The Iron Age 1901-01-03: Vol 67 Iss 1

* { wy 223 SS A Review of the Hardware, Iron, Machinery and Meta. Trades. Published every Thursday Morning by David Williams Co., 232-238 William St.. New York. Yol. 67: No. 1. New York, Thursday, January 3, 1gor. Single Gaee, Taek. eading Matter Contents......... page 70] iphabetical Index to Advertisers ‘‘ 267 lassified List of Advertisers..... ‘‘ 269 Sportsmen dvertising and Subscription Rates ‘‘ 107 : - Who load their own shells often find them- selves in a locality where the use of several different charges is almost a necessity if they would bring down their full quota of game. U.l1.C. Empty Shells Dynamo St. Louis, Mo. EL _ SE New York. Are adapted to the use of EVERY GRADE : SS OF POWDER. The closest possible atten- IRON AND one | tion is given to every detail in their manu- STEEL _® facture, especially to the PRIMER, which will be found absolutely reliable, and to the construction of Bases which insure the full carrying power of the charge for which each is particularly designed. WN oe ~* are > ropucts | ristol’s Patent Steel Belt Lacing, | SAVES Union Metallic Cartridge Co. M . Greatest=trength Winners of Handicap 1893-94-95-97-98-99. READY TO APPLY § FiMISHED VOT «With Least Metal | Send for Circulars and Free Samp‘cs. 313 Broadway, New York. Bridgeport, Conn. HE BRISTOL CO., Waterbury, terbury, Conn. a esmazamass OAHALL BOILERS "=" Alse Massachusetts and Phenix Brands of Sash Cord. SON CORDAGE WORKS, Boston, Mess. CAPEWELL HORSE NAILS. TURNBUCKLES. NEW YORK, PHILADELPHIA, B h Office. 11 Broadway. New York. CHICAGO, ranc » 2. to. a ew Yor eveland City Forge | and Iron Co., x: Cleveland, O. | cee - DETROIT, ROP HAMMERS. BRANCHES: ORTON AT MANUFACTURED BY SAN FRANCISCO, PORTLAND, ORE., ERRILL BROS., Brooklyn, N.Y. on BALTIMORE, Fo RCINGS. NEW ORLEANS. THE CAPEWELL HORSE NAIL COMPANY, Girard ome ag Tae erg LLING & CRA & CRANE _Lewis Block, P Pittsburgh. HARTFORD, CONN. Jenkins ’96 Packing. Pronounced by steam users throughout the world the best joint packing manufactured. Expensive ? Not ai all, as it weighs 307 less than many other packings, consequently is much cheaper. JENKINS BROTHERS. New York, Boston, sienernatntsare Chicago Brass Prices High So Use Bright“‘Swedoh’ Stamp- ge Ae _ ing Steel, Easily Brass Plated and Save Money. pave Apollo galvanized iron is rue to its gauge as well as rue to its standard of quality. Nobody cheats or is cheat- MAGNOLIA METAL. Best Anti-F riction Metal for ail Machivery Bearings. Fac-Simile of Bar. TATA Srey vir ees Bei D n>: \ ¥ s¥ ‘ > al . . American Sheet Stee] Company Battery Park Building a - Ra ware 0 atone: p>. imitations. METAL CO 266 and 267 West St.. London, Chicago, Montreal, Pittsburgh, MAGN OLIA ETAL GO., NEW YORK. Boston, San Francisco, Philadelpbia. RoE ORS TIV IN ay THE [RON®AGE —— — es Searer <I == a mer SL a ee 2 ee : s ee - THE IRON AGE. < THE ANSONIA BRass sp” COPPER CO. MANUFACTURERS OF BRASS AND COPPER Seamless Tubes, Sheets, Rods and Wire. Wailea Brass Co. Established 1845. Sheet, Roll and Platers’ Brass, German Silver, Copper, Brass and Ger- man Silver Wire, Brass and Copper Tubing. COPPER RIVETS AND BURS. TAPE MEASURES, Ingot Copper SOLE MANUFACTURERS Tobin Bronze (TRADE-MAaRK REGISTERED.) Condenser,Plates,Pump Linings, Round, Square and Hexagon Bars, for Pump Piston Rods and Bolt Forgings. 99 John Street, New York. 0200200000 Randolph-Clowes Co., Main Office and Mill, WATERBURY, CONN. MANUFACTURERS OF SHEET BRASS & COPPER. BRAZED BRASS & COPPER TUBES. SEAMLESS BRASS & COPPER TUBES TO 36 IN. DIAM. New York Office, 253 Broadway, Postal Tel- egraph Bidg., Room 202. Chicago Office, , 602 Fisher Bldg Boston Office, “or. Oliver and Purchase Sts. Brass Kettles, Brass Tags, Powder Flasks, Shot Pouches, &ce., AND SMALL BRASS WARES OF EVERY DESCRIPTION Cartridge Metal in Sheets or Shells a Specialty. DEPOTS: 60 Centre St., New York. 126 Eddy St., Provi- dence, R.{. 38 Mechanic St., Newark, N. J. MILLS AT WATERBURY, CONN. DEOXIDIZED ORDNANCE and COMPOSITION METALS____. of all descriptions. Satisfactory prices. BRIDGEPORT DEOXIDIZED BRONZE & METAL CO., BRIDGEPORT, CONN. Matthiessen & Hegeler Zinc Co., LA SALLE, ILLINOIS. SMELTERS OF SPELTER AND MANUFACTURERS OF SHEET ZINC AND SULPHURIC ACID. Special Sizes of Zinc cut to order. Rolled Battery Plates. Selected Pletes for Etchers’ and Lithographers’ use. Selectec Sheets for Paper and Card Makers’ use. Stove and Washboard Blanks. ZINCS FOR LECLANCHE BATTERY. BRASS Flvxce®s J.J,.RYAN & CO, LISTS z i — 2 a ee — 1 Coseb vo! _ i — i) Mi @leble!-F- 10} Best Bronze, Babbitt Metals, Brass and Alominum °4ST!Ncs On Short Notice. = — — No better counte = “On er ~ meee mate. , 4 @ Q g 4 Wheel, $3.00 is * 5 Wheel, $3.25 Guaranteed. RK. A. HART, BATTLE CREEK, MICH, HENDRICKS BROTHERS PROPRIETORS OF THE Belleville Copper Rolling Mills, MANUFACTURERS OF Bolt and Sheathing Catalogue and Linenoid Pin Tray Free. Brazicrs’ COPPER, COPPER WIRE AND RIVETS. Importers and Dealers in Ingot Copper, Block Tin, Spelter, Lead, Antimony, etc, 49 CLIFF ST., NEW YORK. |29 MURRAY ST., NEW YORK. METALLIC EYELETS, THe PLUME & Atwood Mrs. 6o., MANUFACTURERS OF —AND—. , WiRE PRINTERS’ BRASS, JEWELERS’ METAL, GERMA\ SILVER AND GILDING METAL, COPPER RIVET AND BURRS. Pins, Brass Butt Hinges, Jack Chain, Kero sene Burners, Lamps, Lamp Trimmings, &c. 144 HIGH ST., BOSTON. 199 LAKE ST., CHICAG* ROLLING MILL : THOMASTON, CONN. SCOVILL MFG. CO., Manufacturers of BRASS SHEET, WIRE, TUBES. Hinges, Buttons, Lamp Goods, Nipples, Pumps and Oilers for Bicycles, Braziers’ PACTORIES : WATERBURY, CONN. Solder. FACTORIES, WATERBURY, CONN. DEPOTS: NEW YORK, CHICAGO, BOSTON. JOHN DAVOL & SONS AGENTS FOR Brooklyn Brass & Copper Cq DEALERS IN COPPER, TIN, SPELTER LEAD, ANTIMONY. 100 John Street, New Yor Arthur T. Rutter SUCCESSOR TO WILLIAM S. FEARING, 256 Broadway, New York Sheet Brass, German Silver, Co per, Brass and German Silver Wire, Brazed and Seamless Brass and Copper Tubes, Sma! Tubing a Specialty. Brass a Copper Rods, Brass Ferrules Sheet and Ingot Copper; Spelt Tin, Antimony, Lead, etc. “Searcl-Light” OIL and GAS Bicycle Lanien Send ter Circulars and Electretype*« ‘ion BRIDGEPORT BRASS ¢ Bridgeport, Conn. 19 Murray 8t..N. Y. 17 No. jth St., Philadelp % to 87 Pearl St., Boston. BESSEMER —_. SRASS AND ON -TEMPERED SPRINGS. ~ UE => Pees | LARGE GR SuALL GUANTITES To ORDER a F. WELCH MPG. CO. 63 SUDBURY STREET. BOSTO" MAN ET ern Gt INS Cc ‘ER Yor ef VG, York ™ Ca Iver iless smal 188 a rules spelt Cc. | typer 5S adelp THE IRON AGE » THURSDAY, JA 3. 