33

E N G I N E E R I N G.

LITERATURE.
Coal Pits and Pitmen. A Short H istory of the Coal
Trade ani the Leqislation Atfecting it. l:Sy R. ~EL o~
BoYo,' M. Inst. C. E. London: Whittaker and Co.,

21 White Hart-street, Paternoster-square.

TH E story of t h e develop~ent of. the gr_eat coal
industry of the United Kingdom 1s told tn these
pages in an en ter taining manner. The treatment
is essentially on popular lines, and the author does
not attempt to make any fine ded~ctions fro_m h~s
historical narrative, although at tunes free m his
denunciation of the coalowners of a past generation-perhaps more free thaJ?- the p_hilosophic
historian will be when h e lB sufficiently far
removed from events to be able to judge dispassionately of the influences at w~rk in retarding
legislation. Owing to the pauctty o~ accur~te
information, Mr. Nelson B oyd contents himself with
a brief survey of events prior to the a wakening of
Parliament 50 years ago to the n ecessity of regulating the employment of miners; but h e is
satisfied that t he conditions of life were those of
the slave. In tracing the events which led to
emancipation, the author regards legislation as the
primary factor, and only briefly acknowledges the
influences of science. No one underrates, far less
tries to justify, the conditio,ns obtainin_g prior t o
the adoption of L oru Ashley s Act, which, by t he
way, the author: r eports a~ having b een read twice
in the Common s and once m the L ords ; but then,
as now the workmen would have objected to any
change' in circumstances which did not bring higher
wages, so that it is quite i~po~sible to estim_ate
the relative advantage of legtslat10n and mechanical
p rogress in coal-mining. At the tim~ L ord Ashley
carried his most desirable and b en eficial Act, steam
had been introduced in the working of factories,
&c., and with increased demand for coal came
better facilitieJ for working. The great problems
of improved ventilation, and of a ~afe means of
lighting, were solved by the mechanic rather than
by the leo-islator, although probably the enactments
of the latter gave an impetus to the work of the
former and resulted iu the adoption of the means
suggested, earlier than m~ht ?therwi~e have been
the case. Education, mtnes m spect10n, and the
gradual aw:ake~ing of employe~a . t_o_ the fact that
their p ositiOn Involves responstbiltt tes a~ we!l as
privileges, has done much to change the situatiOn ;
but in this pitmen are n ot alone, as the author
seems, at times, to assume.
Of the improved condition of the miner there
are many evidences. The average number of _liyes
lost during the past decade was 5. 80 p er milhon
of tons raised. It has steadily decreased from
13.90 in the 1860 decade. In other words, the
death rate per 1000 persons employed has in 50
years decreased from 4. 56 to 1.85, and considering
the dangerous character of the occupation and the
extreme carelessness of the men, which accounts for
a considerable number of the accidents, t his state of
matters must be regarded as satisfactory. The
causes of accident bear this out, for explosions and
accidents in the shafts have decreased in their relation to the total, while miscellaneous accidents,
due largely t o the working of steam machinery
underground, have greatly increased. The falls of
roof and sides have slightly increased, and now
bear a ratio to the total of 41.85 per cent. As to
the production of coal, there has been an enormou s
development. One hundred years ago the total
output was estimated at 7,618,000 tons. At the
time L ord Ashley began his agitation it was about
32 million tons. Now it is 185! million tons, the
incre~e in 20 years having been 70 million tons,
and in 10 years 35 million tons. The improvement in the condition of the pitmen is reflected in
the amount of coal raised per annum, for each man
employed mined 380 t ons per annum for the years
1881-90, while 40 years ago the average was only
280 tons. Here we have an indication of improved
appliances, for the men are working much shorter
hours, in most cases less than eight hours a day ;
while there has been an increase in size and depth
of shafts. There are now shafts up to 19 ft. in
diameter, as at the Ocean Collieries in South Wales.
The Rosebridge pit at Wigan was about the
deepest shaft in 1869, being 816 yards. The
Ashton mine, near Manchester, sunk in 1881, is
896 yards. The immense shafts necessitate an
.enormous output and powerful machinery. Winding
machines up to 1500 indicated horse-power are now
in use, with steel wire ropes, raising three to four

A Ha;nd-book on the Steam Engine, with especial .Reference

2000 tons per day.
to Small and Medium _s_iztd Engines. By HERJHA~

tons of coal each lift, and up to

These works are so well equipped now that the cost
of production is reduced to a minimum-3s. 6d. to
4s. 6d. a ton, so that the price is much cheaper
t han in past years, notw~th~tanding. higher wages
a nd shorter h ours. Thts IS essential to our prosperity as a manufacturing nation, for of the coal
produced nearly ~ne-th~d is fo~ steam p o'Yer,
while 17 per cent. IS r equrred for Iron productiOn.
Only 17i p er cent. is .fo~ domestic use! ~nd 15 ~er
cent. for export, principally for Br1llsh coahn_g
stations. The economising of our resources . ts
urged by Mr. Nelson B oyd, and whil~ much is b~Ing
done in this direction in t he adopt10n of multiple
compound engines, more might still be d one.

- -BOOKS RECEIVED.
On the A pplication of Interfertmce Methods to Spectroscopic
M easurements. With five Plates. By ALB&RT A.

MicHELSON. Washington: The Smithaonian Institut ion.

A ssociation des Propriitaires d A ppareils ci Vapeur du

Nord de la Fran ce. A nnees 1881 (1. 1892. I X e B ulletin .

Lille : L. Danel.

Sanitary Engineering in, I,uJ,~;a, for the Use of Mun icipalities and Engineers. By JoHN WALLACE, C.E.

Bombay: Education Society's Press.

A M anual on L ime and Cement, Their Treaflment wnd Use

in Construction. By A. H . H EATH. London : .E. and

F. N. Spon; New York : Spon and Chamberlam.

Igiene delle A bitazione. Vol. I I I . Provista, Condotta, e

D iatribu:.ione delle Acque. Dell' Ingegnere DoNA_TO
SPATARO. Parte Seconds.. La Condotta. Milan: Ulr1co

HAEoER. English Ed1t1on by H. H. P. Powu:~.

L ondon : Crosby L ockwood ~nd Son~.
.
H JLdraulic P ower and B yd!raultc M <tchtnery. By H.E~R'
ROBINSON, M. Inst. C.E., F.G.S. Second Ed1t10n.
revised and enlarged. With numerous ~oodcuts and
sixty-nine plates. London : Charles Griffin and Co.,
Limited. [Price 34B.]

THE LANCASHIRE vV ATCH COMPANY.

(Continued from page 3. )

WE will n ext follow the making of train wheels.

Blanks are stamped out by a press; th.e ~st
stamping op eration producing the wheels w1~h rtm
and arms complete from the sheet metal. Ftgs. 17
and 18 give a sectional ~iew of the ~ub-press a~d
die for this purpose. Thts sub-press 1~ a feature In
watchmaking press tools, aJ?-d ts dest.gned so th~t
complicated tools can ~e Inserted . In the main
press both quickly and without a.ny rtsk of .damage
from faulty adjustment. Referrmg_to o.ur illustr~
tions, Figs. 17 and 18, the upper cyhndncal part ~s
the plunger. This works in guides not shown, and Is

,. ---....

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Fig 17.

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E. STRETTON, C. E. London : Crosby Lockwood and

Son. l Price 3s. Gd.]

United S tates Commission of F ish ctnd F isheries : R eport

of the Corn.missioners for 1888. Washington : Govern-

ment Printing Office.

Uber Liiftung und H eizung inbeso~ere von Schulhaii~c,n

durch NeiderdruckdQ/Tnpf-Lujthe~=ung. Von Ingenu~ur

HERMANN BERANECK. Mit zwei Tafeln und mehrenen

Figuren. Vienna : A. H~rtleben. . .

Street Railway Motors: W tth Descrtptwn s cvnd Cost of

P lants and Operation of the V arious Systems in Use, or
P roposed for M otive P ower on Sflreet Railways. By

'

''

The L ocomotive Engine and I ts Development. By CLEMENT

ton : Government Printing Office.

- - "'
:t- ---.1..

Hoepli.

A nnual Report of the Board of Regents of the Smithsonian

I n stitution slwwing the Operations, Expend itwres, and
Condition ~!the institution for the Year e'IUiing June_ 30,
1890. R epo1't of the U.S. N atio-nal M useum. Washmg

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__

HER:\JAN HAUPT, C. E. Philadelphia: Henry Carey,

Baird, and Co. ; London : E. and F. N. Spon.
The Story of the Altantic T elegraph. By HENRY ~I.
}i'IELD. London: Gay and Bird. [Price 7s. 6d.]

'

Y ear-Book of the L earn ed and Scientific Societies of G1eat

Britain and Ireland. Compiled from Official Sources.

Tenth Annual I ssue. L ondon : Charles Griffin and Co.

A Trea.tisre on Shori ng and Unde'rpi'l'llnimg, and generally

Dealing with Ruinous and Dam.gerous Structwres. By

CECIL HADEN STOCK. With numerous illustrations on

ten lithographic plates. Second Edition. London:
B. T . Batsford. [Price 4s. 6d.]
T he P lumlJer and Sanitary H ouses. Fifth Edition, 1893.
By S. STEVENS HELLYER. London : B. T. Batsford .
[Price 12s. 6d.]
Die Dyna~TMelektrischenMcuchinen. V on Dr. A URRBACH.
Mit 99 Abbildungen. Vienna : A. Hartleben. [Price
3 marks.]

Jlig.1:J.

'

'
'
I

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:
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---=
T wenty Yeatrs' Practical Experience of Natural Asphalt
and Mineral B iturrun . By W. H. DELANO, Assoc. Inst. actuated by the mechanism of t he main press. The
C. E . London : E. and F. N. Spon ; New Y ork : outer diameter and the arms of the wheel are cut out
Spon and Chamberlain.

E lectric Light I n stallations, Vol. I . The Managemen t of

A ccumulators:
A P ractical Hand-book.
By Sir

DAVIO SALOMONS, Bart., M. A. Seventh Edition,

revised and enlarged. L ondon : Wbittaker and Co.,
and George Bell and Sons.
T he Dynamo: Its Theory, Desi{ln, anul Manufacture.
By C. C. H A WKINS, M. A., and F. W ALLIS. With 190
Illustrations. London : Whitta.ker and Co. [Price
10s. 6d.]

An Elementary T reatise on Analytical Geometry, with

Nwrnerous Examples. By W . .J. J OIL~ TON, M. A.
Oxford: The Clarendon Press. [Price lOa. 6d.]
Smi thsonwn Meteorological Tables. ( Based on Guyot's
Meteorological and Physical Tables.) W a.shington :

Published by the Smithsonian Institution.

T he Slide Rute. By WM. Cox. Third Edition.
York : K euffel and Esser Company.

New

A Digest of Cases Relat1!ng to the Construction of Buildings.

By EowaRD STANLEY RoscoE. Third Edition. London:

Reeves and Turner. [Price Gs.)
A Practical Treatite on Foundations. By W. M.
PATrON, C.E. New York: John Wiley and Sons.
[Price 25s.]
Modern <htn s a nd Sm'Jkeless P ou:der. By ARTHUR R IGG
and JAMRS GARVIE. London : E. and F. N. Spon;
New York: Spon and Chamberlain.
British Railways : their Passen[Jer Services, RoUi;ng Stock,
Locomotives, Gradien ts, and Express Spee1.s. By J.

PEAH.oN P ATTINSON. With numerous plates. L ondon,

Paris, and Melbourne : Cassell and Co., Limited,
[Price 13s. 6d.]
The Atlantic F erry : i ts Ships, M en, and Working. By
ARTHUR J. MAGINNI. . With numerous illustratione,
diagrams, and plans. First Popular Edition. London :
Whittaker and Co. [Price 7s. Gd.]

by dies scre wed rigidly to the plunger. A piece called

the top stripper is fitted into the sections which constitute the punch for the arms, and this stripper is
connected to the spiral spring shown in the plunger.
When the plunger descends, the outside die and
the sectional punch pass through t!le strip of m etal,
the stripper h olding the wheel rigidly meanwhile
by means of the spiral spring before mentioned.
The strip of metal is released from the bottom die
by the bottom spiral springs shown. The blank
thus formed resumes its place in the strip of metal,
and in this way is carried out of the machine. The
pieces thus prepared are next put in a press and
rc/<ro in. is taken off all over, in order to make the
parts smooth. The pieces a re next taken t o a
machine-room and rubbed flat with a stone. The
blank, as it comes from the press, is a very fine
example of work; the arms are so thin and delicate, that much ingenuity has had to be expended
in order to press them without distortion. In order
to cut the teeth in these wheels, a lot of blanks a re
put on a split spindle, and about thirty to fifty are
operated on at once, the number varying according
to their nature.
The cutting is done by a fly-cutter, which makes
6500 revolutions a minute. At this high speed, and
in spite of all precautions, the cutter spindle used
to heat, and, therefore, increase in length. ThiP
necessarily caused a variation in the thickness of
the teeth of the wheels, but the trouble has been

THE

LANCASliiRE

WATCH

COMPANY'S

W
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PR E S C 0 T.

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Fig. 20.

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Fig. 2,1.

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Fig . 2:3

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14-16

1416 F

Fws. 20

AND

21.

\VHEEL-0PENING LATHE.

got over by mounting the spindle so that it can

lengthen only in one direction. In Fig. 19 we have
a section of the spindle of the wheel-cutting
machine. A is the main spindle, carrying the flycutter B. The spindle is kept in the hardened
steel bearing D by the adjustable collar C, which
is also hardened and ground, and prevented from
turning, owing to the rotation of the spindle, by the
lock-nut I. The back end of the spindle is
parallel, and provided with a key-way. The bearing in the back headstock is made in the same way
as in a complete lathe spindle, with a loose collar
G, and a lock-nut H. The spindle F is h ollow, a.nd
has a key corresponding to the key-way in the main
spindle.
The main spindle thus slides freely
longitudinally, but without side shake or a loss of
alignment through wear. Any increase of length
t hrough heat cannot with this arrangement affect
the position of the cut.ter B.

The parts are next atoned and gilt, after which

the hole is cut in the huh of the wheel by a wheelopening lathe. This lathe is i1lustrated in Fig. 20,
which is a perspective view, and Fig. 21, which is
a horizontal section. This lathe contains a clever
device for calipering, by which the h ole in the
wh eel is made to exactly fit t he pinion.
The next operation is to put the pinion into its
wheel, the latter fitting a shoulder on the former,
and being retained in position by the shoulder
being burred over. At the time of our visit a
good many pinions were being made by hand from
t he ord inary watchmake r's pinion wire- that is,
wire drawn with deep scores which form the leaves.
It may be interesti ng to state here that pinions
cost, including material, 4s. 3d. to 6s. per hundred,
including the cutting, but not the polishing. This
is a wide divergence in price, and as a.U the operations are piecework, the difference is instructive,

Fws. 22

AND

23.

QuiLL L ATHE W ITH R EVOLVING TAILSTOOK.

as it is due to the proportion of fixed expenses watch, and for this purpose we will take the ordinborne by the work ; thus, a slow operator will get ary full-plate frame. The parts are known as the
paid the same per hundred of pinions cut as a quick pillar plate, top plate, the balance bridge, the
one, and, therefore, the amount paid directly for potence, the balance bar, the ca-p, and cap spring.
labour in this respect is uniform; the 1s. 9d. differ- The pillar plate is first stamped out from a sheet of
ence between 4s. 3d. and 6s. per hundred is, there- metal by a power press, the blank being simply a
fore, entirely owing to the greater proportion of round disc of brass, which for a medium size watch
fixed expenses (such as use of machine, rent, &c.) is 1-l in. in diameter, and a full ! in. thick. The
incurred, for a given output, by the slower opera- next operation is to face the disc on one side in a
tors. The work of a quick girl will be so advan- lathe. This has an automat ic spring chuck and a
tageous in this respect, as compared with that of a slide rest, with automatic stops arranged so as to
slow operator, that the cost of t he pivoting may be work to gauge accurately. The blank is next
gained. There are many oth er parts in the move- taken, and marked on its fa-ce for all holes which
ment of a watch which have operations performed are not of a highly important nature. This is done
1
on them similar to those required in making the in a press by a tool with pointers. The important
pinions. These, however, we n eed not deal with holes, upon which t he accuracy of the movement
here, as we have selected t h e pinion as our ex- depends, are either pierced in the press or drilled
emplar part.
on quills. In Fig. 22 is illustrat~d a quill lathe,
We will n ow proceed to describe the frame of the which has a revolving tailstock for depthing.

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Fig. 23 is a l~n~itudinal section of the same lathe. 1tool right for each operation in facin~. The work
After t he marked holes have been drilled by a ver- is next taken to a capstan lathe w1th five cu~ters
f th
tt
k
h fi
0
)
tical drill, t he part is faced on the second side, and (Figs. 24 and 25 ; t e rs.t
ese ~u. ers sin s
turned on the outside to get a correct diameter ; 1 the centre hollow, roughmg and fimshmg. The
F ig. 21;.

..

Fig.25.

-------- .... --.... ------------ - ---- -------- ................... -----...

FIGS.

24

25.

AND

C.APST.AN R EST LATHE WI TH SPRI NG CHUCK.

1476 N
.. .... .. . . .. ... .. ..- . .
...
..'... . . ...
:

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FIG.

26.

E scAPE - WHEEL CuTTING MACHINE.

the operation is performed by mounting the work 1 cap edge is next turned, and after that the case
on a jig, by means of the dial feet holes, t he edge ; the corners are then taken off. The lathe in
latter serving throughout as points t o work from. which these operations are performed has been deAll the recesses r equired in the plate are then sunk, signed specially for the company by Mr. C. Hewitt,
the work being mounted on jigs, which are attached whose brother, it may be stated, invented the first
to the true centre of the face plate, so as to get t he capstan lathe used in t he watch trade.

The next operation i~ to put tl~e pillars. into the

pillar plate. These are screwed m ,. and. r1v~ted on
the dial side of the plate. The d1al s~d e 1s then
finished in a capstan lat he, the work bemg held by
a sprin<Y chuck which is made true. The chuck
does n;t move: t he push spindle moving on t <;> ~he
chuck as already described in t he case _of the p1n10n
lathe. The pillars are not screwed. 1n a:ccurately
enough for t he fine adjustment r eqmred In watchmaking work ; in fact, the company n ever d~pen~s
on screwed work for a datum point. The p1ece I S
therefore mounted in a jig by the dial feet, and a
shank is turned which takes the top plate. At the
same time that the pillar is turned, the hole is J?Ut
into the pillar for taking the pillar screw, whiCh
holds the top plate on. These ~pera~ions are don e
in a lat he, by three cutters workm ~ s1~ultaneo~sly.
There are other oper ations for fin1shmg the pillar
plate but these do n ot require further mention.
The too plate of a watch, it may be mentioned, has
operattons performed on it very similar to t hofe on
the pillar plate.
vVe next come to the potence, which is a brass
bridge screwed on to the lower side of t he top plate,
and carrying the j ewelling for th e bottom pivot of
t he bahl.nce staff. This is made from a stamped blank,
in which the holes are accurately marked in a prees,
after which they are drilled. Sixteen potence
blanks ar e mounted on a face-plate lathe, and are
held in position by a circular comb in order to t urn
down the h eel. This is done by a slide-rest lathe
with a stop. The steady pins ar e made fron1 a
wire r od which is inserted in the hollow spindle of
a lathe. The end of the rod is first screwed t o
the required distance. This screwed portion is
then screwed into a corresponding hole in the
potence ; a circular cutter is next brought down
and parts the pin from the rod, leaving a sufficient
length projecting from the potence t o form t he pin.
The length of the part cut off is provided for by a
headstock, shifting up on t h e bed, which is marked
for the purpose. In this detail the machinery has
been made to take t he place of handwork, which
only skilled operators can perform. This substitution of mechanism for handwork has been render ed
possible by the advance made in t he drawing of
wire, which can now be obtained exactly to size.
In t he old days, the watchmaker always bought his
wire somewhat too big, and had to file it down;
but the wire can now be depended upon to be
exactly true.
The next step is to mould the potence ; six being
mounted at a time. This is another lathe operation.
In forming the balancing bridge, much the same
process has to be gon e thr ough ; the special point
about this piece being t he way in which twelve
blanks are chucked at once on a face plate, being
held in correct position by the steady pins on the
chuck, which fit into the steady-pin holes. There
is a dog to each piece, the whole of the dogs turning r ound at once, being operated by wheel
pinions and cams. The machine can be put out of
action automatically. The device is a clever one,
and saves a great deal of time, as compared to that
r equired for the old operation .
Up to the present, we have only described the
drilling of holes which are not of vital importance,
and we will n ext proceed to a description of t hose
in which more accuracy is required. These consist
of the barrel holes, the fusee holes (if a fusee frame
be used), cent re pinion holes, third and fourt h
escape, pallet, and balance holes; and, in a key less
watch, the more impor tant of the k eyless holes.
In order to get perfect accuracy, these holes are
drilled on quills in a lathe with a revolving tailstock, carrying drills. This lathe is illustrated in
Figs. 22 and 23 before referred to.
The pillar-turning is done by a machine which
was designed in Prescot, though n ot specially n ew,
for t he company whose works we are describing.
It roughs down t he pillars, puts on the pattern,
taps the screw, and cuts off in one operation . The
pillar plate has eccentric slots to take the bolt and
click springs, &c. These are formed by slot
drHling, in a spedal machine ; the piece beiug
held in a proper pos1tion by the dial feet.
We now come t o the caps, which are formed from
a flanged blank of brass, stamped out in a press.
The first operations are to turn up the edge of the
flanged part, to turn the inside of the flange, and the
face on the inside. These operations are done by a
capstan rest lathe in which a spring chuck is used,
which gr~ps th~ work by th~ fla:nge. The cap
has a ra1sed cucular part, whiCh 1s n ot concentric

 N G I N E E R I N G.
with the whole piece. This raised part is cut out
of the thickness of the metal by means of a fourcutter capstan lathe with stops for each cutter.
The cap has also on its rim or flange a protuberance, which has likewise to be formed from the
thickness of the metal. This is turned on the outside of the rim by a former, or cam, on the mandril of the lathe. This moves the slide rest back
as the cutting part comes r ound to the part where
the protuberance h g,s t o be formed. In order to
form the inner side of t his swelled out part, the
piece is chucked eccentrically in another lathe,
so that the cutter only comes in contact with the
work just at the part where the metal has t o be
r emoved. The segment formed by this protuberance is necessarily part of a circle smaller than that
of the whole rim of the cap. This swelling or protuberance is made in order to give more room for
the barrel , thus making p ossible a longer mainspring. The next operation is to mill out the slots
for tho feet of the cap springs, and the fitting
having b een done. the frame and cap are complete.
The next operation to be described is barrel arbor
grinding and polishing. These are done by a
lapping machine ; the lap spindle being pushed
up by hand and raised and l owered by an eccentric. The lap has to be constantly ground, and
this is done by an emery wheel on a machine close
by, diamantine and a species of rouge before
referred to as ''glossing stuff " being used . The
lap is a cone fitted on to a spindle by a taper hole,
and there is a nice adjustment to allow for wear.
This lapping is expensive work, but it is necessary
to accurate timekeeping. The glossed surface forms
a beautiful mirror, and is absolutely smooth. It is
the same operation as g rinding, but the grinding is
d one with a steel polisher and red glossing stuff.
The p olishing is done with bell-metal and diamantine. The object is to form an absolutely s mooth
surface for the barrel to revolve upon, and thus to
avoid friction. The glossing puts a harder surface
on, so that wear is reduced. The lap runs at about
2000 revolutions a minute.
We next proceed to t he fusee department,
where the old style of handwork is still followed ,
and forms a contrast in every way to t he machine
work. Several trades are being carried on at one
bench ; each workman, although perfect in his own
branch, is unable to perform the operations of his
neighbour, who is of a different trade. The polishing is done by hand, the operator working the
collet and bow and rubbin g at t he same time.
The escapement department ii on the second
floor of the building, as shown in our plan, Fig. 1,
page 1 ante. All after the fourth wheel in the
n1ovement is the escapement, which consists of t he
escape wheel, pallets, lever, balance staff, hair
spring, an'd ro1ler. \Ve do not propose dealing with
the way in which the parts are erected or put
together, although a new feature has been introduced
into this work. This being watchmaking pure and
simple, is not within our province. It may be
stated, h owever, that when the parts ard assembled,
no handwork ha'3 to be put upon them in order to
make them fit, as they are turned out absolutely
true from the machines of precision by which they
are made. This, of course, means the saving of a
great deal of expensive and highly specialised
labour, and is most important in the case of a
watch, as the alteration of one part t o fit necessitates the adj ustment of many other parts working
with it ; in fact, the putting t ogether of the escapement under the old system was entirely a system
of adjustment of parts by hand, and a process of
trial and error. This detail alone well illustrates
the reason that machine-made watches can be
produced so much more cheaply than those manufactured upon the old principle, and that without
sacrifice of qualit;y.
In the escape-wheel cutting machine, which we
illustrate in Fig. 26, on t he preceding page, there
arc, as will be sP.en, seven horizontal spindl es in
one turret or headstock . The escape-wheel blank
has been stamped in a press, from sheet metal.
The peculiar shape of the t coth of the ~sc_ape wheel
is of course known to everyone, and IS Illustrated
i~ Figs. 27 ~nd 28. In the blank the rim is left
deep, and from this the teeth are formed. The
operation is performed by seven cutters, the ahaJ?e
of the tooth being produced from the blan~ In
seven operations. Three of them are r ough1ng,
and the others are finishing cuts. This accounts
for the seven spindles of the machine. In the
illustration, cuts N os. 1, 2, and 3 are made by steel
cutters which rough away the stock, whilst cuts Nos.

4, 5, and 6 are made by sapphire cutters, which take

the finishing cuts. No. 4 is the '' locking face,"
No. 5 the "back of the tooth, " No. 6 is the
" impulse fac~, " No. 7 is a sapphire cutter which
NO 1& 4

pl{}

Ftg 211.

27.

166/f

shortens the impulse face, and here there is

apparent und ercutting, but the cutter being set at
an angle, gets in under t he work, for naturally,
actual undercutting would not be possible with a
fly-cutter.
The escape wheel , when mounted on a pinion,
runs on stones or jewels set in the pallets. In the
preparation of these the rough jewels are cemented
by shellac on to steel discs of a given thickness,
and they are then ground on a copper lap and
afterwards polished on a wood lap with diamond
dust. The jewels used are rubies, sapphires, or
garnets. They have t o be of a.n exact thickness,
and this is regulated during ma.king by a micr ometer gauge. There is also a st.op on the grinding
machine to which t he operator works. The jewels
have also to be g round t o a definite impulse
angle. This is don e by shellacing th~ jewels in a
holder, which is set at a proper slope, and is placed
in the rest of a lapping machine. The ends have
to be curved to a given radius, and in order to
obtain this the work is rocked through the r equired
arc by mechanical means. After this the jewels
are put in h olders, and ground t o leng th.
(To be continued.)

Al\fERICAN U NIVERSITIES AT THE

COLUMBIAN EXPOSITION.
I .-

H ARVARD UNIVERSI TY .

I N the tropical heat that now prevails in Chicago,

it is some alleviation to find that the educational
exhibits are not Ecattered over widely separated
sections, as in many European exhibitions, but are
compactly brought t ogether and well arranged in
the spacious galler ies of t he palatial Liberal Arts
Building.
The collection is fairly catholic, the chief countries
of Europe, and even remote Japan, being represented. Some of these - to wit, B eJgium, France,
D enmark, and Italy-do themselves, indeed, but
little justice, and the Exhibition but scan t hon our,
by the paucity of their exhibits. The United
States, however, make up for the deficiency in a
marked manner. Most of the forty-four States of
the U nion have their exhibit ; and besid es this,
many of the leading institutions in each State have
their own separate and well-ordered collection.
A n otable feature of the Educat ional Section is
the ex ten si ve share taken in it by American universities. ' Ve expected t o find the work of public
and many denominational schools, as well as of
high schools and acad emies, and even of many of
the legion of colleges that vie with one another in
supplying the higher intellectual wants of the
count ry ; but we must admit that we were surprised- agreeably surprised-to find the highest
institutions of learning in the great Republic, like
Harvard, Yale, and J ohns H opkino, coming into
the Columbian arena exposing some of their
literary and scientific treasures, and t hus crowning
the grand educational exhibit of the U nited States.
Who, may we ask, has ever seen Oxford or
Cambridge, Edinburgh or Dublin, contributing to
any of our international exhibitions ? We will
concede, though unwillingly, that their classical
and mathematical papers are ill suited for exhibition purposes; but surely the work d<'ne in their
various labo ratories- physical, chemical, engineering, biological- would be of great practical value to
science students, to teachers, and to cultured
visitors generally. One cannot help noticing the
knots of people that linger here in the University
Section, scrutinising the exhibits and discussing
them, examining p ublications, and canvassing tabulated statistics. They seem to be in no hurry, and
the busy manner in which pencils are plied shows
the intelligent interest they take in university and
university extension matters. We have repeatedly

observed numbers of men and women inspecting

cases containing physical or chemical apparatus,
sketching arrangements shown for making certain
class experiments, or noting down t he printed
directions for carrying out others. Such high-class
exhibits supply, therefore, an extensively-felt want;
they, accordingly, deserve recognition and encouragement. Moreover, the very fact that Harvard and Yale, Princeton and Columbia take part
in an exhibition gives that exhibition a higher tone,
and at the same time impreBses people with a huet
and loftier idea of the value of education. Besides
this, their example stirs up and excites all academical and collegiate institutions throughout the
country. These, too, must be in the educational
gallery, under pain of being considered inefficient
or obsolescent. Their very name and fame impel
them to competitive achievements ; and it cannot
be denied that the prolonged effort which they are
compelled to make, and its fruitful r esults, react
strongly and favourably upon the teachers and the
taught.
Harvard is the oldest of American colleges, its
foundation going back to 1636. It owes its name
to the Rev. John Harvard, an E nglish nonconforming clergyman. This philanthropist and early
patron of l earning was born in Southwark, L ondon,
in 1607. He entered Emanuel College, Cambridge,
in 1627, took his B. A. degree in 1631, and his M. A.
in 1635. Feeling the weight of religious disabilities
press heavily upon him, he followed in the wake of
the Pilgrim }'athers, and sought a peaceful abode
for himself and wife in t he Charles town Settlement,
near Boston. H e lived but one year in his n ew
home, succumbing t o consumption on September 26, 1638. During his brief soj ourn in the
n ew world, he showed himself an ardent lover of
learning, seeking by word and deed to advance the
educational interests of the young members of the
colony. He bequeathed his library, consisting of
320 volumes, and half his property- that is, the sum
of 800l. - for the purpose of carrying out the decree
of the General Court of the Colony of Massachuset.ts
Bay for the foundation of a college. As Harvard's
bequest was considerably greater than the funds
previously voted by the General Court, it was
resolved t o call the new scholas tic institution by
t he name of its munificent benefactor.
I n Harvard's generous bequest., we have the fir~t
tribute t o religion and science the western world
had witnessed- a tribute which has found, in the
same great world, so many and s uch wealthy
emulators in our own days.
The new college was founded in the peaceful
solitude of Newtown, a few miles distant from the
hurry and bustle of B oston. The name of the
locality, however appropr iate, was soon changed
from Newtown to Cambridge, in grateful memory
of the Transatlantic alma rnater of Rarvard and
many of the colonists, and also as indicative of the
high destiny to which the new institut ion should
asprre.
Harva~d College rapidly increased by successive
benefactiOns ; other schools and new faculties soon
gathered round the original nucleus, and the whole
~cademica~ system thus formed finally developed
Into what 1s now called Harvard University.
Like the older universities, the component colleges and halls are distributed over an extensive
area. Harvard College, the Graduate School, the
Divinity, Law, and Scientific Schools, are all situated
in Cambridge, whilst the Medical School, t he
Dental School, the School of Veterinary Medicine,
as well as the School of Agriculture and H orticulture, are in Boston. The two cities are connected
by tramcars, electric cars, and a railway, the distance between the college buildings and the centr e
of B oston being thr ee miles.
The total number of students attendina the
various courses during the academical year 1S92-D3
was close upon 3?00, a number which very fav ourably compar es w1 th the studen t population on the
banks of the Isis and the Cam. The students were
distributed as follows :
Han-ard College .. .
...

1598

Scientific School .. .
...
. ..
...
181
Graduate ,
.. .
...
.. .
...
206
Divinity ,
.. .
...
...

41
L aw School ...
.. .

...
394
Medical School
.. .
...
451
Den tal
,,
.. .
: ::
: ::
...
53
School of Veterinary l\Iedicine .. .
...
39
School of Agriculture
.. .
.. .
()

--

Whole number of students...

...
2D6D
In addition to the above, we should add that the

E N G I N E E R I N G.

37

university offers special advantages during t he 1 t he g reat building, a large r ectangular tower exhibit is particularly interesting, it being the first
vacation months to teachers and qualified students . st:6nds on an independen t foundation, and has no complete of its kind ever shown in the United States
Courses are annually g iven in such subjects as contact with surrounding rooms. I t is intended at an Exposition, and in cluding machin es for a
physics, chemistry, engineering, botany, geology, for experiments requiring g reat height and stability number of branches of work. The development of
descriptive geometry, physical training, ere. During e.g. , Foucault's celebrated pendulum experiment high-pressure hydraulic tools in Am erica has been
the past year 363 students availed themselves of demonstrating the rotation of the earth. By a very slow, and even n ow manufacturers and users
the facilities thus offered them. lt would be inte- simple d evice, the ent ire building may be r endered do not pay sufficien t attention to d etails ; the tools
resting to know whether the summer courses given !l.vailable for determinations of the velocity of light. are t.oo often mad e by firms who have no real idea of
at the Royal College of Science to teachers and 1\iagnetic experiments are carried on in a wing corn- the engineering r equirements, and who think that a.Jl
holders of certain science and art cer tificates, and pletely devoid of iron. In a word, t his laboratory that is necessary in an accumulator is t hat it should
also the field classes advertised by University Col- is as extensive and complete and as fully appointed have a cylinder and a ram, with weights attached t o
lege, are as eagerly attended as those of Har vard. as any that it has been our privilege to see in the either the one or the other , and t hat any form of pipe
Harva.rd, once strictly puritanical, now opens its capitals or universities of Europe.
joint and valve will do equally well. Some firms
doors to pilgrims of science of all creeds, means,
Harvard is represen ted in the Educational Sec- have found t hat t his is by no means t he case, and
and aspirations. It welcomes the wealthy ; it tion of the Exhibition :
have paid d early for the experience. This being
invites and even presses the needy. " Whenever, "
1. By an extensive series of photographs of stars, so, it is a source of gratification to :find a plant built
we are told, " you encounter a poor boy of eager planets, and spectra taken at the observatory, and on good lines, and possessing so many novel
aggressive mind, a youth of energy, one capable of also by inter esting views of the various observing feat ures.
feeling the enjoyment of struggling with a multi- stations established by the university at Arequipa
The pump used is of the duplex type, with ram8
tude, of making his merit known, say to him that (Peru) ;
4! in. in diame ter by 18 in. stroke, exerting a presIIarvanl College is expressly constituted for such
2. By a collection of minerals, including a valu- sure of 750 lb. per square inch ; this p ressure has
as he. H ere he will find t he largest provision fo r able number of classified and briefly described been adopted for working t he travelling crane, all the
his needs, and the clearest field for his talents. meteorites ;
machines being designed for a pressure of 1500 lb.
Money is a power everywhere. It is a power here;
3. By numerous specimens in botany and cornbu t a power of far more restricted scope than in parative zoology carefully examined by Harvard
the world at large. In the Memorial Hall, rich and professors or students ;
nion, they debate
4. By specimens of 262 papers published on
poor dine together ; at the
t ogether ; at t he clubs, considerations of money chemical subj ects, and by about 100 out of 800
have no place. If the poor man is a man of muscle, chemical compounds discovered in the laboratories
t he athletic organisations will welcome him ; if a of the uni versity ;
man skilled in words, he will be made an editor of
5. By results obtained in the physical laboratory.
t he college papers ; if he has the powers that fit Among these we must mention, because of parahim for the place, t he whole body of his class- mo un t interest, photographs showing the oscillation
mates will elect him orator, odist, or poet, without of an electric spark. The spark was taken between
the sligh test r egard to whether his purse is full or two tin terminals, t he image formed on a rapidly
empty."
revolving mirror being thrown on a sensitive plate.
That the above statements are not t he mere The spark appears to the eye as one, b ut is drawn
rhetorical flourish of an en thusiastic graduate is out by the r otating mirror into a comet-like tail.
substantiated by the solid pecuniary aid placed A bead-like a ppearance is noticeable in the photoannually within reach of the struggling studen t. graphs ; it is due to the electric oscillati-:>ns. The
Harvard College offers no less than 10,000l.; the duration of an oscillation is, therefore, deducible
Graduate School, 5000l.; the L~w School, 500l.; from t he measurable distance between any two
and the 'cientific School, 700l.
beads and the known circumstances of motion of
The teaching staff is placed on the same generous the mirror. Professor Trowbridge g ives this as
basis. ' Ye notice that there are t hree O'rades of 1 3 tfooo second.
The photographs further show
~eachers, viz., professors, assistant profes~ors, and that air d oes not conduct away the h eat of the
Instructors. During the year ending in July, 1892, spark in less than three times t he above fraction of
there were 74 professors, 26 assistants, and 153 in- a second, so that practically air is as inert as a plate
structors-- total, 353. Many of these are men of glass during the same period of t ime.
Professor Trow bridge also exhibits cards showwell known at home and abroad for t heir erudition,
scholarly attainments, or scientific achievements. ing the lines of force due to an alternating magnetic
Among the last, we may mention Dr. C. E. field of frequency 1000 per second. The lines are
Pickering, wh ose name is familiar in every astro- st~aight, and radiate from the centre of the cylinnomical observatory in Europe; Professor "\Vhitney, dncal cor e. The photographs seem to establish
whose name carries weight in questions of geology; th~t t~e magnetic field is. re~tricted to a shell t in.
Dr. J. Trowbridge, whose original work is known thick In t he case of a solid u on core 2t in. in diat o every student of physical science ; and Dr. B. meter.
Osgood Peirce, whose books on the higher matheBesides these, Professor Trowbridge exhibits a
matics are r ead in London, Cambridge, and tri-phase motor, designed and construct ed for exDublin.
experimental purposes by the students of his elecThe libraries in the various departments are on t rical engineering class.
an equally broad scale, as may be seen from the
In another section of Harva.rd's exhibit we find
following data :
the works of a. few of her distinguished professors
and graduates. Among these we cannot r efrain
Bound
Volumes.
f ro.m mentw~mg.

h e names of the following
Fro.
1.
,
t
Harvard College ...
...
... 3013, 300

writers and scien tists of world-wide fame: Long- per square inch. The d uplex pump is the type
The Scientific School ...
...
400

, L aw
,
.. .
. ..
. ..
28,200
fellow, Professor of Belles Lettres ; Oliver W endell gener.~lly u~cd h er e for working this class of
,, Divinity
,
...
...
...
24,000
Holrr.es, Professor of Anatomy and Physiology ; machinery ; It h~s the advantage of being cheap, as
, Horticultural School
. ..
. ..
3,300
J ames Russell L owell, Professor of Fren oh and far as first cost Is concerned, but when it comes to
, Observatory
...
...
. ..
7,200
Spanish L iterat ure ; J ohn Lathrop Motley author the question of steam, the less said about that the
, Medical School ...
.. .
.. .
;:~~g
of " The Rise of the Dutch Republic;" William H . bette~. li,or ~ lar~e plant, a high-class economical
, Museum of Comparative Zoology
2
, Peabody Musenm ...
.. .
.. .
1,200
Prescott, author of " The Conquest of Mexico," pump~ng eng m e IS really a necessity, and its
, seven laboratory and thirteen
&c.; G~orge Ban cr~ft, author of '' The History of adopt10n cannot be too much emphasised.
classroom libraries . ..
. ..
9,500
the United States ; Jared Sparks, editor of the
.The acc~m~lat~r, Fig. 1, is of the inverted type,
works of Benjamin Franklin ; George Ticknor ~nth ra~ 8In. In ~Iameter by 8ft. stroke, having castTotal . . .
...
.. .
.. .
403 100
author
of
''The
History
of
Spanish
Literature
,',
'
no~ wetghts restm~ on a flange at the bottom of the
Tu .this. shou.ld be added the collection of pamphlets,
whiCh 1s estimated as equal in number t o that of Asa Gr.ay, the eminent botanist ; William and (h'is ?Yhnder ; an extra long ~earing surface is provided
son) George Bond, t he illustrious astronomers 1n. t~e n eck of t~e cyhn.der, and this is the only
the bound volumes.
to repeat the well-known names of Pickerina' gmd~ng used. This form Is never seen in England,
The value of practical work in science was early not
Trowbridge, \Vhitney, and Peirce.
o' and 1s ?nly rendered possible by making the ram of
recognised by the authorities of Harvard and a
Harv~rd n1ay indeed r ejoice at the position she large dian~ete r and shor t stroke. This is in itself
recent visit to Cambridge has convinced ~s that
tha~ university is, in several respects, better has achieved for h erself among the universities of uneconomiCa], and has become aeneral in .America
eqUipped than many of the colleges in the mother the. world ; and her sons may well feel proud of through firms putting in an accu~ulator r efusing to
count.ry. ~he Chemica~ ~~boratory (Boylston Hall) th~1r alma m~ter as they s.tr<?ll through the gal- pay for one large enough. The proper function of
es of t he L1beral Arts Bu1ldina in the Columbian a? accumulato~ l~as in a great m easur e been lost
contams s1x large s ubdivtswns, each of which would len
Exposition.
s1ght. of, a~d 1t IS n o unusual thing to see a plant
be consid ered a "first-class'' laboratory in England.
workmg with t he accumulator at the bottom most
The largest working-room has places for one
hu ndred students, and is specially devoted to qualita- HYDRAULIC 1\IAOHINERY AT THE of the time. I t is well to rem em her t hat a lar<Ye
0
accumu~ator i~ in eve~'Y way a real economy.
1ive and desrriptive work. The lecture-room has a
COLUl\I BI.A.N EXPOSITION.
T.h e mtensifier, F1g. 2, page 38 is a very in
seating capacity of 500. The Physical L aboratory
R. D. Wooo AND Co., Phi1adelphia, as we have genwus . contrivance ; it is r eally a form ot
was complet ed in 1884 at a cost of 23,000l. In the before .mentioned, h av~ one of the largest and most
basement and first stor ey, stone tables resting upnn a~tr.active of t he ~meriCan hydraulic exhibits, con- h;rdra uhc. duplex pump, and for working indisep~ate columns of masonry furnish firm support sistmg of hydraulic I?achin.e tools, gas works plan t, vidual high-pressure tools it will be found of
for Instruments that may be in use. In one end of fire hydrants, cast-uon pipes, and valves . This great n1.lue. In many factories they have a pres ..
sure of from 100 lb. to 750 lb. per square inch,
I:)

E N G I N E E RI N G.

HYDRAULIC MACHINERY AT THE WORLD'S COLUMBIAN EXPOSITION.

CONSTRUCTED BY :MESSRS.

R.

D.

\VOOD AND CO.,

ENGINEERS, PHILADELPHIA.

(For Desc1-iption, see Page 37.)

.,.,.,., ....

- .. .... . . .

111oo B

FIG.

2.

CoNTINuous HYDRAULIC lNTENSHTE-R.

F I G.

I!
v.

AuTo~u.TIC
~

H YDRAULIO

SHEARING MAcHINE.

HYDRAULIC

MACHINERY

CONtiTRUCTED BY

AT

~IESSRS.

R.

THE WORLD'S COLlTMBIAN

D.

\YOOD

AND

CO.,

ENGINEERS,

EXPOSITION .
t

P HILADELPHIA.

c:

'

t"4

<
1-4

..p..

...

1-4

00

\()

(.;.)
l

tr1

CJ
~

z
tT1
tr1

:;o
.........

CJ

~~

_......

-=~....._

. . ..--,--

~ ._

'

-------~

__ ....

...............

