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M A Ra fe | ways seen. The firemen get a lunch of bread and tea before going on duty at 4 p. m., a heavy supper when they come off duty at 8 p. m. They also have a meat stew which they cook in the fireroom and eat when they come off duty at mid- night and at 4 a. m, "The firemen are not required to keep any account of the amount of coal they use. Chief engineers are agreed that such an account as they might keep would be of no value. After the, ship has been at sea for two or three days an estimate is made of the bunkers. If, on account of head winds or for any other reason, the coal is found to be disappearing too fast, the number of revolutions of the engine is reduced by cutting off steam shorter in the H. P. cylinders. The amount of coal carried is just about sufficient for the voyage at normal speed, with a margin for safety. "The 'Patent Log' is put over only occasionally, and is not towed all the way across. The captain checks his observations by the revolutions of the main engines, which are reported to him every twelve hours for that purpose. Thus the errors in coal account and in the records of the patent log, which cause naval officers so much, unnecessary fret and worry, are sum- marily disposed of. "As the ship slows down to enter port a detergent is fed into the condensers and the latter allowed to get hot, losing the vacuum to a certain extent decided upon by experience. The main feed pump is stopped, and the black, greasy water delivered by the air pump into the feed tank is pumped over- board. Sponges and felt are used in the feed tanks. After the first twenty-four hours the sponges are found to be of but little use and the felt is little better. "At the ship yards on the Clyde much interest is being manifested in the marine steam turbine. One ship builder said to the writer that he considered that the marine steam turbine had long since passed. the experimental stage. He then proceeded to point out new machines that he was in- stalling for special work in marine turbine engines, five medium-sized vessels on the stocks in which he was about to fit such engines, one in the water just receiving her ma- chinery, and one which had just completed her trial trip, making seven in all. One of the vessels was to cruise as far as New Zealand. When the suggestion was made that there might be a risk in sending such comparatively untried en- gines so far from home, he stated that his firm guaranteed the results. He states that turbine engines effected a large saving in weight if properly designed, and that they also save some- what in overhead space and a little in length, though not much in breadth. "With regard to steering gear the general practice on the Clyde appeared to be to rely on the telemotor altogether and with no installation of the wire rope gear. Considering the frequency of the failures of the wire rope gears of our naval installations to act surely and properly, it would seem to be an excellent plan for our constructors to follow the Scotch builders. "No visitor to the Clyde can afford to miss the opportunity of taking a trip on one of the new turbine steamers. Through the courtesy of the owners the writer was given the privilege of spending a day in the engine rooms and firerooms of the Queen while the vessel was under way, and of having his numerous questions answered by the chief engineer. The Queen Alexandra has been described so often in the pages of this journal, as well as elsewhere, that it is hardly neces- sary to say that she is the newer and the faster of the new turbine steamers built by Denny & Bros. of Dumbarton in 1902, to run on the Clyde from Greenock to Campbelltown during the summer months, touching at a number of points en route, going and returning. "Her trial speed was 2134 knots; length, 270 ft.; breadth, moulded, 32 ft.; depth to promenade deck, 18 ft. 7 in. She is fitted to accommodate 2,000 passengers. To make her schedule Re oe ON -- tm a 19 time she steamed on this occasion at a speed of about 19 knots and notwithstanding the stops at five piers, reached Campbelltown on time to a minute, having left Greenock at 8:45 a. m. and having reached her destination at 12:30 p. m. "The high-pressure turbine drives the center shaft at about 600 revolutions; the two low-pressure turbines, one on each side, run at 800 revolutions for 19% knots speed. There is but one screw on each shaft. The aggregate I. H. P. de- veloped is 3,000 and the boiler pressure is limited to 150 lbs. Her owners have stated that the coal consumption is much less than that of a similar vessel fitted with triple-expansion engines, which they previously operated on the same service. The oil consumption is almost nothing, as the same oil is used over and over again; the total loss in three summers of about eighteen months' running having been but one gal- lon. "The shafts when carefully gauged showed a wear of only one one-thousandth of an inch the first summer and nothing the second summer. The tool marks still remain in the thrust collars. Metallic packing is used for all stuffing boxes. 'Pope's Joint' is used for all steam and exhaust pipes. This consists essentially in faced flanges, scraped to fit and brought together under great pressure by a special contrivance. The lubricating oil for the main engine journals is forced into them under a pressure of about 5 Ibs., works through the journal, and is then drained off into a settling tank. A special pump draws it up again and forces it into circula- tion. The journals are kept cool by a water jacket through which sea water is forced by a pump, the water being then delivered overboard. There is one main condenser on each side of the engine room close to its own low-pressure cylinder. The air pumps, two in number, are of the Edwards type without valves in the bucket and maintain a vacuum of from 27 to 28 in. No bilge pump is used as no water finds its way from the machinery to the bilges. . All the steam exhaust from every auxiliary machine is used in the feed heater, keeping the feed water up to 200 degrees Fahr. The design of the feed heaters is such that the feed water travels three times through the heaters. "The forced-draft blowers are placed close to the working platform together with the air-pressure gauges, all of which are tended by the engineer on watch, who maintains a steady pressure of one-half inch of water in the closed fire- ' rooms while under way. The blowers are large for the work required of them and run at a very low speed. The main feed pump is fitted with the automatic arrangement usual on British vessels for regulating the speed of the pump accord- ing to the amount of water in the feed tank. The stopping, backing and maneuvering of the engines was done quite as quickly and easily as could have been done with triple-ex- pansion engines, all of the signals being answered promptly. "The vacuum being constant, the speed called for was de- termined by the pressure shown on the gauge attached to the high-pressure valve chest, so that when, at any time, the captain signalled 'half speed' for example, he always got the same number of revolutions and there was no delay or mistake due to attempting to count revolutions. The en- gines were run entirely by the pressures indicated on the gauges. A dial and pointer were connected with each main engine shaft so that the direction and speed of the shaft could be observed if desired. In fact, that was the only way that one standing a short distance from the engines could know whether or not the engines were in use, as they made no noise whatever, and there was no sound of rushing steam, such as is heard in other engines. "The work in the fireroom was perfect. Upon entering a fireroom a white light was seen to shine out from all the ash pits and from every one of the air holes in the furnace doors and fronts. Upon looking into the furnaces each was seen to have a layer of coal of the same depth, about five