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APPENDIX II                                          317
These engines were intended to hoist six loads, each weighing 1600 lbs., from the 1000-foot level in 45 seconds, including filling, starting, discharging, and stopping; but they do it in from 30 to 35 seconds.
All the steam cylinders are fitted with the Corliss valve gear, having vacuum dash-pots, the cut-ofF being effected by the same lever that works the throttle valves.
Reversing is effected by ordinary links worked by eccentrics fitted on the tail-shafts ; the reversing engine being fitted with a floating lever so that the motion of the piston coincides exactly with the motion of the small hand lever.
The two high pressure cylinders exhaust into the receiver, which is 5 ft. diameter by 18 ft. long, fitted with sixty-eight 2-inch wrought-iron tubes, through which live steam from the high-pressure jackets, but at a reduced pressure, is constantly circulating. The object of this reĀ­ceiver is to supply the low-pressure cylinders with a considerable volume of dry steam to facilitate a quick starting away. An 8-inch balanced throttle valve admits steam to the high-pressure cylinders, and a similar valve, 12 inches in diameter, admits steam from the reheater to the low-pressure cylinders.
Each high-pressure cylinder is jacketed with live steam at full boiler pressure, the water of condensation together with a certain amount of steam passing through a Watts pressure regulator, which reduces the pressure in the jackets of the reheater and low-pressure cylinders to about 30 lbs. The final water of condensation is discharged automatically by a displacement trap into the hot well.
Each air pump of the ordinary marine type is worked off the cross-head. The condenser, 6 ft. diameter by 16 ft. long, fitted with 125 wrought-iron tubes 3^ in. outside diameter and 16 ft. long, is situated just outside the winding-engine house. All the water pumped from the mine passes through this condenser on its way to the floors.
A circulating pump on the end of one of the tail-shafts supplies water for jet injection whenever the mine pumps are not supplying sufficient water to condense the steam.
L. I. SEYMOUR,
Mechanical Engineer for D. B. C. M. Ltd.