1901 Direct Connected Steam Engines and Generators.—1. BY FRANK (©. PERKINS, BUFFALO. N. Direct connected generators are the order of the day have discarded entire central station equipments and re- Not only have they found favor for isolated plants using modeled their plants, replacing all belted machines by direct current apparatus, but also for street railway work direct connected apparatus of larger units than before 2 | ; . 6 a - > a Ss @) * Fig. 1.—British Three Cylinde) Vertwal Angine, Fig 2.—American Tandem Compound Engine DIRECT CONNECTED STEAM ENGINES AND GENERATORS. and in single phase and polyphase installations of various It may be of interest to compare the foreign with Amer- sizes. The German and English stations were the first ican practice in small direct connected units for isolated to be generally equipped with direct connected appara plants and moderate sized stations using direct current tus. but recently many of the existing American plants apparatus; then taking up American and English direct THE IRON AGE. ; THE ANSONIA Brass | s° COPPER Co. MANUFACTURERS OF BRASS AND COPPER Seamless Tubes, Sheets, Rods and Wire. THE PLUME & ATWooD MF6, Co,| MANUFACTURERS OF Sheet and Roll Brass —AND— WIR G PRINTERS’ BRASS, JEWELERS’ METAL, GERMA) | Ingot Copper Waterbury aes SILVER AND GILDING METAL, COPPER RIVET AND BURRS. SOLE MANUFACTURERS Established 1845. Pins, Brass Butt Hinges, Jack Chain, Kero Tobin Bronze Sheet, Roll and Platers’ Brass, =~» mss, boners tome (TRADE-MaRK REGISTERED.) German Silver, Copper, Brass and Ger- Condenser,Plates,Pump Linings, Round, wer ‘Saar tee ua | 29 MURRAY ST., NEW YORK. Square and Hexagon Bars, for Pump COPPER RIVETS AND BURS. | 144 HIGH ST., BOSTON. Piston Rods and Bolt Forgings. TAPE MEASURES, | 199 LAKE ST., CHICAG 99 J hn St t, METALLIC wear ROLLING MILL : FACTORIES : rs AI nnn a LT | TWOMASTON, CONN. | WATERBURY, CONN. CDOT OOO8? | nD SMALL BRASS WARES OF EVERY DESCRIPTION Randolph-Clowes Co., ¢ | s*#4#e Meta! in Sheets or Shells SCOVILLE MFG. CO., Manufacturers of Main Office and Mill, DEPOTS : 60 Centre St., New York. 126 Eddy St., wot WATERBURY, CONN. dence, Avi. "38 Mechanic St.» Newark, W. 4 sh R A Sy a 7 MILLS AT WATERBURY, CONN. MANUFACTURERS OF SHEET, WIRE, TUBES. SHEET BRASS & COPPER. Hi , Buttons, Lamp Goods, BRAZED Brass & copprr 9|CCUXIDIZED ORDNANCE and Nipples, Pumps and Oilers TUBES. COMPOSITION METALS____|J_—_*°" Bexstes, Braziors SEAMLESS BRASS of all descriptions. FACTORIES, WATERBURY, CONN. © & COPPER TUBES sf . DEPOTS: TO 36 IN. DIAM. Satisfactory prices. WEW YORK, CHICAGO, BOSTON. New York Office, 2538 Broadway, Postal Tel- BRIDGEPORT DEOXIDIZED BRONZE egraph Bidg., Room 202 Chicago Office, 602 Fisher Bld JOHN DAVOL & SONS Riatelt Once. Dor. Oliver antl Perebess Sts. & METAL CO., O AV'O! FOR O 7 bad BRIDGEPORT, CONN. Brooklyn Brass & Copper Ca : DEALERS IN COPPER, TIN, SPELTER LEAD, ANTIMONY. Matthiessen & Hegeler Zinc Co., LA SALLE, ILLINOIS. 100 John Street, - New Yor SMELTERS OF SPELTER Arthur T. Rutter AND MANUFACTURERS OF a A SUCCESSOR TO SHEET ZINC AND SULPHURIC ACID. WILLIAM S. FEARING, Special Sizes of Zinc cut to order. Rolled Battery Plates. Selected Pletes for Etchers’ and Lithographers’ use. 256 Broadway, New York Selectec Sheets for Paper and Card Makers’ use. Stove and Washboard Blanks. Sheet Brass, German Silver, Co per, Brass and German Silver Wire, Brazed and Seamless Brass and Copper Tubes, Smal BRASS Fits RYAN, CO. esa Tin, Antimony, Lead, etc. ZINCS FOR LECLANCHE BATTERY. — 7 — Sar a ae A — oe. Cobebao!_ i — 1M @isble!-t-co} e Best Bronze, Babbitt Metals, Brass and Aluminum CAST!NSS yearch-Light if ANE'E ROS WESTHEtO. MASS. SS G See ¢ Wheel, 83.00 ‘i OIL and GAS Catalogue and Linenoid Pin Tray Free. -s 2 niente ; BAVYLE CRE, SEE, Biel cle Lantemn HENDRICKS BROTHERS PROPRIETORS OF THE Send fer Circulars and Electretypes Belleville Copper Rolling Mills, THE BRIDGEPORT BRASS Ct MANUFACTURERS OF Bridgeport, Conn. Brazicrs’ Bolt and Sheathing 09 Marsey 6t.. 5. 2. Se, 1p Se. Sa COPPER, % to 87 Pearl St., Bosto COPPER Ww i Rea AND RivETs. __ baseucn_sTeo, a OlL.- TEMPERED SPRINGS. | Importers and Dealers in ; bs Ingot Copper, Block Tin, Spelter, Lead, Antimony, etc. Sunes © Lanes 62 Sous quunwe vo Gann ' 49 CLIFF ST., NEW YORK. EF WELCH WPG. CO_ 63 SuDeURY STREET. BOSTOX b yotas fF te , ‘THE IRON AGE Tuurspay, JANUARY 3, 1901. °, Direct Connected Steam Engines and Generators.—. BY FRANK C. PERKINS, BUFFALO, N. Y. Direct connected generators are the order of the day. have discarded entire central station equipments and fre- Not only have they found favor for isolated plants using modeled their plants, replacing all belted machines by direct current apparatus, but also for street railway work direct connected apparatus of larger units than before. | ¥ Se ae a . ou “ ro Fig 2 .—American Tandem Compound Engine. DIRECT CONNECTED STEAM ENGINES AND GENERATORS. and in single phase and polyphase installations of various It may be of interest to compare the foreign with Amer- sizes. The German and English stations were the first ican practice in small direct connected units for isolated to be generally equipped with direct connected appara- plants and moderate sized stations using direct current tus, but recefitly many of the existing American plants apparatus; then taking up American and English direct 2 THE IRON connected railway apparatus of both horizontal and ver- tical types, and finally comparing the general construc- tion of the larger engines and generators in modern al- ternating current practice. There is no question but that the direct connected en- gine of either horizontal or vertical type economizes space wonderfully over the belted equipment. For iso- lated plants in large office buildings in business districts of large cities the modern practice is always to favor this equipment. The horizontal high speed engine direct con- nected to moderate sized