The Iron Age 1891-09-10: Vol 48

‘THE THURSDAY, The Bradley Cinder Car. The Laughlin and Junction Steel Com- pany of Mingo Junction, Ohio, have had in use for over two years a cinder car de- signed by W. H. Bradley, superintendent of the plant. During that time it has needed practically no repairs. The chief feature of the car is its automatic dump ing and righting, or return to the filling po- sition. This is accomplished by means of the door, which is so arranged as to act as a lever to lift the body or box to its hori- | zontal position. rests on the bottom plate and serves as a} stop to prevent the car body from tipping backward beyond a horizontal position when empty. A tight joint is tbus formed between the door and body. The —- show the tapping holes at the front and rear, which are used for liquid cinder. When the cars are intended for handling earth, gravel, ores, &c., the parts are made of wood, plate iron or other material. The car frame is composed of longi- tudinal beams, carrying the axles, and hav- When closed the door | SEPTEMBER 10, 1891, t charged the car body will automatic: cally right itself and the door will resume its former vertical position at the side of the car, as shown in the right-hand view. This is due to the fact that because the door is supported by the car frame and not by the car body, the center of gravity of the car | when empty is on the side of the trunnions next to the rear side of the car body, and the door, tending by gravity to resume a | vertical position, will through the link exert on the car body an upward force, | which tends to right it. The advantage of m iking the car body longer at the side next to the door and tapering in length toward the other side is not only tbat it causes the center of gravity to be shifted when the car is loaded, but also that by affording a flaring discharge for the cinder the latter will free itself quickly and will not stick or adhere to the sides of the car. ~ a Indications are now good for a peaceful settlement of the trouble existing be- ; tween the iron manufacturers of the Ma- IRON AGE and there is to-day, after such experiments as have already been performed, a de- cidedly increased confidence in the ad- vantage of compounding where the engine is to be subjected to heavy work, but we cannot say that there is an increased con- fidence in the value of compounding for high speeds and light loads.’ ee The Cost of Eleetrie Traction. The figures giving the cost of operation of the electric cars on the West End Street tailway in Boston, for the month of July, have just been compiled by the auditor and are here published in full. The re- port for July shows a decrease of $7965 in net earnings as against June, but an in- crease of $83,: 359 over April and $38,770 over May. The real point of West End earnings, says the Boston News Bureau, is to Le found in the electric lines expense account. As the new power hous:>s of the West End came into operation the result is seen in the reduced cost of motiv, power. In April and May the motiv, Car Closed. ing at the ends upright standards provided with forked portions for the trunnions of the tip pping car body. The body is con- | structed as clearly shown in the engrav- ings, the trunnions being cast integral with and fixed to the ends of the body. Stand- ards extend upward from the frames at the ends of the car, and the door is pivotally supported on these standards by trunnions. The door consists of a plate of proper shape to close the side of the car, and is provided at its upper end with a project- ing arm, which is connected to the car body by alink. The operation is as fol lows: Owing to the fact that the side of.the car next the swinging door is wider than the other side, the center of gravity will be on the side next the door wken the car | is loaded. When loaded, the car is held from tipping by suitable restraining de- vices. When it is desired to tip the car, these restraining devices are loosened, and thereupon the car body will tip automatic- ally on the trunnions into the inclined position shown in the left-hand engraving. When the body tips in this manner, the door, being upheld by the standards, does not move downwardly with the car body ; but by the action of the link the door will be thrown open to permit the discharge of the load. As soon as the load is dis- THE BRADLEY CINDER CAR. honing and Shenango valleys and the Car Service Association controlling lines en- tering those places. The trouble arose over an attempt on the part of the rail- charges on all freight cars held over a certain length of time while unloading. | These charges have been disputed by the | manufacturers, and for some time it looked as though a legal battle of large propor- tions would be the result. Valley Iron Manufacturers’ Association and railroad ofticials, held at Youngstown was appointed to arrange with the iron | manufacturers for the adjustment of car | | Service rates. The committee will confer with J. G. Butler, Jr., L. E. Cochrane | and W. E. Taylor, representing the iron men, and will report their conclusions at a meeting to be held not later than Sep tember 30. ture operations of the manufacturers. The Railroad Gazette concludes an edi- torial discussion of the progress of com- pound locomotive building in this country as follows: ‘‘On the whole, then, we may say that the compound principle is being well and thoroughly tried in this country, E The conference will no doubt | have an important bearing upon the fu- | | roads to compel the manufacturers to pay | At a joint} meeting of the Mahoning and Shenango | on Wednesday, September 2, a committee | Car Open. power for a horse car cost 10.86 cents per mile, while in June and July it could not be got lower than 10.38 cents. The motive | power for an electric car has now been got down to 7 cents per car mile, and will be lower in future. , Total. Electric. Horse Gross receipts. ... .. $554,431 $144,552 $400,878 General expenses... 27,613 6,955 20,657 Track and car ex- penses ....... 179,843 43,891 135,954 Motive power........ 142,670 26,398 116,271 Total operating ex- penses. 350,137 77,249 272,888 | Net earnings . 24,294 67 308 136.990 Miles run... ... 