This engine, exhibited at South Kensington by Fielding and Platt, of
Gloucester, consists virtually of a universal joint connecting two
shafts whose axes form an obtuse angle of about 157 degrees. It has four
cylinders, two being mounted on a chair coupling on each shaft. The word
cylinder is used in a conventional sense only, since the cavities acting
as such are circular, whose axes, instead of being straight lines, are
arcs of circles struck from the center at which the axes of the shafts
would, if continued, intersect. The four pistons are carried upon
the gimbal ring, which connects, by means of pivots, the two chair
couplings.
[Illustration: THE FIELDING HIGH SPEED ENGINE.]
Fig. 10 shows clearly the parts constituting the coupling, cylinders,
and pistons of a compound engine. CC are the high-pressure cylinders; DD
the low pressure; EEEE the four parts forming the gimbal ring, to which
are fixed in pairs the high and low pressure pistons, GG and FF; HHHH
are the chair arms formed with the cylinders carrying pivots, IIII,
which latter fit into the bearings, JJJJ, in the gimbal ring. Figs.
1, 2, 3, 4 show these parts connected and at different points of the
shaft's rotation. The direction of rotation is shown by the arrow. In
Fig. 1 the lower high-pressure cylinder, C, is just about taking steam,
the upper one just closing the exhaust; the low-pressure pistons are at
half stroke, that in sight exhausting, the opposite one, which cannot be
seen in this view, taking steam.
In Fig 2 the shaft has turned through one-eighth of a revolution; in
Fig. 3, a quarter turn; Fig. 4, three-eighths of a turn. Another eighth
turn brings two parts into position represented by Fig. 1, except the
second pair of cylinders now replace the first pair. The bearings, KL,
support the two shafts and act as stationary valves, against which faces
formed on the cylinders revolve; steam and exhaust ports are provided in
the faces of K and L, and two ports in the revolving faces, one to each
cylinder. The point at which steam is cut off is determined by the
length of the admission ports in K and L. The exhaust port is made of
such a length that steam may escape from the cylinders during the whole
of the return stroke of pistons.
Fig. 5 shows the complete engine. It will be seen that the engine is
entirely incased in a box frame, with, however, a lid for ready access
to the parts for examination, one great advantage being that the engine
can be worked with the cover removed, thus enabling any leakage past the
pistons or valve faces to be at once detected. The casing also serves to
retain a certain amount of lubricant.
The lubrication is effected by means of a triple sight-feed lubricator,
one feeder delivering to steam inlet, and two serving the main shaft
bearings.
Figs, 6 and 7 are an end elevation and plan of the same engine. There is
nothing in the other details calling for special notice.
Figs. 8 and 9 show the method of machining the cylinders and pistons,
the whole of which can be done by ordinary lathes, which is evidently a
great advantage in the event of reboring, etc., being required in the
colonies or other countries where special tools are inaccessible.
Figs. 11 and 12 are sections which explain themselves.--_The Engineer_.
* * * * *
THE NATIONAL TRANSIT CO'S PIPE LINES FOR THE TRANSPORTATION OF PETROLEUM
TO THE SEABOARD.
While Englishmen and Americans have been alike interested in the late
project for forcing water by a pipe line over the mountainous region
lying between Suakim and Berber in the far-off Soudan, few men of either
nation have any proper conception of the vast expenditure of capital,
natural and engineering difficulties overcome, and the bold and
successful enterprise which has brought into existence far greater pipe
lines in our own Atlantic States. We refer to the lines of the National
Transit Company, which have for a purpose the economic transportation of
crude petroleum from Western Pennsylvania to the sea coast at New York,
Philadelphia, and Baltimore, and to the Lakes at Cleveland and Buffalo.
To properly commence our sketch of this truly gigantic enterprise, we
must go back to the discovery of petroleum in the existing oil regions
of Pennsylvania and adjacent States. Its presence as an oily scum on the
surface of ponds and streams had long been known, and among the Indians
this "rock-oil" was highly appreciated as a vehicle for mixing their wax
paint, and for anointing their bodies; in later years it was gathered in
a rude way by soaking it up in blankets, and sold at a high price for
medicinal purposes only, under the name of Seneca rock oil, Genesee oil,
Indian oil, etc.
