CLYDE SHIPBUILDING AND CONTRACTS FOR 1892.

Grey River Argus, Volume XXXII, Issue 7314, 8 March 1892, Page 2

CLYDE SHIPBUILDING AND CONTRACTS FOR 1892.

The contracts on hand and vessels booked for 1892 give a fair indication of what may be expected in these trades during the present year The work is not very far behind that of lasc year, but a large proportion of the ships are pretty far advanced, and should the new orders fail to come in as they did in 1391, the prospects for the summer months will not be so encouraging There is one thing about the year, however, it promise 3to be the most remarkable in special work, for which Clyde builders are so eminently suited, i hat has ever come round. Two ships, such as the world has never seen, will be lav ched and fitted out— the one at Fair field and the other at Clydebank. We refer to the first of the two steamers being built for the Cunard Line, and the line-of battle ship for her Majesty's Government; In reference to the Cunarders, their dimensi m are so immense that those not directly versed in the art of shipbuilding and marine engineering can scarcely grasp the subject without an explanati-m. When the City of » aris and City of New York, and more recently the Majestic and Teutonic, appeared on the Atlantic roue. it was considered that the apex of engine power and fast steaming had been well nigh reached, but in this age of scientific investigation and research one is led to the conclusion that comparatively little is impossible after all. The vessels are to be over 600 feet long, and have a gross tonnage of fully 13,000. It is somewhat significant that the two steamers will represent nearly 4000 tons more than the entire output of the '-.iver Clyde in 1858, or thirty-four years ago. The engine power which is to drive the steamer?, too, will be far in excess of anything afloat. When the City of Paris broke the record and did the distance from Queenstown out in 5 days 19 hours 18 minutes, a couple of years ago, her engines developed about 23,000 power ; so that, to get the odd hours swept away, a vessel with nearly 3000 i tons nvre weight to carry will requie | 30,000 effective horse-power, and it is stated that the Cunarders twin-screw engines will actu-lly work up to that fig re. 'J he record passage of 1891 from Sandy Hook to Queenstown was accomplished by the White «tar Liner Teutonic, which cleared the distance in five days twenty-one hours three minutes, and during that time ran 2790 knots. In connection with rapid passages, it may be worth while to refer to the fact that to cover the distance between Queenstown and Sandy iiook in five days au aver*** ■■ speed of 23J knots per hruc will have o be maintaiued — eqnal to about 27 l*i d miles. Tho other vtsaal which the Messrs Thomson ara bu ldiog. ia, of course, of a different order — aheia for war service, and to be the most gigantic of her claia, 14,300 tons and 16 000 horsepower. While on the subject of warship?, ir, Is interesting to note that the Fairfield Company did a splendid piece of work with the engines of the first-c'ass cruiser Edg r la3t month in English waters. The hwi of the vessel wai deeigned by Mr W. H. Whit?, of the Admiralty, and the engines by Mr Lang, manager of the eng> nearing department of the Fait field Shipbuilding and Fngineenng Company. f On a four hours' ron the mean power\develnped was 12,462 indicated horqe-pbwar — 362 above the contract speed. Tk i Admiralty allow an inch and a half presiure

in the stokehole, but in the Edgar it was found possible to exceed the contract power with a forced draught equal to less than three-quarters of an inch. The Edgar is as heavily armed as the firstclass cruiser Blake, and yet her displacement is only 7350, against 9000, so that the engines of the Edgar must be lighter. The estimated tonnage is 274,000, against 297.000 at the same time last year, and 322.000 on Ist January, 1890.