Aberdeen herald. [volume] (Aberdeen, Chehalis County, W.T.) 1886-1917, 1896-08-20
ELECTRICITY AT SEA.
OUR GREAT STEAMSHIPS GUIDED BY
A FINGERS TOUCH.

Ruuder Uulded by the Electric Current
All Signals Verify Themselves-The Plan,
on the st. Paul.
The real mysteries and the most in
teresting parts of great ocean steam.
ship of the present day are to be found
in two parts Of the ship which visitors
are seldom able TO get at.
Here is the nerve center of the
ship. - said the officer as he stepped up
on the bridge, land here day and nigh,
stands an officer on watch, during every
minute that she is under way, posted
on the weather side and able with q
touch and a glance TO guide her, to
move her backward or forward, and tc
know without asking whether each Of
his orders is being obeyed promptly by
the men and mechanism toiling down
III the hold.
Here" he continued, moving tc
near the center Of the bridge, "is the
electric arrangement by which we
transmit our orders TO the engine room. ~
The device upon which he laid his hand
was Of brass and was shaped like a
drum, supported on its side on brass
standard. In place Of the drumheads
were plates Of glass, and behind these
were lettered dials, on which We're
marked the orders Of the engineer. Han
dies came up through slots in the top OF
the drum, and these moved, indicating
points around the face Of the dials.
- u e
the movements Of the port engine, said
the officer, land one for the starboard
engine Move the handles forward of
the center and the orders are for going
ahead; move them the other way and
they relate to the movements Of the en-
gines when reversed.
But suppose the wires are broken or
the electric current does not work-what
them the reporter asked.
"You see the second set Of indicators
on the dials:" he replied when the
engineer gets an order he sets similar
dial in the engine room to the mark in
dictated, and that second indicator in
our dial goes around and stops at the
signal. Thus we know 1T a glance that
he has not only got the order, but that
he has got it correctly.
Eve have, however another indicator
here" and he touched button which
lighted up q translucent dial just under
the coping Of the bridge bulwark,
(which tells US at every moment just
what the engines are doing"
This dial was perhaps a foot long and
narrow, with indicator point resting at
the time ut zero mark at its center.
On either side were graduated scales
with numbers. 1.-The numbers, " the Of
ficer said, represent the revolutions
per minute which the screw is making,
and when the point goes over one way
the screw is working ahead, and when
it goes over the other way it is goint,
aback. There is the other indicator for
the other screw. All the signal appa-
ratus is in duplicate also.
Turning then, he pointed to an cleo
trio button in the front Of the pilot
house. THAT blows the whistle, he
said.
Then he pointed aft to where the
whistle stands in front Of the forward
funnel and indicated two electro mag
nets, which, when the current goes
through their wires, draw open the
whistle valve and let the steam into its
hoarse throat.
Within the pilot house he then
showed another electric continuance
which, in connection with clock move.
ment, sounds the whistle automatically
for ten seconds in every minute during
fogs.
Beside that was set Of nine electric
switches. These" he said, "are for
the ships lights. These are for the mast
head lights, and the others for the port
and starboard bow lights. There are
three separate sets Of wires to each light
and two lamps in EACH If a lamp goes
out, this little bell rings and another
lamp is switched into circuit at once.
Except for the carefully shaded cleo
trio lights in the pilothouse, this was
all Of that sort Of apparatus there, but
the steering wheel and its manner Of
operation were as interesting in another
way.
Here, with hardly an effort, one man
can control the great rudder Of the ship
with the certainty and ease with which
he might that Of the smallest sailboat
It is simple thing. The wheel merely
operates pump, which in turn injects a
column Of glycerin through small brass
pipes to cylinder aft, where the rud-
der head comes up and the plunger In
this cylinder opens and closes a steam
valve.
Just back Of the officers quarters
stands ventilator, which connects with
those quarters. Others, like it, but big
ger, along the ships upper deck connect
with and supply air to all parts Of the
ship except the boiler rooms. These
have their own plain shafts. In each Of
the ventilating shafts is an electric mo-
tor driving fam Instead Of trusting
for the entry Of air to the wind blowing
into the old fashioned wide open mouths
Of the ventilators these new ones force
the air down just as it may be wanted
by the electrically driven fans. Beneath
the fans again are coils Of steam pipe
and in cold weather the air is warmed
by these before it enters the saloons,
staterooms and other living parts Of the
ship.
Down below" said the officer final
ly, there are many more uses to which
electricity is put on the ship, and then
there are her engines-but that is re-
gion where am as unacquainted as you
are. 1t takes long enough for one to get
acquainted with the parts Of such big
ship that one has to know about. have
been aboard the. st. Paul ever since she
has been running, and there are lots Of
things about her which ought to know
that I don't know yet, such as where to