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Trunk Piston Diesel Engine of Large Bore, Stroke The Busch-Sulzer Bros. Diesel En- gine Co., St. Louis, has designed and constructed a three cylinder experi- mental trunk piston diesel engine with cylinders 30 inches in diameter and 52 inches stroke. This large trunk piston engine is now in opera- tion on its test bed at the plant of the builder. The engine was de- signed and constructed to explore thoroughly all problems presented by the largest size of trunk piston, in order to establish all appropriate intermediate bores and strokes, This company has built five large trunk piston engines with cylinders 19%, inches in diameter and 27 inches stroke. Three of these engines are rated 3000 horsepower in 10- cylinders at 240 revolutions per minute, Between this size and the 30-inch diameter by 52-inch stroke at 120 revolutions per minute of the experi- mental engine are numberless varia- tions of cylinder diameter and stroke to meet particular require- ments of head room, weight, higher speed gear drives, and electric drives, ranging from a bore to stroke ratio of 1.5 down to square cylinders. The latter of course have slightly higher fuel consumption but offer lowest head room where this is essential for navy and passenger ships. In other words, with the same de- sign of simple trunk piston engines, the entire field from 1000 to 10,000 horsepower and from 90 to 500 revo- lutions may be covered by merely changing the bore and stroke, The object is to develop an engine with the fewest number of parts, lowest manufacturing cost, minimum up- keep and maximum simplicity and reliability, A. G. Pratt, president of the Bab- cock & Wilcox Co. has been elected a member of the board of directors of the Worthington Pump & Machin- ery Corp. A New Spherical Compass A magnetic compass of new form has been invented and perfected by Wilfrid O. White, Boston. It is known as the Kelvin-White spherical compass. Since the magnetic compass was first made the marine compass bowl has always had a flat top glass until four years ago, when Mr. White, in conducting experiments to produce a steady compass, became convinced that if the compass bowl were spher- ical it would result in greater steadi- ness of the card at sea. The motion of a ship whether rolling or pitch- ing or a combination of both is in a vertical direction. Consequently in a 24 flat top compass the liquid, disturbed in a vertical direction, hits the glass” and then swirls around the bowl in a horizontal direction. The card is thus naturally agitated causing the unsteadiness common to the old type of compass, In the spherical bowl, however, the liquid, in the form of a ball with the card in the center of it, remains still even though the bowl is dis- turbed in any direction, and, there- fore, no horizontal swirl is possible. As a result the card is very steady. Also in this new spherical compass the magnetic element has been re- designed so that the inertia and the magnetic moment are in harmoni- ous arrangement to one another. The combination of the spherical glass bowl and the liquid that fiils it completely, forms a meniscus lens which tends to magnify the ecard at the far side, away from the observer, where it is most needed. Steadiness Wilfrid O. White and greater visibility are but two of many improvements in the new spherical compass. The safety factor is of great importance to the navi- gator and the owner. The binnacle head of the usual steering compass makes it impossible for the watch officer to see the com- pass without making a special efiort by going around to the side of the helmsman. The spherical compass is open and visible from all parts of the pilot house. The Kelvin-White spherical com- pass has been tested on shipping board vessels and privately owned passenger vessels on trips to South America, Europe, and in other world routes with entire success. Remark- able steadiness and reliability have been demonstrated. The United States coast guard and lighthouse departments have specified this com- pass for their new vessels. The American Hawaiian Steamship Co. has ordered this type of compass in- stalled on 25 of its ships after sea- going trials covering a month. MARINE REVIEW—March, 1934 Intercoastal Trade Inquiry. Under Way in New York With a view to obtaining neces- sary information regarding, condi- tions in the intercoastal trade, the secretary of commerce has approved a thorough inquiry of the prevailing: policies, practices, services and charges of ocean carriers operating between Atlantic and Gulf ports and the Pacific coast via the Panama canal, As this is written formal hearings, open to the public, were scheduled to begin in New York, Feb. 26. Ata later date, not yet announced, an- other hearing will be held in San Francisco. Sixty-two carriers have been named as respondents and have been notified to appear, either in per- son or through representatives. H. H. Heimann, director of the de- partment’s shipping board bureau,. announced that the hearings will be conducted by the bureau’s division of regulation. He also stated that the purpose of the inquiry is to es- tablish a basis of facts regarding actual conditions in the intercoastal trade with a view to promoting great- er stability in the trade, Among the matters to be inquired into as specified by the secretary are, the pooling of revenue by conference lines, rate differentials between dif- ferent lines, port equalization, the performance of transportation serv- ice or services in connection there- with without proper tariff authority, the non-performance of services which carriers by their tariffs hold themselves out to perform, private contracts between carriers and ship- pers. competition between members of the Gulf intercoastal conference and members of the United States intercoastal conference and the hold- ing out by carriers to perform serv- ives which are actually performed by other persons,.. The hearings will be held solely for the purpose of obtaining, in the most direct manner, certain definite: information needed by the depart- ment for the proper administration of the intercoastal shipping act of 1933 Upon conelusion of the hearings, a report containing the tentative find— ings and conclusions will be served upon the respondent carriers and all others who testify. Opportunity will then be given for the filing of excep-- tions, The directors of Todd Shipyards:. Corp. at their monthly meeting, held Feb. 20, declared a quarterly dividend ' of 25 cents per share, payable on March 20 to stockholders of record at. close of business March 5.