units has seemed to be more in favor in the United States up to the present time, while the English practice has been to use the vertical engine almost exclusively for small direct current units, and even in larger installations the vertical types have been most frequently selected. There is little doubt that, be- tween these types, the vertical direct connected engine and dynamo is more economical in space than the hori- zontal direct connected engine and generator. It is claimed that with large units in b th types the vertical engine will occupy but 0.5 square foot per horse-power, while the horizontal engine will take from 1 to 2 square feet per horse-power of plant. The smaller direct con- nected plants almost invariably employ automatic high speed engines, the English practice being to use most AGE. January 3, 1901 American Horizontal Engines. The accompanying illustrations of American horizon- tal engines and direct connected generators are of in- terest to the reader as showing types that are in general use for isolated work and moderate sized station work, as compared to the foreign vertical type. These moderate sized engines are usually connected to direct current generators of multipolar type. Considering some of the American built engines as typified by the direct con- nected 275 horse-power engine in the Lake Shore Foun- dry Company’s plant at Cleveland, the 250 horse-power tandem compound engine at the works of the Otis Steel Company, and the group of direct connected units at the Fort Wayne shops of the Pennsylvania Railroad Company, Fig. 2, while all are of different make, com- pare most favorably with the foreign types for the same class of work. Some of the latest types of American en- gines are so arranged that, besides supplying power to generators direct connected to the shaft, pulleys are pro- vided for furnishing additional power. At the power plant of the Harrisburg Light, Heat & Power Company the tandem compound Corliss engine, Fig. 3, not only operates two multipolar generators, but arrangements are provided for a rope drive as well. Fig 8.—Tandem Compound Corliss Engine. DIRECT CONNECTED frequently bipolar continuous current dynamos and ver- tical engines, while the American practice is to use hori- zontal engines and multipolar dynamos. British Vertical Engines. A British vertical direct connected equipment is to be seen in Fig. 1. These engines were built by W. H. Allen, Son & Co. at the Queen’s Engineering Works at Bedford, England. The two-crank engines range up to 400 horse power capacity, while the three-crank type shown in Fig. 1 have been installed up to a capacity of 1500 horse- power. The two-crank engines have cranks at 180 de- grees and are double acting. The working parts are in- closed in a trunk fitted with two hinged doors, as shown on the photograph, and are lubricated by means of oil under a pressure of about 20 pounds per square inch, the force pump being driven from one of the eccentrics. The oil is forced from a strainer through pipes to all the working parts, from whence it drops into a large reser- voir formed by the base plate of the engine, and is once more pumped through the strainer before again coming into contact with the moving parts. A crank shaft gov- ernor controls the speed of the engine and insures very close regulation. The valves are placed outside the cylin- ders, which are thus brought as close as possible to- gether so as to insure very steady running. The larger engines of the three-crank type have tan- dem cylinders, the high pressure cylinder being arranged above the low pressure, only one valve being required to distribute the steam to both cylinders. Owing to this disposition the turning moment is very uniform at all loads, and the engines run with great steadiness. STEAM ENGINES AND GENERATORS. This engine is 19% and 88 x 30 inch, and operates with 125 pounds of steam and a 26-inch yacuum, the speed of the engine being 120 revolutions per minute. Built by Davey, Paxman & Co, The English high speed engine illustrated in Figs. 4 and 5 is single acting—that is, the balance of pressure is always toward the crank shaft, and it is said, there- fore, to have no back lash in any of the bearings. The high pressure steam chest consists of the annular space round the main body of the valves, and is situated partly in the high pressure cylinder casting and partly in the low pressure cylinder casting. Steam from the throttle valve passes to a branch on the low pressure cylinder casting, connected by passages in that casting to the three high pressure steam chests. This construc- tion has been adopted in order to permit of any high pressure cylinder being removed without breaking any joint besides that between the high pressure and low pressure cylinders. Following the distribution of steam to the cylinders in Fig. 5, steam passes under the edge of ihe high pres- sure valve to the top of the high pressure piston, and is exhausted over the top of the high pressure valve, down through the center of the main body of the valve and thence over the top of the low pressure valve to the under side of the low pressure piston, and finally is ex- hausted under the lower edge of the low pressure valve to the exhaust chamber. In the bore of the high pressure cylinder are cut two- small by-pass ports, over which the high pressure piston passes at the top of its stroke, thus placing the space January 3, 1901 THRE between the high pressure and low pressure pistons in direct connection with the upper side of the high pres- sure piston. ‘This space, which is called the controlling cylinder, is thus at the top of the stroke filled with steam at approximately the same pressure as that in the high pressure cylinder; on the down stroke this steam ex pands, and on the up stroke it is compressed until at the top of the stroke it again reaches the pressure of the steam in the high pressure cylinder, any small loss that may occur by leakage being made good by fresh steam passing from the high pressure cylinder. The function of this controlling cylinder is to effect a balance of the upward inertia force of the pistons, cross head, connecting rod, &c., on the up stroke—that is, to keep a slight excess of