............. _

-----'
~i

"' ..
_,_

FIG.

3.

PLATE-CLOSING FIX ED RIVETER.

and want to put in a press or riveter to work rods which are connected by levers to a cross-shaft
at 1500 lb. per square inch ; with this arrangement at the end of the bed ; a second shaft underneath
they will be able to do this, and at no great expense. this one carries a cylinder, with its piston attached
Two cylinders, 6! in. in diameter by 24 in. stroke, to the upper rod ; the small cylinder contains a
are fixed horizontally to a channel iron bed ; in spring for throwing open the valves when it is
these piston-rams __with ram fron~ 6 in. in diameter pushe~ over the centre by the outgoi.ng ram. The
work through stuffing-boxes, ordmary hemp pack- 1operating valves are of the usual mitre-seat type,
ing being used ; the piston is packed with hemp operated by levers, which are connecte~ by r.ods to
a lso. To the end of the rams wrought-iron pro- a cross lever at the front end of the roam cyhnder;
jecting pieces are fixed, and these slide along two l the upper rod works through an eye in the lever,

FIG .

5.

&

A UTOMATIC HYDRAULIC P~NCRING M ACHJNE.

with adjustable stops on each side. The 750 lb. water is led away from the top of the front end of the
pressure enters the main valve body at the back, ' main cylinders, a check valve being placed at each cyand there is free connection from this to the front linder to prevent t he water returning from the one to
end of the main cylinders, check valves being pro- the other. The action is as follows : \Vater at 750 lb.
vided to prevent the high-pressure water from re- pressure is admitted to the back end of one cylinder,
turning. The pressure valves are at the back, ~nd the ~pposite valve being open to exhaust ; t~e first
the exhaust at the front end of the body, one side ram lS thus forced out ; constant pressure bemg on
being open . to pressure whilst the other i~ to e~- ~he front of ~he second ran;t all th~ time, forces it
haust; the Inlet to the back end of the cyhnder 1s 1n, the water In the rear of It escaping through the
directly under the valve body. The high-pressure exhaust pipe. Towards the end of the stroke the arm

1~1

11 w

\0

E N G I N E E R I N G.

40
on the ram coming in contact with the stop pushes
the lever over the centre. and the spring cylinder
closes the first valve, at the same time opening it
to exhaust; the same movement reverses the valves
of the second cylinder. causing the second ram to
be forced out, till it in its turn throws over the
spring cylinder, and so on; in this way a continuous
running intensifier is made possible, and a pressure
of 1500 lb. per square inch obtained for working
some of the special tools.
Fig. 3, page 39, shows a general elevation
of an 8- ft. gap, 70-ton plate- closing riveter,
fitted with automatic release gear for plate-closing
cylinder. This tool is of new design, and possesses
several unique features. The main slide is of cast
steel, made with the sliding surfaces low down, the
top being narrowed in, so that the operator can get
a clear view of the work; foremen boilermakers
will readily appreciate the advantage of this. The
hob, or stake, as it is called in the States, is peculiarly bent back ; it being designed so that the
smallest possible tube can be got over it.
The main cylinder is of cast steel lined with brass;
a collar abutting against the body takes the thrust,
it being held down by set pins ; inside this a brass
bush works, which also forms the cylinder for the
plate-closer slide.
This works through the end of
the main cylinder, and moves independently, it
being forced forward when the pressure is released from the plate-closing cylinder. The movable stops are of cagt steel, the stops themselves
being formed on the under side of the two slides
themselves ; by taking out these stop pieces the
main slide can be pushed forward, bringing the
leathers quite clear of the cylinders, and enabling
new ones to be put in without lifting out any of the
heavy parts; this may appear on the surface to be
a very necessary thing, but when good leathers will
last from one to three years, and even longer than
that, it does not amount to so much, and it might
b e well to even make it necessary for the slides to
be taken out when a n ew leather is wanted, so that
the working parts can b e examined and cleaned.
The automatic device for transferring the pressure
from the plate to t he rivet, is fixed to the two
slides ; an inclined path on t he main slide lifts a
r oller suspended from the plate-closing slide, this
in turn lifts a sliding plate connected by a system
of levers to the operating valves. The gear can be
adjusted so that the pressure is taken off the plate
any time up to the riveting die being within k in.
of the plate. This takes the t ransference of pressure out of the hands of t he operator, and insures
the full pressure coming on the rivet.
Fig. 4, annexed, shows a very gcol example of
a 12-in. gap, 20-ton bear-type portable riveter,
with a compound or universal hanger of new design.
The main body is of cast steel, as is also the outside casing of the cylinder, which is fitted to it with
a bayonet joint; the cylinder is lined with brass,
and has a steel eccentric ram with U leather packing working it in.
On the head of the ram a dieholder is fix ed to bring the dies out flush with the
face of the cylinder, this being very n ecessary for
some classes of work. The valve is of the Camden
type, with leather packings ; it seems to be in rather
an a wkward place for operating, and where it is very
liable to get damaged. The gudgeon on which the
machine turns is a steel pin let into and secured to
the body cashing. The compound hanger is new
and very ingenious ; a steel casting is pivoted on
the gudgeon and has a shaft at right angles working
in it, which carries the hanger arm ; worm gears
are attached to each for moving the machine from
one position to another: this is q uite necessary on
the cross shaft, as there it has t o support the weight
of the machine. On a machine of big p ower and
deep gap, this would throw a very heavy strain on
the gear. The machine is a good-looking one, and
with th6 vertical lift from which it is suspended,
and through which the pressure is carried to it, it
makes an excellent combination. The lift is suspended from a stout riveter crane, with hand
racking gear to the trolley, the pressure being conducted to it through "walking pipes."
Having seen the trouble that geared punching
and shearing machines give through constantly
breaking down, it is a satisfaction to find such good
d esigns in hydraulic tools built for this purpos~,
especially as they can be made to perform the1r
motions just as geared machines do, being perfectly
under control, and giving the user the satisfaction of
knowing that the machine will not break through
too heavy a plate being put in. Fig. 5, p1ge 39, is a
hydraulic punch, 30 in. gap, capable Gf punching

BEAR TYPE PORTABLE RIVETER.

CON, 'TRUCTED BY

MESSRS.

R.

D.

\i\1 00D

AND CO., PHILADELPHIA.

FIG. 4.
~- in.

holes through f-in. plates, fitted with return

gear and adjustable stops for regulating the length
of the stroke ; it is made of extra long stroke for
use as a riveter.
The b ody is of cast iron, with a
cast steel cylinder lined with brass; the slide is
also of steel and of the same design as that
used in the fixed riveter, cut away to enable
the work to be seen, and at t he same time
giving the h ead a much lighter appearance. The
slide is recessed at the sides, and in these stop
piece3, formed on the inside face of the slide bars,
project, forming a positive stop for the slide; to put
in a new leather, the bars have simply to be wedged
out, and this allows the ram to be pushed far en ough
down to expose the leather, and so enable the
operator to put in a new one. A light stuffing-box
is provided at the mouth of the cylinder, to prevent
water leaking past the main leather from falling
down over the work. The main valve is operated
in either direction by a lever ; but to make the
return stroke automatically, a pair of mitre-seat
spring valves and small cylinder are arranged. .At
the bottom of its stroke, a projection on the slide
moves the operating lever, which in its turn opens
the auxiliary valve, admitting pressure to the small
cylinder; this throws over the main valve, and
opens it to exhaust, the push-back connected up to
constant pressure forcing back the main slide.
This gear can, if necessary, be made a continuous
running one, and for certain classes of work it may
be advisable to make it so.
The hydraulic shear shown by Fig. 6, page 38,
is of different design ; the head is cast round,
and a steel cylinder lined with brass fitted to
it with a bayonet joint; the ram is of cast iron
and bolted to it ; a rectangular slide carries the
blocks for the shear blades. The slide and the
bed of the machine are made so that different
types of blades or dies can be readily attached.
The valvd gear differs from that on the punch, in
that it is operated entirely by an auxiliary cylinder ;
it can be made to run the machine continuously.
The little mitre valves connect with the two sides
of a piston, in one with the main valve spindle ;
opening the one or the other causes the val ve to
move in the required direction. A permanent stop

is arranged on a rod at t he bottom end of the stroke,

and at the top a wedge-shaped catch gear, which can
be thrown in or out at will. The machine is started
by pulling on the hand lever, t h e ram descending
till it comes in contact with the bottom stop ; this
opens the little valve, and causes the cylinder to
throw over the main valve to exhaust, and the
main ram is forced back by the ''push-back"
cylinder. At the top of the stroke, if the wedge
piece is pulled out, the ram comes against it, opening
the valve and admitting pressure, and again causing
the ram to move out. The machine is shown with
a swinging jib cranetor h andling the plates.
Too much stress cannot be laid upon the advantages
to .b e gained by using hydraulic power for operating
this class of tools, and it is a satisfaction to find
this is being appreciated in America, and that such
people as the Pennsylvania Railroad Company
should have fitted their new J uniata shops with
them, even if they were made in England.
(To be contimlued.)

THE

NE\V ELECTRIC LIGHTHOUSE

OF LA HE VE (HAvRE).

By C. S. Du

Rrc nE PRELLER,

M.A., Ph.D.,

A. :M. I. C. E., 1vL I. E. E.

(Concluded fro-m page 11.)

Optical Apparat1(s.- As is seen from the illustrations (Figs. 11, 12, and 13). the La H eve four-panel
apparatus (focal length 300 millimetres, h eight 1. 2
metres) is t he same as that of the revolving 12panel type of 1888, in vertical section, i .e., as
regards the arrangement of the central dioptric,
as well as the upper and lower catadioptric
lenses, embracing a vertical angle of 143 drg.,
without the revolving outside drum of vertical
prisms used in M. Allard's type of 1882. The
lower catadioptric rings are protected by glass
plates from the dust and particles produced by the
corn bustion of the carbons. There is no artificial
vertical divergence or dipping of the light to the
nearer sea, as this divergence not only involves
loss of light to the hori~on, but has proved quite

E N G I N E E R I N G.
unnecessary,* and the nearer sea, viz., within two
miles' r adius of the lighthouse, is illuminated just
as well by t he bifocal arrangement, which has been
substituted for the old single focus. This r esult is
obtained by placing the point of the lower, most
luminous carbon in the focal plane of the d ioptric and
upper catadioptric lenses, while t he upper carbon
poin t is placed in the focus of the lower catadioptric
elements . This arrangement insures, m oreover,
the best distribution, and the maximum intensity
of the light to the surface of the sea. Within a
radius of less than t wo miles, the sea is, of course,
not directly, but indirectly illuminated by the rays
passing over t he head of t he observer. The
apparatus being construct ed to give one white flash
of f 0 t h-second duration every five seconds, the
requirod e!foctive h orizon tal divergence is for
1 360
;
four panels,

r avolut ion

lO X
4

1
- x360
10

6"

=1.8, and the time of one

= 20 seconds.

In practice,

even 5 seconds with the greatest ease, and the new

r otary mechanism not only obviates the frict~on of
the old travellin<Y carriage and r ollers, but IS not
subject t o beco~ing choked with _the dust ~nd
droppings of the carbons. The res1s_tanc_es being
constant and passive only, the r otatwn 1s, moreover uniform and continuous, and the system,
whidh is applicable t o optical apparatus of all sizes,
admits uf light rotary machinery actuated by equally
light mot or weights.
.
.
A 11fomatic Brake (Fig. 14). - In view of the reststances to be overcome in starting the apparatus, the
motor -weight is made somewhat heavier thar~ is
s trictly nece:suy for keepin~ the apparat~s runmng,
and in order to guard agamst the contmgency of
this additional weight unduly accelerating t he
rotary speed, an automatic brake i~ provided. It
consists of a conical pendulum w1th two rotary
arms whose loaded ends carry r ods wit h cork knobs
attached. These knobs have friction contact with
the spherical, concave surface of a flat steel bas_in,
and are kept n ormally apart as long as the passive
resistances are constant-viz., when the extra pull
of the motor weight is b3-lanced by the friction due
t o the rotation and centrifugal force of the arms .
When the resistances drop, and the r otary speed
thereby tends to increase, t he balance is restored
by the greater friction and cen t rifugal for ce ; and
when the resistances unduly increase, and the arms
t end to drop, owing to the decrease of r?tary speed,
the balance is restored by a corresponding d ecrease
of friction. This automatic brake thus acts at the
same time as a governor for constant speed, and
its efficiency is enhanced by the addition of a flywheel on the t op.
La,mp and Regnlato1. -Th ere are four service and
r eserve lamps of the well-known Serrin type, in
which the automatic ~egulator (see F ig. 15) has,
however, been considerably modified, by making the
curren t of half a machine, hefore it goes to the lower
carbon, pass through a magnet coil which energises
a suspended iron bar carrying, on the one hand,
the catch lever of the regulator spurwheel ; and
connected, on the other, by spring and lever j oints
with a screw for adjusting the clearance between
the magnet and the bar. By this simple and
exceedingly sensitive contrivance the regulator adjusts the carbons. throu~h the action of t~e <;>scillations produced In t he uon bar by the vanat wns of
tension and current passing through the magnet
coil. Any current above that of half a machineviz., above 25 amperes, passes direct t o the carbon~,
thereby obviating any overheating of th~ lamp. In
case of accident or failure of the electnc current, a
two-wick petroleum lamp is kept ready to be run
into the apparatus.
Carbons. - New photometric experiments have
lately been mad e at the DepOt des Phares and the
Eiffel Tower (600 metres distance) to obtain the
maximum intensity of the pencil of rays emitted
by each of the two carbons, placed bifocally. The
maximum length of arc tested was 15 millimetres,
but the ser vice length was fixed at 5 millimetres, as
being the most adequate- viz., corresponding to a
uniform electromotive force of 45 volts for the three
carbons of 10, 16, and 23 millimetres in diameter.
The most suitable composition and form of the
carbons were a]so the subject of numerous experiments, the object being not to simply increase, as
is the case in ordinary arcs, the intensity of the
naked light by larger-sized carbons, but to concentrate the incandescent surface of carbons of best
make and small diameter, and thus to obtain in t h e
arc a point of maximum intrinsic luminosity, the lens
factor of t.he resulting beam being at the same time
enormously increased by the optical and mechanical
means already described, and t herefore that of the
optical apparatus.* The carbons used ar e plain, and
not fluted, as are those of Sir J ames Douglass, in use
at St . Catherine's.
.An tomatic Elect1ic Ala'rm Bells.-The automatic
brake already referred to is provided with an ingenious electric alarm signal in the event of the
rotary mechanism stopping through accident or
through the total unwinding of the rope from the
motor weight.
In tha t case t he two arms of t he
governor suddenly drop a.gainst the pendulum

1.8
the horizon tal divergence obtained is 1 deg. with
10-millimetre, and 2 deg. w.ith 23-millimetre carbons (mean 1.5 deg.), and n o artificial divergence
is u3ed. The fittin g and adjusting of each annular
lens h ad to be effected separately, and with t he
greatest care, and tests had to be made each time
t o insure the utmost possible precis ion.
The
apparatus is made in two vertical halves hinged at
the back, so that it can be conveniently opened
from t he side for cleaning the lenses and for changing the lamps. The new glass lantern of the lighthouse is 3.5 metres in inside diameter, and its
heioht from the fl oor to the springing of the cupola
is 2.5 met res, of which the upper half is of glass
and the lower metallic.
R utaTyMechan i.sm.- The optical apparatus, weighing about 1 t on , rests on a circular cast-iron table,
which is supported by ~ vertical shaft of wrought
iron 6 centimetres (2.5 in .) In diameter. This is
kept in position at the t op by a bronze ring and
outer iron suppor t, and at the bottom in the same
way, wbile it rotates on a removable steel pivot resting in a steel socket which is fitt ed to the base of
the support. To the vertical shaft there is rigidly
fixed a floating cast-iron ring, 45 centimetres
in diamet er and 30 centimetres in depth, which
is plunged into and rotates in a mercury bath
contained in a. fixed outer drum or tank, the
clearance between the vertical surfaces of the drum
and the ring being only 5 millimet res (0. 2 in.), so
as t o reduce as much as possible the volume of
mercury (about 100 kilogrammes, or 220 lb. ), while
the horizontal clearance at the bott om is 1 centimetre (0.4 in.). The floating ring can be centred
by means of screws ; and, in the same way, the
steel socket, and hence the shaft can be raised or
lowered, and the level of t he service t able cA-n
thereby be adjusted in respect of the rail bridge for
running the lamps in and out of the optical appa ratus. The bridge consists of three short lengths,
each carrying a line of rails, one of which is fixed to
the t able and prolonged into the centre line of the
apparatus, while the other two are changeable
shun ts, each of which carries a lamp, and can be
connected with the service line. The lamp is run
along the bridge into the apparatus, till it reaches
the stops which place it in focus. The two conductors pass through a joint annula.r vessel filled
with mercury, and at the lamp mercury contact is
provided by each conductor passing through another
separate mercury ring. These rings are concentric
with the main shaft, and are fixed to the iron support which keeps t he main shaft in position and is
fastened t o a met allic bed plate resting on the floor of
the lantern or upper chamber. Contiguous to this
support, and fitted on the same bedplate, is the
clockwork which causes t he optical apparatus to
rotate by horizontal spur gearing, t he large pinion
being fitted t o the bottom of the plate supporting
the apparatus. Thl:) mercury tank is fixed to the
support r esting on the floor of the lower chamber.
The pressure of the mercury bath is calculated so as
t o counterbalance and nullify the weight of the appara.tu~ rotating on its pivot, t he friction thus being
reduced to a minimum-viz. , practically to that
* According to Sir J ames Douglass (Royal Inst..
which takes place between the floating ring and :March 15, 1889), it would require an arc of 1,000,000
the mercury. By this means a complete r evolu- candle-power, produced by the largest diameter of cartion of the apparatus can b e effected in 20, 10, or bons, to give a resulting beam of 150,000,000 candles
through the large apparatus now in use for oil and ga~
* This has also been found to be the case at Tino, where lights. But the lens factor in that case would only be
additional lenses are provided for this artificial Yertical J50. As is seen, the method adopted by the French
divergence, but are nAver used.
Department is the exact reverse.

shaft, and by contact wi~h an elastic le~ er bar, their

weight causes an ebonite box (see F1g. ~4) ~lied
with mercury t o rock, whereby the two wues fixed
inside the box are placed in conta~t, and an .electric alarm signal of the stoppage 1s automatiCally
given t o the watchman below. Another c~ntn
vance serves to apprise the lighthouse engi~eer
of any stoppage or slackening of the stea!l1-engmes
or dynamos through neglect
the t;nan. In charge.
It consists (see Fi<Y. 16) of a shde whiCh IS mounted
on the dvnamo shaft, and, by the action of centr~fugal
force presses aaainst a spiral spring accordmg to
the speed of th; machines. When this speed ';Induly slackens, or the machi.ne stops, ~he r eactwn
of the spring brings the shd~ b~ck Into such .a
position that it closes the c1rcu1t of a1_1 el_ectnc
alarm bell. Similarly, in the case of e.xtmctwn of
the arc in the optical apparatus through _the ne~lect
of the watchman, the alarm is automa hco.llJ: g1v_en
to the engineer by means of a mag net c.oil ~1 th
thin wire bobbins shunt wound on the etrcu1t of
the electric lamp regulator: With the ext~nction
of the arc the main current IS annulled, and 1n that
case the shunt current causes an iron bar t o close
the circuit of an electric alarm bell.
W orking.-The staff is composed of one engineer in charge and four men ; the t otal number
of lighting hours is, as us ual in the Channel
and Atlantic about 4500 per annum, or 10 per
cent. more than in the Mediterranean. The consumption of coal (average power, 6 horse-power ) is
about 80 tons per annum, or 40 lb. per hour of lighting equal to about 7 lb. per horse-power per
ho~r, the cost of fuel delivered at the light house
being as much as 34 fr. or 27. 2s. per ton.
The
three gradations of energy and. of carb~ns . are
used according as the atmosphere IS clear, middling,
or hazy, the principal criterion of transparency
being the degree of .visibility of the. first-~rder
oil light of D e V er (d1stan ce, 25.4 nautiCal miles),
between Havre and Barfleur, of Fatouville (22.5
nautical miles), and others. Thus, when the De V er
lioht is visible with all the other3, the current
u~ed is 25 amperes with 10-millimetre carbons ;
when the Fatouville light is visible and that of
the De Ver invisible, 50 amper es with 16-millimetre carbons; and when Fatouville, the n earest
light, is invisible, 100 amper es with 23-millimetre
carbons.
The following Table, prepared by the writer,
gives a clear idea of t he working, the efficiency,
candle- power , atmospheric condition during the
year, and visibility of the rays :

o!

Total per annu m ..

.. , 73 nights 219 n ights

State of a tmospher e

= fiT

<;}ear

= l {'i'r

middling

73 nigh ts

= 'f"ll

hazy or
fog~y

Number of dynamos working ..

1
2
t
2.4
Powe r on dynamo shaft
b.p
6
8
R evolutions per minute
450
450
450

25
Ampere3 in closed circuit
50
ICO

Voltal{e
45
45
45

"
"
1125
4500
Watts
2250

Efficiency .."
75
67
63
" per cent.
10
Diameter of carbons mm
16
23
5(00
candles 2500
Intensit.y of arc ..
10,000
12,000,000 18,000,000 23,000,000
lightning Bash
" per watt in a rc
"
2.2
Candles
2.2
2.2
10,600
fl ash
8000
6100

Lens factor "

4,800
3600
2300

Visibility of rays, na.~tical}

85
26 to 85
26
and more
miles
and less

It is t hus seen (1) that the mean efficiency of

mechanical power in respect of the electrical out ~
put in the closed circuit is about 65 per cent.;
(2) that wbile t he candle-power of the arc per unit
of watt is constant, t hat of the flash, and hence the
lens factor, decreases as t h e d iameter of the carbons
increases ; and (3) that in clear weather, with the
minimum energy and 10-millimetre carbons, the
rays of the lightning flashes are visible far beyond
t he horizon - viz., at a distance nearly three times
that of the direct visibility of the light or geographical range of t hirty miles.
Cost of Consflructio?, and M aint enance.-The cost
of the electro-optical installation is as follows :
Fr.

Two semi-portable steam engines 24,000 960

Two magneto-electric machines ... 18,000 720
...
. ..
. .. 12,000 480
Transmission
Optical 300-millimetre apparatus
and accessories . . .
...
. .. 18,000 720
Four Serrin lamps and regulators 5,000 200
Switchboard, electric bells, and
sundries . . .
. ..
. ..
. .. 3,000 120
80,000 3200
Added to this the cost of existing buildings,

E N G I N E E R I N G.
\

THE NEW ELECTRIC LIGHTHOUSE AT LA HEVE.

Fl wheel

.Pig.11 .

Fis .14

Aufoma!Jc Broke and

Electric Stop S1gnal

Focal

- -Plane
- ...--

I
I
I

I
I

I
I

FLg 15.
Electr1c Re(julator

of Lamp

ll2J

a.

Ftg 76
Dynamo Stop Alarm

1----~--~~ . --------------

I
I
I
I

''
I

I
I

I
I

'
<:::>
<:::>

FLcatmg Drum
tn

Mercury

Ag.JZ.

I
I
I

I
I

I
I

I
I

I
I
I

Cl)

-.
I

,..---. ~

.{ @
\
0
J\
\

HORIZONTAL

..... _./

SECTION

''
'I
I
I
I
I

'

THRO UGH

FOCAL PLAN .

divided between the electric and the s ubsidiary

liuhthouse aR already mention ed, the total cost is
lSO,OOO fr., or 5200l. The cost of maintenance
works out as follows:
Fr.

Salaries of engi neer and four

280
.. . ... .. . ... 7 000
tJ}en

Fr.
Fuel, maintenance of machinery,
... 12,000
carbons, and sundries
Maintenance of buildings and
6,000
furniture
...
...
.. .
25,000

This7 as

is

seep

do~s n ot include

3t

interest on th e cost of installation, nor the cost of

workin g the subsidiary lighthouse and t he siren
station.
240
___
The works were carried out under the direction
1000
of M. B ourdelles, engineer-in-chief ; M. Ciolina
per cent. . being resident engineer, t o whom several of tbe

480

43

E N G I N E E R I N G.
$

THE NEW ELECTRIC LIGHTHOUSE AT LA HEVE

Fro. 17.

Tino.
Group
Flashing.

..
Opened for ser vice . .
..
1885

ft.
386
Focal plane above sea level . .

. . naut. mile~
28
Geographical range ..

. . millimetres
700
Focal length . .
..

seconds
240
One revolution takes ..


,
Duration of each fle.sh

1t

11,000
.Maximum watts with two machinE's

1
56
Electromotive force
volt~

16
Minimum diameter of carbons . millimetres
,
25
Maximum diameter of carbons

candles
20.000
intensity of arc

",
4,000,000
Bashes

" per watt ..

360
candles

"
200
Jens factor

1200
Cost"of maintenance
per annum

shillings
6. 55
, par hour of li~hting

.. p ence
0.072
,
candle umt ..

Isle of May. St. Catherine's.

Group
Single
Flash
Flashing.
m g.
1886
2l4
22
700
60

16,000
40
25
50

w,ooo

6,0()0,000
360
200
1050
4.66
0.044

electrical improvements are due.

The optical
apparatus was made by Messrs. Sautter, Harle, and
Co . of Paris, who are also making the apparatus,
of the same type, for the Ile d 'Yeu light now in
course of installation.
Conclusion.- The system of lightning flashes, as
introduced at La Heve, marks an important evolu-

1888
178,
20

70')

481)
5
22,000
50
50
60
38,000
7,000,000
320
190
1150
6. 11
0.039

Griz Nez
Type.
Group
Flashing.
1882
230
22
300
90
1
4000
40
10
23
7000
1,100, 000
270
157
1000
4.44
0. 220

La H ~ve
Ushant Type.
Type.
Group
Single Light
FlaRhiug.
ning Fla&h.
1888
213
2L
300
60

18fl3
465
30
300
20

la

Tlrr

4200
40
10
23
7400
6,600,000
1,620
880
1,000
4.44
0.037

4500
45
10
2'3
10,000
23,000,000
6,100
2, 300
1 .000
4.44
0.009

t ion in electric lighthouse practice,* and for the purpose of comparison the writer has prepared the
*No less remarkable are the results obtained with the
lightning-flash and m~rcury-rotation system as applied to
oil lights. Four-panel apparatus of first, third, and fourth
order, two-panel apparatus of second, fourth, and fifth
order, and one-panel apparatus of third and fifth

annexed Table, referring to the most po":erful electric li<Yhts installed within the last decade In Europe.
This Table shows the essential difference between
such lights as those of Tino, Isle of May, t and St.
Catherine's on the one hand, and of Ushant ~nd
La H eve on the other. Apart from the electncal
and optical co nsideratio~ s already touched upon,
one system is characterise~ ~y apparatus large
euough to admit one man 1ns1de from below, the
other by small apparatus on the ground that the
cleaning and manipulation .is much better eff~cte~
from outside ; and certainly, from the writers
own experience on the spot, a more handy apparatus than that of La H eve cannot be imagined.
Again, the system as exemplified a.t St. Catherine's
aims at producing by powerful current, large
carbons and by heavy multipanelled and slowrotating apparatus, long-interval flas~es of long
duration, while the La. Heve system, with one-fifth
the current less than half the size of carbons, and
with li<Yht f~ur-panelled and high-speed apparatus,
aims at producing rapidly succeeding flashes of
minimum duration, but maximum useful effect and
intensity. Hence it is that the resulting beam of
St. Catherine's gives 320 candles per watt, and a
lens factor (i~tensi~y of flash) of 190, whilst that
Jntensity of arc
of La H eve gives no less than 5000 candles per
watt and a lens factor of 2300, or 16 and 12 times
more respectively. The cost of maintenance is
practically the same in all the cases mentionedviz., about 1000l. per annum, and about ~s. per hour
of lighting ; ~ut the cost per candl? u~nt. of resulting beam which, e. ~f., at St. Cathenne s IS 0. 039d.,
is at La H eve only 0. 009d., or one-fourth of the
former. .Again, the cost of the electro-optical
installation which, e.g., at Tino was 6000l., is at La
H eve, and at French electric lighthouses generally,
only 3200l. In short, at half the cost of installation, and at equal cost of maintenance, the La
Heve system quadruples the candle-power of the
average resulting beam of the Tino, Isle of May,
and St. Catherine's lights.
Enough has been said to show b ow strik ing are
the results achieved by this lightning-flash system,
which is all the more admirable because scientifically economical. Its gradual development and
practical application to both electrical and oil
illumination is mainly due to M. B ourdelles, who
has succeeded in gradually raising the intensify of
the electric flashes from 1, 000,000 candles (1882
type) to 23,000,000 candles or 23-fold, with every
prospect of doubling and trebling even that enor ..
mous intensity ; and thus the combination of
physical and physiological research with electro.
mechanical and optical science, bids fair to realise
Faraday's prediction that, for lighthouse illumina ..
tion, the electric light may be accumulated , viz.,
intensified, to any extent.
THE PERMEABILITY OF GLASS.
I N Professor Roberts-Ansten's second report to the
Alloys Research Committee of the Institution of
Mechanical Engineers, be describes certain interesting experiments made by Messrs. V\Tarburg and Tegetmeier, demonstrating the permeability of glass. It
may not be generally known that the Hon. Robert
Boyle published an account! in 1673 of experiments
made by him with a somewhat similar object.
order, made by Messrs. Barbier and Co., and also
by Messrs. Lepaute Fils, of Paris, have recently been
installed, or are in course of installation at various
stations on the French coasts. The third order onepanel light has been found to give double the power
of the older most powerful first order lights; the
first order two-panel light gives 50 per cent. more
light than the large six-panel hyperradiant apparatus of
1. 33 metres f0cal length ; and the new system is also
cheaper and gives more power than the superposed
biform, triform, and quadriform combinations. The
one-panel type is not adapted for first or second order or
hyper-radiant apparatus, owing to the large-sized burners
required. In all the cases referred to, the new apparatus
costs much less than the older type, while the cost of
maintenance is pra.ctica.lly the same.
t The principle of condensation adopted by Messrs.
Stevenson in the IRle of May apparatus is the nearest
approach to the new French system, the revolving drum
bemg a two-panel apparatus, and the duration of the
flashes bein~ reduced to half a second. On the other
han<!, there 1s still the old system of double apparatus and
the old system of rotation by travelling carriage.
t "Essays of the Strange Subtilty, Great Efficacy
and Determinate Nature of Effiuviums, to which ar~
annext New Experiments to make Fire and Flame
Ponderable: Together with a Discovery of the Perviousness of Glass." By the Hon. Roberb Boyle, F.R.S.
1673.

44
Although the conclusions which he deduced from
these experiments are erroneous, yet it is interesting
scientifically, as well as historically, t o watch the
process by which these conclusions w ere arrived at;
aud also to observe h ow, when once a preconceived
notion had tak en possession of Boyle's mind, eYery
successhe experiment led him farther from the truth.
He seems to have set out with the intention of in vestigating the nature of light, thinking it "worth
the inquiry whether a thing so vastly diflused as light
is, were something corporeal or not; , but sunbeams
being scarce at that time, '' because the weather
proved so extraordinary dark and unseasonable, that
it was wondered at; " he determined to defer the experiments with solar light, and to try what could be
obtained from flame.
The account of the ex periments is dhided into
three sections. The first is headed, "New Experiments to make Fire and Flame Ponderable ;" the
second, "Additional Experiments about Arresting
and \Veighing of Igneous Corpuscles;" and the third,
'' A Discovery of the Perviousness of Glass to the
Ponderable Parts of Flame." The r esults are summarised thus : "Flame itself may be, as 'twere,
incorporated with close and solid bodies, so as to
increase their bulk and weight, and also that glass was
permeable to flame.,
In the first set of experiments Boyle exposed small
plates of silver, copper, tin, and lead severally to the
direct action of the flame of burning sulphur for the
space of two hours. The plates were then found to
have increased in weight, the copper from 2 drachms
25 grains to 4 drachms 3 grains, the silver from
25~ grains to 1 drachm 5 grains, and an ounce of tin to
1 oz. 1 drachm. Boy le concluded that the " igneous
corpuscles, had combined with the metal, and here he
seems to ha\e been not far from the truth. The following experiment might ha,Te shaken his faith in his
theory, but he makes no comment on the result. A
portion of powdered brick was heated in a covered
crucible for two hours, but was not found to have
" gain'd or lost ,, in the operation. An ounce of lead,
heated for some time in a cupel (placed in a charcoal
furnace}, was found to be converted into litharge
weighing 7 grains more than the lead, and an empty
cupel of bone-ash and charcoaJ, wtighing 2 oz., was
found to have increased in weight by 21 grains, after
being heated in a muffie for two hours.
" \~Vh ether I should have been able by reduction,
specifick gravity, or any other of the ways which I
had in my thoughts, to make any discovery of the
nature of the substance that made the increment of
weight in our ignited bodies; the want as well of
leisure, as of accommodations requisite to go through
with so difficult a. task, keeps me from pretending to
know. ,,
The second set of experiments dealt with metals
inclosed in glass retorte heated over a charcoal fire.
Boyle found that 8 oz. of tin kept in a melted state in
an open glass vial for an hour, had gained in weight
18 grains. He says : "Although these try als might
well satisfye a person not \Cry scrupulou3, yet to convince even those that are so, I undertook, in spite of
the difficulties of the attempt, to make the experiment
in glasses hermetically seal'd to prevent all suspition
of any access of weight accruing to the metal from
any smoak or saline particles getting in at the mouth
of the vessel. ,
The first retort burst, but another with a long neck
sealed at the end, and containing 8 oz. of tin, was held
over the fire, so as to keep the metal fused for an
hour and a quarter, "as (being hinder'd by a company of stra.ngera from being present) my laborant
affirm'd." The metal remaining, and the "calx "
which Boy le elsewhere describes as "an aggregate of
metal and extinguished flame, " were found to weigh
8 oz. 23 grains. 1'o show that metals are not the
only bodies capable of receiving increase of weight
from a fire, he tried the effect of similar treatment on
coral and quicklime, both of which showed an increase
in weight. He quaintly argues concerning lime that,
"though well-made lime be usually observ'd to be
much lighter than the stones whereof 'tis made; yet
this lightness does not necessarily prove that because
a. burnt limestone has lost much of its matter by the
fire it has therefore acquired no matter from the fire,
but only inferrs that it has lost far more than it has
got."
In the third set of experiments the substances were
submitted to the heat of flames, ''that I might
obviate some needless scruples that may be enterta.in'd by suspitious wits upon this circumstance of
our additional experiments. That the glasses employ'd about them were not expoEed to the action. of
mere flame but were held on charcoals (wh1ch
to some m~y seem to contain but a grosser kind of
fire."
To this end he exposed a. retort containing 2 oz. of
tin to the flam e of burning sulphur for 3~ ho?rs, "as
the labora.nt inform'd me (the s mell of bnmstone,
peculiarly offen si ve to me, forbidding me to be prc
sent). , The increase in weight was 4! grainP, "if both
the laborant and I be not mistaken, fer the pap' r

E N G I N E E R I N G.
which should inform us is now missing. " Boy le seems
to have been just a little careless with this experiment,
but his frankness is admirable.
To make sure that the increase in weight was not
due to particles of t he glass itself, separated "and
forcibly driven into the inclos'd body by the heat "
he weighed two empty retorts before and after
heating. One retort seems to have gained ! g rain,
but he says "there was no Jik elihood at all that
so considerable increase of weight (as that observed
in the other experiments) should proceed from the
glass itself and not from the fire." As a mere
matter of probability, one would have thought the
form er supposition to be the more reasonable of the
two. It seems a pity that Boyle did not weigh his
retorts and their contents separately and together
before and after heating. If he had, the discovery of
oxygen might have been made 100 years earlier
than it was, but he seems, _by a sort of fatality, to have
continually missed the paths t hat might have led him
to t hat result.
In his subsequent experiments the fuel used was
spirits of wine, as affording a purer flame than that of
sulphur. An ounce of tin filings was melted in a
sealed r etort, and exposed to the hea.t of a spirit lamp
for two hours, at the end of whi ch time the metal and
"calx, had gained 4! grains, "besides the dust that
stuck to the sides of the retort, which we reckoned
enough to make ~ grain more, so that of so fine and
pure a flame as of this totally ardent spirit, enough t o
amou nt to 5 grains was arrested, and in good measure
fix'd by its operation on the tin it had wrought upon.
\Vhence can this increase of absolute weight (for I
speak not of specifick gravity) observ 'd by us in the
metals expos'd to the mere flame be deduc'd, but from
some ponderable part of that flam e? And how could
those parts invade those of the metal inclos'u in a
glass otherwise than by passing through th e pores of
that glass ?, Reasoning unanswerable till 1774, when
Priestley's discovery of oxygen cleared away this and
many another fallacy. 1'o a perEon ig norant of
the existence of oxygen, Boyle's reasoning would
appear conclusive, but to us it will only appear strange
lhat he was not led by his experiments to make the
discovery which Priestley made 100 years later.
More than once he came very near, but each time he
almost wilh1ll y shut his eyes t o it. He does not seem
t o have had the faintest suspicion, at any time, of the
possibility of the increment of wdgh t coming from the
atmosphere.
There is another l ine of investigation, \\-hich one
regrets the philosopher did not follow up, although he
mentions it in a " cor ollary , as follows : " \Vhetht r
these ignf>ous corpuscles do stick after the like manner
to the puts of meat, drest hy the help of fire, and
especially roast meat, whi ch is ntore immediat ely expos'd to the action of the fire, ma y be a question
which I shall now leave undiscuss'd , because I think
it difficult to be determin'd , though, otherwise, it
seems worthy to be consiuer'd, in regard it may
concern men's health t o know whether the coction of
meat be made by the fire, only as 'tis a. very hot Lody,
or wh ether it permanently comrnunicates anything of
its substance t o the meat ex posed t o it. "

NOTES FROM THE UNITED STATES.

PHILADELPHlA, July 6.
THE repairing eeason is on, and mills throughout the
country are idle. The wages q uestion is not definitely settled, and employers in some cases have l!iven
notice of 20 t o :30 per cent. r eduction in puddlers'
wages. Prices are very low, and very little business
is being done. Rails are in fair demand , owing to the
pushing of track-laying on a number of roads. Ju ly
settlements are being watched. Manufact.urers are
apprehen~ive of worse t imes, and will wait until
assured of safety. Pig-iron production is slowly declining. There are uo good reasons for a prolonged
depression. Much new work is projec ted, and will
no doubt be undertaken. R ailroad traffic is increasing, and orders for equipments and rolling stock
are sufficient to keep manufacturers busy.

THE JAPANESE CRUISER " YOSHINO. "

TH E steam trials of the Japanese cruiser Yoshino,
which has been constructed by the firm of Sir \V. G.
Armstrong, Mitchell, and Co., Limited, from designs by
their naval architect, Mr. Philip W atts, were commenced on Tuesday last under th e sup erintendence of
a commission of J apaneCJe officials, including Captain
K awara, .1\Ir. Y amaki, Mr. M t~tsuo, and Lieut. Kato.
This vessel is generally similar in design to the
9 de Julio, which was built by the same firm for the
Argentine Republic, a.nd whose trials we reported in
F ebruary last. The Yoshino has, however, attained
a greater speed than that attained by th e 9 de J ulio,
and she is at the present time the fastest cruiser afloat.
She is 350 ft. long, 46~ ft. broad, and has a displacement of about 4000 tons. H er armament consists of
fou r 6in. quick-firing guns, eight 4. 7-io. q uick-firing

guns, twen ty-two 3-pounder quick-firing guns, and

five torpedo guns.
Lord Ravenswortb, in his presidential address at
the recent meetings of the Institution of NaYal
Architects, drew atten t ion to this veesel, and stated
that the firm contemplat ed attaining a speed of 23
kn ots. This was fully realised in th e trials of Tuesd ay last, when the speed a ttained as the mean of four
runs on the measured mile, with and against the tide,
in accordance with the practice of tb e British Admiralty, was 23.031 knots. The actual sp eeds recorded were as follows :
Knots.
First run against the tide
... 22.642

Second run with
,,
... ... 23.377
Third , against the tide ...
...
22.571
.F ourth , with
,
... 23.762

The programme on Tuesday last consis ted of a series
of progressive trials to establish a cu rve of speed for
the ship, the information thus obtained being required
for fu rther trials which have yet to be made, including
a six hours' trial with natural draught, when a speed
of upwards of 21 knots is contemplat ed. The speeds
at which trials were made, and corresponding r evolutions and horse-po\'\'er obsen ed, were 12, 16~, 20:!,
22.1, an d 23.03 knots, the latt er being accepted as
the official forced-drau ght trial of the ship. The
power corresponding to the h igher speed was ap.
proximately 15,000. Tho machinery, which has betn
constructed by Messrs. Humphrys, Tennant, and Co. ,
worked throughout the day in the most satisfactory
manner, and without hitch of any kind.

