THE OMAHA ILLUSTRATED BEE.
February 19. 1908.
Firing a Furnace Without FiremenMechanical Device Shovels Coal
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CONVEYOR THAT TAKE9 COAL FROM THE CARS TO FURNACES AND BRINGS BACK THE ASHES AT THE STREET RAILWAY
POWER HOUSE.
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ONE OF THE BIO GENERATORS AT THE NEW POWER HOUSE OF "THIS OMAHA AND COUNCIL BLUFFS STREET RAILWAY COM
' FANY.
ENGINE USED TO DRIVE THE BLOWER TO FORCE THE DRAFT UNDER THE BOILERS AT THE NEW POWER nOUSE.
w
IONDER8 of modern science are
often almost beyond belief. To
make this statement absolutely
clear to the public it is only
necessary to say that Just two
men are required to keep up fine cosy fires
under the eight great boilers In the Omaha
street railway power house at the 'foot of
Jones street. Hearing this the average
householdlng citizen sits back and draws
' mental picture of himself, the servant
maid, his wife, her mother, two of thd
children and an occasional neighbor, all
putting In good hard work continuously to
maintain a very feeble blue flame in tho
family furrjace. Then that householder will
be apt to get out an unexpurgated edition
of "Oh fudge" and to make some comment
about "'newspaper talk." .
But such mechanical perfection Is al
most a fact. The almost comes because In
reality eight men are on watch In the fire
room night and day. But three or four of
these are busy shoveling coal and doing
Odd Jobs and two others are needed In ad
ditional capacities about the great modern
lire room which the traction company has
but lately put In commission. Two men
only are needed to tend the eight fires and
see that they keep Ice from forming in
the boiler tubes.
What the New Stoke Does.
To the person familiar only with the old
fashion methods of firing, this system will
Bcem almont perfection when it is added
that the dally consumption of the company
is about three cars of coal. That would be
something like 100 or 120 tons every twenty
four hours. Of course the consumpUon In
the average family furnace Is very great,
but It Is to be doubted If there are a half
a dozen private houses in Omaha which use
this much coal a day. The unusual cold
weather has added 25 per cent to the coal
consumption of the street car company.
The cold does not make it harder to heat
the boilers, but with the snow it makes
the rlght-of-wuy very bad, so that a heavy
addition to the regular power must be made
Freak Laws Proposed by Many Solons,
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Woald ftlirnce "I'ncie Tom.'?
ILBUR N. ROE of Columbus. O.,
has written to Governor Cummins
asking that he recommend the
I'iXjiRl I"u"","Te ' a law . making the
' ' presentation of the play "Uncle
Tom's Cabin" on any stage in Iowa' a
felony under heavy penalty. Roe declares
the play misrepresents the south.
Away wlthth Hoblas.
Killing all the robins as foes of fruits
and berries and admit Chinese coolies to
overcome the scarcity of farm help were
measures recommended by W. H. 8killman,
president of the State Horticultural society,
in addressing the annual convention of the
organisation at Trenton, N. J. Dr. J. W.
Ward, who last winter led the unsuciefs
ful robin fight in the legislature, today
deserted the cause, advising the society
against reopening u crusade upon which
public opinion was so overwhelmingly
Iee Carta Ins fur Mrhoola.
Tht 10.000 school houses in Kansas are
likely to be equipped with green shades
nd lace curtains for the windows. The
teachers of Kansua advocate this reform
against.
in the Interest of the eyesight and health
of the pupils. Twenty years ago J. C.
Burnett, an old Indlun trader, built and
equipped a school house near Lawrence.
Green shade and clean luce curtains huve
been supplied each year by his descendants.
Now it is proposed to muke the lace cur
tain as much a part of the school appa
ratus as the desk or textbooks.
To rio WUeTueaters.
