For all you guys in Perth drop into the RAAF museum and
   take a close look at the R3350 TC engine they have in there.

   I bought a book about shipwrecks off the Australian coast
   and there was a bit in there about compound steam engines
   invented back about 1850 in the UK. They provided 25% more ship
   speed with HALF the fuel burn.

   No small thing as a 230 HP steam ship engine in those days would
   consume 610 kg (1,342 pounds) worth of coal per HOUR steaming at only
   10 knots. That severely limited the range and cargo load.

   Paul Lamar in Melbourne waiting for our flight to LAX.


Paul:

These maritime steam plants incorporated a high pressure cylinder,
exhausting into a larger diameter low pressure cylinder, then into a
condenser to return the steam to liquid and return to the boiler as hot
water.  They usually appeared as part of what became known as a walking
beam system.  They were popular for commercial steamers, but were
considered vulnerable for military applications.  With such a system,
you only need to replace the btu's to bring the liquid volume up  over
the boiling point again.  The hang-up was that most of the early
systems used a jet condenser and seawater as coolant and in some cases,
fluid volume replacement.  As the system kept cycling, the  percentage
of salt in the system kept going up, resulting in a change in boiling
point and long term corrosion issues.  The key was cleaning the system
regularly and using anthracite or Welsh steam coal.

best,

George W