, 1874-04-25

proving that it travelled much faster in IL
Lighter or moro rartaed air.
Before beginning description OF what b.
= been done in Chicago in the way OF establishit
an American system Of pneumatic transportation
It will be yell to state that tho SUCCESS of tt
London syEtaua WIS not long in finding iInitatol
ornEn CITIES or GREAT BRITAIN.
= ana at the present day Liverpool has two pneu
ma'ic tubes each T9l yards in length, and one o
1877 yards in length Manchester has tiyo Of a;
aggregate length Of 2,ooG yards: Birmingham
tn1eo h, 81 h1oa an length Of COS yads
yards and Glasgow ono OF 2l2 yards All these
lines, however, do not equal in extent ths
London Eystem, which ia composed Of not lest
than
| THIRTEEN MILES or TUBEg
which have been laid ut the COST Of about $50.
o0o. As Is usual with articles OF English mani1-
! facture, the tubes and sending and Receiving aD-
paratus OF these lines is Of tho heaviest aud
costhest description, altogether too heavy and
costly, as will he shown IN the DESCRIPTION Of
the pneumatic tube eystom Of Chicago, and tho
contrssted points Of the old world and new world
| apparatus. The
FuABEn OF MESSAGES
sent IN day along the London tubes is In tho
| vicinity Of 5000, and M1. Scudanlore, the man
| ager OF tho English Governmental Telegraph.
| states that On the occasion Of political crisis
or the turn OF an important market, the tolo-
! graph lines would not be liable to cope with tho
| pneumatic tubes.
In preparing the above general description OF
what has been accomplished IN Great Britain in
tho systom Of pneumatic tubes, anything like a
mlnute description OF the various apparatus en-
pioyed has been avoided, because thoir working
~ll be duly set forth in the description Of what
IR1nUSE reporter San few days since in the
Offices of the Wastern Union Telegraph Comma
ny, where the English system has been followed.
not ahjectty initiated, but improved upon i1l
Ynpn 81 Il a%o:1 r. =,
that system Which has been worked SO sdyan
tageously in the Old World should hayo bocn tor
some tlmo ignored in the New; but it ia by no
means strange that the first experiment of any
extent should be made
IN CHICAGO.
For some timo past Col. I. T. s. Wilson. En-
perintendent OF tho ". U. r. Go. has been in
connection With Alr. somers, Engineer md !
Electrician Of that Company, studying the pneu-
matte system, and adapting it for uso as an nd |
1nnct to the American system OF telecraply. |
The object OF these gentlemen was not meroiy |
the emploving Of the English system, but the
cheapening and improving it 40 that
THE PERFECTED AMERICAN IDEA
might be the means OF establishing tubes which
might be used successfully in other departments
OF work besides those in which it hns hitherto /
been exclusively employed Col. Wilson believes
In going slowly at tho start, but he has unlim-
tied 1mth that in tho course Of time
pneumatic-tube transmission will be 30 econo-
1nizcd and simpliicd TINT it will be proftah1v
employed in all branches Of commercial trans
portation.
Since his first attempts, Col. Wilson has made
> series OF successful experiments, and, when
nm with the request that he be shown round =!
'he pneumatic department, the Colonel ct once ]
complied, and. IN company with Mr. Sou,ers, in
roduced the reporter to the
MYSTERIES OF THE TUBES
Tho first place visited vas the engine roono =
md on the way there Col. Wilson stated that tie
Eocess OF sending packages by pneumat- /
tubes bad never been adopted ont /
lde OF Chicago except for communication
otween rooms in tho same building, and TINT
be American systcm which the reporter Uas i:
bout to examine WIS purely the result of expe- E
ence and experiment IN this city. He WIS enrn &
INT 1t would very soon bo advantaseonsly am Ii
loyed IN very many Of the larger Newspaper Of Il
ces and business houses Tor transmitting papers +
I'D email packages from floor to floor. and but i
ttie time would elapse before the streets would o
underlined oy network OF these tubos. He "
atea that ri
HAND MACuHEs N
ID been used ut different places In the Un}ted ri
ates since ther first introduction in CHICAGO III
me ire years 'Blnce. 1he first air-motor used III
Is m ordinary large-slzed bellows, which had E
owed tailnre, but the Root blower which ~
eceedeo It WAS found to work tube OF CT
teet N extent very successfully. Just be- CO
TO the ira pneumatic tube ran across the nj
.eet, between tho Western Union Tcerrar, so
ice and the Board OF Trade, and the bnsinnsa st,
the Company VAS thereby greatly facilitated. VI
iosner i Ane % teet m length communicated
tween the upper and lower Offices Of tho Com mi
n.y.. After the fra however, it was decided
It tho unsightlincss Of the tube stretching in be
1-an across the street should be dispensed t1a
n, and apneumatic tube was laid under the th
oct, connecting the Board OF Trade and te1a. tn
ph Offices. A year ago an experiment was by
do with tltclburg alr-compressor by which | thf
'as hoped strong force could be brought to Bys
X tue tortuous .tubo, but it proved q the
lentaoe failure being only able to givo
ssure OF Is pounds to the square inch. which ma
quite Inadequate, o pressure of about 200 inc
Lnds being required Tie next aud iro
MOST SUCCESSFUL AIR-coatpnEsson der
was the Westinghouse air brake pump, two
which were found in successful operation in I
} work done By these very COMPACT littlo M. abe
1es was tho filling Of large ehoet-iron tank int
he story above with the concentrated essenee arc
atmosphere. The Bize Of the tank ia ahont and
IN height by about feet in diameter, and wht
a1n Is one Of the troubles which Col, Wilson moi
partially overcome, aud hopes finally to ban is
entirely. It was apparent to him that tho dri,
pressed air requisite to run long line sen
tubes noe! would tako up more space than tub
u oe auoFdea IN tie building. This trouble tral
got over by using one OF the air-pumna tn I,
her compress the air which had already been q ba
hfeeseo + " the other 10 accomplish this. a by 8
IL tank was built Immediately between the ing
pa ~ wh'en, e as last % it was filled by pump "de
!
IL sent 1t douby compressed into the tank on to IL
story above, whosa force was of course thera. tho
ouby as grcatas it would have been If fed bv pres
y OF f. the two pumps, or both OF them, ii,
y 1he obta
EcoSonuZ1Sd OF EpACE | OF a
be accomplished by tho eaddition of euotrer q da
sluehouee ar-p pump, and the adoption Of whic
lef and stronger tanks for the storing Of Tho "tu
e-concentrated atmosphere This douh. II
up process which, with the Te5tiuchousa to CT
''ot' VIII nave much to do in cheapeniug and aires
- ,popularlzng pneumatic-tube transrnission piect
'n1ceeo, - tne Invention OF Nr. WestiuQ- Anne
e, Of alr-b1ake celebrity. by Ct
wing seen the alr- pumps in operation, the the c
rteT went upstairs i,lto III
THE TASK-RooM, arc
Q he saw the receptacle OF the comnraaaaa slye
'hlch was IN appearance remarkably like an recei
AIRY steam-boiler set up on end. The Anne
'isy OF this tank is Ito pounds to the sounre tight
nut it " supplied with safety-valye Which supp
II tho air at pressure OF 80 pounds, Itis | tube
ntentlon to build three rew tanks. eacI, whicl
ct IL height and feet in diameter. to es
! will be strictly air-tight At nress.
$50 pounds, but will be fitted With safetv- a11an
. 70 loe the ar on Ut 200 pounds pressure wher
prcseut tank was found to be be bearnc partu
'sure Of forty pounds, only d single pum6 1ncnt
n TOR by3+4 ]