32. Question.—Is there any difference, and if so, what is it, in locomotive and stationary boiler stoking?
Answer.—There is a wide difference between the methods, not only of firing but of the general work of the firemen and the stoker. (I cannot see why one should be called stoker and the other fireman, for they both have to keep the fire going and the steam up). The loco. fireman had to be at the engine shed forty-five minutes, and the driver thirty minutes, before the time of the train starting; the fireman gets the stores necessary for the journey, such as oil, tallow, cotton waste, yellow grease, and perhaps fog signals, gets his lamps from the lamp room already trimmed—these are the head lamp, side lamp, water gauge lamp, tail lamp and hand lamp; he places the head lamp on the right hand side of the buffer plank, the side lamp on the left side of the tender, the gauge lamp close to the glass, the tail lamp behind the tender; he has to take his engine to be coaled (it used to be coke in my early days on the L. & N. W. R.), and fills his tender with water, and brings his engine over a pit, fills the axle-boxes of engine and tender; by this time the driver shows up, and goes under the engine and thoroughly examines every part of the gear; then he oils her, and both men sign on for the particular train that the engine's number is in line with, and run down the incline to Euston, where they hook on to their train and wait. If it should turn out to be a particularly heavy train, the driver will request the pilot-engine driver to hook on and go perhaps as far as Tring or Wolverton with the train, otherwise the pilot will detach at the top of the incline at Camden; if it should be a night train, with the pilot in front, it is an experience never to be forgotten by a young stoker. (I was not far in my teens when I had this experience, but an old man now). And at last the signal is given us to start; we blow the whistle and off we go, two engines panting, puffing, sending up showers of sparks, and soon we leave Camden behind, and by the time we reach Watford we are travelling about fifty miles an hour; this is the speed to test the stoker who has to light his lamps the while, travel round the foot-plate and keep his balance, and replenish his fire and climb the tender frequently; but the passenger trains are a luxury in comparison to the luggage trains. The luggage engines being bigger and stronger than the passenger engine requires more steam and water, because she has more than double the load to run with, and at the stations wagons have to be shunted frequently and often re-shunted; some are left and others taken to far-off places; the guard's van has to be detached always in order to have it at the end of the train; the stoker is hard at work with the brake putting it on and off, jumping down to hold the points, or coupling wagons—this is not his business, but he does it to facilitate the work. When the luggage train had to get into a siding to let a passenger train go by, there was no pit (except at a station) for the engine to stand over, and both men would have to crawl under the engine to do anything necessary, through wet, or snow, or mud; and when starting the engine out of the siding or from a station, and the driving wheels slipping round, the stoker had to jump down with his shovel and scrape up a bit of gravel, or sand, or clay, and pop it on the rail in front of the driving wheel, and if that should stop the slipping, the engine gave a bound forward and the stoker had to run to keep up with the engine, throw his shovel on to the foot-plate, and scramble up the best way he could, or be left behind. In bad weather, if it rained, hailed, or snowed, both driver and stoker had to keep a look-out by holding their hands up before their eyes and looking between their fingers; when it rained, and one side of each man was wet through, they would change places till the other side got wet through also. These were the good old times. Drivers and firemen in the present time may thank their stars that the way was well paved for them before they started. So there is hardly any similarity between a stationary boiler stoker and a locomotive stoker, except keeping the steam up perhaps; the loco. stoker is the king of all stokers.
33. Question.—How is the stoking done on a big steam ship?
Answer.—In a Royal West Indian Mail Steam Packet, in which I was stoker, there were forty-five stokers and coal trimmers, forty-five sailors, besides a number of stewards, stewardesses, six engineers, six ship's officers, several mail officials, butchers, bakers, and a brass band of eighteen musicians. There were two stoke-holds, one fore and one abaft the funnel, and four boilers in each, and four furnaces in each boiler, and three stokers in each stoke-hold, also three trimmers in each stoke-hold. There was the same method of working in both stoke-holds, and a constant and continual round of firing kept up day and night. When going down on watch I have a piece of waste in each hand to protect them from the hot handrails; I commence work by cleaning the small tubes of four furnaces, then clean out the four furnaces, rake out the ashes from the pit and fill them and the clinkers into iron buckets, which the sailors haul up and empty over the ship's side. And while I am engaged in this work my two mates are doing my firing for me—which is in this way: one man fires every other fire of the sixteen fires, then goes round again and fires those he missed the first round, then his mate takes the shovel from his hands and fires every other fire, then fires those he missed the first round; the third man does likewise, and so it is constant firing all through. And having towering hot boilers both sides of us and roaring furnaces behind and in front, the sweat pours from us continually, and we are glad to pop into the engine room after firing to get a draught of somewhat cooler air. I happened to have the middle watch—12 midnight to 4 a.m.—which is the worst of the watches, for when I came off at four the hands on deck were always doing something to make a noise, and there is little chance of getting a sleep, and hammocks must be stowed away before eight; then breakfast, and the brass band strikes up for half an hour; but if there had been dog-watches all of us would share in the middle watch—as follows:—
