The Iron Age 1890-01-30: Vol 45

THE IRON AGE THURSDAY, JANUARY 30, 1890 Balanced Spindle 6-Foot Radial Drilling Machine. The machine we present in side and front elevations is a balanced spindle 6-foot radial driling machine. The cuts show B to the center of the spindle is 64 inches, | the end of the arm. The steel spindle is with 13 inches additional clearance in the | 24 inches in diameter, has a traverse of 15 throat D. The traverse of the head on the | inches and is driven by a 34-inch belt on arm is 50 inches, while the arm itself radi-|a cone having four changes—15}, 124, ates in a half circle. The distance from | 10% and 9,% diameter. The arm can be the spindle in its highest position to the! turned to any degree, as it swivels ona ; re) | —- let { 4 | Side View Showing Drilling Spindle in Vertical Position. BALANCED SPINDLE SIX-FOOT RADIAL DRILL, BUILT BY W. H. WARREN. clearly the principal features of the ma-: floor table is 74 inches, and it may be low-{| graduated shoe, A, which is planed on chine and their arrangement and indicate | ered to 19 inches. The arm has a vertical | tracks on the vertical bed B, on which it the —— of the machine to a wide | adjastment of 40 inches and is raised and | has a bearing of 29 inches secured by four range of work. The hight of the column | lowered by power. The head is moved on/| largebolts. The utility of having theshoe is 9 feet 1 inch, which includes the floor | the arm by mechanism, so arranged with| planed on the tracks is manifest when the table, which is 6 inches in hight. The Sree in its highest position is 12 feet. gears and rack that the operator can move | operator desires to throw the arm over and it quickly, having the a of being | drill in a horizontal position, as he can over his work instead of using the screw at | raise and lower the arm to accommodate e greatest distance from the bed 164 THE IRON AGE. January 30, 1890 the drill and counter-bore and yet retain its exact position with the work. The quick return and feed act the same in all positions. The great distance between the bearings on the vertical bed B obvi- ates the necessity of tightening and loosen- ing the grip bolts on surface drilling, thereby saving a large per cent. of time over the ordinary radial drill. The porta- ble table C is 27 inches long, 23 inches wide and stands 24 inches high. When necessary it can be readily detached and iarge work placed on the floor table, the | extreme dimensions of which are 127 inches long and 58 inches wide. This table is provided with five planed slots. All the shafts are steel and the bear- ings long and large. All the slides are scraped to fit. A speed of the counter- shaft of 190 drives the spindle on quickest speed 190 and on slowest with back gears 19 revolutions per minute. The balance weight runs on planed grooves and re- | quires no adjustment in the positions shown. The shipping weight of the ma- chine is 10,500 pounds. head shapers are specialties built by William H. Warren, of Worcester, Mass. ce Marine Boiler Inspectors. The Board of Supervising Inspectors of Steam Vessels has adopted an amendment to rule 2 of the regulations that will probably be warmly welcomed by steam- | ship owners and masters. Section 1 of rule | 2 provides that any boiler having been in | use ten years or more shall, at each annual inspection thereafter, be drilled at points near the water line, and at the bottom of the shell or boiler, or such other points as the local inspectors may direct, to deter- | mine the thickness of material at such | points and the general conditions of the boiler at the time of the inspection, and | the thickness shall be determined there- after at each annual inspection, and the | steam pressure allowed shall be governed | by such ascertained thickness and the | general condition of the boiler. This rule, it has long been urged by vessel owners, | operates to the great detriment of their in- | terests by hastening the final collapse of | their boilers, thus entailing on them a) The annual boring of the heavy expense. boiler, it was argued, was entirely un- necessary and was a great strain on the material. Letters have be>n received by the Board from all sections of the country asking for an amendment of the rule. fact there are very few, it any, vessel own- ers who do not advocate a total repeal ot the boring regulation. The Board has de- cided to grant the request for an amend- ment by taking from the rule the clause providing for an annual boring of the boilers and substituting therefor one that | the boilers need not be bored except when in the judgment of the local inspectors there is an actual necessity for such a test. Among those who appealed for relief was Mr. Vosherg, of New York, who pre- sented a letter from Mr. Fisher, of the Lehigh Valley Railroad Company. em The rapid rise in Bessemer pig and in stecl, and the scarcity of ore suitable in quality, has given rise to numerous hints that the term Bessemer pig is now and will | in the near future prove a very elastic term. We have not yet heard of any well authen- ticated cases in which iron containing an excess of phosphorus has been tendered as Bessemer pig. It is hinted, however, that the steel mills are not likely to be very critical now. The Mitis Wrought Iron Casting Com- This and the} patented 16 and 26-inch stroke traverse | In | Bids for Gunboats, &e Bids were opened at the Navy Depart- ment on the 22d inst. for the construction of three new vessels for the navy—two 1000-ton guuboats and one 800-ton prac- tice vessel for the naval academy. The appropriations for these three vessels ag- gregate $960,000, of which not more than $700,000 can be expended for the gun- 5 { i \ Ls Qn Moan tT $0 / | nee boats and $260,000 for the practice vessel. This provision will enable the depart- ment to accept any two bids of whatever sums each for the gunboats—so that the aggregate amount does not exceed $700, - 000. In the advertisements for the vessels it was announced, as usual, the bidders might take their choice of four classes of proposals: Class 1 is for the vessel, ac- pany, of Neponset, Mass., have issued -a new circular relating to the castings which they manufacture. cording to the plans of the department, including both hull and machinery; class class 3 is for the vessel, according to the plans of the department, for the hull, and those of the contractor for the machinery; class 4 is the reverse of class 3. The payments on all the vessels are to be made in 20 equal installments as the work progresses, The bids were as follows: The Bath Iron Works, Bath, Me.: Class 1, one gunboat, $327,000; two gunboats, $637,000, being $313,500 each. The At- Balanced Spindle Drill.