Previous Challenge Entry (Level 4 – Masters)
Topic: STEAM (12/03/15)
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TITLE: God's Engineer | Previous Challenge Entry
By Graham Keet
12/09/15 -
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“Well, I thought seeing that it is eleven-thirty and you’re into the night shift, it would be okay if I could just get a quick look at the engines,” Gamble said hopefully. “My name’s Steve.”
“Listen, Steve, you’re a passenger, and passengers aren’t allowed anywhere near the engine room. Anyway, what would a dandy gentleman like you know about engines?”
“Well, I know she’s carrying twenty five double-ended triple furnace boilers, and four single ended ones, making a total of one-sixty two furnaces; and by the looks of it, you’re a ‘trimmer’ whose job it is to keep the coal bunkers equal to prevent the ship from listing, and …”
“Cor blimey – the gent knows summin’ after all. Ever seen a big marine engine?”
“I’m a final year marine engineering student – been on a ten ton freighter; nothing this size.”
“Guess a quick look won’t hurt. Name’s Fergus, come with me; don’t touch anything.” The big man turned and led the way through a watertight door.
The heat and the noise hit Steve like a solid wall. Some of the other stokers turned and smiled to one another. Steve quickly found his bearings with the maze of boilers, pipes and dials indicating steam pressure at various points. In his element now, he scampered up a gantry to get a better view of the massive propeller shafts.
“Hey, come down there, I told you not to …” Fergus’ words were cut short by bone jarring shockwaves as the ship seemed to have been gripped by a gigantic hand. They looked in disbelief as the huge steel hull plates were suddenly ripped apart, allowing the sea to gush in. Steve held onto the gantry rail as the ship lurched to starboard, and saw to his horror a large section of the steel stairway come loose and pin Fergus against a steam pressure relief pipe. Clambering down he tried to lift the structure, but it wouldn’t budge.
Fergus looked up at the pressure gauge on the pipe, and called to his colleagues. “Hey guys, come get me out, this pipe’s gonna blow any minute, and I’ll be burnt alive by the steam.” Two men arrived but they couldn’t move the steel structure. Meanwhile the engine room was rapidly filling with water, and the ship appeared to go into a slow nosedive.
Steve suddenly knew what to do. “Listen up, guys, get his leg free while I get rid of the pressure in this pipe.”
“How you going to do that?” one of them asked, but Steve had already started climbing the bent steel framework.
Near the top of the boiler he turned: “Fergus, do you pray?”
“Well, sure; sometimes.”
“This is the time – pray this works.” With that Steve disappeared over the boiler.
Fergus kept his eyes glued to the pressure gauge while praying for a miracle. The pressure was already into the red when a loud hissing noise was heard and the gauge began moving back into the black. With that Steve reappeared.
“What did you do?” Fergus asked, looking relieved.
“Word of knowledge,” said Steve with a smile. “A dangerous steam hammer effect was forming, so I found the expansion tank and managed to open the valve to release the steam from the pipe. But now we must get out of here.”
“Save yourselves – get out before she goes down,” Fergus shouted above the noise. Suddenly the ship moved into a vertical position, nose down. Machinery, tools and burning coals reigned down on them, as the water rose alarmingly. The movement allowed the steel structure to shift enough to free Fergus’ leg. Before they could decide what to do next, the weight of the ship above the water began to tear the ship in half, leaving Steve and Fergus floundering in the icy sea. Fearing the sinking ship would suck them under, they struggled to what looked like a part of the ship’s mast.
“How’s the leg?” asked Steve, grabbing the wooden structure.
“Can’t feel it – too cold.” They watched the stern sink beneath the waves.
“Unsinkable, they said,” muttered Fergus. “What are our chances of being picked up?”
“Did the steam burn you alive?”
“No.”
“Then let’s trust for another miracle.”
[Author’s note: Of the 2223 people on board the Titanic, 706 were saved]
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God bless~
Thank you for the reminder that miracles happen everywhere.