Street Railway Journal Vol. XV. NEW YORK AND CHICAGO, APRIL, 1899. No. 4. POWER STATION AND REPAIR SHOPS OF THE CLEVELAND ELECTRIC RAILWAY COMPANY cr / ( - 6 ^ • IU. ' - x>-...„. There are very few stations in this country where it is pany, generally known as the "big consolidated" company, possible to find in operation equipments that illustrate in The principal interest in the station centers in the new en- distinct stages the evolution that electric railway power gine and generator, illustrated on this page. This ma- VERTICAL COMPOUND ENGINE AND 2400 KW. GENERATOR IN CLEVELAND ELECTRIC RAILWAY STATION houses have undergone since the introduction of this new chine stands 32 ft. high above the floor line, and is artistic- power for transit purposes. Such a condition exists, how- ally designed, all the curves being graceful, while strength ever, in the station of the Cleveland Electric Railway Com- is not sacrificed. The engine is direct coupled to a 2400- 200 STREET RAILWAY JOURNAL. [Vol. XV. No. 4. kw. twenty-two pole, railway generator, the armature of 270 ins.; length along shaft, 61 ins.; diameter of shaft, 27 which is 12 ft. in diameter and 2 ft. across the face. ins.; total weight, 180,000 lbs. The generator is of the General Electric make, wound The engine, which is a vertical cross-compound, non- for 550 volts and 4300 amps. The magnet frame is of cast steel of highest permeability, and is heavily ribbed, to give great mechanical stiffness. It is provided with feet of large area, in order that the machine will rest firmly on the foundations. The pole pieces are of laminated sheet iron, and are rectangular in cross section. The poles are so shaped that the eddy current losses are reduced to a mini- mum. The spools are composed of heavy brass flanges, the body of the spool being of two thicknesses of sheet iron. The spools are thoroughly insulated by means of veneer board flanges, oiled cotton and mica. The series winding consists of copper strip, and the shunt winding of triple cotton-covered wire. The armature spider is of such construction that all shrinkage strains are obviated. The spider is made in halves, in order to facilitate assembling on the engine shaft. The spider arms are hollow, to give the greatest strength with the given amount of material. The lamina- tions are thoroughly insulated from one another by means of japan. The slot insulation consists of alternate layers of oiled muslin, paper and mica. The armature bars are of such a shape that the only joints occur at the commu- tator leads. That is, the bars have no joint at the flywheel end. The armature bars are held in position by means of wooden wedges, thus doing away with binding wire over the laminations. The commutator shell is supported on an extension of the armature spider, to avoid any possibility of movement between the commutator spider and the armature spider. The bars are hard-drawn copper, insulated from one an- other and from the spider with the best grades of selected mica. The commutator is of such a size that a larg;e num- SIDE VIEW OF ENGINE AND GENERATOR condensing machine, was made by the E. P. Allis Com- pany, has cylinders 40 ins. and 68 ins. x 60 ins., and is de- signed to run at 75 r.p.m. with 160 lbs. initial pressure. The valves are in the cylinder heads, and a separate governor is used for operating an automatic safety stop. The main throttle valve is operated from the different platforms by means of hand wheels attached to a vertical shaft, and each cylinder is approached by steps, as shown in the illustration. The flywheel is 25 ft. in diameter and weighs 160,000 lbs. The shaft is 25 ft. long, and at the center where it carries the armature it is 26 ins. in diameter, but reduced to 24 ins. at the bearings. The bearings are 48 ins. long, and made with shells supported by ball-joint bearings, thus insuring perfect alignment. While the engine is rated at 3500 h.p., it is capable of being EXTERIOR OF POWER STATION worked up to nearly 5000 h.p. for short periods. ber of brushes can be used. This gives low current dens- The engine room is supplied with a 30-ton e'ectric travel- ity in the brush with attendant low heating. The brushes ing crane having three motors of the railwav type. This are supported by means of a heavy cast-iron yoke, which crane is carefully designed in every detail, even the forged is operated by suitable worm gearing. hook of the hoist being hung in ball bearings, so that it The main dimensions of the generator only are: width, swivels easily. The crane was designed and manufactured April, 1899.] STREET RAILWAY JOURNAL. 