A Steamer on Wheels.

Oamaru Mail, Volume XXII, Issue 6793, 19 January 1897, Page 4

A Steamer on Wheels.

(By James Walter Smith in the Strand Magazine.} By squandering a few shillings yon might fairly satisfy yourself whether M. Ernest Bozrn, the French engineer, who has just constructed a packet on rollers, is a dreamer or a genius. Two things are necessary for the experiment—a sizable tank of water, and a large tin button, or wheel, hallow inside, and sharp at the edge. The matter might cost two or three shillings to make. The water can be found in the family bath. Now for the experiment. First put your wheel in the tank. It will float :n an upright position, with about one-third of its bulk in the water. Now give the wheel a forward movement, but do not twit! it, and you will notice that, like the keel of an ordinary toy boat, it will toss the water in front and leave a wake behind. It will show no tendency to re volve, and will stop suddenly after it has advanced a short distance through the water. The next stage of the experiment will give you a shock of delighted surprise. By skilful manipulation, g've to the wheel at one and the same time a twirl and a push forward. Tho wheel will dash across the tank in the twinkling of an eye, and the water will remain almost unruffled.

Some time ago, in a magnificent workshop in Levallois-Perret, a northern suburb of Paris, those simple experiments were performed by M. Bazin before a crowd of French engineering exports, and among them were numbered some of the most eminent admirals of the French navy. Naturally, there were scoffers in the lot, but it is said that these remained to pray —for the successful application to ocean navigation of the great principle Involved in the simple manipulation of a hollow wheel upon water. His experiments told him that for the propulsion cf a boat on rollers, he could not depend simply on the revolution of the wheels, but would have to unite the revolving movement with a movement forward. The fact that the water remained undisturbed when he united the movements showed that, with a sharp-edged roller, the friction ordinarily met with in a keel was reduced almost to a minimum ; and that as friction is one of the great hindrances to speed upon the ocean, there was a probability that a steamship constructed on wheels, and in accordance with the principles sho*rn in the experiments would revolutionise ocean navigation.

ML Bazin lately told me in Paris that if he had enough money he would have constructed his ocean steamship outright. The enormous cost, however, of such an undertaking compelled him to bo content with a model, and with the preliminary construction of a small roller boat for the Channel service. The model was accordingly made. It rests in a Urge tank at Levallois, and, in itself, it is a complete answer to the often-made comment that a roller-boat must be an ugly and rickety contrivance. From the side of the tank, where one gets a complete view of the wheels, one is immediately struck with the oddity of its appearance, but a glance <*long the deck from the end of the boat shows little that is different from the deck of an Atlantic " liner." The front view, with the deck extending over the open water, reminds one of a New York ferry boat, and the rollers are very simile r to the paddle-wheel boxes of a penny steamer on the Thames. The state-rooms, bridge, and funnels enforce this similarity. The model is one twenty-fifth the size of the projected " liner," which will be ever 390 ft long. It shows eight wheels, four on each side, and like the disc with which M. Bazin made his original experiments, they are convex in form with smooth surfaces. Such a form can offer but little resistance to the win:!, while under the decks, which are to be constructed with powerful girders, the head winds will have an open passage. The formation of the decks in the model shows an enormous carrying capacity. This is naturally a desideratum, for in the fast ocean steamships of to-day very little freight is carried, on account of the space occupied by the fuel necessary for great speed. When the "liner" is built, &I. Bazin hopes to show that he can attain a greater speed than is now attained, with a less expenditure of fuel, and that, in consequence. a great dsal of the space occupied by coal will be given over to merchandise.

To the experts gathered round the tank at Levallois, the experiments with the single wheel were interesting, but the actual working of the model gave rise to the highest hopes in the French breast. The motive-power was obtained from dynamos. One of these dynamos turned the screw or propeller, and gave the boat it 3 forward motion; while four other dynamos, one to each pair of wheels, supplied the power to turn the wheels. When tho power was turned on the screw began to move with rapidity, and the wheels moved slowly, but in a moment or two the boat began to move through the tank at surprising speed. Then, in order to exhibit the conduct of the model in rough weather, the water was stirred up until the waves reached the level of the deck. Yet the boat rode steadily, and showed that passengers would get little motion in a stormy sea. It may be said in passing that, when the "liner" is constructed, it will be without a rudder, and that the steering power will be given by a column of water ejected from the stern by means of a pump. By this means the vessel, instead of being retarded by the resistance to an ordinary rudder, will be advantageously assisted by the water thrown out at the stern.

