Evening gazette, Tuesday, November 29, 1898 · page 80

 

 

 

lo
Westinghouse

METROPOIJTAN

and? His Works.

 

A FACTOR. IN oxvrmzATIoN—GnEA'r oEM-nE ’61? ’INVEN'I‘ION AND INDUSTRY—ELEG-
TRICITY, GAS, STEAM AND coMPaEssngz AIR. HARNESSED IN THE
. . SERVICE OF MAN.

"Where industry creates and justice directs,
prosperity dwells."

This thought may well serve as an introduc-
tion to a record of the great manufacturing
interests associated under .the name Westing—
house, their- work, which is challenging the
attention of the engineering world, and the in-
.fluence they are exerting in our'tlme. ,4

Itfmay be well enough here to ask the ques-
tion: What is it that has given us moderns' our
principal advantage over the ancient world? Is
it art or literature of which we can afford to
boast? What artist can we compare to Michael
Angelo? With Shakespeare as the sole exception,
Homer and Horace are still the: rivals .of our
greatest modern poets. And some folk will tell
you to—day that Shakespeare is “old fashioned."
,No historian have 'we superior to Tacitus or
Polybius. No orator has been the equal of
Cicero, probably the greatest who ever uttered
speech. In this connection Wendell Phillips, in
his lecture on the “Lost Arts,” took much of the
conceit out of our national character.

What has made the difference? The answer is:
Steam and electricity, the tireless slaves of the
world. These only were lacking for the ancients
to have outrivalled the nineteenth century. But
in this particular the degree of improvement at
which America has arrived is unparalleled and
astonishing, and in this age of material prog-
ress in the exportatiOn of products to the great
commercial centres of the world, in enterprise,
industry and invention, this cOuntry has placed
itself in the front rank—and in that foremost
rank stands the. name W'estingh‘ouse, .a .name
coincident with engineering progress and ad-
vancement; This name does not signify a single
line of activity. ’It represents many enterprises,
enterprises that are not merely an aggregation
of corporations nor manipulations of companies.
They began with modest dimensions and
steadily grew until they reached their. present
proportions and commanding position.

Under the aegis of George Westinghouse are
associated the Westinghouse Air Brake Com—

pany, the Westinghouse Electric and Manu-
facturing Company, the Westinghouse Machine

Company, Westinghouse, Church, Kerr '&
Co., the Sawyer—Man Electric Company,
the Union Switch and Signal Company, the

R. D. Nuttall Company, and several other con-
cerns, with offices all OVer this country and
branch companies all over the world. ' ‘

WHERE THE WONDERFUL AIR BRAKES
ARE MADE.

A little over thirty years ago the device known
as the Westinghouse air brake, whichhas made
possible the speed, safety and economy ofx'rail-
Way operation, was invented.

With the Westinghouse automatic air brake.
operated by a little valve in the locomOtive cab,
all the brakes can be instantly set and the mo—
tion of a train of fifty or more cars, running at
forty miles an hour, arrested within a distance
of '150 yards (less than one—fourth the length of
the train), thereby avoiding wrecks, saving lives
and securing safety.

The automatic action is secured by keeping the
pipe extending throughout the entire length of
the train constantly filled with compressed air.

.It is by reducing the pressure of the air that
the engineer controls the motion of the train.

Under each car is placed a reservoir and the
wonderful Westinghouse triple valve. In case
of accident the pressure in the pipe and reser-
_ voir is materially reduced, causing the triple
valve to act, allowing the air to rush from the
reservoir to the brake cylinder, which in turn
applies the brakes. ' .

The Westinghouse air brake, was first used
experimentally on the Pittsburg, Cincinnati and
St. Louis Railroad in 1809. and in the same
year an experiment was made on the Pennsyl-
vania road with a train of six passenger cars.
These experiments resulted in the widespread
adoption of the appliance, the creation of a
new industry, and a revolution in the operation
of railway trains. Year by year the business
of manufacturing Westinghouse Air Brakes
grew with the growth of railway enterprise,
American and foreign, and when changing con-
ditions came the now famous inventor was
ready to meet. them.

