m etal reflector, and in front there is a lens screwed on.
This latter, it is said, has the effect of screening
th e expiring incandescence of the fi lament of
the lamp.
Of course it will be understood
that the lamps may be used for any or all
successive letters, for the lamps used are determined by t h e spacing necessary for t h e symbols in
th e letter, and here it may be stated that where
practicable the symbols are as far divided as possible. Thus "m," equal to two dashes would
require ten lights at either end of the 27-ft.
shaft to be lighted ; while "i," equal to two d ots
wo uld require the extreme end lights on the shaft
to be illumined.
An iii?portant consideration is that by auxiliary
mechanism a permanent record in writin()' of
the signal g iven is kept. Above the key~ for
making the electrical contact with the crossbars is a cylinder with an adaptation of t he
ordinary typewriting machine, and thirty - six
double magne~s for throwing th e Roman type of
the symbol d1splayed on to a. paper ribbon. This

E N G I N E E R I N G.
recording apparatus may be kept under seal. There
a~e a great variety of means of applying the inventwn. Several Navy officers, while recognising the
ingenuity displayed, seemed inclined to regard it
as much too intricate, and therefore liable to
get out of gear. Admiral Colomb, who is a great
authority on the subject, expressed a desire for
a more int.imate acquaintance with the mechanism,
~hich he seemed to regard as unique in conceptwn. Indeed, he urged the necessity of a practical trial. and indicated a belief that modifications
might be made. The direction of these modifications he did n ot indicate ; but satisfaction was
expressed at the probability of the working of the
telephotos being demonstrated from one of the
buildings on the L ondon Embankment. At present
it is in use at Rio de J a.neiro, on an elevated part
of the city, La. Gloria., overlooking the bay. But
clearly the best tnethod of testing its efficiency
would be to fit it into some of the vessels of the
Fleet now in commission.
As to its application in the field, a light horsewagon has been designed for military use, the
shaft being easily erected and ,worked on a swivelling j oint, while the electric power is provided by
an oil engine and dynamo, the weight of the whole
apparatus when complete being 1000 lb. ; but this,
as one of the chief signalling officers in the Army
pointed out, is a great increase to the impedimenta of a force in open country.
As to the penetrating power of the lights, Mr.
Boughton, the inventor, states that at 2! miles,
in bright sunshine and clear sky, the signal has
been read with the aid of an ordinary glass, while
at night the distance is 10 miles.

THE LATE SIR GEORGE BERKLEY.

BY the sudden death from h eart disease of Sir
George Berkley, ICC.M.G., on December 20, there
has passed away, ere yet he had completed his
~eventy-third year, one more of those engineers to
whose energy and skill we owe the efficient railway system, not only in Britain, but in the colonies.
Curiously enough, however, Sir George was, when
fourteen years of age- in 1835-apprenticed to
Messrs. Samuda. .Brothers, at a time when
shipbuilding was a great industry on the Thames,
and when engineering was experiencing the
impetus due to the conviction of the utility of
steam as a. propelling force.
There are evidences that in these early years
Mr. Berkley made a. special study of the properties of iron and steel, in addition to continuing his education in other useful directions, and
thus was acquired a habit and an experience which
manifested itself when he in later years contributed, as he frequently did, to the discussions
at the Institution of Civil Engineers.
While at Samuda Brothers' also, Mr. Berkley
worked at the designs of the atmospheric railway
system, which may be said to have directed his
energies in a new direction. This work, doubtless, brought him into contact with R obert Steph~n
son and he was engaged with the great locomot1 ve
engineer in 1841 and 1842 in .an extensive s~ries
of experiments o~ the workmg of .lo~omot~vea,
while it may be s~ud that for the rema.m1ng tlurtytwo years of his life his work was almost exclusively associated with railway development. In
1843 he s uperintended, with Mr. \V. P. M~rshall,
t he alteration of the gauge from 5 ft. 0! m . (an
exceptional gauge, for t~e adoption of '!hich Mr.
Braithwaite was respons1ble) to 4ft. 8t 1n. of the
Eastern Counties .Railway, extending to about
90 miles, and adapting the locomotives to the
altered condition. In the next few years he was
engaged almost entirely un~er Stephenson. ~e
was connected with the workmg of the atmospheric
system at Dalkey in 1~44,, and the r esult of .the investigation was embod1ed 1n a report to the d1rectors
of the Chester and H olyhead Railway, and in a
paper read before the Institution of Civil Engineers
in 1845 (vol. iv., pages 251 to 272). In 1.846 .he
contributed his experience to the gauge m qmry
held by a Royal Commission. He subsequently
laid out several rail ways in various parts of England
and on the Newcastle and Berwick and L ondon
and North- \Vestern systems. In 1849 he commenced business on his own account, and amongst
the works subsequently carried out was the Fenchurch-street station, the line of the. Black wall
Railway of which company he was engmeer, Hull
and South-Western Junction Railway, br~n ch ra~l
way to Hammersmith, Hampstead ,J unct10n Ra1l-

way, Stratford and Loughton, Wimbledon and

Croydon, East Suffolk systems, Wells and Fakenha.m, and other lines.
But withal t he most extensive work carried out,
and t he one which had the most far-reaching influences, was that executed in India. Early in his
career, he became a strong advocate in favour of
railways as a means of developing our vast
Eastern dependencies, and his work testifies
to the accuracy of that contention. It was in
January, 1851, that he became de fini tely associated with rail way development in India, being
appointed that year, as Robert Stephenson's representative, consulting engineer of the Great Indian
Peninsula Railway, and on the death of his colleag ue in 1859, he became the sole consulting engineer, continuing in that position until his death.
In 1866, and again in 1867, he visited India, and
took occasion then to study on the ground the
requirements and possibilities of t he railway system.
The result was n ot only efficiency, but several contributions to the Proceedings of the Institution of
Civil Engineers, particularly valuable when they
referred to the new works in colonial and tropical
countries. He was strongly in favour of good work,
even in the case of pioneer lines, believing that in
t he end it paid best. He advocated, too, more
consideration before the adoption of gauges,
and in this connection it may be stated that
he was strong in the belief that 4ft. 8! in. was the
happy mean, 5 ft. 6 in. being too great, and the
metre only suitable for very little traffic at low
speeds. The difference in cost between 4 ft. 8! in.
and the metre was an important element, and the
small margin in the case of India would, he considered, have j ustified the substitution of the
former for the latter. The wbole question and his
views on the matter were given in a discussion on
a paper read before the Institution in 1870.
Re believed in cast-iron and steel sleepers as compared with wood, and on the Great Indian Peninsula Railway there are 2.6 millions of the former,
as compared with 848,000 of the latter. He was
adverse to longitudinal sleepera, as they were inconvenient wh ere heavy rains were experienced.
In 1874 he was appointed consulting engineer to the
Natal Railways, and for viaducts in t he Cape
Colony, to which some detailed reference was made
in our recent series of articles on South African
Rail ways. In August, 1885, he was appointed consulting engineer to the Indian Midland Railway, so
that in later years be was responsible for one-fourth
of the standard-gauge system of India. He acted
in a similar capacity for the Argentine NorthEastern Railway in conjunction with his son, Mr.
George Berkley, who is also a member of the Institution. It will, therefore, be appreciated that the
subject of our brief memoir did good work in developing the resources of several colonies, and in this
way immensely improved the foreign trade of his
native England.
In t he midst of his railway work Mr. Berkley
undertook operations in other directions of engineering. In 1850 he thoroughly examined, wit h
Mr. Phipps, on behalf of R obert Stephenson, the
water supply of Liverpool, and later in life carried
out several water and other works in India. He
became associated with the Institution of Civil
Engineers in 1845, when yet it was in its early
year s, and in 1854 he became a member. Although
he only read two papers, one on the atmospheric
rail way system, in 1845, and the other, in 1870, on
the strength and elasticity of iron and steel, wit h
particular r eference to the sizes which ought
to be worked into structures, he received \Vatt
and Telford medals and prizes, and after being
!:1everal years on the Council, h e was elected President for 1891-92. H e was one of t he board of
managers of the Royal Institution, and on the occasion of the last Queen's Birthday he had conferred
upon him the well-merited honour of knighthood of
the Order of St. Michael and St. George. As to the
man, the strong cast of countenance, ~he keen but
genial flash . of the eye~ a~d the firm hp, were but
indices to his character1st1Cs.

N 0 TES.
BELGIAN METALLURGIOAL I NDUSTRY.

THE province of ~i ege produced .last year .88,686

tons of refining p1g and mangan1ferous p1g, and
227 953 tons of steel pig, or 316,639 tons in all.
Thi~ total showed a considerable increase upon the
output of any form er year, and last year's experience also afforded another striking proof of the

progressive substitution of steel for iron. Thus in

1876 the production of steel pig was 34,379 tons,
and that of other pig 131,936 tons. In 1878 steel
pig was made to the extent of 54,164 tons, and
other pig to the extent of 118,158 tons. In 1880
the output of steel pig was 69,022 tons, and that
of other pig 104, 73!.) tons. In 1882 the production
of steel pig advanced to 119,928 tons, while that
of other p ig was 119, 04.0 tons. In 1884 142,926
tons of steel pig and 123,966 tons of other pig were
made. In 1886 the recorded output of steel pig
was 141,337 tons, and that of other pig 93,201
tons. The production of 1888 comprised 15!-}, 743
tons of steel pig and 129,308 tons of other
pig. In 1890 the totals were 168,390 tons of steel
pig and 124,800 tons of other pig. Last year, as
we have already s tated, the output of steel pig was
227,953 and that of other pig 88,686 tons. As
regards finished iron, there were nineteen iron
works in activity last year in the province of
Liege ; th ese works comprised between the1n
110 pudJling furnaces and 153 rolling mills,
and they produced 128, 478 tons of iron, of t he
aggregate value of 766, 863l. Rails figured in this
total for 349 tons, and plates for 61,766 tons. As
compared with 1891, the output of finished iron
in the province last year showed a decrease of
2 per cent.: b ut the value declined to th e extent of rather more than 9 per cent. As r egards the course taken by prices during the six
years ending with 1892 inclusive, quotations for
iron have experienced a very appreciable decline
since 1891 ; bu t they still showed some improvement last year as compared with 1888 and 1887.
The production of finished steel in the province of
Liege last year was 177,131 tons. Rails figured in
this total for 110,044 tons, tyres for 9103 tons, and
plates for 16,355 tons. The value of the 177,131
tons of finished steel made last year was 941,202l.
Although the production of steel rails was heavy
last year, the out-turn showed a reduction of 7 per
cent. as compared with 1891. The production of
plates was, on the other haud, very appreciably
larger in 1892 than it was in 1891.
D ocK FINANCE.
Information of considerable interest is available with r eference to the finance of some of
the leading harbour and dock trusts. The debt
of the Clyde Navigation is gradually increasing; it
stood in 1888 at 4,547,547l. ; in 1889, it had risen
to 4,558,107l.; in 1890, to 4,614,748l.; in 1891, to
4,690,162l. ; and in 1892, to 4,843,228l. Notwithstanding the gradual increase in t he debt, the
trustees are perseveringly redeem1ng a. portion of
it year by year out of surplus revenue. In 1888,
the amount thus redeemed was 3424.l.; in 1889,
12, 766l.; in 1890, 3554.l.; in 1891, 14, 070l. ; and
in 1892, 21,852l. The amount available for the
payment of interest upon the debt of the Cls de
Navigation in 1888 wa.s194,040l.; in 1889, 206,315l.;
in 1890, 202,482l.; in 1891, 203,515l.; and in 1892,
216, 704l. Thf'revenue of the Trust is thus more
than keeping pace with its liabilities. The debt of
the River Tyne Commission is also gradually
increasing, but not to any great extent. In 1888,
it stood at 4, 186,402l.; in 1889, at 4,203,402l.; in
1890, at 4,193,879l.; in 1891, at 4,220,161l.; and
in 1892, at 4,214,156l. The commissioners do not
appear to be setting apart any r evenue for t he
r edemption of the debt. The revenue available
for the payment of interest in 1888 was 195,484l.;
in 1889, 206,922l.; in 1890, 209,227l.; in 1891,
208,267l. ; and in 1892, 183,170/. The Mersey
Dock and Harbour Board surpasses ~n its contemporaries in the amount of its indebtedness and
revenue. The board is setting apart 100,000l. per
annum out of its income for the purpose of keeping
down its bonded indebtedness. This annual allocation prevents the debt from increasing; but it can
scarcely be said to be attended with any other
result. In 1888, the bonded debt of the board
stood at 17,152,146l.; in 1889, at 17,088,683l.; in
1890, at 17,085, 121l.: in 1891, at 17,211,334l.; and
in 1892, at 17, 129,630l. The balance of revenue
ava:ilable for the payment of interest upon this huge
bonded debt was in 1888, o80,909l.; in 1889,
734, 187l.; in 1890, 731,690l.; in 1891, 731,060l. ;
and in 1892, 74.8, 338l. The indebtedness of the
Dundee Harbour authorities stood in 1892 at
371,385l., as compared with 354, 95] l. in 1888. An
annual allocation is made for the purpose of keeping down the debt ; t his allocation ranged from
9430l. in 1892 to 10,008l. in 1889. The bonded
debt of the Greenock Harbour Trust is not in a
HARBoun. AND

E N G I N E E R I N G.
particularly good plight, a nd it has been found
necessary t o compromise matters by r ed ucing the
amount of interest attach ed to some of the b onds.
S ubject t o this r emark, the debt of t he Trust h ad
b een brough t down in 1892 to 1,683,670l. , as compared with 1,688, 280l. in 1888. The balance of
r evenue ~va.ilable for the paym ent of interest was
40, 008l. 1n 1892, as compared with 33, 535l. in 1888,
so that the position o f th e Trust is now improving.
The Swansea Harbo ur Board had a. b onded debt of
~ ,409,204l. in 1892, as compared with 1,377 ,010l.
1n 1888. The balance of r evenue available for the
payment of interest had incr eased in 1892 to
50,975l. , as compared with 45,742l. in 1888.
T HE ORI-G I N OF THE SPRING B ALANCE.
Very little information appear s to be available as
t o th~ ori gin of th~t si mple and widely-adopted
contn vance, the spnng balance, but the invention
is cer~ainly. at least tw~ hundr ed year s old, as it is
descn bed 1n Ozanam s "Recr eations M athe matiques et Physiq ues," publish ed at P aris in 1694.
The accompanying illustration is reproduced fr om
plate 46 in the second volume of that work . The
fig ure on the left-hand side shows a balance wit h an
inclosed spiral spring, w hich is stated to have been
~n vente~ eome little tim e befor e in German y, and it
1s d escn bed thus : "On a inven t e depuis peu en
A llemagn e un n ouveau peson , q ui s e p eu t aisement
p orter a la p oche, & d ont on se ser t tres-commodement p our peser promptement & facilemen t un
Poids d' une grandeur mediocre, comme du Foin ,
des mar chandises, and autre ch ose semblable,
d ep uis une livre jusqu'a cinq ua.nte livres, &
d avan tage.
Cette machine est composee d 'u n

IJ2

A.

t!J ? l

tuyau o u canon de cuivre A B, fon ce par les d eux

b outs, long d 'environ six p o uces & large a peu
pres d e h uit lig nes, dans lequel il y a un r essort
d 'acier A D , fa it en vis comm e un t ire-bourre
d 'Arq uebuse. I1 y a par le b out d 'en haut, c'estadire, vers A, un trou quarree p ar oil passe une verge
de cuivre CAD, aussi q uarree, q ui traver se le r essort,
dans laquelle sont les division s des livr es qu'on y
a marquees en appliq uant successivemen tau crochet
E un poids d ' un e livr e, d e deux livres, &c." The
construction is, h o wever, q u ite clear from the
engraving. The oth er figure r epresents a f orm of
spring balan ce d evised by L e Sieur Chapotot,
Jngenieur du R oy et Fabricateur d es I nstruments de
M athematiq ue a P aris. The two p ulleys, on e
secured to the s uspensi on eye and the other to the
hook, are connected by a cor d fixed a t one end, and
at t he other attached to the upper p ulley, which
incloses a cl ock spring, and has a scale on its r im.
The ''Encycloped ia Methodiq ue," in 1782, states
that the invention of t h e spring balance is attributed
to the Germans, but that som e people say i t belo ngs
to the artisans of Besan gon , from which town those
articles were first brought to Paris. One of the
forms described in t h e ''Encyclopedia" consists of a
metal bar b en t to an acute angle, a nd two smaller
curved bars- on e, fixed in the extr emity of on e of
the limbs of the b ent bar, and passing through a
elot in the other, carries the hook at its free end ;

the other, fixed in t he se<;ond limb and passing

out through the first, has secured to it the suspension eye, an d h as a scale cut on its face.

