STATIONARY ENGINES.

329

HYDRAULIC MACHINERY FOR WAREHOUSING GRAINAT THE LIVERPOOL DOCKS.

The dock around which the blocks of warehouses on the Liverpoolside of the river are situated, shown in the general plan Fig. 211,is 570 feet long, 230 feet broad at one end, and 180 feet at the other.Three sides of it are occupied by separate blocks of warehouses,connected by wrought-iron bridges. The blocks on the east andwest sides are 650 feet long and 70 feet wide, and that on the northend is the same width and 185 feet long. Each block contains fivestories, as shown in the transverse section, Fig. 215; above the fifthor top storage floor, and partly in the roof, is placed the machineryfloor; and below the quay level are wells and arched subways forthe reception of the Underground machinery. There are five dis-charging berths for large vessels, one at the north block and twoeach at the east and west blocks; and additional accommodation isprovided for small vessels. In the centre or north block is placedthe steam engine A, of 370 horse-power, which in addition todriving the whole of the machinery in the warehouses, suppliespower for working the lock machinery and the bridges. Theseconsist of two bridges of 60 feet span and one of 50 feet, twelvesluices, ten powerful ship capstans, and twenty-four machines foropening and closing the lock gates.

The principal processes required to be performed by the machin-ery in the warehouses are:—Discharging grain in bulk direct on tothe quay or into the warehouses;—hoisting grain in bags or caskson to the quay;—discharging ordinary merchandise direct on tothe quay or on to any floor in the warehouses, and loading out-ward-bound vessels;—lifting and lowering sacks or other merchan-dise on platform elevators and jiggers, to or from any floor;—elevating, screening, weighing, and distributing grain in bulk, andconveying it to and from all parts of the warehouses, and outwardsfor delivery into ships or waggons;—and transferring grain fromone part of the warehouses to any other part.

The two accumulators which generate the water pressure employedas the medium for conveying power to the machinery are situatedat CC in the general plan Fig. 211, at each end of the centre ornorth block of building; and between the west block and the riverentrances a large auxiliary accumulator is placed. The two accum-ulators in the north block are each weighted with a load of 70 tons,