The Sun.
London, England, 1852-09-07 00:00:00

LO N DON, T EJES DA V EVENING, SEPTEMBER 7, 1851

THE CALORIC SHIP.
A NEW MOTIVE POWER.

interior of the ship, through the engines, and passed
off into the atmosphere, every hour. l'he effect of
such an extraordinary system of ventilation, in puri-
ing the atmosphere of the ship, is self evident.
The Fimple construction of the caloric engine, and
the small quantity of coal to bs handled, will reduce
the nutnbtr of engineers and firemen, in the aggre-
gate) to less than one-fourth the complement required
fir steamers. Ibis great reduction in the number of
men, whose duties are incompatible with strict clean-
liness, will still further promote a purer state of atmo-
sphere in calorie ships than in steamers. Again, as no
a
"moke whatever is produced when anthracite coal is em-
ployed, the masts and rigging
of the caloric ship will
be as clean as in sailing vessels. We examined the com-
bustion of the 60-horse caloric engine most critically.
No smoke could be detected from it, and we arrived
at the conclusion that with such a slow combustion
and easy firing smoke cannot possibly emanate from
the anthracite consumed in the furnaces. Europe
has scarcely any of this fuel, and in a national point
of view, therefore, the introduction of the caloric
engine is important. The following are some of the
dimensions and statistics of the ship :—Length, 250
feet; beam, 40; hold, 27; tonnage, 2,000 to 2,200;
diameter of wheels, 32 feet; face of wheel, 11i feet ;
power of engines, 600 horse; consumption of coal per
day (24 hours), 8 tons ; number of men in engine
department, 10; number of sailing crew, 20; pas-
senger accommodation for 200, with room for en-
largement to double the capacity ; room for 1,500
tons freight; cost, in the neighbourhood of 300,000

