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THE   ROMANCE   OF 
MODERN   MECHANISM 


A    MECHANICAL   SCULPTOR 
The  lower  illustration  shows  the  Wen/el  SculntnrJncr  Ar     u- 

stone  ranged  one  on  each  side  of  a  rnodel^^  Thf  ^  ^^f  .^^"^  ^^  work  on  two  blocks  of 
taneously  from  one  original  rru^  un^^r  '.U  .  ^^chine  can  make  four  copies  simul- 
by  the  automatic  sculptor  *  ^^^'  illustration  shows  the  quality  of  work  done 


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THE    ROMANCE  OF 
ODERN    MECHANISM 

WITH  INTERESTING  DESCRIPTIONS  IN  NON- 
TECHNICAL LANGUAGE  OF  WONDERFUL 
MACHINERY  AND  MECHANICAL  DEVICES 
AND  MARVELLOUSLY  DELICATE  SCIENTIFIC 
INSTRUMENTS,   <Src.,   &c. 


BY 

ARCHIBALD  WILLIAMS 

author  of 
"the  romance  of  modern  exploration" 

<Sr'C.,    dT'C. 


WITH    THIRTY    ILLUSTRATIONS 


PHILADELPHIA 
B.    LIPPINCOTT    COMPANY 

LONDON:   SEELEY  &  CO.   Limited 
1906 


'^ 


INTRODUCTION 

IN  the  beginning  a  man  depended  for  his  subsistence 
entirely  upon  his  own  efforts,  or  upon  those  of  his 
immediate  relations  and  friends.  Life  was  very  simple 
in  those  days:  luxury  being  unknown,  and  necessity  the 
factor  which  guided  man'^s  actions  at  every  turn.  With 
infinite  labour  he  ground  a  flint  till  it  assumed  the  shape 
of  a  rough  arrow-head,  to  be  attached  to  a  reed  and  shot 
into  the  heart  of  some  wild  beast  as  soon  as  he  had  ap- 
proached close  enough  to  be  certain  of  his  quarry.  The 
meat  thus  obtained  he  seasoned  with  such  roots  and  herbs 
as  nature  provided — a  poor  and  scanty  choice.  Presently 
he  discovered  that  certain  grains  supported  life  much 
better  than  roots,  and  he  became  an  agriculturist.  But 
the  grain  must  be  ground ;  so  he  invented  a  simple  mill 
—  a  small  stone  worked  by  hand  over  a  large  one ; 
and  when  this  method  proved  too  tedious  he  so  shaped 
the  stones'*  surfaces  that  they  touched  at  all  points, 
and  added  handles  by  which  the  upper  stone  could  be 
revolved. 

With  the  discovery  of  bronze,  and,  many  centuries  later, 
of  iron,  his  workshop  ecjuipment  rapidly  improved.  lie 
became  an  expert  boat-  and  house-builder,  and  multiplied 
weapons    of   offence    and    defence.      Gradually    separate 


INTRODUCTION 

crafts  arose.  One  man  no  longer  depended  on  his  indi- 
vidual efforts,  but  was  content  to  barter  his  own  work  for 
the  products  of  another  man'^s  labour,  because  it  became 
evident  that  specialisation  promoted  excellence  of  manu- 
facture. 

A  second  great  step  in  advance  was  the  employment  of 
machinery,  which,  when  once  fashioned  by  hand,  saved  an 
enormous  amount  of  time  and  trouble — the  pump,  the 
blowing  bellows,  the  spinning-wheel,  the  loom.  But  all 
had  to  be  operated  by  human  effort,  sometimes  replaced 
by  animal  power. 

With  the  advent  of  the  steam-engine  all  industry 
bounded  forward  again.  First  harnessed  by  Watt,  Giant 
Steam  has  become  a  commercial  and  political  power. 
Everywhere,  in  mill  and  factory,  locomotive,  ship,  it  has 
increased  the  products  which  lend  ease  and  comfort  to 
modern  life;  is  the  great  ally  of  invention,  and  the 
ultimate  agent  for  transporting  men  and  material  from 
one  point  on  the  earth's  surface  to  another. 

Try  as  we  may,  we  cannot  escape  from  our  environment 
of  mechanism,  unless  we  are  content  to  revert  to  the  loin- 
cloth and  spear  of  the  savage.  Society  has  become  so 
complicated  that  the  utmost  efforts  of  an  individual  are, 
after  all,  confined  to  a  very  narrow  groove.  The  days  of 
the  Jack-of-all-trades  are  over.  Success  in  life,  even  bare 
subsistence,  depends  on  the  concentration  of  one'^s  faculties 
upon  a  very  limited  daily  routine.  "Let  the  cobbler  stick 
to  his  lasf  is  a  maxim  which  carries  an  ever-increasing 
force. 

The  better  to  realise  how  dependent  we  are  on  the 
mechanisms  controlled  by  the  thousand  and  one  classes 


INTRODUCTION 

of  workmen,  let  us  consider  the  surroundings,  posses- 
sions, and  movements  of  the  average,  well-to-do  business 
man. 

At  seven  o''clock  he  wakes,  and  instinctively  feels 
beneath  his  pillow  for  his  watch,  a  most  marvel- 
lous assemblage  of  delicate  parts  shaped  by  wonderful 
machinery.  Before  stepping  into  his  bath  he  must  turn 
a  tap,  itself  a  triumph  of  mechanical  skill.  The  razor  he 
shaves  with,  the  mirror  which  helps  him  in  the  operation, 
the  very  brush  and  soap,  all  are  machine-made.  With 
his  clothes  he  adds  to  the  burden  of  his  indebtedness  to 
mechanism.  The  power-loom  span  the  linen  for  his  shirts, 
the  cloth  for  his  outer  garments.  Shirts  and  collars  are 
glossy  from  the  treatment  of  the  steam  laundry,  where 
machinery  is  rampant.  His  boots,  kept  shapely  by 
machine-made  lasts,  should  remind  him  that  mechanical 
devices  have  played  a  large  part  in  their  manufacture, 
very  possibly  the  human  hand  has  scarcely  had  a  single 
duty  to  perform. 

He  goes  downstairs,  and  presses  an  electric  button. 
Mechanism  again.  While  waiting  for  his  breakfast  his 
eye  roves  carelessly  over  the  knives,  spoons,  forks,  table, 
tablecloth,  wall-paper,  engravings,  carpet,  cruet-stand — 
all  machine-made  in  a  larger  or  less  degree.  The  very 
coals  blazing  in  the  grate  were  won  by  machinery ;  the 
marble  of  the  mantelpiece  was  shaped  and  polished  by 
machinery  ;  also  the  fire-irons,  the  chairs,  the  hissing 
kettle.  Machinery  stares  at  him  from  the  loaf  on  its 
machine-made  board.  Machines  prepared  the  land,  sowed, 
harvested,  threshed,  ground,  and  probably  otherwise  pre- 
pared the  grain  for  baking.     Machines  ground  his  salt. 


INTRODUCTION 

his  coffee.  Machinery  aided  the  capture  of  the  tempting 
sole ;  helped  to  cure  the  rasher  of  bacon ;  shaped  the 
dishes,  the  plates,  the  coffee-pot. 

Whirr-r-r!  The  motor-car  is  at  the  door,  throbbing 
with  the  impulses  of  its  concealed  machinery.  Our  friend 
therefore  puts  on  his  machine-made  gloves  and  hat  and 
sallies  forth.  That  wonderful  motor,  the  product  of  the 
most  up-to-date,  scientific,  and  mechanical  appliances,  bears 
him  swiftly  over  roads  paved  with  machine-crushed  stone 
and  flattened  out  by  a  steam-roller.  A  book  might  be 
reserved  to  the  motor  alone ;  but  we  must  refrain,  for  a 
few  minutes'*  travel  has  brought  the  horseless  carriage  to 
the  railway  station.  Mr.  Smith,  being  the  holder  of  a 
season  ticket,  does  not  trouble  the  clerk  who  is  stamping 
pasteboards  with  a  most  ingenious  contrivance  for  auto- 
matically impressing  dates  and  numbers  on  them.  He 
strolls  out  on  the  platform  and  buys  the  morning  paper, 
which,  a  few  hours  before,  was  being  battered  about  by 
one  of  the  most  wonderful  machines  that  ever  was  devised 
by  the  brain  of  man.  Mr.  Smith  doesn*'t  bother  his 
head  with  thoughts  of  the  printing-press.  Its  products 
are  all  round  him,  in  timetables  and  advertisements. 
Nor  does  he  ponder  upon  the  giant  machinery  which 
crushed  steel  ingots  into  the  gleaming  rails  that  stretch 
into  the  far  distance ;  nor  upon  the  marvellous  inter- 
locking mechanism  of  the  signal-box  at  the  platform - 
end ;  nor  upon  the  electric  wires  thrumming  overhead. 
No  !  he  had  seen  all  these  things  a  thousand  times  before, 
and  probably  feels  little  of  the  romance  which  lies  so 
thickly  upon  them. 

A  whistle  blows.     The  "local"'  is  approaching,  with 


b 


INTRODUCTION 


its  majestic  locomotive — a  very  orgy  of  mechanism — its 
automatic  brakes,  its  thousand  parts  all  shaped  by  mechani- 
cal devices, — steam  saws,  planes,  lathes,  drills,  hammers, 
presses.  In  obedience  to  a  little  lever  the  huge  mass 
comes  quickly  to  rest ;  the  steam  pump  on  the  engine 
commences  to  gasp ;  a  minute  later  another  lever  moves, 
and  Mr.  Smith  is  fairly  on  his  way  to  business. 

Arrived  at  the  metropolis,  he  presses  electricity  into  his 
service,  either  on  an  electric  tram  or  on  a  subterranean 
train.  In  the  latter  case  he  uses  an  electric  lift,  which 
lowers  him  into  the  bowels  of  the  earth,  to  pass  him  on 
to  the  current-propelled  cars,  driven  by  power  generated 
in  far-away  stations. 

His  office  is  stamped  all  over  with  the  seal  of  mechan- 
ism. In  the  lobby  are  girls  hammering  on  marvellous 
typewriters ;  on  his  desk  rests  a  telephone,  connected 
through  wires  and  most  elaborately  equipped  exchanges 
with  all  parts  of  the  country.  To  get  at  his  private  and 
valuable  papers  Mr.  Smith  must  have  recourse  to  his 
bunch  of  keys,  which,  with  their  corresponding  locks, 
represent  ingenuity  of  a  high  degree.  All  day  long  he 
is  in  the  grasp  of  mechanism ;  not  even  at  lunch  time 
can  he  escape  it,  for  the  food  set  before  him  at  the 
restaurant  has  been  cooked  by  the  aid  of  special  kitchen 
machinery. 

And  when  the  evening  draws  on  Mr.  Smith  touches  a 
switch  to  turn  his  darkness  into  light,  wrung  through 
many  wonderful  processes  from  the  stored  illumination  of 
coal. 

Were  we  to  trace  the  daily  round  of  the  clerk,  artisan, 
scientist,  engineer,  or  manufacturer,  we  should  be  brought 


INTRODUCTION 

J^to  contact  with  a  thousand  other  mechanical  appliances. 
Space  forbids  such  a  tour  of  inspection;  but  in  the 
following  pages  we  may  rove  here  and  there  through  the 
workshops  of  the  world,  gleaning  what  seems  to  be  of 
special  interest  to  the  general  public,  and  weaving  round 
It,  with  a  machine-made  pen,  some  of  the  romance  which 
IS  apt  to  be  lost  sight  of  by  the  most  marvellous  of  all 
creations — Man. 


AUTHOR'S    NOTE 

The  author  desires  to  express  his  indebtedness  to  the 
following  gentlemen  for  the  kind  help  they  have  afforded 
him  in  connection  with  the  gathering  of  materials  for  the 
letterpress  and  illustration  of  this  book  : — 

The  proprietors  of  Cassier's  Magazine^  The  Magazine 
of  Commerce^  The  WorWs  WorJc^  The  Motor  Boat ;  The 
Rexer  Automatic  Machine  Gun  Co. ;  The  Diesel  Oil 
Engine  Co. ;  The  Cambridge  Scientific  Instrument  Co. ; 
The  Marconi  Wireless  Telegraphy  Co. ;  The  Temperley 
Transporter  Co. ;  Messrs.  de  Dion,  Bouton  and  Co. ;  Messrs. 
Merryweather  and  Sons ;  Mr.  A.  Crosby  Lockwood ;  Mr. 
Dan  Albone;  Mr.  J.  B.  Diplock ;  Mr.  W.  H.  Oatway; 
The  National  Cash  Register  Co. ;  The  Wenzel  Sculpturing 
Machine  Co. ;  Mr.  E.  W.  Gaz ;  Sir  W.  G.  Armstrong, 
Whitworth  and  Co. ;  The  International  Harvester  Co.  ; 
and  Messrs.  Gwynne  and  Co. 


CONTENTS 

CHAPTER   IX  PAGE 

THE   MOTOR   CYCLE  .  .  .  ,  .  .       175 

CHAPTER  X 

riRE   ENGINES  .  .  .  .  .  .       185 

CHAPTER  XI 

riRE-ALARMS   AND   AUTOMATIC   FIRE   EXTINGUISHERS      .  .  .191 

CHAPTER  XII 

THE  MACHINERY  OF  A  SHIP — THE  REVERSING  ENGINE — MARINE 
ENGINE  SPEED  GOVERNORS — THE  STEERING  ENGINE — BLOWING 
AND  VENTILATING  APPARATUS — PUMPS — FEED  HEATERS — FEED- 
WATER  FILTERS  —  DISTILLERS  —  REFRIGERATORS  —  THE  SEARCH- 
LIGHT— WIRELESS  TELEGRAPHY  INSTRUMENTS — SAFETY  DEVICES — 
THE  TRANSMISSION  OF  POWER  ON  A  SHIP      .  ...       203 


CHAPTER  XIII 


236 


CHAPTER  XIV 

THE   MECHANISM   OF   DIVING  .  .  ...      240 

CHAPTER  XV 

APPARATUS   FOR   RAISING   SUNKEN   SHIPS   AND   TREASURE  .  .       248 

CHAPTER  XVI 

THE  HANDLING  OF  GRAIN — THE  ELEVATOR — THE  SUCTION  PNEUMATIC 
GRAIN-LIFTER — THE  PNEUMATIC^^LAST  GRAIN-LIFTER — THE  COM- 
BINED SYSTEM  .  .  .  ...       252 

CHAPTER  XVII 

MECHANICAL  TRANSPORTERS  AND  CONVEYERS— ROPEWAYS— CABLE- 
WAYS — I'ELPHER AGE— COALING    WARSHIPS   AT   SEA     .  .  .       258 

CHAPTER  XVIII 

AUTOMATIC   WEIGHERS       .  .  .  ...      274 

CHAPTER  XIX 

TRANSPORTER    BRIDGES      .  .  .  ...       277 


XIV 


1 


CONTENTS 

CHAPTER  XX  PAGE 

BOAT-   AND   SHIP-RAISING   LIFTS         .  .  ...       983 


CHAPTER  XXI 

A   SELF-MOVING  STAIRCASE 


^95 


CHAPTER  XXn 

PNEUMATIC   MAIL   TUBES  .  .  .  .  .       301 

CHAPTER  XXni 

AN   ELECTRIC   POSTAL   SYSTEM  .  .  .  .  .       315 

CHAPTER  XXIV 

AGRICULTUHAL  MACHINERY  —  PLOUGHS  —  DRILLS  AND  SEEDERS  — 
REAPING  MACHINES  —  THRESHING  MACHINES  —  PETROL-DRIVEN 
FIELD   MACHINERY — ELECTRICAL   FARMING    MACHINERY         .  .318 

CHAPTER  XXV 

DAIRY     MACHINERY — MILKING     MACHINES — CREAM     SEPARATORS— A 

MACHINE    FOR    DRYING    MILK       .  .  ...      330 

CHAPTER  XXVI 

SCULPTURING    MACHINES  .  .  ...      335 

CHAPTER  XXVII 

AN    AUTOMATIC    RIFLE-^A   BALL-BEARING    RIFLE  .  .  .      345 


LIST   OF   ILLUSTRATIONS 


A    CARVING    MACHINE 

MEASURING    MACHINES      . 

A    CASH    REGISTER 

LATHE   TURNING    A    BIG    GUN 

LATHE    FOR    BORING    16-INCH    GUN  . 

A    STEAM    HAMMER 

A    HUGE    HYDRAULIC    PRESS 

A    PEDRAIL   TRACTION   ENGINE 

GREAT   GAS    ENGINE    FOR    BLAST    FURNACES 

MOTOR-CAR   AND   3IOTOR-BOAT 

A   MOTOGODILLE 

A   MOTOR   LAWN   MOWER 

UP-TO-DATE    FIRE    BRIGADE   ENGINES 

HOISTING    A    HEAVY   GUN    ON    BOARD    MAN-OF 

FIXING    A    RAM    TO    A    BATTLESHIP 

A    TRIPOD    CRANE 

MODERN    DIVING    APPARATUS 

COALING    AT   SEA 

A   TRANSPORTER   BRIDGE   AT   BIZERTA 

A    CANAL    LIFT 

AN    AMERICAN   CUTTER    AND    BINDER 

A    MOTOR    PLOUGH 

GIRL   CARVING    BY   MACHINERY 

THE   REXER   GUN 

xvi 


•WAR 


/ 


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352 


THE    EOMANCE    OF 
MODEEN  MECHANISM 

CHAPTER  I 
.      DELICATE   INSTRUMENTS 

WATCHES    AND    CHRONOMETERS — THE    MICROTOME — THE    DIVIDING 
ENGINE MEASURING    MACHINES 

OWING  to  the  universal  use  of  watches,  resulting 
from  their  cheapness,  the  possessor  of  a  pocket 
timepiece  soon  ceases  to  take  a  pride  in  the 
delicate  mechanism  which  at  first  added  an  inch  or  two 
to  his  stature.  At  night  it  is  wound  up  mechanically, 
and  thrust  under  the  pillow,  to  be  safe  from  imaginary 
burglars  and  handy  when  the  morning  comes.  The 
awakened  sleeper  feels  small  gratitude  to  his  faithful 
little  servant,  which  all  night  long  has  been  beating  out 
the  seconds  so  that  its  master  may  know  just  where  he 
is  with  regard  to  "  the  enemy  *"  on  the  morrow.  At  last 
a  hand  is  slipped  under  the  feather-bag,  and  the  watch  is 
dragged  from  its  snug  hiding-place.  "  Bother  it,"  says 
the  sleepy  owner,  "  half-past  eight;  ought  to  have  been  up 
an  hour  ago  !  "*''  and  out  he  tumbles.  Dressing  concluded, 
the  watch  passes  to  its  day  quarters  in  a  darksome  waist- 
B  17 


MODERN   MECHANISM 

coat  pocket,  to  be  hauled  out  many  times  for  its  opinion 
to  be  taken. 

The  real  usefulness  of  a  watch  is  best  learnt  by  being 
without  one  for  a  day  or  two.  There  are  plenty  of  clocks 
about,  but  not  always  in  sight ;  and  one  gradually  experi- 
ences a  mild  irritation  at  having  to  step  round  the  corner 
to  find  out  what  the  hands  are  doing. 

A  truly  wonderful  piece  of  machinery  is  a  watch — even 
a  cheap  one.  An  expensive,  high-class  article  is  worthy 
of  our  admiration  and  respect.  Here  is  one  that  has 
been  in  constant  use  for  fifty  years.  Twice  a  second  its 
little  balance-wheel  revolves  on  its  jewelled  bearings. 
Allowing  a  few  days  for  repairs,  we  find  by  calculation 
that  the  watch  has  made  no  less  than  three  thousand 
million  movements  in  the  half-century!  And  still  it 
goes  ticking  on,  ready  to  do  another  fifty  years'*  work. 
How  beautifully  tempered  must  be  the  springs  and  the 
steel  faces  which  are  constantly  rubbing  against  jewel  or 
metal !  How  perfectly  cut  the  teeth  which  have  engaged 
one  another  times  innumerable  without  showing  appreci- 
able wear ! 

The  chief  value  of  a  good  watch  lies  in  its  accuracy  as 
a  time-keeper.  It  is,  of  course,  easy  to  correct  it  by 
standard  clocks  in  the  railway  stations  or  public  build- 
ings; but  one  may  forget  to  do  this,  and  in  a  week  or 
two  a  loss  of  a  few  minutes  may  lead  to  one  missing  a 
train,  or  being  late  for  an  important  engagement.  Happy, 
therefore,  is  the  man  who,  having  set  his  watch  to  "London 
time,*"  can  rely  on  its  not  varying  from  accuracy  a  minute 
in  a  week — a  feat  achieved  by  many  watches. 

The  old-fashioned  watch  was  a  bulky  affair,  protected 

iS 


DELICATE    INSTRUMENTS 

by  an  outer  case  of  ample  proportions.  From  year  to 
year  the  size  has  gradually  diminished,  until  we  can  now 
purchase  a  reliable  article  no  thicker  than  a  five-shilling 
piece,  which  will  not  offend  the  most  fastidious  dandy  by 
disarranging  the  fit  of  his  clothes.  Into  the  space  of  a 
small  fraction  of  an  inch  is  crowded  all  the  usual 
mechanism,  reduced  to  the  utmost  fineness.  Watches  have 
even  been  constructed  small  enough  to  form  part  of  a  ring 
or  earring,  without  losing  their  time-keeping  properties. 

For  practical  purposes,  however,  it  is  advantageous  to 
have  a  timepiece  of  as  large  a  size  as  may  be  convenient, 
since  the  difficulties  of  adjustment  and  repair  increase 
with  decreasing  proportions.  The  ship's  chronometer, 
therefore,  though  of  watch  construction,  is  a  big  affair 
as  compared  with  the  pocket  timepiece ;  for  above  all 
things  it  must  be  accurate. 

The  need  for  this  arises  from  the  fact  that  nautical 
reckonings  made  by  the  observation  of  the  heavenly  bodies 
include  an  element  of  time.  We  will  suppose  a  vessel  to 
be  at  sea  out  of  sight  of  land.  The  captain,  by  referring 
to  the  dial  of  the  "  mechanical  log,""*  towed  astern,  can 
reckon  pretty  accurately  how  far  the  vessel  has  travelled 
since  it  left  port ;  but  owing  to  winds  and  currents  he  is 
not  certain  of  the  position  on  the  globe*'s  surface  at  which 
his  ship  has  arrived.  To  locate  this  exactly  he  must 
learn  (a)  his  longitude,  ie,  distance  E.  or  W.  of  Green- 
wich, (6)  his  latitude,  Le.  distance  N.  or  S.  of  the  Equator. 
Therefore,  when  noon  approaches,  his  chronometers  and 
sextant  are  got  out,  and  at  the  moment  when  the  sun 
crosses  the  meridian  the  time  is  taken.  If  this  moment 
happens  to  coincide  with  four  o'clock  on  the  chronometers 

19 


MODERN   MECHANISM 

he  is  as  far  west  of  Greenwich  as  is  represented  by  four 
twenty-fourths  of  the  360°  into  which  the  earth's  circum- 
ference is  divided;  that  is,  he  is  in  longitude  60°  W.  The 
sextant  gives  him  the  angle  made  by  a  line  drawn  to  the 
sun  with  another  drawn  to  the  horizon,  ^nd  from  that  he 
calculates  his  latitude.  Then  he  adjourns  to  the  chart- 
room,  where,  by  finding  the  point  at  which  the  lines  of 
longitude  and  latitude  intersect,  he  establishes  his  exact 
position  also. 

When  the  ship  leaves  England  the  chronometer  is  set 
by  Greenwich  time,  and  is  never  touched  afterwards  except 
to  be  wound  once  a  day.  In  order  that  any  error  may  be 
reduced  to  a  minimum  a  merchant  ship  carries  at  least 
two  chronometers,  a  man-of-war  at  least  three,  and  a 
surveying  vessel  as  many  as  a  dozen.  The  average  read- 
ing of  the  chronometers  is  taken  to  work  by. 

Taking  the  case  of  a  single  chronometer,  it  has  often  to 
be  relied  on  for  months  at  a  time,  and  during  that  period 
has  probably  to  encounter  many  changes  of  temperature. 
If  it  gains  or  loses  from  day  to  day,  and  that  consistently^ 
it  may  still  be  accounted  reliable,  as  the  amount  of  error 
will  be  allowed  for  in  all  calculations.  But  should  it  gain 
one  day  and  lose  another,  the  accumulated  errors  would, 
on  a  voyage  of  several  months,  become  so  considerable  as 
to  imperil  seriously  the  safety  of  the  vessel  if  navigating 
dangerous  waters. 

As  long  ago  as  1714  the  English  Government  recog- 
nised the  importance  of  a  really  reliable  chronometer,  and 
in  that  year  passed  an  Act  offering  rewards  of  £10,000, 
£15,000,  and  £20,000  to  anybody  who  should  produce  a 
chronometer  that  would  fix  longitude  within  sixty,  forty, 

20 


DELICATE   INSTRUMENTS 

and  thirty  miles  respectively  of  accuracy.  John  Harrison, 
the  son  of  a  Yorkshire  carpenter,  who  had  already  in- 
vented the  ingenious  "  gridiron  pendulum  "*'  for  compen- 
sating clocks,  took  up  the  challenge.  By  1761  he  had 
made  a  chronometer  of  so  perfect  a  nature  that  during  a 
voyage  to  Jamaica  that  year,  and  back  the  next,  it  lost 
only  1  min.  54|  sec.  As  this  would  enable  a  captain  to 
find  his  longitude  within  eighteen  miles  in  the  latitude  of 
Greenwich,  Harrison  claimed,  and  ultimately  received, 
the  maximum  reward. 

It  was  not  till  nearly  a  century  later  that  Thomas 
Earnshaw  produced  the  "compensation  balance,"''  now 
generally  used  on  chronometers  and  high-class  watches. 
In  cheap  watches  the  balance  is  usually  a  little  three- 
spoked  wheel,  which  at  every  tick  revolves  part  of  a  turn 
and  then  flies  back  again.  This  will  not  suffice  for  very 
accurate  work,  because  the  "  moment  of  inertia "''  varies 
at  different  temperatures.  To  explain  this  term  let  us 
suppose  that  a  man  has  a  pound  of  metal  to  make  into 
a  wheel.  If  the  wheel  be  of  small  diameter,  you  will  be 
able  to  turn  it  first  one  way  and  then  the  other  on  its  axle 
(juite  easily.  But  should  it  be  melted  down  and  remade 
into  a  wheel  of  four  times  the  diameter,  with  the  same 
amount  of  metal  as  before  in  the  rim,  the  difficulty  of 
suddenly  reversing  its  motion  will  be  much  increased. 
The  weight  is  the  same,  but  the  speed  of  the  rim,  and 
consequently  its  momentum,  is  greater.  It  is  evident  from 
this  that,  if  a  wheel  of  certain  size  be  driven  by  a  spring 
of  constant  strength,  its  oscillations  will  be  equal  in  time ; 
but  if  a  rise  of  temperature  should  lengthen  the  spokes 
the  speed  would  fall,  because  the  spring  would  have  more 

21 


MODERN   MECHANISM 

work  to  do ;  and,  conversely,  with  a  fall  of  temperature 
the  speed  would  rise.  Earnshaw's  problem  was  to  con- 
struct a  balance  wheel  that  should  be  able  to  keep  its 
"  moment  of  inertia  *"  constant  under  all  circumstances. 
He  therefore  used  only  two  spokes  to  his  wheel,  and  to 
the  outer  extremity  of  each  attached  an  almost  complete 
semicircle  of  rim,  one  end  being  attached  to  the  spoke, 
the  other  all  but  meeting  the  other  spoke.  The  rim- 
pieces  were  built  up  of  an  outer  strip  of  brass,  and  an 
inner  strip  of  steel  welded  together.  Brass  expands  more 
rapidly  than  steel,  with  the  result  that  a  bar  compounded 
of  these  two  metals  would,  when  heated,  bend  towards 
the  hollow  side.  To  the  rim-pieces  were  attached  sliding 
weights,  adjustable  to  the  position  found  by  experiment  to 
give  the  best  results. 

We  can  now  follow  the  action  of  the  balance  wheel. 
It  runs  perfectly  correctly  at,  say,  a  temperature  of 
60°.  Hold  it  over  a  candle.  The  spokes  lengthen,  and 
carry  the  rim-pieces  outwards  at  their  fixed  ends;  but, 
as  the  pieces  themselves  bend  inwards  at  their  free  ends, 
the  balance  is  restored.  If  the  balance  were  placed  in 
a  refrigerating  machine,  the  spokes  w^ould  shorten,  but  the 
rim-pieces  would  bend  outwards. 

As  a  matter  of  fact,  the  "  moment  of  inertia  ^'^  cannot 
be  kept  quite  constant  by  this  method,  because  the  varia- 
tion of  expansion  is  more  rapid  in  cold  than  in  heat ;  so 
that,  though  a  balance  might  be  quite  reliable  between 
60°  and  100%  it  would  fail  between  30°  and  60°.  So  the 
makers  fit  their  balances  with  what  is  called  a  secondary 
compensation,  the  effect  of  which  is  to  act  more  quickly 
in  high  than  in  low  temperatures.     This  could  not  well 

22 


4 


DELICATE   INSTRUMENTS 

be  explained  without  diagrams,  so  a  mere  mention  must 
suffice. 

Another  detail  of  chronometer  making  which  requires 
very  careful  treatment  is  the  method  of  transmitting 
power  from  the  main  spring  to  the  works.  As  the  spring 
uncoils,  its  power  must  decrease,  and  this  loss  must  be 
counterbalanced  somehow.  This  is  managed  by  using  the 
"drum  and  fusee'**  action,  which  may  be  seen  in  some 
clocks  and  in  many  old  watches.  The  drum  is  cylindrical, 
and  contains  the  spring.  The  fusee  is  a  tapering  shaft,  in 
which  a  spiral  groove  has  been  cut  from  end  to  end. 
A  very  fine  chain  connects  the  two  parts.  The  key  is 
applied  to  the  fusee,  and  the  chain  is  wound  off  the  drum 
on  to  the  larger  end  of  the  fusee  first.  By  the  time  that 
the  spring  has  been  fully  wound,  the  chain  has  reached  the 
fusee's  smaller  extremity.  If  the  fusee  has  been  turned 
to  the  correct  taper,  the  driving  power  of  the  spring  will 
remain  constant  as  it  unwinds,  for  it  gets  least  leverage 
over  the  fusee  when  it  is  strongest,  and  most  when  it 
is  weakest,  the  intermediate  stages  being  properly  pro- 
portioned. To  test  this,  a  weighted  lever  is  attached  to 
the  key  spindle,  with  the  weight  so  adjusted  that  the 
fully  wound  spring  has  just  sufficient  power  to  lift  it  over 
the  topmost  point  of  a  revolution.  It  is  then  allowed 
a  second  turn,  but  if  the  weight  now  proves  excessive 
something  must  be  wrong,  and  the  fusee  needs  its  diameter 
reducing  at  that  point.  So  the  test  goes  on  from  turn  to 
turn,  and  alterations  are  made  until  every  revolution  is 
managed  with  exactly  the  same  ease. 

The  complete  chronometer  is  sent  to  Greenwich  obser- 
vatory to  be  tested  against  the  Standard  Clock,  which,  at 

23 


MODERN   MECHANISM 

10  a.m.,  flashes  the  hour  to  other  clocks  all  over  Great 
Britain.  In  a  special  room  set  apart  for  the  purpose  are 
hundreds  of  instruments,  some  hanging  up,  others  lying 
flat.  Assistants  make  their  rounds,  noting  the  erroi-s  of 
each.  The  temperature  test  is  then  applied  in  special 
ovens,  and  finally  the  article  goes  back  to  the  maker  with 
a  certificate  setting  forth  its  performances  under  different 
conditions.  If  the  error  has  been  consistent  the  instru- 
ment is  sold,  the  buyer  being  informed  exactly  what  to 
allow  for  each  day's  error.  At  the  end  of  the  voyage  he 
brings  his  chronometer  to  be  tested  again,  and,  if  neces,sary, 
put  right. 

Here  are  the  actual  variations  of  a  chronometer  during 
a  nineteen-day  test,  before  being  used  : — 


Gain  in  tenths 
I^ay-                      of  seconds. 

Gain  in  tentks 
Day.                     of  seconds. 

1st     . 

•       h 

nth  . 

.     4 

2nd   . 

3 

12th    . 

.     3 

3rd    . 

4 

13th    . 

.     3 

4th    . 

4 

14th    . 

4 

5th    . 

'        ! 

15th    . 

5 

6th    . 

o 

I6th    . 

2 

7th    . 

0 

17th    . 

3 

8th    . 

0 

18th    . 

5 

9th    . 

41 

19th    . 

1 

10th  . 

3 

An  average  gain  of  just  over  one  quarter  of  a  second 
per  diem!  Quite  extraordinary  feats  of  time-keeping 
have  been  recorded  of  chronometers  on  long  voyages. 
Thus  a  chronometer  which  had  been  to  Australia  via  the 
Cape  and  back  via  the  Red  Sea  was  only  fifteen  seconds 
"out'';    and    the   Encychpcedia   Britannica   quotes    the 

24 


DELICATE   INSTRUMENTS 

performance  of  the  three  instruments  of  s.s.  Orellana^ 
which  between  them  accumulated  an  error  of  but  2*3 
seconds  during  a  sixty-three-day  trip. 

An  instrument  which  will  cut  a  blood  corpuscle  into 
several  parts — that's  the  Microtome,  the  "  small-cutter,"" 
as  the  name  implies. 

For  the  examination  of  animal  tissues  it  is  necessary 
that  they  should  be  sliced  very  fine  before  they  are  sub- 
jected to  the  microscope.  Perhaps  a  tiny  muscle  is  being 
investigated  and  cross  sections  of  it  are  needed.  Well, 
one  cannot  pick  up  the  muscle  and  cut  slices  off  it  as 
you  would  off  a  German  sausage.  To  begin  with,  it  is 
difficult  even  to  pick  the  object  up ;  and  even  if  pieces 
one-hundredth  of  an  inch  long  were  detached  they  would 
still  be  far  too  large  for  examination. 

So,  as  is  usually  the  case  when  our  unaided  powers  prove 
unequal  to  a  task,  we  have  recourse  to  a  machine.  There 
are  several  types  of  microtomes,  each  preferable  for  certain 
purposes.  But  as  in  ordinary  laboratory  work  the  Cam- 
bridge Rocking  Microtome  is  used,  let  us  give  our  special 
attention  to  this  particular  instrument.  It  is  mounted 
on  a  strong  cast-iron  bed,  a  foot  or  so  in  length  and  four 
to  five  inches  wide.  Towards  one  end  rise  a  couple  of 
supports  terminating  in  knife-edges,  which  carry  a  cross- 
bar, itself  provided  with  knife-edges  top  and  bottom, 
those  on  the  top  supporting  a  second  transverse  bar. 
Both  bars  have  a  long  leg  at  right  angles,  giving  them 
the  appearance  of  two  large  T"s  superimposed  one  on  the 
other;  but  the  top  T  is  converted  into  a  cross  by  a  fourth 
member — a  sliding  tube  which  projects  forward  towards  a 
frame  in  which  is  clamped  a  razor,  edge  upwards. 

as 


MODERN  MECHANISM 

The  tail  of  the  lower  T  terminates  in  a  circular  disc, 
pierced  with  a  hole  to  accommodate  the  end  of  a  vertical 
screw,  which  has  a  large  circular  head  with  milled  edges. 
The  upper  T  is  rocked  up  and  down  by  a  cord  and  spring, 
the  handle  actuating  the  cord  also  shifting  on  the  milled 
screw-head  a  very  small  distance  every  time  it  is  rocked 
backwards  and  forwards.  As  the  screw  turns,  it  gradu- 
ally raises  the  tail  of  the  lower  member,  and  by  giving 
its  cross-bar  a  tilt  brings  the  tube  of  the  upper  member 
appreciably  nearer  the  razor.  The  amount  of  twist  given 
to  the  screw  at  each  stroke  can  be  easily  regulated  by  a 
small  catch. 

When  the  microscopist  wishes  to  cut  sections  he  first 
mounts  his  object  in  a  lump  of  hard  paraffin  wax,  coated 
with  softer  wax.  The  whole  is  stuck  on  to  the  face  of 
the  tube,  so  as  to  be  just  clear  of  the  razor. 

The  operator  then  seizes  the  handle  and  works  it 
rapidly  until  the  first  slice  is  detached  by  the  razor. 
Successive  slices  are  stuck  together  by  their  soft  edges  so 
as  to  form  a  continuous  ribbon  of  wax,  which  can  be 
picked  up  easily  and  laid  on  a  glass  slide.  The  slide  is 
then  warmed  to  melt  the  paraffin,  which  is  dissolved  away 
by  alcohol,  leaving  the  atoms  of  tissue  untouched.  These, 
after  being  stained  with  some  suitable  medium,  are  ready 
for  the  microscope. 

A  skilful  user  can,  under  favourable  conditions,  cut 
slices  on^  twenty-Jive  thousandth  of  an  inch  thick.  To 
gather  some  idea  of  what  this  means  we  will  imagine  that 
a  cucumber  one  foot  long  and  one  and  a-half  inches  in 
diameter  is  passed  through  this  wonderful  guillotine.  It 
would  require  no  less  than  700  dinner-plates  nin€  inches 

26 


DELICATE   INSTRUMENTS 

across  to  spread  the  pieces  on !  If  the  slices  were  one- 
eighth  of  an  inch  thick,  the  cucumber,  to  keep  a  pro- 
portionate total  size,  would  be  260  feet  long.  After 
considering  these  figures  we  shall  lose  some  of  the  respect 
we  hitherto  felt  for  the  men  who  cut  the  ham  to  put 
inside  luncheon-bar  sandwiches. 

In  the  preceding  pages  frequent  reference  has  been 
made  to  index  screws,  exactly  graduated  to  a  convenient 
number  of  divisions.  When  such  screws  have  to  be  manu- 
factured in  quantities  it  would  be  far  too  expensive 
a  matter  to  measure  each  one  separately.  Therefore 
machinery,  itself  very  carefully  graduated,  is  used  to 
enable  a  workman  to  transfer  measurements  to  a  disc  of 
metal. 

If  the  index-circle  of  an  astronomical  telescope  —  to 
take  an  instance — has  to  be  divided,  it  is  centred  on  a 
large  horizontal  disc,  the  circumference  of  which  has  been 
indented  with  a  large  number  of  teeth.  A  worm-screw 
engages  these  teeth  tangentially  {Le,  at  right  angles  to  a 
line  drawn  from  the  centre  of  the  plate  to  the  point  of 
engagement).  On  the  shaft  of  the  screw  is  a  ratchet 
pinion,  in  principle  the  same  as  the  bicycle  free-wheel, 
which,  when  turned  one  way,  also  twists  the  screw,  but 
has  no  effect  on  it  when  turned  the  other  way.  Stops 
are  put  on  the  screw,  so  that  it  shall  rotate  the  large 
disc  only  the  distance  required  between  any  two  gradua- 
tions. The  divisions  are  scribed  on  the  index-circle  by  a 
knife  attached  to  a  carriage  over  and  parallel  to  the  disc. 
The  Dividing  Engine  used  for  the  graduation  of  certain 
astronomical  instruments  probably  constitutes  the  most 
perfect  machine  ever  made.     In  an  address  to  the  Institu- 

a; 


MODERN   MECHANISM 

tion  of  Mechanical  Engineers,*  the  President,  Mr.  William 
Henry  Maw,  used  the  following  words:  "  The  most  recently 
constructed  machine  of  the  kind  of  which  I  am  aware — 
namely,  one  made  by  Messrs.  Warner  and  Swasey,  of 
Cleveland,  U.S.A. — is  capable  of  automatically  cutting 
the  graduations  of  a  circle  with  an  error  in  position  not 
exceeding  one  second  of  arc.  (A  second  of  an  arc  is 
approximately  the  angle  subtended  by  a  halfpenny  at  a 
distance  of  three  miles.)  This  means  that  on  a  20-inch 
circle  the  eiTor  in  position  of  any  one  graduation  shall 
not  exceed  .t^t^q  inch.  Now,  the  finest  line  which  would 
be  of  any  service  for  reading  purposes  on  such  a  circle 
would  probably  have  a  width  equal  to  quite  ten  seconds 
of  arc ;  and  it  follows  that  the  minute  V-shaped  cut  form- 
ing this  line  must  be  so  absolutely  symmetrical  with  its 
centre  line  throughout  its  length,  that  the  position  of  this 
centre  may  be  determined  within  the  limit  of  error  just 
stated  by  observations  of  its  edges,  made  by  aid  of  the 
reading  micrometer  and  microscope.  I  may  say  that  after 
the  machine  just  mentioned  had  been  made,  it  took  over 
a  year's  hard  work  to  reduce  the  maximum  error  in  its 
graduations  from  one  and  a-half  to  one  second  of  arc.**' 

The  same  address  contains  a  reference  to  the  grcat 
Yerkes  telescope,  which  though  irrelevant  to  our  present 
chapter,  affords  so  interesting  an  example  of  modern  me- 
chanical perfection  that  it  deserves  parenthetic  mention. 

The  diameter  of  a  star  of  the  seventh  magnitude  as  it 
appears  in  the  focus  of  this  huge  telescope  is  j^^  inch. 
The  spiders'  webs  stretched  across  the  object  glass  are 

*  April  19th,  1901. 
28 


% 


DELICATE    INSTRUMENTS 

about  —^  inch  in  diameter.  "  The  problem  thus  is,"" 
says  Mr.  Maw,  "  to  move  this  twenty-two  ton  mass  (the 
telescope)  with  such  steadiness  in  opposition  to  the  motion 
of  the  earth,  that  a  star  disc  ^7^  inch  in  diameter  can 
be  kept  threaded,  as  it  were,  upon  a  spider's  web  ^^^^  inch 
in  diameter,  carried  at  a  radius  of  thirty-two  feet  from 
the  centre  of  motion.  I  think  that  you  v/ill  agree  that 
this  is  a  problem  in  mechanical  engineering  demanding 
no  slight  skill  to  solve ;  but  it  has  been  solved,  and  with 
the  most  satisfactory  results.**'  The  motions  are  controlled 
electrically;  and  respecting  them  Professor  Barnard,  one 
of  the  chief  observers  with  this  telescope,  some  time  ago 
wrote  as  follows  :  "  It  is  astonishing  to  see  with  what 
perfect  instantaneousness  the  clock  takes  up  the  tube. 
The  electric  slow  motions  are  controlled  from  the  eye 
end.  So  exact  are  they  that  a  star  can  be  brought  from 
the  edge  of  the  field  and  stopped  instantaneously  behind 
the  micrometer  wire.'' 

Dividing  engines  are  used  for  ruling  parallel  lines  on 
glass  and  metal,  to  aid  in  the  measurements  of  micro- 
scopical objects  or  the  wave-lengths  of  light.  A  diffraction 
gratings  used  for  measuring  the  latter,  has  the  lines  so 
close  together  that  they  would  be  visible  only  under  a 
powerful  microscope.  Glass  being  too  brittle,  a  special 
alloy  of  so-called  speculum  metal  is  fashioned  into  a  highly 
polished  plate,  and  this  is  placed  in  the  machine.  A  deli- 
cate screw  aiTangement  gradually  feeds  the  plate  forwards 
under  the  diamond  point,  which  is  automatically  di'awn 
across  the  plate  between  every  two  movements.  Professor 
H.  A.  Rowlands  has  constructed  a  parallel  dividing  engine 

which  has  ruled  as  many  as  120,000  lines  to  the  inch. 

29 


MODERN   MECHANISM 

To  get  a  conception  of  these  figures  we  must  once  again 
resort  to  comparison.  Let  us  therefore  take  a  furrow  as 
a  line,  and  imagine  a  ploughman  going  up  and  down  a 
field  120,000  times.  If  each  fuiTow  be  eight  inches  wide, 
the  field  would  require  a  breadth  of  nearly  fourteen  miles 
to  accommodate  all  the  furrows  !  Again,  supposing  that 
a  plate  six  inches  square  were  being  ruled,  the  lines  placed 
end  to  end  would  extend  for  seventy  miles ! 

Professor  Rowlands'  machine  does  the  finest  work  of 
this  kind.  Another  very  perfect  instrument  has  been 
built  by  Lord  Blythswood,  and  as  some  particulars  of  it 
have  been  kindly  supplied,  they  may  fitly  be  appended. 

If  a  first-class  di^aughtsman  were  asked  how  many  parallel 
straight  lines  he  would  rule  within  the  space  of  one  inch, 
it  is  doubtful  whether  he  would  undertake  more  than  150 
to  200  lines.  Lord  Blythswood's  machine  can  rule  four- 
teen parallel  lines  on  a  space  equivalent  to  the  edge  of  the 
finest  tissue  paper.  So  delicate  are  the  movements  of  the 
machine  that  it  must  be  protected  from  variations  of 
temperature,  which  would  contract  or  expand  its  parts ; 
so  the  room  in  which  it  stands  is  kept  at  an  even  heat  by 
automatic  apparatus,  and  to  make  things  doubly  siu-e  the 
engine  is  fui'ther  sheltered  in  a  large  case  having  double 
walls  inter-packed  with  cotton  wool. 

In  constructing  the  machine  it  was  found  impossible, 
with  the  most  scientific  tools,  to  cut  a  toothed  wheel 
sufficiently  accurate  to  drive  the  mechanism,  but  the  en'ors 
discovered  by  microscopes  were  made  good  by  the  inven- 
tion of  a  small  electro-plating  brush,  which  added  the  thin- 
nest imaginable  layer  of  metal  to  any  tooth  found  deficient. 

During  the  process  of  ruling  a  grating  of  only  a  few  square 

30  I 


DELICATE   INSTRUMENTS 

inches  area,  the  machine  must  be  left  severely  alone  in  its 
closed  case.  The  slightest  jar  would  cause  unparallelism 
of  a  few  lines,  and  the  ruin  of  the  whole  grating.  So  for 
several  days  the  diamond  point  has  its  own  way,  moving 
backwards  and  forwards  unceasingly  over  the  hard  metal, 
in  which  it  chases  tiny  grooves.  At  the  end  the  plate  has 
the  appearance  of  mother-of-pearl,  which  is,  in  fact,  one 
of  nature's  diffraction  gratings,  breaking  up  white  light 
into  the  colours  of  the  spectrum. 

You  will  be  able  to  understand  that  these  mechanical 
gratings  are  expensive  articles.  Sometimes  the  diamond 
point  breaks  half-way  through  the  ruling,  and  a  week's 
work  is  spoilt.  Also  the  creation  of  a  reliable  machine  is 
a  very  tedious  business.  Ten  pounds  per  square  inch  of 
grating  is  a  low  price  to  pay. 

The  greatest  difficulty  met  with  in  the  manufacture  of 
the  dividing  engine  is  that  of  obtaining  a  mathematically 
correct  screw.  Turning  on  a  lathe  produces  a  very  rough 
spiral,  judged  scientifically.  Some  threads  will  be  deeper 
than  others,  and  differently  spaced.  The  screw  must, 
therefore,  be  ground  with  emery  and  oil  introduced  be- 
tween it  and  a  long  nut  which  is  made  in  four  segments, 
and  provided  with  collars  for  tightening  it  up  against  the 
screw.  Perhaps  a  fortnight  may  be  expended  over  the 
grinding.  Then  the  screw  must  undergo  rigid  tests,  a  nut 
must  be  made  for  it,  and  it  has  to  be  mounted  in  proper 
bearings.  The  explanation  of  the  method  of  eliminating 
errors  being  very  technical,  it  is  omitted ;  but  an  idea  of 
the  care  required  may  be  gleaned  from  Professor  Rowlands' 
statement  that  an  uncorrected  error  of  .^Q^^,Q^^^J  of  an  inch 
is  quite  sufficient  to  ruin  a  grating ! 

31 


MODERN   MECHANISM 

In  the  Houses  of  Parliament  there  is  kept  at  an  even 
temperature  a  bronze  rod,  thirty-eight  inches  long  and  an 
inch  square  in  section.  Near  the  ends  are  two  wells, 
rather  more  than  half  an  inch  deep,  and  at  the  bottom  of 
the  wells  are  gold  studs,  each  engraved  with  a  delicate 
cross  line  on  their  polished  surfaces.  The  distance  be- 
tween the  lines  is  the  imperial  yard  of  thirty-six  inches. 

The  bar  was  made  in  1844  to  replace  the  Standard 
destroyed  in  1834,  when  both  Houses  of  Parliament  were 
burned.  The  original  Standard  was  the  work  of  Bird, 
who  produced  it  in  1760.  In  June,  1824,  an  Act  had 
been  passed  legalising  this  Standard.     It  says  : — 

"The  same  Straight  Line  or  Distance  between  the 
Centers  of  the  said  Two  Points  in  the  said  Gold  Studs  in 
the  said  Brass  Rod,  the  Brass  being  at  the  temperature  of 
Sixty-two  Degrees  by  Fahrenheit's  Thermometer,  shall  be 
and  is  hereby  denominated  the  '  Imperial  Standard  Yard.'  "*" 

To  provide  for  accidents  to  the  bar,  the  Act  continues : 
''And  whereas  it  is  expedient  that  the  said  Standard 
Yard,  if  lost,  destroyed,  defaced,  or  otherwise  injured, 
should  be  restored  to  the  same  Length  by  reference  to 
some  invariable  natural  Standard:  And  whereas  it  has 
been  ascertained  by  the  Commissioners  appointed  by  His 
Majesty  to  inquire  into  the  subject  of  Weights  and 
Measures,  that  the  Yard  hereby  declared  to  be  the  Imperial 
Standard  Yard,  when  compared  with  a  Pendulum  vibrating 
Seconds  of  Mean  Time  in  the  Latitude  of  London  in 
a  Vacuum  at  the  Level  of  the  Sea,  is  in  the  proportion  of 
Thirty-six  Inches  to  Thirty-nine  Inches  and  one  thousand 
three  hundred  and  ninety-three  ten-thousandth  Parts  of 
an  Inch." 

32 


DELICATE   INSTRUMENTS 

The  new  bar  was  made,  however,  not  by  this  method, 
but  by  comparing  several  copies  of  the  original  and 
striking  their  average  length.  Four  accurate  duplicates 
of  the  new  standard  were  secured,  one  of  which  is  kept  in 
the  Mint,  one  in  the  charge  of  the  Royal  Society,  one  at 
Westminster  Palace,  and  the  fourth  at  the  Royal  Observa- 
tory, Greenwich.  In  addition,  forty  copies  were  distri- 
buted among  the  various  foreign  governments,  all  of  the 
same  metal  as  the  original. 

The  French  metre  has  also  been  standardised,  being 
equal  to  one  ten-millionth  part  of  a  quadrant  of  the 
earth's  meridian  (i.e.  of  the  distance  from  the  Equator  to 
either  of  the  Poles),  that  is,  to  39-370788  inches.  Pro- 
fessor A,  A.  Michelson  has  shown  that  any  standard  of 
length  may  be  restored  by  reference  to  the  measurement 
of  wave  lengths  of  light,  with  an  error  not  exceeding  one 
ten-millionth  part  of  the  whole. 

It  might  be  asked  "Why  should  standards  of  such 
great  accuracy  be  required  ? '''*  In  rough  work,  such  as 
carpentry,  it  does  not,  indeed,  matter  if  measurements  are 
the  hundredth  of  an  inch  or  so  out.  But  when  we 
have  to  deal  with  scientific  instruments,  telescopes, 
measuring  machines,  engines  for  dividing  distances  on 
a  scale,  or  even  with  metal  turning,  the  utmost  accuracy 
becomes  needful ;  and  a  number  of  instruments  will  be 
much  more  alike  in  all  dimensions  if  compared  individually 
with  a  common  standard  than  if  they  were  only  compared 
with  one  another.  Supposing,  for  instance,  a  bar  of  exact 
diameter  is  copied ;  the  copy  itself  copied ;  and  so  on 
a  dozen  times ;  the  last  will  probably  vary  considerably 
from  the  correct  measurements, 
c  33 


MODERN    MECHANISM 

Hence  it  became  necessary  to  standardise  the  foot  and 
the  inch  by  accurate  subdivisions  of  the  yard.  This  was 
accomplished  by  Sir  Joseph  Whit  worth,  who  in  1834 
obtained  two  standard  yards  in  the  form  of  measure  bars, 
and  by  the  aid  of  microscopes  transferred  the  distance 
between  the  engraved  lines  to  a  rectangular  ^/id-measure 
bar,  Le.  one  of  which  the  end  faces  are  exactly  a  yard 
apart. 

He  next  constructed  his  famous  machine  which  is 
capable  of  detecting  length  differences  of  one  millionth  of 
an  inch.  Two  bars  are  advanced  towards  each  other  by 
screw  gearing :  one  by  a  screw  having  twenty  threads  to 
the  inch,  and  carrying  a  graduated  hand- wheel  with  250 
divisions  on  its  rim ;  the  other  by  a  similar  screw,  itself 
driven  by  a  worm-screw,  working  on  the  rim,  which  carries 
200  teeth.  The  worm-screw  has  a  hand-wheel  with  a 
micrometer  graduation  into  250  divisions  of  its  circum- 
ference. So  that,  if  this  be  turned  one  division,  the 
second  screw  is  turned  only  ^  x  -^^  of  a  division,  and 
the  bar  it  drives  advances  only  ^  x  ^  x  ^^  =  i.ooo.ooo 
of  an  inch.  The  screw  at  the  other  end  of  the  machine 
(which  in  appearance  somewhat  resembles  a  metal  lathe) 
is  used  for  rapid  adjustment  only. 

"He  (Sir  J.  Whitworth)  obtained  the  subdivision  of 
the  yard  by  making  three  foot  pieces  as  nearly  alike  as 
was  possible,  and  working  these  foot  pieces  down  until 
each  was  equal  to  the  others,  and  placing  them  end  to 
end  in  his  millionth  measuring  machine ;  the  total  length 
of  the  three  foot  pieces  was  then  compared  with  a  standard 
end-measure  yard.  These  three  foot  pieces  were  ground 
until  they  were  exactly  equal  to  each  other,  and  the  three 

34 


DELICATE    MEASURING    MACHINES 

The  upper^  illustration  shows  a  Pratt-Whitney  INIeasuring  Machine  in  operation  to  decide 
the  thickness  of  a  cigarette  paper,  which  is  one-thousandth  of  an  inch  thick.  This 
machine  will  measure  variations  of  length  or  thickness  as  minute  as  one  hundredth- 
thousandth  of  an  inch.  The  lower  illustration  shows  a  Whitworth  Measuring  Machine 
which  is  sensitive  to  variations  of  one-millionth  of  an  inch. 


DELICATE   INSTRUMENTS 

added  together  are  equal  to  the  standard  yard.  The  sub- 
division of  the  foot  into  inch  pieces  was  made  in  the  same 
way.* 

A  doubt  may  have  arisen  in  the  reader's  mind  as  to  the 
possibility  of  determining  whether  the  measuring  machine 
is  screwed  up  to  the  exact  tightness.  Would  the  measuring 
bars  not  compress  a  body  a  little  before  it  appeared  tight  ? 
Workmen,  when  measuring  a  bar  with  callipers,  often  judge 
by  the  sense  of  touch  whether  the  jaws  of  the  callipers 
pass  the  bar  with  the  proper  amount  of  resistance;  but  when 
one  has  to  deal  with  millionths  of  an  inch,  such  a  method 
would  not  suffice.  So  Sir  Joseph  Whitworth  introduced 
a  feeling-piece^  or  gravity -piece,  Mr.  T.  M.  Goodeve 
thus  describes  it  in  The  Elements  of  Mechanism :  The 
gravity-piece  consists  of  a  small  plate  of  steel  with 
parallel  plane  sides,  and  having  slender  arms,  one  for  its 
partial  support,  and  the  other  for  resting  on  the  finger  of 
the  observer.  One  arm  of  the  piece  rests  on  a  part  of 
the  bed  of  the  machine,  and  the  other  arm  is  tilted  up  by 
the  forefinger  of  the  operator.  The  plane  surfaces  are 
then  brought  together,  one  on  each  side  of  the  feeling- 
piece,  until  the  pressure  of  contact  is  sufficient  to  hold  it 
supported  just  as  it  remained  when  one  end  rested  on  the 
finger.  This  degree  of  tightness  is  perfectly  definite,  and 
depends  on  the  weight  of  the  gravity-piece,  but  not  on 
the  estimation  of  the  observer. 

In  this  way  the  expansion  due  to  heat  when  a 
36-inch  bar  has  been  touched  for  an  instant  with  the 
finger-nail  may  be  detected. 

*  G.  M.  Bond  in  a  lecture  delivered  before  the  Franklin  Institute, 
February  29th,  1884. 

35 


MODERN   MECHANISM 

One  of  the  most  beautiful  measuring  machines  com- 
mercially used  comes  from  the  factories  of  the  Pratt- 
Whitney  Co.,  Hartford,  Connecticut,  the  well-known 
makers  of  machine  tools  and  gauges  of  all  kinds.  It  is 
made  in  different  sizes,  the  largest  admitting  an  80-inch 
bar.  Variations  of  -^qq\qq  of  an  inch  are  readily  deter- 
mined by  the  use  of  this  machine.  It  therefore  serves 
for  originating  gauge  sizes,  or  for  duplicating  existing 
standards.  The  adjusting  screw  has  fifty  thi'eads  to  the 
inch,  and  its  index-wheel  is  graduated  to  400  divisions, 
giving  an  advance  of  ^^  ^^^  inch  for  each  division :  while 
by  estimation  this  may  be  further  subdivided  to  indicate 
one -half  or  even  one -quarter  of  this  small  amount. 
Delicacy  of  contact  between  the  measuring  faces  is 
obtained  by  the  use  of  auxiliary  jaws  holding  a  small 
cylindrical  gauge  by  the  pressure  of  a  light  helical  spring 
which  operates  the  sliding  spindle  to  which  one  of  these 
auxiliary  jaws  is  attached. 

On  one  side  of  the  "  head ''''  of  the  machine  is  a  vertical 
microscope  directed  downwards  on  to  a  bar  on  the  bed- 
plate,  in  which  are  a  number  of  polished  steel  plugs 
graved  with  very  fine  central  cross  lines,  each  exactly  an 
inch  distant  from  either  of  its  neighbours.  A  cross  wire 
in  the  microscope  tells  when  it  is  accurately  abreast  of 
the  line  below  it.  Supposing,  then,  that  a  standard  bar 
three  inches  in  diameter  has  to  be  tested.  The  "  head  " 
is  slid  along  until  the  microscope  is  exactly  over  the 
"  zero "''  plug  line,  and  the  divided  index-wheel  is  turned 
until  the  two  jaws  press  each  other  with  the  minimum 
force  that  will  hold  up  the  feeling-piece.  Then  the  head 
is  moved  back  and  centred  on  the  3-inch  line,  and  the 

36 


DELICATE   INSTRUMENTS 

bar  to  be  tested  is  passed  between  the  jaws.  If  the 
feeling-piece  drops  out  it  is  too  large,  and  the  wheel  is 
turned  back  until  the  jaws  have  been  opened  enough  to 
let  the  bar  through  without  making  the  feeling-piece  fall. 
An  examination  of  the  index-wheel  shows  in  hundred- 
thousandths  of  an  inch  what  the  excess  diameter  is. 

On  the  other  hand,  if  the  bar  were  too  small,  the  jaws 
would  need  to  be  closed  a  trifle :  this  amount  being 
similarly  reckoned. 

We  have  now  got  into  a  region  of  very  "  practical 
politics,"  namely,  the  subject  of  gauges.  All  large 
engineering  works  which  turn  out  machinery  with  inter- 
changeable parts,  e,g,  screws  and  nuts,  must  keep  their 
dimensions  very  constant  if  purchasers  are  not  to  be 
disgusted  and  disappointed.  The  small  motor  machinery 
so  much  in  evidence  to-day  demands  that  errors  should 
be  kept  within  the  ten-thousandth  of  an  inch.  An 
engineer  therefore  possesses  a  set  of  standard  gauges  to 
test  the  diameter  and  pitch  of  his  screw  threads  and 
nuts ;  the  size  of  tubes,  wires ;  the  circumference  of 
wheels,  etc. 

Great  inconvenience  having  been  experienced  by 
American  railroad-car  builders  on  account  of  the  vary- 
ing sizes  of  the  screws  and  bolts  which  were  used  on 
the  different  tracks — though  all  were  supposed  to  be  of 
standard  dimensions  —  the  masters  determined  to  put 
things  right ;  and  accordingly  Professors  Roger  and 
Bond  and  the  Pratt- Whitney  Co.  were  engaged  to  work 
in  collaboration  in  connection  with  the  manufacture  of 
tools  for  minute  measurements,  viz.  to  ttt^ttt^  inch.  "  To 
give  an  idea  of  what  is  implied  by  this,  let  it  be  supposed 

37 


MODERN  MECHANISM 

that  a  person  should  take  a  pair  of  dividing  compasses 
and  lay  off  50,000  prick-marks  J  inch  apart  in  a  straight 
line.  To  do  this  the  line  would  require  to  be  over 
520  feet,  or  nearly  a  tenth  of  a  mile  long.  Imagine  that 
many  prick-marks  compressed  into  the  space  of  an  inch, 
and  you  have  an  imperfect  idea  of  the  minuteness  of  the 
measurements  which  can  now  be  made  by  the  Pratt  and 
Whitney  Co.^^* 

The  standard  taps  and  dies  were  supplied  to  tool- 
makers  and  engineers,  who  could  thus  determine  whether 
articles  supplied  to  them  were  of  the  proper  dimensions. 
Nothing  more  was  then  heard  of  nuts  being  a  "trifle 
smalP""  or  bolts  "a  leetle  large.""  And  so  beautifully 
tempered  were  the  dies  made  from  the  standards  that 
one  manufacturer  claimed  to  have  cut  18,800  cold-pressed 
nuts  without  any  difference  being  perceptible  in  their 
sizes. 

To  appreciate  what  the  difference  of  a  thousandth  of 
an  inch  makes  in  a  true  fit,  you  should  handle  a  set  of 
plug  and  ring  gauges ;  the  ring  a  true  half-inch  inter- 
nally, the  plugs  half-inch,  half  an  inch  less  one  ten- 
thousandth  of  an  inch,  and  half  an  inch  less  one- 
thousandth,  in  diameter. 

The  true  half-inch  plug  needs  to  be  forcibly  driven 
into  the  ring  on  account  of  the  friction  between  the 
surfaces.  The  next,  if  oiled,  will  slide  in  quite  easily, 
but  if  left  stationary  a  moment  will  "seize,'*''  and  have 
to  be  driven  out.  The  third  will  wobble  very  perceptibly, 
and  would  be  at  once  discarded  by  a  good  workman  as  a 
bad  fit. 

*  Report  on  Standard  Screw  Threads,  Philadelphia,  1884. 

38 


I 


DELICATE   INSTRUMENTS 

For  extremely  accurate  measurements  of  rods,  calliper 
gauges,  shaped  somewhat  like  the  letter  Y,  are  used, 
the  horns  terminating  in  polished  parallel  jaws.  Such  a 
gauge  will  detect  a  difference  of  ^^^^^  inch  quite  easily. 

So  accurately  can  plug  gauges  be  made  by  reference 
to  a  measuring  machine,  that  a  gold  leaf  ^q,Iqq  inch 
thick  would  be  three  times  too  thick  to  insert  between 
the  gauge  and  the  jaws  of  the  machine ! 

You  must  remember  that  in  high-class  workmanship 
these  gauges  are  constantly  being  used.  As  time  goes 
on,  the  "  limit  of  error  "^^  allowed  in  many  classes  of 
machine  parts  is  gradually  lessened,  which  shows  the 
simultaneous  improvement  of  all  machinery  used  in  the 
handling  of  metal.  James  Watt  was  terribly  hampered, 
when  developing  his  steam-engine,  by  the  difficulty  of 
procuring  a  true  cylinder  for  his  pistons  to  work  in  with 
any  approach  to  steam-tightness.  His  first  cylinder  was 
made  by  a  smith  of  hammered  iron  soldered  together.  ' 
The  next  was  cast  and  bored,  but  stuffing  it  with  paper, 
cork,  putty,  pasteboard,  and  "  old  hat  ''^  proved  useless  to 
stem  the  leakage  of  steam.  No  wonder,  considering  that 
the  finished  cylinder  was  one-eighth  of  an  inch  larger  in 
diameter  at  one  end  than  at  the  other.  Watt  was  in 
advance  of  his  time.  Neither  machinery  nor  workman- 
ship had  progressed  sufficiently  to  meet  the  requirements 
of  the  steam-engine.  To-day  an  engineer  would  con- 
fidently undertake  to  bore  a  cylinder  five  feet  in  diameter 
with  a  variation  from  truth  of  not  more  than  one  five- 
hundredth  of  an  inch. 

Before  passing  from  the  subject  of  measuring  machines, 
which  play  so  important  a  part  in  modern  mechanism,  we 

39 


MODERN   MECHANISM 

may  just  glance  at  the  electrical  method  of  Dr.  P.  E. 
Shaw.  He  discovered  recently  that  two  clean  metal 
surfaces  can,  by  means  of  an  electric  current,  feel  one 
another  on  touching  with  a  delicacy  that  far  transcends 
that  of  the  purely  mechanical  machine.  The  mechanism 
he  employs  is  thus  devised :  A  finely  cut  vertical  screw 
having  fifty  threads  to  the  inch  has  a  disc  graduated  into 
500  parts.  The  screw  can  be  turned  by  means  of  a 
pulley  string  from  a  distance,  and  it  is  thus  possible  to 
give  the  top  end  of  the  screw  a  movement  of  ^^  ^^^  inch, 
when  a  movement  corresponding  to  one  graduation  is 
made. 

This  small  movement  is  reduced  by  a  train  of  six  levers, 
the  long  arm  of  each  bearing  on  the  short  arm  of  the 
one  before  it.  The  movement  of  the  last  lever  of  the 
train  is  thus  reduced  to  ^7^^  of  that  of  the  screw  point, 

so  a  movement  of  ^,000x25.000  ^^^^  =  100.000.000  ^^^h  is 
obtained ! 

How  can  such  a  movement  be  judged  ?  A  telephone 
and  voltaic  cell  are  joined  to  the  last  lever  of  the  train 
and  to  the  object  whose  movement  is  under  examination. 
If  they  touch,  the  telephone  sounds.  An  observer  listens 
in  the  telephone,  and  if  the  object  moves  for  any  reason 
he  can  find  out  how  much  it  moves  by  turning  the  screw 
until  contact  is  made  again. 

Out  of  the  many  applications  of  this  apparatus  three 
may  be  given. 

(1)  A  short  bar  of  iron  when  magnetised  elongates 
^^^^^  1. 000.000  ^f  ^^^  length.  If  further  magnetised  it 
contracts.     These  changes  can  readily  be  measured  with 

the  instrument. 

40 


I 


DELICATE   INSTRUMENTS 

(2)  The  smallest  sound  audible  in  the  telephone  is  due 
to  a  movement  of  the  diaphragm  of  the  telephone  by 
^^^^^  60.000,000  ^f  ^^  inch.  This  has  been  actually 
measured  by  Dr.  Shaw  and  is  by  far  the  smallest  distance 
ever  directly  recorded.  It  is  about  twice  the  diameter 
of  the  molecules  of  matter. 

(3)  Dispensing  with  levers,  the  screw  alone  is  used  for 
rougher  work.  Dr.  Shaw  has  shown  that  one  hundred- 
thousandth  of  an  inch  is  the  smallest  dimension  visible 
under  a  microscope.  By  fitting  an  electric  measuring 
apparatus  to  the  microscope  carriage  it  becomes  quite 
easy  to  measure  minute  distances.  The  microscope  con- 
tains a  cross  wire  which,  when  the  object  has  been  laid  on 
the  microscope  stage,  is  centred  on  one  side  of  the  object. 
The  electric  contact  screw  is  then  advanced  till  it  makes 
contact  with  the  stage  and  a  sound  arises  in  the  tele- 
phone. A  re"ading  of  the  screw  disc  having  been  taken, 
the  screw  is  drawn  in  and  the  microscope  stage  is 
traversed  sufficiently  to  bring  the  wire  in  line  with  the 
other  side  of  the  object.  Once  more  the  operator  makes 
electrical  contact  and  gets  a  second  reading,  the  difference 
between  the  two  being  the  diameter  of  the  object.  In 
this  manner  the  bacillus  of  tuberculosis  has  been  proved 
to  have  an  average  diameter  of  ^^l^oijo  ^^  ^^  inch. 

The  same  method  is  employed  to  gauge  the  distance 
between  the  lines  on  a  diffraction  grating. 


41 


CHAPTER  II 
CALCULATING   MACHINES 

THE  simplest  form  of  calculating  machine  was  the 
Abacus,  on  which  the  schoolboys  of  ancient  Greece 
did  their  sums.  It  consisted  of  a  smooth  board 
with  a  narrow  rim,  on  which  were  arranged  rows  of 
pebbles,  bits  of  bone  or  ivory,  or  silver  coins.  By  replacing 
these  little  counters  by  sand,  strewn  evenly  all  over  its 
surface,  the  abacus  was  transformed  into  a  slate  for 
writing  or  geometrical  lessons.  The  Romans  took  the 
abacus,  along  with  many  other  spoils  of  conquest,  from 
the  Greeks  and  improved  it,  dividing  it  by  means  of  cross- 
lines,  and  assigning  a  multiple  value  to  each  line  with 
regard  to  its  neighbours.  From  their  method  of  using 
the  calculi,  or  pebbles,  we  derive  our  English  verb,  to 
calculate. 

During  the  Middle  Ages  the  abacus  still  flourished, 
and  it  has  left  a  further  mark  on  oiu*  language  by  giving 
its  name  to  the  Court  of  Exchequer,  in  which  was  a  table 
divided  into  chequered  squares  like  this  simple  school 
appliance. 

Step  by  step  further  improvements  were  made,  most 
important  among  them  being  those  of  Napier  of  Mer- 
chiston,  whose  logarithms  vex  the  heads  of  our  youth,  and 
save  many  an  hour's  calculation  to  people  who  understand 

42 


CALCULATING  MACHINES 

how  to  handle  them.  Sir  Sapfiuel  Morland,  Gunter,  and 
Lamb  invented  other  contrivances  suitable  for  trigono- 
metrical problems.  Gersten  and  Pascal  harnessed  trains 
of  wheels  to  their  "  ready-reckoners,''*'  somewhat  similar  to 
the  well-known  cyclometer. 

All  these  devices  faded  into  insignificance  when  Mr. 
Charles  Babbage  came  on  the  scene  with  his  famous 
calculator,  which  is  probably  the  most  ingenious  piece  of 
mechanism  ever  devised  by  the  human  brain.  To  describe 
the  "  Difference  Engine,**"*  as  it  is  called,  would  be  impos- 
sible, so  complicated  is  its  character.  Dr.  Lardner,  who 
had  a  wonderful  command  of  language,  and  could  explain 
details  in  a  manner  so  lucid  that  his  words  could  almost 
always  be  understood  in  the  absence  of  diagrams,  occupied 
twenty-five  pages  of  the  Edinburgh  Review  in  the  en- 
deavour to  describe  its  working,  but  gave  several  features 
up  as  a  bad  job.  Another  clever  writer.  Dr.  Samuel 
Smiles,  frankly  shuns  the  task,  and  satisfies  himself  with 
the  following  brief  description  : — 

"  Some  parts  of  the  apparatus  and  modes  of  action  are 
indeed  extraordinary — and,  perhaps,  none  more  so  than 
that  for  ensuring  accuracy  in  the  calculated  results — the 
machine  actually  correcting  itself,  and  rubbing  itself  back 
into  accuracy,  by  the  friction  of  the  adjacent  machinery ! 
When  an  error  is  made  the  wheels  become  locked  and 
refuse  to  proceed ;  thus  the  machine  must  go  rightly  or 
not  at  all — an  arrangement  as  nearly  resembling  volition 
as  anything  that  brass  and  steel  are  likely  to  accomplish.""* 

Mr.  Babbage,  in  1822,  entered  upon  the  task  of  super- 
intending the  construction  of  a  machine  for  calculating 
*  Industrial  Biographiesy  chap.  xiii. 
43 


MODERN   MECHANISM 

and  printing  mathematical  and  astronomical  tables.  He 
began  by  building  a  model,  which  produced  forty-four 
figures  per  minute.  The  next  year  the  Royal  Society 
reported  upon  the  invention,  which  appeared  so  promising 
that  the  Lords  of  the  Treasury  voted  Mr.  Babbage  £1,500 
to  help  him  perfect  his  apparatus. 

He  looked  about  for  a  first-rate  mechanician  of  high 
intelligence  as  well  as  of  extreme  manual  skill.  The  man 
he  wanted  appeared  in  Mr.  Joseph  Clement,  who  had 
already  made  his  name  as  the  inventor  of  a  drawing 
instrument,  a  self-acting  lathe,  a  self-centring  chuck,  and 
fluted  taps  and  dies.  Mr.  Clement  soon  produced  special 
tools  for  shaping  the  various  parts  of  the  machine.  So 
elaborate  was  the  latter,  that,  according  to  Dr.  Smiles, 
"the  drawings  for  the  calculating  machinery  alone — not 
to  mention  the  printing  machinery,  which  was  almost 
equally  elaborate — covered  not  less  than  four  hundred 
square  feet  of  surface  !  *''' 

You  will  easily  imagine,  especially  if  you  have  ever  had 
a  special  piece  of  apparatus  made  for  you  by  a  mechanic, 
that  the  bills  mounted  up  at  an  alarming  rate ;  so  fast, 
indeed,  that  the  Government  began  to  ask.  Why  this 
great  expense,  and  so  little  visible  result?  After  seven 
years'  work  the  engineers'*  account  had  reached  £7,200, 
and  Mr.  Babbage  had  disbursed  an  additional  £7,000  out 
of  his  own  pocket.  Mr.  Clement  quarrelled  with  his 
employer — possibly  because  he  harboured  suspicions  that 
they  were  both  off*  on  a  wild-goose  chase — and  withdrew, 
taking  all  his  valuable  tools  with  him.  The  Government 
soon  followed  his  example,  and  poor  Babbage  was  left 
with  his  half-finished  invention,  "  a  beautiful  fragment  of 

44 


A    MECHANICAL   CASHIER 

The  printing  apparatus  of  a  National  Cash  Register.  It  impresses  on  a  paper  strip  the 
amount  and  nature  of  every  money  transaction  ;  and  also  prints  a  date,  number,  adver- 
tisement, money  value,  and  nature  of  business  done  on  a  ticket  for  the  customer. 


CALCULATING  MACHINES 


a  great  work."*'  It  had  been  designed  to  calculate  as  far  as 
twenty  figures,  but  was  completed  only  sufficiently  to  go 
to  five  figures.  In  1862  it  occupied  a  prominent  place 
among  the  mechanical  exhibits  at  the  Great  Exhibition. 

We  learn,  with  some  satisfaction,  that  all  this  effort 
was  not  fated  to  be  fruitless.  Two  scientists  of  Stockholm 
— Scheutz  by  name — were  so  impressed  by  Dr.  Lardner's 
account  of  this  calculating  machine  that  they  carried 
Babbage^s  scheme  through,  and  after  twenty  years  of  hard 
work  completed  a  machine  which  seemed  to  be  almost 
capable  of  thinking.  The  English  Government  spent 
£1,200  on  a  copy,  which  at  Somerset  House  entered  upon 
the  routine  duty  of  working  out  annuity  and  other  tables 
for  the  Registrar-General. 

From  Babbage's  wonderfully  and  fearfully  made  machine 
we  pass  to  a  calculator  which  to-day  may  be  seen  at  work 
in  hundreds  of  thousands  of  shops  and  offices. 

It  is  the  most  modern  substitute  for  the  open  till ;  and, 
by  the  aid  of  marvellous  interior  works,  acts  as  account- 
keeper  and  general  detective  to  the  money  transactions  of 
the  establishment  in  which  it  is  employed. 

There  are  very  many  types  of  Cash  Register,  and  as  it 
would  be  impossible  to  enumerate  them  all,  we  will  pass  at 
once  to  the  most  perfect  type  of  all,  known  to  the  makers 
and  vendors  as  "  Number  95.'*' 

This  register  has  at  the  top  an  oblong  window.  Dotted 
about  the  surface  confronting  the  operator  are,  in  the 
particular  machine  under  notice,  fifty-seven  keys ;  six 
bearing  the  letters  A,  B,  D,  E,  H,  K ;  three  the  woixis 
"Paid  out,""  "Charge,"'  "Received  on  Account";  and  the 
others  money  values  ranging  from  £9  to  Id. 

45 


MODERN   MECHANISM 

These  are  arranged  in  vertical  rows.  At  the  left  end 
of  the  instrument  is  a  printing  apparatus,  kept  locked 
by  the  proprietor;  at  the  right  end  a  handle  and  a  small 
lever.  Below  the  register  are  six  drawers,  each  labelled 
with  an  initial. 

A  customer  enters  the  shop,  and  buys  goods  to  the 
value  of  6s.  lid.      An  assistant,  to  whom  belongs  the 
letter  H,  receives  a  sovereign  in  payment.     He  goes  to 
the  register,  and  after  making  sure  that  his  drawer  is 
pushed  in  till  it  is  locked,  first  presses  down  the  key  H, 
and  then  the  keys  labelled  "6*."  and  "  lid."      Suddenly,' 
like  two  Jacks-in-the-box,  up  fly  into  the  window  two' 
tablets,  with  «6^.   lid"  on  both   their   faces,   so   that 
customer    and    assistant    can    see    the    figures.      Simul- 
taneously a  bell  of  a  certain  tone  rings,  drawer  H  flies 
open  (so  that  he  may  place  the  money  in  it  and  give 
change,  if  necessary),  and  a  rotating  arm  in  the  window 
shows  the  word  "  cash." 

The  assistant  now  revolves  the  handle  and  presses  the 
little  lever.  From  a  slot  on  the  left  side  out  flies  a 
ticket,  on  the  front  of  which  is  printed  the  date,  a 
consecutive  number,  the  assistant's  letter,  and  the  amount 
of  the  sale.  The  back  has  also  been  covered  with  an 
advertisement  of  some  kind.  The  ticket  and  change  are 
handed  over  to  the  customer,  the  drawer  is  shut,  and  the 
transaction  is  at  an  end,  except  for  an  entry  in  the  shop's 
books  of  the  article  sold. 

A  carrier  next  comes  in  with  a  parcel  on  which  five- 
pence  must  be  paid  for  transport.  Mr.  A.  receives  the 
goods,  goes  to  the  register,  presses  his  letter,  the  key 
with  the  words  "paid  out"  on  it,  and  the  key  carrying 

46 


CALCULATING  MACHINES 

"  56?.,''  takes  out  the  amount  wanted,  and  gives  it  to  the 
carrier. 

Again,  a  gentleman  enters,  and  asks  for  change  for 
half  a  sovereign.  Mr.  B.  obliges  him,  pressing  down  his 
letter,  but  no  figures. 

Fourthly,  a  debtor  to  the  shop  pays  five  shillings  to 
meet  an  account  that  has  been  against  him  for  some 
time.  Mr.  K.  receives  the  money  and  plays  with  the 
keys  K,  "  Received  on  account,**"  and  "  5^.,''''  giving  a  ticket 
receipt. 

Lastly,  a  customer  buys  a  pair  of  boots  on  credit.  Mr. 
D.  attends  to  him,  and  though  no  cash  is  handled,  uses 
the  register,  pressing  the  letter  "  Charge,"'  and,  say, 
"I6s.  6dr 

Now  what  has  been  going  on  inside  the  machine  all 
this  time.  Let  us  lift  up  the  cover,  take  off  the  case  of 
the  printing  apparatus,  and  see. 

A  strip  of  paper  fed  through  the  printing  mechanism 
has  on  it  five  rows  of  figures,  letters,  etc.,  thus — 

s.    d. 

H  6  11 
Pd.  A     0     5 

BOO 
Re.  K  5  0 
Ch.  D  16     6 

The  proprietor  is,  therefore,  enabled  to  see  at  a  glance 
(1)  who  served  or  attended  to  a  customer,  (2)  what  kind 
of  business  he  did  with  him,  (3)  the  monetary  value  of 
the  transaction.  At  the  end  of  the  day  each  assistant 
sends  in  his  separate  account,  which  should  tally  exactly 
with  the  record  of  the  machine. 

47 


MODERN   MECHANISM 

Simultaneously  with  the  strip  printing,  special  counting 
apparatus  has  been  (a)  adding  up  the  total  of  all  money 
taken  for  goods,  (b)  recording  the  number  of  times  the 
drawer  has  been  opened  for  each  purpose.  Here,  again, 
is  a  check  upon  the  records. 

This  ingenious  machine  not  only  protects  the  proprietor 
against  carelessness  or  dishonesty  on  the  part  of  his 
employes,  but  also  protects  the  latter  against  one  another. 
If  only  one  drawer  and  letter  were  used  in  common,  it 
would  be  impossible  to  trace  an  error  to  the  guilty  party. 
The  lettering  system  also  serves  to  show  which  assistant 
does  the  most  business. 

Where  a  cash  register  of  this  type  is  employed  every 
transaction  must  pass  tlirough  its  hands  — or  rather 
mechanism.  It  would  be  risky  for  an  assistant  not  to 
use  the  machine,  as  eyes  may  be  watching  him.  He 
cannot  open  his  drawers  without  making  a  record;  nor 
can  he  make  a  record  without  first  closing  the  drawers; 
so  that  he  must  give  a  reason  for  each  use  of  the  register. 
If  he  used  somebody  else'^s  letter,  the  ear  of  the  rightful 
owner  would  at  once  be  attracted  by  the  note  of  his 
particular  gong.  When  going  awa/  for  lunch,  or  on 
business,  a  letter  can  be  locked  by  means  of  a  special  key, 
which  fits  none  of  the  other  five  locks. 

The  printing  mechanism  is  particularly  ingenious. 
Every  morning  the  date  is  set  by  means  of  index-screws : 
and  a  consecutive  numbering  train  is  put  back  to  zero. 
A  third  division  accommodates  a  circular  "electro'' 
block  for  printing  the  advertisements,  and  a  fourth 
division  the  figure  wheels. 

The  turn  given  to  the  handle  passes  a  length  of  the 

48 


CALCULATING  MACHINES 

ticket  strip  through  a  slot — prints  the  date,  the  number 
of  the  ticket,  an  advertisement  on  the  back,  the  assistants 
letter,  the  nature  of  the  business  done,  and  feeds  the 
paper  on  to  the  figures  which  give  the  finishing  touch. 
A  knife  cuts  off  the  ticket,  and  a  special  lever  shoots  it 
out  of  the  slot. 

The  National  Cash  Register  Company,  for  prudential 
reasons,  do  not  wish  the  details  of  the  internal  machinery 
to  be  described ;  nor  would  it  be  an  easy  task  even  were 
the  permission  granted.  So  we  must  imagine  the  extreme 
intricacy  of  the  levers  and  wheels  which  perform  all  the 
tasks  enumerated,  and  turn  aside  to  consider  the  origin 
and  manufacture  of  the  register,  which  are  both  of 
interest. 

The  origin  of  the  cash  register  is  rather  nebulous, 
because  twenty-five  years  ago  several  men  were  working 
on  the  same  idea.  It  first  appeared  as  a  practical  machine 
in  the  offices  of  John  and  James  Ritty,  who  owned  stores 
and  coalmines  at  Dayton,  Ohio.  James  Ritty  helped  and 
largely  paid  for  the  first  experiments.  He  needed  a 
mechanical  cashier  for  his  own  business,  and  says  that, 
while  on  an  ocean  steamer  en  route  to  London  the 
revolving  machinery  gave  him  the  suggestion  worked  out, 
on  his  return  to  Dayton,  in  the  first  dial-machine.  This 
gave  way  to  the  key-machine  with  its  display  tablet,  or 
indicator,  held  up  by  a  supporting  bar  moved  back  by 
knuckles  on  the  vertical  tablet  rod. 

The  cut   (Fig.   1)  shows  the  right  side   of    this  key 

register,  the  action  of  which  is  thus  described  by  the 

National   Cash  Register  Company.      The  key  A,  when 

pressed  with  the  finger  at  its  ordinary  position — marked 

D  49 


MODERN   MECHANISM 

1 — went  down  to  the  point  marked  2.  Being  a  lever  and 
pivoted  to  its  centre,  pressing  down  a  key  elevated  its 
extreme  point  B.  This  pushed  up  the  tablet-rod  C, 
having  on  its  upper  part  the  knuckle  D.  This  knuckle 
D,  pushed  up,  took  the  position  at  E ;  that  is,  the 
knuckle  pushed  back  the  supporting-bar  F,  and  was 
pushed  past  it  and  held  above  it.      If  the  same  opera- 


FlG.    1 


tion  were  performed  on  another  key,  the  knuckle  on  its 
vertical  rod,  going  up,  would  again  push  the  supporting 
bar  back,  which  would  release  the  first  knuckled  rod,  and 
leave  the  last  one  in  its  place.  This  knuckled  rod  had  on 
its  upper  end  the  display  tablet,  or  indicator  G.  James 
and  John  Ritty  claimed  and  proved  that  they  invented 
this,  but  the  attorney  for  the  Dayton  Company  (formed 
by  them)  in  the  Supreme  Court  was  compelled  to  admit 
that  this  mechanism  was  old.  Yet  if  machines  built  like 
this  were  exhibited  elsewhere,  they  were  at  most   only 

50 


CALCULATING   MACHINES 

experimental  models,  and  none  of  them  had  ever  gone 
into  practical  or  commercial  use.  In  fact,  at  this  time 
nothing  had  been  really  contributed  which  was  useful  to 
the  public  or  used  by  the  public. 

The  trouble  was  that  the  knuckles,  being  necessarily 
oiled,  held  dust  and  dirt  which  interfered  with  their  free 
movement.  And  again,  a  "  five-cent ''  or  "  ten-cent  ^^  key 
would  be  used  more  than  others,  and  hence  would  become 
more  worn.  As  a  practical  result  the  tablets  did  not  drop 
when  wanted,  and  the  whole  operation  was  thrown  into 
confusion.  When  one  tablet  went  up  the  other  tablet 
stayed  up,  leaving  a  false  indication.  The  most  valuable 
modification  now  made  by  these  Dayton  inventors  was  to 
cease  to  rely  on  the  knuckle  to  move  back  the  supporting 
bar,  and  to  supply  the  place  of  this  function  by  what 
became  known  as  "connecting  mechanism,'"  especially 
designed  for  this  purpose.  This  was  placed  at  the  other, 
or  say  the  left,  side  of  the  machine  as  you  faced  it.  Cut 
No.  2  shows  this  new  connecting  mechanism.  The  keys, 
when  pressed,  performed  the  functions  as  before,  on  the 
right  side  of  the  machine,  viz.  to  ring  an  alarm-bell,  etc.  ; 
but  on  the  other,  or  left,  side  the  key,  when  pressed, 
operated  the  connecting  mechanism  marked  M,  N,  O,  P, 
and  Q.  The  key  pressed  down  by  its  leverage  pushed 
back  a  little  lever  (Q),  the  further  end  of  which  pressed 
back  the  supporting  bar  F,  and  released  the  previously 
exposed  indicator  G,  without  relying  on  the  knuckle  to 
perform  this  function. 