—Front View Showing Drilling Spindle in Horizontal Position. lantic Iron Works, of Boston, Mass. : Class 1, one gunboat, $344,000; or class 2, one gunboat, $344,000. The bid of the Samuel E. Moore & Sons Company, of Elizabeth, N. J., was withdrawn. rT In Allentown, Pa., a jury returned a verdict for defendants in the case of the Catasauqua Mfg. Company, who sued to recover $18,000 from Burgess, Storm & Hopkins for alleged fraudulent charges ‘2 is for plans of the contractor entire; | for scrap iron. January 30, 1890 _—_ THE IRON AGE. 165 THE BETHLEREM IRON WORKS. DESCRIPTION OF THE PLANT.* BY W. H. JAQUES (LATE U. 8. NAVY). Less than three years ago the Bethlehem Iron Company broke ground to carry out the writer’s proposition for the introduc- tion and erection of complete hydraulic forging machinery for the manufacture of the largest guns and the heaviest shaft- ing and armor plates; to erect a plant long needed in the United States, to make the country independent in the possession of the means of supplying the nation with the most powerful guns and equipping her ships with the most efficient shafting and armor. The company that undertook this great work was conceived as early as the year 1857, when the senior partner of the firm of A. Wolle & Co., of Bethlehem, pro- cured a charter dated April 8, 1857, for a company styled ‘‘ The Saucona [ron Com- ny.” By an act of legislature dated March 31, 1859, the corporate title of the company was changed into that of The Bethlehem Rolling Mills and Iron Com- pany, and the services of John Fritz, of Johnstown, Cambria County, Pa., were se- cured to superintend the construction of the works and the subsequent manufacture and production. Their first board of directors, chosen June 14, 1860, was composed as follows; President, Alfred Hunt, of Philadelphia. Directors, Augustus Wolle, of Bethlehem; Asa Packer, of Mauch Chunk; John Knecht, of Suimersville; John Taylor Johnston, of Ceytral Railroad of New Jersey; Charles B. Daniel, of Bethlehem; Charles W. Rauch, of Bethlehem; secre- tary and treasurer, Charles B. Daniel. The present board consists of John Knecht, of Shimersville; Robert H. Sayre, of South Bethlehem; Joseph Wharton, of Philadel- phia; E. P. Wilbur, of South Bethlehem; W. W. Thurston, of South Bethlehem; Robert P. Linderman, of South Bethle- hem; George H. Myers, of South Bethle- hem. The officers are: President, W. W. Thurston; vice-president, Robert P. Lin- derman; general manager, Robert H. Sayre; chief engineer and general super- intendent, John Fritz; assistant superin- tendent, R. W. Davenport; secretary, Abraham 8. Schropp; treasurer, C. O. Brunner. These works are situated at South Beth- lehem, Northampton County, Pa., on the Lehigh river, 87 miles from New York by way of the Lehigh Valley Railroad and Central Railroad of New Jersey, and 55 miles from Philadelphia by the North ‘Pennsylvania branch of the Philadelphia and Reading Railroad. They are con- nected with the anthracite coal regions by the Lehigh Valley and other railroads, var- ious roads and their connections affording ample facilities for the cheap transporta- tion of fuel and ores to the works and con- venient outlets for the distribution of the varied products. At the present time the works consist of offices, boiler houses, blast furnaces, puddle mill, merchant steel mill, Bessemer department, department of con- struction and repairs, ordnance and armor plate department, laboratories, mines, quarries, &c. The buildings have been erected from designs made here. They are of hard gray sandstone from adjacent quarries and brick, and the roofs, covering about 18 acres, are of slate from the vicinity. Offices. —The offices are roomy. well lighted and equipped with modern appli- ances and well-lighted drafting rooms. Boiler Houses.—The boiler houses are detached and conveniently arranged for * Proceedings of the United States Naval In- stitute, Vol. XV, No. 4. the delivery of fuel and the boiler settings | been used for the production of muck peculiar, to provide for expansion in any direction without subjecting the boilers to any injurious strains. Blast Furnaces.—No. 1 furnace was commenced in 1860 and completed and put in blast in January of 1863; No. 2 was completed in 1867; in 1868 the furnace of the Northampton Iron Company was purchased a=d put in blast during Decem- ber of that year under the name of No. 3, and after running 16 years was dismantled ; furnaces Nos. 4 and 5 were put in blast in March, 1876, and March, 1877, respect- ively; furnace No. 6 was completed in 1883; furnace No. 7, purchased in 1879, is situated at Bingen, on the Philadelphia and Reading Railroad, about six miles from Bethlehem. Hearth. Furnace. Hight. Bosh. Feet. In. MG Bea's iat 61 15 8 6 = 70 16 10 0 No. 4...... 70 16 10 0 Bt Cicscncuee 16 10 0 , aoe 70 19 10 0 a ee 65 16 10 0 These furnaces are widely known for their excellent Bessemer iron. The fuel used in smelting is anthracite coal from the upper Lehigh region, with a mixture | P of Connellsville coke. A choice variety of hematite and magnetic ores from the most celebrated mines at home and abroad al- lows of an excellent pig for making Bes- semer and open-hearth steels of a very superior quality. A railway connects the furnaces with the converters for the transportation of fluid metal, thus permitting the making of Bessemer steel by the direct process. The total an- nual capacity is 160,000 tons. The engine house, separated from the furnaces by the stock house, is a massive stone building 60 x 327 feet, erected with the special view of protecting the blowing machinery from the dust and dirt of the furnaces. It contains seven horizontal blowing engines, five of which are com- pound; steam-cylinders, high