- SteamPunkAs Labor Populism
- SteamPunk: A New "Guilded" Age?
- 5th Gen. Seattleite's Dismay: "Boneshaker"
- Absinthe (AKA "the Green Fairy")
- Remembering the "Steam" in Steampunk: the Virginia V.
- "Steam" in Steampunk, part II The S.S. Jeremiah O'Brien
- "Steam" in SP pt. II, the regal triple expansion steam engine.
Con't. "Steam" in sp pt. II, the regal engine
This is a triple expansion steam engine.
You steam people should be sighing with desire at the mere sight. Yes, it's real, and yes, it is the fully operational steam reciprocating propulsion engine aboard the S.S. Jeremiah O'Brien. Notice that the steam piston rods, the crossheads, and the crank shaft rods that connect directly to the shaft that drives the propeller are all open. By the 1940s, this was already an old, obsolete type of engine. But it is also a relatively simple design, easy to build in a hurry and proven to work. This one was from the General Machinery Corporation in Hamilton, Ohio,
Of course it has to get steam from somewhere. There are two oil fired Foster-Wheeler, sectional header, cross-drum water tube boilers. All original equipment. Plus steam driven pumps, generators, deck cranes, steering gear, etc. Along with all the pipes, valves, and tools it takes to make it go.
We engine room people are known as the "black gang." Not because of our original color necessarily, nor of any proclivity to hang around with each other...okay we do, but that's because of the fine coating we wear with pride. Due to the heat and the occasional oil mist. Those engine parts are hand oiled. The rest of the crew can smell us coming. But tending to the engine and the boilers is truly artisanship. Emphasis on "ship." Well, art, too. That's why Steampunk is not simply about posing in period costumes. It's also about remembering that work, such as caring for this astounding old machinery, can and should add meaning and dignity to human life.
Of course it has to get steam from somewhere. There are two oil fired Foster-Wheeler, sectional header, cross-drum water tube boilers. All original equipment. Plus steam driven pumps, generators, deck cranes, steering gear, etc. Along with all the pipes, valves, and tools it takes to make it go.
We engine room people are known as the "black gang." Not because of our original color necessarily, nor of any proclivity to hang around with each other...okay we do, but that's because of the fine coating we wear with pride. Due to the heat and the occasional oil mist. Those engine parts are hand oiled. The rest of the crew can smell us coming. But tending to the engine and the boilers is truly artisanship. Emphasis on "ship." Well, art, too. That's why Steampunk is not simply about posing in period costumes. It's also about remembering that work, such as caring for this astounding old machinery, can and should add meaning and dignity to human life.