Engineering Section
1925-1954 Engineering Section
The Engineering Section of the William G. Mather was made up of four separate compartments: the Coal Bunker, Boiler Room, Engine Room, and the Steering Gear Compartment. Safety and cleanliness were the reasons for the separation of compartments in order to contain fires and keep the engines clean.1. The Coal Bunker was located aft of the Crew's Hall Aft with the loading hatch on the boat deck. At the Crew's Hall level, the bunker was flanked by two small compartments: a room for storing Galley coal and the coal passer's toilet on the port side, and a small Dunnage Room and the fireman's toilet on the starboard side. The bunker let coal feed by gravity to the boiler room.
2. The Boiler Room was separate form the Coal Bunker and the Engine Room. This compartment started immediately aft of the Coal Bunker. Overhead were three air ducts that provided ventilation for the coal passers and firemen operating the Fire Room floor. Coal passers passed coal to the firemen who stoked the fires under the boilers that created the proper steam for powering the ship. There were three separate water tube boilers built by Babcock & Wilcox Company, each with three hatches to the furnaces underneath - a total of nine firing doors. The nine doors would need 1 to 1-1/2 tons of coal per watch to maintain the 250 pounds of steam pressure needed to operate the engine and all steam-driven auxiliary equipment.
3. Overhead in the Engine Room are the ventilation hatches and sky lights, allowing light into the room. The Engine Room was connected to the Boiler Room by two hatches at the operating level that flanked the boiler and the main engine. The Engine Room took up the entire area from the Boiler Room aft to the Steering Gear Flat. Built by Great Lakes Engineering Works in Ecorse, MI, the original 1925 engine was a quadruple expansion piston steam engine rated at 2,500 horsepower. There were four steam-driven cylinders. 250 pounds of steam was piped into the engine where the steam was applied to the pistons to supply the up and down motion that turned the crankshaft at the bottom of the engine. The crankshaft converted the up and down motion into the rotating motion of the propeller shaft that turned the propeller. This quad engine was the last of its type to be installed on a Lakes freighter.
Within the Engine Room, there were other pieces of equipment necessary for the operation of the ship. Steam was fed through other sets of pipes which fed into many small engines to run pumps. These pumps were used to pump out bilge water, circulate water to the deck lines and fire hoses, cool the steam condensers, pump ballast, and provide water for the sinks and toilets. Potable (drinkable) water was pumped to the upper deck storage tanks and then gravity-fed down to the sink for drinking and cooking.
The Engineering Section also had to generate the electricity for the boat. The entire ship ran on DC power between 1925 and 1953. Three low-pressure steam turbine generators were used to create the DC electric current.
4. The Steering Gear section contains the original 1925 steering engine that served the Mather for her entire 55-year career on the Lakes. When one looks at the massive gears that move the rudder and turn the ship, one has to wonder how this was done with a wheel that turned freely nearly 600 feet forward in the Pilot House.
A shaft system leads from the helm back aft (600') to the actual steering gear. As the wheelsman turns the wheel, shafts and gears turn. Valves at the steering engine open, to allow steam in the engine, making the engine work. The action of this engine actually turns gears that turn the rudder post. The steering gear engine still runs today. Using compressed air, demonstrations are done periodically during the open season. After the steam was used in all four cylinders, it was sucked into the condenser. The condenser used cool sea water to cool the steam. When cool enough the steam in the condenser turned back into boiler water (condensate). The boiler water would then be pumped back into the boiler to be heated to steam once again.
The Steering Gear also housed the machine shop, engineer's storeroom (for spare parts), and the pipefitter's locker (for spare plumbing fittings, electrical switches, relays, motor gauges, gasket materials). If a part was needed that was not in stock, it was made from stock material kept in various storage areas.
In the event that the Pilot House was no longer able to steer the ship, the control could be transferred to one of several back-up steering stations. One was the ship's wheel located on top of the aft Deck House. Another station was on the Fantail where there was a tiller that would require two or more persons with rope or chain to operate. Finally, the ship could also be steered from the Steering Deck, using the small yellow wheel located between the small steering steam engine and the refrigeration unit.
Why were there major changes in the Engine Room in the winter of 1953-1954 and again in 1964?
Answer: Technology, Efficiency, Competition, Economy.
The Steamship William G. Mather was a top-of-the-line ship in 1925. She was outfitted with some of the latest technology and was one of the most gracious and opulent steamers on the Lakes. As time progressed, new forms of engine technology were developed and implemented. Steam turbines existed in 1925, but were not fully developed for high horsepower applications. Since diesel engines were in the early stages of development, reciprocating steam engines were better known, more popular, and more efficient. As a form of steam technology, they were the best engines for their time. As time went on, reciprocating steam engines became outdated while steam turbine engines gained in efficiency, power, and popularity.By 1953, the Mather was being outclassed in size, efficiency, and power by newer boats. The Edward B. Greene became the new Cleveland-Cliffs flagship in 1952 and there were other newer and bigger boats on the Lakes that transported larger loads more quickly and efficiently.
The question was how to make the Mather more economical and efficient so that she could continue to compete in a changing market place. Since the boat was not that old, the decision was made to repower her. The new engines were more economical. Less fuel was needed to generate more power which meant more speed in the water and faster shipment of cargoes such as coal and iron ore. Faster shipments meant that more profit was generated in the same amount of time with smaller operating costs and more trips per season.
