Philthechill
23rd August 2007, 14:40
"Mangla" and "Mathura" had ID as well as FD fans, as anyone who sailed on these two ships will remember.
They had flaps to regulate the amount of air being pumped into, or "sucked" out of, the boilers. These flaps were hydraulically controlled, via a couple of levers, from the console in the middle of the starting-platform. One set on each end of the console. Usually the senior watch-keeper would be spinning the wheels (and what a joy these ships were to manouevre!!) whilst the junior would be answering the telegraph and working the fan controls. Simple enough job as, basically, all he had to do was keep the smoke periscope clear by deft use of the fan-controls and keeping a weather-eye on the draught (positive on the FD and negative on the ID).
I had a particularly supercilious apprentice on watch with me (his name escapes me at the moment, not that I would have included it if I could remember--------much!!!!!) and he gave the impression that anyone over 24 who didn't have an Extra Chiefs ticket was a buffoon. I was 32, S3E and was, obviously, "beyond the pale".
We had departed London, dropped the pilot and got "Full Away". After getting the Bellis & Morcom (I'm sticking to that!!!) on line, and shutting the diesels down, the next job, of course, was to blow the tubes, which the apprentice and myself carried-out. He wasn't too keen on this job as he obviously thought it a bit below him being as he was, (in his eyes, at least!), a future "Super".
After we'd blown tubes I got the job settled-down and, bidding him not to touch anything, headed up to the workshop (which, in view of what happened, was, fortunately, just above turbine-level) to make a start on my latest model cannon (I hope you're reading this Donald!!!).
After about 15 minutes I sensed the engine slowing-down and hurtling down onto the plates saw the revs were on about 65, the boiler-pressure way, way down and glancing up at the switch-board saw the frequency starting to drop below 60cps!!! (On the turbo-alternator!)
Ring-piece started to fluctuate rapidly------------half-crown/sixpence, half-crown/sixpence etc. etc.
Frantically shutting the Ahead wheel in to bring the boiler-pressure up I, at the same time, tried to find-out what had caused this rapid pressure-loss! Fuel-pressure?, OK!, Water-levels?, OK! Fans? NOT OK! The draught pressure-gauges were fluctuating back and forth from max to min and back again and the smoke periscopes were totally obscured! I asked the apprentice if he had altered anything and he said that he had been attempting to get the fan-pressure set, "to give better steaming conditions!"
I grabbed the fan control-levers and soon got the smoke-periscopes clear at which point, of course, the boiler-pressure started to climb and I was able to open the Ahead wheel once more to give us normal revs.
I asked the apprentice just how he, having just joined the ship for his first trip, had the experience to know how he could promote " better steaming conditions?"
I also pointed-out that because of his messing-about with the firing there would be no doubt that the tubes would be, once more, heavily fouled with soot and, because he was the cause of this fouling, he could now have the pleasure of operating the blowers on both boilers-------by himself!!
He wasn't too keen on this and said he would was doing it, "under protest".
I said that he was welcome to report me to either the Second, Martin Lanphear(?) or the Chief, John Pedley.
He never bothered.
I'd like to say that the apprentice then settled-down and became a "thoroughly good skin" but he retained his air of being a cut above everyone else until we paid-off! Salaams Phil:sweat:
They had flaps to regulate the amount of air being pumped into, or "sucked" out of, the boilers. These flaps were hydraulically controlled, via a couple of levers, from the console in the middle of the starting-platform. One set on each end of the console. Usually the senior watch-keeper would be spinning the wheels (and what a joy these ships were to manouevre!!) whilst the junior would be answering the telegraph and working the fan controls. Simple enough job as, basically, all he had to do was keep the smoke periscope clear by deft use of the fan-controls and keeping a weather-eye on the draught (positive on the FD and negative on the ID).
I had a particularly supercilious apprentice on watch with me (his name escapes me at the moment, not that I would have included it if I could remember--------much!!!!!) and he gave the impression that anyone over 24 who didn't have an Extra Chiefs ticket was a buffoon. I was 32, S3E and was, obviously, "beyond the pale".
We had departed London, dropped the pilot and got "Full Away". After getting the Bellis & Morcom (I'm sticking to that!!!) on line, and shutting the diesels down, the next job, of course, was to blow the tubes, which the apprentice and myself carried-out. He wasn't too keen on this job as he obviously thought it a bit below him being as he was, (in his eyes, at least!), a future "Super".
After we'd blown tubes I got the job settled-down and, bidding him not to touch anything, headed up to the workshop (which, in view of what happened, was, fortunately, just above turbine-level) to make a start on my latest model cannon (I hope you're reading this Donald!!!).
After about 15 minutes I sensed the engine slowing-down and hurtling down onto the plates saw the revs were on about 65, the boiler-pressure way, way down and glancing up at the switch-board saw the frequency starting to drop below 60cps!!! (On the turbo-alternator!)
Ring-piece started to fluctuate rapidly------------half-crown/sixpence, half-crown/sixpence etc. etc.
Frantically shutting the Ahead wheel in to bring the boiler-pressure up I, at the same time, tried to find-out what had caused this rapid pressure-loss! Fuel-pressure?, OK!, Water-levels?, OK! Fans? NOT OK! The draught pressure-gauges were fluctuating back and forth from max to min and back again and the smoke periscopes were totally obscured! I asked the apprentice if he had altered anything and he said that he had been attempting to get the fan-pressure set, "to give better steaming conditions!"
I grabbed the fan control-levers and soon got the smoke-periscopes clear at which point, of course, the boiler-pressure started to climb and I was able to open the Ahead wheel once more to give us normal revs.
I asked the apprentice just how he, having just joined the ship for his first trip, had the experience to know how he could promote " better steaming conditions?"
I also pointed-out that because of his messing-about with the firing there would be no doubt that the tubes would be, once more, heavily fouled with soot and, because he was the cause of this fouling, he could now have the pleasure of operating the blowers on both boilers-------by himself!!
He wasn't too keen on this and said he would was doing it, "under protest".
I said that he was welcome to report me to either the Second, Martin Lanphear(?) or the Chief, John Pedley.
He never bothered.
I'd like to say that the apprentice then settled-down and became a "thoroughly good skin" but he retained his air of being a cut above everyone else until we paid-off! Salaams Phil:sweat: