Page 4 - Demo

Historic Gas Times%u2022 Issue 112 %u2022 September 2022 %u2022page4AFTER a trip to the famous Blue Mountains, and a visit to the wonderful Jenolan Caves, the writer returned to North Sydney.NORTH SHORE GAS COMPANY%u2019S WORKSTo visit the works of the North Shore Gas Company, which aresituated in North Sydney, a steamer was taken from Circular Quay, landing at Neutral Bay. The gas works are situated on one of the many picturesque indentations of Port Jackson.A brisk walk up to the gas works included a road cut through 30 feet of rock. This road was expensive but it soon saved thousands of pounds in transport costs. as the greater part of the gasworks are built at sea level sea, the rest is on terraces cut into the cliff . The stone and debris from these excavations were used for building and backing-up purposes. The capital expenditure of the Company per ton of coal carbonized was the lowest in Australia despite its difficult site.The North Shore Gasworks were established in 1877, to supply gas to the suburbs lying to the north of Sydney Harbour now known as the municipalities of North Sydney, Mosman, Willoughby, and Lane Cove. The population is about 56,000 and is rapidly increasing; so that the Gas Company will shortly rival the Australian Gaslight Company%u2019s works for size and output. The undertaking was purchased from the original proprietors, by the present Company in 1883, when the annual output of gas was about 18 million cubic feet. It is now over 300 millions. The Engineer and Manager is Mr. T. O. Morland, and the Secretary Mr. Edward Aiken.The rocky site of seven acres, sloping sharply from the water%u2019s edge to 80 feet or more above. Coal comes from the Maitland district and on discharge is elevated to the coal store on the top terrace. The coal is then elevated to the coal-store on the top terrace. The building adjoining the store, but on the terrace below, is No. 3 Retort- House, which contains ten beds each of seven inclined retorts, 20 feet long . They are heated by regenerative furnaces. The design of the coal-store and of this inclined retort-house has some unusual features. On the first terrace, about 48 feet above the retort-house floor, are ten tunnels; and above these the coal store is built. Near one end of the retort-house, an overhead landing stage and tramway have been erected. The coal for the inclines is landed here; and, after being weighed and broken, it falls into an inclined push-plate conveyor, which delivers it at a height of 96 feet on to band-conveyors running the full length of the coal-store. These details are better seen in Photograph No. 116. The floor of the store is formed into twenty hoppers, each with a shoot at the bottom. These shoots project into the tunnels before mentioned;and through them the coal is loaded into tip-trucks running on,rails laid with a slight fall towards the hoppers over the retorts.Retort-Houses Nos. 1 and 2 are on the lower stage. No. 1 contains eight settings each of six horizontal retorts, 20 feet by 22 inches by 1%u20194 inches, heated from generator furnaces. Until recently these retorts were charged by shovel; but the bench is now being rebuilt, and a coal bunker, elevator and De Brouwer %u201cComplete Stoker%u201d will form part of the new equipment: In No. 2 house. there is the same number of settings, with similar retorts, charged by shovel. The coal for these two retort-houses is stored in the building in between them and is cheaply removed from the ships by trucks running on an overhead tramway. The coke discharged from the inclined retorts falls into tip trucks which take it either to the breaker and coke-bin or to the stack. Mechanical exhausters are now used, though until about four years ago the exhausting was done by steam-jet. The exhausters are placed before the condenser. The latter consists of four rows of 12- inch cast-iron pipes, two tiers high, fixed on end. By means of a four-way valve, the current of gas is reversed twice weekly and since the introduction of this practice, naphthalene, which formerly was very troublesome, has gradually disappeared both from the works%u2019 mains and plant and from the consumers%u2019 services.There are four sets of purifiers, one water-sealed and the others dry. Locally obtained oxide of iron is the purifying material used. The purifiers, gasholders, and general office are on the top terrace of all.ROUND the WORLDAND SOME GAS WORKS, BY MAURICE GRAHAMThe multi-level North Shore gas works seen from the Harbour. A Collier is being discharged onto the conveyor, which climbs diagonally up the gables of the Inclined retort house and its coal store. The darker buildings at sea level are the original works with horizontal retorts