Bismarck daily tribune. [volume] (Bismarck, Dakota [N.D.]) 1881-1916, 1904-08-29
BIGGEST STEAMSHIP AFLOAT
New Workers Have an Opportunity To In
spect Jim Hills Big Steamship Min
nesOta.

At the invitation of the officials Of
the Great Northern Steamship com.
pany, the public was given an opportu-
nifty of visiting and inspecting the new
steamship Minnesota" at the South
ern Pacific pier, 80 North river, New
York. It will be interesting to local
readers to learn of the history of the
minnesota" and her sister ship, the
Dakota" Following naturally in the
far-reaching plans of J. J. Hill after he
had touched the Pacific coast with his
railroad, was the conquest of the Pa
cifc-carying trade to Oriental ports
These plans were mighty when IN
derstood and the ships became neces-
sary to his plans. Ships larger than
any ever built in the world, as eco
nomy was the keynote of the success
of the plan.
The twin screw steamship mime
sota," built by the Eastern Shipbuild-
ing Comapny of New London, Conn.,,
is the largest vessel ever built in the
United States and one of the largest
in the world. Her gross tonnage, ex-
elusive of the passenger houses, is
20,718 tons; including passenger
houses 1854 tons. The vessel is $50
feet long, 70 feet inches beam, Sc
feet draft to the upper deck. She is
built of steel throughout, to require:
ments of the American and British
laws for foreign going stamers.
She is divided transversely into thir.
teen water tight compartments, and
has a longitudinal bulkhead from keel
to main deck which is water tight in
boiler and engine spaces, making fiji
teen water tight compartm ents above
the double bottom. The double bot.
tom extending from end to end is six
feet deep and divided into thirty water
tight compartm ents, which hold in all
1866 tons of water ballast. The main
frames of the ship are of II inch steel
channel bars spaced thirty inches
apart. She has five steel decks ex
tending the full length Of the ship
The upper one is completely covered
with wood. There are four more steel
decks completely covered with wood
in passenger spaces, making in all
nine decks.
The Minnesota is what is known as
the informed type of vessel. He1
speed being moderate-about IA knots
allows her machinery to be small in
comparison with her immense size
and enables her to carry an extremely
heavy dead weight. The steam fol
driving the main engines is generated
by sixteen Niclausse water tube boil
ers with heating surface Of 40,615
square feet, the steam pressure being
ESQ pounds. The funnel surrounding
the inside smoke stack is 16A feet
transverse and 10 feet fore and afi
diameter and it's top is 1856 feet above
4 the keel of the ship. The main en-
I gines are of the triple expansion type
. with cylinders 20 inch, 81 inch and sc
inch diameter by 81 inch stroke. The
two engines are designed to develop
from 10000 to 10000 indicated horse
! power. The vessel is propelled by
twin screws, the diameter of each be
ing about 20 feet; the blades are Of
Manganese bronze.
The total space available for cargo
and coal is 1,072,O0O cubic feet, and
her dead weight carrying capacity Is
$4,000 long tons. In fact her interna,
carrying capacity is equal to the space
( occupied by $4,000 tons of coal, which
. would equal 966 cars of coal of 81
: tons each, or train about nine miles
i long. Every modern apparatus for thu
I careful and rapid handling of the car
I 60 are installed. The arrangement o1
I the holds are such that the cargo may
I be readily, slowed. There are rooms
I for the stowage Of silk, provided will
OFFICIAL NOTICE ISSUED.