Maritime History of the Great Lakes

Marine Review (Cleveland, OH), May 1910, p. 195

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May, 1910 conveyor car rails. the "barney" comes in contact with the rear coupling of the con: veyor car and pushes it up the in- chine 'to the deck of the pier The hoist is then reversed and the "bar- ney" car returns to the pit, ready for the next conveyor car. On arriving at the deck of the pier the conveyor car is switched to one of the two delivery tracks located along the two sides of the pier; and, traveling by its own power, it deposits the coal in the pier hoppers and then returns by gravity on an incline track in the center of the pier to a point near the dumper, when it is ready for the next trip. The push 'bar of car Storage Capacity of Pockets. Along each side of the pier there are located. 31 coal pockets, each 25 fi.. from . center to center. These pockets have a _ storage capacity of 60 tons each, and are provided with sliding hoppers and chutes for deliy- ering the coal to vessels. The chutes have a vertical range of 43 ft., and a side. range. of 25. ft... This: range of adjustment permits the delivery of | coal to the vessels with a minimum amount of breakage, as the difference in elevation of the vessel, caused by the changing tide or by the weight of the cargo, can be counteracted by adjusting the chutes. The slips on each side of the pier are 150 ft. wide and have a depth of 30 ft. below mean low water. ae Both the pier and receiving yard are lighted by. means of 64 enclosed are lamps with porcelain enamel reflectors, which provide ample light- ing for the operation of the coal handling apparatus at night. Special lighting transformers for the opera- tion of these lamps are provided in the sub-station, which is located in the terminal yards.: The rapidity with which the coal is handled is evident from the fact that if a ship or 'barge is coaling while the pier is in operation, the coal can be dumped from the service car, weighed, dumped in the pier hop- pers, and chuted to the hatchways in less than five minutes. Situated below the pier at a point where the main incline meets the pier deck is a neat brick and con- crete building which incloses_ the specially designed main hoist, to- gether with the necessary resistance, contactor control panel, and switch- board. Largest Electrically Operated Hoist. As this is said to 'be the largest electrically operated hoist ever con- "THE MARINE REVIEW structed, the following data may be of interest: The hoist, complete with motors, has a weight of 180,000 lbs. and is in- stalled on a bed plate with dimensions of 18 ft. lieiny Dy. 22h, 4.1m, All the gears are made of cast steel with cut teeth; the main gear having a diam- eter of 116 in, a face of .12 im, and teeth of 314. in. pitch. The main gear, together with the hoist drum, is mounted on the main shaft, which is 12 in. in diameter; the drum having a diameter of 84 in. between flanges. The face of the drum is divided into two sections by a flange, the large section being 421% in. wide and pro- vided with grooves for the 134 in. main hoisting rope. The smaller sec- tion is 7 in. wide and grooved for a 34-in. back haul, or tail rope. The ratio of the 'gearing between the hoist and the. mocors is 21:1;, an inter- mediate gear of 72 in. diameter, and a pinion of 21% in. diameter being used. For the operation of this hoist two direct current motors are provided; one motor driving the hoist and the other being held as a reserve, which can be put into service instantly, if required. These motors are compound wound and are rated at 550 H. P., 550: volt, 525. R: PM. They are equipped "with commutating poles to insure sparkless commutation; this feature being especially valuable in this installation, due to the heavy intermittent overloads which the mo- tors have to carry while in service. Both motors are mounted on special bases which are bolted to the hoist base, the motors being located on either side of the hoist and 'connected with it through gearing. Direct Current Motors. While these motors are rated at 550 H. P., they. are called upon: to actually develop 980 H. P. while a conveyor car is being taken up the incline. They have been in operation since April 1, 1909. An incident which gives an idea of the overload capacity of these motors, occurred when the hoist was accidentally started with the hoist brake set. Under these condi- tions the motor in operation developed 1,250 H. P. without injury. Located between the two motors and mounted on the thoist 'base prop- er is a motor-driven air compressor outfit, similar to those supplied for street railway service. The air pres- sure developed is 90 lbs. per sq. in., and the supply is used for the opera- tion of the main hoist brake. 'a master type controller. 195 The 'brake is mechanically set on the hoist drum by a 1,400-Ib. weight, which is held in the "off" position by' compressed air while the hoist is in operation, the air being applied (by means of a solenoid actuated valve so connected that the brake is automatic- ally released on the first notch of the hoist controller, and automatical- ly set when the controller is in the "off" position. Control Equipment. The control equipment includes a switchboard with switches, circuit breaker and ammeter, heavy contac- tors mounted on a panel, interlocks, controller resistance and relays, and If the field circuits of the motors should be- opened during operation, relays serve to throw the motor off the power circuit by tripping the main circuit breaker; and as the solenoid-operated brake valve is connected so that its circuit is made and fbroken at the same instant as that of the motors, the brake will be automatically set in case of interruption of the motor cir- cuit. The contactor panel. included in this equipment has a larger current carrying capacity than any other of this type heretofore constructed for hoist service. It is tprovided with current limit relays, so that it is impossible for the operator to apply more than a pre- determined amount of current to the motor during hoisting, although he has full control of it in all other respects. Installation of Master Controller. - . The master controller is not lo- cated in the hoist house, but has been installed in a small operator's cabin opposite the barney can pit, 350 ft. distant from the hoist; by reason of this arrangement the conveyor cars are in full sight of the operator from the time they leave the lower level until they reach the deck of the pier. When a conveyor car reaches a given point near the top of the incline, a limit switch causes a 'bank of red lamps to light up in the operator's cabin, as a warning to the operator to throw the controller to 'the "off" position. If, however, for any reason he fails to do this, the limit switch at a given point further on will auto- matically throw the power off the motor, and thereby set the brakes. It is then impossible for the operator © to start the motor in the same direc- tion. The limit switch operates on the down haul in the same way

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