The Iron Age 1890-01-23: Vol 45

LHE THURSDAY, JANUARY 23, 1890 IRON AGE New Compound Steam Turbine. Some astonishment and much interest were manifested when, at the Erie meeting of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers, held last spring, it was stated by Ambrose Swasey, of the firm of Warner & Swasey, of Cleveland, that he was fa- miliar with a steam motor which by actual count had run at a speed of 25,000 revolu- tions per minute. This so-called steam turbine is the invention of J. H. Dow, of Cleveland, who, at a recent meeting of the Civil Engineers’ Club, of Cleveland, de- scribed its construction and performance in a paper which we herewith reproduce, together with the engravings from the Journal of the Association of Engineering Societies : The new motor which you kindly permit me to show you is a compound steam turbine. It has six compoundings, and consequently uses the steam six times over; but the method of its construction would have permitted any desired number of compoundings. Its weight, as it stands, is 68 pounds. It has been used to run an elevator,a pump, a dynamo. When running the eleva- tor it developed 4450 foot pounds of work for each pound of steam pressure. At this rate 70 pounds pres- sure performs about 10 horse-power of work. The con- sumption of boiler- teed water required to run the turbine at 70 pounds pres- sure is 585 pounds per hour, but the net evaporation 1s fully 20 per cent. less than this or 468 pounds per Lour if two calorimeter tests taken at an- other time correctly show the average dryness of the sieam. The con- sumption of steam per actual horse- 468 * 4 power per hour would then be ss 47 pounds. Very recently this turbine has been coupled to the lighting dynamo at the Chisholm Steel Shovel Works, and with 70 pounds of pressure in the steam chest it The spindle nee wheels which I hold in my hand constitute the entire running parts of the pump, which you, Mr. | President, and several of the gentlemen | present have seen in operation,* I will not say just how much water these wheels | throw per minute through a 38-inch nozzle, but it is more than 20 barrels. The power | of the steam turbine is explained by the principle that a jet of steam blowing into | a vacuum will throw its whole energy into | momentum. If, therefore, a turbine could be made which would utilize the entire momentum of the steam jet it would be equal in efficiency to a theoretically perfect piston engine. But the extreme lightness of steam compels a greater speed of motor than has ever been successfully used ; and the elasticity of steam, as contrasted with the non-elastic nature of water, compels the compounding of the steam turbine, though compounding the water turbine would destroy its efficiency ; for the mo- mentum of the steam, though checked by the first series of buckets, recovers itself | A an - NEW COMPOUND STEAM. TURBINE. instantly by expansion, and must be checked again and again by successive suries of buckets until the steam has spent its expansive force. Professor Webb, of the Stevens Institute of Technology, says that the steam turbine may develop mechanical energy ‘‘ with a has run 18 are lights of the works at their | high degree of economy,” provided that full brilliancy. The speed of the turbine when running the elevator was 21,000 revolutions per minute; when running the dynamo with a 13-light current the speed was reduced between 16,000 and 17,000. In each case the speed was reduced by at an undetermined waste of power. ithout gears, but by direct coupling, the turbine bas successfully run a specially con- structed rotary pump at a working speed of about 10,000 revolutions per minute, and the power developed was apparently as great as at the higher speed with gears. The speed of highest efficiency is theor- etically more than 25,000 revolutions per minute, if the half velocity of the issuing steam determines the best velocity of the wheels; but I suspect that other factors enter into that problem and that satis- factory work may be done over a large range of speeds. the difficulties of mechanical construction can be overcome. He says also, ‘‘ The ad- vantages of a successful turbine are too ap- parent to need mention, and I hope to hear of progress in this direction.” Whether my new turbine is along this line of progress you may better judge after the following DESCRIPTION. Fig. 2 is an end elevation of the motor without the cover and end wheel. The lay-out of the stationary chutes or guide plates of the turbine is shown in full lines. Dotted lines show the wheel buckets. Fig. 3 is a longitudinal section of the motor. The arrows show the direction of flow of the steam. *There are two propeller wheels, a right and a left, mounted on a single shaft. Each wheel weighs 644 ounces. The total weight of wheels, spindle and a to connect them with motor spindle is 2 pounds 3 ounces. | concentric with the wheel. The interior of the shell is divided into three chambers by two partitions P P parallel with the covers. The central cha t ber A receives live steam by the steam pipe entering at the top. The chambers BB next to the covers are for exhaust steam, which is discharged from both chambers through a single exhaust-pipe E, which leads from a connecting passage between the chambers. The driving- spindle D is concentric with the chambers and is journaled in the hubs of the covers. It carries at the inner end of each exhaust chamber an aluminum bronze wheel W W of about 54 inches diameter, whose inner face has six circular tongues and grooves Into these en- gage similar tongues and grooves cut upon the outwardly presenting faces of flange disks F F, which are secured by screw threads into the partitions. All tongues bottom in their grooves, but they are separated from each other at the sides by annular spaces, the grooves being con- siderably wider than the tongues. Each tongue upon disks is cut slantingly across at regular spacings by steam passages, analo- gous to the guide plate vents of wa- ter turbines; and similar passages, but inclined oppo- sitely to these, cut across the wheel tongues like the bucket vents of water turbines. The wheels W W have long hubs, inward projecting, and the bore through