The Barre daily times. (Barre, Vt.) 1897-1959, 1915-05-08
Steamship Lusitania Was
More Than 100 Feet
in Length
HER HULL TONNAGE
WAS $1,000 TONS
All the Comforts of Home
for All Of Her
Passengers

|
, a product of the race for speed whicl
was carried on for years among trans
atlantic steamship companies, particular
ly of England and Germany. When thu
Lusitania was launched she was thu
wonder of the maritime world. Hel
mastery of the sea, from the standpoint
of speed was undisputcd. The progress
of the Lusitania on her first voyage tt
New York was watched by the world
She made the voyage in five days anc
fifty-four minutes, at that time the rec
ord. Her fastest trip, made in western
voyage. was 4 days II hours and AZ min.
utes. This record however, was wrested
from her subsequently by the Maureta.
MIA, her sister ship, built few months
later, which had been in service for the
British navy during the war.
The dimensions convey but vaguely
her size-the figures are as follows
Lenth, 100 feet; breadth, SO feet; depth,
| (moulded,) go feet; gross tonnage, 3d.
500 tons; displacement tonnage, $4,000
tons; lead draught, 81 feet inches !;
height of tunnels, 1855 feet; diameter OF
tunnels, "a feet; height of masts, 2l6
feet. At the time of her launching into
the Clyde her hull was over 10000 tons,
a figure which then exceeded all preyi-
Gus launching weights. Completed in
engine. boiler and passenger accommoda-
ton, this weight is increased almost 100
per cent, while when ready for sea with
water in her boilers, her stores aboard,
and her 7000-ton bunkers filled with coal,
her weight without cargo will be APP
proximately $4,000 tons.
The keel plate OF the Lusitania was
5 feet wide and 81 inches thick and was
flush outside with the bottom of the
ship. Associated with this fiat keel was
a vertical keel five feet high and one
inch thick, and to this vertebra were at.
tached directly or indirectly the frames
and beams which made up the skele-
ton of the leviathan. The double bot
tom was divided by the vertical keel and
transverse frames into compartments in
which water ballast was carried The
tops of these tanks were carried well
round of the bilge, so that should the
bilge keels be torn away and the hull
pierced the entering water would be
confined within the inner and outer bot
toms. This was only one precaution
in the direction of procuring unsinkabil
ity. Tie lower deck WAS made complete.
ly water tight. Below il was the lower
orlop and orlop decks. and above were
The main, upper, shelter, promenade, up.
per promenade and boat-nine decks in
all, IL is necessary, of course, that there
should be means OF communication be-
tween one watertight compartment and
those contiguous, and on the Lusitania
these communicating doors at or below
the waterlne were of a special type,
and could be- closed automatically from
the navigating bridge, in a few seconds.
In all, the Lusitania had IT'S water tight
compartments, and il was claimed for
her that she WAS as unsinkable as a ship !
could be.
The steel plates which cover the ribs |
or framing of the vessel or were used /
for the decks. bulkheads and castings or /
in other ways number 10000, the larg
est being about forty feet in length and
from four 20 five tons.
To secure these plates 60 each other
and the structural framework Of the |
ship. over 100000 rivets were used, az.
grcgating in weight about 500 tons. The
largest rivets were used in the keel
plate. and these were eight inches In
length, and weighed 2si pounds. In fact.
everything about the ship was OF colos-
al dimensions The main frames and
beams placed end TO end would extend
thirty miles; the rudder. which had two
.cts Of steering gear, one Of which was
below the water line, weighs sixty-fiYe
IONS. and the diameter Of the rldder
,tock vas twcnty-six inches. The cast
nrs for the stern. stern poet. shaft
racket and rudder together weighed 2so
ons. The three anchors each weighed
en- tons. While the 1900 feet Of cable
AZ composed Of p inch links, the iron
N which was ga inches in diameter
md the weight 81 each link about liS
.wts. Every portion Of tins harness was
.igorously tested. the links and shsckles
merged successfully from a test strain
u $40 tons The lusitania carried sigh.
zen Hfsioats under davits. in addition
% 3 large number Of life RATS and had
Do submarine signalling apparatus
On order 10 reach the great sustained
ueed q twenty-five knats the Lusita-
ia v-as propelled ~ tufhine eng ues 81
y 80 Indicated horse rsywsr. driving
hafts eaeh 20 which earr5ed one three.
IN ied rrupsiior ~ manganese bronze. {
b. outermost shafts usrs each connect
d WITH q high pressure turbine. ire in-
sr shafts lsnr rotated - the boz
ressrre turbines.
Fir-i class passengers could ulltnsf -
uaHr atu5nn q la carte IN uhftf and 4
"a rurfff ssloun uT tabif diote In
ming raam farai with mshogauf. ~
rrttina nas dsstrrrt - lsuk ne little
~ snip - prssitie. TIE frfTiiaofs 7
.frr uute uran. TIE uu11us Wers
tnrs8 an8 ruFthiuHd - fnitntE
russ TIE elevators weTp convenient
laeataE en- 80 eeHteE 81 Tho ship
iunEsifs fsas stsfrWnys III rurhinsa ,
,usit raesa sud lgungs SO fnisi,sd 10 :
.tiruur8. eftt att-nftiTFiF dssiEnsd - 9