1,497,568 BTT19L 1,120,377 Ratio mileage........ 100.00 25.19 74.81 Per cent. operating expenses anaes 63.15 53.44 66.58 Cents. Cents. Cents. | | Earnings per mile run seeds cae 37.02 38.32 36,58 | Expenses per mile run: Motive power. .... 9.53 7.00 1.38 Car repairs. . “as 0.75 1V 0.61 Damages ei O07 0.12 0.06 Conductors and drivers.... ad 7.91 6.92 8.23 Other e xpense = 5.12 5.37 5.07 Total expenses per mile run ny ae 23.38 20.48 24.35 Net earnings per mile run ..... 13.64 17.54 12.23 In connection with these reports of the cost of electric traction on the Boston road, the following interview with Thos. Lowry, president of the St. Paul and Minneapolis street railways, will be of in- terest. Mr. Lowry’s lines have lately ex- VLR SJSISD DDD} +9 e- a rerio _ et ease) wees uw > a. > = a ee Psi A’ ~ er “SS, ry a ae Ht a 400 changed their horse for electric equipment. What he says of the cost of operating electric cars is of especial interest. He Bays : ‘-T suppose it is a fact that we have at St. Paul and Minneapolis the biggest electric system in the world, and, moreover, every- body is perfectly satisfied with its opera. | tion. We hear nothing but praise. Here are to-day nearly 350,000 people, and not a horse car in either city. Minneapolis has | 120 miles of street railway, all equipped | with the overhead electric system, with posts set in the middle of the street and arms for the wires extending over the track on either side. St. Paul has 90 miles of street railway; 75 miles of it are in the electric system and 15 miles in cable, but we shall take up part of the cable road and supplant it with electricity, except where we have to mount a 17 per cent. grade. Here we must keep the cable in. One can now travel by our elec- tric line from the north side of Minneapo- lis to St. Paul parks, over 20 miles, upon a transfer check. This, I think, is fur- ther than from the back side of East Bos- | ton to West Roxbury. I have just re- ceived from the West the first monthly report of the Minneapolis street railway system in which no horse account ap- pears. It shows gross earnings for July of $107,571, and expenses of $52,585, and net earnings of $54,985. This shows ex- venses of less than 49 per cent. for operat- ing, and I feel perfectly sure that within two years we shall be operating our entire electric system of 215 miles in two cities for less than 40 per cent. for expenses. A year ago our Minneapolis lines were earn- ing about $70,000 a month. ‘*We have increased our gross earnings 50 per cent. by the improved facilities which the electric lines afford to the trav- eling public. I have looked over the June monthly statement of the West End Street Railway, and I believe that, with the vol- ume of traffic here in Boston, it will oper- ate with a good deal less than 50 per cent. for expenses when you have gotten your horse cars from between your electric cars. With the horse cars out of the way you can run nearly one-third more trips with the same equipment. We use principally Lima oil for fuel, which costs us $1 a barrel, most of it for trans- portation from Ohio. I think it takes about three barrels to make the equivalent of a ton of coal; but, at any rate, I figure that it costs us only $1 a day for power to run an electric car, where we are operating 150 cars in the system. Horses used to cost us $3.85 to $4 a day per car with our low-priced grain. I think it must cost the West End $5 per day for horses per horse car. You see that here is a great saving, and then there is the increased number of trips and the increase in the number of passengers carried, as the facilities are in- creased. All the people in the Northwest are enthusiastically in favor of the electric system. We have had every kind of power, and find in the winter the overhead electric is better to work through snow drifts than either steam, horse or cables, and we have tried them all. ‘* We have used electricity now for two years, and we think we know something about motor repairs and the general repair account, aud we expect this account to diminish instead of increase. The prin- cipal item is the burning out of the arma- tures, but this becomes less as employees become more experienced and operations become systematized. The ratio of oper- ating expenses on electric systems is down- ward, not upward. My report of this morning from Minneapolis covers 11 elec- tric lines for July. The line of our heaviest traffic, 9} miles, between Minneapolis and St. Paul, shows only 35 per cent. of a 5- cent fare as cost of operating. We run trains of two cars on this line, and we are going to run three cars as the traffic in- | THE IRON AGE. creases. The principal increase in ex- pense will be the cost of a conductor, as we have a man on each car. I don’t see why Boston expenses for the electric sys- tem cannot be got down to between 35 and 40 per cent. with its immense traffic.” a — Lightning Rods. BY ELIHU THOMSON. In the Electrical World we find an article by Elihu Thomson on the use of lightning rods and how best to arrange them. As the subject is one of vast inter- est to all, we quote as follows: The following queries were sent out by one of the metropolitan journals: Do lightning rods really afford any protec- tion ? What is the nature of the electrical dis- charge ? What is the correct theory of its cause ? What is the correct theory of the action of lightning rods? Should they be insulated or not ? Does their effectiveness depend on their cross section or surface / Do you agree with the ideas advanced by Mr. N. D. C. Hodges in his paper on this sub- ject, read before the Institute of Electrial Engineers, April 21, and reprinted in part in the Electrical World of May 2? In regard to the utility of lightning rods I think there can be no question that a properly constructed and arranged light- ning rod will afford complete protection of buildings from the effects of lightning discharges. In the first place, in my opinior, the-lightning rod, contrary to the opinions put forward and even advocated in the books, does not have any consider- able effect in conducting off discharges from the clouds silently, for the reason that the development of the conditions of the discharge from the cloud to the earth