797
Advertiser and which is also published in the brochure
mentioned: 1 pointed out that "Messrs. Mg.ther ~nd

Platt" (who had also latterly adopted the fortyelght

hours' weekly labour) "are merely following in the footsteps of men like Mr. William A llan, Sunderland, M essrs.
J ohnson, L ondon, and myself, all of us engineers who
had already successfully adopted the same arrangement,
under perhaps better conditions so far as the employes
are concerned." And again, in another part of the same
letter I further stated that "to Mr. A lla.n belongs, perbaps 'the principal credit of advocating by pamphlet, on
the platform and before the L abour . Commission, . the
adoption in England of .a shorter wo.rklDg day f?r sktlled
mechanics." A ll of whteh appeared m the press 1n February last, and to which I am sure not the sligh test excep tion can be taken.
The title of the brochure, " A New Chapter in. the
History of L abour," is in my opinion most a.ppropna.te,
seeing the brochU're faithful1y records at least a chapter
in the history of labour so far as my eml?loyes and I are
concerned and, notwi t hstanding th e rather cheap s~eer
at the said title by those signing the letter in quest10n,
in thei r seeming ignorance of the real facts, I quite agree
with the concluding remarks of the editor of the brochure
proper when he states: "Customers and correspondents
from all parts of the kingdom are asking what is the
change which Mr. K eith has made, and what will be its
efff'cts. Its nature is fully explained in t he report and
correspondence included in this brochure. Of its effects
it is too early to speak; but it is not too much to say
that for the Scottish engineering tradfl it is a crossing of
the Rubicon, and the opening of a new chapter of labour
history."
I am, Sir, yours, &c.,
J AMES K EITH, Assoc. rvr. Inst. c. E.
57, Holborn-viaduct, E. C., L ondon,
December 1G, 1893.

NOTES FROM THE UNITED ST ATES.

PHILADELPHIA, December 18, 1893.
No improvement has yet appear ed in the iron trade.
One big failure was announced last week , and as i t is
k nown that several large concerns are t hreat ened wit h
financial trouble, the possibility of additional failures
is spoken of. Consumer s of bo~h crude and finished
iron are s till bnying the least possible supplies. Mills
and furnaces are starting up here and there, but the
aggregate production is increasing very little. Great
distress prevails in all iron and steel centres, because
of t he large n umhers of unemployed. Rail way com panies have not yet begun t o place orders for r ails,
engines, rolling stock, or equipment s. ~1anufacturers
are canvassing acti vely for business, and anticipate
some good orders in January. The tariff agi tat ion is
attracting intense interest in manufacturing circles,
and the possib ility of an early adjustment is not so
bright now as t wo weeks ago, because of protests of
interests t hreatened.
It is probable that no more
ships will be built unt il t imes i mprove. Great distress
pre,ails in the iron ore r egions. Coal-mining has
suffered very little as yet. In the anthraci te regions,
production this year is over a million tons in excess of
the same time last year. ' Vh ile all reports of industrial
d epression throughout the Stat es a re true, it is well to
remember that ups and downs come suddenly; and a
r eaction may occur within sixty days, which will fill
shops and mills with orders. This depression may
possibly be a lasting one ; but, whether long or short,
manufacturers are pursuing a conservative policy, and
STEAM JETS.
will not be caught with large stocks. S ~eel rails are
To THE EDITOR OF ENGINEERING.
quoted at 24 dols. ; billets, at tidewat er poin ts,
S IR,- With reference to the letter upon this subject
19 dols. 50 cents.
published in your last issue, as the proprietor of the
duplex nozzle, and for ced draught system with which it is
used, I should wish, with your permission, to correct th e
ROYAL METEOROL OGICAL SOCIETY.
errors of your correspondents. So far, then, from disTHE m on tbly meeting of this Society was held on paraging the efficiency of the ordinary solid steam jet, I
W ednesday evening, the 20th inst., at the Institution am a stronger advocate of such jets than your corresponof Civil E ngineers, 25, Great Georgestreet, W estminster ; dents imagine- as they will presently discover-and my
Dr. C. T heodore Williams, President, in the chair.
last specification aotuaUy includes at least three varieties
Mr. C. Harding, F .R. Met. Soc. , gave an account of of adjustable solid jets. Any remarks that I have myself
the" Great Storm of N oveml>er 16th to 20th, 1893." This made regarding such jets have been with respect to the
storm was the most violent of recent years, and, so far difficulty of varying or adjusting their size and power,
as a.nemometrical records are concerned, the wind attained otherwise than by throttling the steam supply.
a greater velocity than has previously been recorded in
Coming now to the particular duplax nozzle to which
the British I slands. The velocity of the wind was 9G miles Messrs. Meldrum refer, it is the only one of that type
in the hour from 8.30 to 9.30 p.m., N ovember 16, in the ever sold (as I was dissatisfied upon testing it afterwards),
Orkneys, where the hurricane burst with such suddenness nor is there another such one in existence. I will, howthat it is described as like the shot of a gun; and the ever, take it just as it is, because even with its imperfecwind aftbrwards attained t he very high rate of 90 miles tions it is amply sufficient for the present purpose. A s
and upwards, in the hour, for five consecutive hours. At early, then, as in the provisional specification of the first
Holy head the storm was t errific; the anemometer recorded patent, I stated that "the duty of the second jet is to
a. wind velocity of 89 miles in the hour, and it was 80 supplement the effort of the first (or solid) one, to a
miles or above for 11 hours ; while the force of the whole greater or less extent as may be necessary from time to
gale, 65 miles an hour and upwards, was maintained for time and under varying condjtions." In other words, for
31 hours, and for 4! days the mean hourly velocity the normal or ordinary work I rely upon the central solid
was 54 miles. Many of f;he gusts were at the rate of jet (in this respect Messrs. Meldrum and myself are in
115 miles an hour, and at Fleetwood a squall occurred agreement), and when fitted to the complete forced draught
with the wind at the rat e of 120 miles in the hour. The apparatus I proportion it accordingly, while the second
storm was felt over the entire area of the U nited King- one is used as an auxiliary to assist the first when the
dom ; and the wreck returns show that disasters occurred latter is no longer strong enough for any extra or
with almost equal freq uency on all coasts. Four weeks temporarily greater work which may come upon it, or
after the storm the official records gave the t otal loss of when, for mstance, the steam pressure may have fallen
life on our coasts as 335, w bile there were 140 vessels too low to give the requisite power with the solid jet
which had been abandoned, or had foundered, stranded, alone. It will be clearly understood, then, that the object
or met with other severe easualty, invol ving either loss of the design is to overcome the difficulty of actually adof life, or saving of life by some extraneou~ assistance. justing the solid jet itself, by bringing in an auxiliary one
There were 600 lives saved on our coasts by aid of the of variable strength to supplement it.
Lifeboat Institution and other means. The author has
Turning now t o Messrs. Meldrum's figu res, what do we
tracked the storm from the neighbourhood of the Bahamas fi nd were the proportions of the two jets as adjusted for
on November 7, across the Atlantic, and over the British their experiments ? Well, the aggregate areas were
I slands to Central E urope on November 20.
.035 square inch, while the solid one was barely .007, thus
The other papers read were " Rainf all and E vaporation leaving fully .028 for the second or auxiliary jet. In
Observations at the B ombay W ater W orks," by Mr. S. other words, t he auxiliary was set to fully four times the
T omlinson, M. Inst. C. E .; and "On Ch anges in the strength of that which should have been the primary,
Character of Certain M onths," by Mr. A. E . Watson, upon which J?rimary, as already explained, I re1y for
B.A., F.R. Met. Soc.
effici ently domg the burden of the work. Messrs. Maldrum,
then,
having
failed
to
grasp
the
very
elements
of
the
================~
principle upon which the nozzle is base-d, it is not sur" A NE"'vV CHAPTER IN THE HISTORY OF
prising that they should have worked it under improper
conditions, and consequently have obtained poor results.
LABO UR."
In the present t ype of nozzle the side jets have about
To THE EDITOR OF ENGINEERING.
Sm,-Perhaps you will kindly allow me to reply to the the same effi ciency as a ! -in. solid jet, and, therefore, the
letter published in your issue of the 15th inst., and signed proportional extent of their opening is of less consequence
on behalf of the employes of Messrs. S. H. J obnson and than in the above design.
I come now to a remarkable passage in Messrs. MalCo., engineers, Stratford, E ., in which my name appears
so prominently. When these gentlemen credit me with drum's letter, in which they refer to a nominally annular
using the words quoted, viz., "Messrs. J ohnson, of jet not being really so, unless provision be made for adL ondon, followed, " &c., in my speech to my employes at JI!i~ting a:ir to th e at;lnulus through t he centre, which proArbroath in January last, when announcing my inten- VISiOn bemg absent m the duplex nozzle, " the annular jet
tion to adopt the forty-eight hours' weekly labour in my acts 11as a shield to prevent access of air to the central
establishments at the same pay as others were giving for one.
To this I reply, I s it conceivable that your correfifty-four hours, they make a m istake, as I am not aware
of having used any such words. Neither do I find any spondents, after ten years' special study of steam jetP,
such words reported in the broch!ure referred to, entitled believe that their action is in any material degree due to
"A New Chapter in the History of Labour," in which the friction of the jet against the adjoining air, causing
a rt:cord of the whole proceedings and correspondence in that air to be dragged along with it '? And further, do
the press which ensued is given. I nevar even men they not understand that the objects of the hollow or
t ioned the name of Messrs. J ohnson in my speech, and tubular annular nozzles ar e: (1) T o prevent the body of
the only reference therei n to them was the following : the nozzle (more es{>ecially when of large size) offering
"while one other engineering firm in L ondon has, mechanical obstruction to the flow of air ; and (2)-as,
I believe, acted on the prinoiple on which I have made for example, in Adams' vortex blast pipe -to cause the
up my mind to act. " True, in a letter to the Dund ee air drawn through the hollow interior, by the general

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

action of the jet, to act upon a space distinct from that

exposed to the current flowing around the outside of the
n ozzle. It may be stated that the b ody of the duplex
nozzle is too sm all t o cause any perceptible obstruction.
Finally, have they not yet discovered that a jet working
in a. pipe acts therein just as a piston would do (only with
less solidity), by sweeping out the column of air which is
in front of it, and thus producing a partial vacuum behind
the jet, into which flow fresh volumes of air, t o b e in their
turn swept out ? If the action were materially due to
surface friction, then annular jets would be greatly
superior to solid ones, by reason of the greater surface
they expose for the exertion of that f riction, and, m oreover, solid jets of medium pressure would be as effective
as similar sizes at hi~h pressures, seeing that the velocities
of the two are pract10ally the same, and their perimeters
identical. I will n ow pass on to the subject of the complete blower, that is to say, of the combined steam
jet and tube in which it works. It is well known
that a tube having a. rounded or coned inlet of the
form of th e "contract ed vein" offers bub very small
resistance t o the outflow of fluids . Professor Rankine
states in at l east one of his works that the efficiency
of such tubes is as high as from 97 t o 99 per cent.
Now I employ this form of mouthpiece (the cuned inlet
being struck out in the pattern so that the subsequent
casting h as the d esired shape) attached to a short cylindrical or slightly con verging tube some five diameters
long. This minimum length is n ecessary for c ircumferentially confining the column of air upon which the
jet exerts its impact, and it is within this tube that th e
blast or current may be said b o be made or produced.
After its production ib should obviously be passed at once
t o its work with the least possible resistance, and I
accordingly leave the end of the tube freely open to the
full area of the asbpit. M essrs. M eldrum, I understand,
employ a. similar tube, but having in addition a diverging
extension of about th e same length as th e original tube,
and gradually increasing in area till its outlet is about
three t imes that of the tube. Your readers can form
an opinion as t o the value of this ext~nsion attached
t o a tube which already possesses an efficiency of
about 98 per cent. Such diverging ext ensions ar~ unques tion ably useful in blowers of the Korting type, which
are fi xed at some distance from the furnace, and in which,
therefore the blast h as t o be conveyed through mord or
less length of piping, but they then act merely as enlarged
pipes for giving greater freedom t o the travel o! the
blast. With blowers put direct into a closed ashp1t the
conditions are, however, essentially d ifferent.
In conclusion, I think the t erms "combining tube" or
" mi xing tube, J1 as applied t o these air l>ipes, are misleading, and t end to the confusion of 1deas, b ecause,
a lthough the steam and air do " mi x" within thei?, this
mixing is a mere incid ental t o th e process of makmg the
blast. If my view is incorrect, then the chimn ey of a
locomotive might, with almost equal propriety, be known
as a " combining tube. "
Yours faithfully,
w. A. GRAN GF.R.
102, Brook e-road, L ondon, N., D ecember 26, 1893.
To TTIE EDITOR OF ENGINEERING.
SIR,-The information contributed by your correspondents M essrs. Meldrum, would h a ve been more Yaluable had it been disinterested. Sir \Villiam Siem ens u sed
forced draught und er firebars with closed grates twentyone years ago, and, after m ost careful in vesti~ation, d~
cided in favour of the annular nozzle. There IS no vahd
patent in steam jab applications of this kind, so that this
mformation may he useful to those who care for a ready
means of producing forced pressure ~nder grates ; all th.e
same, the efficiency of steam jets '':111 not bear compa:nson with a welld esigned fan, especially one worked w1th
a hi gh -speed engine. li'or using du st or comm on fuel all
that is required is a elosed grate and a ~ood fan such as
the Sturtevant or Root's blower; this IS worth all the
different steam jets ever d esigned, and anyone can apply
ib without payment of fancy prices.
CACTUS.
D ecember 23, 1893.

THE DISTRIBUTION OF PO\VER FRO~I

NIAGARA.

To TH~ EDITOR OF E NGINEERING .

.
SIR,-With .reference t o. your report of t.h e proceedmgs
of the institutwn of Electr10al Engmeers, w1ll yo~allow me
t o explain that in referring t o the parallel workm g of my
alternators th~ experiments to which Professor Forbes
alluded co~sisted in placing- between two ~000-volt alternators a resistance that, w1t.h about one- thi.rd of the outpub of one machine, was capable of absorbmg n early ~alf
Its volts? Even under these circumstan ces the machmes
did n ot actually break oub of st e{>.
Considering the bP.aring of th1s t est. on ~h e problem of
working a distant synchronous motor, It w11l be s~en that
the r esistance interposed between the two machmes was
considerably more than would have a bsorbed t.h e whol~ of
th e output of the generator at full load, leavmg nothmg
for the motor.
These experiments afforded a very strong proof of the
very powerful . synchr<?nisi ng effort exert~d by these
machines, and It was wt t h the greatest astomshm~nt that
I heard them cited by P rofessor F orbes as showmg the
contrary.
Yours tru1 y t ..
w. lVl. M ORDEY.

at certam steps in the process of drawi ng a stress diaam, you are confronted by three unknown quantities.
do not know if the following graphical m ethod of
sol ving these has ever been publish ed.
Take for illustration the same truss-as shown in the
annexed figure. Proceed as far as possible in the usua l
way, i.e. , draw P A, N A; AB, Q B; BC, N C. Then
draw C d of indefinite length ; also R e and S f Now
take any assumed value for one of the unknown stresses,
say R El: draw El F I, El Dl, and F 1 D 1 Take again
R E H, and draw EH F ll, E H nn, and Fll n n. Then th e

Referring to the a nnexed diagram. Let 0 be the vertex

of the curve; 0 P =axis of y, P R = axis of X .
Then the equation to the catenary is:

y=a cosh x ;
a
where a and x 1 are unknown and have to be determined
so that the cur ve passes through the p oints A and C, and
the t en sion at A is such that its vertical component is
8 tons at A, i.e., from the equations :
. h X 1 8 X 2240
a sm -=
a
3.333
and

a ( cosh x 1

+a~~ -

cosh :

= B C.

