Devoteüd to the Operating, Technical and Business
E. J. Me h r e n, Vice-President Problems of the Coal-Mining Industry Engineering Editor
Volume 27 '______________ N E W YORK, J U N E 4, 1925 Number 23
To What End?
B
IG A T T E N D A N C E , excellent and novel exhibits, p apers by th e b rig h te st m inds in th e coal in d u stry m arked th e A m erican M ining Congress Exposition and Conference. A g re a t event it was, in the opinion of every one present, full of prom ise fo r the in dustry. B ut its value depends on th e action of those who attended.Will it find a disposition in those who particip ated to th in k vigorously b u t to act w ithout purpose or decision?
Only by m aking use of w hat was seen and heard can any perm an en t profit come to those who attended. Not w h a t they heard, n o r w hat th ey saw, will a tte s t the value of th e m eeting. The tru e te st is to be found in w hat will be attem pted and achieved by men who gained in sp iratio n fro m w h at they saw and heard.
I t would be well if each m ine m anager, sup erin ten d ent, m ining, m echanical and electrical engineer who took tim e and expended money in atten d in g the expo
sition w rote down fo r th e o p erato r’s benefit ju s t w hat he learned th a t would reduce operating cost, laying special stress on such equipm ent as can be p u t in operation only w ith th e approval of th e operato r or of th e executive next above him. He should make his ideas definite. Im pressions are good b u t insufficient. W hat are th e actual savings in operation? W hat th e costs of investm ent? The statem en ts should be m ade con
crete, fo r if th e p ro g ram proposed, its profits and its costs be p u t in plain black and w hite, they will carry conviction w ith them . P roperly equipped, a m ine can m ake such larg e savings th a t th e trip to C incinnati can be paid fo r m any h undred tim es over.
So the p artic ip a n ts should take th e tim e to record and use w h a t has been obtained even if a few routine duties have fo r a tim e to be ignored. The purpose of going is only h a lf accomplished w hen the suitcase is unpacked in th e home town. I t m ay take weeks to set in m otion w hat th e tr ip revealed, b u t w ires should be laid w itho ut delay fo r effective use in com pleting the p rogram which attendance a t th e m eeting indicated would b est lower production costs.
Coal-Dust Shelving
R
OCK-DUST B A R R IER S are useful in extinguish- _ in g explosions, and seeing how neatly they operate, one wonders w hy coal men are not m ore eager to elim inate “coal-dust shelving” from the m ines, by which term m ay be designated the horizontal tim b erin g on which coal d u st so readily collects. F requ ently the roof is p erm itted to fall to a height of tw enty or th irty feet, and cross tim b e rs re stin g on tim ber sets fill up the in terv en in g space. T his form s the equivalent of a series of shelves. Such shelving is dangerous. A set of tim b e r m ay be to rn down and a cloud of dust will fall th a t m ay be readily ignited by a sh o rt circu it or, possibly, an open lamp.If, in places w here such in ju ry to the roof is likely to occur, a coating of cem ent m o rta r had been used
the fall probably would never have happened, the tim ber would have been saved and th e explosion would have been obviated. A little care to avoid th e in tro duction of such shelves will increase the a ir-c a rry in g capacity of th e roadway, save the cost of rem oving dust from tim bers, reduce th e hazard from displaced sets, decrease th e fire risk, lighten the e n try and perhaps save the m ost d isastro us kind of an explosion. A rock- du st b a rrie r is an antido te fo r such coal-dust shelves, b u t why not avoid th e erection of such shelving by the judicious use of cem ent?
Just to Be Different
S
OME E N G IN E E R S delight to advocate stan d ard iz ation, bu t not a few k nife it every tim e they have an opportunity. In fa ct an engineer is often th e w orst enemy stand ardization has. The average business man usually is w illing to buy w hat the m ark et offers, bu t some engineers, ju s t to p u t th e stam p of th e ir indi
viduality on th e plans o r to get credit fo r genius, specify som ething— an y th in g —th e m ark e t does not provide.
Men of th is type d elight in changing specifications.
A ny man can agree but, he observes, it takes real in tel
lectual power to differ. T here is tr u th in th a t conten
tion so long as the differing is to some good end. Too freq u en tly it takes th e form of inducing the m an ufac
tu r e r to adopt som ething he has trie d and proved to be undesirable, or a t least som ething he knows will fail o r a t least embodies p a rts th a t are no t necessary.
However, th e re are exceptions. The insurgency a g a in st stan d ard s by men who have th e ability to de
sign and define b e tte r equipm ent is a source of prog ress to be encouraged. S tan d ard s m ust not, a t least unduly, bind progress, and th e engineer will som etim es compel an im provem ent th a t th e m a n u fa c tu re r fails to recog
nize or one which, fo r purposes of m a n u fa ctu rin g bu t not of o p eratin g economy, he h esitates to make.
B u t changes m ade ju s t to be different, ju s t to su b stan tia te th e claim th a t the engineer “helped” in the design, m ere idiosyncracies th a t destroy th e re g u la r processes of m an ufacturing , are to be deplored. As a rule the equipm ent of the m a n u fa c tu re r is th e product of much ea rn est tho ug ht, p a tie n t experim entation and long experience, and it is no t to be carelessly sw ept aside by men who have given it no th o u g h t and no tria l and have no experience in the operation of th e device, and who seek a change m erely to claim a sh are in th e triu m p h which th e installation of th e m achine will assure. They like to sa y : “W orks like a charm , b u t it wouldn’t have done so well i f I had n ’t insisted on th is or th a t.” W hen such a statem en t is tru e th e insistence on the change m ay be well justified, b u t we fe a r th a t in m any cases a stan d ard design would be cheaper and m ore effective.
How fa ta l a t tim es, when th e specifier is in a maze of doubt, is th e need fo r w ritin g specifications! It
815
816 C O A L A G E Vo l. 27, No. 23
is tru e th a t th e m a n u fa c tu re r’s plans and even his m aterials m ig h t be considerably modified w itho ut much h arm to th e resu ltin g equipment. T here is an elem ent of chance in even th e m ost careful design. B u t it does no t follow th a t, because th e m a n u fa c tu re r h as m ade a guess or two, the purchaser should m ake another, fo r th e design has been tested and the shop practice has been b u ilt around th e model th u s designed. Conse
quently, on th e one hand th e m a n u fa c tu re r’s ju dg m ent has been sustained by experience, and on th e other, he has ventured so much on its correctness th a t unless it is proved w rong it is best not to m ake any change.
The pen of th e specificator is a fe a rfu l and w onderful instru m ent. Much h arm can be done by it w ith the m ost excellent intentions, b u t in th e hands of a capable mechanical and electrical engineer it is fr u itfu l of good result.
