S. S. Leviathan Engine Order Telegraph

S. S. Leviathan Engine Order Telegraph

Usage conditions apply
Downloads
Description
This telegraph was used to communicate speed and direction orders from the wheelhouse of the ocean liner Leviathan to one of its engine rooms. Most modern ships have a throttle, but for steamers it was necessary for the pilot to contact the engine room with instructions for the engineer that were relayed to the boilermen. This telegraph would signal full, half, slow, dead slow, finished with engine, and stop—both astern and ahead.
The ocean liner Leviathan was built as the Vaterland for Germany's Hamburg-American Line in 1914. During World War I the American government seized the ship and operated it as a troopship. After a complete reconditioning at Newport News, Virginia, in 1922-23, the Leviathan became the flagship of the new United States Lines, which operated it for the U.S. Shipping Board until 1929. Subsequently sold into private hands, the ship ran until 1934. Laid up as a result of high operating costs and low Depression-era patronage, the Leviathan was sold to Scottish shipbreakers in 1938 and dismantled.
Location
Currently not on view
Object Name
Telegraph, Engine Order
date made
1923
used date
1923-1938
Associated Place
United States: New York
Measurements
overall: 45 1/2 in x 21 1/4 in x 12 in; 115.57 cm x 53.975 cm x 30.48 cm
ID Number
1991.0856.40
catalog number
1991.0856.40
accession number
1991.0856
Credit Line
Gift of Frank O. Braynard, Sea Cliff, New York
See more items in
Work and Industry: Maritime
America on the Move
Transportation
Data Source
National Museum of American History
Nominate this object for photography.   

Our collection database is a work in progress. We may update this record based on further research and review. Learn more about our approach to sharing our collection online.

If you would like to know how you can use content on this page, see the Smithsonian's Terms of Use. If you need to request an image for publication or other use, please visit Rights and Reproductions.

Note: Comment submission is temporarily unavailable while we make improvements to the site. We apologize for the interruption. If you have a question relating to the museum's collections, please first check our Collections FAQ. If you require a personal response, please use our Contact page.