But the date of its discovery as an important factor in the useful arts
and as a source of enormous national wealth was about 1854. In the year
named a certain Mr. George H. Bissell of New Orleans accidentally met
with a sample of the "Seneca Oil," and being convinced that it had a
value far beyond that usually accorded it, associated himself with
some friends and leased for 99 years some of the best oil springs near
Titusville, Pa. This lease cost the company $5,000, although only a few
years before a cow had been considered a full equivalent in value for
the same land. The original prospectors began operations by digging
collecting ditches, and then pumping off the oil which gathered upon the
surface of the water. But not long after this first crude attempt at oil
gathering, the Pennsylvania Rock Oil Co. was organized, with Prof. B.
Silliman of Yale College as its president, and a more intelligent method
was introduced into the development of the oil-producing formation. In
1858, Col. Drake of New Haven was employed by the Pennsylvania Co. to
sink an artesian well; and, after considerable preparatory work, on
August 28, 1859, the first oil vein was tapped at a depth of 69½ feet
below the surface; the flow was at first 10 barrels per day, but in the
following September this increased to 40 barrels daily.
[Illustration: MAP SHOWING THE NATIONAL TRANSIT CO.'S PIPE LINES.]
The popular excitement and the fortunes made and lost in the years
following the sinking of the initial well are a matter of history,
with which we have here nothing to do. It is sufficient to say that a
multitude of adventurers were drawn by the "oil-craze" into this late
wilderness, and the sinking of wells extended with unprecedented
rapidity over the region near Titusville and from there into more
distant fields.
By June 1, 1862, 495 wells had been put down near Titusville, and the
daily output of oil was nearly 6,000 barrels, selling at the wells
at from $4.00 to $6.00 per barrel. But the tapping of this vast
subterranean storehouse of oleaginous wealth continued, until the
estimated annual production was swelled from 82,000 barrels in 1859 to
24,385,966 barrels in 1883; in the latter year 2,949 wells were put
down, many of them, however, being simply dry holes.[1] The total output
of oil in the Pennsylvania regions, between 1859 and 1883, is estimated
at about 234,800,000 barrels--enough oil to fill a tank about 10,000
feet square, nearly two miles to a side, to a depth of over 13½ feet.
[Footnote 1: The total number of wells in the Pennsylvania oil regions
cannot be given. In the years 1876-1884, inclusive, 28,619 wells were
sunk; this is an average of 3,179 per year. During the same period 2,507
dry holes were drilled at an average cost of $1,500 each.]
As long as oil could be sold at the wells at from $4.00 to $10.00
a barrel, the cost of transportation was an item hardly worthy of
consideration, and railroad companies multiplied and waged a bitter
war with each other in their scramble after the traffic. But as the
production increased with rapid strides, the market price of oil fell
with a corresponding rapidity, until the quotations for 1884 show
figures as low as 50 to 60 cents per barrel for the crude product at Oil
City.
In December, 1865, the freight charge per barrel for a carload of oil
from Titusville to New York, and the return of the empty barrels,
was $3.50.[1] To this figure was added the cost of transportation by
pipe-line from Pithole to Titusville, $1.00; cost of barreling, 25
cents; freight to Corry, Pa., 80 cents; making the total cost of a
barrel of crude oil in New York, $5.55. In January, 1866, the barrel
of oil in New York cost $10.40, including in this figure, however, the
Government tax of $1.00 and the price of the barrel, $3.25.
[Footnote 1: It is stated that in 1862 the cost of sending one barrel of
oil to New York was $7.45. Steamboats charged $2.00 per barrel from Oil
City to Pittsburg, and the hauling from Oil Creek to Meadville cost
$2.25 per barrel.]
The question of reducing these enormous transportation charges was first
broached, apparently, in 1864, when a writer in the _North American_,
of Philadelphia, outlined a scheme for laying a pipe-line down the
Allegheny River to Pittsburg. This project was violently assailed by
both the transportation companies and the people of the oil region,
who feared that its success would interfere with their then great
prosperity. But short pipe-lines, connecting the wells with storage
tanks and shipping points, grew apace and prepared the way for the vast
network of the present day, which covers this region and throws out arms
to the ocean and the lakes.
Among the very first, if not the first, pipe lines laid was one put down
between the Sherman well and the railway terminus on the Miller farm.
