The Iron Age 1893-03-02: Vol 51

‘THE IRON AGE THURSDAY, MARCH 2, 1898. * 5% s comprise the foundry, cleaning shop, pat- a distance of about 550 feet, giving a con- Electricity in the Works of tern rooms, pattern shop, large fire-proof tinuous front on West Twelfth street of Fraser & Chalmers. room for patterns in use, shafting shop, | that length, and about 240 feet on Wash- In The Iron Age of October, 20, 1892, storeroom and offices. There is also an| tenaw avenue. On the north the space under the heading, “Electric Motors in ’8ian-well pump, air compressor and fire’ Railroad is at present used as yard room. isolated pump house containing the arte-| between buildings and Northern Pacific a Machine Shop,” we described and fully illustrated the new erecting shop of the De La Vergne R2frigerat- ing Machine Com- pavy of New York. In the introduction it was then stated that while we had previously noted the employment of electric motors in insolated cases, this, ‘*we believe, is the first case on record where a machine shop equipped with tools requiring large units of power is run exclusively with electric mo- tors.’’ We now have the privilege of de- scribing the elec- tric power distribu- tion in the works of Fraser & Chal- mers of Chicago. This company are among the largest manufacturers of mining machinery, steam engines, boil- ers, &c., in thecoun- try, and their new works are equipped entirely with elec- tric power, there being a total of some 360 horse- ~ | a c power in motors 1|| -——~ yj " ens, the latter being distributed through | - heated by petroleum : the various depart- —_1| a 7 ce from burners using i ments, mn \ 4 compressed air blast ‘< . | i instead of steam, as ; deisnanten a being better adapted ; the Work to drying purposes. j Pee There are two cupo- ; The new build- ings already com- completed and in operation, although on a very large scale, are, in reality, but the nucleus of what will ultimate- ly be an immense plant. They are located on the north side of West Twelfth street, ex- tending west from Rockwell street, upon which are the tracks of the Pan Handle, Chicago, Burlington & Quin- cy and Chicago & Northwestern rail- ways, and by belt- line connections of other systems. On the north, on line of Taylor street, are the tracks of the Wis- consin Central and Northern Pacific rail- This location, therefore, affords most excellent transportation facilities, as direct shipments may be made to and The present buildings ways. from any point. Fig. 1.—Electric Motor Driving Shear, Upright Drill and Punch. Fig. 2.—Electric Motor Driving 10-Foot Roll and 20-Foot Plate Planer. ELECTRICITY IN ump. the nies house—a large one-story build-| and 15 tons capacity, to be, in all respects, ing divided by a transverse fire wall ieee boiler room and engine room. These build- ings occupy the entire space between Rockwell street and Washtenaw avenue, E THE WORKS OF FRASER & CHALMERS. On the west side of Washtenaw avenue, about 300 feet north from Twelfth street, is the boiler shop— extending north about 400 feet and west 130 feet. The dimensions of main building, contain- ing foundry, &c., are: length, 550 feet; width, 150 feet, with two wings of about 75 x 90 feet, and 90 x 90 feet, respectively. The foundry proper is 390 x 150 feet. The equip- ment is very com- plete and embodies the latest improve- ments in facilities and methods. An electric traveling crane, by the Mor- gan Engineering Company, traverses the entire lergth of the molding floor. Its lifting capacity is 25 tons. There are also a Yale & Towne electric jib crane, a hydraulic jib crane of 32 feet radius, and two hand power jib cranes. Centrally located are the core room and core ov- las—one of 7 feet diameter, with ca- pacity of 13 tons per hour; and the other, 5 feet, for 5 to 6tons. The floor is provided with 8 anchor platea, 6 x 10 feet, weighing each about 4000 pounds, also two iron lined pits 6 feet diameter by 10 feet deep, and 8 feet diameter by 12 feet deep, for loam work. The cupola blast is furnished by a Root blower driven by a 65 horse power electric mo- tor. It is the in- tention to supple- ment the hoisting equipment by the Directly north of the foundry is; addition of two Morgan travelers of 10 90 feet, similar to the one now in use. The pattern shop is located on the sec- ond floor of the western wing, and is 75 x The facilities, in the shape of et we ee ee ; os Se ee ee ee en ed +. Bam ee 480 THE IRON AGE. March 2, 1893 machinery and time-saving conveniences, are very complete, and consist entirely of tools by the best makers. <A very notice- able feature of this department is the ex- ceptionally good light, which is so thor- oughly diffused as to leave no portion of the room insufficiently provided. A fire wall separates the shop from the main building, which at this end is three stories high, to provide the large amount of space for properly classified pattern storage. An electric elevator, having large platform, is located ina central position and gives con- venient access to the several floors. The temporary shafting shop, located beneath the pattern shop, is not yet in operation, but is expected to be ready shortly. It is provided with a short span traveler, which reaches the entire length of the floor. The storeroom and shop of- fices are also on this floor, to the west of shafting room and fronting on Washtenaw avenue. In the power house the fire room con- tains a battery of six horizontal tubular boilers, all of which are oil fired, using steam blast for burners. The latter are considered satisfactory as to efficiency, and arrangements are now being made for evaporation tests to determine their com parative economy. There is also in course of construction a gas plant of novel description, which is designed to use the cheapest grade of fuel, and which, if found satisfactory, is intended to super- sede the present system of oil firing. In the engine room are located the engines, dynamos and feed-water heater. A jack shaft, carried by floor stands, extends en- tirely across the width of the room, and from it the power is transmitted directly to the dynamos. The setting of the en gines—two in number—is peculiar, they being placed parallel on opposite