In the year 1883 a great difficulty presented
itself to railway men. Engines were getting
bigger, and trains, especially freight trains,
heavier and longer. In a long train, if the air
brakes were suddenly applied. the foremost cars
would be stopped six or eight seconds before
those in the rear, and, with the loose couplings
used on freight cars, this difference would be
sufficient to cause a dangerous shock.

Experiments costing thousands of dollars were
made in order to provide a set of air brakes
that would operate simultaneously on a train
of thirty or forty cars. Added to this difficulty
was the necessity of. any new brake .working
in harmony with the old one. Mr. George West-
inghouse, against a very general and active
competition, successfully solved the problem.
He improved his twn brake and retained com-
mand of the field Wiich he had first entered.
Then modern railroading, as we know it to-
day, really began. Long trains beaame longer.
heavy trains became heavier, rails and rolling
stock were constructed on an ever—increasing
scale, speeds increased, and many things that
were hitherto impossible now became realities
because every locomotive engineer could have
his train under" perfect control.

Then improvements came. on space. ‘In 1887
a train of fifty cars was equipped with the VVest-
inghouse “quick-action brake" and by means
of the triple valve the brake of the fiftieth car
was applied in less than two and one-half sec-
onds—an interval too short to do the slightest
harm.

It is interesting to note that the great inven-
tion of Mr. W’estinghouse did not at first meet
with favor, especially among those who were
experimenting with chain brakes, coil spring
arrangements, etc. It was vigorously opposed
by the crews of trainmen. The brakesman’s
trade had become One of skill, but as the stage
coach had to give away before the steam en-
gine, having had its day of power, so the com-
pressed air brakc killed the hand brake and all
the appliances that were kin thereto.

So complete, war the victory of the Westing-
house air brake as an element ’of safety that

 

in 1895 Congress passed ,a law requiring all .

freight and' passenger cars in the United States
to be eqUipped with the apparatus before Janu-
ary 1. '18

Apart from\ the safety secured, the air brake
has proved an important factor in the econom-
ical handling of traffic. Thus, there is an
incentive for even the poorest roads to adopt
its use. Tq-day the successful operation of
nearly three—quarters 'of; a. million locomotives,
freight and passenger cars in the United States
alone depends upon the Westinghouse air brake.

Owing to the rapid growth of the‘ business of
Westinghouse Air Brake Company they were
obliged to .seekmore spacious quarters.

They began Work in Pittsburg, and afterward
moved across the river to Allegheny, and thence

a dozen miles or so east of Pittsburg to Wile

merding, on the main line of the Pennsylvania
Railroad, where they have one of the finest
manufactories in the world. The air brake
works are two miles east of the Works of the
Westinghouse Electric and Manufacturing Com-
pany and the Westinghouse Machine Company.

In order to more readily supply the demands
of other countries, the Air Brake Company has
established works in England, France, Germany,
Canada and Russia. »

The Pittsburg works cover an area of six
acres, having a floor space of 10% acres.

The first air brake works had a,capacity for
turning out twenty brakes per day. Some idea.
of the magnitude of the present plant can be
gathered from the fact that they are capable
of turning out a complete brake every minute.

Each brake is valued at from $40 to $100
or more. _

At an hour’s noticethe company can fill an
order for 1,000 sets of air brakes for freight
cars. . '

The works have an annual capacity of brakes
for 250,000 freight cars, 6,000 passenger cars
and 10.000 locomotives.

We haverin the United States about 200,000
miles of-railway—nearly enough to belt the globe
eight times.'Most of this mileage has been
built since the Westinghouse air brake was in—
vented, and at a cost of. over $11,950,000,000.

At the Air Brake Company’s works can be
seen in glass cases a collection of models show-
ing the long succession of experiments which
led to the present perfection of the product.
The evolution of the brake leads one to reflect
on ,the distance that human inventiveness
has travelled from the rude stick used as a.
“chalk” in the wheel of a wagon to the air
brake, with its essential factor, the triple valve.

