The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1915-03-21
Map on Exhibition at
Exposition Shows
Paths Through Which
Vessels Enter New
York---How Harbor
Would Look If Water
Were Drained OF
HE War Department has an ex-
hibit at the San Francisco
Exposition which shows that

tnt training bI men 10 UEnt. Inns
particular display consists of several
models of vessels that have been or
are now engaged in transatlantic voy-
aging. a Typographical, map of the
harbor Of New York and a model of
the steam dredger that dug out the
deep Ambrose Channel. which became
necessary because the big steamers
were getting bigger every year.
The corps OF engineers OF the United
States army has to look after all har-
bors. all tideways. all bridges over
tidewater as we'll as the forts that
guard the harhors. &c, and conse-
quently it was the corps of engineers
that dug out the deep Ambrose Chan
mel so that vessels of forty feet
draught can come into New York
harbor at low tide ana 20 on up to
their piers. This is something that
cannot he done In any other great har-
Dor in the world. In other large ports
the steamers either go into docks.
passing through the locks at high tide.
or else transfer their passengers to
tenders while lying out in deep water.
but in New York. where the largest
steamships in the world come. these
big vessels car 20 to their piers and
discharge their passengers in the heart
OF the city.
The models show lO0 years of trans
atlantic travel. They have been built
to a scale of 3-32ds of an inch To a foot
and the largest OF the six vessels. the
Vateriand. is : feet 6 inches long.
These models being built TO a fixed
scale, one "A easily see the wonderful
nrpurpgS TINT hng h.nn mad. in I'M
years and can see also why it was
necessary TO deepen the channels into
the harbor. II the channels had not
been deepened the big steamers would
have gone elsewhere and New York
would have lost much Of its ocean
trade. The models were made by the
III. +. Boucher Manufacturing Com
pany. which makes the models for the
War and Navy departments, aud they
are exact copies of the originals in all
details as well as in size and form.
One hundred years ago Only sailing
vessels crossed the Atlantic. The
Clermont and other small steamers
had been built and were successful,
but it was not until 1919 that a steam
ship crossed the ocean. The first ves-
sci was the Savannah. which was built
and rugged as a ship of $50 tons. The
Savannah was launched at Corlears
Hook on August %. ISIS. She was
built to ply between New York and
Savannah. but was purchased by some
Savannah merchants. who installed
Il steam engine md had her fitted with
paddle wheels that could he fooled up
and put on deck.
The savannah left Savannah on
May 20, 1919. and reached Liverpool
in twenty-five days. She used steam
eighteen days. She went on TO Crun-
stadt and took f%fty-three days to get
back to Savannah. Later her ma
Chinery was taken out and she ended
her days as a sailing packet. finally
being wrecked on the Long Island
coast.
The smallest vessel in the group ~
models is the D~readnaught. "A clipper
ship typical of the period. This. how
ever, was not the famous D~readnaught
that later crossed the ocean in less
than ten days. The D~readnaught type
carried crews of from eighteen to
twenty-five, had r. m for from two
TO fourteen passengers and took from
seventeen to twenty-five days To make
the passage To Liverpool. These clip
per ships then ranked with the big
steamships Of to-day n were re-
garded as marvels % comfort and
speed, because no one expected much
comfort in crossing the Atlantic.
In 1897 the Sirius was built and m
her trial voyage proved a big success.
although she used up all her Coal and
had 10 burn her spars and forty-three
barrels of rosin to keep her furnaces
going long enough t. bring her into
New York harbor. The Sirius made
only one round trip. She was followed
by the Great Western. which was
more successful. She carried only
cabin passengers and the cabin far"
Including wines n provisions" was
80 guineas Csl55). 4 whole staterVum
for one person cost $3.50 and the
stewards fees for each passenger were
$3.50.
Tho second vessel shown in the
group of models is the britannia. n
of the first VI the Cunard Line. She
was a side wheel steamer and carried
1l5 The Britannia made
the transatlantic voyage in l4i2 days
and used $50 tons of coal. Samuel
Cunard had carefully studied the eN-
periments made in ocean steamer and
he was confident that transportation
by steam would stimulate ravel be-
tween the two continents. The Brit
ANNA carried ninety passengers on
her first trip in 1899.
In spite Il the sailors superstition
h Britannia left Liverp oil on Fri
day and it was July 1 90. This ves-
sci was 2O7 feet long, 81 feet . inches
beam, % feet ! inches depth Of hold
and had "A mean draft of IL feet 10
Inches. Her displacement was 1850
tons. There are many steam yachts
now much larger than this first At
lantic fcrryboat.
Steam was generated in foun boilers
by twelve furnaces and the fire CRATE
area was 222 square feet. The indi-
Gated horsepower of her engine was
TAO m she consumed 81 pounds If
coal per horsepower per hour. The
daily consumption was 81 tons. Her
average speed was S.5 nautiCal miles
an hour. All the quarters of officers
n crews were forward of the engine
space and the aftcrpart of the vessel
was given up to tn" passengers, who
were on three decks. The elapsed time
between the Sirius and the Britannia
shows how much experimenting had
to be done before tn" Shipbuildcis
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