These equations do nob admit of direct solution, but by

Newton 's m ethod of approximation the following results
are readily obtained :
a = 9703 fb.

!'1
a

= .52915

sinb x, = .55!20
a

cosh x, = 1.14330

Fig.2

X!?=

.5G930

si nh

:=2 =
a

. 60054

cosh ~ = 1.16649

u
8
V

a
Maximum tension on the rope is at C, and is equal to
16.85 tone.
The sag could be determined by . plotting. down .a
number of points on the cu r ve from .It~ equat10n, or. tt
may be directly calculated by determmmg the equatiOn
to the line A 0 in the form x cos a+ y sin a -p=o, and
substituting for x and y the values ~, p., where~, JJ. are coordinates of the catenary. If the curve is assumed to be
a parabola, it is easy t o see that at th e mid poi nt of A C
the perpendicular distance between this line and the rope
is approxi mately 2.025 ft. - Eo. E.]

w
X

line joining the two points Dl and D ll thus found wlll

interllecb the line C d in the true point D, and we can
th en proceed t o complet e th e diagram.
In this particular case it is obvious that we might at
once draw D I D parallel to eR, but in other cases it is
necessary t o take two assumed values as above described .
I am, Sir, your obedient Eervant,
J. L.
D ecember 14, 1893.
[Our impression is, though we are not certain, that the
neat device set forth by our correspond ent has been
previously g iven by Professor H enrici in his lec Lures on
graphic statics, though whether it has been previously
published or not we do not know.-Eo. E.l

A CATENARY PROBLEM.
To TRE EDITOR OF ENGINEERING.
SIR,-! shall be much obliged if one of your readers will
kindly assist me in the solution of the following problem:
Suppose a st eel wire rope of a given length, say 450 ft.,
a given area, say 1 square inch, making a given angle
with the hori ~ontal, say 30 deg. , subjected t o a kn own
tension, say 16 tons (80 tons being the supposed ultimate
strength per square inch), by a suspended weight W.
T o find the sag of the wire and the extra tension caused
by its own weight.

Yours faithfully,

ECONOMICAL SPEED OF STEAMSHIPS.

To TH E EDITOR 011' ENGINEERING.
Sm,- I quite agree with all that M. R. de Villamil
says in his letter of November 24, published in your last
issue. The assumption that th e indicated horse-p ower of
a vessel varies as the cube of her sp eed may be described
as somewhat old-fashioned, and is certainly incorrect.
Mr. Millar, h owever, in the article which called forth
my lett er, asl<~d his readers t o ' ' let the p ower be 7ons~d.ere~
as varying wttb the cube of the speed for simphC1ty,
and I allowed t his assumption t o pass uncorrected in his
equati ons in order to show the effect of tho m ore serious
error of principle involved in the statem ent that the work
done will vary as the product of p ower exerted and space
traversed.
I shall therefore not attempt the im possible task . of
giving M . R. de Villamil any good examples of sh1ps
whose p ower varies as the cube of thei r speed, and would
certainly never dream of giving him examples that had
any "nonsense" about them.
P artick, D ecember 25, 1R93.
B. So.

LOW v . HIGH PRESSURE GASHOLDERS.

T o THF: E DITOR Ol' ENG I NEERING.

Sm - I do a lot of travelling by rail, and when I look at
th e g~s-l igh~i~g of the c~rriages on our r~ilways, and consider where 1t 1s st ored, m the small cyhnders under the
carriages, sometimes under a pressure of 150 lb. to the
square inch, .I wonder w~en. som e ? f our enli~htened gas
engineer~ wtll turn thetr 1mmed1 at e a.ttent10n to the
H. G. S.
importance of applying this principle (of gas under pressure) for our cit y and town supplies, and abolishing for
December 4, 1893.
[Our correspondent's problem amounts to this: Given ever those large, ugly, and dangerous low pressure holders
the points A, B, and C, to draw a. .cat enary through the which have been, and are being, erected at the present
points A and C, such that the vert10al component of the day.
I feel certain in my own mind that whereas, as
c
under t.he present system, it costs 20,COOl. to m.ake a
gas tank and erect a bolder for a storage capacity of
1 800 000 ft. of gas, the same amount of storage could be
c
provided under pressure in one-tenth the area. of land
J'rl
and at one-tenth of the cost of plant; and, furt~er, !lS .a.
question of safety, and also appearance, everythmg 1s 1~
fa vour 0f gas being stored under pressu.r e, and all that IS
w
required is that some of our engineers wtll take the matter
up, so that ~e may thus inaugurate a:n improvement
which will brmg about a n ew state of thmgs and a great
.Pig.1.
national benefit.
Yours respE-ctfully,
0
D ecember 13, 1893.
A GASHOLDER B urLDKR.
\

Jz

L IC RTHOC ~sIN

BAss' STRArrs,-H has been suggest ed

that a conference should be held at H obart early next
year in order t o settle difficulties which havt~ arisen
--------------x,
----------X2 ----- ----------between the Governments of New South Wales, Victoria,
and Tasmani a respecting t.he maintenance ?~ lighthouses
1993.
in Bass' Straits. There 1s every probab1hty that the
p
R
Q
suggestion will be acted upon ; an d t o make th.e conTHE INDETERMINATE CASES IN
ference more important it is proposed to refer to 1b al~o
tension
in
the
catenary
ab
A
is
equal
to
W
where
\V
=
GRAPHIC STATICS.
the vexed question of whab consti tut es coast a:l trade m
and
to
find
out
the
maximum
tension
in
the
cate8
t
ons
To THE EDITOR Olt' ENGINEEIHNG.
connection with the issue of certificates to colontal masters
nary
~nd
its
departure
from
the
line
A
C.
The
load
on
SIR,-In your issue of December 8 (page ?90) Y.our
of vessels.
reviewer refers to a class of framed structures, m wh1cb, the catenary is 3~ lb. per foot run.

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

DEc. 29, 1 893.]

799
3
3

be taken into account that matters ha ye been becoming

st eadily worse since the date under not1ce :
1893.
1802.
1800.
1896
2:~07
2505
N eilson and Co. . ..
. ..
. ..
1775
1GU7
1960
Dubs and Co.
. ..
. ..
. ..
Beyer, Peacock and
Co.,
1359
1292
2159
Limited . ..
. ..
...
. ..
S harp,
Stewart and
Co.,
1246
1507
1336
Limited . . .
.. .
. ..
. ..
1079
1268
1255
Kitson and Co. . . .
...
. ..
Vulca.n Foundry Company,
486
561
670
Limited ...
...
...
. ..
344
455
530
R. Stephenson and Co., Limited
320
377
474
N asmyth, Wilson, and Co.
. ..
293
267
403
Manning, \ Vardle, and Co. . ..
245
240
262
llunslet Engine Company
..

hE>ld at the \Vestm inster r alace H otel, !vir. Percy

MISCELLABEA.
\Valdram in the chair, a paper was read by Mr. S.
Sl:'E.\KNG recently ab the E ngineers' Club at Phila- Cutler J un. on "Coal Gas Manufacture, and R ecent
'
' of the Plant Employed Therem.
. " C omdelphia, Mr. J a.mes 9~ ris tie st~ted ~bat in ~losing ve_ry Improvements
long rivets, snob as .q 10. or 1 m . n vets, 5 m. or 6 10. mencing by showing how rapidly the demand for gas
long, he had found it best t o use a plain bar and form had increased since ita introduction, the author proceeded
to briefly describe the usual processes of gas man~fa.cture,
a bead at both ends at the same time.
Me3srs. S cott Brothers, of the W est M ount W orks, passing on t o a detailed accoun t of t~e r~cent Improvellalifax, are taking up the manufac tu~e of a new. ty p~ of ments which had been adopted. Tbe 10chned s~stem of
g tS engine. W e learn, also, t hat the K etghley Engmeermg retorts, to obtain automatic charging and drawmg ; t~e
Company, of Keighley, Yorkshire, are about to undertake latest forms of condensers and purifiers; compre.ssed a1~,
hydraulic, and rope-power mach inery for dra wmg horithe manufactu re of gas engines, a nd are extending their zontal
retorts; water-seal valves; water gas plant; and
p :-emiseJ a.b Waddington-street for that purpose.
other features bein~ dealt with. Of gasholders, that at
The Imperial Court of Appeal at L eipsic has just decided K ensal Green, of 8 million cubic feet capacity, and
in an action b_rought by the llagen Accumulator Co~pa~y another of 300 ft. diameter, semi-columnless, a.b East
against certam manufacturers of seconda ry battenes 10 Greenwich, were described. In conclusion, the cost of
Germany, that the employment of lead in the st ate c.f manufacture, by-product s, the future of gas conside~ed
11,654
9071
9043
super-oxide, oxide, or insoluble salts as a. filling material in respect t o electricity, and gas employed as a heatmg
for accumulator pla tes comes under Faure's patent.
agent were touched upon. A discussion followed the The falling-off in numbers of men employed-928-'!ould
probabl y have t o be doubled if st atistics wer~ avatlable
reading of the paper .
It is proposed to erect a cantilever brid_ge over the
for December31 current and the first pay-day m January,
At a. meeting of the Boston Society of Civil Engineers, 1894 would show a still 'larger falling away. If the above
Hudson River ab Jew York. Mr. T. C. Clarke is the
engineer to the scheme. The main span is to be of Professor Robert H. R ichards described a form of stadia num'ber of m en employed this year-viz., 9043,_ be com2000 ft., and t here will be two flanking spans of 900ft. t elescope, in which one-half of the object glass is cove~ed pared with the tota.~ of 1~. 654 men _employed 10 1890, a
ea.ch. A clear h ead way'o f 150 fb. will be given above the with a prism ground at an acute angle. On lookmg more approximate Idea ~1ll ~e obta10ed of the pres~nb
wd.ter level. Tbe cost of the structure is estimated ab through the telescope. two images of any given object are condition of the locomott ve mdustry. The amount of
seen side by side. Using a stadia rod with two targets, work pub into the publicmarket during_the last year ~nly
8, 000, OOOt.
two of the four images of these targets seen in the t ele- about equalled one-third of the capaCity of product10n,
The new hauling-up slip for repairs to vessels and scope may be made to coincide by moving the targets
machinery which !viessrs. Blackwood and Gordon have closer t ogether or farther apart, as the case may be, and and it will be safe t o state that the total amount of orders
laid down a longside of their shipbuildin~ and engineering when this is accomplished the d istance between the booked publicly or privately, does not exceed one-half of
works situated to the east of Newark Ca3tle, Port Glasgo w, obser ver and the stadia rod is a definite multiple of that the po~ers of production.
was occupied on D ecember 26 for the first t ime by the tug between the target s, and depends only on the angle
steamer F lying \Vi zard, one of the Clyde S bippmg Com- t o which the prism is ground. An ad vantage of
Is~IAILIA AND P ORT SAID RaiLWAY.-The Khedive of
pl.ny's fleet of stf\am ers. The vessel was placed on the the instrument is the fact that io can be used without Egypt has just inaugurat ed this line, which belongs to
carriage in the foranoon, and in a short time was hauled a stand, a nd repeated experiments have shown an the Suez Canal Company. The line is to be devoted solely
up to the bead of the slip.
accuracy of from 1 part in 1000 parts t o 1 in 3000, some to passenger traffic.
As an indication of the p robable effect cf the open ing of the sights being over a m ile long. F or such long
of the l\Iancbester S hip Ca.nal on the engineering trade sights the stadia rod is replaced by a 100-fb. steel t ape,
BRITisu, F RENCH, AND R ussiAN T onPEDo-BoATS.of the district, we may mention that the well-known fi rm fitted with two light cardb0ard target s sl iding in it. 'l'he The followiog are particulars of all the first -claos torpedo
of Galloways, L imited, engineers and boilermakers, tape was set square t o the line of visic n by means of an boats, a s distinct from torpedo-boat catchers and torpedo~1an chester, have arranged to receive on the day of the optical square. I t will be ~een that the accuracy of the boat destroyers, tha t have been built, ordered, or authoopening of the canal, namely , J anuary 1, a cargo of new instrument apparently exceeds that of careful rised by G reat Britain, France, and Russia since the
500 t ons of st eel pla tes. bars, angles, &c., by a specially chaining.
passing of the Naval Defence Act of 1889 :
chartered steamer, the Beryl, from Glasgow. There is no
The fifth ordinary meeting of the L iverpool Engineering
Great Britain. France. Russia.
reason t o doubt that the canal will be equally convenient Societ y was held at the Royal Institu t ion on W ednesday
. ..
2
28-knot boats

and economical for outward deli veries of fini~hed engine evening, D ecember 20, l\Ir. H. P ercy Boulnois, M . Inst.
3
. ..
2
26 knot boats
and boiler work .
C. E., p resident, in the chair, when a paper entitled "A
1
25-knob boats
...
7
24-knot boat s
. ..
10
!vir. T. P arker having resigned the position of loco- Tour 10 South Africa, with Reference t o Engineer ing
23-knob boats
11
53
moti ve carriage, and wagon superintendent of the Man- W ork, Past and Present," wasread by Mr. U . L. Burton,
...
4
3
22-knot boats
chaste; Sheffield, and Lincolnshire Rail way, the loco- Assoc. M. Inst. C. E. A fter a brief outline of the history,
. ..
20
14
21-knot boats
motive'and carriage departments have been mad e sepa- and a. short reference t o the towns, harbours, and ri vera,
4
Slow boats
. ..
3
rate and Mr. Harry Pollitt, formerly works manager at the author devoted his remarks to the railways, the