A nother m a tte r no t always realized is the fa c t th a t th e m a n u fa ctu rer w hen called upon to m ake special designs is an innovator and cannot be expected to g u a r
antee his m achinery th u s changed. He certainly does no t care to do so when the change h as been m ade to his own d etrim en t and, as often happens, a g a in st h is b e tte r judgm ent.
Unity in Business
B
Y STEADY, energetic and tru ly p a trio tic effort the C ham ber of Commerce of th e U nited S tates h as established itse lf as a strong, creative body from which much m ay be expected. T he w ord of th e business world needs to be heard. L abor has its council in th e A m eri
can F ed eratio n by w hich it is enabled to speak as a unit. I t is only fittin g th a t business should have sim ilar rep resentation, no t as a body inim ical to lab or b u t as re p resen tin g th e view point of m en whose jud gm en t as to th e best in te re sts of th e public m ay be, and will be, helpful in fra m in g national policies.
Though re p resen tin g only a group in th e body politic, the business m en c o n stitu tin g th e C ham ber have tak en a quiet and broad view of national affairs, seeking not so m uch th e ir own advantage as th e larg e in te re st of th e A m erican people. They have, m oreover, a rriv ed a t a degree of team w ork which cannot fa il of assistance in fra m in g legislation on a broad basis of m utual help.
In d u strie s no longer view them selves as sep arate un its striv in g to b e tte r them selves to th e disadvantage of th e o th er units. They are no t “robber b arons” b en t on preying upon one an o th er or on those th ey employ.
In th e C ham ber of Commerce th ey m eet to prom ote a common natio n al in te re st. T he m ine ow ners are not th e re to launch an a ttac k on th e c a rrie rs, n o r th e ca r
rie rs to h a ra ss th e m ine owners. They a re m et to find th e common in te re st and to asc ertain w ays of im prov
ing th e well being of th e ir own and other in du stries.
These are indeed helpful contacts. T he m ixing of different in tere sts is always advantageous. Travel, th ey say, broadens men, only it is not trav e l th a t does it, b u t contact. N ow here is contact m ore m arvelously rap id th a n a t conventions, and a t no convention is i t b ro a d er both geographically and ind u strially th a n in th e Cham ber.
No in d u stry , it m ay be added, needs th e influence of th is organization m ore th a n th a t of coal m ining. B eing fran k ly a provincial in d u stry alm ost all of its operators, if n o t its in d u strial leaders, are aw ay fro m th e la rg e r cities. I t is an in d u stry seg reg ated fro m whole states in w hich its m any clients and th e m ost im p o rtan t of th em live. I t needs to keep in touch w ith other ind us
trie s th a t it m ay advance its proper in te re st by re p re
sen tin g its view point in a broad, conservative way, a t a p oin t w here th e v ery atm osphere favors a kindly, th o u g h tfu l, and dispassionate consideration of its claims
Coal m ining needs to be an in teg ra l p a r t of th e n a
tional consciousness. I t cannot glory in “splendid iso
lation.” I t needs frie n d s if ever an in d u stry did. I t needs also th e long view. I t should in te re st itself in the Cham ber and do it in a broad, con tributo ry sp irit. E s
sential and fundam ental in p atrio tism is th e s p irit of co-operation, co-ordination and fellowship.
The C ham ber of Commerce of th e U nited S tates, re
cently dedicated its new building w ith app ro p riate cere
monies, celebrating thereby, th irte e n years of construc
tive effort and steady progress. May its fu tu re be as progressive as its p a st! May it find a form ula of co
operation in th e w elter of disagreem ent! May it seek national policies th a t will build a s tru c tu re of business as delightful to the consciousness of men as the edifice it has erected in W a sh in g to n ! May it be a force fo r sound economic th in king and a cen ter of co-operation!
W ith 1,800 local cham bers and tx-ade associations in its m em bership and 12,000 individual and associate m em berships, w ith an annual income of $1,000,000, and, b e tte r still, w ith a record fo r excellent leadership and honorable achievem ent it can look fo rw ard to a b rillia n t and helpful fu tu re , an aid to all who w ish well fo r our nation and the whole world.
Why Dine at the Second Table?
F
ROM A LL S ID E S the a n th ra c ite in d u stry is being assailed. The h ig h costs of operation are m aking h ard coal a “luxury fuel” and it is a lu xu ry some are not w illing to afford. A leading cure fo r high costs is b e tte r equipm ent. We believe a n th ra c ite men realize th a t fact. But, if so, w hy do they not atten d in large num bers th e expositions and congresses w here these problem s are being studied and solved?The bitum inous in d u stry has been regard ed w ith contem pt by m any hard-coal men, b u t stead ily th a t in d u stry has increased its efficiency. I t has its exposi
tions fo r th e stud y of new m achinery and m aterials.
Most of th e equipm ent is ju s t as applicable to an th ra cite m in in g in some one o f its m any p h ases; some is even m ore applicable.
I f th e a n th ra c ite in d u stry does not have its own show
— and th a t is n o t necessary— it should atten d those already b eing “held. I f i t did, it would soon have its own view point given ap p ro p riate atten tio n . I t could co ntrib ute and could learn fro m th e contrib utio ns of others. W hy sta n d alone when so m uch is to be gained from co-operation? W hy should so m uch p rog ress in th e development of coal m in in g today g et its first s ta r t and exemplification a t th e bitum inous m ines? Cer
tain ly not because th e an th ra c ite o p erato r has not th e w herew ithal, financially and m entally, to ta k e a leading p a r t in technical advances.
T h e A t t e n d a n c e a t th e A m erican M ining Congress in C incinnati of so m any a n th ra c ite m en w as encourag
ing. I t is to be hoped th a t th is indicates a g re a te r com m unity of in te re st developing between the b itu m inous and h ard coal branches of th e in d u stry . T here is real benefit to be gained from b e tte r m utual under
standing.
JUNE 4 , 1 9 2 5 C O A L A G E 8 1 7
A m erican M ining Congress Draws Many To Cincinnati
Great Machinery Exposition and Four D ays’ D iscussion of Mine Problems Bring Out B est Ideas Not Only of Bituminous Men but
Anthracite Producers as W ell
B y R. D aw son H all
E n g i n e e r i n g E d i t o r , C o a l A g e
A MORE IN T E R E S T IN G p ro g ram th a n ever, b e tte r exhibits, and a la rg e r attendance th an a t pre- vious m eetings m arked the N ational Exposition of Coal M ining M achinery and E qu ipm ent of th e A m erican M ining C ongress in C incinnati, Ohio, d u rin g la st week. T his year, though some of the la rg e r a n th ra cite com panies had no officials present, th e re was, fo r th e first tim e, a good re p resen ta tio n from th e an th ra cite region. I t is ce rtain all those who attended will be re
p ea te rs n ex t year, m any re g re ttin g th a t th ey had not bro u g h t m ore of th e ir officials w ith them .
