The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1896-11-02

wheel makes one ask: What isit all
for? What will it all do? With five
minutes study and dozen words of
explanation the. device rs simple as
A b C.
Fellow this description carefully. In
the center of the building is a cone,
sunk into the ground four feet and
built up to a height of seven or eight
feet, and constructed entirely Of brick
and Portland cement. This is merely
the hub-or better, the axle-of the
great wheel. 1t. is, topped by an, iron
casting, weighing many thousands Of
pounds. The wheel rests upon this hub,
just as if you were to lay wagon
wheel fiat upon the ground, with the
hub Immediately over a. stone, which
should represent the axle. This wheel
of Chaquette's rests upon ball-bearing
which works in the iron structure that
tops the mason work. Above the center
part of the wheel itself is. a cylindrical
iron cage, like the fighting Top of a
man-of-war. In this are two 70-horse-
power engines, to which pipes conduct
steam from neighboring factory
Now for the wheel itself. 1t is 81 feet
in diameter Its spokes are simply
double iron girders. They look Just
LINZ SCSlIOHS u ali elevated. railroad
structure. The rengineerssSecalLs such
things "latticed'' Orders. The peri
phery of the wheel-or, as slaymen
would call it, the tire-is made Of
SIMILAR SECTIONS OF GIRDER.
At the end of each spoke of the wheel
is a set Of wheels, three in, number
They are side by side, as If they were
parts of one wheel They are nine feet
In diameter and weigh four tons and d
half. The length of the -spokes bring
these wheels which play within the
latticed girder, Just out to the cylin-
drical Enclosure, and the upper edge Of
1t is sort of track upon which the
middle wheel Of the three travels, roll
ing on like a car wheel, but, of course
around in circle:4 Thus they support
the big wheel and take the strain off
the center
The two inside, wheels in each Of
these bundles Of three have a more i'm
portant mission They have to strike
and pass over, at short intervals, the
rocker bars" Qetters b; the fitting or
which, first one end and then the other,
drives the pistohs in the afr g COM
pressors which are below. -..,..s.s..
There are 200 Of these compressors
distributed both inside and outside Of
the iron fence. These cylinders are IL
and Is inches in diameter, and all have
a stroke Of IL inches.
AN AIR TANK
carrying a working pressure of 100
pounds to the square inch is provided,
and the air is led by pipes to this tank
from the compressors.s The large wheel
is revolved at the rate Of ten revolu-
tions per minute by the steam engines,
and the solid four-and-a -half-ton
wheels in the periphery of the large
wheel continually engaging the rock
er arms, do the rest
Lovingly the old Frenchman paused
and looked on this stupendous metal
pet Of his with it's great arms stretching
away in the dim light He pointed to
the shining steam engines in the hub
and said There is what does the
whole business. If those little fellows
give out she stops"
Then you do not claim that the
wheel can run without the steam en-
gines?"
mo, indeed. We must have them.
make no claim that I have discovered
perpetual motion, nor that, once put
under way, the machine will run it
self. " .s0'@
What I do claim is that with that
140-horse-power engine I can run the
wheel, and that the indicator on the
compressed air tank shows $500 horse
power, which leaves 1850 horsepower
Wnlch mas been developed by H.
THE WHEEL ITSELF.
This is no dream, no boasting What
say, that l can do. have run the machine
and tried her She is a grand success. In
two weeks l will have her all complete, then
everybody shall come and see just what we
have discovered
Why defer the exhibition so long if the
machine is complete?"
oh. she's painting now" he answered,
and besides--you see. she was finished
month ago. but there was one little piece
which gave me trouble. One little piece
that rocker bar l am this whole two months
getting her right.
First. think she IS right, and run her
slow and she is all right. But when l come
to run her fast-there is all the trouble. The
rocker bar is not built with Just the right
curve and she won't stand it. / break five
rocker bars. Now got her right, &s.A
:. Mr.. Chaquette is said to have stated lately
that it is calculated that of the total power
developed, only Az per cent will. be required
for the actual turning or eper aHsr or tbs
Wheel and that the remaining amount, or
about 951A per cent, will be available FOR
commercial purposes sos. ,fo.s-4-s qe .se-