Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Engineering Vol 69 1900-02-16
Engineering Vol 69 1900-02-16
N G I N E E R I N G.
207
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Fig.18. ;
Fig. 11.
Revs .
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11.
FIG.
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per
M~
412 .
V .ALVE
ENGINE.
Coming to details of construction, it will be obser.ved that the engine is of the central valve type.
Thts valve works in a valve casina which is
pierced wit_h fiv~ rows of ports, lettered, as shown .
Arou~d th1s ca.smg fits the annular piston, having
two p1Ston-rods, as sl~own in Fig. 10, which pass
throug~ glands a.ccess1ble from the exterior, as indicated, mto the crank chamber, where each is bolted
to a crosshead running in a bored guide. The
upl?er ends of these guides terminate in complete
cylmders, and the hack of each crosshead forms a.
plun~e.r fi.ttin~ the ?orresponding cylinder, thus
providing an air cushwn, which serves to maintain
the connecting-rod in constant thrust even when
the engine is running on merely a f~iction load.
The connecting-rod consists of two steel castings
bolted together as shown in Fig. 12, and bushed
at .the upper end to take the crosshead pin,
wh1lst at the lower they are bolted to the crank
brasses. It will be seen that the arrangement
serves to ve~y effect~ally distribute the pressure over
t he ~rankp~n, the lme of thrust not being central,
as wtth a smgle r od. Splash lubrication is relied
o~ ~hrougho~t.
T~e bushing for the crosshead
pm IS acco:dingly pi~rced as shown in Fig. 13, and
t~e val~e lmkwork Is. fitted at nearly every joint
w1th 01l catchers, whtch collect the spra.yed oil
~nd . con~ey it to the bearings. The valve gear
1s, 1t w_1ll be seen, of the link type. A bell
crank p1voted to the crank chamber is connected
at the one end by a link with a pin near the
c_e ntre ~f the connecting-rods, and by a second
lmk w1th the valve spindle.
The projectina
lugs shown on the .latter links in Fig. 9, repre~
sent some of. th~ oil-catchers already mentioned .
There are, 1t w11l be seen, five series of ports in
the valve casing, three sets above and two sets below
t~e diaphragm shown. . The portion above this
dtapbragm forms the htgh-pressure steam chest.
The upper series of ports A merely serve to admit
the steam, which, we may add, is all drawn through
the jacket to this steam chest, and thence passes
t~rough t~e. sp~'al ports marked C to the top of the
ptston, dnvmg 1t down. At the proper point steam is
c~t oft' by t he valve co~ering the ports 0 and expansiOn commences. As 1t proceeds on its downward
path t he pist?n ultimately uncovers the ports E, but
the latter betng closed by the lower valve behind
them no steam passes through until the piston reaches
the end of its travel. At this point the lower valve
opens a pa~h ~etwee~ ~h~ ports E and the ports G,
thus estabhshmg eqUihbrLUm between t he two sides
of the piston , and the latter under t he thrust of the
crank begins its return journey, and, later on,
covers the ports E, and, accordingly at this point
of its path. expansion begins below the J?iston and
compression above, which is continued till the end
of t he stroke, at which point the lower valve uncovers the port G to exhaust, and the cycle just
described recommences.
The engine is governed by altering the cut-off,
which is accomplished by rotating t he upper valve
on its spindle. The steam ports being spiral, as
shown, a small rotation of this valve makes a large
alteration in the point of cut-off. This movement
of the valve is effected by a fork clearly shown in
Fig. 10, which in turn is operated by a link from
the vertical shaft shown to the right. This shaft
rests on a ball-bearing footstep, and is connected
by suitable link work with the shaft governor
shown in Figs. 14 to 16. The essential feature of
this governor is a heavy ring pivoted to the governor casing at G. When at rest this ring is forced
against a stop .A. by t he spring shown, but its centre
of gravity being eccentric with the shaft, it tends
to shift over when running towards a second stop
B. The tension of the spring is so adjusted that
t he two extreme positions of the ring correspond
to a difference in speed of only
per cent. The
point C of t he ring is connected by a link with the
bell crank E pivoted on the governor casing. The
other arm of this crank, the end of which is concentric with t he shaft centre, is connected by a second
link with an arm keyed to t he vertical shaft, the
arrangement being, perhaps, most clearly shown
by Fig. 16, which also gives evidence of the fact
t hat all t he link work is p rovided with ball-andsocket joints. Any motion of the shifting ring is
thus translated into a partial rotation of the vertical shaft. A spring connected to a second arm
on this shaft opposes a r esistance to its rotation by
the governor as the speed rises, and by altering t he
tension of t his spring, t he engine can be speeded
up or down as occasion may require, t he range
usually allowed for, being about 5 per cent. The
lt
E N G I N E E R I N G.
[FEB.
'
16 m. x 8 in .
Da.tes or test, January 26 and 29, 190).
ou pu ,
amperes llO volt.s.
Enginf:l size, single
OUTPUT.
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410
412
412
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330
220
110
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no
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48. 4
36. 3
24 .2
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57. 6
48.4
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32.6
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18.8 1
33. 9
28. 5
2 L.3
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30.18
23.31
1 5. l
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Pressure. Pressure.
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DI .\G RAMS.
Ind icated
HorsePower.
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1230
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658
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1300
1008
735
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19.16
20 1
21.5
24.2
16.82
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75. 6
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83.0
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Load
Speed
414
412
HO
4 )8
Full
408
governor i~ very ~apid in its action., owing to the I valves are extremely ligh t, and are kept in
fact ~hat. 1n. add.1t1?n to the c~ntnfuga.l force of place by light springs as indicated in Fig. 22.
the rmg 1ts. Inert ia IS also c~lled Into play. Sho~ld ~ach of these springs fits at its other end
the spe~d rise tl~e heavy ring tends to la.g belund Into a r ecess in a valve cap, which cap is
the casing, and IS thus ~oved over tow~rd.s t he ~ho,~n separately. in Fig. 31. The cylinder cover,
stop B, consequently ~hutting off steam: St~tularly, It w11l be seen, 1s hollow, and it is, we may add,
o~ a sudden. decrease In the speed, the 1nertla of the connected with t he water jacket so that t he cyrmg.m~kes It move towards~, g iving the maximum linder is jacketed at the end as '~ell as round the
admtssion of steam to t he cylmder.
barrel. A portable compressor arranaed for
Trials of the engine have given very good r esults electric driving is shown in Figs. 34 t o 3B. The
b oth as to steam economy and as to constancy of compressor and its motor are, it will be seen
spee~. We give above a Table showing a series secured to one bed plate which in turn rests on thre~
of tnals on an engine having a cylinder 16 in. in steel cylinders forming the air recei,er.
dia meter by 8 in. stroke, constructed for the BabA t hird special manufacture of t he firm is the
cock and Wilcox Boiler Company, R enfrew. The air hoist, of which we gave illustrations in our last
makers undertook to supply this engine in the short issue, Figs. 7 and 8, page 177. These hoists are
space of four weeks from the date of the receipt of made to stock sizes, and are, it will be seen of very
the order. The engine in question is coupled direct ~~mple construction. They are generally fitted to a
to a dynamo. T ests with and without a condenser Jib 6ft. or 7ft. long, as shown in Fig. 7. Damage
were made, and the diagrams given in Figs. 17 and 18 to the hoist, from being started accidentally without
represent ~~o of those taken, and are fairly typical a load, is prevented by an air cushion at the top
of the general r esults obtained under the two con- which is provided for by drilling the leakaae hole'
ditions. The general efficiency is, it will be seen, some distance from the top of the cylin<le~. Th~
excellent, the figures when workin 0a n on-condens- piston OD: its up-str?ke covers this hole, imprisoning being especially good.
mg the air left, and 1s thus brought quietly to rest.
A second speciality of t he firm is the four-cy- The r ods, we may add, are drawn sections, needina
linder air compressor, illustrated in Figs. 19 to 36, no machining save screwing and shoulderina
0 at th:
page 211. This compressor is arranged to be driven ends. The air supply is taken through a fiexible
either by belting, by an electric motor, or by a steam hose coupled to the valve shown at the top of
eng ine. It consists of four compressing cylinders t he ~ -in. gas pipe. This is a non-return valYe,
fixed in a circular casing, as shown in Fig. 20. The and prevents the sudden descent of the load
cylinders are provided with trunk pistons, and in the case of burst hose or similar accident. A
have connect ing-rods engaging a common crank, two-way valve not shown in the engraving serves
as shown most clearly in Fig. 25. It will be seen for the admission or release of t he air, and consethat the connecting-rods have only a small bearing quent rise or descent of the pist on. In addition
on t he crankpin, and are held in place by two to the aboe products, the firm, having been put
keeper rings, as shown. The pin at t he piston on t he ~dmiral ty list, are now engaged on the
end is hollow, and serv es as an admission valve construct10n of 36 sets of fans and enaines
for
0
during t he suction stroke. D etails of t his valve three battleships, the engines of which are n ow
arrangement are shown in Figs. 28 and 29. There being built by the Thames Iron Works, whose
are also suction ports in the cylinders, as clearly managing director, Mr. A. F. Hill, is also chairshown in Figs. 22 and 24, which are uncovered by man of l\1:essrs. R eavell and Co.
the piston when it reaches t he end of its outstroke.
All the air entering the cylinders is accordingly
HAND
AND
MACHINE
LABOUR.
drawn from the crank chamber through a grid valve,
(C<Ynti nued f rora page 176.)
shown in Figs. 19 and 20. The delivery of the
CLOCKS AND \V ATCHES.
compressor, is varied, according to the demand, by
F oR many years the foreign trade in American
opening or closing this grid, and thus wire-drawing
the air in its passage to the crank-chamber, This clocks and watches has been increasing, until at
is effected automatically by the arrangement shown the present time it is of very large proportions, t he
in Fig. 21. A weighted lever tends to open the chief part of this export business being confined to
RI'id to it s fullest extent, but at its unloaded end timepieces of low and moderate prices. Factories
this lever is attached to a small plunger working in like t hose of Waltham, Ansonia, vVaterbury, and
a cylinder connected by a pipe with the receiver others, tur'n out enormous quantities of clocks and
for the compressed air. As the receiver pressure watches, for besides the export trade, t he home
rises, this plunger is forced down, and raising demands of more than 60 millions of people are,
the weight t hrottles the suction, as alr eady ex- of course, very great. Machinery, as we shall
plained.
The cylinders are water-jacketed, as see presently, has quite revolut ionised the industry,
shown in Fig. 20, and are corrugated with a and there are no more beautiful labour-saving
view to increasing t he exchange of heat between devices in existence, than the long series of delicate
t he cylinder walls and the cooling water. The and seemingly intelligent machines that tirelessly
cylinders all d eliver into a circular passage complete, with absolute accuracy, t he smallest details
around the casing, as indicated in Fig. 20, and of watch mechanism. The manufacture of watches
r eady access to the delivery valves is attained by machinery is carried out on a large scale in this
through the covers shown. These valves are of country by the L ancashire Watch Company, of
steel, being cut from the solid r od in the J ones and Prescott ; these works are chiefly, if not entirely,
Lamson lathe. They are shown in detail in Fig. 32, equipped with American t ools, and it is, therefor e,
whilst the guides are illustrated in Fig. 33. These reasonable to suppose that the same operations are
6, 1900.
T ABLE
TA BLE
Date...
.. .
. ..
.. .
1850
1896
Number of different opera302
423
tions involved ...
. ..
Number of workmen employed . ..
.. .
.. .
38
105
N urn her of hours worked 7352 h. 26 m. 886 h. 9 m.
Cost of labour .. .
. .. 1128.192 dols. 177.631 dole.
Average rate of wages
1.0 to
per day ...
...
. .. 1.25 to
2.50 dols.
1.50 doh .
progress in clock-making machinery during 60
years, rat her than the difference between hand and
machine work . The motive power used in 1850
was, of course, water, and it will be seen from
Table XXVII., that in modern practice the number
of operations has been largely reduced, although
nearly three times the number of hands are employed to produce the same result. The cost of
material in clock movements is very insignificant,
so that the int erest on, and the depreciation of,
plant, would be practically the only addition to be
made to the labour cost in order to arrive at the
net cost of the product. In Table L~VIII. a. list
is given of some of the principal operatwns
carried out in this indust ry. It shows the nu~1ber
of hours occupied under t he primitive mach~ery
method, and that of recent date ; in no case ts an
operation included in which the saving of ti me is
not at least six-fold.
The foregoing figures are very instructive,. as
showing t he enormous advance in clock-makmg
machinery during half a century. The last two
it ems suggest the cl'udeness and imperfection of
the means employed fifty years ago, and the
existence of much larger factories. It is worthy of
*For a. description of the Lancashire \Vatch Corn
pany's \Vorks, we refer our readers to ENGINEEBINGt
vol. 1vi., pages 1, 33, and 69.
E N G I N E E R I N G.
OrERATIO~.
..
..
..
.
..
..
..
..
..
..
..
..
..
..
..
Donkey lathes ..
.,
. . Furnace . .
..
..
. . Press and steel
Gas furnace
L!lthe
...
.,
_
..
11
..
,.
..
Furnace ..
. . Grinding lathe
Drilling lathe
Fles
...
Cloth
..
..
.
..
..
Time Worked.
Work Done.
1850.
1896.
h. m.
257 0
42 10
34 0
11 40
150 30
35 0
6 30
h. m.
10 20
.,
,. springs ..
..
..
..
8 l3
., main wheels . .
..
..
. . 102 25
., click spring staples..
..
. . 11 0
., washers
..
..
..
..
7 SO
., ratchets
..
..
..
. . 4-127.5
.,
.,
hooks
..
..
1 0
., e~ket wheel . .
..
..
32 SO
., thick dial wheel
..
..
. . 16 35
., centre washers
..
..
. 10 60
., third strike wheel, arbor, pinions,
&c. ..
..
..
..
.. 210 13
., thin dial wheel, arbor and collet 108 48
., third and fourth time wheels,
arbors, and pinions
..
. . 337 17
,. count wheel ..
..
..