It was about 3 miles long, and designed by a Mr. Hutchinson; he had an
exaggerated idea of the pressure to be exercised, and at intervals of 50
to 100 feet he set up air chambers 10 inches in diameter. The weak point
in this line, however, proved to be the joints; the pipes were of cast
iron, and the joint-leakage was so great that little, if any, oil ever
reached the end of the line, and the scheme was abandoned in despair.
In connection with this question of oil transportation, a sketch of the
various methods, other than pipelines, adopted in Pennsylvania may not
be out of place. We are mainly indebted to Mr. S.F. Peckham, in his
article on "Petroleum and its Products" in the U. S. Census Report of
1880, for the information relating to tank-cars immediately following:
Originally the oil was carried in 40 and 42 gallon barrels, made of oak
and hooped with iron; early in 1866, or possibly in 1865, tank-cars
were introduced. These were at first ordinary flat-cars upon which were
placed two wooden tanks, shaped like tubs, each holding about 2,000
gallons.
On the rivers, bulk barges were also, after a time, introduced on the
Ohio and Allegheny; at first these were rude affairs, and often of
inadequate strength; but as now built they are 130 x 22 x 16 feet, in
their general dimensions, and divided into eight compartments, with
water-tight bulkheads; they hold about 2,200 barrels.
In 1871 iron-tank cars superseded those of wood, with tanks of varying
sizes, ranging from 3,856 to 5,000 gallons each. These tanks were
cylinders, 24 feet 6 inches long, and 66 inches in diameter, and weighed
about 4,500 lb. The heads are made of 5/46 in. flange iron, the bottom
of ½ in., and the upper half of the shell of 3/16 in. tank iron.
In October, 1865, the Oil Transportation Co. completed and tested a
pipe-line 32,000 feet long; three pumps were used upon it, two at
Pithole and one at Little Pithole. July 1, 1876, the pipe-line owners
held a meeting at Parkers to organize a pipe-line company to extend to
the seaboard under the charter of the Pennsylvania Transportation Co.,
but the scheme was never carried out. In January, 1878, the Producers'
Union organized for a similar seaboard line, and laid pipes, but they
never reached the sea, stopping their line at Tamanend, Pa. The lines
of the National Transit Co., illustrated in our map, were completed in
1880-81, and this company, to which the United Pipe Lines have also
been transferred, is said to have $15,000,000 invested in plant for the
transport of oil to tide water.
The National Transit Co. was organized under what was called the
Pennsylvania Co. act, about four years ago, and succeeded to the
properties of the American Transit Co., a corporation operating under
the laws of Pennsylvania. Since its organization the first named company
has constructed and now owns the following systems:
The line from Olean, N.Y., to Bayonne, N.J., and to Brooklyn, N.Y., of
which a full page profile is given, showing the various pumping stations
and the undulations over its route of about 300 miles. The Pennsylvania
line, 280 miles long, from Colegrove, Pa., to Philadelphia. The
Baltimore line, 70 miles long, from Millway, Pa., to Baltimore. The
Cleveland line, 100 miles long, from Hilliards, Pa., to Cleveland, O.
The Buffalo line, 70 miles long, from Four Mile, Cattaraugus County,
N.Y., to Buffalo, and the line from Carbon Center, Butler County, Pa.,
to Pittsburg, 60 miles in length. This amounts to a total of 880 miles
of main pipe-line alone, ranging from 4 inches to 6 inches in diameter;
or, adding the duplicate pipes on the Olean New York line, we have a
round total of 1,330 miles, not including loops and shorter branches and
the immense network of the pipes in the oil regions proper.
