The daily dispatch. [volume] (Richmond [Va.]) 1850-1884, 1859-08-25
Rithmonh qispatfb,
THURSDAY MORNING. AUG Is. 1859
The Great Eastern CompIesed..ssteam
Raised.


THURSDAY MORNING. =. AUG. %. 1859
The Great Eaxtera Completed. .sSteam
Raised.
The English papers notice a banquet on
board the Great Eastern on the sth instant, in
honor of her successful completion, at which
steam was raised. The decks Of the monster
vessel had been planed and scrubbed TO man.
of-war whiteness, and not even stray ropes
end breaks the wonderful effect produced by
It's immense expanse !; her fleet of small boats
about the size of sailing cutters being at the
dayi;s; TIN on esch side. The whole vessel had
been painted the saloons are finished, the cab
ms decorated, aid even furnished. The Tri-
bunesays:
/ The masts are fixed and rugged, with the ex-
| ception of the yards, which will he sent up In
| a day or two The three centre square rigged
masts are of iron. They We're made by MIR.
| Finch of Chepstow and are the finest speci-
/ mems of masts of the kind that were manufae-
| tured Each is made OF hollow wrought IRON
| in eight feet lengths. strengthened inside by
| diaphragms of the same material. Between
! the Joints rs they we're bolfed together, was
/ placed n PAD of yulcantzea India rubber, which
| gives a spring aud buoyaGcy TO the whole spar
/ greater than wood, while at the same time re-
/ tanning all the strength of the iron. The
/ breaking strain of tho six shrouds To each OF
/ these masts is over 800 tons, which gives am
! ple security for the masts being properly sup
/ roraed As thesweight OF each is only twenty
! TWO tons. On deck are four small steam
| winchps or engines, each of which works Il
! pair of cranes on both sides OF the vessel
: Anything more simple or more perfect thah the
| double machinery by which these are made 10
| work on bo tn sides can hardly be conceived,
! and the value of the invention may be estl-
mated when we say thai with these Iour
| double cranes alone S, 600 tons OF eoais can DE
| hoistcd into the vessel in twenty -four hours
! Thus the grave objections of those who spe-
/ culated on the loss of time required to coal
| the great ship, are entirely done away with
| The chief saloons-all save one-iafe oniy
been fitted to q certain extent IN temporary
| manner. The fittings are exceedingly hahd-
| some and substantial, but the decorations OF
| the huge iron walls and girders have been re-
! served until after her first trip and now are
! only painted of plain white.
The absence OF elaborate decoration In
! them, however, is amply compensated III the
| chief saloon, which has been finished to show
| the superb lyle in which the whole VIII be
| decorated when the Great Eas tern begins
running to the East. On this saloon MIR.
| Grace has layished his utmost efforts, and the
result is a combination of taste and richness
| to an extent which is really astonishing
| Whether the fine traceres OF gold aud color
| are examined in detail, or whether one choose
| TO Judge by the tone and effect OF the whole
| apartment, the decision is equally favorable,
| aud this saloon is not only the finest and rich
! est OF any tIat has yet been attempted, but Is
| likely to remain for many years the stanuard
| by which all other cabins OF the KIND VIII DE
| Judged. / is said that the mirrors, gliding,
carpe;ing and silk curtains for this apart
Inent alone cost E3,001. In the berths, of
course no attempt is made at costly decora-
ton OF this kind though the fittings are good
and sufficiently luxurious. The berths are
arrap ged in three ciaSsea-those Tor partles OF
six or eight, and these are large rooms-those
for parties of four, and the rest In the usuai
style of double cabins. All are very roomy as
cabins go-yery lofty, well lit, and those on
| the outer side exceedingly well ventilated. On
the lower deck the berths are even larger loft
ier and more commodious than those III the
upper Both the berths and saloons here are,
in fact almost unnecessarily high, having
very nearly l5 feet in the clear. The Kitchens,
pantries and skulIeries all on the same ex-
tensiye scale and fitted with all the large
| culinary requisite of first-class hotels. The
| ice-house holds upwards OF lU0 tons OF ice,
| and the lofty wine vaults--for such, in fact,
| they are--already contain wine enough 10
| form good freight for an Oporto trader.
