Daily Iowa State Democrat. [volume] (Davenport, Iowa) 1856-1859, 1857-11-30
DEPARTURE OF THE ADRIATIC.

DEPARTURE OF THE ADRIATIC.
From the New York Times.
The departure Of the steamship Adriauc |
on her first voyage across the Atlantic is an |
event in our current history entitled to a |
special notice 1t does not, indeed, mark |
the commencement Of new era In naviga |
ton, as the first trip Of the Clerimont up the
Hudson, or the first passage OF the Sirius
across the Atlantic did, but il marks all
epoch in the history Of Ateam navigation
The Atlantic is not only the largest vessel
Of any kind that has been launched as she
is believed to be the best in all respects.
She il, therefore, at the present time, the
champion OF the seas and i likely 10 cOntn-
ue so until the Leviathan shall be launched,
and afoat. Then we shall, of course, Re
sign the ocean belt to Great Britain, but,
until en-, we ms1 be allowed to claim the
distinction Of having sent to sea the largest
and finest vessel that ever Glove the waves
of the boisterous Atlantic.
The Adriatic has been at once source of
pride and modification to our people. When
we chrCnicled the event Of her splendid
launch OH the It'll Of April, 1856, We stated
that it Was calculated that she would be
ready for sea in the following month Of Sept
TENDER That was then the expectation OF
her builder and PrcPrietors; but, from the
magnitude of the undertaking, the machin-
cry was not completed until four months
after the time stipulated for by the builders
| of the engines THIS delay caused various
unfavorable, but wholly untounded reports,
respecting the noble ship to be circulated,
and great disappointment was ielt by those
who had boasted of the performances OF the
|
of testing her qualities at sea. The cause of
the delay in the completion of the engines
! lay, undoubtedly, with the head of the Nov
city Works, who had introduced new
cone valve in the pace OF the old fashioned
poppet What may have been the defects
or merits Of this invention, We cannot pre-
tend to decide ut this time. bu. the proprie-
tors Of the ship, having become dissatisfied
with the working OF the engines after steam
had been put upon them, determines to re
move the new valves and substitute The old
fashioned poppet; before the work had been
completed, however, they determined to
ad, ut the Sickles cutoff and accordingly
placed the ship in the hands of Messrs Sick
les Il Dickelson TO complete the engines
But, when their work was completed it was
found not to be satisfactory, and the ship
"
the original builders of her engines, who
have put into her the machinery which was
found to act SO well on her trlal-trip, and
with which she will go TO SEA.
The machinery OF the Adriatic consists of
two of the largest oscilating engines that
have ever been constructed they are of the
technical horse power of 800, but in reali
ty they are equal to $500 or 5000. There
/ ,fhf E1,ij mi.
ces ranged side 10y side. so that the whole
number of furnaces is forty eight Besides
these there are two extra boilers to be used
; when desired. The vessel will carry, for
the supply of her boilers during single pas
sage across the Atlantic, from ,2C0 to 800
, tons of coal. She is supplied with patent
condenser., the coldwater running through
10000 circulating copper pipes, condensins
: the steam in its course saving, as it is said
Q nearly 81 900 per annum in fuel and wear
ard tear when the ship is running. Tn,
piston rods are fifteen inches in diameter
and the shaft twenty inches in diameter, o
solid wrought iron. The furnaces requir,
} from fifty to sixty tiremen and coal -passers
: and no less than six engineers will be re
CURED to attend the engines. The wheels
are each forty feet in diameter and lively.
feet face, and have dip of from eight t.
nine feet.
, What the Adriatic may accomplish, re
mains to be proved, and as We shnll SO soo1
know the result of her first voyage, it will
be idle to boast Of her speed and safety
now but We know her beauty Of model
2 the unequalled elegance of her interior ar
( rangements for passengers, the superiority
of her dimensions over any other vesse
afloat, and the grace and loveliness Of he,
lines as she sets npon the water; We know
l too what her performances We're on hei
D lal trip, and We may confidently antici
a pate, setting aside the accidents which al
ships must encounter, that she will fully Jus
tify all that her admirers have predicted q
u her.
In bulk, the Adriatic is 354 feet in len eth
!. or nine feet longer than the United State.
:, irgate Niagara fifty feet broad, and thirty
:, three feet two inches in depth. She meas
urcs $500 tons, or 700 tons more than tn,
Y Niagara, 500 more than the Vanderbilt
:. and 1000 more than the ALlanticl Ie
l. such is the exquisite harmony of her pro
= portions and he gracefuIness of her lines
t at seen at IL short distance, without with
out any object by which her size may b.
IS compared, she appears hardly larger tina,
l. an ordinary yacht.
u We have before given full description,
OF the passenger accommodations of thi
T magnificent vessel, and it will, therefore
u be useless to repeat them now. In all he
c interior arrangements. she is greatly supe
J., riur to any other vessel that has cen in GU
harbor and not only has everything bee
done to add to the comfort and even luxu
/ rious enjoyment of the passengers at sea
but everything that will tend to secur
l. tt cir safety, and prevent the occasion of &C
@ cidents. She is abundantly provided wit
. lite boats, and among other new arrange
% ments the calcium light which she carrie
u at her fore.toPnast head will not only be
/! security against n collision with anothe
r vessl, but by enabling the look out to di:
.. cover objects Mt II distance of three or fcu
:. miles in the dark, will greatly lessen Il,
- chances OF accidents at night She has nc
- Communications for about four hundred pa:
J. sengers. three hundred Of them being fire
~ class.
Her working force, numbering 1873 mer
- is distributed as follows:
IL commander, mates, ] surgeon, pu,
G. ser, quarter masters, 9 carpenters, l bon,
It swain, SO seamen, engineer, assistants
g suPerlntendants of fires and boilers 4 oiler,
2 engineers store-keepers, "a firemen. 3
coal-passers, steward, 3 assistants. SO wa
tiers, stewardesses, 2 store keepers. | la,
!, keeper, barber, chief cook, l assistan,
= cook, baker, pastery cooks, 2 engineer
~ messmen, keepers Of lamps and oil, hos.
= keeper.
y The cost Of this superb ship, it is said. la
:, been nearly million 81 dollars, aud on ~
;, :. cry occasion in which the manager of tn
~ Collins line has made allusion to the Adr
70 attic in public, he has accorded to Mr.. jaime
, Brown. of the firm of Brown, Brothers .
,, Co.. the credit OF having sustained the en-