 Section 10 of the Romance of Modern Mechanism. This is a LibriVox recording. All LibriVox recordings are in the public domain. For more information or to volunteer, please visit LibriVox.org. Recording by Tina Ding. The Romance of Modern Mechanism by Archbaub Williams. Chapter 8. The Motor of Float. Part 2. Motor Fishing Boats. It is a pretty sight to watch a fishing fleet enter the harbor with its catch, taken far away on the waters beyond the horizon while landsmen slept. The sails, some white, some brown, some wondrously patched, and bearing the visible marks of many a heart fight with the wind, hally out in graceful lines as the boats slip past the harbor entrance. No wonder that the painter has so often found subjects for his canvas and brushes among the toilets of the deep. But underlying the romance and picturesqueness of the craft, there is stern business. Those boats may be returning with full cargoes, such as will yield good profits to owner and crew, but on the other hand, the hold may be empty, and many honest hearts be heavy at the thought of wasted days. A few years ago, the Yarmuth hearing fleet is said to have returned on one occasion with but a single fish to the credit of the whole fleet. This might have been a mere figure of speech. The boat stands at any rate for many thousands of pounds lost by the hearty fishermen. When the boats have been made fast, the fish, if already disentangled from the nets, is usually sold at once by auction, the price depending largely on the individual size and freshness of the catch. Now, with the increase in the number of boats and from other causes, the waters near home have been so well fished over that much longer journeys must be made to the grounds than were formerly necessary. Trawling that is dragging a large bag net, its mouth kept open by a beam and weights, along the bottom of the sea for flatfish has long been performed by powerful steam vessels, which may any day be seen leaving or entering hull or Grimsby in large numbers. The surface fishing, wherein a long drift net weighted at its lower edge and buoyed at the upper edge to enable it to keep a perpendicular precision, is used for herring and mackerel, and in this industry, wind power alone is generally used by British fishermen. The herring boat set sail for the grounds in the morning and at sundown should be at the scene of action. This aggregating perhaps a mile in length are then shot, and the boat drifts along towing the line behind her. If fish appear, the nets are hauled in soon after daybreak by the aid of a capstan. The labor of bringing a mile of nets aboard is very severe. So severe in fact that the larger boats in many cases employ the help of a small steam engine. During the return voyage, the fish is freed from the meshes and thrown into the hold ready for sail as soon as land is reached. Fish, whether for salting or immediate consumption, should be fresh. No class of human food seems to deteriorate so quickly when life is extinct as the denizens of the deep, so that it is of primary importance to fishermen that their homeward journey should be performed in the shortest possible time. If winds are contrary or absent, there may be such delay as to need the liberal use of salt and even that useful commodity will not stave off a fall in value. It therefore often happens that a really fine catch arrives at its market in a condition which spells heavy loss to the catchers. A slow return also means missing a day's fishing, which may represent 200 pounds to 300 pounds. For this reason, the Dogger Bank fishing fleet is served by steam tenders which carry off the catches as they are made and thus obviate the necessity for a boat's return to port when its hold is full. Such a system will not, however, be profitable to boats owned by individuals and working within a comparatively short distance of land. Each boat must depend on its particular powers, the first to return getting rather better prices than those which come with a crowd. So steam power is in some cases installed as an auxiliary to the sails, though you may entail the outlay of 2,000 pounds as first cost and a big bill for upkeep and management. Small men cannot afford this expense and they would be doomed to watch their richer brethren slip into the market before them had not the explosion motor come to their aid. This just meets their case. It is not nearly so expensive to install as steam, occupies much less room, is easier to handle, and therefore saves the expense of trained attendants. Fishermen are notoriously conservative. To them, a change from methods sanctioned by many years of practice is important. What suffice for their fathers, they say, should suffice for them. Their trade is so uncertain that a bad season will see no return for the cost of the motor since where no fish are caught, it makes little difference whether the journey to port be quick or slow. However, the motor is bound to come. It has been applied to fishing boats with marked success. While the nets are out, the motor is stopped and costs not a penny more till the time comes for hauling in. Then it is geared up with a captain and saves the crew much of their hardest work. When all is aboard, the captain hands over the power to the screw which together with the sails propels the vessel homewards at a smart pace. The skipper is certain of making land in good time for the market and he will be ready for the out voyage next morning. Another point in favor of the motor is that when storms blow up the fleet will be able to run for shelter even if the wind be averse and we should hear lots of the sacrifice of life which makes sad reading after each severe gale. As to the machinery to be employed, Mr. F. Miller of Alton Broad who first applied the gas motor to a fishing smack, the Pioneer considers that a 12 horsepower engine would suffice as an auxiliary for a small craft of the class found in the northern parts of Great Britain. The Norfolk boats would require a 30 horsepower and a full powered boat that is one that could depend on the motor entirely should carry a three cylinder engine of 80 horsepower. In any case, the machinery must be enclosed and well protected while the lubrication arrangements should be such as to be understood easily by unskilled persons and absolutely reliable. Owing to the moisture in the atmosphere the ordinary high tension coil ignition such as is used on most motor cars would not prove efficient and it is therefore replaced by a low tension type which makes and breaks the primary circuit by means of a rocking arm working through the walls of the cylinder. Lastly, all parts which require occasional examination or adjustment must be easily accessible so that they may receive proper attention at sea and not send the vessel home a lame duck under sail. The advantages of the motor are so great that the Scotch authorities have taken the matter up seriously appointing an expert to make inquiries. It is therefore quite possible that before many years have elapsed the motor will play an important part in the task of supplying our breakfast tables with a dainty soul or toothsome hearing. A motor fire float. As a good instance of this particular adaptation of the explosion engine to fire extension work we may quote the apparatus now in attendance on the huge factory of Messers Huntley and Palmer the famous reading biscuit makers. The factory lies along the banks of the river Kennett which are joined by bridges so close to the water that a steamer could not pass under them. Messers Maryweather accordingly built the motor float 32 feet long, 9.5 feet beam and drawing 27 inches. Two engines each having four cylinders of a total of 30 horsepower drive two sets of three cylinder head fill pumps which give a continuous feed to the hose. Engines and pumps are mounted on the single bed plate and are worked separately unless it be found advisable to siamese the hoses to feed a single one and a half inch jet which can be flung to a great height. One of the most interesting features of the float is the method of propulsion. As its movements are limited to a few hundred yards the fitting of a screw was considered unnecessary its place being taken by four jets two at each end through which water is forced against the outside water by the extinguishing pumps. These will move the