IRON AND STEEL MANPFACTORES IN

CHICAGO.
CoNSUL H AYES SAnLER has forwarded to the .F oreign
Office a most interesting report on the trade, with in his
district, of Chicago. With regard to the iron and
steel trade, he ays there has been great demand
for building purposes, but rails have been in little
request on account of the small mileage of new road cor.structed. The Illinois Steel Company, which employs
about 9000 hands, pays about 1,300,000l. yearly in wages,
consumes 85 per cent. of the iron ore which is deli vered
here, and has recently extended its immense works, does
not produce the girders and architectural steel which are
so much used in th e fram ework and construction of tall
buildings. Some arrangement has apparen tly been made
by which this work is done in Pennsylvania., and to
Chicago is left the manufacture of all steel rails required.
The probability is that materials for construction thus
cost the builders consid.erably m~re than was necessary.
The demand for archttectural Iron has lately been in
excess of supply, and delay in delivery, partly caused by
~he strik~ at the Homeste~d works _in Pennsyl vania., has
m many mstances caused mconvemence to contractors in
this city. 'I be different branches of the iron and steel
industry in Chicago are of great im~ortance and yearly
increasing, about 30,000 bands bemg employed. The
tonnage of pig iron made last yea.r was the largest ever
turned out, and notwithstanding tha.t increased consumption reduced the stocks in hand, prices were lower
than in 1891. Steel rails were maintained at nearly
6l. 8s. per ton first quality. The six rolling mills in
Chicago turned ou t a. product last year valued at
5,005,150l. , and the 62 foundries a vah1e of 2,309 280l.
There are 78 machinery and malleable ironworks, ~hioh
produced a value of 1, 958,800l., and the five oar-wheel
works a. value of 1,000,000l.
The whole number of establishments in the iron and
steel industry, counting boiler, stt-amfitting, stove
barbed-wire, a.nd other works, is now 340, against 316 i~
1891, and the a.ggre~ate product last year was valued at
14,934,000l., against 14,577,000l. in 1891; the capital
tmployed in these work~ increased by 1,150,000l. , and
amounted to 10, 244,000[. The production of iron from
the La.ke Superior district, which is the great source of
supply for a large part of the U nited States, is now so
enormous, and so many new mines have been opened
that prices r an not be so easily manipulated . The totai
lake shipments fr om the mining regions of Ma.rquette
Menominee, Gogebec, and Vermillion are said to ha.v~
numbered 8,475,675 long tons, and the total production
to have been more than 9,00C,OOO tons. Some portion of
this, however, is believed t o have remained unsold at the
ports of consignment. The production of ore from the
whole Lake Superior distri ct up to the present time is
stated to have been 73,660,873 tons, of which 13,053,923
tons were produced from the Gogebec, and 5,272 G7G tons
from the Vermillion mines in M innesota, theoth'er n1ines
being in the State of Michi gan. The Gogebec district
increased its output last year by nearly 1,000,000 t cns
and the Vermillion mines by nearly 250,000 tons. Th~
lately discovered J.\IIessaba minee, GO miles west of Dulutb
from ~hich the first shipment w~s made late in last year:
pronuse to be ex tremely producttve.
The 155 establishm ents, engaged in the manufacture of
brass and copper and other metals, turned out a. va.l ue of
10,785,000l., against 9,390,000l. in 1891, of which the four
smelting a.nd refining works produced 5, 724,000l. Tbe
jewellery manufacturers turned out a product valued at
567,000l., against 500,000l. in 1891. 'l'he 34 tin, stamped
and sheet metal ware industries produced a value of
1,54G,OOOl., against 1,541,000l. in the precedin~ year.
The manufacture of wagons and carriages, whiCh has
largely increased. was valued last year at 850, OOOl., and of
agricultural implements at 4,082,500l. The total output

45

E N G I N E E R I N G.

of the manufactures of wood and iron wa.s about neighbourhood of the limber holes, which may be attributed to the action of ashes and other foreign matter
8, 950,000., against 8, 495, OOOl. in 1891.
A fter allowing for duplications in the different trades contained in the bilge water when set in motion by the
in the same manner as the estimate has been made in movement of the vessel. It is in the machinery space,
previous years, for which the sum of 26,600,000l. has been within the range of the boilers, thdot the ravages from
deducted, the total trade of the city of Chicago in 1892 is corrosion in this class of tank are t o be seen, a.nd th e
calculated at 317,113,400l., against 300,825,000{. in 1891. entire top plating has been found to be destroyed, the
The increase in produce trade is calculated at 2 pE'r cent. girders, keelson, and angles being also considerably
over the preceding year, the wholesale trade is estimated wasted. The boiler bearers have also been found to be
to have increased lOA per cent., and the manufacturing peri<Jhed, llecessitating the blocking or ljfting up of the
trade 3! per cent. This estimate, which is irrespective boilers to effect repairs.
Cellular .Double Bottom. - This description of tank
of the value of real estate business, includes only such
transactions as have been followed by delivery from pro- d iffers in an im~ortant respect from the M ointyre, inasducer to consumer, and is calculated on the fi rst selling muoh as it is an mtegral part of the vessel's construction,
value of goods received, except the precious metals, with and the continuity of strength of the inner bottom should
the additional value they may have acquired by local be maintained in a fore-and -aft direction.
Ctllular Double B ottO'fn. N o. 1. -In this cellular form
manufacture. It does not reach to one-tbtrd the amount
of the clearings of the associated banks, which indicate of tank it is found that, like the Mcintyre, th&y are little
the prosperity which has existed ; in 1891 the clearings liable t o in ternal corrosion apart from the machinery
amounted to 918,944,000l., and in 1892 to 1,058,921,900l., space, and I have no recollectiOn of having met w ith a
or an increase of 139,977,900l., while six ~ears ago they case where the internal construction h as shown signs of
reached the sum of 537, 94t,OOOl. only. 'I bus the bank starting or weakness, unless the vessel had tak~n the
clearings of Chicago have now surpassed in ma~nitud e ground.
Like the Mcin tyre tank, however, its vuln~rable part
those of Boston, and are only exceeded in the U nited
States by those of New York. The t otal trade may not is in the machinery space, and in one case of a vessel with
seem t o bear a very large percenta~e of increase over that arrangement of D. B. (desig-nated No. 1) which came
of 1891, but it must be borne in mmd that every year has directly under my notice, the entire tank top within
shown an increase in the volume of business done, range of the extrtme heat of the boilers was found to be
notably the year 1890, when the increase was 17~ per completely wasted, the floors were destroyed, having
cent., and that all these gains have been maintained, and been corroded through in a line at a distance of about
an ~dd itio nal increase of 5H per cent. h as been secured. 8 in. to 14 in . under, and parallel to, the tank top; th e
It 1s an increase of as nearly as possibl~ 50 per cent. in reverse bars on same, and the intercostals with their
t en years, and of 300 per cent. C'..Ompared wtth the trade angles, were deteriorated in a like manner, and to such
of twenty yeara ago. The substantial gain in value and an extent as t o render the tank useless as such, and detrithe large increase in volume of trade, together with the mental to the strength of the vessel.
Cellular Double Bottom N o. 2.- In a steamer with this
continued rise in the value of real estate, has sufficed,
without mention of the Exhibition, to make Chicago at arrangement of bottom it was found necessary, upon
the present time, in the opinion of our consul, ''the examination, owing to corrosion, to renew at least one
most prosperous city in the most prosperous country in length of plate of each of th e side gi rders, the top
th e. world,, a.nd perh aps n owhere has such an extra- plating, the intercostal floors with their angles, and
ordmary scene of activity prevailed during auy year as at the entire boiler bearers. In th e cases quoted, and
others which came under my notice, the distance beChicago in 1802.
tween the tank top and the boilers varied fr om 9 in. to
14 in. I have here two photographs illustrative of
'WEAR AND TEAR IN BALLAST TANKS.* the dire effects of corrosion on plates situated in the
machinery space of a vessel arranged under the headBy ANDREW K . HAMIL'l'ON, Principal Sur veyor t o
ing of No. 1. Photograph A s hows a complet e fl oor
Lloyd's Register, Cardiff; Member.
NINE years as-o I bad the honour to present be:fore the plate with its lightening boles, and the extent of the
m embers of th1s Institution a paper <,n the subject of corrosion is clearly visible, as in many places the plate is
"Steamship Machinery Repairs, " having special refer- wasteci through, and it will be seen that t he upper part
ence to the wear and tear experienced in the working of of the floor plate h1s suffered most, as already stated.
the engines a.nd boilers of steamers, and expressed the Photograph B is an enla rgement of the upper left-hand
hope t hat further papers would be forthcoming from other corner of the same floor plate, and shows more clearly the
members relating their experience in reg-ard t o that im defects referred to.
In the cases described the material of which these tanks
portant subject. On learning that thts Institution inwere constructed has n ot been stated; Lut I would men~nded making Cardiff the scene of the present meeting,
1t occurred to me that a brief paper of my experience in tion that iron appears to suffer eq,ually with steel under
regard to the wear and tear at this large repairing port the conditions set forth, but, owmg to the scantl ing of
would be appropriate, and at the same tim e interesting to the former being heavier than the latter, the destruction
has not been apparently so complete; and I would also
many of the members now present.
The subject to which I no w invite your kind indulgence mention that in none of the cases herein instanced were
and attention is "Wear and T ear in Ballast Tanks of the vessels more than eight years old.
Having thus far laid before you some idea of t he extent
Steamers." During the time that I have bean located at
the Port of Card iff I have enjoyed many opportunities of of the corrosion set up and its chief location in ballast
observing the opening up, condition , and repairs to tanks, I will proceed to describe a few of the methods
ballast t anks, of the many types of vessel frequenting adopted in eff8cting- repairs to the various forms of tanks
this port, a nd I will now endeavour to place before you which I have met with.
the result of such observations. The two forms of ballast . In the cas~ of ~he first-named tank (th e Mcintyre), as
tanks no w common consigt of the ordinaryi or M cintyre 1ts constructiOn 1s supplementary to, and therefore not a
and th e cellular double bottom. As is wel known to th~ part o~, the mai~ str~ctur~ of the vessel, it is not difficult
members, the former is _b uilt upon t_he floors, and sup- to devtse a repa1r whtch w1ll render th e tank ser viceable.
~he cellula~ double ~ottom cannot, however, be so
ported by fore-and-aft guders ; and m the latter- i.e.,
the cellular double bottom, the construction varies some- eastly daalt w1tb, for, bemg part and portion of the main
structnre, it is necessary that the s trength and efficiency
what. The various forms might be tabulated thus :
As cellular double bottom No. 1, with the floors com- ~e maintained, and the ~epair~ are~ consequently, of great
plete from centre line to wings of tank, lightened by tmp~rtance, more espeCJ ~lly m ~1ew of the great diffilarge holes and continuous centre keelson, wish girders culttes to be surmounted m effectmg tham in that portion
of the tank situated in the machinery space where the
fitted intercostally between the floors.
Cellula r double bottom No. 2, with centre keelson and corrosion, as before stated, is the greatest.
Feeling assured that it will be of great interest to all
side girders continuous, and the floors fitted intercostally
members of the profession. I will now proceed to describe
as diaphragm plates.
Cellular dou ble bottom No. 3, fitted with continuous t~e methods _adopted to ~ffect large repairs to this descriptton of tank m the machmery space which came under my
centre keelson and side girders, and brack ets for floors.
direct observation.
W EAR AND TEAR.
In the first ca.se the repairs were effect ed while the
The Mclntyre.-In this form of tank, exce~ting in s~am er was afloat. She was fitted with two single-end ed
the way of the boilers, the wear and tear is pr10cipally bOilers, supported on bearers, constructed in one piece
confined to the riveting of the angles at the bottom of the across the veFisel, with no sid e bUilkera in the way of them.
fore-and-aft girders, the ri vets being often found loose and The plan adopted was to tie the two boiler bearers at centre
broken, more particularly at the wio&" keelsons ; this lit:e with a vertical rib of plate iron about 12 in. by
attachment becomiog loose allows the girders to cut into l1n., wi_th two s trong angle-irons on its lower eds-e;
the reverse frames, and in many cases breaking the fore- under thts were placed two powerful screw-jacks restmg
over the centre keelson; the ends of the bearers were
and-aft angles.
From the fact of these keelsons being in some cases th~n secur~d t o a verti cal bar passing through the sid e
found displaced ab their bottom edges, it is possible to strmger wtth a fine thread cut on its upP.er end fitted
suppose that this movement is generated at times by the w~th a n~t. All being in r~adin ess, the bo1lers, tdgether
tank being filled after ~he vessel has left p ort, and the w1th their bearers, were ratsed in a short time the necesheavy body of water rolhng about before the t ank is fu11 sa.ry few inches to enable the repairs t o be proceeded
strikes the girders with great force every time the vessei With. The tank t o p ~as c~t away_ as far as required,
rolls.
seven floors on each s1de w1th the mtercostals a nd their
Corr~sion in these ~anks, a~art from th e machinery angles wer~ removed and renewed, the tank top plating
sp~ce, 1s _found to be sl1ght1 owmg, no doubt, to the in- ren~wed, r1 veted, and caulked complete, the boilers and
terior ~emg nearly ~lways m the s~me wet condition, and their bearers ware lowered and secured in position the
by the ~ronwork bemg covered w_1th a deposit, m ore or tank then t est ed under water pressure and f~und
'
less thtek, of mud. The caulkmg and top-plating of thoroughly satisfactory.
tb~se tanks are frequently found started a nd fractured
. On examination of the boilers and fittings after this
the .result of heavy weights b~ing dropped upon th~ ~hsturbance, al~ s team and water joint8 were found to be
ceihng, which, in some cases, is only removed from the 1~tact ; the s trmgers were also examined, and s howed no
Signs of mo vement after the unusual duty they had been
tank top by a coatin~ of tar sprinkled with cement.
The corrosion of the fl_oors in these tanks is very slight, put to. It ma~ here be mentioned that the centre keel although they are occa.s10nally found to be wasted in the son and th~ strmgers bad been s trongly fortified by heavy
wood packmgs.
*Paper read before the Institution of Naval A rchitect3.
The method adopted to repair two other vessf ls of

similar construction, but fitted with two double-end d

boilers, each resting on three bearers, was to place the
vessels in graving dock, remove four shell plates on each
side of the bottom, shore the boilers up from the dock
bottom, and effect tb e necessary repairs to floors, in teroostals, angle~, and tank top throug~ the bottom of
vessel, and on completion of these repatrs a ll steam and
water joints were found intact.
Other cases could be cited with single and double
ended boilers, each varying slightly from the other, aa
the arrangement of the vessel demanded; but, perhaps,
enough has been said t o arouse attention to this matter,
and so induce a. m ore frequent examination by those
interested, and in doing so these further notes on wear
and tear will have ser ved the purpose for which they were
put together.

L AUNCHES AND TRIAL TRIPS.

T rrE second of the two twin-screw st eamers ordered
from Messrs. F leming and Ferg'11son, Paisley, by th e
Olyde Navigation Trustees in :F ebruary last, has now
been compl~ted, a nd on Saturday, the 8th inst., ran her
speed trial between Cloch and Cumbrae Lights. The
run was made with and against the tide over a distanc~
of 27 ~ k nots, on which distance she atto.ined a mean speed
of 10: knots, being i knot in excess of speed stipulated
for by the Trustees. The 3teamer carried h('r load within
her specified d raught, and the trial was in every wo.y a
success.

---

The twin-screw tug United, built by Mess rs. R. and

H. G reen, of Blackwall, and engin ed by M essrs. A lex.
Wilson and Co., Limited, Vauxhall Iron W orks, Wandswortb-road, London, has completed her tri als. The
vessel is for service ab East L ondon, South Afri ca, the
dimensions of the hull being 103 ft. long by 21 ft . beam by
9 ft. draught. The bull is built of iron, as being less liable
to corrosion than steel, at a port where the oppOI'tunities
for docki ng frequently a re fewer than in a home port.
Th~s. 'however, did not apply to the boiler and machiner y,
whtch are of steel through out, the provellers being of
manganese bronze. A speed of 12 knots was obtained
throughout a four hours' ru n between GraveEend and the
Nore, ~he en~in~s IJ?aintaining a uniform speed of 150
revolutions, mdJCatmg 710 horse-power. 'l' he engines
whi~h are _two in num ber, are of the compound ty~e'
havmg cyhnders 15! in. and 30~ in. in diameter by 21m'
stroke, fitted with ci rcular balanced and double-ported
valves. The co~su~ption of coal was only 1. 9 lb. per
horsepo";'er, wbtch ts low for a compound en~ine, the
valves bemg set to cut off at halfatroke the botler pres
Aure being 100 lb.
'

---

Messrs. V! Denny a~d Brothers, Dumbarton, launched

on the 4th m at. the twmscrew steamer Southwark said
to be the. largest cargo-carrying steamer afloat.' The
vessel, which has been built to the order of the Interna
tional Navigation Company of Philadelphia is of th e
fo~lowing dimensions: 480ft. by 57 fb. by 40ft., and s he
will carry 10,000 t e ns, while at the same time 1000 passen .
gers may be accommodated. The en~ines are quadrupleex~an sion, having_four c~linders.workmg four cranks; the
c;y:hnders are 25~ m., 37 m. 1 52~ m ., and 74 in. in diamet er,
w1th a stroke of 4ft. 6 m. The working pressure is
200 lb.

---

The new first-class line-of-battleship Resolution, being

now complete, left the Tyne for Portsmouth on the
1~th inst. ':l'he R esolution has been constructed, along
w1~h t~e. sister battleship, Revenge, by the Palmar
htpbmldmg and Iron Company Limited. They are
two _of eight built under theNavai D efence Act of 1889.
An tdea of the enormous size of the vessel may be gained
when we s tate ~he is 40 ft. longer, 5 ft. broader, and
3680 t~ns m~re dtsplacem~nt than the ill-fated Victoria.
The dtm enstonR and particulars of the Resolution are as
follows: ~engt~, 380 ft. ; brt ::..<l .. :.., 75 ft. ; draught, mean,
27 ft. G m . ; dts_Placement, 14,150 t on A; freeboard, forward, 19 ft. 6 m. ; freeboard, aft, 18 ft.; indicated
horse powE'r, forced draught, 13,000 ; indicated horsepower, natural draught, 9000; s peed, forced draug ht,
17~ _kuots ; spee~ , natural draught, 16 knots; coals
ca.rne~ at the des1~ ned load draught, 900 tons. The constructiOn of the shtp has been made exceptionally strong.
T_h e hull alone absorbs not less than 9640 t on s of the t otal
d1splacement. S he is built entirely of st eel; the s tfm,
eternpost, rudder, a~d ~b~ft ~rackets being formed of
cast st eel. The hul11s dtvtded mto ~20 watertight compartmi nts. We have already descrtbed at considerable
length this ty_pe of battleship (see ENGINEERING vol. xl.
p. 433; vol. h ., pp. 251, 283 ; vol. liii., p. 530 ; vol. li v.:
p. 412; vo!. lv., p. 716. The vessel is fitted w ith twin
screw ~n gmes, e~ch set having cylinders 40 in., 59 in.,
an? 88 m. by 51 m . strok e. Tbe:re are eight e.ingleende.d
b01l~re, .each 15 ft. 6 in. in diamet er by 9 ft. 6 in. long,
havmg m all 32 furn aces , 155 lb. working pressure
There are n o l ~ss than 69 auxiliary engines. The 900
tons of coal carrted at the d esigned load line will enable
her to _steam 50<;>0 k nots at a 10111lot speed, but in case of
necess1 ty she wtll be able t o s t ow about 400 tons mor e
and so obtain a radius of action of over 7000 knots'
When u sed as a fla~ship the Resolution will have a. coru:
plem ent of over 700 officers and men.
RusSIAN PoRTS.-The Russian Government has decided
to make Cronsta~t an exclusively military port. The
port of commerce ts to be ~ransferred t o St. Petersburg.
Pl~ns for the accommodation of an fxtensive trade are
hem~ p~epared by the Departmept of Ways and Oom-

roumc~tlQns

E N G I N E E R I N G.

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AMPHLET'S PNEUMATIC HAMMER.

W. AND J.

CONSTRUCTED BY MESSRS.

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illustration of the pneumatic power hammer on

this page represents an invention by Mr. S. \V.
Amphlet, manager to Messrs. W. and J . Player,
Lionel-street, Birmingham, by whom it is constructed.
It has proved satisfactory for forgings, and especially for edge-tool work, spade and shovel plating, pick
and fork drawin g, tilting steel, file forging, cutlery
work, &c. It works with very little power, and is
easily controlled, the number and weight of blows being
quickly regulated on any thickness within the limits
of the hammer, while it may be arranged to give one
or any required number of blows. The hammers are
made with single and double frames of similar type to
steam hammers, and to run at any desired speed from
150 to 500 blows per minute.
The hammer, as shown in the illustration, is
mounted on a bedplate, two strong upright frames
being bolted to it, as in the case of the ordinary steam
hammer type. These frames carry the slides for the
tup and controlling cylinde~, and are held a fix.ed
distance apart by four studs w1th nuts, so as to be eastly
adj usted when necessary. On the top of the frames are
bolted two long cast-iron bearings E, E. for the cra~kshaft F, which is of mild steel, and carnes on one s1de
the loose and driving pulleys, and on the ot.her a
balanced flywheel. The crank works through a castiron block G in the banjo H, the bottom of which is solid
with t he cylinder cover I. The cylinde1 J thus mo~es up
and down with the crank, and has cast on each stde of
it a truncated V-shaped slide, and on the back a cylindrical valve box K open at the ends in which the
controlling valve works. On the plane of the ce~tres
of the cylinder and valve-box, boles L , L are drtlled
at regular intervals apart from top to bottom, so
as to form passages from the main cylinder into
the valve box. The valve M is a hollow cylinder with a helical slot going nearly round it, and
is kept in its plaee by covers N bolted over the
valve-box ends, the top cover having a ~ole ~n it so as
to allow free e3cape of air from the mtenor of the
valve The slot allows one hole always to be open to
the i~side of the valve and so to the outside air,
but by turning the vahre round any hole can be opened
and the others closed, so that the cushion _of air above
or below the piston can be regulated at wtll.
A small air valve 0 0 is fixed a t the top and bottom
of the cylinder, which allows ai r to. enter, but not to
escape, so that the " flip " of the ptston and tup_ aut~
matically k eeps the air cushion perfect by drawmg. m
air to replace any loss by leakage. .T~e control~mg
valve at its lower end has a keyw~y. m 1t, ~nd shd~s
up and down a shaft P ~ith a key m 1t. T~ts shaft 1s
turned by a simple cham attachment whtch can be
worked either by treadle, as show~, or hand ge~r.
The piston and rod Q are in one ptece, and of mtld
steel and the tup R is of steel. The size of ~he
ba.m~er is determined, as in steam hammers, by statm~
the weight of the piston, rod,. and tup. The a~v1l
block comes up through a hole m the baseplate, bem_g
quite separate from the rest of the haml?er, and 18
ke t from turning round by keys. It wtll thus be
un~erstood that the motion of the crank is transmitted

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to the piston and tup through the air cushion of the

cylinder, giving a very elastic blow, and as the cushion
can be varied at will, a succession of heavy, medium, or
light blows can be struck, the force of the blow can be
varied for every stroke, or the tool can be taken right
off the work if necessary, all while the hammer is
running.
THR LAVAL SEPARATOR.-On July 3 the famous
Swedish (De Laval) cream sep3.rator celebrated its
fifteenth anniversary, and fflw, if any, Scandinavian
patents have left b~tter results, both for the public and
the exploiters of the invention. In the year 1879 the
first La.val separator was sold, and before the end of 1880
there were 146 in use. That the La.val separator has
been improved and modified in numerous ways goes
without saying, and other inventions supplementmg that
of the creamer itself have since bf:en added. The La.val
separator is now used all over the world. In 1881, 328
separators were sold ; in 1882, 546 ; and in 1883, 830 separators. At the large agricultural show in Stockholm,
1886, the number sold had reached 5000, and up to the
present about 40,000 separators have been sold.
IRON IN Sw&DEN.-The large Uddeholm Mining and
Engineering Company, Sweden, has during last year
produced 34,140 tons of iron ore, of which quantity
26,597 tons were from their own mines. The production
of pig iron amounted to 18,639 tons, of blooms to 8825
tong, of ingots to 9213 tons, Lancashire about 4700 tons,
of hc.rseshoe nails 691 tons, of horseshoes 105 tons, of
wire 882 tons, of wood screws 277,628 gross, &c. The
value of iron, &c., sold was 2,313,000 kr., or about
125, OOOl., which is some 13, OOOl. less than during the
previous year. The output of charcoal was 208,654
cubic metres, and the production of timber amounted to
23R 000 pieces. The profits of last year amounted to
1,007,997 kr., or about 55,000l., leaving an available
sum, various writings off having been provided for, of
506,111 kr. (27,500l.), of which the shareholders get a
dividend of 6 per cent.
THE "CAMPANIA's" L ATEST VoYAGE.-The Cunard
steamer Campania has again accomplished a feat, which
has been equalled by no other AtlantiC? liner, of . landing
her :passengers in the Mersey on the Fnday evenmg after
Sh~ passed Browhead at 5.45 on
1 lea.vmg Ne~ York.
j Fnday, 7th mst., and arnved at Qu~enstown at 9.10, and
leaving that port at 9.40, anchored m the Mersey at five

minutes to 9 o'clock in the evening. As high water was

a.t 5.40, the great steamer was able to cross the bar at
two hours ebb. The mail E~ , which were taken off at
Queenstown, were delivered in London and all over England on Saturday morning. The daily runs of the Campania. show great uniformity, and it must be borne in
mind that in coming east a steamer loses time each day,
so that from noon to noon does not actually mean
twenty-four hours. The Campania's runs are as follows :
Passed Sandy Hook Lightship n.t 8.47 a.m. on Saturday,
July 1, and up to noon ran 60 knots ; then 484, 483, 491,
481, 493, 411 to Daunt's .Rock 3.29 a. m. July 7; passage,
5 days 19 hours 7 minutes. This passage excels every
record but her own coming on that route. She beats the
best passage of any other ship on the route by 4 hours
43 minutes.
PROGRESS OF THE MANCHESTER SHIP CANAL WORKS.
-On Saturday a further proof of the rapidly approaching
completion of the works connected with the Manchester
Ship Canal, in the neighbourhood of Runcorn, was given
by the flooding_ of the portion between Runcorn Dooks
a.nd the Old (..luay, Runcorn, which means the virtual
completion of the Runcorn section. Now the canal is
open from Delamere Dock, W eston Point, to the spot
named. The Weston Mersey lock, measuring 600 ft.,
and the approach walls on each side, will in all probability
be ready for use in a few weeks. In the meantime the
traffic is being_conducted through the Ship Canal from
Eastham to Runcorn, n.nd that for the Weaver goes
through the W eston Marsh locks. The construction of
the lay-by at Runcorn is being pushed forward with all
possible speed. A very difficult operation has been successfully executed- namely, the underpinning of the
London and North-Western Railway Company's bridge
spanning the 1-Iersey to \Vidnes. The piers of the bridge
have been surrounded with timber for the protection of
vessels using the new waterway. There remains very
little to be done in this neighbourhood before the water
can be turned into the whole length from Eastham to
L.atchfordr where a block has been caused through the
dtfficulty m conne<'tion with the railway deviation, but
it is reported that on Monday the Canal Company
obtained ;POSsession of the disused lines at \Va.rrington,
so that httle further delay will be experienced in completing the vast undertaking. It is confidently believed
by those best able to judge that the works from Eastha.m
to Warriogton will be completed within two months and
that the canal wilt be opened, in accordance with pre~ious
statements, early in 1894.

E N G I N E E R I N G.
M ORGAN'S

CRANE

47

AND

GRAB.

F IG. 1.

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FIG. 2.
(see ~~ol. li.ii. , page 66?),
we illustrated and described a. very mgemous crane, mvented by Mr. J. H . Morgan, of 5_7, Pr.ince's Dock,
THE HARRIS FEED-WATER FlLTER.
Liverpool, for the purpose of deal.mg w1th the ma~y
FIG. 3.
'VE illustrate on page 50 the Harris feed-water
different descriptions of goods wh1Ch .are handled m filter, as fitted into the Cunard steamer Campania by
the Liverpool Docks; ~fr. Morgan bemg, as we then Messrs. Copley, Turner, and Co., Limited, Middles- val ve is opened and it is discharged. To facilitate
stated one of the engineer officers of the ~!ersey Dock brough, the manufacturers. Its adoption was the the precipitation of this dirt, an annular space is proand H~rbour Board. The crane was originally devised result of experience with the system in another Cunard vided between the shell and the system of grates
for dredging purposes, and in our former illustr~tion steamer, the Allepo. In the ca!!le of the filter illus- through openings in the periphery of which the feed:
a grab is shown as operated by the crane. It w1ll be trated, it was stipulated that it should be so designed water passes on its way to the filtering medium, and
r emembered that the essential feature of the crane as to remain efficient for the run ont to New York on the bottom of the chamber ports are provided
was t he control obtained over the opening of the without having t o be opened during the passage for through which the dirt is allowed to &ettle into the
grab by means of ~ species of ~ellcrank lever the renewal of the medium. The onerous character large cavity or chamber provided below.
which enabled the stram due to the wetght of the grab of this condition will be appreciated when it is stated
The primary filters through which the feed is caused
to be t ransferred from the suspending chain to the that the amount of water evaporated by Messrs. vVeir's to pass first consist of cylinders (Fig. 1) fitted with a
chain by which the l~aves of the grab were pulled in&tallation exceeds 5000 tons per day, or about series of perforated pis tons, the lower one attached to
apart through the iustrumentality of the weight of the 30,000 tons for the run, or 60,000 tons for the round the rod, and the others kept at their required distance
load. We also illustrated a modification of the device, voyage out and home. It was, therefore, decided to apart from each ~ther by ~trong springs. The top
by means of which a railway truck could be tilted and accomplish the filtration in a. duplex operation, pass- grate, through wbtch the p1ston -rod passes, is fixed.
its contents shot out. On the pr esent page we show ing the feed water first through a pair of primary The space between the pistons is lightly packed with
some further adaptations of the same principle. filters to extract the coarser impurities, and then prepare~ spo~g~, through which the water passes. The
Fig. 1 illustrates a clutch specially adapted for lifting through the filter proper to complete the purification. coarser 1mpunt1es adhere to the sponges in passing, and
bags of grain or other material. The bags are shown The surface of the independent filtering medium when the gauge or the bye-pass valve indicates that
held, but when it is required to discharge them from through which the feed slowly percolates in the filter th ey have become foul, the t op and bottom valves are
the clutch the weight is transferred from the lifting in the Campania is 127 times the area. of the feed-pipe. closed, the piston-rod drawn up by the screw prorope to the span which is attached to the two sides, as
The filter proper is illustrated by Fig. 2. 'l'he vided f~r that purpose, and th e. sponges are squeezed
sho\Yn, and the arms therefore open, the bags falling medium is cloth, fitted between and kept in position up agamst the top gr a te, wh1le to complete their
out. '1. he transference of the weight from one rope to by a series of perforated plates or grates, as shown.
cleansing steam is admitted through the valve prothe other is effected by
means of the bellcrank lever
A feature of the pla nt is an automatic sentinel valve vided on the lower part of the outlet valve, and the

attached to the crane jig. The direct lifting rope (Fig. 1), by which the required amount of friction sponges are thoroughly scalded out. The pistons are
passes over a pulley at the end of the arm, and the through the filtering medium is regulated at will, and t.hen lowered to their normal position, and the sponges
r opes are so arranged t hat when the bellcr(}.nk lever is by which, when it is exceeded through the filter be- regain their elasticity, the valves are opened, and the
in the position shown, no weight is on the span. coming foul, the water is automatically conveyed filter works as before.
When, however, it is required to open the clutch, the direct to the boiler without passing through the filter
When the Campania left Liverpool on her first
bellcrank lever is actuated by means of a steam cy- at all, at the same time sounding a gong to notify the voy~ge the filter w~s not clean, as it had been working
linder, as shown in the illustration which appeared in attendant that the filter requires attention. Another durmg a great port10n of her extended trial trips notour former issue. Fig. 2 shows the principle as feature is the arrangement of parts by which, when the withstanding this it made the run out to New 'York
applied to the lifting of stone, and Fig. 3 illustrates a filter becomes foul , it is caused to clean itself by the ~it~out considera~le increase of pressure, and by sludgclutch for dealing with balks of timber, &c. It will attendant merely closing the inlet valve and opening mg 1t out every etght hours, several hundredweights
be seen that in all these arrangements the direct the slu~ge valve for a .few sec?nds, and thus obviating of filth were extracted each day, and the run was
lifting rope is so attached that the weight of the load the tedtous and often 1mpract1eable process of opening c~mpleted with~ut having to open out the filter or
is brought to bear to keep the clutch closed so long as up the covers and taking out and renewing the filtering d1stnrb the medtum. On opening out a t New York
the strain is taken by the lifting r ope; thus in the nledium while at sea in heavy weather. It is a.t that for exam~nation, ~othing was found to prevent the
case of the grab the lifting rope passed round a sheave, time! ~deed, that the value of a feed filter is most felt, same m~dmm ma~mg the return trip, but for the sake
as shown in our former illustration, and the same for 1t 1s then that the surface of the water in the of expenment a shghtly lighter medium was fitted and
principle is adopted in Fig. 1. In Fig. 2 the arms of bo~le~s is most agitated , and the ~irt carried over by the sponges, which were much saturated with gr~ase
the clutch arrangement are lengthened beyond the point pnmmg most troublesome. The drrt accumulated in renewed. The whole of t he boilers were opened out and
where they pivot, and a similar effect is thus obtained. the bottom of the condenser is also disturbed by the found free from grease. 'f he return journey to Liverpool
In Fig. 3 the rope passes round a pulley in one a.rm of wash of water as the vessel rolls, finding its way into the was ~qually satisfactory; pressure through the filtering
the clutch, then round a pulley in the end of the other hot-well, with the result, in some filters of small area medtum was very low, but the amount of dirt exarm of the clutch ; the standing part being made fast that they are continually choked, and not being pro~ tracted in llludging was the same as on the outward
to the first arm. In this way, when the weight comes vided with an automatic bye-pass, the dirt coller.ted voyage. The ~lter w~s again opened out a.t Liverpool,
on, the jaws of the clutch are forced together; on the in the filter is violently driven by excessive pres- ~ud the med1um be10g found perfectly satisfactory,
other hand, when the weight is taken by the single sure through the medium and carried into the tt .was .replaced again , and the vessel made the double
rope, the weight of the second arm of the clutch causes boiler before the attendant has time to open out tnp wtth the same medium.
it to open. It has been found that by this device the and remove the cloths and fit new ones. In the
In another steamer fitted with a. Harris filter
lowering of stone or concrete blocks for building under Harris filter, however, the dirt that once enters the ~he vessel did seventy-two days' actual steaming befor~
wa.ter is greatly facilitated, the saving of lewes or filter is retained there, as excess of pressure opens 1t was ne~essary to change th~ medium. It is, there,
slings being considerable ; for it will be seen that the the ~ye pass instead of driving the dirt through the fore, posstble to fit a filter whtch will work from Engstone can be deposited or re-lifted and moved about medmm. The process is simple and expeditious. A land to Australia and back again before the engineers
from place to place until the right position is obtained. large dirt chamber is provided (Fig. 2), into which the have the trouble of renewing the medium.
It is needless to point out that the remoYa.l of lewes dirt rejected by the filtering medium settles and
under water by divers is no small work, and adds when there, is undisturbed by the feed as it passes
VIE~NA. -A~rangem~nts a!e being made for the conmuch to the general cost.
through the filter, but remains quietly until the sludge sbruotiOn
of a c1roular c1ty ratlway at Vienna..

I x our isaue of

~I ay 27, 1892

E N G I N E ER I N G.
NOTES FROM CLEVELAND AND THE
NORTHERN COUNTIES.
M IDDLESBROUGH, W ednesday.
The Cleveland Iron Trade.-Yesterday was the quart erly gathering here, but the attendance on 'Change was
even smaller than is frequently seen at the usual weekly
meetings, few paople from a distance being present. A s
is u ual at quarterly meetings, facilities were afforded
for the exhibttion of articles of interest t o th e trade, but
not a single fi rm availed t hemsel ves of th is mode of
advertising their sp ecialities, and had it not been that a
poster on the telegraph board announced that it was the
q uarterly meeting, few p eople would have been aw:1.re of
the fact. Only a small amount of business was transacted,
but the market was steady, and makers of pig iron were not
i nclined t o reduce their quotations, several of them asking
35j. for prompt f. o.b. delivery of No. 3 g.m.b. Cleveland
p1g iron. Buyers, however, would not as a rule give that
figure, and most of the transactions recorded were at
3ts. lO~d .. there being plenty of merchants willing t o sell
at that price, and some makers also a ccep ted it. Attempts
were made by one or two buyers t o obt ain No. 3 at
3h . 9d., but we did not b ear of business being done at
that price. No. 1 Cleveland pig was put at 37s. 6d. For
No. 4 foundry 33s. 9d. was generally m entioned. G rey
forge was very quiet, and could be bought at 32s. 6d.,
but some sellers aske::) 32s. 9d. Middlesbrough warrants
were 35s. ld. cash buyers, but the quotation was almost,
if not entirely, nominal. H ematite pig iron was in pretty
good request, and mixed numbers of local brand s could not
easily be obtained under 43s. 6d. for early f.o. b. deli very.
Spanish ore was steady, rubio being at about 12s. 6d. exship T ees. To-day our market was rather firmer, ad vices
from other iron centree being a little more encouraging.
Prices, however, were hl\rdly quotably altered. },or
prompt No. 3 sellers asked 35s., and a little business was
d one at that p rice. Middlesbrough warran ts closed
35s. 3d. cash buyers.
Manufactured Iron and Stcel.-Unfortunately the
manufactured iron trade is in as dull and unsc.tisfactory
a state as e ver, and prospects are indeed gloomy. Com
plaints of slackness of work are numerous, and orders are
most difficult to secure. The following quotations are
generally mentioned, but probably most firms would
gladly accept orders at rather less rates : Common bars,
4l. 17s. 6d. ; best bars, 5l. 2s. 6d. ; iron ship-plates,
4l. 12s. 6d. ; and iron ship-angles, 4l. 12s. 6d. ; all less 2! per
cent. discount for cash . Steel producers k eep fairly well
employed, and some fi rms have a fair number of orders on
h and. Quotations are ma intained, but buyers are again
backward, and when they have an order t o place are un
willing to give the market rat e'3. For hea vy sections of
steel rails 3t. 17s. 6d. net at works is now generally askedi
but probably business might still be done at 3l. 15s. Stee
ship-pla tes are quoted 5l. 2:s. 6d., and steel ship-angles
4l. 15s., both less the customary discount.
T he Fuel Trade.-CoaJ is ijteady, and on Newcastle Exchange a rather b stter demand is reported. Best
N orthumbria n steam coal is firm, and cannob easily be
b ought under 9s. 6d. f.o. b. S mall st eam is quiet and
plentiful at from 3s. 3d. t o 3s. 6d. There is a better de
mand for manufacturing coaJ, and manufacturers are
evidently beginning t o stock freely in an t icipation of t he
effects of the Y orkshire strike, which is now generally
looked upon as probable. H ousehold coal is very dull.
Gas coal is in ra ther better request, but the demand is
very 6asily supplied. The general quota t ion for best
Durham coal varies from 6s. 6d. t o 6s. 9d. f.o.b. Bunker
coal is still abundant, and may be quoted at from 6s. 3d.
to 6s. 6d. per t on f. o.b. a t Tyne Dock. Coke keeps fi rm
and steady. H ere e-ood blast -furnace qualities are at
about 12; . per t on d ehvered.

================ .
NOTES FROM SOUTH YORKSHIRE.
SHEFFIELD, W ednesday.
Sheffiel.l Trade with the Unite l States.-The qullrterly
r eturn of exports to the U nited Rtats from the Sheffield
consular district shows that the total ex port of all classes
of goods dnring th e quarter ending June 30 was
115,357l. lls. lld., as compared with 12~,427l. in t~e corre ponding quar ter of last year, showmg a dechne of
7070l. Cutlery exports amoun t in \'alue t o 27, 7B~l. ! as
compared with 33.090l. twelve months ago. T hts ts a
falling off of !i31~l., but the amount in 1B92 was .ab~ormal,
whereas the trad mg last year was very evenly d 1stnbuted .
}'or the first quarter of 1893 the cutlery exports rea.cl1ed
a value of eB 430l. Steel shows a slight improvement,
the value of la~t quarter bei ng 69,28ll. , agai nst G6,B96l. in
t he corresponding quarter of last year.
The Coal Cri&is. -Notices to the colliers to leave employment are now being delivered throughout the district.
Before t he end of the week it is estimated that 50,000
men will have received fou rteen days' notification of a
conclusion of existing contracts. The employers of
South a nd \ Vest Yorkshire appear to be plac~d i~ a very
diffi cult position, as is exempli fie? in ~~ommumcatt?n.from
the proprietors of the \Vha:nchffe.:Stlkstone qolhe~u~e ~
the men whom t hey are d ~~b~rgmg. T~ e s1tuat10n. 1s
embraced in these terms :
1 or a cons1derable per1od
prices of coal have been .goin~f d~wn a b an alarming rate,
and outside the federat10n d1str10ts wages have b~en d~
clining in a similar fashion. The average red uct10ns m
these dis tricts may be taken as ~~ewh ere about ~0 per
cent ." After referring t o oompe~1t10n.' the p ropr1.et<?rs
continue: "As a result the Wharncliffe S llkstone Colhenes
have lo3t for the twelve months end ing J uly_llargesteam
coal contracts previously held by them. T he:r have lost
most of the L ondon and Nortb-\Vestern R atlway con tract, and have lost the North -Eastern Railway con tract

altogether. The simple fact is that prices have been and

are ~oing d own. The company do n ot agree with this
nuttmg syst em, which is doing so much harm. On the
contrary, they are of opinion that the big companies,
especially the big gas companies, could well afford to })ay."
Alluding t o the fact that t he Wharncliffe S ilkst one Com
pany employs about 1700 ba nds, the not e proceeds t o say
that what work there is now left will be gladly shared
amongst the men, if so desi red. Business in t he coal trade
is leavin~ the district, and if the miners are obstinate a
serious conflict must ensue.
Iron and Steel.- The iron market r emai ns firm, though
not brisk. Contracts are being held back in the hope of
a slight fall in prices resulti ng from the drooping values
of fuel. Pig iron of district make is realismg- forge,
41s. 6d. to 42s. 6d. ; foundry, 42s. t o 44s. 6d., sales being
only for genuine requirements, and an atsence of specu
lation apparent. Stocks of pig are light. In manufactured iron, bar sells the most freely, orders being chiefly
for Austral ia, India., and South Africa.. Inquiries for
sheets are limited. and few colliery contracts are being
booked, owing to the exceptional circumstances prevail
ing:. In the heavy steel trade principal orders are for
ra1l way mat erial, but home companies are not placing
contracts so freely as is usually the case at this season.
Quotations as given last week are firmly upheld. Agents
report a steady trade in B essemer billets with the Continent, a nd an improving home demand at rates 5l. 5s.
per t on for Jarge quantities, and 5l. 7s. 6d . t o 5l. lOa. for
guaranteed t empers. Con verters of be3t qualities of
crucible cast steel are busier than for many years, tool
specifications being those most asked for on colonial,
Brazilian, and U mted States account, wit h every evidence ot this trade ext ending. Common cast st eels a re
also being bought for India.
Ar1Mur-Plates and Ordnance.-No fresh contracts for
armour-plates are announced, but additional work is
expE::cted from the home Government. It is ap_parent
that all-steel will be th e future requirements. Special
plant; to meet contingencies is being la.id down in Shef
field. Orders for projectiles (steel) are also on hand. The
engineering departments dependent on these branch es
are, however, only indifferen tly employed.

NOTES FROM THE NORTH.