So much for the pretty model at Levallois. Not only on accooct of the cost, but owing to the fact that Paris is on a very narrow and shallow river, it was manifestly impossible for the inventor to construct at the French capital a transAtlantic steamer. It was, therefore, decided to build the smaller boat with six wheels, just large enough to go through the locks of th 9 Seine, and at Rouen, where the river is wide and deep, and shipyards plentiful to put in engines and heavy machinery, and prepare the boat finally for its maiden trip from Havre to London. It took some time at first to find an establishment in Paris where such a unique boat could bo constructed with despatch and with 3 willing co-operation between inventor and maker, bat in the old establishment of Cail, on the banks of the Seine,, at Saint Dinia, about five miles fro-a Paris, the right place was found and work was begun. Let us now go back to the banks of the Se*ne to witness the launching of the Ernest Bazin—tl>e name already given to this queer structure, which looks more like a gigantic plaything, or a Brobdingnagian trolley, than a plain, everyday steamboat. The inventor said it was like the bottom of a tram-car with a shed over it, and possibly this is the better simile. There were fully 20.000 people present at the launching, and among these were admirals, and naval officers, and newspaper men in all lansuages. The boat slid off the way 3 as easily as if it had had a year's practice, and, after » slight slump in the water, settled gracefully and successfully on the placid bosom of the Seine. Crie3 of " Vive la Bazin !" mingled with cries of " Vive la France ! " and the few who expected the boat to sink or topple over reconsidered their arguments, and concluded that after ail, there might be something in those sharp and hollow wheels. The launching was the first real evidence that the boat was not a dream, and although one man said. " Wait until the trial trip I" the majority of spectators were fairly convinced chat ths outlook for ultimate succead on the Ch-iuuel was bright.

For some weeks after the launching,

the roller-boat lay in front of. the Call Works in St. Dan!?. Daring this time, the flooring was laid across the iron deckframe, the light machinery was pnt in place, and the interior of the rollers, which through the little openings at the top looked very like the interior framework of two big umbrellas, was firmly strengthened. About the middle of September the boat was towed to Rouen, where it wa3 quickly changed in appearance from a mere platform on wheels into a most imposing craft. For the benefit of those who understand things when they are expressed in cold numbers, a few facts may not be out of place. The platform is about 126 ft lons and about 40ft wide. Each wheel hss'a diameter of slightly over 32ft, and its greatest width is 10ft. The wheels are covered with plate about a quarter of an inch thick. The boat weighs 280 tons. The screw is moved by a machine of 550 horse-power, and each pair of wheels, as in the Levallois model, is rotated by an engine of 50 horse-power, making, for the three pairs, a force of 150. As may be seen from tho end view, reproduced from the originai drawing by M. Bszin, and lent to me by the Revue Encyclopedique of Paris, the rollera turn upon their own axes. The position of the screw is also shown, and the cross-section on the same page shows the position of the rudder, the arrangement of the machinery, the cabins, engine-room, and ventilators. The compactness of the total arrangement is striking, and nothing that experience has proved needful has been omitted in the conntrcction.

