The star. (Reynoldsville, Pa.) 1892-1946, 1904-09-14
HUGE MOUNTAIN AFLOAT
ORE HANDLING HAS REACHED A
REMARKABLE DEVELOPMENT.


way of water-burno commerce, the
Great Lakes, by reason Of the nstonIah.
ing manner In which all previous rec
ords for the transportation Of cargocs
of bulk commodities have been
smashed
The manner In which all old records
have been going by the board IL due
principally to the recent advent or
several new steel oarfu-carriers far cx-
ceedlng In size and capacity any MGR.
chantmcn previously ancnt ON fresh
water However. new types Of londing
and unloading machinery for transfer
| ring the bulk commodities 10 and from
| ships, cars and stock piles have also
been introduced and these. together
with the improvements made In the
| appliances heretofore In use, have
made possible also the establishment
Of new records Tor handling cargoes
oi the loads carried
The breaking Of records started
| when the monster new steamer, A. w
| WClvln, the largest vessel ever built
| on the Great Lakes. went Into commits
| sion. The Wolyin took on her maiden
| trip, 1904 tons Of soft coal from Lo-
| raine, o.. on Lake Erie 10 the head
Of the lakes, thus surprising all pre-
vious achievements IN ccal carrying.
| The next best record for the movement
of n cargo oi fuel IL held by the steam.
or j. H. Reed. another comparatively
now boat. which has transported S029
| tons
On the return trip down the lakes.
after the pioneer cruise, the big bur
don-bearor Wolvin brought cargo OF
iron ore that aggregated 1927 gross
tons or 1882 net tcns.
| with tho entry into lake commerce
Of vessels especially constructed with
reference to the operation of the clam
shell buckets Of the monster 4OO-ton
automatic unloaders, II has also been
found possible tc secure greater
economy Of time In loading and un-
leading operations. and these records
have also been broken. Indeed, four of
the automatic unloadors working 81
multaneously have, On more than one
| occasion, unlOadel q G000-ton ore car
| rying vessel IN about four hours, whl-i
Is far and away the fastest unloading
Of cargo ever attained by any means
anywhere ON the globe. Moreover,
the cost of handling the bulk commod-
ity by this method is only about one
ninth of tho cost by hand labor.
| improvements In the latest approved
appliances for conveying cargo have
also played an important part In the
general revision Of records which has
astOnshed the commercial and indus.
trial world Of late. AS now constl-
tuted. the automatic unloaders-repre-
sentine the acme OF achievement In
this line-consist Of parallel glrders
at right angles TO the dock, mounted
on trucks and capable OF being moved
horizontally along the face OF the
dock. On top Of the girders is mount
ed q walking beam supported on a
movable trolley. BY pulling down en-
the back end OF the beam the front
end Of the beam Is raised and lowered
so that the bucket leg which Is hung
on the front of the walking beam, is
raised and lowered In and out through
the matches Of the boat.
The bucket Is carried on the end of
the bucket leg and is capable of being
rotated in q complete circle. The troll
ley travels back and forth along the
top Of the girdeTs, which motion car
ries the bucket from the dock out over
the boat and back. All the operations
CT the machines, except the travel up
| apI IfteYFt N Igg1~ a. l,sf.1 L. asssr,
hydraulic cylinders carrying 1000
pounds water pressure. The bucket
has a capacity OF 10 tons ard is closed
by a large hydraulic cylinder.
In operation the machine is first
moved opposite the hatch Of the yes-
sci, the walking beam and trolley run
forward so as to reach cut over the
boat; il Is then lowered by stacking
off the hoist cables at the rear end OF
the walking beam until the bucket
comes in contact with the ore. The
bucket is then closed and the back
end of the beam pulled down, which
hoists the bucket cut of the boat, and
the trolley runs back. carrying the
walking beam and its bucket over the
cars on the deck.
The bucket is made TO rotate, 80
that it can reach out under the deck
of the vessel after it is in the hold.
As the reach of the bucket when wide
/ open Is more than half way from tho
, centre of one hatch 10 the centre OF
the other, almost all the ere IN tho
hold of the vessel can be reached
without shoveling. The machines have
unloaded as high as 81 percent Of a
cargo without any hand shoveling In
|. the case Of vessels which have been In
; service on the Great Lakes for 2 con-
. siderable time past, ana in the case OF
, new ships, such as the Wolvin, where
the matches are spaced with careful
reference 10 the span CT the open
bucket aud the cargo hold constructed
:, with sloping sides, obviating corners