Twenty Years with the Indicator: Being a Practical Textbook for the Engineer (Classic Reprint)

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Excerpt from Twenty Years With the Indicator: Being a Practical Textbook for the Engineer When the author commenced a series of articles on the Indicator in the Boston Journal of Commerce, it was only with an idea of writing a few articles in number, for the purpose of showing up some of the most generally found defects of the builders of steam engines, - defects in practice, - and to explain, in as simple a way as possible, how to adjust, or at* least how to overcome these defects, so far as the defects of building would allow, and make a more economical use of steam. The subject, however, grew on the author's hands, and, rather to his disappointment, a great deal of inquiry was elicited. The articles were continued far beyond his own ideas, originally, and, as the paper was growing rapidly in circulation, hundreds of subscribers were added who could not procure the first of the series. Within the first four or five months inquiries began to come in asking us if we would not print the articles in book form. It was a year or more after the appearance of the first article of the series before time could be given to their revision for the purpose of republication in book form. Meantime the name of the paper had been changed to Cotton, Wool and Iron, and the subscription list was increasing faster than ever. All this required new quarters, and we were obliged to move in the very midst of the preparation of this book, and the book was still further delayed some two or three months on account of having to add to our plant for printing the paper. This, in brief, is how this book came to be printed. It is offered to the public with the full knowledge that there are many little inaccuracies, arising from the fact that the author has been doing the work of two or three men. Aside from having the full management and editorial charge of the paper, (which is no easy job, ) his daily consultations have been large, being obliged at times to travel several hundred miles per week, which, together with the charge as consulting engineer of a number of large steam plants and cotton mills, has made it next to impossible for him to sit down for more than an hour without interruption or being obliged to drop the work entirely for days together. The subject-matter of the book has been gathered from probably the broadest experience ever enjoyed or earned by any man in this country. It was commenced at a time when but very few people knew anything of the Indicator, and the instrument was in a crude state, - when it was far from perfect. The hobbies and vagaries of engine builders, the ignorance, prejudice, and love of the dollar on the part of the steam users, and the bigotry and prejudice of the working engineer, made it at times almost impossible, even when we were investigating for our own benefit, to obtain access to an engine. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully, any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.