ships company

SUBJECT AREA: Ports and shipping

[br]

[br]

[br]

From 1844 until 1962, the Clyde shipyard of William Denny and Brothers, Dumbarton, produced over 1,500 ships, trained innumerable students of all nationalities in shipbuilding and marine engineering, and for the seventy-plus years of their existence were accepted worldwide as the leaders in the application of science to ship design and construction. Until the closure of the yard members of the Denny family were among the partners and later directors of the firm: they included men as distinguished as Dr Peter Denny (1821(?)–95), Sir Archibald Denny (1860–1936) and Sir Maurice Denny (1886– 1955), the main collaborator in the design of the Denny-Brown ship stabilizer.

One of the most influential of this shipbuilding family was William Denny, now referred to as William 3! His early education was at Dumbarton, then on Jersey and finally at the Royal High School, Edinburgh, before he commenced an apprenticeship at his father's shipyard. From the outset he not only showed great aptitude for learning and hard work but also displayed an ability to create good relationships with all he came into contact with. At the early age of 21 he was admitted a partner of the shipbuilding business of William Denny and Brothers, and some years later also of the associated engineering firm of Denny \& Co. His deep-felt interest in what is now known as industrial relations led him in 1871 to set up a piecework system of payment in the shipyard. In this he was helped by the Yard Manager, Richard Ramage, who later was to found the Leith shipyard, which produced the world's most elegant steam yachts. This research was published later as a pamphlet called The Worth of Wages, an unusual and forward-looking action for the 1860s, when Denny maintained that an absentee employer should earn as much contempt and disapproval as an absentee landlord! In 1880 he initiated an awards scheme for all company employees, with grants and awards for inventions and production improvements. William Denny was not slow to impose new methods and to research naval architecture, a special interest being progressive ship trials with a view to predicting effective horsepower. In time this led to his proposal to the partners to build a ship model testing tank beside the Dumbarton shipyard; this scheme was completed in 1883 and was to the third in the world (after the Admiralty tank at Torquay, managed by William Froude and the Royal Netherlands Navy facility at Amsterdam, under B.J. Tideman. In 1876 the Denny Shipyard started work with mild-quality shipbuilding steel on hulls for the Irrawaddy Flotilla Company, and in 1879 the world's first two ships of any size using this weight-saving material were produced: they were the Rotomahana for the Union Steamship Company of New Zealand and the Buenos Ayrean for the Allan Line of Glasgow. On the naval-architecture side he was involved in Denny's proposals for standard cross curves of stability for all ships, which had far-reaching effects and are now accepted worldwide. He served on the committee working on improvements to the Load Line regulations and many other similar public bodies. After a severe bout of typhoid and an almost unacceptable burden of work, he left the United Kingdom for South America in June 1886 to attend to business with La Platense Flotilla Company, an associate company of William Denny and Brothers. In March the following year, while in Buenos Aires, he died by his own hand, a death that caused great and genuine sadness in the West of Scotland and elsewhere.

[br]

noun (ships taken as a whole: The harbour was full of shipping.) flota

tr['ʃɪpɪŋ]

noun

1 (business) transporte nombre masculino (en barco); (sending) envío, embarque nombre masculino

2 (ships) barcos nombre masculino plural, buques nombre masculino plural, embarcaciones nombre femenino plural; (of one country) flota; (tonnage) tonelaje nombre masculino (de buques)

\

shipping agent consignatario,-a, agente nombre masulino o femenino marítimo,-a

shipping charge gastos nombre masculino plural de envío, gastos nombre masculino plural de expedición

shipping company empresa naviera

shipping forecast parte nombre masculino meteorológico para marineros

shipping lane ruta de navegación

shipping line compañía naviera

shipping magnate magnate nombre masulino o femenino de la navegación

shipping ['ʃɪpɪŋ] n

1) ships: barcos mpl, embarcaciones fpl

2) transportation: transporte m (de mercancías)

• marítimo, -a adj.

• naval adj.

• naviero, -a adj.

• despacho s.m.

• embarque s.m.

• envío (TRA, LOG) s.m.

• expedición s.f.

• flota s.f.

• marina s.f.

