Exploring SS United States Series - Part Five

Exploring the SS United States Part Five
Welcome to Part 5 of a 5 part series on this magnificent ocean liner known as the SS United States. If you missed part one, please go watch it first!!! The sad and empty look of this once historical and well known ocean liner has been sitting in a state of decay for over 20 years. With its maiden voyage in 1952, it only lasted 17 years before airlines became the more popular way to travel overseas. However, Crystal Cruise lines might invest in this sad ocean liner and it might once sail again. Currently in Philadelphia, I walked the massive 990 foot long vessel, with permission, to give you a more in depth look of what the SS united States looks like inside. This is the last part of the series so Thank you so much for watching!
Website: www.AbandonedSteve.com
Facebook: / steveabandonedexploration
Twitter: / abandonedsteve
Instagram: @abandonedsteve
Disclaimer: Exploring Abandoned Structures can be dangerous and you could be trespassing. You could get a fine, get hurt, get sick, and/or get arrested. Therefore I CANNOT be held responsible for your actions if you do choose to enter an abandoned site. This video is for educational / historical purposes and is not meant to say its ok to explore these structures. Always get permission first!

[@rexfrew5392]

I was a Leslie steam valve rep for DECADES. My training started at the factory when they were in New Jersey. I was on tons of ships at Elizabeth, NJ ... and trained industrially on Con Ed steam in NYC. My service supervisor at the plant had a huge pic of the SS US on his wall autographed by the Chief Engineer himself thanking him for all the support to keep that boat one of the fastest on the planet! I absolutely love looking at the old Leslie co tool valves, regulators and their related pneumatic instrumentation in your vids ✌

[@user-fm2ll1iz7t]

very interesting video, thanks. I'm from Russia, in our country is absolutely not cherish the old machine, immediately send to the scrap, which is why I am with all my heart wish you to preserve this beautiful ship !!!

[@waynegrant1712]

Sailed on The S.S. United States in 1958 from New York to England and back again. It is a glorious ship, and I have many fond memories of her. May she live on in perpetuity !

[@oneseat1]

I know many a ship engineer, my self included, who would love to crawl around her engine room. What an awesome opportunity. I will say modern large diesel power plants are more than push button quite a bit of wrench and valve turning and I have personally have sailed on a steam ship, they are quite a bit more complicated, especially the older steam ships.

[@captnemo8069]

I was a passenger on the SSUS in July 1968. The ship then, inside and out, toured the engine room too, was pristine. Just like old lady Rose in Titanic said "I can still smell the fresh paint", in the SSUS I could also smell fresh flowers throughout of Bon Voyage bouquets. She was like a fine old world hotel down to the real silverware. I was aboard a few years ago, so sad seeing old peeling paint and grime when in 1968 she was in perfect condition. Structurally she is still in excellent condition due to having been over built. New ships today don't come close. I once toured the US Naval Academy in Annapolis, students told me the SSUS is still taught in class as the ideal ship in construction and performance, unequally to this day. During her sea trials a nearby naval ship's radar operator reported to the bridge that he was picking up a large unknown object moving at 40+ knots, the bridge officer replied back "Aw, your drunk".

[@VTSPQR]

I am old enough, I feel old right now. I was on the SS United States for two trans Atlantic passages in 1967, and 1968, and it only took 5 days, each way, It was a very fast Ship! Thank's for putting this video up. =)

[@AbandonedSteve]

wow very cool. I wish i was around to ride her

[@telcobilly]

I went from NYC to Southampton in 1968,we could have been on the same voyage VTSPQR!

[@therickman1990]

5 days is nothing, this ship still holds the Blue Riband reward to this day for a 3 day, 12 hour, 12 minute Atlantic crossing.

[@the_retag]

@@therickman1990 yeah. I wonder if the record was done at flank speed or full speed. Since the navy likes her secrets

[@rippersix293]

This ship has the same propulsion system that I was trained to operate, maintain and repair while in the navy. To bring this system up to steam pressure and ready to sail would take several hours from "cold iron" to ready pressure. It would take a minimum of 5 to 10 men per boiler room standing watch on the boilers and related systems and the same number per engine room watching the turbines and related machinery 24 hours a day to sail her. All told this is a very labor intensive and complicated system to operate.

[@AbandonedSteve]

wow that is crazy. They did say this ship was built to be a navy ship if needed. Thanks for sharing that information

[@MrJeep75]

My family a long time ago invented the turbine

[@stephencarey5074]

@@MrJeep75 Really, what was your family's name?

[@MrJeep75]

@@stephencarey5074 just look up Charles parsons and the turbinia ship

[@stephencarey5074]

@@MrJeep75 I know about Charles Parsons and Turbinia (also Mauretania) - just testing if you did! Have you seen Turbinia in the museum in Newcastle?

[@MaxZomboni]

It would be nice if it could be restored as a museum piece, to preserve all of that equipment.

[@Onneff69]

That is SO well said, sir.

[@pR1mal.]

The poor can't eat it, and the rich can't drop it from a bomber.

[@kewlztertc5386]

There is nothing left to restore, it's basically an empty hull, with scraps here and there.

