The Water Supply of the El Paso and Southwestern Railway from Carrizozo to Santa Rosa, N. Mex. | Page 5

a sustained pressure of 300 lb. It is a friable material, and cannot be caulked successfully. Its principal ingredient appears to be sulphur. The failure was by slow creeping out of the joints. It is melted and poured, but not caulked. It has attractive features for low pressures and for lines not subject to movement or heavy jarring.
_Air-Cushions_.--To prevent water-hammer on the pumping main, all pumps are provided with large air-chambers. In addition, and as the special feature for absorbing the shock of pumping under high pressure through a pipe 21 miles long, a large air-chamber in the form of a closed steel cylinder, 5 ft. in diameter and 15 ft. long, is mounted on the pumping main outside of the pump-house. This cylinder is set on its side, in concrete collars, directly over the pipe beneath, to which it is connected by a 12-in. tee, in which a 12-in. gate-valve is set. The cylinder is provided with a glass gauge, cocks, etc. It was designed for a working pressure of 300 lb., and, at each pumping plant, it has proved to be entirely air-and water-tight. As indicated by sensitive gauges on the pump main, just beyond these large air-chambers, the latter absorb all the water-hammer which gets beyond the air-chamber on the pumps.
_Air-Pumps_.--Each pumping plant is provided with four automatic air-charging devices, connecting to all air-chambers of the pumps and to the air-chamber on the pumping main. They are of the Nordberg type, and have proved very efficient. They are operated only a part of the time; otherwise, they accumulate too much air in the chambers.
_Air-Valves_.--On the entire line there are 144 automatic air-valves made by the United States Metal Manufacturing Company, of Berwick, Pa. They are working satisfactorily.
_Gate-Valves_.--In addition to the customary gate-and check-valves at the reservoirs and pumping stations, gate-valves are located at necessary points and elevations in the line to control the flow of water and keep the pipe full, even to the extent of closing all such valves tight and holding the line full without flow. This is for the purpose of delivering through a full pipe any desired quantity of water less than that required to keep the open pipe full. This, of course, is on account of the wood pipe. As the differences of elevations are very great on the gravity sections of the line, and as any one valve might inadvertently become closed tight when other valves above would be open, the bursting of the pipe under such conditions is prevented either by a pressure relief valve attached to and immediately above the gate-valve, or by an open stand-pipe erected on some suitable elevation between the valves. This is more clearly shown on the profile, Plate V, of the ground line and the hydraulic grades of the pipe line. An inspection of this profile will show that these controlling valves are located so that, when closed, the pressure against them does not rise above the maximum pressure on the section above, due to the hydraulic grade of the line when carrying its full capacity.
Safety Valves.--To prevent rupture of the pipe or injury to the pumps, in case the pumping mains should become obstructed, a 6-in. pop safety valve is mounted on the main just beyond the large air-chamber already described. These valves are set to release at the maximum working pressure of the pumps when the regular quantity of water is being pumped, and they are piped to the adjacent reservoir, so that there is no loss from them.
_Check-Valves_.--Check-valves are placed in the pumping main to prevent the backward flow of water. There is one near the pumps, and one at the upper end and outside of the reservoir into which the main discharges.
_Blow-Off Valves_.--These valves are located in all material valleys or depressions.
_Stand-Pipes_.--Between the gate-valves, at certain points where the maximum hydraulic grade is not more than 60 ft. above the surface of the ground, open stand-pipes are erected. If the grade line is too high, relief-valves are used, as stated. Also at two points, where a steep grade ends near the ground surface and is followed by a flatter grade, stand-pipes are erected.
These stand-pipes are of 6-in. iron pipe standing in a special casting in the pipe line and enclosed in a concrete base. They are, of course, open at the top, and vary in height from 15 to 60 ft., depending on the elevation of the hydraulic grade. They have given some checks on the position of this grade during the velocity measurements hereinafter described. Their locations are shown on the profile, Plate V.
Nogal Reservoir.--Nogal Reservoir is the storage unit of the system, and is on the north edge of a table-land, 1,700 ft. above the railway, on the Carrizozo plain, 15 miles away. It is 11-1/2 miles from