GLASGOW, W ednesday.
Glalgow Pig-Iron Market. -In consequence of last
Thursday being observed as a holidar, on account of thts
R oyal W edding, the Glasgow pigJron merchants and
brokers did not hold their usual "ring, " either forenoon
or afternoon, on that day. On the following day the
forenoon market was very fi rm, and a fair amount of
business was done. Some 6000 t ons of Scotch and 500
tons of bematite iron changed hands. The former rose
in price, while the latter fell i d. per t on. In the after
noon the m arket was again tirm, but with very little
business doing. Outandout business was done t o
the extent of about 3000 t ons a.t 41s. Bid. per
t '>n ca.cJh, and 4ls. 10; d. one m onth ; and 500 tons of
Cleveland at 35s. 1d. p er ton cash. In add ition to th i&,
5000 tons of l:;cotch iron were sold by on e operator t o
several purch asers at 41s. Bd. one month fixed, with l s.
forfeit in sellers' option. A t the close the settlement
prices were-Scotch iron, 4ls. 9d. per ton ; Cleveland,
35s.; Cumberla nd and Middlesbrough hematite iron,
44s. 9d. a nd 43s. per t on respectively. I t was announced in
the course of t he day that two furnaces bad been put out of
blast at the Col tness Iron W orks, and the understanding
was that th ey were to be relined , and would consequently
be out for about three months, with the result that a large
quantity of splint coal would be thrown upon the market,
the furnaces consuming from 700 to 1000 tons per week. U ntil
near the close of business there was really nothing doing in
th e pig-iron warrant market on M onday. Shortly before
the close of the forenoon market several lots of Scotchsome 7000 tons-changed bands, par t on ''p lant '' condi
tions, a nd the price declined ~d . per ton. Cleveland antl
oth~r kinds were etea.dy. The market was quiet in the
afternoon, and, if anything, the turn easier. Scotch iron
was done at 4ls. Bid. and 41s. Bd. per ton cash, and
41s. 7d. next week with a. "plant, " also at 4ls. 10d. n ex t
week with a call, and 41s. l Od. next week with 4id. forfeit
in buyers' option. Month business was done at 41s.l0d. per
ton. but altogether not more than about 4000 tons was
dealt in. At the finish sellers were quoting 4ls. Bd.
cash for Scotch iroo. The closing settlement prices
were Scotch iron, 41s. 7 ~ d. per t on ; Cleveland, 35s. ;
C urnberland and Middlesbrough hemati te iron, respec
tively, 44s. 9d. and 43s. per ton . T he market was quiet
on T uesday, only al>out 5000 t ons of Scotch iron being
deal t in. Quotations, however, were steady, most of the
dealing being done at 41s. 7~d. and 4l s. Bd. per t on cash,
while 500 t ">ns chan ged hancfs at 4ls. lOd. a month, and
500 tons at 41s. 7d. next week, with a "plant. " Scotch was
quoted ~d. dearer at the close than on Monday. Cleveland
was also marked 2d. per ton higher, but withou t any business taking place. rrhe market was quiet, but steady, in
the a fternoon. Scotch was done to the ext ent of about
other 5000 tons, all at 41s. Bd. per ton cash , on Thursday.
The settlement p rices at the close were- Scotch iron.
4ls. 7 ~d. per ton ; Clev.ela.~d , 35s. lid.; Cumberland and
Middlesbrough hematite u on, respACtl vely, 44s. 9d. and
4~s. l ~d. per ton . The market wa~ firm this forenoon,
with a. moderate business done in Scotch warrants, which
advanced l~d. per ton, other kinds of iron unchanged.
In the Rrfternoon the market was very strong, with a
good business in Scotch warrants at l !d. furth er advance. Cleveland also was 2d. higher. The position of the
miners' d ispu te in E ngland and the closing of accounts for
the holidays are given as the causes of the rise in prices.
The followi ng are the quotations for several special brands

of makers' iron : Clyde, Gartsherrie, and Calder, 47s. 6d.

per t on ; S ummerlee, 4Ss. ; Coltness, 53s. ; L1.ngloan,
53s. 6d.- tbe foregoing all shipped at Glasgow; Glengarnock (shipped at A rdrosaan ) and Sbotts (shipped at
L eith ), 5l s. ; Ca.rron (shi pped at G rangemouth), 52s. 6d.
per t on. L :1.st week's shipments of pig iron from
all Scotch p orts amounted t o 6B47 tons, as compared
with 8071 tons in the corresponding week of last
year. They included 530 tons for Canada., 110 tons
for A ustralia, 610 tons for I taly, 255 tons for Germany,
425 t ons for Russia, 420 t on s for H olland, smaller
quantities for other countries, and 4197 tons coastwise.
There are now 69 blast furnaces in act ual operation in
Scotland, against 71 a week ago, and 74 at this time last
year. '!'he stock of p ig iron m M essrs. Connal and Co.'s
public warrant stores st ood at 336,096 t ons yesterday
afternoon, as compared with 336,262 yes terday week, thus
showing for the past week a decrease amounting t o 166
tons.
Finished I ron ani Steel Trades.-In the bar iron trade
the near approach of t he fair holidays has led to the
distribution of some fresh specifications, a number of
which were put in band at t he end of last week. In the
meantime there is more doing on account of Chili and the
W esb Indies. Mauritius has also come forward with some
good orders for the smaller sections. It is said that there
were grave fears of losing some large orders from these
very old cust omers, but prices have been amicably
adjusted. There are in the market large orders h r
iron for constructive work, gas tubing, hoops, nail
strip, and common spikes, and the sligh t improvement
lat ely noted in the Australian demand for sheets has
been maintained, but an attempt to raise prices still
ch ecks business. During the holidays the orders will
a ccumulate, and the prospects for the autumn look more
encouraging. Steel shipbuild ing material is in rather
better request on local as well as on foreign account.
Orders for angle bars and bulbs have been well maintained,
t housands of tons having been rolled off d nring the past
few weeks. Some of the works in the M otherwell district are still booked well forward. P lates are only
moderately inquired for ; there have been, however,
one or two good orders for boiler pbtes recently placed.
Ship plates are being done at 5l. 5s. per ton, angles at
4l. 12s. 6d. to 4l. 17s. 6d. per ton for deli very at Clyde
shipyards. Recently one of the Motherwell works despatched a large t onnage of plates to B remerhaven, and
another works in the same d istri ct is doi ng a large amount
of business in na.il strip with Christiania. About 5000
tons of finished iron and 1500 tons of steel were shipped
at this port last week, representing a value of about 35,000t.
The bulk of the stuff went to the W est Ind ies and South
Ameri<'a.
Engineering and A llied T rades.- The engineering and
foundry trades are fairly busy in most of the surrounding
t owns. Messrs. D. Drummond and Son, Govan, are
actively en_gaged on large orders for wheels Oil foreig-n
account. The locomoti ve works in the Glasgow distr1ct
gen erally hav e a few months' orders on hand. Sugarrefinin~ plant is in fairly brisk demand. Round abou t
Coatbridge the engineering shops are well occupied with
work, butt he foundries are not just so well off. At Motherwell aconsid erable amount of briskness prevails in the engi
neering, bridge-building, and boiler-shops, in which overtime is being worked almosb e\ery day. ~1essrs. Hurst
and Nelson, Motherwell, also haT e in band large
orders for wheels chi efly for Indian rail ways. For
new wagons, however, there is but a limited demand.
Govan T r amteays.-Tb e Vale of Clyde Tramway Corn
pany have just disposed of the Govan section of thei r
system to the Glasgow Tramway Company for the sum
of 50,000l., the punhase covering lines, card, stables, &c.
It should be mentioned that hitherto the lines have been
worked by steam power, but it is said that the ne w owners
will adopt horse traction, as in Glasgow.

NOTES FROM THE SOUTH WEST.

Cardijf.-A fair .b.usiness has been passing in steam
coal ; the best quaht1es have made 10s. t o l Oa. 6d. , while
secondary descriptions have brought 9s. 6d. per ton. The
d emaoo for hou'3ehold coal has been inactive ; No. 3
Rhondda large has been in request at 9.s. 6d. to l Oa. per
ton. Foundry coke has made 17s. 6d. to 17s. 9d . and
furnace ditto 16s. 6d. to 17s. per ton. Iron ore ba'3 shown
little change.
B ristol D ocks - The Docks Committee of the Bristol
Town C~uncil has issued its annual report and accoun ts.
The capital account shows that the expenditure up to
date on the three docks-Bristol, A vonmouth, and Portisbead-amounts to 2,024,556l., leaving a balance available
of 42,363l. Last year 's expenditure was as follows : Avonmout h, 79,B4Sl. ; l~ortishead, 1376l. Parliamentary and
other . expenses. are put down at 1179l., making, after
allo~mg a cred1t of 11,257{. at Bristol, a total capital expendlture for the year of 71,1G7l. The dock and city
dues collected during the last ten years have been as
f.ollows : Year end ing April 30, 1884, 46,4~4l. ; 1885,
b5, 787l. ; 1886, B1. 657. ; 1 87' BO, B65l. ; 1 BB, 82,3 6l. ;
l~B9, 86,941l. ; l B90, B6,693l. ; 1B91, B9,530l. ; 1892,
9h,569l. ; and 1B93, 91, 750l.
. Th~ Bristol Channel.-Important improvemen ts in the
b gbtmg arrangements of the B rist ol Channel are aboub
to be c.arried out by the Trinity H ouse. There is to be a
new ltghthouse on the North Devon coast the site
selected being the Foreland, a prominent p~int near
Lynmou~h, while another light is to be erected on Black
m9re P omt, at the entrance to the Avon. In addition t o
th1s, the power of the lights at Nasb Point and Black
Sea is to be considerably increased.
Swansca. - The impor ts for June amounted to 50,975

E N G I N E E R I N G.
tons, against 53,815 tons in the corresponding month of
MISCELLANEA.
last year. Th e tota.l for the first six months of this year
T HERF. were 315 furnaces in blast in the United Kingwas 286,3t4 tons, again!it 317,931 tons in the corresponding period of 1892. The exports for June amounted to dom at the end of J une-eight l~s than in March pre176,063 tons, against 205,446 tons in June, 1892. The tot1l ceding.
for the fi rst six months of this yea.r was 1,012,661 tons,
The output of gold in the '\Vitwatersrand district last
against 1,082,562 tons in the corresponding months of 1892. m onth was 122,007 oz, which is by 5159 oz; the highest
Defences of PlyrMuth.-An iron pier running out about m onthly output yet r ecorded.
175ft. from the torpedo station has been completed at Pier
A n tioipa.ting the r ev ision of t ariffi, some American
Cellar s, Penlee, Caweand Bay. I t. is builton iron gird ers companies are askin~ importers of English s teel shipsupported on Hanged H-iron columns concreted som e depth plates, angles, and beams t.> quote prices now, in or der
into the rocks below low-water level, and it is decked w1th to save possible los3es arisi ng from radical ch anges in
pickled timbera. The upright oolumns are strengthened economic legislation.
by orossbr&ees and diagonal stays or supports, an L- end
The Johnstone system of conduits is to bs adopted in
fat'ing inshore towards Ca.wsand village. A neat iron
tOOket handrail is screwed in on ea.oh side, leaving a. width connection with the Portsmouth electric supply, the
of 9 h ., on which it is intended to lay rails, in continua- International Ele~tric Subway Company, L tmited,
received the order for the whole of the electric
tion from a slip running r ound the cove to the extremity having

of the pier, where a. crane will be erected. Messrs. Hill mama.

Of 3417 patents granted last yeu in Canada, 2227 were
and Co., of Gospor t, L ondon, aud Plymouth, wer e the
contractors. T he blasting and removal of rocks to d eepen by Amer ican citizen s, 67 1 by Ca.n ad ians, 298 by Eoglishthe basin on the outer side of the pier is progressing, and men, 106 by Germans, 26 by F renchmen, and 89 by perthe lengthening of the Camber , and the reconstruction and sons of other nationalities. The receipt s totalled about
concreting of the gun-floors at Fort Picklecombe, will 17,000l., and the profi ts !>OOOl.
probably be shortly commenced.
The gross receipts of the twenty-three princi pal r ailGreat W estern Railway.- This company contemplates ways of the U nited Kingdom for the week ended Jnly 1,
increased dock accommodation at Lla.nelly. Unforeseen amounted, on 16,46l miles, to 1,463,876!., an d for the
engineering difficulties have interfered with an exten sion correspond ing p eriod of 18!>2, on 16,~8 7 m iles, to
of the Great W estern system from L landyssul to New 1,481,125l. , an increase of 74 miles, or 0.4 p ar cent., and
ca.stle-Emlyn. The line is laid as far as Trebed w, a. d ecrease of 17,2!9l., or 1.1 per cent.
but it is not now supposed that the extension will be
The U nion Steamship Company's twin- screw Royal
r eady for traffic until early next year.
~fail steamer Soot com pleted ab Sou thampton on July 6
Dock Dues at Card1:tJ>-The Bute D ocks Company has a. trip from Cape T own, the net steaming time on wh ich
announced that, a fter August 1 and until furtht\r notice, was 14 days and! hour, which is 11 hours less than the
the following allowances will be made off the tonnagE' former fastest performan ce over the same d istance by the
rates payable in respect of vessels under the second same steamer. The average speed of the Scot was 17.7
schedule of th e Bute Docks Act, 1865: Vessels embraced knots per hour.
in the third class, 10 per cent. ; Yessels embraced in the
The G reat Eastern R ailway Company have given
fourth class, 15 per cent.
Messrs. Earle, of Hull, an order for two t win scr ew
N ewport.- L ast month's exports at the Alexa.ndra D.:>ck steamers for t heir Continental traffic via H ar wich and
amoun tEd to 236,000 tons, the figures not, of course, in - the Hook of Holland. These vessels will be o f the same
cluding trade at the old dock and the river wh arves. speed and type as the steamer Chelmsford, which was
Trade has increased chiefly by rE'a.son of the return of the placed on the ser vice on June 1la.st, but with greater bel m
Powell-Duffryn shipmMts. The steamship Ima.um has and length in order t o improve the p.1.ssenger accommob een loading 6000 tons of Powell - Duffryn coal, and d ation. The Chelmsford was described fully in our last
another large steamer, belonging t o Messri. Bates, of volume.
L iverpool, is expected shortly.
The Danish Ga'3 Company, which is an Eoglish concern,
R hymney I ron Company, L imited.-The directors h ave and which has built and owus a number of ga'3 works in
issued their report for the year ending March 31, 18!>3. Denmark, h as just completed the buildiog of the Strand vei
The balance of undivided profit at the commencement Gas Works, in tended t o supply the district north of
of the year was 24,27nl., and the profit made during the Copenhagen with ga.'3. The d is trict in question comyear (less loss on stock realised, 4568t.) was 23, 033l., making prises several villa towns, wh9re th 3 ltgh ting by gM will,
a. total of 47,308l. Interest on d ebenture and prepaid no doubt, be felt as a grea~ boon. The whole install ation
capital amounted to 16, 778l. , lea v in~ a. balance of un- h as been completed in a.b:mt a year's time, and the cost is
divided profit of 30,530l., out of which t he directors somewhat over 40, OOOl.
recommend the payment of a. dividend of 1 per ct\nt. per
A n exhibition is t o be opened at Porto Rico next
annum, payable August 1. The directors state that November
commemorate the four-hundredth anniverduring the past financial year the demand for steel rails sary of thetodiscovery
of the island, and exhibits of all
has been limited, and the price has continually d eclined
u otil, at the present time, not mor~ than about 3l. 12s. 6d. k inds, and parti?ularly a.~icultural and industrial impleper ton, free on board, is obtain able, while there is still ments and macbmes, are 10 vited from all countries cc with
keen competition for the few orders which come into the the view of their b ecoming known and their empioyment
if proved adapted to the n eeds of the counmarket. At such prices the manufacture of steel rails by introduced
try .., Space is to be granted free of charge, and m ust be
the company could only have been carried on at very applied
for by Septem ber 1. Exhibits are to be admitted
heavy loss, and there 1s s till no inducement, from a free of customs
d uty.
I>_ecunia.ry point of view, for reop ening the steel works.
The attention of the board has, therefore, mainly been
'!be cc T urret" Steam Sbi~ping Company L imited
given to the improvement of the collit'ry business of the ha.va, for the first six m onths working of the' company:
company. A fter r eferring to the sliding scale n egotia- &a.rned profits equal to 23 p er cen t. p er annum and t he
tions, the directors s tate that the quantity of large coal d irectors have d~cided to pay an interim divide~d at the
raised last year was 509,029 tons, against 535,521 tons in rate o f 10 per cent. (free of income tax) and t o carry
the previous year. Th is diminution was ca u~ed partly the bl.lance forward. 'f he managers reporb that owing to
by the suspension of some of the more costly workings, the impro ved state of the freight markets gener~lly, even
which could n ot be worked profitably at the reduced better r esults may b e expected for the second ha lf-year
price of coal, and partly by the irregular working of the and that the company's second steamer is expected to b~
collier ies from want of tonnage in bad weather.
launched within a month, and will b e ready for the
The Electric Light at T orquay.-Mr. Trentham, elec- autum n markets.
trical engineer, of Bristol, has been engaged by the Tor.The 1!nited States Navy h~ve opened nine tenders
quay Town Council to inspect the town and report on the w1th designs for th e constructton of a. submar ine boat
best means of lighting it by electricity. In his r epor t to and these are to be examined by a technical <:ommittee:
the council, Mr. T rentha.m advises the adoption of the The ?ffe~s range from 1~, qool. to 35, OOOl. A cursory
Bath Saloons as th e site of the central station. T o avoid exa.mt!lattOJ?. of the p~a.ns, 1t ts saui, doe~ n ot di vulge any
the smoke nuisance, he suggt:s t~ that gas should ue used noyeltd eas 10 the destgns. The most important of t he r eor that the b oilers should be fi red by ~as ~enerated QUlrements are great buoyancy, t o q,uickly carry the craft
in a. regenerative furnace. After careful m qutrie&, Mr. to the _surface when emergency r eqmres, safety, certainty
Trentha.m h as come to t he conclusion that 1500 lamps of o_f act10n when submerged , endurance under all coud i16ca.ndle power would be taken up immediately the t10ns, speed, an~ m eans for the visibili ty by the helmscurrent was available. Th is estimate is independent of man of the obJect to be attacked. The boat is t o be
the local hotels, which, he thinks, would certainly re- large enough to carry supplies for three days' action and
'
~ire not le3s than a.nothar 1000 16-candle power lamps. five automobile t orped oes.
His ad vice is that provision in the first in stance sh ould
T~e munificent gifts of the legatees of Si r J o3eph
be made for 3000 lamps of the power stated. These Whttwortb to Manchester are t o be increased by ~ sum
W?uld r equire about 420 i~~icated horse-power, which of 50,000l. The amount previously given by th em t o
mtgh~ b~ a.d_vantageously dtvtded between three eug ines, carry out the sch eme of the Whitworth Insti tute was
t\a.ch md10atmg 120 horse-power, and one sm<1>1l engine of 105,000[. It is intimated that on a. review of t he changes
GO horse- power. 0 wing to the length of the streets (about i~troduced into the sch eme by the trans fer of the T ech5500 yards), a low-pressure system would be unsUltable. m cal ~chool and Sc~10ol of Art ~o the municipality, the
Mr. Trentbam estimates that hig h-pressure mains would 9ounc1l of the. Wht~worth Inst1tute are of opin ion that
cost about 5000l.{ whi le the cost of a low-pressure network ~t shoul~ fi nd 1ts cht~f fu ture sph ere of work in "the
and feeders wou d be about 15,000l. If the Bath Saloons 1llustrat10n of fioe art.
The legatees consider however
were adopted as the central site, h e r ecommends the that _even their a.ddi~io~al don.a.ti~n wil~ ne~d supple~
employment of steam engines for the h eavy .vork between men~mg by the pubhc 1f the mst1tute ts to attain its
d usk and _10 p .m ., and a. 60 horse:_po wer gas engine for d ue Importance.
the rema.mder of each 24 houra. The approximate cost
T he exports of iron and steel during the past m on t h
of steam plant, with gas engine for day hghting would
show an mcrease of 80,91G tons, the value being 239 699l
'
be 17,403l., and of maintenance 3l00l.
more.. ~he incrAa.s'3 is ~pr~a~ pre~ty generally ov~r a.li
~es~rtptton~, th~ largest mdt vtdua.l m creases being those
CANADIAN CoAL.-T he value of the coal raised in m pig and m ra.1lroad of all sorts. Of the former Russia.
Canada. in 1886 was 1,003,445l. In 1891 the corresponding an? Germany are prominent takt\rs, and of the l~tter the
value was 1,628,849l. L ast year it fell to 1,43G,322l.
shtpments to Spain, the British East Indies, and British

49
North America are particularly noticeabl~. Of tinpla.tes
the quantity is 37,418 tons, compared with ~4,041 t ons,
t h e increased shipments having gone t o the_Umted States.
Coal shows similar figure~ to those of prt\VIous m~mths of
this year-a large increa.~e of quantity, b~ t 3: constd erable
d .acrease in value. The Incr eased quan t1ty IS well spread
over all coun tries.
The S:~ond viken Engineering Company, Sweden, has
recently forwarded some interesting ex hi bits to the
Chicago Exposition, comprisin~ ~ h ot roll~d st eel_pia:te,
187 ft . long, 12 in. broad, 3~ mtlhmetres th1ck, wetgbmg
some 1140 lb. There has also been sent a. piece of s teel,
similar to the on e from which the hoop in question has
been rolled its dimensions being 4 ft. 10 in. long, 12 in.
broad and' 6 in. thick. The Sandviken Company has
also s~nt a cold~rolled steel band 650 ft. long, 12 in. broad.
and weighing about 430 lb., t he thickness being only 1i
millimetres. A further exhibit consis\s of a. hardened,
toothed, and p olished band-saw, 220 ft. long, 12 in. broad,
2 millimetres thick, and weighin g about 675 lb. Thts
band-saw is over four times as long as the longest
American 12-in. band-saw.
The Board of Trade r eturns for the past month are
fairly satisfactory, but it must be remembered that the
Whitsun h olidays fell in J une last yE>ar. The figures sh ow
that the imports a re valued at 31,8G8, 702l., which is
less than the total of June, 1892, by 008,687l. or 2. 7 per
cen t. ; while the expor ts of British and Irish produce
amount to 18, 785,27ll., which is more than for the corresponding month of last year by 714,953l., or 3 9 p er cent.
The exp orts of foreign and colonial merchandise also
were of greater value, being 4,796,015l., compared with
4,6!8,260{. The decrease of the imports is m ainly to be
found in articles of food and drink, m etals, timber, and
chemicals ; but in oils, raw materials for textiles, seed s,
and manufactured articles increases o f value are sh own.
As regards the exports of British and Irish produce.
apparel, machinery, and raw materials (principally coal)
ar~ less than for June, 18!>2, but in all other classes of
goods the values are greater.
The Glasgow Corporation prop ose to organise a
municipal system of telephones, the b elief b eing that the
annual r ent might b e reduced t o 5l., whereas it is at
present 10l. and upwarda per user. In Canada. on some
exchanges the r ates are as low as 4l. per annum ; in
Holland they range from 2l. 10s. t o 6l.; in Gothenburg
from 3l . G~. to 61. lOa., according t o the ser vice given; and
in Melbourne t h e ch arge is Gl. In Stockholm, which has
two very complete t elephone systems, on e being in the
hands of the State authorities, the charge is only
4l. Ss. lld. per annum, which covers free con versation
within a radius of n early 40 mile~, and the service is a
very superior one. It is interesting to note that Stockholm, with its p opulation of 228,000, has upwards o f
8000 users, while Glasgow, with a. p opulation of 8 L4 000
has n ot more than 3500- tbere being one sub&cri~r t~
every 27 inhabitant:~ in Stockholm, while there is only
one to every 230 in Glasgow.
Mr. Samson Fox, addressing the convention of the
: M~ster M echanics' Association in America r ecently, descn~ed ~hema.nufacture of firebox steel. Purity of materials
was m ststed on. The plate, h e said, sh ould have about .11
p er cent. of carbon for !in. plate, with a. little more for
t h icker plates. They mtght put from .50 to .55 of ferroma.nganese in to it, but they should get sulphu r a.nd phos
phorus down to as low as .04 to .05. At L eeds they pre
fer~ed t~ h~mmer the ingot, r educing it from abou t a
15-m. th10k mgot down to about 5 in., after which special
care had to be taken in heating. In testing the amount
? f carbon, they took. a. k nown weight of a. chem ically pure
1ron, or a. known w~Ight of st~el wit.h ~kno wn quantity of
car bon. The pure u on was dtssol ved 10 acid and a known
w~ight of water ~ixe~ with it, which prod u ced a rather
crtmson-coloured hqutd. M ore wat er added brought it to
~ell?w. A_n equal weight of tha m aterial to be t ested was
stmtla.rly dtssol ved, water bein g added to a.Esi milate the
shad~ of colour to t hat of the pure iron, and the difference 10 the water on the s<;ale of the tubes indicated the
difference in the amount of carbon.
Mr. L . H ewi tt, in a paper r ead before the North-East
9oa.stins~itution of S hipb_u ilders, describes l.nelectrio drillIng machm~ used for ordma!y work and for rimering out
~oles on shtps. The motor 1s entirely encased in a casttron b ox, the commutator brush es and working parts being
th?s thoro~gh~y prote~ted. At the end o f the motor
spmdle a shpp~n ~ ,couplmg h as been provided, which prevents any poss1b1ltty of the motor being stopped through
too much pressu_re being put up?n the drill, and damage
from any exc~sstYe current passmg throu~h the armature.
Th~ connect10n between m ot or and dnll h ead is by a.
fie~1ble _shaft - a. sba.f~ f? r drilling 1-in. b oles being of
~! m . dtame~r- and 1t ~s protected by a. leather cover mg. :,r'he d rtllh ead consist s o f a gun-metal box, in which
there 1~ a worm and worm wheel, the former attached to
the fi~xtble s~aft, and the latter t o the drill sock et. A handfeed 1s provtded, so that the drill m ay be set up in the
same ~ay that a. ratchet brace is fitted. The sp eed of
the d rill c1n be !egul~ted by suitably arranging the worm
ge~r, but a spectal sw1tch has also b een provided for regu
la.tmg the speed of the motor.
ow.F.NS COLLE~E, : M ANCHESTER.- Bish op B erkeley Resea.ro 1 Fellowships have been awarded by the Council as
follows: ~- B. Pollard, ~.A. (Oxon ), in Zoology;
Albert Gnffiths M :Sc. (V~ct. ), m l'hysic3 ; J. A.
Harker, D .Sc. {Tubmgen), 10 Physic~ Be~an Lean
B.A., B.Sc. (L ond.l, in C hemistry; and~ fellow. hip ha;
been. ren~wed to Sta.nley Dunkerley ~1.Sc. (Vict .) in
Engmeermg.
'
'

'' CAMPANIA."

THE HARRIS F EED-WATER F ILTER : S. S.

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siderations w hieh should guide the valuator or

assessor in arriving at the rateable val?e ~fa f~ctory.

11
AusTRIA, Vienna: Lehmano and Wentzel, K~1rnt11enJtr
The New Cuncrrders ,. CAMPANIA" and LU Chattels are not rateable, but 1t lS dlfficul_t
OA.Ps Tows : Gordon and Gotch.
CAN IA ," and the WORLD'S COLU M BIAN to find a consensus of opinion as to wha~ constlEDINBuB.OH: John Menzies and Co., 12, Hanoverstreet.
f A
1
t t
FR.AN011, Paris: Boyveau and Cbevillet, Librairie Etrangbre, 22,
EXPOSITION OF 1893.
tutes "chattels." The Court O
pp~a ' ln a es
Rue de la Banque; M. Em. Terquem, 31b11 Boulevard Hau88lllann.
case declared that the value of premtses must be
As'e~bfo r Awd.)vertisemeot.e, Ageoue Havaa, 8, Place de la Bourse. The Publlaher begs to announce that a Reprint is cons't. der ed in connection with "things ther.e for
..
now ready of the Descriptive Matter and mustra
h
t
1
GnvANY, Berlin: Meeers. A. Asher and Oo . 6, Unter deo Llnden. tlona contained ln the issue of ENGINEERING of the purpose of making them fit fo~ t e par I~u. ar
Leipzig: F . A. Brockbaus.
.. _e purpose for whl"ch they_ are used ' - a.. definitiOn1
-.. Uh
H St k lb
AprU 21st, comprl8lng over 130 pages, with D.ua
GtA!oow: .awmfa':e{ove. uo e erger .
two_ page and four single. page Plates, printed which is presumably wide enough to Include al
INDIA, Calcutta: Thaoker, Splnk, and Co.
throughout on special Plate paper, bound 1n cloth, plant. A dwelling- house woul~ n~t _he " fi,~
Bombay: Thacker and Oo., Limited.
dl
1
f
h
h
t
IS used
ITALY : u. Hoepli, Milan, and any post oftloe.
gUt lettered. Price 6s. Post free, 6s. 6d. The or for the pa.rticu ar purpose or w l C . I
,4 '
LIVBRPOOL: Mrs. Taylor, Landing Stage.
nary edition of the issue of AprU 21st is out of print. except with the a~;sistanc~ . of furnlture,
the
MANoo&eT&R: John Heywood, 143, Deaosgate.
.
,
th 1 1 d fi twn Are they rateNaw SouTH W uss, Sydney : Turner and Heodereon, 16 and 18,
thmgs 1n
e ega e nl

.
Huoter etreet. Gordoo and Gotoh, Georgestreet.
NOTICES O:E' MEETINGS.
.
able or chattels within the mea.nmg of the
QUBUBLAND (SoUTH), Brisbane : Gordoo and Gotoh.
INTER~ATIONAL MARttDJt: CoNoREss , LoNvox, 1893.-Meet\Dg& 1840 Act ?
Again, the engine could no. t be
at the Ioett' tutt'on of Ct'va'l Engineers, Great Oeorgestreet, West
b h
(No TH) To'"DSMlle T Willmett and Oo
-R.Du: H . nA. Kram"er an...d so" n.

nvnD
minster. Tuesday, July 18, 10.30 a.m._, general meeting of c o~ erected Wl' thout hand tools used y t e engmeer.
SoUTH AusTRALIA, Adelaide: W. c. Rigby.
~rese; address by the President, Rtght B;on. Lord. Brasse) Many other instances might be c~ted .to show that
Ul!fiT&D STATBB, New York: W. H . Wiley, 68, Ea&t loth-street.
K.C. H. 2 pm., meeting of Section I . i chat~?'an, R~h~ Hon. the defint"tl"on glven is much too wide, 1f c. hattels ar.e
Chicago : H. V. Holmee, 44, Lakeeide Building.
Lord ::3waneea.
Papers to be discussed:
Constr uc ttoo of
V1oroJ.IA, MBLl'OORNB: MelvUle, Mullen and Slade,262/264, Collins Breakwaters " by Baron Quinette de Roch emont ;" "R~ce~t to remain free from rates-a loom, for m stance, lS
street. Gordoo and Gotoh, Limited, Queen-street.
Breakwaters' and Sea Defences in Ita ly," by C~ev. L. L~tggt; as movable as any ''chattel, " yet is indisp_ensable
Brea.kwaters and Harbour of 1\liddelgruoden, by Captam P.
A
NOTIC.E TO AMERICAN SUBSCRIBERS.
H a.nsen ; .. Harbour and Breakwater of .Copenhagen, " by .Mr. H . in a weaving mill. In Scotland the ValuatiOn
~t
We beg to aonounoe that Amerioao Subscriptions to ENGilfBBIUNG c. v. Mt>Jler ; .. Monolithic Coostructtoo of S~a. Works., under declares'' lands and herita.ges " to ''include all machlmay now be addressed either direct te the publisher, MR. CBARLBB Water by Cement Grouting," by Mr .. W. R. .Kmtpple. p.m.,
h
h d d d th t
GrLBBRT, at the Offices of this Journal, Nos. 35 and 36, Bedford meeting of Section IV. ; address by VtceAdmual . H . Colomb, nery affixed to such, " and t e court as. eel e
a.
street, Strand, London, W.C., or to our accredited Agents for the president of the section. Papers to be discussed : "Co~preese<1 it is only machinery, so affixed that 1t canno~ be
United States, Mr. W . H . WILKY, 68, East lOthstreet, New York, Air Fog Signals" by Mr. C. Ribiere; Ship Signal Ltght s,". by
h
h

t "t If
th
sea
and Mr. H . V. Holmes, 44, Lakeaide Building, Chicago. The Mr. J . Kenward. Discussion, without paper, 00 "Commumca detac ed Wlt OUt lDJUry 0 I se .or
e. premi '
prices of Subscription (payable in advance) for one >ear are.: For tion between Lightships and tlbe Shore."- Wednesday, Jul~ 19, which can be taken into account In gettlng at the
thin (foreign) paper edition, ll. 16s. Od. i for th1ck (ordinary) 1o.30 a. m. , meeting of Section u. ; address by Mr. Alfr~d Gtles, rateable value. This is what the promoters of the
paper edition, 2l. Os. 6d., or if remitted to Ageot.e, 9 dollan for Pces. Inst. c. E., president of the section. Papers to be dts<?ussed :
B ll l
k 1

thto and 10 dollars for thiolt.

"The Docks of Hordeaux," by M. H . Crahay de Franchimoo t; Rating of Machinery
i Wl8 1 to ma e aw lll
ADVERTISEMENTS.
" The Equipment and Working of Ports (Marseilles)," by M. A. England as well.
And if our consular officers,
The oharge for advertisements is three shillings for the ftnt four Ou~rard The New Docks of Antwerp," by Mr. G. A. Roy~rs; instead of being asked if machinery was exempted
lloes or under, and eightpence for each additional Uoe. The line " Hydra~lic Installation at the Po~t of ~noa,: by M~. L. ~utggi from taxation had been required to define the
averages seven words. Payment must accompany all orders for and E. Borgatti. 10.30 a.m. , meettng of Secttoo Ill.' chatrroan,
'
d" .
.
. .
t
h t
slorle adverti~emeote, otherwise their insertion cannot be Lord Braeeey. Papers to be discussed : "Ocean Pass~nge.r Stea.m- practice in their
Istricts 1n arr1v1ng a W a.
e
d' 1 d d
t'
ts
th
s hips,'' by Professor J . B . Bilee ; Steam Com~uOica~ton. Wtth h
Id an d wh a t s h ou Id no t b e va.1ue d f or ass esBguaranteed. Terms for tep aye a ver teemeo on . e wrap~er the Continent," by Mr. A . E. Seatoo. 2 p.m., meetmg of s.ecttoo I. ; s ou
and oo the inside pages may be obtained on applioattoo . Sertal
d
d
d
t
Id ha.ve been ga.1ne
d
ad vertisements will be inserted with allpractioableregularity, but chairman, Mr. C. M. Kennedy , C. B. Papers to be tscusse : ment, some a van age wou
.
absolute re~Nlarity oaooot be guaranteed.
"Dcedging the Mer'3t>Y Bar," by Mr. A. 0 Lyst er; ''Rock Exemption takes place after the assessable value
Dredging at Palermo," by M~l. Cimioo and V~rdioois ; '.'Mortar
k
.
Adverttaements intended for insertion ln the our in Sea works," by Mr. R. Fer et. 2 p.m. , meetmg of Sec.ttoo I V. ; has been arrived at ; what we want to now lS
rent week's issue must be delivered not later t:han chairman, Dr. John Hopkinsoo, .F.R.S. Papers ~o be dtsouesed : as to determining the assessable value.
How5 p .m . on Thursday. In conse ~uence of the neoeulty .. ' FeuxEclairs,' and the Physiological P erceptiOn of Instanta
l

for going to press early with a portion of the editton. oeous Flashes, by M. A. Bloodel ; " Methods and Formulro for ever interesting it may be general y, It IS n ot
alterations for standing Advertisements should be Calculatt' ng th'e Lumt'oous Power of Lighthouse Appa. ratus," by aermane to the po1"nt to know that some ship
after M. Bourdelles. -Thureday, July 20, lO.HO a.m. , meet10g of Sec- ob "Id'
OD WedDesdav
received Dot later than
- - - 1 P.m.
<~
t 1
t d f
th
tDOOD 1n each week.
tion 11.. chairman, Si r George B. Bruce, PastPres. lost. C.E.
Ul mg ma. erta s ar e exemp e
r om
e Impor
The sole Agents for Advertisements from the Con Papers to be discussed : " The Port of Calais," by .M. A. Char- duties at Stettin to enable the shipbuilders there to
tlnent of Europe and the French Colonies are the gu~raud ; The Port ot Dunkirk," by lt!. Paul Joly ; "Lengthen compete with British firms ; that the St. Gothard
AGENCE BAVAS, 8, Place de la Bourse, Parla.
iog of Leghorn Dry Dock," by M. J . Ioglese. 10.30 a. m., meet Tunnel was exempted from taxation while under
iog of Section Ill. ; address by SirThomasSutherland, K.C.M.G.,
SUBSCRIPTIONS, HOME AND FOREIGN.
.Ms.P. , president of the section. Papers to be discussed : "Sand construction ; that some industries in Hamburg
Pump Dredger for the Mersey ," by rYir. A. Blechynden; " Trans- h
th
d
t
f
f
f
t
ENGINEERING can be supplied, direot from the pubUshe.r, por t of Oil in Bulk," by Mr. J . Jlor tesque Flannery. 2 p.m.,
ave
e a van age 0 exemp lOll rom expor
post free for Twelve Mootbe at the following rates, payable m meeting of Section 1. ; chairma n. Mr. James Abernethy, Pa~t duties, and that the material for the Sardinian Railadvance:Pres. lost. C. E. Papers to be discussed: "Por ts on Sandy way of English construction was admitted free of
Coa.ets,'' by l\1. V. E. de Timonotf; "Por ts on Sandy Coa~ts," by d
F or t h e U0 lted Ktng d om ... .. .... ... 1 9 1
;:\lr. P. Dcmey ; "The Lido Entrance of the Port of Ve01ce," by
u ty
.. all place abroad:;:\lr. c. Spadoo. 2 p.m., meeting of Section I V.; chairman, Pro
The only instance out of the forty-four in which
Thin paper copies . 1 18
fessor W. Grylls Adams, F. R.S. Papers to be discussed : " Illu the report indicates an appreciation of the purport
Thick
"
............ 2 0 6
minatioo of Estuaries and Ri ,ers, " by l\lr. W. T. Douglass ;
f h
. .
h
f F
d t
All aooouots are payable to the publisher, MR. CBAR.LBB GILl'BRT. "Harbour Lights, Buoys, and Beacons in Italy," by M. D. Lo O t e request IS 1n t e case o
ranee, an 1 IS
Cheques should be crossed "Union Bank, Oharing Cross Branch ." Gat to ; " Researches as to Continuous and Alternate Electrical due proha bly to appreciation of the intention
Poet Office Orders payable at Bedford.etreet, Strand, W.O.
Currents for Lighthouse Purposes," by M. A. Blondei.-Friday, indicated by the circular letter rather than to its
When forei~n Subscriptions are sent by Poet Office Orders July 21, 10.30 a. m ., meeting of Section Il.; chairman, S!r Robert
advice should be sent to the Publisher.
Rawlinson, K.C.B., V.P. Inst. W.E. Papers to be dlBcussed: wording.
There is in France some measure of
receiving .. The Docks of London on the North Side of the Thames, and uniformity, since t here is comparatively little
Forel~ and Colonial Subscribers
their Appliances," by Messrs. R. Carr and F. E. Duckham;
A
ta
lnoomp ete Copies through News gen
are re "Surrey Commercial Docks,"' by Mr. J . A. McCoonoohie; "The local taxation, the departments and communes
quested to communicate the fact to the Publisher, Port of Havr e," by ~l. H . Y~tillart ; "Newport Alexaodra Dock," getting a share of the four direct State taxes in
to(f:ether, with
Name
Address. Nos. by l\l r. W. S. Smyth. 10.30 a. m. , meettog
o f. sect ton
'
111. ; .
p the
bll Agent's
tl
d Adand
rtlaementa
t 1 . d
d th e provisions
. .
.moe &Or u ea on an
ve
C
chairman, Dr. Wrp. Anderson, F.R.S. Papers to be discussed : mcremen s evie un er
of th e L aw
85 and 36, Bedfordstreet, Strand, London, W.
"Marine Boiler Construction," by ~Ir. C. E. Stromeyer ; " ... hip of Finance voted annually by Parliament. The State
TKLBGB.APBIO ADDRBBB-ENGINEERING, LONDON.
owners and hipbuilders io their Technical Relationships," by taxes manufactories and maohinery both for itself
Mr. A. Deony. 2 p.m , meeting of Section I. ; chairman, Lieut.
TBLBPHOl!fB Nmma&-3663,
General Sir Aod rew Cla rke, o.U.i\1.0., c.B., C.I.E. Papers to be and for the departments and municipalities.
Our
.,NGIN.,ERING i registered or transmi-ion abro....
discussed : Theodosie Harbour Works, Crimea," by .M . Braodt i consul a.t Rouen remarks that this system of direct
Ill
Ill
..
1
....
IIU
"La Guaira Harbour Works, Venezuela," by Mr. A. E. Carey i t
t'
1 d t If
1 d
t
d 1' t
"Harbours an d Ferry Syst em of Denmark," by Mr. A. E. Ca.rey. axa lOll en s 1 se 1n a pecu 1ar egree o a e 1ca e
RBADING CAsss.-Reading cases for containing tweoty.eix 2. p.m., meeting of Section I V.; chairman, Professor Sir Rober t differentiation; and where an industry is weak and
numbers of ENaiNBBRlNG may be bad of the publisher or of any
. Ball, F.R.S. Papers to be diecuesed : ".Recent Improvements suffering, yet powerful enough to make itself heard
news-agent. Price 68. e&eh.
in Lighthouses," by ;:\lr. D. A. Stevenson i "Efficiency of Recent and felt, r elief may be given by a slight readJ'ustment
Gigantic Lighthouse Apparatus com~ared with Electric Light,"
by ~L D. Lo Oatto ; " Ltghting aud L1ght Dues in the Red Sea.," without any disturbance of the whole system. The
CONTENTS.
by Commander G. Hodgkinsoo, R.N.
English system is regarded by the French legislator
P AO~ '
PAGB
as too rude and simple, a general assessment upon
Literature . . . . . . . . . . . . 33 Notes from the SouthWest 48
the rental being too unequal, since the manufa~
Books Received . . . . . . . . . . 33 Miscellanea .. .. .. . . 49
The La ncashire Watch Com
The Rating of Machinery in
turer requiring vast buildings and plant is somepany (Illustrated) . . . . . . 33
Foreign t:ountries . . . . 61
times taxed ''out of proportion to, and outrageously
American U oi versities at the
The N le Cor v~e . . . . . . . . . 52
FRIDAY, JULY 14-, 1893.
Columbian Exposition .. 36 Te~perature . Eotropy Dia
b eyond the banker or stockbroker, who may be
Hydraulic Machinery at the
I
gram (ltlm trated) . . . . .. 63
turning over millions in a few small r ooms." This
Columbian Expoeitioo (ll
The Institution of Naval
differentiation is obtained in connection with the
lttStrated) 37'
Architec's M
THE
RATING
OF
1\,rAOHINERY
IN
The New Electric Light
Notes .. .. . .. . .. . . . . . . .. . . 66
.l.U
"patent tax ; " but we need not enter into the
house of La H eve (Havre)
I
The Metric System . . . . . . . 66
FOREIGN CO UN TRIES.
question now, since it does not concern the d eter(IUustrated) . . . . . . . . . . . . 40 The Report of the Ad
The Permeability of Glass .. 43
miralty Boiler Commi,tee
IN reply to a. circular letter issued from the Foreign mining of what machinery should be assessed.
N~~~~es'~~~ .. ~~~ ...~~~~~~ 44 ryV;~~~r~:e:la~hi~es.. :::: ~~ Offidceh, foUrtY:-tfodur oft ou~ consfular offidcders in . Europe Generally t here are only two characteristic and
The
Japanese
Cruiser
Steering Ironclads . . . . . . . . o7 an t e
n1 e 8 ta es ave orwar e rep11es as to important exemptions to which French manufac"Yoshino" ........ .. .. 44 Thte .L~~s of H.M.S. "Vie "' exemptionR in foreign countries "from rating and tories and machinery are entitled- from the door
Iron and Steel Manufactures
on a .... . .. . " 7 ta t
f
f t
d
h
d and window tax of 2s. per cent. on the net revenue
in Chicago . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44 Quality v.
Low . Priced
xa 10n o manu ac urea an mac 1nery use 1n
Wear and Tear in Ballast
Goods ..... ... .... ... . .. 57 manufactories, " and these replies have now been of house property, and from the tax on movable
Tanks ... . 45 An En~lieh View of Ameri
issued as a. Government Return. If the replies property. In this latter, a distinct ion is mA.de between
Launt'hes and Trial Trips . . 45
can Rail ways. . . . . . . . . . 57
.
d d

l d
Amphlet's Pneumatic Ham
Poeumatic Rlveters ...... .. 58 sought were In ten e
to assist 1n e uci ahng the such plant as looms and spinning frames, which
mer (l llu-8trated) ........ 46 S tresses in Lock lnverte(ll
difficult problem of the rating of machinery in this are exempt, and boilers and ''stationary " engines,
Morgan'd Crane and Grab
lmtrated) . . . . . . . . . 68
t ry, t h ey are use 1ess, a lth ough , perh apa, In
7
..
-n
p
t
o

El
coun
which ar e not exempted. In this latter instance,
(Iu tut rat <ANJ 4
neuma tc
raiD
e vator
Tbe Harris F eed Water
and ConvE>yor(lllustrated) 59 teres tin g. It is questionable if the consular officers too, are included flies and rolling machines of a.
Filter (Illustrated) .. 47 Industrial Notes .... 59 clearly understood what was req uired of t hem. paper mill, and th e turbines of a flour mill. It is
Notes from Cleveland and
Ship Railways (lllmtrated) 60
the Nor thern Counties . 48 OilCarrying Steamers (ll
There is no desire in this country for the complete to be regretted that more detail was not given as to
Notes from South York
lustratedJ 65 exemption of machinery. The purpose of t h e Bill, the two classes here indicated and, if possible,
shire 48 1
" Engineering"
Patent Re
which has been before the House for several years, the line of demarcation. Generally this tax is levied
Notes from the North...... 48
cord (IUmtrated) . ....... 67
With a Two.Page Bngraving of a PNEUM.&TIC GR ~lN
and has had to take a position secondary to more on two-thirds of the net rental at ten years' valuaELEV.&TOR. .&ND CONVEYOR.
popular subjects, seeks rather t o d efine the con- tion of the works, including all machinery except

AGENTS FOR ''ENGINEERING."

NOTICE.

810

AJil

11

ENGINEERING.