the flange- disks F F is large enough to leave annular steam pas- sages around the hubs. The hubs clamp a plain disk d, between them on the spindle mid- way of the steam chamber and this disk runs with equal clearance be- tween the station- ary-rings rr’. These two clearance spaces are the two steam ports, as shown by the arrows in | Fig. 3. Each port supplies only its own wheel 'with steam, which flows inward to the wheel hub, then along the annular space | surrounding the hub to the inner series of | buckets. These deflect its course, check | its velocity and receive impulse by the 1e- action. The checked steam is then easily reversed in its direction by passage through the first series of stationary chutes, which have as in every series, a much larger aggregate area of discharge than the adjacent bucket vents. While the steam is passing through the chutes expansion is accelerating the velocity of the flow, to be again checked by reaction | upon the second series of buckets. And so checked by reaction, and accelerated by expansion, alternate until finally the spent steam escapes from the circumference of the wheels into the exhaust. An extremely slight end play is given to shaft, wheels and central disk, so that any disturbance of steam balance upon the opposing wheels will crowd the central disk toward one or other of the stationary ringsrr. This movement partly closes 124 the port leading to the overpressed wheel, at the same time opening wider the other os and the equilibrium restores itself. n practice an end play to the shaft and wheels of 0.005 of an inch is sufficient to prevent frictional contact of wheels against their seats. The annular spaces between buckets and stationary vents insure con- stant flow of steam and its even distribu- tion around the circumference at each compounding, and whenever the speed of the wheels is below the normal, due to the velocity of the outflowing steam, there will be a circular rush of steam around these annular spaces which will impinge against the buckets and thereby assist to propel them. Hence the annular spaces enlarge the range of effective speeds. The advantages claimed for this com- pound steam turbine are: Extreme sim- plicity, compactness, lightness and cheap- ness, treedom from friction and perfect steadiness of pull with consequent smooth- ness of action, also extraordinary storage of power in the momentum of the steam- wheels (about 10,000 foot pounds), giving Fig. 2.—End Elevation. g unusual steadiness under sudden changes | elastic. of load.* Incomparison with the recipro- cating piston engine the steam turbine has the advantage that no part is subject to alternate heating and cooling; hence, steam expansion operates under more fav- orable conditions and may give better re- sults. The turbine may use the highest steam pressure with advantage, for its normal speed under high pressure dense steam does not greatly exceed the speed required for the rarer steam of low pres- sure. The gyroscope principle is ex- tremely developed by the steam turbine and may yet be utilized with startling effect. But undoubtedly the first call for the perfected steam turbine will be to run the dynamo by direct couplings. The prospective view is from a photo- graph of the motor and reducing gears which drive the dynamo. The motor is the cylinder with bulging covers at the right-hand end of the bed plate. In line with the motor-driving spindle and coupled with it is a small pinion not seen in the cut, which runs between the two wide, triple-toothed gears at the right of the train and engages into both. The power is then transmitted, half by one * A 1000-pound fly-wheel of usual portions running 150 revolutions per minute would store about 8000 to 9000 foot pounds, THE IRON AGE. January 23, 1890 gear shaft and half by the other, to the, Bliss, P. C. Cheney, George H. Ely and pinions at the leftof the train, both of which drive the gear between them with its shaft. This shaft runs at the speed of the dynamo, whose armature it drives by irect coupling. The total weight of motor and gears, mounted as shown, is about 400 pounds. The floor space occu- pied is 2 feet 9 inches by 1 foot 6 inches. At a not distant future day you may re- ceive a report of tests of the efficiency of this turbine more accurate and reliable than any which I can give you. Nearly all the tests which I have made have been comparative, not absolute, but by their aid I have improved the motor little by litle, to tenfold its first efficiency. With- out doubt it may be and will be further improved. DISCUSSION. In the discussion which followed the reading of the paper Mr. Dow said: The Barker mill has commonly used water as the propelling fluid. The operation of steam is radically different from water, because steam is elastic while water is non- SCALE OF INCHES Thomas Dolan. Col. W. L. Strong was elected a manager to fill a vacancy. The following constitute the executive com- mittee : Cornelius N. Bliss, New York ; George H. Ely, Ohio ; James Phillips, Jr., Massachusetts ; Joseph E. Thropp, Pennsylvania, and P. C. Cheney, New Hampshire. The reports of the officers showed that the League have been vigor- ously at work and that their affairs are in a most satisfactory condition. The steel forgings for the last 10-inch gun for the monitor Miantonomoh are being received at the Washington naval ordnance foundry and soon after they have all been delivered the Bethlehem Steel Company will begin the delivery of the first forgings for 12-inch guns ever made in this country. None of the new gun lathes capable of handling forgings of this size has yet been received at the foundry but Commander Folger has reconstructed some of the old lathes and lengthened Fig. 3.