The  Supreme  Court  of  the  United  States  said  that  the 
suggestion  or  idea  to  correct  the  old  trouble  and  to  drop 
the  display  tablet  with  certainty,  and  to  accomplish  this 

51 


MODERN  MECHANISM 

hy  dividing  the  force  used^  and  applying  a  portion  of  it  to 
the  new  connecting  mechanism  on  the  left  side  of  the 
machine,  "  was  fine  invention,"*"  and  that  "  the  results  are 
so  important,  and  the  ingenuity  displayed  to  bring  them 
about  is  such  that  we  are  not  disposed  to  deny  the 
patentees  the  merit  of  invention.  The  combination  de- 
scribed in  the  nrst  claim  was  clearly  new."' 

To  revert  for  a  moment  to  the  origin  of  the  invention. 
Mr.  John  Ritty  gives  an  account  differing  from  that  of 
his  brother ;  but  the  two  can  probably  be  reconciled  by 
supposing  that  the  first  ideas  occurred  simultaneously  and 
were  worked  out  in  common. 

Late  one  summer  night,  before  dispersing  home,  a 
group  of  men  were  in  his  store.  One  of  them  said  to  the 
proprietor,  "  If  you  had  a  machine  there  to  register  the 
cash  received,  you  would  get  more  of  it,****  and  to  the  state- 
ment both  owner  and  his  clerks  assented.  This  raised  a 
laugh.  But  Ritty  who,  in  spite  of  a  large  business,  which 
ranged  over  everything  from  a  needle  to  a  haystack,  did 
not  make  much  profit  by  his  sales,  took  the  suggestion 
seriously,  and  put  on  his  thinking-cap,  with  the  result  that 
the  first  machine  was  patented,  and  profits  became  very 
greatly  increased. 

Before  his  machine  had  been  perfected  a  rival  was  in 
the  field.  Mr.  Thomas  Carney,  a  man  who  had  seen 
much  life  as  a  lumber  merchant,  captain  during  the 
Civil  War,  explorer,  and  railroad  promoter,  settled  down 
in  1884,  at  Chicago,  to  the  manufacture  of  coin-changers. 
"  When  in  various  businesses,*"  he  says,  "we  used  gold  and 
silver  only,  and  it  seemed  to  be  a  sheer  necessity  to  have 
something  of  a  money-changer  to  assist  us  in  handling  it 

52 


CALCULATING   MACHINES 

and  making  change.  The  custom  then  was  to  throw  the 
different  coins  into  a  special  receptacle  marked  for  each.  I 
invented,  and  in  my  own  shop  built  this  coin-changer,  the 
keys  of  which,  when  touched,  would,  through  the  tube, 
drop  the  coin  into  the  hand  as  wanted.  At  Chicago  we 
made  five  or  six  hundred  of  these  coin-changers,  but  by 
mistake  placed  the  price  too  low,  and  after  some  conference 
I  became  assured  that  there  was  not  enough  money  in  it. 


Fig.  2 

A  rich  Chicago  manufacturer  had  become  familiar  with 
the  urgent  need  of  a  cash  register,  and  the  losses  which 
followed  in  business  without  one.  The  National,  at 
Dayton,  had  then  been  invented,  but  had  not  then  been 
perfected  as  it  has  been  since.  Parties  at  Chicago  agreed 
to  put  up  the  money  if  I  would  invent  what  would 
answer  the  purpose  of  a  cash  register  and  make  a  market- 
able machine.  I  went  home  and  gave  the  matter  some 
hard  thinking,  and  talking  with  my  son  about  the  matter 

53 


MODERN   MECHANISM 

one  night,  I  looked  up  at  the  clock  and  said,  'Why, 
Harry,  there  is  the  right  thing.  Sixty  minutes  make  an 
hour ;  one  hundred  cents  make  a  dollar.  All  I  have  got 
to  do  is  to  change  the  wheels  a  little,  put  some  keys  into 
it,  and  there  will  be  a  thing  which  will  register  cents, 
dimes,  and  dollars,  just  as  that  clock  will  register  time  in 
minutes  and  hours.^  In  clocks  the  minute  wheel,  when  it 
has  revolved  to  its  sixty  point,  throws  its  added  result  of 
sixty  minutes  over  on  to  another  wheel,  which  takes  up 
the  story,  with  one  hour  in  place  of  the  old  sixty  minutes. 
The  first  wheel  then  begins  again  and  goes  its  round.  A 
second  complete  revolution  of  the  minute  wheel  throws 
another  sixty  minutes  on  to  the  hour,  and  gives  one  more 
hour  registered,  making  two  hours,  and  so  on.  I  took 
some  wheels,  and  with  pasteboard  made  hands  and  a 
machine.  It  was  very  rough,  but  I  took  it  to  my  friends 
and  explained  it  to  them.  We  went  on,  but  encountering 
difficulties  and  obstacles,  we  merged  our  whole  enterprise 
in  the  National.  I  followed  it,  and  have  since  invented, 
worked,  and  helped  along  in  the  National  Cash  Register 
ser^'ice.  I  developed  the  No.  35  machine  which  the 
company  began  on  and  uses  yet.  It  is  now  in  use  in  every 
civilised  country,  for  it  can  be  made  to  register  English 
money  and  any  decimal  currency.'"* 

In  1883  Dayton  contained  five  families.  The  following 
year  Colonel  Robert  Patterson  bought  a  large  property 
in  the  neighbourhood,  and  helped  to  develop  a  small 
town,  which  has  since  grown  into  a  thriving  manu- 
facturing centre.  His  two  sons,  John  H.  Patterson  and 
Frank  J.  Patterson,  bought  out  all  the  original  pro- 
prietors of  the  National  Cash  Register,  greatly  improved 

54 


CALCULATING  MACHINES 

the  machine*'s  mechanism,  and  built  the  huge  factory 
which  employs  about  4,000  men,  women,  and  girls,  and  is 
one  of  the  'best-equipped  establishments  in  the  world  to 
promote  both  an  economical  output  and  the  comfort 
of  the  employes.  The  Company's  buildings  at  Dayton 
cover  892,144  square  feet  of  floor-space,  and  utilise  140 
acres  of  ground.  In  convenience  and  attractiveness,  and 
for  light,  heat,  and  ventilation,  and  all  sanitary  things, 
these  structures  are  designed  to  be  models  of  "any  used  for 
factory  purposes.  A  machine  is  made  and  sold  every  2| 
minutes  in  the  Dayton,  Berlin,  and  Toronto  factories 
collectively.  According  to  its  destination,  it  records 
dollars,  shillings,  marks,  kronen,  korona,  francs,  kroner, 
guildens,  pesetas,  pesos,  milreis,  rupees,  or  roubles. 
Registers  are  also  made  to  meet  the  needs  of  the 
Celestials  and  the  Japanese. 

So  necessary  is  it  for  these  machines  to  be  ever  im- 
proving, that  the  Company,  with  a  wisdom  that  prevails 
more  largely,  perhaps,  in  the  United  States  than  else- 
where, offer  substantial  rewards  to  the  employe  who 
records  in  a  book  kept  specially  for  the  purpose  any  sug- 
gestion which  the  committee,  after  due  examination, 
consider  likely  to  improve  some  detail  of  mechanism  or 
manufacture.  Five  departments  are  entirely  devoted  to 
experiments  carried  out  by  a  corp  of  inventors  working 
with  a  special  body  of  skilled  mechanics.  New  patents 
accrue  so  fast  as  a  result  of  this  organised  reseai'ch  that 
the  National  Company  now  owns  537  letters  patent  in 
the  United  States  and  394  in  foreign  countries. 

Many  ideas  come  from  outside.  If  they  appear  profit^ 
able  they  are  bought  and  turned  over  to  the  Patents 

55 


MODERN   MECHANISM 

^ZTZ'  "'"'  ''"'^  *'^"  °"  *^  *^^  experimenters. 
These  bmld  an  experimental  model,  which  differs  in  many 
respects  from  the  types  hitherto  manufactured.  A  caS 
2^ster  must  be  above  all  things  strong,  so  that  it  1 
W  a  heavy  blow  without  getting  out  of  order,  and  must 
retain  its  accuracy  under  all  conditions 

thul^n  rf  '""'.'''  '*  ^'"  ""'''''  *^«  '-P-tors,  who 

t  b!cV  '    rT  ^''  ''""*  *"™  ''  ^°^^^^  -*'  -d  send 
It  back  to  the  Factory  Committee  with  reports  on  any 

defects  that  may  have  come  to  light.     If  the  inspectors 

can  o  I,  k„ock  the  machine  out  of  time  they  consider 

that  they. have  done  their  duty;  for  they  argue  that   if 

weakne         thus  developed  are  put  righ^  J  pu^W 

short  T        f  1  '1'^^'"^'^  '""^  machinery  if  he  stops 
short  of  an  actual  "  brutal  assault  with  violence  " 

Next  comes  the  building  of  the  commercial  type,  which 
will  be  sold  by  the  thonsan,!      n-i.  i.- 

to  thp  tn.1       I  *7"'^"d-     ^he  machine  goes  down 

Iho  list    r.t       ' '  "'"'  '°^^'  ^'  ^^^^"*3^-«-  --bers, 
who  hst  all  the  parts,  and  say  how  many  drill-jigs,  mills 

fixtures    gauges,  etc.,  are  necessary  to  make  eve';";' 

Then  they  draw  out  an  approximate  estimate  of  the  cost 

of  producing  the  tools,  and  after  they  have  listed  the 

parts,  they  turn  them  over  to  the  varLs  departments 

-h   as   the   drafting-room,   blacksmith,  shop,   patter^ 

shop    foundry,  etc.,  after  which   the  various  parts   are 

machined  up.     Then  the  tool-maker  assembles  together 

the  various  tools,  and  makes  a  number  of  the  parts  that 

each  tool  IS  designed  for;  so  that  when  all  the  tools  have 

done  their  prehminary  work,  the  makers  possess  about 

fifty  machines  "in  bits."     These  are  assembled,  to  prove 

whether  the  tools  do  their  business  efficiently.     If  any 


CALCULATING  MACHINES 

part  shows  an  inclination  "to  jam,'*''  or  otherwise  mis- 
behave itself,  the  tool  responsible  is  altered  till  its  pro- 
ducts are  satisfactory. 

Then,  and  only  then — a  period  of  perhaps  two  years 
may  have  elapsed  since  the  model  was  first  put  in  hand — 
the  Company  begins  to  entertain  a  prospect  of  getting 
back  some  of  the  money — any  sum  up  to  £50,000 — spent 
in  preparations.  But  they  know  that  if  people  will  only 
buy,  they  won'^t  have  much  fault  to  find  with  their  pur- 
chase. "Preparations  brings  success **'  is  the  motto  of 
the  N.C.R.  So  the  Company  spares  no  money,  and  is 
content  to  have  £25,000  locked  up  in  its  automatic 
screw-making  machines  alone ! 

Human  as  well  as  inanimate  machinery  is  well  tended 
under  the  roof  of  the  N.C.R.  The  committee  believe 
that  a  healthy,  comfortable  employe  means  good — and 
therefore  profitable — work ;  and  that  to  work  well,  em- 
ployes must  eat  and  play  well. 

They  therefore  provide  their  boys  with  gardens,  10  feet 
wide  by  170  feet  in  length ;  and  pay  an  experienced 
gardener  to  direct  their  efforts.  To  encourage  a  start, 
bulbs,  seeds,  slips,  etc.,  are  supplied  free ;  while  prizes  of 
considerable  value  help  to  stimulate  competition. 

One  day,  ten  years  or  more  ago,  Mr.  Patterson  saw 
a  factory  girl  trying  to  warm  her  tin  bucket  of  cold  coffee 
at  the  steam  heater  in  the  workshop.  He  is  a  humane 
man,  and  acting  on  the  unintentional  hint  he  built  a 
lunch-room  which  contains,  besides  accommodation  for 
455  people,  a  piano  and  sewing-machine  which  the  women 
can  use  during  their  noon  recess  of  eighty  minutes.  A 
cooking  school,  dancing  classes,  and  literary  club  are  all 

57 


MODERN   MECHANISM 

available  to  members.  The  Company  encourages  its 
workers  to  own  the  houses  they  inhabit,  and  to  make 
them  as  beautiful  as  their  leisure  will  permit.  Mr.  Mosely, 
who  took  over  to  America  an  Industrial  Commission  of 
Experts  in  1902,  and  an  Educational  Commission  in  the 
following  year,  paid  visits  on  both  occasions  to  the 
National  Cash  Register  Works.  In  a  speech  to  the  Com- 
mittee he  said :  "  I  do  not  know  of  any  institution  in  the 
world  which  offers  so  beautiful  an  illustration  of  the 
proper  working  conditions  as  the  National  Cash  Register 
Company.  Your  President  has  asked  me  to  criticise. 
I  cannot  find  anything  to  criticise  in  this  factory.  I  have 
never  seen  such  conditions  in  any  other  factory  in  the 
world,  nor  have  I  ever  seen  so  many  bright  and  intelligent 
faces  as  we  have  seen  at  luncheon  in  both  the  men'^s  and 
women's  dining  rooms.  I  believe  this  factory  is  as  nearly 
perfect  as  social  conditions  will  permit."** 

Note. — The  author  desires  to  express  his  thanks  to  the  National 
Cash  Register  Company  for  the  kind  help  given  him  in  the  shape  of 
materials  for  writing  and  illustrating  this  chapter. 


58 


CHAPTER   III 
WORKSHOP  MACHINERY 

THE    LATHE PLANING    MACHINES THE    STEAM    HAMMER 

HYDRAULIC    TOOLS ELECTRICAL    TOOLS   IN    THE    SHIPYARD 

"AW  THEN    I    first    entered    this    city^'    said    Mr. 

\/\/  William  Fairbairn,  in  an  inaugural  address 
to  the  British  Association  at  Manchester  in 
1861 5  "  the  whole  of  the  machinery  was  executed  by  hand. 
There  were  neither  planing,  slotting,  nor  shaping  machines, 
and  with  the  exception  of  very  imperfect  lathes  and  a  few 
drills,  the  preparatory  operations  of  construction  were 
effected  entirely  by  the  hands  of  the  workmen.  Now,  every- 
thing is  done  by  machine  tools,  with  a  degree  of  accuracy 
which  the  unaided  hand  could  never  accomplish.  The 
automaton,  or  self-acting,  machine  tool  has  within  itself 
an  almost  creative  power ;  in  fact,  so  great  are  its  powers 
of  adaptation,  that  there  is  no  operation  of  the  human 
hand  that  it  does  not  imitate.*'"' 

If  such  things  could  be  said  with  justice  forty-five  years 
ago,  what  would  Mr.  Fairbairn  think  could  he  see  the 
wonderful  machinery  with  which  the  pr?sent-day  work- 
shop is  equipped — machinery  as  relatively  superior  to  the 
devices  he  speaks  of  as  they  were  superior  to  the  unaided 
efforts  of  the  human  hand  ?  Invention  never  stands  still. 
The  wonder  of  one  year  is  on  the  scrap-heap  of  aban- 

59 


MODERN   MECHANISM 

doned  machines  almost  before  another  twelve  months 
have  passed.  Some  important  detail  has  been  improved, 
to  secure  ease  or  economy  in  working,  and  a  more  efficient 
successor  steps  into  its  place.  In  his  curious  and  original 
Erewhon^  Mr.  Samuel  Butler  depicts  a  community  which, 
from  the  fear  that  machinery  should  become  too  ingenious, 
and  eventually  drain  away  man's  capacity  for  muscular 
and  mental  action,  has  risen  in  revolt  against  the  autom- 
aton, broken  up  all  machines  which  had  been  in  use  for 
less  than  270  years — with  the  exception  of  specimens  re- 
served for  the  national  museums — and  reverted  to  hand 
labour.  His  treatment  of  the  dangers  attending  the  in- 
creased employment  of  lifeless  mechanisms  as  a  substitute 
for  physical  effi3rt  does  not,  however,  show  sympathy  with 
the  Erewhonians ;  since  their  abandonment  of  invention 
had  obviously  placed  them  at  the  mercy  of  any  other  race 
retaining  the  devices  so  laboriously  perfected  during  the 
ages.  And  we,  on  our  part,  should  be  extremely  sorry  to 
part  with  the  inanimate  helpers  which  in  every  path 
of  life  render  the  act  of  living  more  comfortable  and  less 
toilsome. 

So  dependent  are  we  on  machinery,  that  we  owe  a 
double  debt  to  the  machines  which  create  machines. 
A  big  factory  houses  the  parents  which  send  out  their 
children  to  careers  of  usefulness  throughout  the  world. 
We  often  forget,  in  our  admiration  of  the  offspring,  the 
source  from  which  they  originated.  Our  bicycles,  so 
admirably  adapted  to  easy  locomotion,  owe  their  existence 
to  a  hundred  delicate  machines.  The  express  engine, 
hurrying  forward  over  the  iron  way,  is  but  an  assemblage 
of  parts  which  have  been  beaten,  cut,  twisted,  planed,  and 

60 


WORKSHOP  MACHINERY 

otherwise  handled  by  mighty  machines,  each  as  wonderful 
as  the  locomotive  itself.     But  then,  we  don't  see  these. 

This  and  following  chapters  will  therefore  be  devoted 
to  a  few  peeps  at  the  great  tools  employed  in  the  world's 
workshops. 

If  you  consider  a  moment,  you  will  soon  build  up  a 
formidable  list  of  objects  in  which  circularity  is  a 
necessary  or  desirable  feature  —  wheels,  shafts,  plates, 
legs  of  tables,  w^alking- sticks,  pillars,  parts  of  instru- 
ments, wire,  and  so  on.  The  Hindu  turner,  whose 
assistant  revolves  with  a  string  a  wooden  block  centred 
between  two  short  spiked  posts  let  into  the  ground,  while 
he  himself  applies  the  tool,  is  at  one  end  of  the  scale  of 
lathe  users  ;  at  the  other,  we  have  the  workman  who 
tends  the  giant  machine  slowly  shaping  the  exterior  of 
a  12-inch  gun,  a  propeller  shaft,  or  a  marble  column. 
All  aim  at  the  same  object — perfect  rotundity  of  surface. 

The  artisans  of  the  Middle  Ages  have  left  us,  in 
beautiful  balusters  and  cathedral  screens,  ample  proofs 
that  they  were  skilled  workmen  with  the  Turning-Lathe. 
At  the  time  of  the  Huguenot  persecutions  large  numbers 
of  French  artificers  crossed  the  Channel  to  England, 
bringing  with  them  lathes  which  could  cut  intricate 
figures  by  means  of  wheels,  eccentrics  and  other  devices 
of  a  comparatively  complicated  kind.  The  French  had 
undoubtedly  got  far  ahead  of  the  English  in  this  branch 
of  the  mechanical  arts,  owing,  no  doubt,  to  the  fact  that 
the  French  noblesse  had  condescended  to  include  turnery 
among  their  aristocratic  hobbies. 

With  the  larger  employment  of  metal  in  all  industries 
the  need  for  handling  it  easily  is  increased.    Much  greater 

6i 


MODERN   MECHANISM 

accuracy  generally  distinguishes  metal  as  compared  with 
woodwork.      "In  turning  a  piece  of  work  on  the  old- 
fashioned  lathe,  the  workman  applied  and  guided  his  tool 
by  means  of  muscular  strength.     The   work  was  made 
to  revolve,  and  the  turner,  holding  the  cutting  tool  firmly 
upon  the  long,  straight,  guiding  edge  of  the  rest,  along 
which  he  carried  it,  and  pressing  its  point  firmly  against 
the  article  to  be  turned,  was  thus  enabled  to  reduce  its 
surface  to  the  required  size  and  shape.     Some  dexterous 
turners  were  able,  with  practice  and  carefulness,  to  execute 
very  clever  pieces  of  work  by  this  simple  means.     But 
when  the  article  to  be  turned  was  of  considerable  size, 
and  especially  when  it  was  of  metal,  the  expenditure  of 
muscular  strength  was  so  great  that  the  workman  soon 
became  exhausted.    The  slightest  variation  in  the  pressure 
of  the  tool  led  to  an  irregularity  of  surface ;  and  with 
the  utmost  care  on  the  workman's  part,  he  could  not 
avoid    occasionally   cutting    a   little   too    deep,    in    con- 
sequence of  which  he  must  necessarily  go  over  the  surface 
again  to  reduce  the  whole  to  the  level  of  that  accidentally 
cut  too  deep,  and  thus  possibly  the  job  would  be  alto- 
gether  spoiled    by    the   diameter    of   the   article    under 
operation     being    made     too     small     for     its     intended 
purpose."  * 

Any  modern  worker  is  spared  this  labour  and  worry  by 
the  device  known  as  the  Slide-Rest.  Its  name  implies 
that  it  at  once  affords  a  rigid  support  for  the  tool,  and 
also  the  means  of  traversing  the  tool  in  a  straight  line 
parallel  to  the  metal  face  on  which  work  is  being  done. 

The    introduction    of   the    shde-rest    is    due    to    the 
*  Industrial  Biographies^  Dr.  S.  Smiles. 
62 


WORKSHOP  MACHINERY 

ingenuity  of  Mr.  Henry  Maudslay,  who,  at  the  com- 
mencement of  the  nineteenth  century,  was  a  foreman 
in  the  workshop  of  Mr.  Joseph  Bramah,  inventor  of  the 
famous  hydraulic  press  and  locks  which  bear  his  name. 
His  rest  could  be  moved  along  the  bed  of  the  lathe  by 
a  screw,  and  clamped  in  any  position  desired.  Fellow- 
workmen  at  first  spoke  derisively  of  "Maudslay'^s  go- 
cart^';  but  men  competent  to  judge  its  real  value  had 
more  kindly  words  to  say  concerning  it,  when  it  had  been 
adapted  to  machines  of  various  types  for  planing  as  well 
as  turnmg.  Mr.  James  Nasmyth  went  so  far  as  to  state 
that  "its  influence  in  improving  and  extending  the  use 
of  machinery  has  been  as  great  as  that  produced  by  the 
improvement  of  the  steam-engine  in  respect  to  perfecting 
manufactures  and  extending  commerce,  inasmuch  as  with- 
out the  aid  of  the  vast  accession  to  our  power  of  produc- 
ing perfect  mechanism  which  it  at  once  supplied,  we  could 
never  have  worked  out  into  practical  and  profitable  forms 
the  conceptions  of  those  master  minds  who,  during  the 
last  half  century,  have  so  successfully  pioneered  the  way 
for  mankind.  The  steam-engine  itself,  which  supplies  us 
with  such  unbounded  power,  owes  its  present  perfection 
to  this  most  admirable  means  of  giving  to  metallic  objects 
the  most  precise  and  perfect  geometrical  forms.  How 
could  we,  for  instance,  have  good  steam-engines  if  we 
had  not  the  means  of  boring  out  a  true  cylinder,  or 
turning  a  true  piston-rod,  or  planing  a  valve  face  ?  It 
is  this  alone  which  has  furnished  us  with  the  means  of 
carrying  into  practice  the  accumulated  results  of  scientific 
investigation  on  mechanical  subjects.*" 

The  screw-cutting  lathe  is  so  arranged  that  the  slide- 

63 


MODERN   MECHANISM 

rest  is  moved  along  with  its  tool  at  a  uniform  speed  by 
gear  wheels  actuated  by  the  mechanism  rotating  the 
object  to  be  turned.  By  changing  the  wheels  the  rate 
of  "feed"*'  may  be  varied,  so  that  at  every  revolution 
the  tool  travels  from  /^  of  an  inch  upwards  along  the 
surface  of  its  work.  This  regularity  of  action  adds 
greatly  to  the  value  of  the  slide-rest ;  and  the  screw 
device  also  enables  the  workman  to  chase  a  thread  of 
absolutely  constant  "pitch'''*  on  a  metal  bar;  so  that  a 
screw-cutting  lathe  is  not  only  a  shaping  machine  but 
also  the  equivalent  of  a  whole  armoury  of  stocks  and 
dies. 

Some  lathes  have  rests  which  carry  several  tools  held  at 
different  distances  from  its  axis,  the  cuts  following  one 
another  deeper  and  deeper  into  the  metal  in  a  manner 
exactly  similar  to  the  harvesting  of  a  field  of  corn  by  a 
succession  of  reaping  machines.  The  recent  improve- 
ments in  tool -steel  render  it  possible  to  get  a  much 
deeper  cut  than  formerly,  without  fear  of  injury  to  the 
tool  from  overheating.  This  results  in  a  huge  saving 
of  time. 

For  the  boring  of  large  cylinders  an  upright  lathe  is 
generally  used,  as  the  weight  of  the  metal  might  cause  a 
dangerous  "  sag '"  were  the  cylinder  attached  horizontally 
by  one  end  to  a  facing-plate.  Huge  wheels  can  also  be 
turned  in  this  type  of  machine  up  to  20  feet  or  more 
in  diameter ;  and  where  the  cross-bar  carrying  the  tools  is 
fitted  with  several  tool -boxes,  two  or  more  operations 
may  be  conducted  simultaneously,  such  as  the  turning  of 
the  flange,  the  boring  of  the  axle  hole,  and  the  facing  of 
the  rim  sides. 

64 


3^ 
-tl   O 


-^  s 

>  o 


bJO  flj 


^.E 


^1 


043 


WORKSHOP  MACHINERY 

Perhaps  the  most  imposing  of  all  lathes  are  those  which 
handle  large  cannon  and  propeller  shafts,  such  as  may  be 
seen  in  the  works  of  Sir  W.  G.  Armstrong,  Whitworth, 
and  Company ;  of  Messrs.  Vickers,  Sons  and  Maxim ;  and 
of  other  armament  and  shipbuilding  firms.  The  Mid- 
vale  Steel  Company  have  in  their  shops  at  Hamilton, 
Ohio,  a  monster  boring  lathe  which  will  take  in  a  shaft 
60  feet  long,  30  inches  in  diameter,  and  bore  a  hole 
from  one  end  to  the  other  14  inches  in  diameter.  To  do 
this,  the  lathe  must  attack  the  shaft  at  both  ends  simul- 
taneously, as  a  single  boring  bar  of  60  feet  would  not  be 
stiff  enough  to  keep  the  hole  cylindrical.  The  shaft  is 
placed  in  a  revolving  chuck  in  the  central  portion  of  the 
lathe — which  has  a  total  length  of  over  170  feet — and 
supported  further  by  two  revolving  ring  rests  on  each 
side  towards  the  extremities.  With  work  so  heavy,  the 
feeding  up  of  the  tool  to  its  surface  cannot  be  done 
conveniently  by  hand  control,  and  the  boring  bars  are 
therefore  advanced  by  hydraulic  pressure,  a  very  ingenious 
arrangement  ensuring  that  the  pressure  shall  never  become 
excessive. 

Perhaps  the  type  of  lathe  most  interesting  to  the  layman 
is  the  turret  lathe,  generally  used  for  the  manufacture  of 
articles  turned  out  in  great  numbers.  The  headstock — 
i.e.  the  revolving  part  which  grips  the  object  to  be  turned 
— is  hollow,  so  that  a  rod  may  be  passed  right  through  it 
into  the  vicinity  of  the  tools,  which  are  held  in  a  hexagon 
"turret,"'  one  tool  projecting  from  each  of  its  sides. 
When  one  tool  has  been  finished  with,  the  workman  does 
not  have  the  trouble  of  taking  it  out  of  the  rest  and 
putting  another  in  its  place ;  he  merely  turns  the  turret 
E  65 


MODERN   MECHANISM 

round,  and  brings  another  instrument  opposite  the  work. 
If  the  object — say  a  water-cock — requires  five  operations 
performing  on  it  in  the  lathe,  the  corresponding  tools  are 
arranged  in  their  proper  order  round  the  turret.  Stops 
are  arranged  so  that  as  soon  as  any  tool  has  advanced  as 
far  as  is  necessary  a  trip-action  checks  the  motion  of  the 
turret,  which  is  pulled  back  and  given  a  turn  to  make  it 
ready  for  the  next  attack. 

One  of  the  advantages  of  the  turret  lathe,  particularly 
of  the  automatic  form  which  shifts  roimd  the  tool-box 
without  human  intervention,  is  its  power  of  relieving  the 
operator  of  the  purely  mechanical  part  of  his  work. 
Those  who  are  familiar  with  the  inside  of  some  of  our 
large  workshops  will  have  noticed  men  and  boys  who 
make  the  same  thing  all  day  and  every  day,  and  are  them- 
selves not  far  removed  from  machines.  The  articles  they 
make  are  generally  small  and  very  rapidly  produced,  and 
the  endless  repetition  of  the  same  movements  on  the  part 
of  the  operator  is  very  tedious  to  watch,  and  must  be  in- 
finitely more  so  to  perform.  Such  an  occupation  is  not 
elevating,  and  those  engaged  in  it  cannot  take  much 
interest  in  their  work,  or  become  fitted  for  a  better  posi- 
tion. When  this  work  is  done  by  an  automatic  lathe  the 
machine  performs  the  necessary  operations,  and  the  man 
supplies  the  intelligence,  and,  by  exercising  his  thinking 
powers,  becomes  more  valuable  to  his  employers  and  him- 
self. The  introduction  of  new  machines  and  methods 
generally  has  a  stimulating  effect  on  the  whole  shop, 
whatever  the  Erewhonians  might  say.  The  hubs  and 
spindles  of  bicycles  are  cut  from  the  solid  bar  by  these 
automata;    the   tender   has   merely   to   feed   them    with 

66 


WORKSHOP  MACHINERY 

metal,  and  they  go  on  smoothing,  shaping,  and  cutting  off 
until  the  material  is  all  used  up.  The  existence  of  such 
lathes  largely  accounts  for  the  low  price  of  our  useful 
metal  steeds  at  the  present  time. 

A  great  amount  of  shaping  is  now  done  by  milling 
cutters  in  preference  to  firmly-fixed  edged  tools.  The 
cutter  is  a  rod  or  disc  which  has  its  sides,  end,  or  circum- 
ference serrated  with  deep  teeth,  shaped  to  the  section  of 
the  cut  needed.  Revolving  at  a  tremendous  speed,  it 
quickly  bites  its  way  into  anything  it  meets  just  so  far  as 
a  stop  allows  it  to  go. 

One  of  the  most  ingenious  machines  to  which  the  mill- 
ing tool  has  been  fitted  is  the  well-known  Blanchard 
lathe,  which  copies,  generally  in  wood,  repetitive  work, 
such  as  the  stocks  for  guns  and  rifles.  The  lathe  has  two 
sets  of  centres — one  for  the  copy,  the  other  for  the  model 
— parallel  on  the  same  bed,  and  turned  at  equal  speeds 
and  in  the  same  direction  by  a  train  of  gear  wheels.  The 
milling  cutter  is  attached  to  a  frame,  from  which  a  disc 
projects,  and  is  pressed  by  a  spring  against  the  model.  As 
the  latter  revolves,  its  irregular  shape  causes  the  disc, 
frame,  and  cutter  to  move  towards  or  away  from  its 
centre,  and  therefore  towards  or  away  from  the  centre  of 
the  copy,  which  has  all  superfluities  whisked  oft*  by  the 
cutter.  The  frame  is  gradually  moved  along  the  model, 
reproducing  in  the  rough  block  a  section  similar  to  the 
part  of  the  model  which  it  has  reached. 

The  self-centring  chuck  is  an  accessory  which  has 
proved  invaluable  for  saving  time.  It  may  most  easily 
be  described  as  a  circular  plate  which  screws  on  to  the 
inner  end  of  the  mandrel  (the  spindle  imparting  motion 

67 


MODERN   MECHANISM 

to  the  object  being  machined)  and  has  in  its  face  three 
slots  radiating  from  the  centre  at  angles  of  120°.  In  each 
slot  slides  a  stepped  jaw,  the  under  side  of  which  is  scored 
with  concentric  grooves  engaging  with  a  helical  scroll 
turned  by  a  key  and  worm  gear  acting  on  its  circum- 
ference. The  jaws  approach  or  recede  from  the  centre 
symmetrically,  so  that  if  a  circular  object  is  gripped,  its 
centre  will  be  in  line  with  the  axis  of  the  lathe.  Whether 
for  gripping  a  tiny  drill  or  a  large  wheel,  the  self-centring 
chuck  is  indispensable. 

PLANING-MACHINES 

Not  less  important  in  engineering  than  the  truly  curved 
surface  is  the  true  plane,  in  which,  as  Euclid  would  say, 
any  two  points  being  taken,  the  straight  line  between 
them  lies  wholly  in  that  superficies.  The  lathe  depends 
for  its  efficiency  on  the  perfect  flatness  of  all  areas  which 
should  be  flat — the  guides,  the  surface  plates,  the  bottom 
and  sides  of  the  headstock,  and,  above  all,  of  the  slide 
rest.  For  making  plane  metal  superficies,  a  machine  must 
first  be  constructed  which  itself  is  above  suspicion ;  but 
when  once  built  it  creates  machines  like  itself,  capable  of 
reproducing  others  ad  irifinitum. 

Many  amateur  carpenters  pride  themselves  on  the 
beautiful  smoothness  of  the  boards  over  which  they  have 
run  their  jack  planes.  Yet,  as  compared  with  the  bed 
of  a  lathe,  their  best  work  will  appear  very  inaccurate. 

The  engineer's  planing-machine  in  no  way  resembles  its 
wooden  relative.  In  the  place  of  a  blade  projecting  just 
a  little  way  through  a  surface  which  prevents  it  from 
cutting   too   deep   into   the   substance  over  which  it  is 

68 


I 


WORKSHOP  MACHINERY 


moving,  we  have  a  steel  chisel  very  similar  to  the  cutting 
tools  of  a  lathe  attached  to  a  frame  passing  up  and  down 
over  a  bed  to  which  the  member  holding  the  chisel  is 
perfectly  parallel.  The  article  to  be  planed  is  rigidly 
attached  to  the  bed  and  travels  with  it.  Between  every 
two  strokes  the  tool  is  automatically  moved  sideways, 
so  that  no  two  cuts  shall  be  in  the  same  line.  After 
the  whole  surface  has  been  "  roughed,'**  a  finishing  cutter 
is  brought  in  action,  and  the  process  is  repeated  with  the 
business  edge  of  the  tool  rather  nearer  to  the  bed. 

Joseph  Clement,  a  contemporary  of  Babbage,  Maudslay, 
and  Nasmyth,  is  usually  regarded  as  the  inventor  of  the 
planing-machine.  By  1825  he  had  finished  a  planer,  in 
which  the  tool  was  stationary  and  the  work  moving  under 
it  on  a  rolling  bed.  Two  cutters  were  attached  to  the 
overhead  cross  rail,  so  that  travel  in  either  direction 
might  be  utilised.  The  bed  of  the  machine,  on  which 
the  work  was  laid,  passed  under  the  cutters  on  perfectly 
true  rollers  or  wheels,  lodged  and  held  in  their  bearings  as 
accurately  as  the  best  mandrel  could  be,  and  having  set 
screws  acting  against  their  ends,  totally  preventing  all 
end-motion.  The  machine  was  bedded  on  a  massive  and 
solid  foundation  of  masonry  in  heavy  blocks,  the  support 
at  all  points  being  so  complete  as  effectually  to  destroy  all 
tendency  to  vibration,  with  the  object  of  securing  full, 
round,  and  quiet  cuts.  The  rollers  on  which  the  planing- 
machine  travelled  were  so  true,  that  Clement  himself  used 
to  say  of  them,  "  If  you  were  to  put  a  paper  shaving 
under  one  of  the  rollers  it  would  at  once  stop  the  rest."' 
Nor  was  this  an  exaggeration — the  entire  mechanism, 
notwithstanding  its  great  size,  being  as  true  and  accurate 

69 


MODERN   MECHANISM 

as  a  watch.''  *  Mr.  Clement  next  made  a  revolving  attach- 
ment for  the  bed,  in  which  bodies  could  be  revolved  under 
the  cutter,  on  an  axis  parallel  to  the  direction  of  travel. 
According  to  the  wish  of  the  operator,  the  object  was 
converted  into  a  cylinder,  cone,  or  prism  by  its  movements 
under  the  planing-tool.  So  efficient  was  the  machine  that 
it  earned  its  maker  upwards  of  ten  pounds  a  day,  at  the 
rate  of  about  eighteen  shillings  a  square  foot,  until  rivals 
appeared  in  the  field  and  finally  reduced  the  cost  of 
planing  to  a  few  pence  for  the  same  area. 

There  are  two  main  patterns  of  planes  now  in  general 
use.  The  first  follows  the  original  design  of  Clement ; 
the  second  has  a  fixed  bed  but  a  moving  tool.  Where 
the  work  is  very  heavy,  as  in  the  case  of  armour-plates 
for  battleships,  the  power  required  to  suddenly  reverse  the 
motion  of  a  vast  mass  of  metal  is  enormous,  many  times 
greater  than  the  energy  expended  on  the  actual  planing. 
For  this  reason  the  moving-bed  machines  have  had  to  be 
greatly  improved ;  and  in  some  cases  replaced  by  fixed-bed 
planers. 

It  is  an  impressive  sight  to  watch  one  of  these  huge 
mechanisms  reducing  a  rough  plate,  weighing  twenty  tons 
or  more,  to  a  smoothness  which  would  shame  the  best 
billiard  table.  The  machine,  which  towers  thirty  feet 
into  the  air  and  completely  dwarfs  the  attendant,  who 
has  it  as  thoroughly  under  control  as  if  it  were  a  small 
file,  bites  great  shining  strips  forty  feet  long,  maybe,  off 
the  surface  of  the  passive  metal,  and  leaves  a  series  of 
grooves  as  truly  parallel  as  the  art  of  man  can  make  them. 
There  is  no  fuss,  no  sticking,  no  stop,  no  noise ;  the  force 
*  Industrial  Biographies. 
70 


WORKSHOP  MACHINERY 

of  electricity  or  steam,  transmitted  through  wonderfully 
cut  and  arranged  gear-wheels,  is  irresistible.  The  tool,  so 
hard  that  a  journey  through  many  miles  of  steel  has  no 
appreciable  effect  on  its  edge,  shears  its  way  remorselessly 
over  the  surface  which  presently  may  be  tempered  to  a 
toughness  resembling  its  own.  If  you  want  to  resharpen 
the  tool,  it  will  be  no  good  to  attack  it  with  any  known 
metal.  But  somewhere  in  the  works  there  is  a  machine 
whose  buzzing  emery-wheels  are  more  than  a  match  for  it, 
and  rapidly  grind  the  blunted  edge  into  its  former  shape, 
so  that  it  is  ready  to  flay  another  plate,  one  skin  at  a 
time. 

Planing-machines  are  of  many  shapes.  Some  have  an 
upright  on  each  side  of  the  bed  limiting  the  width  of  the 
work  they  can  take  ;  others  are  open-sided,  one  support  of 
extra  strength  replacing  the  two,  enabling  the  introduc- 
tion of  a  plate  twice  as  broad  as  the  bed.  Others,  again, 
are  built  on  the  verge  of  a  pit,  so  that  they  may  cut  the 
edges  of  an  up-ended  plate,  and  make  it  fit  against  its 
fellows  so  truly  that  you  could  not  slip  a  sheet  of  paper 
edgeways  between  them.  Thus  has  man,  so  frail  and 
delicate  in  himself,  shaped  metal  till  it  can  torture  its 
kind  to  suit  his  will,  which  he  makes  known  to  it  by 
opening  this  valve  or  pulling  on  that  lever.  Not  only 
does  he  flay  it,  but  pierces  it  through  and  through ;  twists 
it  into  all  manner  of  shapes ;  hacks  masses  off*  as  easily  as 
he  would  cut  slices  from  a  loaf;  squeezes  it  in  terrible 
presses  to  a  fraction  of  its  original  thickness ;  and  other- 
wise so  treats  it  that  we  are  glad  that  our  scientific  obser- 
vations have  as  yet  discovered  no  sentience  in  the 
substances  reduced  to  our  service. 

71 


MODERN   MECHANISM 


THE    STEAM    HAMMER 

The  Scandinavian  god  Thor  was  a  marvellous  black- 
smith. Thursday  should  remind  us  weekly  of  Odin's  son, 
from  whose  hammer  flashed  the  lightning;  and,  through 
him,  of  Vulcan,  toiling  at  his  smithy  in  the  crater  of 
Vesuvius.  In  spite  of  the  pictures  drawn  for  us  by  pagan 
mythologists  of  their  god-smiths,  we  are  left  with  the 
doubt  whether  these  beings,  if  materialised,  might  not 
themselves  be  somewhat  alarmed  by  the  steam  hammer 
which  mere  mortals  wield  so  easily. 

The  forge  is  without  dispute  the  "show-place"  of  a  big 
factory,  where  huge  blocks  of  metal  feel  the  heavy  hand 
of  steam.  As  children  we  watched  the  blacksmith  at  his 
anvil,  attracted  and  yet  half-terrified  by  the  spark-showers 
flying  from  a  white-hot  horseshoe.  And  even  the  adult, 
long  used  to  startling  sights,  might  well  be  fascinated  and 
dismayed  by  the  terrific  blows  dealt  on  glowing  ingots  by 
the  mechanical  sledge. 

James  Nasmyth,  the  inventor  of  this  useful  machine, 
was  the  son  of  a  landscape  painter,  who  from  his  earliest 
youth  had  taken  great  interest  in  scientific  and  mechanical 
subjects  of  all  kinds.  At  fifteen  he  made  a  steam-engine 
to  grind  his  father's  paints,  and  five  years  later  a  steam 
carriage  "  that  ran  many  a  mile  with  eight  persons  on  it. 
After  keeping  it  in  action  two  months,"  he  says  in  an 
account  of  his  early  life,  "  to  the  satisfaction  of  all  who 
were  interested  in  it,  my  friends  allowed  me  to  dispose  of 
it,  and  I  sold  it— a  great  bargain— after  which  the  engine 
was  used  in  driving  a  small  factory.  I  may  mention  that 
in  that  engine  I  employed  the  waste  steam  to  cause  an 

72 


A  steam  hammer  at  work  in  Woolwich  Arsenal,  forging  a  steel  ingot  for  the  inner  tube  oC  a 
big  gun.  It  delivers  a  blow  e(iuivalent  to  the  momentum  of  a  falling  mass  weighing 
4000  tons.  As  speech  is  inaudible,  the  foreman  gives  hand  signals  to  direct  his  men,  who 
wear  large  canvas  lingerless  gloves  to  protect  their  hands  from  the  intense  heat. 


WORKSHOP  MACHINERY 

increased  draught  by  its  discharge  up  the  chimney.  This 
important  use  of  waste  steam  had  been  introduced  by 
George  Stephenson  some  years  before,  though  entirely 
unknown  to  me.**" 

This  interesting  peep  at  the  infancy  of  the  motor 
carriage  reveals  mechanical  capabilities  of  no  mean  order 
in  young  James.  He  soon  entered  the  service  of  Mr. 
Joshua  Field,  Henry  Maudslay's  partner,  and  in  1834  set 
up  a  business  on  his  own  account  at  Manchester, 

At  this  date  the  nearest  approach  to  the  modern  steam 
hammer  was  the  "tilt'*''  hammer,  operated  by  horse-,  water-, 
or  steam-power.  It  resembled  an  ordinary  hand  hammer 
on  a  very  large  scale,  but  as  it  could  be  raised  only  a 
small  distance  above  its  anvil,  it  became  less  effective  as 
the  size  of  the  work  increased,  owing  to  the  fall  being 
"gagged."'  In  1837  Mr.  Nasmyth  interviewed  the 
directors  of  the  Great  Western  Steamship  Company  with 
regard  to  the  manufacture  of  some  unusually  powerful 
tools  which  they  needed  for  forging  the  paddle-shaft  of  the 
Great  Bjitain.  As  the  invention  of  the  steam-engine  had 
demanded  the  improvement  of  turning  methods,  so  now 
the  increase  in  the  size  of  steamboats  showed  the  insuffi- 
ciency of  forging  machinery. 

Mr.  Nasmyth  put  on  his  thinking-cap.  Evidently  the 
thing  needed  was  a  method  for  raising  a  very  heavy  mass 
of  metal  easily  to  a  good  height,  so  that  its  great  weight 
might  fall  with  crushing  force  on  the  object  between  it 
and  the  anvil.  How  to  raise  it  ?  Brilliant  idea !  Steam  ! 
In  a  moment  Nasmyth  had  mentally  pictured  an  inverted 
steam  cylinder  rested  on  a  solid  upright  overhanging  the 
anvil  and  a  block  of  iron  attached  to  its  pi«ton-rod.     All 

73 


MODERN   MECHANISM 

that  would  then  be  necessary  was  to  admit  steam  to  the 
under  side  of  the  piston  until  the  block  had  risen  to  its 
fall  height,  and  to  suddenly  open  a  valve  which  would  cut 
oif  the  steam  supply  and  allow  the  vapour  already  in  the 
cylinder  to  escape. 

By  the  next  post  he  sent  a  sketch  to  the  company,  who 
approved  his  design  heartily,  but  were  unable  to  use  it, 
since  the  need  for  the  paddle-shaft  had  already  been 
nullified  by  the  substitution  of  a  screw  as  the  motive 
power  of  their  ship.  Poor  Nasmyth  knew  that  he  had 
discovered  a  "good  thing,''''  but  British  forge-masters, 
with  a  want  of  originality  that  amounted  to  sheer  blind 
stupidity,  refused  to  look  at  the  innovation.  "  We  have 
not  orders  enough  to  keep  in  work  the  forge-hammers  we 
have,"'  they  wrote,  "  and  we  don''t  want  any  new  ones,  how- 
ever improved  they  may  be.'''' 

His  invention,  therefore,  appeared  doomed  to  failure. 
Help,  however,  came  from  France  in  the  person  of 
Mr.  Schneider,  founder  of  the  famous  Creusot  Iron 
Works,  notorious  afterwards  as  the  birthplace  of  the 
Boer  "  Long  Toms.''  Mr.  Nasmyth  happened  to  be  away 
when  Mr.  Schneider  and  a  friend  called  at  the  Manchester 
works,  but  his  partner,  Mr.  Gaskell,  showed  the  French 
visitors  round  the  works,  and  also  told  them  of  the  pro- 
posed steam  hammer.  The  designs  were  brought  out,  so 
that  its  details  might  be  clearly  explained. 

Years  afterwards  Nasmyth  returned  the  visit,  and  saw 
in  the  Creusot  Works  a  crank-shaft  so  large  that  he  asked 
how  it  had  been  forged.  "By  means  of  your  steam 
hammer,'*'*  came  the  reply.  You  may  imagine  Nasmyth'^s 
surprise  on  finding  the  very  machine  at  work  in  France 

74 


WORKSHOP  MACHINERY 

which   his   own   countrymen   had   so   despised,   and    his 
delight  over  its  obvious  success. 

On  returning  home  he  at  once  raised  money  enough  to 
secure  a  patent,  protected  his  invention,  and  began  to 
manufacture  what  has  been  described  as  "one  of  the 
most  perfect  of  artificial  machines  and  noblest  triumphs 
of  mind  over  matter  that  modern  English  engineers  have 
developed.**'  A  few  weeks  saw  the  first — a  30-cwt. — 
hammer  at  work.  People  flocked  to  watch  its  precision, 
its  beauty  of  action,  and  the  completeness  of  control 
which  could  arrest  it  at  any  point  of  its  descent  so  instan- 
taneously as  to  crack  without  smashing  a  nut  laid  on  the 
anvil.  "  Its  advantages  were  so  obvious  that  its  adoption 
soon  became  general,  and  in  the  course  of  a  few  years 
Nasmyth  steam  hammers  were  to  be  found  in  every  well- 
appointed  workshop  both  at  home  and  abroad.****  * 

Nasmyth'*s  invention  was  improved  upon  in  1853  by 
Mr.  Robert  Wilson,  his  partner  and  successor.  He  added 
an  automatic  arrangement  which  raised  the  "tup,****  or 
head,  automatically  from  the  metal  it  struck,  so  that  time 
was  saved  and  loss  of  heat  to  the  ingot  was  also  avoided. 
The  beauty  of  the  "  balance  valve,****  as  it  was  called,  will 
be  more  clearly  understood  if  we  remember  that  the 
travel  of  the  hammer  is  constantly  increasing  as  the  piece 
on  the  anvil  becomes  thinner  under  successive  blows. 
Under  the  influence  of  this  very  ingenious  valve  every 
variety  of  blow  could  be  dealt.  By  simply  altering  the 
position  of  a  tappet  lever  by  means  of  two  screws,  a  blow 
of  the  exact  force  required  could  be  repeated  an  indefinite 
number  of  times.  "  It  became  a  favourite  amusement  to 
*  Industrial  Biographies, 
75 


MODERN   MECHANISM 

place  a  wine-glass  containing  an  egg  upon  the  anvil,  and 
let  the  block  descend  upon  it  with  its  quick  motion ;  and 
so  nice  was  its  adjustment,  and  so  delicate  its  mechanism, 
that  the  great  block,  weighing  perhaps  several  tons,  could 
be  heard  playing  tap,  tap  upon  the  egg  without  even 
cracking  the  shell,  when,  at  a  signal  given  to  the  man  in 
charge,  down  would  come  the  great  mass,  and  the  egg  and 
glass  would  be  apparently,  as  Walter  Savage  Landor  has 
it,  '  blasted  into  space.' ''  * 

Later  on  Mr.  Wilson  added  an  equally  important 
feature  in  the  shape  of  a  double-action  hand-gear,  which 
caused  the  steam  to  act  on  the  top  as  well  as  the  bottom 
of  the  piston,  thus  more  than  doubling  the  effect  of  the 
hammer. 

The  largest  hammer  ever  made  was  that  erected  by  the 
Bethlehem  Iron  Company  of  Pennsylvania.  The  "  tup "' 
weighed  125  tons.  After  being  in  use  for  three  years  the 
owners  consigned  it  to  the  scrap-heap,  as  inferior  to  the 
hydraulic  press  for  the  manufacture  of  armour-plate, 
though  it  had  cost  them  £50,000.  They  then  erected  in 
its  stead,  for  an  equal  sum  of  money,  a  14,000-ton  pres- 
sure hydraulic  press,  which  fitly  succeeds  it  as  the  most 
powerful  of  its  kind  in  the  world. 

The  change  was  made  for  three  reasons.  First,  that 
the  impact  of  so  huge  a  block  of  metal  necessitates  the 
anvil  being  many  times  as  heavy,  and  even  then  the  shock 
to  surrounding  machinery  may  be  very  severe.  Secondly, 
the  larger  the  forging  to  be  hammered,  the  less  is  the 
reaction  of  the  anvil,  so  that  all  the  force  of  the  blow 
tends  to  be  absorbed  by  the  side  facing  the  hammer; 

*  Chambers's  EncyclopcBdia. 
76 


WORKSHOP  MACHINERY 

whereas  with  a  small  bar  the  anviPs  inertia  would  have 
almost  as  much  effect  as  the  actual  blow.  Thirdly,  the 
blow  of  the  hammer  is  so  instantaneous  that  the  metal 
has  not  time  to  "  flow  ""^  properly,  and  this  leads  to  imper- 
fect forgings,  the  surface  of  which  may  have  been  cracked. 
For  very  large  work,  therefore,  the  hammer  is  going  out 
of  fashion  and  the  press  coming  in,  though  for  lighter 
jobs  it  is  still  widely  used. 

Before  leaving  the  subject  we  may  glance  at  the 
double-headed  horizontal  hammer,  such  as  is  to  be  found 
in  the  forge-shop  of  the  Horwich  Railway  Works.  Two 
hammers,  carried  on  rails  and  rollers,  advance  in  unison 
from  each  side  and  pound  work  laid  on  a  support  between 
them.  Each  acts  as  anvil  to  the  other,  while  doing  its 
full  share  of  the  work.  So  that  not  only  is  a  great  deal 
of  weight  saved,  but  shocks  are  almost  entirely  absorbed ; 
while  the  fact  that  each  hammer  need  make  a  blow  of 
only  half  the  length  of  what  would  be  required  from  a 
single  hammer,  enables  twice  as  many  blows  to  be  delivered 
in  a  given  time. 

HYDRAULIC    TOOLS 

Before  discussing  these  in  detail  we  shall  do  well  to 
trace  the  history  of  the  Bramah  press,  which  may  be  said 
to  be  their  parent,  since  the  principle  employed  in  most 
hydraulic  devices  for  the  workshop,  as  also  the  idea  of 
using  water  as  a  means  of  transmitting  power  under 
pressure,  are  justly  attributed  to  Joseph  Bramah. 

If  you  take  a  dive  into  the  sea  and  fall  flat  on  the 
surface  instead  of  entering  at  the  graceful  angle  you  in- 
tended, you  will  feel  for  some  time  afterwards  as  if  an 
enemy    had    slapped    you    violently    on    the    chest    and 

77 


MODERN    MECHANISM 

stomach.  You  have  learnt  by  sad  experience  that  water, 
which  seems  to  offer  so  little  resistance  to  a  body  drawn 
slowly  through  it,  is  remarkably  hard  if  struck  violently. 
In  fact,  if  enclosed,  it  becomes  more  incompressible  than 
steel,  without  in  any  way  losing  its  fluidity.  We  possess 
in  water,  therefore,  a  very  useful  agent  for  transmitting 
energy  from  one  point  to  another.  Shove  one  end  of  a 
column  of  water,  and  it  gives  a  push  to  anything  at  its 
other  end ;  but  then  it  must  be  enclosed  in  a  tube  to 
guide  its  operation. 

By  a  natural  law  all  fluids  press  evenly  on  every  unit 
of  a  surface  that  confines  them.  You  may  put  sand  into 
a  bucket  with  a  bottom  of  cardboard  and  beat  hard  upon 
the  surface  of  the  sand  without  knocking  out  the  bottom. 
The  friction  between  the  sand  particles  and  the  buckets 
sides  entirely  absorbs  the  blow.  But  if  water  were  sub- 
stituted for  sand  and  struck  with  an  object  that  just 
fitted  the  bucket  so  as  to  prevent  the  escape  of  liquid, 
the  bottom,  and  sides,  too,  would  be  ripped  open.  The 
N^Titer  of  this  book  once  fired  a  candle  out  of  a  gun  at 
a  hermetically  sealed  tin  of  water  to  see  what  the  effect 
would  be.  (Another  candle  had  already  been  fired 
through  an  iron  plate  ^  of  an  inch  thick.)  The  impact 
sl'ightly  compressed  the  water  in  the  tin,  which  gave  back 
all  the  energy  in  a  recoil  which  split  the  sheet  metal  open 
and  flung  portions  of  it  many  feet  into  the  air.  But  the 
candle  never  got  through  the  side. 

This  affords  a  very  good  idea  of  the  almost  absolute 
incompressibility  of  a  liquid. 

We  may  now  retura  to  history.  Joseph  Bramah  was 
bom   in   1748   at    Barnsley,   in   Yorkshire.     As  the  son 

78 


WORKSHOP  MACHINERY 

of  a  farm  labourer  his  lot  in  life  would  probably  have 
been  to  follow  the  plough  had  not  an  accident  to  his 
right  ankle  compelled  him  to  earn  his  living  in  some 
other  way.  He  therefore  turned  carpenter  and  developed 
such  an  aptitude  for  mechanics  that  we  find  him,  when 
forty  years  old,  manufacturing  the  locks  with  which  his 
name  is  associated,  and  six  years  later  experimenting 
with  the  hydraulic  press.  This  may  be  described  simply 
as  a  large  cylinder  in  which  works  a  solid  piston  of  a 
diameter  almost  equal  to  that  of  the  bore,  connected  to 
a  force  pump.  Every  stroke  of  the  pump  drives  a  little 
water  into  the  cylinder,  and  as  the  water  pressure  is  the 
same  throughout,  the  total  stress  on  the  piston  end  is 
equal  to  that  on  the  pump  plunger  multiplied  by  the 
number  of  times  that  the  one  exceeds  the  other  in  area. 
Suppose,  then,  that  the  plunger  is  one  inch  in  diameter 
and  the  piston  one  foot,  and  that  a  man  drives  down 
the  plunger  with  a  force  of  1,000  lbs.,  then  the  total 
pressure  on  the  piston  end  will  be  144  x  1,000  lbs. ;  but 
for  every  inch  that  the  plunger  has  travelled  the  piston 
moves  only  yj^  of  an  inch,  thus  illustrating  the  law  that 
what  is  gained  in  time  is  lost  in  power,  and  vice  versa. 

The  great  difficulty  encountered  by  Bramah  was  the 
prevention  of  leakage  between  the  piston  and  the  cylinder 
walls.  If  he  packed  it  so  tightly  that  no  water  could 
pass,  then  the  piston  jammed  ;  if  the  packing  was  eased, 
then  the  leak  recommenced.  Bramah  tried  all  manner  of 
expedients  without  success.  At  last  his  foreman,  Henry 
Maudslay  —  already  mentioned  in  connection  with  the 
lathe  slide-rest  —  conceived  an  idea  which  showed  real 
genius  by  reason  of  its  very  simplicity.      Why  not,  he 

79 


MODERN   MECHANISM 

said,  let  the  water  itself  give  sufficient  tightness  to  the 
packing,  which  must  be  a  collar  of  stout  leather  with  an 
inverted  U-shaped  section  ?  This  suggestion  saved  the 
situation.  A  recess  was  turned  in  the  neck  of  the  cylinder 
at  the  point  formerly  occupied  by  the  stuffing-box,  and 
into  this  the  collar  was  set,  the  edges  pointing  downwards. 
When  water  entered  under  pressure  it  forced  the  edges 
in  different  directions,  one  against  the  piston,  the  other 
against  the  wall  of  the  recess,  with  a  degree  of  tightness 
proportioned  to  the  pressure.  As  soon  as  the  pressure 
was  removed  the  collar  collapsed,  and  allowed  the  piston 
to  pass  back  into  the  cylinder  without  friction.  A  similar 
device,  to  turn  to  smaller  things  for  a  moment,  is  em- 
ployed in  a  cycle  tyre  inflater,  a  cup-shaped  leather  being 
attached  to  the  rear  end  of  the  piston  to  seal  it  diu-ing 
the  pressure  stroke,  though  acting  as  an  inlet  valve  for 
the  suction  stroke. 

What  we  owe  to  Joseph  Bramah  and  Henry  Maudslay 
for  their  joint  invention — the  honour  must  be  divided,  like 
that  of  designing  the  steam  hammer  between  Nasmyth  and 
\Yilson — it  would  indeed  be  hard  to  estimate.  Wherever 
steady  but  enormous  effort  is  required  for  lifting  huge  girders, 
houses,  ships;  for  forcing  wheels  off  their  axles;  for  eleva- 
tors ;  for  advancing  the  boring  shield  of  a  tunnel ;  for  com- 
pressing hay,  wool,  cotton,  wood,  even  metal ;  for  riveting, 
bending,  drilling  steel  plates — there  you  will  find  some  modi- 
fication of  the  hydraulic  press  useful,  if  not  indispensable. 

However,  as  we  are  now  prepared  for  a  consideration  of 
details,  we  may  return  to  our  workshop,  and  see  what 
water  is  doing  there.  Outside  stands  a  cylindrical  object 
many  feet  broad  and  high,  which  can  move  up  and  down 

80 


WORKSHOP  MACHINERY 

in  vertical  guides.  If  you  peep  underneath,  you  notice 
the  shining  steel  shaft  which  supports  the  entire  weight 
of  this  tank  or  coffer  filled  with  heavy  articles — stones, 
scrap  iron,  etc.  The  shaft  is  the  piston-plunger  of  a  very 
long  cylinder  connected  by  pipes  to  pumping  engines  and 
hydraulic  machines.  It  and  the  mass  it  bears  up  serves 
as  a  reservoir  of  energy.  If  the  pumping  engines  were 
coupled  up  directly  to  the  hydraulic  tools,  whenever  a 
workman  desired  to  use  a  press,  drill,  or  stamp,  as  the 
case  might  be,  he  would  have  to  send  a  signal  to  the 
engine-man  to  start  the  pumps,  and  another  signal  to  tell 
him  when  to  stop.  This  would  lead  to  great  waste  of 
time,  and  a  danger  of  injuring  the  tackle  from  over 
driving.  But  with  an  accumulator  there  is  always  a 
supply  of  water  under  pressure  at  command,  for  as  soon 
as  the  ram  is  nearly  down,  the  engines  are  automatically 
started  to  pump  it  up  again.  In  short,  the  accumulator 
is  to  hydraulic  machinery  what  their  bag  is  to  bagpipes, 
or  the  air  reservoir  to  an  organ. 

In  large  towns  high-pressure  water  is  distributed 
through  special  mains  by  companies  who  make  a  business 
of  supplying  factories,  engineering  works,  and  other 
places  where  there  is  need  for  it,  though  not  sufficient 
need  to  justify  the  occupiers  in  laying  down  special  pump- 
ing plant.  London  can  boast  five  central  distributing 
stations,  where  engines  of  6,500  h.p.  are  engaged  in 
keeping  nine  large  accumulators  full  to  feed  120  miles 
of  pipes  varying  in  diameter  from  seven  inches  down- 
wards. The  pressure  is  700  lbs.  to  the  square  inch. 
Liverpool  has  twenty-three  miles  of  pipes  under  850  lbs. 
pressure;  Manchester  seventeen  miles  under  1,100  lbs. 
F  8i 


MODERN   MECHANISM 

To  these  may  be  added  Glasgow,  Hull,  Birmingham, 
Geneva,  Paris,  Berlin,  Antwerp,  and  many  other  large 
cities  in  both  Europe  and  the  United  States. 

For  very  special  purposes,  such  as  making  metal  forg- 
ings,  pressures  up  to  twelve  tons  to  the  square  inch  may  be 
required.  To  produce  this  '^  intensifiers  **"  are  used,  i.e, 
presses  worked  from  the  ordinary  hydraulic  mains  which 
pump  water  into  a  cylinder  of  larger  diameter  connected 
with  the  forging  press. 

The  largest  English  forging  press  is  to  be  found  in  the 
Openshaw  Works  of  Sir  W.  G.  Armstrong,  Whitworth, 
and  Company.  Its  duty  is  to  consolidate  armour-plate 
ingots  by  squeezing,  preparatory  to  their  passing  through 
the  rolling  mills.  It  has  one  huge  ram  78  inches 
in  diameter,  into  the  cylinder  of  which  water  is 
pumped  by  engines  of  4,000  h.p.,  under  a  pressure  of 
6,720  lbs.  to  the  square  inch,  which  gives  a  total  ram 
force  of  12,000  tons.  It  has  a  total  height  of  33  feet, 
is  22  feet  wide,  and  175  feet  long,  and  weighs  1,280 
tons.  On  each  side  of  the  anvil  is  a  trench  fitted  with 
platforms  and  machinery  for  moving  the  ingot  across  the 
ingot  block.  Two  100-ton  electric  cranes  with  hydraulic 
lifting  cylinders  serve  the  press. 

The  Bethlehem  Works  "  squeezer ''"'  has  two  rams,  each 
of  much  smaller  diameter  than  the  Armst^ong-^^^aitworth, 
but  operated  by  a  10|  tons  pressure  to  the  square  inch. 
It  handles  ingots  of  over  120  tons  weight  for  armour- 
plating.  In  1895  Mr.  William  Corey,  of  Pittsburg, 
took  out  a  patent  for  toughening  nickel  steel  plates  by 
subjecting  them,  while  heated  to  a  temperature  of 
2,000°  F.,  to  great  compression,  which  elongates  them  only 

82 


A    HUGE    HYDRAULIC    PRESS 


The  i2,ooo-ton  pressure  Whitworth  Hydraulic  Press,  used  for  consolidating  steel  ingots  for  armour- 
plating.  Water  is  forced  into  the  ram  cylinder  at  a  pressure  of  three  tons  to  the  squarj  inch. 
Notice  the  man  to  the  left  of  the  press. 


WORKSHOP  MACHINERY 

slightly,  though  reducing  their  thickness  considerably.  The 
heating  of  a  large  plate  takes  from  ten  to  twenty  hours ; 
it  is  then  ready  to  be  placed  between  the  jaws  of  the  big 
press,  which  are  about  a  foot  wide.  The  plate  is  moved 
forward  between  the  jaws  after  each  stroke  until  the  entire 
surface  has  been  treated.  At  one  stroke  a  17-inch 
plate  is  reduced  to  16  inches,  and  subsequent  squeezings 
give  it  a  final  thickness  of  14  inches.  Its  length  has 
meanwhile  increased  from  16  to  18|^  feet,  or  in  that  pro- 
portion, while  its  breadth  has  remained  practically  un- 
altered. A  simple  sum  shows  that  metal  which  originally 
occupied  32|  cubic  inches  has  now  been  compressed  into 
31  cubic  inches.  This  alteration  being  effected  without 
any  injury  to  the  surface,  a  plate  very  tough  inside  and 
very  hard  outside  is  made.  The  plate  is  next  reheated  to 
1,350°  F.,  and  allowed  to  cool  very  gradually  to  a  low 
temperature  to  "anneaP**  it.  Then  once  again  the  fur- 
naces are  started  to  bring  it  back  to  1,350°,  when  cold 
water  is  squirted  all  over  the  surface  to  give  it  a  proper 
temper.  If  it  bends  and  warps  at  all  during  this  process, 
a  slight  reheating  and  a  second  treatment  in  the  press 
restores  its  shape. 

The  hydraulic  press  is  also  used  for  bending  or  stamp- 
ing plates  in  all  manners  of  forms.  You  may  see  8-inch 
steel  slabs  being  quietly  squeezed  in  a  pair  of  huge  dies 
till  they  have  attained  a  semicircular  shape,  to  fit 
them  for  the  protection  of  a  man-of-war's  big -gun 
turret ;  or  thinner  stuff  having  its  ends  turned  over  to 
make  a  flange ;  or  still  slenderer  metal  stamped  into  the 
shape  of  a  complete  steel  boat,  as  easily  as  the  tinsmith 
stamps  tartlet  moulds.     In  another  workshop  a  pair  of 

^3 


MODERN    MECHANISM 

massive  jaws  worked  by  water  power  are  breaking  up  iron 
pigs  into  pieces  suitable  for  the  melting  furnace. 

The  manufacture  of  munitions  of  war  also  calls  for  the 
aid  of  this  powerful  ally.  Take  the  field-gun  and  its 
ammunition.  "  The  gun  itself  is  a  steel  barrel,  hydraulic- 
allv  forged,  and  afterwards  wire -wound;  the  carriage  is 
built  up  of  steel  plates,  flanged  and  shaped  in  hydraulic 
presses;  the  wheels  have  their  naves  composed  of  hydraulic- 
ally  flanged  and  corrugated  steel  discs,  and  even  the  tyres 
are  forced  on  cold  by  hydraulic  tvre-setters,  the  rams  of 
which  are  powerful  enough  to  reduce  the  diameter  of  the 
welded  tyre  until  the  latter  tightly  nips  the  wheel.  The 
shells  for  the  gun  are  punched  and  drawn  by  powerful 
hydraulic  presses,  and  the  copper  driving-bands  are  fixed 
on  the  projectiles  in  special  hydraulic  presses.  Quick- 
firing  cartridge-cases  are  capped,  drawn,  and  headed  by  an 
hydraulic  press,  whose  huge  mass  always  impresses  the 
uninitiated  as  absurdly  out  of  proportion  to  the  small  size 
of  the  finished  case,  and  finally  the  cordite  firing  charge 
is  dependent  on  hydraulic  presses  for  its  density  and 
shape.''  * 

The  press  for  placing  the  "  driving-band ""  on  a  shell  is 
particularly  interesting.  After  the  shell  has  been  shaped 
and  its  exterior  turned  smooth  and  true,  a  groove  is  cut 
round  it  near  the  rear  end.  Into  this  groove  a  band  of 
copper  is  forced  to  prevent  the  leakage  of  gas  from  the 
firing  charge  past  the  shell,  and  also  to  bite  the  rifling 
which  imparts  a  rotatory  motion  to  the  shell.  The  press 
for  performing  the  operation  has  six  cylinders  and  rams 
arranged  spoke-wise  inside  a  massive  steel  ring ;  the  rams 
*  Mr.  A.  F.  Fetch  in  Cassier^g  Magazine, 

84 


WORKSHOP  MACHINERY 

carrying  concave  heads  which,  when  the  full  stroke  is 
made,  meet  at  the  centre  so  as  to  form  a  complete  circle. 
^'  Pressure  is  admitted,''  says  Mr.  Fetch,  ''  to  the  cylinders 
by  copper  pipes  connected  up  to  a  circular  distributing 
pipe.  The  press  takes  water  from  the  700-pounds  main 
for  the  first  |-inch  of  the  stroke,  and  for  the  last  |-inch 
water  pressure  at  3  tons  per  square  inch  is  used.  The 
total  pressure  on  all  the  rams  to  band  a  6-inch  shell 
is  only  600  tons,  but  for  a  12-inch  shell  no  less  than 
2,800  tons  is  necessary.*" 

ELECTRIC    TOOLS    IN    A    SHIPYARD 

Of  late  years  electricity  has  taken  a  very  prominent 
part  in  workshop  equipment,  on  account  of  the  ease  with 
which  it  can  be  applied  to  a  machine,  the  freedom  from 
belting  and  overhead  gear  which  it  gives,  and  its  greater 
economy.  In  a  lathe-shop,  where  only  half  the  lathes  may 
be  in  motion  at  a  time,  the  shafting  and  the  belts  for  the 
total  number  is  constantly  whirling,  absorbing  uselessly 
a  lot  of  power.  If,  however,  a  separate  motor  be  fitted  to 
each  lathe,  the  workman  can  switch  it  on  and  off  at  his 
pleasure. 

The  New  York  Shipbuilding  Company,  a  very  modern 
enterprise,  depends  mainly  on  electrical  power  for  driving 
its  machinery,  in  preference  to  belting,  compressed  air, 
or  water.  Let  us  stroll  through  the  various  shops,  and 
note  the  uses  to  which  the  current  has  been  harnessed. 
Before  entering,  our  attention  is  arrested  by  a  huge  gantry 
crane,  borne  by  two  columns  which  travel  on  rails.  From 
the  cross  girder,  or  bridge,  88  feet  long,  hang  two  lift- 
ing  magnets,   worked  by  25   h.-p.    motors,   which    raise 

85 


MODERN   MECHANISM 

the  load  at  the  rate  of  20  feet  per  minute.  Motors  of 
equal  power  move  the  whole  gantry  along  its  rails  over 
the  great  piles  of  steel  plates  and  girders  from  which  it 
selects  victims  to  feed  the  maw  of  the  shops. 

The  main  building  is  of  enormous  size,  covering  with 
its  single  roof  no  less  than  eighteen  acres !  Just  imagine 
four  acres  of  skylights  and  two  acres  of  windows,  and  you 
may  be  able  to  calculate  the  little  glazier's  bill  that  might 
result  from  a  bad  hailstorm.  In  this  immense  chamber 
are  included  the  machine,  boiler,  blacksmith,  plate,  frame, 
pipe,  and  mould  shops,  the  general  storerooms,  the  build- 
ing ways,  and  outfitting  slips.  "The  material  which 
enters  the  plate  and  storage  rooms  at  one  end,  does  not 
leave  the  building  until  it  goes  out  as  a  part  of  the 
completed  ship  for  which  it  was  intended,  when  the  vessel 
is  ready  to  enter  service ;  there  are  installed  in  one  main 
building,  and  under  one  roof,  all  the  material  and 
machinery  necessary  for  the  construction  of  the  largest 
ship  known  to  commerce,  and  eight  sets  of  ship-ways, 
built  upon  masonry  foundations,  covered  by  roofs  of 
steel  and  glass,  and  spanned  by  cranes  up  to  100  tons 
lifting  capacity,  are  practically  as  much  a  part  of  the 
immense  main  building  as  the  boiler  shop  or  machine 
shop."  * 

A  huge  100-ton  crane  of  121-foot  span  dominates  the 

machine-shop  and  ship-ways  at  a  height  of  120  feet.     It 

"   toys  with  a  big  engine  or  boiler,  picking  it  up  when  the 

riveters,  caulkers,  and  fitters  have  done  their  work,  and 

dropping  it  gently  into  the  bowels  of  a  partly-finished 

'^  vessel.     A  number  of  smaller  cranes  run  about  with  their 

*  Cassiers  Magazine. 
86 


WORKSHOP  MACHINERY 

loads.  Those  which  handle  plates  are,  like  the  big  gantry 
already  referred  to,  equipped  with  powerful  electro-mag- 
nets which  fix  like  leeches  on  the  metal,  and  will  not  let 
go  their  hold  until  the  current  is  broken  by  the  pressing 
of  a  button  somewhere  on  the  bridge.  Sometimes  several 
plates  are  picked  up  at  once,  and  then  it  is  pretty  to  see 
how  the  man  in  charge  drops  them  in  succession,  one  here, 
another  there,  by  merely  opening  and  closing  the  switch  very 
quickly,  so  that  the  plate  furthest  from  the  magnets  falls 
before  the  magnetism  has  passed  out  of  the  nearer  plates. 

Another  interesting  type  is  the  extension-arm  crane, 
which  shoots  out  an  arm  between  two  pillars,  grips  some- 
thing, and  pulls  it  back  into  the  main  aisle,  down  which 
it  travels  without  impediment. 

On  every  side  are  fresh  wonders.  Here  is  an  immense 
rolling  machine,  fed  with  plates  27  feet  wide,  which  bends 
the  If -inch  thick  metal  as  if  it  were  so  much  pastry ;  or 
turns  over  the  edges  neatly  at  the  command  of  a  50  h.-p. 
motor.  There  we  have  an  electric  plate-planer  scrap- 
ing the  surface  of  a  sheet  half  the  length  of  a  cricket 
pitch.  As  soon  as  a  stroke  is  finished  the  bed  reverses 
automatically,  while  the  tool  turns  over  to  offer  its  edge 
to  the  metal  approaching  from  the  other  side.  All  so 
quietly,  yet  irresistibly  done  ! 

Now  mark  these  punches  as  they  bite  1^-inch  holes 
through  steel  plates  over  an  inch  thick,  one  every  two 
seconds.  A  man  cutting  wads  out  of  cardboard  could 
hardly  perform  his  work  so  quickly  and  well.  Almost  as 
hoiTibly  resistless  is  the  circular  saw  which  eats  its  way 
quite  unconcernedly  through  bars  six  inches  square,  or 
snips  lengths  off  steel  beams. 

87 


MODERN   MECHANISM 

What  is  that  strange-looking  machine  over  there  ?  It 
has  three  columns  which  move  on  circular  rails  round  a 
table  in  the  centre.  Up  and  down  each  column  passes 
a  stage  caiTying  with  it  a  workman  and  an  electric  drill 
working  four  spindles.  Look !  here  comes  a  crane  with 
a  boiler  shell,  the  plates  of  which  have  been  bolted  in 
position.  The  crane  lets  down  its  load,  end-up,  on  to 
the  table,  and  trots  off,  while  the  three  workmen  move 
their  columns  round  till  the  twelve  drills  are  opposite 
their  work.  Then  whirr !  a  dozen  twisted  steel  points, 
ranged  in  three  sets  of  four,  one  drill  above  the  other, 
bite  into  the  boiler  plates,  opening  out  holes  at  mathema- 
tically correct  intervals  all  down  the  overlapping  seam- 
plates.  This  job  done,  the  columns  move  round  the 
boiler,  and  their  drills  pierce  it  first  near  the  lower 
edge,  then  near  the  upper.  The  crane  returns,  grips  the 
cylinder,  and  bears  it  off  to  the  riveters,  who  are  waiting 
with  their  hydi^aulic  presses  to  squeeze  the  rivets  into  the 
holes  just  made,  and  shape  their  heads  into  neat  hemi- 
spheres. As  it  swings  through  the  air  the  size  of  the 
boiler  is  dwarfed  by  its  suri'oundings ;  but  if  you  had  put 
a  rule  to  it  on  the  table  you  would  have  found  that  it 
measured  20  feet  in  diameter  and  as  many  in  length.  A 
few  months  hence  furnaces  will  rage  in  its  stomach,  and 
cause  it  to  force  tons  of  steam  into  the  mighty  cylinders 
driving  some  majestic  vessel  across  the  Atlantic. 

We  pass  giant  lathes  busy  on  the  propeller  shafts, 
huge  boring  mills  which  slowly  smooth  the  interior  of  a 
cylinder,  planers  which  face  the  valve  slides ;  and  we 
arrive,  eye-weary,  at  the  launching-ways  where  an  ocean 
liner  is  being  given  her  finishing  touches.     Then  we  begin 

S8 


WORKSHOP  MACHINERY 

to  moralise*  That  600-foot  floating  palace  is  a  concre- 
tion of  parts,  shaped,  punched,  cut,  planed,  bored,  fixed 
by  electricity.  Where  does  man  come  in  ?  Well,  he 
harnessed  the  current,  he  guided  it,  he  said  "  Do  this,^' 
and  it  did  it.  Does  not  that  seem  to  be  his  fair  share  of 
the  work  ? 


89 


CHAFl'ER  IV 
PORTABLE    TOOLS 

••  T  F  the  mountain  won't  come  to   Mahomet,"  says  the 
I    proverb,  '•  Mahomet  must  go  to  the  mountain^ 

This  is  as  true  in  the  workshop  as  outside: — Maho- 
met being  the  tool,  the  mountain  the  work  on  which  it 
must  be  used.  With  the  increase  in  size  of  machinery  and 
en^neerins:  materiah  methods  half  a  century  old  do 
not,  in  many  ca^es,  suffice  i  especially  at  a  time  when 
commercial  competition  has  gi'eatlv  reduced  the  margin  of 
profits  formerly  expected  bv  the  manufacturer. 

To  take  the  ca-e  of  a  large  shaft,  which  must  have  a 
slot  cut  along  it  on  one  side  to  accommodate  the  key- 
wedge,  which  holds  an  eccentric  for  moving  the  steam 
valves  of  a  cylinder,  or  a  screw-propeller,  so  that  it  can- 
not slip.  The  mass  weighs,  perhaps,  twenty  tons.  One 
way  of  doing  the  job  is  to  transport  the  shaft  under 
a  drill  that  will  cut  a  hole  at  each  end  of  the  slot  area, 
and  then  to  turn  it  over  to  the  planer  for  the  inteimiediate 
metal  to  be  scraped  out.  This  is  a  very  toilsome  and 
expensive  busine-s.  entailing  the  use  of  costly  machinery 
which  might  be  doing  more  useful  work,  and  the  sacrifice 
of  much  valuable  time.  Inventors  have  therefore  pro- 
duced portable  tools  which  can  perform  work  on  big 
bodies  just  as  efficiently  as  if  it  had  been  done  by  larger 

90 


PORTABLE   TOOLS 

machinery,  in  a  fraction  of  the  time  and  at  a  greatly 
reduced  cost.  To  quote  an  example,  the  cutting  of  a  key- 
way  of  the  kind  just  described  by  big  machines  would 
consume  perhaps  a  whole  day,  whereas  the  light,  portable, 
easily  attached  miller,  now  generally  used,  bites  it  out  in 
ninety  minutes. 

PNEUMATIC    TOOLS 

The  best  known  of  these  is  the  pneumatic  hammer.  It 
consists  of  a  cylinder,  inside  which  moves  a  solid  piston 
having  a  stroke  of  from  half  an  inch  to  six  inches.  Air 
is  supplied  through  flexible  tubing  from  a  compressing 
pump  worked  by  steam.  The  piston  beats  on  a  loose 
block  of  metal  carried  in  the  end  of  the  tool,  which  does 
the  actual  striking.  The  piston  suddenly  decreases  in 
diameter  at  about  the  centre  of  its  length,  leaving  a 
shoulder  on  which  air  can  work  to  effect  the  withdrawal 
stroke.  By  a  very  simple  arrangement  of  air-ports  the 
piston  is  made  to  act  as  its  own  valve.  As  the  plane  side 
of  the  piston  has  a  greater  area  than  that  into  which  the 
piston-rod  fits,  the  striking  movement  is  much  more 
violent  than  the  return.  Under  a  pressure  of  several 
hundreds  of  pounds  to  the  square  inch  a  pneumatic 
hammer  delivers  upwards  of  7,000  blows  per  minute ;  the 
quick  succession  of  comparatively  gentle  taps  having 
the  effect  of  a  much  smaller  number  of  heavier  blows. 
For  the  flat  hammer  head  can  be  substituted  a  curved  die 
for  riveting,  or  a  chipping  chisel,  or  a  caulking  iron,  to 
close  the  seams  of  boilers. 

The  riveter  is  peculiarly  useful  for  ship  and  bridge- 
building  work  where  it  is  impossible  to  apply  an  hydraulic 
tool.    A  skilled  workman  will  close  the  rivet  heads  as  fast 

91 


MODERN   MECHANISM 

as  his  assistant  can  place  them  in  their  holes ;  certainly  in 
less  than  half  the  time  needed  for  swing-hammer  closing. 

Even  more  effective  proportionately  is  the  pneumatic 
chipper.  The  writer  has  seen  one  cut  a  strip  off  the  edge 
of  a  half-inch  steel  plate  at  the  rate  of  several  inches  a 
minute.  To  the  uninitiated  beholder  it  would  seem 
impossible  that  a  tool  weighing  less  than  two  stone  could 
thus  force  its  way  through  solid  metal.  The  speed  of  the 
piston  is  so  high  that,  though  it  scales  but  a  few  pounds, 
its  momentum  is  great  enough  to  advance  the  chisel  a 
fraction  of  an  inch,  and  the  individual  advances,  following 
one  another  with  inconceivable  rapidity,  soon  total  up 
into  a  big  cut. 

Automatic  chisels  are  very  popular  with  ornamental 
masons,  as  they  lend  themselves  to  the  sculpturing  of 
elaborate  designs  in  stone  and  marble. 

Their  principle,  modified  to  suit  work  of  another 
character,  is  seen  in  percussive  rock  drills,  such  as  the 
Ingersoll  Sergeant.  In  this  case  the  piston  and  tool  are 
solid,  and  the  air  is  let  into  the  cylinder  by  means  of  slide 
valves  operated  by  tappets  which  the  piston  strikes  dm^ing 
its  movements.  Some  types  of  the  rock-drill  are  con- 
trollable as  to  the  length  of  their  stroke,  so  that  it  can  be 
shortened  while  the  "entry"*'  of  the  hole  is  being  made 
and  gradually  increased  as  the  hole  deepens.  For  perpen- 
dicular boring  the  drill  is  mounted  on  a  heavily  w^eighted 
tripod,  the  inertia  of  which  effectively  damps  all  recoil  from 
the  shock  of  striking ;  for  horizontal  work,  and  sometimes 
for  vertical,  the  support  is  a  pillar  wedged  between  the 
walls  of  the  tunnel,  or  shaft.  An  ingenious  detail  is  the 
rifled  bar  w^hich  causes  the  drill  to  rotate  slightly  on  its  axis 

92 


PORTABLE  TOOLS 

between  every  two  strokes,  so  that  it  may  not  jam.  The 
drills  are  light  enough  to  be  easily  erected  and  dismantled, 
and  compact,  so  that  they  can  be  used  in  restricted  and 
out-of-the  way  places,  while  their  simplicity  entails  little 
special  training  on  the  part  of  the  workman.  With 
pneumatic  and  other  power-drills  the  cost  of  piercing 
holes  for  explosive  charges  is  reduced  to  less  than  one- 
quarter  of  that  of  "jumping''  with  a  crowbar  and  sledge- 
hammers. With  the  hand  method  two  men  are  required, 
usually  more ;  one  man  to  hold,  guide,  and  turn  the  drill ; 
and  the  other,  or  others,  to  strike  the  blows  with  hammers. 
The  machine,  striking  a  blow  far  more  rapidly  than  can 
be  done  by  hand,  reduces  the  number  of  operators  to  one 
man,  and  perhaps  his  helper.  So  durable  is  the  metal  of 
these  wonderful  little  mechanisms  that  the  delivery  of 
360,000  blows  daily  for  months,  even  though  each  is 
given  with  a  force  of  perhaps  half  a  ton,  fails  to  wear 
them  out ;  or  at  the  most  only  necessitates  the  renewal  of 
some  minor  and  cheap  part.  The  debt  that  civilisation 
owes  to  the  substitution  of  mechanical  for  hand  labour  will 
be  fully  understood  by  anyone  who  is  conversant  with  the 
history  of  tunnel-driving  and  mining. 

Another  application  of  pneumatics  is  seen  in  the  device 
for  cutting  off  the  ends  of  stay  bolts  of  locomotive 
boilers.  It  consists  of  a  cylinder  about  fifteen  inches  in 
diameter,  the  piston  of  which  operates  a  pair  of  large 
nippers  capable  of  shearing  half-inch  bars.  The  whole 
apparatus  weighs  but  three-quarters  of  a  hundredweight, 
yet  its  power  is  such  that  it  can  trim  bolts  forty  times  as 
fast  as  a  man  working  with  hammer  and  cold-chisel,  and 
more  thoroughly. 

93 


MODERN  MECHANISM 

Then  there  is  the  machine  for  breaking  the  short  bolts 
which  hold  together  the  outer  and  inner  shells  of  the 
water-jacket  round  a  locomotive  furnace.  A  threaded 
bar,  along  Avhich  travels  a  nut,  has  a  hook  on  its  end  to 
catch  the  bolt.  The  nut  is  screwed  up  to  make  the 
proper  adjustment,  and  a  pneumatic  cylinder  pulls  on  the 
hook  with  a  force  of  many  tons,  easily  shearing  through 
the  bolt.  "  ^ 

We  must  not  forget  the  pneumatic  borer  for  cutting 
holes  in  wood  or  metal,  or  enlarging  holes  already  exist- 
ing. The  head  of  the  borer  contains  three  little  cylinders, 
set  at  an  angle  of  120%  to  rotate  the  drill,  the 
valves  opening  automatically  to  admit  air  at  very  high 
pressures  behind  the  pistons.  Any  carpenter  can  imagine 
the  advantage  of  a  drill  which  has  merely  to  be  forced 
against  its  work,  the  movement  of  a  small  lever  by  the 
thumb  doing  the  rest ! 

