Page 4
THE BATTALION
WEDNESDAY, JUNE 9, 1976
Warning, given Engine room steams
A study by Texas A&M Univer
sity researchers shows that a device
warning truckers that their loads are,
too high to go under the upcoming
bridge is sometimes heeded and
sometimes not.
The object of the study was to see
if the warnings affected normal traf
fic flow and if it was heeded by those
with oversized loads.
Gene Ritch, systems analysis for 1
the Texas Transportation Institute
(TTI), said this was not generally a
problem in Texas except for the
Houston area.
Sevei'al of the bridges truckers
pass under to exit Central Houston
are lower than 14 feet. Two bridges
were damaged so badly by trucks
smashing into them that both had to
be replaced within a one-month
period.
Bridge
tournament
set Friday
The Sixth Annual Aggieland Sec
tional Bridge Tournament is plan
ned for Friday, Saturday and Sun
day in the Ramada Inn.
The tournament will be con
ducted by Unit 174 of the American
Contract Bridge League under the
direction of John “Spider” Harris of
Houston.
Over 400 people are expected to,
play during the three day event
with the majority of entries being
from East Texas and several entries
from other Texas areas and other
states.
Play will begin with the Madison-
ville Pairs Win-an-Entry competi
tion Friday at 3 p.m. Winners in
this event will receive free entries
to other events in the tournament.
At 8:30 p.m. Friday, the Masters
Pairs which is open to players with
at least 20 master points, and Spe
cial Pairs which is open to all entries
will be held.
Two sessions on Saturday will be
given to Open Pairs competition.
The qualifying round will begin at
1:30 p.m., with the finals and conso
lation round being at 7:30 p.m. The
consolation round will be open to
new entries.
A special Pajama Game for the
night owls will be held both Friday
and Saturday at midnight.
Swiss Team competition, first
session, will be at noon Sunday fol
lowed by a second session at 5 p.m.
A buffet will be served between
sessions on Saturday and Sunday af
ternoon.
The local Brazos Duplicate
Bridge Club is part of,the American
Contract Bridge League which ex
pects to make over $300,000 in
charitable contributions this year.
Included in these contributions are
$130,000 to the Arthritis Founda
tion under the slogan “the cure for
Arthritis just might be in the cards’
and $40,000 ot the Kidney Founda
tion.
The ACBL is donating $10,000 in
academic scholarships for the win
ners of the bridge events in the
ACUI tournaments. Since the char
ity fund was established in 1964, the
ACBL has donated over $1,500,000
to major national charities and over
one million dollars to local charity
efforts across the nation.
Partnership chairman is Nick
Pace. Players needing a partner
mav contact Nick or Sheryl Pace at
779-2030. All local arrangements
are under the direction of Jim Sea-
bolf (846-9696).
Eddie Dominguez ’66
Joe Arciniega ’74
Greg Price
“Just about any oversized loadj
generated in the central area will
have to pass these lower bridges lo-,
cated in IH-10, IH-45 and U.S. 59,”
said Ritch. “The warning device is
essentially a light beam that when
broken turns on amber warning
lights giving the trucker enough
time to take an exit ramp and go
around the bridge.
“The study showed that normal
traffic will brake momentarily but it
didn’t change the overall speed of
the traffic,” he added. “It also
showed a tendency to overcount at
night and during rain.
“A steel deflection plate was also
attached under the bridge and
painted silver to show any marks
where truckers with oversized loads
ignored the warning and struck the
bridges,’’Ritch continued. “It
showed that some still did.’’
The study is sponsored by the
State Department of Highways and
Public Transportation and the Fed
eral Highway Administration. It is
also the subject of a report entitled
“Evaluation of the High Load De
tection and Warning System on IH
45 in Houston.”
Double up,
America.
Two can ride cheaper
Pff than one.
If you have claustrophobia and
can’t stand the heat, forget it. The
engine room of the “Texas Clipper”
is not for you.
There are three students who
shipped out with the training vessel
last Sunday, however, who love it.
In fact, they spend eight hours a day
down there all summer tinkering
with knobs, steam boilers and all
the other mechanics that make the
15,000-ton ship run.
Michael Baker of Houston and
Rusty Rippetoe of Dallas are
seniors, making their last cruise on
the ship that is part of the program
at Texas A&M’s Moody College of
Marine Sciences and Maritime Re
sources in Galveston. They, like
Diana Cravey of Galveston, a
sophomore, are marine engineering
majors. Cravey is one of two female
engineers aboard.
The heat generated from the im
mense steam boilers that run the
ship is tremendous. Railings that
follow the steps down into the
depths of the hull are almost too hot
to handle. Everyone sweats pro
fusely, but they all smile even
though it’s on a flushed face.
“I fatten up during the regular
school year, preparing for my usual
20-pound weight loss during the
summer down here, ” Rippetoe said.
“Michael, there, loses two belt
loops.”
“Actually we have it better off
than the others on board, because
when we come up after eight hours
in that heat, we feel real comforta
ble,” Rippetoe said. “We sleep real
well, better than those who work on
deck.”
Another advantage of being an
engineer, as the boys see it, is al
ways wearing dungarees since their
work is pretty dirty.
Cravey says she is used to the
heat and it never bothers her. Evi
dently the heat is relaxing, because
Cravey also mentioned sleeping —
that’s what she does in her spaxe
time.
The boilers,' piston casings and
other paraphernalia that make up
the engine room aren’t as dull as
they sound. Most of them are dis
guised behind super graphics of
popular brand name logos for beer
and soft drinks. Art is another
spare-time hobby of the engineers.
“We change the scenes every
now and then, ” Rippetoe said.
According to these students, the
engine room is the place to be.
That’s where they are learning all
the practical skills they will need
upon graduation, and that’s where
they all have fun.
“Right now jobs ax e good, ” Baker
commented and Rippetoe nodded.
Neither are worried about a place to
work come fall. “We can sail under
any flag, with American ships or get
shore jobs as engineers,” Baker
said.
“Sailing under another flag would
mean less pay, generally, and your
time doesn’t go toward advancing
your license,” Baker said.
“But some of the foreign ships let
you bring your girlfriend aboard,”
he added.
Baker explained that he got into
engineering by accident.
“I thought a marine engineer re
paired docks and harbors, but I like
what I’m doing a lot better.”
“Yeah,” Rippetoe interjected,
“it’s real peaceful here; you don’t
have to fight txaffic.”
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