But ii was not to see the vessel only that
| some 800 or 100 visitors were on board yester-
| day The great feature of the day was the
| trial of both screw and paddle engines TOR the
| first time. 1t is quite impossible by mere YER
| bal description TO convey an adequate idea of
| the colossal proportions OF both these sets OF
engines-the former OF Bolton &. Watt the lat
ter by Mr.. Scott Russell. The paddle engines
consist four oscillating cylinders ot "a lnches
| in diameter and Ii feet stroke; each pair OF
| cylinders, with its crank, condenser and air
| pump, forms in itself a complete and separate
| other three, so that the whole Is ombllatlon
| of four engines. A friction clutch connecting
| the two eranks is the means by winch the en-
gines are connected or disconnected. All the sets
| of engines, both screw. paddle and auxiliary.
| are provided with governors, expansion and
| throttle valves. The paddle engines work up
| to the indicated power, of3O0u horses OF 33,0ou
| lbs when working II strokes per minute with
| steam in the boiler ut 15 lbs, the expansion
valve cutting OFT at one-third of the stroke,
| All the parts however, are so constructed
! that they will work smoothly either al : strokes
| ermin ute at25 lbs, without expansion, (be-
yond what is unavoidably fected in the slides,)
| or at I6 stroks a minute with the expansion
| valve cuttingoH al one-quarter OF the stroke
| Under the latter circumstances the paddle-en-
| gines alone would give an Indicated power
| of 5000 horses. The boilers are immensely
| strong and have been tested TO double the
| pressure they are required TO bear. Their
| weight including donkey engine, pumps, fun
nels, &c, is 2l0 tons. and they are capable OF
| containing l56 tons of water. Each set has
| about 900 square feet OF tube surface, exclu
siye of iiue or furnace, and about AGO square
| feet of fire bar surface. Each is equal TO sup
| ply freely. with moderate Hiring, steam Tor an
| Indicator of !. .Suo horse power when working
| with Is lbs. but with full firing eau supply an
! indicator of 800 horsepower. The fire-places
and ash pits are fitted rs TO be Wen aotpted
| for the use of anthracite coal.
The serew-engines are constructed on the
same improved principles. They have four
| cylinders of "a inches diameter and feet
1
worked together or separately. When work
| ing IS strokes per minute, With steam on at Is
| pounds, and cutting of one third OF the stroke,
| these engines Will give an Indicated power OF
4.4uU horses; but at 55 strokes a minnie, steam
| on at 25 pounds, and cutting oil at one-quar ter
| of the stroke, the power Will reach 10 6,5UU
| horses. Thus the united efforts OF both screw
| and paddle engines will drive the immense
| vessel through the water with a power OF
no less than i2,000 horses What fleet could
| stand in the way of such mass, weigh
/ ing some 10000 TONS and driven through
the water by 1900 horsepower at the rate
| of twenty-five or twenty-lhree miles an
hour! The screw engine boilers are In three
distinct sets. Their weight is 1862 tons, and
! their capacity for water ~ tons. The pro-
bable consumption OF coal, when boih en-
gines are at full work, will average $50 tons per
| day. The ceiiuiar compartments at the bottom
| of the ship will be used for pumping water
| into ns tead of ballast and az The webs SUBJ
| dividing these are made perfectly water-tight,
any one or any number can be Iiiied at plea
sure.
| Steam was got up in the paddle engines at
| half past one AT that time all the visitors
We're on board, and the engine-room and hatch
es, in spite OF the heat, We're crowded with
! eager Iookers-on. Mr.. Brunei, to the regret
of ALL was prevented by indisposition from
being present and sharing the festiyity which
marked the successful completion of his grand
idea. lie was, however. represented by Mr..
Jacomb, who has for him watched and super
intended the building and completion of the
ship from first TO last.
The first movement of the gigantic cranks
and cylinders of the paddle engines was made
precisely at haif-past one. when the great
masses slowly rose and fell as noiselessly as
the engines of a Greenwich boat but exertine
in their great revolutions what seemed TO be
an almost irresis ible power. There was no
noise, no vibration, nor the slightest sign of
heating and the tremendous frame of iron
work sprang at once into life and motion with
as much ease as If every rod and crank had