Transcriber's Note:

Apparent typographical errors have been corrected.

Archaic and inconsistent spelling and hyphenation have been preserved.

The cover image was modified by the transcriber and placed in the public domain.

TWO CENTURIES

OF

SHIPBUILDING

H. M. S. Argyll.

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TWO CENTURIES OF
SHIPBUILDING
BY THE
SCOTTS AT GREENOCK.

[Partly Reprinted from "Engineering."]

"Take it all in all, a ship of the line is the most honourable thing that man, as a gregarious animal, has ever produced.... Into that he has put as much of his human patience, common sense, forethought, experimental philosophy, self-control, habits of order and obedience, thoroughly wrought hand-work, defiance of brute elements, careless courage, careful patriotism, and calm expectation of the judgment of God, as can well be put into a space of 300 feet long by 80 feet broad."—Ruskin.

LONDON:

OFFICES OF "ENGINEERING," 35 AND 36, BEDFORD STREET, W.C.

1906.

Contents.

List of Illustrations.

[Personalia.]

John Scott (I) founded the firm in 1711, and engaged in the building of herring busses and small craft. There is, unfortunately, no engraving of him extant, so that our series of portraits on Plates II. and III. adjoining page 1, is to this extent incomplete.

William Scott, his son, born 1722, died 1769, succeeded him, and, with his brother, extended the business alike as regards the extent of the works, and the types of vessels built. His first square-rigged ship—of 1765—was the first vessel built on the Clyde for owners out of Scotland.

John Scott (II), born 1752, died 1837, son of William, greatly developed the works and built the dry dock and basin now included, with the original Yard, in the establishment of Messrs. Caird and Co., Limited. Under his régime many ocean-going sailing ships were constructed, ship-work for the Navy was undertaken, the manufacture of steam machinery commenced in 1825, and Admiralty orders undertaken for engines for dockyard—as well as Greenock-built frigates. He built the Custom House Quay in 1791, bought Halkshill, the family seat, in 1815, was a partner in the Greenock Bank, and otherwise promoted the industries of the town.

His brother, William Scott (II), born 1756, migrated to Barnstaple, where he carried on an extensive shipbuilding industry, obtaining engines for the most of his steamships from the Greenock Works.

Charles Cuningham Scott, born 1794, died 1875, son of John Scott (II), along with his elder brother, John Scott (III), born 1785, died 1874, carried on the business as "John Scott and Sons," developing still further the progressive policy of his father, who had been responsible for the works for about half a century. The Cartsdyke Yard was commenced in 1850 by Charles Cuningham Scott, and his son John, under the style of "Scott and Co.," and this firm is the one which has maintained the continuity of the Scotts' association with shipbuilding.

John Scott (IV), born 1830, died 1903,[1] and Robert Sinclair Scott, born 1843, died 1905, sons of Charles Cuningham Scott, were responsible for the progress for nearly forty years, and the former was created a Companion of the Bath (C.B.) in 1887. During their régime the firm took a large part in the introduction of the steamship for over-sea voyages; in the development of high steam pressures and of the multiple-expansion engine, which greatly improved the economy of the steam engine; and in naval work, with its incidental advancement. They completely reconstructed the Cartsdyke Works, and greatly improved what is now known as the Cartsburn Dockyard, modernising the equipment. The co-partnery was, for family reasons, registered in 1900 under the Limited Liability Company Law.

Charles Cuningham Scott, son of John Scott, C.B., is now the head of the concern and Chairman of the Company (Scotts' Shipbuilding and Engineering Company, Limited), and with him on the directorate are his brother Robert Lyons Scott, C. Mumme, and James Brown.

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The Era of the Sailing Ship.

THE maintenance of an industry for two hundred years by one family, in the direct line of succession and in one locality, is almost unique in the history of western manufactures. Such a record proves that the successive generations have displayed diligence, prudence, and enterprise; otherwise it would not have been possible for them to have held continuously a foremost place in the face of incessant competition consequent upon the general advance in science, the introduction of superior constructional materials, and the invention of new machinery. It indicates also the maintenance of a high standard of workmanship as well as integrity and business capacity; because time is the most important factor in proving efficiency and in establishing credit for durability of work, without which no reputation can be retained for such a long period.

The Scotts began the building of ships in Greenock in 1711. To-day, their descendants of the sixth generation worthily maintain the high traditions which have accumulated during the intervening two hundred years. It is impossible to form an adequate conception of the service rendered by this one firm to the science of marine construction and to Britain, the leading maritime nation of the world. We should require to review in detail the successive steps: firstly, in the perfection of the sailing ship, from the sloops and brigantines of the eighteenth century, to such beautiful clippers as Scotts' Lord of the Isles, which in 1856 made the record voyage from China, and did much to wrest from the Americans the "blue ribbon" of the ocean; and, secondly, in the development of the steamship from its inception early in the nineteenth century to the leviathans of to-day. In successive epochs in the history of naval architecture the Scotts have played a creditable part, and to some of the more important improvements initiated or advanced by the firm reference will be made in our brief survey of the work done during the past two centuries. Unfortunately, some years ago, most of the old-time records were destroyed by a fire at the shipyard, so that our review of the early work is largely from contemporary publications, and is unavoidably incomplete.

Plate IV.

From an Engraving by E. W. Cooke, R.A.

THE BEGINNINGS.

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The beginnings were small, for Scotland had not yet attained to industrial importance, and had little oversea commerce. The first trans-Atlantic voyage made by a Clyde ship was in 1686, when a Greenock-built vessel was employed on a special mission to carry twenty-two persons transported to Carolina for attending conventicles and "being disaffected to Government."[2] American ships were most numerous on the western seas, and the East India Company had a monopoly of the eastern seas, so far as Britain was concerned, and preferred to build their ships in India, although many were constructed on the south coast of England. This monopoly checked progress. There was little or no incentive to improvement in merchant ships, and the naval authorities were too busy fighting Continental nations to risk extensive experimental work. We have it on the authority of Sir Nathaniel Barnaby, K.C.B.,[3] that neither Government nor private builders made much progress in improving methods of construction. The first letters patent granted for improvements relating to ships bear the date January 17th, 1618, but the result of a thorough investigation of all patents between 1618 and 1810 discloses no improvement worth recording, except in the manufacture of sheathing and the construction of pumps.