T here is no g re a t difference basically betw een the bitum inous and an th ra c ite regions and in m any in stances papers presented by an th ra cite men gave facts and figures th a t w ere duplicated by the bitum inous men presen t. The differences between the two branches of th e in d u stry has been played up to the disadvantage of both. W hen th e rep resen tativ es of a n th ra c ite and bitum inous regions get to g eth er th ey soon reveal the close analogies between th e ir problem s. A bout 1,800 persons w ere p resen t and both the show and th e fo u r days of m eetings drew larg e crowds of interested spectators and hearers.
Everyone was too busy to care much about en ter
tainm en t. However, a w ell-attended, well-staged sm oker w as held on W ednesday, May 27, and a banquet on
T hursday, May 28. J. C. W ilson presided a t the banquet, introducing as first speaker E. W. P ark e r, A n th ra cite B ureau of Inform ation, Philadelphia, Pa.
Mr. P a rk e r declared in his address, entitled “ Some Problem s in th e A n th ra cite In d u stry ,” th a t th e pro
ducer of a n th ra c ite had been in th e p a st able to sell his broken coal fo r b last fu rn ace and steam boat use. These larg e coals w ere no longer in much demand and had to be broken up. T h a t was one of th e causes fo r th e larg e q u an tity of small sizes produced, fo r w hich th e a n th ra c ite producer had to find, and w as finding, new uses.
H. L. Gandy, executive secretary, N ational Coal Asso
ciation, said th a t th e coal in d u stry w as in trouble because of th e pro digality of N a tu re and th e lack of ju d g m en t of m an. The coal in d u stry was n o t one w here low ering of price h as an im m ediate effect on th e volume of business, or th e re m ig h t be m ore excuse fo r th e low prices prevailing. Low price and low dem and in th e coal in d u stry go hand in hand. No reduction in price, no m a tte r how drastic, can induce th e p u r
chaser of coal to buy one pound m ore th a n will drive his engines and h eat his house.
The u n fo rtu n a te condition in th e bitum inous in d u stry has been b ro u g h t about p artly by th e annual displace
m ent of 75,000,000 to 100,000,000 tons of coal by oil,
8 1 8 C O A L A G E Vo l. 27, No. 23
One of the South’s Good Coal Properties—Sayreton Mine, Republic Iron & Steel Co. Near Birmingham, Ala.
and by economies in th e use of coal causing 60,000,000 tons less coal to be produced and, fu rth e r, by the reduc
tion in the use of coal by railroads due to the sm aller tonnage of coal handled.
The glu t of coal h as been increased by the g re a t advances in th e use of m echanical devices. The excess production has caused the operato rs to increase the productive capacity of th e ir plants so as to reduce costs, and th is had a fu r th e r effect in increasin g the glut of coal and in deepening the sag in the price curve.
He contended th a t it was alw ays a healthy condition in any in d u stry fo r it to have some excess capacity.
The d uty of the coal in d u stry he believed w as n o t to remove entirely th a t condition b u t to learn to exist happily under it as o ther in d u stries do. The two g re a t and malevolent conditions in the in d u stry w ere the tendencies to sell below cost and ship w ith ou t p rio r orders.
George B. H a rrin g to n , Chicago, W ilm ington &
F ra n k lin Coal Co., Chicago, 111., spoke briefly on the coal situ atio n and was followed by Jam es F. Call- b reath , secretary of the A m erican M ining Congress who introduced P h il P enna. Mr. P en na said it w as well fo r m a n u fa ctu rers and m ining men to g et to g eth er as a t the p resent m eeting w here they could learn to ap p re
ciate one another. Lack of acquaintance w as one of th e principal difficulties in all hum an relations. Labor and capital should m eet and learn to know each other, b u t th e union w as jealous fo r it knows th a t acquaintance spells frien d sh ip and frien d sh ip th e decline of union supremacy.
Mr. C allbreath declared th a t unless th e operator sold his coal first and mined it afte rw a rd s he would be forced out of business.
W. L. Affelder m ade an address w ith la n te rn slides show ing charts used by him to keep track of costs of production. He declared th a t the whole labor and sup
ply cost of th e coal m ig h t go down b u t th a t in the to tal cost p er ton m ig h t be found item s th a t w ent eith er up or down. By learn in g w hich w ent up and in qu iring why, keeping in m ind th e volume of production a t any tim e, i t w as possible to asc ertain leaks in cost which
m ig ht otherw ise be overlooked or condoned. He read le tte rs which had been addressed to his local officials calling a tten tio n to excessive costs w hich m arked w astes in operation.
J. E rn e st Allen, H ayden Stone & Co., New Yoi'k City, spoke on the “Coal In d u stry and the In v esting Public.”
He pointed out th a t 750,000 m en w ere employed in it, twice as m any as in the steel or in - th e automobile ind ustry. A m erica produces, said he, 45 p e r cent of th e coal of th e world. U nderground w ere 200,000 mile3 of railroad, a length com parable w ith th e m ileage of stan dard -g age road on th e su rface which is 400,000 miles. The 50,000 miles of electrified tra c k u n d er
ground was equal to the m ileage of all the surface electrified roads of th e country—s tre e t railw ays and railroads.
The New Y ork Edison Co. is about to spend $50,000,- 000 on a big power p lan t and th a t plan t will use coal.
He fe lt th a t coal m igh t suffer from oil, b u t basically coal was the g re a t source of pow er and would be in th e fu tu re . T his fa c t m ade th e b an ker feel th a t in an investm ent in coal he had som ething intrinsically safe so long as h is choice of a p ro p erty w as properly made.
Mr. Allen said th a t 97 p e r cent of th e m ines w ere of th e sm aller types. Only 3 p e r cent w ere la rg e r m ines capable of m eeting severe com petitive conditions. He believes th a t consolidations a re necessary. The sm aller u n its should be am algam ated into a reasonable num ber of la rg e r units.
The b ank er needs, said Mr. Allen, a long record of profitable operation, if he is going to dispose of th e securities he u n derw rites. He does no t desire to keep them on h is hands and he knows th e investor m u st be satisfied th a t th e bonds and stocks will b rin g him assured income.
