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i 296 The weighing and discharging of the ore into cars, is under the control of another operator, located on the travel- ing larry car. The total weight of the Hulett machine is 850 tons, carried on 48 wheels. The horsepower required for the equipment is as follows: Hoisting, 300; trolley traverse, 100; bucket operat- ing, 100; bucket rotating, 30; receiving hopper, 100; larry travel, 30; larry hop- per, 30; propelling gear, 100. All the power for each element is contained in a single motor. This machine will average one trip per minute, handling 17 tons per trip when working in the hold of a ship with no obstruction to the free action of the bucket. / The 6,000 pounds over-balance of the walking beam on this machine allows the bucket to lower by gravity. This gives a low power consumption per ton of ore handled, as the walking beam is nearly balanced. The bucket has a long reach for scraping the bottom of a boat in cleaning up. This installation at Con- stable Hook is the first of its type on tidewater. Some modifications were re- quired to adopt this machine to unload -ocean-going tramp steamers, as well as modern vessels with open holds, such as are now being built by the Bethlehem Steel Co. The unloader was furnished by the Wellman-Seaver-Morgan Co. The Mead-Morrison rope system un- loader operates a 5-ton rope-suspended clam-shell bucket. This ploys a hinge type of boom of sufficient length to allow the bucket to reach 60 feet from the face of the wharf. The overhead clearance is 58 feet above the water at low tide. The bucket dis- charges its. contents into a 50-ton re- ceiving hopper at the front end of the machine on the main tower. Motor operated gates on the receiving hopper control the discharge of the ore into a Y Y % Z By W. H. Smith machine em- Breakers as Ai A Too Expensive Task THE MARINE REVIEW 30-ton scale hopper, mounted on a traveling larry car, which.conveys the ore to the railroad cars on any of the four tracks beneath the machine. The operator of the ore bucket is located in a stationary house near the top of the main frame at the wharf side. The rope system machine weighs about 250-tons and is carried on 40 wheels. The horsepower requirements are as follows: Hoisting, 300; trolley traverse, 60; propelling gear, 60; receiving hop- per, 24; larry car travel, 11; larry hop- per, 12. This machine iscapable of making two round trips per minute, 5 tons per trip when bucket has free access to cargo. This machine can use a smaller clam- shell bucket which will reach the cargo in a tramp steamer having stanchions between decks, narrow alleys along shaft tunnels, etc., which would be inaccessible to the Hulett unloader. The clam-shell bucket can be removed and a hook sub- stituted for handling small scoop buckets where it is found necessary to shovel the ore. Electric Equipment of Interest The electric control apparatus on the two unloaders was furnished by the Cutler-Hammer Co., Milwaukee, and the motors by the General Electric Co., Schenectady, N. Y. The electric power to operate the unloaders is purchased from the Public Service Electric Co. of New Jersey, at 2,200 volts, 2-phase at 60 cycles. The unloaders use direct current at 250 volts. A substation was installed to trans- form the alternating current into direct current. All the substation apparatus was furnished by the General Electric Co. This equipment consists of two rotary converters, each rated at 500 kilo- watts, 2-phase, 60 cycle, 600 revolutions per minute, 250 volts direct current; four AY YA Ys 4, o, Lake Would Give Material Assistance August, 1917 single-phase transformers (two for each rotary converter) each rated at 270 kilo- volt-amperes, 2,200 to 180 volts, 60 cycle, oil insulated, self-cooled; and one motor- generator; fly-wheel balancer of 250 kilo- watt capacity, 250 volts direct current, speed range, 550 to 720 revolutions per minute. The armature shaft of the balancer carries a flywheel consisting of a number of steel-plate disks riveted together. This wheel weighs 12,500 pounds and when running at full rated speed, has a peripheral speed of 22,000 feet. per minute. An underground conduit system of six 750,000 circular-mil, lead covered, copper cables connects the substation with the contact rails that feed the unloaders. This contact rail system consists of two 85-pound standard steel rails, one above the other and 750,000 circular-mil, bare copper cables clamped to the rails for continuous bonds. Porcelain insulators with hook bolts through rail supporting brackets clamp the head of the contact rail and the contact shoes on the un-_ loaders run on the under side on the base of the rails. The machine shop equipment consists of: One Putnam 42-inch x 10-foot en- gine lathe; one Reed Prentice 16-inch x 4-foot lathe; one 32-inch shaper; one 5-foot radial drill; one 31-inch sliding- head drill press; and one double-ended emery grinder. Each machine tool is equipped with in- dividual motor drive for 2-phase, 250- volt, 60-cycle current, which is supplied by two 15 kilo-volt-ampere transformers in the substation. The rotary converters will operate only when the unloaders are in operation. The complete lighting is for 250 volts alternating or direct cur- rent. A one-story brick building con- tains the machine shop, office, store room and substation. irade By H. W. Thorp Manager, Canada Atlantic Transit Co. A® REGARDS the keeping open of channels and ports in the early spring it would seem to me that unless the underwriters change their policies to cover ice damages in April, owners would not be justified in incurring any ex- penditure for keeping open the channels unless all ports were kept open both on the Canadian bay ports as well as Buffalo, Soo, Duluth, Fort William and White Fish bay. Any task of such a character as the one outlined would be quite a large one, and would be found, in my opinion, to be too expensive. There are a number of years when steamers could oper- ate from April 15 without damage or much trouble from ice and unless all ports are kept open it would in my opinion be quite a problem to divide the expense and cost of upkeep to perform this service. General Manager, Goodrich Transit Co. | 8 eae ee to combating ice conditions at the Soo, Buffalo, Duluth and other ports which are icebound during winter months, this company operates steamers the year round on Lake Michigan and has done so for many years. Naturally, we have had considerable experience with ice . conditions. : Answering question No. 1 we believe that it would be im- possible to get enough icebreakers to keep the Soo in such condition that boats could pass through the locks with any degree of certainty, if at all. At any rate, in view of our experience, we think it extremely doubtful as to there being any practical ‘means of doing this, if you mean all year. Question No. 2—Whether or not it would prove economical to station ice-breakers at the Soo, and possibly at Buffalo and Duluth, to be in active service in time to open the