Scientific American Supplement, No. 481, March 21, 1885
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Scientific American Supplement, No. 481, March 21, 1885 - Archive Classics
The Project Gutenberg EBook of Scientific American Supplement, No. 481,
March 21, 1885, by Various
This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with
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Title: Scientific American Supplement, No. 481, March 21, 1885
Author: Various
Release Date: March 28, 2004 [EBook #11735]
Language: English
*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK SCIENTIFIC AMERICAN 481 ***
Produced by Don Kretz, Juliet Sutherland, Charles Franks and the DP Team
SCIENTIFIC AMERICAN SUPPLEMENT NO. 481
NEW YORK, MARCH 21, 1885
Scientific American Supplement. Vol. XIX, No. 481.
Scientific American established 1845
Scientific American Supplement, $5 a year.
Scientific American and Supplement, $7 a year.
THE RIGHI RAILROAD.
In the year 1864, the well-known geographer, Heinrich Keller, from Zurich, on ascending to the summit of the Righi Mountain, in the heart of Switzerland, discovered one of the finest panoramic displays of mountain scenery that he had ever witnessed. To his enthusiastic descriptions some lovers of nature in Zurich and Berne listened with much interest, and in the year 1865, Dr. Abel, Mr. Escher von der Luith, Aulic Councilor, Dr. Horner, and others, in connection with Keller himself, subscribed money to the amount of 2,000 marks ($500) for the purpose of building a hotel on the top of the mountain overlooking the view. This hotel was simple enough, being merely a hut such as is to be found in abundance in the Alps, and which are built by the German and Austrian Alpine Clubs. At present the old hotel is replaced by another and more comfortable building, which is rendered accessible by a railway that ascends the mountain. Mr. Riggenbach, director of the railway works at Olten, was the projector of this road, which was begun in 1869 and completed in 1871. Vitznau at Lucerne is the starting point. The ascent, which is at first gradual, soon increases one in four. After a quarter of an hour the train passes through a tunnel 240 feet in length, and over an iron bridge of the same length, by means of which the Schnurtobel, a deep gorge with picturesque waterfalls, is crossed. At Station Freibergen a beautiful mountain scene presents itself, and the eye rests upon the glittering, ice-covered ridge of the Jungfrau, the Monk, and the Eiger. Further up is station Kaltbad, where the road forks, and one branch runs to Scheideck. At about ten minutes from Kaltbad is the so-called Kanzli
(4,770 feet), an open rotunda on a projecting rock, from which a magnificent view is obtained. The next station is Stoffelhohe, from which the railroad leads very near to the abyss on the way to Righi-Stoffel, and from this point it reaches its terminus (Righi-Kulin) in a few minutes. This is 5,905 feet above the sea, the loftiest and most northern point of the Righi group.
FIG. 1.—STARTING POINT OF THE RIGHI RAILROAD.
FIG. 2.—THE RIGHI RAILROAD.
The gauge of this railroad is the same as that of most ordinary ones. Between the rails runs a third broad and massive rail provided with teeth, which gear with a cogwheel under the locomotive. The train is propelled upward by steam power, while in its descent the speed is regulated by an ingenious mode of introducing atmospheric air into the cylinder. The carriage for the passengers is placed in both cases in front of the engine. The larger carriages have 54 seats, and the smaller 34. Only one is dispatched at a time. In case of accident, the train can be stopped almost instantaneously.
FIG. 3.—NEW LOCOMOTIVE ON THE RIGHI RAILROAD.
We give herewith, from La Lumiere Electrique, several engravings illustrating the system. Fig. 1 shows the starting station. As may be seen on Figs. 2 and 3, the method selected for obtaining adhesion permits of ascending the steepest gradients, and that too with entire security.
HIGH SPEED STEAM ENGINE.
The use of rapidly rotating machinery in electric lighting has created a demand for engines running from 400 to 1,200 revolutions per minute, and capable of being coupled directly to a dynamo machine. We have already illustrated several forms of these engines, and now publish engravings of another in which the most noticeable feature is the employment of separate expansion valves and very short steam passages. Many high-speed engines labor under the well-grounded suspicion of being heavy steam users, and their want of economy often precludes their employment. Mr. Chandler, the inventor of the engine illustrated above, has therefore adopted a more elaborate arrangement of valves than ordinarily obtains in engines of this class, and claims that he gains thereby an additional economy of 33 per cent. in steam. The valves are cylindrical, and are driven by independent eccentrics, the spindle of the cut-off valve passing through the center of the main valve. The upper valve is exposed to the steam on its top face, and works in a cylinder with a groove cut around its inner surface. As soon as the lower edge of the valve passes below the bottom lip of the groove, the steam is cut off from the space between it and the main valve, which is fitted with packing rings and works over a latticed port. This port opens directly into the cylinder. The exhaust takes place chiefly through a port uncovered when the piston is approaching the end of its stroke. The remaining vapor left in the cylinder is exhausted under the lower edge of the main valve, until cushioning commences, and the steam from both upper and lower ports is discharged into the exhaust box shown in Fig. 2. The speed of the engine is controlled by a centrifugal governor and an equilibrium valve. This is a dead face
valve, and when the engine is running empty it opens and closes many times per minute. The spindle on which the valve is mounted revolves with the governor pulley, and consequently never sticks. To prevent the small gland being jammed by unequal screwing up, the pressure is applied by a loose flange which is rounded at the part which presses against the gland. The governor is adjustable while the engine is running.