is oftentimes too sudden to allow any rod or rods to effect this work of conduction in a silent manner. The cloud ordinarily during thunder storms is moving rapidly and the lightning strokes are found most frequently where the densest rain exists, and it is easy to see that a building may suddenly be drenched with rain and the conditions for a stroke brought about at such a rate that a lightning rod or rods could not ward off a discharge by con ducting the electricity silently to the earth. In such cases what is more likely to happen is this, that the highly charged cloud ex- isting over the neighborhood of the build- ing provided with a rod will, if the conditions are favorable, suddenly dis- charge itself into the rod and the dis- charge be thus carried to ground. On the same reasoning it must be admitted that the presence of a lightning rod may, and perhaps often does, conduce to a building being struck by lightning, but it is much better to have the building struck a num- ber of times without doing any harm taan to run the risk of having it once struck while without any means of conduction of the current to the earth except through the poorly conducting portions of the building, which are almost sure to suffer injury or destruction. I do not think that lightning rods are of much utility in the case of buildings which have metal pipes running from the ground up to the highest story and through the roof, especially if these pipes should extend to a considerable hight above the building or above the highest part of the building. In case the build- ing has a metal roof with pipes runving from the ground to the roof there is little liability of damage being done below the roof, but any chimney which projects above the roof might be struck and shat- tered. Ia such cases a connection from the pipe or metal of the roof to a short rod running up the chimney and extend- ing above it a short distance would be advisable. Lightning rods are of but September 10, 1891 little use for buildings adjoining tall chim neys or church spires themselves provided with good lightning conductors. The actual area which is protected by a church spire provided with a lightning conductor has never been satisfactorily determined, but it is probably at least equal to that of a circle whose radius is equal to the hight of the spire or chimney above the top of the building to be protected. All that I have said in relation to the effectiveness of the lightning rod implies. of course, that it be properly put up—that is, put up with a knowledge of the condi tions of the service which is to be had from it—and that it be thoroughly con- nected with the ground at its lower end. Merely running the end of the rod into the ground a short distance, as sometimes done, is by no means sufficient. A con- nection of the system to gas or water pipes generally furnishes a good ground. The running of the lower end of the rod, made of some metal which cannot be easily cor- roded, either into a pit or well filled with broken coke or tin scrap will make a good ground, provided the well is deep enough to be always in a moist state. A still bet- ter way is to fork the end of the rod into several branches which run away from the building and pass downward into several small pits or wells, with the conducting material, such as coke, iron borings, tin scrap or the like, placed in them. The most perfect lightning protection is obtained when the building is virtually in a metallic cage, the parts of which in con- nection with the earth are very thoroughly grounded or connected with the moist stratum. Such thoroughness as this is, however, not necessary. With even a large building the carrying of a conductor down each corner and grounding it as above mentioned would be sufficient. Of course the rod should have sufficient metal in it not to be injured by the heaviest pos- sible discharge which would be liable to pass over it. It should, in other words, built with a factor of safety, so as to be able to carry to the ground all the cur- rent which could ever reach it from the clouds. I think it is pretty generally con- ceded that 4-inch iron rod has never been known to be injured by the passage of a lightning discharge through it, and that such rod conducts the discharge freely enough for the purpose. Experience, of course, is to be the teacher in this case. A lightning rod made of galvanized-iron pipe, say 1-inch pipe, used with the screw joints well secured and painted so as not to rust at the joints, would be about as good a conductor as could be desired. A flat strip of copper securely tacked to the building and running down its corners, the dimensions of the copper being, say, ys inch thick by 14 inches wide, would also answer, and is in many respects a good form of conductor. If the metal aluminium becomes cheap enough [ think an iron bar covered with this metal would be an excellent conductor on account of the small liability of the aluminium to rust. Concerning the action of a lightning rod in saving a buildigg from harm, this can be briefly stated to be the mere inter- posing of some good conductor in the path ot the lightning discharge, so that the charge can be carried to earth, or the elec- tric strain relieved, without the necessity for following poorer conductors, which, if traversed, would be torn to pieces or de- stroyed More scientifically, it may be stated to be the provision of a path or center of action for the discharge in the vicinity of the building of such a charac- ter that the discharge selects it in prefer- ence to forming » center of discharge or path for itself through the building, which may be made of materials not able to carry the discharge without de- struction. The concentration of the en- ergy of a discharge on ordinary building September 10, 1891 material, such as wood, stones, brick or | plaster, gives rise to destruction from the | mere fact that these substances are not | capable of conveying the energy without | being highly heated. If wood be suddenly | heated the watery vapor in it forms a gas | and explodes it. The destructive effects, | then, of the electrical discharge are due to | expansion of gases, or the production of vapors within the material