.. 43 30
., fly wing, arbor, and pinion
. . l f6 66
., pendulum bob wire
..
35 0
.,
,,
,
nut..
..
.. 13 0
., bands, including h our hand 700 0
socket
..
..
..
..
., key
..
..
..
..
. . 82 20
J{eeping machinery in order
..
. . 7,3 20
Overseering . .
..
..
..
. . 1466 40
4 0
25
l OA~
lOA3 12
0 1.6 437!
1 80
100!
0 4
626
0 2.4 162!
~
0 8
61~
21
0 4.4 150
0 24
18!
222!
0 12
15
0 4
1 14
26l
1 35
10
27
0 2!
4 63.3
36 17
15 37
6
7
52 24.9
4 6.7
24 59 1
6l
3 10
0 27
10!
6!
ll
29
9 7
3 53
4 10
41 40
..
..
plate
..
.
..
77
2L
176
35
..
..
..
Sex of
Worker.
T ime.
111
h. m.
0 42.8
DrALs.
Rate of
Pay.
F
M
&f
F
F
M
M
F
F
F
M
11'
}I"'
3 47
0
1
5
3
1
2
1
3
4
8
1
4
65.6
15
33.3
20
26 7
0
24.7
20
45.7
3S
40
0
.M
F
F
F
M
F
lt[
M
M
M
~cent
l OO
11Jfl
100
100
h our
10')
100
100
h our
.1 1!
,
,
14 17.1
.15
.10!
.10!
5
5
0
0
.10!
.IO;
14 17.1
.11
16
7
0
16
40
24
40
40
.20
.27
4
0
.Oli
.2 i
.20
.03
.01!
..
4 10
1 0
.15
.20
.15
.20
..
100 ..
.36
.02!
.1()!
.15
F'
M
100 dials
.1 06~
lOO
1000
.02 d ol.
. 21!
.02+
.07{h
.04 t
.O'i
.03
.02,\
.15
}<'
}t'
F'
l OO
0
8 20
0
2 20
16
1
9
8
27
40
26.7
6.4
20
46
5 0
chief dilference is in the detail of winding in firstclass movements, stem winding having largely
superseded the key. The change in detail has
r..abou r involved more complicated mechanism, and altoCost.
-- gether the modern watch may be regarded as a
more perfect product. The comparison is instituted
between 1000 stem wind, brass, hunting watch move.0000
ment, 18 size, full plate, 15 j ewels; and 1000 stem
.2140
wind, brass, hunting watch moYements, 18 size, full
.251)
plate, patent regulator, 17 jewels, adjusted. The data
.730
____ ,__
P er
Lathe
..
..
..
Punching press ..
..
Files
..
..
..
Staking tool
..
..
Tweezers. .
..
..
Blowpipe..
..
..
Stone jars
..
..
Drop press
..
..
Sifting p rocess machine
..
Eoamehng machine .
Gas furnace
.
..
..
..
Automatic was hing machine
1ooo WATcrr
209
,
,
25 dials
100
.
100
100
l(Q
hour
100
100
hour
l"OO
1000
100
.450
.400
. 300
.210
.5000
6 0
3.600
.250
.4:.0
.4'20
.9583
2. U 28
.5260
.5250
.4:00
4.400
2.000
3.700
.1500
2.800
.OL:i3
.300
.180
.300
.350
2.000
.1500
2.000
.500
1.250
2.500
8. 600
1.200
.350
1.500
1.0<.0
2.1(;0
.400
.300
XXXII.-Part1'culars of the Principal Operations in ltfaki'lt(J One Thousand P irst ()lass Watch
ltDn:ements.
TABLE
Time Worked .
Operation.
Hand.
100
scr ew holes
..
..
..
M
.8~
100
100
..
p1n
..
..
..
..
M
5 0
.07
h our
brass
..
..
..
..
M
10 0
.10
100
M
5 93
.2L
100
lf(
clearance
..
..
..
..
1 0
.O l
100
Punching balance cook from
..
M
2 61
.03
lUO
sheet brass
..
..
..
Trimming balance cook and
r ough-cutting bole . .
..
industry, and Table XXX. details of the principal Drilling, cupping, and counter
sinking screw bole in heel ..
operations,
most
of
which
are
grouped
together
for
Punching and cupping screw
.,
.,
pinion ..
..
TABLE XXX.-Time Worked on Certain Pa;rts of Watch Staking fourth pinion to fourth
wheel ..
..
..
..
Cases wnder H ctnd ctnd ltfctchin-e ltiethods.
Making hour wheel
..
..
.,
minute wheel and minute pinion
..
..
..
Times
as
Time Worked.
Long under Making escape wheel and pinion
Polishing pallet arbor pivots ..
Hand as
Operation.
Making and setting palletstones
under
Hardening and tempering fork
Machine
lland
Machine
Making guard pin for fork, hair
Method.
Method. Method.
spring, collet spring, and
h airspring stud pin . .
..
Alloy ing, drawing, and rolling h. m.
h . m.
Putting guard pin into fork . .
gold and blanking pendant
164 10
A 58
22
Making balance staff . .
..
Annealiug gold . .
..
..
13 2
1 0
33!
,
table roller, including
Making centre . .
..
. . 109 43.4
20 24
bt
staking ..
..
..
..
,
g lass beztl
..
..
68 3.3
10 22
6t
Making and putting in table
,.
oop
..
..
.. 116 6.0
11 18. 7
1 0~
roller jewel pin
..
..
,
back cover
..
. . 110 0. 0
11 18.7
l Ot
Making balance, hairspring,
,.
front cover
..
. . 116 6 6
lL 1s. 7
1U!
c:>llet, and stud
..
..
pendant, except blank
Making \Vinding wheel . .
.
"
1~,\ing
..
..
..
..
50 0
4 0
.,
,
"
bridge. .
Making joint stays and thumb
,
click
..
..
..
piece
..
..
..
..
61 ~3.3
2 2
25~
., <'lick spring
..
..
Maki ng joints . .
..
..
45 60
1 ~9
81
,. intermediate winding
Tying joint stn.ys, &o., in plnce
60 0
10 0
2!
wheel ..
..
..
..
..
. . 60 0
10 0
Soldering stays, &c.
5
Making crown wheel . .
..
Frazing centre for spring a . .
33 20
2 0
16!
,.
intermediate
setting
Engine turning . .
..
. . 100 0
9 0
11
wheel ..
..
..
..
Engraving
..
66 40
16 40
4
Making setting lever . .
..
Polishing ...
. 2i5 0
22 50
12
,
winding wheel bridge
sc rew ..
..
..
..
Making clic k spring screw
,. setting lever screw . .
It should be remarked that the cases made in
,,
case screws
..
..
dial foot screws . .
..
1850 were all for key-winding watches, and those
11
.,
dial
..
..
..
in 1897 for stem winding, in which the work is
hour hand and socket..
"
somewhat more complicated.
.
,.
minute hand . .
..
second band and socket
11
Watches.- The comparison instituted between the
dust band
..
..
11
.0;
100
h.
m.
83 20
166 40
Machine
b.
m.
0 7.4
676.5
7 52
2l
83 20
4 49.6
17.5
83 20
0 7.4
675.5
83 20
4 64.1
17
250 0
0 7.4
2027
250 0
6 3.6
41.6
33 20
4 2.3
8.5
50 0
2 38.a
1 6
166 40
11 6.8
15
50 0
16 40
5,883 20
349 so
2,100 0
2
2
4-l
72
7
9.6
28.
19 .
62
6.2
s ,.
28
6.6
133
5
295.6
6,7CO 0
2,366 40
2,100 0
6,533 20
118 b8
51 42
5 b1
117 48
166 40
2,100 0
6,533 40
3 7.5
6 51
117 50
63.5
3119
65.5
166 40
716 40
3 7.5
53.5
85.5
1,883
8,733
1,000
9,083
33
20
20
0
20
20
10
140
26
92
23
20.7
M
19
11
25.2
56.5
46
359
66.5
182
62
3'3
98.5
79.6
150 0
33 20
5, 783 i O
2 28
61
10 16
86 2.7
67
1, 750 0
61 23
28.5
2,033 20
C5 69
31
12,516
733
400
683
f83
40
~0
0
20
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823
15
3
13
17
16. ~
58
37
1 66
3.5
lfi
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100.5
60
356.5
1,050 0
1,050 0
10 20
25 54
101.5
1,050 0
660 0
16 30
01 0
636
10.5
60
'
260
260
250
bOO
760
1,800
1,800
1,633
1,-00
1,050
0
0
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0
0
1 49
211
1 40.9
6 39
2
260
]1
13
42
9
20
16
6.2
1.7
40.5
43
137 6
114
148.5
ss.;;
320
7
162
L25.5
142
108
E N G I N E E R I N G.
210
[FEB. I 6,
900.
'
BY
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A ND
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LIMITED,
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dole., by the use of machinery this was reduced to are dismissed in one line have to pass through a subdivision of labour into which the watch in1. 79 dols. Another important point is that, whereas long series of hands before compleliion. Thus the dustry is divided, as well as of the rates of pay,
under the old system only four operat ions were dials have to undergo 44 operations ; each of and the times occupied. A remarkable conlirast
conducted by female labour, under t he new no the hands from 12 to 15; making the barrel and between hand and machine work is shown in the
less than 650 operations are done by women, who head 16, and so on. Most of the workmen in this detail of punching the balance cock from sheet
earn relatively large wages. There are few impor- t rade appear t o be paid by t he piece, 100 or 1000 brass ; under the old method this operation took
tant industries which can show so marvellous a parts a the ea e may be. As an example of the 250 hours, and it only requires 7.4 minutes by the
development. It is impossible t o follow the whole subdivision of labour and the mode of payment, new met hod. There appears, no doubt, that the
of the 1088 operations that go to make a watch, we select that part of the industry relating t o movements nowmade, although so much cheaper, are
but in Table XXXII., on the preceding page, the making dials. It should be premised that as the superior to those produced under the old system.
(To be continued.)
principal processes are recorded, being in most cases same person attends to more than one machine,
grouped together, so as to give a good idea of the sometimes t o four or five, it dues not follow t hat
operations. Of course, in this list a large numbe~ of there are as many employes as t here are operations.
B ERLIN AND TE'M'IN.-A canal is proposed between
the opert\tions are omitted, and most of those wh1ch , Table XXXIII. will give an idea of the minute , Berlin and Stettin. The cost is estimated at 2,080,000l,
F EB. I 6,
E N G I N E E R I N G.
900.]
211
BY
:ME S R .
REA V ELL
AND
IP S WI OH.
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RO PORTS.
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DETAIL OF VALVE
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E N G I N E E R I N G.
212
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Fig713
--t -
.FifJ.714.
1-t- - - - -
--
--+- - 1--
- - - - - -
360 deg.
1 5 0ENTIMF..TRE H owiTZER oN CENTRALPl V<,TED DisAPPEARING CARRI AGE WITH C IRCULAR B RAKE.
Can-iaye.
Weight of gun
,
carrtage ...
,.
projectile
:1\I uzzle velocity
...
Training
. ..
. ..
Elevation
. ..
. ..
+ 15 deg. - 5 d eg.
E N G I N E E R I N G.
'Eti
:
Weight of gun
.. .
.. . 440 kilog~. ( 970 lb. )
,
mounting
.. . 18(J0 ,
(39G7 , )
lVIuJ.;.te vel~~i~;c~ile...
:::
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6
6
Elevation
...
f
d
v
T . .
..
.. rom 0 eg. to + 60 deg.
rammg
...
...
...
through 3GO deg.
This n~ortar. is of similar construction to that of
lihe how~tzer Just ~ cscribed. The mounting has
b.een des1gned spee1a1ly for plunging fire. It cons t~ts of the following main parts, a bolster with
slide and beam. The boh,ter is of the same
ype as t he preceding <ne. The slide rests on a
set of rollers, a!ld is held in place by two clamps
that. ~ear on a nm of the bolster, t hus insuring the
stability of the system, and preventinO' its raising
when the gun fired. The beam consists ~f two arms
s t.rengthened with. ribs, and in which the gun trun~
ntons are fitted ; 11i turns r ound a shaft c.:1.rried in
two blocks cast in one piece wilih the slide. Between the shaf t and the beam are placed indiarubber sleeves for deadeninO' the shock produced
'~hen the gun is fired. Th: beam arms are contmued below the shaft for making connections of
the 1~1ovabl~ r.e~oil cylindera. The piston is fixed
and 1t::; rod Is. JOmte~ o~ the slide. A set of springs
surrounds this rod 1ns1de the cylinder and forms
the rec~pen~oto~ f~r running out the gun. The
hydrauhc reco1l 1s of t he type with central
counterrod already described. 'l'wo rods hold
the chase of the gun, one being jointed on a collar
filited to the g un, the other p1voting round the
beam axle.
Latera~ training is obtained by working the
system d trect by means of a lever similar to the one
for the 16-centimetre howitzer. vVhen the O'Un is
trained in t he position required, the levt-r is let go
and the jaws with which it is fitted hold fast the
p~alform.. For ele~ating the gun, a leYer is pronded wluc~ works 1n a socket in one piece with the
rod that p1vots round the beam axle ; t.he chase of
tho gun is thus acted upon direct to obtain the
~eg,u~red i.ncline, ~.screw holding fast t he gun when
1t 1s m finng pos1t10n. A scale is marked on the
left-hand trunnion plate.
155-Milli?nelre (6.102-In.) Ct,1 ,d 120-!J.tiillimet1e
00 ':n. ((
2!3
a
r ec01l to the flowmg of the hqu1d remams practically. constant. Th e ~lide is of cast steel , and
co~s1sts of. a movable part., with two oscillating
g.Uides, wh10h carry the slide-shoes of the carnag~, and of the fixed frame, formed of two
vert10al cheeks strengthened by ribs and firmly
stayed together. .These cheeks are joined at their
lower .par~ by a c1rcular plntform, in the thickness
of wluch 1s made the racer for the friction balls.
The . centre part of the platform constitutes the
vert~cal cylinder i~ w~ich fits the fixed pivot of the
carnage bolster; 1ts Circumference is provided with
cla~ps that prevent t he shifting of the system. A
honzontal shaft i~ placed at the top part of the
cheoks, r ound wh10h the movable slides oscillate.
