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"4 MARINE REVIEW. [July 24 A SHIP OF THE PACIFIC NORTHWEST. A short account was published in these columns two weeks ago of the elaborate. ceremonies conducted at the works of the Moran Bros. Co., Seattle, Wash., on July 4, when the * keel of the battleship Nebraska was - Jaid. As this event marked an epoch ™ in the ship building industry of the Pacific northwest, it was thought worthy of special attention, and the ™ Review has since secured some illus- | trations of the works at Seattle, to- gether with a brief history of their development. The keel of the Ne- braska was laid, with the assistance of Gov. Savage of Nebraska and Gov. McBride of Washington, and . in the presence of some 15,000 peo- Govs. Savage, of Nebraska, and McBride,ple. The navy was represented at of Washington, driving the first rivet. the event by a number of prominent officers and a detachment of marines and band from Puget Sound navy yard. There were present also several distinguished army officers. The two governors who took part in the ceremony were accompanied by their respective staffs. Elaborate preparations had been made by the company for the re- ception and accommoda- tion of the visitors. Before and after the ceremonies the principal tools in the various shops were opera- ted, giving the visitors op- portunity to witness actual work in progress. The mechanical operation of laying the keel consisted of hoisting a section of the structure 72 ft. long, weigh- ing in excess of 20,000 Ibs., from the shop floor to an elevation about 20 ft. and carrying the same in mid- air to the proper point over the keel blocks on which it was lowered, the entire operation consuming less than five minutes. A rivet was then driven by the two governors, each removing his coat and rolling up his sleeves for the purpose. An accompanying photo- graph fully shows this per- formance. Appropriate and eloquent speeches were made by Govs. Savage and McBride, also by a number of local citizens. The cere- mony was most impressive throughout and the event was a perfect success in"all its details. The battleship Nebraska is one of five vessels, the construction of which was authorized by congress two years ago. These vessels are of the following dimensions: Length between perpendiculars, 435 ft.; length over all, 441 ft. 3 in.; breadth, moulded, 76 ft.; breadth, extreme, 76 ft. 2% in.; mean draught, 23 ft. 9 in.; displace- ment, 15;000 tons. The main battery of these vessels is. f0. consist of four 12-in. breech-loading _ rifles, eight 8-in. _ breech-loading rifles and twelve 6-in. breech- loading rapid-fire rifles. The other four battleships of the type to which the Nebraska belongs are being built in At- lantic coast yards. Seattle is a city on Puget Sound barely fiity years old. Moran Bros. Co.'s plant had its beginning twenty-two years ago. The these works is the remarkable result of the enterprising spirit of a few men aided by untiring and energetic efforts. These men were seven brothers, of whom, it is to be regretted but four remain, three having died during late years. The leader of these brothers has, from the beginning of their association, been Robert Moran, who is now president and general manager of the company. Prior to the year 1889 no ves- sels had been built by the THE 1,000-TON HYDRAULIC PRESS. SECTION OF THE KEEL OF THE BATT LESHIP NEBRASKA ON THE BLOCKS. success and rapid growth of? Moran Bros. Co. The first steel vessel built in the state of Washington was launched from their yard during the year 1896. Since that time a number of such vessels have been. built_at their establishment, as well as a number of other classes of vessels, sail and steam, for ocean, sound and river service. ; 5 Among the naval vessels turned out by this company is the. torpedo boat Rowan. The contract for this vessel was awarded in the fall of 1895 and the vessel was delivered to the navy department two years later, The contract for this torpedo boat called for a trial speed of 26 knots, and considering the trouble which has been experienced by other ship builders in the construction and trials of torpedo boats, the results attained on the official trial of the Rowan are very creditable to the builders, the trial speed attained being 27% knots, over one knot in excess of the trial speed called for by the contract. : : Se In the early part of 1898, following the gold. discoveries in. Alaska, Moran Bros. Co. undertook to build, including hull, machinery and equip- ment, and deliver at the mouth of the Yukon river at the time of opening of navigation on the river, twelve steamers, each 200 ft..long. The con- struction and thorough equipment of these vessels were accomplished in a period of five months, construction having begun in January and the twelve vessels being ready for steam before the first of June. These ves- sels were taken to the mouth of the Yukon river under their own steam, arriving there in time to do good service during the open season, and they are even now consid- ered to be the best vessels on the river. New power tools, many of which were designed es- pecially for this plant, have lately been installed, among which, and most remark- able, is an immense hy- draulic press designed and built by Moran Bros. This press is used for large punching, flanging, etc. Connected to the hydraulic pressure intensifier, this press exerts a power of 1,000 tons, and by reason of its open, gap has a large range of application. A photograph of this tool, ob- tained from the company, and here reproduced, shows the press as installed. A miniature map of the plant showing the general atrangement thereof is printed herewith. It will be noted that the ship-shed in which the present battle- ship is being built crosses the main shop at _ right angles. This shed is 920 ft. in length with the ship building slip in the west end. The east half, with adjoining buildings, are the ship fitting shops, equipped with power tools. Service for handling material in this shed is given by two electric high-speed traveling cranes, each spanning one-half the width of the shed. A central electrically-driven trolley is also being installed, giving independent service along the middle of the shed. These cranes and trolley at a high elevation cross without interference and with more than ample working space over the regular shop traveling cranes, giving the ship-shed hoisting appliances uninterrupted travel from the extreme east end of the shed to the west end, their combined working range covering the entire ship-shed floor, and with the invaluable ad- vantage of the working range these cranes and trolley have over the main shops at the place of intersection of the ship-shed with these shops, the MorRAaN BROS. COMPANY'S PLANT r Seatrve, Was. 100 Tow C@ANE Off? wAareeway Boor seovuvos LINES Fd OLE SrEAMINE THANE Lvurrase ITT Le ilitfitiL OUND, " Us x i WATERWAY 5 : SO & x 8 FLOATING ' ORY DOCK ' ' f 3 Q y y 0 sp UPC ULV dbedtebae tad STAVETUBAL STOCK y y SMPBULAING WAYS S Yaeo € : & 7 & Cb YAN IW A REMOES ESN Lippi pty, iy é COonnecrieyvrT s7 Sema 2 g g : 4