The Scotts, like a few other shipbuilders on the Clyde, were concerned for the greater part of the eighteenth century in the building of fishing and coasting boats. There belonged to Greenock, in 1728, as many as nine hundred of such fishing boats, locally built, each carrying from twenty to twenty-four nets and manned by a crew of four men. For many years the business of the firm consisted almost entirely in the building of herring busses and small craft employed in the fishing trade, the first establishment being at the mouth of the West Burn, on land leased from the Shaw family. The shipbuilding industry was carried on intermittently, and the Scotts were the first to give it stability and continuity. In 1752, the Greenland whale fisheries were engaged in, and this led to a development in the size of craft. The first square-rigged vessel built in the port was a brig, named Greenock, constructed in 1760, for the West Indian trade. In 1765, William Scott, who had succeeded the original founder—his father, John Scott—built a large square-rigged ship for some merchants of the town of Hull, the timber for which came from the Ducal woods at Hamilton. This ship is notable as being probably the first ship built on the Clyde for owners out of Scotland.[4] To take a fairly representative year (1776), eighteen vessels, ranging up to 77 tons, and of a total of 1073 tons burden, were constructed in Greenock, and of the number six were built by the Scotts.[5] Although the work could be more cheaply done on the Clyde than at London or Bristol, there was for a long time a strong prejudice against English owners ordering vessels from the north, and against Scotch vessels taking any part in the oversea trade.

The Jacobite risings had also affected the industry, but the War of Independence in America had far-reaching beneficial results. It is true that prior to this the rich fields of the English colonial possessions, as well as the English markets, had been opened to the commerce of Scotland, and that the merchants of Glasgow had developed extensive commercial operations with the West Indies and British North America; but, although there was thus a considerable oversea trade between the Clyde and the Western hemisphere, all the large vessels trading to the Clyde were built in America.[6] The shipbuilding industry in the States was thus a very extensive one; and, in 1769, there were launched, in the North American Colonies, three hundred and eighty-nine vessels of 20,000 tons burden, which was far in excess of the annual British output.[7] This was largely owing to the limitless supply of timber in America, and to the import duties on constructional material imposed in this country to suit the English growers of oak, the price of which advanced in the eighteenth century from £2 15s. to £7 7s. per load.[8]

The Brunswick, of 600 tons, carpenters' measurement, to carry 1000 tons real burden, built by the Scotts in 1791 for the Nova Scotia trade; and the Caledonia, of 650 tons, built by the Scotts in 1794, for the carriage of timber for the Navy yards—each the largest ship in Scotland of its respective year—signalised the beginning of a period of greater activity, especially in respect of large ocean ships. Some years before—1767—the Scotts had feued ground for a building yard on the shore east of the West Burn. They added a graving dock of considerable size, and the inaugural proceedings included a dinner held on the floor of the dock.

Plate V.

From an Old Engraving.

GREENOCK AND SCOTTS' YARD IN THE EIGHTEENTH CENTURY.

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Other developments contributed to the prosperity of the port of Greenock, the chief of the establishment being John Scott of the third generation, who was born in 1752, and died in 1837. His brother, William Scott, also the second of that name, migrated to Bristol, where he carried on an extensive trade as a shipbuilder. The latter was the father of James M. Scott, who is still remembered by some old inhabitants as the founder, about 1847, of penny banks in Greenock and of the Artisans' Club. John Scott, after his brother's departure, carried on the business under the name of John Scott and Sons, and did great service not only for the town, but also for the advancement of the business. In three successive years, 1787, 1788, and 1789, he bought three large plots from the ninth Lord Cathcart, for the extension of the works.[9] These then extended almost from the West Quay to the West Burn. He also, in 1791, constructed the old steamboat or custom-house quay,[10] and played a large part in developing the banking facilities of the town. He bought, in 1815, Halkshill, near Largs, which has continued the residence of the family. In view of the association of the firm with the town, it may be worth interpolating here a statement of the growth of the population of Greenock, with the sources from which the figures have been taken.

Shipbuilding work, however, was still in craft which to-day would be considered insignificant. The increase of the mercantile fleet of England throughout the eighteenth century was only fivefold in respect of numbers, and sixfold in tonnage; the average size shows an augmentation from 80 tons to only 100 tons, and there was no improvement in labour-economising appliances for the working of the ship, as the ratio of men to tonnage was at the beginning of the century practically one to every 10 tons, and at the close one to 13 tons.[11]

In the nineteenth century, the tonnage increased eightfold, but in view of the adoption of steam the actual carrying capacity was augmented nearly thirtyfold; the average size of ship increased to 760 tons. Practically, every ship in the eighteenth century carried guns, the average being two per vessel. It was not until 1853 that there was omitted from the mail contracts the clause which provided that each mail vessel must be built to carry guns of the largest calibre in use.

A WEST INDIAMAN. [(See page 12.)]

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The nineteenth century brought every incentive to the development of shipbuilding. Nelson taught the lesson, never to be forgotten, that sea-power is essential to the commercial expansion—even to the existence—of our island kingdom, with its corollary, that the merchant fleet is as necessary to this mastery of the sea as fighting squadrons. The sea became our home; there arose a renewed love of exploration, and an ambition for colonisation. Success brought the chastening influence of responsibility, with a higher appreciation of the advantage of a conciliatory policy towards foreign nations. Contemporaneously with the growth of this conception of empire there arose a war of retaliation in shipping with the newly-formed United States of America, which continued for half a century. Although not without its regrettable incidents, it stimulated a rivalry in the shipping and shipbuilding industries which was ultimately as beneficial as it had been pronounced. The monopoly of the East India Company in the Eastern shipping trade terminated, so far as India was concerned, in 1814, and as regards China in 1834. This removed an influence which had hitherto retarded enterprise in naval construction—especially on the Clyde—due to the Company's preference for building their ships in India, and in the south of England ports. Private owners, too, entered more vigorously into competition with American clippers which had first commenced trade with China in 1788.

With the widening of the maritime interests and the intensification of competition there was awakened a general desire to increase the strength of ships. In this respect, as in others, there had been little advance either in the Navy or in the mercantile marine. It was exceptional for a ship of the eighteenth century to continue in service for more than twelve or fifteen years. This was due partly to defective constructional details, and partly to the ineffective methods of preserving timber.

A TYPICAL EAST INDIAMAN. [(See page 12.)]

