Aberdeen herald. [volume] (Aberdeen, Chehalis County, W.T.) 1886-1917, 1898-11-24

OUR GREAT STEAMSHIPS GUIDED sT
4 FINGERS TOUCH

Machinery Operated by the Magic tower
Rudder Guided by the Electric Current
All Signals Verify Themselves-The Plant
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 night
stands an officer On watch, during every
minute that she is under way, posted
on the weather side and able with
touch and glance to guide her, to
move her backward or forward, and to
know without asking whether each OF
his orders is being obeyed promptly by
the men and mechanism toiling down
in the hold
Here" he continued, moving to
near the center Of the bridge, sis 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
drum, supported on its side on brass
standard. In place Of the drumheads
were plates Of glass, and behind thea
were lettered dials, on which were
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.
Zone Of these dials carries orders for
the movements Of the port engine, ;" said
the officer, land ono 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. y
But suppose the wires are broken OF
the electric current does not work-what
them" the reporter asked.
You see the second set of indicators
on the dials:" he replied. When toe
engineer gets an order, he sets similar
dial in the engine room to the mark in.
dictated, and that second indicator n
our dial goes around and stops at tho
signal Thus we know at glance that
he has not only got the order, bat that
he has got il correctly.
1--WE have, however another indicator
here" and lie touched button which
lighted up translucent dial Just unde,
the coping Of the bridge hulwark,
(which tells US at every moment just
what the engines arc doing"
This dial was perhaps "a f0ot .ong and
narrow. with indicator point resting at
the time at q zero mark at its cente,
On either side were graduated scales
with numbers. 1.-THE mum bers. the of.
fcer said, represent the revolutions
per minute which the screw is making,
and when the point goes over enc wa,
| the screw is working ahead, and when
it goes over the other way it is going
aback. There is the other indicator for
the other screw. All tho signal appa-
ratus is il duplicate also. "
Turning then, IL pointed to al cleo
ric button III the front Of tho pilot
house That blows the whistle" he
gaid
Then be pointed at - where the
whistle sands il FROM C the forward
funnel All indicated two electro mag
nets, which, when the current goes
through = wiros, d-aY- open the
whistle valve and let the steam into its
hoarse threat.
/ Within the pilot house he then
/ showed another electric contrivancs
( which, in connection with 6 clock move
ment, sounds tho whistle automatically
! for ten seconds in every minute during
/ fogs.
! Beside that was set Of nine electric
switches. "These," ne 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 anothe,
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 a 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 plnnger in
this cylinder opens and closes a steam
valve.
Just back of the officers quarter:
stands ventilator, which connects with
those quarters. Others, like it, but big
ger, along the ships upper deck connec,
with and supply air to all parts of the
ship except the boiler rooms. These
have their own plain shafts. In each o.
the ventilating shafts is an electric mo
tor driving a fan. Instead Of trusting
for the entry of air to the wind blowing
into the old fashioned wide open mouth!
Of tha vpnt ri lators these now cpoc foro.