Next  on  the  list  comes  the  pneumatic  painter,  which 
acts   on    much   the   same   principle    as    the   scent-spray. 
Mechanical  painting  first  came  to  the  fore  in  1893,  when 
the  huge  Chicago  Exposition  provided  many  acres  of  sur- 
faces which  had  to  be  protected   from   the  weather   or 
hidden  from  sight.      The   following   description   of  one 
of  the  machines  used  to  replace  hand-work  is  given  in 
Ca^sier's  Magazine:  "The  paint  is  atomized  and  sprayed 
on  to  the  work  by  a  stream  of  compressed  air.     From  a 
small  air-compressor  the  air  is  led,  through  flexible  hose, 
to  a  paint-tank,  which  is  provided  with  an  air-tight  cover 
and  clamping  screws.     The  paint  is  contained  in  a  pot 
which  can  be  readily  removed  and  replaced  by  another 
when  a  different  colour  is  required.     This  arrangement  of 

94 


PORTABLE  TOOLS 

interchangeable  tins  is  also  important  as  facilitating  easy 
cleaning.  The  container  is  furnished  with  a  semi-rotary 
stiiTer,  the  spindle  passing  through  a  stuffing-box  in  the 
cover,  and  ending  in  a  handle  by  which  the  whole  thing 
complete  may  be  carried  about.  The  compressor  is  neces- 
sarily fixed  or  stationary,  but  the  paint-tank,  connected  to 
it  by  the  single  air-hose,  can  be  moved  close  to  the  work, 
while  the  length  of  hose  from  the  tank  to  the  nozzle  gives 
the  freedom  of  movement  necessary.  Air-pressure  is 
admitted  to  the  tank  by  a  bottom  valve,  and  forces 
the  paint  up  an  internal  pipe  and  along  a  hose  from  the 
tank  to  the  spraying  nozzle,  to  which  air-pressure  is  also 
led  by  a  second  hose.  The  nozzle  is  practically  an  in- 
jector of  special  form.  The  flow  of  paint  at  the  nozzle  is 
controlled  by  a  small  plug  valve  and  spring  lever,  on 
which  the  operator  keeps  his  thumb  while  working,  and 
which,  on  release,  closes  automatically.  When  it  is  re- 
quired to  change  from  one  colour  to  another,  or  to  use 
a  different  material,  such  as  varnish,  the  can,  previously 
in  use,  is  removed,  and  air,  or,  if  necessary,  paraffin  oil,  is 
blown  through  the  length  of  hose  which  supplies  the 
paint  until  it  is  completely  clean."  The  writer  then  men- 
tions as  an  instance  of  the  machine's  efficiency  that  it  has 
covered  a  30  feet  by  8  feet  boiler  in  less  than  an  hour, 
and  that  at  one  large  bridge  yard  a  70  feet  by  6  feet 
girder  with  all  its  projecting  parts  was  coated  with  boiled 
oil  in  two  hours — a  job  which  would  have  occupied  a  man 
with  a  brush  a  whole  day  to  execute.  Apart  from  saving- 
time,  the  machine  produces  a  surface  quite  free  from 
brush  marks,  and  easily  reaches  surfaces  in  intricate 
mouldings  which  are  difficult  to  get  at  with  a  brush. 

95 


MODERN   MECHANISM 

The  pneumatic  sand-jet  is  used  for  a  variety  of  purposes  : 
for  cleaning  off  old  paint,  or  the  weathered  surface  of 
stonework ;  for  polishing  up  castings  and  forgings  after 
they  have  been  brazed.  At  the  cycle  factory  you  will 
find  the  sand-jet  hard  at  work  on  the  joints  of  cycle 
frames,  which  must  be  cleared  of  all  roughness  before 
they  are  fit  for  the  enameller.  The  writer,  a  few  days 
before  penning  these  lines,  watched  a  jet  removing  London 
grime  from  the  face  of  a  large  hotel.  Down  a  side  street 
stood  a  steam-engine  busily  compressing  air,  which  was 
led  by  long  pipes  to  the  jet,  situated  on  some  lofty 
scaffolding.  The  rapidity  with  which  the  flying  grains 
scoured  off  smoke  deposits  attracted  the  notice  of  a  large 
crowd,  which  gazed  with  upturned  heads  at  the  whitened 
stones.  A  peculiarity  about  the  jet  is  that  it  proves 
much  more  effective  on  hard  material  than  on  soft,  as  the 
latter,  by  offering  an  elastic  surface,  robs  the  sand  of  its 
cutting  power. 

After  merely  mentioning  the  pneumatic  rammer  for 
forcing  sand  into  foundry  moulds,  we  pass  to  the 
pneumatic  sand-papering  machine,  which  may  be  described 
briefly  as  a  revolving  disc  carrying  a  circle  of  sand-paper 
on  its  face  revolved  between  guards  which  keep  it  flat  to 
its  work.  The  disc  flies  round  many  hundreds  of  times 
per  minute,  rapidly  wearing  down  the  fibrous  surface  of 
the  wood  it  touches.  When  the  coarse  paper  has  done 
its  work  a  finely-grained  cloth  is  substituted  to  produce 
the  finish  needful  for  painting. 


96 


CHAPTER  V 

THE   PEDRAIL:   A  WALKING 
STEAM-ENGINE 

HAVE  you  ever  watched  carefully  a  steam-roller's 
action  on  the  road  when  it  is  working  on  newly 
laid  stones  ?  If  you  have,  you  noticed  that  the 
stones,  gravel,  etc.,  in  front  of  the  roller  moved  with 
a  wave-like  motion,  so  that  the  engine  was  practically 
climbing  a  never-ending  hill.  No  wonder  then  that  the 
mechanism  of  such  a  machine  needs  to  be  very  strong, 
and  its  power  multiplied  by  means  of  suitable  gearing. 

Again,  suppose  that  an  iron-tyred  vehicle,  travelling  at 
a  rapid  pace,  meets  a  large  stone,  what  happens  ?  Either 
the  stone  is  forced  into  the  ground  or  the  wheel  must 
rise  over  it.  In  either  case  there  will  be  a  jar  to  the 
vehicle  and  a  loss  of  propulsive  power.  Do  not  all 
cyclists  know  the  fatigue  of  riding  over  a  bumpy  road 
— fatigue  to  both  muscles  and  nerves  ? 

As  regards  motors  and  cycles  the  vibration  trouble  has 
been  largely  reduced  by  the  employment  of  pneumatic 
tyres,  which  lap  over  small  objects,  and  when  they  strike 
large  ones  minimise  the  shock  by  their  buffer -like 
nature.  Yet  there  is  still  a  great  loss  of  power,  and  if 
pneumatic-tyred  vehicles  suffer,  what  must  happen  to  tlie 
solid,  snorting,  inelastic  traction-engine  ?  On  hard  roads 
G  97 


MODERN   MECHANISM 

it  rattles  and  bumps  along,  pulverising  stones,  crushing 
the  surface.  When  soft  ground  is  encountered,  in  sink 
the  wheels,  because  their  bearing  surface  must  be  in- 
creased until  it  is  sufficient  to  carry  the  engine's  weight. 
But  by  the  time  that  they  are  six  inches  below  the 
surface  there  will  be  a  continuous  vertical  belt  of  earth 
six  inches  deep  to  be  crushed  down  incessantly  by  their 
advance. 

How  much  more  favourably  situated  is  the  railway 
locomotive  or  truck.  Their  wheels  touch  metal  at  a 
point  but  a  fraction  of  an  inch  in  length;  consequently 
their  is  nothing  to  hamper  their  progression.  So  great 
is  the  difference  between  the  rail  and  the  road  that 
experiment  has  shown  that,  whereas  a  pull  of  from  8  to 
10  lbs.  will  move  a  ton  on  rails,  an  equal  weight  requires 
a  tractive  force  of  50  to  100  lbs.  on  the  ordinary  turnpike. 

In  order  to  obviate  this  great  wastage  of  power, 
various  attempts  have  been  made  to  provide  a  road 
locomotive  with  means  for  laying  its  own  rail  track  as 
it  proceeds.  About  forty  years  ago  Mr.  Boy  dell  con- 
structed a  wheel  which  took  its  own  rail  with  it,  the 
rails  being  arranged  about  the  wheel  like  a  hexagon 
round  a  circle,  so  that  as  the  wheel  moved  it  always 
rested  on  one  of  the  hexagon's  sides,  itself  flat  on  the 
ground.  This  device  had  two  serious  drawbacks.  In 
the  first  place,  the  plates  made  a  rattling  noise  which 
has  been  compared  to  the  reports  of  a  Maxim  gun ; 
secondly,  though  the  contrivance  acted  fairly  well  on 
level  ground,  it  failed  when  uneven  surfaces  were  en- 
countered. Thus,  if  a  brick  lay  across  the  path,  one 
end  of  a  plate  rested  on  the  brick,  the  pother  on  the 

98 


A  WALKING   STEAM-ENGINE 

ground  behind,  and  the  unsupported  centre  had  to  carry 
a  sudden,  severe  strain.  Furthermore,  the  plates,  being 
connected  at  the  angles  of  the  hexagon,  could  not  tilt 
sideways,  with  the  result  that  breakages  were  frequent. 

Of  late  years  another  inventor,  Mr.  J.  B.  Diplock,  has 
come  forward  with  an  invention  which  bids  fair  to  revolu- 
tionise heavy  road  traffic.  At  present,  though  it  has 
reached  a  practical  stage  and  undergone  many  tests 
satisfactorily,  it  has  not  been  made  absolutely  perfect, 
for  the  simple  reason  that  no  great  invention  jumps  to 
finality  all  at  once.  Are  not  engineers  still  improving 
the  locomotive  ? 

The  Pedrail,  as  it  has  been  named,  signifies  a  rail 
moving  on  feet.  Mr.  Diplock,  observing  that  a  horse 
has  for  its  weight  a  tractive  force  much  in  excess  of  the 
traction-engine,  took  a  hint  from  nature,  and  conceived 
the  idea  of  copying  the  horse's  foot  action.  The  reader 
must  not  imagine  that  here  is  a  return  to  the  abortive 
and  rather  ludicrous  attempts  at  a  walking  locomotive 
made  many  years  ago,  when  some  engineers  considered 
it  proper  that  a  railway  engine  should  be  propelled  by 
legs.  Mr.  Diplock's  device  not  merely  propels,  but  also 
steps,  Le.  selects  the  spot  on  the  ground  which  shall  be 
the  momentary  point  at  which  propulsive  force  shall 
be  exerted.  To  make  this  clearer,  consider  the  action 
of  a  wheel.  First,  we  will  suppose  that  the  spokes,  any 
number  you  please,  are  connected  at  their  outer  ends  by 
flat  plates.  As  each  angle  is  passed  the  wheel  falls  flop 
on  to  the  next  plate.  The  greater  the  number  of  the 
spokes,  the  less  will  be  each  successive  jar  (or  step) ;  and 
consequently  the   perfect  wheel    is  theoretically  one    in 

99 


MODERN   MECHANISM 

which  the  sides  have  been  so  much  multiplied  as  to  be 
infinitely  short. 

A  horse  has  practically  two  wheels,  its  front  legs  one, 
its  back  legs  the  other.  The  shoulder  and  hip  joints 
form  the  axles,  and  the  legs  the  spokes.  As  the  animal 
pulls,  the  leg  on  the  ground  advances  at  the  shoulder  past 
the  vertical  position,  and  the  horse  would  fall  forwards 
were  it  not  for  the  other  leg  which  has  been  advanced 
simultaneously.  Each  step  corresponds  to  our  many-sided 
wheel  falling  on  to  a  flat  side — and  the  "  hammer,  ham- 
mer, hammer  on  the  hard  high  road**^  is  the  horsey 
counterpart  of  the  metallic  rattle. 

On  rough  ground  a  horse  has  a  great  advantage  over 
a  wheeled  tractor,  because  it  can  put  its  feet  down  on  the 
top  of  objects  of  different  elevations,  and  still  pull.  A 
wheel  cannot  do  this,  and,  as  we  have  seen,  a  loss  of  power  I 
results.  Our  inventor,  therefore,  created  in  his  pedrail « 
a  compromise  between  the  railway  smoothness  and  ease  of 
running  and  the  selective  and  accommodating  powers  of 
a  quadruped. 

We  must  now  plunge  into  the  mechanical  details  of  the 
pedrail,  which  is,  strictly  speaking,  a  term  confined  to 
the  wheel  alone.  Our  illustration  will  aid  the  reader  to 
follow  the  working  of  the  various  parts. 

In  a  railway  we  have  {a)  sleepers,  on  the  ground, 
(6)  rails  attached  to  the  sleepers,  {c)  wheels  rolling  over 
the  rails.  In  the  pedrail  the  order,  reckoning  upwards, 
is  altered.  On  the  ground  is  the  ped^  or  movable  sleeper, 
carrying  wheels,  over  which  a  rail  attached  to  the  moving 
vehicle  glides  continuously.  The  principle  is  used  by 
anyone  who  puts  wooden  rollers  down  to  help  him  move 
heavy  furniture  about. 

lOO 


A  WALKING  STEAM-ENGINE 

Of  course,  the  peds  cannot  be  put  on  the  ground  and 
left  behind ;  they  must  accompany  their  rollers  and  rails. 
We  will  endeavour  to  explain  in  simple  words  how  this  is 
effected. 

To  the  axles  of  the  locomotive  is  attached  firmly  a  flat, 
vertical  plate,  parallel  to  the  sides  of  the  fire-box. 
Pivoted  to  it,  top  and  bottom,  at  their  centres,  are  two 
horizontal  rocking  arms  ;  and  these  have  their  extremities 
connected  by  two  bow-shaped  bars,  or  cams,  their  convex 
edges  pointing  outwards,  away  from  the  axle.  Powerful 
springs  also  join  the  rocking  arms,  and  tend  to  keep  them 
in  a  horizontal  position.  Thus  we  have  a  powerful  frame, 
which  can  oscillate  up  and  down  at  either  end.  The 
bottom  arm  is  the  rail  on  which  the  whole  weight  of  the 
axle  rests. 

The  rotating  and  moving  parts  consist  of  a  large,  flat, 
circular  case,  the  sides  of  which  are  a  few  inches  apart. 
Its  circumference  is  pierced  by  fourteen  openings,  pro- 
vided with  guides,  to  accommodate  as  many  short  sliding 
spokes,  which  are  in  no  way  attached  to  the  main  axle. 
Each  spoke  is  shaped  somewhat  like  a  tuning-fork.  In 
the  V  is  a  roller- wheel,  and  at  the  tip  is  a  "  ped,"'*'  or  foot. 
As  the  case  revolves,  the  tuning-fork  spokes  pass,  as  it 
were,  with  a  leg  on  each  side  of  the  framework  referred  to 
above ;  the  wheel  of  each  spoke  being  the  only  part  which 
comes  into  contact  with  the  frame.  Strong  springs  hold 
the  spokes  and  rollers  normally  at  an  equal  distance  from 
the  wheel's  centre. 

It  must  now  be  stated  that  the  object  of  the  framework 
is  to  thrust  the  rollers  outwards  as  they  approach  tlie 
ground,  and  slide  them  below  the  rail.    The  side-pieces  of 

lOI 


MODERN   MECHANISM 

the  frame  are,  as  will  be  noticed  (see  Fig.  3),  eccentric, 
i.e,  points  on  their  surfaces  are  at  different  distances  from 
the  axle  centre.  This  is  to  meet  the  fact  that  the  dis- 
tance from  the  axle  to  the  ground  is  greater  in  an  oblique 
direction  than  it  is  vertically,  and  therefore  for  three 
spokes  to  be  carrying  the  weight  at  once,  two  of  them  must 
be  more  extended  than  the  third.  So  then  a  spoke  is 
moved  outward  by  the  frame  till  its  roller  gets  under  the 
rail,  and  as  it  passes  off  it  it  gradually  slides  inwards 
again. 

It  will  be  obvious  to  the  reader  that,  if  the  "  peds '' 
were  attached  inflexibly  to  the  ends  of  their  spokes  they 
would  strike  the  ground  at  an  angle,  and,  of  course,  be 
badly  strained.  Now,  Mr.  Diplock  meant  his  "  peds  "  to 
be  as  like  feet  as  possible,  and  come  down  Jlat.  He 
therefore  furnished  them  with  ankles,  that  is,  ball-and- 
socket  joints,  so  that  they  could  move  loosely  on  their 
spokes  in  all  directions ;  and  as  such  a  contrivance  must 
be  protected  from  dust  and  dirt,  the  inventor  produced 
what  has  been  called  a  "crustacean  joint,"'  on  account  of 
the  resemblance  it  bears  to  the  overlapping  armour-plates 
of  a  lobster's  tail.  The  plates,  which  suggest  very  thin 
quoits,  are  made  of  copper,  and  can  be  renewed  at  small 
cost  when  badly  worn.  An  elastic  spring  collar  at  the 
top  takes  up  all  wear  automatically,  and  renders  the  plates 
noiseless.  This  detail  cost  its  inventor  much  work.  The 
first  joint  made  represented  an  expenditure  of  £6 ;  but 
now,  thanks  to  automatic  machinery,  any  number  can  be 
turned  out  at  3s.  6d.  each. 

A  word  about  the  feet.  A  wheel  has  fourteen  of  these. 
They  are  eleven  inches  in  diameter  at  the  tread,  and  soled 

102 


4 


A  WALKING   STEAM-ENGINE 

with  rubber  in  eight  segments,  with  strips  of  wood  between 
the  segments  to  prevent  suction  in  clay  soil.  The  segments 
are  held  together  by  a  malleable  cast-iron  ring  around  the 
periphery  of  the  feet  and  a  tightening  core  in  the  centre. 
These  wearing  parts,  being  separate  from  the  rest  of  the 
foot,  are  easily  and   cheaply  renewed,  and   repairs   can 


Fig.  3 

be  quickly  effected,  if  necessary,  when  on  the  road.  The 
surface  in  contact  with  the  ground  being  composed  of  the 
three  substances — metal,  wood,  and  rubber,  which  all  take 
a  bearing,  provides  a  combination  of  materials  adapted  to 
the  best  adhesion  and  wear  on  any  class  of  road,  or  even 
on  no  road  at  all. 

Motive  power  is  transmitted  by  the  machinery  to  the 

103 


MODERN  MECHANISM 

wheel  axle,  from  that  to  the  casing,  from  the  casing  to 
the  sliding  spokes.  As  there  are  alternately  two  and 
three  feet  simultaneously  in  contact  with  the  ground,  the 
power  of  adhesion  is  very  great— much  greater  than  that 
of  an  ordinary  traction-engine.  This  is  what  Professor 
Hele-Shaw  says  in  a  report  on  a  pedrail  tractor:  "The 
weight  of  the  engine  is  spread  over  no  less  than  twelve  feet, 
each  one  of  which  presses  upon  the  ground  with  an  area 
immensely  greater— probably  as  much  as  ten  times  greater 
— than  that  of  all  the  wheels  (of  an  ordinary  traction- 
engine)  taken  together  on  a  hard  road.  Upon  a  soft 
road  all  comparison  between  wheels  and  the  action  of 
these  feet  ceases.  The  contact  of  each  of  the  feet  of  the 
Pedrail  is  absolutely  free  from  all  slipping  action,  and 
attains  the  absolute  ideal  of  working,  being  merely  placed 
in  position  without  sliding  to  take  up  the  load,  and  then 
lifted  up  again  without  any  sliding  to  be  carried  to  a  new 
position  on  the  road.'' 

It  is  necessary  that  the  feet  should  come  down  flat  on 
the  ground.  If  they  struck  it  at  all  edgeways  they  would 
"  sprain  their  ankles '' ;  otherwise,  probably  break  off  at 
the  ball  joint.  Mechanism  was,  therefore,  introduced  by 
which  the  feet  would  be  turned  over  as  they  approached 
the  ground,  and  be  held  at  the  proper  angle  ready  for  the 
"  step.''  Without  the  aid  of  a  special  diagram  it  would 
be  difficult  to  explain  in  detail  how  this  is  managed ;  and 
it  must  suffice  to  say  that  the  chief  feature  is  a  friction- 
clutch  worked  by  the  roller  of  the  foot's  spoke. 

To  the  onlooker  the  manner  in  which  the  pedrail  crawls 
over  obstacles  is  almost  weird.  The  writer  was  shown  a 
small  working  model  of  a  pedrail,  propelled  along  a  board 

104 


A  WALKING  STEAM-ENGINE 

covered  with  bits  of  cork,  wood,  etc.  The  axle  of  the 
wheel  scarcely  moved  upwards  at  all,  and  had  he  not 
actually  seen  the  obstacles  he  would  have  been  inclined 


Fig.  4 

to  doubt  their  existence.  An  ordinary  wheel  of  equal 
diameter  took  the  obstructions  with  a  series  of  bumps 
and  bounds  that  made  the  contrast  very  striking. 

An  extreme  instance  of  the  pedraiPs  capacity  would  be 
afforded  by  the  ascent  of  a  flight  of  steps  (see  Fig.  4). 

105 


MODERN   MECHANISM 

In  such  a  case  the  three  "peds""  carrying  the  weight  of  an 
axle  would  not  be  on  the  same  level.  That  makes  no 
difference,  because  the  frame  merely  tilts  on  its  top  and 
bottom  pivots,  the  front  of  the  rail  rising  to  a  higher 
level  than  the  back  end,  and  the  back  spokes  being  pro- 
jected by  the  rail  much  further  than  those  in  front,  so 
that  the  engine  is  simply  levered  over  its  rollers  up  an 
inclined  plane.  Similarly,  in  descending,  the  front  spokes 
are  thrust  out  the  furthest,  and  the  reverse  action  takes 
place. 

With  so  many  moving  parts  everything  must  be  well 
lubricated,  or  the  wear  would  soon  become  serious.  The 
feet  are  kept  properly  greased  by  being  filled  with  a 
mixture  of  blacklead  and  grease  of  suitable  quality,  which 
requires  renewal  at  long  intervals  only.  The  sliding 
spokes,  rollers,  and  friction-clutches  are  all  lubricated  from 
one  central  oil-chamber,  through  a  beautiful  system  of 
oil-tubes,  which  provides  a  circulation  of  the  oil  through- 
out all  the  moving  parts.  The  central  oil-chamber  is 
filled  from  one  orifice,  and  holds  a  sufficient  supply  of  oil 
for  a  long  journey. 

We  may  now  turn  for  a  moment  from  the  pedrail  itself 
to  the  vehicles  to  which  it  is  attached.  Here,  again,  we 
are  met  by  novelties,  for  in  his  engines  Mr.  Diplock  has 
so  arranged  matters,  that  not  only  can  both  front  and 
back  pairs  of  wheels  be  used  as  drivers,  but  both  also 
take  part  in  the  steering.  As  may  be  imagined,  many 
difficulties  had  to  be  surmounted  before  this  innovation 
was  complete.  But  that  it  was  worth  while  is  evident 
from  the  small  space  in  which  a  double-steering  tractor 
can  tm-n,  thanks  to  both  its  axles  being  movable,  and 

io6 


A  WALKING   STEAM-ENGINE 

from  the  increased  power.  Another  important  feature 
must  also  be  noticed,  viz.  that  the  axles  can  both  tip 
vertically,  so  that  when  the  front  left  wheel  is  higher 
than  its  fellow,  the  left  back  wheel  may  be  lower  than 
the  right  back  wheel.  In  shorty  Jlea:ibility  and  power  are 
the  ideals  which  Mr.  Diplock  has  striven  to  reach.  How 
far  he  has  been  successful  may  be  gathered  from  the 
reports  of  experts.  Professor  Hele-Shaw,  F.R.s.5  says: 
"The  Pedrail  constitutes,  in  my  belief,  the  successful 
solution  of  a  walking  machine,  which,  whilst  obviating  the 
chief  objections  to  the  ordinary  wheel  running  upon  the 
road,  can  be  made  to  travel  anywhere  where  an  ordinary 
wheel  can  go,  and  in  many  places  where  it  cannot.  At 
the  same  time  it  has  the  mechanical  advantages  which 
have  made  the  railway  system  such  a  phenomenal  success. 
It  constitutes,  in  my  belief,  the  solution  of  one  of  the 
most  difficult  mechanical  problems,  and  deserves  to  be 
considered  as  an  invention  quite  apart  from  any  particular 
means  by  which  it  is  actuated,  whether  it  is  placed  upon 
a  self-propelled  carriage  or  a  vehicle  drawn  by  any  agency, 
mechanical  or  otherwise.  .  .  .  The  way  in  which  all  four 
wheels  are  driven  simultaneously  so  as  to  give  the 
maximum  pulling  effect  by  means  of  elastic  connection 
is  in  itself  sufficient  to  mark  the  engine  as  a  most  valuable 
departure  from  common  practice.  Hitherto  this  driving 
of  four  wheels  has  never  been  successfully  achieved,  partly 
because  of  the  difficulty  of  turning  the  steering-wheels, 
and  partly  because,  until  the  present  invention  of  Mr. 
Diplock,  the  front  and  hind  wheels  would  act  against  each 
other,  a  defect  at  first  experienced  and  overcome  by  the 
inventor  in  his  first  engine." 

107 


MODERN   MECHANISM 

On  January  8th,  1902,  Mr.  Diplock  tried  an  engine 
fitted  with  two  ordinary  wheels  behind  and  two  pedrails 
in  front.  The  authority  quoted  above  was  present  at  the 
trials,  and  his  opinion  will  therefore  be  interesting.  "The 
points  which  struck  me  immediately  were  (1)  the  marvel- 
lous ease  with  which  it  started  into  action,  (2)  the  little 
noise  with  which  it  worked.  .  .  .  Another  thing  which  I 
noticed  was  the  difference  in  the  behaviour  of  the  feet  and 
wheels.  The  feet  did  not  in  any  way  seem  to  affect  the 
surface  of  the  road.  Throwing  down  large  stones  the 
size  of  the  fist  into  their  path,  the  feet  simply  set  them- 
selves to  an  angle  in  passing  over  the  stones,  and  did  not 
crush  them ;  whereas,  the  wheel  coming  after  inva^riably 
crushed  the  stones,  and,  moreover,  distorted  the  road 
surface. 

"Coming  to  the  top  of  the  hill,  I  made  the  Pedrail 
walk  first  over  3-inch  planks,  then  6-inch,  and  finally  over 
a  9-inch  balk.  .  .  .  One  could  scarcely  believe,  on  wit- 
nessing these  experiments,  that  the  whole  structure  was 
not  permanently  distorted  and  strained,  whereas  it  was 
evidently  within  the  limits  of  play  allowed  by  the 
mechanism.  As  a  proof  of  this  the  Diplock  engine 
walked  down  to  the  works,  and  I  then  witnessed  its  ascent 
of  a  lane,  beside  the  engineering  works,  which  had 
ruts  eight  or  ten  inches  deep,  and  was  a  steep  slope. 
This  lane  was  composed  in  places  of  the  softest  mud,  and 
whereas  the  wheels  squeezed  out  the  ground  in  all  direc- 
tions, the  feet  of  the  Pedrails  set  themselves  at  the  angles 
of  the  rut  where  it  was  hard,  or  walked  through  the  soft 
and  yielding  mud  without  making  the  slightest  disturb- 
ance of  the  surrounding  ground.  ...  I  came  away  from 

io8 


A  WALKING   STEAM-ENGINE 

that  trial  with  the  firm  conviction  that  I  had  seen  what  I 
believe  to  be  the  dawn  of  a  new  era  in  mechanical  trans- 
port;' 

Mr.  Diplock  does  not  regard  the  pedrail  as  an  end  in 
itself  so  much  as  a  means  to  an  end,  viz.  the  development 
of  road-borne  traffic.  For  very  long  distances  which 
must  be  covered  in  a  minimum  of  time  the  railway  v/ill 
hold  its  own.  But  there  is  a  growing  feeling  that  unless 
the  railways  can  be  fed  by  subsidiary  methods  of  trans- 
port more  effectively  than  at  present,  and  unless  remote 
country  districts,  whither  it  would  not  pay  to  carry  even  a 
light  railway,  are  brought  into  closer  touch  with  the 
busier  parts,  our  communications  cannot  be  considered 
satisfactory,  and  we  are  not  getting  the  best  value  out  of 
our  roads.  For  many  classes  of  goods  cheapness  of  trans- 
portation is  of  more  importance  than  speed;  witness  the 
fact  that  coal  is  so  often  sent  by  canal  rather  than  by  rail. 

Here,  then,  is  the  chance  for  the  pedrail  tractor  and  its 
long  train  of  vehicles  fitted  with  pedrail  wheels,  which 
will  tend  to  improve  the  road  surfaces  they  travel  over. 
Mr,  Diplock  sets  out  in  his  interesting  book,  A  New 
System  of  Heavy  Goods  Transport  on  Common  Roads^ 
a  scheme  for  collecting  goods  from  "  branch  "  routes  on  to 
"  main "  routes,  where  a  number  of  cars  will  be  coupled 
up  and  towed  by  powerful  tractors.  With  ordinary  four- 
wheeled  trucks  it  is  difficult  to  take  a  number  round  a 
sharp  corner,  since  each  truck  describes  a  more  sudden 
circle  than  its  predecessor,  the  last  often  endeavouring  to 
climb  the  pavement.  Four-wheeled  would  therefore  be 
replaced  by  two-wheeled  trucks,  provided  with  special 
couplings  to  prevent  the  cars  tilting,  while  allowing  them 

109 


MODERN   MECHANISM 

to  turn.  Cars  so  connected  would  follow  the  same  track 
round  a  curve. 

The  body  of  the  car  would  be  removable,  and  of  a 
standard  size.  It  could  be  attached  to  a  simple  horse 
frame  for  transport  into  the  fields.  There  the  farmer 
would  load  his  produce,  and  when  the  body  was  full  it 
would  be  returned  to  the  road,  picked  up  by  a  crane 
attached  to  the  tractor,  swuno;  on  to  its  caiTiao-e  and 
wheels,  and  taken  away  to  join  other  cars.  By  making 
the  bodies  of  such  dimensions  as  to  fit  three  into  an 
ordinary  railway  truck,  they  could  be  entrained  easily. 
On  reaching  their  destination  another  tractor  would  lift 
them  out,  fit  them  to  wheels,  and  trundle  them  off  to  the 
consumer.  By  this  method  there  would  be  no  "  breaking 
bulk "'  of  goods  required  from  the  time  it  was  first  loaded 
till  it  was  exposed  in  the  market  for  sale. 

These  things  are,  of  course,  in  the  future.  Of  more 
present  importance  is  the  fact  that  the  War  Office  has 
from  the  first  taken  great  interest  in  the  new  invention, 
which  promises  to  be  of  value  for  military  transport  over 
ground  either  rough  or  boggy.  Trials  have  been  made 
by  the  authorities  with  encouraging  results.  That  daring 
^vriter,  Mr.  H.  G.  Wells,  has  in  his  Land  Ironclads 
pictured  the  pedrail  taking  an  offensive  part  in  warfare. 
Huge  steel-plated  forts,  mounted  on  pedi^ails,  and  full  of 
heavy  artillery  and  machine  guns,  sweep  slowly  across  the 
country  towards  where  the  enemy  has  entrenched  himself. 
The  forts  are  impervious  alike  to  shell  and  bullet,  but  as 
they  cross  ditch  or  hillock  in  their  gigantic  stride,  their 
artillery  works  havoc  among  their  opponents,  who  are 
finally  forced  to  an  unconditional  surrender. 


A  WALKING   STEAM-ENGINE 

Even  if  the  pedrail  is  not  made  to  carry  weapons  of 
destruction,  we  can,  after  our  experiences  with  horseflesh 
in  the  Boer  War,  understand  how  important  it  may  be- 
come for  commissariat  purposes.  The  feats  which  it  has 
already  performed  mark  it  as  just  the  locomotive  to  tackle 
the  rough  country  in  which  baggage  trains  often  find 
themselves. 

To  conclude  with  a  more  peaceful  use  for  it.  When 
fresh  country  is  opened  up,  years  must  often  pass  before 
a  proper  high  road  can  be  made,  yet  there  is  great  need 
of  an  organised  system  of  transport.  Whither  ordinary 
traction-engines,  or  carts,  even  horses,  could  scarcely 
penetrate,  the  pedrail  tractor,  thanks  to  its  big,  flat 
feet,  which  give  it,  as  someone  has  remarked,  the  appear- 
ance of  "a  cross  between  a  traction-engine  and  an 
elephant,"''  will  be  able  to  push  its  way  at  the  forefront 
of  advancing  civilisation. 

At  home  we  shall  have  good  reason  to  welcome  the 
pedrail  if  it  frees  us  from  those  terrible  corrugated  tracks 
so  dreaded  by  the  cyclist,  and  to  bless  it  if  it  actually 
beats  our  roads  down  into  a  greater  smoothness  than  they 
now  can  boast. 


Ill 


CHAPTER  VI 
INTERNAL   COMBUSTION  ENGINES 

OIL    ENGINES ENGINES    WORKED    WITH    PRODUCER    GAS BLAST 

FURNACE     GAS     ENGINES 

IF  carbon  and  oxygen  be  made  to  combine  chemically, 
the  process  is  accompanied  by  the  phenomenon  called 
heat.  If  heat  be  applied  to  a  liquid  or  gas  in  a 
confined  space  it  causes  a  violent  separation  of  its 
molecules,  and  power  is  developed. 

In  the  case  of  a  steam-engine  the  fuel  is  coal  (carbon 
in  a  more  or  less  pure  form),  the  fluid,  water.  By 
burning  the  fuel  under  a  boiler,  a  gas  is  formed  which, 
if  confined,  rapidly  increases  the  pressure  on  the  walls 
of  the  confining  vessel.  If  allowed  to  pass  into  a  cylinder, 
the  molecules  of  steam,  struggling  to  get  as  far  as 
possible  from  one  another,  will  do  useful  work  on  a 
piston  connected  by  rods  to  a  revolving  crank. 

We  here  see  the  combustion  of  fuel  external  to  the 
cylinder,  i.e.  under  the  boiler,  and  the  fuel  and  fluid  kept 
apart  out  of  actual  contact.  In  the  gas  or  oil-vapour 
engine  the  fuel  is  brought  into  contact  with  the  fluid 
which  does  the  work,  mixed  with  it,  and  burnt  inside 
the  cylinder.  Therefore  these  engines  are  termed  internal 
combustion  engines. 

Supposing  that  a  little  gunpowder  were  placed  in  a 

112 


INTERNAL   COMBUSTION   ENGINES 

cylinder,  of  which  the  piston  had  been  pushed  almost  as 
far  in  as  it  would  go,  and  that  the  powder  were  fired  by 
electricity.  The  charcoal  would  unite  with  the  oxygen 
contained  in  the  saltpetre  and  form  a  large  volume  of 
gas.  This  gas,  being  heated  by  the  ignition,  would  in- 
stantaneously expand  and  drive  out  the  piston  violently. 

A  very  similar  thing  happens  at  each  explosion  of  an 
internal  combustion  engine.  Into  the  cylinder  is  dra^vn 
a  charge  of  gas,  containing  carbon,  oxygen,  and  hydrogen, 
and  also  a  proportion  of  air.  This  charge  is  squeezed  by 
the  inward  movement  of  the  piston ;  its  temperature  is 
raised  by  the  compression,  and  at  the  proper  moment 
it  is  ignited.  The  oxygen  and  carbon  seize  on  one 
another  and  biu-n  (or  combine),  the  heat  being  increased 
by  the  combustion  of  the  hydrogen.  The  air  atoms  are 
expanded  by  the  heat,  and  work  is  done  on  the  piston. 
But  the  explosion  is  much  gentler  than  in  the  case  of 
gunpowder. 

During  recent  years  the  internal  combustion  engine  has 
been  making  rapid  progress,  ousting  steam  power  from 
many  positions  in  which  it  once  reigned  supreme.  We 
see  it  propelling  vehicles  along  roads  and  rails,  driving 
boats  through  the  water,  and  doing  duty  in  generating 
stations  and  smelting  works  to  turn  dynamos  or  drive 
air-pumps — not  to  mention  the  thousand  other  forms  of 
usefulness  which,  were  they  enumerated  here,  would  fill 
several  pages. 

A  decade  ago  an  internal  combustion  engine  of  100  h.p. 
was  a  wonder ;  to-day  single  engines  are  built  to  develop 
3,000  h.p.,  and  in  a  few  years  even  this  enormous  capacity 
will  doubtless  be  increased. 

H  113 


MODERN  MECHANISM 

It  is  interesting  to  note  that  the  rival  systems — gas 
and  steam — were  being  experimented  with  at  the  same 
time  by  Robert  Street  and  James  Watt  respectively. 
While  Watt  applied  his  genius  to  the  useful  development 
of  the  power  latent  in  boiling  water.  Street,  in  1794, 
took  out  letters  patent  for  an  engine  to  be  worked  by 
the  explosions  caused  by  vaporising  spirits  of  turpentine 
on  a  hot  metal  surface,  mixing  the  vapour  with  air  in  a 
cylinder,  exploding  the  mixture,  and  using  the  explosion 
to  move  a  piston.  In  his,  and  subsequent  designs,  the 
mixture  was  pumped  in  from  a  separate  cylinder  under 
slight  pressure.  Lenoir,  in  1860,  conceived  the  idea  of 
making  the  piston  suclc  in  the  charge,  so  abolishing  the 
need  of  a  separate  pump ;  and  many  engines  built  under 
his  patents  were  long  in  use,  though,  if  judged  by  modern 
standards,  they  were  very  wasteful  of  fuel.  Two  years 
later  Alphonse  Beau  de  Rochas  proposed  the  further 
improvement  of  utilising  the  cylinder,  not  only  as  a 
suction  pump,  but  also  as  a  compressor;  since  he  saw 
that  a  compressed  mixture  would  ignite  very  much 
more  readily  than  one  not  under  pressure.  Rochas  held 
the  secret  of  success  in  his  grasp,  but  failed  to  turn  it 
to  practical  account.  The  "Otto  cycle,"'  invented  by 
Dr.  Otto  in  1876,  is  really  only  Rochas's  suggestion 
materialised.  The  large  majority  of  internal  combustion 
engines  employ  this  "  cycle  *''*  of  operations,  so  we  may 
state  its  exact  meaning : — 

(1)  A  mixture  of  explosive  gas  and  air  is  drawn  into 
the  cylinder  by  the  piston  as  it  passes  outwards  {i,e,  in 
the  direction  of  the  crank),  through  the  inlet  valve. 

(2)  The  valve  closes,  and  the  returning  piston  com- 
presses the  mixture. 

114 


INTERNAL   COMBUSTION  ENGINES 

(3)  The  mixture  is  fired  as  the  piston  commences  its 
second  journey  outwards,  and  gives  the  "power"  stroke. 

(4)  The  piston,  returning  again,  ejects  the  exploded 
mixture  through  the  outlet  or  exhaust  valve,  which 
began  to  open  towards  the  end  of  the  third  stroke. 

Briefly  stated,  the  "  cycle ""  is — suction,  compression,  ex- 
plosion, expulsion;  one  impulse  being  given  during  each 
cycle,  which  occupies  two  complete  revolutions  of  the  fly- 
wheel. Since  the  first,  second,  and  third  operations  all 
absorb  energy,  the  wheel  must  be  heavy  enough  to  store 
sufficient  momentum  during  the  "power  **'  stroke  to  carry 
the  piston  through  all  its  three  other  duties. 

Year  by  year,  the  compression  of  the  mixture  has  been 
increased,  and  improvements  have  been  made  in  the 
methods  of  governing  the  speed  of  the  engine,  so  that 
it  may  be  suitable  for  work  in  which  the  "  load ''  is  con- 
stantly varying.  By  doubling,  trebling,  and  quadrupling 
the  cylinders  the  drive  is  rendered  more  and  more  steady, 
and  the  elasticity  of  a  steam-engine  more  nearly  ap- 
proached. 

The  internal  combustion  engine  has  "arrived"  so  late 
because  in  the  earlier  part  of  last  century  conditions  were 
not  favourable  to  its  development.  Illuminating  gas  had 
not  come  into  general  use,  and  such  coal  gas  as  was  made 
was  expensive.  The  great  oil-fields  of  America  and  Russia 
had  not  been  discovered.  But  while  the  proper  fuels  for 
this  type  of  motor  were  absent,  coal,  the  food  of  the 
steam-engine,  lay  ready  to  hand,  and  in  forms  which, 
though  useless  for  many  purposes,  could  be  advantageously 
burnt  under  a  boiler. 

Now  the  situation  has  altered.     Gas  is  abundant ;  and 

115 


MODERN  MECHANISM 

oil  of  the  right  sort  costs  only  a  few  pence  a  gallon. 
Inventors  and  manufacturers  have  grasped  the  oppor- 
tunity. To-day  over  SjOOOjOOO  h.p.  is  developed  con- 
tinuously by  the  internal  combustion  engine. 

Steam  would  not  have  met  so  formidable  a  rival  had 
not  that  rival  had  some  great  advantages  to  offer.  What 
are  these?  Well,  first  enter  a  factory  driven  by  steam 
power,  and  carefully  note  what  you  see.  Then  visit  a 
large  gas-  or  oil-engine  plant.  You  will  conclude  that  the 
latter  scores  on  many  points.  There  are  no  stokers  re- 
quired. No  boilers  threaten  possible  explosions.  The 
heat  is  less.  The  dust  and  dirt  are  less.  The  space 
occupied  by  the  engines  is  less.  There  is  no  noisome 
smoke  to  be  led  away  through  tall  and  expensive  chimneys. 
If  work  is  stopped  for  an  hour  or  a  day,  there  are  no  fires 
to  be  banked  or  drawn — involving  waste  in  either  case. 

Above  all,  the  gas  engine  is  more  efficient,  or,  if  you 
like  to  express  the  same  thing  in  other  words,  more 
economical.  If  you  use  only  one  horse-power  for  one 
hour  a  day,  it  doesn'^t  much  matter  whether  that  horse- 
power-hour costs  4d.  or  5d.  But  in  a  factory  where  a 
thousand  horse-power  is  required  all  day  long,  the  extra 
pence  make  a  big  total.  If,  therefore,  the  proprietor  finds 
that  a  shilling''s-worth  of  gas  or  oil  does  a  quarter  as 
much  work  again  as  a  shilling'*s-worth  of  coal,  and  that 
either  form  of  fuel  is  easily  obtained,  you  may  be  sure 
that,  so  far  as  economy  is  concerned,  he  will  make  up  his 
mind  without  difficulty  as  to  the  class  of  engine  to  be 
employed.  A  pound  of  coal  burnt  under  the  best  type 
of  steam-engine  gives  but  10  per  cent,  of  its  heating 
valuQ  in  useful  work.     A  good  oil-engine  gives  20-25  per 

ii6 


INTERNAL  COMBUSTION  ENGINES 

cent.,  and  in  special  types  the  figures  are  said  to  rise  to 
35-40  per  cent.  We  may  notice  another  point,  viz.  that, 
while  a  steam-engine  must  be  kept  as  hot  as  possible  to  be 
efficient,  an  internal  combustion  engine  must  be  cooled. 
In  the  former  case  no  advantage,  beyond  increased  effici- 
ency, results.  But  in  the  latter  the  water  passed  round 
the  cylinders  to  take  up  the  surplus  heat  has  a  value  for 
warming  the  building  or  for  manufacturing  processes. 

Putting  one  thing  with  another,  experts  agree  that 
the  explosion  engine  is  the  prime  mover  of  the  future. 
Steam  has  apparently  been  developed  almost  to  its  limit. 
Its  rival  is  but  half-grown,  though  already  a  giant. 

Some  internal  combustion  engines  use  petroleum  as 
their  fuel,  converting  it  into  gas  before  it  is  mixed  with 
air  to  form  the  charge ;  others  use  coal-gas  drawn  from 
the  lighting  mains ;  "poor  gas**'  made  in  special  plants  for 
power  purposes ;  or  natural  gas  issuing  from  the  ground. 
Natural  gas  occurs  in  very  large  quantities  in  the  United 
States,  where  it  is  conveyed  through  pipes  under  pressure 
for  hundreds  of  miles,  and  distributed  among  factories 
and  houses  for  driving  machinery,  heating,  and  cooking. 
In  England  and  Europe  the  petroleum  engine  and  coal- 
gas  engine  have  been  most  utilised ;  but  of  late  the 
employment  of  smelting-furnace  gases — formerly  blown 
into  the  air  and  wasted — and  of  "  producer  ^'  gas  has  come 
into  great  favour  with  manufacturers.  The  latest  develop- 
ment is  the  "suction'**  gas  engine,  which  makes  its  own 
gas  by  drawing  steam  and  air  through  glowing  fuel  during 
the  suction  stroke. 

We  will  consider  the  various  types  under  separate 
headings  devoted 

(1)  To  the  oil-fuel  engine, 

117 


MODERN   MECHANISM 

(2)  The  producer-gas  engine  and  the  suction-gas  engine, 

(3)  Blast-furnace  gas  engines, 

with  reference  to  the  installations  used  in  connection  with 
the  last  two. 

All  explosion  engines  (excepting  the  very  small 
types  employed  on  motor  cycles)  have  a  water-jacket 
round  the  cylinders  to  absorb  some  of  the  heat  of  combus- 
tion, which  would  otherwise  render  the  metal  so  hot  as  to 
make  proper  lubrication  impossible,  and  also  w^ould  un- 
duly expand  the  incoming  charge  of  gas  and  air  before 
compression.  The  ideal  engine  w^ould  take  in  a  full  charge 
of  cold  mixture,  which  would  receive  no  heat  from  the 
walls  of  the  cylinder,  and  during  the  explosion  would  pass 
no  heat  through  the  walls.  In  other  words,  the  ideal 
metal  for  the  cylinders  would  be  one  absolutely  non- 
receptive  of  heat.  In  the  absence  of  this,  engineers  are 
obliged  to  make  a  compromise,  and  to  keep  the  cylinder 
at  such  a  temperature  that  it  can  be  lubricated  fittingly, 
while  not  becoming  so  cold  as  to  absorb  too  much  of  the 
heat  of  explosion. 

OIL     ENGINES 

These  fall  into  two  main  classes : — 

{a)  Those  using  light,  volatile,  mineral  oils — such  as 
petrol  and  benzoline — and  alcohol,  a  vegetable  product. 

{h)  Those  using  heavy  oils,  such  as  paraffin  oil  (kerosene) 
and  the  denser  constituents  of  rock-oil  left  in  the  stills 
after  the  kerosene  has  been  driven  off.  American  petro- 
leum is  rich  in  burning-oil  and  petrol ;  Russian  in  the 
very  heavy  residue,  called  astakti.  Given  the  proper 
apparatus  for  vaporisation,  mineral  oils  of  any  density  can 
be  used  in  the  explosion  engine. 


INTERNAL   COMBUSTION  ENGINES 

The  first  class  is  so  well  known  as  the  mover  of  motor 
vehicles  and  boats  that  we  need  not  linger  here  on  it. 
It  may,  however,  be  remarked  that  engines  using  the 
easily- vaporised  oils  are  not  of  large  powers,  since  the  fuel 
is  too  expensive  to  make  them  valuable  for  installations 
where  large  units  of  power  are  needed.  They  have  been 
adopted  for  locomotives  on  account  of  their  lightness,  and 
the  ease  with  which  they  can  be  started.  Petrol  vaporises 
at  ordinary  temperatures,  so  that  air  merely  passed  over 
the  spirit  absorbs  sufficient  vapour  to  form  an  explosive 
mixture.  The  "jet"  carburetter,  now  generally  employed, 
makes  the  mixture  more  positive  by  atomising  the  spirit 
as  it  passes  through  a  very  fine  nozzle  into  the  mixing 
chamber  under  the  suction  from  the  cylinder.  On 
account  of  their  small  size  spirit  engines  work  at  very 
high  speeds  as  compared  with  the  large  oil  or  gas  engine. 
Thus,  while  a  2,000  h.p.  Korting  gas  engine  develops 
full  power  at  eighty-five  revolutions  a  minute,  the  tiny 
cycle  motor  must  be  driven  at  2,000  to  3,000  revolu- 
tions. Speaking  generally,  as  the  size  increases  the  speed 
decreases. 

Of  heavy  oil  engines  there  are  some  dozens  of  well- 
tried  types.  They  differ  in  their  methods  of  effecting  the 
following  operations. 

1.  The  feeding  of  the  oil  fuel  to  the  engine. 

2.  The  conversion  of  the  oil  into  vapour. 

3.  The  ignition  of  the  charge. 

4.  The  governing  of  speed. 

All  these  engines  have  a  vaporiser,  or  chamber  wherein 
the  oil  is  converted  into  gas  by  the  action  of  heat.  When 
starting-up  the  engine,  this  chamber  must  be  heated  by  a 

119 


MODERN   MECHANISM 

specially  designed  lamp,  similar  in  principle  to  that  used 
by  house  painters  for  burning  old  paint  off  wood  or 
metal. 

Let  us  now  consider  the  operations  enumerated  above 
in  some  detail. 

1.  The  oil  supply.  Fuel  is  transferred  from  the  storage 
tank  to  the  vaporiser  either  by  the  action  of  gi'avity 
through  a  regulating  device  to  prevent  "flooding,"''  or 
by  meaus  of  a  small  pump,  or  by  the  suction  of  the 
piston,  which  lifts  the  liquid.  In  some  engines  the  air 
and  gas  enter  the  cylinder  through  a  single  valve ;  in 
others  through  separate  valves. 

2.  Vaporisation.  As  already  remarked,  the  vaporising 
chamber  must  be  heated  to  start  the  engine.  When  work 
has  begun  the  lamp  m.ay  be  removed  if  the  engine  is  so 
designed  that  the  chamber  stores  up  sufficient  heat  in  its 
walls  from  each  explosion  to  vaporise  the  charge  for  the 
next  power  stroke.  The  Crossley  engine  has  a  lamp  con- 
tinuously burning ;  the  Homsby-Ackroyd  depends  upon 
the  storage  of  heat  from  explosions  in  a  chamber  opening 
into  the  cylinder.  The  best  designs  are  fahly  equally 
divided  between  the  two  systems. 

3.  Ignition  of  the  compressed  charge  is  effected  in  one 
of  four  ways :  by  bringing  the  charge,  at  the  end  of 
the  compression  stroke,  into  contact  with  a  closed  tube 
projecting  from  the  cylinder  and  heated  outside  by  a  con- 
tinuously burning  lamp ;  by  the  heat  stored  in  some  part 
of  the  combustion  chamber  {ix,  that  portion  of  the 
cylinder  not  swept  by  the  piston) ;  by  an  electric  spark ; 
or  by  the  mere  heat  of  compression.  The  second  and  third 
methods  are  confined  to  comparatively  few  makes;  and 

120 


INTERNAL   COMBUSTION   ENGINES 

the  Diesel  Oil  Engine  (of  which  more  presently)  has  a 
monopoly  of  the  fourth. 

4.  Governing,  All  engines  which  turn  machinery  doing 
intermittent  work — such  as  that  of  a  sawmill,  or  electric 
generating  plant  connected  with  a  number  of  motors — must 
be  very  carefully  guarded  from  over-ininning.  Imagine  the 
effect  on  an  engine  which  is  putting  out  its  whole  strength 
and  getting  full  charges  of  fuel,  if  the  belt  suddenly 
slipped  off*  and  it  were  ''  allowed  its  head/'  A  burst  fly- 
wheel would  be  only  one  of  the  results.  The  steam-engine 
is  easily  controlled  by  the  centrifugal  action  of  a  ball- 
governor,  which,  as  the  speed  increases,  gradually  spreads 
its  balls  and  lifts  a  lever  connected  with  a  valve  in  the 
steam  supply  pipe.  Owing  to  its  elastic  nature,  steam 
will  do  useful  work  if  admitted  in  small  quantities  to 
the  cylinder.  But  a  difficulty  arises  with  the  internal 
combustion  engine  if  the  supply  of  mixture  is  similarly 
throttled,  because  a  loss  of  quantity  means  loss  of  com- 
pression and  bad  ignition.  Many  oil  engines  are  there- 
fore governed  by  apparatus  which,  when  the  speed  exceeds 
a  certain  limit,  cuts  off*  the  supply  altogether,  either  by 
throwing  the  oil-pump  temporarily  out  of  action,  or  by 
lifting  the  exhaust  valve  so  that  the  movement  of  the 
piston  causes  no  suction— the  "  hit-and-miss  '*'  method,  as 
it  is  called. 

The  means  adopted  depends  on  the  design  of  the 
engine  ;  and  it  must  be  said  that,  though  all  the  devices 
commonly  used  effect  their  purpose,  none  are  perfect; 
this  being  due  rather  to  the  nature  of  an  internal  explo- 
sion engine  than  to  any  lack  of  ingenuity  on  the  part  of 
inventors.     The  steadiest  running  is  probably  given  with 


MODERN   MECHANISM 

the  throttle  control,  which  diminishes  the  supply.  On 
motor  cars  this  method  has  practically  ousted  the  "  hit- 
and-miss  "''  governed  exhaust  valve ;  but  in  stationary 
engines  we  more  commonly  find  the  speed  controlled  by 
robbing  the  mixture  of  the  explosive  gas  in  inverse  pro- 
portion to  the  amount  of  the  work  required  from  the 
engine. 

THE    DIESEL    OIL    ENGINE, 

on  account  of  some  features  peculiar  to  it,  is  treated 
separately.  In  1901  an  expert  wrote  of  it  that  "the 
engine  has  not  attained  any  commercial  position.*'"'  Herr 
Rudolph  Diesel,  the  inventor,  has,  however,  won  a  high 
place  for  his  prime-mover  among  those  which  consume 
liquid  fuel,  on  account  of  its  extraordinary  economy.  The 
makers  claim — as  the  result  of  many  tests — that  with  the 
crude  rock-oil  (costing  in  bulk  about  2d.  a  gallon)  which 
it  uses,  a  horse-power  can  be  developed  for  one  hour  by 
this  engine  for  one-tenth  of  a  penny.  The  daily  fuel  bill 
for  a  100  h.-p.  engine  running  ten  hours  per  day  would 
therefore  be  8s.  4<d.  To  compete  with  the  Diesel  engine  a 
steam  installation  would  have  to  be  of  the  very  highest 
class  of  triple-expansion  type,  of  not  less  than  400  h.p., 
and  using  every  hour  per  horse-power  only  If  lbs.  of  coal 
at  9s.  per  ton.  Very  few  large  steam-engines  work  under 
conditions  so  favourable,  and  with  small  sizes  3-4  lbs.  of 
coal  would  be  burnt  for  every  "  horse-power-hour. ''^ 

The   Diesel    differs    from    other    internal   combustion 
engines  in  the  following  respects : — 

1.  It  works  with  very  much  higher  compression. 

2.  The  ignition  is  spontaneous,  resulting  from  the  high 

compression  of  the  charge  alone. 

122 


INTERNAL   COMBUSTION   ENGINES 

3.  The  fuel  is  not  admitted  into  the  cylinder  until  the 

power-stroke  begins,  and  enters  in  the  form  of  a 
fine  spray. 

4.  The  combustion  of  the  fuel  is  much  slower,  and  there- 

fore gives  a  more  continuous  and  elastic  push  to  the 

piston. 
The  engine  works  on  the  ordinary  Otto  cycle.  To  start 
it,  air  compressed  in  a  separate  vessel  is  injected  into  the 
cylinder.  The  piston  flies  out,  and  on  its  return  squeezes 
the  air  to  about  500  lbs.  to  the  square  inch,  thus  render- 
ing it  incandescent.*  Just  as  the  piston  begins  to  move 
out  again  a  valve  in  the  cylinder-head  opens,  and  a  jet  of 
pulverised  oil  is  squirted  in  by  air  compressed  to  100  lbs. 
per  square  inch  more  than  the  pressure  in  the  cylinder. 
The  vapour,  meeting  the  hot  air,  bums,  but  comparatively 
slowly:  the  pressure  in  the  cylinder  during  the  stroke 
decreasing  much  more  gradually  than  in  other  engines. 
Governing  is  effected  by  regulation  of  the  amount  of  oil 
admitted  into  the  cylinder. 

*  The  fact  that  air  is  heated  to  combustion  point  by  compression 
has  long  been  known  to  the  Chinese.  In  The  River  of  Golden  Sandy 
Captain  Gill  writes  :  **  The  natives  have  an  apparatus  by  which  they 
strike  a  light  by  compressed  air.  The  apparatus  consists  of  a  wooden 
cylinder  24  inches  long  by  J  inch  in  diameter.  This  is  closed  at  one 
end ;  the  bore  being  about  the  size  of  a  stout  quill  pen,  an  air-tight 
piston  fits  into  this  with  a  large  flat  knob  at  the  top.  The  other  end 
of  the  piston  is  slightly  hollowed  out,  and  a  very  small  piece  of  tinder 
is  placed  on  the  top  thus  formed.  The  cylinder  is  held  in  one  hand, 
the  piston  inserted  and  pushed  about  half-way  down  ;  a  very  sharp 
blow  is  then  delivered  with  the  palm  of  the  hand  on  to  the  top  of  the 
knob ;  the  hand  must  at  the  same  time  close  on  the  knob,  and 
instantly  withdraw  the  piston,  when  the  tinder  will  be  found  alight. 
The  compression  of  the  air  produces  heat  enough  to  light  the  tinder ; 
but  this  will  go  out  again  unless  the  piston  is  withdrawn  very  sharply. 
I  tried  a  great  many  times,  but  covered  myself  with  confusion  in 
fruitless  efforts  to  get  a  light,  for  the  natives  never  miss  it" 

123 


MODERN   MECHANISM 

In  spite  of  its  high  compression  this  engine  runs  with 
very  little  vibration.  The  writer  saw  a  penny  stand 
unmoved  on  its  edge  on  the  top  of  a  cylinder  in  which 
the  piston  was  reciprocating  500  times  a  minute  ! 

ENGINES    WORKED    BY    PRODUCER-GAS 

These  engines  are  worked  by  a  special  gas  generated  in 
an  apparatus  called  a  "  producer."  If  air  is  forced 
through  incandescent  carbon  in  a  closed  furnace  its 
oxygen  unites  with  the  carbon  and  forms  carbonic  acid 
gas,  known  chemically  as  COg,  because  every  molecule  of 
the  gas  contains  one  atom  of  carbon  and  two  of  oxygen. 
This  gas,  being  the  product  of  combustion,  cannot  burn 
(i.e.  combine  with  more  oxygen),  but  as  it  passes  up 
through  the  glowing  coke,  coal,  or  other  fuel,  it  absorbs 
another  carbon  atom  into  every  molecule,  and  we  have 
C2O2,  or  2  CO,  which  we  know  as  carbon  monoooide.  This 
gas  may  be  seen  burning  on  the  top  of  an  open  fire  with 
a  very  pale  blue  flame,  as  it  once  more  combines  with 
oxygen  to  form  carbonic  acid  gas. 

The  carbon  monoxide  is  valuable  as  a  heating  agent, 
and  when  mixed  with  air  forms  an  explosive  mixture. 

If  along  with  the  air  sent  into  our  furnace  there  goes  a 
proportion  of  steam,  further  chemical  action  results.  The 
oxygen  of  the  steam  combines  with  carbon  to  form  carbon 
monoxide,  and  sets  free  the  hydrogen.  The  latter  gas, 
when  it  combines  with  oxygen  in  combustion,  causes 
intense  heat ;  so  that  if  from  the  furnace  we  can  draw  off 
carbon  monoxide  and  hydrogen,  we  shall  be  able  to  get  a 
mixture  which  during  combustion  will  set  up  great  heat 
in  the  cylinder  of  an  engine. 

124 


INTERNAL   COMBUSTION   ENGINES 

In  1878  Mr.  Emerson  Dowson  invented  an  apparatus 
for  manufacturing  a  gas  suitable  for  power  plant,  the  gas 
being  known  as  Producer  or  Poor  Gas,  the  last  term 
referring  to  its  poorness  in  hydrogen  as  compared  with 
coal  and  other  gases.  While  the  hydrogen  is  a  desirable 
ingredient  in  an  explosive  charge,  it  must  not  form  a 
large  proportion,  since  under  compression  it  renders  the 
mixture  in  which  it  takes  part  dangerously  combustible, 
and  liable  to  spontaneous  ignition  before  the  piston  has 
finished  the  compression  stroke.  Water-gas,  very  rich  in 
hydrogen,  and  made  by  a  very  similar  process,  is  therefore 
not  suitable  for  internal  combustion  engines. 

There  are  many  types  of  producers,  but  they  fall  under 
two  main  heads,  i.e.  the  pressure  and  the  suction. 

The  pressure  producer  contains  the  following  essential 
parts : — 

The  generator,  a  vertical  furnace  fed  from  the  top 
through  an  air-tight  trap,  and  shut  off  below  from  the 
outside  atmosphere  by  having  its  foot  immersed  in  water. 
Any  fuel  or  ashes  which  fall  through  the  bars  into  the 
water  can  be  abstracted  without  spoiling  the  draught. 
Air  and  steam  are  forced  into  the  generator,  and  pass  up 
through  the  fuel  with  the  chemical  results  already  de- 
scribed. The  gases  then  flow  into  a  cooler,  enclosed  in  a 
water-jacket,  through  which  water  circulates,  and  on  into 
a  scrubber,  where  they  must  find  their  way  upwards 
through  coke  kept  dripping  with  water  from  overhead 
jets.  The  water  collects  impurities  of  all  sorts,  and  the 
gas  is  then  ready  for  storage  in  the  gas-holders  or  for 
immediate  use  in  the  engines. 

A  pound  of  anthracite  coal  thus  burnt  will  yield 
enough  gas  to  develop  1  h.p.  for  one  hour. 

125 


MODERN   MECHANISM 

Suction  Gas  Plants, — With  these  gas  is  not  stored  in 
larger  quantities  than  are  needed  for  the  immediate  work 
of  the  engine.  In  fact,  the  engine  itself  during  its  suction 
strokes  draios  air  and  steam  through  a  very  small  furnace, 
coolers,  and  scrubbers  direct  into  the  cylinder.  The 
furnace  is  therefore  fed  with  air  and  water,  not  by  pres- 
sure from  outside,  but  by  suction  from  inside,  hence  the 
name  "  suction  producer.'**  At  the  present  time  suction 
gas  engines  are  being  built  for  use  on  ships,  since  a  pound 
of  fuel  thus  consumed  will  drive  a  vessel  further  than  if 
burnt  under  a  steam  boiler.  Very  possibly  the  big  ocean 
liners  of  twenty  years  hence  may  be  fitted  with  such 
engines  in  the  place  of  the  triple  and  quadruple  expansion 
steam  machinery  now  doing  the  work. 

BLAST-FURNACE    GAS    ENGINES 

Every  iron  blast-furnace  is  very  similar  in  construction 
and  action  to  the  generator  of  a  producer-gas  plant.  Into 
it  are  fed  through  a  hopper,  situated  in  the  top,  layers  of 
ore,  coal  or  coke,  and  limestone.  At  the  bottom  enters  a 
blast  of  air  heated  by  passing  through  a  stove  of  fire- 
brick raised  to  a  high  temperature  by  the  carbon 
monoxide  gas  coming  off  from  the  furnace.  When  the 
stove  has  been  well  heated  the  gas  supply  is  shut  off  from 
it  and  switched  to  the  engine-house  to  create  power  for 
driving  the  huge  blowers. 

The  gas  contains  practically  no  hydrogen,  as  the  air 
sent  through  the  furnace  is  Aiy ;  but  since  it  will  stand 
high  compression,  it  is  very  suitable  for  use  in  large 
engines.  Formerly  all  the  gas  from  the  furnace  was 
expelled  into  the  open  air  and  absolutely  wasted  ;   then 

126 


INTERNAL  COMBUSTION   ENGINES 

it  was  utilised  to  heat  the  forced  draught  to  the  furnace ; 
next,  to  burn  under  boilers ;  and  last  of  all,  at  the  sugges- 
tion of  Mr.  B.  H.  Thwaite,  to  operate  internal  combustion 
engines  for  blowing  purposes.  Thus,  in  the  fitness  of 
things,  we  now  see  the  biggest  gas  engines  in  the  world 
installed  where  gas  is  created  in  the  largest  quantities, 
and  an  interesting  cycle  of  actions  results.  The  engine 
pumps  the  air ;  the  air  blows  the  furnace  and  melts  the 
iron  out  of  the  ore ;  the  furnace  creates  the  gas ;  the  gas 
heats  the  air  or  works  the  engines  to  pump  more  air.  So 
engines  and  furnace  mutually  help  each  other,  instead  of 
all  the  obligation  being  on  the  one  side. 

When,  a  few  years  ago,  the  method  was  first  introduced, 
engines  were  damaged  by  the  presence  of  dust  carried  with 
the  gas  from  the  furnace.  Mr.  B.  H.  Thwaite  has,  how- 
ever, perfected  means  for  the  separation  of  injurious 
matter,  and  blast-furnace  gas  is  coming  into  general  use 
in  England  and  on  the  Continent.  Some  idea  of  the 
power  which  has  been  going  to  waste  in  ironworks  for 
decades  past  may  be  gathered  from  a  report  of  Professor 
Hubert  after  experiments  made  in  1900.  He  says  that 
engines  of  large  size  do  not  use  more  than  100  cubic  feet  of 
average  blast-furnace  gas  per  effective  horse-power-hour, 
which  is  less  than  one-fourth  of  the  consumption  of  gas 
required  to  develop  the  same  power  from  boilers  and  good 
modern  condensing  steam-engines,  so  that  there  is  an 
immense  surplus  of  power  to  be  obtained  from  a  blast- 
furnace if  the  blowing  engines  are  worked  by  the  gas  it 
generates,  a  surplus  which  can  be  still  further  increased  if 
the  gas  is  properly  cleaned.  It  is  estimated  that  for 
every  100  tons  of  coke  used  in  an  ordinary  Cleveland 

127 


MODERN   MECHANISM 

blast-furnace,  after  making  ample  allowance  for  gas  for 
the  stoves  and  power  for  the  lifts,  pumps,  etc.,  and  for 
gas  for  working  the  necessary  blowing  engines,  there  is  a 
surplus  of  at  least  1^500  h.p, ;  so  that  by  economising  gas 
by  cleaning,  and  developing  the  necessary  power  by  gas 
engines,  every  furnace  owner  would  have  a  very  large 
surplus  of  power  for  his  steel  or  other  works,  or  for  selling 
in  the  form  of  electricity  or  otherwise. 

Yet  all  this  gas  had  been  formerly  turned  loose  for  the 
breezes  to  warm  their  fingers  at !  Truly,  as  an  observant 
writer  has  recorded,  the  sight  of  a  special  plant  being 
put  up  near  a  blast  furnace  to  manufacture  gas  for  the 
blowing  engines  suggests  the  pumping  of  water  uphill  in 
order  to  get  water-power  ! 

Messrs.  Westgarth  and  Richardson,  of  Middlesbrough ; 
the  John  Cockerill  Company,  of  Seraing,  Belgium ;  and 
the  De  la  Vergne  Company,  of  New  York,  are  among  the 
chief  makers  of  the  largest  gas  engines  in  the  world, 
ranging  up  to  3,750  h.p.  each.  These  immense  machines, 
some  with  fly-wheels  30  feet  in  diameter,  and  cylinders 
spacious  enough  for  a  man  to  stand  erect  in,  work  blowers 
for  furnaces  or  drive  dynamos.  At  the  works  of  the 
manufacturers  mentioned  the  engines  helped  to  make 
the  steel,  and  turn  the  machinery  for  the  creation  of 
brother  monsters. 

This  use  of  a  "bye-product^  of  industry  is  remark- 
able, but  it  can  be  paralleled.  Furnace  slag,  once  cast 
aw^ay  as  useless,  is  now  recognised  to  be  a  valuable 
manure,  or  is  converted  into  bricks,  tiles,  cement,  and 
other  building  materials.  Again,  the  former  waste  from 
the  coal-gas  purifier  assumes  importance  as  the  origin  of 

128 


INTERNAL   COMBUSTION   ENGINES 

aniline  dyes,  creosote,  saccharine,  ammonia,  and  oils. 
We  really  appear  to  be  within  sight  of  the  happy  time 
when  waste  will  be  unknown.  And  it  therefore  is 
curious  that  we  still  burn  gas  as  an  illuminant,  when  the 
same,  if  made  to  work  an  engine,  would  give  more  light- 
ing power  in  the  shape  of  electric  current  supplying 
incandescent  lamps. 


129 


CHAPTER   VII 
MOTOR-CARS 

THE    MOTOR    OMNIBUS RAILWAY    MOTOR-CARS 

THE  development  of  the  motor-car  has  been  phe- 
nomenal. Early  in  1896  the  only  mechanically 
moved  vehicles  to  be  seen  on  our  roads  were  the 
traction-engine,  preceded  by  a  man  bearing  a  red  flag,  the 
steam-roller,  and,  in  the  towns,  a  few  trams.  To-day  the 
motor  is  apparent  everywhere,  dodging  through  street 
traffic,  or  raising  the  dust  of  the  country  roads  and  lanes, 
or  lumbering  along  with  its  load  of  merchandise  at  a 
steady  gait. 

As  a  purely  speed  machine  the  motor-car  has  practi- 
cally reached  its  limit.  With  100  h.p.  or  more  crowded 
into  a  vehicle  scaling  only  a  ton,  the  record  rate  of  travel 
has  approached  two  miles  in  a  minute  on  specially  pre- 
pared and  peculiarly  suitable  tracks.  Even  up  steep 
hills  such  a  monster  will  career  at  nearly  eighty  miles  an 
hour. 

Next  to  the  racing  car  comes  the  touring  car,  engined 
to  give  sixty  miles  an  hour  on  the  level  in  the  more 
powerful  types,  or  a  much  lower  speed  in  the  car  intended 
for  quieter  travel,  and  for  people  who  are  not  prepared  to 
face  a  big  bill  for  upkeep.  The  luxury  of  the  age  has 
invaded   the    design  of  automobiles  till  the  gorgeously 

130 


MOTOR-CARS 

decorated  and  comfortably  furnished  Pullman  of  the  rail- 
way has  found  a  counterpart  in  the  motor  caravan  with 
its  accommodation  for  sleeping  and  feeding.  While  the 
town  dweller  rolls  along  in  electric  landaulet,  screened 
from  wind  and  weather,  the  tourist  may  explore  the  roads 
of  the  world  well  housed  and  lolling  at  ease  behind  the 
windows  of  his  SjOOO-guinea  machine,  on  which  the 
engineer  and  carriage  builder  have  lavished  their  utmost 
skill. 

The  taunt  of  unreliability  once  levelled — and  with 
justice— »-at  the  motor-car,  is  fast  losing  its  force,  owing 
to  the  vast  improvements  in  design  and  details  which 
manufacturers  have  been  stimulated  to  make.  The  motor- 
car industry  has  a  great  future  before  it,  and  the  prizes 
therein  are  such  as  to  tempt  both  inventor  and  engineer. 
Every  week  scores  of  patents  are  granted  for  devices 
which  aim  at  the  perfection  of  some  part  of  a  car,  its 
tyres,  its  wheels,  or  its  engines.  Until  standard  types  for 
all  grades  of  motor  vehicles  have  been  established,  this 
restless  flow  of  ideas  will  continue.  Its  volume  is  the 
most  striking  proof  of  the  vitality  of  the  industry. 

The  uses  to  which  the  motor  vehicle  has  been  put  are 
legion.  On  railways  the  motor  carriage  is  catering  for 
local  traffic.  On  the  roads  the  motor  omnibus  is  steadily 
increasing  its  numbers.  Tradesmen  of  all  sorts,  and 
persons  concerned  with  the  distribution  of  commodities, 
find  that  the  petrol-  or  steam-moved  car  or  lorry  has 
very  decided  advantages  over  horse  traction.  Our  postal 
authorities  have  adopted  the  motor  mail  van.  The  War 
Office  looks  to  the  motor  to  solve  some  of  its  transporta- 
tion difficulties.     In  short,  the  ^' motor  age"'  has  arrived, 

131 


MODERN   MECHANISM 

which  will,  relatively  to  the  "railway  age,"*^  play  much  the 
same  part  as  that  epoch  did  to  the  "  horse  age."'  At  the 
ultimate  effects  of  the  change  we  can  only  guess ;  but  we 
see  already,  in  the  great  acceleration  of  travel  wherever 
the  motor  is  employed,  that  many  social  institutions  are 
about  to  be  revolutionised.  But  for  the  determined 
opposition  in  the  'thirties  of  last  century  to  the  steam 
omnibus  we  should  doubtless  live  to-day  in  a  very  differ- 
ent manner.  Our  population  would  be  scattered  more 
broadcast  over  the  country  instead  of  being  herded  in 
huge  towns.  Many  railways  would  have  remained  un- 
built, but  our  roads  would  be  kept  in  much  better  con- 
dition, special  tracks  having  been  built  for  the  rapid 
travel  of  the  motor.  We  have  only  to  look  to  a  country 
now  in  course  of  development  to  see  that  the  road,  which 
leads  everywhere,  will,  in  combination  with  the  motor 
vehicle,  eventually  supplant,  or  at  any  rate  render  un- 
necessary, the  costly  network  of  railways  which  must  be 
a  network  of  very  fine  mesh  to  meet  the  needs  of  a 
civilised  community. 

In  the  scope  of  a  few  pages  it  is  impossible  to  cover 
even  a  tithe  of  the  field  occupied  by  the  ubiquitous  motor- 
car, and  we  must,  therefore,  restrict  ourselves  to  a  glance 
at  the  manufacture  of  its  mechanism,  and  a  few  short  ex- 
cursions into  those  developments  which  promise  most  to 
alter  our  modes  of  life. 

We  will  begin  with  a  trip  over  one  of  the  largest  motor 
factories  in  the  world,  selecting  that  of  Messrs.  Dion  and 
Bouton,  whose  names  are  inseparable  from  the  history  of 
the  modern  motor-car.  They  may  justly  claim  that  to 
deal  with  the  origin,  rise,  and  progress  of  the  huge  busi- 

132 


I 


" 


MOTOR-CARS 

ness  which  they  have  built  up  would  be  to  give  an  account, 
in  its  general  lines,  of  all  the  phases  through  which  the 
motor,  especially  the  petrol  motor,  has  passed  from  its 
crudest  shape  to  its  present  state  of  comparative  per- 
fection. 

The  Count  Albert  de  Dion  was,  in  his  earlier  days, 
little  concerned  with  things  mechanical.  He  turned 
rather  to  the  fashionable  pursuit  of  duelling,  in  which  he 
seems  to  have  made  a  name.  But  he  was  not  the  man  to 
waste  his  life  in  such  inanities,  and  when,  one  day,  he  was 
walking  down  the  Paris  boulevards,  his  attention  was 
riveted  by  a  little  clockwork  carriage  exposed  for  sale 
among  other  New  Year's  gifts.  That  moment  was  fraught 
with  great  consequences,  for  an  inventive  mind  had  found 
a  proper  scope  for  its  energy.  Why,  thought  he,  could 
not  real  cars  be  made  to  run  by  some  better  form  of 
motive  power  ?  On  inquiring  he  learnt  that  a  workman 
named  Bouton  had  produced  the  car.  The  Count,  there- 
fore, sought  the  artisan ;  with  whom  he  worked  out  the 
problem  which  had  now  become  his  aim  in  life.  Hence  it 
is  that  the  names  "Dion — Bouton'"  are  found  on  thousands 
of  engines  all  over  the  world. 

The  partners  scored  their  first  successes  with  steam-  and 
petrol-driven  tricycles,  built  in  a  small  workshop  in  the 
Avenue  MalakofF  in  Paris.  The  works  were  then  trans- 
ferred to  Puteaux,  which  has  since  developed  into  the 
great  automobile  centre  of  the  world,  and  after  two  more 
changes  found  a  resting-place  on  the  Quai  National. 
Here  close  upon  3,000  hands  are  engaged  in  supplying  the 
world's  requirements  in  motors  and  cars.  Let  us  enter 
the  huge  block  of  buildings  and  watch  them  at  work. 

133 


MODERN   MECHANISM 

The  drawing-office  is  the  brain  of  the  factory.  Within 
its  walls  new  ideas  are  being  put  into  practical  shape  by 
skilled  draughtsmen.  The  drawings  are  sent  to  the  model- 
making  shop,  where  the  parts  are  first  fashioned  in  wood. 
The  shop  contains  dozens  of  big  benches,  circular  saws, 
and  planing  machines,  one  of  them  in  the  form  of  a 
revolving  drum  carrying  a  number  of  planes,  which  turns 
thousands  of  times  a  minute,  and  shapes  off  the  rough 
surface  of  the  blocks  of  hard  wood  as  if  it  were  so  much 
clay.  These  blocks  are  cut,  planed,  and  turned,  and  then 
put  into  the  hands  of  a  remarkably  skilled  class  of  work- 
men, who,  with  rule,  calliper,  and  chisel,  shape  out 
cyHnders  and  other  parts  to  the  drawings  before  them 
with  wonderful  patience  and  exactness. 

After  the  model  has  been  fashioned,  the  next  step  is  to 
make  a  clay  mould  from  the  same,  with  a  hole  in  the  top 
through  which  the  molten  metal  is  poured.  The  foundry 
is  most  picturesque  in  a  lurid,  Rembrandtesque  fashion : 
"  It  is  black  everywhere.  The  floor,  walls,  and  roof  are 
black,  and  the  foundry  hands  look  like  unwashed  peni- 
tents in  sackcloth  and  ashes.  At  the  end  of  the  building 
there  is  a  raised  brickwork,  and  when  the  visitor  is  able  to 
see  in  the  darkness,  he  distinguishes  a  number  of  raised 
lids  along  the  top,  while  here  and  there  are  strewn  about 
huge  iron  ladles  like  buckets.  On  the  foreman  giving  the 
word,  a  man  steps  up  on  the  brickwork  and  removes  the 
hd,  when  a  column  of  intense  white  light  strikes  upwards. 
It  gives  one  the  impression  of  coming  from  the  bowels 
of  the  earth,  like  a  hole  opening  out  in  a  volcano. 
The  man  bestrides  the  aperture,  down  which  he  drops 
the  ladle  at  the  end  of  a  long  pole,  and  then  pulling  it 

134 


MOTOR-CARS 

up  again  full  of  a  straw-coloured,  shining  liquid,  so  close 
to  him  that  we  shudder  at  the  idea  of  its  spilling  over  his 
legs  and  feet,  he  pours  the  molten  metal  into  a  big  ladle, 
which  is  seized  by  two  men  who  pour  the  liquid  into  the 
moulds.  The  work  is  more  difficult  than  it  looks,  for  it 
requires  a  lot  of  practice  to  fill  the  moulds  in  such  a  way  as 
to  avoid  blpw-holes  and  flaws  that  prove  such  a  serious  item 
in  foundry  practice."" 

In  the  case-hardening  department,  next  door,  there  are 
six  huge  ovens  with  sliding  fronts.  Therein  are  set  parts 
which  have  been  forged  or  machined,  and  are  subjected  to 
a  high  temperature  while  covered  in  charcoal,  so  that  the 
skin  of  the  metal  may  absorb  carbon  at  high  tempera- 
tures and  become  extremely  tough.  All  shafts,  gears,  and 
other  moving  parts  of  a  car  are  subjected  to  this  treat- 
ment, which  permits  a  considerable  reduction  in  the 
weight  of  metal  used,  and  greatly  increases  its  resistance 
to  wear.  After  being  "carbonised,"''  the  material  is 
tempered  by  immersion  in  water  while  of  a  certain  heat, 
judged  by  the  colour  of  the  hot  metal. 

We  now  pass  to  the  turning-shop,  where  the  cylinders 
are  bored  out  by  a  grinding  disc  rapidly  rotating  on  an 
eccentric  shaft,  which  is  gradually  advanced  through  the 
cylinder  as  it  revolves.  The  utmost  accuracy,  to  the 
^Q  QQQ  part  of  an  inch,  is  necessary  in  this  operation,  since 
the  bore  must  be  perfectly  cylindrical,  and  also  of  a 
standard  size,  so  that  any  standard  piston  may  exactly  fit 
it.  After  being  bored,  or  rather  ground,  the  walls  of  the 
cylinder  are  highly  polished,  and  the  article  is  ready  for 
testing.  The  workman  entrusted  with  this  task  hermetic- 
ally closes  the  ends  by  inserting  the  cylinder  between  the 

135 


MODERN  MECHANISM 

plates  of  an  hydraulic  press,  and  pumps  in  water  to  a 
required  pressure.  If  there  be  the  slightest  crack,  crevice, 
or  hole,  the  water  finds  its  way  through,  and  the  piece  is 
condemned  to  the  rubbish  heap. 

In  the  "motor-room"  are  scores  of  cylinders,  crank- 
cases,  and  gears  ready  for  finishing.     Here  the  outside 
of  bored  cylinders  is  touched  up  by  files  to  remove  any 
marks  and  rough  projections  left  by  the  moulds.     The 
crank-cases  of  aluminium  are  taken  in  hand  by  men  who 
chisel  the  edges  where  the  two  halves  fit,  chipping  ofF  the 
metal  with  wonderful  skill  and  precision.     The  edges  are 
then   ground  smooth,  and   after   the   halves   have   been 
accurately  fitted,  the  holes  for  the  bolts  connecting  them 
are  di-iUed  in  a  special  machine,  which  presents  a  di-iU  to 
each  hole  in  succession. 

Having  seen  the  various  operations  which  a  cylinder  has 
to  go  through,  we  pass  into  another  shop  given  up  to  long 
Imes  of   benches  where   various  motor  parts   are   being 
completed.  Each  piece,  however  small,  is  treated  as  of  the 
utmost  importance,  since  the  failure  of  even  a  tiny  pin 
may  bring  the  largest  car  to  a  standstill.     We  see  a  man 
testing  pump  discs  against  a  standard  template  to  prove 
their  absolute  accuracy.     Close  by,  another  man  is  finish- 
ing a  fly-wheel,  chipping  off"  specks  of  metal  to  make  the 
balance  true.     We  now  understand  that  machine  tools 
cannot  utterly  displace  the  human  hand  and  eye.     The 
fitters,  with  touches  of  the  file,  remove  matter  in  such 
minute   quantities   that   its  removal  might   seem  of  no 
consequence.     But  "matter  in  the  wrong  place"  is  the 
cause  of  many  breakdoAvns. 

We  should  natm-ally  expect  that  engines  cast  from  the 

U6 


MOTOR-CARS 

same  pattern,  handled  by  the  same  machines,  finished  by 
the  same  men,  would  give  identical  results.  But  as  two 
bicycles  of  similar  make  will  run  differently,  so  do  engines 
of  one  type  develop  peculiarities.  The  motors  are  there- 
fore taken  into  a  testing-room  and  bolted  to  two  rows 
of  benches,  forty  at  a  time.  Here  they  run  under  power 
for  long  periods,  creating  a  deafening  uproar,  until  all 
parts  work  "sweetly."'  The  power  of  the  engines  is 
[tested  by  harnessing  them  to  dynamos  and  noting  the 
amount  of  current  developed  at  a  certain  speed. 

We  might  linger  in  the  departments  where  accumu- 
lators, sparking  plugs,  and  other  parts  of  the  electrical 
apparatus  of  a  car  are  made,  or  in  the  laboratory  where 
chemists  pry  into  the  results  of  a  new  alloy,  aided  by 
powerful  microscopes  and  marvellously  delicate  scales. 
But  we  will  stop  only  to  note  the  powerful  machine 
which  is  stretching  and  crushing  metal  to  ascertain  its 
toughness.  No  care  in  experimenting  is  spared.  The 
chemist,  poring  over  his  test  tubes,  plays  as  important 
a  part  in  the  construction  of  a  car  as  the  foundry  man 
or  the  turner. 

The  machine-shop  is  an  object-lesson  among  the  tools 
noticed  in  previous  chapters  of  this  book.  "Here  is  a 
huge  planing  machine  travelling  to  and  fro  over  a  copper 
bar.  A  crank  shaft  has  been  cut  out  of  solid  steel  by 
boring  holes  close  together  through  a  thick  plate,  and 
the  two  sides  of  the  plate  have  been  broken  off*,  leaving 
the  rough  shaft  with  its  edges  composed  of  a  considerable 
number  of  semicircles.  The  shaft  is  slowly  rotated  on 
a  lathe,  and  tiny  clouds  of  smoke  arise  as  the  tool  nicks 
off  pieces  of  metal  to  reduce  the  shaft  to  a  circular  shape. 

^37 


MODERN   MECHANISM 

Other  machines,  with  high-speed  tool  steel,  are  finishing 
gear  shafts.  Fly-wheels  are  being  turned  and  worm 
shafts  cut.  All  these  laborious  operations  are  carried 
out  by  the  machines,  each  under  the  control  of  one 
man  whose  mind  is  intent  upon  the  work,  ready  to  stop 
the  machine  or  adjust  the  material  as  may  be  required. 
As  a  contrast  to  the  heavy  machines  we  will  pass  to  the 
light  automatic  tools  which  are  grouped  in  a  gallery.  .  .  . 
The  eye  is  bewildered  by  the  moving  mass,  but  the 
whirling  of  the  pulley  shafts  and  the  clicking  of  the 
capstan  lathes  is  soothing  to  the  ear,  while  the  mind  is 
greatly  impressed  by  the  ingenuity  of  man  in  suppressing 
labour  by  means  of  machines,  of  which  half  a  dozen  can 
be  easily  looked  after  by  one  hand,  who  has  nothing  to 
do  but  to  see  that  they  are  fed  with  material.  A  rod 
of  steel  is  put  into  the  machine,  and  the  turret,  with 
half  a  dozen  different  tools,  presents  first  one  and  then 
the  other  to  the  end  of  the  rod  bathed  in  thick  oil,  so 
that  it  is  rapidly  turned,  bored,  and  shaped  into  caps, 
nuts,  bolts,  and  the  scores  of  other  little  accessories 
required  in  fitting  up  a  motor-car.  On  seeing  how  all 
this  work  is  done  mechanically  and  methodically,  with 
scarcely  any  other  expense  but  the  capital  required  in 
the  upkeep  of  the  machines  and  in  driving  them,  one 
wonders  how  the  automobile  industry  could  be  carried 
on  without  this  labour-saving  mechanism.  In  any  event, 
if  all  these  little  pieces  had  to  be  turned  out  by  hand, 
it  is  certain  that  the  cost  of  the  motor-car  would  be 
considerably  more  than  it  is,  even  if  it  did  not  reach 
to  such  a  figure  as  to  make  it  prohibitive  to  all  but 
wealthy    buyers.     Down    one    side    of    the    gallery    the 

138 


MOTOR-CARS 

machines  are  engaged  in  cutting  gears  with  so  much 
precision  that,  when  tested  by  turning  them  together 
on  pins  on  a  bench  at  the  end  of  the  gallery,  it  is  very 
rare  indeed  that  any  one  of  them  is  found  defective. 
This  installation  of  automatic  tools  is  one  of  the  largest 
of  its  kind  in  a  motor-car  works,  if  not  in  any  engineering 
shop,  and  each  one  has  been  carefully  selected  in  view 
of  its  efficiency  for  particular  classes  of  work,  so  that 
we  see  machines  from  America,  England,  France,  and 
Germany." 

