The Republican journal., 1899-06-22
A Coal Transporter.
An Ingenious Apparatus for Use in Supply
ing Steamships at Sea

An Ingenious Apparatus for Use in Supply
ing Steamships at Sea.
SO far as is known by the writer, no
special apparatus for this purpose has
been designed or constructed in this coun-
try; possibly the idea of coaling war YES
sells in seaway is of too recent adoption
here for such development. 1t will be re-
| membered that some experiments have
been made with coaling off soundings
from tender by American war vessels,
| and if it shall seem to be desirable to be
prepared to receive fuel at sea in this man
ner there is little doubt that the genius of
American mechanics will evolve an ap-
paratus which shall be at once simple and
efficient In all probability the only prin-
ciples to be applied to this undertaking
are those in daily use on the travelling
| galloway, the coal storage mechanisms
and some of the extensive apparatus
which is used for the removal of spalt
from the great cut of the Chicago drain
age channel
The appliance consists essentially of
beam or spar which can be hoisted and
supported from suitable hook. A trav-
eler runs on rail attached to this spar
and carries bucket. This traveller NAV
be stopped at any one of a number of fix
ed points in this rail and the bucket low
cred or raised. When the load is being
lowered the traveller is rigidly locked to
It's ways, and when it is travelling the
load is locked so that it cannot be lower
ed. The whole of the various motions of
lowering and travelling are controlled by a
single wire rope passing over pully at
the end of the spar. The spar is stayed at
frequent intervals by wire stays which at
at their upper ends are connected to sin
gle ring. The whole appliance can thus be
strung from an ordinary derrick or crane,
and when used on shipboard it is not
mounted until it is about to be used. be-
ing secured on deck until wanted. The
ends OF the spar are stayed to fixed points
and when all is hauled taut the transport
er is quite rigid.
One OF these transporters erected on a
wharf at Woolwich has a spar s. feet
long which can be traversed along its
beam a distance of 40 feet, so that large
area may be commanded by the bucket.
The rail on which the traveller runs is
made out of a channel iron and is fitted
with stops at intervals of five feet All
the stops, save the one at the lower end
of the spar, are under control, and the
bucket may be stopped at any one of them
which the engineer or fireman may direct.
Suspended from the traveller head is the
latching and locking mechanism, which
appears to DE quite elaborate and some
what ditticultto explain without the aid Of
a series of diagrams. In operation the
bucket is run out to the end of the spar
where the traveller locks itself, there be-
ing specially deep stop there.
The bucket is then lowered and filled
and hoisted until a ball unloclzs the trav-
eler and locks the load. 1t is then trav-
ersed up the beam and past the desired
stop and allowed to back into it, when the
traveller locks itself and the load may be
lowered, On raising the bucket again the
traveller is unlocked. moved slightly up
the beam, and allowed to run down again
to the lower end, where the former cycle
of operations is repeated. 1t is said that
one of these machines has dispensed with
the services of eight men formerly en-
ployed to accomplish the same amount of
work, and that the transporter has been
extensively sold both in England and
abroad.