—Longitudinal Section, If I put water pressure in that turbine I fail to get any power at all, for all the force of water will be expended upon the first series of buckets, and suc. ceeding series are worse than useless, they are hindrances. On the other hand the expansive energy of steam instantly re- news momentum after each check at the successive series of buckets. In the re- spect of reactions this motor is like the Barker mill, but it is unlike the Barker mill, and like the water turbine, in that the steam first flows between stationary guide plates, and operates upon the buckets by impact inthe direction of their motion, before reacting from them in the opposite direction. This double action of the fluid upon the buckets gives, theoretically, to the turbine double the efficiency of the Barker wheel. a I The American Protective Tariff League held their annual meeting last week. The officers are as follows: Edward H. Am- raidown, president ; Thomas H. Dudley, first vice-president ; Robert P. Porter, second vice-president ; Henry M. Hoyt, general secretary ; Mahlon Chance, assist- ant general secretary, and Chester Gris- wold, treasurer. The following managers, whose terms had expired, were re-elected : Col. Le Grand B. Cannon, Cornelius N. them out sufficiently to do the work and, as soon as the forgings come in, work will be commenced on them. The first four 12-inch guns turned out will be mounted on the double-turreted monitor Puritan. Offices have been secured in the Colby & Abbott building, Milwaukee, for the headquarters of the Aurora mine, which are to be moved back to that city again from Cleveland. The Aurora is now con- trolled by the Colby syndicate. All of the mining properties controlled by the Gogebic and Penokee Development Com- pany, which is the name of the Colby syndicate, will be actively worked next season. It is expected that the Ashland mine, which last year eee 200,000 tons, will ship 500,000 tons this year; that the Aurora output will double from 200,- 000 to 400,000; and that the Colby will ship at least 500,000 tons. It is believed that altogether the syndicate’s mines will ship 2,000,000 tons. Glowing accounts come from the great State of Texas respecting her increase in population and wealth. Comprising an area of 275,000 square miles, she is greater in extent than the entire German Empire, and the new census is expected to show a population of 3,000,000, doubling the figures of the last. The crops for 1889 January 23, 1890 comprise 1,750,000 bales of cotton,valued at $87,500,000; a wool clip of 25,000,000 pounds, which will net probably $7,000,- 000, surpassing that of Califormia and Ohio, while the value of the cattle exported is placed at $8,000,000, making a grand total of $102,500,000, not to speak of the largest corn crop in the history of the State. The State is making rapid progress in other directions. Some important iron industries have been founded recently in the eastern part of the State, where the State government is now running two fur- naces and a New York syndicate is engaged in the development of three or four others. Its location being adjacent to the timber districts makes the necessary fuel cheap and easy of access. Coal is plentiful. Congress will be asked for $5,000,000, to give Galveston Harbor a ' depth of 30 feet at the bar. Sa The Coke Operators on the New Wages Scale. J. P. Brennen, general McClure Coke Company; Morris Ramsay, superintendent, Southwest Coal and Coke Company; J. 8S. Schoonmaker, general manager, J. M. Schoonmaker Coke Com- pany and Thos. Lynch, general superin- | tendent, H. C. Frick Coke Company have | signed the following reply to the commu- nication of the coke workers in the Con- nellsville region, in which the latter pre- sented a new scale: We have carefully studied your scale for the regulation of wages presented to us for our consideration last Thursday. For our own information we analyzec that scale and figured out the wages that would have to be paid under it at the present selling price of coke. We also prepared a statement comparing the rates of wages now paid with the rate that would have to be paid for similar work at the present price of coke under your pro- posed scale, also, showing the percentage of advance of the latter over the former. The result was so surprising to us that we concluded that you did not intend it as it reads, and decided to give you the state- ment which we prepared and our analysis of the agreement as we read it: ! . | Seale rates | - ae = += (for similar) >. q work on 20 ~ 2S 5 “> en $ | $1.50 | $1.75 | 55 a. coke. | coke. | & Wet heading, open | light. ........ . .--| $1.20/$1.30 ($1.515¢) 26.3 Wet heating, safety..| 1.20 1.364 1.594%) 2.7 Dry heading, open) light. awe eles --| 3.10) 1.20 | 1.40 | 27.2 Dry heading, safety .| 1.10 1.26 1.47 | 33.6 Dry room, open light; .95| 1.05 | 1.2244) 28.8 Dry room, safety.....| .95| 1.10% 1.28%, 3514 Wet room, open light -9) 1.15 1.34 | 41 Wet room, safety....| 95] 1.2034 1.4084) 48 Drawing ribs, wet) places, open light..; .95) 1.15 1.34 | 41 Drawing ribs, wet) places, safety....... | 95) 1.2084 1.4054) 48.1 Drawing ribs, dry| | places, open light. | .95/ 1.05 | 1.2244) 28.8 Drawing ribs, dry} | places, safety....... 95) 1.1034 1.2834) 3514 Average percentage of advance of above on present prices of coke, 0.35. In addition to the above prices called for in the proposed scale we must pay 3 cents per 100 bushels in rooms, ribs and headings where a binder is found 2 inches | thick, which means every working place in almost every works in the region, and when headings are worked two or three shifts, which is the rule in the region in new work, 10 cents per 100 bushels is to be added to the above scale prices for heading work. We are also required by the proposed new scale to lay part of the roads for the miners working in rooms and draw the posts for miners working in ribs, all of which has been unknown heretofore manager, | ~| others employed in Standard mines will THE IRON AGE. 125 in the region, and which we estimate at 15 per cent. advance, making a total of 50 per cent. for miners. ° ~ .2 Oo] gs a. “4 t os es | Be Se | 83 Be | ao = es A ne ae | Fi . a5 am | to oe | Set | <a, | & 3) Drawing coke, per 100 bushels charged.... $0.55'$0.62 $0.7244) 31% Drawing select coke, per 100 bushels a .55| 69 794) 44.2 Drivers using safety | lamps, full run, av- erage of 10 hours...) 2.00' 3.10 3.62 81 Drivers using open light, full run, av- erage of 10 hours....; 1.90' 295 3.44 81.1 Trapper (boy's) safety lamps, full run, av- erage of 10 hours... -75) 1.45 | 1.69 | 125 ; 2.20 | Blacksmiths per day,| } | oo pp 7 | om 0 hours.....-.. . boreal OTM) S-Et | We Yard, common la- borer, 10 hours... . 