[QUOTE=AHTS Master;63962]That looks like a scene from Tug Boat Annie. That statement makes me feel old.[/QUOTE]
That’s funny ~~~ 
[QUOTE=Sweat-n-Grease;64006]But they are, tengineer, they are …
That was the Engine Room on a Lykes Bros C-3, stick ship, the ship is gone and I’m next in line but in no hurry mind you.
Only you know both answers …[/QUOTE]
I loved the Baileys and B&W… Had to have three hands to parallel the old ones but that’s what kept things interesting. I even got familiar with Hagan-Westinghouse, sadly. I am comfortable with the diesels but it’s not the same. Hearing a diesel come up to speed is not the same as bringing a turbine up [and knowing what it takes to get it there]; it gets in your blood. An overspeed trip on a turbine is a whole 'nother thing from a diesel. Damn, I miss that stuff.
[QUOTE=tengineer;64033]I loved the Baileys and B&W… Had to have three hands to parallel the old ones but that’s what kept things interesting. I even got familiar with Hagan-Westinghouse, sadly. I am comfortable with the diesels but it’s not the same. Hearing a diesel come up to speed is not the same as bringing a turbine up [and knowing what it takes to get it there]; it gets in your blood. An overspeed trip on a turbine is a whole 'nother thing from a diesel. Damn, I miss that stuff.[/QUOTE]
Yea, steam was what I was, fortunately many were still around during my first three decades but during my final decade Big Ass Slow Diesels were the “in thing.” So, I took a job call for 3rd A/E aboard one (I had a 3rd A/E Motor on my C/E Steam License) for experience, then attended the MEBA Engineering School and took their diesel course, then sailed as 2nd A/E, then 1st A/E, sat for my Chief’s Motor Unlimited and sailed Chief. Gotta say, I enjoyed working with these Big Bad Boys, they are something else but it’s not the same. I missed steam, so, when I was offered a job aboard a beat-up old steamship, the SS Prudhoe Bay, as 1st A/E, I accepted and worked my 60-plus year old ass off, hey, I had the spunk. The ship carried a load of grain to a starving nation, North Korea. I get calls every now and then but I refuse, I hung-up my wrenches for good and will never return. It’s not the same out there today, I don’t care for it.
Yeah, I am with you. I learned on steam plants and made a living with diesels. Just not the same. A steam plant always felt organic, alive; the whole ship felt like a creature. Bringing an evaporator, generator or feed pump on line was an exercise in seat of the pants thermodynamics. It wasn’t necessary to memorize the steps if you understood the process. I was fortunate enough to sail on one of those Lykes C-3 stick ships. I recall those days very fondly.
Diesel plants? Check the oil and push a button. Sigh.
With regard to smoking; when I sailed, like many of my shipmates, we smoked. I know I was over two packs a day when sailing. Now that I don’t smoke, I notice the effects more. Nasty habit even without the health risks.