1876 August 18th

Auo. 18, 1876.]
E N G 1 NEE R I N G.
:MACHINE TOOLS AT THE PHILADELPHIA EXHIBITION.-No. VII.
•
ENGINE LATHES- (Continued.)
THUS far in speaking of lathes, it has been attempted to treat of American practice as a whole.
There are, however, some points in which a distinction must be made between tools constructed
in Philadelphia and those made in the Eastern
States. One of these points is in respect to the designs
for framing, which in Philadelphia and some other
places which have modelled after Philadelphia designs, is plAin and corresponds to modern practice in
England; while in the Eastern States there is always something of the ornate architectural style to
be seen. There is, however, an undoubted tendency
towards the plain mode of constructing frames, and in
some classes of tools there are not one-half so many
mouldings and ornaments as might have been seen
ten years ago ; but in lathes there seems to be a special reluctance to abandon the mouldings and what
may be called the ornate style for supporting legs.
The very excellent fitting which is in some cases
blended with this ornate framing will seem out of
place to many, as will also the nickel plating, which
as a finish for machine tools we are content to
believe is purely an American idea. Most of the
best American makers of machine tools have
thought proper to send their exhibits in the same
condition as they are supplied to customers, with
perhaps some extra care in selecting castings and
other material. Among the wood-working machines,
however, some exhibitors ilave their whole display
nickel plated and burnished whereverpossible, leaving
visitors in doubt as to what would be furnished if
an order were given for machines. Of this, however, mention will again be made on a future occasion.
To r eturn to engine lathes,,there are several refinements about wheels and gearing which require notice.
Back gearing, for example, is never made, as is common in Europe, with two pairs of wheels of uniform
size and pitch. Nothing seems more unmechanical to
an experienced engineer than to see a train of wheels
in which no r egard is paid to the strains they have
to transmit, and perhaps no example of the kind is
less excusable than to construct the back gearing of
a lathe of uniform strength at each end of the
spindle.
As usually arranged, the strain upon the teeth of
first movers is not more than one-third as much as
it is on the last pair, and while it might not b e well
to follow such proportions in respect to face and
pitch, there should certainly be some difference made.
As a rule in American practice, the first pair of wheels
have about two-thirds as much face as the second pair,
and a finer pitch also. This, it is thought, contributes something to the smoothness of work done
with the back gearing in use.
In respect to screw gearing or change wheels,
American lathes in many cases seem strangely out
of proportion. The pitch of such wheels on Eastern
made lathes is generally only one-half as much as
it would be on English lathes of like capacity. The
wheels are of soft iron, and engine cut in all cases,
so that in cutting screw threads of long pitch or in
case of obstruction, the wheels are liable to strip
their teeth.
In a train of interchangeable wheels, when each one
must be made to mesh with small pinions,there is no
safety except in having the gearing free and of a
pitch coarse enough to admit this. Change wheels
are usually forced together until they" bottom " as it
called, and every condition favours the breaking of
teeth. There seems also a strange oversight as to
the amount of strain which such wheels have to
endure. In cutting screw threads the operation
can be divided into two parts ; the rotation of the
screw, which is turning, and the movement of the
tool which corresponds to planing. H these two
movements were equal, the screw gearing of a lathe
would have the same or a greater amount of strain
to endure than the spindle gearing. Threads with
an inclination of 30 deg. are sometimes cut, and
taking into consideration the friction and r esistance
of a slide carriage, compared with that of a spindle,
ther e is no doubt as much strain on one as the other
in cutting threads of 30 deg. inclination. This proportion may seem strange to many who construct
or use lathes, but it is true nevertheless, and in any
works where these fine pitch change wheels are employed, there will be found evidence of a mistaken
opinion about the strains they have to bear.
The devices for holding and adjusting tools are
another p eculiar feature of American lathes. Convenience and rapidity of change seem to be aimed at
•
1 33
rather than solidity. In an English lathe the im- proportions of any tool through long experience bepression of tool-holding devices is that they are come balanced and fixed by accidents and breakage
not often used, that a tool once fixed is to r emain, of parts too weak, or by imperfect working, so that
but in American lathes such devices seem more however seemingly small some of the working parts
adapted for a constant change of tools and their posi- may be there is beyond doubt an approximation to
tion. We are speaking now of small lathes. The balanced strength. This rule, if a true one, is exlarger ones do not differ much from those in Europe ceedingly hard to reconcile with the size of running
in respect to tool-holding:appliances. In respect to spindles in American lathes. The necks, taking an
lathes of 12in. centres, and less, all p ertaining to average of general practice, are not more than onetools seems t o b e modified by the principle of half as strong as in English lathes. The main neck
operating pointed out in a previous place.
of a spindle for a lathe of 20 in. swing (10 in. centres),
The English idea of a tool i~ a square piece of made by a leading firm in 1873, is only 2-k in. in
steel from two to four times as heavy as would be diameter, another lathe standing alongside made
employed in the United States, this bar of steel to be by another maker has a spindle 2# in. in diameter
clamped on a broad base with several screws and in in the neck. These examples, varying in strength
such manner that it r equires some time to remove and nearly as six to eleven, were examined in a workreplace it. The angle of the edge is not much shop, and were not extremes either way. The
regarded; the lathe is strong enough, and if the work spindles were soft and the bearings of brass.
is rigid enough the cutting must b e done r egardless
In regard to general workmanship there is a
of those little points of adjustment, angles, and so marked difference between American and European
on, which r elieve strain and secure accuracy. Any lathes. The latter are carefully fitted in all working
small part, such as fillets, chamfering, rounding, and joints, everything else is left plain and rough ; but
so on, which in America would be done with a slide in America the whole machine is fitted up in one
rest, the English workman does by means of hand manner. Screw heads, the plates of wheels, back
tools. On the other hand the American idea ot shafts, the sleeves of sliding spindles, the caps of
a lathe tool is a thin bar of steel, as light as possible b earings, the front of carriages, tool slides, in short
aet on its edge, so that the deep section will resist all parts easily accessible or that have to be planed
the cutting strain. The tools are usually put through or turned, are finished, and seemingly with as much
a morticed swivel, so as to be instantly set at any care as is spent on running bearings, or the truth
angle to the work, and are held by a single screw in of movements. The appearance of machine tools is
order to be instantly removed or r eplaced. A a matter more thought of in America, and criticisms
vertical adjustment of the point of the tools is also on the design, which generally means the framing,
provided for, so that the cutting angle can b e are often heard in cases where nothing but working
arranged with precision, and thus lessen the strain qualities would be thought of in England.
on the t ools and permit thinner and more acute
The minute or detail fitting on Eastern made lathes
edges. The vertical adjustment is often used in is exceptionally well done, and if the alignment and
setting for dimensions, being more sensitive than cross motion receive attention in proportion-which
the cross screw when slight variations are r e- we question-it is a wonder how the tools are proquired.
duced at the prices for which they are sold. For
In respect t o feeding details there is more elabo- example, one firm furnish lathes of 25 in. swing, or
ration than in En~lish lathes. The requirements of 12! in. centres, to turn 8 ft . long, fitted with indea lathe of less than 12 in. centres would be for the pendent feed gea.r, screw and change gearing, extra
United States a sliding feed independent of the screw, face plate, centre and follow rests, cross feed, overwith three or four changes of movement by means head gearing screw keys, all complete for a little
of a b elt or differential wheels which can be in- more than lOOt.
stantly changed ; the sliding feed to be reversed in
Except when adopted for some special work,
the apron or at the slide rest in some instantaneous American lathes are made with the sliding head adway, and the feed to start instantly when thrown justable laterally. The purpose of this is to turn
into gear. Self.acting cross feed might also be tapering pieces, and perhaps to save something in the
named for 10 in. and 12 in. lathes. Without filling care which would b e required to secure alignment
these conditions no lathe could be considered as in a horizontal plane. In so far as it aids in securing
complet.e, and would find no market. It must not parallelism such an adjustment is certainly a convebe inferred, however, that the same kind of me- nience, and so far as we can see is not an objectional
chanism is employed for slide feeding, and to attain feature, unless employed to hide a want of truth or
the adjustments named, diversity is the rule in this correspondence in the beads. As already pointed
as in other things. The friction wheels employed out in respect to carriage movement, deviation in a
on the lathes of Messrs. William Sellers and Co. form horizontal plane is especially to be avoided in an
no doubt the most novel among many methods of engine lathe, and if truth in this r espect as well as
varying feed. 'This device, which has been illustrated a considerable convenience in performing some kinds
in ENGINEERING (vide vol. xvii. , p. 395), differs, how- of work are secured by this side adjustment, it is a
ever, from others in being variable to any degree, good expedient. An objection sometimes urged
instead of consisting in two or three changes.
against this plan, and in favour of rigid sliding heads,
A Canadian firm exhibit a lathe in which the is that workmen are apt to neglect setting the
sliding feed is operated by a chain, the changes spindle true or central and thus spoil work, but, in
being produced by wheels as in screw cutting. This fact, such a thing seldom occurs.
plan has two advantages, the motion is positive,
While speaking of this matter it may be remarked
and the space occupied but little, leaving ample that to construct a true lathe is by no means so easy
room for screw gearing without much overhang, as many suppose. The term true applied to a slide
such as cone pulleys r ender unavoidable.
lathe should include several things ; first, that the
Independent sliding feed, which is now provided centres coincide one with the other ; second, that
on the best English lathes, or " rack feed" as it is the carriage moves parallel with the centres ; third,
called, is made here with considerable uniformity, the that the cross movement is at a right angle with
shaft and gearing being generally placed behind the r otation axis of the running spindle.
lathes. In America the only uniformity observable
These things may be said to be in some measure
seems to be in placing the feed shaft with the screw contingent one upon another, b ecause all are the re·
on the front, or if this plan is varied from, the screw is suit of careful fitting and true machine tools for promounted at the back. This may be right or wrong, ducing the parts. No lathe should be purchased
as carriages are constructed, and in the case of most and set at work without being tested as to its truth,
lathes as made in the United States, there seems a and it is trusted that the judges may in the ~resent
want of proper provision to meet the severe diagonal Exhibition apply such tests. Mr. Colemen Sellers,
strains which fall on a carriage in cutting screws of an experienced constr uctor of machine tools, gave
coarse pitch, a matter before noticed. In some of the in a paper, read some time since, an excellent plan
more expensive lathes, those made by the principal of testing the parallel movement of a carriage by
Philadelphia firms, the screws are placed within the reversing a rod of some length placed between the
frames under the top flanges to be secure from chips centres, and moving the carriage from one end to
and dirt, a half-nut being used, and the screw being the other without changing a tool which is set so as
supported by a continuous bearing opposite the nut. to barely touch the rod. Such a test, ~owev:er, would
This is a refinement which calls for special appli- not determine the truth of the runnmg spmdle, the
ances in fitting and causes extra expense, matters axis of which might not coincide with the centres.
This can easily be tried by inserting a rod several
not much considered in the cases referred to, as the
lathes are not placed in commercial competition with feet in length and noting whether the ext reme end
runs concentric wiLh the still centre. A r od of wood
other makers.
Nearly every point in American lathes to which is preferable because of its stiffness; the centres
we can refer brings us back to the proposition in must of course be set to coincide previous to the
r espect to strains and the mode of turning. The experiment and before the sliding h ead is moved
•
1
ENGINEERING.
34
gained in the arrangement shown which no doubt
justifies its adoption. In the first place the spindle
e admits of a step pulley, which could not well be
placed on the main spindle, while the end is free to
receive change wheels of any size. It is true that the
same advantages exist when a main spindle is made
so that the end thrust is taken up in the rear bearing,
and the projecting end is free, as in the case of
Messrs. W. Sellers and Co.'s lathes, but this plan has
not been ventured upon by other makers in America.
The arrangement in Fig. 9 involves one extra pair
of wheels, and an extra b earing for the lower
spindle, but neither of these are perishable details,
unless, as is sometimes done, a set of tumbling wheels
is inserted to change the motion for back feeding or cutting left-hand screws ; then the whole
becomes perishable, because of the short bearing of
back. The cross slide movement is easily t ested by
means of a trammel or large face plate placed on the
spindle and moving the tool slide from one side of the
lathe to the other, the carriage being fixed.
Tapering devices are shown on some of the lathes
in the Exhibition, but these possess no novelty
worthy of notice unless it be the moda of connectingthe tool slide to the taper guides when a compound
rest is not used. With a compound rest the lower
slide can be operated by the tapering guide and the
top slide be employed in adjusting tools; the same
thing is accomplished with a simple rest by attaching
the tapering guide to the cross screw, as shown in
Fig. 8. In this sketch, a is the top of the lathe frame
and e a grooved guide bar attached to the rear side of
the lathe frame by flanges. A block c slides in a
groove in the bar e, and as the carriage cl moves
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seizes on the mind of American mechanics sometimes, and causes them to emulate each other in
following an idea which h as n o base in practical
utility.
An example of this kind are the friction devices for
reversing lathe shafts. Various firms have vied with
each other in contriviD:g clutches for this purpose,
and the measure of theJ.r value seems to principally
depend upon how long a careful workman can keep
them operating, and at the same t ime protect his
head from falling pieces which have broken or como
loose. No frictional starting mechanism has ever
succeeded so well as shifting belts. It is true that
the strain communicated in t his way is as the
amount of surface in contact and not as the pres.
sure on a constant area, but this as a theoretical
point is a small matter compared with the universal
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along, the rod s slides backward and forward accord.
ing to the inclination at which the bar e is set. This
rod s is attached to and moves the cross screw m and
tool - holding block 1t, a.s shown. ' .Yhen straight
turning is to be performed the rod s is detached from
the block c and fastened by a clamp screw at i,
the operation of the lathe being then the same as
thoug h no tapering device was employed. The
method of turnin g tapering pieces has been
adopted by Messrs. Pratt and vVhitney, the celebrated makers of gun t ools. Several examples are
shown in the E xhibition.
N early all lathes made in the Eastern States, that
is to say the greater number made in the country, ha.ve
an auxiliary or intermediate spindle to co~nect t~e
main spindle with the feed and screw gearw g. ~h1s
we b elieve to be a. peculiarity of American practice,
and to deserve some notice. The general mode of
arranging such gearing is shown in ~i_g . 9, in wh_ich
a is the main spindle, and e the aux.ihary one, c 1s a
s tep pulley for tho slide feed, and cl a pinion t? be
used in the train of change wheels for screw cuttmg .
It would seem that the most simple plan of gearing with a main spindle would be to have it project
through the rear bearing and place a cross~ba.r
and thrust screw behind, but still there are pom ts
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these wheels on their stucls. This tumbling gearing,
if it were not objectionable because of wear, would
be a good device, as it dispenses with the necessity
of an extra wheel in cutting left-hand threads, and
what is more important p ermits the spindle e to be
stopped when not required to operate the feed or
screw.
One firm who do not exhibit any tools, arrange
the spindle gearing, as shown in Fig. 10, a. wheel a
employed to change the motion being mounted on
one of the studs which supports the cross-bar e.
These two wheels take the place of a tumbling gear
arrangement, the connecting one below being swung
from right to left engages either of those shown, or
when placed centrally between is out of gear, and
allows the feed train to stop. This device is, we
think, one which will commend itself to engineers,
and it is regretted that no example is shown among
the lathes in the Exhibition.
A contrivance for shifting belts on overhead step
pulleys is among recent novelties connected with
lathes. Fig.ll will explain its operation. I n this view
a is a step pulley, e the belt, c is a shifting eye attached
to a rod i which moves freely in the sleeve m ; this
sleeve m is fastened to n. vertical shaft or rod which
stands behind the lathe or other tool, passing from
the floor to the ceiling, and is turned by means of
the handle n. The eye c shifts the belt from one
pulley to another in a. manner which would not be
suspected without an experiment.
The whole seems a lit tle " trappy, " as the
Americans say, and may cause annoyance by derangement, a common fault with most contrivances
of the kind, but when working well it seems a useful
addition when overhead gearing is placed high and
out of r each. In r espect to overhead gearing for
lathes, if the subj ect were worth the trouble, much
might be said of practice in America. It would
require much spa.co to explain or even rev~ rt
to the various contrivances which have been tned
for r eversing the movement of overhead shafts.
T here seems to be some strange infatuation which
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use and complete success of shifting belts for nine t enthsof all cases where stopping, star ting , or r eversing gear is required. In the case of a. lathe shaft two
belts have to be employed to produce different speeds
and the forward and back motions; the object of
friction clutches is to substitute some new or independent frictional surfaces instead of that between
the belts and the face of the pulleys, these surfaces
being generall~ of me~l on rr;tetal, actuated ~y some
contrivance mth runrung pomts of large diameter.
A common plan is t~ operate sue~ clutches by means
of a sleeve with comcal ends which wedge between
and expand some contrivance within the pull~ys.
This sleeve of course, must be moved by a rmg
collar fork 'or other device which runs at considerable speed ~nd wears out, while various adjustments
must b e looked after to keep the whole in order. The
matter, as said, is one not worth notice, and we leave
it with the remark that those who make t he best
lathes employ only belt shifting gearing for overhead shafts.
TilE GuLF STREAM--The great river~ the ocean known
as t he Gulf Stream, from the Gulf of Me:nco to the A~ores,
is 3000 miles in length,. and its ~reatest breadth IS 1~0
miles. At first its speed 1s four mtles per_ hour, but this
grnduo.lly declines as it becomes more diffused. In t~e
Straits of F lorida the temperature of ~he Gulf Stream 1s
St dog., or 9 d~g. ~bove_ t~e surrounding waters; and off
Newfoundland m wmter 1t 1s 25 ~eg. to 30 deg. warmer than
t he neighbouring seas, thu~ causmg th~ dense fogs of that
region- T he Gulf Stream 1s o. great dispenser of heat and
moisture in its course.
AusTRAL £AN TELEORAPHY.- The Agent-General of
New South Wnles has been informed by telegram that the
Government of New South Wales, associated with the other
Australian governments, willl'll;Il a s~amer he~ween B';\n·
joewanje, Java, and P ort _Darwm durmg the mte;ruptlon
of t he J n.va-Australinsectlon of theEasternExtenston, &c.,
Company's cn.ble. T he steamer will remain at the B_anjoewanje for messages from Europe for three days certa.m and
longer on demurrage at the discretion of the Government
officer on board · and it will r emain at Port Darwin one
dn.y, with t he sa~e provision for additional time.
•
E N GIN E ER IN G.
There is also in this series an ingenious and quaint
contrivance, attributed to Sturgeon, to remedy the
very obvious difficulty of emptying and charging a
MAGNETISM AND ELECTRICITY.-N 0. V.
trough constructed upon Cruikshanks' principle.
IN our last notice we described the electrical ma- Attached to the battery is a second waterproof trough
chines at South Kensington, and the instruments without divisions, so placed as to receive the liquid
for producing and maintaining difierences of electro. contents of the cells when the whole apparatus is tilted
statical potential. The still more important subject forward ; to facilitate this operation it is mounted
of electro-dynamics, embracing as ili does the great upon a pair of trunnions between two uprights
results of telegraphy, the transmission of time attached to a horizontal stand. It is only necessary
signals, the deposition of metals, electric illumination, to tilt the apparatus in one direction for the battery
and the hitherto undeveloped subject of electro- to be charged, and in the other for its contents to b e
motive power, is equally well represented in the poured into the reserve trough. Munch's battery,
collection, and the enormous number of exhibits which was invented a little after Wollaston's, was
which owe their origin entirely to the one discovery a modification of it, and was so arranged that all the
ofJ the voltaic battery, renders it almost difficult of plates could simultaneously be immersed in the same
belief that Volta's discovery was made but 76 years solution contained in a large rectangular cell or
ago and within the memory of some who are Hving trough. From this was developed Hare's battery,
at the present time.
or " deflagrator" as it used to b e called, from its
The collection of instruments in this section is in great calorific effects. It consisted of a large sheet
itself an eloquent answer to those who are always of copper and a large sheet of zinc rolled together
ready with the question " Oui bono?" in reference to upon a cylinder of wood, and kept apart by having
the little beginnings of science, and who cannot be- bands of cloth or horsehair rolled between them.
lieve, unless they can see some immediate practical This helical roll was immersed in a tub of acidulated
use in a discovery, that it is not necessarily worth- water, and being of great surface, and the internal
less, and that to follow it up is not merely waste of resistance being very small in consequence of the
time. What would be said of a person who would close proximity of t he plates, great heating effects
value the acorn only because upon it he may feed were produced. No. 1256 is a battery described in
his pigs, ignoring the fact that it contains the germ the catalogue as " Hare's deflagrator," but this
of the giant oak whose branches extend both far appellation is not correct. It is merely a copper.
and near, and out of whose trunk the toughest zinc cell in a cylindrical form , consisting of a copper
timbers may be cut. And yet those who would re- vessel composed of two concentric cylinders attached
pudiate the small things of science upon utilitarian to a circular plate of copper forming the bottom ;
grounds, or who value them only in proportion to the annular space between these cylinders is filled
their immediate and limited use, are hardly less with diluted sulphuric acid, and into this a cylinder
short-sighted, for assuredly the whole history of of zinc is immersed. This arrangement, though rethe world has shown that small discoveries of the sembling Hare's in general appearance, differs from
hidden things of nature have proved themselves to it in the fact that the plates are concentric cylindera
be germs which have developed into sciences of the having no helical form. By both. these batteries great
utmost practical value, spreading into every region heating and magnetic effects are produced due to the
of thought, and out of which industries have sprung large surface exposed, and to their small internal
that now support the world and enable thousands resistance.
to earn their daily bread.
No. 1253 is the original water battery of ProLet such persons take a walk through Gallery F fessor Daniell, and contributed by the Council of
of the Loan Collection of Scientific Apparatus; there King's College. It consists of 512 small copper
they will see that V oltay's pile, which at the time of tubes about i in. in diameter, fixed in a vertical posiits invention was known only as being capable of tion into a fiat board in sixteen rows of 32 tubes
producing muscular contractions in the limbs of each. To the edge of each tu b e is soldered a piece
dead frogs, has developed in three-quarters of a of thick zinc wire bent over so as to dip into the
century into a gigantic science, and that by his water contained in the n ext adjacent tube. All the
celebrated couronne de tasses man has been enabled tubes being filled with water a current of very high
to put a girdle round the world and to tie together electrical tension was developed due to the great
all the countries of the earth.
internal resistance of the battery and the great
From the fact that Volta's discovery was first number of cells. These 512 cella are only a portion
applied to produce the electrical effects in Galvani's of the water battery with which Professor Daniell
physiological experiments, the science of electro- experimented, and which consisted of 2048 similar
dynamics has been somewhat unjustly called after cells. With this water battery he was enabled to
the name of that anatomist, and V olta's couronne de charge almost instantaneously a Leyden battery of
tasses and its subsequent developments have re- many square feet of surface, and in a much shorter
ceived the name of Galvanic batteries.
time than by a powerful electrical machine. ProThe voltaic batteries, or instruments for pro- fessor Daniell found in his experiments at this early
ducing and maintaining differences of electro. date that there was an appreciable interval between
dynamical potential, to the consideration of which each discharge of the Leyden battery, indicating, as
we shall confine ourselves in this notice, form a he expressed it, that voltaic action, " though
most interesting and instructive series in the South apparently immediate, consists of a succession of
Kensington Collection, whether they be regarded efforts rapidly following each other." This is preanalytically or from an historical point of view. cisely the conclusion to which the r ecent valuable
There are here collected not only some of the earliest researches of Mr. Warren de la Rue and Mr. Spottis.
forms of batteries, but some of the original instru- woode upon the stratification of the electric disments as completed by their inventors.
charges in vacuo have led, and to which we shall
The history of the voltaic battery in England is have to refer further on.
well illustrated by an interesting series of the early
The greater degree of intensity produced by a
b atteries from the Museum of King George lii. at battery of a large number of elements, the more
King's College, No. 1255 consisting of (a) Cruik- necessary is it for each cell to be insulated, and this
shanks', in which the plates themselves formed the is a point that only lately has r eceived the attention
cells by being soldered back to back, the copper it deserves. In the water battery of Mr. Crosse,
against the zinc, these compound plates forming and which is described in Noad's "Lectures on
divisions in a waterproof wooden trough in which Electricity," this point was very carefully attended
the acidulated or saline solution was placed. This to, and with a battery of 2500 pairs of elements
battery was invented by Cruikshanks in the year extraordinary electrical effects were produced.
1801 or one year after Volta's discovery, and was
In all the batteries of which we have been speakfor ~any years used for working the electric tele- ing the metallic plates are immersed in one liquid,
graph. (b) Babin~on's,.also a copper-zinc battery, and are called for that reason the " single-fluid
which was the first m wh1ch the plates were attached batteries;" they are all more or less liable to
to a frame by which they could all be li,fte~ out. of diminish in power after a very short time of work.
the solution together; and (c) Wollaston s, m wh1ch ing, and this is due to three causes; in the first place,
the zinc plate was enclosed on both sides by a copper the exciting solution cannot be kept in a uniform
envelope, the two being sep~rated by ~ood or some condition, the sulphuric acid is, during action, disother non-conducting matena.l; by th1s means the solving the zinc and becoming more and more coneffective area of the zinc plate was doubled, and the verted into a solution of zinc sulphate, so that the
quantitative power.o.f the bat.t ery waa.thereby muc~ internal resistance of the battery is continually inincreased. The exe1tmg solut10n used m W ollaston s creasing, and unless it were "refreshed" as it is
arrangement was composed o_f nitric .and sulp~uric called, from time to time by the addition of fresh
acids, in equal proportions, diluted w1th seven tunes sulphuric acid, its action would cease altogether.
In the second place, the hydrogen which is contheir volume of water.
THE EXHIBITION OF SCIENTIFIC
APP.AR.ATUS.
'
•
[AuG. J8, 1876.
tinually being evolved on the copper or negative
plate, does not come away as fast as it is formed
but adheres to the plate as a thin film of non-con~
ducting material, forming in the circuit what is
equivalent to a ''fault" of high resistance· but in
the third place, this film of hydrogen has a still more
deleterious influen.ce upo~ the working of the battery than that of maulatmg the negative plate from
the conducting fluid. It converts that plate into
more or less of a positive plate similar to the zinc
and so has a tendency to force the current back i~
the direction opposite to that which the battery
ought to give. Hydrogen is even more electro.
positive than zinc, and when this hydrogen covering
is at its worst, it is as if the copper element were
plated with zinc, or rather with some metal having
stronger electro-positive properties. The poles of
the battery have a tendency to be reversed,
hence this defect is known by the name of polarisation, and it is one of the bites Mires of the electrician.
All these defects a.re , remedied by the two fluid
batteries of which D&niell's sulphate of copper
battery was the first, a.nd which may be taken as the
type of constant or " two-fluid" batteries. No. 1254
is the original constant battery of Professor Daniell,
invented in the year 1836, and which was employed
by that philosopher in his researches ; this also
is contributed by the Council of King's College. It
consists of a series of tall cylindrical copper vessels,
each containing a second cyli.n drical vessel or cell
composed of porous clay, in which is inserted a round
rod of zinc, the outer copper cell is filled with a
solution of copper sulphate, which is maintained at
its point of saturation by having crystals of that
salt 'kept always in the liquid upon a perforated
annular shelf at the top of the copper cell. The
porous cell containing the zinc rod is sometimes
filled with a solution of sodium chloride (common
salt), but more often with diluted sulphuric acid.
The action of the battery is as follows: when the
circuit is closed decomposition of the diluted acid
takes place in. the porous cell, the oxygen of the
water combines with the zinc to form an oxide,
which is immediately dissolved by the sulphuric acid
forming zine sulphate. The hydrogen set free by
the decomposition is liberated on the surface of the
copper element, but, instead of accumulating there,
as in the single fluid batteries, it meets the copper
sulphate solution which is also being decomposed
into oxygen, with which it combines to form water,
copper, which is deposited upon the plate of the
same metal, and sulphuric acid, which permeates the
porous cell replacing that with which the zinc was
dissolved, and so automatically " refreshing" the
inner cell. All these actions are, perfectly regular
and proportioned to one another so long as the
copper solution remains saturated, and thus a constant current is produced. When still greater constancy is required the diluted acid is replaced by a
solution of zinc sulphate, but the power of the
battery is thereby much reduced.
The following diagram will explain the reactions
that take place in a Daniell's cell when the circuit
is closed:
;::::~
rSulphuric
Zinc rod acid...
···
1::
]-
:g
Water
...
Copper sulpha.te
{Ho -_
0
J
r---SO
{8~ -..;.,.~1-
Cu
SO$ ---' '-
~
~ Water ...
Zinc sulphate
Zn O, 8 0 • { in inner cell.
Zn
SO,
••• 50H
t
=::::;:>-l..
2H 0
Sulphuric acid
(ready to die··· solve more
zinc).
Oopper (de... { posited on
outer cell).
