Mineral Point tribune. (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1869-1938, 1892-12-03
Powerful NOn-ClawS Which Eas.
lily Handle Enormous
Weights.
Run Through Air With Loco
motives Weighing Nearly
100 Tons.
Dep0slting Them as Gently as
Il Mother Lays Tier Babe
10 hest.

IHrN NAAH 1NE 40 " hAAI oAAAASAbof " hNAA
lm~perLshaOle mCLumeuts, Hk. the pyra-
uids, were constructed Of masses of
stone 50 great that modern engineers
nav wondered in vain how they reach
cd their place, uA4 problem OF moving
and lifting yas weights has occupied
mechanical minds.
The product Jf Jhesl studies is the
travelling crane, a monster claw, Sus-
pended at variable heights, that can,
at the Will OF the hand that guides the
lever, transfer through space great
pieces Of ironWOrk, sometimes reaching
the weight Of one hundred TONS, and
deposit it us gently as the tall Of u
feather on the exact spot designated.
Although the travelling crane existed
il EurOpt Il quarter Of "a century ago,
it failed to attain perfection in motion.
The speed was TOO slow and it obtain
ed but little foothold as a labor-sayer.
The American machinists attempted
the task Of increasing the speed. The
result has been a crane with the aver
az speed Of from one to two hundred
feet per minute
The first cranes used in this country
were propelled by hand. Steam and
electricity have supplanted this mode
of propulsion and it was through them
that the present high speed was attain
ed.
The progress Of crane building in
this country for a long time was very
.H.rr4 md ff4.. F,.t. machines introduced
were abandoned through lack OF use.
They have gained Il s-cure foothoid
now, however, and are universally used
by large concerns.
1t took ten years for the travelling
crane to become appreciated. Their
general use has Ia to another develop
mcnt, that of lie swing crane, which
travels back am forth and swings
within a given radius. In 1886 tn
first travelling crane manufactured in
Philadelphia was produced by William
Sellers & Co. 1t was rejected after a
short term Of service as being too slow.
They later manufactured a crane that
ran siNty-six feet per minute, and by
alteration and improvement have sue
ceeded i'm increasing the speed to two
hundred feat. This is regarded as the
highest standard speed.
A crane travelling mt this rate is in
daily usa ut the Southwark Foundry
in Philadelphia. The Baldwin Loco
motive Works had built by the same
company a crane that is capable of
lifting one of their heaviest engines,
some of which weigh nearly 100 tons,
fifteen or twenty feet from the ground
and carry it at a high speed clear
across the erecting shop, a distance of
nearly 100 yards. 1t is propelled by
electricity and its motion is governed
by one man. who needs to exert no
force beyond n gentle pull on the lever.
These achievements have gained for
The company Tho name of the pioneers
in the manufacture of high speed
crancs. 1t and three other constructors
of lifting machinery win each furnish
"a crane to he used i'm Machinery Hall
ut the Columbian Exposition for con
veyiug passengers the length and
breadth Of that great structure. The
machine the Sellers Company viii fur
nish is to have q lifting capacity Of
twenty tons and will be capable of at
tanning a speed of five hundred feet
per minute. The motive power will be
electricity apnliad through two ten-ton
troIl VS. and it win have a scvonty-siN
faef snan. A huge cage will be Sis
nenaed from the @ nitro with a seating
- nacitv for nearly 200 people. The
runaway win he 1.tOo feet long and
r-fu bo troversr1 I'm loss than three min
ptos in absolute safety
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