[@randomrazr]

the problem is its not finacially feasible to any company to take on that. it would be cheaper to build a new one, but there isnt a market for ocean liners anymore

[@jamesdoerr3005]

@Robert King Keep it out of NY hands and leave it in Philadelphia

[@porpoisedrivenlife8474]

Hard to imagine that the boiler and engine rooms used to be clean and orderly, they have really been trashed. Those access cover plates on the turbines have been open since at least 1991 (see the 1991 video by Dan Trachtenberg) and imagine all the debris that has fallen into that once-pristine machinery since then.

[@ObamaTookMyCat]

Unlike most Navy ships that are in mothballs, ships like these are just parked in some dock, then forgotten about with no measures taken to ensure preservation. Unlike Say the US Iowa Class BBs, that were sealed up and anything that blew, sucked, pushed, pulled or turned, was drained of lubricant and filled and smothered in protective grease. So then when it was time to start them back up, they just had to drain the grease and they were as good as when they left them.

[@porpoisedrivenlife8474]

***** No, you can actually see on the upper decks (kennels) where the vents have been sheet-metaled over and caulked with blackjack. I heard that hull doors were welded closed from outside. It was in the naval reserve fleet through 1978.

[@lawrencelewis8105]

Exactly right about Navy ships. I used to see this ship every day when I was stationed in Norfolk in the 1970s. I was told that it was maintained well during that time, engines jacked over ever week and so forth. There would be articles in the Sunday paper occasionally about rumors that the ship would be reactivated. There was a lot of interest back then as Norfolk was where it was based. All of it's shore staff lost their jobs, over 20,000 people were part of it. It was sold and gutted in the 1980s but until then, it was ready to go just like a Navy ship. Sad. I don't think it will sail again but I wish it would.

[@krueller3638]

If I had the cash, I'd build a nice ocean front dry dock for the SS US and turn it into a hotel. Guests could stay in a 50's era cruise ship, enjoy a buffet and dance to some of the most popular songs of that era while overlooking the ocean. That way, never have to worry about sea worthiness and preserve the ship for the future. Hope it won't go to scrap like many other beautiful vessels before her.

[@bibblyboing]

It would be good competition against the Queen Mary in Long Beach, and the dry dock has worked with the Nomadic.

[@namord1923]

Well, it already exists: Queen Mary!

[@stephencarey5074]

Even Bill Gates, Warren Buffet and the whole tribe of the Al Saad family don't have that much dosh... It will be nice if it happens, but I doubt it will. So many hopes end in cold feet and withdrawal from the bid.

[@rexjolles]

well good luck, this thing is shot as hell

[@xpusostomos]

@@stephencarey5074 you exaggerate a bit. She could probably sail again and redo the blue ribbon for a billion dollars. There'd be no profit though.

[@rodneygolden2796]

Was pleased to see that YORK A/C control panel. My step dad was a Master Chief USN ret. and he had a YORK combo heat and a/c unit (all external no inside floor space occupied) installed on our house in 1970. That YORK logo sure brought back some memories. His exposure to such equipment in the Navy and his insistence on educating our family on such a decision to go with the YORK brand was advanced for it's day and time. A real time capsule memory jog here dude!

[@Van-..-z._-_z.-._-._.-z.]

AS the great Drings Drok once said The problem is the rich don't want it and the poor can't save it.

[@pR1mal.]

The poor can't eat it, and the rich can't drop it from a bomber. You dang dingus. Besides, the rich can afford to buy all of the new broats they need, and hunk captains to drive them.

[@fredreddies1220]

I believe we sailed on her when I was small from New York to 🇩🇪 quite a treat and very luxurious great food to boot

[@noahg3497]

I went to Philly in late May for the Lacrosse tournament and stayed at the hotel just down the road from this. We drove by it every day and I always wondered about it🤔

[@highlysuggestible861]

I've wanted to see the engine room of this ship for the longest time, liked, subscribed.

[@andrewbrendan1579]

Steve, THANK YOU for this video! I've been an ocean liner enthusiast for over 40 years and now I'm finally seeing the engine room of the S.S. United States, an area that was classified and kept from the public for decades. Did you know that when the Revell model company sold a model of the S.S. United States it had the ship only from the waterline up? The hull design was classified and couldn't be used for the scale models.---On a Facebook page about ocean liners I read that the scrap metal business is such that it would be hard to sell the S.S.U.S. even for scrap. Much as I love ocean liners I would like for the story of this ship to finally come to an end. Reactivation as a hotel--casino--shopping location would be great but if it hasn't happened yet I'm not optimistic it will happen in the future. I would love to see that but what seems more likely is continued deterioration until the liner is scrapped, maybe on site, or towed out to sea to be sunk to become a reef and that is also an involved process. There's now a mostly hollow hulk, the real S.S. United States is gone. Ordinarily machinery doesn't interest me much but this video was fascinating. I'm thankful and appreciative for your documentation of this area (this is maritime history) while it still exists and for your sharing it with the rest of us.

[@AbandonedSteve]

Thanks so much Andrew. Your comments are always the best!