1.40| 2.40 2.80 | 100 | Firemen, gus or coal, per turn..... «e+-| 1.70) 3.50 | 4.08%) 140.2 a ’ (1.75 Cappeaters per day.|}'to| a.a0 | 3.06 | 074 Charges with engines 1.75) 2.95 | 3.44 96.6 > . 1.75) ern sto 8.64.2 4.25 | 126.6 | Dumpers and tipple- re men, full run, av- erage of 10 hours...| 1.75) 2.82 | 3.29 88 Averayve advance of drawers and day men, 0.7 per cent. Your proposed scale means abandoning a part of the ovens at about one-half of the works in the region, as it is absolutely impossible to operate the large plants full | in the time and under the conditions and restrictions named in the scale, conse- | quently a large number of men will be | thrown out of employment. It calls for | as high as 48 different prices for mining in ithe same mine, and in no mine Jess than 15, and it is possible for one man to have | all of these rates in one month, It assumes | to be based on the selling price of coke, | and at the price given in the same for levelers at the present price of coke, his wages would be limited to $2.56} per day ; a reduction from what they are now get- ting, and about 15 cents less than a com- mon laborer must be paid under the scale. Notwithstanding that the scale gives the boys who drive the mules in the mines. more wages than the mine bosses get, we must keep a small army of men to harness. and unharness, curry and clean their stock for them.- Under the scale we could not advance the price of coke to enable us to pay you your demands as we did the last time, because on the minimum wages given in the scale it would cost more to produce a ton of coke than the selling price, and as wages are to be increased in exact propor- tion with the increase in price of coke, we would be no better off with $2, or any other price of coke than we are with $1.50 coke. After the above scale had been presented. and discussed by those present without an agreement being reached, it was decided to appoint a compromise committee con- sisting of three men from each side. On part of the operators, Thomas Lynch, gen- eral superintendent of the H. C. Frick Coke Company; F. C. Van Dusen, super- intendent of tne Stewart Iron Company, and John P. Brennan, general manager of the McClure Coke Company, were named. On part of the workers, R. D. Kerfoot, master workman of Sub-Division No. 4, National Trades Assembly No. 135, Knights of Labor; James Keegan, of the Executive Board, and James Angus were named. This committee has taken the scale presented by the workmen and that presented by the operators, and from the two will endeavor t2 formulate a new one which will be satisfactory to operator and workman. The opinion is prevalent that a settlement of the matter will be reached. ee Fire Hazard of Oils. Mr. George H. Hurst, F.C.S., of | yet miners working in the same mine at| Manchester, England, recently gave an the same kind of work are paid different | interesting lecture there on oils as illum- wages, and the coal mined by these men at | inants, lubricants ‘‘and for manufactur- | different rates may all go into the same ‘oven and the coke therefrom sold to the | same party at one price. The miners and | get 5 per cent. more than the men doing the same work in Alice, Morewood, Mam- /moth, United, Central and Tarr mines. | The miners and others employed in David- son mines, Leisenring No. 2 and No. 3, will receive 5 per cent. less than men employed at similar work in Trotter and Leisenring No. 1 mines. Men employed in Leith mines will receive more pay for the same kind of work than will be paid to those employed in Redstone, Lemon and Oliphant mines. Rough blacksmiths who sharpen picks, weld scrapers and do other rough work about the mines, are classed with the highest skilled machine blacksmiths. The hatchet and saw carpenter who makes side-boards for wheel-barrows and repairs pit.cars, is classed with the highest skilled | carpenter. All other mechanics are classed the same way regardless of their skill or | the amount of work they have to perform. (The fireman with only one boiler and using natural gas for fuel, generally an old man or a crippled man, must get the same pay as the hard-worked fireman who has | six or eight boilers to fire and uses coal for fuel. The coke drawer who wheels all his coke into the car gets 10 cents per oven less than the man drawing, possibly, the very next set to him, and who wheels only the coarsest part of his ovens into the car and bitches the fine behind him on the yard. Heretofore coke drawers generally looked upon leveling as a pro- motion, and the rule for levelers has been to have from 35 to 30 ovens making his wages from $2.50 to $3 per day. Under the scale he cannot have more than 20 ovens, { | | } ! | | ‘ ing purposes.” The lecturer dealt first with the origin of the oils, explaining how the fatty oils are obtained from animal and vegetable matters, and the use of such oils for soap making, paint mix- ing and other purposes. He also showed by means of diagrams the plant used for obtaining the hydrocarbon oils from shale and crude petroleum. The main prod- ucts from shale and petroleum are said to be naphtha, burning oil, lubri- cating oul and paraffine wax. It was shown by experiment how to obtain the flash point of oil, the fatty oils having the highest flash point, about 600° F. Fatty oils being natural oils, the flash point, it was said, could not be altered, but mineral oils can be got at any flash point according to their degree of refinement, 350° F. being considered safe for a machinery lu- bricant, 470° F. for cylinder oil. The in- fluence of oils in producing the spontan- eous combustion of cotton or wool was re- ferred to; this was explained as being due to the property which oils possess of ab- sorbing oxygen from the air, giving rise to the production of heat; if the absorp- tion is great, the heat may rise sufficiently high to cause the cotton or other fiber to take fire. Those oils which, like lin- seed, cotton and rape oils, absorb oxygen readily are the most liable to produce spontaneous combustion; olive, lard and similar oils are not. so liable; while the hydrocarbon oils, being free from the property of absorbing oxygen, do not produce spontaneous combustion. Oils for woolen manufacturing were referred to, and olive, lard and cloth oils were con- sidered sate, but cotton-seed-oil was con- demned as dangerous for the reasons above named. 