“ Choose your banker,” said Mr. Allen, “and th en be fra n k w ith him . Lay all y our cards, face up, on th e table. The b ank er will no t b etra y your confidence. Do not th in k he will w an t to ru n y o u r busines. His in te re st is in banking and he is w ise enough to know th a t he cannot be both b anker and in d u stria list.”
Ju n e 4 , 1 9 2 5 C O A L A G E 8 1 9
M echanical, E lectrical D ifficulties
W ide-Awake Group of Mining Men D iscusses U se of A cid-R esisting Metals, Speed Reducers, W atthour
Meters and Storage Batteries
R
U N N IN G TR U E to the announce- . m ent, th e C incinnati m eetings w ere m eetings of o p erating men. R.L. K ingsland, su perintendent of the pow er and m echanical departm ent, Consolidation Coal Co., F airm ont, W. Va., faced a larg e and highly rep resen tativ e assem blage when, as chairm an of th e first m orning ses
sion, he opened th e inform al m eeting, by g e ttin g s tra ig h t a t th e w ork in hand, calling on J. A. Malady, elec
tric a l engineer of th e H illm an Coal
& Coke Co., P ittsb u rg h , to comment on “The Use of Acid R esisting M etal fo r Mine D rainage E quipm ent.” Mr.
M alady outlined the practice and ex
perience of th e H illm an Coal & Coke Co. in th e handling of m ine w aters having from 10 to 500 g ra in s of sulphuric acid per U. S. gallon. Up to 1922, h is company trie d out and used east iron, acid re sistin g bronze, and cement, in pump construction.
In 1922, it began experim enting w ith chrom -iron. A piece of th is alloy, a f te r 90 days subm ersion in a highly corrosive w ater, showed no app re
ciable loss of w eight. As a result, valve p a rts m ade of th is m etal were installed in several m ine pumps, fol
lowed by the use of o th er p a rts, and finally by th e use of chrom -iron m etal fo r th e casings of centrifugal pum ps.
No Loss Aft er Two Years
A fte r two years of actual use, no loss could be detected in th e new p a rts . As a com parison, th e acid re sistin g bronze form erly used under th e sam e conditions, lasted only fifteen days to th re e m onths. Mr.
M alady stated th a t apparen tly the m an u fa ctu rers have no t been able to keep pace w ith th e needs and de
velopm ents of th e user.
To th is, W. H. W adington, of the D riv e r-H a rris Co., replied th a t the wide v arie ty of sizes and types of p a rts which th is company is asked
to cast of “ Cim et” requires the con
s ta n t solving of new problem s in the handling of th e new alloy. Pum p casings w eighing as high as ,2,500 lb. each, have been made.
M ention of sand pum ps broug ht out th e point th a t th e operator should always specify th a t th e pump is to be used fo r sand, fo r the reason th a t the m an u fa ctu rers can then vary the grad e of hard n ess of th e m etal to su it the condition under which the m achine will be expected to operate.
L. W. Householder, chief engineer, R ochester & P itts b u rg h Coal Co., stated th a t the chrom -iron pum ps which his company has in use, have operated fo r m ore th an 4,000 hr.
and show no signs of w ear, th e p re
sent indications being th a t they will la st indefinitely. The acid-resisting bronze pum ps lasted only about 8,000 hr., and th e cem ent-lined pum ps only 4,000 hr.
De sc ribes Local Spot Failures
An in vestig atio n of local spot fa ilu re s in bronze cases w as de- sci-ibed by M r. K ingsland. A nalysis of th e p a r t ad jacen t to one failu re showed 0.14 p er cent zinc, while th e unaffected p a rts showed no traces of zinc. O thers p resent also stated th a t zinc content is a d etrim en t in acid- re sistin g bronze.
M r. K iser called atten tio n to the lack of u n ifo rm ity in physical h a rd ness and tensile stre n g th of an in
dividual castin g and of separate castin g s o f th e chrom -iron alloy, sug
gestin g th a t th e m an u fa ctu rers try to elim inate these featu res.
H ardness, as explained by Mr.
W adington, is reg ulated to a g re a t extent, by th e p u rity of th e content.
Recently it has been found th a t th e adding of 1 to 2 p er cent of nickel elim inated to a g re a t exten t the tendency tow ard porous and uncer
ta in castings, b u t th is am ount of nickel in an alloy containing 28 to
30 per cent of chrom iun, apparently does not decrease th e acid-resistin g properties.
Carl Lee, electrical engineer, P ea
body Coal Co., Chicago, inquired as to the m ethods th a t others are using fo r checking th e w ear of cen trifu g al pum ps by m easu ring th e w a te r de
livered. Mr. K iser stated th a t his company fits each pump w ith an am m eter and th a t when the c u rre n t drops 10 per cent below norm al, th e pum p is opened to inv estig ate th e trouble. Mr. K ingsland advocates the use of both a voltm eter and an am m eter, in order to avoid the e rro rs due to voltage fluctuations.
A. B. Jessup called atten tio n to th e practice of one company of n eu tra liz
ing the acid of m ine w a te r before use in a coal w ashery. Roughly speaking, th e w a te r req uirem ents are 1,000 gal. p er m inute p er 1,000 tons daily coal production. A bout one ton of lime p er day is required. The cost of th is trea tm e n t, including labor, is $10 to $12 per day. Con
siderably m ore th an th is am ount is ■ saved by reduced m aintenance of the screens, chutes and o th er equipm ent.
Only about 60 per cent of th e acid in th e w a te r is neutralized. T his degree of neu tralizatio n is sufficient to prolong th e life of the steel plates and screens to a period g re a te r th an th e life of bronze w hen used w ith th e plain un treated, acidulous m ine w ater.
Ad v a ntag es of Speed Reducers
The second su b ject discussed w as
“ Speed R educers.” H. D. Sm ith, general su p erin ten d en t ot th e A m eri
can Coal Co., McComas, W. Va., out
lined th e advantages of th is type of drive and described th e applications a t th e A m erican Coal Co. m ines w here seventeen speed reducing units a re in operation or in th e process of installation. Some of these have been in use over 18 m onths and as
C O A L A G E Vo l. 2 7 , N o . 2 3
y et-n o n e have show n any signs of trouble.
Speed reducers proved to be of p a rtic u la r advantage in th e remodel
ing of old tipples, because of th e small space required. A 50 to 1 red ucer replacing an open g ea r tra in , of, fo r instance, five to ten counter
shafts; goes in a case 24-in. to 30-in.
in diam eter. A lthough th e speed re ducer ru n s 10 to 20 p e r cent h ig h er in first cost th a n open gearing , th e re can be a m ateria l saving in the cost of th e su pporting stru c tu re . Besides th e space-saving fe atu re, th e speed reducer h as th e advantages of h ig h er efficiency, absolute protection a g a in st d ust on w earing surfaces, g re a te r safety, and of m aking it possible to use a h ig h speed m otor which is m uch cheaper and m ay operate w ith b e tte r efficiency.
