sets of pumping-engines, each set being capable of exerting 200 indicated H.P. The engines are vertical-compound, of a type comprising the advantages of a threethrow pump with direct connection between the pumpplungers and the steam-pistons. Each set of engines will deliver 240 gallons of water per minute into the accumulators, at 750 lbs. pressure per square inch, at a piston speed of 200 ft. per minute. This is the normal speed of working, but, when required, they can be worked at 250 ft. per minute, the maximum delivery being 300 gallons per minute. The condensing water is obtained from storage tanks over the engine-house, and is returned by circulating pumps to one or other of those tanks. The water delivered into the mains is maintained all the year round at temperatures of between 60° and 85° Fahr. The boilers are of the double-flued Lancashire type, and are made of steel. All are fitted with Vicars's mechanical stokers. At the back of the boilers is a Green economizer, consisting of 96 tubes. The economizer and the stoker gear and worm are driven by a Brotherhood three-cylinder hydraulic engine.

The reservoir of power consists of accumulators. The accumulators at the pumping station are two in number, each having a ram 20 in, in diameter and of 23-ft. stroke. The weight cases are of wrought iron, and are filled with iron slag. The total weight of the case and load on each ram is approximately 106 tons, corresponding to a pressure of 750 lbs. per square inch. The storage tanks form the roofs for the engine and boiler houses. The water for the power-supply is obtained from the River Thames, and is pumped into the tank over the engines. The water passes through the filtering apparatus by gravity into the filteredwater tank over the boiler-house, which is 7 ft. below the level of the unfiltered-water tank. The filters consist of cast-iron cylinders, and each contains a movable perforated piston and a perforated diaphragm, between which is introduced a quantity of broken sponge; the sponge is compressed by means of hydraulic pressure from the mains. The delivery of power-water from the Falcon Wharf pumping station is through four 6-in. mains. The most distant point of the mains from the accumulators is at the west end of Victoria Street, and is 5.320 yards, or just over 3 miles. To provide for all frictional loss in the pipes and valves, the accumulators have been loaded to 750 lbs., the stated pressure supplied being 700 lbs. per square inch. The total length of the mains at present laid is nearly 27 miles. The mains are laid in circuit, and there are stop valves at about every 400 yards, so that any such section of main can be isolated. The method employed for detecting leakage is based upon an automatic record of the number of gallons delivered into the mains, and in cases of abnormal increase during the night, if found to arise during the early hours of the morning, the mains are tested. The power-water used is invariably registered through meters on the exhaust pipes from the machines, and from the meters passed to the drains. There is a sliding scale of charges from 8s. ($2) to 2s. ($0.50) per 1,000 gallons at 700 lbs. pressure per square inch, designed to meet, as nearly as possible, the variable conditions and requirements of consumers. The more continuous the use, the lower the charges. The scale is intended chiefly for intermittently acting machinery, and experience has fully proved that these rates are sufficiently low to effect a large saving to the consumer in almost all cases, whether for a large or a small plant. The Author believes any idea of supplying power from a central source, at rates much below these, to be chimerical. The practical efficiency of the hydraulic system may be fixed at from 50 to 60 per cent, of the power developed at the central station. No other method of transmission would, to say the least, show a better result; and the general convenience and simplicity of the hydraulic system are such that its use would hardly be affected even if there were no direct economy in the cost of working.

In addition to the general supply of hydraulic power, in the city and adjoining districts, to the 650 machines at present worked, a new departure has been taken by the application of hydraulic power to an estate at Kensington Court, the name given to an area of about 7 acres, facing Kensington Gardens. Seventy houses and dwellings are to be built on this estate, of which 30 have been already

