The Iron Age 1904-11-17: Vol 74 Iss 20

_ THE IROM,AGE A Review of the Hardware, Iron, wate YO Uta, tal Trades. Published every Thursday Morning by David Williams Co,, 232-238 William St.. New York, Vol. 74: No. 20. New York, Thursday, November 17, 1904. Gaetopies, iscane Reading Matter Contents....... page 56]; Alphabetical Index to Advertisers “‘ 173]) Classified List of Advertisers.... “‘ 165 Advertising and Subscription Rates ‘‘ “FORSTER” Wood Split Pulley Perfect Balance, Light and Strong. Forster ae Wor -_ CUBA, N FOR BRUSH AND FIELD | SHORT RANGE SHOT SHELLS are carried in stock by all wide-awake dealers. An entirely new invention producing practically the same velocity and pattern at 25 yards as the regular load at 40 yards. These shells often prevent a choke bored gun from missing or mutilating game at close range. All sportsmen wish to try them. Supplied in Arrow and Nitro Club brands only—same price as regular Joads. Bristol’s Patent Steel Belt Lacing. nse alae The Union Metallic Cartridge Co., sienas. Agency, 313 Breadwey, N.-Y., New York, BRIDGEPORT, CONN, TO APPLY FINISHED JOT Sieh Least Metal for Circulars and Free Samples. THE BRISTOL co., Wasacsuct, Conn. G Also Linen and Italian Hemp ELE) Sash Cord, SAMSON CORDAGE WORKS, Boston, Mass. PLAIN PATTERN REGULAR WEAD. THE GAPEWELL HORSE NAIL GOnsy fartiord, Conn. TURNBUOKLES. 5 > 3B eG ll Horse Nails ? : Lapewe OFrse INalis : b > C NEW YORK, Branches: PORTLAND, ORE., . & ##$PHILADELPHIA, BUFFALO, 5 yw CHICAGO, DETROIT, BALTIMORE, - 8T. LOUIS, CINCINNATI, NEW ORLEARS, 3 < BOSTON, SAN FRANCISCO, DENVER. \ a m 2 Low Phosphorus Pig. Girard Building, Ph PILLING & CRANE, Enupire pita. ew Fork Ete PLAIN PATTERN REGULAR WEAD. Exe ——————————————————————————— JENHINS BROS. VALVES Every valve bearing the name and Trade Mark shown in cut is sold under the positive guarantee that if it is not perfectly tight, or does not hold steam, oils, acids, water, or other fluids longer than any other valve, it may be returned and money will be refunded. Write for booklet,—‘‘Valvé Troubles.”’ JENHINS BROS., New York, Boston, Philadelphia, Chicago, London. “ ae ee Just what you want to know Just when you want to know it. AMERICAN SHEET & \w’“wemiiiliINe= " Preece Ge COMPANY ome ao TIN PLATE COMPANY’S MAGNOLIA METAL. Best Anti-Friction Metal for all Machinery Bearings. Pac-Simile of Bar. een y : x fenitations. “MAGNOLIA METAL CO., Owners and Sole Manufacturers, 113-116 Bank Street, 88" Francisco, Mu camnre. Chicago, Fisher Bidg. NEW YORK. | competitive prices. evade of Babbis Meta Ad on Page 24 ee ee a + " a r 2 r a a = ° See Rage re eens PT 2 THE IRON AGE. LAAN AUR GAUL ee ede __™#E| Sheet and Roll Brass COPPER WIRE » WIRE PRINTERS’ BRASS, JEWELERS’ METAL, GERMAN Pane =< SILVER | wre| = "sexe Trimmings, &c. MANUFACTURERS OF SWEET |THE PLE & ATWOOD MF Co, BRASS “QUEEN'S RUN” MAU Q NM Walaa! |LOW BRASS. SHEET BRONZE. |2 MURRAY sr., NEW YORK. ede WN Amed! | SEAMLESS BRASS AND COPPER ee ee SSE NAoee eee) TUBING. BRAZED BRASS AND! .... ie BRONZE TUBING. ear, OER THOMASTON, CONN. WATERBURY, CONN, WATERBURY BRASS Co,,|) SCOVILL MFG. CO., MANUFACTURERS 0) WATERBURY, CONN. BRASS, 99 John St., New York. Providence, R. |. GERMAN SILVER Bridgeport Deoxidized Bronze & Metal Go Sheets, Rolis, Wire Rods, Bolts and Tubes, *9 BRIDGEPORT, GONN. Brass Shells, Cups, Hinges, Buttons, Lamp Goods. Special Brass Goods to Order. WATERBURY, CONN. Automobile Castings a Specialty. —— High Tensile Strength. Bronze and Aluminum Alloys. JOHN DAVOL & SONS Write Us. peatans m COPPER, TIN, SPELTER, e - LEAD, ANTIMONY. Matthiessen & Hegeler Zinc Co., Bi} roo joun street, - New York. LA SALLE, ILLINOIS. SMELTERS OF SPELTER Arthur T. Rutter & Go. SHEET ZINC AND SULPHURIC ACID.. Special Sizes of Zinc cut to order. Rolled Battery Plates. 25 6 Broadway, Selected Plates for Etchers’ and Lithographers’ use. Selected Sheets for Paper and Card Makers’ use. NEW YORK. Stove and Washboard Blanks. s tubi in B C mall tubing in Brass, Copper, ZINCS FOR LECLANCHE BATTERY. Steel, Aluminum, German Silver, &c. Sheet Brass, Copper and Ger- man Silver. Copper, Brass and nay ener nn kK Sr et ant a “PHONO-ELECTRIC g 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 Telegraph Building, Room 715. Chicago Office, 602 Fisher Bldg. NEW YORK, BOSTON. TROLLEY, ww. Ga. ROWZLL ee ee Bridgeport, Conn. TELEPHONE and HENDRICKS BROTHERS TELEGRAPH Belleville Copper Rolling Mills, LINES. Brasiers’ Bolt and Sheathing ere, BRIDGEPORT BRASS CO., COPPER, So a COPPER WIRE AND RIVBTS, | Gi hachinery and Mit Work Importers and Dealers in With robles , feures and diagrams. By R. H. Ingot Copper, Block Tin, Spelter, Lead, Antimony, etc. Thorsten, "Cloth. Tiuatrated. 481" r) 49 CLIFF ST., NEW YORK. For sale by David Williams Co. 282 William St. N. Y. ‘THE IRON AGE TuurspDAy, NOVEMBER 17, The First Electric Locomotive for the New York Central. A powerful high speed electric locomotive, designed and built for the New York Central & Hudson River Railroad by the General Electric Company and the Amer- ican Locomotive Company, was officially exhibited and tried at Schenectady, N. Y., last Saturday in the presence of the Electric Traction Commission of the railroad com- LO) wae He — ~< rie 1904. General Electric multiple unit system of control, which allows two or more locomotives to be coupled together and operated from the leading cab as a single unit. Mo- tive power may, therefore, be easily increased for extra heavy trains, with no complication in operation and with only the usual train crew. A single electric locomotive will be able to maintain schedule time with a 450-ton train, and two locomotives will be coupled together for heavier trains. The locomotive consists of four driving axles on each —— a Fig. 2.