the ~ompany's works at Gorton, has been appointed loco- diamond fields, and the goldfields. The first Act for
101
25
11
motive engineer, Mr. Parker, j un., being made carriage railways, it seems, was passed in 1857, and the first
and wagon superintendent. S ir Edward Watkin appears l ine opened in 1863. The original gauge of the lines,
to have been unfortunate lately in losing his locomotive as built by private enterprise, was 4 ft. 8~ in. A fter
AWARDS TO \ VORKMEN l'OR IN VENTION.-The report
su perin tendents, Mr. Hanbury having also resigned from the purchase, however, by the Government, this was
altered, and all further ext ensions made to 3 ft. 6 in.- a has been issued a s to the awards scheme by which M essrs.
t he !v!etropolitan Railway.
fact which is now much regrett ed by all leading men in Denny grant to the workmen in their shi_Pbuildin~ y~rd
\Ve are informed that M essrs. R obey and Co., engineers, th e colony. In Natal the railways have been push ed at Dumbarton a sum of money for suggest10ns for the Imof the G lobe Works, L incoln, have converted their busi- forward with greater diffi culty, owing to the fact of its provement in plant, &c., likely t o facilita te or ch eapen
ness into a limited liability company, with an autho- being a Crown colony, and, therefore, not master of its production. D uring the year ffl new claims have been
rised share capital of 300,000l. in preference and ordinary own destini es. T ouching the goldfields the author considered, and of this number 38 have been successful,
shares, 272, 710l. of which are taken by the partners and referred to th e system of recovering the gold, but m ore 15 rej ected, and 4 postponed. The total sum expended
holders of capital in the old firm, n o issue of any of the particularly to the cyanide process for treating the during the year was 144l.; of this sum 96l. was paid in
company 's share capital having been offered to the p~blic. tailings after leaving the stamp batteries, which showed ordinary awards and 48l. in premiums. The number of
In addition t o the above capital of 300, OOOl., there w1ll be that, while th e average of gold obt ained from the a wards and the amount of money expended are not only
an issue of 125,000l. four-a:nd a-quarter per ce~b. deben- batteries was 50 to 60 per cent. of that contained in the much greater than those of last year, but are the third
tures making a t otal cap1tal of 425,000l. Tbts change ore, the cyanide process added another 30 per cent. t o highest in any year since the scheme was started. Fully
has b'een made in consequence of the deaths of partners, this, making a t otal yield of about 90 per cent. of the two-thirds of the t otal number of claims received were
and to facilitate family arrangements, leaving the present gold contained in th e ore.
successful, as against an average of 52 per cent. for the
management of the business unaltered.
fourteen years the schem e has been in operation. The
A n interesting account of the wid ening of the St.
The last issue of L e Yacht gives a full description of the Gothard Railroad for a second pair of rails- a work com- workmen in the iron department have this year sucra~ing two-rater, V:en~enesse, which has been constr.uct ed pleted in M ay last-has been recently published in the ceeded, for the first time, in sending in more claims than
on quite a novel prm01ple, the frames and beams bemg of Schwcizerische Bav zcitung. In th e ori ginal construction those of any other department, while the electrical desteel, and the :plating and decks of aluminium. She has of the line, the question of future widening was carefully partment h a~ been successful above all ~ther s, considerbeen buih at St. Denis for Uount J . d e Cbabannes L a considered, and the work laid out t o facilitate this. The ing the number of workmen connected w1th the branch.
Palice from designs by M. Vict or G illoux, and is almost main tunnel and four of the smaller ones were made Since the introduction of the scheme, 602 claims have
identi~al in model with the E ncore, t en rater, built by Fife, sufficiently large for a double track in th e fi rst inst ance, been received, 313 being successful and 289 reject ed. The
of Fairlie, in 1890. Owing to the experimental nature of but on other parts of the line this was nob so, and in these total sum expended is 1480l. , of which 1034l. was paid in
the undertaking the cost has been abnormal, but a!l d_iffi- cases the sin gle-line tunnels bad been built to the Pressel- awards and 446l. paid in premiums. The sum of 908l.
cult ies have been successfully overcome. In the prm01 pal Kaufmann section, which can easil y be enlarged. The has been gained by 18 claimants.
dimensions the displa-cem ent is given at 15 t ons, and of work of double tracking was commenced in 1887, and it
NEw BRITISH GuNDOATS.-The D ockyard authorities
this amount 11 t ons is accountPd for as lead ballast, the was intended to complete ib by 1896, but the traffic grew
saving in wei~bt through using aluminium being, there- so rapidly that it was n ecessazy to hast en the pro- at Sheerness have commen ced the construction of the
fore, somethmg remarkable. Illustrations and experi- gress of the work. The contracts were let in short new st ation gunboats A lert and Torob, which are l?rovided
ments in respect to stabili ty are given, and it is claimed sections only, in order t o insure the personal super - for in the Navy Estimates of the current tinan01al years
that the results are highly satisfactory. The Vendenesse intendence of the work by the contractors. All plant, The Alert and T orch are to be ready for commission
is now at Havre, and her owner intends t o t est her sea- such as cars, rails, fastenings, turntables, &c., was early in 1895. They are the first of a new type of gungoing abilities by sending her, vu~ Gibraltar, t o the supplied free, and the explosives were alEo supplied boats for foreign service, designed by Mr. W. H. White,
Director of Naval Construction, and are to have a di~
Cannes and ~ice R egattas.
at cost price. The most di fficult portions of the work placement of 960 tons. Their length will be 180 fb., with
In a report by the Imperial Sanitary Commission of were und ertaken by the company itself. The }Videning a breadth of 32 ft. 6 in., and a mean load draught of
Berlin appointed to inquire into the water sup_p ly ~o of th e tunnels was done almost exclusively at nigl1t, during 11 ft. 6 in. The upper and lower bunkers of the ship
towns from rivers and streams, after the recent epidemiC which the train intervals were longest a nd the smoke least (which will be unarmoured) will be separated by a. light
in Hamburg, it is recommended that all streams from troublesome. In general, two blasts were fired during the steel watertight deck of j .in. plating. The shell will be
which a wat er supply is taken should be free from sewage night, and the de bris complet ely removed before the first of 10 lb. plating, covered with teak 3~ in. in th ickpollution, and that no barges should be allowed t o anchor morning tr:tin passed. In widening masonry structures, ness to a height just above the wat er-line.
The
near the intakes. Sand filtration does nob parfectly free the rock faces of th e stones were dressed off, and the new stem and stern posts are t o be of phosphor bronze.
the water from m icrobe~, and hence the rate of filtration masonry built up abu tting the old ones. Amongst the The engines of the T orch and Alert are t o be made
should not be forced, and the velocity of the water work thus done was a bridge p ier 170 ft. high. Tbe in the engineering department of Sheerness D ock yard,
through the fi lter should n ob exceed 10 centimetres (4 in.) m ethod proved p erfectly satisfactory. T o insure the which has just completed the fittin g of the machinery
per hour. The tbioknes~ of sand i;D the filters sbo?ld safety of the traffic during the work, special signal cabins of the new fast gunboat H ebe. The T orch and Alert
never be less than 30 cent1metres (12 m .). Aftez cleanmg were fitted up, and other precautions taken. The t ot al will be fi tted with engines of the triple-expansion type,
a filter, th e first water passed through after the operation cost of the widening work was nob very large, being but supplied with steam from two boilers. \ Vorking under
should be run t o waste, as it will contain a considerable 500, OOOl. , whilst the original cost of the line was about forced draught their machinery is t o indicate 1400 horsenumber of germs. The efficiency of the filtration should 9,600,000{., of whichtb egreattunnel alonecosb 2,500,000l. power, with a speed of 13.25 knots, and under natural
be tested daily by the bact eriological m ethod. If the
The following returns of men employed ab the end of draught 1050 horse-power, with a speed of 12.25 knots.
above points are carefully attended to, it is asserted that September by the chief locomotive builders is given in Their armament will consist entirely of quick-firing gun s,
there is \ery little danger of cholera microbes passing the the Glasoow H erald as a fair indication of the state of six 25-pounders, and four 3-pounders. The Admiralty
filters.
trade at ~that date, as compared with the same date in 1892, have sanctioned an expenditure of 25,000l. upon the Torch
At the last meeting of the Junior Engineering Society, hub unfortunately, in formulating deductions, it must and Alert during the present financial year.
3

SAND

DREDGER "BRANCKER"

PU~1P

FOR THE

RIVER MERSEY.

CONSTRUCTED BY THE NAVAL CONSTRUCTION AND ARMAMENTS COMPANY, LIMITED,

tj

BARROW-IN-FURNESS.

tz1

(')

tl)

\.()

...

00
\.()

Fig.1.
- .... -

Ftr ' iip:~-=='"

- ----' I

I "'

...,...

---~
I
I - ---- ~-\ , .
'I

11

IIIU
I .11
. . . ..
-.

- j

l> t= ==t-ao
=-....I
o
i
"""' ....
-

.. '

11. . tr1

CJ
..........

z
...

..-, _ .., _ :C'S*!S ~=... . . ... _ _-.;;;_;_ .... -!..=-

tr1
tr1

!'" --- S>.. ElA . z o.c;as --r c;c:::;::s..e_w: __=.z:..UW'.. W w= = 3X!4 -- e .. '51!V:

.Pig.Z

..........

c:foo~
U__!::::;!

&

"':>

"

<l

Cl

-. 1

o-lo-lo -lo
o"Jo"lo lo
-.t

C)

..... . ..
11

lWlllifl

Jl

p bJ

'"'"

11

1+ '

- - --

r::;

:a

<I

tJ000D

(j

IILJI

1168 ..

cylinder compound engine with the usual double-acting

pumps.
'!'he propelling machinery consists of three-stage expansion engines working separate screws. The working
pressure is 180 lb. per square inch.
There are on deck a couple of steam winches and a.
powerful steam windlass for the anchors.
The vessel is fitted with a. rudder at stem and stern,
both of which can be worked by steam or hand.
The vessel is divided into three watertight compartments forward and three aft of the hoppers, exclusive of
the peaks, and the hoppers are independently built within
th e bull of the vessel, thus forming between themselves
and the outside and the bottom other eight compartments ; the after part of the double bottom beneath the
hoppers is used a.s a fresh -water tank for the boilers.
Quarters are provided for the officers and crew in the
poop and forecastle.
On the triale on the Mersey Bar the hoppers were for
some time filled at the rate of 100 tons per minute, or

u0

r.
.L<tg.v.
n

Fig.3.

.Fig. 4.
I
I

I
I
I

1864 8

equal t o 6000 tons per hour . In another trial the time

from the start to charge the tube until the hoppers were
full was 39 minutes, or at the a verage rate of 4620 tons
per hour. On the official trial the hoppers were filled
with 3000 tons in 43.4 minutes, or a.t the rate of 4150 t ons
per hour. In this case, however, the character of the sand
was very differen t from the average, the result of which
was a loss of 10 per cent. in the overflow against an ordinary loss of not over 2 per cent.
In so gigantic a.n experiment as this it was not looked
for that success would be immediately secured, consequently during the progress of the design the way was
very carefully felt, and a considerable number of experiments were made with hoppers of different sizes, so as to
determine the most satisfactory proportions of valves and
the necessary quantities of water for sludging, with the
result that when a pair of the hoppers were ultimately
fitted up with such arrangements as our experience with
models suggested as suitable, it was found, on trials made
from May 18 to May 27, that practically no modifica-

00

8o2
tion was found needful. Ib will, however, be unnecessary
to say that, although the machine has been pronounced
most successful, there will doubtless be points discovered
!n continued working . which may suggest improvements
1n case of a reproduct10n of the machine. One might be
the policy of reproducing so large a. hopper dredger, as
~here are many arguments, and of a powerful charact er
1n favour of a separate dredging plant with hopper ten~
ders. The~e we~e, ho~ever, ~iven full .consideratio~ by
the Board s advisers m the hght of theu past expertence
before the Branoker was con~racted for, and the balance
of advanta~e '!as held to be m favour of t~e one vessel;
whether th1s IS upheld by further expenence remains
to b~ seen.

SOME PRACTICAL EXAMPLES OF

BLASTING.*

By Mr. PERRY F. NuRSEY, Past President.

(Concluded from page 774.)
Danger Risks.-In carrying out blasting operations it is
of the first importance to have a reliable colleague. H e
should possess a cool head, a steady hand, and a quick
judgment. Both in his work with lithofracteur and
carbo-dynamite the author has been fortunate in having
the cooperation of gentlemen possessing those desirable
qualities. In the former instance, be bad for a eo-worker
Herr J aoob En gels, the inventor of lithofracteur, and in
the latter 1Yir. Walter F. Reed, the inventor of carbodynamite. To the latter the author is indebted for
several practical suggestions as regards details of the
operations. It is hardly possible for those who have not
had experience in the class of work described in this
paper to realise the thousand and one points that present
themselves for careful consid&ration during the organisation of a. blasting operation, nor the deep anxiety that
pervades the mind when the supreme moment of its execution arrives. The most thoughtful care and the keenest
watchfulness have to be exercised throughout, lest at any
moment a trifling slip should be the cause of failure, or
worse, of dire diRaster. Such being the general mental
condition antecedently to the event, it may be imagined
what a grateful sense of relief is experienced upon the
attainment of a successful result.
Nor are risks of accident absent during the actual execution of blasting operations, either through the stupidity
or the want of nerve on the part of workmen. For instance,
when carrying out some torpedo experiments at Quenast
the author had a couple of boats conveying to mid-stream
a light raft under which was a heavy charge of lithofracteur, with the exploding gear attached. The raft
was resting on the gunwale of each boat, and the author's
instructions to both crews were to lift and lower it gently
into the water, a work very easily performed. The raft
was lifted gently enough, but at the author's signal to
lower, it was simply dropped down on the water, and the
boats' crews took to their oars and rowed away for their
lives. The author at length got one man, who had a
little more courage than the rest, to pull him quietly out
to arrange the charge and light the fuze. Another instance occurred in the Isle of Man, where the author
was doing some blasting in connection with the Douglas
Harbour Works, for Sir John Coode. He bad charged
two big holes in a 16-in. ledge of rock with about 1lb.
of explosive each. The ledge was his platform, and he
bad a 10 ft. or 12 ft. vertical wall of rock before him,
and 18ft. of water behind him. The water was just up
to the level of the ledge of rock, and having lighted his
two fuzes he put his bands on the gunwale of the boat
to embark, when the boatmen instantly pulled off,
although they were well aware that they bad five
minutes in which to clear out. As a consequence, the
author with a heavy pair of jack boots on, slipped into
the 18 ' ft. of water. As he did nob release his hold of
the boat he was quickly got inboard, plus a gallon or
two of ;ea water stowed away in the jack boots. In
other cases the author has encountered riskE~, not from
fear, but from sheer recklessness.
The Santander Explosion .- It was not the intention of
the author t o touch upon the subjt:lct of involuntary or
accidental explosions, for the reason that they have been
recorded by him in previous papers. If even they had
not been so dealt with by him, they would hardly hav e
been admissible in the present communication, as they
cannot rightly be classified under the head of practical
examples of blasting. The unprecedented character,
however of the awful calamity that has recently befallen
the busy port o~ Santander .in Spain,, and the de~p
and widespread mterest mamfested wtth respect to It,
will the author feels assured, justify a record of thtl
lam~ntable occurrence on the present occasion. A reference to it here, moreover, affords the author t.be opportunity of expressing th~ deep symp~thy :WhiCh every
m ember of the Society, m common wttb himself, must
feel for the sufferers by that terribly sudden visitation.
And this sympathy may be appropriately extended ~o
the sufferers from the diabolical outrage perpetrated m
the Liceo Theatre, Barcelona, by the explosi~n of a _bomb
in the midst of the unsuspecting and unoffendmg audtence,
on November 7, only four days after th e Sant~nder catastrophe. Fearful havoc has been cauR~d by acc:Iden~al explosions, which have occurred fro~ time to t1me m ~he
past but none so far as the authors memory serves h1m,
hav~ been so ~alamitous as that at S antander, when a
dense crowd of human beings, .who h~d ~een a~tracted by
the unwonted sight of a burmng ship m the1~ harbour,
were in an instant rf'..duced to a heap of matm~d and
writhing creatures, mingled with disfigured and dismembered corpses, besides the crowds who wer~ blow~ from
the surrounding shipping into the water, whtle the1r town

* Paper read before the Society of Engineers.