pressure, 30 inches diameter, low pressure, 54 inches diameter, 80 inches stroke; blowing cylinder, 80 x 80 inches. The other two engines are single condensing; steam- cylinder, 54 x 80 inches, blowing cylinder, 80 x 80 inches. The blowing engines of the horizontal compound type work at a high speed and under high pressure of blast with a degree of smoothness and noiselessness that is rarely observed in a blowing engine. A strong feature in these engines and one now generally recognized by blast-furnace engineers, is their capacity of blowing as high a pressure as 20 pounds of air, this pressure sometimes being necessary to save the furnace and obviate expensive delays. The cast house of each furnace is at a right angle and forms a wing to the stock house. The spaces intervening between the cast houses are,used for cinder yards on one side, while on the other are located the boilers and hot-blast stoves. The newest furnaces are provided, each with three Whitwell fire-brick regenerative stoves, which give excellent economi- cal results. These stoves are 20 feet exterior diameter and 60 feet high. The stock house is common to all the fur- naces, and is a continuous building, run- ning parallel with the line of furnaces and to their full extent. It is 61 feetwide. A double track runs the length of the build- ing on trestles 12 feet above the floor level. The floor is divided off into = on each side and a central aisle renders all parts accessible. The Puddle Mill.—This mill covtains three double double, four double and one single puddling furnace, with boilers over furnaces. It was originally built forthe pro- duction of iron rails, and since they have ne longer been in use has been noted for bar exceedingly low in phosphorus, which is used for remelting at the open-hearth furnaces for the production of the high quality of steel necessary for ordnance and shafting work. Merchant-Steel Mill.—The merchant- steel mill is principally used for the rolling of smaller sections of rails, and special grades of Bessemer steel into billets, which are sold to manufacturers for the produc- tion of merchant bar, wire-rods, axles, &c. The rolling of iron shapes, principally used for construction in the works, is an important product of this mill. Bessemer Department.—This mill is a large and massive stone structure, having numerous and uniform arched ;openings in its sides, and an iron ‘and slate roof with a continuous lan- tern. The total length of the nave is 1512 feet, and its width is 111 feet. The tran- septs are also 111 feet wide, and their total length, including the crossing of the nave, is 386 feet. The clear hight is 29 feet.. This building runs longitudinally east and west, parallel with the Lehigh Valley Railroad. In the western or upper ortion of the mill is located the convert- ing department, consisting of four 7-ton vessels: These vessels are arranged in a straight line across the mill, an iron plat- form supported on cast-iron columns sur- rounding them. Back of the vessels stand the iron and spiegel cupolas; they are sup- plied with double platforms, one above the other, commonly called the charging and tapping floors. These floors communicate with the vessel platform and with each other by means of iron stairs. Three ves- sels are worked alternately, while one is off for repairs; the iron cupolas are run four on and four off; the spiegel cupolas are run two on and two off. This method of working facilitates repairs and prevents the necessity of any excessive repairing or protracted delays. The vessels are wrought iron shells, 8 feet in diameter; the body is completely lined with natural stones of mica schist, roughly hewn to shape, and the nose is lined with fire-brick. A vast number of experiments were tried before a natural stone could be found that would not either flake off under the heat of glazing or become rapidly denuded. The excellence of this stone depends upon its mechanical structure, which of course is a thing hardly capable of description. Excepting some not expensive repairs to the nose, one of these linings is good for 30,000 tons of ingots. In the old plant, 54,000 tons were made on the linings of the two vessels without the removal of any stones excepting in the nose and a few at the bottom joint. The vessel bottoms have 17 ‘ire-bnick tuyers, with 12 holes, 8 inch each. Between the tuyers are set on end bricks like the blast-furnace lining brick, as near together as they will stand. The small space left between the bricks and tuyers is rammed with ordinary gan- |nister bottom stuff, and so small is the total quantity of water in the bottom that it needs oven-drying only four hours; the bottoms stand 12 to 14 heats quite uniformly. The output of the converting department averages 4000 tons of ingots per week of 11 shifts; the plant has been worked at a higher rate of production. The annual capacity is 225,000 tons. The heats of ingots run from 7 to 8 tons according to the weignt of rail. Fourteen-inch ingots are predates. down to 7 inches square, and cut into single and double rail blooms for the rail mill. The stock ladles, molten metal, in- gots, &c., are moved by a system of nar- row-gauge tracks. This system, by means of frequent turn-tables, switches and hy- draulic lifts, offers a complete and con- venient conveyance. The casting pits and handling floor are under complete com- the high quality of merchant iron andj mand with a systematic arrangement of muck bar produced. The mill has recently ' hydraulic cranes. ! : i 166 THE IRON AGE. January 30, 1890 The blowing machinery is located in the upper transept, next the railroad. _There are two Bessemer blowing engines of the following dimensions: The smaller has two steam cylinders 36 x 60 inches, coupled direct with two blowing tubs 48 x 60 inches. The blowing tubs are placed back ot the steam cylinders and on the same bed plate; the steam cylinders are coupled on their forward end through cross heads and connecting rods to a fiy-wheel shaft, whose cranks stand at right angles. The larger engine has two steam cylinders 56 x 66 inches, and two blowing tubs 60 x 66 inches, arranged like the smaller. The smaller was the original engine, but, prov- ing inadequate to the