Daily press. [volume] (Newport News, Va.) 1896-current, 1899-10-29

'loNS ri the troWulnS which was Obv!-
Gus in the older yards =! Visited whose
pi3nts have had to b. extended within
The last TWO months to meet the Tres m.
unprecedented demand for tonnage.
.in idea of the capacity Of the New
port News plant can be given ~ a very
brief description Of the principal shops.
Tn" bending shed is - feet by 100
feat. With an angle furnace GO feet in
length. 4 plate furnace 22 feet by feet
and 4 ground heating furnace % feet in
length The framing shed is go feet
by ;4i feet. \ unique feature in its
equipment is hydraulic manhole-
punching machine, which With laOOlb
pressure punches Il manhole IS BY -
lnShes through plates CT three quarters
OF an INCH in thickness. This machine
was designed and made by the Newport
News Company. ana is the only one of
IT'S capacity IN use in any American
shipyard. The ship shed is a brick
building 60 zee; by 80 feet \ feature, in
its equipment IS the affect bending
rolls. which. it is claimed are The larg-
est in the world. They are driven BY Il
30 horse power engine" and arc regu-
lated by hydraulic power. The ang..
shop is 30 by 80 feet. 1t is equipped
with min" small heating furnaces ana
= welding fires. and eight travelling
cranes ot three tons capacity. The
beam shop is so feet by 500 feet Tho
blacksmith shop is q brick building. 100
feet i'm lcngth by 100 feet wtlc. with
room FOR a working force 81 Us men. 1t
contains 70 steam hammers ranging in
size from 800 10 5000 lhs ana 4 pair 81
cutting shears the maximum ,iincn-
sl0nS OF whose cut are four inches
square. The boiler shop is a four-stury
l,,t.., IL 4,
pllck building. 800 feet in length by 100
in width. With working room, for. $50
men. The Joiner ana pattern sha,, is
q tnlec-stn!y building. $50 feet long by
so feet wide. The lwo lower floors arc
occupied by joiners: the l,ytter..rnakers
are assigned To the upper floor. At the
present ,ilne, when the yard is as full
as 1T can De With work. 400 men are
employed in these iwo shops The ma
SEin" and erecting shop is 500 feet long
bE Loo feet wide. with galleries on eth
CT side running the entire length of the
pudding. In these galleries the brass
work is done Notwithstanding the
fact THAT this shop is regarded as one
OF the b"St-cuuipped aud best planned
engineering shops in the United States,
it would be tedious to go over a list OF
the machines il contains. The enumer-
alton of three or four will serve to in
dlcatc the character of the equipment
on which alone an immense fortune has
been expended. There are Sl-inch, GO
inch and @4-inch planners: 4 wall planer
- feet high. worked BY a 80 horse power
electric motor: and a l25-:nch shaftng
lathe. 50 built that 1T can be used as
two lathes. which Will take 81 feet be-
tween the centers. ANA which has a
swing of 125 inches diameter
n,
only eight wears, and although every
thing was Of the newest and best when
1t was put in. many changes have al
ready been made in the equipment. AT
first most .: the machinery was driven
by steam power. and pneumatic power
Was used only on a small scale. Now
however, electricity is being quickly
substituted for steam, and before many
weeks are over steam as q motive row
er VIII have almost disappeared. Flee
ulc ana pneumatic power is carried all
over the yard. and is in use on vessels
II the Quitting basin. and in the dly
dock FOR chipping, riveting and caulk-
ing, as Well as for driving lathes and
other machinery, temporarily fitted up
on board ship. The compressed; air
plant is one part CT tho equipment most
recently installed. 1t consists Of two
c3ni'rcsso,s. knowa in this country as
nsersall-Serscant compressors enc Of
these is technically describes; as a class
G duplex compound compressor, with
2o-'nch steam cylinders, 20 l-4-inch
nigh pressure air cylinder. 81 1-4-inch
lc'w-rressure air cylinder ana 2l-llch
common stroke, the engine having 4
receiver into cooler Sc inches in diam =
ter BY +? feet inches long, ana having
a discharge If ZOO cubic feet Of free
ar per minute al l01th. pressure. The
second IS 4 class G duplex compressor
VIII! 2o-lnch diameter steam and 20 "A !
men diameter air cylinders ana 2i-inch
common stroke. the capacity being 1890
Eifn!l' leet OF tree air per minute at
luo!b pressure. The discharge Of cc,n-
pressed air is into Il common stora &c
tank al about 9Ordcsrees pressure. The
power 50 generated is conveyed ovel.
the yard to The basin ana til. div dock
BY means q 1900 feet Of cast-iron PIN
ing, Tor the most part s inches in al
;t:neter- Ecth pneumatic and hydraulic.
rlNetefs are used in the frame sheds On
hu!k heads and reverse frames some
CT theSe machines are Worked by col
ored men. Of whom a large number are
employed.
have gone into the details Of the
SHOPS and machinery because of the
prominence which the Newport News
plant now has among the yards OF the
tNllilhuc coast by reason Of the extent
completeness and modern character Of
IT'S equipment, ana the free-handed wav
IN which money has been spent in per
tectlng every detail From time to time.
the foremost experts in the country
rave baen called into service l;y the
Newport News Company in laying out
and extending its plant. and the best
machine constructing firms are all cp-
resented ~ the equipment Of the shc ps.
All 'he machinery. 50 far as my obser-