RMS Victorian
.jpg) The ship as Marloch | |
| Career | |
|---|---|
| Name: |
RMS Victorian Marloch |
| Owner: | Allan Line |
| Port of registry: |
 |
| Route: | Liverpool – Montreal |
| Builder: | Workman, Clark & Co, Belfast |
| Launched: | 25 August 1904[1] |
| Out of service: | 1929 |
| Fate: | scrapped 1929 |
| General characteristics | |
| Type: | ocean liner |
| Tonnage: | 10,629 gross register tons (GRT) |
| Length: | 520 ft (160 m) |
| Beam: | 60 ft (18 m) |
| Depth: | 38 ft (12 m) |
| Propulsion: | steam turbine |
| Capacity: | 1690 passengers |
| Notes: | sister ship: RMS Virginian |
RMS Victorian was an ocean liner of the Allan Line, built for service between Britain and North America. She was launched in 1904 and was the first large civilian ship propelled by steam turbines. She was in service for almost a quarter of a century, and was broken up in 1929.
Background
Canadian Pacific Steamship Company bought the Beaver Line in 1903 and entered the transatlantic trade. To compete, in October 1903 Allan Line ordered two large new liners. They were originally intended to be conventional twin-screw ships powered by reciprocating steam engines.
The specification was changed to triple-shafted vessels propelled by steam turbines in light of the great success of King Edward, a turbine-powered excursion vessel in service on the Firth of Clyde since 1901. Allan Line ordered engines similar to that of King Edward from the same builder, the Parsons Marine Steam Turbine Company. Victorian became the first three-shaft ship and the first turbine liner in Atlantic service, and with sister ship RMS Virginian became the first large turbine-powered commercial vessels of any kind, at a time when others doubted the wisdom of using the new technology in large ships.[2][3]
Design
The engines in Victorian were a scaled-up version of that in King Edward. Coal-fired Scotch marine boilers supplied steam at 180 psi (12.66 bar) to Parsons turbines. The smoke was exhausted through a large single stack. The high-pressure steam from the boilers was fed to a turbine directly driving the centre shaft; from the centre turbine steam was reused at a lower pressure in flanking turbines, each directly turning a wing shaft. Each shaft had a single screw.[2]
Her hull was 520 feet (160 m) long, 60 feet (18 m) in beam and 38 feet (12 m) in depth. The vessel was 10,629 GRT.[4] She had orlop decks fore and aft of the machinery spaces, and three full decks within the hull fitted to carry 240 second-class passengers on the main and upper deck and up to 940 in third class. Atop the hull, a forecastle was followed by forward holds, a long superstructure with passenger accommodations and public spaces for 470 first-class passengers on bridge and promenade decks, an after hold, and a poop deck. A combination cargo and passenger liner, Victorian could carry 8,000 tons of cargo and had refrigerated space for fruit and dairy products of Canada.[2]
Performance
The liner was designed for a service speed of 17 knots (31 km/h) and achieved 19.5 knots (36 km/h) on sea trials, with the turbines developing some 12,000 shaft horsepower and turning the directly coupled screws at 260 rpm. In 1905 the ship set an eastbound record of 5 days and 5 hours from Rimouski in Quebec to Moville in Ireland, which stood for some time.[2]
Career
Victorian 's maiden voyage was in 1905, from Liverpool to St. John, New Brunswick. She was an immediate success, and after some adjustments to the machinery, settled into transatlantic service to Canada until August 1914.
In World War I the Admiralty requisitioned the ship for conversion into an armed merchant cruiser. She was commissioned into the Royal Navy and served with the 9th and 10th Cruiser Squadrons. Soon assigned to escort duty, Victorian also transported troops and cargo.[2]
After Canadian Pacific took over Allan Line and the war ended, Victorian resumed civilian service in 1920. At the end of the following year the direct-drive turbines were replaced by geared turbines and oil fuel supplanted coal. The ship became a single-class liner and was renamed Marloch. In the mid-1920s the liner was in reserve service (although often used) until sold for breaking in 1929.[5]
References
Notes
- ↑ "Ship Descriptions – V". The Ship List. Retrieved 22 April 2011.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 Baker 1965, p. 114.
- ↑ Maber 1980, p. 34.
- ↑ Baker 1965, p. 126
- ↑ Baker 1965, p. 116.
Sources
- Baker, WA; Tryckare, Tre (1965). The Engine Powered Vessel. New York: Grosset & Dunlap.
- Maber, John M (1980). Channel packets and ocean liners, 1850–1970. The Ship 6. Edinburgh: Stationery Office. ISBN 0-11-290316-9.