[@CuracaoLife]

Part 5 is also great Steve! Thanks for sharing :)

[@AbandonedSteve]

Your welcome. Thanks for sharing

[@TroyDejayzoo]

What an absolute shame. The ship has the name of the damn country on it and the government has no interest in preserving it. This ship is another true testimate to the design, engineering, and capabilities of the United States in its prime.

[@theamerican3970]

Hey, there are plans to restore the ship and possibly get it back on the waves again. Which is very nice.

[@TheT-90thatstaresintoyoursoul]

@@theamerican3970 You mean the 2016 plans which have since been decided against?

[@theamerican3970]

@@TheT-90thatstaresintoyoursoul If you are talking about the plans to scrap her, yes I believe they have cancelled them. From what I have heard, they will be remodeling her and getting her sailing, I am not a 100% sure they will do this though, it could be in a couple years before the ship gets sailing again, or could be never.

[@TheT-90thatstaresintoyoursoul]

@@theamerican3970 I was referring to the 2016 plan by Crystal Cruises that was decided to not be done. And honestly i wouldve been against it anyway considering it would look ugly because of the extra suites and whatnot to make it up to standard.

[@mwilson7345]

So very true , with all the trillions Congress wastes on stupid projects you would think this would be a great project for the country , but they only care about lining their own pockets and screwing the public out of their freedom and their money . No Pride at all.

[@rEdf196]

I worked for a sheet metal company in the 80's and 90's and had inside access to many local lumber, plywood, and paper mills in my area and saw and heard lots of loud big machines, heavy electric motors, pumps, big fans, gauges, heavy ductwork, and valves upon valves upon valves a lot like the SS United States. I could just imagine what the sounds and lighting and work crews would of been like in the engine rooms back in her glory days.

[@gdfggggg]

Blimey, imagine if your torch went out!!👀

[@50craneman]

Thanks for the tour Steve. I've been awaiting this episode with bated breath. Saw a lot of old familiar territory having done my time in a similar space on a WWII vintage aircraft carrier. A lot of the steam lines that were laid bare in your video were originally insulated with asbestos, all of which would have had to have been removed to meet modern specs. The big low pressure turbine and the large pipe going into it would have had a really thick layer of asbestos insulation as well. Well done! A very good tour. Thanks again!

[@AbandonedSteve]

Thank You so much!

[@sammysouth8372]

man you got balls. i’m claustrophobic and feel tightness in my chest just watching you crawl in that engine room

[@bobbyrayofthefamilysmith24]

There's a video of the engine room from early 90s when the ship was still generating its own power and the engine room was still operational. Fascinating to see the same space but such a difference

[@roknovak303]

could you provide a link i am most interrested

[@tedmulle7043]

Great job on the five part video. So sad to see it rusting away.

[@AbandonedSteve]

Thanks so much!

[@jeffgrier8488]

Great video, I have seen the whole series! I love the history of stuff like this.

[@AbandonedSteve]

Thanks Jeff for watching the entire series!

[@gunslinger748]

That is so COOL I love old eq like that, the power back in the day that it had !!

[@pattyboymccull9647]

as a kid used to watch her come out of the Narrows the captain would put her in warp drive.. Stern would dig in,bow would come up, a million hp would kick in, she would plane off, and she fly by you like a 1000 ft speed boat. truly an amazing sight to see .

[@porpoisedrivenlife8474]

The power to weight ratio was ridiculous on her. And likewise, the fuel consumption.

[@ObamaTookMyCat]

Same boilers and turbines as the 4 Iowa class battleships They were supplied by the Navy and probably came from either cancelled battleships or cancelled aircraft carriers. She was funded and helped built by the Navy.

[@matt927]

Thanks Steve, for uploading this video. So amazing to see this, it is truly sad to hear that the ship cannot be returned to service, but in a way not surprising. Hopefully like you said in the video now that they have a new look at the ship, something new can be done with her. One would hope that our government at the very least would see the value of the ship, as it is our American Flagship and save her as a museum, tourist attraction, hotel something, the Big U is part of of history and should be preserved. Let us all hope that she does not end up on a beach in Alang, or China to be scrapped, like so many others!

[@wixom01]

It is hard to believe, but this ship still holds the "Blue Riband" trophy, awarded to the passenger ship with the fastest westbound speed record across the Atlantic ocean. And it's held it for more than 60 years! Those steam turbine engines were fast, fast, FAST! Unfortunately, my guess is this ship is headed for one of the major breaking beaches like Alang-Sosiya in India, or Chittagone in Bangladesh. Absolutely horrible places for the workers, and a very ignoble final destination for such a grand ship. I hope I am wrong.

[@lucifer7591]

Loved it keep up the good work :)

[@AbandonedSteve]

Thank you

[@joseluisagostino]

Another new nice exploring and a good job of recording.

[@AbandonedSteve]

Thank you

[@MrJeep75]

Very awesome, thanks for the videos, hope it can be saved

[@drew031127]

What a bummer. It would be awesome to be able to cross the Atlantic on this ship again.

[@Titan52berg]

Magnificent series of videos, Steve! If only someone with the right financial sources could rescue this beautiful ship! The last vessel to hold the coveted Blue Riband and the Hales Trophy... how shameful to see this once-proud flagship of the United States Line in her gradual decline. PLEASE!!! Somebody SAVE the UNITED STATES!!!

