The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1896-03-15
TO RUN ALL BY AIR.
Entire Pullman Plant Will BE Oper-
ated by the Power.
From the Chicago TImes-Herald.

From the Chicago Tfmes-Herald.
Compressed air as a power has displaced
steam in three departments of the Pull
man Palace Car Companys works, and
the results have so far satisfied the Off
Gals that in all probability the new force
will be in use shortly in all the great
shops of the corporations. The change is
radical and marks a revolution in the
manufacturing system of the great Pull
man plant.
The argument advanced at Pullman
yesterday in favor of a change from
steam to compressed air was, in short,
great saving in manual labor, economy,
ability to transmit power long distances
without loss of force, simplicity, safety
and convenience. An official of the Pull
Topeka to go through the shops of the
Union Pacific and Santa Fe railroads and
to make report on the general efficien-
cy and economy of compressed air a
applied there in the department of car
making. He has Just returned, and his
report strongly favors the adoption of
the system throughout all the car shops
at Pullman.
The Introduction of compressed air
means the doing away with the great
iron wheels which revolve near the cell
ing in all the shops. The belts which
run from these wheels to the work bench
es, and which not infreQuently pick llD
a workman and whirl his life out, will
son be things of the past. To take their
place pipe will run along each wall
just Dack OF the DenCneS. IN front or each
workman a small tube will connect with
the main pipe and with whatever bit of
machinery he has to do. When the work.
man wishes to shut off his machine he
simply has to close a stopcock. To start
the machine, he reverses the operation.
Under the steam system the belt has to
be slipped to one side, but ii goes on rum
ming ceaselessly and noisily. With the
air system it is claimed that the speed
of the machine in use may be graded,
something that is impossible when belt
is used.
Compressed air is already in use at Pull
man for lifting purposes, for the testing of
air brakes and for the cleaning of carpets
and upholstery. The lifting of enormous
weights is accomplished by the air process
at great distance from the source of
power. 1t was said at the shops yesterday
that if the same lifting were done by
steam at the same distance from the
source of supply much greater initial
energy would be needed, because steam
loses its power greatly by condensation
during it's transmittal. The same to
greater degree was said to be true of cleo
tricity.
The probabilities are that the next de-
partment at Pullman to be invaded by the
compressed air force will be that in which
the cars are sandpapered. The work is now
done by hand. One machine viii do the
work of six men. a disk to which the sand
paper is attached is fixed on the end of the
ar motor SHAFT The supply hose is on
the right of the operator, while to the left
is large duck hose extending almost to
the floor. This carries off the dust. The
the dust adheres to it. The maximum air
pressure on the piston just balances the
weight of the machine, and it can be rails
ed or lowered with little effort on the part
OF the operator. The work done by the
machine is said to be far superior to that
done by hand, in that IL makes an abso-
lutely uniform surface all over the side of
the car
There are ten engines to supply steam
for the running of the machinery in the
different departments at Pullman. The
engines are so placed that the work which
each has to do is in it's immediate neigh
borhood. An officer of the company says
that with compressed air as a motive
power probably not more than one CEN
trally located large engine would be nec-
essary because the air lost so little of its
force when being transmitted to a dis
lance. 1t was said that at Topeka, at
distance of half a mile from the source
of supply. compressed air lost less than 20
per cent. of its power. Steam at the
same distance loses more than 80 per
cent. of its force. Fully 80 per cent. of
our steam power here at Pullman" con-
tinued the official, sis taken up by the
betting; This loss is saved by the COM
pressed air system. Add to the 20 per
cent. lost to the belts the amount lost