..

E N G I N E E R I N G.
BRITISH COLONIES AT CHICAGO.
IV.- NEW SouTH WALES-continuecl.
THE most striking feature of the exhibit of New
South \Vales in the Mines and Mining Building is
the great coal trophy which forms a background to
the section, and emphasises the fact t hat the colony
is a great coal-producing country, although comparatively little has been don e up to t he present
time in drawing on an almost unlimited supply.
The coal measures cover an area of nearly 24,000
square miles. There are five main coalfields : t hose
of Newcastle in the north, of Dlawara in the south,
the Lithgow field in the west, the South-Western
or Mittagong, and the Gunnedah coalfields. Sydney
occupies an almost central position with regard to the
various dep0sits, and boreholes recently put down
show the existence at a depth of between 2000 ft.
and 3000 ft. of workable deposits from 17 to 26
miles from the chief city of the colony. According to Professor T. W. E. David, late Geological
Surveyor, Department of Mines, the coal of New
South Wales belongs to three separate systems.
The first is assigned to the L ower Carboniferous
age, and so far is commercially useless, for although
two of the upper seams are 5 ft . and 7 ft. thick, t he
quality is too inferior to pay for working. Much more
recent in geological time is the second or PermoCarboniferous system, with three distinct series in
New South Wales, two of which extend into
Queensland. The total thickness of t his formation at Newcastle is about 11,000 ft., and it includes
150 ft. of coal in seams of upwards of 3 ft. The
third system is still more modern, as shown by the
modified fossils ; it consists largely of shales containing coal seams that are not worth working.
Although the existence of coal in New South WaJes
was known a century since, its extraction dates
back only to 1829, in which year 50,000 tons were
raised. The amount last year was 3, 780,000 ton s,
but this was less than in 1891, when over 4 million
tons were obtained. The average price per ton in
1892 was 7s. 8. 82d., r epresenting a. total of
1,462,388l. More than half t his quantity was exported (2,191,000 tons), of which 1,300,000 tons
found its way to other Australasian colonies, and
the r emainder went to foreign por ts. The expor t
coal trade of New Sout h Wales h as, indeed, been
important since 1858, more than 34t n1illion tons out
of the 56 millions total having been sent abroad,
leaving 21,690,000 tons for home consumption. Of
course the figures of the New South 'Nales coal
industry are insignificant when compared with
those of Gr eat Britain; but they were far more
insignificant a few years ago, as the following
statistics will show. They are selected from t he
last return of the Department of Mines and
Agriculture:
United Kingdom.

"0
~

>-.

.2

Cl.

(I)

c::

...d
>-

Il-l

1875
1878
1881
1884
1887
1890
1891

536,845
475,329
495,477
620,376
526,277
613,2.'{3
().18,450

...

Cl)
Cl)

(>

<

...,""
.1:1

.,

0
~~

Cl) r::

~Cl)

~
> ...

. ... 0
~

124t
1453
954
9!2
995
1160
979

eo .
o88
...

'C
41

~.

-~
~CD

ao
.3 ~CD
~..J
Cl)

~~c

c::

(I)-

0~

~IJ)-g

r:: ...

'> ...

.Q .......

>.

~8cPo

.. Cl)
Q),.,

o<a. -a

430
336
519
552
529

2.321
2.972
1.926
1.810
1.890
1.891
1.609

~-

629 1

662

~IINERALS, THE PRODUCE o~o NKw SooTu WALES ~oon THE YEAns
1891 AND 1892.

1891.

1892.

Increase in
Value.

Minerals.
Quantity.
old

~iher
"'

coal

s bale
oke
~ n ..
Co pp er

~ront
nt1mooy ..

B ismuth . .

lead and ores

s ilver
aoganese
..
..
~~ide of iron and pig iron
..
z1nc spelter

ead (pig) . .
..

imestone (ftux) ..

A lumite ..

be noble opal

~obalt
..

F ireclay

L 1me

~larble
tone (building) . .

., (ballast) ..
..
rindstooes

lntes

s uodry minerals
..

Value.

Quo.otity.

s.

163,335.62 0 7.
568,305 12
134,860 0
729,590.06 "
4,037,929.30 tone 1,742, 796 12
40,349.00
78,160 0
30,31().36 "
34,473 5
3,144. 52
271,412 0
4,525.66 "
205,093 0
4,125.81 "
36,101 0
'.
914.85
22,067 0
.40 "
500 0
H7,779.70 "
3,484, 739 0
1:38.20 "
3JO 0
228.75 "
43t 0
'
218.60
2,622 0
190.65 "
2,025 0
74,067.00 "
65,357 6
704.00 "
1,888 0

..

"
"
",.

1.15
16.80
410.00
635 pkg.
4735 No.
619 tons
471 No.
31,234
788.95 "tons

470
55
958
2,677
6,205
713
311
351
3,217

0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0

..

10,820

21

615

..

4
0
4
0
6
0
0
6
0
0
0
0
0
0

0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0

s. d.
10,S72 6 1

57,919 6

6,305,815 7 8

d.

0
25,620 17

42,702 0 0

680 0

l,C63,787 0 0
293 0 0

435 0
2,433 0

0
0
1,299 0 0

27,673
1,396
2,000
640
25

17,387 0 0
13,495 17 9
7,377 0 0

17 10
0 0
0 0
0 0
0 0
136
2,577
2,367
437
311
351
2,059

8.

77,966 0 0
280,407 3 2

146,6i6 811

Net decrease

0
0
0
0
0
0

0
0
0
0
0
0
0 0

1, 495,870 18 3
146,676 811
1,349,194 9 4

I
t>

The g reater par t of t he silver produced is exported in the shape of silver lead.

there are three, each able to deal with 1800 tons

per hour. This wharf belongs to t h e Government,
but the~e are a number of jetties owned by colliery
companies able to receive ships alongside d rawing
from 14 ft. to 26 ft. of water.
Turning to a brief review of t he exhibits illustrating t he coal resources of New South W ales, we
may mention a display by th e Australian Aaricultural Company in the ewcastle district of s:ctions
of coal from diftcrent pits.
One section shows six
coa.l veins, the topmost and thickest being 4 ft.
This company employs nearly 1000 hands, and in
1892 r aised 298,556 tons of coal. From the same
district are sections sent by J. and A. Brown, of
Newcastle. An average analysis of the coal from
t heir Burwood pits is as follows :

...
...
..

M oisture
...
. ..
Volatile hydrocarbon
F ixed carbon .. .
.. .

Ash

...

...

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

...

. ..

Per Cent.
... 2.1
... 32.7
... 60.6
...
4.6
100.0

(I)

1. 9-10

The coal industry has given Newcastle an importance in t he colony second only to t hat of
Sydney; its harbour accommodation is excellent,
and the facilities for shipping are very considerable.
On the south side of the harbour is a continuous
quay 3600 ft. long, well supplied with cxanes and
chiefly used for loading coal ; on the western side
is another wharf 6293 ft. long, of which 4490 ft.
are reserved for coal shipment. This wharf is well
supplied with hydraulic cranes, capable of handling
6000 tons in twelve hours. On t he north side of
the harbour t here is more wharf accommodation,
and there are two cranes each capable of shifting
1000 tons per twelve h0urs. Rail way connections
exist between the harbour, the collieries, and
the main lines. The southern coalfield has an outlet in the \Voolongong Harbour, 45 miles south
of Sydney; there U! a depth of 13ft. of water, but
wharf space is more limited, a restriction partly
compensated for by more powerful cranes, of which

s. d.

.,

3
166,870 00 oz.
669,177 17
0
56,884 0
360,661.60 "
6 3, 780,967.71 tons 1,462,388 9
0
74,197.15
136,079 6
10
7,899.00 "
8,~52 8
0
314, 114 0
3,492.10 "
0
4,834.20 "
187,706 0
3
2, 782. 17 "
22,606
0
728. 25 "
1-:1,6 0 0
1,0 0 0
0
14.25 "
0
133,354.95 "
2,420,952 0
47 0
0
16.80 "
869 0
0
453.15
0
6,055 0
444.55 "
0
726 0
70.90 "
2
103,36 .00 "
93,031 4
821.00 "
3,284 0
0
41.67 lb . "
2,000 0
0
1,110 0
76.00 tons
0
80 0
35.00
822 0
0
403.00 "
"
0


0
2,838 0
2478 No.
0
276 0
224 tons
0

0
1,158 0

6,665,009 17

Decrease in
Value.

Value.

d.

~CO

CO

A good deal of t his coal finds its way to San

Francisco for gas manufacture, and it is stated that
New Sou t h Wales.
the average yield per ton is 11,200 cubic feet. The
section sent by the Hetton Coal Mining Company

(Newcastle) is remarkable as showing thirteen

so
1-cs
'tS
0
41
0
0
8
41
>. .
<
...
o~
>.
seams in a depth of 20 ft. This is a relatively
0
0
-~
...
- ~
.0
$:lo
small company, which in 1892 employed 464 men,
ao
~
~(I)
8
C:l ~ ~~c . and raised 154,000 tons.
As in other classes, the
~
:11
8
=o

.,J...;
~
c:: -~ Minister for l\1ines and Agriculture sends a fine
c
0~
0
co2
.c - ...
Cl)
tn ..
~gel) .9' collective
41'tS
exhibit, consisting of 76 specimens of
... Cl)
>
....
Cl)
Q)<~
. .. 0
41Cl.
p..
C-c
A
~
Cl. bit uminous
and semi-bituminous coal, of shale
and graphite from various districts. The section
2.418
3,308
8 I 413
from the Wallarah Company's mines (Newcastle)
599
1.669
4,792
8
2049
. 4SS
2
4,09S
is of interest, as it represents the 10ft . seam under444
2.248
6,227 H
lying one of 2 ft. ; the analysis of this coal is as
11.752
86
7,998 94
1.260
793
10,316 13
follows:

.:::~~

TH E AGGREGATE Q uANTITIES AND VALUES OJ..'

379

Carbon
Hydrogen
Oxygen
Nitrogen
Sulphur
M 01sture
Ash ...

...

...

...
...

...
...

...
...

...

...
...
...

...

...
...

. ..

...

...

...

...

.. .

...
...

...

...

...
...

...

Per Cent.
74.26
b.29
10. 98
.94
.45
1.30
6.78
100. 00

'Ve must not omit to mention t ho collection of

diamond drill cor es sent by t he Mines and Agricult ure Department. These cores were cbt..aine.d
in sinking for coal near L iverpool ; the hole IS
2605 ft. deep, and is the deepest, with one exception, yet made in the southern h emisphere. It
has a d iameter of 2! in., and was completed in
1890. For 2440 ft. the drill passed t hrough rocks
of the Hawkesbury series-sandstone, quartz conglomerate, and shales. Coal was struck in a t hin
seam at 2492 ft. , and a little deeper a 6 ft. 6 in.
seam of fine steam coal was passed through. Cores
from the deepest borehole are also shown by speci-

t Not manufactured from the ore, but old iron.

mens obtained between 2600 ft. and 3032 ft. This

hole was sunk near Port Jackson, and proved the
existence of a coal seam 8ft. 9t in. t hick, underlying
the city of Sydney at a depth of 2801 ft. Cannel coal
and shale are raised to a limited exten t, there having
been 74,000 tons brought to bank in 1892. Tho
value of this mineral was 138, OOOl., or an average
of ll. 16s. 8. 16d. per ton ; it is used chiefly for gas
enrichment, t hough considerable quantities of oil
are distilled from it. This mineral is illustrated by
specimens from the 1\iinister of Mines, and by t wo
private companies- the Genowlan Shale Company
and the New Sout h 'Vales Shale and Oil Company.
There are four companies in the colony pursuing
this industry ; they employ in all 396 men.
Sufficient objects are exhibited in Class 296building st ones- to give an idea of the quality and
variety posseesed by New South Wales. The variety
is indeed very great, but in and around Sydney the
quarries are chiefly in t he sandstones of the
Hawkesbury series, and form the source of supply
of most of the building material of the city. There
are many deposits of marbles of Silurian and
Devonian age ; some of these a.re black and others
white. Near Wallerang are extensive deposits, of
which Mr. C. S. Wilkinson , Government geologist,
says that they consist of '' thick beds of coralline
limestone of very fin e quality. It forms a compact
marble of various tints, white, cream, and dovecoloured , and sometimes with pink markings. It
dresses well, takes an excellent polish, and may be
obtained in blocks of any required size and quantity.
The limestone consists almost entirely of corals."
Then there are r ed marbles, largely used for architectural decoration ; a great abundance and variet y
of granite, r oofing slates, sandstone, serpentine,
and syenite which was used in constructing the
piers of the Hawkesbury "Bridge. Mr. Mortimer
W. L ewis, of East Maitland, is the largest private
exhibitor of building st ones. He sends a large
collection from various districts, comprising a
number of marbles suitable for constructions and
decoration. The Minister for Mines and Agriculture exhibits 44 examples of marble and serpentine, 25 specimens of Hawkesbury sandstones,
and 46 cubes of various building st ones.
In Class 297-Grindstones, Emery, &c. -there
are but three exhibits : on e of tripolyte containing
86 per cent. of silica ; on e of alumina grit, and one
of oil stones. Graphite, plastic clay, and asbestos
are also shown (under Group 46). Of limestone,
cements, and artificial stone there are a few exhibitors, and there is an interest ing display of alunite
by the Australian Alum Company, of Sydney.
This mineral is found in a large deposit forming
the summit of a ridge t hree quarters of a mile long
and half a mile wide, rising 1000 ft. above the level
0f the creek on which it is situated. I t yields from
60 to 80 per cent. of alum after roasting, lixiviatio
and evaporation. There are also paint ochres fr

380

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====================================================================================

_., '

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

BRIDGE:

TOWER
:MR.

' VOLFE

OF

DETAILS

BARRY, ENGINEER,

CHAINS.

LONDON.

(For Description, see Page 382.)

.Fig.32.

Fig.33

Fig.36.

Fig.3S.

r
'
'

--*-

..

. . --

Fig. 31~

*-

' V..

,.,.

~ .'
c.:,
' ,

2 .J

<c::t."'
.

Section throl GG.

j'

'

-'.f

pits.

........
"''

Fig.30.

....,....'
I

"1'

-'

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"....;

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c:l
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.....
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Section thro' A A.

\.(

Diagram of ChrJ.ins
Middlesex Chains
-- Surrey Chains
North

South .

M . h . E. .

North

Nt . S . E.

S. N. .

o !o ~==========~~~~~

Short Sugm.t- long Segment

0

lon.9

O==:::=:=== :u=======O
M N W.

_.

South
S.S..

M . S . W.

S~me/lt

Short Segm t

0 0==>,=========0========:0
S. N .W

s s .w

. ... 1

. . . . -
: ~

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I
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t44fr.I...1Jiqti)L. . -

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Fig.44.

<:ll

CWIIIe.P' Ut... . --'

:"~ _l;en./.uuJ ot:.cluJuuul

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'
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, I

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1'6olc

1461

wlu a o/,.;;"'9 fit ,

ltfl.l

deposits found near Ovange. The exhibits under

Group 47-that of the History and Literature of
Mining and Metallurgy-are extensive and interesting, and show clearly how high a. degree of scientific skill has been expended in obtaining exact
information on the mineral r esources of the colony.
From the Mining Department comes a complete
series of reports and geological maps and surveys,
besides the memoirs and records of the Geological
Survey. Professor Archibald Liversidge, professor
of chemistry in the University of Sydney, sends
diagrams, photographs, and models referring to
crystallography, and the Commissioners of New
South Wales contribute a large series of photographs
of the Broken HilJ Mine, and of various famous
caves and geological formations. We have only given
a very brief summary of the contents of the New
South Wales section in the Mines and Mining
Building, but we have said enough to show the
admirable manner in which the colony has set
forth specimens of its mineral wealth. Before
turning to another section of the Exhibition, it
may be of interest to place on record the figures

"'6rtw11n
''ill l111tanu
bt't~

showing the extent of the mineral industry illu~:~

trated in the section, by Tables referring to the products during the years 1891, 1892 (se~ preceding
page), and also those obtained from the commencement of the various industries to the end of 1891.
The following Table contains the quantities and
values of minerals produced in the colony up to the
end of 1891:
Minerals.

Quantity.

Value.
s. d.
17 10
10 11
7 6
9 5

Gold ...
... 10,373,452 oz. 38,633,417
Coal .. .
. .. 53,870,743 tons 25,809,040
1, 416,716
Shale...
...
653,041 ,
75,620
Coke .. .
. ..
61,407 ,
Silver ingots
4,941,138 oz.
11,302,095 0
,
lead
199,616 tons
,
ore .. .
219,716 ,
Tin ingots .. .
100,400 ,
} 9,526, 796 0
, ore
...
17,793 ,
Copper ingots
93,926 , , } 6,023,431 0
,
ore ...
5,317 ,
383,565 13
Iron . ..
.. .
49,651 ,
2,647 G
, oxide .. .
1,173 ,
115,798 8
Antimony ...
6,047 ,
36,641 14
Bismuth .. .
168 ,
10, 322 0
Lead (pig) . ..
839 ,

0
0
0
8
0
6
0
0

Zinc spelter
Lim esto n e
flux
...
Alum
...
Manganese
ore...
.. .
Cobalt ore .. .
Opals
.. .
Sundry
minerals ...
Total . ..

5,988

526 t ons
115,494 "
924 ''
238 ,,
1.15 , '
195 lb.

.. .

. ..

s.

d.
0

107,346 11 11
4,888 0 0
665
470
15, 600

0
0
0

0
0
0

65,853

93, 536,963 13

. T o illustrate the steady and rapid progress made

1n the growth of the mineral industries of New
South Wa:les, th e following figures, giving the t otal
values at 1ntervals of ten years, are interesting :
During ten years end ing 1841
,
,
''
"
,

"
,
''
,
,

1851
1861
1871
1881
1891

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

81,275
634,937
14,276,637
16,638,574
23,441,890
38,459,650

The total for last year showed a marked decrease

E N G I N E E RI N G.
as compared with that of l 891, but this is a natural
result of the financial collapse which marked so
disastrously the commercial history of the colony.
The effects of this, however, can only be temporary, despite the inconvenience and widespread
suffering that it caused , and the successful advance
of New South Wales cannot be arrested, for the
simple reason that it possesses within its borders
an alrno&t unlimited wealth.
(To be continued.)

THE TOWER BRIDGE.

( Contim~ed from page 355.)

an enlarged view. Various sections are also shown.

Fig. 43 is a diagram of the chains. 'rVe will next
turn to the main tie between the two towers for
balancing the pull of the chains. The weight of
this tie is carried by the high-level footway girders.
The method of supporting it is shown in Fig. 44.
The tie is 301ft. in length from centre to centre of
the pin eyes. Figs. 45 to 49 show the construction.
The chains and other details of the Surrey span
are like those on the northern side, but of heavier
section. There is a stiffening girder to the Surrey
span, sh own in elevation in Fig. 50, and in plan in
Fig. 51. Cross-sections of the stiffening girder,
showing the bracket attachments to the crossgirders, are given in Figs. 52, 55, and 58. Figs.
53, 54, and 57 are part elevations of the stiffening
girder at the brackets. Figs. 56 and 59 are plans
of the brackets.
The suspension rods are made in two parts, the
method of making the joint being shown in Fig. 60.
The lengths of suspension rods vary fron1 about
5 ft. to about 80 ft., and all 5! in. in diameter,
and at the coupling are 6/6 in. over the threads.
The coupling is 1 ft. 9 in. long and 8! in. in
external diameter.

THE main towers are chiefly composed of four

steel built-up columns of octagonal section. They
are 5 ft. 9 in. in external diameter, and ara of i in.
to tin. plates, three thicknesses at bottom and less
above. The sides are stiffened by vertical T -sections and diaphragms at distances of about 3 ft. ;
the joints of the angle bars are covered by bent
plates. The height of the columns from the bottom
of the bed plate is 119 ft. 3 in. The bases are built
up by a system of angles and plates, their depth
below the road level being 16ft. There are three
(To uecontin ued.)
landings to each tower, the floora o~ which are of
steel plates with small 12in. girders across. The
main girders run between, and are 6 ft. deep.
THE
BRITISH
ASSOCIATION.
There are diagonal bracings and wind struts be( Cmti nued from page 358.)
tween the columns. The two shore spans consist
FoLLOWING Mr. Keep's paper on the ,. Disposal
of crossgirders suspended from the main chains
and longitudinal girders, each chain being in two of Refuse," and reported in our last issue, came a
segments of unequal length; the smaller 1neasures communication on '' Warming and Ventilation," by
106 ft. 6 in. and the larger 190ft. 6 in. horizontally. Mr. Frank Ashwell.
The author's firm had carried out a large number
The spans are composed of top and bottom booms,
stiffened by verticals and diagonal bracing. The of ventilation schemes in various parts of the
shore towers somewhat resemble the main towers country. One of the chief drawbacks of the
in design, but 9.re much smaller, being only 39 ft. vacuum system by extraction was the uncertainty
as to the purity of the incoming air, which would
high.
In the footways expansion and contraction are be drawn from that place that offered the least
allowed for by a link at the end of each cantilever. resistance to the passage of the air, and if badly
The ties between the towers, which take the pull constructed drains and sewers were near, it might
of the chains, and which are in the footways, are come from these. Various objections had been
built up of eight thicknesses of plates 1 in. thick raised against the plenum system, which the author
and 2 ft. deep. These are riveted together, break- advocated, and it was said to have been a failure in
ing joint. There are two of these ties, expansion several cases. The author would most emphatiand contraction being allowed for in the usual way oally say that his experience did not bear out ~hose
by roller bearings. The anchorages are not sh own contPntions. One or two of the more prominent
in our illustrations, and do not possess any very objections were dealt with shortly in the following
special features. There are four lifts to the high- remarks:
1. As to breakdowns of the machinery.
level roadways, two in each tower, the cages being
It had been stated that if the engine breaks down
each 14 ft. by 6 ft. For -those who prefer the exerno fresh air can be supplied till it is repaired. In
cise of walking, staircases are provided.
Turning again to our illustrations, Fig. 12, page this respect the system stood on the same basis as
380 shows the land tie above the road level. The all other so-called natural or mechanical schemes of
tie is built up by riveting plates together. in the f~rm ventilation, with this advantage, perhaps, that an
of a box girder. The depth of webpla:tes IS~ ft.10 1n., accident to the machinery was at once noticed, and
and the width of flanges 2 ft. 6t m. Ftgs. 13 to could be remedied without delay, whereas a break17 are sections at the parts lettered. Figs. 18 and down in a patent cowl or some such appliance may
19 are respectively a plan and elevation ~f the not be noticed for a considerable time, as nobody
horizontal tie between the short segment cha1n and attends to it. It would, h owever, not be true to
land tie at the top of the columns. The draw- say that during a breakdown no fresh air at all
incrs refer more especially to the land ties on t he would be supplied : this would only be the case
Middlesex side ; those for the Surrey abutment are during the warm weather, and then t?e openi?g of
somewhat heavier per foot run. Fig. 20 is an the windows would soon remedy It. Durmg a
inside elevation of one of the longitudinal girders breakdown in winter the hot air would still, to
of the shore spans. Fig. 21 is a partial elevation some extent, ventilate the rooms till the repairs
to a larger scale, showing the .longitudi~al gir.der were complete. This would be the condition of
attachment to the main cross-girder. Ftg. 22 IS a things in cases where no duplicate power was procross-section on the line A A of Fig. 21. The form vided but where this had been done, either by an
of flooring is also shown in these illustrations. ~he extraction tower or a fan in the roof driven by an
cross-girders in t he ~hore spans . ~re of var10us electric motor or by a duplicate engine at the air
designs to meet the dt~erent cond1t10ns they have inlet, then no inconvenience at all would be felt
respectively to fulfil ; 1t would ta~e far ~oo much during repairs ; and though this course would prove
space, interesting . as the work 1s, to illustrate somewhat more expensive at first, yet in the long
every kind, but FJ.gs. 23 and. 24 may ?e taken as run it would be the cheapest, and should be adopted
illustrating an ordinary cross~gtrder. Ftgs. 25, 26, in all cases where a temporarily reduced supply of
and 27 show the connection of the suspension-rods fresh air entails hardship or danger to life. If this
be done then it may safely be asserted that the
to the girders.
.
vVe pass to the high-level footways which stretch plenum 'system is the most reliable system of ventifrom top to top of the two ma.i? tow.ers. T~ere lation.
2. As to scheme being too complicated. It was
are two of these footways runnmg s1de by s1de ;
each is composed of two cantilevers and a central quite true that any ~cheme of mechanical ventilagirder as alre~dy stated: The elevation of the .end tion was more complicated than schemes of natural
iR shown in Ftg. 28. F~gs. 29 to .35 show .secb~ns or so-called automatic ventilation ; but plenum
as lettered. Fig. 36 IS a sect10n Rhowtng s~de schemes were by no means too complicated fo~ sucplates. The main chains, by means. of .whiCh sessful working, as was proved by the expenence
the shore spans are held up, are shown 1n Ftgs. 37 gained in all parts of the globe. To say that a
to 42 on our two-page plate. ~igs. 37 and ~9 natural scheme of ventilation was uninterruptedly
show the long segment of the M1~dlesex span In at work all the year round was, the author said,
elevation. Fig. 38 is an enlarged view of the eye. very misleading. It might be true. that ~he at;IDoVarious sections are given at the parts refer~ed to sphere is always in motion ; but th1s mot10n m1g~t
by letters. The other end and the eye of this s~g be so small at times as to cause no movement of a1r
ment are shown in Figs. 40 to 42, the latter bemg at all in buildings. The addition of the machinery

is a safeguard for the regular supply of air in the

proper quantities, and it hi far better to have a.
special man constantly attending to it, rather than
leave it to itself.
3. As to cost of scheme, the author was confident that the expenses in connection with the
plenum system would not be found excessive. He
had not prepared any figures, as he was of opinion
general figures were frequently totally misleading,
and for this reason he would recommend the consideration of the question of the cost afresh for each
particular case.
The discussion on Mr. Ashwell'~ paper was
opened by Mr. Vernon Harcourt, who said that
ventilation was one of the most important subjects,
but too often buildings were put up without the
subj ect receiving any attention from architects.
It was often too expensive to uae a. system of
artificial ventilation in private buildings, but at
any rate more attention could be paid to natural
ventilation.
Mr. Arnold Lupton said that often ophthalmia
was caused by bad ventilation in board schools,
and it was but right that if the law obliged
children to attend schools the conditions should
be such that they were not subject to disease from
t he neglect of sanitary arrangements. He would
advocate a combination of open fireplace and a
general warming system.
Professor Robinson said that in that building
- the niversity Building- they had the plenum
system in operation. The incoming air was washed
by a water spray and then heated. There were
also hot-water radiators in the rooms. In summer
also they could blow cold air into the building.
He had found it a very difficult matter to arrange
that a constant temperature should be kept. It
was important that the air should be washed, so as
to take away noxious germs, and also to prevent
the air being too dry.
Dr. Powell, of the Nottingham Borough Asylum,
in which the author's plenum system wae used,
said it was important in the case under his charge
to have good ventilation in a building where so
many people were congregated, all diseased in
mind, and tnost in body. It was more pleasant to
have the body warmed by radiant heat, and not to
have the air heated which had to be breathed ; but
he could say that the plenum system had had no
bad effect on the health of those dwelling in the
asylum. That he attributed to the entire absence
of draught. He favoured admitting air at the
ceiling. With regard to breakdowns of machinery
for ventilating, they had had the engine break
down for five or six days, and yet the heat stored
in the walls and flues had been sufficient to maintain the circulation, so that inconvenience was not
felt.
Mr. Harries, of the Nottingham School Board,
said that they had tried the vacuum system and
heating by coils, but had now adopted the plenum
system, which was quite successful, the illness on
the part E>f children and teachers being considerably less.
Mr. Bay ley Mar shall also bore evidence to the
superiority of the plenum system over the vacuum
system.
The author, in reply, said that with regard to
the size of the installation, a school of 600 children
he looked on as suitable for its application. Below
that it might not pay. vVith regard to the amount
of pressure, he was strong1y against any pressure
being used that was sufficient to be registered by
ordinary means. The flues should be big enough to
prevent this. In private houses where there was
electric current for lighting, a fan might be driven
by the same means.
WATCHMAKING MACHINERY.

A paper by Mr. T. P. Hewitt, in which he described a system of watchmaking by machinery

adopted in the Lancashire Watch Factory at
Prescot, was next read. vVe have so recently described this very successful departure in the watchmaking industry that we need not enter into the
subject again here. Some of the beautiful little
machine tools used at Prescot were exhibited in
the room, and excited the admiration of all present.
It is a fact worthy of note that the demand for
these highly finished pieces of mechanism has led
to great improvement in this class of work in this
country, so that they can be produced now equal
to those made in America, and at equal if not less
cost. A short discussion followed the reading of
the paper, in which testimony was borne by those

ENGINEERING,

29, 1893.

SEPTEMBER

THE

TOWER

BRIDGE:

O F CHAINS.

DETAILS

MR. WOLI<'E BARRY, ENGINEER, LONDON.

(For De,;;;tiption, see Page 382.)

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E N G I N E E R I N G.
who had visited the Lancashire Watch Company's
factory to the success of the work. Mr. E. Rigg,
the recorder of the section, who is a well-known
authority on watches, added his testimony to that
of others.
PNEUMATIC CAULKING AND CHIPPING T ooL.
Mr. Rosa next described a pneumatic caulking
and chipping hand tool, an example of which was
produced. This is a hand tool, and works at. great
rapidity, making over 10,000 strokes per mmute.
ome of the iron and steel chippings shown bore
evidence of the fine work done, the chipped surface
being a.s brigh~ as if polished: It would ~e difficult
to describe th18 apparatus w1thout dra.wmgs, and,
as we hope to illustrate it shortly, we will leave
further description for the present.
The meeting then adjourned.
The Monday meeting of the British Association
is always given up in Section G to electrical papers,
and the usual course was followed at the recent
meeting at Nottingham.
CosT oF ELECTRICAL CoNDUCTORS.
The first paper read was a contribution by Mr.
Gisbert Kapp, and was entitled ''The Relative
Cost of Conductors with Different Systems of
Electric Power Transmission. " The author commenced by saying that it was just twenty years since
the reversibility of the dynamo electric machine
wa.s discovered, and with it the electric t ransmission of mechanical power. The machines then,
and until recently employed, were of the continuous current type, but within the last few years
the transmission of power by alternating current
apparatus has come into use, chiefly because by it
the power could be carried to greater distances with
a moderate weight of, and therefore moderate
cost of, conductors. The reason for this economy
was to be found in the fact that owing to the
absence of commutators and the facility and certainty with which the alternating current transformers can be insulated, the effective pressure at
whieh the current is transmitted is much greater
with alternating than with continuous currents.
In other words, the author said, with continuous
current plant t he voltage is limited by the difficulty
of insulating the generating machinery.
With
alternating current plant there is no necessity of
high insulation of generator or motor, but only of
the step up and step-down transformers, and
since this type of apparatus can, by the use of oil
or other means, be insulated to any desired extent,
it is the difficulty of insulating the line, rather than
machinery, which limits t he voltage that can safely
be employed. It followed that in comparing
various systems of transmission as regards economy
of material all must be put on the same basis by so
desianing the plant that there shall be in each case
the :'ame stress on the insulation. The difference
of potential, therefore, the author said, between
any two points in the circuit, or between any point
and earth, should not exceed a predetermined limit.
'Ihe systems of transmi9sion which have as yet
been practically employed, and which, the author
said, alone need claim attention, he had formulated
in a table placed on the walls of the theatre. They
were as follows :
1. Single-phase alternating current transmitted
by three wires.
2. Double-phase alternating current transmitted
by four wires.
3. Double-phase alternating current transmitted
by three wires.
4. Three-phase alternating current transmitted
by three wires.
5. Continuous current transmitted by t hree

w1res.
Although the last case was practically impossible
for extra high potentials, the author included it
because it gave a convenient standard of comparison for the other four methods of transmission.
It is well known that in any circuit, the different
parts of which are equally well or equally badly
insulated, the electrical centre of gravity remains
always at zero of potential, and the author pointed
out that it followed from this axiom, that if
the circuit carry an alternating current, the
absolute potential of any point undergoes a
cyclic change, bringing it in turn above and
below the potential of the earth by an equal
amount. Thus, in a circuit carrying 10,000
effective volts, the greatest potential difference
between two points would be about 14,000
volts, and the greatest possible value of the poten-

tial would be 7000 volts, positive or negative. The

insulation t o earth would therefore be put under a
stress not exceeding 7000 volts. If, however, one
point on the line were earthed, the stress at other
points would immediately rise to 14,000 volts. Mr.
Kapp next made a comparison between the continuous and single-phase alternating current as
regards the weight of copper required for the line,
assuming in both cases the eame total power and
the same efficiency of transmission. Fixing the
greatest permissible stress at 7000 volts from
earth, the author said it would be immediately
clear that the effective voltage of transmission in
the case of the alternating current would bo 10,000
volts, and in the case of the continuous current
14,000 volts ; and since the weight of c0pper for
equal efficiency conditions varies inversely as the
square of the pressure, it followed that the transmission of power with alternating currents required twice as much copper as with continuous
currents. With two-phase currents and completely
duplicated circuits (that is, four wires in the line},
the same held good. This, the author said, would
be obvious on consideration that each circuit carried half the power. Bunching two of the lines,
however, altered the case. There would t hen be
half the current in each of the external wires, and
about 70 per cent. of the current in the middle
wire. The apparent result would be a saving of
copper. The author showed, however , that this
saving was only apparent, for not only was there
no saving of copper, but actually more copper was
required than with the single-phase system or the
four -wire double-phase system. The reason given for
this was that if two of the terminals were tied together, the electrical centre of gravity of each circuit
was forcibly displaced, causing the potential of the
other terminals to vary between wider limits. To
keep the stress on the insulation down to a given
limit, it is necessary to lower the voltage of each current, and this means that more copper must be used in
the line. A similar investigation made by the author
for the three-phase system showed that the effective
voltage in each circuit must be lower than with a
continuous current, but may be higher than with
the single-phase alternating current. Mr. Kapp
said he did not propose to occupy the time of the
meeting by giving the mathematical investigation
of the various cases previously mentioned, but
would simply state the practical result. If all the
systems were placed on the same footing as regards
efficiency and safety of insulation, it was found
that, if for the transmission of a. certain power
over a given distance by continuous current 100
tons of copper are required for the line, then the
single-phase alternating and the two-phase fourwire system would require 200 tons, the two-phase
three-wire system would require 290 tons, and t he
three-phase three-wire system only 150 tons. As
far as the line wa.s concerned, there is thus, the
author pointed out, a distinct advantage in the
employment of the three - phase system. The
author explained his meaning by means of mechanical models which he had prepared for the purpose.
A short discussion followed the reading of Mr.
Kapp's paper, but no point especially worthy of
attention was called forth .
\VATER PowER AND ELECTRICITY.
The next business was the reading of a paper by
Mr. A. B. Snell, entitled '' Utilisation of 'Vater
Power by Electricity." This paper was r ead by
Professor Robinson in the absence of the author.
The extensive use of water power for driving electrical plant on the Continent was referred to, ins tances being given, whilst the rarity of hydraulic
installation for the purpose in this country was
pointed out. The author said that with coal at
the average price of the last ten years it was not
probable that water power would prove much
cheaper when the capital invested, cost of maintenance of tho electrical plant, and interest were
taken into account. There were, however, special
cases, and the author suggested that the Manchester \Vater Works, which form a magnificent
series of artificial lakes, could be used to drive
turbines and give electric energy for lighting the
various towns in their vicinity. Another example
suggested was t he case of Greenock, where there
was a fall of many hundred feet, and the water was
only partly utilised to drive the mills. We may
point out, however, that a few years ago an effort
was made by the Corporation of Greenock to light
the town by electricity, using the natural head of
water from the hills. In addition to the instances