damaged. Lightning rods need not be insulated | from the building. It matters very little | whether they are or are not insulated, as | the ordinary provisions for insulation so | far as a lightning discharge is concerned are practically ni/. The insulation given to a lightning rod is frequently that which | is not good enough for a telegraph line) where the pressure of the current on the! line may not exceed in all 200 volts, while in the lightning discharge the pressure may be many millions of volts. Where there are large masses of metal in a build- ing it would do no harm as a rule to con- nect these masses to the ground as well as | to the lightning rod; and it may be said also that where a building is filled with masses of metal or machinery, damage from lightning could be largely obviated by connecting the various masses of the metal one to the other and to the ground. | THE IRON AGE. the short intervals through which the flash lasts. The oscillating action may be il- lustrated by fastening the end of a thin steel rod and bending it by carrying the free end to one side. This if let go will be followed by a series of oscillations made very quickly, but which are akin to oscillations of a pendulum. The re- lief of electrical pressure is in lightning so | sudden as to result in the action of relief going too far, after which a relief in the opposite direction ensues, back and forth, until all of the energy of the discharge has | been used up in the form of light and heat. This must not be confounded with the action which often occurs during thunder storms, when two, three or more separate discharges are visible separately to* the eye, and follow down the same path or the track which has been opened by the first discharge. This is a phenomenon common enough and easily observed, but it has no relation to the oscillations of a single lightning discharge. These oscilla- tions, if they exist at all, are in periods inconceivably small, and therefore are not to be discovered by the unassisted eye. Neither do I wish to be understood as subscribing to the opinion that all light- ning discharges are oscillating in character. Iam convinced from my own observation THE ANTHES STRAP COVERING MACHINE, It is not, however, essential that they be actually connected to the ground; for if a mass of metal in the building is but | slightly separated from the ground wire by what is known asa discharge space, it will | be quite sufficient to allow lightning to pass. A slight opening between two parts of a conductor constitutes a dis- charge space. Such discharge spaces and protective arrangements are used com- | monly on telegraph and telephone lines, in which the lines, although they are not connected to earth at each instrument, may be so near the earth by the provision of a discharge space between the line and earth that they are practically connected. The effectiveness of lightning rods de- pends, I think, not alone upon their cross section nor alone upon their surface. It is as much a mechanical as an electrical question. There needs to be a sufficient cross section of metal not to be, melted by any discharge, and it is best thdt the metal be made in the form of a pipe or flat strip, since the tendency of the lightning dis- charge is to follow the surface portion of the conductor. This is due to the fact that it is an extremely quick discharge and may take upon itself an oscillating char- | cloud and perhaps to earth. acter. This means that each spark which connects earth and cloud is not a stream of something running in one direction, but merely a core or axis for a set of disturb. ances or reliefs of pressure which may act alternately in opposite directions during that very many lightning discharges, par- ticularly those which pass over great lengths of clouds, are more apt to be dis- charges of some duration. Observation over a long period of years has led me to think that it may be possible that the discharges in some instances have a measurable rate of progress from cloud to The photo- graphic plate, which is being more and more applied to the study of lightning discharges, will some day resolve this | doubt. a The Westinghouse Interests. The annual meeting of the stockholders of the Union Switch and Signal Company of Pittsburgh will be held in that city on Wednesday, September 16 next. In his annual report to the stockholders E. H. Goodman, president of the company, speaks as follows: ‘‘ The Board of Direct- ors respectfully represent to the stock- holders of this company that it is greatly to their interest that the sale heretofore made to the Westinghouse Electric Com- pany of its property shall be ratified and consummated, there still remaining in the hands of the electric company a large amount of the purchase money due and uupaid, which the interests of the company require the payment of.” A large stockholder who is familiar with the affairs of both the Union Switch and 401 Signal Company and the Westinghouse Electric and Mfg. Company has given the following statement for publication: ** $100,000 was paid the Union Switch and Signal Company by the Westinghouse Electric Company, leaving $75,000 re- maining unpaid. This amount has been drawing 6 per cent. interest since 1886, making the diflerence at present about $100,000. This sum is expected to come from the Reorganization Committee of the Westinghouse Electric and Mfg. Company, which will give the electric company a clear title to the property. When the Union Switch and Signai Company bought the property, plant, &c., 6 per cent. bonds to the extent of $350,000 were issued, of which the Westinghouse Air Brake Com- pany took $296,000 and the remaining $54,000 were disposed of in speculative circles. Interest on these bonds to the extent of $100,000, due on the holdings of the Westinghouse Air Brake Company, has not been paid. By the adoption of the resolutions drawn up by the Union Switch and Signal Company, the company will be able to pay up its back interest to the air brake company.” a Strap Covering Machine. This machine is intended to serve as a | form on which to stretch endless polishing ‘belts while applying a coat of emery or quartz. The machine is operated by grasping the belt with the