422 



FOREST AND STREAM. 



[Dec. 18, I88fi» 



RANKIN'S QUADRUPLE EXPANSION ENGINES. 



QUADRUPLE EXPANSION ENGINES. 



THE accompanying illustrations, for which, with the following 

 description, we are indebted to Engineering, show the latest 

 form, of Quadruple expansion engines, Rankin's patent discon- 

 nective. Though built for a cargo steamer, these engines are sub- 

 stantially the same as the smaller ones built for the steam yacht 

 Myrtle by the same firm. The engines of the Myrtle had four 

 cylinders, 12, 17, 24 and 34in.x24in. stroke, the working pressure 

 being 1801bs. These engines were put in last year in place of a 

 two cylinder compound engine, 21}4 and 39x21in., the pressnre 

 heing 501bs. The vessel to which the eugines here shown are 

 fitted is the Tails of Inversnaid, built of steel by Messrs. Russell 

 & Co., of Greenock and Port Glasgow, and is 31 2ft, X40ft. 4in.X 

 19ft. 7in., carrying 4,000 tons on a mean draft of 21ft. 



The four cylinders are 18in., 28in., 33in. and 53in. in diameter 

 respectively, with a stroke of 39in., arranged tandem fashion 

 over a double- throw crankshaft. The high-pressure cylinder is 

 placed above the first intermediate, and the second intermediate 

 ej Under above the low pressure, so as to make two virtually sep- 

 arate engines, either of which may he operated independently at 

 sea in the event of the other breaking down. In furtherance of 

 this important facility a reducing valve has heen fitted to the 

 low-pressure half of the engines to supply steam direct from the 

 hoilers, and a special exhaust pipe has been led from the high- 

 pressure half to the waste steam pipe. This valuable principle of 

 duplication has heen carried into effect throughout the engine 

 department, as there are two separate main boilers instead of 

 one of the double-ended type, so commonly emploved, and there 

 are two donkey boilers in place of the usnal silicic one. Then 

 again the forced draught system is operated by two independent 

 fans and engines, so that the chances of a possible complete 

 hreakdown have been reduced to a minimum. 



When designing the engines of the Falls of Inversnaid, the 

 makers, Messrs. Rankin and Blackmore, of Greenock, earnestly 

 laid themselves out to make them their ideal of a most perfect 

 type for a cargo steamer, combining the greatest possible sim- 

 plicity with compactness and sweet working. That the design is 

 simple goes without saying, as the most superficial glance at the 

 engravings will show, for there are only two engines in place of 

 the three which form the ordinary triple-expansion engine, and 

 as will be seen a very special feature is presented by the extreme 

 ease and rapidity with which all the various parts can be exam- 

 ined or overhauled. Then these engines are so compact that they 

 take up 3ft. less room fore and aft than the makers' triple-expan- 

 sion engines of equal power. 



With regard to the working of these engines this was the sub- 

 ject of hearty congratulation from the engineers present at the 

 trial, as the uniform smoothness and absence of vibration quite 

 surprised those who were prepared to judge this matter from the 

 usual standpoint of the old-fashioned two-crank compound type, 

 forgetful of the fact that with quadruple expansion the steam can 

 he economically used during a much longer portion of the piston 

 stroke, and further, that the high-pressure steam in the two 

 upper cylinders affords admirable cushioning to the under cyl- 

 inders with their comparatively low pressures. The upper 

 cylinders are connected to the lower by strong cast iron brackets 

 arranged^ so as to permit the lower cylinder covers to be lifted 

 for examination ot pistons (and removal if need be) without dis- 

 turbing the upper cylinders. To save friction and trouble and 

 also to enable the under cylinder covers to ho raised high enough 

 to give ample room for overhauling, there is only one piston rod 

 stuffing box (bolted and in halves) between each pair of cylinders. 

 1 hese stuffing boxes are fitted with a combination of elastic and 

 vl P? metallic packing and the glands can be easilv adjusted 

 while the engines are running, so the advantages of tail rods are 

 secured without the trouble of leaky glands,"" which have given 

 rise to so much complaint with the high pressure cylinders of 

 triple-expansion engines. 



