Harrisburg telegraph. [volume] (Harrisburg, Pa.) 1879-1948, 1919-10-16

Pickard patenting the use OF a
crank in 1880, he inveted the "a
nous way round" of sun-ahu-
planet motion, an eyslne OF TINS
type having been repoved from the
Manchester district only ten years
ago. Other notable Improvements
were the double stting engine, the
use of the earlyLcuton and result
ant expansion II the steam, the
beautiful paralH motion still In use
on numerous Ieam engines to-day
the pendulum governor and throttle
valve for controlling speed and the
use of press1re gauges.
Watt wa4 not alone in the field.
Others naturally sought to build on
his work Trevithick, a Cornish
mine engineer, was perhaps the
greatest of these. In 1901, the year
following the expiration of Watts
patent, Trevithick built and ran a
high pressure noncondensing steam
carrisge, but it came to an untimely
end. z The following year he built a
second, and in 1903 it's engine was
bulk into a carriage for London
streets. Early in 1904 we find
Trevithick with a high pressure
steam locomotive" probably the
first railway engine" in the world
making trials on a colliery tramroad
at Pen-y-darran, South Wales.
ProNSned on High Pressure
On these and subsequent attempts
Watt seems to have frowned, as
much from dislike of high pressure
steam as from jealousy. Trevithick,
indeed, was the real pioneer of high
steam pressures, and developed as
high as 145 pounds square inch.
Boulton and Watt, it may be re-
marked, sought to obtain an act of
Parliament prohibiting it's use.
The early days of the steamship
belong to Watts days. In 1888 Mil
ler and Symington built a small
pleasure boat propelled by a steam
engine on Dalswinton Loeb, Scot
land. In 1889 a larger boat was
built and tried on the Forth and
| clyde Canal, and 1t is recorded that
speed of seven miles an hour was
attained. Watt was unsympathetic,
and the matter languished until
1902, in which year Charlotte Dun
das, built by Symington to the order
of Lord Dundas, made highly sue
cessful trial on the Forth and Clyde
Canal. Further development OF
by fear of the destructive action OF
the wash on the canal banks. How
ever, steam navigation had been
demonstrated a practical thing, and
| from that time has never looked
back. In 1906 Boulton and Watt
supplied Fulton in America with ar
engine which was built into the
| Clermont, the first steamer in the
New World. This historic vesse
was probably also the first passenger
steamship, and in 1907 commenced
a regular service between New Yorl
and Albany, a river voyage only, 4
is true, but one of $50 miles, and nC
mean test of the reliability and gen
eral efficiency of the engineering o.
those days.
Very great progress has beer
made since Watts day, but very lit
tie has been by way of reversal o.
anything he did. The steam turbine
1t is true, is radical departure. bu
1t can hardly be considered a re
versal of his work. The piston en-
gine to-day has developed yer.
closely along the lines first marked
down by Watt. The separate con
denser is universal. and in min
cases out of ten it follows one o
the forms made or described 'b,
Watt. Only the ejector condense
can be considered as quite new. Elk
pansive working. another of Watt
great improvements, is Away
J adopted, and the double acting en-
CINE is SO general that few engin
eers have ever seen any other Com
pounding, which is almost universe
! to-day, seems to have been patent
ed by Watt and by Hornblowe
separately in 1881.