The Grenada gazette., 1889-01-10
OLD STEAM ENGINE.
A Queer and Ponderous Centrivanee, Hut
II Did Its Wofk Well.

1t has been claimed that to Rhode
Island belongs the honor OF using tht
first practical stationary steam engine
In the United States. Without at
tempting to vouch for the historical
accuracy of the statement, 1t is sufii
cient to know that the engine was al
work in the town of Cranston more
than hundred years ago, and that
although of crude construction anC
ponderous movement, it did the work
for which it was designed. The en-.
gine was built by Mr.. Joseph Brown,
OF this city, nd cost upward Of fl 900
1t was founded upon the English type
OF engine known as the Newcomer
but contained some improvements ant
simpliications original with the build
err The engine was set up at thc
Cranston ore beds beyond knights,
vile, and one Of the most complete ac
counts of it is to be found in the
biography and diary of Manasseh Cut
Ter, LII. d., Ipswich, Mass. Dr. Cut
Ter appears to have learned Of this en-.
| ginn and took occasion to visit it. In
the diary, undeI date June p. 1887, he
thus describes the mechanism:
TO 60 to the furnace and engine was
eight miles, nearly, out OF my wav, but
my curiosity was so much excited by
the description Of so singular scheme
the only one in America-that
could not deny myself the pleasure of
viewing it. arrived at the ore beds
| (iron ore) at twelve o'clock. The en-
gine was at work raising water from a
well eighty feet deep, The iron fuc is
two and one-half feet wide by six feet
long, with a square hearth at tho
mouth, secured from hre by large,
thick, iron plates. On the back part
OF the tiue is winding funnel, which
passes into chimney back Of the
building.
above the flue is placed 4 wooden
boiler, six feet in diameter, which is
constantly kept full of water when the
engine is in motion. The boiler rises
above the first story Of the building.
much in the form Of the large cisterns
used in distilleries. where it receives,
at the top, the condensing cylinder,
two and One-half feet in diameter, and
made of plated iron. From this cyIin-
der large worm passes with many
windings down the boiler. The valve
that passes into this cylinder is more
than two feet in diameter, and rises
and descends by means OF an iron rod
made fast to one end of a large
beam. Around the top of the
boiler are numerous leaden pipes
some connected with the con-
dcnser and some not furnished with
stop-cocks for admitting or excluding
air or water, as necessary in working
the machine; but they are too numer-
GUS and complicated to admit of any
description from a mere view of the
machine. A large reservoir OF water
is placed in the third loft of the house.
and is constantly supplied with pump
for the purpose, by the working OF the
machine.
The large beam is a massive piece OF
timber near four feet in diameter and
twonty feet long, being two very large
oak tmbers nicely forged together.
1t moves on large iron bolt in the
center, like the beam OF scales, and
has two arching timbcrs, at each end,
forming the scgments Of circle
along which two chains Of a apr0ligiouS
size play as the bean moves. One of
these chains leads to the piston, or
valve of the condenser, and the other,
at the opposite end, to the pumps in
the we'll. There are four cold water
pipes, one feeding Pipe, and one vent
ing pipe. By the same motion of the
beam which raises the water out of the
well all these pipes open or closo by
means of stOp-cocks and valves aS the
design of them requires. There
are two large pumps in the
well, which is eighty feet deep and
twenty-thrcc feet wide. The sides OF
the well are supported by large tim
bers laid horizontal, SO as Ito make the
form OF the we'll quintangular, and tho
ends OF the timbcrs are let into one
another. The engine raises seven
of water in a minute, and
the fue consumes two cords of wood in
twenty-four hours.
The immense weight of the beam,
the cast-iron wheels. large chains and
other wcighty parts Of the works occa-
sion a most tremendous noise and
trembling of the large building in
which it is erected when the machinery
is in motion. BY the sides of the we'll
from which the water is drawn are
two other wells, seventy feet deep.
These are sunk down in the bed or
ore, and in these are the workmen,
ten or twelve in number. digging ore
The ore is raised in large buckets,
which hold about one ton weight, let
down and drawn up by large chains.
carried from the well to large cap
stan, which is constantly turned by an
OK. As one bucket arises another goes
down. These wells are kept dry by
the water continually drawing off into
the we'll where the pumps are fixed,
and the pumps keep the vatcr below
the height where the men work. -
Providence fR. L. Journal.