August 8, 1908





RECORD  AND   GUIDE





291





COLLAPSE OF A PORTE COCHERE.

The broken arches in the porte-cochere of the new building
for the police headquarters in Centre st stand with props as
they have been since they collapsed on July 2, eight days after
the centering was removed. Tbe portals in tbe side walls are
about twelve feet wide, with flat cut-stone arches supporting
the ornamental cornice. The front wall of the porte cocbere,
which   received  the full   thrust   of  these   arches,  is  32   feet  long







(From    the    Euglueerlng    Record,)
WEST   SIDE   WALL   OF   PORTE   COCHERE.

and averages about ?>% feet in thickness. It has a narrow por¬
tal witb a lull centered arch, from which the centering bas
not been removed. The front wall is now pushed forward sev¬
eral inches, and wide cracks have opened in the side walls.
On July 2, about six months after the completion of the ver¬
tical walls, the enth-e timbrel arch fell, tearing loose from the
skewbacks and side walls, and breaking in pieces, Tbe engi¬
neers discovered no settlement of the soil. The builders believed
the failure was due to the displacement of the upper part of the
wall allowing tbe arch to drop down from  its skewbacks.





CENTRAL STATION STEAM-HEATING.

IN a recent number of the "Central Station." Mr. James A.
White gives some results of the operation of tbe plant of
the Citizens' Light, Heat and Power Company, of Johnstown.
Pa., which operates a combined plant in which the heating load
is at times greater than can be carried by tbe exhaust steam
from  the engines operating  the electric plant.

Steam is supplied by l.TStVbp. in Heine water tube boilers,
under which are installed Murphy stokers. The boilers are
also equipped with Green fuel economizers and a Pittsburg feed
water heater, Worthington feed pumps take water for the
boilers from both fclie city mains and a well on tbe premises. In
tbe engine room are five engines. The paper of Mr, White
shows following state of facts;

Tbe system of underground steam distributing mains is connected
to the exhaust piping in the Vine st power house by one 14-incb
and one lO-incb main. These underground mains now have a total
length  of  about  13..?4t) ft,,  exclusive  o£ service  pipes.

Steam hca* is supplied to '204 business blocks, residences and
public buildings, containing about 15,4.58.028 cubic feet of space,
an average of 1,150 cubic feet per lineal foot of underground main
being served. The size of Ibe mains is such that all customers are
amply supplied wjth steam with a back pressure on the engines of
only two  lo five pounds, depending upon the demand.

The station piping is so arranged that the supplemental supply of
live steam is automatically delivered to the heating system through
reducing valves during those portions of the year when the heating
load is greater than can be cared for by the exhaust steam frora
tbe engines.

The total cost ot all fuel,_water and boiler house labor during
the 20 months amounted to ■'fi-i2,l.''..S,77, the cost during the IS heat¬
ing months  amounting  to  1^40,!)T1,17.

The income from exhaust and live steam sold during the 20
months amounted to S(i2,l>ll2,(.14, aud during the 18 heating months,
$(10,721,92.

The receipts from steam furnished for heating purposes during
the 18 months oC the beating season paid for all fuel, water and
boiler bouse labor and left a surplus of $11),750.40, While this
surplus was being earned tbere was also produced 5.2.52,1:547 K.W.
hours from the same fuel, water and boiler house labor. A!! steam
is sold by weight on tbe meter basis of charging, which prevents
loss to the station operator through waste by the consumer.

These results are all the more interesting in view of the fact
that the rates charged for steam beat at Johnstown average
the lowest on record.





MANCHESTER. ENGLAND, HAS PASSED a new building
by-law, the main object of which is to prevent the spread of
slums and to promote the health and comfort of the people of
that city. It will secure to the houses of the future more air
space, wider streets and an absence of long, monotofious rows.
Hereafter no new street will be less than fourteen yards wide,





an increase of two yards on the minimum width. Main roads
must be 50 ft. wide instead of 36 ft., the present minimum.
No block of houses must contain more than, ten structures of
one pattern, nor cover a frontage of more than 100 yards. At
the back of each cottage tbere must be an area of not less,
than 250 ft,, an advance of 100 ft. No blind alleys will be
allowed in future, and all passages must lead to main streets.
The new measure is not retroactive and tberefore does not
affect buildings erected before the by-law was enacted.
----------------«----------------

COST OF CONSTRUCTING CONCRETE SEWER.

