PREFACE. THIS book is designed to meet the need of young engineers who are preparing to occupy positions of responsibility such as "Municipal and County Engineers," "Borough Surveyors," etc. It deals with the general practice of municipal engineering work and the theoretical principles involved therein, and includes such subjects as Design of Structures in brick, stone, and reinforced concrete; Chimneys, Steel Construction, and Mechanical Engineering; Roads, Electric Tramways, Bridges, River work, and Land Drainage; Hydraulics and Pumping Machinery; Waterworks and Sources of Supply; Sewage Disposal, Filtration, and Purification; Sanitation, House Drainage, and Disinfection; Refuse disposal; also Specification.* The information has been gathered for the most part from the author's own experience in practice. Succeeding generations of engineers have found Professor Rankine's book upon Civil Engineering of the utmost value, and, as revised from time to time, this book has held and continues to hold an unchallenged place. But in relation to modern municipal engineering practice the author of this present text-book ventures to hope his work may prove of value, and in many ways supplemental to that of Professor Rankine. Young men qualifying for the engineering profession, and who have had the advantage of a University education, often lack just that training which used to be secured under the old system of apprenticeship, and to such as these the record of experience given in these pages should be of service. The attempt is here made to present under one cover a compendium of Municipal Engineering without the work becoming a voluminous encyclopædia, and to accomplish this the author has relied upon a large number of specially prepared illustrations which do away with the necessity of extended text, as every engineer should be able to read these drawings with the same ease as he can read the text. So varied are the duties devolving upon the Municipal Engineer of to-day that a very wide range of knowledge is required to fulfil them; but the mind cannot retain every detail, and reference to such a work as this, becomes The subjects of Gas and Electrical Engineering are only touched upon as they relate to the duties of the surveyor. increasingly necessary. Formulæ for various purposes are great time-savers, and many such are introduced into the text, and for easy reference are numbered consecutively. Mathematics are sparingly used, as the book has reference more especially to general practice, but a thorough grounding in mathematics is most desirable. The author has had in mind the many examinations now held to test the efficiency of engineers, and for which this book would be of service. Information concerning these examinations is given at the end of the book. Although the work was not prepared to cover any special syllabus, yet for the examination of the Institution of Municipal Engineers, at which candidates are permitted to take into the examination-room a text-book for use during the examination, this book seems exactly fitted. Young men attending evening classes at Technical Colleges or pursuing private study would derive great advantage from a careful consideration of this work if available in the library. The author desires to express his thanks to many friends and firms who have placed valuable information at his disposal, and have furnished material from which some of the illustrations have been prepared, and for which acknowledgment is made in the text. He also desires to thank his publishers for the unsparing way in which they have produced the book. In spite of every care errors may have escaped notice, and the author will be grateful for information in regard to such. DUBLIN, May 1911. F. NOEL TAYLOR. |