1839.] 



THE Cn IL ENGINEER AND ARCHITECTS JOURNAL. 



323 



Fig. 4, Transverse Section. 



Fig. 5, Transverse Section. 



■L_r 



^_j- 



DESCRIPTION OF THE NEW BOILERS OF THE VICTORIA 

 HULL STEAM SHIP. 



Manufactured by the Butterley Company from the Plans of 

 Joseph Glynn, F.R.S., M.Inrt.C.E., &c. &c. 



The Civil Engineer and Architect's Journal presented to its readers 

 a complete description, illustrated by engravings of the former boilers 

 of this vessel, which, it vpill be remembered, exploded twice. The 

 loss of life occasioned by these accidents gave rise to a lengthened 

 inquiry, during which several engineers of reputation furnished most 

 interesting professional evidence, that was fully reported in the Journal ; 

 more especially that of Mr. Ewart, from whose drawings those engrav- 

 ings were taken. After this inquiry had been concluded, the Victoria 

 was removed from London to Hull, and the boilers were taken out and 

 condemned. Application was then made to the Butterley Company, 

 who had been mentioned during these proceedings as having for many 

 years manufactured marine engines and boilers, both for the navy and 

 for private service, without an instance of the slightest accident on 

 board any of the vessels propelled by their machinery. The owners 

 of the Victoria were therefore induced to order the new boilers to 

 be made at their establishment near Derby, and Mr. Glynn, whose 

 works have been noticed in the former volume of this Journal, was 

 requested to examine the vessel, and to determine what was best to 

 be done imder all the circumstances. 



The engines were not at all injured, neither were the cabins ; and it 

 was desirable to avoid moving the engines, which, from their peculiar 

 construction, are connected with the deck and sides, as well as the 

 floor, of the vessel, and also as far as possible to save the cabins, and 

 to preserve the trim of the ship, by keeping the centre of gravity in 

 its proper position. 



The former boilers were long and cylindrical, they projected aft 

 imdemeath a range of bed-cabins; these dangerous sleeping-berths 

 were without hesitation condemned and taken down, and the main 

 mast, which passed through those cabins, was shifted nearer the stern 

 of the ship. The " fire-hole," which might well be called so, was only 

 four feet in length from the front of the boilers to the engines ; although 

 the grates to be stoked were nine feet long, and the chimney was 

 placed in the middle of this contracted space. Such it may be re- 

 membered was the situation of the boilers in the first instance ; the 

 reader is referred to the former engravings (Vol. I. p. 285,) for other 

 particulars. The engravings now given show Mr. Glynn's arrange- 

 ment of the new boilers, in which there is considerable novelty. The 

 vessel is very narrow for her toimage, being a long sharp-built ship, 

 so that there is not room to put fires of (convenient length, even in the 

 whole width of the hold. In order to make the grates of moderate 

 length, and yet of sufficient area to raise steam for these powerful en- 

 gines, two heights of furnaces have been constructed, with two ranges 

 of flues, so that it may be said that there are two sets of boilers, the 

 one above the other ; the lower set of boilers having no top, and the 

 upper set having no bottom. 



The lower set of boilers is seven feet longer than the upper set, 

 giving that space for the stokers to manage their fires ; there is the 



same distance between the lower boilers and the engines ; the men 

 who work the fires of the lower set stand in the hold of the vessel. 

 The platform on which the higher tier of stokers stand is made hollow, 

 like a venison dish, but the space below the men's feet is constantly 

 supplied with cold water from the sea, and they are protected by a 

 rail or balustrade from falling from the platform when the ship rolls 

 or pitches. There are three safety-valves, each ten inches in dia- 

 meter, loaded to five pounds on the square inch, by a weight equal to 

 the whole pressure resting upon each valve, so that there are no 

 levers which can be tampered with, and all three safety-valves are 

 inaccessible to the men; but by a very sim])Ie apparatus the whole of 

 the steam, the boilers contain, may be iinniedi.itely discharged into the 

 air. The pressure of steam is indicated by a mercurial gauge, on 

 which it acts like a barometer, placed in front of the boilers, unci gra- 

 duated ill inches of mercury, so that any person may know the force 

 of the steam at a single glance. Each boiler has three gauge cocks, 

 showing the height of water above the flues, so contrived as not to be 

 affected by ebullition in the boilers ; the lowest gauge cock shows 

 nine inches of water on the flues, the highest eighteen inches, the 

 water level in regular work being midway between them. There are 

 also glass tubes to show the height of w ater in each boiler, and there 

 are three reversed valves to prevent the possibility of collapse by 

 atmospheric pressure. 



The water for feeding the boilers is supplied to them through 

 sluices of brass placed in front, and raised or lowered by a screw, with 

 an index to each showing whether the slide be open or shut. 



The cylinders of the Victoria's engines are 64i inches in diameter, 

 having a stroke of G feet 4 inches ; her wheels are 26 feet in diameter, 

 making from 16 to 18 revolutions per mimqe. 



The steam pipes are fitted with stop valves, so that any one of the 

 boilers may be disused, and the engines worked for a time in case of 

 need by the other two. Each boiler has a damper moved by a wheel 

 and pinion, to regulate or stop the draft through the fires, and to 

 check them when the engines are stopped. There are channels or 

 watercourses 18 inches square below the flues, for the purpose of 

 cleaning out the boilers, and also for bringing a current of water from 

 the after part to supply the rapid evaporation from the furnaces in 

 front. 



Figure 1 shows a front view or elevation of the boilers and steam 

 receivers, which are immediately below the deck, with a section of 

 the ship and the coal boxes at the sides. 



Figure 2 is a sectional plan, the middle compartment showing the 

 upper central boiler, the side compartments showing the lower wing 

 boilers. 



Figure 3. A longitudinal section thro\igh the furnaces, flues, chim- 

 ney, and steam receivers, showing a portion of the deck, the kelson 

 and the sleepers on which the boilers rest. The backs or bridges of 

 the furnaces are built of fire-bricks, with a plate of iron in the middle 

 to prevent air from passing through the joints of the brickwork. It 

 also shows a section of the platform on which the firemen stand, with 

 the space for cold water below their feet. 



Figure 4 is a cross section through the chimney and steam receivers, 

 showing tlie position, form, and action of the dampers. The water 