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Ships were then built up[12] of a series of transverse ribs, connected together by the outside planking and by the ceiling. There was no filling between the ribs. The ship's structure thus suffered severely from hogging and sagging stresses. The French tried to improve this by introducing oblique iron riders across the ceiling, or by laying the ceiling and the outside planking diagonally, while in other instances the whole was strengthened with vertical or diagonal riders; but none of these systems gave complete satisfaction. The Sepping system was introduced about 1810, and was early adopted by the Scotts. The bottom of the ship was formed into a solid mass of timber. The beams were connected with the side of the ship by thick longitudinal timbers below the knees, and by other stiffening members. A trussed frame was laid on the inside of the transverse frame in the hold of the ship, and the decks were laid diagonally. These members bound the ship in all directions, so as to resist the stresses due to the ship working in a seaway.

The method of preserving the timber adopted at the beginning of the eighteenth century was to char the inner surface of the log, while the outer surface was kept wet; but this was superseded early in the century by the stoving system, which consisted in placing timber in wet sand, and subjecting it to the action of heat, for such time as was necessary to extract the residue of the sap and bring the timber to a condition of suppleness. This process continued until 1736, after which the timber itself was steamed. Copper sheathing was first employed on warships in 1761; prior to this lead had been used, but only occasionally.

American shipbuilders held an important position, even in the British trade, for some time after the Declaration of Independence; but there was then developed a pronounced spirit of emulation amongst the British firms, which had a marked effect on competition in western seas. At the beginning of the nineteenth century much of the oversea work done by the Scotts was for the West Indian trade. The vessels were not often of more than 600 tons, but the firm continued steadily to develop their business.

Plate VI.

THE "LORD OF THE ISLES."

[(See page 13.)]

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Between 1773 and 1829, the period of expansion under the second John Scott, to which we have already referred, the output was 16,800 tons.[13] This output included a succession of fine ships for the West India trade, to the order of some of the old Glasgow companies, amongst the number being Stirling, Gordon and Company; J. Campbell and Company; James Young and Company; and Muir and Fairlie. We may mention as typical ships, the Grenada, of 650 tons burden, and the John Campbell, of 446 tons, built in 1806, the first ships launched on the Clyde with all rigging in position.

Thus early, too, the Scotts had entered upon the construction of that long series of yachts, sailing and steam, which has brought them considerable repute, and even more pleasure, since they were in successive generations noted yachtsmen. In 1803 they launched the 45-1/2-ton cutter for Colonel Campbell, of the Yorkshire Militia, which was pronounced one of the completest of the kind ever built in Scotland up to that time. It may be incidentally mentioned, that the Scotts also showed thus early their practical sympathy with the auxiliary forces of the Crown by being at the head of the volunteer Sea Fencibles formed on the Clyde in the stormy years of the Napoleonic wars.

As soon as the monopoly of the East India Company was removed in 1814, private shipowners entered the lists, and the Scotts were early occupied in the construction of Indo-China clippers. In 1818 they built the Christian, and in 1820 the Bellfield, the latter, of 478 tons register, for the London and Calcutta trade. She was one of the first of a long series. The Kirkman Finlay, of 430 tons, built in 1834, suggests the name of a firm long and honourably associated with the development of trade in our great Eastern dependency. The effect of competition was a reduction in the average rate of freight per ton from India to Britain from £32 10s. about 1773 to £10 in 1830.

The East India Company about the year 1813 paid £40 per ton for their ships, as against about £25 per ton by other traders; the latter sum was about the same as that paid in America. The East Indiaman had a crew in the ratio of one to 10 or 12 tons, while one to 25 tons sufficed for the West Indiaman. The speed of the western ship was greater, largely by reason of the difference in proportions and lines. The clipper built on the Clyde and in America had a length equal to five or six times the beam, against four times the beam in the case of the East India Company's ships. In the design of these clippers the Scotts took an important part. Charles Cuningham Scott was then at the head of the concern. An ingenious method of making model experiments in the graving dock at the works was evolved in the 'forties, whereby the firm were able to arrive at the most satisfactory form of hull to give the minimum of resistance, and at the same time a large capacity for cargo per registered ton. In this latter respect they were more successful than the designers of the East Indiamen, notwithstanding the bluff form of the latter.

As rapidity in answering the helm was a most important element in tacking, and therefore in speed, the firm about this time prepared full-rigged models, about 5 ft. long, for experimental trials as to the ship's form and rudder, on Loch Thom, on the hill above Greenock, in an exposed place where the conditions of wind were analogous to those at sea. The results proved satisfactory. In fact, in these years, when the Minerva, Acbar, and other noted clippers were built, the care used in design and construction was almost as great as that now devoted in the case of racing yachts.

Plate VII.

THE "ARCHIBALD RUSSELL."

[(See page 14.)]

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The Scotts, in the first half of the nineteenth century, continued to produce a long series of successful sailing ships, while at the same time taking a creditable part in the evolution of the steamship. Steam, however, was not possible in long-distance voyages until pressures had been increased, and coal consumption reduced to moderate limits; and thus it came that, although the steam engine was used in the early years of the nineteenth century in river, and later in coasting, craft, the sailing ship continued supreme almost until the middle of the century. We do not propose, however, to refer to all of the later sailing ships built by the Scotts, but it may be interesting to give some details of the construction.

American rock elm was largely used. The frames were in three sections with scarfed joints, bolted together, the scantlings being reduced towards the top, so as to lower the centre of gravity. Inside the frames there were at various heights longitudinal timbers, to add to the fore-and-aft strength. The top sides were of greenheart, the beams of oak or greenheart, with wrought-iron knees; the height between the beams was made to admit of two hogsheads of sugar being placed in the hold. There were side-stringers, sometimes 10 in. thick, between the floor and the beams, which were half-checked into the stringers. On the top of the beams there were deck-stringers. There was a most effective transverse and longitudinal binding, brass bolts being extended right through the knee, stringer, frame, and skin of the ship. The decks were of yellow or Dantzig white pine. An 800 or 1000-ton West Indiaman occupied about nine months in construction. The last wooden ship built in Greenock was the Canadian, completed by the Scotts in 1859.[14]