—Side View and Longitudinal Section through the Trucks pany and its guests. This locomotive is the first of 30 to 50 which will be built for use near the New York terminal to haul through passenger trains up to 875 tons in weight at a maximum speed of 60 to 65 miles an hour. The New York Central & Hudson River Railroad Company is now electrically equipping the main line from the Grand Central Station to Croton, a distance of 34 miles, and the Harlem division as far as White Plains, 24 miles. It is the intention to handle all the traffic within these limits by electric locomotives. The locomotives will be operated under the Sprague- of which is mounted without intermediate gearing the armature of an electric motor having a normal rating of 550 horse-power. The total rated capacity of the loco- motive is 2200 horse-power, although for short periods a considerably greater power may be developed, making it more powerful than the largest steam locomotive in existence. Hitherto gearless locomotives have been built with the armatures of the electric motors mounted on quills and spring suspended from the driving wheels. In the new locomotive the use of spring suspended quills is 2 THE IRON AGE. dispensed with, the armature being mounted rigidly upon the axle, thus reducing the bearings to those of the pony trucks and the main journals, all of which are outside of the driving wheels. The motor has two poles with nearly flat faces, so as to permit a large relative vertical movement between armature and poles as the latter move up and down with the riding of the frame upon the springs. A longitudinal section of shown in Fig. 2. the locomotive frame is The main frame is of cast steel and Fig. 3.—One of the Armature-Axle Units. < P _7mE sen AGE . | Fig. 4 Controller with Cover Removed, Showing the interior Mechanism. serves also as part of the magnetic circuit of the electric motors. It will be seen that the motors are arranged in tandem. The end pole pieces are cast as part of the end frames, and the double pole pieces between the armatures are carried by heavy steel transoms bolted to the side frame and forming part of the magnetic circuit, as well as cross braces for the truck. The field coils are wound upon metal spools, which are bolted upon the pole pieces. Proper distribution and division of the weight of the locomotive upon the axles has been accomplished by suspending the main frame and superstructure from a system of half elliptic springs and equalizing levers of forged steel, the whole being so arranged as to cross equalize the load and to furnish three points of support. This construction, besides being strong and simple in design, greatly facilitates repairs anc renewals, as an November 17, 1904 armature with its wheels and axle may be removed by lowering the complete element, shown in Fig. 3, with- out disturbing the fields or any other part of the loco- motive. All parts are readily accessible for inspection and cleaning. The brush holders are mounted on insulated supports attached to the spring saddle over the axle journal, thus maintaining a fixed position in relation to the commuta- tor. These brush holders are adjustable to allow for wear of the commutator and journal bearings. The pony trucks are of the radial type and are pivoted by means of radius bars to the end frame of the main truck. The frame of the locomotive immediately above the trucks is supported by means of suitable links, so that the truck is free to swing about its center and is self centering on a straight track. This uesign is similar to the standard construction adopted by the New York Central & Hudson River Railroad Company for its steam locomotives. The dead weight on the axle is not materially greater than is customary with steam locomotives, and in addi- tion there is no unbalanced weight to produce vibra- tion, with attendant injuries to traek and road bed con- struction. The actual reduction in the expense of main- taining the rails and road bed, due to the absence of pounding and rolling, will effect an important saving. The superstructure consists of a central cab for the operator containing master controllers, engineer’s valves Sack View of Controller with Fuses Exposed and Showing Cut Out Switches. and switches and valves for operating. sanding, whistling and bell ringing devices. This apparatus is in duplicate, one set on each side of the cab, and is arranged so as to be manipulated from the operator’s seat, while at the same time a practically unobstructed view to front and rear may be obtained from the windows. The air gauge, meters, &c., are located within view of the driver. There is a central corridor extending through the cab, giving access from the locomotive to the cars behind, and the contactors, rheostats and reversers are arranged along the sides of these corridors in boxes of sheet steel, which are sheathed on the inside with fire proof insulating material. All of these appliances are, therefore, easily accessible for repairs or inspection. The control system permits three running connections —namely, four motors in series, two groups of two in November 17, 1G04 THE parallel series and all four motors in parallel. The motor reverser, contactors, rheostats and other control- ling appliances are all of the Sprague-General Electric multiple unit type. The master controller, shown in Figs. 4 and 5, is fitted with a special operating lever about 24 inches long and capable of being moved through an angle of about 75 degrees. <A current limiting device is provided in the master controller, consisting of a fric- operated by an tion clutch electric magnet, which is AMPERES 720 3500 70 - = ° Nn a a °o 400 2000 AMPERES ES PER HOUR M\ 1900 20 500 10 SECONDS TRE? Starting Test. energized by the current passing through one of the mo- tors. When the current exceeds a predetermined amount the cylinder cannot be rotated further until the current has fallen sufficiently to allow the relay to drop. As long as the current does not exceed the desired limit the automatic feature is not in operation. In the operator’s cab there is placed a General Elec- tric motor driven air. compressor having a capacity of 7 cubic feet of free air per minute and consisting of 800 3200 700 2800 $= v” VOLTAGE 000 2400 , - - $ 500 2000 & ° n =z 2 « a 400 Gj 1600 Wi a a = o _ oo 300 1200 5 800 400 0 0 40 30 120 180 206 240 2£0 320 360 400 SECONDS THE 1'2ON AGE Fig. 7.—Preliminary Speed Run No. 1.