Steam-ships : The story of their development to the present day by R. A. Fletcher

1841. No trace of her has been found from that day to this.

573 words | Chapter 118

[Illustration: THE “PRESIDENT.”] The _President_ was launched on December 7, 1839, on the Thames by the same builders, Messrs. Curling and Young. She was almost a sister ship to the _British Queen_, as far as appearance and general equipment went, but the engines of the second vessel were slightly more powerful. [Illustration: THE “BRITISH QUEEN.” FROM AN ORIGINAL PAINTING IN THE POSSESSION OF THE AUTHOR.] The following comparative table, showing the dimensions of these vessels, was published in 1840: +-----------------------------------+---------+--------+------------+ | | _Great |_British| | | DIMENSIONS. |Western._|Queen._ |_President._| +-----------------------------------+---------+--------+------------+ |Extreme length (feet) | 236 | 275 | 265 | |Extreme length under deck (feet) | 212 | 245 | 238 | |Extreme length keel (feet) | 205 | 225 | 220 | |Breadth within the paddle-boxes | | | | |(feet) | 35·4 in.| 40 | 41 | |Breadth, including paddle-boxes | | | | |(feet) | 59·8 in.| 64 | 64 | |Depth of hold at midships (feet) | 23·2 in.|27·6 in.| 23·6 in. | |Tons of space | 679¹⁄₂ | 1053 | -- | |Tonnage of engine-room (feet) | 641¹⁄₂ | 963 | -- | |Total tonnage (tons) | 1321 | 2016 | 1840 | |Power of engines (horses) | 450 | 500 | 540 | |Diameter of cylinders (inches) | 73 | 77¹⁄₂ | 80 | |Length of stroke (feet) | 7 | 7 | 7¹⁄₂ | |Diameter of paddle-wheels (feet) | 28·9 in.|30·6 in.| 31 | |Total weight of engines, boilers, | | | | |and water (tons) | 480 | 500 | 500 | |Total weight of coals, twenty days’| | | | |consumption (tons) | 600 | 750 | 750 | |Total weight of cargo (tons) | 250 | 500 | 750 | |Draught of water with the above | | | | |weight of stores (feet) | 16·8 in.|16·7 in.| 17 | +-----------------------------------+---------+--------+------------+ They were square-sterned vessels, barque-rigged, and carried a long white funnel with a black top. The paddles were placed almost amidships, with the funnel abaft the paddle-boxes. The _Great Western_ might be described as a four-masted barquentine. She had one funnel carried between the fore and main masts, and the paddles were set abaft the main-mast. All three vessels had engines of the side-lever type. Those of the _British Queen_ were supplied by Napier from the Clyde, and those of the _President_ by Fawcett and Preston of Liverpool. The _Great Western’s_ engines were built by Maudslay, Son, and Field of London. The _President_ was built of oak with fir planking, her upper deck being flush from bows to stern. The stern was ornamented with the British and American arms, supported by the lion and eagle, appropriately painted. And for a figure-head she had a bust of Washington. The paddle-boxes were decorated with a five-point star. The first attempt to float the _President_ was not a success owing to the tide not being high enough. A second attempt the following day also failed, but on the third day, Monday, December 9, 1839, she was floated, and towed out of the dock and down to Blackwall, where she was safely moored. After the loss of the _President_ in 1841, the British and American Steam Navigation Company sold the _British Queen_ to the Belgians and retired from business altogether, leaving the _Great Western_ practically in sole possession of the Atlantic. But, as the next chapter will show, this splendid isolation was not hers for long.

