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IRON AND STEEL NOTES.
345
submitted to chemical analysis. It contained
99.05 parts of oxide of lead, the residue consist-
ing of carbonic acid, with traces of lime and
silica, which latter may have been due to small
quantities of cement adhering to the outer sur-
face of the pipe Dry Pomand and Roman
cements have been found by the author to have
no action upon lead, but the presence of water
appears necessary to effect corrosion. The
author invites the attention of engineers and
chemists to this action, which is difficult to ex-
plain, and which may be due to certain phe-
nomena in connection with the induration of
cement mortar which are at present extremely
obscure — Qesundh^ita-Ingenieur.
THE Asphalt Pavements op Berlin— By
L^ON Malo— In 1876, when the mainten-
ance of the public ways of Berlin passed from
the hands of the State into those of the local
authorities, there were in that city, 4,476,000
square yards of way ; of which 14,400 square
yards were of stone pavement laid on sand, in
good condition, with 4,018 yards of the same
in bad condition ; 482 000 yards of macadam,
and 12,000 yards of asphalt. At present there
are 450,000 square yards of stone pavement laid
on a solid foundation, and jointed with sand
and bitumen ; 654,000 yards of pavement laid
on gravel, in quiet streets, in good condition ;
8,7(Kll,600 Yards of pavement in bad condition,
temporarily laid, 579,600 yards of macadam,
principally in outlying quarters, and in the Zoo-
logical Gardens ; 884,000 yards of asphalt, and
48,000 yards of wood pavement
Ordin^ stone pavements are laid in Swedish
granite (Karlskrona), except some thousands of
yards laid in porphyry from Belgium. The
blocks are delivered ready for laying, the gran-
ites being from 7| inches to 8 inches in £ick«
ness ; and the porphyries from 6 inches to 6^
inches thick. According to the usual method
of laying, a 4-inch layer of broken granite is
deposited on the sub-soil, and upon this a
second bed of granite more finely divided, also
4 inches ^ick, which is rolled down under a
15-ton steam-roller. A layer of gravel, about
1 inch thick, is scattered over the rolled bed,
on which paving stones or sets are placed half
an inch clear of each other ; jointed in the in-
tervals v^th a mixture of pitch and creosote.
Under the lines of tramway, whatever may be
the superstructure, a foundation of cement-con-
crete IS made. Paving consisting of stone-sets
laid on concrete is not in favor in Berlin.
Wood pavement, of Swedish fir, was first
tried on a laree scale in Berlin in 1879, laid by
the Improved Wood Pavement Company. It
has since disappeared, probably for the same
reason that the pavement laid m Paris by the
same company was removed after having been
down for five years. Though this pavement
was laid on a thick bed of cement-concrete, in
a street of light traffic, near the Opera, the wood
decayed, it wore very unequally, and was con-
verted into mire. Carriages ceased to use the
street, in order to avoid excessive jolting.
Wood pavements laid by other companies stul
exist, to the extent of 48,000 square yards, in
Berlin; but it is very unpopular, in conse-
quence of the odor of the melted tar which es-
VoL. XXXV.— No. 4—24
capes from the joints in summer, and its re-
moval is but a question of time.
Asphalt pavement is extensively laid in Berlin,
884,000 square yards being covered with it, and
it is destined to supersede other pavements in
all the best streets of that capital. Four dif-
ferent asphalts are used, Val-de-Travers,
Seyssel, Ragusa (Sicily).and Limmer (Hanover).
The Val-de-Travers asphalt, the first that was
laid, tends to become softened in the height of
summer under the wheals of carriages, and to
form waves, which nevertheless disappear on the
return of cooler weather. In Paris, a mixture of
Seyssel asphalt with that of the Val-de-Travers
is found to resist that tendency. Ragusa as-
ghalt is open to the same objection ; but the
eyssel asphalt, holding a less percentage of
bitumen in its composition, is entirely free from
softening. It is more difficult to manipulate
than the two others, and requires to be very
regularly heated for laying; but it is harder
and much more durable than these. The con-
crete foundation, which is from 8 inches to 9
inches in thickness, is laid with extreme care.
