Qi Bansun analyzed: "The route from Shanghai to Chongqing is only three 1,000-ton ships, and it can only be operated once every five days. On the route from Nanjing to Chongqing, there are two other 1,000-ton steamers on the opposite side, which are also scheduled every five days, but there are three 1,500-ton steamers between Nanjing and Wuchang, which are separated every other day, so it seems that the capacity is not sufficient. ”

Yao Tingxuan said with a smile: "In addition, there are more than ten passenger and cargo clippers from Nanjing to Wuchang, so the capacity between Nanjing and Wuchang is still much more than that between Shanghai and Wuchang." It's just that in this way, the pressure on the Beijing-Shanghai railway is too great, and not only people who go to Anhui from Shanghai have to take this road, but also people who are going to Huguang to take this road. ”

"But if you want to build more ships, the plan to build ironclads will be affected, and ironclads and ships are powered by high-power marine steam engines, which are produced in limited quantities, and if they are given to civilian ships, there will not be enough warships." Xue Fengzuo shook his head a little embarrassed and said.

Wang Yu said: "It's too late to build a ship this year, let's wait for the New Year to build it." In addition, the steam engine used by the ironclad ship is no longer powerful enough at present. Our current ironclad ship has a displacement of only 4,000 tons, and four steam engines are installed on one ironclad ship, which is barely enough. If you want to build an 8,000-ton ironclad ship, you can't install eight steam engines, right? A steam engine with more power is required. ”

At present, the marine steam engine produced by the Shanghai Steam Engine Factory of Nanyang Company is 1,000 horsepower, and two such steam engines are installed on ordinary civil ships, and the two steam engines are connected in series with single-shaft propulsion. After the old ironclad ship was refitted, two of these steam engines were also installed, with single-shaft propulsion. The latest 4,000-ton ironclad ship is equipped with four steam engines, which are connected in parallel and mixed in series, and adopt a two-shaft propulsion method.

If you want to build an 8,000-ton giant ironclad ship, the method of mixing eight steam engines and propelling with four shafts is too complicated, so you need a steam engine with more power.

Five days later, Liu Muchen, his wife and daughter, who was not yet three years old, boarded a ship bound for Wuchang and Chongqing at the fair road pier in Shanghai. In the end, he gritted his teeth and spent sixteen yuan to buy two fifth-class tickets to Wuchang. Because there was no ship docking in Yuezhou, it was transferred to the train after arriving in Wuchang.

The Jiangyu No. 3 ship with a displacement of 1,200 tons is quietly moored on the wharf, and the ship has a total of five floors, the lowest level is the fifth-class cabin, the steam engine room, the transmission room, the coal-fired tank and the ballast water tank; The head and tail of the second floor are fourth-class cabins, and in the middle are the boiler room and toilets; At the front of the third floor is the library, behind is the third-class cabin, the middle toilet and boiler room, the rear also has the third-class cabin, and the stern is the dining room and galley; The front of the fourth floor is the stateroom, the first class, the middle is the engine room passage and the domestic water tank, and the rear is the commissary, the second class and the fine dining room; The highest level of the ship is the bridge station, captain's quarters, crew dining room, crew living quarters and other facilities.

The current ship is still a wooden-hulled ship, but the hull is wrapped with a layer of iron sheet to reduce drag and friction, and the mast on the top of the ship can still hang sails, capable of using dual power.

The first class and stateroom of the ship cannot be bought with money, and only officials of a certain rank, or meritorious heroes who have made meritorious contributions, can buy them. On the deck where the stateroom, first class and second class are located, there is an outer corridor on the outer perimeter of the cabin, where passengers can stand on the railing and enjoy the river view. In the same way, the crew deck on the top level also has an outer corridor, but the outer corridor is not covered by a canopy. Stateroom, 1st class and 2nd class have their own bathrooms, and the stateroom is an ensuite with a living room and a bedroom; The equipment of the first and second class cabins is almost the same, except that the first class cabin is a single bunk and the second class is a double berth.

The third and fourth class cabins have no outer corridors, only a corridor in the middle of the ship, the cabins are on both sides, the third class cabins have washbasins and wardrobes, a room for eight people, and the windows are square windows. The fourth-class cabin has a round porthole, and the cabin is missing a washbasin and wardrobe, and there are twelve people in one room.

As for the fifth-class cabin, it is on the lower level, the windows cannot be opened, and there are two large cabins, each of which can accommodate 180 people, with a total of 360 fifth-class berths. With the addition of 240 fourth-class berths, 160 third-class berths, 40 second-class berths, 12 first-class berths, and 2 state-class berths, the ship could carry a total of 814 passengers, and it was possible to add bunks without beds during the Spring Festival.

The ship was moored at the pier, but the boilers were already on fire, and black smoke was coming out of the two chimneys.

Liu Muchen walked into the dock with his wife and daughter, and after checking the ticket at the door, the family of three walked into the waiting room.

I saw that the waiting room was crowded with people, crowded with black heads, at least more than 1,500 people, so crowded that the waiting room was stuffy. However, passengers above the second class are not in this waiting room, they have their own special waiting room.

"There are so many people!" Liu Muchen's wife sighed.

"I was in a hurry to go back for the Spring Festival, and I couldn't go back if I didn't have such a fast boat before. Now that the ship is fast, everyone has been outside for a long time, and they all want to go back for the New Year. Liu Muchen said.

With an hour to go, the ticket gates in the waiting room opened and people lined up for their tickets. The queue was very long, but under the supervision of the dock guards, people lined up in an orderly manner to check their tickets.

Liu Muchen's family checked the tickets, walked out of the waiting room, and walked to the dock. The fourth-class deck of the ship has a hatch, but the fair road pier is a high pier, and the fourth-class deck door is not opened, but the upper third-class deck door is opened, and there is a gangplank connected to the dock, and passengers enter the ship through the gangplank.

Walking into the hatch through the springboard, Liu Muchen saw rows of wall lamps on the walls of the ship, and the oil lamps illuminated the aisle of the cabin. A few steps ahead, in front of it is the middle hall, in the hall there is a spiral staircase, the handrails of the staircase are covered with shiny brass, and the hall is hung with a chandelier, and the copper pipe connected to the chandelier can be filled with lamp oil. In the middle of the cabin, there is a long aisle, and on either side are cabins. The location of the engine room is a double aisle, the middle is the engine room, and there are toilets on both sides, one side is for men, and the other side is for women, and there are simple and easy-to-understand patterns on the bathroom doors, as well as text.

"Please go downstairs for fourth- and fifth-class cabins, and go upstairs for second-class cabins and above." Uniformed staff members guide passengers on board.

The second-class high-class cabin above has a guard standing guard, and ordinary passengers cannot go up casually.

Liu Muchen's fifth-class cabin was in the bottom cabin, and he took his wife and daughter down the stairs, and after walking to the fourth-class deck, there were stairs down the stairs on one side of the cabin.

The fifth-class cabin is a large room with bunk beds. ... Friends who read books, you can search for "blue book bar", and you can find this site as soon as possible.