Chapters

1. Chapter 1 2. introduction of the railway system inland. Between the two, however, 3. 1885. The last fifteen years of the century saw the tonnage of the 4. 1. The _William Fawcett_, the first P. & O. Steam-ship; 5. 2. The _Chancellor Livingston_ _Headpiece to Preface_ 6. 3. Primitive Paddle-boats 3 7. 4. “Barque à Roues”: Primitive Chinese Paddle-boat 5 8. 5. “Liburna” or Galley, worked by Oxen 7 9. 6. Jonathan Hulls’ Paddle-steamer, 1737 _To face_ 14 10. 7. The Marquis de Jouffroy’s Steamboat, 1783 _To face_ 16 11. 8. John Fitch’s Oared Paddle-boat, 1786 22 12. 9. John Stevens’ _Phœnix_, 1807 _To face_ 28 13. 10. Robert Fulton’s _Clermont_, 1807 37 14. 11. The _Paragon_, built 1811 _To face_ 40 15. 12. The _Philadelphia_, built 1826 _To face_ 44 16. 14. The _William Cutting_, built 1827 _To face_ 48 17. 15. The _Mary Powell_ (Hudson River Day Line) 50 18. 16. The _Hendrick Hudson_ (Hudson River Day Line), 1906 _To face_ 50 19. 17. The _Robert Fulton_ (Hudson River Day Line), 1909 _To face_ 52 20. 19. The _City of Cleveland_ _To face_ 54 21. 20. Patrick Miller’s Triple Boat the _Edinburgh_ _To face_ 56 22. 21. Model of Miller’s Double Boat _To face_ 58 23. 22. The _Charlotte Dundas_: longitudinal section 60 24. 23. Symington’s Original Engine of 1788 _To face_ 60 25. 24. Model of the _Charlotte Dundas_ _To face_ 62 26. 25. The Original Engines of the _Comet_ _To face_ 64 27. 27. The _Industry_, 1814 _To face_ 68 28. 29. The Engine of the _Leven_ _To face_ 70 29. 30. The _Sea-Horse_, about 1826 _To face_ 72 30. 31. The _Monarch_ and _Trident_, convoying the _Royal 31. 32. The _Trident_, in which the Queen and Prince Consort 32. 33. The _Carron_ _To face_ 84 33. 34. The _Kingfisher_ _To face_ 84 34. 35. The _Fingal_ _To face_ 86 35. 36. The _Lady Wolseley_ _To face_ 86 36. 39. The _Mona’s Isle_ (II.), built 1860, as a paddle 37. 40. The _Ellan Vannin_ (the foregoing, altered to a 38. 41. The _Majestic_ _To face_ 96 39. 42. The _Lady Roberts_ _To face_ 98 40. 43. The _Augusta_, 1856 100 41. 47. The R.M. Turbine Steamer _Copenhagen_ (G.E. 42. 48. The _Scotia_ (L. & N.W. Railway) _To face_ 120 43. 49. The _Savannah_ _To face_ 124 44. 50. The _Rising Star_ 130 45. 51. The _Dieppe_ (L.B. & S.C. Railway) _To face_ 134 46. 52. The _United Kingdom_ _To face_ 134 47. 54. The _Great Western_, from a print of 1837 _To face_ 142 48. 55. The _President_ 146 49. 56. The _British Queen_ _To face_ 146 50. 57. The _Britannia_, 1840 _To face_ 152 51. 58. The _Atlantic_ 156 52. 59. The _Adriatic_ (Collins Line, 1857) _To face_ 160 53. 61. The _Massachusetts_ 171 54. 63. H.M. Troopship _Himalaya_ in Plymouth Sound _To face_ 180 55. 64. H.M. Troopship _Himalaya_ _To face_ 182 56. 65. The _Norman_ (Union-Castle Line, 1894) _To face_ 184 57. 66. Maudslay’s Oscillating Engine _To face_ 200 58. 67. Model of the Engines of the _Leinster_ _To face_ 204 59. 68. The _Pacific_ 205 60. 69. Stevens’ 1804 Engine, showing Twin-screw Propellers _To face_ 208 61. 70. The _Q.E.D._ 211 62. 72. The _John Bowes_, 1906 _To face_ 214 63. 73. The _Novelty_, built 1839 _To face_ 218 64. 75. Engines of the _Great Britain_ _To face_ 224 65. 78. The _City of Rome_ (Inman Line, 1881) _To face_ 242 66. 79. The _City of Chicago_ 244 67. 82. The _Russia_ (Cunard, 1867) _To face_ 246 68. 83. Model of the _City of Paris_, 1866 _To face_ 248 69. 