left hand and causing it to travel around the pulley while the glue is appliea with the right hand. During this operation the pulley | rests on a support, as shown in the cut. The handles on both sides of the large pulley are then grasped and the belt rolled —not dragged—through the trough or box of emery, precisely as in ‘‘ setting up” a leather covered polishing wheel. The emery is pressed into the glue before it sets, and the coating procured is more even and durable than that obtained by sprinkling the emery on the glue. This machine is made by Cutter & Wood, of 131 Pearl street, Boston. re Growth in the Northwest. A Detroit paper makes an interesting comparison of statistics of population, showing how slow is the growth of Can- ada when contrasted with the rapid devel- opment of the neighboring States: The total population of the Dominion is 4,823, - 344, an increase of 498,534 in the ten years since the last census. In the same period the State of Michigan, which has a total population of 2,093,889, has in- creased 456,952, which is a total increase nearly as great as that of the whole Do- minion and a proportionate increase many times greater. Ontario is much larger than Michigan. It is the richest of the provinces, and yet the ‘‘crown jewel” of the boasted British empire springing up in the north falls far behind the adjacent American territory subject to the same climatic conditions and in other essential respects possessing no superior advan- tages, The following figures give the details of how the State has outstripped the province in the 20 years. The censuses are taken by ten-year periods in each country. In this table the Ontario figures are for the censuses of 1871, 1881 and 1891 and the Michigan figures for the censuses of 1870, 1880 and 1890: 1880-1. 1800-1.” 1,926,922 2,112,989 1,636,937 2,093,889 Ontario’s excess. 436,569 19,100 Comparing the Canadian Northwest with the new American States across the boundary line the contrast is not Icss 1870-1. 1,620,851 1,184,282 Ontario Michigan 289,985 e > # i 8 k ’ » we Ney Ss CSS, RN ~=x Ve N “ite Si Se Se rs — a re 402 striking: In 1880 Washington, Montana and North Dakota had 151,184 people, | only 14,000 more in round numbers than the neighboring provinces. Now they | have 663,714, an increase of 512,526. The relative increase of the two regions readily appears in the following table: Increase, Increase. Washington. ..274,400 British Columbia .45,305 | Assiniboine , THE IRON AGE. September 10, 181 water flows in the pipe C, escaping freely into the tail race until by the continucd revolution of the shaft O the cam again closes G. During the closing, however, which takes place quite slowly, some water rises in the chamber H, driving out 'the air, which escapes from the chamber through the valve J. This action is one principal object of the chamber H, and Immediately the orifice G is opened the | curtain is forced against the valve, and so completes its closing. This arrangement has, in addition to the advantage of dur- ability, that of not being injured by sticks or floating 1ubbish if such should be brought down by the water. A’most im mediately after the closing of the main valve, the water, still rising in the cham- ber, reaches the lower edge a of the tube /, up which it flows, touches the float ¢ at Montana. . 92,610 Alberta ..61,487| helps more than any other feature of the| tached to the air valve J and closts it. ; __,, Saskatchewan! =~ |engine to make it possible to utilize} The momentum of the column of water North Dakata. 145,516 Manitoba........".182/the principle of the hydraulic ram/| then compresses the small quantity of ai: The Northern Pacific crosses the States of North Dakota, Montana and Washing- ton, and the Canadian Pacific crosses, in | the same degrees of longitude, Manitoba, | British Columbia and the Northwestern | Provinces. To account for the difference | in material progress, therefore, it is neces- | sary to look for something beyond merely geographical distinctions and isothermal lines, — ailing Hydraulic Pumping Engine. From the proceedings of the Institution of Civil Engineers we take the following description of a hydraulic pumping engine | designed by the author, H. D. Pearsall, | and made in England for the Isabella Furnace, Chester County, Pa., where it is now at work: This engine is the second constructed upon this principle, the first having been | erected at St. Mary Cray. Kent, chiefly for experimental purposes. Accurate tests of efficiency have been made in both cases, and the results are quoted below. As in the hydraulic ram, the pumping power is obtaincd by the arrest of a col- umn of water which has been previously set in motion by the force of gravitation, and the duty obtained demonstrates that this principle may be safely and advan- tageously employed much more largely than hitherto. The blow or concussion generally supposed to be a necssary con- comitant of machines of this type is en- tirely avoided, and the action made equal in smoothness to that of the best class of reciprocating pumps, not only without interfering with the efficiency, but with the result of increasing it. This being the ease, engines of such a type have the ob- vious advantage, as compared with a com- bination of turbines and pumps, that the energy available is utilized directly, with- out being first transformed into rotary motion, and from that by a second con version into the form in which it is required, and the undesirable combination of a fast-moving engine, such as a turbine, driving a slow-moving machine, such as a| reciprocating pump, is avoided. An efficiency considerably higher than any hitherto attained in machinery of this kind was therefore to be expected, and, as will be seen by the tests, has been already realized. Fig. 1 shows the construction of the engine at the Isabella Furnace. C is a/| pipe 1 foot in diameter from the head race | to the engine. D /s the main valve (more | fully described below) actuated by the rod E and the cam F, and alternately open- ing and closing the annular opening G. H is a chamber above the main valve, the | use of which is explained below. It has| an equilibrium valve at J. K K are valves opening from the chamber H_ into the valve chamber L, which communicates with an air vessel by the pipe M. A small | motor of ordinary construction, not shown in the figure, turns the shaft O and cam F, and thus opens and closes the main valve D. The action of the engine is as follows: The shaft O is turned by the motor at a speed of about 25 revolutions per minute, and by means of the cam F actuates the main valve D, and alternately opens and closes the orifice G at regular intervals. Ww ithout violence on the one hand! contained in the chamber H above th: 2 em | | I LL A : bec i ' Pots if ddadllelbascasit Fig. 1.