854 Von. XXIL, No. 49. ‘THE RAILROAD -GAZETTE’. totalinterestofalittlemorethan$3,300,000, andthere fundingnow arranged forwill giveabouthalf a mill ion a year,or somethingoveroneper cent.on the capitalstock. Hearingshavelatelybeenheldbythecityauthorities ofNewYork andBrooklynonthematteroftheproposed tunneloftheLongIslandRailroadCompanyunderAt lantic avenue, Brooklyn,and underthe EastRiverto somepointbeneathMaidenLaneand Cortlandtstreet. Thereader isawarethatthisprojectis designed togive a passenger entrancefor theLong Islandsystem into thecityofNewYork,andthat it is thepurposeofthe President andDirectorsto put onaveryfrequent and fastelectricservice.Theproposalis to putthetunnel downsofarthatit cannotpossibly interferewithbuild ings or any otherconstruction, and so faraswecan judge,it wouldbea greatpublicimprovement andwill donoharmto anyone, unless itmaybetosomecompet ingtrollevandferrycompanies. Theprojectseemsto beasthoroughlycommendable andasentirelyunobjec— tionableasit wellcouldbe,andit isgreatlytothepublic interesthat it shouldbe facilitated Indeed, no city oflicercanaffordtoholditupwithoutmakinghisrea sonsabsolutely cleartothepublic. NEW PUBLICATIONS. Tervas&:Pacific Quarlerlg/.—The October issueis the ‘firstnumberofapublication issuedbytheGeneral Pas sengerDepartment of the Texas&PacificRailwayat DallascalledtheTexas& PacificQuarterly.Thisis the firstefiortof this kind that hasbeenmade, so far as we know,byanyof the Southwestern railroads.The littlejournalcontainsa gooddealofinteresting infor mation,bothlocalandgeneral, andshowsthemarksof intelligentediting. TRADE CATALOGUES. CrosbySteamGage&-ValveCo.—TheCrosbycata loguefori897 is asolid,6 x 9in.,170pagebook,in which arecarefullydescribed andfullyillustratedthenumer ous gages,valves,indicators,regulatorsand other specialties madebythiscompany.Thecataloguewill bevaluedbyengineersparticularlybecause of its com pleteness and accuracy. Specialmentionshould be madeoftheCrosbymineanddraughtrecorder, which is designed for makingacontinuous recordof thepres sureoffluidseitheraboveorbelowthehtmosphere, asor dinarilymeasured ininchesofwater.It isalsousefulfor special purposes, asfordetermining andrecordingchim neydrnughts. TheCrosby indicator, thespringseatvalve andthevarioustypesofwell-knownrecordersarede scribedatsomelength. Theplanimeters andrecording instruments, together withinstructions fortheiruse, are discussed in thelatterpartofthebook.Theclosingpages areoccupiedwith lettersfromwell-knownengineers andusefultablesandacomplex index. Thislast-named feature is sometimes overlooked or disregarded in cata loguesofthisnature,muchto theirdetriment. CoalScreens and Washers.—The Link Belt Machin ery Co., of Chicago, sendsa smallspecialpamphlet showingand describingthe link belt,shakingscreen andweighboxes, andthelluhrig patentpicking table andpatentcoal-washing machinery, as madeand sold bythiscompany. AmericanSocietyofMechanical Engineers. C'on.liniu'iI frompage8&9.) conditionswascomputed, fromwhich the efliiciency of theentireplant,includingbothengineand pump,was calculated. The paperwas accompanied by tables showingtheresultsof various testsand computations whenthewaterwasdischargedunderdifferentcondi tions. Mr.WilliamWallaceChristie, of Paterson. N. J., pre seatedinpaperonBoiler'I'e.<il's.- ClassificationofData and PloffeilResults, in whichhegavebynumerous dia gramstheresultsof boilertests,whichhavebeen re cordedandbyclassifyingthemand plottingthesere Dll6llI,|v u no in 10 I0 50 60 10 80 I0 Rlllofas.to 0.2;. DIIGIII. V. 2 .3 .1 5 G I] .l . . Cunl pi.-r Sq. PI. of licatliix Surface per Hour Fig. -l.—Diagrams ShowingMostEconomical Per formanceofBoiler. suits,determined boththeaverage valuesandthemean valuessuchasshownin Figs. 3 and 4 Theaverage resultsareplottedin DiagramsI., If. andIll. It is interestingto notethatin eachof thesethree dia gramsthevertical boileroccupies thelowestandhighest placeasfarasevaporative efficiency is concerned, while horizontalboilersoccupythe middlepositions.Dia gramsIV. andV. givetheresultsshowingtheareasof III) mosteconomical performance forhorizontal andvertical boilersusingbituminous andanthracite coal. In thepaper, ASlayboltThreadingDevice, Mr. Hart nessdescribes ameansfor threadingstaybolts, which consistsofplacingtwoscrewdies,describedabove, in tandemandthreadingbothendsof theboltatthesame time. This insuresaccuratecorrespondence in lead. Bothdiesshouldbeoftheopeningtype.but the rear diemaybeanon-opening one. TheStevens ValveGearfor MarineEngines,byMr. AndrewFletcher, isanaccount of theoriginandintro ductionoftheStevensvalvegearforthebeamtypeof marineengines,as contained in two lettersof recent datefrom the inventor,Mr.FrancisB. Stevens.The Stevens valvegear.wherein thecutofi is fixedandthe speed iscontrolledbythesteampressure, wasfirstused in 1840 on thesteamboat Albany. Thepatentsexpired in 1862.Sincetheexpirationofthepatents thegearhas 5 per lb.of Oolnbmtlbiu. 