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8 a ————————— A GRAPHICAL RECORD OF PROGRESS IN STEAMSHIP CONSTRUCTION. A “Manual of Steel Steamship Construction” has_re- cently been published in Germany, and its author, Herr Otto Schlick, in his introduction presents an interesting chart showing typical steam vessels from the beginning of steam navigation to the present time, all drawn to the same scale The column is headed by the tiny Comet of 1812, named, perhaps, from the train of fire left behind from the chim- ney when the boat was under way, and the last on the list is the new Kaiser Wilhelm II, now being built for the North German Lloyd Steamship Co., which is planned to eclipse the White Star Line’s Oceanic in length and the Hamburg-American’s Deutchland, which now holds the ocean record for speed. t Herr Schlick also presents some interesting notes re- garding the development of iron and steel shipbuilding, which we abstract as follows: The first iron vessels ever built were some canal boats, constructed in England in 1787. Before this time iron could scarcely have been applied to boat construction, since it was only in 1784 that the process of rolling iron plates came into tise, and it was 1786 that the first rolled iron plates were used in boiler construction. Although from this time on there was a somewhat exten- sive application of iron to canal boat construction in Staf- fordshire, it was not until early in 1822 that the great stride was taken in advance by the construction of the steamboat Aaron Manby, which was worked up at Horsley and sent to London for erection. ‘This steamer, under the command of Captain (afterwards Sir Charles) Napier, went direct from -London to Hayre, and was then put at work upon the Seine, where it rendered satisfactory service for a long time. Two years later, in 1824, the Shannon Steam Packet Car had an iron steamer built for river service, and this was soon followed by five others. Progress along these lines then became more rapid, and a number of firms at Liver- ae and on the Thames turned out this class of work. he first iron sailing ship was built in 1838 by Jackson & Jordan, of Liverpool, and was called the Ironsides. About this same time the firm of ‘od & McGregor be- gan to play an important role in iron shipbuilding on the Clyde. At that time sailing vessels were built with a gross tonnage of from 200 to 300 tons burden, and steamers had a length of from 130 feet to 200 feet. Among the lat- ter the Princess Royal may be mentioned as a vessel noted for its size and speed. It had a length of 1095 feet, a: breadth of 26 feet and a depth of 1634 feet, while its engines were capable of developing 400 horse-power. In 1843 the Great Britain was built. This vessel was ot dimensions that had been unheard of up to that time, and marked a great advance in the development of iron ship- building. This ship was also the first large screw steamer. She was built at Bristol for the Great Western Steam — Packet Co., and had a length of 320 feet, a breadth of 51 feet, and a depth of hold of 32 feet. Ona draught of 19 feet, this ship had a displacement of 3,900 tons. It had a capacity for about 1,000 tons of coal, 500 tons lading, and 300 passengers. ‘The vessel was, however, an unfortunate one, and went ashore in Dundrum Bay on her first voyage, where she lay for a long time. For some time after this the iron shipbuilding industry remained at a standstill, and the dimensions of the Great Britain were only slightly exceeded in rare instances, until the famous Great Eastern was produced. ‘This ship, which was so enormous that it has only been equaled in very re- cent years by the largest types of trans-Atlantic express steamers, was built at Millwall in 1857 after the plans of Brunel and Scott Russell. Although it was commercially a total failure, its construction must nevertheless stand, in many respects, as a sample of modern design. Its length was 680 feet, its breadth 83 feet, and its depth 38 feet, while its registered measurement was 18,915 tons. About the time of the completion of the Great Eastern the first experiments in the use of steel as a shipbuilding material were made. ‘The first steel steamer was built on the Thames in 1857 for Samuda Bros. by J. & G. Rennie. Curiously enough, the construction of the Great Eastern exerted no marked influence upon iron shipbuilding, since the relative size of steamers remained-the same both be- fore and after its completion and the later growth was quite gradual. In fact, it was more than half a centurv later, or in 1809, that the leneth of the Great Eastern was slightly exceeded by the White Star steamshin Oceanic. _ Iron shipbuilding was developed at a much later period in Germany than in England. It is impossible, however, to state with certainty as to when the first was built. ‘T'wo of the first, possibly the very first, iron vessels to be built in Germany were the Konigin Maria and Prinz Albert, which were constructed in 1836 from the plans of Prof. Schubert. The first iron seagoing steamship to be built in Germany was constructed