COAL FOR STEAMERS.

Taihape Daily Times, 23 July 1919, Page 4

COAL FOR STEAMERS.

‘ The question as to the relative consumption of coal by 'a vessel such as the Pateena on the trip from Onehunga to Wellington, and by a. railway engine from Auckland to Wellington, having been raised by .a. correspondent, inquiries on the subject were made by a representative ofvcthe Auckland Herald from competent authorities. It was stated that on an appr-Oximate calculations the Patecna burns -‘.l’JO'.il3 ‘:5 tons per day at full speed, or roughly, one ton per hour. Accordingto her timetable, the round trip from Wellington to Onehunga and back will‘ occupy 57 h~ours—that is 28,‘hour.s each Way, and the hour’s stay at Onehunga. Consequently she Will consume about 57' tons of coal each trip. A railway locomotive on the journey from Wellington to Auckland, or vice versa, consumes about 15' tons of coal on the. 18-hour trip, a consumption for the round trip of 30 tens, or about 27, tons less than the Pateena’s’requirements. It should be noted, however, says the Herald. that whereas the locomotixge consumes only a special class» of steaming coal, the steamer can utilise a far inferior kind.