float either forward or a stern steer her or turn her around. So here once again petrol has trotten upon the tolls of giant steam and very effectively too. The mechanism of the motor boat in many points the marine motor reproduces the machinery built into cars the valve arrangements governors designed of cylinders and water jackets are practically the same small boats carry one cylinder or perhaps two just as a small car is content with the same number but a racing or heavy boat employees four six and in one case at least 12 cylinders which abolish all debt points and enable the screw to work very slowly without engine vibration as the drive is continuous. The large marine motor is designed to run at a slower rate than the land motor and its cylinders are therefore of greater size. Some of the cylinders exhibited in the automobile show at the London Olympia seemed enormous when compared with those doing duty on even high powered cars being more suggestive of the parts of an electric lighting plant than of a machine which has to be tucked away in the boat except for the reversing gear gearing is generally absent on the motor boat the chauffeur has not to keep changing his speed lever from one notch to another according to the nature of the country on the sea conditions are more consistently favorable or unfavorable and as in the steamboat speed is controlled by opening or closing the throttle the screw will always be turned by the machinery but its effect on the boat must depend on its size and the force is acting in opposition to it since water is yielding it does not offer a parallel to the road should a car meet a heel too steep for its climbing powers the engines must come to rest the wheel does not slip on the road and so long as there is sufficient power it will force the car up the severest incline as soon as the power proves too small for the task in hand the car lies down in a motor boat however the engine may keep the screw moving without doing more against wind and tide than prevent the boat from advancing backwards the only way to make the boat efficient to meet all possible conditions will be to increase the size or alter the pitch of the screw and to install more powerful engines gearing down as in the motor car being useless the only mechanism needed on the motor boat in connection with the transmission of power from cylinders to screw is the reversing gear though engines have been designed with devices for reversing by means of the cams operating the valves the reversal of the screws movement is generally affected through gears on the transmission apparatus the simplest arrangement though not the most perfect mechanically is a reversible screw the blades of which can be made to feather this way or that by the movement of a lever sometimes two screws are employed with opposite twists the one doing duty while the other revolves idly but for fast and heavy boats a single solid screw with immovable blades is undoubtedly preferable its reversal being affected by means of friction clutches the inelasticity of the explosion motor renders it necessary that the change be made gradually or the kick of the screw against the motor might cause breakages the clutch gradually engaging with a disc revolved by the propeller shaft first stops the antagonistic motion and then converts it into similar motion many devices have been invented to bring this about but as a description of them would not be interesting we pass on to a consideration of the fuel used in the motorboat petrol has the upper hand at present yet heavier oil must eventually prevail on account both of its cheapness and of its greater safety the only objection to its use is the difficulty attending the starting of the engine with kerosene and this is meant by using petrol till the engine and cooperator are hot and then switching on the petroleum when once the cooperator has been warmed by exhaust gases to about 270 degrees Fahrenheit it will work as well with the heavy as with the light fuel since any oil or spirit may leak from its tanks and cause danger an effort has been made to substitute solid for liquid fuel the substance selected is neftlin well known as a protector of clothes against moths at the Olympia Automotive Exhibition of 1905 the writer saw an engine the chenille Leon which had been run with balls of this chemical fed to the cooperator through a melting pot for a description of this engine we must once again have recourse to the motorboat the inventors had decided to test its performance with petrol paraffin and neftlin respectively the motor screwed to a testing bench was connected by the usual belt to a dynamo so that the power developed under each variety of fuel might be electrically measured and was then started up on petrol as soon as the parts were sufficiently warmed up by the exhaust heat the petrol was turned off and the motor run for some time on paraffin until sufficient neftlin was thoroughly melted to the consistency of a thick syrup the neftlin was then fed to its mixing valve through a small pipe dipping into the bottom of the melting pot and then sprayed into the induction chamber to corroborate the air therein hitherto the motor had given an average of 12 electrical horsepower at 1000 revolutions per minute and it was noticed that as soon as the change was made this was fully maintained this test, when continued bore out others which had previously been made by the firm and showed the consumption of each of the three fuels to be a little over 12 pounds per hour for the 12 electrical horsepower given by the motor still the paraffin and neftlin worked out about as equal as to cost and considering that the latter was in its purest form as sold for a close preservative we have yet to see how much better its commercial showing will be with lower grades assuming beforehand that its thermal efficiency and behavior are as good on the ground of convenience neftlin as a solid is a very long way in front of its liquid rival kerosene its exhaust too was much freer from odor and it appears that unlike paraffin it forms neater tar, soot, nor sticky matter but on the contrary has a tendency to brighten all valves, cylinders, walls, etc in a little deposit being a light powder which would be carried into the exhaust the two stroke motor in the ordinary auto cycle motor an explosion occurs once in every two revolutions of the crank with a single cylinder the energy of the explosion must be stored up in a heavy flywheel to carry the engine through the three other operations of scavenging, sucking in a fresh charge and compressing it preparatory to the next explosion with two cylinders the flywheel can be made lighter as an explosion occurs every revolution and in a four cylinder engine we might almost dispense with the wheel all together since the drive is continuous just as in the double cylinder steam engine the two stroke motor that is one which makes an explosion for every revolution is an attempt to unite the advantages of a two cylinder engine of the auto type with the lightness of a single cylinder engine as it has been largely used for motor boats especially in America a short description of its working may be given here in the first place all moving cylinder valves are done away with their functions being performed by openings covered and opened by the movements of the piston the crank chamber is quite gas tight and has in it a non-return valve through which vapor is drawn from the carburetor every time the piston moves away from the center there is also pipe connecting it with the lower part of the cylinder but the other end of this is covered by the piston until it has all but finished its stroke let us suppose that an explosion has just taken place the piston rushes downwards compressing the gas in the crank chamber to some extent when the stroke is three parts performed a second hole on the opposite side of the cylinder from the aperture already referred to is uncovered by the piston and the exploded gases partly escape immediately afterwards the second hole is uncovered also and the fresh charge rushes in from the crank case being deflected upwards by a plate on the top of the piston so as to help drive out the exhaust products the returning piston covers both holes and compresses the charge till the moment of explosion when the process is repeated