The Bennington evening banner. (Bennington, Vt.) 19??-1961, 1915-11-05
OUR COAST LIGHTS
These BeaconS Are Invaluable as
Aids to Navigation.
THE SERVICE NEVER SLEEPS.
Night and Day at All Seasons of the
Year the Flash of the Lamp or the
Song of the Fog Siren Welcomes or
Warns the Watchful Mariner.

Song of the Fog Siren Welcomes or
Warns the Watchful Mariner.
The work of safeguarding navigation
ON the coasts OF the United States is n
far greater and more complex problem
than most people appreciate, for there
is Il multitude of complex conditions to
be met. each one varying with the pc
culiarltieS of its location. The terri
tory TO be covered is also unusually
! great, as it includes not only the entire
ocean fronts of the country, both on
the Atlantic and Pacific oceans, but of
Alaska, the Hawaiian Islands, portions
of the West Indies and the great lakes
as well, and the service never ends
either by night OF day, summer or win
| ter
The lighthouse service comprises a
force of 1900 men, on whom devolves
the duty of maintaining over $4,000
aids to navigation of various kinds, in
Gliding lighthouses, lightships, light
beacons and buoys of various descrip-
lions, together with many fog signals,
and an important incidental duty is
that of protecting the shores in the
neighborhood of stations from damage
by erosion that might endanger the
| structures.
The desirable distribution of lights
and other aids along coast depends
on its maritime development and its
physical characteristics and is intlu
enced by the prevailing meteorological
| conditions. Thus the north Atlantic
coast has large foreign and coasting
| trade, and the shores are intricate and
in part rugged, and along this coast
! the main lights are, with few excep-
! lions, placed at such intervals that
their arcs of visibility overlap. On
| portions of the coast of simple con
tour and with smaller traffic, there
| are unlighted stretches between the
f! lights which stand on the projecting
| capes. The design and construction
| Of lighthouses vary with their loca
| ton and the surrounding conditions,
| no two being exactly alike.
! Next to the lighthouse, the lightship
| is one of the most picturesque objects
seen along our coasts. This vessel is
ninety-two feet ON the water line,
/ twenty-five feet beam and has a
draft of eleven feet four inches. 1t is
built of steel and incombustible ma
| terials throughout and has five water
! tight bulkheads. 1t Is self propelled,
being provided with an internal com
bustion oil burning engine of 200
horsepower, and has an oil vapor or
gas light fifty feet above the water,
located on u tubular mast, through
which access to the light can be safely
had in any weather. The fcg signal
is siren using compressed air, and
a submarine bell is also fitted. Fittr-
two light vessels are maintained, and
that there may be no interruption OF
the service there are fourteen relief
ships, so that if anything happens to
q ship or station another can be quick
~ sent to take its place All of these
vessels are very strongly built to en-
able them to withstand the severe
service they are required to perform
and have flush decks for increased
safety.
Only one light, that at Navesink.
n. j., is equipped with electric light for
which current is generated at the sta
ton, but there are thirty minor stations
where electric lights, either incandes-
cent or arc, are used which obtain cur
rent from outside sources. In most OF
the coast lights oil vapor lamps are
used having nantes of either thirty
five or fifty-five milIimeters diameter
and arranged either singly or in groups
giving light intensities of from COO TO
$500 candles. These lamps are not
only very powerful and reliable, but
are much more economical than the old
oil wick lamps, as they require but
from 0.G to 0.SS gallon per candle pow
err per wear as against as to 76 gallons
for the old oil lights. The increased
illuminating efficiency is about eight
times
Beacons, both fixed and floating, are
numerous and depend on either gas or
electricity for their lights. and these
are especially valuable in inaccessible
places where attendance is difficult
These, however, are only put in sta
tons of subordinate importance. The
majority of such beacons use gas and
are provided with tanks of sufficient
capacity for storing a supply of acety-
lene gas for about five months.
Fog signals are of particular value in
many places. and these are distributed
along the coast, according to conditions
prevailing. Thus on the coast of Maine
there is an average of 1857 hours of
fog during the year, while on the south
Atlantic and gulf coasts the average is
only $50 hours There are 32S fog sig
nails from Cape Lookout northward out
of a total of 567 maintained by the
service There are 121 fog signals on
the American shores of the great lakes
and eighty-three on the northern Pa
cific and Alaska shores, while in Porto
Rico and Hawaii, where fog is rare, no
signals of this kind are required.
The principal fog signals used are air
sirens. steam whistles, reed horns, bells
controlled by clockworl and submarine
bells operated by compressed al, all OF
which are valued by sailors.-.-ngineer-
ing News.
Good Reason Too.
rH an