News and Illustrations Items of Interest to City, Town and County Officials, and Others Concerned with the Economical Construction and Efficient Operation of Public Improvement Undertakings Time-Switches for Street Lighting The use of time-switches for the automatic turning-on and turning-off of street lighting circuits gives a highly desirable decentralization of the street lighting stem. Where multiple incandescent circuits are installed, the use of reliable and fully automatic time-switches is generally indicated. Where series incandescent circuits are installed with self-regulating S-L transformers, the use of reliable and fully automatic high-potential time-switches shows further great advantages in the elimination of extra feeders or pilot wires, in the increased load factor on existing primary distribution circuits, and in the standardization of pole line construction. One of the most interesting features of Sauter self-winding time-switches, made by R. W. Cramer & Co., Inc., 136 Liberty Street, New York, is the simplicity and adaptability of the astronomic dial. TYPICAL INSTALLATION OF A PRIMARY VOLTAGE SAUTER TIME-SWITCH SAUTER SELF-WINDING ELECTRIC TIME-SWITCH It is used advantageously in street lighting because this dial automatically resets daily the operating time in accordance with sun time. As days get shorter, the lighting time increases automatically, and then, as days become longer, the lighting time decreases always in close conformity with the sun. For half-night lighting, that is, dusk till midnight or later, the time of switching-on keeps step with sunset, while the switching-off time remains constant as set. The mechanical ingenuity and completeness of the Sauter time-switches reduces peroperation cost to the minimum. Because of their accurate construction and reliable performance, they are being widely used in lighting control. Kyrock Not in Rock Asphalt Merger The Kentucky Rock Asphalt Co., Inc., Louisville, Ky., according to W. H. Tarvin, President, would not favorably consider merging its holdings or indentity with other rock asphalt interests. One of the reasons for this, according to Mr. Tarvin, is that some of the acreage which is now being pooled by one of the merging companies contains deposits which this company does not consider to be of value for paving purposes. In fact, some of the property involved is acreage once owned and later sold by the Kentucky Rock Asphalt Co. for the reason that this company's extensive core-drill tests indicated the unsuitability of the material for paving purposes. The Kentucky Rock Asphalt Co. owns about 45,000 acres of proven asphalt rock ledges quite sufficient for its needs for many years. This company not only core-drills its deposits years in advance of development, but takes samples from proDosed quarry sites that will be worked in the future. These samples are laid under normal traffic conditions for a period of at least five years be ThenForget it for Five Years! impervious to dents or Over 30 largest cities Sample Marker and illus- Real LUSTROUS PERMANENT GUARANTEED At night, as well as in the Rustproof-strong as steel- Our five-year guarantee eli- Quickly installed by com- for Permanent Guide Lines use~ N.T.A. Monel Metal Markers The only traffic marker that can be installed in any pavement EUROPE G. and J. Weir, Ltd., Cathcart, Glascow, Scotland 95 510 N. Dearborn Street, CANADA Economy Railway Without obligations please send Catalog and Quotations to Do you mention THE AMERICAN CITY when writing? Please do. ......... ........ fore attempting to produce or market the rock asphalt. The company knows that in addition to containing the proner percentage of bitumen, it comes from the right geological formation and has stood the physical test under traffic. to transform a swamp full of waterholes and bogs into one of the best golf courses north of Chicago. This was work which could not have been done with horses, as they would have gone down out of sight. ON A GOLF TRACKSON FULL-CRAWLER-EQUIPPED FORDSON WITH A BULL- The Care of Municipal Golf Courses The work of reconditioning a municipal golf course and maintaining it during the golf season presents a variety of problems, and frequently those who have charge of this work have some difficulty in finding equipment that will do it satisfactorily and economically. In the spring when the ground is still soft and wet, such operations as plowing, grading, and the construction of new greens and hazards require equipment that can get a sure foothold and work without loss of power. The Fordson with Trackson Full-Crawlers, as made by the Trackson Co., 500 Clinton Street, Milwaukee, Wis., has been found especially practical for this work and is used by many golf-course superintendents, contractors, and park boards