sides of the jack shaft, and driving the latter by independent belts and pulleys, thus having no means of maintaining any positive rela- tion between the positions of the two cranks. They are Corliss engines, 14 x 42 inches, of Fraser & Chalmers make, and are especially noticeable on account of their high rotative speed, as compared with that of others of the Corliss type. By means of a radical improvement in the dash pots to the steam valves, the closure of the latter, after release, is as prompt and cer tain as if actuated by a positive motion, and the fact that they are able to work satisfactorily at 115 revolutions and give regulation sufficiently close for such trying duty as electrical transmission, would in- dicate a most important achievement. A system for separating and returning di- rectly to boilers of the water of condensa- tion in all steam pipes is in successful operation. The feed-water heater is of the Excelsior pattern, of combined heater and purifier. It delivers the water to boilers at or near 212°, and removes all except the most refractory of the impurities in solu- tion, and practically all in suspension. The ampére and volt meters, &c., occupy a large portion of the wall space at back end of the room. They are made by the Western Electric Company. The water from artesian well was found by analysis to be unsuitable for steam purposes, and the city water, therefore, is used. The well water, however, is used exclusively throughout the works for all other purposes, and is much liked by em- ployees for drinking—many of them carry- ing it home for domestic use, In the boiler shop, the equipment has not yet been entirely completed; but is, nevertheless, very extensive. A 15-ton Morgan electric traveler traverses the en- tire length of building, for a width of about 50 feet under the clear story. At the south end of shop are two Bement, Miles & Co. hydraulic riveters, one of 10 feet and the other 6 feet span. ~Each riveter is provided with a powerful hydraulic hoist, having vertical cylinders and lift chain, led over the necessary sheaves suspended to bring the work into proper position. The pumps, accumula tor and a single cylinder air compressor, are located in a corner of the building near the large riveter. An air pipe from the latter machine conveys compressed air the entire length of the shop, for operating the portable pneumatic riveters and Weatherson’s pneumatic hoists, of which work ; also bending rolls, drills, &c. The flanging is at present done entirely by hand, but a machine for the purpose is now in course of construction, the furnace for which has been provided. In addition to the traveler, the facilities for transport- ing work and material are supplemented by three longitudinal and three transverse narrow-gauge tracks—2i}tinch gauge— of 16 pound rails. At each of the nine Fig. 4.—Electric Motor Driving Shear and Upright Drill. ELECTRICITY IN THE WORKS OF FRASER & CHALMERS, there are a large number in use for the handling of plates, &c., at the different machines. A 14-inch oil pipe is also pro- vided for furnishing oil fuel at any desired point in the building, though, at present, coal appears to be used exclusively in this department. Another use for compressed air is in operating the pneumatic calking tool—a great improve- ment both as to method and result, over the old-fashioned hand calking. There are a large number of punching and shear- ing machines, for both light and heavy intersections is a turntable, so that any part of the floor may be reached by the trucks. A standard gauge switch track from the N. P. R. R. crosses the building at the center, and affords great conven- ience in loading boilers on cars by use of traveler. Hydrants and sewers are located at equidistant points, six in number, and at two of them is a supply of hot water under pressure for testing the boilers. At the northeast corner of the building are the blower and its motor, for furnishin g blast for the furnaces, forges and rivet March 2, 1893 THE IRON AGE. 481 fires. Asin all other departments of the| the plant, and forms a conspicuous land-, buildings, as well as the distances between works, excellent provision is made for the | mark in the vicinity. As a rule, the | points where power is used. On this plan comfort of employees. visible smoke from it is conspicuous from | are also indicated the circuits now in oper- The Sturtevant system of hot-blast heat-| its absence, particularly as some of its| ation and which, in the original installa- ing is used, and by it the temperature | neighbors—a schoolhouse, for instance— tion, furnish current for the following is maintained at a comfortable point in| are conspicuous the other way. Within a| motors, all of which are of the C. & C. the coldest weather and, at the same time, | year it is expected that bui'dings will be! type: ample ventilation secured. Wash rooms| completed for the several departments); foundry: One 65 horse-power, one 20 horse- power, two 10 horse-power, one 714 horse- | power, five 5 horse-power, two 3 horse-power, | three 1 horse-power. Pattern shop: One 25 horse-power, one 20 horse-power, one 15 horse-power. Boiler shop: Six 10 horse-power, seven 5 | horse-power. | It will be noted that the power house is | located away from the main buildings and | near the center of the works. From the power house run three substantial circuits | delivering current with a loss of from 2 per cent. to 5 per cent. to motors in the | foundry, pattern shop and boiler shop. In the power house are two C. & C. 80 k.w. standard compound dynamos driven by two Fraser & Chalmer’s Corliss engines. These dynamos are designed to deliver cur- rent at 250 volts regulating automatically for all loads, and supply power and incan~ descent lights for the entire works. The thiee main circuits are brought to the switch board shown in Fig. 5 and are connected through double pole switches to. Wt the dynamo bus bars at the back of the m if im | switch board. Each circuit has its inde- Ae é (ARO 2) | pendent ammeter showing the power con- Ha sumed in each department at all times. A voltmeter with switch for connecting to either dynamo is mounted in the center | of the board and regulators for changing