demands of the in- creased plant, it has been replaced by one more powerful, and is now used as a re- serve or emergency engine. The large blowing engine running with 50 pounds of steam is capable of maintaining a blast rolls are 24 inches, three high. The rail passes from the rolls to the hot saws ana thence to automatic hot straighteners, hot beds, cold straighteners, drill presses, and then to a line of driven rollers, which carry the rails to the cars for shipment. A new 28-inch mill rolls heavy sections and long lengths. This train is driven by three high-speed compound engines on one shaft, connected with the middle roll and driving direct The aggregate power of these en- gines is 8000 horses. The necessary tables are of novel design and are worked auto- matically by water or air. In the heating furnaces of this department, a gas made from crude petroleum oil is used for fuel at the present time, instead of coal gas made in Siemens producers, as was origi- nally the case. Department of Construction and Repairs. —This department includes pattern, foun- dry, machine and smith shops for con- pressure of 40 pounds of air. The cupola |struction purposes and the necessary re- blast is obtamed from four No. 74 Baker | pairs. blowers, coupled direct to the shaft of a| The machine shop is a stone structure compound engine running 90 revolutions. | 253 x 64 feet, containing lathes, planers, The blast pressure at the blowers is| boring mills, gear-cutter, drill presses, about 14 pounds, and 11 ounces at the| shapers, slotting and straightening ma- tuyers. Another compound engine directly | chines and pipe cutters, among which are coupled with four blowing tubs is kept in | the 120-inch planer, a 16 foot boring mill, reserve for the cupolas. A Worthington | three heavy lathes and two large universal duplex and two Worthington compound | drills—one having a span of 14 feet. duplex pumps are also located in this tran-| The foundry, also of stone, is 107 feet x sept and supply a water pressure of 300 | 64 feet and forms an L with the machine pounds to the square inch for the operation | shop. It is supplied with two cupolas and of cranes, hoists, &c. In the opposite | three powerful cranes, and is thoroughly transept are two Pernot furnaces, with | equipped for all the necessary work. their accompaniment. Just outside this}! Ordnance and Armor-Plate Depart- transept is the ladle-house, supplied with | ment.—This department, now in operation, a number of short tracks and turntables. | when completed, will comprise gas pro- The freshly-lined ladles are placed on cars | ducers, open-hearth furnaces, fluid-com- and run into position on these tracks; | pression apparatus, soaking pits, hydraulic when in position a cap is lowered, forming | forging presses, plate-rolling mill, crucible a combustion chamber of the ladle, and a | furnaces, hydraulic and pneumatic cranes, stream of gas and air, in regulated propor- | a 125-ton single acting steam hammer, bend- tions, admitted through the center of the | ing press, oil-treating and annealing shops cap, causes more rapid drying and hotter|and machine shop. The open-hearth fur- ladles than could be obtained by the old | naces will have a capacity for casting ingots method of building fires in them. The} of100tons. The hydraulic forging presses number of ladles required is considerably | will produce the largest forgings required reduced by this method. for ships of any tonnage thus far designed, The vessel-bottom repair shop is located|and for guns of the largest caliber in the upper end of the mill, and is fur-| now in existence. A specialty will be nished with hydraulic cranes for handling|made of hollow forgings of large di- and ovens for drying. Atthis end of the| mensions. The plate-rolling mill will mill a brick foundry has been erected on}be capable of supplying all probable the south side and adjoins the mill. This | demands for rolled plates of every descrip- foundry is used for the manufacture of in- | tion. The pneumatic and hydraulic cranes got molds, the consumption being six to| have a capacity of from 25 to 150 tons. eight per day. The equipment consists of |The building containing the open-hearth a cupola and two power cranes. In the| furnaces, forging presses, fluid-compres- main portion of the mill, just below the | sion apparatus and plate mill is 1155 feet pits and handling floor, are six Siemens | long by 111 feet wide, with transept and reheating furnaces. Three furnaces are| annexes for engines, gas producers, &c. placed on each side, with hydraulic cranes | The oil-treating and annealing shops are for charging and drawing the ingots.|conveniently arranged for economical Centrally, between these furnaces and un-| treatment of heavy gun and other forg- der command of the hydraulic cranes, run | ings and of armor plates. two narrow-gauge tracks, one running| The machine shop contains lathes, plan- to the casting pits, the other to|ers, boring mills, slotters, drilling ma- the blooming train. There are two | chines, shapers, &c. Among these are a blooming mills, two engines and three sets | planer in which 13 x 13 feet by 50 feet of rolls. The smaller engine is 36 x 60| 10 inchescan be planed; 10-foot face-plate inches, coupled direct to two sets of three- | lathe; boring mills of the most recent de- high 32-inch rolls. Both sets are supplied | sign, and some of.the most powerful lathes with tables operated by power and con-|in existence. The building is 641 feet in trolled by two levers at one point. The| length by 116 feet in width. The travel- large mill is also three high; the rolls are|ing cranes are of the pneumatic type, 60 48 inches diameter and 10 feet long; the | feet span, and from 25 to 100 tons capacity. engine is 65 inches by 8 feet, with 90-ton | The shops are well lighted by electricity, fly-wheel; this mill is similar to the | and the entire plant supplied with efficient smaller, but handles a largeringot. From | rail communication and adequate rolling the blooming mill the ingot passes to steam | stock. The casting and forging presses hammers, is cut into rail blooms and| were manufactured by Sir Joseph Whit- charged into the rail-mill heating fur-| worth & Co., ot