A bill is being prepared for the legisla
ture of Connecticut that If passed will
revolutionise the punishment for certain
offenses not at present adequately cared
for by the revised statutes. At least that
Is the opinion of Prosecuting Attorney llln
man of Merldeu, originator of the bill.
Mr. Hlnman's bill, upon which he is now
at work, provides that a man who beats
his wife cruelly, or( for that matter, any
man who strikes or beats cruelly any
woman, shall be flogged in the county Jail,
the whipping to be done by the Juller or,
hls assistant in the presence "only of the
Jail physician and the clerk of the institu
tion. There shall be no other witnesses.
Tipping; a Misdemeanor.
The itching palm of all waiters and por
ters in the state of Missouri will have to go
uncrossed if the bill Introduced today in
the bouse by Tubbs of Gasconade becomes
a luw.
The measure makes it a misdemeanor for
any proprietor to allow any of his employee
in restaurants or hotels to accept "tips"
and places a penalty on any infringements
of the rule.
The bill is already gathering a great fol
lowing among both the members from the
country and the city, but the porters
around the hotel where the measure was
being discussed were lobbying against lis
passage.
"It has become such a thorough custom
that unless a patron gives a tip he is lookea
upon with disdain," said Mr. Tubbs, speak
ing of the bill.
For I.lniltrd Marriage.
According to State Senator Frederick
Dumont Smith of Kansas his bill, which
'will be introduced In the Kansas legists.,
tore, making marriage a civil contract
with a ten-year time limit, was not pro
posed by men, as has been generally sup
posed, but by u delegation gf women, whose
names the senator refuses to divulge.
"I think that it will be found that the
women will be favorably impressed with
the measure," said Senator Smith today,
"and that they will be glad to give It their
moral support."
Senator Smith says he is not convinced
that Ills bill Is the best remedy for the
growing evil of unwise marriages and the
life of misery fori-ed upon thousands ol
women, but he Ite'.leves it Is a step In the
right direction. He makes his bill piilllc-to
give penile Interested in the question an
opportunity to discuss IU '
in order that the cars can mount the slip
pery hills.
A person who is Interested enough to
navigate the snowdrifts and devious rail
way yard paths which lead to the new
power plant should begin his inspection and
follow it through In about the way that
a chunk of coal inspects the house. The
chunk of coal has the advantage, for It
gets to the' power plant lb a nice, red,
airy car, while the. Investigator has to
walk from Tenth street. This car of coal
Is first rolled under the east side of the
building and stopped over a hole between
the rails which looks like the ifpper five
feet of a mine a mile deep, or like that
part of the thermometer down which a
person peers to sea the mercury. The
coal used is the ordinary white-streaked
variety from Iowa and Missouri, and it
gets shown immediately after arrival. The
brake is applied and the coal dumped
roaring down Into the; hopper. Under this
is the crusher.
The coal is in chunks from the size
which blows into your eye while you are
watching up to the hundred-pound variety,
and it is about as squashy as soft stone.
The crusher is used to the work, and after
having an oil highball or two from the
boss, thinks nothing of mashing up the
combustible. A pice, strong roller cov
ered wKh hard protuberances called studs,
gets the poor, unprotected coal off In a
corner - where there is no one to see fair
play and with the exertion of about seven
horse-power worth of trouble makes that
coal look like a consignment of charcoal
tablets which have been through a head
end collision.
On the Way to the Fire Box.