the voltage if desired are placed imme- diately below, as shown. | The switch board is arranged to be en- | larged as more circuits are required, | The motors throughout the shops are provided with automatic cut-off starting switches, so that when the current is cut off at the main switch board each motor is cut off from its circuit. This prevents the possibility of injury to motors from the current being suddenly thrown on them from the power house. The perspective views, Figs. 1 to 4, indicate very clearly the methods of driv- ing. In the first illustration a 10 horse- power motor is shown running a large bevel shear, upright drill and punch ; next a 10 horse-power motor running a 10-foot boiler plate roll and a 20-foot plate planer; Fig. 3 shows a 10 horse-power | motor running a Williams, White & Co.’s bulldozer, and Fig. 4 a 5 horse-power motor running a boiler plate shear and a large upright drijl. Each motor operates one or more machines; when more than one, the machines are so placed that they can be driven from a short overhead shaft operated by the motor, as clearly shown in the engravings. One advantage peculiar to this system is that the ammeters in the dynamo room show at all times the exact amount of power consumed by any particular circuit. Knowing the power required to rua the | machines on a circuit empty, the indica- tion by the ammeter of the consumption of a greater power would indicate something wrong and an investigation would follow. Fig. 6 —Map of Works An abnormal consumption of power would wis : fe |also be shown. This was illustrated in the case of the Root blower supplying the ELECTRICITY IN THE WORKS OF FRASER & CHALMERS. cupolas. The outlet vaive was closed while the motor was running. The ua- | usual demand for power on this circuit was and water closets of the best sanitary | still continued at the original location—|D0ticed by the engineer in the dynamo designs are provided throughout the es-| Fulton and Union streets. They will | "om, who instantly threw the switch out, tablishmeat. In point of constructionthe | comprise the machine, erecting, black | thereby saving possible damage. The buildings are very substantial, being | smith, carpenter and shafting shops and| elec'rical part of the equipment of this almost entirely of brick and iron. The | the general offices, including, of course, | Plant was installed by the U. & C. Electric : + Aas window space is large and the rooms all | the drafting rooms, These latter will be | Motor Company of New York. Fig. 5.—Switch Board, SOLER SHOF CLEANING X foom & x 939*13/ exceedingly well lighted, and for hot | located at the northwest corner of West | nem weather the ventilation should be excel- | Twelfth street and Washtenaw avenue. | Means are being devised to make the lent. A brick smoke stack of unusually Electrical Equipment. | cod fisheries of Newfoundlaod more pro- handsome design and symmetrical propor-| The ground plan, Fig. 6, gives a general | ductive. Of late years they have been tions is not the least noticeable feature of | jdea of the arrangement and sizes of the| declining. o. ted A - 220 me 4+ omen a ee i LL SO eee 5 r : 5 fe 482 The Bettendorf Hollowsteel Wagon Axle. Genuine novelties are comparatively rare, even in this prolific age of mechan- ical inventions. They are so rare that the invention to which this sketch is devoted will not fail to attract widespread atten- tion, even among readers who are not di- rectly interested either in the article or its use. A radically new departure has been made in the invention of a combined wagon axle, bolster and stakes of pressed steel to take the place of the usual style of wooden wagon parts which are now in common use. William P. Bettendorf of Daven- port, lowa, proprietor of the Bettendorf Hollowsteel Axle Works, is the inventor and manufacturer of the new article which was so much of a novelty in the Patent Office that his patents were allowed within a very few weeks after application Illus- THE IRON AGE. manufacture of an axle: one is pressed into shape to form the front and another the back, when they are firmly united and constitute the completed article. This is a rough description of their method of construction, which is as follows more in detail: The metal is first sheared to shape from the flat sheets, the shearing is so done as to leave plenty of metal for the ends of the axles and for the formation of the stakes to be turned up. During the same process of shearing, holes are punched in the sheets for riveting them together. The sheets are then shaped in a hydraulic press to the form required for the front and back of an axle, flanges being turned over for the bed of the bolster and the flat sides of the stakes. These fronts and backs are then placed together, and, while held under a hydraulic pressure of 300 tons to the square inch, are riveted in a manner original with Mr. Bettendorf and material. Two sheets are used in . March 2, 1893 flanged reach opening is of the standard size. Vertical corrugations in the bolster greatly add to its strength and also im- prove its appearance. The axles, if they were simply made of sheet steel, might perhaps be weak at the collar of the bearing. They are therefore reinforced by the insertion of a bushing, which is welded in its place at the collar, and also forms an oil on. as shown in the broken section of the axle in Figs. 1 and 2. This oil chamber has suitable apertures to make the axle self oiling. The diameter and length of the axle bear- ings are the same as trade skeins of the same size, and they have case-hardened collars of special design, which prevent the accumulation of grease and dirt at the hub collars. The nuts and stake rings are of malleable iron. The axles are of proper pitch and gather for wheels with half-inch dish. These axles are made for use with the ordinary wooden wheels and =! W PBETTENDORFE an 0) Whe “BETTENDORF Fig. 1.—Combined Axle and Sand Board. — JuLy 26 1892 i: @ 7 ee OWS ca ps os 6 ee ES 0 SSe= Fig. 2.