[@jadeainsworth7498]

Apsolutly amazing video I loved it is truly amazing what people had to to back then and everything very cool keep up the vids I love them thanks Steve

[@AbandonedSteve]

Thank you so much!

[@Virus_In_Lullaby]

wow awesome vid man

[@AbandonedSteve]

Thank You

[@7viewerlogic670]

Great vid, great info. Hopefully it goes for a casino.

[@AbandonedSteve]

Thank you

[@MarkWick]

Thanks for the tour. I am surprises at how good the condition seems to be of many of the control areas and engine parts. This ship was made to last. I have seen suggestions by some that she should be taken to sea and sunk. As she was built to be unsinkable that would be a major undertaking.

[@nightrider6769]

Steve I've been waiting for part 5 for along time. it was worth the wait. I've seen an engine room on the uss Lexington and it looked similar. I glad Crystal Cruise Lines backed out of the deal they were going to change the way the ship looked and I was against that. I want to see her left the way she is. I'd like to see soneone but her up and turn her into a floating hotel or casino that would be great as long as they leave her original. If that doesn't happen I'm afraid she'll become scrap metal at some point. Hope that doesn't happen to her. Again thanks for all your videos on this once great ship.

[@AbandonedSteve]

Thank You. I hope so also!

[@rolfsinkgraven]

At last the engine room, loved watching it, too bad there wil be no restore but putting a new engine in there is the biggest bill too pay off the entire project.Thanx for a very nice series it's really unique.

[@AbandonedSteve]

Thanks for watching the series my friend!

[@patagualianmostly7437]

That has to be the most poorly designed & executed engine room layouts I have ever seen: A Nightmare. Bet the engineers hated it!

[@MrHeadbanger366]

That brings back a few misplaced memories. I spent about three and a half years of my Navy hitch on the USS Eisenhower. I'd be curious to know how it's changed since I left it 28 years ago.

[@masaipines-elliott4819]

i live in philadelphia i see it sometimes and wondered a lot about it :)

[@AbandonedSteve]

Pass it all the time

[@jmbpinto73]

Is sad that is not used as some kind attraction, if the upper decks were refinished it could serve as a venue for exhibits or events, or serve as restaurant and help raising funds for conservation as well as raise awareness.

[@alibabafurball]

Thank you for the tour of the ship. Awesome work again showing history before it gets altered or even disappears like the federal period paint in the stairway ,now gone in that blacksmith shop. Not often you get to see things like you can on your youtube channel, that's for sure. I really hope they come up with a good plan to use the superstructure of the ship. Too many artificial reefs made in my opinion, hope this doesn't go that way. Tow it to the Florida keys, and place (force) it into one of those old unused channels they had for industry. Back fill to the ships hull and build a ocean front condo complex out of it. Fill the bottom of course so it won't float away in hurricane season lol. Maybe would make for a good maritime museum instead of a condo, you never know.....

[@AbandonedSteve]

I agree completely. That would be really cool. Thanks for watching the series!

[@Jst12341]

It's good that Crystal Cruise Lines didn't get their way. The 40-knot steam plant is what made the SS United States so spectacular. Replacing it with a soulless diesel would be akin to neutering it.

[@bradjames6748]

The valves you were referring to are fuel oil valves for adjusting the richness or leaning out the burners

[@ObamaTookMyCat]

yep... that will start right up...

[@jimbronson780]

The fire and engine room has similar components to an Iowa Class Battleship. I am a tour guide on the Battleship Wisconsin, in Norfolk, Virginia. I lead a LIER "Life in the Engine Room" tour. I recognized the forced air draft blowers, burner level (where they lit off the boilers), steam turbines, and reduction gear. After viewing Part Five, I know for sure, there is no way she will ever sail again. But, could be a waterside attraction somewhere in the world. Not sure if that is economically viable, but it would be super cool to visit. Thanks for the great series.

[@chrome2infinity938]

Dont understand why they couldnt run those steam turbines again. Union pacific is running fuel oil to create steam for ALCO big boy. Same could be done here. Really the hold up is money. But just like records and film cameras the demand comes back around and it could happen for old ships like this.

[@FletcherFinance]

There is a dedicated number of us who do collect and preserve SSUS memorabilia. One of the artifacts I have in my personal collection is the main engineers log book for voyage number 84.

[@johnchapman6446]

Come on USA. This is your country's flagship. I'm an Englishman and as soon as I saw it, even in this sad, decrepit state I could see that it's an icon. You preserved one of our ships (the Queen Mary), so I'm sure you can preserve one of your own! This one definitely deserves it. It even took the Queen Mary's speed record for crossing the Atlantic!

[@xavierlauzac5922]

Not so simple.

[@lillybrooks4334]

This makes me so sad. My grandmother came over to America on this ship in 52.

[@OlympicGaming]

thats so sad man! i thought they was working on this by now (restoring that is). maybe if two big companies take it on.

[@rickbreitrick9924]

If it wasn't for big goverment regulations costing big companies big money maybe that could happen

[@jwrappuhn71]

Great vid Steve, there had to have been more than one engineer for the engine room, way to many valves for any one man to know where each one is coming or going.