—Vertical Sectiona’ Elevation. HYDRAULIC PUMPING ENGINE. or loss of efficiency on the other.,; lower edge of the tube 6, opens It is obviously objectionable to have to; the valves K K, and forces into close the valve very quickly; while the| the valve chamber L (and thence into the slower it is done, but for the function performed by the chamber H and valve J, | the greater is the loss which results from checking the flow of the water. But as, by this construction, a second way is open to it during the shutting of the main valve, the current is not impeded, and the valve may be closed as slowly as is con- venient without any loss from this cause. air vessel) first the air and then some of | the water following it. Having thus ex- pended its energy the water comes to rest. The valves K K then close, After this | has occurred the continued revolution of the shaft O and its cam F reopens the main valve D. The flow in the pipe C re- /commences, and at the same time the | water in the chamber H also escapes into The annuiar sliding valve » is peculiar the tail race through the same opening, in that its closing is completed by a slight movement of the seat P, which consists of a rubber ring in the form of a curtain. The valve is moved up to, but not quite touching it. Immediately there is any | atmospheric air entering through the air valve J, which falls open as soon as the | high pressure ceases. This completes the cycle of operations, the delivery of water at high pressure from the air vessel being internal pressure the edge of the rubber! continuous. September 10, 1891 In order to ascertain ubsiiee ‘im is any violence of action in the pipes and the chamber, a tube was fitted into the chamber H, and a steam-engine indi- cator attached, the barrel of the indicator being driven from the crankshaft. A Fig. 4.—Cray Engine Pumping at 35 Pounds per Square Inch. great many diagran s were taken, some of which accompany this paper, Figs. 2, 3, 4 and 5; the point « corresponds with the time of shutting off the 12-inch valve. From « to / the pressure rises a little during the «scape of air through the pas- sage, and further incresses from 3 to during the compression of the air left in the chamber, which thus forms a cushion. It will be seen that the pressure usually rises to about 2 pounds more than the resistance in the rising main. This is just about the difference due to the velocity at which tke water passes the delivery valves. The marks above } are obviously in- strumental vibrations due to momentum of the indicator. As the velocity dimin- ishes this pressure becomes less, showing a gradual closing of the delivery valves. After this has happened it almost immedi- ately falls to zero, and in some cases to a little below. apparently a slight recoil, but it was obviously very slight, as the air valve would not fall open when completely balanced. These diagrams prove the per- fect smoothness of working, and entire absence of the blow which js frequently supposed to be a necessary accompaniment of machines on this principle. The motor referred to is actuated by the small qualtiy of air which, as has been already mentioned, is compressed at each stroke and enters the air vessel with the water. The depth of the tube d dipping | into the ante-chamber is easily regulated by the screw R, so that the quantity of air compressed may be made equal to the requirements of the motor. When the engine has been once set to work it can, of course, be stopped and started without any difficulty, but on first starting it is desirable to charge the air vessel to a In the latter case there was | THE IRON AGE. 403 pressure equal to the pamping head. This ‘sound being that of the closing of th® is easily done in a few revolutions of the | valves K. The water was carefully gauged engine, the dipping tube / being first ad- over a weir constructed for the purpose justed to its lowest position, which isabout | by W. M. Potts of Pennsylvania for the 6 inches below that shown in the drawing. | proprietor of the Isabella Furnace, and The effect of se doing is to contine a con-|both he and the author made many measurements, during several days, of the quantities used and delivered. Mr. Potts’ | report of the result is given in Tuble I. ' The quantity delivere.l according to the Hh measurements made by the author was slightly in excess of that measured by Mr. Potts, ‘being 1 130 American gallons, giving a net etliciency of 73.5 per cent. Particulars of tests made on the engine }at St. Mary Cray are given in Table II. , The last column is the result of a recent | test, and includes in the quantity of air |compressed that used in the motor. As | the proportion of power consumed in this | way is, of course, greater for a small engine than for a large one, these figures are use- ful, as showing what may be expected in air compression onalargerscale. Deduct- ing the air used in the motor the net ‘efficiency was 76 percent. The efficiency | obtained was not quite so high as in the one described (it being of an earlier de- sign), but the record is of some interest, as the measurements were made when it was compressing air as well as pumping | water. In this case the efticiency is con- siderably higher than when simply pump- icg water, and it would probably be still greater if the engine were only compress- ing air. The reason of this is to be sought in the exceptionally favorable cir- cumstances under which the action takes place. The whole interior surface of the (compression chamber is cooled at every stroke by a mass of cold water acting as a piston, the movement of which is com- paratively slow. The compression is con sé quently very nearly isothermal; repeated observations with thermometers placed in various positions failed to detect any rise of temperature. As the engine was intended for the pur pose of pumping water, and only inci- dentally as an air compressor to the ex- siderable quantity of air in the ante-| tent necessary for charging the air vessel, chamber instead of the small amount re-|the ante-chamber was not made large quired by the motor, so that the pressure | enough to contain sufficient air to absorb Fig. 3. Fig. 5.