The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1904-02-14

walk along the river bank during the warm
evenings. The grounds of the water COM
pany are a paradise to the people who live
In that neighborhood. They are Tor the
most part employed in factories all day,
where the heat is almost unbearable. rms
open tract of ground is close to their cot
tages, and is a place where they can go and
breathe the pure, fresh air. 1t is said on
the warm nights this place is nlled with
this class of people.
The attractive part of the water COM
panys possessions is not, however, all on
the outside, for confined In the two houses
are as fine specimens of machinery as one
would wish to see. These are the pump
ing stations, and they are always open for
the inspection of the public. The prlncl-
pal pieces of machinery in these places are
only engines and pumps, and there is only
one pumping station in operation. as the
other one contains the new pump, which
is not yet completed. There are a number
of engineers employed about the pump and
engines, and II is needless to say that they
are all busy a great part of the time.
The man who has the most to do is the
chief engineer, and if the others can find
time once in awhile to show visitors around
1t Is more than he can do. for the respon-
sibilities that rest on him are exceedingly
great, and his whole time and attention is
taken up with his work.
The men that are employed to run the
pumps are mechanics, not only as the gen.
eral run of mechanics go, but they under
stand this machinery as thoroughly as a
physician does the human body. The pump
they have under their charge now is capa-
bic of putting 100000 gallons OF water
through the mains in twenty-four hours,
and to understand the working of so COM
plicated a piece of machinery is no small
thing. To hear one of these men, dressed
in blue overalls and covered with grease,
talking about the philosophy of machinery
and the economic qualities of an engine.
makes the casual visitor open his eyes.
One of these men, in speaking of the pump,
said:
Machinery of this kind cannot be learned
In books or schools, and there is no way
to learn 1t but by simply working with 1t
L 0n6 nnmin0 N nnnrnRf uIfh IL dnU
Take, for instance, this pump-little things
arise every day that no book that was
ever written on machinery ever speaks of.
When a pump is first built, of course. every
thing works to perfection, and those who
put 1T Up will give a long explanation as
to the different troubles that will arise in
running IL, but after a machine like this
has run continually for a number of years
it is bound to wear in certain parts. This
will cause little impediments in the running
that the men who built 1t never thought
of. and the. man who has charge of the
pump will have to figure out the cause and
how to remedy ii himself.
A HUMAN QUALITY.
There is, of course" he went on, "a
certain amount of theory that goes in run
ming any machine. whether it is a pump
or an engine. This, to a certain extent,
can be read and studied out Of books.
but the man to make a success of run
ming any kind of machine must have the
pIuCllCdl sue VI the QGtSllOI 40 Wcn 10
the theoretical, and the only way to get the
practical part of the knowledge is to work
with a machine like this every day and
study it under the different conditions.
You see machinery sometimes that seems
as if il were almost alive: it will take
spells when you can't get il to work. What
the matter is nobody can find out. The
conditions, so far as can be learned. will
not be changed, and yet you can't get ii
to work right. / have often sifted IL down,
and have come TO the conclusion that a
piece of machinery. has to be humored like
a person.; handle 1t easy and ii will work
all right"
There is another pumping station on
West Washington street, but the one at
Riverside is the largest. The capacity.
however, will be greatly increased when
the new triple-expansion engine, which
will be completed in a few days, is put
in service. This engine would have been
completed this week If the weather had
been more favorable. 1t will be located in
the new pumphouse, and will have a ca
pacity of 100000 gallons each twenty
four hours. The base castings of IL weigh
twenty tons. but are not as large as the
bedplates which have recently been erected.
Some of the cast parts weigh as much as
twenty-five tons. The engine is new in
design, being planned by Lewis X. Davis,
the consulting engineer of the company
1t is likely to break the worlds record for
high-duty engines. This record-0 0,00-
is held by the Snow engine. now on. duty
at the pumping station. The special fea-
ture of the Davis engine is that ii takes
water on one side of the pump and dis
charges it on the other; The other engine
uses the ''V" system. The valve movement
is of the gridiron pattern, will some mod
iications. The other features pertain to
the moving parts.
Among the other interesting features OF
the place are the large filter beds. These
are of the latest pattern. and are said 70
be perfect from both a scientific and prac-
teal standpoint. The water supply for fl
tration is taken exclusively from the canal.
The canal is fed by White river from the
water above the dam at Broad Ripple
The water company some years ago secured
from the Federal Courts an injunction pre-
venting the factories along White river
from emptying chemical refuse into the
stream which would Dollute the water
The test made before the filter beds were
contracted for demonstrated TO the salts.
faction of the water company that the
canal water was available for easy and
successful publication. The sand filtration
company also made tests which satisfied il
that the water was capable of almost com
plete sterilization by the sand process.
The company has erected at the sand I'll.
tration station a laboratory and engine
room. The laboratory Is one of the finest
in the country. and is equipped with all OF
the scientific apparatus known for deter.
mining the quality of water that flows in
n natural streams.