it may be said in favor of this type of engine that it is very simple and free from vibration against it that owing to the imperfect scavenging of exploded charges it does not develop so much power as an auto-cycle engine of equal cylinder dimensions also that it is apt to overheat while it uses double the amount of electric current motor boats for the Navy a country which like England depends on the command of the sea for its very existence may well keep a sharp eye on any invention that tends to render that command more certain in recent years we have heard a lot said and read a lot written about the importance of swift boats which in wartime could be launched against a hostile fleet armed with the deadly torpedo the Russo-Japanese war has given us a fine example of what can be accomplished by daring men and swift torpedo craft for some reason or other the British Navy has not kept abreast of France in the number of her torpedo vessels reference to official figures shows that while our neighbors can boast 280 hornets we have to our credit only 225 in the House of Commons on August 10th 1904 Mr. Henry Norman MP asked the Secretary of the Admiralty whether in view of the proofs recently afforded of trustworthiness, speed, simplicity and comparatively low cost of small vessels propelled by petrol motors he would consider the advisability of testing this class of vessel in his Majesty's Navy the Secretary replied that the Admiralty had kept a watch on the recent trials and meant to make practical tests with motor penises in view of the danger that would accompany the storage of petrol onboard ship the paraffin motor was preferable for naval purposes and an 80 horsepower four-cylinder motor of this type has been ordered from Messers-Vosper of Portsmouth Mr. Norman writing in The World's Work on the subject says there can be no question that such high speed and cheap construction 80 horsepower giving in the little boat as much speed to consider that only as 8000 in the big boat point to the use of motor boats for naval purposes in the near future a torpedo boat exists only to carry one or two torpedoes within launching distance of the enemy the smaller and cheaper she can be and the fewer men she carries provided always she be able to face a fairly rough sea the better now the ordinary steam torpedo boat carries perhaps 20 men and cost anything from 50,000 to 100,000 pounds a motor boat of equal or greater speed could probably be built for 15,000 pounds and would carry a crew of two men six motor boats therefore could be built for the cost of one steamboat and their total crews would not number so many as the crew of the one moreover they could all be slung on board a single vessel and only set afloat near the scene of action a prophetic friend of mine declares that the most dangerous worship of the future will be a big vessel unarmored and only lightly armed but of the utmost possible speed carrying 20 or more motor torpedo boats slung on David's she will rely on her greater speed for her own safety if attacked she will approach as near the scene of action as possible and will drop all her little boats into the water and they will make a simultaneous attack their hulls will be cleaned their machinery in perfect order their crews fresh and full of energy and it would be strange if one of the 20 did not strike home and the destruction of a battleship or great cruiser at the cost of a score of these little wasps men by two score men would be a very fine naval bargain Mr. Norman amidst one recommendation that must in active service count heavily in favor of the motor boat and that is its practical invisibility in the day or at night time the destroyer when traveling at high speed betrays its presence by clouds of smoke or red hot funnels the motor boat is entirely free from such dangerous accompaniments the exhaust from the cylinders is invisible in every way the very absence of funnels must also be in itself a great advantage the eye roving over the waters might easily pick up a series of stumpy black objects of hard outline but the motor boat riding low and flatly on the waves would probably escape notice especially when a searchlight alone can detect its approach it may reasonably be said that the amorty knows its own business best and that the outsider's opinion is not wanted the man in the street has become notorious for his paper generalship and strategy and fallen somewhat into disrepute as an advisor on military and naval matters yet we must not forget this that many we might say most of the advances in naval mechanisms armor and weapons of defense have not been evolved by naval men but by the highly educated and ingenious civilian who unblinded by president or professional conservatism can watch the game even better in some aspects than the players themselves and see what the next move should be that move may be rather unorthodox like the application of steam to men of war but nonetheless the correct one under the circumstances we allowed other nations to lead us in the matter of breach loading cannon armor plate submarines the abolition of combustible material on warships shall we also allow them to get ahead with motor boats and begin to consider that there may be something in motor auxiliaries for the fleet when they are already well supplied if there is a country which should above all others lose no time in adding the motor to her means of defense that country is great Britain end of section 10 section 11 of the romance of modern mechanism this is a LibriVox recording all LibriVox recordings are in the public domain for more information or to volunteer please visit LibriVox.org The Romance of Modern Mechanism by Archibald Williams Chapter 9 The Motorcycle in 1884 the Count de Dion working in partnership with Messas Bouton and Trepardu produced a practical steam tricycle two years later he had a somewhat similar vehicle by the same makers which attained the remarkable speed of 40 miles an hour Monsieur Serpolet now famous for his steam cars built at about the same time a three-wheeled steam tricycle which also proved successful but the continuous stoking of the miniature boilers and the difficulty of keeping them fully supplied with water prevented the steam driven cycle from becoming popular and when the petrol motor had proved its value on heavy vehicles inventors soon saw that the explosion engine was very much better suited for a light automobile than had been the cumbersome fittings inseparable from the employment of steam by 1895 a neat petrol tricycle was on the market and after the de Dion machines had given proof in races of their capabilities they at once sprang into popular favour for the next five years the Motor Tricycle was a common site in France where the excellent roads and the freedom from the restrictions prevailing on the other side of the channel recommended it to cyclists who wished for a more speedy method of locomotion than unaided legs could give yet could not afford to purchase a car the motor bicycle soon appeared in the field the earlier types of the two-wheeled motor were naturally clumsy and inefficient the need of a lamp constantly burning to ignite the charges in the cylinder proved a much greater nuisance on the bicycle than on the tricycle which carried its driving gear behind the saddle the writer well remembers trying an early pattern of the Verne Motor Bicycle in the Champs Elysees in 1897 and his alarm when the owner while starting the blow-lamp on the steering pillar was suddenly enveloped in flames which played havoc with his hair and might easily have caused more serious injuries riders were naturally nervous at carrying a flame near the handlebars so close to a tank of inflammable petrol liable to leak and catch fire the advent of electrical ignition for the gaseous charges opened the way for great improvements and the motor bicycle slowly but surely elsted its heavier three-wheeled rival designs were altered the engine was placed in or below the frame instead of over the front wheel and made to drive the back wheel by means of a leather belt in the earliest types the motive force had either been transmitted by belt to the front wheel or directly to the rear wheel by the piston rods working cranks on its spindle the progress of the motor bicycle has since 1900 been rapid and many thousands