The following text may have been generated by Optical Character Recognition, with varying degrees of accuracy. Reader beware!

REAT NORTHERN is the name of a rail- way already famous throughout the coun- try from the head of Lake Superior to the far northwest, and by the building of a fleet of passenger steamers = limerss Jamies |p esalie president of this rail- way line, proposes to not only control a very | large share of the treight and passenger business across the en- tire country from the Atlantic to the Pacific, but to eventually establish steamship lines on both oceans. These latter projects are matters of the future, but with this issue the REVIEW is en- abled to preseut a supplemental photo-gravure illustration of one of the fleet of lake passenger steamers, two of which are now under construction at the ship yard of the Globe Iron Works Co., Cleveland. 'The engraving is a reproduction of a painting, pre- pared from drawings of the boats, and represents one of the big steamers passing up the Detroit river, opposite Woodward avenue, in the city of Detroit. A glance at the picture shows a vessel entirely new to the lakes, as these steamers will cost no less than $600,000 each and are patterned in every way after the best design of ocean-going passenger boats. They have already been described at some length, and it is sufficient to note here as regards dimensions that they are 360 feet keel, 380 feet over all, 44 feet beam and 34 feet deep. In the many new features as to boilers, engines, cabin ar- rangements and provision for lightening and increasing draft, the construction of these boats will, however, cause a great deal of discussion, as they will represent the latest practice known in ship building. 'The service demands a boat capable of making 20 miles an hour, and in order to secure this speed builders and owners agreed upon quadruple expansion engines. In this respect they have taken a step in advance of builders of this country, at least, who have been discussing the question of the economical limit of the multiple expansion system, but who have not as yet applied the quadruple expansion type of engines to large Steamers. It is in- teresting to note in this connection, however, that in bidding on the last two vessels of the United States navy, for which the con- tracts will be let shortly, the Messrs. Cramp of Philadelphia submitted proposals on plans of their own in addition to their bids on the plans of the navy, and in their own bids the principal change suggested by the famous Philadelphia builders was to sub- stitute quadruple engines for the triple expansion engines pro- posed by the navy department. In this same connection it may be added that the Cramps will equip the new Inman line boats with quadruple engines. MARINE REVIEW. Each of these steamers will have two overhead cylinder ver- tical quadruple expansion engines, which will develop at least 7,000 horse-power. The high pressure cylinder is forward, fol- lowed by first and second intermediate and the low pressure. The sizes of these cylinders which have been given in the REVIEw, are 25, 36, 514 and 74 inches, the stroke being 42 inches. 'The four crank shafts will be fixed at an angle of 45 degrees, and will consist of four interchangeable parts. The cylinders will face-out- board, and will be supported by wrought columns, and forked cast columns behind with slipper guides. There will be piston valves throughout, and Joy valve gear. 'There will be one piston valve for high pressure cylinder, and all the others will have two each. With the exceptions of having one more cylinder, and being much more massive, the general appearance of the engines will be very much like that of the Comanche, illustrated in the REVIEW some time since. 'The air pumps and condenser will be independent. The air pump will be vertical, and have two single acting cylin- ders 36 inches diameter by 16 inches stroke. The twin screws will be arranged with brackets similar to those on the Goodrich line steamer Virginia, and will turn out- wardly. 'The propeller wheels will be 13 feet diameter by 18 feet mean pitch. 'Ihe steam will be furnished by 28 Belleville boilers at 195 pounds pressure, which, with the atmospheric pressure, equals 210 pounds. 'These boilers were fully described in the last issue of the REVIEW. An idea of the massive proportions of the engines will be suggested by the weight of the bed plates, which will weigh 34 tons each. 'The low pressure cylinders will each weigh 24,000 pounds. 'The piston heads of the low pressure and second inter- mediate cylinders will be of cast steel. There is, of course, no way of determining just what the fuel consumption of a big steamer of this kind would be on the very fast run of about 1,000 miles from Buffalo to Duluth, but such questions are always matters of gossip and it is estimated that the supply required for the trip will be 800 to 1,000 tons. In the engine room department it is probable that no less than sixty men will be required. These items of expense, together with the very heavy first cost of the steamers, and the fact that they will have little more than three months of profitable service during the summer season, with no revenue from freight, have caused considerable comment as to the suceess of this undertaking. This comment is, however, simply an expression of opinion which is certainly not based upon a thorough canvas of the sub- ject. On the other hand a line of this kind has been talked of for years among railway managers and vessel owners well posted on the passenger business, and it is more than probable that Messrs. Hill, Gordon and their associates are thoroughly satisfied as to pat- ronage. It is even hinted that their present business with connect- ing lines is sufficient assurance of success in this enterprise. American capital and American material and workmanship will control every part of the building of these ships. All of the machinery and even the boilers, which are of French pattern, will be constructed by the Globe Iron Works Company. Of the material in the hulls, the angles' will come from the™Cleveland Rolling Mill Company, plate from the Otis Steel Company, and beams from the Pencoyd Iron Works.