—Combined Axle, Bolster and Stakes. THE BETTENDORF HOLLOWSTEEL WAGON trations are herewith given of the wagon parts made by Mr. Bettendorf under his patents. Fig. 1 shows the combined axle and sand board. Fig. 2 shows a com- bined axle, bolster and stakes. Fig. 3 is a view of a combined bolster and stakes. Those of our readers who are not fa- miliar with the manufacture of wagons will appreciate the difference in construc- tion of these wagon parts and wooden ones, when the statement is made that only six pieces of sheet steel are used, as against 107 separate pieces required in the construction of the wooden axles, sand board, bolster and stakes. ll such parts as clips, bolts, nuts and rivets are avoided. The weight of the Bettendorf axle is also 25 per cent. less than that of the standard wooden one. Tests made in the works show that these axles are 25 per cent. stronger than the best wooden axles intended for the same service. The objects attained are thus greater durability, with a combination of lightness and strength, as well as the use of fewer separate parts. The Bettendorf Hollowsteel axle is made of No. 11 mild sheet steel of the best qual- ity, care being taken to secure first-class also secured by patents. This system of riveting is illustrated in Fig. 4, which shows a cross section of the axle and bolster through some of the rivet holes. By this method of riveting the metal is drawn from one of the sheets through the hole in the other sheet and flanged over its entire circumference. This obviates the necessity of using separate rivets and causes the fastenings to be homogeneous parts of the whole. The union of the two steel sheets is thus almost as perfect as if they were welded, the axle being the only part left hollow. These parts of wagons are so made as to be interchangeable with the regulation or standard wooden parts. Any jobber can — AXLE. do not require special wheels. In all cases the sheets are coated with graphite paint before riveting them together, which renders them rust proof. After the axles are finished ready for use they are dipped in a coat of metallic paint to pre- vent them from rusting while stored or during shipment. The machinery by which these axles and bolsters are manufactured was specially designed and built by Mr. Bettendorf. It covsists of hydraulic presses, gas heating |and welding furnaces, hydraulic forge and steam hammers, all adapted peculiarly to the purpose and rendering the manu- facture of the axle simple and economical. The hydraulic shear for shearing the sheets carry them in stock, and if a man breaks! is operated with 300 tons pressure, while a wooden wagon axle one of these can be | the duplex press for forming the sheared put in its place in a very short time with | sheets into shape is of 450 ton power. no change in other parts of the wagon. | The gas furnace for heating axle ends is of No drilling of holes in the axle or bolster | original design. It is circularin form and is necessary. The size of the hound open-| vertical in construction. It receives the ings in the bolster and the distance be- | end of the axle, brings it to a welding heat tween them are the same as in standard | in three minutes or less, and the forging is wooden axles. The hounds are readily} then done in dies by a small hydraulic attached by bolts to lips punched from} press. The stakes are bent to the proper and formiag a part of the plate. The|angle in a special shaping machine March 2, 1893 THE IRON AGE. 483 enero. —__.o_S-—--oOO after being heated Every operation is in a gas furnace. | sizes, conducted with| hereafter, as the demand warrants or the however, will cold metal except the welding of the| condition of trade requires. bearings and the bending of the stakes. The process is remarkably simple, owing to the perfection of the machinery and the price of the hollow steel. axle has conse- — EE —— _ The South is now in confident expecta- tion of having direct trade with Europe, quently been placed at about the same as | 80 as to be able to compete in the exporta- that of the wooden axle. ~ co PATENTED » _ _WP.BETTENDORFE — 3 This competi- | tion of grain. Pd a Maras E a SS = Fig. 3.—Combined Bolster and Stakes. "A TUBULAR RIVE BOLSTER TOP. TUBULAR RIVET TUBULAR RIVET HOLLOWSTEEL A .€. ¥ Fig. 4.—Cross Section taken Vertically from Top of Bolster through Avle. THE BETTENDORF HOLLOWSTEEL WAGON AXLE, tion with the wooden axle is further| the combined exchanges in that section, assisted by the growing scarcity of hard|the Southern Railway and Steamship wood suitable for axles and the rapid ad-/ Association has decided that ports on the vance in pricein recent years. In fact the substitution of steel for wood in the manu- facture of axles would seem to be almost & necessity in order to insure cheap wagons in the future. At present the manufacture of only 34x Atlantic coast shall be put on an equal footing with ports on the gulf. ports are now given the same rate per ton per mile as is given New Orleans and the | Northern ports, and, while the rail distance to Savannah is greater from Western 10-inch axles with narrow track will) points than it is to New Orleans, there is be undertaken. This covers the standard sizes of wagons in common use, Other | a saving of 1,100 miles by sea, besides a quicker transportation. be manufactured | In answer to an appeal of These | The Westinghouse-Edison Suits. Another important decision in the West- inghouse -Edison cases was filed last week in the United States Circuit Court at Pitts- burgh, by Judge Atchison. The West- inghouse Company are defendants in the case, in which a preliminary injunction was issued in December, 1892, to restrain the Westinghouse Company from infring- ing the second claim of the letters patent granted to Thomas A. Edison January 27, 1880, and from making, issuing or selling incandescent electric lamps of the kind de- scribed in the plaintiff's papers, and shown to be same as lamps which had been adjusted to infringe the second claim of said patent, and manufacture and sale of which were |enjoined by the United States Circuit |Court for the southern district of New | York in the suits of the Edison Electric Light Company against the United States | Lighting Company, and the Edison Elec- |tric Light Company et al., against the | Sawyer-Man Electric Company. The Westinghouse Company did not re- sist the injunction that followed the decis- ion of the courts