22 Alec Wilson on 



The dimensions of the ship as determined by the draughts- 

 man, are then sent down to the mould loft, where they are drawn 

 in chalk upon the floor, full size for cross section and quarter 

 scale for length. At this point the lines are most carefully faired 

 up and checked, and any little modifications shown necessary by 

 the enlarged scale are noted upon the dimension sheet which 

 records the actual shape of the hull. Full size cross sections 

 of the ship are drawn upon a i)ortable flooring laid down in 

 the loft for the pui'pose, and, when the checking process is com- 

 pleted, the lines are cut into the floor, which is then liodily lifted 

 and transferred to the plater's shed, where the heavy steel 

 channel and angle bars are heated and bent until each of them is 

 the exact size as marked by the groove upon the boards. When 

 a second boat may be wanted to the same model, these " scrieve 

 boards," as they are called, are carefully stored until again 

 required. 



In the beam shop the deck beams, sometimes up to a 

 hundred feet long, are bent, punched, and sheared to their 

 accurate dimensions. Each large machine is electrically driven 

 by an independent motor. There are at present about 2,500 

 electric motors in the yard, totalling about 15,000 E.H.P., 

 but the noi'mal average output of the generating station is about 

 5,000 E.H.P. The tendency is to carry out this scheme moie 

 and more completely, and it is probable that there will be no 

 belt-driven machines in the yard a few years hence. Both 

 three-phase and continuous current are available in the works. 

 Whenever power is required it is available in three forms, 

 electriCj pneumatic, and hydraulic. Thus in the smith's shop 

 steam hammers are no longer used, they are now pneumatic. 

 The heavy forgings, main shafts, and the like are not made in 

 Belfast, but all the smaller work is clone there. 



While the frames are being bent and the beams shaped, the 

 draughtsmen are busy at work upon the design of the internal 

 fittings, and these are soon put into hands. Enormous quantities 