It is made with an allowance of about 290 lbs.
of best Portland cement for each cubic yard of
" baUast," procured in the neighborhood of
Berlin, consisting of flint stones mixed with a
kind of corse sand. The asphalt is never laid
until the concrete is perfectly set and complete-
ly dry— a precaution of prime importance for
obviating the formation of steam and the con-
sequent degradation of the asphalt, heated as it
is to upwanls of 250° Fahrenheit, which takes
place when that precaution is not observed, as
has been noticed in the earlier attempts of the
Parisians in laving asphalt pavements— ^^
8tractfrom the /rutUution of Civil Engineers,
IRON AND STEEL NOTES.
riliNNED Iron— A writer in Industries makes
X the following observations upon the sub-
ject of the regeneration of tinned iron. After
describing the precautions necessary in the acid
process, he proceeds :— ** Persons in the trade
say that the metal is injured by absorption of
the acid, and affirm that occasionally it is nec-
essary to repeat the annealing in order to re-
move rottenness engendered in this manner.
To the writer it appears more probable that the
effect is due to occlusion of hydrogen, for the
iron can scarcely be porous enough to absorb
the liquid, while the power of occluding gases
is a well known property of iron and some other
metals. If a piece of sheet iron be immersed
for some time in hydrochloric (muriatic) acid,
and then be well rinsed in a stream of water for
half a minute, and the acid thus removed from
the surface, careful observation will reveal an
interesting phenomenon. For some time after
the washing, minute bubles mav be seen burst-
ing through the film of water left upon the iron,
and the sound of effervescence ma^ be heard
if the metal be held near the ear. Tliis is prob-
ably due, not to any evolution of hydrogen by
acid, since this has been removed by washing,
but to the escape of hydrogen from the pores
of the iron. Producers of wroueht iron say
that the scrap stripped by acid uways makes
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346
VAN NOSTRAND'S ENGINEERING MAGAZINE.
inferior iron if mixed in anyconsiderable pro-
portion with new metal. Yet this tin plate
IS rolled ori^naliy from good iron, and can be
made so again if suitably treated. The reason,
doubtless, Is to be sought, not in the imperfect
removal of tin, as often stated, but in the oc-
clusion of hydrogen gas.** If this view be cor-
rect it is probable that the hydrogen could most
speedily he removed in an electrolytic bath,
containing a suitable oxidising agent in which
the iron was made the positive electrode.
ON A Peouliab Action in Steel Pbopxlleb
Shafts— At a recent meeting of the In-
stitution of Engineers and Shipbuilaers in Scot-
land, Mr. Thomas Davison directed the atten-
tion of the members to what he considered a
Siculiar form of corrosion in propeller shafts.
e distinguished it from the ordinary form of
corrosion, which has long been observed to take
place at the ends of the covering brasses of
propeller shafts, and which frequentiy causes a
froove so deep as to render them unnt for use.
[e gave it the name of ** radial corrosion,*' as
it resembles a crack round the shaft extending
towards the center, the corroded part usually
having a radiated crvstalline appearance quite
different, in his opinion, from any fracture pro-
duced bv mechanical force. Having in the
course of his experience met with many failures
of iron shafts, he was induced, from not having
had a single case of failure in the use of steel,
in steel ships, steel boilers, steel shaf tine, piston
rods, and other parts of engines, to advise the |
use of steel shafts made from one ingot, so as
to avoid the flaws and imperfections insepar-
able from iron shafts made of many pieces weld-
ed together. He was disappointed, however,
to find that this special kmd of corrosion of
which he spoke, inteiiered with the use of
steel in prof^ller shafts, and in some cases they
were so rapidly corroded that the steel shafts
had to be replaced by iron ones until he had
time to test the causes of the failure.
