, 1872-11-14

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death of many persons. Everyone is tamllaE
with the splendid edifice which, in appearances
was unharmed by the fire, and which is ~" L.
ceiving the first instalment OF its IRON 1ool.
With the details of the lake 11nne1, ,,;ounh T,n1
Of engineering, which made the city famous mno nua
its daring enterprise, and gave the Conlnon ~,
Council an opportunity at ITS oPenG, III G,,,oi, VI ar.
drlge in one Of those pleasant tetes SO ulust
joyed by the municipality, two on]eets ~ m.i1n ~
shou1d be- considered abundant reason TOT lts
construction even were other reasons "anIlub.
# was conceived in extreme nervousness py tao
engineer and previous to ITS p1r1n MAS 1eo@Ao
ed as an 1upromiang addition 10
THE SCIENTIFIC WORLDS
family IF achievements; but its arrival dlspeAoa
III dnnhta as to it's value. The work was COM
menced me on the land shaft, on March n,
1861 IS moTe ana eastward sHs ' on May Is, 1864.
The entrance to the tunnel is six feet IN dlame-
ter. and tapers to five feet IN distance OF OF
twenty feet. The excavation vas gene1r:al!uy
sti bpa 'T he but ersatest wte aad most
dangerous difficulty met with was one that hau
not been anticipated, and that was
1SFIAs1MABLE AND EXPLOSIVE GAS.
Early in the progress OF the WORK several &C.
nately without fatal results to the Workmen,
but the escapes we're narrow. At one time the
gas kept the miners out Of the tunnel for three
days On Oct. 16 point 75o 1eet
east from the centre SHAFT IT, was atsa1;an deaenSu
vas 93 feet in one week. Only once was
boulder met with go large as to require blasting.
There was little nervousness felt as TO 1ne
1T hr,4S
effect OF blasting under the lake. nut ~ causeu ~
| the masonry. Preparations for commencing
| operations at the outer end of the tunnel we're
| early made, but nothing WAS done until May,
1854:
THE CAST IRON CYLINDER
for the lake shaft was lowered two or three feet
into the clay. The work Of tunnelling was carried
on from this end in very much the same
manner, and about as rapidly as from the M iand 81
shaft. The average progress made vas 9s 1aiE LGee
shaft was reached. when operations in this o. u.
| rection ceased. When work from the land shalt
was within 100 feet Of this point, the masonry
| was stopped, and small tlmbered DRIFT run
as to how the two lines would meet. ~ The ,tcH ITO
| faces wero brought together on Nov. 3o, 1oGo,
when it was found that tho masonry Of the
face f.. was From only ne ae9as %es e s2d 4is
last Of the masonry was completed on Dec. G,
and stone connemorating the event placea
| tlere by the Mayor, in the presence Of the Com
mon Council and Board Of Public WORKS. Inc
formal celebration Of tho completion OF the tun.
| mel took place March 70, 1861. Ine TOTAL co5s
amounted to $457, ,844. .95.
! TEE FIRST "GnEAT" ENGINE.
In 1867, what waA known the great engine,
at the north end Of the building, was a.: erected.
& cressr, Sss ehiaf ssa engineer Of the pumping
sp:1i the Morgan Iron Works, New York. It has two
steam cylinders, Il inches in diamete1 the M pls:
water pumps are % inches in diameter, with
length Of stroke Of s feet. Its capacity is equiv
alent to that of the other two engines together
This engine has been in operation, l., and dom:
good work since its erection, bnt, like the ros'
Of the city, came to grief on Oct: Q, very early
in the morning. During the first three dayl
after that disastrous day, between 200 and 3oi
men we're at work upon the premises, among
whom were machinists, engineers bouer
makers, masons, carpenters, and others o.
: I engine, was started, and ran through the night
This engine worked satisfactorily and supphe'
the CITY until December II, without once stop
Ming. The other engines we're in order on NO
7ember 10.
, ABOUT TWO YEARS AGO
the Common Council decided upon the construc
tion Of another engine, whose capacity should D
equal to that Of the three now composing th
pumping works of the city. It was designed b.
; worlz Of this structure was in place at til
, time OF the fire. 1t, together with tn
+ foundation, suffered considerable damage a
= tanning ihe roof trusses, by which the heay
narts Of the engine we're to be put in place. wore
e Of course, consumed Two car loads OF expet
eiye machinery, consisting Of composition valve:
d all reduced by the heat into shepeless and uEe
3 less mass Of metal The three large boilers /; il
6 tended for this ne"' engine wero #
8 advanced toward completion {; tug E
: te',;st;1suus t;s',;..1us o1 =. +. Buscheck, in til
Il city; but they we're so bsuly - oa!nags N t1lH
to be- taken apart and rebuilt. The loss upon u U
nav enaine and boilers will reach about 81,
10 besides having greatly delayed their final COZ
" pletion. The work upon the engine had SO
q progressed that it was thought it might tt be pgt
l. l. nse about June /, but delays have followed d
d laws, and to-day for the first time; ct IL ocloc
- this ma enifcent machine will be started
:. TEE NEW ENGINE.
Tho following is an abridged aesc1'ptd1om, do,,,
ar tho enUina: The type Of the engine ls douo
j. vertical, condensing steam engine; Inc Gyl'
ID dgrs arc feet 10 inches in diameter, WITH
ae feet stroke. The pumps are feet inches
ct diameter, with 10 feet stroke, and are conneG1
D. pumps are Of the Thames:Ditton type, proyg1d g
Ii arc designed to deliver s6,0oo,ooo glI, gano
er Of water in twenty-four hours, thIo9 ";
1b-lDcQ malQ. 1u6
Is tons each, are % feet long, and make
be strokes minute, The ty-whee1 is % feet n a.
,ct ameter, and weighs SO tons. The rim is polst;
ho throughout, and is apparently, one piece,
bolts being and therefore % INV
ra- Bile. AL the connectlons aIe lAauo " WIZ
nd iron, and are highly polished. any piece wol
on make mirror The beams and other parts
lis sustained on single Tuscan columns, Of n3aas
it and elegant proportions, which also se'
il as air ehamber6 The 'oat-otf" is
the Sickles pattern, and is hig
IN | polished. The steam cylinders
C. chests are covered with non-conducting ma
me | rial, and the whole encased with black vel,
d. staves The front Of the engine is fitted II
ual silver-p1ated steam and vacuum gauges: AM
Iis- wheel. From the base Of the pumps to the
the OF the beams the height is 63 f~et. This n
md remarkable engine is located in well 40 feet
his diameter, connected with the lake tunnel, II
ary whence it, pumps the water into
~ IN stone; and weigh about $4,000 to
There is vast amount of detail, all Of frst-cl
YORK. polished and made beautiful. ALI the
=; lines are to be painted in the best Of style, vi
onf M fhe new roof on the engine house is comple
ooA W" trpg iqGpne1 hv n q n