LOCAL ENGINEERINa WORKS. 115 



Lancashire typa, 8 feet diamater, with two furnace tubes, 

 each about 3 feet diameter, three of the boilers being 28 

 feet long, and three 24 feet long. They are to sustain 

 a working pressure of 125 lbs. to the inch. The engines 

 work nine dynamos or alternators. The system of electric- 

 lighting recommended by Mr. Preece is that known as the 

 alternate current, high pressure, transforming system, by 

 which transformers are excited at high pressure, and the 

 current distributed at low pressure, 



Bristol Waterworks Company. — In addition to the 

 existing large storage reservoirs at Barrow Gurney, the 

 Bristol Water Company is constructing a new store reser- 

 voir, which is now approaching completion. It has a water 

 area of 65 acres, and a storage capacity of 534,000,000 

 gallons. Another reservoir is also in course of construction 

 near Blagdon, for impounding the head waters of the Yeo 

 and other springs, with a watershed area of thirty-two 

 square miles, and a capacity of 1,500,000,000 gallons. The 

 total engine power connected with the several lifts, now 

 amounts to 850 nominal h.p. The consumption of water per 

 head of the population is about 23.V gallons per diem, in- 

 cluding supply for all purposes. 



Railway Communication with Bristol Quays.— More 

 than thirty 3''ears ago, when engineer of the Bristol and 

 Exeter Railway, I was called on to report upon a scheme 

 for communication with the quays, as designed by Mr. (now 

 Sir) John Fowler and Mr. Richard&on, in connection with the 

 proposed Bristol and Clifton Railway. This railway scheme 

 was strongly opposed and fell through, and the only com- 

 munication with the wharves is that of the Harbour Railway, 

 the exclusive property of the Grreat Western Company. To 

 suppl}'- this much-needed requirement in a fuller manner 

 than is afforded by the Harbour Railway, a scheme was pro- 



