ART6
20th February 2011, 17:22
I came across this web site recently (when having nothing better to do). It shows a couple of shots of the Warwickshire's shiny new engine room control room that I remember well. It was a cabin bolted onto the plates on the control flat and was AIR CONDITIONED! Oh how we imagined the luxury that awaited us - no more sweating our b***s off. Cup of tea and a fag in comfort, with a few buttons to press to demonstrate that we were on top of the job.
Oh -- A few minor issues that decreased our comfort: The shiny new control room gave us control over the boilers, but it didn't eliminate the need to patrol the engine room and, on full away leaving port, to shut down the live steam range and change over to third extraction. (If any of you motor types need education on real marine engineering....!). Going in and out of an air-conditioned cabin to a hot engine room was not a task to be undertaken lightly!
The automation system that Mr. Esso had purchased was, I was told, acquired from a stripped out Japanese system (cheapskates!). I believe it was installed by a Bailey Meters engineer with a strange sense of humour, so boiler alarms were generally preceded with Japanese martial music.
However, his warped sense of humour came into its own with the occasional message from the alarm speakers "The lube oil pump's on the bum. Get yer **** down there and fix it!"
However, we were clearly the pathfinders for the modern bridge control and unmanned engine rooms, so I claim my place in history and due gratitude from younger engineers!
http://www.aukevisser.nl/uk/id505.htm[=P]
Oh -- A few minor issues that decreased our comfort: The shiny new control room gave us control over the boilers, but it didn't eliminate the need to patrol the engine room and, on full away leaving port, to shut down the live steam range and change over to third extraction. (If any of you motor types need education on real marine engineering....!). Going in and out of an air-conditioned cabin to a hot engine room was not a task to be undertaken lightly!
The automation system that Mr. Esso had purchased was, I was told, acquired from a stripped out Japanese system (cheapskates!). I believe it was installed by a Bailey Meters engineer with a strange sense of humour, so boiler alarms were generally preceded with Japanese martial music.
However, his warped sense of humour came into its own with the occasional message from the alarm speakers "The lube oil pump's on the bum. Get yer **** down there and fix it!"
However, we were clearly the pathfinders for the modern bridge control and unmanned engine rooms, so I claim my place in history and due gratitude from younger engineers!
http://www.aukevisser.nl/uk/id505.htm[=P]