erected. Each house is fitted with a hydraulic lift, taking the place of a back staircase, and the power-supply is provided on the estate expressly for working these lifts. The driven machinery is as of great importance to an economical and satisfactory result as the distributing plant, but this obvious fact is not always understood. General regulations have been prepared by the Author, defining the conditions to be observed by manufacturers in fitting up machinery for connection to the power mains. They are intended to secure safety and an efficient registration of the quantity of power used; but they leave the question of the economy and of the efficiency of the machines to be settled between the consumers and the makers. In London more lifts are working from the mains, and more power is used by them, than by any other description of machinery. The number of all classes at present at work is over 400. The principal types in use were fully described. In some cases there have been, by adopting the public supply, a saving in the cost of working of about 30 per cent., as compared with the steam-pumping plant previously in use. Lifts are now becoming so general, and the number of persons who use them is so great, that the author considered it necessary to urge the importance of securing the greatest possible safety in their construction by the general adoption of the simple ram. Suspended lifts depend on the sound condition of the ropes or chains from which the cages hung. As they become worn and unreliable after a short period, it is usual to add safety appliances to stop the fall of the cage in case of breakage of the suspending ropes, but they cannot be expected to act under all circumstances. As an indication of the important part which lifts occupy in a modern hotel, it may be mentioned that at the Hôtel Métropole there are, including the two passenger lifts and that for passengers' luggage, no less than 17 hydraulic lifts in use day and night, while the work done represents about 2,000 tons lifted 40 ft. in this time. The next largest use of the power is for working hydraulic cranes and hoists of various kinds along the river side and in the city warehouses. It often happens that the pressure in the power mains is not sufficient for pressing purposes. The apparatus known as an intensifier is then used, by which any pressure required can be obtained. Hydraulic power is also used at Westminster Chambers, and elsewhere, for the purpose of pumping water from the chalk for domestic The pump is set going in the evening, and continued working till the tanks are full, or until it is stopped in the morning. For work of this kind, done exclusively at night, a discount is allowed from the usual rates. Mr. Greathead's injector hydrant, made at the Elswick Works, has been in use to a limited extent in London in connection with the power mains. A small jet of high-pressure water, injected into a larger jet from the water works mains, intensifies the pressure of the latter in the delivery hose, and also increases the quantity. By this means a jet of great power can be obtained at the top of the highest building without the intervention of fire-engines. This apparatus enables the hydraulic power-supply to act as a continuous fire-engine wherever the mains are laid, and is capable of rendering the greatest assistance in the extinction of fire; but there is an apathy on the subject of its use difficult to understand. In Hull, the corporation has had put down a number of these hydrants in High Street, where the hydraulic power mains are laid, and they have been used with great success at a fire in that street. The number of machines under contract to be supplied with power is sufficient, with a suitable reserve, to absorb the full capacity of the station at Falcon Wharf, and another station of about equal capacity is now in course of erection at Millbank Street, Westminster. The works have been carried out jointly by the Author and Mr. Corbet Woodall, Mr. G. Cochrane being Resident Engineer and Superintendent. The pumping-engines, accumulators, valves, etc., and a considerable portion of the consumers' machinery, have been constructed at the Hydraulic Engineering Works, Chester. Sir James Allport, who was the first to adopt hydraulic power for railroad work, has been associated with the enterprise from the commencement of its operations in 1882. His wide influence and extended experience have greatly assisted the commercial development of the undertaking.

use.

Quadruple-Expansion Yacht Engines.

(From the London Engineer.)

THE accompanying illustrations show a new type of quadruple-expansion engine lately built by Fleming & Ferguson, of Paisley, Scotland. The illustrations are taken from the drawings of small engines of about 120 H.P., which are to be placed in a yacht being built for Mr. Sholto Douglas. We may mention, however, that Messrs. Fleming & Ferguson have now in hand engines of a similar type, which are to indicate 1,800 H.P.

Referring to our illustrations, fig. 1 is an end elevation, fig. 2 a front elevation, and fig. 3 a plan. It will be seen

a lever, or rock arm, which pivots on a pin in the engine framing, the other end being attached to a pin on the connecting piece as shown in fig. 1. In the engine in question a prolongation of this arm is used to work the air pump, etc. The two pistons of each pair of cylinders ascend and descend not quite together, one being a little in advance of the other. Consequently there is no dead center for either crank.