The highest conception of the iron sailing ship, as built by the firm, was probably embodied in the Lord of the Isles, completed in 1856. She had a length between perpendiculars of 185 ft., a breadth of 29 ft.—the proportion being thus 6.4 of length to 1 of beam—with a depth of hold of 18 ft. Her registered tonnage was 691 tons, and her builders' measurement 770 tons. Although a fine-ended ship she carried a large cargo on board, and made her first trip to Sydney in seventy days, which had not then been surpassed.[15] She made the passage from Shanghai to London in eighty-seven days, with 1030 tons of tea on board. In one trip she averaged 320 nautical miles for five consecutive days. When engaged in the celebrated race for the delivery of the season's teas from Foo-chow-foo to London, in 1856, the Lord of the Isles beat two of the fastest American clippers, of almost twice her tonnage. She "delivered her cargo without one spot of damage, and thus British ships regained their ascendency in the trade which their American rivals had far too long monopolised."[16] From that time the British sailing ships gradually gained a complete superiority over the American vessels, and carried all before them, until they in turn were supplanted by the British steamship. From time to time an occasional sailing ship was constructed of steel; the latest, the Archibald Russell, is illustrated. Built for Messrs. John Hardie and Company, this vessel has a length, between perpendiculars, of 278 ft., a beam of 43 ft., and a depth, moulded, of 26 ft., and carries 3930 tons of deadweight cargo on a draught of 21 ft. 7-1/2 in. But less than 1 per cent. of ships now constructed depend upon the unbought but uncertain winds, and then only for special trades. On regular routes the steamer is now almost paramount, and it was, therefore, appropriate in the highest degree that the first vessels to steam regularly to China, viâ the Cape, should, like the Lord of the Isles, be built by the Scotts; but that belongs to another story.

The Development of the Steamship.

A CLOSE association existed between the Scotts and the family of James Watt, the inventor of the steam engine: the founder of the Scotts' shipbuilding firm and the father of Watt were identified with several schemes for the improvement of Greenock; and the signature of John Scott, of the third generation, whose portrait is the second reproduced on [Plate II]., is taken from a document in connection with some intromissions of town's funds, to which also is adhibited the signature of Watt's father.

It is not surprising, therefore, that the Scotts were early close students of Watt's inventive work, and among the first to enter upon the building of steamships; while at the same time, as we have shown in the preceding pages, building many of the fine sailing ships which established British shipping supremacy in the early half of the nineteenth century, and raised Greenock by 1829 to a port having trade with every part of the world.

Miller and Taylor commenced their experiments at Dalswinton in 1788, with a steam engine driving paddle-wheels in boats[17]. Symington's steam tug, Charlotte Dundas, by its success in 1802 on the Forth and Clyde Canal[18], removed any remaining doubt; but it was not until 1812 that Henry Bell, with his Comet, proved the commercial utility of the steam system, although without profit to the promoter.[19] The building of steamships, evolved by experiments by various workers in Britain—and in America also—was readily adopted on the Clyde. Within four years of the completion of the Comet, it was not unusual for five hundred or six hundred passengers to enjoy in the course of one day water excursions on the river.[20] The fares were practically five times those prevailing to-day. Among the earliest of the Clyde steamers were the Active, of 59 tons, and Despatch, of 58 tons, built by the Scotts. In calculating the tonnage in those early days, an average allowance of one-third was deducted for the machinery. In 1816 the firm built the Shannon, of a length between perpendiculars of 77 ft. 7 in., of a beam of 15 ft. 3 in., and of a depth moulded of 9 ft. 1 in. She had fore-and-aft cabins. Her engines were of 14 horse-power nominal. She plied on the Shannon between Limerick and Kilrush. By 1818—six years after the completion of the Comet—thirty-two steamers were running on the Clyde, and some of these were sent ultimately for traffic on the coast and on other rivers.[21] The largest of these was of 112 tons, with engines of 40 nominal horse-power.

The Scotts had built many sailing craft for the Clyde and Belfast trade, for the Glasgow and Liverpool service, and for the Liverpool and Drogheda, and other coasting routes; and it was natural when steam was introduced that the same firm should supply the side-paddle boats.

Plate VIII.

From an Old Engraving.

EARLY STEAMBOATS AT GREENOCK.

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In three successive years—from 1819 to 1821—the largest steamer in the kingdom came from Scotts' Works. The record was marked in 1819 by the Waterloo, of over 200 tons, with engines of 60 nominal horse-power; in 1820, by the Superb of 240 tons register, with engines of 72 nominal horse-power, which cost about £37 per ton, and steamed 9 miles per hour, using 1670 lb. of Scotch coal per hour; and in 1821, by the Majestic, of 345 tons register, with engines of 100 horse-power, which cost over £40 per ton, and steamed 10 miles per hour for a consumption of 2240 lb. of Scotch coal. Although the modern steamer is fifty times the size of these pioneers, with a cost per ton of less than one-fourth, and a fuel consumption per unit of work done of not more than a seventh, the records of these and other early ships are worthy of full reference.

The advantage of steam navigation for channel service was at once recognised. A Parliamentary return issued in 1815 showed that for the space of nine days in the previous year only one mail packet could sail between Holyhead and Dublin owing to adverse winds, and even then the average passage was twenty-four hours. Lord Kelvin, in his memorable Address as Chancellor of the University of Glasgow, in 1905, recalled the fact that early in the century his father often took three or four days to cross from Belfast to Greenock in a smack, as she was frequently becalmed. With favourable winds, rapid passages were made, a revenue cutter occasionally doing the Belfast and Greenock run in ten hours.

The Greenock and Belfast route was among the first around the coast to come under the influence of the mechanical system of propulsion. The Rob Roy, which was the outcome, so far as form of hull was concerned, of probably the first model experiments ever made—undertaken by David Napier in the Canal at Camlachie[22]—was in 1818 the pioneer in the Glasgow and Belfast steam service, and later in the Dover and Calais steam service.

There followed in 1819 three notable vessels from Scotts' Works: the Waterloo,[23] the Robert Bruce, and the Sir William Wallace. The particulars and performances of these vessels, taken from contemporary records, principally the "Greenock Advertiser," which faithfully reported each incident in the development of the steamship, are especially interesting as illustrative of early work.

The Waterloo, which, as we have already said, was the largest steamer of her year (1819), had a beam equal to one-fifth of her length, the measurement between perpendiculars being 98 ft. 8 in. In addition to a large number of passengers, she carried under ordinary conditions a cargo of 100 tons, on a draught of 8 ft. 6 in. against 7 ft. 3 in. without cargo. Three months were required, between the launch of the ship and her trials, for the fitting on board of engines each of 30 nominal horse-power, which gave her a speed of between 8 and 9 miles per hour. Sails, however, were still carried to assist in driving the ship, and this vessel was of schooner rig. She inaugurated the steam service between Belfast and Liverpool.

