The news and herald. (Winnsboro, S.C.) 1877-1900, 1899-01-24
AN OCEAN ICE BREAKER.
RUSSIAN SHIP THAT KEEPS WIN.
TER PORTS OPEN.

Powerful Vessel That Looks Like a
Eattleship - Can Carry Passengers and
Cargo and Could PIow a Way Into the
Arctic sea - 1t Conveys Merchantln en- I.
At Newcastle on-Tyne, England,
there has been launched the pioneer
ship OF pelagic ice-breakers. The en-
plovment of large ice breakers had
been confined to the great lakes OF
Canada until the direction OF the 81
berian railroad ordered a powerful
vessel OF this class, which IS being
built on the shores of Lake Balkal,
il siberia.
Admiral Alarakolf drew the atten-
ton Of the Russian government to the
experience gained in tho-e inland
seas, and induced it to place an order
foc al ocean-yoing vessel larger,
heavier and more powerful than any
ice breaker vet butt. The work which
she is to undertake is much more am
bitioas than anything that has
hitherto been considered practicable,
anil it is held by many men OF expe-
rlence in navigation amid frozen wa
tcrs that there will be no great din
Guilty in keel ing open many, II not
all, OF the principal ;raderoutes OF the
world which now are impossible every
winter. The ice-break1nS ferry steam
! ers cf the Canadian lakes succeed III
maintaining practically unbroken con-
ueytion between their stations through
ice four feet in thickness, and they
are often called upon to face what are
actually known as windrows, when
the drift ice has been piled up by
the effect OF the wind TO height OF
sometimes twenty feet.
The greatest thickness of field ice
reported by Dr. Aausen is twelve feet
aad this was in latitudes where even
co .umerciaI enterprise has not YET
made for it:e an oatlet. Within the
limits to which trade has hitherto
been confined no such thickness Of
ice is to De fund.
The dimensions and appearance OF
the vessel would suggest batt.eshlp
were il not that the bow is cut away
and forms an exceedingly long over
hang which serves the double purpose
of breaking the ice with which it
/ comes in contact by concentrating tho
':vis viva" OF the vessel aad OF pro-
tecting the forward propeller. The
carrier ice breakers were designed on
the principle OF breaking down the
ice by brute force. The cutaway wv
/ enables the vessel to i,e run partially
ND on TO the ice, and if tkeweight
thus applied was not sufficient to
break tue ice, the icek7taker went
astern until she came off aud tried
ssain. The principle upon which the
aew vessel attacks tue ice is also Dsaso
force, but it i. augmented by science.
The forward propeller, by disturbing
| the water under the ice. deprires 1t
OF it's support and then renders 1t q
comparatively easy task fur the heavy
vessel to break through it.
The principal dimensions of the
ship are: Length. sos feet; breadth,
II feet and de pth, - feet 6 inches.
When fully loaded the draft will be 20
feet and the corresponding displace-
ment about 500. tons. The propel-
ling machinery has been divided into
four sets, OF which three sets are af',
each driving its own propeller, and
one set forward. The combined lower
of these four sets OF machinery will
be 10, ,OOo horses. There is accommo.
dation for thirty tirst-class passen-
gers. ten, second-class and fifty third
Class passengers, besides that for the
captain, officers, engineers and crew
of the vessel. There is ample capacity
for cargo, so that the vesse, IL aatll,
tion to conveying merchant vessels
through the ice: is capable Of carry
ing a heavy cargo herself. The stem
of the ice breaker is cut to form re-
cess, into which the stern of another
vessel can be securely lashed an:l thus
obtain the utmost protection from bel
powerful consort.
Admiral MarakoT has also in view
the possibility OF augnenting the ice
breaking CAPABILITIES of this vessel by
having the assistance of second yes
sci pushing her, rs to which he has
already male experiments. The con
yoviug OF merchant steamers IS, G
course, the primary OBJ Of the Ice
breaking stea ner, and it is couhdent
" expected that in very short tln;
the principal trade routes which de
pend on Baltic potts will be kept oper
in winter, and thus provide contlau
ous employment for large conmun
ity.
The hull is divided into no less thar
forty. eight compartments, each one o
which is absolutely water-ti5ht. Wa
ter-tieht bu!kheads are, Of course
commonly talked OF, but no water
tight bulaheads have been subjected
to such severe tess as those III this YES
sci. Every conpartm has been tillet
with water and put under a pressure
due to a column Of water extending t.
the upper deck. In the case of thu
large compartments, such as the en-
ripe and boiler rooms, this rep! esent
ell very serious operation. as the
capacity Of each boiler room is nearl,
1000 tons.
Entirely Too Personal.
| Durinn q Scottish tour which th