Scotts' Shipbuilding & Engineering Co. Ltd.

“ The non-stop voyage between Liverpool and Mauritius was made as early as 1866 in thirty-seven days, equal to 10 knots, with a number of passengers and a fair cargo. The higher economy established for the compound engine on long voyages resulted in the ultimate supersession of the sailing ship. [49] Thus the Scotts, while still enjoying the credit of the splendid performance of the Lord of the Isles in the early 'sixties, produced at their foundry the Holt compound engine, which sounded the death-knell of the clipper. The compound system had at once an influence on the size of ships. ”

“ An effective appearance has always been aimed at, and the result has invariably been a highly-finish design. Yachts' engines are invariably balanced, whether so specified or not, as the gain in comfort to all on board, owing to the absence of vibration, is so marked as to more than compensate for the extra cost involved. Forced lubrication has also been applied, although the engines may be of the ordinary open type: the main bearings, crank-pins, cross-heads, eccentrics, valve gear, pump gear, etc., are all included in the system, which has given every satisfaction. ”

“ The Argyll, which was built and engined by the Scotts, and the Defence, which is being built in one of the Royal Dockyards, and is having its machinery constructed by the Scotts, signalise progress in cruiser design. The hardening of armour, increasing its resistance, permits of a reduction in weight for a given measure of protection, so that it has been possible to effectively defend the modern cruiser, while at the same time giving an enormously increased gun-power and a speed far in excess of that possible ten years ago. The Argyll is a vessel of 10,850 tons displacement, being 450 ft. ”

“ The reduction in time taken is, in a large measure, due to the exercise of foresight and ingenuity on the part of the workman. He is ever on the alert to ensure that he will not be kept waiting for material to enable work to progress. The machine-man makes certain that before one unit is out of his machine the casting, forging, or bar for the next is alongside. This is further facilitated by a man in each shop whose only duty is to see that there is a supply of work for every tool. Encouragement is always accorded to those who suggest modifications to increase the output from any machine. ”

“ The firm have been responsible for the design of almost every merchant ship constructed by them. Success has been rendered more certain by the possession of carefully-collated records, the product of an organised system of working up all data, of tackling new problems, of making calculations regarding any scientific question, and of studying contemporaneous work as described in the technical press and in papers read at technical institutions. ”

“ For grinding bolts, etc., a machine having a separate head for grinding taps is used, the emery wheel being 18 in. in diameter and 1-1/2 in. broad.
A shop, now in course of construction, is to be specially laid out for the manufacture of turbine machinery of the greatest power. It is to be 285 ft. long, with a span of 60 ft. Heavy lifts will be taken by a 100-ton overhead crane, and ordinary work will be handled by a 40-ton electric crane. The heavy machine tools, while specially chosen for turbine work, are also adaptable for use in the manufacture of the heaviest reciprocating machinery. ”

“ RAPIDITY of construction has been characteristic of the engine and boiler works of the Scotts to at least as great an extent as in the shipbuilding yard. Several instances might be noted, beginning with six blockade-runners, built in a very short period, in 1864, and fitted with engines to give a speed of 12 knots at sea and 13-1/2 knots on trial. A recent and striking instance is the construction of boilers and engines for twenty of the passenger steamers built for traffic on the Thames, to the order of the London County Council, and described on pages 83 and 84, ante. ”

“ American shipbuilders held an important position, even in the British trade, for some time after the Declaration of Independence; but there was then developed a pronounced spirit of emulation amongst the British firms, which had a marked effect on competition in western seas. At the beginning of the nineteenth century much of the oversea work done by the Scotts was for the West Indian trade. The vessels were not often of more than 600 tons, but the firm continued steadily to develop their business. ”

“ The headstocks can be used for single or triple gear, and are so arranged that, even when running at the greatest speed, there is a reduction by gearing. With this arrangement the lathes have greater power when turning small diameters than when the belt is used driving direct to the main spindle. The spindles, which are hollow, with hexagonal turrets, are of crucible cast steel, and run in gun-metal bearings. By means of the speed-changing mechanism, the cutting speed of the tool is kept practically constant when surfacing. ”

“ In the manufacture of the tools special appliances are used and will be referred to presently. The workmen are encouraged to use only tools in sound condition. Each machine-man in the shops has ten checks, and may borrow from the store a corresponding number of tools, but these must be returned as soon as possible for overhaul and re-grinding. The bonus system further induces the men to ensure that their tools are in good condition.
The tool department is separate from the main structure, and in it all jigs, templates, and gauges, as well as tools, are constructed. ”

“ Again, in the erecting of engines, considerable economy has been attained, owing to similar foresight being exercised to ensure that each unit is machined before it is wanted by the erector.
[92]
To the employer also there is gain in the increased production, from a given number of machines and men, for a constant establishment expenditure—rent, rates, taxes, etc. While the wage paid to the men is increased, there is a reduction in the cost of production, which of itself encourages capital expenditure on improved methods and appliances. ”

