Clinch Valley news. [volume] (Jeffersonville, Va.) 18??-2019, 1889-08-02
AN OILY AUT0CRAT.
FUNCTIONS OF A STEAMSHIPS
CHIEF ENGINEER.
What His Duties Arc-Scenes Be-
low Deck During n Big
Steamships Trip Across ~
the Atlantic.

| islands, of focastle yarns and Jack Tar
adventures, clings to the very name of
sea captain in the minds of most people.
| To his crew he is an autocrat, but to his
| passengers he is hero, with their lives
in his hands
But there is another man on board each
one of these great ocean racers who is
generally overlooked, but who in reality
rules its destiny. This is the engineer.
You saw him in his oily oyeralls with a
bit Of waste in his hands, going down
into that intricate maze of machinery.
You took him for workman So he is.
but 10 the builders of the ships and to
their owners that bit Of waste is indica-
tive OF higher rank than the gold lace of
the bridge.
Chief Engineer Gearing belongs to the
ilrin that built the two great Inman
steamers, City of New York and CITY of
Paris, and until the launching of the lat
ter has been off the water for six years.
He started out to make the initial trip
with the City of Paris, and may follow her
until the problems of twin-screw naviga-
ton are settled and new records made all
around. glance at his duties below
decks gives some idea of the responsible
ties of an ocean engineer
First, he has under him 1874 men.
This includes rs engineers for propelling
machinery, electricians, 2 hydraulic cX-
pcrts, 2 refrigerator experts, 8 water
tenders, 3storckcepers,3 auxiliary boiler
men, or "donkey men, " as they are known
on the other side; 81 oilers, 81 "stokers, -
or fircmcn, and 81 coal passcrs.
Under his supervision are the two
great engines Of 20, 600 horse power, four
circulatory engines for driving the
centrifugal pump, four feed pump en-
gines and four electric dynamos. These
run day and night from the start to the
finish, and must be in perfect order and
work tremendously to produce the best
results. Then the boiler rooms, the coal
bunkcrs, the ventilation of the ship all
call for more than the daily inspection of
the chief engineer, and this is how he
does it:
The City of Paris is about leaving
Liverpool for New York on her trip. On
deck there is the hurry and hustle
familiar to every one who has ever crossed
the Atlantic. Down below it is differ
ent. Everything is quiet, and the men
move about like uutomatons. There is
an mir of suppressed excitement, how
ever, II feeling of intense anxiety, OBJ
scrvablc on all sides. The chief engineer
in his black and oily overalls has Just
finished his final inspection. He has
gone into the coal bunkers aud calculated
the amount of coal with which he has
been credited with, and if it has been
properly put in so as to not make the YES
sci uncomfortable by shifting. Every
pipe has been tested, every screw and
nut, every crank, piston and pin in all
the giant plant has been inspected and
tried, and to all outward appearances
there is nothing but adverse weather to
fear But he is restless. A loose screw
Ill an oil box, rs big rs shingle nail,
might cause hours delay or loss of speed.
The signal is given, the start is made.
For hours he watches the crank shaft and
crank pins TO see that the shaft docs not
cheat" The crank runs in bearings of
white metal, which melts mt 430 degrees,
and runs out. Hours would be lost in
rehttlng. The circuatory engines must
also be watched, and the centrifugal
pumps kept in order. There are two of
these i'll each of the two big engine
rooms, each with a capacity of 1900 bar
rels per hour. and their duties are mani
fold. They must not only supply the
boilers, but also constantly control the
amount of waste water the vessel carries
for ballast. A leak in one side would
necessitate the shipping of the water on
the other to preserve the equilibrium.
The lowering of the coal in the bunkers
rs the steamer continues on her way is
counterbalanced in the same way. The
chief engineer keeps an eye constantly on
these great pumps. The feed pumps,
which carry water to feed the tanks, must
start Mt the same time rs the propelling
engine, and never stop until port is
reached.
Another vital point which the engineer
must watch critically is the hydraulic
gear by which the vessel is stecred, and
which cnlists the services of two automatic
pumping engines in each engine room.
Occasionally, too, he must look into the
electric engine room, where four big dy-
namos run the electric lighting of the
ship. Two Of rncm must he run through
the day to illuminate the entire lower
portion of the snip, the engine room, fire
room, etc.
All these things the engineer must be
sure of. The vessel started without a
break. Like the wheels of IL watch
turned the vast machinery, and watch
of two hours showed no weakness, no
heating, no friction. Then came visit
to the boilcr-room, and after u careful
inspection, short talk with the engineer
in charge. 1t was to the point, and to
this effect:
81 want steam ON this trip, and we are
not trying to save coal"
aye, aye, sir"
Mr.. Gearing got his steam, but it cost
the Inman pcopc something over 300
tons of coal day. There are three
sections of boilers, and each section used
an average of from four to four and a half
tons each hour. Now for the first time
in upward of twelve hours the engineer
went to his room. After he had lunched
the first log came to his hands. An
engineers log is complicated affair.
Never did trained nurse or anxious ply
stefan watch fevered patient more