—EKight-Car Train, 336 Tons ; Locomotive, 95 Tons; Total, 431 Tons. a twin vertical cylinder compressor driven by two 600- volt direct current series motors. The compressor is controlled by a governor which automatically cuts the motors in and out of circuit when the air pressure falls below 125 pounds or rises above 135 pounds. A reduc- tion in air pressure sufficient to actuate any governor simultaneously starts up the air compressors in both locomotives when running double headed, and likewise when the air pressure has been raised and any one air compressor is closed down the other will be cut out of service. Current is taken from the third rail by multiple con- tact spring actuated shoes, whose supports are carried on channel irons attached to the journal box. There are four of these shoes on each side of the locomotive. In IRON AGE. 3 terminal yards where there are many switches and cross- ings and at grade crossings an overhead construction is necessary. Additional contacts are therefore mounted on the top of the locomotive for taking current when the locomotive is passing over these points. This device may be raised and lowered by air pressure controlled from the engineer’s cab. A magnetic ribbon fuse is placed in circuit with each shoe and overhead contact device as a protection in case of accidental short circuit. 300 3200 80 Tt} 20~ 4CE Fig. 8 Preliminary Speed Run No. 2.—Four-Car Train, 170 Tens; Locomotive, 95 Tons; Total, 265 Tons. 8c 70 60 100 50 - c 9 o« u 3 i Ps x 5 = 40 - oO w a ws <c oz r ™ n o 30 a ‘0 z = 40 20 2 30 20 10 10 0 0 0 200 400 600 800 1000 AMPERES PER MOTOR THE (RON AGE Fig. 9 Characteristic Curves.—Diameter of Wheels, 44 Inches; Voltage, 600. It is the intention to make ccmplete preliminary tests and trials on these locomotives under all conditions like- ly to obtain in service operation. For this purpose the New York Central Company has set aside a 6-mile stretch of track on its main line between Schenectady and Hoff- mans and equipped it with a standard third-rail construc- tion. The track is practically straight and ballasted so as to- permit attaining a maximum speed of 70 to 80 miles an hour. Power for operating the locomotive is furnished by the General Electric Company, and for this purpose there has been installed in the new power house at the Schenec- tady plant a 2000-kw., three-phase, 25-cycle Curtis turbo- generator delivering 11,000 volts to the line. A special high tension transmission line has been constructe® aero ee ae 4 THE IRON AGE. from the power station for a distance of 5 miles to the Substation at Wyatts. This substation contains a 1500- kw., 650-volt, 25-cycle rotary converter, with necessary static transformers for reducing the line potential from 11,000 to 460 volts, and a switchboard, consisting of a 600-volt direct current rotary converter panel, an alter- nating current starting panel and a high tension panel with an electrically operated type H oil switch. The rotary converter is self starting from the alternating current end, thus requiring no synchronizing devices or other complications when throwing the machine into service. The step down transformers are provided with taps giving one-third, two-thirds and full voltage for starting the rotary converter, these voltages being ap- plied successively by means of double throw lever switches. The machine starts freely and easily without sparking and without drawing more than full load cur- rent from the line. This power station, transmission line, substation equipment and 6 miles of track is un- doubtedly the most complete testing plant ever provided for trial of electric railroad motive power, and with the facilities afforded, in addition to testing the new loco- motives, much interesting and valuable electric railroad information will unquestionably be obtained. The general dimensions and data of the locomotive are as follows: es ee 95 tons. TE nt iks on kneteoeccakdkéane taste ceed 69 tons. i a a aaa 6 acl 13 feet. EE RRR neh bne wd - Soke nckeewRin so Rak Soen 27 feet. ee ee 37 feet. UII isSinns Ae bam add 0 wibUhin OPER ke kedeRhae 10 feet. ko er eee 14 feet 4 inches. SE MIS BE ig issn Kee me bib bod akaeees 44 inches. Diameter of pony truck wheels.................00.. 36 inches. ce ee ee Ie nee 8.5 inches. Normal rated horse-power of locomotive................ 2,200 Dey IIL ks idiod Saws buuccnbesace sss e cee Oy IN I os a 'e ce bis u duplce ne wis en 6 20,400 pounds. Maximum starting draw bar pull............... 32,000 pounds. ey ae INE kt 5's a's a cicsiv culsadeeeRbbunemecde @ 600 es ey a so. 6.0 ick kendo babe ee 3,050 amperes. Maximum full load current..................6. 4,300 amperes. Ne GE NR is hc etree bc Xs os Wiakhbehy cs vee ee ese GE-84-A. Since only a portion of the track to be used for test- ing is yet available, no complete locomotive tests have been made. There has been installed in the cab a full set of recording instruments, and records have been ob- tained of some of the preliminary runs made to test the bearings and running qualities of the locomotive. Al- though these records will be superseded by careful tests made on the full length of track, bonded and with suffi- cient feeders supplied to minimize the drop, they indicate in a general way what may be expected of the locomotive running in regular service. Curve sheets are shown in Fig. 6, giving speed, current input and voltage at the locomotive, all on a time basis, with an eight-car train weighing 336 tons and a four-car train weighing 170 tons, both exclusive of locomotive. The total weight of train, including locomotive and passengers, was 431 tons and 265 tons for the eight-car and four-car trains respectively. Two sets of curves of running tests reaching as high a maximum speed as possible with the length of track available are given in Fig. 7. The maximum speeds reached were 63 miles per hour with an eight-car train and 72 with a four-car train. It will be noted that the trains were still accelerating at these speeds, but the length of track so far equipped did not permit attaining higher speeds. The New York Central locomotives are not designed for abnormally high speeds at intervals but rather to obtain a high average schedule, due to their ability to accelerate more rapidly than is possible with the present steam locomotives. In the starting tests a speed of 30 miles per hour was reached in 60 seconds with an eight- car train weighing, including