—Barneston Engine Pumping to Reservoir. Table I.—Measurement of the Efficiency of the Hydraulis Pumping Engine at Barneston. feet. 92.70 feet. The head of water—that is, the vertical distance from surface of water | in dams to center of waste water discharge of engine—is.... aii Wi. The vertical hight that water is lifted is...... The discharge pipe trom engine to reservoir is 4 inches inside diamete ., 610 feet long, and has six curves, or bends, and one straightway valve in it. The resistance of this pipe is calculated as 7.91 feet. making the total head against which engine works 100.61 feet = 43.67 pounds per square inch. The indicator diagrams show a pressure of 44 pounds per square inch, when the delivery valves are closing. | Water delivered per minute into the reservoir, the average of a num- | ber of tests ina mages Waste water from the e ngine ver minute, weir measure ment. ee | Total quantity of water us ed by the engine perminute __......... 25 « 100.61 — 12576.25 : the e = = 71 per cent. Efficiency of the engine 1028.8 3 x 17.5 > 7712.3 il per ce 100.61 feet 125 American gallons. 901 8 American gallons. 1026.8 American gallons. rises with each stroke and rapidly be-|the whole power of the water columa. comes sufficient for working. This is why, in the record of experiments The ordinary work of this engine is/ on efficiency in air compressing, pumping pumping water to a reservoir 610 feet! water still forms part of the work done. Table I].—Measurements of the Efficiency of the Hydraulic Pumping Engine at st. Mary Cray, Kent. Head of water, in feet... ws ‘ “ 7.79 7.76 7.510, 7850; 7.440 Resistance in the rising main measured by the pressure SNS i0c8x zx oe ; 79.50 78.40 86.500 68.100) 72.400 Quantity of water de livered per ‘minute, in imperial gallons) 49.80) 52.00 17.600 39.100) 28 000 Quantity of flow to tail race gt minute, in imperial gallons 725.00 725.00 571.600) 611 500) 642.000 Total quantity of water used per minute, in imperial ou ‘ be | IONS ... ce eee eee . 774.80 777.00 589.200 650 600) 670.000 | Quantity of air compressed, in cubie feet ‘pe POR. «aid badadauabustes =: 7.316 5.128 9.126! | Effie iency of the engine, per cent. » nce wees co-cece cool 65 801 67.70, 75.610} 75.480) 87.000 1 Including air used in motor. ee | distant and 92.7 feet above the engine.) It may be mentioned, however, that the It delivers a perfectly steady stream into| engive constructed for the Isabella Fur- the reservoir without any kind of con-| nace was erected for a few weeks for ex- cussion or water hammer effect, the only | perimental purposes under a fall of only 5 a = 2 & ter = 7 > ett) )) ae ¥ on ~vey . oe we See Ve WN ee Sa b) Bi hy 404 or 6 fest, nl with this small head the deliv ered inetentiy increasing or diminish- ante- chamber held sufficient air, wheu the ing accordingly. THE TRON | AGE, ee 10, 1891 The Challenge Universal Machine. Grinding On one occasion water dipping tube was lowered, to absorb the power of the water column in compressing had to be used which carried in suspension large quantities of earth, gravel, and even it. The engine was allowed to run for a stones, considerable time in this way, working solely as an air compressor, and it was found that the quantity of air confined could be regulated with sufficient exacti- tude to prevent any waste, whether by ex- rubbish of various kinds to such an extent that a steam pump which was in use at the same place could not work at all, and was choked up and stopped many times a day. It did not, The Appleton Mfg. Company of Phila- delphia have designed a grinding machine to supply a want in their own shops, where great accuracy and convenience in opera- tion were required. It has been improved from time to time, and finally enlarged to meet general requirements. The machine carries 20 inches between centers, and 'swings 10 inches, The head is operated by a hand wheel, and can be bolted solidly besides floating chips, sticks and however, obstruct the action of | THE CHALLENGE UNIVERSAL GRINDING MACHINE. cess or by deficiency, but the circumstances did not admit of the efficiency measured. Another result was demonstrated in the engine at St. Mary Cray which there was no opportunity to test at Barneston. The head against which it was pumping was frequently varied by opening or closing ¢ sluice valve in therising main, Noaltera tion of the speed of the engine cr any gearing down or up was necessitated by such a fluctuation ef head, the quantity | being | the hydraulic engine on any single occa- sion, ———— Mexican importers of American agricult- ural machinery complain because of the failure of the manufacturers to print in Spanish the instructions for putting the machinery together. The purchasers are | at a loss to understand the English terms | employed ; | European manufacturers ‘centers or otherwise. | wheel spindle is 14 inch in diameter. The | tight and loose pulley on the countershaft is 6 x 3 inches face. | at any point. ternal grinding, head for very small wheels, driven by a pulley in the position of the main whee! lat | bored taper “for arbors for different size wheels, and is turned taper and well ar- ranged for cluding grit and lare lined with phosphor bronze. The headstock T-slot in the platen, alignment of the centers sure. 