• navegación s.f.

a) ( ships) barcos mpl, embarcaciones fpl (frml); (before n) <lane, route> de navegación

b) ( transportation of freight) transporte m

1. N

1) (=ships) barcos mpl, buques mpl ; (=fleet) flota f

2) (=transporting) transporte m (en barco), embarque m ; (=sending) envío m

* * *

a) ( ships) barcos mpl, embarcaciones fpl (frml); (before n) <lane, route> de navegación

b) ( transportation of freight) transporte m

SUBJECT AREA: Ports and shipping, Steam and internal combustion engines

[br]

[br]

[br]

John was the third son of David Elder. The father came from a family of millwrights and moved to Glasgow where he worked for the well-known shipbuilding firm of Napier's and was involved with improving marine engines. John was educated at Glasgow High School and then for a while at the Department of Civil Engineering at Glasgow University, where he showed great aptitude for mathematics and drawing. He spent five years as an apprentice under Robert Napier followed by two short periods of activity as a pattern-maker first and then a draughtsman in England. He returned to Scotland in 1849 to become Chief Draughtsman to Napier, but in 1852 he left to become a partner with the Glasgow general engineering company of Randolph Elliott \& Co. Shortly after his induction (at the age of 28), the engineering firm was renamed Randolph Elder \& Co.; in 1868, when the partnership expired, it became known as John Elder \& Co. From the outset Elder, with his partner, Charles Randolph, approached mechanical (especially heat) engineering in a rigorous manner. Their knowledge and understanding of entropy ensured that engine design was not a hit-and-miss affair, but one governed by recognition of the importance of the new kinetic theory of heat and with it a proper understanding of thermodynamic principles, and by systematic development. In this Elder was joined by W.J.M. Rankine, Professor of Civil Engineering and Mechanics at Glasgow University, who helped him develop the compound marine engine. Elder and Randolph built up a series of patents, which guaranteed their company's commercial success and enabled them for a while to be the sole suppliers of compound steam reciprocating machinery. Their first such engine at sea was fitted in 1854 on the SS Brandon for the Limerick Steamship Company; the ship showed an improved performance by using a third less coal, which he was able to reduce still further on later designs.

Elder developed steam jacketing and recognized that, with higher pressures, triple-expansion types would be even more economical. In 1862 he patented a design of quadruple-expansion engine with reheat between cylinders and advocated the importance of balancing reciprocating parts. The effect of his improvements was to greatly reduce fuel consumption so that long sea voyages became an economic reality.

His yard soon reached dimensions then unequalled on the Clyde where he employed over 4,000 workers; Elder also was always interested in the social welfare of his labour force. In 1860 the engine shops were moved to the Govan Old Shipyard, and again in 1864 to the Fairfield Shipyard, about 1 mile (1.6 km) west on the south bank of the Clyde. At Fairfield, shipbuilding was commenced, and with the patents for compounding secure, much business was placed for many years by shipowners serving long-distance trades such as South America; the Pacific Steam Navigation Company took up his ideas for their ships. In later years the yard became known as the Fairfield Shipbuilding and Engineering Company Ltd, but it remains today as one of Britain's most efficient shipyards and is known now as Kvaerner Govan Ltd.

In 1869, at the age of only 45, John Elder was unanimously elected President of the Institution of Engineers and Shipbuilders in Scotland; however, before taking office and giving his eagerly awaited presidential address, he died in London from liver disease. A large multitude attended his funeral and all the engineering shops were silent as his body, which had been brought back from London to Glasgow, was carried to its resting place. In 1857 Elder had married Isabella Ure, and on his death he left her a considerable fortune, which she used generously for Govan, for Glasgow and especially the University. In 1883 she endowed the world's first Chair of Naval Architecture at the University of Glasgow, an act which was reciprocated in 1901 when the University awarded her an LLD on the occasion of its 450th anniversary.

[br]

RLH / FMW

SUBJECT AREA: Ports and shipping

[br]

[br]

[br]

Educated at Dumbarton Grammar School, Robert Napier had been destined for the Church but persuaded his father to let him serve an apprenticeship as a blacksmith under him. For a while he worked in Edinburgh, but then in 1815 he commenced business in Glasgow, the city that he served for the rest of his life. Initially his workshop was in Camlachie, but it was moved in 1836 to a riverside factory site at Lancefield in the heart of the City and again in 1841 to the Old Shipyard in the Burgh of Govan (then independent of the City of Glasgow). The business expanded through his preparedness to build steam machinery, beginning in 1823 with the engines for the paddle steamer Leven, still to be seen a few hundred metres from Napier's grave in Dumbarton. His name assured owners of quality, and business expanded after two key orders: one in 1836 for the Honourable East India Company; and the second two years later for the Royal Navy, hitherto the preserve of the Royal Dockyards and of the shipbuilders of south-east England. Napier's shipyard and engine shops, then known as Robert Napier and Sons, were to be awarded sixty Admiralty contracts in his lifetime, with a profound influence on ship and engine procurement for the Navy and on foreign governments, which for the first time placed substantial work in the United Kingdom.