E N G I N E E R I N G.
such a~ is n ot readily removable. It is clearly
stated that the tax is chargeable absolutely on the
net ~ental of the building which contains the
maclunery, and not p1o rata on the machinery itself.
Factories are entirely exempted as r egards moveable
property tax until after the third year, but the
exemptions we have referred to are counterbalanced
in large me~n ure by the tax on ''patentes, , which is
based in part on the number of hands employed and
in part on the number of machines; and by the
tax on profits, which latter has recently been raised
from 3 to 4 per cent. p er annum.
It is of little importance to know that there are
no exemptions of machinery from taxation in Belgium and Germany, since we are not told what constitutes rateable plant. As to Italy, our consul at
Rome states that manufactories are subject to the
tax on buildings ; and buildings used for industrial
purposes, and provided with rlxed machinery, are
taxed on two-thirds of their rental, while ordinary
buildinga pay three-fourths. Generators of motive
p ower, and the machinery and plant necessary to
transmit the m otive power, so far as these are
fixture3, are considered as attached to or forming
part of the building. The appliances of transmission and t he machinery employed to do the work
are excluded from the provision. This appears
clear enough, but the matter is confused by the
statement later that ''it follows that no exemption
from taxation of manufactures or machinery used
in manufactories, can be g ranted." It all turns on
the ques tion as to what are "fixtures." The manufactories become subject to taxation three years
after they have started, whereas ordinary buildings
begin to pay taxes two years after they are inhabitable. In Switzerland there is no exemption,
but in some of the cantons special terms, almost
nominal charges for land, water power, &c., are
made to foster industries.
In some of the consular districts of Austria, as in
Vienna, no exemptions exist; b ut in others, as in
Trieste, exemption is made in the case of such
industries as are altogether new, and which do n ot
interfere or clash with the interests of those already
established in the Austrian Empire, or in such ca.~es
where those already in existence are not sufficient
to meet the public demand. In addition, several
considerations are granted throughout Austria-Hungary. The law passed in 1881 exempted new fact ories meeting modern technical requirements from
payment of the tax levied on the earning and on the
profits of limited liability companies, which sometimes is 10 per cent., from the general income tax
as well as municipal taxes, and also from stamp
duty on purchase and conveyance of g round and
the formation of companies, while buildings and
workmen's free houses were exempted from house
duty. In eight years t his Act encouraged the establishment of 191 industrial undertakings and 271
aaricultural distilleries, and the Government decided to extend the provisions of the law in 1890.
By this extension right is granted for the lawful
expropriation of grou~d lying fallow .and not u~ed
for scientific or pubhc purposes, whtle exempt10n
from the duty on transfer of factory buildings is also
granted, and
materials, ma~hines, and parts of
machineryrequtredforconstructwn, enlargement, or
equipmentarecarriedonState rail ways at actual cost.
These privileges continue for fifteen years f~om the
time they are firat granted, and ne~ ~actones may
claim them to the end of 1899, the M1ntster of Commerce, Agriculture, and Finance determining the
qualification of the factory for t he benefits a uthorised under the Act. The Act in 1890 encouraged
the establishing of thirty-six industrial undertakings and thirty-five agricultural distilleyi~s. In t~e
same year an Act was passed determ1n1ng that In
the case of a b.lnk with 430, OOOl. capital, the profits
up to 6 per cent. were to be exempt from stamp
duties and fiscal dues incident to the formation
of the company and from the general income tax
and municipal and local r~te~.
. .
.
As to practice in America ~~ deterr~un1ng w?at ~
chattel machinery or otherwise, no mformat10n lS
afforded; but, a~ in Austria an~ Switzerland, ma:ny
evidences are given of the behef that exemptwn
.rather than augmented burdens tends to develop and
increase manufactures. The difficulty is to oyercome local je~lousies, a~d f~eq~e.ntly e~emptwns
have to be rescinded, as 1n V 1rgtn1a, ow1ng to the
dis3atisfaction of old establishments. The St~te
Legislatures seem t o have a free hand, a!ld while
in some cases, as in T exas, e~emptwns are
strictly prohibited, in others, as 1n Kentuc~y,
L ouisiana, Vermont, and New Rampshue,

a:n

the practice is encouraged. In Baltimore City,

for instance, the exemptions of manufacturing
plant last year amounted to over 300,000l. In Vermont! works with a capital of 200l. are exempt from
taxation for fiv e years, and in New Hampshire
new manufacturing establishments are exempted
f 0r ten years; while in L ouisiana the advantages
gained from a similar arrangement accorded to
specified manufactures, equivalent to a bounty of
3 per cent., resulted in the time being extended to
twenty years. In South Carolina, ho wever, this
ten years' exemption arrangement was departed
from after four years. In the North-Western
States many cities exempt works from taxes. It is,
indeed, t he practice for t o wns t o offer t o p rojected
works special terms for land and exemptions ; and
as the consul at Philadelphia reports, "Municipalities are made to thrive, property increases in
value, they become m ore p opulous, and benefit the
wage-earner. " An instance of this competitive
bidding comes from Manchester, in Connecticut,
where an electric light company chose that city
for their works, being exempted from town taxes
for five years.
In this country the opposite
process is at work ; and it does not require great
perception to see that it affects the competition
for trade in the markets of the world.

THE NILE CORVEE.

IN his recent article in the N ineteenth Century, Mr.
Wilfred Blount excepts the irrigation officers from
the general dislike which, he says, is felt for us by
the Egyptians. Beyond all doubt and cavil they have
done a g reat and notable work, and have added to
t he resources of the peasant, the landowner, and
the State. But they have had to use the means
they found ready to hand, that is, the corvee.
It has been commonly supposed that since 1882
an immense burden has been lifted from the
backs of the poorest and most miserable of t he
population by the abolition of forced, unfed, and
unpaid labour. L ord Cromer's language in 1891
on this point seemed to be explicit. Long prior to
1882, when, as Major Baring, he had been called to
advise the ex-Khedive I smail, a measure of reform had been introduced which prevented the use
of unpaid, compulsory labour by the State, except
for certain well-defined objects. The clearance of
silt in the deep canals of the Delta was effected in
the winter months; the protection of the Nile
banks during flood required an army of over 100,000
men each year in August, September, and October.
This forced labour has always been called corvee.
'' The corvee is t he name given to the forced
labour which, from time immemorial, has been
annually employed to clear the canals, and
streng then the dykes of the basins during
winter and summer, and to guard the banks
during flood. While there was nothing but basin
irrigation in Egypt, the system was not a bad one,
as during the working months there was absolutely
nothing else for the agricultural population to do,
except repair the dykes, clear the canals, or protect
the banks. The whole community was interested
in the canals supplying water to the basins, and
the b urden of insuring this fell properly on all.
With t he introduction of summer canals and
summer irrigation, in the time of Mehemet Ali ,
abuses began to creep in. The whole agricultural
population was employed to clear the deep summer
canals, though only ~limited number were interested in them. " ( Willcocks, ' ' Egypt ion Irrigation, " page 272, 1889.)
''The corvee were expected to work about nine
months per annum : for the six months from
January 15 to July 15 they worked at canal clearances and repairs of banks ; for the three months
from August l to N ovember 1 they guarded the
Nile banks" (Willcocks, page 274). The corveable
population was, according to Government r eturns,
733,000, or 12 per cent. out of a total agricultural
population of 6, 070,988. After 1878 there was no
longer a possibility of those abuses of t he corvee
which haC. given t he name such an evil odour when
Said Pasha employed it on the Suez Canal, and
Ismail P asha used it on the Ibrahimiyah. The service was not compulsory upon each individual; it
might be commuted. The Decree of January 25,
1881, is in all respects a reasonable law, reflecting
credit upon the English and French advisers who
secured its passage. N ot only could the peasant
commute his labour tax, but t he community could
exercise the privilege collectively. Thus, in 1888,
peasants in the Province of Menoufieh redeemed

50,649 men ; in Gharbieh the fellaheen commuted

the labour of 18,877 men, and the State Domains
paid r edemption money for half their tenants. "
This m oney was not paid t o the Treasury in
Cairo. It formed no part of the general budget.
It was carefully stjpulated in Article X. that :
'' The sums received in each province as corvee
commutation shall be entered in a special r egister
and deposited in the treasury of the province,
and held at the disposal of t he Minister of Public
Works. These sums can be spent on those works
only which have for their aim the reduction or the
suppression of forced labour. "
It was one of the most importan t considerations
urged upon Mehemet Ali by t he promoters of the
barrage that if the water at the neck of the Delta
were headed up 14 ft., the clearance of silt would
be reduced to a minimum. " The first tangible
relief to the corvee came in 1885, when the Irrigation D epartment exerted itself to reduce the work
to a minimum both by holding up the water in the
Nile t o a higher level in summer (by the barrage)
and by working to levels" (W1llcocks, page 274). In
1890, therefore, it is not s urprising to learn that with
a grant from the Treasury of 400, OOOl., and this reduction of work due to the high l evel maintained at
the barrage, no necessity existed for calling out any
part of the corveables from January to July. In
1884 this labour appears to have been 85,000 men
working for sixty days. There is a correspondence
in one of the Blue-Books between Lord Cromer and
the English Commissioner of t he Public D ebt
Office, which casts a side-light upon this totaLsubstitution of contract labour for t he alternative
system previously in force. The abolition of the
courbash had, it appears, made it impossible to
get t he peasants to work in winter without payment.
Nothing whatever had been d one in 1890 to
thAt part of the corvee work performed from August
to November. The corvea.bles had never enjoyed
the right of commutation , and this form of forced,
unfed, and unpaid labour remained. It was, indeed, increased, as a natural and inevitable consequence of an increased amount of bank to be
protected, due in part to the silting up of the deep
summer canals which had formerly r elieved t he
strain on the Damietta and R osetta branches ; and
the increased surface of summer irrigated cotton
fields now substituted for the inundated areas.
In 1891 L ord Cromer said : "Sir Colin ScottMoncrieff writes t o me that previous to 1883 the
whole of the earthwork in the clearance and
repairs of canals and embankments was effected by
the forced , unpaid, and unfed labour of the
peasantry. In 1884 this labour amounted to
85,000 men working for sixty days. In 1890, for
the first time, perhaps, in all history, there was no
corvee in Egypt" ('' Egypt, " No. 3, 1891, page 3).
~o~~ Cromer added elsewhere on his own r esponsibihty: "The corvee has been wholly abolished"
(page 31). These words were taken to mean that
there was no forced, unpaid, and unfed labour exacted from any peasant in Egypt during 1890, and
that, like t he abolit ion of serfdom in Russia or
slavery in the West Indies, no peasant could be
compelled to work for the State, or for the benefit
of others. No doubt, as in Italy, and, in fact in all
countries, the ultimate right remains in th~ State
in times of emergency t o compel every man t o fight
the battle of the community against any foe. The
Egyptian Government might, therefore, ha;e been
supposed t o have r eserved to itself the right to thus
call upon ita subjects t o fight the hereditary enemy
- the Nile-in time of dangerous flood. Even here
however, compensation would be expected to b~
given if t he work for the public good involved
serious personal sacrifice. Thus a recent writer
M. Felix Dubois, eays in words widely quoted~
"Such enforced labour as the Egyptian fellah is
now called upon to perform is paid for. "
This, however, is not t he case. Lord Cromer
says : ''The Public Works Department is at present engaged in considering and working out a
scheme as r egards the payment of the corvee called
out on the Nile banks duriug the flood " ( "Egypt,"
No. 3, 1893, page 14).
" On June 15 in the House of Commons Mr. 8. Smith
asked the Under-Secretary for Foreign Affairs whether
any estimate had been given to Her M.ajesty's Government
?f the pro?able cost to the Egyptian Treasury of carrylOg out thts scheme for the payment of the Nile corvee .
whether it was the intention of the Egyptian Government
t? emplQy for~d, unfed, an~ unpaid labour in the protec
tton of tlie Nile banks durmg the approaching inundation ; and whether he could state approximately the

53

E N G I N E E R I N G.
number of men employed in 1892, the number of days'
work and the amount contributed in labour to the
Egyptian Treasury by their compulsory employment.
'' ~ir E. Grey replied that various estimates as to the
" probable cost o.f the scheme. have been. made, .but no
reliable calculatiOn can be arnved a.t unttl expenmental
trials have been carried out on a small scale, and this it
i i now proposed to do. During the approaching inund~
tion the system hitherto in use will be followed, except m
such d istrict or districts as may be selected by the
Egyptian Government for a trial of paid labour. W e
have no data which enable a. reply to be given to t~e last
part of the question, but the honourable member wtll ~ee
from the previous part of my answer that the . E~yptt.an
Government is anxious to collect accurate statistiCs w1th
which to lay a. foundation for fu ture reforms."

In an ar ticle on ''Egyptian Irrigation, " publishe.d

on page 18 of our las~ volume, we r~ferred to th1s
subject, and we r ece1ved and publtshed a letter
from Mr. 'N. "\Villcocks, M. Inst. C. E ., DirectorGener al of Reservoirs, Egypt, declaring emphatically : ''The corvee has been aboli~hed. T~ere
is no m ore con ee . . . . The N 1le guardians
are called out in large or small number s t o patrol
the banks and attend t o them in flood time, and
these are the men whom you ha.ve confused with
the corves proper. These guardians will a.l ways
h ave to guard the banks in flood time wh?n there
is danger . . . . If the State were to abohsh these
guardians, ther~ would ~,e a. revolution in .Egypt
durina0 a. very high flood.
W e cannot adm1t that
ther e was any confusion on our part. Mr. "\Villcocks s1.ys, '' There is n o more corvee," and L ord
Cromer says that ''a scheme for t he paym ent of
the corve~ " is under the consideration of the D epartment of Public Works. Mr. Willcocks himself, in
his work on "Egyptian Irrigation," makes no more
distinction between the clearance-of-silt corvee and
t he Nile corvoe, than if they were t wo gangs workina by shifts in t he same mine. " They [the corvee)
had to supply their own tools, such as spades and
baskets; they had to provide their own commissariat,
and during the winter and summer they had t o
sleep on the ground, moving from encampment to
encampment wi thout any s helter, except that provided by trees and shrubs. During the flood
they built booths for themselves on the Nile
ba.nks, and had to provide at their own cost
lanterns at intervals of 50 m etres along the whole
length of the Nile, on both bank~ " ( Willcocks,
page 274). Mr. \Vilh:ocks is well qualified to speak
on E(Yyptian affa.ira, but he now draws a distinction
betw;en forced unpaid labour on the canals in the
cool days of winter, and forced unpaid labour in
the sweltering summer sun on the Nile banks, and
the dangerous and arduous work of closing a deadly
breach at midnight, which he had himself previously
and correctly ignored.
This is sufficien t ly clear from the following passage, q uoted textually, from his own book (page 282):
'' Up to the present the corvee on the earth work
maintenance have only been considered (.-;ic) ; we
n ow come to the protection of the Nile banks in
flood. The Khedivial decree of Aug ust 6, 1885,
con tains the r egulations on this subject. ' Khedivial decree of A ug ust 6, 1885 : All those inhabitants
who are bound to supply corvee by the d ecree of
J anuary 25, 188 1, are equally bound to protect t he
b~nks of the ~ile in fl ood.' " F orced, unfed, and
unpaid labour is t herefore exacted after August 15
in ea.ch year d own to the subsidence of t he Nile,
from the s~me class of peasants who were liable for
the winter work.
What the Nile corvee really is may be taken from
the statements of other E gyptian officials. On October 8, 1892, the Official Journal printed the following
words : " Major Brown specially praises the
Mudir of B eni-Suef for the excellent arrangements
he has made, and the way in which the corvee has
b een worked ." On Octob3r 5 it was said that
M ajor Brown was much dissatisfied with the work
of the Kenah corv6a. On October 10, 17,513 peasants, forced, unfed, and unpaid, were at work in
the province of Minieh. Three thousand men
were requisitioned from oth er districts, and comp elled to work in the district of Chirbin. At a
single point in B eh erah 1300 corveablcs wer e collected, and 1200 m en "repaired a bank " in
M enoufieh. On October 24, 1892, the Times said :
"Over a hundred thousand m en have been
employed on forced labour in watching and repairing the banks."
These m en were driven to t heir work by blows.
The case of Abd el-Sati el-Sarry is r eported at
l ength in the Official J ournal. The Khedive, on
September 29, 1892, personally investigated a
co:nplaint that an old man had been beaten because

he had r efused to join the serf-gang,. allegi~g that

three out of six m a.le members of h1s fam1ly had
been already impressed. The village chief admitted
t he truth of the statement, but urged in his own
defence the compulsion under which h e himself l3:y
to complet e the numbers r equisitioned by the Pubhc
Works D epartment. M ajor Brown has shown elsewhere that t he system give3 r ise to bribery and
favouritism, and that this State-forced, unfed, a.nd
unpaid labour is a contrib ution to th e Egyptian
Treasury from the very poor est class.
"The assembly of ~ach province will se~ect fo~r
notables, who, presided over by the execu~1v.e englneer of the district, will form a comm1ss1on fo r
j udging d elays and contraventions on the part of
the village headmen or the corvee. Any head of a
village or district, or any n otable who n eglects to
supply the number of men .r equired for his sec~io~ ,
or who is absent from Ius post, or who qu1ts 1t
without permission, is, within t he twenty-four
hours, to be j udged by the commission, and condemned t o an imprisonment of not less than twenty
days or over t hree m onths, and to a fine of not less
than 2l. or over 20l. "
A ''notable" is a man conspicuous for his territorial wealth and influence ; the h ead of a. county
family. Ther e are notables with incomes r eckon ed
by thousands, which many squires and noblemen
would be glad enough to possess. With such a. law
in En a land, the Duke of Devonshire could n ot leave
Chats~orth , or the Marquis of Salisbury run up to
town from Hatfield, for three months in the year ,
without the permission of the Board of Agriculture. The executive engineer of the district is
a native, without means or social standing. He is
invested by this law wit h magisterial po~ers.
Ther e is n o provision for an appeal. There 1s no
code r egulating with r easonable detail the duties to
be performed ; no r egister is kept of the corveables
by which their turn in the con script ion is fixed.
The ordinary t ribunals are thus suspended, each
year, for three months, as respects two classes of
the aaricult ural community- the landed proprietors
and the corvee. I t will be observed, with regret,
that this decree bears date in 1885. It was, therefore, introduced after the control of the Public
W orks Ministry had been put into English hands.
Nor did it replace any previous d ecree, so far as
we are able t o lear n. It cannot be reconciled
with English ideas of justice.
N o d ou ht it is the honest intention of the English
administration that all forcedunpaia labour, whet her
technically the corvee or not, shall be ultimately
entirely abolished, but Lord Cromer expressly
states in the Report of 1893, t hat in order t o
remove any misapprehension he desires t o say that :
" F orced labour still exists. " Re also sh ows, as
we have pointed out, and as Mr. Willcocks will
concede, that this forced labour is unpaid, and
known as corvee. I n short, the statement made
in 1891, which gave rise t o this misapprehension,
was due to the use of unguarded terms, which did
not adequately d escribe the limited extent of the
change which had in fact t aken place since 1882.

TEMPERATURE-ENTROPY DIAGRAM.
P.ROFE~ 'OR

J. BouLVIN, of the U niversity of

Ghen t , has recently contributed to t he geometry of
the tempern.ture-entropy diagram a graphic method
of converting the heat breadths on the n ew diagram
into volume lengths on the peevee diagr am . In
F ig. 2 let the heat cycle be A 1Bl s~ 83 s4 SGAG,
steam. If the expansion had been adiabatic the
path w:>uld have been B 1 B.1, and the path S 2 S 3 S 4
indicates t hat there has been loss of h eat by conduction durin g expansion.
According to the first
law of thermodynamics,

AS= ..!. dp ,
J

d t

where v is volume, J the m echanical equivalent of

heat, p pressure, and t t emperature. Now J is
constant, therefore v must be proportional to
AS-;-dp

dt

The valuos of d 1'/d t for steam, for each degree of

temperature, are given in Zeuner and in SaintR obert. In Fig. 1 if AS be t he h eat-br eadth of
the cycle at any t emperature, and if A C=dpld t to
any constant scale, and if C D be a perpendicular of
consta,nt length, then the straight line drawn
through A and D will cut the perpendicular from S
in fl, and S H will be proportional to the volume
length on the peevee diagram. It will n ot signify

what are the units in d p ld t, since a set of propo~

tional volume lengths only is what is wanted. Thts
construction amounts to saying that the volume
lengths are proportional to
AS...;-dp
dt

and generally the slide r~le ~ill be more convenient

than the a raphic d et erm1natwn of v.
.
Profess~r B oulvin's diagram is eh own by F1g. 2.
IIor e t he lin e3, such as ~ H in Fig. 1, are drawn
permanently for certa' n temperatures from ~he
t emperature line 0 d eg. Cent. h orn the vertical
projections of A 1 A 2, &c. , to 1, 2, 3, cc.
4~---------------------r
' ------

Fig. I.

iiJ_., ... ...... 4 ~'"''"""'"''"" ..... . \'J"'!.Ii

.....,c,

]": ~.- - ~
.. , ... .... ......~

M--..-!
~

f #

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1 _......,...

#>V

1111'

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1 I

;:

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'

FUJ
' 2

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. ...................... ' ,

o
0

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ----.. '"". .............. ----....... ._

0

.. ,: .

. ..

t I

..

.... ,.}i1,.~(~
. - ..... :."'

r~
s ~ t ---- ~

I
I

.......,~~
----- !
I

; , __ ->~"<l':.sr

\ t

I~~

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~

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i,/,_......~
t..&

...

~: . ,.t::_ -"
I

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,

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.
4U IJ........ :~
' .
..
,.:

........... .,'.............. t ..............

0

f.'!

.;

.jl~ ~'

....... ... .......... ....... l .. : : : ... ........

11~

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:

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'

o c. A SDiv lt
IS 88 .

The curves drawn from B 1 B 2 B 3 B , are curves of

constant volume . B y B oulvin's m eth od the cl p/d t
inclined lines 1, 2, 3, &c., are cut by a horizontal
line for any r equired volume, and the poin ts of
intersection are run up to the corresponding temperature lines for corresponding points in those curves.
Otherwise, a curve of constant volumo is one whose
heat breadth at any temperature is a constant
multiple of d p/d t for that temperature. With the
help of a slide-rule the heat breadths can therefore
be r ead off at on ce from a t able of cl pJd t.
For a r ough appr oximation to cl p fcl t the arithmetical difference of pressure per d eg ree of
temperature may be taken from a table of st eam
pressures .
The peevee diagrams for adiabatic expansion
B 1 B 4, and for diabatic expansion Bl S 2 S 4 , are
shown in Fig. 2, t he volume ordinates b eing projected from the intersections of the cl p /cl t sheaf of
lines as has been explained.
The temperature-entropy diagram here exhibih:d
n1ay be said t o Le a repet.ition of the sketch diagram
given on page 302 of " Cotterill on the Steam
Engine." CottErill's diagram is, h owever, merely
a blackboard sketch, without regard to scale, and
the curve of constant volume has the curvature
reversed. To this, attention is drawn in Professor
Bouh~in's paper. The nature of the curve, and the
principle according t o which it has been adopted to
represent the exhaust action, is, however, as clearly
explained by the earlier writer as it is now by
B o ulvin. That Cotter ill's diagram is merely a
sketch is obyious, for, by scale, the initial temperature of t he steam would be about 1350 deg. ]fahr.
absolute. Professor Boulvin's curves are correctly
drawn. W e may say here that when curves of constant volume are drawn on a temperature-entropy
diagram , the volume lengths for any cycle can be
traced therefrom on to a peevee diagram on tracing
paper when appropriately applied without additional graphic construction.
\Ve do n ot add this
to the present diagram, as it might lead to confusion
of interpretation. This is only another way of
applying Boulvin's method.

E N G I N E E R I N G.

54
THE INSTITUTION OF NAVAL
ARCHITECTS.
TuE summer meeting of the Institution of Naval
Architects is being held this week at Cardiff', and
appears likely to prove, at the time of writing, the
unqualified success anticipated, if we may judge
from the completeness of the arrangements made,
the promise of support by members, and lastly,
though by no means least, the cordiality of the welcome extended by the warm-hearted people of the
South Wales capital city. There was but one unfortunate incident in the opening proceedings- the
absence of the new president, L ord Brassey, who
was weather bound in his yacht somewhere down
on the south coast. His place was, however, ably
filled by Sir Nathaniel Barnaby, who occupied the
chair on the first day of the meeting.
On the members assembling on Tuesday last, the
11th inst. , in the Town Hall, they were welcomed
to Cardiff by the Mayor, Mr. W. E. Vaughan, and,
after the usual complimentary speeches, proceeded
to business under the presidency- as we have said
-of Sir N athaniel Barnaby.
OIL STEAMERS.

The first paper on the agenda was a very interesting contribution by Mr. B. Martell, entitled
'' On Points of Interest in the Construction and
Repair of Vessels Carrying Oil in Bulk." This
paper is a valuable contribution to the Transactions of the Institution, and has a bearing
wider than its title would suggest. It gives
what are principally wanted by the naval architect
who has got beyond his text-book, namely, details
of construction. These details are not only apJ plicable to oil steamers, but are characteristic of the
1 perfection for which all designers should strive,
' the necessity for which is made manifest by the
higher needs of that specialisation which is typical
of modern practice. We commence the publication
in extenso of this paper on another page, and will
therefore at once proceed to the discussion .

Mr. Heck was the first speaker. He considered

that the most important point in the paper was the

public confession made by the author that oil

steamers were not constructed with adequate
strength for the work they were sometimes called
upon to do. Mr. Martell had pointed out the
danger that might arise from unnecessary local
strains brought on the structure by owners being
anxious to carry as little water ballast as possible,
in order to reduce the expense attending the filling
and emptying, and to insure a faster passage with a
vessel drawing a less draught of water. It had been
urged that much of the damage vessels sustained
had been owing to the practice of running up an
empty tank when a vessel was at sea encount.ering
rough weather. The enormous strains occasioned
by a heavy body of moving water, under the
circumstances referred to, had been, Mr. Martell
had said, placed before those navigating such
vessels, but it was well known that in many
instances the practice is still maintained. The
prospect of making a quick passage with a comparatively light vessel may be thought by some to be
worth the risk of being compelled, on account of
deficient stability, or to alter the trim, to run up
an additional tank when the vessel is at sea, but
the author of the paper thought that the large sum
likely to be involved in having to repair damages
would not be to the benefit of the owner. Mr.
Heck had conversed with captains of steamers on
this point, and the view had been expressed that
if the tanks were not made strong enough to be
filled up at sea, they ought to be improved in this
respect. Mr. Heck apparently supported the captains in their contention, but he pointed out that
the b est practicable way to give a substantial
increase in strength was to make the tanks smaller.
That was at once the easiest and cheapest manner.
The speaker contended that putting the machinery
amidships was bad practice, as it offended again3t
the rule t hat pointed out the necessity of isolating
the machinery from the oil tanks. In the case of
collision, oil would be extremely likely to find its
way into the stokeholds, even if it did not under
ordinary circumstances.
Mr. West, of Liverpool, was the next speaker.
He quoted the passage of the paper in which the
author had expressed a hope that the premiums of
insurance on oil steamers would be brought to
more manageable proportions. It must be remembered, however, the speaker said, t hat in oil
steamers there were the dangers incidental to

ordinary steamer&, and in addition those due to the tank leaked, which was a very unlikely circumsuch causes as the author had referred to- stance, seeing the great pains taken to make the
incidental to a fluid cargo - and the danger of fire work good. The trim should be known before the
or explosion. These additional risks were, he was ship started, and the tanks should be filled in
glad to say, being brought within more manage- smooth water in port. The device of a horiable proportions. Some years ago the speaker, in 2Jontal division in the tanks had the advantages
a paper read before the Institution, had urged the claimed by Mr. West, but it also had the
necessity of additional rivets in certain positions in drawbacks pointed out by Mr. S wan . With
ship construction, and he was glad to see that r egard to additional strength of compartments, he
Mr. Martell was now supporting the case he then would point out that the tendency was to increase
put forward. It was certain that the strain, to the size in order that the tanks might be made availwhich he had then referred, existed, otherwise able for carrying cargo back. Lloyd's took 24ft. as a
the author would not advocate the steps he did fair size for the tank, but anything above that t hey
with r egard to riveting. The speaker agreed with required additional strength. Mr. Swan had said
much that had been advanced by the author with that he had no experience of the plug-headed rivet
regard to the best form of rivet; but the plug- not fitting the hole in the plate ; but, unfortuheaded rivet nevertheless had an advantage when nately, some other builders were not so happy in
the holes in the plate were fair and truly conical, this respect. He would, however, venture to advise
for in that case closing t he rivet gave a better Mr. Swan on one point. He (Mr. Swan) had spoken
chance to make it tight in the hole. The pan- of the facility for caulking afforded by the plug
headed rivet, however, had the great advantage in rivet; but it would, the speaker felt sure, be far
bringing the plates closer together. In regard to preferable if, whenever Mr. Swan found a rivet
running these oil steamers in water ballast, it was that wanted caulkin.g, he would have it drilled out
the custom to fill alternate tanks, and that perhaps and another put in its place. A caulked rivet was
was necessary with the present arrangement, an unsound riYet, and the caulking was only a
although Mr. West said it was a procedure that temporary repair which would give out again sooner
put excessive strains on the structure in bad or later. It was better economy to cut it out at
weather at sea, and in order to overcome the diffi- once, as its failure affected others. He knew
culty, he would advocate fitting a watertight flat of one ship that had recently required 2000
in the tanks, so t hat the water might be confined to rivets renewed . These he need hardly say
the bottom, and thus carry continuous water were plug-headed rivets, although the builder had
ballast, yet have no more weight than when the used pan-heads. If, however, the plug-headed
rivet had to be used, the h oles should be counteralternate tanks were filled.
Mr. Swan, of Newcastle, speaking as one who sunk on both sides, as Mr. West had already
had designed a large number of oil s teamers, aaid pointed out.
A vote of thanks having been put by Sir N athaniel
that owners and captains of vessels were apt to
treat these vessels in a very different manner to Barnaby from t he chair and duly carried, the meet
ordinary craft. For instance, in dockmg he had ing procetded to a consideration of the next paper
known 1000 tons of water ballast to be put into the on the list. This was an interesting contribution on
tanks to trim the vessel. No doubt it was necessary
FAST OcE..A N STEAMSHIPS,
to use water ballast as the vessel settled on the blocks
to get the trim, but the water should be removed by Dr. Elgar. We shall shortly print this paper
as the dock was emptied. With regard to the filling in full. The first part was occupied by a very
and emptying of tanks at sea, to which the author interesting comparison between t he Campania and
had drawn attention, he could give an instance of a the Great Eastern, in which the author spoke
vessel in which every place where water could be highly of the originality, boldness, and professional
pumped out had been emptied, and in another case ability of those engaged in the design of the vessel
2000 tons of water more than had been intended which has been, after the lapse of about 40 years,
had been pumped in. Another instance mentioned unsurpassed in dimensions. Use and time have
by the speaker was that in which every compart- blunted our wonderment at t his stupendous vessel,
ment had bee!l twice emptied and filled during a and it is only the naval architect or engineer who can
voyage across the Atlantic. The difficulty in respect fully appreciate the significance of this production
to determining the cause of mishap was to find out the of what was really the infancy of steam navigation,
truth as to what had occurred. They had had ships as compared to our modern big ships. One fact is
running for six years, and not six rivets had been perhaps sufficient to quote from Dr. EJgar's paper.
replaced in them ; other ships, sister vessels, had 'fhe shell plates of the earlier ship were only 10ft.
been constantly under repair. It depended upon long and 2 ft. 9 in. wide, and were, of course, of
the way in which the ship was t reated what her iron; they weighed 7! cwt. The steel shell plates
record would be. In speaking of the different of the Campania were 26 ft. long, 5 ft. 3 in. in
form of rivet, we gathered that Mr. Swan preferred breadth, and weighed 45 cwt. each. Not only
the plug rivet. In the illustrations which accom- were rolling mills total1y unable to produce such
panied the author's paper an example was given of plates in the day the Great Eastern was built, but
plug-headed rivets not properly closed, so that t hey the shipyard plant did not exist for dealing with
did not fill the hole (see Fig. 4, page 66). Mr. them even if t hey had been available. The paper
Swan said that, as a matter of practice, they did next discussed the effect of size on speed, and also
not meet with such examples in the ships built by the effect of form as influencing that quality. The
bhe firm with which he was connected (Armstroog, draught of water was referred to as the great imMitchell, and Co.). He objected to the pan-headed portant factor in the performance of big steamers,
rivet because it was not possible to caulk it if which the naval architect could not control. "The
necessary. The author had referred to the neces- weight of steel," the author said, "in the hulls of
sity of providing for longitudinal strength in these this class of steamers (Atlantic liners) varies almost
vessels, and Mr. Swan said that he was now work- as the cube of t he linear dimensions, in similar
ing side stringers continuous in the manner re- ships. " Steadiness in a seaway and t he strength
ferred to by the author. In further reference to the of structure and machinery wer e also dealt with by
way in which these ships were handled, he would men- the author, the paper concluding with some
tion a case in which a compartment had been pumped critical remarks on the proportion of boiler power.
out without the air cock being opened, and t he deck
The discussion on Dr. Elgar's paper was comhad thus been brought down 3in. by the atmospheric menced by Sir Edward Harland, who regretted
pressure. In view of these circumstances, he quite that he had not been able to see the paper before
disagreed with Mr. Heck, for he did not see how it he came into the room, as it was a thoroughly pracwould be possible that the ships should be made to tical contribution to the knowledge possessed on
stand any usage to which they might be subjected. those recent splendid additions to the mercantile
Mr. West had spoken of using watertight flats. marine of the country in the production of which
They had adopted this plan in working in a lower the author's firm had been engaged. ~ir Edward,
deck, and the result had been as Mr. West had however, was obliged to confess that he failed to
foretold ; but there was the objection of extra share the admiration expressed in the paper for the
complication, greater weight and expense, and design of the Great Eastern. At the time she was
moreover it afforded places for the oil to lodge built he envied the money and material the deupon when the cargo was pumped out.
signers of the ship had at their disposal. He then
Mr. Martell, in replying to the discussion, said felt that had he then possessed the same command
he hoped when Mr. Heck was next sitting in the of the same resources for shipbuilding, he would
saloon chatting with captains, that he would have constructed two vessels of the same length ;
attempt to instruct them rather than let them lead and he was still of opinion t hat, had he done so,
him. He really could not see where the necessity some other shipowning companies with which he
arose for running up tanks at sea, unless, indeed, had since had connection would never have come

"

55

E N G I N E E R I N G.
into existence. With regard to the machinery, it
was, in the first place, to be r egretted that
the power had been divided between the two
modes of propulsion, the screw and t he paddlewheel. Putting that aside, however, t he stro~e
of the screw engines was so short that had It
been a little less the engines would have refused
to go round at all. Paddles were a mistake for a
ship of that shape, for when she rolled one wheel
was all but out of water, whilst the other was far
too deeply submerged. He wished to avoid saying
anything which would appear harsh of those who
had passed away, but, as a matter of fact, he could
not avoid the opinion that the ship was a monument of great ambition and great want of knowledge, even judged by the standard of information
possessed at that time. As to t he launch of the
vessel, he was under her bottom the day before
the first attempt was made, and he concluded that
if the vessel had been allowed to go she would have
been got afloat at the first effort. Mr. Brunei,
h owever, was t oo cautious, and the checks he put on
the ways to check momentum were fatal to success,
so that it was only after much disappointment
that the big ship was ftoated. Turning to the
author's paper, the speaker regretted that the comparison of the Campania and the Lucania should
have been made with a vessel so long past as the
Great Eastern. It would have been more satisfactory if Dr. Elgar had selected a modern vessel
more nearly akin. The comparison with the Great
Eastern was artistic, but had little practical value.
He hoped that there might be at the next meeting
another paper by the author in which more practical information might be embodied, so that the
Campania could be put beside such vessels as the
New York, the Paris, the Majestic, or the Teutonic.
In regard to the draught of water available at the
ports, that was a matter which was improving,
and be thought that New York Harbour and the
Mersey would be so improved that the new Campania might be designed with a draught of 29 ft.
He thought that the efforts by the port authorities
should encourage builders t o go further in this
respect.
Professor J . H. Biles pointed out that as ships
grow in size they would be likely to receive less
proportionate strain on account of the less proportionate size of waves met with, and he thought
that a vessel could be so strengthened locally as
to meet the requirements, even if increased in
length. Reference had been made to fining the
ends, but he would point out that fineness was an
indefinite term. There was fineness at the waterline and fineness of the cross-section. It was possible to have a fine water-line to give a good result
in smooth water, and yet provide a good full floor
below which would be suitable for rough water.
The flare and freeboard forward also had a bearing
on this point. In the Great Eastern the sections
were rounder than in the Campania, and the reason
of this was doubtless that designers strove to get
as much displacement as possible in the dimensions. Reference had been made to the fact that
r olling cham hers had been put in the City of Paris
and the City of New York, yet they had not been
put in operation. The fact was the ships were
found to be satisfactory without the rolling chambers, and it was found more profitable to fill the
latter with cargo, although he doubted whether
those who first filled them were acquainted with
the purpose for which they were designed. As a
matter of fact, the tank gave a reduction of rolling
of 50 or 60 per cent.
Dr. White, the Director of Naval Construction,
said he was glad the author had impressed once
more what the late Mr. Froude had taught. He,
the speaker, would, however, go further, and point
out that Mr . Froude never said a word against
length generally as an element of design. He had
to deal with ships that were to be armoured, so
that very different conditions were involved to those
required in a passenger steamer. Many people
were misled in this way, and some criticised Mr.
Froude's conclusions who never went to his original
work for information. In regard to smooth water
and open sea performance, he might say that at the
Admiralty they always distinguished between the
two ; and, when necessary, they rejected the
form that might be best for smooth water
steaming in order to fit the vessel for rougher
weat.her conditions. Remarkable results in regard to speed had, however, been attained by
warships of moderate dimensions.
He would
instance the Apollo, 300ft. long and 4300 tons dis-

placement, which had been drivel_l at sea a~ 18!

knots for a continuous run, and with her ordinary
crew. He thought that pointed to the good results
that had followed from model experiments ; for the
vessel was not only fast, but a good sea-boat. He
always recommended length so far. as it could be
combined so as to meet other reqUirements. At
the Admiralty, however, they al~ays suffered from
beino- asked to do t oo much, to Include too many
conflicting elements. It was the old tale of try~ng
to squeeze a quart into a pint pot, and he envied
those d esigners who were able to ~o to the magnificent proport ions of the Camp~n1a. II?- regard
to bilge keels, although h e recogn~sed t~e1r value,
it must be remembered that theu effiCiency was
not so apparent as the size and inertia of the ship
increased.
Mr. Martell bore testimony to the value of tho
paper. It was suggested by the author that the
main structure should be carried up to the promenade deck. He hoped that in that case something could be done to reduce vibration in thesE-'
long vessels. In some vessels with light superstructure it was found that the latter was not
strong enough to take its share of the stresses over
the extreme length, and to meet this the light
upper deck had b~en made non-continuou~. From
what had been said he thought that a misconception might arise, and to prevent this he would add
that in cargo ships bil~e keels were found extremely
useful and were largely fitted .
Dr. Elgar, in reply, said that he did not propose
to add more decks, as he was afraid it might be considered he had done, but that the present promenade deck should be made an integral part of
the structure. Sir Edward Harland had made an
excellent suggestion, which he should be very pleased
to adopt. If Sir Edward would supply the necessary informa tion in regard to the Majestic and
Teutonic, he had no doubt he would be able to get
that relating to the City of Paris and N ew York,
and in that case he would accept Sir Ed ward,s
advice, and prepare a paper making a proper ?omparison between those vesse~s and the Campama. _
It is to be hoped that Str Edward Harland w11l
follow up the very excellent suggestion he made by
giving the details asked for by Dr. Elgar now that
the latter has promised to write the paper. Such a
contribution could not fail to be of great interest
generally, and of especial value to the profession.
Dr. Elgar and Sir Edward Harland in collaboration
could produce a memoir worthy of the best traditions of the Institution of Naval Architects.
The meeting concluded with a vote of thanks to
the author, and the members proceeded to visit the
Bute D ocks. In the evening the Institution dinner
was held in the Park Hall.
We reserve an account of the meetings held on
Wednesday and yesterday until our next issue.

N 0 T E S.
J ACKSON pARK .
THE disastrous conflagration that occurred this
week in J ackson Park is ominous and instructive.
The temporary structures that constitute the greater
part of every International Exhibition are always
exposed to special danger, and in the case of the
World,s Fair the peril is perhaps exceptionally
great, for the following reasons. The vast extent
of the Exhibition, and the great number of buildings, increase the danger from fire on account of
the increased difficulty of controlling the persons in
charge. The summer heat, which reduces everything to a condition of dryness, combined with the
strong winds so often blowing from, or to, the lake,
add to the risk. So does the vast electrical installation, the conductors of which form a network
over grounds and buildings, with a possible peril
at every connection. For some reason or other,
fires are more prevalent in America than elsewhere, and it seems too much to hope that the
White City will prove an exception. The destruction of the magnificent cold storage building
which stood to the north of the Transportation
Building, near the monumental railway station,
illustrated the rapidity with which a temporary
structure, built chiefly of timber, falls into ruins
when a fire once takes hold. On the other hand,
the catastrophe proved beyond question the efficiency and devotion of the fire brigade, and the
freedom with which the firemen risked and lost
their lives in their determined, though unfortunately unsuccessful, efforts to subdue the flames.
The loss of so many able and brave men is the
THE FIRE IN

saddest and most serious feature of the accident,

for they cannot be replaced easily. W,e can speak
from personal experience of the effiCiency of the
fire service. A short time ago we stopped to look
at the clever dioramic pictures shown by the Compao-nie Transatlantique in the north gallery of the
Tr~nsportation Building ; then we pase~d on to the
office of the chief of the department In the same
building. Almost immediately after se~er~l steam
fire engines passed in front of the bmldmg, and
ten minutes later we found that fire had broken
out in the Transportation Building, . destroying
some of the dioramic pictures, but that It had beeu
extinguished, to the infinite discomfort of the
exhibitors beneath, who were flooded out. It may
be taken as a fact that all that can be done to check
fire at J ackson Park is done, and that as in the
present terrible oe.se, so i_n anY: future possible conflagrations, the fire serv1ce will not be found deficient.
THE RELATIVE IMPORTANCE OF THE PRINCIPAL
PoRTS oF THE UNITED KINGDOM.

The measure of importance we take is the extent

of tonnage frequenting the ports; and this is
officially given in a Blue-Book lately issued. As was
to be expected, London takes first place, so far as
arrivals are concerned, the tonnage being about
15 per cent. of the total for the kingdom. But
Liverpool tops the list so far as departure is concerned, with a slightly greater total, forming rather
over 10 per cent. of the total. Were foreign bound
tonnage only to be considered, however, London
would take first place by nearly a million
tons. London in this respect, however, shows
a steady increase, whereas Liverpool is stationary. In arrivals Liverpool is second, with
nearly 10 per cent. The three Tyne ports combined come third on the list, while Cardiff runs
them hard. These four ports claim 38! out of the
67! million tons, or 62 per cent., of arriving vessels,
while 31! out of the 61! million tons of departing
vessels sailed from these ports. The principal
English ports stand in the following order : .
London
Liverpool
Tyne Ports
Cardiff...
Hull
Sunderland

Tons Arriving.
13,664,644
8,570,099
7,361, 711
7,106,182
2,667,392
2,102,875

Tons Leaving.
8,205,326
8,416,424
7,385,116
7,390,264
2,638,194
2,058, 798

The next in order come Newport, with nearly two

million tons, Southampton, Cowes, Portsmouth,
Swansea, Bristol, Beaumaris, and Middlesbrough.
The fifth port on the list for the United Kingdom is
Glasgow, with over three million tons arriving and
departing, but several of the outports on the Firth
of Clyde seem to have absorbed some of tho traffic,
which otherwise would ha,re resulted in a greater
increase in the vessels frequenting the chief
Clyde port. Thus we find Greenock, Ardrossan, Ayr, and Troon with very considerable
augmentations to shipping. The Forth ports, too,
show substantial increases. Greenock comes second
of Scotch ports and eighth of the kingdom ports,
with 1.8 million tons, Leith third with 1.3 million
tons, and the other leading ports are Grangemouth,
Kirkcaldy, and Aberdeen. The Scotch ports show
an increase in five years of two million tons in
arrivals, and of over two million tons in departures
-considerably greater in proportion to the total
than the increase in England. In Ireland, Dublin
and Belfast run closely together, with about 2! millions arriving and departing. Cork, Waterford,
and Derry follow. Of the total, England has 76
per cent., Scotland 14 per cent., Ireland about 8!
per cent., the Isle of Man and the Channel Islands
taking the remainder. Slightly more than a tenth
of the total tonnage entering (88 millions) and
departing (82! millions) was engaged in coastwise
traffic.
SOLID EMERY WHEELS.

