1198 THE COLLIERY GUARDIAN December 10, 1915. sary to lower the gateway below the level of the face, and bridge the space to allow a tub to stand below to receive the coal discharged from the conveyor. To over- come this difficulty the Diamond Coal Cutter Company have introduced a gate-end conveyor or elevator, which is specially useful where it is impracticable to take up the floor in the gate, and also avoids driving an advance heading. In installing this conveyor the top is ripped up to the gate, the hopper end being under the natural roof of the seam. This hopper is only about 4 in. above the floor of the seam, so that the face conveyor can be easily arranged to discharge directly into it. Two face conveyors can discharge simultaneously into the elevator hopper, viz., one from each side of the gate. The over-all length of the elevator is about 25 ft., and it stands on one side of the mother gate, which has a double rail track. The empty tubs are brought up alongside the elevator and switched across, underneath the discharge end, to the return rails, where they are loaded consecutively. A patented system of compound belt drive is employed, so as to ensure a proper grip on the main belt with the use of small pulleys. This new pattern of gate-end elevator entirely dispenses with bottom ripping or brushing in the mother gate, which is often such an expensive item. Fig. 22 shows a general arrangement of the United- Bridge water centre gate conveyor, a description of which appeared in the Colliery Guardian for August 14, 1914, so that it need only be briefly referred to here. The conveyor consists of a light steel trough, slightly less than the length of the face, in which a flexible steel carrier, half the length of the trough, is moved back- wards and forwards by means of main and tail haulage ropes. The -trough crosses the gate-end on a light required for the work, and there is little or no risk of stoppages due to breakdowns. As previously mentioned, the credit for introducing this type of conveyor underground ought to be given to the Summerlea Iron Company, but, since then, several improvements in details have been made by others, amongst them being the Diamond Coal Cutter Company Limited; and figs. 23, 24, and 25 show the latest improved patent compressed air-driven jigging conveyor. In this machine a light sheet iron trough, made in sec- tions and bolted together, is supported on loose rollers by means of roller paths. These rollers are in pairs, and rest on a roller path laid on the floor of the seam. There is no attachment, the trough being simply lifted off, the rollers taken off the bottom roller path, and the latter picked up and carried away. The only fixed part is the driving motor and jigging arm, and this, as will be seen, is held in position by means of screw jacks so placed as to give the greatest security against movement of any kind. The roller paths are designed to give an upward throw to the trough on its backward motion, and downward on the forward motion. Further, the forward stroke is quicker than the backward stroke, with the result that the coal on the conveyor shuffles along, so to speak, from one end to the other, with a remarkable velocity and high efficiency. The novel features in the Diamond conveyor consist of the patent out-board frame for fixing the position of the lever fulcrum, and of the valve motion for regulating the length of stroke. In most conveyors of this type the “ fulcrum ” is obtained by an independent screw prop, the exact position of which has to be found by experiment, and unless correctly set and firmly fixed, is likely to lead to disappointing results. By attaching OBITUARY. The death at his residence, Severn House, Ironbridge, Salop, on Sunday, of Mr. Thomas Parker, removes one of the most notable of Midland engineers. Mr. Parker was bom on December 22, 1843, and at the age of 23 he went to Manchester to complete his technical studies at the Hulme Town Hall. He afterwards entered the service of the Coalbrookdale Com- pany. In 1877 he obtained a patent for a steam pump which was taken up and manufactured by the company, and for which he was awarded a medal at the Inventions Exhibition. Three years later he obtained the first medal at the Smoke Abatement Exhibition in London for a design of a grate, known as the “ Kyrle.” He also made the “ Robinson ” gas engine for Tangyes Limited. He next commenced business in Wolverhampton in partnership with Mr. P. B. Elwell, and a company was then formed entitled Elwell Parker Limited, which was subsequently taken over by the’Electric Construction Corporation Limited; Mr. Parker was appointed engineer and manager. In 1894 be severed his connection with the Construction Corporation, and founded the firm of Thomas Parker Limited. Mr. Parker became managing director, and the company erected large works for the manu- facture of electrical and general engineering plant at Wolver- hampton. Deceased was made a member of the Institute of Electrical Engineers in 1885, a member of the Institution of Civil Engineers in 1889, and a member of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers in 1891. The death occurred on the 1st inst. of Mr. Robert Caird, of the firm of Messrs. Caird and Company, engineers and shipbuilders. Mr. Harry Balls Roper, managing director of the Leyland Line (Messrs. Frederick Leyland and Company), died last week, at bis residence, Birkdale, near Southport. Mr. J. P. Lees, one of the original directors of H. Lees and Sons Limited, Park Bridge Iron Works, Ashton-under- Lyne, died recently at the age of 84 years. Fig. 26. 