A general description of the longest line will practically suffice for
all, as they differ only in diameter of pipe used and power of the
pumping plant. As shown on the map and profile, this long line starts at
Olean, near the southern boundary of New York State, and proceeds by the
route indicated to tide water at Bayonne, N.J., and by a branch under
the North and East rivers and across the upper end of New York city to
the Long Island refineries. This last named pipe is of unusual strength,
and passes through Central Park; few of the thousands who daily frequent
the latter spot being aware of the yellow stream of crude petroleum that
is constantly flowing beneath their feet. The following table gives the
various pumping stations on this Olean New York line, and some data
relating to distances between stations and elevations overcome:
|----------------------------------------------------------------|
| | | | Greatest |
| | | | Summit |
| | Miles | Elevation | between |
| | between | above Tide. | Stations. |
| Pumping Stations. | Stations. | Ft. | Ft. |
|______________________|___________|________________|____________|
| Olean | -- | 1,490 | -- |
| Wellsville | 28.20 | 1,510 | 2,490 |
| Cameron | 27.91 | 1,042 | 2,530 |
| West Junction | 29.70 | 911 | 1,917 |
| Catatonk | 27.37 | 869 | 1,768 |
| Osborne | 27.99 | 1,092 | 1,539 |
| Hancock | 29.86 | 922 | 1,873 |
| Cochecton | 26.22 | 748 | 1,854 |
| Swartwout | 28.94 | 475 | 1,478 |
| Newfoundland | 29.00 | 768 | 1,405 |
| Saddle River | 28.77 | 35 | 398 |
|______________________|___________|________________|____________|
On this line two six-inch pipes are laid the entire length, and a third
six-inch pipe runs between Wellsville and Cameron, and about half way
between each of the other stations, "looped" around them. The pipe used
for the transportation of oil is especially manufactured to withstand
the great strain to which it will be subjected, the most of it being
made by the Chester Pipe and Tube Works, of Chester, Pa., the Allison
Manufacturing Co., of Philadelphia and the Penna. Tube Works, of
Pittsburg, Pa. It is a lap-welded, wrought-iron pipe of superior
material, and made with exceeding care and thoroughly tested at the
works. The pipe is made in lengths of 18 feet, and these pieces are
connected by threaded ends and extra strong sleeves. The pipe-thread and
sleeves used on the ordinary steam and water pipe are not strong enough
for the duty demanded of the oil-pipe. The socket for a 4-inch steam
or water pipe is from 2½ to to 2¾ inches long, and is tapped with 8
standard threads to the inch, straight or parallel to the axis of the
pipe; with this straight tap only three or four threads come in contact
with the socket threads, or in any way assist in holding the pipes
together. In the oil-pipe, the pipe ends and sockets are cut on a taper
of ¾ inch to 1 foot, for a 4-inch pipe, and the socket used is thicker
than the steam and water socket, is 3¾ inches long, and has entrance for
1 5/8 inches of thread on each pipe end tapped with 9 standard threads
to the inch. In this taper socket you have iron to iron the whole length
of the thread, and the joint is perfect and equal by test to the full
strength of the pipe. Up to 1877 the largest pipe used on the oil lines
was 4-inch, with the usual steam thread, but the joints leaked under the
pressure, 1,200 pounds to the square inch being the maximum the 8-thread
pipe would stand. This trouble has been remedied by the 9-thread,
taper-cut pipe of the present day, which is tested at the mill to 1,500
pounds pressure, while the average duty required is 1,200 pounds; as the
iron used in the manufacture of this line-pipe will average a tensile
test strain of 55,000 pounds per square inch, the safety factor is thus
about one-sixth.
[Illustration: PROFILE SHOWING NATIONAL TRANSIT CO.'S PIPE-LINE, FROM
OLEAN TO SADDLE RIVER.]
The line-pipe is laid between the stations in the ordinary manner,
excepting that great care is exercised in perfecting the joints. No
expansion joints or other special appliances of like nature are used on
the line as far as we can learn; the variations in temperature being
compensated for, in exposed locations, by laying the pipe in long
horizontal curves. The usual depth below the surface is about 3 feet,
though in some portions of the route the pipe lies for miles exposed
directly upon the surface. As the oil pumped is crude oil, and this as
it comes from the wells carries with it a considerable proportion of
brine, freezing in the pipes is not to be apprehended. The oil,
however, does thicken in very cold weather, and the temperature has a
considerable influence on the delivery.
A very ingenious patented device is used for cleaning out the pipes, and
by it the delivery is said to have been increased in certain localities
50 per cent. This is a stem about 2½ feet long, having at its front end
a diaphragm made of wings which can fold on each other, and thus enable
it to pass an obstruction it cannot remove; this machine carries a set
of steel scrapers, somewhat like those used in cleaning boilers. The
device is put into the pipe, and propelled by the pressure transmitted
from the pumps from one station to another; relays of men follow the
scraper by the noise it makes as it goes through the pipe, one party
taking up the pursuit as the other is exhausted. They must never let it
get out of their hearing, for if it stops unnoticed, its location can
only again be established by cutting the pipe.
