File:Triumphs and wonders of the 19th century, the true mirror of a phenomenal era, a volume of original, entertaining and instructive historic and descriptive writings, showing the many and marvellous (14783673965).jpg

Identifier: triumphswonderso01boyd (find matches)
Title: Triumphs and wonders of the 19th century, the true mirror of a phenomenal era, a volume of original, entertaining and instructive historic and descriptive writings, showing the many and marvellous achievements which distinguish an hundred years of material, intellectual, social and moral progress ..
Year: 1899 (1890s)
Authors: Boyd, James Penny, 1836-1910
Subjects: Progress Inventions
Publisher: Philadelphia, Pa., A. J. Holman & Co
Contributing Library: The Library of Congress
Digitizing Sponsor: Sloan Foundation

View Book Page: Book Viewer
About This Book: Catalog Entry
View All Images: All Images From Book
Click here to view book online to see this illustration in context in a browseable online version of this book.

Text Appearing Before Image:
sary to apply the clutches that set the reels inmotion; other engines set the brakes, and another reverses the action, ifneed be. All these are controlled by levers operated from the engineersplatform, the runner having one foot and seven hand levers to handle.■Besides these there are two indicator discs, directly in front, requiring con-stant attention, for these show the exact position of the cage in the shaft.Yet such wonderful skill have the runners in the control of these veritableflying machines that they instantly interpret the complicated signals, anddrop the cage with such exactness that the car of ore is run from the trackin the level to the track on the cage, almost without a jar. Nor is the hoist the only large machine necessary in the equipment of themodern mining plant, for in sinking to great depths vast quantities of waterhave to be removed. The Chapin Mining Company, at Iron Mountain, Mich.,have one of the largest pumping engines in the world. This engine is located
Text Appearing After Image:
578 TRIUMPHS AND WONDERS OF THE XIX™ CENTURY on the surface, driving the pumps after the Cornish style, though it would bedifficult to see much of the pump of 1801 in this magnificent machine. Witha ten-foot stroke it conveys the power to the pumps through a walking beamweighing a hundred tons. In an hour it will raise nearly 200,000 gallons ofwater from a depth of a quarter of a mile. Imagine the miner of 1800 ; softening by fire sufficient ore to supply amodern hoist. For the mines which now turn out 2000 tons a day can by nomeans be counted on ones fingers, and 2000 tons means more than a footdeep over a whole city block. Before the middle of the century the use ofpowder and drill had largely increased, and in 1845 an attempt was madeto aid the man behind the drill with a machine which swung a hammer bysteam power. In 1865 a machine was invented using compressed air in acylinder, and this was gradually improved until it became a success in 1861,in the Mont Cenis tunnel. As finall

Note About Images