In  the  fitting-shops  the  multitude  of  parts  are 
assembled  to  form  the  chassis  or  mechanical  carriage 
of  the  car,  to  which,  in  a  separate  shop,  is  added  the 
body  for  the  accommodation  of  passengers.  The  whole 
is  painted  and  carefully  varnished  after  it  has  been  out 
on  the  road  for  trials  to  discover  any  weak  spot  in  its 
anatomy.     Then  the  car  is  ready  for  sale. 

When  one  considers  the  racketing  that  a  high-powered 
car  has  to  stand,  and  the  high  speed  of  its  moving  parts, 
one  can  understand  why  those  parts  must  be  made  so 
carefully  and  precisely,  and  also  how  this  care  must 
conduce  to  the  expense  of  the  finished  article.  It  has 
been  said  that  it  is  easy  to  make  a  good  watch,  but 
difficult  to  make  a  good  motor ;  for  though  they  both 
require  an  equal  amount  of  exactitude  and  skill,  the 
latter  has  to  stand  much  more  wear  in  proportion. 
When  you  look  at  a  first-grade  car  bearing  a  great 
maker'^s  name,  you  have  under  your  eyes  one  of  the  most 
wonderful  pieces  of  mechanism  the  world  can  show. 

We  will  not  leave  the  de  Dion-Bouton  Works  without 
a  further  glance  at  the  human  element.     The  company 

139 


MODERN   MECHANISM 

never  have  a  slack  time,  and  consequently  can  employ  the 
same  number  of  people  all  the  year  round.  They  pride 
themselves  on  the  fact  that  the  great  majority  of  the  men 
have  been  in  their  employ  for  several  years,  with  the 
result  that  they  have  around  them  a  class  of  workmen 
who  are  steady,  reliable  and,  above  all,  skilful  in  the 
particular  work  they  are  engaged  upon.  There  are  more 
than  2,600  men  and  about  100  women,  these  latter  being 
employed  chiefly  in  the  manufacture  of  sparking  plugs  and 
m  other  departments  where  there  is  no  night  work.  They 
are  mostly  the  wives  or  widows  of  old  workmen,  and  in 
thus  finding  employment  for  them  the  firm  provides  for 
those  who  would  otherwise  be  left  without  resource,  and 
at  the  same  time  earns  the  gratitude  of  their  employes. 

Note.— The  author  gratefuUy  acknowledges  the  help  given  by 
Messrs.  de  Dion-Bouton,  Ltd.,  in  providing  materials  for  this  account 
of  their  works. 

THE    MOTOR   OMNIBUS 

Prior  to  the  emancipation  of  the  road  automobile  in 
1896,  permission  had  been  granted  to  corporations  to 
run  trams  driven  by  mechanical  power  through  towns. 
The  steam  tram,  its  engine  protected  by  a  case  which  hid 
the  machinery  from  the  view  of  restive  horses,  panted 
up  and  down  our  streets,  drawing  one  or  more  vehicles 
behmd  it.  The  electric  tram  presently  came  over  from 
America  and  soon  established  its  superiority  to  the 
steamer  with  respect  to  speed,  freedom  from  smell  and 
smoke,  and  noiselessness :  the  system  generally  adopted 
was  that  invented  in  1887  by  Frank  J.  Sprague,  in  which 
an  overhead  cable  supported  on  posts  or  slung  from  wires 


140 


MOTOR-CARS 


ipanning  the  track  carries  current  to  a  trolley  arm  pro- 
jecting from  the  vehicle.  The  return  current  passes 
through  the  rails,  which  are  made  electrically  continuous 
by  having  their  individual  lengths  either  welded  together 
or  joined  by  metal  strips. 

In  America,  where  wide  streets  and  rapidly  growing 
cities  are  the  rule,  the  electric  tramway  serves  very  useful 
ends ;  the  best  proof  of  its  utility  being  the  total  mileage 
of  the  tracks.  Statistics  for  1902  show  that  since  1890 
the  mileage  had  increased  from  1,261  to  21,920  miles ; 
and  the  number  of  passengers  carried  from  2,023,010,202 
to  4,813,466,001,  or  an  increase  of  137*94  per  cent.  It  is 
interesting  to  note  that  electricity  has  in  the  United 
States  almost  completely  ousted  steam  and  animal  traction 
so  far  as  street  cars  are  concerned ;  since  the  5,661  miles 
once  served  by  animal  power  have  dwindled  to  259,  and 
steam  can  claim  only  169  miles  of  track. 

Next  to  the  United  States  comes  Germany  as  a  user  of 
electricity  for  tractive  purposes ;  though  she  is  a  very  bad 
second  with  only  about  6,000  miles  of  track  ;  and  England 
takes  third  place  with  about  3,000  miles.  That  the 
British  Isles,  so  well  provided  with  railways,  should  be 
so  poorly  equipped  with  tramways  is  comprehensible  when 
we  consider  the  narrowness  of  the  streets  of  her  largest 
towns,  where  a  good  service  of  public  vehicles  is  most 
needed.  The  installation  of  a  tram-line  necessitates  the 
tearing  up  of  a  street,  and  in  many  cases  the  closing  of 
that  street  to  traffic.  We  can  hardly  imagine  the  dis- 
location of  business  that  would  result  from  such  a  blockage 
of,  say,  the  Strand  and  High  Holborn ;  but  since  it  has 
been  calculated  that  no  less  than  five  millions  of  pounds 

141 


MODERN  MECHANISM 

sterling  are  lost  to  our  great  metropolis  yearly  by  the 
obstructions  of  gas,  water,  telegraph,  and  telephone  opera- 
tions, which  only  partially  close  a  thoroughfare,  or  by  the 
relaying  of  the  road  surface,  which  is  not  a  very  lengthy 
matter  if  properly  conducted,  we  might  reckon  the  financial 
loss  resulting  from  the  laying  of  tram-rails  at  many  millions. 

Even  were  they  laid,  the  trouble  would  not  cease,  for 
a  tram  is  confined  to  its  track,  and  cannot  make  way  for 
other  traffic.  This  inadaptability  has  been  the  cause  of 
the  great  outcry  lately  raised  against  the  way  in  which 
tram-line  companies  have  monopolised  the  main  streets 
and  approaches  to  many  of  our  largest  towns.  While  the 
electric  tram  is  beneficial  to  a  large  class  of  people,  as 
a  cheap  method  of  locomotion  between  home  and  business, 
it  sadly  handicaps  all  owners  of  vehicles  vexatiously  de- 
layed by  the  tram.  At  Brentford,  to  take  a  notorious 
example,  the  double  tram-line  so  completely  fills  the  High 
Street  that  it  is  at  places  impossible  for  a  cart  or  carriage 
to  remain  at  the  kerbstone. 

Another  charge  levelled  with  justice  at  the  tram-line  is 
that  the  rails  and  their  setting  are  dangerous  to  cyclists, 
motorists,  and  even  heavy  vehicles,  especially  in  wet  weather, 
when  the  "  side-slip  *'''  demon  becomes  a  real  terror. 

English  municipalities  are  therefore  faced  by  a  serious 
problem.  Improved  locomotion  is  necessary ;  how  can  it 
best  be  provided?  By  smooth-running,  luxurious,  well- 
lighted  electric  trams,  travelling  over  a  track  laid  at 
great  expense,  and  a  continual  nuisance  to  a  large  section 
of  the  community ;  or  by  vehicles  independent  of  a  central 
source  of  power,  and  free  to  move  in  any  direction  ac- 
cording to  the  needs  of  the  traffic?     Where  tramways 

142 


I 


MOTOR-CARS 


exist,  those  responsible  for  laying  them  at  the  rate  of 
several  thousand  pounds  per  mile  are  naturally  reluctant 
to  abandon  them.  But  where  the  fixed  track  has  not  yet 
arrived  an  alternative  method  of  transport  is  open,  viz. 
the  automobile  omnibus.  Quite  recently  we  have  seen  in 
London  and  other  towns  a  great  increase  in  the  number  of 
motor  buses,  which  often  ply  far  out  into  the  country. 
From  the  point  of  speed  they  are  very  superior  to  the 
horsed  vehicle,  and  statistics  show  that  they  are  also  less 
costly  to  run  in  proportion  to  the  fares  carried,  while 
passengers  will  unanimously  acknowledge  their  greater 
comfort.  To  change  from  the  ancient,  rattling  two-horse 
conveyance,  which  jolts  us  on  rough  roads,  and  occasion- 
ally sends  a  thrill  up  the  spine  when  the  brakes  are 
applied,  to  the  roomy  steam-  or  petrol-driven  bus,  which 
overtakes  and  threads  its  way  through  the  slower  traffic, 
is  a  pleasant  experience.  So  the  motor  buses  are  crowded, 
while  the  horsed  rivals  on  the  same  route  trundle  along 
half  empty.  Since  the  one  class  of  vehicles  can  travel  at 
an  average  pace  of  ten  miles  an  hour,  as  against  the  four 
miles  an  hour  of  the  other,  no  wonder  that  this  should  be 
so.  Even  if  the  running  costs  of  a  motor  bus  for  a  given 
distance  exceed  that  of  an  electric  tram,  we  must  remem- 
ber that,  whereas  a  bus  runs  on  already  existing  roads,  an 
immense  amount  of  capital  must  be  sunk  in  laying  the 
track  for  the  tram,  and  the  interest  on  this  sum  has  to  be 
added  to  the  total  running  costs. 

The  next  decade  will  probably  decide  whether  auto- 
mobiles or  trams  are  to  serve  the  needs  of  the  community 
in  districts  where  at  present  no  efficient  service  of  any 
kind  exists.      In  London  motor  buses  are  being  placed  on 

143 


MODERN   MECHANISM 

the  roads  by  scores,  and  the  day  cannot  be  far  distant 
when  the  horse  will  disappear  from  the  bus  as  it  is  already 
fast  vanishing  from  the  front  of  the  tram. 

Both  petrol  and  steam,  and  in  some  cases  a  combina- 
tion of  petrol  and  electricity,  are  used  to  propel  the 
motor  bus.  It  has  not  yet  been  decided  which  form  of 
power  yields  the  best  results.  Petrol  is  probably  the 
cheaper  fuel,  but  steam  gives  the  quieter  running ;  and 
could  electric  storage  batteries  be  made  sufficiently  light 
and  durable  they  would  have  a  strong  claim  to  prece- 
dence. There  has  lately  appeared  a  new  form  of  accumu- 
lator— the  von  Rothmund — which  promises  well,  since 
weight  for  weight  it  far  exceeds  in  capacity  any  other 
type,  and  is  so  constructed  that  it  will  stand  a  lot  of 
rough  usage.  A  car  fitted  with  a  von  Rothmund  battery 
scaling  about  1,500  lbs.  has  run  200  miles  on  one  charge, 
and  it  is  anticipated  that  with  improvements  in  motors 
a  1,100-lb.  battery  will  readily  be  run  150  miles  as  against 
the  50  miles  in  the  case  of  a  lead  battery  of  equal  weight. 

There  is  a  large  sphere  open  to  the  motor  bus  outside 
districts  where  the  electric  tram  would  enter  into  serious 
competition  with  it.  We  have  before  us  a  sketch-map  of 
the  Great  Western  Railway,  one  of  the  most  enterprising 
systems  with  regard  to  its  use  of  motors  to  feed  its  rails. 
No  less  than  thirty  road  services  are  in  operation,  and  their 
number  is  being  steadily  augmented.  In  fact,  it  looks  as 
if  in  the  near  future  the  motor  service  will  largely  sup- 
plant the  branch  railway,  blessed  with  very  few  trains  a 
day.  A  motor  bus  service  plying  every  half-hour  between 
a  town  and  the  nearest  important  main-line  station  would 
be  more  valuable  to  the  inhabitants  than  half  a  dozen 

144 


MOTOR-CAKS 

trains  a  day,  especially  if  the  passenger  vehicles  were 
supplemented  by  lorries  for  the  carriage  of  luggage  and 
heavy  goods. 
g^  In  this  connection  we  may  notice  an  invention  of 
M.  Renard — a  motor  train  of  several  vehicles  towed  by  a 
single  engine.  We  have  all  seen  the  traction-engine 
puffing  along  with  its  tail  of  trucks,  and  been  impressed 
by  the  weight  of  the  locomotive,  and  also  by  the  manner 
in  which  the  train  occupies  a  road  when  passing  a  comer. 
The  weight  is  necessary  to  give  sufficient  grip  to  move  the 
whole  train,  while  the  spreading  of  the  vehicles  across  the 
thoroughfare  on  a  curve  arises  from  the  fact  that  each 
vehicle  does  not  follow  the  path  of  that  preceding  it,  but 
describes  part  of  a  smaller  circle. 

M.  Renard  has,  in  his  motor  train,  evaded  the  need  for 
a  heavy  tractor  by  providing  every  vehicle  with  a  pair  of 
driving  wheels,  and  transmitting  the  power  to  those  wheels 
by  a  special  flexible  propeller  shaft  which  passes  from  the 
powerful  motor  on  the  leading  vehicle  under  all  the  other 
vehicles,  engaging  in  succession  with  mechanism  attached 
to  all  the  driving  axles.  In  this  manner  each  car  yields 
its  quotum  of  adhesion  for  its  own  populsion,  and  the 
necessity  for  great  weight  is  obviated.  Special  couplings 
ensure  that  the  path  taken  by  the  tractor  shall  be 
faithfully  followed  by  all  its  followers.  A  motor  train  of 
this  description  has  travelled  from  Paris  to  Berlin  and 
drawn  to  itself  a  great  deal  of  attention. 

"  Will  it,''  asks  a  writer  in  The  World's  Wo7%  "  ulti- 
mately displace  the  conventional  traction-engine  and  its 
heavy  trailing  waggons?    Every  municipality  and  County 
Council  is  only  too  painfully  cognisant  of  the  dire  effects 
K  145 


MODERN   MECHANISM 

upon  the  roads  exercised  by  the  cumbrous  wheels  of  these 
unwieldy  locomotives  and  trains.  With  the  Renard 
train,  however,  the  trailing  coaches  can  be  of  light  con- 
struction, carried  on  ordinary  wheels  which  do  not  cut  up 
or  otherwise  damage  the  roadway  surface.  Many  other 
advantages  inherent  in  such  a  train  might  be  enumerated. 
The  most  important,  however,  are  the  flexibility  of  the 
whole  train ;  its  complete  control ;  faster  speed  without 
any  attendant  danger;  its  remarkable  braking  arrange- 
ments as  afforded  by  the  continuous  propeller  shaft 
gearing  directly  with  the  driving-wheels  of  each  carriage ; 
its  low  cost  of  maintenance,  serviceability,  and  instant 
use  ;  and  the  reduction  in  the  number  of  men  requisite  for 
the  attention  of  the  train  while  on  a  journey.'*' 

Were  the  system  a  success,  it  would  find  plenty  of  scope 
to  convey  passengers  and  commodities  through  districts 
too  sparsely  populated  to  render  a  railway  profitable. 
People  would  talk  about  travelling  or  sending  goods  by 
the  "ten-thirty  motor  train,"**  just  as  now  we  speak  of 
the  "  eleven-fifteen  to  town.**"* 

As  a  carrier  and  distributer  of  mails,  the  motor  van  has 
already  established  a  position.  To  quote  but  a  couple  of 
instances,  there  are  the  services  between  London  and 
Brighton,  and  Liverpool  and  Manchester.  In  the  Isle 
of  Wight  motor  omnibuses  connect  all  the  principal 
towns  and  villages.  Each  bus  is  a  travelling  post-office 
in  which,  by  an  arrangement  with  the  Postmaster- General, 
anybody  may  post  letters  at  the  recognised  stopping- 
places  or  whenever  the  vehicle  has  halted  for  any  purpose. 

In  Paris,  London,  Berlin,  the  motor  mail  van  is  a  com- 
mon sight.     It  has  even  penetrated  the  interior  of  India, 

146 


MOTOR-CARS 

where  the  Maharajah  of  Gwalior  uses  a  specially  fitted 
steam  car  for  the  delivery  of  his  private  mails.  And,  as 
though  to  show  that  man  alone  shall  not  profit  by  the 
new  mode  of  locomotion,  Paris  owns  a  motor-car  which 
conveys  lost  dogs  from  the  different  police-stations  to  the 
Dogs'*  Home !  In  fact,  there  seems  to  be  no  purpose  to 
which  a  horse-drawn  vehicle  can  be  put,  which  either  has 
not  been,  or  shortly  will  be,  invaded  by  the  motor. 

RAILWAY    MOTOR-CARS 

In  the  early  days  of  railway  construction  vehicles  were 
used  which  combined  a  steam  locomotive  with  an  ordinary 
passenger  carriage.  After  being  abandoned  for  many 
years,  the  "steam  carriage ''^  was  revived,  in  1902,  by  the 
London  and  South  Western  and  Great  Western  railways 
for  local  service  and  the  handling  of  passenger  traffic  on 
branch  lines.  Since  that  year  rail  motor-cars  have 
multiplied;  some  being  run  by  steam,  others  by  petrol 
engines,  and  others,  again,  by  electricity  generated  by 
petrol  engines.  The  first  class  we  need  not  describe  in 
any  detail,  as  it  presents  no  features  of  peculiar  interest. 

The  North  Eastern  has  had  in  use  two  rail-motors,  each 
fifty-two  feet  long,  with  a  compartment  at  each  end  for 
the  driver,  and  a  central  saloon  to  carry  fifty-two  passen- 
gers. An  80  h.-p.  four-cylindered  Wolseley  petrol  motor 
drives  a  Westinghouse  electric  generator,  which  sends 
current  into  a  couple  of  55  h.-p.  electric  motors  geared  to 
the  running-wheels.  An  air  compressor  fitted  to  the  rear 
bogie  supplies  the  Westinghouse  air  brakes,  while  in  addi- 
tion a  powerful  electric  brake  is  fitted,  acting  on  the  rails 
as  well  as  the  wheels.     The  coach  scales  thirty-five  tons. 

147 


MODERN   MECHANISM 

The  chief  advantage  of  this  "  composite  "*'  system  of 
power  transmission  is  that  the  engine  is  kept  running  at 
a  constant  speed,  while  the  power  it  develops  at  the 
electric  motors  is  regulated  by  switches  which  control 
the  action  of  the  armature  and  field  magnets.  When 
heavy  work  must  be  done  the  engine  is  supplied  with 
more  gaseous  mixture,  and  the  generators  are  so  operated 
as  to  develop  full  power.  In  this  manner  all  the  variable 
speed  gears  and  clutches  necessary  when  the  petrol  motor 
is  connected  to  the  driving-wheels  are  done  away  with. 

The  latter  system  gives,  however,  greater  economy  of 
fuel,  and  the  Great  Northern  Railway  has  adopted  it  in 
preference  to  the  petrol-electric.  This  railway  has  many 
small  branch  lines  running  through  thinly  populated  dis- 
tricts, which,  though  important  as  feeders  of  the  main 
tracks,  are  often  worked  at  a  loss.  A  satisfactory  type 
of  automobile  carriage  would  not  only  avoid  this  loss,  but 
also  largely  prevent  the  competition  of  road  motors. 

The  car  should  be  powerful  enough  to  draw  an  extra 
van  or  two  on  occasion,  since  horses  and  heavy  luggage 
may  sometimes  accompany  the  passengers.  Messrs.  Dick, 
Kerr,  and  Company  have  built  a  car,  which,  when  loaded 
with  its  complement  of  passengers,  weighs  about  sixteen 
tons.  The  motive  power  is  supplied  by  two  four-cylinder 
petrol  engines  of  the  Daimler  type,  each  giving  36  h.p. 
These  are  suspended  on  a  special  frame,  independent  of 
that  which  carries  the  coach  body,  so  that  the  passengers 
are  not  troubled  by  the  vibration  of  the  engines,  even  when 
the  vehicle  is  at  rest.  The  great  feature  of  the  car  is  the 
lightness  of  the  machinery — only  two  tons  in  weight — 
though  it  develops  sufficient  power  to  move  the  carriage 

14S 


MOTOR-CARS 

at  fifty  miles  per  hour.  After  travelling  2,000  miles  the 
machinery  showed  no  appreciable  signs  of  wear ;  so  that 
the  company  considers  that  it  has  found  a  reliable  type 
of  motor  for  the  working  of  the  short  line  between  Hat- 
field and  Hertford. 

Since  one  man  can  drive  a  petrol  car,  while  two — a 
driver  and  a  stoker — are  necessary  on  a  steam  car,  a  con- 
siderable reduction  in  wages  will  result  from  the  employ- 
ment of  these  vehicles. 

Engineers  find  motor-trolleys  very  convenient  for  in- 
specting the  lines  under  their  care.  On  the  London  and 
South  Western  Railway  a  trolley  driven  by  a  6-8  h.-p. 
engine,  and  provided  with  a  change-gear  giving  six, 
fifteen,  and  thirty  miles  per  hour  in  either  direction,  is 
at  work.  It  seats  four  persons.  In  the  colonies,  notably 
in  South  Africa,  where  coal  and  wood  fuel  is  scarce  or 
expensive,  the  motor-trolley,  capable  of  carrying  petrol 
for  300  miles'  travel,  is  rapidly  gaining  ground  among 
railway  inspectors. 

Makers  are  turning  their  attention  to  petrol  shunting 
engines,  useful  in  goods  yards,  mines,  sewerage  works. 
Firms  such  as  Messrs.  Maudslay  and  Company,  of 
Coventry ;  the  Wolseley  Tool  and  Motor  Car  Company ; 
Messrs.  Panhard  and  Levassor ;  Messrs.  Kerr,  Stuart,  and 
Company  have  brought  out  locomotives  of  this  kind  which 
will  draw  loads  up  to  sixty  tons.  The  fact  that  a  petrol 
engine  is  ready  for  work  at  a  moment's  notice,  and  when 
idle  is  not  "eating  its  head  off*,"'  and  has  no  furnace  or 
boiler  to  require  attention,  is  very  much  in  its  favour 
where  comparatively  light  loads  have  to  be  hauled. 


149 


CHAPTER  VIII 
THE   MOTOR   AFLOAT 

PLEASURE    BOATS MOTOR    LIFEBOATS MOTOR    FISHING    BOATS A 

MOTOR    FIRE    FLOAT THE    MECHANISM    OF    THE    MOTOR    BOAT 

THE    TWO-STROKE    MOTOR — MOTOR    BOATS    FOR    THE    NAVY 

HAVING  made  such  conquests  on  land,  and  rendered 
possible  aerial  feats  which  could  scarcely  have  been 
performed  by  steam,  the  explosion  motor  further 
vindicates  its  versatility  by  its  fine  exploits  in  the  water. 

At  the  Paris  Exhibition  of  1889  Gottlieb  Daimler,  the 
inventor  who  made  the  petrol  engine  commercially  valu- 
able as  an  aid  to  locomotion,  showed  a  small  gas-driven 
boat,  which  by  most  visitors  to  the  Exhibition  was  mis- 
taken for  an  ordinary  steam  launch,  and  attracted  little 
interest.  Not  deterred  by  this  want  of  appreciation,  Mr. 
Daimler  continued  to  perfect  the  idea  for  which,  with  a 
prophet's  eye,  he  saw  great  possibilities ;  and  soon  motor 
launches  became  a  fairly  common  sight  on  German  rivers. 
They  were  received  with  some  enthusiasm  in  the  United 
States,  as  being  particularly  suitable  for  the  inland  lakes 
and  waterways  with  which  that  country  is  so  abundantly 
blessed;  but  met  with  small  recognition  from  the  English, 
who  might  reasonably  have  been  expected  to  take  great 
interest  in  any  new  nautical  invention.  Now,  however, 
English  manufacturers  have  awaked  fully  to  their  error ; 

150 


A    MODERN    CAR    AND    BOAT 

In  the  background  is  the  racing  motor  boat  "  Napier  II.",  which  on  a  trial  trip  travelled  over 
the  "measured    mile "  at  30-93    '"iles    per    hour._      In    the    foreground    is    a       Napier 
racing  car,  which  has  attained  a  spe^d  of  104*8  miles  per  hour. 


THE   MOTOR  AFLOAT 

and  on  all  sides  we  see  boats  built  by  firms  competing  for 
the  lead  in  an  industry  which  in  a  few  years'  time  may 
reach  colossal  proportions. 

Until  quite  recently  the  marine  motor  was  a  small 
affair,  developing  only  a  few  horse-power.  But  because 
the  gas-engine  for  automobile  work  had  been  so  vastly 
improved  in  the  last  decade,  it  attracted  notice  as  a  rival 
to  steam  for  driving  launches  and  pleasure  boats,  and 
soon  asserted  itself  as  a  reliable  mover  of  vessels  of  con- 
siderable size.  To  promote  the  development  of  the  in- 
dustry, to  test  the  endurance  of  the  machine,  and  to  show 
the  weak  spots  of  mechanical  design,  trials  and  races  were 
organised  on  much  the  same  lines  as  those  which  have 
kept  the  motor-car  so  prominently  before  the  public — 
races  in  the  Solent,  across  the  Channel,  and  across  the 
Mediterranean.  The  speed,  as  in  the  case  of  cars,  has 
risen  very  rapidly  with  the  motor  boat.  When,  in  February, 
1905,  a  Napier  racer  did  some  trial  spins  over  the 
measured  mile  in  the  Thames  at  Long  Reach,  she  attained 
28-57  miles  per  hour  on  the  first  run.  On  turning,  the 
tide  was  favourable,  and  the  figures  rose  to  30-93  m.p.h., 
while  the  third  improved  on  this  by  over  a  mile.  Her 
mean  speed  was  29-925  m.p.h.,  or  about  f  m.p.h.  better 
than  the  previous  record — standing  to  the  credit  of  the 
American  Challenger.  The  latter  had,  however,  the  still 
waters  of  a  lake  for  her  venue,  so  that  the  Napier's  per- 
formance was  actually  even  more  creditable  than  the  mere 
figures  would  seem  to  imply.  At  a  luncheon  which  con- 
cluded the  trial,  Mr.  Yarrow,  who  had  built  the  steel  hull, 
said :  "  To  give  an  idea  of  what  an  advance  the  adoption 
of  the  internal  combustion  engine   really  represents,  I 

151 


MODERN    MECHANISM 

should  like  to  state  that,  if  we  were  asked  to  guarantee 
the  best  speed  we  could  with  a  boat  of  the  size  of 
Napier  II. ,  fitted  with  the  latest -form  of  steam  machinery 
of  as  reliable  a  character  as  the  internal  combustion  engine 
in  the  present  boat,  we  should  not  like  to  name  more 
than  sixteen  knots.  So  that  it  may  be  taken  that  the 
adoption  of  the  internal  combustion  engine,  in  place  of 
the  steam-engine,  for  a  vessel  of  this  size,  really  repre- 
sents an  additional  speed  of  ten  knots  an  hour.  I  should 
here  point  out  that  the  speed  of  a  vessel  increases  rapidly 
with  its  size.  For  example :  in  what  is  termed  a  second- 
class  torpedo  boat,  sixty  feet  in  length,  the  best  speed  we 
could  obtain  w^ould  be  twenty  knots ;  but  for  a  vessel  of, 
say,  200  feet  in  length,  with  similar  but  proportion- 
ately larger  machinery,  a  speed  of  thirty  knots  could 
be  obtained.  Therefore,  the  obtaining  of  a  speed  of 
practically  twenty-six  knots  in  the  Yarrow-Napier  boat, 
only  forty  feet  in  length,  points  to  the  possibility,  in  the 
not  far-distant  future,  of  propelling  a  vessel  220  feet  in 
length  at  even  forty-five  knots  per  hour.  All  that 
remains  to  be  done  is  to  perfect  the  internal  combustion 
engine,  so  as  to  enable  large  sizes  to  be  successfully 
made."*' 

Boats  of  300  h.p.  and  upwards  are  being  built;  and 
the  project  has  been  mooted  of  holding  a  transatlantic 
race,  open  to  motor  boats  of  all  sizes,  which  should  be 
quite  self-contained  and  able  to  carry  sufficient  fuel  to 
make  the  passage  without  taking  in  fresh  supplies.  In 
view  of  the  perils  that  would  be  risked  by  all  but  large 
craft,  and  in  consideration  of  the  prejudice  that  motor 
boats  might  incur  in  event  of  any  fatalities,  the  Auto- 

152 


THE   MOTOR  AFLOAT 

mobile  Club  of  France  set  its  face  against  the  venture, 
and  it  fell  through.  It  is  possible,  however,  that  the 
scheme  may  be  revived  as  soon  as  larger  motor  boats  are 
afloat,  since  the  Atlantic  has  actually  been  crossed  by  a 
craft  of  12  h.p.,  measuring  only  forty  feet  at  the  water- 
line.  This  happened  in  1902,  when  Captain  Newman  and 
his  son,  a  boy  twelve  years  old,  started  from  New  York, 
and  made  Falmouth  Harbour  after  thirty  days  of  anxious 
travel  pver  the  uncertain  and  sometimes  tempestuous 
ocean.  The  boat,  named  the  Abiel  Abbot  Lozc^  carried 
auxiliary  sails  of  small  size,  and  was  not  by  any  means 
built  for  such  a  voyage.  The  engine — a  two-cylinder — 
burned  kerosene.  Captain  Newman  received  £1,000  from 
the  New  York  Kerosene  Oil  Engine  Company  for  his  feat. 
The  money  was  well  earned.  Though  provided  with 
proper  navigating  instruments — which  he  knew  how  to 
use  well — Newman  had  a  hard  time  of  it  to  keep  his 
craft  afloat,  his  watches  sometimes  lasting  two  days  on 
end  when  the  weather  was  bad.  Yet  the  brave  pair  won 
through ;  and  probably  even  more  welcome  than  the  sense 
of  success  achieved  and  the  reward  gained  was  the  long 
two-days'"  sleep  which  they  were  able  to  get  on  reach- 
ing Falmouth  Harbour. 

PLEASURE  BOATS 

We  may  now  consider  the  pleasure  and  commercial 
uses  of  the  motor  boat  and  marine  motor.  As  a  means 
of  recreation  a  small  dinghy  driven  by  a  low-powered 
engine  offers  great  possibilities.  Its  cost  is  low,  its  up- 
keep small,  and  its  handiness  very  great.  Already  a 
number  of  such  craft  are  furrowing  the  surface  of  the 

153 


MODERN   MECHANISM 

Thames,  Seine,  Rhine,  and  many  other  rivers  in  Europe 
and  America.  While  racing  craft  are  for  the  wealthy 
alone,  many  individuals  of  the  class  known  as  "the  man 
of  moderate  means'"  do  not  mind  putting  down  £70  to 
£100  for  a  neat  boat,  the  maintenance  of  which  is  not 
nearly  so  serious  a  matter  as  that  of  a  small  car.  T3n:e 
troubles  have  no  counterpart  afloat.  The  marine  motor 
dispenses  with  change  gears.  Water  being  a  much  more 
yielding  medium  than  Mother  Earth,  the  shocks  of 
starting  and  stopping  are  not  such  as  to  strain  machinery. 
Then  again,  the  cooling  of  the  cylinders  is  a  simple 
matter  with  an  unlimited  amount  of  water  almost 
washing  the  engine.  And  as  the  surface  of  water  does 
not  run  uphill,  a  small  motor  will  show  to  better 
advantage  on  a  river  than  on  a  road.  Thus,  a  5  h.-p. 
car  will  not  conveniently  carry  more  than  two  people 
if  it  is  expected  to  climb  slopes  at  more  than  a  crawl. 
Affix  a  motor  of  equal  power  to  a  boat  which  accom- 
modates half  a  dozen  persons,  and  it  will  move  them  all 
along  at  a  smart  pace  as  compared  with  the  rate  of  travel 
given  by  oars.  After  all,  on  a  river  one  does  not  want  to 
travel  fast — rather  to  avoid  the  hard  labour  which  rowing 
undoubtedly  does  become  with  a  craft  roomy  enough  to 
be  comfortable  for  a  party. 

The  marine  motor  also  scores  under  the  heading  of 
adaptability.  A  wagonette  could  not  be  converted  into 
a  motor-car  with  any  success.  But  a  good-sized  row-boat 
may  easily  blossom  out  as  a  useful  self-propelled  boat. 
You  may  buy  complete  apparatus — motor,  tanks,  screw, 
batteries,  etc. — for  clamping  direct  on  to  the  stern,  and 
there  you  are — a  motor  boat  while  you  wait !    Even  more 

154 


THE   MOTOR  AFLOAT 

sudden  still  is  the  conversion  effected  by  the  Motogodille, 
which  may  be  described  as  a  motor  screw  and  rudder  in 
one.  The  makers  are  the  Buchet  Company,  a  well-known 
French  firm.  "  Engine  and  carburetter,  petrol  tank,  coil, 
accumulator,  lubricating  oil  reservoir,  exhaust  box,  pro- 
peller shaft,  and  propeller  with  guard  are  all  provided, 
so  that  the  outfit  requires  no  additional  accessories.  For 
mounting  in  position  at  the  stern  of  the  boat,  the 
complete  set  is  balanced  on  a  standard,  and  carries  a 
steering  arm,  on  which  the  tanks  are  mounted ;  and  also 
the  stern  tube  and  propeller  guard,  which  are  in  one 
solid  piece,  in  addition  to  the  engine.  In  order  that  no 
balancing  feats  shall  be  required  of  the  person  in  charge, 
there  is,  on  the  supporting  standard,  a  quadrant,  in  the 
notches  of  which  a  lever  on  the  engine  frame  engages, 
thus  allowing  the  rigid  framework,  and  therefore  the 
propeller  shaft,  to  be  maintained  at  any  angle  to  the 
vertical  without  trouble.'*''  * 

The  2  h.-p.  engine  drives  a  boat  16  feet  long  by  4  feet 
6  inches  beam  at  6  J  miles  per  hour  through  still  water. 
As  the  Motogodille  can  be  swerved'  to  right  or  left  on 
its  standard,  it  acts  as  a  very  efficient  rudder,  while  its 
action  takes  no  way  off  the  boat. 

For  people  who  like  an  easy  life  on  hot  summer  days, 
reclining  on  soft  cushions,  and  peeping  up  through  the 
branches  which  overhang  picturesque  streams,  there  is 
the  motor  punt,  which  can  move  in  water  so  shallow  that 
it  would  strand  even  a  row-boat.  The  Oxford  under- 
graduate of  to-morrow  will  explore  the  leafy  recesses  of 
the  "  Cher,""  not  with  the  long  pole  laboriously  raised 
*  The  Motor  Boat,  March  16th,  1905. 


MODERN   MECHANISM 

and  pushed  aft,  but  by  the  power  of  a  snug  little  motor 
throbbing  gently  at  the  stern.  And  on  the  open  river 
we  shall  see  the  steam  launch  replaced  by  craft  having 
much  better  accommodation  for  passengers,  while  free 
from  the  dirt  and  smells  which  are  inseparable  from  the 
use  of  steam-power.  The  petrol  launch  will  rival  the 
electric  in  spaciousness,  and  the  steamer  in  its  speed 
and  power,  size  for  size. 

Some  people  have  an  antipathy  to  this  new  form  of 
river  locomotion  on  account  of  the  risks  which  accompany 
the  presence  of  petrol.  Were  a  motor  launch  to  ignite 
in,  say.  Boulter's  Lock  on  a  summer  Sunday,  or  at  the 
Henley  Regatta,  there  might  indeed  be  a  catastrophe. 
The  same  danger  has  before  now  been  flaunted  in  the 
face  of  the  automobilist  on  land;  yet  cases  of  the  acci- 
dental ignition  of  cars  are  very,  very  rare,  and  on  the 
water  would  be  more  rare  still,  because  the  tanks  can  be 
more  easily  examined  for  leaks.  Still,  it  behoves  every 
owner  of  a  launch  to  keep  his  eye  very  widely  open  for 
leakage,  because  any  escaping  liquid  would  create  a 
collection  of  gas  in  the  bottom  of  the  boat,  from  which 
it  could  not  escape  like  the  gas  forming  from  drops 
spilled  on  the  road. 

The  future  popularity  of  the  motor  boat  is  assured. 
The  waterside  dweller  will  find  it  invaluable  as  a  means 
of  carrying  him  to  other  parts  of  the  stream.  The 
"  longshoreman '^  will  be  able  to  venture  much  further 
out  to  sea  than  he  could  while  he  depended  on  muscles 
or  wind  alone,  and  with  much  greater  certainty  of 
returning  up  to  time.  A  whole  network  of  waterways 
intersects  civilised  countries — often  far  better  kept  than 

156 


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THE   MOTOR   AFLOAT 

the  roads — offering  fresh  fields  for  the  tourist  to  conquer. 
River  scenery  and  beautiful  scenery  more  often  than  not 
go  together.  The  car  or  cycle  may  be  able  to  follow  the 
course  of  a  stream  from  source  to  mouth ;  yet  this  is 
the  exception  rather  than  the  rule.  We  shoot  over  the 
stream  in  the  train  or  on  our  machines ;  note  that  it 
looks  picturesque;  wonder  vaguely  whither  it  fiows  and 
whence  it  comes ;  and  continue  our  journey,  recking 
little  of  the  charming  sights  to  be  seen  by  anyone  who 
would  trust  himself  to  the  water.  Hitherto  the  great 
difficulty  has  been  one  of  locomotion.  In  a  narrow 
stream  sailing  is  generally  out  of  the  question ;  haulage 
by  man  or  beast  becomes  tedious,  even  if  possible ;  and 
rowing  day  after  day  presupposes  a  good  physical  con- 
dition. In  the  motor  boat  the  holiday  maker  has  an 
ideal  craft.  It  occupies  little  room ;  can  carry  fuel 
sufficient  for  long  distances ;  is  unwearying ;  and  is 
economical  as  regards  its  running  expenses.  We  ought 
not  to  be  surprised,  therefore,  if  in  a  few  years  the 
jaded  business  man  turns  as  naturally  to  a  spin  or  trip 
on  the  rivers  and  canals  of  his  country  as  he  now  turns 
to  his  car  and  a  rush  over  the  dusty  highway.  Then 
will  begin  another  era  for  the  disused  canal,  the  vegeta- 
tion-choked stream;  and  our  maps  will  pay  more 
attention  to  the  paths  which  Nature  has  water- worn 
in  the  course  of  the  ages. 

To  the  scientific  explorer  also  the  motor  affords 
valuable  help.  Many  countries,  in  which  roads  are  prac- 
tically non-existent,  can  boast  fine  rivers  fed  by  innumer- 
able streams.  What  fields  of  adventure,  sport,  and 
science  would  be  open  to  the  possessor  of  a  fast  launch  on 

157 


MODERN   MECHANISM 

the  Amazon,  the  Congo,  the  Mackenzie,  or  the  Orinoco, 
provided  only  that  he  could  occasionally  replenish  his  fuel 
tanks ! 

MOTOR    LIFEBOATS 

Turning  to  the  more  serious  side  of  life,  we  find  the 
marine  motor  still  much  in  evidence.  On  account  of  its 
comparatively  short  existence  it  is  at  present  only  in  the 
experimental  stage  in  many  applications,  and  time  must 
pass  before  its  position  is  fully  established.  Take,  for 
instance,  the  motor  lifeboat  lately  built  for  the  Royal 
National  Lifeboat  Institution.  Here  are  encountered 
difficulties  of  a  kind  very  different  from  those  of  a  racing 
craft.  A  lifeboat  is  most  valuable  in  rough  weather, 
which  means  more  or  less  water  often  coming  aboard.  If 
the  water  reached  the  machinery,  troubles  with  the 
electrical  ignition  apparatus  would  result.  So  the  motor 
must  be  enclosed  in  a  water-tight  compartment.  And  if 
so  enclosed  it  must  be  specially  reliable.  Also,  since  a 
lifeboat  sometimes  upsets,  the  machinery  needs  to  be  so 
disposed  as  not  to  interfere  with  her  self-righting  qualities. 
The  list  might  easily  be  extended. 

An  account  of  the  first  motor  life-saver  will  interest 
readers,  so  we  once  again  have  recourse  to  the  chief 
authority  on  such  topics — the  Motor  Boat — for  particulars. 
The  boat  selected  for  experiment  was  an  old  one  formerly 
stationed  at  Folkestone,  measuring  thirty-eight  feet  long 
by  eight  feet  beam,  pulling  twelve  oars,  double-banked, 
and  of  the  usual  self-righting  type,  rigged  with  jib,  fore- 
lug,  and  mizzen.  After  she  had  been  hauled  up  in  Mr. 
Guy'^s  yard,  where  some  of  the  air-cases  under  the  deck 
amidships    were   taken    out,    a    strong    mahogany    case, 

158 


THE   MOTOR  AFLOAT 

measuring  four  feet  long  by  three  feet  wide  and  as  high 
as  the  gunwales,  lined  with  sheet  copper  so  as  to  be  water- 
j  -tight,  with  a  close-fitting  lid  which  could  be  easily  re- 
moved on  shore,  was  fitted  in  place,  and  the  whole  of  the 
vital  parts  of  the  machinery,  comprising  a  two-cylinder 
motor  of  10  h.p.,  together  with  all  the  necessary  pumps, 
carburetter,  electric  equipment,  etc.,  were  fitted  inside  this 
case.  The  engine  drives  a  three-bladed  propeller  through 
a  long  shaft  with  a  disconnecting  clutch  between,  so  that 
for  starting  or  stopping  temporarily  the  screw  can  be  dis- 
connected from  the  engine.  The  petrol,  which  serves 
as  fuel  for  the  engine,  is  carried  in  a  metal  tank  stored 
away  inside  the  forward  "end''  box,  where  it  is  beyond 
any  possibility  of  accidental  damage.  Sufficient  fuel  for 
a  continuous  run  of  over  ten  hours  is  carried.  The  engine 
is  started  by  a  handle  fitted  on  the  fore  side  of  the  case, 
which  can  be  worked  by  two  men.  The  position  and 
size  of  the  engine-case  is  such  that  only  two  oars  are 
interfered  with,  but  it  does  not  follow  that  the  pro- 
pelling power  of  the  two  displaced  men  is  entirely  lost, 
because  they  can  double  bank  some  of  the  other  oars 
when  necessary. 

Fitted  thus,  the  lifeboat  was  tested  in  all  sorts  of 
weather  during  the  month  of  April,  and  it  was  found  that 
she  could  be  di^iven  fairly  well  against  a  sea  by  means  of 
the  motor  alone  ;  but  when  it  was  used  to  assist  the  sails 
the  true  use  of  the  motor  as  an  auxiliary  became  apparent, 
and  the  boat  would  work  to  windward  in  a  way  previously 
unattainable.  Neither  the  pitching  or  rolling  in  a  seaway, 
in  any  weather  then  obtainable,  interfered  at  all  with  the 
proper  working  or  starting  of  the  motor,  which  worked 

159 


MODERN   MECHANISM 

steadily  and  well  throughout.  Having  been  through 
these  preliminary  tests,  she  was  more  severely  tried. 
Running  over  the  measured  mile  with  full  crew  and  stores 
on  board,  she  developed  over  six  knots  an  hour.  The 
men  were  then  replaced  by  equivalent  weights  lashed  to 
the  thwarts,  and  she  was  capsized  by  a  crane  four  times, 
her  sails  set  and  the  sheets  made  fast,  yet  she  righted 
herself  without  difficulty.  An  interesting  feature  of  the 
capsize  was  that  the  motor  stopped  automatically  when 
the  boat  had  partly  turned  over.  This  arrangement  pre- 
vents her  from  running  away  from  the  crew  if  they  should 
be  pitched  out.  The  motor  started  again  after  a  few 
turns  of  the  handle,  so  proving  that  the  protecting  com- 
partment had  kept  the  water  at  bay. 

From  this  account  it  is  obvious  that  a  valuable  aid 
to  life-saving  at  sea  has  been  found.  The  steam  lifeboat, 
propelled  by  a  jet  of  water  squirted  out  by  pumps  below 
the  water  line,  is  satisfactory  so  long  as  the  boat  keeps 
upright.  But  in  event  of  an  upset  the  fires  must  neces- 
sarily be  extinguished.  No  such  disability  attends  the 
petrol-driven  craft,  and  we  shall  be  glad  to  think  that  the 
brave  fellows  who  risk  their  lives  in  the  cause  of  humanity 
will  be  spared  the  intense  physical  toil  which  a  long  row 
to  windward  in  a  heavy  sea  entails.  The  general  adoption 
of  this  new  ally  will  take  time,  and  must  depend  largely 
on  the  liberality  of  subscribers  to  the  fine  institution 
responsible  for  lifeboat  maintenance ;  but  it  is  satisfac- 
tory to  learn  that  the  Committee  has  given  the  boat  in 
question  a  practical  chance  in  the  open  sea  by  stationing 
her  at  Newhaven,  Sussex,  as  a  unit  in  the  lifeboat  fleet. 


1 60 


THE  MOTOR  AFLOAT 


MOTOE    FISHING    BOATS 

It  is  a  pretty  sight  to  watch  a  fishing  fleet  enter  the 
harbour  with  its  catch,  taken  far  away  on  the  waters 
beyond  the  horizon  while  landsmen  slept.  The  sails, 
some  white,  some  brown,  some  wondrously  patched  and 
bearing  the  visible  marks  of  many  a  hard  fight  with  the 
wind,  belly  out  in  graceful  lines  as  the  boats  slip  past  the 
harbour  entrance.  No  wonder  that  the  painter  has  so 
often  found  subjects  for  his  canvas  and  brushes  among  the 
toilers  of  the  deep. 

But  underlying  the  romance  and  picturesqueness  of  the 
craft  there  is  stern  business.  Those  boats  may  be  return- 
ing with  full  cargoes,  such  as  will  yield  good  profits  to 
owner  and  crew ;  or,  on  the  other  hand,  the  hold  may  be 
empty,  and  many  honest  hearts  be  heavy  at  the  thought 
of  wasted  days,  A  few  years  ago  the  Yarmouth  herring 
fleet  is  said  to  have  returned  on  one  occasion  with  but  a 
single  fish  to  the  credit  of  the  whole  fleet !  This  might 
have  been  a  mere  figure  of  speech ;  it  stands,  at  any 
rate,  for  many  thousands  of  pounds  lost  by  the  hardy 
fishermen. 

When  the  boats  have  been  made  fast,  the  fish,  if  already 
disentangled  from  the  nets,  is  usually  sold  at  once  by 
auction,  the  price  depending  largely  on  the  individual 
size  and  freshness  of  the  "  catch.****  Now,  with  the  increase 
in  the  number  of  boats  and  from  other  causes,  the  waters 
near  home  have  been  so  well  fished  over  that  much  longer 
journeys  must  be  made  to  the  "grounds'"  than  were  for- 
merly necessary.  Trawling,  that  is,  dragging  a  large 
bag-net — its  mouth  kept  open  by  a  beam  and  weights — 
L  i6i 


MODERN   MECHANISM 

along  the  bottom  of  the  sea  for  flatfish,  has  long  been 
performed  by  powerful  steam  vessels,  which  may  any  day 
be  seen  leaving  or  entering  Hull  or  Grimsby  in  large 
numbers.  Surface  fishing,  wherein  a  long  drift-net, 
weighted  at  its  lower  edge  and  buoyed  at  the  upper  edge 
to  enable  it  to  keep  a  perpendicular  position,  is  used  for 
herring  and  mackerel,  and  in  this  industry  wind  power 
alone  is  generally  used  by  British  fishermen. 

The  herring-boat  sets  sail  for  the  grounds  in  the  morn- 
ing, and  at  sundown  should  be  at  the  scene  of  action. 
Her  nets,  aggregating,  perhaps,  a  mile  in  length,  are  then 
"  shot,**"  and  the  boat  drifts  along  towing  the  line  behind 
her.  If  fish  appear,  the  nets  are  hauled  in  soon  after 
daybreak  by  the  aid  of  a  capstan.  The  labour  of  bring- 
ing a  mile  of  nets  aboard  is  very  severe — so  severe,  in 
fact,  that  the  larger  boats  in  many  cases  employ  the  help 
of  a  small  steam-engine.  During  the  return  voyage  the 
fish  is  freed  from  the  meshes,  and  thrown  into  the  hold 
ready  for  sale  as  soon  as  land  is  reached. 

Fish,  whether  for  salting  or  immediate  consumption, 
should  be  fresh.  No  class  of  human  food  seems  to  dete- 
riorate so  quickly  when  life  is  extinct  as  the  "  denizens  of 
the  deep,''*'  so  that  it  is  of  primary  importance  to  fisher- 
men that  their  homeward  journey  should  be  performed  in 
the  shortest  possible  time.  If  winds  are  contrary  or  absent 
there  may  be  such  delay  as  to  need  the  liberal  use  of  salt, 
and  even  that  useful  commodity  will  not  stave  off*  a  fall 
in  value. 

It  therefore  often  happens  that  a  really  fine  catch 
arrives  at  its  market  in  a  condition  which  spells  heavy 
loss  to  the  catchers.     A  slow  return  also  means  missing  a 

162 


THE   MOTOR   AFLOAT 

day's  fishing,  which  may  represent  £200  to  £300.  For 
this  reason  the  Dogger  Bank  fishing  fleet  is  served  by 
steam  tenders,  which  carry  off  the  catches  as  they  are 
made,  and  thus  obviate  the  necessity  for  a  boat"*s  return  to 
port  when  its  hold  is  full.  Such  a  system  will  not,  how- 
ever, be  profitable  to  boats  owned  by  individuals,  and 
working  within  a  comparatively  short  distance  of  land. 

Each  boat  must  depend  on  its  particular  powers,  the 
first  to  return  getting  rather  better  prices  than  those 
which  come  "with  the  crowd."'  So  steam  power  is  in 
some  cases  installed  as  an  auxiliary  to  the  sails,  though 
it  may  entail  the  outlay  of  £2,000  as  first  cost,  and  a  big 
bill  for  upkeep  and  management.  "  Small "'  men  cannot 
afford  this  expense,  and  they  would  be  doomed  to  watch 
their  richer  brethren  slip  into  the  market  before  them 
had  not  the  explosion  motor  come  to  their  aid.  This 
just  meets  their  case ;  it  is  not  nearly  so  expensive  to 
install  as  steam,  occupies  much  less  room,  is  easier  to 
handle,  and  therefore  saves  the  expense  of  trained  at- 
tendants. 

Fishermen  are  notoriously  conservative.  To  them  a 
change  from  methods  sanctioned  by  many  years  of  prac- 
tice is  abhorrent.  What  sufficed  for  their  fathers,  they 
say,  should  suffice  for  them.  Their  trade  is  so  un- 
certain that  a  bad  season  would  see  no  return  for  the 
cost  of  the  motor,  since,  where  no  fish  are  caught,  it 
makes  little  difference  whether  the  journey  to  port  be 
quick  or  slow. 

However,  the  motor  is  bound  to  come.  It  has  been 
applied  to  fishing  boats  with  marked  success.  While  the 
nets  are  out,  the  motor  is  stopped,  and  costs  not  a  penny 

163 


MODERN  MECHANISM 

more  till  the  time  comes  for  hauling  in.  Then  it  is  geared 
up  with  a  capstan,  and  saves  the  crew  much  of  their 
hardest  work.  When  all  is  aboard,  the  capstan  hands 
over  the  power  to  the  screw,  which,  together  with  the 
sails,  propels  the  vessel  homewards  at  a  smart  pace.  The 
skipper  is  certain  of  making  land  in  good  time  for  the 
market ;  and  he  will  be  ready  for  the  out  voyage  next 
morning.  Another  point  in  favour  of  the  motor  is  that, 
when  storms  blow  up,  the  fleet  will  be  able  to  run  for 
shelter  even  if  the  wind  be  adverse ;  and  we  should  hear 
less  of  the  sacrifice  of  life  which  makes  sad  reading  after 
every  severe  gale. 

As  to  the  machinery  to  be  employed,  Mr,  F.  Miller,  of 
Oulton  Broad,  who  first  applied  the  gas-motor  to  a  fishing 
smack — the  Pioneer — considers  that  a  12  h.-p.  engine 
would  suffice  as  an  auxiliary  for  small  craft  of  the  class 
found  in  the  northern  parts  of  Great  Britain.  The 
Norfolk  boats  would  require  a  30  h.p. ;  and  a  full-powered 
boat — i,e.  one  that  could  depend  on  the  motor  entirely — 
should  carry  a  three-cylinder  engine  of  80  h.p.  In  any 
case,  the  machinery  must  be  enclosed  and  well  protected; 
while  the  lubrication  arrangements  should  be  such  as  to 
be  understood  easily  by  unskilled  persons,  and  absolutely 
reliable.  Owing  to  the  moisture  in  the  atmosphere  the 
ordinary  high-tension  coil  ignition,  such  as  is  used  on 
most  motor-cars,  would  not  prove  efficient,  and  it  is  there- 
fore replaced  by  a  low-tension  type  which  makes  and 
breaks  the  primary  circuit  by  means  of  a  rocking  arm 
working  through  the  walls  of  the  cylinder.  Lastly,  all 
parts  which  require  occasional  examination  or  adjustment 
must  be  easily  accessible,  so  that  they  may  receive  proper 

164 


THE  MOTOR  AFLOAT 

attention  at  sea,  and  not  send  the  vessel  home  a  "lame 
duck  "*'  under  sail. 

The  advantages  of  the  motor  are  so  great  that  the 
Scotch  authorities  have  taken  the  matter  up  seriously, 
appointing  an  expert  to  make  inquiries.  It  is  therefore 
quite  possible  that  before  many  years  have  elapsed  the 
motor  will  play  an  important  part  in  the  task  of  supplying 
our  breakfast  tables  with  the  dainty  sole  or  toothsome 
herring. 

A    MOTOR   FIRE    FLOAT 

As  a  good  instance  of  this  particular  adaptation  of  the 
explosion  engine  to  fire-extinction  work,  we  may  quote  the 
apparatus  now  in  attendance  on  the  huge  factory  of 
Messrs.  Huntley  and  Palmer,  the  famous  Reading  biscuit 
makers.  The  factory  lies  along  the  banks  of  the  river 
Kennet,  which  are  joined  by  bridges  so  close  to  the  water 
that  a  steamer  could  not  pass  under  them.  Messrs.  Merry- 
weather  accordingly  built  the  motor  float,  32  feet  long, 
9J  feet  beam,  and  drawing  27  inches.  Two  engines,  each 
having  four  cylinders  of  a  total  of  30  h.p.,  drive  two  sets 
of  three-cylinder  "  Hatfield  "^  pumps,  which  give  a  continu- 
ous feed  to  the  hose.  Engines  and  pumps  are  mounted  on 
a  single  bed-plate,  and  are  worked  separately,  unless  it  be 
found  advisable  to  "  Siamese  '*'  the  hoses  to  feed  a  single 
1^-inch  jet,  which  can  be  flung  to  a  great  height. 

One  of  the  most  interesting  features  of  the  float  is  the 
method  of  propulsion.  As  its  movements  are  limited  to 
a  few  hundred  yards,  the  fitting  of  a  screw  was  considered 
unnecessary,  its  place  being  taken  by  four  jets,  two  at 
each  end,  through  which  water  is  forced  against  the 
outside  water  by  the  extinguishing  pumps.     These  will 

i6s 


MODERN   MECHANISM 

move  the  float  either  forward  or  astern,  steer  her,  or  turn 
her  round. 

So  here  once  again  petrol  has  trodden  upon  the  toes  of 
Giant  Steam  :  and  very  effectively,  too. 

THE    MECHANISM    OF    THE    MOTOR    BOAT 

In  many  points  the  marine  motor  reproduces  the 
machinery  built  into  cars.  The  valve  arrangements, 
governors,  design  of  cylinders  and  water-jackets  are  prac- 
tically the  same.  Small  boats  carry  one  cylinder  or 
perhaps  two,  just  as  a  small  car  is  content  with  the  same 
number;  but  a  racing  or  heavy  boat  employs  four,  six, 
and,  in  one  case  at  least,  twelve  cylinders,  which  abolish 
all  "dead  points'*'  and  enable  the  screw  to  work  very 
slowly  without  engine  vibration,  as  the  di'ive  is  con- 
tinuous. 

The  large  marine  motor  is  designed  to  run  at  a  slower 
rate  than  the  land  motor,  and  its  cylinders  are,  therefore, 
of  greater  size.  Some  of  the  cylinders  exhibited  in  the 
Automobile  Show  at  the  London  "Olympia^^  seemed 
enormous  when  compared  with  those  doing  duty  on  even 
high-powered  cars ;  being  more  suggestive  of  the  parts  of 
an  electric  lighting  plant  than  of  a  machine  which  has  to 
be  tucked  away  in  a  boat. 

Except  for  the  reversing  gear,  gearing  is  generally 
absent  on  the  motor  boat.  The  chauffeur  has  not  to 
keep  changing  his  speed  lever  from  one  notch  to  another 
according  to  the  nature  of  the  country.  On  the  sea  con- 
ditions are  more  consistently  favourable  or  unfavourable, 
and,  as  in  a  steamboat,  speed  is  controlled  by  opening  or 
closing  the  throttle.     The  screw  will  always  be  turned  by 

1 66 


THE  MOTOR  AFLOAT 

the  machinery,  but  its  effect  on  the  boat  must  depend 
on  its  size  and  the  forces  acting  in  opposition  to  it.  Since 
water  is  yielding,  it  does  not  offfer  a  parallel  to  the  road. 
Should  a  car  meet  a  hill  too  steep  for  its  climbing  powers, 
the  engines  must  come  to  rest.  The  wheel  does  not  slip 
on  the  road,  and  so  long  as  there  is  sufficient  power  it  will 
force  the  car  up  the  severest  incline ;  as  soon  as  the  power 
proves  too  small  for  the  task  in  hand  the  car  "  lies  down." 
In  a  motor  boat,  however,  the  engine  may  keep  the  screw 
moving  without  doing  more  against  wind  and  tide  than 
prevent  the  boat  from  "  advancing  backwards."''  The  only 
way  to  make  the  boat  efficient  to  meet  all  possible  con- 
ditions would  be  to  increase  the  size  or  alter  the  pitch  of 
the  screw,  and  to  install  more  powerful  engines.  "  Gear- 
ing down"'' — as  in  a  motor-car — being  useless,  the  only 
mechanism  needed  on  a  motor  boat  in  connection  with 
the  transmission  of  power  from  cylinders  to  screw  is  the 
reversing  gear. 

Though  engines  have  been  designed  with  devices  for 
reversing  by  means  of  the  cams  operating  the  valves,  the 
reversal  of  the  screw's  movement  is  generally  effected 
through  gears  on  the  transmission  apparatus.  The  sim- 
plest arrangement,  though  not  the  most  perfect  mechanic- 
ally, is  a  reversible  screw,  the  blades  of  which  can  be  made 
to  feather  this  way  or  that  by  the  movement  of  a  lever. 
Sometimes  two  screws  are  employed,  with  opposite  twists, 
the  one  doing  duty  while  the  other  revolves  idly.  But  for 
fast  and  heavy  boats  a  single  solid  screw  with  immovable 
blades  is  undoubtedly  preferable ;  its  reversal  being 
effected  by  means  of  friction  clutches.  The  inelasticity 
of  the   explosion  motor   renders   it   necessary   that   the 

167 


MODERN   MECHANISM 

change  be  made  gradually,  or  the  kick  of  the  screw 
against  the  motor  might  cause  breakages.  The  clutch, 
gradually  engaging  with  a  disc  revolved  by  the  propeller 
shaft,  first  stops  the  antagonistic  motion,  and  then  con- 
verts it  into  similar  motion.  Many  devices  have  been 
invented  to  bring  this  about,  but  as  a  description  of  them 
would  not  be  interesting,  we  pass  on  to  a  consideration  of 
the  fuel  used  in  the  motor  boat. 

Petrol  has  the  upper  hand  at  present,  yet  heavier  oil 
must  eventually  prevail,  on  account  both  of  its  cheapness 
and  of  its  greater  safety.  The  only  objection  to  its  use 
is  the  difficulty  attending  the  starting  of  the  engine  with 
kerosene ;  and  this  is  met  by  using  petrol  till  the  engine 
and  carburetter  are  hot,  and  then  switching  on  the  petro- 
leum. When  once  the  carburetter  has  been  warmed  by 
exhaust  gases  to  about  270°  Fahrenheit  it  will  work  as 
well  with  the  heavy  as  with  the  light  fuel. 

Since  any  oil  or  spirit  may  leak  from  its  tanks  and 
cause  danger,  an  effort  has  been  made  to  substitute  solid 
for  liquid  fuel.  The  substance  selected  is  naphthalene — 
well  known  as  a  protector  of  clothes  against  moths.  At 
the  "Olympia'""  Automobile  Exhibition  of  1905  the 
writer  saw  an  engine — the  Chenier  Leon — which  had 
been  run  with  balls  of  this  chemical,  fed  to  the  carbu- 
retter through  a  melting-pot.  For  a  description  of  this 
engine  we  must  once  again  have  recourse  to  the  Motor 
Boat.  The  inventors  had  decided  to  test  its  performance 
wdth  petrol,  paraffin,  and  naphthalene  respectively.  "  The 
motor,  screwed  to  a  testing  bench,  was  connected  by  the 
usual  belt  to  a  dynamo,  so  that  the  power  developed  under 
each  variety  of  fuel  might  be  electrically  measured,  and 

i6S 


THE   MOTOR  AFLOAT 

was  then  started  up  on  petrol.  As  soon  as  the  parts  were 
sufficiently  warmed  up  by  the  exhaust  heat,  the  petrol  was 
turned  off,  and  the  motor  run  for  some  time  on  paraffin, 
until  sufficient  naphthalene  was  thoroughly  melted  to  the 
consistency  of  a  thick  syrup.  The  naphthalene  was  then 
fed  to  its  mixing  valve  through  a  small  pipe  dipping  into 
the  bottom  of  the  melting-pot,  and  thence  sprayed  into 
the  induction  chamber  to  carburate  the  air  therein. 
Hitherto,  the  motor  had  given  an  average  of  12  electrical 
h.p.  at  1,000  revolutions  per  minute,  and  it  was  noticed 
that  as  soon  as  the  change  was  made,  this  was  fully 
maintained.  This  test,  when  continued,  bore  out  others 
which  had  previously  been  made  by  the  firm,  and  showed 
the  consumption  of  each  of  the  three  fuels  to  be  a  little 
over  12  lbs.  per  hour  for  the  12  electrical  h.p.  given  by  the 
motor.  Still,  the  paraffin  and  naphthalene  worked  out 
about  equal  as  to  cost,  and  considering  that  the  latter  was 
in  its  purest  form,  as  sold  for  a  clothes  preservative,  we 
have  yet  to  see  how  much  better  its  commercial  showing 
will  be  with  lower  grades,  assuming  beforehand  that  its 
thermal  efficiency  and  behaviour  are  as  good. 

"On  the  ground  of  convenience  naphthalene,  as  a  solid, 
is  a  very  long  way  in  front  of  its  liquid  rival,  kerosene.  Its 
exhaust,  too,  was  much  freer  from  odour,  and  it  appears 
that,  unlike  paraffin,  it  forms  neither  tar,  soot,  nor  sticky 
matter,  but,  on  the  contrary,  has  a  tendency  to  brighten 
all  valves,  cylinders,  walls,  etc.,  any  little  deposit  being  a 
light  powder  which  would  be  carried  into  the  exhaust."' 


169 


MODERN   MECHANISM 

THE    TWO-STROKE    MOTOR 

In  the  ordinary  "Otto-cycle*"  motor  an  explosion  occurs 
once  in  every  two  revolutions  of  the  crank.  With  a  single 
cylinder  the  energy  of  the  explosion  must  be  stored  up  in  a 
heavy  fly-wheel  to  carry  the  engine  through  the  three  other 
operations  of  scavenging,  sucking  in  a  fresh  charge,  and 
compressing  it  preparatory  to  the  next  explosion.  With 
two  cylinders  the  fly-wheel  can  be  made  lighter,  as  an 
explosion  occurs  every  revolution ;  and  in  a  four-cylinder 
engine  we  might  almost  dispense  with  the  wheel  alto- 
gether, since  the  drive  is  continuous,  just  as  in  a  double- 
cylindered  steam-engine. 

The  two-stroke  motor,  i,e,  one  which  makes  an  explo- 
sion for  every  revolution,  is  an  attempt  to  unite  the 
advantages  of  a  two-cylindered  engine  of  the  Otto  type 
wuth  the  lightness  of  a  single -cylindered  engine.  As  it 
has  been  largely  used  for  motor  boats,  especially  in 
America,  a  short  description  of  its  working  may  be  given 
here. 

In  the  first  place,  all  moving  cylinder  valves  are  done 
away  with,  their  functions  being  performed  by  openings 
covered  and  opened  by  the  movements  of  the  piston. 
The  crank  chamber  is  quite  gas-tight,  and  has  in  it  a 
non-return  valve  through  which  vapour  is  drawn  from 
the  carburetter  every  time  the  piston  moves  away  from 
the  centre.  There  is  also  a  pipe  connecting  it  with  the 
lower  part  of  the  cylinder,  but  the  other  end  of  this  is 
covered  by  the  piston  until  it  has  all  but  finished  its 
stroke. 

Let  us  suppose  that  an  explosion  has  just  taken  place^ 

170 


THE   MOTOR  AFLOAT 

The  piston  rushes  downwards,  compressing  the  gas  in  the 
crank  chamber  to  some  extent.  When  the  stroke  is  three- 
parts  performed  a  second  hole,  on  the  opposite  side  of  the 
cylinder  from  the  aperture  already  referred  to,  is  un- 
covered by  the  piston,  and  the  exploded  gases  partly 
escape.  Immediately  afterwards  the  second  hole  is  un- 
covered also,  and  the  fresh  charge  rushes  in  from  the 
crank  case,  being  deflected  upwards  by  a  plate  on  the  top 
of  the  piston,  so  as  to  help  drive  out  the  exhaust  pro- 
ducts. The  returning  piston  covers  both  holes  and  com- 
presses the  charge  till  the  moment  of  explosion,  when  the 
process  is  repeated.  It  may  be  said  in  favour  of  this  type 
of  engine  that  it  is  very  simple  and  free  from  vibration ; 
against  it  that,  owing  to  the  imperfect  scavenging  of 
exploded  charges,  it  does  not  develop  so  much  power  as 
an  Otto-cycle  engine  of  equal  cylinder  dimensions;  also 
that  it  is  apt  to  overheat,  while  it  uses  double  the 
amount  of  electric  current. 

MOTOR    BOATS    FOR    THE    NAVY 

A  country  which,  like  England,  depends  on  the  command 
of  the  sea  for  its  very  existence  may  well  keep  a  sharp 
eye  on  any  invention  that  tends  to  render  that  command 
more  certain.  In  recent  years  we  have  heard  a  lot  said, 
and  read  a  lot  written,  about  the  importance  of  swift 
boats  which  in  war  time  could  be  launched  against  a 
hostile  fleet,  armed  with  the  deadly  torpedo.  The  Russo- 
Japanese  War  has  given  us  a  fine  example  of  what  can  be 
accomplished  by  daring  men  and  swift  torpedo  craft. 

For  some  reason  or  other  the  British  Navy  has  not  kept 
abreast  of  France  in  the  number  of  her  torpedo  vessels. 

171 


MODERN   MECHANISM 

Reference  to  official  figures  shows  that,  while  our  neigh- 
bours can  boast  280  "  hornets,"'"'  we  have  to  our  credit 
only  225.  In  the  House  of  Commons,  on  August  10th, 
1904,  Mr.  Henry  Norman,  m.p.,  asked  the  Secretary  of 
the  Admiralty  whether,  in  view  of  the  proofs  recently 
afforded  of  trustworthiness,  speed,  simplicity,  and  com- 
paratively low  cost  of  small  vessels  propelled  by  petrol 
motors,  he  would  consider  the  advisability  of  testing  this 
class  of  vessel  in  His  Majesty's  Navy.  The  Secretary 
replied  that  the  Admiralty  had  kept  a  watch  on  the 
recent  trials  and  meant  to  make  practical  tests  with 
motor  pinnaces.  In  view  of  the  danger  that  would  accom- 
pany the  storage  of  petrol  on  board  ship,  the  paraffin 
motor  was  preferable  for  naval  purposes ;  and  an  80  h.p. 
four-cylindered  motor  of  this  type  has  been  ordered  from 
Messrs.  Vosper,  of  Portsmouth. 

Mr.  Norman,  writing  in  The  World's  Work  on  the  sub- 
ject, says  :  "  There  can  be  no  question  that  such  high 
speed  and  cheap  construction  (80  h.p.  giving  in  the  little  l| 
boat  as  much  speed — to  consider  that  only — as  eight 
thousand  in  the  big  boat)  point  to  the  use  of  motor  boats 
for  naval  purposes  in  the  near  future.  A  torpedo  boat 
exists  only  to  carry  one  or  two  torpedoes  within  launch- 
ing distance  of  the  enemy.  The  smaller  and  cheaper  she 
can  be,  and  the  fewer  men  she  carries,  provided  always 
she  be  able  to  face  a  fairly  rough  sea,  the  better.  Now 
the  ordinary  steam  torpedo  boat  carries  perhaps  twenty 
men,  and  costs  anything  from  £50,000  to  £100,000.  A 
motor  boat  of  equal  or  greater  speed  could  probably  be 
built  for  £15,000,  and  would  carry  a  crew  of  two  men. 
Six  motor  boats,  therefore,  could  be  built  for  the  cost  of 

172 


THE   MOTOR  AFLOAT 

[one  steamboat,  and  their  total  crews  would  not  number 

[  so  many  as  the  crew  of  the  one.    Moreover,  they  could  all 

[be  slung  on  board  a  single  vessel,  and  only  set  afloat  near 

[the  scene  of  action.     A  prophetic  friend  of  mine  declares 

[that  the  most  dangerous  warship  of  the  future  will  be  a 

[big  vessel,  unarmoured  and  only  lightly  armed,  but  of  the 

[utmost  possible  speed,  carrying  twenty  or  more  motor 

[torpedo   boats   slung   on  davits.      She  will  rely  on  her 

[greater  speed  for  her  own  safety,  if  attacked ;  she  will 

^approach  as  near  the  scene  of  action  as  possible,  and  will 

drop  all  her  little  boats  into  the  water,  and  they  will 

make  a  simultaneous  attack.     Their  hulls  would  be  clean, 

their  machinery  in  perfect  order,  their  crews  fresh  and 

full  of  energy,  and  it  would  be  strange  if  one  of  the 

twenty  did  not  strike  home.     And  the  destruction  of  a 

battleship  or  great  cruiser  at  the  cost  of  a  score  of  these 

little  wasps,  manned  by  two-score  men,  would  be  a  very 

fine  naval  bargain.'*'' 

Mr.  Norman  omits  one  recommendation  that  must  in 
active  service  count  heavily  in  favour  of  the  motor  boat, 
and  that  is  its  practical  invisibility  in  the  day  or  at  night 
time.  The  destroyer,  when  travelling  at  high  speed, 
betrays  its  presence  by  clouds  of  smoke  or  red-hot  funnels. 
The  motor  boat  is  entirely  free  from  such  dangerous 
accompaniments ;  the  exhaust  from  the  cylinders  is  in- 
visible in  every  way.  The  very  absence  of  funnels  must 
also  be  in  itself  a  great  advantage.  The  eye,  roving  over 
the  waters,  might  easily  ''pick  up^'*  a  series  of  stumpy, 
black  objects  of  hard  outline ;  but  the  motor  boat,  riding 
low  and  flatly  on  the  waves,  would  probably  escape  notice, 
especially  when  a  searchlight  alone  can  detect  its  approach. 

173 


MODERN   MECHANISM 

It  may  reasonably  be  said  that  the  Admiralty  knows 
its  own  business  best,  and  that  the  outsider''s  opinion  is 
not  wanted.  The  "man  in  the  street **'  has  become 
notorious  for  his  paper  generalship  and  strategy,  and 
fallen  somewhat  into  disrepute  as  an  adviser  on  military 
and  naval  matters.  Yet  we  must  not  forget  this :  that 
many — we  might  say  most — of  the  advances  in  naval 
mechanisms,  armour,  and  weapons  of  defence  have  not 
been  evolved  by  naval  men,  but  by  the  highly  educated 
and  ingenious  civilian  who,  unblinded  by  precedent  or 
professional  conservatism,  can  watch  the  game  even  better 
in  some  respects  than  the  players  themselves,  and  see  what 
the  next  move  should  be.  That  move  may  be  rather  un- 
orthodox— like  the  application  of  steam  to  men-o''-war — 
but  none  the  less  the  correct  one  under  the  circumstances. 
We  allowed  other  nations  to  lead  us  in  the  matter  of 
breech -loading  cannon,  armour-plate,  submarines,  the 
abolition  of  combustible  material  on  warships.  Shall  we 
also  allow  them  to  get  ahead  with  motor  boats,  and  begin 
to  consider  that  there  may  be  something  in  motor 
auxiliaries  for  the  fleet  when  they  are  already  well  sup- 
plied? If  there  is  a  country  which  should  above  all 
others  lose  no  time  in  adding  the  motor  to  her  means 
of  defence,  that  country  is  Great  Britain. 


174 


CHAPTER   IX 
THE   MOTOR   CYCLE 

IN  1884  the  Count  de  Dion,  working  in  partnership 
with  Messrs,  Bouton  and  Trepardonx,  produced  a 
practical  steam  tricycle.  Two  years  later  appeared 
a  somewhat  similar  vehicle  by  the  same  makers  which 
attained  the  remarkable  speed  of  forty  miles  an  hour. 
Mr.  Serpollet,  now  famous  for  his  steam  cars,  built 
at  about  the  same  time  a  three-wheeled  steam  tri- 
cycle, which  also  proved  successful.  But  the  continuous 
stoking  of  the  miniature  boilers,  and  the  difficulty  of 
keeping  them  properly  supplied  with  water,  prevented 
the  steam-driven  cycle  from  becoming  popular ;  and  when 
the  petrol  motor  had  proved  its  value  on  heavy  vehicles, 
inventors  soon  saw  that  the  explosion  engine  was  very 
much  better  suited  for  a  light  automobile  than  had  been 
the  cumbrous  fittings  inseparable  from  the  employment 
of  steam. 

By  1895  a  neat  petrol  tricycle  was  on  the  market ;  and 
after  the  de  Dion  machines  had  given  proof  in  races  of 
their  capabilities,  they  at  once  sprang  into  popular  favour. 
For  the  next  five  years  the  motor  tricycle  was  a  common 
sight  in  France,  where  the  excellent  roads  and  the  free- 
dom from  the  restrictions  prevailing  on  the  other  side  of 
the  Channel  recommended  it  to  cyclists  who  wished  for  a 

175 


MODERN   MECHANISM 

more  speedy  method  of  locomotion  than  unaided  legs 
could  give,  yet  could  not  afford  to  purchase  a  car. 

The  motor  bicycle  soon  appeared  in  the  field.  The 
earlier  types  of  the  two-wheeled  motor  were  naturally 
clumsy  and  inefficient.  The  need  of  a  lamp  constantly 
burning  to  ignite  the  charges  in  the  cylinder  proved  a 
much  greater  nuisance  on  the  bicycle  than  on  the  tricycle, 
which  carried  its  driving  gear  behind  the  saddle.  The 
writer  well  remembers  trying  an  early  pattern  of  the 
Werner  motor  bicycle  in  the  Champs  Elysees  in  1897, 
and  his  alarm  when  the  owner,  while  starting  the  blow- 
lamp on  the  steering  pillar,  was  suddenly  enveloped  in 
flames,  which  played  havoc  with  his  hair,  and  might  easily 
have  caused  more  serious  injuries.  Riders  were  naturally 
nervous  at  carrying  a  flame  near  the  handle-bars,  so  close 
to  a  tank  of  inflammable  petrol  liable  to  leak  and  catch 
fire. 

The  advent  of  electrical  ignition  for  the  gaseous  charges 
opened  the  way  for  great  improvements,  and  the  motor 
bicycle  slowly  but  surely  ousted  its  heavier  three-wheeled 
rival.  Designs  were  altered  ;  the  engine  was  placed  in  or 
below  the  frame  instead  of  over  the  front  wheel,  and  made 
to  drive  the  back  wheel  by  means  of  a  leather  belt.  In 
the  earliest  types  the  motive  force  had  either  been  trans- 
mitted by  belt  to  the  front  wheel,  or  directly  to  the  rear 
wheel  by  the  piston  rods  working  cranks  on  its  spindle. 

The  progress  of  the  motor  bicycle  has,  since  1900,  been 
rapid,  and  many  thousands  of  machines  are  now  in  use. 
The  fact  that  the  engines  must  necessarily  be  very  small 
compels  all  possible  saving  in  weight,  and  an  ability  to 
run  continuously  at  very  high  speeds  without  showing 

tj6 


THE  MOTOR  CYCLE 

serious  wear  and  tear.  Details  have  therefore  been  per- 
fected, and  though  at  the  present  day  no  motor  cyclist  of 
wide  experience  can  claim  immunity  from  trouble  with 
his  speedy  little  mount,  a  really  well-designed  and  well- 
built  machine  proves  wonderfully  efficient,  and  opens 
possibilities  of  locomotion  to  "  the  man  of  moderate 
means '**  which  were  beyond  the  reach  of  the  rider  of  a 
pedal-driven  bicycle. 

In  its  way  the  motor  cycle  may  claim  to  be  one  of  the  most 
marvellous  products  of  human  mechanical  skill.  Weight 
has  been  reduced  until  a  power  equal  to  that  of  three 
horses  can  be  harnessed  to  a  vehicle  which,  when  stored 
with  sufficient  petrol  and  electricity  to  carry  it  and  rider 
150  miles,  scales  about  a  hundredweight.  It  will  pursue 
its  even  course  up  and  down  hill  at  an  average  of  twenty 
or  more  miles  an  hour,  the  only  attention  it  requires 
teing  an  occasional  charge  of  oil  squirted  into  the  air- 
tight case  in  which  the  crank  and  fly-wheels  revolve. 
The  consumption  of  fuel  is  ridiculously  small,  since  an 
economical  engine  will  cover  fifteen  miles  on  a  pint  of 
spirit,  which  costs  about  three-halfpence. 

Practically  all  motor-cycle  engines  work  on  the  "  Otto- 
cycle"'  principle.  Motors  which  give  an  impulse  every 
revolution  by  compressing  the  charge  in  the  crank-case  or 
in  a  separate  cylinder,  so  that  it  may  enter  the  working 
cylinder  under  pressure,  have  been  tried,  but  hitherto  with 
but  moderate  success.  There  is,  however,  a  growing  ten- 
dency to  compass  an  explosion  every  revolution  by  fitting 
two  cylinders,  and  from  time  to  time  four-cylindered  cycles 
have  appeared.  The  disadvantages  attending  the  care 
and  adjustment  of  so  many  moving  parts  has  been  the 
M  177 


MODERN  MECHANISM 

cause  of  foui^-cylindered  cycle  motors  being  unsuccessful 
from  a  commercial  standpoint,  though  riders  who  are  pre- 
pared to  risk  extra  trouble  and  expense  may  find  compen- 
sation in  the  quiet,  vibrationless  drive  of  a  motor  which 
gives  two  impulses  for  every  turn  of  the  fly-wheel. 

The  acme  of  lightness  in  proportion  to  power  developed 
has  been  attained  by  the  "  Barry "  engine,  in  which  the 
cylinders  and  their  attachments  are  made  to  revolve  about 
a  fixed  crank,  and  perform  themselves  the  function  of  a 
fly-wheel.  So  great  is  the  saving  of  weight  that  the 
makers  claim  a  horse-power  for  every  four  pounds  scaled 
by  the  engines ;  thus,  a  3J  h.p.  motor  would  only  just 
tip  the  beam  against  one  stone.  As  the  writer  has 
personally  inspected  a  Barry  engine,  he  is  able  to  give  a 
brief  account  of  its  action. 

It  has  two  cylinders,  arranged  to  face  one  another  on 
opposite  sides  of  a  central  air-tight  crank-case,  the  inner 
end  of  each  cylinder  opening  into  the  case.  Both  pistons 
advance  towards,  and  recede  from,  the  centre  of  the  case 
simultaneously.  The  air-and-gas  mixture  is  admitted 
into  the  crank-case  through  a  hole  in  the  fixed  crank- 
spindle,  communicating  with  a  pipe  leading  from  the  car- 
buretter. The  inlet  is  controlled  by  a  valve,  which  opens 
while  the  pistons  are  parting,  and  closes  when  they  ap- 
proach one  another. 

We  will  suppose  that  the  engine  is  just  starting.  Tlie 
pistons  are  in  a  position  nearest  to  the  crank-case.  As 
they  separate  they  draw  a  charge — equal  in  volume  to 
double  the  cubical  contents  of  one  cylinder — into  the 
crank-case  through  its  inlet  valve.  During  the  return 
stroke  the  charge  is  squeezed,  and  passes  through  a  valve    ( 

178 


THE   MOTOR   CYCLE 

into  a  chamber  which  forms,  as  it  were,  the  fourth  spoke 
of  a  four-spoked  wheel,  of  which  the  other  three  spokes 
are  the  cylinders  and  the  "silencer.*"  This  chamber  is 
connected  by  pipes  to  the  inlet  valves  of  the  cylinders, 
which  are  mechanically  opened  alternately  by  the  action 
of  special  cams  on  the  crank-shaft.  The  cylinder  which 
gets  the  contents  of  the  compression  chamber  receives 
considerably  more  "mixture''  than  would  flow  in  under 
natural  suction,  and  the  compression  is  therefore  greater 
than  in  the  ordinary  type  of  cycle  motor,  and  the  explo- 
sion more  violent.  Hence  it  comes  about  that  the  cylin- 
ders, which  have  a  bore  of  only  2  in.  and  a  2-in.  stroke 
for  the  piston,  develop  nearly  2  h.p.  each. 

It  may  at  first  appear  rather  mysterious  how,  if  the 
cranks  are  rigidly  attached  to  the  cycle  frame,  any  motion 
can  be  imparted  to  the  driving-wheel.  The  explanation 
is  simple  enough :  a  belt  pulley  is  affixed  to  one  side  of 
the  crank-case,  and  revolves  with  the  cylinders,  the 
silencer,  and  compression  chamber.  The  rotation  is 
caused  by  the  effort  of  the  piston  to  get  as  far  as  possible 
away  from  the  closed  end  of  the  cylinder  after  an  explo- 
sion. Where  a  crank  is  movable  but  the  cylinder  fixed, 
the  former  would  be  turned  round ;  where  the  crank  is 
immovable  but  the  cylinder  movable,  the  travel  of  the 
piston  is  possible  only  if  the  cylinder  moves  round  the 
crank.  A  series  of  explosions  following  one  another  in 
rapid  succession  gives  the  moving  parts  of  the  Barry 
engine  sufficient  momentum  to  suck  in  charges,  compress 
them,  and  eject  the  burnt  gases.  The  plan  is  ingenious, 
and  as  the  machine  into  which  this  type  of  engine  is  built 
weighs   altogether   only   about   70  lbs.,  the   "  sport  "*'   of 

179 


MODERN   MECHANISM 

motor  cycling  is  open  to  those  people  whose  age  or  want 
of  strength  would  preclude  them  from  the  use  of  the 
heavy  mounts  which  are  still  to  be  seen  about  the  roads. 
In  the  future  we  may  expect  to  find  motor  cycles  approach 
very  closely  to  a  half-hundredweight  standard  without 
sacrificing  the  rigidity  needful  for  fast  locomotion  over 
second-class  roads. 

For  "pace-making''"'  on  racing  tracks,  motor  cycles 
ranging  up  to  24  h.p.  have  been  used;  but  these  are 
essentially  "freak''''  machines  of  no  practical  value  for 
ordinary  purposes.  Even  3-4  h.p.  cycles  have  set  up 
wonderful  records,  exceeding  fifty  miles  in  the  hour,  a 
speed  equal  to  that  of  a  good  express  train.  In  com- 
parison with  the  feats  of  motor-cars,  their  achievements 
may  not  appear  very  startling ;  but  when  we  consider  the 
small  size  and  weight,  and  the  simplicity  of  the  mechanisms 
which  propel  cycle  and  rider  at  nearly  a  mile  a  minute, 
the  result  seems  marvellous  enough. 

During  the  last  few  years  the  tricycle  has  again  come 
into  favour,  but  with  the  arrangement  of  its  wheels 
altered ;  two  steering-wheels  being  placed  in  front,  and 
a  single  driving-wheel  behind.  The  main  advantage  of 
this  inversion  is  that  it  permits  the  fixing  of  a  seat  in 
front  of  the  driver,  in  which  a  passenger  can  be  comfort- 
ably accommodated.  The  modern  "tricar,"^  with  its 
high-powered,  doubled -cylindered  engines,  its  change- 
speed  gears,  its  friction  clutch  for  bringing  the  engines 
gradually  into  action,  its  forced  water  circulation  for 
cooling  the  cylinders,  and  its  spring-hung  frame,  is  in 
reality  more  a  car  than  a  cycle,  and  escapes  from  the 
former  category  only  on  account  of  the  number  of  its 

i8o 


THE   MOTOR  CYCLE 

wheels.  To  the  tourist,  or  to  the  person  who  does  not 
find  pleasure  in  solitary  riding,  the  tricar  offers  many 
advantages,  and,  though  decidedly  more  expensive  to 
keep  up  than  a  motor  bicycle,  entails  only  very  modest 
bills  in  comparison  with  those  which  affect  many  owners 
of  cars. 

The  development  of  the  motor  cycle  has  been  hastened 
and  fostered  by  frequent  speed  and  reliability  contests,  in 
which  the  nimble  little  motor  has  acquitted  itself  wonder- 
fully. A  hill  a  mile  long,  with  very  steep  gradients,  has 
been  ascended  in  considerably  less  than  two  minutes  by 
a  3^  h.p.  motor.  We  read  of  motor  cycles  travelling 
from  Land's  End  to  John-o'- Groats ;  from  Calcutta  to 
Bombay ;  from  Sydney  to  Melbourne ;  from  Paris  to 
Rome — all  in  phenomenal  times  considering  the  physical 
difficulties  of  the  various  routes.  Such  tests  prove  the  en- 
durance of  the  motor  cycle,  and  pave  the  way  to  its  use 
in  more  profitable  employments.  Volunteer  cycling  corps 
often  include  a  motor  or  two,  which  in  active  service 
would  be  most  valuable  for  scouting  purposes,  especially 
if  powerful  enough  to  tow  a  light  machine-gun.  Com- 
mercial travellers,  fitting  a  box  to  the  front  of  a  tricar, 
are  able  to  scour  the  country  quickly  and  inexpensively  in 
quest  of  orders  for  the  firms  they  represent.  The  police 
find  the  motor  helpful  for  patrolling  the  roads.  On  the 
Continent,  and  especially  in  Germany,  town  and  country 
postmen  collect  and  deliver  parcels  and  letteis  with  the 
aid  of  the  petrol-driven  tricycle,  and  thereby  save  much 
time,  while  improving  the  service.  Before  long,  "  Hark  ! 
'tis  the  twanging  horn  "*"*  will  once  again  herald  the  post- 
man's approach  in  a  thousand  rural  districts,  but  the  horn 

i8i 


MODERN  MECHANISM 

will  not  hang  from  the  belt  of  a  horseman,  such  as  the 
poet  Cowper  describes,  but  will  be  secured  to  the  handle- 
bars of  a  neat  tricar.     Thus  history  repeats  itself. 