pressure in a downward direction throughout the up stroke. Thus on the up stroke the steam acts on the under side of the low pressure piston, but instead of being allowed to act directly on the crank, it does work in compressing steam in the controlling cylinder and in displacing the steam under receiver pres- sure from the high pressure cylinder. The work thus done in compressing steam in the controlling cylinder is g*ven out again by its expansion on the next stroke down, aud the work done in transferring steam under pressure from the high pressure cylinder to the receiver is utilized in the low pressure cylinder. It will be noticed that the valves are always subject to a receiver pressure, which tends to maintain them in constant downward thrust; this, however, is not quite sufficient to overcome the inertia of the valve and its motion at the top of the stroke, and to supply this de- ficiency an air buffer cylinder is employed; this is fixed in the working chamber. The crank shaft is placed out of line with the cylinders. The reason for adopting this position is that it gives a nearly straight connecting rod during the downward working stroke, when the pressures are greatest, and keeps what pressure is due to the angle of the connecting rod on the back cross head slide. On LRON AGE. 3 head would be alternately pressed against the front and back slides on the down and up stroles respectively, aud any wear would produce a knock in those parts. a point on the connect- The valves are worked from New rarer e ory =r } Y 4 ees Tus Inon AcE Fig. 5,—Sectional Elevations of Fig 4. DIRECT CONNECTED STEAM the up stroke, when the angle of the connecting rod is greatest, the downward pressures are only sufficient to balance in inertia forces of the reciprocating parts, and therefore, although the angle of the connecting rod is considerable, the pressure transmitted to the cross head slide is small, and what there is is still on the back slide. That is, the cross head is kept always pressed against the back slide. If the crank shaft were placed as is usual, in line with the axis of the cylinders, the cross ENGINES AND GENERATORS. ing rod by means of a rod and rocking lever. These as well as the main parts are kept in constant thrust. This valve motion brings the valves into a convenient posi- tion—viz., at the back of the steam cylinders, so that the cylinder centers can be brought close together; at the same time, there being no eccentrics on the crank shaft, ample room is left for long and well supported bearings. The working parts run in a bath of oil and water, all parts being constantly splashed over with lubricant; a 4 THE gauge tank at the back shows the hight of the lubricant bath. The steam cylinders are supported on four wrought iron columns, and are entirely isolated from the working chamber. These engines are manufactured at Colchester, Eng- land, by Davey, Paxman & Co., Limited. For small vertical engines iron coiumns may be well adapted, but for large engines demanded for power house work a built up frame work is absolutely necessary. Many builders simply follow marine practice, but the condi- tions are not the same. In marine work the engines may be braced to the decks and to each other, while this is not possible in street railway power house practice. The framing should be particularly arranged to stand the lateral stresses caused by the action of the crank, con- necting rod and rotating masses. The ordinary framing is usually well adapted for the vertical stresses. Direct Cennected Street Railway Plants. Considering the use of direct connected engines for railway power house work, we find the foreign practice to consist largely of vertical engines, while the Ameri- can practice has been until recently to equip the power house with either belted apparatus or horizontal direct connected engines. The most recent installations of large size have adapted the vertical compound engine direct connected to railway generator, particularly in large cities, where space is valuable and the largest amount of power must be generated in the smallest possible space. Large vertical direct connected railway generators now really represent the highest development in Ger- many, as well as in England, and are fast coming into extensive use in this country. In Germany the larger engines are triple expansion, with four cylinders and double crank shaft, and operate at from 80 to 90 revolu- tions per minute. These engines have a high pressure and one low pressure cylinder on one crank and an inter- IRON AGE. January 3, 1901 mediate and a second low pressure cylinder acting on the other crank shaft, highly superheated steam being Fig 7.—German Engine Fig.6.—British High Speed Engine DIRECT CONNECTED STEAM ENGINES AND GENERATORS. January 3, 1901 THE frequently used at a temperature of more than 300 de- grees C. The smaller engines are two-cylinder compound en- gines and have a speed of from 100 to 110 revolutions per minute. Gebruder Sulzer of Winterthur have brought the poppet valve to a high degree of perfection, competing, as it does, with the Corliss valve in Ger- many, Switzerland and throughout the Continent. The double seated valve is replaced by four-seated valves to accomodate the higher steam pressures and increased speed. I‘wo double seated tubular valves are placed one above the other. It is frequently claimed that the Sulzer poppet valve, used so largely in foreign practice, has greater durability than the Corliss valve, and is better [RON AGE. 5 Corliss valve gear is very satisfactory in railway power houses, where the largest engines are in use, The Liverpool Overhead Railway Company have in- stalled high speed engines of the type shown in Fig. 6. This engine develops 1500 horse-power and is of the three-crank tandem compound type. It was built at Manchester, England, by Browett, Lindley & Co., Lim- ited, and gives a very fair idea of the foreign type of railway generator and direct connected engines. Some of the finest examples of large engines manu- factured on ihe Continent of Europe are those turned out by the firms of Esscher, Wyss & Cie. of Zurich, Switzer- land, and Franco Tosi of Legano, Italy. The illustra- tion, Fig. 8, shows a 300 horse-power triple expansion Fig 8.