the locomotive, 431 tons, corresponding to an acceleration of % mile per hour per second. During certain periods of the acceleration the increase in speed amounted to 0.6 mile per hour per second, calling for a tractive effort of approximately 27,000 pounds developed at the rim of the locomotive drivers. This value was somewhat exceeded with the four-car train, where a momentary input of 4200 amperes developed a tractive effort of 31,000 pounds at the drivers November 17, 1904 with a coefficient of traction of 22.5 per cent. of weight on drivers. The average rate of acceleration with the four-car train, weighing, including the locomotive, 265 tons, was 30 miles in 37% seconds, or 0.8 mile per hour per second, calling for an average tractive effort of 22,000 pounds. The maximum input recorded, 4200 amperes at 460 volts, or 19385 kw., gives an output of the motors of 2200 horse-power available at the wheel. With 4200 amperes and a maintained potential of 600 volts there would have been an input to the locomotive of 2520 kw., corresponding to 2870 horse-power output of the motors. This output is secured without in any way exceeding the safe commutation limit of the motors and with a co- efficient of traction of only 22.5 per cent. of the weight upon the drivers, thus placing this electric locomotive in advance of any steam locomotive yet built. No service capacity temperature runs have been made as yet, and the preliminary tests have not shown any warm- ing up of the motors sufficient to occasion taking ther- mometer readings. Throughout both the starting and running tests the electric locomotive showed its remarkable steadiness in running, a distinct contrast in this respect to the steam locomotive, especially should the latter be forced to per- form the work here shown to be accomplished by the electric locomotive. The elimination of gear and bearing losses increases the efficiency of the locomotive. Refer- ence to the motor characteristics shows a maximum efficiency of approximately 98 per cent., this value being fully 4 per cent. better than possible with motors of the geared type. This gain is especially noticeable at the high speeds, the efficiency curve remaining above 90 per cent. even at the free running speed of the locomotive alone, in contrast to the 85 per cent. or less which would be a good showing for a locomotive provided with geared motors. The simple construction and high efficiency made possible with this design of gearless motor, together with.the minimum cost of repairs attending such a con- struction, make the direct current gearless motor type of locomotive a distinct forward step in electric loco- motive construction. The Electric Traction Commission of the New York Central road, consisting of Fifth Vice-President William J. Wilgus, John F. Deems, Bion J. Arnold, Frank J. Sprague, George Gibbs and Edwin B. Katte, under which the formal test was made, had a party of guests occupying a special train of seven cars, which included a large num- ber of officers of other railroad companies interested in electrical traction. The American Locomotive Company was represented by T. A. Sague, vice-president; W. Dalton, chief en- gineer; James McNaughton, general superintendent, and F. J. Cole, mechanical engineer. ee The Carnegie Library at Duquesne, Pa., where the Duquesne Steel Works of the Carnegie Steel Company is located, was formally dedicated on Saturday evening, November 12. The building was presented to the people of Duquesne by Thomas Morrison, formerly superintend- ent of the Edgar Thomson Steel Works, and who repre- sented Andrew Carnegie, who was unable to be present. Among those present at the dedication were Charles M. Schwab, former president of the United States Steel Cor- poration; A. C. Dinkey, president, and W. W. Blackburn, secretary of the Carnegie Steel Company. The Duquesne Library has been opened for about five months, but was not formally dedicated. The building is said to have cost about $300,000, contributed by Andrew Carnegie. Edward C. Smith, 506 Commonwealth Trust Build- ing, St. Louis, Mo., advises us that he is exclusive agent for the Sloss-Sheffield Steel & Iron Company in St. Louis territory, which embraces the district lying from the Indiana western boundary to the Pacific Coast. An item published in our issue for November 3 relative to the , agencies of Robert Field, Cincinnati, is regarded as open to the inference that he is agent for the sale of Sloss- Sheffield iron in St. Louis territory. November 17, 1904 The Battle Ship New Jersey Launched. The United States battle ship New Jersey, built by the Fore River Shipbuilding Company, was successfully launched November 10, at Quincy, Mass., in the presence of the Governors of New Jersey and Massachusetts, ex- Secretary of the Navy John D. Long and many distin- guished guests. She is a sister ship of the Virginia, Ne- braska and Georgia and was authorized in February, 1902. The new battle ship is a twin screw vessel and is built for a speed of 19 knots, the indicated horse-power of her triple expansion engines being 19,000. The gen- eral dimensions and chief characteristics of the vessel are as follows: mengits om leah. weser Beiiss cies ci ces us cpaeenees 435 feet. Breadth, extreme, 2t load water line......... 76 feet 2% inches. Tela) Gieplkcoment, Ghee! < oo: <. «occu. . cclkavease 14,948 tons. Mean draft at trial displacement, about........23 feet 9 inches. Greatest. dvatt, fall load, about... ..........seeanenees 26 feet The New Jersey will carry four 12-inch guns, mounted by pairs in balanced turrets, one forward of the super- structure and the other aft, and each having a total are of train of 270 degrees. Of the eight 8-inch guns which will be carried, four will be mounted by pairs in tur- rets, superposed upon the 12-inch turrets, and four in two broadside turrets, slightly forward of amidships. There will be a broadside battery on the gun deck of 12 6-inch rapid fire guns, six on each side. The secondary battery will consist of 12 3-inch rapid fire guns, 12 3-pounder semiautomatic guns, eight 1-pounder heavy automatic guns, two machine guns and six Colt auto- matic guns. She will also be fitted with submerged