Second Report of the Committee on Steam-ship Performance. Report. CONTENTS. Appendix No. I.-Table 1. Table showing the results of performances at sea and on the measured mile, of 17 vessels of the Royal Navy, of 22 vessels in the Merchant Service, and of two vessels of the United States Navy, together with the particulars of their machinery. Table 2. Return of the results of performances of 49 vessels in the service of the Appendix No. II.-Table 1. Quarterly returns of the speed and consumption of coal of the London and North-Western Company's express and cargo boats, under regulated conditions of time, pressure, and expansion; from January 1 to December 31, 1859. Table 2. Half-yearly verifications of consumption of coal of the above vessels, from January 1 to December 31, 1859. Appendix No. III.-No. 1. Form of Log-book used by the Royal Mail Company. No. 3. Form of Engineer's log used by the Peninsular and Oriental Company. No. 5. Board of Trade Form of Surveyor's Return of Capabilities. Appendix No. IV.-Table 1. Showing the ratio between the indicated horse-power and the grate, the tube, the other heating, and total heating surfaces; also, between the grate and heating surfaces, and between the indicated horse-power and the coal consumed. Appendix No. V. Letter from Mr. Archbold, Engineer-in-Chief, United States Navy. Description of the hull, engines, and boilers of the United States Steam Sloop 'Wyoming'. Table 1. Return of performance of the Wyoming' under steam alone. Table 2. Return of performance of the 'Wyoming' under steam and sail combined. Table showing the trial performances of the steam-vessels Lima' and 'Bogota' when fitted with single cylinder engines, and after being refitted with double cylinder engines. Also the sea performances of the same vessels under both these conditions of machinery and on the same sea service. REPORT. AT the Meeting of the British Association, held in Aberdeen in September, 1859, this Committee was re-appointed in these terms:→→→ "That the following Members be requested to act as a Committee to continue the inquiry into the performance of steam-vessels, to embody the facts in the form now reported to the Association, and to report proceedings to the next meeting. "That the attention of the Committee be also directed to the obtaining of information respecting the performance of vessels under sail, with a view to comparing the results of the two powers of wind and steam, in order to their most effective and economical combination. "That the sum of £150 be placed at the disposal of the Committee for these purposes." The following gentlemen were nominated to serve on the Committee : Vice Admiral Moorsom. The Marquis of Stafford, M.P. The Lord Dufferin. William Fairbairn, F.R.S. Admiral Paris, C.B. The Hon. Capt. Egerton, R.N. William Smith, C.E. Your Committee, having re-elected Admiral Moorsom to be their Chairman, beg leave to present the following Report: They have held monthly meetings, with intermediate meetings of subCommittees appointed to carry out in detail matters referred to them by the General Committee. The Committee regret that they were deprived of the services of one of their members, Mr. Charles Atherton, at an early stage of the present inquiry, his public duties preventing his attending. They have been assisted by Corresponding Members; noblemen and gentlemen, who, not being members of your Association, were not, by its rules, eligible as members of your Committee. Some of them, however, being owners of steam yachts, and others intimately acquainted with all matters relating to steam shipping, their cooperation was considered very essential, as introducing to the Committee gentlemen, not only capable of dealing with the subjects of this inquiry, but who also had it in their power to place in the hands of the Committee, materials, which, it is confidently hoped, will eventually lead to a correct and scientific knowledge of the laws governing economic Steam-Ship Performance. The Corresponding Members so elected were:— Lord Clarence Paget, M.P., C.B., &c. | Capt. William Moorsom, R.N. (since Lord Alfred Paget, M.P. Lord John Hay, M.P. The Hon. L. Agar Ellis, M.P. The Earl of Gifford, M.P. The Marquis of Hartington, M.P. deceased). Mr. John Elder. Mr. David Rowan. Mr. J. E. Churchward. Mr. Thomas Steele. It will be within the recollection of the Association that the labours of this Committee last year were almost exclusively devoted to explaining to the various shipping companies and others with whom they were in correspondence, the objects proposed, and suggesting such forms as, if accurately filled in, would accomplish the purposes contemplated by the British Association. Log-books were prepared, and copies furnished to the leading Steam Packet Companies. At their first meeting the Committee took into consideration the manner in which the grant of money placed at their disposal by the Association could be most judiciously applied, and after mature consideration it was unanimously resolved : "That to procure information from shipbuilders and engineers, it is found to be indispensable to hold personal intercourse with them, without which little progress is likely to be made." The Honorary Secretary was accordingly deputed to wait upon the principal Shipbuilders, Engineers, and Steam Shipping Companies in London and its vicinity, to explain the objects of the Committee, and to solicit their cooperation by furnishing the Committee with authenticated returns of the sea performances of vessels, as well as of their trial trips. All In this your Committee are happy to report that they have succeeded. to whom application was made expressed concurrence in the objects of your Committee, and their willingness to render every information in their power. The great difficulty was to make a suitable selection of vessels as examples of ordinary performance in the mercantile navy. Press of business, and perhaps want of thoroughly understanding the aims of the Committee, induced them to throw the whole labour of making these returns upon the Committee. The log-books for a number of years, and any documents the Committee desired to see, were freely placed at their service; but the time required to wade through the masses of logs, together with the fact of the Association meeting this year nearly three months earlier than usual, rendered it impracticable for more than a limited amount of work to be got through. It was therefore determined to make a selection of certain vessels, and to endeavour, as far as possible, to render complete the record of a few. Your Committee at the same time communicated with the Admiralty, with a view of instituting a similar comparison between the trial trips and ordinary performances of Her Majesty's vessels at sea. They much regret that they have not been able to obtain the latter. The Lords Commissioners, however, very courteously entrusted the Committee with the original returns of Her Majesty's