E N G I N E E R I N G.
was rapidly set ablaze at, at least, a hundred different compound would only burn und er the influence of fire,
points. The harrowing details which have been given of and that nothing would explode it except a proper detothe occurrence mark it as the most frightful catastrophe nator. Endea vours have been made in later times to
of its kind that has ever happened. The loss of life is cause people to unlearn this foolish d octrine, but it still
estimated at over five hundred persons, and that of pro- lingers, and only a year or two since the author was preparty at many thousands of pounds, perhaps approach- sent when this doctrine was preached and practised by
ing millions. The absolute number of those who have one who should have known better, but fortun a tely withp9rished can never be known whilst the wounded form a out disastrous results. The doctrine invariably preached
heavy list o! over two tbousa~d persons.
and practised by the author is that E:'xplosives are only
The parttculars of the disaster have been variously comparatively safe as long as th ey are treated as absostated, for at firsb there was great difficulty in obtaining lutely dangerous. There is no reliance whatever to be
definite information, owing to the circumstances that placed in the theory that dynamite and many other high
many of the public functionaries ara amongst the victims, ex plosives can be burned without exploding. Dynamite
as well as 'those who had charge of th e ship. As far as will explode and has exploded when subjected to the
can be ascertained, however, it would appear that on necessary temperature, or to certain conditions other than
Friday, November 3, 1893, the steamship Cabo Machi- those of explosion by a detonator. This point has been
chaco was discharging her cargo alongside a quay in the illustrated over and.over again with fatal results, and the
Port of Santander. That cargo consisted of 2000 tons of ignorance, crass stupidity, and recklessness occasionally
iron, 12 tons of sulphuric acid, a number of casks of shown by those who are accustomed to the daily use of
petroleum, some casks of spirit, and 1720 cases or 43 tons high explosive~, appears so incredible that the author
of dynamite. We here have a heterogeneous collection hopes it will prove both both interesting and instructive
of materials, constituting a cargo of the most dangerous if he gives two examples under the not inappropriate
character conceivable. It appears tha.b the dynamite head of
was not contraband, as at first supposed, but that the
Th~ Rorna'l'/ ce of D ynarnite.- W ere the writer of a
whole cargo was duly cleared by the Custom House "shilling shocker" to introduce into his plot the instanauthorities when the ship left Bilbao. At 3 p.m on the staneous death of a young newly married couple by an exday m~ntioned a fire broke out in the coal bunkers, and plosion of dynamite in the stove of their sitting-room, the
as soon as the alarm was given, care was taken to at once explosion being brought about by the brid e~roo m 's brother
land twenty cases of dynamite which were consigned to leaving the dynamite baking in the oven of that stove for
Santander, the remainder being consigned to other ports. three days, he (the writer) would be deemed guilty of
As the firA could not be got und er, it was determined going a very long way beyond the bounds of human possito tow the Cabo Maobichaco out into the Bay of Biscay, bility in his search after the sensational. And yet, in
and let her burn out there. A tugboat was made fast to introducing such an incident, that writer would in no
her for this purpose, but the effort to get her away from way overstep the limits of possibility, but would be
her moorings was unsuccessful. It was now an hour and strictly witbm the truth. S uch an occurrence, incredible
a half since the outbreak of the fire, aod alth ough every as it may appear, t ook place in the village of S ootbay,
effort was made to extinguish the flames, without success, SilvE:'rdale. N orth S taffordshire, aboutamonth since. Ab
it does not appear to have occurred to any one during half-past five in the afternoon of Monday, November 6,
that time, even to those who knew the nature of the Charles Poulton and his wife, to whom hA bad only been
cargo, to scuttle the vessel, and thus prevent a disaster married a few days, were sitting in their cottage t ogether
which they must by degrees have known to be in- with an elder brother of Poulton'tt, who also resided
evitable. But nothing of the kind was attempted, there. Without the slightest warningn, t errible explosion
and at 4.30, with crowds of spectators and swarms of took place, which nearly wrecked the house, literally blew
busy helpers around, the fire appears to have reached the young- wife to pieces, fatally injured the husband so
the petroleum, which then exploded.
This was that he dted a few hours afterwards, and t:: eriom~ly injured
rapidly followed by a second explosion, said to be the the brother. Upon being questioned as to the cause of
ship's boilers, and this again with equal rapidity by a the explosion, the elder P oulton stated tha t on the
third ex plosion of a terrific character, which was un- previous Saturday be bad placed a charge of blasting
doubtedly the dynamite. The burning ship, with the tug gelatine in the oven to thaw, and bad forgotten all about
alongside, on board of which were a number of towns- it until the explosion t ook place. Truly truth is stranger
people, curious to ses a burning ship towed out to sea, at than fiction, and this adage has often been present to the
onc(l disappeared. The quay was completely wrecked, author's mind in connection with dynamite accidents.
and the crowd of human beings which thronged it were
The annual reports of her Majesty's Inspectors of Exblown into the air and scattered around on sea and shore, plosives, which the author consults from tim e to tjme,
while flaming fragments of timber were projected over lift the veil from dynamite "accidents, " so called, a nd
the town, setting more than a hundred houses on fire. reveal instances of recklessness and suicidal ignorance
Numerous ships and small craft in the vicinity of the which appear incredible, and would nob be believed were
Cabo Macbichaco, t ogether with their crews, were blown they not officially authenticated. Not the less do accito pieces, whilst others were set on fire by the burning dents arise from sheer stupidity, which still goes blunderfragments. The distance to which pieces of wood and ing on in spite of the many warnin~s it receives. The
iron were hurled is shown by the fact that a man was most fruitful source of accidents with dynamite is the
killed by a fragment at Penancestillo, about a mile from thawing of the cartridges, which solidify and become
the harbour. A local railway train which entered the inert at a comparatively high t emperature, namely, about
station at the moment of the explosion was wrecked and 40 deg. Fahr. To thaw th e cartrid ges, tin warming pans
ignited, and many of the passengers are reported to have are, or should be, provided, and if used with ordinary
perished. When darkn ess set in, the sky was lurid with care they form a safe and t-ffioient means of carrying out
the reflection of uncontrolled fires in various parts of the this operation. They are constructed on the principle of
town, no attempt being made to cope with the conflagra- the glue-pot, the cartridges being placed in the removtion, but everyone abandoning the city for t he fields and able portion and covered up, th e bottom part being fill ed
outlying villages. A night of terror was passed, during with warm water. So reasonably safe is the use of this
which hundreds were searching amongst the dead by the contrivan ce, that the author can onl y recall one instance
glare of the burning city forlost relatives and friends, and of an accident occurring in its use. On the other hand, a
on Saturday morning SantandPr, which twenty-four hours very large number of persons have been k illed, and a still
previously had been counted among the most flourishing larger number seriously injured, and much property
destroyed, through the improper thawing of dyna.mi~e.
towns in Spain, resembled a city of the dead.
Quitting these horrors, which the author would have Taking into consideration th e fact that users of dynam1te
passed over more lightly but for the magnitude of th e dis- must all be more or less aware of the danger of carelessly
ast er, let us see see what the quantity of dynamite was trE>ating it, and they are all aware of its enormous power,
that caused this havoc. The total quantity stated t o have th e history of th e steps taken for courting accident- the
been on board the ill-fated vessel was 1720 cases, of which author might alm ost say, the precautions taken to insure
20 cases were landed upon the outbreak of the fire. This accident- reads almost like a romance. H ence the headleaves 1700 cases, which, reckoning the usual quantity of ing of this section of the author's paper.
The ingenuity exercised in devising m eans for thawing
50 lb. to th e case, gives 85,000 lb., or 42 ~ tons. the ton of
explosives being 2000 lb. It appears, however, that 600 dynamite in the most unsafe way pos~ibl e, is certainly
oases, or 30,000 lb. = 15 tons, were subsequently found by very remarkable. The favourite methods of effecting this
divers to be unexploded, and were afterwards recovered, object have generally been frying, boiling, t oasting, and
loaded in barges, towed ont, and discharged in deep baking the cartridges, as in th e case already referred to,
water in the Ba,y of Biscay. This reduces the bulk to and these processes are sometimes carried out in vessels of
1100 oases = 55,000 lb., or 27i tons, a quantity capable of the most fantastic character. It, however, remained for
producing appalling results. In an ordinary blasting human ingenuity - grossly misdirected - to devise yet
operation, such as so~ e of those c~rried out ~y the author another method besides th ose just enumerated, of renderin J ersey, this quanttty of dynamtte should dtsplace about ing an explosion inevitable. This method consisted in
200 000 tons of rock, reckoning the work done on the basis steaming the cartridges over hot water in the sam e way
of the author's experience, which is 3~ tons per pound of that potatoes are st eamed. The case which is recorded
in the report of H. M. Inspect ors of E xplosives for 1890,
explosive employed.
It is a matter for thankfulness that the whole of the is so unique that the author cannot refrain from sum1700 oases were not exploded, or the results, bad as they marising it upon the present occasion. The explosion
were must have been much worse. How it was th at the occurred at th e Colwill Quarry, near Egg Bucldand,
600 c~ses escaped explosion th e author cannot understand, De vonshire. The method ad opted by th e ranter, Edward
except upon the hypothesis that the explosions prior to Gullett, was t o take an old 28-lb. paint drum, half fill it
that of the dynamite, so broke the ship's back that the with water, and stand it on a eledge hamm ~r head which
600 cases dropped away into deep water,. before ~h e explo- re&ted on the smithy fire. Over th e t op of the paint drum
sion of the remaind er t ook place. It Is oertamly mar- was tied a piece of canvas sackin g. and on this the oartvellous that these cases were not ex ploded, ronsidertng rid~es were steam ed . "You eee, " said Gullett, wh en
the magnitude of the ex plosion and their proximity to it. gi vmg his evidence at the inquest, "the nitro-gl ycerine
The author has already expressed his surprise that it did will leak through the bag if overheated, " thereby
not occur to those in charge of the vessel to scuttle her, implying that it was an excellent arrangement for
when they found they could not subdue the confl~gration getting rid of any exuded nitroglycerin e. And
on board, seeing that they must have known the risk th ey this was the method he and his men bad adopted
were running. But, altbou~h they ma:y bav~ ~nown the for thawing frozen cartrid ges ever si nce be bad used
A t last the inevitable ,explosion ?a~e,
risk, they may not have reahsed or beh.e ved m 1t, for, un - dynamite.
fortunately, in the early days of <lynamtte, and even later and killed two of Gullett's workmen . 'I he only var1at10n
on, the often fatal doctrine was promulgated that that in the process appears to have been tbat devised by one of

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

the deceased men, who, before be d ied, stated that he bad

sometimes thawed cartridges in an old straw hat, which
he suspended in the top of th e pot in place of the
sacking. Aooording to this unfortunate sufferer, he wa.s
heating the water when it-i.e. , the water, ex ploded, and
he attributed the explosion to the fact that the
!'nourishment " had gob into the water from previous
cartridges. Nothing here is wanting to poin t conclusi vely to the cause of the ex plosion. It was a. simple case
of abs.tra.ction of nitro-glycerine as carefully arranged
for as It could have been in a chemical laboratory, with
the exception of the excess of heat applied. The nitroglycerine would, by the action of the steam, exude from
the cartdd.ges, and would filter through the canvas or the
straw bat mto the pot. H ere, with its specific gravity of
1.6, it would accumulate ab the bottom of the water,
which latter would act as an effecti ve tamping to the
charge. The pot being placed over the smith's fire, the
nitro-glycerine would speedily reach its exploding temperature, and the whole apparatus would form a water
shell precisely on tbe sarue p rinciple as that which Sir
Frederick A bel some years ago ad vocated for artillery
purposes. The shell was filled with water, in which was
a small charge of gun-cotton, and the ex plosion was
effected by a primer and fu ze. The author saw some of
th ~se shells tried with good effect in the artillery experiments a b Okebampton in 1875.
A great -deal of misapprehension and misplaced confidence has been caused by the fact that small quantities of unconfined nitro-glycerine, and ex plosives cont aining it as their chief constituent, will sometimes burn
quietly away when ignited by direct contact with a flame.
It has, therefore, been thought that if thid was the case,
no ill effects could .arise from simply heating it. This
idea, as th e author has already observed, is a terribly
mistaken one. If a cartridge of dynamite or its congeners
is lighted or placed in a fi re, it may burn harmlessly
away. But if a similar cartridge is placed on the hob of a.
stove or an oven, and gradually heated up to its exploding
point, which is from 360 de~. to 400 deg. F ahr., a violent
ex plosion will almost inevitably result, and before that
point is reached the explosive will become extremely
sensitive to the slig htest shock. Nobel states that when
dynamite is heated to 440 deg. Fahr., it is liable to explode. But Nobel is the apostle of dynamite, and is liable
to look a little too favourably upon its faults. Colonel
Cundill, one of Her Majesty's Inspectors of E xplosives,
gi ves 360 deg. Fahr. as its exploding point, and Eissler,
in his work on ex plosives, states that when dynamite is
heated to [S50 deg. F ahr. a dime falling upon it will explode it.
It is only fair to point out that the causes of some of
these wretched occurrences are to be sought for beyond
the poor miners or quarrymen. It sometimes happens
eith er that the agtm1l for the explosive fails to impress
upon a purchaser its dangerous nature under certain conditions, and t o supply him with a proper thawing apparatus, or that the purchaser, from parsimonious moti ves,
fails to provide his men with one. Again, it has occurred
that a manager, althoug h he has provided the men with
warmers, fails to see that they are used by the men in
place of their own reckless methods. It is well, then,
that the H ome Office authorities should look keenly
beyond the unlucky ignorant labourer to some responsible
person, a verd ict for manslaughter against whom might
act as a salutary warning t o those who care little beyond
selling explosives and pocketin~ the profits, or conducting
their business on the most parsimonious principles. Such
reprehensible conduct as the author has indicated, and
which has actually occurred, can only pass without censure
when it passes without observation.
In conclusion, the author would observe that, although
he has travelled somewhat outside the scope of the title
of his paper, he trusts that the wide public interest which
attaches to the subject of the latter portion of it will
justify him in his departure from the programme laid
down in his opening remarks. To all either the use or
the misuse of explosive compounds must form a matter of
interest. \Vhile their accidental ex plosion is to be deeply
deplored, and their employment by misguided fanatics in
the execution of di abolical outrages against society as
deeply deprecated, it must not be forgotten that, used for
th e legitimate industrial purposes for which they are
intended, they rise to the dignity of an important factor
in t he material progress of nations.

THE

WORKL~ G

OF MILD STEEL.

The D angerou s W orking H eat of M ild Steel, and the E.ffect

of A n neali'Tl{} ctnd A ir Cooling.

TABLE I.- E x PERI MENT

0
.!Id

Q1

,..
c
::s

.!:)

...

;;a

o ..:>

c
Q1

.988 27. 00
. 972 126.00

I Ton s
In
Area.
pH
Tons. Sq . Io .

Size.

C!S

-.

Eloog at i on.

...

Treatment.

..
Q1
s:lo

o cs

::Sa.
Area . -o
...
Ql <
IX

Size.

In

P er
8 In. Cent.

.,
,

29
30

27.3 1.08 X .42 .453

26. 7 1.05 X .41 .4 30

54
56

1. 20 X .61 .G12

38

.942 131.00

3> 9
1.18 X .45 .531
'

43

.972 27.00

27.7

1.0~ X

.41 .442

64

F 5 1.62 X .3i

.C62 16.CO

284

1.12 X .26 .2Ql

48

18

0 5 1.52 X .37

. 562 16.50

29.3 1.12 X .23 .257

54

27

H 5 L.52 X .37

.562 16.00

28.4

L.lO X .25 .275

51

29

I 6 L. 52 X .6J

.972 2s so

I 26.2

1. 05 X .421 .441

54

10
11

J 6 1.52 X .64
K 6 1 fi2 X .61

.972 26.60
.972 25.50

27.2 1.13 X .42 .474

26.2 1.05 X .42 .441

51
54

12

L 6 1.52 X

.6~

.972 26.25

27.0

l.C6 X .42 .445

54

13

.988 28. 60
.972 3 t 25
.957 30.00

28.8 1.21 X .4 7 .568

36.2 l. 28 X .51 .662
31.3 1.22 X .48 .585

42

16

M 6 1.52 X .65
N 6 1. 52 X .64
0 6 L. 53 X .63

32
38

16

p 6 1. 52 X .62

.9 ' 2 30.50

32.3

L. 22 X .4C .561

40

17

Q6

. 788 d ia .

. 500 13.00

26.0

246

60

18

R 6

1.52 X . 63

.957 32.00

33. 4 ( 23 X .45 .957

42

19

26.60

28.1 11.08 X .41 .9-!2

52

1
2

A 5 l.52 X .65
B 5 l.52 X .6~

D 5 l. 52 X .62

E 5 1. 52

l.52 X .66 1.003 I 37.00

'

X .64

. 9-iZ

6 1.52 X .6?