Water (rea.dy
to
dissolve
... more crystal•
ot copper aulphate).
Three years after the invention o~ th~ Da.niell
battery, Mr. Grov~, Q.C., now c!~t1ce ~1r W. R.
Grove invented his celebrated mtnc aCld battery,
which ' is the most powerful combination yet discovered, and which eliminates the hydrogen by
oxidising it, so as to form water, and so prevents a
polarisation of the negative plate.
Grove's original nitric acid battery is in the
collection, and will be found next to his gaa battery,
No. 1262, but it does not appear to have a number
of its own. It is interesting not only from its being
the first of its kind, but from its having been constructed by its distinguished inventor out of such
simple materials. It is a minute battery of 12 glass
cells, which are in fact very small toy tumblers.
The porous cells are the bowls of tobacco pipes,
broken off their stems and having their small ends
atopped with wax. With this little battery Pro.
•
AuG. 18, 1876.]
feasor Grove obtained a most energetic current of
electricity, capable of rapidly decomposing water
and of igniting wire and charcoal points. A
good specimen of Grove's battery is contributed
by Messrs. Elliott Brothers, No. 1269. Grove's
battery consists of platinum-zinc couples ; the outer
cell contains diluted sulphuric acid in which is immersed a plate of amalgamated zinc, sometimes in a
cylindrical form but more often bent twice at right
angles, so as to form two parallel plates united at
their lower ends. Within this cylinder, or between
these two plates, is a porous cell containing a sheet
of platinum foil immersed in concentrated nitric
acid and forming the negative plate.
On account of the great electro-motive force of
Grove's nitric acid battery as compared with its
size, it is the battery commonly used in this country for
producing the electric light for l ecture purposes.
The principal objection to Grove's battery is the
costliness of the platinum plates. In Bunsen's battery, which wa~ invented in 1843, this is met by the
substitution of a plate or prism of carbon for the
platinum ; in all other r espects, it is similar to
Grove's. Bunsen 's battery is used almost exclusively on the Continent for the electric light, in
cases where magneto-electricity is not employed.
But although its prime cost is considerably less than
Grove's arrangement, it is more costly to work and
occupies considerably more space. In fact, while
Grove's is the most compact, Bunsen's is probably
the most bulky battery in use. There are at South
K ensington examples of Bunsen's battery in all its
forms.
Faure's arrangement, No. 1270, consists in placing
the nitric acid inside the carbon pole, which is made
in the form of a bottle, and which is closed by a
carbon stopper. This carbon pole, which is in form
exactly like a ginger.beer bottle, is at the same time
the porous cell; and being air-tight, the nitrous fumes
accumulating in the upper portion force the nitric acid
through the pores of t he carbon by their pressure.
No. 1582 is a modified form of Daniell's arrangement contrived by Dr. Meidinger, Professor of
Physics at Carlsruhe. It consists of a large glass
jar enclosing a smaller jar, into which dips the neck
of a balloon-shaped glass containing crystals of
copper sulphate. The outer jar contains a zinc cylinder immersed in a solution of magnesium sulphate,
and the inner cell contains a copper cylinder immersed in copper sulphate, which is maintained in a
saturated condition by the crystals in the balloon
jar falling down as those below are dissolved. This
battery is much used throughout Germany for telegraphic work. There are some good examples of
this battery in the section devoted to horology, where
they are employed for driving Ritchie's electric
clocks (No. 1844).
By far the most constant battery for telegraphic
work is Daniell's if properly attended to, but there
is in it a very great waste of material in proportion
to work· done, owing to diffusion taking place by
osmosis through the porous diaphragm. Leclanche's
battery (No. 1277) is the most formidable rival with
which D aniell's has ever had to contend. Although
in its earliest forms it has a porous cell, it is essentially a one fluid battery, and liable to the defect in
all such batteries, viz., a liability to polarisation,
but it possesses this advantage, that directly the
b attery is at rest the hydrogen, and with it the
polarisation, disappear, and the battery regains its
original strength. It is for this reason admirably
adapted for electric bells and for telegraph lines
where there is intermittent work, such as country
stations and private lines. It is becoming very
largely employed in telegraphy both in this country
and on the Continent, in all cases where the business
of the line will permit of intermittent action. In
construction L eclanche's battery consists of a glass
vessel containing a saturn.ted solution of ammonium
chloxide, in which is immersed a zinc rod forming
the positive element, and a porous cell containing a
mixture in equal proportions of manganese peroxide
and crushed horn carbon in small lumps and tightly
packed for the negative element. In the last form
of Lec1anche's battery introduced by the Silvertown
Company the porous cell is done away with, and a
solid cylinder of compressed manganese and carbon
is substituted for it, and by this arrangement many
defects are eliminated.
The r eactions, upon contact b eing made, are as
follows : Chlorine (Cl) is liberated upon the zinc
plate, and forms with it zinc chloride (Zn Cl2") which
is soluble. The ammonium (N H4 ) is decomposed
into ammoniacal gas (N H 3 ) , which is given off and
water (H~O), or expressed symbolically:
ENGINEERING.
•
Before conta.ct, Zn 2 (N H Cl), 2 (Mn 0 2 ) , C
After contact, Zn Cl2 , 2 (N H 3 ), H 2 0, M2 0 a, C.
The earliest attempt to eliminate polarisation in
a single fluid battery was made by Mr. Smee in the
well-known battery which b ears his name; he used
for his n egative element a plate of silver foil covered
over wit h finely divided platinum, which has the
property of throwing off the hydrogen in minute
bubbles from its granulated surface ; but this was
only an improvement in the right direction, and
Smee's battery, though possessing very great conveniences, has all the defects of single fluid batteries,
and is practically useless for telegraph purposes.
In illustration of the electro-positive effect of the
metallic gas hydrogen to which polarisation is due,
Professor Grove designed a battery in which the
gases hydrogen and oxygen formed the positive and
negative poles, and from which he obtained all the
effects of the voltaic battery. In the collection
will be found the original gas battery of Professor
Grove (No. 1260). Itconsistsof three Woulfe's b ottles,
into the necks of which closed glass tubes are fitted ;
each tube contains a slip of platinised platinum foil,
to which is attached a platinum wire sealed into the
glass tube terminating outside, and by which the
alternate tubes may be connected. These tubes are
filled with hydrogen and with oxygen alternately,
and when contact is made between the first oxygen
tube and the last hydrogen tube an electric current
is established, and at the same time the gases conta.inedin the tubes gradually diminish in volume in the
proportions in which they exist in water, and which
is formed during the action. No. 1261 is a fine
modern form of this battery of six elements, constructed by Spencer, of Dublin, and contributed by
Professor W. F . Barrett.
One of the most interesting exhibits in this section is a series of forty cells of Mr. D e la Rue's chloride of silver battery, of which he has in his laboratory a series of over 8000 cells. The cells of this
battery are large glass te:at tubes closed with stoppers of paraffin, the negative element consists of
a silver flattened wire, upon which is cast a rod of
fused silver chloride immersed in a solution of ammonium chloride, and the positive element is an
amalgamated rod of zinc wire prepared from the
purest zinc that can be obtained; and in order to
prevent internal contact between the silver and the
zinc, the former is enclosed in a small tube of vegetable parchment open at both ends. With this
enormous battery Mr. De la Rue, in conjunction with
Mr. Spottiswoode, has been investigating electrical
discharges in vacuo, to ascertain the cause of the
stratification. With a battery of half that number
of cells, a discharge is maintained through a vacuum
tube interposed between the poles without the use
of any induction coil, and what is still moro remarkable, it is accompanied by the pulsating stratification
without any contact breaker or interruption of the
current. By proportioning the external resistance to
the electro-motive force of the battery, Mr. De la Rue
was able to maintain the well known crescent-shaped
stratification so absolutely stationary and steady,
that perfectly sharply-defined photographs could be
taken of them. I t is intended to prosecute these
researches until a battery of 10,000, or even a larger
number, of cells is r eached ; and with such inquirers
as Mr. De la Rue and Mr. Spottiswoode, there can
be little doubt that very important additions to our
knowledge of the internal philosophy of the voltaic
battery may be expected, and the connecting link
between electro-dynamics and electro-statics may be
reached.
We cannot conclude this notice without a reference
to the very interesting "copper-zinc couple" of Dr.
Gladstone, by which he in conjunction with Mr.
Tribe has beer.. adding a large number of new compounds to the science of chemistry by its decomposition of other substances. It will be found in
the section of the Exhibition devoted to chemistry
(No. 2427). In its simplest form it consists of a
mass of zinc foil, crumpled up in order to increase its
surface and the number of its r idges, and upon it is
precipitated a covering of finely divided copper.
Upon immersing this cuprified zinc foil or " couple"
in certain fluids possessing electrolytic properties,
an infinite number of local currents is developed
between the minute particles of copper and such
minute specks of zinc a~ are left uncovered and in
contact with the electrolyte. The r esult is that
electrolysis takes place, and the body is decomposed;
for example, if the couple be immersed in water,
the latter is decomposed, the zinc becomes oxidised,
the hydrogen collects in the upper part of the vessel,
<&nd the level of the liquid falls.
137
This is essentially a "local action" couple, it
utilises and turns to good Mcount local action,
which is so deleterious to the proper working of
most voltaic batteries, and which amalgamation of
the zinc plate is intended to reduce. In this arrangement t here is no external circuit, and, therefore,
such couples cannot be connected together in series
so as to form a battery. It is, therefore, rightly
classed with chemical instruments rather than with
those belonging to magnetism and electricity.
Besides the combinations we have described, and
which may be termed the standard batteries, there
are in the collection a large number of ''fancy"
batteries, many elaborately '' got up" with all the
finish of brass-work and ebonite that is necessary
for an optician's advertisement, and in which an
amateur so much delights, but which we have not
space to do more than mention.
In conclusion, we will only call attention to a very
interesting and instructive series of models of voltaic
batteries on twelve different systems, contributed
by the Conservatoire des Arts et Metiers and constructed by M . Ruhmkorff. In this series of
beautifully finished models is recorded the history
of the voltaic battery both in England and in
France from the !fl~~n~ion of Volta's pile, which is
represented by amoO.et on an enlarged scale, to the
year 1860, when M. Becquerel introduced his
sulphate of lead battery, which shares the honours
with Leclanche's cell on the Continent for the work
ing of electric bells.
FERRIS AND MILES' STEAM HAMMER.
WE illustrate on page 185 one of the steam hammers ex·
hibited at Philadelphia by Messrs. Ferria and Miles, descriptions of whose machines have already appeared in this journal.
The hammer _has a weight of bead of 700 lb. Several peculiarities of desi!!.n-will be noticed, the most striking of them
being that the hea'd A is set at an angle in t he frame. The
die C is of the oblong form shown in the drawings, as well
as that of the anvil die D. The object of this arrangement
is to enable the workman, after drawing out his work across
the short way of the die, to turn it and finish it lengthwise
without being inconvenienced by the frame. By this means
skew and T-shaped dies can be dispensed wiLh, and the ful l
surface of the ram utilised. The latter is moved between
the guides E E, and held in place by the steel plate F, bolted
through the frame B. The valve G is a plain cylinder of
cast iron, enlarged _at each end to work in the cylindrical
seats H H, in which the ports I I are placeJ. Steam is admitted through the valve J, and circulates round the valve
G between the seats. The exhaust chamber K is below the
cylinder, which therefore drains condensed steam into it at
each stroke through the lower steam port. The exbaUBt
above the pi:>ton passes down through the interior of the
valves, a! shown by the arrow on the drawing. The valve
stem L is connected with the valves in the exhaust chamber.
No stuffing box is tberefore required, there being only atmo·
spheric pressure on each side of it. This combination enables the valve to bo so perfectly balanced that it will
drop by its own weight while under steam.
The automatic motion is obtained by an inclined plane M
upon the ram A, which actuates the rocker N, the outer arm
of which is connected by a link to the valve stem, and thus
gives motion to the valve. The valve is caused to rise in
the up-stroke by means of the rocker N, and its connexions,
through the inclined plane. The steam is thus admitted to
the top, which drives down the piston, while the valve and
connexions follow by gravity, thus reducing considerably
the friction and wear upon the valves. In very quick work
tbe fall of the valves may be accelerated by the aid of a
spring; or it may be retarded in heavy work by friction
springs, so as to obtain a heavier blo\~ by a fuller admission
of steam. For general work, however, the arrangement
shown is perfectly effective, and as the rocker N is bung
upon the adjustment lever P, any required variation can be
obtained by the movement of the lever. Single blows can
be struck with any degree of force! or a rapid succe:.sioo of
constant or variable strokf\s may be given.
The anvil 0 rests upon a separate foundation, in order
to reduce the effect of concussion upon the frame. The
drawing illUBtrates the arrangement. The bed is long,
extending beyond the hammer on each side so as to give
plenty of area, and the ends are left open for convenient
access in case the anvil should settle and require re-adjustment.
NEw WoRKS ONTRE SouTHITALIAN .-Duringthe last
few months the South I tallan Railway Company has enlarged
some aqueducts and conso~date~ some c~t~ings .on its Bari
and Tarentum line. A smng br1dge at S1n1gaglia has been
strengthened. Some new lines and turntables have been
laid in the Ancona stR.tion. 'r he appliance!> of t he Pescara
station have been extended, and sundry new lines ha'"e been
laid down in the new and old stations at Naples. A bridge
over the Calore, near Dugenta, failed in December, 1875.
A new bridge, formed of metallic spans resting on the piers
of the old bridge, wtllch had remained intact, was opened
within fifty days. The new bridge involved a.ltogether an
outlay of 14,432l.
EARLY
AMERICAN
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(For Description, see opposite Page.)
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FIG. V.
NEW SouTH WALES RAILWAYS.-An extension of the the date of completion was December 1, 1875; the estimated half the distance to Cootamundra), and 228! miles from
Great Southern Railway of New South W ales from Gunning cost 195,000~. The next extension will be from Ya.ss to Sydney. The extended time for completion to Cootamundra
to Bowning, a station 7 miles beyond Yass, was expected to Cootamundra, a length of 64t miles. This contract was is April 30, 1877. The next extension contemplated is from
be opened towards the close of June. Mr. Wbitton, the let to Messrs. A. and R . Amos and Co. in May, 1874; the Cootamnndra to Wagga Wagga, Sit miles, 280 miles from
colonial engineer-in-chief for railways, has been in the specified date of completion is J une, 1876; the estimated Sydney. T he contract for this extension was let to Messrs.
district making preparations for the opening of the line. cost 221,000~. There has been an extension of time allowed Am os and Co. in September, 1874 ; the original date of comBowning is 194 miles from Sydney and 29 miles from Gun- to the contractors, and now the date of completion to pletion is December 31, 1876, but an extension of time has
ning, to which place t he line wa.s opened in November, Mun'11IDburra.h is November, 1876. T he distance from been a.llowed to December 31, 1877. The estimated cost is
1875. The contract was let to Mr. Willia.ms in J uly, 1873; Bowning to MUlTUmburra.h is 34t miles (a little more t han 173,000t An extension of the Great Western Railway of
FIG. 10.
New South Wales is expected to reach Blayney this mont h.
The time for the completion of the Great Northern Railway
of N ew South Wales to Tamworth has been extended to
September, 1877.
QuEENSLAND RAILWAYs.-The Queensland Government
is not credited with an intention to propose any new railway
works at present. The question of new railwa1s in Queensland will force itself to the front notwithstanding.
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THE BALDWIN LOCOMOTIVE WORKS.
No. I.
'TBE Baldwin Locomotive Works, Philadelphia,
· date back to the earliest days of railway construction in America. They were organised by Mr.
M. W. Baldwin, who built his first locomotive from
· the published descriptions and crude sketches ob~
tainable of the Stephenson engine, which took
part in the Rainhill experiments. On the 25th
April, 1831, this engine was put to work experimentally. It was but a miniature affair, but the
results were sufficiently satisfactory to justify the
controllers of the Philadelphia, Germantown, and
N orristown Railroad, to order a locomotive from
Mr. Baldwin, to run upon their road. With great
difficulty, owing to the rude mechanical appliances
of the time, this order was completed, and the
engine, called the "Old Ironsides," was first run on
the 23rd November, 1832. From this time it was
put to work, and was in service for over twenty
years, the boiler having finally been removed, and
employed to work a stationary engine. No traces
now remain of this relic. The " Old Ironsides" is
shown in Fig. 1, from which it will be seen that it
was a four-wheeled engine, built on the Planet
model ; the weight in running order was about
5 tons. The rear or driving wheels were 54 in. in
diameter, and the leading wheels 45 in. The driving
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placed in front of the firebox, and the leading axle
was at the back of the cylinders. The latter were
9~ in. in diameter, and 18 in. stroke, and were
attached to the smokebox horizontally. The wheels
had wrought-iron tyres, wooden spokes, and cast-iron
bosses, and the frame, which was an outside one,
was of timber. The boiler was 2 ft. 6 in. in diameter, with 72 copper tubes 1! in. in diameter, and
7 ft. long. The form of the tender is shown in the
sketch. By the end of 1834, Mr. Baldwin bad
completed five locomotives, and bad devised w bat
was at that time an important improvemen~tbe
half crank. This is shown in Fig. 2, from which it
will be seen that it consisted in placing the cranks
at the ends of the axle, and completing them by
securing the crank-pin in the wheel itself. Other
important modifications had also been made, and
the type of the Baldwin engine of 1834 is shown in
Fig. 3. Besides the half-crank arrangement already
mentioned, wheels of the form shown in Fig. 4 were
employed. In these wheels the spokes were of
cast iron made hollow, and flanged at the end, but
the flanges did not touch each other. Around the
~pokes, wooden felloes were placed, and a wroughtiron tyre placed on and secured. :Mr. Bald win had
also introduced ground steam joints, instead of
those made good with red-lead. He, too, made the
guide bar hollow, and used it as a pump barrel,
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PHILADELPHIA.
attaching the plun ger to the piston rod, as shown in
the sketch, Fig. 5.
By this time the prospects of locomotive building
were sufficiently good to render the establishment of
special works advisable, and accordingly a house
was taken on the site of a portion of the present
works. The new factory was completed in the be~
ginning of 1835, and in May of the same year, 11
locomotives had been built, which increased to 149
by the end of 1840. But few alterations in the 1835
pattern were made up to this time, but three sizes
were made for different werk, viz. : •
Weight
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23,000 ))
20,000 ))
In 1835 Mr. Baldwin schemed a new mode of making
cylindrical axle boxes and pedestals. The latter
were bored out so as to form two concave jaws, and
the boxes were turned in a lathe so that their vertical ends were cylindrical, and they were then fitted
in the pedestals. This system, found convenient at
that time on account of the imperfection in machine
tools, was used for some years for driving wheels.
In the year 1839 the old form of timber framing
was abandoned, and an iron frame was substituted
for it ; and in 18421.\-.lr. Baldwin invented the flexible
truck, which at once created for him a larger addi-
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tion to business, especially for the heavier classes of
locomotives which the increase of railway traffic ren~
dered necessary. This truck, which is shown in Figs.
6 and 7, had for its object the increased utilisation of
weight for adhesion. combined with greater freedom
in passing curves. The type of engine to which this
system was adapted is shown in Fig. 8. It had six
coupled wheels, the two pair forward being in the
truck. The axles had inside journals, and ran in
boxes under two wrought-iron frames, which were
quite independent of each other. The pedestals in
these frames were cylindrical, and the boxes similar
to those already described. The main fram es were
placed directly over the truck frames, and in the
centre a spherical bearing from th e frames rested
upon a beam placed in the middle of the truck. By
this arrangement a perfect freed om of motion was
obtained, and the variations in the distance between
the wheel centres in passing round curves was so
small that no practical difficulty was found in practice. Gradually modifications and improvements
were introduced, and Fig. 9 shows the class of goods
engine made in 1846, in which eight-coupled wheels
were introduced, the four leading ones being in the
flexible truck and the remainder rigid. Fig. 10 shows
the fast passenger engines of Baldwin, commenced
in 1848. The driving wheels were 78 in. in diameter,
and were placed behind the firebox. There was a
pair of smaller wheels in front, and a four-wheel
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EN G I N E E R I N G.
I40
truck under the smokebox. The cylinders w ere 17 t
in. in diameter, length of stroke 20 in. and their
position was between the truck and the smaller pair
of wheels. They weighed about 47,000 lb., and
on t rial achieved a sp eed of 60 miles an hour on the
P ennsylvania Railroad. In 1852 a new type was in troduced, arising from the r equirements of the
Pennsylvania Railroad Company, for heavy freight
engines to burn bituminous coal. These engines
had t en wheels, six-coupled, 48 in. in diameter, and
a four-wheeled truck, and weighed about 27 t ons,
the weight va.r yin g however with the power of the
engine. A few years after, this class had wholly
superseded the earlier types with six or eight wheels
all coupled. A special class of engine may be men tioned here, which was built in 1847 for running on
the inclined plane on the Madison and Indianapolis
Railroad, over a gradient of 1 in 17. This engine,
which is shown in Fig. 11, had eight coupled wheels
FIG.
•
11 .
42 in. in diameter, and outside cylinders 15! in. in
diameter and 20 in. stroke. A supplementary pair
of vertical cylinders 17 in. in diameter and 18 in.
stroke was attached to the boiler as shown, and
these drove geared wheels working into a rack laid
on the r oad bed. By means of a small horizontal
cylinder on top of the boiler, the piston rod of which
was connected to a bell crank, and this to side rods
attached to t he main shaft carryin g the pinion , t he
toothed wheels could be thrown in and out of gear
with the rack according to circumstances. In 1861
ste~l fireboxes were first introduced at the Baldwin
Works, and the attempt proved unsuccessful. Two
years later , however, better results were obtained,
and from 1866 steel for that purpose became general
for the engines built for the P enn sylvania Railroad.
I n 1866 Mr. Baldwin died, and some of the present member s of the firm b ecame interested in the
business, which continued however to be carried
on under the title of t he "Baldwin L ocomotive
"\Yorks."
It may be mentioned here that two largely used
types of engines, which are r epresented at t he
1'hiladelphia.li:xhibition, are known under th e general
titles of "Consolidation" and" Mogul," these names
heiug those of the first engines of the classes built.
The former has four pairs of coupled wheels, and a
two-wheeled .Bissel t ruck in fr ont. The latter has
t hree pairs of coupled wheels, and a swing truck in
front.
The present extent and arrangement of th e Baldwin L ocomotive "\Vorks will be understood from the
plan on t he preceding page. They occupy portions
of six block s, facing on Broad-s~reet, and running beyond Seventeenth- street in one direction , and reaching from Pennsylvania Avenue to Spring Gardenstreet in the other. T he numbers on the d rawing refer
to the different portions of the shop as follows : No. 1. This is a four-st ory structure, the basement of wh ich is used as store-rooms, the first floor
for offices, the second is the drawing office and model
r oom, the third is a small machine shop, and the
attic is used as a. pattern stor e-room. This b uilding
is of stone an d brick, with a gravel roof. No. 2 is
of the same h eight as No. 1, the first floor being the
boiler shop, the second and third machine shops, aud
the attic is used as a store-room for patterns. No.
3, which is 160 ft. long by 40 ft. , is of the same
height, the basement being used as a boiler-house,
the first, second, and third as machine shops, and
the a ttic is an extension of the pattern shop. No. 4
is a three-story brick and frame structure, 121ft. by
40ft. , 'Yith the boiler shops on th e first and g round
flo ors, and a machine shop on the floor above. Nos.
5 and 5A are the boiler and blacksmiths' shops, a
portiou of No. 5 b eing also used as a machine shop.
The area, which is on one side 317 ft. 8 in. long, is
divided into t hree spans of 5!) ft. 8 in. each . They
arc one-story buildiuga with slate r oofs, and i~ the
centre is an open area as marked. No. 6 IS an
engine- house 19 ft. by 40 f t., also in one story.
No. 7 is a three-story brick building, 20 6 ft. 6in.
[AuG. I 8, I 876.
by 77ft., and is used on the first and second floors which in that year crushed all trade, and arrested
as a machine shop, the first floor being occupied as progress, affected the Baldwin Works in common
a carpenter and pat ~e rn-makers' shop. No. 7A, with all other industrial establishmen'ts and only
measuring 61ft. by 83 ft., is divided across one end, 437 engines ~ere buil~ during that year,' the order
where the chimney stack is shown in the plan, and for the remamder havmg been cancelled or carried
used as an engine- house. I n the basement of the for ward. Still this was a very busy season more
other portion are placPd three steam boilers, and t han one and a half locomotives a day having been
above on the first floor is a machine shop, on the completed throughout the year, and the amount of
second a. brass shop, and oa the third a paint shop. :':ages paid having amounted to 42,000 dols. a week.
No. 8, measurin g 168 f t. 4t in. by 140 ft., is an I he ~wo succeeding years were marked by great deerectin g shop, one story iu height ; and in one presswn , and the a mount of wages paid in 1875 fell
corner of the block is another building 60ft. by 68 ft., to 6000 dols. p er week. N ow that business is arra.in
of four floors, the first two of which are grindin g r eviving throughout the United States, ordersc for
r ooms and pipe shop, and the other t wo are not locomotives increase, and employment is now found
occupied. A shed 108 ft. 4! in. by 36 ft., serves as for about 1870 men.
a pipe and iron store ; and the remainder of the
It may b e interesting to note here the difference
block not yet built upon, and measuring 32 ft. by that has been effected in the price of locomotives
108 ft. 4t in., is about to be used for offices. No. 9, during the past sixteen years. \Vages have largely
a building 26 ft. by 102 ft.~, is used for si oring lum- increased, the prices of iron remain about the same,
ber ; and 9a, in the basement serves as a coal store; bu t more cosily materials are employed, and the
the first floor is used as a tube shop, and the second weights of similar locomotives have been augment ed.
as a pattern store. No. 9b, 150ft. by 102 ft., is the Then boilers were made of l>& in. plate, now i in.
st eam hammer and smiths' shop, and No. 10 is also plates a re used; s teel tyres 2! in. thick havE; replaced
a steam hammer sh op, measuring 80 ft. by 102 ft. wrought iron tyres of 2 in. ; steel firebox es are emThe position occupied by t he b oilers is shown in the ployed instead of iron; the motion is made heavier
plan. N o. 11 is n ot yet built, but it is intended to and stronger ; the axles are of large!' diameter ; the
construct ther e a photographic establishment for frames have greatly increased in weight; tanks then
the use of th e works. No. 12 is the iron foundry, wer e made to hold 1500 gallons which are now in190ft. by 80 ft. No. 12a is the cupola floor, the creased to 2000 gallons. Yet the cost of the same
positions of the cupolas being shown upon the plan. type of engine now is 12! per cent. less than it was
In 12b, on the fl r st floor, is a boiler and engine-r oom, in 1860, in spite of all the increase in weight and
and the second is used as a finishing shop. No. 12c cost of labour. The cause for this is to be found in
are the core ovens, and 12d is a covered sh ed for the increased facilities which have been developed
grinding stone, &c. No. 12e, a shop two stories for the production of work, and in the system upon
high, serves th e ground floor for cleansing castings, which the work is canied out.
T his system, commencing at the drawing office, is
and the upper floor for the brass foundry. No. 12f
is four stories high and measures 115 ft. by 30 ft. carried out through the whole works.
On the first floor is the machine repair shop, on the
Of course a very large number of types of engines
second the brass finishing shop , on the t hird ma- have and are being built; but in very few cases does
chine and pattern makers' shops, and on the fourth it happen that anything entirely novel has to be
is a pa ttern store. No. l2,q is a. shed for storing constructed, or any engine, the chief parts of which
flasks a nd sand, aud No. 12/t is also a sand store. have not been made over and over again, either
As will be n oticed, there ar e two gateways at t his exactly the same or very slightly modified. And of
part of the block, r unning to the right and left, and course while every year certain changes occur in
giving access to N o. 13, a blacksmith and steam design , requiring that ne w patterns should be made,
hammer shop, 205 ft. by 80 ft. On the other side is or old ones altered, fresh sketches for forging got
No. 14, also a blacksmith's shop, 160 ft. by 80 ft.
up and so forth , these modifications in accumulating
T he work& of Messrs. "\V. Sellers and Co. occupy- increase the n umber of fresh combinations, and
ing the block between Sixteenth and Seventeenth- render the work for the follo wing year more simple.