That  the  motor  cycle  is  still  far  from  perfect  almost 
goes  without  saying;  but  every  year  sees  a  decided  ad- 
vance in  its  design  and  efficiency.  The  messy,  troublesome 
accumulator  will  eventually  give  way  to  a  neat  little 
dynamo,  which  is  driven  by  the  engine  and  creates  current 
for  exploding  the  cylinder  charges  as  the  machine  travels. 
When  the  cycle  is  at  rest  there  would  then  be  no  fear  of 
electricity  leaking  away  through  some  secret  "short  cir- 
cuit,"*"  since  the  current  ceases  with  the  need  for  it,  but 
starts  again  when  its  presence  is  required.  The  proper 
cooling  of  the  cylinders  has  been  made  an  easier  matter 
than  formerly  by  the  introduction  of  fans  which  direct 
a  stream  of  cold  air  on  to  the  cylinder  head.  Professor 
H.  L.  Callendar  has  shown  in  a  series  of  experiments  that 
a  fan,  which  absorbs  only  2  to  3  per  cent,  of  an  engine's 
power,  will  increase  the  engine's  efficiency  immensely 
when  a  low  gear  is  being  used  for  hill  climbing,  and  the 
rate  of  motion  through  the  air  has  fallen  below  that 
requisite  to  carry  off  the  surplus  heat  of  the  motor.  If 
an  engine  maintains  a  good  working  temperature  when  it 
progresses  through  space  two  feet  for  every  explosion, 
it  would  overheat  if  the  amount  of  progression  were, 
through  the  medium  of  a  change-gear  attachment,  re- 
duced to  one  foot,  a  change  which  would  be  advisable  on 
a  steep  hill.  The  fan  then  supplies  the  deficiency  by 
imitating  the  natural  rush  of  air.  As  Professor  Callendar 
says  :  "  The  most  important  point  for  the  motor  cyclist  is 
to  secure  the  maximum  of  power  with  the  minimum  of 

182 


o 

< 

Pi 
o 


I 


THE  MOTOR  CYCLE 

weight.  With  this  object,  the  first  essentials  are  a 
variable  speed  gear  of  wide  range,  and  some  efficient 
method  of  cooling  to  prevent  overheating  at  low  gears.  .  .  . 
It  is  unscientific  to  double  the  weight  and  power  of  the 
machine  in  order  to  climb  a  few  hills,  when  the  same 
result  can  be  secured  with  a  variable  gear.  It  is  un- 
necessary to  resort  to  the  weight  and  complication  of 
water  cooling  when  a  light  fan  will  do  all  that  is  re- 
quired.'*'' 

Thus,  with  the  aid  of  a  fan  and  a  gear  which  will  give 
at  least  two  speeds,  the  motor  cyclist  can,  with  an  engine 
of  2  h.p.,  climb  almost  any  hill,  even  without  resorting  to 
the  help  of  the  pedals.  His  motion  is  therefore  practically 
continuous.  To  be  comfortable,  he  desires  immunity  from 
the  vibration  which  quick  movement  over  any  but  first- 
class  roads  sets  up  in  the  machine,  especially  in  its  forward 
parts.  Several  successful  spring  forks  and  pneumatic 
devices  have  been  invented  to  combat  the  vibration  bogy ; 
and  these,  in  conjunction  with  a  spring  pillar  for  the 
saddle,  which  can  itself  be  made  most  resilient,  relieve  the 
rider  almost  entirely  of  the  jolting  which  at  the  end  of  a 
long  day'*s  ride  is  apt  to  induce  a  feeling  of  exhaustion. 
The  motor  tricycle,  which  once  had  a  rather  bad  name  for 
its  rough  treatment  of  the  nerves,  is  also  now  furnished 
with  springs  to  all  wheels,  and  approximates  to  the  car  in 
the  smoothness  of  its  progression. 

Assuming,  then,  that  we  have  motor  vehicles  so  light 
as  to  be  very  manageable,  sufficiently  powerful  to  climb 
severe  gradients,  reliable,  comfortable  to  ride,  and 
economical  in  their  consumption  of  fuel  and  oil,  we  are 
able  to  foresee  that  they  will  modify  the  conditions  of 

183 


MODERN  MECHANISM 

social  existence.  The  ordinary  pedal-driven  cycle  has 
made  it  possible  for  the  worker  to  live  much  fether  from 
his  work  than  formerly.  "To-morrow,  with  a  motor 
bicycle,  his  home  may  be  fifteen  miles  away,  and  those 
extra  miles  will  make  a  great  difference  in  rent,  and  in  the 
health  of  his  family.  In  fact,  it  almost  promises  to  re- 
concile the  Garden  City  ideal  with  the  industrial  con- 
ditions of  to-day,  by  enabling  a  man  to  work  in  the  town, 
and  have  his  home  in  the  country.  This  advantage 
applies,  of  course,  less  to  London  than  to  other  great 
cities,  on  account  of  the  seemingly  endless  miles  of  streets 
to  be  traversed  before  the  country  is  reached.  In  most 
manufacturing  centres,  however,  the  motoring  workman 
could  get  to  his  cottage  home  by  a  journey  of  a  few  miles. 
Even  in  London,  moreover,  this  disadvantage  will  be 
overcome  to  a  large  extent  in  the  future,  for  it  is  as 
certain  as  anything  of  the  kind  can  be  that  we  must 
ultimately  have  special  highways,  smooth,  dustless,  re- 
served for  motor  traffic,  leading  out  of  London  in  the 
principal  directions.  .  .  .  My  own  conviction  is  that 
motor  cycling,  the  simplest,  the  quickest,  the  cheapest 
independent  locomotion  that  has  ever  been  known,  is 
destined  to  enjoy  enormous  development.  I  believe  that 
within  a  few  years  the  motor  bicycle  and  tricycle  will  be 
sold  by  hundreds  of  thousands,  and  that  many  of  the 
social  and  industrial  conditions  of  our  time  will  be  greatly 
and  beneficially  affected  by  them.''* 

*  Henry  Norman,  Esq.,  m.p.,  in  The  World's  Worh 


184 


CHAPTER  X 
FIRE   ENGINES 

A  GOOD  motto  to  blazon  over  the  doors  of  a  fire- 
brigade  station  would  be  "  He  gives  help  twice  who 
gives  help  quickly.*"     The  spirit  of  it  is  certainly 
shown  by  the  brave  men  who,  as  soon  as  the  warning 
signal  comes,  spring  to  the  engines  and  in  a  few  minutes 
are  careering  at  full  speed  to  the  scene  of  operations. 

Speed  and  smartness  have  for  many  years  past  been 
associated  with  our  fire  brigades.  We  read  how  horses 
are  always  kept  ready  to  be  led  to  the  engines ;  how  their 
harness  is  dropped  on  to  them  and  deft  fingers  set  the 
buckles  right  in  a  twinkling,  so  that  almost  before  an 
onlooker  has  time  to  realise  what  is  happening  the  sturdy 
animals  are  beating  the  ground  with  flying  hoofs.  And 
few  dwellers  in  large  cities  have  not  heard  the  cry  of  the 
firemen,  as  it  rises  from  an  indistinct  murmur  into  a  loud 
shout,  before  which  the  traffic,  however  dense,  melts  away 
to  the  side  of  the  road  and  leaves  a  clear  passage  for  the 
engines,  driven  at  high  speed  and  yet  with  such  skill  that 
accidents  are  of  rare  occurrence.  The  noise,  the  gleam  of 
the  polished  helmets,  the  efforts  of  the  noble  animals,  which 
seem  as  keen  as  the  men  themselves  to  reach  the  fire,  com- 
bine to  paint  a  scene  which  lingers  long  in  the  memoiy. 
But   efficient   as   the  "  horsed  *"   engine   is,  it   has   its 

185 


MODERN   MECHANISM 

limitations.  Animal  strength  and  endurance  are  not  an 
indefinite  quantity;  while  the  fireman  grudges  even  the 
few  short  moments  which  are  occupied  by  the  inspanning 
of  the  team.  In  many  towns,  therefore,  we  find  the 
mechanically  propelled  fire  engine  coming  into  favour. 
The  power  for  working  the  pumps  is  now  given  a  second 
duty  of  turning  the  driving-wheels.  A  parallel  can  be 
found  in  the  steam-engine  used  for  threshing-machines, 
which  once  had  to  be  towed  by  horses,  but  now  travels 
of  itself,  dragging  machine  and  other  vehicles  behind  it. 

The  earlier  types  of  automobile  fire  engines  used  the 
boiler's  steam  to  move  them  over  the  road.  Liverpool, 
a  very  enterprising  city  as  regards  the  extinction  of  fire, 
has  for  some  time  past  owned  a  powerful  steamer,  which 
can  be  turned  out  within  a  minute  of  the  call,  can  travel 
at  any  speed  up  to  thirty  miles  an  hour,  and  can  pump 
500  gallons  per  minute  continuously.  Its  success  has 
led  to  the  purchase  of  other  motor  engines,  some  fitted 
with  a  chemical  apparatus,  which,  by  the  action  of  acid 
on  a  solution  of  soda  in  closed  cylinders,  is  enabled  to 
fling  water  impregnated  with  carbonic  acid  gas  on  to  the 
fire  the  moment  it  arrives  within  working  distance  of 
the  conflagration,  and  gives  very  valuable  "  first  aid  '** 
while  the  pumping  apparatus  is  being  got  into  order. 

As  might  reasonably  be  expected,  the  petrol  motor 
has  found  a  fine  field  for  its  energies  in  connection  with 
fire  extinction.  Since  it  occupies  comparatively  little 
space,  more  accommodation  can  be  allowed  for  the  fire- 
men and  gear.  Furthermore,  a  petrol  engine  can  be 
started  in  a  few  seconds  by  a  turn  of  a  handle,  whereas 
a  steamer  is  delayed  until   steam   has   been   generated. 

186 


FIRE  ENGINES 

Messrs.  Merryweather  have  built  a  four  -  cylindered, 
30  h.p.  petrol  fire  engine  capable  of  a  speed  of  forty 
miles  an  hour.  It  has  two  systems  of  ignition — the 
magneto  (or  small  dynamo)  and  the  ordinary  accumulator 
and  coil — so  that  electrical  breakdowns  are  not  likely  to 
occur.  A  fast  motor  of  this  kind,  with  a  pumping 
capacity  of  SOO  gallons  per  minute,  is  peculiarly  suited 
for  large  country  estates,  where  it  can  be  made  to 
perform  household  or  farm  duties  when  not  required 
for  its  primary  purpose.  Considering  the  great  number 
of  country  mansions,  historically  interesting,  and  full 
of  artistic  treasures,  which  England  boasts,  it  is  a  matter 
for  regret  that  such  an  engine  is  not  always  included 
among  the  appliances  with  which  every  such  property 
is  furnished.  How  often  we  read  "Old  mansion  totally 
destroyed  by  fire,"'  which  usually  means  that  in  a  few 
short  hours  priceless  pictures,  furniture,  and  other  objects 
of  art  have  been  destroyed,  because  help,  when  it  did 
come,  arrived  too  late.  Owners  are,  however,  more  keenly 
alive  to  their  responsibilities  now  than  formerly.  The 
small  hand-worked  engine,  or  the  hydrant  of  moderate 
pressure,  is  not  considered  a  sufficient  guard  for  the  house 
and  its  contents.  In  many  establishments  the  electric 
lighting  engines  are  designed  to  work  either  the  dynamo 
or  a  set  of  pumps  as  occasion  may  demand ;  or  the  motor 
is  mounted  on  wheels  so  that  it  may  be  easily  dragged 
by  hand  to  any  desired  spot. 

The  "latest  thing'"*  in  motor  fil-e  engines  is  one  which 
carries  a  fire-escape  with  it,  in  addition  to  water-flinging 
machinery.  An  engine  of  this  type  is  to  be  found  in 
some  of  the  London  suburbs,     A  chemical  cylinder  lies 

187 


MODERN   MECHANISM 

under  the  driver**s  seat,  where  it  is  well  out  of  the  way, 
and  coiled  beside  it  is  its  reel  of  hose.  The  "  escape  ^' 
rests  on  the  top  of  the  vehicle,  the  wheels  hanging  over 
the  rear  end,  while  the  top  projects  some  distance  in 
front  of  the  steering  wheels.  The  ladder,  of  telescopic 
design,  can  be  extended  to  fifty  feet  as  soon  as  it  has 
been  lowered  to  the  ground.  Since  the  saving  of  life 
is  even  more  important  than  the  saving  of  property,  it 
is  very  desirable  that  a  means  of  escape  should  be  at 
hand  at  the  earliest  possible  moment  after  an  outbreak. 
This  combination  apparatus  enables  the  brigade  to  nip 
a  fire  in  the  bud,  if  it  is  still  a  comparatively  small  affair, 
and  also  to  rescue  any  people  whose  exit  may  have  been  cut 
off*  by  the  fire  having  started  on  or  near  the  staircases. 

The  Wolseley  Motor-Car  Company  has  established  a 
type  of  chemical  motor  fire  engine  which  promises  to 
be  very  successful.  A  20  h.p.  motor  is  placed  forward 
under  the  frame  to  keep  the  centre  of  gravity  low. 
When  fully  laden,  it  carries  a  crew  of  eight  men,  two 
9 -foot  ladders,  two  portable  chemical  extinguishers,  a 
50 -gallon  chemical  cylinder,  and  a  reel  on  which  is 
wound  a  hose  fifty-three  yards  long.  The  wheels  are  a 
combination  of  the  wooden  "  artillery  ****  and  the  wire 
^^spider,'**  wires  being  strung  from  the  outer  end  of  the 
hub  to  the  outer  ends  of  the  wooden  spokes  to  give 
them  increased  power  to  resist  the  strain  of  sudden  turns 
or  collisions.  An  artillery  wheel,  not  thus  reinforced,  is  apt 
to  buckle  sideways  and  snap  its  spokes  when  twisted  at  all. 

England  has  always  led  the  way  in  matters  relating  to 
fire  extinction,  and  to  her  is  due  the  credit  of  first  har- 
nessing mechanical  motive  power  to  the  fire  engine.   Other 

i88 


FIRE  ENGINES 

countries  are  following  her  example,  and  consequently  we 
find  fire  apparatus  moved  by  the  petrol  motor  in  places  so 
far  apart  as  Cape  Town,  Valparaiso,  Mauritius,  Sydney, 
Berlin,  New  York,  Montreal.  There  can  be  no  doubt  but 
that  in  a  very  few  years  horse-traction  will  be  abandoned 
by  the  brigades  of  our  large  towns.  It  has  been  suggested 
that  the  fire-pump  of  the  future  will  be  driven  by  elec- 
tricity drawn  from  switches  on  the  street  mains ;  enough 
current  being  stored  in  accumulators  to  move  the  pump 
from  station  to  fire.  In  such  a  case  it  would  be  possible 
to  use  very  powerful  pumps,  as  an  electric  motor  is 
extremely  vigorous  for  its  size  and  weight.  Even  to-day 
steam  fire  engines  can  fling  2,000  gallons  per  minute,  and 
fire  floats  (for  use  on  the  water)  considerably  more.  Pos- 
sibly the  engine  of  to-morrow  will  pour  5,000  gallons 
a  minute  on  the  flames  if  it  can  get  that  amount  from  the 
water  mains,  and  so  render  it  unnecessary  to  summon  in 
a  large  number  of  engines  to  quell  a  big  conflagration. 
Three  hundred  thousand  gallons  an  hour  ought  to  check 
a  very  considerable  "  blaze.*" 

The  force  with  which  a  jet  of  water  leaves  the  huge 
nozzle  of  a  powerful  engine  is  so  great  that  it  would 
seriously  injure  a  spectator  at  a  distance  of  fifty  yards. 
The  "  kick-back  '*''  of  the  water  on  the  nozzle  is  sometimes 
sufficient  to  overcome  the  power  of  one  man  to  hold  the 
nozzle  in  position  with  his  hands,  and  it  becomes  needful 
to  provide  supports  with  pointed  ends  to  stick  into  the 
ground,  or  hooks  which  can  be  attached  to  the  rungs  of  a 
ladder.  For  an  attack  on  the  upper  storeys  of  a  house  a 
special  "  water  tower""  is  much  used  in  America.  It  con- 
sists of  a  lattice-work  iron  frame,  about  twenty  ilve  feet 

189 


MODERN   MECHANISM 

long,  inside  which  slides  an  extensible  iron  tube  five  inches 
in  diameter.  The  tower  is  attached  to  one  end  of  a 
wagon  of  unusual  length  and  breadth,  and  is  raised  to  a 
vertical  position  by  a  rack  gearing  with  a  quadrant  built 
into  its  base  below  the  trunnions  or  pivots  on  which  it 
swings.  Carbonic  acid  gas,  generated  in  a  cylinder  carried 
on  the  wagon,  works  a  piston  connected  with  the  racks, 
and  on  a  tap  being  turned  slowly  brings  the  tower  to  the 
perpendicular,  when  it  is  locked.  The  telescopic  tube, 
carrying  the  hose  inside  it,  is  then  pulled  up  by  windlasses, 
until  the  2J-inch  nozzle  is  nearly  fifty  feet  from  the 
ground.  The  nozzle  itself  can  be  rotated  from  below  by 
rods  and  gearing,  and  the  angle  of  the  stream  regulated 
by  a  rope.  If  several  engines  simultaneously  deliver 
their  water  to  the  tower  hoses  1,000  gallons  a  minute  can 
be  concentrated  in  a  continuous  2^-inch  jet  on  to  the  fire. 
The  ordinary  horsed  fire  engine  is  simple  in  its  design 
and  parts.  The  vertical  boiler  contains  a  number  of 
nearly  horizontal  water  tubes,  which  offer  a  great  surface 
to  the  furnace  gases,  so  that  it  may  raise  steam  very 
quickly.  The  actual  water  capacity  of  the  boiler  is  small, 
and  therefore  it  must  be  fed  continuously  by  a  special 
pump.  The  pumps,  two  or  three  in  number,  usually  have 
piston  rods  working  direct  from  the  steam  cylinders 
on  the  plungers  of  the  pumps.  Between  cylinders  and 
pumps  are  slots  in  the  rods  in  which  rotate  cranks  con- 
nected with  one  another  and  with  a  fly-wheel  which  helps 
to  keep  the  running  steady.  After  leaving  the  pumps  the 
water  enters  a  large  air  vessel,  which  reduces  the  sudden 
shocks  of  delivery  by  the  cushioning  effect  of  the  air,  and 
causes  a  steady  pressure  on  the  water  in  the  hoses. 

190 


CHAPTER  XI 

FIRE-ALARMS  AND  AUTOMATIC 
FIRE  EXTINGUISHERS 

ASSUMING  that  a  town  has  a  well-appointed  fire 
brigade,  equipped  with  the  most  up-to-date  engines, 
it  still  cannot  be  considered  efficiently  protected 
against  the  ravages  of  the  fire-fiend  unless  the  outbreak  of 
a  fire  can  be  notified  immediately  to  the  stations,  and 
local  mechanical  means  of  suppression  come  into  action 
almost  simultaneously  with  the  commencement  of  the  con- 
flagration. "  What  you  do,  do  quickly  '"*  is  the  keynote 
of  successful  fire-suppression  ;  and  its  importance  has  been 
practically  recognised  in  the  invention  of  hundreds  of 
devices,  some  of  which  we  will  glance  at  in  the  following 
pages. 

The  electric  circuit  is  the  most  valuable  servant  that  we 
have  to  warn  us  of  danger.  Dotted  about  the  streets  are 
posts  carrying  at  the  top  a  circular  box,  which  contains  a 
knob.  As  soon  as  a  fire  is  observed,  anyone  may  run  to 
such  a  post,  smash  the  glass  screening  the  knob,  and  pull 
out  the  latter.  This  action  flashes  the  alarm  to  the  nearest 
fire-station,  and  a  few  minutes  later  an  engine  is  dashing 
to  the  rescue.  Help  may  also  be  summoned  by  means  of 
the  ordinary  telephone  exchanges  or  from  poHce-stations 
in  direct  telephonic  communication  with  the  brigade  depots. 

191 


MODERN   MECHANISM 

All  devices  depending  for  their  ultimate  value  on 
human  initiative  leave  a  good  deal  to  be  desired.  They 
presuppose  conditions  which  may  be  absent.  For  instance, 
an  electric  wire  in  a  large  factory  ignites  some  combus- 
tible material  during  the  night.  A  passer-by  may  happen 
to  see  flames  while  the  fire  is  in  an  early  stage.  On  the 
other  hand,  it  is  equally  probable  that  the  conflagration 
may  be  well  established  before  the  alarm  is  given,  with 
the  result  that  the  fire  brigade  arrives  too  late  to  do  much 
good. 

What  we  need,  therefore,  is  a  mechanical  means  of 
calling  attention  to  the  danger  automatically,  with  a 
quickness  which  will  give  the  brigade  or  people  close  at 
hand  a  chance  of  strangling  the  monster  almost  as  soon 
as  it  is  born,  and  with  a  precision  as  to  locality  that  will 
save  the  precious  time  wasted  in  hunting  for  the  exact 
point  to  be  attacked. 

Mr.  G.  H.  Oatway,  m.i.e.e.,  in  a  valuable  paper  read 
before  the  International  Congress  of  Fire  Brigades  in 
London  in  1903,  says  that  the  difference  between  the 
damage  resulting  from  a  fire  signalled  in  its  early  stage, 
and  the  same  fire  reported  when  it  has  spread  to  two  or 
three  floors,  is  often  the  difference  between  a  nominal  loss 
and  a  "  burn  out.'"  The  reformer,  he  continues,  who  aims 
at  reducing  fire  waste  must  turn  his  attention  primarily  to 
hastening  the  alarm.  The  true  cure  of  the  matter  is, 
not  what  quantity  of  gear  it  takes  to  deal  with  huge  con- 
flagrations, but  how  to  concentrate  at  the  earliest  stage 
upon  the  outbreaks  as  they  occur,  and  to  check  them 
before  they  have  grown  beyond  control.  He  cites  the  fire 
record  of  Glasgow  of  1902,  from  which  it  appears  that 

192 


ALARMS   AND   EXTINGUISHERS 

three  fires  alone  accounted  for  40  per  cent,  of  the  year's 
total  I0SS5  ten  fires  for  73  per  cent.,  and  the  other  706  for 
only  27  per  cent.,  or  an  average  of  £72  per  fire.  Had 
the  first  three  fires  only  been  notified  at  an  earlier  stage, 
nearly  £72,000  would  have  been  saved.  Captain  Sir  E.  M. 
Shaw,  late  Chief  of  the  London  Fire  Brigade,  has  put  the 
following  on  record  :  "  Having  devoted  a  very  large  por- 
tion of  the  active  period  of  my  working  life  in  bringing 
into  general  use  mechanical  and  hydraulic  appliances  for 
dealing  with  fires  after  they  have  been  discovered,  I  never- 
theless give  and  have  always  given  the  highest  place  to 
the  early  discovery  and  indication  of  fire,  and  not  by  any 
means  to  the  steam,  the  hydraulic,  or  the  numerous  other 
mechanical  appliances  on  which  the  principal  labours  of 
my  life  have  been  bestowed."*' 

A  fire  given  fifteen  minutes'  start  is  often  hard  to  over- 
take. Imagine  a  warehouse  alight  on  three  floors  before 
the  alarm  is  raised  !  Engines  may  come  one  after  another 
and  pour  deluges  of  water  on  the  flames,  yet  as  likely  as 
not  we  read  next  morning  of  "total  destruction."  No 
stitch  in  time  has  saved  nine ! 

The  sad  part  about  fires  is  that  they  represent  so  much 
absolute  waste.  In  commercial  transactions,  if  one  party 
loses  the  other  gains ;  wealth  is  merely  transferred,  and 
still  remains  in  the  community.  But  in  the  matter  of  fire 
this  is  not  the  case.  Supposing  that  a  huge  cotton  mill 
is  burnt  down.  The  re-erection  will,  it  is  true,  cause  a  lot 
of  money  to  change  hands ;  but  what  has  resulted  from 
the  money  that  has  already  been  put  into  the  mill  ? 
Nothing.  So  many  hundred  thousands  of  pounds  have 
been  dematerialised  and  left  nothing  behind  to  represent 

N  193 


MODERN   MECHANISM 

them.  The  great  Ottawa  fire  of  a  few  years  ago  may  be 
remembered  as  a  terrible  example  of  such  total  loss  of 
human  effort. 

THE    HISTORY    OF    FIRE-ALARMS 

The  first  recorded  specification  for  an  automatic  detect- 
ing device  bears  the  date  1763.  In  that  year  a  Mr.  John 
Greene  patented  an  arrangement  of  cords,  weights,  and 
pulleys,  which,  when  the  cord  burnt  through,  caused  the 
movement  of  an  indicating  semaphore  arm.  As  this 
action  appealed  only  to  the  eye,  it  might  easily  pass  un- 
noticed, and  we  can  imagine  that  Mr.  Greene  did  not  find 
a  gold  mine  in  his  invention. 

Twenty-four  years  later  an  advance  was  made  w^hen 
William  Stedman  introduced  a  "philosophical  fire  alarum.*" 
"  His  apparatus  consisted  of  a  pivoted  bulb  having  an  open 
neck,  and  containing  mercury,  spirit  or  other  liquid.  As 
the  heat  of  the  room  increased,  the  expansion  of  the  fluid 
caused  it  to  spill  over,  release  a  trigger,  and  allow  a 
mechanical  gong  to  run  down.  This  arrangement,  whilst 
an  advance  upon  the  first  referred  to,  is  quite  impractic- 
able. Evaporation  of  fluid,  expansion  of  mercury,  a  stiff* 
crank,  or  other  causes  which  will  readily  occur  to  you,  and 
the  thing  is  useless.""  * 

In  1806  an  automatic  method  for  sprinkling  water  over 
a  fire  appeared.  The  idea  was  simplicity  itself:  a  net- 
work of  water  mains,  with  taps  controlled  by  cords,  which 
burnt  through  and  turned  on  the  water.  William 
Congreve  patented,  three  years  later,  a  sprinkler  which 
was  an  improvement,  in  that  it  indicated  the  position  of 

*  Mr.  W.  H.  Oatway. 
194 


I, 


ALARMS   AND  EXTINGUISHERS 

the  fire  in  a  building  by  dropping  one  of  a  number  of 
weights.  But  string  is  not  to  be  relied  upon.  It  may 
"  perish  **"  and  break  when  no  fire  is  about,  and  any  system 
of  extinction  depending  on  it  might  prove  a  double-edged 
weapon. 

The  nineteenth  century  produced  hundreds  of  devices 
for  alarming  and  extinguishing  automatically.  All  de- 
pended upon  the  principle  of  the  expansion  or  melting 
of  metal  in  the  increased  temperature  arising  from  a  fire. 
At  one  time  the  circuit-closing  thermometer  was  popular 
on  account  of  its  simplicity.  "  Its  drawback,"'  says 
Mr.  Oatway,  "  is  the  smallness  of  its  heat-collecting  sur- 
face, its  isolation,  and,  last  and  worst  of  all,  its  fixity  of 
operation.  In  thermometer  or  fuse-alarm  practice  it  is 
usual  to  place  the  detectors  at  intervals  of  about  ten  feet 
or  so,  so  that  a  room  of  any  size  will  contain  a  number. 
If  a  fire  breaks  out,  the  ceiling  is  blanketed  with  heat, 
and  every  detector  feels  its  influence.  Each  is  affected, 
but  none  can  give  the  alarm  until  some  one  of  the 
number  absolutely  reaches  the  set  point  or  melts  out. 
Having  no  means  of  varying  the  composition  of  the  solder 
or  shifting  the  wire,  an  actuating  point  must  be  selected 
which  is  high  enough  to  give  a  good  working  margin  over 
the  maximum  industrial  or  seasonal  heat  of  the  year ;  and 
thus  it  comes  about  that  if  the  fire  breaks  out  in  winter, 
or  when  the  room  is  at  its  lowest  temperature,  the  amount 
of  loss  is  considerably  and  quite  unnecessarily  increased. 
In  a  device  set  to  fuse  at  150°  Fahrenheit,  it  will  be  clear 
to  every  one  that  the  measure  of  the  damage  will  depend 
upon  the  normal  temperature  of  the  room  at  tlie  time  of 
the  outbreak.     If  the  mercury  is  in  the  nineties,  tliere  is 

195 


MODERN   MECHANISM 

only  some  sixty  degrees  of  a  rise  to  wait  for ;  whilst  if  it 
happens  to  be  a  winter's  night,  the  alarm  is  held  back  for 
a  rise  of  perhaps  120°.  What  chance  is  there  in  this  case 
for  a  good  stop  ?  " 

Mr.  Oatway  has  examined  the  fuses  under  different 
conditions,  and  his  conclusions  are  drawn  from  practical 
tests.  Great  intelligence  will  not  be  required  to  appre- 
ciate the  force  of  his  arguments.  Inasmuch  as  the  rise  of 
temperature  caused  by  a  fire  is  relative,  during  the  early 
stages  at  least,  to  the  general  heat  of  the  atmosphere,  it 
becomes  obvious  that  an  automatic  fire-alarm  should  be 
one  which  will  keep  parallel,  as  it  were,  with  fluctuations 
of  natural  heat.  Thus,  if  the  "  danger  rise  ''*'  be  fixed  at 
100%  the  alarm  should  be  given  on  a  cold  night  as 
certainly  as  at  midday  in  summer.  It  was  the  failure 
of  early  patterns  in  this  respect  that  led  to  their  being 
discredited  by  the  fire-brigade  authorities. 

The  writer  already  quoted  has  laid  down  the  functions 
of  a  perfect  alarm  : — 

{a)  To  detect  the  fire  at  a  uniformly  early  period,  under 
all  atmospheric  and  industrial  conditions. 

(i)  To  give  the  alarm  upon  the  premises,  and  simulta- 
neously to  the  brigade,  by  a  definite  and  unmistakable 
message. 

(c)  To  facilitate  the  work  of  extinction  by  indicating 
the  position  of  the  outbreak  in  the  building  attacked. 

The  "May  Oatway''''  alarm  has  got  round  the  first 
difficulty  in  a  most  ingenious  manner  by  adapting  the 
principle  of  the  compensation  methods  already  described 
in  connection  with  watches. 

The  alarm  consists  of  a  steel  rod  of  a  section  found 

196 


ALARMS   AND  EXTINGUISHERS 

to  be  most  suitable  for  the  purpose.  To  the  side  is 
attached  by  screws  entering  the  rod  near  the  ends  a 
copper  wire,  which  is  long  enough  to  sag  slightly  at  its 
centre,  from  which  depends  a  silver  chain  carrying  a 
carbon  contact-piece.  A  short  distance  below  the  carbon 
are  the  two  terminals  of  the  electric  circuit  which,  when 
completed  by  the  lowering  of  the  carbon,  gives  the  alarm. 
Now  if  there  be  a  very  gradual  change  of  temperature 
the  steel  rod  lengthens  slowly,  and  so  does  the  copper 
wire,  so  that  the  amount  of  sag  remains  practically  what 
it  was  before.  But  in  event  of  a  fire  the  copper  expands 
much  more  quickly  than  the  steel,  and  sags  until  the 
carbon  completes  the  circuit.  The  whole  thing  is  beauti- 
fully simple,  very  durable,  quite  consistent,  and  reliable. 
As  soon  as  the  temperature  diminishes,  on  the  extinction 
of  the  fire,  the  alarm  automatically  returns  to  its  normal 
position,  ready  for  further  work. 

Now  for  the  second  function,  that  of  giving  the  alarm 
in  many  places  at  once.  The  closed  circuit  does  not 
itself  directly  cause  bells  to  ring  :  it  works  a  "  relay ,''^ 
that  is,  a  second  and  more  powerful  circuit.  In  fact, 
it  is  the  counterpart  of  the  engine  driver,  who  does  not 
himself  make  the  locomotive  move,  but  merely  turns  on 
the  steam.  An  installation  has  been  introduced  in  the 
Poplar  Workhouse — to  quote  an  instance.  Were  a  fire 
to  break  out,  one  of  the  276  detectors  would  soon  set 
twenty-five  bells  in  action,  one  in  each  officer''s  room. 
Similarly,  in  the  Warehousemen's  Orphanage  at  Cheadle 
Hulme,  every  dormitory  would  be  aroused,  and  every 
officer,  including  the  Principal  in  his  house  some  distance 
away.     Messrs.  Arthur  and  Company,  of  Glasgow,  have 

197 


MODERN    MECHANISM 

a  warehouse  fortified  with  600  of  these  "  nerve  centres,""^ 
all  yoked  to  four  position  indicators,  three  of  which 
actuate  a  "master''  indicator  connected  with  the  central 
fire-station.  There  is  no  hole  or  corner  in  this  huge 
establishment  where  the  fire-demon  could  essay  his  fell 
work  without  being  at  once  spied  upon  by  a  detector. 

We  may  glance  for  a  moment  at  the  mechanism  which 
sends  an  unmistakable  message  for  help.  At  the  brigade 
station  there  is  a  number  of  small  tablets,  each  protected 
by  a  flap,  on  the  outside  of  which  is  the  word  SAFE,  on 
the  inside  FIRE.  Normally  the  flap  is  closed.  As  soon 
as  the  circuit  is  completed,  a  magnet  releases  the  flap, 
and  a  bell  begins  to  ring.  Now,  it  is  possible  that  the 
circuit  might  be  closed  accidentally  by  contact  somewhere 
between  the  premises  it  serves  and  the  fire-station.  So 
that  the  official  on  guard,  seeing  "  J.  Brown  and 
Company""  on  the  uncovered  tablet,  might  despatch  the 
engines  to  the  place  indicated  on  a  wild-goose  chase. 

To  prevent  such  false  alarms  the  transmitter  not  only 
rings  the  station  up,  but  automatically  sends  an  un- 
mistakable message.  When  a  fire  occurs  an  automatic 
printing  machine  is  set  in  motion  to  despatch  a  cipher 
in  the  Morse  code  four  times  to  the  station.  An  acci- 
dental circuit  could  not  do  this  ;  therefore,  when  the 
officer  sees  on  the  receiving  tape  the  well-known  cipher, 
he  turns  out  his  men  with  all  speed. 

On  arriving  at  their  destination  the  firemen  receive 
valuable  help  from  the  "  position  indicator,*"  which  guides 
them  to  their  work.  On  a  special  board  is  seen  a  row, 
or  rows,  of  shutters  similar  to  those  already  mentioned. 
Each  row  belongs  to  a  floor;  each  unit  of  the  row  to  a 

198 


ALARMS   AND   EXTINGUISHERS 

[  room.  A  glance  suffices  to  tell  that  the  trouble  is,  say, 
in  the  most  southerly  room  of  the  second  floor.  No 
notice  is  therefore  taken  of  smoke  rolling  out  of  other  parts 
of  the  building,  until  the  danger  spot  has  been  attacked. 

That  the  firemen  appreciate  such  an  ally  goes  without 
saying.  Every  fire  extinguished  is  a  point  to  their  credit. 
Also,  the  risks  they  run  are  greatly  diminished,  while  the 
wear  and  tear  of  tackle  is  proportionately  reduced.  The 
fireman  is  noted  for  his  courage  and  unflinching  perform- 
ance of  duty.  The  discomforts  of  his  profession  are 
sometimes  severe,  and  its  dangers  as  certain  as  they  are 
at  times  appalling.  Therefore  we  welcome  any  mechanical 
method  which  at  once  shortens  his  work,  lessens  his  peril, 
and  protects  property  from  damage. 

Mr.  Oatway  draws  special  attention  to  the  need  for 
simultaneous  warning  on  the  premises  and  at  the  fire- 
station.  "  I  remember,'*'*  he  says,  "  many  cases,  but 
perhaps  no  better  illustration  need  be  looked  for  than 
the  case  of  a  cotton  mill  in  Lancashire  about  two  years 
ago  (1901).  The  fire  was  seen  to  start  at  a  few  minutes 
past  seven ;  a  fuse  blew  out,  and  sparked  some  cotton  ; 
but  it  looked  such  a  simple  job  that  the  operatives 
elected  to  deal  with  it.  At  twenty  minutes  to  eight 
it  dawned  upon  somebody  that  the  brigade  had  better 
be  sent  for,  because  the  fire  was  getting  away ;  and  in 
due  course  they  arrived ;  but  the  mill,  already  doomed, 
became  a  total  loss.  In  every  centre  similar  instances 
can  be  quoted.  There  is  nothing  in  any  automatic 
system  to  discourage  individual  effort.  Inmates  can  put 
the  fire  out,  if  able;  but  in  any  case  the  brigade  gets 
timely  and  definite  notice,  and  if  on  their  arrival  they 

199 


MODERN    MECHANISM 

find  the  fire  extinguished,  as  Chief  Superintendent 
Thomas  put  it  when  we  opened  the  Dingle  Station 
after  the  fatal  train-burning,  '  So  much  the  better,  we 
shall  get  to  our  beds  all  the  quicker. **  This  is  the 
common-sense  view  of  it.  Helpers  work  none  the  less 
intelligently  because  they  know  the  brigade  is  coming; 
and  it  is  necessary  to  provide  some  automatic  method 
of  calling  them,  because  you  can  never  rely  upon  any- 
body who  is  unfamiliar  with  fire  doing  the  right  thing 
at  the  proper  time."** 

Messrs.  May  and  Oatway,  who  give  their  name  to  the 
alarm  described  above,  first  introduced  their  apparatus 
in  New  Zealand,  from  which  country  it  has  spread  over  the 
British  Empire.  The  largest  installation  is  at  Messrs.  Clark 
and  Company'^s  Anchor  Mills,  Paisley.  The  whole  of  the 
immense  block  of  buildings,  the  greater  part  of  which  was 
previously  protected  by  "  sprinklers  *'''  only,  is  now  electri- 
cally protected  also ;  and  connected  up  with  the  fire 
brigade,  and  through  their  station  with  the  sleeping 
quarters  of  every  fireman.  Some  figures  will  be  inter- 
esting here.  There  are  119  miles  of  internal  alarm  cir- 
cuits ;  5  J  miles  of  underground  cable  between  buildings ; 

19  automatic  telegraphs  ;  21  automatic  position  indicators; 

20  alarm  gongs  a  foot  in  diameter. 

Early  in  January,  1905,  a  fire  broke  out  in  these 
buildings  during  the  dinner  hour,  when  most  of  the  works'" 
firemen  were  at  their  midday  meal.  The  alarm  sounded 
simultaneously  at  the  works'  fire-station  and  at  the  fire- 
men''s  houses,  which  are  situated  on  the  other  side  of  the 
street  from  the  mill.  The  firemen  were  on  the  spot 
immediately,   and   were   enabled   to   subdue  the  flames. 


ALARMS   AND   EXTINGUISHERS 

which  had  broken  out  in  the  building  occupied  as  ware- 
house and  office,  before  it  had  got  a  firm  hold  of  the 
inflammable  material,  although  not  before  one  of  the 
large  stacks  of  finished  thread  was  ablaze.  The  brigade, 
however,  were  soon  masters  of  the  situation,  and  the 
damage  done  was  under  £100.  There  is  little  doubt,  had 
the  alarm  been  left  to  the  ordinary  course,  the  building 
would  have  been  totally  destroyed.* 

In  those  few  minutes  the  installation  saved  its  entire 
cost  many  times  over.     Truly 

^^  A  little  fire  is  quickly  trodden  out, 
Which _,  being  suffered^  rivers  cannot  quench." 

Here,  in  a  Shakespearean  nutshell,  is  the  whole  science  of 
fire  protection. 

AUTOMATIC    SPRINKLERS 

As  these  have  been  referred  to  several  times  a  short 
description  may  appropriately  be  given.  The  building 
which  they  protect  is  fitted  with  a  network  of  mains  and 
branches  ramifying  into  each  room.  At  the  end  of  each 
branch  is  a  nozzle,  the  mouth  of  which  is  bridged  over  by 
a  metal  arch  carrying  a  small  plate.  Between  the  bridge 
and  a  glass  plug  closing  the  nozzle  is  a  bar  of  easily  fusible 
solder.  When  the  temperature  has  risen  to  danger  point 
the  solder  melts,  and  the  plug  is  driven  out  by  the  water, 
which  strikes  the  plate  and  scatters  in  all  directions. 

This  device  has  proved  very  valuable  on  many  occasions. 

The  Encyclopocdia  Britannica  (Tenth  Edition)  states  that, 

in  the  record  of  the  American  Associated  Factory  Mutual 

companies  for  the  5^  years  ending  January  1,  1900,  it 

*  Olasgow  Evening  News. 


MODERN   MECHANISM 

appears  that  out  of  563  fires  where  sprinklers  came  into 
play  129  were  extinguished  by  one  jet ;  83  by  two  jets ; 
61  by  three  ;  44  by  four ;  40  by  five. 

The  fire-bucket  is  the  simplest  device  we  have  as  a  first 
aid ;  and  very  effective  it  often  proves.  Insurance  statis- 
tics show  that  more  fires  are  put  out  by  pails  than  by  all 
other  appliances  put  together.  The  important  point  to 
be  remembered  in  connection  with  them  is  that  they 
should  always  be  kept  full;  so  that,  at  the  critical  moment, 
there  may  be  no  hiu'ried  rushing  about  to  find  the  two 
gallons  of  liquid  which  each  is  supposed  to  contain  per- 
manently. In  Cassier's  Magazine  (vol.  xx.  p.  85)  is  given 
an  account  of  the  manner  in  which  an  ingenious  mill 
superintendent  ensured  the  pails  on  the  premises  being 
ready  for  duty.  The  hooks  carrying  the  pails  w  ere  fitted 
up  wdth  pieces  of  spring  steel  strong  enough  to  lift  the 
pail  when  nearly  empty,  but  not  sufficiently  so  to  lift 
a  full  pail.  Just  over  each  spring,  in  such  a  position 
as  to  be  out  of  the  way  of  the  handle  of  the  pail,  was  set 
a  metal  point,  connected  with  a  wire  from  an  open-circuit 
battery.  So  long  as  the  pails  were  full,  their  weight, 
when  hung  on  their  hooks,  kept  the  springs  down,  but  as 
soon  as  one  was  removed,  or  lost  a  considerable  part  of  its 
contents  by  evaporation  or  otherwise,  the  spring  on  its 
hook  would  rise,  come  into  contact  with  the  metal  point, 
thus  close  the  battery  circuit  and  ring  a  bell  in  the 
manager'*s  office,  at  the  same  time  showing  which  was  the 
bucket  at  fault.  The  bell  continued  to  ring  till  the 
deficiency  had  been  made  right ;  and  by  this  simple  con- 
trivance the  buckets  were  protected  from  misuse  or  lack 
of  attention. 

202 


CHAPTER  XII 
THE   MACHINERY  OF  A   SHH' 

THE  REVERSING  ENGINE MARINE  ENGINE  SPEED  GOVERNORS — THE 

STEERING    ENGINE BLOWING    AND   VENTILATING   APPARATUS 

PUMPS FEED      HEATERS FEED -WATER      FILTERS DISTILLERS 

REFRIGERATORS THE    SEARCH-LIGHT WIRELESS    TELEGRA- 
PHY   INSTRUMENTS SAFETY    DEVICES THE    TRANSMISSION    OF 

POWER  ON  A  SHIP 

WITH  many  travellers  by  sea  the  first  impulse,  after 
bunks  have  been  visited  and  baggage  has  been 
safely  stored  away,  is  to  saunter  off  to  the 
hatches  over  the  engine-room  and  peer  down  into  the  shin- 
ing machinery  which  forms  the  heart  of  the  vessel.  Some 
engine  is  sure  to  be  at  work  to  remind  them  of  the  great 
power  stored  down  there  below,  and  to  give  a  foretaste  of 
what  to  expect  when  the  engine-room  gong  sounds  and 
the  man  in  charge  opens  the  huge  throttle  controlling 
some  thousands  of  horse-power. 

By  craning  forward  over  the  edge  of  the  ship,  a  jet  of 
water  may  be  seen  spurting  from  a  hole  in  the  side  just 
above  the  water-line,  denoting  either  that  a  pump  is 
emptying  the  bilge,  or  that  the  condensers  are  being 
cooled  ready  for  the  work  before  them. 

Towards  the  forecastle  a  busy  little  donkey  engine  is 
lifting  bunches  of  luggage  off  the  quay  by  means  of  a 
rope  passing  over  a  swinging  spar  attached  to  the  mast, 

203 


MODERN    MECHANISM 

and  lowering  it  into  the  nether  regions  where  stevedores 
pack  it  neatly  away. 

In  a  small  compartment  on  the  upper  deck  is  some 
mysterious,  and  not  ver}^  important-looking,  gear :  yet,  as 
it  operates  the  rudder,  it  claims  a  place  of  honour  equal- 
ling that  of  the  main  engines  which  tui^n  the  screw. 

To  the  ordinary  passenger  the  very  existence  of  much 
other  machinery — the  reversing  engines,  the  air-pumps, 
the  condensers,  the  "  feed  "  heaters,  the  filters,  the  evapo- 
rators and  refrigerators,  and  the  ventilators — is  most 
probably  unsuspected.  The  electric  light  he  would,  from 
his  experience  of  things  ashore,  vaguely  connect  with  an 
engine  "  somewhere."'"'  But  the  apparatus  referred  to 
either  works  so  unobtrusively  or  is  so  sequestered  from 
the  public  eye  that  one  might  travel  for  weeks  without 
even  hearing  mention  of  it. 

On  a  warship  the  amount  of  machinery  is  vastly  in- 
creased. In  fact,  every  war  vessel,  from  the  first-class 
battleship  to  the  smallest  "destroyer,"*'  is  practically  a 
congeries  of  machines ;  accommodation  for  human  beings 
taking  a  very  secondary  place.  Big  guns  must  be  trained, 
fed,  and  cleaned  by  machinery ;  and  these  processes, 
simple  as  they  sound,  need  most  elaborate  devices.  The 
difference  in  respect  of  mechanism  between  the  King 
Edward  VII.  and  Nelson's  Victoiy  is  as  great  as  that 
between  a  motor-car  and  a  farmer'^s  cart.  It  would  not 
be  too  much  to  say  that  the  mechanical  knowledge  of 
any  period  is  very  adequately  gauged  from  its  fighting 
vessels. 

Dui^ng  the  last  twenty  years  marine  engines  have  been 
enormously    improved.     But    the    advance    of    auxiliary 

204 


II 


Photo\  [Critd,  Sourhsea, 

A  gigantic  sheer-legs  used   for  lowering  Ijoilers,  big  guns,  turrets,  etc.,   into  men-of-war. 
The  legs  rise  to  a  height  of  140  feet,  and  will  handle  weights  up  to  150  tons. 


THE   MACHINERY   OF   A   SHIP 

appliances  has  been  even  more  marked.  In  earlier  times 
the  matter  considered  of  primary  importance  was  the 
propulsion  of  the  vessel ;  and  engineers  turned  their 
attention  to  the  problem  of  crowding  the  greatest  possi- 
ble amount  of  power  into  the  least  possible  amount  of 
space.  This  was  effected  mainly  by  the  "  compounding  **' 
of  engines — using  the  steam  over  and  over  again  in 
cylinders  of  increasing  size — and  by  improving  the  design 
of  boilers.  As  soon  as  this  business  had  been  well  for- 
warded, auxiliary  machinery,  which,  though  not  absolutely 
necessary  for  movement,  greatly  affected  the  ease,  comfort, 
and  economy  of  working  a  ship,  got  its  share  of  notice, 
with  the  result  that  a  tour  round  the  "works''"'  of  a  modern 
battleship  or  liner  is  a  growing  wonder  and  a  liberal 
education  in  itself. 

This  chapter  will  deal  with  the  auxiliaries  to  be  found 
in  large  vessels  designed  for  peaceful  or  warlike  uses. 
Many  devices  are  common  to  ships  of  both  classes,  and 
some  are  confined  to  one  type  only,  though  the  "steel 
walP'  certainly  has  the  advantage  with  regard  to  multi- 
plicity. 

We  may  begin  with 

THE    REVERSING    ENGINE  /\ 

All  marine  engines  should  be  fitted  with  some  apparatus 
which  enables  the  engineer  to  reverse  them  from  full  speed 
ahead  to  full  speed  astern  in  a  few  seconds.  The  effort 
required  to  perform  the  operation  of  shifting  over  the 
valves  is  such  as  to  necessitate  the  help  of  steam.  There- 
fore you  will  find  a  special  device  in  the  engine-room 
which,  wlien  the  engineer  moves  a  small  lever  either  way 

205 


MODERN   MECHANISM 

from  the  normal  position,  lets  steam  into  a  cylinder  and 
moves  rods  reversing  the  main  engine.  By  a  link  action 
(which  could  not  be  explained  without  a  special  diagram) 
the  valves  of  the  auxiliary  are  closed  automatically  as 
soon  as  the  task  has  been  performed ;  so  that  there  is  no 
constant  pressure  on  the  one  or  the  other  side  of  its  piston. 
To  prevent  the  reversal  being  two  sudden,  the  auxiliary's 
piston-rod  is  prolonged,  and  fitted  to  a  second  piston 
working  in  a  second  cylinder  full  of  glycerine  or  oil.  This 
piston  is  pierced  with  a  small  hole,  through  which  the  in- 
compressible liquid  passes  as  the  piston  moves.  Since  its 
passage  is  gradual,  the  engines  are  reversed  deliberately 
enough  to  protect  their  valves  from  any  severe  strains. 
These  reversing  engines  can,  if  the  steam  serving  them 
fails,  be  worked  by  hand. 

MARINE    ENGINE     SPEED    GOVERNORS 

When  a  ship  is  passing  through  a  strong  sea  and 
pitches  as  she  crosses  the  waves,  the  screw  is  from  time  to 
time  lifted  clear  of  the  water,  and  the  engines  which 
a  moment  before  had  been  doing  their  utmost,  suddenly 
find  their  load  taken  off  them.  The  result  is  "racing'' 
of  the  machinery,  which  makes  itself  very  unpleasantly 
felt  from  one  end  of  the  ship  to  the  other.  Then  the 
screw,  revolving  at  a  speed  much  above  the  normal, 
suddenly  plunges  into  the  water  again,  and  encounters 
great  resistance  to  its  revolution. 

A  series  of  changes  from  full  to  no  "  load,"  as  engineers 
term  it,  must  be  harmful  to  any  engines,  even  though  the 
evil  effects  are  not  shown  at  once.  Great  strains  are  set 
up  which    shake   bolts   loose,    or   may   crack   the  heavy 

206 


THE   MACHINERY  OF  A   SHIP 

standards  in  which  the  cranks  and  shaft  work,  and  even 
seriously  tax  the  shaft  itself  and  the  screw.  On  land 
every  stationary  engine  set  to  do  tasks  in  which  the  load 
varies — which  practically  means  all  stationary  engines — 
are  fitted  with  a  governor,  to  cut  off  the  steam  directly  a 
certain  rate  of  revolution  is  exceeded.  These  engines  are 
the  more  easily  governed  because  they  carry  heavy  fly- 
wheels, which  pick  up  or  lose  their  velocity  gradually.  A 
marine  engine,  on  the  other  hand,  has  only  the  screw  to 
steady  it,  and  this  is  extremely  light  in  proportion  to  the 
power  which  drives  it ;  in  fact,  has  scarcely  any  controlling 
influence  at  all  as  soon  as  it  leaves  the  water. 

Marine  engineers,  therefore,  need  some  mechanical  means 
of  restraining  their  engines  from  "  running  away.""  The 
device  must  be  very  sensitive  and  quick  acting,  since  the 
engines  would  increase  their  rate  threefold  in  a  second 
if  left  ungovemed  when  running  "free''"';  while  on  the 
other  hand  it  must  not  throttle  the  steam  supply  a  moment 
after  the  work  has  begun  again  when  the  screw  takes  the 
water. 

Many  mechanisms  have  been  invented  to  curb  the 
marine  engine.  Some  have  proved  fairly  successful,  others 
practically  useless ;  and  the  fact  remains  that,  owing  to 
the  greater  difficulty  of  the  task,  marine  governing  is  not 
so  delicate  as  that  of  land  engines.  A  great  number  of 
steamships  are  not  fitted  with  governors,  for  the  simple 
reason  that  the  engineers  are  sceptical  about  such  devices 
as  a  class  and  "  would  rather  not  be  bothered  with  tliem.'^ 

But  whatever  may  have  been  its  record  in  the  past,  the 
marine  governor  is  at  the  present  time  sufficiently  de- 
veloped to  form  an  item  in  the  engine-rooms  of  many  of 

207 


MODERN   MECHANISM 

our  largest  ships.  We  select  as  one  of  the  best  devices 
yet  produced  that  known  as  Andrews'  Patent  Governor ; 
and  append  a  short  description. 

It  consists  of  two  main  parts — the  pumps  and  the  ram 
closing  the  throttle.  The  pumps,  two  in  number,  are 
worked  alternately  by  some  moving  part  of  the  engine, 
such  as  the  air-pump  lever.  They  inject  water  through 
a  small  pipe  into  a  cylinder,  the  piston-rod  of  which 
operates  a  throttle  valve  in  the  main  steam  supply  to  the 
engines.  At  the  bottom  of  this  cylinder  is  a  by-pass, 
or  artificial  leak,  through  which  the  water  flows  back  to 
the  pumps.  The  size  of  the  flow  through  the  by-pass  is 
controlled  by  a  screw  adjustment. 

We  will  suppose  that  the  governor  is  set  to  permit  one 
hundred  revolutions  a  minute.  As  long  as  that  rate  is  not 
exceeded  the  by-pass  will  let  out  as  much  water  as  the  pumps 
can  inject  into  the  cylinder,  and  the  piston  is  not  moved. 
But  as  soon  as  the  engines  begin  to  race,  the  pumps  send  in 
an  excess,  and  the  piston  immediately  begins  to  rise,  closing 
the  throttle.  As  the  speed  falls,  the  leak  gets  the  upper 
hand  again,  and  the  piston  is  pushed  down  by  a  powerful 
spring,  opening  the  throttle. 

It  might  be  supposed  that,  when  the  screw  "  races,'"*  the 
pumps  would  not  only  close  the  throttle,  but  also  press  so 
hard  on  it  as  to  cause  damage  to  some  part  of  the  appara- 
tus before  the  speed  had  fallen  again.  This  is  prevented 
by  the  presence  of  a  second  control  valve  (or  leak)  worked 
by  a  connecting-rod  rising  along  with  the  piston-rod  of 
the  ram.  The  two  rods  are  held  in  engagement  by  a 
powerful  spring  which  presses  them  together,  so  that 
a  hollow  in  the  first  engages  with  a  projection  on  the 

208 


THE   MACHINERY   OF  A  SHIP 

second.  Immediately  the  pressure  increases  and  the 
piston  rises,  the  second  valve  is  shut  by  the  lifting  of  its 
rod,  and  so  farther  augments  the  pressure  in  the  cylinder 
and  quickens  the  closing  of  the  throttle  valve.  This 
pressure  increase  must,  however,  be  checked,  or  the  piston 
would  overrun  and  stop  the  engines.  So  when  the  piston 
has  nearly  finished  its  stroke  the  connecting-rod  comes 
into  contact  with  a  stop  which  disengages  it  from  the 
piston-rod  and  allows  the  second  control  valve  to  be  fully 
opened  by  the  spring  pulling  on  its  rod.  The  piston  at 
once  sinks  to  such  a  position  as  the  pressure  allows,  and 
the  action  is  repeated  time  after  time. 

The  governing  is  practically  instantaneous,  though 
without  shock,  and  is  said  to  keep  the  engine  within 
3  per  cent,  of  the  normal  rate.  That  is,  if  100  be  the 
proper  number  of  revolutions,  it  would  not  be  allowed  to 
exceed  103  or  drop  below  97.  Such  governing  is,  in 
technical  language,  very  "close."" 

The  idea  is  very  ingenious :  pumps  working  against  a 
leak,  and  as  soon  as  they  have  mastered  it,  being  aided 
by  a  secondary  valve  which  reduces  the  size  of  the  leak  so 
as  to  render  the  effect  of  the  pumps  increasingly  rapid 
until  the  throttle  has  been  closed.  Then  the  secondary 
valve  is  suddenly  thrown  out  of  action,  gives  the  leak  full 
play,  and  causes  the  throttle  to  open  quickly  so  that  the 
steam  may  be  cut  off  only  for  a  moment.  By  the  turn- 
ing of  a  small  milled  screw-head  a  couple  of  inches  in 
diameter  the  pace  of  5,000  h.p.  engines  is  as  fully  regu- 
lated as  if  a  powerful  brake  were  applied  the  moment 
they  exceeded  "  the  legal  limit.'" 


209 


MODERN   MECHANISM 

STEERING    ENGINES 

The  uninitiated  may  think  that  the  man  on  the  bridge, 
revolving  a  spoked-wheel  with  apparently  small  exertion, 
is  directly  moving  the  rudder  to  port  or  to  starboard  as  he 
wishes.  But  the  helm  of  a  large  vessel,  travelling  at  high 
speed,  could  not  be  so  easily  deflected  were  not  some  giant 
at  work  down  below  in  obedience  to  the  easy  motions  of 
the  wheel. 

Sometimes  in  a  special  little  cabin  on  deck,  but  more 
often  in  the  engine-room,  where  it  can  be  tended  by  the 
staff,  there  is  the  steering  engine,  usually  worked  by  steam- 
power.  Two  little  cylinders  turn  a  worm-screw  which 
revolves  a  worm-wheel  and  a  train  of  cogs,  the  last  of 
Avhich  moves  to  right  or  left  a  quadrant  attached  to  the 
chains  or  cables  which  work  the  rudder.  All  that  the 
steersman  has  to  do  with  his  wheel  is  to  put  the  engine 
in  forward,  backward,  or  middle  gear.  The  steam  being 
admitted  to  the  cylinders  quickly  moves  the  helm  to  the 
position  required. 

A  particularly  ingenious  steam  gear  is  that  made  by 
Messrs.  Harfield  and  Company,  of  London.  Its  chief 
feature  is  the  arrangement  whereby  the  power  to  move 
the  rudder  into  any  position  remains  constant.  If  you 
have  ever  steered  a  boat,  you  will  remember  that,  when 
a  sudden  curve  must  be  made,  you  have  to  put  far  more 
strength  into  the  tiller  than  would  suffice  for  a  slight 
change  of  direction.  Now,  if  a  steam-engine  and  gear 
were  so  built  as  to  give  sufficient  pressure  on  the  helm  in 
all  positions,  it  would,  if  powerful  enough  to  put  the  ship 
hard-a-port,  evidently  be    overpowered   for   the   gentler 

210 


THE  MACHINERY  OF  A   SHIP 

movements,  and  would  waste  steam.  The  Harfield  gear 
has  the  last  of  the  cog-train — the  one  which  engages  with 
the  rack  operating  the  tiller — mounted  eccentrically.  The 
rack  itself  is  not  part  of  a  circle,  but  almost  flat  centrally, 
and  sharply  bent  at  the  ends.  In  short,  the  curve  is 
such  that  the  rack  teeth  engage  with  the  eccentric  cog  at 
all  points  of  the  latter'^s  revolution. 

When  the  helm  is  normal  the  longest  radius  of  the 
eccentric  is  turned  towards  the  rack.  In  this  position  it 
exerts  least  power;  but  least  power  is  then  needed.  As 
the  helm  goes  over,  the  radius  of  the  cogs  gradually 
decreases,  and  its  leverage  proportionately  increases.  So 
that  the  engine  is  taxed  uniformly  all  the  time. 

Some  war  vessels,  including  the  ill-fated  Russian  cruiser 
Variag^  have  been  fitted  with  electric  steering  gear, 
operated  by  a  motor  in  which  the  direction  of  the  current 
can  be  varied  at  the  will  of  the  helmsman. 

All  power  gears  are  so  arranged  that,  in  case  of  a 
breakdown  of  the  power,  a  hand-wheel  can  be  quickly 
brought  into  play. 

^  BLOWING    AND    VENTILATING    APPARATUS 

A  railway  locomotive  sends  the  exhaust  steam  up  the 
funnel  with  sufficient  force  to  expel  all  air  from  the  same 
and  to  create  a  vacuum.  The  only  passage  for  the  air 
flying  to  fill  this  empty  space  lies  through  the  fire-box 
and  tubes  traversing  the  boiler  from  end  to  end.  Were 
it  not  for  the  "induced  draught*" — the  invention  of 
George  Stephenson  —  no  locomotive  would  be  able  to 
draw  a  train  at  a  higher  speed  than  a  few  miles  an 
hour.  ^ 


MODERN   MECHANISM 

On  shipboard  the  fresh  water  used  in  the  boilers  is  far 
too  precious  to  be  wasted  by  using  it  as  a  fire-exciter. 
Salt  water  to  make  good  the  loss  would  soon  corrode  the 
boilers  and  cause  terrible  explosions.  Therefore  the  neces- 
sary draught  is  created  by  forcing  air  through  the  fur- 
naces instead  of  by  drazving  it. 

The  stoke-hold  is  entirely  separated  from  the  outer  air, 
except  for  the  ventilators,  down  which  air  is  forced  by 
centrifugal  pumps  at  considerable  pressure.  This  draught 
serves  two  purposes.  It  lowers  the  temperature  of  the 
stoke-hold,  which  otherwise  would  be  unbearable,  and  also 
feeds  the  fires  with  plenty  of  oxygen.  The  air  forced  in 
can  escape  in  one  way  only,  viz.  by  passing  through  the 
furnaces.  When  the  ship  is  slowed  down  the  "forced 
draught  **'  is  turned  off,  and  then  you  see  the  poor  stokers 
coming  up  for  a  breath  of  fresh  air.  In  the  Red  Sea  or 
other  tropical  latitudes  these  grimy  but  useful  men  have 
a  very  hard  time  of  it.  While  passengers  up  above  are 
grumbling  at  the  heat,  the  stoker  below  is  almost 
fainting,  although  clad  in  nothing  but  the  thinnest  of 
trousers. 

In  the  engine-room  also  things  at  times  become  uncom- 
fortably warm.  Take  the  case  of  the  United  States 
monitor  Amphitrite^  which  went  into  commission  in  1895 
for  a  trial  run. 

Both  stoke-hold  and  engine-room  were  very  insufficiently 
ventilated.  The  vessel  started  from  Hampton  Roads  for 
Brunswick,  Georgia.  "The  trip  of  about  500  miles 
occupied  five  days  in  the  latter  part  of  July,  and,  for 
sheer  suffering,  has  perhaps  seldom  been  equalled  in  our 
naval   history.     The   fire-room  (stoke-hold)  temperature 


THE   MACHINERY  OF   A   SHIP 

was  never  below  150^,  and  often  above  170°,  while  the 
engine-room  ranged  closely  about  150°.  For  the  first 
twenty-four  hours  the  men  stood  it  well,  but  on  the 
second  day  seven  succumbed  to  the  heat  and  were  put  on 
the  sick  list,  one  of  them  nearly  dying ;  before  the  voyage 
was  ended,  twenty-eight  had  been  driven  to  seek  medical 
attendance.  The  gaps  thus  created  were  partially  filled 
with  inexperienced  men  from  the  deck  force,  until  there 
was  only  a  lifeboat's  crew  left  in  each  watch.  .  .  .  On  the 
evening  of  the  fourth  day  out  our  men  had  literally 
fought  the  fire  to  a  finish  and  had  been  vanquished ;  the 
watch  on  duty  broke  down  one  by  one,  and  the  engines, 
after  lumbering  along  slower  and  slower,  actually  stopped 
for  want  of  steam.  ...  At  daybreak  the  next  morning 
we  got  under  way  and  steamed  at  a  very  conservative  rate 
to  our  destination,  fortunately  only  about  ten  miles  distant. 
The  scene  in  the  fire-room  that  morning  was  not  of  this 
earth,  and  far  beyond  description.  The  heat  was  almost 
destructive  to  life ;  steam  was  blowing  from  many  de- 
fective joints  and  water  columns;  tools,  ladders,  doors, 
and  all  fittings  were  too  hot  to  touch;  and  the  place  was 
dense  with  smoke  escaping  from  furnace  doors,  for  there 
was  absolutely  no  draught.  The  men  collected  to  build 
up  the  fires  were  the  best  of  those  remaining  fit  for  duty, 
but  they  were  worn  out  physically,  were  nervous,  appre- 
hensive, and  dispirited.  Rough  Irish  firemen,  who  would 
stand  in  a  fair  fight  till  killed  in  their  tracks,  were  crying 
like  children,  and  begging  to  be  allowed  to  go  on  deck,  so 
completely  were  they  unmanned  by  the  cruel  ordeal  they 
had  endured  so  long.  '  Hell  afloat '  is  a  nautical  figure  of 
speech  often  idly  used,  but  then  we  saw  it.      For  a  month 

213 


MODERN   MECHANISM 

thereafter  the  ship  was  actively  employed  on  the  southern 
coast,  drilling  militia  at  different  ports,  and  sweltering  in 
the  new  dock  at  Port  Royal.  One  trip  of  twenty-nine 
hours  broke  the  record  for  heat,  the  fire-room  being  fre- 
quently above  180°.  All  fire-room  temperatures  were 
taken  in  the  actual  spaces  where  the  men  had  to  work,  and 
not  from  hot  corners  or  overhead  pockets."''* 

The  ventilators  were  subsequently  altered,  and  the  men 
enjoyed  comparative  comfort.  The  words  quoted  will 
suffice  to  establish  the  importance  of  a  proper  current  of 
air  where  men  have  to  work.  One  of  the  greatest  diffi- 
culties encountered  in  deep  mining  is  that,  while  the  tem- 
perature approaches  and  sometimes  passes  that  of  a  stoke- 
hold, the  task  of  sending  down  a  cool  current  from  above 
is,  with  depths  of  4,000  ft.  and  over,  a  very  awkward  one 
to  carry  out. 

On  passenger  ships  the  fans  ventilating  the  cabins  and 
saloons  are  constantly  at  work,  either  sucking  out  foul  air 
or  driving  in  fresh.  The  principle  of  the  fan  is  very 
similar  to  that  of  the  centrifugal  water  pump — vanes 
rotating  in  a  case  open  at  the  centre,  through  which  the 
air  enters,  to  be  flung  by  the  blades  against  the  sides  of 
the  case  and  driven  out  of  an  opening  in  its  circumference. 
Sometimes  an  ordinary  screw-shaped  fan,  such  as  we  often 
see  in  public  buildings,  is  employed. 

PUMPS 

Every  steamship  carries  several  varieties  of  pump. 
First,  there  are  the  large  pumps,  generally  of  a  simple 

*  F.  M.  Bennett,  in  the  Journal  of  the  American  Society  of  Naval 
Engineers. 

214 


I 


THE   MACHINERY   OF   A   SHIP 

type,  for  emptying  the  bilge  or  any  compartment  of  the 
ship  which  may  have  sprung  a  leak.  "  All  hands  to  the 
pumps ! '"  is  now  seldom  heard  on  a  steamer,  for  the  open- 
ing of  a  steam-cock  sets  machinery  in  motion  which  will 
successfully  jRght  any  but  a  very  severe  breach.  It  is 
needless  to  say  that  these  pumps  form  a  very  important 
part  of  a  ship''s  equipment,  without  which  many  a  fine 
vessel  would  have  sunk  which  has  struggled  to  land. 

The  pumps  for  the  condensers  form  another  class. 
These  are  centrifugal  force  pumps ;  their  duty  is  to  circu- 
late cold  sea-water  round  the  nests  of  tubes  through 
which  steam  flows  after  passing  through  the  cylinders. 
It  is  thus  converted  once  more  into  water,  ready  for  use 
again  in  the  boiler.  Every  atom  of  the  water  is  evapo- 
rated, condensed,  and  pumped  back  into  the  boiler  once 
in  a  period  ranging  from  fifteen  minutes  to  an  hour, 
according  to  the  type  of  boiler  and  the  size  of  the  supply 
tanks. 

Some  condensers  have  the  cooling  water  passed  through 
the  tubes,  and  the  steam  circulated  round  these  in  an  air- 
tight chamber.  In  any  case,  the  condenser  should  be  so 
designed  as  to  offer  a  large  amount  of  cold  surface  to  the 
hot  vapour.  A  breakdown  of  the  condenser  pumps  is 
a  serious  mishap,  since  steam  would  then  be  wasted, 
which  represents  so  much  fresh  water — hard  to  replace  in 
the  open  sea.  It  would  be  comparable  to  the  disarrange- 
ment of  the  circulating  pump  on  a  motor-car,  though  the 
effects  are  different. 

We  must  not  forget  the  feed-pumps  for  the  boilers. 
On  their  efficient  action  depends  the  safety  of  the  ship 
and   her  passengers.     Water  must    be  maintained  at  a 

215 


MODERN   MECHANISM 

certain  level  in  the  boiler,  so  that  all  tube  and  other 
surfaces  in  direct  contact  with  the  furnace  gases  may  be 
covered.  The  disastrous  explosions  we  sometimes  hear  of 
are  often  caused  by  the  failure  of  a  pump,  the  burning  of 
a  tube  or  plate,  and  the  inevitable  collapse  of  the  same. 
The  firms  of  Weir  and  Worthington  are  among  the  best- 
known  makers  of  the  special  high-pressure  pumps  used  for 
throwing  large  quantities  of  water  into  the  boilers  of 
mercantile  and  war  vessels. 

FEED    HEATERS 

As  the  fuel  supply  of  a  vessel  cannot  easily  be  re- 
plenished on  the  high  seas,  economy  in  coal  consumption 
is  very  desirable. 

If  you  put  a  cold  spoon  into  a  boiling  saucepan  ebulli- 
tion is  checked  at  once,  though  only  for  a  moment,  while 
the  spoon  takes  in  the  temperature  of  the  water.  Similarly, 
if  cold  water  be  fed  into  a  boiler  the  steam  pressure  at 
once  falls.  Therefore  the  hotter  the  feed  water  is  the 
better. 

The  feed  heater  is  the  reverse  of  the  condenser.  In 
the  latter,  cold  water  is  used  to  cool  hot  steam ;  in  the 
former,  hot  steam  to  heat  cold  water.  There  are  many 
patterns  of  heaters.  One  type,  largely  used,  sprays  the 
cold  water  through  a  valve  into  a  chamber  through  which 
steam  is  passed  from  the  engines.  The  spray,  falling 
through  the  hot  vapour,  partially  condenses  it  and  takes 
up  some  of  its  heat.  The  surplus  steam  travels  on  to 
the  condensers.  A  float  in  the  lower  part  of  the  chamber 
governs  a  valve  admitting  steam  to  the  boiler  pumps,  so 
that  as  soon  as  a  certain  amount  of  water  has  accumu- 

216 


THE   MACHINERY   OF  A   SHIP 

lated  the  pumps  are  started,  and  the  hot  liquid  is  forced 
into  the  boiler. 

Another  type,  the  Hampson  feeder,  sends  steam 
through  pipes  of  a  wavy  form  surrounded  by  the  feed 
water,  there  being  no  actual  contact  between  liquid  and 
vapour. 

An  ally  of  the  heater  is  the 

FEED-WATER    FILTER, 

which  removes  suspended  matter  which,  if  it  entered  the 
boiler,  would  form  a  deposit  round  the  tubes,  and  while 
decreasing  their  efficiency,  make  them  more  liable  to 
burning.  The  most  dangerous  element  caught  by  the 
filters  is  fatty  matter — oil  which  has  entered  the  cylinders 
and  been  carried  off  by  the  exhaust  steam. 

The  filter  is  either  high  pressure,  Le,  situated  between 
the  pump  and  the  boiler;  or  low  pressure,  i.e.  between 
the  pump  and  the  reservoir  from  which  it  draws  its 
water.  The  second  class  must  have  large  areas,  so  as  not 
to  throttle  the  supply  unduly. 

Many  kinds  of  filtering  media  have  been  tried — fabrics 
of  silk,  calico,  cocoanut  fibre,  towelling,  sawdust,  cork 
dust,  charcoal,  coke ;  but  the  ideal  substance,  at  once 
cheap,  easily  obtainable,  durable,  and  completely  effective, 
yet  remains  to  be  found. 

A  filter  should  be  so  constructed  that  the  filtering  sub- 
stance is  very  accessible  for  cleansing  or  renewal. 

DISTILLERS 

We  now  come  to  a  part  of  a  ship\s  plant  very  necessary 
for  both  machines  and  human  beings.     Many  a  time  have 

217 


MODERN    MECHANISM 

people  been  in  the  position  of  the  Ancient  Mariner,  who 

exclaimed : — 

^^  Water^  water^  everywhere, 
But  not  a  drop  to  drink  ! " 

Water  is  so  weighty  that  a  ship  cannot  carry  more 
than  a  very  limited  quantity,  and  that  for  the  immediate 
needs  of  her  passengers.  The  boilers,  in  spite  of  their 
condensers,  waste  a  good  deal  of  steam  at  safety  valves 
through  leaking  joints  and  packings,  and  in  other  ways. 
This  loss  must  be  made  good,  for,  as  already  remarked, 
salt  water  spells  the  speedy  ruin  of  any  boiler  it  enters. 

The  distiller  in  its  simplest  form  combines  a  boiler  for 
changing  water  into  vapour,  with  a  condenser  for  recon- 
verting it  to  liquid.  Solids  in  impure  water  do  not  pass 
off  with  the  steam,  so  that  the  latter,  if  condensed  in  clean 
vessels,  is  fit  for  drinking  or  for  use  in  the  engine  boilers. 

A  pound  of  steam  will,  under  this  system,  give  a  pound 
of  water.  But  as  such  procedure  would  be  extravagant 
of  fuel,  compound  condensers  are  used,  which  act  in  the 
following  manner. 

High-pressure  steam  is  passed  from  the  engine  boilers 
into  the  tubes  of  an  evaporator,  and  converts  the  salt 
water  surrounding  it  into  steam.  The  boiler  steam  then 
travels  into  its  own  condenser  or  into  the  feed  water 
heater,  while  the  steam  it  generated  passes  into  the  coils 
of  a  second  evaporator,  converts  water  there  into  steam, 
and  itself  goes  to  a  condenser.  The  steam  generated  in 
the  second  evaporator  does  similar  duty  in  a  third 
evaporator.  So  that  one  pound  of  high-pressure  steam 
is  directly  reconverted  to  water,  and  also  indirectly  pro- 
duces between  two  and  three  pounds  of  fresh  water. 

218 


THE   MACHINERY   OF  A   SHIP 

The  condensers  used  are  similar  to  those  already  de- 
scribed in  connection  with  the  engines,  and  need  no 
further  comment.  About  the  evaporators,  it  may  be 
said*  that  they  are  so  constructed  that  they  can  be 
cleaned  out  easily  as  soon  as  the  accumulation  of  salt 
and  other  matter  renders  the  operation  necessary.  Usually 
one  side  is  hinged,  and  provided  with  a  number  of  bolts 
all  round  the  edges  which  are  quickly  removed  and  re- 
placed. 

The  United  States  Navy  includes  a  ship,  the  /ra,  whose 
sole  duty  is  to  supply  the  fleet  she  attends  with  plenty  of 
fresh  water.  She  was  built  in  1885  by  Messrs.  R.  and  W. 
Hawthorn,  of  Newcastle-on-Tyne,  and  measures  310  feet 
in  length,  38J  feet  beam.  For  her  size  she  has  remark- 
able bunker  capacity,  and  can  accommodate  nearly  2,500 
tons  of  coal.  Fore  and  aft  are  huge  storage  tanks  to 
hold  between  them  about  170,000  gallons  of  fresh  water. 
Her  stills  can  produce  a  maximum  of  60,000  gallons  a 
day.  It  has  been  reckoned  that  each  ton  of  water  distilled 
costs  only  18  cents ;  or,  stated  otherwise,  that  40  gallons 
cost  one  penny.  At  many  ports  fresh  water  costs  three 
or  four  times  this  figure ;  and  even  when  procured  is  of 
doubtful  purity.  During  the  Spanish- American  War  the 
Iris  and  a  sister  ship,  the  Rainbow^  proved  most  useful. 

REFRIGERATORS 

Of  late  years  the  frozen -meat  trade  has  increased  by 
leaps  and  bounds.  Australia,  New  Zealand,  Argentina, 
Canada,  and  the  United  States  send  millions  of  pounds' 
worth  of  mutton  and  beef  across  the  water  every  year  to 
help  feed  the  populations  of  England  and  Europe. 

219 


MODERN   MECHANISM 

In  past  times  the  live  animals  were  sent,  to  be  either 
killed  when  disembarked  or  fatted  up  for  the  market. 
This  practice  was  expensive,  and  attended  by  much  suffer- 
ing of  the  unfortunate  creatures  if  bad  weather  knocked 
the  vessel  about. 

Refrigerating  machinery  has  altered  the  traffic  most 
fundamentally.  Not  only  can  more  meat  be  sent  at 
lower  rates,  but  the  variety  is  increased ;  and  many  other 
substances  than  flesh  are  often  found  in  the  cold  stores  of 
a  ship — butter  and  frait  being  important  items. 

Certain  steamship  lines,  such  as  the  Shaw,  Savill,  and 
Albion — plying  between  England  and  Australasia — include 
vessels  specially  built  for  the  transport  of  vast  numbers  of  |l 
carcases.  Upwards  of  a  million  carcases  have  been  packed 
into  the  hull  of  a  single  ship  and  kept  perfectly  fresh 
during  the  long  six  weeks'  voyage  across  the  Equator. 

Every  passenger  -  carrying  steamer  is  provided  with 
refrigerating  rooms  for  the  storage  of  perishable  provi- 
sions ;  and  as  the  comfort  of  the  passengers,  not  to  say 
their  luxury,  is  bound  up  with  these  compartments,  it 
will  be  interesting  to  glance  at  the  method  employed  for 
creating  local  frost  amid  surrounding  heat. 

The  big  principle  underlying  the  refi'igerator  is  this — 
that  a  liquid  when  turned  into  gas  absorbs  heat  (thus,  to 
convert  water  into  steam  you  must  feed  it  with  heat  from 
a  fire),  and  that  as  soon  as  the  gas  loses  a  certain  amount 
of  its  heat  it  reverts  to  liquid  form. 

Now  take  ammonia  gas.  The  "  spirits  of  hartshorn '' 
we  buy  at  the  chemist's  is  water  impregnated  with  this  gas. 
At  ordinary  living  temperatures  the  water  gives  out  the  gas, 
as  a  sniff  at  the  bottle  proves  in  a  most  effective  manner. 

220 


THE   MACHINERY  OF  A   SHIP 

If  this  gas  were  cooled  to  37*3°  below  zero  it  would 
assume  a  liquid  state,  i,e.  that  temperature  marks  its 
boiling  point.  Similarly  steam,  cooled  to  212°  Fahr., 
becomes  water.  Boiling  point,  therefore,  merely  means 
the  temperature  at  which  the  change  occurs. 

Ammonia  liquid,  when  gasifying,  absorbs  a  great 
amount  of  heat  from  its  surroundings — air,  water,  or 
whatever  they  may  be.  So  that  if  we  put  a  tumbler  full 
of  the  liquid  into  a  basin  of  water  it  would  rob  the  water 
of  enough  heat  to  cause  the  formation  of  ice. 

The  refrigerating  machine,  generally  employed  on  ships, 
is  one  which  constantly  turns  the  ammonia  liquid  into 
gas,  and  the  gas  back  into  liquid.  The  first  process  pro- 
duces the  cold  used  in  the  freezing-rooms.  The  apparatus 
consists  of  three  main  parts  : — 

(1)  The  compressor^  for  squeezing  ammonia  gas. 

(2)  The  condenser^  for  liquefying  the  gas. 

(3)  The  evaporator^  for  gasifying  the  liquid. 

The  compressor  is  a  pump.  The  condense?^  a  tube  or 
series  of  tubes  outside  which  cold  water  is  circulated. 
The  evaporator^  a  spiral  tube  or  tubes  passing  through  a 
vessel  full  of  brine.  Between  the  condenser  and  evaporator 
is  a  valve,  which  allows  the  liquid  to  pass  from  the  one  to 
the  other  in  proper  quantities. 

We  can  now  watch  the  cycle  of  operations.  The  com- 
pressor sucks  in  a  charge  of  very  cold  gas  from  the 
evaporator,  and  squeezes  it  into  a  fraction  of  its  original 
volume,  thereby  heating  it.  The  heated  gas  now  passes 
into  the  condenser  coils  and,  as  it  expands,  encounters 
the  chilling  effects  of  the  water  circulating  outside,  which 
robs  it  of  heat  and  causes  it  to  liquefy. 

221 


MODERN   MECHANISM 

It  is  next  slowly  admitted  through  the  expansion  valve 
into  the  evaporator.  Here  it  gradually  picks  up  the  heat 
necessary  for  its  gaseous  form :  taking  it  from  the  brine 
outside  the  coils,  which  has  a  very  low  freezing-point. 
The  brine  is  circulated  by  pumps  through  pipes  lining  the 
walls  of  the  freezing-room,  and  robs  the  air  there  of  its 
heat  until  a  temperature  somewhat  below  the  freezing- 
point  of  water  is  reached. 

The  room  is  well  protected  by  layers  of  charcoal  or 
silicate  cotton,  which  are  very  bad  conductors  of  heat. 
How  the  chamber  strikes  a  novice  can  be  gathered  from 
the  following  description  of  a  Cunard  liner's  refrigerating 
room.  "  It  is  a  curious  and  interesting  sight.  It  may  be 
a  hot  day  on  deck,  nearing  New  York,  and  everyone  is 
going  about  in  sun  hats  and  light  clothes.  We  descend  a 
couple  of  flights  of  stairs,  tui^n  a  key,  and  here  is  winter, 
sparkling  in  glassy  frost  upon  the  pale  carcases  of  fowls 
and  game,  and  ruddy  joints  of  meat,  crystallising  the 
yellow  apples  and  black  grapes  to  the  likeness  of  sweet- 
meats in  a  grocer's  shop,  gathering  on  the  wall-pipes  in 
scintillating  coats  of  snow  nearly  an  inch  deep.  You  can 
make  a  snowball  down  here,  if  you  like,  and  carry  it  up 
on  deck  to  astonish  the  languid  loungers  sheltering  from 
the  sun  under  the  protection  of  the  promenade-deck  roof. 
Such  is  the  modern  substitute  for  the  old-time  salt-beef 
cask  and  bags  of  dried  pease  ! "" 

The  larder  is  so  near  the  kitchen  that  while  below 
decks  we  may  just  peep  into  the  kitchens,  where  a  white- 
capped  chef  presides  over  an  army  of  assistants.  Inside 
a  huge  oven  are  dozens  of  joints  tuiTiing  round  and  round 
by  the  agency  of  an  invisible  electric-motor.     But  what 

222 


I 


THE   MACHINERY   OF   A   SHIP 


most  tickles  the  imagination  is  an  electrical  egg-boiling 
apparatus,  which  ensures  the  correct  amount  of  cooking 
to  any  egg.  A  row  of  metal  dippers,  with  perforated 
bottoms,  is  suspended  over  a  trough  of  boiling  water. 
Each  dipper  is  marked  for  a  certain  time — one  minute, 
two,  three,  four,  and  so  on.  The  dippers,  filled  with  eggs, 
are  pushed  down  into  the  water.  No  need  to  worry  lest 
they  should  be  "done  to  a  bullet,'^  for  at  the  expiry  of 
a  minute  up  springs  the  one-minute  dipper;  and  after 
each  succeeding  minute  the  others  follow  in  due  rotation. 
Where  2,000  eggs  or  more  are  devoured  daily  this 
ingenious  automatic  device  plays  no  mean  part. 

THE     SEARCH-LIGHT 

All  liners  and  war  vessels  now  carry  apparatus  which 
will  enable  them  to  detect  danger  at  night  time,  whether 
rocks  or  an  enemy's  fleet,  icebergs  or  a  water-logged 
derelict.  On  the  bridge,  or  on  some  other  commanding 
part  of  the  vessel's  structure,  is  a  circular,  glass-fronted 
case,  backed  with  a  mirror  of  peculiar  shape.  Inside  are 
two  carbon  points  almost  touching,  across  which,  at  the 
turn  of  a  handle,  leaps  a  shower  of  sparks  so  continuous 
as  to  form  a  dazzling  light.  The  rays  from  the  electric 
arc,  as  it  is  called,  either  pass  directly  through  the  glass 
lens,  or  are  caught  by  the  parabolic  reflector  and  shot 
back  through  it  in  an  almost  parallel  pencil  of  wonderful 
intensity,  which  illumines  the  darkness  like  a  ray  of 
sunshine  slanting  through  a  crack  in  the  shutter  of  a 
room.  The  search-light  draws  its  current  from  special 
dynamos,  which  absorb  many  horse-power  in  the  case  of 
the  powerful  apparatus  used  on  warships.     At  a  distance 

223 


MODERN   MECHANISM 

of  several  miles  a  page  of  print  may  be  easily  read  by  the 
beams  of  these  scrutinisers  of  the  night. 

The  finest  search-lights  are  to  be  found  ashore  at  naval 
ports,  where,  in  case  of  war,  a  sharp  look-out  must  be 
kept  for  hostile  vessels.  Portsmouth  boasts  a  light  of 
over  a  million  candle-power,  but  even  this  is  quite 
eclipsed  by  a  monster  light  built  by  the  Schuckert  Com- 
pany, of  Nuremberg,  Germany,  which  gives  the  effect  of 
316,000,000  candles.  An  instrument  of  such  power  would 
be  useless  on  board  ship,  owing  to  the  great  amount  of 
current  it  devours,  but  in  a  port,  connected  with  the  light- 
ing plant  of  a  large  town,  it  would  serve  to  illumine  the 
country  round  for  many  miles. 

In  addition  to  its  value  as  an  "eye,^"'  the  search-light 
can  be  utilised  as  an  "ear.*"  Ernst  Ruhmer,  a  German 
scientist,  has  discovered  a  method  of  telephoning  along 
a  beam  of  light  from  a  naval  projector.  The  amount  of 
current  passing  into  the  arc  is  regulated  by  the  pulsations 
of  a  telephone  battery  and  transmitter.  If  the  beam  be 
caught  by  a  parabolic  reflector,  in  the  focus  of  which  is  a 
selenium  cell  connected  with  a  battery  and  a  pair  of  sensi- 
tive telephone  receivers,  the  effect  of  these  pulsations  of 
light  is  heard.  Selenium  being  a  metal  which  varies  its 
resistance  to  an  electric  circuit  in  proportion  to  the  in- 
tensity of  light  shining  upon  it,  any  fluctuations  of  the 
search-lighfs  beams  cause  electric  fluctuations  of  equal 
rapidity  in  the  telephone  circuit ;  and  since  these  waves 
arise  from  the  vibrations  of  speech,  the  electric  vibrations 
they  cause  in  the  selenium  circuit  are  retransformed  at 
the  receiver  into  the  sounds  of  speech.  This  German 
apparatus  makes  it  possible  to  send  messages  nine  or  ten 
miles  over  a  powerful  projector  beam. 