tor- pedo tubes. The New Jersey is provided with a complete water line belt of armor, 8 feet in width amidships, 11 inches thick at the top and 8 inches at the bottom, tapering to a uniform thickness of 4 inches at the ends of the vessel. She also has a casemate armored belt extending over about 245 feet of her length, of a uniform thickness of 6 inches, rising from the top of the main belt to the upper or main deck, joined at its after end to the barbette of the 12-inch turret by a 6-inch armored bulkhead and having at its forward end an armored bulkhead of 6-inch thickness extending from side to side, thus forming a citadel or redoubt within which the 6- inch guns will be mounted. Within this citadel or re- doubt and extending from the forward turret to the after turret light armor, 14% and 2% inches in thickness, will form subdivisions of the gun inclosures, thoroughly pro- tecting the gun crews from flying splinters and fragments of bursting shells. The applications of electricity on board this vessel and the others of her class are very much wider than in the case of any other battle ships in existence, with the possible exception of the Kearsarge and Kentucky. All of the turrets have electrical turning gear, and the ammunition hoists, blowers to the turrets and general ventilation, the general workshop, and practically all of the auxiliaries, outside of the engineers’ department and excepting capstan and stearing gear, are to be elec- trically driven. To provide for the power required for these purposes eight engines and dynamos will be in- stalled, mounted on combination bed plates, two having a rated output of 1250 amperes at 125 volts, and six with 62.5 amperes at 125 volts. ——_—-.¢--g—__—_. The Carnegie Steel Railroad Tie.—In The Iron Age of November 3 mention was made of the fact that the Carnegie Steel Company, Pittsburgh, had secured a con- tract from the New York Central Railroad for 7000 steel railroad ties, and from the Lake Shore for 5000. More railroads are thus adopting steel ties, it having been conclusively proved that while the initial cost is higher than for the wooden ties, the long life of the steel tie and its compactness more than offset the cost of the wooden tie. The Bessemer Railroad, which is controlled by the Carnegie Steel Company, has been using steel ties for four or five years with most satisfactory results. The Pennsylvania Railroad has steel ties on several sections and curves, and the Lake Shore is making some severe THE IRON AGE. 5 tests in and near Chicago, while the Baltimore & Ohio and Pittsburgh & Lake Erie roads are also working along the same lines. Indications are that within the near fu- ture steel ties will be very generally adopted by the lead- ing railroads, which will mean a greatly increased con- sumption of steel. +» oe__- Three New Multiple Spindle Sensitive Drills. The demand for sensitive drill presses that are capa- ble of using drills made of the new high speed tool steel has lately been given serious consideration by the build- ers of this class of tool. The machines shown in the ac- Fig. 1—The Fenn-Sadler Two-Spindle Drill. companying illustrations were all designed with the end in view of meeting this particular requirement. In Fig. 1 is shown a two-spindle drill made by the Fenn-Sadler Machine Company, Hartford, Conn., espe cially intended for manufacturing purposes, though it may also be used to advantage in the toolroom. It is guaranteed to drill %inch holes at full lever pressure, and will do effective work with drills of larger diameter. It is rigidly constructed to receive much greater power than the ordinary sensitive drill press will stand as de- signed under conditions existing before the manufactur- ers of twist drills mastered the art of hardening the new steel after it had been fashioned into their product. With a main driving shaft speed of 200 revolutions per minute, spindle speeds of 200, 400 and 800 revolutions are obtained by means of a quick change speed device. The power from the horizontal driving shaft is transmitted to the vertical driving shaft through a sliding cone of (ere, Same aerpenicneergr ete meses em one mgrpneann :essrmmmumennane: 6 THE three gears on an intermediate shaft which is actuated through bevel gears from the horizontal shaft. cone slides to mesh any one of its three gears with a cor- responding gear on the vertical shaft, each producing a different speed ; or it may rest in one of two neutral posi- Fig. 2. Mig. 3 I> tail of the Dwight tions, the vertical shaft and the spindle remaining idle. The cone is operated by a lever, seen in the illustra- tion, at the side of the column on the gear case, just above, the level of the table. Any position of the cone is main- tained firmly by means of a slotted bar. Each spindle is operated independently of the other. A feature of the IRON The AGL. November 17, 1904 machine is the arrangement by which the top columns may be swung in different positions, a great convenience at times, especially in jig work, as it is possible to drill holes at the time using the jig. The drill press, as shown, transmits its power from the ver- any two same The Dwight Slate Six-Spindle Sensitive Drill. THE IRON AGE Slate Sensitive “r-li. tical shaft to the spindle by chain and sprockets, but it is the company’s intention to replace this arrangement by a train of gears. Each spindle is counterbalanced by a spring which makes it sensitive enough to drill small holes. The travel of the spindle is 10 inches. The sensitive drill press shown in Figs, 2 and 8 is November 17, 1¢04 THE manufactured by the Dwight Slate Machine Company, Hartford, Conn. It contains an improved automatic cam feed, together with a safety stop adjustment designed to operate when extra strain is thrown upon the feeding mechanism by hard spots in a casting, by the dulling of the tool or its slipping in the chuck, or through care- lessness on the part of the operator. Such a strain is likely to cause serious damage to the machine. The cam lever feed may be seen in Fig. 2, but will be better understood by reference to Fig. 3. The swing arm A is pivoted on bearing H, which is attached to the post, and on the swing arm is a roller, J, against