Previous to the invention of the air brake, in

1869, a'journey now accomplished in a few
hours occupied as many days, and was often
attended by now forgotten hardships and dan-
gers. ,
’ In the days of the old hand brake it was rela-
tively further from New York to Buffalo than
it now is from‘the metropolis to San Francisco.
Such has been‘. the effect of the air brake upon
thetransportation of the _world that, as a re-
sult, vast territories have, been given to agri-
culture _which otherwise would have been a.
desert, dry and barren; While human life is now
proverbially safer in travelling than in staying
at home. .

Scientists, realizing the importance of the air
brake as a life-saver, as a controller of traffic,
and an aid to communication, haveranked it
with the best achievements of human invention.

WESTINGHOUSE ELECTRIC AND MANU-
FACTURING COMPANY.

This is, taken as a whole, the most important
electric company in the world. It is also the
largest of the many interests with which the
name of Westinghouse is associated.
organized in 1886, and began operations in a
small factory at the centre of smoky Pittsburg.

Here Mr. Westinghouse gathered about him
a corps of the ablest electrical scientists of the
time. Shallenberger was one of these. He be-
gan his‘researches under the direction of Mr.
Westinghouse. His first work was an examina—
tion into the alternating current system, which
had just been heard of in Europe. The advan-
tages of this system were at once recognized
by the inventor of the air brake, who secured
the American rights of manufacture. This work
was new. Scarcely anything was known of the
characteristics of the alternating current. The
task of designing and constructing the appara-
tus for an alternating current plant, including
generators, transformers, measuring instru-
ments and switching devices, was immeasurably
greater than it now is, when the principles and
laws are well understood and the manufactur-
ing facilities are all at hand. Mr. Westinghouse
gave Shallenberger every opportunity.

The electric meter subsequently adopted by
the Bn‘tish Board of Trade as the standard was
also a result of Mrs, Shallenberger’s work at
Pittsburg.

Electrically and mechanically the Westing-
house designs gave the direction to what is
best in constructive practice everywhere.

Tesla soon followed at Pittsburg with that
brilliant series of experiments which gave us
the now celebrated Tesla Polyphase System of
Electric Transmission of Power, and the Induc~
tion Motor, involving the Tesla principle of the
rotary magnetic field. The Tesla patents were
acquired by Mr. Westinghouse.

Here also Stillwell perfected his regulator;
Scott invented the two-phase, three-phase sys-
tem; Lamme, an electrical engineer second to
none, was initiated into his work; and Wurts
discovered the non—arcing properties of certain
metals, which were embodied in the lightning
arresters for which the Franklin Institute saw
fit to award its medals.

The Westinghouse Electric and Manufacturing
Company was the pioneer in the manufacture
of alternating current apparatus. The fact that
they were installing power transmission ap-
paratus at Telluride, COL, when some of the
most noted scientists of'the world and many
envious manufacturers were condemning its
use as impracticable and unsafe is greatly
to the credit of the indomitable man -who has
given his name and guidance to this vast elec-
tric enterprise.

The first Westinghouse alternating current
generator was sold to the People's Electric Light
and Power Company, at Greensburg, Penn, in
880, and is still in successful operation at that
company’s plant.

Westinghouse installed the first 10,000—volt
plant. This has successfully transmitted cur-

rent thirty miles in Southern California ever
since 1892. Westinghouse also built the 100,000—
volt Niagara transformers, the highest voltage
for which a commercial transformer was ever
wound. The giant generators which create the
electric current at Niagara are of Westinghouse

HOLIDAY SUPPIiEMENT.

generator, known as the

It was '

 

design and manufacture;
generators in the world.

In 1890.the street-oar motor, known as the
Westinghouse No. 3, wasintroduced. It revolu:
tionized street rail’way practice, and embodied
the salient features of the best motors of the
present day. It dissipated every doubt that a.
satisfactory motor could be built, for it an-
swered every objection to then existingmotors.