The th ird subject d ea lt'w ith a t the m orning session w as “Economies W hich Can Be Effected by P ro p er Use of W a tth o u r M eters.” W illiam Lam ont, general su perintendent of th e S terlin g Coal Co., B akerton, Pa., described the use of w a tth o u r m eters by h is company. H e ra te s th e w a tt
ho u r m eter as th e w atch dog of th e power cost. P ow er d istrib u tio n a t th e S terlin g m ines averages as fol
low s: T ra n sp o rtatio n 43 per cent, ventilation 27 p er cent, cu ttin g 11 p e r cent and pum ping 19 p er cent.
M r. L am ont described and exhibited several form s used in keeping a log of m eter readings. H is company’s practice of reading ce rtain m eters hourly, is ra th e r unusual. In one instance a high reading led to an in vestigation of trouble on the line.
T h is proved to be a broken 500,000 cm. ground or re tu rn line, th e break being concealed by a fall of rock.
J. A. Malady
E l e c t r i c a l E n g i n e e r , H i l l m a n C o a l &
C o k e C o ., P i t t s b u r g h , P a . , w h o s p o k e a t C i n c i n n a t i o n “ T h e U s e o f A c i d - R e s i s t i n g M e t a l f o r M i n e D r a i n a g e E q u i p m e n t . ”
Mr. L am ont stated th a t the S te rl
ing company is now experim enting w ith th e application of w a tth o u r m eters to m ine locomotives. H is contention is th a t th e re cannot be an in telligent check w ith o u t m eters fo r d eterm ining th e d istrib utio n.
In reply to a question by G raham B rig h t, of P itts b u rg h , as to the trouble in keeping w a tth o u r m eters in w orking condition on m ine loco
m otives, Mr. Lam ont sta te d th a t the experim ents on th is application are not f a r enough along to ju s tif y any conclusions. Josiah Keely, general m anag er of th e Cabin Creek Consoli
dated Coal Co., K aford, W. Va., stated th a t m eters proved to them th a t a $2,500 investm ent in copper could be paid fo r in two years by the power saving effected.
C arl Lee gave an in tere stin g de
Big Tandem Storage Battery Locomotive
T h e s e t w o 8 0 - c e l l u n i t s a r e u s e d b y t h e P h e l p s D o d g e C o r p . i n i t s S t a g C a n y o n m i n e s a t D a w s o n , N . M . T h e s e m i n e s e v e n t u a l l y m a y b e c o n v e r t e d c o m p l e t e l y t o s t o r a g e b a t t e r y o p e r a t i o n f o r s a f e t y ' s s a k e . E x p e r i m e n t a t i o n w i t h b a t t e r y u n i t s h a s b e e n g o i n g o n a t D a w s o n f o r m o r e t h a n a y e a r .
scription of conclusions based on ten to twelve y ears of m eter d istrib u tio n a t m ines of th e Peabody Coal Co.
The pow er p er ton tak en by electric h oists h as v aried as little as 0.5 per cent from one y ea r to another, and some of th e hoists, a f te r twelve years of service, show practically no in crease, ind icating th e con stan t effi
ciency of electrical equipm ent, i f properly m aintained.
D u rin g th e period of th e w ar, when larg e production, w as th e g re a t factor, Mi-. Lee stated th a t power req uirem en ts p e r ton inside of th e m ines increased alm ost 40 p e r cent.
T his has now been reduced to th e p re-w ar figure by additions of copper.
G raham B rig h t asked fo r experi
ences on m eterin g of houses owned by coal companies. M r. K ingsland stated th a t, in h is opinion, i t pays to in stall a m eter in every house.
J. H. E dw ards, A ssociate E d ito r, Coal A ge, stated th a t Mr. Sienknecht, of th e Blue Diam ond Coal Co., K en
tucky, has concluded th a t it will pay h is company to in stall house m eters a t each m ine. The company now h as one propei'ty m etered and collects an average of $1.90 p er house p e r m onth a t a ra te of 74c. p e r kw .-hr. as com
p ared to an average of $1.05 p er m onth p e r house a t th e com pany’s o th er m ines.
Meters Save Power
In reply to this, several operators who a re using m eters and consider th a t it pays, stated th a t th e ir experi
ence h as been th a t, a f te r th e first month, th e average revenue p er house drops below th a t resu ltin g when th e flat ra te of charge is in force, which, of course, m eans a m arked decrease in th e am ount of power used on th e house lig h tin g circuit.
B. F . Grimm, su p erin ten d en t of th e pow er and m echanical d e p a rt
m ent, W est V irg in ia D ivision, Con
solidation Coal Co., F airm o n t, con
tended th a t w a tth o u r m e te rs w ill not necessarily tell th e condition of c ir
cuits, because of th e o ther facto rs w hich influence th e relativ e power consum ption p er u n it of coal produc
tion. H e th in k s th a t th e g rap hic voltm eter is th e b est in stru m e n t fo r checking circuits.
“General Use of S torag e B atteries in M ines” w as th e la st su bject dis
cussed a t th e T uesday m o rn ing session. J. B. Hicks, electrical engineer, Consolidation Coal Co., F airm o n t, led by describing six ap- lications of sto rag e b a tte rie s a t m ines.
Ju n e 4, 1925 C O A L A G E 821 The Consolidation company’s ex
perience sta rte d in 1915, when it in
stalled two special-type, com bination, trolley and b a tte ry locomotives fo r g ath erin g . F o u r years la te r it had fifty-one of the com bination loco
m otives in use.
Now th is firm is using several s tra ig h t storage b a tte ry locomotives in gaseous m ines. F o r g ath erin g , a b a tte ry of 55 kw .-hr. capacity is used, th e average perform ance being eigh ty to 110 cars g ath ered in an 8-hr. sh ift, th e odom eter indicat
ing an average of eighteen m iles travel. The m ain line haulage loco
m otives consist of a chassis and a set of tw o b a tte rie s and th e ir com
partm en ts. One b a tte ry is used while th e other is in the b arn being charged. The capacity of each b a t
te ry is 110 kw.-hr. and th e re are enough cells to make th e operating voltage approxim ately 230. The b a t
te rie s are changed in th e m iddle of each sh ift, which change requ ires only about 6 min. One of these loco
m otives hauled la st year 238,000 tons of coal and it is estim ated th a t the two b atterie s of one locomotive will haul between 500,000 and 600,000 tons of coal before having to be replaced.