1892-3.

eO

loo

At Poio t of
F racture.

Breaking
Stra in.

Orieinal Section
of Test Piece.

..,.

WI TH SIR MENS S TEEL AT MEssRs . J o HN BROWN AND Co. 's, LIMITED,

37.1

...

. 56 dia.

14

"

,,

8
28

"

32

"

,
"
"

26
29
30
22
14
13

"
"
"

10

"

2!

"
,

9
28

"

-As r eceived from mill.

H eated to redness (say 1650 d eg. ).

Annealed in ashes.
llea t ed to redness (say 1550 d eg .).
Heated
Quenched .
in
Heated wit h b eaters (about. 5 min.),
breeze
and hammered (not anneal ed).
fire.
Hammer ed r old on an vil (say 75
blows) (not anneal ed).
Partially heated in fire {half I eng tb)
and hammered (no t anneal ed).
H eat ed a nd worked a s in process of
Heated
Rang ing.
in blast
H eated and worked as in pro oess or
flo.n giog, afterwards beate d and coke lire .
slood in shel ter ed place to cool.
Lef t in annealing furnac e 4 b o urs,b eatoffurnace
1500 de ~. (take n by Siemen s' g al \'anomete r).
As recei ved from mtll.
H eated to whit e b ea t in bre eze fire. Stood up
i n shelter ed place to cool.
Annealed and cooled off four times in sheltered
place.
H ea t ed and q u e n ched. H eate d to, say, 1150 deg.
"
1560 ,
'
, t
H ea t ed with heaters 10 min ' 70
Taken to
blows from hammer.
prove result

Heated with heaters 5 m10 ., 60

from D 5.
blows from hammer.
Jumped up and worked to 1 in. square out ot
breeze fire. {Annealed.)
Heat ed with beaters 4 m i n., 70 blows from
hamme r.
H ea ted with hea ters 4 min . , 70 blows from
hammer. Afterwards anne ale d.

Chemical Analysi s.
Carbon .
.19
.20
.20
.20
.2()
.1 9

Ma rk.
A 5

0 5
0 5
I 6
J 6
K6

Sulphur.
.06

Silicon .
.02

o->..02

.oa

.06
.08
.08

.03
.03
.03

.os

Phos phorus.
.056
.056
.055
.05
.05
.049

Ma nganese.
. 55
. 52
. 64
.68
.R6
.65

TABLE I I . - ExPERUJ F.NTS WITH SIEMF.NS S TEEL AT M&ssns. JoHN Bno wN A N n C o . 's, LIMITED,
ANNEALING AND AIR C OOLING.

1892-3.

Ill

Ql

...
.t:J
s
z
Ql

:;::1

Oril!inal Section
of Test Piece.

Breaking
Strain .

At P oin t of
Fracture.

...
<IS

Size.

::tJ

os::
a-

Elongation .

Qo...

.... Ql
~ s:lo

0
.!Id

_ ..,.

Tons !
In
Area.
p er
Tor. s. Sq. In .

O CIII

Size.

Area .

::S QI

-o ...

~<

Treatment.

In

P er
8 In . Cent.

27.00

~7 . 5

1. 08 X .43 .464

52

33

20

A7

1.63 X .64 .979

21

B7

l. 63 X .65 .994

I 28.o >

28.1

1.10 X .43 .473

82

29

22

C7

1.53 X .6 , .979

26. 75

27.3

1.07 X .38 .406

58

32

23

D 'I

t. 63 X .65 .994

26.50

26.6

L.09 X .40! .436

56

24

E 7

1. 53 X .64 .979

26.50

27.0 1.07 X .39 .417

57

33

25

F7

l. 63 X .64 .979

27.50

28 0 1.08 X .40 .432

55

27

25
27

0 7
H7

1.53 X .64 .97\l

l.64 X .63 .970

27.00
26. 00

27.5 1.09 X .39 . 425

2CS.8 1.09 X .4l .446

56
53

,"

31
2S

28

I7

1.54 X .63 .970

26. 00

26.8

52

1.08 X .43 .461

33

"

29

H eated to 1100 de~ i n annealing furnace. Cooled

in exposed place in open air. Temperature
45 deg.
H eat ed to 1500 d eg. in annealing furnace. Cooled
in expose d place io open air. Temperature
45 d eg.
H eated to 1500 deg. in annealing furnace. Cooled
in open shop.
H eated to 1100 d eg. in annealing furnace. Cooled
i n ope a shop.
H eated to 1600 d eg. in annealing furnace. Cooled
off in b reeze ashes.
Heated to 1600 deg. in coke fire. Cooled by cold
blast (10 lb. pressure) in four m inutes.
As received from m ill .
Heated to white beat. Cooled in open air. T em perat,nre 41.2 deg.
H eated to white beat. Cooled in o p en sbo p .

Chemical A nalysi1.
No.
2\3

Mark .

G7

Cz.rhon .
.18

Silicon.
.03

Sulphur.
.06

Phos phorus.
.06

Mang anese.

.54

TABLE III. - ExPERIMENTAL TE Ts o F Bas i c STEEL, c oNDUCTED AT MESSRS. J o HN BROWN AND Co. 's,
LIMITED, 1893.

Orig inal Section

of Test Piece.

Breaking
St rain.

At Point of
Fracture.

OG>

Elongation.

c ...

...

T r eatment

:;is:l.

Q1

.D

-Q

0 Q)

s::s

..,.

Size.

Tons
In
Area . Tone. p er
Sq. tn.

Size.

o aS
::SQI

Area. -o ...
Ql <
IX

Jn
8 Io.

Per
Cent.

By J osEPH N oDDER.
1 487 A "\ 1 .51 X . 76 1.132 27.60 24.3 1.04 X .48 .500
63
Ae received from mill.
,
28
2 487 Bjl 1 .61 X .74 1.117 31.00 27.7 1.1 2 X .48 .538
68
Heated with beaters 6 min., 70 blows.
12
THE more general use of Siemens Martin steel for
62
70 blows on anvil (cold).
8 487 D 1.51 X .75 ' 1.132 27.00 23.8 1.06 X .48 .509
,"
30
boiler purposes is, perhaps, limited by fifteen years. In
57
4 487 F 1 .5 1 X .751 1.132 27.50 24.3 1.09 X .52 .667
,
30
,,
''
its early days it was looked upon with considerable mis47
5 487 G 1.51 X .74 1.117 32.00 28. 6 1.18 X . b5 .649
13
Heated with beater 6 min ., 70 blows.
gi vings, which even today exist in the minds of not a few
53
," I 21!
,,
to white beat. Cooled 12 times in wate
6 487 H 1 51 X .7611.132 33.25 29.3 1 . 12 X .5.t 1 .605
boilermakers and engineers, and the references ~o ~be
61
7 487 I 1.61 X .75, 1.132 27. 00 23.8 jl .07 X .491 .524
,
32
,
,
,.
,
in open shop.
"iron plates of years ago, " and the fitful quest10nmg
8 487 J 1.51 X .76 1.132 27. 50 24.3 1.02 X .46 1 .469
66
Left in annealing furnace 48 hours.
33
"
9 487 K 1.51 X 75 1.132 28.00 24.7 1.1;) X . 56 .64!
,,
29
As received from mill .
48
about "high tensiles" and "low tensiles "-the quesX .75 1.132 29.00
~6.6 1.11 X .53 .588
54Annealed 4 t imes .
28
tioner meaning by the first 30 tons tensile, and by the 10 487 L 1.61
I
"
64
487 0 1.5 l X .75 1. 132 27. 60 24.3 1.04 X .47 .489
11
,
31
Left in annealing furoace 4 hours.
latter 26 t ons tensile- all go to show that the knowledge 12 487 u .798 dia . 1 . 500 12.25 24.5 .47 dia.
65
,
28
Jumped up to It in. sq u a re (turned test).

of the failures of Siemens steel are matters of wider

'
Chemical A n alysis.
acquaintance than the causes of such failures, the steel
and the steelmaker frequently receiving the blame that
M ark .
Carbon.
Silicon .
No.
Sulphur.
Phosphorus.
Manganese.
487 A
. 16
.01
1
.0-i
.06
should be gi ven to other people.
.36
The most reliable and satisfactory results from SiemensNOTE. - Nos. 1, 487 A ; 2, 487 B; a nd 3, 487 D, were out crossway of mat erial, all the others b eing lengt hwise.
Martin mild steel are obtained from material of 26 to 30
tons tensile, and not less than 20 per cent. elongation in
8 in., the distinction between high and low tensiles within this limit being a fallacy. S ~eel of 26 tons tensile or 30 the same failures can be produced by mechanical treattons tensile can be produced from the same ingot almost roent in steel plates anywhere from 24 tons tensile strain
* Paper read before the North -E ast Coast Institution at ~h~ will of the plate roll~r, certainly witb~ub any to the.square inch to 30 tons per square inch.
var1at10n of th e cbem1cal coostttuents of the mater1al, and
Ba.s1o and Bessemer steels are subject to the same
of Engineers and S hipbuilders.

E N G I N E E R I N G.
TABLE VI.-ADMIRALTY TESTS, 1881.
Table Showing Result of Tensile and Elongation Tests of Steel and Iron after Various Modes of Trea t men .

--

Number 1.

Number 2.

Number 3.

Number 4.

Number 5.

-Normal Condition.
Class of Material Tested.

CIS~C

moo

.. Q)
cu -

Q)

~p.

sa .....C

boil.....
0

CIS

s:l
....

z cn
No. 246.
s iemens or open-hearth steel '
i in. boiler plate. High
strain
..
No. 378.

Q)

+> Q)

Q) c

c.-

Q)

:::s

00

1 L 31.15 26.66
2 A 31.16 22.65

Q)
. . (I)
CISCISC
"" ::SO

..., 0'8

mm

__ 8 -

Q)~

13
14
16
16

Q)

..m. . ,.

s:l
.....
~

o
C c:. s:;:
Q)~

steel }
t -1n. boller plate. Low strain

.....

Number 6.
Class of Material Tested.

No. 246.
Siemens or open-hearth steel
& in. boiler plate. High
strain
...
No. 378.
,
Siemens or open-hearth steel
~-in . boiler plate. Low strain

s:l Q)

cS ..... Cli
... CIS..C
s:l COo
Q) Cc

.D

Q) ~ oo

:::s

.c
UJ:..o
CQis:l
Q) c.-

e.-

29.68
27.34
22.65
21.09

.t:J

-c.

Bessemer steel
> plate made by<
Bolton and Co.

11
12
13

.c
,.. o

C Q) c
Q)

s:a.-

L 29.86
L 30.64
A31.06
A 30.92

,..

mm

....
Q)

Q)~ oo

s:l
....

s~

.....

.Cl

QIC

UJ a.. o
C Q1 c

:::s

Q)~

--

cu

b( . ...

Q)

__ 8

p..

o-8

COo
o o ci

,.._

Q)~

:;;

26.56
29.68
22.65
22.65

81 L 31.18 26.66
82 L ao. H 26.56
83 A 30.72 23.43
84 A 30.96 , 23. 43

61 L 27.76 28.90
62 L 27.22 32.81
63 A 27.22 26.00
M I A 26.71 26.78

85 L 26.81 30.46
86 L 26.69 29.68
87 A 27.44 28. 90
88 A 26.96 j 25.00

Number 8.

Number 9.

Number 10.

-. Sample Placed in Sample Placed in Sample Placed in

Flue of a. Stationary Smokebox of Loco- Annealing Furoace
Boiler Sixteen Days. motive Sixteen Days
Sixteen Days.

L 25.42
L 27.39
A 25.87
A 25.73

27. 34
29.68
28.90
28.12

109
110
111
112

L 26.37
L 26.68
A26.94
A 26.84

30.46
29.68
26.66
25.78

133
134
135
136

L 26.60
L 26.78
A26.40
A 26.43

29.68
177 L 26.36 29.68 201
33.59 Not sufficient of the 178 L25.47 26.66 202
25.78 plate to make this L79 A 25.59 26.56 203
2e.6o test.
1180 A 26.64 27.84 204

L 21.60
L 21.42
A 22.61
A 2~.67

26.66
18.75
26.56
21.87

60

460
400
460
350
490
490
620
490
630
60
450
520
880

14
.I

15 '

60
below}
430
below}
430
430
4QO
6LO
630
630
610

16
Siemens
steel
plate made by<
.Bolton and Co.

,J

I ..

37 L 26.93 29.68
38 L 27.28 26.56
39 A 27.07 26.56
40 A 27. 26, 25. 78

.....s:l

a.. :::so

173 L 30.25 28.12 197

l74 L 29.81 28.12 198
176 A 29.97 25.78 199
176 A 30.01 22.66 200

163
164
155
156

L 31.11
L 30.41
A 30.60
A 30.78

29.68
29.68
24.21
22.65

A == Across.
TABLE V.-.Admiralty Te~t3, 1881.
A

Siemens steel plate manufactured by the Bolton Iron and

Steel Company, and cut into strips, then tested with the following results. Test pieces, 16 in. by 2 in.

s:l
... s:l

Bessemer steel '

plate made by.
~ John
Brown
and Co.

"

60
430
660
880

Results.

0...,

Remarks.

~Q)

~0

c ..
ocu

~0
E-4
.....

3
4
6

24
25
26
27

L 30.45 28.90
L 30.58 26.56

-.....
Q)

CIS~S::

s:~
o ....

29.68
32.03
23.43
22.65

~A

17
18
19
20
21
22
23

Q)~ oo

Ulrn.

Cl)

L 31.10
L 3L. 61
A31. 65
A31. 50

cS
""
bo
Q)Cii

8
9
10

.D

... 0'8

...

129
130
131
132

.a~

....
Q)

... _._ e
:::s
~
z
s:l
o os::
Q)

cu
COCIS~
...CIS
cbc.
Q) c
o oc

....

25.78
28.90
23.43
25.78

Ql,c
,. CIS

:::s en

::::

s:;bo

"" ::SO

s:l Q)

o ....

Description of
Steel.

8 8CS

Q)

CIS~

~CIS

-s:~

L 30.44
L 30.62
A31.03
A ao.9o

..

....
Q)

Cli

.....s::

bo.2

s:l Q)
CISCISC

.,... .... CO

105
106
107
108

T ABLE IV.-Admi?alty Exp'rimental T ests 1881.

Table gi\ing Summary of Tests made for the purpos~ or ftodin oo
the effect of Temperature on the Tensile Strain and Ductility of
Steel.

Q)

mm

.... s:l
o ....
Q)s:l

- -

L = Length.

a.. :::so

..., 0'8

boo
.
. .... Cl)

Sample Heated
Sixty Times.

- --

.... Q)

~cSC

Q) s:l

Sample Heated
Twenty Times.

. ....

Number 7.

Sample Heated
Forty Times.

Sample Heated
Twelve Times.

67
58
A30.66 25.78 35 A 30.89 26.78 59
A 30.85 2J.21 36 A 80.39! 22.65 60

L 27.11
L 26.72 28.90 18 L 27.91
A 26.29 2J. 43 19 1 A 26.94
"20 I A 2ti. 94

-c
o ....

L 31.06 27.34 33
L 30.65 28.90 34

~" 17

s i.emen~ or open-hearth

Sample Heated
Eight Times.
~

..

11)

_.CIS..S::
s:l ~
Q)I.J
()
....
o 0 c

11) ... ()

:::s=

cus:l

... :::1 0

..., O'H

-c
o ....

- Q)

. ::: ... Cl)

Sample Heated
Three Times.

-s:a.