5 5 Equiv. Evaporation from und. at212' 10 U 5) 40 50 Rollo, 8.5. lo0.8. .l .1‘-5 A .5 .l .7 Coal per hour per sq. fool. of11.8. 8 3 c liisollnl ill. Qll . 1 E :3; is D Vertical Boilers. Anthracite Cool 1!? 1’ I " " Bituminous Si O BorimouulAnthracite §8 ii .... Q " “ Bituminous 1' :°. §£ I0 -. I5 K 9 i 5 In H 5 l0 L5 2) 5 U5 Cool per hour per sq. fool ofOrole Fig. 3 —Diagrams ofAverage Results ofBoilerTests. beenusedalmostexclusivelyonall,beam-engine paddle wheelsteamboats in the United States.Of lateyears the substitutionof the screw, with quickmovingen ginesandslidevalves, hasin greatpartsuperseded the paddlewheel. Mr. David Guelbaumreada paperon TheLaw of HydraulicObstruction in Closer! Streams, in whichhe arrivesataformulawhich,expressed inwords, says:“if anobstructionplacedwithinastreamenclosed in a cas ing withanupset is changing its position fromthelimit distancehotothedistance h towardthe upset,causing thereby a cerlainvariation in the quantityof motions of thecontracted streamaroundtheobstruction, then thedifference between the full pressureupontheob structionandthedirectpressure uponit dueto lossof heightonly,equalstwicethepartof thevariation in the quantityofmotionthatreactsupontheareaoftheob struction, plusacertalnconstant; pressuresandlossof heightmentionedbeingthoseduetopresenceof ob structiononly." Mr. ArthurL. Ricedescribed A Wire-Testing Machine. Thisconsistsimplyofa framemadeof two uprights supporting a springbalanceonatopcrosspiece. At the baseof the frameis a pullinggearmadewith gear wheelsanda screw, all operated bya handwheel. The apparatus isalsosuppliedwithanair dash—pot to pre ventthesudden reboundof thespringbalancewhenthe specimenbreaks.Themachineworkssatisfactorilyup to itsfullcapacityof200 lbs.andcostsabout$32. Mr.CharlesT. Mainpresented a paperonthe Valua tionof TextileManufacturingProperty,in whichheat considerable lengthsetsforththevariousconditions to consider in the valuationof manufacturingproperty, whether it beforthepurposeofsale, bonding, insurance, condemnation, adjustment of lossesbyfire,etc. Briefmention shouldalsobemadeofthepaperbyProf. \Vm. S. Aldrich,of Morgantown, W. Va.,on Noteson Rating _Eleclric Power Plants Upon the Heat Unit Standard,thefirstpaperofwhichwaspresented at the Hartfordmeetingand reportedwithdiscussion in our issueofJune 4, page383.Thepresent papergoesa little intothedetailsof thesubject,and theauthordrawsfrom his investigations somepracticalconclusions.Among otheritemshestatesthatanythingwhichtendsto in creasetheeconomy of electricpowerplantspalong the lineswhichhavebeenclearlymarkedoutinthedevel opmentof highduty pumpingengineplants,merlti considerable attention. and it is believed that the heat unitstandardspecifications andthesubsequent contract trialsofpumpingplantsupontheheatunitbasishave combined todevelopelectricrailroadplantsinalarge degree.Shouldtherebeanextensive discussion on this paperwe will speak latermorein detailin reference totheheatunitstandard. Mr. JohnB. Mayo,of Brooklyn,N. Y.,submitteda paperon A Strength of Gear Chart which showed graphicallythehorsepowersfor cast-irongears, cutor machinedressed, for givenvelocities, fromformulzeby Wilfred Lewis,originallyappearing in theAmerican Machinist.Thepublicationofthischartwouldhardlv beofvaluetoourreaders, andthose interested will find thesubjectwelldiscussed in thepaper. Mr. GeorgeRichmond,of NewYork, presented a. paperonThermodynamics WithouttheCalculus.This subjectshouldproveof considerable interestto engi neers, andthepaperwill bepublishedatsome lengthin a futureissue,withnotesonthediscussion at themeet ing. Dr.Thurston’spaperonMultipleCylinderSteamEn gineswealsohold until the call on ourspaceshallbe less,inorderthatwemayprintit nearlyin full. Mr. Geo.W. Dickie’s paperon Aiuciliary Engines and Transmissionof Poweron NavalVessels is also