Having had problems with hull subcontractors and also with the installation of machinery in wooden hulls, in 1843 Napier ventured into shipbuilding with the paddle steamer Vanguard, which was built of iron. The following year the Royal Navy took delivery of the iron-hulled Jackall, enabling Napier to secure the contract for the Black Prince, Britain's second ironclad and sister ship to HMS Warrior now preserved at Portsmouth. With so much work in iron Napier instigated studies into metallurgy, and the published work of David Kirkaldy bears witness to his open-handedness in assisting the industry. This service to industry was even more apparent in 1866 when the company laid out the Skelmorlie Measured Mile on the Firth of Clyde for ship testing, a mile still in use by ships of all nations.

The greatest legacy of Robert Napier was his training of young engineers, shipbuilders and naval architects. Almost every major Scottish shipyard, and some English too, was influenced by him and many of his early foremen left to set up rival establishments along the banks of the River Clyde. His close association with Samuel Cunard led to the setting up of the company now known as the Cunard Line. Napier designed and engined the first four ships, subcontracting the hulls of this historic quartet to other shipbuilders on the river. While he contributed only 2 per cent to the equity of the shipping line, they came back to him for many more vessels, including the magnificent paddle ship Persia, of 1855.

It is an old tradition on the Clyde that the smokestacks of ships are made by the enginebuilders. The Cunard Line still uses red funnels with black bands, Napier's trademark, in honour of the engineer who set them going.

[br]

See also: Fairbairn, William; Thomson, Sir William

SUBJECT AREA: Aerospace, Electricity, Land transport, Ports and shipping

[br]

[br]

[br]

Sperry was born into a farming community in Cortland County. He received a rudimentary education at the local school, but an interest in mechanical devices was aroused by the agricultural machinery he saw around him. His attendance at the Normal School in Cortland provided a useful theoretical background to his practical knowledge. He emerged in 1880 with an urge to pursue invention in electrical engineering, then a new and growing branch of technology. Within two years he was able to patent and demonstrate his arc lighting system, complete with its own generator, incorporating new methods of regulating its output. The Sperry Electric Light, Motor and Car Brake Company was set up to make and market the system, but it was difficult to keep pace with electric-lighting developments such as the incandescent lamp and alternating current, and the company ceased in 1887 and was replaced by the Sperry Electric Company, which itself was taken over by the General Electric Company.

In the 1890s Sperry made useful inventions in electric mining machinery and then in electric street-or tramcars, with his patent electric brake and control system. The patents for the brake were important enough to be bought by General Electric. From 1894 to 1900 he was manufacturing electric motor cars of his own design, and in 1900 he set up a laboratory in Washington, where he pursued various electrochemical processes.

In 1896 he began to work on the practical application of the principle of the gyroscope, where Sperry achieved his most notable inventions, the first of which was the gyrostabilizer for ships. The relatively narrow-hulled steamship rolled badly in heavy seas and in 1904 Ernst Otto Schuck, a German naval engineer, and Louis Brennan in England began experiments to correct this; their work stimulated Sperry to develop his own device. In 1908 he patented the active gyrostabilizer, which acted to correct a ship's roll as soon as it started. Three years later the US Navy agreed to try it on a destroyer, the USS Worden. The successful trials of the following year led to widespread adoption. Meanwhile, in 1910, Sperry set up the Sperry Gyroscope Company to extend the application to commercial shipping.

At the same time, Sperry was working to apply the gyroscope principle to the ship's compass. The magnetic compass had worked well in wooden ships, but iron hulls and electrical machinery confused it. The great powers' race to build up their navies instigated an urgent search for a solution. In Germany, Anschütz-Kämpfe (1872–1931) in 1903 tested a form of gyrocompass and was encouraged by the authorities to demonstrate the device on the German flagship, the Deutschland. Its success led Sperry to develop his own version: fortunately for him, the US Navy preferred a home-grown product to a German one and gave Sperry all the backing he needed. A successful trial on a destroyer led to widespread acceptance in the US Navy, and Sperry was soon receiving orders from the British Admiralty and the Russian Navy.

In the rapidly developing field of aeronautics, automatic stabilization was becoming an urgent need. In 1912 Sperry began work on a gyrostabilizer for aircraft. Two years later he was able to stage a spectacular demonstration of such a device at an air show near Paris.

Sperry continued research, development and promotion in military and aviation technology almost to the last. In 1926 he sold the Sperry Gyroscope Company to enable him to devote more time to invention.

