New-York daily tribune., 1859-07-02


for in March last the directors dissatisfied wi
all and therefore concluded an agreement with Mr..
Scott Russell on the 4th OF April, leaving It to that
gentleman to finish his ship upon his own plans, and 70
III her In every respect for trstclass vessel
The contract for fl25 600 be completed on the
4.h Of September, with premium OF II wv week
for earlier completion, AID a penalty OF tioVoo a
week for each complete seven days beyond tne allotted
time. This agreement includes ibe mast- sails, rg,
eing, boats cables, eugiues, boilers, Honwolk and
woodwork. with suitable accommodation ior oVo hfst-
class and 400 second-class passengers. vi couse'
contract 40 extensive is not all performed by Mr. Rus
sell himself but distributed 10 various branches among
different firms which he has been in the habit OF EN-
blowing for his other silps.
Some of these Subdivisions include work enough
TO he really considered extensive contracts Thus
the rigging viii require 900 blocks and less than 79
tpps OF hemp rope, with 80 tuns of mixed wire and
hemp for the standing rigging Her sails will consume
nearly ~ 900 square yards of canvas she Is TO have
30 boats fitted with masts and sails complete exclusive
of the two email each Of which tobe
100 feet long by IL WIDE OF l30 tuns measurement and
4Oborse power. She Is to carry upward Of fa!h
oms Of chain cables, all Of the most massive descrp-
tion Her anchor l6 ia number, ranging from one
10 seven tuns the largest Had she been fitted with
the Admiralty anchor, aDd had the old rule been fol
lowed Of r.Quritg ceftaiu weight Of anchor accord.
ing TO the vessels tubnage her largest anchors must
have been % tuns each. BY using Trotmans anchors
however. the holding power is obtained with an
anchor OF seven tuns.
On coming into possession of the vessel the new
company thought that ia of war the Great r. tst-
ern might prove Invaluable auxiliary o the Gov
eminent If Dot for carryifg gum, yet sll more effect
lively in running down tue largest Of the enemy ships
which the immense speed Of the vessel woald enable
her TO oyerteke with perfect ease. For tins purpose
therefore, il decided 10 strengthen stul more her
sharp powerful bows 10y laying down three complete
iron decks forward extending from the bows backward
fer l20 feet These decks are entirely completed.
They 8, 900 square feet and afford sowage for
| 400 tuns of cargo space. They will not however,
be used for this purpose, but for accommodating the
crew Of 800 400 With this large increase Of
strength forward, the Great Eastern, steaming full
power, could cut In two the largest wooden hne-o
battle ship that oaed. ftte other parts 0f the
iron work which contracted for, at least three
quarters are already finished
The wood work 8 getting with almost equa rapid
ity. AL these fittings are made on shore by means OF
powerful machinery a, come board ready to be at
once fixed in their places. When we say that the de-
veries Of these prepared materials prior TO the LIST OF
June included ~ 600 feet of headings, 1900 feet OF
moldiDgs, 40, 900 feet of matched battens-whch, II
laid end, would extend nearly 80 mes-our readers
will have fair idea of the work DOW going Oh. Every
thing connected with the vessel is on gigantic scale
Thus il requires more than six tuns OF paint to give
one coat TO the interior rOnwOrk and nearly eight tuns
to give coat TO the outside, from the waterine to
the oulwarks. When completely rlgged she will have
six mass-oDe forestaysai mast OF wood, three main
mass tsquare-rigged) # iron, one mzzenmas Of wood
and jiggermas the las) also of wood. The three
wooden masts already placed, and almost entirely
rgged the iron will be so shortly Tine last mast
is single tree Canada pine, about l3O feet high and
propOTtOnately thick.
The foremast is built mast as is also the mzzen,
but all the topmasts yards and gas are single sticks
of immense leLgth and width straight as arrows, aud
free from knots or sap The cabins, as far as they
have been yet fitted, are amply spacious when con-
pared with the accommodation offered by other vessels
The berths are very ingeDionsly made to fold Nat
against the wall during the day, and give much To-
crease Of room for any who may choose to use their
cabins as sittingroous. Both paddle and screw en-
gines almost completely finished, and the former
have already been toried by hand and will be turned
by steam by way oftria 10 the of fortnight or
1t is quite impossible by mere description to give
any adequate notion Of the colossal proportions OF both
of these sets of engines.
The padde-englnes consist Of four osciating cyln-
ders Of "a inches diameter and Ii feet stroke each
pair Of cylinders, with its crank, condenser and air
pump, forms in itself complete and separate engine,
capable Of easy oisconnection from the other three so
that the whole is combination OF four engines a
friction clutch connecting the two cranks IS the means
hy which the engines connected or disconnected
All the sets of engines, both screw, paddle and aux,
iliary provi, ed with governors, expansion ana
throttle valves. The paddle-engiIes will work up to
an indicated power of 1900 horses or 33O0o los when
working II strokes per minute with steam in the boiler
at Is lbs the expansion valve ing oil at onethird
Of the stroke. All The parts, however, are so con-
sucted that they will work smoothly either al eeuI
strokes per minute, at % lbs without expansion
beyond what is unavoidaby effected in the sldesl or
at Is strokes mioute with the expansion valve cut
ting of at onequarter Of toe stroke. Under the latter
circumstances the paddle engines alone would give al
indicated power of zoe horses.
The boilers are Immensely strong, and have been
tested to double the pressure they are required to bear
Their weight including don key engine pumps, tunnels
&C., is 2i0 tuns, aud they are capable OF containing
l56 tuus of water Each set has about 5000 square
feet of the surface exclusive of fiue or furnace, and
about 400 square feet of fre-bar surface. Eachis
equal to supply freely with moderate firing steam Tor
an indicator of 800 horse power wJen working with
l5 H.. but with full firing can supply freely for an IN
cicator of 800 horse power. The hrepaces aud ash
pits fitted as TO be well adapted for the use OF
anthracite coal
The screx engines are constructed on the same im-
proved principles. They have four cylinders OF 81
inches diameter and jeet stroke. The cylinders are
capable of being worked together or separately When
working As strokes mioue, with steam on at 10 lbs,
and cutting off at onethd Of the stroke these en-
gnes give Indicated power of 400 horses but at %
strokes minute steam on al - IDS, ana eu,thg on
at one-quarer of the stroke, the power viii reach
$500 hoises. Thus the united efforts OF both screw
and paddle engines will drive the immense vessel
through the with power OF no less than l2VVo
h0rses. What fleet could stand IN the wayoi suoi a
nass weighing some 80 600 tuus, aud driven through
the water by 00O power at the rate OF - or IS
miles an hour.
The screw engine boilers in three distinct SETS
Their weight is 362 tuns and their capacity for water
27O tuns. The probable consumption OF coal when
both engines full work will average 30 tuns per
day. The cellular comp arnents at the bottom OF the
ship viii be used for pumping water into instead OF
ballast, and as the webs subdlviing these are made
perfectly water-iigbt. any one or any number can be
filled at pleasure The tal trip viii probably take
place about the end of next September No dest'na-
tOn for this run has vet been fixed, but we would
advi,e the directors If they wish TO maintain the great
reputation the ship has aready acheNed tue Puo
he not 10 let the matter be overlooked. mere ex-
ertal cruise and trial of her different rates OF
speed will not give the public such implicit confidence
in the unrvaled capacity of the ship a, If she ran be-
tween two given puiuis-say, from Portland 10 Clord
tar and back On such trip there could be no Ipis-
take whatever to ber rate Of speed which We firmly
believe wifi surpaSs the most sangune eXpectd-