When the news wa3 first spread abroad that a boat oa wheels had been successfully launched, there was great doubt as to what "'wheels" meant. Some said that they were little, and others said they were big. Some said they were totally submerged ? others that they rested on the water and skimmed along it; and still others imagined that the wheels were ordinary paddles. But the doubts regarding the feasibility of the invention are still many. Wouldn't tho boat sink if she struck * Wouldn't it toss wretchedly on the bosom of the deep? Wouldn't it this, and wouldn't it that ? Well, a few trips on the Channel will be the best answer to these questions. Bat we may here recall the experiments made in the tank at Levallois. At that time, as we have said,M. Bszin, by stirring the water in the tank, showed that the model would ride lightly on a turbulent sea. He also showed that the boat was practically unsinkable. He pulled out plugs in two of the wheels, and the water rushed in immediately. When the water, moreover, hid risen to a certain height in the roller, the wheel turned round and brought the hole where the plug had been to the top. In case of an accident to one of the rollers, it would, therefore, be plainly possible to repair damages in a very convenient fashion. In order to make plain the mere abstruse argument that there is little friction or resistance in a revolving wheel, M. Bazin placed two wooden sticks on the surface of the tank, and, without turning the wheel, gave it a forward movement against th? obstruction. The bit or wood was forced hack for a moment, but, on account of the new friction, the wheel quickly stopped. The inventor revolved the wheel and sent it against the wood. The wheel passed over the obstruction, which sank in the water, passed under the wheel, and immediately returned to the surface, in almost the identical place. So far. indeed, as could be proved by the action of the model, every objection to the roller-boat was considered as satisfactorily answered. It is. however, in the matter of speed that the boat may do wonders. Here, again, the arguments of M. Bazin, based upon practical experience, and put forth with a pleasing modesty, seem flawless. The inventor does not claim for the boat a medium speed of over IS knots, or more than 20 knots when the engines are pushed. Those *rho have studied the construction of the rollers, and who know a little navigation arithmetic, say that tho boat will be capable of 32 knots. By means of several experiments with the model, the inventor obtained results which seem to show that the enthusiasts are correct in their belief. It has since been estimated—and for the moment a technical sentence is necessary that when the correct co-relation between the propelling and rotary forces is established, (!0 per cent, of the movement in the wheel will l e forward motion. Upon this basis, Admiral Coulombeaud, a scientific authority of the highest importance. who has followed tho theories and experiments of M. Bazin from the beginning. has stated that a boat with wheels 69 03 metres in circumference, revolving at the rate of 24 revolutions per minute, would cover over 32 knots an hour; and in a hundred hour? would covjjr more than thf distance from Havre to New York. This, so far as it can be rid of technicalities and confusing numerical calculations, is the basis for the prophecy that we are on the eve of a great revolution in navigation. In 1595, the fleet Lucania crossed the Atlantic at the rate of 22 knots an hour, and her sister-ship, the Campania, has made 560 knots in one day. An average fast steamer rarely aoe3 more than 20 knots an hour; although the Russian torpedo-boat destroyer Sokol, which is said to be the. fastest steamer in the world, has made over 30 knots. But in the case of ocean liners such as are built to-day, like speed will probably never be obtained. One authority has lately said that it costs thousands of pounds to add an extra halfknot on a fast steamer's speed, and that the limit has probably even now been reached. The power wasted in overcoming the friction and resistance of the water is enormous ; and as the horsepower needful to force a ship through the seas increases tremendously with every knot sought for, it is little to be marvelled at that the " roller-boat," with its asserted economy and quickness, has caught the attention of the world. The promises held out stir the mind and move the pen with enthusiasm. The prospect that the present voyage between Qneenstown or Southamptown and New York may be cut down to four, and, possibly, three and a half days, makes the invalid on the ocean " liner" raise his head in prayerful thanks. The business man sees that the success of the invention puts him into communication with his customers more quickly than the merchants of Phoenicia could have dreamed. The steamship companies, looking at it from a food standpoint, see that the saving of a hundred days from Havre to New York means the saving of tons of eatables, and, in consequence, increased dividends. The "globe-trotter" thrills with the idea that the records of Phineas Fogg and "Nelly Bly" will be extinguished, and that Puck's will be threatened. The hopes of all are rosy, but in them there is a basis of practicality. Why should we not go faster ? It is evolution. For France the result is all-important. While other nations have been making steady progress in the speed of their vessels, the country across the Channel has lagged behind. There are only two {Treat steamship companies flying the French flag, and the best boats on these lines have reached their limit cf speed in eighteen knots. Under these conditions, Frenchmen have lost hope in the struggle for commerce. The appearance of M. Bazin has revived the hope that when the roller-boat takes its place in the Channel service, and the pretty model of the transAtlantic steamship becomes a reality, the supremacy in commerce will belong to France.