[br]

1) (a large boat: The ship sank and all the passengers and crew were drowned.) barco, buque, navío, embarcación

2) (any of certain types of transport that fly: a spaceship.) nave

- shipment

We were shipwrecked off the coast of Africa.) naufragar

- shipyard

ship n barco / buque

tr[ʃɪp]

noun

1 (gen) barco, buque nombre masculino, navío, embarcación nombre femenino

2 familiar dated (aircraft, spacecraft) nave nombre femenino

transitive verb (pt & pp shipped, ger shipping)

1 (send - gen) enviar, mandar; (- by ship) enviar por barco, mandar por barco, transportar (en barco); (carry) transportar

■ we had our luggage shipped to England mandamos nuestro equipaje a Inglaterra por barco

2 (take on board) embarcar, traer a bordo

\

like ships that pass in the night como extraños

on board ship a bordo

when one's ship comes home cuando lleguen las vacas gordas, cuando toque la lotería

to abandon ship / jump ship abandonar el barco

to ship oars levantar los remos

to ship water hacer agua

passenger ship buque nombre masculino de pasajeros

ship's company tripulación nombre femenino

ship ['ʃɪp] vt, shipped ; shipping

1) load: embarcar (en un barco)

2) send: transportar (en barco), enviar

to ship by air: enviar por avión

ship n

1) : barco m, buque m

2) spaceship

• aeronave s.f.

• bajel s.m.

• barco s.m.

• buque s.m.

• carena s.f.

• embarcación s.f.

• leño s.m.

• nao s.m.

• nave s.f.

• navío s.m.

• tripulación s.f.

• despachar v.

• embarcar v.

• enviar v.

• mandar v.

• remesar v.

• transportar v.

noun barco m, buque m, embarcación f (frml)

a) ( send by sea) enviar* or mandar por barco

b) ( send) enviar*, despachar

- ship off

- ship out

1. N

1) (=sea-going vessel) (gen) barco m ; (for carrying cargo) (also Mil) buque m, navío m

- when my ship comes in

- ships that pass in the night

- the ship of the desert

2) (=aircraft, spacecraft) nave f

2. VT

1) (=transport) enviar, consignar

2) (Naut)

3) [+ oars] desarmar

* * *

noun barco m, buque m, embarcación f (frml)

a) ( send by sea) enviar* or mandar por barco

b) ( send) enviar*, despachar

- ship off

- ship out

SUBJECT AREA: Ports and shipping

[br]

[br]

[br]

Born into comfortable circumstances, Burrell chose ship construction as his career. Ability aided by financial influence helped professional advancement, and by his early thirties he possessed a shipyard at Ratcliffe on the River Thames. Ship design was then unscientific, shrouded in mystique, and it required patience and perseverance to penetrate the conventions of the craft.

From the 1600s Burrell had been investing in the East India Company. In 1607 the Company decided to build ships in their own right, and Burrell was appointed as the first Master Shipwright, a post he held for nearly twenty years. The first ship, Trade's Increase, of 1,000-tons burthen, was the largest ship built in England until the eighteenth century, but following a mishap at launch and the ship's subsequent loss on its maiden voyage, the Company reassessed its policy and built smaller ships. Burrell's foresight can be gauged by his involvement in two private commercial undertakings in Ireland; one to create oak forests for shipbuilding, and the other to set up a small ironworks. In 1618 a Royal Commission was appointed to enquire into the poor condition of the Navy, and with the help of Burrell it was ruled that the main problems were neglect and corruption. With his name being known and his good record of production, the Royal Navy ordered no fewer than ten warships from Burrell in the four-year period from 1619 to 1623. With experience in the military and commercial sectors, Burrell can be regarded as an all-round and expert shipbuilder of the Stuart period. He used intuition at a time when there were no scientific rules and little reliable empiric guidance on ship design.

[br]

SUBJECT AREA: Ports and shipping

[br]

[br]

[br]

On leaving school in 1894, MacGregor was apprenticed to a famous local shipyard, the Palmers Shipbuilding and Iron Company of Jarrow-on-Tyne. After four years he was entered for the annual examination of the Worshipful Company of Shipwrights, coming out top and being nominated Queen's Prizeman. Shortly thereafter he moved around shipyards to gain experience, working in Glasgow, Hull, Newcastle and then Dunkirk. His mastery of French enabled him to obtain in 1906 the senior position of Chief Draughtsman at an Antwerp shipyard, where he remained until 1914. On his return to Britain, he took charge of the small yard of Dibbles in Southampton and commenced a period of great personal development and productivity. His fertile mind enabled him to register no fewer than ten patents in the years 1919 to 1923.