126 THE IRON AGE. January 23, 1890 Switching-Valve for Compound Steam Engine. r In an invention lately ’ ‘*switching-valve ° patented by Charles P. Deane, of Springfield, Mass., a its seat, as shown in Fig. 5. from the boiler received through the main inlet e is carried, not only to the smaller cylinders through branches g and g’ and ! valve-chests A and A’, but also to the is so arranged in rela- | larger cylinders through pipe ¢, passage u Fig. 1.—Plan View of Switching Valves and Connecting Pipes. tion with the connecting and main steam and exhaust pipes and the cylinders of a compound direct-acting engine, that the engine may be instantly converted into two simple engines, which, though oper- ating in conjunction are independent in that each receives its steam directly from the boiler and each exhausts freely to the atmosphere or to a condenser, thus largely and immediately increasing, when desir- able, the power of the engines. In Figs. 1 and 2 the cylinders of the duplex-engine indicated may be considered as represented by their valve-chests A high-pressure and B low-pressure. The shell a of the switching-valve ¢ is con- nected by the two pipes } }' with the two high-pressure cylinders through exhaust openiags below their valve chests, as shown for the pipe ? at m. The valve is connected with the low-pressure cylinders by the pipes d d’. Of the two pipes shown in section in Fig. 2, pipe ¢ connects the valve-shell with the main steam-inlet e, and by branches g and g’ with the high- pressure cylinders through their valve- chests, while pipe 7 connects the shell with the main exhaust outlet K, and by branches zand 2 with the low-pressure cylinders through their exhaust-openings. The switching-valve is a solid cylinder, except that on each of two opposite sides a portion of it in form of a segment is re- moved, the cavities so made and the ad- joining sides of the shell forming two chambers, + and s, from each of which, as shown by dotted lines, extends an interior separate passage, uv or i, through the valve to its lower end, which, with the openings of these passages, is shown by Fig. 3. The openings ot the pipes ¢ and r, Figs. 1 and 6, in the bottom of the valve-shell correspond with the two similar ones in the valve, as shown in Fig. 3. The recess y, Fig. 6, and the small opening z, Fig. 3, to a corresponding passage through the valve (shown by dotted lines, Fig. 2) al- low steam to pass from pipe ¢ to the space above the valve to hold it firmly to its seat. The valve, if desired, may be ring- packed and may be moved bya hand- wheel /, pinion o and sector p of the racked wheel attached to its rod g. The position of the valve, as shown in Fig. 2, is that given to it when it is desired, as in the emergency of a fire (where the engine is used for pumping), to greatly increase the effective power without change of the boiler pressure. The openings w andi in the valve now coincide with ¢ and r in and chamber s in the valve, pipes d and d’ and valve-chests B and B’, while the ex- haust from the smaller cylinders is now Fig. 5. Fig. 6. carried through pipes } and >’, the cham- ber v and passage ¢ in the valve, and the pipe r to the main exhaust outlet 4, t > ee a Direct steam restore the engine to its orizinal and usual character. Communication through pipes t and r will then be cut off, as shown by the relative positions, Fig. 4, of the open- ings wv and ¢ in the valve and ¢and + in its seat. Direct steam will in the same man- ner as above described be carried to and will actuate the smaller cylinders, but the exhaust steam therefrom will then pass, as shown by the arrows in Fig. 1, through pipes 6 and 3’, chambers s and ¢ in the valve and pipes d and d’ to the valve- chests B and B’ of the larger and (as the will then be) low-pressure cylinders, an after use therein will be finally exhausted through branches z and 2’ and the main outlet *, as above described. I A Visit to the Krupp Works. A correspondent of the National Car and Locomotive Builder, who signs the initials ‘A. 8.,” describes as follows a visit to the famous ao Works, at Essen : We were led cheerfully along to the ordnance department, and were shown small guns and big guns in all stages of manufacture, from the rough ingot to the finished cannon with all its elaborate mechanism ready for beginning its work of destruction. Some of the boring and rifling appliances were very ingenious, but a description would hardly be interesting to our readers. Guns weighing 120 tons have been made in these works, but the heaviest ones which we saw were 100 tons. These immense engines of war had the barrel about 40 feet long and 4 feet dia- meter at the breech. The ponderous tube which forms the core of the gun is, like all the other parts, made of the best cru- cible steel. he ingot from which this tube for the largest guns was forged is said to have weighed over 77 tons. It took the contents of 1800 crucibles to cast the ingot. A mechanic can readily con- ceive the vast amount of work called for to roll and forge this ingot into the form of a shaft, then bore and turn away about half the material. After this is done, two sets of huge concentric rings have to be {shrunk on the tube, and again the latter has to be bored out to overcome the dis- | tortion caused by the shrinking process. The machine-work produced is admir- able, whether it be the minute work on fine dies or the accurate fabrication of massive machine-gun mechanism; but the tools with which the work is done have no striking merit. The heavy tools are are sufficiently particularly heavy and Fig. 2.