The Robert Bruce was the first steamer to trade between the Clyde and Liverpool.[24] She was followed by the Sir William Wallace. Both were built by the Scotts, and had engines of 60 nominal horse-power. They began service in the summer of 1819; and the record of the maiden voyage of the former, in August, 1819, showed that two and a-half hours were occupied in the run from Glasgow to Greenock, about 22 miles; and within 26 hours thereafter the vessel took on her pilot at the north-west lightship outside the Mersey Bar. The return voyage was equally satisfactory. To quote again from contemporary records, "the passengers, both out and home, were so highly gratified with the performance of this vessel and their treatment on board that they unanimously expressed their entire satisfaction with Captain Paterson's exertions to render them comfortable and happy, their conviction of the seaworthiness of the vessel, and their admiration of the powers of the engines, capable of propelling so large a body at the rate of 7 knots per hour, in the face of a strong north-northwest wind and high sea for at least two-thirds of the way from Liverpool, her rate thither being nearly 9 knots."[25]

In 1820, the Superb, of 240 tons and 72 horse-power, followed the Sir William Wallace, and marked a still further improvement. She had a copper boiler, and in the three cabins sleeping accommodation was provided for sixty-two passengers. She was "the finest, largest, and most powerful steam vessel in Great Britain.[26] The average duration of the passage from the Clyde to Liverpool did not exceed 30 hours."

The Majestic, also for the Clyde and Liverpool service, was built in 1821, and was 134 ft. 11 in. long between perpendiculars, 22 ft. 8 in. beam, and 14 ft. 5 in. depth, moulded. Her draught, 10 ft. 6 in. forward and 12 ft. aft, was too great for the upper reaches of the Clyde, and passengers were brought from Glasgow to Greenock in a tender. In her four cabins there was greatly-increased accommodation for the passengers. She was probably the first steamer with a sleeping apartment exclusively for ladies. The copper boiler worked at a pressure of 4 lb. per square inch, and the engines ran at 56 revolutions. The fares[27] to Liverpool in those days were £2 15s., as compared with 11s. to-day; of course, very much better accommodation is now provided.

The City of Glasgow was built in 1822 for the Liverpool service. This vessel, which cost £15,000, had a speed of over 10 knots, and was reputed the fastest afloat. Her length was 110 ft. 4 in., beam 22 ft. 4 in., and depth, moulded, 13 ft. She was arranged like the Majestic, and the two were long the most important vessels in the Clyde and Liverpool trade. She was subsequently bought by McIver, and inaugurated the competition with the Burns line, commenced in 1829.[28] The McIver and Burns lines were subsequently combined.

The Scotts rendered similar service in the development of the mail route between Holyhead and Dublin. The first vessel built by them for this service was the Ivanhoe, constructed in 1820. The steam service had been opened between these two ports in 1819 by the Talbot, the first steamer fitted with feathering floats.[29] The Ivanhoe,[30] a larger steamer than the Talbot, was of 170 tons burden, her length between perpendiculars being 97 ft. 4 in., beam 19 ft., and depth, moulded, 14 ft. 6 in. She had various improvements in her machinery, which was of 60 nominal horse-power. She left Scotts' yard in May, 1820, and made the voyage to Howth (200 miles), in 26-1/2 hours.

Plate IX.

From "The Life of Robert Napier."

THE "CITY OF GLASGOW."

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Thus the Scotts continued to improve on each successive ship, and to widen the area of their influence. The Clyde continued to largely monopolise the industry of steam shipbuilding, and it was not until the summer of 1822 that a steamer—not built in Scotland—appeared on the Clyde. This was the Saint George, from Liverpool, and the City of Glasgow, already referred to, her competitor in the Liverpool trade, raced her and greatly excelled.

One of the first steamers to trade in the Mediterranean was the Superb, sent thither in 1824, and the Trinacria, also built by the Scotts, followed in 1825. These ran between Naples and Palermo. The last-named vessel was 135 ft. long over-all, and 113 ft. 6 in. between perpendiculars, 39 ft. 6 in. broad over the paddle-box, and 21 ft. 10 in. net beam, 14 ft. deep (moulded), and of 300 tons burden. The vessel was especially well-equipped, and cost £15,000. The engines, the first manufactured by the Scotts at their Greenock foundry, were of 80 nominal horse-power, and the boilers, which were of copper, weighed 40 tons. The speed was 10 miles per hour. Later this steamer became the Hylton Joliffe, and was employed by the General Steam Navigation Company on their London and Hamburg service.

As to the yard in which these several vessels were built, suggestion is afforded of the state of efficiency by the following quotation from a history published in 1829.[31] "The building yard of Messrs. Scott and Sons is allowed to be the most complete in Britain, excepting those which belong to the Crown. It has a fine extent of front from the West Quay to the termination of the West Burn, and has a large dry dock, which was altered lately to the plan of the new dock. All the stores and lofts are entirely walled in, and, independently of the building premises, they have an extensive manufactory of chain cables."

The majority of the engines for these early steamers of the Scotts were constructed by Napier or Cook, and were of the side-lever or beam type. In 1825, however, John Scott, who had done so much for the progress of the firm, decided to commence building machinery, and acquired for £5000 the works which have since been developed into the well-known Greenock Foundry. This establishment was begun, although on a very small scale, about 1790,[32] and in its equipment, which was considered thoroughly efficient, there was included a large cupola. Some idea is given of the extent of the establishment by reference to Weir's "History of Greenock" (1829), page 94, where it is stated that in the few years that had elapsed since the taking over of the works by the Scotts "they have manufactured some splendid engines, and—what is more to be looked for than the appearance—they have wrought well. They have in hand the largest engine ever made, which is of a size of 200 horse-power, and is intended for a vessel building at Bristol. The number of men employed amount to about two hundred and twenty, while the weekly distribution of wages is £180." As a contrast, it may be said here that there are now four thousand men in the works, earning per week over £5500 in wages, and that the Scotts are engaged on the largest set of engines yet constructed by them—for H.M.S. Defence. They are of 27,000 indicated horse-power, to give the immense armoured cruiser named, of 14,600 tons displacement, a speed of 23 knots.