B atteries have now been used over two years fo r o perating coal cu ttin g m achines in gaseous m ines of the Consolidation Coal Co. These b a t
te rie s have a capacity of 91 kw.-hr.
and the tru ck s on which they are m ounted are self-propelling. I t is estim ated th a t one b a tte ry will in its life, cut 350,000 tons of coal of a ch aracter sim ilar to th a t in th e Pocahontas field.
M r. Hicks sta te d th a t the Consolida
tion company now h a s two electric
ally operated m ines w hich are p rac
tically devoid of any sta tio n a ry elec
tric circuits, and will have a th ird in a sh o rt tim e. Two applications of batteries, which as y et are in the development stage, are th e portable b a tte ry tru ck fo r o p eratin g m ine pumps, and portable a ir compressors.
The sixth application of the b atterie s about th e m ines, as m entioned by Mr. Hicks, w as th a t of a sta tio n a ry u n it a t tipple to operate an engine- coaling la rr y in case of fa ilu re of line power.
Mr. B ra n t described th e two n in e
teen-ton b a tte ry locomotives which are operated in tandem on a m ain haul in a New Mexico m ine.
The to tal b a tte ry capacity is 465 am p.-hr. The b a tte rie s are boosted from a trolley d u rin g a 12-min. ou t
side haul, resu ltin g in a lOO-amp.-hr.
finish of th e sh ift. T h is duty r e quires about 565 am p.-hr. T his b a t
te ry locomotive was installed a s a re su lt o f an explosion w hich took place in th e m ine before th e trolley w ires w ere elim inated.
Com m enting on th e use of b a tte ry cu ttin g and h auling by th e Con
solidation Coal Co., M r. K ingsland stated th a t th e big th in g to be gained is safety, th is, apparently, can be done a t a sacrifice of little, if any, in o perating cost.
ONTROL of M ining E quip
m ent” was the general subject a t th e M ining C ongress d u rin g the second session fo r technical men.
There w as much in terested discus
sion of mechanical and electrical problem s. A. B. K iser, electrical engineer of the P itts b u rg h Coal Co.
presided as chairm an.
The first subject, Mine Pumps, was introduced by W. H. Lesser, electrical engineer of th e M adeira Hill Co., Frackville, Pa. In th is locality twelve to fifteen tons of w a te r are pum ped p er ton of coal shipped. Mr. L esser reviewed the developments in m ine pum ping, s ta rtin g w ith th e early steam pumps, some of which w ere equipped w ith floats fo r autom atically o p erating the steam th ro ttle . He showed how th e introduction of the ceiitrifugal
pump led to less w ork fo r the pump station atte n d a n t and n a tu ra lly to the final elim ination of th e services of an a tten d a n t m ade possible by complete autom atic control.
Many statio n s in th e an th ra cite m ines have a capacity of 1,000 gal.
p er m inu te or more, and the average head is between 300 and 600 ft.
Squirrel-cage m otors a re used on th e o rd in ary sizes, b u t slip-ring m otors are employed on th e la rg e r pumps.
Mr. Lesser described in detail the operation of a typical autom atic cen
trifu g a l pum ping un it. E very em er
gency is provided fo r in th e control equipm ent used.
M r. P ierce stated th a t h is com
pany has had fo u rteen pum ps oper
a tin g autom atically fo r over one year. The u n its are of 1,000 gal.
capacity and pum p a g a in st a 500 ft.
head. In order to elim inate, so f a r as possible, all chances of trouble, th e ce n trifu g al pum ps have been equipped w ith th r u s t b earin gs of of th e ball o r ro ller type, also w ith th erm o static relays. These pum ps receive atten tio n only d u rin g one 8-hr. sh ift, th is a tte n tio n being p ro vided by an inspector who m akes the rounds of all pum ps. A labor saving of $8,000 p e r y ea r h as been effected.
O n / m any au tom atic pum ping plants, no foot valve Is installed in th e suction line. T h is necessitates th e use of a dependable check valve in the discharge. Several u sers con
tended a t th e m eeting th a t th e o rd in ary single-clapper-type o f valve is no t sufficiently dependable. M r.
K iser cited a recen t case a t a P itts b u rg h Coal Co. m ine w here a
C ontrol o f E q u ip m en t In Coal M ines
Engineers Review Many Problems Involving Pumps, Fans, Tipple Machinery, H aulage Motors and
Types of Automatic Substations i
822 C O A L A G E Vo l. 27, No. 23 single-clapper type valve stuck open, Tipple M achinery was the subject W hen mine ru n coal is being loaded, causing dam age to th e pump by over- introduced by W. C. Adams, consult- a fte r screening and picking, th e re speeding in th e reverse direction, ing engineer, Allen & G arcia Co., su it is th a t larg e q u an titie s of slack The m ultiple valve was m entioned Chicago. He em phasized th e desir- are loaded before any lump reaches and favored by several operators and ab ility of a central control p o int th e car. T his applies every tim e the no one reported accidents w ith in- from which th e operative could see tipple is s ta rte d a f te r being em ptied stallations using th is type. all equipm ent, and suggested th a t of coal.
In introducing th e second subject, th is should be carefully taken into The control of m ine haulage equip- Mine F ans, L. W. Householder, account in the design of a tipple, m en t w as b ro u g h t before th e m eet- chief engineer, R ochester & P itts - P ro p er cascading of controls is im- ing by G raham B rig h t, consulting burgh Coal Co., Indiana, Pa., read p o rta n t so as to prevent the piling engineer, P ittsb u rg h . H e showed and commented upon a pap er pub- up of coal a t any point in case any why fo r years, th e d ru m controller lished some tim e ago by Mr. Mont- section of th e equipm ent is stopped, w as a fa irly satisfac to ry device. This gomery, of The Jeffrey M fg. Co. In Mr. Adams advocated the use of was because of th e ra th e r poor volt- th e comments he predicted an in- tim e-lim it control fo r tipple m otors age regulation on the m ine trolleys, creasing use of booster fans, which, to prevent dam age to m otors d urin g I f a locomotive got stuck w ith a heretofore, in m any cases have been s ta rtin g service. W ith m ere c u rre n t heavy load, th e voltage dropped very frow ned upon, because of the lack lim it acceleration a m otor m ay low, m aking th e arc easy to extin- of a perm issible m otor. “hang” on the line a t zero or re- guish when th e controller opened th e
An im p o rtan t point which Mr. duced speed and be dam aged if n ot circuit.
