Fitzgerald leader enterprise and press. (Fitzgerald, Ben Hill County, Ga.) 1921-1964, 1922-11-09

NEW YORK, Nov.,9,-A great
many Americans who have crossed
the Atlantic, and many others, who
have read of the big ships on the
ocean run, have vivid recollection of
the stoke-hold, that inferno of heat
and flame, where half-naked men
labor to keep the fires burning in the
boilers which propel the mighty ships
on their way. The stoke-hold of
olden days is passing. The discov-
cry was recently made by large
number of visitors in New York
anxious to see an ocean liner and who
were the guests of the United States
Lines for an inspection trip over the
ships then in port.
The visitors were anxious to see
stoke-holds of other days, or having
imaginations stimulated by stories of
| the below-decks department of an
ocean liner. To their amazement,
they were led down into scrupulously
white quarters, in which a few men,
| dressed as decorously as the officers
and seamen on deck, stood about as
the guardians of the furnaces and
| boilers.
The installation or oil as fuel on
ocean liners has brought about the
passing of the stoke hold of yester-
| day as far as the United States Lines
is concerned. The bulk of this nigh
| ty fleet is composed of oil burners.
Oil burners not only make for greater
| speed, but more cleanliness aboard
ship, and considerable saving in
money. In the party of visitors
aboard the United States liners, were
! number of engineers who were in
| terested in getting the facts, and
these wese supplied them.
The vessels visited were what are
known as the President ships, which
are operated between New York and
London, by way of Queenstown,
Cherbourg and Plymouth. These YES
sells are equipped with six Scotch
Boilers, to each one of which, three
furnaces are attached. Each furnace
is equipped with an oil burner The
bunker capacity on each vessel
amounts to $3.50 tons of oil, or 23,-
, 075 barrels. The daily consumption
of oil amounts TO ninety-eight tons,
or $500 barrels. The amount of oil
consumed on one trip totals 2,160
tons, or 14,040 barrels, making an
average of 84.5 gallons for each mile.
Since the installation of oil burners
aboard the ships, the fire-room force
has been decreased almost two-thirds.
Oil burning vessels use but six fire
men, as contrasted with eighteen. in
the old days of coal burners. The
fire-room conditions have been geatly
benefited by the use of the oil burner.
The temperature on the ships of the
United States Lines varies between
seventy and eighty degrees Coal burn
ing vessels show temperature in the
fire-room of from 100 to 140 degrees.
In loading fuel aboard an oil burn
er, considerable time is saved, permit
ting quick turn around for the
vessels. Oil sufficient for a round trip
can be loaded aboard in about
five hours by two men. Vessels of
+ similar tonnage and burning COAL
would take twenty men about forty
eight hours to load the necessary fuel
The oil burners of the United States
: Lines fleet carry sufficient supn1ies to
make three and one-half trips, OF
nearly two round trips without refuel-
ing.
There was a time when Steamship
captains and operators of lines hesi,
tated about permitting the gene al
public to visit their stoke-ho1ds. The
United States Lines, with its wonder
full oil burning equipment takes pride
in extending invitations to visitors tc
go below decks. Women visitors par.
tiCularly are amazed at the cleanliness
to be found in the fire-room. The
old Stoke-hold is but a terrible
memory