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. 34 TAE MARINE. REVIEW REPAIRS TO THE STEAMER ATHOS The following interesting article was published in the Sept. 21 issue of the American Machinist: I wonder how many of the readers of the American Machinist, after reading of the misfortunes of the Athos (the fruit steamer which was towed into port recently 14 days overdue), have any idea of the strenuous life led by the engineers of such a boat. The round trip, voyage in and voyage out--except when a godsend in the way of a break-down gives them a few weeks in port--is monot- onously the same. Twenty-four hours suffices to discharge the cargo in New York. Assoonasthe cargo is out, off she THE BROKEN SHAFT AND THE REPAIRS. steams to Jamaica. Arriving at Port Antonio the negro stevedores are taken on board and away she goes round the coast picking up cargo here and there, then back to Port Antonio, where the stevedores go ashore. From the time she takes the stevedores on till she discharges them again, 12 to 15 hours later, she has called in at and received cargo from as many as 10 different ports, with the engines working most of the time and steam up all the time. This loading is done at night, as the bananas are cut during the day. The only time that any repairs can be made is during the 24 hours in port in the United States. The engines of the Athos are triple expansion, their size is immaterial to this story; suffice it to say that they are--although the average landsman would not notice it--a trifle smaller than the engine room in which they are installed. The back ends of the boilers are separated from the engine-room by a thin layer of boiler covering only. The high and intermediate cylinders are equipped with Hackworth's single eccentric valve gear. On the bases of the forward and middle column, brackets are secured, which are a part of the Hackworth valve motion. The low-pressure cylinder is equipped with the ordinary Stephenson link motion. Homeward bound from Port Antonio the forward or high-pressure eccentric strap broke; this: carried away the two brackets on the base of the forward column. There was no spare eccentric strap and so it was decided to "blank off the high-pressure cylinder and run compound with the intermediate and low-pressure cylinders. As part of the intermediate valve gear worked in. one of the broken brackets, the bracket was shored in place and the Athos proceeded on her way under reduced steam. They were hardly started before the after coupling on the crank- shaft gave way. C at Fig. 1 shows the location of the failure, which I venture to say is probably without a par- allel. A is the afte: end of the crankshaft and D the forward end of the thrust shaft. E is a section of the hub of the turning gear. The turning gear is a worm wheel securely keyed on the two flange couplings of the crank and thrust shafts; by throwing a worm into gear with it the engines may be turned to any desired position and held there. when making repairs. When the crack occurred at C the shaft A turned in the flange B; the thrust shaft D, with the attached coupling flange -B, gradually coming to a stand- still, as the ship lost way. As soon as steam was shut off, the repair shown in Fig. 2 was made. It consisted of five brackets J secured to the shaft A and flange B-- be- tween the coupling bolts G--by means of cap-screws 1% inches diameter. This repair held for about half-an hour. The fine repair, shown at Fig. 3, was then made. The thrust shaft was disconnected and lifted out of the way. Three 3-inch holes were drilled at F, half in A and half in B.° Three pins were driven tight in these holes and cut off flush. The thrust shaft was then put back in place, the coupling bolts put in and the turning gear E put back in place on the flanges. The key of the turning gear was driven up witha heavy sledge and the job was finished. This time .she steamed 250 miles. About 12:30 one afternoon, while the donkeyman was below--relieving the engineer so that he could get his dinner--the turning gear, which was supposed to be immovable, slipped off and the next instant the coupling flange B fell in five pieces, cracked through the bold-holes G, as shown at H, Fig. 4. Six days and six nights in the stifling heat of the engine- room, with hardly any rest, the engineers of the Athos worked away at the repairs only to have them fail one after the other. But men like these make the merchant marine what it is. With few tools,--a ratchet brace, ham- mer, chisel and forge--and an unlimited supply of energy and know how, they do things that the average landsman or their brethren in the navy would deem impossible. It is safe to say that but for the slipping of the turning gear when it did, the Athos would have come into port under her own steam. DIXIE, News comes from Vienna that the large English ship building company of Messrs. Swan, Hunter, Wigham and Richardson, of Newcastle-on-Tyne, is arranging to pur- chase the greater part of the ship building yard of the' Austrian Lloyd at Trieste. The purchase is to be com- pleted after the conclusion of a new contract between Lloyds and the Austrian authorities. This is-one of the firms at 'present engaged in the building of the latest - Cunarders, the other firm sharing the work being Messrs. John Brown & Co., Clydebank. 'These vessels will be the largest in the world, having a length of 785 ft. and a carry- ing capacity of 30,000 tons. The forgings for these, in- cluding the stern frames and the rudders are being made by the Darlington Forge Co., which is also engaged upon the engine forgings and shafting for 'a number of large British battleships in course of construction.