Since 1825, the Scotts have continued to do very satisfactory engine work, much of it of an original character, not only for vessels built for themselves, but for ships constructed on the Thames and other English rivers, and also for the series of warships built for the British Navy at their works, and for others constructed at the Royal Dockyards. This naval engine work began with H.M. ships Hecla and Hecate, engined in 1838-9, and the first warships built in the dockyards to be sent to Scottish works to receive machinery.[33] And here it may be noted, too, that the first warship built by the Scotts was the Prince of Wales, in 1803, and also that the firm had the credit of building the first steam frigate constructed at Clyde works for the British Navy, H.M.S. Greenock, launched in 1839. They also built the first compound engines fitted to a French warship. With these naval ships and engines we deal in our next Chapter, and may therefore continue our narrative regarding merchant steamers.

A SIDE-LEVER ENGINE OF 1831.

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We reproduce on the preceding page a drawing illustrating an early type of engine built by the firm. This is an engine constructed in 1831. The steam cylinder is 52-1/4 in. in diameter, and the crank-shaft is actuated, through connecting-rods, from the ends of the levers operated by the piston-rod, while the air-pump is placed at the opposite ends of the levers.

A different type of engine, constructed in the following year (1832), is illustrated on the facing page. In this case the cylinder operates the opposite end of the levers to that connected with the crank-shaft. In both engines the lever-gudgeon passes through the jet-condenser.

The records we have given are historically interesting, because they tell of the beginnings of a great epoch in British shipping. We do not propose to follow in such detail subsequent steamships, built for other services, between London and Aberdeen, the Clyde and Dublin, etc. The City of Aberdeen, built in 1835 for the first-named, marked noteworthy progress. She measured 187 ft. over the figure-head, and was of 1800 tons, including the space for the machinery. Her poop was 60 ft. long and 45 ft. broad. According to contemporary testimony, she was, in her day, the strongest steamer built, having solid frames from gunwale to gunwale. She had additional bracing with African oak stringers; oak and iron trussings alternately bolted to the stringers formed a complete system of diagonal fastenings and bindings from stem to stern. The whole of the cabins, saloons and state rooms, were on one deck, and there was the important innovation of hot and cold baths. The speed was 12 miles per hour.[34]

The Jupiter, of 439 tons and 210 horse-power, built in 1836 for the Clyde and Dublin trade, cost £20,000, and established a record in speed, making the voyage in sixteen hours six minutes, at the rate of 13 miles per hour; formerly the voyage took twenty-four hours.

AN ENGINE OF 1832.

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In the late 'thirties and the early 'forties there was a great development in oversea trading steamers, the Clyde taking, then as now, the foremost place. Several epoch-marking voyages had been made with the steam engine used intermittently. The Savannah had thus crossed the Atlantic from the United States in 1819, and the Royal William from Quebec in 1833.

The barque Falcon,[35] 84 ft. in length, and of 175 tons, had, on the voyage to India in 1835 utilised engines which, however, were removed on her arrival in our Eastern dependency. Later in the same year the Enterprise, of 470 tons and 120 horse-power, also rounded the Cape of Good Hope to India. In all these cases, however, sails were utilised whenever possible, and there was still great hesitancy in accepting the steam engine even as an alternative on occasions to the use of the "unbought wind." The advantage, however, of a rate of speed which, while low, would be constant, soon asserted itself, and there followed within a few years regular mail steamship services on the North and South Atlantic Oceans, in the Mediterranean Sea, in the Indian Ocean, and the China Seas. In the beginning and development of these services the Scotts took a prominent part.

One of the first notable steamship lines to be organised for oversea service was that which ultimately became the Peninsular and Oriental Company. It had its origin[36] in steamship service from Falmouth to Oporto, Lisbon, Cadiz, and Gibraltar. Four steamers were built in 1836-37: the Tagus, Don Juan, Braganza, and Iberia. The first-named was built by the Scotts, and the third was engined by them. These ultimately carried the mails as far as Alexandria, whence they were conveyed overland to Suez, and from thence by the East India Company's vessels to Bombay. This service developed into the Peninsular and Oriental service, when, in 1840, the Company took over the mail service on the Indian Ocean; in 1847 they extended their operations to China. The overland service continued until the Suez Canal was opened in 1869, and many of the vessels for the Mediterranean service, as well as for the eastern route, were built by the Scotts.

Plate X.

SCOTTS' FIRST P. AND O. LINER, THE "TAGUS."

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The Tagus,[37] which was thus amongst the first of the P. and O. steamers, was built in 1837. She had a length of 182.1 ft., a beam of 26 ft., and a depth of 17 ft. 4 in., the burden tonnage being 709 tons. When carrying 265 tons of coal in her bunkers and 300 tons of cargo, the draught was 14 ft. 6 in. The side-lever engines which were fitted to her had a cylinder 62 in. in diameter, with a 5-ft. 9-in. stroke, developed 286 horse-power, and operated paddle-wheels 23 ft. 6 in. in diameter. Two of the other early steamers, the Jupiter and the Montrose, were also constructed by the Scotts.

The conveyance of cargo and passengers across the Isthmus of Suez not only involved inconvenience and expense, but was a cause of great delay. There was still, however, a strong prejudice against steamships being utilised for long sea voyages, partly because of vested interests in sailing ships. Sir John Ross, C.B., who, in 1818 and in 1829 to 1833, made Arctic explorations, was one of the strongest advocates for a service to India by way of the Cape of Good Hope; and, in order to establish the feasibility of the undertaking, made experiments with the City of Glasgow, built by the Scotts in 1821. This vessel, of 283 tons, had in the interval been fitted with new boilers, with special safety appliances, and they worked at 4-lb. pressure; they gave the high evaporation in those days of 9 lb. of water per pound of coal.[38]

This vessel made the trip from London Bridge to the lightship off Spithead (246 miles) in thirty-one hours five minutes, on a consumption of 6 lb. of fuel per indicated horse-power per hour. These facts were utilised by Sir John Ross in his advocacy of the route, and a new company was formed, under his chairmanship, in 1837.