In 1924 he started out on his own as a naval architect, specializing in the coal trade of the North Sea. At that time, colliers had wooden hatch covers, which despite every caution could be smashed by heavy seas, and which in time of war added little to hull integrity after a torpedo strike. The International Loadline Committee of 1932 noted that 13 per cent of ship losses were through hatch failures. In 1927, designs for selftrimming colliers were developed, as well as designs for steel hatch covers. In 1928 the first patents were under way and the business was known for some years as MacGregor and King. During this period, steel hatch covers were fitted to 105 ships.

In 1937 MacGregor invited his brother Joseph (c. 1883–1967) to join him. Joseph had wide experience in ship repairs and had worked for many years as General Manager of the Prince of Wales Dry Docks in Swansea, a port noted for its coal exports. By 1939 they were operating from Whitley Bay with the name that was to become world famous: MacGregor and Company (Naval Architects) Ltd. The new company worked in association with the shipyards of Austin's of Sunderland and Burntisland of Fife, which were then developing the "flatiron" colliers for the up-river London coal trade. The MacGregor business gained a great boost when the massive coastal fleet of William Cory \& Son was fitted with steel hatches.

In 1945 the brothers appointed Henri Kummerman (b. 1908, Vienna; d. 1984, Geneva) as their sales agent in Europe. Over the years, Kummerman effected greater control on the MacGregor business and, through his astute business dealings and his well-organized sales drives worldwide, welded together an international company in hatch covers, cargo handling and associated work. Before his death, Robert MacGregor was to see mastery of the design of single-pull steel hatch covers and to witness the acceptance of MacGregor hatch covers worldwide. Most important of all, he had contributed to great increases in the safety and the quality of life at sea.

[br]

See also: Ayre, Sir Amos Lowrey

1) (to have in one's hand(s) or between one's hands: He was holding a knife; Hold that dish with both hands; He held the little boy's hand; He held the mouse by its tail.) holde

2) (to have in a part, or between parts, of the body, or between parts of a tool etc: He held the pencil in his teeth; She was holding a pile of books in her arms; Hold the stamp with tweezers.) holde

3) (to support or keep from moving, running away, falling etc: What holds that shelf up?; He held the door closed by leaning against it; Hold your hands above your head; Hold his arms so that he can't struggle.) holde

4) (to remain in position, fixed etc when under strain: I've tied the two pieces of string together, but I'm not sure the knot will hold; Will the anchor hold in a storm?) holde

5) (to keep (a person) in some place or in one's power: The police are holding a man for questioning in connection with the murder; He was held captive.) holde

6) (to (be able to) contain: This jug holds two pints; You can't hold water in a handkerchief; This drawer holds all my shirts.) indeholde

7) (to cause to take place: The meeting will be held next week; We'll hold the meeting in the hall.) afholde

8) (to keep (oneself), or to be, in a particular state or condition: We'll hold ourselves in readiness in case you send for us; She holds herself very erect.) holde

9) (to have or be in (a job etc): He held the position of company secretary for five years.) have; være

10) (to think strongly; to believe; to consider or regard: I hold that this was the right decision; He holds me (to be) responsible for everyone's mistakes; He is held in great respect; He holds certain very odd beliefs.) tro; holde

11) (to continue to be valid or apply: Our offer will hold until next week; These rules hold under all circumstances.) gælde

12) ((with to) to force (a person) to do something he has promised to do: I intend to hold him to his promises.) holde nogen fast til noget

13) (to defend: They held the castle against the enemy.) holde; forsvare

14) (not to be beaten by: The general realized that the soldiers could not hold the enemy for long.) forsvare sig imod

15) (to keep (a person's attention): If you can't hold your pupils' attention, you can't be a good teacher.) holde; bevare

16) (to keep someone in a certain state: Don't hold us in suspense, what was the final decision?) holde hen

17) (to celebrate: The festival is held on 24 June.) fejre

18) (to be the owner of: He holds shares in this company.) eje

19) ((of good weather) to continue: I hope the weather holds until after the school sports.) holde

20) ((also hold the line) (of a person who is making a telephone call) to wait: Mr Brown is busy at the moment - will you hold or would you like him to call you back?) vente

21) (to continue to sing: Please hold that note for four whole beats.) holde

22) (to keep (something): They'll hold your luggage at the station until you collect it.) opbevare

23) ((of the future) to be going to produce: I wonder what the future holds for me?) bringe