F or this reason very fe w drawings are made in
streets, cut off the remainder of the Baldwin Locomotive Works. As will be seen from the drawing, proportion to the amount of work done, and in prethey occupy about half of one block and a small paring t he drawings of a new type, existing types
portion of another. The form er is used entirely as are r eproduced with only such alterations as may
a t ender-making shop. No. 15, measuring 178 f t. be necessary. As a general rule, therefore, the
by 55 ft., has two stories and an attic. Th e first only drawing made for a new class of engine is
fl oor is the erecting shop, the second the tank shop, confined to a side elevation, on which some of the
and the attic is used as a sheet-iron shop. Beyond leading interior par ts ar e dotted. Upon every difis an extension of the erecting shop, marked 15a on ferent portion of this drawing a number is placed:
the plan. No. l5b is 55 ft. by 17 8 ft., and is a two- corresponding either with the number of an existing
stor y building. with a machine shop on the ground pattern of a. ne w detail or of a sketch for the smiths'
floor, a woodwork shop above, and a pattern store on shop. T his being done, schedules are prepared of
the r oof. No. 15c is another machine shop and every different part of the engine for the use of the
engine and boiler house. It is 68 ft. long by 48 ft. various departments. Thus one schedule comprises
wide. A pumping house is shown at 15d. Nos. 16 every piece of cast-iron work in the engine. This
and 16a are punching and straightening shops, and schedule is headed with the name of the works, and
blanks are left to fill in the number of engines,
l6b is a small store-room.
The p ortion of the works in Seventeenth and their character, date of order, &c. The sheet is
H amilton-streets, marked 17, comprises two shops, divided i n~o two parts, each subdivided into four
one GO ft. by 66 ft., and the other 62ft. by 66ft. columns. In the first of these coluUlDs is filled in
They are both used for the manufacture of loco- the nuruber of parts, in the second are printed the
motive springs. The positions of t he furnaces are names of the various parts, in the third IS inserted.
indicated on the plan. The proj ecting shed the number of existing patterns to be used, and in
marked 17b covers a weighing platform. No. 18 is the fourth are on tered r emarks, references to a.ltera.a blacksmiths' shop, and 19 is a storing shed, tion in patterns, new working details, and so forth,
cutting off a par~ of the locomotive spring shop. The whole of the cast iron parts are t hus contained
Finally, 20 t o 23 ar e sheds and store-r ooms. T he upon a. single sheet, and from a prolonged practice
various railroad communications in different parts the names of almost every part is thus filled in and
of the works are clearly shown on the plan, as well printed. It happens, however , that from time to
as the junction with the ruain line of the P hila- time new pieces are r equired, and t~ese are added
delphia and R eading R ailroad upon Pennsylvania in writing to the schedule, and are prmted upon the
next new set made. I t follows, therefore, that no
Avenue. .
The thousandth locomotive was completed in one engine r equires all the parts enumerated, and
186 1, and in the fifteen years which ha.ve elapsed those not r equired are left blank and run through.
I n the same way a schedule of the b t ass work is
since that date, 2878 mor e h ave been built, the
highest number being given to the last of 3 ft. gauge prepared, and the carpenters are r eferred to their
engines, which are woi"king a. part of the railway special drawings. The system for forgings is somepassenger t raffic in the Centennial Grounds. The what different. Similar schedules are filled up, but
number of engines turn ed out by the .Baldwin in place of p:1tterns being referred to, the column is
Works has of course varied greatly in dtfferent filled up with sketch numbers. For the boilers the
years, but the tendency has always been to increase, foreman of the boiler-shop is provided with a book
and the capacity of the establishment has also been in which are printed the form, dimensions, types,
gradually enlarged until to-day, no less than 500 &c., of the boilers he is to make, the r equisite inengines a year can be finished. I n 1872 the number formation being filled up in writing. Then a card
turned out was 422, and in 1873, there were 570 schedule is prepared, in which the numbE:rs of the
ordered for delivery within the year, but the panic various cards - the use of which we will presently
•
•
•
AuG. 18, 1876. J
explain-are entered. One of these is issued to each
department, only that part b eing filled up referring
to the special department to which it iR sent. Then
there are two more printed forms, one the so-called
specification, and the other the " finished" schedule.
In the former of these every part of the engine is
entered with the particulars of its materials, &c.,
finishing with the necessary information about
painting and fi.nishiug. Every one of these various
forms is carefully checked bE>fore it leaves the drawing-offi ce, A-nd copies are k ept in bound volumes.
Bound up also are large volumes containing drawings
of differ ent kinds of similar p arts, wheels, motions,
pistons, cylindE-rs, pumps, &c. All these drawings are
fully dimension ed, those sizes with are constant in the
various types, thickness of plates, sizes of flanges,
bolt holes, and so forth, being wri tten in figures:
and those dimensions which vary with each design
b eing indicated with letters. Upon each sheet is
added a tabulated stat ement of these various dimensions, preceded in all cases by an index number ,
which indicates the special type. Every sheet, too,
carries a r eference number corresponding to that of
the shop card. There is necessarily a great accumulation of these volumes, which are used as standards
of reference.
Tracings or ordinarydrawiugsarenotaHowed in the
shops, but in their place card~ of every detail are prepared. These are not necessarily drawn to scale, but
are for the most part copies of the drawings in the
books of details, the system of figuring and letterin g
already described being r epeated upon them, as well
as the tabulated particulars. ·when any addition to
these latter is made they are added to the card, which
is varnish ed to preserve it from damage. They are
kept in compartments under the charge of a clerk,
alphabetically arranged, each compartment being
provided with a manuscript index of the contents,
and a sla,te, upon which the time when any one card
is issued, and the department to which it is issued,
is written. A complete check is thus kept, while
upon another slate are entered the particulars of any
card returned temporarily to the drawing -office for
addition or alteration.
The sketches for the smiths' shop are arranged in
a similar manner, only they are all drawn upon
brown paper mounted on canvas, with every dimension figured, but without strict adherence to scale.
The small sheets upon which these sketches are
prepared are all of the same size, and the paper on
which they are dra wn is tinted, because it is less
easily soiled than white paper would be. A greater
number of n ew sketches are made than of cards,
because in making a forging it is of little conse~
quence if any change in form or size be introdueed,
which is not the case in the foundry, and it often
happens that such modifications are made, in order to
save any change in existing patterns.
The system of making alterations in existing
patterns is also very carefully organised. F or example, with the saddle formin g a part of a given cylinder casting, and the upper surface of which is
curved to the r adius of a given size of boiler : the
pattern is so made that the outer half of the saddle
1s separate from the r est of the pattern, so as to
facilitate drawing it from the sand. By substitutin g
a new piece, the upper surface of which is curv~d
t o a radius corresp onding with a larger or smaller
boiler, the same p attern can be employed, the tit to
the boiler being made good by adjustin g the chipping pieces. On the altered part of the pattern is
placed a new number, which is recorded in the
pattern-book, in such a way that either the original
pattern, or either one of the new combinations, can
be at once obtained and sent on to the foundry.
The different schedules are distributed through
the various departmen ts, the foreman of each one
of which can t ell at once exactly what is r equired of
him, and with the large facilities for completing
work possessed by the Baldwin L ocomotive t>stablishment, it can be carried on with remarkable rapidity. In the erecting shop, the system of cards
is also employed, th ese being for t his department
of a very simple character , all parts b eing made
with the utmost precision, so ihat they come together at once. The for eman of the painting and
fi nishing shop consults the specification sht•ct for
his instructions as to this part of the work. Th e former
is entered against the words" styles of pain t ing," as
No. 3, or as 10, or any number up to 42. H e would
r efer th en to the index of his book of pa.tterns, and
find the combinations indicated by t.he number referred to. The colour of four parts governs the
r est of the painting of the locomotive at the Bald wi n
Locomotive Works, the colours of the wheels, the
ENGINEERING.
sandbox, the cylinders, and the t ender. These being
fixed the rest all follows according to fixed rules.
Now there ar e forty~two different styles of painting
at preseut in use at the works, and the number of
course is always increasing. But most of the styles
are produced by various combinations of the four
parts just named. The reference book contains an
index of all these combinations, and the b ook itself
examples of wheels, cylinders, sandboxes, and
tenders painted in their r espective colours. So
with r egard to finish, the natUJ·e of which is indicated by a number as already explained.
Before concluding this article we may explain
that when the production of the Baldwin Locomotive '~' orks began to increase, many years ago, and
several types of engines were built, these types wer e
distinguished by letters, as t he A, B, C, D types,
&c., and when slight modifications were made in
them a figure was added to the r eference letter.
But i n the course of time this kind of denomination
became unservicable, because so many changes harl
been introduced into practice. A n ew system of
r eference growing out of the old one was therefore
introduced , and is now in use at the works. By
th e old system, the letters indicated the num ber of
driving wheels i thus, classes C, D , E i ndicated
two, three, and four pairs of drivers respectively,
but tLis became quite insufficient of iden tification.
In the present system a prefix.ed number indicates
the t otal number of wheels, another number the
diameter of cylinders, while the same index letter
refers to the number of dridng wheels as iu the old
style. Thus 8-26-C would rE>fer to an eig htwheeled engine having a four-wheeled truck, and
two pairs of driving wheels, and a 16-in. cylinder i
8-28-D would r efer t o a locomotive with three
pairs of driving wheels, a two -w heeled truck, and
17 i~;. cylinder i 10-26-E would indicate eigh t
driving wheels, a two-wheeled truck, and lG in.
cylinder. In engines built with a truck at each end
a slight modification is introduced. Thus 8-22-:i-C
refer s to an engine with four dri vers, and a t wowheeled t ruck at each end. T he selection of the
series of numbers to indicate the size of the cylinders was influenced by t he desir e to continue as
far as possible the use of cert ain serial numbers em.
ployed before, aud which gave for cylinders J2 in.,
13 in., 14 in. diameter, and so on, the index numbers
of 18, 2 0, 22, &c.
FOREIGN AND COLONIAL NOTES.
Gas at Paris.-In the first six months of this ye3>r the
aggregate revenue collected by the Parisian Company for
Lighting and H eating by Gas, amounted to 830,93n. This
total exhibited an augmentation of 64-,663~., or 7.78 per
cent., as compared with the amount of revenue collected by
the company in the first half of 1875.
Rai~W(Jf!JS in S1Jain.-A number of new lines have been
submitted for ministerial approval in Spain. One of t he
new lines thus projected is that from V alladolid to Cata.layad, 179i miles in length. T his line, i f carried out, will
uuite the Northern of Spain t o the N orth-West ern of
Spain; and it will be a bond of union between old Castille,
Aragon, Catalonia, and Valencia.
The Westphaliam, I1·on Tmde.-T his trade is far from
prosperous. Most of the local rolling mills are working on
foreign account. The Bochum Company has orders on
band which assure it employment for t he remainder of
t he year ; this concern is working especia.lly on R ussian
account.
Bridging the Mu rray.-A deputation ha.s had an interview with the Victorian Minister for Railways urging the
erection of a bridge O'\'er the Murra.y at Howlong . The
bridge is estimated to cost 8000~.. and the deputation
pointed out that tbe New South ·w ales Government would
probably consider the matter favour.l.bly.
T he United S tates Navy .-The United States Navy Depar tment has issued an order for the stoppage of all work on
some monitors now being built or altered by the H arland and
Hollingsworth Company, Wilmington ; Messrs. J. Roach
and Son, Chester; Messrs. W. Cramp and Sons, P hiladelphia ; and Mr. J. F. Rowland, New York. This step
was rendered necessary from the r ather stern fact that
Congress has not made any " appropriation" for the continuation of the works .
I tolian Comme1·ce.- The tonnngo movement of the
prin cipal Italian ports appear.s to hn.ve largely increased
during the last 1il years. Thus t his movement a mounted
at Ancona la.st Y:e~r to 751 ,689 tons, n.gai.nst 372,749 tons in
1861; at Bl·mdi 1 to 771,096 tons, agamst 38,938 tons in
1861 ; at Genoa, to 3,109,800 tons, against 1,436,764 t on s
in 1861; at L eghorn, to 2,375,169 tons, against 1,673,219
tons in 1861 ; n.nd at Naples, to 2,923,922 tons, against
1,603,875 t on s in 1861.
Bridging the Susqueham.na.-A new iron span n.bout to
be placed on a railroad br idge n.cross the Susquehanna at
H avr o cle Grace will be 305 ft. in length, or 50 ft. longer
t!.la.n tbo one which it is to r epl:l.ce. Tbo piles have bet.n
sunk through 90 ft. of water and mud to :1. rocky bottom
foundation. Six of thirteen spans have been r eplaced by
•
iron, and gradually all the woodwork will be removed, so
that t he gt·eat bridge will be transformed into one wholly
of iron on granite pier s.
Inte1·colon:iaL R ailway .-This line has now been opened
throughout. The time occupied in running between Moncton
and Riviera du L oup, a. distance of 374 miles, is 21t hours,
including stoppages. Not much local traffic has been developed upon the Quebec porhon of the line thus far, but t he
throug:h traffic offering is stated to have surprised the most
sa.ngwne.
The Johtn CoclGe,.ill Com,pClilty .-M. Sadoine has been
elected director of this company in succession to l:vi. Closset,
deceased. M . Sadoino will continue to act as manager.
Union Pacific Rail1·oad.-The ~arnings of the Uni~n
P acific Railroad Company in M ay, 1876, were 1,201,955
dols. ; the workina expenses were 501,067 dols. ; and the
profits 700,888 dois. The oper ating expenditure fol· the
mont h included 19,581 dols. for taxes and 74,105 dols. for
steel rails .
The I taUan Navy.-The Duillo, an Italian man-of-wa,r,
carries some 100-ton guns.
R aaways and W a1·.-A.U the r ailway companies of
Austro-Hungary have, like t hose of France and other
countries, now made arrangements for supplying carriages
for the conveyance of the wounded in time of war. The
total number of carringes which ar e to be available for this
purpose is 600, forming .24 trains.
T he Mississippi.-Capto.in E ads has appeared before the
H ouse of R epresentatives Committee on Commerce and
has expla.ined to the Committee t he progress which has
been made in his jetty work at t he mouth of t he Mississippi.
Captain Eads has shown t hat his operations are eminently
successful.
The Seine.- I rnportant works are under discussion for
t he improvement of the Seine. It is proposed to secure
12 ft draught of water from R ouen to P aris. The total
cost of tho wot·ks in contemplation is estimated n.t 960,000~.•
and their execution is ex.pected to extend over five years at
l eo.st.
Unifo rm T ime in P a1·is.-A project forthe establishment
of clock s indicat ina, by means of an elec!ric wire, exactly
the same time in aTl quarters of P a,ris, is stated to have been
advanced a stage.
Ame1'ican Telegraph;y .- An effort is being made to secure
t he laying of a subma.rine telegraph cable from the western
coast of t he United Stat es to Asia. A bill fa•ouring such
an enterprise passed the United States Sena.te a. sho1·t time
since, but it has been recalled from the House of R epresentatives for ftn·t her consideration. It is stated that,
under present arrangements, a message from the P acific
States to China, Japan, or Aus tralia has to travel 25,000
miles in order to r eaoh i ts destination, with corresponding
cost, while if the proposed ca.ble is laid the distance will be
r educed to 6000 miles, and the cost of communication will
be reduced also at least 60 per cent.
Coat at Boston (U.S.).-There ha11 been little change in
the Boston coal trade. T he demand for Nova. Scotian coal
continues limited .
A Te~eg1·aph .fo1· King Geo1·ge's Sound.-A teleg1·aph
wire has b~en completed from P ort Lincoln and Streaky
Bay ; the hoe has also been sur veyed to Eucln.. The line,
when finished, will connect Adelaide with King George's
Sound.
Tours T 1·amways. - A net work of tramways to be
worked by horses has been conceded at T ours. The network t hus authorised has been conceded to M. de la Hault.
Deniliquin and Moama R ailway .-A trial trip has been
made over this new Australian line at a speed of 30 miles
per hour. Mr. Green , C.E., of the Victoria.n Government
railways, who r ecently inspected the line, came to the conclusion t hat 60 miles p er hour could be run over it with
safety. 1~he leng-th of the line is 45 miles, and its cost thus
far has been something under 120,000t., that amount including sta.tions, office1·s' dwellings, a temporary brid"e
over t he Mm·ray, rollin~ stock, &c. Additional rollmg a~d
some more station buildings n.re expected , however, to
carry the capital account to 135,000t before the close of
the fir:\t year's traffic.
B elgiam CoaL I1npo1·ts.-The imports of coal into Belgium in the first six month s of t his yea.r amounted to
::372,000 tons against 326,000 tons in the ilrst half of 1875
and ~66,000 t~ns in t he first half of 187-!-. The imports of
coalmto Belgtum have thus more t han doubled during t he
last two yea.rs. In tho first ha.l£ of that year 83,000 tons of
c0al were imported into B elgium from Great Britain, t he
corresponding in1ports in the first half of 1876 wera 182,000
tons .
New BnLnswick Railways.-Operations on the Albert
Rn.ilway in New Brunswick are being ca.rried on \vith
energy, o.nd at the lo.st dates upwards of 30 miles had been
graded. Trains aro expected to be running io Hillsboro'
by November 1.
Ettports from Philadelphia.-The value of the exports
from• P hiladl'lphia in th~ y ear ending J une 30, 1876,
amounted to 40,254,075 dols., showing an increase of
11,666,056 dols., as compared with tbo year ending J une
30, 1875. In lo.st year's expor ts Great Bdtu.in and I reland
figured for no less than 23,912,366 dols., or more t han one
half.
T asmanian I1·on.-The works of the British and Tasmanian Iron Comp:my are now in operation . The oniput
is said to be nlready somewha.t considera.ble.
Ge1·man Canals.-The German Central Association for
the Promotion of River and Cana.l Na.viga.tion i i endea.vouxing to secure t he construction of a can&l to bcil\t...,te
communication between Berlin, Stettin, Rostook, H amburg,
and Lubeck.
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E N GIN E E R IN G.
143
,
DETAILS OF MEKARSKI'S COMPRESSED AIR TRAMCAR.
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As long ago as the year 1850, M. Andraud experimented
on the Versailles Railway with a locomotive driven by compressed air, and between that time and the present this
system of working has been frequently revived without so
far ever having attained any extensive development. Of
late years attention has been more than ever directed to the
U8e of compressed air for locomotive power, the object in
view being to obtain an engine specially adapted for use on
street railways or tramways ; but notwithstanding the experiments which have been made, none of the plans proposed
have yet been t ested on a sufficiently extensive scale to
thoroughly prove their practical value. It is true that in some
s~ecial inst~ncee, as at the St. Gotbard 1'unnel, compressed
a1r locomotives have been employed for regular service, but
even at the St Gotbard works sufficient data have not yet,
so far as we are aware, been collated to enable the cost of
working to be fully ascer tained, while the circumstances
under which the compressed air engines are there used
differ widely from those existing in the case of or dinary
tramways.
The diflicuWes to be overcome in the application of compressed air to the working of tramway engine~ are by r.o
steam, the mixture being effected by causing the air to
bubble up through bot water on its way to the eng ine. The
steam thus mixed wilh the air can of course g ive off heat
to t~e latter during its expansion, the steam i tself being
thus condensed and the wa ter formed serving as a lubricant
in the cylinders, and aesisting to keep the packing of stuffingboxes, &c., in proper order. The sys tem of heating thus
adopted by M. Mekarski a ppears t o us a very promising
one, and we hope hereafter to be able to analyse its practical
results; at present, however, we are not in possession of
s ufficient data to enable us t o do this, and we must, therefore, content ourselves by describing the mechanical details
of the a rrangement we ill ustrate.
As will be seen from the engravings on page 142, M.
Mekarski's tramcar is a four-wheeled vehicle capable of
carrying 18 passengers inside, 22 on the r oof, a nd 5 on
the rear platform, making a total of 4 5. The length of
the body is 13 ft . tt in., the wioth outside 7 ft.. 2f in. , and
the height 6 ft. 6~ in. The t otal length of the Yebicle
over platforms is 20 ft. 6 in., an d the wheel base is 6ft.
7 in.-an extremely sbort wheel base considering the amount
of overhanging weight.
In fact this short wheel ba~e
appears likely to render the vehicle very destructive to the
permanent way.
The supply of compressed air is stor ed at a pressure of
25 atmospheres in a series of thirteen cylindrical r eservoirs
A A, situated under the floor of the vehicle as shown in
Figs. 1 and 2. As will be seen from the last-mentioned
figure, the reservoirs are of different Ieo,; ths, the shorter
ones being 15f in. and the longer ones 1 3.7~ in. in diameter .
The reser voirs a re made of cb8rcoal iron 0.256 in. in Jhickness, and a re made with rivetted joints, t bese joints being
in some cases al so soldered t o insure perfect tightness. The
nservoirs a re connected by coiled pipes arranged as shown
in Fig. 4, this arrangement being adopted to provide some
ela!.ticity and preven t t he connexions from being broken by
the vibrations occurring on the r oad. The total contents
of the r eservoirs is about 70 cubic feet, but they a re divided
into two series, one series including three-fourths of the
whole capacity, constituting the working reser\' oir, while
the other fourth forms a reserve which can be utilised if
the n ecessity should arise.
By means of two pipes I I (marked X and U in Fig . 6),
t he air IS led either from t he main ser•es of reservoirs or
from t he r esen·e, to the distributing cock }{1, through which
it passes into the beating vessel H. This vessel, whic h
has a capacity of about St cubic feet, is placed in a vertical
position at the front end of the tramcar as shown in Figs.
1 and 2, and it is filled for about three-fourths of its heig ht
with water charged into it at a temperature of about
320 deg., this t emperature corresponding to a steam pressure
of 75 l b. per square inch . The sup ply of hot water is
charged in through the cock R 3, Fig. 61 while to the cock
R2 sh own in the same fig ure is attached the pipe through
which the supply of compressed air is furnished t o the re•
servo1rs.
The air delivered into the heating vessel from the r eser voirs is discharged at the bottom of the beater and bubbles
up through the hot water, thus becoming, to a grea ter or
less extent, ch arged with vapour . From the top of the
heating vessel it passes off through a reducing valve E,
this arrangement consisting of a couple of chambers C and
E separated by an india-rubber diaphragm, the movement
of which actuates the n-ducing >alve. The underside of
the diaphragm is exposed to tbe pressure of the air on its
way to the cylinders, while the upper side is exposed to the
air in the chamber C, whic h air can, by means of a piston
and screwed piston rod, actuated by the hand wheel V, be
compressed t o the desired extent. The g reat er the pressure of the air spring thus formed, the greater is the pressure of the air supplied t o the cylinders, and vice uersa.
The three pressure gauges shown in F ig. 6 show the pressures existing in the main and r eserve reservoirs and in the
chamber E communicating with the cylinders.
The cylinders M are fixed outside the frames, and their
pistons are connected direct to outside crauks at the end of
the leading axle. The distribution of the air is effected by
ordinary side valves and link m otion, and provision is
made for the engine being worked in r everse gear when
running down an incline, the cylinders then acting as air
pumps a nd tbe air delivered by them passing into the
auxiliary reservoirs L L. (See Figs. 1 and 2).
The tramcar we have described h as been tried upon
the Courbevoie tramway at Paris, and it is stated to have
run abont 4i miles with i ts full load without being recharged, and t he expenditure of air is calculated at about
11 cubic feet, at a pressure of 25 atmospheres per mile.
The Courbevoie line is, howev er, a fa vourable one, and we
are as yet without any s uch specific information as to
weights carried, g radient of line, speed, &c., as would
enable us to form a just opinion of the value of the results
obtained. W e hope, however, in due course t o have
these data, and ·we shall then return to the consideration of
l\lekarski's arrangement of compressed air locomotive an(\
discuss i ts princ1ples more fully . In t he mean t ime we
should stHte that we are indebted to our contempordry the
Porteleuilte E conomique des jfachinu for the illustrations
which accom.!Jany the present a rticle.
means few, and about four years ago (vide pages 145 and
249 of our thirteenth volume), we pointed out some of
these difficulties and expres11ed our opinion as to the manner
in which some of them would have to be dealt with. We
then stated that in order that a store of compressed air
should be employed economically, heat ought t o be supplied
to it either before or during its expansion in the cylinders of
the engine,~ and we suggested the application of hot-water
jackets to the cylinders and t o the pipes conducting the air
to the cylinders. Recently an engine embody ing these
principles has been tried at Paris, and of thi3 engine we now
propose to g i,-e some account.
The engine, or rather tramcar, in question, is one designed by M. M e ka rski, and we g ive engravings of it on
page 142, while on the present page we give a ,· ie'v of a
detail which we shall describe presently. Like ourselves,
M. Mekarski appears to have arrived at the conclusion tbat
if air is to be used economically for locomotive purposes iL
must have ht>at imparted to it either during expansion or
B ELGIAN STEEL E xPORTs.-T he exports of steel from
prior to its admission to the cylinders, but instead of employ- B elgium have declined t his year . T hey a mounted, to June 30,
ing a h ot-wat er jacket M. lrlekarski contrives to impart to 1700 tons, as compared with 4300 tons in the 1h·st ha.lf of
this heat by mixing tbe air with a s mall pr oportion of 1875, and 2400 tons in the first half of 187-l .
I
•
•
144
NOTES FROM CLEVELAND AND THE
NORTHERN COUNTIES.
MIDDLESBROUGH, Wednesday.
The Oleve7and Iron Market.- Yesterday there was·only
a thin attendance on 'Cba,nge at Middlesbrough. The
prices of pig iron were the same as those quoted last week.
Scarcely any business was transacted. The financial
affah·s of the district, and the monetary position of different
firms engrossed the attention of everybody a ssembled in the
commodious ball.
The lM.tnished Iron Tra.de. -Tbere is no improvement in
the finished iron tl·ade. Many of the works in the North
of Englan d have been idle for months, and large numbers of
men are out of employment. At present there is not the
least prospect of thoss works being again started at an
early date. Orders cannot be obtained. In the mean time
heavy establishment charges are being incurred, a,n d the
losses of employer s and shar eholders in iron wo1·ks are very
heavy.
The Affairs of Thomas VatUghan amd Co.-To-day
(Wednesday) a meeting of creditors and others interested in
the affairs of T homas Vaughan and Co., the owners of
ironstone mines, blast furnaces, works, and collieries, worth
about a million of money, is being held at Darlington. The
r eal position of the gigantic undertakings of this firm will
be best under stood by a perusal of the official circular,
which we append as follows :
" At a large and influential meeting of creditors of
T homas Vaughan and Co., held at Middlesbrough, on
Tuesday the 8th day of August, 1876, the following resolutions were unanimously adopted, namely : 1. Resolved,
that Isaac Wilson, Esq., be appointed chairman of the
meeting.
" The chairman explained the proceedings since the last
meeting of creditors held at York on the 20th of J uly.
" Mr. Dodds explained the beads of the suggest ions for
deed of arrangement as proposed by the r epresentatives of
the banks.
" Mr. Dale further explained the past negotiations and
the arrangements now proposed.
"2. Resolved, that the propo!led arrangement for placing
the property of the fir m in the bands of trustees for the
gener al benefit of all persons interested therein be approved
subject to the details being settled to the satisfaction of a
committee appointed on behalf of the UilSecur ed creditors,
and that such creditors be invited to express their general
approval of such arrangement accordingly, and to unite in
endeavouring to procure the acquiescence therein of all the
creditors of the firm.
" 3. Resolved, that the committee appointed at York on
behalf of the unsecured creditors, namely, Messrs. David
Dale, Emerson Muscbamp Bambridge, George Dyson,
Henry T ennant, and John i Rogerson, with the addition of
Mr. H enry Smith Stobart, be requested to continue their
services and to assist in mat uring and completing the proposed arrangement.
cc !sue WILTON, Chairman. "
(Copy of memorandum signed by creditors present at
meeting.)
c: c Middlesbrough, August 8, 1876.
"'We, the undersigned creditors of Thomas Vaugban
and Company, having heard the proposed arrangement for
vesting the property of the company in the hands of
trustees for the general benefit of all persons inter ested,
beg to express our general approval of the suggest10n, subject to the details being settled to the satisfaction of the
committee appointed on behalf of the unsecured creditors :
E. M. Bainbridge and Partners; Elm Park Colliery, per
E. M. B. ; East Pontop Colliery, per E. M. B. ; East
Castle Colliery, per E. M. B . ; J oseph Pease and Partners ;
William Spencer and Co. ; Hogg and Henderson; the
North Bitchburn Colliery Company, per H. S. Stobart ·
J. P. Hornung. For the Sbildon Coal Company and
Middle B itcbburn Colliery Company, George P ears; John
Mol'l'ell; Bearpark Coal and Coke Compa.ny (Limited), per
George Dyson; Swan, Coates, and Co.; Gilkes, Wilson,
Pease, and Co.; Hopkine, Gilkes, and Co., per I snac
Wilson. For the Tees Commissioners-Isaac Wilson, chairman; the Lackenby Iron Company, T . L . Elwon ; J. W.
