The record-union., 1896-08-02

in the Southern Pacific boiler shop in
this city are deafening. The noises in
some of the other shops may be, and be-
yond question are, confusing, but the
clatter and clamOr and roar in the
boiler shop is, ordinarily, stupendous.
Here the hammers fall all day long,
driving home the rivetS into the heavy
resounding plates which are destined to
form the boilers of locomotive and other
engines, and the noise resulting from
those same hammer blows viii almost
make the visitor weep bitter tears be-
cause he was not born deaf. Yet every
blow expended is for purpose, and the
result shows THAT the ends justify the
means. for the primary principle of rail-
road locomotion is the generation and
proper application of steam. The
mechanism of the steam engine-fner
and much more intricate, by the way,
than the mechanism Of the watch that
ticks beneath the engineers waist
band-would be worthless without the
motor power which is generated in these
same boilers, before being forced into
the cylinders, whence it is distributed
SO as to do the most good, and speed
the giant on its way
The steam boiler is not one of the
modern inventions by any means, and
the story was told by Hero, who -four
ished some time in the third century
before the Christian era, how several
forms Of boilers were used for the pur-
pose of generating steam to run a vari-
ETY. of things, supposed to have been
philosophical toys, which are referred
to as the earliest known examples of
the steam engine. AS described by Hero,
the contrfvance appears to have been
about the shape of the modern wash
basin, having two exhaust pipes ex-
tending from the upper portion, through
which the steam played upon a small
wheel which was thus kept rapidly re-
volvfng. Were 1t possible to reproduce
one of those same ancient engines and
compare II with those OF the present
day there would be food for thought,
and could the boiler-of which there is
no very definite description-be resur-
Pected and set alongside Of one of those
built or repaired In the boiler shop of
the Southern Pacific Company in this
City, the boilermaker would no doubt
be inclined to turn up his nose at both
the material and workmanship. Just
what form these first boilers had is re-
ally q matter OF onjscture, but what
- h1uUWn IL LIldl W1lSu SlGddn DGRdn TO
be usefully applied and considerable
pressure became necessary, the forms
given to boilers were approximately
spherical, e1lipsoidal or cylindrical.
The boilers designed by De Caus in
1918 and by the Marquis of Worcester
in 1863 some of which are now exhibited
IN the London Museum, were spherical,
while those built by Savary in 1893
.-1I4 HI
after the invention OF Newcomers
steam engine it would appear that no
extra strain was required. and the
pressures adopted being very low, the
boilers received various irregular forms
suitable for the places, rather than the
purposes for which they were designed
But at the beginning Of the present
century a new impetus was given to
the business, and mathematicians pro-
duced designs for boilers calculated to
resist great steam pressure. The steam
era had arrived and brought with it
the boilermaker, and to-day he is the
same noisy fellow that he was when
he riveted the plates on Stevenson's
first locomotive steam boiler, 100 years
ago.
Years ago the principal material used
in the construction of boilers was cop
per; but when greater strength was
required to counteract the greater
steam pressure, it was found that cop
per. while very tenacious, was too NAL
leable and ductile to successfully an
swer the purpose, and it was relegated
TO a back seat in the making Of boil
ers, and wrought iron and sometimes
steel, was used In its stead.
The art of the boi1ermaker has neces-
sarily advanced with giant strides
since steam was declared to be king,
and at the present time boilers may be
classified as plain" "nue," and tub
ular." The plain cylindrical or COM
mon cylinder boiler is now the only
one of the frst-class in common use
It Is fitted with fat or hemispherica1
heads. and has the steam drum at
tachInent. from which the steam is
taken by pipe. Flue boilers are fire.
Quently cylindrical, and contain one or
more cylindrical fiues, which pass
through from end TO end beneath the
water line, conducting the furnace
gases to the chimney, thus consider
ably adding to the heating area of the
boiler. Oliver Evans of the United
first cylindrical boiler having one flue
transversing it longitudinally, about
the year 1856, though the name Cor
nish" leaves some room to doubt Oil
vers claims.
But Oliver Evans was a connoisseur
on boilers just the same and his Lam
cashire boiler. which contained two
transverse tubes was the one which
introduced the tubular boiler used on all
railroad locomotives to-day.
In locomotive boilers the firebox is
built within the boiler itself. and the
flames and gases from it are invariably
conducted through tubes transversing
the boiler beneath the water TO the
smokestack, thus greatly increasing the
heating area of the boiler. Great pro-
portional area is required in all locomo-
tive boilers. and as a. consequence tubes
from one and one-fourth inches to three
inches in diameter are used. The tubes
are always welded In the process of
rolling them, and were first used in the
United States about the year 11So.
Briefly stated, then, the characteris-
tics of the locomotive boiler are lire
box in one end of the shell, and set OF
tubes transversing the boiler through
which the gases pass directly to the
smokestack. Strength, compactness,
great steaming capacity. fair economy,
moderate cost and convenience with the
running parts of the locomotive have
been secured by the adoption Of boilers
of this character They were originally
invented in France by Seguin, and in