The pumping stations are substantial structures of brick, roofed with
iron. The boiler house is removed some distance from the engine house
for greater safety from fire; the building, about 40 by 50 feet,
contains from six to seven tubular boilers, each 5 by 14 feet, and
containing 80 three-inch tubes. The pump house is a similar brick
structure about 40 by 60 feet, and contains the battery of pumping
engines to be described later. At each station are two iron tanks, 90
feet in diameter and 30 feet high; into these tanks the oil is delivered
from the preceding station, and from them the oil is pumped into the
tanks at the next station beyond. The pipe-system at each station is
simple, and by means of the "loop-lines" before mentioned the oil can be
pumped directly around any station if occasion would require it.
The pumps used on all these lines are the Worthington compound,
condensing, pressure pumping engines. The general characteristics of
these pumps are, independent plungers with exterior packing, valve-boxes
subdivided into separate small chambers capable of resisting very heavy
strains, and leather-faced metallic valves with low lift and large
surfaces. These engines vary in power from 200 to 800 horse-power,
according to duty required. They are in continuous use, day and night,
and are required to deliver about 15,000 barrels of crude oil per 24
hours, under a pressure equivalent to an elevation of 3,500 feet.
We have lately examined the latest pumping engine plant, and the largest
yet built for this service, by the firm of H.R. Worthington; it is to be
used at the Osborne Hollow Pumping Station. As patents are yet pending
on certain new features in this engine, we must defer a full description
of it for a later issue of our journal.
The Pennsylvania line has a single 6-inch pipe 280 miles long, with six
pumping stations as shown in the map, and groups of shorter lines, with
a loop extending from the main line to Milton, Pa., a shipping point for
loading on cars. At Millway, Pa., a 5-inch pipe leaves the Pennsylvania
line and runs to Baltimore, a distance of 70 miles, and is operated
from the first named station alone, there being no intermediate pumping
station.[1] The Cleveland pipe, 100 miles long, is 5 inches in diameter,
and has upon it four pumping stations; it carries oil to the very
extensive refineries of the company at the terminal on Lake Erie. The
Buffalo line is 4 inches in diameter and 70 miles long; it has a pumping
station at Four-Mile and at Ashford (omitted on the map). The Pittsburg
line is 4 inches in diameter and 60 miles long; it has pumping stations
at Carbon Center and at Freeport.
[Footnote 1: Millway is about 400 feet above tide-water at Baltimore,
but the line passes over a very undulating country in its passage to the
last named point. We regret that we have no profile on this 70 mile line
operated by a single pumping plant.--_Ed. Engineering News_.]
A very necessary and remarkably complete adjunct to the numerous pipe
lines of this company is an independent telegraph system extending to
every point on its widely diverging lines. The storage capacity of the
National Transit Co.'s system is placed at 1,500,000 barrels, and
this tankage is being constantly increased to meet the demands of the
producers.[1]
[Footnote 1: As showing the extent of the sea-coast transportation of
petroleum, we should mention that the statistics for 1884 show a total
of crude equivalent exported from the United States in that year,
equaling 16,661,086 barrels, of 51 gallons each. This is a daily average
of 42,780 barrels.]
The company is officially organized as follows: C.A. Griscom, President;
Benjamin Brewster, Vice President; John Bushnell, Secretary; Daniel
O'Day, General Manager; J.H. Snow, General Superintendent. Mr. Snow
was the practical constructor of the entire system, and the general
perfection of the work is mainly due to his personal experience, energy,
and careful supervision. His engineering assistants were Theodore M.
Towe and C.J. Hepburn on the New York line and J.B. Barbour on the
Pennsylvania lines.
The enterprise has been so far a great engineering success, and the oil
delivery is stated on good authority to be within 2 per cent. of the
theoretical capacity of the pipes. From a commercial standpoint, the
ultimate future of the undertaking will be determined by the lasting
qualities of wrought iron pipe buried in the ground and subjected to
enormous strain; time alone can determine this question.
In preparing this article we are indebted for information to the firm of
H.R. Worthington, to General Manager O'Day, of the National Transit
Co., to the editor of the _Derrick_ of Oil City, Pa., and to numerous
engineering friends.--_Engineering News_.
* * * * *