EXPRESS LINER

Dominion, Volume 28, Issue 119, 13 February 1935, Page 10

EXPRESS LINER

Union Company’s New Trans-Tasman Ship A SUPERB VESSEL Luxurious Passenger Accommodation MANY SAFETY-FIRST DEVICES A description of the new liner for the trans-Tasman service now being built by Vickers-Armstrong, Limited, at Barrow-in-Furness for the Union Steam Ship Company of New Zealand, Limited, supplied yesterday by the latter company, show that she will be an outstandingly tine ship. With a service speed of about 23 knots to enable her to maintain 00 hour passages between New Zealand and Sydney, this new express steamer will raiik as the fastest in the Southern Hemisphere, while the description of her accommodation shows that she will represent the last word in passenger comfort and convenience.

The length of the vessel, which is expected to be completed about April 1930, will be about 520 feet between perpendiculars and 54-1 feet overall; beam about 74 feet; gross tonnage about 14,000, and displacement about 15,000 tons.

In outward appearance the vessel will be on very up-to-date lines, the bow being well raked forward with the stem above the water line consisting of a rounded platd instead of a straight bar. She will have a cruiser stern and two large rather short oval funnels and two masts.

Provision is being made for about 400 first class, 160 tourist class and 40 steerage passengers. Accommodation will be arranged on live decks with a deck above comprising a clear sporfs space between the funnels of 48 feet by 45 feet. On the next or boat deck the lifeboats will be supported on Welin-Mc-Lachlau gravity davits, by which the boats are launched, when released, by the force of their own weight, a system which has been found to give extraordinarily quick results in lowering. All boats will be fitted with Fleming hand-propelling gear operated by the turning of handles. The boats will be .suspended above the boat deck on a level with the deck hbove, leaving clear promenade space beneath. Luxurious Accommodation. On the boat deck there will be a group of one-berth cabins with private baths and toilets, as well as the wireless office and the gymnasium, which will be fitted with a complete set of gy mil asi u m a ppara t us. . On the next or promenade deck the first-class space will be enclosed by steel screens, liberally furnished with large glass windows which can be opened as required, but, when closed, will add greatly to the comfort of the passengers, especially when crossing the Tasman Sea in the winter. At the forward end of the promenade deck will be a palm court forming a splendid observation place when the vessel is entering harbours, etc. This will be built round the music room, library and writing room. Amidships will be the lounge, about 50 feet square, with french windows opening on to the deck and a gallery round three sides. This apartment, which will be luxuriously furnished and decorated, will be specially fitted with a cinema projector for showing talking pictures. Abaft the lounge an innovation which will probably be 'much appreciated will be a men’s clubroom on one side and a women’s clubroom on the other. Next will come the spacious and comfortably furnished smokeroom, and the extreme after end of the enclosed promenade will be occupied by a veranda cafe and dance room, with a dais for the orchestra. On the after end of the promenade deck will be the hospital, which is dearly shown in the illustration, the rest of the space being allocated to the tourist class for promenade and sports The next or "A” deck will in the first-class portion be occupied by cabins, except for the main vestibule (where an inquiry bureau will be situated i. and for the hairdresser’s shop. On this deck there will be a number of large two-berth cabins with private bathrooms The first-class cabins throughout the ship will be luxuriously furnished with bedsteads, hot and cold water, telephone, wardrobe, dressing table, non-luminous electric radiators, etc. The tourist class public rooms will be situated at the after end of this deck, and will consist of a spacious smoke-room and an even larger lounge. The promenade outside these rooms will be protected by steel screens fitted with large portholes.

Up-to-date Domestic Arrangements.

Comfortably situated amidships on “B” deck will be the first class dining room, which will accommodate up to 280 people at one sitting, and will be arranged with tables to seat two, four or six persons. 1 Adjacent to it will be an attractive children's room. The tourist class dining room, seating 124. will also be on this deck; the kitchen, pantries, etc., being situated between tlie two dining rooms. The cooking arrangements and other culinary appliances will, as far as possible, be electrically operated. The remainder of this deck and “C" deck will be devoted to passenger cabins in both classes and the crew’s quarters. The various decks will be connected by .electric passenger lifts. Special consideration has been given to the ventilation of all cabins, passage ways and public rooms by means of the punkah-louvre system, an ample supply of fresh air being delivered to even the lowest deck. Instead of electric bells a telephone will be installed in each first class cabin, by which orders may be given, as well as allowing the passengers to communicate with each other, and in port in Sydney, Melbourne. Auckland, or Wellington, with the city exchange system. Provision will also be made for wireless telephone communication between the ship and shore provided arrangements for reception on land can be made available.

Besides the up-to-date British talking picture equipment, the vessel will be fitted with a system of loudspeakers in public rooms and on the decks for broadcasting music, announcements regarding passing objects, etc. Safety First Appliances.

The question of lire protection is being thoroughly investigated, ami in addition to complying with the requirements of the Board of Trade in sup-

plying an automatic fire-detecting system in the holds, regulation fireproof bulkheads, tire mains and portable extinguishers, an automatic fire-alarm system operating from each cabin, public room, etc., may be fitted. The most up-to-date navigation equipment will be provided, including a wireless direction finder, an electric submerged log, a gyro-compass and a recording echo-sounding machine. An electrically operated ship’s progress indicator wilj be installed in the main vestibule. Powerful Propelling Machinery. The vessel, which will be twin screw, will be propelled by Parsons single reduction turbines using steam at 4001 b. preiure to the square inch, and developing 20.000 shaft horse-power on service. She will be.fitted with watertube boilers of the latest type and will burn fuel oil under forced draught. She is expected to steam 23 knots, enabling her to maintain 24-day passages between Sydney and New Zealand. All engine auxiliaries and deck machinery will be electrically driven, power being obtained from three turbogenerator sets of 450 k.w. each. The vessel will have 50.000 feet of refrigerator space, the refrigerating machinery being of the most improved electrically-driven system.

(Picture on page 7.)