April 16, 1915. THE COLLIERY GUARDIAN. 809 THE JEFFREY WAGON LOADERS. In every establishment at which large quantities of materials have to be handled, the appliances for loading or transhipment demand the careful attention of the engineer. A crude method of handling may result not only in an appreciable addition to costs, but in injury also, to the materials due to breakage. Where it is advisable to erect permanent plant for this purpose, there are many ways of attacking the problem; gravity may be enlisted, or, again,'conveyors, elevators, and aerial ropeways are other means that suggest themselves. Where no permanent equipment is permissible, how- ever, great expense may be caused owing to crude and uneconomical modes of handling having to be employed. The use of portable plant for this purpose has very obvious advantages. The Jeffrey portable self-propelling wagon loader is specially designed for removing con- duties, assume control of the offices, with the title of Mr. William C. May (chief the control of the goods and I? r Fig, 1.—Type A-2 Wagon Loader in Position for Operating. Fig. 2.—Outline Drawing and Clearance Dimensions of Type A-2 Loader. The type shown in figs. 3 and 4 has a collapsible boom, enabling the machine to pass through low open- ings. The elevator frame is made in the shape of a steel truss, pivoted to the lower frame in such a way that the whole elevator may be tipped over to a hori- zontal position. This type is specially recommended for handling light materials, such as coal. Both machines have recently been placed on the market in this country by Messrs. Hugh Wood and Company Limited of Sun Buildings, Newcastle-on-Tyne, to whom we are indebted for the foregoing particulars. We understand that several large orders have recently been received by them from collieries, and the machines seem to be well adapted for use at landsale pits, apart from their obvious applicability in other directions. MINING AND OTHER NOTES. One of the largest coal concerns in the United States is the Consolidation Coal Company. The annual report which has just been presented shows that the total output in 1914 was 10,710,017 short tons, not including 537,568 tons mined by lessees. The net earnings from operations were 3,392,645 dols. The value of the assets is 74,782,841 dols. In 1914. 1,945,095 tons of steel rails were produced in the United States, only a little more than half the tonnage on the Peace River this summer. He is much interested in the outlook in that section of the north-west, and believes that the territory in which he’ is interested contains a great oilfield. Reverting to export matters, he referred to the need of utilising foreign shipping for this line of business, for while boats can be built in this country to good advan- tage, the navigation laws, particularly as modified at the recent session of Congress, make it very difficult for craft to be operated on a competitive basis. In connection with this matter of utilising foreign facilities, in a sense, he points out that instead of American shippers of coal plunging boldly into foreign affairs, it would be much better for them to make a, co-operative arrangement with foreign concerns who have established distributive agencies. They know the trade, and the means of reaching the buyers, and while their services may have to be compensated on rather a high basis, many losses will be obviated thereby. The following alterations in the staff of the Great Eastern Railway have been made :—Mr. Powis Lomas (secretary) will, in addition to his other ’ " accounts, audit, and fund secretary and comptroller. ’ ’ traffic manager) will continue Fig. 3.—Type A-3 Wagon Loader in the Operating Position. T Fig. 4.—Outline Drawing and Clearance Dimensions of Type A-3 Loader. siderable quantities of coal, crushed stone, and other similar materials from ground storage to wagons or trucks. It will be observed from the accompanying illustra- tions that it consists of a truck-mounted bucket elevator, driven either by an internal combustion engine or electric motor. The driving connection to the elevator is made through a suitable friction clutch, whose lever extends up into such a position that the attendant can reach it from the wagon. A power propelling device for moving the machine in and out of the pile is driven through a second friction clutch. The operating lever to this clutch terminates in a neat handle on each side of the machine, enabling the