[@AbandonedSteve]

Thank you. Yes I believe many ppl worked in the engine rooms

[@porpoisedrivenlife8474]

There was 8 boilers and four two-stage turbines. It required a large complement of oilers, engineers, etc. 270,000 HP pushing a 58,000 ton ship. It burned 900 tons of oil per day at normal speed of 32 knots, more or less. The current crop of floating apartment block cruise ships only use 175 tons per day, of course they can't maintain 36 knots in the north Atlantic, either.

[@AntonyBril]

there is a video called ss united States 1991 which shows the ship with most of its interior and working lights.

[@AbandonedSteve]

yes i have seen it. It is a cool video

[@porpoisedrivenlife8474]

It's a great video; it just may be in the related videos panel to the left-> You can see the engine/boiler/auxiliary equipment spaces with all of the pieces intact (including the asbestos!)

[@TheCarnivalguy]

@@porpoisedrivenlife8474 that’s the right. 😂

[@GreyRockOne]

Wow, thanks for the tour, especially the engine room. Yeah as you obviously know, steam will have valves, valves and valves, and just as many back-up valves for the boilers, turbines, AC units, pumps, generators, etc. I hope someone or a foundation etc. steps in to at least convert her to a hotel, restaurant, museum, gallery, whatever. Thanks again.

[@cyberp0et]

Finally, something worth seing in this otherwise gutted ship

[@jandoerlidoe3412]

This ship is a gold mine for the doc where it is moored...

[@VauxhallViva1975]

Thanks for posting this. Have been waiting for this last part. There is a lot of stuff left in the engine room that you taped in. I wonder why they did not gut those rooms when they gutted everything else? Not that I am complaining, but they stripped the rest of the ship to a skeleton, but seemed to leave most of the engine rooms alone. It probably has something to do with the fact you might have to remove a good section of superstructure to get at that stuff to remove it, so it was not worth the effort?

[@AbandonedSteve]

yea you make a good point. I am not very sure. Probably more time consuming

[@alfieurwin8116]

Yup👍🏻

[@Train115]

Oil fired boilers, which make superheated (or just normal) steam, that goes through turbines at incredibly speeds which goes through an engine, which then goes through a gearbox, which then goes to the shaft. Also she probably wouldn't have her boilers and such replaced and modernized as that would cost a *lot* of money to change. Steam ships (from my shallow research) are still legal, they arnt that efficient though, but they are legal. Back on the replacing the boilers and turbines, it would cost a lot because they have to get those big pieces of machinery out, *then* get big pieces of machinery in in order to be able to sail her again. Now if she's oil fired and makes superheated steam, she should be fairly efficient. She would definitely have to be dry docked end of story before setting sail again.

[@chrome2infinity938]

Agreed you could run those turbines on fuel oil generated steam. Call the union pacific and ask them how they did it. Fairly efficient at it im sure by now.

[@jonathanjuillerat9831]

Once you learn the systems and how the operate the valve sequence becomes muscle memory.

[@angelhelp6819]

Steve SS United States should be restored a lot of a restauration. All the steam engine overhaul and paint out inside

[@jamesdoerr3005]

Instead of going to a bookstore and buying subjects on the ship. Do you have a website I can go on and get my books to help with whatever.Thank You for all your videos about this beautiful ship.James

[@trevortaylor5501]

My grandpa was a chief naval engineer, he would of loved to go in their!

[@fahr.m66.s76]

Great Video. Nice as always. How much does the ship cost?

[@AbandonedSteve]

Well there is really no price tag on the ship. The conservatory wants someone to take it from them and fix it up. Crystal cruise lines said over 800 million for it to sail again. Just too much money..

[@TracyExplores]

Great explore, what torch are you using?

[@AbandonedSteve]

This video was using a coast..

[@Tchristman100]

Engine room was classified for many years because quite simply, the engines are the same as in the battleships. That's how it was able to do over 40 knots.

[@Unit38]

Thank You, I have been waiting for this last installment. I fear, however, this grand ship will end it's life in some scrap yard.

[@VauxhallViva1975]

Yeah, I've been waiting for this last episode too.

[@steveholladay8230]

They have been wasting 60000 $ a month forever its time to give up the ghost and turn it into scrap and melt it down into usable steel

[@Therevdon]

I'm a truck driver, and it's been a few years now, but I used to pick up on those piers once in a while. I was able to get up close and take some pics, but I was obviously never allowed on board. How long were you able to have the run of the ship for these videos?

[@davidtooke4642]

I WAS on it's last voyage January 1968 🇺🇲❤️

[@jimh.5286]

Although the SS United States is quite old, it did have some nice modern touches such as the engine room cup holders (1:35).

[@CovBert]

If we restored the ship can we wait to restore the engineroom if we may it a hotel because it won't be used and Focus on the rest of the ship? Just want to know someone option on that

[@adjfrom98]

Hey, let's look at the positive this amazing ship won't be totally overhauled and turned into just another cruise ship with some boxy design and it still has a chance of becoming something else closer to what it once was. Hopefully it won't be scrapped like many other parts of our history that sadly have been

[@matthewschalow161]

It can be saved. We the people of America can tell the government that the money you send to other countries needs to stop, and put the money back to work for America. Like fixing our history and our nation.

