MARINE REVIEW. VoL. XII. CLEVELAND, O., AUGUST 8, 1895. No. 6. Car Ferries for Siberia, There is no advertising scheme in the Detroit Dry Dock Co.'s negotia- tions with the Russian government to design and superintend the con- struction of immense car ferries for service in Siberia. While the navy de- partment has been sending the big cruiser Columbia on a fast trip from Southhampton to New York, and is contemplating ordering the Minneap- olis to Japan to advertise American progress in ship building, this lake firm has been quietly making arrangements with Russian engineers, whereby it is proposed to furnish plans and send men to Siberia to superintend the construction of two and possibly five ice-crushing car ferries, similar to, but larger, than the St. Ignace, which has been engaged in the Straits of Mackinac for some time past, and which, with three tracks, is capable ofcarrying eighteen loaded freight cars, sometimes crushing through solid ice 27 inches thick in mid-winter and seldom encountering a single day's delay in the service. It is, of course, well known that one of the greatest public works of the Russian government at this time is the construction of a military railway across Siberia, which will connect St. Petersburg with Okhotsk sea on the Pacific. The construction of this railway is an undertaking of great magnitude, and its importance commercially, as well as from a mil- itary point of view, may be best understood by a glance at the accompany- designing all parts of the boats and superintending the work, is as well as settled. Engravings and a full description of the St. Ignace, after which these boats are to be patterned, will be found in the REVIEW of April 5, 1894. Discouraging High Speed in Narrow Channels. In accordance with resolutions adopted at the last meeting of executive officers of the Lake Carriers' Association in Cleveland, Secretary Keep has sent out another circular regarding high speed in narrow channels, in which he says: 'The prevailing low freights and the change in the regulations governing the navigation of the St. Clair Flats canal have produced an alarming increase in the speed of steam vessels in the narrow and danger- ous cuts in the Detroit, St. Clair and St. Mary's rivers. Vessel masters report that many vessels are running at unsafe speed through the Lime- Kiln crossing, the Hay lake channel, the St. Clair Flats canal, and other narrow channels. Unless this reckless navigation is checked at once some serious accident will happen at one of these places and the entire lake commerce may be blockaded thereby. 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WO" Ns =S (Ge ¥ wit Cu mE y tog s= SAN, N S ss BS Vike, "ing Mo , @ (el (\ EN i aw, Gn hah Has on) ie WG," Z oO Me ly ies (a thn eis fi fi My il Wh, sya ryil oy yi i' oi Mu "Mut Mutt ist ys idl I Myc yh he ag - Marine Rese ing map, which will give an idea of the immense territory to be traversed. The heavy line on the engraving shows the railway constructed to Omsk in Siberia, while the light line shows the course to be followed across Lake Baikal on the way to the Pacific. It is necessary to cross this lake, in order to avoid construction of the road through mountainous regions. Lake Baikal does not appear very large on the map, but it is about the size of Lake Erie, and for a period of about three months of the year ice forms rapidly and is very thick, the themometer sometimes registering 40 degrees below zero. The problem of carrying trains of cars across this lake caused the Russian government to send engineers to the lakes to investigate and report upon the work of the big car ferries at Mackinaw, and to open up negotiations with the builders, the Detroit Dry Dock Co., to superintend the construction of similar boats in Siberia. Three parties of engineers, the last of them in the direct employ of the Russian government, have visited Mackinaw and the works of the dry dock company within the past few months, and as a result of propositions made to them, Messrs. Frank E. Kirby and Gilbert N. McMillan are now in St. Petersburg, and it is expected that contracts will be closed this week. The vessel's hulls will of course be built at Lake Baikal where they are to be used. Matters pertaining tothe construction of machinery, etc., are not as yet fully decided upon, but the important feature, that of the dry dock company greatest caution at the points above mentioned, and pamela the necessity of reducing the speed at these points." Copies of the circulars will be furnished By members of the Lake Carriers' Association to vessel masters. In a circular urging vessel owners to resist all efforts of Buffalo hard coal shipments to break up the fueling agreement, Secretary Keep of the Lake Carriers' Association says: " Except for the voluntary agreement of vessel owners not to take fuel from hard coal shippers, directly or in- directly, vessels chartered for coal at Buffalo have been and are now per- -- mitted to buy their fuel where they please. It has not been necessary for vessels seeking coal charters at Buffalo to fuel at the port of Buffalo, aud many of them have taken cheaper fuel at other ports. The price of fuel at Buffalo this season has been fully forty cents per ton lower than last season, with an improvement in quality. Surely this is a most suc- cessful outcome of the struggle. In addition to these advantages, vessel owners have acquired new confidence in their ability to stand together, and to right their wrongs by united action." Corrigan, McKinney & Co. of Cleveland have bought the Crystal Falls mine but there is no truth in the report of their having purchased the Windsor. ----e