STEAM AS MOTIVE POWER

Hawke's Bay Herald-Tribune, Issue 196, 4 September 1937, Page 3

STEAM AS MOTIVE POWER

Great Strides Being Made "I travelled to New York on the liner Queen Mary — a vessel roundly condemned in Scotland aud England because of the terrifie vibration set up by its engines," said Rotarian K. McLeay, of Napiert in a travel talk to the Hastings Eotary Club yesterday afternoon. Mr McLeay is connected with the shipping industry and his trip to England was made tor the purpose of placing an order ior a new ship. Mr McLeay, after great difliculty, obtained permission to watch the building of the sister ship to the Queen Mary, and he brought back with him as a souvenir a largo rivet from the vessel. "I found the Queen Mary as lovely a vessel as possible to travel in," he said. "The reason was that sho was making her first trip on tho third sot of propellers. The differcnt pitch of them had made a huge dillerence. A / glass tumbler placed on a glass-top table would not shift and there was no niovement when the vessel was steaming at a fast spced. There was no vibration whatever. This change made in the vessel will make a groat dillerence in tho prestige of the British fiag on the seas." iSteam machinery was at oue time being driven out by Diesel machinery, but s Learn was now holding its own again. as a motive porver and strides wero being made in steam-driven machinery, said Mr McLeay. When the Majestie was built 45 Loilers were required to drive her. The Queen Mary had 24 boilers, and its sister ship will require only 12. This was a result of tho advance made in recent years in high-pressure boilers. A great reduction in tho amount of coal required was anoth'er fcaturc oi this improvement.