224 


THE  MACHINERY  OF  A  SHIP 

In  the  United  States  Navy,  and  in  other  navies  as  well, 
night  signals  are  flashed  by  the  electric  light.  The 
pattern  of  lamp  used  in  the  United  States  Navy  is  divided 
transversely  into  two  compartments,  the  upper  having  a 
white,  the  lower  a  red,  lens.  Four  of  these  lamps  are 
hung  one  above  the  other  from  a  mast.  A  switch-board 
connected  with  the  eight  incandescent  lamps  in  the  series 
enables  the  operator  to  send  any  required  signal,  one  letter 
or  figure  being  flashed  at  a  time.  During  the  Spanish- 
American  War  the  United  States  fleet  made  great  use  of 
this  simple  system,  which  on  a  clear  night  is  very  effective 
up  to  distances  of  four  miles. 

Large  arc-lamps  slung  on  yards  over  the  deck  give  great 
help  for  coaling  and  unloading  vessels  at  night  time.  The 
touch  of  a  switch  lights  up  the  deck  with  the  brilliancy  of 
a  well-equipped  railway  station.  The  day  of  the  "lantern, 
dimly  burning,''^  has  long  passed  away  from  the  big  liner, 
cargo  boat,  and  warship. 

WIRELESS    TELEGRAPHY    INSTRUMENTS 

Solitude  is  being  rapidly  banished  from  the  earth's 
surface.  By  solitude  we  mean  entire  separation  from 
news  of  the  world,  and  the  inability  to  get  into  touch 
with  people  far  away.  On  the  remote  ranches  of  the 
United  States,  in  sequestered  Norwegian  fiords,  in  the 
folds  of  the  eternal  hills  where  the  only  other  living 
creature  is  the  eagle,  man  may  still  be  as  conversant  with 
what  is  going  on  in  China  or  Peru  as  if  he  were  living  in 
the  busy  streets  of  a  capital  town.  The  electric  wire  is 
the  magic  news-bringer.  Wherever  man  can  go  it  can  go 
too,  and  also  into  many  places  besides, 
p  325 


MODERN   MECHANISM 

We  must  make  one  exception — the  surface  of  the  sea. 
Cables  rest  on  ocean's  bed,  but  they  would  be  useless  if 
floated  on  its  surface  to  act  as  marine  telegraph  offices. 
Winds  and  waves  would  soon  batter  them  to  pieces,  even 
if  they  could  be  moored,  which  in  a  thousand  fathoms  may 
be  considered  impracticable. 

So  until  a  few  years  back  the  occupants  of  a  ship  were 
truly  isolated  from  the  time  that  they  left  port  until 
they  reached  land  again,  except  for  the  rare  occasions 
when  a  passing  vessel  might  give  them  a  fragment  of 
news. 

This  has  all  been  changed.  Stroll  into  the  saloon  of 
one  of  our  large  Atlantic  liners  and  you  will  see  telegram 
forms  lying  on  the  tables.  In  the  'nineties  they  would  have 
been  about  as  useful  aboard  ships  as  a  mackintosh  coat  in 
the  Sahara.  A  glance,  however,  at  pamphlets  scattered 
around  informs  you  that  the  ship  carries  a  Marconi  wire- 
less installation,  and  that  a  Marconi  telegram,  handed 
in  at  the  ship's  telegraph  office,  will  be  despatched  on 
the  wings  of  ether  waves  to  the  land  far  over  the 
horizon. 

Inside  the  cabin  streams  of  sparks  scintillate  with  a 
cracking  noise,  and  your  message  shoots  into  space  from  a 
wire  suspended  on  insulators  from  one  of  the  mast  heads. 
If  circumstances  favour,  you  may  receive  a  reply  from  the 
Unseen  before  the  steamer  has  got  out  of  range  of  the 
coast  stations.  The  immense  installations  at  Poldhu, 
Cornwall,  and  in  Newfoundland,  could  be  used  to  flash  the 
words  to  a  ship  at  any  point  of  the  transatlantic  journey. 
Owing  to  lack  of  space,  and  consequently  power,  the 
steamer's  transmitting  apparatus  has  a  limited  capacity. 

226 


THE   MACHINERY  OF   A   SHIP 

The  first  shipping  company  to  grasp  the  possibilities  of 
the  commercial  working  of  the  Marconi  system  was  the 
Nord-Deutscher-Lloyd,  whose  mail  steamer.  Kaiser  Wil- 
helm  der  Grosse^  was  fitted  in  March,  1900.  At  the 
present  time  many  of  the  large  Atlantic  steamship  com- 
panies carry  a  wireless  installation  as  a  matter  of  course, 
ranking  it  among  necessary  things.  The  Cunard,  American 
Atlantic  Transport,  Allan,  Compagnie  Transatlantique, 
Hamburg -American,  and  Nord-Deutscher-Lloyd  lines 
make  full  use  of  the  system,  as  the  conveniences  it  gives 
far  outweigh  any  expense.  A  short  time  since  maritime 
signalling  was  extremely  limited  in  its  range,  being  effected 
by  flags,  semaphores,  lights,  and  sounds,  which  in  stormy 
weather  became  uncertain  agents,  and  in  foggy,  useless. 
Also  the  operations  of  transmitting  and  receiving  were  so 
slow  that  many  a  message  had  to  remain  uncompleted. 

The  following  paragraph,  which  appeared  in  The  Times 
of  December  11th,  1903,  is  significant  of  the  very  prac- 
tical value  of  marine  wireless  telegraphy.  '^  The  American 
steamer  Kroonland^  from  Antwerp  for  New  York,  which, 
as  reported  yesterday,  disabled  her  steering  gear  when 
west  of  the  Fastnet,  and  had  to  put  back,  arrived  yester- 
day morning  at  Queenstown.  The  saloon  passengers  speak 
in  the  highest  terms  of  praise  of  the  utility  of  the 
Marconi  wireless  telegraphy  with  which  the  liner  is  fitted, 
and  of  the  facility  with  which,  when  the  accident  occurred, 
the  passengers  were  able  to  communicate  with  their  friends, 
in  England,  Scotland,  and  the  Continent,  and  even 
America,  and  get  replies  before  the  Irish  coast  was  sighted. 
The  accident  occurred  on  Tuesday  about  noon,  when  the 
liner  was  130  miles  west  of  the  Fastnet,  and  communication 

227 


MODERN   MECHANISM 

was  at  once  made  with  the  Marconi  station  at  Crookhaven. 
Captain  Doxrud  was  enabled  accordingly  to  send  messages 
to  the  chief  agents  of  the  American  line,  at  Antwerp, 
stating  the  nature  of  the  damage  to  the  steering  gear  of 
the  steamer,  and  that  he  would  have  to  abandon  the  idea 
of  prosecuting  the  western  voyage.  Within  an  hour  and 
a  half  a  message  was  received  by  the  captain  from  the 
agents  instructing  him  what  to  do,  and  at  once  the  Kroon- 
land  was  headed  for  Queenstown.  Three-fourths  of  the 
total  number  of  the  saloon  passengers  and  a  goodly  num- 
ber of  the  second  cabin  sent  messages  to  their  friends  in 
various  parts  of  the  world,  and  replies  were  received  even 
from  the  Continent  before  the  Fastnet  was  sighted. 
Seven  or  eight  passengers  telegraphed  to  relatives  for 
money,  and  replies  were  received  in  four  instances,  author- 
ising the  purser  to  advance  the  amounts  required,  and  the 
money  was  paid  over  in  each  case  to  the  passengers." 

The  possibility  of  thus  communicating  between  vessel 
and  land,  or  vessel  and  vessel,  removes  much  of  the 
anxiety  attending  a  sea  voyage.  Business  men,  for  whom 
even  a  few  days'  want  of  touch  with  the  mercantile  markets 
may  be  a  serious  matter,  can  send  long  messages  in  code 
or  otherwise  instructing  their  agents  what  to  do ;  while 
they  can  receive  information  to  shape  their  actions  when 
they  reach  land.  The  "uncommercial  traveller"  also  is 
pleased  and  grateful  on  receiving  a  message  from  home. 
The  feeling  of  loneliness  is  eliminated.  The  ocean  has  lost 
its  right  to  the  term  bestowed  by  Horace — dissociabilis^ 
"  the  separator." 

Steamship  companies  vie  with  one  another  in  their 
efforts  to  keep  their  passengers  well  posted  in  the  latest 

228 


'^mw 


hoto^ 


\C)  ihb,  Scufhs<a. 


FIXING   A   UATTLE-RAM 


he  ram  of  a  battleship  l)eing  placed  in  position  with  the  aid  of  a  huge  crane.  1  he  si/e  of  the  ram 
will  be  appreciated  from  the  dwarfmi;  effect  it  has  on  that  of  the  man  percheil  near  the  lifting 
tackle. 


THE  MACHINERY   OF  A   SHIP 

news.  Bulletins,  or  small  newspapers,  are  issued  daily 
during  the  voyage,  which  give,  in  very  condensed  form, 
accounts  of  events  interesting  to  those  on  board.  "  The 
amount  of  fresh  news  a  steamer  gathers  during  a  passage 
is  considerable,  and  is  greatly  relished  by  the  passengers, 
who  are  invariably  ravenous  for  signs  of  the  busy  life  they 
left  behind,  more  especially  when  they  have  departed  on 
the  verge  of  some  important  event  taking  place ;  and  the 
bulletins  are  eagerly  sought  for  when  it  is  announced  that 
an  inward-bound  ship  is  in  communication.  The  ship- 
owners realise  the  importance  and  usefulness  of  being  able 
to  communicate  with  their  commanders  before  the  huge 
vessels  enter  narrow  waters,  and  issue  instructions  concern- 
ing their  movements. 

"The  stations,  which  are  placed  at  carefully-selected 
points  at  well-adapted  distances  around  the  coast,  are 
connected  with  either  the  land  telegraph  or  telephone 
line,  or  are  close  to  a  telegraph  office.  They  are  kept 
open  night  and  day,  as  the  times  of  the  ships  passing  are, 
of  course,  greatly  dependent  on  the  weather  encountered 
during  the  voyage.  For  those  on  shore  who  are  anxious 
to  greet  their  friends  on  arrival — with  good  or  bad  news, 
as  the  case  may  be — this  arrangement  enables  them  to  be 
informed  of  the  exact  time  of  the  ship's  expected  arrival, 
and  they  are  left  free  to  their  own  devices,  instead  of 
enduring  long  waits  on  draughty  piers  and  docks — which, 
on  a  wet  or  windy  day,  are  almost  enough  to  damp  the 
warmest  and  most  enthusiastic  welcome. 

"  Cases  have  occurred  where  a  telegram,  sent  from  the 
American  side  to  an  outlying  English  land -station  two 
days  after  a  ship  has  left,  has  been  transmitted  to  an  out- 

229 


MODERN   MECHANISM 

going  steamer,  which  in  turn  has  re-transmitted  it  to  the 
astonished  passenger  two  days  prior  to  his  arrival  off  the 
English  coast ;  and  it  has  now  become  quite  a  common 
thing  for  competing  teams  on  vessels  many  miles  apart, 
and  out  of  sight  of  each  other,  to  arrange  chess  matches 
with  each  other,  some  of  these  interesting  events  taking 
two  or  more  days  to  be  played  to  a  finish.*'''* 

For  naval  purposes,  wireless  telegraphy  has  assumed  an 
importance  which  can  hardly  be  overestimated,  as  the 
whole  efficiency  of  a  fine  fleet  may  depend  upon  a  single 
message  flashed  through  space.  All  navies  are  fitting  in- 
struments, the  British  Admiralty  being  well  to  the  fore. 
Even  in  manoeuvres  and  during  the  execution  of  tactical 
formations  the  apparatus  is  constantly  at  worL  The 
admiral  gives  the  word,  and  a  dozen  paper  tapes  moving 
jerkily  through  Morse  machines,  pass  the  message  round 
the  fleet.  The  Japanese  naval  successes  have,  doubtless, 
been  largely  due  to  their  up-to-date  employment  of  this 
latest  development  of  Western  electrical  science.  No  one 
knows  how  soon  the  time  may  come  when  the  fate  of 
a  nation  may  depend  on  the  proper  working  of  a  machine 
covering  a  few  square  feet  of  a  cabin  table ;  for,  rapid  as 
has  been  the  growth  of  wireless  telegraphy,  it  is  yet  in  its 
infancy. 

SAFETY    DEVICES 

A  ship  is  usually  divided  into  compartments  by  cross 
bulkheads  of  steel.  In  event  of  a  collision  or  damage  by 
torpedoes  or  shell,  the  water  i*ushing  through  the  break 
can  be  prevented  from  swamping  the  ship  by  closing  the 
bulkhead  doors. 

*  Charles  V.  Daly,  in  The  Magazine  of  Commerce. 
230 


THE  MACHINERY  OF  A  SHIP 

Messrs.  J.  Stone  and  Company,  of  Deptford,  have 
patented  a  system  of  hydraulically  operated  bulkhead 
doors,  which  is  finding  great  favour  among  shipbuilders 
on  account  of  its  versatility.  Each  door  is  closed  by  an 
hydraulic  cylinder  placed  above  it.  The  valves  of  the 
cylinder  are  opened  automatically  by  a  float  when  the 
water  rises  in  the  compartment,  and  every  cylinder  is  also 
controllable  independently  from  the  bridge  and  other 
stations  in  the  ship,  and  by  separate  hand  levers  alongside 
the  bulkhead. 

The  doors  can  therefore  be  closed  collectively  or  in- 
dividually. Should  it  happen  that,  when  a  door  has  been 
closed,  someone  is  imprisoned,  the  prisoner  can  open  the 
door  by  depressing  a  lever  inside  the  compartment,  and 
make  his  escape.  But  the  door  is  closed  behind  him  by 
the  action  of  the  float. 

THE   TRANSMISSION    OF   POWER   ON   A    SHIP 

There  are  four  power  agents  available  on  board  ship, 
all  derived  directly  or  indirectly  from  the  steam  boilers. 
They  are : — 

(1)  Steam. 

(2)  High-pressure  water. 

(3)  Compressed  air. 

(4)  Electricity. 

On  some  ships  we  may  find  all  four  working  side  by 
side  to  drive  the  multifarious  auxiliaries,  since  each  has 
its  peculiar  advantages  and  disadvantages.  At  the  same 
time,  marine  engineers  prefer  to  reduce  the  number  as 
far  as  possible,  since  each  class  of  transmission  needs 
specially  trained  mechanics,  and  introduces  its  special 
complications. 

231 


MODERN  MECHANISM 

Let  us  take  the  four  agents  in  order  and  briefly  con- 
sider their  value. 

Steam  is  so  largely^  used  in  all  departments  of  engineer- 
ing that  its  working  is  better  understood  by  the  bulk  of 
average  mechanics  than  hydraulic  power,  compressed  air, 
or  electricity.  But  for  marine  work  it  has  very  serious 
drawbacks,  especially  on  a  war  vessel.  Imagine  a  ship 
which  contains  a  network  of  steam-pipes  running  from 
end  to  end,  and  from  side  to  side.  The  pipes  must,  on 
account  of  the  many  obstacles  they  encounter,  twist  and 
turn  about  in  a  manner  which  might  be  avoided  on  land, 
where  room  is  more  available.  Every  bend  means  friction 
and  loss  of  power.  Again,  the  condensation  of  steam  in 
long  pipes  is  notorious.  Even  if  they  are  well  jacketed, 
a  great  deal  of  heat  will  radiate  from  the  ducts  into  the 
below-deck  atmosphere,  which  is  generally  too  close  and 
hot  to  be  pleasant  without  any  such  further  warming. 
So  that,  while  power  is  lost,  discomfort  increases,  with 
a  decided  lowering  of  human  efficiency.  We  must  not 
forget,  either,  the  risk  attending  the  presence  of  a  steam- 
pipe.  Were  it  broken,  by  accident  or  in  a  naval  engage- 
ment, a  great  loss  of  life  might  result,  or,  at  least,  the 
abandonment  of  all  neighbouring  machinery. 

For  these  reasons  there  is,  therefore,  a  tendency  to 
abolish  the  direct  use  of  steam  in  the  auxiliary  machinery 
of  a  modem  vessel. 

High-pressure  water  is  free  from  heating  and  danger 
troubles,  and  consequently  is  used  for  much  heavy  work, 
such  as  training  guns,  raising  ashes  and  ammunition,  and 
steering.  One  of  its  great  advantages  is  its  inelasticity, 
which  prevents  the  overrunning  of  gear  worked  by  it. 

232 


THE   MACHINERY   OF  A   SHIP 

Water,  being  incompressible,  gives  a  "  positive  "*'  drive  ; 
thus,  if  the  pump  delivers  a  pint  at  each  stroke  in  the 
engine-room  a  pint  must  pass  into  the  motor,  assuming 
that  all  joints  are  tight,  and  the  work  due  from  the 
passage  of  one  pint  is  done.  Air  and  steam — and 
electricity  too,  if  not  very  delicately  controlled — are  apt 
to  work  in  fits  and  starts  when  operating  against  varying 
resistance,  and  "  run  away ""  from  the  engineer. 

An  objection  to  hydraulic  power  is,  that  all  leakage 
from  the  system  must  be  replaced  by  fresh  water  manu- 
factured on  board,  which,  as  we  have  seen,  is  no  easy 
task. 

Compressed  air^  like  steam,  may  cause  explosions ;  but 
when  it  escapes  in  small  quantities  only  it  has  a  beneficial 
effect  in  cooling  and  freshening  the  air  below  decks.  The 
exhaust  from  an  air-driven  motor  is  welcome  for  the  same 
reason,  that  it  aids  ventilation.  On  a  fighting  ship  it  is 
of  the  utmost  importance  that  the  personnel  should  be  in 
good  physical  condition ;  and  when  the  battle-hatches 
have  been  battened  down  for  an  engagement  any  supply 
of  fresh  oxygen  means  an  increased  "  staying  power  '*''  for 
officers  and  crew.  Poisoned  air  brings  mental  slackness, 
and  weakening  of  resolve ;  so  that  if  the  motive  power  of 
heavy  machinery  can  be  made  to  do  a  second  duty,  so 
much  the  better  for  all  concerned. 

Compressed  air  also  proves  useful  as  a  water-excluder. 
If  a  vessel  contain,  as  it  should,  a  number  of  water-tight 
compartments,  any  water  rushing  into  one  of  these  can  be 
expelled  by  injecting  air  until  the  pressure  inside  is  equal 
to  that  of  the  draught  of  water  of  the  vessel  outside. 

On  land  compressed-air  installations  inchide  reservoirs 

233 


MODERN   MECHANISM 

of  large  size  in  which  air  can  be  stored  till  needed,  and 
which  take  the  place  of  the  accumulator  used  with 
hydraulic  power.  On  shipboard  want  of  space  reduces 
such  reservoirs  to  minimum  dimensions,  so  that  the  com- 
pressors must  squirt  their  air  almost  directly  into  the 
cylinders  which  do  the  work.  When  the  load,  or  work, 
is  constantly  varying,  this  direct  drive  proves  somewhat 
of  a  nuisance,  since  the  compressors,  if  worked  continuously 
at  their  maximum  capacity,  must  waste  large  quantities 
of  air,  while  if  run  spasmodically,  as  occasion  demands, 
they  require  much  more  attention.  It  is  therefore  con- 
sidered advisable  by  some  marine  engineers  to  make 
compressed  air  perform  as  many  functions  as  possible 
when  it  is  present  on  a  vessel.  The  United  States  monitor 
Terror  is  an  instance  of  a  warship  which  depends  on  this 
agency  for  working  her  guns  and  turrets,  handling  ammu- 
nition, and — a  somewhat  unusual  practice — controlling 
the  helm.  The  last  operation  is  performed  by  two  large 
cylinders  placed  face  to  face  athwart  the  ship.  They  have 
a  common  piston-rod,  in  the  middle  of  which  is  a  slot  for 
the  tiller  to  pass  through.  Air  is  admitted  to  the  cylinders 
by  a  valve  which  is  controlled  by  wires  passing  over  a  train 
of  wheels  from  different  stations  on  the  ship.  An  in- 
genious device  automatically  prevents  the  tiller  from 
moving  over  too  fast,  and  also  helps  to  lessen  the  shocks 
given  to  the  rudder  by  a  heavy  sea. 

We  now  come  to  electricity^  the  fourth  and  most  modern 
form  of  transmission.  Its  chief  recommendation  is  that 
the  wires  through  which  it  flows  lend  themselves  readily 
to  a  tortuous  course  without  in  any  way  throttling  the 
passage   of  power.      And   as   every   ship   must  carry  a 

234 


THE  MACHINERY   OF  A   SHIP 

generating  plant  for  lighting  purposes,  the  same  staff  will 
serve  to  tend  a  second  plant  for  auxiliary  machinery. 
Electric  motors  work  with  practically  no  vibration,  are 
light  for  their  power,  and  can  be  very  easily  controlled 
from  a  distance.  They  therefore  enjoy  increasing  favour ; 
and  are  found  in  deck-winches,  anchor-capstans,  ammuni- 
tion hoists,  ventilation  blowers,  and  cranes.  They  also 
control  the  movements  of  gun-turrets,  having  been  found 
most  suitable  for  this  work. 

If  the  current  were  to  get  loose  in  a  ship  it  would 
undoubtedly  cause  more  damage  than  an  escape  of  com- 
pressed air  or  water.  Electricity,  even  when  every  known 
means  of  keeping  it  within  bounds  has  been  tried,  is 
suspected  of  causing  deterioration  to  the  metalwork  of 
ships.  But  these  disadvantages  are  not  serious  enough 
to  hamper  the  progress  of  electrical  science  as  applied  to 
marine  engineering ;  and  the  undoubted  economy  of  the 
electric  motor,  its  noiselessness,  its  manageableness,  and 
comparatively  small  size  will,  no  doubt,  in  the  future 
lead  to  its  much  more  extensive  use  on  board  our  floating 
palaces  and  floating  forts. 


235 


CHAPTER   XIII 
"THE   NURSE    OF   THE   NAVY" 

JUST  as  a  navy  requires  floating  distilleries,  float- 
ing coal  stores  and  floating  docks,  so  does  it  find 
ven.-  important  uses  for  a  floating  workshop,  which 
can  accompany  a  fleet  to  sea  and  execute  such  repairs 
as  might  otherwise  entail  the  return  of  a  ship  to  port. 

The  British  Navy  has  a  valuable  ally  of  this  kind  in 
the  torpedo  depot  ship  Vulcaji^  which  contains  so  much 
machinery,  in  addition  to  the  "  auxiharies  *"  already  de- 
scribed, that  a  short  account  of  this  vessel  will  be  inter- 
esting. 

The  Vulcan,  known  as  "The  Nurse  of  the  Navy,*"  was 
laiinched  in  1889.  She  measures  350  feet  in  length,  58 
feet  in  beam,  and  has  a  displacement  of  6,830  tons.  Her 
bunkers,  of  which  there  are  twenty-one.  hold  1,000  tons  of 
coal,  independently  of  an  extra  300  io::s  which  can  be 
stowed  in  other  neighbouring  compartments.  'VATien 
fully  coaled  she  can  cruise  for  7,000  miles  at  a  speed  of 
10  knots  ;  or  travel  at  first-dass  cruiser  speed  for  shorter 
distances. 

The  !:::-:  -:::k::._:  :':"-cts  on  the  Vulcan  are  two  huge 
hyd:  I.  :  r  nes.  placed  almost  amidships  abreast  of 
one  aLo::^:.  They  have  a  total  height  of  65  feet,  and 
•* overhang:"  35  leet.  so  as  to  be  able  to  lift  boats  when  the 

236 


ll 


I 


"THE  NURSE   OF  THE  NAVY" 

torpedo-nets  are  out  and  the  sides  of  the  vessel  cannot 
be  approached.  The  feet  of  the  cranes  sink  30  feet 
through  the  ship  to  secure  rigidity,  and  the  upper  deck, 
which  bears  most  of  the  strain,  is  strongly  reinforced. 
Inside  the  pillar  of  each  crane  is  the  lifting  machinery, 
an  hydraulic  ram  17|  inches  in  diameter  and  of  10-foot 
stroke.  By  means  of  fourfold  pulleys  the  lift  is  increased 
to  40  feet.  When  working  under  the  full  pressure  of 
1,000  lbs.  to  the  square  inch,  the  cranes  have  a  hoisting 
power  of  twenty  tons.  In  addition  to  the  main  ram  there 
is  a  much  smaller  one,  the  function  of  which  is  to  keep 
the  "  slings ''  (or  cables  by  which  the  boat  is  hoisted)  taut 
after  a  boat  has  been  hooked  until  the  actual  moment  of 
lifting  comes.  But  for  this  arrangement  there  would 
be  a  danger  of  the  slings  slackening  as  the  boat  rises  and 
falls  in  a  sea-way.  The  small  ram  controls  the  larger, 
and  the  latter  cannot  come  into  action  until  its  auxiliary 
has  tightened  up  the  slings,  so  that  no  dangerous  jerk  can 
occur  when  the  hoisting  begins. 

The  cranes  are  revolved  by  two  sets  of  hydraulic  rams, 
which  operate  chains  passing  round  drums  at  the  feet  of 
the  cranes,  and  turn  them  through  three-quarters  of  a  circle. 

On  the  VulcarCs  deck  lie  six  torpedo  boats  and  three 
despatch  boats.  The  former  are  60  feet  long,  and  can 
attain  a  speed  of  16  knots  an  hour.  When  an  enemy 
is  sighted  these  would  be  sent  off*  to  worry  the  hostile 
vessels  with  their  deadly  torpedoes,  and  on  their  return 
would  be  quickly  picked  up  and  restored  to  their  berths, 
ready  for  further  use. 

The  cranes  also  serve  to  lift  on  board  heavy  pieces  of 
machinery  from  other  vessels  for  repair. 

237 


MODERN   MECHANISM 

Down  below  decks  is  the  workshop,  wherein  "jobs'" 
are  done  on  the  high  seas.  It  has  quite  a  respectable 
equipment :  five  lathes,  ranging  from  15  feet  to  3 J  feet 
in  length  ;  drilling,  planing,  slotting,  shaping,  punching 
machines ;  a  carpenter's  bench ;  fitters'*  benches ;  and  a 
furnace  for  melting  steel.  There  is  also  a  blacksmith's 
shop  with  an  hydraulic  forging  press  and  a  forge 
blown  by  machinery ;  not  to  mention  a  large  array 
of  tools  of  all  kinds.  Special  ""engines  are  installed  to 
operate  the  repairs  department. 

The  Vulcan  also  carries  search-lights  of  25,000  candle- 
power  ;  bilge  pumps  which  will  deliver  over  5,000  tons  of 
water  per  hour;  two  sets  of  engines  for  supplying  the 
hydraulic  machinery ;  air-compressing  engines  to  feed  the 
Whitehead  torpedoes  ;  a  distilling  plant ;  and  last,  but  by 
no  means  least,  main  engines  of  12,000  h.p.  drawing  steam 
from  four  huge  cylindrical  boilers  17  feet  long  and  14  feet 
in  diameter. 

Altogether,  the  Vulcan  is  a  very  complete  floating  work- 
shop, sufficiently  speedy  to  keep  up  with  a  fleet,  and  even 
to  do  scouting  work.  Her  guns  and  her  torpedo  craft 
would  render  her  a  very  troublesome  customer  in  a  fight, 
though,  being  practically  unarmoured,  she  would  keep  as 
clear  of  the  conflict  as  possible,  acting  on  the  offensive 
through  the  proxy  of  her  "  hornets.''  She  constitutes  the 
first  of  a  type  of  vessel  which  has  been  suggested  by 
experts,  viz.  one  of  high  speed  and  unarmoured,  but 
capable  of  carrying  a  swarm  of  torpedo  boats  which  could 
be  launched  in  pursuit  of  the  foe.  Even  if  50  per  cent, 
of  the  craft  were  destroyed,  the  price  would  be  small  if 
a  single  torpedo  were  successfully  fired  at  a  battleship. 

238 


"THE   NURSE   OF  THE   NAVY" 

The  naval  motor  boat,  to  which  reference  has  ah'eady 
been  made,  would  just  "fill  the  bill"***  for  such  a  cruiser; 
and  in  the  event  of  a  score  of  them  being  dropped  into 
the  water  at  a  critical  moment,  they  might  easily  turn  the 
scale  in  favour  of  their  side. 


339 


CHAPTER  XIV 
THE   MECHANISM   OF  DIVING 

DIVING  being  a  profession  which  can  be  carried  on 
in  its  simplest  form  with  the  simplest  possible 
apparatus — merely  a  rope  and  a  stone — its  his- 
tory reaches  back  into  the  dim  and  inexplorable  past. 
We  may  well  believe  that  the  first  man  who  explored  the 
depths  of  the  sea  for  treasure  lived  as  long  ago  as  the  first 
seeker  for  minerals  in  the  bosom  of  the  earth.  Even  when 
we  come  to  the  various  appliances  which  have  been 
gradually  developed  in  the  course  of  centuries,  our  re- 
cords are  very  imperfect.  Alexander  the  Great  is  said  to 
have  descended  in  a  machine  which  kept  him  dry,  while 
he  sought  for  fresh  worlds  to  conquer  below  the  waves. 
Aristotle  mentions  a  device  enabling  men  to  remain  some 
time  under  water.  This  is  all  the  information,  and  a  very 
meagre  total,  too,  that  we  get  from  classical  times. 

Stepping  across  1,500  years  we  reach  the  thirteenth  cen- 
tury, about  the  middle  of  which  Roger  Bacon  is  said  to 
have  invented  the  diving-bell.  But  like  some  other  dis- 
coveries attributed  to  that  Middle- Age  physicist,  the 
authenticity  of  this  rests  on  very  slender  foundations.  In 
a  book  published  early  in  the  sixteenth  century  there 
appears  an  illustration  of  a  diver  wearing  a  cap  or 
helmet,  to  which  is  attached  a  leather  tube  floated  on  the 

240 


THE  MECHANISM   OF  DIVING 

surface  of  the  water  by  an  inflated  bag.  This  is  evidently 
the  diving  dress  in  its  crudest  form ;  and  when  we  read 
how,  in  1538,  two  Greeks  made  a  submarine  trip  under  a 
huge  inverted  chamber,  which  kept  them  dry,  in  the 
presence  of  the  great  Emperor  Charles  V.  and  some 
12,000  spectators,  we  recognise  the  diving-bell,  now  so 
well  known. 

The  latter  device  did  not  reach  a  really  practical  form 
till  1717,  when  Dr.  Halley,  a  member  of  the  Royal 
Society,  built  a  bell  of  wood  lined  with  lead.  The  divers 
were  supplied  with  air  by  having  casks-full  lowered  to 
them  as  required.  To  quote  his  own  words  :  "  To  supply 
air  to  this  bell  under  water,  I  caused  a  couple  of  barrels 
of  about  thirty  gallons  each  to  be  cased  with  lead,  so 
as  to  sink  empty,  each  of  them  having  a  bunghole  in  its 
lowest  parts  to  let  in  the  water,  as  the  air  in  them 
condensed  on  their  descent,  and  to  let  it  out  again  when 
they  were  drawn  up  full  from  below.  And  to  a  hole  in 
the  uppermost  parts  of  these  barrels  I  fixed  a  leathern 
hose,  long  enough  to  fall  below  the  bunghole,  being  kept 
down  by  a  weight  appended,  so  that  the  air  in  the  upper 
parts  of  the  barrels  could  not  escape,  unless  the  lower  ends 
of  these  hose  were  first  lifted  up.  The  air-barrels  being 
thus  prepared,  I  fitted  them  with  tackle  proper  to  make 
them  rise  and  fall  alternately,  after  the  manner  of  two 
buckets  in  a  well ;  and  in  their  descent  they  were  directed 
by  lines  fastened  to  the  under  edge  of  the  bell,  which 
passed  through  rings  on  both  sides  of  the  leathern  hose  in 
each  barrel,  so  that,  sliding  down  by  these  lines,  they 
came  readily  to  the  hand  of  a  man,  who  stood  on  purpose 
to  receive  them,  and  to  take  up  the  ends  of  the  hose  into 

Q  241 


MODERN   MECHANISM 

the  bell.  Through  these  hose,  as  soon  as  their  ends  came 
above  the  surface  of  the  water  in  the  barrels,  all  the  air  that 
was  included  in  the  upper  parts  of  them  was  blown  with 
great  force  into  the  bell,  whilst  the  water  entered  at  the 
bungholes  below  and  filled  them,  and  as  soon  as  the  air  of 
one  barrel  had  been  thus  received,  upon  a  signal  given  that 
v/as  drawn  up,  and  at  the  same  time  the  other  descended, 
and  by  an  alternate  succession,  provided  air  so  quick  and  in 
such  plenty  that  I  myself  have  been  one  of  five  who  have 
been  together  at  the  bottom,  in  nine  to  ten  fathoms 
water,  for  above  an  hour  and  a  half  at  a  time,  without  any 
sort  of  ill-consequence,  and  I  might  have  continued  there 
so  long  as  I  pleased  for  anything  that  appeared  to  the 
contrary.'*'  After  referring  to  the  fact  that,  when  the  sea 
was  clear  and  the  sun  shining,  he  could  see  to  read  or 
write  in  the  submerged  bell,  thanks  to  a  glass  window  in 
it,  the  Doctor  goes  on  to  say  :  "  This  I  take  to  be  an  inven- 
tion applicable  to  various  uses,  such  as  fishing  for  pearls, 
diving  for  coral  or  sponges  and  the  like,  in  far  greater 
depths  than  has  hitherto  been  thought  possible ;  also  for 
the  fitting  and  placing  of  the  foundations  of  moles, 
bridges,  etc.,  in  rocky  bottoms,  and  for  cleaning  and 
scrubbing  ships'  bottoms  when  foul,  in  calm  weather  at 
sea.  I  shall  only  intimate  that,  by  an  additional  con- 
trivance^ I  have  found  it  not  impracticable  for  a  diver  to 
go  out  of  an  engine  to  a  good  distance  from  it,  the  air 
being  conveyed  to  him  with  a  continued  stream  by  small 
flexible  pipes,  which  pipes  may  serve  as  a  clue  to  direct 
him  back  again  when  he  would  return  to  the  bell,'' 

We  have  italicised  certain  words  to  draw  attention  to 
the   fact   that   Dr.   Halley  had   invented    not   only   the 

242 


THE   MECHANISM   OF   DIVING 

diving  bell,  but  also  the  diving  dress.  Though  he  fore- 
saw practically  all  the  uses  to  which  diving  mechanism 
could  be  put,  the  absence  of  a  means  for  forcing  air 
under  pressure  into  the  bell  or  dress  greatly  limited  the 
utility  of  his  contrivances,  since  the  deeper  they  sank 
below  the  water  the  further  would  the  latter  rise  inside 
them.  It  was  left  for  John  Smeaton,  of  Eddystone 
Lighthouse  fame,  to  introduce  the  air-pump  as  an 
auxiliary,  which,  by  making  the  pressure  of  the  air 
inside  the  bell  equal  to  that  of  the  water  outside,  kept 
the  bell  quite  free  of  water.  Smeaton  replaced  Halley'^s 
tub  by  a  square,  solid  cast-iron  box,  50  cwt.  in  weight, 
large  enough  to  accommodate  two  men  at  a  time.  The 
modern  bell  is  merely  an  enlarged  edition  of  this  type, 
furnished  with  telephones,  electric  lamps,  and,  in  some 
cases,  with  a  special  air-lock,  into  which  the  men  may 
pass  when  the  bell  is  raised.  The  pressure  in  the  air- 
lock is  very  gradually  decreased  after  the  bell  has  reached 
the  surface,  if  work  has  been  conducted  at  great  depths, 
so  that  the  evil  effects  sometimes  attending  a  sudden 
change  of  pressure  on  the  body  may  be  avoided. 

Diving  bells  are  very  useful  for  laying  submarine 
masonry,  usually  consisting  of  huge  stone  blocks  set  in 
hydraulic  cement.  Helmet  divers  explore  and  prepare 
the  surface  on  which  the  blocks  are  to  be  placed.  Then 
the  bell,  slung  either  from  a  crane  on  the  masonry 
already  built  above  water-level,  or  from  a  specially  fitted 
barge,  comes  into  action.  The  block  is  lowered  by  its 
own  crane  on  to  the  bottom.  The  bell  descends  upon 
it  and  the  crew  seize  it  with  tackle  suspended  inside  the 
bell.     Instructions    are    sent    up  as   to    tlie    direction    in 

243 


MODERN   MECHANISM 

which  the  bell  should  be  moved  with  its  burden,  and 
as  soon  as  the  exact  spot  has  been  reached  the  signal 
for  lowering  is  given,  and  the  stone  settles  on  to  the 
cement  laid  ready  for  it. 

The  modern  diver  is  not  sent  out  from  a  bell,  but 
has  his  separate  and  independent  apparatus.  The  first 
practical  diving  helmet  was  that  of  Kleingert,  a  German. 
This  enclosed  the  diver  as  far  as  the  waist,  and  con- 
stituted a  small  diving  bell,  since  the  bottom  was  open 
for  the  escape  of  vitiated  air.  Twenty  years  later,  or 
just  a  century  after  the  invention  of  Halley'^s  bell, 
Augustus  Siebe,  the  founder  of  the  present  great  London 
firm  of  Siebe,  Gorman,  and  Company,  produced  a  more 
convenient  "  open  **"*  dress,  consisting  of  a  copper  helmet 
and  shoulder-plate  in  one  piece,  attached  to  a  waterproof 
jacket  reaching  to  the  hips. 

The  disadvantage  of  the  open  dress  was,  that  the 
diver  had  to  maintain  an  almost  upright  position,  or 
the  w^ater  would  have  invaded  his  helmet.  Mr.  Siebe 
therefore  added  a  necessary  improvement,  and  extended 
the  dress  to  the  feet,  giving  his  diver  a  "close'''  protec- 
tion from  the  water. 

We  may  pass  over  the  gradual  development  of  the 
"close"'  dress  and  glance  at  the  most  up-to-date  equip- 
ment in  which  the  "  toilers  of  the  deep ""  explore  the 
bed  of  Old  Ocean. 

The  dress — legging,  body,  and  sleeves — is  all  in  one 
piece,  with  a  large-enough  opening  at  the  shoulders  for 
the  body  to  pass  through.  The  helmet,  with  front  and 
side  windows,  is  attached  by  a  "bayonet  joint""  to  the 
shoulder-plate,  itself  made  fast  to  the  upper  edge  of  the 

244 


THE    DIVICR    A'l'    WORK 

Note  the  telephone  attachment,  the  wires  of  which  are  enihetkled  in  the  life-line 
hcKl  hy  the  hluejacket  i>\\  (he  left.  \)\  means  of  the  telephone  the  diver  can 
L;ive  and  receive  lull  instructions  about  his  work. 


THE   MECHANISM   OF   DIVING 

dress  by  screws  which  press  a  metal  ring  against  the  lower 
edge  of  the  plate  so  as  to  pinch  the  edge  of  the  dress. 

At  the  back  are  an  inlet  and  an  outlet  valve.  Between 
the  front  and  a  side  window  is  the  transmitter  of  a  loud- 
sounding  telephone,  and  in  the  crown  the  receiver  and 
the  button  of  an  electric  bell.  The  telephone  wires, 
and  also  the  wires  for  a  powerful  electric  light,  working 
on  a  ball-and-socket  joint  in  front  of  the  dress,  are 
embedded  into  the  life-line.  The  air-tube,  of  canvas  and 
rubber,  has  a  stiiFening  of  wire  to  prevent  its  being 
throttled  on  coming  into  contact  with  any  object.  A 
pair  of  weighted  boots,  each  scaling  17  lbs.,  two  40-lb. 
lead  weights  slung  over  the  shoulder,  and  a  knife  worn 
at  the  waist-belt,  complete  the  outfit  of  the  diver,  which, 
not  including  the  several  layers  of  underclothing  necessary 
to  exclude  the  cold  found  at  great  depths,  totals  nearly 
140  lbs.     Of  this  the  copper  helmet  accounts  for  36  lbs. 

On  the  surface  are  the  air-pumps,  which  may  be  of 
several  types  —  single  -  cylinder,  double  -  acting  ;  double  - 
cylinder,  double-acting ;  or  three  or  four  cylinder,  single- 
acting  —  according  to  the  nature  of  the  work.  All 
patterns  are  so  constructed  that  the  valves  may  be 
easily  removed  and  examined. 

The  pressure  on  a  diver  increases  in  the  ratio  of  about 
4^  lbs.  for  every  ten  feet  he  descends  below  the  surface. 
A  novice  experiences  severe  pains  in  the  ears  and  eyes  at 
a  few  fathoms'  depth,  which,  however,  pass  off  when  the 
pressures  both  inside  and  outside  of  the  various  organs 
have  become  equalised.  On  rising  to  the  surface  again 
the  pains  recur,  since  the  external  pressure  on  the  body 
falls  more  quickly  than  the  internal.     The  rule  for  all 

245 


MODERN   MECHANISM 

divers,  therefore,  is  "  slow  down,  slow  up."''  Men  of  good 
constitution  and  resourcefulness  are  needed  for  the  pro- 
fession of  diving.  Only  a  few  can  work  at  extreme 
depths,  though  an  old  hand  is  able  to  remain  for  several 
hours  at  a  time  in  sixty  feet  of  water.  The  record  depth 
reached  by  a  diver  is  claimed  by  James  Hooper,  who, 
when  removing  the  cargo  of  the  Cape  Horn^  wrecked  off* 
the  coast  of  South  America,  made  seven  descents  to 
201  feet,  one  of  which  lasted  forty-two  minutes. 

In  spite  of  the  dangers  and  inconveniences  attached  to 
his  calling,  the  diver  finds  in  it  compensations,  and  even 
fascinations,  which  outweigh  its  disadvantages.  The  pay 
is  good — £1  to  £2  a  day — and  in  deep-sea  salvage  he 
often  gets  a  substantial  percentage  of  all  the  treasure 
recovered,  the  percentage  rising  as  the  depth  increases. 
Thus  the  diver  Alexander  Lambert,  who  performed  some 
plucky  feats  during  the  driving  of  the  Severn  Tunnel,* 
received  £4,000  for  the  recovery  of  £70,000  worth  of  gold 
from  the  Alphonso  XII. ^  sunk  off*  Grand  Canary.  Divers 
Ridyard  and  Penk  recovered  £50,000  from  the  Hamilla 
Mitchell^  which  lay  in  160  feet  of  water  off*  Shanghai, 
after  nearly  being  captured  by  Chinese  pirates ;  and  we 
could  add  many  other  instances  in  which  treasure  has  been 
rescued  from  the  maw  of  the  sea. 

The  most  useful  sphere  for  a  diver  is  undoubtedly 
connected  with  the  harbour  work  and  the  cleaning  of 
ships'*  bottoms.  For  the  latter  purpose  every  large  war- 
ship in  the  British  Navy  carries  at  least  one  diver.  After 
ships  have  been  long  in  the  water  barnacles  and  marine 
growths  accumulate  on  the  below-water  plates  in  such 

*  Vide  The  Romance  of  Modern  Enginee^nng,  p.  212. 
246 


THE  MECHANISM   OF  DIVING 

quantities  as  to  seriously  diminish  the  ship's  speed,  which 
means  a  great  waste  of  fuel,  and  would  entail  a  loss 
of  efficiency  in  case  of  war  breaking  out.  Armed  with 
the  proper  tools,  a  gang  of  divers  will  soon  clean  the 
"  foul  bottom.''^  at  a  much  smaller  cost  of  time  and  money 
than  would  be  incurred  by  dry-docking  the  vessel. 

The  Navy  has  at  Portsmouth,  Sheerness,  and  Devonport 
schools  where  diving  is  taught  to  picked  men,  the  depth 
in  which  they  work  being  gradually  increased  to  120  feet. 
Messrs.  Siebe  and  Gorman  employ  hundreds  of  divers  in 
all  parts  of  the  world,  on  all  kinds  of  submarine  work, 
and  they  are  able  to  boast  that  never  has  a  defect  in  their 
apparatus  been  responsible  for  a  single  death.  This  is 
due  both  to  the  very  careful  tests  to  which  every  article 
is  subjected  before  it  leaves  their  works,  and  also  to  the 
thorough  training  given  to  their  employes. 

In  the  sponge  and  pearl-fishing  industries  the  diving 
dress  is  gradually  ousting  the  unaided  powers  of  the  naked 
diver.  One  man  equipped  with  a  standard  dress  can  do 
the  work  of  twenty  natural  divers,  and  do  it  more  effi- 
ciently, as  he  can  pick  and  choose  his  material. 

This  chapter  may  conclude  with  a  reference  to  the 
apparatus  now  used  in  exploring  or  rescue  work  in  mines, 
where  deadly  fumes  have  overcome  the  miners.  It  consists 
of  an  air-tight  mask  connected  by  tubes  to  a  chamber  full 
of  oxygen  and  to  a  bag  containing  materials  which  absorb 
the  carbonic  acid  of  exhaled  air.  The  wearer  uses  the 
same  air  over  and  over  again,  and  is  able  to  remain 
independent  of  the  outer  atmosphere  for  more  than  an 
hour.  The  apparatus  is  also  useful  for  firemen  when  they 
have  to  pass  through  thick  smoke. 

247 


CHAFl^ER  XV 

APPARATUS   FOR  RAISING   SUNKEN 
SHIPS  AND  TREASURE 

IT  is  somewhat  curious  that,  wliile  the  sciences  con- 
nected with  the  building  of  ships  have  progressed 
with  giant  strides,  little  attention  has  been  paid  to 
the  art  of  raising  vessels  which  have  found  watery  graves 
in  comparatively  shallow  depths.  The  total  shipping 
losses  of  a  single  year  make  terrible  reading,  since  they 
represent  the  extinction  of  many  brave  sailors  and  the 
disappearance  of  huge  masses  of  the  world's  wealth.  A 
life  lost  is  lost  for  ever,  but  cargoes  can  be  recovered  if 
not  sunk  in  water  deeper  than  180  feet.  Yet  with  all  our 
modem  machinery  the  percentage  of  vessels  raised  from 
even  shallow  depths  is  small. 

There  are  practically  only  two  methods  of  raising  a 
foundered  ship :  first,  to  caulk  up  all  leaks  and  pump 
her  dry ;  and  secondly,  to  pass  cables  under  her,  and  lift 
her  bodily  by  the  aid  of  pontoons,  or  "  camels."" 

The  second  method  is  that  more  generally  used, 
especially  in  the  estuaries  of  big  rivers  where  there  is  a 
considerable  tide.  The  pontoons,  having  a  united  dis- 
placement greater  than  that  of  the  vessel  to  be  raised, 
are  brought  over  her  at  low  tide.  Divers  pass  under  her 
bottom   huge   steel   cables,  which  are   attached   to   the 

248 


RAISING  SUNKEN    SHIPS 

"  camels/'  As  the  tide  flows  the  pontoons  sink  until  they 
have  displaced  a  weight  of  water  equal  to  that  of  the 
vessel,  and  then  they  begin  to  raise  her,  and  can  be  towed 
into  shallower  water,  to  repeat  the  process  if  necessary 
next  tide.  As  soon  as  the  deck  is  above  water  the  vessel 
may  be  pumped  empty,  when  all  leaks  have  been  stopped. 

In  water  where  there  is  no  tide  the  natural  lift  must  be 
replaced  by  artificial  power.  Under  such  circumstances 
the  salvage  firms  use  lighters  provided  with  powerful 
winches,  each  able  to  lift  up  to  800  tons  on  huge  steel 
cables  nearly  a  foot  in  diameter.  The  winches  can  be 
moved  across  a  lighter,  the  cables  falling  perpendicularly, 
through  transverse  wells  almost  dividing  the  lighter  into 
separate  lengths,  so  as  to  get  a  direct  pull.  If  the  wreck 
has  only  half  the  displacement  of  the  lighters,  the  cables 
can  be  passed  over  rollers  on  the  inner  edges  of  the 
pontoons,  the  weight  of  the  raising  vessel  being  counter- 
acted by  water  let  into  compartments  in  the  outer  side  of 
the  pontoons. 

There  are  ten  great  salvage  companies  in  the  British 
Isles  and  Europe.  The  best  equipped  of  these  is  the 
Neptune  Company,  of  Stockholm,  which  has  raised  1,500 
vessels,  worth  over  £5,000,000  sterling  even  in  their 
damaged  condition,  among  them  the  ill-fated  submarine 
"  A  1.'"  Yet  this  total  represents  but  a  small  part  of  the 
wealth  that  has  gone  to  the  bottom  within  a  short  dis- 
tance of  our  coasts. 

Turning  from  the  salvage  of  wrecks  to  the  salvage  of 
precious  metal  and  bulky  objects  that  are  known  to  strew 
the  sea-floor  in  many  places,  we  must  notice  the  Hydro- 
scope,  the  invention  of  Cavaliere  Pino,  an  Italian. 

249 


MODERN   MECHANISM 

In  1702  there  sank  in  Vigo  Bay,  on  the  north-west 
coast  of  Spain,  twenty-five  galleons  laden  with  treasure 
from  America,  as  the  result  of  an  attack  by  English  and 
Dutch  men-of-war.  Gold  representing  £28,000,000  was 
on  those  vessels.  Down  it  went  to  the  bottom,  and  there 
it  is  still. 

So  rich  a  prize  has  naturally  not  failed  to  attract  daring 
spirits,  among  whom  was  Giuseppe  Pino.  This  inventor 
has  produced  many  devices,  the  most  notable  among  them 
the  hydroscope,  which  may  best  be  described  as  a  huge 
telescope  for  peering  into  the  depths  of  the  sea.  A  large 
circular  tank  floats  on  the  top  of  the  water.  From  the 
centre  of  its  bottom  hangs  a  series  of  tubes  fitting  one 
into  the  other,  so  that  the  whole  series  can  be  shortened 
or  lengthened  at  will.  Through  the  tubes  a  man  can 
descend  to  the  chamber  at  their  lower  extremity,  in  the 
sides  of  which  are  twelve  lenses  specially  made  by 
Saint  Goubin,  of  Paris,  which  act  as  submarine  tele- 
scopes. 

Pino's  hydroscope  has  been  at  work  for  some  time  in 
Vigo  Bay,  its  operations  closely  watched  by  a  Spanish  war 
vessel,  which  will  exact  20  per  cent,  of  all  treasure  re- 
covered. While  the  hydroscope  acts  as  an  eye,  the  lifting 
of  an  object  is  accomplished  by  attaching  to  it  large 
canvas  bags  furnished  with  air-tight  internal  rubber 
bladders.  These  have  air  pumped  into  them  till  its  pres- 
sure overcomes  that  of  the  water  outside,  and  the  bag 
then  rises  like  a  cork,  carrying  its  load  wath  it.  An 
"  elevator '''' — nine  sacks  fixed  to  one  frame — will  raise 
twenty-fis^e  to  thirty  tons. 

So  far  Cavaliere  Pino  has  salvaged  old  Spanish  guns, 

250 


RAISING   SUNKEN   SHIPS 

cannon-balls,  and  pieces  of  valuable  old  wood ;  and  pre- 
sently he  may  alight  on  the  specie  which  is  the  main 
object  of  his  search. 

Another  Spanish  wreck,  the  Florida^  which  was  a  unit 
of  the  Spanish  Armada,  and  sank  in  Tobermory  Bay,  the 
Isle  of  Mull,  has  many  times  been  attacked  by  divers. 
The  last  attempt  made  to  recover  the  treasure  which  that 
ill-fated  vessel  was  reputed  to  bear  is  that  of  the  steam 
lighter  Sealight^  which  employed  a  very  powerful  sand 
pump  to  suck  up  any  objects  which  it  might  encounter  on 
the  sea-bottom.  Many  interesting  relics  have  been  raised 
by  the  pumps  and  attendant  divers — coins,  bones,  jewels, 
timbers,  cannon,  muskets,  pistols,  swords,  and  a  compass, 
which  is  so  constructed  that  pressure  on  the  top  causes 
the  legs  to  spread.  One  of  the  cannon,  fifty-four  inches 
long,  has  a  separate  powder  chamber,  the  shot  and  wad 
still  in  the  gun,  and  traces  of  powder  in  the  chamber. 
It  is  curious  that  what  we  usually  consider  so  modern  an 
invention  as  the  breech-loading  cannon  should  be  found 
side  by  side  with  stone  balls.  The  heavier  objects  were,  of 
course,  raised  by  divers.  In  this  quest  also  the  treasure 
deposit  has  not  yet  been  tapped. 


251 


CHAPTER  XVI 
THE   HANDLING  OF  GRAIN 

THE  ELEVATOR THE  SUCTION  PNEUMATIC  GRAIN-LIFTER THE 

PNEUMATIC  BLAST  GRAIN-LIFTER THE  COMBINED  SYSTEM 

THE    ELEVATOR 

ON  or  near  the  quays  of  our  large  seaports,  London, 
Liverpool,  Manchester,  Bristol,  Hull,  Leith,  Dub- 
lin, may  be  seen  huge  buildings  of  severe  and 
ugly  outline,  utterly  devoid  of  any  attempt  at  decoration. 
Yet  we  should  view  them  with  respect,  for  they  are  to  the 
inhabitants  of  the  British  Isles  what  the  inland  granaries 
of  Egypt  were  to  the  dwellers  by  the  Nile  in  the  time 
of  Joseph.  Could  we  strip  off  the  roofs  and  walls  of 
these  structures,  we  should  see  vast  bins  full  of  wheat,  or 
spacious  floors  deeply  strewn  with  the  material  for  countless 
loaves.  The  grain  warehouses  of  Britain — the  Americans 
would  term  them  "  elevators "" — have  a  total  capacity  of 
10,000,000  quarters.  Multiply  those  figures  by  eight,  and 
you  have  the  number  of  bushels,  each  of  which  will  yield 
the  flour  for  about  forty  2-lb.  loaves. 

In  these  granaries  is  stored  the  grain  which  comes  from 
abroad.  With  the  opening  up  of  new  lands  in  North  and 
South  America,  and  the  exploitation  of  the  great  wheat- 
growing  steppes  of  Russia,  English  agriculture  has  de- 
clined, and  we  are  content  to  import  five-sixths  of  our 

252 


THE   HANDLING   OF  GRAIN 

breadstuffs,  and  an  even  larger  proportion  of  grain  foods 
for  domestic  animals.  It  arrives  from  the  United  States, 
India,  Russia,  Argentina,  Canada,  and  Australia  in  vessels 
often  built  specially  for  grain  transport ;  and  as  it  cannot 
be  immediately  distributed,  must  be  stored  in  bulk  in 
properly  designed  buildings. 

These  contain  either  many  storeys,  over  which  the 
grain  is  spread  to  get  rid  of  superfluous  moisture  which 
might  cause  dangerous  heating;  or  huge  bins,  or  "silos,*'''  in 
which  it  can  be  kept  from  contact  with  the  air.  Experi- 
ments have  proved  that  wheat  is  more  successfully  pre- 
served if  the  air  is  excluded  than  if  left  in  the  open, 
provided  that  it  is  dry.  The  ancient  Egyptians  used 
brick  granaries,  filled  from  the  top,  and  tapped  at  the 
bottom,  in  which,  to  judge  by  the  account  of  a  grievous 
famine  given  in  the  book  of  Genesis,  their  wheat  was 
preserved  for  at  least  seven  years.  During  last  century 
the  silo  fell  into  disrepute ;  but  now  we  have  gone  back  to 
the  Egyptian  plan  of  closed  bins,  which  are  constructed 
of  wood,  brick,  ferro-concrete,  or  iron,  and  are  of  square, 
hexagonal,  or  round  section.  They  are  set  close  together, 
many  under  one  roof,  to  economise  space ;  as  many  as 
2,985,000  bushels  being  provided  for  in  the  largest  Eng- 
lish storehouse. 

Such  vast  quantities  of  grain  require  well-devised 
machinery  for  their  transport  from  ship  to  bin  or 
floor,  weighing,  clearing,  and  for  their  transference  to 
barges,  coasting  vessels,  or  railway  trucks.  The  Alexander 
Grain  Warehouse  of  Liverpool  may  be  taken  as  a  typical 
example  of  a  well-equipped  silo  granary.  It  measures 
240   by  172  feet,  and  contains  250  hexagonal   bins  of 

253 


MODERN   mechanism: 

brickwork,  each  80  feet  deep  and  12  feet  in  diameter. 
The  grain  is  lifted  from  barges  by  four  elevators  placed 
at  intervals  along  the  edge  of  the  quay.  The  elevator  is 
a  wooden  case,  40  or  50  feet  high,  in  which  an  endless 
band  furnished  with  buckets  travels  over  two  rollers  placed 
at  the  top  and  bottom.  These  are  let  down  into  the  hold 
and  scoop  up  the  grain  at  the  rate  of  from  75  to  150  tons 
per  hour,  according  to  their  size.  As  soon  as  a  bucket 
reaches  the  top  roller  it  empties  its  charge  into  a  spout, 
which  delivers  the  grain  into  a  bin,  whence  it  is 
lifted  again  32  feet  by  a  second  elevator  to  a  bin  from 
which  it  flows  by  gravity  to  a  weighing  hopper  beneath ; 
and  as  soon  as  two  tons  has  collected,  the  contents  are 
emptied  automatically  into  a  distributing  hopper.  After 
all  this,  the  grain  still  has  a  long  journey  before  it ;  for 
it  is  now  shot  out  on  to  an  endless,  flat  conveyer  belt 
moving  at  a  rate  of  9  to  10  feet  per  second.  It  is  caiTied 
horizontally  by  this  for  some  distance  along  the  quay,  and 
falls  on  to  a  second  belt  moving  at  right  angles  to  the 
first,  which  whisks  it  off*  to  the  receiving  elevators  of  the 
storehouse.  Once  more  it  is  lifted,  this  time  132  feet,  to 
the  top  floor  of  the  building,  and  dropped  on  to  a  third 
belt,  which  runs  over  a  movable  throwing-off*  carriage. 
This  can  be  placed  at  any  point  of  the  belt's  travel,  to 
transfer  the  grain  to  any  of  the  spouts  leading  to  the  250 
bins. 

Here  it  rests  for  a  time.  When  needed  for  the  market 
it  flows  out  at  the  bottom  of  a  bin  on  to  belts  leading  to 
delivery  elevators,  from  which  it  may  be  either  passed  back 
to  a  storage  bin  after  being  well  aired,  or  shot  into 
wagons  or  vessels.      From  first  to  last  a  single  grain  may 

254 


THE   HANDLING  OF  GRAIN 

have  to  travel  three  miles  between  the  ship  and  the  truck 
without  being  touched  once  by  a  human  hand. 

The  vertical  transport  of  grain  is  generally  effected  by 
an  endless  belt,  to  which  buckets  are  attached  at  short 
intervals.  The  grain,  fed  to  the  buckets  either  by  hand 
or  by  mechanical  means,  is  scooped  up,  whirled  aloft,  and 
when  it  has  passed  the  topmost  point  of  its  travel,  and 
just  as  the  bucket  is  commencing  the  descent,  it  flies  by 
centrifugal  force  into  a  hopper  which  guides  it  to  the 
travelling  belt,  as  already  described. 

Of  late  years,  however,  much  attention  has  been  paid  to 
pneumatic  methods  of  elevating,  by  which  a  cargo  is 
transferred  from  ship  to  storehouse,  or  from  ship  to  ship, 
through  flexible  tubes,  the  motive  power  being  either  the 
pressure  of  atmospheric  air  rushing  in  to  fill  a  vacuum,  or 
high-pressure  air  which  blows  the  grain  through  the  tube 
in  much  the  same  way  as  a  steam  injector  forces  water 
into  a  boiler.  Sometimes  both  systems  are  used  in  com- 
bination. We  will  first  consider  these  methods  separ- 
ately. 

THE    SUCTION    PNEUMATIC    GRAIN-LIFTER 

is  the  invention  of  Mr.  Fred  E.  Duckham,  engineer  of 
the  Millwall  Docks,  London.  The  ships  in  which  grain  is 
brought  to  England  often  contain  a  "mixed*"  cargo  as 
well ;  and  that  the  unloading  of  this  may  proceed  simul- 
taneously with  the  moving  of  the  wheat  it  is  necessary 
to  keep  the  hatches  clear.  As  long  as  the  grain  is  directly 
under  a  hatchway,  a  bucket  elevator  can  reach  it ;  but  all 
that  is  not  so  conveniently  situated  must  be  brought 
within  range  of  the  buckets.     This  means  a  large  bill  for 

255 


MODERN   MECHANISM 

labour,  even  if  machinery  is  employed  to  help  the  "  trim- 
ming.**^ ]\Ir.  Duckham  therefore  designed  an  elevator  which 
could  easily  reach  any  corner  of  a  ship^s  interior.  The 
principal  paits  are  a  large  cylindrical  air-tight  tank,  an 
engine  to  exhaust  air  from  the  same,  and  long  hoses, 
armoured  inside  with  a  steel  lining,  connected  at  one  end 
to  the  tank,  and  furnished  at  the  other  with  a  nozzle. 
These  hoses  extend  from  the  receiving  tank  to  the  grain, 
which,  when  the  air  has  been  exhausted  to  five  or  six  pounds 
to  the  square  inch,  flies  up  the  tubes  into  the  tank.  At  the 
bottom  of  the  tank  are  ingenious  air-locks,  to  allow  the 
grain  to  pass  into  a  bin  below  without  admitting  air  to 
spoil  the  vacuum.  The  locks  are  automatic,  and  as  soon 
as  a  certain  quantity  of  grain  has  collected,  tip  sideways, 
closing  the  port  through  which  it  flowed,  and  allowing  it 
to  drop  through  a  hinged  door.  Two  locks  are  attached 
together,  the  one  discharging  while  the  other  is  filling.  An 
elevator  of  this  kind  will  shift  150  tons  or  more  an  hour. 
Mr.  Duckham  claims  for  his  invention  that  it  has  no 
limit  in  capacity.  It  is  practically  independent  of  every- 
thing but  its  own  steam  power;  and  the  labour  of  one 
man  suffices  to  keep  its  flexible  suckers  buried  in  grain. 
No  corner  is  inaccessible  to  the  nozzle.  The  pipes  occupy 
only  a  very  small  part  of  the  hatchway.  They  can  be  set 
to  work  immediately  a  vessel  comes  alongside.  As  many 
as  a  quarter  of  a  million  bushels  are  handled  daily  by  one 
of  these  machines. 

The  pneumatic  elevator  is  often  installed  on  a  floating 
base,  so  that  it  may  be  moved  about  in  a  dock. 


256^ 


THE   HANDLING   OF   GRAIN 

THE    PNEUMATIC    BLAST    GRAIN-LIFTER 

differs  from  the  system  just  described  in  that  the  grain  is 
driven  through  the  pipes  or  hoses  by  air  compressed  to 
several  pounds  above  atmospheric  pressure.  A  small  tube 
attached  to  the  main  hose  conveys  compressed  air  to  the 
nozzle  through  which  grain  enters  the  tube.  The  nozzle 
consists  of  a  short  length  of  metal  piping  which  is  buried 
in  the  grain.  One  half  of  it  is  encased  by  a  jacket  into 
which  the  compressed  air  rushes.  As  the  air  escapes  at 
high  speed  past  the  inner  end  of  the  piping  into  the  main 
hose,  it  causes  a  vacuum  in  the  piping  and  draws  in  grain, 
which  is  shot  up  the  hose  by  the  pressure  behind  it.  As 
already  remarked,  the  action  of  this  pneumatic  elevator  is 
similar  to  that  of  a  steam  injector. 

THE    COMBINED    SYSTEM 

Under  some  conditions  it  is  found  convenient  to  employ 
both  suction  and  blast  in  combination :  suction  to  draw 
the  grain  from  a  vessePs  hold  into  elevators,  from  which 
it  is  transferred  to  the  warehouse  by  blast.  Special  boats 
are  built  for  this  work,  e.g.  the  Garryowen^  which  has  on 
board  suction  plant  for  transferring  grain  from  a  ship 
to  barges,  and  also  blowing  apparatus  for  elevating  it  into 
storehouses  or  into  another  ship.  The  Garryowen  has 
the  hull  and  engines  of  an  ordinary  screw  steamer,  so 
that  it  can  ply  up  and  down  the  Shannon  and  partly 
unload  a  vessel  to  reduce  its  draught  sufficiently  to  allow 
it  to  reach  Limerick  Docks.  Floating  elevators  of  this 
kind  are  able  to  handle  upwards  of  150  tons  of  grain  per 
hour. 

R  257 


CHAPTER    XVII 

MECHANICAL   TRANSPORTERS   AND 
CONVEYERS 

MECHANICAL     CONVEYERS ROPEWAYS CABLEWAYS  — TELPHERAGE 

COALING    WARSHIPS    AT    SEA 

A  MAN  carrying  a  sack  of  coal  over  a  plank  laid 
from  the  wharf  to  the  ship's  side,  a  bricklayer's 
labourer  moving  slowly  up  a  ladder  with  his  hod 
of  mortar — ^these  illustrate  the  most  primitive  methods 
of  shifting  material  from  one  spot  to  another.  When 
the  wheelbarrow  is  used  in  the  one  case,  and  a  rope  and 
pulley  in  the  other,  an  advance  has  been  made,  but  the 
effort  is  still  great  in  proportion  to  the  work  accom- 
plished ;  and  were  such  processes  universal  in  the  great 
industries  connected  with  mining  and  manufacture,  the 
labour  bill  would  be  ruinous. 

The  development  of  methods  of  transportation  has  gone 
on  simultaneously  with  the  improvement  of  machinery 
of  all  kinds.  To  be  successful,  an  industry  must  be 
conducted  economically  throughout.  Thus,  to  follow  the 
history  of  wheat  from  the  time  that  it  is  selected  for 
sowing  till  it  forms  a  loaf,  we  see  it  mechanically  placed 
in  the  ground,  mechanically  reaped,  threshed,  and  dressed, 
mechanically  hauled  to  the  elevator,  mechanically  trans- 
ferred to  the  bins  of  the  same,  mechanically  shot  into 

258 


TRANSPORTERS   AND   CONVEYERS 

trucks  or  a  ship,  mechanically  raised  into  a  flour-mill, 
where  it  is  cleaned,  ground,  weighed,  packed,  and  trucked 
by  machinery,  mechanically  mixed  with  yeast  and  baked, 
and  possibly  distributed  by  mechanically  operated  vehicles. 
As  a  result  we  get  a  2-lb.  loaf  for  less  than  three- 
pence. Anyone  who  thinks  that  the  price  is  regulated 
merely  by  the  amount  of  wheat  grown  is  greatly  mis- 
taken, for  the  cheapness  of  handling  and  transportation 
conduces  at  least  equally  to  the  cheapness  of  the  finished 
article. 

The  same  may  be  said  of  the  metal  articles  with  which 
every  house  is  furnished.  A  fender  v/ould  be  dearer  than 
it  is  were  not  the  iron  ore  cheaply  transported  from  mine 
to  rail,  from  rail  to  the  smelting  furnace,  from  the 
ground  to  the  top  of  the  furnace.  In  short,  to  whatever 
industry  we  look,  in  which  large  quantities  of  raw  or 
finished  material  have  to  be  moved,  stored,  and  distributed, 
the  mechanical  conveyer  has  supplanted  human  labour  to 
such  an  extent  that  it)  lack  of  such  devices  we  can  scarcely 
conceive  how  the  industry  could  be  conducted  without 
either  proving  ruinous  to  the  people  who  control  it  or 
enhancing  prices  enormously. 

The  types  of  elevators  and  conveyers  now  commonly 
used  in  all  parts  of  the  world  are  so  numerous  that  in  the 
following  pages  only  some  selected  examples  can  be 
treated. 

Speaking  broadly,  the  mechanical  transporter  can  be 
classified  under  two  main  heads — (1)  those  which  handle 
materials  contimwusly ^  as  in  the  case  of  belt  conveyers, 
pneumatic  grain  dischargers,  etc.  ;  and  (2)  those  which 
work  intermittently^  such  as   the   telpher,  whicli   carries 

259 


MODERN   MECHANISM 

skips  on  an  aerial  ropeway.  The  first  class  are  most 
useful  for  short  distances ;  the  latter  for  longer  distances, 
or  where  the  conditions  are  such  that  the  material  must 
be  transported  in  large  masses  at  a  time  by  powerful 
grabs. 

Some  transporters  work  only  in  a  vertical  direction ; 
others  only  horizontally ;  while  a  third  large  section  com- 
bine the  two  movements.  Again,  while  some  are  mere 
conveyers  of  material  shot  into  or  attached  to  them,  others 
scoop  up  their  loads  as  they  move.  The  distinctions  in 
detail  are  numerous,  and  will  be  brought  out  in  the 
chapters  devoted  to  the  various  types. 

MECHANICAL    CONVEYERS 

We  have  already  noticed  band  conveyers  in  connection 
with  the  transportation  of  grain.  They  are  also  used  for 
handling  coal,  coke,  diamond  "  dirt,"'  gold  ore,  and  other 
minerals,  and  for  moving  filled  sacks.  The  belts  are 
sometimes  made  of  rubber  or  of  balata  faced  with  rubber 
on  the  upper  surface,  which  has  to  stand  most  of  the  wear 
and  tear — sometimes  of  metal  plates  joined  together  by 
hinges  at  the  ends. 

A  modification  of  the  belt  is  the  continuous  trough, 
with  sloping  or  vertical  sides.  This  is  built  of  open- 
ended  sections  jointed  so  that  they  may  pass  round  the 
terminal  rollers.  While  travelling  in  a  straight  line 
the  sides  of  the  sections  touch,  preventing  any  escape 
of  the  material  carried,  but  at  the  rollers  the  ends  open 
in  a  V-shape. 

Another  form  of  conveyer  has  a  stationary  trough 
through  which  the  substance  to   be   handled   is   pulled 

260 


i 


TRANSPORTERS  AND  CONVEYERS 


along  by  plates  attached  to  cables  or  endless  chains 
running  on  rollers.  Or  the  moving  agency  may  be 
plates  dragged  backwards  and  forwards  periodically,  the 
plates  hanging  in  one  direction  only,  like  flap  valves,  so 
as  to  pass  over  the  material  during  the  backward  stroke, 
and  bite  it  during  the  forward  stroke.  The  vibrating 
conveyer  is  a  trough  which  moves  bodily  backwards  and 
forwards  on  hinged  supports,  the  oscillation  gradually 
shaking  its  contents  along.  As  no  dragging  or  pushing 
plates  are  here  needed,  this  form  of  conveyer  is  very 
suitable  for  materials  which  are  liable  to  be  injured  by 
rough  treatment. 

ROPEWAYS 

A  certain  person  on  asking  what  was  the  distance  from 
X  to  Y,  received  the  reply,  "  It  is  ten  miles  as  the  crow 
flies.''**  The  country  being  mountainous,  the  answer  did 
not  satisfy  him,  and  he  said,  "  Oh !  but  you  see,  I  am 
not  a  crow.**^  Engineers  laying  out  a  railway  can  sym- 
pathise with  this  gentleman,  for  they  know  from  sad 
experience  that  places  only  a  few  miles  apart  in  a  straight 
line  often  require  a  track  many  miles  long  to  connect 
them  if  gradients  are  to  be  kept  moderate. 

Now  a  locomotive,  a  railway  carriage,  or  a  goods  truck 
is  very  heavy,  and  must  run  on  the  firm  bosom  of  Mother 
Earth.  But  for  comparatively  light  bodies  a  path  may 
be  made  which  much  more  nearly  resembles  the  proverbial 
flight  of  the  crow,  or,  as  our  American  cousins  would  say,  a 
bee-line.  If  you  have  travelled  in  Norway  and  Switzerland 
you  probably  have  noticed  here  and  there  steel  wire  ropes 
spanning  a  torrent  or  hanging  across  a  narrow  valley. 
Over  these  ropes  the  peasants  shoot  their  hay  crops  or 

261 


MODERN   MECHANISM 

wood  faggots  from  the  mountain-side  to  their  homes, 
or  to  a  point  near  a  road  where  the  material  can  be 
transferred  to  carts.  Adventm'ous  folk  even  dare  to 
entrust  their  own  bodies  to  the  seemingly  frail  steel 
thread,  using  a  brake  to  control  the  velocity  of  the 
descent. 

The  history  of  the  modern  ropeway  and  cableway 
dates  from  the  ""thirties,  when  the  invention  of  wire  rope 
supplied  a  flexible  carrying  agent  of  great  strength  in 
proportion  to  its  weight,  and  of  sufficient  hardness  to 
resist  much  wear  and  tear,  and  too  inelastic  to  stretch 
under  repeated  stresses.  To  prevent  confusion,  we  may 
at  once  state  that  a  ropeway  is  an  aerial  track  used  only 
for  the  conveyance  of  material ;  whereas  a  cableway  hoists 
as  well  as  conveys.  A  further  distinction — though  it 
does  not  hold  good  in  all  cases — may  be  seen  in  the  fact 
that,  while  cableways  are  of  a  single  span,  ropeways  are 
carried  for  distances  ranging  up  to  twenty  miles  over 
towers  or  poles  placed  at  convenient  intervals. 

Ropeways  fall  into  two  main  classes :  first,  those  in 
which  the  rope  supporting  the  weight  of  the  thing  caiTied 
moves  ;  secondly,  those  in  which  the  carrier  rope  is  station- 
ary, and  the  skips,  or  tubs,  etc.,  are  dragged  along  it  by  a 
second  rope.  The  moving  rope  system  is  best  adapted  for 
light  loads,  not  exceeding  six  hundredweight  or  so ;  but 
over  the  second  class  bodies  scaling  five  or  six  tons  have 
often  been  moved.  In  both  systems  the  line  may  be 
single  or  double,  according  to  the  amount  of  traffic  which 
it  has  to  accommodate.  The  chief  advantage  of  the 
double  ropeway  is  that  it  permits  a  continuous  service 
and  an  economy  of  power,  since  in  cases  where  material 

262 


TRANSPORTERS  AND  CONVEYERS 

has  to  be  delivered  at  a  lower  level  than  the  point  at 
which  it  is  shipped,  the  weight  of  the  descending  full 
trucks  can  be  utilised  to  haul  up  ascending  empty  trucks. 
Spans  of  2,000  feet  or  two-fifths  of  a  mile  are  not  at  all 
unusual  in  very  rough  country  where  the  spots  on  which 
supports  can  be  erected  are  few  and  far  between ;  but 
engineers  naturally  endeavour  to  make  the  span  as  short 
as  possible,  in  order  to  be  able  to  use  a  small  size  of  rope. 
Glancing  at  some  interesting  ropeways,  we  may  first 
notice  that  used  in  the  construction  of  the  new  Beachy 
Head  Lighthouse,  recently  erected  on  the  foreshore  below 
the  head  on  which  the  original  structure  stands.  For  the 
sake  of  convenience,  the  workshops,  storage  yards,  etc., 
were  placed  on  the  cliffs,  400  feet  above  the  sea  and  some 
800  feet  in  a  direct  line  from  the  site  of  the  new  light- 
house. Between  the  cliff*  summit  and  a  staging  in  the  sea 
were  stretched  two  huge  steel  ropes,  the  one,  six  inches  in 
circumference,  for  the  track  over  which  the  four-ton  blocks 
of  granite  used  in  the  building,  machinery,  tools,  etc., 
should  be  lowered;  the  other,  5|  inches  in  circum- 
ference, for  the  return  of  the  carriers  and  trucks  con- 
taining workmen.  The  ropes  had  a  breaking  strain  of 
120  and  100  tons  respectively;  that  is  to  say,  if  put 
in  an  hydraulic  testing  machine  they  would  have  with- 
stood pulls  equal  to  those  exerted  by  masses  of  these 
weights  hung  on  them.  Their  top  ends  were  anchored  in 
solid  rock ;  their  lower  ends  to  a  mass  of  concrete  built 
up  in  the  chalk  forming  the  sea-bottom.  When  a  granite 
block  was  attached  to  the  carrier  travelling  on  the  rope, 
its  weight  was  gradually  transferred  to  the  rope  by  lower- 
ing the  truck  on  which  it  had  arrived  until  the  latter  was 

263 


MODERN    MECHANISM 

clear  of  the  block.  As  soon  as  the  stone  started  on  its 
journey  the  truck  was  lifted  again  to  the  level  of  the  rails 
and  trundled  away.  A  brakesman,  stationed  at  a  point 
whence  he  could  command  the  whole  ropeway,  had  under 
his  hand  the  brake  wheels  regulating  the  movements  of 
the  trailing  ropes  for  lowering  and  hauling  on  the  two 
tracks. 

Another  interesting  ropeway  is  that  at  Hong-Kong, 
which  transports  the  workmen  in  a  sugar  factory  on  the 
low,  fever-breeding  levels  to  their  homes  in  the  hills  where 
they  may  sleep  secure  from  noxious  microbes.  The 
carriers  accommodate  six  men  at  a  time,  and  move  at  the 
rate  of  eight  miles  an  hour.  The  sensation  of  being 
hauled  through  mid-air  must  be  an  exhilarating  one,  and 
some  of  us  would  not  mind  changing  places  with  the 
workmen  for  a  trip  or  two,  reassured  by  the  fact  that  this 
ropeway  has  been  in  operation  for  several  years  without 
any  accident. 

In  Southern  India,  in  the  Anamalai  Hills,  a  ropeway  is 
used  for  delivering  sawn  timber  from  the  forests  to  a  point 
IJ  miles  below.  Prior  to  the  establishment  of  this  rope- 
way the  logs  were  sent  down  a  circuitous  mountain  track 
on  bullock  carts.  Its  erection  was  a  matter  of  great 
difficulty,  on  account  of  the  steep  gradients  and  the  dense 
and  unhealthy  forest  through  which  a  path  had  to  be  cut ; 
not  to  mention  the  dragging  uphill  of  a  cable  which,  with 
the  reel  on  which  it  was  wound,  weighed  four  tons.  For  this 
last  operation  the  combined  strength  of  nine  elephants 
and  a  number  of  coolies  had  to  be  requisitioned,  since  the 
friction  of  the  rope  di^agging  on  the  ground  was  enormous. 
However,  the  engineers  soon  had  the  cable  stretched  over 

264 


TRANSPORTERS   AND   CONVEYERS 

its  supports,  and  the  winding  machinery  in  place  at  the 
top  of  the  grade.  The  single  rope  serves  for  both  up  and 
down  traffic ;  a  central  crossing  station  being  provided  at 
which  the  descending  can  pass  the  ascending  carrier. 
Seven  sleepers  at  a  time  are  sent  flying  down  the  track  at 
a  rate  of  twenty  miles  an  hour :  a  load  departing  every 
half-hour.  The  saving  of  labour,  time,  and  expense  is  said 
to  be  very  great,  and  when  the  saw  mills  have  a  larger 
output  the  economy  of  working  will  be  still  more  re- 
markable. 

The  longest  passenger  ropeway  ever  built  is  probably 
that  over  the  Chilkoot  Pass  in  Alaska,  which  was  con- 
structed in  1897  and  1898  to  transport  miners  from  Dyea 
to  Crater  Lake  on  their  way  to  the  Yukon  goldfields. 
From  Crater  Lake  to  the  Klondike  the  Yukon  River 
serves  as  a  natural  road,  but  the  climb  to  its  head  waters 
was  a  matter  of  great  difficulty,  especially  during  the 
winter  months,  and  accompanied  by  much  suffering.  But 
when  the  trestles  had  been  erected  for  the  fixed  ropes,  two 
in  number,  miners  and  their  kits  were  hauled  over  the 
seven  miles  at  little  physical  cost,  though  naturally  the 
charges  for  transportation  ruled  higher  than  in  less 
rugged  regions.  The  opening  of  the  White  Pass  Railway 
from  Skagway  has  largely  abolished  the  need  for  this 
cable  track,  which  has  nevertheless  done  very  useful  work. 
The  Chilkoot  ropeway  has  at  least  two  spans  of  over 
1,500  feet.  As  an  engineering  enterprise  it  claims  our 
consideration,  since  the  conveyance  of  ropes,  timber, 
engines,  etc.,  into  so  inhospitable  a  region,  and  the 
piecing  of  them  together,  demanded  great  persistence  on 
the  part  of  the  engineers  and  their  employes. 

265 


MODERN   MECHANISM 

CABLEWAYS 

For  removing  the  "overburden"  of  surface  mines  and 
dumping  it  in  suitable  places,  for  excavating  canals,  for 
dredging,  and  for  many  other  operations  in  which  matter 
has  to  be  moved  comparatively  short  distances,  the  cable- 
way  is  largely  employed.  We  have  already  noticed  that 
it  differs  from  the  ropeway  in  that  it  has  to  hoist  and  dis- 
charge its  burdens  as  well  as  convey  them. 

The  cableway  generally  consists  of  a  single  span  be- 
tween two  towers,  which  are  either  fixed  or  movable  on 
rails  according  to  the  requirements  of  the  work  to  be 
done.  In  addition  to  the  main  cable  which  bears  the 
weight,  and  the  rope  which  moves  the  skips  along  it,  the 
cableway  has  the  "falP**  rope,  which  lowers  the  skip  to  the 
ground  and  raises  it ;  the  dumping  rope,  which  discharges 
it;  and  the  "button"'  rope,  which  pulls  blocks  off  the 
horn  of  the  skip  truck  at  intervals  as  the  latter  moves,  to 
support  the  "  fall "'  rope  from  the  main  cable.  If  the  fall 
rope  sagged  its  weight  would,  after  a  certain  amount  had 
been  paid  out,  overcome  the  weight  of  the  skip,  and 
render  it  impossible  to  lower  the  skip  to  the  filling  point. 
So  a  series  of  fall-rope  carriers  are,  at  the  commencement 
of  a  journey  from  one  end  of  the  cableway,  riding  on  an 
arm  in  front  of  the  skip  carriage.  The  button-rope, 
passing  under  a  pulley  on  the  top  of  the  skip  carriage,  is 
furnished  at  intervals  with  buttons  of  a  size  increasing 
towards  the  point  at  which  the  skip  must  be  lowered. 
The  holes  in  the  carriers  are  similarly  graduated  so  as  to 
pass  over  any  button  but  the  one  intended  to  arrest  them. 
If  we  watched  a  skip  travelling  to  the  lowering  point,  we 

266 


TRANSPORTERS   AND   CONVEYERS 

should  notice  that  the  carriers  were  successively  pulled  off 
the  skip  carriage  by  the  buttons,  and  strung  along  over 
the  main  cable  and  under  the  fall  rope. 

When  the  skip  has  been  lowered  and  filled  the  fall  and 
hauling  ropes  are  wound  in ;  the  skip  rises  to  the  main 
cable,  and  begins  to  travel  towards  the  dumping  point. 
As  long  as  the  dumping  rope  is  also  hauled  in  at  the 
same  rate  as  the  hauling  rope  it  has  no  effect  on  the  skip, 
but  when  its  rate  of  travel  is  increased  by  moving  it  on  to 
a  larger  winding  drum,  the  skip  is  tipped  or  opened,  as  the 
case  may  be,  without  being  arrested. 

The  skip  may  be  filled  by  hand  or  made  self-filling  where 
circumstances  permit. 

The  cableway  is  so  economical  in  its  working  that  it  has 
greatly  advanced  the  process  of  "  open-pit '^  mining. 
Where  ore  lies  near  the  surface  it  is  desirable  to  remove 
the  useless  overlying  matter  (called  "  over-burden  '*'') 
bodily,  and  to  convey  it  right  away,  in  preference  to  sink- 
ing shallow  shafts  with  their  attendant  drawbacks  of 
timbering  and  pumping.  An  inclined  railway  is  handi- 
capped by  the  fact  that  it  must  occupy  some  of  the  sur- 
face to  be  uncovered,  while  liable  to  blockage  by  the 
debris  of  blasting  operations.  The  suspended  cableway 
neither  obstructs  anything  nor  can  be  obstructed,  and  is 
profitably  employed  when  a  ton  of  ore  is  laid  bare  for 
every  four  tons  of  over-burden  removed.  In  the  case  of 
the  Tilly  Foster  Mine,  New  York,  where  the  removal  of 
300,000  tons  of  rock  exposed  600,000  tons  of  ore  from  an 
excavation  450  ft.  long  by  300  ft.  wide,  the  saving  effected 
by  the  cableway  was  enormous.  Again,  referring  to  the 
Chicago  Drainage  Canal,  "the  records  show  that  while 

267 


MODERN   MECHANISM 

labourers,  sledging  and  filling  into  cars,  averaged  only  7  to 
8 J  cubic  yards  per  man  per  day,  in  filling  into  skips  for 
the  cable  ways  the  labourers  averaged  from  12  to  17 
cubic  yards  per  day.*"  *  The  first  cableway  erected  by  the 
Lidgerwood  Manufacturing  Company  for  the  prosecution 
of  this  engineering  work  handled  10,821  cubic  yards  a 
month,  and  proved  so  successful  that  nineteen  similar 
plants  were  added.  The  cableways  are  suspended  in  this 
instance  from  two  towers  moving  on  parallel  tracks  on 
each  bank  of  the  canal,  the  towers  being  heavily  ballasted 
on  the  outer  sides  of  their  bases  to  counteract  the  pull  of 
the  cable.  From  time  to  time,  when  a  length  had  been 
cleared,  the  towers  were  moved  forward  by  engines  hauling 
on  fixed  anchors. 

The  cableway  is  much  used  in  the  erection  of  masonry 
piers  for  bridges  across  rivers  or  valleys.  Materials  are 
conveyed  by  it  rapidly  and  easily  to  points  over  the  piers 
and  lowered  into  position.  Spans  of  over  1,500  feet  have 
been  exceeded  for  such  purposes  ;  and  if  need  be,  spans  of 
2,000  feet  could  be  made  to  carry  loads  of  twenty-five 
tons  at  a  rate  of  twenty  miles  an  hour. 