—Vertical Section Fig. 1. through which, by connecting branches z and 2’, the exhaust steam from the larger cylinders passes with that from the smaller to the atmosphere or a condenser. A movement of the valve equal to one- quarter of a revolution will immediately stiff to insure accuracy; but heavy ana light tools were alike deficient in minor conveniences that American manufacturers regard as being necessary to facilitate pro- duction. The magnitude of the works and the ponderous nature of the operations January 23, 1890 THE IRON ‘AGE. 127 that appeared on every hand were pro- foundly impressive; but we could not help noticing that the high character of the productions was due more to personal skill and persistent manipulation than to highly perfected or ingenious mechanism. Although there was little of what Americans, with their genius for special- ties, would call perfect tools, there were everywhere evidences of a perfect system of carrrying on operations. The arrange- ments were such that the work always kept moving onward without any retro- grade movements. The big forgings or castings staited from certain points, and every successive furnace, pit, tool or ma- chine they visited brought them one step -nearer the finished goal. Thus the big guns that are like magnets to our atten- tion are turned in one shop, then they pass to another to be bored, further on the rifle-grooves are cut, and then they are taken to a int where the breech mechanism is fitted, and in every move they are following a course that keeps them clear of other work. I have written about the gun manufacture first, because that was the first place we visited, but it was by no means the department that ex- cited our greatest interest, attention and curiosity. While yet in the gun depart- ment we had been shown mild-steel cast- ings of extremely intricate form that machined as clear from blow-holes as any forging. We were very desirous of learn- ing how the casting was performed that produced such compact metal. In the same open-hearth department was the material produced for the axles, wheels, boiler-plates and other railroad stock in which we were particularly interested. To that department we went, we saw and we did not conquer. The excellence of the Krupp product that tinds its way into railroad rolling stock isadmitted. We ex- pected to learn something about how the superiority is obtained. We stood around and watched them pouring all kinds of steel castings. We saw the successive | operations that tires go through on the way from the ingot to the tire ready for going on the wheel. We paid close atten- | tion to the manufacture of wheels and axles. We had seen similar operations in American metallurgical works, and we could not perceive any marked difference, except that most American steel-works appear to have better plant and more business-like machinery than they have at Krupp’s. There are no doubt forces at work emanating from knowledge and skill that are not apparent. Manipulation was very persistent in every stage of the work. Visitors are not likely to carry away any of the secrets of steel-making or of any other occult arts practiced at Essen. The only peculiarity that could be noticed about the castings was that the pouring-gate was particularly large. The open-hearth plant is very large and is arranged well. There are two long rows ot Siemens-Martin reverberatory fur- naces facing each/other, with a casting- pit floor between them. Here there are fairly good facilities for handling the flasks, molds and material, and good means of transport are provided for taking the castings to the points where succeed- ing work upon them is done. In some plaees a plant like the open- hearth or the Bessemer that are in Krupp’s would be considered something worth showing; but here the cast-steel business appears to overshadow all other departments. This is natural, for the cast-steel product has made the works famous. An interesting part to us was the pouring of crucible cast-steel ingots from which railway tires are rolled. This is an important section of the works, but the visitor can learn nothing of the secrets of mixing that give the steel the wonder- ful combinstion of great tensile strength combined with ductility. The operations appear in no way different from other works where cast-steel is made. A ——— Our New Navy. Secretary Tracy has been before the House Naval Committee to give expression to his views concerning the navy. In substance he said that the time has come when this country should building some fighting ves- sels of the first order. Already we have made quite an advance in naval construc- tion and have built some cruisers that have proved to be very useful ships, but we should begin to build some armored fight- ing vessels—he did not undertake to say how many—as large as the depth of water in our harbors and other conditions which obtain in this country, permit, and of the most powerful types. The Secretary had with him some designs prepared by the McCann Board, which embodied his views | of the kind of ships we should build. They were not marked out in absolute de- tail, but contained sufficient data to inform the committee sufficiently as to their | general type and probable efficiency. One of these vessels is to be of 7500 tons, and her design presents some re- markable features, which may be more clearly understood by the non-professional reader from a statement of the results they are expected to give, namely, a speed of between 21 and 23 knots an hour; ability to cruise 16,000 miles on one coal supply; guns equal to anything afloat, and a bat- tery so arranged as to enable the fire of the | entire armament to be concentrated upon any point of the horizon. The Secretary believed that a vessel of such exception- ally high speed and power would be able | to contend at sea with the best vessels of | foreign navies. It is said that the scheme of the McCann Board comprises the following vessels, the estimated cost of which, with armament complete, is appended: Ten battle ships of 10,000 tons, $5,000,000 each; eight of 8000 tons, $5,000,000 each; twelve of 7000 tons, $4,500,000 each; five of 6000 tons, $3,600,000 each; ten rams of 3500 tons, $1,800,000 each; nine armored cruisers of 6250 tons, to make 19 knots an hour, $3,300,000 each; four protected cruisers of 7400 tons, to make 22 knots an hour, $3,500,000 each; nine protected cruisers of 5400 tons, to make 20 knots an hour, $2,800,000 each; two protected cruisers of 4000 tons, to make 19 knots an hour, $2,050,000 each; five special cruisers of 1200 tons, to make 18 knots, $500,000 each; fifteen torpedo cruisers of 900 tons, to make 22 knots an hour, $500,000 each; three