McFarlane a.nd Co.; I' A.nson, Armstrong, and Co.; Thomas
Mellanby.' "
At the time we write no information respecting the meeting in D arlington has been received here. It has been
stated that if Messrs. Vaughan's affairs were not arran aed
several firm~ in the Cleveland district would fail to ~et
their engagements. Whether the affairs of this big firm
be arranged or not other firms will unfortunately be in
difficulties before the end of this month. Indeed we know
that the hills of one firm-the owners of blast furnaces in
the Cleveland district- were this week returned. All
kinds of rumours are in circuln.tion, and the names of firms
who are unquestionably in a thoroughly sound state are
spoken of as being in a shaky condition. In exciting times
like these such rumours are common. It is hoped, bowever, that by the end of this month or next month at the
furthest the worst news that can be known of Cleveland
will be known. Arrangements will then be made to deal
with the difficulties which are anticipated. Strug-gling on
under well-known financial r everses and the most damaging
rumours, the contradiction of which by " k ept" newspapers
a.nd interested par ties only create greater suspicion, Cleveland just now is passing through a very trying ordeal.
Those who seek to disguise the truth are the enemies of
the district. The time for patching up weak firms has gone
by. It will he well to know tbe worst. Before the physician
can prescribe for the patient be must know the r eal nature
and extent of t he disease. When that knowledge shnJl
have lJeen ascertained with respect to the largest iron-producing district in the world the remedy will be forthcoming.
The rich mineral treasures of that splendid range of bills
on the south-east of Middlesbrough can only be gradually
EN GIN E ER I N G.
removed. While this work goes on, and go on it must, because it is a good investment for capitalists.l slow but certain
r eparation for losses sustained will be mn.cte. The demand
for railways and all their accessories will be greater than
ever, and Cleveland with its enormous natural advantages
can and will successfully compete with any district in the
country.
Enginee1-img amd Shipb'Wildtilng.-In those industries,
owing to the general depression in trade, there is far from
that activity which is desir able on the northern rivers.
Visit of Olevelamd Engineers to the Ta;y B1·i dge.-On
Wednesday of this week a large party of t he members of
the Cleveland Institute of Engineer s accepted an invitation
issued by Me-.srs. Hopkins, Gilkes, and Company, the contractors, t o pay a visit of inspection to the Tay Bridge.
The party included Mr. T. Wrightson, president, Jeremiah Head, vice-president, and Angus Macpherson, secretary of the Institution, Mr. Edward Williams, Mr. J ohn
J ones, Mr. Edga.r Gilkes, Askwith, Darlington, Mr. Anderson (H ead, Wrightson, and Company), Mr. Macnay,
Shildon, Mr. Outhwaite (Hopkins, Gilkes, and Company),
Mr. P aterson, C.E., resident engineer , Mr. Grothe, manager
of the bridge works, Provost Robertson, of Dundee, &c.,
and numbered in all about seventy. Embarking on board
the steamship Forfarshire, the party were taken direct
through one of the highest arches of the bridge, at t he
height of about 85 ft. above high-water mark, to the Fifeshire side of the Tay, where t hey disembarked, and were
shown the mode of constructing the caissons, piers, and
girders, while a number of the more adventurous went on
to the bridge and saw the laying of the permanent wn.y.
In the course of the forenoon a large cai1son was floated
out between two barges to its position in the centre of the
river, to be lowered into its position. The steamer next
proceeded up the Tay towards Perth, and luncheon was
provided on board by the firm of Hopkins, Gilkes1 and
Company, under the presidency of Mr. Gilkes. After
dinner a number of toasts were proposed and honoured, including the iron trade of Great Britain, the Tay Bridge,
Hopkins, Gilkes, and Company, the Cleveland Institute of
Engineers, &c. A full report of the proceedings will appear
next week.
NOTES FROM THE SOUTH-WEST.
Wo1·1Wn.g H owrs on the Taff Va.le.-The workmen employed on the Taff Vale Railway under the nine hours'
system have received from the general manager a notice
that a reduction in wages of 10 per cent. will be enforced,
unless a majority of them are willing to work 58!- hours
instead of 54, in which case the reduction will not be made
"at present." The men have held meetings on the subject.
Swamsea. Tra.mwa;ys.-At the half-yearly meeting of the
shareholders of the Swan!lea Tramway Company when the
addition of the 1·eport of the directors, stating the progress
which bad been made with the works, was moved, Mr.
Andrew Davies proposed an amen dment urging the rejection of the report, and calling upon the Board to dispense
with t he services of a managing director a nd a London
solicitor, and to appoint a local engineer in place of two
engineers who are at present attached to the company.
After a discussion the amendment was withdrawn; but the
original motion was afterwards lost by 18 votes to 17.
When the proxies were taken into account, however, there
were 205 votes for the report and only 10 against it.
Tredega1· Water Sv,pplAj.-It is the intention of the
Tredegar Iron Company to enlarge the present reservoir
n ear the union, so that a gt·eater quantity of water can be
stored in the event of such another season as the present.
Avowmouth Docks.-An extensive landslip has occurred
at the Avonmouth Docks, which are approaching completion. The warehouses on the quay have been carried away,
and altogether gi'eat damage is reported to have been
done.
Welsh T-rade Ma tle1·s.-Trade prospects in the Welsh
anthracite district appea,r to be improving. At the Bishwell P it, Gower-road, work is to he resumed, and the men
at the Gorwydd Collieries are fully employed. The puddling, forge, and tin works at Brynamman have been restarted.
Holyhea.d Ha.1·bour.-Tbe enlargement of the inner
harbour at Holyhead has made r apid progress during the
last few months, and of the 450,000 cubic yards of excavation to obtain the r equired depth of water 150,000 yards
have been removed. Of the 800 lineal yards of quay wall,
290 yards are in course of construction. The new graving
dock has also been commenced.
NOTES FROM SOUTH YORKSHIRE.
SHEFFIELD, Wednesday.
Ne w Sidtings at M amv e1·s' Main OolU-e?'Y.-At the new
Manvers' Main Colliery, which is situate near theWoodbouse
Mill station of the Midland Railway, the output has recently
been so greatly enln.rgecl that entensive new slclings have
just been put down between the pit and the railway.
The Bra.dfo,·d W a.te1· Wo1·ks.-The Corporation of Bradford are about to const1~uct a large storage reservoir, with
an embankment 525 yards long and 125 ft. high, at Upper
Bard en, for improving the town supply.
E xpendittl.t?'e on L ocal Railway Imp?·ovements.-The
report of the Manchester, Sheffield, and Lincolnshire Railway Company shows that during the half year there have
been expended in local alterations, &c., the following sums:
Land n.t Sheffield, Handsworth, Wombwell, &c., 61,218Z.;
Sheffield, Woodhousc, Barnsley, Silkstoue, Wombwell, &c.,
sta.tions, 31,573l.; sidings at H~xthorpe, Deepcar, &c.,
23.0907. ; ext ension of block system and interlocking stations
and junctions 5721l. ; widening the South Yorkshire line,
branches, &c., 21,315l. ; and platelayer's cottages, 3564Z. In
(Auo. I 8, I 876.
the "estimated further expenditure" sidin gs at various
stations and extensions of the block syS'tem will cost
SO,OOOZ., and the doubling of the Cbapelto.wn and Wors·
borough bran ches, 30,000t.
The Sheffield Tramw ays Company.-The half.year~y
report of the directors of this company shows a profit 1n
that period of 1112l., yielding a dividend at the r ate of 6 per
cent. for the year. The company have now 113 horses, 12
double cars, and 8 single cars, with 5t miles of double tramway. They propose to proceed at once with the Netter
Edge, Hillsborough, and H eeley lines, which will cost about
15,000l.
Northfield Iron amd Tyre Compamy.-The annual report
of this company shows a net profit of 133l. only, owing to
dulness of trade and increase of foreign competition. A new
9-in. guide and hoop mill has been laid down, and is now
complete, in addition to various other improvements.
New Bridge over the Don at Rothe?·ha.m.-Owing to the
great increase of road tr affic between Parkgate and Rotherham of late a new iron bridge, to cost about 6000t., is being
erected over the river Don at Eastwood, the cost being
borne by the Rotberham Corporation.
The Coal T'ra.ffic by Ra.ilw wy to London.-During July
the Midland Railway Company carried 124,561 tons, and
the Great Northern 55,504 tons from South and W est
Yorkshire and North D erbyshire to L ondon. Derbyshire
was, as is always the case, the principal contributor to the
M1dland total, the Clay Cross collieries alone frequently
sending 2000 tons daily. The Great Northern extension
will doubtless divert some of this traffic.
BOOKS RECEIVED.
Hamdboolc of Rwa.Z Samita7"tt Science. By G. F. GARD·
NER, WILLIAM BERRY, C. N. CRRSSWELL, and THOMAS
HENNELL. Edited by LORY MARsH, M.D. L ondon :
Smith, Elder, and Co.
The WaJrfaJre of Science. By ANDREW DICKSON WHITE,
LL.D., President of Cornell University. With a Prefaratory Note, by PROFESSOR TYNDALL. L ondon: H.
S. K ing and Co.
Sami ta.ry Wo1·kin the Smaller Towns a.nd Villages. By
CHARLES SLAGG, Assoc. lnat. C.E. London : Crosby
Lockwood, and Co. [Price 5s.l
A nnual Report of the Chief of Drdnamce to the Secreta.'I'Y
of Wan· jo1· the Fiscal Year ending Jwne 30th, 1875.
W ashington : Government Printina Office.
A Oorrvprehetnsive T1·ea.tise on the Water Supply of Cities
amd Towns, with nwme?'Otts Specifications of Existing
Water Works, fifty Double Plates, and upwards of two
hwrtdred amd fijtly Illtu,stra.tions on W ood. By WILLIAM
HuMBER, Assoc. I nst. C.E. London : Crosby L ockwood, and Co. LP rice 6l. 6s.]
Plwmbing: A Terot-Book to the Practice of the Art or C1·a.ft
of a. PltwmbeJt>; with S'UIJ?plementa.ry Chapters upon
House Drainage, embodtying the latest I mprovements.
By WILLIAM PATON BucHANAN. L ondon: Crosby
Lockwood, and Co. [Price 3s. 6d.]
P1·ine'i;ples of Constructi on amd E.tficiency of W ate?· Wheels.
By W. DoNALDSON, M.A. London : E. and F. N .
Spon.
Practical Treati se on the Const'Mtcti on of Iron H i ghwwy
Bridges for the use of Town Comtn'llittees. By ALFRED
P. BoLLER, A.M. New York: J . Wiley and Son. London : Triibner and Co.
Wood Conversion by Ma.c1Wne1'Y·- By J . RICHARDS.
London : J. and W. Rider. [Price Ss. 6d.]
Elements of Phtysics, o1· Natwral Phtitosophty.-By NIEL
ARNOTT, M.D., LL .D., F.R.S. Seventhedition. Edited
by ALEXANDER BAIN AND ALFRED SWAINE T AYLOR.
London : Longman, Green, and Co.
WATER PIPES FOR BOMBAY.-Tbe contract for the
18,000 tons of cast-iron pipes required for the Bombay
Water Works has been let to Messrs. Laidlaw and Maclaren, of Glasgow. We may n.dd that Mr. John R. Manning
has been appointed t he engineer in E ngland to the municipality of Bombay.
H uDSON RIVER TuNNEL.-Activepreparations are now
in progress for the construction of the Hudson River
tunnel on the Jersey shore. The entrance to the tunnel is
loc."'.ted on J er sey A venue, near Fifteenth-street, and the
excavation will be canied in a north-easterly direction,
termina.ting in Washington Square, New York. The tunnel
will be two miles in length, and it is calculated the cars
will pnss through it in three minutes. The road bed will
be 23ft. in width. The shaft at the foot of Fifteenthstreet , Jersey City, is 100ft. in circumference and the brick
wall is 3ft. 4 in. thick. The shaft has been sunk to t he
depth of 20ft., and will be further excavat ed to the depth
of 62ft., when the excavation beneath the river will be
commenced. The machinery for the work is- now in position, and it is stated that the excavation of the shaft will
be completed within twenty days. The eastern gi'ade of
the tunnel is 2ft. in 100ft., descending from J ersey City,
then ascending on the New York side 2ft. in 100ft. As
soon as the shaft is sunk to t1ie r equired depth a few feet
will be excavated in the tunnel, when an iron cylinder with
hinged doors will be inserted, so that the labourers can
proceed with the work. Compressed air will be forced from
the stu·face into the cavity. Very little blasting will be
necessary, the first vein of rock being 1100 ft. from the
N ew Y orlc side, and the rock is soft. The depth of earth
over the masonry will not be less in any part than 35 ft.,
so that no injury can occur from the anchorage of vessels .
The cost of this stupendous enterprise will be 15,000,000
dols., of which 10,000,000 dols. has been already subscribed.
After several ' legal contests the Hudson River Tunnel
Company has been triumphant, and the president, Colonel
Haskin, declares his determination to proceed vigorously
with the work.- New York H erald.
ENGINEERING, Aoousr 18, 1876.
COMPOUN D
SCREW
(800 HP. NO ~liX AL)
ENGINES
DESIGNE D AND
CONSTRUCTED
AT
THE
PHILADELPHIA
EXHIBITION.
,
BY THE BUREAU OF S1U1 E NGINEERING,
NAVY DEPARTMENT, WASHINGTON,
U.S.A.
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AGENTS FOR "ENGINEERING,"
)fANOUESTRR: John Heywood, 148, Deaoagate.
GLASGOW: Willinm Love.
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ENGINEERING.
·p RJDAY, AUGUST r8, 1876.
THE THUNDERER EXPLOSION.
TnE adjourned inquest on th e Tbunderer explosion was opened a gain on Tuesday morning at
the hospital at Haslar. It having been announced
by the daily papers that the engineering evidence
was not t o be ready before next week, t he proceedings ceased to be of general interest, only
medical evidence as to the deaths of forty-four
of the sufferers being taken . This part of the inquiry will be completed this week, and on Monday morning the engineering evidence will be
begun. The delay has not been caused by the Ad.
miralty or the contractors, both being anxious to
have the matter settled. The testing of the sa.fety
valves has principally occupied the inspectors until
now. The setting fast of the safety valve by the
unequal expansion of the brMs valve and the castiron valve box has been now repeatedly verified in
the case of one of the uninjured valves. The others,
when tried under conditions identical with those
for which they were constructed, have as yet all
been operative at the loaded pressure. They are
now testing these safety valves on one of a range
of factory boilers nnd noting the pressure at which
each valve lifts ; only one valve being free to rise,
the otbers b eing fastened down. Mr. Fletcher has,
we understand, arranged for the completion of
these and other tests before the engineering evidence is presented, so that there will be no possibility of doubt on any important point in the explanation of the explosion. Mr. Bramwell, on behalf
of the Admiralty, and Messrs. Bourne, H ide, and
E N G I N E ER I N G.
Parker for the contractors, were, we underst:1.nd,
ready to give in their r eports on Tuesday. Mr. Br:l.mwell is not now attending the experiments ; he left
on Friday last, and is at present represented by his
assistant, Mr. H . G. Harris, who is, with the others,
ca.refully noting the results of the experiments. 1\lr. R.
'l'hompson , senior inspector of the Manchester Steam
Users' Association, is with l\Ir. Fletcher, and seems
to be doing most of th e real work of inspection and
doing it well. The chairman of the Boiler Committee of the Admiralty, Captain 1\furray Ayoslie,
c.n., is attending all the experiments and will probably be also a witness. :M r. Phillips, also on the
Boiler Committee, is with Captain Aynslie, and at
the first examination of the explosion Mr. 'l'ookcy,
of the Boiler Committee, was aJso there.
The steam gauges of the other boilers of the
Thunderer were tested on Tuesday. They were all
fairly in order. The test was principally to ascertain at what pressure th e gauge would become
deranged, and whether the index finger could pass
the zero pin. At a. little above double the working
pressm e the pinion is put out of gear with the
quadrant, and in some of the gauges the fingers pass
clear of the pin, so that if the g:1.uge of the exploded
boiler had been deranged by over pressure on the
morning of the explosion, the boiler must have
sustained a steam pressure at least double that of
the working prl ssurc.
These steam gauges have all close dials. There
are many gauges now made with open dials, a clear
opening being left in the centre of the dial of sufficient
size to show the works of the gauge. If the gauges
of the Thunderer bad been of that description it
would have been seen at once what was wroog
with it..
·
The box. made to represent the frout of the exploded boiler at the part where it exploded has been
several times burst by hydraulic pressure, under
different conditions of staying, at about 3! times the
working pressure, sometimes a little less, sometimes
a. little more. A new box is now being made to more
nearly r esemble the exploded part. The uptake
forming in the boiler one part of the back of the
exploded chamber, it is a ditticult thing to reproduce
precisely the same conditions of staying in a box
having both sides continuous, as they of necessity
must be in the experimental boac.
The results of these screwed plate staying experiments will be of considerable import.'l.n ce to
boiler makers, for there has never been any good
set of experiments of this kind before. 'Ve are informed that the late 1\lr. Humphrys, the fath er of
of the present contractors, did conduct extensive experiments to ascertain the strength of such stayed
su rfa c~s, and that the Thunderer's boilers aro stayed
in accordance with his conclusions, and that the
·other boilers in H~ r Majesty's _Na,·y made by
Thames engineers are in this respect much the
same as the Thunderer's.
The stays in question are those shown on the
engraving of the boi1er at page 121 of our last issue,
the two horizontal rows of holes on the uptake. They
are li in. in diameter and are screwed ten threads to
the inch. The stays in the experim ental box arc nine
threads to the inch, we do not know why. There are
several rules in vogue for such stays. The Boaru
of Trade instructions, which have been so severely
criticised by the Clyde engineers, contain the
following rule applicable to these stays. The working pressure to be allowed per square inch is not
to exceed
145
formula. F or the dimensions above stated, the
r esulting pressure would in that case be:
GO (8 + 1),= l 8 t
U U-6
As the factor of sa fety on which the Board of Tratl13
rules profess to be constructed is six, the bursting
pressure of the experimental box should be 18! X 6=
1 tl lb. per square inch when tested by hyd raulic
presiure, or nearly that, unlesg the Board of ~radc
instructions are as absurd as the Clyde engmeers
say they are. The result of this testing should
therefore go a far way towards settling t he dispute .
between the Board of Trade and the Clyde engineers.
No doubt the latter will make the most of these experiments to substantiate their statements, and we
sincerely hope that the ne.xt testing will run up to
180 lb., before bnrdting.
The delay in the engineering evidence is, we
think, unnecessary for the object for which the
coroner's jury has been constituted. It is pretty
well understood by tbc public that the boiler burst
by there being for the time no proper outlet for the
ateam. If the strength of the boiler is a determining element in tb e cause of the de~~th of the
men, by all means have the boiler strength put in
as evidence. But if the abnormal stat\! of the valves
is palpably sufficient to account for an accumulation
of pressure sufficient to burst the boiler, although it
had been twice as lstrong, there is no good reason
why :1. jury composed of three tailora, two drapers,
and so on, should be asked to stop t heir own
business for weeks that the nation may have the
benefit of their opinion on the present style of construction of the boilers in the Navy.
If the boiler bad been twice :1.s strong the explosion would in all probability have been much
more disastrous. Not only would the steam have
been at a higher pressure in that boiler, but in all
the other boilers the pressure would also have been
greater, and jn that case probably those in the
engine-room would not have escaped, and it would
have been impossible to have closed the stop valves.
The coroner, 1\Ir. E. J. Harvey, is also the Admiralty law agent, and in that capacity he may very
we11 continue as president of the scientific inquiry
into the strength of the boiler after the jury have
given in their verdict and have been dismissed to
their more familiar occupations. A coroner might
with equal r eason direct experiments to be made to
test whether the quality of a Colt's re7olver that bad
been proved to have been the instrument of death
was what it ought to have been at the price,
as to add on a scientific inquiry and explosion committee to the duties by law devolving upon these
seventeen honest tradesmen who are appointed to
find out how forty.five men were killed, and not to
discover how it was that so little damage was done,
or that any at all escaped.
The investigation would be of more value to the
nation if the course we suggest were adopted. If
th e jury satisfy themselves that the cause of death
was the explosion and that the explosion was due
to the condition of the valves, the cause of the death
of the men will then be in the very nanow compass
-why were the valves so '?-and the answer to
that cannot possibly be a question of the strength
of the boiler.
It is a n accident of the explosion tha.t certain
points in boiler construction are seen to be deserving of further consideration, and we trust that the
experimental inquiry may be prosecuted to the
settlement of every doubt, but it is wrong to handicap
the intelligent engineers who arc engaged in the in36 (thickness of plate in sixteenths, + 1)!
vestigation with an official partisanship from which
area of surfa eo supported by each stay, - 6
w ben the plates arc et posed to the impact of heat the most honest cann ot wholly divest themselves.
or flame with steam in contact with th e plate. In A fortnight ago the 1\la.ster of the Rolls said in
the exploded boiler t he screwed plate was specified reference to the evid ence of engineer experts on a
to be half-inch, and the area supported by one stay patent, " In such a case tbe court must disregard
the evidence of experts, which was univer sally and
varies from, say, 220 to 270 square inches
necessarily coutradictious, having regard to the
2
36 (8 + 1) = 11.
process by which it was obtained. l t had been
270-6
suggested that a judge should be assisted by his
The d.fference between 11 and 30 is very great, own expert. But the ditficult.y in such cases must
aud as the exploded boiler is said to be :1. fair sample always be where to find the proper person. The
of the standard navy boiler, we have here a. capital chances are that t he selected man would at one time
tea ~ of the Bo~trd of T rade instructions to their or another have previously been called upon for an
surveyors. " ' c suggested iu a recent art.icle that opinion by ono or other of the parti e~ or t~ei l'
the Admiralty ought to make the experiments that solicitors. I n any case, the expert, t hongh actmg
are supposed to be wanted yet to settle such debated with the greatest honour, had as n rule nn instincformulre in boiler construction, and, in a way we diu tive bias. The amount of expert evidence adduced
not contemplate, we find them compelled to do so on either side was moreov<>r no test, for it was
at the very time when the points in doubt are under notorious that though a party might take innumerthe criticiam of the Clyde engineers.
able opinions he only brought forward those which
'Vhen the stayed plates are in contact with were favourable to his case.''
w~ter, 60 is to be substituted for 36 in the abovo
There will be in the present inquiry no occaaion
•
EN G IN E E R I N G.
•
for conflicting engineering evidence if the question
b e confined to the cause of death, but if it be ext ended to comprise the whole theory of. boiler construction and factors of safety there w1ll b e much
contradiction, and the three tailors and their fourteen eo-jurors will be compelled to decide by the
dress and address of the witnesses, for the subjectmatter will be to the majority of t hem their first
lesson in mechanics.
There is one important question that ought to be
answered at the inquest, Why were so many men in
the stokehole at the time of the explosion ? Let
evidence.be taken as to the number of men in the
stokeholes of the Atlantic racing steamers where
the whole voyage is one race for eight days at a.
stretch. Every man more than the necessary staff
is one man unnecessarily exposed , for there is always
some risk at the trials of complex systems of steam
connexions. It is asserted that one-third of the
number taken to the hospital would have been an
ample complement for one watch.
The course of the proceedings at the inquest n ext
week will probably be that Mr. Fletcher's preliminary report will be handed to the coroner on Monday,
the engineer evidence of those present at the explosion will then be taken, and then Mr. Bramwell's
report will be read by him, and the other profes.
sional engineer witnesses will follow. That will
occupy perhaps until Friday evening, when the
court will adjourn until Monday or perhaps Tuesday
to enable Mr. Fletcber to make up his final report
after he has heard all the evidence.
THE :bJXPLOSION ON BOARD H.M.S.
VESUVIUS.
IN a recent article* we referred in passing to
the explosion on board H .M.S. Vesuvius, by which
one engineel' was killed and another seriously injured. When that article was being written a grave
charge of neglect was hanging over t he engineer in
charge of the machinery of the Vesuvius ; but we
felt satisfied that the evidence bearing upon this
engineer's r esponsibility was altogether unsatisfactory, and we suggested, at least, some inquiry as to
the design of the machine which gave way. That our
opinion was well founded is evident from the fact that
ere our article was in print, it had been clearly and
abundantly shown not only that the engineer in
charge-who had recovered sufficiently to give and
produce additional evidence on his own behalf-was
guiltless, but also that the design and workmanship
of the machinery, but primarily the design, were
entirely to blame for the accident.
Our readers are probably aware that the Vesuviust
is a v.essel .which has .been specially :fitted up for
practice w1th the Whitehead or fish torpedo this
to~p.edo being discharged through an aperture' contammg a shoot or tube placed below the water line.
The torpedo, it will be remembered, carries its own
p;opelling machinery, and is . driven by compressed
a1r rntroduced from a reservoir on board the ship.
In _the. case of the Ve.suvius it would appear that
the air p1pes from the air eom pressor to the reservoir
were led through a cooling chamber into which the
circulating pump discharged water from the sea and
from which an exit pipe was led overboard thr~ugh
the stokehole. The .air pump and circulating pump
were close together m the torpedo room while on
the circulating discharge or exit pipe in the stokehole-and therefore out of sight of any one in the
torpedo r oom--:-was a common straightway cock.
On the mornmg of 21st June, the Vesuvius went
out of harbour for the purposes of instruction to a
class of officers. Whilst the work of chargiog the
torpedo was going on, the cooling chamber burst·
a large portion of the chamber striking Mr. Blank
on the head, killed him instantaneously ; while other
pieces striking Mr. Hook on the thigh, arm, and
jaw, injured him so seriously that for several days
his life was despaired of. The coroner's inquest
was opened on the 24th of June. The only witness
called that day was the leading stoker Henry
Edwards, who described what had occurred during
the morning of the accident. Whilst pumping air
into the reservoir it was observed, by Mr. Hook,
that the cooling chamber was warm , and he, thinking
that the circulating pump was not throwing, examined the valves. There was nothing wrong there,
and he went on pumping as before. Witness had,
in the presence of the engine-room artificer, opened
• See ENGINEERING, page 80 of the present volume.
t A . general description of the Vesuvius appeared on
page 375 of our nineteenth volume.
[ Auc. 18,
J 876.
the cock on the discharge pipe in the stokehole before what had happened. Upon examination it appeared
beginning to work the circulating pumps. He to him that the exit from the chamber must have
thought, however, that the exit pipe might be choked. been closed. H e found the .cock on the exit pipe
The inquiry was then adjourned, the coroner open, but the handle was sh1pped on the cock in a
"thinking it unfair to throw all the responsibility of manner which no experienced engineer would think
giving evidence on this witness," a remark which of adopting. That cock being open he could then
suggested the very pertinent wish on the part of o~y account for the explosion by' supposing the
one of the jury that some of the superior officers who ptpe to be choked, but the examination that
were present should be called.
morning (:June 26th) had shown that the pipe was
The inquest was resumed on June 26th, when the clear. 'W1tness had come to the conclusion that the
coroner and jury went on board the Vesuvius exit cock must have been closed on the morning
and had explained to them, by Captain Sinaer, the of the expl~si~n. If there had been a sudden large
officer in command of the ship, the whole pr~cess of escape of air mto the chamber, the accident would
charging and discharging the torpedo. Captain have taken place, no matter what safety valves
Kennedy, of the Shah, who was one of the class then were on the chamber. I n this case nothing could
undergoing a course of instruction in torpedo prac- have occurred had the exit pipe been thoroughly
tice, was standing close by the deceased when the open. Dr. Wood, staff surgeon, R.N., of the Royal
accident occurred. At t he resumed inquest he said Naval Hospital, having explained that Mr. Hook
the deceased and Mr. Hook were immediately in front would not be fit to give evidence under three weeks,
of the air pump at the time of the explosion, and to the inquiry was then again adjourned until the 24th
the best of his belief the deceased was stooping down of July.
attending t o something connected with the pump.
On the assembling of the court on the last menThe pressure at the moment was 550 lb. He con- tioned date Captain Singer explained that a thorough
sidered the explosion undoubtedly caused by air, and examination of the pump had been made since the
had formed an opinion as to the cause of the accident; accident; and this had resulted in the discovery of a
but, as it was only by hearsay, be consider ed the fracture, which, in his opinion, would admit sufficient
opinions of the practical officers b elonging to the air into the chamber to burst it, whether the exit pipe
ship of more weight than his own.
were open or not. "Witness also considered the exLieutenant Lindsay, one of the junior staff officers plosion a pure accident, and said their experience had
of H.M.~. Excellent, was, in common with the been bought at a dear rate, but it was very valuable.
whole class, in the torpedo room at the time of the He added that the steps which have been taken will
accident. After the connexion was made between absolutely prevent any similar accident in future.
the reservoir and the torpedo he moved towards the
Mr. Hook was afterwards called in, and informed
air pump, when Mr. Hook told him to get out of the by the coroner that the evidence now given proved
way of the pet cock, which he turned on to test to demonstration that the accident had occurred,
whether there was any water flowing over the air not through the stoppage of the exit pipe for which
pipes. Witness stepped back and deceased took his he (Mr. Hook) bad on the previous occasion been
place. 1\Ir. Hook told deceased to stand clear. blamed, but through a fracture within the chamber
The deceased leant down to do something to the air quite out of his sight. In r eply, ~Ir. Hook wished
pump. Mr. Campion remarked to witness that the to state that he examined the cock in question a few
pressure gauge was only showing 550 lb., and just minutes before the explosion; it was then open, and
then the explosion took place.
that the handle was properly placed. After having
Mr. Campion, chief engineer of the Shah, one of called the engine-room artificer, who deposed to the
the torpedo class, and who had his coat torn by one cock being open and the handle in its proper posiof the fragments passing between his arm and body, tion after the explosion, and also to having taken
said that when the class entered the torpedo room out the cock for examination in the presence of one
the pressure had reached nearly 700lb. on the square of the engineers, the coroner summed up, and the
inch in the reservoir. Mr. Blank gave orders for jury without the slightest hesitation returned a verthe torpedo to be charged, and communications dict of accidental death, entirely exonerating Mr.
were made for that purpose. The pressure fell to Hook from blame.