—Swiss Engine. DIRECT CONNECTED STEAM ENGINES adapted to the use of superheated steam. It is also con- sidered by some engineers to be better than the piston or slide valve on account of the small amount of fric- tion and the small amount of high grade lubricating oil required. In American and English steam engine prac- tice the Corliss system is considered the best and is most largely used in large power plants. For railway power work the fly wheel must be depended upon almost en- tirely to aid in regulation, as the enormous electric cur- rents employed have no inertia and are either all off or all on very frequently when cars are at a standstill or many are being started at once. Electric railway work is very much more severe on the engine than is the cable system, for with the latter there is the whole length of the cable under motion, and this helps to steady the en- gine when the load is thrown on or off. The two classes or types of valve gears mostly used are the drop cut off or releasing valve gear and the positive cut off. In the former the governor simply indicates the point at which cut off is to be made, while in the latter class the gov- ernor helps the cut off mechanism in its operation. The AND GENERATORS. engine of the former firm, and Figs. 4, 9, 10 and 11 draw- ings of engines built by Tosi. Italian Engine, The large 1200 horse-power Tosi horizontal triple ex- pansion engine shown in Fig. 11 was built for operating large alternators at very high economy. The speed of the engine is 107 revolutions per minute and the piston stroke is 1200 mm. This engine delivers 1200 horse-power at a pressure of 12 atmospheres and can be operated at a full maximum capacity of 1500 horse-power. The high pressure cylinder is 595 mm. in diameter, the intermedi- ate 825 mm. and the low pressure cylinder measures 975 mm, in diameter. The Tosi 1200 horse-power engine, Fig. 11, is a four- cylinder triple expansion. The high pressure and inter- mediate cylinders are coupled with cranks at” right angles. Back of each is a low pressure cylinder, as shown in the drawing, the arrangement being the re- verse of that usually followed here. Instead of putting the cranks on the end of the shaft and the fly wheel or 6 THE generator in the center, the cylinders are brought to- gether upon two center cranks and the generators are coupled to the ends of the shaft. All cylinders with the exception of the high pressure, which is designed to work with superheated steam, are jacketed on barrel and head, and the steam bas to pass through the jacket to reach the steam valve. Each cylinder has four valves for the distribution of steam. German Evgine. The Siemens & Halske Electric Company of America have recently installed a railway generator in St. Louis, Mo., which will be seen in Fig. 7, and illustrates one of the vertical direct connected engines of American manufacture. This generator supplies 500 volts direct current and has a capacity of 500 kw. It is of the 12- pole type and weighs about 50 tons, the direct connected IRON AGE. January 3, 1901 In the power house of the Cleveland Street Railway a large direct connected vertical engine, Fig. 12, of American manufacture operates a 2400-kw. General Elec- tric railway generator. The speed of this engine is 75 revolutions per minute, and the generator has an output of 4000 amperes at a potential of 550 volts. The gener- ator weighs more than 85 tons; while the armature and commutator aid as a fly wheel, weighing about 40 tons. The diameter of the armature is 12 feet, while the total length of the generator is more than 20 feet and the hight about 25 feet. (To be continued.) —_ Iron Trade and Other Conditions in Scotland. GuasGcow, December 6, 1900.—The event of the week in the Scotch iron trade has been the reduction of mak- Fig. 9.— Italian Engine. DIRECT CONNECTED STEAM armature operating at a speed of 90 to 95 revolutions per minute. American Engines, The Metropolitan Traction Company of New York City have just installed 11 cross compound vertical con- densing engines of 5000 indicated horse-power each and capable of carrying an overload to nearly 7000 horse- power. To each of these engines is direct connected a three-phase alternating generator having a revolving field and stationary armature. A three-phase current of 6000 volts is generated by these machines and is trans- formed at sub-stations to direct current of 550 volts potential. The crank shafts of these engines have a tensile strength of 80,000 pounds, and the lowest limit of elasticity is 50,000 pounds. Over 14,000 tons pressure was used in the hydraulic forging of these shafts, the pump pressure being 6000 pounds per square inch. Nick- elized steel is used, fluid compressed and forged on a mandrel by hydraulic pressure. Finally, after careful annealing, they were tempered in oil. This plant represents the latest and highest development in verti- can direct connected engines in American railway steam engine practice. ENGINES AND GENERATORS. ers’ prices for pig iron. Hitherto makers have not taken any notice of the decline in warrants and in manufac- tured iron, but though they maintained official quotations they have not been above making concessions on the quiet of late weeks. This week, however, William Baird & Co., the leading smelters in the trade, announced the reduction of 2 shillings-per ton for their special brands and, of course, other makers follow suit. This reduction will make Gartsherrie No. 3 pigs 68 shillings 6 pence and Eglinton No. 3 67 shillings and No. 1 69 shillings. Makers’ prices are thus coming into normal relations with warrants which, while these lines are being writ- ten, are at 66 shillings 9 pence for Scotch G. M. B. The warrant market has gone very flat on this movement of the makers. With a declining consumption and re- duced export, the holders of warrants have before them the prospect of more warrants being created in the near future by the sending of iron into store. There is no movement that way as yet in Scotland. but there is in Cleveland, where iron is again going into store as a consequence of the slackened demand, and that notwithstanding the fact that there is now ample margin on which to send Cleveland iron into Scotland. January 3, 1901 THE IR Indeed, the bottom seems to have come out of the Mid- ilesbro market and naturally this has a very depress- dng effect on the Scotch market. Production is being teduced in Yorkshire, in Cumberland and inthe Midlands by the blowing out of furnaces, and it is likely that Tue IRon AcE Fig. 10.