As some of his friends did not agree with
Mr. Davidson in thinking that the flaws in the
shafts were caused by corrosion, he wished to
give his reasons for his opinion. The shafts
which had failed were all of the usual size of
iron shafts ; their material, as tested by Kir-
kaldy, was found to have an elastic limit and
ultimate strength of over forty per cent,
more than iron ; and when tested after corro-
sion were found not to have deteriorated.
Moreover, it was found that of two shafts ex-
actly similar, one corroded and the other re-
mained perfectly sound, and he inferred that
the one was water-tight and the other was not.
He illustrated the flaws by many drawings and
spicimens from shafts, and concluded by urging
on engineers the necessity for payine speciiu
attention to the subject, so that a remedy miffht
be found for what seems to be the only objec-
tion to the use of steel for propeller shuts.
In the discussion which followed the reading
of the paper, opinion was divided on the sub-
ject, some agreeing with Mr. Davison that the
failure of the shafts was caused by corrosion,
others thinking it was caused by the want of
stiffness in the steel. The propellers being over-
hung, their weight and also their reaction
would cause a continual bending and unbend-
ing, which, combined with rotation, would
rapidly produce the action described by Mr.
Davison. Mr. Dick, of the Steel Company of
Scotland, had conducted some experiments
with rotating pieces of steel subjected to bend-
ing action, and he had found that fractures
very similar to those described by Mr Davison
were produced. We will not pronounce an
opinion on the subject ; but as it is one of con-
siderable importance both to steel makers and
marine engineers, we will be glad to have the
opinions of a few correspondents, that thus we
may assist in the attainment of the object Mr.
Davison had in view when preparing his paper
—that is. the determination of the real causes
of the flaws in the shafts. — Indu8trie$.
N"
RAILWAY NOTES.
OTES ON THE PERMANENT WaT OF LiGHT
Railways— By J. W. Post, Engineer to
the Netherlands State Railways Company— The
first concession for light railways on the 1.5
meter gauge, given under the law of 9th
Auffust, 18*8, by the Dutch Government, was
to Uie Qeldersche-Overysselsche Company, for
lines of a total length of 185 kilometers. The
author describes the system of permanent
way adopted for this railway, constructed
unaer his superintendence. At present steel
rails and red pine sleepers, 1 meter apart, are
used, but it is intended to replace the wooden
by metallic sleepers. The rails are of the Vig-
noles type : height, 120 millimeters ; width of
bottom flange, 90 millimeters ; sectional area,
82.6 square centimeters ; and weight, 25.6 kilo-
grams per meter length. The standard length
of rail is 9 meters. The price paid for ruls
between 1882 and 1887 was 70.62 florins per ton
of 1,000 kilograms, or £5 S$, Qd. The fish-
plates are steel, the outside plate with an angle
bent outwards, to stiffen the joint, rests on two
sleepers. To prevent the rails from creeping,
a dogspike is driven at each end against this
flange.
The same price per ton was paid for the fish-
plates as for the rails. Grover spring-wa^hers,
of cast steel, are used wtih all bolts. These
only cost 11 florins per thousand. The total
weight of metal per hneal meter of permanent
way is 55.6 kilograms. At the points the rails
are placed verti^ ; the outer rails are not lifted
in the curves. The maximum widening of
guase in the curves is of 20 millimeters. The
angle of crossing is 1 in 9 in all cases, and the
total length of a set of points and crossings is
2401 meters. The points can therefore be laid
on the existing tract without cutting up the
rails. The s\ntches are shaped to a curve of
180 meters radius, and only 7.50 meters long,
and carefully planed to exact shape. No pn^
is longer than 6 meters, to facilitate carriage.
The crossings are of a total length of 2.16
meters, and joined to the rails at each end by
straight fishplates. The packing-pieces be-
tween abutting rails are specially cast for each
end. The jn*ooves are 44 millimeters wide,
and 42.5 millimeters deep. The check-rails are
8 meters lon^. The pomts and crossings are
laid on oak sleepers of 14 by 25 centimeters,
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ORDNANCE AND NAVAL.