550lb., and witness, who was watching the gauge, r eIt may be that the evidence and the verdict are
marked to Lieutenant Lindsay that it did not rise both sufficient from a legal point of view, that is to
so quickly as he expected. Immediately afterwards say, the coroner and jury may have carried out the
the explosion occurred.
legal duties devolving upon them ; but we hardly
Mr. Campion considered the explosion due to an consider t his an accident in the sense that it was
accumulation of air leaking from the joints of the air not preventible, or that no one was to blame for
pump into the water chamber, the outlet being it ; and we consider the evidence in some respect8
stoppeq, and he explained that if this were so, it incomplete.
It was stated in the course of the evidence that
would prevent water being pumped into the chamber,
the circulating pump would still work as if supplying the employment of compressed air is in its infancy,
the chamber, whereaa it would simply be pumping and that accidents must be expected ; but it is
water through a relief valve into the bilge. Witness altogether absurd that modifications so palpably
further said the actual leakage of air would have necessary as in this case should be undiscovered
until the machine has blown itself and the people
passed off easily had the outlet been open.
Mr. T . E . Miller , chief engineer, detailed specially who happen to be standing neat' it to pieces. We
for torpedo service, stated that he had had three cannot but think that the possibility of such an
years' experience of this special service. He was accident should have been foreseen and guarded
not on board the Vesuvius on the morning of the against ; and that the officers who designed and
accident; but he was fully acquainted with the work- worked the machinery are to blame for their want of
ing of the air compressing and other torpedo ma- foresight and care. W e hear that this pumping gear
chinery in that ship. Since the explosion he had in- was designed and constructed at Portsmouth Dockspected the air pumps, and he had ascertained that yard. It is to be regretted that evidence as to demorning (June 26th) that the exit pipe from the sign, material, and workmanship was not called.
chamber was clear from end to end. He accounted The public might have known th~n with whom the
~or the explosion by a leakage of air from the pump blame lay, not only for the original mistake but also
mto ~he chamber. Mr. Miller was further of opinion for the lesser carelessness which paved the way for
nothmg could have caused the explosion but the fact the :final smash. As it is, the blame must be left
that the cock of the exit pipe, which is in the stoke- for proper apportionment to the officers th emselv~s
hole, was closed. The chamber would have borne of the engineer department of the .dockY:ard. It IS
a. pressure of 200 lb. on every part. The accumulated said that the new arrangement w1ll qwte prevent
a1r would have passed away if the exit pipe were any similar accidents in future. W e hope so. But
clear, and there would have been no explosion. we would like to have the assurance on better
He also sta:ted that Mr. Hook was r esponsible for authority; dockyard productions have not been
the cock bemg opened. In reply to some questions quite successful of late.
W e think the evidence should also have included
put by the foreman of the jury, Mr. Miller is r eported f~rthe~ to have said, it was not a question some account of the examinations and r epairs, if any,
of space m this ~ase ; had the exit pipe b een open of this machinery since it was fitted up on boa.rd the
no compressed a1r or accumulated force could have ship. It appears exceedingly probable that a rupture
of this kind would give some warning; and it is
existed.
Captain Singer, the officer in command of the certain that there was a constant but misunderstood
Vesuvius and the chief instructor of the class of warning on the morning of the accident. But,
officers under instruction, was on board, but not in although it is just possible a previous examination
the torpedo room, at the time of the accident. or test might not have detected this flaw, it would
After the accident and the ship had r eturned into have been satisfactory to know that more than usual
harbour, he went below to ascertain, if he could, care had been taken by the officers in charge. We
AuG. I 8, I 876.]
-
say "more than usual care," because naval engineers
are not acquainted with air-compressing machinery.
.As it is, we must be content to note the necessity for
constant supervision which this accident teaches.
Chief engineers Campion and Miller both attributed the explosion to an accumulation of air in the
chamber arising from a leakage of the air pipes, the
air being retained in the chamber by the exit being
closed. So also Captain Singer. !le considered that a
sudden large escape of air into the chamber would
burat it; but in this case, be said, nothing could
have occurred had the exit been thoroughly open.
This was an easy solution of the difficulty ; but,
admitting the air leak, it was not clear that the exit
must be closed to cause the explosion. The leading
stoker swore that he opened the cock in the presence
of the engine-room artificer, and the pipe was found
to be clear. These witnesses, therefore, knowing
this, ought to have hesitated ere they expressed an
opinion whichimputed grave neglect on the part of the
engineer in charge. That these witnesses were
wrong has been proved, but it is greatly to be regretted that they did not weigh well the language
they used. It is true that they did not-shall we
say could not ?-anticipate such an extensive leak
as that which actually existed; but there was no
qualification in their statements, and it would appear
as if they gave evidence without having ascertained either the nature or extent of the leak which
they wer~ satisfied bad led to the accident.
We were surprised, too, that Captain Singer should
r efer to the position of the cock handle if he was
not prepared to state the inference he drew from it.
To our minds and to any one who r eads the evidence, the inference is plain, and seems to us like
a concluding argument in favour' of the shut-cock
theory. We could not, and we now speak as " experienced engineers, " attach the slightest importance
to the position of the handle ; and we are sorry
that the time of the jury should be frittered away
on such a topic.
There is no doubt that during the morning of
the accident, the leak gave constant but misunderstood indication of its existence. The water from
the circulating pump did not, and apparently would
not, pass into the chamber. Mr. Hook observed it;
Captain Singer observed it; the pump valves were
overhauled, and Mr. H ook's attention called to the
position of the cock in the stokehole on account of
it ; and it seems not improbable that Mr. Blank,
when he stooped down at the moment of the explosion, was about to ascertain whether the water
was then passing into the chamber.
It was suggested during the inquiry that a safety
valve on this chamber would have prevented the ex.
plusion, but Captain Singer said that no matter
what safety valves were on the chamber, the accident would have taken place. I s he quite sure? It
appears to us that any safety valve would, by its
persistent blowing, have called marked attention to
the fact that the preBsure was, if not at first
dangerously high, fast becoming so. This leads us
to point out, and we cannot do it too often or too
strongly, the advisability, we will not say necessity,
of fitting gauges more commonly than now on pipes
or reservoirs exposed to pressure. A gauge fitted
on the chamber which exploded ought to have prevented the accident by calling attention in the :first
place, when pumping slowly, to the fact that the
pressure was greater than the load on the relief
valve of the circulating pump; and afterwards, when
the speed was increased, to the rapid increase of
pressur e far beyond what was safe. We know that
in Her Majesty's service there is a reluctance on
the part of the depa.rtmental officers to sanction
"additional" :fittings of any kind; and a consequently great reluctance on the part of officers in
charge to apply for them, no matter how useful
they are. This is not as it should be, and we hope
that some effort will be made at no distant date to
encourage and meet the wishes of engineers in
charge to an extent more consistent with their responsibility than is the present practice.
One word more and we have done. The deceased,
!Yir. Blank, was an engineer officer who had served
long and Sl rved well ; he met his death whilst
engaged in the active duties of his profession; and
we beg to sympathise with those near and dear to
him in their sudden and great loss.
THE EXPLOSION ON BOARD H.M.S.
HYDRA.
IN our recent remarks on the late fatal accidents in
the engine-rooms of Her Majesty's ships we referred
to the Hydra explosion, by which engineer Clark was
killed, and we expressed our opinion that the engineer
E N G I N E E R I N G.
witnesses on the inquest bad given their evidence
without proper deliberation and care. Our opinion has
been confirmed in so many respects that we feel ourselves warranted in referring again to that inguiry.
The accident on board the Hydra occurred when
getting up steam for the trial of the engines; the
cover of a small stop valve was blowing off, and Mr.
Clark, who either lost his way in the dark, or, as was
suggested, went in the direction of the issuing steam
to discover what was wrong, was scalded to death.
At the inquest the bolts belonging to the cover
were described ae broken, and their failure was
attributed to corrosion or inferior material; but
we looked upon this statement as unsatisfactory, because, on the one band, the extent of the corrosion
•
was not stated, and, on the other, the fragments
had not been tested.
Since that article was written we have r eceived
an explanation of the accident which fully and
clearly accounts for it. It corresponds with the
evidence, so far as that evidence goes, given by one
of the witnesses on the inquest, but is somewhat
inconsistent with that of the others. For this reason
we should be reluctant to publish it, were it not that
it is derived from a source which renders it specially
trustworthy. According to the facts which have
reached us it appears that the valve box and cover are
of brass; that the cover of the valve is on the lower
side of the box and below the general level of the
pipe; that the cover is bolted to an internal flange;
that the cover bolts were screwed into that flange
(the tapped holes passing quite through it);
that the salt water carried over by priming which
lodged above the cover and flange, and for which
there was no drain, slowly but surely destroyed the
iron bolts, until, as a matter of fact, the cover was
held on only by the red lead of the joint.
If this explan::~.tion be correct, and there is good
r eason to believe it, the general evidence given at
the inquest seems to be unworthy of the grave
nature of the inquiry. 1-Ve invite our readers to
compare the following quotations from the published
evidence as given in the Western Morning News with
the explanation above given.
1
47
the covers of stop valves of that material. Positive
orders were issued in February, I 874, to make such
bolts of gun-metal or copper. 'Ve are indebted to
the Times for our knowledge of this order; and it
seems very probable that, like ourselves, many of
the naval engineers of Her Majesty's service never
beard of it before. If so, we cannot wonder that
the officers of that department should stumble and
blunder as they do when they are k ept so ill informed.
·
Then this order goes on to direct the superintendents of the several dockyards to have copper or
gun-metal bolts fitted to the valves in use. The
Hydra has lain at Devonport some years ; and
therefor e, in compliance with the spirit of that order,
the bolts which ultimately failed should have been
r emoved long ago. W ::~.s not some one person
directly responsible for this order being obeyed, and
therefore, because of disobedience, legally responsible
for Mr. Clark's death? vVe say the " spirit of the
order ," because it literally refers to the deterioration
of the .Mu1ztz metal bolts, and directs copper or gunmetal to be substituted. We should be grieved to
hear that the iron bolts in question had not been removed, because not referred to in the order, and we
should look upon such an evasion as one most
dangerous and culpable. Of course if the bolts are
tapped into holes which do not pass through the
flange-the points of the bolts being thus protected
from contact with the water-they can be made of
iron without risk, and it is probable that on the
whole iron bolts so protected are better than any
other kind. In the case of the Hydra, however,
this protection was wanting.
We conclude ~with a remark, suggested by the
ignorance and car elessness which seem to stand out
so prominently in this inquiry, as to the non·dissemination of information throughout the engineer
branch of the naval service. We ourselves have
striven, not without success, to get and to give information interesting to the engineer officers of our
naval service; but we find that there is considerable
and unnecessary reticence as to facts, and we know
that some of the departmental officers of the Admiralty have done their utmost to prevent information reaching us. Their lordships may depend upon
it that this enforced reticence injures them as administrators far more keenly than it is likely to injure
us. Much of what we have done has been done with
tt.e sole object in view of encouraging a healthier
professional apirit than now exists among naval
engineers. We warn their lordships that their
present practice as to the non-circulation of professional information, and their attempt to prevent
the discussion of professional subjects in the public
press, must tend inevit::~.bly to lower the class, professionally, both as to trustworthiness and zeal.
Engineer Charles N. Pa.lmer :
The bolts in the stop valve were defective in strength. They
broke because they were of iron instead of brass. There
was no defect in their 2ize or shape.
Believed they had corrodt'ld.
Engineer George .Metca.lf :
Had examined the stop valve, was of opinion that the
cause of the bolts breaking was that they were of inferior
metal.
Chief Inspector of Machinery, W. N. Covey:
The cause of the bolts breaking is a very difficult question
to answer. From present appearances was opinion the
matel'ial was of a kind and quality that ought not to have
been employed.
Engineer John Boswell :
From the appearance of the screw pins he considered
the accident occurred owing to the ends of the pins being exAUTOMATIC RAILWAY SIGNALS.
posed to galvanic action caused by the lodging of water in
THERE is probably no question of more importthe pipe whilst the ship had been in harbour. Was of
opinion the pins were well mnde and of good iron, and that ance, or which would more readily recommend itself
the accident would never have occurred had not the ends to railway managers than that which forms the subbeen exposed to the water in the pipe.
ject of this article. Such has, of late, been the
Vve wish, pointedly, to call attention to the fact enormous growth of rail way traffic that signal boxes,
that, whilst in any case provision should be made
for draining off the accumulated water, in this case
a mere cursory examination of the valve at any
time after the ship had been under steam would
have detected the t endency to decay in the bolts in
question. We are not quite clear as to the frequency
of the examinations of machinery in the Steam
Reserve, but we take it that the chief engineer is
blamable who suffers decay so conspicuous as this to
go on unknown to himself or unheeded.
vVe regret to state that the evidence was not only
r eputedly careless-· shall we say reticent ?-in
r espect of the actual cause of the accident, but it was
also, undoubtedly, given without a proper knowledge of facts. ln our previous remarks we
pointed out that to say the material was inferior
was a serious imputation on the makers - then
stated to be l\lessrs. J. Elder and Co. 'fha Admiralty have since considered it necessary to announce that it has been ascertained on further investigation that the stop valve which caused the
accident was made and fitted on board at Devonport Dockyard, and their lordships r egret that inadvertently evidence should have been given at the
coroner 's inquest to the effect that this valve waa
made by Messrs. J. Elder and Co. We dare say
the witnesses who deposed to bad material think
differently now.
Some of the witnesses deposed that such bolts
would, in Government yards, be made of Muntz
metal. But the fact is, that it is 'llot the practice
in Government yards to make bolts for securing
signalmen, and block signals, at first so ardently
scouted, have now become in many cases an indisThe expense involved in
pensable necessity.
establishing a block system is far greater than those
unacquainted with railway life can imagine. It is
not the mere establishment, the setting up of the
sig':lal. b~xes, ~rames, pos~s, and electrical apparatus.
This m 1tself IS a heavy 1tem enough, but it is the
annual cost which tells upon the revenue. How far
this is to be met or reduced by automatic signals is
a question which presents itself under two heads.
First, would their employment tend to reduce the
cost of the signals department? And, secondly,
would such a system be safe? To the first we say
there can be no question as to the economy to be
effected by an efficient system of signals. Take any
busy section of a railway. How many signal boxes
are there over it which exist simply as intermediate
boxes, i.e., boxes provided merely to work the electric
and their corresponding outdoor signals? Take for
instance the \Vaterloo and Vauxhall section of the
London and South-Western Rail way. There are
between these points three signal boxes working
signals which, if a reliable automatic system could
be introduced, might be dispensed with. It is probable these boxes cost the company for signalmen
only not less than 4t. a week each, or a total of over
600t. a year. This is of course an exceptional case.
It is not all parts of the line where signal boxes are
so closely placed, nor is it by any means the rule to
find signal boxes thus provided solely for block signal
purposes. Still savings, to a very large extent, may
•
•
ENGINEERING.
[AuG. I 8, I 876.
evidently be made when the time arrives for the auspices of a Government department, and are apt
.'Ye ho.ve also the statement that during the trial
to accept without sufficient investigation r esults wtth the pumps the pressure in the last " steamemployment of ·automatic signals.
To the second question, whilst expressin~ our which are stated to be obtained from such a source, pump" was 69.8 lb. , and the temperature of the
opinion that a system equally as safe as 1s the and thus when the results are-as in the present " steam" forced into the boiler 196.7 deg. It must
present system may be produced, wo feel compelled instance-very misleading from th eir incomplete- have been very remarkable "steam" at that temperato add that up to t he present no such system has ness their circulation is apt to do much harm. Of ture which had a pressure of nearly 70 lb. p er square
come under our observation, although quite a courae the Admiralty engineers themselves are fully inch! On e of the first things that will strike an
number of plans have been brought to our notice. capable of analysing the r esults obtained by the engineer on looking over the above figures is the
In no case can we say th n.t they come up application of Mr. l\l archant's system, and of increMed indicated horse power developed by the
to the standard of requirements necessary to insure estimating the latter at its true value ; but altbough engines wh en the pumps were at work. Now we
safety. An eminent member of the present H ouse professional men can do this, the general public have no evidence whatever that the engine was really
of Commons is reported to have said that a p erson cannot, and to them the results a~ stated are, as we doing more actual work on one day than the other
seated in a railway train is safer than when in his have said, misleading. In making these remarks aod the natural explanation is that the differenc~
own house, and statistibs go far to support this we have no desire whatever to attribute the cir- between the two powers was simply that absorbed
assertion. But this degree of safety has been culation of the r esults in question to any unworthy in the pumps, and it had thus no business to be
acquired by a vast amount of t.hought, care, and motive on the part of 1\llr. Marchant. Mr. Marchant couuted in obtaining a divisor for calculating the
skill, as well as by an ever watchful and judicious has worked many years at the development of his consumption of. fuel. Mr. Marchant states in a
supervision. It is, in no small measure, due to the system, and he is we know a most thorough b eliever note to his published data relating to the Portsefficiency of the signallin g system employed, and in what he conceives to b e its merits; but unfor- mouth trial that a " friction diagram was specially
any system of automatic signals which may be i ntro- tunately these facts do not affect the val ue of the taken to ascertain the power absor bed by the
duced should be based upon the principles which system it self, and we regret to state that we are pumps," and that this gave that p ower as six horse
govern that system. The normal condition of every compelled to form an opinion concerning it differiug power. To this amount for friction must be added
that due to the compression effected in the pumps,
signal sh ould be ''danger." Any failure of the very materially from that of its inventor.
Speaking broadly, Mr. Marchant's system consists but no data are given which will enable this amount
apparatus, any interruption from whatever cause
should r esult in the signal assuming this position. in taking a portion of the exhaust steam from an to be calculated. T he water used per indicated
H ence we come to the second principle, that the engine and pumping it back into the boiler by a horse power per hour was practically the same in
agency by which t he signal is placed at "clear," series of pumps, the first of which delivers into the the two trials, while the consumption of coal per
should be and remain active during the existence of second and so on, the steam beiog thus compressed hour was also practically the same, but the
such signal. These are the principles which govern by successive stages. Now it needs but the most evaporative efficiency of the coal rose when the
our present. system of signals, and we seeno difficulty elementary knowledge of thermo-dynamics to b e pumps were at work, a r esult which might be
attendingtheiradoption in any other system, whether aware that the compression of exhaust steam to the anticipated from the pumping a rrangement acting
under the control of physical, mechanical, or boiler pressure anci its delivery into the boiler would as a fe ed-water heater, and which might of course
electrical agency. With a strange perversity, nearly - a part from the friction of the pumps-require the have been obtained in other ways. The "mean
enry system brought forward up to the present, expenditure of just as much power as the steam so temperature of feed" in the above Table of rlata is,
has been based upon principles the opposite of these, compressed would subsequently be capable of de- we pr<:sume, the mean temperature at which the
and it is mainly with the obj ect of guiding the veloping if used in an engiue without loss and ex- feed was taken from the hot well. In the case of
t~ough~ of those who are devoting so much time panded down to the exhaust p ressure ; and the idea the trials with Mr. Marchant's pumps, the temperaand cat:ntal to the question that we offer these r e- of obtaining any advantage by such a system of ture at which it entered the b oiler would, of course,
marks. To perfect a system of this kind requires working is utterly chimerical. It is true Mr. Mar- be much higher. Altogether the figures we have
h owever not merely a knowledge of the science of chant takes not the whole, but a portion of the exhaust quoted may be taken merely as sbowiog that in the
electricity, but also a knowledge of railway working, steam-if he took t he whole his engine simply would case of the Portsmouth engine the application of Mr.
and a forethought of the error s which the apparatus not work at all-and he claims to reduce the pump- l\larchant's pumps has proved tolerably harmless,
are likely to produce, and of their effect upon the ing power required to force this steam into the boiler, and this is about the best which can be said for the
traffic.
by "saturating'' the steam by the admission of hot svstem.
' ¥ e shall watch with interest to see what
•
Having thus so far advocated the adoption of a water into the pumps at each stage of the process. course is taken by the Admiralty authorities in the
reliable system of automatic signals i t remains to To the non-professional mind, this no doubt appears matter.
suggest to what extent such a system should be em- a plausible plan, and hence the commendatory paraployed, and in this r ests very much of the importance graphs with which ~1r. Marchant's plans have been
THE PENNSYLVANIA RAILROAD.
THE unbouuded
and pleasant h ospitality shown by
of the question. To employ it indjscriminately greeted in the non-technical press; but to our
would be in our opinion sheer madness. The course r eaders it is scarcely necessary to say that -the Americans to strangers during the present year will long
we should advocate would be to select a point system of working is one which will not bear in- be remembered by visitors to .the Centennial. W e ha ve ou
b etween two signal - boxes, and there to first vestigation. The plain facts are t.hat Mr. Marchant's previous occasions alluded to these m ost successful efforts
being made to give strangers the fullest poe.sible infom\ation
establish it. " ' i th block sections on either sides it is arrangement is simply a disguised feed beater , and is during
t '1 e limited time at their disposal. Practically e,•eryrcarce possible for harm to occur from it even if only of use in so far as it enables the exhaust steam tbing has
been placed at the disposal of visitors, and in
to
be
turned
to
account
for
raising
the
temperafailure should attend its first use. 'Ve would then go
e very branch of industry, not only are processes of manuture
of
the
feed.
Any
steam
which
Mr.
l\larchant
furth er aud employ it to the extent of three or four
facture fully and thoroughly explained, but the commercial
may
compress
and
force
into
the
boiler
is
so
p
umped
signals b etween given points, but we should be
results of working, manufacturers' bo okt~, and information
jealous to guard agai nst entrusting any large section back by the expenditure of an amount of power io generally recognised as private, a re put entirely at the
of line to such a system until it has been thoroughly excess of that which can be subsequently derived disposal of those who seek the information. Jn the midst
proved. There must ever be signal-boxes at stations from the steam, when used in the engine, and the of all this hospitality the Pensylvania R ailroad Company
and juuctious at which manual labour is imperative. operation is thus attended not with a gain, but with has become conspicuous <'D account of their recent enterThese boxes nre as a rule at no great distance apart, a decided loss of effect, while regarded as an arrange- tainment t o foreign Yisitors, who, to the nwnber of liS, acand it is only between such we would advocate the ment for heating the feed lli. :Marchant's system of cepted au invitation to travel over the line in a special train
e~ployment of automatic sigoals. It is further de~ pumps is much more complicated, and appears in placed at their disposal. It is needless to say that this train
contained all the luxurious accommodation characteristic of
s1rable that the system, whatever it is, should be no way more efficient than many other devices which first
-class American railways.
The party comprised a
applicable to the existing system of block signals, may be, and are, adopted.
h1r,.:e number of prominent Amt>rican gentlemen, the res~ that the intermediate blocks may communicate
' Ve have now before us the published figures con - mainder consisting of foreign visitors from nearly every
wtth them without disturbing existing arrangements. cerning th e trials of Mr. Marchant's system on t he count ry exhibiting at the Centennial, Sweden being
If this is secured, and the principles we have ad- No. 2 Factory engine at Portsmouth Dockyard, and especially strongly represented by no less than se\·enteen
vocated are followed, we have Jittle doubt of tbo the chief results obtained during two eix-hour gentlemen, most of whom hold prominent official po:.itioos.
ultimate success of automatic signals, and we look trials, during one of which Mr. Marchant's pumps
The excursion lasted during a whole week, and included
forward to their employment as the next great stt>p were used, while during the other they were not, are visits to the principal shC'ps and works belonging to the
railroad company, to the Cambria Iron Works, Pittsburgh,
to be obtained from electricity, and that at no very as follows:
the oil regions, Erie City, Buffalo, Niagara Falls, the great
distant date.
Trial without
Trial with
1-I ARCHANT'S
"STEA~I
FilliPS."
DURING the past few weeks numerous notices of
a more or less glowing character have appeared in
the columns of tho London and provincial nontechnical papers concerning the system of steam
en gine construction of which Mr. H.. l\1. Marchant
is the inventor and advocate, end as-from the
startling nature of the results said to be attainedthe system has naturally attracted much public att ention, it is desirable that we should have something to say concerning it, and especially of the r esults asserted to have been attained by its application to an engine at Portsmouth dockyard. And
h ere we may say that it is, to our mind, much to be
regretted that the data obtained by the Admiralty
authorities during the trials of this engine at Portsmouth should have been circulated in a form which
renders them very misleading to the genera)
public. The public naturally attach considerable
importance to experiments conducted under the
Marchant's
Pumps.
Ma.rcbant's
Pumps in Use.
Mean p~essure of steam at
engmes
...
...
68.3 lb.
67.3 lb.
Mean vacuum
.. .
. ..
25.5 in.
21.17 in.
Mean temperature of feed
124 deg.
126.8 deg.
Mean revolutions of engine
per minute ...
...
118.42
108.48
M ean pressure in highpressure cylinder ...
22.4 lb.
34.98 lb.
Mean pressru·e in lowpressure cylinder .. .
8.8,t lb.
9.82lb.
Mean total indicated horse
power
.. .
...
85.747 H.P.
104.123 H.P.
A vora.ge quantity of water
evaporatP.d per hour 1866. '7
2196
Water used per indicated
horse power per horu·
21.77lb.
21.09lb.
Consumption of coal per
hour .. .
. ..
. ..
196lh.
1931b.
Consumption of coal per
indicated horse power
per how·
...
...
2.28 lb.
1.85 lb.
Water evaporated per
pound of coal
...
9.52 lb,
11,38\b.
W illiamsport Saw Mills, which produce 250,000,000 !t. of
lumber annually, the Harrisburgh Steel W orks, an
a g reat number of other points of interest. The general
arr/lngementa were organised by Mr. S_cott, the pr~sident of
the R ailroad Company, and were earned out admlfably by
the officers of the line.
T ilE EXPLOSION ON BOARD
To
THE
IL~I.S.
'fHUNDERER.
EDITOR oF ENGINEERING.
SIR,-The deplorable explosion which occurred on board
H.M.S.S. Thunderer, must excite sympathy in every breast.
I t therefore becomes i. duty of every professional engineer
to make public any knowledge bia experience supplies likely
to prevent the recun·ence of similar catastrophes. With
this feeling I address you the following lines, the extent of
my information of this accident being what you give on and
prior to your number 553, issued 4.tb August.
My experience, although I a.m now retired from acth-e
practical engineering, enables me to point to a somewhat
similar nccident which occurred through obstruction io the
proper a ction of t he safety valve on board a. new steam
vessel, where the consefiuences, although infinitely less
disastJ:ous, might ha.ye rivalled compa.I'&tively the Thundcrcr
oxplos1on .
•
•
•
•
AuG. x8, t8j 6.J
E N GIN E ER IN G.
In this case it was satisfactorily ascertained to have
arisen from very simple although culpable causes, and
pointed a lesson carefully to avoid similar conditions The
safety valves were constmcted, as in the Thunderer, with
three leaves as central guides, and the necessary dead.
weight load above, supported as usual in the waste steam
box, these were all of good workmanship, and carefully got
up. The mischievous consequences, nowever, arose from the
load not being centrally poised upon the upper surface of
the valves, so as to counterpoise the equability of steam
pressure below. In fact, the weight was found partially to
rest on tho ono side of the upper surface of the valve's disc,
the opposite side being affected only through the rigidity of
the parts. Thus the valve when loaded and in action in its
sea.t, bore exact resembln.nce to an ill-fitting drawer, which
would jam in its case, when t he more it was pressed or
urged to move, the more determinedly fixed it would become.
The consequences sure to result from such conditions are at
once apparent. On 1·aising steam the valves, subjected to
interior pressure, elded slightly on the unloaded side, thus
passed steam, an were pronounced bad workmanship,
which conditions continued even when re-adjusted and l'e·
ground. During a subsequent trial, however, a. partial
accident occurred, when the three leaves were found to have
formed indents in the seats, exactly a!; you describe those
existing in the valve seats of the Thunderer, two being
deeper either in the upper or lower interior lip, with a. third
opposite them on the re,·erse lip depending upon how the
weight rested relatively to the leaves of the valve. These
indents and other general appearances demonstrated clea.dy
the origin of failure at the time, and led to a.n examituttion
of safety valve construction, with the view of avoiding conditions tending to produce cwil consequences.