Manchester, England, and naces. designed by Mr. Gledhill, managing direc- These furnaces (four in number) are|tor of that firm; the heavy tools were con- similar in construction to the blooming: | structed from designs by Mr. Gledhill and mill furnaces, varying only in size, and are | Mr. Fritz; and all erected under the latter’s located immediately below the blooming | direction mill. The rail mill consists of three sets| In the designing and erection of the of rolls; the engine is an upright com-| hammer plants for making armor plates, pound, 36-inch a pressure and 56-inch | the plans of Schneider & Co., of Creusot, low pressure cylinders, 50-inch stroke; the' France, were consulted and followed as far as they met the conditions of con- struction already adopted. This depart- ment, for the production of heavy forgings for guns, armor, shafting and other pur- poses, is rapidly approaching completion, and within a year will equal if not surpass, any other establishment of its kind in the world in its capacity to supply war ma- terial, and the perfectness of its means of rapidly producing the heavy forgings re- quired. for modern high-power ordnance and the most posverful armored ships yet designed. With a casting capacity for ingots of 100 tons, fluid compression plant, a steam hammer of 125 tons (falling weight), the most powerful hydraulic forging presses ever constructed, and tools of the most approved and advanced type for shaping and finishing, this company has already manufactured and delivered all of the heavy shafting of the cruisers Philadelphia, San Francisco and Newark, together with forgings for 4-inch, 6-inch, 8 inch and 10-inch breech- loading rifles, and is now engaged upon the shafting of the armored coast-defense vessel Maine, and 8-inch, 10-inch and 12- inch breech-loading rifles for both the army and navy, and the armor of the barbette battleship Puritan, the double-turreted monitors Amphitrite, Monadnock and Ter- ror, the battleship Texas and the armored cruiser Maine. tn addition to the war ma- terial (including hollow and other forg- ings for shafting, guns, armor, shields and conning towers), special and miscellaneous forgings, the works have an output of some 250,000 tons of rails, blooms and bil- lets and miscellaneous work under a per- sonnel of about 3000. The chemical and physical laboratories are very complete ak contain Riehle and Emery testing machines of 100,000 and 300,000 pounds capacity. The company's property at South Bethlehem covers an extent of about one and a quarter miles in length by one-quarter of a mile in width, of which about 18 acres are under cover. _— a — In the Comptes Rendus, of the French Academy of Sciences, for December 9, M. Angot has published an interesting paper on ‘‘ The Observations of Tempera- ture at the top of the Eiffel Tower.” The mean monthly maxima and minima for July to November, inclusive, are compared with those recorded at the Pare Saint- maur. According to the usual decrease of temperature with hight, the Tower ob- servations should be about 2.9° lower than at the ground station, but the difference is much greater in summer during the day, and much less in winter during the night. In calm and clear nights, especially, the temperature has been found to be nearly 11° higher at the summit than at the base. At the time of a change of atmospheric conditions the change is manifested some hours, or even days, at the higher station. A striking instance of this occurred in November. Aftera period of high pressure, with calms and easterly breezes, the wind on the surface became strong, and shifted to south-southwest, and temperature rose. But the change had manifested itself on the Tower on the evening of the 2ist, and during the whole period, from the even- ing of the 21st to the morning of the 24th, the temperature at the Tower was higher than at the base, at some times even ex- ceeding 18°. Nature says: ‘‘ Observations made by a swinging thermometer at 11 a. m. on the 22d showed that the inferior limit of the warm current was approxi- mately between 500 feet and 600 feet above the ground.” As the result of a study of the replace- ments under guarantees ranging between five and ten years,on the Links Rheinische railroad, Baurath Ruappell, of Cologne, draws the conclusion that in Germany steel rails have been improved in quality. January 30, 1890 THE IRON AGE, 167 Marine Boiler for Higher Pressures. The last four or five years have seen a marked extension of triple-expansion en- gines working at pressures from 125 to 200 pounds to the square inch. This type of engine has been almost exclusively adopted in recent marine work, and, together with the quadruple expansion, has called for ex- 446-61 ; -} 9: ures. Their performances have, however, not been found satisfactory, and in many instances where large boilers of this type have been in use they have had to be taken out and replaced by the ordinary type of marine boiler. Two of the principal ob- jections to the locomotive boiler for ma- rine purposes are; 1. That they require the purest of water, as from their construc- O18 $15 er ae ' ‘ — e i LT f TT End Elevation Half in Section. MARINE BOILER tremely high-boiler pressures, since the economical results produced by these engines depend largely and in a cer- tain sense, are dependent upon the employment of pressures which ten years ago would have been deemed pre- posterous. The superiority of these en- gines is due to the high rate of expansion made possible by the high oe of steam employed, which avoid ina great measure excessive variations of temper- ature in the cylinder, great initial strains and sudden ‘‘drops” in the receivers. Further, as an increased pressure is ob- tained by only a slight addition in the consumption of fuel, the efficiency of the engine rapidly increased. From a paper read before the Northeast Coast Institution FOR HIGHER PRESSU of Engineers and Shipbuilders by Charles | << KK Bastow Casebourne we take the following | : abstract and illustrations, showing a new form of marine boiler especially adapted to higher pressures and which introduces the more or less well known double-shell principle. We may add, in parenthesis, that a boiler of somewhat similar form, and at all events founded upon the same principle of construction, is now being in- troduced in this country: At the present time quadruple expan- sion engines are working at a pressure of 180 pounds only. This is accounted for by the fact that hitherto it has not been found possible to construct a marine boiler capable of withstanding a higher presstre thout either considerably reducing the diameter or increasing the thickness of the shell plates. With respect to the reduc- tion of the diameter, it may not be gener- ally known that boilers of the locomotive type have frequently been tried, and many engineers are looking to this class of boiler as offering some advantages in point of weight in comparison to marine boilers, as well as their adaptability for higher press- Section Regulating Valve. tion they are much more difficult to clean and scale more than an ordinary marine boiler. 