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Evolution of the Jefferies Tube By Kurt Keller "Try her now Mr. Kyle" - Scotty, "The Doomsday Machine" When the transporter failed in that faithful episode, Scotty needed an access point into the inter-workings of the Starship. If Scotty did not have this access point, James T. Kirk would cease to exist. The Jefferies Tube, which was originally called "Power Shaft" by Matt Jefferies in his original sketch, became an important part of Star Trek design. The term "Jefferies Tube" did not officially come to be until TNG, it called by various names in TOS, such as access tubes, access pipes, access points, etc. In TOS there were two types of tubes, vertical and diagonal. The Vertical tube can be seen in background areas of the ship and with a close up on the Constellation (Which were redressed sets of the Enterprise) in the episode "The Doomsday Machine", where Scotty uses it to traverse the hulk of the ship. The Diagonal tube, which is the tube we usually see Scotty use, was used extensively throughout the series, also in the episode, "The Doomsday Machine".
In the ENT Episode, "In a Mirror, Darkly, Part 2" we see a new system of Jefferies tubes inside the USS Defiant (Which was lost in the TOS Episode: "The Tholian Web"). In the Episode, a "Red Shirt" is repairing a system in the familiar Jefferies tube we see in TOS, but when he discovers a part missing, he continues to climb the Jefferies Tube until he reaches a fairly large hallway with a trapezoid type shape. Later in the episode when "Major" Reed and his team infiltrate to look for the component, they find a junction between three of these hallways. Whether these new hallways can conceivably fit in the schematics of the constitution class has not been determined. However, the sets of the "Defiant" in the episode where actually the sets of the Enterprise built by Star Trek: Phase II2, the fan film continuation of the Original Series by Cawley Entertainment, while they have been declared Phase II by Paramount it can be debatable whether they should be considered Canon. But according to Phase II, the sets were built off of the original schematics.
The The refitted Enterprise had it's share of Jefferies tubes as well, we no longer see the Diagonal Jefferies tubes of TOS, but they have been replaced with horizontal style Jefferies tubes. Unlike in TOS, the three person latter never made a reappearance, but unlike in TOS, Jefferies tubes are almost completely hidden inside the ship. In Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan, the Jefferies tube reappeared on screen when the turbo lifts are non-functional, below C-deck after battle with Khan. It is used mainly as a plot device to make the battle seem more like a naval battle, with its tight claustrophobic tube. It is also where Kirk tells Spock that David is his son, and Spock naturally replies, "fascinating". The giant Jefferies tube we see in Star Trek: V is very unusual as it is fairly large and has exposed piping that Scotty bumps his head on. From what we can see on film and some of the inaccuracies, V has some of the most unusual Jefferies Tubes of all of the productions.
In The Next Generation, the Jefferies Tube made a grand re-appearance. Not only were they in constant use throughout the series, but they were finally given their official name of "Jefferies Tube". The new Jefferies tubes are simplistic in design, with piping and wiring hidden behind panels. Unlike in TOS they were designed as an alternate means of travel when the turbolifts were down, much like the usage of them in Star Trek II. In TNG Jefferies tubes were laid out in layers, there would be horizontal layers which would lead to a central room where they would connect to five other tubes, three on the current level and then one on the bottom and one on the top. To make sure that personnel were not injured, doors separated the different tubes.
Towards the end of the series, some of the Jefferies Tubes were replaced with something called a turboshaft. The interesting thing is that these turboshafts were not mentioned again after Season Seven of TNG.
Credits This most of the images in this article are from Trek Core2, the information stated here is from the various series and movies, with supplements from Star Trek: Phase II2's website. The cutaway images are from Star Trek: The Magazine. Some additional information and images are from Memory Alpha2. Thanks to Brian Sabo for some information corrections. |