mentioned, but on Febru- ary 1, 1893, presented an affidavit setting forth that a lamp, the construction of which had been in progress before the al- lowance of the injunction, had been put upon the market after counsel for plaintiff had beed notified. This lamp was claimed by the Westinghouse Company to be free from infringement, but the Edison counsel claimed otherwise. The Westinghouse Company then obtained a rule to have the plaintiffs show cause why the injunction should not be construed as claimed by the Westinghouse Company. Judge Atckison’s decision is as follows: ‘* While we are quite prepared to eccept the defendants’ course in taking this rule as evidence of good faith to the Court, and as indicating a purpose to avoid even the appearance of a willful disobedience to our writ of injunction, yet. under the circumstances, think it would be going too far at their instance, and in this sum- mary way, to enter upon the consideration of the question whether the lamp now submitted infringes the patent in suit. This lamp was not before the courts of the Second Circuit, and the. question of in- fringement involved in this rule is entirely new. There is a marked difference of structure between this stopper lamp and the lamps enjoined, but enough appears to satisfy us that the question of infringe- ment cannot be determined safely upon a mere inspection of the lamp. No investi- gation would be complete without the aid of expert testimony and evidence touching the art of electric lighting in its earlier stages. But er parte affidavits upon these subjects (and this rule contemplates noth- ing more) would be most unsatisfactory. Moreover, should the rule go to hearing on the merits the action of the Court thereon would be inconclusive. ‘*The rule to show cause, granted Feb- ruary 1, 1893, will, therefore, be dis- charged, but without prejudice to the defendants’ rights to set up in their answer the matters upon which said rule was founded, and it is so ordered.” This permits the Westinghouse Com- pany to continue the manufacture of the ‘**stopper” lamp until final disposition of the case. The petition of the Westing- house Company to restrain the Edison Company from suing Westinghouse cus- tomers is pending. i British Board of Trade returns for the year 1892 show a material falling off in the exports of tin and terne plates from Great Britain during the 12 months ending De- |cember 31, 1892. The reduction in the | case of shipments to the United States amounts to 46,664 tons, as compared with the figures for the previous year. These di ie id dnt, ia a a ous smnees me > tn « ’ : 7-> TS Te = 484 are given in the return as follows: 1891, 325,143 tons, valued at $26,000,000; 1892, 278,479 tons, valued at $18,500,000. These totals show a more considerable percentage of decline in the value of ex- ports of tin plates than in their volume, which is, nevertheless, very great, com- yaring unfavorably with any year since 1887. It should be stated that the decrease in British tin-plate shipments for 1892 has not been peculiar to this country, but has been almost uniform to all foreign coun- tries. material from Great decreased last year 11.7 Britain, we learn, per cent. from The total volume of exports of this | THE IRON AGE. _ March 2, 1898 | were conducted at a an expense e out of pro- portion to its profits. By running full | force and the introduction of new appli- ances and methods, which are continually being made, the mill is placed on a com- petitive basis with Eastern institutions. No overtures have been made to the com- pany by the Eastern Rail Association, We understand that it will be the policy of the company not to co-operate in any way, but to get as much for its product as is possible. SO I The Common-Sense Saw Gummer. those of 1891, and their value fell off 25.5 | per cent. for the same period. ~- een een Americanizing British Tonnage. The ceremony of raising the American flag on the Inman steamship ‘‘ New York ” | was performed according to appointment, regardless of unpropitious weather. Presi- dent Harrison, who acted the pritcipal part, said he regarded the event as chiefly significant, in ‘‘the fact that this ship is the type and precursor of many others that are to float this flag.” The Inman Line service on the North Atlantic Ocean orig- inated in 1850. Richardson Brothers & Co. of Liverpool, England, and Richard- son, Watson & Co. of Philadelphia, had been owners of a line of sailing packets trading between Philadelphia and Liver- pool. In 1850 they started a line of first- class steamships between these cities, sub- sequently changing the American port of departure to New York. The late William Inman was a partner in the Liverpool house and managed the shipping depart- ment. He was managing director of the company from 1854 to the time of his death, in 1881. In 1886 the old company dissolved and a new one was formed, called the Inman & International Steam- ship Company, Limited. The steamships ‘City of New York” and ‘City of Paris”’ were constructed by James and | George Thompson of Clydebank, near Glasgow. The two ships cost $3,000,000. Each has a tonnage of 10,500, length, 560 feet; beam, 63} feet; depth from the top of the upper cabins to the bottom of the | keel, 59 feet. Two distinct sets of triple- expansion engines furnish the power. The **New York” was launched in August, 1888, and the ‘‘City of Paris” in 1889. It remains to be seen whether these steam- ers can be navigated as cheaply with American as with English labor. EEE Colorado Steel Rail Business. A director of the Colorado Fuel & Iron Company informs a reporter of The Iron Age that the output now being made by the steel rail plant of his company is meeting the most sanguine expectations. The plant is turning out 400 tons of rails per day, working two turns. It is now able to produce pig iron at $13 per ton, In the saw gummer here illustrated, which is made by the Toledo Saw Com- pany of Toledo, Ohio, the upright shaft _of the crane is made of 2-inch iron and | the horizontal shaft of 14-inch. The collar | holding the saw slides on the horizontal shaft and is set with a hand screw at any | position for the desired hook in the saw teeth, and makes every tooth the same