The sequence of the cylinders will be seen from the plan, fig. 3. Steam is admitted to the high-pressure cylinder by means of the piston-valve placed between the first two cylinders. The steam passes first into the space between the flanges of the valve, and not into the steamchest. From thence it is admitted to the cylinder through the center cylinder port, and, having done its work, ex

that the arrangement is peculiar, all the cylinders being placed on one level. The advantage in getting a lower engine will be at once apparent, and this at least should be a very desirable feature in applying these engines to war-ships. As neither of the two piston-rods of each pair of cylinders can be over the crank-shaft, the axis of which is in the usual place in the middle of the engine-bed, the ordinary connecting-rod is replaced by a steel casting, as shown in fig. I. Attached to the crosshead of each pistonrod is a link, the lower end of these links being attached to the triangular steel casting which takes the place of the connecting-rod. The lower end of the casting has brasses in which the crank-pin works in the usual way. There is

hausts into the casing. It must be now explained that the valves to each pair of cylinders are placed one above the other on one valve-rod, and work in one steam-chest common to both. It will be seen, therefore, why it is necessary for the boiler steam to be admitted inside the valve, or, in other words, between the flanges, as otherwise the high-pressure steam would pass into the second cylinder as well as the first, the valve-chest space being common to both valves and cylinders. The steam escaping from the first cylinder fills the valve-chest, and is admitted to the second cylinder in the usual way, the exhaust this time being carried by the inside of the valve. Steam is then taken to the two next cylinders, and the same action is gone through once more, until the steam escapes to the condenser in the usual way.

The valves are worked by eccentrics and reversed by link motion, but the arrangement is necessarily peculiar. The valves for the third and fourth cylinders are placed directly over the crank-shaft, and can be worked from eccentrics in the usual way. The valves for the first and second cylinders, however, are considerably on one side of the fore-and-aft center line. In order to work the valve-rod common to these, an arm or connecting-rod is taken from each of the eccentric straps, and these arms work the link motion by means of a bell-crank lever attached to the engine-bed. In fig. I the arm of one eccentric can be plainly seen together with the bell-crank lever, and the connecting-rod carrying the motion to the solid bar link. The reversing links are placed one immediately in front of the other, and are pulled over by one lever and drag links. It will, therefore, be seen that only two eccentrics are used for all four cylinders, and only one would be required in a non-reversing engine.

The standards of the engine are used as crosshead guides, and the rubbing surface is less than usual, but with the arrangement of connection between crosshead and crank-pin here shown, the side thrust is very small, and there is little wear on the slipper guides.

The advantages the makers claim for this design of engine are, that free access is offered to each cylinder, less fore-and-aft space is taken up, and also less height. There are fewer wearing parts and less attention in running is required, consequently a cheaper upkeep is obtained. The two cranks being placed directly opposite each other give a balance of moving parts. It is also claimed that the turning action of the four pistons on the crank-shaft is equal to four cranks at right angles.

These engines are, we are informed, designed to work at a pressure of 180 lbs. to the square inch, and have been run light at 400 revolutions per minute. We had an opportunity of seeing these engines at work at Messrs. Fleming & Ferguson's works a few days ago, and they certainly ran very smoothly and pleasantly. The test was not a fair one, however, as the boiler pressure was only 60 lbs., and the last cylinders could have been getting very little steam. The diameters of cylinders are, first cylinder, 7 in.; second cylinder, 9 in.; third cylinder, 12 in.; and fourth cylinder, 18 in. The stroke is 12 in. in all of them.

A French Iron Coal Car.

(From the Portefeuille Economique des Machines.)