2. They are apt to prime owing to the small diameter and limited steam space, whenever the vessel is rolling and pitching in a sea way. Again, the writer questions very much whether this type of boiler, 1f required for a certain horse- power, could be made to occupy the same space of boiler room as a marine boiler of the same horse-power. Ina ~~ read before the Institution of Naval Architects by Mr. W. Parker, March 27, 1885, hesays: ‘‘I have conferred with the principal steel makers in the kingdom on this subject, and am able to say that they agree with me, and are decidedly of the opinion that steel shell plates of over an inch in thickness and having a tenacity of over 30 tons must contain so much car- bon as to render them unsuitable for boiler- making purposes, although they may pos- Longitudinal Section. RES. sess the necessary tenacity and ductility to | withstand the usual tensile and cold bend- ing tests.” Since this paper was read the | uniform quality of steel plates for boiler making has considerably improved, and they are now able to turn out plates up to 1} inch and 12 inch thick, but this is about the limit. Mr. J.T. Milton also remarks, in a paper read before the same institu- | tion March 30, 1882: ‘‘That these press- | ures of 140 pounds and 180 pounds are not | likely to be increased for some time to come, unless some type of boiler is intro- duced which will not necessitate the pres- }ent style of casing for containing the ‘steam and water, nor the present method of internal firing, as with the obtaining pressures the thickness of plates for these portions have reached the maximum capa- ble of being worked on the one hand and of being used for the transmission of heat on the other.” Taking tuese matters into consideration 1t would appear that before higher pressures can be adopted some im- proved type of boiler is necesssry to with- stand these higher pressures, which must X: | be so constructed that shell plates of ex- cessive thickness are not required nor has the diameter of boiler to be reduced. Having regard to these requirements the writer ventures to introduce to your notice a form of boiler which will bear the strain of these higher pressures without increasing the thickness of shell plates or reducing the diameter. In the accompany- ing illustrations Figs. 1 and 2 represent views of a boiler having two shells, which will hereafter be named as “outer” and ‘‘inner” shells. The space inclosed be- tween the shells is termed a ‘‘ jacket,” so that the whole may be termed a “‘jack- eted” boiler. The object of providing a double shell is to charge the inclosed space with steam of a lower temperature than that generated within the ioner shell, 168 which is thus relieved of the full pressure of steam within, and is only subjected to the excess of the pressure of steam within over the pressure of the steam between the two shells. As, for example, in the illus- trations we have a boiler with a shell cal- culated to stand a working pressure of 150 pounds to the square inch, employed as the inner shell of a boiler in which steam Is generated to a working pressure of 250 pounds, the extra 100 pounds being neutralized or balanced by an external pressure of the same amount exerted by the steam inclosed between the two shells or jacket. As the object of providing a space between the two shells is to provide a means of applying a neutralizing or bal- ancing pressure to the inner shell, any fluid or gaseous body may be used, but for many obvious reasons steam is the most convenient for the purpose. It is at once evident that the pressure in the jacket must be constantly and regularly main- tained, and in order to provide for this it 1s necessary to have one or more regulating valves between the two shells. These are corstructed on the principle of an ordi- nary spring-loaded safety valve mounted on valve seats in the inner shell, and so regulated that when the pressure in the jacket falls below that required to be main- tained the valve lifts, admitting steam from the boiler until the required pressure is reached, when the valve again closes. The valve is loaded to 150 pounds, and is externally adjustable. This is effected by having a screwed spindle passing through the cover by means of which the spring may be compressed or released as desired. A valve simitar to that shown would be necessary to provide against collapse of inner shell, should the pressure in boiler from any cause be suddenly reduced. Safety-valves of ordinary construction would have to be provided for both ‘boiler and jacket. Condensed water would be drawn away from bottom of jacket to feed pumps. Tubes would have to be thicker, but not much more so than those required for 150 pounds pressure, as their diameter could be slightly reduced. The same may be said of furnaces. These could be used of a thickness of inch and diameter of 3 feet, and a thickness of ;*; inch and diameter of 2 feet 6 inches, of Fox’s patent corrugated type. Longi- tudinal stays would have to be pitched closer together and of rather larger diameter, but they need not be of less pitch than 14 inches, which would afford ample room for examination and cleaning inside of boiler. Combustion-chamber stays would have to be pitched closer to- gether and of rather larger diameter. Tube plates need not be of any