S.S. Jeremiah O'Brien Steam From Drydock to San Francisco 

Definitely a lot different from high pressure turbine plants. Thank you for your kind words and for your service.

@@WesleyHarcourtSTEAMandMORE Just a different age, and Thank you!

Your grandfather's contributions will be forever appreciated. May he rest in peace.

Your dad endured a lot. His service will forever greatly appreciated. I'm sorry for your loss and his not being able to see the ship.

Diesel boiler Titanic 2

She really is a living thing.

I'm glad you enjoyed it! That's my main interest

Agreed!

Hopefully someday she'll make her way out to your coast again. She definitely needs to stretch her legs again. She's also the only ship to leave the reserve (Mothball) fleet under her own power.

That is such a cool story. That is one of the first things my father warned me about as a little kid when wandering through the engineering spaces of turbine-driven steam ships. It's incredible you actually experienced it, and survived it. Lucky kid!

been ther done that they do not play

I served in the Navy 66-67 on the USS Oxford a GTR 1 esteem 3 huge big Pistons and I couldn't believe it how the old thing kept going all the time

Many moons ago I served as a radio operator aboard the German Destroyer Schleswig Holstein. A 4650 ton steam turbine powered 131m long ship that could reach 40knots+ using 70000hp engines. It was at that time the fastest ship in the german navy but was scrapped mid 1990s. First rule one learned when visiting the boiler and engine room: don't move at all if a steam leak is suspected. The wooden stick method was well known. It is very noisy in the engine room, a tiny steam leak may not be audible, but will still cut off your arm. I observed an overpressure test of the boilers while standing on the pier, as all personal was taken off the ship. Condensation of the steam coming out of the blowing overpressure valves was not visible for more than 50 meters above the ship and it was unbelievably noisy, comparable to a full afterburner Concorde taking off that I also had the pleasure to experience close to a runway.

Amen, Sir... You practically read my mind as a looked at those guys around that steering mechanism, because I had Buddy who was a Naval Officer tell me a similar story as he took me for a tour inside the engine area of the battleship Missouri... Told me how you wouldn't want to stick your arm into certain places without waving a stick First!!!

A lot of my mother's side of the family were Merchant Mariners

Always felt I was born in the wrong era

@@WesleyHarcourtSTEAMandMORE Yeah I feel you, one question though. If I were to come from Norway and sail on this ship it would mainly be to see the power plant. Are there any possibilities to join the engine room/boiler room while underway like you did? Or were that a special threat :p

@@atllep98 yes sir you would be able to. Depending on how many people are onboard they may limit the time you can spend in there, but you can absolutely get down into the engine and boiler room.

Titanic's were triple in size! In fact, the 1997 movie uses clips from SS Jeremiah O'Brien's engines in the movie. They did some CGI hackery to make it look 3x bigger to match the Titanic's engines.

Me tooo

Bad welding was a problem on the early Liberty type ships. Some of them were received by land-lease in the USSR, and served in the Soviet merchant fleet up to early 1960s.

Thank you!

Thank you!

Thank you very much. I'm glad you enjoyed it. The John W. Brown is another fine ship. I went aboard her with my Granddad in the early 2000's when she visited Montreal.

Russ, That must have been a wonderful experience. Thank you for your support. They truly are incredibly complex systems with many redundancies. Reciprocating steam especially.

I agree 100%!

True.

These are the engines used in the filming of the 1997 movie, they removed part of the guard rail and shot them from a low angle (camera on floor)

Even James Cameron regretted adding in Jack and Rose

Well the love story did make the movoe better in my opinion. But I wish they had more scenes in the bridge and the engine room.

Kaiser Ship Yards

I am truly blessed to find myself in these neat spots on amazing pieces of machinery. Thank you for your kind words and thank you for watching!

We used to call it "Swinging the links". Initially with HP piston at mid-position, with slight movement then when you think it is warmed through enough, you crack open the throttle half a turn more, or so, and hope that the it goes right round and doesn't stop at TDC!

There is a good chance you will some day. They steam her up at the dock once a month and go out on cruises several times a year.

I guess this engine was the closest they could get the engines of R.M.S. Titanic

You're very welcome! I'm happy to be able to share it with you and the world.

Very much the same smells from what I can tell being on old battleships and destroyers.

Thank you! I'm glad you enjoyed it!