I do not here intend intmding upon those engaged conducting the official investigation, nor pronounce the
accident on board the Thunderer to have arisen from
what I have here described, but the narration of the details
and general description of the features given by you are
so similar, that I am led to infer it may have resulted from
the same defects.
The knowledge and intelligence of the parties appointed
to the investigation, will be certain to lead to the true
cause of the explosion, and there from to predict bow such
alarming and melancholy accidents are to be avoided in
future. Should it happen they arrive at a different conclusion as to its source from the one here pointed to, the
effect of this letter will be to show another source whence
similar accidents might arise.
I am, &c.,
r·
CHARLES RANDOLPH.
Glasgow, August 14, 1876.
'
ROUSSEAU'S AUTOMATIC RAIL,VAY
SIGNALS.
To THE EDITOR OF ENGINEERING.
SxR,-In your paper of the 26th of May last, there
appeared an article upon " Automatic Block Signals for
Railway Traffic," containing a. description of the system
patented by Mr. David Roussea.u, of New York City.
The deecription given of the apparatus, composing what
is known as the single signal system of Mr. Rousseau, is
very clear and accurate, except a scarcely expressed doubt
about the efficiency of the method adopted to prevent the
failure of the signals through the weight running down.
This danger of the signals running down is not only
" said to be got over," but is r endered absolutely impossible
by the expedient adopt ed, if the lamps are att ended to at
any time during the day, and it is not supposed that the
most careless railway management would be suspected of
such negligence, as would allow the lamps to be left both
untrimmed a nd unligbted. In the conclusion of your article
there appear some objections to the automatic system of
signals, which do not seem to be well founded, and which I
would like to take up in succession.
Before doing so, however, it will be more con•enient to
describe generally what is known as the "Rousseau absolute
safety railway signal," and which differs from the single
signal system described in some important points. By
referring to the description in the article to whicb allusion
has been made, it will only be necessary to state that
the " absolute safety" or double system differs from the
single system mainly in the use of two signal posts and
discs for each complete signal. These signal posts are
placed at about 1000 ft. apart, and are so connected that
either one being worked, automatically or otherwise, causes
it companion signal to chanq-e immediately afterward.
The arrangement will be maae sufficiently clear by t'he
following figure, in which it will be seen the arrangement
of wires for danger and clear signals is the same as in the
single system, except that the two signals are joined by
double wires.
•
-- ~
- _____ "''
/
~- -.J..I/-
\
,
<l-A
• ---t:"L _____ ...
__ ..
I
r?r·-·r -----
'
)"
'
'I
A
' B--}fa.--
I
'
C/
--
'c)--c;--
The electrical device by which one signal causes the other
to work has been made snfficiently clear in your article.
The signal discs are generally made red in the first
signal, and green in the second, and are so connected that
when the fu·st is " clear," the second is green, or at
"caution," and when the system works properly, this
arrangement cannot be changed.
Now assuming e\'erything to work properly the incoming tra~ sees .the signal at " A" clear, and passes on ;
t he automattc action occurs as soon as the commutator is
~~ssed, , ~nd the . signa~ A changes to "danger," and A to
clear, the.engme.~rtver s~es the second signal' ' clear,"
and proceeds 1n securtty, lcavJDg the road blocked behind him
until he passes out h·om the section, when his train passing
\
149
the commutator at A 1 changes the signal A to "caution," signal until be passes it, and should then have means C?f
knowing that it has changed. The double system maruand·that in turn changes A to " clear."
Now if the signals do not work, owing to a break oc- festly overcomes this ob~ection.
In regard to the itahcised requirements of a. system of
curring in the wire between n and A, or in any part of the
battery wil·o, the engine. driver finds the signal A at blocks signals as embodied in your article, Mr. Roussea.n's
" caution" instead of " clear," and knows that he must system seems to fulfil all the essentials, for " the danger
take precautton against striking any trains whtch may be signal once set is unreversible by any extraneous means,"
in the section in his front ; t hus a total failure of the signal e.xcept by the track being cleared by the outgoing t rain .
The "all clear" signal is only given to the engine-driver
to work lea.ves always either a c~utionary or a danger
in the single system by seeing the s1'gna~ 1vork, and in the
signal set.
If now one of the wires between A and A 1 breaks, leaving double system by seeing the "clear" signal on the second
A free to work, the incoming trains sets A at " danger" post, in all other cases it is to the drivet· a danger signal
and leaves A 1 at " caution," the clear wire is then not put continually set.
in counexion with the clear spring, and the train on lea ring
Finally, in regard to the subject of automatic signals
the section does not clear the signal but leaves both at against those worked by men. The signals worked by
" danger."
men M'C arranged so that the signalman by his own
I n case the other wire between A and A1 is broken, A is action blocks the road, provided the machinery of the
again set at "danger," and A 1 is "clear ,' but when the signals works.
train leaves the section in this case the signal A 1 is set again
H e 1s supposed to make the signals at the proper time,
at "caution" and A is left a.t " danger."
and to see that the proper reply is. given from the signal.
In case the clear wire breaks leaving the others working, If he is intelligent, sober, wide awake, ann not absentthe roa.d is blocked by the incoming train, and left blocked minded, he will do t his properly, and receive a good salary
for so doing; any one of these conditions failing, the system
by it when leaving the section.
Hence, if all works properly the road is blocked and becomes worse than useless, as it only inspires a false concleared at the proper time ; a failure in the battery or any fidence in the engine-drivers, and shifts from their shoulde1·s
wire in th~ system leaves the road blocked; and as far as the responsibility for the care of their trains.
is known no combination of circumstances is possible,
In the automatic system, if the apparatus is in order, the
which will leave the road clear for a train, except the signals are set by the train ; if the signals are out of order
proper working of the signals under t he action of the out- their failure to work immediately notifies the engine dri.;er
going nncl incoming trains. Now as to the objections urged of their condition, throws upon him the responsibility of
against the system in your article.
protecting himself, and puts the safety of the tt·a.in in his
1. In regard to the form of the signals necessitating their hands instead of on those of a signalman, who, whatever
his responsibility before the law, has not his lite at stake
being enclosed in a caso.
The objection to this seems to consist principally in its in nn accident. The relative advantages there seem to bo
novelty or departw·e from the established form. 'l'bis, then as follows :
In the non-automatic system the safety of the train dewhether a fault or not, is inseparable from anything new,
and if sustained as a valid objection, would stop all im- pends upon the signals beJDg set by each and every signalprovements. In t his instance the advantages are con- man along the line, the p erformance of this action being
sidered far greater than the defects, otherwise the signal arms insured by the signalman being notified that his signal is
would be made of the semaphore pattern, and be exposed properly set after he has worked the lever. I n other words,
to t he effects of storms, as in most of the established if tbe man does his duty be is notified that it is properly
systems ; in fact Mr. Rousseau has designs for signals done, if, ho~vever, be does not do it at all he receives no
which work this way, but in the model now used the si~uals modification, nor do the drivers of this or the following
are protected from all effects of weather, and are rendered traius, who are allowed to go to destruction while in fancied
security.
easily visible by the form and material of the case.
In the automatic system the train sets its own signals,
T he next statement is that " It is impossible but failru·e
will arise. Electrical or mechanical, wear and tear will the engine-driver is personally certain that the signal is set
have its own, and c~nnot always be foreseen."
and his train protected or is notified to protect himself, and
This remark is equally true when applied to any mecha- inn. matter of economy the slight expense of repairs and
nism, whether electrical or not; but the frequency and battery materials is set against the pay of numerous
effects of failures are the grounds upon which the system is signalmen.
to stand or fall. T he only true method of determining
In addition to these points in its favour, the Rousseau
these grounds consists in finding the percentage of failures system is worked with a remarkably small number of
battery cups, and working entirely upon an open circuit
in a given number of workings of the si~nals.
Now the Rousseau system of signals m its three forms, the expenditure of ma terial is very small. Twice only has
i.e., single and double automatic, and these combined with the effect of atmospheric electricity been felt in the lines in
signalmen, has been used for about three years upon the use ; once an office indicator worked and once a wire was
roads entering the Grand Centrall.Jep6t in New York, and burned off, but in neither case did the signals change. Of
has been extended along the lines of these railways after course a lightning arrester would entirely do away with
they branch off, so as to cover a distance of about sixteen the objection raised, but after careful consideration of the
miles. There are about 158 regular trains entering or de- subject by the inventor, that even is not consider ed as at
parting from this dep6t daily; in some cases one train follows all necessary.
The system is adopted to use as one entirely automatic,
another at one minute's interval. For about three miles the
three r ailway companies uso the same tracks, and by the con- as one entirely worked by hand, or to a number of varied
struction of the dep6t all trains, whether outgoing or in- combinations of the two, and in all cases can be combined
coming, have to cross from the up to the down track, ana with office indicato1·s, which tell at a glance the condition
v1'ce versa, at a short distance from the rlep6t. In addition of the line and give to the system all the advantages of one
to these complications, during the time that Mr. Rousseau's worked by signalmen.
From these considerations taken in connexion with the
system has been in use, the part of the railway running
through the city has been converted into an underground fact that during the three years, that it has been used on
road , necessitating of course continual changes in the the sect ion of the railway running into the Grand Central
signals. During the time in w bich these changes were Depot, and over whose tracks, 1 5~ regular trains pass daily,
going on there arose of course occasionally cases in which there have no accidents occurred, for which the signal was
the signals did not work properly, but in no case, as I am responsible, I think it can be safely said that it does
assured by the signalman at the dep(lt, was the delay at all " embody those principles necessary to r ender it safest
serious, nor was there ever an accident, nor even an even of its kind."
approach to an accident, from this cause.
A careful review of the Ripton and other serious disasters
'£he success attending the working of the signals upon will convince the reader, could not have occurred if the
this road has been so great, that they have been introduced Rousseau signals bad been used, as by this system ~o mesupon the Philadelphia., Wilmington, and Baltimore Rail- sages pass between operators, consequently no mistakes
road, and the managers of the P ennsylvania. Railroad occur ; and if the system is applied semi-automatically or by
are now introducing them upon their lines.
key alone none but the proper key can be touched to allow
Upon roads which carry a large amount of freight in very the train to pass. A discussion is invited and a practical
long trains it becomes desirable to have the danger signals test will prove the claim, which is that the Rousseau
set by the locomotives and the line cleared by the 1·ear car b an absolute safety railroad signal.
of the train. Mr. Rousseau has designed a very simple form
I remain, yours r espectfully,
New York, July, 1876.
J. M.
of circuit-closer for accomplishing this object, a description
of which, as well as of the other mechanical and electrical
[We shall probably have something to s.1.y about our
appl~ances of the system, will be found in the pamphlet correspondent's letter next week.-ED. E.l
published by the company.
In answering the next question as to "What would occur
if between the time a. train passes over the commutator a.,
and its passina al the \vire m conne:rion with the former THE CITY AND PORT AND DISTRI CT OF
were to be broken f" Your article seems to be written under
IQUIQUE WATER WORKS.
a misconception. First the signal under the circumstances
To THE EDITOR oF ENGINEERING.
supposed would remain at " danger" until the section was
SIR~-In yow· issue of the 4th inst. you publish a letter
cleared by the fu·st train, when the signal would be set at headee1 "Water Supply to Iquique," dated Lima., Peru,
"all clear" by that train. No~ the succeeding train would, May 27th, and signed by Mr. Thomas Hart, in which the
as you state, not change the s1gnal, but would leave it at latter confines himself to communicating only upon the
"clear," and the train unprotected, provided the engine ji1·st portion of the correspondence which appeared in your
driver neglected the orders which are always given him columns last spring relative to this undertaking.
when the single system is used, and which are considered
You will r emember, Sir, having published on the 21st of
an essential part of such system. These orders are that April my letter of the 19th, which contained an ext ract from
the engine driver is always to see the signal turn from the decree, dated " Ministry of Government Direction of
"clear'' to " dC~~nger" as he passes it, and if be does not Public Works, Lima, August 25, 1875," and in sight of
see this change distinctly, he is immediately to take the the documents I then forwarded for your inspection, you
usual measures to protect his own train from those which formally declared the correspondence must close.
precede and follow him.
As you have published Mr. Hart's letter, I must beg
The single automatic system has been used for some time permission of you to give publicity to my reply to that
upon the !Philadelphia, Wilmington, and Baltimore road, gentleman, and which conststs in 1·eferr ing him to t he conand is found by t he mnnagers to be entirely efficient nnd clnsion of the nfore-mentioned correspondence which term\.
satisfactory. '£ be objection urged to it is that the engine- nated in your issue of the <!let of Apr il. Iu answer to any
driver partict1ln.rly in foggy weather, should see the " clear" new points Mr . Hart may have raised, I beg to ea.y t hat he
..
EN GIN EERIN G.
has misconceived his pretensions. The concession, of '!Vhich
Mr. Hart claims to be the transferee, was no C?nces~wn at
all, but merely a contract made by Se.iior Tornco .wtth the
P eruvian Government for the execut10n of certam works
subject to the condition of the full realisation of theNational
Loan of 1872. The loan having failed in providing the requisite funds designed for these works, the contract of which
Mr. Hart speaks fell through, ipso facto, and was declared
to be annulled in the decree of the Supreme Government of
t he 25th August, 1875.
The ratification by Government of the concession I hold
from the Municipality of I9nique, did not, I am advised,
render me liable for the discharge of any just claims for
compensation proved against the Government. Should
however it be thought otherwise, I am ready to answer
them, either here or in Peru, by my legal representative,
Senor don Fernando Lopez.
The protests made by Mr. Hart to the municipality were
irregular, the latter never having become parties to
Torrico's contract, and the protests he made to the Government (of all of which I have copies) are I consider unreasonable, as by the very contract of whtch he purports to be the
transferee he cannot make any claim for compensation of
whatever nature, as the following extract shows:
Eztract from the Decree of August 25, 1875.
COMPOUND MARINE ENGINES; PHILADELPHIA EXHIBITION.
CONSTRUCTED BY THE NAVY DEPARTMENT, WASHINGTON, U.E'.A..
•
•
Fig . 3 .
••
••
•• •
••
..
•
••
.
••
•• •• .••
•• •• ••
•• •
.
....
......
•
•
...
..• .
...
..• .
•
••
" 3. That the supr eme decree of the 3rd of J anuary,
1872, whereby Torrico was authorised to make the studies
• •
• •
for providing Iquique with water, lays· down in its third
•• •
• •• ••
condition that in case the Government should not deem it
••
••
•
••
desirable to effect the works in question, it would pa;y
nothing for the said studies, it is declared that the said
contract has lapsed on account of the funds that the said
work requires not existing, which I transcribe for your
l ordship, by order of the senior minister, for your information and further objects. God preserve your lordship.
Marciso Alaiza."
...................
As regards the charge Mr. Hart makes of my having
••
exaggerated t he benefits the constt-uction of these works
••
will confer upon the nitrate t r ade, and the pecuniar)' r e••
/--~ ~---\·
sults the shareholder s in the company will derive from their
...tVwr Y,.f;ol<:ott>"'
exploitation, I will reply that I have simply stated facts,
and have quoted returns obtained from official sources,
and that my statements have been endor sed, as you are
aware, by Mr. S. Cleminson, late locomotive superintendent
of the Iqnique and La Noria Railway, and by others inti•
mately acquainted with the working of the nitrate fields
and the carriage of the mineral to the sea. coast, and thence
to Europe. Mr. Hart, who resides in Lima and not at
Iqnique, cannot be con sidered so good an authority to express an opinion upon the undertaking as those, myself
among the number, who have practically dealt with the
difficulties r esulting from the total absence of fresh water
in or near the port of I qnique. Before making this charge,
however, Mr. Hart should have reflected that no GovP.rnment or corporation anywhe1·e would have held so good an
Fig . 4 .
•
opinion of the paying prospects of the concern, as to contract for the execution of works to t he amount of 1, 748,674
soles, Ol' say over 310,000l., without it had well assured
itself previously that the pt·ofits derivable therefrom, would
sufficiently recompense th~ outlay. The present works,
which have no relation whatever either in the sources of
the water, technical design, or mode of working, to any
former scheme (of which there have been several), are to
cost less than the sum the Government intended to expend,
and consequently t he profits will stand at a higher r atio in
respect to the capital.
It may be useful for Mr. Hart to know that my statements have been confirmed in general by some of the most
influential commercial houses trading with the West Coast,
and by engineer s of gt·eat authority who have for years been
professionally connected with that countl·y.
In conclus10n, I beg to say that all the documents and
plans relating to this concession have been examined and
declared valid by both counsel and solicitor, and that they
may be seen at this office by any to whom they may concern.
As the works are likely to be commenced shortly, I beg
r espectfnlly to point out to you the inconvenience which, in
the meanwhile, the publication of letters purely of an invidious character, must occasion, seeing that out of the
number of your r eaders, the greater portion have no direct
•
interest or opportunity of seeing the documents which stand
i!..Nnv•vd.E..d- ol'E~~
as testimony to the legality of my concession.
I am, Sir, your obedient servant,
A ht ONGST the exhibits sent by the Bureau of Steam answer comes to them from the Board of Trade, and often
G. FITZR.OY COLE.
En~ineering of the United States Navy Department to the they can find none for themselves. Again t hey ask, W ho
Queen Anne's Mansion, W estminster, August 8, 1876.
Pb~adel phia Exhibition, are a pair of compound screw is the rule maker ? And on this point they are left equally
engmes for .w ooden-built sloops of 620 tons measurement. m t he dn.rk. It can hardly be expected then, s~eing that
t he interests involved are so great, that t hey w1U look at
These engines, which are rated at 800 horse power nominal, the matter very coolly. It is nothing to them w~ether or
SwANSEA IiARBOUR.-At the annual meeting of the ha~e one high and one low-pressure cylinder, these cylinders
Swansea Harbour Trustees, Mr. Starling Benson, who has be1ng respectively 34 in. and 51 in. in diameter. The not the reasoning appears to the rule maker suffiClent . As
long as they know nothing abo~t the rule maker, and are
held the office for 20 years, was re-elected chairman. After
the report of the docks committee, respecting the negotia- stroke is 8 ft. 6 in. The engines are of the horizontal unable to discover on what ba.s1s they are founded, they
tions in reference to the Fabian's Bay proposal, bad been return connecting rod type, fitted with surface condensers, can have no confidence in his rules.
A better example of arbitrary rule making can scarcely
adopted, a resolution was pa.ssed that the trustees should and we have in preparation detailed engravings of them.
proceed forthwith with the execution of the docks and In the. mean time we give this week, in our two-page be given than an instruction which ha.s just now been
works authorised by the 1874 Act, subject to such amend- engravmg and on the present page, views showing the forwarded to engineers on the Clyde, saying that in future
ments as they might consider desirable. A committee was arrangement of these engines with their boilers in the Yes3el no safety valves shall be fitted less than 3 in. in diameter.
also appointed to make arrangements for raising 300,000l. for which ~hey are intended. We postpone any description Why so ? I s it because small valves are less r eli.a.ble in their
for the purposes of the works.
of the eng10es until the publication of our further illustra- action than large ones when fitted with equal care? Again.l
the same circular demands that " if they are sprine- loadea.
tions.
valves there must be two valves of the above sLze." I
NEw Docx: FOR CARDIFF.-Although at present nothing
suppose this number represents the comparative efficiency
is officially known, yet it is believed that at the next meeting
of the two types of sa.fety·va.lve in the opinion of the B oard
BOARD OF TRADE RESTRI CTIONS.
of the Chamber of Commerce a communication will be read
of Trade rule maker. Now, sir, surely those instructions,
To THE EDITOR OF ENGINEERING.
from Lord Bute relative to the can-ying out of his original
SI&,-! feel obliged by your insertion of my letter on given without any reason, are very ha.rd.
scheme for a. new dock larger than either of the present dished ends for boilers in your last number and pleased to
The greatest mystery of a.ll is why those excessive r eones. The Marquis, during his stay at Cardiff, was in find that you acknowledge-to some exte~t at least-the strictions should be put on manufacturers of machinery in
consultation with Mr. J . Boyle last week several hours daily, righteousness of the cause of the Clyde engineers. Some the face of this fact, that during all those years, under the
and additional particular s r elative to the trimming of the of your r emarks strike at the very root of the matter. Y on old system, there has been an almost perfect immunity from
coal was supplied to them. It is seldom that the marquis say. " W e look at the rules as.all based on some reasoning accident.
and M1·. J. Boyle meet at Cardiff, and from the examination which appeared to the rule maker sufficient, and we try to
I am, Sir, yours respectfully,
of several of the dock officials by them, it is presumed that find out what tbatrea.sonin~ may have been.'' The memoriGEo. N . .MAcALPIN.Pi·
their joint visit had reference to this object .
Paisley, August 15, 1876.
alists a.leo ask on what bas1s t he rules are constructed.
No
.
---
•
ENGINEERING.
Auo. 18, 1876.]
CLAYTON AND SHUTTLEWORTH'S CHOCK BLOCKS.
D
By equa tion 5:
ft. in .
Log. 38 3= 1.5826314
" 62 9:=1.7976137
3.3802451
W E illustrate above a neat little arrangement exhibited
by Messrs. Clayton and Shuttleworth at the recent Royal
Agricultural Society's Show at Birmingham. It is intended
f or locking the wheels of thrashing machines, portable
engines, &c., and consists of a pair of wedges of the form
shown, one of which is fitted with castings containing a series
of notches set at an angle. To the sides of the plain wedge
is linked a pair of coupling bars, the opposite ends of which
are provided w ith pins which engage in one or other of
the notches in the wedge. By means of a suitably formed
hand lever these pins can be locked successively into the
inclined notches, until t he chocks are brought into contact
with the wheel, or the wheel may be raised clear from the
ground, as shown in the sketch, if desired.
"EARTHWORK QUANTITIES."
T hen
a.nd
s~=C B x AR
.
•
. (3)
• (4)
•
s= ..JcBx AB ·
log. s=log. CB+ log AB
a.nd
. (5)
•
2
Thus it is merely necessary to construct, once for all, a
column of logarithms cotTesponding with varying lengths of
slopes, and opposite to each a given quantity, either in a rea,
cubic yards, or whatever is most convenient; this quantity
representing the contents of a uniform section with length
of slope=s. These lengths I ahonld propose giving a.t every
3 in., a.nd this is probably as exact as cross sections can
us ually be scaled.
It is useless to encumber your pages with figures which
do not bear directly upon t he expla nation of thi<~ method,
therefore I merely append such por tions of the T able as will
illustrate the examples, a.nd show its construction.
To THE EDITOR OF ENGINEERING.
Earthwork Table.
SIR, -!£ I understand it rightly the object of earthwork
tables ahonld be to r educe to a minimum the labour of
Quantity in One Chain Long.
computing the quantities of irregular cross sections-in·egula.r, that is, so far as t he surface ground is concerned, the
Loga.ri thms.
ratio of side slopes being of course constant. The simplest Slopes.
form of earthwork table is, no doubt, t hat which gives the
1! to 1
1 to 1
2
quantities for varying depths of cuttings or banks on hori(1.1292 s ).
(1.2222 s 2).
zontal ground ; but since horizontality of surface ground is
•
certainly t he exception, the question arises how to convert ft . 10.
:cubic yards.
cubic yar ds .
the irregular triangle; due: to the " side longness" of the 35 •••
1.5440680
1383
1498
ground to an isosceles triangle, the equal sides of which
3
1.5471591
1403
1519
are the side slopes, and form with t he horizontal some con- "
154{)
6
1.5502284
1423
stant ratio. Your correspondent "G. K ." in a r ecent "
issue shows a way of accomplishing this result under certain 38 ...
1.5797836
1630
1765
circumstances, these circumstances being that the ground is
3
1.5826314
1652
1788
to fa.ll in definite ratios of 1, 2, 2t ... 4 in 10, &c., but, so "
far as my own experience goes, I never found surface ground 44 •••
1.6434527
2186
2366
half so a.ccommodating. It would more generally be some in3
1.6459133
2211
2393
definite mean between the above figures. Again, I presume "
2236
6
1.6483600
2420
on r eading the article r eferred to that these ratios of slope "
are to be booked upon the ground. Now it more often 49 •• •
1.6901961
2711
2935
happens than not that the surface is irregular, forming, so
to speak, a section of" ridge and furrow," the average line 55 ...
1.7403627
3416
3697
of which it is impossible to obtain except by equalising
1.7423323
3
3447
3731
"
it upon paper. If, t herefore, an irregular cross section
can by some simple formula. be resolveCl or equalised into 62 • ••
1.7923917
4341
4698
one uniform with horizontal ground line (the ratio of side
1.7941394
4376
3
4736
slopes being unaltered) we shall, I think, have obtained "
1.7958800
4411
6
4774
the simplest form for computing earthworks, under the "
9
1.7976137
4447
4812
"
varying conditions most common in everyday practice. I
beg to submit the following method which I venture to
Rule for using the above T able :-Measure t he side slopes
hope fulfils t he conditions just r efetTed to.
a nd add together t heir respective logarithms. Divide this
FIG. 1.
v
sum by 2, and find the nearest corresponding logarithm to
..
this quotient in the second column. This logarithm will
round
repre~ent the slope of a cutting or bank of uniform section
a.nd equal in area to the one in question. Opposite to this
logar~thm:and under the required ratio of slope will be found
the contents.
The resulting loua.rithm will rarely be found exactly in
the column ; but a little practice in the use of the T able will
accustom the user to adjust the differences at sight to suit
each particular case. A column of proportional parts might
B
be added, but is scarcely necessary.
1. L et the triangle A B C re~resen~ the sectio":l of a.
EXAMPLE I.
cutting, the ground line A C making w1th the ho11zontal
some indefinite angle.
.
.
.
.
2. Let the triangle DB E (of wh1ch the stde DE ts hortzonta.l) be equal in area to the tt·iangle A B C, the angle
BD E being equa.l to the a.ngle BED, and t he angle DB E
equal to the angle AB C and common t o both triangles.
Join DC and AE.
Then D C and A E shall be parallel.
Because AB C is equal to DB C (hyp.).
Take from these equals AB E , ~ommon to both.
.
Therefore the remainder D A E lB equal to the rema.mder
By equation 5 :
A E C (Enc. I. , Ax. 3), but "equal triangles upon equal
f t. in.
bases . . . are between the same parallels" (Enc. I., 40).
Log. 55 3::1.7423323
Therefore D C and A E are parallel.
" 35 6=1.5502284
Again, " If a straight line be drawn parallel to one of
the sides of a triangle it shall cut the other sides or those
3.2925607
produced proportionately, &c. (Enc. VI., 2).
Therefore, as C E is to E B so is D A to A B.
Divide by 2=1.6462803
Hence, as CB is to DB so is EB to AB. (Enc. v., 16 T he nearest logarithm to this is one corresponding to a
a.nd 18).
slope of 44ft. 3 in., a nd which is slightly less. Add, say,
From the above we deduce the following :
one-fow-th the diffet·ence between the qua ntity in this line
CB_EB
a nd the next. 2/=say 6. T he quantity for 44ft. 3 in .
•
(1)
DB-AB. . .
slopes is 2211, and + 6=2217 cubic yards=contents of AB C
a.nd
D BX E B =C BxA B .
.
. (2)
X 1 chain long.
but DB a.nd E B are equal (hyp.). L et s=D B and E B
This last process can be done in far less time than it tak es
respectively.
to read it-almost a.t a. glance in fact.
-
•
Divide by 2=1.6901225:;=2935 cubic yards
The quantities in the triangles a B c will of course vary
as formation and should be deducted afterwa rds. But m
cases where' the practice I is invariable, as in certain
offices, the deductions might be allowed for in the Table.
Yours truly,
J AMES G. W ALXER•
South P arade, D oncaster , August 8, 1876.
To THE EDITOR OF ENGINEERING.
SIR - Referring to the article in your last number on
"Earthwork Quantities" signed " G. K.," I had occasion,
some years ago, to ma~e. ca.!cula.~ons of a. similar na.!'ure
with r espect to the quantit1es m railway banks and cuttmgs
when situated on side lying ground. The formula I
arrived at wa.s as follows :
Let g::ratio (horizontal to vertical) of the natural slope
of the ground.
s=ra.tio (horizontal to vertical) of the slopes of the
cutting.
!=the forma tion width in feet.
L =tota.l leng:th of ~he cu~g in chains.
.
.
Q=qua.ntity m cubtc yards m the bank or cuttmg, if
the natural surface of the ground were level,
calculated by the ordinary methods.
x=the additional quantits in cubic yards caused by
the side lying ground.
Then
-Q ( sz ) + L (11
s Jz )
XgZ-s'l
g2 -s2
=Q. A+ L. B,
where A and B a.re the quantities within the brackets.