After the (pusher gets through with It
the coal has to be carried away. A shut
ter Is not now the up-to-date appliance
for such work and in place of It Is a belt
conveyor. This is a nice, wide strip of
material kept in a sort of concave, palm
like position by rollers which allow it to
puss under the crusher and onto the over
lapping basket conveyor. The cruBlmr
keeps the belt loaded with pulverised coal
which is dumped off at the other end Into
the baskets. These are very interesting
affairs of themselves and run up the walls
and over the celling and down at the other
side, and do other tricks. While they are
passing . under the place where the belt
is busy spilling coal fragments they
run along, one after the other,
with their arms, as It were on each
other's shoulders, like a bunch of chorus
girls. When they have crossed the stage,
that Is, the floor of the boiler room, their
cables turn upward Into a aont of elevator
shaft and each basket separates Itself
from all the other and goes swinging up
with Its load of coal like the cups In the
old cistern pump. When they get to the
top again the baskets take hold of hands
once' more and glide carefully across the
top to ' the place where they have been
lequested to dump. There are eight tow
ering coal hoppers over the eight furnaces
and an ordinary sised man down below
somewhere ran Induce the coal baskets
to drop thrir coal into any one of the
tight which he desires. After obliging the
man in this way, tf.c baskets continue on
to the south side of the building, down the
wall Into the basement again and go back
under the coal supply for another round.
Here's the Heel Thins;.
After the coal has settled down In the
hoppers over each of the furnaces there
comes Into play a principle which all of the
older inhabitants will recognize. That Is
the useful little idea which allows a man to
fill up the baseburner once or twice a day
and causes the coal to melt out of an Iron
tube at the lower end where the blaze Is
busy burning. This Is what happens on a
larger scale at the power house. Two
ppouts hang down from each of the great
Iron hoppers away up In the roof and pour
the coal slowly day and night onto the
chain grates. These are the stoklest part
of the mechanical stoker. They are In
fact bicycle chains, each eleven feet and
nine Inches wide. They are composed of
bits of grate bar Jointed together so as to
move around 'cylinders at the front and
back of the firebox. This chain, therefore,
day and night moves with awful majesty
awful because londed down with coal nndeu
the spouts and slowly Into the firebox and
out the other side. The coal Is, therefore,
not chivvied about with a long Iron utensil
by a perspiring and grimy Individual who
would rather be president of a bank. The
chain grate enters the fire with the coal
spread evenly upon Its surface and com
bustion is completed by the time the cin
ders are within six Inches of the bridge wall
or back of the firebox. Then the ashes are
dropped Into a hopper In the basement
under each furnace and the chain grate
moves around under and forward to get an
other load of coal.,
' At this point of the game the basket con
veyor -comes In again. The hoppers hold
the ashes for a day's run. Once In every
twenty-four hours the coal supply Is cut off
from the carrier and the ash hoppers
opened. Some one was thoughtful enough
to build the plant that way, so the convey
ors moved under the hoppers. So when It
Is ash time the baskets collect the cinders
and after shoving them around over the
place again, Fhove them out through the
chute Into some cars the railway company
provides,- and the cinders are taken away
and put on the right-of-way as ballast.
That Is as far as the coal gets In Its tour
of the power plant.
Power for the riant.
But there sre other Interesting things
about the placo. There Is a little oscillating
engine which worksMike the little alcohol
burning lix-omotlves that delight the ynulh
of the country whenever they (the eimitiPH)
happnn to work as their maker, or rather
their purchaser, intended them 10 work.
This seven horse-power engine is really the
man who runs the flreroom. The engine
runs the shafts which revolve the cylinders
over which the grates pass. All the Inter
vention of mun required Is for the fireman
occasionally to look In and see how the fire
is going. If it Is a little dull he ran brighten
things up by shortening the arm on the
feeder, thus bringing the coal into the fire
at a faster pace. The entire flreroom Is run
now. with a shift of eight men days and
eight nights. Before the new house was put
In commission at the Nicholas street house
nnd at Council Bluffs, thirty-five men were
required on duty to keep up steam.
Induced Draft a Feature.