Some time ago tests were undertaken by three

mechanical experts in the United States, at the request of the Tanite Company, with the view of
arriving at some data as to the performance of
emery wheels, and the conditions of use and the
degree of hardness for certain operations. These
tests indicate great variety in quality, only three
out of fifteen being found safe, effective and satisfactory.
As to the relative efficiency of the wheel
against the file, and hammer and cold chisel the
following gives the weight of metal removed in' half
an hour:

E N G I N E E R I N G.
Emery
Wheel.
lb. 07..
17 0
7 12

Hammer
File. and Chisel.
oz.
lb. oz.
Brass . ..
...
8
1 4.
Cast iron
.. .
5!
2 5
\V rougbt iron .. .
2 8
2t
0 10 r
Saw steel
.. .
3 7
1
0 1~
As to the degree of hardness and t he conditions
of use, the r esults were affected by t he character
of the machine used.
Since then a. machine
b etter adapted to test purposes has b een made,
being h eavier (1278 lb. ), and placed upon a.
masonry bed instead of wooden floor. The wheel
loss was materially r educed ; in seven trials it
was .053 oz. per ounce of m etal remov e d, while in
an additional trial with a different grade of wheel of
the sam e make, the wheel loss was reduced to
023 oz. per ounce of m etal removed, 80i1f oz. of cast
iron being ground off in 16 minutes, with a wheel loss
of 1l ~ oz. Thesubstantialmachine gave much greater
uniformity of results, and the deduction which
the projectors of t he investigations draw from all
the trials is that the most econo mical work is to be
got by the use of soft free cutting wheels, used
under moderate pressure, and run upon heavy
machines substantially mounted. Such use will be
greatly t o the benefit of the workman, who in usin g
over-hard wheels requires to exert pressure which
often generates heat that does the wheel no good.
Seven different makes of American wheels have
been submitted to trial under equal conditions, one
series of tests b eing made with and one without
water. The results are as follows, the weight
being that of metal rem oved in 16 minutes :
Dry
Wet
Grinding. Grinding.
oz.
07..
'Vheel A
. ..
.. .
. ..
49~
10-f.r

,, B

...

...

...

47,:\r

,
,
,

.. .
.. .
. ..

...
.. .
. ..

. ..
.. .
...

35 c"lr
15

c
D
E

39}~

4tir
2l~
2-t~r

5 tliT

F
...
. ..
...
1T~
6/iT
J~
31l
,,
G

Ju
flJ
These trials were made on the earlier machine.
A still longer series is to be made on the heavier
and m ore solidly f ounded machine. It is probable
that the experimental use of t his m achine will
finally lead to such an accumulation of exact data
as will tend to place the emery wheel industry on a
m ore assured basis.
,

D usT D ESTRucroR . .
Under Section 22, sub-section 2, of the Public
Health, L ondon, Act, 1891, the L ondon County
Council is constituted the sanitary authority for
the purposes of the Act with respect to any_nuisance arising on premises used by a sanitary
authority for the treatment or disposal of any street
or house refuse . The Public Healt h and Housing
Committee, therefore, instructed their medical
officer, Mr. Shirley F. Murphy, and their engineer, Mr. Alexander R. Binnie, to ~ake a
th orough inquiry into t he whole subJ ech of
dust destructors. Those officers delegated their
respe~tive assistants, Dr. W. H .. ~amer, . an~
Mr. Santo C rimp, M. Inst. C. E ., to VISit the pr1nc1pal places where ~estructors are in u~e, and on the
information obtained they have pubhshed a r eport
dealing with the subject. From this we learn that
there are four types of destructors in general Ue,
Fryer's Warner's, "\Vhiley's, and H orafall's.
These .;ere all described, and t hree of t h em were
illustrated on page 431 of o ur fifty-fourth volume
(September 30, 1892),. so. that it is ~ot necessar:r to
give a detailed descr1pt10n of theu constructwn.
The report states that Fryees destructor r educes
8 tons of refuse per cell pe~ twenty-four _hours, but
that owing to the oncommg charge lymg on the
dead hearth near the outlet flue, offensive vapours
pass into this flue, and need the use of a " fu!De
cremator, " which increases the cost of burnmg
very considerably. In regard to the Warner
furnace the report says: "We cannot r egard
this form of furnace a.s being ~!together free
from the evils pointed out as affectmg Fryer's de
structor, because the outlets for the prod_ucts of
combustion a.re at the back of the furnace, 1n close
proximity to the inlet for the refuse to be burnt. "
The Whiley furnace has been adopted by. th e Ma~
cheeter Corporation after an extended trial. It 1s
provided with a Root's blower to afford forced
draught and the heat is so intense that the arch of
the fur~ace glows. '' The outlet for the products
of corn bustion appears to be rather too near th e
shoot of the crude material, but . . . it is, perh.aps,
possible that the vapours given off by the partially

burnt refus e are decomposed in passing through

the furnace flues." In the Horsfall destructor , in use
in Oldham, the outlets for the products of comb ustion are placed at the opposite end to that a t
which th e material to be b urn ed is introduced, and
consequently have to pass over the h ottest part of
the furnace; moreover, a steam blast is used in
connection with a closed ashpit, and, as a result.,
the temperature of the furnace is so high that at
Oldha.m the lining was observed to be glowing.
"There can be n o d oubt but that in furnaces of this
type the decomposition of the organic and combustible matters is so perfect that n o nuisance is likely
t o arise from its use. " At Leeds the borough engineer has erected a. set of furnaces combining the
features of the Fryer and Horsfa.ll destructors. At
Liverpool Mr. Boulnois has made an opening in the
top of the furnace of the Fryer d estructor, and r eplaced the fixed ba.rs by r ocking bars. The conclusions of the authors of the r epor t are that as regards the best means of preventing nuisance from
destructors, the following points demand attention :
(1) The temperature should be sufficiently high; (2)
t he duration of exposure to a high temperature
should be sufficient ly long ; (3) all the vapour
escaping from the refuse should be h eated to a sufficient extent, and there should be no possibility of
the escape of undecomposed vapour into the
chimney s haft.

T ADLEAU

IV.-Calculs et R esultats.

,
35.40 ,
5.3147 ,
4.5105 ,,

400 kg.
50 ,

30.865 "
4.8021,
4.6120,

9.06*

112.33

In point of fact, however, by referring to the body of

the paper it appears that these are not kilos., but litres
per kilo. of coal per hour. And as the proportion of a
litre to a gallon (10 lb. ) is approximately ten times that
of a kilo. to a pound, the value remains practically un
changed, viz. = 9.0o lb. water per pound of fuel.
If "Incredulous " will take another look at the cards
published in The Engineer, and also read again that
portion of rr.y last letter which deals with them, he will
see that be is mistaken in saying that, with a. cylinder
ratio of 2.48 : 1, " the expansions could not be much more
than 4."
At maximum power, with links in full gear, the expnn
sion possibly might be somewhere thereabouts, exclusive
of the effect of wiredrawinS' during admission ; but at
the low-speed trials under dtscussion it will be seen that
the high pressure mean cut-eff is at about 20 per cent.
which gives an expansion from cutoff point of about 8.5
THE METRIC SYSTEM.
times. Acd if we carry an expansion cur ve up from that
To THE EDITOR OF ENGINEERING.
SIR,-! would feel obliged if you would be kind enough point to initial pressure, we shall find it ~ives a. virtual
to publish a few remarks on what Mr. J ames Hume says
in your issue of June 16, with respect to the metrical
A~
. ~~8~-------~
. c________________r
syste-m.

I quite agree with Mr Huroe when he says that it will

be far from easy for the English, accustomed as they are

to their Imperial weights and measures, to make use of the

''
metricsystem. But the gentleman's ridiculous remark

'
that the metrical system is " clumsy, inaccurate, artificial,
Ft:J .1.

and unscientific," may not pass unnoticed.

The whole piece seems to be written for unscientific
readers, for every sensible man knows that the pleasantry
of the late Astronomer Royal for Scotland concP.rning
a I
the F rench system bears fully on the English also. In
16I t\
a,.
.... - ....
the English system, too, the standard pound is a piece of
I
\
platinum when weighed in vacuo at a temperature of

--- -----,,'
0 deg. Centigrade, just as in Paris another piece of
6,
platinum under the same circumstances is called a kilo
gramme. \Vhat is worse is, that we cannot say of the
yard what can be said of the metre, that it is the exact
I
measure, which is owing to the little difficulty in getting
17S8
0 deg. Centigrade, whereas it is far more difficult to
get a temperature of 16.66 Centigrade. This much for the
pleasantry of the late Astronomer. The metrical system cutoff at something less than t stroke. That is to say, if
1s systematic; all weights and measures are in simple steam were kept at initial pressure during the whole ad
proportion to the metre ; they ariEe from it, and the mission and cut off sharply at a little less than i stroke,
decimal division is connected with the system of numbers it would give the same pressure and volume of steam
which is very convenient and still in use in England. shown by the cards at 29 percent. of the stroke. Neglect
No doubt tbts system will last as long as the metrical ing the effects of clearance and compression in both
system will exist. The English system of weights and cylinders, this would give an expansion ratio of about 10.
measures cannot be called a system. The weights are And if we take into aooount these effects in both cylin
arbitrary, and not to be deduced in a simple way from the ders, we shall probably find that the expansion ratio is
measures. There is avoirdupois weight, troy weight, and considerably over 10.
The accompanying sketch, which is not to scale, will
apothecaries' weight, each with different divisions and
names. The same may be said of the proportions of the illustrate what I mean.
linear, square, and cubic measures.
A B is steam saved at initial press ure in high -pressure
cylinder.
The most eloquent argument against the bold assertions
BC is new steam admitted into high-pressure cylinder.
of Mr. Hume is that few civilised States, England and
A C is total steam expanding in cylinder and clearance.
America excepted, have adopted the English &} Stem.
I remain, Sir, respectfully yours,
ab is steam saved in high-pressure cylinder at initial
pressure of low-pressure cylinder.
c. J. HIJ MANS,
Assizer of Weights, Measures, and Gas-meters.
a c is total volume to which steaw expands at that pres
sure.
Boisle-Duc, Holland, July 11, 1893.
b c is v?lume o~ ~t!3am discharged from high-pressure
cyhnder at 1mtta.l pressure of low-pressure cylinder.
a1 b1 is steam saved in lowprest~ure cylinder by com
TilE REPORT OF THE ADMIRALTY BOILER
pression at initial pressure of that cylinder.
COMMITTEE.
b1 c1 = b c is volume new steam admitted into low-pres
To THE EDITOR OF ENGINEERING.
sure cylinder.
SIR -It seems to me that your correspondent "Ina1 c1 is total volume of steam available for ex pansion in
credulous" has given himself much unnecessary trouble in
low-pressure cylinder.
view of the fact that, in the case of M. Normand's tor
b 11 c11 is the final volume to which BC should expand.
pedo-boa.ts, no measurement of the feedwater or boiler
1 = actual ratio of expansion.
~B_cC
evaporation was made experimentally; and the latter was
only deduced by calculation from the performance of
Yours faithfully,
another boiler. So that the statement that "the boiler
J . J RNNINGSC' AMPBELL.
actually made 12 lb. per pound of fuel" must be taken just
N ewcastleonTyne, July 11, 1803.
for what it is worth; and to set any calculations based on
--such estimated boiler evaporation against those made
from the actual weight of fuel used per day, and the
To TH.li: EDITOR OF ENGINEERING.
mean indicated horse-power taken from half-hourly cards,
SIR,-'Yhen your corret~pon~ent . Mr. J. J ennings
iR less than useless, especially when such impossible Campbell s reference to the artJCle m The Engineer on
results are obtained as your correspondent shows by his the above subject drew my attention to it, I read it
calculationb. As your correspondent suggests, the through and a.ssun:ed that the data which were put in the
1988 lb. is an error in translating the quantity of water form of a. Table wera intended to be taken as measured
from the ori~inal paper.
quantities. On checking them over I found they led to
In Table IV. of ~I. Normand's paper, a copy of which the results given on page 23, and as the s.rticle stated
I inclose, line 9 runs "consumption of water per hour, that " the boiler ctctually made 12 lb. per pound of coal "
at speed of trial 9.06; " nothing being said as to what (the italics are mine), I concluded that thi~ was at all
the units of value are. As the values (of coal con3ump events, intended to be correct, and that the err~r was
tion ) immediately preceding a.re in kilogrammes, and no probably in the coal line and in the 1988 lb. of water
change is indicated, it is possible that the translator stated as having been evaporated per hour.
imagined the 9.06 to be kilos. also, translated them into
On a more carAful reading, however, I find the state
English pounds (19. 9 lb. ), and omitted the decimal point. roents that (1} the we.ter w~ not measured a.t all ; (2} the
I

I
I

I
I

--

E N G I N E E R I N G.
12 lb. per pound of fuel burnt in a locomotive boiler was
deduced from a trial of a boiler of an entirely different
type (which boiler, moreover, only evaporated 9.29lh. of
steam per pound of coa.l) ; (3) that, after saying, as quoted
above, that the boiler " actually " made 12 lb. per pound
of coal, the evaporation may be taken as more nearly
13 lb.
The article thus gives for the same experiment 12lb.
as the "actual " evaporation per pound coal, 13 lb. as
' reore nearly " the fact, and finally, a-s I pointed out on
page 23 in your last issue, 15.65 to 18.07 times the weight
of fuel as the tabulated results of a trial conducted " with
exceptional care." It would be interesting to know how
th~ four different rates of evaporation in a locomotive
botler were "deduced from that of a Scotch boiler in the
s.s. Chasseur, which was found by actual experimant t o
make 9.29lb. of steam per pound of coal."
Notwitbsta.nding the exceptional care with which
the trials were carried out, which ought to have justified Mr. Normand in quoting their results as facts,
he evidently thought them doubtful himself as be
elected "to put down the consumption " at a.bou't 1;\ lb.
per indicated horsepower per hour. If both coal and
water have t o be altered before they look even possible,
of what use was the trial ?
INCREDULOUS.

STEERING IRONCLADS.
To THE EDIToR oF ENGINEERING.
Mr. Moy 's letter in your is~me of the

Sm,7th inst.
calls attention to the very important faob that the power
of the rudder is due t o the impact of water against it, and
that the law of that impact is in the ratio of the square of
the velocity with which the water impinges against the
rudder. Now, although at ordinary speeds of, say, 8 to 12
knots per hour the resistance may be almost correctly
stated by that law, yet at higher velocities (esp~oially
when the water has to form waves before displacement
takes place) the resistance increases at a much higher
ratio, and, consequently, a ship moving through the water
a.t, say~ 20 knot s will be turned by its rudder in much less
time tnan when going at 8 kn ots. But could they be
turned in less space ? I ~uppose the Admiralty ha.ve a
standing order by which every ship, immediately after
being built and equipped, before being commissioned is
fully t est ed at every speed from 6 knots up t o its maximum speed as to its turning capacity under every possible
condition of rudder and screw~, and that these coefficients
of the turning capacity of each ship are regis tered in a
book kept for the purpose, and that every officer of that
ship knows by heart (the same as the alphabet) the exact
distance in cables that the ship will turn at a certain
speed.
With respect to {>lacing two screws at the bow for
turning purposes, it IS really not necessary, because the
ship can be turned round her own centre if she is at rest
by driving the one screw ahead full speed and reversing
the other full speed, letting go the rudder altogether, as
the use of the rudd er in such a case would be worse than
useless ; and if the Ca.mperdown bad from the first stopped
her port screw and driven her starboard screw full speed
ahead with her rudder full port, she would easily have
turned in a radius of two cables ; bu t why cannot the
rudders of such immense ships be fitted with a sliding
shutter to be worked in an emergency, and so give the
ship double the rudder power ? because th e power of the
rudder varies directly as the superficial area and as the
~quare to the third power of the velocity with whi ch the
ship is moving through the water.
Yours truly,

57
ture of engineers' tools. If quality and accuracy of
fitting is important in any item, surely it is in engineers'
tools; as every defective tool produces inaccurate work.
Engineers, of all others, must know thi s, and yet when
ther want a tool they buy without regard to quality or
fittmg. The biggest tool for the lowest price is the rule.
Only a very few comparatively will give sufficient to
pay for a well-fitted tool. Therefore the toolmakers a.re
forced to make ' at a price," or they would cease to
exist; their rivals who compete for price, leaving quality
out of the question, gat n early all the trade.
The manufacturers ought not to be blamed for producing an artiole which buyers insist upon havi'ng. T o save a
few pounds in the original cost, they use a tool which pro
bably neve1 is true, and which every year gets worse, and
oft en costs yearly more than the difference in price
between a fairly well fitted tool and a common onP.
Trusting you will continue to advocate the necessity
for accurate tools, and that you will also lay the blame
chiefly upon the buyers,
I am, yours truly,
BRITISIJ MANUFACTURER.

July 8, 1893.

AN ENGLISH VIEW OF AMERICAN

RAILWAYS.
To THE EDITOR OF ENGINEERING.

SrR,-The object of my recent visit to America was to

enable me to examine and studv the system of construcT o THE EDITOR OF ENGINEERING.
tion a.nd practical working of the railways of that
SIR,-It has uoourred to me that a discussion of the
country, and especially to see the vast collection of
mechanics of typewriters, and the merits of the dif~nginefl~ vehicles, ~nd appliances which has been placed
ferent patterns m the market, would be very valuable, if
m the 'Iransportat10n Department of the World's Jl'air &1J
Y-:OU would publish it.
I know there are difficulties.
Chicago.
R ecently, at the Polytechnic, they bad lectures on the
~yery possible ~acility .was courteously granted by the
various machines by the ~ents, and these were supposed
officials of th e vartous rallroad compani es, and by firms
t o be followed by discu&sions. They were published in
and owners of works connected with Jail way appliances.
the Stationer, but will, I understand, be re-issued as a
Thus opportunities were afforded of seeing the manupamphlet by Mr. Morton, the teacher at the Polytechnic.
facture
Of course, each lecture was a eulogy, and the discussion
.
1 of every separate part
l of locomotives, cars, brakes,
signa s, permanent way, a so th e construction of bridges
consisted. in putting forward objections, which were at
and stat1on roofs.
once demed by the lecturer. There was no dealing with
I ntroduction.-In the early days of rail roads in A merica
the practical construction and principles, and I underit was necessary to make lines of great length passing
ROBERT STEVF.NSON, C . E.
stood that no one present had paid much attention to
through blank country baYing little or no local traffic
July 11, 1893.
these points.
The tr~k was there~ore laid. a~ quickly and as cheaply
I would mention as a specimen of the sort of criticism
as possible; the stat10ns, butldmgs, and bridges were also
which should be made and answered, tha.t, however deof the same r?ugh-and-ready construct ion. Theobjct of
THE LOSS OF H.M.S. "VICTORIA."
!irable it is t o have the printing from inked ty{>eS it is
these ea~ly hne~ wa:s to bring vast districts of unUI~ed
not desirable that th ~y should rest on a!l inkmg pad,
To THE EDITOR OF ENGINEEBING.
because first, the settlmg of dust and drymg of the ink
8111,-'fhere are some phenomena in connection with country m to cultt vat10n, and to promote the build in~ of
will inevitably soon cause the sides of the type3 as well a-s the late regrettabl~ foundering of the Victoria which towns and the introduction ~f vari~us works. Englishfaces to be inked, and t end to make the characters blnr seem worthy of notice or criticism from a mechanical men 3:ppear to be under the 1mpress10n that the railways
when struck on any but a very bard surface, and next point of view. It appears to be alleged that the screws are still of the former rough oonstruction. This is howbecaus.e clearly the most fa vourable c_ondition for a light were revolving at a furious rate while the ship was ever, not the ca~e. The old light rails hare been replactd
touch IS that the tyve should be carrte.d by a continuous bottom upwar~s, to the danger of neigbbonring swimmers. by heavy steel rails weighing 80 lb., 90 lb., and 100 lb. to
motion to the point of action. Now it is impossible t o do How could th1s be explained ? one might inquire. For the yard; the early wooden bridg~s have giren place to
this as the arrangements are in the present machines since ~nverted bo~lers would drive the water (instead of steam ) some very ~ne structures of iron or steel. Large numbers
the types must be raised from their position and then mto the cyhnderP, surely, so that no motion of th e screw of new st~t10ns have been erected, and others are under
moved to printing point. During this the applied force would be possible, but it appears that the machinery con~truot10n, many of these being quite as large and conis more or less doing work which has to be undone and would come to a dead st op almost immediately. It may veme~t as the best of t~ose on t.his side. It may here be
a cting unfavourably so as to press pivots against the ~ides be that these remarks about the screws revolvin~ applied mentl~ned that ~mencan trams run upon the rightof their beatings.
to the previous state of the ship before she capsized and h.and s~de of the lme, and the signal-arms are upon the

Of course no machine i3 free from some waste of for ce when considerably inclined- not to her inverted ~tate right side of th e posts.
but these all have it much wabted, and examination wiil w~ioh wa~ quite a distinct phenomenon, and lasted som~
Fares.-Tbe railroad companies provide only one class
sh?w that ribbon machines are all (I believe) superior in mmutes It appear~. . Th~ cellular .bot~om of the ship of passenger car, and issue one class of tick et known as
tbts respect.
acted as a buoy, It IS satd, to mamtam the inverted "first class, " but all the important trains have Pither
Then take the question of noise. To the user the noise state.
Pullman or Wagn~rr drl!'-wing.-room, dining, or sleeping
seems mostly to come from the t apping of the types but
~f this inverted state were maintained more than a few cars attached, for ndmg m whtch a small extr&. charge is
I th ink if you sit a yard or two in front of the ope;ator mmutes, however, the crowns of the furnaces would be made and paid to the oar conductor.
on any of these machines, you will hear besides two dull made to collapse outwards, becoming soon red-hot from
The passenger fares for the " one class " are cheaper
bl<?ws for ~ach finger action. These are the penetrating absen ce of water. For of course, in an inverted boiler than the penny-J?er-mile charged in this country, and the
noises wbtc:b are b eard through a. floor or partition and the water would be at the top of the boiler instead of at extra charge paid for the Pullman cars is considerably
less than our first class fare.
they are caused by the teeth of the rack falling o~ the the bottom.
dogs or pallettes. In order to move the heavy carriage
Oars.-The cars are all of the American pattern, having
~t was related that the boilers "exploded" when the
rapidly, it is acted on by a strong spring and the mo- sh1p fi~ally w.ent down. Why should this be ? What doors at the ends, and const!quently a communication
mentum imparted is twice suddenly checke'd. once before col!ld ImmersiOn have to do with the bursting of the throughout the train. They are all supported on two
and once after the impression. If makers would be content boilers? It appears more reasonable t o conclude that the bogies, eaoh having either four or six wheels according
with a practical speed of writing. such as can be kept up "explosion " heard and simultaneous escape of smoke was to th e w.eigbt of the vehicle. The length of the ordinary
the strength of the spring might be much reduced and' due to the sea water entering the furnaces. This would cars vanes fro~ 52 ft . to 70 ft. ; the Pullman cars, howmoreover, I think that partly by changing the f~rm of generate, o~ course, a great quantity of steam, mingled, ever, are considerably longer, some of the latest being no
one pallette and. partly by so timing the escape that it perhapP, With hyd~ogen and o.th~r gases, which would less than 80ft., and all have two six wheeled bogies.
shall act (as I thmk can be arranged) after the Impression produce .a d estruot~ve effect w1thm the ship, no doubt. . The e:ctremely long journeys which have to be made
entirely, or allowing more time between the drops a But possibl~ the botlers themselves may be intact.
m Amer1ca have. always necessitated an amount of luxury
furt~er re~uction of strength would follow. Besides the
I should hke to a sk whether a locomotive ' explodes " and comfort wbt~h ha:s ~ot b~en ~o much required in this
carnage mtgbt now be made largely of aluminium alloy as often stated, at a collision? What are the statisti~s country, and whtch It IS qu1te Impossible to obtain so
and much reduced in weight indeed, the ~eneral use of here~ There do not appear t o be effects witnessed such long . as . the separate compartment system of carriage
these alloys, wherever possibie, would get nd of half the as t:Iught be expect~d from a locomotive boiler bursting, remams m use.
weight of the machines, and make them portable while wbt~~ w~uld be hkely to be more destructive than the
Wi.thin the past few years numbers of American visitors
reducing the force required to use them. It seems' to me colhs1?D ttself. Very po~sibly the boiler plate may be to thts cou~try have protest ed against the construction
that people are prone to think that because one letter sometimes bent or drt ven m wards by the collision and be of the Enghsh compartm~nt vehioles, and English visitors
requires but a slight force, of which onJy a fraction locally torn or weakened so as to allow sometimes' a great ~ho have b~en to Amenca have returned home greatly
(hardly sensible) can ba saved, the saving does not much escape of steam or water. But this is scarcely an " ex- 1mpre~sed wt~h the lux ury and comfort of travelling in
m~tter, but the. aggregate waste of a ction in a day's work plo~10n, " or comparable to the destructive phenom ena ~e~1can t~ams. The result has been that several of the
wtth a typewnter may be considerable. I believe the whtch would attend and do attend the bursting of a *ngl~h rail'Yay co~pani~s have introduced various
saving well worth making.
locomotive boiler, which is an. extremely rare event.
carriages wtth corrtdor," " twin saloons " and "lava'
Then I would suggest touch for consideration. Gene- So~e of your .readers, no doub t, mcluding myself, would tory coaches."
rally these machines want what the agents are pleased to be mterested m any co?lments m your journal (editorial
ThE::seareall i~~ortant steps in the right direction, and
call a ~ta.ccato touc~ (as if E~gl!sh were not enough), but or .other) o~ t.hese pomts, or in the publication of any ~end to the abo~ttton of the separate compartments, but
I a.m. disposed to thmk t~at It lS a disadvantage. It is rehable stattsttCal dS\ta..
tt must be admttted by all jmpartial observers that for
~equtred beoa..use, as machmes are, the sides of the type are
Yours truly,
lu~ury and comfort the best American trains are to-day
tnked (as I satd before), _or the ~bbon is wrapped round ;
st1ll far ahe~? of th e best English trains.
.
8. TOLVER p RESTON
t~us,. unless the contact IS v~~ l1{lht an'!- short, the impresSeller-strasse 29, Hamburg, July 8, 1893.

Speeds.~Smce the great railway race of 1888 little or

sion 1s blurred, but I d~ubt If tt 1s a gam even in speed.
no altera~10~ has been made in the speed of trains
There are endless pomts on which a man who has had
q.reat Bntam, whereas in America important acceler~~
a good many maohmes through his hand~ has worked
t10ns hav~ followed each other .so quickly that speeds are
(JUALITY
v.
LOW-PRICED
GOODS.
them, and who is a m echanic, could comment: to the gr~at
now run t.n that country as h1gb, and even hi ooher than
To TBB EmTJ B Ol' ENGINDRING
advantage of buyers, and probably of makers. No doubt
those attamed here.
o
'
81~, -There is. a great deal of complaint as to the
the W?rkm~n of all classes employed on typewriters are
Trains on t.he New Y~rk Central, P ennsylvania, Balti~uahty
of
goods
m
ev~ry
line
of
business.
Your
remark
v.ery, mgen10u~, but th ey have prejudice3, and an outmore and Oh~o, and Phtladelphia and Reading Railways
m
last
~eek's
issue,
':
U.
nfortunately
the
n
tarket
for
best
etder s ~JuggestJOns would sometimeP .._"useful.
goods 1s extremely hmtted," points out the cause of run. at very h1g:h speed~ and m~i~ta;in very good time.
Yours truly,
Fo~ a long dlst,~nce J~urney tt ts mteresting to note the
secon~-1ate and very common work being produced.
INDIA.
I Wlll speak only of my own trade, viz., the manufac- workmg of the Emptre State Express" which leave
New York at 8.30 a.nt. and arrives at Buffalo at 5.10 p.m.~

TYPEWRITING MACHINES.

ss
a distance of 440 miles in 8 hours and 40 minutes, including four stoppages.
To compare with this we, of course, turn to our fastest
"Flying Scotch man," which runs from London to Edinburgh, 400 miles, in 8 hours 25 minutes, the result, bowever, being in favour of the American train, as it performs a distance of 40 more miles with an increase of only
15 minutes in time, and it is also a heavier train.
An article which appeared in the Times of Monday,
July 3, refers very clearly to the present position, thus:
"For the last year or two it has seemed as though the
blue riband for speed, which England has held unchallenged since the beginning of railway history, was t o be
surrendered tamely, without a struggle, to our Americs.n
cousins. "
Many English railway chairmen and officers are now in
America, and it is very probable that on their return the
speeds of certain trains will be increased so as to regain
the "blue riband," and to prevent the Amerioa.ns continuing to have the right to ad vertiae c~rtain of their express trains as '' the fastest regular passenger train in
the world."
Locomotives.-The standard American express engine
has a four-wheeled leading bogie, outside cylinders, and
four coupled wheels, and carries the usual " cow-catcher"
in front, large head-light to illuminate the track in order
that the driver may see the line for some distance ahead,
the bell to warn persons at stations and crossings, and has
a very comfortable cab provided for the men.
To English eyes the American engine looks a peculiar
and vast machine, but, of course, the test of a locomotive
must ever be the practical work it performs.
Tbe American boiler is extremely large, and supplies an
ample amount of steam ; it is placed at least 1 ft. higher
than in an English engine, the t otal height to the top of
the chimney being no less than 15 f&.
It follows, as a matter of course, that locomotives having
('ylinders of 20 in. in diameter, a stroke of 24 in., driving
wheels of either 7ft. or 6ft. 6 in. in diameter, supplied by
large boilers having fireboxes 10 ft. in length, and a steam
pressure of 180 lb. per square inch, muso be, and are,
ca~able of performing very heavy and fast work.
During my visit to America I timed the running of
most of the important trains in which I travelled, and by
the courtesy of several companies was enabled to ride
many hundreds of miles upon the engines working various
kinds of trains.
On some of these journeys the en~ine, conveying a load
of 250 English tons, ran 69 miles m 68 minutes, and on
falling gradients miles were passed in 50, 46, and 45
eeconds1 several miles together being covered at a speed
of 80 mtles an hour.
Between Philadelphia and New York, and between
Philadelphia and Atlantic City, I had ample facilities for
watching the practical working of the four-cylinder compound locomotives desi~ed by Mr. Vauclain, and built
at the celebrated Bald wm Works.
Facts, such as running 56 miles with a train of six
Pullman cars in 50 minutes, speak for themselves, and
when my records show miles accurately timed in 44
seconds (that is equal to 81.8 miles an hour) it must be
admitted that the engines perform some good work.
Considering that the gauge is the same as our own, and
the boiler placed much higher, it might be supposed that
the riding at high speed would be uneasy.
This point I specially observed, and found that at a
speed of 80 miles an hour the working of the engines was
remarkably steady, and the absence of any long rigid
wheel base enabled trains to be run round sharp ourves
at speeds which would be perfectly unsafe wtth rigid
engines and vehicles.
Brakes.- When the hi~h speed and heavy trains
are taken into consideration, ili will be seen that very
efficient brake-power is absolutely essential to safety.
That is amply provided, as every en~ine, tender, and
passenger car in the country is fitted With the best of all
continuous brakes- namely, the Westinghouse automatic.
Not only do the American companies apply brake
blocks to every wheel in the train of carsi but they are
now engaged in fitting brakes even to the eadin~ bogie
wheels of their engines, so that, as they say, 'every
wheel which carri~s weight may have its own share of
stopping power." They are also applying the same brake
to large numbers of goods vehicles.
Goods Trajfic.-An ordinary English goods wagon
weighs usually about 5i tons and carries a load of 8 or 10
tons; the proportion of dead weight to paying load being
constderable.
An American wagon ia 38 ft. loog, runs on two bogies,
weighs about 11 tons, and carries a paying load of over
26 tons. The standard goods engines have eight coupled
wheels, cylinders 19 or 20 in. in diameter, and a steam
pressure of 180 lb. When riding on one of these powerful locomotives it conveyed a train of 70 freight cars.
The vast volume of railway traffic enables it to be oheaply
conveyed and consequently the rates for ~oods are less
than in England, and there can be no questiOn that much
of the commercial success of America is due to its cheap
goods and mineral rates.
Many of the impo~tant compa~ies have lately made
considerable progress tp the .adoptiOn of the bloc~ system,
and in the use of effiCient stgnals; however, an tmmense
amount still remains for the American engineers to do in
that direction. Railwn.ys frequently cross each other on
the level and pass over roads and streets, the only warning to the engi~edriver bei~g gi~en by a ~andl~~p or
flag Facing-pomts often eXIst whtch lead mto stdmgs,
and. I saw numbers of such, totally independent of and
unlocked with any signal. In running, therefore, very
much has to b e trusted to the quick eye of the driver, and
the power of his efficient brake.
From these few remarks it will be seen that the English
can learn n1Uch from America relating to comfort in

E N G I N E E R I N G.
travelling, but that as regards fencing of the track, gates also
ab crossings, bridges over or under the line, and the extended use of the block system, they have much to copy
from England.
I am, Sir, youra faithfully,

E. STRETTON,
Saxe-Coburg House, Leicester, July 8, 1893.
CLEMENT

+R =

wdx

+ S1

(2)

(4)

.tc

=!.XI w dx

. . . sl

C.E.

(r+a)

(~}

Resolving horizontally

F o =F, = P

PNEUMATIC RIVETERS.
To THE EDITOB 01!' ENGINEERING.
Sm, -Our attention has been called to a letter from
Mr. R. H. Twaddle in your issue of the 7th inst., which
refers to a letter of ours describing the action of the
~gle lever auangement of Alien pneumatic riveters.
e helieve no one readin~ our letter would suppose we
bad any thought of raismg controversies as to rival
systems of riveting, but Mr. Tweddle has seen fit to base
upon that letter an attack upon the pneumatic system
which, if called for at all, would, it seems to us, have come
more appropriately from some less interested quarter.
We cannot trespass upon~your space to make more than
a general reference to Mr. Tweddle's remarks. We gather
that he objects to the ra-pid increase of pre~sure in riveting, as shown by our d1agrams, as the heading cup al?proaches the end of its work- why, we do not know, as 1t
ts there the extra power is most required. Again, every
practical man will see that the danger of over-pressure
on this system is purely imaginary. If the frame of the
machine is yroperly designed to carry the maximum load,
an excess o that load results in the frame springing, and
an excess of pressure is impossible.
To be brief, these machines, like all others, must be
judged nob by theories, but by their practi<'al results.
'fhese have shown that for bridges and girders the work
produced by the pneumatic riveter is equal both in soundness and finish to that b;v any other system. A s regards
portabl~ m~bines espeCially, they have none of the drawbacks of the older system, whilst the lower cost of installation, freedom from the effects of frost, much lower cost
of maintenance, and general handiness for carrying about
to hang from any crane, always cl6an and dry, are advantages obvious to all. In short, it is the sum of these
practical advantages which has had weight enough to
comm~nd the pneumatic riveters to the scores of firms of
high standing all over the oountry which have adopted
the system.
Yours f31ithfully
DE BERGUE AND Co., LnnTED.
Frank J aokson, Manager.
Strangeways Iron Works, Manohester, July 10, 1893.

Take moments about D,

F 0 ho + W (c + l} +R (c + a)= P m+

f.

('+ u)

w x d x,

whence
ho = r.~ +

-~[fo(c+a) WX dx- W (c +

l)-R(c +a} ] (5)

Take moments about D1

F t h1 = F o ho ~x 'W ( x 1 -x)dx,
whence from (5) we get

h 1 =m+

~[J.c+a wxd x- W(c + l}-R(c +a}+

J.x w

(x 1 -x)dx ]

or shortly
h1

=m+~ [A + ( <xJ}

J.

(6}

where A is a constant and

: ( lc+al

=J o

wxdx-W(c+l) - R(c+a),

and

J..t'w(xr-x} dx = ( x 1
This shows that if we vary h1 and x 1 the point of application of F 1 is a curve of some sort, and that we may conclude that F 1 is the horizontal oomponent of the thrust
along this curve.
To find the vertical component of the thrust we have
at any point
Vertical component= horizontal component x tan gent
of inclination of thrust at that point

= FJ d hl.
d

X1

Now

STRESSES IN LOCK INVERTS.

To THE EDITOR 01!' ENGINEERING.
Sm,-Havmg read the correspondence which recently
~ ddx
w (x1 - x) d x ]
appeared in your paper with regard to "concealed
1
arches " in lock inverts, I have been examining the matter
theoretically, and beg to subjoin the results I have which, on expanding and differentiating, becomes
arrived at.
In considering the nature of the stresses in a lock
d ht = -!_ {
d x + x1
wx
d X1
p
o
~~
.r,
invert, it is better to take the general case rat, and afterwards deduce any particular case as may be ,eq_uired.
In the accompanying gure let 0 A E F BC D repre- the suffix x 1 indicating that the values of w and x at
sent a ha.lf.section through any graving dock or lock, x 1 are to be put for w and x in the brackets.
and supposed to be of unit thickness.
.
d h 1 -_ -p
1 {

w d x + w 1 x 1 - tr1 x 1
Considering the lock as being empty, it is in equi0
a .cl
librium under the following forces:
1. The pressure of the earth along the face F C, wh;"l.
~ ! ..t 1() d x.
may be resolved into a normal force P acting at a he.

[f.xl

f x'w

J }.

[w] - [

.fx'

. 1 component
F1 1 dh] = vert1ca
d x,

~- ----------~----------------

:R

: I
' I

-~---I

:nv

I
I

x(by 4)

sl (by 3)

{(x1)

m above DC, and a tangential for ce Racting downwards

along the face and depending on the friction of the

material. This latter force is usually omitted, but it
will be more complete to take it into account.
2. The pressure and tension (if any) over the s~ction
0 D, which will be normal owing to the shearing force
vanishing at the centre, and which may b~ represented
by some force Fo acting at a height ho above D C.
3. The weight of the half-section.t... which is split up into
the weight W of the wall A E F jj, and which acts at a
distance l from A E, and the weight of the portion
D 0 A B C, which is included in the fourth force.
4. The upward pressure of the material acting normal
to the faceD C, and which, after having subtracted the
weight per foot run of 0 BC D, we may say is w tons per
foot run, where w varies in any given mauner according t o
its distance x from D.
Let 0 A= c, AB = a, BC = d, and let 0 1 D 1 be any
section at a distance Xj from 0 D, and let F) and sl be the
normal and tangential forces acting on that section, and
let h 1 be the height of F 1 above DC.
Now, oonsidering the equilibrium of the ha1f-s~ction we
get by
Resolving vertically
(c+a l d

+R

We can see from the method of obtaining

(11ZZ') * -~.L 'Iol

1V

= Jsl'). + p2

the homal and tangential forces over the section at that

point, and if T 1= thrust a.t x 1 we have,
Tl = .JS12+F]2

I
I

- 0 1

71

i.e., the thrust at any point is obtained by compounding

J.x x=f
=

+Is
...
' I ,

~-

!.

~Q

(1)

in equation 6 that the curve is at least of the second

degree, and is most probably a parabola, and we may
therefore say that the stress in the invert causes it to
assume the functions of a concealed arch.
In order that the material may not be in tension, we
must have
ho> ! d< * d
hA< ~ d > l d,

the most necessary condition being put first in each case.

Also the depth d must be pro~rtioned to give the correct
maximum stress in the material.
These calculations will apply to any form of invert
whether curved or flat, the only alterations b~ing in
'

=f

(x).

By omitting the force R at pleasure, and assuming a

curve
u = {( x),
we can calculate the necessary thickness, &('., for any
span of in vert.
GEORGE WILSO~, B .Sc.
Manchester.

ENGINEERING,

J ULY

J.j., 1893.

PNEUMATIC

ELEVATOR

G RAIN

CONSTR.UCTED BY T HE EAST FERR.Y-ROAD E NGINEERING

WOR.KS COMPANY,

LHIHTED,

CONVEY OR.

AND

MILL\VALL, F ROM THE

DESIGNS OF

M R.

F.

B.

DUC KHAM,

M.I.C.E.

(For .Descriplio11, see Puge 5H.)

= -.
.... ..._ .. -'

Fig .l
kt:

~~
'b..
....., ~~

'

'

r.
,

'

,,/

' .

'

'

... ,..

_../'

,'//

\
/)) (0)

.....

1'-1

I '"

/1

..........

' ' '.

~'-'

'

.........

- .......... .. ....

''

'

\ J
'

'

'

....'

' '
'

''

~~

'

'
~

I'

)l!JtLJ

'

'

I'
I

'

'

'
'

' .

..

..

_j

'-'

>cl-'
I'--

... ,.-

/1 ~

,.-

Ji'ig . 2.
la 01

D
I118A

Frg. j.

, .... ,

"

\~

Fig . 4 .

, ... ,.,

,,,, r

Fig. 5.

---- .
-

- - - ---- .

59

E N G I N E E R I N G.

PNEUMATIC GRAIN ELEVATOR AND CONVEYOR.

CONSTRUCTED BY THE EAST FERRY-ROAD ENGINEERING WORKS COMPANY, LIMITED.

F'-9 6

FV9 8
--0--......
I~

'

'
I

I
o

I
'
'

I
I

'

.' '
.................. . .........
.
..,.
,' .. ". ,. __ ................... .... ......... ..
" ')t
' :
!V
~- - - - ------- ------ - ---., -.'.U ..
_.. .............. ,\ .:.'-~.......
'

.... --- ..... ....... ...11:!:...

flf/ .. ,:..
' ........................ .. ... MJ.
~

~-- '0
I

:,

~ ..J

t
I

I ,...
.. ~$ \

....... .....,.. ........I

' ',

....

o'

... , . ,

...... .

'I

~~.

-~

I o

.,

t
I I

'

'-+--------- r-

'

the pipes can be taken to the grain in ~ny par t of the

ship, and the grain of itself flows steadily ~owards the
nozzle. The g rain can be discharged as easily from the
most inaccessible sit uations a.s from the most open ones.
The pipes only occupy a few square inches of the total
area through t he hatchway~, and ~ence other gea.r can
be worked simultaneously diSchargmg other goods fro~
th e same hold. This feature is also of advantage m
rainy weather, as by covering the hatchways and the
barges by tarpaulins as shown in .Fig. ~' the cargo can
be discharged as safely and as eastly as m fine weather.
In Fig. 5 it is indicated how well .ada~te~ the syst em
is for the direct discharge of a gram sh1p m to a granary
without interfering with other operations.
When tbe "Mark-lane"was first put to work, trouble
arose from the fact t hat the conveyor abstracted from
the cargo a portion of the dus t, and complaints arose
from the sellers because of the loss in weight. Arrangements were accor dingly made whereby this d ust was
returned to the g rain, but the buyers now, we understand prefer to accept separat e deliYery of the grain
and the dust as the value of the consignment is thus
much impro~ed. I t will be seen t hat similar apparatus
may be employed for either loading or discharging any
grain-like material to or from ships or w~re~ouses, .and
t hat although the Millwall Dock s machme 1s reqlllred
to t~ansfer lOO t ons per hour from ship to barge, t he
work ing capacity of machines of t his type is limited
only by the steam power used, and the size and number
of t he conveying pipes.

....... I ~ ---

----":

INDUSTRIAL NOTES.

