The Elk Mountain pilot., 1919-10-16


A Its capital ships with electric
-ZSk- propulsion apparatus.
The New Mexico Is most impress
sive fighting machine. She built at the Brook
lyn navy yard and launched In the summer Of 1917
She is GA feet ILL., She weighs (dispaces)
5000 tons. She draws 30 feet of water. She has
% feet Az inches beam al the waterline. AT full
speed she can make slightly in of 81 knots
an hour. She generates 5000 horsepower for
propulsion. Her crew numbers nearly .2OG men
She hurns oil instead of coal as fuel and has u
total fuel capacity of about l.OOO.OOO gallons.
It's not an easy Thing nowadays get permits
sion To examine II battleship from stern
aud To take photographs of her interior. But rep
reseniatives of one of the big concerns which
had II hind in making the New Mexico what she
Is was recently allowed the priviIege-whch hns
been exceedingly rare since the beginning of the
great war. The following account of inspec-
ton of the supcrdrendnnught ut drydock in the
brooklyn navy yard Is the result.
Lieut. Com +. l.. Carroll chief engineer turns
us over to one of the Junior engineers. We start
with the navigating bridge and examine the vari-
GUS pieces OF apparatus for transmitting signals
to the engine room for the control of the
sci una to huff dozen other purts of the ship,
each OF which has particular und imIDortuut
function to perform. Next begin II systematic
survey OF the ship. and to begin fur down into
the vitnls Of the vessel us possible we nre led
through circuitous routes. down steep hntchwnys.
through narrow alleys. and down more lndders.
through deck utter deck until have lost uil
knowledge of time and spuce.
We lind ourselves at last the very bottom OF
IL" ship. directly behind the rudder A complI-
,.ites mass of machinery, pistOns. rods. valves
dia.s rnd electric motors combine to make up
the steering gear engine. This machinery Is oper-
ntcd and controlled directly from the navigating
bridge by control device. This is only one of
five different methois OF steering the ship. In q
water-tight compartment directly aft is whnt Is
known the auxiliary steering gear. And here
We see four lnrge wheels connected to ii shaft
which when occasion demands. can be used to
move the rudder by hand-which takes eight men,
but this shift Is also connected to an electric
motor md by the simple turn of switch can he
operated electrically. Two other electrical units
are situated In this compartment for rudder
troll and If all steering methods fai Jury" rud-
der may he rugged Off the stern.
Going forward along the bottom of the ship we
come presently to the propeller shafrs-four In
number-cach operating an immense propeller.
These shafts extend from the motors which oper-
nte them back through the ship and out At the
stern, through what are known respectively as the
s,arboard OutbOard shaft alley, stnrboard inboard
port inbourd and port outboard alleys. Following
forward along the inbOard shaft go through
several watertight compartments. drop
down hntciway and find ourselves In the pro-
polling motor room. This is the section of the
ship which actually drives the propeers.
The tremendous motor which meets our gaze
gives Inkling of the power necessary to make
the big shafts revolve.
This motor stnn,s IL feet high from the floor
aud Is II feet wide. 1t generates 1000 horsepower
Like the rest, II Is inclosed in wntertight COM
p,rtuent protected by bulkhends. md If anything
should happen to 1t. the current may he cut or
at and directed to the operation of the other
three propelIcrs.
To see how the motor Is controlled. reversed
sturtesi. stopped. etc. follow the wire cables
further forward. still almost the bottom of the
ship until come to what the engineers cnll the
center engine room. Here spread out before us
lies a switchboard containing levers. dials. tele-
phones, Indicators, and instruments for measur-
ing electrical currents. II is the main control
station OF the ship containing the arteries
through which courses the life blood of the ves-
sell the electrical current. In fact. II Is often
called the henrt Of the vessel.
Here In this compartment the electrical current
which We have just left. From this station the
propeIiers may he made to reverse to go at
full speed ahead; two propeilers niny be reversed
while the other two driven ahead. Here also
any combination. OF control may he made up. The
aexib:lity of control made possible by this CEN
,rol control station constitutes of the advan-
iapes of the system Of electric drive. The captain
NJ the shin communicates directly to this station
and gives Instructions concerning the control of
the vessel
Having seen how the ship Ia propelled. and con-
tr"l;ed we naturally curious to see the source
f,,o which the tremendous energy comes. The
c.hes from the swift h,Ourti lead us forward into