Observing persons may have noticed that
the street railway powerhouse has no mag
nificent and Imposing smokestack, as has
the smelter and the shops. The Jones street
chimney is not so tall as the funnel of an
ocean liner It is Uko a short clay pipe. The
draft, furthermore, astonishing to say, Is
made the same way that the smoker draws
his smoke through his clay or briar. There
Is a thundering big fan up under the roof
which sucks and sucks, so that the air
rushes In through the grates and makes
the fire roar. The Union Pacific with its
200-foot chimney, cannot have a stronger
draft than this fan produces' The advan
tages of the Induced system are several. By
Increasing the speed a stronger draft can
be made when It is desired the grates could
be melted If the power were turned on full
twist. In case of lightning the tall chimney
Is an Inconvenient lightning rod end with
storms it may break down an entire plant
by being capsized. The cost of maintaining
the inducted draft and the original cost and
maintenance of the tall chimney about bal
ance each other, so that experts disagree as
to the financial advantage.
Tower for the Trolley Lines.
It may not be generally known, but the
Pullman palace car plant now uses the Cor
liss engine exhibited at the Centennial ex
hibition in Philadelphia. The new engine
of tho street railway powerhouse are the
latest thing in the same make. Three of
these engines and dynamos are now In com
mission and a fourth will be placed ready
for work by April 1. Two of the splendid
machines ure equal to the regular work of
the day, with a third added for the rush
traction In tho morning and the evening.
The fourth is a reserve unit to' be used In
case of breakdowns and of overhauling. The
voltage Is 675 with the amperes, according
to the !oad. The current generated would
net be apt to kill a well man unless it got
Mm in a corner where he could not get
free. It would throw him away and be un
commonly rough with hltn. The power pro
ducers are direct connected generators and
crank shaft engines of 2.0U0 horse-power
each. The engines are from the Fulton
Iron Works company and the generators
from the General Klectrlc company. They
cost each something like $70,000 and are
very handsome toys.
Xenret lie of Steam.
Superheated steam Is the newest thing
about the power house. As Chief Engineer
D. W. Gilbert would express it. tho object
Is to get a dryer steum with a greater x
panslon. Whatever that may mean, the
steam lit a hotter and more scientific article
by a good deal than young Mr. Watt found
in his grandmother's teakettle.
The new eliglres, although they look very
i'hlnjf and mild, are croes-cross compound
ing condensing two cylinder affairs. The
dry superheated sti-am tussels about In thu
hleh impure cylinder a while and then it
hurries about through some pipes and tech
nicalities and opens up a new parallel In the
low prismire cylinder. The most interest
ing part ubout the thing, however, Is the
way tho overheated steam Is calmed down
and turned into water again that con be
poured about and used over In the boilers.
The engines are not satisfied with getting
an expansion of sixteen times against the
miserable four-flushing of the ordinary
puffing, snorting steam user. These highly
cultured specimens object to the work of
pushing the steam out Into the world after
they are through with it, as do the ordi
nary engines. It Is too exhausting. The
lay mind does not at once grasp the fact
that the exhaust of the ordinary high
pressure engine' has to push against the
weight of the atmosphere when it spurts
out of Its pipe, and that If the exhaust
could play Into a vacuum the engine would
have about 14.7 pounds more energy for
other purposes. By an arrangement in
which a part of the Missouri river assists
the street railway engines do away with
nearly all of the back pressure of the ex
haust, and pouring their . steam Into a
vacuum professionally gauged at 28, have
only one or two pounds to exhaust against.
There Is a big steel box In. the cellar called
a servlco condenser which keeps two cen
trifugal pumps busy. It is filled with
pretty brass tubes and a nice pipe from the
river brings the river in and squirts it
through three tubes. The pumps all this
time, mind you, are keeping tho condenser
free from drafts. Tho engine steam wanders
in here and Is condensed before it knows
where it has got to. Then it is led away
In pipes, and heated up again. The wear
and tear naturally uses up some water, so
that every time the engineer trims ship or
whatever he calls it, about 10 or 15 per
cent of new water has to be drawn from
the city mains.
