Hutchinson gazette. [volume] (Hutchinson, Kan.) 1895-1902, 1898-01-27
IT TRAVELS ON LAND.
A QUEER STEAMER TO BE
FOUND IN DENMARK.
It Runs ON Two Lakes and the IAthmns
Betwoen-P Passengers DO Not Dlsem-
bark-PrInclplo Of the BOat-TwO
Illustrations. v

Illustrations. v
In Denmark they have boat which
travels both on land and water. ]. w.
Smith writes OF this curiosity in the
Strand Magazine: This might be called
the crocodile Of boats, for she seems as
much at home on land as in water. She
comes up out of the water, as shown in
the first illustration, crosses narrow
strip Of land on little railway. and
descends into the water again with ut
most grace Of motion. During her
short career of three summers, she has
safely carried over forty thousand peo-
pie, most of whom have been intensely |
attracted by the novelty Of the thing. /
For the Swan is, believe, the only
boat Of her kind in the world.
To see her, you must go to Denmark.
A half-hour by rail northward from Co.
penhagen will bring you to little viii
lage named Lyngby, which lies on the
edge Of one of three beautiful lakes.
These are greatly beloved by the Co.
penhagenites, who use them for recrea-
ton. The likeness is even mere evil
dent after you have boarded one of the
little steam launches which ply from
Lyngby to Frederiksdal across Lake
Lyngby for this launch, sometimes
with two or three crowded and stocky |
barges in tow, soon enters pretty lit
tie creek, which winds and twists like |
the upper reaches of the Thames. The |
trip to Frederiksdal takes about half |
an hour, and costs half kroner
slightly more than sixpence. AS the |
amphibious boat lies by the landing |
stage at Frederiksdal ready to take her |
passengers on board, she looks much |
the same as other boats. If, for mo-
ment, we may call attention to the
Swan discharging her passengers at |
Frederiksdal, we may note this SINH
larity, except that the Swan is slightly |
broader, with her lines full fore and |
aft, in order to allow framework for |
the wheels. Wheels? Yes, most GER
tainly, for how else could she go over
the rails on the Fiskebaek, out of the |
water and in again? 1t is in regard to
the double use of wheels and propeller
that the Swan is unique, and If a little
technical language is pardoned, the
construction may be easily explained
There is plenty of time to do it, for the
boat is now on her way across Lake
Fure-or, as the Danish call it, the
Fure So-and it will be over an hour
before she rides on the railway at
Fiskebaek. The boat, then, is 46 feet
long, feet inches beam, and draws
feet to 81 feet of water, according
to the load. Seventy passengers can
be comfortably carried, and, at a pinch,
she will take eighty-four. With full
load she weighs Is tons, and when emp
ty liz tons. Parallel with the pro-
peller shaft is another shaft, one end Of
which runs to within 10 feet of the bow,
and these two shafts are connected
with each other by chain gearing, like
the two wheels Of bicycle. The end
of the second shaft is connected near
the bow by bevel gears, to little shaft
at right angles, and on this shaft are
keyed the two little wheels which carry
the boat across the rails. Another pair
of wheels is to be found at like dis
lance from the stern, but these are not
driven. These are used to keep the
boat on the rails, and, with the help OF
brake, from going into the water too
quickly. The wheels are about Is
inches in diameter, and carry two
fanges, the bearing surface being lit
tie wider than the rails upon which they
run. So much for the heavy descrip- |
ton. It is, however, always necessary,
although I daresay that two-thirds of
the 10000 people who have sailed in
the Swan have thought of little else |
except the mere fact that they were |
sSKing in a boat on wheels. The in
terest of the passengers in this mere |
fact" is always shown as the Swan ap-
proaehes the end of her trip across the
Fufe So. They crowd to the bow, ex-
pecting every moment to see the bow |
rising out of the water, as II it were a |
whale that had suddenly decided to
come to the surface. But the trick is
not done with sky-rocket quickness;
instead, the boat gradually nears the |
shore, where little dock has been con-
structed of piles rammed down into the
mud. 1t is a V-shaped arrangement
tapered down until it is only two inches /
wider than the boat at its widest part.
That is to say, there remains but one
inch on each side Of the parallel cleats
or fillets which run along the side Of
the boat. AS the boat fits tightly, there
is no chance for 1t to wobble, and pas
sengers are much safer on it than they
would be on bus or an electric car.
When the narrowest part Of this v
shaped dock is reached, the Swan en-
tiers a small parallel dock Of equal
width, and moves onward slowly until
the front wheels on the keel touch the
rails, which, for this purpose, have been