of machines are now in use the fact that the engines must necessarily be very small compels all possible saving in weight and an ability to run continuously at very high speeds without showing serious wear and tear details have therefore been perfected and though at the present day no motorcyclist of wide experience can claim immunity from trouble with his speedy little mount a really well designed and well built machine proves wonderfully efficient engine's possibilities of locomotion to the man of moderate means which were beyond the reach of the rider of a pedal driven bicycle in its way the motorcycle may claim to be one of the most marvelous products of human mechanical skill weight has been reduced until a power equal to that of three horses can be harnessed to a vehicle which when stored with sufficient petrol and electricity to carry it and rider 150 miles scales about a hundred weight it will pursue its even course up and down hill at an average of twenty or more miles an hour the only attention it requires being an occasional charge of oil squirted into the airtight case the crank and flywheels revolve the consumption of fuel is ridiculously small since an economical engine will cover 15 miles on a point of spirit which costs about three patents practically all motorcycle engines work on the Otto cycle principle motors which give an impulse every revolution by compressing the charge in the crank case or in a separate cylinder so that it may enter the working cylinder under pressure have been tried but hitherto with but moderate success there is however a growing tendency to compass an explosion every revolution by fitting two cylinders and from time to time four cylinder cycles the disadvantages attending the care and adjustment of so many moving parts has been the cause of four cylinder cycle motors being unsuccessful from a commercial standpoint though riders who are prepared to risk extra trouble and expense may find compensation in the quiet vibrationless drive of a motor which gives two impulses for every turn of the flywheel the acme of lightness in proportion to power developed has been attained by the barry engine in which the cylinders and their attachments are made to revolve about a fixed crank and perform themselves the function of a flywheel so great is the saving of weight that the makers claim a horsepower for every four pounds scaled by their engines thus a three and a half horsepower motor would only just tip the beam against one stone as the writer has personally inspected a barry engine he is able to give a brief account of its action it has two cylinders arranged to face one another on opposite sides of a central airtight crank case the inner end of each cylinder opening into the case both pistons advance towards and recede from the centre of the case simultaneously the air gas mixture is admitted into the crank case through a hole in the fixed crank spindle communicating with a pipe leading from the carburetor the inlet is controlled by a valve which opens while the pistons are parting and closes when they approach one another we will suppose that the engine is just starting the pistons are in a position nearest to the crank case as they separate they draw a charge equal in volume to double the cubicle contents of one cylinder into the crank case through its inlet valve during the return stroke the charge is squeezed and passes through a valve into a chamber which forms, as it were, the fourth spoke of a four-spoked wheel of which the other three spokes are the cylinders and the silencer of the chamber is connected by pipes to the inlet valve of the cylinders which are mechanically opened alternately by the action of special cams on the crankshaft the cylinder which gets the contents of the compression chamber receives considerably more mixture than would flow in under natural suction and the compression is therefore greater for the secondary type of cycle motor and the explosion more violent hence it comes about that the cylinders which have a bore of only two inches and a two-inch stroke for the piston develop nearly two horsepower each it may at first appear rather mysterious how if the cranks are rigidly attached to the cycle frame any motion can be imparted to the driving wheel the explanation is simple enough a belt pulley is affixed to one side of the crankcase and revolves with the cylinders the silencer and compression chamber the rotation is caused by the effort of the piston to get as far as possible away from the closed end of the cylinder after an explosion where a crank is movable but the cylinder fixed the former would be turned round where the crank is immovable but the cylinder movable the travel of the piston is possible only if the cylinder moves round the crank a series of explosions following one another in rapid succession gives the moving parts of the barry engine sufficient momentum to suck in chargers compress them and eject the burnt gases the plan is ingenious and as the machine into which this type of engine is built weighs altogether only about 70 pounds the sport of motorcycling is open to those people whose age or want of strength would preclude them from the use of the heavy mounts which are still to be seen about the roads in the future we may expect to find motorcycles approach very closely to a half hundred weight standard without sacrificing the rigidity needful for fast locomotion over second class roads for pace making on racing tracks motorcycles ranging up to 24 horsepower have been used but these are essentially freak machines of no practical value for ordinary purposes even three to four horsepower cycles have set up wonderful records exceeding 50 miles in the hour a speed equal to that of a good express train in comparison with the feats of motor cars their achievements may not appear very startling but when we consider the small size and weight and the simplicity of the mechanisms which propel cycle and rider at nearly a mile a minute the result seems marvellous enough during the last few years the tricycle has again come into favor but with the arrangement of its wheels altered two steering wheels being placed in front and a single driving wheel behind the main advantage of this inversion is that it permits the fixing of a seat in front of the driver in which a passenger can be comfortably accommodated the modern tri-car with its high powered double cylinder engines its change speed gears its friction clutch for bringing the engines gradually into action its forced water circulation for cooling the cylinders and its spring hung frame is in reality more a car than a cycle and escapes from the former category only on account of the number of its wheels to the tourist or to the person who does not find pleasure in solitary riding the tri-car offers many advantages and though decidedly more expensive to keep up than a motor bicycle entails only very modest bills in comparison with those which affect many owners of cars the development of the motorcycle has been hastened and fostered by frequent speed and reliability contests in which the nimble little motor has acquitted itself wonderfully a hill a mile long with very steep gradients has been ascended in considerably less than two minutes by a three-and-a-quarter horsepower motor we read of motorcycles travelling from Land's End to John O'Groats from Calcutta to Bombay from Sydney to Melbourne from Paris to Rome all in phenomenal times considering the physical difficulties of the various routes such tests prove the endurance of the motorcycle and pave the way to its use in more profitable employments volunteer cycling course often include a motor or two which in active service would be most valuable for scouting purposes especially if powerful enough commercial travellers fitting a box to the front of a tri-car are able to scale the country quickly and inexpensively in quest of orders for the firms they represent the police find the motor helpful for patrolling the roads on the continent and especially in Germany town and country postmen collect and deliver parcels and letters with the aid of the petrol-driven tricycle and thereby save much time while improving the service before long Harkt is the twanging horn will once again herald the postman's approach in a thousand rural districts but the horn will not hang from