Stationary steam engines, simple and compound; especially as adapted to light and power plants . advantages than the older forms of engines, because theyare especially designed for high speed. The objection tothe high speed engine, is the increased risk of wear, andof accident due to their rapid motion, and especially therisk, that when accidents do occur, as they will now andthen in the best regulated establishments, they may bevastly more serious than with engines working at ordinaryspeeds. The object of the precautions which are taken bybuilders of fast engines, are all directed to meeting
Stationary steam engines, simple and compound; especially as adapted to light and power plants . advantages than the older forms of engines, because theyare especially designed for high speed. The objection tothe high speed engine, is the increased risk of wear, andof accident due to their rapid motion, and especially therisk, that when accidents do occur, as they will now andthen in the best regulated establishments, they may bevastly more serious than with engines working at ordinaryspeeds. The object of the precautions which are taken bybuilders of fast engines, are all directed to meeting thiscontingency, and to making their machines safe againstaccident. These precautions are seen to be the strengthen-ing, and especially the stiffening, of all the parts exposed tothe stresses due to the action of inertia in the reciprocatingpieces; the adjustment of all parts to each other in such amanner as to avoid spring; the use of the best material;an effective system of lubrication; and the securing of themost perfect workmanship. Watt once congratulated himself that he was able to get. ELECTRIC LIGHTING PLANTS. Gg a Steam cylinder that only lacked three-eighths of an inchof being truly cylindrical; the builder of the high speedengine of to-day works to the thousandth of an inch, inlongitudinal measurements, and gets his cylindrical journalsexact to the twenty thousandth, perhaps to the fifty thou-sandth of an inch, a quantity which can be detected by agood workman. The contrast illustrates well the progressof a century in accuracy of workmanship where nicety isrequired. Such nicety, only, can make a fast running en-gine safe; such accuracy does make it safe, and suchengines now do their work uninterruptedly, year in and yearout, and are found to require no more than that ordinarycare which all engines are expected to receive. A Porter-Allen engine, from the Southwark Foundry,supplied power to the Weston, Edison, and the Thomson-Houston Electric Light Companies at the Rai
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Keywords: ., bookcentury1900, bookdecade1900, booksubjectsteamen, bookyear1902