“ The practice in respect of the design of engines and boilers is necessarily very varied. From the designs for a small steam launch to those for a first-class cruiser or battleship there is a wide range, and all classes of work, with not a few of special interest, come between those extremes. ”

“ The use of steam expansively in multiple-cylinder engines was, however, the most important factor in the development of the steamship during the latter half of the nineteenth century. [43] With low steam pressures and simple engines the coal consumption, even for moderate-sized ships, was a serious item in a long sea voyage; and, early in the 'fifties, engineers, recognising the economy which would result from a successful compounding of steam, tackled the problems of steam-generation plant to enable the necessary high initial pressure to be developed with safety. ”

“ All the machinery in the yard, and in several departments in the engine and boiler works, is run from one central station, of which two views are given on Plate XLVIII., opposite. The electric generators occupy one side of the power station, and the air compressors and hydraulic pumps the other. Steam at 200 lb. pressure is supplied by one marine cylindrical, and four Babcock and Wilcox water-tube, boilers, with superheater, coal conveyors, and mechanical stokers. ”

“ The shipbuilding industry was carried on intermittently, and the Scotts were the first to give it stability and continuity. In 1752, the Greenland whale fisheries were engaged in, and this led to a development in the size of craft. The first square-rigged vessel built in the port was a brig, named Greenock, constructed in 1760, for the West Indian trade. In 1765, William Scott, who had succeeded the original founder—his father, John Scott—built a large square-rigged ship for some merchants of the town of Hull, the timber for which came from the Ducal woods at Hamilton. ”

“ The maximum radius of the heavy purchase with a load of over 60 tons is 90 ft., and of the light purchase gear, with a load of 10 tons, 98 ft. The minimum radius of the crane is 25 ft. There are four sets of gear: for lifting heavy loads, for raising light weights, for derricking the jib, and for slewing; a separate controller of the enclosed tramway type is provided for each. The main hoisting and derricking motors are of 50 horse-power, and the others of 35 horse-power. The speed of hoisting 120 tons is 5 ft. per minute, while a 10-ton load is raised at the rate of 40 ft. ”

“ There is a 13-ft. gap hydraulic plate-bending machine, which is entirely automatic in its action, and can be set to any radius to bend plates up to 2 in. thick when cold. The flanging for the front and back plates of boilers is done in an hydraulic machine, exerting a pressure of over 160 tons. This machine has four rams, two of which act downwards, one upwards, and the other horizontally. It is served by a special hydraulic jib-crane, capable of lifting the heaviest plates. ”

“ Following the adoption of the screw-propeller in warships came the abandonment of gearing for the engines. For many years various forms of horizontal engine were used; first with return-connecting rods, and subsequently with direct-acting rods. Steam pressures steadily increased, largely owing to stronger materials being available. It was, however, not until the 'seventies that the cylindrical boiler, the compound engine, and the surface condenser admitted of an increase to 60 lb. ”

“ In connection with the three-crank triple-expansion engine, now generally adopted for merchant work, an arrangement well favoured for sizes up to about 1000 indicated horse-power is that in which the high-pressure cylinder is in the centre with a piston valve, the intermediate-pressure cylinder being forward, and the low-pressure cylinder aft, each with a slide valve at the extreme ends. This has been found to give a handy arrangement of gear, and to be easily accessible. ”

“ When the cutting tool is brought down on the angle or beam to be sheared, and the shaft at the rear started, the rotation of an eccentric actuated by the shaft causes the point of the tool to slide idly a short distance to-and-fro on the bar. The hand lever on the right hand side of the machine is depressed, forcing the tool downwards, and the continued rotation of the eccentric causes the tool to pierce through the bar with a downward and inward motion. Where there is a deep web with flanges, the beam is reversed on the anvil, to enable the other flange to be cut. ”

“ PROPHECY has its allurements even in the domain of applied mechanics; and having reviewed progress during the past two centuries in naval architecture, as embodied in sailing ships, merchant steamers, warships, and yachts, there is a temptation to speculate on the prospects of the future. The possibilities of the steam turbine, for manufacturing which the Scotts are laying down a special plant ”

“ The boiler ends are seldom made in more than two plates; up to diameters of 11 ft. only one plate is used. The number of riveted seams is thereby reduced to a minimum, and the liability of the boiler to leak is minimised. The Scotts also have a system of forced draught for supplying either cold or heated air to the furnaces, which is fitted largely to their ships, and gives every satisfaction. Large installations of Belleville and Yarrow water-tube boilers for working under forced draught have also been made and fitted in H.M. ships, but they need no description here. ”