{"id":1430,"date":"2009-01-18T23:02:24","date_gmt":"2009-01-18T13:02:24","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/lostbiro.com\/blog\/?p=1430"},"modified":"2009-01-18T23:02:24","modified_gmt":"2009-01-18T13:02:24","slug":"paddle-steamer-enterprise-canberra","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/lostbiro.com\/blog\/?p=1430","title":{"rendered":"Paddle Steamer “Enterprise” – Canberra"},"content":{"rendered":"

The National Museum of Australia<\/strong><\/a> has a fully operating paddle steamer – the PS Enterprise – which is open to the public. It is operated by volunteers and they have done a great job of keeping this 130 year old vessel in good shape.<\/p>\n

\"PS<\/p>\n

The vessel is 17.3. long, 8m wide and has a net tonnage of 42.7 tonnes – so the fact that the vessel only has a shallow draft – essential for a river boat.<\/p>\n

The paddle steamer, made of river red gums, was built in Echuca and launched in 1878. It plied its trade up and down the Murray River. It has operated as a floating store, been used as a houseboat and as a fishing vessel. In 1988 the vessel was recommissioned by the National Museum of Australia after a through overhaul and restoration at Echuca in South Australia, and transport overland to Canberra. It is a great piece of Australian heritage. It was acquired by the NMA in 1984 and has been cruising Lake Burley Griffin for the last 20 years. <\/p>\n

Here are some detail views of the engine – a 12HP twin cylinder double-acting steam engine which drives the paddles via a chain drive. The vessel operates at around 50psi pressure, but can run on less. The boiler is a fire-tube boiler with exhaust steam providing extra draft for the fire. Top speed is around 5 knots (9kph). It is wood-fired. The feedwater pump takes water from the lake for use in the boiler, and the water is regularly tested for impurities – acidity, calcium etc as part of the conservation plan. And the boiler undergoes annual certification for safety.<\/p>\n

\"PS<\/p>\n

\"PS<\/p>\n

\"PS<\/p>\n

\"PS<\/p>\n

\"PS<\/p>\n

\"PS<\/p>\n

The donkey engine generates reserve power for the batteries to keep lights and communications working.
\n\"PS<\/p>\n

\"PS<\/p>\n

And here is the galley – where food is cooked for the crew and the kettle is on for coffee – perhaps the true ‘engine room’!<\/p>\n

\"PS<\/p>\n

Cheers
\nJerry<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The National Museum of Australia has a fully operating paddle steamer – the PS Enterprise – which is open to the public. It is operated by volunteers and they have done a great job of keeping this 130 year old vessel in good shape. The vessel is 17.3. long, 8m wide and has a net […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2,13],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1430","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-journal","category-steam"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/lostbiro.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1430"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/lostbiro.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/lostbiro.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/lostbiro.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/lostbiro.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1430"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"http:\/\/lostbiro.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1430\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/lostbiro.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1430"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/lostbiro.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1430"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/lostbiro.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1430"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}