33 aiii ■El II Fig. 27. Figs. 26, 27 and 28.—“Diamond” Electrically-driven Jigging Conveyor. bridge, under which the tubs pass, and as the carrier travels across the gate-end, the coal is diverted by a plough, and falls into the tub or gate-end elevator. The troughing is now made up of standardised machine- pressed sections, 6 ft. long and 18 in. wide, by 8 in. high on the goaf side, and 5 in. on the face side. The vertical side nearest the goaf can be hinged at intervals to facilitate the removal of material for packing. It is driven by either a compressed-air or electric motor haulage, mounted on skids to facilitate sliding it forward. The power required is about 12 horse-power. The chief difference between this conveyor and other makes is that, by means of automatic shutters fixed at intervals along the trough, coal can be filled into the conveyor independently of the actual position of the carrier. The -shutters enable the carrier to pick up the coal in .the trough, so that filling can be proceeded with continuously, and the men need not wait for the return of the carrier. Any length of face can be worked by the conveyor, i.e., 100yds. each side of the conveyor; and it is advisable to have the gate as near the centre as possible. Whilst it must be admitted that this and similar con- veyors worked by ropes or chains have done and are doing excellent work, there can be no doubt that the face conveyor of the future will be of the jigging type. The great advantage of this type is that it is absolutely self-contained, so to speak, inasmuch as there are no moving chains or attachments in the shape of return sheaves to be provided for ropes. Furthermore, the loading and discharge are continuous, no labour is an outboard frame to the motor, this position is definitely fixed and secured, and not only are good results assured, but valuable time is saved which would otherwise be spent in making trial positions or adjust- ments. In the patent valve the compression of the residual air on the back stroke is utilised to operate the admission valve, and the cut off (which can be operated at six intermediate positions of the stroke) also actuates the exhaust. The length of the stroke can be varied by turning the handle shown at the right-hand end of the valve chamber. Provision is also made in the jigging arm, by three holes, for further adjustment of the stroke of the troughs, by moving the double eye of the connecting rod so as to swing -this through a greater or lesser -arc. Figs. 26, 27, and 28 show the electrically driven jigging conveyor. This machine is particularly com- pact, and the Diamond Coal Cutter Company Limited have been very successful in devising a cam arrangement for obtaining the necessary reciprocating motion. The length of stroke is varied by altering the position of the short connecting link between the two levers, three holes being provided in the end of the motor lever for this purpose, as shown in fig. 27. If preferred, this machine can be arranged so that the driving gear can be placed down the gate, and the motion imparted to the troughing by a flexible connection—rope or chain. The Diamond Coal Cutter Company Limited are purely British manufacturers, and these machines have been made with a view to meeting conditions encountered in British coal fields. The death is announced of Mr. Robert Harvey, jun., youngest son of Mr. Robert Harvey, under-manager of Bearpark Colliery, at the age of 35 years. The death has occurred at the Corbett Hospital, Stour- bridge, at the age of 60 years, of Mr. Samuel Harris, the vice-chairman of the Midland Iron and Steel Wages Board. Mr. Harris was a shingler employed at the Earl of Dudley’s Round Oak works, where he had been consistently engaged for approaching half-a-century. The death has occurred at Barrow of Mr. James Fisher, head of the shipping firm of Messrs. James Fisher and Sons, Barrow. Deceased was the pioneer of ore mining at Glenravel, County Antrim. Lieut. Harold Llewellyn Twite, R.E., reported killed on December 2, aged 36, was the son of the late Charles Twite, of Castle House, St. Agnes, Cornwall, and a partner in the firm of Twite and Stannard, mining and consulting engineers, of 65, London Wall. Educated privately and at the Royal School of Mines, South Kensington, he was an A.R.S.M. and M.I.M.M., and had held many important mining posts and done much consulting work in various parts of the world. Mr. Ernest Clegg, who died last week somewhat suddenly, was the son of Mr. Thomas Clegg, colliery proprietor, of Market-street, Millgate, Shawforth, Lancashire. Deceased was 26 years old. Erratum.—In the article on “ The Diamond Coal Cutting and Conveying Machines,” two errors in dimensions occur, viz., Colliery Guardian, November 26, first page, second column, 10| in. should be 16J in.; and third column, fourth line, 2 ft. 6 in. should be 3 ft. 6 in.