Burning fuel was costly in more than monetary terms. As coal burned, it gave off smoke and other gases that polluted the atmosphere. Fuels such as "Bunker C" fuel oil burned more efficiently. It cost less and was easier to maintain and run an oil-fired boiler than a coal fired boiler. So the Mather's fuel was changed from coal to Bunker C oil for economic and efficiency reasons as well as pollution regulations and health and safety considerations.The Bailey automation system was installed in 1964 making the boiler operate more economically and efficiently. The Mather was the first U.S. vessel to be licensed by the US Coast Guard to operate without the fireman monitoring the boiler. The Bailey not only saved fuel by running the turbines more efficiently, it also eliminated the Fireman position, which saved labor costs of three crewmen on the three watch system.
1954 - Present Engineering Section
The Engine Room is the center of the vessel's propulsion and support systems.
The Engine Room is staffed by the Chief Engineer, Assistant Engineers, Day Engineer, Oilers and Wipers.
The major propulsion components include:
- boilers
- steam turbines
- fuel storage
- Engine Room Telegraph (Chadburn)
- Automated Boiler Control (Bailey)
The major support components include:
- Electrical generators
- water supply
- ballast control
When the shipping season ended in December, 1953, the William G. Mather was placed in dry dock at Manitowoc Ship Building Company in Manitowoc, Wisconsin. While there, the shipyard crews proceeded to re-power the ship. To facilitate this, they cut a hole in the starboard side of the boat and removed the smoke stack as well, so all of the old equipment could be removed and new equipment could be installed.
The Engineering Section is not now as compartmentalized as it once was. The boiler and engine are now situated together in the same space. The former Coal Bunker area which was forward of the boiler is used for the sanitary and potable water storage tanks, each holding 5,370 gallons.
The new boiler, made in 1954 by Babcock & Wilcox Company, is a single-pass water tube boiler with a superheater. The water is fed through a series of heated tubes inside which it is made into steam. This boiler delivers 50,000 pounds of steam per hour at 450 psi (pounds per square inch) and 750 degrees Fahrenheit.
The furnace is at the base of the "single," massive boiler. There are four separate burners, each injected with Bunker C fuel, that fire the boiler. The fuel is pumped, heated, and sprayed into the furnace. As the fuel is ignited, the flames heat the water in the tubes of the boiler and steam is created.
The use of only one boiler was and is rare. Using two boilers was the usual accepted practice. Cleveland-Cliffs was already looking forward to automating the boiler as soon as the technology was available. The thought was that it would be easier to automate one boiler instead of two. Hence, the Mather and her fleet mates Pontiac and Frontenac received one large boiler and an oversized heating boiler (get home boiler) that itself could deliver 125# of steam to the low pressure turbine to give the ship some propulsion. It is a small unit located on the port side of the ship, forward of the engineer's office. The Mather could have traveled at about three MPH to get home.
The new cross compound steam turbine engine with double reduction gears is completely different than the old quadruple expansion engine. Built in 1954 by the DeLaval Steam Turbine Company in Trenton, NJ, the Engine is now able to generate 5,000 horsepower, doubling the power of the old engine.
Superheated steam is fed into the smaller, high-pressure turbine and is exhausted to the larger, lower pressure turbine. The steam is then sucked into the condenser and cooled. Most steam turbines spin much too quickly to be connected directly to the propeller shaft. Therefore, their rotational speed is reduced to propeller speeds by mounting reduction gears to the turbines. These take the high rotation speed of the turbines and reduced the revolutions through a series of gears connected to the propeller shaft which turns the propeller and causes the ship to move through the water.
The two main line electric generators for the ship are located just starboard of the engine and boiler. All of the power to run ancillary systems is drawn off the main generators. Starboard of the generator is the electric distribution panel.
Burning fuel, creating steam to turn the turbine and the propeller, and generating electricity make up the "cycle" of the Engine Room. One major back-up system is the auxiliary diesel generator located to the port of the turbines. In the event that the cycle is interrupted and the ship is dead in the water, known as "Loosing the Plant," the diesel generator is fired up. Electricity is restored to the vessel, the fires are relit, and the cycle begins again. Today, our volunteers and shipkeeper periodically fire up the diesel generator and transfer power to the ship away from shore power to save electric costs during periods of heavy usage, i.e. operating ballast pumps, mooring winches, etc.
The Engine Room control center is located in the area between the boiler and the turbines. The ship's Chadburn, the throttle controls, the engineer's desk, and the Bailey Combustion Control System are located in this area. This combustion control system, which was built in Cleveland, is a computer that controls the operating of the boiler. The Bailer system uses computer logic to regulate water level, fuel delivery to burner, air for combustion, number of burners used to allow the boiler to work efficiently, cleanly and reliably. The logic uses the amount of steam needed (load) as its variable to regulate the operation of the boiler. The Mather was the first vessel to receive a fully automated boiler control system.
Today the fuel is a form of petroleum known as Bunker C (#6 fuel oil) and is stored in bunkers that were installed in 1954 aft of the turbines. After walking up the steps in the Engine Room that lead to the Steering Gear area, one stands on the diesel fuel bunker which is flanked by the larger #1 and #2 main storage fuel tanks. The tanks hold 55,000 gallons each and the diesel tank holds 5,000 gallons.
Chief Engineer's Quarters
These quarters were reserved for "the Chief," who was head of the Engineering Department. Like the Captain, the Chief had direct access to his workspace since he was on-call 24 hours a day.
Mather Museum volunteers donated over 3,000 hours from 1997 to 1999 to return the Chief's quarters to its 1925 - 52 appearance.The Chief's sleeping quarters/office has been furnished with items that are not original, but of the period.
