The Meeker herald., 1916-04-29
OUR COAST LIGHTS
These Beacons Are Invaluable. as
Aids 10 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 Watehfui Mariner.


Warns the Watehfui Mariner.
The work OF safeguarding navigation
OH the coasts Of the United States IL
far greater and more complex problem
than most people appreciate. for there
Ii u multitude of complex conditions to
he met. each one varying with the Pc
culiarities OF its location. The terri
tory to be covered is also unusually
great, as 1t 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. nnd the service never ends
either by night or day, summer or win
ter
The lighthouse service comprises a
force Of 5000 men. on whom devolves
the duty Of maintaining over 14.COO
aids to navigation Of various kinds. In
GLIDING lighthouses. llghtships, light
beacons and buoys Of various descrip
tions, together with many fog signals.
and an important incidental duty IL
that of protecting the shores In the
nelghborhood 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 infu-
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 Mt 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
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 q
draft of eleven feet four inches. II IL
built of steel and lncombustible ma
terinls 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 MI oil vnpor or
gus light Gfty feet above the water.
located Oh tubular mast. through
which access to the light can he safely
had In any weather. The fog signal
IL IL siren using compressed air. nntl
submarine bell Is also fitted. Fifty
two light vessels are maintained, and
that there may he no Interruption Of
the service there are fourteen relief
ships. so that II anything happens to
a ship or station another can be quick
ly 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.. Ii equipped with electric light for
which current is generated mt 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
Ave or ffty-fve millimeters diameter
and arranged either singly or In groups
giving light intensities of from 600 &c
$500 candles. These lamps are not
only very powerful and reliable. but
are much more economical than the old
oil wick lamps. MS they require but
from O.G to O.SS gallon per candle pow
err ner year az against 4.S to 10 gallons
for the old oil lights. The increased
Illuminating efficiency Is about eight
times
Bencons. both fixed and floating. are
numerous and depend on either gas or
electricity for their lights. and these
IRE especially valuable In Inaccessible
places where attendance IL difficult.
These however. are only put In sta
lions OF subordinate Importance. The
majority OF such beacons use gas and
are provided with tanks Of sufficient
capacity FOR storing supply OF acety
lene gas for about five months,
Fog signals nre Of particular value In
many places. and these nre distributed
along the coast. according to conditions
prevailing. Thus on the coast OF Maine
there ia an average Of 1867 hours Of
fog during the year. while on the south
Atlantic and gulf coasts the average IL
pnly 1870 hours There are 1913 fog Sig
,als from Cape Lookout northward out
" total Of 567 maintained by the
service. There are 1877 fog signals on
the American shores of the great lakes
and eiglIty-three on the northern Pa
rific 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 ciockwork and submarine
hollis cd by compreSseI air. all Of