which works the cam K. The roller is mounted on a fixed stud. The cam is of a form such that the first third or half of the depth to be cut and ihe feed is then is drilled quickly Fig. 4. The Barr Four-Spirdle Pri'l. reduced as the hole is nearly finished, so that the point is traveling slowly as it pricks through the completed hole. The arm may be locked in any position in the ‘l-slotted front, thus regulating the throw; the nearer the bottom of the arm the shorter the throw and consequently the shorter the travel of the drill spindle. Fine adjustments of the throw are obtained by means of the turnbuckle on the connecting rod C. There is no necessity of chang- ing the cams. The cams of the various spindles may be set in any relation one to another. The safety stop is in the lever arm D BE, made in two parts, hinged together, the lower member being locked to the pinion shaft and the upper member actuated by the connecting rod. The members are held together by an adjustment spring pin or latch, F, which locks into a recess on the cam shaped piece M attached to the lower member. The spring G has an adjusting screw by which the desired tension may be obtained. If overload occurs the upper member of the arm breaks con- nection and the cam may continue. to without actuating the drill spindle. The machine is designed pyri- marily for light drilling, The drill press shown in Fig. 4 is designed to do very heavy work with high speed tool steel drills and is manu- factured by H. G. Barr, Worcester. Mass. It is guar- anteed to drill simultaneously as many %-ineh holes as there are spindles, the machine being built with from two to six spindles. Both power and lever feed are pro- vided. While not intended fcr continuous with which is revolve work IRON AGE. larger than *%-inch drills, it will drill %-inch holes if required, and is perfectly suited for light work. Each spindle is independently driven from a cone pulley on the countershaft, affording three speeds. A 314-inch belt is used on the tight and loose pulleys, a 14-inch belt on the cones and a 14-inch belt on the spindle driving pulley. The ratio between the gear on the pulley stud, which is set back of the spindle, and that on the pulley is 1 to 2, this latter reduction being The machine for %-inch cone and the countershaft used to give increased power to the drill. nuust be run at its slowest spindle speed crilling. The belt power between the spindle is sufficient to allow any desired speed, the only requirement being that the ratio of speed between spindle and countershaft be maintained by always running at the slowest spindle speed. The feed rod, driven by and gear spindle, swings on a steel link, one end of which is at- tached to the feed rod bracket and the other end to the adjustable head. The feed rod may be swung back out cf mesh with the feed, in which position it is held by a flat spring under the stop lever. When in mesh the stop a hardened steel latch by a spiral The release is operated either ly hand or automatically by means of an adjustable Lleck dovetailed to the spindle rack. The 1-inch spindles nre provided with ball bearing thrust collars and have f-ineh traverse. They are counterbalanced for sensitive Grill work, The heads are adjustable and the tables are udjustable on the column by means of a crank through bevel gears and a screw working in a brass nut within the column. The spindles are bored with a No. 2 Morse taper. The same machine is provided without the reduc- ing gears between the spindle pulley and the spindle, this type being intended for drilling holes up to % inch with ordinary tool steel. iosceniehtion salad ela toatcnts Secrecy in Customs Reappraisements. worm from the lever is held against spring at its inner end. A determined attempt is to be made to secure a ruling on the question of secrecy in reappraisement, which has been raised by George Borgfeldt & Co., but which is being watched with intense interest by all importers. The facts in the case are as follows: , About two years ago Borgfeldt & Co. began to import large quantities of cheap hotel china ware from the Maestricht district of Holland. The domestic manufac- turers, who had until then controlled the market on goods of this class in this country, charged undervaluation, and as a result an investigation was made which led to the invoice values of Borgfeldt & Co.’s goods being advanced from 10 to 20 per cent. by the local appraiser. An ap- peal was taken to General Appraiser Sharretts, and at his request two independent investigations were made in Europe by special Treasury agents, which resulted in Mr. Sharretts sustaining Borgfeldt & Co.’s invoice values. The domestic manufacturers continued their agitation, however, with the result that the collector was ordered to appeal from the decision of Mr. Sharretts to a board of three general appraisers. The case was reheard by them, and on fresh testimony presented by the domestic interests the advance was sustained. This new testimony is what W. Wickham Smith, counsel for Borgfeldt & Co. is trying to obtain permission to inspect. It has always been the policy of the Treasury Depart- ment to keep secret the evidence presented to the general The Department (laims that only by doing so is it able to obtain the tes- (imony of importers against others in their own trade, and it has taken the position that to depart from this policy would be to cut itself off from the only source of information available as to market values. The import- ers Claim. however, that they are entitled to know what adduced against them is and to be con- fronted with the witnesses against them. In the case in point it is alleged that the evidence on which the beard of three general appraisers finally sus- tuined the advance on Borgfeldt & Co.’s goods was fur- uished by an American who went to Holland and, it is stated, he represented himself to the manufacturers from whom Borgfeldt & Co. bought their goods as a merchant trem Manila, It is further said that he bought small uppraisers on reappraisement matters. the evicence = eS - 2 eee SL Se TIE be, een MN SE Sooo, oe 0 EE oats ee oe es waa eee = wa SS, OSLER AE SENS SE wa =. a urea te 5 aw oh ogee sewers