376 REPORT—1883. 
the two lifts being coupled together. When the break occurred in the: 
No. 1 lift, the weight of the No. 2 lift was acting with the steam, and 
helped to aggravate matters; but the accident was chiefly due to the 
fact that a careless workman had left a nut projecting on the piston, 
which, instead of having the usual clearance, actually came in contact 
with the cylinder-cover, and consequently fractured it. The engines are 
connected with the spears of the pumps by quadrants, which were con- 
structed by the Sandycroft Engine Works Company. The dimensions of 
those on the Liverpool were somewhat larger than those on the Birken- 
head side, owing to the longer stroke of pumps, viz., 10 feet on that. 
side, but in all other respects their construction is identical. The checks 
or sides are made of l-inch plate iron, thickened up at the ends and 
centre where the pins passed through by additional] pieces of plate iron. 
These checks are stayed to the case of the king-posts with strong lattic- 
ing, and in the horizontal portion or levers with stout cast-iron distance- 
stays, through which pass 14-inch bolts. The end pins, to which the 
main links of the engine and pumps are attached, are 7 inches in diameter, 
and the centre shaft or gudgeon 11 inches in diameter. The length of the 
king-post, from centre-shaft to engine-pin, is 15 feet, and from centre-. 
shaft to pumping-pin 15 feet for the Liverpool and 12 feet for the Birken- 
head quadrants. The diagonal stays or tension-rods are 3 inches at the: 
ends and 4 inches in the middle, and are provided with straps, gibs, and 
cotters similar to an engine connecting-rod. This construction enables. 
the rods to be cottered up very securely, and avoids the play or looseness. 
often observed when the diagonals have plain eyes. The weight of each 
pair of the quadrants, with all the fittings in connection with them, is. 
about 22 tons. The pumps are ordinary bucket-lift pumps, with spears 
in the rising main. The chief difficulty has been the necessity of frequent 
renewal of buckets, owing to the water being full of sand. To provide 
duplicate power, and to prevent any possible interruption of the works. 
during repairs to the existing machinery, an additional engine and pump 
is being fixed on each side of the river; and as these are of large size, a 
detailed description of them may not be without interest. The pumping 
engine is of the overhanging-beam class, patented by Mr. Barclay on 
August 30, 186], which was adopted because it does not absorb 
much ground-space, and also on account of the small liability to accident 
which it possesses. It is of the compound type, having a high- and low- 
pressure cylinder, firmly bedded to the foundation. The high-pressure 
cylinder has a diameter of 386 inches, and the low-pressure’ cylinder 
55 inches, the length of their strokes being 10 feet 6 inches and 13 feet 
respectively, both cylinders being double-acting. The balance-beam of 
the engine.is placed between the foundation-walls. This beam is 19 feet 
long from rocking centre to centre at pump-rods, and 24 feet 6 inches 
long from rocking centre to end, the back end being furnished with a box 
having sufficient capacity to hold twenty tons of balance-weights; its 
depth is 4°6, and it is composed of plates of steel 14 inch thick, securely 
bound with distance-pieces of cast iron, The main beam of the engine is 
formed of two plates, each 32 feet 6 inches between the extreme centres. 
The vibrating columns are at the back end of the engine. There are two- 
sets of parallel motion turned and polished bright, one set being required 
to keep the low-pressure cylinder-rod travelling parallel, and the other 
for the high-pressure cylinder piston-rod. There is a large connecting 
rod 38 feet 9 inches long between the centres for joining the point of 
