The Seattle post-intelligencer. [volume] (Seattle, Wash. Terr. [Wash.]) 1888-1914, 1895-12-02
THE DOOM OF STEAM.
Stationary Boiler Soon to Be
a Thing of the Past.
PROPHECY OF WESTINGHOUSE.
The Enormous Fconor,v or The C.s
Observation-Disclosures of Water
Gas and Electricity.
New York Times.

promlses
When the directors o. the Pennsylvania
railway were on their annual tour CT in
spection few weeks ago they were in
nl.ea 70 visit the Westinghouse works near
f4ttsDurg, George Westinghouse, after
showing them how he obtained all the
electriclty he needed from the power de-
Nsioped b gas engines. said that they
were thro wing away more than 4000ooo
.o1s OF coal every year By using steam
so'o,notiVss instead OF electric motors for
hauling their trans
You burn altogether about 100000 tons
OF coal every year on the Pennsylvania
railway east OF Pittsburg" said Mr.. West
lngnouse. If you used electric motors
reg D the current produced by gas en-
saHes u would only require one-eighth of
the quantity CT coal now consumed 10 ure-
pare the gas. That would save You about
s'sV's3 year. which would justify the
large expenditure needed 20 change the
motive power from steam 10 electricity"
Il might be thought that Mr. Westing-
Ho0se was In an imaginative and not in
practical vein when he made these re-
marks. II has been stated publ5elv ina.
ne Is working now on new form OF gas
engine which VIII show surprising results
IN economy and efficiency. But. eliminate
ing ar. Westinghouse statements. enough
- known In England. France. Germany.
ana tnls country OF the economy Of gas
he said ~
"A good ordinary steam engine" saws
syNanus +. Thompson the expert in
I'hy s1cs' may be estimated to burn sig
% tWeiYe pounds OF coal per horsepower
hoar, large and condens!ne engines hain.
more economical than small and non-con-
ae1sing- Large engines. with double am,
s,Ip'e expansion, are sim more economical.
anu may require on,y one-thfrd Of this
amount per horsepower hour
!, does not make much difference 10 the
urinary reader what a horsepower hour
IS provided he remembers that II IS a CON
stant standard. so that IL one engine burns
."s4Ne pounds of coal per hour for every
horsepower 1t develops, and another en-
glhe burns six pounds. the cost OF fuel in
ehe Iatler case Is only one-half what IL is
IN the former.
Locomotive engines n,rs. a,r.a,.. ;. -.
parduVely small. and must always be COM
iaratiVeIy wastful of coal. because their
mint OF size Is now reached To make
more steam they must have larger boilers.
"hicA IS impossible If the engines are 10
pass under the present system OF bridges
ana tunnels. The size of their cylinders
y also limited because whether two or
FOUR be used, they must fit on a frame
pulit 70 run on a uniform track 4 feet 81
lnches from rail TO rail
me best engines built. whether single or
ecihP9uhl, consume from seven TO nine
VI ia per horsepower per hour.
TAR more eHlclent are the great marina
engines, developing 10000 horse-nop-er or
more. with quadruple expansion engines
iet the lowest consumption Of coal reached
" these marine engines IS one and five
s'Auhs pounds OF coal per horsepower per
nour. and the general average is nearly
double this quantity. or about three ana
one-half pounds.
Gas engines are now fin use which CON
sumo little less than one pound OF coal
per horsepower per hour. or abopt one
slshth or the consumption of an ordinary
.oVo,ilotiVe' JUST as Mr.. Westinghouse said
70 the directors Of the Pennsylvania Rail
way Company.
mere does the great saving come Inp
IN an ordinary steam engine nearly On nar
cent or the heat DEVELOPED bv the burn-
ing coal either goes out through the chin
leg or radlateS from the outside Of the
boIer. steam pipes and cylinder. This
leaves but 10 per cent, for actual work In
pushing the piston and turning the ma
chinery.
IN gas as 1t used to be made, there was
almost as much waste of heat ne In tho
,haAHlg or steam now. Soft coal was nut
IN an iron retort and coke placed In a fur
mace under X 70 drive off the gas when
the gas was all driven into gas holders
the coal from which 1t was made was
drawn out and quenched. with water he
coming coke by this process, with enough
heating power to supply the furnace for
the next retort full OF soft coal
Nowadays gas Is chiefly made from, ,rata-
with some mineral oil mixed with II to give
IL greater Illuminating power When this
gas IS roughly made II in called producer
gas; when Il IS scrubbed and c.eansed from
Us impurities 70 IS called water gas.
Water. as every professor OF chemistry
tells his classes, "a composed OF two gases
oxygen and hydrogen. Oxygen exizfs
in the mir diluted With four times its bulk
or nitrogen; IL IS non-lnflammable but
necessary 70 support combustion. which n
does by uniting with the burning material
20 form oxides. Hydrogen. on the con-
trary. Is very inhammabie. and II ~ VII
burn with the oxygen OF the air 70 form
the oxide OF hydrogen. which we cali
water.
For long time after IL was known thar
water was composed Of two gases chem
lists tried in vain to find some simple meth
Cd or splitting Il ~. For a whole genera
ton the only TWO ways they knew Of do
Ing this was erher TO pass an electr3e
current through II or TO pass a stream ~
steam over red-hOt iron filings. In the
latter case they got the hydrogen sill
right. but lost the oxygen, because Il unit
ed with the iron 20 form an oxide.
AZ length il struck some brilliant genius
70 substitute red-hot coal for the iron ill
ings. He had 20 be careful OF his steam.
or else he would have put his fire out
He had 70 keep out the ordinary air. or
else his gas would have burned I'D as fast
1s Il was made.
The experiment finally worked itself out
iFto a large upright br3ck-lined furnacs
sbec,ed en- The outside with iron into which
half ton OF coal more or less was
thrown and lighted. As soon as the coal
was rei.hot the chimney on the top and
the hampers at TIE bottom were closed
By valves and half a dozen jets GO steam
were turned on through various openings
IN the sides ot the furnace. The steam
was az once split up into its component
gases Bat The oxygen, instead OF coming
Off pur6 attached itself 70 the burning
coal % form a clearly poisonous gas called
carbouic oxide.
Nearly every one knows something ot
the gas called carooa!c acid which is used
~ make soda water and champagne Tx.
which helps the growth O. plants. and
which IS given OF by the lungs IN ex1.-a-
tion. Carbon.c acst gas Is also formed
vxhaa combustion goes on IN the open alr.
l. Is a constant irnpurity 81 badly venti-
lated rooms and sometimes causes death
~, rsnlacing 50 much % the ordinary air
that there IS not enough oxygen n what
e laft 10 xupport life. But IL should be
ra~efluv distinguished from IS cousin.
,.rh,rse oxide. which Is almost as active
IL .,isnuous as the vapor of prusSac acid.
To return 20 The water gas, x = e1cuga
20 say thai steam driven shFousa re1-ho1
al IN A closed vessel IS changed into
hydrogen and cArbcn.c oxide AMI these
,,-,.sects may be conveyed thfouSn pipes
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