The system which Is now Ui use was
worked out and became a practicability
about ten years ago. It Is used In all the
new power houses built. The Omaha plant
Is working finely and if the coal does not
run out to cause another suspension of
transportation, will probably be very sat
isfactory to all parties for some yars to '
come. The plant was designed by Llchtcr '
and Jens of St. Louis. I). W. Gilbert, as
chief engineer, has direct charge of the
fine power producer and H. P. Noise is the
master mechanic and electrician.
Some Picturesque and Pointed Etchings
Ancllon at a Funeral.
ALKING about your graveyard
rnbblt superstitions and that sort
of thing, there Is no class of peo
ple who believe in it stronger than
the gamblers," said an old gam-
and I saw it exemplified in the
bier.
strangest way at Pittsburg, Kan., ten years
ago. 'Kid' Jackson, one of the best known
gamblers in that part of Kansas, died of
consumption, and all of the gamblers set
out to give him a good funeral. They
bought a fine casket and all the flowers the
room would hold, and had a procession
fixed up with plenty of mourners, because
there was a certainty of refreshments be
low after the obsequies, even If our friend
was not enjoying them above. All the pall
bearers were gamblers and friends of the
dead man.
"Well, we started out and reached tho
cemetery all right, and the gravo-dlgglng
man was on hand with his pick and shovel.
We set the coffin down on the barriws
across tho grave and were preparing to let
the 'Kid s' body down Into the grave. Just
then a rabbit Jumped out of a thicket rlosn
by and landed right at the bottom of the
grave. He was killed In a second. Just
who fired the shot I never could tell, but It
does not matter. We all carried guns in
those days and were ready to shoot ut tho
dropping of a hat. But, anyway, the rabbit
was dead.
" 'The graveyard rabbit, by heaven," one
of the fellows said, as the rabbit was picked
up. 'Talk about your mascots, here Is one
for me,' and with that he. ocgun cutting orr
the left hind foot. "Hold up, there,' said
another of the pallbearers, "let's sell these
feet off and make up a pot fur the 'Kid s'
folks, If we find he has any folks, to send
It to them.' It was agreed, and In a minute
the funeral services were forgotten and an
auction bidding begun at tor the 1 ft
hind foot and was promptly raised to M0
and then to 115 and to ), and finally the
foot sold for more than 10. The other hind
foot was bid for and brought $25. The
other two feet are not considered of such
good omen and were not so much In de
mand. When the auction was over we
found that the proceeds were a little mora
than $100. Then we turned our attention
to the body and interred it as it should
have been.
"Two of the boys In the bunch who got
a foot apiece were Ed O'Conner and
Charlio Cropper, and I have often won
dered whether their luck after that was
good or bud. But I huve been away from
that country and I have not heard from
thfin In years. I got one of them and I
can't lined out that It has brought me any
thing that would not have come 'otherwise.
Perhaps I am hoodooed." Topeka Capital.
i
The Villain Itvhuked.
A number of professional men gathered
at the Art club In Philadelphia a few days
ago were exchanging reminiscences of Ed
win Forrest, the gnat trugudliui. One of
them told the story of Forrest's experience
In the west, which was not only of Interest
In Itself, but also a trlbuitftu the art of the
actor.
Tho play was "Vlrglnlus," and Forrest was
at his Ix-st. In the scene where he slays
his daughter the audience was almost
striken with awe, and not a sound was
heard until the scene was concluded, after
which the artist was greeted with over
powering upplnuse. In the following net
Vlrglnlus cornea on the Mage looking worn
and distracted. The reaction has set in, he
Is frenzied over the loss of his daughter,
and ho walks up u ml down, rrylng out,
"Virginia, Virginia! Where Is my child?"
An old mlntr who occupied a front row
In the orchestra, and who had been ter
ribly wrought up by the murder scene,
could Munil this no longer and, rising In
his place, shouted out In loud tones,
freighted with Intense Indignation.
"Why. you old villain, you killed her
In thn market house in the lust act. You
know It well enough. You are a hypocrite,
as well as a villain." Harper Weakly,