ARC WELDING

Dominion, Volume 13, Issue 43, 14 November 1919, Page 10

ARC WELDING

JOINING UP THE TM RAiLS

A WONDERFUL PROCESS

An e.wriment is at present being made will) on itinerant arc welding plant to. ur;.v(. hoe- the tramway rails, now laid separteiv. and ju-'iiwl up by being bolt-Icd-lo n li.-h-pliiU', can be wade :! break-!e.-is track, so rendering iiniitcessary the copper banding which ha* always to be nriividcKi where the- rails join, in order In conduct tho elc-ctriei'.l current along:. With a good weld the banding would bo unnecessary. I'c-rlinps that would nut lie imporlant were it. not. that wherever rails meet the wear and tear causes n Might dip, and that slight dip is no good for the wheo.V or Hie car. The smoother the tracks are the lew wwir mid tear U registered against (he midertruck. So that, whilst tho arc welding iniikes for a continuity of the- rail electrically, it provides against .irregularities in the su.-fjce of the rails. The. arcs are fed from the overhead tramwav v, ires with a voltage of GO, and an amperage <if 350. Such is- (lie "brilliancy of Ihe flame that the operator lias to wear a mask which actually shields tho whole of ilis head, mid which is fitted with toned glass windows for the eves. The operator's hands also have to be urotoctra witii gloves. The weld it--self hits to bo fed by stcol electrodes, which blend readily with Ihc steel of t.he rail, and when efficiently done the ioin is us strong as any part of the rail itself.

Are, wi.'liling is in its infancy in Wellington, but the war him proved its wonderful efficacy, particularly in the abililv of the Xnvy to do repairs quickly, and in some cases lo do thorn at sen. The Americans are nnitinfr great iiso of the. new discovery, and it was imiiuly by means of are. vetoing.that repairs were effected to tho engines of the Vaferlimd and other big German liners, which were broken bv the Uernmn crows before they n-ern linnded oror to Aiiieriea on the latlor country entering fho war. Those vessels were wanted most urgently for the conveyance of troops across Hie Atlantic, and it was only through the.aid of arc welding plant s that they wore flbh> lo be got ren.dv for sea in es- many day.s a' weeks would be required for the ordinary mothon' of effecting such rePiiirs. '!lie time is coming when each liner.will have its cwu are-welding; plant, and a fractured crank shaft will not bold the terrors it. doc? to-day. Tho Tramway Department's outfit . ifi oompneteo' neitly on a motortruck which can bo driven to any point fit' the iitie neded, or it can be used in (ho workshops for the. repairing 'of wheels, nxles, and the multitudinous nart.s to which welding bears a working relation.