The San Francisco call., 1903-12-24
Gas for Illuminating.
By MALCOLM MCDOWELL.
sssWthsr of shop Talk on The Wonders OF the
Cralts.')


Many gas experts believe mat the
time is not far distant when artificial
gas will be .'piped" anywhere from
fifty TO a hundred miles from the point
OF its production. This means that
progressive engineers are planning TO
give farmers and the inhabitants OF
small towns and villages the blessings
OF Illuminating and fuel gas.
Natural gas has been carried long
distances. When the initial well pres
sure was high enough no pumps or gas
COMPRISING machinery were required.
The fortunate dweIlers in the natural
gas fields and in towns and cities with
ing reach OF the wells were given the
comfort and cheer which goes with
the use of gas. Many gas wells IN
such territories have gi- out and
the natural gas consumers have been
obliged to fau back on coal and wood
and return TO kerosene lamps The
advent Of high-pressure artificial gas
promises to restore to those people the
fuel and light they have lost.
Near Chicago are several gas plants
which distribute artificial gas under
" pounds TO the square inch. One Of
them. the North Shore Gas Company
has its works at Waukegan and sup
plies q territory some sixteen miles
long. in which are half a dozen good
sized towns. the military reservation OF
Fort Sheridan, Lake Forest University,
some golf clubs and several schools and
academies Intervals Of two or three
-s1T,
there are occasional farmhouses. The
line is over fourteen miles long, exclu-
sive Of branches, and is constructed Of
four-inch pipes, through which the gas
is forced at an initial pressure Of twen-
ty to thirty pounds to the square inch,
with surprisingly small loss in pressure
at the terminal Of the line fourteen
miles away.
The plant has been distributing high
pressure artificial gas for several years
and the results led its general man
ager, George F. Goodnow, to write as
follows:
Constant observation Of this meth
od Of distribution leads to speculation
regarding the field Of operations and
the use TO which 1t may be put. Large
cities and towns may be girdled with
high-pressure mains, and distant regu-
latOrs branched of TO feed existing low
pressure mains at points where the
supply is adequate, and much expense
be saved in construction Of large feed
mains and a much more even distribu-
tion be maintained. The reason does
not appear why coke oven plants or
other cheap methods of manufacture
cannot be located near coal fields or
near navigable waters. where cheap
coal or oil may be secured and the pro-
duct piped long distances under high
pressure to centers Of population. The
extent Of gas compression has not yet
been determined, and whether thirty or
forty or 100 pounds is the limit only
careful study and experiment can dem
onstrate, but that twenty-five to thirty
pounds pressure does not commercially
deteriorate the quality Of the gas for
lighting or heating purposes I feel con-
fdent."
Great care is taken in putting togeth-
er the pipe for high-pressure gas. The
pipe is stronger and heavier than or
dinary pipe, and all fittings and valves
sre specially made. Several hundred
feet Of the pipe line is coupled up on
the bank beside the trench and tested
TO the square inch-at least twice as
much pressure as the pipe ever will be
required TO carry. If it is found tight
the pipe is lowered into the trench,
handled very much like a long line of
large hose.
There are several ways Of distribut-
ing gas under the high-pressure sys-
TEN. One way is to build gas holders,
y,aeav-,rosyrc in aocl oev,fa,- Of, ,,ov,,,lo
ton; the gas is sent from the central
plant under pressure to these holders,
but is distributed from the reservoirs
under ordinary pressure. Another way
is TO install what are called district
regulators" A regulating device which
reduces the high to ordinary pressure
IS put in between the main line and the
system Of branches which make the
district, and all gas in this district is
supplied TO consumers at ordinary pres
sure. The other method carries the high
pressure to the individual meter. Just
before IL reaches the meter a regulator
reduces the pressure so that the gas
enters the meter at the ordinary pres
sure used in houses. Devices are placed
which allow the gas to escape to the
outer air should the regulator be broken
or disarranged, sol that it is practically
impossible for the gas TO enter the
house under high pressure. An air com
presser, slightly modified, congresses
the gas TO the required carrying pres
sure, and daily observations and care
ful comparisons fail TO show that con-
densed gas loses any Of its Illuminating
powers by being compressed.
This is what is coming with artificial
gas distributed under high pressure:
The principal country roads lighted
from end to end by incandescent man
tie gas lamps; farm houses with gas in
every room and a gas stove in the
kitchen; crossroad villages Illuminated; !;
thrashing machinery, hay choppers,
dairy machinery, farm pumps, the little
village factories and isolated industrial
establishments operated by gas motors,
and far out suburbs with sparse popu-
lation enjoying all the benefits which