5*° 



NA TURE 



{Sept. 25, 1884 



to those used for draining mines. We have several 

 good examples ; the description of the Tottenham 

 pumping-engines is very interesting ; and we have 

 another example in the engines of the Berwick-on- 

 Tweed Waterworks. 



Of pumping-engines for drainage purposes, the London 

 drainage system furnishes perhaps the best possible 

 example ; the Abbey Mills pumping-station with its 

 eight engines giving an aggregate of 1140 horse-power, 

 capable of dealing with 15,000 cubic feet of sewage 

 per minute, lifting it 36 feet high ; the Deptford 

 pumping-station, with a horse-power of 500, lifting 

 10,000 cubic feet of sewage per minute to a height 

 of 18 feet The pumping-engines at Crossness are also 

 described, having a collective horse-power of 500, dealing 

 with 10,000 cubic feet of sewage per minute, with a vary- 

 ing lift of from 10 to 30 feet according to circumstances. 



After a short account of an arrangement of centrifugal 

 pumping machinery, the author deals with winding 

 engines, giving a clear description of this class, and as an 

 example we have a full-page engraving of an engine for 

 the Benhar Coal Company, by Messrs. Gibb and Hogg, 

 Airdrie. 



The various types of blowing-engines are described ; 

 afterwards rolling-mill engines, having as examples some 

 engines erected at the Dowlais Ironworks, and compound 

 reversing rail-mill engines at the Hallside Steel-works, 

 near Glasgow: these latter are shown in a full-page 

 engraving and are fully described in the text. 



Under water-pressure engines we find the accumulator 

 and charging pumps illustrated, the hydraulic crane, and 

 the usual hydraulic machinery for dock gates is described, 

 the section concluding with an account of the hydraulic 

 machinery for warehousing grain at the Liverpool Docks 

 and a full-page engraving of hydraulic machine tools, 

 designed by Mr. R. H. Tweddell. 



In Section III. we have the marine engine thoroughly 

 and completely explained. We here see what a tremendous 

 advance has been made in the science of marine engine 

 building, the engines of the latest additions to our mer- 

 cantile navy being nearly theoretically perfect as far as 

 the economical consumption of steam is concerned, and 

 the proportions of the different parts more in accordance 

 with the individual strains they have to withstand. The 

 author treats the subject fully, each part and detail being 

 illustrated, and reasons given for any peculiarity of con- 

 struction in the engines described ; he then goes on to 

 screw propellers, and kindred appliances, the section 

 concluding with a full-page engraving of the compound 

 engines of the steam-ships Servia and Parisian, the 

 descriptions being very clear and to the point. Rules for 

 the horizontal marine engine finish the section. 



Perhaps the locomotive engine, which is treated in 

 Section IV., has advanced by greater strides than any 

 other machine within the last twenty years, the reasons 

 being that the traffic on the railways has got heavier, compe- 

 tition has forced the companies to run the trains at higher 

 speeds, at the same time that the vehicles composing the 

 trains have increased both in size and weight. 



This increase means that the engine must have a higher 

 tractive power, which can only be got by increasing the 

 weight on the driving-wheels ; larger cylinders must be 

 used, and consequently a larger boiler and fire-box for the 



increased consumption of steam. As an example of an 

 express passenger locomotive of the present day, we may 

 take the engines designed by Mr. Stirling for the Great 

 Northern Railway, having driving-wheels. 8 feet in dia- 

 meter, cylinders 18 inches in diameter with a stroke of 

 2 feet 4 inches. Compare these engines with one built 

 fifteen or twenty years ago, and the marvellous change 

 will be at once apparent. 



The author commences the section with a variety of 

 fire-boxes designed to consume the smoke when burning 

 coal, some being very complicated. All locomotives of 

 the present day burn coal, and from the very complicated 

 fire-boxes illustrated, the fire-box has resolved itself into 

 a perfectly plain box, having a brick arch, to mix the 

 products of combustion previous to their passage through 

 the tubes. This when fired properly is quite capable of 

 consuming all the volatile hydrocarbons in the coal with- 

 out the formation of any smoke. 



The illustrations in the earlier part of the section are 

 somewhat old-fashioned ; the one showing the stays inside 

 a locomotive boiler might have been of more recent 

 design. We remember having seen a boiler of the same 

 type on a locomotive built in 1847. With this as the 

 only drawback, the section treats the subject in a clear 

 and practical way ; we do not know of any work in which 

 one can find so much information. 



In the description of the American locomotive, one 

 finds many arrangements which look strange to those 

 accustomed to English practice, but we cannot notice any 

 peculiarity which we think could be adopted in this 

 country with advantage. After a short account of the 

 different classes of automatic continuous brakes, in which 

 the Westinghouse and vacuum automatic brakes are dis- 

 cussed, we have some very good examples of the latest 

 locomotive practice of this country. The engraving 

 showing the vertical and horizontal sections of a bogie 

 passenger engine, for the Caledonian Railway, is very 

 clear, and the description good. Afterwards we find 

 engines for the Great Northern, London and North- 

 western, and North British Railways thoroughly and 

 clearly discussed, the general constructions being ex- 

 plained. The section concludes with a specification for a 

 bogie locomotive, designed by Mr. William Kirtley for 

 the London, Chatham, and Dover Railway, and a set of 

 rules are compiled for the construction of locomotives. 



In Section V. there is a very interesting and useful 

 account of the construction of iron ships. The section of 

 necessity treats the subject generally, the scope of iron 

 shipbuilding being so large. The transverse and longitu- i 

 dinal methods of construction are explained, an account 

 is given of the late Mr. William Froude's experiments 

 with ship models, and as an example of recent practice 

 we have the longitudinal section and deck plans of the 

 s.s. Own/, with a concise description of her construction : 

 afterwards the rigging is explained, with illustrations of 

 the sparring and sail plan of a full-rigged ship. Then 

 comes a short account of armoured war-ships, with a 

 description of H.M.S. Polyphemus, the section concluding 

 with dredgers, and examples of specifications for iron 

 ships to Lloyd's rules. 



Under the head of engineering works, the author gives 

 a description of floating docks, the construction of iron 

 roofs, the construction of, and strain on, wrought-iron j 