The fact that there are upward of 20,000 West—
inghouse railway motors in operation to-day, ex—
ceeding ,000 harse-povVer, gives some idea of
the work that has been done‘ in this branch
of the electrical field. '

Westinghouse was one of the first to bring
out the direct7connected type. of generator, a
machine having its armature mounted directly
on the engine shaft. In fact, a Westinghouse
engine drove the first direct—connected, electric
generator that appeared. The direct—connected
" “Engine Type,” re-
duces the number of bearings and takes up
much less floor space than the old method of
coupling the generator by a. belt to the driving
wheel. . . ,,

Owing to the enormous increase in the de-
mand for‘ Westinghouse electric products the
company was compelled in 1895 to combinethe
factories at Pittsburg, Allegheny and Newark
into one mammoth plant. These new and com-
modious works are located at East Pittsburg,
along the main line of the Pennsylvania Rail-
road, twelve miles from the .city of Pittsburg. '

The works cover more than 24 acres, 12 of
which are under cover, having a floor space of
18 acres. The United States Capitol at Wash-
ington covers but three and a. half acres of
ground. This fact gives some idea of'the enor-
mous dimensions of the Westinghouse electric
workshops.

_In this great establishment as it stands to-
day, combining ,the laborand skill of the em—
ployes with 1,350 of the best modern machine
tools known to the mechanic arts, are to be
foimd subjects that interest the layman, engi-
neer and manufacturer alike. Such a workshop
requires the greatest diversity of labor and the
greatest variety of materials. In the same
works we find skilled watchmakers turning out
jewelled bearings for sensitive cu-rrent-measuru

They are the largest

-ing instruments, weighing not more than a few

grains, and electric cranes handling structures
weighing thousands of pounds.

The works are entirely electrically driven. All
the shafting and machine tools and other work
necessary to be performed in such an establish-
ment are operated by Tesla induction, motors,
ranging in size from 1 to 50 horse—power. To
the manufacturer and engineer this feature is
most striking and of especial interest.

In these works, which have exercised such an

influence over one of the most important indus-

tries in the world, are manufactured all- the ap—
paratus required for the complete equipment of
electric railways, electric light and power plants,
including generators, motors, transformers,
switchboard apparatus, and all the necessary
auxiliary devices. In fact, everything electric
can be seen there in the process of construction,
and nothing has been spared to make the es~
taablishment a model of the best practice of thc

ay. .

In addition to these works, the Westinghouse
Company recently absorbed the Walker Com-
pany’s entire plant at Cleveland, Ohio, which
will henceforth be used as a branch department
of the Westinghouse concern.

A" notable Westinghouse accomplishment was
the lighting of the World’s Columbian Exposi-
tion at Chicago in 1893.

The unequalled facilities which this- company
has for manufacturing, owing to the fact that
their works are surrounded by the most favor-
able condition'srfuel, raw material, etc—made
it possible for them to contract for the entire
Columbian lighting plant at a price one million
dollars less than any of the bids of their com-
petitors. _

This was the largest lighting contract ever
carried out. It required twelve 1,000 horse-
power generators, having a capacity for 200,000
candle power incandescent lamps.

To-day machines of 200 or 300 horse-power
capacity are diminutive.‘ This Westinghouse
Company is now building 15 generators ’of 5,000
horse-power each for the St. Lawrence Con-
struction Company in the northern part of New—
York State. _

“Electricity will be king of the twentieth cen-

tury," says a recent writer, “and the, Falls of '

Niagara his eternal throne.’.' . .

At Niagara there are eight Westinghouse gen—
erators in operation, each having a capacity of
5,000 horse-power, a. single one of whic Would
supply more than 50,000 incandescent la ps, or
would give motiOn to 500 railway cars. Each of
these generators weighs 170,000 pounds, of
which 79,000 pounds are in. the revolving ele-
ment, which is made up of the shaft; the driver,
to which the ring is attached with its pole piebes
and collector rings.

