The Mechanical Handling and Storing of Material

3*6 THE MECHANICAL HANDLING OF MATERIAL l‘ig. 451. Two Lidgerwood Cableways taking a 20-Ton Locomotive across River. In the construction of manne and semi-marinc works, such, as breakwaters, locks, dams, etc., cableways have been used with good effect. At Johannesburg, ’in the 1'ransvaal, the Consolidated Gold Fields of South Africa used a cableway in the con- struction of a masonry impounding dam intended to store water for the stamp-mills on the Rand. The stone, concrete, and all the necessary material was conveyed and delivered into a ravine about 120 ft. in depth, in which was built a dam of a total length of 500 ft., of a width of 46 ft. at the bottom, and 10 ft. at the top, and of a height&of 16a ft. from the bottom of the foundation. This cableway was used nine hours during the day and nine during the night, with only one day lost time in eight months. It regularly fed three derricks with all the building material, and assisted in laying stone during the day. Working at night, the cableway delivered 225 stones for the use of the derricks the following day. The average load was 3 tons. Cableways are much more portable than ropeways, and, if necessary, can be moved considerable distances at no great cost. Cable Hoist Conveyors by Bleichert & Co.—Fig. 452 illustrates a cable hoist conveyor built by Bleichert & Co., of Leipzig-Gohlis, in which the rail rope is sufficiently inclined to allow the carriage to descend by gravity. One rope only is required in this case to manipulate the hoist, which is used for quarry work. Fig. 453 is a hoist of a similar kind, having two principal terminals for unload- ing. Although there is a slight incline, it is not sufficient to allow the carriage to run back on its own account. Two ropes are therefore necessary for the purpose of manipulating it, in addition to the rail ropes. Fig. 454 is a similar installation in which one terminal is fixed, whilst the other can be moved in a circular direction, rig. 455 shows a hoist of a slightly different kind, provided with steel terminal towers mounted on wheels. As the quay front on rivers and in docks is always costly, new industrial estab- lishments are more economically erected at what might be termed the hinterland, that is, some distance away from the quay, where land is obtainable at a lesser cost. This procedure has become possible by the use of one or another type of conveyor, continuous or intermittent, to bring the raw materials to the works, and to return the finished merchandise for shipment on the quay. One of the appliances frequently used for this purpose is the cable-crane, as it admits of a space between the terminals sufficient to serve in most cases, and the initial cost, as well as that of the working expenses and upkeep, are small. I he above applies equally, though in a different sense, on a coast which might be inaccessible for loading and unloading without the erection of costly harbours or quays. With a cable hoist such structures may be saved. An installation of this latter kind is