The Hawaiian gazette. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu, Hawaii]) 1865-1918, 1911-05-05
JUGGLING WITH
100000 POUNDS
RAPID TRANSIT COMPANY BUSY
NsrALLugo POWERFUL
NEW PLANT.

The yard by The rapid transit com.
pany'u power station looks at the pres
emit timo like corner In steel plant,
with huge pieces of machinery lying
about. Strange weird looking pieces Of
piping are piled up in what seems
hopeless middle, with boilers and other
parts Of a new plant. There is system
is all this, however and, incidentally,
the value Of the "junk' on view is
somewhere in tho neighborhood Of
$4,000.
With the rapid growth Of tho town
the company has seen for some time
that the power plant now installed
would not be sufficient to meet the al
most immediate requirements, and ac-
cordingly got busy and ordered com
plete new generating plant with n
capacity Of 10000 horsepower, as
against the present plant which gem
crates 100000. Tho new plant is now
TO hand and is lying at the yards walt
ing to be placed in position. The task
'of getting it here is an easy one com
pared TO what the job of placing it in
position will be.
Juggling 10000 Pounds.
One piece that IL lying waiting
weighs 100000 pounds. This is to be
coupled onto another part with an ad-
editional weight of $4,000, and then the
whole piece has TO be moved into place.
A big shaft IS to be forced into its
.position in the generator and then
moved into position holusbol Sps
cial slides are to be made for handling
! Nhe mass, which when coupled up will
weigh 100000 pounds. Iron rails VIII
fbe bolted down and the bolts counter
2 lsunk. A special track will be laid to-
a wards the enginehouse and the whole
a mass win then be shifted inch by inch
Q towards it's final destination. Once in
!. side the powerhouse it has to be swung
Y I,around, which work will be done by
J, the help of travelling crane, to be in
u stalled.
; Fine Adjustment.
J, The low pressure cylinder, which is
o honly trife as compared with the
5, lother, has weight Of $4,000 odd
70 pounds, however, and this viii also be
}. taken in and placed in position. Then
C. the hardest work of the whole business
10 will start. The cylinder has to DO adj
It Jasted to the thickness Of piece Of tIs-
p sue paper. The enormous amount Of
A. work that this will entail can easily
ID DO imagined. The most delicate in
# struments will be used to get the COR
A. rect measurements, but then villa como
RS Hhe task of moving the mass Of ma.
ehinery weighing 10000 pounds the
"a "a
10 inch. IL it goes the thickness Of thf
%. paper too anthem the whole of the op
in GRAFTON has to be started over again.
es The bed on which it is to rest ii
In made of solid concrete many feet
n. through. This Is reinforced by iroz
Of bars, but there is some probability that
~ when the weight gets on 1t it may pos
is sibly give the fraction of an inch, il
IN which event the enormous weight viii
81 have to be juggled about until the ex
b. act position is arrived at. A special
a, man will in all probability be brought
~ down from the Coast to take charge Of
in the work Of adjusting. he will be one
lie Of class Of men who do nothing else
I'd Aand know every point of the game.
a. All Latest Patents.
3 Besides the new generator, there il
in also the latest thing IN condensers
ir This condenses the steam, reheats chs
h water before pumping 1T back to I'll,
,boilers.
A new steam head is also to be in
. stalled. This is made of steel through
~ out and has the fanger couplings thai
% have taken the place Of the old style
ne whore the ends of the pipes butted NJ
~ against each other. This is lying aboui
y in sections that are curved in all sort
- of fancy styles, the latest idea being
"a that 1t is much better to have a curve
he than right angle joint The curv,
of iusures an easy flow of steam and tn,
he solid steel pipes should also give better
he results.
The two new boilers are already ii
m position and one of them has beer
I'll placed in commission. It is workins
4 satisfactorily and the company is vel
a. pleased with 1t. The other win b,
es used when the new steam head is il
Nv working order. The switch board hal
in also to be rearranged and several OF
in the panels changed and connected will
he the new machinery.
i'll A Long Job.
The fixing in position of the whole
of the plant win entail an enormous
amount of work and win in all prob
ability not be completed for about
three months. The cost will run into
=, $4,000 but then the company viii
have enough power to supply the de
Is mands made upon il for some time "a
come. II is the largest plant that has
ever come to the Islands and 1t will be
handled entirely by local men with the
no exception Of the fitting and adjusting
% TO be done by a Coast expert, which Il
Ill a matter of fnesse rather than handling
I'M a big mass.
10