FOR a long time there have been used for carrying coal, cars of considerable capacity having bodies which tip in order to facilitate the unloading and in certain cases the loading. The body is raised up at one side either by a lever or by a hydraulic cylinder, and the opposite side can be opened in order to allow the contents of the car to escape. The different classes of cars designed for this purpose resemble each other to a considerable extent, the chief difference usually being in the method of opening the sides of the car. A car of this kind, which is of very excellent design, and of which a large number are used for the transportation of coal on the Northern Railroad of France, has been designed by M. Malissard-Taza; these cars are built in the Taza-Villain shops at Anzin.

The accompanying illustration shows one of these cars, fig. 1 giving a half elevation and longitudinal section; fig. 2 a half plan of the body and a half plan of the running gear; fig. 3 a cross-section, and fig. 4 an end view, the dotted lines showing the position of car while dumping.

The frame of the car and the running gear are very much like those of other coal cars; they carry two boxes or bodies which can be tipped so as to dump on either side. These bodies, made of wrought iron, are supported on the frame of the car at each end and by two cross-sills made of double channel iron. On the side of the car frame under each of the dumping boxes are fixed four iron lugs A, the inside of which have the form of a quarter circle. These are placed two on each side, as shown in the engraving.

The sides of the box or dumping body are fastened to the upper edge by eccentric hinges C; on the lower corner of each of these boxes is fixed a triangular piece D. The latches or dogs E and F, keyed upon a shaft G, catch when in position on these triangular pieces D, and hold the sides of the car shut. The latch Fhas a vertical arm in the form of a fork, which hangs down between two iron plates fixed, one lengthwise, the other crosswise, on the frame. These two plates are pierced with a slot to receive a pin which prevents the forked arm of the latch F from leaving its position, and consequently prevents the latch from letting go.

To open one side of the box the pin is lifted and the longer branch of the fork F is turned back, this causing the shaft G to turn and lift the latches from the triangular pieces D. If the opposite side of the box is then raised the door opens on its hinges Cand allows the contents of the box to pass out. The action is very clearly shown by the dotted lines in fig. 4.

When the box is empty it is lowered back into a horizontal position; the side or door then falls shut, and the latches fall into their places; the pin is then replaced in the fork F. This pin, upon which dependence is placed to hold the sides of the wagon, is so arranged that in case

it should not be properly locked it will still keep it in place by gravity, and it is not likely to be shaken out by the motion of the car.

The car which we have just described is made entirely of iron, weighs 13,200 lbs., and carries 22,000 lbs. of coal. It has been adopted by the Northern Railroad Company, and a large number of the same pattern are also owned by mining companies which ship their products over that road.

Legislative Prevention.

WE reproduce below the last editorial written before his death by Mr. James Gillet, late editor of the National Car and Locomotive Builder. It has a direct bearing on one prominent subject of discussion at the Master Car-Builders' Convention this year.

There are a great many crying evils in railroad operation which imperil the safety of every person who travels on passenger or freight trains, or who crosses or walks upon a track, or is employed in track-yards; and these evils are of such a nature as would seem to justify prompt legislation to prevent, at least to some extent, the casualties that are occurring every day all over the land. But in spite of the urgent and increasing need, this kind of legislation has been very tardy in the past, and in all probability will continue to be so in the future, not from any criminal indifference on the part of railroad companies, the general public or legislative bodies, but from the difficulty of bringing about concerted action based upon and sustained by a unanimous public sentiment. We have a great many boards of railroad commissioners whose duty it is to exercise a vigilant supervision over the roads, point out defects in their methods of operation, and aid the lawmakers in framing enactments for the protection of the community.

