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August, 1917 manufacturing enterprises and as these wharves are used for purposes in connection with the industrial estab- lishments owning them and are not generally available for public use, no special mention of them will be made in this category, except in the case of those belonging to the large ship yards which have played so large a part in the development of both Phila- delphia and the nation’s commerce. Two of the largest ship yards on the American continent are located in the heart of the port, within one mile of each other, one of them, that of the William Cramp & Sons Ship & En- gine Building Co., on the Philadelphia side of the river, and the other, the New York Ship Building Co., on the Camden or New Jersey side. These two important establishments each employ several thousand workmen. Ranking next to these private yards, from a ship building point of view, is the Philadelphia navy yard of the United States government, situated on League Island in the extreme southern end of the city, just at the junction of the Schuylkill with the Delaware river. This establishment is located on a reservation containing more than 900 acres, and affords employment for some 2,000 to 3,000 men. It has ap- proximately 4% miles of deep water front capable of development for the accommodation of large ships, on which frontage there are already pro- vided piers and bulkheads, at which may be berthed fully 60 vessels, or nearly half of the entire naval fleet. This is the only fresh water navy yard in the country and is now the navy’s main repair yard and reserve station for vessels in ordinary. Railroad Facilities Extensive The excellence of Philadelphia’s railroad -facilities along her main waterfront can hardly be overstated, and place her in a position unique among Atlantic ports. Three great continental trunk line systems, the Pennsylvania railroad, the Philadel- phia & Reading railroad, and the Bal- timore & Ohio railroad maintain well- equipped marine terminals within a few miles of the heart of the city, at which ships of large size can dock and unload with safety and dispatch. In addition, the main Delaware river waterfront is served by the Phila- delphia Belt Line railroad, a quasi- public corporation, by means of whose facilities occupants of any of the pub- lic or private wharves in this section of =the city-\can obtain ‘direct ‘car service. This is an exceedingly valu- able privilege. The importance of this privilege to ship owners and operators and to large shippers, can scarcely be over-estimated. Practical- ly all of the steamship wharves are provided with railroad tracks running on them for nearly their whole length, usually in sunken pits which bring the car floors level with the pier deck and greatly facilitate the easy and economical transfer of freight between vessels and cars and cars and vessels. In addition to the harbor facilities described, extensive improvements are planned by both the municipality and the several railroad corporations having terminal wharves and yards on the Philadelphia waterfront. These contemplate the construction of a dozen or more modern, well-equipped, fireproof, two-story piers, of greater A des om cemere s Fo at Alte . ST Oe gS Me mgm 0! AD Oe a at ee ae a THE MARINE REVIEW 267 New Sea Fighter Launched The superdreadnought IpAHo, launched June 30 at the Camden, N. J., yards of the New York Shipbuilding Corp., is a sister ship of the battleships Mussissippr and New Mexico, now under construc- tion. The Mrssisstppr was launched Jan. 25 at the yards of the Newport News Shipbuilding & Dry Dock Co., Newport News, Va., while the New Mexico was launched April 23 at the New York navy yard. The IpaHo is 624 feet in length, 97 feet 414 inches in extreme width, and has a mean draft of 30 feet. She will have a displacement of 32,000 tons. She ae SiR r ea Phy LAUNCHING BATTLESHIP IDAHO AT CAMDEN size than any now in the port, the establishment of new, large car stor- age and classification yards in the Greenwich. section, near the southern end of the main Delaware river front, and the extension of belt line railroad tracks and connections along the waterfront. Funds are now available for and construction operations have been commenced. In all, $13,300,000 was appropriated during the past year alone. A diver has made two trips to the bottom of the river at Milwaukee at the place where the CuristopHER CoLUMBUS was crushed by a falling tank, and a number of passengers killed. After a thorough exploration of the wreckage he reported that there were no_ bodies there. The Goodrich Transit Co. has petitioned Judge Geiger, in the United States court to limit liability for dam- ages growing out of the accident. carries Parsons turbines, geared for cruising, and capable of developing 32,000 horsepower, giving her a_ speed of 21 knots. She will mount twelve 14- inch guns in four turrets of three guns each. F The new battleships, ARIZONA and PENNSYLVANIA also carry 14-inch guns, but those on the IpaHo will be 50 cali- bers long, instead of 45 calibers, the length of those on the earlier 14-inch gun ships. The second battery carries 22 five-inch guns, and her armament is completed by two 21-inch torpedo tubes. She will be manned by 56 officers and 1141 men. The IpAHO was authorized by congress on June 30, 1914. Her keel was laid Jan. 20, 1915. She was about 70 per cent completed when launched, and will be finished within her contract limit of 36 months. Miss Henrietta A. Simons, granddaughter of Gov. M. Alexander of Idaho, was the sponsor.