Omaha daily bee., 1883-04-05
KEsLY's LATEST ENGINE.
A Monster Combination OF Tubes
Musical Pegs, Globes and Spindles
NOW Building.


Philadelphia Times.
A knock upon the back door of q
little brick building on Twentieth
street, above Master, yesterday,
brought an old. dai kened maohinist,
In his working clothes, face to face
with Times reporter. The workman
bowed pleasantly, and in reply to a
question said:
"Mr. Keely Is not in town, but you
NAV see the engine, if you will come
In"
The reporter stepped into q room,
the gloom of which deepened almost
Into darkness when the door closed
behind him. Here Keely, the mys.
terious ''motor" man, has been for
months engaged upon the construction
of a mighty engine which he believes
will enable him to demonstrate to a
sceptical world how an ocean steam.
ship or a train of cars can be driven by
a steel bottle Ct nameless "vapor."
There were no windows In the room
and the light of day struggled feebly
for entrance down o narrow winding
stairway, which led up from a further
corner. 1t wal q moment or two be-
fore the visitor, with the aid of q
borning gas jet, could see distinctly.
A table, running the length of the
apartment, was laden with all sorts of
machinists' tools. On the opposite
side a small steam engine was ar.
ranged to run a lathe. The idea at
once suggested itself that one of Mr..
Keely's small machines, which work
perfectly, as he alleges, ought to have
been used. The heavy rafters of the
ceiling were hung with all sorts of
queer and rusty looking designs In iron
and brass. Resting upon a broad, iron
bed, In the centre of the little room,
was an object shaped somewhat like a
gigantic iron egg, cut through near the
point and exposing the interior. The
detached part lay up against the
wall. "There," said the work
man proudly, sis the engine"
Inside the immense Iron shell there
were ten heavy iron tubes arranged
in the form of a circle and fastened
at one end into an iron disk, and at
the other into o 10 called pin plate, a
heavy iron ring containing three hun
dred steel pins, ranging from one and
a half tc four inches In length. Five
of these tubes were painted black, and
were said to be vacuum or negative,
and the remainder, which were white,
we're called pressure or positive tubes.
A heavy iron drum fits into this nest
of tubes, The various parts are Joined
together with steel cylinedrs and are
supported upon ponderous standards
by the same means. The en-.
CINE with Its appurtensnces will
weigh when completed nearly
thirteen tons. 1t will exert, when
at Its best, Mr.. Keely is quite sure, a
force Of five hundred horse pc wer. l.
will be furnished with a belt Al inches
In width, and 1t is stated as al amaz.
ing fact that when at work the whole
engine will ~revolve. 1t has not turned
yet. Il has, In fact, not been all put
together yet. MIR. Keely says, how
ever, that he has successfully operated
a small engine, after which this one
has been fashioned. The reporter
was given a glimpse of the little en-
CINE through a peep hole in the door
of Mr.. Keely's private work room. 1t
was not operated, but the reporter
was assured that 1t had been sent spin
ming round by a Whit from a soda
water tank filed with vapor.
The mysterious generator which has
been the subject of a good deal OF
comment, Is set up in a second. story
back room of Mr.. Keely's building.
As soon as the big engine shall have
been completed connection with the
generator will be established by COP.
per tubing. 1t is declared by those
In the motor company that everything
will be completed In a few months.
Mr.. Keely, 1t is said, spends his
evenings drawing up the papers neces-
saryi in making application for letters
patent. He has already filed nearly
eight hundred fools cap pages. opu.
lar expressions have been substituted
for the technical te-ms which made
his previous efforts In this direction
the subject of a good deal of ridicule. |
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