The .percussion. rec?il .c~linder contains a piston,
the ro~ of w luch I? Jomted at its top part to
the. m~ddle c.ross-p1ece that joins together the
os01ll~tt~g g':udes. When the piston descends,
the hqUI~ . dr1ven by it ~cts on a movable plunger
that bears on a cross-p1ece loaded with two sets
of Belleville ~prings; ~his takes pJace when,
un~er the act~on of . firmg, t~e oscillating slide
turns down on 1ts hori zontal ax1s. When recoil is
spent, and the. motion of the guides ends, the rec~perator sprmgs relax, and cause the system to
rise at a moderate S,Peod ; and .wh~n t he two guides
have r esumed ~heu n~r~al mchne, the carriage
resu!Des the firmg pos1t10n, under t he acliion of
gra~l~Y The carria~e. can also be fixed in any
pos1t10n by means s1m1lar to those described for
the .1? -cent~metre howitzers and mortarE1, namely,
by JOinted Jaws on the rim of the lower platform.
A groove lB cut round the circumference of the
bolster, to form a. roller-path for the balls ; its
central part f~rms the vertical pivot round which
the movable shde revolves. The bolster is provided
also wit h a ring for bolting it to the foundation.
Lateral training is obtained by acting direct on
the system by means of levers that wodc in sockets
forming part ?f the .Platf~rm. The position can be
regulated durmg firmg, either by sightinrt a distan ~
point or by means of Lhe scale on the b~lster. In
ccr~a.in ~ases the required elevation can be given by
actmg dtrect on one of the gun trunnions with a
square- studded lever ; a screw brake serves to fix
the gun wh~n it h~s been ~iven the re~uired angle.
F or measurmg th1s the stght scale lS used with
movable slide. In cases of masked firina,
a ~irror
0
placed in front of the sight objective, allows the
regulating of the gun on an objective chosen at thA
side. Several pieces of ordnance of this type built
at t he IIa.vre Works, are fitted also with a special
elevating gear, which comprises a crank a set of
conical pinions, aud an endless screw, ~orking a
toothed wheel t hat acts on the left trunnion of the
howitzer.
p ALAOE.
...
E N G I N E E R I N G.
2I4
[FEB. I 6, I 900.
--
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_/1i=
A.. ~~~
F4J. 704 .
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Fi[j. 7015.
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""
15-CENTIMETRE
SCHNEIDER-CANET
HOWITZER
ON
CARRIAGE.
DISAPPEARING
t-r1
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-------FIG. 722
FIG.
723.
216
E N G I N E E R I N G.
ends of the palace is particularly fortunate;
from the plan it will be seen to consist of
two corner pavilions connect ed by a boldly
curved fa~ade; the eng raving shows very clearly
ihe d et ails of the front of one of the pavilions,
though nothing can be seen of the end fa~ade.
These pavilions are hexagonal, and access is gained
either through the galleries, or by a bold flight of
s teps from the outside ; the hexagonal pavilion on
the g round floor is repeated on the upper story.
It is almost needless to explain t hat all the ga~
leries running around the building on t he lo wer
level are also repeated on th~ higher floor. The
upper galleries will be lighted from above, the
lower ones by windows opening on the colonnade
and also by other openings giving u pon the main
hall. W e fear that the ligh ting of t hese lo wer
galleries will leave n1uch to be desired.
A basement extends beneath the front and r ear
fa~ades of the hall ; it presents nothing calling for
comment , except, perhaps, that the two basements
are connected by t unnels t hat start from the basements of the two pylons flanking t he central vestibu1 e. The end faQades are not so ornate as the
front, and with good r eason, as during the summer
they will be to a large extent concealed by t he
foliage in the gardens. They also are built with a
basement, and, like the other parts of t he hall, have
gr ound and first-floor galleries, the former lighted
by large windows and the latter from above. In
the centre of each end fa9ade is a wide entrance
which, on t he gr ound floor, will divide the galleries
as shown on the plan. The rear fa~ade of this
part of the palace extends only so far as to join up
with the connecting hall between t he two great
naves, and which may be conveniently regarded as
an annexe to the principal hall, the general arrangements of which we have just described. From the
plan it will be seen how the galleries, both on the
ground and first floors, extend around t he sides,
and communicate one with another. I t will also
be n oticed that in addition to the outer galleries in
the conn ecting hall, there is a wide transverse
gallery on t he first floor joining the two lateral
ones. 'l'he latter will be lighted by large circular
windows, as shown in t h e plan. I t will be n oticed
that, owing to t he form of t he ground. the palace as
a whole is not symmetrical, and that the smaller hall
is n ot parallel to t he larger ; from this it follows
t hat t he sides of t he connecting hall are of unequal
length ; t his apparent difficulty ha-s been very ably
treated and will n ot detract from the general
appearance of the design. In t he centre of t he
longer fa~de of the connecting hall, that is t o
say, the frontage on the Champ Elysees, a broad
d ouble stairway has been made, leading t o a large
entry; the space beneath the transverse gallery on
the first floor of the connecting hall is occupied with
service stairways and inclines leading to very extensive offices, stables, &c., in the large basement
made in this part of the building. T o understand
this somewhat incongruous annexe to an Art Exhibition, it must be r emembered that t his building
is a permanent one, and t hat it will hereafter be
utilised for miscellaneous purposes, such as horse,
and other animal, shows ; in fact, for the same uses
as were served by the old Palais de 1' Industria, so
that extensive stabling will be a necessity.
The s maller part of t he construction - the rectangular b uilding connected to the larger by t h e
intermediate hall- may be reg~rded practically as
independent. So f~r as t he coming Exhibition is
concerned, it will be useful as affording a certain
amount of exhibiting space ; but wh ether it
will prove of much permanent utility is open t o
d on bt. It faces on the A venue d' An tin, and is cer.
tainly an admirable piece of design. I t consists
essentially of a central elliptical hall or rotunda
measurinct 146 ft. by 137 ft. 9 in., on each side of
which ar; exhi bit ing galleries. In each wing t h er e
are two such galleries, one on t h e ground floor, the
other on t he first storey ; they are 118 ft. long and
32 ft. 9 in. wide. These galleries communicate
wit h those of t he connecting hall, as shown on the
plan. On the fi rst floor they are lighted from
above, the best method of dealing with picture
galleries ; on t he ground floor, however , special
means are resorted to. Large openings are made
in the floor of t he upper gallery, from which light
is thrown b elow, and light is also taken from t he
central hall of t he connecting building. As will be
seen from the plan, this hall has on t he first floor,
and running around all four sides, an inner gallery
22 ft. wide carried on brackets, attached to the
frami ng. Access to them and to the whole series of
'
FEB. I
6,
I 900.
E N G I N E E R I N G.
sula, the Bombay, Baroda, and Central India, and the
Madras- have, however, become so s ubstantial that
this difficulty is now practically overcome. In 1898
the net revenue. of t he t hree systems just named was
2,,890,295l., wlule the amoun t of guaranteed interest
d1 l not exceed 2, 163,683l. There would accordingly
ha Ye been no loss for t he year , so fa r as the three
companies were con cerned, but for t he unsatisfactory
o~ttcome of exchange operations.
The guarantees
g1 ven to tho Southern Malu'atta, tho Indian :M idland
the .Bengal and Nagpur , and some of the other newe;
Indian systems, have all been upon a r educed rate
but .taking these new lines, a s a whole, t hey stili
entatl some burthen an nually upon the Indian
Treasu.ry- a burthen. which is increased by the loss
atte~dmg the conversiOn of rupees into sterling, when
r emittances haYe to be mad e to E urope in fulfilment
of guara ntee arrangements. T aking a general view of
matters, it would certainly appear to be the fixed
policy of. the Anglo-I~dian Government to gradually
extend Its ~tate ratlway network by b uying up
guaranteed hnes whenever t he t ime arrives for exercisi~g its power to do ~o. It is accor d ingly in British
Ind1~ that the expenment of State railways may
possibly be worked out upon a large and instructive
scale. Even, however, when the Anglo-Indian Governm?nt ow ns all the railways of .British I ndia, t hey will
still _probably be worked by private companies, so as to
obtam the largest possible a mount of revenue from
them. The problem of State railway admin istration
will, accordingly, remain, after all, to be solved-if
indeed, its solution is not a-llowed to stand over to ~
practically indefinite period.
217
copper, the oxygen atoms which surround these bodies
move slightly away from the copper and approach slightly
nearer to the zi nc. These slight motions produce the
whole volta effect. All that is necessary for the volta
effect is the inherent film on the surface, all the rest of
the gas is mere dielectric, and might be substituted by a
vacu um.
It was proposed by Profeesor Perry and second.:d by
Professor A rmstrong that a meeting should be held to
discuss the address.
The meeting then adjourned until February 23.
- --
218
E N G I N E E R I N G.
[FEB. I 6,
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I N our issue of January 26, we gave on t he two-page in our issue of December 29 la~t (see page 819,
plate illustrations of t he four-cylinder triple expan- vol. lxviii. ), in the report of t he meeting of the Amerision engines of the United tates protected cruiser can Society of Naval Architects and Engineers.
"Denver" a t:d her five sister- vessels, as designed by
the Engineering Bureau of the Navy Depart men t at
W ashington, of which Rear-Admiral Melville is chief.
H . M . TORPEDO-BOAT DESTROYER
We now publish on our two-page plate a nd on the
"VIPER, " WITH PARSONS TURBINE .
present page, in Figs. 13 to 16, further illustrations
THE upper illustration which we giYe on the opposite
showing the general arrangement of the machinery page reproduced from a photograph taken of H .M.S.
in the vessel. In a subsequent issue we shall give V iper, when steaming 35! knots-gives a splendid idea
other illustrations showing certain details of design of the success attained not only with Parsons s team
of these engines, a.nd postpone our description until turbines as a propelling power, but in t he design of the
t he series is complete. Some details of the engines bull to secure a high efficiency , for the wave line sugwere given in our issue of January 12 (see page 50, gests s. minimum of resistance for t he great speed.
ante), and details of the Yessels were also publi~hed . The Viper has been built for the British Navy, her
.., , ..
E N G I N E E R I N G.
2 19
PAR ON
~IARINE
TEA~!
TURBINE
COnlPANY,
L!J)IlTED,
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220
E N G I N E E R I N G.
NOTES FROM THE NORTH.
G~ASGOw,. Wednesday.
Glasgow Ptg-Irm Man-kct.-A fauly active busin~s was
~one in the warrant market last Thursday forenoon and
Company.
IJondon and Brighton ..
Great Eastern .. .
. ..
Great Centra.l Pref. ...
Metropolitan ...
.. .
Tilbury . . .
. ..
. ..
Lancashire a nd York ~bire
South-Eastern ...
. ..
Cbatham Firsts . .
.. .
outh Western . . .
. ..
North-Eastern ..
. ..
Nor th L ondon . . .
. ..
North Staffordshire .. .
Hull and Ba.rnsley
.. .
Grea. t North ern...
. ..
M etropolitan D istrict ...
Great Western .. .
. ..
North-W estern ...
...
Midland D ef. . . .
. ..
...
...
. ..
...
...
...
. ..
. ..
...
.. .
.. .
...
.. .
.. .
.. .
...
...
...
July t0 Decembe-r.
1899.
1808.
.
Ba.lD J' V. Ba.lD tv.
ance.
ance.
p.c.
p.c.
71 2l,835 8! 29,314
5t 55, 142 6;f 51, 642
1
1, 198
. . . 5, 268
3~ 18,3H
3! 17,281
7 30, 14!
7 21,!H1
s;. 23, ooo 5 ~ 22,221
51 1, 600
~ 13, 976
4~ 64,999
4~ 79,591
8
25,247
8 18,316
7i 52,754
7.t 43, 395
7~
7,230
74t 7,250
4i
5, 150
t 4,845
3 11,252
3 18,440
4f 25,873
5;t 33,270
1~
:381
l ;t
218
7 45, 190
5! 4:3, 141
7f 89,89L
8 87,505
3~ 39,000
4 39, 162
SHEFFnn~o, Wednesday
The H ult Coal Trade. - The offi~ial return of the tonnage of coal impor~d int? I;ull dur:lng last month from
the South Y o rkshtre colher1es was 1saued this week, and
show~ that a steady business wa.s done during tbe firsb
month of the year. The total imports during the month
reach 239,456 tons, as against 203,552 tons, an increase of
35,904 tons. Coastwise th e quantity sent totalled 43 388
tons, of which 36,195 tons were forwarded to LC'ndon.
The exports reached 95, 410 tons, as against 9t 8t0 tons
in a.nua.ry, 1899. The chief exports were : Germany,
15,000 tons; Sweden, 12,000 tons. The year has opened
well and an active season is looked for when the Baltic
ports open. Although some months distant several large
contracts have been placed at 133. and 13J. 6d. per ton.
A striking feature of th~ return is the increased business
being done from the West Riding coalfield. All the leading \Vest Riding collieries improved their tonnage last
month compared with what they sent last year. The
leading position, however, is still held by a South Yorkshire colliery, which has nearly doubled its tonnage,
sending no less a quantity than 4~,600 tons during the
month.
The Uoal Supply of Sheffielcl.-Although during the
past month there has not been much to complain of in
respect to the working of the mineral traffic, both tbe
railway companies which eerve Sheffield have quite ae
much traffic as they can carry. Extreme scarc1ty and
dearness still characterise the coal trade, and there are
very few of the larger firms who can obtain more than a
day's supply of fuel a.t a time. A few hours' delay in
deliveries would mean a. stoppage in many of the steel,
file, and engineering works.
Sheffield IJ istrict Railway C~mpa7ty. -The report of
the directors of the above company for the year ending
December 31, 1899, states that the construction of the
railway and works ha.s made good progres.q, and the completion a.nd opening for traffic will take place in tbe
coming spring. A Bill has been deposited to obtain
powers for the construction of another branch line, the
acquiring of the necessary land, and for the raising of the
capital for these purposes. The engineer's report sta.~
that the works at the Attercliffe Station are practically
completed. The works on the Treebon and Brigbtside
portion of the company's undertaking are fast drawing
towards completion, and about half the _P.ermaoent way
for both main line and sidings ba.s been latd. The station
buildings and the platforms at T insley-road are far ad
vanced, and the buildings and platforms at Catcliffe
should be ready for use in March.
