The Works Of Messrs. Schneider And Co.

154 MESSES. SCHNEIDER AND CO.’S WORKS. Schneider and Co., was particularly remarkable in this respect. It illustrâtes the first type of truss built without tie-rods, and this was a bold departure for the time from the usual forms adopted, owing to the comparatively large spån, namely, 33.60 metres (110 ft.). The trusses were 15 metres (49 ft.) distant from centre to centre, their height to the ridge plate being 24.11 metres (78 ft. 6 in.). They rested on iron pillars; the principal rafters were in the shape of double-trellised box girders. The trusses were United by series of trellised purlins which carried the rafters, the latter being covered by battens, on which was fixed the zinc roofino-, o The nave was 650 metres (2,132 ft.) in length, the weight of the ironwork being 3,735 tons. The building was erected with a gantry similar to tliat used for the Orleans Railway Station. We may add that this method of érection is now generally followed. 3. Iron Buildings for Works and Factories.—To obtain good results in this type of buildings, it is abso- lutely necessary that the metal should be judiciously distributecl, so as to obtain a construction at once strone1 O and light. The great experience acquired by Messrs Schneider and Co. in the execution of buildings of this kind has won for them a well-deserved reputation. We may mention, among a large number of iron buildings executed at the Chalon Works, those for the Guérigny Forges; the Campagnac Mines; tlie Ateliers des Mouissèques, belonging to the Forges et Chantiers (see Figs. 508 and 509) ; the Blanzy Mines, &c. We shall limit ourselves to giving a few data concerning the Creusot rolling-mill building. This building covers an area, 380 metres (1,250 ft.) long and 110 metres (361 ft.) wide ; it consists of a centi-al bay 28 metres (92 ft.) in spån, with five side bays. The trusses are 5 metres (16 ft. 5 in.) apart, thus allowing the use of wood purlins ; they rest on wall plates formed of trellis girders, these being carried by cast-iron columns 9 metres (29 ft. 6 in.) high, placecl 10 metres (32 ft. 9 in.) apart. All the trusses are united by vertical stays in the same plane with the ridging, and are of the American N-type. The bars in compression are made of angles, while the parts exposed to tension strains are made of flat bars. They are most suitable for the fixing of overhead tracks of light travellers ; when, however, heavy overhead travellers have to be put down, it is always préférable to establish supports which are independent of the ironwork of the building. A series of louvre skylights insure the escape of sinoke and the good ventilation of the building. Messrs. Schneider and Co. have adopted buildings of this type on a large scale in their Creusot Works. among others the main armour-plate shop which is 430 metres (1,410 ft.) long and 50 metres (164 ft.) wide ; the tempering and annealing shop, 277 metres (908 ft.) long and 24 metres (78 ft.) wide. All tlie overhead tracks and their supports for the travellers, ranging from 5 to 100 tons, used in the Creusot Works, bave been built in the Chalon Department. 4. Light Iron Work for Sheds.—Messrs. Schneider i and Co. have of late designed a complété series of trusses with füll calculations for the spån, the distance apart, the importance of the varions elements, &c., in order to arrive at the strict minimum of weight, and the least possible I number of supports, as these often prove inconvénient. Tlie sheet-straightening slied of the Chalon Works illus- trâtes this type of light building, which is found convenient in sugar factories for the storage of beetroot, and they are largely used in varions other industries for dépôts of dry goods and warehouses in which vans liave , to circulate freely. Light trusses, well designed, can be placecl from 10 to 12 metres (32 ft. to 39 ft.) apart in 16-metre (52 ft. 6 in.) I spåns ; such conditions could not be obtained in wood constructions (see Figs. 510 to 512). Their stability is ample, as they are calculated for a vertical surcharge of 50 kilogrammes per square metre (10.240 Ib. per square foot) of covered surface, and a wind pressure of 120 kilo- grammes per square metre (24.580 Ib. per square foot) of vertical surface of pitch. The purlins are trellised and placed far apart ; there is only one ridge purlin, one wall plate, and one inter- mediate purlin. The wood rafters are fixed direct to the purlins, and the roof may consist indifferently of tiles or of slates. As regards appearance, these buildings have the great »dvantage of not embodying any horizontal straining beam§ nor vertical stays. They are nevertheless very stiff, owing to an econornical system of stays formed of diagonal angle-bars arranged according to the slope. IL—SHIPBUILDING. Since this départaient was established at Chalon, Megsrs. Schneider and Co. have built numerous transport bouts and tugs for river service. They continuée! developing this brauch of their industry, and at the present time they undertake all kinds of marine work. They have constructed in their Chalon yard above 600 craft of all types and dimensions, comprising : 1. For river and sea service : Steam tugs, towboats, transport boats, passenger steamers, yachts, barges, petro- leum boats, and tanks. 2. For the Department of Public Works: Dredgers, tugs, slush-boats, barges of all kinds, and floating shears. 3. For harbour service : Floating doek gates, floating docks, water-boats, fire-engine barges, and floating derricks of powers ranging from 5 t.o 60 tons. 4. For the French Navy : Steam launches, steam pinnaces, barges, and floating bridges built in sections, boats for bridge building, service boats, gun boats, vedette boats, and torpedo-boats of all speeds and dimensions. Tugboats for Service on the Rhône. Among the most recent constructions which deserve notice may be mentioned the tugboats for service on the Rhône (Figs. 513, 514, and 515). These steam up the rapids against currents of 9 to 12 kilometres (4 to 6| knots), with convoys carrying 600 tons of goods.