Thunder and Lightning.

Looking forward to follow this.

Better.

So this is a TL.

Vanderbilt.



IGD.





Diary entry: C. Brush dated 1 February 1876.

I am doomed..

Letter:
47 1st Ave,
Boston, Mass
1 April 1876

Mister Charles Francis Brush, Esq.
1350 Euclid Avenue, Suite 1000,
Cleveland, Ohio

Dear Mister Charles Brush.

I set pen to hand this Saturday to “compliment” you on your second attempt to make for us a dynamo suitable for our needs. Your choice of vendor, the Eagle Iron Works of Cincinnati, Ohio was most interesting, as my associate, John Adams Howell, remembers that concern as the one that created the gun-house for the USS Klamath, a Cascoe Class monitor built in that city, that never saw service in the War of the Rebellion, as she was overweight and top-heavy and unsafe to steam in even the calmest of currents. Do you see where this letter trends, Mister Brush?

We received that dynamo, on the 25th of last March month, and we promptly tested it to see if it met specifications.

At 1200 pounds (544 kg.), the result for the dynamo was 0.038 hp/lb (0.062 kW/kg) for the dynamo alone.

When mounted in the carriage, with the aggregate weight now 4,200 lbs (1905 kg) the result was 0.018 hp/lb (0.029 kW/kg). This exceeds the required minimum output of 0.011 hp/lb (0.018 kW/kg).

The good news is that the carriage made it up the 4 mile incline. It did not stall out, nor did it catch fire. The bad news is that the brush contacts, made of brass that was mounted on carbon silicate bedding, melted and welded themselves to the copper commutator contacts.

We trust that your third attempt will be more successful? We suggest the following modifications:

1. The solid cast armature could be lightened by stacking disks of thin steel plate with light spacers of non-conductive material and sliding that wheel assembly onto the axle as is done with a wagon with a squared hub join. Each plate in that stack, both steel and the spacer, could have holes drilled in the wrap arms / spindles so that further weight reduction is achieved. The whole intent, here, is to reduce the current single cast armature by 300 pounds (136 kg).
2. We think that the shoes for the stator, wire wrapped and mounted by rivets on the bell / yoke, is a fantastic idea to lighten the hoop. The ease of repair, would be further improved by screw mounting the shoes to the bell to ease their replacement. Again, plate stacking the shoes and drilling in holes to lighten each plate is recommended.
3. Furthermore, the bell, itself, could be drilled with holes for air cooling the armature and that bell thickness of 2 inches, (5 cm) could be halved, with little loss in sturdiness throughout the whole assembly. These steps, 2. and 3., could save an additional 300 lbs (136 kg.).
4. Mister B. Fiske recommends a set of non-conductive mica sleeves and steel ball bearings sealed in heavy oil for the armature spin mounts.
5. For the contactors and brushes for the commutator, I have taken that problem out of your hands, as you have proven incompetent in that matter. I have verified that a carbon laminate paper with copper salts embedded into it will suffice for needs. I have supplied an appendix with descriptions as to how you are to make the commutator and the contact brushes. The process is mine and is patented. You will pay me royalties as described, also included in the appendix.

By following these suggestions, we are confident that a dynamo meeting our requirements is not only possible, but well-achievable.

Mister Vanderbilt sends you his regards. He suggests that the end of April will be most acceptable as a due date for the next model submitted to arrive here for testing.

He does not think that your request for reimbursement of $25,000.00 is justified until the dynamo has passed all testing. Anyway; good luck with your next attempt. Please pass on to Mister Miles Greenwood that he is about to be purchased out. We like his company.

Sincerely:
Irene Goss Davenport; DME
BNY

Letter:
47 1st Ave,
Boston, Mass
1 April 1876

Mister Bradley Fiske, MEE
63 Flushing Ave,
Brooklyn, New York

Dear Brad;

I wish to compliment your workshop on the duplication of the steam engine. I thought both the plans and the actual engine had been lost. As you know, Mister J. Ericsson has been a bit difficult as to supplying drawings for it, to us, ever since Thomas Rowland's workshop burned down in that insurance arson last year and his, Ericsson's, papers were lost to the fire. I guess his memory is not what it was.

That you could find and duplicate the achievement based on the recovery of the USS Patapsco wreck is quite remarkable. I would be remiss to note that at 100,000 pounds, the engine will not fit the tram carriage at all, but as you know the revised plan is to convey power to the tramcar by overhead suspended wires and pulley runners to that tramcar for the immediate future, The sheer weight of the steam engine is not at issue for us as this is a proof of concept. We can work on that problem to get it down to the required size once we have proofed all components. The present issue is getting that engine from New York to Boston to operate as the primary rotator for the dynamo, which means I am thinking of using a boat as the powerhouse and supply and as the means to move the engine from where you are to where I am.

Let me know what you think of the idea? We can pass it on to our other friend, Vanderbilt, and maybe he can arrange to have it built.

Your partner in all things connivery:
Irene Goss Davenport; DME
BNY