201 by the Brown Hoisting & Conveying Machine Company, the stop valves to the boilers are placed. The main header of Cleveland. is supported on a steel platform built out from the walls The auxiliary steam equipment consists of duplicate of the station just above the back of the boiler. This is pumps of the Worthington manufacture, and is located in guarded by a railing, and the header, except at the center, the engine room. The valves are all of Chapman manu- is supported on small steel trucks, which are designed to facture. There is a complete automatic oiling system and move back and forth to accommodate expansion and con- other detailed features that embrace the very latest in traction. In order to prevent these trucks from vibrating power house design. the weight is supported on small journals, while the sur- The boiler room adjoins the engine room, and both are face of the rollers, which are about 3 ins. in diameter, rests extensions of the old plant, but at a higher level. The new on a plate, so that because of the different diameters a sort boiler equipment consists of ten water-tube boilers of the of breaking power is obtained. A 15-in. curved pipe leads B. & W. type, each rated at 264 h.p. at 30 lbs. evaporation. out from the top of the header, and, passing through the These boilers are arranged in batteries on each side of the wall, leads directly to the throttle of the high-pressure en- boiler room floor, there being six on one side and four on gine. the other. These are each equipped with the B. & W. Drain pipes are attached to the valves and lead across --5-G-' -*> <--- • &%---*] OUTLINE OF BED PLATE Street Rattu>tsyJourjiiXl,yj&. SIDE AND END ELEVATIONS AND PLAN OF ENGINE type of chain grates, which are operated from a horizontal into the bends of the steam pipes to provide for automatic shaft above the boilers, and which in turn is actuated by drainage. From the bottom of the steam header short special engines. loops connect with a drip header, which is located beneath The steam piping is all of lap-welded type, and is bent the main header, and from this the drip is returned to the in suitable curves in order to avoid as much as pos- end of the boiler with the use of any special appliances. sible fittings, and at the same time provide for expansion. The sections of pipe are provided with weldless soft steel The boilers are connected by 8-in. pipes, which lead di- flanges manufactured by the Latrobe Steel Company. rectly into a 20-in. steam header. Those from the boilers These are faced and beveled to a slight taper, the greatest on the off side of the room pass over the area between the diameter being at the face where the pipe is flanged and boilers and just below the coal bunker, when, coming peaned into a groove in the face of the flange. The pipe alongside of the pipes from the other boilers, they bend in is then faced off so that it affords a smooth seat for the gas- pairs on the same curves and are attached to the top of the kets, so that the greatest pressure comes directly on the steam header. The connection is made through a spe- end of the pipe, all pipes from 8 ins. and upward being cially designed T, having two openings on cop, in which peaned in this manner. The feed water pipes are attached 202 STREET RAILWAY JOURNAL. [Vol. XV. No. 4. to the front of the boilers above the stoker in a peculiar The bucket conveyer serves for handling the ashes as well manner, as shown, and provide for expansion, the pipes as the coal, and these are delivered into an elevated hopper being bent to 90 degs. and a i^-in. pipe leads down to an placed at one end of the room in line with the boilers, and automatic stop check valve. The main header is § in. in of sufficient height to allow of trolley construction cars thickness, and all the pipes are of standard weight, except being run under the spout, so that the ashes are loaded di- those for feed water and blow off, which are extra heavy, rect without any shoveling. These ashes are employed to provide for corrosion. along the line of the road as ballast. The exhaust pipe from the low pressure side leads down The extension of the building for the accommodation of and bends beneath the floor and enters the feed water the additional equipment above described is of brick, and heater, which is of the Goubert type.