The Niagara generators represent a greater
proportion of brain work and mechanical skill
than any other electrical machines in operation.
They were built without previous knowledge of
machines of such enormous proportions, being
several times~ as‘ large as the largest generators
ever before attempted. One of these units rep-
resents a dozen different inventions, back of
which the engineer in imagination sees -the
genius of many minds focussed upon a single
object—the conversion of the power of Niagara
into electric current.

Probably the best judge of the scientific work
involved in .the installation at Niagara is Lord
Kelvin, and what he said regarding this plant,
installed to transmit the mightiest water power
in the world, is noteworthy: "

“It was a great thing to see tl-ose turbines
capable of developing 5,000 horse-power con—
nected directly with dynamos which trans-
formed the power into an electric current. I
Went down into the wheel pit, that cavernous
place, and watched the movements of the tur-
bines, the greatest, so far as I know, that have
ever been established. I was greatly pleased
with the manner in which these turbines oper-
ated, and I was much impressed with the per-
fection of the dynamos. I feel safe in saying
that there are none which so perfectly perform
the work for which they were designed.

“These dynamos were constructed at the
Westinghouse works, and it was a notable
achievement to build them so ‘that they were
able to transform the power generated by the
turbines without material loss into the electric
current.”

THE WESTINGHOUSE MACHINE COMPANY.

The Westinghouse Machine Company is an-
other interest of he inventor of the air brake.
It __ is engaged in the manufacture of steam er.-
gines, gas engines, the Parsons steam turbine,
ice and refrigerating . machiner: . mechanical
draught, mechanical stokers, steam loops, econo-
mizer plants, and the installation of complete
steam plants and electric plants.

This company was incorporated in 1881, and,
like the other Westinghouse interests, estab-
lished its works in the city of Pittsburg, until
the success of their compound engine, together

 

: ' 4 _ -
r

'with the acquirement in"1895 orthei American

rights for the‘ Parsons steam* turbine, and.
an: imperative demand for increasedmauutact-
uring capacity, resulting in,the‘ erection of tho .
present works adjacent to’ the great Westing-
house electrical manufactory at East Pittsburg,

The immediate favor with which the Waiting.
house steam engine met was due to the fact that
it could operate at a high rate of speed, was
self—oiling in the fullest sense of the term, and.
being single acting, the efle'cts of wear in the
connections were vnul'lified. . Its inclosed con-
struction made it adaptable for use in locations
where ,it would be exposed to. water, dirt and
grit, which would quickly destroy an engine of
the ordinary type. Added to these unquestioned
advantages, the world's non-condensing record
made ten years ago by a Westinghouse com-
pound engine for economic duty is still without
a parallel.

In 1888 this company brought out the first
successful non-condensing compound engine,
and this in spite of the belief of many eminent
engineers and experts that such a machine was
impracticable. '

The first direct connected engine‘and dynamo
had the armature of the generator mounted di-
rectly on the shaft of a Westinghouse engine.
This is a practice now widely adopted.

Westinghouse, Church, Kerr & Co., the well-
known engineering firm, operate the sales and
contracting engineering departments .of the
Westinghouse Machine Company. They- have
offices in all the principal cities of'the United
States. '

Recently the Westinghouse. Machine and the
Westinghouse Electric and Manufacturing com-
panies invited 500 prominent engineers and
business men from Pittsburg and Allegheny to
their works to inspect the completion of a huge
equipment whichconsisted principally. of three
2,500 horse-power electric generators direct con-.
nected to three 2,500 horse—power Westinghouse
engines. _ ’

These machines were centracted for by the
Metropolitan Electric Supply Company of Lon-
don, the contract having been awarded to the
only concern in the world capable of supplying
without sub-letting the great equipment with.
all its accessories. -

The engines are of the inclosed vertical com-
pound marine type, long since popularized by
the Westinghouse Machine Company, and are
the largest-of their kind ever constructed.