South Yorkshire Coat Tracle.-Tbe coal trade of ...:outb
Yorkshire continues in a. very buoyant condition and
prices are said to be higher than at any time for 16 or 20
years. Orders come to hand almost quicker than the
pits can execute them, and a. much g reater volume of
busin~s could be done were the supply equal to the de
mand. House fuel is in brisk demand consequent on the
severe weather.
Iron and Steel.-The heavy branches of trade in ~bia
district are all in a very prosperous condition, and pnoea
are now being obtained for both raw material and manu
fa.ctured iron which a year ago would have been t~oughb
impossible. All the firms who make war ma.tertal are
full of work, and the greates t pressure is being put on
them for early delivery. The iron manufacturers ?f the
Sheffield dis trict last week further advanced the prtces of
merchant iron 10s. per ton. Bars are now quoted by
merchants at Ill. Ss. upwards per ton.
.r
FEB. I
6,
goo.]
n.
NOTES
FRO~I
E N G I N E E R I N G.
205,269l. The balance available for dividend upon the
ordinary stock is 989,939l. This will admit of a dividend
on the ordi_nary _stock at the rate of 7 per cent. per
annum, lea.vmg 4o, 190l. to be carried forward, as against
43,141l. carried forward in the corresponding half-;rear.
The works of the South Wales a nd Bristol Dirtlot Railway, and the construction of the Rhos line, near Wrexha.m, have made good progress during the half-year. The
AvonD?OUt~ line has oeen opent'd for goods traffi c, a.nd
the w1denmg of the Berks and Hants extension line
betwe~n Hungerford and Woodborougb, a distance of
17~ mlles, has been completed and brought into usE>.
teps are being tak en by the G reat W E~stern and G reat
Central .Railways Joint Committee, under a n Act of
1899, to exercise their powers for the construction of a
line between Northolt and G rendon U nderwood. A vote
of the propr ietors is asked for expenditure amoun ting to
1,070,000l., inclnding the following items : Avonrn outh
and Severn T unnel Rail way, 80001.; Golden V alley Railway, 20,00~l.; ~mprovement of Ely Valley Railway,
30,000l. ; wtdenmg between Newport and Cardi ff, 30 OOOt. ;
coa.~ and mileage d ep6 t at Penga.ur, Cardi ff, 45, ooot:; and
rolhng stock, 257. OOOl.
!Jr.istol and South W~les R ailway Wagon. Company,
Lim.Lted.- The seventy-e~ghth half-yearly meetmg of this
company was held at Bnstol on Th ursday, Colonel Sa vile
prestdin(!. The secretary (Mr. J. Bicknell) read t he
directors' report, which showed a d ~posable bala nce of
8577t. 5s. 4d., a nd recommended a. dividend at the rate of
10 per cent. per a nnum, free of income tax. The chairman, in moving the adoption of t he repor t and accounts,
sai~ th ere was really n~ need for him to make a speech.
Th1s was the seventy-e1gbtla half-yearly meeting, and he
tbou~ht he might <Jafely say that at 75 or 76 meetings
the dtreotors had recommended a 10 per cent. div idend.
The reporb was adop ted, and th e di vidend recommended
was decl ared.
221
MISCELLANEA.
THROUGH purchaseP, &c., t he bulk of the coasting
trade of South-Eastern Aoia a ppears to be passing
into German bands. The number of ports at which
German steamers call is being continuously increased,
and several new steamers a re being built for tbii trade,
so that Germany will soon have some forty steamers
engaged in it.
The L abour Depa.r tmen t of the Doard of Tra~e has
prepared a n umber of diagrams dealing with various
branches of labour statistics to be exhibi ted in the S ocial
Science Section of the forthcoming J>a.ris Exhibition.
These diagrams will be on view to the public to.day
(Friday), at 43, Parliament-street, S.W., from 2 p.m. to
5 p m. The diagrams (26 in all) are intended to illustrate for a series of years the fluctuations which have
ta~en pla.ce. in employ men~, wages, and pric&l, together
With stat1sttcs of trade dtspute~, trade unions, workmen's co-operative societies, industrial a.~cidents, and
occupations of women.
T.he Rus3ian authorities are continuously endeavouring
to tmprove a nd advance the mining industry of the
country. It is ul?der con tem\)lation to erect a High
.. chool for tho ~Iming and Kmdrdd Industries in tbe
Government of Perm, and the local institutions are
apparently prepared to financially assis t the scheme,
altb9ugb the Government i~ expected to find the ~eater
portu;m. of t~e mo~er. It 1s also proposed to d i vtde the
Admm1strat1ve Mmmg Dep:utment of outh Russia so
that for the future the K riwoi l~og iron-ore disttict ~nd
the metallurgical factories of the Government Iekaterinoslow will form one administrative distric~. This new
arran gement has long. been needed, more especially since
the. d istricb just referred to h as begun to Sdevelop so
raptdly.
A lthough the snowstorm of last week was not a ery
serious one, it did an enormous amount of damage to the
overhead telephone wires in the ~Ietropolis. On the
following morning 4531 subscribers' circuits were broken
down, and 503 junction wires connecting exchanges rendered useless, the result being th at 12 exchanges were
com pletely isolated . As a minor matter, it may be mentioned that the sto_rm totally destroyed 87 poles and
standards, and sen oualy damaged 185 more.
Nine
hundred men were immediately set to work, and working
continuously since, have restored the con vt-nience of the
telephone to over two t housand subscribers ; but it will
be five or six weeks before the L ondon st-rvice can be restored to its normal condition. S uch a lisb of casualties
should form the strongest argument in favour of the
L ondon County Council granting the National Telephone Company leave to put its wires und erground,
which it. can d9 by ~et of P~rli ament, in 9rder to prevent a like senous mterrupt10n to the servtce occurring
in future.
A dinner was held at the Automobile Club, 4, Whiteball-Court, L ondon, S.W., on Wednesday, February 14,
in honour of Major R . E . Crompton, a member of the
Committee of the Club, who is about to leave for South
A frica in command of a detachment of the Electrical Engineers' Volunteer Corps. Major Crompton and the
officers and men of the d etachmen t have been incorporated as an a rm of the Regular Ser vice. They are taking
out to South A frica. two t rains, both drawn by small
traction engin&l. Ea~h train consists of a tender and
store .wa~on an? two li~ht gun carriages, each bearing a.n
electnc searchllght proJector, and a two-wheeled carriage
bearing a drum of electric cable. The purpose of th e
train is to provide a light and mobile service of electric
searchlight for use at the front. Mules can be harnessed
to the limbers bearing the projectors, which can be separately taken to any spot desired-the cable unrolling
from the two-wheeled vehicle as t he limber is drawn
over the ~ountry. The traction en~ines work ~he dynamos
from wb10h the n ecessary eleotnc current 1s provided.
Half the detachment-some 20 men- are proVIded with
bicycles, on wh ich are fitted drums containin~ fine telegraph or telephone wire, a nd by this system 1t is hoped
that over any ridable ground three cyclists can lay a mile
of field telegra-ph in 15 minutes-or 20 over ground where
the machines have to be pushed.
M ESSRS. HARLANO AND '\VOLli'J..' AND BELI''AST. - It
may be remembered that there was some difficulty
between M essrs. Ha.rland and Wolff and the Belfast
Harbour Commissioners in reference to ground for extension of the works, and it was even said that the firm
were contemplating removal from Belfast. It has now
been finally settled that Me~srs. H arland and W olff will
have all t he ground asked for at rentals ab the rate of SOl.
per acre per annum and 60l. per acre per annum respectively, and the Commissioners to have the right to a corner
piece of ground at the Aberoorn road at any time, if
required, on six months' notice, to enable a channel to be
made from the Musgrave C ha nnel into the Abercorn
Basin, if found nece3sary. A lease of the above-mentioned ground to be granted for 31 years on the same
conditions as M essrs. Harland and W olff's existing leases.
M essrs. Harland and W olff's present leases to be surrendered, and a naw lea~e for 31 years to be granted on the
present terms and conditions. Further, thab M essrs.
Ha.rland and Wolff be offered ground for a graving dock
on the same terms and conditions as offered to t he Admiralty, or that the Commissioners build such a graving
dock, Messrs. Harland a nd Wolff, in their ne w leaee
guaranteeing that if the receipts from such new dock
shall, in any year, be less than 6000l., M essrs. Ha.rland
and W olff will make good the deficienoy to an extent notl
exceeding 2000l. per annum.
E N G I N E E R I N G.
222
[FEB.
6, I 900.
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E N G I N E E R I N G.
--
CONTENTS.
PAGE I
--
PAGE
The Ranelagh Works, Ips
The Electric Lighting Sta
wich (Jlluttrated) .. .. ... . 207
tions at S t. Luke's, Olerk
Hand and bfa<.'hine Labour 20$
enwell, and at Wands
Messrs. Schneider and Co.'s
1 worth . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 226
Works at Creusot . -No.
American Railroads and
LXXIX. (IUustratect) .... 212
Canals .................. 227
The Paris International Ex
Notes .................. 228
hibition (lllus.) ........ 218 Notes from the United States 229
Indian Railway Propert.y .. 216 Engineering a t H ome and
The Physio1l Society ... .. . 217
Abroad .. .. ... ....... .. 229
Launches and Trial Trips .. 217 American Competition ... . 229
Engines of the United
A Lending Libro.ry for En
States Cruiser " Den ver "
gineers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 230
(Illmtrated) . . . . . . . . . . . . 218 Aerial Torpedoes . . . . . . . . . 230
H. M. Torpedo- Boat De
The War in South Africa .. 230
stroyer "Viper," with Par
Throttling Calorimeter (Il
sons Turbines (fllu8.) .. 219
lu.strated) . ...... ...... . 231
Notes from the ~orth ..... . 220 Industrial Notes ...... . ... 231
Notes from South Yorkshire 220 Workmen's Compensation
Notes from Cleveland and
Oases . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 232
1
the Northern Counties .. 221 Moving Loads on Railway
Notes from the SouthWest 221
Bridges ............ . . . 233
Miscellanea . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 221 The Lifting Power of Air
Electric Energ.v in Bulk .. . . 223 1 Propellers (fllustrated) . . 233
Polit ics and National De
" Engineering,, Patent Re
fen ce .. .. ............. ... 224 1 cord (nlustrated) ........ 237
Contact Electricity.. . . . . . . 226
With a T wo-Page Engraving oj the GENERAL .d.RRANGE
A!E.NT 01<' E NGIN BS AND BOILERS OF TBE UN ITED
SfA1.'ES CRUISER "DEN I'ER."
NOTICES OF MEETINGS.
INSTITUTION OF CIVIL ENGI N~ERS . -Tu esd ay , February 20, at
8 p.m. Papers to be fur ther discussed: 1. '' Moving Loads on
Railway Underbridges," by Mr. W. B. Farr , Assoc. M. lost.
C.E. 2. "NotE' on t he Floor System o( Girder Bridges," by Mr.
C. F . Findlay, M.A., 111. Inst. C.E. The next paper for c onsideration" ill be : "Corrosion of Marine Boilers," by Mr. J ohn Dewrnnoe,
M. Inst. C. E.- Students' \'isit, Friday, February 16, at 2 p.m., to
the Great Northern Railway, King's Cross and Hornsey Widening.
(Assemble at Horosey Station. Train from King's Cross (Suburban)
to Hornsey, 1.47 p.m.). Students' meet ing , F r iday, February 23,
at 8 p.m. Mr. John I. Thornycroft, Member of Council, in the
chair. Pap er to be r ead : "Benring Springs," by 1\Ir. B. Humphrey, Stud. In st. C. E . , and 1\lr. II. E. O'Brien, B.So. (Victoria),
tud . Inst. C. E .
I NSTITUTION OF' MECDANICAL ENGINEERS. - Thursday evening,
February 22, a t 8 p.m. at t he Institution. Papers to be read and
discussed t.ogether : "Improvem ents in the Longworth PowerHammer," by ltlr. Ernest Samuelson, Member, of Banbury ; and
cc P or to.ble Pneumatic Tools," by Mr. Ewar t C. Amos, Member, of
London. The chair will be taken by the P resident, Sir William H.
White, KC.B., LL.D., D.Sc., F.R.S.
INSTITUTION 0 1' M~C II ANICAL ENGINEERS ; GRADUA'rES' VISIT.Saturdoy, February 17, at ?. 30 r.m. The Central London R a ilway
Dep6t. Assemble at Caxton-rcnd entrance, ~00 yards from Shepherd's Bush Green.
SOCIETY OF ARTS.- Wednesday, F"brua ry 21, at 8 p.m. cc Artistic
Copyrig ht," by .Mr. Edwin Bale. Sir Lawrence Alma Tadema,
R.A., will preside.
TilE I NSTITUTION 01' ELECTRICAL ENOINBKRS. - Thuraday, Feb
ruary 22, at 8 p. m., at the Insti t ution of Oivil Engineers. " Tbe
Standardisation of Electr ical Engineering Plant," by Mr. R.
Peroy Sellon, Member. (Adjourned discussion). S .udents' visit
on Saturday, ~~ebruary 17, n.t 11 a. m., to be paid to Davis-street
Station of t he Westminster Electric Supply Company. Meet at
Davis-street Station. On Thursday. F ebruary 22, at 2 p.m., to
the works of the Incandescent Elec t aic Lamp Company , Brook
Green, Hammersmith. Meet n.t t he works.
Till'! I NSTITUTION Ol' MINI~G Al\'1> M8TA LLUROY.-Wednesday, Feb
ruary 21, 1900, in t he Lec t ure H all of the Geological Museum,
Jermyn -street, S .W. , at 8 p.m. To r ead and discuss the following
papers : 1. cc On the Development of Silver Smelting in Mexico,"
by Otto II. Hahn , M. Inst. M. M. 2. cc Segregation of Mine
Accounts," by W. B. Middleton, M. Inst.. M.M. 3. cc Notes on a
Novel Association of Gold," by Henry F. Collins, M. Inst. M. M.
