The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1893-06-17
Bigger and swifter Steamships.

Designers and builders of steamships
and steamship companies arenot yet salts
fed with the speed that has been at
tanned by transatlantic steamers. In the
last number of the North American Re
view Mr.. J. H. Biles, the designer of the
Paris, presents some new ideas in steam
ship building,which will, if utilized, he
thinks, result in the production of a
steamship that would cross the Atlantic
from Sandy Hook to Southampton in a
little over four days. Ten years ago the
time in crossing the Atlantic between
the points named, was eight days Now
it is six. Within the next ten years, he
thinks, it will be four
In order to make the trip in n little over
four days the great speed of thirty knots
an hour would be required Mr. Bilcs
suggests several things by means of which
greater speed could be obtained One of
them is the use of what
is called nickel steel, which
is lighter than the steel now in use
aud costs more, but it is from 40 to so per
cent. stronger. The cost of it, however,
is no greater than the cost of steel in 1875.
Mr.. Biles also suggested the use of oil
instead of coal for fuel. There are several
advantages in oil. One of these is that
greater heat can be obtained from it. and
another is that the amount of it required
for voyage would not occupy nearly so
much space as is occupied by coal, and
il would not be nearly so heavy Mr..
Biles also suggests lighter boiler-a
boiler something like that of locomotive.
Boilers are now made that are much
lighter than those in use a little while
ago and they are much more effective
Indeed, Mr.. Biles' idea is that all of the
machinery should be lighter He does
not purpose to lessen the amount of
machinery, but rather to increase it, so
as to get greater motivc power. and he
says that if some of the cargo ro IN We're
| given up to machinery a great deal
could be gained in speed However. it is
hardly probable that steamship companies
would care to sacrifice freight space and
passenger Accommodations to gain a few
| hours in transatlantic voyage.
Mr.. Biles also takes into consideration
the ACCESSIBILITY of increasing the size of
! Steamships W SSu SItdGGI SpSeu. IN Jne
course of his article he says: "A vessel
1000 feet long, 100 feet wide. with a
draught of water of 30 feet, with struct-
ure built of stronger steel than that at
present adopted, with lightened boilers.
with oil or some equally light fuel instead
of coal, and with the steady general i'm
provements in methods of construction
and management of ships and machinery,
such vessel will be capable of crossing
the Atlantic in little over four DAYS.
! The design of such a vessel will involve
the consideration of many problems of
structural detail, but there is nothing in
superable in any of the difficulties which
will accompany such project Whether
the carrying out of such a work will be
done in the old or in the new world time
can only show, but when tits undertaken,
whether by the old or the new, there is
no reason to doubt that it will be success
! fully carried out"
We are to see great things in steamship
building in the next ten years if a predic-
| tion based upon what has taken place in
the last ten is worth anything The limit
in the size and speed of steamships has
/ not vet been reached