CHAPTER III.
ON THE OPEN OCEAN.
Whyshould not the Great Western end at New York?
That was Brunel’s idea, and it had an immense effect on the establishment of transatlantic steamships.
Brunel was the engineer of the Great Western Railway, and he audaciously desired his line to end, not at Bristol or Penzance, but, conquering the sea, he wished to plant his foot in the Empire city itself.
Still he was not the first, nor the only one, in the field. To theSavannahbelongs the honour of being the first steamship to cross the Atlantic. Yet she was not altogether a steamship.
Mr. Scarborough, of Savannah—a port of the state of Georgia—purchased a sailing ship of about 300 tons and 100 feet long, launched her at New York in 1818, intending her to ply between the two places, and had her fitted with machinery.
Why he changed his mind and sent her to Europe, we cannot say. Apparently he could not trust to steam alone, for the paddle wheels were so constructed that they could be folded up on deck when not in use, and the shaft also was jointed for that purpose. Then in the following May she started forth for Liverpool—the precursor of a mighty fleet of magnificent ships which have followed since.
She reached the Mersey in twenty-five days—vessels now perform the journey in about six. But she used steam on only eighteen days out of the twenty-five. Several times during the journey the paddle wheels were taken on deck, this operation occupying about half-an-hour. Possibly this was done when the wind was very favourable for sails, and so saved the fuel, which was pitch-pine.
Apparently Mr. Scarborough was not satisfied with the venture, for, after failing to sell the ship in Russia, whither she voyaged, she touched at different ports and returned home. The machinery was taken out, and she winged her way henceforth by sails alone.
England next did something of the same kind. TheFalconsteam yacht, a little vessel of 175 tons, voyaged to India in 1824, mostly, however, by the power of sails. In the next year theEnterprize, engined by Messrs. Maudslay & Field, made the passage by steam to Calcutta from London in the net time of 103 days—ten being used in stoppages, and the entire voyage thus occupying 113 days. She was a vessel of 500 tons, 122 feet keel, and 27 feet broad, while her engines were of 240 indicated power. Then theRoyal William, hailing from Quebec, made the transatlantic passage in 1831, principally by steam, in twenty-six days. In 1835 Messrs. Willcox & Anderson began to run steamships to Peninsular ports—an undertaking which blossomed out afterwards into the celebrated Peninsular and Oriental Steamship Company.
Then in 1838 two steamships, theSiriusand theGreat Western, crossed the Atlantic, the latter in fourteen and a-half days. Brunel had had his wish, and in 1836 he had formed the Great Western Steamship Company, and the vessel of the same name had been commenced. Others also were in the field, notably Messrs. Laird of Birkenhead, and the British and American Steam Navigation Company was founded. TheSirius, which had been built on the Thames, was purchased by them and prepared for her voyage.
The prime mover in this matter is said to have been Mr. Macgregor Laird. He had witnessed the work of steamships in the Niger Expedition of 1832-33 both on sea and river, and from the time of his return he advocated the establishment of steamships between Great Britain and America.
TheSiriusleft Cork on the 5th of April, and arrived at New York eighteen days afterwards. She carriedseven passengers, and close at her heels followed Brunel’sGreat Western, which had left Bristol three days later. The two ships were received with loud acclaim, a vast crowd of spectators beholding their arrival. The vessels proved beyond possibility of doubt that the transatlantic voyage by steamships was possible, and, at a stroke, the duration of the passage was reduced by almost one-half. It has since been reduced to less than a quarter.
TheSiriusmade on an average about 161 miles a-day, or slightly less than seven miles an hour. She apparently, however, had been originally built for plying between London and Cork; while theGreat Western, which had presumably been especially built for the transatlantic traffic, was both larger and more powerful. Her average speed was about 208 miles a-day, that is between eight and nine miles an hour; while returning, the speed was a little better, averaging about 213 miles per day. The return voyage of theSiriuswas also better than her outward passage.
The engines of theGreat Westernwere side-lever, and were built by Messrs. Maudslay & Field, of London. The cylinders were 73½ inches diameter, and the pistons had a big stroke of seven feet. The wheels’ diameter was no less than 28¾ feet, while the steam was generated in four boilers. Her tonnage was 1340—the largest Maudslay’s had yet engined, with 750 indicated horse-power. She voyaged many times across the Atlantic, her fastest eastward passage being 12 days, 7½ hours. The variation in her coal consumption was very remarkable. Thus, on her first voyage 655 tons were burnt, but on her return journey she consumed 263 tons less. No doubt this was owing to the greater use she was able to make of the wind.
