The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1905-01-25
TO SOFTEN water
Union Pacific Begins Erection
of Plant Here.
VIII Be the First on This
System.
DOING OTHER WORK.
Enormous Coal Chutes Are Be-
ing Erected.
Work on Double Track TO Conn
mence I'm Spring.

The Union Pacific Railroad COM
pany has begun h expenditure of the
appropriation for the betterment of
the facilities of the company at To
peka.
The announcement was made in the
State Journal nearly a year g that
in conjunction with the plans to build
the cutoff between Topeka and
MarysvilIe, the Union Pacific also con-
templated the building of a new
freight and passenger depot. the ex-
tension of the switching yards, and
the construction Of new coal chutes;
and round house at this point.
In addition to the improvements
mentioned, the Union Pacific has also
decided to install at Topeka a water
softening plant.
In accordance with the plans for
Improvement, the Goa chutes. n
the water sOftening plant have been
begun and they have already been
carried nearly to completion.
1t can not be announced author
itatively at this time when the work
of building the new passenger depot
will begin. 1t is generally understood,
however, that the work viii be begun
inside of six months, although it is
possible that contingencies may arise
later to delay the work until another
year
AG ilCW GOaA CAAANG 6AH4 NANCA
softening plant are being erected on
the land recently acquired along the
right of way west of North Topeka,
about one mile from the depot. The
work now under way is to be COM
pleted at a total cost of nearly
$4,000.
A new thirty foot well is being dug
to furnish the water for the plant.
The we'll will be 16 feet in diameter,
and a "A horse power gasoline engine
will be installed to pump the water,
force it through the water softening
plant and into the storage tank. This
power for handling the coal in the
new coal chute. which is known as
the elevator or conveyer type
The coal chute is about so feet
high. It greatly resembles In appear
a grain elevator. A car load of
coal is set on a track beside the build
which is directly over a pit with
slanting floor.
AS the coal is dumped from the
car it slides down the incline of the
pit and is caught in big steel hoppers
suspended on an endless chain, and
the machinery set in motion carries
the hoppers upward, to the top Of the
structure where the coal is dumped
into the big bins which have a total
capacity to hold $50 tons.
The coal is all handled by machin-
cry and this plan does away with the
unloading of all coal and the dis
of the same to engines by
hand. It is said to be a much more
economical plan and also allows of a
more rapid handling Of the
coal.
From the big storage bins the coal
is let into smaller bins where it may
weighed by scales provided for
and from the smaller
it is given out to the engines. In
manner it is possible to get an
accurate and absolute check on the
actual quantity of coal consumed by
various engines
The water softening plant which the
Union Pacific is installing here is the
first plant of tha character to be built
In his section Of the state: 1t is said
that the construction of the plant at
will be followed by the con-
of similar plants at the other
along the main line of that road
in Kansas where water is pumped for
use in locomotives.
The water softener is a big steel tank
which contains several smaller tanks
it. The inner tanks are filled with
lime. and soda ash, and water is turned
IN and filtered or forced through these
until it comes out at the
roD of the outside tank and is drained
1ff TO be pumped into the big steel wa
Ier tank from which it is fed to the 10
THE water ~softener viii have a ca
,acity of softening $4,000 gallons Of Wa
.er per hour. and the storage tank VIII
nave a CAPACITY of $4,000 gallons.
The water softener is about SO feet
nigh and is 1871 feet in diameter
The new steel water tank is about the
height and nearly twice as large
n diameter.
will be- completed within
vo weeks, at the longest, after which
he coal chutes which now stan In theb