The reversing gear is arranged with a small steam engine 

 actuating a worm wheel on the '"all round" principle, and has 

 double-barreled link motion of ample strength made adjustable 

 at the wearing parts. The eccentric rods are of best forged scrap 

 Iron with double jaws fitted with brass bushes and malleable iron 



covers; the straps are of polished wrought iron lined with brass. 

 The weighshaft has been fitted with malleable iron levers having 

 oblique slots, so that the cut-off may be independently regulated 

 for each half of the engine. The air pump is single acting and 

 the circulating pump double acting, and they along with the feed 

 and bilge pumps are worked by strong malleable iron levers, 

 coupled at one end to the connecting rod gudgeon of the after 

 engine, and at the other end to the pump erosshead by double 

 links fitted with adjustable solid brasses secured by double nuts. 

 The crankshaft is of the built description of best forged iron 

 made in two interchangeable p ; eces. The turning gear consists 

 of a large wheel fixed on the after end of the crankshaft, actu- 

 ated by a worm held by a strong cast iron bracket, bolted on the 

 sole-plate, and it can be worked either by hand or by means of 

 rope gearing driven by the ballast donkey engine. 



There are two main boilers constructed of steel to Lloyd's re- 

 quirements for a working pressure of ISOlbs., and the dimen- 

 sions, viz., 13ft. in diameter by lift, long, were purposely made so 

 as to insure an ample command of steam with natural draught 

 in the event of anything going wrong with the forced draught 

 apparatus which has been fitted on an improved closed ashpit 

 plan with automatic valves to admit air both above and below 

 the furnace bars. As an aid to the very important matter of 

 economy, the fan engines (Chandler's patent "silent") were 

 ordered compound instead of the single high-pressure type gen- 

 erally employed, and further, these have been made to exhaust 

 into the low-pressure casing of the main engine, thus virtually 

 constituting them triple-expansion engines. To assist in keeping 

 the boilers in good order Weir's well-known hydrokineters have 

 been provided for circulating the water thoroughly when get- 

 ting up steam; also one of their new evaporators, by means of 

 which a plentiful supply of fresh water will be assured, thereby 

 completely getting over the trouble attendant on the use of the 

 usual auxiliary salt water feed. 



On Wednesday, Oct. 17, the Falls of Inversnaid proceeded down 

 the Clyde on her official trial trip fully loaded with a cargo of 

 cast iron pipes of 4,010 tons dead weight. The working of the 

 machinery left nothing to be desired, but, unfortunately, owing 

 to the foggy nature of the weather it was impossible to test the 

 speed of tiie vessel on the measured mile, as the poits could not be 

 distinguished, so she just cruised about in mid-channel until dusk, 

 when the guests went ashore, and the ship lay at anchor at the 

 Tail of the Bank waiting for the fog to lift, preparatory to a 

 lengthened run for testing the coal consumption. Shortly after 

 midnight it cleared a little, and the Falls of Inversnaid steamed 

 down the Firth at full speed, doing the distance between Cumbrae 

 Lighthouse and Ailsa Craig at tne rate of close on knots with 

 a coal consumption equal to about 13 tons oer day of Nixon's navi- 

 gation coal, including steam used by the' steering engine, when 

 suddenly the fog became so dense that further progress was im- 

 possible, and the ship was obliged to heave to until daylight, when 

 she set out on her voyage to Bombay. The owners were highly 

 satisfied with the economical results attained, but as the firemen 

 were not accustomed to forced draught or the use of Welsh coal, 

 it may reasonably be expected that even better worn may yet be 

 recorded, so tbat the outcome of the vovage will be looked for- 

 ward to with interest. 



THE LAWTON 40-FOOTER.-The lead keel of this cutter is 

 now m place, the wood keel bolted down, and the stem and stern- 

 post set up. The frame thus far shows the outline of the later 

 It chen boats or wide English cutters. The bow has a long over- 

 hang, just below the loadline is a quick turn, then the keel ruas 

 down with a very moderate curve to the lowest point of keel, a 

 few feet forward of the heel of sternpost. The latter has about 

 60 degrees of !rake, and the overhang is quite loug. The forefoot 



sided, 6 to it>4 moulded, with a steamed frame between each. The 

 boat will be built as light as possible. 



A NEW SCHOONER,— It is reported that Rear-Com. Morgan 

 has ordered from Mr. Burgess a steel schooner, 106ft, l.w.l. and 

 12ft. dratt, with board beneath the floor. 



