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The New York Subway

Chapter 4 POWER PLANT FROM COAL PILE TO SHAFTS OF ENGINES AND TURBINES

Word Count: 5977    |    Released on: 06/12/2017

er house building and its adjuncts, as well as of the features which not only go to make it an architect

lation to the building, and "follow the power through" from the coal pile to the shafts of the

sh Handlin

er house; a system of 30-inch belt conveyors to elevate the coal a distance of 110 feet to the top of the boiler house, at the rate of 250 tons per hour or more, if so desired, and a system of 20-inch belt conveyors to distribute it horizontally over the coal bunkers. These conveyors have automatic sel

f 24 steel cars of 2 tons capacity, having gable bottoms and side dumping doors. Each car has two four-wheel pivoted trucks with springs. Motive power is supplied by an electric storage battery locomotive. The cars deliver the ashes to an elevating belt conveyor, which fills the ash bunker. This will contain 1,000 tons, and is built of stee

repaired or replaced. The system also possessed advantages with respect to the automatic even distribution of coal in the bunkers, by means of the self reversing trippers. These deri

f lying vertically below the crusher. This arrangement reduces by 40 per cent. the lift of the bucket, which is of the clam-shell type of forty-four cubic feet capacity. The motive power for operating the bucket is perhaps the most massive an

okers and bypasses it around the crusher. The crusher is of the two-roll type, with relieving springs, and is o

e an unobstructed view of the bucket at all times without peering through slots in the floor. Walks and hand lines are provided on both sides of th

r. The locomotive consists of two units, each of which has four driving wheels, and carries its own motor and battery. The use of two units allows the locomotive to round curves with very small ov

Dow

. Each bunker has eight cast-iron outlets, four on each side, and to these outlets are bolted gate valves for shutting off the coal from the corresponding downtak

boilers when desired. They are the ordinary type of flight conveyor, capable of running in either direction and provided with gates in the bottom of the trough for feeding into the several above mentioned hoppers. In order to eliminate the stresses that would develop in a conveyor of the full length of the building, the conveyors are of ha

provided with a gate at its lower end. Two vertical downtakes extend down from the boiler hopper to the boiler room floor or to the stokers, as the

HOUSE IN COUR

tendency of the coal in the downtakes. All parts of the downtakes are of cast iron, except the vertical parts in front of the boilers, wh

Boile

e three drum boilers, each having 6,008 square feet of effective heating surface, b

e tubes are of lap welded, charcoal iron, 4 inches in diameter and 18 feet long. The drums are 42 inches in diameter and 23 feet and 10 inches long. All parts are of open-hearth steel; the shell plates are 9/16 of an inch thick and the drum head plates 11/16 inch, and in this respect the thickness of material employed is slightly in excess of standard practice. Another advance

SHOWING CONDENS

e center of the drums being 19 feet above the floor line. This feature provides a higher combustion chamber, for either hand-fired grates or automatic stokers; and for

door at the floor line and another at a higher level for light and ventilation when cleaning. Over the tubes arrangements have been made for the reception of superheating apparatus without changing the brickwork. Where the brick walls are constructed, at each side of the building columns at the front, ca

rged into ash cars in the basement. The main ash hoppers are constructed of 1/2-inch steel plate, the design being a double inverted pyramid with

runs along the partition wall, between the boiler house and operating room and at intervals doorways are provided which open into the pump area. The level of the platform is even with that of the main operating room floor, so that it may be freely used by the water tenders and by the operating engineers without being obstructed by the firemen or their tools. The platform in front

ove the platform for the water tenders and one below the platform for the firemen. The stop and check valves on each boiler drum have been made spe

e fronts are of sheet steel, and the coal passes down to the floor through two steel buckstays which have been enlarged for the purpose. There are three firing do

e coal bunker located between the fourth and fifth

loy superheaters to t

over the boilers to the ceiling is 13 feet. Over each boiler is an opening to the economizer floor above, covered with an iron grating. The height of the room, as well as the feature of these openings, and the stairway we

g the air to enter at the bottom. This inflow of air will take place through the southerly row of basement windows, which extend above the

the central aisle through the entire length of the structure. This crane is used for erection a

and Ai

in order to secure a large excess over boiler rating with other coals, a system of blowers and air ducts has been provided in the base

a two crank 7-1/2 x 13 x 6-1/2-inch upright, automatic, compound, steam engine of the self-enclosed type, and is to provid

es and Ec

he smoke flue and economizer system for one chimney is identical with that for every other chimney. In each ca

roup of three boilers, and each pair of main smoke flues join together on the center line of the chimney, where in each case one common flue carries the gases into the side of the chimney. The two common flues last mentioned

ck. Each is provided with a damper which operates on a shaft turning in roller bearings. The uptakes rest on iron beam

of 3/8-inch plate, 6 feet 4 inches wide and 13 feet high. The bottom is lined with brick laid flat

m Pi

ws: A cross-over pipe is erected on each boiler, by means of which and a combination of valves and fittings the steam may be passed through the superheater. In the delivery from each boiler there is a quick-closing 9-inch valve, which can be closed from the boiler room floor by hand or from a distant point individuall

e steam can also be led downward to a manifold to which the compensating tie lines are connected. These compensating lines are run lengthwise through the power house for the purpose of joining the systems together, as desir

close the steam to the engine and the second will control the flow of steam to and from the manifold. These valves can be operated by hand from a platform located on the wall inside the engine room, or they can

to sections corresponding to each pair of main engines. Each section is thus separated from those adjoining, so that any escape of steam in one section can be