Householder emphasized is the com- properly protected. The m ore general use of altern at- mon tendency fo r a company to put Mr. K iser called atten tio n to th e ing c u rre n t and the introduction of in a fa n which is f a r too large fo r fa ct th a t on the new tim e-lim it con- the autom atic su bstatio n have m ade th e p resen t requirem ents. O ften a tro llers now available, th ere a re no a w onderful im provem ent in th e fa n is selected w ith th e idea of v ertical surfaces to catch the dust, average voltage regulation. Mr.
handling the ulitm ate volume of a ir This featu re, he thought, would B rig h t described the arc m a ste r as necessary and in m ost cases th is elim inate trouble w ith th is type of a crutch fo r the old controller. The u ltim ate requirem ent is overesti- control. Mr. Adams stated th a t new real solution is th e su b stitu tio n of m ated and never reached. T his m otors w ith double-wound ro to rs b u t contactor control, w hich is n othing m eans th a t fo r years a fa n designed w ithout slip rin g s are finding wide m ore th an ca rry in g th e idea of the fo r larg e volume and high p re ssu re favor fo r tipple work, because o f arc m aster a little fu r th e r and em- is operated a t a fractio n of its the elim ination of complicated w ir- ploying i t to break heavy arcs, capacity. T his results in excessive ing and m ulti-contactor s ta rte rs. The T he use of contactor control h as power losses which, in m ost cases, disadvantages of th is new-type m otor proved to be a blessing to some , would m ore th an pay for the instal- are its slightly lower efficiency and m ines, because it necessitates keep- lation of the second fan. lower power factor. ing feeder and trolley circu its in
M r. K iser described an in tere stin g O perators w ere cautioned a g a in st p rop er condition. I f th e line voltage fan installation a t an idle m ine of the practice of using ro to r resistan ce gets too low, the contactors m ay th e P ittsb u rg h Coal Co. The fan speed control w ith w ound-rotor in- refu se to operate,
norm ally operated a t 142 r.p.m.. and duction m otors on shaker screens. O ther advantages of contactor con- required 157 kw. I t is equipped The objection to th is practice is th a t tro l a r e : The m ain controller is
■ w ith a variable-speed, b ru sh -sh iftin g th e speed varies w ith the load. Mr. aw ay fro m the operator, thu s de
m otor. The fan is now operated a t Householder called atten tio n to th e creasin g th e d an g e r; a pow er saving 90 r.p.m. and ta k in g only 40 kw. lack of consideration of tipple de- is effected, especially in g a th e rin g A t lc. per kw .-hr. th is m eans a sav- sign ers to th e tim e required fo r coal w ork by th e fa c t th a t th e locomotive ing of §642.42 per month. to travel from th e dump to the car. is always sta rte d in s e rie s ; contactor
Power on the Spot
T h i s u n d e r g r o u n d s u b - s t a t i o n r e p r e s e n t s t h e l a s t w o r d i n t h e m o d e r n d e l i v e r y o f e l e c t r i c e n e r g y to ! t h e p l a c e s w h e r e i t i s u s e d i n t h e m i n e s . T h i s p h o t o g T a p h w a s t a k e n u n d e r g r o u n d i n t h e n e w g i a n t O r i e n t N o . 2 M i n e o f t h e C h i - c a g o , W i l m i n g t o n a n d F r a n k l i n C o a l C o ., a t W e s t F r a n k f o r t , 111.
Ju n e 4, 1925 C O A L A G E 823
Mine Substation of the New River Co., a t Mabscot, W. Va.
S â S l Æ S W £ K B e c k ie y Æ “
controllers m ore conveniently can be made flame-proof, because they are not so lim ited as to space as the drum controller, which m u st ordi
n arily be m ounted in the cab.
Mr. K iser stated th a t th e in stalla
tion of autom atic and sem i-auto
m atic substations alm ost demands contactor control of locomotives, fo r the reason th a t w ith drum control an autom atic substation may be locked off th e line by th e operators of several, locomotives keeping the controllers on a ru n n in g point while w aitin g fo r th e re tu rn of power.
In connection w ith th e m ention of the perm issible controller, Mr. B rig h t stated th a t th e tendency is now to elim inate gauze openings and to m ake the box a ir-tig h t and stron g enough to w ith stan d pressu res as high as 100 lb. p e r square inch which m ay be developed by a severe electrical arc o r explosion.
Mr. B rig h t m entioned a te s t made in a mine n e a r P ittsb u rg h , which showed a h ig h er efficiency fo r loco
m otives equipped w ith series-parallel controllers and two m otors each w ith single-gear-reduction drives, th a n fo r locomotives equipped w ith a single m otor and w orm g ear drives. He stated th a t it w as not determ ined how m uch of the saving w as due to the use of spur gears and how much due to series-parallel operation.
T here was some discussion of p er
m issible fuses of the type which can be renewed w ith o u t b rin g in g the equipm ent to th e outside. M r. B rig h t described a m ultiple type which gives th e operator a chance to in se rt sev
eral fuse elem ents in succession by sim ply tu rn in g a cran k o r handle in the outside of th e box. Mr. Ulsley described an o th er type in which the
fuse is turned and the contact broken, a fte r w hich th is fuse can be removed and the elem ent renewed.
The subject of control of au to m atic su bstation s w as presented by T. F. M cCarthy, electrical engineer, Clearfield B itum inous Coal Corp., In diana, P a. The sem i-autom atic substatio n he defined as one hav
ing direct-cu rren t reclosing circu it breakers, th erm o static b earin g re lays and single phase, low voltage, and overload protection on the al
tern a tin g -c u rre n t side. The sem i
autom atic statio n is satisfacto ry w here th e equipm ent can be reached w ithout much delay, in case of fa il
u re of th e alte rn a tin g -c u rre n t volt
age, th a t is, when these failu res or line in terru p tio n s are not too frequent.
The full autom atic su bstation is one protected a g a in st every condition and thus, outside of cleaning artd
inspection, requires no attention . H e said, his company is now saving between £35,000 to $40,000 p e r y ear by th e elim ination of su bstatio n op
erato rs. F ull autom atic substations are used in connection w ith th e sem i-autom atic type, th e com bina
tion usually being one full au to m atic, and several sem i-autom atics
in parallel.
As to the class of men necessary fo r ta k in g ca re of full autom atic substation equipm ent, Mr. M cC arthy stated th a t anyone who can read a w irin g d iag ram is capable of h and
ling th is work. O f the four, full autom atic substations, which they have in use, one is a 6,600-volt m otor-generator set, two are 500- volt converters and one a 250-volt converter.