Dampfer-Fan Blümlisalp I love it too! So amazing to be right there with it running at full throttle! Another favorite of mine is the Steam Tug Hercules

Dampfer-Fan Blümlisalp thank you!

They have a wonderful group if volunteers to help keep her looking and running well.

I worked as an ab unlimited,bosun for 40 plus years and have been on victory ships out to sea.once again,outstanding job on the O'Brien,if i was i better shape i would be down there in a heartbeat to help out .never sailed on a liberty ship,my father and grandfather did.i would have loved to have a deck crew like you have.good luck, boats, stay safe.doug andrews bosun retired.

Vous êtes les bienvenus! Merci pour vos aimables paroles et votre soutien. J'étais moi aussi sur les plages de Normandie pour le 60ème anniversaire

Thank you so very much! You are so kind.

Jon Jeter I'm surprised that there were a lot of reciprocating ships around by then! Thank you for your comments and thank you for watching!

We had recips on the Great Lakes well into the early '90s.

I really appreciate your kind words. I'm glad you found it enjoyable.

They really are living, breathing, things. Built when common sense was common. The stories they could tell indeed.

I was an incredible feat of engineering, cooperation, hard work, persistence, and perseverance. Imagine what could be accomplished today if we all even put in 1/10th of that effort into a common goal.

I apologise to Wesley Harcourt having to write this in a piece dedicated to the memories of all who served on these ships. But when my country is insulted needs must. Sorry. While i totally admire how the USA turned on its manufacturing power in WWII and would always pay tribute to how that made victory more certain I am always amazed at the utter arrogance, ignorance and direct disrespect for other nations who fought just as hard for longer than did the USA of people like you who say: "we and the Russians defeated the Germans in WWII" By peddling this self evidently stupid and biased crap Old Son you piss on the graves of 490,000 British soldiers, sailors and airmen who died "defeating the Germans". You also as it happens piss on the graves of hundreds of thousands of Commonwealth soldiers, sailors and airmen who also died "defeating the Germans". (And the Japanese but thats another story) What you seem to forget is WWII started in September 1939 not December 1941 and the UK stood alone with its amazing Commonwealth Brothers and Sisters against the Nazis AND the bloody Russians who were German allies until June 1941 and Barbarossa (Google it). Where was the USA in 1940 when the Battle of Britain was raging where the UK was the last country not invaded by the Nazis and we "defeated the Germans" and kept the Uk a free nation to keep the flame of freedom burning for all those afflicted by Fascist brutality in Europe? Answer NOWHERE! Yes some brave American volunteers came over later to form 3 RAF Eagle Squadrons but that was in defiance of, not with the support of, the American people. What your ignorance ignores is that when Hitler turned against Russia it was the UK NOT the USA that rushed 3,000 Hurricane fighters, 3,400 tanks and thousands of tons of machine tools right at the time we were fighting for our own survival and needed those supplies ourselves. We could have stood by and said 'Tough'. We did not and created the Arctic convoys long before the USA helped out. A fact commemorated every year by the Russians themselves. B Yes you created Lend / Lease after we had spent $ Bns feeding your industry with much needed work. We alone saved Packard by employing them to build RR Merlin engines and we created the most successful long range fighter of WWII in the Mustang. Yes WE did that and even gave it the name. And all the while WE were building all we required under a Blitz of German bombs that killed 65,000 civilians. How many US civilians died on US soil? NONE. Truth be told you Yanks never showed up in WWII to fight the Germans until November 1942 for Operation Torch (Google it) by which time we were already "defeating the Germans" in North Africa and had Rommel on his way out. The same year the USAAF was struggling to find Rotterdam with 12 B-17s while the RAF Bomber Command, which out of a total of 125,000 aircrew, 57,205 were killed, a 46 percent death rate 'defeating the Germans' were flying 1,000 bomber raids all over Germany. We had Mosquitos bombing Berlin in 1942 with the same bombload a B-17 delivered but were back in the UK before you Yanks got to Berlin. Not that you got that far very often. Our Lancasters were the only bomber in WWII (until the B-29 in late '44) capable of delivering the 22,000Ib Blockbuster and even the 12,000Ib Tall Boy. And of course the Dambuster bouncing bombs. Wesley notes this is about "D-Day Normandy Invasion veteran, Liberty Ship S.S. Jeremiah O'Brien' but remember who researched, designed and manufactured everything to make Overlord a success? Like Mulberry Harbours and Pluto fuel lines and The Funnies' (Google them). Where was it launched from because we had remained a free country? The UK. It was a totally British concept, commanded by British senior officers with 80% of the naval assets coming from the UK. And of course the UK and Canada landed more men on more beaches than did the USA who nearly failed on theirs. Like they failed in the Ardennes months later. I could mention how the UK gave the USA jet engines, proximity fuses, nuclear fission, advanced Sonar, HF/DF, plastic explosives, self sealing tanks and of course the Magnetron Radar system. Not forgetting Bletchley Park where the Enigma and Ultra codes were broken that fed crucial locations of the U Boats threatening ships like the USS Jeremiah O'Brien. Sorry it wasn't a Yank sub that found the first Enigma it was a Royal Navy ship called HMS Bulldog! Your Hollywood creates the illusion that only the USA was in WWII and sadly dumb people believe it. You are guilty as charged Sir. Shame on you for abusing a country and its Commonwealth that were the ONLY countries to fight the whole 6 years of WWII and in EVERY theatre of it. The USA fought for 2 1/2 years in Europe and you have the f*cking nerve to say YOU and the Russians (who never even got to fight Japan) alone "defeated the Germans"? Again apologies to Wesley Harcourt but ignorance needs tackling or it persists into fact.