given in the paper, the author suggested that there

were numerous mountain streams which could be
dammed, and thus converted into reservoirs for
feeding the turbines. The most important instance
of the application of water power for the electrical
transmission of power in Great Britain is, the
paper said, that at the Green side ail ver lead mines
in Cumberland. These mines are among the few
that find it possible to compete with foreign mines,
and lhis is chiefly because the use of electricity for
winding, hauling, and pumping has decreased the
cost of working. The fall at the station is equivalent to a vertical head of 400 ft., and the
effective horse-power is about 200. The generating station contains one of Gilkes and Co. 'a
\Ortex turbines of 100 horse-power, driving a compound dynamo. The current is conveyed by bare
copper conductors on poles, the distance being
6 furlongs, to where it enters t he mine at an
elevation of 1850 ft. above the sea-level. The conconductors from this point are insulated and
covered with lead. About f mile in the mine, or
1! miles from the dynamo, a 9 horse-power series
motor is employed to wind ore from the set of
sinkers. Further into the mine is fixed another
9 horse-power motor, working a three-throw pump,
forcing the water 360 ft. in height. Half-way
between these motors the pressure is reduced from
600 to 250 volts for working an electro-locomotive
in the lowest level of the mines, through which the
water pumped from the 120 yards level, and the
whole of the water used by two hydraulic winding
engines, is pumped. The total weight of the locomotive when loaded is 18 tons. The conductors in
t he level are phosphor-bronze wires. Great difficulty was experienced in fixing this plant. All
main stations in the mine are lighted by incandescent lamps in series of six. The author was of
opinion that where possible, water power should be
wholly used ; or, if there were not sufficient water
for the purpose, hydraulic power such as there was
should be used, and steam engines installed as
auxiliaries. In this way the cost of working could
be considerably decrea.aed.
Professor Unwin was the first speaker on this
paper. He r egretted that the author did not give
estimates of the cost of installing water power or
the cost of working. In America there were many
schemes being worked but too often at a loss, or,
at any rate, no profit. In favourable cases water
was undoubtedly cheaper than coal when at its
lowest. He was afraid to say what the cheapness
of water really was under the best conditions. Perhaps ll. per horse-power per year might be taken
as an extreme figure. The aut hor, Mr. Unwin
said, only referred to the transmission of water
power by electricity. In cases where there was a.
large surplus of water power, as in parts of Switzerland, electrical transmission was convenient, but in
most instances it was not desirable to let a large
quantity of water go to waste, and then came the
question of storage. Reference had been made to
accumulators, but in any large installation of power
transmission, this method of storage was so expensive as to be out of the question. The great advantage of water as a. means of obtaining power was
t hat it lent its use readily to storage. At Geneva,
on the Rhone, they used turbines placed in the
river to pump water up to a storage reservoir, and
it was this water that supplied the power for
lighting Geneva at night. Here, the lowest price
quoted for electricity was 6d. per unit ; in Geneva
it was obtained at ld. per unit . In the Calumet
and Hecla mines power was transmitted electrically, it having been tried on a very large scale,
but the engineer had come to the conclusion that it
was very expensive, and in future it was proposed
to go back to air.
Mr. Kapp, referring to the cost of transmitting
power electrically, said that in Switzerland, where
the power obtained from th~ Rhine was formerly
transmitted by ropes, electricity was now used. At
700 volts, 700 horse power was transmitted at the
cost of 50 fr. per h\.)rse-power per year, which wa.s
not so far from Professor U nwin's extreme figure
of ll. Mr. Carter pointed out that, taken as a
whole, England did not really present many
favourable cases for the use of w&ter power, owing
chiefly to the low head and variable flow ; also to
the fact that the periods were so long between
maximum head that the cost of storage of water
would be too great. A 6-in. variation in head was not
much in 20 ft. or 30 ft., but in 4 ft. or 5 ft. it was
a very important factor. Mr. Snell in his paper
had spoken of this country ; it was not fair to

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

LIGHT

STATION
CONSTRUCTED

AT
FR0~1

EXP 0 SIT I 0 N.

COL UMBIAN

WORLD'S

THE

THE DESIGNS OF THE UNITED STATES LIGHTHOUSE BOARD.

(For Descrilption, see Page 386.)

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

AT

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LIGHT

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THE DE 'I :NS OF THE UNITED ST ATES LIGHTHOUSE BOARD.

(Fo~

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E N G I N E E R I N G.
compare Switzerland, or even Scotland, as the conditions were so different. With regard to pneumatic
transmission, the radius of transmission was comp:l.ratively small, so that they could n ot convey
power profitably to so grel.t a distance by air as by
water.
Sir Frederick Bramwell said t hat in his address
when Presid.ent of the Section many years ago:
h e was unwise enough to point out a source of
p ower n ot utilised in the instance of the flow of
wat er in the Bristol Channel. The Corporation of
Bristol unforunately t ook him at his word, and
asked him t o ad vise on a scheme by which the
unused energy of the river might b e m ad e available. On going into t he figures h e had to climb
do wn from the position he had taken, and to advise
the corporation that, until coal was very much
dearer indeed than it was ever likely to be in his
or their t ime, it would n ot pay t o install the
machinery necessary for the utilisation of t he river 's
fl ow. He n1ent.ion ed this as a warning to young
and enthusiastic engineers such as he was.
Mr. Mavor p ointed out the elements of loss in
water utilisation, and concluded that it was only
promising in cases like the Rhone, where the power
was largely in excess. Frost was the great enemy
t o the u se of water ; more so than drought. This
country was not big enough for big rivers, and we
h ad n o very important falls. The speaker next
went into the subject of t he rival merits of air and
electricity in mines, referring to the various wellknown points in favour of both.
Professor R obinson said that it was fair t o the
A.uthor to point out t hat the paper was entitled
"The Utilisation of Waste P ower by Electricity, "
and Mr. Snell did not pretend t o r efer to air or
other m eans of transmission.
The President, Mr. H ead, in proposing a vot e
of thanks to t he author, r eferred t o the cheapness
of coal as a reason why water power was not more
used. He said that a cargo steamer would carry
freight at 1d. per t on per 500 knots, which equalled
1 t on carried 1 knot with 1 oz. of coal. We wanted
our water for other purposes, and n ot for power
generat ion. This country was one of the worst for
water power and the best for coal. He had lately
visited Norway, and there was struck with t h e
enormous quantity of water running to waste in the
falls. He calculated that in one case there was 5000
h orse-power in one cascade, and this was entirely
unused. There, however , coal was obtained from
England, so that the conditions were q uite differ en t.
Soon er or later the available coal supply of the
country would be exhausted, and it would t hen be
time to look about for another source of energy.
In Niagara there was a vast q uantity of water running to waste so far as power was con cerned. He
would suggest that gas might be compressed and
h eld in steel flasks, as oxygen or hydrogen already
was, and we under stood Mr. H ead to propose that
power sh ould be obtained in this way.

V .a.RIABLE PowER GE.AR FOR ELECTRICAL

L ocoMOTIVES.
The next paper was a cont r ibution by Mr. W.
W. B eaumont, and was en t itled "A New F orm of
Variable Power Gear for Electrical Railways and
Tramways." By mean s of diagrams the author described a gear h e had devised for giving additional
p ower, at the expen se of speed, in starting electrical
l ocomotives. He referred chiefly to t he City and South
L 0ndon Railway. Mr. J. H. Greathead, the engin eer of this railway, had shown that the power employed electrically in overcoming the inertia of a train
is from 25 to 50 and even 60 per cent. g reater t han
that required t o keep the train going. W ith Mr.
B eaumont's arrangement, for t h e gr eater part of
the journey of a train f~om station to s~a~ion the
motor , which is placed d1r ectly on the. dnvmg axle,
dri ves the axle at its own speed , Just as those
motors do which are n ow used. The motor is in
the proposed arrangement on .a h ollo'Y spindle,
which drives t he axle when starting a tra1n through
the medium of a double clu tch containing one pair
of epicycloidal reducing wheels. The cl~tches may
be operat~d by electro-magnets or by ftutd pressure.
By this arrangement the motor can be much reduced in size, and brough t to a power more nearly
t hat of t he mean p ower r equired on the road. The
train in th i~ way, may be started at from onefourth to one seventh of its speed. A breakdown
l eaves the locomotive in t he condition of a gearless
engine. T he author described a ~imilar .apparatus,
adapted for tram cars, with startmg ratw of gear
of about 6 to 1, or by single r eduction the car can

be driven either at the usual gear ratio of about

LIGHTING
STATION
AT
THE
COLUMBIA
N
4 to 1, or for starting at a rat io of about 24 to 1.
EXPOSITION.
The first speaker was Mr. Pitt, who said that t he
O N E of the most popular buildings at the Columbian
arrangement overcame a difficulty which appeared Exposition is that erected by t he United Stat es Goin former devices of the kind, namely, that of the vernment for the purpose of displaying exhibits from
wheels running idle at high speeds. In cranes their various departments. We have already described
t hey had found that when wheels were running idle the contents of this building in some detail, and have
they gave mor e trouble at high speeds that when at explained how between it and the lake is a wide stretch
work. Looking at the drawings, it seemed to him that of lawn on which are shown a variety of heavy guns
some parts of the gear which were running at a and mortars, as well as installations of the metecrogreat number of revolutions might b e out of balance. logical and other scientific departments. It is here
He considered that the gear would find a useful that the United States Lighthouse Board occupies
place, especially for t ramcars. Mr. Carter p ointed space, and one of its principal exhibits is a light
station intended ultimately for a spot called Waackaack,
out that with this gear the lights in the Sou th on
the coast of New Jersey. It is a very interesting
L ondon Railway would n ot vary so much, and that structure, as will be seen from the illust rations we
the copper r equired for mains would be less. At the publish on the two preceding pages, and we are
same time it would take longer to start t he train.
enabled t o give very complet e details of every part.
Mr. Kapp considered the gear shown on t h e I t is built entirely of iron, and rests on a concrete bed
diagram as practicable. He was glad the author 38 ft. square, and about 4 ft. thick (see Fig. 1). The
had avoided the electrical clutch, as it was apt to total height is over 100 ft., and there are eight inclined
give much trouble, and he thought it unwise to let columns supporting the gallery and lantern. These
t he driving power depend on a clutch actuated by columns ar e arranged on a square of 28ft., as shown in
two small wires. One of the great improvements Fig. 2. Beneat h each of t he eight columns and the central spiral stairway, the concrete is increased in dimenin
this
gear
was
that
it
was
n
ot
running
when
not

1n use.
- - ... .
-:r - Mr. Hele-Shaw underst ood that Mr. Beaumont
had n ot actually experimented wit h epicycloidal
<
I
I
gearing; the speaker, ho wever, had had experience
I
I
I
I
of it in pulley blocks, and found it was good when
I
not much power was required to be transmitted
I
I
through it, but there was great waste when it was
I
I
heavily loaded. H e was not sure whether that
I
form of gearing was the best for the purpose, and
before passing an opinion he would like to see exI
periments made of transmitting full power through
I
'I
it. Mr. A. Rigg said that the loss of power in
I
geared wheels was due t o t he bad form of gearing;
~
the proper way to tackle t he question was for electricians to d evis~ a dynamo that would also work
with reasonable efficiency at low speed.
Mr. Beaumont, in r eplying to the discussion,
pointed out that at the part where t he wear mostly
took place t h e bearing surfaces were very large,
and that t her e was a plentiful supply of oil. H e
believed it would be quite an easy matter t o
:L -
balance the moving parts. By way of illustrating
the necessity of t he device brought forward, he
mentioned that in some cases 30 horse-power
motors were used, whilst 2 horse-power was the
0
1799 c
~
usual rate of running. With a ratio of gearing 2 to
I
1 the maximum power could be reduced half. With
regard to t he electrical clutch, h e t hought it would sions, and practically consists of separate blocks, as
be possible to devise one t hat would be efficient, shown in Figs. 3 and 4. The sockets carrying the
but he preferred as a matter of practical utility to columns are bolted dowu t hrough the concrete; Fig. 5,
adhere to the mechanical arrangement sh own. which refers to t he central foundation, is a detail of
Ther e had been no t ime for experiments to be made, this fast ening; it will be seen that a tube is built in
but t h e gear was in the hands of a well-known firm , the concrete for the bolt to pass through. Fig. 16
and h e h op ed befor e long that there would n ot be gives plans and sections of the sockets for the columns.
It will be seen t hat lugs are cast on them for the attachin a gen erating station four engines of 100 hor se- ment of t he vertical diagonal bracing, and recesses are
power when three would be quite en ough.
formed for the horizontal bracing. ' his latter, which
consists of 3-in. round bars, is secured to the sockets
SELF-E xciTING A&MATURES.
by vertical or horizontal keys, as shown. Figs. 18 and
Mr. W. B. Sayers n ext r ead a paper en titled 19 are views of the upright diagonals and the adjusting
"Self-Exciting Armatures and Compensators for buckle. Fig. 13 shows the top casting for the column,
Loss of Pressure. " In a previous issue* we fully and Fig. 14 is one of the intermediate sockets ; Fig. 11
illustrated and descri bed Mr. Sayers' important being a sect ion of the horizontal diagonal bracing at
discovery, which formed the subject of the paper t he various stages. F ig. 12 is one of the segmental
now referred to. In his paper Mr. Sayers had central castings at the base of the structure, and r'ig.
made a comparison between the cost of his machine 17 is the casting in which rests the middle column
and the E dison-Hopkinson dynamo of t he Royal t hat rises to the lantern. The other figures are views
Society. The chief point that arose in the discus- of the watch-room and lantern floorJ, and details of
sion was r aised by Mr. Kapp, who pointed out t hat the roof. \ V e should mention that t he tower was
it was not fair to select a machine confessedly de- constructed by the Russell \Vheel and Foundry Company,
Detroit,
Michigan.
signed without consideration as to cost with a later
one in which cheapness was made a special point.
A L ARGE HYDRAULIC CnANE.-The most powerful by
E LECTRIC.AL CoNDUCTORS.
crane at present existing is reported to be one ab
Mr. E. Payne next described various devices for draulic
the Italian Government Arsenal at La Spezzia. It is
attaching electrical conductors for h ouse-wiring. capable of lifting 160 tons, or 10 tons more than the large
Many of t he arrangements were well-devised, but electric crane at the CreusOt Works.
the subject was not one which could be easily
dealt wit h in this repor t.
NEw SuLPHI'l'E-CELLULOSEJ MaNm'AoroRY IN SwEDEN.
- The project of erecting a large manufactory at Forshaga
(To be continued. )
W a.ttenfall, by the River Klarallfoen, in Vermland,
Sweden, is about to be realised. The annual production
GAS AT PAnrs.- The revenue of the Pa.risian Company is calculated to exceed 40,000 tons.
for Lighting and Heating by Gas in July amounted to
161,495l., as compared with 164,250l. in July, 1892, showing
THE RwnELL MECH A NICAL FILTER: EnRATU:\r. a decrease of 2755., or 1.68 per cent., this year. The
aggregate revenue collected by the company in the first Messrs. L Hugh Bristowe and Co., the exhibitors of
seven months of this year was 1,69R,897l., as compared the Ridde11 filter mentioned in our description of the
with 1, 725,15Gl. in the correspond ing period of. 1892, Laundry Exhibition in our last issue, inform us that we
showing a decrease of 26,259l. , or 1.52 _per c~nb. , this year. were in error in stating that in the cleaning of the filter
ItJ will be seen that the company ld st1ll suffermg- the supply of dirty water is out off. This is not the case,
although to a small extent> only- from the competition of as it is used to assist in cleaning the filter, the sand being
at once subjected to a scouring by the dirty water flowing
the electric light>.
in at the top and by clean water boiling up through ib
------------------------------from the bottom of the filter.
* See EKGl~EERING, vol. 1v ., page 77e.
I

I
I

CO

E N G I N E E R I N G.
NOTE' FH M THE rNITED ST. .~TE~.

occurred a t 43s. 3d., and it was said th a t business might

be don~ at even ~ess than the latter fig ure. Spanish ore
was q utet. Ru~10 was q uoted 12~. exEbi p T ees. T o-day
the market was m a most unsati factory st a te bn t there
was not muc.h cha nge in quotations. Warrant~. however
fell, a nd tb~s weakened affairs generally. Few seller~
~ould m entton less tha n ~5 . 3d. for promp t d el ivery of
No. 3, and t hat wa~ regard ~d as t he genera l quotation,
th_ough perbap .busm ess maght ha ve been done at j u t a.
trtfle less. _~I1dd lesbrough wa rrants opened 35s. 1d.
and closed 3o3. cash buyers. Other quotat tons were about
th e same as on the previous day.
JJfanufacturcd .Jron and St eel.- \Vha t little there is t o
say ne w concern.mg these two important industr ies i:; not
of an encour~~nog character. Certa inly most of the
works. keep f~uly w~ll employed, bu t considerable diffi
culty IS expen enced m s~curing ~ew ord ers, and prospects
f'>r th e fut ure a re not very bn ght. Prices a re hardly
quotably changed, but for some classes of material they
~ppear to have ra ther a dow nwa rd tendency. Common
tr~o ba rs a re 4l . 17 . 6d. ; best bare, 51. 7s. 6d. ; iron
sb!P plates, 4l. 15s. ; iron sh ip angles, 4l. 12s. 6d. ; steel
sb tp pla tes, 5l. 2~. 6d. ;, and st eel sh ip an~les, 4l. 15s.allless 2~9 p~r cent. d tscount for ea h. lleavy sections
of steel ra lls a re still quoted 3l. 17s 6d . net a t works but
some firms would probably accept con t racts a.t a httle
less.

option. Cleveland fell 2~d . per t on, and bematite iron

3d. per ton. The market was j ust steady in th e a fterPHIL.\DELPHIA, 'eptember 19.
noon. I~ Scot ch, 10<!0 ~ons were done a t 42s. 3!d. one
Tu t. depression in the iton trade is even more
m onth, w1th l a. forfett m s~l1ers' option. and a bout 7000
serious than a. wee k ago.
t eel billets hMe declined
tons a t 423. 3~d . cash, and 42s. 6~d. and 42il. 6d. one
one doll ur per ton w ithin 30 days. Offers of 2 dols.
mon t h OJ?en. Cash sellers were quoting 42s. 4d. per t on
ma ll con per too hMe been made fo r steel r a ils.
at the fi msh. or ! d. up from the morning. One lot of Cle vetracts for bridge iron have been placed a t 17 dols.
land was sold at 35s. 1d. casb, wit h sellers over at that
The restr iction of cruuc iron p roduction conor 1d. down from the forenoon. The settlement prices a.t
tinues to he a bout 100,000 t ons p er week, as comthe close were- Scot ch iron, 42s. 3d. per ton ; Cleveland,
35s. ; .Cumberlaod and ~Iiddlesbrough bema tite iron,
pared t o last sprin g. T he usual winter cont racts
respect1vely, 44s. 6d. a nd 43~. ~d. per ton. The following
placed abou t t his t ime for sou t hern i ron cannot b e
~re some of the quotations for special brand s of makers'
T be p ossibilit y of a f u rther decli ne of
closed .
n on, No. 1: Gartsherrie, 49s. per t on; Summer1e~,
2:3 cents per ton is contempln.ted on both n or t hern a nd
49s. 6d. ; Calder, 50s, ; Langloan, G5s. 6d. ; Coltoess
sout hern ma k es. The \V ays and ~Ieans Com mittee
56~. 6d.~the foregoing all shipped at Gla~gow ; Glengar:
at \Yashington is engaged in a r edsiou of t he t a ri ffs,
no<?k ( h1pped at Ardro san), 49s. 6d. ; Sh0tt~ (shipped at
and iL is exp ect ed t hat th e question w ill b e tak en u p
L etth ), 5l s. 6d. ; Car:on ( hipped at G ra~gem outb ) , 53s. 6d.
so soon as a vote is r eached on the il \'er Bill. T he
p er ton. Tbere ';\re ~ttll39 ~las~ furnaces tn actual operation,
power of t he Amalgamat ed .Association seems to be on
as e<;>mp a.red wtth t8 at thts ttme last year. T he shipments
t he wane, a nd a lready about one.ha.lf of t he rolling
of ptg tron last week from all Scotch ports amounted to
3231 tons, against !>606 tons. They included 460 tons for
mill in and around P ittsbu rg have been los t t o that
Canada, 385 tons for I ndia, 190 t ons for Australi &, 4!)0
organisation. Other la rge iron work s t hroug hou t t he
t ons for Ital y, 225 tons for Germ any, 105 tons for Spain
west will not be started up, u nless the heat ers and
and P ortugal, smaller quantities for other countries and
rollers accept a 10 p er cent. re duct ion . The d ema n d for
946 ton s coastwise. The stock of pig iron in M~ssrs.
iron and steel prod ucts does not improve. D elays are
Coooal and Co. 's public warrant st ores stood at 333 005
made wh erever possible ; deli veries a re a lso p ostp oned
tons yesterday afternoon, as compared with 333 673 tons
Th.e
F-t~:el
T
:adc.
-F
uel
keeps
Rteady.
A
largeamou
nt
of
where possible. The i mmediate outlook is n ot very
yest erday week. thus showing a decrease O\-er the week
?Oalts
sttll
b~1ng
sent
from
Northumberland
and
Durham
amounting t o 668 tons.
encouraging. At the same t ime, a slig ht but gradua l
i mproYement in genera l t rade is visible. Railroad m~o )[orksht~e-.pro.bably more than was sent from York sh tre mto th1s d 1s~nct during the strike here last year.
Finished Iron an d Steel T rade8.-Finished iron is
traffic a nd ear nings a re increasing .
outh. Durham colltery-owners are clearing off a good d ~a.l acti_ve, the home requirements forming the mainstay of
of theu small coal stocks a t good prices it being rapidly ~usmess at prt:sent. Common bars range in price from
bCJught up for manufacturing purposes. ' Gas and st eam ol. 7s. 6d. t o 5l. 12s. 6d. per t on, best bars rising up to
LAUNCHES AND TRIAL TRIPS.
~ave also .been well sold. M ost of the collieries are 6l. 2s. 6d., less the usual 6 per cent. discount. The local
ON the 16th inst. l\1essrs. M acll wain a nd l\IacColl. of coal
w?rkt!Jg full ~1me, but the starting of pits in other disBelfast, launched a fi ne st ea mer nam ed \Vazyan. This t rtots ts"" reducmg the pressure of th e demand. On ew- steel trade continues to show a. more h6althy aspect a.a
r!'gards contracts, but prices remain ,ery low. F or de
~teamer b:1s been built for the M ersey S teamship castle Exchange best Nor t humbrian steam coal is quoted
on the Clyde shipplates are quoted at 5l. 7s. 6d.
Company, of which :Messrs. Forwood B roth ers a re th e a bout 12s. 9d. t o 13s. f.o. b., but higher rates have in some lJvery
p er ton, less the usual discount.
managers. T he vessel and machinery throughout ha ,.e cases been paid . Quota tions for coke are unaltered.
been constructed und er the super vision of ~Iessrs. \V.
N ew Sh:iplmilding Cont1acts.- It was st ated in the
1~ plen and on, consulting engmeers, of Li verpool and
Glasgow papers a few days ago in \'ery specific terms
L ondon.
be is intended for t he company 's Madt:Sira.
that. essrs. Barclay, Curle, and Co., Glasgow and
NOTES FROM THE NORTH.
traffic. being specially a rra nged for the carriage of fr uit,
Wb1tem ch, bad secured a. <on tract t o build a st eamer
GL.\Soow, \ Vednesda.y .
and with superior passenger ~commo dati on. The maof about 3000 tons for M essrs. Donald Currie and Co 's
Glas[t.ow P ig-I rfY!l lJf arket.-L ast Thursday forenoon Castle J..~ine; this week, however, the statement has be~n
chinery is of t he trip)e.expansion type-cylinders 19~ in. ,
321 in., and 54 in. in diameter, a nd 39 in. stroke, steam t he busmess done m th e warrant mark e;t was l imited to officially contradicted.- Messrs. Russell and Co. , Port
bemg su~plied at 1 0 lb. pressure from a boiler fi tted wi t h 2000 tons of Scotch. The price was steady a t 42~. 7~d. Glasgow and Greenock. have contracted with a Glasgow
per ton ca~h Siel ~era, being an advance of ! d. per ton from firm to. supply a. steel sailing vessel to carry 2750 tone
Howdon s forced draught.
the precedm~ 01ght. T he ma.~ket waRsteady in the after- deadwet~ht. ~ The L ondon and Glasgow Shipbuilding
-A new twin crew steam Pr, which is by far th e largest noon, but wttbout mu~h busmess doing, between 2000 a.nd Engmeermg Company have received an order from
freight teamer in th e world, was launched on Saturday. and 3000 tons represen t mg all the transactions in cotch the Cly.d e Sb~pping Company for an other steamer of the
t he 23rd inst., from th e yard of M essrs. H a rl a.n d and iron, the cash quotation for which was unchanged a t the same dtmenstons as the one for which they placed a.n
\Volff at Queen's I sland, B elfast, and is intended on com- las t. One lot was also done at 42s. 6!d. per t on nex t day order wit~ the same buil~ers two or three weeks ago. An
plet ion to take her place in the \Vbite S tar cargo fleet . with a. " plant." Considerable activity prevailed in order has JUSt b een r ecetved by lVIessrs. Williaru Simons
This vessel, which ts n amed the Cevic-signifying her Cleveland iroo, one operator purchasi.n~ 10,000 tons and Co.,, Renfrew, to build two pow~rful steam dredgers
relation to the Bovic, T auric. and Nomadic-is of the at ~5s. 2d. u~ to 35s. 3~d . cash, and remammg a. buyer at for Russ1a..
following dimensions-viz. : L ength, 500 ft. ; brea dth, th e latter prtce, whi ch showed a gain of 1~d. per t on from
N ew ShiJJS . ~ittinu out at Grecnoc~. -Tbe fine sight of
the
morning.
The
settlement
prices
at
t
he
close
wereGO ft. ; depth, 38 ft. ; estimated regist ered t onnage, 8~1 5
seven ne w sa1lmg vesselA, of large dtmeosions fitting out
gro , 533:> net; t otal capacity of holds, 14,089 ton . S he Scot ch iron. 42s: n d. per ton ; Clev.ela~d, 35s. ~d. ; Cum- for sea was witnessed within the pa.<~t few d~ys at the
will be fitted fCJr the accommoda tion of 800 bead of cattle berland and ~Itddlesbrough h ema.t1te 1ron, respeoti vely, J ames Watt Dock. Greenock. \Vith one exception - the
on the upper a nd bridge decks, and will in addition have 45s. and 4 3~. Hd . per ton. The market was firmer on B la.irmore, which was constructed at Dumbarton- a.ll the
ome 3000 tons of Scotch iron were ships were built by ~{essrs. Russell and Co. and on board of
permanent stalls for twenty horses in the centre of t ho l i'rida.y foren oon .
upper deck. T he Cevic will be fitted wit h t wo complete dealt m, and 1000 t ons of Cleveland, the cash price for the each em~loyment wa provided for a. large humber of work
set of t ripleexpansion engines drhing separa te pro- former ad vanci ng Id., a nd for the latter ~d. per ton. In men. 'I be ~Iari e Hackfield, 2850, was built for M essrs.
peller~, so that t he chances of total breakdown will be the afternoon t he market was firm, a nd there was con Plfuger a nd qo. , Bremen; L a.u relba.nk, 3800, for ~Iessrs.
reduced to a. minimum, and every improvement that can sidera bly more busi ness doing. About 7000 t ons of Andr~w \V~1r. and Co., Gla go w ; Oberon, 1850. for
be devised in respect of ventilation, fresh water supply, Scot ch iron were dealt in at 42s. i d. to 42s. 9d. per t on Captam Fatrhe, Gla gow ; and P ort Elgi n, 2780, for
&c., conducive t o the safe carriage of horses and li ve- cash , a nd 3500 t ons at 42~. lld. one month, 500 tons Messrs. Crawford and R owat, Glasgow; Kilmallie was
stock, will be provided. A ship of this la rge size, a nd so also c hanging bands a t 42s. 9d. ~I o nda.y, with a call. bo~gbt by Messrs. Ker~, N ewton, and Co. , Glasgow;
completely quipped as the Cevic, should form a.n invalu- There was a lso m odera te activity in Cleveland iron, while the barque Sa.xon IS owned by Mr. D . M 'Gilli vray
between 4000 a nd 5000 tons changi ng bands a t 35s. 4~d. G reenock, for whom M:essrs. Russell and Co. built th~
able Admiralty transport for horses a nd ma teriaL
and 35s. 6d. cash, and 35s. 7d. to 35s. 8~ d . one month- Gael. Several of the vessels are about finished.
On Wednesday. t he 27th inst., th~ s.s. R a.msesb built by the cash p rice showing a rise of 1~d . p er t on from th e morn
Contract for ~ N ew Railuay in .Ayrshire. -M essrs. Boyd
Messrs. \Vigbam Richa rdson, a nd Co. for the eutsche ing. Cum berland h ema ti te iron was quot ed 1~d. easier and Forrest, Kllm a rnock, have been successful in securing
Dampfschi fffahrt Gesellscbaft Kosmos of Hamburg, was than th e forenoon's price, a t 45~. 1~d . sellers, but without the contract for tbo ex tension of th e Gla.~gow and Southlaunched from the yard of the former firm. The Ramses any business transpiring. At the clos~ the settlement vVest ern Railwa:y f~om ~ewmilns to Darvel, in Ayrshire.
is of 5000 tons burd en1 a nd measures 350 ft. in length by prices were-Scot ch iron, 423. 9d . p er t on ; Cleveland, The contract pr1ce ts sa.1d to be about 40,000l. One of the
43 ft. beam. The engm es and boilers a re also being con - 35s. 6d. ; Cumberland hematite and Middlesbrough most important works in the contract is a viaduct conh ~m a.t i te iron, 45a. and 433. n d . pE'r ton respectively.
structed by Messrs. \ Vigham, R icbardsoo, and Co.
Business was quiet on M onday forenoon. Only a. few sisting of twenty. five arches, which is t o carry the line
t housand t ons of Scotch iron and 1500 tons of Cleveland through Newmilos, an important m anufacturing village
changed bands.
cot ch fellld. per ton, and Cleveland a. which is now competing with Nottingham in its largest
NOTE ' FROM CLEVELA D AND THE
like amount. The market was st eadi er in the afternoon, industry, that of lacemaking.
NORTHERN COUNTIES.
business in Scotch opening a t 42s. 8d . per t on ea h, but the
Re duction of the Price of Gas in E dinumgh and L cilh.M IDDLE ' BROOOH, \Vednesday.
close was flat a t 42s. 7d. sellers. Only some 3000 or 4000 Tbe Edinburgh and L eith Gas Commiesioners, on the
The Clct:elamd I ron T rade. - Y esterday the weekly tons were dealt in. One lot of 500 tons of Curnberland recommendation uf the \ Vor ks Committee, have tb is
market here, considering the fact t ha t the meeti n~ of the hema.tite iron was done at 44s. 9~d. per t on cash. The week agreed t o reduce the price of gas from 3s. 10d. to
Iron and teel Institut e was being held at D a rhngton, closing settlement prices were-Scotch iron, 42d. 6d. per 3s. 6d. per 1000 cubic feet, the illuminating power t o be
was numerously attended, but the t one was rather flat, t on ; Cleveland, 35s. 4 ~d . ; Cum berla nd and Middles- from 24 to 2Gstandard candles. This is the lowe3t price
and little busmess wa t ra nsacted. B uyers were very brough hem a tit~ iron, respecti vely, 44s. 10~d. and th a t has ever been charged for gas in the capital of Scot~
backward. and when for ward business was m entioned 4:~s. 7~d . per ton. There was more business pM~ing on Tues- land and the ad joining burgh of L eith .
werP not incl ined to give so much for delivery a.hcad as day for~noon, when about 4000 t ons of CJ t~,eJ and a nd
for prompt. T here wa....,in fact, a n ea i~r feeling, not only 6000 to 7000 tons of cotch iron chan ged hand s. The
in pig iron. but in oth er bra nches of the staple ind ustry former fell in price 1d. per ton. Of Scot ch, one lot sold
T HE ELHC1'RIO LmnT A1' P&TF.nnonoccH.-1\Ir. J . C.
as welL .\t the same time sellers here st at ed t ha t th ey a t 42s. 4d. next d ay with a" plant , fo r one mont h a t 4d.
expected a good few Con tinental orders almost directly. per t on ; and on e lot at 42s. 7d . next day, with a. call. The Gill, borough engineer of eterborough, has prepared a.
Many makers held out for 35s. 6d. for prompt f. o. b. market was inac ti ve in th e afternoon, and ra.tber flat, the report upon the question of electric light ing for' that city.
deli' ery of No. 3 g.m. b. ClAve)a nd p ig iron, but i t finish being 1d. und er the forenoon quotations a.t 42s. 6d. It is prop osed t o light the central portion of th e town
wa.s difbcult to get t ha t price. For n ex t m on th 's de- cash sellers for Scotch . Only some 3000 tons were d ealt the mains to b e ex tended outside its boundary a.s r;.
livery 35s. 3d. was accepted, and some buyers would not in, a nd there was nothing done in Cle,ela.nd or hema tite quired . In d esigning a central station for the supply of
pay even that figu re. P lenty of m ercha nts were ready to iron, though among the la tter Middlesbrough was quoted electricity, it is necessary t o make provision for future
sell prompt ~o. 3 at 35s. 4~d. , and in some cases 35s. 3d. 4~d. lower than in the mornin g, at 4~s. 4~d. per ton ext e nsions, and the first installation is thereby renwa.s taken. T he lower qualit ies of pig iron were hardly sellers. At the close the settlement prices were- cotch der@d mora costly tha n if it were compl ete in itself.
in such good requ~t as they have recentl y been, and iron, 42 . Gd. per t on ; Clevela nd, 35s. 3d. ; Cum berla nd Mr. Gill estimat es th e t ot a l cost of the buildings,
rather le s prices werP accepted. No. 4 foun dry was sold and ~Iiddles brough hematit e iron , 44s. 10~d. and eng ines, dynamos, accumula tors, mains, s witchboard ~.
at 33s. !Id., and grey forge at 32s. 9d., but a. trifle higher 43s. 4~d. per t on respecti"ely. The market was fiat t his and instruments re:quired for making the P eterborough
rates were demanded by one or t wo eller. . 1Iiddles- forenoon. some sale fo11owi ng on th e report th at 1Ir. installation com plete a t 12,5001. T o earn 5 per cent. per
brough warrants wt"re 33c;. 2!d . ea h buyers. A fai rly good ]\f uud(:lla a nd l\Ir. Jackson, ~I. P ., were ma king efforts to annum up on t his capital, and t o provide for working
inqnary wn<l reportf'd for local hematite pig iron, but bring the great coal stri ke to a clo~~, which, howeve1, ex penses, an annual re,enne of 1716l. would be required,
purcba ers endeavoured to buy on easier terms t han a will really benefit the iron trade. S cotch iron lost and Mr. Gill concludes from inquiries which he has made
week ago, and reported ~ing able to do so. S ome sellers 2~d. per t on on the transfer of 10.000 tons, 2000 of which that in a few years the works propo~ed would be earning
put the price of mixed numbers a' 43s. 6d., but transactions brought 42s. 7~d. one m onth, with 6d. forfeit in buyers' sufficient profits to make them a valuable property.
1

EN G I N E E RI N G.