[@grunthostheflatulent269]

You're funny!

[@marlinmr7]

Consider the orange floating pumpkin head's focus/temper tantrum currently on 5 billion for a useless wall to the south - I say a billion (or less) toward this and some pride since this is the SS United States and the feds were so heavily involved in it's origination besides it's name.

[@theflapjackaviation2645]

MarlinMR7 you do realize illegal immigration costs $15 billion a year right? It’s already been proven where the wall is going up that there are great drops in illegal immigration

[@grunthostheflatulent269]

I know industry very well, yet I cannot wrap my mind around the sheer amount of planning and resources that went into this ship -- and that is but one of 1000s of ships built, scrapped and sunk. TPTB will work we regular men to the grave at ANY expense with this type of complexity, just so long as they don't disclose the alt energy sources they discovered

[@porpoisedrivenlife8474]

The SSUS was designed by the best maritime architect the US ever grew, and the plans consisted of 1.2 million pages of blueprints

[@bradjames6748]

The Babcock and wilcox boilers, Allis chalmers turbines and all other running gear was originally scheduled to be used in the uss Montana which was canceled after ww2 ended, so basically it has Iowa class engines in her

[@user-qh3fs2gc2t]

The SS United States is the only ocean liner ever crossed Atlantic twice with her engines shut and sailed as far as to the Ukraine and back to the US in the 90s. She was still making records after decomissioning.

[@AntonyBril]

nice video, it's a same that they gated the interior the ss america had it's interior till the bitter end,and there was a french documentary that showed as around when it was located in eleusis bay in Greece back in the '80s back the documentary is nowhere to be found that's kind of sad...

[@AbandonedSteve]

Thank you

[@jmbpinto73]

Perhaps it had asbestos, it was to be overhauled at some point. Sad because it was a beautiful interior.

[@kewlztertc5386]

They should sell it to Long Beach California, and park it next to the Queen Mary, making a steam ship park. Queen Mary was gutted and converted to a Hotel. How does it cost $60k a month? For that money they could buy a piece of land for the ship, and not pay any monthly fees. Using the saved money to convert this hull into something profitable. Are they really doing what's best for the ship? Or what's best for the organization, and Philadelphia?

[@zoltanmagyar1273]

..the scrappers are circling above like vultures probably,the amount of quality materials being there,and not least,they don't have to worry about asbestos,which was already removed.

[@marybabiec]

Pray she will be saved

[@theredstonetorchlogotrt1396]

Steam valve system as crazy as it looks the simple thing for all those valves is turning the engine over so starting it up want to be the hardest thing to do it would be be closing all the valves that have opened.

[@stephencarey5074]

This was a really good video - a shame there was no lighting so that a complete walk through of all the boiler and engine rooms was possible. The machinery, whilst it may look in good condition, is not likely to be. That doesn't really matter because she's not going to steam again, but cleaning it all up and painting it, adding walkways so punters don't fall into the bilge, will be an excellent museum of 1950s marine engineering. There are a lot of old "steamies" out there who could tell you how most if not all of this ship works, including me, so a nice job for an old-timer to while away his twilight years as a guide! I would imagine there must be a few of the original engineering staff left alive as well. This would be much better than the Queen Mary which was mistakenly gutted apart from one engineroom, which was a great shame - I was on her when she was still in service in '64 and was looking forward to walking through the boiler, engine and turbogenerator rooms when I visited Long Beach, but it was all gone. One thing Steve, as you know someone connected with her, are there any piping schematics for the machinery spaces? There are none for any of the old transatlantic liners that are now gone (Mauretania, Titanic, Aquitania, the German Liners, Empress of Britain, etc) so it would be good if a set were replicated, as I would buy them! You made a comment about not knowing where to start on getting all that machinery going, so I can lead you towards some "ship starting docs" that I did in response to someone asking how you started Titanic - "Is it with a big ignition key?". You can find these on the "Earl of Cruise" blog site by Gerd Wusthoff. I am currently doing Normandie, with Queen Mary still to go, after which I have run out of sufficient detail for any others. The SSUS schematics would allow me to do one for this ship as well. If someone would spend some $150k on doing a laser scan of the enginerooms, that could be turned into a brilliant 3D walk through of the whole of the machinery spaces - you'd get your money back in no time with sales of the software. Business opportunity for you 3D animators out there, with very little outlay. Here are the links to the cold-starting docs:

[@AbandonedSteve]

wow great comment. Thanks for all the information

[@Johntheripper87]

I live about 2 miles from the USS Massachusetts and have toured that engine room and always wondered how they fired something so complex up. Very Cool and informative info here!

[@c.c.hiliner4753]

They can still use steam, but her boilers would have to be modernized, and the plant brought up to modern code.This steam plant was the prototype for the next generation of aircraft carriers. If i was there, I could tell you what was what, I steamed a similar plant like this at at one time.

[@MimicoBungalow]

Excellent that the engines (steam turbines) seem to be still in place along with much of the mechanical equipment. 0:55 ...to allow the workers to 'ex-cape'?...hmmm

[@adamriffe3520]

Maybe there's a broken pipe that carried steam, but was full of water, and other pipes too that eventually rotted out, and flooded the lower level.

