The spirit of democracy. [volume] (Woodsfield, Ohio) 1844-1994, 1859-08-31


(From the London Times, Sth.)
The Mammoth ShIp-Jhe Great East
ern Completed and almost Ready |
|. for Sea-
The completion of the Great Enstern
was formally celebrated yesterday at a
banquet on board the ship, which was hon
ored by the presence Of many of the men,
bers of both Houses, and some of the
most distinguished engineers and scientific
men in tie kingdom. Three weeks or so
ago, aud only one or two of the six masts
were fixed, the bulwarks had NOT been
quite completed, the hull wanted pain
ting, the decks were piled with the in
descr5able lumber of all kinds, while the
labrynth of cabins and saloons below
seemed only so menv dirty storehouses for
unfinished joinery. Yesterday the scene
on board was the reverse of all of this,
aad such progress has been made that the
ship now looks as she will look when pro-
ceeding to sea- and as she ought 20 look
to keep pace with her reputation as the
largest and finest specimen Of naval arch
itecture that ever doated
The screw engines are constructed on
the same improved principles. They have
four cylinders of eighty-four inches diam
eter aud four feet stroke. The cylinders
are capable of being worked together or
separately. When working at forty five
strokes minute, with steam on at fifteen
pounds, and cutting off at one-thi-d
of the stroke, these engines give an ind-
Gated power Of 4, 400 horses, but at fifty
i FIVE strokes minute, steam or at twenty
five pounds. and cutting off at one-quar-
ter of the stroke, the power will reach to
$500 horses. Thus the united efforts of
both screw and paddle engines will drive
the immense vessel through the water with
a power no less than $4,000 horses
What feet could stand in the way of such
mass, weighing some 10000 tuns, and
driven through the water by 10000 horse
power at the rate Of twenty-five or twenty
} three miles an hour? The screw-engine
boilers are in three distinct sets. Their
weight is 36S tuns, and their capacicy
for water ITO tuns. Tie probable con-
sumption of coal when both engines are
at full work, will average $50 tuns per
day, The cellular compartments at the
bottom of the ship will be used for pump
ing water into instead of ballast, and as
3 the webs subdividing these are made per-
fectly water tight, any one or any number
can be filed at pleasure. Steam was got
up in the paddle engines at half-past one.
: Atthat time all the visitors were on board,
: and the engine-room and matches, in spite
of the heat, were crowded with eager
e lockers on.
The first movement of the gigantic
cranks and cylinders of the paddle engines
D was made precisely at half past one, when
c the great masses slowly rose and fell as
: the engines of Greenwich boat, but ex-
f erting in their great revolutions what
seemed to be an almost irresistible power.
a There was no noise, no vibration, nor the
/ slightest sign of heating, and the tremen-
duous frame Of iron-work at once sprang
+. into life and motion with as much ease as
= if every rod ani crank had been worked
for the last ten years. The steam in the
: boilers was about twentyone pounds, but
d as matter of course, the engines were
!. turned but slowly, never exceeding six
revolutions per minute Even with this
i slow motion and the slight immersion OF
the paddle. floats, the effect of the enor-
IS nous power was at once visible upon the
: ship.
e The great mooring chains astern were
frightened to the utmost, and it seemed as
y if even Trotman's anchors themselves
y would yield under the strain. Fortunate
ly, however, these held fast, and then the
d screw engines were got into motion, work
e ing the ship astern, so as to counterac
the effect of the paddles. These latte
l. engines worked with the same marvellous
ease and freedom; there was no noise, M
IS sign of hot bearings, ana the result wa
considered by all the engineers on boart
to be satisfactory in the highest degree
ir and far beyond what could have been ex
Is pected. When the engines had been ties
70 ted to the utmost to which they could b
tried with vessel at her moorings, al
n, the visitors adjourned to the saloons
ID where magnificent cold collation. ha
been laid out by Mr.. Quartermaine.