The Goldfield news and weekly tribune. [volume] (Goldfield, Nev.) 1911-1947, 1914-01-10
POWER INSTALLATION
FOR BUckH0RM MINE
ENGINEER HARRY CUTLER DE-
SCRIBES LOCOMOTIVES THAT
GENERATE ELECTRICITY

All luIeTeSlluS luSldlldtlOn OI pTlU16
movers furnishing power for mining
and milling is now being made by the
Buckhorn Mines company at Beo-
wave, New. The plant consists of
two Wolf locomobiles of $50 horse
power each, made by the X. Wolf
company, of Magdeburg, Germany,
direct connected to two alternating
current generators furnished by the
General Electric company.
The Buckhorn Mines company, sit
uated in Eureka county, New, so
miles south of Beowawe, and 16
miles west of the E. & p. X. r., con-
trolled by George Wingfield, of Reno,
after developing it's property for the
past five years, determined upon the
erection of a 350-ton mill and cy-
anide plant. The question of power
for this plant was serious. Internal
combustion enignes. owing to their I'M
reliability and the expense of trans.
porting oil 16 miles, were out of the
question. The country in the mines
vicinity was devoid of wood for fuel,
and after a careful consideration of
all the questions involved, +. J. Sic
bert, consulting engineer for the
Wingfield interests, decided on the
erection of a steam-power plant at
Beowawe on the Southern Pacific r.
r., to generate electric power, and a
3G-mile transmission line to carry
this power to the mine and mill, thus
| D;n ax,ax ~;I ,:tl H. t..z
porting of fuel from the railroad.
Competitive bids were called for
from all the manufacturers of prime
movers, and after considering all the
advantages and disadvantages of each
and the economics attained the con-
tract was awarded to the Trent En-
cheering company of Reno, Ameri.
can agents for the r. Wolfe company,
for two compound-condensing super
beated-steam locomobiles, VIZ XIII
type, $50 horsepower each under con-
tinuous maximum load with a guar
anteed steam consumption of 10 lbs.
and fuel consumption of IL lbs. per
b.hp.-hr These locomobiles were to
be fitted for direct coupling to two
225-kw. generators.
This installation, it is believed,
will be the first of its kind in the
United States although there are over
100000 horsepower in Wolf loco
mobiles alone, distributed through
the different countries of the
world, in over 5000 units.
These locomobiles have been used
in Europe for a number of years
with great success in all sizes from
20 to 100 horsepower, and show
within these limits economies which
compare favorably with the best class
CT turbines in large units.
Essentially, the locomobila is a
F.. combined boiler and engine. The
boiler is of the locomotive type with
removable tubes and a superheater,
consisting OF a number of pipe coils,
in n end through which the waste
gases at high temperature circulate.
The engine is mounted ON top of the
boiler and is of the compound con-
densing type for superheated steam
using the unifiow cylinder, which
affords the greatest utilization
of the high pressure superheated
steam and reduces the cylinder con-
densation to a minimum.
Frequent tests have shown a fuel
consumption of from 0.S to IL lbs.
of coal (13,50O B.t.u.) and from Z
to 8 lbs. of steam per b.hp.-hr. There
are a number of advantages claimed
for this class of engine owe the Or
binary kind. First, the combination
Of boiler and engine in one unit re-
quires a minimum floor space for
setting and only the slightest of
foundations. No expensive or compli-
Gated brick setting for the boiler,
and consequently smaller and cheaper
engine-room buildings. Second, COM
plete and simple supervision of the
whole plant at once by one attendant.
Third, great economies in fuel and
steam consumption. Fourth, easy
regulation and perfect reliability.
Fifth, removable furnace tubes al
low quick cleaning.
The results of the tests, which will
be made in the plant at Beowawe
as sOOn as completed and in good
RAINING order, are awaited with
gres; interest by a number of the
mining operators of Nevada and the
Pacific coast who, on account of the
high cost of the present electric
power, are contemplating the erec-
ton of their own s~team-pOwer plants.
1t is estimated hat a power in
s~tallation using the Wolf lOcOmobile
as the prime mover a effect a a "
ing of from 81 to 81 per horsepower
per month over the present prices.
H. c. Cutler, in Engineering and
Mining Journal.