IMNEY SHOWING WATER

nt pipe is of wrought iron, and the flanges are loose and made of wrought steel. The shell of the pipe is bent over the face of the

ons have been adopted, and it may be said that all flanges and bolts used are 50

r Pi

owed to flow into each tank by means of an automatic float valve. The water will be partly heated in these reservoir tanks by means of hot water discharged from high-pressure steam traps. In this way the heat contained in the drainage from the high-pressure steam is, for the most part, returned to the boilers. From the reservoir tanks the water

IN STEAM PIPI

l, except for the connections from the street service to the reservoir tanks. The feed-water piping is constructed wholly of cast iron,

d Turbine

direct-connected to 5,000 kilowatt generators, three steam turbines, direct-connected to 1,875 kilowatt

Eng

two component compound engines, both connected to a common shaft, with the generator placed between the two component engines. The type of engine is now well known and will not be

n. Rapid

-pressure cylind

pressure cylinde

inches

utions per m

at throttle,

ower at best effi

pressure piston

pressure piston r

crank pin, i

rank pin, i

essure Valves.

Single

rl

ssure Valves. Co

aft in journal

ournals, in

b of revolving element,

ospheric exhaust with two pounds back pressure at the low pressure cylinders, and when so operating, will fulfill all the operating requirements, except as to economy and capacity. Fourth. It will be proportioned so that when occasion shall require it can be operated with a steam pressure at the throttles of 200 pounds above atmospheric pressure under the before mentioned conditions of the speed and vacuum. Fifth. It will be proportioned so that it can be operated with steam pressure at the throttle of 200 pounds above atmospheric pressure under the before mentioned condition as to speed when exhausting in the atmosphere. Sixth. The

sting. This is accomplished by employing heavy bolts, which bolt the shell of the cylinder casting to the slide-surface casting, said bolts being carried past and outside the valve chamber. Second, the use of poppet valves, which are operated in a very

he floor and not above it. Another modification consists in the use of an adjustable strap for the cr

feet, and with this flywheel inertia the engine is designed so that any point on the revolving element shall not, in operation, lag behind no

-Gene

vacuum in the exhaust pipe of 27 inches, measured by a mercury column and referred to a barometric pressure of 30 inches. The turbine is guaranteed to operate satisfactorily with steam superheated to 450 degrees Fahrenheit. The economy guaranteed under the foregoing conditions as to initial and terminal pressure and speed is as follows: Full load of 1,250 kilowatts, 15.7 pounds of steam per electrical horse-power hour; three-quarter load, 937-1/2 kilowatts, 16.6 pounds per electrical horse-power hour; one-half load, 625 kilowatts, 18.3 pounds; and one-quarter load, 312-1/2 kilowatts,

er En

ch low-pressure cylinder with a common 24-inch stroke. The engines will be non-condensing, for the reason that extreme reliability is desired at the expense of some economy. They will operate at best

sing E

sely as possible to its respective low-pressure cylinder. For each engine also is provided a vertical circulating pump along with a v

inst which these pumps will be required to work, when assisted by the vacuum in the condenser, is much less than the total lift from low tide water to the entrance into the condensing chambers, they are so designed as to be ready to deliver the full quantity the full height, if for any reason the assistance of the vacuum should be lost or not available at times of starting up. A temporary overload can but reduce the vacuum only for a short time and the fluctuations of the tide, or

TOWER ON WEST 5

ve the engine-room floor. The vacuum cylinder is immediately below the steam cylinder and has a valve that is mechanically operated by an eccentric on t

ust

e is carried horizontally around the engine foundations, the two from each pair of engines uniting in a 40-inch riser to the roof. This riser is between the pair of engines and back of the high-pressure cylinder, thus passing through

re provided where necessary to relieve the piping from the strains due to expansion and contraction, and where the joints are located near the en

r heater, with means for by-passing the latter. Beyond the heater it joins the 40-inch riser to the roof. The feed-water

sideration. A lever is provided to assist the valve to close, w

ress

leaning electrical machinery and for such other purposes as may arise. It will also be used for operating whistles empl

Sy

ith a piping system leading to all the various journals. The piping to the engines is constructed on a duplicate, or crib, system, by which the supply of oil cannot be interr

. The immediate installation includes two oil filtering tanks at the easterly end of the power house, but the

, Shop

ctric traveling crane. For the area over the oil switches: one 10-ton hand-operated crane. For the center aisle of the boiler room: one 10-ton

idge, 200 feet per minute; trolley, 100 feet per minute; main hoist, 10 feet per minute; and auxiliary hoist, 30 feet per minute. The 25-ton crane is provided with one trolley, having a lifting capacity, for regular load, of 25 tons

ent for a repair and machine shop, which is located on th

LTERNATOR-MAI

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