excessive thickness, if more screwed stay-tubes are put in. In fact, there seems to have been plenty of room for adapting the present style of marine boiler to higher pressures in all directions with the exception of the shell, and the writer is of opinion that a double form of shell, as shown would overcome this difficulty. Although a boiler with two shells will naturally weigh more than a boiler with one, yet the extra weight will not be so much as might at first be supposed, for by using steam of higher pressure a boiler of smaller diam- eter is possible, the weight of water evaporated being less. In this boiler there are two forms of riveted circum- ferential seams employed—one the ordin- ary lapped joint double riveted, and the other a flanged joint flanged externally in the case of the ‘‘outer” shell internally in the case of the ‘‘inner” shell. The latter form of joint has been suggested in event of any difficulty being experienced in repairing any ordinary lap joint should occasion rise. It has been previously men- tioned that this type of boiler is specially adaptable for steam of 250Ib for quad- ruple expansion engines which are at pres- This ent only using steam of 180tb. Other builders the shipyards of the Delaware have en- joyed for a long time. some time to complete. THE IRON AGE, » January 380, 1890 The vessels turned out during the year by Neatie & Levy were, among others, the steamer Charlotte, for the York River Steamboat Company, valued at $275,000; the steamer Carona, for the Oregon Navi- gation Company, $300,000; the tugs Brin- ton and Media, for the Pennsylvania Rail- road, $60,000; the tug A. Hughes, $30,000; the tug International, Peter Wright & Son; the tug Harold, F. Chappel, New London, Conn. ; the tug Sculley, John Sculley, New York; the steamer Mendell, United States Government, and the tug Baker, H. G. Burleigh. The output of the Harlan & Hollings- worth Company consisted principally of tugs, transfer steamers and ferryboats At the Wilmington yard of the Pusey & Jones Company 12 vessels, valued at $500,000, were constructed. These were the steamer Lot M. Morrill. the tug New- port, for the Pennsylvania Railroad ; the tug Compton, for use on the Cape Fear River, in North Carolina; the steamers Louis Pasteur, Robert Koch and William H. Welsh, for the United States Marine Hospital Service; the steamer Sebastian, for passenger traffic on the Indian River, Florida; the steamer St. Augustine, for the Jacksonville, Tampa and Key West Railway Company, and the steamers Guanare, Socarro and Chimbo, for river service in Venezuela and Ecuador. These three last vessels were built in sections for greater case of transportation. Mr. Pusey, class of engine is becoming more popular every day, and may in time supersede the present triple expansion, even as the latter has taken the place of compound engines. The writer has not thought it necessary in this paper to go into all the minor details of a new design of boiler, but is anxious to have an expression of opinion from the engineering members of the Institution as to the feasibility of constructing a marine boiler with a double shell to stand much higher pressure than those now in actual use. EEE Shipbuilding on the The Philadelphia Record reports that the shipbuilders of the Delaware River turned out from their yards last year no less than $10,000,000 worth of vessels. These in- cluded war ships, large passenger and freight steamships, sailing vessels, tugs, yachts and a host of smaller craft. Great as was the work done on these vessels, however, it did not represent the entire labor of the shipyards, as many vessels re- main still unfinished. As nearly as can be ascertained the value of the output of the leading builders was about as follows: Delaware River Iron Shipbuilding Works, of Chester (Roach’s yard)..$3,625,000 Cramp & Sons 3,125,000 Ss erica havdenadsecect ' Harlan & Hollingsworth Company, of Wilmington ‘(estimated)........ 400,000 Delaware. iia 6 5605 SSNS 8 bios 00 0a00 es ,000 of the firm reports that the work done in John H. Dialogue, of Camden....... 000 s : Birely, Hillman & Streaker......... 175.000 1889 was greater than in 1888, and that there is a constant increase. The present year promises to be a prosperous one. The greater part of the firm’s work is the construction of heavy engines and ma- chinery, which are sent to all parts of the world. John Dialogue built seven vessels, mostly tugs, at his Camden yard, the ag- gregate value of which was $500,000. They were the Louis Luckenback, an iron seagoing tug; the Western Union, an iron cable boat, used by the Western Union Telegraph Company at New York in lay- Peete eee eee eee eee eee The year 1889 was undoubtedly the best All the indications point to equal prosperity for the present year, as many of the yards have large con- tracts on hand which it will take them Ten vessels were constructed at Roach’s yard, the highest record of which is 12 vessels. When the value of the output is considered, however, the work of the past year was as great as that of any previous year. The gunboats Concord and Ben- nington, for the United States Navy, were practically completed, and the oth- ers were the steamships Leona, for the Mallory Line; the Kansas City, for the Ocean Steamship Company; the Yumuri, Orizaba and Yucatan, for the New York and Cuban Mail Steamship Company; the Segurancia and Vigilancia, for the Brazil Steamship Company, and the steamer Plymouth, for the Fall River Line. These vessels will average 3000 tons each. Some are still at the yard. President John B. Roach says that the outlook for 1890 is very promising, and that plenty of work has been promised. The vessels now un- der construction will keep the yard busy until June. The year 1889 witnessed the completion at the Cramps’ yard, in Phila- delphia, of the most notable war ships that have been built for the new navy. These were the Baltimore, the dynamite cruiser Vesuvius, the fastest vessel of her tonnage afloat, and the gunboat Yorktown. The other vessels, which were built for the merchant marine, were the Caracas, Vene- zuela and El Mar. The record for the year, as indicated by horse-power and tonnage, was as follows: Vessel. Horse-power, Tonnage. Baltimore, ....02scceceecs 10, 4,400 Yorktown..... .......... 