F0 .7.
@

....
0

WE illustrate on our two-page plate and on t his

page an exceedingly ingenious and very effective
grain-discharging machine, which is now at work
in Millwall Dock, being the invention of Mr. F. E .
Duckha.m, M. I. C. E., to whose designs it has been
built by t he East Ferry-road Eugineering Works
Company, Limited, Millwall. The apparatus, as
in use at :Mill wall, is shown in F igs. l and 2. It consists
essentially of an air-exhausting plant w hi eh creates
a partial vacuum in a tank from which flex ible pipes
pass t o the grain in the ship's bold. The air passing
up these pipes to the tank carries th e grain with it,
the two being th en separated from each other in the
vacuum tauk already mentioned. Referring to I~'ig.
1, the steam engine there shown is an ordinary compounrl engine, having cylinders 15 in. and 30 in. in
diameter by 4 ft. stroke, and r unning, when in full
work, at about 40 revolutions per minute.
This
engine drives two air exhausters of somewhat peculi:tr
const ruction, these peculiarities being necessitated by
the fact that the air entering the cylinders is charged
with a certain amount of dus t from the grain. If any
lubricant is em ployed in these cylinders, clogging is
likely to arise, and hence it was found necessary to build
them .so that they could r un dry. These exhausters take
th e air from an exhaust box, which communicates by
piping wit h ~ix vacuum tanks and se parators, from
which the grain pipes run to the ship's hold. These
separators, six in all, are fixed in pairs in the three
deck-houses shown in Fig, I. In construction t hey
are simply tanks of iron plate, with a t aper bot tom
divided from the cylindrical part of the t ank by a
diaphragm. In the centre of this diaphragm is a hole,
through which passes a spout pointed downwards,
and which is connected to the grain pipe. The hole
through the diaphragm is somewhat larger than the
spout above mentioned. The air to the exhauster is
drawn off from this tank at the top, and the air from
the ship!s hold, coming up to supply its place and carrying the grain with it, enters this tank through the
spout at a considerable velocity, and the consequence
is the grain, owing to its iner tia, is shot down into t he
bottom of the tapered portion of the tank, whilst the air
finally escapes between the diaphragm and the spout
il)to the upper part of the tank. So far the separation

is complete, but it is further necessary to get t he grain

out of the tank without dis turbing the vacuum th ere.
To this end the ingenious arrangement shown in
Figs. 6 and 7 has been adopted. T he tapered portion
there shown represents the bott om of t he tank, which
is fed with grain t hrough the spout, as already
explained. From this place the grain passes through
the port shown into one of two r eceptacles, which are
alternately brought uuder the port, being pivoted
on a horizontal shaft as shown. The joint between
these moving recep tacles and the bott om of the tank
is practically airtight. As the receptacle in communication with the separator fills, it finally overbalances
t he weight shown and falls over to the left, bringing
t he other receptacle in posit ion to be filled . The full
receiver being now out of communication with the tank,
opens automatically t o the air and the grain falls out
through a door at the bottom of th e receiver in to a large
hopper. From this hopper i t is drawn off by an attendant
into a set of fO'Ur weighing machines which weigh t he
grain in the us ual fo ur bushel lots, and from which it is
tinally discharged down through spouts into the barges
as shown in F ig. 3. The g rain pipes are 6 in. in diameter, and are of rubber, r einforced with wi re to prevent them collapsing when the vacuum is cr eated inside them. The suction end of the pipe is fitted wi th
a nozzle of the type shown in Figs. 8 and 9. This
nozzle is of sheet metal, and has a sleeve of somewhat
larger diameter around H, between which and the
main nozzle there is thus an annu]ar space. The air
t o the pipe passes down through this space to t he
nozzle, which, as will be seen, ext ends a litt le below
the sleeve. T he amount of t his projection can be adjusted for different kinds of g rain. Previous to the
adoption of this outer sleeve trouble was experienced
when t he attendant sunk the nozzle t oo deeply in t he
grain, but t he adoption of the simple device just described has com pletely overcome this difficulty. ' '' ith
the conveyor now in use at Mill wall, and which is named
the "Mark-lane," 38 t ons of grain have been lifted per
hour by one of th e pipe!', and lOO t ons of g rain can be
t ransferred per hour from a ship to three barges, by a
total staff of eight men in all, and t he consumption of
6 cwt. of coal. Only one man is required t o look afte r
each nozzle. No trimming of the grain is required 1 u.s

THE Royal \Vedding last week overshadowed most

thin gs, and in many r espects affected the conditions of
industry. There was no proclaimed holiday, as some
members of Parliament desired, bu t throughout London there was a general cessation of work, most of the
shops, even in the poorer neighbourhoods, being voluntarily closed for the day . That the e\ent caused an
extra pressure of work goes without saying. Thousands in one way and another found work in consequence, and a great deal of money circulat ed, more or
less t o the advantage of labour . T here was a talk of
an unemployed procession from Tower -hill, and a
preliminary meeting of about one hundred met on
Clerkenwell Green for the purpose of organising a
procession, but when those present were asked to hold
up their hands in favour of the proposal, less than a
dozen responded. And so the project failed, as it
deserved t o fail. The British workman is not such
a churl as to join in absurd vagaries, as a rule.
Indeed, the British workman, his wife, and his
children were at "the show," a.nd no heartier plaudits
were heard along the route than came un grudgingly
from t heir lips. They may have thei r own views
politically, economically, and socially, but on fes tiYe
occasions t hey can throw aside t heir p repossessions,
and even their prejudices, just as well as t he wealthier
classes. The wedding presents on view at the I mperial
Institute are open to view even to the poorest on
certain days, and many art isans and mechanics will
examine with deep interest the specimens of beautiful
workmanship ther e displayed in r ich variety, from
costly jewels to household utensils fo r domest ic use.
The condition of trade in the engineering industries
seems to be improving Yery slowly, if, indeed, it can
be said that there is any real improvement. The t otal
nu mher of unemployed in the Amalgamated Society of
Engineers has fallen from 5139 last mont h t o 4962 this
month , a decrease of 177. So far this is satisfactory, but
the decrease is slight. The number on superannuation benefit incr eases, mainly in consequence of slackness of trade, as the older members ar e the first to go
when work is slack, and so t hey apply for su perannuation, which otherwise they r efrain from doing until
compelled by age and failing health. Th~ repOit stat es
that the increase in the number of members goes on
apace, the total now being 72,829, or an increase of
1920 during this year. The council of the society have
been in correspondence with the Lords of the Admiralty with reference t o some g rievances 0f which
the engineers have had occasion to com plain. The
Board of the Admiralty ha.Ye replied that they haYe
taken evidence on the matter, and that the whole subject is under consideration. The council is also in
correspondence with th e \Var Office on the same and
similar matters. The branches are desired t o support
t he Employers' Liability Bill as amended, and to urge
th eir Parliament ary representatives to vote for it.
The members have voted for special representation in
Parliament by a majority of 3:305, but the vote was a
small one, only 7080 having voted out of over 72,500
members. Questions as to how such r epr esentatiYes
ar e to be paid, and what the general scheme is to be,
deterred some from voting. Trade is reported to be
good in the United States and in Canada, but in Aust ra.lia there is no impr~vement at present. The question of admitting t he members of the Auxiliary Associatiop has b~en settled on the basis of an ~ntran ce fee

6o

E N G I N E E R I N G.

equ_al to one-half the present worth per member in the they term it, by the City Council. The council ~LP., will take no action in Derbyshire or Nottingsoc1ety at full benefits.
adopted it three years ago, but at the last meeting it hamshire, where he is a large colliery owner; and one
- -was rescinded by a majority of two, in a rather small or two others are, it is said, hesitating a.s to their
The report of the Ironfounders' Society for July meeting, when only about one-half the total number action. The situation is a little curious, looking at it
states that the condition of trade is slightly more favour- of the coun cil members were present. A strong effort as a whole. The South \Vales miners, for example,
able than l ast month. Some firms are reported to be is to be made at the next meeting to renew the resolu - expect a heavy demand for coal if the pits in the
full of work, but numerous other firms are slack or tion. It appears that the real point at issue is whether English districts are idle. '\Vith full t ime in prospect,
indifferently employed. On the whole it is said that the ''fair rate of wages " shall be paid for the work to thP.y r egard the recent reductions with some compoo.s yet, there is no indication of any general improYe~ b e done if executed outside Sheffield, as well as within sure. But this position has been complicated by the
ment. The report refers to the state of the iron trade its precincts. The employers seem to say that th e action of some 4000 hauliers in the Rhondda, Ogmore,
which is so fluctuating as to afford no indication of wages to be paid are to be the wages of the town where and Gawr Valleys having decided to secede from the
real improvemeat ; the better prospects of one clay the work is executed; the workmen say that the S hef- sliding scale arrangement, and to join the federation.
are followed by a falling off another day, which field rates are to be paid wherever executed. Natu- This act may invohe South \Vales in the pending
would not be the case if a real improvement had rally if the S heffield rates are to rule in all cases and struggle. Then Durham and Northumberland have
set in. Th~ chief improvement, slight as it is, the everywhere, the re3ult will be to confine all contracts suffered reductions, and will not be greatly affecterl by
report attnbutes to the flourishing condition of the to Sheffield firms, otherwise there would be no ad van- the proposed 25 per cent. reduction, but as members
building trades, which is helping to keep the iron- tage t o the ratepayers. On the con tra.ry, they would of the federation they also may b ecome involved in a
founders employed where, otherwise, they would be have to pay more for outside work, to outside con- general strike. The Durham miners are now taking
idle. The total number on the funds was 2624, as tractors, while the Sheffield workmen would get no a ballot as to whether they will be represented at the
against 2687 last month, a decrease of only 63. But benefit. If the work is done in places where the rates Birmingham Conference, and ,ote for a general strike,
on donation, or out-of-work benefit, there was a. de- of wages a re lower, both workmen and employer for arbitration, or for merely contributing their quota.
crease of 193, the increase being on sick, dispute, and would suffer, they ~:~.rgue. On those lines the battle towards the strike fund. A careful inquiry into the
relative rates of wages in the two northern counties
other trade benefits. The increase on strike was from royal will be fought at the next meeting.
and the other federation districts, seems to show that
44 to 148, an increase of 104. The actual decrease of
In the Wolverhampton district the recent improve- the actual wages of the miners in those two counties,
out-of-work members was 175. The total number of
members is 15,076. The division of the society in to ment seems to be well maintained, better, in fact, than are not much below the federation rates, when house
thirteen districts for organising purposes has led to an in any other district. The nearness of the quarterly rent and coals are included.
Yorkshire, Lancashire, Derbyshire, and Nottinghamenlargement of this month's report, so as to give the settlement s tended to limit business, but manufacturers
minutes and proceedings of the district committees, generally are well off for orders, and those who are shire are strongly averse to any reduction. Stafford all of which appear to be in active operation. The keeping back their contracts are not expected to be shire is not quite so certain. It is doubtful if the
expenditure was increased in consequence of the district gainers thereby, for present prices remain tirm gener- Scottish miners will take part in the struggle, and
meetings by only 35l. 4s. 6d. during the whole of the ally; in some instances higher prices are asked for possibly they will increase their output if the struggle
past quarter, including delegates' fees, officers' salaries, forward delivery. This, it appears, is the case both tak es place. In the Forest of Dean the contest may be
fares, delegations, and postages, so that t h e actual with finished iron and the raw material, the advances said to have begun already. The notices expired on
cost is merely nominal, although twenty-three district ask ed being as high as 2s. 6d . per ton for some quali- Saturday last, the employers having refused to p ostmeetings were h eld by the thirteen distric t com- ties. Bridge and girder iron arc being inquired after, pone them. Six of the larges t collierie~, employmittees.
ome of the distric ts complain of the fre- and favourable t erms are offered for bars and tube ing four-fifths of the total mi ners of the district, were
quent levies on behalf of other t rade unions, whose iron. M ore business is also being done in galvanised among those to be shut d own from this week. If th e
members contribute less than one-fourth as much as sheets, and hoop iron is in better demand. The stocks struggle rea11y takes place, the men anticipate a three
the Ironfounders, a nd the attention of the council of pig iron are low, and the output is being increased. months' strike. In view of this fact they propose that
is directed thereto, so that no further levies be put on There is also active business in steel plates and billets. for the two first weeks there shall be no strike pay.
But some of the men have long been in a state of
until trade is better. The chief disputes in this branch Altogether the prospects are pretty favourable.
--privation by reason of sh ort time, and in some cases
of trade are at \Vorkington and Rotherham; other
In the Birmingham d istrict trade is n ot very brisk, of t otal idleness.
districts are quiet at present.
and some of the smaller industries are suffering from
In the Lancashire districts there is little change in depression. Trade is slow to move upward, though it
On the Continent labour troubles seem to be revhis
not unusual to run down rather fast. Some of the ing. In P a.ris the Labour Exchange has been closed,
the condition of the engineering trades. Heavy engine
builden a re for the most part well employed, chiefly chainmakers are still on strike, this being the twelfth after some Yery severe conflicts between the police
for abroad; some of the leading machinists a re also week. The stud and p e>g workers h ave won an advance and the w orkers. The reason for this action appears
fairly busy upon foreign orders. Boilermakers are of from 15 to 18 per cent., and the nailmakers of Dudley to be that labour syndicates have not registered as the
scarcely as active as they were. Machine tool makers have succeeded in getting their advance, exce>pt in one law requires. But th e moYement in France is social
are perhaps a little better employed, but as a rule they case.
and political as well as economical, as, indeed, it
are only moderately engaged. The general engineerusually is.
The
twelve
labour
mern
bers
of
Parlia
ment,
who
ing branches continue to be only indifferently emAt Sydney, in Australia, the seamen have struck
usually
work
together
on
all
labour
questions,
with
the
ployed, and on the whole there is a quiet tone in
against a. r eduction in wages. The crews of several
single
exception
of
the
eight
hours,
upon
which
there
nearly all departments, the work coming forward being
steamers were arrested for striking without notice, and
is
a
difference
of
opinion,
have
passed
a
series
of
resoluof small weight, comparatively speaking, not sufficient
for not obeying the commands of the officers. Ten of
tions
upon
the
Code
for
Evening
Continuation
Schools,
to render the prospects very encouraging for the near
th~ ringleade~s were sentenced to fou rteen days' imrecently
issued,
and
have
published
the
same,
together
future. An examination of the reports from 84 bra nches
prisonment w1th hard labour. The others were diswith
a
brief
address,
to
all
the
labour
organisations
of
of the Eng ineers shows that in 54 the cond ition of trade
charged.
the
country,
and
to
other
bodies
favourable
to
the
adis moderate, while in 30 it is described as bad. In the
In Spain there have b een some labour troubles. The
vancement
of
education.
The
VicePre~ident
of
the
Liverpool district, Oldham, and Barrow, trade is bad,
scavengers at Madrid refused to work, and some conCouncil
of
Education
is
complimente
d
upon
the
code,
but in the Manchester and some other large districts
flicts with the authorities ensued in consequence of
and
the
working
classes
are
urged
to
take
full
advantit is moderate. Jn one place- Preston-a dispute is
other men being engaged. Similar conflicts have
age
of
it
in
all
districts,
urba
n
and
ru
ral.
It
is
pointed
pending, but in all the other districts labour questions
o .!curred in Russia. and Austria. In some cases,
out
that
the
code
is
an
immense
advan
ce
upon
all
preare quiet. In the ironfounding branches_ there is more
especia1ly in Russia., scenes of riot and violence led to
vious
codes,
inasmuch
as
it
deals
with
citizen
life
a
nd
slackness than in the engineering branches in the
encounters with the mi1itary, many of the workmen
citizens'
duties.
The
courses
of
study
laid
down
are
Lancashire districtP. The iron trade has slackened
being injured. In other cases many have been im
broad
and
various,
all
tending
to
develop
the
latent
down somewhat ; generally speaking, the t one is n ot
prisoned for taking part in the disturbances.
powe1
s
of
the
scholars,
and
fit
them
for
whatever
quite so firm. 'l'he little spurt recently has not been
sustained, purchasers hav ing a pparently satisfied their station in life they may be called upon to fulfil. The
requirements for the present. In the manufactured action of the labour m em hers has been a pplauded by
iron branches some of the makers are fn.irly sold, their fellows in all parts of the country, some 15,000 of
SHIP
RAILWAYS.
in so far as bars are concerned, and generally the the circulars having been sent t o indus trial organisaBy W ALTER RoBERT KrNrPPLE, M. I. c. E.
tions,
co-operative
and
friP.ndly
societies,
working
men's
prices are firm at recent rate~. In th e steel trade
TI~L ~ithin a. ~ery recent p~riod the only means of comthings are quiet, prics, if anything, being easier. Rut clubs, and other bodies, and a]so t o school boards and mun.lCatlon
cons1dered pra.et1eable for establishing a. conother
elementary
schools.
One
strong
reason
why
for s teel boiler plates makers general! y are firm for
n~ctlOn between two. se~s was by canals, either with or
t
his
action
has
been
taken
is
the
larger
sphere
of
duties
best qualities. The metal market remains steady.
Without locks, but v.1thm the last few years th~ question
which
workmfn
are
now
called
upon
to
fulfil,
aa
magisOn the whole, trade is not going back, if it is not briskly
of transporting oceangoing vessels by rail over land has
going forward. Perhaps the dispute in th e coal trade trates, as members of school boards, of county councils, been ra.iaed, and is now beginning to receive a portion of
is having a disq uieting effect. Othe rwise Lancashire of municipal councils, and local boards of all kinds, and the attention which it deservee.
The actual transport of 'essels over land dates bae:k to
is tolerably free from labour disputes in all branches the increased chances thrown op en to them of becoming
inspectors
of factories and worksh op3, of mines, and a r~~ote period, ~ut interest was revived in it by the proof industry, which is a gratifying sign.
occupying other positions. As these circulars and posltlOn ?f Captam Eads for. the Tehu_an tepeo ~hip Railr esolu tions a re sent officially to the offices of the way, whiCh was worked out ID a pract1cal manner and in
The improvement recently noticed in the iron and various bodies, it is expected t hat they will be brought mu~h detail. . Still.gre-ater interest ~as been givt::n by the
steel trades, in th e Sheffield and Rotherham district, to the n otice of nearly three million workers in the Ch1gnecto Sh1p Ra1hvay, at_present m course of construe
has b een slightly checked by the coal crisis, otherwise United Kingdom, and will thus promote a desire on tion under Sir Benjamin Baker and Mr. Ketchum as
the improvement is maintained. The prices of Bes- th e part of the members of the various societies to engin eers. The compl~ting and working of that railway
are looked forward to With eagerness, and I feel sure it i~
semer and hematite are stiffening. The saw and avail themselves of the benefits of the code.
the wish, as I have no doubt it is the anticipation of
machine knife branches are manifesting a change for
engineers as a body, that it will prove as great an engithe better but cutlery and files are very dull, the prices
The " coal crisis " is closi.ag upon us, but even now neering ~ucc~s as that of the Forth Bridge.
being such as t o leave very little margin of profit. The some believe that a. strike on a. large scale will be
A_s sh1p railways have ~ ot yet be~n fully discussed by
enaineering trad es of Sheffield, Rotherham, a nd the averted. It must be obvious that the evidence in engmeers a:s a b~y, the obJ.ec~ of thta paper is to bring
Y ;rkshire districts generally are described as bad, favour of a sett]ement is not great; indee<.l, the present under.consideratlOn ~he pnn01ples underlying their conwith only here and there a report of trad e being even appearances all point the other way. I n the first structt.on, and t? pom~ out .the advantag-es of ship railmoderate.
At L eeds the reports are from bad to place, notices have been iEsued in nu.ny of the districts v. ays m comparison w1th sh1p canals. Unless in excepvery bad in all the branches. . In one ?r _two di~ to terminate on the 28th. At various meetings held tionally f.avoured sites, .such as in the case of the Suez
tricts disputes a ppear to be pendmg, but 1t I S hoped in t he M id lands the decision of th e men is to resist a. Canal, ship canals necessitate locks or lifts to accommodate
.
~
f h
d
themsel ves to the general level of the country trav~r=ed
that they will not d evelop into strikes at t he present r ecl uct10n
at any cost. ~.;Ome o t e lea ers declare t~e number and hei~h~ of tmch being dependent upon ~th~
time. There is ~ome excitement in the ranks of tha.t the~e is a disagree~fnt amon~ the coalown ers 81 te. Each lock or ltft 18 not ouly a heavy item of expense
labour at ~ heffield, in consequen ce of th e rescinding wh1ch w1ll prevent a un_1versal str1ke, or lockout, in the. cost of th~ works, but gives 1 ise to considerable
of the fair wages clam:e, or " fair contract clause, " as whichever it may b ". It 1s stated th.l.t Colonel ~eely, . delay m the workmg of the traffiC', and where locks arQ

61

E N G I N E E R I N G.
many years a system of transportin~ of ". .easels. from one
level to another by means of an ~nchne. :E ot: thiS purpose
a caisson of water is used, carrted by fra~mg mounted
on wheels, and this suggeats .t hat by re~dermg the bottom
of the caisson, and the frammg under 1t, some~ bat weak,
or pliable enough to enable th.e w~eels to y1eld to a~y
irregularities in the ra ils of the m chne, the first ess~nttal
of a thoroughly reliable sbipcar .would b~ accomphshed,
for it is clear that a vessel afloat m the ca1sson could not
in any way be affected by any pliability the caisso~ or
framin g might possess, so long as there was sufficu~nt
water in the caisson t o keep the vessel afloa:t. . Agam,
the pontoons in connection with the bydrault~ hft dock
in the Victoria L ondon Dock can . be s9 adJusted by
admitting water into compartments m thetr forward a:nd
after ends, as t o prevent any straining t~ vessels takmg
place; and, further, these pontoons are v1rtually used as
water turntables.
. .
I may remark, in connection with t~e hydrauhc h.ft
docks in the Victoria London Dock, w.ht~h have been 1n
use for nearly thirty years (see descnptton, vol. xxv.,

somewhat numerous along the line of a canal its capacity

for traffic is seriously reduced.
One can easily understand the feeling which prompted
M. de L esseps t o have the Panama Canal constructed
without locks. The canal would thus have bad the
maximum capaci ty for traffic, coupled with the minimum 1xpense for working and mamtenance. But the
cost of obta.ining such a ~esirable ~esult would h~ve
proved enorm~u~, a.,.q it enta1led a cuttmg a.~out 46 m1les
in length, atta.mmg a depth through the htll of Culebra
of over 300 ft. A somewhat similar remark might be
m ade with respect to the great majority of sites for ship
c&nals and wh ilst in nearly every case it can be shown
that wbere a ship canal would be profitab~e 3: ship railway would ba still more so, yet the super10nty of the
latter over the former becomes more strongly marked in
proportion to the elevation of the land which has to be
traversed and to the irregularities of level along the
route.
lvly attent ion was directed to ship railways some years
ago, when I bad under my consideration the various pro-

and over gradients while the pontoon dock carrying the

vessel is afloat on the bogies, and conAequently free from
any straining in any way whatever.
d
The shi car, as designed, weighs about 5000 tons, an
is of suffic1ent size and strength. to carry a .l aden vessel of
11 000 tons displacement. TbJR total .weight of 16,000
to~s is borne by 1400 wheel11, each carrymg 11~ tons. ~he
wheels throughout are 3ft. in diameter, and those un er
the two pivot plaiiforms are of extra strength. ~he undef
ortion of the shi p car is made up of two bo~e ca~s o
Eve pliable platforms or trolleys, each of 70 ft.,. ,. m wtd\h
by 50 ft. in length, and borne by 140 wh.eels, or 100 wh~e s
to each bogie. These platforms are bml.t of steel, bavtn~
longitudinal and cross bearers, and tbetr tops are plate
over. It is not necessary to ~uild tb~s~ platformd of
greater strength than is suffiCient to JOlD togeth~r and
keep in accurately gauged positi?ns th ~ wheels to m sure
true running over the seven smgle hnes of permanent
way. The more pliable the platfor.m s are, . the. more
nearly will the primary object be attamed, wh10h 1s, t~at
every wheel shall carry only its proportionate load, qutte

Fig.l.

Longlfudinol Stetton A. 8 . on PI an .

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.,
-

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---- ... ----- ........ :.- - ... - -- ... -- ... -.. ,I-:-:. -............... -__... ---:........ -- ... ---...

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-- - ----... ......

......... -."''-'\.''\~ ....................... . .

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.......... --- ---------- ' - -.. ~ .........-:.......... .
e
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_ -&

or Canal

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Il
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=
11 UJ C

Fig.3. ..------,

St( t io tf at C.O. on Plan .

nu.o

posals whic.:h bad been put forth, from the earliest down
t o the most recent times, for solving the ques tion of the
safe transport of vessels overland.
The proposals advanced may be divided into two
classes, one of which utilised fluid pressure in ~ome form
to prevent the vessel being strained, whilst the other
placed th e vessel on a. more or less rigid platform, and
trusted to arrangem ent of parts and careful maintenance
in perfect adjustment to guard against any undue straining_ of the vessel.
The former is undoubtedly the correct system in
regard to principle, and in practice is the only one
which lends itself to solving in a simple and effective
manner the Yarious problems which arise, and further
does not depend upon rigid accuracy in the adjustment of
parts or mathematical precision as regards levels, of the
lin~, but will admit of it being kept in the same working
order as any ordinary rail way.
The object to be attained by a ship rail way is to convey
a ves~el of any size overland without being strained at
any part of the rout e, whether on a straight or curved
part of the line, or on a level or inclined part.
The inventions I patented on July 18, 1891, and
August 15, 189l, effect this object completely. On the
accompanying engravingr, Figs. 1 to 10, my patented
arrangements are shown adapted to the transport of a
vessel of 11,000 tons displacement. As will be readily
understood, the size of ship car, and number of lines of
rails on which it trave1s, are entirely dependent en the
size of vessel t o be transported, but th e Elystem, which the
drawings show to be applicable t o one of the largest
sized vessels afloat, is equally applicable to any vessel of
an y dimensions whatever.
lJe3cription of Car.- This in vention is based upon the
fact that by ~iq~id alone can ~reat weights be readily
and equally d1str1buted over a g1ven number of wheels or
p oint.q of support covering a large area. On the Monkland Canal, near Glasgow, there has been at work for

Stction E.F.

on Plan .

Minutes Inst. C.E., 18G5, page 292}, that these pontoons

are of some 300 ft . or 400 ft. in length, and draw about
6 ft. of water when loadeJ, but are comparatively weak
structures for carrying ships without deflecting, when
loaded, as I pointed out in the dis ~ussion on them in
1805 (see pages 323341}.
The pontoon turntablel:!, proposed by the late Captain
Eads for the T ehuantepec Ship Rail way at changes of
direction and of gradientA, are but a. development of this
system of floating and turning vessels. Again, an ordinary floating pontoon repairing dock, stiffened by longitudinal and transverse girders, at once suggests the best
method of dockin~ ships, varying in tonnage and form, on
to a ship car. It 1s by a combination of these well-known
successful methods of carrying, turning, and docking
vesstls, that I have been able to design a ship car which,
in my judgment, not only embodies these, but includes
all the leading essentials necessary to build up a safe and
reliable ship car, and more especially that which would
give an equal distribution of the weight carried over the
whol EJ of the wheel~.
The cu may here be shortly described as being built up
of wheels carrying pliable platforms in the form of ten
trolleys in the total length of the car, coupled up t o form
two bogies of five trolleys in each, the middle platform of
\ach bogie having a pivoted centre running up at least
1:J in. into th e underside of the pontoon dook (Fig. 5). Between the tops of the five trolleys in each bogie, and the
underside of the pontoon dock, is a. hydrostatic doubleended compensating bellows, and when a vessel is docked
on to th e pontoon, the water in the bellows hearls up in the
hollow vertical members of th e side girders (Fig. 7) until
th e weight of the pontoon dock and the vessel carried is
balanced by the statical h ead of water contained in those
m emhers. The bellows pivot and the five trolleys in each
bogie form together a water turntable, having sufficient
freedom of hori zontal and vertic:al movement to enable
the bogies t o adapt themselves to a.nd pass along curves

independently of any of its neighbouring wheels, whilst

travelling over irregularities in the permanent way.
The most e3sential point to be considered in designing
a ship car is, that every wheel under every condition shall
bear no more or no less than its due proportion of the
weight of the ship and car- viz., 11! tons, or r:h-trth part
of the total of 16,000 tons. It is a physical impossibility
to obtain an equal distribution of a weight to be carried 1
otherwise than by a. layer or stratum of fluid placea
between the underside of the rigid wei ght to be carried,
and the pliable tops of the ten trolleys surmounting the
wheeh which carry the weight.
The trolleys are all coupl~d together along the centre
line of the car, and are free to adapt themselves to any
horizontal or vertical curves ; their out side or marginal
lengths are shorter than their centre line lengths by a. few
inches, which difference is regulated by the radii of the
hori zontal curves adopted for the railway. One important feature in this method of construntion i~, that should
one wheel out of the group of 700 in each bogie give way,
it would simply throw ~lrrth part _of 8000 tons, or h~l~ of
the gross weight of the car and shtp, on to the remammg
699 wheels in the halt length of the car ; in other words,
the additional weight thrown on to each wheel would be
ir~uth part of 11~ tons, or 37 lb.
A stock or supply, in duplicate, of the whole of the
working parts of the car, engines! and machinery generally, finished to exact gauges, mtght be kept either on
board the car, or near at hand, and as most of the working
parts are repeated many times over, the nu m her of parts
k ept in stock would be small. Any repairs, such as the
removal of defectiv e wheels and axles, or anything requiring attention in the under platforms, could be easily
effected at any of the passing placeP, where separate
arra.ngements of pits, and short movable rail~, in connection with the traversers, c:>uld be provided. The ship car,
as illustrated in Figs. 5 and 6, is 500 ft. in length by 70ft. in
width and 37 ft.. in b ei~ht, and is designed to pass round
hori zontal and over vertiCal curves of a radius of 100 chain~.
T he top of each bogie pivot is in th e form of a frustum of a
sphere of 100 chains radius, over which the pontoon car
dock will be placed, and be free t o move within a limited
range in any dir1ction as on an ordinary ball joint. In this
joint there is a film of water (Fig. 10) of 2 in. in thickness,
which is sufficient to preYent any portion of the underside
of the pontoon dock, when loaded with a. vessel of 14000
t ons displacement, from coming int o contact with the tops
of the pivots and the platforms of the pivot trolleys.

RAILWAYS.

SHIP

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T o provide for the greiltest vertical range or movement,

which is at the bean and stern of the car, it is necessary
that the bellows F:bould ha,e a fold free to open and close
for about 14 in. (Fig. '!); that is, 12 in for the actual range,
and the 2 in. more or less allowed for clearance over the top
of the pivot under all conditions, that it~, when travelling
and at rest. The object cJf this clearance is to p revent
any slight dE-flection. alteration, or bending which may
by chance take place in any part of the u nderside of th e
pontoon dock from coming in contact with the tops of the
platforms of the trolleye, and so give riRe to riding. which
m ight prevPnt the free swi nging or mo,ement of the pontoon, or rather of the trolleys, as they adapt themselves,
when running, to the )lor izontal and vertical curves of the
railway.
The clearance ma.y be several inches in depth, but 2 io.
should be ample, and if not, it may be increased. The
t otal weight of water in the two compPnsating bellows
necessary to provide for the ch angt=~l'; due to the horizontal
and vertical curves for the car as designed, is as near as
p ossible about 4 per cen t. of th e gross weight of the car
and vessel carried. This weight of water, however, iA
d ependent on the radii of thA vertical and hori zontal
curves used on the railway. The sid es and ends of the
bellows are inclos~d by sheet indiarubber, and backed by
chemi cally preser ved extra strong woven can vas, further
strengthened by bands or straps, and hy stout leather,
with an outside galvanised stPel wire or copper netting
or cloth of great strength. These precautions to guard
..against all po:sible con tingencies may probably not be

found nece:ssary in actual working, as the strength of the

sides of the bellows under such an arrangement would be
equal to many times the strength necessary to resist the
pressure due to the statical head, which in no part of the
bellows could possibly be more than 9 lb. per square
inch, even when the pontoon dock is carrying a vessel of
11,000 tons displacement. On the engravings is an enlarged section showing the range of the extreme horizontal and vertical movements of the bellows at the
bead and stern of the ship car necessary t o be provided
for. while passing along and over the l OO-chain curves.
The joints or openings between the meeting ends of the
ten pliable trolleys are filled in with materials similar to
those for the longitudinal sid es of the bellows, and are
attached to guards, and have a range or freed om of folding from noth ing at the centre line of the trolleys to 3 in.
at the ends along t he sid es of the car. The tops of the
pliable cars are accurately made to the radial line of the
curve, so that when running round the curves they meet
together for one- half of the width of their t ops, and at the
same time prevent the sides of the folds of the canvas
from being squeezed or coming in contact under any conditions nearer t hRn 2 in. or so. The folds hang down
with th is clP1nan ce for a depth of a few inches between
the guards (Fig. 10).
At the ends of the two bogies, the bellows are turned
down and hang curtain fashion bet ween two guards,
which are placed but a few inches apart, and worked to a
radius of 125ft. from the centre of each pivot, so that
these portions of the bellows, as well as those between

the platforms of the pliable tr olleyR, cannot in any part

thereof, and under any conditions whatever, be subjected
to a g reater pressure than 9 lb. per square inch, or many
times less than t hat to which a. 4-in. canvas hose is ordinarily imbjected. The g reatest pressure on the sides of
the bellows is at the nose of the pontoon, where thE' range
is tho greatest, that is, at the time when the car is passing
over a vertical curve, giving a. bursting pressure due to a
17 ft. bead of water on a hose of 14 in. in diameter, but
the material provided for these portions can be easily
made of sufficient strength to resist t en times this pressure.
It is intend ed to utilise the top boom. verticals, and
diagonals of the side girders as a storage cbam ber for cornpressed air, that is to say, should it be found in the actual
working of th e car an advantage to do so, but in the
meantime, as the wholeofthe vertical members of the sid e
girders can be used as standpipes only (Fig. 7), with ample
freedom for the water to rise and fall in them during any
changes which might take place while the car was in
motion, and thus cause a slight rise or fall in the head of
water, when they would act as open or free working
relief or safety valves.
Special attention is drawn to the fact that for every
1000 tons of dead weight placed on the pontoon d ock only
n;'nllth part of the bulk of the water in the bellows is
forced into and headed up in the verticals of the side
girders to balance this weight, the abstraction of which
quantity from the bellows would make so little difference
in the thickness or stratum of water within, whatever the
weight of vessel carried might be, as to be almost inappre-

ciable. S hould any portion of the bellows be pt~nctured,

appliances would be at band to readily deal w1th such ;
and should such a contingency as the loss of the whole
or part of the water in one or other of the bellows take
placE>, one-half of the pontoon d ock would come down on
to a pivot trolley and rest there, and the half load or
8000 t ons would at once be borne by the 140 wheels of the
pivot trolley, or at about 60 t ons per wheel.
Now it is qnite possible t o construct wheels to carry
such a weight, but these are by no means the only safeguard against what might be regarded as a. s hipwreck
on dry land, for the pivot trolleys are so constructed that
the framing, composed of lon~itudina.l and cross girders,
is of such strength as to be able to carry the 8000 tons, so
that should any of the wheels give way which carry the
framing, thes~ girders would then come down on the
rails, and carry the ship with safety. and as soon as the
bellows was repaired it would be filled with water, and
the 8000 tons be a~ain distributed equally over the 700
wheels in the bog1e. The pliable platforms could be
locally jacked up whilst any new wheels were being
inserted .
I mention these facts t o show that even with the carrying of such heavy weight it is quite feasible to deal with
any accident of the nature I have described.
I consid er the contingencies t o which I have referred
are very remote indeed, but they are provided for in the
design, which has a fact or of safety throughout of fully
four times the weight to be carried.
1 To a void any risk from unequal loading of the pontoon

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dook, adj usting compartments are provided in the fore j storage water in t he lower member of the girder on one ~ide
ward and after ends of the floor and elsewhere, for the 1 of the pontoon dock, may be pumped ac~oss the dock ~nto
purpose of weighting d own the ends of the pontoon dock, the other. The trim longitudinally ~111 be ascertar1?.ed
so that the dock may be evenly trimmed and loaded up by sighti~g, and transve~sely by d1stanoe ?r ~eetmg
when a short and heavy vessel such as a man-of-war is blocks actmg on levers, wh10h would at once mdtcate at
placed on the central . portion of th~ oar; and,_ further, I the t ops of the girder a~ove the water -line or otherwise
the question of k eepmg t~e dock m good tnm trans- how the vessel was s~tth~g down ,on the bl<?cks, and the
versely has not been lost stgbt of. The lower members l amount of furthe~ trrmmmg !equued to brmg the d?ck
of the g irder are used as storage tanks for the water re to a. dead level hne <?f fl?tat10n throughout before bemg
quired in connecti on with the working of th~ hydraulic 1 finally hauled up the mchne.
machinery (Fig. 9), and the arrangement is such that the I Docking or Placing of Vessels on to the Sh1p Oars.-The

~hip

car is propelled .by its OWil st~am generated. for pr_es~- ' guide to the f~refoot of th~ vessel when taking the rst
mg water for workm~ three-cyhnder hydra.uhc engm es keel-block, whtle her stern 1s free to move and be brought
direct on to the drivmg wheels (Fig. 10). '!'he car is into a central position over the keel blocks by the aid of
t ravelled. down th e inohne of the marine railway until it is h;rdraulio shores or rams placed horizontally in the sid e
brought mto the chamber against the abutments of the g1rders of the dock. When the vessel's forefoot and
caisson entrance. at ~he foot of t he incline (Fig. 2). The ster~ are. so . held, the ship car is slowly propelled up the
yessel to be earned IS. then hauled through the en~rance marme mchne until the vessel gradually and &irly
mto w~~t may be des1g~ated as the. dock on ~he sh1p car. grounds on to the keel blocks, wher e she is shored to the
T_o fa01litlate the operat1on of dockmg, a gnp or fork is side girders. At this stage of the operation the vessel is
hu?ged to the platform at the head of the keel blocks in precisely the same position as she would be were she in
(Ft~. 5), and when raised to a vertical position acts as a an ordinary dry dock. The car is then propelled up the

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(,.)

