The Portsmouth inquirer. [volume] (Portsmouth, O. [Ohio]) 1849-1855, 1853-01-14
ErIc..on,. cnlorIo shin.

~AAu "o ~ - oiio " shC mVos iLi iPOttuhs Ah'
tions Of the age, being the result Of profound
study and research for IS years, brief des-
|cripiioa Of the ship win doubtless be accep-
table TO our readers.
The principle involved in the csloric en-
'gine. il is generally known, IS .he applica
'tion Of heated air, or air in state Of expan-
sion, to the uses for which steam has long
been employed. To explain the mode in
which tnis is accomplished is an easy mat
ter, but 10 make il Ineligible to all is more
difficult, and would require more space than
that which we now have at command.
In its outward appearance the Caloric Ship
is said to differ but little from an ordinary
steamship, The most preceptihle alera lion
i on decks, is the presence Of four handsome
tunnels, placed at equal distances from each
other, and occupying the place Of the smoke
begrimned pipe ofthe large steamers. Two
o. these chimneys are attached 10 the upper
cylinders of the engines, and the other two
serve as escape pipes for the heated and inn
pure air of the engine room. Each funnel
is perfect cylinder, 80 inches in diameter.
resting upon an octogonal pedestal. tasteful
y carved and oruamented. Near each pair
the pipes standing two and two---is an air
shaft, which is intended to supply const,nt
current Of cold air TO the engine room, and
descends TO the very bottom OF the vessel
By this arrangement the fire-room is kept
NEARLY at the same temperature as the upper
and hurricane decks.
In her build the Ericsson is a splendid
piece OF naval architecture. No vessel has
gone out Of the port OF New York her super
ior in beauty, strength and from reports)
speed. The engines being situated III the
centre of the ship the nidship section Of the
vessel is formed quite unlike steamships
The floor has a gradual rise; the wave line is
applied judiciously; the bow cuts the water
smoothly and rapidly. With these advan-
tages. and the tidy masts and rigging unsoil
ed in the longest voyagesby smoke or gases,
the ship always presents clean appearance.
The dimensions of the Ericsson are as fol-
lows:
Length between perpendiculars, 250 feet
Breadth of beam, DO feet
Depth of hold, 26'ft 8 in.
Tonnage Register measure, 1903 tons
Working cylinders, diameter. of each, l6S in
:" Length of stroke, 6 feet
Supply cylinders, diameter of each, l37 in
Length Of stroke, 6 feel
Chimneys, two in number, diameter, 80 in
Ventilating tubes, two in number, cores.
ponding to the chimneys, diameter, 80 in
Paddle wheels, diameter, 80 feel
" buckets, 10 #. & in
| The engine-room is paved with corrugated
cast-ifon bed plates, extending over lis whole
area. The apprehensions oi leakage iron
bolt-holes through the bottom of the ship, as
in steamships, are not enterteined here, in
consequence OF this improved method. The
plates are cast with a corrugated surface. 8
. that The footing of the firemen and attend
ants may be secure, even when The shil
careens. The danger of fire from casual fall!
of Goals from The furnaces, or from too grea
temperature, is also obviated by this arrange
ment, for two reasons: /. That there is no
a crevice in the iron flooring through which
fire may obtain access 10 the woodwork. 2
That there is no fire sufficiently furious to
iheat even The iron that surrounds it TO any
dangerous degree.
The improvement Of the new motor thu!
begins at the very foundation. The cylin
ders composing The Caloric Engine arc fou
in number, placed in pairs, one above The
other. Their position is not side by side
but lenghthwise Of the vessel, The larges
cylinder OF each pair is termed the working
cylinder; and the upper, or smaller, the sup
ply cylinder.
The furnaces through which the requisit,
. amount of heat is applied TO SET the muchin
cry in motion, are located at the base OF tn
working cylinder. A comparatively smal
amount OF fuel is required for consumption
during long voyages, and il is confidently as
Sc erted that the ship will be able 10 take OF
board a sufficient quantity of coal, ,-anthra
cite only being used, on account ofits create
eleanliness,-to take the vessel to and returl
: her from any European port, and even L
e Canton.
g The engine, then, works simply as follows
r The furnaces having been lighted, the al
contained in the working or lower cylinde
presently becomes heated, forces up the pis
ion within, and escapes though series 9
valves provided for this purpose, Each cyl
inder has piston, fitting closely TO it, but s.
n contrived that both always work togelher.-
!, AS the air escapes from the lower cylinder
r the piston contained within the cylinder de
: scends by its own gravity, drawing the uppe
one down with it. The upper piston, in il
decent, pulls open series Of valves, eac
It some two feet it diameter, placed in the to
IS of each Of the supply cylinders. The open
Il ing of these valves causes the instantaneou
admission Of volume Of cold air. .As th
piston ascends, these valves close, and th
lconfined air, now unable to escape in II
+ way it entered, finds vent in another set {
o valves, through which itpasses into recei,
o Ter. From this receiver, il is to pass into Ii
!. working or lower cylinder, to force up tn
. working piston withinit. In order to pei
form this duty, it is compelled to pass thr
an apparatus called the regenerator, which
nothing more than series of wire-nettinl
placed close together to the thickness Of
D inches. The meshes Of this network of ire
!, being fine, and the distrance through Il
4 mass very considerable, the air, in its pa
sage from one side TO the other, is distribute
in an jnfnitude OF small cells, and is thl