connection with the coal downtakes, makes it possible to carry a
high-grade coal in some of the bunkers for use during periods of heavy
load and a cheaper grade in other bunkers for the periods of light
load.

To provide means for shutting off the coal supply to each boiler, a
small hopper is placed just over each boiler, and the downtake feeding
into it is provided with a gate at its lower end. Two vertical
downtakes extend down from the boiler hopper to the boiler room floor
or to the stokers, as the case may be, and they are hinged just below
the boiler hopper to allow their being drawn up out of the way when
necessary to inspect the boiler tubes.

[Illustration: WEST END POWER HOUSE IN COURSE OF ERECTION]

Wherever the direction of flow of the coal is changed, poke holes are
provided in the downtakes to enable the firemen to break any arching
tendency of the coal in the downtakes. All parts of the downtakes are
of cast iron, except the vertical parts in front of the boilers, which
are of wrought-iron pipe. These vertical downtakes are 10 inches in
inside diameter, while all others are 14 inches in inside diameter.

[Sidenote: _Main Boiler
Room_]

The main boiler room is designed to receive ultimately seventy-two
safety water tube three drum boilers, each having 6,008 square feet of
effective heating surface, by which the aggregate heating surface of
the boiler room will be 432,576 square feet.