The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1899-11-19
DONE BY COMPRESSED AIR.
VARIED USES TO WHICH 1T IS
BEING Put NOWADAYS

pay.. Rtpaa Cathedral Chimes; Builds
Bridges; Makes Basketsi Gives sham
poos; Dusts Carpets; Does 1t All Well.
All are familiar with the uses Of compressed
nir in bicycle tires. in door brakes In pneumatic
mattresses and in the department store cash
tube system to mention few modern applca-
tons which, however. are novel no longer But
does every one know that baskets are now made
by compressed air, that statuary is chisclled by
II, that carpets aud furniture arc cleaned and
busted by it. that buildings ars painted by 4.
and that modern train service would be out OF
the question were IL not for the practical efficiency
Of air under pressure? Outside Of the engineer
ing world how many people imagine the scope
and the muti,udinous uses Of airtools and ma
chnery in the building Of bridges, In the carving
out Of tunnels in almost every branch Of mining,
in ship building. &C?
Riding on a modern, thoroughly equipped
railroad did II ever occur TO you that air Is used
To signal and steer the train and 10 work the
brakes? That the carpets, the cushions.
and the furniture Of the coaches are
leaned and busted by pneumatic brushes;
that the cars are painted by pneumatic paint
spraying machines, and, to mention the latest
by air appliances. that the baggage is handled
elevators the bell rung by a pneumatic ringer?
After eighteen years Of costly and extensive
nal and switch system has been made success
and a fixture at the leading terminal stations
in this country. By It's aid one man now does
the work that would otherwise require the com
bincd efforts Of six operators, and bo does the
work better the chances Of his making mistakes
having been reduced 10 minimum With tho
lever in his hand he controls the marvellously
efficient interlocking machine, which in turn
controls a number Of switches and signals con
ncctcd by pneumatic cylinders As many as a
dozen trains may bc rushing down ON the signal
house; one movement Of his hand and hc has
signnlcd them ALL another movement and he
has s,cercd each individual train across switch
launching 1t on its proper course. The system
IN at the Boston Southern station is the largest
known. There no fewer than 23S pneumatic
switches In operation, II trains may move stimuli
tancou sly into out Of the train shed, 14S soma
phorc signals are provided for the 400 possible
routes presented in the switch system Of that
terminal
Cleaning car cushions and carpets by COM
pressed air has lately been introduced pipe
na,tencd at the end until II is almost the shape
II spade is used The air PUSHES through per
foratiOnS at the thin, wide end cleaning the ma
tcrlal without touching II, at much swiitcr rate
and much more thoroughly than ordinary brooms
or brushes could. Besides the wear and tear
consequent on beating the material is done away
with, which IL, OF itself. great saving. Armed
with a single pneumatic cleaner one man can 90
more work in lcss time than three men could
formerly do with and brushes As for
painting cars the pneumatic paint spraying ma
these those used in painting the Worlds Fair build
lngs in Chicago In 1893. A painting machine
has been invented that will coat $4,000 square
81 a skiliul operator. Painting by air is not
only immeasuIably switter and cheaper than
onstratrd that paint supplied by the air machine
than brush painting, The Pitisburg, and Lake
road and tho Illinois Central Railroad were pho
neers in this field The last road is at present
all While the Louisville and Nashville Railroad
recently covered eighty-fve buildings under
this method in record breaking time
gone one step further by lately adopting the
pneumatic baggage handler system This de-
gage much more RAPIDLY than il could Otherwise
hc handled, and, moreover. To do away with break
age The day of tho baggage smasher may,
arrangement of air cylinder and baggage sup
prt The latter is lowered To the platform where
and is automatically swung around by a cam
action, carrying the baggage into the car The
lift = orcrnted by air drawn from the train tanks
In special reservoir. and II Is controlled by the
hnggageman. Tho machine has a lifting capn-
city II 800 pounds. with seventy pounds Of air
for The eiThng Of the baggage as i, Is handled,
and IL Is able To load trunks at the rate Of six
pieces every thirty Ave seconds For country
stations where now there is only one man To handle
a.. baggage with the usual disastrous results,
this device will save many a trunk from being
damaged or smashed
II YOU wish 10 hear locomotive bells rung by
compressed air you must take train on the Kan
sns city, ST Joseph 4 Council Bluffs Railroad
on which line number of pneumatic bell ringers
are IN operation giving admirable results
II would be impossible 10 do the high class
work o, modern bridge building coppsstruc,iop
up It's multtudinous ears when the success Of
American builders in building bridges in Africa
with ,, Grsyi"nsly annpprTaCthed tine limit
Was very busy and patriotic on the subject but
forgot entirely I" state the reason why the SUI
had been made possible The Arm which erected
the Athara and othor bridges attributes its sue
2Nu4n to the extensive employment of pneumatic
machines The most difficult and time consuming
work, which was formerly done by hand Is now
done At much quicker rate and In better shape
by air tools in every modern American bridge
shop There il a long list Of pneumatic tools
Il Includes piston air drills, rotary d,illr, casting
cleaners: air motor hoists, reamers clippers and
So on, all Of which enter into the work Of modern
%Gs s % ss
any one tool that is more indispensable than the
rost I, is the pncumat, hammer which makes
calking and chisclng This hammer consists
Of 81, a cylinder IN which piston reciprooaes de-
end of the die The hammer Is lig hit and powerful
For small rivcts il can be held in the hand, hut
Tor heavier work II is supplied with yoke support,
and thus fitted II will drive and NJ the largest
size rvcts in use, which are generally one inch
in diameter. Probably the hardest manual
labor in shin and bridge building i. rveiing;
Combined with this is an amount Of technical
sI ncquircd only by long and arduous apprentice
ship and VARYING with tho class OF rivcts
driven In addition the necessity for heavier
blazing, douhlngs ga REQUIRES the use Of large,
down by hand The pneumatic hammer is the
practical device which has enabled builders to
suTmopnt these and other obstacles, The air
tool also saves money. Thus while o 25Ss.
riretS were driven at average cost Of 81 cents
apiece NJ 1877 rivcts were driven by air hammers
at an average Of only 200 cents apiece. In fact
II will not be eXaggerating the conditions Ia
state that were IL not for the various types Of
pneumatic implements American builders would
not have been able 10 produce the bridges ordered
abroad within the time limit, not to mention the
quality Of the work The same measure applies
to ship and engine building
New York may know that in the chimes Of St
Patrck's Cathedral on Fifth avenue, the city
possesses one of the finest orchestras Of this kind
in the world, hut does New York know that these
bells are now rnng be compressed air? Nineteen
bells, the heaviest ri which weighs about six
thousand pounds, the liphtest about three hun.
drcd pounds, constitute the set, which has been
placed IN the northern spire 100 feet above ground
The pcrrleNing question how to ring these bells
tF.Ttlkv