The subjects which involve more directly the security of persons in life and limb are freight-train brakes and couplers, grade crossings, the construction of bridges and trestles, and the heating of cars. Many more might be named, but these are the most prominent from the fact that they have been talked about until their discussion has almost become wearisome from repetition. Commissioner Coffin, of Iowa, whose efforts to mitigate the perils to which trainmen are exposed have been earnest and unremitting, says in a special report that there is no longer a particle of excuse for delay in compelling railroads to use power brakes and a self-coupler of the Janney type on freight trains. The report of the Massachusetts Commissioners reiterates what nobody denies, that grade crossings are dangerous on single tracks and more so on double tracks, and should be abolished along with the private crossings, which are also very numerous in the State. Bridges of bad design and faulty construction are referred to in terms of emphatic condemnation; but in regard to car heating, no definite recommendation is made, although considerable space is devoted to the subject. The brake and coupler questions, it may be said, are not just now in a shape for legal interference, and as respects car heating, the results of experiments during the past winter are awaited to enable legislators to act intelligently in dealing with the subject. . . . There is no danger of a popular uprising to wipe all the railroads out of existence in order to insure safety in traveling, and have an end of the sickening horrors that are now paraded every few days on newspaper bulletins. The members of legislative bodies of the average sort, when dealing with these subjects, are apt to be swayed by conflicting interests and opinions. The safety of trainmen and passengers is professedly the paramount object to be attained, but it is liable to be lost sight of or overslaughed by outside pressure, or the possible danger of legislating a fortune incidentally into the coffers of individuals or companies who happen to control the patents. Or, in case no patents are involved, the law-making Solons may become perplexed upon questions of expediency as to what is really the best thing to do, especially when such questions are raised by railroad companies themselves in regard to the proposed legislation.

CATECHISM OF THE LOCOMOTIVE.

(Revised and enlarged.)

By M. N. FORNEY.

(Copyright, 1887, by M. N. Forney.)

(Continued from page 277.)

CHAPTER XIII.-(Continued.) THE VALVE GEAR.

QUESTION 331. How is the motion of either eccentric communicated to the valve?

Answer. The ends of each pair of eccentric-rods are connected together by a link, a b, figs. 197 and 198. This link has a curved groove or slot, k, in it, in which a block, B, fits accurately, so that it can slide freely from one end to the other. This block is attached to the lower rocker-arm, N, by a pin, c, fig. 198, which works freely in the block. The two eccentric rods C and D are attached to the ends of the link at e and ƒ by pins and knuckle-joints. It is apparent that if the link is down, or in the position shown in fig. 198 and also in the diagram, fig. 199, on a smaller scale, the motion of the upper eccentric-rod, which is usually used for the forward motion, will be imparted to the rocker, and thus to the valve, and when the link is in the position shown in fig. 200, that the valve will be moved by the lower or backward eccentric-rod D. In order to reverse the engine, it is then only necessary to provide the means of raising and lowering the link. This is done by a shaft, A, fig. 198, called a lifting-shaft, which has two horizontal arms, E,* one for each link, and a vertical arm, F. Each link is suspended from the end of one of the horizontal arms by a rod or bar, g h, called a link-hanger, which is connected to the link and to the arm above by pins, h and g, which enable the hanger to vibrate freely. The lower pin is attached to a plate, op, called a link

198, and also in the diagram, fig. 199, and the rocker and valve will then be moved by the forward eccentric; and if the reverselever is moved back, the link will be raised into the position shown in fig. 200, and the backward eccentric will then move the valve. When this is done, the valve-gear is said to be thrown into the forward or backward motion, or forward or back gear.

QUESTION 332. How is the steam made to work more or less expansively?

saddle, which is bolted to the link. The vertical arm, F, of the lifting-shaft is connected by a rod, G G, called the reverse-rod, to a lever 20 21, IV and V, in the cab called a reverse-lever, the construction of which will be explained hereafter. This lever is worked by the locomotive runner, and by moving the upper end of it forward, the link will be lowered into the position shown in fig. *Only one of these is shown in the engraving.

ever, the link should be raised so that the link-block and rockerpin are somewhat below the upper or forward eccentric-rod, as shown in fig. 201, then the motion imparted to the rocker and valve will partake somewhat of that of the upper and also of the lower eccentric-rod. So long as the rocker-pin is above the center of the link, the motion of the valve will partake most of that of the upper or forward rod, and the engine will then run forward; but when the rocker-pin is below the center of the link