E N G I N E E R I N G.
incline until about one-tenth of the weight of the laden
vessel is brought to bear upon the keel block~, at which
stage of the docking operation a. series of sliding bilge
blocks having self-adjusting caps, padded with rope
matting, are, by means of direct-acting hydraulic rams,
simultaneously forced into position under the bilges of
the midship portion of the vessel, as shown on t ransverse
section, Fig. 8. Along the hull, fore and a ft of midships,
where the rise in the floor becomes ~a.dually g reater, a
special design of bilge blocks is used having similar
adjusting caps, but instead of sliding on the floor of the
dock are carried by bearers hinged at their lower ends to
the keel blocks, while their upper ends are connected by
suspension rods to the heads of direct-acting rams placed
vertically against the sides of the dock, so that when the
ends of the levers are raised by the rams. the bilge blocks
are brou~ht close into contact with the hull of the ship, and
automatically adjust themselves to its form (Fig. 9). The
pressed water is kept fully on, and is regulat ed to whatever pressure is necessary for holding tho blocks in p osition, and the rams are so arranged that the whole of the
bilge blocks may be forced into or out of position simultaneously or not. A s the car is travelled down t he incline
the blocks are withdrawn from under the vessel, as soon
as she has displaced some /hths of her weight.
Hauling 01 Propelling Sltip Cars.-Aa to the q uestion
of pro viding power for hauling ship cars by ordinary
locomotives, or of placing machinery on board the cars
for propelling them direct, at first sight it would appear
better and more economical t o haul than t o propel them;
but upon close examination hauling is surrounded by
many objections which a re almost insurmountable. In
many cases locomotives would obstruct rather tba.n facilitate the speedy working of the traffic of a. ship railway.
For instance, when a. ship car had reached the head of the
marine incline, it would be necessary to shift the locomotives from the head of the car by traversers, or over
points and crossings, and to run them back to the rear of
the car, and thereafter they would only be of use in
driving or forcing the ship car a. short distance down the
incline, or say to water level, a.t which pla~e chains or
ropes would have to be applied for hauling the car down
the incline until there was sufficient water to float a. vessel
off or on to the car, which would not only involve a considerable loss of time in shifting, shunting, &c. 1 but th e
expense of working the traffic would be greatly mcreased
thereby.
No doubt hydraulic lifts capable of raising 16,000 tons
could be constructed and safely worked, but upon the
whole, marine inclines would appear to be safer and
readier to work than lifts. Much, however, must depend
upon the conditions of the locality to be dealt with.
To provide each car with power for propelling itself
seems to me to be advantageous for almost every condition, ~uch as moving a. car direct from one end of the
railway t o the other, up or down the inclines into a lock,
on t o the platform of a hydraulic lift, into a berth or
siding, or on to or off of a traverser. For these purposes
eight pressed water pumping engines are provided, and
supplied with steam from eight locomot1 ve boilers, as
shown in Fig. 10. The pressed water from these pumps
is led by pipes to 25 three-throw oscillating hydraulic
engines working direct on the driving wheels of the car
placed under the platform of each pivoted portion of the
car.
An air receiver is fixed in position on the line of the
pressed water pipe in each engine-room, and the driving
power is so arranged that one set of engines with one
boiler will be ample to propel the ship car carrying a.
laden vessel, together having a. gross weight of 16,000
tons, at the rate of one mile an hour. The whole of the
pressed water pi pes leading to t he 50 hydraulic engines
w01 ki ng direct on the driving wheels under the two
pi voted portions of the ship cars can be worked either by
one or by the whole of the eight engines. The pumping
engines press UJ? the water until the requisite forr:e or
pressure is obtamed t o propel the car at a. speed of about
one mile an hour. The remaining seven engines may be
gradually set to work to supply the quantity of pressed
water requisite to propel the car a.t the desired speed.
The hydraulic engines are all reversible, and would be
u sed as brakesi in addition to brakes fitted to the wheels
of the other p atform trolleys. The water used in conn ection with the hydraulic machin ery i3 taken from and
returned to the adjusting or trimming water tanks placed
under the floor of the J?.Ontoon at its sides.
Steam from the bmlers of v~sels regularly using th e
ship rail wa.y could, during transit, be suppli(d to the
engines of the ship car, and further, the pressed water
from the pumping engine on board the ship car could be
utilised for driving the hydraulic engines for roO\ ing the
traversers on one side, which at one or t wo places a long
the line would be double or of fourteen rails in width, so
that when a. traversEir with a. ship car on it was moved
aside it would bring the othe~ ha~f of the double tra:verser
into position across the. ma.1~ lu:~e, so that a sh1p c~r
coming from tha opposite d1rect1on could pass over ~t,
after which the traverser would be propelled back t o 1t s
original position and the ship car with its load would
move off the tra.\!erser and proceed along the main line t o
the end of its journey .
.
Perman ent Way.-As to the permanent. way, 1t would
not be desirable to depart much from th.at 1~ gen~ral use.
The balla.sting should be about 2 ft. 3 m. m th10kness,
the transverse sleepers of 12 in. by 6 in. Gard_nerised ~r,
the longitudinal bearers on same also of 12 m. by 6 ID.
fir, and the distance pieces laid on the ~ransverse. sleepers
between the longitudinal bearers 12 m. ~y ~m. The
rails to be of steel, and fiat-bottomed, wetghmg 112 ~b.
per lineal yard. As not a. single one of the 1400 36-m.
diameter wheels, which carry the ship car and the la~en
ship, together a weight of 16~000 tons, could ab ~ny tr~ne
have more than lli tons on 1t, there would be httle rtsk

of a breakdown, more especially on a. strong and well - in proportion to the smallness of increase of capital relaid permanenb way, such as that proposed, which should quired to provide each additional line of permanent way
have a life of from 20 to 30 years. The cost of mainten- to accommodate such increase in the sizes and weight of
ance and ren ewal would, therefore, be small, probably ca.rs and vessels; for instance, by adding the last, or
seventh line, a.n increase of as much as 5350 tons g ro s
not more than one third of that of ordinary main lines.
Sea Ends of Railway. - The sea ends of a ship tail way per car is obtained, while the net cost of the one addiin a. locality where the tidal range is small, would ha in- tional line of permanent way to obt ain this increase
clines passing under water level to a sufficient depth t o would only be about 4000l. per mile.
About one-half of th e above gross weight of each car
admit of a vessel being floated over the keel blocks of the
ship car. At the bottom of each incline there would be a and laden vessel may be re~arded as the net weight of
ship~ar berth, similar to a lock chamber, and also a dock the goods that can be earned without the necesflity of
entrance, which latter could, when required, be opened vr breaking bulk.
For comparison I Lave given the gross carrying capaclosed by a travelling caisson. When closed, the water in
the cutting of the incline could be pumped out, and th e bilities of each single car, but there is no reason whatever
permanent way and other works examined and repaired ; why trains of ship cars should n ot be run in the same
further, during the operation of grounding a vessel on to mann er as ordinary trains are, or that one car should not
the keel blocks in the ship car dock, the entrance could follow closely after another, as one vessel does after
be closed t o prevent any disturbance by "scend , or tidal anoth er in ship and oth.er canals, so long as proper and
range. Hitherto in closing and bridging across dock and efficient passing places are provided a.t convenient disharbour entrances in connection with tl:ie various public tances apart.
If a ship canal is to accommodate a. vessel of, say,
works for which I have acted as chief and consulting engi
neer, I have used my former inventions of travelling 11,000 tons displacement a.t the outset, or in th e near
caissonst some of which caissons have rollers running on future, it must of necessity be practically completed, a nd
rails la.ia on the floor of the caisson berth and cha.m her, especially so when locks and docks are required.
It cannot with all its structural wor ks be enlarged from
whilst others have keels which travel over rollers fixed in
the floor of the chamber.
time to time a.s the sizes of vessels increase, without
Each caisson is surmounted by a balanced lever folding incurring an extravagant and foolish waste of capital,
bridge. Three of snch caissons and one brid~e can be and therefore to provide now and then for a vessel of
seen in operation a t Greenock, on the Clyde, v1z. , at the such a. displacement would be a ~ er ious matter, involving
entrance to the Gar vel Graving D ock, the east and west the expenditure of the whole of the capital required to
entrances to tbe J ames 'Vatt W et D ock, and the bridge ruake a canal at the commencement, and whether the
across the entrance to the West Harbour, also the remainder of the traffic consisted of small and unimgraving dock at Aberdeen, the graving dock a.t Point portant vessels or not. Ordinary open ri vers, n avigable
L evis, Quebec, and the Esquimalt Graving Dock, Vic- from the sea to important cities, have from time to time
toria, British Columbia., and further at several other been widened and deepened as the trade of the port had
~raving docks built under other engineers, vi z., at Govan, developed, or vessels increased in size. In most cases
Glasgow; ~Ionte Video, Ea-stern D ock, Newport; Cockatoo such improvements have taken more than fifty years to
I sland, Sydney, Sebastopol, and Vladivostock (now in accomplish, and at a rate proportionate to the net proprogress). The whol e of these caissons, except the first, gressive income of the port.
have their ends bevelled horizontally, enabling them to
Now that the Suez Canal is completed, it may be
be removed from their berths as soon as they are floated included in the category of open waterways or navigahigh enough to clear the sill, and allowing the sides of the tions, but although the material and country through
dock entrances to be built with vertical faces, which is a which it p~ses readily admit of its being widened and
matter of groat importance si nce the building of "wall" deepen ed at small cost, nevertheless th a t co~>t must
or plumb-sided vessels. I mention these travelling necessarily be much greater than it would have been in
caissons with folding bridges, as they may be of interest the case of a ship railway.
to those who are connected with docks, especially a-s a
The Suez Canal, although executed under such fa voursingle caisson not only does the work of a double pair of able conditions of material and route, has been exceedgates, but provides a safe road or railway bridge, and ingly expensive, compared with the cost of a. wellcongreatly reduces the cost of entrance works.
structed ship railway, fully equipped with cars and
In Figs. 2 and 4 I have shown my last invention, of a tra\'ersers, through a similar tractJ of country, and capable
travelling caisson, which, while retaining all the ad- of accommodating precisely the same amount of tonnage.
vantagesof those I have already designed and constructed, F or working ship railways, tra.versers at con venient disand which in some cases have been working successfully tances a.parb could be so placed as to remove ship cars,
for the last twenty years, dispenses with guides, roller carrying vessels laden with cargo, from the main line into
paths, and rollers, and keels and rollers, and also the sidings or docks, where the vess~l s could be unloaded and
foldin~ bridge platform. The following is a general de- loaded VI ith the same or even greater facilities than
~;criptJOn of it.
vessels lying a.t a. quay, for the reason that not only could
The travelling caisson is suspended to the nose of a ordinary ratl way trucks, but ordinary carts or wagons, be
cantilever carria~e, which runs on inclined rails laid on accommodated on both sides of such vessels, thus affordbenches formed m the upper portions of the sides of th e ing safe and direct facilities for loading and unloading a.t
caisson chamber. The whole weight of the caisson is the same time, without confusion; and e\en these are
practically rendered nil by displacement or buoyancy not all tbe advantages of transporting a vessel by a ship
compartments placed below the lowest or constant water car, for vessels whilst in transit could be scra ped,
level. In the caisson above top water level, there is an pai nted, and repaired, under much better conditions of
adjusting tank for use not only in keeping the constant light and air than in an ordinary graving dock; and furweight of the caieson as nearly as possible a.t nil, but also ther, there would be economy in executing repairs under
for the purpose of raising and lowering the caisson off such condition~, owing to th e sa,ing of time, rent of a
and on to 1ts end bearings or sea.tings, when acting as a graving dock, and the utilisation of the spare time of the
bridge.
crew.
As the caisson is hung in pendulum fashion to the nose
It might be urged that a single line of ship railway of
of the travelling cantilever, it is quite free to swing, so seven rails in width would not be sufficient to carry on
that during the operation of being hauled into the an extensive traffic, but this objection would be met by
chamber its end comes in contact with a nosing girder by passing places bE>ing provided at convenient distances
which it is sufficiently depressed t o enable the caisson apart, which could be so laid out that several ship cars
bodily to be travelled into the chamber under the could be traversed off the main line, to admit of other
covering platform. This class of caisson can be economi- ship cars passing wh en t ravelling frcm the opposite
cally constructed, and is well adapted for muddy riv ers. direction, much in the eame way as in the passing places
In a locality where the tidal range is great, it would be in the ~uez Canal.
an ad vant~e to construct, at th e foot of the sea ends of
'Vith a ship railway it would be extremely extravagant
th e sh ip railway, an ordi nary lock of, say, 1020 ft. in to construct a double line of ship railway of fourteen
length , with sufficient depth of water on the bottom of lines o~ ra)ils in width si mply for the sake of having up and
its lower half and sill to admit of a vessel entE-ring at down hnes, unless the traffic demanded it, in which case, of
low water time, and when entered the entrance could be course, it would be of immense service, and ships could be
closed and th e water pumped up into the lock, until there despatched almost as frequently as ordinary goods trains,
was a suffioitmt depth to admit of the vessel being floated and therefore on account of such cost it would be better
on to the shipca.r dock berthed in the upper half of the in t~e first instance t o construct a sin~le line and provide
look.
passmg places. In some localities a. smgle line with only
Such arrangement of an incline and singlegate one J?assmg pla~e would be ample, and especially so in
entrance, or of partly by an incline and partly by a lock, locahties where two seas are connected, an d the country
for placing a. vessel on to a car, would enable a very con- passed through is yet undeveloped. No doubt there have
siderable traffic to be carried on with the least amount of been in the past substantial reasons against the probable
detention. In some localiti <>s, however, it mie-ht be more su~cess of ship railway s euch as that P.ropoHd by the late
advantageous and economical to use hydrauhc lifts simi- C~pta.in Ead~, owing to the iruposs1bi Jity of travelling
lar to those erect~d in connection with the ChignE>cto Ship sh1p cars as propoEed by him over hori zontal and vertical
Railway.
c~rves, thus involving flo~tin~ tur?tables and <_>th er conCorn}UJ..?atire Advantages of Sh ip RCI ilu:ays ovc1 Canals. trt\'ances at every c:han~ e m dtrectiOn and grad1ent.
- In districts where there is a. small bub gradually develop~ fl~a.ting turntable capable of carryin~ a load ed vessel
ing trad e, the advantages of a ship railway as regards we1ghmg 11,000 tons mounted on a shtp car weighing
cost and rapid ity of construction O\'er those of a ship ?0'>0. t ons, or together 16,000 tons, would have to be 500 ft.
canal, are many and g reat. Take, for example, a. sub- n dtameter, and of great strength, both longitudinally
stantial ordinary single line of permanent way, laid and transversely, to prevent strain ing, and ba\ ea di sthrough an open and level country at a cost of aboub placement greater than that of the largest vesEel aflrat.
4000l. per mile, exclusive of land, stations, rolling stock, The cost of such a. turntable would be enormous but with
&c., and construct a ship car, or rather a barge car, to t he shi~ ea~ as . herein d eEcr~bed and illustr~ted, any
travel over it, capable of carrying, including its own changes m dnect10n or of gradtent, or, in other wordt: in
weight, a gross weight <Jf 100 tons; again, take a double horizontal and vertical curves, could be travelled ~Yer
line, and a shipcar of 620 t ons gross carrying power, a without strai11:ing wit~ the same eac~ and the same safety
three-line and a.n 1850-ton car, and so on to a four.line a s by an~ ordu~a.ry rath~ay locol!lotne or carriage, and
and a 3770-ton car, a five-line and a. 6650.ton car, a. six- further, 1f desired, ordm a.ry pomts and crossings could
line and a. 10,650-ton car, and a. seven-line (as illustrated ) be used at the passing places instead of traversers as
and a 16,000-ton car, and it will be seen with what above described.
rapidity the carrying capabilities of a ship car increase,
There are many eligible routes where a. reliable or ~:>uf-

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E N G I N E E R I N G.

OIL-CARRYING

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ficient amount of traffic could Le insured for a ship railway. In Britain the following may be mentione~-';iz.,
from Bridgewater to Weymouth, Gloucester to B~rmmg
ham, Birmingham to Manchester Canal, Manchester
Canal to Goole the Solway to the Tyne, and the Clyde
to the Forth. Others which may be mentioned are the
route across the so~tb of France joining the Gironde
with the Mediterranean near Narbonne, the Panama
ronte, the Tehu~nte~ec route, and various important
routes in the U mted States and Canada.
Ship railways should, as far as possible, p~ss over
existing railways ~nd pu_blic roa~s, so as. to avOid opening bridges. U nlike ordmary ratlways, It would not be
necessary to enter towns, as ship railways could be
worked almost exclusively, in connection with goods
traffic 'and therefore an extra half-mile or so of carting
to and from the warehouses and stores in a town would
be a matter of little consequence.
Concluding Rcmwrks.- Having so far described my
patented ship car, I may in conclusion remark that
I have selected a route f.:>r a ship railway across the
I sthmus of Panama, to join the almost coffipleted
Atlantic and Pacific ends of the Panama Canal. I find
to accomplish this most desirable object it will not
require a greater length than 25 miles, and that along
its whole length gradients upon an average of about 1 in
200 can be adopted. The cuttings and embankments
required to give these gra_dients woul~ be exceedingly small, and furtherh su1table material for ballasting the whole length of t e line can be obtained near at
band. Under these most favourable circumstances, comparatively little unsh:illed labour would be required to do
the excavations, more especially as steam nav vies could
be erected on the nose of the ship car to do the heaviest of
the cuttings, and to ~oad ~nto wagons on . the outside ?r
spare lines of the sbtp ratlway on each side of the shtp
car, and con vey the material to planes of deposit in
forming the embankments ahead, and thus aid in the
speedy advancement of the work. Embanking might also
be done by loading up the ship car with embanking
m-ateri al, and unloading it by ski ps into the embankments
where feasible. Again, this ship car could be used for
con veying from the ports of Panama and Colon to the
work in progress, the materials for the permanent way,
the whol e of which could be obtained from Europe or the
United States, prepared, fitted, and ready for laying
down; and by the aid of a couple of derrick cranes, each
having an outreach of 50ft. to 70ft., placed on the fore
ends of the ship car, the sleepers and rails could be placed
on the le velled ballast almost exactly in position, and
ready for laying, bolting, and packing up complete.
During the progres~of the Panama Canal works, the
health and comfort of both skilled and unskilled
labourers appear to have been much neglected, with the
result that an enorrnons waste of life occurred, which,
especially in the case of these works, meant an enormous
waste of money, and therefore to preserve as far as pos8ible the health of the whole of the men engaged on the

l'lJ 1 f

works should, from a financial point of view alone, re

cei ve due consideration.
A ship car, utilised as I have indicated in connection
with the execution of the works, would invariably be in
the front, and by its length and width would afford room
for providing ample, comfortable, and healthy quarters,
which could be erected over the tops of the girders,
leaving the lower portion or deck between the side
girders as workshops, and thus the whole of these workshops and shanties could be kept well ventilated by a
supply of fresh air, drawn through a tube or funnel, from
a height of 50 ft. to 100 ft. above the top of the car, cooled
by compressing machinery, and delivered into the various
shops and living quarters both day and night. Such an
arrangement would not only add materially to the health
and comfort of all, but would keep the men together and
materially reduce losses from sickness and death. At
each end of the ship railway there would be a marine
incline and a single caisson entrance into the canal.
A ship railway of the above length, including the
marine inclines, caisson gate entrances, ship cars, and
traversers fully quipped and ready for use, including the
finishing up of the Pacific and Atlantic ends of the canal,
would not cost more than 5,000,000l. , and the whole of the
works could be completed within three years from the
date of their commencement ; while to complete the canal
as originally proposed, without locks, or with locks, as
proposed a few years ago, cannot be done for a less sum
than from 20 to 25 million pounds sterlingi and probably,
even under the very best direction, in not ess than seven
or eight years.
I might finally remark that the method of transport
herein proposed for ships is capable of wider development, and may be applied to the conveyance of heavy
loads, such as guns, or for a modification of passenger
carriages, whereby great convenience migh t be obtained,
and facility in tbe transport of large numbers of passengers. 'l' hus, in the existing double lines of railways
in this and other countries, ship.car passenger trains,
each composed of three carriages of, say, 100ft. in length
by 20ft. m width, might be so constructed as to admit of
their being carried on groups of trolleys, designed to
co\er two lines of rails and to pass und er any of the
existing bridges. These would accommodate the same
number of passengers as an ordinary train of double the
length ; and further, either by raising the present bridges,
or lowering the rails, a sufficient clear headway could in
many cases be obtained to admit of ship cars having two
floors being used, and thus reduce an ordinary train by
two-thirds of i ts length. A train of ship-car carriages
would thus afford as much accommodation in suites of
room s and comfort as a lake passenger steamer in the
United States.

00C\)'-'

(!>

C:

0C:00

OIL-CARRYING STEAMERS.
On Poin ts of I n terest in the Constru,ction and R(pair of
Vessels Carrying Oil in Bulk.*
By Mr. B. MART.ELL, Chief Surveyor to Lloyd's
Registry of Shipping, Vice-President.
HAVING been requested to prepare a paper to be read at
these meetings, it oncurred to me that-in view of the extensive repairs which have been executed in this locality on
steamers engaged in carrying oil in bulk-this subject
might be of interest, and could be dealt with to advan
tage to many professional men in this district.
The great development in this trad e, and the rapid
increase in the number of vessels engaged in it since 1886,
when I had the honour to read the first paper at Lberpool on this important branch of commerce, may be seen
by reference to the list of vessels classed in Lloyd's
Register alone, engaged at the present time for the
special conveyance of oil in bulk on oversea voyages,
and may be felt to be a further excuse for my occupying
your attention for a short time on a subject which is
exercising the minds of many who are personally interested.
ThA questions which are forced upon us, in view of the
seriou!i damage which is so often occurring to many of
these vessels, and the great cost to underwriters attending their repair, are as to the general sufficiency of scantlings, and arrangement of details in their construct ion,
and the points which should occupy special attention
when they come under repair.
The general efficiency, or otherwise, of bulk oil-carrying vessels to satisfactorily do the work required of them,
has to a great extent been a question worked out by
actual practical experience, and a large number of
vessels engaged in this trade have now been sufficiently
long in existence to enable us to speak somewhat defi nitely
on this point.
With the kn owledge now before us, we are better able
to form an opinion of the com parative ex tent to which it
may be assumed that the constant repairs found to be
necessary to many of th ese vessels have been du e to
deficient scantlin gs, faulty modes of arrangement of
materials, bad workmanship, or last, but not least, a
want of proper care or knGwledge in the management or
the navigation of vessels carrying oil or water ballast in
large quantities in bulk.
A s regards the general scantlings of framing and plating, experience has shown that the scantlings adopted
for ordinary cargo vessels are suitable for petroleum
vessels. It is mainly in matters of detail that special
precautions have to be taken to render these vessels
efficient, and the first point to which I would direct
your attention is to the rivets and riveting. The case of
a vessel carrying a liquid cargo in bulk out to the outer
skin differs from one carrying ordinary cargo, inasmuch

INDIAN BRIDGES.-At thecloseoflast y ear the Bombay,

- Paper read before the Institution of Naval ArchiBaroda, and Central India Railway Company bad extects.
pended 1,384,902t. upon iron bridges.

66

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E N G I N E E R I N G.
as that in the first case the cargo is carried directly on adupted in these vessels is a matlier of great importance.
the outside plating of the vessel instead of on the floors There is a tendency on tbe part of some owners to make
and framing, and the main strains are therefore brought the tanks as long as possible, thus reducing the cost of
on the riveting connecting the plating to the frames. construction and rendering the vessel more fit to carry
Further, in pitching and rolling the pressure due to the varying cargoes other than oil in bulk, but the~ can .be
inertia of the cargo is very considerably increased, even little doubt that the straining increases very rap1dly w1th
when the tanks are quite full.
illcrease in the lenffth of the tanks and the consequent
In the early instance3 of the construction of these greater weight of 011 or water carried.
vessels, they were comparatively small in size, or built
The fact cannot be too clearly appreciated that, w~en
with double skins, and it is possible that when the inner these vessels are rolling and pitching at sea, the motton
skin was dispensed with, the increased strains which is communicated t o the oil through the medium of the
""ould be brought upon the ri vAting of sin~le shell plating outside skin or plating and the bounding bulkheads.
had not been fully appreciated, until it was forced upon
The stresses, therefure, on . the bulk?eads, d~e .to the
us by actual experience.
motion of the vessel, vary wtth the weight of Oil m any
Here, then, is one of the pri ncipal considerations in the tank, while the support the bulkheads afford to the side
efficient construction and repairs uf oil-carrying vessels, of the vessel is an important factor in the efficiency of
\'iz., the size, form, and spacing of the ri vets. General the vessel. Widely spaced bulkheads, therefore, by
opinion exists that the sizes of the ri vets as given in the admitting of larger quantities of oil acting on any parrules of Lloyd's Register a re sufficient for the various ticular bulkhead, and by affording less support to the
thicknesses of plates prescribed. As regards the form of sides, are very undesirable, and experience has shown
rivet, however, there can be no doubt that many of the that a maximum length of tank of about 24ft. cannot
failures which have occurred have arisen from th e ineffi- safely be exceeded, without special precautions being
cient heads given to the rivets. An opinion exist ed taken to additionally strengthen the sides and the
amongst some builders, whi ch I am glad to say has been bounding bulkheads of compartments of greater length.
to a. consideraple extent abandoned, that the best form
As hold beams in th is class of vessel are generally disof ri vet for producing oil or water tight work was tha pensed with, the disposition of the web frames in the bold
plu~-headed rivet, a.s shown in Fig. 4. This all our ex- requires special attention.
A little consideration will
per1ence ~how~ to b~ a ~istake, ~nd that the best for~ of show, as already stated, that the load on the framing is
rivet for msurmg oil-tightness IS the pan-headed r1vet of a different ch aracter to that in vessels with ordinary
with swollen neck under the h~ad, as shown in Fig-. 5. cargoes. As a vessel laden with oil in bulk rolls, the
Such ri \eta insure more thoroughly the filling the boles; weight of the cargo is brought on directly from the platthey can be more satisfactorily laid up, and their sound- ing t o the side framing, whereas in a '\'easel with a solid
ness better t ested when completed, whilst their holding cargo the weight is borne mainly by the floors.
power is greater, insuring more strength in the structure,
Experience has shown the necessity of meeting the
and preserving to a greater extent oil-tightness than any extra stresses thus set up by a closer spacing of the web
other form of rivet adopted.
frames.
If, however, plug-headed rivets are adopted, excepIn ves~els with tanks 24ft. long, as suggested, not less
tional workmansh ip is required. It is highly essential than two web fra mes of the ordinary size should be fitted
with these rivets that, in hammering up, theconical head in each oil compartment, with the usual number of side
should come into close contact with the plate in the hole. st ringers. The stringers should be connected to the shell
In order that this may be the case, the boles should be plating by double angles for three frame spaces at each
countersunk and the beads of the ri vets well heated. end of the oil compartments, and to the bulkheads by
When this is done, and a sufficiently larg-e head is left bracket plates G ft. by 4ft. of the same thickness as the
outside the surface of the plate, these n vets rr:ay pro- stringer plates (Fig. 11).
duce sound work, but careless workmanship will unThese brackets sh ould be attached to the stringer plates
doubtedly intensify the effect of inefficient work when by a double row of rivets, and t o the bulkhead by dou ble
this form of rivet is adopted.
angles, or by a large sin~le angle wide enough t o take
It has been found that, in some instances where plug- double riveti ng, as shown m Fig. 12.
Instead of butting the stringer plates at ; ach bulkhead,
h eaded ri vets have been used, the head ba.s not been
sufficiently large to admit of the ri vet being properly which has been the general prac tice, in recent cases the
laid up, as Rhown in Fig. G, and the consequence has stringers have been made continuous throughout the
been that the bead has had comparatively little bold on length of the vessel, and oil tightness insured at the
the plating, and, when excessive strains have occu rred, bulkheads by fitting angle collars around the stringer
the head has given way, leading to the adjoining rivets plates.
failing in the same manner, and inoipient rupture has
Fig. 13 shows the plan which has been adopted in the
resulted. This has been more particularly observed in fitting of the stringers, and whi ch, it may be stated, has
such rivets when used in the gunwale angles connecting proved satisfactory.
the stringer and sheer strake. The relatively lesser
Where wide-spaced hold beams are fitted in the tanks,
thickness of angles has not provided sufficient holding it is highly n ecessary that the connection of these beams
power for such a form of rivet bead, and failure has been to the sides of the vessel should be of a most efficient
the result. The rivets at this part especially, to be character. Straining is certain to occur if this is not the
thoroughly efficient for their purpose, should either be case, and can only be prevented by fitting (:xceptionally
pan-headed or project considerably within the angle bar, large gusset plates-say 6 ft. by 3 ft. -on the ends of the
similarly t o boiler work, as illustrated in Fig. 7.
beams connecting with the stringer plates, and by fitting
Whichever form of rivet be adopted, the points should most efficient and well-riveted beam knees (see Fig. 14}.
be left sufficiently full or convex, and in cases where
A radical point of difference in t he construction of oil
rivets are found on testing t o be unsatisfactory, they vessels and vessels fitted to carry ordinary cargoes exists
should be renewed and not caulked, as is sometimes in the arrangement of keelsons, &c., at the bulkheads. In
done.
ordinary vesselA, in order to preserve continuity of
G reat care is also necessary in these vessels to insure etrengtb, all keelsons pass through the bulkheads, and
fairness of holes, as without absolutely sound work at the water-tightness is obtained by fitting angle collars round
seams and butts, vessels carrying oil in bulk are sure to them on the bulkheads. This arrangement, however, is
give trouble and necessitate costly repairs. H oles that not adopted in oil vessels, it being felt that a ny disposiare found to be not quite fair should be rimed and not tion of material which nece3sitates three-ply ri veting
drifted, and ri vets specially prepared should be used in should. as far as possible, be avoided.
such cases, where necessary. And here it may be reTo maintain the strength of th e keelsons and side
marked that sound workmanship throughout is essential stringers-wbi c~ is all the more necessary in these vessels,
and of primary importance in these vessels ; as, however as, when ca.rrymg water ballast, the load carried is
satisfactory the general arrangements may be, unless the necessarily localised-brackets are fitted against the bulkvery best workmanship be executed, failure i.i certain to b eads; and it is highly important that they should be of
ensue.
sufficient size t o admit of a rivet connection, approxiFrom considerations of the increased strain on the mately, at least, equal to the strength of the ke~lsons and
rivets in oil-carrying vessels, and on account of the sida st.ri~gers. D<?uble angles, or a J~rge single angle
p enetrating character of petroleum, it has been found double nveted agamst ~he bulkhead, w1ll be required to
necessary to more closely space the ri vets in the seams provide the rivet power requisite for the purpose. The
and butts of the outside plating, and also the frame size of the bracket will consequently depend on the
riveting, than in ordinary cargo-carrying vessels. The stringer; but, in general, brackets about 4ft. by 4ft. are
spacing which has been found sui table for the seams and found to be necessary. Where these brackets have not
butts of outside l>lating is three diameters from centre been made sufficiently large, and the riveting has conto centre, requirmg one additional ri vet in each row seq.uently b~e~ of much less strength than r equired, very
b etween the frames. This spacing should also be adoptAd senous strammg has been set up ab the bulkheads, inin bulkheads, where both seams and butts should be yolving subsequently consirlerable additional strengthend ouble riveted, while the rivets through the frames and m g.
As the main part of the stress on the rivets to these
outside plating should not exceed six diameters from
centre to centre, both the landing rivets passing through brackets through the bulkhead will be in tha direction of
the frame.
the length of th e rivet, it is essential for good work that
The best form of butt connection to the outside plating the p oints and heads be full; so that, in addition t o th e
in way of the tanks is a matter on which authorities countersink, the rivets sh ould have a good bearing on the
differ. Tbe ordinary sing le strap flush butt (Fig. 8) has plates
Pan beads with full hammered points as in
been found from experience to be unfit for this work, and boiler work, are found t o be the most efficient 'tor this
in cases wh ere it has been tried, even on alternate strakes, purpose.
the rE;mainder being lap-butted, failure has ensued,
The brackets, as. before stated, should be large, say
necessitating expensive repairs in the subsequent fitting 4ft. by 4ft., and, m order to k eep them well to their
of double buttstraps. There can be no questi on that the work, it is desirable that they should be stiffened on the
most efficient connection at the butts i by double butt- edge away from the bulkhead {Figs. 15, 16, and 17).
Rtraps (Fig. 9); but, as this method is heavier and more
The construction of the bulkheads a nd the brackets at
costly than lapping the butts, I a.m of opinion that O\'er- the. ends of the bulkhead 'ltitfeners, in order to de velop
lapped butts (Fig. 10) will be found gen erally satisfact ory thetr full strength, has demanded the attention of those
and efficient for the purpose. An outsid e strap should, overlooking the construc tion of these vessels. These
how~ver~ al ways be fitted to the .butts of the strake ~f bulkheads. beiJ?g continuously und er ~train, any inherent
platmg m way of the d eck formmg the top of the Oil weakness 1s qmckly d eveloped, and experience soon points
tanks.
out the proper remedy. It has been found most satisThe maximum leng th of oil tanks that can safely be 1 factory, instead of fitting these bulkheads between double

angles at the ship's side, to u se one l.arge ~ngle with

double rivating (see Fig. 18). The vert1cal st1ffenera to
bulkheads should be secured at the heels by bracket
plates of the thickness of the bulkheads,, fitted between
double angles on top of the floor plates, wtth a staple knee
fitted between the two floor plates. The upper ~nds of
the stiffeners should be attached to the deck platmg by
bracket knees of the depth of the main deck beam knees,
a.s shown in Fig. 19.
(To be continued.)

"ENGINEERING" ILLUSTRATED PATENT

RECORD.
CoMPILED BY

W. LLOYD WISE.

SELECTED ABSTRACTS OF RECENT PUBLISHED SPECIFICATIOBB

UNDER THE ACTS 1888- 1888.
The num~er of views given in tM Specif!.cation Dra:!"tnqs is ~a,~

in each case; where none a,re m.entumed, tM ::Jpe.cijicatum 1.$

not illustrated.
Where I nventions a,n communicated from a,broad, tM NfJ/fntS
Jtc. of the Communica,tcrrs are given in ita,lic8.
Copies of Specijicati<Yns may be obta,i ned at tM Pa,tent OOf,ce
Sale Branch, 38, Cursitcrr-street, Chancery-la/ne, B.C. , at the
uniform price of Bd.
The date of tM <Ulvertisement of tM a.cceptance of a, complete
specification is in each case, given after the a,bstract, unlus the
Patent has been sealed, when the date of sea-ling is given.
A ny person ma,y at any time within two 1rwnths f rom t~ dat~ nf
tM advertisement of the ctccepta.nce of a complete specificatum,
pive Mtice at the Pa,tent Ojfice of onosition to tM grant of a,
Patent on any of tM grounds m.entioned in tM .Act.

ELECTRICAL APPARATUS.
12 087. F. W . Schindler-Tenny, Kennelbach,
AuStria. Electric Beating Devices, &c. (14 l'!gs. J
June 29 1392.-Tbis invention relates to the ~ppara.tus descrtbed
in Patent No. 16,767 of 1891, and ba.s for its objeot the construction of means for the le \rel adj ustment of electric heaters, for
preventing their covers from warping, and for protecting the
beating body from moisture, and also of contact devices to be
used for these apparatus. The heating body proper is placed in
a metal fra me A composed of two a:1nular walls, the walls beinJ:r
tightly joined and forming a hollow ring B, into the centre of which
the heating body b fits so as to be surrounded by the hollow annular
space B of t he frame. On the lower side of the annular frame A supports are proYided, carrying vertica.l adjusting screws fitted with
the annular plates d, upon which the heating body b rests, eo that
by adjusting the screws it may be set into a perfectly level position. In order to preYent a displacing of the heating body b,
the points of the screws D engage into corresponding recesses
on the lo\\er side of the refractory plate b. The metal covE'r a,
for the heating body is provided with an annular fta.nge a' bein~r
of a smaller diameter, its flange fitting behind the inner wall At

. . /J..

--- - ... -......

....
0

(I

of the annular frame. The cover a on its lower side is centralh

provided wit h a pin a2 passing t hrough a. central hole in tbe
mica sheet covermg the heating body and in the latter itself.
The pin a:! is, on its free end, provided with lugs/, for the passage
of wbich the central opening of the frame A of the arms is pro\iided with corresponding recesses fl, whereas the central opening in the mica plate and. in t~e h~ating body is sufficiently large
enough to let pass the pm with 1ts lugs. The underside of the
support is provided with two corresponding inclined surfaces, so
that, by giviug to the metal cover a and its pin a2 a turn or half a.
turn, the cover a and annular frame A, between the two of which
the heating body is situated, are drawn tightly together. In
order to be enabled to turn the cover a , the lat ter is provided
with two boles into which a key is fitted . That central connection of the cover a permits, when heated, its free dilatation in
every direction. By the internal ring Al, in combination with the
overll!'pping fla.n g~ a~, the heating body is protected against the
~n.termg of .an~ hqu1d that should happ~n to leak through t he
JOIDt; the hqutd cannot reach the heatmg body, wbioh might
crack in consequence, but v. ill run into the annular spacE'
whence it may be let cff by a tap or will e,aporate. ( Accepted

M ay 31,

1~93).

GAS, &c., ENGINES.

13,~9. L. A. Boisset, Paris. Motive Power Engine.
(3 ~a.) July 22, 1b92.-This invention consists in producing
mottve power by means of a gas generated in the apparatus itself
and in which the gas after use is conveyed to a condeneer, th~

liquid formed being used again and again to generate the gas in
the apparatus. The generator is dh ided into two parts b'' a.
bo~izontal par~ition. T~e .gas is ~enerated .in 1 he lower part," in
which the ltqmd ammoma IS placed and subJected to a slight heat

68

(JULY 14, 1893.

ENGINEERING

~~=====================================================================================================
~rom a gas jet, and it is then passed through a pressure valve
proportions of the spur gear, other Ya.riations of relative speed
m to the upper part, where it is dried previous to use. The gas may be obtained. ( Accepted ltfay 31, 1893).
t hen passes through a va.l ,.e to the valve chamber of the oylinder
F,. e~tering between t wo ~lide valves wbich are operated from the
RAILWAY APPLIANCES.
dr1 vmg shaft of the en~ne. From the cylinder t he used gas
24,011. E. W. Schmitz and J. Wallmannz._ Berliu,
passes to a vessel E, in which it comes into contact with water
and becomes ~ain liquefied. The liquid ammonia then fiow s to Germany. Automatic Couplings for .u.ailway
the well of a pump D, by which it is raised t o the lower part of Vehicles. [8 Figs.) December 29, 1892.-This invention
t he generator, where it is again set free by slight heat. (.A ccepted relates to automatic couplings for railway vehicles, and comprises two main par ts A and B fixed to the adjacent ends of the
May 31, 1893).
vehicles to be coupled. To the support a is hinged a coupling
piece b, t he outer end e of which is curved downwa.rdly, and is
GUNS. &c.
provided at the sid es with guide ftangesj. The coupling piece b
12,391. A. Noble and C. B. Hurray, Newca.atle is furnished with ears d carrying a pin g upon which a lever i is
uponTyne~ ~:toadl~g Heavy G~ns. [9 ~s.] July 4, free to turn, this lever carrying a. weight, and being provided
1892. - In th1s m vent1on a telescop1c hydrauhc rammer is at its other end with an inclined surface h at its underside. The
employed, and to t he outer ram is attached a carriaga, the top of support n is similar to (t , and to it is hinged a coupling piece p,
whtch forms the loading tray , and its front end projects forward this coupling piece v being formed with inclineci surfaces, and
so as to ent er the gun and cover up the screw thr E'ads, t h e rest of
. 1.
the tray which d oes not enter the gun forming a. receptacle for
PLg. 2.
first t he projectile and then the powder. When working the
apparatus the turret and the gun are brough t to the loading
p
posit ion, and the ammunition carria.g;e is brou~ht a.longside the
a.mmunition hoist (Fig. 2). The cage of the hoist is also raised
f rom the magazine below, carrying the ammunition upon it.
..

When the shot compartment is opposite t he door o, the latter is

. '

off &pindle is fitted with anotherrack which gears into the t oothed
wheel on the opposite side, so that the partial revolution of the
toothed wheel produces an opposite motion in the cut-off plates.
By oscillating t he toothed wheel on its bearing spindle the position of the cut -off edges of the cut. off pla.tes may be varied to produce a change in the time of t he out-off as regards t h e piston
stroke. In order to avoid any slackness between the teeth of the
wheel and the racks, the wheel is divided into two parts, one ol
which is keyed to a tubular a.nd the other to a solid spindle, the

.2.

Fig. 4.

..,....
I ' '

),

:Ftg.3. . :/i, /
0

- -

............ ,

.PLg.4.

.Fig.3.
12391

.allowed to open and the shot rolls out, overcoming the weight of
the inner door of the cage compartment e'. The shot is received
into the loading tray g2, and the carriage g is made to advance.
As the ca.rria.ge pa.sses a.way from t he ammunition hoi~t it is
righted to the position in Fig. 3. The shot is thus carried safely
over tbe distance along which the gun recoils, and is placed
rea.dy for ramming home. Then (Fig. 1) the head m of t h e rammer
is made t o advance, and drives the shot before it t o its proper
place in the gun. The parts i, g, m., n retire, and the ammuni
tion carriage places itself in position to receive the powder cartridge (Fig. 2), the cage of the ammunition hoist being t hen in
t he highest poeition. (.Accepted M ay 31, 1893).

.
" "'........... :
/

' , ,

//IN?

'

latter passing through the tubular one. To these spindles two

le vers are fixed between which a set screw is employed to force them
apar t, so that the teeth of the two wheels are made t o bear one on
each side of each space in the racks which engage both wheels.
Thus as any wear of the.t eeth of t he racks and wheels takes place,
t he back lash can be t ak en out and th e motion of the cut-off plates
2#/J
.
rendered definite. The variation of the cut-off motion of the
with a finger s. When t he vehicles are moved towards one plates is brought about by the motion of a g overnor a<'ting upon
another t h e outer end of the coupling piece p slides up the curved the tootbed wheel spindle levers. (.Accepted. May 31, 1893}.
surface e of t he coupling piece b between t he guide ftanges j, and
t h e inclin ed surfaces q and r will act in succession against the
MISCELLANEOUS
lever i and move it upwardly u ntil it falls over int o the position
4934. R. Baddau, London. ( J . R . Scott, N etv Y ork.)
in dotted lines (Fig. 3). Fnrther movement of the coupling piece e
in t he same direction then causes the finger s to act against and Skiving Machines. [8 F igs. ] March 7, 1893.-This invention
throw t he lever i back into t he position of full lines (Fig. 3}, in has reference to skiving machines. The die roller L and feed roller M
which the icclined surfa.ce h rests upon the inclined surface r , are mounted on rotary shafts G and H, a movable bracket being proand the two parts of t he coupling are securely locl{ed together, as vided with a fixed bearing for the shaft G, and an adjustable one for
the greater the effort to draw the two vehicles asunder, the the shaft H respectively. The knife Qis secu red to t he knife head R,
greater is t he grip bet ween t he t wo surfaces h and r. (.Accepted which is moun ted on a shaft 1, and t he knife can be adjusted and
locked in the required position by screws. From the head R a
ltfay 31, 1893).
toothed segment extends which engages a. worm-screwmounted in a
7172. J. M. Stark, Detroit, Michigan, U.S.A. Car
Couplings. (4 Figs. ] April 7, 1893.-This invention relates to
Fiy.J.
car-couplers. The grappling jaw is pivot ed in t he drawbead A,
which consists of two parallel adjacent plates C, and has the
integral plate E projecting rea.rwardly from it at an angle to the
"-'LL ,

1.

12,330. W. C. Bus~ Wtlmington, Newcastle, Dela

ware, U.S.A. Cartridges. [5 Figs. ) July 2, 1892.-This

inventiOn consists of a cart ridge shell and a block which interlooks with the flange, and has a convex conical chamber terminaing in a. narrow vent, this block being com'{>ressed when forming
the ch amber in it, whereby it is forced a.ga.mst the shell, which,
with the in~ erlo cki n~ fea.ture, prevents it being blown out of the
latter. The breech-block B is primarily formed of a material3ucb
.as wood (Fig. 1), with a convex conical chamber C in t he front

Fig. f.

..
I
I

' I

"

'

Fig.2.

-end of it, and a narrow vent D rearward from it for the passage
of t he fi re t o the explosive. On the rear end of the block is a. flange
E which enters thE' flange F of the shell, thus interlocking the
block with the shell and preventing the former from being blown
out. The periphery of t he block aod the conti~uous part of the
s hell are corruga.ted, t hus providing an additional fastening for
t he block. The primer plug is imbedded in the block and
formed of hard material with a threaded periphery, the latter meshing with the inner periphery of the block and securely connectin~o; t he p arts. (A ccepted M ay 31, 1893).

7172

engaging face of the jaw. The tumbler F is eccent rically pivot ed

in the drawhead in t he angle between the plate and jaw, the long
end of which is adapted to engage the plate t o actuate t h e jaw,
and t he shor ter end t he jaw of a companion part. (A ccepted
M ay 31, 1893).
7247. W. E. Gedge, London. (F. ltf. R yan and W. T.
Srnith, San F ra-ncisco, California, U. S . ..A.) Car Couplings.
[5 F igs. ] April 8, 1893.-Tbis invention relates t o a coupling for
cars, and consists of levers fulcrumed to swing in a horizontal
plane about t he central line of the coupling bar, jaws formed in
the meeting faces of the levers to grasp the head of the bar, and
vertically swinging locking levers, whereby the jaws are retained

MACHINE TOOLS, SBAFTING, &c.

11,507. T. Thorp, Broughton, Manchester, and c.
Wood, Stockport. Compound Gear for Varying
Speed. [3 F igs. ] June 20, 1892.-This invention relates to an

'

:
:
I

I
I

lever S. On the top of the lever K is secured a bracket N from

which extends a guard over the feed roller M. The rear end of tbe
guard forms the bearing for a pin on which are mounted a series
of scrapers n2 which extend into circular grooves in t he feed
roller, and which can be adjusted by means of set screws. The
di.e roller carries the die Z, a.nd the end gauge m, which is provided
w.tth an L -shaped sba.nk wht?h engages a groove in the body of the
d1e roller, a set screw sernng to secure the end gauge in the required position. (Accepted M ay 31, 1893).

6293. W. Miak~vsky, Libllv, Bohemia. Digging, &c.,

Machines. [2 F tgs.] March 24, 1893.-This in vention relates

to an agricultural machine for digging, loosening, and breaking

up land and clearing it of weeds. The framework a b c of the
machine is mounted on two wheels d, e each of ~hich has
a.tt~ched to it a t oothed wheel f g, gearing' with the two pinions
h, l secured to t he cranked shaft k. The shafts l of the spades
are securetl to the cranks, which are arranged so as to fo rm the
digging implements into groups of three. The shafts l are

arrangement of compound gear so disposed on a. driving and a

d riven shaft, that by the movement of one of a set of interlocked
clutch levers the speE'd of the driven sha.ft may at on e~ be
changed. The drivtng shaft A, by means of a spurwheel a,
d rives an equal spurwheel b which is loose on t he driven shaft B,
but can be engaged with it by a clutch Cl moved by a lever,
the driven shaft B then working at the same speed as the motor
shaft A. The motor shalt also, by means of a. pl~i.ne t mitre wheel
pl mounted on a sleeve Dl. on it so as to revolve round a eta-

:Ftg. 3 .

i a a. closed position or thrown open. The horizontal and ver tical

hand levers L are fulcrumed to t he cu , and have the curved
slotted links for med at th eir inner ends. A connecting-rod K extends upwards from the rear of the locking levers, and has a pin
a extending through the links of the two hand levers, so t hat
either of them ca., be actuated independently of t he other. (A ccepted ltfay 31, 1893).

STEAM ENGINES AND BOILERS.

11,007. J. B. Dales, Leeds. Stea~ &c., Engines.

tionary sunwheel sl, drives at twice the s peed another mitre

wheel s2 on a sleeve, and this sleeve, by means of a epurwheel
aJ. on it gears with a. spurwheel bl, which is loose on t he driven
shaft B 'but can be engaged wlth it by the clutch Cl moved to
the righ t the shaft B being thus driven at twice the speed of the
motor sb~ft A. On the same sleeve with s2 and a l is fixed a. sunwheel sS round which revolves the planet p 2 driving s4 at fou r
t imes t he speed of A. By thus arranging on the motor shaft A a
series of the sun and planet mitre gears, having spurwheels con
n ected to equal spurwheels that can be clutched to the driven
shaft B, the speed of ~bat shaft r e!a.ti vely to that of the. motor
may be varied according to the senes 1, 2, 4, &c. By vary10g the

[3 Figs.) June 11, 1S92.-This invention relates to the use of

steam, &c., pressure in motive power engines, by cutting off t h e
pressure supply in the cylinder, and thus fully obtaining the
benefits of expansion of t he working pressure. For cutting off
t he pressure two plates are employed, which, in performing their
functions, close the cutoff por ts of the distribution valve, sooner
or later in tbe stroke of the engine as the work may require. One
of the plates is attached to A. tubular spindle, which passes
through a. stuffing-box out of the steam chest, and the other phte
is attached to a spindle which passes down the centre of t he
tubular spindle, t hrough a stuffingbox in it, and thus out of t he
steam chest. One of t he cutoff spindles is fi tted with a rack,
which gears into one side of a tooth ed wheel, and the other cut-

.F'1J. 1.
mounted to engage with friction rollers m, rotating upon t he
spindle n. The whole of the spade shafts are above a t ransverse
rod, by which they are lifted from the ground when it is d esired
to turn the machine round, chains connecting this rod with
levers o, by which the lifting may be performed. To facilitate the
t urning round of the machine, the t oothed wheels and one of the
pinions h, i a re deta.chably secured t o the shaft. To t\lrn t he
machine round, this wheel is loosened, and the machine wheels
d, e are free to rotate independently. (.Accepted .llay 24, 1893).

U!HTED STATES PATEBl'S AND PATENT PRAC'l'IGF.

Descriptions with illustrations of inventions patented in the
United States of America from 1847 to t he present time, and
reports of t rials of patent law cues in the United States, m~y be
consulted, gratis, at the offioea ol ENGil\"liBame, 36 and 00, Bed1onl
etreet. Strand