1chish Thank you for the history lesson. I stand humbly corrected.

@@1chish Thank you. No need to apologise. My granddad grew up in Manchester and was in his early teens when the war broke out. He went to school at night and worked as an apprentice in an engineering firm during the day. All of his sisters were sent to live with families in the countryside. One of them was 3 when she was sent away and had a very hard time adapting to her family after she returned at the end of the war. After so many years her adopted family had become her actual family. He had all kinds of stories about Manchester and the bombings. During the war the house next door to theirs was hit with a bomb that went down into the basement. It was a rowhouse and they were sheltering in the basement at the time. Fortunately the bomb was a dud and didn't explode. When he was going to night school and the bombings raids would start they were supposed to go to the shelters. He and his mates would instead go to the pub and play Snooker. When he didn't have a good shot he would linger around the table until the next bomb hit, moving the balls around. Once he was old enough he joined the RAF in the last year of the war. Ralph Pilkington was my granddad's name. Rest in peace Granddad.

@@WesleyHarcourtSTEAMandMORE I would follow your Grandad into the RAF in 1970 aged 23 so respects to him and all the 'Crabs' (as we are called) who did so much in WWII. Per Ardua Ad Astra

Thank you!

Knee-action turbines they call 'um

Awe inspiring isn't it? Something so powerful being so quiet.

@@WesleyHarcourtSTEAMandMORE agreed

I believe there are one or two reciprocating engines still plying the waters of the great lakes if you're in Michigan. Just to take a gander if you'd like.

Badger is the only one left.

@@michigandon gotcha. Those Skinner uniflows don't have much to look at sadly.

They were quite similar indeed. We appreciate his service and sacrifices.

Bill rouleau great! She's well worth the visit!

I was there a couple weeks ago and only got to tour the USS Pampanito submarine as the O'Brien was already closed up for the day. still cool to see up close!

John Dubpernell thank you! I know some get bored, but I've been so frustrated with not enough engine footage that I try to include at least 2 minutes per angle when I have the footage. Gives people time to enjoy what's going on and they can always fast forward if their attention span isn't in sync with ours. I've shared it with Seth (fellow in the tan cap with the pipe) and Devon (fellow in the black cap with the black beard), I haven't shared it with the organization yet. Thank you for the suggestion, and thank you for watching!

Thank you sir! I'm glad you enjoyed it.

Definitely an unforgiving piece of equipment!

Me too

I am (not currently) a gas turbine systems technician (mechanical) in the US Navy. I learned to run a boiler plant in Navy propulsion engineering school. It was explained to me that they take up too much space and are inefficient. When i asked i was told they are less than one half of a percent efficient.

Steam powerplants are extremely maintenance-intensive and inefficient. That's why railroads fell all over themselves replacing their steam locomotives with diesels.

