The San Saba news. [volume] (San Saba, Tex.) 1873-1966, 1889-08-23
AN OILY AUTOCRAT.
FUNCTIONS OF A STEAMSHIPS
CHIEF ENGINEER
What His Duties Are-Scenes Be
low Deck During n Big
Steamships Trip Across
the Atlantic

the Atlantic
An interesting character is the captain
of a great ocean steamer. There is an air
of song and story in his presence. The
salty atmosphere of shipWTecks and desert
islands, of fo'castle 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 a 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 overalls with
bit Of waste in his hands, going down
into that intricate maze of machinery.
You took him for workman So he is,
but to 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
firm 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
undl the problems of twin-screw naviga-
-tion are settled and new records made all
irOund. A 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 Is engineers for propelling
machinery, 3 electricians, 2 hydraulic ex-
perts, 2 refrigerator experts, 9 water
tenders, 3 storekeepers, 8 auxiliary boiler
men, or "donkey men, " as they are known
on the other side; 80 oilers, 81 ''stokers, "
or fremen, and 81 coal passers.
Under his supervision are the two
great engines of 20, 900 horsepower, 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 harmoniously to produce the best
results. Then the boiler rooms, the coal
bunkers, 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 automatons. There is
an air of suppressed excitement, how
ever, feeling of intense anxiety, OBJ
servable 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 and calculated
| the amount of coal with which he has
been credited with, and if it has been
properly put in so as tc 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
in an oil box, as big as shingIe 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 does not
Fa,st." The crank runs In bearings of
1;ies 81, \ iiS1 meltss degrees
and runs out Hours would be lost in
reftting The circulatory engines must
also be watched, and the centrifugal
pumps kept in order. There are two of
these in each of the two big engine |
rooms, each with a capacity of 1900 bar !
rels per hour, and their duties are mani I
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 5unkers
as 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 at the same time as 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 steered, and
which enlists 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 them must be run through
the day to illuminate the entire lower
portion OF the ship, 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 a watch
turned the vast machinery, and watch
of two hours showed no weakness, no
heating, no friction. Then came visit
to the boiler-room, and after a careful
inspection, short talk with the engineer
in charge. 1t was to the point, and to
this effect:
~ 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 people something over 800
tons of coal day. There are three
sections of boxers, and each section used
an average of from four to four and half
tons each hour. Now for the first time
an 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 a complicated affair. !
Never did trained nurse or anxious ply
stefan watch a fevered patient more
closely than he watches his trust. {
The log is filed out every four +
hours. It includes a record of steam
from the boilers, first receiver, second re-
ceiyer, vacuum, height of barometer, :
temperature of sea water, temperature of
water in feed tanks, revolutions of screws,
exnansion of cylinder stores dvnamos d