attendant to manipulate the machine from either side, as found most convenient. The machine can be fed into the storage pile, as desired, while the elevator is in motion. To pull the machine out of the pile, the motion is reversed. An equalising gear ensures that the driving strain is applied equally to each wheel, even when turning sharp corners or passing over rough roads. The loader is made in two forms. In one type (shown in figs. 1 and 2), the frame is made rigid, and supports the elevator ladder near its upper end, the lower end of the ladder being carried by a windlass and chains, which permit the adjustment of’ the foot of the elevator. The top of the elevator is not adjustable. This construction is specially designed for heavy work, the machine having three points of support. A screen and shoot are provided, which are adjustable to any angle, and the latter may be laid inside the screen so as to form a veil. produced in 1913, 3,502,780 tons. The total included 1,525,851 tons of open-hearth and 323,897 tons of Bessemer rails. There were 24 works in operation. By weights the tonnage was as follows:—Under 501b., 238,423 tons; from 50 to 851b., 309,865 tons; 85 1b. and over, 1,396,807 tons. A benzol absorbing plant will be built in the Birmingham (Ala.) district by Mr. Thomas A. Edison of Orange, N.J. Construction has begun at Woodward (Ala.), and the struc- ture will be equipped with machinery for absorbing benzol, utilising coal tar from the coke ovens of the Woodward Iron Company. A meeting of the West of Scotland branch of the Associa- tion of Mining Electrical Engineers will be held in the Royal Technical College, Glasgow, on Wednesday, April 21, at 6.30 p.m., when -a paper on “ Bearings of Electrical Machinery ” will be read by Mr. Andrew Baxter, which will be illustrated by numerous lantern slides and working models. Thereafter a discussion on Mr. A. Smellie’s paper on “ Some Experiences in the Handling of Electricity ” will be resumed. The paper by Messrs. E. Kilburn Scott and L. F. Fogarty on “ Protective Devices Against Lightning and Surges ” is to be further discussed at University College, Notting- ham, on April 24, at 4 p.m., before a special joint meeting which has been called by the National Association of Colliery Managers and the Association of Mining Electrical Engineers. The Coal Trade Journal of the United States, in the course of an interview with Mr. D. A. Thomas, the eminent Welsh coal operator, states Notwithstanding the unsettle- ment caused bv the war, in Canada, as well as in Great Britain, Mr. D. A. Thomas is also working upon the Canadian railway proposition that he took up a year ago, and in connection therewith expects to have boats running passenger departments, and will take over the operating of the locomotives. His department will be divided into two sections—(a) operating, (5) commercial. Mr. F. V. Russell will become superintendent of the operating department, and will have charge of all matters relating- to the move- ment of the company’s traffic. Mr. T. W. Watts will become commercial superintendent, and will have charge of all matters relating to goods and passenger rates and fares. Mr. A. J. Hill, formerly designated locomotive superinten- dent, will assume the title of chief mechanical engineer. Mr. H. Wilmer, formerly designated as engineer, will assume the title of chief civil engineer. Mr. L. A. Parnwell will become assistant to the general manager, and will retain his duties as land agent. The position of district goods manager at Ipswich, rendered vacant through the appointment of Mr. Watts as commercial superintendent, will be filled by Mr. P. Sydenham. South Staffordshire and Warwickshire Institute of Mining Engineers.—The next general meeting will be held at the University. Edmund-street, Birmingham, on Monday after- noon, April 19, at 3 o’clock. A paper, entitled “ Modern Developments in Hydraulic Stowing,” with suggestions for its application to the Staffordshire coalfield, and the regain- ing of abandoned coal, will be read by Mr. J. Drummond Paton. Grimsby Coal Exports. — Returns for the week ending Friday, 9th inst., show that the coal exported from Grimsby consisted of the following shipments:—Aarhus, 571 tons; Arendal, 729; Dieppe, 250; Esbjerg, 331; Haugesund, 551; Rotterdam, 1,051; and Trondhjem, 1,472 tons, making a total of 4,955 tons foreign, as against 11,322 tons foreign and 412 tons coastwise during the corresponding period of last year.