I' lief. The wire contained in each disc is 1,140 feet ACCIDENTS IN MINES.
long, and that =trained in the regenerator is conse-
' NawcasTLE-ur.,N- TYNE, SATURDAY.—Yeseerday _
quently 228,000 fe,et, or 411 miles in length, the super- a meeting of considerable interest and imP ortaance,__\-1-----' i
Vt-ISIA---r ,
a
I tidal measure:a, nt of wh eh ;6 equal to the entire surface not only to the countieses
of .
Northum ban
of four steam-boilers. (ech fortyket long, end four DLIThrIII, but to
the
erld ,fs nct-r•
feet in diAny!ter ; and yet the regenerator, presenting does, the security and preservation of human lice in
this great amount of heating surface is only about very
two feet cube, less than 1-1920 of ;he bulk of these was heexlclieiLnsila
four boilers. phical Society in this town.theThelftoehrjaercyt
Engineers
Involved in this wonderful process, of the transfer log was the public inauguration and retransfer of heat, is a discovery which justly sawing to itself the titleof"
extensive
e-arttrnpi eonft o fthe nationalindustry . .
and dthPelamiloesoot..-
i,hoo an associationh
Englandas-
and retransfer
as one of the most remarkable ever made in Institute of Mining ~
and
which of
proposes
physical science. Its author, Captain Ericsson, long to devote itself to the prevention of accident. in mines,
since ascertained, and upon this is based the sublimest 1 and the advancement of mining science generally.
feature of his caloric engine, that atmospheric air The meeting was chiefly composed ofs oa owners and
and other permanent gases, in passing through a dis- mining engineers, the latter preponderating. Lance of only six inches, in the fiftieth part of a se- Mr. N. Wood, the chairman, an extensive • i lg.
cond of time, are capable of acquiring, or parting engineer and proprietor in Northumberlandminno--
with, upwards of four hundred degrees of heat. He ceedecl to address the meeting. He begged to
con-
has been first to discover this marvellous property , gratulate the members of the society on the pnraomgerels
laTbersol3ie
of caloric, without which atmosphnic air could they bad made towards its establishmmenet
riot be effectively employed as a motive the association of upwards of seventy
power. The reason is obvious. Until ex- appointment of officers, and the subscription or an
paraded by heat, it can exert no force upon the amount of funds sufficient for a commencement. The
piston. If much time were required to effect this, the object of the institution was twofold —first,
rst, by a
movement of the piston 'would necessarily be so slow union or concentration of professional experience to
as to render the machine inefficient. Captain Ericsson endeavour, if possible, to devise measures which
has demonstrated, however, that heat may be corn- might avert or alleviate those dreadful calamities
rnunic,.ted to, and expansion effected in, atmospheric which had too often produced such destruction to life
air, with slintht electric speed ; and that it is, and property, end which left such misery and distress
therefore, eminently adapted to give the greatest among the mining population of the district; and,
desirable rapidity of motion to all kinds of machinery, secondly, to establish a literary institution more par-
The ship is now approaching completion, and is the ticullrlv applicable to the theory, art, and practice of
finest specimen of naval architecture (especially in mining than the institutions in titl locality or within
point of str„gth) ,yer created in this country. The the reach of the profession there. The claims of such
ofengines being placed in the centre of the vessel admit an institution to the support of the coal owners of the
better form of midship section than in steam-ships. north were all powerful. Who were so interested as
Of this the builders have availed themselves by giving they in the prevention of accidents in mines ? As,
tins
nua
sec!: aannreillseo
fto t
htheestlhoipor that strength and easy lines for too, one of its prominent objects was to endeavour to
Thelluig through the water are appropriately combined. accomplish the best and most perfect mode of ab-
,theasit is
" waive dliyneet4 by
at the entrance are singularly stracting the coal, the proprietor as well as the
a very judicious application of the worker of a mine, was no less concerned in its
possesses all.. Acting as a body, every plan brought
technicallycalled, the bow prosperity.
fulness requisite for a good sea- before them would have at least a candid
boat. The run is alike peculiar for easy lines, com- investig ,and they
• ation if found any subject
biped with stability and requisite bearing. The required practical illustration or experiment, he felt
strength of floor, which is built entirely solid from assured they would be readily met by the employers
stem to stern, surpasses anythingtheirpits at their •
it we have seen in in placing
this country, noted as
ships in the world. In orde
theinstitute, entire frame is of a scientific, practical, and professional character,
proceeded to point out in
of diagonal braces of flat and which might generally be summed up in the
bars of iron, let into the timbers
riveted
together
of about theory and practice of the winning and working of
three feet, each series being rive
points of intersection. In addition otgoetlaer at all the collieries, the chairman
the
central keelsons, there are six engine keel ordinary much detail the importance of collecting in the
on the top of the floor timbers, for three-fo bolted archives of their institute detailed plans of the differ-
length of the ship. On these keelsons theurbssuths'eds of the eat instruments used here and on the Continent in the
of the engines are secured by bolts passing through
over
modes of sinking pits, records of the various sink-
entire area occupied by the engines, and present a inns for coal in the district, and descriptions of the
rcothe
tinuation of iron flooring, not witnessed in any steamily-- different engines and apparatus employed for raising
ship. The security thus attained is further enhanced b
ytiocanppo
They
out of the mines and working them generally.
eymust not, he added, neglect a most important
dispensing entirely with the numerous holes through branch,—the advancement of the science of mining, or
the bottom of the vessel, which in steamers are notes- the cultivation and have often brought that class of vessels to particularly those branches of science which more
a sinking condition. The engines being arranged in mineralog - appertained to their profession. Geology,
the centre of'the vessel, the decks are not cut off as matics, ancyi,mehoehmais.try, mechanical philosophy, pneu-
ics,_were all subjects which would
in steamers; and as the whole of the machinery is occupy the attentino
confined within a vertical trunk 76 feet long and 18 the institute. He
hcaodf all the individual members of
now endeavoured to give an
feet wide, ample space is left on each side of the ship outline of the constitution of the society, its objects,
for state rooms along its entire length, with unbroken and the duties which would be
passages, fore and aft, on either side. The ft eight need scarcely add how important they imposed upon it. He
were, not only
deck also presents an unbroken area fore and aft, di- to the members of the society but to the interests
minished only in width in the central part of the comprised within the scope of its labour.,He con-
vessel. The coal being carried in the bottom, at each eluded by invoking the support of noblemen and gen-
side of the engines, the fore and aft hold are clear for tlemen, and of all persons interested, from feelings of
freight. The central arrangement of the engines in- humanity, in the prevention of accidents in
mines, on
volves, of necesstiy, a central crank, and thus the behalf of the society.—(Applause.)
spar deck presents an uninterrupted area on both No resolutions were proposed or passed ; but anu
sides, the ordinary objectionable crank hatches ber of colliery owners and viewers resident in m-
the
being dispensed with. The slow combustion district were enrolled as members.
peculiar to the caloric engine renders the huge smoke On the motion of Mr. WALLER, seconded by Mr.
funnel unnecessary. A short pipe to carry off the HINDHAUGH, a vote of thanks was accorded to the
gases produced by the combustion in the furnaces chairman by acclamation, and the proceedings ter-
takes its place in the caloric ship. The absence of minated.
steam in every form is sufficiently important in pro-
ducing a more pleasant atmosphere than in steamers,
but far more remarkable is the fact that the quantity
of air which will be drawn out of the ship by the action
of the supply cylinders of the engines, will exceed
sixty tons in weight every hour. Captain Ericsson in,
calling our attention to this fact, furnished us with a
few figures that we feel certain our readers will need,
as much as we did, to comprehend how so vast a ven-
tilation is effected. Each supply piston presents an
area of 102 superficial feet, with a stroke of six feet.
612 cubic feet of atmospheric air will, therefore, be
drawn into the engine at each stroke; and when the
engine makes fourteen strokes per minute, 8,568 cubic
feet. But as there are four supply cylinders, they will
in this space of time draw in 34,272 cubic feet ; and
in sixty minutes there will be thus circulated
2 056,320 cubic feet. The weight of atmospheric
air is nearly 13f cubic feet to the pound, and thus it
will be seon that 68 tons of air are drawn from the