pitch. The small casting on the end of the horizontal shaft is adjustable, and the rod | running through it can be set for jointing | and for making every tooth the same depth. When the crane is properly adjusted it swings easily and can be operated by the average mechanic; it will take on a saw ‘from 6 inches to 6 feet in diameter and | joint and gum it without removing. The emery grinder is made with a1-inch shaft, babbitt boxes and adjustable rests. a — Mechanic Arts Building at Belle- fonte, Pa. and markets its rails at prices ranging | from $31 to $34 per ton. Owing to its territorial position it has been enabled to enter the market as a competitor of East- ern mills, and has captured about all the | current steel rail business west of the | Missouri River. Its contracts thus far for | this year’s deliveries are 60,000 tons. which were placed by the Rio Grande, the Union Pacific, and Atchi- son, Topeka & Santa Fé. It is figured that this section of the country consumes about 150,000 tons of steel rails per year, and that it will be able to command this amount of business, and the management anticipates enough additional orders to insure full and continuous openiions dur- ing the balance of 1893. The mill had never been running full capacity, and consequently its operations Denver &| | The Mechanic Arts building at Belle- | fonte, Pa., was dedicated on the 22d ult., and the educational equipment of the college now ranks with that of the fore most 1 universities in the country. The new building is three stories high, has a frontage of 265 feet and a depth of | 200. It was erected at a cost of about | $100,000. Inthe basement are the me- |chanical and hydraulic laboratories, the | heating apparatus, the dynamo room and the pumping station. On the first floor | will be the offices of the professors in civil, mechanical and mining engineering, lecture and model rooms, and the machine and forging departments. Lathes and planers will be erected in several rooms of the machinery department, while the aca an have space for a1 fires and anvils. Much attention has been paid to the two latter branches of the engineering course, and when fully equipped they will be in advance of those belonging to any technical college in the United States. The wing contains the wood turning and carpentery departments, | and a foundry is to be erected in a short time. RR A Cycle Board of Trade. Bicycle prices in Chicago are to be reg- ulated hereafter by the Cycle Board of Trade, which was incorporated last week by R. D. Garden, F. 8S. Douglas and Charles F. Stokes, all of whom are promi- nent in that branch of trade. ‘* The plan of the Cycle Board of Trade is to bring dealers together, arrange questions of discounts and time payments, to settle on prices at which old wheels are to be taken in exchange for new ones, and to put a stop to ruinous competition,” said Charles F. Stokes. ‘‘It is not the desire to put up prices, but to prevent cutting from the prices at which the 7 eee ha ak E Abi THE COMMON-SENSE SAW GUMMER. wheels are listed. There has been a need for such an institution for a long time, Ruinous cuts have been made in the price of wheels, long time has been given in which to pay for wheels, and an in- tending purchaser who had an old wheel to trade for a new one would be offered $50 by one dealer, $735 by another, and $90 by another in trade. The result has been the demoralization of the business. One of the reforms planned is the cutting to six months of all time payments. Ten months have frequently been given in selling a wheel on time payments. All the large manufacturers’ agents have ex- pressed a desire to join the Cycle Board of Trade, with one exception. There is no idea of raising prices on bicycles. In fact, it is not the intention to take the matter of prices into consideration. What we will try to do is to have manufacturers set prices for their wheels and then stick to, them. This will apply only to first-class wheels, those ranging in price from $135 to $150.” eel - The new Secretary of the Navy is Hilary A. Herbert of Alabama, who was Chairman of the Naval Committee during Mr. Cleveland’s former administration and rendered efficient service in initiating the movement for the creation of a new navy, since prosecuted with so much success. March 2, 1893 Aerie Turbine Water Wheels. —V. | BY SAMUEL WEBBER, CHARLESTOWN, N. H. ( Conclusion. ) The next and final great change to be noted is the introduction of turbines on horizontal shafts. The first illustration of this mode of application I am aware of is the tracing, Fig. 20, from “Glyn on Water Power,” 1853, showing a pair of Archi- median scroll wheels devised by Professor Redtenbacher of Berlin about 1851. In 1861, or about that time, the late John C. Hoadley put in a Parker (wooden) scroll wheel, with draft tube, in this manner, to drive a calico printing machine, for the Fig. 21.—Method of THE IRON AGE. chester, N. H., which was above the wheel and 26 feet in the draft tubes. Two of these wheels dis- charged into the same draft tube; the other one had a separate draft, but stood in the same line, and could be coupled on so as to run all three together if it was desirable. Since then nearly all the leading makers have adopted this plan wherever the fall is high enough to keep the belt pul- leys above tail water, and as it saves the cost, noise and care of bevel gears, it is coming into general use. Parker’s ‘‘draft tube” made horizontal shaft turbines practicable, and horizontal shafts make high heads available, as they do away entirely with long vertical shafts, the weight and friction of which on the steps is expensive and undesirable. In cases where the whole plant is en- tirely new it is usually the custom to bring the water in to the case at the center, discharging it through ‘‘ quarter turns” at each end; but, in order to | utilize old wheelpits, a form substantially like Fig. 21 is adopted. I have omitted one other recent turbine | of value, ‘* The Humphrey,” built by the | Humphrey Machine Company of Keene, | N. H., which is also set on horizontal | shaft when practicable. While not giving | the power, as compared with diameter, of | the two last wheels, it gives a high effect