The Topeka state journal., 1902-02-07
RAILROAD NEWS.
Rock Island Making Extensive
Improvements at Chicago.
Facilities For Better Work Be-
ing Added to Shops.
A NEW ROUNDHOUSE.
Old One Torn Down to Make
Room For New Shops.
Other Improvements in Keeping
With Aggressive Policy.

A recent number of The Railway Age,
of Chicago, has the following to say in
regard to the Rock Island shop i'm
provement at Chicago:
The increase in railroad traffic during
the past few years has necessarily been
followed by demand for increased IA
cil1tieS to properly handle the innumer-
able details which are required for and
included in the term shop work. The
mechanical department of the Rock ISL
and Is making strenuous efforts to i'm
prove and add to the present shop IA
cilities, and some of the work lately ac-
complished may prove of interest
The old roundhOuSe south of the pres
ent machine and erecting shop is being
torn down to give room for boiler and
tank shops and 6 new paint shop. The
new. roundhouse is located north of the
machine shop near Wentworth avenue
ana torty-seventh street ans is spac-
1ouS and convenient The 80 stalls are
so feet long and the turntabIe 66 feet
The outside diameter of the roundhouse
IS $50 feet The vacuum system of steam
heat used was installed by the Erie City
Iron works. Somewhat of a novelty Is
the arrangement installed by the same
company for heating washout water
The vacuum system Of steam heat is
well known and needs no comment here.
The washout heater consists of a steel
shell ~ inches in diameter and II feet
long The tube sheets are riveted on
II inches from each end and hold 56
the cylinder are covered by discs bolted
onto angle-irons secured to the ends
One of these discs has a fange for a 10
inch pipe and the other for an S-inch
pipe. A 4-inch pipe for cold water from
the force pump enters the bottom of
the cylinder, and the water when heated
passes off from another 4-inch pipe To-
Gated on top OF the cylinder and at the
opposite end. Exhaust steam from the
stationary engine (of $50 horsepower,
the 10 by "A inch air compressor, the
small electric light plant and several
steam pumps Is utilized in this heater
and for heating the roundhouse This
heater Tor waShout water is built to
stand pressure of 100 pounds to the
square men and is expected to deliver
S,OOO 10 4,OO0 gallons hot water per hour
The SteampipeS are arranged in s1cb
q manner as to regulate readily the
temperature of the wash water which
or course, IS desired not to be so hot
as to scald the men handling it The
pits in the roundhouse deliver the water.
used to a large settling tank from which
1t is again pumped through the heater
anu used over and over again. The
roundhouse is provided with air drop
pits Tor drivers and trucks.
Another Improvement necessitated bv
the increase in rolling stock is a new
brass foundry, with a floor space of 81
feet by so feet. This building was nre
viously used for truck shop and is in
communication with the machine shop
and the transfer table by rail and turn
tables.
battery of 10 furnaces for No. 80
crucibles was planned and castings and
other material were ordered when the
Hawley Down Draft Furnace COMPANY
representing the Swartz patent meltine
furnace, asked for a trial of the new
furnace. The proposition was accented
ana further work on the crucible furn-
aces stopped pending results of the
trial
After considerable difficulties the new
furnace now works satisfactorily as far
as the melting of metal is concerned
Whether the quality of the metal suffers
any by this mode of melting it is rather
too early to determine but as several
driving box brasses cast from metal Ia
ken out of this furnace have been in
service for about two months without
showing any bad tendencies IT seams
reasonable to expect that no trouble IS