an ae 2: dims ee heeheminal ns areca lg > Carats d ee pee: sie 8 THE IRON AGE. quantities of the goods, in fact only a dozen or so of each article, and was given prices very much higher than those obtained by Borgfeldt & Co. for 100-case lots. He was enabled to testify, however, that he had to pay more for the goods than the price at which they were invoiced to Borgfeldt & Co., and on this testimony it is claimed the values of the large importers were advanced. Such is the law, however, that even if Borgfeldt & Co. succeed in refuting the evidence they will not be able to recover the excess duties paid. They desire to see the evidence in order to be able to refute it on future importations. a Professor Howe on the Gayley Dry Blast. Prof. Henry M. Howe of Columbia University has made the following comments on the paper read by James Gayley before the Iron and Steel Institute, en- titled “The Application of Dry Air Blast to the Manufac- ture of Iron: ” The value of Mr. Gayley’s invention is so great that one can hardly rate it justly without danger of seeming theatrical. When we consider the greatness of the pig iron industry, even the minor advantages of his proc- ess, such as the saving of fine ore, the raising of the phosphorous limit of the ore and the better control over the sulphur and silicon contents of the pig iron, collect- ively are of enormous value; but, passing these by, the fuel economy reported fairly takes one’s breath. As- suming that the world’s annual output of pig iron is roughly 46,000,000 tons, and that it calls for ‘some 46,- 000,000 tons of coke, representing some 66,000,000 tons of coal, Mr. Gayley’s saving of 20 per cent., as shown by his Exhibit VII, would correspond, if applied to all the furnaces of the world, to no less than 13,000,000 tons of coal per annum, or more than twice the total annual coal production of New South Wales, and more than half that of such important coal producers as Belgium and Russia. We hardly expect this invention to be used at every furnace at home and abroad; yet when we re- member to how great a proportion of all the furnaces of the world Neilson’s invention of the hot blast has been applied, we need not fear that any large fraction of the world’s furnaces will fail to adopt the dry blast sooner or later. His remark in his last paragraph but one, that the dry blast plant “started without a hitch and no difficul- ties have been developed in any direction,” will not great- ly surprise those familiar with his exploits. Refrigerating processes evidently have a great future. We need not here consider such obvious uses as cooling dwellings and factories in hot climates, though our fail- ure to do this will, to the future historian, stamp this age aS among the barbarous ones. But there is a use which is of interest to those of us who speculate as to the future of the iron industry. Not a few at this meet- ing have said with Burns: “And forward, though I canna see, I guess an’ fear.” At first sight it certainly may seem that the supply of iron ore, finite as it is and not reproduced like our ani- mal and vegetable supplies, will exhaust itself; not, in- deed, in our time nor that of our children, but long before the other great staple materials of industry, such as wood, the textile substances, animal and vegetable, breadstuffs, meat, and other foods. Yet on reflection this idea loses its force; for if the earth really is an enormous iron meteor with but a relatively thin crust of rock there is a supply of iron which should last long after the earth has ceased to be habitable. We depend upon the forests and green fields for our supply of oxygen (and of food) ; but when sun and earth shall have so far cooled that the ice caps, spreading out from either pole, finally meet at the HEquator, when mother earth, exhausted, draws together those icy curtains for her endless sleep, where will be the fields and forests to give us the breath of life? Will not our atmosphere then be one of nitrogen plus carbonic acid, and the earth a desert? But how are we to attack and reach this iron nucleus of the earth? Clearly through these refrigerating proc- esses. When man shall have exhausted the limited, and hence exhaustible, deposits of the earth’s crust, knowing November 17, 1904 the vast central mass of iron beneath him he will be forced to find a means of freezing his way to it. ——-_»4--o_______—- Chicago’s New Charter and Municipal Ownership. The city of Chicago is reaching a crisis in its munic- ipal affairs, and what is happening in Chicago is typical of the possible future of any great American city. At the last election the proposition was carried to amend the State Constitution so as to permit the granting of a special charter to Chicago. This charter, when granted, will give the city larger liberties than it now enjoys in the management of its own affairs, transferring from the State capital at Springfield to the Council Chamber at Chicago most of the future legislation for the city. Right at this juncture a persistent and very deter- mined force, bent on municipal ownership of the street railway lines, is asserting itself. This force, in the form of municipal ownership, referendum and other leagues, announces that all its efforts will be devoted to securing a clause in the new charter compelling, or at least author- izing, the acquirement by the city of the existing traction lines. The new charter will permit the bonding of the city in the sum of $100,000,000, about half of which will have to go to paying the debts of a dozen supplementary governing and taxing bodies which will be absorbed by the city, and the balance will be available for needed public improvements in the shape of extensions to the water, sewerage, school, street, park, electric lighting and other interests already owned by the city. The municipal ownership leagues insist that this surplus should at once be applied to the purchase of traction lines whose franchises make the purchase optional with the city, and®they argue that the earnings of these trac- tion lines will tore than provide for the other interests, and that the public will be rendered car service such as would be impossible with private ownership. They