347
and 55 ceotimoters apart. The cost per kilo-
meter of permanent way, without ballast or
layine, is 6,000 florins, and that for a complete
set of points and crossings is 575 florins. The
paper is accompanied by several addenda and
drawings. — Abitracts of the Institution of Civil
Engineers.
RAILWAYS OF EuBOPE IN 1884.— The total
lenffth of railways opened for traflBc at
the end of the year 1883 amounted to 118,716
miles. At the end of 1884 the length open was
117,658 miles, showinii: an increase of 8,987
miles opened in the course of 1884, or 8.46 per
cent, of the total length at the end of 1888.
The following table shows the length of rail-
ways open, in each European State, at the end
of 1884:
Railways of Europe 1884.
Designation of State.
1. (Germany.
2. Austria-Hungary
3. Belgium
4. Denmark
5. Spain
6. France
7. Great Britain and Ire-
land
8. Greece
9. Italy
10. Low Countries and Lux-
emburg
11. Portugal
12. Roumania.
18. Russia and Finland
14. Servia
15. Sweden and Norway. . .
16. Switzeriand
17. Turkey, Bulgaria, and
Roumelia
Total
MUes.
22,880
18.736
2,684
1,208
5,888
19,897
18,962
109
6,167
1,649
949
995
15,778
152
5.072
1,716
866
« ** COO
Per cent
2.31
5.99
1.08
7.28
4.99
5.05
1.11
695.45
4.97
5.28
2 21
5.89
2.02
'2*54
0.40
and the rails are already laid down to Kaakhee,
a point about 30 versts distant from the future
station of Doo»hck,r60 that everything is ready
for opening 560 versts of line. The carriage of
material and the means for its transport are
both on an extensive scale, and it is hoped that
circulation will be possible up to Merv from
June 1. At the present moment great activity
is being shown in the construction of the bridge
over the river Tend^hen, which work has been
partially delayed through the peculiarly un-
favorable nature of the ground forming the bed
of the river, in consequence of which it has
been necessary to sink into it five rows of cast-
iron piles, each pile being 68 feet in length. At
Askaoad itself, the future centre of the Trans-
caspian railway system, the buildings in con-
nection with the railway are rapidly rising.
117,658 3 46
Of the total increase of length of railway
opened in the course of 1884— namely, 3,987
miles — 515 miles were opened in Germany, 776
miles in Austria-Hungary, 2^56 miles in Spain,
933 miles in France, §08 miles in Great Britain
and Ireland, 292 miles in Italy, 313 miles in
Russia and Finland, 152 miles in Servia, and
125 miles in Sweden and Norway. —^6«<ra<;^ of
the Institution of Civil Engineers.
rpHE Tbansoaspian Railway. — A correspon-
â– X. dent writing from Askabad to the Russia
Viedomost (Russian Gazette^ says :— " The con-
struction of the Transcaspian Railway is pro-
gressing rapidly towards completion. The em-
bankment is nearly ready all the way to Merv,
ORDNANCE AND NAVAL
IN March the obsolete French armor-clad Ar'
mide was towed to sea in the Juan Gulf
and allowed to drift. The Colbert, Admiral
Duperr6, Friedland, Devastation, Redoubtable,
and Suffren, of the French Mediterranean
squadron, then steamed about, firing at her at;
ranges of 3000, 4000, and 5000 meters, with 24,
27, and 82 centimeter guns — roughly 9iin.,
llin., and 12in. In time the hull resembled a
cullender. Three shots had passed through the
armor at the water-line, and would have sunk
the ship if she had not been filled with casks.
The Armide was then towed into harbor, and
the effects of the fire carefully inquired into.
This probably is the first occasion in which an
armor-clad has been used as a moving target
by ships firing when under way.