— Vertical Section Fig. 9. ON AGE. 7 dom was 135,799 tons, as compared with 126,294 tons on November 30, which was the lowest point touched this year. At the beginning of the year the stock was 523,- 230 tons, but then the demand for both home and export was active. No improvement in the manufactured iron and steel trades can be reported. On tke contrary, the Scotch wrought iron makers have this week again reduced the price of bars by 10 to 15 shillings per ton. They are compelled to do this by Belgian, German and American competition, and yet with all their efforts they cannot obtain orders enough to keep their works going full. Nearly all the iron mills in the Coatbridge district are reported to be now on short time. They are now getting pigs cheaper, but coal not much cheaper. All the reduc- tions in finished material are far move than the reduc- tion in costs. The trade has been rather startled by the first move of the new rivet, bolt and nut combine, which is to re- duce prices all around by about £1 per ton. As one main object of the combine was to put an end to the cutting which has been the curse of the rivet and nut trade for some time past, the object of this move has not been quite understood. It has, however, a double meaning— to encourage trade and to warn off competitors, includ- ing those Scotch firms who have not yet entered the combine. Whether or not the reduction is a warning to all and sundry that the combined firms are now strong enough to bear down any competition, it is a welcome relief to shipbuilders and other consumers. All iron and steel is now so much down that a stimulus ought to * given to the trade if there is any left at all. Shipbuilders ought to be doing very well now, wi the actual and prospective reductions in material a1 fuel. Of course it is customary for them to cover thx bulk of the material which they hold under offer before they tender to a specification, when they book an order. But they must always run a certain amount of risk, as they cannot cover everything in advance, and on all un- contracted for material they will now do well. More- over, some of them would not buy ahead in plates at the high prices current during the summer, and there- fore practically sold for the fall in booking new vessels. Those builders have done well out of American plates and will now continue to do well out of Scotch and Eng- lish plates. There is a renewal of cheap offers of Ameri- rig. 11.—Tosi Horizontal Engine DIRECT CONNECTED STEAM there will be some damping dowu in Scotland before the end of the year. Yet for the first time for months past the public stocks are on the increase. By December 5 the total in all the warrant stores in the United King- ENGINES AND GENERATORS. ean steel this week. The shipyards have a lot of paying work on hand, and more orders are dropping in this month, with many inquiries from abroad. In fact, the indications at the moment are that there is going to be 3 THE IRON AGE. shortly another rush of shipbuilding orders such as we bad last year, and again in a smaller degree in the July to September quarter. It is reported that Harland & Wolff of Belfast are about to convert their business into a joint stock limited liability company, but that none of the ordinary shares and only a portion of the preferred shares will be of- fered to the public. The announcement is not unexpect- ed, for this concern have now grown to gigantic di- mensions, and most of the big concerns in the trade in Scotland and on the North of England are now under the Limited Liability act. It is, perhaps, hardly neces- sary to say that Harland & Wolff are the established purveyors of the White Star Line. Curiously enough, while the coal markets of New- castle and South Wales are rattling down and very shaky, the Scotch market has become rather steadier Se ‘ APPR Ss January 3, 1901 Some Requisites of Modern Lighting Generator Sets.* BY H. G. REIST, OF THE GENERAL ELECTRIC COMPANY. At the Washington meeting of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers, May, 1899, an interesting and stirring paper was read by Mr. Stanwood on “ Standards for Direct Connected Generator Sets.” So far as I know this was the first time that the desirability of engine and dynamo builders getting together and trying to make their designs interchangeable as far as practicable was brought before the public. Its importance was at once realized and action taken toward improving matters by the appointment of a committee and by inviting other organizations interested to co-operate. I understand these committees are taking up the standardization of speeds of engines as well as the proportion of certain a ————— | Fig. 12.—Street Railway Engine and Generator. DIRECT CONNECTED STEAM ENGINES AND GENERATORS. this week. That is not to say that prices have recovered, but merely that sellers are not quite so pressing as they were. This condition has been brought about not by increased demand, but by reduced supply. B. T. —_- —_ The torpedo boat destroyer, “‘ Macdonough,” for the United States Navy, was successfully launched at the works of the Fore River Iron Company, East Braintree, Mass., on Monday. The “ Macdonough” is of a new type, and is to be one of a fleet of 50 craft of the same kind. Her dimensions are: Length, 242 feet; breadth, 22 feet, and depth, 14 feet The armament will consist of four 14-pound 3-inch rapid fire guns and three 6-pound- ers. Two 18-inch torpedo tubes are located in the stern. Her speed will be 30 knots per hour. The Federal Court, in a jury trial at Des Moines, Iowa, has ruled that debts on “option deals” on the Chicago Board of Trade are gambling debts, and there- fore non-collectible. purts that affect the two pieces of machinery, such as- the dimensions of base and the diameters of the engine shafts. It will not be possible to fix absolute speeds for en- gines used