28.06
38.9
34.3
36.6
40.0
40.8
39.6
42.0
40.8
41. 9
26.07
40.5
38.7
24.02

31.25 \
18.76
15.62
14.06

21.87 E lon ga tion

14.06 >- taken in 4 In.
18.75
23.43
16.62 )
26.00
27.34
14.06
17.18
26.56

'

29. 10 25.78
32.9 10.1

16
16

17
18

Sample defective.
32.3
Ditto.
7.81
33.45 14.06 }-E lon ga tion
34.5 18.76
taken in 8 In.
28.9 16.4
30.6 20.31
31.06 17.1S
27.2 21.09

19

28.49
38.4
33.08
18.56

22

21.87
18.76
17.18
25.00 )

weaknesses, though Bessemer s t eel d evelops faults in

working out of a ~re that _make it ':ln~uitable fo_r gener~l
boiler work, and Its use I S very hmtted. B aste steel, tf
made on the open-hearth s ystem, gives very similar results to the Siemens-Martin st eel, as Table Ill. of experi
m enta will show; but practical experience has not yet
developed suffi cie?t confiden ce in . it s use as a substit~te
for Siemens steel m ex ternal and mternal flanged bmler
work.
An incr eased elongation, say to 25 per cent. in 8 in. of
steel 30 tons t ens ile, would show greater ductility than
24 tons tensile with only 20 per cent. elongation: This a.
p oint that is generally overlooked, a d emand bem g made
for a. lower t ensile rather than an incr eased elongation.
Similarly, much is m ad e. of a "flan~ing test," but the
only reliable t eat of st eel 1s that obta.med by the actual
measurement of the force applied and r epr esented by the
tons tensile and the percentage of elongation.
B ending t eat s-cold, bob, and quench ed-are useful
aids, the latter ~specially, but unless the force used for
bending is accurately measured, the test cannot be tabu
)1\.ted, and is only of service in con junction with the ten
sile t ests.
An elaborate series of over 500 experimental and com
parative tf)Sts of Siemens and B ef3sem er steel and B. B. and

20

2l

23

-Sample tested cold , or in its normal state

..
Heated in sand to 600 deg. Ti n melted freely
on sample, but not lead ; no perceptible
colour on fracture. Temperature was
below 430 deg. This sample broke in small
..
..
..
..
..
defects ..
Heated in sand to 450 deg. Tin melted on
the sample, no perceptible cc..lour on fracture. Temperature below 430 deg. This
..
sample also broke in slight defect . .
Heated in sand to 460 deg. Tin melted on
the sample ; broke without C(\lour on
fracture, or below 430 deg. . .
..
..
Heated in sand t() 660 deg. Tin melted
freely on the fracture, whicl:r by colour
was 490 deg.
..
..
..
..
..
Heated in sand to 736 deg. Zinc melting
freely on the sample, and when broken lead
melted on the fracture. Temperature by
colour of fra{)ture, 610 deg. . .
..
..
Heated in the same way and to same temperature, lead meUing on the fracture.
Temperature by oolour of fracture, 630 deg.
Heated in a furnace, colour just perceptible
in the dark. Zin c melting freely on the
sample, and when broken, lead melced on
the fraoture. Temperature by colour of
fracture, 630 deg.
..
..
..
..
Heated in a furnace to a red heat ; when
broken all the colour was gone, but lead
melted freely on the fracture. Tempera
tu re by colour of fracture, 610 deg. ..
..

29. 10 25.78

32.9
32.3

10.1
7.81

33.45 14.06
34.5

18.75

28.9

16.40

30.6

20.31

31.06 17.18
27.2

21.09

B owling iron were m ad e in 1881 by a very careful Admi

ralty surveyor, the lat e Mr.J. F. Barnaby, and from hi s
n ot es Tables IV., V., and VI., showing the behaviour of
Siemens st eel u nder varying temperatures and continued
exposur e to flame, are extracted, and you will notice that
a. t emperature of 400 d eg., or wh&.b is known as "black
hob," gi ves the worst results in t ensile strain and elongation.
A paper read by Mr. C. E. S trom eyer, of Lloyd 's survey,
before the Institution of Civil E ngineers in 1886, deaJt
with the " Effects of Blue H eat on S teel and Iron, ,
m eaning by "blue heat " 470 deg. to 600 deg. Fa.br., at
which heat be concludes there is the m ost risk in working
iron and steel.
Experiments conduct ed at M essr s. J ohn Brown and
Co.'s works in 1892 and 1893 would place the dangerous
beat n earer 400 d eg., as in the experiments referred t o
in 1881 ; and also that Siemens or basic s teel hammered
a.t tba.b t emperature retains all the brittlen ess r esulting
from tb~t dangerous beat, even wbeu oold, which did n ot

aJ?pear in the exreriments of 1881, and also that reheating

wtthout "work ' will restore all the ductility that pre
viously existed.
By r eference to T able I., and comparing No. 1 and
No. 4, the effect of ' (work " applied at 400 deg. of beat
~btait;led from those innocent little things called heaters
1s eas1l y seen; h er e we have a. material that as r eceived
~rom t~e rolling mill (No. 1, A 5) gave 27.3 tons per square
m ch wtth 29 per cent, elongation in 8 in., yet by heating
with a. heater for fi ve minutes to a temperature of aboub
400 d eg., and then hammered, gave an increased tensile
when c9ld of 32.9 tons p~r square inch and a d ecr eased
elongation of 8 per cent. m 8 m., so tha.t the t ons t ensile
were increased nearly 20 per cent., g,nd the elongation d ecreased 72 per cent. , or to a condition n ot much better in
its ductility than cast iron.
~his experiment was repeated upon an other plate (exp~rlments No. 15, .0 6, and No. 16, PG); this plate as re
cetved from.the mtl.l (see No.lO, J .6)gave27.2 tons tensile
p~r square m cb, wtth a.n elon gat10n of 2G per cent. in
8 m., but after t en minutes of acquaintance with a heater,
or a t emperature of about 600 d eg. , and seventy blows
from a 9-lb. hammer on an anvil, the result is a. rise in
tensile to 31.3, and a fall in elongation t o 13 per cent. =
a loss of 46 per cent. of the ductility i again, r epeating
th.e heat of 400 d eg. in No. 16, P G, wi tn a. heater for five
I~nn~tes, a~d less work on th e anvil, the r esult is a further
rts~ m t ens1le to 32.3 t ons, and a furth er d ecrease in elongatwn to ~0 per cent. = a t otal loss of ductility of 61 per
~nt. lb IS bey?nd question that this serious depreciatwn of the matertal ar1ses from the heating, for experiment
No. 5, mark E 5, after seventy-five blows from a 9-lb
hamm.er on. a;n anvil, ~i.ves b~t slightly varied results
from Its ortgmal condit10n-v1z., 27.7 tons tensile per
square inch a s agains t 27. 3, elongation 28 per cent. as
against 29 per cent., practically n o change.
T~st No. 18, R G, compared with N o. 19, S 6, shows the
heahng effects of anneahng upon this material after it has
been hardly dealb with by heater s and hammering. These
two pieces wer e subject ed to identical tr~atment except
ing that No. 19, S 6, was afterwards annealed. ' No. 18
gi ves 33.4 tons per square inch t ensile, against No. 19,
28.~, with a n elongation in 8 in. of only 9 per cent. , as
a.~amst 28 per cen~. of the annealed tes t, proving con clu
s~vely th~ restorative power of annealing, and its n ecesSity and 1mportance as a final process on Siemens steel
that has been heated and worked in any way, whether by
the manufacturer or the boilermaker, if failures are to bo
a voided.
The r esults of a long series of t ests would teach that
the beating and r eheating of Siemens s teel makes little
or no difference to the s tructure of the material when
cold, providing no work has been put upon it between
400 deg. and 600 deg., and also that st eel may be hammered and bent cold without detriment.
Annealing is another of the vexed questions that
sur~ound st eel, and t?~ effect of air cooling has been the
basiS of much theorLsmg upon the causes of failed fur
na.ces, ~ubepla.tes, &c. ' Vholesa.le d eterioration by overannealing has also been charged against this material,
a.~d a r eference to a. series of t ests in Tables I. and II.
will be of service. T est No. 9, I 6, was left in annealing
f~rnace ,f our h ours, heat of furnace 1500 d eg. {taken by
S tamens galvanomet er), a fterwards cooled in open shop,
the result was a d ecr ease of t ensile from 27.2 t o 26.2 tons
and an increase of elongation from 26 per centJ. to 32 per
cent. (compare No. 10, J 6, with No. 9, I 6) ; various
modes of heating and cooling were tried on plate No. 7.
Experiments 20 to 28, Table II., No. 26, G 7, is the
original condition of plate as r eceived from the rolling
mill with a t ens ile of 27. 5 tons per square inch and an
elongation of 34 per cent. in 8 in. No. 20, A 7, h eated to
1100 deg. and cooled off on the railway side-an exposed
place-with the temperature at 45 deg., still gives a t ensile
of 27.5 and an elongation of 33 per cent., and No. 25, }' 7,
heat ed to 1500deg.ina coke fire, and tben cooled offinfour
m inutes by cold blasb ab 10 lb. pressure, gave a t ensile of
28.0 t ons per square inch, and an elonga tion of 27 per
cent., while the annealing, r e-annealing, and cooling four
times in succession of t est No. 12, L 6 (compare with
No. 9, I 6), give decrease of :t ton t ensile and increase of
4 per cent. in elongation. The whole results clearly prove
that air . cooling , even under extreme variations of
temperature, can make n o appreoiable differen ce to this
class of material.
The s ame cannot be said of water cooling, and a. com parison of test s No. 1, A 5, and No. 3, C 5, show a marked
change, and an increase of 10 t ons per square inch
t ensile, and a d ecr eass of 51i per cent. of elongation after
heating t o 1500 d eg. and cooling in water at a t emperature of 60 d eg. , making the material quite unfit for ser vice
without again r eh eating.
Different kinds of work upon test s No. G, F 5, No. 7,
G 5, No. 8, H 5, an d No. 17, Q 6, and a comparison with
original conditions in No. 1, A 5, an d N o. 10, J G, will
t each that whatever the class of work, whether flanging
as in N os. 7 and 8, or the violent distortion of struct ure
by ''jumping up , the tbickne:;s of No. 17, the material,
if annealed after working, is as good as ever. No. G, F 5,
was only partially h eated, and in that condition worked
equally over the whole of its length; the result agrees
w1th the other experiments sh owing the value and n ecessity for annealing, for though the t ensile is only increased
1 ton per square inch, the elongation d ecr eases 62 per
cent.
Table Ill. gives a. similar series of tests and result s
from basic open -hearth steel of comparatively low tensilE',
all cut from one plat e, man ufactured by the P a.rkgate
Iron Company, Limited. The whole of the test pieces
were of a uniform size, 18 in. long by 2 in. wide, and, in
the case of the Siemens steel, were scraps from actual
plates used for the Purves ribbed furnace, and manufac
tured by J ohn l3rowo ~pd Company, Limited .

8os

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

w.

LLOYD WISE.

the part of the oap on which the brake shoe fits, is left a space for
the reception of the loop of a. banger strap from which the brake
beam is suspended, this loop being held in position by a shoulder
on t he cap at one side, and by t he side of t he brake block at the other.
The beam bei n~ thus held loose in the loops of the bangers, is fre e
to revolve partially in t hem, as the brakes are applied and released.

SELECTED A.BSl'RACTS OF REOENT PUBLISHED SPECIFICATIONS

UNDER THE ACTS 1883- 1888.
The number of views given in the Specification Drawings is stated

i n each case ; where none are mentioned, the Specification is

not illustrated.
Where 1 n-v entions are communicated from abroad, the N amea,
~c., of the Communicators are given in italics.
Copies of Specificatunu; may be obtained a t the P atent Ojfice
Fig.2.
Sale Branch, 38, Cursitorstreet, Chancery-la/ne, E .C., at the
un-iform price of 8d.
The date of the adver tisement of the acceptance of a complete
specification is, in each case, given after the a_bstract, unless the
P atent has been sealed, when the date of sealitng is given.
A ny person may at any time within two mo11.ths from the date of The tr uss of the beam is formed by the t wo truss rods, secUled at
t ll.e advertisem-ent of the acceptance of a complete specification, ~h e ends to t he caps of the beam, and pas e in ~ over a strut, which
give notice at the Patent Ojfice of oppositi on to the grant of a IS made of a metal band formed into a loop round the brake beam,
P atent on any of the grounds mentioned i1~ the A ct.
the two halves of the band being secured together at a short distance apart by distance pieces and bolts, over one of which t he
GAS, &e., ENGINES.
t russ rods pass, while t he end bolt serves for the attachment of
15,405. F. J. Fryer, London. Gas Engines. [4 Figs.] the brake lever. ( Acupted .Novembe1 16, 1893).
August 12, 1893.-This invention relates to t he valve ~ear of
380. W. W. Born, London. (V. B. Jt'D onald, Coytee,
gas en~ines, and has for its object to provide means for effecting L ondon, T ennessee, U.S.a.)
Car Coupling. [4 Figs.]
the regulation of the admission ot the gas and air, and to dispense January 7, 1893.-Tbis invention has reference t o a car coupling.
with tbe governor slides used in the Clerk" gas engines. The The end of the oar is provided with a draw head having a fl arin~
\'al \'e d lifts as the piston of t he displacer commences its forward mo~tb. Wi thin this d rawbead is a block pressed for ward by a
stroke, the valve e remain ing closed until the end of the stroke. spnng, the out er end keeping the pin of the coupling in a raised
Air is t hus drawn in through t he inlet c5 and passage g, while gas
is d rawn in through the supply pipe c~ and orifices f 1, and together enter the displacer through the pipe B', wherein they become t horoughly mixed. When the displa.oer piston commences

panking rin~s are placed. Any wear in t he guidin~ rings is comp ensated by set ting out the rings by inser ting lining pieces
between their meeting ends, and securing them by .b~lts
engaging with inner projecting lugs on the ends. The ~u1~10g
rings are also made wi th inner projecting lugs adapted to fit agamst
th e body of the piston block , and provided with a. screw enabling
t he rings to be p roperly centred in r elation to the piston block,
upon the rings being set out to compensate for circumferential
wear by t he insertion of r adial lining pieces. The interm ediate
ring forms a means of separation between and an abutment for
t he adjacent edges of the guiding and the packing r ings. If the
intermediate guiding ring be distensible, it is casb with outer
projecting lugs adapted to fit against t he inner sides of the
angular rings, so as to serve to support and dist end them when
t he intermediate guiding ring is itself distended, the angular
r ings not being made wi th inner proj ecting lugs in this case.
(A ccepted N ovember 15, 1893).

22,428. W. B. Scott, Norwich, Norfolk. Steam

Engines. [6 F igs.] December 7, 1892.-The object of this invention is to pro\'ide means for superheating the steam and pre
venting initial condensation in the steam chest. Extended passages
are proYided, into which steam of very high pressure is passed and
is caused to superheat the motive st eam and prevent condensation.

.2.

Eg.1.

.Th ~ superheatin~

pipes are arranged so that the fluid may freely

dram off, for whiCh purpose they are made in sections connected
at ~heir upper end to a chamber i into which t he superheating
fi_u1~ enters, the lower en~s of tJ?e sections being coanected to a
s1mllar chamber k prov1ded w1th a discharge pipe l throua-b
which the fluid escapes. (.Accepted N ovember 15, 1893).'

Fig.3.

Fi&.Z.

