The Providence news. (Providence [R.I.]) 1891-1906, 1898-12-14
SUCCESSFULLY TESTED.
Pomroy Coal Company Has a New
Coal Hosting Apparatus.


The Pomroy Coal company has start
ed up the new Proctor coal hoisting
system on it's wharf ON Eddy street
The contractors. j. II. Proctor & Co, OF
Boston, have been at work constructing
the apparatus for several weeks, and
this morning 1t was given a very sat
isfactory preliminary test. The sys-
TEN il operated by steam power and is
the first OF it's kind 10 be adopted in
Providence. IL is quick and efficient in
it's work, and though expensive as TO
first cost, Will prove profitable in
vestnent. The apparatus was regular
ly started soon after the dinner hour to-
day, and is now unloading the barge
Hopatcong, lately arrived from Hobo
ken, ~. j.. with 1900 tons of egg and
stove coal.
The new system is as simple in de-
sign as il is efficient i'm operation. IL
furnishes essentially improved hosting
and dumping facilities. and a cable
tramway for deposting the coal i'm the
final pocket or bin To accommodate
the system, the trestle, that great struc-
ture built along the entire water front
OF the Pomroy company's pier. was re-
moved. A 1O-foot addition was made
TO it's height and The whole strength
ened. Upon the roof of the trestle.
running parallel with the stream, are a
pair OF heavy steel rails, upon which
the hosting apparatus. all properly
housed in. may be drawn back and
forth. Thus access may be had to the
hatchway of any vessel tied up 10 the
wharf. The hosting bucket is of one
ton capacity and Is operated by 80
horse power engine set within the hous-
ing.
The coal upon being drawn up i'm the
bucket is automatically dumped into a
hopper. which carries IL through the
roof of the trestle To the cable car in
waiting on the floor below. The car lis
drawn along steel track of narrow
gauge by wire cable running between
the rails. The conductor OF each car
when wishing 10 transport his load of
coal attaches the ear TO the cable by
means of a grip" similar 10 the one
i'm use on the street system of the tram
way. There are approximately 5000 feet
extending 10 every part of the several
sheds containing bins and running back
from the trestle. Loops and switches
are freely used i'm this system. 40 that
a continuous string of cars may travel
about the structures, dropping the coal
wherever desired.
The cable is operated by a 10 horse
power engine and "A set of cable pull
leys. These pulleys. which are wheels
of broad diameter with grooved faces,
are provided with a set OF auxiliary
wheels. heavily weighted. which hang
upon the cable. just forward of the pull
leys thus taking up all slack of cable.
Power for the engines is supplied by a
$50 horse power Ransom x Morrison
horizontal tubular boiler. located in a
new brick engine house. 20x30 feet, adj
Joining the trestle in the rear.
The system works very smoothly, and
by it's use an unusually large quantity
of coal is handled i'm a day. A 1900 ton
barge, for example. can readily be
cleaned out in n day and a half. and
the contractor claims that IL can be
done in 10 hours time il every person
and everything connected with the sys-
TEN is pushed to the utmost capacity.