The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1897-11-20
LENG1HENING 4 BIG BoAE.
SWIFT Work on tho Hudson Rivor steamer
Now York.

Among the hundreds of thousands Of persons
who live along the Hudson .River:between here
and Troy there is no steamboat better known
than the graceful. swift, three.funnelled boat
New York, which has been plying on the Albany
day line for tho last ten years.
Could those who aroused to seeing her ply
ing over her course visit Robins ~shipyard at
the Eric Basin to-day they would see this fine
steamer cut clean in two in the middle and eS-
hibiting her Interior In the interesting way in
which such sights are usually to be seen only In
sectional drawings.
Viewing the New York from the bottom Of
the dry dock where she lies and standing be-
tween her two sections. she looks not unlike O
three-story house rent in twain. Looking into
what might be the cellar Of the house one dis
covers on the one side the face of three big
steam boilers with the doors of their six fur
naces. while on the other side 10 the heavy steel
framework Of the steamers engines. A floor
above. on the main deck of the steamer, are the
rooms Of the engines and boiler tops. fanked
by gangways, and a floor higher up the main
saloon and its margin Of private parlors ap-
pear on both parts of the vessel like the
smaller divisions Of the upper part of a house.
The similarity ends there. for it 10 not usual to
find above the roofs of houses, as here, three
big smokestacks looming up side by side on the
one hand. or q big black walking beam stick-
ing up over o roof on tho other hand. Tho
boat from the guards line upward hao been out
In two as fairly and evenly as II tho work had
been done with a big whipsaw.
Below tho guards, where the Joiner work ends
and the steel hull lies. her limos arc uneven
and Jagged, as II she had been rent apart By o
mighty pull. She was pulled apart. but this
was not done until after every rtvet that held
the steel work had been cut and removed. and
carpenters. with hammers, saws. and chisels
had separated all the woodwork.
Whom she was ready for the pull. Q pai1 Of
jackscrews gave q start to her bow section, o
couple of steam winches kept 1t sliding and
in i've and q half minutes by tho clock tho
two ends OF the great steamer were exactly
thirty feet apart. with the boilers and pilot
house on one side Of the gap and the engines
ana paddle wheels on the other.
The New York Ii to be heightened by this
thirty feet. and pulling her apart was but tho
first important step toward the work. In q
few days the thirty-foot gap will have been
filled up with a new midship section, the en-
gines and boilers rejoined. wheels connected,
and, bright with paint, the New York will go
forth again without oven a scar to mark tho
surgery to which she is being subjected. Before
boat. She was sol feet long, 30 feet wide, and
u fGet deep IN the hold. and was rated to'carry
1l,55to tons tons bur =: Her owners wanted more
TO have her madesthirty feet longer.
The CELEBRITY with which this work was ac-
complished was remarkable. The New York
was let into the dry dock on Thursday morn
ing. and, at noon the water was out, and she
was cut In two, and twenty-three hours later
she was pulled apart, Much work had to be
cutting of rivets and woodwork and uncoupIins
OF steam and water connections, tho forward
part Of the vessel had to DO got upon sliding
tho two parts or the ship from getting out Of
Before the New York was foated into the
dry dock much had been done toward the latter
work; BESIDES preparing carefully levelled
water left her, there were already in place
long lines of massive, timbe.s, one on each
side of The keel &c blocks. known as standing
Of these timbers, and the tops of the ways where
they were TO come under the bow sections of
AS soon as the vessel had settled upon the
keel blocks and while workmen were cutting
her IN two. other workmen swnrmed about her
outside. preparing Tor the important, work of
mTGo N one , end as soon as it should be free.
and braces .DV On tho tho creased east way Ways o'1 Under orot tbs
bow part they put other great timbers called
s sIom g;vb WaEyI h,o ana a, upon POI h thGse cross PiectSs,
wedges driven home with great sledge hammers,
TIE weight OF the ship was transferred from
time inside the ship holes were cut from the
saloon deck to the hold in each midship section
these with tally marks and straight edges along
their suspending cords to show any movement
out of plumb or level. Two other lines were
carried almost from stem to stern of tho
vessel, one down each gangway. and, whore
these crossed the line OF cutting, marks were
set up on either section. These lines were TO
determine at any time whether tho two sections
of the vessel as she was pulled apart were still
exactly in line fore and aft.
The preparations for the moving had all been
so carefully made that after the thirty feet
hHd been gained the test lines showed that
the two parts were exactly IN limo, level and
plumb, and ready to begin to build them to-
gether again.
70 Join the hull part will take sections Of
keel una keelson, stringers and plates each
thirty feet long and fifteen new steel frames,
duplicates OF the two between which the cut
was made. Nearly all of these parts were ready
made before the steamboat was even brought to
waiting to be punched with rivet holes as soon
as, templates could be got from the lines OF
holes in the severed hull.
Even we o before or, tho steel work L finished the
though the centre part OF the hull will be left
straight. the line of the guards will be swelled
out gracefully, and the New York will probably
be even a handsomer boat than she was before,
and perhaps faster.