artificers’ ships, $2,000,000 each. The eight ships which Secretary Tracy re- commends in his report shall be begun at once are not the eight proposed by the McCann Board, but eight of the first ten. The reason why work on these is recom- mended to begin at once is that several years will be required to domesticate the manufacture of materials and guns re- quired. a A Chicago daily paper states that the Grinnell Agricultural Implement Com- ‘ pany, of Grinnell, Iowa, one of the largest manufacturing concerns in the West, has about closed negotiations whereby it will come into possession of a 40-acre tract at Washington Hights, near Chicago, to} which it will remove its extensive plant during the year. The land in question 1s located below the crossing of the Rock Island and Pan Handle Railroads, front- ing north on South street, and lying be- tween Forest and Sylva streets. It is owned by non-residents, whose interests are represented by the International Bank, and the negotiations are in the hands of B. F. Clark. The plant, it is stated, will occupy only about 20 acres, and it is likely that the additional 20 acres are being bought for sale and improvement here- after. When the works are completed and inrunning order employment will be given to 400 or 500 people. Work wil) be commenced on the new plant in the spring. LTT The Chignecto Ship Railway. The Canadian ship railway across the Isthmus of Chignecto, permitting vessels to make a short cut between the Gulf of St. Lawrence and the Bay of Fundy, is so far advanced in the work of construction that it will be in operation before the close of 1890. The road-bed is ballasted 'and ready for track laying, and the docks at either end are in process of construc- tion. The steel for the track is the heavi- est ever made and weighs 110 pounds to the yard. There will be a double track, upon which the cradle containing the ves- sel under transport will be placed. The | locomotives, two of which will be used in drawing the vessel across the isthmus, are built on the same principle as ordinary | engines, but of much greater weight and power. The vessels to be transported will be hoisted by hydraulic power from the basin to the track, and it is estimated that with this power and the road-bed in good con- dition a ship of ordinary capacity will be taken from the Bay of Fundy and placed in the Gulf of St. Lawrence in two and a half hours, saving a detour of 500 miles in the trip to St. Johu, Boston or New York The tariff for lifting and hauling vessels over the railway will be $750 for a vessel of 1000 tens. The permanent success of the scheme is looked upon as highly prob- lematic, the class of schooners engaged in this trade at present being unable to bear any such charges. Transportation Trade of the North- west.—The struggle for ascendency in the transportation trade of the Northwest threatens to bring the two great ‘‘ North- ern gladiators,” the Northern Pacific and Manitoba Railroad, into a fierce combat. The former having now at control more ample means, proposes to assume the aggressive. The Superior Jnter- Ocean says: ‘* With a line 2000 miles long, from the lakes to the Pacific Ocean, the Northern Pacific must always find its greatest profit, if it does the business at all, in its through traffic. But it is now entering upon so bold a scheme of branch exten- sions in the Northwest that im a short time its business in the center of North America must bring it a royal revenue if retained. It has now, as it believes, secured the means whereby to 1etain both its through traffic from ocean to ocean, and also that in the Northwest. which it is already competing for, not to speak of that which it is striving to develope by new lines.” The company have six steel steamers which did an enormous business last season, and. as stated in these columns last week, contracts have been closed with Carnegie for 5000 tons of steel plates for the American Steel Barge Company for ten more vessels, four of which will] be steamers. Hodge, of Detroit, will build the engines, and most of the hulls will be constructed at Duluth. Shipping on the lakes, we are told, will this year undergo another great transformation scene. M. Germain, president of the French Commission, appointed to examine the canal at Panama, reports favorably respect- ing the condition of the work, and that France is ready to redouble her efforts for its completion. It only rests with the Colombian Government, he says, to grant an extension of time in which to overcome the natural difficulties. 128 THE IRON AGE, by lock nuts. These blowers are made by the Buffalo Forge Company, Buffalo, ¢ Steel Pressure-Blower. The annexed engraving illustrates a Buffalo steel pressure-blower mounted on an adjustable bed and provided with coun- tershaft. It is designed and constructed with special reference to high-pressure duty, such as supplying blast for cupola furnaces, forge fires and sand-blast ma- chines, also for forcing air long dis- tances. By means of a tightening screw the blower may be moved upon the bed| 1890. The contractors are Messrs. Henry while running at full speed, taking up any; & Balch, of Minneapolis, the firm that slack, giving both belts a uniform tension | built two large docks at Ashland for the which is regulated at the will of the oper- | Milwaukee, Lake Shore and Western and ator, and is an important point in prevent-| one at the same place for the Wisconsin ing the inconvenience and loss incurred by | Central. No. 3 Nock is to be extended as a stoppage during heat when blowers are | far as the harbor limits will allow. That used for cupola purposes. A decided sav-/| will make the dock about 600 feet longer ing by use of the bed is gained in the wear | and increase its capacity about one-third. and tear of belts, for a simple turn or two | The pockets will be changed from 13-foot of the nut on end of adjusting screw and | to 12-foot centers, having each a capacity retightening of the holding-down bolts | of about 90 tons of ordinary hematite. takes but a moment or two and accom-| The construction of an entirely new dock, plishes the same end as relacing of the| to be known as No. 4, is also one of the belts, which usually is put off