The engine engraved on page 124 is named the ‘First Grand Prize,’ and is provided with seats for firemen, coal bunkers, water tanks, &c. It is said to raise steam from cold water to working pressure in seven to eight minutes from the time of lighting the fire; and to be capable of pumping 600 gallons per minute to a height of 180 feet. The present price of this engine, including the various fixtures and fittings, is 820l.
The most important part of a Steam Fire-Engine is the boiler, which should be of such a nature as to supply the greatest amount of steam in the shortest possible space of time. Messrs. Merryweather have adopted the system invented by Mr. Field, which has already for some years given such excellent results in England. The distinctive feature consists in closed tubes suspended in such a manner as to be completely surrounded by the frame of the furnace; these tubes communicate by only one extremity with the boiler: inside of them are smaller tubes, open at both ends, and with the upper ends widened out in the form of a funnel. The release of the steam produced, and