for directly driving alternating current ma- chines, because currents of various frequencies are used for different classes of work, and dynamos must be built with an even number of poles or, better yet, with a num- ber of poles that is divisible by four. The ordinary fre- quencies used are 25, 40 and 60 cycles per second in this country, but in Europe the usual frequency is 50 cycles. To illustrate the variation in speed necessary for the va- rious frequencies: For 60 and 40 cycles, a speed of 200 revolutions per minute may be used, but for 25 cycles the speed should be 187 or 214. Similarly we can make 60 and 40 cycle dynamos to operate at 100 revolutions per minute, but the 25-cycle machine must be driven at 94 or at 107. In working over a list of speeds for the various frequencies it will be found that a mean speed * Abstract of paper read at the New York meeting of the Engine Builders’ Association of the United States January 3 1901 may be selected which in no case need be much departed from; so that it seems perfectly practicable to select a range of speeds for the various sizes of engines at which they may be run without any changes except an adjust- ment of the governor. Then by a careful selection of sizes best ranged in geometric progression it will be feasible to keep down the number of machines very greatly, leading to duplication, thus to the practicability of making special tools for more of the parts and also to carrying parts in stock and helping toward quick de- liveries. We have given considerable thought to the selection of a range of sizes and have come to the conclusion that if the units were so spaced that each one has a 50 per cent. increase over the one below it there will be a suffi- ciently large number of machines to meet all ordinary conditions. This conclusion was also sustained by hav- ing had practical application in lines of generators and motors spaced about in this way, so that it rarely be- comes necessary to go to the expense of developing any- thing between. This method of determining sizes neces- sarily gives some of the machines on the list odd ratings, but this will occur in any case many times with either the engine or the generator, since one is rated in horse- power and the other in kilowatts. The variation in speed allows the same engine to drive generators for the three frequencies standard in this country. With very few exceptions the total variation in speed is less than 10 per cent., in most cases being not more than 2%; per cent. from the mean speed. For each capacity, except the smaller ones, several speeds .are proposed to accommodate the different types of engine. In all reciprocating engines there is an intermittent speed, the speed gradually increasing during the stroke until such time as the power applied is less than the mean power absorbed, after which the speed gradually decreases until steam is again admitted. It will thus be seen that in every single crank engine there is during each stroke or each half revolution a period of increasing speed and one of decreasing. Withtwocranks at 90 degrees there will be four such periods during each half turn. With cranks set 120 degrees apart there will, of course, be six such periods. The amount of fluctuation in speed is dependent on the number of cranks, the weight of the reciprocating parts, the length of the connecting rod, the proportion and adjustment of the valves and the weight of the fly wheels. It is desirable to keep this variation within certain limits on account of the parallel opera- tion of the generators, but more particularly to insure the satisfactory operation of synchronous apparatus, such as synchronous motors and rotary converters from such circuits. When two generators are running in multiple their mean speed will be the same, but as the speed is vari- able, as already explained, there is an instant during which one generator runs a little faster than the other. It will be seen that its potential wave will then get ahead of the wave produced by the other machine, and in consequence current will flow into the second machine and tend to drive it as a motor. A little later, when the engines are further along in the revolution, these condi- tions will be reversed. This produces cross currents be- tween the machines, which should be avoided. It might be prevented with duplicate sets, if the engines were synchronized—that is, if they were run with the cranks of the machines in the same relative position. The angle of ve- locity of one engine is then the same as that of the other at all times. Butthis is not a practical method of operation. This fluctuation is also liable to make synchronously _ driven electrical machinery drop out of step. In practice the allowable variation is usually given in displacement in degrees of any point on the rotating mass from what it would have if the motion was perfectly uniform, which gives a value that is independent of the number of cranks of the engine. Steam engines intended for directly con- necting dynamos should not have an angular deviation in degrees of more than 2% or 3 degrees of phase; or, divid- ing the number of one-half of the number of poles of the generator to be driven will give the allowable angular deviation in terms of degrees of the rotating mass. Thus a 40-cycle machine should be driven by an engine whose motion is so uniform that a point on the rotating mass THE IRON AGE, 9 will not vary more than"), , or one-eighth of 1 degree, from the position it would have if the motion were per- fectly uniform. In order to obtain this result it is necessary to so pro- portion the fly wheel, the weight of which depends upon many things, relative to the proportion of the engine, and cannot be given except in special cases. The proportion of the connecting rod is also a matter of importance in this connection. Mr. Reist here submitted data covering the fly wheel effect necessary to meet the above degree of regulation and submitted a formula representing a safe figure for well proportioned engines. Mr. Reist’s formula covered 25-cycle, 40-cycle and 60-cycle machines and was varied to apply to horizontal engines as well as vertical, to single cylinder engines as well as compounds. . .. It