This formula. applied to the example given by'' G. K." will
be found to produce exactly the same r~snlts as ~e ob~ain~,
including his correction for the small tnangle om1tted m his
first calculation.
rs·
TABLE
I.-VaZu e of A.
T ABLE !I.-Value of B .
(For a base of 30ft.)
Slope of Sides of Cutting.
Slope of
Ground.
i
1 to 1
1t " 1
2 " 1
2!-" 1
3 " 1
3t" 1
4 " 1
4t" 1
1
5
6 "" 1
7 " 1
8 " 1
9 " 1
10 " 1
11 " 1
12 " 1
to 1.
146
63
35
22
15
11
8.6
6.8
5.5
3.8
2.8
2.1
1.7
1-4
1.1
1.0
!- to 1.
367
137
74
46
31
23
18
14
11
7.7
5.6
4.4
3 .3
2.8
2.3
2.0
1 to 1.
1t to 1.
440
183
105
69
45
37
29
23
16
12
8.7
6.9
5.5
4.5
3.8
477
207
122
82
60
46
37
25
18
13
10
8.4
7.4
5.5
It will be seen that the expr ession for x consists of two
parts the first being the quantity Q, if on level ground,
multiplied by a coefficient A depending upon the slopes of the
ground and cutting sides, but independent of the formation
width or the length of the cutting. The second part is t he
length L of the cutting multiplied by the quantity B , being
a certain number of cubic yards per chain length of cutting.
•
ENGINEERING.
=
2
I
For my own use at the time .I constructed the preceding
Tables, containing the values of A and B for different
slopes, and as I have frequently since found these very con•
venient in practice, particularly for Parliamentary estimates, I append them in hopes they may be of service to
your readers.
As an example of the application of these T ables, let it
be required to find the corrected quantity in a cutting, the
natural slope of the ground being 4 to 1.
Suppose the cubic contents, if on level ground, at·e
45,000 cubic yards, the total length of the cutting 25 chains
with a base of 30ft., and slopes of H to 1.
'
Then the corrected quantity is as follows :
Cubic yards.
Cubic contents, if on the level .. .
.. . 45 000
From Table I. , 45,000 cubic yards X A =
'
45,000 X .164
...
.. .
.. .
.. .
7,380
From Tableii., 25 chainsXB=26X60...
1,500
Tot::~.l
corrected quantity
. . . 53,880
For other formation widths the values of B in Table II.
would have to be increased or diminished in the ratio of
the square of the base.
I am, Sir, your obedient servant,
C.J.BELLAMY.
9, Great George-street, W estminster, August 8, 1876.
[In the article on "Earthwork Quantities" published by
u s on 107 am.te, several misprints occurred, and the
formulm should read thus. In Fig. llet:
g=ratio (horizontal to vertical) of the slope of the
ground.
s=ratio (horizontal to vertical) of the slope of the cutting.
d=depth from surface of ground to the intersection of
the slope lines produced.
x=area of triangle AB C.
y=
,
,
C D F.
then x=dZ s,4 and d'l= ~
s
!! +.fl 8 d
•
•
•
•
•
• (1)
~=d'l gz 8
. . g+s
2 g-~
2
g2-sz
2
Snbstitutwg the value of d g1ven in equation (1) we have
ru
gz s
gz
y=- X ·
= m-:::---:
g2-sz
g2-sz
.
8
F";Uther, in. eliminating the e.rror in the calculation including the tnangle below formation, contained between
tb.e extended lines of slopes, the following should be substltuted for that which appeared in the article :
Let !=formation width.
l=len~th of cutting.
s=ratio of slopes as before.
2
c=the coefficient g •
g2-s2
z==ar ea of Fig. CG H .
y-:=:fl 8 d
X
X
(1)2
2
then z= - _.:;_-
s
and (o-1) l z=the amount required.- ED. E.]
THE ORIGIN OF MOTI ON.
To THE EDITOR OF ENGINEERING.
SIR,-Since I wrote my last letter on the " Origin of
Motion," you have published others under the same
heading, one by the contributor of the original articles,
another by Mr. Richard Sbeward, and a third by Mr.
W. H . Shaw, each of which contain statements that render
it extremely difficult for me to remain silent, although I
promised you that I would trouble you no further. Mr.
Shaw accuses me of simply ignoring Newton's third law;
Mr. Sheward regrets t hat t he original aim of your contributor's articles which, he says, was" to demonstra.tefl'om
reasoning the impossibility of ' action at a distance' " has
been lost sight of in the controversy that followed ; and
your contributor himself has made at least three state.
ments that ought not to pasa unchallenged, not reckoning his
r eiteration of the views that I have criticised in my former
letters. I do not ask you to allow me to repeat once more
the arguments by which I have endeavoured to refute your
contributor's opinions; I should expect a prompt refusal
were I to make any such request ; but I do ask you to permit me to state as forcibly as I can a few objections to the
theory of "action at a distance" for the especial benefit of
~r. Shew~rd; ~o point out that my ~heory of gravitation
w st ead of 1gnorm:r, as Mr. Sbaw thmks, N ewton's third
law, is actually based upon that law, and to r efer briefly to
one or two other matters of the highest importance which,
for the most part, have been hitherto unnoticed by any of
those who have taken part in the dicussion. I regret exceedinglr that my remarks, in spite of all my attempts at abbreviation, persist in spinning themselves out to such a length.
This arises from an unfortunate habit of trying to prove my
case as I proceed. There is, I admit , much to be said in
favour of your contributor's concise plan of using a few
sweeping assertions in lieu of argument (it is but fair to add
that this remark applies only to his controversial letters
and not to his articles); but I think that upon the whole
there is a large balance of advantage in favour of my somewhat inconvenient method after all.
I purpose to deal in the first place with Mr. Sheward's
complaint that the original .object. o.f. your con~butor's
articles, to demonstrate the 1mposs1bility of "act10n at a
distance," has been lost sight of in the subsequent controversy. Probably ~~s was owin~ to t~e.f!1ct tb,~t b~th
disputants were of op1ruon that the 1mpoes1bil1ty of act10n
at a distance" had been abundantly proved . This, at all
events was my own view of the matter. Since, however,
your c~rrespondent remains unconvinced, and we all know
that ther e ar e mny others of the same opinion, I intend
to do my utmost to show that the existence of some means
of communication between gravitating bodies is an absolute necessity.
It has always appeared to me to be an astounding fact
lAua.
I
8, 1876.
I
that any one can be found to hold that the impossibility of Ind~ed, it is d~cult to understand, if it has no means of proaction l&tt a. distance stands in nee~ of a demonstration pu~slOn, how 1t could alter its position or direction by one
seeing ~~at from the verr nature of the case, the negativ~ hau·'s brea.O:th .. Certain it is, that according to the known
propos1t1on that there ensts no means of communication laws of mot10n 1t could not d_o so. But neither wings, nor
between the attracting and attracted bodies is incapable of paddles, nor any other conce1vable means of propulsion will
pr?of. No conceivable amount ~ of evidence could prove ~eet .the difficu!ty. T~,e .mole~ules are, on the theory of
th1S; the utmost that could be proved is that, eo fa1· as we ,a~t10n !1-t a distan~e, m v01d space, and it would imply
know, no such medium exists, and it is difficult to see bow action W1thout react10n to s.U\)J?OSe that in void space our
this alleged fact could be established in the face of the molecules con.ld by a~y poss1bility commence moving when
enormoas amount of evidence that goes to show that there ~nee nt rEist, or move m any othe! manner t~an ~n a straight
!!'c~ally is such a medium, ~he luminifero~s ether ; though hne,, and at any other than a uniform velo01ty if ah·ea.dy in
1t 1s of course an open quest10n whether th1s be the medium mot10n. One can understand how fish can swim in wat-er
concernP.d in the phenomena of gravitation.
and how a bird can fly in the air, but no one can under~
Again, those who demand a rigorous demonstration of the stand bow fish can swim and birds fly in vacuo. Suppose
impo~sib~ty of action at a distance a.Ppear to forget that that I wtlre to show a man a fish swimmin~ about in an
even if the1r theory were not absolutely mcapable o£ proof it appcvrentl;y empty globe, and were to ask him to believe
has not one iota of evidence to support it. Tho!!e w'ho that the globe was r eally empty of everything but the fish
adopt the notion invariably tell us that they do so merely and were to defy him to " demonstrate from reasoning" th~
because the difficulty is in no way alleviated by the inter- impossibility of the fish's swimming m vacuo, would he
position of any material means of communication, so that not at once tell me that since if there were no fluid in the
it rests entirely upon the assumed everlastingness of our globe the fish could not swim, supposing the usually acignorance of bow gravitation is caused.
cepted laws of mechanics to be correct, the onus probandi
The theory of "action at a distance" is so universally rested upon the man who makes such an assertion ? It
accepted without evidence that one would imagine that it might be impossible to see the water in the globe, but the
must be almost self-evidently true. But the very reverse very fact that the fish could swim in it would prove the
is the case ; it is quite self-evidently false. The notion that fluid's existence. And in the same way the fact that our
a body can act where it does not exist is quite as absurd, in molecules do " swim" in space is of itself a demonstration.
my opinion, as the notion that it can act when it does not
I can afford, however, to waive every one of the foreexist. Convince me of the truth of the assertion that a going objections to the theory of "action at a distance," as
bod.y can act where it is not, and I should be open to con- I have in reserve one that must carry conviction to the
victlOn that it could act before it existed. That matter minds of all who admit the established truth that force or
cannot act where it is not is to me as self-evident as that energy can neither be created nor destroyed. The late
there can be no effect without a cause, that the whole is Professor Faraday, in a paper read before the Royal Instigreaterthan its part, that twice two are four, &c., and it is tution in the year 1851 {and published in the supplement to
universally acknowledged that before Newton's time every Bourne's Treatise on the Steam Engine) proved to my
one was of the same opinion. Newton's own view of action thinking most conclusively that the received idea of gravity
at a distance is well known. "That gravity," he said, in as a simple attractive force exerted between any two and
his "'l'hird Letter to Bentley," "should be innate, in- all the particles of matter with a strength varyilng inversely
herent, and essential to matter, so that one body: may act as the square of the intervening distance stands in direct
upon another at a distance, through a vacuum w1thout the opposition to the principle of conservation. His argument,
me~iation of anything else, by and through which their which I will condense, runs somewhat. thus :
act10n and force may be conveyed from one to another, is
Suppose that two particles of matter a and b to be placed
to me so great an absurdity that I believe no man who has at a distance of 10 in. apart and attracting each other with
in philosophical matters a competent faculty of thinking a force varying inversely as the square of the distance. The
can ever fall into it."
force they exert may then be estimated as 1 ; whilst at a disBesides, the theory of 1r action at a distance" implies the tance of 1 in. apart, i.e., one-tenth of the former, the force
performance of a number of curious mental gymnastics . exerted will be 100. But from whence, be asks, can this
It implies that there can be an effect without a cause. enormous increase of power come ? '' By a change of conThere is your molecule a, thei'e is b ; an immense distance dition, so small and simple as to fail in leadin~ the least
between the two and nothing whatever in the intervening instructed mind to think that it can be a suffi01ent cause,
space, or at least nothing that plays any part in gravitation. we should admit a result which would equal t he highest act
To suppose that under these circumstances a would de- our minds can appreciate of the working of infinite power
liberately commence rooTing towards b and b towards a is upon matter ; we should let loose the highest law in phy·
to suppose that one molecule gravitates towards the other sical science which our faculties permit us to perceive,
without being influenced by it in any way whatever. namely, the conservation of force." Whereas if the two
Unless, indeed, some one can be found hardy enough to particles were 1·emoved back to a distance of 10 in. the force
maintain that motion can be transmittted a.cross empty of attraction would be only a hundredth part of that they
·space, which involves the separation of the idea of motion previously possessed. This " would double the strangeness
from that of the thing moving.
of the above results ; it would be an ammihtilation of forceThe theory of " action at a distance" is, moreover, in an effect equal in its infinity and its consequences with crea,.
direct opposition to the first law of motion. The enunciator tion, and only within the power of Him who has created."
L et us consider the two particles a and b as attracting
of that law could not possibly have been a believer in
" action at a distance," for if our molecule a has the power each other under another view. The force, it is said, deof settilng itse~f in motion towards b, matter is not inert, pends upon both particles, and if a were by itself it could
not gravitate, it could have no attraction, no force of
and the first law false.
And what answer can a believer in " action at a distance" gravity. Suppose a to exist in that isolated state and without
give to the question, if there e:.ti.sts no medium between cur gravitating force and then b placed in relation to it, gravitwo molecules, how is a to know where b is, and in what tation comes on, as is supposed, on the part of both. Now
relation it stands to b? Perhaps it may be objected that without trying to imagine how b, which bad no gravitating
a cannot be said to a know" anything about the matter. force, can raise up gravitating force in a; and how a
Probably not ; but t hat only makes me wonder the more at equally without force beforehand can raise up force in b,
its behaviour. It acts as ij it knew, at all events. And "still to imagine it as a fact done is to admit a creation
not only so · not only does one molecule appear to know of force in both particles; and so to bring ourselves within
the exact whereabouts of another molecule, it appears to the impossible consequences which have been already reknow the exact whe1·eabouts of every othefo molecule. ferred to.''
In a similar manner it might be shown that the mere
Every molecule moves at every instant of time, not in a
straight line at a uniform velocity (if it did no one could removal of b to an infinite distance from a would result
ask why it did so), but asl if it were perfectly acquainted in the annihilation of the gravitating force in both parwith the exact position and movement of every other ticles.
Again, the particle a will attract b at the distance of a
molecule in the 'Wniverse. Ont of an infinite number of
different velocities, and out of an infinite number of different mile with a certain degree of force ; it will attract c at the
directions, it selects onelpartictllar velocity and one particular same distance of a mile with a power equal to that by
direction, both the direction and velocity being modified at which it attracts b ; if myriads of like particles be pla.~ed
every instant of time with reference to the ever-changing at the given distance of a mile, a will attract each w1~h
position of an infinite number of other molecules. Now if equal force ; and if other particles be a?cum~ated aro~md .1t
the causes of all these wonderful modifications of direction within and without a sphere of two mtles diameter, 1t will
and velocity reside entirely within the molecules themselves, attract them all with a force varying with the square of the
and not at all in anything in the intervening spaces, which distance. How, asks Farad;JI are we to conceive o~ this
by hypothesis! are empty, we should be continually tempted force growing up in a to a · ion fold or ~ore ~ ~nd ~f t~e
to endow our molecules with some faculty akin to intelli- surrounding particles be then removed, of 1ts d1mmut10n 1n
gence, but surpassing in degree what we ordinarily mean an equaJ. degree ? or bow ~re we to look up_on the power raised
by that term as much as the amount of intelligence required up in all these outer parttcles by the f!'CtlOn of a. o~ them,
to calcula.te instantaneously the precise position of every or by their action on~ on anot~e~·, w1thout f!'dmttmg, ~c­
molecule m the universe surpasses the amount of intelli- cording to the r ece1ved defin1tlon of granty, the facile
gence required to calculate, say, the precise distltnce of the generation a.nd annihilation of force ?
One more illustration will suffice. If we consider two
sun from the earth, which no human intelligence has as
yet determined within a few millions of miles. I do not particles of matter, at a certain distance apart, attracting
urge this as an objection to the theory of " action at a dis- each other under the power of gravity and free to approach,
tance," but it is as well to bear in mind what that theory they will approach; and when at only half the distance, each
compels us to assume. Whatever theory we adopt must be will have had stored up in it, because of its inertia, a cer.
adequate to explain the facts, and nothing less than the tain amount of mechanical force. This must be due to the
assumption of orrvwiscient molecules could, on t he supposi- force exerted, and if the conservation principle be true,
tion of "action at a distance," explain the superlatively must have consumed an equivalent proportion of the cause
of attraction. B ut yet, if the received idea of gravity be
marvellous facts of gravitation.
But even this stupendous assumption would fail to explain correct, the attractive force is not diminished thereby, bnt
those facts; for supposing that in some way or other a increased fourfold, " the force g1·owing up within itself the
molecule has become acquainted with the exact velocity and more rapidly t he more it is occupied in producing other
direction, at and in which, according to Newton's law, it force: . . . How can this be P"
From the foregoing considerations the inevitable concluO'l.tght to move, how, it must be asked, could it do anything
of the kind P If it be p,t r est how can it commence moving, sion is, either the consel'vation principle is not trne, or the
and if in motion, bow can it r etard 01· increase its velocity cause of gravity cannot reside entirely within the pa.rtiolea
and alter its direction if the space surrounding it is or molecules of matter; and since, as Faraday... says, the
po~itively ~mP.ty, or empo/ of. everything that takes part conset-vation principle i11 so inexorable that '' it would re·
m 1ts grantat1on P Has 1t wmgs or p&ddles P Poasibly. quire a perpetual motion, a. fire without heat, hea.t without
•
J
•
ill
..
•...
•
..
"'..••
~
..*'
....
t4
Ill
hi
w
ii
il
t
ti
'*
~
"'•
"'
i ll
I
I
I
I
-l
l
I
I
'
I
•
--·
source, action without rea~tion, cause without effect or
effect without cause, to displace it f1·om its rank a.e a. lalw
of nature," we are compelled to conclude, with Faraday,
t hat the.cause .9£ gravity is "not resident in the particles
of matter merely, but constantly in them and a.ll sp~ce ;"
that is, there. mu!!t be an ~~erstellar mediUib. upoll _tpe
presence and mfluence of which the phenomena. of graVI~ation depend.
..
';J.'his conclusion does not in the least depend u,pon our
be~g able to explain the precise nature of the conditions
which result in the phenomena of gravitation. The difficulties which beset our attemp'ts to solve the problem may
prove to be insuperable, and gravi£ation may for ever ,retain
1ts place among the " unknowa.bles'' assigned to it by the
Spenceria.ns. But of one thing we may be •.mre-whatever else
may be true, the theory of •' action at a distance'' is false.
It lets loose, as has been shown, "the highest law in
ph:y:sica.l science," the conservation of force ; it implies
action without reaction ; it is in direct opposition to the
first la.w of motion ; it involves the separation of the idea
of motion from that of the thing moving; it implies an effect
without a cause; it is self-evidently absurd; it has not one
iota. of evidence to support it ; and it is absolutely incapable
of proof by all the evidence in the world. Upon the whole,
it is one of the most inexcusable blunders into which the
human mind has ever fallen-inexcusable, because the
great propounder of the law of gravitation so impressively
warned his followers against it.
The existence of an interstellar medium of some sort
being taus demonstrated, our next step is to ascertain its
real nature and that of the influence it exerts upon the molecules of matter so as to cause them to gravitate. This
medium must be ma.teria.~-" a conviction which," as the
late Sir H. Holland remarks, «can only be escaped by
affirming_ the case to. be one incomprehens~ble alt~gether.''
Any medium occupymg space and conveymg motton from
body to body must necessarily be conceived of as material.
But how does it cause gravitation? Is gravitation due
solely to the influence of this medium upon the molecules
of gross matter-to ethereal currents or ethereal pressure?
or does each molecule contain within itself those means of
propulsion necessary fo_r its gravitation, using the ethereal
fl~d. much as a fish uses th~ water in swimming ? My own
?PlDlOn, as you are aware, 1s that each of t,hese suggestions
1s of no avail. The cause of gravitation, in my opinion,
resides partly in the molecules themselves and partly in the
surrounding fluid. Each molecule is composed of parts or
atoms in intensely rapid vibratory motion. The atoms impinge forcibly against the medium, and the gravitation of
the molecule results from the fact that they rebound with
greater energy from one side than from the other, because
the particles composing the medium are not uniformly distributed in space. Each molecule is thus constantly endeavouring to recede from the denser parts of the medium
towards the rarer.
But this theory (which I have stated a.t length in my
previous letters) is, like most other theories, open to several
objections, some of which have, others of which have not,
been urged by your contributor a,n d correspondents. These
I purpose to notice, not in the order in which they have
bee~?- stated, but in that most suitable to my own converuence.
.
I must first reply to all assertions of your contributor to
the effect that no· difference in density is possible in the
medium unless under the influence of what he calls "stationary vibrations," which depend, he tells you, upon the
reflection of waves along the column intercepted between
two molecules. This, if true, is fatal to my theory. I
· have nothing to do with r eflection of waves nor .Btationary vibrations, since it is simply impossible (as I have
proved, to my own satisfaction at any rate, in my former
letters) that waves can be 1·eflected between the vast majority of our molecules. Seeing, therefore, that my theory
assumes that, without reflection of waves, there are differences of density in the medium, it becomes necessary to
prove the incorrectness of your contributor's assertion.
This can be easily done. We both insist that the medium
is composed of elastic particles in rapid motion in all directions. If this be so, it is evident that the particles can be
uniformly distributed in space onl!y when each particle of
the medium moves at the same velocity as every other particle. Communicate, in ·any way, additional motion to a
number of particles in any part of the medium, and the
mutual distance apart of these particles must necessarily be
in excess of that of the particles of the rest of the medium.
The density of the medium at any part depends entirely
upon the velocity of its particles at that part. No one can
doubt this who seriously considers the matter. No one can
doubt that a vibrating molecule, by communicating additional velocity to the ether particles around it, must exert
a rarefying influence, causing the ether in its immediate
neighbourhood to be less dense than that at a great distance from it. No one can deny that the layer of ether
particles immediately contiguous to the vibrating molecule
must, upon the whole, move more rapidly than those of the
second layer, those of the second faster than those of the
third, and so on; so that the final result of the vibration of
the molecule is to cause the ether to become arranged
around it in concentric spherical layers of unequal density.
(See on this subject an admirable little work by M. Emile
Saigey, "On the Unity of Natural Phenomena," Boston,
1872. M. Saigey, like your contributor, advocates the
theory of "ethereal pressure;" but his views on the influence of a vibrating molP.cule upon the density of the ether
are identical with my own, which, be it remarked, were
formed before, and not after, reading M. Sa.igey's work.)
. It i~ important to observe that t~e influence exerted by a
v1bratmg molecule upon the dens1ty of the surrounding
ether would vary as the "inverse square of the distances"
from the molecule-the very thing required by the law of
gravitation. If, therefore, it can be shown that molecules
al"e so constituted that they must of necessity tend to tnove
towards that part of the ether which is the least.dense-to.
:ji
EN G"i
N~LE
lt--1
N
G.
-- -- - - ----
-
- ... _
---
wa.rds tqe, dir~cti9n of least ~thereal density-their mutual it would not do so; for the heat of a. bo~y-i.e., its. mo!ea-pproach, as if they attra.ote~~a.ch •ot"Qer, with a. fo[ce cular vi?vation-has, on my theory, nothing to do w1th 1ts
varying inverselyas the square of tlieh:-alsfances apart, gravitation tOwards another body, which results, not, as I
would be explaiuml:-:A.t atl even"tr,"the-problem would then have again and again insisted, from the motions of the
appear somewhat less insoluble than it is usually considered molecules themselves, but from that of the component atoms
of which each molecule is composed. So long, therefore, a s
to"be.
•
Your c'oi·respon'dent, Mr. f?ha.w, is of opini6n, however, we assume that the component atoms of the molecules of all
that my views on this ma.t~r are 1'"'entirely erroneous." ponderable mrutter move at one uniform velocity, the graviH_e h.olds that even if each moJecule were composed of a.toms tation of one body towards another would be quite unafin rapid vibration, .and even if the ether particles on one side fected by its temperature-temperature being the result of
of it were consideraoly less dense than those upon the oppo- the motion of the molecules themselves, and not of their
site side, the atoms of the molecule, after impinging against component parts. But the converse of your contribo.tor's
t4e ether, would rebound with exactly the same energy at assertion does hold good. A hot body would, according to
bQth sides as 1o.ng as the p?·essure of the ether were on both my theory, attract another body with greater energy than
sides the same. Although, he argues, the number of ether it would do if it were of low temperature. I am bound,
particles on on~ ~ide th~ molecule might be in excess of the therefore, to admit that my theory does no~ agree with the
number on the other side, still the velocity of these latter, law of gravitation. In this respect, however, it stands upon
being in excess of the velocity of the former, the atoms the same ground as tlie theories of M. Sa.igey, Dr. Guyat,
forming the surface of the molecule must rebound from both Dr. Guthrie, and of your contributor himself. All of these
sides with the same energy, for action and reaction are, by gentlemen hold, as I do (whether Mr. Crookes' name ought
Newton's third law, equal and opposite. I frankly acknow- to be added is somewhat doubtful), that gravitation is
ledge the force of this remark ; but there is an important caused by radiant molecular energy, which clearly implies
feature in the case which Mr. Shaw has omitted to take that the attractive energy varies, not merely with the number
into consideration. Mr. Shaw's objection would be valid, of radiating molecules, but with the energy of their motionand indeed fatal, if it were true that all the particles of ether it depends upon the hea.t of bodies and not upon their ma.ss.
contiguous to the molecule impinged directly against its The theory that gravitation is due to molecular motion does
surface. But they do not. Besides those which impinge not, as I have said, agree with the law of gravitation. But
against the surface of the molecule, there are others which does it agree with the known facts of gravity? Do not both
do not impinge. The ether is, by hypothesis, composed of theories explain the facts ? and does not the theory-the
particles moving in all directions. Consequently, many of law-that gravitation varies with the mass of a body, go a
them move to and fro, i.e., vibrate pa.ra.llel to the surface little beyond the evidence? Has the radiant molecular
of the molecule. These may be considered as not moving energy of the sun or the planets been known to vary within
a.t a.ll in relation to the a.toms forming that surface. We historical times ? and if not, how can we predict what would
may consider these particles to be at rest. Now the ques- happen if it did vary ? How can we predict that, some
tion is, supposing that the atoms forming one surface of the millions of years hence, when the heat of the sun is but half
molecule have to impinge against a greater quantity of of what it is now, its attracting energy will be exactly what
matter, in the shape of ether particles, than those forming it is at present ? A similar question might be asked with
the opposite surface impinge against (supposing each atom reference to terrestrial gravitation. The radiant molecular
to move a.t the same average velocity, and remember we a1·e energy of the earth has not, within historical times,
dealing only with those ether particles that are moving been subject to appreciable variation. Both celestial and
parallel to the surfaces of the molecule), would the atoms terrestrial gravitation are explained no less comJ~letely by
forming both surfaces, after impinging against the medium, the theory that the phenomena. depend upon molecular morebound with the same energy? I submit that they would tion than by the received law. But with regard to the case
not ; that they would rebound with the gt·eatest energy of bodies attracting each other on the earth's surface, the
from that part of the ether which is the most dense. And case is different. We cam increase and decrease at pleasure
I think that if Mr. Shaw consiu;rs the matter in the light the heat of bodies on the surface of the earth ; and it must
of the above remarks, he will be of the same opinion. It is be acknowledged that, according to my theory, a hot body
a simple case of collision between elastic bodies, the laws of ought to attract another with greater energy than it would
collision being, as Mr. Shaw knows probably better than I if it were cold ; and before I knew the actual results of
do, being based upon Newton's third law. I acknowledge experiments with such bodies, I confidently predicted that
that ther e was some [iua.~curacy of expression, and even the results of observation would a.ccord with my theory.
some inaccuracy of thought, in my former statement of the In this I was disappointed. Mr. Crookes informed me some
case; but fortunately my argument, in spite of the error, twelve months since that he bad performed experiments
remains intact. My main contention was that each mole- with heavy metallic masses suspended in va.cuo, and found
cule tends to move towards the rarer parts of the medium, that a heated mass, instead of exerting more attractive
because its component atoms rebound with greater energy energy upon another body than it did when not heated,
from the denser parts than from the rarer, in obedience to actually did not attract it at all, but repelled1t. My theory
the same laws of collision which compel a little glass marble does not explain this; neither does the law of gravitation.
to rebound from a very large one with greater energy than Might there not be influences at work independently of both
it rebounds with after impinging against one but little the theory and the law, which will account for it ? I think
larger than itself, supposing that it strikes both with the there are such. When, for instance, a heated body is sussame velocity. To this statement I still adhere. No one pended near a cold body, it causes one side of the latter to
feels more acutely than I do the justice of Mr. Shaw's re- become considerably hotter than the opposite side. Now it
mark that this question ought to be treated mathematically, seems to me quite possible that this increase of temperature
and I only wish I possessed the requisite mathematical of one side of the body under consideration may account for
its tendency to recede from the heated body. Your contr imachinery.