'a removable piece in the base of the head- | Stock, to swivel the headstock as desired. |The spindle in the headstock is driven | by an overhead drum, | grinding machine just described. /accurately and quickly ground. | represents it bolted to the platen and hold- | } It turns end for end for in- having a supplemental very high speed. The spindle is taking up wear and ex- dust. The boxes and footstock are fitted to a thereby making the There is shown in the en- The Challenge Cutter Holder. | graving, connected to the cone with three | steps, thus varying the turn of the work. | The automatic feed is also provided with |three changes of speed of feed. The | platen swivels to taper of 24 inches to the | foot and is graduated ; it is operated by a screw at one end and bolts securely at the ‘other end. The machine grinds straight inside or outside and on dead or taper, The muin emery The driving pulley for the emery wheel is 14 x 3 inches face. The Challenge Cutter Holder. This holder is intended for use with the With its aid every form of milling cutter can be The cut ing a face mill. The upper part of the scale plate is bored for a mandrel with |ecollar and end nuts front and back and swivels upon the plate supporting it, means being provided for securing it at any degree on the scale, the supporting set screws at the sides allowing upward and downward motion by means of the screw seen at the top and extending through a rock shaft below. These feat- ures will be appreciated by all tool-room — The swiveling of the top graduated late allows the widest range of angle for evel cutters, while the upward and down- hence prefer to deal with| ward adjustment for hollow and face mills who furnish | will be found all that is desired. End and their customers with Spanish instructions. | hollow mi!ls are chucked. September 10, 1891 THE IRON AGE. 405 Steam Steering Gear. Upon most all the ocean and sound steamers, and also upon the larger river boats, steam steering gear has been intro- duced, with the very desirable results of lessening the liability of accidents and cur- tailing the amount of help required in the pilot house. On the 3ouad it is more readily seen how much is gained by the new over the old method, and a trip round the Battery and through Hell Gate will prove to the observer that quickness of action and much care has to be exercised at all times to prevent the fouling of small craft, which constantly move about in these waters. Time was—not long ago—when it re- quired the united efforts of four strong men to handle a steamer from the time she left her pier until she had passed through the gate. Now the exertions of a child would handle the largest steamer floating. In the pilot houses of to day are still found the old hand wheels, but they are not used except in case of accident to steam gear. The small wheel that con trols the vessel is situated in the front part of the pilot house; and is about 3 feet in diameter. A brass upright forms the bearing, and also contains the bevel Steam Steering Gear. gears which connect the hand wheel with the engine shaft. The engines are on the main deck and directly below the pilot house. The slide or port valves are con- nected to the vertical shaft which runs to the hand wheel in the pilot house. The engines are horizontal and similar to those used in running the ordinary elevator, and the principle involved in reversing them is the same as that of the link motion on a locomotive. The hand wheel from the pilot house acts as a re- versing lever. The engines are connected with a screw gear, which engages a gear having on same shaft a sprocket wheel. This wheel carries the belt or cable, and again the cable ruas over a pocket on old hand| wheel in the pilot house, s» the power is transmitted to the old hand wheel, and from there to the helm by the regular method of rudder chains. When the old! hand wheel was used the pilot was en- abled to tell the position of the rudder at any time by the amount of strain on the} wheel, and the moment the hand wheel was released, there being no resistance, the rudder at once came to the position parallel or in line with the vessel. With the new methods of gearing this is not the case, as the rudder stays at any angle it may be in, and as there is no strain on the small hand wheel, an indicator has to be | used to tell the position, also that the| chains may not be parted by running en- gine too far either way. This is done by having a traveling telltale connected with the chain drum, and the slightest move- ment of the hand wheel causes the indi- cator to move, telling at a glance the exact position of the helm. And a phosphor- escent coating makes it readily seen at night. On different vessels different ap- paratus is used, but all have the same principles. The fact of a large vessel being able to turn almost at right angles to her course in three times her own length is a practi- cal illustration of the advantage gained by the new method. Probably no application of steam power in late days has done so much toward insuring the safety of the public as the one of which we write. Certainly the fact of having no severe physical strain on the man who has the lives of hundreds of human beings in his hand is an advantage over the old system, which was extremely hard on the person having the guidance of the vessel to at- tend to. —— rr Shaft Coupling. Ata recent meeting of the Engineers’ Club of Philadelphia a new form of shaft coupling was described by Wilfred Lewis. This method is the result of several at- tempts to join the ends of two shafts by a mechanical union no larger in section than the shafts themselves and of maximum strength, stiffness and durability. In its present form the coupling has in the hands of Wm. Sellers & Co , Incor- porated, and is thought to have sufficient merit to be worthy of the patent which was granted for it a few months ago. It is not, therefore, strictly speaking, a brand new thing, but it occurred to me that some account of the failures that led to its invention, together with the tests to which the joint has recently been sub- jected, might be of interest to the club. (rrr SSS SS SSS SHAFT C passed through an experimental existence | The need of such a coupling came to my atteation about six years ago, while work- ing up the design for a traveling crane to be driven by a square shaft with a sliding sleeve. Quite a number of methods of accomplishing the desired result suggested themselves, and of these I may mention the welded joint, the scarfed j>int, the double scarfed joint, and a notched joint with a central pin holding the n