DETAILS OF EXPRESS LOCOMOTIVE : COLUMBIAN EXPOSITION.

CO NSTRU CTED BY
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--LOCOMOTIVE AT THE COLUMBIAN

EXPOSITION.*
(Continued from page 359.)
Yoke Brace.- Yoke brace to be fastened to the frames,
~uide yoke, and boiler in front of rocker box. T o be
finished all over.
Smokebox.-SmokAbox of 2~-in. round iron to extend
from smokebox to bumper beam. Frames to be braced by
cross-braces front and back of cylinders.
Oylinders.-(Figs. 21 and 22 of our two-pa~e plate of
S eptember 220) Cyli nders to be 19 in. in dtameter by
2! in. stroke. Steam ports, 18 in. by l i in.; exhaust
port, 18 in. by 2i in: ; bridge~, 1! in. wide. Cylinders to be of close-gramed cast Iron as hard as can be
worked. S tiffening piece to be cast in exhaust port as
shown, and in steam ports. Cylinders to be interchangeable and from the same pattern. To be securely bolted
t o smokebox and to each other at centre, and bolted and
keyed to frame. Saddle to be carefully chipped to fit
smokebox. Kilgore's cement to be used between saddle
and smokebox. Cylinders to be lagged and covered with

* Figs.

~to 20 o~ur in our two-p~ge plate and on pa~e

330 in our Issue of September 15; Ftgs. 21 to 42 occur m

our two-page plate of SeJ?tember 2?; F~~ 43 t o 53 occur
on the present and oppos1te pages m this Issue.

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No.16 sheet iron, and jacketed with Russia iron. Steam

chest to be covered with cast iron and Russian iron casings. Valve face and steam chest seat raised above fa-ce
of cyli nder to allow for wear. Cylinder oiled by Nathan
d~:mble sigh t fe~d cylind~r oiler, placed in cab with copper
p1pe under boiler laggmg to steam chest. Cylinder
provided with cylinder cocks with rigging, operated from
the cab.
Cylinder H eads. - (Figs. 23 and 2! of our two-page
plate of September 22.) Cylinder heads to be secured to
cylinder by studs screwed into cylinder flang-es. Lugs t o
be secured to back cylinder heads for fastemng guides to.
Cylinder Oasings.- Cylinder casings t o be finished all
over on the outside.
Pistms.-Pistons to have a 2olid cast-iron h ead cored
out. Packing rings of cast iron turned i in. larger in diameter than the cylinder, and cut so that the two ends will
lap, and then sprung in. Rings t o be k ept from turning
by dowel pins.
Pi3ton-R ods.- (Fig. 32 of our two-page plate of September 220) Piston-rods to be of cold rolled iron secured in
piston with a taper fit and nut, and in crosshead with a
taper fit and key.
Valve Motion.-(Figs. 41 and 42.) Val ve motion to be
of approved shifting link type graduated to cut off equally
at all points of the stroke. Link'3, link- blocks, saddles,
hangers, eccentric-ro dE~, and pins to be of hammered iron.
All wearing surfaces t o be thoroughly case-hardened.

Holes in links, outside arm of lifting shaft and reverse

lever fitted with hardened steel bushings.
R ocker An ns.-Rocker arms to be of the best ham~~r~d iron. Holes to be b0red to taper of ! in. in 12 in .
.F lDJSb a.Jl over.
R ocker B ox.-Rocker box to be of cast iron securely
bolted to gu ides and frame. Finish all over.
Values.- (lfig. 27 of our two-page plate of September
22.) Yal ves to be of close-grained hard cast iron a.nd of
the RlChardson balanced t ype. 1'o have a travel of 5! in.
at full ~brow. Lap outside 1 in., inside 0 in. To be
fit ted w1th wrought-iron yoke and val ve stem and the
val ve rod.
Guides.-(Figs. 34, 35, and 36 of our two-page plate of
September ?2.) Guides to be of the four-bar type, of
hammered 1ron case-hardened. To be bolted with 1-in.
bolts to blocks secured to the back cylinder head at
one end and ~o the guide yoke at the other. Oil cups
t o be forged In one piece with the guides. LinArs to
be placed between the guides and blocks. Finish all
over.
Guide Yokes.-(Figa. 3t, 35, and 36 of our two-page
plate of September 22. ) Guide yokes to be of hammered
1ron bolted to rocker boxes and boiler yoke brace. Finish
all over.
Crossheads.-(Fig. 33 of our two-page plate of Septem22.) Cro~~heads t o be of cast st eel with brass gibs secured
by brass rt vets. Crosshead pin 3! in. in diameter by 4 in.
long, cast in one piece with crosshead.
Lift Shaf.t.-(Fig. 42 of our two-page plate of September 22.) L1ft shaft to be of wrought iron. Finish all over.
L ift Shaft B racket.- Lift shaft bracket to be of wrought
iron finished.
Reverse L ever and Quadrant. -Rever~ e lever to be fitted
with fine t oothed latch, teeth !- in. pitch to fit teeth cut
on quadrant. Quadrant to be of wrought iron casehardened. Reverse le ver to be supported on bracket
secured to underside of running board.
Oonnecting-Rods.-(Figs. 37 and 38 of our two-page
plate of September 22. ) Connecting-rods to be of the best
hammered iron, finished all over ; ends fitted with straps,
brasses, bolts, and keys. Straps for main rod to have oil
cups forged solid. Rods to be of I -section. Parallel rods to
be of hammered iron, finished all over, with solid ends and
brass bushings prassed in. Rods to be of I-section. ' Oil
cups on both ends to be forg-ed solid with rod. Brasses
to have the following compos1tion: ]tour parts copper to
one of Ajax metal.

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

29, 1893]

SEPT.

DETAILS OF EXPRESS LOCOMOTIVE : COLUMBIAN EXPOSITION.

CON TRUCTED
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... .]..... ... ... . .

----

- --

, _____ _

7 ..

-- -- f- -

.. -J..

'

: I

.'

--
...
- - J .. .

.. !~\7M ,.,.

-'t

'

CtJJI

!P'".,

Ill

-'lOt. PJ' IJI' ~

. : :

lt/)T SIJ of' /Jolt

"1

- -~-

- . ...... .....,.;

...." ..:).
.. -- .:
.....
. . ----.
0

~ ---~ +- -

1
I

L.

t I

.._,

11

.....

Fig.53.

-,.--

.-.

'

t'

. . . l.
WJc

J
I

I'I

,.........,

-I

'

.....
I

....

lI

... ~

--
I

,, .............- .

--

...

-j~

Cl

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

,...

---

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

...

--

...

Ora11!pitu.-(Figs. 46 and 47, page 3 .) Crank pins to the following composition : S~ parts copper to one dri\ ing box cellar to have a hol e on side of cellar to allow
be of hammered iron case-hardened.
of Ajax metal. Oil cellar to be of cast iron; ftont driving for packing. H ole to be covered by a plate secured by
Dril'tnl} A.rlu.-Driving axles to be of hammered iron. boxes t o have holes cast through fla nge corre ponding tap bolts.
Journals 9 in. by 1 2~ in.
with holes in oil cellar to allow for packing, th e cellar hole
Driving Wh etli.-(Fig. 43.) Driving wheel centres to
Dri1:iu9 Boua -(Fig. 45. ) Driving boxes t o have , to be cloJed by a cover secured with tap bolts. Back 1be cast of the besb charcoal iron turned to 79 in. in

diameter. Tyres to be 3~ in. thi ck by 5~ in. wide. Tyres

to be of Mid vale steel shrunk on, and held by Mansell
retaining rings (see Fig. 44 ). R etaining ring bolts to be
C')untersunk on outside. Wheels t o b J accura tely b ored
and quntered for the crankpins ; right-hand crank to
lead.

(To be corttinued. )

BILBAO HARBOUR WORKS.

[SEPT. 29, I893

ENGINEERING.

390

rro THE E DI'l'OR 01<' E NG IN.EERUiG.

SIR,- In your issue of last w eek Mr. Evaristo de
Churruca, the chief engineer for these works, replies to
my letter of the 28th ult. respecting the syotem of construction adopted for the Bilbao breakwa ter.
My latter was based on the article on these works
which appeared in your issue of the 25th ult. and the information there gi ven, and the accompanying illustrations were quite suffi cient for the purpose of preparing
the design of a monolithic structure equal in strength
to the design adopted, whilst at the same time less costly
to construct and maintain.
Mr. de Cburruca's letter is arranged under fi ve h eadings, and t o these I shall reply in order.
1. Mr. de Churruca says that the article on these works
which appeared in your columns on August 25 last, is
wrong in stating that the sea. bottom is of sand, and that,
on the contrary, below G metres in depth it is entirely of
mud.
This bt::ing the case, the section of the breakwater
shown on page 230 of ENGIN EERING is misleading in not
showing the rubble substruct ure as going down through
or deeply into the mud bottom of the sea, as, of cou rse,
is must do on such sofb material.
The softness of the bottom, however, has nothing t o do
with the merits of the s tructure above the level of the
bottom, which, wh ether as regards s tability or lo wness
of cost, should be of monolithic work.
With a soft bottom a wider foundation area. must be
given, and this could be effected at Bilbao by making the
foundation trench wider and somewhat d eeper than
shown on the cross-section in my previous letter, and
then filling it with rubble and grouting it up solid as
explained in that letter. The amount of material in the
foundation below the level of the sea bottom would be
le3s with the monolithic than with the loose rubble and
block structure, because the t ot al weight of the former is
much less than th e latter.
2 and 3. Mr. de Churruoa states that, owing t o th e
exposed situation of the Bilbao works, m onolithic work
constructed of freshly- deposited concrete cannot be
carried out, as the concrete gets was hed away before it is
set. I agree thoroughly with him on this poi nt. H e
fur ~her states that bag work does not answer, as the upper
20 to 30 centimet.res of th e concret e in bags has to be
removed.
I am also at one with him in thinking that concrete
d epositPd in bags is not the proper method to adopt for
the construction of sea works.
In both of the preceding systems of construct ion 1fr.
de Ohurruoa s peaks from experi ence, and condemnt1 them
because he is practically acquainted with their defects ;
but when he s tates that my system of cons truction would
not be applicable for his works, he spea.ks merely from
imagination, and hi s fancies have led him altoget her
astray.
In the con3truotion of the St. H eliers breakwater,
J ersey, for which I was engineer and which, like the
Bilbao breakwater, is ex posed to the Atlantic, there was
no such lo3s of time aJ Mr. de Cburruca. imagines, and
our whole d iving staff consisted of but six di vers and t heir
attendants, the t otal cos t of which, inclusive of dresses
and gear, was under 1500l. per annum, or Gl. per foot in
length of breakwater constructed.
That breakwater has an avera~e height of 63ft. (there
is no parapet}, has a t op wtdt h of 42 ft., and is
faced with gran ite ashlar from bottom to top. The cost
of the work complete was 100l. per foot r un. The
stone quarries were situated at some distance from
the work, and the materials had first t o be loaded into
wagons, then into barges, conveyed to the works, a nd
then discharged and sta-cked until required.
At Bilbao the quarries appear to be favourably situated,
so that there would be a saving of cost in the handling of
materials, and as wages of workmen, I presume. are
l ower tha n what had t o be paid in J ersey, the cost of the
Bilbao works ought t o be materially reduced, but, unless I
am very much mistaken, the Bilbao breakwater is costing
a great deal more than 100l. per lineal fo ~ t. It certainly
ought to cost more, as there is sufficie_nt concrete work in
it in the form of blocks and concrete m mass t o cons truct
a m onolithic work from sea bottom upwards, and there
is in addition the immense mass of rubble substructure.
4 and 5. Mr. de C hurruca quotes in justification of his
design, the fact that the Socoa Art ha, St. Jean de Luz,
and L eixoes breakwaterd are of sim1lar design t o the
Bilbao work.
Than does not prove in the least that any one of t hose
designs i3 the best th at could . be adopted, viewed in _the
light of what can now be done m breakwater constructiOn.
Neither is the recommendation made in 1872 by the
late Sir John Coode that the breakwater for Bilbao shou ld
consist of a rubble mound surmounted by a cresting of
loose concrete blookfl, appl icable t o t he conditions of th e
present day.
.
.
Sir J ohn C.:>ode was undoubtedly !l.n em ment authority
on breakwaters, and more than that, he did not restrict
himself to a s tereotyped system of constr uction, but i~, I
think, the la st important breakwater commenced by htm,
viz., that for the National H arbour of R efuge at Peterh ead, my system of m onolithic grouted blookwork was
ad opted, and is now being carried out with the most
gratify ing results.

P erhaps the Bilbao works are t oo far ad va.nced for any so far as we understand th em, by ri veting five troughs
change in the system of construc tion to be adopted, but t ogeth er and load ing them as indicated in ~he figure.
if Mr. de C burruca, when carrying out a new breakwater, The deflections were then measured a.t the pmnts A, B,
will adopt the monolith ic m~thod. I have d ~veloped, he 0, D, E with the following results:
will have cause for muoh satJ sfactJon both wtth the progress and cost of the works.
Deflection.
Yours truly,
Load.
W ALTER RoBERT KrNIPPLE, M. I. C. E.
3, Victoria-street, W estminster, L ondon,
c. I D.
E.
A.
B.
Ssptember 26, 1893.

I 1. D.
ln.
In.
tons
10.
m.

MACHINE CONSTRUCTION AND DRAWIN G,

1893.
T o T H E Em'I'OR Ol!' Et'GrNEERING.
S m ,-- In your i~sue of t~e 22nd inst., I see a let~er
signed "Spa.nnet-s," in wh10h he asks wheth6r a 2!-m.
spanner is the size in the jaw or the diameter of the bolt.
In reply I can only say that from a long practical experience I bave n ever heard any other mode of designa ting a. spanner, except for very large sizes, than by tb e
diameter of the bolt for which it waq intended. Accordin g to the sizes of nuts mad e to "Whitworth 's ~auges, "
and as taken from Unwin's "Machin e D esign, ' there is
not one dimension up to 2 ~ in . in diameter of bolt.
which has a m easurement that can be taken from the
usual subdivisions of a workman 's rule. This, therefore,
appears to me to be a reason why the spanner m ust be
named according to the size of th e bolt and not to that of
the nut, and as the sizes are all t o three or four places of
decimals, I think it would be a severe task t o requir e a
student, or anyone else, to carry th em in his head.
A rule introd uced many years ago by Mr. Sellers is free
from this difficulty a nd easy to remember, it being as
follows: Size across Bats = 1~ times diameter of bolt +
i- in. This is a very close approximation to Whitworth
gauge.
I append a few of the common sizes for corn
partson :
Diameter of B olt.
Whitworth
Sizes. Sellers
Si;,.es.

ID.

ln.

0. 7094
l. ~
0.9191
1.1010
1,1(f
1. 3012
1:11.4788
1/lT
1.6701
1~
2.0483
2
2.41 34
2t
2.7578
2~
3. 1491
3}
I am, Sir, your obedient servant,

,JOHN PHILLIP

4, Corona-road , Burnt A sh -hill.

DISTRIBUTION OF LOADS ON TROUGH

FLOORS FOR BRIDGES.
T o THE EDITOR OP ENGINEERING.
SrR,- I have r ead the paper in EXGINEERING, Sept ember 15, on the "Dis tribution of L oads on Trough
Floors" with much interest, but I fear that some of the
calculations are a little beyond me without a few explanatory hints, a nd, a s I am anxious to grasp this subject, I should be extremely thankful if you would help
m e in this matter by answering a few questions-viz. :
1. In writing the momen t of inertia tbns, 91. 5 (inches) l ,
what is meant by the 4 outside the bracket ?
2. In the formulre gi ven for the work done in bending
a beam - vi7. :

M2dx,

2E I
0

the well -known symbols E I and lH are ~xplained , but

what is meant by l and x!
3. In th e sentence "Takin~ all units in inches, the
work done in deforming one section of L indsa.y's floor, " &o.,
to what extent is the floor supposed to be deformed ?
With regard t o the theory t hat conn ected troughs cannot transfer part of the weight to th e adj oining trou~hs,
I should like to point out that practical experiments
point t o the contrary (vide vol. lx xxii. P roceed ings of th e
Ins titution of Civil E oa-ineers, Stokes "On B 1idges on
the Hull and B a.rnslPy Rail way ")I remain, Sir, yours truly,
PH<ENIX.
[The index"' is used because the moment of inertia of an
area is represented by a length raised to t he fourth power,
being an area. mu ltiplied by the square of a radius of
gyration. The expression 91.5 (inches)"' therefore means
t hat the moment of inerti a is 91 5 uni ts, each of which unit
is 1 in. raised t o the fourth power. In the int egral, l is the

~
....

et

<:)
-.J

5l
60

86!

,,.r
....-._
1\

liS

1 '"
:l
1 1\
J lf

full

( 11

(J

1 11

..!

..

bue

1 ol

:I

full

1"a full
b

..

l l
.... ~

!J!

--Now the deflection of C is supposed to be due t o a t ra:nsference of load to it through the n eighbouring troughs.
If this were so, the deflections of th e troughs B and D,
which are "assisted " by C, should be less than t hat of A
and E which are without such assistance, whereas the
revers~ is the case. Th is fact sho ws that the deflections
cannot be taken as measuring t h e bending moments in
the troughs, and that they are at least .partially due ~
t orsion . As regards the observed deflectiOn ~f C, there 1s
nothi ng t o show that it was not at l_east parttally due to
cha nge in the form of the cross sectiOn of th e trough. In
short after an examination of these experiments we are
st ill ~f the opinion expressed in our article that "it is
d ifficult to believe that any considerable am~)Unt ~f a
weight is transferred from a loaded trough to 1ts neighbours. " The matter can be settled by experiment, but the
experiment must be carefully designed to avoid the
vitiating effect s of t orsion. T he be~t plan w~uld be to
load a single trough and measure 1 ts d E>flectwn . . Then
rivet this up t o, say, a couple of others, and agam lo~d
it in exactly the sarue manner !"-~ before, the decrease 1_n
its deflection under these condtt10ns wou!d then be a fatr
criterion of the amount of load transferred. T o eliminate
torsion as far a.s possible, the deflection in eaoh instance
should be measured immedi~tely under the load. S hould
this experiment be made, we should be glad if the results
showe<l that our views are too pessimistic, as i t would
render j ustifiable t he adoption of troughing in places
where it ca.nnot now, in our opinion, b s j udiciously used.

-Eo. E]
T o THE EorToR OF ENGINEERING.
Srn,-In the interesting article on this suoject contained in your issue of September 15, the writer incidentally makes the remark that "the five simultaneous
equati ons used in determining t he s tresses on the roof of
the Olympia Hall, Kensington, t ook, we unders tand,
many weeks to solve by the determinant m eth od, and
there was with t h is latt&r m ethod far greater liability to
mi. takes."
As I did the g reater part of th is somewhat elaborate
calculation, perhaps he will allow me to state that he i 3
mis taken on this poi nt, as the whole of the calculation,
which principally consist ed in det ermin ing the influence
of certain forces, replacing supernumerary bars, on the
rest of tha structure, and by this m eans formin g t h e final
seven Pq uations, was accom plishud in seven week El, it will
ba clear t o everybody con versant with the subject that the
purely mech anica.l op('ra t ion of solvi ng these equations
cannot possi bly have taken "ma ny weeks." I t was, as a
matter of fact, done within a couple of days.
With regard t o hi s further remark t hat "the m ethod
of solution by determinan ts is the very worst th1t can be
adopted, " it would have been advisable on his part, before
making it, to stud y recent Conti nen tal literature on this
subject. H e would then have learned th at for the solution of equations of this particular fo rm, in which they
a.re obtained from s tatical calculations based on the
" principle of work, " the method of determinants offers
p eculiar advantages, a s the latter can b e transformed and
simplified in such a way that the a ctual work is reduced
by about on e-half. A ccording to Professor F r. Stein er,
of P rague, th e n umber of coefficien ts actually t o be calculated is, indeed, reduced from m2 to m (m -:- 1), a nd the
2
whole operation uee:omes a good deal clearer a.nd lees
laborious.
With regard to the article itself, it is a useful contribution t o our k nowled ge on the subject, which is decidedly
limited. It is1 of course, difficult to estimate th e influence of the different assumptions made, but it must be
confessed that without such assumptions the ca.lculation
becomes simply impracticable. If the author considered
it necessary t o mention th e fact that even the d efl ecti on
of the main girder has a cer tain influen ce on the result,
whinh may, however, be neglected, be might have made
the same remark with regard t o t he influence of the work
d one by the shearing forces of the trough girder itself,
which, of course, is not included in the expression
l

C)

Cl

41!

1
2E I
0

'v

length of the neutral fibre of the beam, and d x is a

small elemental leng th taken along this a xis. In answer
to question 3, we may say that the trough is supposed to
act as an elastic beam, and to be deformed by the unk nown reactions, each of which = R. The amount of
deformation is proportional t o R. A s regards Mr.
Stokes's paper, our a ttention has also been drawn t o
it by another correspondent, but a reference to this
paper does not, t o our mind, afford proof of any considerable am ount of dis tributi on. The experiments were made,

given by him as the total work done in deflecting that

girder.
If t he results ob tained in the article are of greab interest
with regard to the strains in the flooring, t hey are sti ll
more so as throwing additional ligh t on the strains produced in the rail. The m~e favourable the d istribution
of the load on the troughs of the flooring becomes, the
greater is the strain in the rail, a nd in some of the examples
cal<'ulated in the article the latter becomes truly alarm ing, if it is considered that it is to a g reat ext ent in addition t o the ordinary strain produced by any load between
two sleepers. I n the firs t example, for instance, the load
being on the top of a sleeper, the mome{l~ on the rail

SEPT.

29,

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

893]
+ 6.90 - 1.17)

= 104

inch-tons, i. r., velocity to come into con tact with a {>Ortion of the ball
h~ v~ng ~ proportionately greater h?eal velocity, the
.
.
1
.
.
.
th.
10!
X 2.5
8
4
t
the add1t1ona stram ts m ts case
= . ons sh dmg fnct10n and con sequent abraston of the balls is
31
done away with.
per square inch. .
.
An a~ticle from which I have ex tract ed these notes apIt will be rea.dtly seen that under unfavourable mrcumetance the total strain may easily reach the limit of elasti- peared m t~e America"! /Jlachinist, and was reproduced
city, and there cannot, ~herefore, be any doubt that ~his m the Engl zsh Mecha nt.c for :i\Iay 9, 1890. It is well worth
overatrainiog of the ratl must be regarded as a sertous study by those interes ted.
As each groove may have the same angle, a single tool
disadvantage peculiar t o all narrow t rough flo<;>rings of
this kind. It may be added, ho we ver, that certam forms s uch as shown in Fig. 3, may be used t o out them an '
of flooring have been p!l.tented by M essrs. Buchanan and merely giving it a different inclination for each g roove a~
per Fig. 4.
'
am Eode in which this drawback has been avoided.
Referring t o Fig. 3, if a circle of the same diameter as the
'
I am, ir, your obedient servant,
ball is descri bed, and a line ab d rawn a.t the intended line
L . MERTENS.
of conta~b, as sh_ow!l, it iso~ly n ecessa ry (where the rest is
62. Stafford -place, ~. W .. September 26, 1893.
(\Ve are obl iged to :Mr. ~1erteos for his correction aCJ to fitted wtth a swm g mg mot10n, such as 1s used for turning
the Jength of time. required for . the s?lution . of th e
Olympia. roof equat10ns, but we s ttll retam our vtews as
to the unsuitability of the determinant method. Hitherto
the simultaneous equations arising in prac tical work have
Jlig.J.
been pri ncipally those due to an application of the method
of least squares to the correction of errors of observation.
The equations thus wet with are identical in form with
those arising in the application of the method of elastic
work to the calculation of s tresses in indeterminate
structures. The method of solution originally {>roposed
by Gauss-himself a Continental matbematiman-ha.s
bE'en examined into and discussed by hundreds of
computers since fi rst an noun~ed, a nd it is still t~at
universally adoJ?ted. Not only ts t he labour of calculatton
much less than 10 the determinant metboci. but a check is
provided at every step. Fur ther logarithmic computation is admissible, whilst in the determinant method the
.l?ig.2.
value of each determinant depends on the differences of
auantities which, large in themselves, may not be greatly
different in value, hence all the multipliC'a.tions must usually
be made by ord inar y arithmetic. It was thought unnecessary to mention that the work of the shearing forC"..eS
was so small as to be ne~ligible, as we understood this was
,
,
generally recognised. The importance of Mr. Martens'
I
%
remarks on the rai l stresses will be appreciated by our
,I

Fig.J.
readers.-Eo. E .]
'\
works out to (7.26

;;

BALL BEARINGS FOR THRUST BLOC!{ .

To THF. EDITOR Olt' ENc rNRERINC.
Sm,-Ha.ving been abs~n t on business for a short time,
I hl.ve only just seen Mr. A. G . Ramas-e's inquiry in
E~GINEERIN C of September 8, re ball bearmgs as appli ed
t o collars of thrnst blocks of marine engines.
I can inform Mr. Ra.mage that ball bearings in d iffer.mt ways have been applied for this purpose, but unsuc~essfully.
There is, however, a.n invention lately
brought out by M essrs. \Vilks and Ed wards, of Southampton, which, by a system of roll ers, has successfully
solved the problem of reducing frict ion in thrus t bearing
to a. minimum.

Fig,J.

.Fig. 4.

.J.
"'

J':96

Fig.J.

.Fio-2 ~
I

The invention has been seen by most of the leading

engineers in L ondon, where a large model was running
for over six months, and they have all tborou~bly a.p
J>roved of it as practical, simple, and efficaoiouA. M esCJrs.
'\Vilks and Edwards have complet ed all their experiments and t ests, and are about to place their invention
before the public. They have taken out English, America.n, Belgian, and Italian patents. Any further information will cheerfully be given by
Yours faithfully,
F RF.DERICK EDWARD , Cd.ptain RN.
Gloucester L odge, Portswood, Southampton.
To 'l' HE EmTOR Ot<' ENGINEERING.
<:!m,-In reply to Mr. Ra.mage's question (page 310),
b~ll thrust bearings have been patented more than once.
I do not recolleot seeing any in use, however.
Mr. Volk (page 332) has found trouble from the balls
grinding together. Another cause of wear is that, as
usually designed the balls cannot r oll in the circular
grooves provid~d for them, and considerable attrition
takes place between the balls and the grooves.
The correct way of designing_ the grooves is shown in
Fig. 1, and to a larger scale in Fig. 2.
A C is the a.xid of the thrust block, and C B the plane
in which the axes of the balls lie. The lines C D and
C E pass through the ball at equal dis tances from its
centre, and the sides of th e grooves should be tangents t o
th e ball at the points a, ~. c, d, where the lines C D and
C E ioteroect the outline of the ball.
The proportion between the length of the lines C e and
a c is the same as that between C f and b d, and we have
the same conditions, so far as relative velocities are concerned, a.s if we bad a conical roller a b c d rolling between
surf.aces represented by the lines CD and C .E, and it is
obv1?us that there would be no slid ing friction. By thus
~usmg that side of the groove having the greatest lineal

balls) to place the centre on which it s wing3 under th e

point C (Fig. 4), keeping it th ere till all the grooves are
finished. Set th e t ool (Fig. 3) so that the line ab marked
upon it will lie in the plane B C (Fig. 4) which passes
through the axes of the balls, and feed the t ool in by
swinging it about C instead of feeding it straight in. The
groove is the proper depth when the centre x lies in the
plane BC.
Where a. swing ing rest is not available, th e grooves may
be drawn as in Fig. 2, and t emplates mad e t o fit the
shaded part of the figure.
Yours fai thfully,
a. H. WINoFIEtn .
Liogard House, Chiswi0k Mall,
September 16, 1893.

THE ECONOMICAL SPEED OF

STEAMSHIPS.
To THE EDITOR OF ENGINRRRI!'lO.
Sra,- Your correspond ent Mr. Wadagaki, who (as he
states in his letter on the abo\'e subject which appears in
your issue of the 15th inst.) was very much rejoiced t o
find that one of the formulre be obtamed last year had
been worked out ten y ears ago by Chief E ngineer John
L owe, U nited States Navy, may, p erhaps, be also glad
to know that his application of the calculus to graphic
methods of deducing the econom:ca.J speed of s teamships,
allowin~ for current, &c , was adopted nin et een years ago
in an article contributed t o the "Annual of the R oyal
School of Naval A rcbi tPcture for 1874, " by Engineer
(no w Fleet Engineer) W. J. Canter, R .N.
I am, Sir, yours truly,
H ISTORY.
Plymouth, S eptember 23, 1893.

NOTES FROM SOUTH YORKSHIRE.

SHEFlt"IELn, W ednesday.
Manufact ure of Steel P rojecti les.- A considerable
amount of irritation is felt by local manufacturers of
projectiles at the attacks made on them by m embers of
the Government. In the first place, it should be known
that no parcel of either shob or shell is accept ed until
portions of it, taken at random, have been severely
t est ed. In n o case has a. parcel been refused, but, on the
contrary, all lots have been !aesed a.s very satisfact ory.
In for~n t ests also S heffiel manufacturers have been
unifor y successful. It is felt that the attitude taken
up by the Gover:1ment is d istinctly antagonistic

391
to local interests in connection with the War Depart
ment. It must be rAmembered that manufacturers
were induced to lay down special plant of a most expensive character for the turning out of projectiles and
ordnance, on th e distinct understanding that they would
receive Goverament support, but the oonduct of the Ad
ministration during the past few months has been in
direct contravention of ~hat assurance. It is unders t ood
that the misstatements will receive a direct public con
t radiction. The question of price is a n important one,
but the attack on the quality of material turned out is
felt to be more serious still.
Iron and Stcel.-Some of the largest establishments,
th at have plenty of orders of a miscellaoaous character,
have this week be~n compelled to t otally suspend operations and close their gates pending a resumption of
supplies of fuel of suitable quality- at reasonabl e price.q.
The adoption of this course, whtch was inevitable, has
thrown many thousands of iron and steel workers, with
the mechanics and labourers dependent on them, out of
employment, and the greatest dis tress prevails. It is
evident that, un d ~r ordinary conditions, a.n improvement
would have t o be noted in the iron trad e, a'3 inquiries for
heavy lots of bar iron of best and medium quality are
coming in from India, South A frica, and Australia. I t
is also evident th at a. rise in the prices of a couple
of months ago could be afforded. Sheet rollers have lost
a lot of orders, which have for th e most part passed
to Staffordshire or Belgian houses. Pig iron, both
forge and foundry, is being delivered t o customers
out of stock at from 433. to 4us. per ton, but the ensuing
quarter's contracts should now be nE'gotiated. It is
impossible to do this, as, irrespective of prices, the
furnaces are all damped down or blown out, and sup
plies of coke at fair prices need not te looked for for a.
long time. The heavy s teel trades are suffering very
severely. Orders for marine material are being t>laced
elsewhere, and, with the exception of a few inquirtes for
India and South Africa., no ne w orders for railway material are t o band. Converters of crucible cast steel have
plenty of orders, but no suitable coke, and for the present
are in a d ilemma.
The Coal War.-As indicated in this column last week,
the miners of the district are now advocating a. resumption
of work at the pits where old prices are offered. A ballot
of the men is being t aken, and the result will be mad e
known at the federation conference to be held in Chesterfield on Friday. Theresultis a foregone conclusion. Within
the past few days supplies of coal have been sent here from
Durba.ma.nd Staffordshire, but th e quality is very poor, and
16s. per ton is asked for even engine slack. It has been
neglected, as customers believe the end of the s trike is
now approaching. The situation of the masters is peculiar. S ome of the leadi ng ones a re in favour of a resump
tion of work, with tho full 40 per cent. on, as stocks have
been cleared a nd the m arket is favourable. Others
think some concession should be obtained from the men,
but t he latter a re as determin ed as ever to accept no red uction whatever. As an indication of what may be
expect ed, it may be stated th at one of the largest colliery
owners is taking contracts for engine slack at the rates
of eight weeks ago, and undertaking to commence deliveries within fourteen days. The miners have suffered
g reat privations during the strike, but it is evident they
will endure more rather than accept reduced wages.
Armour-Plate Orders.-Messrs. Charles Cammell and
Co., L imited, Cyclops Steel and Iron W orkst....a nd M essrs.
Vickers, Sons, and Co., Limited, River lJon W orks,
hl\ve each received a large order for armour-pla.tes for
H. M. S. R eno wn, now jn course of construction at the
Government Dockyard, Pembroke.

