Gold Hill daily news. [volume] (Gold Hill, N.T. [Nev.]) 1863-1882, 1864-02-26
MACHINERY FOR WAsHoE,

At the Vulcan Iron Works, in San Fran
cisco, a mammoth engine has just been COM
pleted for the Gould & Curry mining works
at Virginia. The S. F. Bulletin, of Wednes-
nesday evening, contains the following de-
scription Of it:
The Vulcan Iron Works Company, on First
street. have jus; finished one Of the finest pieces OF
machinery ever built on this coast IL Is nlGn.
pressure beam Engine for the Gould ~ curry
Gold and Silver Mining Company. This engine,
which is said TO be the largest high-pressure, and
the second of Its kind ever made in California Is
of the following dimensions a solid oed-Plate
q feet long and feet wide forms ITS oaSe, anu
will be bo!ted to massive foundation OF stone
work ~ feet long, feet wide and 10 feet deep
On the bed plate ut end is boted the cyl Under
which is 30 inches bore and feet stroke with the
valve chests and valve gearing. AT the other END
l. the main pillow block, while in the centre are
elegantly.mOulded columns and diagonal braces
of gothic style which stand on each side and sup
port the beam centres Other columns OF the
same style are at each end, and sustain an en-
tablature extending around the whole OF the up
per part. Brackets are bolted to TINS entaola
ture, and will receive platform with lght IRON
standards and a brass rail or guard. inns pat
form is intended for the examination and oilinS OF
the machinery and will he reached by lght cast
iron spiral staircase.
The beam il of the same shape Us used on board
our low-yreSsure steamboats,, and Is 10 feet long
and feet deep. The connecting rod OF wrought
iron with the usual braces, is l5t feet long Is
a handsome piece of forging. and Is finished III
n.rfact manner The crank is of wrought roni
as is the shaft-the latter being IL inches III dla
meter and Il feet long. II Is made IRON sPare
piston-rod which belonged to the steamship
Golden Gate. The fy-wheel' which is Intendru
for 3foOt belt is Is feet diameter b inches face
and weighs - coo pounds. The total height OF
the engine from the floor is 81 feet.
The valve motion which is claimed to be es-
pecially excellent consists of piston balance valves
operated by an eccentric. 1t distributes the steam
by reciprocating motion similar to thar OF an or
binary slide valve. The variable and selt-auJust-
ing expansion gear or cutoff is controlled by the
governor, which will regulate the motion OF the
engine with perfect precision. Inc operttiou oi
the governor is through peculiar mechanism
transmitted to a cam, the stroke OF which Is au-
yanced or retarded in proportion to the variations
of the resistance or work done by the engine.
This cam is attached to the piston valves, anu mas
the effect OF twisting them without interfering
with theiI Teciprocating motion. IL Is claineu
that steam is suppressed by this twisting MOTION
ut any requisite point of the stroke OF the engine
although the adjustment of the cutoff can be left
wholly TO the governor. which is perfectly auto
matte in this respect. II may also be adjusted oy
hand Il desired and whilst the engine is running
as au index shows, at all times at what point OF
the stroke of the engine the suppression OF steam
occurs. This expansion gearing was invented
and patented by MacNaught, of Glasgow.
That our readers may be enabled TO form some
idea of the unusual size of this piece of machinery
by far the largest stationary engine ever bull! IN
California, we may state that the beam weighs
1900 pounds, the bed-pla;e l4OO0 pounds, the Cyl,
Under 200 pounds the main shaft and crank b,eOO
uounds-and the total weight of the engine com.
plete is 10000 pounds. When working at its in
tended speed of IS revolutions, with 100 pounds
steam pressure, and cutting off AZ an average OF
TO stroke il will exert net force OF 20O to 3uO
horsepower This engine is capable Of running
mill of 100 stamps and other machinery attached.
Rv itself without boilers shafting, etc. it has cost
about S3OOoO 1t is now being taken down, pre-
paratory to its being shipped to Nevada Territory
where its influence on the future dividends OF the
Gould & Curry Company is expected to be great.