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> . j 4 E a io ts Sean BN Cais -Stokers Installed River Towboats Henry A. LAUGHLIN and the Vrs- TA, were recently launched from the Charles Ward Engineering Works at Charleston, W. Va. These two boats were built for the Vesta Coal Co., a subsidiary of the Jones & Laugh- lin Steel Corp. The accompanying il- lustration shows the Henry A. Lauan- LIN towing six barges loaded with coal. These two boats are sister vessels and are identical in dimensions and layout. They are 160 feet long; 29 feet 6 inches beam, and 8 feet 9 inches depth. They are propelled by twin screws driven by two 350-horsepower Ts modern river towboats, the engines, built by the American Ship Building Co., Cleveland. Coal is used as fuel and steam is supplied by a Bab- cock & Wilcox watertube boiler de- signed for 300 pounds working pres- sure. One of the most interesting fea- tures of these boats is the stoker which was built and installed by the Standard Stoker Co. Inc. This stoker is the result of many years of devel- opment and embodies the latest fea- tures for steamboat requirements. The applications of this stoker on the Henry A. LAUGHLIN and the VESTA are identical. The boiler is equipped with two fire doors. The stoker enters at the front center of ashpan and the vertical con- duit rises up above the grate level just inside the fire wall. The vertical conduit is protected by a drilled type protecting grate which also admits the requiring overdraft for correct com- bustion. Just above the grates and resting on the vertical top is the firing table which acts as a receiver for the fuel as it rises through the vertical overflow at the top. The distributor with the required number of jet holes and controlled by five separate valves is set centrally at the rear of the ver- tical and just above the firing table level. This allows the fuel to be caught in the jet of steam where it is readily spread. The distributor is cast integral with the manifold into which a steam pipe enters. This manifold, having five separate cores is supplied with five valves which regulate the supply of steam through the jet holes. The manifold is located in a convenient place on the outside front head with a: gage supplied on the steam line which registers the exact steam pressure be- ing used for fuel distribution. At the lower end of the vertical tube is the elbow section to which it is attached, bringing the conveying housing back ‘in a horizontal position toward the ‘coal bunkers. The section which en- ters the coal space is shaped like a ‘trough and supplied with sliding cov- in Modern ers, which when open, permit the fuel to drop into the conveyor. At the rear of this conveyor trough is a housing which encloses the screw drive gears of the stoker conveyor. The main drive shaft extends into the trough to permit a coupling with the conveyor screw. The conveyor screw itself, when properly coupled togeth- er, makes one continuous screw which carries the coal forward with little resistance. At the forward end of the conveyor trough there is a pronged structure against which the coal is broken down to proper firing size. At a point just to the rear of the ver- tical conduit centerline the conveyor screw is designed to push the fuel evenly through the vertical conduit and on the firing table. The two boats are provided with a right side drive shaft, that is, the stoker engine is placed at the right forward end of the conveyor trough. In other arrangements the stocker en- gine may be placed at the left side or at the extreme rear of the trough, di- rectly connected with the pinion gear and eliminating the drive shafts ex- tending from the rear housing to the engine. The stoker engine has two cylinders 7 inches bore by 7 inches stroke with valve motion effected by single eccen- tric. The engine is reversed by means of a valve into which the steam and exhaust lines enter. This is accom- plished by a movement of the spool valve in the valve body which changes the course of the steam and exhaust. This valve is for use in emergency and offers a means of placing the stoker engine in neutral position if desired. On the two boats, fuel is normally conveyed a distance of about 12 feet and the conveyor is arranged to bring the fuel forward at a greater distance. It is said that this stoker, through the even distribution of fuel, produced Towboat Henry A. Laughlin recent- ly launched at Charles Ward En- gineering Works for Vesta Coal Co. MARINE Review—July, 1931 temperatures of approximately 2600 de- grees. When these stokers were placed in service a device was installed which started the draft fan, steam jet supply and the stoker engine at a predefér- mined boiler steam pressure. This de- vice also automatically stopped the stoker conveying fuel when maximum pressure was obtained. With this ar- rangement, it is claimed that the stoker was stopped and started on a fluctuation of approximately five to seven pounds pressure, and that when the boat was tied up and steam con- sumption was reduced to the use of auxiliary equipment only, the stoker worked automatically. Finance Board of New Ship Line is Formed Organization of the finance com- mittee of the proposed Philadelphia Mail Steamship Co. was announced in Philadelphia on June 14. The com- pany proposes to establish a combina- tion passenger and cargo service be- tween Philadelphia, Liverpool and Manchester. Members of the finance and organization committee will in- clude J. N. Pew, president, Sun Oil ~Co.; Harold Loeb, chairman, Trades- men’s National Bank & Trust Co.; Harvey C. Miller, president, South- ern Steamship Co. and Atlantic Tide- water Terminals; Charles H. Ewing, vice president, Reading Co.; J. S. W. Holton, president, Philadelphia Mari- time exchange; Nathan Hayward, president, American Dredging Co.; Philip H. Gadsden, vice president, United Gas Improvement Co. and president of the Chamber of Com- merce; J. W. Van Dyke, president, Atlantic Refining Co.; A. Atwater Kent, president, Atwater Kent Radio Mfg. Co.; Alfred J. Ball, general for- eign freight agent, Pennsylvania railroad; Hubert J. Horan and John J. Egan, secretary to the committees. It is expected the company will be formally incorporated in the imme- diate future and will then take steps to raise the $4,000,000 fund to sup- plement the contributions of the Pennsylvania, Baltimore & Ohio and Reading companies. 37