vessels during the years 1857, 1858, and 1859, as furnished by the officers who conducted such trials, with permission to copy and make any use they thought fit of the information they contained. Diagrams of the engines taken on the trials during the year 1859 were also furnished. Your Committee must remark with regard to these trial performances, that they do not appear to be instituted with any other view than as a trial of the working of the engines, excepting in a few instances, when experiments have been made to test the merits of certain screws. In very numerous cases, the officer distinctly reports that the boiler power is insufficient. The speed may or may not be taken at the convenience of the officers, but in no case is any note taken of the economical efficiency of the engines with regard to fuel. As your Committee are restricted to a record of facts, it is out of place here to suggest changes in the mode of conducting the trials of Her Majesty's ships. The Committee would, however, fail in their duty if they did not avail themselves of this occasion to repeat their conviction, as expressed in their last Report," That it would tend to the advancement of science, the improvement of both vessels and engines, and to the great advantage of Her Majesty's service, if the trials of the Queen's ships were conducted on a more comprehensive plan, directed to definite objects of practical utility on a scientific basis, and recorded in a uniform manner." In addition to the vessels of the British Royal and Mercantile Navies, your Committee have great pleasure in being enabled to lay before the British Association a return of forty-nine vessels in the service of the Messageries Impériales of France, obligingly furnished by a member of the Committee, Admiral Paris, and recorded in the form used by that Company; also, of two vessels belonging to the United States Navy, the particulars of which have been extracted from the second volume of Mr. Isherwood's recent publication, entitled "Engineering Precedents." They have been introduced into the Tables (see Appendix, Table I.). While this Report was preparing, the Committee were gratified by receiving from Mr. Archbold, Engineer-in-Chief, United States Navy, two sets of tabulated returns of performance of the United States steam sloop of war 'Wyoming,' under steam alone, and under steam and sail. These returns are of peculiar value, as comprising particulars in a form which the Committee believe has never yet been published. Along with the data afforded by Mr. Isherwood's book, they give the area of sail spread and the force of wind by notation, together with other particulars, useful for calculations of results and for comparisons. These Tables are contained in the Appendix, with Mr. Archbold's letter, and a description of the hull, engines, and boilers of the Wyoming.' The returns furnished by the British Admiralty embrace 216 vessels and 353 trials, with about 900 diagrams. For the same reason as above stated, in case of merchant vessels your Committee were obliged to make a selection, and to endeavour, for the purposes of the present Report, to obtain a complete record of a few, in the form suggested by the Committee. With this view, application was again made to the Admiralty, asking for the additional particulars not embraced in the returns of trial performances already furnished, and stating that their Lordships were, of course, aware that the particulars given in those documents were of comparatively small value without others of the vessels, their engines, screws, and boilers. The Committee added that they were in possession of such full particulars from both companies and private firms, and they trusted also to be favoured with similar information from the Admiralty. To this communication, the Lords Commissioners replied that they regretted they could not at present supply the information desired; but they would be glad to receive a copy of the reports obtained from companies and private firms. Your Committee thereupon constructed a Table embracing the particulars of merchant vessels (Appendix I., Table 1), and also a blank table filled in with the names of Her Majesty's vessels, selected as before mentioned, and containing the results of the test trials already given, and forwarded them to the Admiralty, begging that they might be favoured with the return of the table of the ships of war with the blanks filled in, adding, that if pressure of public business should prevent that being done, your Committee would send a person to copy the particulars on receiving the sanction of the Lords Commissioners to such a course. As a measure of precaution in case of failure on the part of the Admiralty to send the promised particulars in time for printing, your Committee obtained returns of the machinery of these vessels by application to the manufacturers, personally and by letter. They avail themselves of this opportunity to thank Messrs. Boulton and Watt, Maudslay Sons and Field, and John Penn and Sons, for having so fully and so promptly responded to the call. They are, therefore, now enabled to lay before the Association a table comprising the results of the trials furnished by the Admiralty, together with the particulars of engines, &c., furnished by the manufacturers: the figures in Clarendon type (see Appendix I. Table 1) denote the Admiralty returns. Your Committee regret that there are some particulars of the trials still wanting, as, for example, the evaporation of water and the consumption of fuel; but they believe that hitherto those items have not been recorded. It is earnestly hoped, now that public attention has been called to the subject, that a more exact and careful account may be taken, both on the measured mile and on ordinary service at sea. In compiling the Table of merchant vessels, a similar course has been adopted, viz. of gathering from the best sources the various details necessary to complete the Table. The Companies to which the vessels belonged, gave every information in their possession, not only of the vessels themselves, but also of their actual sea performances, and placed at the disposal of the Committee the sea logs for every voyage, with permission to make such extracts as they deemed proper. For any additional information, they were referred to the constructors of the engines and vessels. Your Committee cannot speak in too high terms of the constant readiness to give information, although at considerable inconvenience to themselves, which the various Companies and private firms have invariably shown. They feel assured that, had time permitted, and if the requisite labour could be devoted to it, the whole shipping community would willingly contribute their quota of statistics: all that is wanted is uniformity of arrangement, and that a form similar to the one proposed by the Committee be generally adopted. The thanks of the British Association are especially due to the Royal |
