The Hawaiian gazette., 1872-12-04
The use of Wire Rope i'm Civil and
Mechanical Engineering

This rope passes at one end of the line round q
drum, driven by either steam, water, or even
horse power in small farming operations, at a
speed of from to miles per hour. The boxes
in which the load is carried are hung on the rope
at the loading end by wooden V-shaped saddle.
about IA inches long, lined with leather, and hav-
ing 4 small wheels, with curved pendant, which
maintains the box in perfect equilibrium while
travelling, and most ingeniously, but simply, en-
abes it to pass the supporting posts and pulleys.
By a sliding-ring arrangement the boxes or buck
cts are easily emptied by fitting, without unship-
ping the saddle from the rope. The boxes can
be made to carry from l cwt. 10 10 cwt, and the
proportions Of the line and the loading and dis
charging arrangements can be varied to suit any
particular requirement ranging from 10 tons to
1000 tons per diem. At each end of the line are
rails placed to catch the small wheels attached to
the saddles of the boxes, by which means the
weight, having acquired momentum, is lifted from
the rope and, thus suspended from fixed rail or
PLATFORM can be run to any point for loading or
emptyiBg, and again run on to the rope for trans
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rope never requiring to be stopped for loading or
unloading.
Curves of sharp radius are easily passed, as
well as steep inclnes, and its applicability to
cross rivers, streams, aud mountains, or hly dis
tricts, will be apparent at glance as the cost of
construction increases but little under such cir
cumstances, whilst that of road or railroad is
perhaps increased tenfold, and the daily working
cost doubled or trebled. The rope being contin-
uous, no power is lost on undulating ground, os
the descending loads helps those ascending.
In the case of lines for heavy traffic, where q
series of loads necessarily not less than cwt to
10 cwt. each, must be carried, pair of stationary
supporting ropes, with an endless running rope
for a motive power, will be employed, but the
method of supporting, and the peculiar advantage
of crossing almost any nature of country with
goods line without much more engineering work
or space than is necessary for fixing an electric
telegraph, without bridges, without embanll-
ments, and without masonry, exists equally in
both branches of the system.
In the minor applications, such as short trans
port from mines to railways the landing or ship
ping Of goods in harbors or roadsteads, and the
carriage of agricultural produce on FARMS some
peculiar features of the system render it specially
advantageous. Among these are the facility with
which power can be transmitted by the rope and
taken off at any point for mining or other pur
poses. In lines terminating on the sea-board, or
on great rivers, manifest advantage is secured
in the facility for taking goods direct to or from
ships in harbor or roadstead without transhipment
into lighters.
Seen from distance the posts which carry the
tramway wires at Brighton might be mistaken for
telegraph poles but nearer inspection reveals
second line Of wires on the same level, and upon
these wire-rope lines, supported on standards at
intervals varying from 300 to 1000 feet apart
according to the requirements of the ground,-
are suspended iron boxes for the carriage of
goods which boxes pass on noiselessly and stead
lily, carried forward by the rope at the uniform
rate of 5. miles an hour-the time required for
performing the entire circuit of the line.
In laying out these miles at Brighton the
opportunity has been taken of exemplfyng the
working of the system under every variety of diff |
fcuity that could possibly present itself thus we
have at one part an incline of in 6, up and down
which the rope and boxes work with perfect faci-
ity, the descending weights assisting those which
are ascending; then there are, besides several |
bends less acute two instances of absolutely right
angles which are passed with the greatest ease.
In ho 81 al 70
height of 20 feet, to meet inequalities of the |
ground, undulating and hily country being more
trying to this system than craggy and mountain |
Ous-such as that for which this plant is designed
and where from the long reaches taken, fewer
posts will be required.
The line is rather over miles long there are /
ll2 posts or standards in the whole length. |
These standards can either be made Of light angle |
aud band iron neatly put together, as in the
present case, or of wood. The rope is made of |
charcoal iron is two inches in circumference,
each strand, as well as the centre OF the rope,
having hempen core to secure ductility The
power employed to drive the rope is portable
I6 horsepower engine.
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length, and ingenuity has been shown in devising
every possible mode of testing the merits of this
system of transport; and we are bound TO record
that all difficulties have been overcome with com
plete success. The line is capable of delivering
24O tons per day of 10 hours, that is l2O tons in
each direction.
This tramway has been erected by Mr.. Hodg-
son, the inventor, at the request of some gentle
men with whom he was in negotiation for the
supply of materials for line go miles in length
in Ceylon.
1t is intended to divide the proposed Ceylon
line of 60 miles, into 5-mile sections, such the
one described engine working every sec
tons, and the boxes passing each section by
shuntng arrangements similar to those used at
the termini, from one section to another. The
line in work will be open daily to public inspec-
tion during the month of April and is well worth
a visit. 1t is hardly likely that SO efficient and
means of transport will be for long
exclusively confined, as at present, to the convey
auce Of goods. For ourselves, we venture to con-
fdeutly predict an early adaptation of the prin-
cipe of this ingenious system to passenger traffic.
Scientific Opinioa