The New York herald. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1840-1920, 1859-09-22

Length. Breadth
Great Eastern. .......... $50 81
PERSIA ..-....... .......... SU A
Gfeat western. ....--.......... I5o ~
1ieat brltam .................. 5zI d
MACHINERY AND POWER.
This monster ship combines steam power both shapes
screw and paddle, with sailing power. She contains 10
boilers and 100 furnaces Tho cylinder Of the paddle
gnes feet in diameter The propeller "a feet
in diameter and the diameter of the paddle wheels is So
feet, with float boards Is feet in length these paddle
wheels are driven by engines with four cylnders-the
largest made the oscillatng prineple-havng
stroke of IA feet tho weight Of each is 20 tons. The
engines stand nearly so feet high.
The screw engines are driven by the same number of
cylinders. The cylinders are feet in diameter, and
weigh each 80 tons, having a stroke Of feet They
the largest ever made for marine purposes. The
opeller has four fans vanes is "a feet in diameter,
has shaft 100 feet long, and weighs 100 TONS
The paddle engines are 900 horse power, and the
screw engines OF 800 horse power giving total of 900
horse power at pressure Of Is lbs though of course
necessary they work to force of upwards Of
horses.
The boilers six in number having seventy two fur
naces and absorbent heating surface nearly equal in
extent to of ground. The total weight exceeds
200 TONS and yet they admirably contrved that
they can be set in motion stopped by single hand
The paddle boilers Of wrought plate IRON with brass
horizontal tubes and adapted for working regularly
at pressure Of twenty pounds though they per-
ecty safe at sixty pounds, they have all been tested
with an hydraulic pump to great pressure. These pad
die boilers in two distinct SETS and each has about
s0c0 square feet of tube surface exclusive Of ue and
furnace and about 400 square feet of fire bar furnace
Each set equal to supply with steady moderate firing
for indicator of 500 horse power though with
full firing each set Of two gives steam the amount of
$500 horse power or 1000 horse power in ALL
Two auxiliary highpressure condensing engines are
fixed adjacent to the paddle engines for working pumps
and other necessary work Of the ship These engines
together equal to go horse power when working 40
pounds though as they made to work at 60 pounds,
their power can be doubled if necessary
The engines consist of four cylinders Of 81 inches
diameter and four feet stroke working horizontally As
with the paddle cylinders each of the four is in itself
complete and separate engine capable Of working quite
independently of any Of the other three They work up
to indicator power Of $500 horses of 80 pounds
when working at Is strokes minute, with steam in
the boiler at Is pounds, and the expansion valve
cutting of at one third Of the stroke They are
however, made work smoothly either at 40 strokes
per minute with steam at 25 pounds, without expan-
sion, or at IS strokes a minute with the expansion
cutting off at onefourth Of the stroke Unuer
Of 500 horses The boilers Of course, Of the
kind the paddle boilers, only ten in number Connect
ed with the screw engines -Hii.i gh pressure
engines seventy horse power, working with forty
pounds these with the other auxiliary engines are
made work at sixty pounds Both these, besides doing
ordinary ships work connected with the shaft
abaft the ordinary disconnectng apparatus,
able them to drive the screw necessary when dscon-
nected from its main engine 1t will thus be seen that
the paddle and engines, when working together
their highest power, will effective force of not
hess than II 500 horse power.
SAILING PowER-MAsTs AND RIGGING.
In addition to the motive steam power, the wind will
to considerable extent be made available and for this
purpose the vessel is provided with six mass. These are
Of hollow wrought ron except the last or mzen mast on
which, height Of eighty -four feet from the deck will
be placed the compassee Two OF the are square
rugged with spars except the upper topsa yards
The standing rigging is of iron wire rope, and the large
hrouds of this material eight and half inches in
circumference instead Of the ordinary deadeyes and
anyards the right and left hand lanyards an
INGENIOUS conrvance has been devised for letting 20 the
hrouds nsantaneously any emergency in which
i should ever be required. The masts will spread to-
geher no less than $500 square yards Of canvas her
sails ueing Of efficient but simple character She car
ries no bowsprt.
The compasses as we have said will be placed alot at
height of lightly -four feet staging raised upon the
mizcn mast them from the disturbing indu-
,nces inherent in the vast masses Of iron below and s
proposed that strong shadows Of the needles shall be cast
Town tube, that the steersman may at once watch
heir shadow and follow directly the movements Of the
,ompasses as they traverse.
Gas will be manufactured on board and laid through
all parts Of the ship while by Of powerful cleo
~, 1nrp
iiiused around her Geographic apparatus is placed
the captains apartments, situated amidships between
the paddle cases by which he fash his orders all
over the immense Of the vessel He viii have 10
his telescope to see what is going at the bow and
stern and the old contrvance for issuing orders-the
speaking trumpet-wiil be altogether Of date and
valueless in his hands His voice, even with this aid
would hardly be heard half way to the stern. He viii
therefore signal his directions to his officers semaphore
arms by day and by eolored lamps by night.
HER DECKS.
But to comprehend the immense size of the ship one
must 90 the main Deck and here area that
be compared TO nothing but itself There is no poop
house on deck and nothing to break the grand pro-
menade the six or seven masts, the smoke stacks
the stair cases the cabins the sky lights Mr. Rus
sell says standing of the paddle boxes-sHercI
command the entire ship" From that standpoint every
foot Of deck except the very shadow Of the masts
and chimneys and the Of the hand be seen by
the any officer on watch any part Of the
deck Go to the bridge between the paddle boxes and
look towards the bow, and you space and extent
equal that o. the entire length Of very large steamer
$50 feeand then turn your eye towards the stern
and you have double he distance in tina, direction the
entire length Of the deck being little short Of 700 feet the
width being 81 feet Our country readers will ap
precate the expanse Of deck about an acre Of sur
faee-or 100 square rods-srs,ched out into a long
oval, one-eight Of a mile or 40 rods in length. The
deck OF the ship s double cellular after the plan
o. the Britannia tubular BRIDGE and is formed of two
hahch plates az the bottom and two hafn plates at
the top, between which webs which run the whole
length Of the ship.
This deck has been 50 planned 10 be or such
that II were taken up by its two exrenies and the en-
re weight the vesse IS ever to carry hung upon ps
10 utntp t,n.