[@jamesbelbin6343]

Fill the boiler with distilled water, open the superheater vent light of the burners 5 min on 20 min off , I cease build steam add more water + a shit ton of more steps and boom plant is light off lol

[@iliveoutside]

There at but only a handful of us old “Snipes” who could operate these boiler fired steam turbines. I operated a 1200 psi steam boiler fired engine room in the early 90’s I am one of the last of the dying breed. Hole Snipes.

[@mattbachardy9850]

What a majestic symbol of a bygone era. Sadly unmaintained, slowly rotting and decaying away..... a reflection of the state of her namesake country. As with everything in the US, money will determine her final fate, and money only cares about what it wants, everything else be damned.

[@jaumeferrer4868]

you cant remove the steam motors and replace with diesels you will need to rip the ship apart to do that, so if they want this to run again they have to restore the existent machinery

[@xavierlauzac5922]

It’s never sailing again.

[@scopex2749]

Superb explore such a shame to see this great liner left to rot! Is there no PRIDE left?? Her names is SS UNITED STATES she belongs to the country and represented the skills and workmanship of a passed era that must be preserved!

[@robertnewman5556]

I sailed on the United States when I was five years old in 1952.

[@bluesmike100]

What did it take to get such access?

[@kyletyler5370]

Why was the bottom room filled with water and nice vid.

[@jewllake]

yes please answer if possible.

[@porpoisedrivenlife8474]

Normally the bilge pumps would have been running as needed 24/7, they have not been functional in decades. The maintenance people probably throw a pump down there every now & then, but the bilge water must be fairly toxic soup of asbestos and oil mixed up.

[@kyletyler5370]

+PorpoiseDrivenLife ok thank you.

[@pR1mal.]

Leaking seacocks and shaft alley probably. Probably a great deal of rain water entering from above deck too.

[@ObamaTookMyCat]

If you notice on any other videos, a lot of deck fittings, doors and hatches on the main deck are missing.

[@andrewg.3434]

Hey KZbin! Does anyone know why they can't use steam? Because the S.S. Delphine still uses steam, and it operates without a waiver? If anyone knows the answer, please comment below. Like if you agree. Wonderful work man, keep it up. -Andrew

[@sealover5861]

The SOLAS (Safety Of Life At Sea) makes the regulations for commercial ships in international waters. We still have many small steamers but they obviously don't fit in this category. The SS Delphine seems to be classified as a yacht. And the SS US was very "thirsty". According to the info I have she used about 37 tons of oil per hour at a speed of 30 knots, when the significantly larger SS France (1962) used 30 tons per hour at the same speed. And this is still very much. The Queen Elizabeth 2, also larger than the SS US, used, after she was converted to diesels in 1987, "only" about 13 tons of fuel per hour at her normal service speed of 28.5 knots. I think the huge fuel consumption was a reason why the SS US was retired so soon, already in 1969, a few years before the oil crisis, that "killed" many steam-powered liners.

[@spencer23dollars34]

sealover you could give this beast 40k more HP by using 4 GE 70k HP turbines. Then it would fly, they would be lighter than the original engines too! I wonder how much fuel those monsters use per hour 🤔

[@spencer23dollars34]

sealover I just answered my own question by looking what a 747 burns per hour. It’s 10 tonnes per hour. I believe you can recoup the heat to get extra power from a steam turbine too, heat which you lose when powering a plane

[@sealover5861]

Spencer 23 Dollars I found this on another website: "A plane like a Boeing 747 uses approximately 1 gallon of fuel (about 4 liters) every second. Over the course of a 10-hour flight, it might burn 36,000 gallons (150,000 liters). According to Boeing's Web site, the 747 burns approximately 5 gallons of fuel per mile (12 liters per kilometer).This sounds like a tremendously poor miles-per-gallon rating! But consider that a 747 can carry as many as 568 people. Let's call it 500 people to take into account the fact that not all seats on most flights are occupied. A 747 is transporting 500 people 1 mile using 5 gallons of fuel. That means the plane is burning 0.01 gallons per person per mile. In other words, the plane is getting 100 miles per gallon per person! The typical car gets about 25 miles per gallon, so the 747 is much better than a car carrying one person, and compares favorably even if there are four people in the car. Not bad when you consider that the 747 is flying at 550 miles per hour (900 km/h)!" This is just if you want to compare this with the fuel consumption per person for a passenger ship. Actually I think a modern gas turbine engine uses pretty much the same amount of fuel as a modern steam turbine with the same power. Gas turbine engines are indeed a lot lighter than a steam machinery. But gas turbines aren't exactly the same as jet Engines, used on planes. The SS US weighs probably about 50,000 tons, a little more than a 747. Diesels are still the most efficient engines for ships. The largest cargo ships can transport 1 ton of cargo up to 1000 miles using only 1 gallon of diesel, if they are fully loaded.