TELPHERAGE 

On  most  ropeways  the  skips  or  other  conveyances  are 
moved  along  the  fixed  ropes  by  trailing  ropes  working 
round  drums  driven  by  steam  and  controlled  by  brakes. 
But  the  employment  of  electricity  has  provided  a  system 
called  telpherage^  in  which  the  vehicle  carries  its  own 
motor,  fed  by  current  from  the  rope  on  which  it  runs  and 

*  Cassier^s  Magazine. 
268 


TRANSPORTERS   AND   CONVEYERS 

from  auxiliary  cables  suspended  a  short  distance  above 
the  main  rope.  "  Telpher  *"  is  a  term  derived  from  two 
Greek  words  signifying  "a  far  carrier,*"  since  the  motor 
so  named  will  move  any  distance  so  long  as  a  track 
and  current  is  supplied  to  it.  The  carrier — for  ore,  coal, 
earth,  barrels,  sacks,  timber,  etc. — is  suspended  from  the 
telpher  by  the  usual  hook-shaped  support  common  to 
ropeways,  to  enable  the  load  to  pass  the  arms  of  the  posts 
or  trestles  bearing  the  rope.  The  telpher  usually  has 
two  motors,  one  placed  on  each  side  of  a  two-wheeled 
carriage  so  as  to  balance ;  but  sometimes  only  a  single 
motor  is  employed.  Just  above  the  running  cable  is  the 
"  trolley  "*"  cable,  from  which  the  telpher  picks  up  current 
through  a  hinged  arm,  after  the  manner  of  an  electric 
tram.  The  carriers  are  controlled  on  steep  grades  by  an 
electric  braking  device,  which  acts  automatically,  its  effect 
varying  with  the  speed  at  which  the  telpher  runs.  The 
carrier  wheels,  driven  by  the  motors,  adhere  to  the  cable 
without  slipping  on  grades  as  severe  as  three  in  ten,  even 
when  the  surface  has  been  moistened  by  rain.  "  In  order 
to  stop  the  telpher  at  any  desired  point,  the  trolley  wire 
is  divided  into  a  number  of  sections,  each  controlled  by  a 
switch  conveniently  located.  By  opening  a  switch  the 
current  is  cut  off  from  the  corresponding  section,  and  the 
telpher  will  stop  when  it  reaches  this  point.  It  is  again 
started  by  closing  the  switch.  At  curves  a  section  of  the 
trolley  wire  (i,e.  overhead  cable  for  current)  is  connected 
to  the  source  of  current  through  a  'resistance'  which 
lowers  the  voltage  (pressure  of  the  current)  across  the 
motors  at  this  point.  Thus,  upon  approaching  a  curve, 
the  telpher  automatically  slows  down,  runs  slowly  around 

269 


MODERN   MECHANISM 

the  curve  until  it  passes  the  resistance  section,  and  is  then 
automatically  accelerated."  * 

The  telpher  line  is  very  useful  (for  transporting  material 
considerable  distances)  in  districts  where  it  would  not 
pay  to  construct  a  surface  railway.  On  plantations 
it  serves  admirably  to  shift  grain,  fruits,  tobacco,  and 
other  agricultural  products.  Then,  again,  a  wide  field  is 
open  to  it  for  transmitting  light  articles,  such  as  castings 
and  parts  of  machinery,  from  one  part  of  a  foundry  or 
manufactory  to  another,  or  from  factory  to  vessel  or 
truck  for  shipment.  When  coal  has  to  be  handled,  the 
buckets  are  dumped  automatically  into  bins. 

The  telpher  has  much  the  same  advantages  over  the 
steam-worked  ropeway  that  an  electric  tram  has  over  one 
moved  by  an  endless  cable.  Its  control  is  easier ;  there  is 
less  friction ;  and  the  speed  is  higher.  And  in  common 
with  ropeways  it  can  claim  independence  of  obstructions 
on  the  ground,  and  the  ability  to  cross  ravines  with  ease, 
which  in  the  case  of  a  railway  would  have  to  be  bridged 
at  great  expense. 

COALING    WARSHIPS    AT    SEA 

The  war  between  Russia  and  Japan  has  brought  promi- 
nently before  the  public  the  necessity  of  being  able  to 
keep  a  war  vessel  well  supplied  with  coal :  a  task  by  no 
means  easy  when  coaling  stations  are  few  and  far  between. 
The  voyage  of  Admiral  Rojdestvensky  from  Russia  to 
Eastern  waters  was  marked  by  occasions  on  which  he 
entered  neutral  ports  to  draw  supplies  for  his  furnaces, 
though  we  know  that  colliers  sailed  with  the  warships  to 

*  Cassier''s  Magazine. 
270 


\ 


m 


TRANSPORTERS   AND   CONVEYERS 

replenish  their  exhausted  bunkers.  In  the  old  days  of 
sailing  vessels,  their  motive  power,  even  if  fitful,  was  in- 
exhaustible. But  now  that  steam  reigns  supreme  as  the 
mover  of  the  world's  floating  forts,  the  problem  of  "  keep- 
ing the  sea*"  has  become  in  one  way  very  much  more 
complicated.  The  radius  of  a  vessel's  action  is  limited  by 
the  capacity  of  her  coal  bunkers.  Her  captain  in  war 
time  would  be  perpetually  perplexed  by  the  question  of 
fuel,  since  movement  is  essential  to  naval  success,  while 
any  misjudged  fast  steaming  in  pursuit  of  the  enemy 
might  render  his  ship  an  inert  mass,  incapable  of  motion, 
because  the  coal  supplies  had  given  out;  or  at  least  might 
compel  him  to  return  for  supplies  to  the  nearest  port  at 
a  slow  speed,  losing  valuable  time. 

Just  as  a  competitor  in  a  long-distance  race  takes  his 
nourishment  without  halting,  so  should  a  battleship  be 
able  to  coal  "  on  the  wing."  The  task  of  transferring  so 
many  tons  of  the  mineral  from  one  ship's  hold  to  that  of 
another  may  seem  easy  enough  to  the  inexperienced  critic, 
and  under  favourable  conditions  it  might  not  be  attended 
by  great  difficulty.  "  Why,"  someone  may  say,  "  you  have 
only  to  bring  the  collier  alongside  the  warship,  make  her 
fast,  and  heave  out  the  coals."  In  a  perfect  calm  this 
might  be  feasible ;  but  let  the  slightest  swell  arise,  and 
then  how  the  sides  of  the  two  craft  would  bump  together, 
with  dire  results  to  the  weaker  party !  Actual  tests  have 
shown  this. 

At  present  "broadside"  coaling  is  considered  imprac- 
ticable, but  the  "  from  bow  to  stern "  method  has  passed 
through  its  initial  stages,  and  after  many  failures  has 
reached  a  point  of  considerable  efliciency.    The  difficulties 

271 


MODERN   MECHANISM 

in  transferring  coal  from  a  collier  to  a  warship  by  which 
she  is  being  towed  will  be  apparent  after  very  little  reflec- 
tion. In  the  first  place,  there  is  the  danger  of  the  cable- 
way  and  its  load  dipping  into  the  water,  should  the  dis- 
tance between  the  two  vessels  be  suddenly  diminished, 
and  the  corresponding  danger  of  the  cable  snapping 
should  the  pitching  of  the  vessels  increase  the  distance 
between  the  terminals  of  the  cableway.  These  difficulties 
have  made  it  impossible  to  merely  shoot  coals  down  a  rope 
attached  high  up  a  mast  of  the  collier  and  to  the  deck  of 
the  warship.  What  is  evidently  needed  is  some  system 
which  shall  pay  the  cableway  out  or  take  it  in  auto- 
matically, so  as  to  counterbalance  any  lengthening  or 
shortening  movement  of  the  vessels. 

The  Lidgerwood  Manufacturing  Company  of  New 
York,  under  the  direction  of  Mr.  Spencer  Miller,  have 
brought  out  a  cableway  specially  adapted  for  marine  work. 
The  two  vessels  concerned  are  attached  by  a  stout  tow- 
line,  the  collier,  of  course,  being  in  the  rear.  To  carry 
the  load,  a  single  endless  wire  rope,  f  inch  in  diameter  and 
2,000  feet  long,  is  employed.  It  spans  the  distance  between 
collier  and  ship  twice,  giving  an  inward  track  for  full 
sacks,  and  an  outward  track  for  their  return  to  the  collier. 
On  one  vessel  are  two  winches,  the  drums  of  which  both 
turn  in  the  same  direction ;  but  while  one  drum  is  rigidly 
attached  to  its  axle,  the  other  slips  under  a  stress  greater 
than  that  needed  to  keep  the  rope  sufficiently  taut.  Since 
the  rope  passes  round  a  pulley  at  the  other  terminal,  pres- 
sure placed  at  any  point  on  the  rope  will  tend  to  tighten 
both  tracks,  while  a  slackening  at  any  point  would  simi- 
larly ease  them.    Supposing,  then,  that  the  ships  suddenly 

272 


TRANSPORTERS  AND  CONVEYERS 

approach,  there  will  be  a  certain  amount  of  slack  at  once 
wound  in ;  if,  on  the  other  hand,  the  ships  draw  apart, 
the  slipping  drum  will  pay  out  rope  sufficient  to  supply 
the  need.  The  constant  slipping  of  this  drum  sets  up 
great  heat,  which  is  dissipated  by  currents  of  air.  As 
the  sacks  of  coal  arrive  on  the  man-of-war  they  are  auto- 
matically detached  from  the  cable,  and  fall  down  a  chute 
into  the  hold. 

In  the  Temperley  Miller  Marine  Cableway  the  load  is 
carried  on  a  main  cable  kept  taut  by  a  friction  drum, 
and  the  hauling  is  done  by  an  endless  rope  which  has  its 
own  separate  winches.  In  actual  tests  made  at  sea  in 
rough  weather  sixty  tons  per  hour  have  been  trans- 
ferred, the  vessels  moving  at  from  four  to  eight  miles 
an  hour. 


273 


CHAPTER   XVIII 
AUTOMATIC    WEIGHERS 

SCARCELY  less  important  than  the  rapid  transfer- 
ence of  materials  from  one  place  to  another  is  the 
quick  and  accurate  weighing  of  the  same.  If  a 
pneumatic  grain  elevator  were  used  in  conjunction  with  an 
ordinary  set  of  scales  such  as  are  to  be  found  at  a  corn 
dealer's  there  would  be  great  delay,  and  the  advantage  of 
the  elevator  would  largely  be  lost.  Similarly  a  mechanical 
transporter  of  coal  or  ore  should  automatically  register  the 
tonnage  of  the  mineral  handled,  to  prevent  undue  waste 
of  time. 

There  are  in  existence  many  types  of  automatic  weigh- 
ing machines,  the  general  principles  of  which  vary  with 
the  nature  of  the  commodity  to  be  weighed.  Finely 
divided  substances,  such  as  grain,  seeds,  and  sugar,  are 
usually  handled  by  hopper  weighers.  The  grain,  etc.,  is 
passed  into  a  bin,  from  the  bottom  of  which  it  flows 
into  a  large  pan.  When  the  proper  unit  of  weight — a 
hundredweight  or  a  ton — has  nearly  been  attained,  the 
flow  is  automatically  throttled,  so  that  it  may  be  more 
exactly  controlled,  and  as  soon  as  the  full  amount  has 
passed,  the  machine  closes  the  hopper  door  and  tips  the 
pan  over.  The  latter  delivers  its  contents  and  returns  to 
its  original  position,  while  the  door  above  is  simultane- 

274 


AUTOMATIC   WEIGHERS 

ously  opened  for  the  operation  to  be  repeated.  A  count- 
ing apparatus  records  the  number  of  tips,  so  that  a  glance 
suffices  to  learn  how  much  material  has  passed  through 
the  weigher,  which  may  be  locked  up  and  allowed  to  look 
after  itself  for  hours  together.  The  "  Chronos "'  automatic 
grain  scale  is  built  in  many  sizes  for  charges  of  from  12 
to  3,300  lbs.  of  grain,  and  tips  five  times  a  minute. 
Avery's  grain  weigher  takes  up  to  5J  tons  at  a  time. 

For  materials  of  a  lumpy  nature,  such  as  coal  and 
ore,  a  different  method  is  generally  used.  The  hopper 
process  would  not  be  absolutely  accurate,  since  the  rate 
of  feed  cannot  be  exactly  controlled  when  dust  and  large 
lumps  weighing  half  a  hundredweight  or  more  are  all 
jumbled  together.  Therefore  instead  of  a  pan  which 
tips  automatically  as  soon  as  it  has  received  a  fixed 
weight,  we  find  a  bin  which,  when  a  quantity  roughly 
equal  to  the  correct  amount  has  been  let  in,  sinks  on  to 
a  weigher  and  has  its  contents  registered  by  an  automatic 
counter,  which  continuously  adds  up  the  total  of  a 
number  of  weighings  and  displays  it  on  a  dial.  So  that 
if  there  be  10  lbs.  in  excess  of  a  ton  at  the  first  charge, 
the  dial  records  "one  ton,"  and  keeps  the  10 lbs.  "up 
its  sleeve  ''■'  against  the  next  weighing,  to  which  the  excess 
is  added.  Avery\s  mineral  scale  works,  however,  on  much 
the  same  principle  as  that  for  grain  already  noticed,  a 
special  device  being  fitted  to  render  the  feed  to  the 
weighing  pan  as  regular  as  possible.  His  weigher  is  used 
to  feed  mechanical  furnace  stokers.  The  quantity  of  coal 
used  can  thus  be  checked,  while  an  automatic  apparatus 
prevents  the  stoker  bunkers  from  being  overfilled. 

Continuous  weighers  register  the  amount  carried  by  a 

275 


MODERN  MECHANISM 

conveyer  while  in  motion.  The  recording  apparatus 
comes  into  action  at  fixed  intervals,  e.g.  as  soon  as  the 
conveyer  has  moved  ten  feet.  The  weighing  mechanism 
is  practically  part  of  the  conveyer,  and  takes  the  weight 
of  ten  feet.  The  steelyard  is  adjusted  to  exactly  counter- 
balance the  unloaded  belt  or  skips  of  its  length,  but  rises 
in  proportion  to  the  load.  As  soon  as  the  conveyer  has 
travelled  ten  feet  the  weight  on  the  machine  is  imme- 
diately recorded,  and  the  steelyard  returns  to  zero. 

Intermittent  zveighers  record  the  weight  of  trucks  or 
tubs  passing  over  a  railway  or  the  cables  of  aerial  track, 
the  weigher  forming  part  of  the  track  and  coming  into 
play  as  soon  as  a  load  is  fully  on  it. 

Some  machines  not  only  weigh  material,  but  also  stow 
and  pack  it.  We  find  a  good  instance  in  TimewelPs 
sacking  apparatus,  which  weighs  corn,  chaff,  flour,  oat- 
meal, rice,  coffee,  etc.,  transfers  it  to  sacks,  and  sews  the 
sack  up  automatically.  The  amount  of  time  saved  by 
such  a  machine  must  be  very  great. 

Note. — The  author  desires  to  express  his  indebtedness  to  Mr. 
George  F.  Zimmer's  The  Mechanical  Handling  of  Material  for  some 
of  the  information  contained  in  the  above  chapter ;  and  to  the 
pubhshers,  Messrs.  A.  Crosby  Lockwood  and  Son,  for  permission 
to  make  use  of  the  same. 


276 


CHAPTER  XIX 
TRANSPORTER  BRIDGES 

WHEN  the  writer  was  in  Rouen,  in  1898,  two  lofty 
iron  towers  were  being  constructed  by  the  Seine : 
the  one  on  the  Quai  du  Havre,  the  other  on  the 
Quai  Capelier,  which  borders  the  river  on  the  side  of 
the  suburb  St.  Sever. 

The  towers  rose  so  far  towards  the  sky  that  one  had 
to  throw  one's  head  very  far  back  to  watch  the  workmen 
perched  on  the  summit  of  the  framework.  What  were 
the  towers  for?  They  seemed  much  too  slender  for  the 
piers  of  an  ordinary  suspension  bridge  fit  to  carry  heavy 
traffic.  An  inquiry  produced  the  information  that  they 
were  the  first  instalment  of  a  "  transbordeur,'''  or  trans- 
porter bridge.     What  is  a  bridge  of  this  kind  ? 

Well,  it  may  best  be  described  as  a  very  lofty  suspen- 
sion bridge,  the  girder  of  which  is  far  above  the  water 
to  allow  the  passage  of  masted  ships.  The  suspended 
girder  serves  only  as  the  run-way  for  a  truck  from  which 
a  travelling  car  hangs  by  stout  steel  ropes,  the  bottom 
of  the  car  being  but  a  few  feet  above  the  water.  The 
truck  is  carried  across  from  tower  to  tower,  either  by 
electric  motors  or  by  cables  operated  by  steam-power. 

The  transporter  bridge  in  a  primitive  form  has  existed 
for   some   centuries,  but   its   present   design    is   of   very 

277 


MODERN   MECHANISM 

modern  growth.  With  the  increase  of  population  has 
come  an  increased  need  for  uninterrupted  communication. 
Where  rivers  intervene  they  must  be  bridged,  and  we 
see  a  steady  growth  in  the  number  of  bridges  in  London, 
Paris,  New  York,  and  other  large  towns. 

Unfortunately  a  bridge,  while  joining  land  to  land, 
separates  water  from  water,  and  the  dislocation  of  river 
traffic  might  not  be  compensated  by  the  conveniences 
given  to  land  traffic.  The  Forth,  Brooklyn,  Saltash,  and 
other  bridges  have,  therefore,  been  built  of  such  a  height 
as  to  leave  sufficient  head-room  under  the  girders  for  the 
masts  of  the  tallest  ships. 

But  what  money  they  have  cost !  And  even  the  Tower 
Bridge,  with  its  hinged  bascules,  or  leaves,  and  bridges 
with  centres  revolving  horizontally,  devour  large  sums. 

Wanted,  therefore,  an  efficient  means  of  transport  across 
a  river  which,  though  not  costly  to  install,  shall  offer  a 
good  service  and  not  impede  river  traffic. 

Thirty  years  ago  Mr.  Charles  Smith,  a  Hartlepool 
engineer,  designed  a  bridge  of  the  transporter  type  for 
crossing  the  Tees  at  Middlesbrough.  The  bridge  was 
not  built,  because  people  feared  that  the  towers  would  not 
stand  the  buffets  of  the  north-easterly  gales. 

The  idea  promulgated  by  an  Englishman  was  taken  up 
by  foreign  engineers,  who  have  erected  bridges  in  Spain, 
Tunis,  and  France.  So  successful  has  this  type  of  ferry- 
bridge proved,  that  it  is  now  receiving  recognition  in  the 
land  of  its  birth,  and  at  the  present  time  transporter  bridges 
are  nearing  completion  in  Wales  and  on  the  Mersey. 

The  first  "  transbordeur  **'  built  was  that  spanning  the 
Nervion,  a  river  flowing  into  the  Bay    of  Biscay   near 

278 


o 

> 

H 

H 
in 

< 


(TRANSPORTER  BRIDGES 
ilbao,  a  Spanish  town  famous  for  the  great  deposits  of 
on  ore  close  by.  A  pair  of  towers  rises  on  each  bank  to 
a  height  of  240  feet,  and  carry  a  suspended  trussed  girder 
530  feet  long  at  a  level  of  150  feet  above  high- water 
mark.  The  car,  giving  accommodation  for  200  passengers 
(it  does  not  handle  vehicles),  hangs  on  the  end  of  cables 
130  feet  long,  and  is  propelled  by  a  steam-engine  situated 
in  one  of  the  towers.  Motion  is  controlled  by  the  car- 
conductor,  who  is  connected  electrically  with  the  engine- 
room.  The  lofty  towers  are  supported  on  the  landward 
side  by  stout  steel  ropes  firmly  anchored  in  the  ground. 
These  ropes  are  carried  over  the  girder  in  the  familiar 
curve  of  the  suspension  bridge,  and  attached  to  it  at 
regular  intervals  by  vertical  steel  braces.  The  cost  of  the 
bridge — £32,000 — compares  favourably  with  that  of  any 
alternative  non-traffic-blocking  scheme,  and  the  graceful, 
airy  lines  of  the  erection  are  by  no  means  a  blot  on  the 
landscape. 

The  second  "  transbordeur "''  is  that  of  Rouen,  already 
referred  to.  Its  span  is  rather  less — 467  feet — but  the 
suspension  girder  lies  higher  by  14  feet.  The  car  is 
42  feet  long  by  36  broad,  and  weighs,  with  a  full  load, 
60  tons.  A  passage,  which  occupies  55  seconds,  costs 
one  penny  first  class,  one  halfpenny  second  class ;  while 
a  vehicle  and  horses  pay  2Jd.  to  4d.,  according  to  weight. 
The  car  is  propelled  by  electricity,  under  the  control  of 
a  man  in  the  conning-tower  perched  on  the  roof. 

At  Bizerta  we  find  the  third  flying-ferry,  which  connects 
that  town  with  Tunis,  over  a  narrow  channel  between  the 
Mediterranean  Sea  and  two  inland  lakes.  It  replaced 
a  steam-ferry  which  had  done  duty  for  about  ten  years. 

279 


MODERN   MECHANISM 

The  lakes  being  an  anchorage  for  war  vessels,  it  was 
imperative  that  any  bridge  over  the  straits  should  not 
interrupt  free  ingress  and  egress.  This  bridge  has  a  span 
of  500  feet,  and  like  that  at  Bilbao  is  worked  by  steam. 
Light  as  the  structure  appears,  it  has  withstood  a  cyclone 
which  did  great  damage  in  the  neighboui'hood.  It  is 
reported  that  the  French  Government  has  decided  to  re- 
move the  bridge  to  some  other  port,  because  its  promi- 
nence would  make  it  serve  as  a  range-finder  for  an  enemy'^s 
cannon  in  time  of  war.  Its  place  would  be  taken  either 
by  a  floating-bridge  or  by  a  submarine  tunnel. 

The  Nantes  "transporter"  over  the  Loire  differs  from 
its  fellows  in  one  respect,  viz.  that  it  is  built  on  the  canti- 
lever or  balance  principle.  Instead  of  a  single  girder 
spanning  the  space  between  the  towers,  it  has  three 
girders,  the  two  end  ones  being  balanced  on  the  towers 
and  anchored  at  their  landward  extremities  by  vertical 
cables.  The  gap  between  them  is  bridged  by  a  third 
girder  of  bow  shape,  which  is  stiff  enough  in  itself 
to  need  no  central  support.  The  motive  power  is  elec- 
tricity. 

All  these  structures  will  soon  be  eclipsed  by  two  English 
bridges :  the  one  over  the  Usk  at  Ne^vport,  Monmouth- 
shire ;  the  other  over  the  Mersey  and  Manchester  Ship 
Canal  at  Runcorn  "Gap,*"  where  the  river  narrows  to 
1,200  feet. 

The  first  of  these  has  towers  250  feet  high  and  685  feet 
apart.  The  girders  will  give  170  feet  head-room  above 
high-water  mark.  Five  hundred  passengers  will  be  able 
to  travel  at  one  time  on  the  car,  besides  a  number  of  road 
vehicles,  and  as  the  passage  is  calculated  to  take  only  one 

280 


TRANSPORTER  BRIDGES 

minute,  the  average  velocity  will  exceed  eight  miles  an 
hour.  The  cost  has  been  set  down  at  XGS^OOO,  or  about 
one-thirtieth  that  of  a  suspension  bridge,  and  one-third 
that  of  a  bascule  bridge.  The  bridge  is  being  built  by 
the  French  engineers  responsible  for  the  Rouen  trans- 
bordetir. 

Coming  to  the  much  more  imposing  Runcorn  bridge  we 
find  even  these  figures  exceeded.  This  span  is  1,000  feet 
in  length.  The  designer,  Mr.  John  J.  Webster,  has 
already  made  a  name  with  the  Great  Wheel  which,  at 
EarFs  Court,  London,  has  given  many  thousands  of 
pleasure-seekers  an  aerial  trip  above  the  roofs  of  the 
metropolis.  The  following  account  by  Mr.  W.  G.  Archer 
in  the  Magazine  of  Commerce  describes  this  mammoth  of 
its  kind  in  some  detail : — 

"The  two  main  towers  carrying  the  cables  and  the 
stiffening  girders  are  built,  one  on  the  south  side  of 
the  Ship  Canal,  and  the  other  on  the  foreshore  on  the 
north  bank  of  the  river;  and  the  approaches  consist  of 
new  roadways,  nearly  flat,  built  between  stone  and  con- 
crete retaining  walls  as  far  as  the  water's  edge,  and  a 
corrugated  steel  flooring,  upon  which  are  laid  the  timber 
blocks  on  concrete,  resting  on  steel  elliptical  girders  and 
cast-iron  columns.  The  roadway  in  front  of  the  towers  is 
widened  out  to  70  feet,  for  marshalling  the  traffic,  and  for 
providing  space  for  waiting-rooms,  etc.  The  towers  are 
constructed  wholly  of  steel,  rise  190  feet  above  high-water 
level,  and  are  bolted  firmly  to  the  cast-iron  cylinders 
below.  Each  tower  consists  of  four  legs,  spaced  30  feet 
apart  at  the  base,  and  each  pair  of  towers  are  70  feet 
apart,  and  are  braced  together  with  strong  horizontal  and 

281 


MODERN   MECHANISM 

diagonal  frames.  Each  of  the  two  main  cables  consists  of 
19  steel  ropes  bound  together,  each  rope  being  built  up  of 
127  wires  0*16  inches  in  diameter.  The  ends  of  the  cable 
backstays  are  anchored  into  the  solid  rock  on  each  side  of 
the  river,  about  30  feet  from  the  rock  surface.  The  weight 
of  the  main  cables  is  about  243  tons,  and  from  them  are 
suspended  two  longitudinal  stiffening  girders,  18  feet  deep,^ 
and  placed  35  feet  apart  horizontally,  the  underside  of 
the  girders  being  82  feet  above  the  level  of  high  water. 
. . .  Upon  the  lower  flange  of  the  stiffening  girders  are  fixed 
the  rails  upon  which  runs  the  traveller,  from  which  is 
suspended  the  car.  The  traveller  is  77  feet  long,  and 
is  carried  by  sixteen  wheels  on  each  rail.  It  is  propelled 
by  two  electric  motors  of  about  35  horse-power  each.  .  .  . 
The  car  will  be  capable  of  holding  at  one  time  four  large 
wagons  and  300  passengers,  the  latter  being  protected  from 
the  weather  by  a  glazed  shelter.  ...  The  time  occupied 
by  the  car  in  crossing  will  be  2^  minutes,  so,  allowing  for 
the  time  spent  in  loading  and  unloading,  it  will  be  capable 
of  making  nine  or  ten  trips  per  hour.  This  bridge,  when 
completed,  will  have  the  largest  span  of  any  bridge  in  the 
United  Kingdom  designed  for  carrying  road  traffic,  the 
clear  space  over  the  Mersey  and  Ship  Canal  being  1,000 
feet.  .  .  .  The  total  cost  of  the  structure,  including  Par- 
liamentary expenses,  will  be  about  £150,000."'' 

Mr.  Archer  adds  that,  in  spite  of  prophecies  of  disas- 
trous collisions  between  transporter  cars  and  passing  ships, 
there  has  up  to  date  been  no  accident  of  any  kind.  To 
those  in  search  of  a  new  sensation  the  experience  of 
skimming  swiftly  a  few  feet  above  the  water  may  be 
recommended. 

282 


CHAPTER  XX 
BOAT  AND   SHIP  RAISING   LIFTS 

IN  modern  locomotion,  whether  by  land  or  water,  it 
becomes  increasingly  necessary  to  keep  the  way  un- 
obstructed where  traffic  is  confined  to  the  narrow 
limits  of  a  pair  of  rails,  a  road,  or  a  canal  channel.  We 
widen  our  roads ;  we  double  and  quadruple  our  rails. 
Canals  are,  as  a  rule,  not  alterable  except  at  immense 
cost ;  and  if,  in  the  first  instance,  they  were  not  built 
broad  enough  for  the  work  that  they  are  afterwards  called 
upon  to  do,  much  of  their  business  must  pass  to  rival 
methods  of  transportation.  Modern  canals,  such  as  the 
Manchester  and  Kiel  canals,  were  given  generous  pro- 
portions to  start  with,  as  their  purpose  was  to  pass  ocean- 
going ships,  and  for  many  years  it  will  not  be  necessary  to 
enlarge  them.  The  Suez  Canal  has  been  widened  in 
recent  years,  by  means  of  dredgers,  which  easily  scoop 
out  the  sandy  soil  through  which  it  runs  and  deposit  it  on 
the  banks.  But  the  Corinth  Canal,  cut  through  solid 
rock,  cannot  be  thus  economically  expanded,  and  as  a 
result  it  has  proved  a  commercial  failure. 

Even  if  a  canal  be  of  full  capacity  in  its  channel-way 
there  are  points  at  which  its  traffic  is  throttled.  How- 
ever gently  the  country  it  traverses  may  slope,  there  must 
occur  at  intervals   the   necessity  of    making  a  lock   for 

2S3 


MODERN   MECHANISM 

transferring  vessels  from  one  level  to  the  other.  Some- 
times the  ascent  or  descent  is  effected  by  a  series  of  stepsj 
or  flight  of  locks,  on  account  of  the  magnitude  of  the 
fall ;  and  in  such  cases  the  loss  of  time  becomes  a  serious 
addition  to  the  cost  of  transport. 

In  several  instances  engineers  have  got  over  the  diffi- 
culty by  ingenious  hydi^aulic  lifts,  which  in  a  few  minutes 
pass  a  boat  through  a  perpendicular  distance  of  many 
feet.  At  Anderton,  where  the  Trent  and  Mersey  Canal 
meets  the  Weaver  Navigation,  barges  up  to  100  tons 
displacement  are  raised  fifty  feet.  Two  troughs,  each 
weighing  with  their  contents  240  tons,  are  carried  by  two 
cast-iron  rams  placed  under  their  centres,  the  cylinders  of 
which  are  connected  by  piping.  When  both  troughs  are 
full  the  pressure  on  the  rams  is  equal,  and  no  movement 
results  ;  but  if  six  inches  of  water  be  transferred  from  the 
one  to  the  other,  the  heavier  at  once  forces  up  the  lighter. 
At  Fontinettes,  on  the  Neufosse  Canal,  in  France,  at  La 
Louviere,  in  Belgium,  and  at  Peterborough,  in  Canada, 
similar  installations  are  found ;  the  last  handling  vessels 
of  400  tons  through  a  rise  of  65  feet. 

Fine  engineering  feats  as  these  are,  they  do  not  equal 
the  canal-lift  on  the  Dortmund-Ems  Canal,  which  puts 
Dortmund  in  direct  water  communication  with  the  Elbe, 
and  opens  the  coal  and  iron  deposits  of  the  Rhine  and 
Upper  Silesia  to  the  busy  manufacturing  district  lying 
between  these  two  localities.  About  ten  miles  from  its 
eastern  extremity  the  main  reach  of  the  canal  forks  off 
at  Heinrichenburg,  from  the  northward  branch  running 
to  Dortmund,  its  level  being  on  the  average  some  49  feet 
lower  than  the  branch.     For  the  transference  of  boats  an 

2S4 


BOAT  AND   SHIP  RAISING   LIFTS 

"up"  and  "down"  line  of  four  locks  each  would  have 
been  needed ;  and  apart  from  the  inevitable  two  hours' 
delay  for  locking,  this  method  would  have  entailed  the  loss 
of  a  great  quantity  of  precious  water. 

Mr.  R.  Gerdau,  a  prominent  engineer  of  Dusseldorf- 
Grafenburg,  therefore  suggested  an  hydraulic  lift,  which 
should  accommodate  boats  of  700  tons,  and  pass  them 
from  the  one  level  to  the  other  in  five  minutes. 

This  scheme  was  approved,  and  has  recently  been  com- 
pleted. The  principle  of  the  lift  is  as  follows  : — A  trough, 
233  feet  long,  rests  on  five  vertical  supports,  themselves 
carried  by  as  many  hollow  cylindrical  floats  moving  up  and 
down  in  deep  wells  full  of  water.  The  buoyancy  of  the  five 
floats  is  just  equal  to  the  combined  weight  of  the  trough 
and  its  load,  so  that  a  comparatively  small  force  causes 
the  latter  to  rise  or  fall,  as  required.  By  letting  off* 
water  from  the  trough — which  is,  of  course,  furnished 
with  doors  to  seal  its  ends — it  would  be  made  to  ascend ; 
while  the  addition  of  a  few  tons  would  cause  a  descent. 
But  this  would  mean  waste  of  water ;  and,  were  the 
trough  not  otherwise  governed,  a  serious  accident  might 
happen  if  a  float  sprang  a  leak.  Motion  is  therefore 
imparted  to  the  trough  by  four  huge  vertical  screws, 
resting  on  solid  masonry  piers,  and  turning  in  large  collars 
attached  to  the  trough  near  its  corners.  All  the  screws 
work  in  unison  through  gearing,  as  they  are  sufficiently 
stout  to  bear  the  whole  load ;  even  were  the  floats 
removed,  no  tilting  or  sudden  fall  is  possible.  The  screws 
are  driven  by  an  electric  motor  of  150  horse-power,  perched 
on  the  girders  joining  the  tops  of  four  steel  towers  wliich 
act  as  guides  for   the    trough    to   move    in,   while   tliey 

285 


MODERN   MECHANISM 

absorb  all  wind-pressure.  Under  normal  circumstances  the 
trough  rises  or  sinks  at  a  speed  of  four  inches  per  second. 
The  total  mass  in  motion — trough,  water,  boat,  and 
floats — is  3,100  tons.  Our  ideas  of  a  float  do  not  ordin- 
arily rise  above  the  small  cork  which  we  take  with  us  when 
we  go  a-fishing,  or  at  the  most  above  the  buoy  which  bobs 
up  and  down  to  mark  a  fair- way.  These  five  "  floats  '^ — 
so  called — belong  to  a  very  much  larger  class  of  creations. 
Each  is  30  feet  across  inside  and  46|^  feet  high.  Their 
wells,  138  feet  deep,  are  lined  with  concrete  nearly  a  yard 
thick,  to  ensure  absolute  water-tightness,  inside  the  stout 
iron  casings,  which  rise  82  feet  above  the  bottom. 

In  view  of  the  immense  weight  which  they  have  to 
carry,  the  piers  under  the  screw-spindles  are  extremely 
solid.  At  its  base  each  measures  14  feet  by  12  feet 
4  inches,  and  tapers  upwards  for  36  feet  till  these  dimen- 
sions have  contracted  to  8  feet  10  inches  by  6  feet 
6  inches.  The  spindles,  80  feet  long  and  11  inches  in 
diameter,  must  be  four  of  the  largest  screws  in  existence. 
To  make  it  absolutely  certain  that  they  contained  no 
flaws,  a  4-inch  central  hole  was  drilled  through  them 
longitudinally — another  considerable  workshop  feat.  If 
shafts  of  such  length  were  left  unsupported  when  the 
trough  was  at  its  highest  point,  there  would  be  danger 
of  their  bending  and  breaking ;  and  they  are,  therefore, 
provided  with  four  sliding  collars  each,  connected  each  to 
its  fellow  by  a  rod.  When  the  trough  has  risen  a  fifth  of 
its  travel  the  first  rod  lifts  the  first  collar,  which  moves 
in  the  guide-pillai^.  This  in  turn  raises  the  second  ;  the 
second  the  third ;  and  so  on.  So  that  by  the  time  the 
trough  is  fully  raised  each  spindle  is  kept  in  line  by  four 
intermediate  supports. 

286 


BOAT  AND   SHIP  RAISING   LIFTS 

The  trough,  233  feet  long  by  34^  feet  wide,  will  receive 
a  vessel  223  feet  long  betw^een  perpendiculars.  It  has  a 
rectangular  section,  and  is  built  up  of  stout  plates  laid  on 
strong  cross-girders,  all  carried  by  a  single  huge  longi- 
tudinal girder  resting  on  the  float  columns. 

One  of  the  most  difficult  problems  inseparable  from 
a  structure  of  this  kind  is  the  provision  of  a  water-tight 
joint  between  the  trough  and  the  upper  and  lower  reaches 
of  the  canal.  At  each  end  of  the  trough  is  a  sliding 
door  faced  on  its  outer  edges  with  indiarubber,  which  the 
pressure  of  the  water  inside  holds  tightly  against  flanges 
when  pressure  on  the  outside  is  removed.  The  termina- 
tion of  the  canal  reaches  have  similar  doors ;  but  as  it 
would  be  impossible  to  arrange  things  so  accurately  that 
the  two  sets  of  flanges  should  be  water-tight,  a  wedge, 
shaped  like  a  big  U?  and  faced  on  both  sides  with  rubber, 
is  interposed.  ITie  wedge  at  the  lower  reach  gate  is 
thickest  at  the  bottom  ;  the  upper  wedge  the  reverse ;  so 
that  the  trough  in  both  cases  jams  it  tight  as  it  comes 
to  rest.  The  wedges  can  be  raised  or  lowered  in  accord- 
ance with  the  fluctuations  of  the  canals. 

After  thus  briefly  outlining  the  main  constructional 
features  of  the  lift,  let  us  watch  a  boat  pass  through  from 
the  lower  to  the  upper  level.  It  is  a  steamer  of  600  tons 
burden,  quite  a  formidable  craft  to  meet  so  far  inland ; 
while  some  distance  away  it  blows  a  warning  whistle,  and 
the  motor-man  at  his  post  moves  a  lever  which  sets  the 
screw  in  motion.  The  trough  sinks  until  it  has  reached 
the  proper  level,  when  the  current  is  automatically  broken, 
and  it  sinks  no  further.  Its  travel  is  thus  controllable  to 
within  /V  of  an  inch. 

287 


MODERN   MECHANISM 

An  interlocking  arrangement  makes  it  impossible  to 
open  the  trough  or  reach  gates  until  the  trough  has 
settled  or  risen  to  the  level  of  the  water  outside.  On  the 
other  hand,  the  motor  driving  the  lifting  screws  cannot 
be  started  until  the  gates  have  been  closed,  so  that  an 
accidental  flooding  of  the  countryside  is  amply  provided 
against. 

A  man  now  turns  the  crank  of  a  winch  on  the  canal 
bank  and  unlocks  the  canal  gate.  A  second  twist  couples 
the  gates  between  the  canal  and  the  trough  together  and 
starts  the  lifting-motors  overhead,  which  raise  the  twenty- 
eight  ton  mass  twenty-three  feet  clear  of  the  water-level. 
The  boat  enters ;  the  doors  are  lowered  and  uncoupled  ; 
the  reach  gate  is  locked.  The  spindle-motor  now  starts  ; 
up  "  she  *"  goes,  and  the  process  of  coupling  and  raising 
gates  is  repeated  before  she  is  released  into  the  upper 
reach.  From  start  to  finish  the  transfer  occupies  about 
five  minutes. 

If  a  boat  is  not  self-propelled,  electric  capstans  help  it 
to  enter  and  leave  the  trough.  Such  a  vessel  could  not 
be  passed  through  in  less  than  twenty  minutes. 

Putting  on  one  side  the  ship  dry  docks,  which  can 
raise  a  15,000  ton  vessel  clear  of  the  sea,  the  Dortmund 
hydraulic  lift  is  the  largest  lift  in  the  world,  and  the 
novelty  of  its  design  will,  it  is  hoped,  render  the  above 
account  acceptable  to  the  reader.  Before  leaving  the 
subject  another  canal  lift  may  be  noticed — that  on  the 
Grand  Junction  Canal  at  Foxton,  Leicestershire — which 
has  replaced  a  system  of  ten  locks,  to  raise  barges  through 
a  height  of  75  feet. 

The  new  method  is  the  invention  of  Messrs.  G.  and 

288  _ 


-9  *-' 


2  o 

X  a, 
o  o 


BOAT   AND   SHIP  RAISING   LIFTS 

C.  B.  J.  Thomas.  In  principle  it  consists  of  an  inclined 
railway,  having  eight  rails,  four  for  the  ''  up  **"  and  as 
many  for  the  "  down  ^  traffic.  On  each  set  of  four  rails 
runs  a  tank  mounted  on  eight  wheels,  which  is  connected 
with  a  similar  tank  on  the  other  set  by  7-inch  steel-wire 
ropes  passing  round  winding  drums  at  the  top  of  the 
incline.  The  tanks  are  thus  balanced.  At  the  foot  of 
the  incline  a  barge  which  has  to  ascend  is  floated  into 
whichever  tank  may  be  ready  to  receive  it,  and  the  end 
gate  is  closed.  An  engine  is  then  started,  and  the  laden 
tank  slides  ^'broadside  on"  up  the  300-foot  slope.  The 
summit  being  reached,  the  tank  gates  are  brought  into 
register  with  those  of  the  upper  reach,  and  as  soon  as 
they  have  been  opened  the  boat  floats  out  into  the  upper 
canal.  Boats  of  70  tons  can  be  thus  transferred  in  about 
twelve  minutes,  at  a  cost  of  but  a  few  pence  each.  On  a 
busy  day  6,000  tons  are  handled. 

A    SHIP-RAISING    LIFT 

The  writer  has  treated  one  form  of  lift  for  raising 
ships  out  of  the  water — the  floating  dry  dock — else- 
where,* so  his  remarks  in  this  place  will  be  confined  to 
mechanism  which,  having  its  foundations  on  Mother 
Earth,  heaves  mighty  vessels  out  of  their  proper  element 
by  the  force  of  hydraulic  pressure.  Looking  round  for 
a  good  example  of  an  hydraulic  ship-lift,  we  select  tliat 
of  the  Union  Ironworks,  San  Francisco. 

Some  years  ago  the  works  were  moved  from  the  heart 
of  the  city  to  the  edge  of  Mission  Bay,  with  the  object 
of  carrying  on  a  large  business  in  marine  engineering  and 

*  The  Romancu  of  Modern  Engineering ^  pp.  383  toll. 
T  289 


MODERN   MECHANISM 

shipbuilding.  For  such  a  purpose  a  dry  dock,  which  in 
a  short  time  will  lift  a  vessel  clear  of  the  water  for  clean- 
ing or  repairs,  is  of  great  importance  to  both  owners  and  I . 
workmen.  By  the  courtesy  of  the  proprietors  of  Cassier's 
Magazine  we  are  allowed  to  append  the  following  account 
of  this  interesting  lift. 

The  site  available  for  a  dock  at  the  Union  Ironworks 
was  a  mud-flat.  The  depth  of  soft  mud  being  from  80 
to  90  feet,  would  render  the  working  of  a  graving  dock 
{i.e,  one  dug  out  of  the  ground  and  pumped  dry  when 
the  entrance  doors  have  been  closed)  very  disagreeable; 
as  such  docks,  where  much  mud  is  carried  in  with  the 
water,  require  a  Jong  time  to  be  cleaned  and  to  dry  out. 
Plans  were  therefore  prepared  by  Mr.  George  W.  Dickie 
for  an  hydraulic  dock,  including  an  automatic  control, 
which  the  designer  felt  confident  would  meet  all  the 
requirements  of  the  situation,  and  which,  after  careful 
consideration,  the  Union  Ironworks  decided  to  build. 
Work  was  begun  in  January,  1886,  and  the  dock  was 
opened  for  business  on  June  15th,  1887  —  a  very  fine 
record. 

This  dock  consists  of  a  platform  built  of  cross  and 
longitudinal  steel  girders,  62  feet  wide  and  440  feet  long, 
having  keel  blocks  and  sliding  bilge  blocks  upon  which 
the  ship  to  be  lifted  rests.  The  lifting  power  is  generated 
by  a  set  of  four  steam-driven,  single-acting  horizontal 
plunger  pumps,  the  diameter  of  the  plungers  being 
3|  inches  and  the  stroke  36  inches.  Forty  strokes  per 
minute  is  the  regular  speed. 

There  is  a  weighted  accumulator,  or  regulator,  con- 
nected with  the  pumps,  the  throttle  valve  of  the  engines 

290 


BOAT   AND   SHIP   RAISING   LIFTS 

being  controlled  by  the  accumulator.*  The  load  on  the 
accumulator  consists  of  a  number  of  flat  discs  of  metal, 
the  first  one  about  14  inches  thick  and  the  others  about 
4  inches  thick,  the  diameter  being  about  4  feet.  The  first 
disc  gives  a  pressure  of  300  lbs.  per  square  inch.  This  is 
sufficient  to  lift  the  dock  platform  without  a  ship,  and 
is  always  kept  on. 

In  lifting  a  ship,  as  she  comes  out  of  the  water  and 
gets  heavier  on  the  platform,  additional  discs  are  taken 
on  by  the  accumulator  ram  as  required.  The  discs  are 
suspended  by  pins  on  the  side  catching  into  links  of  a 
chain.  The  engineer,  to  take  on  another  disc,  unhooks 
the  throttle  from  the  accumulator  rod,  runs  the  engine 
a  little  above  the  normal  speed,  the  accumulator  rises 
and  takes  the  weight  of  the  disc  to  be  added ;  the  link 
carrying  that  disc  is  thus  relieved  and  is  withdi^awn.  The 
engineer  again  hooks  the  accumulator  rod  to  the  engine 
throttle,  and  the  whole  is  self-acting  again  until  another 
weight  is  required.  When  all  the  discs  are  on  the  ram 
the  full  pressure  of  1,100  lbs.  per  square  inch  is  reached, 
which  enables  a  ship  of  4,000  tons  weight  to  be  raised. 

There  are  eighteen  hydraulic  rams  on  each  side  of  the 
dock.  These  rams  are  each  30  inches  in  diameter  and 
have  a  stroke  of  16  feet ;  and  as  the  platform  rises  2  feet 
for  1  foot  movement  of  the  rams,  the  total  vertical  move- 
ment of  the  platform  is  32  feet.  When  lowered  to  the 
lowest  limit  there  are  22  feet  of  water  over  the  keel 
blocks  at  high  tide. 

The   foundations   consist  of  seventy-two   cylinders  of 

*  For  explanation  of  the  **  accumulator,"  see  the  chapter  on 
Hydraulic  Tools  (p.  81). 

291 


MODERN   MECHANISM 

iron,  which  extend  from  the  top  girders  to  several  feet 
below  the  mud  line.  These  cylinders  are  driven  full  of 
piles,  no  pile  being  shorter  than  90  feet.  The  cylinders 
are  to  protect  the  piles  from  the  teredo  (the  timber- 
boring  worm),  which  is  very  destructive  in  San  Francisco 
Harbour.  A  heavy  cast-iron  cap  completes  each  of  the 
foundation  piers,  and  two  heavy  steel  girders  extend  the 
full  length  of  the  dock  on  each  side,  resting  on  the 
foundation  piers  and  uniting  them  all  longitudinally. 
The  hydraulic  cylinders  are  carried  by  large  castings 
resting  on  the  girders,  each  having  a  central  opening  to 
receive  a  cylinder,  which  passes  down  between  the  piers. 
There  are  thirty-six  foundation  piers,  and  eighteen 
hydraulic  cylinders  on  each  side  of  the  dock. 

On  the  top  of  each  hydraulic  ram  is  a  heavy  sheave 
or  pulley,  6  feet  in  diameter,  over  which  pass  eight  steel 
cables,  2  inches  in  diameter,  making  in  all  288  cables. 
One  end  of  each  cable  is  anchored  in  the  bed-plates 
supporting  the  hydraulic  cylinders,  while  the  other  end 
is  secured  to  the  side  girders  of  the  platform.  Each  of 
the  cables  has  been  tested  with  a  load  of  80  tons,  so  that 
the  total  test  load  for  the  ropes  has  been  21,000  tons. 

In  lifting  a  ship  the  load  is  never  evenly  distributed 
on  the  platform.  There  is,  in  fact,  often  more  than  one 
ship  on  the  platform  at  once.  Some  rams,  therefore,  may 
have  a  full  load  and  others  much  less.  Under  these  con- 
ditions, to  keep  the  platform  a  true  plane,  irrespective 
of  the  irregular  distribution  of  the  load,  Mr.  Dickie 
designed  a  special  valve  gear  to  make  the  action  of  the 
dock  perfectly  automatic.  Down  each  side  of  the  dock 
a  shaft  is  carried,  operated  by  a  special  engine  in  the 

292 


I 


BOAT  AND   SHIP  RAISING   LIFTS 

power  house.  At  each  hydraulic  ram  this  shaft  carries 
a  worm,  gearing  with  a  worm-wheel  on  a  vertical  screw 
extending  the  full  height  reached  by  the  stroke  of  the 
ram.  This  screw  works  in  a  nut  on  the  end  of  a  lever, 
the  other  end  of  which  is  attached  to  the  ram.  Between 
the  two  points  of  support  a  rod,  working  the  valves — 
also  carried  by  the  ram — engages  with  the  lever.  If  at 
a  given  moment  the  screw-end  is  raised,  say,  six  inches, 
the  lever  opens  the  valve.  As  the  ram  rises,  the  lever, 
having  its  other  end  similarly  lifted  by  the  rise,  gradually 
assumes  a  horizontal  position,  and  the  valve  closes. 

To  lift  the  dock  the  engine  working  the  valve  shaft  is 
started,  and  with  it  the  operating  screws.  These,  through 
the  levers,  open  the  inlet  valves.  The  rams  now  begin 
to  move  up :  if  any  one  has  a  light  load  it  will  move 
up  ahead  of  the  other,  but  in  doing  so  it  lifts  the  other 
end  of  the  lever  and  closes  the  valve.  In  fact,  the  screws 
are  continually  opening  the  valves,  while  the  motion  of 
the  rams  is  continually  closing  them,  so  that  no  ram  can 
move  ahead  of  its  screw,  and  the  speed  of  the  screw 
determines  the  rate  of  movement  of  the  lifting  platform. 

To  lower  the  dock,  the  engine  operating  the  valve 
shaft  is  reversed,  and  the  screws  and  levers  then  control 
the  outlet  valves  as  they  controlled  the  inlet  valves  in 
raising.  When  the  platform  has  reached  the  limit  of 
its  movement,  a  line  of  locks  on  top  of  the  founda- 
tion girders,  thirty-six  on  each  side,  are  pushed  under  the 
platform  by  an  hydraulic  cylinder,  and  the  platform  is 
lowered  on  to  them,  where  it  rests  until  the  work  is  done 
on  the  ship  ;  then  the  platform  is  again  lifted,  the  locks 
are  drawn  back,  and  the  platform  with  its  load  is  lowered 

293 


MODERN  MECHANISM 

until  the  ship  floats  out.  All  the  operations  are  auto- 
matic. 

Since  the  dock  was  opened  well  over  a  thousand  ships 
have  been  lifted  in  it  without  any  accident  whatever; 
the  total  register  tonnage  approaching  SjOOO^OOO.  The 
great  favour  in  which  the  dock  is  held  by  shipowners  and 
captains  is  partly  due  to  the  fact  already  mentioned, 
that  the  ship  is  lifted  above  the  level  of  tide  water,  where 
the  air  can  circulate  freely  under  the  bottom,  thus  quickly 
taking  up  all  the  moisture,  and  where  the  workmen  can 
carry  on  operations  with  greater  comfort. 

When  extensive  repairs  have  to  be  undertaken  on  iron 
or  steel  vessels,  the  fact  that  this  dock  forms  part  of  an 
extensive  shipbuilding  plant,  and  is  located  right  in  the 
yard,  enables  such  repairs  to  be  executed  with  despatch 
and  economy.  Several  large  steamships  have  had  the 
under-water  portions  of  their  hulls  practically  rebuilt  in 
this  dock.  The  steamship  Columbia^  of  the  Oregon  Line, 
had  practically  a  new  bottom,  including  the  whole  of  the 
keel,  completed  in  twenty-six  days.  This  is  possible, 
because  every  facility  is  alongside  the  dock  and  the  bottom 
of  the  vessel  is  on  a  level  with  the  yard. 

This  being  the  only  hydraulic  dock  controlled  auto- 
matically (in  1897),  it  has  attracted  a  large  amount 
of  attention  from  engineering  experts  in  this  class  of  work. 
English,  French,  German,  and  Russian  engineers  have 
visited  the  Union  Iron  Works  to  study  its  working,  and 
their  reports  have  done  much  to  bring  the  facilities 
offered  to  shipping  for  repairs  by  the  Union  Iron  Works 
to  the  notice  of  shipowners  all  the  world  over. 


294 


CHAPTER  XXI 
A  SELF-MOVING  STAIRCASE 

AT  the  American  Exhibition,  held  in  the  Crystal 
Palace  in  1902,  there  was  shown  a  staircase  which, 
on  payment  of  a  penny,  transported  any  sufficiently 
daring  person  from  the  ground-floor  to  the  gallery  above. 
All  that  the  experimenters  had  to  do  was  to  step  boldly  on, 
take  hold  of  the  balustrade,  which  moved  at  an  equal  pace 
with  the  stairs,  and  step  off  when  the  upper  level  was 
reached. 

The  "escalator''''  (Latin  scalae  =  Aight  of  stairs)  hails 
from  the  United  States,  where  it  is  proving  a  serious 
rival  to  the  elevator.  In  principle,  it  is  a  continuously 
working  lift,  the  slow  travel  of  which  is  more  than  com- 
pensated by  the  fact  that  it  is  always  available.  The 
ordinary  elevator  is  very  useful  in  a  large  business  or 
commercial  house,  where  it  saves  the  legs  of  people  who, 
if  they  had  to  tramp  up  flight  after  flight  of  stairs,  would 
probably  not  spend  so  much  money  as  they  would  be 
ready  to  part  with  if  their  vertical  travel  from  one  floor 
to  another  was  entirely  free  of  effort.  But  the  ordinary 
lift  is,  like  a  railway,  intermittent.  We  all  know  what 
it  means  to  stand  at  the  grille  and  watch  the  cage  slide 
downwards  on  its  journey  of,  perhaps,  four  floors,  when 
we  want  to  go  to  a  floor  higher  up.  Rather  than  face  the 
delay  we  use  our  legs. 

Theoretically,    therefore,    a    large    emporium    should 

295 


MODERN   MECHANISM 

contain  at  least  two  lifts.  If  the  number  be  further 
increased,  the  would-be  passenger  will  have  a  still  better 
chance  of  getting  off  at  once.  Thus  at  the  station  of  the 
Central  London  Railway  we  have  to  wait  but  a  very  few 
seconds  before  a  grille  is  thrown  back  and  an  attendant 
invites  us  to  "  Hurry  up  there,  please ! '' 

Yet  there  is  delay  while  the  cage  is  being  filled.  The 
actual  journey  occupies  but  a  small  fraction  of  the  time 
which  elapses  between  the  moment  when  the  first  pas- 
senger enters  the  lift  at  the  one  end  of  the  trip  and 
the  moment  when  the  last  person  leaves  it  at  the  other 
end.  In  a  building  where  the  lift  stops  every  fifteen 
feet  or  so  to  take  people  on  or  put  them  off,  the  waste 
of  time  is  still  more  accentuated. 

The  escalator  is  always  ready.  You  step  on  and  are 
transported  one  stage.  A  second  staircase  takes  you 
on  at  once  if  you  desire  it.  There  is  no  delay.  Further- 
more, the  room  occupied  by  a  single  escalator  is  much 
less  than  that  occupied  by  the  number  of  lifts  required  to 
give  anything  like  an  equally  efficient  service. 

In  large  American  stores,  then,  it  is  coming  into 
favour,  and  also  on  the  Manhattan  Elevated  Railway 
of  New  York.  When  once  the  little  nervousness  accom- 
panying the  first  use  has  worn  off,  it  eclipses  the  lift. 
A  writer  in  Cassier's  Magazine  says :  "  In  one  large  retail 
store  during  the  holiday  season  more  than  6,000  persons 
per  hour  have  been  carried  upon  the  escalator  for  five 
hours  of  the  day,  and  the  aggregate  for  an  entire  day 
is  believed  to  be  50,000.  In  the  same  store  on  an 
ordinary  day  the  passengers  alighting  at  the  second  floor 
from  the  eight  large  lifts,  which  run  from  the  basement 
to   the   fifth   floor,  were   counted,  likewise   the  number 

296 


A   SELF-MOVING   STAIRCASE 

at  the  escalator.  This  latter  was  found  to  be  859  per 
cent,  of  the  number  delivered  by  the  eight  lifts.  In 
another  establishment,  in  a  very  busy  hour,  the  number 
taken  from  the  first  floor  by  the  escalator  was  four  times 
the  number  taken  from  the  first  floor  by  the  fourteen 
lifts,  which  were  running  at  their  maximum  capacity.  To 
the  merchant  this  spells  opportunity  for  business. 

"  The  experience  at  the  Twenty- third  Street  and  Sixth 
Avenue  station  of  the  Manhattan  Elevated  Railway  in 
New  York,  during  a  recent  shut-down  of  the  escalator, 
which  has  been  in  service  for  some  time,  is  interesting 
as  showing  the  attitude  of  the  public,  of  which  many 
millions  have  been  carried  by  the  installation  during  the 
several  years  of  its  operation.  The  daily  traffic  receipts 
of  this  station  for  a  period  beginning  several  weeks  before 
the  shut-down  and  extending  as  many  after,  for  the  years 
1903  and  1902,  and  receipts  of  the  adjacent  stations  for 
the  same  period  were  carefully  plotted  .  .  .  and  the  loss 
area  during  the  period  of  shut-down  was  determined. 
The  loss  area  was  found  to  embrace  64,645  fares.  It  was, 
furthermore,  daily  a  matter  of  observation  that  numbers  of 
people,  finding  that  the  escalator  was  not  running,  refused 
to  climb  the  stairs,  and  turned  away  from  the  station. 

"  In  the  case  of  a  great  store,  the  escalator  may  be  con- 
structed as  one  continuous  machine,  with  landings  at  each 
floor,  and  so  arranged  that  steps  which  carry  passengers 
up  may  perform  a  like  service  in  carrying  others  down  ;  or 
separate  machines  may  be  installed  in  various  locations 
affording  the  best  opportunity  for  displaying  merchandise 
to  the  customer  who  may  be  proceeding  from  the  lower 
to  the  upper  floor.  In  the  case  of  a  six-storey  building  so 
equipped  with  escalator  service  in  both  directions,  or  in  all 

297 


MODERN   MECHANISM 

ten  escalator  flights,  it  is  obvious  that  the  facilities  are  equal 
to  an  impossible  number  of  elevators ;  and  as  facility  of 
access  has  a  direct  bearing  upon  opportunities  for  business, 
it  may  well  be  argued  that  the  relative  value,  measured 
by  rent,  of  the  main  and  upper  floors  is  greatly  changed/' 

Each  step  in  a  staircase  has  two  parts — the  "  tread  '*'  or 
horizontal  board  on  which  the  foot  is  placed,  and  the 
vertical  "  riser "'''  which  acts  both  as  a  support  to  the  tread 
above  and  also  prevents  the  foot  from  slipping  under  the 
tread.  In  the  escalator  each  tread  is  attached  rigidly  to 
its  riser,  and  the  two  together  form  an  independent  unit. 

For  the  convenience  of  passengers  in  stepping  on  or 
off  at  the  upper  and  lower  landings,  the  treads  in  these 
places  are  all  in  the  same  horizontal  plane.  As  they 
approach  the  incline  the  risers  gradually  appear,  and  the 
treads  separate  vertically.  At  the  top  of  the  incline  the 
process  is  gradually  reversed,  the  risers  disappearing  until 
the  treads  once  more  form  a  horizontal  belt. 

The  means  of  effecting  this  change  is  most  ingenious. 
Each  tread  and  its  riser  is  carried  on  a  couple  of  vertical 
triangular  brackets,  one  at  each  side  of  the  staircase. 
The  base  of  the  bracket  is  uppermost,  to  engage  with  the 
tread,  and  its  apex  has  a  hole  through  which  passes  a 
transverse  bar,  which  in  its  central  part  forms  a  pin  in 
the  link-chain  by  which  power  is  transmitted  to  the 
escalator.  Naturally,  the  step  would  tip  over.  This  is 
prevented  by  a  yoke  attached  to  each  end  of  the  bar,  at 
right  angles  to  it  and  parallel  to  the  tread.  The  yoke 
has  at  each  extremity  a  small  wheel  running  on  its  own  rail 
— there  being  two  rails  for  each  side  of  the  staircase. 

Since  step,  brackets,  bar,  and  yoke  are  all  rigidly 
joined  together,  the  step  is  unable  to  leave  the  horizontal, 

298 


A   SELF-MOVING   STAIRCASE 

but  its  relation  to  the  steps  above  and  below  is  deter- 
mined by  the  arrangement  of  the  rails  on  which  the  yoke 
wheels  run.  When  these  are  in  the  same  plane,  all  the 
yokes,  and  consequently  the  treads,  will  also  be  in  the 
same  plane.  But  at  the  incline,  where  the  inner  rail 
gradually  sinks  lower  than  its  fellow,  the  front  wheel 
of  one  tread  is  lower  than  the  front  wheel  of  the  next, 
and  the  risers  appear.  It  may  be  added  that,  owing  to 
the  double  track  at  each  side  of  the  staircase,  the  back 
wheel  of  one  tread  does  not  interfere  with  the  front  wheel 
of  that  below ;  and  that  on  the  level  they  come  abreast 
without  jostling,  as  the  yoke  is  bent. 

The  chain,  of  which  the  step-bars  form  pins,  travels 
under  the  centre  of  the  staircase.  It  is  made  up  of  links 
eighteen  inches  long,  having,  in  addition  to  the  bars,  a 
number  of  steel  cross-pins  1^  inches  in  diameter,  their 
axes  three  inches  apart,  so  that  the  chain  as  a  whole  has  a 
three-inch  "  pitch."''  The  hubs  of  the  links  are  bushed  with 
bronze,  and  have  a  graphite  "  inlay j****  which  makes  them 
self-lubricating.  Every  joint  is  turned  to  within  fTj^o  inch 
of  absolute  accuracy. 

The  tracks  are  of  steel  and  hardwood,  insulated  from 
the  ironwork  which  supports  them  by  sheets  of  rubber. 
The  wheels  are  so  constructed  as  to  be  practically  noise- 
less, so  that  as  a  whole  the  escalator  works  very  quietly. 

"It  has  been  observed,"  says  the  authority  already 
quoted,  "  that  beginners  take  pains  to  step  upon  a  single 
tread,  and  that  after  a  little  experience  no  attention 
whatever  is  given  to  the  footing,  owing  to  the  facility  of 
adapting  oneself  to  the  situation.  The  upper  landing  is 
somewhat  longer,  thereby  affording  an  interval  for  step- 
ping off*  at  either  side  of  sufficient  duration  to  meet  the 

299 


MODERN   MECHANISM 

requirements  of  the  aged  and  infirm.     The  sole  function 
of  the  travelling  landing  is  to  provide  a  time  interval  to 
meet  the  requirements  of  the  slowest-acting  passenger, 
and  not  of  the  alert.     The  terminal  of  the  exit  landing,' 
be  it  top  or  bottom  (for  the  escalator  operates  equally 
well  for  either  ascent  or  descent),  is  a  barrier,  called  the 
shunt,  of  which  the  lower  member  travels  horizontally  in 
a  plane  oblique  to   the  direction  of  movement  of  the 
steps,  and  at  a  speed  proportionately  greater,  thereby 
imparting    a    right -angle    resultant    to    the    person    or 
obstacle  on  the  step  which  may  come  in  contact  with 
the  shunt.      By  reason   of   this  resultant  motion,   the 
person  or  obstacle  is  gently  pushed  off  the  end  of  the  step 
upon  the  floor,  without  shock  or  injury  in  the  slightest 
degree.     The  motion  of  the  escalator  is  so  smooth  and 
constant  that  it  does  not  interpose   the   least   obstacle 
to  the  free  movement  of  the  passenger,  who  may  walk 
in  either  direction  or  assume  any  attitude  to  the  same 
degree  as  upon  a  stationary  staircase." 

At  Cleveland,  U.S.A.,  there  has  been  erected  a  rolling 
roadway,  consisting  of  an  inclined  endless  belt  and  plat- 
form made  of  planks  eight  feet  long,  placed  transversely 
across  the  roadway.     The  timbers  are  fastened  together 
in  trucks  of  two  planks   each,   adjoining  trucks   being 
joined  by  heavy  links  to  form  a  moving  roadway,  which 
runs  on   4,000   small   wheels.     At   each   end   the   road- 
way, which  is  continuous,  passes  round  enormous  rollers. 
Its  total  length  is  420  feet,  and  the  rise  65  feet.     Four 
electric  motors  placed  at  regular  intervals  along  its  length, 
and  all  controlled  by  one  man  at  the  head  of  the  incline, 
drive  it  at  three  miles  an  hour.     It  can  accommodate  six 
wagons  at  a  time. 

300 


CHAPTER    XXII 
PNEUMATIC   MAIL  TUBES 

YOU  put  your  money  on  the  counter.  The  shop 
assistant  makes  out  a  bill ;  and  you  wonder  what  he 
will  do  with  it  next.  These  large  stores  know 
nothing  of  an  open  till.  Yet  there  are  no  cashiers' 
desks  visible;  nor  any  overhead  wires  to  whisk  a  carrier 
off  to  some  corner  where  a  young  lady,  enthroned  in  a  box, 
controls  all  the  pecuniary  affairs  of  that  department. 

While  you  are  wondering  the  assistant  has  wrapped  the 
coin  in  the  bill  and  put  the  two  into  a  dumb-bell-shaped 
carrier,  which  he  drops  into  a  hole.  A  few  seconds  later, 
flop !  and  the  carrier  has  returned  into  a  basket  under 
another  opening.  There  is  something  so  mysterious 
about  the  operation  that  you  ask  questions,  and  it  is 
explained  to  you  that  there  are  pneumatic  tubes  running 
from  every  counter  in  the  building  to  a  central  pay-desk 
on  the  first  or  second  floor ;  and  that  an  engine  somewhere 
in  the  basement  is  hard  at  work  all  day  compressing  air  to 
shoot  the  carriers  through  their  tubes. 

Certainly  a  great  improvement  on  those  croquet-ball 
receptacles  which  progressed  with  a  deliberation  madden- 
ing to  anyone  in  a  hurry  along  a  wooden  suspended  rail- 
way !  Now,  imagine  tubes  of  this  sort,  only  of  nuich 
larger  diameter,  in  some  cases,  passing  for  miles  under  the 

301 


MODERN   MECHANISM 

streets  and  houses,  and  you  will  have  an  idea  of  what 
the  Pneumatic  Mail  Despatch  means :  the  cash  and  bill 
being  replaced  by  letters,  telegrams,  and  possibly  small 
parcels. 

"  Swift  as  the  wind  *"  is  a  phrase  often  in  our  mouths, 
when  we  wish  to  emphasise  the  celerity  of  an  individual, 
an  animal,  or  a  machine  in  getting  from  one  spot  of  the 
earth'^s  surface  to  another.  Mercury,  the  messenger  of 
uncertain-tempered  Jove,  was  pictured  with  wings  on  his 
feet  to  convey,  symbolically,  the  same  notion  of  speed. 
The  modern  human  messenger  is  so  poor  a  counterpart  of 
the  god,  and  his  feet  are  so  far  from  being  winged,  that 
for  certain  purposes  we  have  fallen  back  on  elemental  air- 
currents,  not  unrestrained  like  the  breezes,  but  confined  to 
the  narrow  and  certain  paths  of  the  metal  tube. 

The  pneumatic  despatch,  which  at  the  present  day  is  by 
no  means  universal,  has  been  tried  in  various  forms  for 
several  decades.  Its  first  public  installation  dates  from 
1853,  when  a  tube  three  inches  in  diameter  and  220  yards 
long  was  laid  in  London  to  connect  the  International  Tele- 
graph Company  with  the  Stock  Exchange.  A  vacuum  was 
created  artificially  in  front  of  the  carrier,  which  the  ordi- 
nary pressure  of  the  atmosphere  forced  through  the  tube. 
Soon  after  this  the  post-ofiice  authorities  took  the  matter 
up,  as  the  pneumatic  system  promised  to  be  useful  for  the 
transmission  of  letters;  but  refused  to  face  the  initial 
expense  of  laying  the  tube  lines. 

When,  in  1858,  Mr.  C.  F.  Varley  introduced  the  high- 
pressure  method,  pneumatic  despatch  received  an  impetus 
comparable  to  that  given  to  the  steam-engine  by  the 
employment  of  high-pressure  steam.     It  was  now  possible 

302 


PNEUMATIC   MAIL   TUBES 

to  use  a  double  line  of  tubes  economically,  the  air  com- 
pressed for  sending  the  carriers  through  the  one  line 
being  pumped  out  of  a  chamber  which  sucked  them  back 
through  the  other.  Tubes  for  postal  work  were  soon 
installed  in  many  large  towns  in  Great  Britain,  Europe, 
and  the  United  States;  including  the  thirty-inch  pneumatic 
railway  between  the  North- Western  District  post  office 
in  Eversholt  Street  and  Euston  Station,  which  for  some 
months  of  1863  transported  the  mails  between  these  two 
points.  The  air  was  exhausted  in  front  of  the  carriage  by 
a  large  fan.  Encouraged  by  its  success,  the  company 
built  a  much  larger  tube,  nearly  4|  feet  in  diameter, 
to  connect  Euston  Station  with  the  General  Post  Office. 
This  carried  fourteen  tons  of  post-office  matter  from  one 
end  to  the  other  in  a  quarter  of  an  hour.  There  was  an 
intermediate  station  in  Holborn,  where  the  engines  for 
exhausting  had  been  installed.  But  owing  to  the  difficulty 
^f  preventing  air  leakage  round  the  carriages  the  under- 
taking proved  a  commercial  failure,  and  for  years  the  very 
route  of  this  pneumatic  railway  could  not  be  found ;  so 
quickly  are  "  failures  "  forgotten  ! 

The  more  useful  small  tube  grew  most  vigorously  in 
America  and  France.  In,  or  about,  the  year  1875  the 
Western  Union  Telegraph  Company  laid  tubes  in  New 
York  to  despatch  telegrams  from  one  part  of  the  city  to 
the  other,  because  they  found  it  quicker  to  send  them  this 
way  than  over  the  wires.  Eighteen  years  later  fifteen 
miles  of  tubes  were  installed  in  Chicago  to  connect  the 
main  offices  of  the  same  company  with  the  newspaper 
offices  in  the  town,  and  with  various  important  public 
buildings.      Messages  which   formerly  took  an  hour   or 

303 


MODERN    MECHANISM 

more  in  delivery  are  now  flipped  from  end  to  end  in  a  few 
seconds. 

The  Philadelphia  people  meanwhile  had  been  busy  with 
a  double  line  of  six-inch  tubes,  3,000  feet  long,  laid  by 
Mr.  B.  C.  Batcheller  between  the  Bourse  and  the  General 
Post  Office,  for  the  carriage  of  mails.  The  first  thing  to 
pass  through  was  a  Bible  wrapped  in  the  "Stars  and 
Stripes.""  A  30  horse-power  engine  is  kept  busy  ex- 
hausting and  compressing  the  air  needed  for  the  service, 
which  amounts  to  about  800  cubic  feet  per  minute. 
Philadelphia  can  also  boast  an  eight-inch  service,  con- 
necting the  General  Post  Office  with  the  Union  Railway 
Station,  a  mile  away.  One  and  a  half  minutes  suflSce  for 
the  transit  of  the  large  carriers  packed  tightly  with  letters 
and  circulars,  nearly  half  a  million  of  which  are  handled 
by  these  tubes  daily. 

New  York  is  equally  well  served.  Tubes  run  from  the 
General  Post  Office  to  the  Produce  Exchange,  to  Brooklyn, 
and  to  the  Grand  Central  Station.  The  last  is  3|  miles 
distant ;  but  seven  minutes  only  are  needed  for  a  tube 
journey  which  formerly  occupied  the  mail  vans  for  nearly 
three-quarters  of  an  hour. 

Paris  is  the  city  of  the  petit  bleu^  so  important  an  insti- 
tution in  the  gay  capital.  Here  a  network  of  tubes 
connects  every  post  office  in  the  urban  area  with  a  central 
bureau,  acting  the  part  of  a  telephone  exchange.  If  you 
want  to  send  an  express  message  to  a  friend  anywhere  in 
Paris,  you  buy  a  petit  bleu^  i,e,  a  very  thin  letter-card 
not  exceeding  ^  oz.  in  weight,  at  the  nearest  post  office, 
and  post  it  in  a  special  box.  It  whirls  away  to  the  ex- 
change, and  is  delivered  from  there  if  its  destination  be 

304 


PNEUMATIC  MAIL  TUBES 

close  at  hand ;  otherwise  it  makes  a  second  journey  to  the 
office  most  conveniently  situated  for  delivery.  Everybody 
uses  the  vote  pneumatique  of  Paris,  so  much  cheaper  than, 
and  quite  as  expeditious  as,  the  telegraph ;  with  the 
additional  advantage  that  all  messages  are  transmitted  in 
the  sender^s  own  handwriting.  The  system  has  been 
instituted  for  a  quarter  of  a  century,  and  the  Parisians 
would  feel  lost  without  it. 

London  is  by  no  means  tubeless,  for  it  has  over  forty  miles 
of  1|^,  2^,  and  3-inch  lines  radiating  from  the  postal  nerve- 
centre  of  the  metropolis,  of  lengths  ranging  from  100  to 
2,000  yards.  The  tubes  are  in  all  cases  composed  of  lead, 
enclosed  in  a  protecting  iron  piping.  To  make  a  joint 
great  care  must  be  exercised,  so  as  to  avoid  any  irregu- 
larity of  bore.  When  a  length  of  piping  is  added  to  the 
line,  a  chain  is  first  passed  through  it,  which  has  at  the 
end  a  bright  steel  mandrel  just  a  shade  larger  than  the 
pipe's  internal  diameter.  This  is  heated  and  pushed  half- 
way into  the  pipe  already  laid ;  and  the  new  length  is 
forced  on  to  the  other  half  till  the  ends  touch.  A 
plumber*'s  joint  having  been  made,  the  mandrel  is  drawn 
by  the  chain  through  the  new  length,  obliterating  any 
dents  or  malformations  in  the  interior. 

The  main  lines  are  doubled — an  "  up  '**  and  a  "  dow^n '' 
track ;  short  branches  have  one  tube  only  to  work  the 
inward  and  the  outward  despatches. 

The  carriers  are  made  of  gutta-percha  covered  with  felt. 
One  end  is  closed  by  felt  discs  fitting  the  tube  accurately 
to  prevent  the  passage  of  air,  the  other  is  open  for  tlie 
introduction  of  messages.  As  they  fly  through  the  tube, 
the  carriers  work  an  automatic  signalling  apparatus,  which 
u  305 


MODERN   MECHANISM 

tells  how  far  they  have  progressed  and  when  it  will  be 
safe  to  despatch  the  next  carrier. 

The  London  post-office  system  is  worked  by  six  large 
engines  situated  in  the  basement  of  the  General  Post  Office. 

So  useful  has  the  pneumatic  tube  proved  that  a  Bill  has 
been  before  Parliament  for  supplying  London  with  a 
12-inch  network  of  tubes,  totalling  100  miles  of  double 
line.  In  a  letter  published  in  The  Times^  April  19, 1905, 
the  promoters  of  the  scheme  give  a  succinct  account  of 
their  intentions,  and  of  the  benefits  which  they  expect  to 
accrue  from  the  scheme  if  brought  to  completion.  The 
Batcheller  system,  they  write,  with  which  it  is  proposed 
to  equip  London,  is  not  a  development  of  the  miniature 
systems  used  for  telegrams  or  single  letters  here  or  in 
Paris,  Berlin,  and  other  cities.  Such  systems  deal  with 
a  felt  carrier  weighing  a  few  ounces,  which  is  stopped  by 
being  blown  into  a  box.  The  Batcheller  system  deals 
with  a  loaded  steel  carrier  weighing  seventy  pounds 
travelling  with  a  very  high  momentum.  The  difference  is 
fundamental.  In  this  sense  pneumatic  tubes  are  a  recent 
invention,  and  absolutely  new  to  Europe. 

The  Batcheller  system  is  the  response  to  a  pressing 
need.  Careful  observations  show  that  more  than  30  per 
cent,  of  the  street  traffic  is  occupied  with  parcels  and 
mails.  These  form  a  distinct  class,  differentiated  from 
passengers  on  the  one  hand  and  from  heavy  goods  on  the 
other.  The  Batcheller  system  will  do  for  parcels  and 
mails  what  the  underground  electric  railways  do  for 
passengers.  It  has  been  in  use  for  twelve  years  in  America 
for  mail  purposes,  and  where  used  has  come  to  be  regarded 
as  indispensable. 

306 


PNEUMATIC   MAIL   TUBES 

The  plan  for  London  provides  for  nearly  one  hundred 
miles  of  double  tubes  with  about  twice  that  number  of 
stations  for  receiving  and  delivery.  The  system  will 
cover  practically  the  County  of  London,  and  no  point 
within  that  area  can  be  more  than  one-quarter  of  a  mile 
from  a  tube  station.  Beyond  the  County  of  London 
deliveries  will  be  made  by  a  carefully  organised  suburban 
motor-cart  service.  Thirty  of  the  receiving  stations  are 
to  be  established  in  the  large  stores.  The  diameter  of 
the  tube  is  to  be  of  a  size  that  will  accommodate  80  per 
cent,  of  the  parcels,  as  now  wrapped,  and  90  per  cent, 
with  slight  adaptation.  The  remaining  10  per  cent. — 
furniture,  pianos,  and  other  heavy  goods — are  to  be  dealt 
with  by  a  supplementary  motor  service.  If  the  tubes 
were  enlarged  their  object  would  be  partially  defeated, 
for  with  the  increased  size  would  go  increased  cost,  great 
surplus  of  capacity,  less  frequent  despatch,  and  lower 
efficiency  generally.  The  unsuccessful  Euston  Tunnel  of 
forty  years  ago — practically  an  underground  railway — 
is  an  extreme  illustration  of  this  point,  though  in  that 
case  there  were  grave  mechanical  defects  as  well. 

From  a  mechanical  point  of  view  the  system  has  been 
brought  to  such  perfection  that  it  is  no  more  experimental 
than  a  locomotive  or  an  electric  tramcar.  The  unique 
value  of  tube  service  is  due  to  immediate  despatch,  high 
velocity  of  transit,  immunity  from  traffic  interruption, 
and  economy.  The  greatest  obstacle  to  rapid  intercom- 
munication is  the  delay  resulting  from  accumulations  due 
to  time  schedules.  The  function  of  tube  service  is  to 
abolish  time  schedules  and  all  consequent  delays. 

The  number  of  trades  parcels  annually  delivered  in 

307 


MODERN    MECHANISM 

London  is  estimated  at  more  than  WOfiOOfiOO,  A  careful 
canvass  has  been  made  of  1,000  shops  only,  which  repre- 
sent a  very  small  fraction  of  the  total  number  in  the 
county.  As  a  result  it  has  been  ascertained  that  these 
1,000  shops  deliver  no  fewer  than  60,000,000  parcels 
yearly,  a  fact  that  seems  to  more  than  justify  the  foregoing 
estimate  ;  on  the  other  hand,  it  is  known  from  official  data 
that  the  parcel  post  in  London  is  represented  by  less  than 
25,000,000,  or  one-ninth  of  the  total  parcel  traffic.  With 
a  tube  system  in  operation,  every  parcel,  instead  of  waiting 
for  "  the  next  delivery,''''  would  leave  the  shop  imme- 
diately. After  being  despatched  by  the  tube  it  would  be 
delivered  at  a  tube  station  within  a  quarter  of  a  mile  at 
least  of  its  destination,  and  thence  by  messenger.  The 
entire  time  consumed  for  an  ordinary  parcel  would  be 
not  over  an  hour,  and  for  a  special  parcel  fifteen  to 
twenty  minutes.  They  require  from  three  to  six  hours  or 
longer  at  present. 

The  advantages  of  the  tube  system  to  the  public  would 
be  manifold.  Customers  would  find  their  purchases  at 
home  upon  their  return,  or,  if  they  preferred,  could  do 
their  shopping  by  telephone,  making  their  selections  from 
goods  sent  on  approval  by  tube.  The  shopman  would 
find  himself  relieved  from  a  vast  amount  of  confusion  and 
annoyance,  less  of  his  shop  space  given  up  to  delivery, 
and  his  expenses  reduced.  Small  shops  would  be  able  to 
draw  upon  wholesale  houses  for  goods  not  in  stock, 
while  the  customer  waited.  Such  delay  and  confusion 
as  are  frequently  occasioned  by  fogs  would  be  reduced  to 
a  minimum. 

While  the  success  of  the  project  is  not  dependent  on 

308 


PNEUMATIC   MAIL   TUBES 

Post  Office  support,  the  Post  Office  should  be  one  of  the 
greatest  gainers  by  it.  The  time  of  delivery  of  local 
letters  would  be  reduced  from  an  average  of  three  hours 
and  six  minutes  to  one  hour.  Express  letters  would  be 
delivered  more  quickly  than  telegrams.  This  has  been 
demonstrated  conclusively  again  and  again  in  New  York 
and  other  American  cities  where  the  tubes  have  been  in 
operation  for  years.  The  latest  time  of  posting  country 
letters  would  be  deferred  from  one-half  to  one  hour,  and 
incoming  letters  would  be  advanced  by  a  similar  period. 
The  parcels  post  would  gain  in  precisely  the  same  way,  but 
to  an  even  larger  extent. 

If  the  Post  Office  choose  to  avail  themselves  of  the 
opportunity,  every  post  office  will  become  a  tube  station 
and  every  tube  station  a  post  office.  Thus  the  same 
number  of  postmen  covering  but  a  tithe  of  the  present 
distances  could  make  deliveries  without  time  schedules  at 
intervals  of  a  few  minutes  with  a  handful  instead  of  a 
bagful  of  letters. 

The  sorting  of  mails  would  be  performed  at  every 
station  instead  of  at  a  few.  Incoming  country  mails 
would  be  taken  from  the  bags  at  the  railway  termini,  and 
the  same  bags  refilled  with  outgoing  country  mails,  thus 
avoiding  needless  carriage  to  the  Post  Office  and  back. 
No  bags  at  all  would  be  used  for  local  mails,  the  steel 
carriers  themselves  answering  that  purpose. 

At  every  tube  terminal  a  post-office  clerk  would  be 
stationed,  so  that  the  mails  would  never  for  an  instant  be 
out  of  post-office  control.  Its  absolute  security  would 
be  further  ensured  by  a  system  of  locking,  so  that  the 
carriers  could  only  be  opened  by  authorised  persons  at 

309 


MODERN   MECHANISM 

the  station  to  which  they  were  directed.  These  safe- 
guards offer  a  striking  contrast  to  the  present  method  that 
entrusts  mail  bags  to  the  sole  custody  of  van  drivers  in 
the  employ  of  private  contractors. 

If  the  mails  were  handled  by  tube,  business  men  would 
be  able  to  communicate  with  each  other  and  receive  replies 
several  times  in  one  day,  and  country  and  foreign  letters 
could  always  be  answered  upon  the  day  of  receipt.  The 
effect  would  be  felt  all  over  the  Empire. 

Would  the  laying  of  the  tubes  seriously  impede  traffic  ? 
The  promoters  assure  us  that  the  inconvenience  would  not 
be  comparable  to  that  caused  by  laying  a  gas,  water,  or 
telephone  system.  When  one  of  those  has  been  laid  the 
annoyance,  they  urge,  has  only  begun.  The  streets  must 
be  periodically  reopened  for  the  purpose  of  making 
thousands  of  house  connections,  extensions,  and  repairs. 
When  a  pneumatic  tube  is  once  down  it  is  good  for  a 
generation  at  least.  It  is  not  subject  to  recurrent  altera- 
tions incidental  to  house  connections  and  repairs.  In 
three  American  cities  the  tubes  have  been  touched  but 
three  times  in  twelve  years,  and  in  those  cases  the  causes 
were  a  bursting  water  main  and  faulty  adjacent  electric 
installations.     The  repairs  were  effected  in  a  few  hours. 

From  a  general  consideration  of  the  scheme  we  may 
now  turn  to  some  mechanical  details.  The  pipes  would  be 
of  1  foot  internal  diameter,  made  in  12-foot  lengths. 
"  Straight  sections,''  writes  an  engineering  correspondent 
of  The  Times^  "would  be  of  cast-iron,  bored,  counter- 
bored,  and  turned  to  a  slight  taper  at  one  end,  to  fit  a 
recess  at  the  other  end  (of  the  next  tube),  to  form  the 
joints,  which  could  be  caulked.     Joints  made  in  this  way 

310 


PNEUMATIC  MAIL  TUBES 

are  estimated  to  permit  of  a  deflection  of  2  inches  from 
the  straight,  so  that  the  laying  and  bedding  need  not  be 
exact.  Bent  sections  are  to  be  of  seamless  brass ;  these 
are  bored  true  before  bending.  The  permissible  cur- 
vature is  determined  upon  the  basis  of  a  maximum 
bend  of  1  foot  radius  for  every  1  inch  of  diameter;  the 
1  foot  diameter  of  the  London  tubes  would  consequently 
be  allowed  a  maximum  curvature  of  12  foot  radius. 
Measured  at  the  enlarged  end,  the  over-all  diameter  of 
each  pipe  is  17  inches,  and  as  two  such  pipes  are  to  be  laid 
side  by  side,  with  18  inches  between  centres,  the  clear  width 
will  be  35  inches.  The  trenches  are  therefore  to  be  cut 
36  inches  wide,  and  in  order  to  have  a  comparatively  free 
run  for  the  sections,  it  is  proposed  to  cut  the  trenches 
6  feet  deep." 

When  the  hundred  miles  of  piping  have  been  laid,  the 
entire  system  will  be  tested  to  a  pressure  of  25  lbs.  to 
the  square  inch,  or  about  two  and  a  half  times  the  working 
pressure.  Engines  of  10,000  h.p.  will  be  required  to  feed 
the  lines  with  air,  for  the  propulsion  of  the  carriers,  each 
3  feet  10  inches  long,  and  weighing  70  lbs. 