the belt of a horseman such as the poet Kelper describes but will be secured to the handlebars of a neat tri-car thus history repeats itself that the motorcycle is still far from perfect almost goes without saying but every year sees a decided advance in its design and efficiency the messy troublesome accumulator will eventually give way to a neat little dynamo which is driven by the engine and creates current for exploding the cylinder charges as the machine travels when the cycle is at rest there would then be no fear of electricity leaking away through some secret short circuit since the current ceases with the need for it but starts again when its presence is required the proper cooling of the cylinders has been made an easier matter than formerly by the introduction of fans which directs a stream of cold air onto the cylinder head Professor H.L. Callendar has shown in a series of experiments that a fan which absorbs only 2 to 3% of an engine's power will increase the engine's efficiency immensely when a low gear is being used for hill climbing and the rate of motion through the air has fallen below that requisite to carry off the surplus heat of the motor if an engine maintains a good working temperature when it progresses through space 2 feet for every explosion it would overheat if the amount of progression were through the medium of a change gear attachment reduced to one foot a change which would be advisable on a steep hill the fan then supplies the deficiency by imitating the natural rush of air as Professor Callendar says the most important point for the motorcyclist is to secure the maximum of power with the minimum of weight with this object the first essentials are a variable speed gear of wide range and some efficient method of cooling to prevent overheating at low gears it is unscientific to double the weight and power of the machine in order to climb a few hills when the same result can be secured with a variable gear it is unnecessary to resort to the weight and complication of water cooling when a light fan will do all that is required thus with the aid of a fan and a gear which will give at least two speeds the motorcyclist can with an engine of two horsepower climb almost any hill even without resorting to the help of the pedals his motion is therefore practically continuous to be comfortable he desires immunity from the vibration which quick movement over any but first class roads sets up in the machine especially in its forward parts several successful spring forks and pneumatic devices have been invented to combat the vibration bogey and these in conjunction with a spring pillar for the saddle which can itself be made most resilient relieve the rider almost entirely of the jolting which at the end of a long days ride is apt to induce a feeling of exhaustion the motorcycl which once had a rather bad name for its rough treatment of the nerves is also now furnished with springs to all wheels and approximates to the car in the smoothness of its progression assuming then that we have motor vehicle so light as to be very manageable sufficiently powerful to climb severe gradients reliable comfortable to ride and economical in their consumption of fuel and oil we are able to foresee that they will modify the dimensions of social existence the ordinary pedal driven cycle has made it possible for the worker to live much further from his work than formally tomorrow with a motor bicycle his home may be 15 miles away and those extra miles will make a great difference in rent and in the health of his family in fact almost promises to reconcile the garden city ideal with the industrial conditions of today by enabling a man to work in the town and have his home in the country this advantage applies of course less to London than to other great cities on account of the seemingly endless miles of streets to be traversed before the country is reached in most manufacturing centres however the motoring workman could get to his cottage home by a journey of a few miles even in London moreover this disadvantage will be overcome to a large extent in the future for it is as certain as anything of the kind can be that we must ultimately have special smooth, dustless, reserved for motor traffic leading out of London in the principal directions my own conviction is that motor cycling the simplest, the quickest the cheapest independent locomotion that has ever been known is destined to enjoy enormous development I believe that within a few years the motor bicycle and tricycle will be sold by hundreds of thousands and that many of the social and industrial conditions of our time will be greatly and beneficially affected by them End of Section 11 Section 12 of the Romance of Modern Mechanism this is a LibriVox recording all LibriVox recordings are in the public domain for more information or to volunteer please visit LibriVox.org Recording by Tina Ding The Romance of Modern Mechanism by Archibald Williams Chapter 10 Fire Engines A good model to place in over the doors of a fire brigade station would be he gives help toys who gives help quickly the spirit of it is certainly shown by the brave men who as soon as the warning signal comes spring to the engines and in a few minutes are careeing at full speed to the scene of operations speed and smartness have for many years passed been associated with our fire brigades we read how horses are always kept ready to be led to the engines how their harness is dropped on to them and deft fingers set the buckles right in the twinkling so that almost before an onlooker has time to realize what is happening the sturdy animals are beating the ground with flying hooves and few dollars in large cities have not heard the cry of the firemen as it rises from an indistinct murmur into a loud shout before which the traffic however dense melts away to the side of the road and leaves a clear passage for the engines driven at high speed and yet with such skill accidents are of rare occurrence the noise the gleam of the polished helmets the efforts of the noble animals which seem as keen as the men themselves to reach the fire combined to paint a scene which lingers long in the memory but efficient as the horse engine is it has its limitations animal strength and endurance are not an indefinite quantity while the firemen grudges even the few short moments which are occupied by the in spanning of the team in many towns therefore we find the mechanically propelled fire engine coming into favor the power for working the pumps is now given a second duty of turning the driving wheels a parallel can be found in the steam engine used for threshing machines which once had to be told by horses but now travels of itself dragging machine and other vehicles behind it the earlier types of automobile fire engines used the boilers steam to move them over the road Liverpool a very enterprising city as regards the extinction of fire has for some time passed owned a powerful steamer which can be turned out within a minute of the call can travel at any speed up to 30 miles an hour and can pump 500 gallons per minute continuously its success has led to the purchase of other motor engines some fitted with a chemical apparatus which by the action of acid on the solution of soda in closed cylinders is enabled to fling water impregnated with carbonic acid gas unto the fire the moment it arrives within working distance of the conflagration and gives very valuable first aid while the pumping apparatus is being got into order as might reasonably be expected the petrol motor has found a fine field for its energies in connection with fire extinction since it occupies comparatively little space more accommodation can be allowed for the firemen and gear furthermore a petrol engine can be started in a few seconds by a turn of a handle whereas a steamer is delayed until steam has been generated Messers Maryweather have built a four-cylinder 30 horsepower petrol fire engine capable of a speed of 40 miles an hour it has two systems of ignition the magneto or small dynamo and the ordinary accumulator and coil electrical breakdowns are not likely to occur a fast motor of this kind with a pumping capacity of 300 gallons per minute is peculiarly suited for large country estates where it can be made to perform household or farm duties when not required for its