1) (the act of holding: He caught/got/laid/took hold of the rope and pulled; Keep hold of that rope.) hold; greb

2) (power; influence: He has a strange hold over that girl.) magt; indflydelse

3) ((in wrestling etc) a manner of holding one's opponent: The wrestler invented a new hold.) greb; tag

•

- - holder

* * *

1) (to have in one's hand(s) or between one's hands: He was holding a knife; Hold that dish with both hands; He held the little boy's hand; He held the mouse by its tail.) holde

2) (to have in a part, or between parts, of the body, or between parts of a tool etc: He held the pencil in his teeth; She was holding a pile of books in her arms; Hold the stamp with tweezers.) holde

3) (to support or keep from moving, running away, falling etc: What holds that shelf up?; He held the door closed by leaning against it; Hold your hands above your head; Hold his arms so that he can't struggle.) holde

4) (to remain in position, fixed etc when under strain: I've tied the two pieces of string together, but I'm not sure the knot will hold; Will the anchor hold in a storm?) holde

5) (to keep (a person) in some place or in one's power: The police are holding a man for questioning in connection with the murder; He was held captive.) holde

6) (to (be able to) contain: This jug holds two pints; You can't hold water in a handkerchief; This drawer holds all my shirts.) indeholde

7) (to cause to take place: The meeting will be held next week; We'll hold the meeting in the hall.) afholde

8) (to keep (oneself), or to be, in a particular state or condition: We'll hold ourselves in readiness in case you send for us; She holds herself very erect.) holde

9) (to have or be in (a job etc): He held the position of company secretary for five years.) have; være

10) (to think strongly; to believe; to consider or regard: I hold that this was the right decision; He holds me (to be) responsible for everyone's mistakes; He is held in great respect; He holds certain very odd beliefs.) tro; holde

11) (to continue to be valid or apply: Our offer will hold until next week; These rules hold under all circumstances.) gælde

12) ((with to) to force (a person) to do something he has promised to do: I intend to hold him to his promises.) holde nogen fast til noget

13) (to defend: They held the castle against the enemy.) holde; forsvare

14) (not to be beaten by: The general realized that the soldiers could not hold the enemy for long.) forsvare sig imod

15) (to keep (a person's attention): If you can't hold your pupils' attention, you can't be a good teacher.) holde; bevare

16) (to keep someone in a certain state: Don't hold us in suspense, what was the final decision?) holde hen

17) (to celebrate: The festival is held on 24 June.) fejre

18) (to be the owner of: He holds shares in this company.) eje

19) ((of good weather) to continue: I hope the weather holds until after the school sports.) holde

20) ((also hold the line) (of a person who is making a telephone call) to wait: Mr Brown is busy at the moment - will you hold or would you like him to call you back?) vente

21) (to continue to sing: Please hold that note for four whole beats.) holde

22) (to keep (something): They'll hold your luggage at the station until you collect it.) opbevare

23) ((of the future) to be going to produce: I wonder what the future holds for me?) bringe

1) (the act of holding: He caught/got/laid/took hold of the rope and pulled; Keep hold of that rope.) hold; greb

2) (power; influence: He has a strange hold over that girl.) magt; indflydelse

3) ((in wrestling etc) a manner of holding one's opponent: The wrestler invented a new hold.) greb; tag

•

- - holder

1 company, enterprise, business, association.

2 visitor, visitant.

3 companionship, fellowship, company.

4 company, small body of troops.

* * *

► nombre femenino

1 company

\

en compañía de in the company of

hacer compañía a alguien to keep somebody company

compañía de seguros insurance company

compañía de teatro theatre (US theater) company

malas compañías bad company sing

* * *

* * *

1) [gen] company

2) (Com, Teat, Rel) company

3) (Mil) company

* * *

1)

a) ( acompañamiento) company

b) compañías femenino plural ( amistades)

2) ( empresa) company, firm

3) (Mil) company

•

- Compañía de Jesús

- compañía de seguros

- compañía de teatro

* * *

1)

a) ( acompañamiento) company

b) compañías femenino plural ( amistades)

2) ( empresa) company, firm

3) (Mil) company

•

- Compañía de Jesús

- compañía de seguros

- compañía de teatro

* * *

compañía¹

¹ = company, ship, outfit.

compañía²

² = companionship.

Nota: Asociación de compositores que surgió en el siglo XIX para realizar trabajos de composición en cooperación y dirigida por un 'capataz' (clickler) y cuyos miembros se denominaban 'compañeros' (companions). Véase ship para otras entradas acabadas con este sufijo.