In  order  to  ensure  the  delivery  of  a  carrier  at  its  proper 
destination,  whether  a  terminus  or  an  intermediate  station, 
Mr.  Batcheller  has  made  a  most  ingenious  provision.  On 
the  front  of  a  carrier  is  fixed  a  metal  plate  of  a  certain 
diameter.  At  each  station  two  electric  wires  project  into 
the  tube,  and  as  soon  as  a  plate  of  sufficient  diameter  to 
short-circuit  these  wires  arrives,  the  current  operates 
delivery  mechanism,  and  the  carrier  is  switched  off  into 
the  station  box.  The  despatcher,  knowing  the  exact  size 
of  disc  for  each  station,  can  therefore  make  certain  that 
the  carrier  shall  not  go  astray. 
I  311 


MODERN   MECHANISM 

It  may  occur  to  the  reader  that,  should  a  carrier 
accidentally  stick  anywhere  in  the  tubes,  it  would  be  a 
matter  of  great  difficulty  to  locate  it.  Evidently  one 
could  not  feel  for  it  with  a  long  rod  in  half  a  mile  of 
tubing — the  distance  between  every  two  stations — with 
much  hope  of  finding  it.  But  science  has  evolved  a 
simple,  and  at  the  same  time  quite  reliable,  method  of 
coping  with  the  problem.  M.  Bontemps  is  the  inventor. 
He  located  troubles  in  the  Paris  tubes  by  firing  a  pistol, 
and  exactly  measuring  the  time  which  elapsed  between 
the  report  and  its  echo.  As  the  rate  of  sound  travel  is 
definitely  known,  instruments  of  great  delicacy  enable  the 
necessary  calculations  to  be  made  with  great  accuracy. 
When  a  breakdown  occurred  on  the  Philadelphia  tube  line, 
Mr.  Batcheller  employed  this  method  with  great  success, 
for  a  street  excavation,  made  on  the  strength  of  rough 
measurements  with  the  timing  apparatus,  came  within 
a  few  feet  of  the  actual  break  in  the  pipe,  caused  by 
a  subsidence,  while  the  carriers  themselves  were  found 
almost  exactly  at  the  point  where  the  workmen  had  been 
told  to  begin  digging.* 

There  is  no  doubt  that,  were  such  a  system  as  that 
proposed  established,  an  enormous  amount  of  time  would 
be  saved  to  the  community.  "A  letter  from  Charing 
Cross  to  Liverpool  Street,^^  says  The  World'^s  WorJc^ 
''  occupies  by  post  three  hours ;  by  tube  transit  it  would 
occupy  twenty  to  forty  minutes,  or  by  an  express  system 
of  tube  transit  ten  to  fifteen  minutes.  Express  messages 
carried  by  the  Post  Office  in  London  last  year  (1903) 
numbered  about  a  million  and  a  half,  but  the  cost  some- 

*  Cassier's  Magazine,  xiii.  436. 
312 


PNEUMATIC   MAIL   TUBES 

times  seems  very  heavy.  To  send  a  special  message  by 
hand  from  Hampstead  to  Fleet  Street,  for  example,  costs 
Is.  3d.,  and  takes  about  an  hour.  It  is  claimed  that  it 
could  be  sent  by  pneumatic  tube  at  a  cost  of  3d.  in  from 
fifteen  to  twenty  minutes,  and  that  for  local  service  the 
tube  would  be  far  quicker  than  the  telegraph,  and  many 
times  cheaper." 

It  has  been  calculated  that  from  one-sixth  to  one- 
quarter  of  the  wheeled  traffic  of  London  is  occupied 
with  the  distribution  of  mails  and  parcels ;  and  if  the 
tubes  relieved  the  streets  to  this  extent,  this  fact  alone 
would  be  a  strong  argument  in  their  favour.  It  is  im- 
possible to  believe  that  tube  transmission  on  a  gigantic 
scale  will  not  come.  Hitherto  its  development  has  been 
hindered  by  mechanical  difficulties.  But  these  have  been 
mostly  removed.  In  the  United  States,  where  the  adage 
"  time  is  money  '*''  is  lived  up  to  in  a  manner  scarcely 
known  on  this  side  of  the  Atlantic,  the  device  has  been 
welcomed  for  public  libraries,  warehouses,  railway  depots, 
factories — in  short,  for  all  pui-poses  where  the  employ- 
ment of  human  messengers  means  delay  and  uncertainty. 
Twenty  years  ago  Berlier  proposed  to  connect  London 
and  Paris  by  tubes  of  a  diameter  equal  to  that  of  the 
pipes  contemplated  in  the  scheme  now  before  Parliament. 
Our  descendants  may  see  the  tubes  laid ;  for  when  once 
a  system  of  transportation  has  been  proved  efficient  on  a 
large  scale  its  development  soon  assumes  huge  propor- 
tions. And  even  the  present  generation  may  witness  the 
tubes  of  our  big  cities  lengthen  their  octopus  arms  till 
town  and  town  are  in  direct  communication.  After  all 
it  id  merely  a  question  of  "  Will  it  pay  ?  '"*     We  have 

313 


MODERN    MECHANISM 

the  meam  of  uniting  Edinburgh  and  London  by  tube 
as  effectually  as  by  telephone  or  telegraph.  And  since 
the  general  trend  of  modern  commerce  is  to  bring  the 
article  to  the  customer  rather  than  to  give  the  customer 
the  trouble  of  going  to  select  the  article  in  situ — this 
applies,  of  course,  to  small  portable  things  only  — 
"  shopping  from  a  distance "  will  come  into  greater 
favour,  and  the  pneumatic  tube  will  be  recognised  as  a 
valuable  ally.  We  can  imagine  that  Mrs.  Robinson  of, 
say,  Reading,  will  be  glad  to  be  spared  the  fatigue  of  a 
journey  to  Regent  Street  when  a  short  conversation  over 
the  telephone  wires  is  sufficient  to  bring  to  her  door, 
within  an  hour,  a  selection  of  silver  ware  from  which  to 
choose  a  wedding  present.  And  her  husband,  whose  car 
has  perhaps  broken  a  rod  at  Newbury,  will  be  equally 
glad  of  the  quick  delivery  of  a  duplicate  part  from  the 
makers.  These  are  only  two  possible  instances,  which  do 
not  claim  to  be  typical  or  particularly  striking.  If  you 
sit  down  and  consider  what  an  immense  amount  of  time 
and  expense  could  be  saved  to  you  in  the  course  of  a 
year  by  a  "  lightning  despatch,"''  you  will  soon  come  to 
the  conclusion  that  the  pneumatic  tube  has  a  great  future 
before  it. 


314 


CHAPTER  XXIII 
AN  ELECTRIC   POSTAL  SYSTEM 

FAR  swifter  than  the  movements  of  air  are  those 
of  the  electric  current,  which  travels  many  thou- 
sands of  miles  in  a  second  of  time. 

Thirty  miles  an  hour  is  the  speed  proposed  for  the 
pneumatic  tube  system  mentioned  in  our  last  chapter. 
An  Italian,  Count  Roberto  Taeggi  Piscicelli,  has  elabo- 
rated an  electric  post  which,  if  realised,  will  make  such 
a  velocity  as  that  seem  very  slow  motion  indeed. 

Cable  railways,  for  the  transmission  of  minerals,  are 
in  very  common  use  all  over  the  world.  At  Hong-Kong 
and  elsewhere  they  do  good  service  for  the  transport  of 
human  beings.  The  car  or  truck  is  hauled  along  a  stout 
steel  cable,  supported  at  intervals  on  strong  poles  of  wood 
or  metal,  by  an  endless  rope  wound  off  and  on  to  a  steam- 
driven  drum  at  one  end  of  the  line,  or  motion  is  imparted 
to  it  by  a  motor,  which  picks  up  current  as  it  goes  from 
the  cable  itself  and  other  wires  with  which  contact  is  made. 

Count  Piscicelli's  electric  post  is  an  adaptation  of  the  elec- 
tric cableway  to  the  needs  of  parcel  and  letter  distribution. 

At  present  the  mail  service  between  towns  is  entirely 
dependent  on  the  railway  for  considerable  distances,  and 
on  motors  and  horsed  vehicles  in  cases  where  only  a 
comparatively  few  miles  intervene.  London  and  Birming- 
ham, to  take  an  instance,  are  served  by  seven  despatches 

31S 


MODERN    MECHANISM 

each  way  every  twenty-four  hours.  A  letter  sent  from  Lon- 
don in  the  morning  would,  under  the  most  favourable  con- 
ditions, not  bring  an  answer  the  same  day — at  least,  not  dur- 
ing business  hours.  So  that  urgent  correspondence  must  be 
conducted  over  either  the  telephone  or  the  telegraph  wires. 

Count  Piscicelli  proposes  a  network  of  light  cableways 
— four  lines  on  a  single  set  of  supports — between  the  great 
towns  of  Britain.  Each  line — or  rather  track — consists 
of  four  wires,  two  above  and  two  below,  each  pair  on  the 
same  level.  The  upper  pair  form  the  run-way  for  the  two 
main  wheels  of  the  carrier ;  the  lower  pair  are  for  the 
trailing  wheels.  Three  of  the  wires  supply  the  three-phase 
current  which  drives  the  carrier ;  the  fourth  operates  the 
automatic  switches  installed  every  three  or  four  miles  for 
transforming  the  high-tension  5,000-volt  current  into  low- 
tension  500- volt  current  in  the  section  just  being  entered. 

The  carriers  would  be  suitable  for  letters,  book-parcels, 
and  light  packages.  The  speed  at  which  they  would 
move — 150  miles  per  hour  to  begin  with — would  render 
possible  a  ten-minute  service  between,  say,  the  towns 
already  mentioned.  The  inventor  has  hopes  of  increasing 
the  speed  to  250  m.p.h.,  a  velocity  which  would  appear 
visionary  had  we  not  already  before  us  the  fact  that  an 
electric  car,  weighing  many  tons,  has  already  been  sent 
over  the  Berlin-Zossen  Railway  at  131^  miles  per  hour. 
At  any  rate,  the  electric  post  can  reasonably  be  expected 
to  outstrip  the  ordinary  express  train.  "Should  such 
speeds  as  Count  Piscicelli  confidently  discusses,"  says  The 
World's  WorJi^  "he  attained,  they  would  undoubtedly 
confer  immense  benefits  upon  the  mercantile  and  agricul- 
tural   community — upon    the    agricultural     community 

316 


AN   ELECTRIC    POSTAL   SYSTEM 

because  in  this  system  is  to  be  found  that  avenue  of  trans- 
mission to  big  centres  of  population  of  the  products 
of  la  petite  culture^  in  which  Mr.  Rider  Haggard,  for 
example,  in  his  invaluable  book  on  Rural  England^  sees 
help  for  the  farmer  and  for  all  connected  with  the  cultiva- 
tion of  the  soil.  Count  Fiscicelli  proposes  to  obviate  the 
delays  at  despatching  and  receiving  towns  by  an  inter- 
urban  postal  system,  in  which  the  principal  offices  of  any 
city  would  be  connected  with  the  head-office  and  with  the 
principal  railway  termini.  From  each  of  the  sub-offices 
would  radiate  further  lines,  along  which  post-collecting 
pillars  are  erected,  and  over  which  lighter  motors  and 
collecting  boxes  (similar  to  the  despatch  boxes)  travel. 
The  letter  is  put  in  through  a  slot  and  the  stamp  cancelled 
by  an  automatic  apparatus  with  the  name  of  the  district, 
number  of  the  post,  and  time  of  posting.  The  letter 
then  falls  into  a  box  at  the  foot  of  the  column.  On  the 
approach  of  a  collecting-box  the  letter  slot  would  be 
closed,  and  by  means  of  an  electric  motor  the  receptacle 
containing  the  letters  lifted  to  the  top  of  the  column  and 
its  contents  deposited  in  the  collecting-box,  which  travels 
alone  past  other  post-collecting  poles,  taking  from  each 
its  toll,  and  so  on  to  the  district  office.  Here,  in  a 
mercantile  centre,  a  first  sorting  takes  place,  local  letters 
being  retained  for  distribution  by  postmen,  and  other 
boxes  carry  their  respective  loads  to  the  different  railway 
termini,  or  central  office.'' 

Were  such  an  order  of  things  established,  there  would 
be  a  good  excuse  for  the  old  country  woman  who  sat 
watching  the  telegraph  wire  for  the  passage  of  a  pair  of 
boots  she  was  sending  to  her  son  in  far  away  '^  Lunnon  *" ! 

317 


CHAPTER  XXIV 
AGRICULTURAL  MACHINERY 

PLOUGHS DRILLS  AND  SEEDERS REAPING  MACHINES THRESH- 
ING MACHINES — PETROL-DRIVEN  FIELD  MACHINERY ELECTRI- 
CAL FARMING  MACHINERY 

A  GRICULTURE  is  at  once  the  oldest  and  most  im- 
/  \  portant  of  all  national  industries.  Man  being  a 
graminivorous  animal — witness  his  molar,  or  grind- 
ing, "  double ''  teeth — has,  since  the  earliest  times,  been 
obliged  to  observe  the  seasons,  planting  his  crops  when 
the  ground  is  moist,  and  reaping  them  when  the  weather 
is  warm  and  dry.  Apart  from  the  nomad  races  of  the 
deserts  and  steppes,  who  find  their  chief  subsistence  in 
the  products  of  the  date-palm  and  of  their  flocks  and 
herds,  all  nations  cultivate  a  large  portion  of  the  country 
which  they  inhabit.  Ancient  monuments,  the  oldest 
inscriptions  and  writings,  bear  witness  to  the  prime  im- 
portance of  the  plough  and  reaping-hook ;  and  it  may  be 
reasonably  assumed  that  the  progress  of  civilisation  is 
proved  by  the  increased  use  of  cereal  foods,  and  better 
methods  of  garnering  and  preparing  them. 

For  thousands  of  years  the  sickle,  which  Greek  and 
Roman  artists  placed  in  the  hand  of  their  Goddess  of  the 
Harvest,  and  the  rude  plough,  consisting  of,  perhaps,  only 
a  crooked  bough  with  a  pointed  end,  were  practically  the 

318 


AGRICULTURAL   MACHINERY 

only  implements  known  to  the  husbandman  besides  his 
spade  and  mattock.  Where  labour  is  abundant  and  each 
householder  has  time  to  cultivate  the  little  plot  which 
suffices  for  the  maintenance  of  his  own  family,  and  while 
there  is  little  inducement  to  take  part  in  other  than 
agricultural  industries — tedious  and  time-wasting  methods 
have  held  their  own.  But  in  highly  civilised  communities 
carrying  on  manufactures  of  all  sorts  it  is  difficult  for 
the  farmer  to  secure  an  abundance  of  human  help,  and 
yet  it  is  recognised  that  a  speedy  preparation  and  sowing 
of  the  land,  and  a  prompt  gathering  and  threshing  of  the 
harvest,  is  all  in  favour  of  producing  a  successful  and  well- 
conditioned  crop. 

In  England,  eighty  years  ago,  three  men  lived  in  the 
country  for  every  one  who  lived  in  the  town.  Now  the 
proportion  has  been  reversed ;  and  that  not  in  the  British 
Isles  alone.  The  world  does  not  mean  to  starve ;  but 
civilisation  demands  that  as  few  people  as  possible  should 
be  devoted  to  procuring  the  "  staff  of  life  "  for  both  man 
and  beast. 

We  should  reasonably  expect,  therefore,  that  the  im- 
mense advance  made  in  mechanical  science  during  the  last 
century  should  have  left  a  deep  mark  on  agricultural 
appliances.  Such  an  expectation  is  more  than  justified ; 
for  are  there  not  many  among  us  who  have  seen  the  sickle 
and  the  flail  at  work  where  now  the  "self-binder"'  and 
threshing  machine  perform  the  same  duties  in  a  fraction 
of  the  time  formerly  required  ?  The  ploughman,  plodding 
sturdily  down  the  furrow  behind  his  clever  team,  is  indeed 
still  a  common  sight ;  but  in  the  tilling  season  do  we  not 
hear  the  snort  of  the  steam-engine,  as  its  steel  rope  tears  a 

319 


MODERN    MECHANISM 

six-furrow  plough  through  the  mellow  earth  ?  When  the 
harvest  comes  we  realise  even  more  clearly  how  largely 
machinery  has  supplanted  man ;  while  in  the  processes  of 
separating  the  grain  from  its  straw  the  human  element 
plays  an  even  smaller  part.  It  would  not  be  too  much  to  say 
that,  were  we  to  revert  next  year  to  the  practices  of  our 
grandfathers,  we  should  starve  in  the  year  following. 

This  chapter  will  be  confined  to  a  consideration  of 
machinery  operated  by  horse,  steam,  or  other  power,  which 
falls  under  four  main  headings, — ploughs,  drills,  reapers, 
and  threshers. 

PLOUGHS 

The  firm  of  Messrs.  John  Fowler  and  Company,  of 
Leeds,  is  most  intimately  connected  with  the  introduction 
of  the  steam  plough  and  cultivator.  Their  first  type  of 
outfit  included  one  engine  only,  the  traversing  of  the 
plough  across  the  field  being  effected  by  means  of  cables 
passing  round  a  pulley  on  a  low,  four-wheeled  truck, 
moved  along  the  opposite  edge  of  the  field  by  ropes 
dragging  on  an  anchor.  Another  method  was  to  have  the 
engine  stationary  at  one  corner  of  the  field,  and  an  anchor 
at  each  of  the  three  other  corners,  the  two  at  the  ends  of 
the  furrow  being  moved  for  every  journey  of  the  plough. 
In,  or  about,  the  year  1865  this  arrangement  succumbed 
to  the  simple  and,  as  it  now  seems  to  us,  obvious  improve- 
ment of  introducing  a  second  engine  to  progress  vis-a-vis 
with  the  first,  and  do  its  share  of  the  pulling.  The 
modern  eight-furrow  steam  plough  will  turn  ten  acres 
a  day  quite  easily,  at  a  much  lower  cost  than  that  of 
horse  labour.  For  tearing  up  land  after  a  crop  "  cultiva- 
tors''  are  sometimes  used.     They  have  arrowhead-shaped 

320 


AGRICULTURAL   MACHINERY 

coulters,  which  cut  very  deep  and  bring  large  quantities 
of  fresh  earth  to  the  surface. 

The  ground  is  now  pulverised  by  harrows  of  various 
shapes,  according  to  the  nature  of  the  crop  to  be  sown. 
English  farmers  generally  employ  the  spike  harrow ;  but 
Yankee  agriculturists  make  great  use  of  the  spring-tooth 
form,  which  may  best  be  described  as  an  arrangement  of 
very  strong  springs  much  resembling  in  outline  the  springs 
of  house  bells.  The  shorter  arm  is  attached  to  the  frame, 
while  the  longer  and  pointed  arm  tears  the  earth. 

DRILLS    AND    SEEDERS 

In  highly  civilised  countries  the  man  carrying  a  basket 
from  which  he  flings  seeds  broadcast  is  a  very  rare  sight 
indeed.  The  primitive  method  may  have  been  effective — 
a  good  sower  could  cover  an  acre  evenly  with  half  a  pint 
of  turnip  seed — but  very  slow.  We  now  use  a  long  bin 
mounted  on  wheels,  which  revolves  discs  inside  the  bin, 
furnished  with  tiny  spoons  round  the  periphery  to  scoop 
small  quantities  of  seed  into  tubes  terminating  in  a 
coulter.  The  farmer  is  thus  certain  of  having  evenly 
planted  and  parallel  rows  of  grain,  which  in  the  early 
spring,  when  the  sprouting  begins,  make  so  pleasant  an 
addition  to  the  landscape. 

The  "  corn,'**  or  maize,  crop  of  the  United  States  is  so 
important  that  it  demands  special  sowing  machinery, 
which  plants  single  grains  at  intervals  of  about  eighteen 
inches.  A  somewhat  similar  device  is  used  for  planting 
potatoes. 

Passing   over   the   weeding   machines,  which    offer   no 
features  of  particular  interest,  we  come  to  tlie 
X  321 


MODERN   MECHANISM 

REAPING    MACHINES, 

on  which  a  vast  amount  of  ingenuity  has  been  expended. 
At  the  beginning  of  the  nineteenth  century  the  Royal 
Agricultural  Society  of  Great  Britain  offered  a  prize  for 
the  introduction  of  a  really  useful  machine  which  should 
replace  the  scythe  and  sickle.  Several  machines  were 
brought  out,  but  they  did  not  prove  practical  enough  to 
attract  much  attention.  Cyrus  H.  McCormick  invented 
in  1831  the  reaper,  which,  with  very  many  improvements 
added,  is  to-day  employed  in  all  parts  of  the  world.  The 
most  noticeable  point  of  this  machine  was  the  bar  fur- 
nished with  a  row  of  triangular  blades  which  passed  very 
rapidly  to  and  fro  through  slots  in  an  equal  number  of 
sharp  steel  points,  against  which  they  cut  the  grain.  The 
to-and-fro  action  of  the  cutter-blade  was  produced  by  a 
connecting-rod  working  on  a  crank  rotated  by  the  wheels 
carrying  the  machine. 

The  first  McCormick  reaper  did  wonders  on  a  Virginian 
farm  ;  other  inventors  were  stimulated ;  and  in  1833  there 
appeared  the  Hussey  reaper,  built  on  somewhat  similar 
lines.  For  twelve  years  or  so  these  two  machines  com- 
peted against  one  another  all  over  the  United  States; 
and  then  McCormick  added  a  raker  attachment,  which, 
when  sufficient  grain  had  accumulated  on  the  platform, 
enabled  a  second  man  on  the  machine  to  sweep  it  off  to 
be  tied  up  into  a  sheaf.  At  the  Great  Exhibition  held 
in  London  in  1851,  the  judges  awarded  a  special  medal 
to  the  inventor,  reporting  that  the  whole  expense  of  the 
Exhibition  would  have  been  well  recouped  if  only  the 
reaper   were    introduced    into    England.     From    France 

322 


AGRICULTURAL   MACHINERY 

McCormick  received  the  decoration  of  the  Legion  of 
Honour  "  for  having  done  more  for  the  cause  of  agricul- 
ture than  any  man  then  living.**' 

It  would  be  reasonable  to  expect  that,  after  this  public 
recognition,  the  mechanical  reaper  would  have  been 
immediately  valued  at  its  true  worth.  "  Yet  no  man 
had  more  difficulty  in  introducing  his  machines  than  that 
pioneer  inventor  of  agricultural  implements.  Farmers 
everywhere  were  slow  to  accept  it,  and  manufacturers 
were  unwilling  to  undertake  its  manufacture.  Even  after 
the  value  of  the  machine  had  been  demonstrated,  every- 
one seemed  to  fear  that  it  would  break  down  on  rocky 
and  uneven  fields ;  and  the  inventor  had  to  demonstrate 
in  person  to  the  farmers  the  practicability  of  the  reapers, 
and  then  even  guarantee  them  before  the  money  could  be 
obtained.  Through  all  these  trying  discouragements  the 
persistent  inventor  passed  before  he  saw  any  reward  for 
the  work  that  he  had  spent  half  a  lifetime  in  perfecting. 
The  ultimate  triumph  of  the  inventor  may  be  sufficient 
reward  for  his  labours  and  discouragements,  but  those 
who  would  begrudge  him  the  wealth  that  he  subsequently 
made  from  his  invention  should  consider  some  of  the 
difficulties  and  obstacles  he  had  to  overcome  in  the 
beginning.*"  * 

In  1858  an  attachment  was  fitted  to  replace  the  second 
passenger  on  the  machine.  Four  men  followed  behind  to 
tie  up  the  grain  as  it  was  shot  off*  the  machine. 

Inventors  tried  to  abolish  the  need  for  these  extra 
hands  by  means  of  a  self-binding  device. 

A  practical  method,  employing  wire,  appeared  in  18G0  ; 
*  Cassier^s  Magazine. 
323 


MODERN   MECHANISM 

but  SO  great  was  the  trouble  caused  by  stray  pieces  of  the 
wire  getting  into  threshing  and  other  machinery  through 
which  the  grain  subsequently  passed  that  farmers  went 
back  to  hand  work,  until  the  Appleby  patent  of  1873 
replaced  wire  by  twine.  Words  alone  would  convey  little 
idea  of  how  the  corn  is  collected  and  encircled  with 
twine ;  how  the  knot  is  tied  by  an  ingenious  shuttle 
mechanism ;  and  how  it  is  thrown  out  into  a  set  of  arms 
which  collect  sufficient  sheaves  to  form  a  "  stook  ^"'  before 
it  lets  them  fall.  So  we  would  advise  our  readers  to 
take  the  next  chance  of  examining  a  modern  self-binder, 
and  to  persuade  the  man  in  charge  to  give  as  lucid 
an  explanation  as  he  can  of  the  way  in  which  things  are 
done. 

Popular  prejudice  having  once  been  conquered,  the 
success  of  the  reapers  was  assured.  The  year  1870  saw 
60,000  in  use;  by  1885  the  output  had  increased  to 
250,000 ;  and  to-day  the  manufacture  of  agricultural 
labour-saving  machines  gives  employment  to  over  200,000 
people ;  an  equal  number  being  occupied  in  their  trans- 
port and  sale  in  all  parts  of  the  globe. 

In  California,  perhaps  more  than  in  any  other  country, 
"  power  ^'  agricultural  machinery  is  seen  at  its  best.  Great 
traction-engines  here  take  the  place  of  human  laboui'  to 
an  extraordinary  extent.  The  largest,  of  50  h.p.  and 
upwards,  "  with  driving-wheels  60  inches  in  diameter  and 
flanges  of  generous  width,  travel  over  the  uneven  surface  j 
of  the  grain  fields,  crossing  ditches  and  low  places,  and 
ascending  the  sides  of  steep  hills,  with  as  much  apparent 
ease  as  a  locomotive  rolls  along  its  steel  rails.  Such 
powerful  traction-engines,  or  'automobiles'*  as  they  are 

324 


AGRICULTURAL   MACHINERY 

commonly  called  by  the  American  farmers,  are  capable  of 
dragging  behind  them  sixteen  10-inch  ploughs,  four  6-foot 
harrows,   and    a    drill    and    seeder.     The    land    is    thus 
ploughed,  drilled,  and  seeded  all  at  one  time.     From  fifty 
to  seventy-five  acres  of  virgin  soil  can  thus  be  ploughed 
and  planted  in  a  single  day.      When  the  harvest  comes 
the  engines  are  again  brought  into  service,  and  the  fields 
that  would  ordinarily  defy  the  best  efforts  of  an  army  of 
workmen   are  garnered  quickly  and  easily.      The  giant 
harvester  is  hitched  to  the  traction-engine  in  place  of  the 
p  ploughs   and   harrows,  and   cuts,  binds,  and   stacks  the 
^  golden  wheat  from  seventy-five  acres  in  a  single  day.    The 
'  cutters  are  26  feet  wide,  and  they  make  a  clear  swathe 
across  the  field.     Some  of  them  thresh,  clean,  and  sack 
the  wheat  as  fast  as  it  is  cut  and  bound.     Other  traction- 
engines  follow  to  gather  up  the  sacked  wheat,  and  whole 
train-loads  of  it  thus  move  across  the  field  to  the  granaries 
'  or  railways  of  the  seaboard  or  interior." 

For  "dead  ripe*'"'  crops  the  " header ''^  is  often  used  in 
California.  Instead  of  being  pulled  it  is  pushed  by  mules, 
and  merely  cuts  off  the  heads,  leaving  the  straw  to  be 
trampled  down  by  the  animals  since  it  has  no  vahie. 
Swathes  as  wide  as  50  feet  are  thus  treated,  the  grain  being 
threshed  out  while  the  machine  moves. 

One  of  the  most  beautiful,  and  at  the  same  time  useful, 
crops  in  the  world  is  that  of  maize,  which  feeds  not  only 
vast  numbers  of  human  beings,  but  also  countless  flocks 
and  herds,  the  latter  eating  the  green  stalks  as  well  as  the 
ripened  grain.  The  United  States  alone  produced  no  less 
than  2,523,648,312  bushels  of  this  cereal  in  1902,  as 
against  987,000,000  bushels  of  wheat,  and  670,000,000 

325 


MODERN   MECHANISM 

bushels  of  barley.  Now,  maize  has  a  very  tough  stalk, 
often  10  feet  high  and  an  inch  thick,  which  cannot  be  cut 
with  the  ease  of  wheat  or  barley.  So  a  special  machine 
has  been  devised  to  handle  it.  The  row  of  com  is  picked 
up,  if  fallen,  by  chains  furnished  with  projecting  spikes 
working  at  an  angle  to  the  perpendicular,  so  as  to  lift  and 
simultaneously  pull  back  the  stalks,  which  pass  into  a 
horizontal  V-shaped  frame.  This  has  a  broad  opening  in 
front,  but  narrows  towards  its  rear  end,  where  stationary 
sickles  fixed  on  either  side  give  the  stalk  a  drawing  cut 
before  it  reaches  the  single  knife  moving  to  right  and 
left  in  the  angle  of  the  V,  which  severs  the  stalk  com- 
pletely. The  McCormick  machine  gathers  the  corn  in 
vertical  bundles,  and  ties  them  up  ready  for  the 
"  shockers.**' 

THRESHING    MACHINES 

In  principle  these  are  simple  enough.  The  straw  and 
grain  is  fed  into  a  slot  and  pulled  down  between  a  toothed 
rotating  drum  and  a  fixed  toothed  concave.  These  tear 
out  the  grain  from  the  ear.  The  former  falls  into  the 
hopper  of  a  winnowing  and  riddling  machine,  which  clears 
it  from  dust  and  husks,  and  allows  it  to  pass  to  a  hopper. 
An  endless  chain  of  buckets  carries  it  to  the  delivery  bins, 
holding  just  one  sackful  each,  which  when  full  discharge 
the  grain  through  spouts  into  the  receptacles  waiting 
below  their  mouths.  An  automatic  counter  records  the 
number  of  sackfuls  of  corn  that  have  been  discharged,  so 
that  dishonesty  on  the  part  of  employes  becomes  prac- 
tically an  impossibility.  While  the  grain  is  thus  treated, 
oscillating  rakes  have  arranged  the  straw  and  shaken  it 

326 


Jiu 


AGRICULTURAL   MACHINERY 

out  behind  in  a  form  convenient  for  binding,  and  the  chafF 
has  passed  to  its  proper  heap,  to  be  used  as  fuel  for  the 
engine  or  as  food  for  cattle. 

PETROL-DRIVEN    FIELD    MACHINERY 

On  water,  rail,  and  road  the  petrol  engine  has  entered 
into  rivalry  with  steam — very  successfully  too.  And  now 
it  bids  fair  to  challenge  both  steam-engine  and  horse  as 
the  motive  power  for  agricultural  operations.  Probably 
the  best-known  English  petrol-driven  farmer's  help  is  that 
made  by  Mr.  Dan  Albone,  of  Biggleswade,  who  in  past 
times  did  much  to  introduce  the  safety  bicycle  to  the 
public.  The  "  Ivel  "*'  motor  is  not  beautiful  to  look  upon  ; 
its  sides  are  slab,  its  outlines  rather  suggestive  of  an  in- 
verted punt.  But  it  is  a  willing  and  powerful  worker; 
requires  no  feeding  in  the  early  hours  of  the  morning ;  no 
careful  brush  down  after  the  day'^s  work  ;  no  halts  to  ease 
wearied  muscles.  In  one  tank  is  petrol,  in  another  lubri- 
cating oil,  in  a  third  water  to  keep  the  cylinders  cool.  A 
double-cylinder  motor  of  18  h.p.  transmits  its  energy 
through  a  large  clutch  and  train  of  cogs  to  the  road 
wheels,  made  extra  wide  and  well  corrugated  so  that  they 
shall  not  sink  into  soft  ground  or  slip  on  hard.  There  is 
a  broad  pulley-wheel  peeping  out  from  one  side  of  the 
machine,  which  is  ready  to  drive  chaff-cutters  or  threshers, 
pump,  grind  corn,  or  turn  a  dynamo  at  a  moment's  notice. 

Hitch  the  "  Ivel  '"*  on  to  a  couple  of  reapers  or  a  three- 
furrow  plougli,  and  it  soon  shows  its  superiority  to 
"man's  friend."     Here  are  some  records: — 

Eleven  acres,  one  rood,  thirteen  poles  of  wet  loam  land 
ploughed  in  11^  hours,  at  a  cost  per  acre  of  5s. 

327 


MODERN   MECHANISM 

Nineteen  acres  of  wheat  reaped  and  bound  in  10  hours, 
at  a  cost  of  Is.  9d,  per  acre. 

Fifteen  acres,  three  roods  of  heavy  grass  cut  in  3J 
hours,  cost.  Is.  per  acre. 

With  horses  the  average  cost  of  ploughing  is  about 
10s.  an  acre ;  of  reaping  5s.  So  that  the  motor  does  at 
least  twice  the  work  for  the  same  money. 

We  may  quote  a  paragraph  from  the  pen  of  "  Home 
Counties,"  a  well-known  and  perspicacious  writer  on 
agricultural  topics. 

"It  is  because  motor-farming  is  likely  to  result  in  a 
more  thorough  cultivation  of  the  land  and  a  more  skilful 
and  more  enlightened  practice  of  agriculture,  and  not  in 
a  further  extension  of  those  deplorable  land-scratching 
and  acre -grasping  methods  of  which  so  many  pitiful 
examples  may  be  seen  on  our  clay  soils,  that  its  begin- 
nings are  being  sympathetically  watched  by  many  people 
who  have  the  best  interests  of  the  rural  districts  and  the 
prosperity  of  agriculture  at  heart."'*'  * 

Will  our  farmers  give  the  same  welcome  to  the  agri- 
cultural motor  that  was  formerly  accorded  to  the 
mechanical  reaper?  Prophecy  is  risky,  but  if,  before  a 
decade  has  elapsed,  the  horse  has  not  been  largely 
replaced  by  petrol  on  large  farms  and  light  land,  the 
writer  of  these  lines  will  be  much  surprised. 

ELECTRICAL    FARMING    MACHINERY 

In  France,  Germany,  Austria,  and  the  United  States 
the  electric  motor  has  been  turned  to  agricultural  uses. 
Where  water-power  is  available  it  is  peculiarly  suitable 

*  The  World's  Work,  vol  iii.  499. 
328 


AGRICULTURAL   MACHINERY 

for  stationary  work,  such  as  threshing,  chafF- cutting, 
root-slicing,  grinding,  etc.  The  current  can  be  easily 
distributed  all  over  a  large  farm  and  harnessed  to  port- 
able motors.  Even  ploughing  has  been  done  with  elec- 
tricity :  the  energy  being  derived  either  from  a  steam- 
engine  placed  near  by,  or  from  an  overhead  supply  passing 
to  the  plough  through  trolley  arms  similar  to  those  used 
on  electric  trams. 

The  great  advances  made  recently  in  electrical  power 
transmission,  and  in  the  efficiency  of  the  electric  motor, 
bring  the  day  in  sight  when  on  large  properties  the  fields 
will  be  girt  about  by  cables  and  poles  as  permanent 
fixtures.  All  the  usual  agricultural  operations  of  plough- 
ing, drilling,  and  reaping  will  then  be  independent  of 
horses,  or  of  steam-engines  panting  laboriously  on  the 
headlands.  In  fact,  the  experiment  has  been  tried  with 
success  in  the  United  States.  Whichever  way  we  look. 
Giant  Steam  is  bowing  before  a  superior  power. 


329 


CHAPTER  XXV 
DAIRY   MACHINERY 

MILKING    MACHINES CREAM    SEPARATORS — A    MACHINE    FOR 

DRYING    MILK 

MILKING    MACHINES 

THE  farm  labourer,  perched  on  a  three-legged  stool, 
his  head  leaning  against  the  soft  flank  of  a  cow 
as  he  squirts  the  milk  in  snowy  jets  into  the 
frothing  pail,  is,  like  the  blacksmith's  forge  throwing  out 
its  fiery  spark-shower,  one  of  those  sights  which  from 
childhood  up  exercise  a  mild  fascination  over  the  on- 
looker. Possibly  he  or  she  may  be  an  interested  person 
in  more  senses  than  one,  if  the  contents  of  the  pail  are 
ultimately  to  provide  a  refreshing  drink,  for  milk  never 
looks  so  tempting  as  when  it  carries  its  natural  froth. 

Modern  methods  of  dairying  demand  the  most 
scrupulous  cleanliness  in  all  processes.  Pails,  pans,  and 
"churns'**  should  be  scoured  until  their  shining  surfaces 
suggest  that  on  them  the  tiniest  microbe  could  not  find 
a  footing.  Buildings  must  be  well  aired,  scrubbed,  and 
treated  occasionally  with  disinfectants.  Even  then  danger 
may  lurk  unseen,  and  the  milk  is  therefore  for  certain 
purposes  sterilised  by  heating  it  to  a  temperature 
approaching  boiling-point  and  simultaneously  agitating 
it  mechanically  to  prevent  the  formation  of  a  scum  on 

330 


DAIRY  MACHINERY 

the  surface.     It  is  then  poured  into  sealed  bottles  which 
bid  defiance  to  exterior  noxious  germs. 

The  human  hand,  even  if  washed  frequently,  is  a  diffi- 
cult thing  to  keep  scientifically  clean.  The  milkman  has 
to  put  his  hand  now  on  the  cowl's  side,  now  on  his  stool ; 
in  short,  he  is  constantly  touching  surfaces  which  cannot 
be  guaranteed  germless.  He  may,  therefore,  infect  the 
teats,  which  in  turn  infect  the  milk.  So  that,  for  health'^s 
sake  as  well  as  to  minimise  the  labour  and  expense  of 
milking,  various  devices  have  been  tried  for  mechanically 
extracting  the  fluid  from  the  udder.  Many  of  these  have 
died  quick  deaths,  on  account  of  their  practical  imperfec- 
tions. But  one,  at  least,  may  be  pronounced  a  success — 
the  Lawrence-Kennedy  cow-milker,  which  is  worked  by 
electricity,  and  supplies  another  proof  of  the  adaptability 
of  the  "  mysterious  fluid  "  to  the  service  of  man. 

On  the  Isle  de  la  Loge  in  the  Seine  is  a  dairy  farm 
which  is  most  up-to-date  in  its  employment  of  labour- 
saving  appliances,  including  that  just  mentioned.  Here 
a  turbine  generates  power  to  work  vacuum  pumps  of  large 
capacity.  The  pumps  are  connected  to  tubes  terminating 
in  cone-shaped  rubber  caps  that  can  be  easily  slipped  on 
to  the  teat ;  four  caps  branching  out  from  a  single  suction 
chamber.  As  soon  as  they  have  been  adjusted,  the  milk- 
man— now  shorn  of  a  great  part  of  his  rights  to  that  title 
— turns  on  the  vacuum  cock,  and  the  pulsator,  a  device  to 
imitate  the  periodic  action  of  hand  milking,  conuncnces 
to  work.  The  number  of  pulsations  per  minute  can  be 
regulated  to  a  nicety  by  adjusting  screws.  On  its  way  to 
the  pail  the  milk  passes  through  a  glass  tube,  so  that  the 
operator  may  see  when  the  milking  is  completed. 

331 


MODERN   MECHANISM 

This  method  eliminates  the  danger  of  hand  contamina- 
tion. It  also  protects  the  milk  entirely  from  the  air,  and 
it  has  been  stated  that,  when  thus  extracted,  milk  keeps 
sweet  for  a  much  longer  time  than  under  the  old  system. 
The  cows  apparently  do  not  object  to  machinery  replacing 
man,  not  even  the  Jersey  breed,  which  are  the  most  fidgety 
of  all  the  tribe.  Under  the  heading  of  economy  the  user 
scores  heavily,  for  a  single  attendant  can  adjust  and  watch 
a  number  of  mechanical  milkers,  whereas  "  one  man,  one 
cow  '*'  must  be  the  rule  where  the  hand  is  used.  From  the 
point  of  romance,  the  world  may  lose ;  the  vacuum  pump 
cannot  vie  with  the  pretty  milkmaid  of  the  songs.  Prac- 
tical people  will,  however,  rest  content  with  pure  milk 
minus  the  beauty,  in  preference  to  milk  plus  the  microbe 
and  the  milkmaid,  who — especially  when  she  is  a  man — is 
not  always  so  very  beautiful  after  all. 

CREAM    SEPARATORS 

In  the  matter  of  separating  the  fatty  from  the  watery 
elements  of  milk  machinery  also  plays  a  part.  The 
custom  of  allowing  the  cream  to  "rise''  in  open  pans 
suffices  for  small  dairies  where  speed  and  thoroughness  of 
separation  are  not  of  primary  importance.  But  when 
cream  is  required  in  wholesale  quantities  for  the  markets 
of  large  towns,  or  for  conversion  into  butter,  much  greater 
expedition  is  needed. 

The  mechanical  cream  separator  takes  advantage  of  the 
laws  of  centrifugal  force.  Milk  is  poured  into  a  bowl 
rotating  at  high  speed  on  a  vertical  axis.  The  heavier — 
watery — portions  climb  up  the  sides  of  the  bowl  in  their 
endeavour  to  get  as  far  away  as  possible  from  the  centre 

332 


DAIRY   MACHINERY 

of  motion ;  while  the  lighter  particles  of  cream,  not  having 
so  much  momentum,  are  compelled  to  remain  at  the 
bottom.  By  a  simple  mechanical  arrangement,  the — very 
— skim  milk  is  forced  out  of  one  tube,  and  the  cream  out 
of  another.  An  efficient  separator  removes  up  to  99  per 
cent,  of  the  butter  fat.  Small  sizes,  worked  by  hand, 
treat  from  10  to  100  gallons  of  milk  per  hour ;  while  the 
large  machines,  extensively  used  in  "creameries,""  and 
turned  by  horse,  steam,  electric,  or  other  power,  have 
a  capacity  of  450  gallons  per  hour.  The  saving  effected 
by  mechanical  methods  of  separation  is  so  great  that 
dairy-farmers  can  now  make  a  good  profit  on  butter  which 
formerly  scarcely  covered  out-of-pocket  expenses  incurred 
in  its  manufacture. 

A    MACHINE    FOR    DRYING    MILK 

Milk  contains  87  per  cent,  of  water  and  about  12  per 
cent,  of  nutritive  matter.  Milk  which  has  had  the  water 
evaporated  from  it  becomes  a  highly  concentrated  food, 
very  valuable  for  many  purposes  which  could  not  be  served 
by  the  natural  fluid.  Until  lately  the  process  of  separat- 
ing the  solid  and  liquid  constituents  was  too  costly  to 
render  the  manufacture  of  "  dried  milk  "  a  profitable  in- 
dustry. But  now  there  is  on  the  market  a  drying  ap- 
paratus, manufactured  by  Messrs.  James  Milnes  and  Son, 
of  Edinburgh,  which  almost  instantaneously  drives  off  the 
water. 

The  machine  used  for  this — the  Just-IIatmaker — pro- 
cess is  simple.  It  consists  of  two  large  metal  drums, 
28  inches  in  diameter  and  5  feet  long,  mounted  hori- 
zontally in  a  framework  with  a  space  of  about  one-eighth 

333 


MODERN    MECHANISM 

of  an  inch  between  them.  High-pressure  steam,  admitted 
to  the  drums  through  axial  pipes,  raises  their  surfaces  to 
a  temperature  of  220''  Fahr.  The  milk  is  allowed  to 
flow  in  thin  streams  over  the  revolving  drums,  the  heat 
of  which  quickly  evaporates  the  water.  A  coating  of  solid 
matter  gradually  forms,  and  this  is  scraped  off  by  a  knife 
and  falls  into  a  receptacle. 

The  milk  is  not  boiled  nor  chemically  altered  in  any 
way,  though  completely  sterilised  by  the  heat.  This 
machine  promises  to  revolutionise  the  milk  trade,  as 
farmers  will  now  be  able  to  convert  the  very  perishable 
product  of  their  dairies  into  an  easily  handled  and  im- 
perishable powder  of  great  use  for  cooking  and  the 
manufacture  of  sweetmeats.  Explorers  and  soldiers  can 
have  their  milk  supply  reduced  to  tabloid  form,  and  a 
pound  tin  of  the  lozenges  will  temper  their  tea  or  coifee 
over  many  a  camp  fire  far  removed  from  the  domestic 
cow. 


334 


I 


CHAPTER   XXVI 
SCULPTURING   MACHINES 

THE  savage  who,  with  a  flint  point  or  bone  splinter, 
laboriously  scratched  rude  figures  on  the  walls  of 
his  cave  dwelling,  did  the  best  he  was  capable  of  to 
express  the  emotions  which  affect  the  splendidly  equipped 
sculptor  of  to-day ;  he  wished  to  record  permanently  some 
shape  in  which  for  the  time  he  was  interested,  religiously 
or  otherwise. 

The  sun,  moon  and  stars  figure  largely  in  primitive 
religions  as  objects  of  worship.  They  could  be  easily 
suggested  by  a  few  strokes  of  a  tool.  But  when  mortals 
turned  from  celestial  to  terrestrial  bodies,  and  to  the 
worship  of  human  or  animal  forms — the  ''  graven  images  ''^ 
of  the  Bible — a  much  higher  level  of  art  was  reached  by 
the  sculptor,  who  endeavoured  to  give  faithful  representa- 
tions in  marble  of  the  great  men  of  the  time  and  of  the 
gods  which  his  nation  acknowledged. 

The  Egyptians,  whose  colossal  monuments  strew  the 
banks  of  the  Nile,  worked  in  the  most  stubborn  materials — 
basalt,  porphyry  and  granite — which  would  turn  the  edge 
of  highly  tempered  steel,  and  therefore  raise  wonder  in  our 
minds  as  to  the  nature  of  the  tools  which  the  subjects  of 
the  Pharaohs  must  have  possessed.  Only  one  chisel,  of  a 
bronze  so  soft  that  its  edge  turned  at  the  first  stroke 

335 


MODERN   MECHANISM 

against  the  rock  under  which  it  was  found,  has  so  far  come 
to  light.  Of  steel  tools  there  is  no  trace,  and  we  are  left 
to  the  surmise  that  the  ancients  possessed  some  forgotten 
method  of  hardening  other  metals— including  bronze — to 
a  pitch  quite  unattainable  to-day.  Whatever  were  their 
implements,  they  did  magnificent  work;  witness  the 
splendid  sculptures  of  vast  proportions  to  be  found  in  the 
British  Museum ;  and  the  yet  huger  statues,  such  as  those 
of  Memnon  and  those  at  Karnak,  which  attract  tourists 
yearly  to  Egypt, 

The  Egyptians  admired  magnitude ;  the  Greeks  per- 
fection of  outline.  The  human  form  in  its  most  ideal 
development,  so  often  found  among  a  nation  with  whom 
athleticism  was  almost  a  religion,  inspired  many  of  the 
great  classical  sculptors,  whose  work  never  has  been,  and 
probably  never  will  be,  surpassed.  Great  honour  awaited 
the  winner  in  the  Olympian  games ;  but  the  most  coveted 
prize  of  all  was  the  permission  given  him — this  after  a 
succession  of  victories  only — to  erect  a  statue  of  himself 
in  the  sacred  grove  near  the  shrine  of  Olympian  Jove. 
Happy  the  man  who  knew  that  succeeding  generations 
would  gaze  upon  a  marble  representation  of  some  charac- 
teristic attitude  assumed  by  him  during  his  struggle  for 
the  laurel  crown. 

Until  recently  the  methods  of  sculpture  have  remained 
practically  unaltered  for  thousands  of  years.  The  artist 
first  models  his  idea  in  clay  or  wax,  on  a  small  scale.  He 
then,  if  he  designs  a  life-size  or  colossal  statue,  erects  a 
kind  of  iron  skeleton  to  carry  the  clay  of  the  full-sized 
model,  copied  proportionately  from  the  smaller  one.  When 
this  is  finished,  a  piece-mould  is  formed  from  it  by  apply- 

336 


SCULPTURING  MACHINES 

ing  wet  lumps  of  plaster  of  Paris  all  over  the  surface  in 
such  a  manner  that  they  can  be  removed  piecemeal,  and 
fitted  together  to  form  a  complete  mould.  Into  this  liquid 
plaster  is  run,  for  a  hollow  cast  of  the  whole  figure,  which 
is  smoothed  and  given  its  finishing  touches  by  the  master 
hand. 

This  cast  has  next  to  be  reproduced  in  marble.  Both 
the  cast  and  the  block  of  marble  are  set  up  on  "  scale- 
stones,**'  revolving  on  vertical  pivots.  An  ingenious  instru- 
ment, called  a  "  pointing  machine,"*'  now  comes  into  play. 
It  has  two  arms  ending  in  fine  metal  points,  movable  in 
ball-and-socket  joints.  These  arms  are  first  applied  to  the 
model,  the  lower  being  adjusted  to  touch  a  mark  on  the 
scale-stone,  the  upper  to  just  reach  a  mark  on  the  figure. 
The  operator  then  clamps  the  arms  and  revolves  the 
machine  towards  the  block  of  marble,  the  scale-stone  of 
which  has  been  marked  similarly  to  its  fellow.  The 
bottom  arm  is  now  set  to  rest  on  the  corresponding  mark 
of  the  scale-stone ;  but  the  upper,  which  can  slide  back 
telescopically,  is  prevented  from  assuming  its  relative  posi- 
tion by  the  unremoved  portions  of  the  block.  The  work- 
man therefore  merely  notices  the  point  on  the  block  at 
which  the  needle  is  directed,  and  drills  a  hole  into  the 
marble  on  the  line  of  the  needle's  axis,  to  a  depth  sufiicient 
to  allow  the  arm  to  be  fully  extended.  This  process  is  re- 
peated, in  some  cases  many  thousands  of  times,  until  the 
block  has  been  honeycombed  with  small  holes.  The  carver 
can  now  strike  off*  the  superfluous  marble,  never  going 
beyond  the  depth  of  a  hole ;  and  a  rough  outline  of  the 
statue  appears.  A  more  skilled  workman  follows  him  to 
shape  the  material  to  a  close  copy  of  the  cast ;  and  the 
Y  -  337 


MODERN   MECHANISM 

sculptor  himself  adds  the  finishing  touches  which  stamp 
his  personality  on  the  completed  work. 

Only  a  select  few  of  the  world's  greatest  sculptors  have 
ventured  to  strike  their  statues  direct  from  the  marble, 
without  recourse  to  a  preliminary  model.  Such  a  one  was 
Michelangelo,  who,  as  though  seized  by  a  creative  frenzy, 
would  hew  and  hack  a  block  so  furiously  that  the  chips 
flew  off*  like  a  shower,  continuing  his  attack  for  hours,  yet 
never  making  the  single  false  stroke  that  in  the  case  of 
other  masters  has  ruined  the  work  of  months.  He  truly 
was  a  genius,  and  must  have  possessed  an  almost  super- 
natural faculty  of  knowing  when  he  had  reached  the 
exact  depth  at  any  point  in  the  great  block  of  marble 
from  which  his  design  gradually  emerged. 

The  formation  of  artistic  models  will  always  require  the 
master's  hand  ;  but  the  reproduction  of  the  cast  in  marble 
or  stone  can  now  be  performed  much  more  expeditiously 
than  is  possible  with  the  pointing  machine.  We  have 
already  two  successful  mechanisms  which  in  an  almost 
incredibly  short  time  will  eat  a  statue  out  of  a  block 
in  faithful  obedience  to  the  movement  of  a  pointer  over 
the  surface  of  a  finished  design.  They  are  the  Wenzel 
Machine  Sculptor  and  Signor  Augusto  Bontempi's  Mec- 
caneglofo, 

THE    WENZEL    SCULPTURING    MACHINE 

In  the  basement  of  a  large  London  business  house  we 
found,  one  dark  November  afternoon,  two  men  at  work 
with  curious-looking  frameworks,  which  they  swayed  back- 
wards and  forwards,  up  and  down,  to  the  accompaniment 
of  a  continuous  clattering  of  metal  upon  stone.  Approach- 
ing nearer,  we  saw,  lying  horizontally  in  the  centre  of  the 

338 


SCULPTURING  MACHINES 

machine,  a  small  marble  statue,  its  feet  clamped  to  a  plate 
with  deep  notches  in  the  circumference.  On  either  side,  at 
equal  distances,  were  two  horizontal  blocks  of  marble 
similarly  attached  to  similar  plates.  The  workman  had 
his  eyes  glued  on  a  blunt-nosed  pointer  projecting  from 
the  middle  of  a  balanced  frame.  This  he  passed  slowly 
over  the  surface  of  the  statue,  and  simultaneously  two 
whirring  drills  also  attached  to  the  frame  ate  into  the 
stone  blocks  just  so  far  as  the  movement  of  the  frame 
would  permit.  The  drills  were  driven  by  electric  power 
and  made  some  thousands  of  revolutions  per  minute, 
throwing  off  the  stone  they  bit  away  in  the  form  of  an 
exceedingly  fine  white  dust. 

It  was  most  fascinating  to  watch  the  almost  sentient 
performance  of  the  drills.  Just  as  a  pencil  in  an  artisfs 
hands  weaves  line  into  line  until  they  all  suddenly  spring 
into  life  and  show  their  meaning,  so  did  the  drills  chase 
apparently  arbitrary  grooves  which  united,  spread,  and 
finally  revealed  the  rough-hewn  limb. 

Every  now  and  then  the  machinist  twisted  the  foot- 
plates round  one  notch,  and  snicked  the  retaining  bolts 
into  them.  This  exposed  a  fresh  area  of  the  statue  and 
of  the  blocks  to  the  pointer  and  the  drills.  The  large, 
coarse  drills  used  to  clear  away  the  superfluous  material 
during  the  earlier  stages  of  the  work  were  replaced  by 
'finer  points.  The  low  relief  was  scooped  out,  the  limbs 
moulded,  the  delicate  curves  of  cheek  and  the  pencilling 
of  eyebrows  and  lips  traced,  and  in  a  few  hours  the  copies 
were  ready  for  the  usual  smoothing  and  finishing  at  the 
hands  of  the  human  sculptor. 

According  to  the  capacity  of  the  machine  two,  four,  or 

339 


MODERN    MECHANISM 

six  duplicates  can  be  made  at  the  cost  of  a  little  more 
power  and  time.  Nor  is  it  necessary  to  confine  operations 
to  stone  and  marble,  for  we  were  shown  some  admirable 
examples  of  wooden  statues  copied  from  a  delicate  little 
bronze,  and,  were  special  drills  provided,  the  relations 
could  be  reversed,  bronze  becoming  passive  to  motions 
controlled  by  a  wooden  original. 

"  Sculpturing  made  easy "'  would  be  a  tempting  legend 
to  write  over  the  Wenzel  machine.  But  it  would  not 
represent  the  truth.  After  all,  the  mechanism  only 
copies^,  it  cannot  originate,  which  is  the  function  of  the 
sculptor.  It  stands  to  sculpturing  in  the  same  relation  as 
the  printer^s  "process  block'*''  to  the  artisfs  original 
sketch,  or  the  lithographic  plates  to  the  painter's  coloured 
picture.  Therefore  prejudice  against  machine  -  made 
statues  is  as  unreasonable  as  objection  to  the  carefully- 
executed  replica  of  a  celebrated  painting.  The  sculptor 
himself  has  not  produced  it  at  first  hand,  yet  his  person- 
ality has  been  stamped  even  on  the  copy,  for  the  machine 
can  do  nothing  except  what  has  already  been  done  for  it. 
The  machine  merely  displaces  the  old  and  imperfect 
"  pointing ""  by  hand,  substituting  a  method  which  is 
cheaper,  quicker,  and  more  accurate  in  its  interpretation 
of  the  model. 

It  is  obvious  that,  apart  from  sculpture  proper,  the 
industrial  arts  affbrd  a  wide  field  for  this  invention.  In 
architecture,  for  instance,  carved  wood  and  stonework  for 
interiors  and  exteriors  of  buildings  have  been  regarded 
hitherto  as  expensive  luxuries,  yet  in  spite  of  their  cost 
they  are  increasingly  indulged  in.  The  architect  now  has 
at  his  disposal  an  economical  method  of  carving  which 

340 


I 


SCULPTURING  MACHINES 

will  enable  him  to  utilise  ornamental  stonework  to  almost 
any  degree.  Sculptured  friezes,  cornices,  and  capitals, 
which,  under  the  old  regime,  would  represent  months  of 
highly  paid  hand  labour,  may  now  be  reproduced  rapidly 
and  in  any  quantity  by  the  machine,  which  could  be 
adapted  to  work  on  the  scaffolding  itself. 

What  will  become  of  the  stonemasons  ?  Won't  they 
all  be  thrown  out  of  work,  or  at  least  a  large  number  of 
them  ?  The  best  answer  to  these  questions  will  be  found 
in  a  consideration  of  industries  in  which  machinery  has 
replaced  hand  work.  Has  England,  as  a  cotton-spinning 
nation,  benefited  because  the  power-loom  was  introduced  ? 

[  Does  she  employ  more  operatives  than  she  would  other- 

I  wise  have  done,  and  are  these  better  paid  than  the  old 
hand  weavers?  All  these  queries  must  have  "Yes  !'''  written 
against  them.  In  like  manner,  if  statuary  and  decoration 
becomes  inexpensive,  twenty  people  will  be  able  to  afford 
what  hitherto  was  within  the  reach  of  but  one ;  and  an 
industry  will  arise  beside  which  the  output  of  the  present- 
day  monumental  mason  will  appear  very  insignificant. 
The  sculpturing  machine  undoubtedly  brings  us  one  step 
nearer  the  universal  House  Beautiful. 

A  complete  list  of  the  things  which  the  versatile 
"  Wenzel "  can  perform  would  be  tediously  long.      Let  it 

,  therefore  suffice  to  mention  boot-lasts,  gun-stocks,  moulds, 
engineering  patterns,  numeral  letters,  and  other  articles  of 

i  irregular  shape,  as  some  of  the  more  prosaic  productions 
which  grow  under  the  buzzing  metal  points.  Some  readers 
may  be  glad  to  hear  that  the  Wenzel  promises  another 
hobby  for  the  individual  who  likes  to  "use  his  hands,'' 

[  since   miniature   machines    are    purchasable    which    treat 

34 » 


MODERN   MECHANISM 

subjects  of  a  size  not  exceeding  six  inches  in  diameter.  No 
previous  knowledge  of  carving  is  necessary,  and  as  soon 
as  the  elementary  principles  have  been  mastered  the 
possessor  of  a  small  copier  can  take  advantage  of  wet  days 
to  turn  out  statuettes,  busts,  and  ornamental  patterns  for 
his  own  or  friends''  mantelpieces.  And  surely  a  carefully 
finished  copy  in  white  marble  of  some  dainty  classic  figure 
or  group  will  be  a  gift  well  worth  receiving !  The 
amateur  photographer,  the  fret-sawyer,  and  the  chip- 
carver  will  have  to  write  "  Ichabod  '*'  over  their  work- 
shops ! 

The  Wenzel  has  left  its  experimental  stage  far  behind. 
The  German  Emperor,  after  watching  the  creation  of  a 
miniature  bust  of  Beethoven,  expressed  his  delight  in  a 
machine  that  could  call  a  musician  from  lifeless  stone. 
The  whole  of  the  interior  decoration  of  the  magnificent 
Rathaus,  Charlottenburg,  offers  a  splendid  example  of 
mechanical  wood  carving,  which  tourists  would  do  well  to 
inspect. 

We  may  now  pass  to 

THE    BONTEMPI    SCULPTURING    MACHINE, 

for  such  is  the  translation  of  the  formidable  word  Mecca- 
neglofo.  This  machine  is  the  invention  of  Signor  Augusto 
Bontempi,  a  native  of  Parma,  who  commenced  life  as 
a  soldier  in  the  Italian  army,  and  while  still  young  has 
won  distinction  as  a  clever  engineer. 

His  machine  differs  in  most  constructional  details  from 
the  Wenzel.  To  begin  with,  the  pressure  of  the  drills  on 
the  marble  is  imparted  by  water  instead  of  by  the  hand  ; 
secondly,  the  block  to  be  cut  is  arranged  vertically  instead 

342 


A    SMALL    WKNZKL    AUTOMATIC    SCU  LP  lU  K  1  NT.    MArillNL 

This  cuts  slaluettes,  two  at  a  time,  out  of  stone  or  wood,  the  cullers  heiiij^  .L;uiileil   l>y  a 
pointer  passed   over   the   surface  oC  ihe   niotlel   hy   tlie  .<;irl. 


i 


SCULPTURING   MACHINES 

of  horizontally ;  thirdly,  the  index-pointer  is  not  rigidly 
connected  to  the  drill  frame,  but  merely  controls  the 
valves  of  hydraulic  mechanism  which  guides  the  drills 
in  any  required  direction.  The  drills  are  rotated  by 
electricity,  but  all  their  other  movements  come  from  the 
pressure  of  water. 

Undoubtedly  the  most  ingenious  feature  of  the 
Bontempi  apparatus  is  the  pointer's  hydraulic  valve, 
which  gives  the  drills  a  forward,  lateral,  or  upward 
movement,  or  a  compound  of  two  or  three  movements. 
When  the  pointer  is  not  touched  all  the  valve  orifices 
remain  closed,  and  the  machine  ceases  to  work.  Should 
the  operator  pull  the  pointer  forwards  a  water-way  is 
opened,  and  the  liquid  passes  under  great  pressure  to  a 
cylinder  which  pushes  the  drill  frame  forward.  If  the 
pointer  be  also  pressed  sideways,  a  second  channel  opens 
and  brings  a  second  cylinder  into  action,  and  the  frame 
as  a  whole  is  moved  correspondingly,  while  an  upward 
twist  operates  yet  a  third  set  of  cylinders,  and  the  work- 
man himself  rises  with  the  drills. 

As  soon  as  the  sensitive  tip  of  the  pointer  touches 
an  object  it  telescopes,  and  immediately  closes  the  valves, 
so  that  the  drills  bore  no  further  in  that  direction. 

The  original  and  copies  are  turned  about  from  time  to 
time  on  their  bases  in  a  manner  similar  to  that  already 
described  in  treating  the  Wenzel.  As  many  as  twenty 
copies  can  be  made  on  the  largest  machines. 

Quite  recently  there  has  been  installed  in  Southwark, 
London,  a  gigantic  Bontempi  which  stands  27  feet  high, 
and  handles  blocks  5  feet  6  inches  s(iuare  by  10  feet  high, 
and  some  20  tons  in  weight.     Owing  to  the  huge  masses 

343 


MODERN   MECHANISM 

to  be  worked  only  one  copy  can  be  made  at  a  time ; 
though,  doubtless,  if  circumstances  warranted  the  expense, 
a  machine  could  be  built  to  do  double,  triple,  or  quad- 
ruple duty.  The  proprietors  have  discovered  an  abrasive 
to  grind  granite — ordinary  steel  chisels  would  be  useless — 
and  they  expect  a  great  demand  for  columns  and  monu- 
mental work  in  this  stubborn  material,  as  their  machines 
turn  out  finished  stuff  a  dozen  times  faster  than  the 
mason. 

An  interesting  story  is  told  about  the  early  days  of 
Signor  Bontempi''s  invention.  When  he  set  up  his  experi- 
mental machine  at  Florence,  the  workmen^  following  the 
example  of  the  Luddites,  rose  in  a  body  and  threatened 
both  him  and  his  apparatus  with  destruction.  The  police 
had  to  be  called  in  to  protect  the  inventor,  who  thought 
it  prudent  to  move  his  workshop  to  Naples,  where  the 
populace  had  broader -minded  views.  The  Florentines 
are  now  sorry  that  they  drove  Signor  Bontempi  away, 
for  they  find  that  instead  of  depressing  the  labour 
market,  the  mechanical  sculptor  is  a  very  good  friend 
to  both  proprietor  and  employe. 

Note. — For  information  and  illustrations  the  author  has  to  thank 
Mr.  W.  Hanson  Boorne,  of  the  Machine  Sculpture  Company,  Alder- 
mary  House,  London,  E.G.,  and  Mr.  E.  W.  Gaz,  secretary  of  the 
Automatic  Sculpture  Syndicate,  Sumner  Street,  Southwark. 


344 


CHAPTER   XXVII 

AN    AUTOMATIC    RIFLE 

WHILE  science  works  ceaselessly  to  cure  the  ills 
that  human  flesh  is  heir  to,  invention  as  per- 
sistently devises  weapons  for  man's  destruction. 
Yesterday   it    was   the    discoveries    of  Pasteur   and   the 
Maxim  gun ;  to-day  it  is  the  Finsen  rays  and  the  Rexer 
automatic  rifle. 

Though  one  cannot  restrain  a  sigh  on  examining  a  new 
contrivance,  the  sole  function  of  which  is  to  deal  out 
death  and  desolation — sadly  wondering  why  such  in- 
genuity might  not  have  been  directed  to  the  perfecting  of 
a  machine  which  would  render  life  more  easy  and  more 
pleasant ;  yet  from  a  book  which  deals  with  modern 
mechanisms  we  may  not  entirely  exclude  reference  to 
a  class  of  engines  on  which  man  has  expended  so  much 
thought  ever  since  gunpowder  first  entered  the  arena  of 
human  strife. 

We  therefore  choose  as  our  subject  for  this  chapter 
a  weapon  hailing  from  Denmark,  a  country  which,  though 
small  in  area,  contains  many  inventors  of  no  mean  repute. 

In  a  London  oflice,  within  sight  of  the  monument  raised 
to  England's  great  sailor  hero,  the  writer  first  made  ac- 
quaintance with  the  Rexer  gun,  which,  venomous  device 
that  it  is,  can  spit  forth  death  300  times  a  minute,  though 
it  weighs  only  about  18  lbs. 

Y2  345 


MODERN   MECHANISM 

Its  form  is  that  of  an  ordinary  rifle  of  somewhat  clumsy 
build.  The  eye  at  once  picks  out  a  pair  of  supports 
which  project  from  a  ring  encircling  it  near  the  muzzle. 
Even  a  strong  man  w^ould  find  18  lbs.  too  much  to 
hold  to  his  shoulder  for  any  length  of  time ;  so  the 
Rexer  is  primarily  intended  for  stationary  work.  The 
user  lies  prone,  rests  the  muzzle  on  its  supports,  presses 
the  butt  to  his  shoulder,  and  blazes  away.  History  re- 
peats itself  in  the  chronicles  of  firearms,  though  it  is 
a  very  long  way  from  the  old  matchlock  supported  on  a 
forked  stick  to  the  latest  thing  in  rifles  propped  up  by 
two  steel  legs. 

Machine-guns,  such  as  the  Maxim  and  Hotchkiss, 
weigh  60  lbs.  and  upwards,  and  have  to  be  caiTied  on 
a  wheeled  carriage,  drawn  either  by  horses  or  by  a  number 
of  men.  In  very  rough  country  they  must  be  loaded  on 
pack-horses  or  mules.  When  required  for  action,  the  gun, 
its  supports  and  appliances,  separated  for  packing,  must  be 
hurriedly  reassembled.    This  means  loss  of  valuable  time. 

The  Rexer  rifle  can  be  carried  almost  as  easily  as  a  Lee- 
Metford  or  Mauser,  and  fires  the  ordinary  small-bore 
ammunition.  WTierever  infantry  or  cavalry  can  go,  it  can 
go  too,  without  entailing  any  appreciable  amount  of  extra 
haulage. 

Before  dealing  with  its  actual  use  as  a  fighting  arm  we 
will  notice  the  leading  features  of  its  construction. 

The  gun  comprises  the  stock,  the  casing  and  trigger- 
plate  which  enclose  the  breech  mechanism,  the  barrel, 
and  the  perforated  barrel  cover,  to  which  are  attached  the 
forked  legs  on  which  the  muzzle  end  is  supported  when 
firing,  and  which  fold  up  under  the  cover  when  not  in  use. 

346 


AN   AUTOMATIC   RIFLE 

The  power  for  working  the  mechanism  is  obtained  from 
the  recoil,  which,  when  the  gun  is  fired,  drives  the  barrel, 
together  with  the  breech  and  the  other  moving  parts, 
some  two  inches  backwards,  thus  compressing  the  powerful 
recoil-spring  which  lies  behind  the  breech,  enclosed  in  the 
front  part  of  the  stock,  and  which,  after  the  force  of  the 
recoil  is  spent,  expands,  and  thus  drives  the  barrel  forward 
again  into  the  firing  position.  The  recoil  and  return  of 
the  breech  operate  a  set  of  levers  and  other  working  parts 
within  the  casing,  which,  by  their  combined  actions  follow- 
ing one  another  in  fixed  order,  open  the  breech,  eject 
the  empty  cartridge-case,  insert  a  new  cartridge  into  the 
chamber,  and  close  the  breech ;  and  when  the  gun  is  set 
for  automatic  action,  and  the  gunner  keeps  his  finger 
pressed  on  the  trigger,  the  percussion  arm  strikes  the 
hammer  and  the  cartridge  is  fired;  the  round  of  operations 
repeating  itself  till  the  magazine  is  emptied,  or  until  the 
gunner  releases  the  trigger  and  thereby  interrupts  the  firing. 
A  noticeable  feature  is  the  steel  tube  surrounding 
the  barrel.  It  is  pierced  with  a  number  of  openings  to 
permit  a  circulation  of  air  to  cool  the  barrel,  which  is 
furnished  with  fins  similar  to  those  on  the  cylinder  of  an 
air-cooled  petrol  motor  to  help  dissipate  the  heat  caused 
by  the  frequent  explosions.  Near  the  ends  of  the  cover 
are  the  guides,  in  which  the  barrel  moves  backwards  and 
forwards  under  the  influence  of  the  recoil  and  the  recoil- 
spring.  The  supports  are  attached  to  the  casing  in  such 
a  way  that  the  stock  of  the  gun  can  be  elevated  or  de- 
pressed and  traversed  through  considerable  angles  without 
altering  the  position  of  the  supports  on  the  ground.  The 
rear  end  of  the  barrel  cover  is  firmly  fixed  to  the  casing 

347 


MODERN    MECHANISM 

of  the  breech  mechanism,  and  forms  with  this  and  the 
stock  the  rigid  part  of  the  gun  in  which  the  moving  por- 
tions work,  their  motions  being  guided  and  controlled  by 
cams  and  studs  working  in  grooves  and  notches  and  on 
blocks  attached  to  the  rigid  parts. 

Without  the  aid  of  special  diagrams  it  is  rather  hard  to 
explain  the  working  of  even  a  simple  mechanism  ;  but  the 
writer  hopes  that  the  following  verbal  description,  for 
which  he  has  to  thank  the  Rexer  Company,  will  at  least 
go  some  way  towards  elucidating  the  action  of  the  breech 
components. 

Inside  the  casing  is  the  breech,  the  front  end  of  which 
is  attached  rigidly  to  the  barrel,  the  rear  end  being  in 
contact  with  the  recoil  arm,  which  is  directly  operated  by 
the  recoil  spring  lying  in  a  recess  in  the  stock.  In  the 
breech  is  the  breech-block,  which  has  three  functions : 
first  to  guide  the  new^  cartridges  from  the  distributer, 
which  passed  them  from  the  magazine  one  by  one  into  the 
casing,  to  the  firing  po&ition  in  the  chamber  (i.e.  the 
expanded  part  of  the  bore  at  the  rear  end  of  the  barrel) ; 
secondly,  to  hold  the  cartridge  firmly  fixed  in  the  chamber, 
and  to  act  as  an  abutment  or  support  to  the  back  of  the 
cartridge  when  it  is  fired,  and  thus  transmit  the  backward 
force  of  the  explosion  to  the  recoil  spring ;  thirdly,  to 
allow  the  spent  cartridges  to  be  discharged  from  the 
chamber  by  the  extractor,  and  to  direct  them  by  means 
of  a  guide  curved  downwards  from  the  chamber,  so  that 
they  may  be  flung  through  an  opening  provided  for  that 
purpose  in  the  trigger-plate  in  front  of  the  trigger,  and 
out  of  the  way  of  the  gunner.  (This  opening  is  closed 
by  a  cover  when  the  gun  is  not  in  use,  and  opens  auto- 

348 


AN  AUTOMATIC   RIFLE 

matically  before  the  shot  can  be  fired.)  In  order  to  effect 
this  threefold  object,  the  breech-block  is  pivoted  in  the 
rear  to  the  rear  of  the  breech,  and  has  a  vertical  angular 
motion  within  it,  so  that  the  fore  end  of  the  block  can 
move  into  three  different  positions  in  relation  to  the 
chamber :  one,  below  the  chamber  to  guide  the  cartridge 
into  it ;  one,  directly  in  line  with  the  chamber,  to  back 
the  cartridge ;  and  one,  above  the  chamber,  to  allow  the 
ejection  of  the  spent  cartridge-case  by  the  extractor.  The 
cartridge  is  fired  by  a  long  pin  through  the  breech-block, 
struck  behind  by  a  hammer  operated  by  a  special  spring. 

The  first  function  of  the  breech-block  is,  as  we  have 
said,  to  act  as  a  guide  for  the  cartridge  into  the  chamber 
ready  for  firing,  after  the  fashion  of  the  old  Martini- 
Henry  breech-block.  The  actual  pushing  forward  of  the 
cartridge  is  performed  by  a  lever  sliding  on  the  top  of  the 
block.  After  the  explosion  a  small  vertical  lever  jerks 
out  the  cartridge-case  against  the  block,  and  causes  it  to 
cannon  downwards  through  the  aperture  in  the  trigger- 
plate  already  mentioned. 

On  the  left-hand  side  of  the  breech  casing  is  a  small 
chamber,  open  at  the  top  and  on  the  side  next  the  breech. 
To  the  top  is  clipped  the  magazine,  filled  with  twenty-five 
cartridges.  The  magazine  is  shaped  somewhat  like  a  slice 
of  melon,  only  that  the  curved  back  and  front  are  parallel. 
The  sides  converge  towards  the  inner  edge.  It  is  closed 
at  the  lower  end  by  a  spring  secured  by  a  catch.  ^Vhcn 
a  magazine  is  attached  to  the  open  top  of  the  chamber 
the  catch  is  released  so  as  to  put  chamber  and  magazine 
in  direct  communication.  The  cartridges  would  thou  be 
able  to  drop  straight  into  the  breech  chamber  through 

349 


MODERN    MECHANISM 

the  side  slot,  were  the  latter  not  protected  by  a  curved 
horizontal  shutter,  called  the  distributer.  Its  action  is 
such  that  when  a  cartridge  is  being  passed  through  into 
the  breech  casing,  the  shutter  closes,  and  holds  the  re- 
maining cartridges  in  the  magazine ;  and  when  the 
cartridge  has  passed  it  opens  and  lets  the  next  into 
position  in  the  side  casing. 

As  soon  as  a  cartridge  enters  the  breech  it  is  pushed 
forward  into  the  chamber  ready  for  firing  by  the  feeder 
lever.  The  magazine  and  the  holder  are  so  arranged  that 
when  the  last  cartridge  has  passed  from  the  magazine  to 
the  distributer,  the  motion  of  the  moving  parts  of  the 
gun  is  arrested  till  the  magazine  is  removed,  when  the 
motion  is  resumed  so  far  as  to  push  the  remaining 
cartridge  into  the  chamber  and  bring  the  breech-block 
into  the  firing  position.  When  another  magazine  has 
been  fixed  in  the  holder,  firing  can  be  resumed  by  pulling 
the  trigger;  but  if  another  magazine  is  not  fixed  in  the 
holder  the  last  cartridge  cannot  be  fired  by  pulling  the 
trigger,  and  only  by  pulling  a  handle  which  will  be  presently 
described.  This  arrangement  secures  the  continuance  of 
the  automatic  firing  being  interrupted  only  by  the  very 
brief  interval  required  for  charging  the  apparatus. 

The  gun  is  fired,  as  usual,  by  pulling  a  trigger.  If 
a  steady  pull  be  kept  on  the  trigger  the  whole  contents  of 
the  magazine  will  be  fired  automatically  (the  last  cartridge 
excepted);  but  if  such  continuous  firing  is  not  desired, 
a  few  shots  at  a  time  may  be  fired  automatically  by 
alternately  pulling  and  releasing  the  trigger.  If  it  is 
desired  to  fire  shot  by  shot  from  the  magazine,  a  small 
swivel  on  the  trigger-guard  is  moved  so  as  to  limit  the 

350 


AN  AUTOMATIC  RIFLE 

movement  of  the  trigger.  By  moving  this  swivel  out  of 
the  way,  automatic  firing  is  resumed.  The  gun  may  also 
be  fired  without  a  magazine  by  simply  feeding  cartridges 
by  hand  into  the  magazine  holder.  In  front  of  the 
trigger-guard  is  a  safety  catch,  and  if  this  is  set  to  "  safe  **' 
the  gun  cannot  be  fired  until  the  catch  is  moved  to  "  fire."" 

It  is  obvious  that  the  recoil  cannot  come  into  action 
until  a  shot  has  been  fired.  A  handle  is  therefore 
provided  on  the  right-hand  side  outside  the  casing,  by 
means  of  which  the  bolt  forming  the  axis  of  the  recoil 
and  percussion  arms  may  be  turned  so  as  to  imitate  the 
action  of  the  recoil.  This  handle  must  be  turned  to 
bring  the  first  cartridge  into  the  chamber,  but  this 
having  been  done,  the  handle  returns  to  its  normal 
position,  and  need  not  be  moved  again. 

We  may  now  watch  a  gunner  at  work.  He  chooses 
his  position,  opens  out  the  supports,  and  pushes  them 
into  the  ground  so  as  to  give  the  muzzle  end  a  firm 
bearing.  He  then  takes  a  magazine  from  the  box  he 
carries  with  him,  and  fixes  it  by  a  rapid  motion  into  the 
magazine  holder,  then,  resting  his  left  hand  on  the  stock 
to  steady  it,  he  pulls  over  the  handle  with  his  right  so 
as  to  bring  the  barrel  and  all  the  moving  mechanism  into 
the  backward  position.  He  then  releases  the  handle,  and 
the  recoil  spring  comes  into  action  and  drives  the  breech 
forward,  when  the  controlling  gear  brings  the  front  end 
of  the  breech-block  into  its  downward  position,  admits 
the  first  cartridge  into  the  breech  and  pushes  it  forward 
by  the  cartridge-feeder  into  the  barrel  chamber.  The 
breech-block  then  rises  to  its  central  position  at  the  back 
of  the  cartridge,  and  the  gun  is  ready  for  firing. 

351 


MODERN   MECHANISM 

If  automatic  firing  is  required,  the  gunner  sets  the 
swivel  at  the  back  of  the  trigger  in  the  right  position, 
sights  the  object  at  which  he  has  to  fire,  and  pulls  the 
trigger,  thereby  exploding  the  first  cartridge.  The  recoil 
then  drives  back  the  barrel  and  the  breech.  The  breech- 
block is  moved  into  its  highest  position,  making  room 
for  the  ejection  of  the  empty  cartridge-case,  which  is 
then  ejected  by  the  extractor.  At  the  end  of  the  recoil 
the  block  falls  into  its  lowest  position,  the  cartridge- 
feeder  having  then  arrived  at  the  back  of  the  breech- 
block. The  recoil-spring  now  drives  the  breech  forward, 
admits  the  new  cartridge  on  to  the  breech-block  and 
drives  it  forward  by  the  feeder  into  the  chamber.  The 
breech-block  rises  to  its  position  behind  the  cartridge 
and  is  locked  in  that  position.  The  percussion  arm  is 
then  released  automatically,  strikes  the  hammer,  and 
fires  the  second  cartridge,  the  cycle  of  operations  repeat- 
ing itself  till  the  last  cartridge  but  one  has  been  fired, 
when  the  magazine  is  charged  and  the  cycle  of  operations 
is  again  renewed  and  continued  till  the  second  set  of 
cartridges  has  been  fired.  The  operations  follow  one 
another  with  such  rapidity  that  the  twenty-five  cartridges 
contained  in  the  magazine  can  be  fired  in  less  than  two 
seconds.  At  the  same  time,  the  rate  of  firing  remains 
under  the  control  of  the  gunner,  who  can  interrupt  it 
at  any  moment  by  simply  releasing  the  trigger.  He  can 
also  alter  his  aim  at  any  time  and  keep  it  directed  on  a 
moving  object  and  fire  at  any  suitable  moment. 

In  service  it  is  not  intended  that  every  man  should  be 
armed  with  a  Rexer,  but  only  8  to  5  per  cent.,  con- 
stituting  a    separate    detachment   which   w^ould   act    in- 

352 


AN   AUTOMATIC   RIFLE 

dependently  of  the  artillery  and  other  machine-guns. 
The  latter  would,  as  at  present,  cover  the  infantry's 
advance  up  to  within  some  500 .  yards  of  the  enemy, 
but  at  this  point  would  have  to  cease  firing  for  fear 
of  hitting  their  own  men.  This  period,  when  the 
artillery  can  neither  shoot  over  the  heads  of  their 
infantry,  nor  bring  up  the  guns  for  fear  of  losing  the 
teams,  affords  the  golden  opportunity  for  the  Rexer, 
which  is  advanced  with  the  firing  line.  If  the  fire  of 
the  detachment  were  concentrated  on  a  part  of  the 
enemyls  line,  that  portion  would  be  unable  to  reply 
while  the  attacking  force  rushed  up  to  close  quarters. 
One  hundred  men  armed  with  Rexers  would  be  as 
valuable  as  several  hundred  carrying  the  ordinary  service 
weapon,  while  they  would  be  much  more  easily  disposed, 
advanced,  or  withdrawn. 

A  squadron  of  cavalry  would  be  accompanied  by  three 
troopers  armed  with  Rexers  and  by  one  leading  a  pack- 
horse  laden  with  extra  magazines.  Each  gunner  would 
have  on  his  horse  400  cartridges,  and  the  pack-horse 
2,400  rounds,  distributed  in  leather  cases  over  a  specially 
designed  saddle.  When  a  squadron,  not  provided  with 
machine-guns,  has  to  open  a  heavy  fire,  a  considerable 
proportion  must  remain  behind  the  firing  line  to  hold 
the  horses  of  the  firing  party.  When,  on  the  other 
hand,  Rexers  are  present,  only  a  few  men  would  dis- 
mount, leaving  the  main  body  ready  to  charge  at  the 
opportune  moment ;  and,  should  the  attack  fail,  they 
could  cover  the  retreat. 

A  use  will  also  be  found  for  the  Rexer  in  fortresses  and 
on  war  vessels;  in  fact,  everywhere  where  the  machine-gun 
can  take  a  part. 

353 


MODERN   MECHANISM 

After  exhaustive  trials,  the  Danish  Government  has 
adopted  this  weapon  for  both  army  and  navy ;  and  it 
doubtless  will  presently  be  included  in  the  armament 
of  other  governments.  There  are  signs  that  the  most 
deadly  arm  of  the  future  will  be  the  automatic  rifle. 
Perhaps  a  pattern  even  lighter  than  the  Rexer  may 
appear.  If  every  unit  of  a  large  force  could  fire  300 
rounds  a  minute,  and  ammunition  were  plentiful,  we 
could  hardly  imagine  an  assault  in  which  the  attacking 
party  would  not  be  wiped  out,  even  if  similarly  armed ; 
for  with  the  perfection  of  firearms  the  man  behind  cover 
gets  an  ever-increasing  advantage  over  his  adversary 
advancing  across  the  open. 

A    BALL-BEARING    RIFLE 

Rapidity  of  fire  is  only  one  of  the  desirable  features  in 
a  firearm.  Its  range — or  perhaps  we  had  better  say  its 
muzzle  velocity — is  of  almost  equal  importance.  The 
greater  this  is,  the  flatter  is  the  trajectory  or  curve  described 
by  the  bullet,  and  the  more  extended  the  "  point  blank '' 
range  and  the  "  danger  zone." 

Take  the  case  of  two  rifles  capable  of  flinging  a  bullet 
one  mile  and  two  miles  respectively.  Riflemen  seldom 
fire  at  objects  further  off*  than,  say,  1,200  yards;  so  that 
you  might  think  that,  given  correct  sighting  in  the 
weapon  and  a  positive  knowledge  of  the  range,  both  rifles 
would  have  equal  chances  of  making  a  hit. 

This  is  not  the  fact,  however,  for  the  more  powerful 
rifle  sends  its  bullet  on  a  course  much  more  nearly  parallel 
to  the  ground  than  does  the  other.  Therefore  an  object 
six  feet  high  would  evidently  run  greater  risks  of  being 

354 


A   BALL-BEARING   RIFLE 

hit  somewhere  by  the  two-mile  rifle  than  by  the  one-mile. 
Thus,  if  at  1,200  yards  the  bullet  had  fallen  to  within 
six  feet  of  the  ground,  it  might  not  actually  strike  earth 
till  it  had  travelled  1,400  yards;  whereas  with  a  lesser 
velocity  and  higher  curve,  the  point  of  impact  might  be 
only  fifty  yards  behind.  Evidently  a  six-foot  man  would 
be  in  danger  anywhere  in  a  belt  200  yards  broad  were  the 
high-velocity  rifle  in  operation,  though  the  danger  zone 
with  the  other  weapon  would  be  contracted  to  fifty  yards. 

At  close  quarters  a  flat  trajectory  is  even  more  valuable, 
since  it  diminishes  the  need  for  altering  the  sights.  If  a 
rifle's  point-blank  range  is  up  to  600  yards,  you  can  fire  at 
a  man'*s  head  anywhere  within  that  distance  with  a  good 
chance  of  hitting  him.  The  farther  he  is  away,  the 
lower  he  will  be  hit.  A  high  trajectory  would  necessitate 
an  alteration  of  the  sights  for  every  fifty  yards  beyond, 
say,  two  hundred. 

The  velocity  of  a  projectile  is  increased — (1)  by 
increasing  the  weight  of  the  driving  charge ;  (2)  by 
decreasing  the  friction  between  the  barrel  and  the  pro- 
jectile. 

An  American  inventor,  Mr.  Orlan  C.  Cullen,  has 
adopted  a  means  already  well  tried  in  mechanical  en- 
gineering to  decrease  friction. 

He  has  produced  a  rifle,  the  barrel  of  which  has  in  its 
walls  eight  spiral  grooves  of  almost  circular  section,  a 
small  arc  of  the  circle  being  cut  away  so  as  to  put  the 
groove  in  continuous  communication  with  the  bore  of  the 
barrel.  These  grooves  are  filled  with  steel  balls,  one- 
tenth  of  an  inch  in  diameter,  which  are  a  good  fit,  and  on 
the  slot  side  of  the  groove  project  a  very  tiny  distance 

355 


MODERN   MECHANISM 

into  the  barrel.  The  bullet — of  hard  steel — as  it  is 
driven  through  the  barrel  does  not  come  into  contact 
with  the  walls,  but  runs  over  the  balls,  which  grip  it  with 
sufficient  force  to  give  it  a  spinning  motion.  The  in- 
ventor claims  that  there  is  no  appreciable  escape  of  gas 
round  the  bullet,  as  the  space  between  it  and  the  barrel  is 
so  minute. 

The  ball  races,  or  grooves,  extend  back  to  the  powder 
chamber  and  forward  to  the  muzzle.  Their  twist  ceases  a 
short  distance  from  the  muzzle  to  permit  the  insertion  of 
recoil  cushions,  which  break  the  forces  of  the  balls  as  they 
are  dragged  forward  by  the  bullet. 

Mr.  CuUen  holds  that  a  rifle  built  on  this  principle 
gives  40  per  cent,  greater  velocity  than  one  with  fixed 
rifling — to  be  exact,  has  a  point-blank  range  of  650  yards 
as  compared  with  480  yards  of  the  Lee-Metford,  and  will 
penetrate  116  planks  1  inch  thick  each. 

The  absence  of  friction  brings  absence  of  heat,  which  in 
the  case  of  machine-guns  has  always  proved  a  difficulty. 
It  also  minimises  the  recoil,  and  reduces  the  weight  of 
mountings  for  large  guns. 

Whether  these  advantages  sufficiently  outweigh  the  dis- 
advantages of  complication  and  cleaning  difficulties  to 
render  the  weapon  acceptable  to  military  authorities 
remains  to  be  seen.  We  can  only  say  that,  if  the  ball 
bearing  proves  as  valuable  in  ballistics  as  it  has  in 
machinery,  then  its  adoption  for  firearms  can  be  only  a 
matter  of  time. 


PLYMOUTH  :   W.    BRENDON   AND   SON,    LTD.,    PRINTm4S. 


LIBRARY  OF  CONGRESS 


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