794

THE COLLIERY GUARDIAN.

April 19, 1918.

etc., were very considerably higher, and, whilst it
might be argued that the load factors were not. quite
similar, in a large undertaking so great a distinction
should not be made, as it was unfair to overcharge
one industry to assist another. The actual costs of
production in connection with two industries in the
Midlands were as follows : At the Park Gate Iron and
Steel Company Limited, where 3,701,675 units were
generated m six months, the cost per unit was 0 1429d.,
whilst at Devonshire Works, generating 17,50J,00o
units per annum, the cost per unit was 0 1094d. These
figures were absolutely up to date, and surely one
could not argue that concerns like these should be
forced to take current from an electric supply com-
pany, at a cost of even 0'5d. per unit. He could give
a large number of other instances where costs were
very similar. The report stated that the consumption
of coal per horse-powei- delivered to customers was
154 lb. per hour, but did not state that the Newcastle
Electric Supply Company and its allied companies
obtained a very large proportion of their power from
waste heat stations; so he thought the figure as
brought forward in the report was distinctly mis-
leading, because when making a charge for the excess
cost of coal over a fixed figure in the agreement, the
power company based their charges upon consumptions
varying between 4 lb. and 8 lb. of coal per unit. He
anticipated that there would be difficulties in dealing
with the existing power stations owned by local
authorities and power companies already established in
the United Kingdom, and some indication should be
given, he thought, as to the method of dealing with
matters of that kind and whether they could be utilised
in an efficient manner in connection with the new
scheme.

Mr. H. W. Clothier said that no business com-
mittee would suggest that undertakings such as those
detailed by Mr. Mountain should be compelled to
take power from a large company. If these costs were
so low, the thing to do would be for those plants to

they were not too big relative to the total load to be
dealt with. In that district, the load was above
100,000 kw., so that the time had come when these
large sets were justified. The north-east coast was
not an area with very dense loads. Manchester,
Glasgow, Sheffield and Birmingham were all much
denser centres, and it was only by grouping all the
scattered areas together that these large loads were
being dealt with in the Newcastle district. Mr. Beard
produced data to the effect that, besides the economies
in concentrating the generation in large units, there
were further economies in increasing the power trans-
mitted along the various cables comprising the distri-
bution and transmission network. The cost of trans-
mitting one horse-power one mile fell off rapidly as
the total horse-power rose from 50 to 2,500. That,
of course, was generally realised over that range, but
it was not so generally realised that that falling off
continued up to very large values of the power trans-
mitted, the curve starting from 2,500 horse-power,
and going up to 25,000 horse-power, with a continually
decreasing value for the cost per horse-power
transmitted.

ORDER CONCERNING UNWORKED SEAMS.

An Order in Council, dated April 13, amends the
Defence of the Realm Regulations in the following
terms :—

After Regulation 9gg the following regulation shall
be inserted:—

“ 9ggg.—(1) Where the Board of Trade are of
opinion that for the purpose of increasing the supply
of coal or coal of any class, it is expedient to work
any seam of coal which is in, near, or adjacent to, any
open mine and is for the time being unworked, the
Board may authorise any person to take possession
of the seam and get the coal therefrom, and subject
as hereinafter' provided, for the purpose aforesaid to
enter on and take possession of any land and execute

NEW REGENERATIVE COKE OVEN
PLANT AT THORNABY IRONWORKS.

By Frederick C. Coleman.

If not by any means the largest, yet amongst the bes^
known of the numerous iron and steel works in the
Cleveland district are the Thornaby Ironworks,
Stockton-on-Tees, which were founded by Messrs.
William and Thomas Whitwell in the year 1861, and
converted into a limited liability company under the
style of Messrs. William Whitwell and Company
Limited, in 1887. The smelting plant at the Thornaby
Ironworks consists of three blast furnaces, while the
rolling mill plant comprises 26 puddling furnaces, two
forges, and four mills. The three blast furnaces are
each capable of producing over 1.000 tons of haematite
iron weekly, the company’s specialties being wrought
iron and haematite pig. The products of the rolling
plant consist of angles up to 4| in. by | in. by f in,
rounds, squares, flats, channels, convex bars, girder iron,
horse-shoe iron, half-round bars. etc. Moreover, the
company’s Yorkshire iron is in special demand for
railway wagon forgings, and this material has a tensile
strength of 21'22 tons and an elongation of from 30 to
35 per cent.

Until recent years Messrs. Whitwell and Company
purchased their coke in the open market, but, towards
the end of 1915, an installation of 60 Otto regenera-
tive ovens capable of dealing with 3,000 tons of dry coal
per week was put into commercial service at the
Thornaby Ironworks. The results obtained were so
satisfactory that it was subsequently decided to instal
a further fifteen ovens capable of carbonising an
additional 750 tons of coal weekly, the by-product
plant as originally designed being capable of dealing
with the gases from the additional quantity of coal.
This extension is now nearing completion.

The coal, which is brought by rail from the collieries,
is tipped into a receiving hopper below the railway level.

■

Fig. 5.—Coke Ramp and Conveyor.







Fig. 1.—View of Bunker.

supply load elsewhere and join up with the common
network. If it could be proved that some inter-con-
nection or coupling-up to a power company was a
commercial proposition, the step should be compulsory.

Capt. A. H. Laws supported Mr. Mountain’s admoni-
tion as to caution in dealing with the report, which
document, he thought, was mainly intended as a sort
of ventilation of the whole question and not as a
settlement of details.