primary purpose considering the great number of contra mentions historically interesting and full of artistic treasures which England boasts it is a matter for regret that such an engine is not always included among the appliances with which each such property is furnished how often we read old mention totally destroyed by fire which usually means that in a few short hours priceless pictures furniture and other objects of art have been destroyed because help when it did come arrived too late owners are however more cleanly alive to their responsibilities now than formally the small hand-worked engine or the hydrant of moderate pressure is not considered a sufficient guard for the house and its contents in many establishments the electric lighting engines are designed to work either the dynamo or a set of pumps that this occasion may demand or the motor is mounted on wheels so that it may be easily dragged by hand to any desired spot the latest thing in motor fire engines is one which carries a fire escape with it in addition to water flinging machinery an engine of this type is to be found in some of the London suburbs a chemical cylinder lies under the driver's seat where it is well out of the way and coiled beside it is its reel of hose the escape rests on the top of the vehicle the wheels hanging over the rear end while the top projects some distance in front of the steering wheels the ladder of telescopic design can be extended to 50 feet as soon as it has been lowered to the ground since the saving of life is even more important than the saving of property it is very desirable that a means of escape should be at hand at the earliest possible moment after an outbreak this combination apparatus enables the brigade to nip a fire in the bud if it is still a comparatively small affair and also to rescue any people whose exit may have been cut off by the fire having started on or near the staircases the Hosley Motor Car Company has established a type of chemical motor fire engine which promises to be very successful a 20 horsepower motor is placed forward under the frame to keep the center of gravity low when fully laden it carries a crew of 8 men, 2 9 foot letters 2 portable chemical extinguishers a 50 gallon chemical cylinder and a reel on which is wound a hose 53 yards long the wheels are a combination of the wooden artillery and the wire spider wires being strung from the outer end of the hub to the outer ends of the wooden spokes to give them increased power to resist the strain of sudden turns or collisions an artillery wheel not thus reinforced the chemical sideways and snap its spokes when twisted at all England has always let the way in matters relating to fire extinction and to her is due the credit of first harnessing mechanical motive power to the fire engine other countries are following her example and consequently we find fire apparatus moved by the petrol motor in places far apart as Cape Town Valparaiso, Mauritius, Sydney Berlin, New York, Montreal there can be no doubt but that in a very few years horse traction will be abandoned by the brigades of our large towns it has been suggested that the fire pump of the future will be driven by electricity drawn from switches on the street mains and enough current being stored in accumulators to move the pump from station to fire in such a case it would be possible to use very powerful pumps as an electric motor is extremely vigorous for its size and weight even today steam fire engines can fling 2000 gallons per minute and fire floats for use on the water considerably more possibly the engine of tomorrow will pour 5000 gallons a minute on the flames if it can get that amount from water mains and so render it unnecessary to summon in a large number of engines to quell a big conflagration 300,000 gallons an hour ought to check a very considerable blaze the force with which a jet of water leaves the huge nozzle of a powerful engine is so great that it will seriously injure a spectator at a distance of 50 yards the kickback of the water on the nozzle is sometimes sufficient to overcome the power of one man to hold the nozzle in position with his hands and it becomes needful to provide supports with pointed ends to stick into ground or hooks which can be attached to the runs of a ladder on the upper stories of a house a special water tower is much used in America it consists of a lattice work iron frame about 25 feet long inside which slides an extensible iron tube 5 inches in diameter the tower is attached to one end of a wagon of unusual length and breadth and is raised to a vertical position by a rack gearing built into its base below the trunnion or pivots on which it swings carbonic acid gas generated in the cylinder carried on the wagon works as piston connected with the racks and on the tap being turned slowly brings the tower to the perpendicular when it is locked the telescopic tube carrying the hose inside it is then pulled up by wind less until the two and a half inch nozzle is nearly 50 feet from the ground the nozzle itself can be rotated from below by rods and gearing and the angle of the stream regulated by a rope if several engines simultaneously deliver their water to the tower houses 1000 gallons a minute can be concentrated in a continuous two and a half inch jet onto the fire the ordinary horse fire engine is simple in its design and parts the vertical boiler contains a number of nearly horizontal water tubes which offer a great surface to the furnace gases so that it may raise steam very quickly the actual water capacity of the boiler is small and therefore it must be fat continuously by a special pump the pumps two or three in number usually have piston rods working direct from the steam cylinders on the plungers of the pumps between cylinders and pumps are slots in the rods in which rotate cranks connected with one another and with a flywheel which helps to keep the running steady after leaving the pumps the water enters a large air vessel which reduces the sudden shocks of delivery by the cushioning effect of the air and causes a steady pressure on the water in the houses end of section 12 section 13 of the romance of modern mechanism this is a Libervox recording all Libervox recordings are in the public domain for more information or to volunteer please visit Libervox.org recording by Tina Ding the romance of modern mechanism by Archbaugh Williams chapter 11 fire alarms and automatic fire extinguishers assuming that a town has a well-appointed fire brigade equipped with the most up-to-date engines it still cannot be considered efficiently protected against the ravages of the fire fiend unless the outbreak of a fire can be notified immediately to the stations and local mechanical means of suppression come into action almost simultaneously with the commencement of the conflagration what you do do quickly is the keynote of successful fire suppression and its importance has been practically recognized in the invention of hundreds of devices some of which we will glance at in the following pages the electric circuit is the most valuable servant that we have to warn us of danger dotted about the streets are posts carrying at the top a circular box which contains a knob as soon as the fire is observed anyone may run to such a post smash the glass screening the knob and pull out the ladder this action flashes the alarm to the nearest fire station and a few minutes later an engine is dashing to the rescue help may also be summoned by means of the ordinary telephone exchanges or from police stations indirect telephonic communication with the brigade depots all devices depending for their ultimate value on human initiative leave a good deal to be desired they presuppose conditions which may be absent for instance an electric wire in a large factory ignites some combustible material during the night a passerby may happen to see flames while the fire is in an early stage on the other hand it is equally probable that the conflagration may be well established before the alarm is given with the results that the fire brigade arrives too late to do much good what we need therefore is a mechanical means of calling attention to the danger automatically with a quickness which will give the brigade or people close at hand a chance of strangling the monster almost as soon as it is