NOTES FROM THE SOUTH-WEST.

Cardiff.-Stea.m coal has shown firmness, but sellers are
s tated to be making concessions for forward deliveries.
The best descriptions have made 14s. 6d. to 16s. per t oo,
while secondary qualities have brought 13s. 6d. to 13s. 9d.
per t on. Cold er weather and the prospect of a sharp
winter have imparted a firm t one t o the h ouse coal trade,
and contra<lts are being made at prices satisfaotory to
coa.lowners. No. 3 Rhondda. large has made 13s. 9d. to
14s. per t on. Coke has exhibited considerable firmness.
Iron ore ha~ been in good d emand at slightly higher rates.
Steel rails ha.ve been comparatively inactive, and prices
are the turn easier.
T he" Talbot."-Altbough the Tal bot, crui~et, has not yet
been comm~nced at Devon port, the chief engineer's departm ent at K ey ham is making progress with the machinery.
The low and medium pressure cylinders have been cast in
the foundry, and have been forwarded t o the fitting ahop
for completion. The moulds for casting th e high-pressure
oylinders are being made.
T ajj" Vale and Rhymney Rail ways.- Mr. Brewer, engineer, and Mr. T. H. Riches, locom otiv e superintend ent
of the Taff Vale Railway, have just insp ect ed the Rhymney R a ilway. The inspection has been made for the
purpose of enabling reports to be prepared upon the condition of the permanent way and rolling stock of the
Rhymney lines, with a view t o ultimate amalgamation or
joint working.
The S outh Wales Coal T 1ade.-At the Cardiff Steam
Coal Collieries Company, L imited 1 Llanbrada.cb sinking
operations are being successfully carried on at No. 2 pit,
and it is expected that in all probability the steam coal
m easures will be struck in the course of a few week s, the
p it having been carried t o a depth of over 500 yards.
One of th e several veins of coal in No. 1 pit is being
rapidly opened, and an average daily output of 150 tons
of coal has been attained, The U ni vert:al Coal C.)mpany,

PLANING MACHINE AT THE WORLD'S

CONSTRUCTED BY THE

NILE~

TOOL WORKS

COL UMBI AN

CO~IPANY,

HA~IILTON,

EXPOSITION.

0 .>

\0

OHIO, U.S.A.

IV

(For Description, see P al}e 396.)

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Limited, is vigorously carrying on sinking operations in

the upper part of the Aber Valley, at No. 1 and No. 2
pits.
Royal Naval Engincers' Oollege.-Tbe Lords of the
Admiralty ha.ve just ma.de official visits to Pembrokei
Portsmouth, Devonport, &c. At the Royal Na.va.
Engineers' College thei r lordships were received by
Commander Triggs, Staff Engineer Lane, Engineers Cox
and Garde, a.nd Professor \Vortbington, ~I.A. The
students, 150 in number, were inspected in the gym
nasium. The dining-ball, kitchen, dormitories, and
laboratory were each visited. An old suggestion for
providin~ more adequate accommodation for the students,
by buildmg a. wing at the south end of the college, was
again brought under their lordships' notice.
Earl
Spencer was unable, h owevert to promise more than that
the matter should ha.ve immeaiate attention.
The "Devastation. "- The D evastation, turret ship,
which has been recently "renovated," made a. satisfac-

tory natural draught trial off Portsmouth on T uesday

The new engines developed C..iOOO horse-power, or 600
horse-power beyond the contract undertaken by ~Iessrs.
~Iaudslay, Sons, and Field, wh ile the vessel maintained
a speed of 13.26 knots by pa tent log. The Devastation
now carries a modern armament consisting of four 29-ton
breechloading guns, two 7-pounders, six 6-pounder quickfiring guns, eight 3-pounder quick-firing. five Gardners,
and two submerged tubes for torpedoes, The cost of the
vessel's refit has been 156,261l.
Water Supply of N eath.- Tbe Neath town council proI>OSes to acquire the undertaking of the N eath and
Briton Ferry \Vater Company at a cost of 46,0001. It is
also proposed to construct a new reservoir, filter beds,
&c., at further cost of 10,000l. A town's meeting has
approved the contemplated purchase, although not without a slight opposition bei ng offered to it.
T he "Oambrian. "- The forced draught trial of the
Cambrian took place on Tuesday. The machinery

worked successfully. The mean speed attained by the

ship in a 4! hours' run was 20.8 knots, wit h an indicated
force of 9175 horse-power; revolutions, 143 per minute.
In the stokehole the revolutions of the forced draught fans
were 300 per minute, and the steam pressure was 140. The
temperature in the stokehole was 100 deg.
Briton Ferry.-The Briton Ferry Steel 'Vorks are in
effecti ve operation, the fi ve furnaces being fully employed.
Six mills are in operation at the Villiers worke, and the
sarue number at the Vernon works, three at Ra~lan
Bay, and three at G walia. The ,Jersey m ills are idle,
but the fini~hing department is at work. The Cambrian
Coke Works have just added a locomotive to their rolling
stock.
Newport (Alcxandro) DocL-The amount returned as
the net earnings of the Newport (Ale.,.andra) Dock Company, L imited, for the half-year ending June 30 last, was
31,700l. l9<i. 9d. Out of this sum, after provtding for
rents and debenture interest, the directors recommend

the declaration of maximum dividends at ~he rate of

4~ per cent. per annum on consolidated "A" first preference, and on consolidated "B " second preference,
leaving a. balance of 696l. 2s. 1d., which, added to thb
amount carried forward December 31, 1892, now
amounts to 9457l. 9s. 2d. The directors fnrther stA.te
that. since the opening of the new South Dock, th~re has
been a gratifying increase of revenue, wbieh, although
t emporarily interrupted by the coal strike just ended.
may now be looked upon as a permanent and growing
increase. The expenditure on capital account during the
half-year ending June last was on dock and work~:~,
21771. 9s. lld., and on South D ock, 14, i37l. 18s. 6d.,
making a total expenditure on capital account of
1,2!)(),3971. The estimated expenditure for the curr~nt
year is on the South Dock 6000/., and on other works
2UOOl. It is furth er proposed to expend in subsequen\
half-years 89.3!Wl. on the South D ock, 86,500l. on the Old
Dock, and lO,OOOl. on the J>ock .Junction Railway, with
passenger station at _\lt:)...andra-road .

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~

E N G I N E E R I N G.
AGENTS FOR

ENGINEERING."

u
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AUSTRIA, "'ennn
l 1
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l.
22
on<.
p . . Borveau and Chevillet, Ltb rame Etrangere,
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FRA~C~e l~nB~n ue; M. Em. Terquem, 31bi.s Boulevard Ha.u smann.
!f~ for Ad,eitisements, Agence Ha.Yas, 8, Place de la Bourse.
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Nxw sooTU wALSS, ydney: Turnet and Ilenderson, 16 and 18,
Hunter-street. Gordon and Gotch, Geor~e-street.
QUEENSLAND (SOOTll) Brisbane : Gordon ana GoU:h.
(NORTu): Townsville: T . Willmett, and Co.
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Chicago: ll . Y. Holmes, 44 , La.kestde BUlldmg ..
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CONTENTS.

P.AGB

PAGE

British Colonies at Ohicago 379 Notes from the South-West

The Tower Bridge (lllu8Ball Bearings for Thrust
trated) ... .... .. . .... ~ 382
Blocks (nlustrated)
The British Association . . . . 382 The Economical Speed d
Lighting Station at tt e
Steamships ........ .... .
Columbia.n Exposition (ll
The Water Supply of the
lustrated) .. .. .. . .. . .. . 386
Metropolis .. .. .. .. .. .. .
The Late Mr. Thomas
Notes from the United
States ......... . . ....... 387
Ha.wkslPr . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
La.uncht!s and T ial Trips . . 387 Machine Tools at the ColumNotes from the NorLh . .. .. . 387
bian Exposition (lllusNotes from Cleveland and
I trated) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
the Northern Counties .. 387 The Iron and St eel Ins titute
Loc.omotive at. ~he Colum1 N?tes ......... . ... ...
btan Expos1t1on (fllusMscellanea . . ... .. ... .
trated) . . . . . . . . . . . .... . 3S8 Chubb'a Safe (Illustrated) .
Bilbao Harbour Worka .... ggo Industrial Notes .. ........
Machine Construction and
The Disposal of Refuse . . . .
_Dr~win~, 1893 ........ . 3!)0 The Breakwater and Port
D1stn bution of Loads on
of Middelgrunden Fort in
the Sound (Illustrated) .
Trough Floors fo r Bridges
(lllmtrated) ...... .. .... 390
Engineering " Patent Re
Notes from South Yorkshire 391
cord (Illustrated) . . ..

I"

391
391
391
393
395
396
397
399
400
401
401
402
404
406

With a T wo-Page E ngravirt(J of TilE TO WER BRIDGE :

DET.AlLS OF CHA I NS.

393

the recent census had shown how rapidly London

NOTICE.
was
growing;
the
water
companies
.were
drawing
11
The New Cunarders "CAMPANIA" and LU- their full stat utory supplies from the r1vers, and the
CANIA ;" and the WORLD'S COLUMBIAN County Council was burning to inaugurate so~e
EXPOSITION OF 1893.
great reform. Already various schemes were bemg
The Publtsher begs to announce that a R.eprtnt ts discussed, and the imagination of th~ Londo~er
now ready of the Descriptive Matter and Illustra- was tickled by visions of a crystal ~1ver fi?wing
tions contained t.n the tssue of ENGINEERING of direct from the Welsh hills for h1s part1cular
AprU 21st, comprlst.ng over 130 pages, with nine benefit, without any increase in his rates.
.
two- page and four st.ngle. page Plates, printed
As a result of the agitation that took place In the
throughout on speclal Plate paper, bound 1D cloth, press and elsewhere, a Royal <?ommission was
gilt lettered. Price 6&. Post free, 6&. 6d. The ordi appointed on March 15, 1892, having for members
nary edition of the issue of AprU 21st 1s out of print. Lord Balfour of Burleigh, Sir George B. Bruce,
-=======-====------==--======--=- M. Inst. C. E., Sir Archibald Geikie, Professor
NOTICES OF MEETI NGS.
James Dewar, Mr. G. H. Hill, M. Inst. C.E., Mr.
SociETY oF ENGINBBRB.-Monda.y, October 2, at the Town Hal~ J
M
h M I t CE
dD W O I
Westminster. A paper will be read on "Gas Substitutes," by
ames anserg , ns , an
r. g e,
Professor Vivian B. Lewes, F.I. C. The ohair will be taken at F.R.C.P. The reference was as follows:
7.30 p.m. precisely.
" Whether, taking into consideration the growth
J uNIOR. ENGINEER.lNG SOC1ETY.-Friday, October 6, 'i.30 p.m.,
1
d h d
Westminster Palace Hotel, Victoria-street, S. W. General meet - of the population of the metropo is an
t e ISin~ for election of officers and other business.
tricts within the limits of the metropolitan water
H ULL .LVI> DISTRICT I NSTITUTION OF ENGINEERS ASD NA VA L ARCHI- COmpanies, and also the needs of the localities not
TEOTS.-Monday, October 2, at 8 p.m. , at the Parochial Offices,
Bond-street, H'un . Paper by Mr. A. Y. Coster, on " Boiler Fur- supplied by any metropolitan company, but within
na.oes-th eir Construction and R en ewal. "
the watersheds of the Thames and t he Lea, the
present sources of supply of these companies are
adequate in quantity and quality, and, if inadequate,
whether such supply as may be required can be
obtained within the watersheds referred to, having
FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 139, 1893.
due regard to the claims of the districts outside
the metropolis, but within those watersheds, or will
have to be obtained outside the watersheds of the
THE WATER SUPPLY OF THE
Thames and the Lea. "
METROPOLIS.
Put into popular form, the question to be decided
IT has been said that every drop of water on the was whether the Thames would supply about two
earth's surface has passed, at some time, through and a half times as much water as n ow, and the Lea
the intestinal canal of an animal. Disagreeable as 30 per cent. more, and, if so, was the water good
the thought may be, it brings prominently forward enough for London to drink.
the wonderful renewing power of Nature, which is
In the driest summer the Thames has never yet
constantly at work breaking up dead organic failed to supply all that has been demanded of it,
mat ter into its constituent elements, and restor- and it was the simplest matter of engineering to see
ing it to its original purity, ready to be built anew that by means of storage reservoirs this supply
into some living body capable of useful work, could be vastly increased. Further, there was good
to again become effete, and require further cleans- reason to believe that satisfactory sites for such
ing. There is no such thing as permanent de- reservoirs could be found. As to quality, popular
filament ; the process of purification may be opinion, at least so far as represented by the
rapid, or may be slow, according as the conditions County Council, had declared emphatically against
are favourable or otherwise, but it is certain and it . A river that was liable to be polluted
unceasing. Were it not so, this globe would have by raw sewage, possibly containing pathogenic
become exhausted countless ages ago ; all the food germs, could never supply fit drinking water for
have been eaten, all the water contaminated, and any community. But a Royal Commission must
death would have reigned everywhere. Although form its opinions on scientific points from more
this has been known in a general way, it is reliable sources than articles in daily papers, and
quite recently - only yesterday, as it were- magic lantern displays. In this case it not only
that we have begun to see something of the comprised within itself an immense store of knowprocesses by which Nature effects her changes. ledge on the subject, but it had also t he assistance
We had previously learned that decaying matter of the L ocal Government Board, of the great water
was a virulent poison to the human system, companies, and also of the leading chemists and
and that it should be rigorously avoided. We had bacteriologists of the day. It soon became evident
also found that t he contagion of certain diseases that the popular opinion in adopting the undeniable
was multiplied in t he body of the pat ient, and that principle that every source of contamination should
it could be widely disseminated by means of food be rigorously excluded, had carried it farther than
and drink, giving rise to epidemics and plagues. common sense dictated. In its horror of the results
Our knowledge was exceedingly fragmentary- just that may flow from the ingestion of decaying organic
a glimmering and nothing more-but it was sufficient matter, it had overlooked N ature's incessant and
to give rise to the firm opinion that no food or water active remedial action, and had demanded a
that lay under t he suspicion of being tainted with safeguard that could be obtained in a far
decaying animal matter should ever be partaken of. cheaper way by other means. In spite of all
We did not know exactly in what way the poison that can be alleged against its water, London is
arose, how it'lived aud mult iplied, and how it acted a healthy city, and compares very favourably
on our systems, but it was quite certain that the with others which draw their supplies from exsafest course to pursue was to avoid all contact with ceedingly pure sources. The two diseases that are
everything that could possibly be suspected of known to be communicated by drinking water are
containing it.
typhoid, or enteric, fever, and cholera. As t o the
It was this desire to avoid every possible chance latter, we have but little experience here, fort uof infection that gave strength to the agitation in nately, and that little tends to show that the disease
favour of a new source of water supply to London. more often ascends the rivers than flows with them.
The great towns in the N orth and the Midlands As to typhoid fever, when London is compared
were going far afield to secure water tha.t flowed with fourteen other great English towns '' that
bright and clear from bare mountain sides and have public water supplies which are not excrebleak moors, fresh distilled from Nature's labora- mentally polluted, " it is shown that in only four of
t ory. Nothing purer could be obtained. At t he those has the enteric mortality, on a. basis of t en
same t ime the dwellers in the metropolis were years, been slightly lower than in London, while n ot
drinking from the Thames or the Lea, both of only has the mortality in the other ten exceeded t hat
which rivers were well known to receive the entire of London, but in four of the towns has been twice
drainage of the long valleys through which they or more than twice, as high. I t is, therefore, clea:
flowed. The greater part of it was treated and t hat London does not suffer any increase of typhoid
purified in some way, but at hundreds of small fever by reason o~ its doubtful water supply, and
points raw sewage found its way into the Thames, and t hat. to spend thuty or fifty ~illions st erling in
during flood times was supplemented by the volumes seekmg a new source would not 1mprove the public
that the purification works could not deal with. health in this particular. Further, Dr. Dudfield
Such a system was in flat contradiction to the a. medical officer of health of long standing, testified
teachings of popular science, and gave rise to an that he had never traced any connection between
outcry in which the voices of the sanitarians were the wat er supply a.nd disease, although he had
aided by all who desired the municipalisat.io!l of o!ten found disease occur through local fouling of
the water supply, and also by those who d1shked Cist erns, by gases from house drains and other
the water companies. The time was opportune : . causes. vVhen twenty years' experie~ce did not

ENGINEERING.

394

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

suffice to lay a single case of illness to the account

of our drinking water, the Commission were justiY EARLY AND M ONTHLY D AILY A VERAGE ::) a PPLY DY EACH OF THE E I GHT M ETROPOLITAN W ATER COMPANI ES
D URING TllE Y EAR 1891.
fied in assuming that none existed.
The fact that L ondon has escaped epidemics for
Southwark I
many years is not absolute proof that it will
West
Grand
E
ast
New Ri ver.
Mon th.
Ch elsea.
Lambeth.
and
Kent.
Totals.
continue to do so, were there scientific evidence
Middlesex. Junct ion.
London .
Vauxhall.
that the danger existed. But that most disquieting
gallons
gallons
g all ons
g allons
g allons
gallons
gallons
gallons
gallons
subject of research- bacteriology- brings us comJ anu a.ry . .
35,004,500 51,669,047
22,148, 71
25,338,253 15,353,449 1 9 ~ . 74 0,854
9. 4.75, 229 16.960,499 16,80f ,506

fort on this p oint. Pathogenic germs are delicate Februa ry

16, 263,666 17,465,734
20, 272,918
31,008,000 46,826,369
9.390, 6 0
25,485,504 13,769,384 180,491,256

18,340,671
30, 287,000 43,355, 914
9,351,607 16,197, 377 17,672,179
24,870, 738
creatures, and need favourable conditions in which Ma rch ..
12,780,832 173,356,318

18, 461,643 25,146,820

16,480,260 17,923,632
April
30,991,000 42,892,358
0,355,234
13,019,679 174,273,526

to thrive. Removed from their habitat in the May

1 ,709,360
25,409,173
32,928,000 43,669.585 10,245,378
17,323,261 18,473,773
13,150,319 170,908,849

animal body, and left to battle in the open with June

18.308,522 ] 9,995. 761
20,487, 4~2
27,111,575 14,145,706 1{)0,5 U ,661
34,673, 000 45,201,329 10,691,276

21,408,864
36,897,000 44,618,741 10,838,290 18,209,238 20,441,4 6
27,191,727
14,006,728 193,615,074

thousands of other microbes of robuster build than July

20,221,274
16,686,401 18,744,043
Aug ust . .
34,165.000 4~,68 7,007 10,020,700
28,001,068
13,4U,803 185,970,296

themselves, they perish rapidly. They fare better September

2(1 ,788,068
28,303,834 13,701,240 188, 1 4 ~,177
34,646,000 46,464:,745 10,169,297 16, 815,685 18, 25!),308

19,266,033
26.727,227 13,252,164 179,968,931
9,68:3, 136 17,016,264 18,635,582
3'1, 585,000 42,803,636
even in distilled, or pure deep well water, t han t hey Oct ober . .

17,9R4,008
9,723,008 16,361.113 18,862,391
25,327,008
31,230.000 41,594,362
12,463,405 173,045,295

do in a river, for then they are saved from strife November

18,260,808
26,465,901 13,324,295 177,450,133
16,307,961 18, 490,778
31,386,000 4 3 , 830, 7~5
9,383,605
December

with the vulgar crowd of common organisms, and

12 395,703,500 636,603,778 118,336,489 202, 930,247 221 ,268,073 236,850,000 315,378,828 162,411,994 2,1 89,482,859
are in the state of concentration that is necessary
for a successful attack on the animal economy. Daily ave ra.ge . . 32,975,292 44,716,981 9,861,370 16,910,854 18,439, 006 1 19,737,500 26, 2Rl , 509 I 13,534,333 182,456,905
There is good reason to believe that a single enteric
microbe, or even a small number, must perish in the
human body long before it can effect a lodgment and of magnesia; we let our children drink unboil~d
The Commission t ook considerable evidence as
proceed to multiply. The conditions in t he stomach milk, which is probably a million times more to t he amount of water r equired per head in the
are so adveree to the well-being of the bacteria, that dangerous than Thames water ; we stand beside future ; they decided on the liberal estimate of 35
nothing but a combined assault, which shall exhaust steam boilers without any fear of their bursting ; gallons. Applying this to the estimated populathe defences of the citadel, can hope to succeed. we eat seasoned meats of whose composition we tion of 11,191, 934 in 1931, t hey got the dRily total
The volume of the Thames is so enormous, and the are ignorant ; and in a hundred ways we knowingly of 391,717,690 gallons. To this t hey added 6 per
possible amount of infected excreta so small, that in accept risks, many of them entirely unnecessary, cent. for abnormal periods, such as great heat and
the worst conceivable conditions, the' dilution is in- besides which the dangers of Thames water are in- severe frosts, getting t he grand aggr egate of
conceivably great. The maximum estimated annual significant. F or the risks we have enumerated 415,219,752 gallons. This is considerably in excess
cases of typhoid fever in the Thames basin above have been proved again and again at coroners' of the companies' estimate of 253,529,686 gallons,
Molesey is 1000, and if all the discharges of the inquests, while no single case has ever been brought as both the assumed populat ion and the estimated
infected persons passed directly into the river, there home to the metropolitan river. We do not possibly consumption are larger. To provide t he additional
would be one case to 294 million gallons of water ; see how th e Royal Commission could have come to quantities required, the companies made the fol.
that is, in a mass 5 miles in length, 100 yards in any other conclusion than that the present sources lowing propositions :
width, and 6 ft. in depth. The typhoid bacillus of supply were " adequate in quality " for the needs
1. The abstraction of more water from the Thames
that gets into the river is thus in an evil plight; it of London. Grievous as is the indictment against without storage.
is separated from its fellows, and surrounded by the Thames in theory, the action of beneficent
2. The abstraction of more water from the
other species inimical to it ; it is at a temperature Nature is able to deal with it, and t o sweep away all Thames and Lea, with provision for storage.
much below that essential to its speedy develop- trace of pollution before the water enters the mains.
3. The abstraction of water from gravel beds
ment; it is flooded with light and air, when its
It was an easier and less responsible matter to adjoining the Thames.
n atural h ome is in the dark and warm human deal with the adequacy of the supply, although it
4. The abstraction of more water from deep wells
intestine.
, involved a very extended inquiry. The total popu- in the chalk formations.
The first of these was dismissed by the CommisThese adverse conditions are such as to render lation supplied by the water companies in 1891 was
very doubtful the continued existence of patho- ascertained to be 5,237,062. The rate of increase sion on account of the strong local opposition it
genic germs in Thames water. There c:\.r e, h owever, in the last five decades has varied from 22.7 per would raise, and n ot on account of any defects it
other agencies at work to aid their elimination. The cent. to 18.2 per cent., the last being for the years contained . On this point we do not agree with the
deposit of the sediment t hat takes place in a river 1881-91. Taking the smaller figure as the one Commission t hat it would be proper to take all the
carries down with it countless germs, while filtra- likely to rule in the future, the Commission decided flow of the river, except such as is r equired for the
tion strains out nearly all the remainder. Often 98 that forty years hence, in 1931, it would be necessary purposes of navigation. The banks of foul mud that
per cent. are removed by the filters, partly mechani- to supply water to 11! million people in the metro- line the shores below K ew, and elsewhere, show that
cally, but far more by chemical or other action. It politan area, scat tered over 845 square miles. The the river is in need of all the cleansing action it can
is the office of some of the bacteria to effect the de- question to which they had to find answer then stood obtain, and that to cut off from it the present
composition of the others, and this they do very as follows : " Can a sufficient supply of water of supply of oxygen-laden land water would be a
effect ually. If we could see what goes on in the thin sufficiently good quality be obtained from the serious evil. However, it is not necessary to disgelatinous layer t hat covers the surface of a filter, Thames and Lea V alleys for the use of 11! million cuss this point, and t he idea of further abstraction
it would be more exciting than the bloodiest melo- persons without serious prejudice to t he other without storage was not enter tained. Several
Professor
drama . Hundreds of different species are crowded inhabitants of those valleys 1" At present the storage schemes were propounded.
into intimate contact, and the destruction of the companies supply a daily average of 182,456,905 Henry Robinson recommended three reservoirs in
unfit proceeds apace. The most awful battlefield gallons, according to one statement, and 171,163,385 the R ennet Valley, to contain between 46,000 and
never saw such fearful continuous slaughter. The gallons, according to an amended estimate prepared 47,000 million gallons, by means of which the
pathogenic germ , revelling in darkness and strong by an assistant commissioner. This gives 31.19 minimum flow at Teddington Weir would be inanimal fluids, is helpless in such circumstances, gallons per head per day of the population, or, sub- creased to 300 million gallons a day, leaving a furunless by good fortune the filter has been newly tracting about 6 gallons for trade and public pur- ther 300 millions for water supply. This scheme
cleansed, and the interstices in the sand afford a poses, 25 gallons. This is on the population esti- was dismissed, principally on account of a doubt of
speedy passage. As a. mat~er of f~ct, thousands ~f mated by the companies, but on the 5,237,062 per- the water-tightness of the reservoir sites. On behalf
tests have failed to 1dent1fy a s1ngle pathogenic sons assumed by the Commission, this gives 32.68 of the Thames Conservators, Messrs. Marten and
germ in Thames water, or in the deposit of a dirty gallons per head per day. The amounts the com- R ofe submitted a d esign for nine r eservoirs upon
panies are legally empowered to draw from the various tributaries of the Upper Thames. From
filter.
these t here was t o be provided 130 million gallons
Such evidence as this is, of course, not absolutely Thames are as follows :
Gallons.
a day for supply, and 30 millions for compensaconclusive. If a community had the choice, on
. ..
...
22,000,000
Chelsea ...

tion. This would double the present supply. In
equal t erms, between water front the Thames and
...
24,500,000
W est Middlesex


this
case,
again,
considerable
doubt
was
cast
on
the
Loch Katrine, it would be folly t o choose the
24,500,000
Grand Junction

suitability of several of the sites, some witnesses

former, in spite of all the presumJ?tive ar~men~s
24,500,000
. ..
Lambeth

even condemning t hem emphatically. This Com24,500,000
Southwark and V auxhall
that can be brought in favour of 1t. But 1n th1s

... 10,000,000
East L ondon ...
...
mission did n ot accept this plan .
world advantages are comparative, and generally
The third proposal as t o storage was by Mr.
have to be considf}red in r elation to price. More
130,000, 000
Waiter Hunter, director of the Grand Junction
lives are lost in L ondon each year from the use
Further, some of the companies obtain large Company, and Mr. Alexander Fraser, engineer to the
of tinned provisions than can .be alleged again~t
the Thames since the compan1es removed the1r quantities of water from the gravel beds besides same company, and consisted in t he construction of
The Lambeth Company can get nine reservoirs upon land in the neighbourhood of
intakes a hove the locks. Yet thousands of tons t he river.
of such food are consumed annually, for the 7,000,000 to 8,000,000 gallons daily in this way ; Staines, at only a few miles' distance above the existsimple reason that each purchase represents a few the Southwark and Vauxhall Company, 3, 000,000 ing works of the companies. The storage capacity
pence saving over the cost of fresh food. And gallons; the East L ondon Company, 1,200,000 was to be obtained by excavat ing below the surface
in almost fiat land, and forming t he material r esuch economy is by no means confined to the gallons ; and others variable quantities.
The New River Company derives a variable moved into banks, so as to increase the depth.
homes of the poor. It is possible to find tinned
articles on the t ables of the affluent . F or a com- amount from the Chad well Spring at Amwell, near By this combined process of sinking and raising, a
munity in which such a practice prevails t o spend H er tford. This ranges from a maximum of depth of 40ft . would be obtained, t he digging
even t wenty millions in r e_Pla..cing ~ w~ter supply 4,000,000gallons a day to 500,000gallons. The .River being entirely in gravel, which overlies the clay t o a
against which me:ely doc.tr1na1re obJec.t wns ~an be L ea supplies 22,500,000 gallons, and from deep depth of 20 ft. to 30 ft. This plan bears so close a
raised, would be 1n the highest degree mcons1stent, wells some 8,500,000 gallons additional are pro- r esemblance to that event ually formulated by the
to use n o stronger word. In other matt6rs we vided. The K ent Company gets all its supply from Commission, that we shall give a more detailed
are content t o accept certain slight risks. W e wells, and the E ast L ondon is r esorting to this account of it. It is gratifying to find that the
do not submit our medicine to an analyst to source in addit ion to the Lea. T.he Table above officials of one of the much-abused companies pr esented a desigQ that has been practically adopted
see if the pharmacist has used arsenic in place shows the production of each company.

E N G I N E E R I N G.
by the Commission, in preference to. schemes prepared by outsiders. The plan prov1d~d for v_ertica.l puddle walls around the rcserv01rs, carr~ed
down by trenches into the clay below, the Internal slopes being protected from wash by_ a
concrete lining. The complete. scheme was 1~1tended to provide for the takmg of 300 million gallons a day for suppl~, .and still ~o leave
200 millions to flow over Tectdmgton W eu. The
storaae would be gradually built up by instalments,
a sufficient amoun t being provided each ten years
to meet the demand as evidenced by the census.
The water was to be taken from the Thames at a
point above Staines, partly by gravitation a?d
partly by pumping, the top level of the reservous
beina 80ft. above Ordnance datum, while the ordina.r/'water level at the point of abstraction is 50 ft.
above Ordnance datum. From these reservoirs the
water would gravitate through pipes to filter beds
at the present works at H ampton and Molesey. It
was assumed that there would be four floods in a
year, and that no pumping would be done in the
first iifteen days of any flood.
In relation to the Lea Valley, Mr. Bryan presented a. scheme for storage. At present the New
River Company has storage for 740 million gallons,
which it proposes to iJ?-crea~e t o 1200 millions.
In addition, four reservoirs mtght be constructed at
Walthamstow, like those in the preceding scheme,
to contain 7130 million gallons. By means of this
combined capacity Mr. Bry~n estimates t~at 60
million gallons co~ld be obt~m~~ from the r~ver ?Y
his company, wtthout preJUdicu:Llly affectmg It.
The maximum take has hitherto been about 37
millions ; with the 22! millions constantly abstracted by the New River Company at Hertford.
this would increase the quantity taken from the Lea
t o 82! million gallons, or 4.483 in. of rainfall on the
460 square miles of the watershed area.
Con.siderations of space oblige us to hurry over
the remaining propositions (3 and 4). The abstraction of mor e water from the graval beds by the
river was rejected as equivalent to taking it from
the river. An immense amount of evidence was
taken relating to the supply to be obtained from
deep wells, and the effect that increased pumping
would have on the rivers and valleys. An assistant
commissioner was even appointed t o go over t he
ground and obtain information on the spot in regard
to certain points.
After examining the various plans and sifting t he
evidence, the Commissioners arrived at the following decisions : That the average daily flow of the
Thames is 1350 million gallons; for three consecutive dry years it is 1120 millions, and for the
driest year 900 millions. That by the construction
in the neighbourhood of Staines of reservoirs of
adequate capacity into which water shall be pumped
and stored in times of excess, to be used in times
of deficiency, at least 300 million gallons a day may
be obtained for the supply of London. That from
the River Lea, on the average of three consecutive
years, 81 million gallons flvw off daily by the
river at Feilde's Weir. At a lower point the discharge is probably 85 millions. Of this the New
River Company draw 22! millions, and the
East London Company have at times drawn 37 millions, but they only claim to take 30 millions. That
this abstraction is too great with the storage now
in existence, but if other reservoirs were constructed
adequately increasing the storage capacity, the
taking of 52! million gallons a day might be continued .. That from wells in the Lea Valley the
compames should not calculate on obtaining more
than 40 million gallons a day in dry years. That
from the existing wells of the Kent Company, and
from others to be sunk, 27! million gallons a day
might be taken. That from the t ract of chalk
country in the valley of the Med way and eastward
to the coast, a very considerable addition would be
procurable. The summary of the several quantities
above stated is as follows :
Millions of
Gallons
per Day.

imagine. The existing state of affairs is to be

maintained, and all that remains to be done is to
strengthen the hands of the Thames and Lea Conservancy Boards in dealing with cases of poll ution.
These boards are sadly hampered for want of funds ;
that ought t o be remedied at once, and, of course,
at the expense of the water companies. They
should be put into a position to guard the entire
length of the river and its tributaries, and should
have much more summary power under the Rivers
Pollution Acts than they have. But while they
guard the water as a natural possession, it will
be the business of Parliament to see t hat it
is not made a present of to the water companies, to gain an enhanced value to them a.t each
quinquennial valuation. H owever, that is a
matter that d oes not com e within our scope, and
plenty of eyes are open to t he fact that any new
arrangement must be on quite a different basis
from the old one, when the companies faced a certain amount of risk. Now the expenses and income
can be calculated to within 5 per cent . The engineering scheme presents little interest ; the construction of the reservoirs will be only so much
digg ing and dumping, and will be continued over
forty years, eo that if even five millions sterling be
spent over them, the disbursement will be so
gradual as not to be felt.
The Commissioners are to be complimented on their selfrestraint. The public expected them t o recommend
some monumental works that should be the wonder
of the world, and a load on the ratepayers for half
a century. In place of this they suggest a series of
basins dug on the Thames bank, and extended as
occasion requires. We believe they have adopted a.
goo:l practic3.l common-sense plan, and that when
this question comes up again fifty years hence, the
verdict of posterity will indorse the course they
have followed.

THE LATE MR. THOMAS HA WKSLEY.