3,598 ‘eo EG shtis.sesese esa ee 4,280 810 INE 6 es sive 0's 0 88S uns 1,800 2,584 VWOROEIER, 6 6's 5 0. cnss cvess 1,800 2,842 Sai onda ieeacunel 2,400 3,531 WOMERe i nvoesnee onseve 23,742 15,867 The Cramps still have in their yard the of about the same size as the Baltimore, and some other vessels, which will give them plenty of work for months to come. The present year promises to be even more cruisers Philadelphia and Newark, prosperous than 1889. following vessels : use in Boston harbor; a tug for the Sus- quehanna Boom Company; the steamship Maracaibo, to carry freight between South American ports and New York; steamer Yuma, for William P. Clyde & Co., for freight service between Philadel- = and New York; the steamer Elko, ing and repaiting cables; the Armeria, a steel supply vessel for the use of the Gov- ernment along the Atlantic and Gulf coasts; the Nathaniel P. Doane, a tug for use in Boston harbor; the George W. Pride, a seagoing tug; the Pocahontas, an iron steamer for the lumber service; the steamer I. J. Merritt, a wrecking boat, and the William P. Congdon, an iron tug owned at Georgetown, 8. C. ‘‘Last year was the best we ever had,” Mr. Dialogue says, ‘‘and the outlook for 1890 is excellent, promising as much work as in 1889, if not more.” Birely, Hillman & Streaker built the The tug Bismarck, for the or the same trade; the tug Rose Hagan, for use in Delaware River, and tug Frank W. Munn, for the Delaware River service. Mr. Hillman, of the firm, states that while 1889 was a fairly good one the prospects for 1890 are flattering, there being mauy new inquiries for vessels. At present the firm are building a steamship for William P, Clyde & Co. and a tug for Richard G. Banks, for use on the Delaware River. In addition to the firms here named, there are a number of others along the Delaware River, the value of whose output must have been large. Taking all the yards to- gether, it may safely be said that they turned out $10,000,000 worth of vessels. These figures go to show that the Dela- ware still retains its pre-eminence as the Clyde of America, and that its ship-build- ing industry is on the high wave of prosperity. January 30, 1890 Building the New Navy. The Senate Committee on Naval Affairs gave an extended discussion to the recom- mendations of the Naval Policy Board ap- pointed by Secretary Tracy. The recom- mendations include one that great line-of- battle ships like the English Benbow should be constructed atonce. The policy in substance involves the construction of 227 ships, with a total tonnage of 610,035, at a cost of $349,515,000. This aggre- gate cost includes $67,965,000 already ex- pended. When the committee proceeded to the consideration of these recommenda- tions the issue was raised as to whether or not it would be advisable at this time to begin with the construction of the im- mense line-of-battle ships as proposed by the Policy Board. Including the harbor defense monitors there are 44 of these ves- sels and they would cost $202,490,000, while the other 183 vessels, including 101 tarpedo-boats at an aggregate cost of $6,565,000, would cost only $147,025,000. DOUBLE SUCTION THE IRON AGE. 169 instructed to report favorably the bill in- troduced by him some days ago embody- ing the recommendations contained in Secretary Tracy’s annual report. , rr Double Suction Pump. The general form and arrangement of the parts of this pump, which is built by the Morris Machine Works, of Baldwins- ville, N. Y., manufacturers of special pumps for hydraulic, dredging, irrigation and drainage work, are clearly shown in the accompanying engraving. A wide- face driving pulley is mounted at one end of the shaft, which at the other end car- ries the blocks of the pump proper. The case of the pump is formed of two parts only, which are flanged and bolted to- gether, the inner-half being also flanged and bolted to the bed, the form of which is shown in the cut. The many advan- tages arising from this form of construc- tion are apparent. Among the claims FUMP. The maintenance of these heavy vessels | made for this pump by the makers are that would also be considerable. It was pro- posed to construct them in order that we might have an offensive fighting fleet cap- able of contending with the greatest fleet of any foreign power. Senators Chandler and McPherson op- posed that part of the Policy Board’s recommendations proposing that these ves- sels should first be constructed. They said that in their opinion the United States should continue its present policy of build- ing fast cruisers like the Baltimore, Bos- ton, Charleston and San Francisco, and gunboats and torpedo vessels. The cost of these vessels was comparatively small, and they would form an unequalled fleet of commerce destroyers. The building of the huge line-of-battle ships should be de- ferred until we had a larger number of cruisers or there was some exigency call- ing for their construction. They hoped the committee would begin with the latter and not the first half of the vessels recom- mended to be constructed. On this issue the committee divided, the majority agree- ing with the Policy Board. In accord ance with this decision Senator Hale was it is heavier, more efficient and better made than any heretofore produced. = The Duluth Iron and Steel Company Copper in Steel. An apt illustration of the fact that bet- ter knowledye dispels some of the preju- dices of the earlier days is furnished by the manner in which the presence of cop- per in steel is now regarded. It is not too much to say that the pioneer work done in this direction by one of the Eastern rail mills is destined to retain to Eastern Penn- sylvania a position in the iron trade which otherwise would have been imperiled by the invasions of Western makers. Very little has reached the public of the pro- longed struggle on the question whether or not copper in steel is injurious to it. To-day some of the leading consumers of rails, after an investigation quietly carried out, have overcome their prejudice and freely acknowledge that the presence of copper in steel not alone is not hurtful, but that it is probably the cause of recognized and a