AT Indianapolis. Ind., the municipal improvements have
amounted to millions of dollars within a few years, owing
largely to the extension of the city limits, which included sev¬
eral suburbs where matters of large and necessary improve¬
ments were immediately required.

The sewer system of West Indianapolis is ono of the largest
enterprises now being carried through, tbat of tbe Morris st
branch alone bas a lengtb of 31,501) ft. This branch varies in
size, but 1,130 ft, of it is 7 ft. in diameter and is built of con¬
crete.

Charles M, Ripley, engineer, of 108 Fulton st. New York, when
on a visit to Indianapolis had the advantage of inspecting the
method of construction, and was also accorded access to the cost
records of tbe job. He found that tbe plant consists of one
Moore trench-digging machine (largest size); ten buckets of
tbe bottom dumping type; one No. 3 Emerson vacuum pump,
with 5-in. suction and 4-in. discharge; one No. 2 Foote concrete
mixer; one 20-horsepoi,ver Lidgerwood engine and boiler for
trencli machine; one 30-horsepower boiler for pump; one 10-
horsepower boiler for mixer; sixteen wheelbarrow.s, picks, shov¬
els, etc.

The excavating was done by the regular method of the.
Moore Trench machine in which the concreting goes on be¬
tween the point of excavating and the back fill. The cost of
excavation work can be figured by comparing tbe average
amount of 3011 cubic yards per day with the following summary
of the pay roll, which is from an account given by Mr, Ripley
in the Municipal Engineer:

Rate
per day.

Time   keeping   and   superintendence..............................$(5,(10

Half   of   blacksmith's   time at................................   1.25

One   engineer   for   trench   machine  at............................  3.50

One  engineer for boiler and pump  at.........................   3.50

Pour   teams   scraping   and   hauling   at.........................  4,00

Forty men excavating and driving sheet piling with mauls at,   1.75
The total payroll was $100,25 a day, or 33.4 cents per cubic yard.

The average amount of concrete made per day in this 7-foot
sewer was 58 cubic yards, or one cubic yard per running foot.
Each cubic yard required 1V4 barrels of Lehigh Portland ce¬
ment,  at .$1.-10 per barrel.

The pay roll  is summarized as follows:

Rate
per day.

Time   keeping   and   superintendence.........,..................$0 OU

Half  of  blacksmith   at.........................................   1,25

Four  carpenters   on   forms   at...................................  3.00

One   engineer   for   concrete   mixer   at.........................   3,50

Ten men  with  wheelbarrows at.............:...................   1.7.5

Six   men  feeding mixer  at.....................................   I.75

Four   men   placing   concrete   at..................................   I.75

The sum of this pay roll is $57,75. or practically .$t per cubic
yard. The cost of the cement. $1.7.5, added to this, makes $2,75,
tbe other materials costing nothing but tbe handling, which is
included  in   tbe cost of excavation above.

------------•------------

CONVENTIONS NEXT WEEK.

Two conventions of interest to readers of the Record and '
Guide will be held in Chicago next week—tbe eleventh annual
gathering of tlie International Acetylene Association and the
first national meeting of Building Managers. The second prom¬
ises to be the beginning of an annual movement. New York
will be represented by speakers at hoth conventions. Mr. R,'
P. Bolton, the well-known engineer, will deliver an address op
the '"Operation of Elevator Service" before the building man¬
agers. At tbe other meeting tbe New York speakers and their
subjects will be as follows: "Burner Troubles, tbe Cause and
Remedy," J. M, Brock, of the Wm. M. Crane Co.; "Ethics of
Selling Goods," M. Kirchberger, of M. Kirchberger & Co.; "Tbe
History and Present Status of the Oxy-Acetylene Blowpipe in
America," Augustine Davis, of the Davis Acetylene Co., and
"Tbe Present and Future of Dissolved Acetylene." Oscar F,
Ostby, of the Commercial Acetylene Co.

The other subjects and speakers at the Building Managers'
Convention are as follows: "Systematic Management." R. A.
Lemcke, of Indianapolis, Ind.; "Economy in Electric Lamps,"
Geo, Loring, of Cleveland, Ohio; "Management in the West,"
F, W, Picard of Los Angeles; ""Ventilation," Edward D, Sidman.
of Buffalo, N. Y,; "Paints and Varnishes." Edward J. Seward,
of Detroit. Mich.; "Cleaning Problems." J. S, Thurman, of St.
Louis, Mo. O. C. Saum. of Cleveland, Ohio, was scheduled to
speak on "Apartment House Management." but he will be un¬
able to be present.