THE NEW ORIENT LINER AUSTRAL.

Globe, Volume XXIV, Issue 2533, 22 May 1882, Page 3

THE NEW ORIENT LINER AUSTRAL.

The Austral, the now Orient liner (remarks the Glasgow "Daily News’’) is the largest vessel yet built for the Australian trade, and she s intended to perform the voyage in thirty to thirty-one days’ time. She is bnilt of stool, on the cellular double bottom system, and is classed in the highest grade at Lloyds. The principal dimensions of the vessel are: —Length between perpendiculars, 455 feet ; breadth, 46 feet ; depth (moulded), 37 feet; tonnage, about 5600 tons. The engines are of the three cylinderinverted typo, the high pressure cylinder being 63 inches diameter, and the two low pressure 86 inches diameter, by 5 feet stroke. Steam is supplied by four boilers at 901bs pressure, and the engines will develop 63 0 i,h p. on trial. The vessel is built with four decks. Oa the upper deck amidships are erected a series rf deck-houses, forming engine and boiler casings, and giving accommodation for officers, servants, galleys, musicroora, and also entrances to saloon and cabins. The deck over this hon K e is extended to the ship’s side, and is supported on pillars, forming a spacious promenade for the saloon passengers. The whole of the main deck is occupied by the first and second-class passengers, with the exception of the crew’s space at tbs fore-end and a small compartment for the intermediate passengers aft. The greatest novelty in the construction of the vessel is the arrangement ot the saloons on this deck. Instead of the cabins being placed, as usual, along the ship’s side, they are in this case separated from the side of the vessel by a wuolo passage, which runs nearly the whole length of the ship, with cross passages at intervals, The first and second saloons are separated from tho ship’s side in tha same way. Thesepassages are lighted by largo side scuttles placed four feet apart—all fore and aft—and the saloons and cabins are lighted by windows and also by skylights direct from tho upper deck. Tho great advantage of this arrangement is that tho side port can be kept open in very rougb weather, and water that may be shipped wetting the passages only, and not flooding the passengers’ cabins as in the usual arrangements of cabins on board ships. The vessel has the usual steam winches, windlass, steam steering gear, &0., and it is intended to be lighted throughout by the electric light.