The Minneapolis journal. [volume] (Minneapolis, Minn.) 1888-1939, 1904-02-04

Minnesota was a unique achievement
in American shipbuilding.W1tho even
so much as single rivet the stipend
Gus task Of building these ships was
assumed by the Eastern Shipbuilding
company in April, 1900. The company
was organized and the plans Of the
ships outlined in consonance with the
ideas of James J. Hill early in 1900,
and the contracts awarded President
Charles r. HanscOm of the Eastern
company, who had in February of
that year resigned the superintend-
ency Of the Bath Iron works at Bath,
Maine. With the 100000 contract
in his possession, Mr.. Hanscom hur-
ried to New London, where, years be-
fore, during the trial of warships for
! the United States navy, he had dis
| covered a "naturaI' shipyard site, and
here he planned to build these not
able ships. The chosen site acquired,
there began simultaneously the con-
struction of the ships and the installa-
ton of a shipyard. Necessarily, the
latter work advanced with great celer-
ity, and within eighteen months the
yard equipment was complete and the
work on the vessels begun in earnest.
The steamship Minnesota, now near
ing completion will be ready for
her trial trip in July, and before the
coming Of another winter both YES
sells will have reached their home port
at Seattle, and will probably be &C
! lively engaged in the oriental trade
for which they were constructed.
Some Unprecedented Figures. -.
The dimensions Of the Dakota and
Minnesota, which are IDENTICAL, are
impressive in their immensely. The
: length of each ship is $50 feet; breadth
70 feet inches; moulded depth, So
, feet. On draught of 81 feet the dis
/ placement will be $1,000 tons, and or
. a 4O-foot draught, 10000 tons, or 23C
tons in excess Of the displacement OF
t the big White Star liner Cedric. Each
' vessel has no less than eleven dis.
tinct decks and the whole enclosed
structure is Sc feet in height. Upor
: draught of 33 feet the navigating
+ bridge will be 81 feet above the water
\, and when the vessel is light and draw
! ing but II feet, the bridge will be 7:
feet from the surface and passenger:
! on the upper promenade deck IS fee
from the water. 1t is estimated tina
, in the heaviest sea, passengers on thu
upper deck will be 80 feet above the
crest of the waves. The coal bunker
of each ship have a capacity for 5000
tons of coal, and the fresh water tanks
will hold 5000 tons of water. TIL,
water tight compartments have thu
latest model closing devices, and Their
are also compartments for the accom-
mediation of water ballast, so that i
will never be necessary for these YES
sells to carry cargo at a loss in ballast
There are four boiler-rooms, eacl
: with four watertube boilers, and twi1
screws are driven by triple expansion
engines aggregating $4,000 hors
power. The minimum speed is esti
mated at IA knots loaded. TIL
handling of the cargo will be thru 1
matches, a separate winch, or stear
derrick, handling the load for eac
= hatch. The accommodations are fO
$50 first-class, 100 second-class, 10
third class, and 1000 steefage pas
sengers. The between deck is. ais
arranged so that a regiment of 1,2O
men could be accommodated wit
their entire equipment, and a batter
of field guns. The cargo capacity {
each ship is about $4,000 tons. TT
officers and crew will number abol
3O0me One feature Of constructio
is forward hatch capable of allowir
the entrance of a complete locomoti,
and lowering the engine to a specs
& compartment, so that on arrival
destination the engine could be; take
from the ship and placed on raj
. ready for service.
In the hull and decks of each sh
there were used no less than l2,Ot
tons of steel plates and shapes and g
tons of rivets, a greater total of M