* * *

1 (acompañamiento) company

llegó en compañía de sus abogados he arrived accompanied by his lawyers

el gato me hace mucha compañía the cat keeps me company, the cat is good company for me

me quedé un rato para hacerle compañía I stayed a while to keep him company

Rosario y compañía, esto es un examen ( fam hum); Rosario and co., this is an exam ( colloq hum)

2 compañías fpl

(amistades): trata de evitar las malas compañías be careful of the company you keep

se dejó llevar por las malas compañías he fell in with the wrong kind of people

B (empresa) company, firm

[ S ] Muñoz y Compañía Muñoz and Co.

water company

electricity company

( AmL); front company

gas company

registered company

insurance company

software house

front company

C ( Mil) company

D ( Teatr) company

la actriz formó su propia compañía the actress formed her own company

repertory company

theater* company

(agrupación): una compañía religiosa a religious society

Society of Jesus

* * *

◊ llegó en compañía de sus abogados he arrived accompanied by his lawyers;

◊ compañía de seguros insurance company;

* * *

compañía nf

1. [cercanía] company;

en compañía de accompanied by, in the company of;

hacer compañía a alguien to keep sb company

2. [acompañante] company;

andar en malas compañías to keep bad company;

ahora tienen compañía, volveré más tarde they've got company just now, I'll come back later;

¿quiénes han sido? – Fernando y compañía, como de costumbre who was it? – Fernando and co., as usual

3. [empresa] company;

Fernández y Compañía Fernández and Company

compañía discográfica record company;

compañía eléctrica electricity company;

compañía ferroviaria railway o US railroad company;

compañía naviera shipping company;

compañía petrolera oil company;

compañía de seguros insurance company;

compañía telefónica telephone company

4. [de teatro, danza] company

compañía de repertorio repertory company

5. [en ejército] company

6. la Compañía de Jesús the Society of Jesus, the Jesuits

* * *

f company;

en compañía de with, in the company of;

hacer compañía a alguien keep s.o. company;

malas compañías pl bad company sg

* * *

compañía nf

1) : company

llegó en compañía de su madre: he arrived with his mother

2) empresa, firma: firm, company

* * *

compañía n company [pl. companies]

SUBJECT AREA: Ports and shipping

[br]

[br]

[br]

Holland was educated first in his native town and later in Limerick, a seaport bustling with coastal trade ships. His first job was that of schoolteacher, and as such he worked in various parts of Ireland until he was about 32 years old. A combination of his burning patriotic zeal for Ireland and his interest in undersea technology (then in its infancy) made him consider designs for underwater warships for use against the British Royal Navy in the fight for Irish independence. He studied all known works on the subject and commenced drawing plans, but he was unable to make real headway owing to a lack of finance.

In 1873 he travelled to the United States, ultimately settling in New Jersey and continuing in the profession of teaching. His work on submarine design continued, but in 1875 he suffered a grave setback when the United States Navy turned down his designs. Help came from an unexpected source, the Irish Republican Brotherhood, or Fenian Society, which had been founded in Dublin and New York in 1858. Financial help enabled Holland to build a 4 m (13 ft) one-person craft, which was tested in 1878, and then a larger boat of 19 tonnes' displacement that was tested with a crew of three to depths of 20 m (65 ft) in New York's harbour in 1883. Known as the Fenian Ram, it embodied most of the principles of modern submarines, including weight compensation. The Fenians commandeered this boat, but they were unable to operate it satisfactorily and it was relegated to history.

Holland continued work, at times independently and sometimes with others, and continuously advocated submarines to the United States Navy. In 1895 he was successful in winning a contract for US$150,000 to build the US Submarine Plunger at Baltimore. With too much outside interference, this proved an unsatisfactory venture. However, with only US$5,000 of his capital left, Holland started again and in 1898 he launched the Holland at Elizabeth, New Jersey. This 16 m (52 ft) vessel was successful, and in 1900 it was purchased by the United States Government.

Six more boats were ordered by the Americans, and then some by the Russians and the Japanese. The British Royal Navy ordered five, which were built by Vickers Son and Maxim (now VSEL) at Barrow-in-Furness in the years up to 1903, commencing their long run of submarine building. They were licensed by another well-known name, the Electric Boat Company, which had formerly been the J.P.Holland Torpedo Boat Company.

Holland now had some wealth and was well known. He continued to work, trying his hand at aeronautical research, and in 1904 he invented a respirator for use in submarine rescue work. It is pleasing to record that one of his ships can be seen to this day at the Royal Navy Submarine Museum, Gosport: HM Submarine Holland No. 1, which was lost under tow in 1913 but salvaged and restored in the 1980s.