The proprietors of the two vessels soon began to build others. The owners of theGreat Westernlaid down theGreat Britain, and the proprietors of theSiriusbegan theBritish Queen. She had paddle wheels of 31 feet diameter, and her piston stroke was the same as theGreat Western, 7 feet. Her engineswere 500 horse-power, and her cylinders 77½ inches in diameter. She was 275 feet long, 40 feet wide, and 27 feet deep. From Portsmouth to New York she crossed in 14 days, 8 hours.
Satisfactory as these results were, the pecuniary returns unfortunately were not so favourable. TheGreat Western, it is said, continued running at a loss, but others were withdrawn. Something seemed wanting to make the venture a commercial success. What was it?
Meantime Willcox & Anderson’s steamers plied with remarkable regularity to the Peninsula, and this regularity aroused some attention. The Government of the day applied to the proprietors to submit a scheme for carrying the mails. It seems that previously Willcox & Anderson had proposed this, but it had come to nothing. The end of the matter was, however, that the first mail contract was signed with them, the 22nd of August, 1837. To carry out their bargain, Captain Richard Bourne and Messrs. Willcox & Anderson founded the Peninsula Company, and three years later it was expanded to the Peninsular and Oriental Steam Navigation Company—popularly known as the P. & O.—and incorporated by Royal Charter. The mail service was the keystone of the enterprise.
The first steamer, built in 1829, was theWilliam Fawcett, a small vessel of 206 gross tonnage, and but 60 horse-power. In 1842 the proprietors owned theHindostan, of 2017 gross tonnage, and 520 horse-power. She was a paddle-wheel vessel, and opened the Indian Mail Service. The commencement of this service marks another stage in the history of steam navigation. About fifty years later the Company owned about half-a-hundred ships, two being of 8000 horse-power and 7000 tonnage.
Some two years after theHindostanfirst steamed to India, Brunel’sGreat Britainwas finished. She was a very remarkable vessel, and the wonder of her time. In the first place, she was built of iron, and,secondly, she was propelled by a screw, though at first it was intended that she should have paddle-wheels, and the engines for these wheels had been partly made.
Barges and light vessels had been built of iron since about 1790, or earlier, and the Lairds of Birkenhead, among others, had built an iron vessel about 1829. It is said that theAglaiawas the first iron steamer built on the Clyde in 1832. As for the screw-propeller, John Ericsson was successful with theFrancis B. Ogdenin 1836, and three years later Sir Francis Pettit Smith clearly showed, in the vessel appropriately called theArchimedes, the value and the feasibility of the new system.
Brunel, therefore, ever open to improvements, combined these two alterations in theGreat Britain. It was in 1839, probably after Sir Pettit Smith’s success, that the change was made as regards the screw for this vessel, though the paddle-wheel engines had been begun. The superiority of the screw-propeller over the paddle-wheels are said to be these:—the engines occupy less room, and are lighter—two very important considerations. Then there is greater wear and tear on paddle-wheels, and consequently the screw vessels are less expensive. But most important of all, the screw being deep in the water, the vessel is much more suitable for ocean traffic. In the heaving billows of the sea one wheel may be buried deep on one side of the ship, and the other whirling round high in the air, and not propelling the vessel; whereas the screw, being always immersed, except possibly in severe pitching, is more constantly efficient for the whole of the vessel.
Nevertheless, paddle-boats have their advantages. They need less water to work in, are started more easily, and stopped sooner. Further, it is said they are less liable to cause sea-sickness, as they do not roll so much. In a word, the difference seems to be this: paddle vessels are better suited as passenger boats on the shallower waters; screw vessels for deep sea andlong distance voyages, though whether the adoption of twin-screws,—which it appears need not be immersed so deeply in the water as one screw,—will bring screw vessels into use on shallower waters remains to be seen.
But when theGreat Britainwas being built the greater efficiency of the screw-propeller for ocean voyages was not widely understood. She was a fine vessel, over 320 feet long, 51 feet wide, and 32½ feet deep. Her screw was successful; but on her fourth voyage to New York she became stranded in Dundrum Bay, and lay aground for nearly a year.
Incidentally, however, this catastrophe seems to have given great impetus to iron shipbuilding; for after being floated, she was discovered to have suffered but comparatively slight damage. She was seen in dock by many persons interested in shipping, and they became impressed with the practicability and usefulness of iron for shipbuilding.
UnfortunateGreat Britain! She passed through many vicissitudes. Her owners got into difficulties, and after some alterations, she ran to Australia, and at length she wheezed her way to the Falkland Islands, where, it is said, she served as a hulk—a sorry end to a successful beginning.
The engines of the early screw vessels appear to have very much resembled those for paddle-wheels ships. Thus theRattler, engined by Messrs. Maudslay for the Admiralty about the year 1841, had upright cylinders, with a crank-shaft overhead and wheels to give speed to the screw.
In the meantime, however, the commercial difficulty of transatlantic steam traffic was being solved. The something lacking had been supplied. What was it?