New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1892-06-12
STREET.SVEEPING MACHINES.
HOW THEY WORK AND WHAT THEY CosI-AT.
IEMPTs At IMPROVEMENTS.

HOW THEY WORK AND WHAT THEY CoSI-AT
IEMPTs At IMPROVEMENTS.
To the average citizen the street-swcepng machine
E an object OF aversion and the OF more or less
profanity .It swishing along Just as he Is going
out for the evening and kicks up cloud Of gust
which settles on his silk hat and nils MS eyes ana
mouth with the sediment OF city life and traffic The
sweeping machine however, Is the result OK sood
deal Of careful designing and inventing and uckess
inventors are all the time spending their ume ana
money in the effort 10 get up new and improved M
chimes.
The standard sweeping machine Is the simpien
form that can be gotten up for simplicity is neccs-
slty TO which all other theoretical advantages nave
Welded. A twohOrse sweeper costs the city SAoo'
II has large pair OF wheels behind and small sViv'
elled truck front. Under the rear wheels Is puns
the cylindrical broom. which is about ten fece lcns'
and which when new. Is about three feet In diameter
Tho brooms arc used. however, until they are worn
down TO less than half that diameter. They are mads
q, material called bass OF ratan. sometimes bass
and rattan are mixed. Especially good results Ne
claimed FOR the combination rs the sth rattan diss
ont the mud, while tho finer bass sweeps away the
dust.
The broom is hung at an angle OF GO degrees 70 'ns
e OF travel OF the sweeper. which incncs II 80 de-
crecs 10 the main axle. A countcrshntt takes the
motion from the revolving axle. through bcvel goArne
and sprocket chain runs down from the countcrshaU
10 the broom. The gearing IL usually so proporionea
that the broom makes three revolutions 70 one revou'
ton OF the wheels OF the sweeper and In the op
posite direction. The broom can be lifted up aus
thrown OF gear by the driver when the uaachtss =
not sweeping.
which gradually works to the right hand side ana
leaves It there In O w1ndrow. The twohorse machihs
sweeps q swnth about eight feet wide.
Twenty miles is considered a good nights work for
ono machine and pair OF horses. As The machine must
travel back and forth from four to six times To sweep
q street. it can sweep completely only from three 10
five miles OF streets in night. In Washington they
use large horse sweepers, because they can %
handled TO advantage In the broad avenues OF ths
Capital. 1t would be too much bother turning then
around in -Yorks narrow thoroushfarcs.
With the arrangement OF brooms described each par
tcle OF dirt Is swept dasonally across the street ans
II 1t is on the extreme left It will be carried aoous
forty feet forward in order to get 1t eight fec acros
TO the wtndrow where It is dropped. As ths lHS u
tho pavement run straight at right angles. 1t
evidently desirable that the broom sh>.a sweep
along these joints Not only would the 1oi' men ~
cleaned out but the dirt would be swept Gasscty 70
the windrow instead of being tumbled oves and over
while the machine is travelling forty feet one en-
sineer recently built a machine that did sweep ex.
acty ut right angles the street. but 1t ran naN
and took more horses to pull It ana the mechanism
wasn't quite so simple that Of the old machine;
Another object OF much inVentlng is tue -
ton OF n good pickup" machine-one that picNs ~
and carries OIL Its own sweepngs Instead or ieasnt
them In windrow. Some have been butt nat
worked fairly well smooth asphalt pavement, put
they likely to get out Of order and work
-while rough pavement knocks them out compie'ey.
Dr. Smith, formerly health officer OF New naS
spent over thousand dollars on pickup mas% ~.
which ne had exhibition at the Inst American IN.
stituie Fair. II had the ordinary form OF broom ous
instead OF dropping the windows Of art IN see ss IA
10 deposited on a belt which carried the dv up ans
dropped Il into a box. This picked up about tnreSs
ouhs Of the dirt but the other quarter was ,S sr
beyond the belt. 60 the problem Is stlll unsoivco y
sny entirely practical and satisfactory manner.