The sun., 1873-07-18
THE GREAT PROBLEM SOLTED.
Materially Reducing the Cost OF Trnusporta-
tiou on the Csnals-A European Invention
Employed In New York.


An interesting and promising experiment
was made on last Friday ON the Buffalo and
Lockport Canal Of a system of steam cable tow
ing for canals, as practsed in France, Belgium,
and Germany. The principle was first intro
duced on the river Seine few years ago for
towing freight boats from Havre to Paris. The
process was the use OF submerged chain, with
links eight inches apart, running over or around
a cog wheel attached to the engine. The cogs
were oblong to ut the links The insertion Of
Fowlers clip drum allows the use Of n wire
cable Instead ol Cumbrous chain, lhls de-
creases the cost and increases the efficiency Of
the method.
hut since those days the system has been so
simplned that IL Is now used ON most OF the
principal canals and rivers In Europe. IL CON
sists OF wire cable laid on the bottom Of the
canal its entire length aud fastened at the ends
and a steam tug or tow boat provided with an
additional engine, to which Is attached clip
drum or grooved driving wheel, with suitable
guiding and tightening pullies The boats to he
towed are made fast to the tug, and the towing
Is performed 10y lifting the cable from the bot
tom of the canal and placing It over the clip
drum. The drum IL turned by machinery In the
tug. letting the cable pass over 1t without slip
ping. and fail back into the canal at the stern Of
the tug. Thus the tug II drawn along the cable
AT the rate Of from four to eight miles an hour.
The tugs and the boats can pass through the
locks with the same facility as those propelled
In isJp, ADDISON NJ Farwell Of watertown. y.
Y" visited Europe To see the operation Of this
q
great superiority over other plans, and upon
his report the General Assembly passed an act
authorizing him and his associates and sue
CessOrs to form "a corporation for Its introduce
tiun on the canals OF this State. The act ex-
empts the tugs and machinery and the necessa-
~ fuel from tolls. Mr.. Farwell secured. 10y con-
tract with the patentees, the right to use the
clip-drum and other portions Of the machinery
ON the canals IN New York. He subsequently
transferred all these rights to the New York
Steam Cable Towing Company, of which James
A. Bell Is President, and Madison NJ. Caleb OF
this city Is General Superintendent
The experiment last Friday as detailed by the
Buffalo Courier, was successful, and gave prom
ise of a speedy Introduction here OF the system.
The tow boat had an engine OF ffteen-h horse
power, made In Baelgium, having four eccen-
tries working on two wheels, and run In single
loads. II Ia a double-ender, running either way
with equal facility, having a propeller To run
when not attached to the cable. Near each end
on the port side Ia wheel three feet in diam
eter, half submerged, over which the cable first
passes thence IL runs under a six-foot wheel
entirely out of water, near the centre OF the side
OF the boat. The cable then passes over the
ciip-drum wheel, eight feet In diameter, and
still higher than the six-foot wheel thence un-
der another six-foot wheel and over the three
foot wheel at the other end Of the boat.
The aggregate burden of the five canal boats
towed was over seven hundred tons, and the
rate up stream was four miles an hour. There
was no difficulty in steering them. without
with the stream, and hve miles against the cur
rent. The company say they can reduce freights
nfty per cent. hy this system, and pay good div
iueuis.