Steam at Sea
Price £30
315 photographs and line drawings
Brassey`s
9 Blenheim Court, Brewery Road, London N7 9NT
e-mail to: Conway Maritime
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This book tells the story of the development of the marine steam
engine from its early days in the late 18th century to the present day
when the last steamships are being built.
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This volume tells the story of steam power at sea from the early experimental days at the end of the 18th century to the final steam powered vessels during the 1990. The book is not a history of the steamship but it relates the development of steam marine engineering through the steamship and the jobs they did both in commercial and military service.
Steam freed ships from the vagaries of the wind but in the early days the space required for machinery and coal was a high price to pay for that freedom and early steamships were confined to lucrative commercial ventures like mail contracts and to specialist naval vessels. However, once steam had established itself its power became its own driving force with commercial and naval authorities recognising the advantages it offered. Today at the end of the 20th century steam power at sea is rapidly drawing to a close but its history is full of glory and engineering achievement.
Sixteen fully referenced chapters relate the fascinating story of Steam
at Sea
1. Steam Goes to Sea - The first experimental powered craft and the early steamboats in service.
2. Merchant Ships and Paddle Wheels - The application of paddle machinery to ship propulsion; the paddle engined steamer from the 1830s until the final examples of the type built in the 1940s.
3. Screw Propulsion - The variety of engines devised to drive the early screw driven ships.
4. Compound Marine Engines - The application of compounding which improved steam engine efficiency and the different types of engine produced by different builder.
5. Low Pressure Marine Boilers - Steamships needed boilers and the early types operated at low pressure because of the low strength materials available; the ingenuity of boiler makers was put to the test in devising designs for strength and efficiency.
6. Steam Power and the Fighting Ship - Warship applications of steam power from the 1830s until 1880
7. Auxiliary Steam Plant at Sea - With larger and more powerful ships the use of steam to drive pumps, steering gear and winches became a necessity; towards the end of the 19th century steam power provided refrigeration and electricity.
8. Triple Expansion and High Pressure Steam - Just as compounding improved operating efficiency the triple expansion engine ensured that steam power would be applied to even the basic cargo and tramp ship; many different designs of engine were produced and high pressure steel boilers were needed to ensure a steam supply at the right pressure.
9. Naval Engineering in the Late 19th Century - The requirements of naval authorities differed somewhat from commercial service and low height engines operating at higher rotating speeds were needed to allow for protection below the waterline whilst providing high power.
10. Engineers at Sea - The introduction of steam power resulted in the need for trained engineers and this chapter deals with the duties of engineers at sea together with their training and status.
11. The Steam Turbine - This new type of steam engine revolutionised ship propulsion but it was not until development of the geared turbine that it became applicable to most ships.
12. Coal, Oil & War - The post WW1 move from coal firing of boilers to oil firing only applied to the largest liners and warships and even by 1940 some 40% of all ships were still coal fired; the needs of war influenced warship engineering but commercial ships had to wait.
13. Marine Engineering Between the Wars - developments of turboelectric propulsion, high pressure steam and the fight against the more efficient diesel engine; the interwar years produced many novel marine steam engine designs.
14. Demands of WW2 and the Aftermath - Wartime needs saw construction of “Liberty” ships and other designs which had to be simple to construct and easy to operate.
15. Post-War Resurgence - The demise of the steam reciprocating engine and the development of high pressure/temperature boilers and turbines to compete with the diesel engine; the last of the steam driven liners and nuclear propulsion.
16. Steam`s Finale - Steam`s final role at sea; nuclear warships, a return to coal burning and the liquefied gas carrier.
Glossary - Definitions of engineering terms used in the text.
This is the first complete survey of the development of the steam engine
at sea to be published for over 40 years and is the only survey of the subject
now available. It will become an essential reference work for all those having
an interest in the history of the steamship.
1. Paddle Steamers - Development of machinery for paddle
steamers from the Great Western to Cunard`s Scotia of 1862.
2. Turn
of the Screw - Early screw propelled ships which proved more economic
that paddlers. An assortment of screw propulsion engines.
3. Compound
Engines - Improved efficiency through the application of compounding
and the recognition that steam was here to stay. White Star ships and Inman Line
vessels.
4. Greyhounds and Twin Screws - Faster ships and
more powerful engines with the quest for the Blue Riband. The first twin screw
liners including City of Paris.
5. Bigger, Better and Faster
- Triple expansion steam engines and high pressure steam from forced draught
boilers. The big reciprocating engined ships like Cunard`s Campania and Lucania
and the German quartet of fast ships at the turn of the century.
6.
Turbine Power - Introduction of the steam turbine to marine propulsion.
Lusitania and Mauretania.7. The Big Ships - Large liners such
as the White Star Olympic class, the Ballin Imperator class ships and the last
of the reciprocating engined Atlantic liners.
8. Oil Firing and Gear
Wheels - The post WW1 period and the conversion of many liners to oil
firing. Development of geared turbines as a more economic competitor to the
direct drive turbine. Canadian Pacific`s Duchess class ships and the German
Bremen and Europa.
9. National pride - Large ships of the
1930s as symbols of national pride; Normandie and the Queens.
10.
Enter the Diesel - Adoption of the diesel engine for liner propulsion,
particularly form Sweden and Italy.
11. Post War Resurgence
- Activities after WW2 with the new smaller liners fro Cunard and Canadian
Pacific but also the Blue Riband holder United States.
12. End of an
Age - The last Atlantic liners including the France and QE2.
The book provides a comprehensive insight into the engineering developments which shaped Atlantic sea travel and brought that travel into general use by making steamship operation more reliable, secure and cheaper than that by sailing ship. This is a marine engineering history but it is told through the steamships which made use of the engineering, the machinery being but a means to an end, namely to drive the ships safely across the Atlantic Ocean.
This lavishly illustrated volume documents the development and decline of
shipbuilding on the river Clyde in a most readable way. The book is informative
but it is also enjoyable as it chronicles not only the history of an industry
but also the way of life of a whole region. Towns along the Clyde depended upon
shipbuilding and the trades it required thus the demise affected more than just
the people who worked in the yards, it affected whole communities. The history
of Clyde shipbuilding is told through the ships that were built, naval and
merchant, large and small. Twenty two chapters relay the story and there is a
comprehensive bibliography for any researcher wanting more information. This is
a book well worth reading and should be read by anyone with an interest in
British shipbuilding or the shipping industry.