712 



PATENTS. 



feet wide. The plow is pushed by 1 or more 

 locomotive engines, according to the depth of 

 snow. It cleared the track between Baker City 

 and La Grande, a distance of about 80 miles in 

 two days, removing a mass of snow that might 

 otherwise have impeded travel until the opening 

 of spring. It is announced that the machine 

 that has rendered such good service is to be 

 tested in removing drifted sand from the tracks 

 of the Union Pacific during the summer. If 

 successful, there seems to be no reason why the 

 same principle should not be effective in dredg- 

 ing silt or mud in some of the great engineering 

 wo.'ks now in progress. 



Ships' Windlasses. Many improvements 

 have been made in recent years in the mechani- 

 cal appliances used for hoisting heavy weights 

 on shipboard, especially anchors and the like. 

 The old-fashioned wooden capstan with its di- 

 rect-acting attachments is now seen *>nly on 

 the antiquated craft of a former generation. 

 The modern capstan is of iron and steel through- 

 out, with mechanical connections that largely in- 

 crease its efficiency and enable an instant change 

 if desired from a high power and slow speed to 

 high speed and diminished power. Such adjust- 

 ments are especially desirable in the case of 

 steam-ships. When the anchor holds firmly a 

 tremendous force can be applied until the grip 

 is broken ; then, by simply moving a lever, the 

 speed can be largely increased; and the anchor 

 hoisted to the davits while the ship gets under 

 way. Steam connections are now usual between 



should steam give out; hence a compact and 

 scientifically constructed reproduction of the old 

 wooden capstan is often found on deck, especially 

 in large vessels. On smaller vessels and yachts, 

 windlasses are generally used and operated by 



FIG. 25. 



the donkey engine and the windlass, and the 

 once tedious operation of weighing anchor is re- 

 duced to an affair of a few minutes, steam doing 

 all the hard work. It is important, however, 

 that the machinery be manageable by hand power 



FIG. 26. 



what are termed pump brakes or by levers 

 working on the racket principle. In Fig. 25 

 the Providence capstan windlass is shown as 

 one of the most perfect machines of its class. It 

 is used on the new United States men-of-war and 

 on a large number of first-class American vessels. 

 This, it is claimed, is the only windlass made 

 with a single-headed capstan capable of doing 

 double duty. The engrav- 

 ing shows the general ar- 

 rangement of shafts and 

 bearings, but some of the 

 recent improvements can 

 not be shown in a single 

 perspective drawing, The 

 capstan shaft, for instance, 

 steps upon a center bear- 

 ing for the windlass shaft 

 which extends downward 

 and is bolted to the deck. 

 It is also re-enforced by a 

 solid casting bolted to the 

 pawl-bitts. These double 

 supports render it almost 

 impossible for the wind- 

 lass shaft to spring or 

 break. The wheels upon 

 which the chain cables rest 

 are called " wild-cats," be- 

 cause they can be disen- 

 gaged and allowed to turn 

 freely upon the windlass 

 shaft. They are formed so 

 that the links lock them- 

 selves between converging 

 flanges, and the cable can 

 not slip so Ions: as it rests in 

 the angle. The wild-cats 

 are readily locked to the 

 shaft or unlocked by means 

 of a lever inserted in the 

 square holes. The detachable lever operates a 

 steel friction band that passes around a drum 

 connected with the wild-cat, and is firmly bolted 

 to the deck (Fig. 26). This locking and friction 

 arrangement is duplicated at the other fide of 