[@spencer23dollars34]

sealover yeah the problem is I don’t see much point in restoring this unless you maintain the speed it had! That’s kind of what made it unique!. From what I have read to get 240,000hp from Diesel engines requires real monsters those cargo ships are actually relatively under powered and even the most massive ones are like 40k hp! Without using nuclear I’m not sure it would be easy to get the original power rating of this ship!?

[@bradjames6748]

With a 4 screw combined rating of 212,000 shaft horsepower there is no way that any array of diesels can duplicate the incredible power of the steam turbines

[@1940limited]

This is mind boggling. I wonder if there's anyone around who would know how to start those engines and operate them? I'm sure there was a large crew of engineers assigned to the task.

[@d.cypher2920]

"...it cannot use steam, the steam turbine engines must be taken out, and diesel engines must be installed." Ffs, i must say: That's crazy!! It's quite literally going a step backwards in technology! Steam turbines are still used today to convert power at almost every single power generation stations in this country as i type this. Not to mention: obviously every single nuclear powered ship in the US Navy (aircraft carriers and submarines only, all others are either gas turbine or diesel powered. One class is actually both, but it's very complex and didn't work out so well.) My point is, that oil burning boilers, powering steam turbines that generate electricity, then transfer all electricity to a power station onboard, that electricity is then sent to electric motors that actually drive the propellers (screws). That's a very good and safe system...the designer of the SS United States was an exceptional naval architect, and fireproofed the entire ship. Also the entire superstructure is constructed from aluminum, whilst the hull and decks are steel. This is still one of the fastest ships in the world. At a top speed of 38.32 knots, and full ahead cruising speed of slightly over 35 knots, it still holds the record for the fastest Atlantic crossing for a super liner of her size. Unbelievably ignorant to force the new owners to convert her to diesel power. Total idiots in my opinion. Thank you for sharing this awesome video! ☀️😎🇺🇸☀️

[@davebeckley2584]

What a shame that ship will never sail again. $100 million is probably a low estimate to completely refit her. It probably will have to become a casino/hotel. It's either that or it will be scraped.Great video. Thanks for taking the time.

[@stevefranklin8052]

Dave Beckley that would be a drop in the bucket. Sadly.

[@markmh835]

Estimates fall between $500 million and $800 million to fix her to sail again-- and even then she might not meet modern standards. It would be cheaper to build a brand new liner of this size. But she could be repurposed into a floating hotel or museum for much less money.

[@astralwerks4]

@@markmh835 More like $1 billion+

[@MrCrabbing]

Some machine better than tin planes made out of Kevlar and kit kat wrappers

[@raymondleggs5508]

im pretty sure steam engines can still be used The US navy still has realatively recently built steam ships with oil fired boilers and many freighters have steam plants

[@someperson2965]

Really that's interesting! Do you have any names of the ships?

[@kevincrosby1760]

@@someperson2965 Almost ALL US Navy ships are either steam or gas turbine. A "Nuclear-powered" ship is actually a "steam-powered ship with a nuclear reactor used to heat the water to produce steam". Thus, most of your larger ships are still steam-powered. In fact, any nuclear ship, submarine, or power plant is steam, with the reactor providing the heat source. To answer what you meant, the Witchita-class (AOR) Replenishment oilers were all twin-screw ships with 600 PSI steam plants.3 oil-fired boilers, and each shaft had a High-pressure/low-pressure turbine connected to the shaft via a reduction gear. I believe the last one was decommissioned about 15 years ago. I left the USS Kansas City (AOR-3) in September of 1990. I found this list elsewhere: USS Blue Ridge LCC-19 USS Mount Whitney LCC-20 USS Emory S. Land AS-39 USS Frank Cable AS-40 USS Wasp LHD-1 USS Essex LHD-2 USS Kearsarge LHD-3 USS Boxer LHD-4 USS Bataan LHD-5 USS BonHomme Richard LHD-6 USS Iwo Jima LHD-7

[@someperson2965]

@@kevincrosby1760 Wow thank you for all the information!!

[@stephencarey5074]

The only navy ships that are steam powered are the nuclear carriers and submarines, which run on saturated steam. These old steamships were superheated steam which is a different ballgame. The only steamships still around in merchant service are the LNG Carriers, but even those are dying out with the advent of diesel-electric LNGC in 2008. The US Reserve Fleet still has some old steamships which date from the 40s! They have skeleton crews to keep them seaworthy. Allegedly...

[@kevincrosby1760]

@@stephencarey5074 I beg to differ. A large number of the USNS/MSC ships are still oil-fired boilers. These ships have mostly civilian crews, but are still owned by the US Navy. USNS Comfort and USNS Mercy are good examples, and we KNOW they have been in service and underway in the last few months. As a general rule, most modern US Navy ships today are either nuclear or Gas Turbine.

[@alexistarr]

It would probably be far less expensive to, working from the original blueprints of this ship or digital scans, transfer a 3D representation of the design of this ship into the 3D design software that naval architects these days use to design new ships, revise the design into something that resembles the original ship, but which conforms to current day marine technology and regulations, and then construct from scratch, using modern day modular shipbuilding techniques, a modern day recreation of this ship, than it would be to refurbish this ship.

[@YouTubechangedmyhandleagain]

The biggest and costliest problem would be the removal and disposal of the asbestos used to lagging the pipe work.