an- nounce that they will work for the defeat of any charter that “dées not ‘vouchsafe adequate provisions for the municipal ownership of traction lines and ultimately of other public utilities. Upon the outcome of this matter depends the placing or delay of millions of dollars’ worth of contracts for machinery, engines, boilers, pumps, street paving, sewers and other public improvements. + oe The Steel Casting Trade Unsatisfactory. The Steel Founders’ Society, composed of a number of the largest steel casting plants in the country, which has its existence for the purpose of comparing notes and assisting in promoting the general interests of the steel foundry business, is just completing Its report for the fiscal year ending June 30, 1904. An examination of this report shows an unfortunate result for the year’s business. Comparing the last year with the preceding one in the output for the six months ending January 1, 1904, there is a decline in volume of from 38 to 47 per cent. in the various plants, while for the last six months, or up to July 1, 1904, as compared to a similar period to July 1, 1908, there is a falling off in sales of from 45 to 63 per cent. There has been practically no re- duction in the average rate of wages, and while there has been a decline in the cost of pig iron it is not in propor- tion to the decline in the prices of the finished material. It is the awkward condition of a decline in selling prices, a decline in output and proportionate increased fixed charges on one side, with only a small decline in the cost of pro- duction on the other, that accounts for the fact that dur- ing the year three or four steel casting plants were com- pelled to temporarily suspend operations, and four plants were obliged to discontinue manufacturing steel castings. The main office of the Steel Founders’ Society of America is in the Penn Building, Pittsburgh, William Dando being resident secretary. The other officials are: O. P. Letchworth of Buffalo, N. Y., president; W. W. Balkwill of Cleveland, Ohio, vice-president, and C. C. ‘Smith of the Union Steel Casting Company, Pittsburgh, is treasurer. Monthly meetings of the Steel Founders’ Society are held, and the next regular monthly meeting will take place in Cincinnati, on Thursday, November 17. November 17, 1904 The Billings & Spencer Hot Saw. The hot saw shown in the accompanying illustration is intended particularly for cutting blanks for drop forgings from bar stock. The advantages of nicely Squared stock for this purpose are obvious. The work is clamped to a swinging table by means of a hand wheel shown at the top of the machine. The table is pivoted at the base and the leverage of the long operating handle is such that the work may be advanced against the saw with no great exertion on the part of the operator. The stop gauge for limiting the length cut off from the bar is held on a rod which slides loosely through its bearings in the work carriage when released by its clamp scréw. The gauge bar is also adjustable so that the setting may be accomplished in very short order. The supporting bar may be reversed and the gauge fixed at the other end when it is desired to cut longer pieces to exact length The Billings & Spencer Hot Saw. than the gauge can be set for when in the position shown in the illustration. The machine is manufac- tured by the Billings & Spencer Company, Hartford, Conn. ——-— +e — A. M. Byers & Co., Incorporated.—This firm has leased for a term of years the plant of the Carnegie Tube Company, Carnegie, Pa., which has been idle for several years. This plant was built in 1901-1902, the first tubes being made in January, 1902, and the first skelp early in May, 1902. It contains three heating furnaces and one 12-inch train of grooved rolls, and the annual capacity is 30,000 tons. The finishing department is equipped for the manufacture of wrought iron pipe in sizes from % inch to 3 inches in diameter, the annual ca- pacity being 20,000 tons. The J. E. Wright Company, Wheeling, W. Va., has booked some nice contracts. Among these may be THE IRON AGE. 9 mentioned a large tipple and crusher building with a steel trestle, for the Connellsville coking region; a stand pipe for the supply of city water to the hilltop residents of Stubenville, Ohio, and several crane runways. In the brick and cement department, orders have been filed from four street railway corporations for street pavers. The company also states that bar iron and coupling iron orders are coming in rapidly. ——————_p- oe ———_—_—— The New Additions to the Navy, Plans and specifications for the new colliers to be built in Government yards are being rapidly pushed. The “ Erie,” which is to be constructed at the New York yard, will probably have her keel laid some time in February. The “ Ontario,” which is to be constructed at the Mare Island (Cal.) yard, cannot be begun until Congress makes the necessary appropriation for fitting up the yard, but there will probably be very little delay on this score, as the plans and specifications for the “ Erie” will also serve for the “ Ontario,” and the appro- priation of $120,000 to be made by Congress will be made immediately available and will be at the disposal of the Secretary of the Navy by the middle of February. The Department will keep an accurate comparative ac- count of the cost of building these two colliers for the purpose of determining the relative expense of ship con- struction on the Atlantic and Pacific. The plans of the three scout ships are being pushed as rapidly as possible, but the designers are still await- ing plans and specifications for the turbine engines. The third scout ship will have as motive power the regular naval reciprocating engines and water tube boilers, but as it is desired to build the three vessels as nearly as possible on the same general design. details cannot be worked out until both turbine installations have been finally approved. The Department will open bids for the battle ship “New Hampshire” and the two cruisers “ North Caro- lina” and “ Montana” on December 15. The charac- teristics of the battle ship have already been given in these dispatches, The general dimensions and features of the cruise