born and with a precision as to locality that will save the precious time wasted in hunting for the exact point to be attacked Mr. G. H. Oatway M-I-E-E in a valuable paper read before the International Congress of Fire Brigades in London in 1903 says that the difference between the damage resulting from a fire signaled in its early stage and the same fire reported when it has spread to two or three floors is often the difference between a nominal loss and a burnout the former he continues who aims at reducing fire waste must turn his attention primarily to hastening the alarm the true cure of the matter is not what quantity of gear it takes to deal with huge conflagrations but how to concentrate at the earliest stage upon the outbreaks as they occur and to check them before they have grown beyond control he sites the fire record of Glasgow of 1902 from which it appears that three fires alone accounted for 40% of the year's total loss 10 fires for 73% and the other 706 for only 27% or an average of 72 pounds per fire had the first three fires only be notified at an earlier stage nearly 72,000 pounds would have been saved Captain Sir E. M. Shaw, late chief of the London Fire Brigade has put the following on record having devoted a very large portion of the active period of my working life in bringing into general use mechanical and hydraulic appliances for dealing with fires after they have been discovered I never did last give and have always given the highest place to the early discovery and indication of fire and not by any means to the steam, the hydraulic or the numerous other mechanical appliances on which the principal labors of my life have been bestowed a fire given 15 minutes start is often hard to overtake imagine a warehouse of light on three floors before the alarm is raised engines may come one after another and pour delages of water on the flames yet as likely as not we read next morning of total destruction no stitch in time has saved nine the sad part about fires is that they represent so much absolute waste in commercial transactions if one party loses the other gains wealth is merely transferred and still remains in the community but in the matter of fire this is not the case supposing that a huge cotton mill is burnt down the re-election will, it is true cause a lot of money to change hands but what has resulted from the money that has already been put into the mill? nothing so many hundred thousands of pounds have been dematerialized and left nothing behind to represent them the great Ottawa fire of a few years ago may be remembered as a terrible example of such total loss of human effort the history of fire alarms the first recorded specification for an automatic detecting device bears the date 1763 in that year a Mr. John Green patented an arrangement of courts, wades and polies which when the court burnt through caused the movement of an indicating semaphore arm as this action appealed only to the eye it might easily pass unnoticed and we can imagine that Mr. Green did not find a gold mine in his invention 24 years later an advance was made when William Statman introduced a philosophical fire alarm his apparatus consisted of a pivoted bulb having an open neck and containing mercury, spirit or other fluid as the heat of the room increased the expansion of the fluid caused it to spill over release a trigger and allow a mechanical gun to run down this arrangement whilst an advance upon the first to refer to is quite impracticable evaporation of fluid, expansion of mercury a stiff crank or other causes which will readily occur to you and the thing is useless in 1806 an automatic method for sprinkling water over a fire appeared the idea was simplicity itself that work of water mains with taps controlled by cords which burnt through and turned on the water William Congreve patented three years later a sprinkler which was an improvement in that it indicated the position of the fire in a building by dropping one of a number of weights but string is not to be relied upon it may perish or break when no fire is about and any system of expansion depending on it might prove a double edged weapon the 19th century produced hundreds of devices for alarming and extinguishing automatically all depended upon the principle of the expansion or melting of metal in the increased temperature arising from a fire at one time the circuit closing thermometer was popular on account of its simplicity its drawback says Mr. Otway is the smallness of its heat collecting service its isolation and last and worst of all its fixity of operation in thermometer or fuse alarm practice it is usual to place the detectors at intervals of about 10 feet or so so that a room of any size will contain a number if a fire breaks out the ceiling it is blanketed with heat and every detector feels its influence each is affected but none can give the alarm until someone of the number absolutely reaches the set point or mouth out having no means of varying the composition of the solder or shifting the wire an actuating point must be selected which is high enough to give a good working margin over the maximum industrial or seasonal heat of the year and thus it comes about that if the fire breaks out in winter or when the room is at its lowest temperature the amount of loss is considerably and quite unnecessarily increased in a device set to fuse at 150 degrees Fahrenheit it will be clear to everyone that the measure of the damage will depend upon the normal temperature of the room at that time of the outbreak if the mercury is in the 90s there is only some 60 degrees of a rise to wait for whilst if it happens to be a winter's night the alarm is held back for a rise of perhaps 120 degrees what chance is there in this case for a good stop Mr. Otway has examined the fuses under different conditions and his conclusions are drawn from practical tests great intelligence will not be required to appreciate the force of his arguments in as much as the rise of temperature caused by a fire is relative during the early stages at least to the general heat of the atmosphere it becomes obvious that an automatic fire alarm should be one which will keep parallel as it were with fluctuations of natural heat thus if the danger of rise be fixed at 100 degrees the alarm should be given on a cold night as certainly as at midday in summer it was the failure of early patterns in this respect that led to their being discredited by the fire brigade authorities the writer already quoted has laid down the functions of a perfect alarm a to detect the fire at a uniformly early period under all atmospheric and industrial conditions b to give the alarm upon the premises and simultaneously to the brigade by a definite and unmistakable message c to facilitate the work of extinction by indicating the position of the outbreak in the building attacked the May-Oatway alarm has got round the first difficulty in the most ingenious manner by adapting the principle of the compensation methods already described in connection with watches the alarm consists of a steel rod of a section found to be most suitable for the purpose to the side is attached by screws entering the rod near the ends a copper wire which is long enough to sag slightly at its center from which depends a silver chain carrying a carbon contact piece a short distance below the carbon are the two terminals of the electric circuit which when completed by the lowering of the carbon gives the alarm now if there be a very gradual change of temperature the steel rod lengthens slowly and so does the copper wire so that the amount of sag remains practically what it was before but in the event of a fire the copper expands much more quickly than the steel and sags until the carbon completes the circuit the whole thing is beautifully simple very durable quite consistent and reliable as soon as the temperature diminishes on the extinction of the fire the alarm automatically returns to its normal position ready for further work now for the second function that of giving the alarm in many places at once the closed circuit does not itself directly cause bells to ring it works a relay that is a second and more powerful circuit in fact it is the counterpart of the engine driver who does not himself make the locomotive move but merely turns on the steam an installation