A good steam system will run at about 30% to 40% efficiency. A combined cycle gas turbine / steam heat recovery system will hit 60%. This is slightly higher than diesels or straight run gas turbines which run at between 25% to 35% efficiency. The colder the condenser water the more efficient the engine is. The hours it takes to go from cold and the maintenance are the real killers. The volume taken by the boilers doesn't help either.

That would be an incredible achievement. Texas, along with the USS Olympia

Her bottom is way too far gone.

The "rags" are actually burlap mats that they leave on there to polish off corrosion that develops on the shaft. They reposition them when that spot is clean.

These engines are the ones the film makers used to portray the engines in the film Titanic.

Thank you for your kind words! Greetings!

Correct. There is the one at the cylinder head, one at about the crosshead level, and one at the crankshaft level.

What a great story! Ahh the days when you could have a bit of fun with the new/young guy and not get accused of "hazing". Those chiefs sure can be a buzzkill sometimes though... Back then, and today.

@@WesleyHarcourtSTEAMandMORE I found this in a list of the duties of the messman "A man carrying hot food must always be given the right of way. "One hand for the ship and one for yourself" should not be forgotten when carrying food through passageways because a sudden lurch of the ship may result in serious injury as well as loss of food." My uncle caused a few of those lurches...

@@tonytiger75 seems he knew the messman wasn't fulfilling his duties!

Why would you want the messman to spill the food he was bringing to you?........

Haha I can believe it. They had a top speed of 11 or 12 knots... With a tailwind, going downhill. Thank you for your father's service!

Thank you so much! I'm glad you enjoy them. I believe it was around 114 at the top of the engine room and somewhere around 100 down on the bottom deck. It was a pretty cool, but sunny day so all the ventilators and skylights were open.

Indeed an absolute loss. What a great memory and experience you got to enjoy. Let us remember her in her glory.

@@WesleyHarcourtSTEAMandMORE Yes, Sir...

And could be substituted for the engines in the Olympic as well!...

You are correct this ships engines was featured in titanic

You're very welcome! Thank you for watching!

Yes they used footage of the engine room for the engine room footage in the movie 'Titanic'... As you're well aware, the most famous Olympic class liner.

Thank you. I do apologise for not showing more of the boiler room... Actually it's open to the engine room and directly ahead if it. A few of the shots were taken from between the boilers. Two oil-fired Babcock Wilcox watertube boilers.

Thank you for the response. Is the steam to the engines superheated?

@@davidtwyford8755 you are very welcome. Yes the main steam from each boiler is run through a superheater (one on each boiler) before merging into one line and arriving at the throttle.

@@WesleyHarcourtSTEAMandMORE Thank you....steam resips are so amazing...Makes one wonder how they machined those massive crank shafts and bearings...we have a liberty ship here in Tampa (non steaming) I guess I should get off my butt and go visit. Very nice video. Loved the shaft alley. I was trying to figure out the feed pumps and fuel pumps and other aux equipment....keep up good work(turbines are so boring) Thanks again Dave Twyford BT2 USCG

That thing is a man eater!

It was actually quite quiet in there. Nowhere near the levels of racket found in infernal combustion engine rooms.

J. 0. Brien, built in Portland, Maine

Wow. That must have been one heck of a float. Where did you sail?

@@WesleyHarcourtSTEAMandMORE gilbarter, england ,nordenham ,germany ,port said,eygpt, amsterdam holland ismit, istanbul,Turkie sudia arabia , Bahrain left in Jan. got back in June boom boom boom let you guess

Good observation. It's a terrible habit someone passed on. There are drip oilers and one can dribble extra oil down the lines, either inside, or on the outside near the cup. Watching as I was editing helped me pull me head out of me bum. It doesn't happen as seen in this footage anymore... At least with my dad and myself.

My understanding is it blistered paint and some other minor damage, but otherwise faired pretty well. They lost some spares as well as other stuff in the warehouse itself, which is a hit to the ship and organization.

¡Gracias Sergio!

It was considerably quieter than any internal combustion or turbine engine room. The loudest machinery in there are the pumps.

I'm not familiar with that ship

yes when cold

According to some of the crew it's designed to counteract the effect the rotating propeller has on steerage. Not sure how successful it was... That's her original rudder though.

Known as a Contra Form rudder. Not much about them out there.

@@---sx9qx thank you for that. I'll have to dive into the Google, or (gasp!) microphish.