ONE more of the few remaining pioneers of

modern civil engineering has passed away in the
person of Mr. Thomas Hawksley, who, in his sixtythree years' service to mankind, has, in a peculiar
sense, exemplified the ideal of the profession
in utilising and subjecting the forces of nature
for the furtherance of the health and prosperity
of the people. His energies were directed towards
the creation of that City of Hygieia so much
desiderated, a.nd recognising the impossibility of
insuring the full realisation by merely mechanical
means-such as a constant and plentiful water
supply, effectual sanitary conditions, and cheap
light-he never ceased from urging the need
of effort t owards the better housing of the
people, contending that thus only might be
destroyed the fevers and other zymotic diseases
fos tered by the absence of fresh air and light.
But beyond this was the bettering of the people
themselves, for he believed that the death rate
was materially affected, not only by insanitary conditions, but by the pernicious efFects of overcrowding and habitual inebriety. This theme permeated
nearly all his addresses as president of many institutions, and towards the realisation of his life idea
he laboured until the end. He continued actively
employed up to within a. week of his d eath, and
within a fortnight had taken long journeys of
~nspec~ion to works in distant parts of the country,
tncludmg Newcastle- on- Tyn e, Brighton, and
Southend, displaying great vitality at his age. On
the 16th inst. he was attached by acute dysentery,
and, although attended by two skilled physicia ns
Dr. Ringer and Dr. Sainsbury, he was unable t~
rally from the exhaustion which supervened, and
passed away on Saturday, the 23rd, at his residence
at Kensington, at the ripe age of eighty-six years.
Born in 1807, the son of a Nottingham manufacturer, ~e wa~ early in life articled to Mr. Staveley,
an architect 1n that town, and while grasping the
elements of this profession, he continued those
studies which had been commenced a.t school.
Unaided, except by careful mental discipline, he
From the .River Thames ...

300

steadily mastered the difficulties and subtleties of

, tbe River L ea...
. ..
52~
, , wells in the L ea V alley ::
:::
mathematics. Shrewdness, a strong ch aracteri~tic,
40
, wells. in the K ent Company's disprompted the survey of a wider field than was distrtot . ..
.. .
...
. ..
.. .
27i
closed by architecture, and suggested the advantages of so_me knowledge of geology and chemistry.
Total
420

The self-directed efforts t owards the r ealisation of
suf?cient at 35 gallons per head per day for a popu- these ideas established his suitability, even at the
latwn of 12,000,000.
early age of twenty-three years, for the appoint~his report will settle the question of metro- ment of engineer to the Nottingham Water ComJ>Ohtan water supply for many years to come, we pany, and for the undertaking of the works for the

395

supply of the town. The methods usuall~ adopted

for water supply were not by a~y means ~at1sfactory,
and the subject of our mem01r determmed, ~a:ther
than follow precedent, to establish new cond1t10ns.
The source was the River Trent and the red sandstone bed in the vicinity, and the water was obtained by pumping, a p rocess usually_ adopted_, but
Mr. H awksley made a depart ure 1n affordmg a
continuous instead of an intermittent supply, a.s
in all other towns. His contention was that there
was more waste with an intermittent than with a
constant supply, with care to insure that al~ fittings
were in order and free from leakage. Bes1des, the
latter was the more satisfactory and healthy arrangement, and its uni versal adoption proves the correctness of the theory. In London, where there is
more delay owing to the great extent of fittings,
the change is being slowly made.
' Vhile the works at N ottingham were being
carried out in 1832, there was the great cholera
epidemic, and Mr. Hawksley erected the first
cholera hospital in this country, and himself actively engaged in attending to the patients. Again
the cholera has come, and the fact that the visitation of the most dreaded of all epidemics has been
resisted so far with but little loss, is due largely to
t he subject of our memoir, for no on e will gainsay
the advantages of the efti.cient water supply and
sewerage schemes introduced by Mr. Hawksley into
so many districts in England. The success of the
Nottingham supply earned for hi m great credit ,
and he was appointed engineer to the gas works.
An experience in this connection is worth narrating. It is well known that the Chartist riots
were plotted in a little inn in one of the back
streets of Nottingham, and the first practical result
was the H taking" of the t own by the mob. The
gas works were attacked, with the hope of putting
the town in darkness, but the young engineer proved
equal to the unusual demand on his resources.
He marshalled his small staff, coupled up pipes,
connected them with the gas supply, and through
a nozzle played a great tongue of fire on the
attacking party. This suprised the mob, and they
precipitately left the works. Following up his advantage, he threw barrels of gas tar upon the
adjacent streets, and thus obviated any recovery
and further attack by the affrighted Chartists. The
incident may be said to have been characteristic of
that resourceful energy displayed in many emergencies throughout his long life. Another incident
in his N ottingha.m career may be instanced. A
belt of land surrounding the town, and bein u held on
conditions which had descended from feudc;_l times,
could not be leased, and prevented the extension
of Nottingham. Almost unaided, and chiefly at
his own expense, he secured a Parliamentary Act
to enable the authorities to feu it. The value as
free grazing ground was small compared with the
enormous advantage of the development of the town
resulting from the effort. Indeed, for this and his
professional efforts, Mr. Ha.wksley was held in
high esteem, and although he came to London in
1852, he continued for fifty years the engineer for
the works he had established until they were taken
over by the corporation, when he was presented
with a beautiful service of plate.
Meanwhile he had established his claim to be
regarded as one of the first water and gas engineers
of his time. As we have hinted, he commenced
his career when th_e water supply was, except in
very large centres, 1n a. very elementary condition.
Probably the case of Liverpool is representative.
The supply, equal to 10 sallons per head of population per day for the southern port ion of the town
only, was got from r ed sandstone wells, while
supplementary works existed for providing water
for fire extinction at the dooks. In 1845 the corporation turned its attention to the whole question
and Mr. Hawksley designed the Rivington Works'
the first gravitation works of any magnitude carried
out in England. The drainage area. extends to 10 000
acres, and the reservoirs, six in number, hav~ an
ar~a. of 615 acres and a. storage capacity of 4500
m1lhon gallons. The filter beds cover about eight
acres. He subsequently carried out about 150 water
works in England and Ireland and abroad. His
principal gravitation supply works, requirin()' impounding reservoirs, were at Leeds, Hudder;field
the Weardale district (including Durham), Leicester:
Roch~ale, Barnsley, Merthyr, and Bury, while
pumpmg supply works were inst~lled at Darlin()'ton
5
Stockton, Middlesbrough, Norwich, D erby, Yar:
mouth, Sunderland, York, Southport, Cambridge
Coventry, Oxford, Worcester, Cheltenham, Boston:

E N G I N E E R I N G.
and L owestoft. He gave evidence before several
commissions on the London water supply, and the
report now issued by Lord Balfour's Commission,
and reviewed in another part of this issue, may be
said to be based largely on the evidence he gave.
Only on one or two minor points has his advice
been departed from. It is not n ecessary to enter
into the details of design of the works h e carried
out. Leeds was probably one of the largest, the
area of the watershed being 25,000 acres, and the
storage capacity of r eservoirs 3726 million gallons,
admitting of a daily supply of 22 million gallons.
The feature of all his work was its substantiality.
He preferred to err on the side which insured
safety, if, indeed, it can be said to be an error to
leave a large margin of strength. This probably
explained the popularity which he enjoyed as
the adviser of so many municipalities and water
companies, and partly explains his being chosen
to repair the damage done at Sheffield when a
disaster involved a loss of life some years ago.
He preferred earthwork embankments, and would
n ot s werve from t hose dimensions which his ripe
experience had established in his mind as th~
safest. In the matter of pumping plant, too, h e
sometimes paid greater r egard to the ornate and
b eautiful than to the interests of economy.
Sanitation, which is so closely associated with
water supply, was car efully studied by him, and
as early as 1848 he gave evidence at an inquiry
by the Government, and continued t o advocate
the necessity not only of effective sanitary arrangements, but of the~prevention of pollution of streams,
while at the same time discouraging exaggerated
r eports on t he subject by irresponsible people.
After the establishment of the Metropolitan Board
of Works, the whole question of L ondon sewage
was entered into, and in 185'7 h e, in conjunction
with Mr. Bidder and t he late Sir J oseph Bazalgette, considered t he subject. The result was the
carrying out of a scheme for the construction of
three m\in sewers to inter cept t he hundred and one
little sewers then discharging their poiRonous
liquids and noxious solids into the Thames at all
points. These three sewers-high, middle, and
low level- unite at Abbey Mills, n ear Stratford,
and thence run to Barking Creek, fourteen
miles below London Bridge. Two large sewers
were also built on the south side of the river,
delivering at Crossness. Subsequently purification works were established at the two discharge stations. Independently, Mr. Hawksley
carried out many works, including those at Birmingham, Worcester, Hertford, Windsor, Whitehaven, and Aylesbury. Except for small communities, he preferred purification by chemical
process rather than the adoption of sewage farms,
as the latter require t o be so large that the production becomes too great to be conveniently
disposed of '!it h profitable. results. \Vhile . admitting that 1n the defrecating process a variety
of agents may be used, such as alum, blood, and
clay, as at Aylesbury, his experience led him to the
belief that the best process was a moderate dose of
finely comminuted lime used to pr~duce a first pr~
cipitate, followed by a small quantity of crude acid
sulphate of alumina to produce a second precipitate,
fix any remaining ammonia, and form a mordant
with the r esidue, if any, of colouring matter.
This is the process he carried out at Windsor, and
it complied with the stringent requirements of the
River Thames Conservancy. For n early twenty
years Mr. H a'Y'ksley was one of .the statutory
arbitrators appointed by Act of Parliament to deal
with t he South Staffordshire mines drainage, and
it was chiefly on his advice and suggestion that
very successf~l and extensive p~mping plant was
erected in various par ts of t h e district.
Many gas works wer e al~o constructed by him, .in
addition t o t hose at N ottmgham, the number Including those at Derby, Sunderland, Cambridge,
L owestoft and Bombay. This latter suggests the
fact that his experience and ability wer e laid under
contribution by various foreign Govern ments. He
was consulted about the Vienna water supply, and
his services were acknowledged by the conferr ing of
the order of Commander of the Order of !rancis
J oseph of Austria. The Emperor of Braz~, '":ho
was elected an honorary member of the Instituho~
of Civil Engineers while Mr. Hawksley w~s President, sought his counsel on sever~! que.stwns, and
acknowledged his merit by creatmg him a Commander of the R ose. The construction of the
water works at Stockholm, the capital of Sweden,
and oth er ser vices, brought to him the Knighthood

of the Order of the Polar Star, while still another

noble decoration came from the Danish King in
recognition of his efforts in connection with the
Altona and other water supplies. I t may incidentally b e ment ioned, too, that with the honours he
shared the risks, for during the revolution in 1863
he was engaged on works at Warsaw on behalf of
the Government . B eing guarded by gendarmes, he
was singled out as a suitable object of attack on
several occasions, and had some narrow escapes
from the hands of the revolutionists.
The subject of our memoir shared the h onours of
the profession. He was one of t he oldest members
of the Institution of Civil Enginers, having joined
in April, 1840. Although h e never read any papers,
he took a deep interest in its affairs, and occasionally contributed of his great experience to the
discussions. He was elected member of Council in
1853, a vice-president in 1863, and eight years
later occupied the presidential chair, being elected
for two successive sessions, an unusual h onour.
The Franco-German War was then absorbing
attention, and opportunity was taken in t he
president ial address to emphasise our dependence
for food supplies on countries over the sea, and the
consequent need of a thoroughly efficient Navy.
During his regime, too, he established the series of
conversaziones at South Kensington, t o which ladies
were admitted, but these have not been continued
regularly in recent years, although very popular.
While President he t ook great interest in students,
counselling them, while not attempting too
much, to continue their study of mathematics
and applied science, F rench and German,
and par ticularly to take every opport unity
of acquiring knowledge of geology and chemistry,
and of practical work. He personally conducted
t hem over the Leicester Water Works. He was
President of the Institution of Mechanical E ngineers in 18'76-7, the year in which the Institution exchanged its provincial for a metropolitan habitat,
opening its offices in Victoria-street, Westminster.
In the presidential address Mr. Hawksley again
entered upon the question of defence, and of
the superior advantages of cruisers against battleships, while he offered uncompromising views
on the relation of capital and labour. Indeed,
in this, as in the presidential address to the
H ealth Department of the Social Science Association in the same year, and to the Gas Instit ute, of
which he was first President, in 1878, there is a
characteristic hon esty in the free, lucid, and decided expression of opinion. As Sir Frederick Bramwell on one occasion p ointed out, all
documents emanating from him were of a highly
suggestive and argumentative character.
Mr.
Hawksley belonged to many other technical associations, and in 1878 was elected to the Royal Society.
His long experience and clear j udgment were
frequently requisitioned as an arbiter and as a witness before Parliamentary Committees and Committees on Private Bills, and his figure was a
familiar presence in the precincts of Parliament.
H ere hifl retentive memory, his grasp of detail, and
his quick, keen perception of every point of a case
made him a satisfactory witness from t he point of
view of the committee, alt hough a troublesome
witness for a cross-examining counsel. Appreciation of these qualities partly explains t he co-operation of the members of the Parliamentary Bar with
Mr. Hawksley's conjreres in t he profession in the
presentation of his por trait by Herkomer, t o mark
the completion of his eight iet h year. The estimate
then made by the Attorney-General of the day is still
more appropriate with the lapse of years. Those
eighty years, he said, brought refined experience,
matured judgment, cultured discretion, and a gr eat
store of knowledge. Mr. Hawksley's brethren in
the profession are proud of him and of his labours,
and appreciate the example set to those wh o
may come after him, of energy, integrity, and
unswerving determination. Those outside the
profession recognise that , in Mr. Hawksley,
public bodies, great undertakings and the millions
benefited thereby, found a most sk illed adviser,
a most faithful servant, and a pioneer in engineering whose name will wor thily be remembered among
those of the great men who have preceded him. In
his private life Mr. Hawksley frequently extended
the helping hand to those in need, whilst many a
struggling young engineer of ability found in him
a wise counseller and friend . Mr. Hawksley's
favourite motto was ''Persevere," and he certainly
exemplified the motto in his long and useful
career. Moreover, he had t he happy art of

infusing others with indomitable perseverance and

pluck.
The interment took place at the W oking N ecropolis on Wednesday, the two sons, Mr. Charles
and Mr. Arthur, and the daughter of the deceased,
with their wives and family, being supported by a
large company of personal fri ends and professional
colleagues. Amongst the chief mourners, besid es
the family and servants of the deceased, were Dr.
William Anderson, President, and Mr. Bache,
Secretary, of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers, and Mr. Turner, Assistant Secretary of the
Institution of Civil Engineers. The President
and Secretary of this Institution, as also , ir
Frederick Bramwell, were prevented from attending by indisposition. Notwithstanding that it was
the desire of t he deceased t hat t he funeral should
be private, and that invitations were only issued to
t he family, executors, his private secretary, and
chief draughtsman, a large company gathered to pay
the last tribute, including representatives from a
large number of companies and corporate bodies
who, while seeking the professional ad vice of Mr.
Hawksley, had learn ed to esteem his worth. The
service was conducted by the Dean of St. P aul's,
who for sixty years was a personal friend of Mr.
Hawksley.

MACHINE TOOLS AT THE COLUMBIAN

EXPOSITION.
THE Niles Tool Works Company, Hamilton, Ohio,
havQ a very fine and r epresentative exhibit in the
Machinery Hall at .J ackson Park, and one that has
attracted a good deal of attention. Their planer
is a tool of much larger dimensions than is usually
found at an Exposition.
12-Ft. }Jlaning Machine.- This machine, of which
illustrations are given on pages 392 and 397, planes
work 12ft. high by 12ft. wide by 30 ft. long ; it has
two heads on the cross-rail, and two side heads.
The whole of the driving is done by spur gearing,
though in their smaller machines a special form of
tangent gearing is used. The table moves at a
cutting speed of 19 ft. per minute, and on the
r eturn stroke at 50ft. per minute; it is a large
single casting, and weighs 35 tons ; for r bucking work on it a number of oblong square-sided
holes are provided, n o continuous ~lots or round
holes being used in these machines. The V 's are
open angle, and have a wide bearing surface; lubrication is thoroughly accomplished by means of
brass rollers revolving in oil pockets, t hese r ollers
having groo"es acr oss thE\ir face which act as
buckets for lifting the oil from th e reser voir, not
depending on capillary attraction alone, as in most
devices of this kind. The bed is very heavy, and
thoroughly braced with box girders th roughout.
The housings are of box section, doublewelded, of
great strength and depth, and securely keyed and
bolted to the bed ; the vertical working edges are
made squar e, to get strength and wearing surface ; t hey are tied together at the top with a
massive top rail, upon which is mounted the
gear for raising and lowering the cross rail, a
separate countershaft being used for this
purpose. The cross rail is raised and lowered by
power, is very deep in the centre from the front to
the back, and has a wide square working face. The
cross rail is extended to t he left, so that t he lefthand head can be run entirely out of the way,
giving t h e other head free movement t he entire
width between the housings. The two heads on t he
cross rail are counterweighted for easy hand movement, can be swung at any angle, and have ind ependent vertical, horizontal, or angular feed by
hand or power, motion being communicated to
t hem through rods for vertical and angular movement, or a screw for horizontal, making four
r ods within t he cross rail, each being provided
with a ratchet pinion at both ends, which
r egulates t he degree of feed. A fifth horizontal
r od in the cross rail operates a tool-lifting device, which lifts the tools at every return
stroke of the table ; it gives a positive motion,
and operates without cords or weights. A rapid
horizontal hand movement of the heads for adjustment is provided by means of rack and ratchet.
The side heads are counterweighted, and raised,
lowered, and fed vertically, horizontally, and angularly by power, and t hey can be dropped below the
surface of the table when not in use, if found necessary. The various motions of the tools on each
head are made through a vertical feathered shaft
and screw, the lower ends and screws having

E N G I N E E R I N G.
ra.tchet and pinion for regulating the feed. ~he
machine is provided with an out-bra_cket or housing
for work that will not pass the ~a.In bod_y of the
machine. The bracket has adJustment 1n every
direction, the limits being 6 ft. paral~el to planer,
6ft movement to head, and 4ft. honzontal moveme~t to column. The head is counterweighted in
the usual way, all feeds ~~ing by power. ~hrough
out the machine all dnving shaft s run ID brass
bearings, and the surface~ are large. The fe?ds are
positive and operated 1n a very short distance
travel of the table; they take no power. at all except when feeding . . T_h e belts ~re shifted by a
patented device, cons1stmg of a. circular ra.?k and
cam path which moves but one belt a.t a time, so
that the table can be stopped or started instantly.
The machine complete weighs 270,000 lb. Two
have recently been built, one of them being in the
General Electric Company's 'Vorks, Lynn, Massachusetts.
6-Ft. Boring and Tun,~i~tg lliill.-Th ~s type of
' 'horizontal turning lathe IS very extensively used

other. The tool-holders are steel forgings, arranged

to hold the tools in any position. The question
of balancing the bars is a very important one. In
this case the device used is a. simple one, but very
effective. A single chain is attached at one end t o
an arm rigidly secured t o the rail ; a similar arm on
the other end of the rail carries a pulley, over which
the weighted end of the chain falls. There is a
sheave on the face of each tool-bar, and each saddle
carries two sheaves straddling its bar, and the
chain is looped over the single sheave and under
the tool-bar sheave. This simple and perfect
arrangement has the following advantages : The
counterweight requires to be only half as heavy as
the parts to be balanced. The counterbalancing
is perfect, however, for one or both of the tool
bars may be set over for angular work. As the
saddles are moved along the rail they have no effect
upon the weight, the sheave simply tnoving along
the chain. When the " swing" is unbolted, so
that it may be set over at an angle, the counterweight ha-s no t endency to pull it round. There

.Pig..Z.

in the United States in all large engineering works.

I t is found that heavy pieces can be set on it more
readily than on any other form of machine, and
that big cuts and a high rate of cutting can be
attained. English engineers will do well to give
this machine a careful study, and to use it much
more than they do at present. The ma.chine on
exhibition will swing 73 in. in diameter, and take
in under the tool-holders, when the rail is raised to
the top 36 in., the boring bar having 24 in. traverse. The cone has six steps for a 4-in. belt, and
a. heavy back gear is provided. The range of
feed is from ~~ in. to -f6 in. per revolution.
The housings are of a heavy box sec Lion, securely
fastened to the b~d with bolts and keys. The table
is driven by an accurately-cut internal spur gear on
the table, the power being transmitted from the
cone pulley through a pair of heavy cut bevel gears
to a steel pinion driving the internal spur on the
ta_ble ; this construction insuring steady running,
w1thout "chatter," and free from any lifting
tendency . The spindle is of great length, with
long b~a.rings, and it rests below on a steel step ;
the a~J ustment for taking up wear is arranged so
that . 1t keeps the spindle central. An annular
b~anog under the outer edge of the table is provided, so that when heavy pieces are to be
worked, the spindle step is relieved, and the
ta~le allo'\\~ed to rest on the outer bearing. Thus
adJ~sted , It works with great steadiness.
The
bormg bars are octagon in section, accurately
fitted to their bearings ; one bar is brought exactly
ce.ntral w.it~ the spindle. These bars are very
at1ff and rtgid, and also convenient to handle. They
may be set over at any angle, and are quickly
handled by means of worm and worm wheel, and
may be fed in any direction independently of each

397
riaht or left hand threads. The lead screw is
pl~ced well up under the shear of the be~, and
r.he nut so arranged as t o bring the str~un on
the carriage ae direct as p ossible. rr:he ta1l stock
is held down by four bolts, and 18 also provided with a strong pawl engaging with a rac_k
cast in the bed. Thus a positive resistance IS
offer ed, preventing all danger of slippi~g. The
upper side of the tail stock is also held Independently by four bolts, thus allowing it t o be set over
for taper work, without unclamping from the bed.
The lathe is provided with heavy steady and follower rests, the former having an opening to take
in large shafts. The gearing is in all cases accurately cut from the solid, and all working surfaces
carefully scraped, the general finish being of a high
class.
T 11 rret Lathes. A screw machine exhibited
is built more after the type of an engine lathe
than those previously described ; its capacity
is for screws from ! in. to 1-~ in. in diameter ;
the dies will work up to 2 in., and with the
leaders, threads can be cut up to t he full size of
bar the machine will take. The spindle is 4! in. in
diameter, with a front bearing 6! in. long, and has
a hole 2}g- in. in diameter through it. The cone
ranges from 14 in. to 7 in. in diameter, and has
four steps for a 3~-in. belt. Both the cone and face
gear are loose on the spindle, and are driven, the
one by a friction, and the other by a positive clutch,
connected t o a sliding hub working on a feather on
the spindle ; tha friction obviates the shock incident
to starting the spindle at a high velocity, the motion
being gradual, whila the positive clutch on the face
gear insures steadiness of motion under heavy strain.
'he turret is made to revolve and lock automatically. The p oint at which the r evolution of the
turret takes place is adjustable, and is indicated by a
gauge at the front of the turret slide. The carriage
has a power feed operated from the back feed shaft,
independent of the motion obtained by the leaders.
An oil pump is fixed to the side of the machine,
and is provided with a safety valve whereby all
excess of oil is returned to t he tank, and allows the
pump to continue working when the drip cocks at
the tools are closed .
H 01izontal B oring, D1illing, and M illing
Mach ine.-This machine will bore or drill holes, or
mill off any surface in a space 9 ft . or m ore in
length by 6 ft. in width. The machine consists of
a heavy column 10 ft. 6 in. high, mounted on a bedplate of any length to suit. r equirements. The
column is moved along the bedplate by power,
oper ating through worm gear and rack. The
column is 31 in. wide on the face, and is fitted with
a heavy saddle 40 in. square, carrying the spindle.
The saddle has a vertical traverse on the column of
6ft., and is raised and lowered by a heavy screw.
It is balanced by a counterweight hung in the column.
The boring and milling spindle is hammered steel,
4! in. in diameter ; it slides in a heavy revolving
sleeve, and has a traverse of 4 ft. It revolves in
either direction, right or left h and, r eversing by
lever conveniently located, and has eight power
feeds, ranging from 2~ in. to i in. p er revolution of
spindle. It is also ptovided with hand feed and
quick r eturn. The milling feeds are six in number,
ranging from -(-2 in. to 1.06 in. per revolution of
spindle. These feeds are applied only to the
column and saddle, and are operated by p ower. Any
of these feeds for the quick motion may be utilised
to set a drill, b oring bar, or milling cutter to work
anywhere on the surface which t he machine will
reach. At one end of the bedplate are placed the
driving gear, milling feed, and quick-traversing
mechanism for the column. The quick-power traverse for the column has a speed of 5 ft. per
minute. The driving con e has six steps for a 4-in.
belt, and is strong1y back-geared, giving twelve
changes of speed, ranging from 2 to 200 revolutions
per minute, a.nd has ample power for boring up to
24 in. diameter. A platen is placed in front of
the column, convenient to the spindle, for the
operator to stand on, and all movements of the
spindle, saddle, and column may be started, stopped,
and reversed by levers conveniently arranged on
and travelling with the saddle, within easy reach
of the operator while he watches the work.

are no overhead arrangements to interfere or

be interfered wi~, by belts or cranes. The feeds
are operated by a friction disc, and have a range
from -l1 in. to / ,; in., and may be instantly varied
to any degree within its range. At the end of ~he
rail a pair of gears are fixed, by means of wh1Ch
the speed can be varied 100 per cent. without shifting the friction device. The feeds are
independent, and the saddles or bars can be fed in
the same or opposite directions at one time. These
mills are evidently the result of close study, and
the design and workmanship are all that can be
desired.
63-In. Hea vy Fo,rge Lathe.- This lathe iR of
great weight and power, specially designed for
use in forges for rough turning or finishing heavy
shafts, rolls, cranks, &c. ; also for machine shop
use for extra duty or heavy steel castings. It will
swing 63 in. over the ways and 47! in. over the
carriage ; the bed is 30 ft. loNg, and it will turn
20 ft. between centres. The cone is mounted on
an independent steel spindle, with a steel pinion
gearing into an internal gear on the back of the
face-plate. It has five steps for a 4!-in. belt., and
has two sets of back gear, giving fifteen changes of
speed. The main spindle is 10 in. in diameter at
the front end, with a bearing 15 in. long ; the faceplate is driven on and bolted fast to it. The carriage
is 63 in. long, and is of massive construction ; it is
accurately fitted to tbe bed its entire length, and
gibbed both front and back. The rest has compound movement, with longitudinal, cross, and
angular power feeds.
The feed mechanism is THE IRON AND STEEL INSTITUTE.
rigidly supported in the apron, to enable it to
THE autumn meeting of the Iron and Steel Instiwithstand severe duty ; the reversal is accomplished tute commenced at Darlington this week, members
by strong t u mbier gearing in the head, so that no assembling in the hall of the Mechanics' Institute,
change in the stud gear is n eeded in cutting either under the leadership of their President, Mr. E.

E N G I N E E R I N G.
'Vindsor Richards, on the morning of Tuesday last,
the 26th inst. They were welcomed by Mr. David
Dale in a short speech, to which the President replied in suitable terms.
The ironmasters of the north-east coast district
claim the Iron and Steel Institute a'3 their own
child, pointing out that it was at a meeting of the
North of England Iron Trade Association, held in
Newcastle in 1868, that the proposal to form the
Iron and Steel Institute first took form in the shape
of a paper read by the late Mr. John J ones. How
the Iron and Steel In~titute was formed, with t he
Duke of Devonshire as first President, is a wellknown tale, but during the twenty-five years that
have since elapsed, only three meetings have been
held in the district, namely, two in Middlesbrough
(1869 and 1883), and one inNewcastle in 1877. The
present meeting is thus the first held in Darlington,
but, if we may judge by the cordial welcome g iven
to members by the reception committee and others,
it has been from no lack of good will that the visit
has been so long deferred.
On the members assembling, it was at once
seen that the meeting was a s uccess in point
of number3.
Over 400 members had signified
their intention of being present, and in spite of bad
weather, together with the perhaps more depressing influence of the colliers' strike, there must have
been fully that number present, as the large hall
of the Mechanics' Institute was quite full ; in fact,
we believe the gathering was the largest on record.
The list of papen, which was given in our
announcement of last week, was a full one for a
country meeting, there being eleven in all. At
first it had been feared that there would be a dearth
of contributions, but the secretary had worked so
successfully that that danger to the success of the
meeting had been quite overcome. We think Mr.
Brough's experience is n ot singular. When a
meeting of a scientific society is announced, contributors are very apt to hold back until the
authorities very naturally become alarmed. We
think such alarm is entirely without foundation,
for there is sufficient material in the applied science
of the country, as represented by industrial
undertakings, to keep all the important technical
societies in full swing ; and, furthermore, there are
sufficient competent men ready and indeed anxious
to bring suitable matters forward. Even in the
present year, when the Congress at Chicago has
swallowed papers like a cormorant, there has been
n o lack.
The question has a wider bearing than would
at first glance appear. We suppose no one
doubts that the meetings of these scientific societies
would gain immensely in value if the papers
could be printed and distributed beforehand.
The high order of the discussions at the Institution of Civil Engineers is a standing proof of this,
as also is the constantly growing importance of the
discussions of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers for Mr. Bache is no less assiduous in
his sphere than that prince of secretaries, Mr.
Forrest. It would be well if councils would take
heart of grace and insist on all con:tributions, with
illustrations, which often are the p1th of the paper,
being in the hands of their re~pective secretarie~ a
sufficient time before the meetmg to enable cop1es
to b e distributed a we~k or so before the meeting
to all likely to add to the value of the discussion.
The gain to engineering science- using the term in
its widest sense- would be enormous. To take
one point: At present a fallacy may pass undetected, especially if the su~j ect be a:t a~l
abstruse and that fallacy rece1 ve the tm1ntmat1tr ~f the society, so far as having passed
unquestioned at a meeting where acknowledged
authorities were present.
If, however, the
paper had been .in the hands of. members to be
read at leisure 1n the study-w1th references at
hand, or even the possibility 0f making an experiment-then the error would ha\e been exposed.
The impossibility of following a difficult pape~ as
read at a meeting- with perhaps a fidgety neighbour on one side and a talkative one on the other
- must be plain to all. .
.
.
Apologising for this d1gress~on, we w1ll at o~ce
proceed to deal with the bus1ness of the ~eetmg
now under notice. The first paper o~ the hst was
a contribution by Mr. Paul J{upelwteser, on the
manufacture of

opened by Mr. Snelu~, who spoke as to the advantages that followed the use of the system described
by the author, and r eferred to the fact that those
members who had attended the Vienna meeting had
seen the process at work. At vVitkowitz the pig
iron from the blast furnace is run into a ladle and
transferred to a Bessemer converter. It contains
only a small quantity of silicon, 0.8 to 1.2 percent.,
and small charges of about 4 tons are blown. The
oxidation in the acid converter is only continued
until the pig iron is desiliconised, which takes place
in five or six minutes, so that the product lies
somewhere between white iron and very hard steel.
The slag from the converter contains all the silicon,
a large proportion of manganese, but no phosphorus. The desiliconised product is placed in an
open-hearth furnace, and about 40 per cent. of cold
pig iron, with about 60 per cent. of melted pig iron,
are added with each charge. The completely desiliconised iron does not attack t he basic lining of
the furnace, and a smaller proportion of lime suffices
to keep the slag in the furnace basic. This was
in brief th e author's description of the process, and
he claimed that by it the time required for working
was considerably diminished, the amount of iron
taken up by the slag was less, whilst the expenditure of fuel and cost of wages were much smaller,
owing to rapidity of working. The data given in
the paper showed that the consumption of coal,
lime, and ore is so low as to r educe the cost of
conversion about 10s. per ton. Mr. Snelus had
been so struck with the success of the system that he
had tried it in Cumberland ; but, for certain reasons,
the experiment had not been carried very far. The
system might seem complicated, but it was really
cheap, as by it the action was very rapid, and the
lining of the Siemens furnace was saved in the
working. This combined process was, therefore,
economical, and was applicable to iron requiring
either basic or acid treatment, for it could be used
with great advantage with pig too high in phosphorus for the acid treatment, and too low in phosphorus for basic treatment.
Mr. J ames Riley said he was sorry he could n ot
agree with the last speaker in his views upon the
process described by the author. Nothing was said
in the paper about the loss which was the most
important, namely, the waste that took place in
the process. It was well known that this loss was
the most important item ; it was of far more consequence than the cost of labour. The author
had said that the blast furnaces could n ot always
keep up the supply of molten iron, so that solid pig
had to be used, and h e appeared to regret this fact.
The speaker, however, was of opinion that it was a
fortunate thing, for the loss would have been
greater had all fluid iron been used from the converter. In taking the figures from the paper, it
would be found that 91 to 92 per cent. was the
yield in ingots, but n o steel maker would be content
with this ; but the percentage of loss in working
was not mentioned, and that vitiated the whole of
the conclusions to be drawn from the paper. The
author had said that the fact that during the last
ten years the conversion in the open-hearth process
has, in spite of its greater cost, become rapidly
adopted, was to be explained by the circumstance that
few countries were in the fortunate position occupied
by England of being able to obtain by water carriage large quantities of pure ore at cheap rates ;
and also that open-hearth steel plants could be
started with smaller plant, and consequently less
expenditure of capital ; whereas the manufacture
of steel in the Bessemer or basic Bessemer process
involved the employment from the beginning of expensive plant, and required a large output to enable it
be carried on econ omically. This was very true, but
Mr. Riley wanted to know whether this expensive plant, in the author's process, was worked continuously or intermittently. The latter might b e
assumed, and how then, he would ask, could the working be economical when this expensive plant had
simply to be used as a feeder to the open-hearth
furnace ? In America, where trials had been made,
the conclusions arrived at were directly opposed to
those of Mr. Kupelwieser.
Mr. Whitwell remarked there was no need to say
that anything which came from Mr. PaulKupelweiser
would receive credence from the members of the
Institute, so that when the author said there was a
saving of 10s. per ton, the statement was known to
be a fact. He had seen tho process in operation at
\Vitkowitz, and he was sure the figure given was
BA I C STEEL AT WITKOWITZ.
This paper we shall print shortly i? full, a~d we the result of practice. \Vhen he was there he had
may at once proceed to the dis0uss10n. Th1s was gone into the whole of the figures very fully. This

was some time before, and the result then was a

saving of within a halfpenny of 10s., and he had no
doubt during the time that had elapsed the even
10s. had been reached. Re agreed that to work
the system profitably a satisfactory arrangement of
furnac es was required, and that Mr. Kupelwieser
had, the converters being quite near. It was
worthy of note that in these works the first successful basic plates made on the Continent were produced, and the same form of converter was still
employed. An advantage that might not have
sufficient weight given to H, was that the furnace
would work more quickly with fluid iron, and if
only one works adopted this method it was because
at other works the furnaces were not convenient.
He could only say that the method described
seemed to answer its purpose admirably when
he was there. He was sure that the Institute
would express its sense of gratitude to Mr. Kupelwieser for the papet he had been at some trouble
to prepare. He had now given up his position
at \Vitkowitz and retired into private life, so that
he had no other inducement than desire to spread
knowledge, to undertake the labour of preparing
the paper .
Mr. Jeremiah Head was the next speaker. He
pointed out that the author had said the pig iron
obtainable in Witkowitz contained too much phosphorus for use in the ordinary Bessemer process,
while it did not contain sufficient phosphorus for
the basic process. The problem the author had
set him was, therefore, to convert into steel or
ingot iron of good quality a pig iron containing too
much phosphorus for the Bessemer process and too
little for the basic Bessemer process, without the
use of scrap, which was not available. Mr. Head
would ask if the pig iron the author used was not
made from Swedish ore. The supplies from Spain
and other countries were a diminishing supply,
whilst Sweden and Norway contained large quantities of ore, mostly magnetic. If, therefore, the
ore used by the author was magnetic, the almost
unlimited Swedish and Norwegian deposits would
be available, and as the shores of those countries
were so readily accessible to those of England, the
advantage would be greatly with us.
Professor Roberts-Austen said that when he saw
the process there was much trouble with the slag
in the Bessemer converter. He understood now
that had been overcome, a fact which he was very
glad to learn.
Mr. Saniter said that the charging of the molten
iron into the steel furnace was the great point of
interest in the paper. The author said that direct
metal could be used successfully, and without
damage to the lining of the furnace. That should
be remembered, and due weight. given to it for tho
credit of the process. If molten metal could be
used direct a great step had been made, and it
might come to be used without the intervention of
the converter.
Mr. B. Da wson confirmed the last speaker as to
the value of using direct metal.
Mr. Windsor Richards said that many members
had seen the process for themselves, and it appeared
to be successful; alth ough he agreed that there
would be some waste. It was surprising, however,
how little time was g:tined by the use of molten
metal. H e had tried experiments in this direction,
and was astonished how little advantage there was
in this direction.
Sir Lowthian Bell was understood to say in
r efer ence to Mr. Bead's remarks that the ore of
Norway and Sweden was n ot of great commercial
value, as it was difticult to work.
\V.ASTE HEAT I N Si\LELTUiG ORES.