Just now, when the extens‘iOn of export trade
is engaging the thought of American commercial
men, this contract is particularly noteworthy.

The latest development of the Machine Com-
pany is the Westinghouse gas engine. As the
action is extremely quiet and uniform, this
engine is particularly adaptable to electric light-
ing service. The fact that the company has ‘
been taxed to its utmost to supply the demand
testifies to the success of the Westinghouse gas
engine. ‘s

The' principle on which the Westinghouse gas
engines run is a modification of the well-known
Beau de Rochas cycle. This consists of com-.
pressing the charge into the head of'the cylin-
der before igniting it. ' These engines differ from
the ordinary “hit and miss” type, in that the
governor acts by controlling the.quantity of ex-
plosive mixture which is taken into-the cylin-,
der. This results in an adjustment of the power
of each- explosion to the amount of '"wOrk being
done; hence the engine runs, with the steadiness
and regularity of a first—class steam engine.
The regulation is so perfect that the company
has built many directsc'onnected'outfits where the
dynamo is .mounted rigidly on the end of thei‘
engine shaft. Even under this most severe tout
the lights are perfectly steady. ~- ,

Not content with confining itself to the well-
beaten path, the Westinghouse Machine com-
pany has been teaching fOrward in Ithe‘realm
of things not previously accomplished by any
one, and they have successfully built and oper-
ated a 650 b‘rake‘ horse-power gas engine. "
engine has three cylinders, each 25 inches in
diameter, and a. 30~inch stroke, and .runs at 145 ,
revolutions per minute. Its economy is very
marked, resulting in the production of a. brake
horse-power for every 11 cubic feet of natural
gas. This is the largest gas engine- in the world,- 1
and it operates with complete success. ‘

In many localities requiring peculiar condi-

~ tions of service the gas engine is superior to

the steam engine. ,‘Both, however, have their
advantages. In a. word, it may be truly said
that the Westinghouse Machine Company has
brought the gas engine to the same stage of per-
fection as their steam engine, which is the only
one built in America having a reputation and
market in Europe. .

In this department of the Westinghouse Ma-
chine Company’s works can be seen a 200 horse-
power alternating current generator, driven by
a Parsons steam turbine, running at a. speed
of 4,700 revolutions per minute. This high speed
is obtained without any perceptible vibration
It is not, however, limited in any way, but may
be either higher or lower. The. bearings, which
are an especial feature, admit of any rotative
speed that may be desired. This turbine is a
somewhat new form ofrsteam engine, although
extremely old in principle. It makes use of the
highest velocity attained by steam passing
through an orifice from a. higher pressure to a
lower, and acts much in the same manner as a
water turbine.

The Parsons turbine is similar to the one fit-
ted on the boat “Turbina,” which has lately
been creating such a sensation 'in England by
its remarkable performance.

The Westinghouse Machine Company manu-
facture the most extensively used mechanical
stoking apparatus. ice-making and refrigerating
machinery. Through» its engineering and con-
tracting connection'with Westinghouse, Church,
Kerr & Co., the well-known mechanical engi-
neers, it has carried out some of the most im-
portant engineering work in this country.

In this necessarily incomplete article it is not
possible to more than mention the following
Westinghouse interests:

THE SAWYER-MAN ELECTRIC ’ COMPANY.

A concern constituting an immense lamp-
making department of the Westinghouse Eleo-
tric and Manufacturing Company, having 3. ca-
pacity of 10,000 incandescent lamps per day,
varying from 4 candle to 1,000 candle power.
THE UNION SWITCH AND SIGNAL COMPANY. -

This company was organized by Mr. Westing.
house in 1881, and is engaged in the manufacb.
ure of mechanical, pneumatic, ethric and auto-

matic signals, crossing bells and frog switches.
They .have equipped most of the largest ter-
minals of. this country with their automatic
signal system.

R. D. NUTTALL COMPANY.

Manufacturers of trolleys, gears and pinions.
This plant has a capacity of supplying from
fifty thousand to sixty thousand cars annually
with the above equipment. -