Purdue University - Debris Yearbook (West Lafayette, IN)

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THE OLD BOILER ROOM -THE LAST FIRE

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The basement is designed for experiments requiring isolation and great stability. Each of these laboratories is supplied with brick piers and numerous electrical circuits extending to the great switchboard situated in the general apparatus room. Altogether the new Phj sics Building will be not only modern in every particular but, in addition, it will con- tain a number of innovations designed especially for making it possible for a large numb er of students to work simultaneously on experiments of considerable delicacy. The University and the State are to be congratulated on the possession of such an important addition to their scientific and educational equipment. Another important step in the material progress of the institution was made with the completion of the Power and Heating Plant. The building and its appointments are of the latest and most approved type. An appropriation of $75,000 for the construction and equipment was made by the Legislature of 1903. The building was designed by Professor Goss, and was erected by R. P. Dagget Co. It contains four large tubular boilers, aggregating 1,000 horse-power. These are fed by automatic stokers, installed by Westinghouse, Church, Kerr Co. The apparatus for the handling of fuel and ashes is of the most modern and labor-saving type. A tunnel from the plant contains the steam pipes, its branches radiating to the various buildings. The boilers were first fired for use on January 13, and the last connection was made on February 29. Aside from its direct use for power and heating purposes, the plant furnishes valuable oppor- tunities for instruction in mechanical engineering. With the completion of the new heating plant came, of course, the abandonment of the old heating plant near the Pharmacy Building, and the boiler room of the Engineering Labor- atory. The old plant was dismantled, its boilers sold, and the building will be removed. With its abandonment the old bell, which for many years had sounded at each hour of the school day, at 7 :oo p. m., at 10 :oo p. m. and at 6 130 a. m., ceased to ring. The zone of student dence had long since extended beyond the sound of the bell, and little attention was paid to it except on the campus. Nevertheless, its passing was marked witli regret by many on account of sentimental reasons. In recognition of the valuable work done at Purdue in locomotive testing, came the Carnegie donation of $5,000 to Professor Goss to be used in carrying out locomotive researches. As this is one of the first of the donations of the Car- negie Institute to be made for the benefit of the applied sciences, it is significant that it should come to Purdue. The Laboratory for Testing Materials has been made an official timber- testing station of the Bureau of Forestry, United States Department of Agri- culture, with Dr. Hatt in charge. This adds greatly to the importance of the institution.

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During the year the Master Car Builders ' Association has installed a massive drop-testing machine near the locomotive laboratory. The drop weighs 1,650 pounds, has a maximum fall of fifty feet, and is equipped with an air hoist for handhng the materials to be tested and with a double cylinder for raising the drop. This becomes a part of the University ' s equipment. Several important improvements have been made on the campus, the most noticeable of which are on the street on which the campus fronts and on the athletic field. State Street has been paved with asphalt for the entire length of the campus, which, together with the improve- ments on the hill and levee, makes a continuous asphalt drive from the University to the city. The old board fence surrounding Stuart Field has been torn away, and replaced by a neat, strong, iron and wire fence. The bicycle track has been graded away, the whole field leveled off, and the cinder track improved. During the summer of 1903 the dairy barn at the farm was struck by lightning and totally destroyed. It will be replaced during the coming summer by a large, new building, modem in every particular, which is being planned by Professor Van Norman. The attendance at the University this year has been the largest in the history of the institution. The total enrollment was 1,434, distributed among the classes as follows: Seniors, 199; Juniors, 250; Sophomores, 336; Freshmen, 428 ; Senior Pharmacy, 36 ; Junior Pharmacy, 50 ; Resident Graduates, 24 ; Non-Resident Graduates, 9 ; Special 20 ; Winter Course, 82. This is a total of one hundred more than last year, and this in the face of increased entrance requirements. The instructional force consists of one hundred members. The attendance at the University is now as large as can be accommodated with the equipment at hand, and it is expected that the future growth of the institution will be along the lines of greater efficiency and a widening of its sphere of influence rather than a large increase in numbers. October 31, 1903, will long be remembered as the date of the saddest and most terrible event in Purdue ' s his- tory. It was the occasion of the annual football game between Purdue and Indiana Universities, which was to have been played at Indianapolis. The scenes on the morning of that memorable date were those of gaiety and antici- pation. At both universities enthusiasm was keyed to a high pitch, the capital was in gala colors, and from the surrounding towns on every side spectators were arriving to view the most important athletic contest in Indiana. From Bloomington a special train was bearing the supporters of the Indiana team to the capital. At Lafayette two Big Four trains were made up, carrying Purdue students and citizens of Lafayette; the first one consisting