The Works Of Messrs. Schneider And Co.

THE STEEL FOUNDRY. 49 generators, placée! in a pit at a short distance in the rear of the furnaces. They are not provided with a syphon, the gas going direct to an underground main, in which the furnace gas valves are placed. As tour heats are made every day, only part of the steel is used for castings, the remainder being pourecl into ingot moulds in a pit in front of the furnaces (see tig. 85, Plate XX.). This pit is 3 metres (10 ft.) wide by 32 metres (105 ft.) long, and is serveel by a double-sided truck carrying the ladle, and moved by an electric motor mounted on the truck itself (see Figs. 113 to 116). The working of this motor is highly satisfactory, as it has never given any trouble. the steel being taken from the 35-ton furnaces. When it is not convenient to put large-sizecl moulds—such as those for turret face plates—in the Siemens-Martin principal casting pit, the metal taken from the large furnaces is carried on trucks to the steel foundry. a m. ft. in. Distance from centre to centre of rails forming overhead track 16 52 6 Height of rails above foundry floor level 7 23 0 Speed of travel (longitudinally) per minute 26.2 8(5 0 Speed of travel (transversely) per minute 14.4 47 3 Lifting speeds of loads 3.15 and 10 4 and 1.28 4 2| per minute. per minute. Steel Foundry. Electric Motor Truck and Ladle for The comparatively small size of the furnaces renders them quite suitable for the manufacture of special steel, such as nickel steel, the use of which is rapidly increasing. The ingots cast in this shop are used for the rolling of plates, sheets, and special sections, as well as for the manufacture of tyres. The central bay of the building, which is 20 metres (65 ft.) wide, is utilised for the manufacture of large nioulds ; it is served by three overhead travelling crânes, two of 15 tons and one of 30 tons. The nioulds are filled witli a ladle carried by the crânes. When the weight of the casting to be made, is more than 20 tons, the metal is pourecl in the large ingot-casting pit, The above are some dimensions of the crânes in this shop. On the left of the foundry are four drying-rooms for the rnoulds : tliese rooms are of the following dimensions : Length ni. 7.5 ft. in. 24 7 Width of three 4.5 14 9 ,, the fourth 5.5 18 1 Height 3.5 11 6 On the same side as these, and near the stoves, is a small yard, served by a 6-ton electrically-driven travelling crâne, where the ladies are lined and heated previous to casting operations. Beyond is the loam and sand preparing