The Scranton tribune. [volume] (Scranton, Pa.) 1891-1910, 1896-09-19
A MAMMOTH STEAMER.
The Pennsylvania Will BE the Lnrg-
est Craft AnOat.

Some time next month the Hamburg
American Packet Line will launch their
new ocean steamship Pennsylvania,
which will be the largest freight carry
ing vessel in the world. and with one
exception the largest ever built. says
the New York Journal. The largest
boats now in transportation service be-
tween American and European ports are
those of the White Star and Hamburg
American Lines. They can carry from
seven to eight thousand tons dead
weight, or, in other words, that much
freight can be stored in the holds, eX-
elusive of the weight of the crew and
passengers.
The Pennsylvania will nearly double
their capacity. The measurements Of
the new boat, which Is being built at
Belfast, are as follows: Length, 56S
feet; beam, G2; depth, 42.
The displacement will be twenty thou
sand tons, and the dead weight carry
ing capacity is estimated at between
thirteen and fourteen thousand tons,
nearly double that of the present largest
liners in service. The Pennsylvania will
be equipped with quadruple expansion
engines, and the combined horsepower
will be seven thousand. The length, 56S
feet. Is fully one hundred and fifty feet
greater than the present steamers, and
the depth and beam are increased ac-
cOrdingly.
The new craft will be expected to de-
velop a speed of from fourteen to fif-
teen knots an hour, which Is a very fair
rate, though by no means record
breaker. The enormous freight-carry-
ing capacity of the boat may be the bet
ter realized through comparison with
the freight cars of the railroad trans
portation companies.
The largest of American freight cars
can carry but thirty tons of dead
weight. so that in the huge holds Of
the Pennsylvania the contents of for
ty-six cars could be stored.
In addition to its large freight-car-
rying capacity, the craft will carry 22S
cabin passengers and 1,500 persons in
the steeraSe. 1t will be equipped with
five decks, with plenty of room for
promenades and observation seats. The
officials of the company expect to
launch the Pennsylvania from the
yards in Belfast next October, and it
will ply between New York and Ham,
burg.
The Pennsylvania will be the largest
freight carrying craft in commission,
and with one exception the largest
ever built. The one exception was the
famous Great Eastern, which was built
in 1858 at Millwall- on-the-Thames. She
was the largest ocean-going craft ever
built, but from a financial standpoint
was q wretched failure. The dimen-
sions of the Great Eastern were as
follows: Length, 691 feet; width, SO
feet; depth, As feet.
The craft was registered as being Of
32.1GO tons displacement, with a dead
weight capacity of 1876 tons. She
had one direct-acting horizontal en-
gine for driving the screw, with four
cylinders, each of 81 inches diameter,
and with a four-foot stroke. The horse
power was six thousand, and was de-
rived from six boilers and sixty fur
naces.
In addition to steam power, the
Great Eastern carried $500 square
yards of sail. She made several trips
across the ocean, but was so unwieldy
and unsafe that she was finally dis
mantled and the hulk sold for old met
al and wreckage.