AWATEA RESUMES

Dominion, Volume 30, Issue 261, 31 July 1937, Page 12

AWATEA RESUMES

Leaving Sydney To-day For Auckland EXTENSIVE OVERHAUL Improvements to Engines The trans-Tasman express liner Awatea, which has been laid up at Sydney since May 22, will resume her regular running in the intercolonial service today. She is due at Auckland next Tuesday morning and will depart ou Friday on her return to Sydney. Leavin'’ Sydney again ou August 13, the Awatea will arrive at Wellington ou the 'morning of August 16. During her stay at Sydney the Awatea has undergone an extensive overhaul, in the course of which a number of improvements suggested by her eight months’ service in the trans-Tas-man trade have been effected. To mitigate the trouble caused by smoke on her upper decks, the funnels of the Awatea have been lengthened by 6 feet 4 inches, by the incorporation of an additional “ring” in each casing. The taller funnels are said to have greatly improved the general appearance of the ship. A major work carried out by VickcrsArmstrongs, Ltd., builders of the ship, while the Awatea was laid up at Cockatoo Dockyard, Sydney, was the installation of two complete sets of new gearing iu the ship’s main engines. The Awatea’s main propelling machinery comprises two sets of Parsons turbines, driving twin propellers through single reduction gearing. Each turbine set comprises one high-pressure, one in-termediate-pressure, and one low-press-ure turbine, working iu series and driving separate pinions which engage with the main gear wheel. At full power the high-pressure and intermediate-pressure turbines run at 2363 revolutions per minute, and the low-pressure turbines at 1690 revolutions, for a propeller speed of 125 revolutions per minute. The new gearing installed in the Awatea is of an improved type developed by Vickers-Armstrongs, Ltd., since the Awatea was completed last year. The main gear wheels weigh some 30 tons each. The Awatea ran a trial trip off the New South Wales coast last Monday to test out the main machinery. Under the full power of her six boilers, the ship was credited,- in a Sydney cable message, with having worked up to 26 knots. The Union Steam Ship Company lias received no official confirmation of this report. The original contract with the builders called for a total shaft horse-power in service of 20,000 at 125 revolutions per minute of the propellers, with an output of 22,500 shaft horse-power at 130 revolutions per minute. On her trials outside the Clyde twelve months ago, the Awatea fulfilled contract requirements and attained a speed of 23 knots, using only four of her six boilers.