Russian Ironclads— A St. Petersburg cor-
respondent writes respecting the recent
launching of two Russian ironclads by the
Czar: ^*It is interesting to note the great
{)rogress made by the Russian Navy during the
ast three yeai-s. no less than twenty-seven ves-
sels of various kinds— exclusive of torpedo-
boats— including the two just launched, the
Tschesme and Catherine IL, having been add-
ed to it, whilst several more are on the stocks,
among which the great ironclads Sinope, sister
ship to the Tschesme, and Imperator Alexander
II., and Admiral Nachimoff. There are be-
sides, building, three formidable first-class gun-
boats, in Sweden, Norway, and Denmark,
which are to be delivered this year, whilst it is
the intention of the Government to lay down
the keel for several others in the Black and Si-
berian Seas. Great improvements are also be-
ing made in the two naval stations, Cronstadt
and Sebastopol. In the former place granite
quays and breakwaters are being constructed,
whilst at Sebastopol the two naval docks re-
cently inspected by the Czar, and which were
destroyed in the Crimean War, are so far com-
pleted that they will be opened for use this
year. The cost of each of these will be £300,-
000. and the Russian Admiralty states that they
are the first undertaking of the kind in which
the actual cost has not exceeded the estimate.
The plan which has been before the Admiralty
some time, of making Libau a naval port, has
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348
VAN NOSTRAND'S ENGINEERING MAGAZINE.
been abandoned, but it has been decided to make
it the station of the Baltic fleet. In connec-
tion with the name, it may also be mentioned
that the Obrichoflf Steel-plate Works and the
Ishorscic iron-plate foundries have recently
been improved and enlarged.'*
§0MB important additions will shortly be
made to the Swedish Navy by the com-
mon of the first-class torpedo boat Galdr and
the first-class gunboat Svea. The former was
built at the Royal Dockyard, on the same lines
as the torpedo boat Sejd, which was construct-
ed by Messrs. Thomeycroft some years ago,
and is stated to be quite equal to the latter in
solidity and speed, although considerably
cheaper. The len^h of the vessel is 108ft. ;
breadth, ll^ft.; whilst she draws only 5ft. of
water. The engines, which give her a speed
of 20 to 21 knots per hour, are of 425 indicated
horse-power. The total cost is £6,000. She
will carry light guns, and be armed with White-
head torpedos. The other vessel— the Svea—
is being built at the Lindholmen Engineering
Works, at Gothenburg. She will be one of the
most formidable vessels in the Swedish Navy,
carrying her guns in a turret. She will also
be armed with torpedos. Some of the heaviest
plates used in the construction of this vessel
are from Le Creusot; the rest from Motala.
Her engines will be very powerful. In Norway
progress is bcins made in the Royal Dockyards
with the building of two first-class torpedo
boats and two gunboats of the second-class.
A proposal is also being made to build an iron-
clad of modem type, which would be the first
fossessed by that country, excepdne monitors,
n Denmark the Government have decided up-
on two important additions to the navy, in the
shape of an ironclad of the second-class, to be
named the Valkyrien, which will be heavily
armed, and cost about £160,000, and a fast
cruiser of the first-class, costing about £150,000.
During the present year an important addition
will be made to the navy by the launch of the
double-turret ironclad Ivar Hvitfeldts, carrying
very heavy ordnance, which has taken three
years to construct.
BOOK NOTICES
PUBLIOATIONS RSOBIVBD.
PAPBBS of the Institution of Civil Engineers.
No. 1942. The Separation of Galena and
Blende. By Ernest DuBois Lukis, Assoc. M.
Inst. C. E
No. 2108. Construction in Elarthquakc Coun-
tries. By John Milne, F. G. S.
No. 2110. Design and Stability of Masonry
Dams. By William Bulkeley Coventry, M. Inst.
C. E.
No. 2158. Modern Machine Tools. By Wil-
liam Wilson Hulse, M. Inst C. E.