IMPROVED HIGH SPEED STEAM ENGINE.
Another economy claimed for this engine is in the use of oil. The cranks and connecting rods work in a closed chamber, the lower part of which is filled with oil and water. The oil floats in a layer on the surface of the water, and at every revolution is splashed all over the working parts, including the interior of the cylinder, which it reaches through holes in the piston. The oil is maintained exactly at one level by a very ingenious arrangement. The bottom of the crank chamber communicates through a hole, C, with an outer box, which receives the water deposited by the exhaust steam. The level of this water is exactly determined by an overflow hole, B, which allows all excess above that level to pass into an elbow of the exhaust pipe, out of which it is licked by the passing steam and carried away. Thus, as the oil is gradually used the pressure of the water in the other leg of the hydrostatic balance raises the level of the remaining portion. When a fresh supply of oil is poured into the box, it forces out some of the water and descends very nearly to the level of the hole, B.
The engine is made with either one or two cylinders, and is, of course, single-acting. The pistons and connecting rods are of forged steel and phosphor-bronze. The following is a list of their sizes:
Single Engines.
-----------------------------------------------------------
Brake | | | | |
Horsepower| Bore of | Revolutions| | |
at 62 lb.| Cylinder. | per minute.| Height. |Floor Space.|
Boiler | | | | |
Pressure. | | | | |
----------|-----------|------------|---------|-------------
| in. | | in. | in. in. |
2¼ | 4 | 1,100 | 26 | 14 by 14 |
3½ | 5 | 1,000 | 28 | 14 " 15 |
6 | 6½ | 800 | 30 | 16 " 16 |
10 | 8 | 700 | 32 | 18 " 18 |
-----------------------------------------------------------
Double Engines.
-----------------------------------------------------------
Brake | | | | |
Horsepower| Bore of | Revolutions| | |
at 62 lb.| Cylinder. | per minute.| Height. |Floor Space.|
Boiler | | | | |
Pressure. | | | | |
----------|-----------|------------|---------|-------------
| in. | | in. | in. in. |
4½ | 4 | 1,100 | 26 | 14 by 20 |
7¼ | 5 | 1,000 | 28 | 14 " 20 |
12 | 6½ | 800 | 30 | 16 " 26 |
20 | 8 | 700 | 32 | 18 " 32 |
-----------------------------------------------------------
The manufacturer is Mr. F.D. Bumstead, Hednesford, Staffordshire.—Engineering.
THE CHINESE PUMP.
If a glass tube about three feet in length, provided at its upper extremity with a valve that opens outwardly, and at its lower with one that opens inwardly, be dipped into water and given a series of up and down motions, the water will be seen to quickly rise therein and finally spurt out at the top. The explanation of the phenomenon is very simple. Upon immersing the tube in the water it fills as far as to the external level of the liquid, and the air is expelled from the interior. If the tube be suddenly raised without removing its lower extremity from the water, the valve will close, the water will rise with the tube, and, through the velocity it has acquired, will ascend far above its preceding level. Now, upon repeating the up and down motion of the tube in the water five or six times, the tube will be filled, and will expel the liquid every time that the vertical motion occurs.
THE CHINESE PUMP.
We speak here of a glass tube, because with this the phenomenon may be observed. Any tube, of course, would produce the same results.
The manufacture of the apparatus is very simple. The tube is closed above or below, according to the system one desires to adopt, by means of a perforated cork. The valve is made of a piece of kid skin, which is fixed by means of a bent pin and a brass wire (Fig. 2). It is necessary to wet the skin in order that it may work properly and form a hermetic valve. The arrangement of the lower valve necessitates the use of a tube of considerable diameter (Fig. 1). We would advise the adoption of the arrangement shown in Fig. 2. Under such circumstances a tube half an inch in diameter and about 3 feet in length will answer very well.
It is better yet to simply use one's forefinger. The tube is taken in the right hand, as shown in Fig. 3, and the forefinger placed over the aperture. The finger should