A paper by Sir Lowthian Bell entitled " On the

\Vaste of Fuel, Past, Present, and Future, in
Smelting Ores of Iron, " was next dealt with.
This was a long paper, which, Sir Lowthian
said, he had prepared at the request of the council
when it was thought t hat the supply of papers
would be short. F or that reason it was far
longer than it otherwise would have been, so that
he proposed reading it in abstract to save time.
Time is not always saved by authors making
extempore abstracts of their papers. Very few
authors worth listening to are not something
of enthusiasts in their suhj ects, and certainly Sir
Lowthian Bell is an enthusiast in t he matter of
blast furnn.ce temperatures. The only way to read
papers in abstract "to save time," is for the abstract
to be previously made and for the secretary to
read it.

399

E N G I N E E R I N G.
However that may be, Sir L? wt~ian Bell gave a
most interesting address on hts title matter as a
text- a text, however, which he did no~ a~ ways
adhere to absolutely. We regr~t t he hm1ts of
space do not perfD:it us follo~mg the author
into all his suggestive explanations. It wo~ld,
however be q ui te beyond our resources to do JUStice to the matter in this repor t of the meetmg,
and we can only refer our reader s to the full. paper
which we shall publish in e.rtenso in an early 1ssue.
I RoN AND STEEL AT TnE CHICAGO ExHIBITION.
The paper of Mr. H. B.auerman o.n .t~e iron and
steel exhibits at the Chtcago Exhi~ttwn 'Y'as ~he
next item in t.he programme, and thts was hkewtse
read in abstract. The paper itself, as befitted the
subject, was one of considerable bulk, ~ut the
author gave an admir~ble . abst~a?t, w h1eh . was
really an abstract, conc1s~, ln te~hgtb1 e, and interesting, in which .the chtef pot.n ts 'Yere touched
upon with just the1r due value gtven in accord~n~e
with the time allotted. !vir. Bauerman satd 1t
might be complained that his paper lacked. system,
but his excuse for that was that the subJect was
incapable of systematic treatment, as th.er.e was n o
system in the arrangement of t he exh1b1ts. !he
most strikinO' thina
was the fewness of Amencan
0
exhibits but no doubt a reason for this was to be
found id the badness of the iron and steel t rade in
America., so that manufacturers had not heart
to take t he trouble or to go to the exp.ense
of exhibiting. There were, however, exceptwns,
and a most striking one was the Bethlehem
Iron Company. This was ~n the Transportation Building, with the exceptwn of two sam~les
of armour plates, which w~re .on the North Pier.
Th\3 most important contr1but1<:~n made by a.ny
sinO"le exhibitor was t hat of Fried. K rupp, whtch
wa: contained in a special building on t he Lake
Front and covered nearly 20,000 square feet of
floor ~pace. The total weight of articles was about
1600 tons and a catalogue of more than 200 pages
was requi~ed for t heir description. ~he Swedish
exhi bit consisting of a general collectwn, was also
of great interest. I t would give an i~ea of t~e magnitude of the Exhibition to state that 1t required a two
miles' walk to O'et to these three exhibits, so far were
t hey apart. I; the English section .t~e President's
firm had an admirably arranged exh1b1t.
Two points of interest referred to by the author
were a method of separating iron from solutions containina other metals, and an apparat us for preventina bl~wholes in mild steel ingots. The new method
otseparating iron ~r~m ~olu.tions cont~ining other
metals without prec1p1tat10n 1s shown In the German mining collection by Mr. J. W. Roth~, of the
chemical depart ment of t he R oyal Techn1eal Experimental IJ?-stitute at Berli!l, wh:o has successfully applied It to the analys1s of u on and steel,
instead of the basic acetate method generally used.
It depends upon the circumstance, fi~st observed
by the exhibitor, that ferric salts In a strong
hydrochloric acid solut~on may be extrac.t ed by
ether which has no act10n upon the chlondes of
other' metals. Ferric chloride in excess of hydrochloric acid and ether form an olive-green liquor
containina two molecules of hydrochloric acid
to one ; f ferric chloride, which is extremely
soluble in ether, and being of low density,
separates from the acid liquor, and may be completely separated by decantation in an appr opriate
vessel. In practice the operation is effected in an
apparatus formed of two pipettes of 200 cubic centimetres capacity, each with an admission tube and
stopcock above, and united by a. small bore tube
with a three way cock as delivery t ube below. The
mixed solution, which must be free from suspended
matters, free chlorine or nitric acid, is placed in
one limb of the apparatus, and the necessary
volume of ether in the other, and the mixture is
effected by means of the t hreeway cock, when the
ether rises t hrough the chloride, taking out the
iron to within a small t race, which can entirely be
removed by a repetition of the operation. The
chlorides of manganese, cobalt, nickel, chromium,
aluminium, and copper are perfectly insoluble in
ether, and t he double operation may be performed
in half an hour.
The invention for the prevention of blowholes
in mild steel ingots is an apparatus introduced
by Mr. J. L. Sebenius, of Nykroppa, by which the
metal is subjected, while still liquid, to the action
of centrifugal force, so as to prevent the escape of
g~s from the upper surface. The moulds are slung
by trunnions about one-third down to a four-armed

frame projecting from a central pillar, and, when

filled, are set in rapid rotation, whereby they fly
into a horizontal position, and a pressure of s~veral
hundred pounds per sq uare inch is developed 1n the
direction of their length . The method, the author
said, though still in the experimental sta~e, ~as
produced some very r emarkable r esults, JUdgmg
from the specimens exhibited, a metal which, under
ordinary conditions, would be largely honeycombed, giving a perfectly solid ingot when spun
on the machin e.
There was no discussion on Mr. Bauerman's
paper, t he President proposing the usual vote of
thanks.
T HE CLEVELAND MINING DISRICr.

The last paper read at Tnesday's meeting w.as a

c0ntribution by Mr. A. L. Steavenson, en~It~ed
"The Last Twenty Years in t he Cleveland Minmg
District. " This was a short paper, the scope of
which is sufficiently indicated by its title, and
which we shall publish in an early issue. It was
not followed by any discussion.
The meeting t hen adjourned until t he following
day, Wednesday last.
E XCURSION TO SPENNY~!OOR.

I n the afternoon an excursion, in which a large

number of members took part, was made to the
Tudhoe works of t he Weardale Steel and Iron
Company at Spennymoor, where the various operations gone t hrough in the production of mild steel,
from the tapping of t he blast furnaces to the rolling
of plates, were shown. These works are fully described in a paper upon them written by the general
manager, Mr. vV. H. H ollis. This paper we shall
publish in full shortly, so we need not further de~l
with the subject here, beyond stating that the tnp
was a complete success, in spite of the wet afternoon.
L UMPSEY MINES.
There was an alternative excursion to the
Lumpsey Mines, near Saltburn , of Messrs. Bell
Brothers.
We r eserve our further account of the meeting
until our next issue.

N 0 T E S.
LARGE SLIP IN FINLAND .

AN undertaking which will, no doubt, prove

of considerable importance for the shipbuilding
industry of Finland, is now approaching its completion-viz. , t he new slip at Nystad. F or the purpose of realising this plan a company was formed
some time ago, and both the town of N ystad and
t he Finnish Governmen t have cont ributed towards
it considerable sums. The town has further
let the company a suitable site free of rent for
fifty years, and t he company is free from taxes for
twenty-five years. Five buildings of some 70 ft.
length and 40ft. breadth have been completed,
and ar e intended for the engineering shops, stor es,
&c. The slip has been blasted out of the rock for
a distance of 300 ft. on shore, and in the sea it
reaches a length of 430 ft. The submarine work
has been commenced for a quay 330ft. long, with
15 ft . of water. The Nystad slip will, as far as depth
of water goes, be the largest in Scandinavia; its
aradien t is 1 in 15, and the hydraulic hauling appli~nces have a capacity sufficient for vessels of 2000
r egistered tons. The depth at rather more than
400 ft . from land is 29 ft . Allowing 6i ft. for the
slip bed, the carriage, &c., there will be quite 22 ft.
of water. The corresponding depth of the Finnboda
slip in Sweden is about 4 ft. less. For the building
of s maller vessels a shed 150 ft. long will be erected,
and two ships' berths of r espectively 230 ft. and
260 ft . length. The slip will be ready by June
next year. The company will try and arrange with
Swedish and Russian salvage companies to bring
vessels stranded or damaged on the Finnish coast
to N ystad, but contemplates itself building one or
more salvage steamers.

dols. ; 1887, 4833- estimated cost, 19,778,100 dols. ~

1888, 4958 - estimated cost, 20,360,800 dols. ~
1889 493 1 - estimated cost, 25,065,500 dols. ,
1890: 11,608-estimated cost, 47,322,100 dols. ;
1891, 11,805- estimated cost, 54,001,,800 dols. ;
and 1892 13 118 estimated cost, 63,463,400 do]s.
The reas~n ~hy t he figures acquired such a great
development in 1890 was that . the suburban
t owns of Hyde Park, Lake VIew, a!ld portions of J efferson and Cicero were Included
for the first time in t hat year.
The num~er
of new buildings projected in New York duri~g
the last seven years h.as not bee!~ so great
as in Chicago, but their larger estimated cost
shows that upon the whole, they were of a
higher and better type. This wi~l ~e seen .on an
examination of t he number of bUlldmgs proJected
year by year since 1886 inclusive: 1886, 40~7estimated cost, 58,479,653 dols. ; 1887, 4385-:estimated cost, 66,839,980 dols.; 1888, 3076-est~
mated cost, 47,142,478 dols.; 1889, 3621-eat~
mated cost, G8, 792,031 dols. ; 1890, 3507 -est~
mated cost, 74,676,373 dols. ; 1891, 2821-estlmated cost, 56,072,624 dols. ; and 1892, 2937estimated cost, 59,107,618 dols. As regards t h e
current year, it appears t hat the nUI~ber of ne.w
buildings projected in Chicago dunng t~e si.x
months ending June 30, 1893, was 4863, then estimated cost being 18,235,895 dols: The number of
buildings projected in Ne'! Yor~ 1n the first hal~ of
this year was 1552, their estimated cost being
43,007,813 dols. No doubt the cost of building3 in
New York is increased by t he greater d earn ess of
land. Whatever may be the relative future in
store for New York or Chicago, it is abundantly
clear that both cities are growing rapidly.
S COTCH RA.IL wAy RESULTS.

The t hree principal railways in Scotland have

now issued their reports for the half-year ending
with July, and they reftect the general condition
of the industries in the country. These three
lines-the Caledonian, North British, and Glasgow
and South-Western- have a gross revenue of close
upon 3. 8 millions sterling, a decrease when compared with the correspon ding period last year of
only 1! per cent. The Caledonian experiences a
h eavy decrease, due to t he restrictive policy of the
miners in the west of Scotland, for the mineral
t raffic has fallen off to the extent of about 5 per
cent., the mineral receipts bearing a relat ion of 28
per cent. to the total, and h ere the N orth British
suffer almost as much as the Caledonian, 13, OOOl.,
as against 19,000l. for the latter. The passenger
receipts, excepting in the case of the Caledonian,
show an incr ease, due to the fine weather
prevailing in t he spring and summer months.
The total is 1t millions, or 5565l. better than in
the same months in 1892, and this probably
is due to the coast traffic being greater. Of this,
however, ther e is no record, a sor e point with many
directors, for the belief obtains that the passenger
steamers run on t he Clyde do not pay, except on
extraordinary occasions. The facilities afforded
are undoubted, and the steamers may insure a
larger measure of traffic by the r ailways t o the
steamers' wharves to compensate for this loss, if
such there be. The decrease in mineral traffic
being greater than the slight increase in passenger
receipts, r esults in the gross total being less; but
happily it has been possible to reduce expenditure.
The saving is in t he coal bill, the companies having
purchased at low prices at the beginning of the
year ; otherwise the six months' working would
have been unsatisfactory, for the wages bill is
great er , al~hough economy has been effected in
stores, <.~C. The receipts p er train-mil e on the Caledonian were 40d. for passenger trains and 72.14d.
for goods t r ains, the latter bein g 1d. more than in
the corresponding period of 1892, while the North
British earn ed 40.16d. per passenger train-mile and
63. 11d. per goods train-mile, an increase of about
1d. and 2d. r espectively. The working expenses, as
we have indicated, were rat her less than usual, t he
ratio to gross r eceipts in the case of t he Caledonian
having been 49.86 per cent. against 51.12 per cent.;
and on the North British 48.39 per cent. against
50.21 p er cent. The net revenue is, therefore,
greater by reason only of the economy in fuel and
other charges. The t otal is 1,312,835l., the increase 55, 123l. , being equal to 4.2 p er cent.

NEw YoRK AND CHICAGO.

A certain rivalry prevails between these two
great cities, the Chicagoites contending boldly that
their marvellous centre is destined to be the commercial capital of the U nited States, while New
Yorkers r ely, no doubt, upon their long start.
Chicago has certainly g rown with extreme rapidity
THE C UNARD ST~AMF.R. (( L UCANIA."
during the last seven years, the number of new
The Cunard liner Lucania, in t he h omeward run
buildings projected in that period having been as of h er maiden trip to New York, as in the west
follows : 1886, 4654- estimated cost, 21,324,400 ward run , attain ed a most satisfactory result. The

400
time taken on the voyage was 5 days 17 hours
21 minutes. This is only second to the fastest
voyage of her sister ship the Campania a fortnight
ago, when the time taken was 5 days 14 hours
55 minutes. The Lucania's run home is only
6 minutes shorter than the first homeward passage of the Campania, which was a record
performance.
The latter vessel went on the
winter course, however, covering a much longer
distance than the Lucania, so that the mean speed
is greater--21.3 knots as compared with 20.4 knots
maintained by the Lucania in her 2801 miles' run.
But the newer vessel had to slow down her machinery for thirty.one hours owing to the fog on
the Newfoundland coast, and experienced strong
north-east winds and head seas for the remainder
of the voyage. These facts, which are demonstrated
by the increase in the day's run from 415 miles on
the third, the foggy, day to 514 miles on the fourth
day out, indicate that the vessel might, under normal
conditions, have easily broken even the Campania's
record and enabled Mr. Laing, the engineering
manager of Fairfield, who was on board, to claim the
credit of having with both ships beaten the record
in maiden voyages. As it is, there is every
likelihood of future record-breaking. On one of
the days of the run- the 20th inst. - the distance
covered was 514 miles. The day is not a complete twenty-four hours, as the vessel steams towards the sun, so that the mean of the day's run was
over 22 knots. The Campania., however, covered
517 miles in one day in her record passage early this
month ( vide page 342 ante). The daily runs of the
Lucania wer~ 480, 485, 415, 514, 473, and 434 knots.
As to the important question of vibration, the passengers are reported to have been high in their praise
of the steadiness and sea-going qualities of the
vessel, and the smooth working of the machinery.
It is, therefore, evident that the means taken to
obviate the vibration which developed in the Campania have had some effect. The changes made
may be briefly described. In the Campania there
is a well forward and aft, which separates the
promenade deck from the forecastle and the poop.
In the Lucania this well has been covered in, so
that the strong iron-plated promenade deck extends
right fore and aft, and must help to stiffen the
upper structure. In the interior . of the vessel
girders have been. thrown. athwartsh1p where c~n
venient, and part1cularly 1n the centre of the sh1p,
where the boiler compartments are situated. These
girders, again, are braced by diagonal stays. 'Tweendecks, too, extra columns or pillars have been introduced, so that the original strength of the vessel
haa been greatly augmented: That the vess.el was
originally very strongly. bu1lt was show~ 1n our
narrative of the operatwns of constructwn ; and
experience alone could show, in the case of a ve1sel
of such unusual proportions, how extraordinary
conditions could be met satisfactorily.
COi\IPULSORY INSURANCE OF LABOURERS IN SWEDEN.

The question of insurance of lab?urers has for

quite a series of years attracted cons1der~b~e attention in Sweden, where a Royal Comm1ss10n was
appointed in the year 1891 for the purpose ~f
investigating the matter, and the r~po:t of th1s
committee is no w completed. The pr1nc1ple of the
proposal contained in this report i~ ~ compuls?ry
insurance for the purpose of estabhshmg a penswn
for every able-bodied man or woman w.ho has completed the eighteenth year, and who 1s employed
by others for a. remuneration not exceeding 1800 kr.
(lOot.) per annum. If the la.bo~rer begin to
work for himself (or herself), or 1f he be .out
of employment, he n o lon~er, for the t1me
being, comes under the O_Peratwn of t he proposed
Act. He is not only reheved from, but he loses
his right to insurance, as the proposal does
not acknowledge voluntary payments o.f premiums. He does not, however, forfe1t the
right to the pension. which will el!s.ue from the
premiums already pa1d. The cond1t10ns for employment are, however, not very rigid, the fact. of
a person having been employed all th~ workmg
days of a week by the same mast~r suffiCing. The
weekly premium had to be pa.1d every pay-day
by the master who himself defrays half the
premium, the other bal~ b~ing deducted from the
labourer's wages.
Th1s 1nsures an annual pension of a fixed sum of 50 kr. (2l. 16s. ),. and a
increases proportionately
vary1ng sum , which
.
.
with the number of the weekly premlUms
paid; the pension becomes due when t~e
insured has reached his seventieth year, or, 1f

E N G I N E E R I N G.
he, before that age, is incapacitated without any
palpable negligence or intentional act on his part.
At the death of the insured his legitimate children
obtain each a yearly pension of 30 kr. (ll. 13s. 3d.)
until they have reached the fifteenth year, and the
insurance also comprises the wives of married
labourers, for whom no special premiums are
paid, unless they themselves are so employed
that insurance becomes compulsory. The widow of
a labourer is, consequently, not entitled to a pension because she becomes a widow. The condition
for obtaining this pension is a payment before the
sixtieth year of 260 weekly premiums, unless the
insured become incapacitated whilst in such employment that he is under the compulsory insurance. There are three classes, viz. : 1. Male
labourers earning 10 kr. (11 s. ld. ) or nwre a week.
2. Male labourers not earning 10 kr. a week. 3.
Female labourers and wives of male labourers.
The weekly premiums of these three classes are
respectively 50 ore (6~d.), 30 ore (4d.), and 20 ore
(25d. ), and the variable pension rises respectively 10, 5, and 2 ore a year for each paid premium. If premiums have been paid the minimum
time of five years, the annual pension will be respectively 76 kr. (4l. 4s. ), 63 kr. (3l. 10s. ), and
55 kr. (3l. ls. ) ; if the premiums have been the
maximum number of years, viz., 52 years (from the
18th to the 70th year), the pensions for the three
classes will be respectively 320 kr. (17l. 16s. ),
185 kr. (lOl. 6s.), and 104 kr. (5l. 16s.). The State
pays with the municipalities all the expenses of
administration, &c., and pays, at least for some
time to come, 2 ore p ension a year for each premium paid.
MISCELLANEA.
THE manufacture of smokeless powder will, it seems, be
commenced about simultaneously by a.t lea.st two companies in West Sweden. One of these concerns has
already received the Government's sanction of their
regulations.
The Russian Government has ordered four steamers for
the new Libau port from the firm of Henry S atres, at
Arle8. These steamers are to be 600 tons, with engines
of 300 horsepower, and their cost will be a.bout 60,000l.
It is confidently asserted that the Russ~an Governm~nt
intends placing large orders for vessels w1th French shipyards.
We have recei ved from Miss W est, of the Br0adwa.y Chambers, W es~minster, a sp0cimen of the .\Vest "
photo '{>rints. By tb1s process a copy can be t~ken m de.ad
black hnes on a. white ground. The paper used tsof supenor
quality, and for colouring purposes. is equal to dr~wing
paper. The prices of the new pnnts are only sltghtly
greater tha.n those for the old black line or blue print.
The Swedish Government has ordered a number of
repeater riftes from the . Mauser manufac:tory at Oberndorff in Wlirtemberg, m order to subJect them to a.
thor~ugh test. A quantity of smokeless powder has
been ordered from the Rhen ish-\ Vestpbalia.n Explosives
Company a.t Cologne, and the Swedish Goyernment
intends giving a considerable amount of attent10n to the
question of both powder and small arms.
The City of Derry is to be lighted b:f elec~ricity, the
work being undertaken by the corporatiOn. The system
used is the pressure continuous current system. Two
separate circuits are to be laid along each street, the
lamps being alternately .in one or the other. ~be generating plant consists of SIX dynamos, two of ~hiCh are to
be held in reserve. These dynamos are of the Siemens constant-current type, and are each capable of supplying sixty
2000 candle-power a.rc lamps each. The la~ps to be used
are of the Brockie-Pell type. Mr. Blake ts the consulting engineer to the corporation, and is responsible for the
plans adopted.
The traffic receipts for the week ending S.eptemb~r 17 on
33 of the principal linea of the . U mted Kmgdom
amounted to 1,442,096l., which, bavmg been e~rned on
18 388 miles gave an average of 78l. Ss. per mtle. For
th~ corresp~nding week in 1892 t~e receipts of . the same
lines amounted to 1,630,661l., w1th 18,199 mtles open,
gtving a.n avera~e of 89l.. 12s. Th~re was thus a d~crea.se
of 188,565l. in the rece1pts, an ~~crease of 189 m .the
mileage and a decrease of lll. 4s. m the weekly receipts
per mil.;_ The aggregate receipts for eleven weeks to date
amounted on the same 33 lines to 17,186,78~l., in c<?mpa.rison with 18,403,7 4ll. for the correspondmg penod
last year ; decrease, 1,216, 959l.
A new device for fastening doors. has been brought
under our notice, and seems to cont~m s~vera.l valuable
features. It is know.n as . the hghtnmg . bolt, and
consists of a slotted hnk hmged on t~e Jamb voeb,
which passes o,er a sta.ple of s,PeClal for~ secured to the door. When the door IS closed,. si m ply
slamming the link in place secures the door, as the hnk then
passes over the staple ~nd is automatically lock ed there
by a special catch. Thts bolt also serves to . r~pla.ce a
chain, as the staple is so a:r~anged tha.t the. hnk can be
held in three different posttlOns, correspo~qmg to th~ee
different widths of door opening. For ~dd~t1ona.l secunty
the link can be, if desi~ed, padlocked ID ~ts staple, .Provision being made for thlB purpose at two different pomts.

The followi ng condensed statistical statement of the

working of the London and North-Western Rail way for the
six months ended June 30, 1893, compiled by its American
representative, 1\Ir. C. A. Barattoni, may be of interest:
Mileage, 1890 ; capital paid up, 105,844,861l. Earnings :
Passengera, 1,751,492{.; freight, 1,943,945{. ; mineral,
11103,359l. ; live stock, 802,029~.; parcels, horses, carnages, dogs, &c., 382,006l.; matls, 93,990l.; rente:, &c.,
86,363l. ; dividends, 82,604t. ; balance brou~ht forward,
80, 672l. : total, 5, 606, 458l. Expenses : W orkmg expenses,
3,107,416l. ; interest on debenture stock, 525,4481. ; dividends, 4 percent. per annum on guaranteed and preference
stocks, and 5i per cent. per annum on consolidated stock,
1,808,739l. ; chief rents, leases, &c., 113,395l., balance
carried forward, 51,460l. ; total, 5,606,458l. Number of
p~ssengers carried during the six months 32,204,935l.
Number of tons of freight carried during the six months,
19,320, 511. Mileage of passenger trains, 10,410,787 miles.
Mileage of freight trains, 9,606,086 miles.
Owing to the recent financial troubles, many of the
American iron works and other industries have found it
n ecessary to reduce wages. Thus the clerical force of the
Illinois Steel Company in Chicago has been reduced over
half as compared with ordinary times. Salaries have
been cut from 10 to 40 per cent., taking effect from eptember 1. It is stated that President Jay C. :Morse
voluntarily reduced his own salary 50 per cent. )for
some time the only portions of the company 's plant in
cpera.tion have been the South Chicago works, running
on rails..z,_ three blast furnaces a t South Chicago, and part
of the .1::5a.y View mill at Milwaukee, running on splice
ba.rs and merchant bars. The extent of the depression
in the iron trade is perhaps better shown by an enumera
tion of the idle works, as follows: Two blast furnaces
and part of the rolling mills at Mil waukee ; two blast
furnaces and steel works with structural mill ab North
Chicago; four blast furnaces and steel works with billet
and rail mills at Bridgeport, in the city of Chicago; five
blast furnaces at South Chicago, and t hree blast furnaces,
steel works, billets and rod mills ab J oliet. From the
present outlook there is not only no prospect of starting
any part of the idle plant, but danger tha.t the works
still running may be obliged to suspend operations for
lack of business.
The British Consul-General at Bangkok in his last
report mentions that much progress was made with the
construction of the Bangkok-Kora.t Railroad during 1892.
G. Murray Ca.mpbell's tender to construct the line wa.s
accepted on December 12, 1891, and the first sod was cut
by the King of Siam on March 9 following. The line is
165 miles in length. It is to be equipped as a. first-class
line; gauge, 4 ft. 8! in. ; weight of rails 50 lb. per yard.
There are to be 183 bridges, with abutments and piers of
brick masonry, and superstructure of steeL They are
generally of small size, crossing the numerous canals of
the Mena.m Delta, the broadest measuring only 180ft.
The total tonnage of rails and fastenings required is
15,000 tons, and of this 11,553 tons were imported during
the year. Rails a.re being laid at three different parts of
the line. The sleepers, of which 30,000 have been delivered during the yearhare of an excellent hard wood,
found in abundance in t . e west of Siam. The labour for
the ea.rthworks is chiefly Chinese, and about 40 miles of
this work has been completed during the yea.r. The
number of Chinese employed is about 2000. The
majority seek the work voluntarily, a.nd a.re pa.1d by the
task. '!'he health of the coolies has been excellent.
Siamese, both men and women, are employed up country.
The contract time for completing the work is five years,
but it is expected that p ortions of the line will be opened
for traffic before the end of that date.
In a paper before the International Engineering Con
gress, Mining~ Engineers' Division, at Chicago recently,
Mr. W. J. Keep, of D etroit, takee the ground that
writers upon the evil effects of sulphur in cast iron, ha.ve
charged to this element more than properly belongs to it.
It is a matter of common belief among founders, that a.
small a.mount of sulphur in fuel will work great damage,
and that a. cracked casting or anything out of the ordinary way is to be laid to sulphurous fuel. In following
up his inquiry into the subj ect, Mr. Keep corresponded
with users of sulphurous iron ores, a.nd they answered,
without exception, that but a small percentage of sulphur
could be made to remain in carbomsed iron ; tha.b it was
difficult, if not impossible, to introduce sulphur into grey
cast iron, or into any carbonised iron. Mr. Keep made
a. number of tests, details of which are given in his paper,
showing that whether the results which have always been
ascribed to sulphur are produced by some other cause,
or directly by the sulphur in. the fuel, they are not ~ore
to be feared than any acCJdents of foundry ruonmg.
"They do not indicate that the iron has taken up sulphur
to a damaging extent, and the evil can be prevented, or
can be overcome next day by adding enough silicon iron
to replace the silicon tha.t has been driven out." One of
the tests consisted in melting 25 lb. of Swedish grey
charcoal pig iron containing 1. 249 sili~on and 0.187 .ma~
ganese, and feeding slowly 81b. of brimstone, keepmg 1t
a.s closely covered as possible. When the operation was
completed, there was. at the bott?m a.bou~ 5 lb.. of silverwhite iron covered with a. very r1Ch sulpbt~eof Iron. The
white iron showed 0.58 sulphur-conclusive proof that
a carbonised iron could not artificially be made rich alone
in sulphur.
PrG IN GEni\rANr.-The production of pig iron in

Ger-

many in the first eight months of this year amounted to

3,135,679 tons. 'fhe corresponding output in the corre
sponding period of 1892 amounted to 3, 191,188 tons.

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

CHUBB'S

SAFE.

CONSTRUCTED BY ~1ESSRS. CHUBB AND SON'. LOCK AND 'AFE CO., LTD., LONDON.

\VE illustrate above a large safe lately constructed similarly placed, though the coalfields covered by the

at the factory of 1\Iessrs. Chubb and Son's Lock and

Safe Company, Limited, Glengall-road, Old Kentroad. In its construction the safe shows that every
possible point of attack has been carefully considered
and guarded against.
The material used is almost entirely compound
armour plate, rolled by Messrs. Oammell and Co., of
Sheffield, each plate being of five thicknesses of hardened steel, varying in degrees of carbon, so as to
make a plate bard enough to resist any cutting tool,
and yet tough enough to resist fracture. The body of
the safe is of four such plates rhreted together in
pairs under hydraulic pressure, so as to produce two
bodies, one inside the other. These plates are bent at
the corners, thus reducing the jointing to a. minimum.
The rigidity of the ~tructure is increased by front and
back forged bands of five-ply armour angle; the inner
body is strengthened with internal angles.
The doors are of five hardened armour plates,
~olidly combined and hung on adjustable binge pins,
thus providing for any wear ; the doors are secured to
their frame by thirty-four Cbu bb's patent diagonal
bolts, which dovetail the doors to each other and to
the frame. The external handles working these bolts
are so constructed that the spindle holes do not go
direct through the door plates.
Each door has six locks, four of Chubb's patent key
locks and two combination keyless locks. These locks
can be used either jointly or separately.
The bolt mechanism is an arrangement of toothed
segments, throwing the bolts in a geometrical straight
line ancl moving their wei~ht (6 cwt.) with great ease.
This is a modification of the cycloidal parallel motion
of the text-books.
The locks and boltwork are mounted on a. diaphragm,
so that any explosi\~e set off on the outside of the
doors would not injure the internal work. The safe
measures 6 ft. 2,l in. high by 6 ft. 10! in. wide by
3ft. 3~ in. deep, and the weight is about 9 tons.

INDUSTRIAL NOTES.
coal strike has drifted into a condition of utter
hopelessness and helplessness. The policy of "all or
none," propounded by the Miners' Federation, has
broken down, as was anticipated and foretold even
by their best friends. It was, indeed, inevitable.
Durham, Northumberland, and outh Wales were
averse t o the policy from the first, though a large
contingent in each of these districts desired to
throw in their lot with the federation districts. It
has been pointed out over and over again in "Indus
trial Notes" that the conditions were not the same in
all cases; in some instances they were altogether dissimilar. In South Wales, and in parts of Staffordshire, the men were actually under contract, being
ruled as to rates of wages by a sliding scale. Even in
the Cleveland district of Yorkshire the men were
THE

scale are not very important. In those cases the men

could not strike without running the risk of legal proceedings for breach of contract. In Durham, Northumberland, and t o some extent in Cumberland, reductions in wages bad been assented to by the men,
though strongly opposed by a minority in some cases.
ome of the federation leaders appear to have thought
that it was quite as easy to start a strike for an advance
in wages, where reductions had taken place, as it wae to
resist a reduction where none had taken place, but
where notices of such had been given. The facts have
shown that they were wrong in their conclusions. It
was a trying time, no doubt, for all parties, for the
natural sympathies of the whole mining class were
with the federation in its struggle to stem the downward movement in wages. But the coalowners in the
northern counties seem to have determined not only
to resist an advance at the time, but rumours were
afloat to the effect that if the men went out on strike
the probabilities were that they would not be allowed
to return to work without a further reduction. This
hint, if so it might be called, influenced the men considerably. But the facts of the situation seem to
warrant the conclusion, inasmuch as the demand for
coal was not large, many pits were idle, and some of
those at work were on short time. There was an
evident shrinkage in the demand, and prices were
very low indeed.
The mistaken p olicy of the federti.tion leaders was
the more obvious t o all onlookers in their detennination to call out the whole of the men, whether or no
they had received the general notices of 25 per cent.
reduction in wages. Their action in this respect extended the area of the strike, increased the number of
men who were entitled to strike pay, and reduced the
resources of the federation, and of the unions composing it, in two ways: (1) by the increased number on the
funds, and (2) by cutting off supplies from men
in work, who might have continued at work without
any decrease in wages. If the men had continued at
work, and had levied themselves to the full extent
of the 25 per cent. attempted reduction, the men
who were out on strike could have been paid
liberally by the unions for doing the fighting. Of
course there is another side to this point of view. The
men working would have supplied the non-working
districts with coal to some extent, but not to the extent anticipated by the leaders. For example, Staffordshire has not been able to spare very much coal, for
the output has been required for the native industries.
~"rom Scotland, also, very little coal has come south,
from the same cause. Again, Durham has supplied some
coal to other districts, but not very largely in excess of
the usual output, considering all the circumstances.
But the fatal mistake is even more obviously shown in
the resolve to return to work in portions of the Midlands
and elsewhere. Hunger is a strong incentive to work,
and the men, finding that the funds were insufficient

401
to keep them out, have gone in to work in considerable
numbers. In the Forest of Dean the men have made
terms without the consent of the federation, a. course
of proceeding which has been condemned. But the
men were left without funds. The pay accorded to
them in the earlier days of the struggle was stopped.
The rift in the federation i~ widening by defections
more or less serious, for even the leaders are not quite
at one on matters of policy. The strike is drifting at
t he present moment, but at any momeut the end may
come, with or without a compromise.
The districts are at variance as to the policy of
returning to work, and the leaders appear not to be
at all agreed. The executive of the Yorkshire Miners'
Association, after six hours' deliberation, decided to
take a ballot as to whether the men should resume
work at the old rates of wages. The executive also
snggested that the federation should take a ballot of
the districts on the same lines. But even more
siguificant still was the action of the President, :M r.
Cowey, and the officials of the union, :Messrs. F irth
and Pa.rrott, all of whom, at a large meeting of 6000
men held at Barnsley, advocated the resumption of
work a t the old rates, wherever the men find it
possible. Thus in the stronghold of the federation the
chief leaders ha\~e taken a step which must inevitably
lead to the t ermination of the strike at no distant
date. The course here advocated is tantamount to a
condemnation of the twentieth rule of the federation,
upon which the mea relied, and which was urged by
the leaders as the only true basis of federation- " all
or none. "
In the Derbyshire districts the men have practically
taken the matter into their own hands. In spite of
the remonstrance of the leaders and officials, they
resumed wock at the Manners collieries, in the Erewash Valley, at Digby, and a.t other places. , 'even
firms in the Pelaall district agreed t o reopen the pits
on the old terms, subject to a fortnight's notice on
either side, in case a reduction is generally agreed to
by the federation. In the 'Vhitehaven district the
men resumed work forthwith on terms mutually
agreed upon. At the large Eckington collieries the
union men agreed to load the trucks, so that the large
stocks accumulated at those pits could be utilised. At
the large district in which the Morley Main Collieries
are situated, the deputies have been preparing the way
for a general resumption of work. In th& Darwen district of Lancashire the men have resumed work in the
Hoddesden Valley Collieries ; and at Hebburn Col
liery, Durham, the men resumed work where they had
struck against filling trucks for the conveyance of coal
to the Midlands. The policy of resumption of work is
even more general than indicated above, but the above
are exam pies of others.

