1S43.] 



THE CIVIL ENGINEER AND ARCHITECTS JOURNAL. 



33: 



public or private edifice?. But it is to amateur?, and not to the pro- 

 fession, that a more correct taste is tu be looked for, and although 

 almost every one feels the defects of what has been done in our times 

 Vet until men of intellect and mind (amateurs though they be) shall 

 seriously turn their attention to the subject, it is in vain to expect 

 any improvement. 



MARINE DIRECT ACTION ENGINES OF THE "LORD 

 YARBOROUGH." 



A, cylinder and casing; B, the cranks; C, piston rod; D, hanging 

 link j E, connecting rod ; F, main frame; G, slide valve case; 11, ex- 

 haustion pipe ; I, main beam ; K, condenser ; L, air pump ; M, hot 

 water cistern ; N, Iced pump ; O, O, steam pipes ; P, eccentric ; Q, dis- 

 charge pipe ; a, a, radius rods ; 4, feed pipe ; c, injection pipe ; d, start- 

 ing handle) e, air pump rod ; f, connecting link to beam ; g, roller to 

 centre of beam. 



Wishing to make this Journal a chronicle of present improvements 

 in marine engineering as well as a record of the past, we this month 

 publish a descriptive account of a pair of " direct action " engines, 

 manufactured as far back as 1825, and erected in a vessel called the 

 Lord Yarborougtt, and now, and from that date, plying botween 

 Portsmouth and the Isle of Wight, working in a very satisfactory 

 manner. 



The designer, and we may say, conslructor, of these engines, is 

 Mr. William Yates, then of the Commercial Road, but now having 

 charge of the steam machinery at Messrs. Currie's distillery at Brom- 

 ley, near London; and taking into consideration the date of their in — 

 tra ducti on, will be found to contain considerable merit. 



In the discussion, in this Journal, on beam and direct action en- 



gines, the existence of the YarhorongV* engines does not appear to 

 have been known, otherwise their similarity with the Gorgon engines 

 no doubt would have been noticed. 



In 1821, a caveat was lodged by Mr. Yates, and a patent would 

 have been obtained for this construction of engine, but for various 

 reasons, that it is unnecessary to enter upon here. It appears that in 

 1825 the Portsmouth and Ryde Steam Packet Company gave Mr. 

 Yates an order for a pair of these engines of IS k.i\, and they were 

 made as represented in the annexed engraving. The cylinders are 

 24 in. diameter and 2 ft. S in. stroke, the radius of the crank equalling 

 125 in. The power, at 17-3 ft. per minute, equals ll>ij n.i\ each cy- 

 linder. Paddle wheels 11 ft. diameter, and length of paddle equal- 

 ling 5 ft. Beam of vessel 13 ft. ; draft of water 5 ft. in. ; immersed 

 section equals 33 ft. 



This kind of engine certainly possesses many advantages; among 

 others may be mentioned, small space occupied, light construction, 

 and principally, their position in the vessel, near to the centre trans- 

 versely, and bearing chiefly on the kelson or strongest part of the 

 ship, the most important part of the machinery being below the 

 water line, all which points were duly considered by Mr. Yates 22 

 years since. 



Mr. Yates also furnished drawings of a Ihne cylinder engine, de- 

 signed in 1821, at the request of Captain Borne, of the London 

 Engineer steam vessel, to increase her power from 70 h.p. to 105 h.p., 

 without requiring additional space, but it was rejected on account of 

 the shortness of the connecting rod; this arrangement might be ap- 

 plied to large powers with great effect. On the whole, we cannot but 

 highly applaud M-. Yates for his ingenuity, and see that the opinions 

 and views he entertained 20 years since, have been lately adopted by 

 others. 



ON STREET MAINS OF CAST IRON, FOR GAS AND 

 WATER CONVEYANCE. 



The present unprecedented low price of iron offers an opportunity 

 for the extension of gas and water works, which it is surprising has 

 not been urged with avidity by such places as are yet destitute of the 

 luxury of either; and at the same time, considering that the furthering 

 of such works is one of the occupations of the civil engineer, I am 

 induced to send you a paper on the subject of street mains, being the 

 collection and collation of examples which have fallen under my 

 notice during an attention of upwards of one third of the. useful 

 portion of human life. First as to the direction of the pipes or mains. 

 They should be laid in as straight a course as possible, and their in- 

 clination should be uniform and nut to exceed one in a hundred, if it 

 could be avoided by any possibility ; and where descending mains 

 meet and form an angle, syphon pipes or receivers should be placed 

 to collect deposition of mud, &C. The names main and sub-main are 

 given to leading pipes from 4 in. to IS in. diameter, and for smaller, 

 the term service pipes is used. Pipes are of two descriptions, socket 

 and Ranched, a table of each description is given; in measuring 

 socket pipes, the socket is excluded from the measurement. Pipes 

 above 4 in. are all cast 9 ft. long, and under 4 in. down to l| in. are 

 usually ft. long, and lj in. are 4% ft. long. The pipes are generally 

 delivered at the works, and then previously to being used, are proved 

 by hydraulic pressure equal to a column of water 250 It. high ; and 

 in warm weather it is desirable in proving pipes to use warm water. 

 Practice will enable, a skilful provcr to tell by the ring of a pipe, 

 from a tap with a hammer, whether it is faulty, either from being 

 cracked, or deficiency in thickness. It is usual for pipes all above, 

 say, 4 in., to be charged by the ton, and for the smaller, a certain price 

 per yard, varying as the size, the socket being excluded from the mea- 

 sure; the price for straight pipes in 1831, was 150s. per ton, the 

 bends and branches, or particular pipes, being 40s. additional, and the 

 boring of the fire plugs also being extra, at, say, ISrf. each. In 1833, 

 from the same note book, I find the cost of straight pipes was 188*. 



