UP-TO-DATE STEAMERS.

Colonist, Volume LI, Issue 12409, 26 November 1908, Page 1

UP-TO-DATE STEAMERS.

Five handsome twin-screw mail steamers of 12,000 tons each are in course of construction for the Orient Steam Navigation Company, Limited, and they have been . dfesigncd to cowply with the terms of tho mail contract entered into with the Commonwealth Government. They will be 550 ft long, with a beam of 62ft, and will be fitted wi*h quadruple expansion engines, balanced on the Yarrow-Schlick-Twcedy system, thus ensuring an absence of vibration. Thero will be even decks, the most elevated being the boat, beneath which will he ihe promenade, shelter, upper, main, lower, and orlop, in the order named. The passenger accommodation in the first saloon accommodation will be a number of cabins-de-lux — suites consisting of bed and; sitting-room and private lavatory and bathroom. The divan will be a special feaMrre of the saloon accommodation, and- will be set apart for parties, and for ladies and gentlemen desiring to use the same as a lounge or winter pardon, for -card' parties, etc. Both tho first, and second saloon dining saloons wjll take up tho Ml width of the ship, nearly amidships on the upper deck, aisd the old-fashioned long tables will be replaced by a number of smaller ones. : , „ , -,' An electric lift will be fitted, and will run from the main to the promenade deck. Wireless telegraphic operations will bo carried oiit as soon as the^ necessary land stations aro arranged for on the Australian coasi, and the apparatus will be provided on the boat deck. All tb« first and second saloon cabins will he fitted with electric fans, bells, and lights. The insulated holds will provide about 2500 tons of space for refngerated cargo, and the general cargo holds are to be more extensive. The last of thorn is expected to be ready fo l^ave England at the end of October.