at Hamburg in 1838 by Gleichmann & Busse for a Holland firm, and was named the Willem I. About this time the same firm built the steamer Alexandrine which later, under the name of Phoenix, plied for many years in passenger service between Hamburg and Harburg. In 1851 Messrs. Fruchtenicht & Brock, two Hamburg en- gineers, established a small works at Bredow, near Stettin, for the construction of iron vessels, and built in that and the following year Die Divenow, which for a time was used in the coal service, and is still in use as a hulk. From this - small beginning there has grown that immense establish- ment known to-day as the “Stettiner Maschinen-bau- Actiengesellschaft Vulcan.” THE MARINE RECORD. In 1853 the ‘Tischbein dockvards at Rostock turned out two iron vessels for passenger service between that port and St. Petersburg. ‘They were called the Erbgrossherzog Friedrich Franz and Grossfurst Constantin. ‘The first of these two ships, long known as the Amsterdam, is still in regular service between Hamburg and Rotterdam. In 1854 there followed from the yards of Moller & Hol- berg, at Stettin, the steamer Princess Carl. On the lower Elbe the first iron river steamer was built at Hamburg in 1855, by the Reiherstieg Shipyard and Machine Works. ‘Iwo years later this same firm built the first iron sailing ship constructed in Germany, the Deutsch- land, and a short time afterwards built the steamer Patriot. The German establishments for the construction of iron ships enjoyed a very rapid development. ‘Their numbers increased from year to year, so that at the present time Germany possesses thirty yards for the construction of iron or steel seagoing vessels. In comparison with England, which now possesses more than two hundred shipyards (though the great majority of them are engaged only in repairs and the construction of small vessels), this is a small number. But, in the matter of their output, the Ger- man establishments compare very favorable with England. The extraordinary advances which Germany has made in steel ship construction are principally due to the extensive development of the great German steamship companies during the past ten years. or oor STATISTICAL REPORT OF LAKE COMMERCE. THROUGH CANALS AT SAULT STE. MARIE, MICHIGAN AND ONTARIO, FOR THE MONTH OF MAY, 1902. / EAST BOUND. : U.S. |Canadian Articles. Cutial; Canal. Total. COppeticc cng isi sien net tons 12,735 1,576 14,311 Grain ea eee bushels} 991,080} 241,356] 1,232,436 Building Stone....... net tons A-O§0} <a) e ties 4,950 POUR Sierras eer cretecaiciee barrels] 613,434] 299 609} 913,034 Tron Ore seees kes net tons| 2,820,270] 145,991| 2,966,261 TrOny Pigs Paces vareee net tons Ric tke era ttes 3.348 Lumber.......... M.ft. B.M.| 133,642 8,467| 142,109 Silver Ore... 02... Ot TOMS uae ate hee pan tcrlinntn oargares Wheat: sieves bushels! 6,844,673) 2,507,570] 9,352,243 Genl. Mdse..........net tons 2,398 4,383 6,781 Passengers........... number 473 2,139 2,612 WEST BOUND. Coal, hard........ net tons} 52,293)......... 52,293 Coal, soft......... ...-net tons} 600,473 37,142| 637,615 TIONG eros, piatia tw lata py DAFECISI 6 ccs08s cidlis caddies, bese |e Rivatsaeis Grains. faa Scene oy Bushee) eee sic cars tie Bieesyo) oess|s seid ates Manf’d. Iron........ net tons 13,537 3,687 17,224 NOME ere ph cre aese eee che barrels 37,836 24,022 61,858 Genl. Mdse.......... net tons 59,567 16,753 76,320 Passengers.......-... number 675 2,477 3,152 Freight. East Bound.......... net tons} 3,352,851} 280,034) 3,632,885 West Bound......... nettons| 731,546 61,228) 792,774 Total Freight. .net tons} 4,084,397 341,262 4,425,659 Vessel Passages.. .... number 2 356 Reg’d Tonnage... .... net tons} 3,582,752 2,925 3,953,165 Compiled at St. Marys Falls Canal, Michigan, under direction of Major W. H. Bixby, Corps of Engineers, U.S A. JOSEPH RIPLEY, General Supt. ee A LARGE SAWMILL INDUSTRY. The Houghton Lumber Co. has purchased a sawmill of upper peninsula parties and will remove it to Atlantic sands during the summer months. The capacity of the mill will be something over 50,000 feet of lumber a day. It will be fitted up to cut either hard wood or pine. he plant will include a sawmill, shingle and lath mill and a factory for the manufacture of sash, doors and windows. It will be one of the most complete plants in the upper peninsula, and nearly everything that is essential in the construction of a house will be manufactured. It is the intention of the companv to move the mill at once. The articles of association of the Houghton Lumber Co. filed, show that the company has a capital stock of $50,000, divided into $5,000 shares of the value of $10 each. The incorporators are lames Pryor, Reginald C. Pryor and John C. Pryor. The purnoses of the company as stated in the articles of association are to manufacture lumber sash, doors, blinds, shingles and-lath. . : ‘ JUNE 12, Igo02 BURSTING BOILERS—SINKING SHIP. There are some popular fallacies regarding engineering questions it seems almost impossible to kill. One of them that used to be very widely held when less was known about the