Throttle Board

This is the control panel in the engine room of the USS Midway.
The 210,000 horse power engines of the 69,000 ton Aircraft Carrier are controlled from here.
Commands from the bridge arrived here in two ways, how fast or ahead or astearn,
through the ship's telegraph which can be seen between the two wheels on the left,
and how many revolutions the propellers should turn through the device with the three knobs on the right.
When these commands were made from the Navigation Bridge eight decks above they would appear in the engine room instantaneously.
This was much more efficient than conveying commands through the phone which can be seen on the lower right, due to the noise.
In addition to this, the crew of the engine room was alerted to any changes made through a series of brass bells.
Computers in modern ships have done away with all of this.