held over. The UnionElectricSemaphore Signal. TheUnionSwitchandSignalCompany, of Swissvale, Pa.,haslatelydesigned a semaphore signal to be oper atedbyanelectricmotor.themotorto be placedin a suitableboxatthebaseofthepost. Oneof thosesig nalslsin useontheMichiganCentralatDetroitandwe giveherewith illustrationsshowingitsgeneral appear anceandsomeofthedetailsofconstruction.Itsmore prominent peculiarities arethemetallicpost and arm. thedisposal oftherodsinsidethepostand theplacing the battery-well beneaththe post. From Mr. J’. P_ goleman, AssistantEngineerof theUnion Company, wehavethefollowingaccount ofthedifferentstages in theevolutionofthissignal. Untilquiterecentlysemaphore signalsoperateden» tirelybyelectricityhavebeenof doubtfulvaluebecause therewasnosuitablebatteryor motor;butsmallmotors of highefficiency andprimarybatteries of low internal resistance, freefromthewasteful effectsofpolarization, havebeendeveloped in the pastfewyears, makingthe problemcommercially possible.Thebesttypesofthese batteries, however, arecapableof buttwoorthreeam peresdischarge without aseriousfall in theirelectro motiveforce. It is, therefore, undesirable that more thanthisamountof currentshouldbedrawnfromthe cellsunderanyconditionofservice,and toavoidthisthe motorofthesignalshouldhavesucha resistance as to prevent a greater discharge throughit. A motorwhich usesas a maximum threeamperes ofcurrentwill require a batteryofmanycellsin ordertodevelop thenecessary energytooperateasignalof theusualtype,counter weighted in theusualway,andthecostof installation andof maintenance becomes highin consequence. Sam‘ aphoresignals,while fairly well suitedto beworked manually, arefar fromwelldesigned to work automat. ically,whengravityconstitutes theonlypower bywhich theyaremovedto danger. Thefirstandmostimportantrequirement of a signal isthatit shallinvariablyshowdangerwhentheforce operating toclearit ceases toactuponit. In theUnion pneumaticsignalsafailureinthesupplyofeitherthe compressed airor of theelectriccurrentcontrolling it will cause thesignaltomovebygravitytothedanger po sition.Signalsthusoperatedwere,until quiterecently, of thesameconstructionasthoseworkedmanually. Thefrictionofthepartswasobjectionable, but notwith standingthisandotherdrawbacks, fully 2,000 signals of this typeare in successful operation to-day. But eachoperationof a pneumaticsignal represents about }{ H. P. of energy,the largerpart of which is requiredto operatethe heavy counterweight, andalthoughonecompressor suppliesthe energyfor manysignalsanditisfoundeconomical tothusoperate them,alightersignalis desirable. Bydesigningasemaphore signalwithconnections in sidethepost,andbyeliminating thesurfaces whichare liabletosufferfromsnow, sleet, iceandwindpressure, we wereenabled tomaterially reduce thecounterweight re quiredtoinsurethesignul’s returntodanger, andthere foretoreducethe powernecessary tomovethe signal. Thischangeindesignproduced a postwhichis lightand graceful in appearance, andleftonlythesemaphore arm anditsbearingsubjectoweather influences. Notwith standingtheseimprovements the signal was yet too cumbersome toworkby electricpoweralone,andthe problemofstillfurtherlighteningitwastakenupand solved. 'l'hechiefobstacleto thereductionof thecounter weightwasthe lengthandareaof the blade, andthe consequent liabilityof a heavyaccumulation of sleetor iceuponitssurface.Toreduce thiswedesigned a blade moreinharmonywiththeslenderpostsupporting it. Afurtherstepinthisdirectionwastoextendthespec taclecasting, andtoso design itasto presentasmuch surfaceaspossibletotheweather, therebypermitting snowandsleettoaccumulateuponitwiththeeffectof balancing tosomeextentalikeaccumulation uponthe blade. Thesemodifications, coupledwiththepivoting ofthebladetotherightofthepost’acenter, produced a blade which. while somewhatsmallerthan those ordinarilyused,bearsa strongresemblance to them. Yet it is muchlessliabletoberetarded in itsoperation bysnow,iceorwind. Experiencewithall classesof signalsfor aboutKl yearshadimpresseduponus the dangersresulting fromthefree and frequentuseof paint uponthem. Numerous instances of improper operations weretrace Generated for Jon R Roma (University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign) on 2015-05-20 13:23 GMT / http://hdl.handle.net/2027/mdp.39015013053783 Public Domain, Google-digitized / http://www.hathitrust.org/access_use#pd-google