strength of boiler structures was that ~ explosions were invariably due to “shortness of water,” © and that with a plentiful supply of water in the boiler explosion was impossible. ‘[he tenacity with which this belief was held by the general public undoubtedly tended to obscure the real cause of these disasters, and, indeed,” in many cases, led to blame being thrown upon innocent persons. Engineers, of course, now know better; but the popular mind still clings to this belief, and it is seldom a serious explosion occurs without its enunciation again ap- ~ pearing in the daily press. Another equally silly but fixed — theory is that when ships founder the boilers invariably — blow up as they disappear under the waves, uttering, as it were, a death-knell over their unhappy fate. We are reminded again of this in connection with the recent sinking of the Waesland off Holyhead, the daily press ac- counts of which were accompanied with the usual story about the rush of steam from the bursting of the boilers as the ship disappeared. This popular fallacy appears to be based upon the unquestioned fact that in such cases a rush of steam escanes from the funnels, and to an idea that the sudden drowning of the boilers makes them burst —that, in a word, they explode, and we may coin an anti- thesis, from “excess of water.” ‘The chserved phenomena is, however, capable of very simple explanation, though it does not provide matter for the sensational “copy” in which the average reporter delights. That a rush of steam should escape up the funnels when the rising water reaches the level of the furnaces and suddenly quenches the fires is only natural;-but the immersion of a steam boiler in cold water, far from causing increase of pressure has a precisely opposite effect, and lowers it by condensation at an exceedingly rapid rate. ‘The risk of damage, if there is any, is that due to the creation of a partial vacuum in the boiler, as a consequence of which the shell stands a chance of being collapsed or crushed. The chance of this, however, is small, and we have never yet heard of a case in which a vessel has been subsequently recovered by sal- vage operations, being found with either a burst boiler or | collapsed one. ‘The daily papers, of course, pay little or no attention to this sequel of events. ‘The requiem of burst boilers becomes, like “shortness of water,” reporters’ tradi- tion, to be stowed away until another disaster occurs, when it is trotted out again as one of the thrilling incidents of a catastrophe—The Mechanical Engineer (London). or or or HIGH-SPEED ENGINES. In a paper on “High-Speed Engines,” recently read be- fore the Liverpool Engineering Society, Mr. J. Davidson gives the following figures as representing the average pres- ent-day practice in the type of engine considered: LH.P. Revolutions per minute. Piston speed. 50 550 475 100 500 500 150 450 600 200 400 600 300 375 625 400 350 650 600 325 700 1000 300 700 The difficulty in attainine still higher speeds of revolu- tion lies not only in the great increase of inertia forces, but also in obtaining sufficient area through the ports to admit and release the steam quickly enough. Referring to the fact that excellent double-acting high-speed engines were now obtainable, the author stated that in these wear was avoided by the excellent lubrication afforded, and by the care taken to provide ample area in the bearings. Thus, in an ordinary marine engine the maximum presstire on the cross-head pin is about 1,500 pounds per square inch, the pressure on the guides 60 pounds to 70 pounds per square inch, on the crank pins 500 to 600 pounds per square inch, and on the main bearings 400 pounds per square inch. In a high-speed double-actine engine the corresponding fig- ures would be about as follows: Cross-head pins, 1,000 pounds per square inch; guides, 40 pounds per square inch; crank pin, 400 pounds per square inch, and main bearings, 280 pounds per square inch. All these bearings, would, moreover, be supplied with oil under pressure by means of an oil pump. In illustration of the small amount of wear in the working parts of a modern high-speed engine, Mr. Davidson gave the results of measurements taken on a Willans’ central-valve engine of 80 indicated horse-power, after five years’ work, the average day’s ruin being 13 hours. Tn the five years the engine had made over 535 million revo- lationsya 7%. The total wear of the shafts and brasses was 16/1000 inch at the governor end and 21/1000 inch at the flywheel end. ‘The thickest feeler which could in any way be passed between the solid valve ring and the valve chamber bore was found to be 6/1000 inch, representing, say, 4/1000 inch wear from the original dimension. oro oro Running Down of Tug—A steamship which overtook, ran down, and sank a small tug in the Schuyskill river in the day time, and without giving any signal of her ap- proach, was in fault, and is liable for the damages, in the absence of evidence clearly showing that the collision was caused by some fault of the tug. ‘The Fleetwing, 114 Fed. Rep. (U. 8S.) 409.