ACCIDENT ON THE SHREWSBURY AND
CHESTER RAILWAY.
Yesterday (Monday) an inquest was held at the
Woodward public-house, Coton-hill, Shrewsbury,
before Mr. George Gordon, deputy-coroner, on view
of the body of an aged woman, named Mary Lewis,
of Baschurch, who had been killed by an excursion-
train passing over her on Saturday night last. The
remains of the poor creature presented a sad spec-
tacle ; the head was completely severed, and the
other parts of the body were most dreadfully muti-
lated. Joseph Woodvine, a labourer on the line at
I3aschurch, stated that be saw deceased walking down
the line, towards Perry-bridge, between seven and
eight o'clock on Saturday night. He went up to her
and told her she was on trespass, to which she re-
plied, " I know all about it." He then asked her
her name, and where she was going ; but
she refused to tell him, and, on his saying that he
would tollow her to see where she was going, she re-
torted, "If you follow me, I will knock your brains
out!" Witness then went borne. He further stated
that poor people were in the habit of going on the
line to pick up coke. Henry Whittaker said be was
the driver of an exeursion train which left Chester for
Shrewsbury at. 7 25 P.M., arriving at the latter place
at 9 o'clock. The night was very dark and the rain
came down in torrents. Oa examining the engine at
the Shrewsbury terminus he found the shawl pro-
duced on the buffer plank. He examined the wheels,
but did not see the least symptoms of blood. An-
other train left Chester for Shrewsbury at 8 o'clock
on the same evening. The shawl was here identified
by Woodvine as the one worn by the woman
whom be had seen walking on the line. Abraham
Carlin, engine-driver, left Chester for Shrews-
bury with a goods' train early on Tuesday morning,
and when within 150 yards of the Perry-bridge he
first saw the body of deceased. The body being on
the up-rails,. on which he was running, he could not
see very distinctly what it was ; but, thinking it was
arrival
ri
htrhei
ve
sar,
tl
oaok
fde
ro,gt
hheoo
wr,
train
va e sr
a,eerft
aeresenptusu,cpt
rhihthenrerdeeeyi
ibd.ths,ewei
bad]
superintendent
rhwensyneot
at€tihneofsa;p: the,n3phaeantdil
oo
information
locomo-
tive nawti
the
s
etginivvgeeinn etotoM department,t
hneje
spot
wtr,e.vihyohs
unfortunatetheir horror
woman,they tou
thend thehea mangledd being
nneoremains
spe
ecial
engine ea
crt Tdihaseol
distant from the body. The body was recognised by
Edward Lewis, brother-in-law to deceased. The
jury returned a verdict of " Accidentally killed."
Woodvine was recalled by the deputy-coroner, and
severely reprimanded for not forcibly ejecting deceased
from off the line.