---

The first real step towards a. possible settlement of

the diapu te was taken at the Nottingham Conference
of the miners, which suggested that a conference of
coalowners' and miners' representatives be held to
discuss the situation. The coalowners held a meeting
at the \V estminster Palace Hotel towards the close of
last week to discuss the communication of the men's
representatives. The employers replied that they
were willing to meet the men to discuss the proposed
reduction, but they were not prepared to raise false
hopes by consenting to meet on the basis of no reduction. The very fact of a meeting being held is some
encouraging sign of a possible settlement. But, after
all, is not this in the nature of arbitration ? The employers offered this at the very first; the men refused
it. The latter even decided against it at the recent
ballot. But all conferences of this kind are in Lheir
nature Boards of Conciliation and Arbitration. The
mischief is, in cases of a strike, they come in w ben
the evil has been done, when suffering is acute, and
when the losses on both aides have been enormous, in
some instances almost ruinous.

---

Affairs in Scotland, in conneation with the coal strike,

have undergone but little change during the past week.
The executive of the Fifeshire Association have, bowever, intimated to the employers that they require a
further advance in wages of 12i per cent. in consequence of the higher price of coal. The employers bad
intimated their willingness to consider the question if
prices went up further; the men, therefore, have reminded them of the promise. Takin~ the Scottish
coalfields generally, the men have benefited by the rise
in prices as well as the coalowners, though probably
not to the same extent.
In the outh \Vales and Monmouthshire districts
the men have settled down to work fairly well, and it
is expected that a substantial advance will be secured
under the sliding scale when the next ascertainment
is made. But the chances are that it will not be as
great as the men expect, because of the long idleness
of some of the pits, the losses to which the owners
were put, and the lessened output in consequence of
the partial strike of the men.
It is too early to appraise the losses and the costs

402
of the gigantic strike of miners, the greatest strike
that has ever occurred in connection with labour.
(rhe losses to the men have been enormous. The funds
of every miners' association have disappeared. The
losses in wages have been vast, and the suffering
endured has been fearful. The losses to the coalowners may not have been so great, because they have
secured higher prices for all the stocks unsold at the
date of the strike. But pits cannot be idle for long
without injury to the workings, so that the extra prices
must be set off against all possible injuries to the mines,
and the losses sustained by reason of the lessened output.
But, great as those losses have been on both sides, the
combined losses of coalowners and miners do not represent the aggregate loss to the country. Iron and steel
works have been idle; textile factories have been closed
or only partially employed; numerous other industries
have been wholly or partially at a standstill. The
aggregate number of unemployed has increased, while
the earnings of those in work have been lessened
enormously. Never before have the forces in industrial warfare been so great, and in no other instance
have the consequences been so disastrous.
Now we have a gigantic coal trust projected, the
object being to combine the coalowners and the miners
in one vast union against the consumer all over the
kingdom. The scheme is but a dream. Were it possible of realisation, the country as a community would
have something to say. The age in which we live
is antagonistic to huge monopolies. The law is
stronger than combination, when such combination is
aimed against the general public. Burke once said,
" When wicked men conspire, good .men must combine." But it is hardly probable, if, indeed, it is possible, for the coalowners of the country to create such
a trust as will control prices, fix wages, and regulate
the supply of one of the most essential commodities
of modern life. What if the owners of corn were to
do likewise ? Hunger is a mighty force.

E N G I N E E R I N G.
Most of the local industries are very dull, except skate
makers, with whom there is an increasing demand.
There are no serious digputes in any branches of local
industry except coal.
The condition of trade in the Cleveland district has
not been much improved by the cessation of production el~ewherc. The pig-iron trade has been very
quiet, very little business being done. The dispute in
the ironstqne districts with respect to the use of the
ratchet machines, is extending. The men on strike
require 180l. per week to cover strike pay, but the
association has levied the whole of the men in support of the strikers. The men are said to be exasperated, because extra. police have been drafted into
the Guisborough district, in view of possible violence
towards the few men who refuse to come out. But
there have been no symptoms of any serious disturb
ance in the district.
In the 'Volverhampton district trade is better than
elsewhere. The makers of iron, crude and finished, are
well off for orders, even at the enhanced rates. Bars,
hoops, and sheets are in demand for the Australian
and South American markets. The home demand is
also fairly good for bars, rods, plates, and tube-strip
iron. Mills and forges generally are working full
time. There is a. tolerably large demand for common
sheets for galvanising purposes. Altogether the district is better for the coal strike, for the local supplies are fairly ample at even moderate rates, the
miners being under the sliding scale.

In the Birmingham district the scarcity of fuel is

more felt. The production of iron has almost ceased
in consequence of the scarcity of coke and coal. The
finished iron trade is quiet, but prices have advanced
generally. The local industries have suffered from
the stagnation in the coal trade. In neither of these
The effects of the coal strike have been felt more and districts are there any serious labour disputes, but the
more in the engineering industries of Lancashire, so outlook for trade is not encouraging in Birmingham.
much so that it is difficult to ascertain the actual
normal condition of those trades at the present time.
In the mining districts of France and Be~gium disBut few of the engineering establishments have been putes have arisen which threaten to develop into a
stopped altogether for want of fuel, but many have great strike. But it is always difficult to forecast
had to run short time, or partially suspend opera- what will result from the proposed action of Contitions in some departments. Some works which had nental workmen, and most of all from the action of
secured a good stock of fuel, and which have been Continental miners. They scarcely ever act upon lines
able to keep going up to the present time, are be- similar to the same classes of men in this country, for
ginning to feel the pressure. This must mean a the simple reason that politics, other than labour
partial suspension of work. The condition of the politics, enter largely into all their proceedings. But
engineering industries is such as to offer no very en- the action of the miners in those countries has not
couraging prospects for the coming winter. It is only assisted the Miners' Federation in England in their
in very exceptional cases that firms are well supplied struggle, at least to any extent.
with orders, and the weight of new work coming
forward is not great. The iron trade in the district is
In the dying days of the last session an attack was
in a state of stagnation. There is no buying of any made in Parliament upon the riotous proceedings in
consequence, only such orders being given as actual the districts where the men were on strike, but not
necessities require for present purposes. Very little one of the miners' representatives was present to
is also being done in finished iron, and the steel indus- answer for himself, though Mr. J. Lowther wrote
tries are all very quiet. No real test of work can be to tell them of his intention. The He me Secretary degiven until the coal dispute is settled. Fortunately fended his action in sending assistance when asked for
there are no disputes in any of those branches of trade. by the local authorities. The miners promise to bring
up the matter in the autumn session.
The chemical industries of Lancashire are nearly at a
standstill through want of fuel. The stocks are rapidly
The wrought-iron nail makers in East Worcesterdecreasing, and prices have gone up considerably in
shire
have
resolved
by
a
ballot
of
the
members,
by
a
many cases. Caustic soda has gone up 20s. per ton in
about a fortnight. Bleaching powder is almost at a majority of three to one, to cease work for a whole
premium; supplies are scarce, and contracts cannot be month in order to maintain the present rates of wages.
This
new
policy
is
a
dangerous
one,
and
one
that
is
carried out. As chemicals enter largely into manufacworthy of imitation. If masters attempt to reduce
turing processes of various kinds, the present condition not
wages the men are entitled to resist, but stoppages on
of things will affect large industries, both in Lanca- any other plan are likely to help employers and
shire and in all parts of the country. The number of
persons thrown out of work in these districts will largely merchants more than the operatives.
augment the total number of the unemployed when
The plumbers in some of the shipbuilding yards of
the next returns are made up by the Board of Trade.
But, as a rule, we cannot estimate the unemployed by the Hartlepools have struck work because they had
any official figures published, except by a combination not been given an advance in wages similar to that
of the Poor Law Returns and the returns of the trade given to the other workers in the shipbuilding industry.
Usually the plumbers stand first.
unions. But both are insufficient as a basis.
The condition of trade in the Sheffield and Rotherham districts is very serious. Perhaps no great centre
has felt more acutely the coal stoppage than the districts named. Notwithstanding the almost certain
stoppage when the matter was first discussed, the
manufacturers and other large consumers of coal had
not any very large stocks to fall back upon. Hence
they felt the scarcity and experienced the high price
very soon. The high price of fuel prevents production at
a profit, and hence production nearly ceases, except
where there is a pressing demand. It is said that a
rolling mill proprietor was offered 500 tons of coal at
ll. per ton, but he refused, ~ecause the p~ices of ~he
material would not enable h1m to pay so h1gh a pr1ce.
Steelmakers appear to be feeling the pinch very
severely for although there are many inquiries for the
article, ~nly'pressing orders can be undertaken. It is
said that the price ~f coal has gone up from. 9s .. per
ton prior to the stnke, to 27s. per ton at reta1l pnces.

The question of the unemployed is likely to be a

theme of considerable importance during the coming
winter. The Tower Hill leaders of last year are now
discarded and denounced, but a more organised system
of agitation is to be carried out. The subject is beset
with difficulties, but it is better to pay wages for useful labour than to keE'p families in pauperism. The
important questions are: What works are to be
u 1dertaken, where, and by whom ? Farming by the
unemployed is simply nonsense. The winter prospects
are gloomy, and the difficulties must be faoed.

THE DISPOSAL OF REFUSE.*

(Concluded j'rom page 376.)

HAVING sh0wn how sewage refuse ma.y be treated, I

will now pass on to the disposal of road refuse. This
material, consisting of the sweepings from all kinds of
roads, would reach an average of 100 loads per day from
a town of 220,000 people. The quantity and quality are
however, dependent upon the manner in which the street~
are kept, and the paving used. In wet weather the refuse
is named slop, and in dry weather street sweepings. A
town with a large number of flint and macadam roads
would produce a muoh larger quantity of slop than a
town having granite and wood pavements, and in wet
weather the quantity of liquid is very much greater than
in dry weather, from any kind of street. If a macadam
or flint road be in bad condition the holes form a series
of small ponds, and grind up a. portion of grit, which,
mixed with horse droppings and other refuse upon the
surface, produce a slop which must be removed. A
granite or wood road also increa.se3 its refuse when in
bad condition in a similar manner. The road refuse is
therefore reduced by good condition of the roads, and
they are much more comfortable for the people who pass
over them. Roads of all kinds may be kept in good
condition by the aid of new materials and proper attention to repairs, but the costs of such repairs are always
large items. The best means of keeping roads in good
condition at a. moderate cost has taxed the ingenuity of
many corporation surveyors. The steam road roller
has done a great deal to reduce the cost of making
a. firm level road, but the roller will not take oub
old hardened hills a.nd hollows, and the old way of
picking by hand is slow a.nd costly. A machine has
lately been introduced to pick up flint a.nd macadam and
make a level road, and its performance has shown a great
ad va.nce over the band metRods. Several years ago, a
Frenchman named Mothiron constructed a machine of
this kind, a.nd employed it u:pon the roads in France with
successful result. This apphance contained the elements
of success and performed good work upon French roads,
but the English roads were considered too hard, and it is
doubtful whether we could have removed the crust by a
machine of this kind. Another machine more recently
brought out was also invented in France, by J ackson, and
is called "Jackson's Patent Scarifier."
It has been tried upon very hard roads in Nottingham
with remarkable success, and is now in use at Hornsey,
Reading, and other towns, and has even found its way to
China. and Africa. It makes roads in better condition
than hand labour, at about one-fifth the cost, and conse
quently reducing the amount of refuse produced from
those roads. This machine coasists of a heavy oblong
carriage of cast iron, with large wheels on each side; ab
each end a movable tool or tine box is supported upon a
steel axle connected to side levers, so that the spikes may
be lowered and brought into action at either end. At each
end there is a guide wheel supported in a fork bearing,
and moved by means of worm gear a.nd endless chain by
chain wheels and hand levers. One machine of this kind
will cut up 4000 yards in one day, and therefore a badly
worn road may be quickly changed into good condition,
and this saving is very great in large cities and towns.
The quality of granite used has also a. ~reab deal to do
with the wear and tear and the oondit10n of macadam
roads, and Mr. T. de Courcy Meade, M.I.C.E,
has devised a.n ingenious machine for testing the
quality of granite; the results of suoh tests will
be a very useful guide to authorities when purchasing
large quantities of road material. It is well known
that the wear is caused by friction of vehicles in
their rubbing action on the surface, and the machine used
by Mr. Meade has precisely this action. It consists of a
revolving iron drum with inside arrangements to lift and
rub the material as it revolves. The machine is provided
with pulleys to regulate the speed, and there are arrangements to add water when tests are required with damp
material. The granite is measured carefully when pub
into the machine, and again after a. given time at a. given
speed, and therefore it is easy to find the mosb durable
material, and consequently the least liable to ores.te street
refuse in the form of ground dust.
Road sweepings when collected are not valuable as a
fertiliser, and therefore are of no value to land, and will
nob even burn in destructors unless mixed with a large
proportion of house refuse.
Moat authorities tip them upon waste land at considerable expense, and at the risk of creating a nuisance. There
is, however, some value in this refuse, as will be shown from
a series of experiments conducted by me for a speoil\l
committee of the Kensington V estry. Special machinery
was devised to wash the dirt from road sweepings, and
to separate the particles afterwards. It consisted of a
cast-iron curved trough with an endless worm propeller,
contrived to push the material in one direction while a
supply of water was paasing over it in the opposite
direction. The washed sand and pebbles were discharged
automatically upon movable soreens, and the vegetable
matter and hgbt material passed out with the flow of
water over another screen. The various samples upon
which experiments were made were: (1) Dry sweepings
from wood-paved streets; (2) dry sweepings from macadam roads; (3) dry sweepings from flint roads; (4) slop
from wood-paved streets; (5) slop from macadam roads;
(6) slop from flint roads.
The average results with No. 1 material may be taken as
under : One cubic yard was treated in three hours, and
produced 4 cubic feet of sand, ! ft. of pebbles (shin~le),
! ft. of stone, 13 ft. of vegetable matter. Therefore 9l ft.
passed away with the overflow, and was preoipitated in

CATALOGUE.-We have received from Messrs. James

Simpson and Co., Limited, of Grosvenor-road, Pimlico, London, a handsome catalogue of theil' pumping
machinery for waterworks a.nd mines, and also of their
horizontal and other engines. ltl contains reports of
* Abstract of paper read before the British Association
several trials of their engines, showing the great economy
at Nottingham, by Mr. Wm. Warner, A.M.I.O.E.
with which they work.

ENGINEERING.
:-

the water tank. It required 6 cubic yards of water to per.

form the washing, equal to 10~2. 7 ~allons.
The average results from t~Ial with No. 2 ma.teri~l may
be taken as under: One cubic yard was treated In two
hours and produced 8 cubic feet of coarse sand, 1 ft. of
bbl~s ! ft. of fine sand, i fb. of stones, 8_ft. of vegetable
::attar.' Therefore 91 ft. passed away With the over~ow
and was precipitated in the water tank. It requtred
4 cubic vards of water to wash, eq~al to 602.5 gall~ns.
The a'verage results from tr.ia.ls wtth No. 3 ruatert.a.l may
be taken as under : One cubic yard was treated m two
hours and produCAd 15ft. of coarse sand, 2 fb. of pebbles,
1 ft. ~f fine sa.nd, ! fb. of stones, ti fb. of vegetable matte~.
2'" fb. passed away with the overfl._ow, and was precl
pltated in the water tank. It reqmred 4 yards of water
to wash, equ~l to 602.5 gall~ns. The average result~
from trials wtth No. 4 mater1~l may be taken as under .
One cubic yard was treated m 2~ hours, and produced
2ft. of coarse sand, 1 ft. of p~bbles, 15 ft. of vegetable
matter. 9Z ft. passed away w1th the ov~rflow, and wa2
precipitated in t he water tank. It reqmred 5 yards of
water to wash, equal to 863. 7~ gallons. The average results
from trials with No. 5 mater~al may be taken as under :
One cubic yard was treated m two hours, and produced
6 ft of coa.rse sand 1 ft. of pebbles and stones, ;} ftl. of
fine. sand 6 ft. of v~getable matter ; 13~ ft. passed away
with th~ overflow and precipita:ted ~boub 10ft. of fi ne
mud, the 3 ft. being- water conta.med m the slop before
treatment. It re~tred 4 yards of water to w~h, eq1;1al
to 602.5 gallons. The average results from trta!s Wlth
No. Gmaterial may be taken as under: One cubic yard
was treated in H hours, and produced 7t ft. of coarse
sand, 1! ft. of pebbles, i ft. of fine sand, ! ft. of ston~s,
5 fb of vegetable matter; 12! ft. passed away w1th
the overflow and precipitated about 7 ft. of mud. t he
4t ft. being contained in the slop before trea.t~ent. It
required 3 yards of water to wash, equal to ~26.2o gallons.
It will be observed that the greatest quantity of valuable
material is obtained from dry sweepmgs, and slop from
flint roads while the material produced from paved street
slop and s~eepings is the least valuable. They may be
classed as under:
1. Dry sweepings from flint roads, threequarters valuable one-quarter waste.
2. ' Slop from flint roads, two-fifths valuable, t hree-fifths
waste.
.
3. Dry sweepings from macadam, oneth1rd valuable,
twothirds waste.
4. Slop from macadam, one-quarter val uable, tbreeq uarters waste.
5. Dry sweepings from wood pavements, onefifth valuable, four-fifths waste.
6. Slop from wood pavements, one-ninth valuable,
eight-ninths waste.
The cost of labour is found to be greater for inferior

sweepmgs.
The samples from woodpaved roads cost 2s. 9d. per
yard.
The samples from macadam roads cost 2s. 3d. per
yard.
The samples from flint roads cost 2s. per yard.
It should, however, be obser ved that this cost is taken
with the experimental machinery, and that with a complete and more perfect planb the expenses would be considerably reduced, and probably equal to Sd. per yard
for slop from flint roads. The experimental machinery
has taken aboub 2 horsepower, and has averaged about
half a yard per hour, equal to 12 yards in a. day of twentyfour hours.
lb is reasonable to suppose that larger and more complete machinery would take a. less proportion of power,
but upon the above basis we find 91 yards per day would
require about 16 horse-power, and probably 10 horse
power would be required for pumping water and agitating
the slop when emptied into the tank receiver, making
25 horse-power sufficient for the whole arrangement. In
examining the various parts, the greatest wear was upon
the blades ; these may be made of steel or chilled iron,
and thereby prevent this wearing on the edge. There was
no appreciable wear in any other part with the single exception of the shaft end, which could be readily r~medied .
Taking the low average of one-fourth in bulk of the slop
treated, returned as valuable material, you would obtain
one yard out of four, which, at a cosb for labour of 8d. per
yard treated, is equal to 2s. 8d. for each yard produced,
of a probable value of 5s., showing a. gain of 2s. 4d. by the
mantpulation, besides solving the important problem of
how to effectually dispose of the slop. The waste
vegetable matter, which consists chiefly of horsedung, leaves, and bits of hay, may be burnt with
the dust in the destructor. I am nob aware of any
'lletbod of dealing with sweepings which gives equal
results. As shown by these experiments, the sweepmgs
from wood paved, granite, and aspha.lte streets are
scarcely worth washing.
A method of treatment to reduce the cost of disposal was introduced some few years aS"o by Mr. George
Weston, of PaddinR'f;on, and is still effi01ently carried out
in that parish. \Vhen the sweepings are collected in the
form of slop, water forms over 60 per cent. of the bulk,
and this gentleman devised a means of taking out a large
proportion of the water by subsiding tanks. These tanks
are con~truct~d chie~y of wood, having vertical pillars
supportmg 9_ID;. by 3 m. deal~, and bet~een each pair of
dea.ls, stra"Y 1s 1nser~ed, fo!mmg a. filtermg medium. The
slop sweeptngs are tipped m to the tanks from a. high level
platform. and the water allowed to fil ter through the
str.aw. Cons~quently the bulk is ~reatly reduced before
bemg ~oaded m barges which carry 1t oub of the country.
Some tmportant improved details have been devised in a
scheme o! this kind by Mr. M. C. Meaby, the surveyor of
St. Luke s Vestry, L ondon, and are about to be carried
out on a wharf purchased by tha.b vestry. The arrange

menb consists of steel pillars, with wood deals and filter ing refuse at other towns. Therefore the unbia~sed state~
ing arrangements, and also a special means of discharging menta are of great value. From these reJ?Ol ts 1t a~pear
that there are upwards of forty towns .us1Dg Fryed s ~d
the tanks after the slop sweepmgs are consolidated.
I now arrive at the disposal of house refuse, and will structor. There are twelve towns wh1ch have ~ op e
again assume that the treatment is for a town the size of the Perfectus destructor, two towns the Wh1ley de
Nottingham, producing approximately 400 tons per day. structor and one town the Horsfall destructor
The ]~ryer destructor has been in use about s~ve~teen
The quantity and quality of the refuse depend upon ~be
inhabitants and the construction of their dwellings, with years ; the P erfeotus destructor four years ; Wbiley s de
their receptacles for refuse. For instance.' ab Nottingham structor about three years, and Horsfall's d estructor, five
h
there are 30,000 pail closets, 4000 mid a ens, and 45,000 years.
There has been spent upwards of 500,000l. upon t e
houses on the water carriage system having ash tubs. The
product of this mixed system is naturally a. different erection of destructors varying from 25,000l. to 1000l. J?er
class of refuse to that of a town either entirely upon the town, and about o~e-half utilise the heat to drtve
. .
pail system, or water carriage, and if we were surrounded machinery.
Although particulars arA given by dtsmterested gentleby other large towns, as in Lancashire and Yorkshi~3,
there is no doubt that th e refuse collected in this state men, as collected from borough engineers, the figures
would be very difficult and expensive to dispose of. The require to be analysed to show the exact a~ount of w~rk
greater port1on of the refuse is sent to farmers, and a in one plant in relation to another. The gt ven quantity
small portion to a d estructor : By boat, 43,470 tons; by of refuse burnt varies from 4 tons to 10 tons per cell, and
rail, 46,800 tons; carted, 36,960 tons; treated in d e the cosb per ton for labour from 3~:1. to 3s. Gd .. per t on.
The cost of working cremators varies from nothmg t o 3d.
structor, 151 000 tons.
The fertilising qualities of N ottingharo refuse musb per ton of refuse burnt, and the residue in the form. of
arise from the pails and middens, the former collecting a clinker and fine ashes is from 15 to 50 per cent., which
fair portion of excreta, and the latter a. large portion of creates a revenue of 3d. per ton of refuse at some places
execreta. and urine, t ogether with vegetable matter, ashee, and a loss of lOd. ab other works. The heat is utilised at
and domestic waste. The refuse collect~d from ashtubs twenty works producing an average of about 2 horsehas practically no value as a fertiliser, and is found the power per cell. The cost for repairs is from 1 to 20. p~r
most costly to dispose of. This r efuse is delivered at the cent. on the capital expended. Ib will be seen ~h~t 1t lB
foot of a large elevator, by the ash carts, and lifted about no easy matter to analyse these figures, and It Is only
30 ft. high, where ibis discharged into an inclined revolv those having experience in the treatment of t:efuse that
ing screen, so arranged that fine ash is screened out and can come to anything like a. reasonable conolus10n.
The q uestions naturally raised are :
delivered into a cart, and the coarse ashes and larger
1. Why does a. destructor cell at Hastings deal with
materials are passed into the feeding hoppers of a destructor
furnace, where they are reduced to clinker . The products 10 tons ea.ch cell per day, when anoth er destructor cell,
of combustion pass und er a large multibuhular boiler built exactly from the same design1 will only burn 4 tons
suspended in the centre of the destructor cell, and return per cell at Cheltenham ? 2. How IS it that the burning
towards the fronb through a large number of tubes 4 in. of refuse at Battersea is 3s. 6d. per ton, against 3!d. per
in diameter, and then pass towards the chimney down ton at Southampton? 3. What reason is there for 60 per
two side flues. Over the top of the boiler a large steam cent. residue at Salford, when there is only 15 per cenb.
chest is placed, and the steana generated is conducted at Hastings? 4. At Bury, L eeds. and Bradford they
from the highest point through pipes to the engines, get about 3 horse-power per cell, and at Blackburn
pumps, and steam lift. F rom my experience in the and Batley 5 bors~power per cell, against 59.6
treatment of refuse by destructors, at L eeds, Bradford, horse-power per cell at Oldh_am. Ta;king the a."era.ge
Warrington, Manchester, Birmingham, London, and of towns which have nothmg special to show why
other large t owns, I find the type of destructor boiler they should burn a small or large quantity of
furnace, as erected at Nottingham, by far the best for the refuse viz.: Batley, 6 tons ; Battersea, 6 tons ; Brad
generation of steam when screened or selected refuse is ford, 6! tons ; Nottingham, 7 tons ; Blackburn, 6 tons ;
burnt; but with poor quality refuse no steam can be pro- in Fryer's destructors, the average is equal to 6.3 tons
per cell. Atl Newca.otle-on-Tyne, 7 tons; Hornsey, 8
duced, and it is b~tter burnt in special destructor cells.
A moderate quantity of the latter class of refuse is tons; Winche9ter, 6 tons; in the Perfectus destructor,
collected in Nottingham. Ib contains no fertilising pro- which is equal to 7 tons per cell. From a report of the
perties, and very little carbona.ceous matter. Therefore committee at Oldham, H orsfall's d estructor deals with
it is of no value to land, and if placed upon an ordinary 5.5 tons per cell 1 and ab L eeds, with Horsfall's steam jets
fire would simply extinguish itl. It is, however, success- and H ewson's Improvements, their destructor deals with
fully dealt with in furnaces constructed in such a manner 5.5 tons per cell in 24 hours. The cost of burning r efuse
that every particle of heat -producing s11bstance may be ab these towns, exclusive of interest on capital, is, Batley,
brought to uear upon those substances that have no heat - 7~d. ~er ton ; Blackburn, l Od. ; Bradford, llf d. ; m
giving properties, hub require to be cleansed, and fused if F ryer s destructors 9~d. per ton ; the cost at Hornsey is
possible, to render them entirely innocuous. Furnaces of 9d., and at Newcastle, 8d., or equal to 8~d. per ton, in
th is kind are in successful operation ab the Nottingham Warner 's Perfectus destructor. At Oldham the cost! is
Sanitary Depot. The carts bringing this class of refuse given at la. ld. per ton in Horsfall's d estructor. With
tip their contents into a. large iron wagon, which is lifted regard to clinker, the same towns may be taken as pro
bodily upon the platform of the destructor, and dis- ducing 25 per cent. in Fryer's, 25 _per cent. in Warner's,
charged into the furnaces. As previously stated, the and 25 per cent. in Horsfall's. The horse-power given
larger portion of the house refuse, wi tb pail and midden ab Batley is 5; at Blackburn, 6.6; Bury, 4; Brad
contents, is disposed of without the aid of destructors in ford and L eeds, about 4 per cell, which is equal to
a. sanitary manner, and ab Jess expense to the ratepayers. about 4.5 horse-power generated from 6 cwt. of refuse,
Other towns are not so fortunate, and the grea.b or about 125lb. per horse-power, and 6.25 lb. to llb. of
purifier, "Fire," is making rapid strides in the cremation water evaporated, giving a comparison of about n nd the
of refuse in those cities and towns which have no outlets value of coal when burnt in .Fryer's destructor at the
like Nottingham, and are hemmed in by other towns. above towns. The horse-power ab Hornsey is about the
Already there are no less than thirteen towns in Lanca- same in the Perfecbus destructor. At Oldham the horseshire, and seven towns in Yorkshire, burning refuse in power is given at 50 for 6 cells, equal to 8. 3 per cell, or
destructor furnaces, and those two counties may lay about 46 lb. of refuse per horse-power, and 2.3 lb. to llb .
claim to the a.d vancement of the destructor system. of waiter. It is, however, difficult to r econcile these
Fryer's first success was a{}hieved at Manchester, fol- figu res, as pra.ctica.lly the same furnaces, with equal steam
lowed up within a few months at L eeds, and shortly after- generating appliances, give less than half that power ab
wards adopted in a very substantial manner ab Bradford Leeds and Bradford. It will be seen from these figures that
and other towns. These corporations spared no expense we cannot look forward to a large amount of power for
in getting the best furnaces for the work, and a large electric lighting, and it is even questionable whether the
amount of money may be taken to have been expended power g~nerated could be usefully adopted for that pur
upon experiments. Bradford has tested no less than pose. Take a town like Nottingham, and suppose its
five different kinds of destructor furnaces, and L eeds rAfuse to have the average steam-prod ucing qualities, we
may be considered as making experiments at the present should get about 300 horse-power for an expenditure in
time. Bradford ha.s practically r eturned t o Fryer's fur- labour of nearly 17l. per day, equal to over 6000l. per
nace, with the addition of steam jets, and J ones's h1me annum. With coal, the cost for labour would be only
cremator, and at the time of my last visit they were doing 150l. per annum, and the cost of coal for fuel would be
excellent work.
under 1500l., therefore taking the refuse to cost nothing
The most valuable information issued for a number of for delivery ab a d estructor works con veniently situated
years is that compiled by Mr. Charles Jones, M.I.C.E. i for producmg electricity, the actual loss would amount to
of Ealing, and Wlth the permission of the author, I wil no le~s than 3~50l. per annum over coal. fuel, and if we
use some of the particulars and figu res given.
take mto oons1derat10n the cosb for repans, and interest
He also appears to have compiled information gathered on capital, ~his loss would b~ gr~tly increased. Looking
inwendently, and chiefly from disinterested people.
these facts m the face, electric bght produced by burning
tth permission I shall refer to reports by Mr. S. r~fuse can only show e_c<_momical r esults in very excep
Codrington, M.I.C.E., Engineerin_g Inspector to the t10nal cases, and authortties should well weigh the matter
Local Government Board; Mr. G. Laws. M.I.C.E., over before launching into a scheme of that kind. I have
Engineer to the city of Newca.stle-on-Tyne; Mr. F. Ash- estimated t he cosb of burning at lOd. per ton but if the
mead, M.I.C.E., Borough Engineer, Bristol; Mr. A. R. treatment should cost la., the increased los; would be
Binnie. M.I.C.E . Engineer to the L ondon Countr 1245l. per annum, making a total loss of 4590l. per
Council; Mr. de Courcy Meade, M.I.C.E. , Past-Presi- annum.
Taking the comparison of burning refuse
dent of the Municipal Engineers ; Colonel William Hey- in different kinds of destructors, these figures should
wood, M.I.C.E., Engineer to the Commissioners of the be taken carefully into consideration, as 1d. per ton
City of L ondon ; Dr. W. Sedgwick Saunders ; Mr. John more in the cost of burning means over 600l. per
Cartwrighb, M.I .C. E, ; Dr. E . Sar~eant, Past-President annum at a town the size of Notltingham . I have
Medical Officer of H ealth and M edical Officer to the L an- dealt with the burning of refuse from a financial
cashire County Council ; Dr. Shirley F . Murpby, Medical point of view, and now will review them as a sanitary imOfficer to t he London Council ; Dr. Cameron, Medioal provement. Much has been said about the nuisance of
Officer to the Corporation of L eeds; Dr. McLintock, offensive gases and fine particles of dueb passing out of
Medical Officer to the County Council of L anarkshire.
the chimney shafts, and there is no doubt there were
M ost of these gentlemen have had destructors in actual reasons for complaint in the former kinds of destructors
U3e, and have gone to considerable trouble in testing their but latterly these difficulties have been overcome by th~
power; they have also examined furnaces used for burn- use of better arranged dampers, dust pockets, and provi

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

[ SEPT.

29, I 893

~~==========================~========================~==============~~-~========

sion for burning the gases passing from burning refuse.