No. 2168. Footpaths. By Henry Percy
Boulnois, M. Inst. C. E.
No. 2169. The Effects of Various Liquids on
Iron. By David Phillips, M. Inst. C. E.
No. 2171. Coeflicients of Discharge in Sub-
merged Weirs of Large Dimensions. By Robert
Hunter Rhind, M. Inst C. E.
No. 2176. A Circular Chimnev Shaft By
John Markworth Wood, Assoc. M. Inst. C. E.
No. 2181. Maintenance of the Belah and
Deepdale Viaducts. By William John Cud-
worth, Assoc. M. Inst. C. E.
A Method of Desiring ScrewPropellers.
By Christian Hoeple. Philadelphia:
Franklin Institute.
BULLETINS of the U. S. Geological Survey.
Washington: Government Printing Of-
fice.
No. 27 Work Done, the Division of Chem-
istry and Physics.
No. 28. The Gabbros and Associated Horn-
blende Rocks occurring near Baltimore, Md.
No. 29. On tlie Fresh Water Invertebrates of
the North American Jurassic.
"TJiLOT Charts of North Atlantic Ocean for
Jr^ August and September. Washington :
Hydrographic OflSce.
MONTHLY Weather Review for July. Wash-
ington : Signal Ofi^ce.
DiREOTOBT to the Iron and Steel Works of
the United States. Philadelphia: Ameri-
can Iron and Steel Association.
HAND-BooK OF Mineralogy. Determina-
tion, Desoription and Classifioation
OF Minerals found in the United States.
Science Series No. 86. By J. C. Foye, A.M.,
Ph.D. New York : D Van Nostrand. Price,
50 cents.
This author's *' Mineral Tables" have been
known to mineralogists, and have been found
so useful that two editions have become ex-
hausted. The material of the old editions is
still retained, but important additions have been
made in constructing the present book.
The descriptions of the minerals are in this
book expanded into paragraphs, and the work
is now as complete a manual of determinative
mineralogy as can be found in a pocket-book.
TRAiTf Pratique D'^LECTRionfe. Par C. M.
Gariel. Second volume. Paris: Oc-
tave Doin.
This general treatise upon the applications of
Electricity aims to five the reader the entire
subject to the latest development. ^
This new volume deals with lale telephonic
and telegraphic systems and with indicators,
registers and regulators.
The total number of illustrations in the two
volumes is 600.
THE Surveyor's Guide and Pocket T able-
Book. By B. F Dorr. New York : D.
Van Nostrand.
This little book contains much that is needed
by land surveyors, and that is not contained in
other books bearing similar titles.
Rules for the guidance of beginners are
clearly given, and as given by the author have
the approval of the Commissioner of the Gen-
eral Land OfQce.
The hints in relation to local attraction are
especially valuable.
The book is of convenient size for the pocket
and contains tables of natural sines and tan-
gents to five minutes and a traverse-table to
quarter degrees.
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BOOK NOTICES.
349
PBAonoAL Pebspkotive. By Abmand Cas-
8AGNE. Translated by G. Mubbat Wilson.
Paris: A. Fourant.
This is a thoroughly scientific treatise on
Perspective, although it requires but a moderate
amount of geometiy to comprehend it. Unlike
other works which afford the same amount of
geometrical demonstration, this one is adapted
to needs of the artist and of architects* draughts-
men. Shades, shadows and water reflections
receive special and full treatment.
The illustrations are numerous but not very
good.
TBBATISE ON THE ThEOBT OF THE CONSTBUO-
TioN OF Heuooidal Oblique Abohes. By
John L Gullet, C.E. Science Series No. 87.
New York : D. Van Nostrand. Price, 50 cts.
The construction of an oblique arch, even
of moderate span, requires a kind of skill that
is not demanded in arches of the more com-
mon or straight type. The problem is consid-
ered a somewhat difficult one.
The solution offered by Mr. Culley is easily
comprehended. He says in his preface that he