84. The _Oregon_ (Cunard and Guion Lines, 1883) _To face_ 250 70. 85. The _America_ (National Line, 1884) _To face_ 254 71. 86. The _Delta_ leaving Marseilles for the opening of 72. 87. The _Thunder_ 265 73. 89. Longitudinal section of the _Great Eastern_ _To face_ 272 74. 90. Caricature of the _Great Eastern_ _To face_ 274 75. 91. Model of the Paddle-engines of the _Great Eastern_ _To face_ 276 76. 92. The _Britannic_ (White Star Line, 1874) _To face_ 280 77. 93. The _Umbria_ and _Etruria_ (Cunard) _To face_ 280 78. 94. The _Mauretania_ (Cunard, 1907) _To face_ 282 79. 95. The _Campania_ (Cunard, 1892) _To face_ 282 80. 96. The _Teutonic_ and _Majestic_ (White Star Line, 81. 97. The _Olympic_ (White Star Line, 1910) _To face_ 288 82. 98. The _Olympic_ building, October 18, 1909 _To face_ 290 83. 99. The _St. Louis_ (American Line) _To face_ 294 84. 100. The _Morea_ (P. & O. Line) _To face_ 294 85. 101. The _Assiniboine_ (Canadian Pacific Railway Co.) _To face_ 300 86. 103. The _Kaiser Wilhelm II._ (Norddeutscher Lloyd) _To face_ 304 87. 104. The _Turbinia_ _To face_ 308 88. 105. The _Otaki_ (New Zealand Shipping Co.) _To face_ 310 89. 106. H.M.S. _Waterwitch_, armoured gunboat 321 90. 107. H.M.S. _Minotaur_ _To face_ 326 91. 116. H.M.S. _Invincible_, armoured cruiser _To face_ 336 92. 117. The _Minas Geraes_, Brazilian battleship _To face_ 336 93. 119. The _San Francisco_, U.S. Navy _To face_ 340 94. 120. The _Monitoria_ _To face_ 348 95. 121. The _Iroquois_ and _Navahoe_ _To face_ 348 96. 122. The _Monitoria_, transverse section 350 97. 123. The old Floating Dock at Rotherhithe, _circa_ 1800 _To face_ 354 98. 124. Model of the Bermuda Dock _To face_ 356 99. 128. The Cartagena Dock _To face_ 362 100. 129. The _Baikal_ _To face_ 362 101. 130. The _Drottning Victoria_ _To face_ 366 102. 131. The _Ermack_ _To face_ 370 103. 132. The _Earl Grey_ _To face_ 370 104. 134. The Imperial Yacht _Hohenzollern_ _To face_ 372 105. 135. The Evolution of Floating Docks, 1800-1910 389 106. CHAPTER I 107. CHAPTER II 108. 1787. The great success and useful character of Rumsay’s steamboat were 109. 1787. A still larger boat followed in 1788, and another in 1790. The 110. introduction of the latter has come also their greatest development 111. CHAPTER III 112. CHAPTER IV 113. 1894. Her last appearance was at the same review. She was lengthened 114. CHAPTER V 115. 1822. But Lord Cochrane’s work was practically over and she was 116. 28. She took no goods, as she was intended to be a passenger steamer 117. 31. Off Southend she was discovered to be on fire, and the heat and 118. 1841. No trace of her has been found from that day to this. 119. CHAPTER VI 120. 2402. Her engines developed 3250 horse-power and gave her an average 121. CHAPTER VII 122. 1842. He nevertheless served in the Mexican War and then commanded the 123. 1839. Its charter has been revised and extended from time to time, one 124. CHAPTER VIII 125. 5. Twin screws. 126. CHAPTER IX 127. 1062. The engines were of 210 nominal horse-power with cylinders of 55 128. CHAPTER X 129. 13. In equipment, too, she was regarded as the last possible word in 130. 1889. These two steamers marked one of those epochs of complete 131. CHAPTER XI 132. CHAPTER XII 133. introduction of screw propellers, 97; introduction of iron, 191;

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