566. R. J. Smith, Sunderland. Cutting Off Scale

from Stays and Plates of Boners. [4 Figs.] January

10, 1893.- Tbis invention relates to means for cutting off scale
position, the pin restin~ upon the outer end of the block and from st ays and plates of boilers. A die A, B is made in hnl ves
being carried in guides fi xed on the upper side of the dra.whead.
IJ 411J
4 l ev~r, bi fur~ated at its end, engages t he upper end of the coup
.Fig. 1:_
.
..2.
l~ng pm, a~d IS fulo~umed ~elow the platform of the car, the oppo
s1te end bemg proVIded w1th means fo r operating it by hand or
its rea.rward stroke the vahrc d closes and t he valve e opens, so foot. (A ccepted .November 15, 1893).
that the explosive mixture in the d isplacer is fo rced through the
17,651. C. M. Poulain, Vltre, France. Snow Plough
pipe Bl, passages cl, c2, c3, past the vahe e into the compression
chamber, wheJ&ein explosion takes place. When the governor for Rai~~ays ~nd T~amways. [4 P igs. ] September J 9,
is i n action both valves are at rest, and consequently a. vacuum is 1893.-Thls m~ent10 n cons1sts of two principal parts (Figs. 2 and
fo rmed in botl:i cylinders, and directly t he speed decreases the 8), t he first, A, mcludin~ t he front, havi n ~an angle of about 25 deg
cams are t hrown into action by means of the governor, and the wi th the cen tre line, and fixed by two hm~es a to the transvers;
engine takes its charge, the cams being so connected with t he stay of the engine, so that it is capable of being raised by a rod b
governor that they are thrown out of action simultaneously, and fi xe? to the_l?wer part at t:. The rod b keeps the part A in any
-
..

both valves remain idle when t he speed of the engine increases d_es.ued pOSition, and allows the engi ne, when necessary, to ru n on
A
}tg.3.
..._.,
,.,.,,' . "...
b eyond t hat for which the governor is set . (Accepted November s1dmgs. The second pa~t, B, which is attached to the lifeguards

and footplate of the engme, fits closely upon the front part A. The
15, 1893).

- -n--o

lt.:,l

...

... _ _ -- i

23,323. J. B. Knight, Farnham, Surrey. Oil and

Gas Engines. [9 Figs.] December 19, 1892. - Tbis invention

,..

. .2.
_Fw
-v_.

~elates t o oil and gas engines, and coneists in makin~ a firing chamber

10 place of a hot tube. In F igs. 2 and 3 the combustion chamber

and vaporiser are one, the former being made so that it can be

Fig .!.

--J

- -

-=.

Fig . 3.

e
f

'

S6G

\\:it~ cutters
d1e IS forced

C fi~ed, and revolved r ound the stay by a worm. Th e

aga10st the plates by a. wedge piece, and t he revolution
cuts off the scale from the parts in contact. (A ccepted N ovember
15, 1893).

MISCELLANEOUS.
7903. E . P . Arnold-Forster, B. Iles, G. and J.
Leach, .B urley-tn-Wharfedale, Yorks. Spinning
~nd ';('Wlstlng Wool, &c. [3 Figs. ] April 19, 1893.- Tbis

mvent10n r elates to spinning wool and other fibrous substance~

and co!lsists in ~he fixing into the lifter rail a vertical support fo;
the ~pmdl e, whiCh pr_events the "wobbling" of the spindle. The
ver t1c_al ~up~or t cons1sts of a met al tube D, the internal diameter
of wh!chts shght~y larger than the diameter of the spindles. This
t ube lS secured mto a base E of larger diameter and d eep er than

.Fig. 3 .

sides of the part A are held at the bottom by a crossbar d aud ties,
and at the upper part by a crossbar g, h , u pon which are
fastened the fLxed parte ot t he hinge!J et.. The r od b holds the apparatus steady when at work, and raises it when required. The
Q F
pa.,ts 9 ql, r, r 1, are curved back to facilitate the fo rcing away
and d1scharge of the snow. Upon the framing is fixed t he sheet
metal t which forms t he outer sides of the apparatus. At th e
lJ ."1
upper part it is curved out to throw down the snow, whiob is also
h eated internally. To do t his it is constr ucted in the form of a t hrown out and prevented from falling baok between the rails.
short tube formi n~ with t he cylinder F a T -piece. A blast of (A ccepted November 16, 1893).
flame J can be driven t hrough the open ends of t he vaporiser H ,
STEAM ENGINES AND BOILERS.
and when it is hot enough the ends are closed by clamps. Means
are provided for coolin~ the water used for cooling the cylinder
6237. 0~ Carr and W . Loek~o~d, Sheffield. Pistons,
of engine. (.Accepted.Novembe1 15, 1893).
~c. [8 Fu.JS. ] March 23, 1893. - ThlS m vention relates to guidIng and stea~-~i ght _parts of piston bl?cks, . &c. T wo ang ular
RAILWAY APPLIANCES.
adjustable g mdmg rmgs a are used oonJunottvely with an inter-

7416. G. E. Church, London, and G. w. Ettenger,

Barrow-tn-Furness. Brake Apparatus for Railway Wagons. [6 F i gs. ] April 11, 1893.- Tbis invent ion r e-

lates to brake appantus in which the bra-ke blocks are applied t o wheels on opposite sides of vehicles, t he two oppo
site blocks being connected to t he ends of a t ransverse beam
suspended from the underframe. The transverse beam g
is constructed of a metal tube, on the ends of which are
fitted metal caps h, the ext ended outer ends of these caps being
made square for fitting into the correspondingly formed bosses of
the metal brake blocks secured to it by a screw bolt passed through
a. bole in t he end of t he cap, befor e this is fitted on the tubular
beam. On the upper and lower sides of the caps near their
inner ends, are formed ol\lique lugs, through holes in which are mediate ring b of fiat section disposed broad wise in relation to the
J>t,88ed the ends of t russ rods i . These rods strengthen the tubular open angl~ of tJ:e j~xtaposed guiding ri~gs on the opposite sides,
beam, and the ends are secur ed by nuts. Between the lugs and and formmg wtth 1t annular recesses m which selfexpa.nsive

7903

the thickness of the lifte r rail C. The lifter r ail C is bored out so
t bat.the top of t he base E ~ests in; a recess, whilst the screwed
P.ort10n passes t hrough the hfter rall and is secured on t he under stde by a nut. _The tu~e and its base t hus secured to the lifter rail
be~omes a vert1cal gUide for the steadying of the ~indle. T be
he1ght. of the tube above the level of the latter r ail1s guided by
the he1g~t of t he bobb~n. On to the level of the lifter plate and
surroundmg t he tube 1s .Placed a metal washer, and 00 to this
wa.sher a boxwood washer 18 placed, between which and the bottom

8o6

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

of the bobbin is a felt washer. Vertical holes ar e drilled into the

ba.se near to the tube, and a hole is bor ed through the tube from
the outside to the inside,_so~e distance from the base up the tube,
tor the purpose of lubr1Cat10n. The vertical holes bold a small
quan~ity of oil for lubricating, and the bole through the tube allows
the <;>1l to pass from the outside of the tube to the inside, and thus
lubr1cate the spindle. The oil from the base is carried upwards
by the revolution of the spindlE'. (Accepted November 15, 1893).

670. W. Weaver, London.

Furnaces.

[2

F igs.]

January 12, 1893.- The object of this invention is to make refuse

furnaces compact, and to prevent the escape of smoke and offensive ~ases and the passing of tine dust into the atmosphere.
Town's refuse is fed into the hoppers! andfl, and as required by
the _process of burning, it is discharged into the furnaces upon the
drymg h earths e, and after wards drawn upon the firegrate c and
c3, where clinkers are formed and withdrawn at intervals through
the furnace doors b1 The asbpits are closed by iron doors, and
a steam jet is attached to create a. draught, and the power used
is derived from the steam generated in boiler hand hl. The products ot combustion pass in the direction of arrows (Fig. 2) to the
lower part of t~ condenser, and enter at n and nl ; they rise
under the low6 hood ql, and then dip through the serrated edges

h is hinged, a peg h2 fixed to the t rigger entering a slot i

inclined in the lower part which is formed in the frame f. On
the pivot b a bent latch is hinged, resting upon a ledge of 1 he
block bl , so that it can turn upwards, a spring being used to
bold it down upon said ledge. A similar set of parts is arrao~ed
in connection with the second pair of cranks on the opposite eide
of the frame f. (.Accepted November 15, 1893).

23,484. H. Gibbon and W. Tyrer, Prescot, Lancs.

Joining and Coupling Pipes. [8 F igs. ] December 20,

Fig . 1.

Fig.J.

Fig.4.
fi:g.2 .
23/JUJ

611. E. Gaunt, w. H. Cockcroft, and S. Best,

Stanningley, Yorks. Drawing-Off Rollers of Noble's in ~he fixed head, and the screw is then fu rther turned, thus
Combing Machines. [5 F i?Js.] January 11, 1893.-Tbis exerting a tension in opposite directions upon the body section

invention relates to the drawing-off rollers of Noble's combing of the clamp through the medium of the fi xed head, and upon the
machines. In addition to the ordinary pair of rollers A, Al, a inner section through the medium of the 'latch and sliding bead.
third one Lis employed of smaller diameter, and is placed as close The outer bearing blocks 14 and 22 are thus made to bear firml y
and securely upon the work, nod when sufficient t ension has beeu
exerted upon the latter, the revolut ion of the screw is discontinued. Ooe eection is capable~of being slid into the other. (.Accepted November 8, 1898).

Fig.1.

---

Fig a.

I :

'

'
I
I '

'
I '
'

UNITED STATES PAT.ENTS AND PATENT PRACTIOE.

Descriptions with illustrations of inventions patented in the
United States of America from 1847 to the present time, and
reports of trials of patent law cases in the United States, may be
consulted, gratis, at the offices oi ENoiNBBRING, 35 and 36, Bedford
street, Strand.
AJ:i~RICAN

T ELEGRAPHY.-Aboub 200 miles of complete

telegraph mate1iel required for the great line_ from _Cape
T own to Cairo has been conveyed up the Beua Ratlway
to Salisbury. A survey of the line from Salisbury to
Tati has been proceeded with during the las t few weeks,
and the construction of the line will be commenced immediately the survey has been completed.

611

Fig.2.
to the comb circle as possible, and approximately midway between
the ordinary rollers, arranged just to clear one roll~r and be ~s
closely in contact with the other aa the leather pass10g round tt
will permi t, so that there Is a pressur e betw.een them _nearly equal
to that between the ordinary ones. The tht~d roller 1s flute~, and
is mounted at each end io ad justable he!l.rmgs M formed m. the
brackets supporting the ordinary rollers. (.Accepted Novembe1 15,
1893).

db ins to links! le made double, one on each side of the

~~~~ef. y ~be pins car;y rollers guided in ho';'izontal slots of the
f
1 The links l le are attached at theu uppar ends by
~amte
b to block~ which move in. ver tical slots of t he
1" 0 8 f ~' To
the frame side a treadle t 1s held by screws. pa.ss15,843. c. J. Lundstrom, D. H. and E. J. Burrell,
i~~:hr~ugh a slot and carrying friction r<;>llers, so thatb1t ?an Little Falls, Herkimer, New York, U.S.A. Centr~
1' d long the frame. Io the treadle a slot 1s forme~, em r~cmg fugal Liquid Separators. l7 F i{Js. ] August 21 , 1893. - Thls
~~e ~rook a l ; a stud is fixed on the treadle, on whtch a trtgger

..,

directly agajnst ~hich ~be upper die can be for ced: This upper
die has a projectmg pomt, wb1ch, when forced agamst the beam
g, produces a hole which tb~ cutte~, on forcing the die, further
enlarges, cutting away a sectiOn, which falls throug h the t rans
verse slot in the matrix. (.Accepted N ovembe1 15, 1893).

'

and is bung loosely upon the spin_dle, a. sleeve C sur!ou'!ld

ingo the latter within t he lower porlton of the hub, a y1eld1og
riog d being interposed between the sleeve an~ the bowl.
A step bearing ex tends below the lower end . of _tb~ spmdle, a step
being secured in the bearing and an antt fnc~: on ball of lt> s~
diameter than the spindle arranged loosely 1n the chamher
between the spindle and the step. (Accepted No vember 15, 1893).
relates to clampt~. When the t wo sections have bee~ drawn ap~r t
far enough to permit the bea.rin~ blocks 14 and 22 tn te,g-ral wt th
them to engage with the outer edges of the work to be clamped, a
latch 25 is lifted and the head 23 slid forward in the direction of a
fi xed head 15, until the latch has engaged with the underc~t portion of a recess 20 nearest to the fixed bead . When the latch 1s tbus
engaged a screw 26 is turned un til a ball 27 ha'3 entered the socket

..

11,3~8

17,843. B. Kells, Astoria, Queens, Ne~ . Yot:k,

U.S.A. Clamps. [5 Jligs. ] September 22,1893. - Tbts m ventiOn

Fig. 7.

and pass into and through water held upon the lower tray lp. The
depth of water through which t~e. smoke a?d _products of combustion pass is regulated by hftmg or lo" ermg the hoods by
means of the screw s lever t, axle u, and bandwheel. The1
s~rew s allows each hood to be adjusted separately , so that q
di s more or less than q'!. or q3. The gases pass from lp t ray to
2 ptray and then to 3p t ray, and afterwards throug~ the perfor~ted plate x, meeting beneath it a shower of water falhng tbro~gb
the perforations in the plate. If necessary, a. layer of matena~
such as coke; is spread upon the upper surface o~ the perforate
pld.te x to still further purify the smoke bef<;>re 1t passes _out at
the top of the condenser. The water used 1n C?Ddenser 1s ~up
plied through pipe w. The products of_ combust1on 1 not retamed
in the condenser pass out at the opemng Y and Y (.Accepted
November 15, 1893).
17 358. A. P. D. Leval, Meuse, France. Convert~ng
BecttUnear Motion into Rotary Motion. [7 F tgs.]
~e tember 15 1893.-This invention relates to means for conv_ertio: reciprocating rectilinear motion into ~ontinuous rot_a.ry mohou.
In a fume f a four-throw crankshaft o 1s supp<;>r ted JD bearings.
To the pins r' and p ' of cranks r and p, connect1ng-rods m an~ n
are respectively attached, the other ends of these rods bemg

1892.-This invention has for its object to provide a method of

and means for joining and eoupling pipes and tubes without
soldering them, and comprises a tubular union 0 which externally is slightly tapered from the middle, towards each end,
and flanges D, Dt for coupling the ends together. To join the

pipes the flange is placed on the end of one of the pipes, and the
union 0 pressed into the l&tter so as to expand its end and form
a flaring mouth, the end of the otht>r pipe h ein~ similarly
treated. The two flanges are pulled together by bolts H, and
as the Baring ends for m stops for the flanges by which they can
be pulled off, the pipes are drawn fi r mly against the conical
ends of the union and a tight joint is obtained. (Accepted
No-vember 15, 1893).
23,960. A. Klostermann, Cologne, German Empire.
Cutting Iron Beams. [9 F igs. ] December 28, 1892.- Io
this invention the iron beam to be cut. is p laced on a mat rix a,
shaped to serve as a bed, and provided with a transverse slot c,

Fig . 7.

in vention rela~es to centrifugal separating machines. A hollow

separr.ting cone K extends diagon ally through the liquid space
of the bowl B from the boLtom towards the cream outlet, and
terminates with its small ' etd near the lattE'r. The cover E is
provided with a contre.oted neck e, in which the outlets for the
cream and skim milk are arranged. Blades are formed on the
outer surface of the cone and extend th rough 1he liquid spac e
between the cone and bowl. A hub extends from the bottom

N EW ZEALAND T ELEGRAPH EXTENSIONS.-Theexp()nditure out of theNew Zealand Public Works fund on account
of telegraph construction, and for th e ~xtension of the
telephone exchange system throughout the colony,
amounted, during the past financial year, to 29,245l. ; of
this sum 5287l. was expend ed on telephone exchanges.
Of the new lines erected during the past year for the
extension of t elegraphic communication, the most imJ>Ortant are those to Toko, Awanui, Bla<:kburn, and
Birmingham in the North Island ; and Banks Peninsul_a ,
Taipo, Shag Point, Five Rivers, and Stanley Brook m
the South I sland. In the estimates for the present yE>ar
an expenditure has been provided for which is intendE::d
to cover liabilities of 6716l., existing at the com
mencement of the finan cial year, and sundry exten&ions,
including a line t o P eel ForeE. t and a telephone ex<;hange
ab Matoura.
,

THE END OF THE FIFTY-SIXTH VOLUME.