Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1890-02-01


It is never quiet while the cable runs. The
lower carriage on which the tension ma
chinery rests is only moved when in the
course of the cables life it stretches. It then
becomes necessary to take up this perma-
nent elongation, and this is done by moving
the lower sheave-car back with a crowbar or
suitable machinery.
WHERE WASTE POWER COMES IN.
1t must be plain to all who understand
what cable line is, that very large por-
ton of the power required cannot be called
useful, for it is expended in moving thS
cable itself. It requires about 25-horse
power per mile of double-track cable line, to
maintain the unloaded cable at proper speed,
and if the number of cars were four to the
mile it is plain that they would require but
little more than that amount OF power to
move them on the level, and as before stated
all cable lines may be considered level SO
far as expenditure of power is concerned.
While the maximum life of a cable is 10
months. it must be understood that this is
an exceptional case, OF course the life de-
pends on the number of times that the cable
is gripped, which, again, depends on the
business the road does, and its life also de-
pends very greatly on the number Of curves
in the line of the road. ItmaY be very gen.
erally stated, however, that in Kansas City
the cost of maintaining the cables themselves
has been $40 per day per mile of double
track.
The cable is received from the manutac-
turer on a huge spool, and in many cases
has been SO heavy as to require the construc-
ton of special cars for its transportion. The
spool is swung on its center, the end OF the
cable placed in a grip, and the grip car
drawn over the line by as many draught
animals as the case requires, the spool turn
ing slowly as the cable pays out. On the
return of the end of the cable to the power
house, it is passed around the driving ma
chinery in proper position, and the two
ends spllced to complete the work.
The splicing is an operation requir-
| ing the best of skill The splice is
about so feet long, and the work must be so
we'll finished that the splicer himself will
have difficulty in locating the point where
it was done. 1t must be fully as strong as
any other part of the rope, and it must be of
precisely the same size as all other portions,
or it will make trouble at-sOme- saFtfallly
closed grip, and the ends of the strands
must be perfectly smoothed of, for loose
strand on a moving cable, with its liability
to become entangled in grip, is an element
of danger that must be certainly avoided.
To accomplish this with the ends of a wire
rope is far greater problem than to accom-
plish it with hemp. The cable splicer must
| be both artistic and scientific.
THE GRIP AND THE DAILY COST.
The grip is powerful vice, operated by a
| lever which through the medium of an &c.
centric motion makes almost any pressure
on the cable possible. The grip is shown in
| detail Throw the lever toward the left, and
the plate on which the end of it rests, and
which in turn rests on the upper portion o.
the cable, will rise, while the plates sup
| porting the cable will fall. The cable then
rests on the rollers, where it runs without
abrasion. A motion to the extreme left will
raise the rollers and throw the cable from
the grip entirely. an operation which ii
necessary at crossings and terminals. A
the point marked height of slot rail, the grlI
| plates are only half an inch thick, and arr
of course in the center of the track whert
the slot is. The cable, therefore, does no
run precisely under the slot, but about II!
inches to one side. The grip jaws are solidly
fastened to the sides of the plates, and il