R OYAL I NSTITUTION OF GREAT BRITAIN.-Friday, Februo.ry 23,
at 9 o'clock. Discourse by Professor John H. Ponting, D.Sc. ,
F.R.S., on cc Recent Studies in Gravitation ." Afternoon lectures
next week, at 3 o'clock. On Tuesday, February 20, Professor E.
Ray Lankester, M. A. , LL.D. , F.R.S., on cc The Structure and
Classification of Fishes" (Lecture VI.). On Thu rsday, February 22,
P rofessor H . IT. Turner, M.A., F.R.S., on cc Modern Astronomy"
(Lec ture Ill.). On Saturday, J4~ebruary 24, Mr. W. L. Cour tney,
M. A. LL.D., on cc The Idea of Tragedy in Ancient o.nd in Modern
Drama " (Lectu re Ill.)
H ULL MW DISTRICT I NSTITUTION OF ENGINEERS AXD N A\' AL
ARCJJITBOTS.- Monday, Februruy 19, at 8 p.m., at the Parochial
Offioes, Bond-st r eet. cc A New Method of Improving Circ ulation
in Steam Boilers," by Mr. J. Orei~ (Me ~:~srs. Cooper and Oreig),
Dundee. Illust rated by la ntern shdes, &c.
R OYAl METEOROLOGICAL SOCIETY. - Wednesday, the 21th inst., at
7.30 p.m., at the Institution of Civil Engineers, Great Oeorge
street, Westminster. The following papers will be read : cc Re
port o n t he Phenolog ical Observations for 1899," by Mr. Edwar d
Mawley, F.R. Met. Soc., F.R.H.S. "Results of Percolation Ex
periments at Rothamsted, 187090," by Mr. Robert H. Scott,
D.Sc. , F .R.S.
==----==========-=-=--- -====-======-
ENGINEERING.
FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 16,1900.
ELECTRIC ENERGY IN B1JLIC.
Now that Parliament has assembled, the attention of the profession is agail1 directed towards t he
large number of engineering projects which lie
awaiting inquiry in the committee r ooms. .As
sh own by the accounts we published at the end of
November and in the early issues of December,
there are very many schemes to be inves tigated,
although there are none of great magnitude.
Among the most interesting are those which concern the distribution of electric energy "in bulk "
as the phrase goes. The principal of these are
pron1oted by the Tyneside Electric Power Company, Limited, the South \Vales Electrical Power
Distribution Company, the Lancashire Electric
Power Company, the Midland Electric Corporation for Power Distribution, the County of Durham
Company, and a second company in Durham. The
Tyneside Company will hn.ve a capital of 500, OOOl.,
and propose to establish stations from which
energy will be transmitted throughout the whole
of the manufacturing districts on both sides of
the Tyne, from Blaydon to New burn on the
west, to Tynemouth and South Shields on the
east. In this area there are an immense number
'
223
224
:
E N G I N E E R I N G.
performed.
No doubt there will be some little to London in the spring. 'Vhen t he legal adviser
~emporary inconvenience to t he inhabitants, but of a council warns the m em hers t hat it is t heir POLITICS AND NATIONAL DEFENCE.
1t needs a very slight acquaintance with the streets duty to enter an opposition to a Bill in order t hat
A.T the P.resent time, with the debate now going
of provincial towns to understand that this is a the! !Day, at le~st! get clauses inserted to protect on 1n Parliament before us, there is hardly need
matter of small consequence. The surfaces are t~eir In.ter ests, 1 t 1s not easy for them tO disregard to emphasise the deplorable results that must
either macadam or pitching, and are rapidly made his adviCe, alt hough the same end might probably follow political interference in the conduct of the
good. When the City of London, to obtain a com- be obtained by a half-hour's interview with the military policy of a State. The army and navy
peting source of electric current, has d eliberately promoters. If it were only realised what an immense of any Power should be organised for the defence
~ubje~ted itself to having all its streets opened, the boon the offer of electricity in bulk really is, t here of t~e common. interests of the country against
1nhab1tants of a country town may easily bear their would be no difficulty in negotiating as to the fore1gn aggressiOn, and, on rare occasions for
much smaller inconvenience to obtain t h e immense details of laying the mains.
upholding authority at home. If the military are
benefit of cheap. and convenient power supply.
.If the res~lts of municipal opposition t o elec- never employed- otherwise than against a foreign
One of t he chief causes of municipal opposition to tncal enterpnse were confined to the towns inte- foe- excepting to check mob violence when the
these distribution schemes is the fear of losing the rested, the matter would be serious enough. But civil forces are insufficient, there can be no excuse
chance of supplying current for motors. To learn unfortunately it extends far beyond this, and strikes for making its support and goernance a matter of
how small is that chance, we have only to study the a blow at our n ational prosperity. British engi- party politics. The British Army and Navy the
load diagrams of a few towns. With s mall exceptions neers are often forced ..to admit with shame that count ry may fairly claim, have never been' the
this source of demand is infinitessimal, and it that they are inferior to the engineers of America, instruments of oppression and injustice, either
must r emain so at present prices. In some few ~ermany, and Switzerland in r espect to prac- at home or abroad, and especially should they be
places, notably at Manchester , energy is being tical know ledge of electrical matters. This is a free fr?m . the influence of party politics. How
supplied at cheap rates, but even these are condition of affairs that has scarcely ever obtained far this 1s from the case everyone is aware.
much above those contemplated by the distribution before. British engineers and mechanics built t he In the game of '' Ins and Outs" played at
companies. F or instance, the Tyneside Company early railways, gas works, and water works, in all St. Stephen's, neither party has scrupled to
are already quoting 3d. per unit for the fir. t 100 countries of the world, having first gained their attack the other side on a naval or military queshours per quarter, and 0.9 penny per unit for know ledge in similar enterprises at home. We tion. The result has been that our forces have
subsequent hours. They realise that it is a busi- have to go back a couple of hundred years to find been brought to a dangerously low ebb, notoriness to be nursed by the offer of tempting terms, instances of foreign engineers coming here to ously, at one time, in the case of our naval strength;
which can scarcely pay in the first instance. H erein undertake works which we could not do our- a.nd if it had not been for newspaper agitation, which
lies the difference between private enterprise and selves.
But no w we meet them, or thei r led to t he rehabiliation of the Navy, it is almost
municipal management. The town council cannot agents, at every turn. American and German certain that the count ry would not now be able to
speculate with the ratepn.yers' money. I t can only companies are established here, and orders for face with calmness a situation of grave importance.
follow a pat h which has been trodden hard by hundreds of thousands of pounds worth of maIn view of these circumstanceP, we are inteothers, and even then it must walk wn.rily. In chinery are now being sent abroad, and many rested in getting an object-lesson from abroad
any case, the scope of i ts operations is determined more must follow. On the other hand, our which comes to us in t he form of a "History of
by its ar ea, and this is far too small in most instances expor ts of electrical machinery are quite insig- t he Manufactur e of Armour-Plate for the United
for any action on a large scale. The municipality nificant, even to our own colonies. All this, as States Navy." The publication has been compiled
is a retail t rader , and must n ecessarily remain so. is shown in the N ineteenth Oenttwy by an article for the American Iron and Steel Association, a
Its operations can only be on a &mall scale, and well worth r eading, from t he pen of Mr. Campbell society to whose gen eral manager, Mr. James M.
must always suffer the disadvantages which attend Swinton, is thA direct r esult of municip~l greed, Swank, we owe so much of the information we get.,
a r estricted output.
which has been allowed by Parliament to act as the not only on t he American iron and steel industry,
Further, a municipality is in the position of dog-in-the-manger in relation to electric engineering. but also on our own. Mr. Swank has the gift of
a manufacturer with insufficient capital. It is F or the sake of a possible small reduction in town putting statistical information forward in a.n agreetrue that it can raise money readily enough ; but, rates electrical engineering in t his country has able and readable manner. Above that, he is accuon the other hand, it cannot spend it with that been strangled, and we have lost not only the ad- rate, a matter of far greater importance, but one to
freedom necessary to secure the best r esults. vantages which come from an early and cheap which some who pretend to the title of statists do
Almost from the beginning it must show a profit, supply of energy, but also an important industry not pay sufficient attention.
or elso there will be a howl from the ratepayers. which would have afforded lucrative occupation to
The determination of the United States GovernEvery member speaks and acts with an eye thousands who will find it difficult to pay their ment, and of the United States people at its back,
fixed on the n ext election he will have to face, rates when the present wave of good trade has that Americans should make everything themselves
and t herefor e he can r ecommend no policy which is expended itself.
for themselves is well known; and in nothing has
not certain to pay its way. Such conditions fix
What has been done cannot be undone. Our t his been more strongly emphasised than in the
the class of business to be sought. It must be of markets are being flooded with American machi- production of war material. That view is easily
the peddling kind which admits of a large margin nery, and for a time at least t his must continue. defensible on the ground of public safety. If the
of profit on a small turnover. It cannot cater for The electric tramway business and much lighting Government likes to subsidise certain United States
customers who are prepared to take large quanti- business is temporarily lost, and it i~ foolish to shipbuilders and marine engineers, by paying them
ties at a price which is the merest fraction over cry over spilt milk. But we are now on the verge excessive prices for war vessels, that is a matter
t h e cost of productio11 when this is conducted on of a new departure- the s upply of energy in bulk which is reasonable enough from a point of view of
an enormous scale and with t he most perfect ap- -and we ask, I s this important opening to be national defence. But what is unreasonable is to
pliances. The man who wants power always wants sacrificed to municipal jealousy 1 I s a great ex- ask for the advantage, and refuse to pay for it. Su~h
periment, which promises important advantages has been the course followed by the Government m
it cheap.
It is not only town councils that are opposing the to the country, and which private enterprise is the case of armour for ships. \Vhen the Americans
distributing companies, but also the rural authori- ready to carry out, to be stopped because it will made up their minds it would be well if they had a
ties. This, at first sight, seems incredible, for involve t he breaking of roads. That is really modem Navy, they naturally found they needed
t he introduction of electric light into a rural district the question at issue. Every reasonable muni- armour. In order to get this made in the country,
is far too risky a speculation to be entertained by cipal right is safeguarded. The retail customer great encouragement was given to the Bethlehem
the Board, while the passage of the distributing is left to the tender mercies of his local Iron Company, which establishment went to very
company's mains t hrough a villa~e ~1ust bri~g council. Electric energy is offered to the authori- great expense in putting down the costly pl~nt
to it enormous advantages.
D1d 1t prom1se ties at bottom prices to be distributed by them at needed for turning out t he 6700 tons of mass1v.e
nothing n1ore than t he abolition of t he paraffin a profit to small users. It is only the wholesale steel plates fo r the two battleships and four mon~
lamp, one would imagine the people would wel- customer which the distribution companies ask tors in the then shipbuilding programme. Th1s
come it with acclamation.
It not only does for, with the right to carry the mains to his door. armour was of plain steel, oil-tempered and anthis but it offers the farmer and all the s mall As s uch customers are generally grouped together nealed, and t he average price was 536 dols., or,
ind~strials release from half their troubles with in one part of a town, this will uot involve much roughly, llOl. per ton. It was in June, 1887, that
their workpeople. One has only to walk round disturbance of t he streets, and if it did the result t he first contract was made for armour manufacthe implement s tands at the show of t he Royal is well wort h t he inconvenience. The municipali- tured in America.
Three yeara later the Secretary of the United
Agricultural Society to see how much the need ties can never undertake supply in bulk themIt is beyond their province ; their States Navy, Mr. Tracy, announced that the deof small motors is felt in the country. There are selves.
wind engines, water wheels, ho~-air engines, petro- powers are too limited in every respect : in partment had made a contract for arm?ur-plate
leum enaines, and steam engines of very small relation to area, to capital, and, above all, with Messrs. Oarnegie, Phipps, and Co., m consesizes all' designed for use in farms and villages, to risk. 'rhe work, if done at all, must be quence of which an extremely costly pl.ant was
and ~ good trade is done in them. None of them done by private enterprise. The capitalist will not established at Homestead. The Carnegte Comcan compare with the electric motor for the par- hang back because he is taking a step in the dark, pany were not anxious to go into armour-plate
ticular purpose for which they are intended, and and is manufacturing experience which will be making, considering it by no ~eans ~ profitable
the use of them all would cease were a cheap used by others to build up a great industry. It is business, notwithstanding the htgh pr1ce per .ton
even possible that he may fail to secure a profit, paid for the steel looked on simply as st~el, which,
supply of electricity a.vail.<\ble.
. .
We fear that this w1de-spread oppos1bon of but it is certain that the country will be rioher for of course, is not the right way of lookmg a.t the
tho district councils does not arise so much from his enterprise. On the other hand, if Parliament question. At first they .d~cli~ed the busme~,
a desire to safeguard the rights of t he inhabi.ta.~1ts listens to the municipalities there will be no advan- but at the " urgent sohc1tat10n of the Presit hey represent as from th ~ ad va.nta~es the officials tage to anyone, and an opportunity will have been dent of the Republic and Mr. Tracy, " they con
often obtain from conducting a Parliamentary cam- lost for our electrical engineers tu obtain in one sented to supply 6000 tons of plain . steel ~rmour,.
paign. In many cases the salaries of th? clerks ~o department the reputation they have been pre- oil-temper ed and annealed, the prtce bemg the
same as that paid to the Bethlehem Company.
the boards are calculated on the bas1s of thmr vented gaining in ot,hers.
At t his time the Harvey treatment and the ques
-routine duties and extra work is paid for by fees.
* ''Electrical Engineeri.cg and the Municipalities, " by tion of usin<Y0 nickel in steel armour had come
Naturally they welcome any business which bri~~s
to
the
fore,
and
a
provision
was
made
in
the
A.
A.
Campbell
Swinton,
M.
Inst.
C.E.
gri~t to the mill, and a.l::;o involves a prolonged VIsit
E N G I N E E R I N G.
