St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1890-03-26
MINNEAPOLIS.
THE PUMPS ALL RIGHT.
Minneapolis will Accept the
North Side Station.

Minneapolis may we'll be proud of the
new pumping station at Single creek.
According to the statements made by
the experts, it is one of the finest plants
of it's kind in the United States. After
being in practical operation for several
months, yesterday was selected as the
day upon which the official test was to
be made, and upon this official test rest
ed the payment of $4,000 which was
held back by the city to make the con-
tractors keep to the letter of their agree
ment. Yesterday the one pump, which
was subjected to ten-hours, test,
showed that it not only pumped the re-
did more. All the other stations
were shut down and the one
pump supplied the entire city with
water, During the test the pump was
worked to its utmost capacity, and the
amount of water discharged was found
to be too much for the mains, so the out
let at Twentieth avenue north was
opened and between 100000 and 6,000,-
600 gallons were discharged into the
river. Although the pump was run at
high rate Of speed the vibration, if there
was any, was lmperceptible, as coins set
up edgewise upon the frame supporting
the plunger remained stationary during
the entire day. The new pumping sta
ton is located at the mouth of Single
creek, and for nearly mile up and
down the river there is an average depth
of water OF from fourteen to eighteen
feet, with acurrent running about seven
miles per hour, insuring plenti-
station for several miles the
bed of the river is composed of sand
rock, which, with the gravel banks, acts
as purifier, thus inSuring pure water.
The crib, or intake, is now located
about 100 yards below the mouth of
Sbingle creek. This, however, is only
temporary, and while the creek is fed
entirely from springs in all probability
the intake when permanently arranged
will be set some distance above it. The
pumping station is a two-story red
brick structure, of pleasing architectural
design. On the first floor are located
the boiler and pump rooms, and the
necessary offices. The second floor is
given up to the sleeping apartments for
the engineers and other workmen in
charge, so that at all times there is a
double crew of men within call. The
entire building is finished in natural
woods. and while there is but little at
tempt at decoration there is a subStan-
tial look about the place, the building
alone costing something like $4,000.
In the pump room there are two
pumps, each with guaranteed capacity
of 100000 gallons every twenty-fOur
hours. The pumps were manufactured
by Henry r. Worthington. The high
pressure cylinders are 33 inches in diam
eter and the low pressure 66 inches in
diameter, the plunger being 33 inches
in diameter and the stroke over all 4S
inches. The engines are known as the
Worthington high duty compound con-
densing engines, using attached air
pumps driven by beam operated by
the main engine. This engine is the
same in all material features as the
old WOrthington engine, familiar to all
engineers, with the exception of the
high duty attachment, simple device
by which the economy of the engine is
raised to the highest grade of efficiency
without the complications and danger
Gus features of the crank and fly
wheel. There were present yesterday,in
official capacities, Profs. Barr and Pike,
of the university, and SIX students from
the engineering department, who, with
City Engineer Rinker, Andrew Cald-
well, mechanical engineer; Frank
Cakes, his assistant, and Charles Smith,
the running engineer, and Capt. H. G.
ID. Tarr, the representative of Worthing-
ton, made the official test, and upon
their report, which will be made during
the present week, depends the accept
ance or rejection OF the pumps. Al
though the figures are not official, an
estimate made by the officials during
the day placed the number of gallons