until the} possibilities of the season. But no definite belt will run no longer on account of so| information can yet be given about that —— Marquette’s Dock Facilities,—Ac- cording to the Mining Journal the man- agement of the Duluth, South Shore and Atlantic Railway have let a contract for the extension of No. 3 ore-dock, at Mar- quette, Mich. Bythe terms of the con- tract the work is to be completed May 1, BUFFALO STEEL much slack. Special attention should be| enterprise. It seems, however, that the directed to pressure-blower belts on ac-| Duluth, South Shore and Atlantic con- count of the high rate of speed at which | template making Marquette the equal of they must necessarily run and absolutely | any of the upper peninsula ore-shipping perfect alignment of the countershaft with | ports. The last season’s shipments from the blower is essential in order to secure | this port amounted to about half of the smooth running, even tracking and to|shipments from Escanaba, while they fell avoid undue wear of belts by slipping. |about 200,000 tons short of Ashland. A telescopic mouth-piece is employed in order that the blast-piping may not be disarranged in moving the blower on the bed, while sufficient length is afforded to the countershaft so that tight and loose pulleys can be used for main driving belt, a self-oiling device fitted to the counter- shaft enables it to be run at high speeds for long periods of time without heating | or cutting. A prominent feature of these blowers is the solid case, the peripheral portion of the shell being cast in one solid piece dispensing entirely with the objec- tionable ‘‘putty joint.” Thus being practically one piece, under the hardest service the bearing must always be in per- fect alignment vertically and laterally with the rest of the machine. The jour- nals are long and heavy, in the standard ratio of length to diameter of 6 to 1-, with cap bearings secured by boltsscrewed There is some doubt as to whether the bids for the two 1000-ton gun-boats jand the Naval Academy practice cruiser will be found to be within the limits of the appropriation. Congress fixed the limit of the cost of this vessel at $260,000. From this must be deducted about $25,000 for the armament, leaving only $235,000 for | the hull and machinery. The contract price of the Petrel was $247,000, and the practice cruiser, while a trifle smaller than the gun- boat, will cost more to build, as while the Petre] has only one compound engine and a single screw, the practice vessel is to have two triple-expansion engines and twin screws. She is also to have a protec- tive deck, coal protection, electric-light plant and all late improvements. Her builders will receive a premium of $5000 in the lower half of bearing held in place | for each } knot above 12 knots an hour, and January 23, 1890 this ought to give them at least $20,000, but even then there would be very little chance for profit. It will cost very nearly as much to build her as one of the 1000- ton gun-boats, for which $350,000 each is appropriated. The firms that have thus far asked for plans and specifications of these three vessels are Samuel Moore & Sons, of Elizabethport, N. J.; N. F. Pal- mer, Jr., & Co., of New York; the At- lantic Iron Works, of Boston; the Bath Iron Works, of Bath, Me.; the Columbian Iron Works, of Baltimore; Charles Reeder & Sons, of Baltimore, ‘and the St. Louis Sectional Dock Company, of St. Louis. |The last-named firm have not heretofore | been looked upon as competitors for naval | contracts, but these vessels, or even larger , ones, could easily be built by them and taken to the sea by way of the Mississippi. —— A new board of electrical control is pro- vided for by a bill introduced in the New York Legislature, with the design of secur- ing a more effective organization than that now in existence. The board is to consist AL Sate / To PRESSURE BLOWER. of three commissioners, one Republican, one Democrat and one expert who is versed in the science of electricity. The com- missioners are to be appointed by the Gov- ernor, by and with the consent of the Sen- ate. They ure to hold office for five years and receive a salary of $8€00 a year and additiona! expenses for traveling. A chief clerk or secretary, to be appointed also by the Governor, shall be the executive of- ficer, and his politics shall be different from those of the expert. This plan is re- garded as the best to insure a non-partisan character to the board. The secretary’s salary is fixed at $4000 a year. The prin- cipal office of the board shall be at Albany, a branch at New York and another branch ~~ wherever in the judgment of thécommis- sioners is necessary. Monthly meetings shall be held at Albany. The board is endowed with powers similar to those of the Railroad Commission, such as admin- istering oaths, in having ‘‘ general super- vision of all the telegraph, telephone, elec- tric wire, motor, subway, conductor or conduit associations, companies or cor- porations, and all corporations and asso- ciations that in any manner utilize the electric fluid for the public use or for the purposes of commerce.” January 23, 1890 Pig-Iron Warrants in London. With the commencement of the new year a pig-iron warrant market has been established in London, similar to the one held in Glasgow. It is claimed that Lon- don is the center from which so larg: a proportion of the warrant business hith- erto transacted in Glasgow has emanated makes it the natural home for such a mar- ket, and, moreover, the facilities for financing are so much greater in London than in Glasgow that even if no other rea- son existed this alone should render the transfer of the market to London a neces- sity. The Gealings here will be in hema- tite, Cleveland and Scotch pig warrants. We are indebted to Sanders & Co., 110 Cannon street, for the following copy of the rules: Code for Contract V. RULES. No. 1. Members are responsible to each other and to each other only for the fulfillment of every contract in which another principal is not mentioned by name. No. 2. Al) disputes arising upon contracts shall be referred to two arbitrators, one to be chosen by each party in difference, the said arbitrators baving power to call in a