225
'
CONTACT ELECTRICITY.
THE controversy about what is called electricity
of contact is older than a century. Our countryman, Abraham Bennet, stated, as far back as 1789,
in a manner which left no room for doubt, that
E N G I N E E R I N G.
[FEB. I 6, I 900.
St. Luke's, Clerkenwell, and the other at the
mo~th of the River Wandle, both serve large areas
wh~ch, however, are very different in character:
It 1s on the former of these statione that the
official hand has fallen most heavily, and, consequently, we find there, as already indicated the
remarkable combination of three entirely diff~rent
types of generating plant in one and the same
station ; to be, however, reduced later on to a
continuous, and a two-phase plant.
The area lighted from this centre includes a
small portion of Shoreditch, part of the Holborn
district, the Liberties of Saffron Hill, Glasshouse
Yard, and the Charterhouse, in addition to the
Clerke1:1'!ell and .St. Luke's di~tricts; .and the plant
was ong1nally la1d out as a htgh perwdicity alternating-current plant, but the Board of Trade dem~nded that a continuous current should be supphed to t he Clerkenwell and St. Luke S districts
where a con siderable motor demand might b~
anticipated, and it was accordingly arranged to
supply this at an electromotive force of 500 volts.
This requirement may have been justified at the
time, when the alternating-current motor was in a
more or less experimental stage, but its maintenance, now t hat satisfactory two-phase motors
are obtainable, is certain to harass the company.
Further difficulties were p ut in the way of the
companies' engineer by objections raised by the
County Council to the construction of transformer
boxes under the streets, but a higher power, viz.,
the Board of Trade, was appealed to and settled
the matter, the boxes adopted being so devised
as to make it extremely difficult for any gas to
enter t h em, whilst a t the same time thorough
ventilation was provided for, insuring that even
should some extraordinary circumstance permit gas
to pass into the boxes it would n ot remain there.
The station was erected on a site having a frontage of 303 ft. 6 in. along the canal basin of the
.Regent Canal Company near the spot where the
latter is crossed by the City-road, ~nd previously
in the occupation of Messrs. Ricketts, Smith, and
Co. as a. coal wharf. The station was laid out to
the designs of Mr. A. J. Lawson, at that time and
unt il recen tly engineer and manager of t he company. Much of the subsoil proved to be of earth,
though a considerable quantity of gravel and sand
was encountered before reaching the blue clay at
30 ft. below ground level. It was decided to construct the buildings within a watertight tank
formed by a thick layer of concrete over the w~ole
area, having watertight walls on the canal s1de.
These buildings, which were designed by Mr. F.
Stanley P each to the engineer's r equirements, ~ere
constructed throughout of best selected stock bncka
laid in Portland cement. Inside it is divided into
two main portions, the boiler-room and coal store
and the engine and dynamo-room.
The boiler-room runs alongside the canal fro~t,
and measures 198 ft. 3 in. long by 41 ft: 4 m.
broad. It is lighted from the canal ~1de by
numerous windows, nearly half the entrr~ area
b eing glazed, so that the firemen work m ~.m
usually cheerful surroundings. T~o bat~nes,
each consisting of six Babcock and W1lcox. boilers,
are at present in place, and room is prov1ded for
five more. These boilers are designed for a working pressure of 150 lb. per square i~ch, and are
provided with s uperheaters, which ralSe the steam
about 150 d eg. Fahr. above its tempe~ature of
saturation.
Two sets of Green economisers are
provided at one end of the boiler-room, whilst on
a short length of floor immediately above them
are fi xed two \Veir steam pumps, each capable of
supplying 4000 gallons of feed p er hour. ~h.ere
are also here two motor-driven pumps of .s1m1lar
capacity, one being supplied by the Electnc Construotion Company and the other by t?e Brush
Company. A large hotwell is also p:ov1~ed here,
the condensed steam collected in wh1eh, IS passed
through two Ra.ilton and Campbell oil filters before
being supplied to the feed pump. s~~rt ladd~rs
connect this floor with the platform, g1nng access
to the boiler stop valves.
.
.
The most interesting feature of the stat10n ~
perhaps the coal-handling plant. The coal. IB
brought up t h e canal in steel barges, each holdmg
80 tons. A grab, holding 15 cwt., suspended from
an hydraulic cran e, picks up the coal from t~e
barge and dumps into the hopper of an automatic
weighing machine, through which the whole supply
is weighed before being passed into the bunkers.
These bunkers are situated on a floor over the
boiler-room, on either side of a. central tram
1
E N G I N E E R I N G.
227
E N G I N E E R I N G.
between rails and water as a means of transport, to the l etting of public contracts by t he State, so as
will not be surprised to find that the Commis- to make impossible a repetition of the unfortunate
sioners conclude that there is no likelihood of greater results of the 9,000,000 dols. appropriation. The
economy ever becoming possible by the utilisation merit system is referred to in the penultimate
of the rails.
clause, and no one, probably, will be found to quesThe cost of transit by water may be regarded tion its excellence any more than its necessity,
as inherently cheaper than the cost by rail. The having regard to t he corruptness of the " boss"
Commissioners find that on the lakes the cost is system which prevails in a marked degree in New
about 1rij mill (one mill equals f-a- cent) per ton- York State and city. The desirability of opening
mile; on the canals of New York, where the boats the canals to enterprise will also appear obvious to
are very small, the waterway greatly restricted, and t hose who ar e acquainted with the facilities granted
methods of handling the business obsolete, it is by the Canadian authorities and by those American
about 2 mills per ton-mile. "By the enlargement ports which have sought- and sought with success
of the canal which we recommend, and the intro- -to divert trade from New York to themselves.
duction of improved methods of management, "
The Commissioners strongly recommend the rethey say, "we believe that the canal rate can peal of the absurd law which restricts the capital of
be reduced to two-thirds of 1 mill per ton- transportation companies on the canal to 50,000
mile, or very nearly as low as the lake rates. dols. On this p oint they say : " vVe believe t hat,
All of these rates have varied in the past, if the canal is enlarged and made free, methods will
and will vary in the future, to correspond with be introduced in the grain trade, under which reprosperity or d epression in general business. But sponsible companies with adequate capital will take
there is every reason to believe that they will charge of the grain at Chicago or Duluth, and demaintain a corresponding ratio, the ocean, lake, liver it in t he hold of the sea-going vessel at New
and canal rates being from one-third to one-fourth York ; making use at all points of the line of their
of t h ose by rail. " The reductions which may be own property in lake steamers, elevators (both
m.ade hereafter in the railroad rate can, it is movable and floating), canal boats, and towcontended, be met by similar reductions in all boats, and giving one through bill of lading."
classes of the water rates, provided the same Such companies, it is hardly necessary to
m ethods of skilled management are applied to all. say, would not tolerate the anti}Uated methods
M oreover, the canals have been largely limited in of hauling canal boats by horses or mules ;
the past to the lower grades of freight, and this self-interest would prompt and compel them in a
is equally true of the transportation on the very short time to find the best means of mechalakes. There is no reason why the canals, if nical traction, whether by steam or electricity ;
enlarged and properly managed, should not com- whether to have the motive power in each boat, or
pete for the higher grades of freight which, to have a self-propelled boat which carries freight
at prices far below t hose charged by the rail- as well as tows other boats; or to have the motive
r oad, would bring very profitable r eturns on power in a boat which carries no freight, but is
used only for towing. And here would come in t he
t he lakes and canal.
Anotqer view of this important railroad-canal value of the improved methods of traction advised
question has been put by General Francis V. in the second clause.
As to the important question of terminal charges,
Greene, before the New York Board of Trade.
That view is, that the railroads of the State would the excessiveness of the rate is as n1uch a matter of
be aided, instead of injured, by the provision of notoriety as the inadeCiuacy of the facilities. What
an adequate waterw~y such as is proposed. General it is sought to do under the new condition of things
Greene's argument is, t hat the advantage to the is to bring about a freight rate not to exceed 1 cent
p eople of the State from a waterway of modem per bushel on grain from Buffalo to New York.
form, extent, and equipment, must be measured 'fhe rate on the lakes from Chicago to Buffalo
by the reduoti6n in the cost of t ransportation of during the last few years has been 1i cent, making
all sorts of freigh t, for such canal would carry with a total of 2t cents for transportation alone for a
certainty, safety, and responsibility all the freight distance of 1600 miles. The cost of handling at
that rail roads n ow carry, except the perishable Buffalo and New York is equivalent to 78 cents
class. Improved canals would, however, while per ton . Ore and coal are handled at terminal
keeping the rates of the railroads within limits, points on the lakes in large quantities, at a cost
tend strongly to increase their traffic. The canals of 8 to 10 cents per ton. It should be possible
created the cities t hat made the railroads possible, to handle grain at a cost per ton little, if any, in
$\nd to-day the local business of both the canals and excess of these figures. Then, as to the provision
the roads exceeds in profit the through business. With of facilities, there are in New York City and Buffalo
the increase in the capacity of the canals for this busi- Harbour miles of unoccupied and cheap water front,
ness, the rail roads would prosper in direct proportion, where suitable structures and appliances for
and even in greater proportion, for the roads could handling the grain out of the lake steamer into the
branch out in every direction, and gath er business canal boat at Buffalo, and out of the canal boat
which the canals cannot possibly r each. In short, into the seagoing vessel at New York, can be
with modern canals, managed with energy and com- erected, the result of which will produce a reducpetence under the merit system, they and the tion in the grain rQte fully equal to that which can
roads would compete and stimulate each other, to be produced by an enlargement of the canal. The
their mutual benefit and the common advantage of possibilities of t raffic, given a thoroughly modern
the public. W e doubt if th.e railway~ will appre- waterway, freed from ridiculous restrictions, are
ciate the full cogency of thlS content10n, but that undoubtedly great. We do not, however, share the
belief of the Commissioners that all that has been
there is a bier
element
of
truth
in
it
admits
of
no
0
stolen by Montreal, to say nothing of Boston, Balquestion.
.
Allusion has been made to the mertt system. timore, Philadelphia, and the other American seaAmong t h e recommendati0ns of the Commission ports, would straightway be diverted back to N ~w
are a number designed to promote the efficiency of York. After all, the Canadian Canal will score bemanacrement of the improved canal system, when it cause, with 14ft. as t he minimum depth of water,
shall have been sanctioned by the State Legislat ure it will be possible (it has been done already,
and carried out. These recommendations, which in fact) to carry cargoes right through to the
are ii).sist.ed upon as essential, a.re as follow: (a,) seaport without any break, whereas the New York
The removal of all restrictions as to t he amount of State Commissioners contemplate t ranshipment at
c l.pital of companies engaged in transportation Buffalo into barges. Nor does it seem reasonable
0 .1 the canal~, and the encouragement of large to suppose, as the Commissioners suppose, t hat an
carrying concerns for handling canal Lusiness, improved c'anal system will mean the transfer of
in place of hampering them, as has hit herto the centre of the iron-manufacturing industry from
been t he case ; (b) the use of mec.h~nica~ means P ennsylvania. to New York State. At the same
of traction, either steam or electne1ty, 1n place time, the ability to lay down Lake ores at a small
of draught animals, and the use of mec~a cost might very readily lead to great developments
nical power in place of hand P?wer for ?peratmg in this direction in t he last-named State; and as
the gates and valves, and mov10g boats In locks ; for the actual transit trade, adequate canal com(c) the organisation of the force engaged on the munication might be expected to go a long way
public works of the State on a. more permanent towards arresting that "steady relative decline"
basis so as to afford an attract1ve career to gra- which Governor Roosevelt and the Commissioners
duat~s of scientific institutions: with the assurance deplore.
that their entry into the service, their tenure of
office and their promotion, will depend solely on
R usSIAN CoAL MINING.- The production of the Donetz
their' fitness as determined by proper and prac- (Russia.) coal basin lasb year showed an increase of
tical tests ; ~nd (d) a r evision of the laws in regard 100,000,000 poods, or about 1,650,000 tons.
FEB. I 6, 1 goo.J
friends for the enterprise which can show such substantial results. Accompanying the improvement
in the ra.lue of exports is a rise also in the value of
imports, the aggregate of 15,799,206 dols. comparing
with 12,474,572 dols. for 1898, and 13,835,950 dols.
for 1897. We presume the better part of the improvement here represents higher values rather t han larger
quantities; and it is to be observed t hat in no
other calendar year, except the two mentioned, h as
the total of imports into t he United States been so
low as in the twelve months just passed. F or 1890
the value was 44,544,140 dols., and for 1880,
63,956,853 dols. I t is pointed out that last year the
United Kingdom took nearly 2,000,000 dols. worth
of American iron and steel exports, Germany over
1,000,000 dols., Fra nce 338,857 d ols., a~d other
European countries 965,935 do~s. Of. seWlng machines, the exports to tho Un1ted Kmgdom were
1, 285,609 dols., against 892,654 dols . ; to Germany,
846,034 dols. , against 806,401 dols.; to France,
109,269 dols., against 89,117 dols., and to other
Europe~n countries, 235,426 dols ., against 164,229
dols. The total shipment of electrical machinery
rose from 917,453 dols. in 1897 to 3,143,336 dols.
in 1899; metal-working machinery from about
4,000,000 dols. to nearly 7,000,000 dols. ; railway
engines from 3,000,000 dols. to n early 5,000,000
dols.; and typewriting machines from 1,566,916 dols .
to 2, 776,363 dols. The record is really remarkable, but there has of late been a slackening off,
due to the high range of quotations which has been
attained; and, therefore, we doubt if the showing
for the fiscal year, which comes to a termination on
June 30 next, will compare so favourably with
1898-9 as the past calendar year does with its predecessor.
E N G I N E E R I N G.
petus to the U ral mining industry, the more so as
t he Ural ore can be produced so cheaply on th e
spot-some 2 kopek per pood ; in tho Donetz district fuel is cheaper, but the ore, on the other hand,
dearer. The most likely of t he Siberian coal mines
as regards the supplying of the U ral mines with
coke, appear to be M. Derow's mines in th e
Powlodar district, which seem to be satisfactory in every respect. The working is very cheap,
and a railway is being built, or has, perhaps,
already been completed from the mines to a place
on the Irtish River, and the coke can from t here
proceed almost the whole way to the Ural by water,
which, of course, materially tends to r educe their
cost. The coke will be distributed from the town
of Tjumen by rail to the various consumers.
