The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1905-04-09

Grafton lust past was one OF reciprOcetlhB
machinery. the present Is noteworthy for
using rotary motions IN meohani cal devices
AZ examples Of this may DO cited the fact
that tho steam engine With It's rectpTooeting
piston Il giving place TO the steam turbine.
The centrifugal pump IL supplanting the
familiar piston or plunger type, and the
turbine Steamship has In the opinion on
many engineers taken an assured place az
the speediest and most economical craft
As regards the turbine steamship, events
OF the past year seem to indicate clearly
not only It's complete practicabiity, but
IL future supremacy, and It Is interesting
10 consider what IL happening at the pres
ent transitional period. Indeed, when the
Caronia, the latest and largest OF the GU
nard feet, entered New York harbor a rev
weeks ago, there wero many who believed
that Il would be the last vessel OF this ms
toTio line equipped with reotpTooatin-
engines 10 be used for transatlantic passens
ger express service, inasmuch as the oom-
pany has In course Of construction on the
Clyde three other vessels, In all OF Whioh
turbines Will . pply III motive power
The first Of these, the Carmania, was
launched on Feb. u last from the Clyde-
bank works Of John Brown 4 Co., Limited
and Is a sister ship Of the Caronla, being
similar In all respects save machinery.
The two vessels are % 500 tons displaoe-
ment. e7s feet In length, u feet In moulded
breadth, 50 feet In moulded depth, and 81
eet in draught. They are slightly inferior
IN length 10 the Baltic, which Is to-day
the largest ship aaoat. being IS feet longer
han the Cunard liners, which, however
are designed for speed Of 10 knots as com
pared with but II In the White Star vessel
In the Caronia a speed Of 1919 knots was
attained on her trial trip, and even better
results may be secured from the Carmanis-
In the latter vessel, by the use Of the steam
turbines and three shafts, there viii be
saving OF weight in the machinery OF per
cent over that Of the quadruplO expansion
reoiprocating engines Of the Caronia, but
there will be no saving In the area Of the
space devoted to the machinery. A smaller
boiler pressure Is required for the turbines,
but, on the other hand, the oOndensing sur
face must be greater and the capacity Of
the circulating pumps greatly increased.
What may reas onably be expected In the
light Of recent experience is that the Car
mania will prove slightly faster, fresr from
vibration, and, what Is most important to
the owners, more economical In fuel.
With the other two vessels referred 70
there IL a striking and ambitious advance
IN requirements and in methods employed
to satisfy them. They are TO DO Of ex-
treme size, TSS feet In length, and are being
constructed under AN agreement with the
British Government whereby the com
pany Ia 10 receive large subsidy for carry
ing tho mails and holding the ships at the
disposal Of tho navy 10 be used a. scouts
In case Of war.
For these reasons, as well as for express
passenger service, q speed Of IS knots an
hour has been specified, and this is 70 DO
attained by means of steam turbines. II
a speed of Is knots can be maintained
throughout the transatlantic trip, II involves
the shortening Of the voyage by practically
a day, as the Lucania and Campania, with
a customary speed Of about 10 TO 81 knots,
require between Ave and six days for the
voyage. To this itsm Of speed must be
added the absence Of vibration and in
creased steadiness, 80 that the ocean trip
will DO rendered not only much shorter
but also far pleasanteT for tho passengers.
In considering the development Of the
turbine ard its application to these great
liners, II must be borne in mind that It
was only in 1900 that 1t received its first
important trial, when 1t was applied TO
the Viper a British torpedo boat, which
made q speed record OF $50 knots, AL
though In 1895 the Turbinia, a torpedo boat,
had shown that the new method was feas-
iole. This success was followed in 1901
by the King Edward, a fast passenger
steamer built TO operate on the Clyde,
which not only made the desired speed
with machinery Weighing but one-half
that Of vessels Of the same size and class,
but also produced a considerable saving
n the coal consumed.
Such practical demonstrations led TO the
construction Of steam yachts and larger
vessels In which the turbine principle was
applied, and In every case success was
attained and new steamships were de-
signed In which use was made Of the prao-
tical experience gained. Thus for service
on the English Channel the turbine steamer
Queen was built for the Southeastern Rail-
way to make the trip from Dover TO Calais,
a distance Of "a miles in an hour, and
actually accomplished the distance In one
minute less
This company has now under construction
two new turbine steamships, the Onward
and the lnvicta, which are designed still
further 70 reduce the time OF this much
dreaded trip TO so minutes, thus making
a speed OF 7aH miles an hour.
On the Irish Sea also there are now two
turbine steamships maintained by the
Midland Railway Company in ia service
between the Isle Of Man and England,
and between Ireland and England. These
steamers were constructed at tie same time
as two others for the Irish service, which
were essentially the same In si1e and de-
sign, save for differences in the engines,
ths reciprocating tjps being used.
After studying carefully the records Of
the trial trips Of all, II was found that the
turbine steamers were not only moro speedy
but also more economical. One Of the lat
ter, the MGnXmRn, made a speed Of twenty
three knots, which at the tine was the best
performances for a turbine driven merchant
vessel
That the turbine steamship does equally
well on long trips we have the evidence Of
the British steamship LoonganA, a vessel
Of AGO tons and eighteen knots speed,
which recently made the voyage from
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