Steamships and their story

by E. Keble Chatterton

THE “OCEANIC” (1899).

From a Photograph. By Permission of Messrs. Ismay, Imrie & Co.

THE “CEDRIC.”

From a Photograph. By Permission of Messrs. Ismay, Imrie & Co.

The British reply to the Kaiser Wilhelm der Grosse came not in speed but in size, for it is not always realised how costly it is to get an extra knot or two out of a big steamship, and that such an attainment is out of all proportion to the expense which this has involved. At high speeds the resistance of the ship, of which we have already said something, increases far more rapidly than it does when the speed through the water is slow or even moderately fast. When a ship reaches the speed of 20 knots the influential factor of wave-making comes in prominently. Furthermore, in order to coax an extra knot or two out of the ship, you must needs increase her weight and usurp a very serious amount of space by larger engines and boilers. Therefore, the answer to the German attack was seen in the comparatively slow White Star Oceanic, the second steamship of that name sailing under the same flag. This modern ship was the first vessel which exceeded the length of the Great Eastern, and is about 13 feet longer, though about 14½ feet narrower than Brunel’s craft. True to the White Star type, the latest Oceanic is ten beams, and even more, to her length, her measurements being 705 feet long over all, 68·4 feet wide, a draught of 32½ feet, and the terrific displacement of 28,500 tons, that of the Great Eastern having been 32,000. Like the other great Atlantic liners since the City of Paris, this Oceanic was fitted with two sets of triple-expansion engines driving twin-screws; she began her voyaging at the end of 1899. As will be seen from [the accompanying photograph], in spite of her magnitude, she is so beautifully designed that there is nothing in the least out of perfect proportion. Some idea of the number of tiers possessed by the Oceanic, rising high above the water, may be gathered if we enumerate them singly. Looking at the illustration, and beginning from the top, there is the captain’s bridge towering 43 feet above the sea. Eight feet below comes the boat deck, and below that the promenade deck, and lower still the upper deck. Then the first line of port-holes shows the extent of the middle deck, and the next line the lower deck. In addition to these five decks which stretch from one end of the ship to the other there are two partial decks, the orlop and lower orlop respectively. Like other modern steamships, the Oceanic has a double bottom, sub-divided into so many cells. She has been built with the intention of being used, if necessary, as an auxiliary cruiser, and was designed with the necessary additional strength. Keeping up an average speed at sea of about 20 knots, this great ship is not compelled to drive headlong into whatever weather may be waiting for her. The absence of extra powerful engines also means the absence of that unpleasant vibration which is not unknown to some of the “flyers” that tear across the ocean in a hurry to get their passengers and mails to port. It will be noticed on examining this illustration that, unlike the case of her namesake, the turtle decks have disappeared altogether, the reason being, as already pointed out, that the hull is so high above the water as not to need these. In spite of her great length, the Oceanic is not so unhandy as she might seem. Her forefoot is well cut-away, and this, in addition to the proper employment of her twin-screws, enables her to be manœuvred with a facility that is a little surprising.

The Cunard Company resting content with the performances of their express steamers Campania and Lucania, still left the Kaiser Wilhelm der Grosse to maintain the reputation for pace, and, following the example of the White Star Line, built in the Ivernia and Saxonia a couple of steamships of great size but comparatively moderate speed. The Ivernia is two feet shorter than the Majestic, but her gross tonnage comes out at 14,027, making her in this respect but little inferior to the Kaiser Wilhelm der Grosse, though superior to the latter in displacement tonnage. The Ivernia’s speed averages about 15¼ knots; she came into being in 1899. These vessels belong to a class of steamship which has grown up under the title of “intermediate,” its origin being based on the assumption that a comfortable, economical, moderately fast type of ship would be able to find appreciation no less than the high-powered ships. Both the Ivernia and Saxonia have considerable capacities for cargo as well as passengers, and are characterised by their exceptionally low coal consumption. They are single-funnelled boats, and engaged on the Liverpool-Boston route. But the Ivernia was the first of the Atlantic liners to break away from the triple-expansion system and to be installed with the more modern quadruple-expansion type of engine. This being the same principle as the triple-expansion pushed one stage further, using four instead of three cylinders, we need not stop to explain what is already clear in the mind of the reader.

THE “CELTIC.”

From a Photograph. By Permission of Messrs. Ismay, Imrie & Co.