would naturally be expected that a three-crank engine with cranks placed 120 degrees apart would require a lighter fly wheel than one with two 90-degree cranks, but in working out the forces of compound three-cylinder engines it is found that other conditions so far enter into the problem that no appreciably better result is obtained than from a two-crank cross compound engine. Ever since alternating current machines have been built parallel operation has been discussed and tried, at first with great caution, but it is at present the usual method of operation of installations, and experience has taught us that any two alternators of the same frequency and potentials will operate in multiple satisfactorily if they are allowed to do so by the prime motors. No trouble is experienced in operating machines in multiple when driven by water wheels. There are also many installations of steam driven alternators, ofttimes of dif- ferent types, both belted and direct connected, operating satisfactorily in multiple. The principal trouble experi- enced in the parallel operation of alternators is due to the variation of the speeds of the machines with refer- ence to each other, producing oscillations in the relative motions of the two alternators. This produces cross cur- rents in the variations of the cut offs of the engines. In some cases the amplitude of these oscillations is limited in extent, while in others the force is liable to accelerate with more or less rapidity until the machines drop out of step. In som cases the machines may run in parallel for a considerable period, then by some change of conditions oscillations will begin, throwing the ma- chines out of step in a few seconds. The power to pro- duce these oscillations comes naturally from the steam and is caused by the intermittent action of the engine governors, which in their efforts to adjust themselves to compensate for the speed variation cause a periodic de- livery of steam. This delivery of steam by jerks keeps up the oscillation in the same manner as the pendulum of a clock. The frequency of this variation is affected by many conditions aside from the fly wheel effect of the rotating mass on the engines, the period of the engine impulses, the synchronizing power of the dy- namo, and probably the fly wheel effect of any syn- chronous machinery driven by the current from the dy- namo. The degree of retardation of the governor required by proper parallel operation must depend upon the combina- tion of these effects and is consequently difficult to pre- determine. Mr. Reist submitted one or two illustrations covering this point and the manner in which the difficulty had been satisfactorily overcome. There are, however, cases where a simple retarding device is not sufficient without seriously affecting the governing of the engine. A special device was suggested: to cover a case of this kind. Engines that are directly coupled to alternators that are to be run in parallel should be provided with means by which the speed may be adjusted within a small range without throttling while the engine is running. Such a device is very useful in bringing the machines together without throwing them into parallel when one machine is loaded and the other is idle, otherwise it is necessary to throttle the steam for the engine without load to bring it to the speed of the loaded machine. This device is also very useful to. divide the load between the machines, since, however carefully adjusted, high temperatures or some other locad condition may throw them slightly out of adjustment. pre Ogee 10 THE IRON AGE. The Pollak-Virag Fast Telegraph System. BY HERR PINTER, DIRECTOR OF THE UNITED ELECTRICAL COMPANY OF BUDAPEST. From Engineering of London we take the following translation of a paper read before the Congress of Elec- tricians at Paris, in August last: A year ago, at a conference held at the Hotel of the Society of Engineers and Architects at Budapest, I had the honor of introducing the Pollak-Virag system of fast telegraphy. Will you permit me to-day to explain to you the details of the trials on a large scale which have taken place since then, and put you au courant of the great progress since made by MM. Pollak and Virég with their interesting invention? In order to render my expla- nations as clear as possible, may I be permitted to refer very briefly to the system which formed the subject of my previous paper? In the Pollak-Viraig fast telegraph system the receiver differs essentially from the receivers employed up to the present, not only in principle, but even in construction. The currents, which are sent out automatically by means of a perforated slip, are directed at the receiving station into a telephone, the membrane of which is provided with a small concave mirror operating in an extremely simple and ingenious manner. Fig 1.— Connection of Mirror with Membrane. Fig. 1 shows the connection of the mirror with the membrane. The small mirror is held to a permanent magnet by means of a small plate of soft iron fixed to it. One of the poles «cf this permanent magnet termi- nates in two points l, while the other pole carries a mo- bile spring a, which is also furnished with a point. Rest- ing upon these three points the small mirror is held mag- netically. The movable point is also attached by means of a tiny rod to the membrane of the telephone. The vibrations of the membrane communicate to the small tnirror a corresponding movement, the two fixed points forming an axis of rotation. The rays of a small incan- descent electric lamp are concentrated by the concave mirror upon a sensitized paper. The incoming currents cause the movement of the telephone membrane and also of the small mirror joined to the membrane; and the light ray is consequently displaced in an upward or down- ward direction according to these incoming currents. If during this time the sensitized paper is moved in a hori- zontal direction, we shall find upon the paper, after de- velopment, a zigzag line, reproducing exactly the effects of the incoming currents. The alphabet employed is the well-known Morse alphabet, a displacement in an up- ward direction corresponding to a “dash” and a dis- placement in a downward directi