FIG. 115.—“OCEANIC” COMPARED WITH BROADWAY BUILDINGS.
The “Kaiser Wilhelm der Grosse,” owned by the North German Lloyd Company, and built in 1897, is shown in [Fig. 114], and for three years held the record as the fastest steamship afloat. The “Kaiser Wilhelm” was followed by the “Oceanic,” in 1899, of the White Star Company, which is the largest ocean steamer ever built, exceeding the proportions of the “Great Eastern.” Just what the dimensions of the “Oceanic” mean, as given in the preceding tables, can be best illustrated by the accompanying [Fig. 115], in which she is juxtaposed with several blocks of large buildings on Broadway, New York, opposite City Hall Park. If the “Oceanic” were placed on end beside Washington’s Monument, at the United States Capital, she would tower 150 feet above the top of the same. An ordinary brick house four rooms deep and three stories high could be built with its length crosswise in her hull. There is accommodation for 410 first-class passengers, 300 second-class passengers, and 1,000 third class, and as her crew will number 390, the total number of souls on board, when she carries her full complement, will be 2,100.
The latest achievement in marine architecture, however, is the “Deutschland,” built for the Hamburg-American Company. The “Deutschland” is not quite so large as the “Oceanic,” but is of higher speed, her maximum speed of 231⁄2 knots an hour exceeding that of any other ocean steamer. The “Savannah,” the first steam vessel to cross the Atlantic, made the trip in 1819 in 26 days. The “Deutschland” in her eastward trip September 4, 1900, crossed the Atlantic in 5 days 7 hours and 38 minutes, which is the fastest time on record. The “Deutschland” is of 35,640 horse power, her two bronze propellers are 23 feet diameter, and weigh 30 tons, and her propeller shafts are 25 inches in diameter. The cranks of her propeller shafts, like those of the “Kaiser Wilhelm” and the “Oceanic,” are set according to the Schlick system, to reduce vibration. The “Deutschland’s” engines are seen in [Fig. 92], and in general appearance the ship resembles the “Kaiser Wilhelm.” Still larger and possibly swifter steamships are in process of construction, viz.: the “Kaiser Wilhelm II.,” by the North German Lloyd Company, and a mammoth unnamed ship by the White Star Line, whose length of 750 feet will exceed all others.
It may be interesting to note in familiar terms what these enormous traveling palaces comprehend in equipment. For the safety and comfort of passengers, the great length reduces the pitching, bilge keels prevent rolling, and the Schlick system of cranks neutralizes vibration in the engine. Strong bulkheads, and double bottoms with air-tight compartments, impart buoyancy in case of collision. Boilers are placed in separate water-tight compartments, so that damage to one does not disable the others. Powerful pumps are arranged to discharge inflowing water, and the best of life boats are provided. Spacious dining rooms, promenade decks, drawing rooms, pianos, library, smoking room, state rooms, cabins for children, toilets, baths, medicine stores, a printing office, and electric lights everywhere, furnish every want and satisfy every luxurious taste. The cuisine includes a refrigerating plant, the finest ranges, and provisions galore. It may be interesting to the housewife to see the market list of a modern transatlantic steamer. A specimen is partially represented in the following: 25,450 pounds of fresh meat, 3,250 pounds of fish, 6,370 pounds of game and poultry, 12,715 pounds of bread, 43 barrels of flour, 3,938 pounds of butter, 1,307 pounds of coffee, 2,790 pounds of sugar, 102 pounds of tea, 7,220 pounds of fresh fruit; 1,230 gallons of milk, 26,106 eggs, 29,180 oranges and lemons, 7,033 bottles of mineral water, 1,800 bottles of beer, 2,688 gallons of beer in casks, 1,240 bottles of wine, 630 bottles of champagne, 1,600 heads of lettuce, 800 jars of preserved fruits, and other things in proportion.
In the matter of size the “Oceanic” surpasses all previous efforts in ship building, but ocean steamers do not reach the highest speed attainable. The little “Turbinia,” a 40 ton craft equipped with a compound rotary steam turbine of the Parsons type, has attained a speed of 323⁄4 knots an hour. An even greater speed has recently been attained by the larger boat, “Hai Lung,” constructed in England for the Chinese Government, which vessel was equipped with reciprocating engines, and is credited with having made a run of 181⁄2 knots at an average speed of 35 knots an hour. The highest speed ever attained, however, is by the British torpedo boat “Viper,” which is 210 feet long, and, like the “Turbinia,” is equipped with the Parsons steam turbines. In a recent trial the “Viper” covered a measured mile at the rate of 37.1 knots, or about 43 miles an hour.
In many respects the most important branch of steam navigation in recent years has been its war vessels. The great navies of the world at the end of 1898[3] ranked as follows: England, 1,557,522 tons; France, 731,629 tons; Russia, 453,899 tons; United States, 303,070 tons; Germany, 299,637 tons; Italy, 286,175 tons, and they all owe their efficiency entirely to steam. The first steam war vessel was built in 1814 by Fulton for the defence of New York Harbor, during the then existing war times. She was known as the “Demologos” (voice of the people), or “Fulton the First.” As shown in the original designs, [Fig. 116], she is a double ender, whose sides were to be 5 feet thick. In her middle was a channel way or well containing a protected paddle wheel 16 feet in diameter, 14 feet wide, and having a dip of 4 feet. A single cylinder engine turned the paddle wheel on one side, and was balanced by the boiler on the other side. Although intended to have only twenty guns, she was equipped, when finished, with thirty long 32-pounder guns and two Columbiad 100-pounders. It was proposed also to have submarine guns suspended from each bow. An engine was also to be used to discharge hot water on the enemy, and a furnace was to be provided for heating the cannon balls red hot. She was 156 feet long, 20 feet deep, and 56 feet broad, and was regarded as a very formidable vessel. Her cost was $278,544. Iron-clad floating batteries were first used in 1855 in the Crimean war, and shortly afterward the French built the first sea-going iron-clad, “Gloire,” followed in 1859 by the British iron-clad, “Warrior.”
[3] The figures represent a selective list which excludes about 15 per cent. of old and inefficient vessels.