NOTES FROM THE UNITED STATES.
PHILADELPWA, F ebruary 8.
AFTER several weeks of almost absolute quiet a
large amount of business has been done wit hin a few
days in crude iron. The purchases cover basic,
Bessemer, phosphorus, forge, and foundry.
The
purchases were not particularly large in any case, but
the number of them and the variety of iron called
for has attracted attention. Prices have not been
shaded openly, but some business has been quietly
done as a concession. Inquiries have come from
European sources for crude iron, but the agents who
have made the inquiries do not encourage Americans
to do much business at the prices named. Transactions in Bessemer pig foot up to 30,000 tons, and in
basic pig about half that amount. Demand for ca-stiron pipe is now asserting itself, and the week's business foots up about 7000 tons. As soon as buyers and
sellers can agree upon prices for billets some extraordinary large contracts will be placed. A difference
from 1 dol. to 2 dols. a ton separates buyers and
sellers. The pivotal point of the steel trade just now
is-will the big consuming interests co,er for the last
half of the year? The chances are to-day that they
wi11. The buyers may change their minds next week
and wait. In a general way there is a better demand
for iron and steel all over the United Sba.tes. Railroad companies would place larger orders for cars
were it not for the stiff prices named by car-builders
for work. There is an active demand for all kinds of
car-building material, including axles, wheels, and
t imber. There are inquiries to-day for large quantities of structural material, but the quotations are
calculated to diqcourage the placing of large orders.
There is much t alk about a declining tendl3ncy, but as
strong arguments can be found in favou.r of an upward
tendency.
Newspapers are talking about the probable sale of
the Maryland Steel Company's plant at Sparrow Point
to H. C. Frick, late of the Ca.rnegie Company, who, it
is said, desires that property a.s a source of supply for
shipbuilding interests, whieb it is proposed to esta
blish upon a. scale of great magnitude across the Delaware River to Philadelphia. The inquiries for steel
ra.iJs indicate that the only obstacle to large transactions is the refusal of makers to name more attractive
prices than 35 dole. The demand for scrap is far
beyond all possible supply. The demand for coke is
pressing prices upward and it has stimulated several
big roke - building schemes both north and south,
which will in a few months add materially to the present supply. The greatest production of the Connellsville Region was reached last week, when the production wa.s 207,263 tons.
229
ENGINEERING AT HOME .AND ABROAD.
To THE EDITOR OF ENGINEERING.
SrR,-Will you kindly. allow m.e to ~ake a few re
marks on the leading art1cle pubhshed 111 your 1ssue of
the 2nd inst., and entitled "Engineering at Home and
Abroad"?
Some of the statements regarding Swiss electrical
engineering practice eaU for comment, and among these
I pick out the following :
Anyone reading this article is sure to believe that the
efficiency of Swiss electrical machinery is very much
lower than that of machines of British make. Now, if
the author of the above article is of this opinion, all I can
say is that be is most thoroughly mistaken.
I a.m quite willing to allow that, generally speaking,
Swiss engineers do not strive to get the very last fraction
of a per cant. efficiency out of a. machine, but rather
devote mor: attention to its mechanical construction ;
their principal aim being to turn oub a machine which
shall be in every way reliable.
As about one-half of the electrical machinery manufac
tured in Switzerland is used in connection with steam
plant, which latter. as is stated in the above article, the
~wiss engineer brings to a high degree of perfection,
surely it would show a. lamentable disregard for the mosb
elementary laws of common-sense were he on the other
band to fritter away his power by using inefficient eleo
trica.l machinery.
I may also mention that a great deal of the machinery
manufactured in Switzerland is exported, part of it to
England, and that Swiss firms do not hesitate to accept
the efficiencies and other conditions specified by English
consulting engineers.
Referring to another statement in which it is laid down
that three-phase motors a re not generally adapted to
traction work, I cannot help expressing my astonishment
that this antiquated bogie should still be written and believed in England. I can understand that doubts should
have been expressed as to the suitability of a three-phase
motor to traction work previous to 1896, in which year it
was for the first time used for this purpose. Since then,
however, many three-phase railways have been built, und
it has been shown on these lines that there is no difficulty
in starting a fully-loaded train even on a. 25 per cent.
gradient.
Recent starting tests made on the Burgdorf- Thun
Railway have further shown that three-phase motors
compare favourably with the best continuous-current
motor~, both as regards acceleration and consumption of
energy.
As a matter of fact, the starting torque of a. three-phase
motor is not only equal to that of a. continuous-current
motor, but can be made greater, and on comparing the two
it is self-evident that this must be the case. The torque
of a. motor depends on the magnetic flux and the current
strength in the armature. Now, as continuous-current
motors have to be built with a limited number of poles,
they work with fairly saturated iron. This is not the
case with tbree.pba.se motors, which necessarily have a
greater number of poles, thus making it possible to work
with a much lower saturation. A three-~base motor can
therefore be made to have a large startmg torque, nob
only by increasing the current in the armature, but also
by increasing the magnetic flux much more than is possible with a continuous-current motor. In addition, the
distribution of losses being much more uniform in a. threephase motor, it is able to stand much heavier temporary
overloading tha.h a continuous-current motor.
The starting torque of an ordinary three-phase motor is
about three times the full load torque, and by specially
designing a. motor it can almost be tripled.
I tl has for a. long time been a. marvel to me that this
myth regarding the nonsta.rting of a. three-phase motor
should still be common in England notwithstanding the
fact tha t it is in direct O{>position to what modern electrical engineering practiCe has proved since yE:ars.
Scarcely a week pa...~ses by in which it does not appear,
ghostlike, in some English technical paper, although Continental papers have let it die a natural death long ago.
This fostering of an utterly false idea. has necessarily
been a serious obstacle to the growth of the electrical
engineering industry in England, and my object in writing
you these lines is to attempt to root it out. I should,
therefore, feel obliged if you would publish them.
I am, Sir, yours faithfully,
Baden, January 12, 1900.
C. E. L. BROWN.
AMERICAN COMPETITION.
To TRE EDITOR OF ENGINEERING.
SrR,-In your issue of to-day, "The Mdmber" again,
meta.phorica.lly speaking, crosses the Tugela., and I suppose 1t would not have been human nature if be bad not.
I would rather have been excused replying, but as my
silence would have been attributed in some quarters to a
feeling I spoka against in my second letter, perhaps you
will permit a few words. I would be glad to answer 01ny
p1actical question on the subjects treated of in my letters,
as thfy were written from a painful conviction of the great
need tor arousing my countrymen from the dangerous
slumber into which many years of prosperous and littleopposed trade and manufacture have sunk them. But
"The Member>s" letter would lead us away from the
subject into a round of journalistic fisticuffs which might
be amusing but would certainly not be edifying. I am
afraid neither your readers nor any other body care two
~trMvs whether "The Member" or I can "argify " the
best, and for my part, 1 decline to launch upon an a.imles.'\ discussion, the only effect of which would be to draw
away attention from the subject of ray first two letters.
I a.m willing to admit that in replying to "The Member's " first letter I may bavo said a word or two which
did nob feel "particqla.rly oily," but we all fall into the
230
error of speaking above our breath at times and under
the spe?ific circumstance who could have ~esisted the
temptat10n ? The only point of interest in u The Member's". second letter IS where he calls my composition
" verbiage." My first letter was practically reprinted in
a London weekly under the title of " The Growth of an
Invent~ve ~ation, " if I remember right. My second
lette~ 1nspu~ l<?ng large-print leaders in two or three
E0;ghsh eng1.neermg papers, including one where the
!Vr1ter treel.Y took the ''heads " of my letter, extended them
m. the prohx style of modern journalism, mixed them up
wtth a_su:pply of commonplac~ details, a?d served up the
whol~ m ?ve colum!ls large prmt. A lea.chng American me~hanical JOU~nal :pnnted my second letter h t extenso and
In .a. _precedmg ISSUe advised "all its friends in Great
Br1tam to ~et the copy of ENGINEERING and read the
letter.." Thl.S journal has since ss.id, "There ha\e been
Amer1can engmeers and others writing on the subjects
. . . who ~eed to learn thoroughly and well the lesson
that the wr1ter of the letter referred to evidently so well
un.derstands. . Many of our American shop propnetors a nd ot.hers seem to forget what this Enghshman
clearly ~eco~mses ~nd. boldly states, viz., .. that our
super10r1ty m certam hnes of manufacturing . . . comes
from the fact that American workmen and employers
were for~erly on .t~e same social stratum. . . "
Thus m descr1bmoo
my composition as " verbiage "
9
E N G I N E E R I N G.
00
FEB.
ENGINEERING.
r6, rgoo.J
THROTTLING CALORIMETER.
CON 'TRUC'IED BY
..~IESSRI.J.
o
T.
S.
l\ .t
J.l:.LO
INNE<.t
J
A N D CO.,
LIMITED,
<iLAI:)GO\V.
I
I
'
I
I
I
D
,
c,
(SIR6.)
THE very neat form of throttling calorimeter, devised by Professor G. H . Ba.rrus, is now being made in
this country by :Messrs. T. S. ~lclnnes and Co., Limited,
of 41 and 42, Clyde-place, Glasgow, and is shown in the
annexed engraving. A sampling nozzle, provided with
fine slits, is inserted in the steam pipe from which the
steam is to be taken, as shown to the left of the engraving. This sampling nozzle delivers through a
valve into the separator A, where any free water is
deposited, and measured by its height in the gauge
glass. From time to time it can be blown out by the
cock B. The steam thus freed from any water which
may be carried over bodily, but still containing moisture,
pa~ses from the separator to the calorimeter chambers
C aud CI, each of which is fitted to receive a. thermometer immersed in oil or mercury. Between the two
chambers is a throttling nozzle D, which reduces the
steam to atmospheric pressure as it blows through it.
By means of the two thermometers the sensible heat of
the steam before and after expansion can be measured,
and from the difference the percentage of moisture in
the steam can be calculated.
The principle on which such calorimeters act was
set forth on page 89 of our fiftieth volume, and is well
understood. We may, however, remind our readers
that when dry steam is expanded without doing work
it becomes superheated, since the total heat of " dry
saturated" steam increases with the pressure. But if
~h~ steam i.s not entirely dry, owing to the presence
m 1t of mOisture, then a part of the heat set free is
e~pended on vaporising t he moisture, and the termmal temperature is not so high as it otherwise
would be. From the difference between the temperature theoretically due to dry steam and the observed
temperature, the percentage of moisture can be calculated.
If there is no priming water in the steam the
separator A is not required, and the part between the
dotted lines is omitted. Several of these apparatus
have been supplied to technical colleges.
INDUSTRIAL NOTES.
first real indication of an attempt to carry a
~abour Bill through Parliament this Session is the
Issue of the Shop Hours' Act BilJ, to amend the law
relating to the closing of shops. 1t is concise, and
clear in its objects. It is almost as brief and clear
as the Universal Eight Hours' Bill of a few years
ago, but of which we now hear nothing. The Bill is
backed by Sir Charles Dilkc, Mr. John Burns, and
Dr. ClarkP. It provides for the closing of all shops,
as follows :
(a) On one day in each week at or before 1 p.m.
(b) On three other days in each week at or before
7 p.m.
(c) On one other day in each week at or before
9 p.m.
THE
10 p.m.
The Local Authorities are empowered to fix the
early and late closing days within their own aras.
There is no power of local option given, the Act is to
be absolute, applicable to all shops. It is not confined to shops where persone, young or old, a.re employed for hire ; the shop managed by the owner and
his wife are equally included within the puniew of
the measure. The latest hour at which any shop may
be open is 10 p. m., presumably on Saturday nights in
the poorer and even general neighbourhoods. There
is to be one half-holiday in each week, three short
days, closing at 7 p.m., and one, presumably Friday,
closing at 9 p. m. There is no provision in the B1ll
which will oblige the costers' stalls to be closed at
the ~ame hours, for costers' stalls are not, in legal
definitions, shops. The one omission seems to be the
closing of public houses. In country villages, and eyen
small towns, the measure might apply without much
inconvenience, but in the Metropolis the inconvenience would amount to hardship. Voluntary early
closing, according to circumstances, is progressing.
The report of the Friendly Society of Ironfounders
is again able to congratulate the members on the state
of trade. There was a decrease of 48 on donation
benefit, and of 26 other unemployed who were out of
benefit through their own neglect by being in arrears.
The total decrease of members out of work as compared with last month, was therflfore 74. This, for
t he first month in the year, is good. The number on
the sick list has increased by 158 over last month, or
by 266 in t he two last months, influenza being the chief
cause. The total on the fund s were: On donation
benefit, 386; on sick benefit, 691; on superannuation
allowance, 858; unemployed but out of benefit, 68; on
dispute benefit two only. Total, 1975; last month,
1914; net decrease, 61. The cost per member per
week for all benefits was a trifle over 8!d., t he aggregate coat being 653l. 5s. 8d. per week. The cash
balance was, at the close of the month, 92,54ll. 16s. 10d.
The returns as to the state of trade are still very
favourable; in one instance only is it reported that dis
charging was going on, this was at Portsmouth, where
one only (!)is on the unemployed list. In 114 places
out of 125, employing 16,211 members, trade is reported
to be very good. Under all the other heads, down
to "discharging," were 10 places, employing 1574 members, and t he one place, Portsmouth, with one out of
work. The record is pretty good for January, in a
union with 19,887 members. Another test of good
trade is that the advance of wages movement goes on
favourably. At Walsingham the men havo received
an increase of Is. 6d. per week ; at Wakefield negotiations are going on for an increase of 2s. per week ; at
Grantham the hours have been reduced to 53 per week
without the slightest friction. With only two mem-
E N G I N E R I N G.
portion of the year, but they are not b ooking new
orders of sufficient weight to replace those r unning
out. In some branches of constructi ve engineering a
quietening down is reported as r egards n e w or dt:rs
coming forward, buL gene r ally those depa rtments are
pressed with work, and in some instances they ha ve
enough work on hand to keep the m w ell going for a
long time t o come. Boilenn~kers are still very busy,
as also a re ironfounders. Locomotive and wagon
builders are pressed with orders, some firms having
enoug h work in hand t o carry them well into next
year. Hydraulic and electrical engi neer s continue in
a sta.te of exceptional activity in all departments.
