The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1900-10-07
Cl)IL|NG An OCEAN L|NER
INTERESTING INFORMATION UPON
A CLOSELY GUARDED FEATURE
OF THE TRADE
FIGURES CARRY SURPRISE
Enormous Quantity of Coal Re-
CURED Daily to Keep Up Speed
OF Transoceanic Lee
Viathan.

Copyrighted 1900, by F. E. Saward Re-
produced by Permission of The CoIl
Trade Journal.
Well advertised is the latest feat of
| the Deutschland, her 514-day Europea a.
American run of recent date. And still
more creditable is the just-completed
easterly voyage. But there is one thing
the people of the Hamburg American line
| are very reticent about: What did she
do it on? How many tons of coal beyond
the normal did it cost?
So we were author zed to investigate.
Being pretty well versed in figures of
coal consumption of transoceanic liners,
a heavy coal consumption was an
ticipated but not the abnormal figure
which the inquiry brought GU. The
writer, on boarding this leviarhan at the
foot of First street, Hoboken, expected
to find something installed to economic
coal requirements. But no! The
Deutschland holds the record for speed
and also for coal consumed She keeps
close to twerty-three knots an no lr,
burning from $50 10 SO tons per die a
the highest consumption ever known en-
a steamer.
She carries from this port for the six
day trip to Europe, 5000 tops-the largest
coal pile ever stow I'd away Oh a rasse
that she burns at the rate of one and
one-half tons per hour 4or each knot of
her speed, hitherto an u.hear1 Of COM
bustion, or $50 tons per 200 knots One
day on her eastern trip she made nearly
800 knots, then she burnc S32 tons in the
twenty-four hours.
The very short stay of the Deutschland
she will be back and gene again in
three weeks-renders it necessary to
work all through Sunday cIaling her
Four lighters work each side, or eight
! in all These are of odd sizes-holding
from 400 to sou TONS 1t is the usual
process getting this 5000 tons of coal
aboard; hand shovel, bucket and steam
winch. Time, two and one-half to three
| days.
The coal laborers are paid 10 cents per
i hour extra for this Sunday work, but
, that only means 800 EXTRA Tor ten hours
passed in the dirtiest of work instead o.
at Coney Island,
Directly she gets in, alongside come the
coal lighters. In fact, it might almost
be said that two steamers reach the
wharf at the same time, the ocean grey
| lighters laden with coal; for they re-
ceive instructions to take the coal round
as soon as the liner has been reported
coming in. But it is an actually that
within a couple of hours of the steamer
discharging-not its cargo, but its pas
sengers-the coal is being raise'i and
shot into the bunkers From thence 1t
is carried, as needed, in small cars run
ming on rails, to the fire rooms. No less
1 of tS
this service
The lighters are big deep craft each
bring alongside from $50 TO 500 tons, and
the huge iron buckets are filled by hand
shoves, hoisted few feet by the stea n
winch, and their contents slid into the
bunker hole.
A few figures regarding the twin-screw
Deutschland shows that she is 6S6 feet
long, 81 feet beam, A feet deep, $1,000 tons
displacement and 5000 1. h. p. There are
two engine rooms, with passage between.
This totally destroys the imposing effect
of what might otherwise have been a
single engine room, Of which any engi-
neer would feel proud. The saloon Is
handsome, but verify eclipsed by the sa-
loon of the New York american l1ne),
which is the handsomest saloon existent
in marine architecture; whereas the sa-
loon of the Deutschland and other liners
remind one of the hatchways artistically
fixed up.
With the American line the coaling of
the New York, st. Paul and ST. Louis
is effected by the same means as employ
ed by the other leading lines. There is
always reticence evinced by the officials
as to the daily consumption of coal, but
that can be overcome by learning the
average amount Of coal shipped on each
side for the trip across. This figures up
at S.3OO-3, 200 tons Allowing six days to
the quick trips, this gives a daily burning
of some $50 tons. The Anerican-built
vessels, ST. Paul and St Louis, are stated
to be less economical on coal than the
European-buiIt vessels
Taking In detail the latest giantess, the
Oceanic, it Is found she would reach the
length of Madison square, from Twenty
third street to Twenty-sixth street. Her