| Brown | Morning | Watch | 4 | to | 8 | a.m. |
| Jones | Forenoon | " | 8 | to | 12 | noon. |
| Robinson | Afternoon | " | 12 | to | 4 | p.m. |
| Brown | First Dog | " | 4 | to | 6 | p.m. |
| Jones | Second Dog | " | 6 | to | 8 | p.m. |
| Robinson | First | " | 8 | to | 12 | midnight. |
| Brown | Middle | " | 12 | to | 4 | a.m. |
| Jones | Morning | " | 4 | to | 8 | a.m. = 24 hours. |
A few hours after leaving Southampton all hands are mustered and apportioned to man the seventeen boats hanging from the davits, eight on each side, and the captain's gig under the stern; after this ceremony we get an allowance of grog. The fires are now beginning to be dirty, having clinkers seven or eight inches thick, which are not allowed to be pulled out until the whole fire is cleaned at the usual time; this order from the chief engineer surprised me at the time, as clinkers are not calculated to increase the steam, so I left them there to deaden the fire, but later on I found the solution; I was told by an old stoker that there was sharp competition between the chief engineers as to who could do the voyage at the least expense of coals, and that information explained the action of our chief engineer who would often perambulate the deck till midnight, watching the windsails that they should remain with their backs to the wind in order to prevent a breath of cool air reaching the fires, that would cause them to burn a few more pounds of coals, while some of the stokers were often hauled up in the ash-bucket fainting from the stifling heat of the foul-smelling stoke-hold. We were all supplied with fishing-lines and hooks of three different sizes, and extra grog when getting steam up. The method of cleaning and polishing the engines and all bright work was very effectual, and did the stokers great credit; after having scoured and polished the steel and bright ironwork they were frosted, in imitation of hoar frost. A pot of hot tallow and white lead in which a clean piece of cotton waste was dipped, and the parts smeared evenly in line with the metal, and when this dried it was dabbed, or patted, with another clean piece of waste also dipped in the hot tallow, which gave the metal a good imitation of hoar frost; the brass and copper work were burnished and shone like gold. The boat drill and fire drill create some wonder for the passengers, as they always happen unexpectedly; the former begins in this way: a large gong is rapidly hit with a mallet by the quartermaster, and all those stokers and sailors, who belong to the seventeen boats hanging from the davits, immediately make their way towards them and commence to clear the falls, and the word is given to lower all boats, while the men hold their oars ready to push off, and the boats are run down nearly to the water's edge; then it is up all boats, and those on deck run them up in a jiffy to their places under the davits, and coil the tails up, and this ends the boat drill. The fire drill takes place on another day, and commences in this manner: the ship's bell is rapidly rung by the quartermaster; the unusual rapidity of the ringing attracts the attention of all the passengers who commence to crowd the upper deck; the stokers drop down a dozen hose-pipes on the deck and run them out straight, and screw them to nozzles leading down to the engine room. The engineers pop the pumps on and up comes the water; every hose is now stiffened and the branches are all directed over the ship's side, where they make a grand display. All those of the ship's company who take no watches, as cooks, stewards, bandsmen, etc., have each a pail full of water in hand, others a blanket over their arm, all in exact line, and ready to help if required; and after a few minutes' display of the hose-pipes, the boatswain's whistle ends this drill for this voyage, and the hose-pipes are disconnected, rolled up, and hung up, to be ready at any moment if required. There are plenty of amusements on board, such as single-stick, glove-boxing, wrestling, etc. But the game of the "Man in the Chair," is one of the most laughable. A piece of board, 12 inches by 18 inches, in which a strong rope is inserted in a hole in each corner and knotted on the underside, the four ropes are carried upwards and made fast to the forestay, and the "chair" has to be 6 feet from the deck. There are perhaps thirty stokers in this game, and each one has twisted his black silk neckerchief into rope shape, and a volunteer sits on the chair, holding on to one of the chair-ropes with one hand and in the other his silken rope. During these preliminary tactics the passengers are crowding round to see what may happen. At last the man on the chair gives the word "Ready Boys," and then commences a real slogging match, hitting the chairman on legs, arms, face, neck, anywhere they can hit him, and every hit being a matter of chance the passengers roar when the man in the chair delivers a stinger to his tormentors; his blows come with double force, as he is high above them, and swinging round and round, and to and fro, they come unexpectedly and cause roars of laughter; while this is going on a little tub, called a spitkin, is surreptitiously pushed in view, and a few silver coins dropped into it by one of our men, which causes the audience to dip their hands in their pockets and a few pounds in silver are quickly thrown in; and after half an hour's play this game comes to an end. One more specimen of the many games that delight the passengers: about twenty men stand close together and in line, their faces to the ship's head, the