I may here notice a remark made by your correspondent, butor himself admits that if a body were to emit waves on
Mr. Sheward, to the effect that he would be pleased to hear one side only, it would be repelled in a direction contrary
how a vibrating molecule can transmit a message of power to that in which the waves are emitted. The experiments
in no time, the attraction of gravitation being to all intents alluded to-I am not aware that any account of them has
and purposes instantaneous. This shrewd remark is fatal been published-were made in va.cuo, so that we cannot
enough to your contributor's theory, which would attribute attribute the repulsion of the body to the effect of the imgravitation to the reflection of waves between the attracting pact of the heated molecules against the surrounding air ;
bodies ; for although it may not be true that no tVme is but as I have already hinted in one of my former letters,
required for the action of gravitation, it is true that if the there may be another medium more subtle than the air but
phenomena depend upon any message conveyed between the less subtle than the ether, which is concerned in causing the
bodies, that message must travel, as Laplace showed, some molecules of the body to cohe,·e. Might we not attribute
millions of times faster than the waves of light. I should the repulsion of the body to the reaction of the molecules
like to know what your contributor thinks of this matter. forming the heated part of its surface against this medium ?
As for its bearing upon my own theory, I think it must be This may look like disproving facts by argument, but I
allowed that it has no weight a.t all. The action of gravi- think it mast be allowed that my theory is not to be hastily
tation depends, according to my theory, not npon anything rejected because of its non-agreement with the verbal stateor any influence being continuously conveyed from one ment of the law of gravitation. If it is not inconsistent
molecule to another, but upon the action of the parts of the with any known fact, it deserves, I submit, a careful con.
molecules upon the immediately adjacent ether, which is sideration.
permanently arranged around each centre of disturbance,
Thanking you most sincerely for your almost unexa.mpled
i.e., each vibrating molecule, in concentric spherical strata fairness in allowing me to state a.t length my views in oppoof unequal dem;ity . Gravitation may be practically instan- sition to the opinions of your contributor, and apologising
t aneous in its action, and my theory may nevertheless be for my inability to state them in fewer words,
true.
I remain, Sir, yours very truly,
I have one ' more objection to notice, and one which is
THOMAS !NWOOD POLLARD.
more likely to prove fatal to my theory than any of the
preceding ones. It has not yet been referred to either by
your contributor or by your correspondents, yet it is an
STRENGTH AND FRACTURE OF CAST
obvious, and I will go so far as to say an insuperable, diffiIRON.
culty to any theory which aims at r econciling the law of
To THE EDITOR OF ENGINEERING.
gravitation, as at present worded, with the theory that all
SIR,-I have read with interest the letters of your
forces are "modes of motion.'' It is this : if the energy of
gravitation be proportional to the ma.ss of bodies, it cannot correspondents in regard to the position of the neutral axis
be the result of molecular vibration, since if it were the result in bars subjected to a bending stress. I am d?ub~ful, ho~­
of molecular motion it would vary with the energy of that ever if the form of fracture helps much to md1cate th1s
motion, and not mer ely with the number of molecules in the position, as I should think the position of the neutral axis
attrading body. This is self-evident, for one molecule in will vary during fracture.
From my experimen:ts I find that t~e form of f~a;cture
rapid motion would affect the medium to an infinitely
greater extent than one million of molecules which did not (straight or curved) pomts out conclus1vely the posttl.on of
move at all ; and a million molecules vibrating with a. very fracture in regard to the centre o_f span of ~a~·· I have
feeble energy would exert considerably less attractive influ. made some experiments to determ~e the pos1t~on of the
ence than the same number in intensely rapid vibration. neutral axis in bars, but so far mthout defin1te results.
Your contributor's assertion that the energy of disturbance Professor Rankine in his " Applied Mechanics" states that
of the medium is proportional to the number of disturbing the neutral axis traverses the centre of gravity of the secmolecules, is altogether en·oneous. Equally erroneous is tion, which, in such bat·s as experimented on, would place it
his statement that, if my theory were t rue, a hot body at the centre of depth.
I am, yours, &c.,
would gravitate more rapidly than a co~d one ~der _similar
AuiUst 10, 1876.
W. J . MILL 4 &.
circumstances. A moment's thought Wlll conVlnce h1m that
•
•
154
ENGINEERING.
[AuG. 18, 1876.
P:RICE LIST OF :M:ATERIALS,
METALS.
£
•.
o
ANTlliOI.fY OaB (per ton)- 14
BeguJua (star)......... ...... 59 o
BIUIB (per lb.)e. d.
8beeta,48x 24 ............... o 10
Y eUow m etal ............... o
6f
0.A.IT1NGI, TYNll .um OLBV.BL.t.ND,
(per ton) £ 1.
Otrden .•• .....................
s
I
IS
61
0
0
•. d.
: ';t
£
Jo
5 to
4 IO
6 10
OOPP.I& (per ton)Engllah tough, beet ...... 7
s
Ingot ... ............ ?S
Sheete, &o. ••••••... ......... 83
Bottoma.. .... ... .. . .•• .•••••••• 88
I&ON Ous (por t on)B.
Bed b ematlt o, Britlah
13
,
,.
puddllng 19
I&ON P10 (p e r t on)Barrow No. 1 ..•..•..•..•..•
,.
No. 2 ••••••.•••••.•• 62
6,
No. 3 ••••••••••• •• •• 6tif.
Olev, la.nd N o. 1 ............
"
2 ............
,,
" 8 .•••••••••••
••
,, 4 ••••••••••••
Otb or q uo.Ut1os ... .........
W olab (Sou th Wales) ...
(Nor!Jl Wales) ...
11
1o
0
o
0
o
0
o
0
so
48
.6
42
43
?~
6.
o
d.
00
0
8.
d.
0
I4
0
0
0
6
6
00
0
6
6
00
43
0
0
0
0
Summerlee ............... ... oo
0
0
I..aogloan ... .................. oo
Oarnbroe ... ... .. ....... ...... oo
Mon.kland................ ...... oo
Olyde...... .......••... ... ... ... oo
o
o
o
o
Govan, at Broomlelaw... oo
Caldor , at P ort D unda.s... oo
Glenga.rnook,
at Arc::l.rossan ........ , •.. •.. .. •.. • oo
Egllnton, ditto ...... ... oo
Da.lm olllngton, ditto...... oo
Carron, at Gr angomou\h oo
D ltto, s peola ll y selected oo
Bhotta, at Leltb ...... ...... oo
KlnnoU, a t Bo'nosa....... .. oo
(The a b ove all d ollvora.blo
0
bare ............
6
11
"
b oiler p la.tea .. ,
s hlp p la tes......
8
?
"
sheets............
Scotch b ar e ............ ......
"
nail r ode .. .. .. ... ...
8W.ftord8hlr o bars ........,
"
p lates ... ...
,.
boUor ......
"
b oopa ......
Welab rails, B.W. .........
8
0
w.B..........
Otner brande... ...............
S
o
s
0
Shoot...... .....................
s
s
~o
21
to
$
PHOSPHOR B RONZB(pe r ton) ............ ...... tu
o
QUJOK.SILVER (per b ot tle)
8 to
S OUP (per ton ) Old ralla for re-manufactuto . .•..•. ••.•••••.••••• 4 o
Old ateol ecrap...............
o
8 PBLTBR (per ton)SUesla.n, common ......... u Io
8PIKOKLBl8EM (per t OD) B est ..•••.•••.•.••••••••.•• .••.•• 6 0
s
Oommon .....................
STIBL (per ton) Bea& oast .....•....••.•• ......
" d ouble sh ear .........
,. slnglo ..
•.. .. .. ..
E ngltab spring ... ...... ...
Bllater ••• .•• .••.•••••.•• ••• .•
5
3-f.
45
33
I4
oo
Hll.&n •••.. •...••••••••• •••...••• 38
Besaom or ra.Ua ............. .
7
,
"
tyres.............. . 13
axle a ........... . 13
,
b Uleta •••••• ••••••
,,
lngote .••.••.•...•
9
8
0
0
0
0
0
0
IO
IS
10
0
0
0
8WIDI6H I B.ON (F.O.b.) at
G ottenb urg-
1?1fr .••••• .•••••••••••••••••••••••
Bar rolled.....................
,, hAm m ered •••.••••• ,.....
TJM (per t on )-
S tratta ......... ...............
B lllltoD ............... ... ......
Banca...........................
E ng Usb lugote ...............
~
I2
1S
'r
?2
i]4f
?6
0
0
0
45
8.J
?11 0
No. 3.
s.
00
00
00
00
00
00
00
00
00
00
d.
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
o
oo o
o
oo
o
o
oo
o
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0
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?o 0
o
80 0
o
00
0
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00
0
o
93 0
s.
£
••
IO
6 1J
6 IS
? Is
7 15
9 o
9 o
8 IS
JS
, ba.ra ,
......... 6 S
" b oUer plates, S.W . IO o
"
hoops, B.W. ...... 8 JS
LK.lD (per ton) S on .Engllab p ig ........ ... \ 3o
21
o
,
0
0
0
,.
00
00
Oart.eherrie .................. oo
Sbropeblre ... ...... ......... So
North Bt&ftordahire ...... 63
South
,,
...... 6o
Y o rkablre Thor na.by p ig , 6o
Wdad&le Nos. 1 a nd 2 ... 109
"
N os. 3 and 4 ••• go
laOlf, W B.OUOBT£
Olevel&nd angles............ 6
0
0
o
8.
00
00
G.m.b., a t Glasgow......... oo
Ooltnose... ... ... ............ ... oo
u
0
0
0
N o. 1.
s. d .
scotch ~-
"
?? o
?8 o
,, r o
6 7
8 10
?
9
7
8
9
s
10
10
0
Jl
10
u
96
0
10
10
6 10
u
IO
9 JO
20
31
IO
3(
IS
00
0
140
oo
s
6
IO
o
o
0
0
s
oo
o
8
o
8
6
BALTIC TULBBB (per l oo.d)
A rchangel..................... 13
PLuxJu.oo (per cwt.) Ooylon lump ...... ......... 13
o
13
6
B.
38
" F foreign ...............
1t
00
••• . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
13
16
34
ODOlng •••••• ••••••• ••
00
0
00
0
0
1I
10
JS
ro
31
IO
Telegraph (ga.lva.n'sd) , ,
s
COALS AND COKE·
d.
9 o
8 0
9 o
COALS (per ton )-
a.
Briatol .••.••.•••••.••.••••••••
ferbyahl ro ... ...... ... ......
aneaahire •.• ..•... ..•..•.••
N owca.atleand D urba.m...
8
o
8
0
9
8
6
g teveland ... ... •.... ••••. ••. •• r o
o
Scotch........................... ' o
~o.fordshlre ...............
Y e ab .••••••••••• •••.•.••••••
orkehlre ......... .•• ••• ......
0 OKB-
0
0
0
0
o
to
'2
0
JO
73
?6
77
0
0
0
d.
10
10
10
10
10
0
0
0
0
0
9
6
6
6
ll
6
34
0
l1
o
OILS, GREASE, & LUBRICATORS.
OJ~S ~per tun) .................. £
e.
ea , brown ...... ...... ...... 29 o
,, pale ...................... 32 to
£
~9
33
~erm boo.d ..... , .. . ... .. .. ..
bo.lo, p a.lo... ...... .........
11
vollow ......... ......
G u bro wn ...............
84 o
34 I o
33 o
28 o
LOE ... ... ......... ...... ... ...... 35
o
P RTB.OUUll8. d .
Fine (per gallon) .........
1 If
,. spirit ... . ................
Pr~~~~~~e~-~~~~:............
.,
i'
chips ...............
I ta. l&n •••.•••••.••••••••••••••
R.ut.WAY
GaJU..aB
o
R&&IN (per c w t.) -
28
34
30
So
e.
d.
1
rf
20
u
9
0
0
0
0
0
T ALLOW (per cw t.)
8. Amor lca.n beef ... ......
"
sheep........
Austra.Ua.n beef .... . .. .....
.t•
aboe!> .........
St. J:'otereburg, Y .O. ......
Engllah~riwn ...............
Bough,
gUab ...... ......
o
5
Amerlcan ... ...................
40
43
0
41
14
6
3
6
o
American (co.eks) ......... 33
T Aa.-Stock holm (per ba.rL) u
3
o
Archangel.. , ..................
1
7
WrPrnos, engine............... 3o
3
6
0
0
9
o
o
00
0
23
31
6
6
00
0
0
3S
CHEMICALS, &c.
Aoms Aqua.fortle (per lb.) ......
S ulphuric a.cld (per lb.) .. ,
Sulphuric acid, b rown ...
A MMONIA - Muriate (per
ton) ....••.••.••••,.,, .• ,•••. ,, ...
A RSENJOWhite, lump (per cwt.) ...
Powdered (per c wt .) ...
BLBAOUlNO powder per cwt.
BORAX-r oflned (per c w t.)
B RIMSTONB (per ton)-
Rough .•• ..•.•. ... ..•.•• ..••••
Flour .••..•... ....•• ..•..••••.•,
Roll ....•...........••... ..•.••
a.
d.
4f
ot
o&
s. d.
o
o
o
£
e.
28
o
s. d.
27 6
10
6
6 o
43 o
£ a.
6
12
10
0
0
0
of
~-
H
0
0
8,
0
6
6
43
6
£
o
6
sI
£
3S
s.
28
B.
6 JO
14
JO
0
0
S
00PPI!IRA8 - green (p er
ton)- ...... ........•... ·····• SS
OOPPBa - Sulph ate (per
0
cwt.) •.•.... -············· .•
22
0
33
3
Acotate, boa' ... ... ... ... ... 38
Brown ,. ............... 2f
0
0
23
3
00
00
00
&o., (percwt.)-
Red..............................
0
Whlte ........•... .•.•..•.•..• 30
Bombay........................
13
6o
0
0
6
0
0
0
o
0
0
oo
37
0
0
0
4t
o
33
96
r8
I3
3
9
r8
TIMBER, DEALS, &c.
LONDON.
(Per P eterabur g stando.r d) £
Arcban gollat yello w ...... z6
2nd ,
•.. .. • 13
,.
P eter sburg ......... ......... 14
s. d . £ a. d.
5 o 16 10 0
o o r3 o o
Jo o 16 o o
Wyburg ......... ... ...... ... ... xr 15 o I l Jo o
P oteraburg & Rlgo. white 9 15 o u o o
Ohrlatlano. deals, best
aorta, yoll. and white... I.} o o
N orway deals, other
aor ta .. . . .. . .. . .... •... . .. . .. 8 o o
N orwa.y battens, o.ll aorta
5 o
s
I4
rs
s
s
s
s
s
s
Btg& ftr .. .••• .. . , . . .. •••. .•.. . 3
o
r r 1o o
8 to o
o
12
s
,.
"
dllng...............
nndersl.zod .. .. ..
2
J6
0
3 u
s m all, abor t, a nd
o
s
Irregular ...... .......... , • ~
o
Stet tin ... ••• .•••••... .••.••. .• 3 3 o
Swedl.sh ......... ............
,
small............ ...
"
and
s
N orway
b &Jks •••,,, ,,, , ,, .. ••••••• ,,,
o
J$
I
F LOORING BoAJlDS (per s q .
of 1 ln.)Flrst yellow............... ... o 14
" white ...... ... ... ...... o 12
Bocon dqa alltlea ...... ...... o 13
Th e above prices "at the
0
4 13
0
0
0
4
0
0
3
0
3
IS
0
0
s
3
0
9
o
o t$ 6
o 13 o
o o 13 o
Docka.''
WHOLESALE PRIORS 01!' TWBBR, D I!IALs, &0.
F ROM BRITISH NORTU AliBRioA.
PINE TIMBBR (per cublo
toot strlug measure)
£ 8. d. £ 8. d.
Quebec yellow square .., o 1
o 3 3
'.t W aneyboard .. . 0 3 0 03 7
Bt. obn:s, N. B., 18 ln .. .. 0 3 3 0 3 6
Mlra.mlcru and Brftlab
s•
R lohlbucto ... ...... .. ......
Nova. Scotlo. and Prluce
Ed ward la land .. .. .. ...
Quebec red ...... ............
Oak, Quebec............... ...
~~
o 1 4
0
0
I
I
6
o
0
I
6
0
I 10
0
0
0
2
2
l
0
0
I
3
7
0
0
0
4
0
I
1
5
6
0
I
3
0
3
'
1
2
1 4
J 4
2 3
o
o
::
:::::
:::::::::::::
~ : z
Whitowood, Rigo., and
Dantzlc ... ... .., ............ o
1
1
H ickor y, Quebec, &o. ... o 3 3
W alnu t, Oo.na.dia.n and
Unltod States ........... o 3 4
Birch, St. John's, &o. N .B. o 1 5
·:
~~~~csco'iia.··a:n:it o 1 3
Prince Ed wo.rd Islo.nd o 1 r
Masts, Qaobec ...... ...... ... o
1 10
DEALS AND BAT1'ENS (per
Potorsburg atando.rd)
Quebec yellow plno,let... u
o
.,
"
" 2nd 13 15 o
.,
"
" 3rd 1o 1 5 o
s
,
spruce ............ '1
22
IS
JJ
s
0
IO
?
8
3
JO
3
0
0
0
10
o
7 u
6
10
o
? u
6
8
0
St. John, Bangor, &c.,
spruce ................... .. 'J
s
7 JO 0
Dltto, other porta .. .... ... 7
o
..
"
plDe... 7 zs o
BoardJ., pine.................. ? to o
"
spruce .. ... •.. .. .. ?
o
0
8 13 6
' 10 0
s
F.&Oll THB UNITED STATES, EAST AND W.BST
INOI£8, AND AB'RIOA.
(Per cubic foot, string
measure)
£ s. d. £ 8. d.
Pitch plno, hewn ......... o 1 d o I 6
,
sa,vu ............ o
United Statoa oak loga... o
(Per load ca.Uiper measure)
East Indian teak ......... u
t
3t
3 5
10
Dr eonhoart ................. , 8 S o
om o;aro. Morra....... ...... ? 5 0
Bnl1e. tree ............... .. , 0 3 2
o
6
0
I
0
3 10
u
o o
8 to o
? 10
0
017
Faox TRB B.u.no, &o.
(Per ob. f t. string measure}
Fir timber, RJga. rod ......
"
Dantzto a nd
Mom el cr own ...
Ditto, dltto, othor'kiiid'8
Ditto, dltto, whltewood
StottlD
Bwediah........................
N
.•. . . . ... . .. . •.. .• . . . .••
W~~~ri'li"(Logi"caillper
o
1
3
o
1
s
s
0
1
0
0
0
I
I
J
9
$
0
I
l
0 1
o 1 3
o 1 2
0
1 3
0
0
J
I
O
JO
measure)
~lga., &c., cr own............ o 6
lt Lo brac k ................ .• o ~
Oa k
t imber, Dantzio
(strlug measure) ...... o 3
P it props per lluoa.l yard o o
Mlnlng timber per toot .. , o o
D EALS, &o.(Por Poteraburg eta.ndo.r d)
Redwood, Archangel, o.nd
D On oga, lat ............... I S o
ltto, ditto, 2n d ... ...... u
Ditto, ditto, 3rd ............ IO 10
Redwood, Petersburg 1s t I 4 o
11
..
2nd II o
"
Wyburg ......... 10
11
Ulea.borg ...... ro o
"
Gothonburg ... 1r o
,.
Momol ......... 10 5
'lm Gofioand Stookho
..................... ... J r ro
MAHOOANY, &c. (per toot 1 1n .)
Olty St. Dom1ngo ......... o 0
3
0
6 69
0
0
s
o
o
o
o
o
o
o
o
o
16 o o
I3 o o
11 Io o
14
o
12 o o
u o o
11 o o
'• o o
u
o
o
•• o o
s
s
0
0
Oedar, Ho. vano., &o. ..... .... o o
Sloopera, Ba.ekma.tack, each
9x 10x6
o 3 6
11
Pine
"
o 3 o
Hemlock ,.
0 2 3
"
4
4
7 o 2 9
3f o o 4
10 o 1 o
s
Cuba. •••.•••••..•••••••.•••••..• 0
Sa.blcu ••••••. .•. .•.•..••.•••.•••• o
0
6
o
s
FJr •••.••.••.••. .•••• o
0
2
4
0
0
3 6
0
2
6
0
s
.J
4 10
0
0
H ULL .
(Per load).
Mem el orown tlr timber ...
,
,.
2nd
Rlga and Da.ntzio 2nd ... ...
Swedla~
11
1s t... ...
•• ••••••••••• ••• •• •••• • • •• ,
"
small ...............
Mining timber ..................
3 IS o
3 3 6
3 o o
3 S o
l
1
to o
0
(Per Poteraburg stando.rd),
Beat Arch. and Onegarod.. ,
11
Petoraburg rod ......
W 'b
,
white ...
y urg rod .....................
l'Uga. crown white ............
Quebec 1st pluo ...............
tt
0
2nd ,
8rd n
16
t6
Io
13
9
23
~
1
Io
10
10
o
s
rs
0
0
3
s •
0
0
0
2
3
3
10
0
3
0
0
~ 9
birch ......... ., •.. • o 1 1 o
''
ash..................
o
St. John's birch ............... o
,
' 10 0
3 10 0
4 IO 0
3 IS 0
~ 10 0
(Per cubic foot).
Quebec elm ......... . ,. .. .. .. .•• o
,
LIVERPOOL .
Ohaleur ... ......... ...... ... o
AUGUST 17, 1876.
Atrlca.n te
£ 8• d. £ 8 • et
G
ak..... ........ ... • '1 $ o 7 Jo o
THURSDAY,
11
2 10 0
3 JO 0
3 IS 0
3 IS 0
o
2 12
2
.. 4
s 10
DantzJca.nd Momolcrown 4 o o
,
1st middling...... 3
0
good, mlddllng,
,
a nd 2n d ,.. ...... 3 o o
,. common
mld -
0
0
0
0
TURPENTDU~-Spirlt-
Frenoh ........ ................ oo
3
s
0
6
6
45
00
1 j-
43
41
o
o
o
o
o
3S
(per
cwt.)-Rose•a ... ......... ...
to
o
6
6
9
8
1
d uet ... ...... ...... ...
e.
oo
0
0
11.
9
o
~,
urha.m...... ..................
SODA Cauatlo ................. ,
o
00
zx:~ (per ton )-
0
0
oo
e ..................... I9
0
0
0
0
£ 8. d. £ B. d .
8 wedlsh deala mixed ... 13 10 o J6 10 0
o
38
£
•
W
o
£
8.
eota, E ngUah ........ ,... 37 10
I:i eo
so
30
JO
IS
16
10
Q
?9
?S
0
0
0
0
(H)
o
.J3
00
0
0
00
IX.
I () '\t •••••••••••••••••••••
65
0
00
I
33
L C'U I.AROB (per c wt.) ......... 3$
POTASH-Bichr omate (per
lb.) •••..•.••.••. ·•·••·•••••••• 0
SALTP.&TRJ!I (per ton.)
E n gllsh roftnod, kegs... ... 31
18
Bongo,l . . . . .. . . . . . .. ...•. ,, .. , 1?
so
et
0
0
0
0
L EAD, S.<LLTS,
0 10
IS
6
o
IO
••
Bwodlah dea.la 8r d ......... u o o 13 10 0
"
"
lnle rlor
o
.Band o&th •.. .. ..... .. .. .. ... .. 9 $ o 11
( a t tena BOa. loaa t b.an
d oa.ls)
F inland d ealt let ......... u 10 o 13 0 0
,
bat tone .... ..... 9 o o I \ 10 0
.,
H. S . deals ... ? 10 o 8 ? 6
,
H . B. battena... ? o o 8 0 0
Alli!IBIOAN D BA.LSQuobeo let bright plne ... 21 o o 2S I S o
.,
2n d
"
... n 10 0 IS I S 0
.,
Brd
,
... 9 o o u 10 o
F loated pine 4ds., 20s,, and l Oa., loss for let,
2od, and 3rd, r oepooUv&ly.
0 a.nadla.n spruce, l et ..... . ro 5 o u o o
,
,
2nd ... 8 r o o
9 ro o
"
.,
8rd . .. 8 o o
8 5 o
N ow Brunswfokspruoo .. , 8 o o 9 o o
N. 8. & P . E. Isle spruce 8 o o 8 10 o
U. S. p itch p luo ............ 13 o o 14
o
AM BRIOAN TlllBIB- (per l oad)
Ro~lno (mixed and
b d.ing .•••••·•• •••. ·••••••• 3 J 2 0 • 0 0
D o.
for yar ds and spars <f Io o 5 o o
fiT11ow p lDo, largo ... ...... 5 0 0
5 Io 0
tto wanoy board .... .. 4
o
5 o o
Ditto small
p
···· ····•········• 3 IS 0
•
0
0
0 Itch pine......... ............ 3 3 o 3 IS o
o.k, Quebec .. .. .. ... . . .. .. .. 6 5 o
7 o o
El m Aock
6 0 0
Ash •
•••••• ' ' '" ''"''' ,,, 4f JO o
B .. ........................... . oo s oo
~eh, Quebec lo.rgo ...... 4 u o
10 o
sta, red pluo ... ...... ... 4 1o o
5 o o
11
~regon ..... ,....... ? ro o 8 10 o
In'dta.n ~a~rle....... ........ 8 o o 10 o o
B ritish Guiruia ' "iireoi:i: u
o 13 o o
heart ... ...... ... ... ... ... 8 0 0
9 0 0
Auetra.Ua.n lronbar k ... . .. 6
o
? 10 0
"
o
u
"
Engllab b ar s. .................
Englleb retlned...............
Auaptra.ll&n.....................
T IN LATBS (per box)-1. 0 . oha.rooa.l ...............
lRB,
ChUI bara ............ ...... ... ?o
Auatrali&n •• .••••••••......... ? 5
,,
1.
B.
6 IO
o
6
Ohatn ........................
Pipes ...........................
S,
et
Tm-Oontinutd.
38
o
o
o
o
o
o
0
7
1? 10 o
17 10 o
u
$ o
13 10 o
Io o o
24 o o
............ IS to o 16
. . . .. , ' " "' 10 I $
I
10
o
J I 10
0
s
Quebec spruce....... ........... 8 3 6 9
0
Baltic 1st rod tloorlug bds. I f o o If IS o
Ditto white . .................... I3 o o 13 ro o
Oh a.rgo tor labour 2a. per standard tor deal a &c
and lB. 6d. per load tor timber.
'
"
WEST HARTLEPOOL .
(Per cubic foot)
DANTZIO good mldd!Jng fir
ll lu. & up., average 181n.,
12 tt. to 19!
0
I
S 0 I
Ditto, ditto, 20 ft. and up. o 1 66 0 I
Ditto, common 22 tt. & up. o 1 I 6 0 0
(Per loo.d.)
n ectangulo.r reel .fir
sleepers, 9 tt., 10 x IS... 3 6 s o o
(Por Potorsbarg standard.)
Rlga crown whito deals...... 9 z o 10 o
Ditto hall crown............... 9 o o 9
Gofie 2nd rod deals ......... I3 o o 13 3
" bo.ttons and boo.rds... u
o u ?
., 8rd red deals ............ n 7 6 o o
.. bo.ttena and boards... Io 7 6 o o
Potorsburg l at red doals .. , 12 3 6 u
"
battona .. . .. .. .. u o o o o
1st white doo.ls xo xs o 12 o
"
..
2nd
..
9 10 o 11 o
Gottonburg 2nd rod battone u u 6 u I S
..
3rd
..
10 ? 6 o o
Quoboc 1st p ine 31n. x 71D.
and upwards ............ ...... 33 Jo o 23 1
DltL<>, ditto, 2nd .............. I S 15 o 0 o
DlLto, ditto, 3rd ............... ro 1 s o u 0
Obargo tor labour 2s. per standard for doala
anel 1s. 6d. per load for timber.
'
ft................
s
s
s
s
s
WISBEAOR.
(Per Potereburg standard.)
Momol 2nd rod deals ...... 13 3 6
"
3rd
"
.... .. u
o
., 8rd red boo.rds ... Io ao o
Oofie 3rd red deals ...... 11 I? 6
Sodorham 2nd red batta. 1 x 13 6
"
3rd
JI o o
11
Oothonbrg. 2nd r ed deal a 13
o
"
Srd
"
13 o o
Free on ro.Uway trucks.
s
s
13
II
0
6
?
0
o
o
o
6
6
o
o
o
0
o
o
0
0
o
0
0
&c
•
? 6
? 6
s
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
u
11
0
0
I7 6
.AMERICAN LUMBER.-ln 1875 the production of lumber
AMERICAN BRIDGE BUILDINO .-The Boston and Albany
FRENCH RAILWAY PLANT.-Tbe not profit realised by
Railroad Company is builcling an iron bridge across the in the United States amounted to 5,149,352 000 ft. To the French Railway Plant Company in 1875-6 amounted to
Charles River at Riverside. The bl'idgo will be wide enough this vast tota.l Michigan contributed 2,74G,S66,181 n.; 11,116l. At the close o( March, 1876, the compo.ny bad
Wisconsin, 1,035,!)76,900 ft.; and Minnesota, 342,623,171 ft. cont l'acts in com·so of execution to t ho amount of 220,000&.
for four tracks and will have stono abutments •
•
•