The first vessel of the fleet, named the India, was built and engined by the Scotts, and was a few years later transferred to the Peninsular and Oriental Company. The India, launched in 1839, was the largest steamer built on the Clyde up to that date, being 206 ft. 6 in. long, 30 ft. 9 in. beam, or 48 ft. wide over the paddle-boxes. The gross tonnage was 1206 tons. Accommodation was provided for eighty cabin passengers, and provision made for 400 tons of cargo. A feature of her construction was the provision of two strong bulkheads of iron across the engine-room, in order to avoid accidental outbreak of fire, and also to prevent water from a leak in one part spreading to another.[39] This was probably the beginning—nearly seventy years ago—of the system of division by watertight bulkheads, now universal. Its compulsory adoption was advocated by the Institution of Naval Architects in 1866, and enforced by Lloyds in 1882, and by the Board of Trade in 1890. The machinery was of 320 horse-power, and had surface-condensers. The India was launched on the anniversary of the birth of James Watt, and a salute of twenty-one guns was fired as the vessel left the ways.

Five other steamers were built for the service, and the voyage took from fifty-five to sixty days, as compared with the one hundred and thirteen days occupied by the Enterprise. A monthly service was thus rendered possible. At the same time the Scotts built steam vessels for the coasting trade of India and of South Africa.

The type of machinery in use at this period is illustrated on the opposite page. This particular engine was constructed in 1838. The piston was connected to one end of the side-levers, while the crank was operated from the other. The paddle-wheel of this engine was 25 ft. 0-1/2 in. in diameter, with seventeen floats. For about thirty years this was the standard type of marine engine for paddle steamers.

The Gothic architectural design for the main framing was gradually abandoned for something less ornamental and perhaps more mechanical.

TYPE OF SIDE-LEVER ENGINE OF 1840.

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The Royal West India Mail Company's Service, still one of the best known of British lines, was commenced in 1841. Some of the steamers were purchased, but amongst those built originally for the service was the Dee by the Scotts. She was 213 ft. 9 in. long, 30 ft. 4 in. beam, and 30 ft. in depth, the burden tonnage being 1848 tons. On a draught of 17 ft. 6 in. she carried 700 tons of cargo; and, as with most of the oversea liners of the period, the average speed was only about 8 knots. The voyage of 13,650 miles occupied then one hundred and nine days, including stoppages; and the consumption of fuel was 25-1/2 tons per day. The engines, which had cylinders 73 in. in diameter with a stroke of 7 ft., were of 450 horse-power, driving side paddle-wheels 28 ft. 6 in. in diameter.[40]

In the thirty years from the first commercial British steamer, the Comet, there had not been much advance in the steam engine, excepting in size, power, and, perhaps, reliability. Wood had continued to be the constructive material for all but the smallest ships. The size of vessels had grown steadily to the 1848 tons of the West Indian mail liner, which started regular steamship service almost contemporaneously with the inauguration of the Atlantic mail line by the Cunard Company in 1840. Speeds on service, even on the shortest routes, were seldom over 13 knots, and on the long routes under 8 knots. But this was in excess of the average attained by all but exceptionally fast clippers. The Table on the opposite page shows the progress made in thirty years.

Table I.—Epoch-Marking Steamers Built By The Scotts, 1819 To 1841.

We enter now upon the period when iron took the place of timber as a constructional material. It was first used in part in the construction, on the banks of the Monkland Canal as far back as 1818, of a canal barge named the Vulcan, a vessel which continued at work for over sixty years.[41] But the first vessel built entirely of iron was a small craft constructed in 1821 in England. It was not, however, until 1832 that the first sea-going vessel was built of this metal. Progress in the adoption of iron was slow, largely because timber had proved so serviceable, and, with lessened restriction upon its importation, had become much cheaper. It was not until the higher strength and greater ductility of steel were demonstrated in the 'eighties that timber was finally superseded. The last wooden ship built by the Scotts was completed in 1859.

The firm built several of the early Atlantic liners, and we reproduce on page 32, as a further step in the development of the steam engine, a drawing showing the double-gear engines constructed early in the 'fifties for an iron screw steamer of 1190 tons, built for the Glasgow and New York service. This engine was pronounced at the time "the most compact specimen of its type then in existence,"[42] for although the power developed was 250 horse-power, and the ship was 260 ft. in length, only 12 ft. 6 in. of the fore-and-aft length was taken up by the machinery. "Every weight was well balanced, the working parts were clear and open, and the combined whole was stable, firm, and well bound together." The cylinders were 52 in. in diameter, were arranged diagonally, and worked at right angles to each other, with a stroke of 3 ft. 9 in. The piston-rods projected through the lower covers, to allow of long return connecting-rods. Each cylinder had two piston-rods, for greater steadiness, their outer ends in each case being keyed into a crosshead, fitted at each end with slide-blocks, working in a pair of inclined open guide-frames, bolted to the bottom cylinder cover, and supported beneath by projecting bracket-pieces, recessed and bolted down upon pedestal pieces on the engine sole-plate. From each end of this crosshead, immediately outside the guide-frame, a plain straight connecting-rod of round section passed up to actuate the main first-motion shaft. The upper ends of the connecting-rods were jointed to side-studs, or crank-pins, fixed in two opposite arms of a pair of large spur-wheels, which gave motion to the screw-shaft by means of a pair of corresponding spur-pinions, fixed on the shaft.

DOUBLE-GEARED ENGINE FOR EARLY ATLANTIC LINER.

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The main spur-wheels were 11 ft. 5-1/2 in. in diameter, and the pinions on the screw-shaft 4 ft. 6 in.; so that the screw propeller made 2-1/2 revolutions to each rotation of the engine. The arrangement ensured that each piston was directly coupled to both of the large wheels, and the increased length of the crossheads, which the plan involved, was counterbalanced by the effect of the double piston-rods, for by this division of the pressure the cross-strain leverage was proportionately diminished.

The use of steam expansively in multiple-cylinder engines was, however, the most important factor in the development of the steamship during the latter half of the nineteenth century.[43] With low steam pressures and simple engines the coal consumption, even for moderate-sized ships, was a serious item in a long sea voyage; and, early in the 'fifties, engineers, recognising the economy which would result from a successful compounding of steam, tackled the problems of steam-generation plant to enable the necessary high initial pressure to be developed with safety. John Elder had fitted several ships, but was, for a long time, content with an initial pressure of from 50 lb. to 60 lb. per square inch.

The late John Scott, C.B., was so convinced of the economy of steam at higher pressures in the compound system that he decided to build, largely at his own expense, a vessel which would enable him to put the system to a thorough test. This steamer, constructed of iron in 1858, was the Thetis, which was, undoubtedly, an epoch-marking ship, as her machinery was operated at an initial pressure of 115 lb. to the square inch—exceptionally high for those days.