T extile machine makers n.re busy in t he loom branches,
but not so busy in the spinning departments. On the
whole, the p o3ition is very favourable, and the outlook for t he future is not altogether discouraging. In
the iron trade a s trong tone is maintained ; there has
been a steady business, but as a rule the buying is
restricted to immediate requirement s. This is not
unnn.tural when we remember the high prices of
material. There have again been some fluctuations in
warrants, and consequently some irregularity in the
prices of pig iron, but the local rat ea r emain unchanged.
In the finished iron branches the strong p osition
recently reported is fully maintained; makers are so
heavily sold over the next four or five months that
they have little or nothing to offer for prompt delivery.
The s teel trade maintains its full activity, the rates
being firm all round. There seems, indeed, litt le to
complain of in any br anch as regards raw and finished
material, either as to activity or prices, at the present
time.
The position of the iron a nd steel trades in the
Wolverhampton district is good on the whole for producers, but not wi t hout a. shadow of anx iety from the
standpoint of consumers and merchants. .M erchants
a.nd others who w ere holding back prior to the r ecent
advance, have since been j ust as anx ious to get t h eir
orders for future supplies accepted. The difficulty of
producers seems to be the obtaining a supply of fuel.
It is said the leading coalowner s are holding back
supplies in the hopes of higher rates a.bo,e and
bey ond the recent adva nces of from 3s. to 4s. p er ton.
In sympathy with the recent advance in ma rked bars,
manufacturers of sheets, hoops, a nd strip ha ve raised
prices from 5s. to 10s. per ton, and heavy ironfounders
have advanced rates 10s. per t on on chilled r olls and
all iron and steel castings. U sers of and dealers in
iron and steel are beginning t o w onder where the
present boom is to land them, a nd when it will reach
i ts hig hest level and limit. High prices are being felt
by certain users of iron a nd st eel alren.dy, and if those
with heavy contracts on hand have not covered the mselves by contra.cts for supplies a t rates contemplated
when su ch contracts wer e made, there may be a collapse, or at least a disastrous stoppage. In t he present
ins tance it cannot be said that labour is causing high
prices, it merely follows in their wake ; the rates being
regulated by prices already obta ined as certified by
the accounta nts. Mos t of the hardware industries
a.leo continue busy ; but there are always some variations at different p eriod s of the y ear as regards certain branches more or less seasonal in character.
But all those a ffected by Government contracts a re
busy- some extremely busy-as production and supply
cannot keep pace with t he presure for deliveries.
The posit ion on the whole is good, b ut not without a
degree of anxie ty.
In the Birmingham district the tone of t he iron a nd
steel ma rket is described as healthy. Maker s of all
d escr iptions of material report themsel ves as being extrem ely well employed. Prices continue very high,
and the prosp ects indicate even further advances.
The " nimble ninep ence, theory is fo r the present
suspended in favour of t he " silver pound /' or the
" sovereign remedy. " The Government is, to some
e xtent, responsible for the change, it being, as it has
been for some time, a pressing customer for iron a nd
steel for war and tran~port ser vices, the question of
price being altogether secondary to early deliveries.
Indeed, the Government departments cannot a fford to
wait; they must have what they requi re if at all p o3sible. But this means not only a brisk demand for
the raw and finished material needed, but activity in
the departments using th e material r eq uired. Large
inquiries have been on foot for the Indian f:> ta tes
Government. T h ere have been la rge ex ports of gal
vanised sheets to India and Australia ; though t he
d emand has slackened somewhat maker s have not
relaxed the pressure of production as large order s are
expected from outh A frica when the war ceac;es.
Steelmakers' books a re EO full of orders th a t the
firms cannot enter into further con tracts at the present time.
The engineering branches of trad e .continue generally t o be well employed. The IronfounderR speak of trade as good .
--
---
be
FEB.
!6, 1900.]
E N G I N E R I N G.
233
E N G I N E E R I N G.
234
colum~,
[FEB. I 6, I goo.
P.eller E di~charged 363,140 cubic feet at 32! revolutwnCJ .P~r mmute, requiring 5. indicated horsepower
and gt vmg a thrust of 120 lb.
'
. The thru~~ may be approximately calculated at
different ra~u fr~m the amount of air discharged at
the respect~ve pomts. ~ curve showing this thrust is
shown .m Ftg. . 16. It .will be noticed that the thrust
per um t a reR. 1s a maxtmum near the tips and rapidly
falls off near the central parts.
W ei[J ht ancl St 1ength of P n>pell ers.- The weight of
the propellers, of four blades each was about 120 lb
eac~, not including the canvas. 'The propeller w~
designed strong enough for a thrust of 600 lb. at a
factor safet.Y of 3!, taking the steel tubes at 30 tons
per square mch, a formulre was employed suitable for
long columns and pin joints, whereas the tubes might
be t aken as shor t columns and stiffened joints this
would. give a much higher strength. The auth~r has
no rehable data on the compressive strength of short
t ubes, and therefor e made use of results more suitable
for long ones .
'
FIG.
F1u. 2.
1.
any other si1.e oi propeller, and even of d istinctly different desig n wi thin cer t ain limits. I t is clear t hat
t he t hrust and horse-power can be approximately
arrived at for any particular speed. For instance, t o
d rive propeller E at l OO r evolut ions per minute, it
would r equire about lOO brake hor se-power , and give
a thrust of 1125 lb. It is not t he author's inten -
. Tl s PROPLlERA
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F'lll 6_ PRoPELLER 8.
v'
110
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REVOLUTI ONS PER MINUTii
55
70
1480 Z$60 Ut4 !Z!J(J 8160 4Z8fJ 0700 .sJ'lfJ 5640 6110 6664
TIP
50
60
66
CP!0.
reduce the loss in the second quantity. The experiments showed that the resistance of t he structure was
excessive, which can be reduced by eliminating some
of the diagonals and other st ruts near the tips ; the
presence of struts in the central parts absorbs corn- _
parat ively little p ower, and their number, if necessary,
may be augment ed. As far as possible, t he blades at
the t ips should only be strengt hened by wire.
For the sake of example, suppose t his loss is reduced
2 indicated horse-power in the case of propeller Eat
45 r evolut ions per minute, bringing i t to I~ indicated
horse-power. Again in this particular cac;e loss in friction, due to belt and engine, was 30 per cent. ; so that
we may approximately say that wit h this p articular
type of propeller 11 indicated horse-power will give a
thrust of 240 lb., or a t hrust of about 21 lb. per indicated horse - power ; this will be equivalent to a
t hrust of 25 lb. p er brake horse - power . Now
assuming t hat no loss occurs due to interference
of t he air when multiple blades are introduced, the
thrust and horse-power will vary directly with the
E N G I N E E R I N G.
OF AIR PROPELLERS .
LIFTING
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UTHDED RWJIHCS
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FOPC APPLIED IN LBS.
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50
1110
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4()D
7100 l!iiJO
Revolutions of pro1
T HE CoNGO RAILWAY.-The Congo F ree State is the
peller per minute . . 20 25 30 35 40 50 CO 70 80
Revolutions c t proTip ,speed i o feet per
venture made by Belgium in equatorial Africa. Pre~ty
peller per minute
20 25 30 36 1 40 45 50 55 60
minute
..
. . 1880 2350 2820 3290 3i 60 4700 f.C40 6580 i520 well every leadmg E uropean country has bad somethtng
Tip speed in feet per
horse-power 1.0 1.4 2.3 3.3 4.6 7. 12. c l6. 7 22.0 to do with Africa, and 13e1gium naturally desired noo
minute
..
. . 18SO 2350 2820 3290 3760 423u 4700 5170 6640 Indicated
friction
Thrust in pounds .. 18 25 33 42 54 G9 &9 11Ci 15 ' Ilorse-power
of
unloaded
engine
.
7 .9 1.1 1.3 1.5 2.1 2. 6 3. 3 4.1 to be left out of the scramble. As one of the l'esults
Indicated horse-power 1.1 1.7 2.7 3.8 5. 3 7.2 9.5 13.0 17.6
of the appearance of Belgium upon the African arena,
Brake hon~e -p ower .
.4
.8 1.6 2.4 3. 5 4 9 G
.61 O. J 12.2
the Congo Rail way has been constructed. The amount
Thrust per indicated
of capital expended by the Congo Railway Company
TABLE VII.
horse-power ..
. . 16414.71 2.2 11.110. 2 9.6 9.4 8.0 8. 8
upon the venture t o the close of June~ 1899, was
Thrust per brake horsePropeller B. Date of experiment, October 10, 1899. Air 2, 874,538l., as compared with a correspondmg outlay of
power ..
..
. 42.0 30.0 21.0 17.6 15.213.9 13.4 12.7 12. 6
readings. Two wide blade~. Area, 175 square feet. 2, 701, 025l. a.t the cloEe of June. 1898. lb follows that the
Horse-power fri ~tion
'
1
,.
Angle of blad&l, 12'! deg. A ir discharged p er minute, outlay of capital made in 1898-9 was 173,513!. In the
ofunloadedengtne .. ' .9 1.1 1.31 1.5! 1.8 2.1 2 . .: 2. 6
233,231 cubic feet. R evolutions per minute, 35. Thrust, total of 2,874,538t. ea.rthworks figured for 743,518/;
1
42 lb. Indicated horse-p ower, 3.8.
ma sonry works, for 177,55i l.; metallic bridges,_ for
T ABLE Ill.
239,690l . ; permanent way, for 1,082,305l.; locoroottves,
2
4
6
8 10 12 14 1 16
.,
546
0
minute
..
. . 1880 2350 2820 3290 3760 4220 4700 5170
The above calcula tions a re made on t he assumption in addition to which the undertaking is responstble for
Thrust in pounds 23 35 60 60 92 118 148 ] 86 224
Indicated horse-power 1.0 1.8 Z.8 4.2 5.9 8 2 11.2 15. 0 19.8 that the surface and projections are ne a r ly as r o ugh as 1, 800, OOOl. obligation capital, involving at present a charge
Brake horse-power .4 .9 1.6 2.7 4.0 5. 7 7.8 10.5 l3.9 the exp eriment a l propellers.
I t seems clear 1 ha.t for interest and si nk ing fund of about60,780l. per an nln~t
1
9
Thrust per ind icated
The
profits
realised
last
year
having
.been
.
241,71
.
'
23 19.4 17.9 16.4 15. 6 14.4 13. 3 12. 4 Ll.3 taking into consideration the r esistan ce and lifting
horse-power ..
pow r of a. smooth in clined surface the a lJ owa.nce for will be seen that a. handsome return ts bemg o11bedtaube1
Thrust per brake horset ~
power . .
..
. . 62.8 38.8 30.6 25.4 22. 9 20. 6 19. 0 17.7 16. 1 friction losses is high, and that th e powe r gi ven ca.n upon the share capital. The fact should be reca
20 per cent. of the n et profits realised by the comp~kY. J.S
Horse-power friction
with
care
be
r
educed.
to be banded over to the Congo Govern men b. A sm mg
of unloaded engine . . .7 .9 1.1 1 3 1. 5 1.8 2.1 2.3 2. 6
In considering whether the proxi mit y of th e blades fund is also to be for med for tbe redemption of tl~e share
will interfer e wi t h each other, it must b e borne in capital withi n 99 years. The ~ubstantial facb lS. h~w
num ber of bl ades at same nvolutionP.
Suppose, mind :
ever established that tbe Congo Ra.ilwayi after passlDg
thro~gh some disappointing years, is now ikely to prov,
l. The d iameter is large.
t herefore, w e arrange f or 12 bladf s, th is wi1l gh e a
2. The speed is small, the tips re volving a t a la rge a remunerative enterprise.
thrust of 720 lb., and r equi r e 33 indicated horse-power ;
br
897
200
E N G I N E E R I N G.
w.
--
LLOYD WISE.
237
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:Y..'"l:l
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fu sed into the cMing with t he terminals of a battery, into the
circuit of which is inserted the electromagnet of a relay.
The resistance of the sensitive objects is normally so great
that the current is unable to actuate the relay. When however this resistance is diminished undea the in ft uence of light,
beat: or electrical wavfs, t he relay is actuated, and one or more
secondary circuits into which electrical signalling apparatus has
'
.IG67.
E N G I N E E R I N G.
closed. by lh e brake piston, communicates by means of pa.s
sages m t h e b rake piston with the open p or tion of t he interior
of the ruonin ~-out piston ; these passn.ges are formally closed
hy means of a spr ing - actuated valve, which is, however ,
perforated by small boles, s o t hat t he pa ssa~tes are not completely cl~sed . All t hose cavities of the running-out cylinder,
the runnmg-out. piston, and th e br ake piston, which ar e situated
to~ard s th e cover, and also t h e passages between t h e running-ou t.
cyhnder and the br~ke cylinders, are filled with ftuid. :Modified
constructions are described and illustrated, and a d etailed account
of the operation of the r unning out a nd brake mechanism is given.
(.Accepted Ja nuary 10, 1900.)
I
I
'
I
I
I
,......}.
900.
[FEB. I 6,
3849.
angles thereto, and in a differ ent plane. On the latter shaft are
mounted eccen t rics which actuate reciprocating rods in t he
usual manner. The entire mechanism is enclosed in an oil-tight
ca.siog partially filled with a lubricant, in which casing are formed
ball-bearings for the shafts, adjustable from the outsid e thereof.
The lubrican t within t he ea iog may be oil, or an emulsion of oil
and water, with which the casing is filled to t he level of the r ecipr ocating spindles. (A ccepted J anuary 10, 1900.
VANCOUVER
Ftg.Z
roe
re:f
DEPOSIT .-In
l':d
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