has been introduced in the popular workhouse to quote an instance where a fire to break out one of the 276 detectors with soon set 25 bells in action one in each officer's room similarly in the warehouseman's orphanage at Shidohume every dormitory would be aroused and every officer including the principal in his house some distance away Messer's author and company of Glasgow have a warehouse fortified with 600 of these nerve centers all yoked to four position indicators three of which actuate a master indicator connected with the central fire station there is no hole or corner in this huge establishment where the fire demon could assay his fell work without being at once spied upon by a detector we may glance for a moment at the mechanism which sends an unmistakable message for help at the brigade station there is a number of small tablets each protected by a flap on the outside of which is the word save on the inside fire normally the flap is closed as soon as the circuit is completed a magnet releases the flap and a bell begins to ring now it is possible that the circuit might be closed accidentally by contact somewhere between the premises it serves and the fire station so that the official on guard seeing J. Brown and company on the uncover tablet might dispatch the engines to the place indicated on the wild goose chase to prevent such farce alarms the transmitter not only rings the station up but automatically sends an unmistakable message when a fire occurs an automatic printing machine is set in motion to dispatch a cipher in the Morse code four times to the station an accidental circuit could not do this therefore when the officer sees on the receiving tape the well-known cipher he turns out his men with all speed on arriving at their destination the firemen receive valuable help from the position indicator which guides them to their work on the special board is seen a roll or rows of shutters similar to those already mentioned each row belongs to a floor each unit of the roll to a room a glance suffices to tell that the trouble is say in the most southerly room of the second floor no notice is therefore taken of smoke rolling out of other parts of the building until the danger spot has been attacked that the firemen appreciate such an ally goes without saying every fire extinguished is a point to their credit also the risks they run are greatly diminished while the wear and tear of tackle is proportionately reduced the fireman is noted for his courage and unflinching performance of duty the discomforts of his profession are sometimes severe and it's dangerous as certain as they are at times appalling therefore we welcome any mechanical method which at once shortens his work lessens his peril and protects property from damage Mr. Otway draws special attention to the need for simultaneous warning on the premises and at the fire station I remember he says many cases but perhaps no better illustration need to be looked for than the case of a cotton mill in Lancashire about two years ago 1901 the fire was seen to start at a few minutes past seven a fuse blew out and sparked some cotton but it looked such a simple job that the operatives elected to deal with it at 20 minutes to eight it dawned upon somebody that the brigade had better be sent for because the fire was getting away and in due course they arrived but the mill already doomed became a total loss in every center similar instances can be quoted there's nothing in any automatic system to discourage individual effort inmates can put the fire out if able but in any case the brigades gets timely and definite notice and if on their arrival they find the fire extinguished as Chief Superintendent Thomas put it when we opened the Dingle Station after the fatal train burning so much the better we shall get to our beds all the quicker this is the common sense view of it helpers work nonetheless intelligently because they know the brigade is coming and it is necessary to provide some automatic method of calling them because you can never rely upon anybody who is unfamiliar with fire doing the right thing at the proper time Messers May and Oatway who give their name to the alarm described above first introduced their apparatus in New Zealand from which country it has spread over the British Empire the largest installation is at Messers Clark and Company's anchor mills, Paisley the whole of the immense block of buildings the greater part of which was previously protected by sprinklers only is now electrically protected also and connected up with the fire brigade and through their station with the sleeping quarters of every fireman some figures will be interesting here there are 119 miles of internal alarm circuits five and a quarter miles of underground cable between buildings 19 automatic telegraphs 21 automatic position indicators 20 alarm guns a foot in diameter early in January 1905 a fire broke out in these buildings during the dinner hour when most of the works firemen were at their midday meal the alarm sounded simultaneously at the works fire station and at the firemen's houses which are situated on the other side of the street from the mill the firemen were on the spot immediately and were enabled to subdue the flames which had broken out in the building occupied as warehouse and office before it had got a firm hold of the flammable material although not before one of the large stacks of finished threads was ablaze the brigade however were soon masters of the situation and the damage done was under 100 pounds there is little doubt had the alarm been left to the ordinary course the building would have been totally destroyed in those few minutes the installation saved its entire cost many times over truly a little fire is quickly trotten out which being suffered rivers cannot quench here in a Shakespearean nutshell is the whole signs of fire protection automatic sprinklers as these have been referred to several times a short description may appropriately be given the building which they protect is fitted with a network of mains and branches ramifying into each room at the end of each branch is a nozzle the mouth of which is bridged over by a metal arch carrying a small plate between the bridge and the glass plug closing the nozzle is a bar of easily fusible solder when the temperature has risen to dendro point the solder melts and the plug is driven out by the water which strikes the plate and scatters in all directions this device has proved very valuable on many occasions the Encyclopedia Britannica 10th edition states that in the record of the American Associated Factory Mutual Companies for the five and a half years ending January 1st 1900 it appears that out of 563 fires where sprinklers came into play 129 were extinguished by one jet 83 by two jets 61 by three 44 by four 40 by five the fire bucket is the simplest device we have as a first eight and very effective it often proves insurance statistics show that more fires are put out by pales than by all other appliances put together the important point to be remembered in connection with them is that they should always be kept full so that at the critical moment there may be no hurried rushing about to find the two gallons of liquid which each is supposed to contain permanently in Cassier's magazine volume 20 page 85 is given an account of the manner in which an ingenious mill superintendent ensured the pales on the premises being ready for duty the hooks carrying the pales were fitted up with pieces of spring steel strong enough to lift the pale when nearly empty but not sufficiently so to lift a full pale just over each spring in such a position as to be out of the way of the handle of the pale was set a metal point connected with a wire from an open circuit battery so long as the pales were full their weight when hung on their hooks kept the springs down but as soon as one was removed or lost considerable part of its content by evaporation or otherwise the spring on its hook would rise come into contact with the metal point thus close the battery circuit and ring a bow in the manager's office at the same time showing which was the bucket at fault the bell continued to ring till the deficiency had been made right and by this simple contrivance the buckets were protected from misuse or lack of attention End of section 13