for the water consumed and ranks for capacity with the Swain and Hunt. Mr, | Humphrey claims the curves of his gates FEEDER ere) Utilizing Old Wheelpits. AMERICAN TURBINE WATER WHEELS. Manchester Print Works in New Hamp- shire, of which the writer was then mana- ger, and in the course of the year or two following the writer put in seven small ‘‘inward-flow” turbines of cast iron in the same works, discharging the water from them through ‘ quarter-turns ” into draft tubes. These were all small wheels, of 10 or 12 horse- power each, and answered the desired purpose perfectly. §:,; The writer saw nothing patentable about them, and his attention was soon engaged with other matters, but in 1876 A. M. Swain placed a pair of his wheels on one shaft, under 65 feet head, in the mills of the Lake George Mfg. Company at Ticon- deroga, N. Y. These wheels were 24 inches diameter and made 444 revolutions per minute, giving 400 horse-power. This mode of setting was soon taken up by other turbine builders, and in 1879 the writer saw a pair of wheels made by Gates Curtis of Ogdensburg, N. Y., at the Holyoke flume, and assisted in testing them. In 1880 the writer planned a plant of three Risdon wheels on one line for the and buckets to be ‘‘ paraboloid.” I have called those of the earlier turbines ‘‘ cy- cloidal,”’ and I have great doubts if the difference is appreciable in practical effect. Mr. Francis, in his Lowell hydraulic ex- periments, gave carefully-prepared rules for proportioning the Fourneyron Tur- bine, introduced by M. Boyden, but the modern turbine renders them useless. T he American Turbine, asit is constructed to- day, has fewer and wider buckets, for the same diameter, and the length is pro- portionately greater. The water striking the bucket horizon- tally and tangentially to the surface of the wheel is deflected by the long double curve of the bucket, meeting fresh elements of resistance, until when it has imparted its ow 1 velocity to the wheel it falls away perpendicularly from its lower edge into the back water in the pit; and, to the writer, its effect seems to be solely due to its weight, acting in the direction at first of a thrust and finally of a wedge, until its whole momentum is imparted to the wheel. Mr. Francis conclusively 485 P. C. Cheney Paper Company of Man- | shows that the best result is obtained under 39 feet fall, 13 of | when the velocity of the wheel is that due to the contracted rein acting on the head, and it has also been proved that the best result is obtained when the wheel is submerged, so as not to admit the entrance of air. The same principle affects the use of draft tubes, which are now generally employed, so as in all cases to deliver the discharge under water. The larger buckets and opener guides of the American wheels obviate the troubles from obstructions by ice, leaves and fish, which attended the Fourneyron wheels originally designed for small volumes of clear water under high heads, and the tests*of efficiency show them to be fully equal to their imported predecessors, if not superior. When 85 per cent., net effect, can be obtained from the wheel shaft, and a proper allowance above this made for the forces required to overcome the vis inertia of the wheel, and its friction on steps and bearings, there is very little water left to be accounted for as ‘‘slip” orlop. The writer can easily name a dozen wheels, all of the American form, but two which, by his own tests, have given from 80 to 84 per cent. net effect at full gate, and from 60 to 70 per cent. at half water, one or two of them reaching to over 87 per cent. full, and 75 per cent. half, naming them alphabetically as follows, and also show- ing the great variations in discharge and capacity of some of them of nearly equal diameter, and the increase they all show over the Boyden, with which the column begins: Cu. ft, per sec. Inch 26 ft. Horse- diam. head. power. Boyden Fourneyron. 3622.95 55 New American (Swain bue ke t).. cnaee ohaas DE. ns cae aecnandael ee 40.5 108.6 Collins (Jouval) ... ...... a cena 86 hued Geyelin (Jouval)...... : teak wane OS eee as 36 107.5 253.5 Humphrey. seendie aa, Memes ee Hant (Swain bucket). ... . 36 48.8 121 Leffel (standard) ............ 35 40.45 96 Leffel (special).......... scence .60 148 National... . Kadécansala ee 59:6 144 Risdon (standard)... 4 aia 35.45 89 Biden tl. Wabi@eaceu waa 0000s 36 48.27 121 Success . Kk Sate Bevddantelan ° aaean «666 WP antivectendéne eae 58.3 140 yo a re 40.7 95.8 WG ckaduvenvancsenecsaaneee 108.8 266 I have been thus full in this account of the development of the turbines, because the introduction of electro-transmission is likely to soon render many unused and somewhat inaccessible water powers of great value. Although many, or almost all, of the largest falls in the Northern States, where there was level land around them to build a town, have been taken up, there are hundreds more in steep and rocky gorges where no building sites are available, but where a dam, a turbine and a dynamo could be cheaply and easily located and the power transmitted over the wires to the nearest town or railway for practical use. It has been the fashion lately among young engineers to decry water power and exalt steam, but it has usually been due to their entire ignorance of the cost and value of the former. Brought up in most case3 in large cities, where water power was unknown and steam the only avail- able force, with cheap freights and con- sequently low-priced coal, they have based their calculations on the cost of steam, on large compound engines of 1000 or more horse-power and 120 pounds pressure of steam in their boilers, and by careful 10-hour trials succeeded in figur- ing down steam to a cost of about $20 per horse-power, ignoring the well-known fact that its average cost in practical use, ex- cept near the coal mines, is from $40 to $50. Then as the large water-power com- panies, who have often spent large extra sums to secure every drop of water that runs, except at the high spring floods, 486 charge a rental of $20 per horse-power, they say steam is as cheap as water. This is not true, for in many instances dams, canals and modern turbines can be all completed for a cost of $100 per