Mr. Mark Halliday gave an account of the success-
ful utilisation of coke ballast for electrical generation
at Tursdale Colliery (see Colliery Guardian, December
14, 1917, p. 1135).

Mr. W. T. McCall said that, as to research, the pro-
posals of the report were very good as far as they
went, but the efficiency obtainable was, admittedly,
about 15 to 20 per cent, of the heat energy of the
coal. If the heat engine could be cut out of the chain
of energy conversion, so that they got conversion from
coal to electricity without using a heat engine at all,
there would be from 80 to 85 per cent, of the energy
to work with, and it was at least possible that the
saving suggested by the report could be put out of
sight by some saving effected by entirely different
means from the present.

Mr. Vernier stated that it was not proposed to wipe
out such very economical stations as those described
by Mr. Mountain, but to get them to feed into the
common network. In that district, anyone who had
waste heat could supply himself to the limits of his
requirements and dispose of the surplus, which, unless
connected up with a power company, was wasted.

Mr. J. R. Beard referred to a 25,000 kw. machine
constructed by Capt. Laws in Chicago four years ago,
and said we had not got a machine of 20,000 kw. in
this country. Two large firms in the States, taking
sizes from 20,000 to 45,000 kw., had 35 in commission
and 49 under construction. In this country, we had
none of these sizes in commission. We had eight or
nine of 20,000 kw., and a few larger ones under
construction. Two of these latter were for that
district, for the new power station on the Tees. One
of these sets was sufficient to carry the entire demand
of the city of Newcastle, tramways’ requirements
included. Such large sets were only possible where

such works and do such other things as they or he
reasonably consider necessary:

Provided that nothing in this regulation shall
authorise the opening of any new surface works.

(2)	The Board of Trade before authorising any
person to take possession of any seam of coal in
pursuance of this regulation shall give public notice
of their intention in such manner as appears to the
Board best calculated to bring their intention to the
knowledge of the owners of the land in which the
seam is situate.

(3)	The Board of Trade shall keep or cause to be
kept accurate plans of the site and extent of any seam
of coal of which possession is taken under this
regulation, and also, unless for any reason it appears
to the Board unnecessary so to do, accounts of the
tonnage of the coal gotten from the seam.

(4)	In determining the amount of compensation to
be paid for any coal gotten under this regulation
regard should be had to the royalties current in the
same mining district for the same class of coal whether
upon an acreage or a tonnage basis.”

Partnership Dissolved.—The London Gazette announces
dissolution of the partnership of J. Hodgkiss and T.
Hickinbottom, trading as the Bilston Fireclay and
Ganister Company at Barn Farm and Junction collieries,
Willenhall.

German Coal in Switzerland.—The official publication of
German demands in connection with the negotiations for a
new economic convention between Germany and Switzer-
land has aroused dissatisfaction. The Gazette de
Lausanne has pointed out what it is that Germany
asks. “ The German exactions,” it remarks, “ exceed the
bounds of imagination. They constitute a direct attack on
our independence. There is first the price of coal, which
is doubled all round indiscriminately from 90 to 180 fr.
per ton. There is, secondly, the veto imposed upon
Switzerland to export her own timber to the countries
of the Entente. Thirdly, there is the prohibition to deliver
German coal to manufacturers who produce no munitions,
but any sort of article for sale to the Entente. Fourthly,
the Germans demand the right to control, through their
agents, the distribution of coal even in minute detail.”

It is then elevated from this receptacle by means of an
elevator, which delivers the coal on to the distributing
conveyor over the storage bunkers. The total capacity
of the elevator from the dry coal pit is 40 tons per hour.
The elevator is driven by a 17 horse-power electric
motor. The distributing conveyor, which is driven by
a 12 horse-power electric motor, has a capacity of 40
tons per hour. It runs the full length of the storage
bunker, and is fitted with a series of hinged doors for
discharging the contents into the various compartments
of the bunker. The bunker is built of brick and cement,
and the bottoms are formed of inclined arches, termi-
nating in swing discharge doors easily operated by
hand. The total capacity of the bunker, which is
divided into 16 compartments arranged in two lines, is
1,000 tons. Each line of hoppers delivers on to a scraper
conveyor for feeding into the disintegrator plant. The
hoppers have an individual carrying capacity of 40 tons
per hour, and are driven by 12 horse-power motors.
This arrangement of bunker is somewhat novel, as it
provides for feeding the coal in any desired proportion
from each and every compartment, and also a complete
stand-by in the second line of compartments and
conveyor.

The disintegrator is housed in a walled-off building,
and has a capacity of 40 tons per hour. It is of very
heavy construction throughout. The bearings are
exceptionally massive, and are fitted with a system of
forced lubrication, each bearing having an independent
oil supply. The disintegrator is driven from belts by
two 65 horse-power motors. The coal, after having
passed through the disintegrator, is elevated and dis-
charged into a bunker of ferro-concrete construction,
and having a capacity of 600 tons, where it is stored
preparatory to being delivered to the ovens.

These buildings, which are shown in the photograph
(fig. 1), and in detail in the drawing (figs. 2, 3. and 4),
were manufactured and erected by Messrs. Campbell
Binnie, Reid and Company, of Burnbank, Hamilton.
N.B. They are fireproof, being constructed of brick
and steel throughout. The machinery is carried by
steel girders, and the stairs, ladders and flooring are of
steel and chequered plates. The design is characterised
by simplicity, all the parts are easily accessible, and, for
a plant of this capacity, the driving power required is
relatively small. A feature of this rough coal handling