Mr. K iser called atten tio n to the developments in high-speed circu it breakers, which b reak an arc before it gets to any appreciable size. T he use of such a b reak er he said, elim i
nates the necessity fo r f u r th e r de
velopment in th e arc chutes.
E. L. Hough, of the General Elec
tric Co. called atten tio n to th e h e a t
ing problem s b ro u g h t about by th e use of autom atic substations. W ith such equipm ent, th e door and w in
dows of the building are usually kept closed and locked, instead of open, w hereas, m anually operated statio n s are always in co nstan t atte n d ance and frequently opened. This m eans th a t m any of the autom at
ically equipped m achines are ru n n in g w arm er than they should. The ven
tila tio n should be given p a rtic u la r atten tio n when the building is being designed. The best plan is to pro vide ducts fo r th e passage of air.
Many Factors Contribute to Good Haulage
I n t h i s m a i n h a u U v a y w h e r e t r e m e n d o u s t o n n a g e s m o v e d a i l y , **ecl, 9 0 - l b . s t e e l a n d g o o d e n g i n e e r i n g h a v e c o n t r i b u t e d t o r e d u c e t r a n s p o r t a t i o n c o s t s t o a m i n i m u m .
824 C O A L A G E Vol. 27, No. 23
U n d ergrou n d L oadin g B y M achines
Keen Observers Review Progress in Developm ent of Loaders and Experts from Many M ines T ell of Experiences w ith Various T ypes
EC H A N IC A L LOADING is inevitable,” said E ugene Mc- Auliffe, p resid en t of the Union Pacific Coal Co., who served as chairm an of th e W ednesday m orning and a f
ternoon sessions of th e A m erican M ining C ongress devoted to th e p ra c
tical problem s in m achine loading.
He th u s voiced th e sentim ent of not only the o ther speakers b u t th e audi
ence as well. A bout 800 w ere p re s
ent and all kept th e ir seats until a f te r th e last w ord was spoken and th e m eeting adjourned.
Mr. McAuliffe co n tin u ed : “The n a tio n’s whole in d u stria l s tru c tu re is being stabilized; and in th is a d ju st
m ent m echanization is th e g re a te st force. The producer who has the finance and th e courage to m echanize will be am ong those saved while those who lack these req u isites will be am ong th e m issing. The s h ift from alm ost unlim ited use of hand shovels to loading m achines in coal m ines is no t revolutionary by any m eans; o th er in d u stries have done as m uch and m ore.”
Made Co m p r e h e n s iv e Survey
The degree to w hich loading m a
chines and th e ir operation have ad
vanced, as determ ined by th e re search study of th is problem by the C arnegie In s titu te of Technology in conjunction w ith th e U. S. B ureau of Mines, was outlined by F . E.
Cash, senior in vestigator. D u rin g th is study, R esearch Fellow E. H.
Johnson visited six ty -fo u r coal m ines in all p a rts of the country to observe the perform ance of th irty - five different kinds of m achines. A num ber of o th er devices in various stages of development are known to exist. These, however, will not be included in th e re p o rt of th e study, it being th e desire of those in te r
ested to keep th e fa c ts hidden u n til a f te r th e “bugs” a re removed. He
stressed th e p oin t th a t loading equip
m ent fo r old m ines generally m ust be different from th a t applied to new ones. W ith th e aid of lan tern slides, Mr. Johnson described a num ber of types of loaders th a t are now in use.
A ccording to A bner Lunsford, general m an ag er of th e F ordson Coal Co., Stone, Ky., who w as one of the speakers on “P ractical E xperiences in th e Use of M echanical L oaders,”
too much em phasis cannot be laid on co-ordination of efforts which even
tually will m ake m achine loading successful in m any m ines. The pro b lems re la tin g to th e practice fall into two classes: T h a t hav in g to do w ith the m achines them selves and th a t bearin g on m ine m ethods and layout. The engineer m u st be al
lowed to play an im p o rtan t p a rt in th is work. H e is of th e belief th a t 75 p er cent of th e m achine troubles- now encountered could be removed easily if th e m an u fa ctu rers spent m ore tim e in th e m ines stud ying conditions and methods.
Mr. L un sford described the con
ditions u nd er which loading m a
chines a re a t w ork in his m ines and gave th e resu lts obtained by th e ir use. In H en ry F o rd ’s K entenia mine a tr a c t of about 250 acres of the W allins Creek seam has been set aside fo r loading m achine experi
m ents. This seam is 6 to 7 ft. thick, is free fro m p a rtin g s and is over
laid w ith 8 ft. of draw slate and over
b urden averag in g about 800 ft. in depth. In th is a re s tr a ta of m as
sive slate and sandstone.
On l y Two Me n Required
One of the m achines being used is the M cKinlay e n try d riv er and loader. The first m achine of th is type th a t w as installed requ ired a crew of th re e m en— a ru n n e r, a helper and a ca r trim m er. A new M cKinlay m achine, which has been
recently installed, req u ires th e serv
ices of only two men. As th is m a
chine advances, cu ttin g and loading proceed sim ultaneously. The coal is fed fro m th e m achine to a Jeffrey portable conveyor. Flexible canvas tu b in g and a booster fa n tak e care of the dust m ade d u rin g th e cu ttin g operation.
In a te s t ru n w ith th is equipm ent an e n try was advanced 30 ft. in 3 h r.
and 3 m in. of actual operating tim e, b u t because of poor voltage a t the advanced face th e te s t could no t be continued th ro u g h o u t a full 8-hr.
period. A new su b statio n is now be
ing constructed so th a t before long the s h ift capacity of th is m achine will be known. In sp ite of the d if
ficulties first encountered w ith the m achine and in its application, it is advancing en tries a t a less cost th a n by hand m ethods. T he M cKinlay m achine easily should advance an en
tr y 40 ft. in 8 h r., day in and day out, or a t about th re e tim es the speed of custom ary m ethods.
Loaded 1.1 To n s per Min u t e
A 5 B U Joy also is being used fo r n arro w w ork in th is m ine. T his m achine has been trie d out on a longwall face. U nder such condi
tio ns it has loaded as much as fifty- five 3-tori cars in 2 i h r. or a t th e ra te of 1.1 tons p e r m in ute including delays. I t is capable of loading th ree tons of coal in 57 sec. However, d if
ficulty in controlling th e roof „has precluded m ining on a long face, fo r th e 'tim e being, a t least.
He said the 5 B U Joy is a suc
cessful loading m achine; some trouble has been encountered in th e fa ilu re of a few individual p arts, bu t this can and is being overcome. Al
though it is employed in n arro w work th e Joy has reduced costs 29c.
p e r ton. F u rth e r details of th e work being accomplished by these two