THE BROOKLYN Y. C. 



GR AVESEND BEACH, L. I., Dec. 3.— Editor Forest and Stream: 

 The Brooklyn Y. C, whose club house and headquarters are 



"~ to 

 to 



applications for membership will come before' the meetings of 

 this month and next, which will add to the fleet 3 cafcboats, 8 

 jib and mainsail boats and 5 cabin sloops; so this club will open 

 the season of 'S9 with an enrollment of upward of 60 boats, the 

 majority being "singlehand" craft. The club's aim has been for 

 some time past to cater to small yachts, and in consequence it 

 has been steadily growiug in size of fleet and membership. It 

 has open water for sailing, which with handling by owners is 

 making the members good boatmen. The gentlemen connected 

 with this club love to be active sailors, hence the predominance 

 of small boats; they also believe there are already more than 

 enough clubs of large yachts in and about New York waters. For 

 the nest season it is proposed to publish a list of excursions for 

 some time ahead with the view of having several yachts partici- 

 pate in each trip, selecting different ports, so that all may have a 

 chance to visit, their favorite resorts and each have the company 

 of boats of his club in so doing. To give some idea of these ex- 

 cursions I make the following extracts from the report of the 

 captain and owner of the catboat Homing, 23ft., just handed in: 



'•The outings of the Homing for 1883 commenced on May 19 and 

 terminated Oct 29, a period of 163 days, in which she was under- 

 way 74 times; 33 of them were excursions within all points of the 

 compass, northerly to Glen Island, easterly to Ruffle Bar. south- 

 erly to Navesiuk Highlands, and westerly to Great Kills, Princes' 

 Bay and around Staten island; covering distances of 7 to 08 miles 

 and aggregating 628 miles; 41 were short saiL, upward of 8 miles, 

 in lower bay, around club race courses and out to sea, which 

 amounted to 324 miles." The owner keeps a faithful and honest 

 log of all excursions; tue sum of these excursions for 1S88 being 

 952 miles, in 1887, 1,100 miles; the average distance was about 13 

 miles, and the meau speed over 13 knots; on 19 occasions it was 

 necessary to handle reef points. Hero is a sample of his log of a 

 run around Staten Island: 



"Sept. SO. — Weather overcast, barometer low and rising, indica- 

 tions clearing, wind N. by W., fresh, puffy, velocity about 25 

 miles. With Mr. S. as crew, double-reefed, started at 9:15 A. M., 

 tide waning ebb, course N.W.W. to northward of buoy 15, thence 

 S, W. by W. under lee of Stn.ten Island; off Great Kills shook out 

 reef, fetched Ward's Pointjiu strong flood and under bright sun, 

 course thence northerly through Souud,wind growing light aud 

 from N.W., long and short leg beat from Rossville, passed Eliza- 

 bethport 1:15 P. M., course thence to south'ard of Shooter's Island, 

 carried strong flood into Kills, through which wind drew to west- 

 ward very fresh and puffy, compelling an easing away of peak- 

 halliards; entering upper bay found steady fresh N.W. wind, 

 crossed to Bav Ridge in search of young ebb, course thence south- 

 erly through Narrows to club house, arriving at 4:24 P. M." 



This excursion would be reported to other members at once, 

 and the times and sets of tides, changes of wind, etc., would be 

 booked by each man in memory for use. whenever he made the 

 trip. Many of the members are fully as enthusiastic and studi- 

 ous boatmen as the gentleman mentioned, and in this fact lies 

 the enjoyment of small-boat sailing, the assured success of the 

 club and a promise of a fine season's sport next vear. 



R. C. H., Fleet Captain B. Y. C. 



SCUTTLING THE DAUNTLESS.— That never-failing resource 

 in the dull season, the old Dauntless, comes to the front again, now 

 that yachting news is scarce. The latest yarn is that two auger 

 holes have been discovered in her bow, under the copper, and that 

 they were made in order to scuttle her on the last ocean race with 

 the Coronet. 



SAY WHEN.— On Dec. 8 when off Bristol Ferry a steam pipe 

 hurst on board the Say When, scalding Chas. Newman and Chas. 

 Horton. The latter was taken to the Rhode Island Hospital, 