front man has a bandage on his eyes, any one in the rank is at liberty to step out and go up to him and slap his cheek, and dart off to his place in the rank before the blindfold touches him; if he does, the touched one has to don the bandage, and the other pulls his bandage off and takes a place in the rank. When the slap is delivered, the slapper darts back to his place in the rank with all possible speed, and the slapped one darts after the other like greased lightning, and touches the wrong man perhaps, and pulls the bandage off, only to have to put on again, while the passengers roar with delight; the little tub is not forgotten in this game; and then the climax comes when we think the blindfold has had enough of it, and when a burly stoker steps out to deliver his slap, the rank closes up tightly, and on rushing back to his place with the blindfold at his heels, and the wild exertions of the man to squeeze himself into the rank before he is touched and the joy of the blindfold who has just touched his man, creates loud cheers and laughter, and the burly man has to don the bandage and take his stand in front. Before arriving at St. Thomas, there is a general clean up, bilges pumped out, engines cleaned, boiler fronts and lagging polished; the passengers are preparing for another voyage to some of the islands further west, as Trinidad, St. Vincent, Barbadoes, Martinique, St. Kitts, St. Lucia, etc. On entering the harbour guns are fired in our honour, and we return the compliment by firing our six-pounder from the forecastle, the Colonial steamer comes alongside our ship, when there are cheers and waving of handkerchiefs and handshaking; the bumboats come alongside also and many people, and board our ship, offering us a great variety of things for sale; women galavanting over every part soliciting the officers' washing, etc., etc. Our engines receive a thorough overhaul, boilers are cleaned, cabins and stairways painted, and all bright metal cleaned and repolished; our coals are delivered on board by a swarm of men, women and youths, of both sexes, carrying them in small wicker baskets on their heads, and stepping on a scale or counter on their way to the ship, the process occupying about three days for about 800 tons of Welsh coal. At last the time has come for starting for home; all visitors are ordered off the ship: moorings are cast off, and a man at the voice-pipe speaks to the engineers down below, and the great paddle-wheels revolve slowly for a minute, while the band strikes up some appropriate air, as "Afloat on the Ocean my days gaily fly," or "Afloat on the Ocean Wave." Then commence the wild cheering and waving of hats and handkerchiefs while the great paddles have lashed the water into white foam, and we are fairly off for a fourteen days' voyage home. In all our games on board in which I took part I noticed the distinguished presence of our highly respected captain, which I am sure greatly enhanced our takings in the little dish.
34. Question.—How is a hydraulic pump constructed?
Answer.—There are various sizes, ranging from a ¼-inch to 4 inches in the diameter of the plunger or piston, as it is sometimes called; the larger size would be constructed in this manner; the barrel of the pump is 3 feet long, and on its top, and in line with it, and in the same casting, an air chamber is situate into which water and air enter at every suction of plunger, and serve as a buffer or cushion in the delivery stroke. The spindle of the plunger is connected to the piston of the steam engine by a hole and stuffing box in the cylinder cover, and a connecting crosshead secures the spindle of the plunger and the extra piston, so that would bring the crank of the engine, the connecting rod, piston, extra piston, and plunger all in a straight line, and a direct stroke. About 6 inches of the plunger is occupied by the packing at the outer end; a solid ring of iron an inch wide, and an inch high, and securely pinned to the plunger, has a leather cup pushed on to it, then a loose ring is slid up against the back of the leather cup and another cup, and another ring, until the space for the packing is filled up; then a nut is screwed up behind these which brings cups and rings tightly together, and a jam-nut with a split-pin going through nut and spindle and opened wide enough to clear the sides of the barrel, and the hydraulic pump is ready for work.
35. Question.—How is a hydraulic accumulator constructed, and why is it necessary?
Answer.—By having an accumulator, a lift, crane, or press, works smoothly, as there is a steady and smooth supply of the power; whereas without it, the lift, crane, or press, would work in jerks or jumps; with every stroke of the pumps there would be a jerk; it would be an intermittent not a continual power. The accumulator consists of a cylinder of cast iron about 9 feet in height, 4 feet outside diameter and 3 feet internal diameter; it rests on massive oaken timbers about 4 feet from the ground; inside the cylinder is a ram 9 feet high, also 2 feet outside measurement, and 12 inches diameter inside; it is lathe-turned, smooth and bright; four slabs of cast iron, each a quarter of the circumference of the base of the cylinder, are placed over four steel bolts that have to support the dead weight, each bolt being about 12 feet high, 4 inches in diameter, with square necks and flat heads, and a hole in each slab to receive the bolts; the flat heads of the bolts are to facilitate the accumulator resting level on the oaken timbers; the slabs would be 2 tons each. On the slabs are fixed small segments all round and round the base of the cylinder until the required number (perhaps 150) is placed one on top of the other, each segment weighing 2 cwt.; then the crosshead is placed over the top tier, and having a hole in each of its four arms it is entered on the bolts which have a screw-thread; the nuts are put on and screwed up tightly, and the accumulator is erected.