[br]

SUBJECT AREA: Land transport, Railways and locomotives, Steam and internal combustion engines

[br]

[br]

[br]

Trevithick's father was a tin-mine manager, and Trevithick himself, after limited formal education, developed his immense engineering talent among local mining machinery and steam-engines and found employment as a mining engineer. Tall, strong and high-spirited, he was the eternal optimist.

About 1797 it occurred to him that the separate condenser patent of James Watt could be avoided by employing "strong steam", that is steam at pressures substantially greater than atmospheric, to drive steam-engines: after use, steam could be exhausted to the atmosphere and the condenser eliminated. His first winding engine on this principle came into use in 1799, and subsequently such engines were widely used. To produce high-pressure steam, a stronger boiler was needed than the boilers then in use, in which the pressure vessel was mounted upon masonry above the fire: Trevithick designed the cylindrical boiler, with furnace tube within, from which the Cornish and later the Lancashire boilers evolved.

Simultaneously he realized that high-pressure steam enabled a compact steam-engine/boiler unit to be built: typically, the Trevithick engine comprised a cylindrical boiler with return firetube, and a cylinder recessed into the boiler. No beam intervened between connecting rod and crank. A master patent was taken out.

Such an engine was well suited to driving vehicles. Trevithick built his first steam-carriage in 1801, but after a few days' use it overturned on a rough Cornish road and was damaged beyond repair by fire. Nevertheless, it had been the first self-propelled vehicle successfully to carry passengers. His second steam-carriage was driven about the streets of London in 1803, even more successfully; however, it aroused no commercial interest. Meanwhile the Coalbrookdale Company had started to build a locomotive incorporating a Trevithick engine for its tramroads, though little is known of the outcome; however, Samuel Homfray's ironworks at Penydarren, South Wales, was already building engines to Trevithick's design, and in 1804 Trevithick built one there as a locomotive for the Penydarren Tramroad. In this, and in the London steam-carriage, exhaust steam was turned up the chimney to draw the fire. On 21 February the locomotive hauled five wagons with 10 tons of iron and seventy men for 9 miles (14 km): it was the first successful railway locomotive.

Again, there was no commercial interest, although Trevithick now had nearly fifty stationary engines completed or being built to his design under licence. He experimented with one to power a barge on the Severn and used one to power a dredger on the Thames. He became Engineer to a project to drive a tunnel beneath the Thames at Rotherhithe and was only narrowly defeated, by quicksands. Trevithick then set up, in 1808, a circular tramroad track in London and upon it demonstrated to the admission-fee-paying public the locomotive Catch me who can, built to his design by John Hazledine and J.U. Rastrick.

In 1809, by which date Trevithick had sold all his interest in the steam-engine patent, he and Robert Dickinson, in partnership, obtained a patent for iron tanks to hold liquid cargo in ships, replacing the wooden casks then used, and started to manufacture them. In 1810, however, he was taken seriously ill with typhus for six months and had to return to Cornwall, and early in 1811 the partners were bankrupt; Trevithick was discharged from bankruptcy only in 1814.

In the meantime he continued as a steam engineer and produced a single-acting steam engine in which the cut-off could be varied to work the engine expansively by way of a three-way cock actuated by a cam. Then, in 1813, Trevithick was approached by a representative of a company set up to drain the rich but flooded silver-mines at Cerro de Pasco, Peru, at an altitude of 14,000 ft (4,300 m). Low-pressure steam engines, dependent largely upon atmospheric pressure, would not work at such an altitude, but Trevithick's high-pressure engines would. Nine engines and much other mining plant were built by Hazledine and Rastrick and despatched to Peru in 1814, and Trevithick himself followed two years later. However, the war of independence was taking place in Peru, then a Spanish colony, and no sooner had Trevithick, after immense difficulties, put everything in order at the mines then rebels arrived and broke up the machinery, for they saw the mines as a source of supply for the Spanish forces. It was only after innumerable further adventures, during which he encountered and was assisted financially by Robert Stephenson, that Trevithick eventually arrived home in Cornwall in 1827, penniless.

He petitioned Parliament for a grant in recognition of his improvements to steam-engines and boilers, without success. He was as inventive as ever though: he proposed a hydraulic power transmission system; he was consulted over steam engines for land drainage in Holland; and he suggested a 1,000 ft (305 m) high tower of gilded cast iron to commemorate the Reform Act of 1832. While working on steam propulsion of ships in 1833, he caught pneumonia, from which he died.

[br]

See also: Blenkinsop, John