that are responsible for the courses in some cities. The Trackson tread has wide steel tracks of a special ground-gripping and non-clogging design, and the weight of the outfit is distributed over 1,100 square inches of ground contact, reducing the pressure to 3% pounds per square inch. This makes it possible for the Trackson-Fordson to work in mud or deep sand where horses and wheel tractors would mire immediately. This light ground pressure is an advantage also for use with mowers on the greens and fairways where the sod must be kept smooth and unbroken. The Trackson-Fordson was used in the construction of a new million-dollar golf course at Brigantine Beach, Atlantic City. The owners claim it did the work much faster and at less cost than the larger tractors that were tried at first. On this job the Trackson-Fordson was used with Schaefer scrapers for hauling sand from the beach to the bunkers, up over the sides of bunkers as high as 12 feet, and dumping the loads on the pinnacles. Another owner who uses the machine for golf course work is J. Jensen of the Cary Station Country Club, Cary, Ill., who says that he has used it Sand Eliminated in Deep- Several years ago the Endicott, N. Y., Water Works Co. decided to replace its air-lift pumping system with Coniflo deep-well pumps, made by the Worthington Pump & Machinery Corporation, 115 Broadway, New York. At first there was some skepticism regarding the successful operation of these deepwell pumps because of difficulties which might be encountered from sand. After carefully considering all factors, it was decided to try to eliminate the sand. A 2-inch air-line equipped with a quick-opening valve was lowered to the bottom of the well and so arranged with ropes and pulleys that the line could be raised or lowered as desired. Air at from 80 to 90 pounds per square-inch pressure was fed to the line. By quickly opening the air-valve and moving the air-line up and down to agitate and upset the formation in the bottom, the sand and gravel was gradually pumped out by air-lift until a large cavity was formed. This cavity was evidently lined with large stone and gravel too heavy to raise. Thus a very effective screen was formed which kept the sand back, and there has A Plan to Work from-A Check to Insure Accuracy STANDARDIZED CITY AERIAL SURVEYS A standardized plan of PRODUCING and Send us an existing map of your city. HAMILTON-MAXWELL SYSTEM been no trace of sand since the Coniflo pump was installed. This method was used with like success on two or three subsequent installations of Coniflo deep-well pumps. In the case of the third the cavity was apparently not thoroughly cleared, as much sand was raised when the new deep-well pump was first placed in operation, but the sand remaining was soon pumped out with no apparent damage to the pump. The first Worthington Coniflo pump was placed in service by the Endicott Water Co. on May 6, 1924. Since that time the pump has operated continuously with no trouble or attention except an occasional change of oil in the thrust bearings. No noticeable decrease in capacity or efficiency has occurred. A year later another Coniflo deep-well pump was installed, and about two years later two more units were placed in service, making a total of four. The pumps raise water from a depth of approximately 75 feet to an elevation of 10 feet above the ground. The average power consumption for the year 1926 was 0.6 kw. per thousand gallons. Eagle Dump-Bodies for A NEW TYPE OF STREET LINE MARKER FROM DALLAS, TEXAS A DeVilbiss paint-spray machine is mounted on a Harley-Davidson motorcycle and chassis. The paint-spray equipment has an independent engine, air pump, air tank and spraying equipment. Two metal discs gage the width of the mark and keep the edges regular. It is claimed that this machine will lay a line in ten minutes which by ordinary methods takes three or four days. When tested, the machine marked twenty miles of streets in one hour The Eagle Wagon Works, Auburn, N. Y., recently delivered to the Bresee-Chevrolet Motor Company eight dump bodies and open cabs on eight Chevrolet trucks for the use of the Public Works Department of the city of Syracuse for street collection of refuse. The bodies are of the hand-hoist dump type of large capacity, for, with the extra 6- x 12-inch flaring sideboards, they have a capacity of 110 cubic feet, or about 4 cubic yards. For carrying light, bulky material, such as waste paper, leaves and refuse, this capacity is ideal. The body proper without the side flare measures 84 inches long, 65 inches wide, 16 inches deep, has a 55-inch loading height and a 24-inch dumping clearance, and weighs 900 pounds. LINE-UP OF CHEVROLET TRUCKS EQUIPPED WITH EAGLE DUMP-BODIES AND OPEN CABS PURCHASED BY THE CITY OF SYRACUSE, N. Y. |