horse- power; and the interest on that, and the cost of attendance and oil, will bring water power up to but about $10 or $12 per annum; and with a man competent to attend the dynamo in attendance, it can probably be safely estimated at not over $15 per horse: power. I therefore look in the future to the de- velopment of many now unused water powers, and their transmission by elec- tricity to accessible situations for their use, as is now being done in the case of Sewall’s Falls on the Merrimac, to be used at Concord, N. H., and in the great projector development at Niagara. RR The Maris Hand Traveling Crane. This crane was originally designed to meet the requirements of general machine, shop use, and especially in those places where the infrequency of use of such a machine prohibits the employment of wer cranes, The bridge of the crane is constructed of two steel |-beams of proper section to give ample strength and prevent undue deflection when the load is in the center of the span. To these are bolted at each end separators on the inside and truck brackets on the outside. A wrought-iron tie rod extends from the outside of the wheel bearing on one side, under the beams to the outside of the wheel bearing on the other side—thus bringing the ten- sile strain on the wrought iron and the compression strain on the cast iron. The truck wheels have roller bearings working in steel bushings and are driven at equal rates of speed on both ends of the crane, by a shaft running across the span of the bridge, carrying on each end a pin- ion which gears into the wheels, thus keeping the crane straight on the run- ways. The hand wheel which operates the shaft is placed near the center of the shaft, so as to distribute the tor- sion equally, but as a matter of fact it can be placed at any point desired with- out materially affecting the operation of the crane. The trolley runs on tracks riveted on the upper flange of the beams and has roller- bearing wheeis driven by a hand wheel mounted in the trolley itself. The hoist is mounted in the trolley and does not hang underneath it unless spe- cially desired. This arrangement gives the greatest possible lift and, together with the small amount of head room taken up by the trolley, makes the crane very economical of space. These cranes are made by Maris & Beekley of 2343 Cal lowhill street, Philadelphia, in all sizes from 1000 pounds up. ee — Following close upon the heels of the news of the troubles of the Brazil Mail Steamship Company comes the announce ment that the shipping firm of Norton & Son of Wall street have resolved te re- establish their line of steamships to the River Platte ports, in South America. THE IRON AGE. March 2, 1893 Much encouragement has been given to the line, and it is likely that the service now inaugurated will be maintained perma- nently. Freight rates are about those of ordinary sailing vessels. — nn High Velocity and Projectiles. Prof. S. Tolver Preston, an English scientist of high reputation and a writer of numerons essays upon electrical and physical subjects, has now come to the front with a novel and original scheme for | attaining unprecedented velocities in pro- | jectiles. There certainly appears to be) nothing in underlying principles that is | opposed to the method. The scheme, | however, reminds one very much of og famous French recipe for cooking an olive, in which the olive was stuffed into the body of acanary bird,the canary with its precious | olive then put into a pigeon, the pigeon | then placed in the interior of a larger fowl | and so on till the possibilities of this kind | of enveloping were exhausted, then the | whole to be roasted till the flavor of the | different savory wrappings penetrate to the very core of the olive. One might say of | Professor Preston’s scheme as of this kind | of cooking, the result sought could thus | possibly be attained, but the recipe must in its nature be rather expensive. THE MARIS HAND Briefly stated, it is proposed to inclose a projectile within a projectile, and this charged projectile within still another projectile, after the manner of the olive recipe, and to fire the entire nest from a gun, with automatic means for firing the projectiles one after another, so that the last to be discharged shall possess the sum of the velocities each respectively acquires during the series of discharges. Suppose a projectile, A, in the form of a rifle barrel to be loaded with a powder charge, and a smaller projectile, B, of similar rifle barrel form to be placed in A, and in its turn loaded with powder and ball. This nest of projectiles is then to be inserted into the barrel of a larger gun. Suppose the initial velocity of the entire nest when fired from the large gun to be 2200 feet per second. At this instant the A projectile is automatically dis- charged. As its contained projectile B has already the velocity of 2200 feet per second, whatever velocity the firing of ils powder charge can impart to B will be added to the previously acquired velocity, and if we suppose the second discharge to be able of itself to impart a velocity to B of 2000 feet per second, B will now have a velocity of 4200 feet per second. Also the ball inclosed in B has now a velocity of 4200 feet. Now, let Bin its turn be automatically discharged, its contained TRAVELING explosive having a force capable of inde- pendently imparting a velocity of, say, 1800. feet per second to the ball; the latter will then have a total velocity of 6000 feet per second. This velocity is twice that ever attained by a proiectile discharged from a gun, A velocity of 3000 feet per second was attained with an aluminum projectile in the experiments of Prof. Vernon Boys. By the use of this light metal a much greater ratio of pressure to the inertia of the mass can be exerted upon the pro- jectile than is possible with metals of greater specific gravity. Professor Preston thinks, as there are no theoretical limits to the generation of velocities in projectiles by the method proposed by him, that a practical limit of 9000 feet per second is perhaps not too much to anticipate. ‘‘I wish he may get it” will probably be the thought of most men who are familiar with the practical difficultie