One of the ~est !'PI>_aratus for dealing with the products
of combustton 1s Jones's fume cremator, in which the
offensi.ve gases are subJected to a very high temperature
on thetr way to the chtmney. A great deal has been said
about the additional cost of its use, and this has in some
instances, barred ite introduction. On referen~e to the
cost at various towns per ton of refuse burnt Blackburn
is 2~d. p er ton ; Bradford, 5d. ; Bursle~ nothing
E~ling, 3id. ; Eastbourne, 1~d. _; Hampst ea.d, nothing~
Ltverpool, 2~d.; Longton, notbmg; showing an average
of 1.fd. per ton. It will be seen that the cost of treatment
is considerably increased, and where steam power is nob
u sed this will t~ll against the working expenses; but
where. the power IS useful either for electric light, sewage
pumpmg, or other purposes, the amount spent in coke is
returned i~ usef~l W?rk, an~ therefore the apparatus
d oes two thmgs-~.e., 1t pays Its own expenses for fuel in
the fo~m of steam, and at . the same time destroys the
offenstve gases produced m the destruction of house
refuse. There are two other methods recently invented
t o deal with the produots of combustion from burning
refuse, and they are at the present moment in course of
construction at Royton and Kensington.
The first
method consists of placi ng oil jets in the flue leading from
the destructor cells, and thus fierce flames at a very high
temperature are passed into the midst of the gases, and
their beat raised so that the combustible gases are burnt.
The advantages of this sys tem cannot be dealt w)th until
some tests have been made in practical use, and we must
look forward to the results at Royton. The second method
consists of passing the products of combustion through a
condenser of novel construction, which is intended to take
out the fine particles of dust, and t he colour from the
smoke. In this arrangement there are detail alterations
in the flues and position of boiler, so that the heat may
be quickly brought into action after leaving the destructor
calls.
A great deal has been said about taking the products
of combustion over the hottest part of the fire, and the
Corporation of Leeds have lately built their destructor
with outlet flues near the furnace mouth, the object being
to d estroy offensive gases inside each cell. It should not
be forgotten that when refuse is drawn upon the top of
red fire the green gases ab once leave, and whether the
outlet be ab the front or back, they will pass into the
main flue, and out of the chimney. Such arrangement
will, however, help to consume the g-ases given off from a
new charge of refuse lying on the drying hearth, and
therefore, to some extent, reduce the amount of green
gases passing out, but the capacity of the furnaces is
crippled, and it is questionable whether, on the whole,
benefit is derived. In my opinion it is far better to provide for coruplete combustion in the main flue, and the
cells may be provided with outlets at the front, and also
at the back, so that the workmen may turn the products
of combustion over the fire when the cell is newly charged
with refuse, and allow them to pass out at the back when
the greater portion of gases have passed off. It should
be borne in mind that the whole of the product s from a
number of cells pass into one main flue; therefore, if one
cell is giving off green gases, the others are producing
high temperature gases, which mingle with them, and
thus assist complete combustion before they reach the
chimney. In placing my remarks before the members of
this Association, I have endeavoured to steer clear of
recommending any special kind of treatment in the disposal of r efuse, but simply brought together facts and
figures which I hope will prove t o be useful, and also
show that the town of Nottingham has not been behindband in producing men who have gone thoroughly into
the subject, and the town itself has kept abreast with the
times in sanitation.
SouTH A FRICAN CoAL.-Coal has been found at Heidelberg, near Johannesburg. It will be of great assistance
in working the gold mines of the district.

---

VICTORIAN RAILwAYS. -The Victorian rail way engineerinchief, acting on the instructions of the Minister of
Railways, is about to resume the construction of the
Beulah and Hopetown line. The line wa.s originally
commenced by a Mr. Lascelles at his own expense under
a special Act of Parliament, but through the banking
crisis be was unable to continue the work. and handed
the line over to the Colonial Government. Mr. Lascelles
surrenders 100,000 acres of land to the State, and
about 2000l. worth of railway materiel; and the Colonial
Government takes over all his liabilities in connection
with the line, and recoups him the capital already exp ended amounting to about 9000l. The line is 16 miles in
length,'and the progress made by Mr. Lascelles consisted
principally of eartbworks, no rails having been laid.

THE BREAKWATER AND PORT OF MIDDELGRUNDEN FORT IN THE SOUND.*

By Captain P. HaNSEN, R oyal Danish Engineers.
THE Middelgrunden Fort is s ituated on the northern
point of the Middelgrunden S hoal in the Sound, nearly
three miles east-north-east from th e port of Copenhagen.
The foundation of the fort was commenced in June,
1890, and completed in the autumn of 1891; and the fort
is now so far advanced that the ordnance is t o be mounted
in the coming autumn. The fort is built in a depth of
water of 23 to 25 ft. ; and the bottom was found, by
borings, to consist of limestone rock. covered with a
layer of gravel and small stones from 1~ ft. t o 2~ ft. thick.
The t>la.n of the fort (Fig. 1) consists of an inner island
surrounded by a. moat communicating at each end with
the harbour of the fort, protected by an encircling breakwater with a southern opening forming the entrance to
the harbour.
The section of the breakwater where it incloses the
narrow moat, filled with cl ay up to 9 ft. or 10ft. below
ordinary s ea level, is shown on Fig. 4 ; the 8ection of the
breakwater protecting the harbour is shown on Fig. 3,
and the section of the pier on Fig. 2. Along the moat,
the breakwater, 2208 ft. long, consists of a line of 59
timber caissons averaging 36 ft. long, 20 ft. wide, 20 ft.
high, and weighing 44 tons, filled with gravel and
stones, protected by a rubble mound wi tb a layer of
stones weighing 4 tons on the t:ea slope. Blocks of con-

were filled with cement grout. The upper part of the

quay wall is made of granite masonry. The two subaqueous walls across the ends of the moat consist of a.
single line of concrete blocks (19j ft. by 4 ft. by 13 ft.
high), their joints being grouted with cement. The
blocks of concrete were all made 59 tons in weight, as an
old floating steam crane could lift this weight. The
blocks were made generally of 1 part of cement, 4 of sand,
and 1 of broken granite; but the surfaces of the blocks
particularly exposed to the action of the waves and ice,
were made with a d ouble portion of cement.
The current running through the Sound has occasionally
a speed of G~ ft. to 8! ft. per second, so that the drift ice
in winter time is liable to strike against the breakwater
with tremendous force. Last winter the ice attained a
thickness of about 3! ft., and while afloat it struck against
the breakwater with a speed of 5 ft. per second.
The heart of the fort being of sand, it is of the greatest
importance to have a strong and tight enclosure, so that
neither current nor waves may be able to act upon the
sand. Moreover, as it was important to complete the
framing as soon as possible, in order that the work might
not suffer too much during its progress, timber caissons
(far easier built and put in place than blocks of concrete
20 ft. high) were used for must of the breakwater,
130 lineal feet of caissons being plaC'ed per day, as cornpored with 26 lineal ~eet o~ ~ncrete blocks. The
caissons are covered with thm Iron plates along the
side facing the moat as a protection against the sea
worm, the sea. side being protected by the stone ellJbank-

~1
Scale

FUJ S

Sec11on 00

HARBOUR
08l

0,

$ { 14

0 ~ t

Sl A

HARBOUR

'

crete weighing 59 tons are ;:>laced on the top of the

caissons up to 1f ft. above ordmary sea level, with granite
masonry above, reaching 8!- fo. above ordinary sea level.
The caissons are made of 8-in. squared pine-wood, the
side walls being bound together by four cross walls forming pock ets in which stones for sinking are placed ; and
the side adjoining the rubble was still further stiffened
by planking. The caissons are filled with gravel up to
3! ft. from the top, and with shingle above. As the
caissons could not be put close together, divers connected
them by planks inside as well as outside ; and the spa.c~
between the caissons ba.s been filled with shingle and
broken stone. The concrete blocks placed on the caissons
were shaped as shown in Fig. 4, 16! fb. by 18 ft. by 4 ft.
high, to connect the blocks and the upper granite wall as
firmly as possible, so that the breakwater may withstand
the heavy shocks of ice-drifts in winter.
The harbour breakwaters, 722 ft. long (Figs. 2 and 3),
differ chiefly from the other in a block of concrete having
been used instead of th e caisson, 19* ft. high, 9 ft. long,
and 5! ft. average width. These lower blocks were
placed close together by divers, but were not cemented
together. The upper deck block, partly r esting upon the
lower covering blocks and partly upon the levelled rubble
mound, is made of concrete at the bottom and of granite
masonry above.
The vertical pier-beads consist of a. double course of
blocks at the bottom, the space between them being filled
up with shingle covered by fiat blocks and granite masonry
(Fig. 2).
A quay wall has been built along the harbour face of
the fort, with two rows of superposed concrete blocks at
the bottom, the top of the lowest one being 10ft. below
ordinary sea level, and of the highest ! * ft. above, founded
here and there on a layer of broken stone to regulate the
bottom (Fig. 5). The vertical and hori zontal grooves

ment. Should this prove insufficient, the rubble adjoining

the timber wall could be filled in with shingle, through
which the sea-worm is unable to pass.
During the summer and autumn of 1890 the caissons and
rubble mound were d eposited round the moat, and the
lowest line of blocks along the harbour face of the fort,
the filling inside at the same time being carried up to
10 ft. below ordinary eea level, especially olose to tbe
border, so that the work might be able to resist the ice
drifts during the winter. In 1891 the moat breakwater
and quay wall were completed, the harbour breakwaters
built, and the inner filling was raised above ordinary eea
level.
During the last exceedingly severe winter the bre.akwater was subjected to very powerful drifts of ice, Without sustaining any damage whatever; not the slightest
fissure being perceptible in the grouted-up joints of the
blocks, or ab other places; nor any material alterations
having taken place in the rubble mound.

LIBAU.- Tbe inauguration of the port of Libau, which

FRENCH STEEL RAILS.-The Northern and Eastern
has just taken place in the presence of the Emperor
Forges and Steelworks Company will continue to supply
Alexander III., shows the importance which the Russian
the Bona and Guelma Railway (Algeria) with steel rails.
Government attaches to the construction of a military
The Northern and Eastern Company has sufficient orders
port in the portion of the Baltic in which the sea does
on band to occupy it for a whole year.
nob freeze in winter. As the port will be also frequented
by ships of commerce, over-sea trade will no longer be
ASHBOURNE WATER WORKS.-The local board has ininterrupted, as it is at present, during the winter of each
structed Mr. \V. H. Radford, C.E., of Nottingham, to
year. The outer porb is divided into two ports by a
prepare the working drawings for new water works and
make application to the L ocal Government Board for a
mole 24~ fb. wide, on which three lines of rails have been
laid down to admit of the employment of movable cranes
loan of 7000l., with as little delay as is possible. Neg~
tiations in connection with the scheme were already Ill
and trucks. The length of the mole will be 5716 fb., and
progre~s, but the outbreak of cholera at Ashbourne has
it will separate the military p ort from the port of commade the local board anxious to complete works for water
merce About 5366 ft. of the m ole have been actually
supply next spring, if possible. It is proposed t o purconstr~cted . The deepening of the port is receiving close
chase a spring a.bout two miles away and pump the water
attention, nine dredgers being constl;\ntly at work ; the
* Pa._per read before the International Maritime Con- to a. summit r eservoir, from which the town will be supdepth obtained when the port was maugurated by the
gress, London Meeting.
plied by gravitation. The population is about 4000.
Czar was 14 ft.

E N G I N E E R I N G.
" ENGINEERING" ILLUSTRATED PATENT
RECORD.
W. LLOYD WISE.

CoMPILED BY

SELECTED ABSTRA(111S OF RECENT PUBLISHED SPECIFICATIONS

UNDER THE ACTS 1883-1888.
The numbn of views given in the Specifi.cation Drawings i8 stated
in each case ; where 1W1~e are mentioned, the Specification is
not iUustrat.ed.
.
Where Inventions are comm untcated f rom abroat!, the Names,
<~cc. , of the Com municators arc given ~n italics.
Copies of Specificati<Jns rruty be obtatned at the Patent Office
Sale Branch, 38, Oursitorstreet, Chancerylane, E. C., at the
un;form price of 8d.
The date of the advertisement of the acceptance of a compute
8fJecijica_tion is, in each case, given after the abstract, unlas the
Patent has been sealed, when the date of sealitng is given.
Any person may at any time within two m on ths f rom the date of
the advertisement of the acceptance of a complete specifteation,
give notice at the Patent Office of opposition to the grant of a
Patent on any of the grounds mentioned in the ..Act.

the commencement is in a nearly hornoota.l direction, and so that

MACHINE TOOLS, SBAFTING, &c.
dur ing the recoil the axis of the gun r emains parallel to the line
18,569. E. Hammesfahr, SoUDgen, Prussta. ~~lt
which it occupied before. The trunnions of the gun a re fitted in
a pair of blocks which can slide along cur ved guides for med on and Rope Pulleys. [11 Figs.] Octobe~ 1?, 1892.-Thts 10
the upper edges of the two aid ea of the carriage, each of these vention has for its obj ect to pre vent the shppmg o! belts and
guides being formed as a. circular a rc atruck from a. centre vl'! rti ropes upon pulleys, and coneiata in forming them wtth a ngula r
caUy above the axis of the t r unnion when the gun is in fir ing
position, with a. radius of a. lengbh somewhat lees than th e height
of the trunnion a bove the platform. At the r ear end of each of
the cur ved g uides is a pivot for a. radial lever which hangs nearly
ver tically downwards, and which , measured from the centr e of its
pivot to the centre of a pin at its lower end, is equal to the radius
of the curved guide. The pins at the lower ends of the two
radial levers are the ends of a. t r ansverse spindle which extends
across the carriage, and these ends are linked to tbe trunnions
by inclined side rods which maintain a constant distance between

Ill !I bl l 11 Ill

..

or fiat faces b, c, instead of perfec tly oiroular, so that incr eased

resistance is offered. I n order to prevent the belts always oom
ing into contact at the same places on the pulley , some of t h e
flat faces of the r im a r e made greater or smaller t han the oth er s.
(..Accepted August 16, 1893).

ELECTRICAL APPARA'ros.
18 037. W. c. Mountain, Newcastle-on-Tyne.
Electric Weldlllg Apparatus. [3 Figs.] October 10,

MINING AND METALLURGY.

14,147. F . w. Durham. New Barnet, Herts. Ex
tractlng Gold from Its Ores. [2 Figs.] August 5, 1892.-

1892.-Tbis invention relates to electric weldio~t apparatus. a is

a. CD.St.iron UPhaped hollow receptacle, and al, a2 the inlet and
outlet oiroulating pipes for water. Tbe brick 3 is hollowed out on
one side and in the space so formed the electric a rc opera t es.
Tbe bri~k is held in Yertioa.l position within the U sha.pad re
ceptacle by lugs 4 cast on it and latt:rally l;>Y the s~ripe 5, ~he
opposite ends of the r ecepta.ole and bnck b em~ furmshed wtth
apertures through which the car bons 6 pa.ss. Bracltets 7 a re
arranged on the top of the receptacle to form bea.rin!lS for the
righ t and left-handed screw 8. Guides ga a r e further s upplied
80 that on the re,olution of tbe screws 8 the carriers 9 simul
taneously approach or recede from one another. The lower

F:g.J.

r'.9 ./

Ftg .1.
'

This in vention has fo r its object tbe extraction of ~old from ita
ores. D is par t of the vessel containing the flu1d extr ac t.iog
metal, and E is the conveyor for conveying the ore from tbe
delivery end, where it is supplied from hopper F by means of a.
rotary slide for rP.I{ulating the delivery of the ore, and at the
same time keeping a. head of ore in the hopper F, so as to prevent
tb e escape of gas from the vessel C. The agitator is k ept in
constant motion to and fro by m eans of the horizontal r otary
shaft , having cranks which cause the agitator to t r a.vel along the
eurface of the flu:d metal towards the delivery end of the vessel
C. The cr anks then, while completing their revolution, lilt the
the a xis of the t runnions and the axis of the transverse spindk
The spindle, which can be caused to rotate by Jrearing connecting
it to a. handwheel mounted on one of the rad1allevers, has on it
a. pinion gearing with a. segmental r ack concentric with the
trunnion , and p rojecting down from tbe lower side of the gun .
By turning th e ha.ndwheel in the one direction or the oth er , the
breech of the gun can be elevated or depressed, and the axis of
the g un inclin ed. The cur v~d guide for the t r unnion blocks and
the radial le\ers linked to tme t r unnions constitute together a.
species of parallel motion, so that, as the gun r ecoils, its axis
always r emains parallel to itself. The recoil is contr olled by a
pair of hydraulic butlers, the cylinders of whkh are mounted in
trunnions on the sides of the ca rriage in front of the curved
guides, their pistoos being linked to the blocks which carry the
tr unnions of the gun. (..Accepted ..August 16, 1898).

The object of this invention is to provide means wherehy the

stook of a gun may be adjusted to a.oy bend, to fit persons of dif
..
.;-:
~-.
6

fer ent build and eyesight. The h andle B is di vided tl'aosversely

at C, a.od a plate a is secured to it upon the breech side of the
" en c:!?:.========t==~;t.==1!!:.==7
division C by the bolt b which passes up the handle and is held by
the pin c. a1 is a plate secured by screws to the handle upon the
parts of the carriers are insulated from the upper parts by blocks stock side of division C. The four metal rods d which pass t hrough
10 of slate, and the ca rbons 6 are also carried and secured in the holes e in the plates a, at a re squar e, to pre,ent them from r elower parts of the carriers. The electric cables 11 a r e a ttached
to the positive and negative terminals at 12. If two plates P, Pl
requlre to be welded, their edges are prepared, and the welding
material placed in the wedge so formed. On the current being
applied, a.n arc is formed between t he carbon points, the inteo
sity of which can be regulated by adjusting the distances of th e
points apart by means of a. screw 8 and handle. The effect of t h e
arc is to render the r ecessed portion of the br ick 3 iocandesceo t,
and thus, instead of having to limit the heat of the weld to the
immediate vicinity of the car bon points themselves, t h e welding
heat is distributed over the ar ea of the r ecess in the refractory
brick, the plate edges being welded without bur ning the metal.
(Accepted .August 16, 1893).
FtfJ .Z

18,359. A. L. Davis, Twlckenham, Middlesex.

Electric Regulators. (9 Figs. ] October 13, 1892.-Tbis

Fig.4.

Fi.g.1.

D
D

.FYg. Z.

23,249. J. S. Boreham. Colchester, Essex. Adjusting Gun and Rifle Stocks. (5 Figs.] December 16, 1892.-

.-
... . /... .::/

invention relates to an apparatus whioh automatically effects th e

regulation of electric currents by introducing r esistance of
battery cells into a. circuit. An eleotromotor capable of r evolv
iog in either direction, according a.s its br ushes are moved to

. . 1.

H l of1

agitator off the surface of the fluid metal, and retur n it to its
starting point, when the motion is r epeated. These cr a.nke a r e
d ri ven by gearing from outside the vessel C. A ver t ical rotary
shaft is p rovided which has a c rankpin fixed on its lower end, and
which is geared to the hor izontal r otary shafts, its object being
to give a c ross motion to the agitator , so a.s to cause it to t ravel in
a.n irregula r path , so that all the par ticles of or e get turned over
and over on the surface of the fluid metal during t h eir p rogr ess
from the feed end F to the d elivery end a nd out of t he vessel C
by means of t he tube G. T his tube is also kept gas-tight by being
kept par tly filled with tailings after having passed over the surface
of the fl uid metal, the quantity of the tailings r etained in the
tube G being r egula.tP.d by means of t h e door a nd balance weight
at the bott om of t he t ube. (.Accepted A ugust 9, 1893).

RAILWAY APPLIANCES.
17,'185. P. wnuams and J. Morris, MUes Platting!
and G. Morris, Harpnrhey, Lancs. Conpllng ana.
Uncoupling Railway Trucks. [4 Figs. ] Ootober 6, 1892.
- This invE>ntion r elates to the automatic coupling and u ncoup
ling of r ailway trucks. To each end of each truck between t h e
butler band the d rawhook c is fixed a h inged br acket e, which is
p rovided with a cur ved slot. This br acket is also fitted with a
p in whi ch carries a. slotted bent lever lt, tbe st raigh t slot i wor k

49 .

volving when their tension is r egulated. The holes in the plate

al fit the r ods d closely, but those in the plate a allow plenty of
a..ogula r play. .Th e r ods d fit closely within grooves cut in the
stdes of tbe div1ded stock, and their other extr emities pass thr ough
a plate having corresponding holes to plate a , these extremities
being threaded an~ provided with a~ju~ting nuts. Boles through
the heel plate a.dm1t the key for adJustmg the nuts f. A centre
point on the adjustable screw cone in the centre of plate a' bears
upon th e face of plate a, a corresponding depression being formed
in it fo r t he reception of its point. (.Accepted August 16, 1893).

15,490. C. Sparrow, London. Controlling the

Action of Cartridge Eje ctors of Breakdown Guns

.. . ..... .

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

[6 Figs.] August 29, 189Z.- This invention r elates to mean~

for con trolling the action of the ejectors of br eakdown guns.
The r ock shafts E a re mounted in t he body of thE\ action A
and keyed to the r ear end of each shaft is a pair of radial arm~
1, 2! the f~ r mer of 'Yhich underlies the " pla,y side" of the cramped
ma10 spn ng F, wh10h, r eleased on the firi~g of the gun, p resses
upon the arm and r ocks the shaft E on whtch the a r ms a re keyed .

..'.,...-.-.....-----------------------------c.::::- .

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

PUJ.1.

..

~ng on the pin

3
I

either of two positions, is employed, this motor remaining stationary when the brushes arein intermediate positions. The br ushes
are ~ove.d by the spring armature of an electro-magnet the coil
of wb10h 1.s connected to the circuit conveying the curr~ot to be
regulated: The motor is connected to br ushes that can move
o.ver a se.nes of contacts, thereby introducing greater or less re
&Jstance m to the circuit. (~ccepted ..4ugust 16, 1893).

1 1111

g_, which also aots as the ful cr um of t he lever. The

mner end of th1a lever i~ ben_t at a right angle, and is for ked a.t
the end to take hold of the hnk dl of the coupling c hain. T he
other en d of the lever his bent a.nrl brought outwards to the side
of t.h~ truck, wher e it. is provided. with a catch for holding it in
poa1t10n. The le\'er IS also fu rmshed with a. pin l running in
the curved slot of the hinged bracket e. (..Accepted A ugust 9
I
1893).

IS4-9 0.

STEAM ENGINES AND BOILERS.

:Xhis rocking of the shaft E causes the finiO'"er 3, which it carries on
16,251. c'! B a wley, Manchester. Steam Genera1ts for ward end, and which under lies the ooking spr ing to r elease tors. (4 F~J~. ] September 10, 1892.- This in vention r elates to

t he ejector lever by withdrawing the spring stop fro~ it. The

cam lever will then, on the opening of t h e gun, be br ough t int o
position fo r receiving the impulse of its main S{>riog G and
thereby drive out the exploded ca r tridge. The ra.d tal arm '2 enGUNS, &c.
gages with the locking bolt H when it is dr awn back to allow t h e
18,084. T. English, Jarrow, Durham Mountings gun t? be opened: A. lig~t spring is pr ovid ed for r ocking t he
f~r Heavy Guns. !4. Figs. ] October 10, 1S92.-This inven- sh aft 10 a.n oppostte duect10n to t he movement it r eceives fr om
tlon relates~ the mountmg of a. heavy gun, so that the r ecoil at th e main spri ng F. (~ccepted ..A ugtUt l6, 1893).

the constru c t10n of "water tube" steam boilers or gen er ators

The s eries of spiral coils of pipes a are made of steel and a r:
r anged side ty aid~ along the length of a set of steam a~d water
d r ums band c respectively, two rows of stra.i~ht water pipes d
being a r ranged between the coils to commumoo.te between t h e
drums b a nd c in the case of land boilers. A r ow of the coils is
arrang~d a.t each side of the stoam a.nd water drums b a.nd c
r espect!vely, and a r ow extends between t h e two drums band c and

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

406
the former two rows, the lower extremities of the central coils a
being caused to extend to the bottom of the water drum c when
no flue is used. The ends of the coils are provided with flanges
al, and a r e connected to the drums b and c below the water line.
The boiler is fitted with a furnace e, and a firebrick wall f is
arranged between eaoh set of coils a to deflect the heated pro-

. 1.

venting them coming out internally , when the D'!andril is

withdrawn. Upon the outer end of the stook A 18 formed
solid a collar E upon which may be a caoted head F, so that the
etook with the r ollers and mandril may be revol ved by a
spanner. The gauge cap abuts against this collar , and is
prevented sliding off by t he sleeve D fixed on t he stook.
Thus the guage cap, when the expander is in operation,
has a solid abutment against the collar on the stook,
instead of d epending upon bolts to resist the thrust. When
tubes are to be ferruled in order t hat every one may be
expanded to exactly the same d iameter inside, a tubular gauge H
is cut to the required length, abutting against the collar ~.
against the outer end of which the collar J on the mandrll
comes in contact when the tube has been expanded to the proper
extent. (Accepted .ilugwst 9, 1893).

r1

17,450.

w. L. Spence, Manchester. Steam Engines.

F ig. ) Sep tember 30, 1892.- This invention relates to steam ,

&c., engines, in which the piston is carried by a hollow ~runk
through which the slide valve works. The central valve 18 retained, but is actuated from the back end of the cylinder. At
one end of the crankshaft is placed a flywheel governor of
ducts of combustion on their way to the flue. The coils a and the shifting eccentr ic type. The eccent ric has an equivadrum careaupported and inolosed in acasingof brickworkg, and lent radius differ ing slightly from that of the crankpin, and it
for mar ine purposes in an iron casing with flues to allow of _the
proper circulation of the bot gases or products of combust1on .
0
(A ccepted .Augt8t 16, 1893).

16.852. J. Allan, Waterloo, Blyth1 and C. B. Crowe

Bothal, Morpeth, Nortbumberlana. Metallic Pack
tng for StufBng Boxes of Steam Engines and
Pumps. [4 Figs.) September 17, 1892.-In this in vention

chamber, and is operated by means of a leve r worked by a cam

attached to the crankshaft. When the valve P ia suddenly closd
t he momentum of the water forces out the piston C, causing th~
c rankshaft to r evolve, but a portion of the power may be utilised
to force water throug h the vahe V, compressing the air in
chamber Y. As the water cannot return through the valve V
the air in chamber Y ex pands and for ces it through pipes con
o ected to the delivery pipe connection to a much greater altitude
than the source of supply to the motor. Water is forced through
t he valve V each time the vahe P is closed. It the " ram" is not
r equired to wor k, the screw W is run down on top ot stem of
valve V, forcing it to its seat, and thereby throwing t he whole
power of water on the piston C. (..Accepted .AU{Just 16, 1893)

17,536. E. StaWbraaa, London. Grapnels for Sub

marine Cables. [1 F ig.] October 1, 1892. This invention
relates to g rapnels for submarine cables, which will fit into the
irregular ities of t he bed of the oceao, and the toes of which, upon
encountering any obstacle, capsize upon a predeter mined strain
and are thus saved from breakage. The grapnel is pro,'ided with
toes A in pairs opposite each other, each pivoted between cheeks
C formed in t he shank D. Eac h toe is maintained in its normal

I
I
I

Fig.Z.

Ftj .1. u........o

/

has the r equisite lead. An eccentric rod t ransmits the motion to

a rocking lever A mounted over the cylinder, which, in its turn,
actuates the valve by a spindle passing through a gland into the
steam dome C surmounting the top cylinder. The hollow pistonrod thus need not be open to the crank cham ber with its exhaust
pressure. Hence by having a steam passage throug h the valve
from end to E'nd and communicating with the steam chest C, the
Yalve may be 'tlalanced so far as steam pressure is concerned.
(..Acupted .August 9, 1893).

annular r ings of anti-friction metal are encircled with a spiral

spring whose section also forma a right-angled triangle. Thus,
MISCELLANEOUS.
when the spring and rings a re put together in the stuffing-box
17,953. B. MaxweU, Portaferry, County Down,
they form a square section, and the spring keeps the rings against
Ireland. Potato Digger. [3 F igs.] October 8, 1892.-Tbia
the rods and keep it steam-tight. (.Accepted .A ti.{JU86 16, 1893).
invention relates to a machine for digging potatoes and cleaning
18,965. A. F. Yarrow, London. Tubuloua Boilers. ground from weeds and stones, in which the soil containing
[3 Figs. ) October 22, 1892.-Tbis invention relates to boilers potatoes is ra ised into a trough-shaped receptacle, where the
having tubes t raversed by water and steam while they a re sur- potatoes a re separated from it and from the tops, and deliver ed
rounded by flame and products of combustion, the object being m to another receptacle. The trough-shaped r eceptacle A is open
to utilise t he tubes as stays for the tubeplates, and to pro" ide at both ends, aD<'l the longitudinal bars B are spaced so as to
for accesa to them. A number of parallel tubes E passing t hrough leave interstices for the free pasaage of the soil; 0 is the sharE'
the fou r plates A, B, 0, D, presE'ot their open ends beyond the p r ojecting in front of t he apparatus, and D the longitudinal
outer plates A, D, and are fixed by expanding them. E very tube sha ft with stirrers E made fast to it, t hese stirrers E being
has an opening F through its upper and lower aides in the parts arranged in a spiral form along the shaft D. F is another shaft

which a re within the water spaces, and both ends of each tube
are closed by r emovaule covers. Over the boiler is a steam
chamber H. The boiler is ple.eed in an inclined position over a
flregrate. The flames and hot products of combustion ascend
through the inter vals between and a round t he tubes E to a
chimney above. BatHe plates are introduced between some
of the tubes to pr event the ftamea and products of combustion
from passtng dllectly to the chimney . (.Accepted ..August 16,
1893).

Fig .J .

11536 ........

upward position by a soft iron pin E which is passed through the

cheeks. U the toe fouls an obstruction , such as a rock, upon the
strain on the g rapnel r ope r eaching a determined limit, the pin
E ,.,mbe br oken away, allowing the toe to capsize and free itself.
The toe when capsized projects further than when in its normal
posit ion , and , ita direction being r eversed, has the effect of turo1ng the g rapnel over, so that it is not towed with its disabled side
downwards. (.ilccepted..4ugust 9, 1893).

17,540. B. Lane, Birmingham. and J. Pullman,

London. Valves for Controlling the Inlet and
Outlet of Compressed Liquefiable Gases to and
from Metallic Storage Cyltndera. (3 Figs. ] October 1,
1892.- Thia invention relates to valves used in the manipulation
of gases which under pressure become liquefied, and consists in
the application of double valves a, b to the storage r eservoirs.

.,

running parallel to the shaft D, ha ving arma G attached to it

The shaft~ D a nd Fare driven by means of the bevel wheels H
and J, wh1ch are fast to the shafts Land D respectively. On the
oth~r end of ~haft D a spu~wbeel M is fixed wbtcb gears through
the 10 termed1ate wheel N 10to the wheel 0 fixed to the shaft F.
The whole apparatus is mounted on the wheels p PI Q Ql t he
~heels P, PI being fixed to the shaft to which the 'be~el ~'b~el H
tS attached. On the apparatus being pulled a long in the direction
of the arr ow, the wheels P, Pl and abaft r evolve and the wheel H
~uses t he shaft D, with its stirrers E, and the 'abaft F , with its
eturera G, also to rotate. The recept&cle A is hinged at the r ear
end of_ the apparat}IS to ~be framing by means of pins, and at the
front. 1t engages w1th a cnoular slot and bolt wbaob allows it to
be ra1sed or depressed. (.Accepttd ..Augmt 16, 1893).

15,635. J. )lcKay, Whitley, Northumberland.

18,344. B. G. Bra~, Ross-on-Wye, Bereforda. By.
Tube Expanders. [9 Figs.] August 31, 1892.- Thia inven- draulic
Motor. [~ Ftgs. ] October 13, 1892.-'l'bis invention
tion relates to roller tube expanders. A is the stock, with

The valves are contained in a chamber c having two outer orifices

d , e provided with unions for connecting them wi th exterior pipes
and two inner or ifices, one of which o is extended to the bottom
of the r eservoir by means of a tube, and is, therefore, capable of
conducting liquid gaa from the lower levels where it collects by
g-ravitation, whilst the other i:lterior orifice i opens immediately
toto the neck of the r eser voir k, so that gas only is withdrawn.
(..d.ccepted ..August 9, 1893).

UNITED STATES PAT.ENTS AND PATENT PRACTICE.

I?eecriptions with illu~trationa of inventions patented in the

Untted States of Amenca from 1847 to the present time, and
reports of t rials of patent law cases in the United States, may be
consulted, g ratis, at the offices oi ENOlNBERJNO, 36 and 36, Bed fordstreet , Strand.

relates to an. hydrauho ~otor, and has for its object to utilise
AMERICAN STREET RAJL WAYS. -In 1880 there were 2050
cavities for the three rollers B, the tapered mandril 0 passing and conver t 10to mecbamcal energy the momeotive inertia con
mil~s of street r ailwa ys in the United States. In 1890
through the interior. The rollers a re kept in position externally

Ftf!.l.
...

Ftg. 2.

by a spring sleeve D which slips over the stock, and is pre

\'eoted turnin~ r ound by the edges, which enter a groove, and is
eeoured eodWlse by set screws, the apertures, whilst allowing
the rollers full play aa the mandril forces them out, pr_e~enting
them coming out of the stock externally, and t he cav1t1es pr e-

sequent upon suddenly stopping a flow of water. A cylinder has

&!1 annular chamber f~rmed at one eud of it, slightly smaller in
d1ameter than the cyhoder, and having a valve chamber secured
on it. Wi~hln. t he cylinder is a piston with a connecting-rod, one
end of wbtoh 18 attached to a crank, A valve is adapted to the

the tot~l had r~sen to 5883 miles, showin~ an increase of

3733 mtles durmg the t en years. In cit1es of more than
50,000 inhabitants the increase between 1880 and 1890
was fr~m all: ag~egate of 1854 miles to a n aggregate of
3205 miles; m Cltltes of leas than 50,000 the increase was
fr?m an aggregate of 456 miles to an aggregate of 2578
mtles.
CHICAGO AND NonTn-\VESTERN RAILROAD.-Ab the end

of ~IR.y, 1803, the Chicago and North-Western Railroad

Company was work ing 4275 miles of line. The number
of locomotives upon the system was 898, of passenger
cars 767, an~ of ft eight cars 29t626. The revenue from
all sources m the twel ve montns ending May 31, 1893,
was 32,709,747 dola.; the working exp enses of the twelve
months having been 22,293,153 dols., the profit realised
w as 10,416. 594 d ole. It will be seen that the ratio of the
working expenses to the traffic receipts s tood in 1 92-3 at
68.15 per cent. I n the course of 1892-3 the company
expended a._ further sum of 2,285,511 dols. upon equipmen_t. Thts additional equipment comprised 40 locom otives, 130 p assenger cars of various kinds and 1801
cars to be u sed in the conveyance of goods, mi~erals, live
stock, &c.