Evening star., 1923-05-06
Destruction of Big Wooden Fleet as Complicated as Its

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In dismantling the ships at Alex
andria the after deck houses are first
removed-some OF the three-room
cabins are sold for $50 to Potomac
! river campers, who are hauling them
away and using them as miniature
summer mansions -a and then a
gigantic 100-ton derrick is employed
In removing the 1.400 horsepower.
triple expansion marine engines that
weigh about seventy-five tons apiece.
Some of the ships are equipped with
two 700 horsepower twin-screw en-
gines. each of which weighs about
forty tons. The ship is backed onto
the travelling gantries and the two
250-horsepower boilers are lifted
from the hull TO shore. Pumps of
every dimension and description are
removed, with the refrigerating ma
Chinery. electrical generators and
cOmpressors, piping and similar ap-
pliances. The hull is then moved to
another station, where all the mis-
cellaneous odds and ends are removed.
All the material as II comes from
the ships is loaded on special cars
and routed to the different sections of
the shipyarda. where it is to be dis
mantled or stored. Every operation
is systematiZed and standa rdiZed
There is no lost motion or wasted
effort. All the material that will be
damaged by exposure is housed under
roof.
The activities are just the reverse
f,f q ,In
sells and preparing them for launch
ing. Hence. the wrecking operations
look something like Chinaman read
ing a letter They start at the end
and go back to the beginning Every
detail of the junking enterprise has
been carefully mapped out. from ths
salvage of a small soap dish to the
scrapping of a 10000 gallon tank or
the transfer Of the huge rnasts from
ship to shore
X x i
a LII the material that is TO be
1 junked and sold as ferrous
scrap metal is handled under contract
by Louis SimonS of Washington. WIN
is using every mechanical device.
known to the wrecking industry in
reducing the metal 10 a marheLdD@
size, shape and form. The brass. cop
per, lead, zinc and other valuable
materials are handled by the West
ern Marine and Salvage Company, be-
ing assembled at the metal house and
there loaded on cars and shipped to
all parts of the United States. All
of the material goes back into the in
dustries again. most OF it being re-
smelted.
Many of the leading manufacturers
of brass and cooper are prominent
buyers of the wooden fleet materials.
All articles such as steam gauges
water gauges and indicating instru-
ments are conveyed to the instru-
ment house. where expert mechanics
repair them. They are then sold to
maritime concerns for installation on
ships. The pumps. refrigerating ma
chinery. winches and similar auxiliary
equipment are also repaired or
cleaned by experienced workmen and
then sold to trades and industries in
all parts Of the country. Equipment
that cannot be repaired is taken to
pieces and certain parts are retained
as spares" while the rest is reduced
to junk.
A big merchandising organization
has been developed at Alexandria, and
it is selling the salvaged machinery
to builders and contractors. mines,
quarries. and shipbuilding companies.
and other industrial agencies both
along the Pacific and Atlantic sea-
boards and in all other sections of
America. Much of the material is
being used as new equipment or re-
pairs on boats that ply the great
lakes
The wrecking authorities have ex-
erted every effort to salvage each
piece of useful equipment and direct
it back into channels where 1t will be
most effective. So far, they have sold
all the material as soon as it was
ready for shipment. If this success
full marketing continues. the enter
prises of salvage and sale will con-
clude about the same time, two years
hence.
J. H. Humphrey of San Francisco
is president of the Western Marine
and Salvage Company, with Ford
Beacon Davis. Incorporated. New
York city. as general managers. and
H. E. Whitaker in direct charge at
Alexandria. NJ. p. Kean is sales man
ager of this most mammoth salvage
and selling project.