For the first time, surface condensers were used in association with the compound marine engine. There were, as shown on [Plate XI]., facing page 36, six cylinders, arranged in two groups, each with one high- and two low-pressure cylinders. The three pistons of each group worked one crosshead, connecting-rod, and crank. Each group had two slide-valves, one for the high-pressure and one for the low-pressure cylinders, and both were attached to one valve spindle and one reversing link.[44] The engines worked up to 51 revolutions per minute—equal to a piston speed of 255 ft. per minute—and the maximum indicated horse-power was 256. The engines were tried by the late Professor Macquorn Rankine, F.R.S., who certified that the coal consumption on trial was 1.018 lb. per indicated horse-power per hour: an extraordinary result, even in the light of modern improvements.[45]

A large part of this efficiency was due to the boilers, which were of the Rowan water-tube type, and are illustrated on the opposite page. They had square vertical water-tubes, and through each of these there passed four hot-gas tubes. They evaporated 11 lb. of water per pound of coal, which was 30 per cent. higher than was attained with the best marine boilers of those days. The coal consumption at sea was about 1.86 lb. per indicated horse-power per hour.

Unfortunately, there soon developed small holes in the boiler-tubes, owing to erosion of the external surface, probably the consequence of the chemical action set up by the steam for cleaning the tubes mixing with the soot and other deposit.[46] Although for this reason this early water-tube boiler did not succeed, there is no doubt that the performances suggested improvements which have since brought complete success to this system of boiler. At the same time, the efficiency of high steam pressures was completely established and resulted in very considerable progress in the size and power of steamships.

A PIONEER IN WATER-TUBE BOILERS.

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Another innovation which suggested future developments was the fitting at the base of the funnel in the Thetis of a series of water-tubes for the purpose of utilising the waste heat from the boilers to evaporate water for subsequent condensation to make up the boiler feed. The time was not ripe for such a utilisation of the waste gases—the heat was insufficient to generate the required steam—but now various schemes are applied for absorbing the waste heat in the uptake to heat air for furnace draught and to superheat steam.

A number of water-tube boilers were made, and a set was fitted into a corvette built for the French Navy. This vessel, completed in the early 'sixties, was the first ship in the French fleet to be driven by compound engines, and will fall to be described with other vessels in our next Chapter, dealing with the work of a century for the Navy.

Perhaps the most significant indication of the success of the Scott compound engine is found in the results of its application to the early Holt steamers. Alfred Holt commenced trading with the West Indies in 1855, while his brother, George Holt, became associated with Lamport in the River Plate trade in 1865. Both lines continue among the most successful in British shipping.

The Holt steam line to China was commenced in 1865, and was the only one viâ the Cape of Good Hope which proved at once successful. Built and engined by the Scotts, the early Holt liners, starting from Liverpool, never stopped till they reached Mauritius, a distance of 8500 miles, being under steam the whole way, a feat until then considered impossible.[47] Thence the vessels proceeded to Penang, Singapore, Hong Kong, and Shanghai. Unaided by any Government grants, they performed this long voyage with great regularity.

Plate XI.

HIGH-PRESSURE MACHINERY IN THE "THETIS."

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The three vessels which inaugurated the very successful Holt line were named Agamemnon, Ajax, and Achilles, and were built of iron by the Scotts in 1865-6. They were each 309 ft. in length between perpendiculars, 38 ft. 6 in. beam, and 29 ft. 8 in. in depth, with a gross tonnage of 2347 tons—dimensions which were then deemed too great for the China trade, but which experience soon proved to be most satisfactory. Sails were fitted to the vessels, as shown in the engraving on the [Plate] facing page 40.

Alfred Holt was the first to apply the compound engine to long voyages, and his vessels were the earliest of the type built for the merchant service by the Scotts. It is true the Pacific Company had compound engines fitted to one or two ships prior to this, but these were only used in the coasting trade. The engines of these Holt liners are therefore of historical interest, and general drawings are reproduced on the next page and on [Plate XII]. A feature in these liners was that the propeller was abaft the rudder, which worked in an aperture in the deadwood corresponding to that for the propeller in single-screw modern ships.

A detailed description from the specification of the machinery may be reproduced, as it indicates the practice of the Scotts for a considerable time. Indeed, this type of compound engine, with slight modifications, was the standard engine for Holt liners until the advent of the triple-expansion engine. The details follow:—

The cylinders were: high-pressure, 30 in. in diameter; low-pressure, 62 in. in diameter, with 4 ft. 4 in. stroke, arranged vertically in tandem fashion, with the low-pressure cylinder on the top. There were two connecting-rods, but a common crosshead for the tandem cylinders, and a common crankpin.

The crankshaft was 13-1/2 in. in diameter, with a bearing 30 in. long at the aft end of the bedplate, which took the propeller thrust. The propeller was three-bladed, 17 ft. in diameter, with 26 ft. 6 in. pitch; with 46 revolutions per minute the piston speed was 400 ft. per minute. To ensure smooth working with the single crank, a heavy flywheel was fitted, and the pump levers carried a massive weight to help to balance the weight of pistons and rods.

THE MACHINERY OF THE "ACHILLES."

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The condenser had 420 tubes 1-1/2 in. in diameter, giving a cooling surface of 1375 square feet. The tubes were arranged in three nests, the water circulating through the top one first and the bottom one last. The circulating pump, instead of forcing water through the tubes, as was usual in such case, sucked from the condenser and discharged directly overboard. There were: one air pump, 24 in. in diameter; one circulating pump, 24 in. in diameter; two feed pumps, 4-3/4 in. in diameter; and one bilge pump 7 in. in diameter: all the pumps were single-acting, with 17 in. stroke. The diameters of the principal pipes were: main steam, 7-1/2 in.; to low-pressure cylinder, 12 in.; circulating inlet, 10 in.; discharge, 12 in.; air-pump discharge, 10 in.; main feed, 3-3/4 in.; and waste steam, two at 6 in. in diameter.

The two boilers were double-ended, of the locomotive type, with wet-bottomed furnaces. The centre was cylindrical, but the ends were rectangular with semi-cylindrical tops, the total weight, without water, being 78 tons. Each boiler had a long receiver passing through the uptake to dry the steam. On the receiver was a deadweight safety-valve 6-1/4 in. in diameter, to suit a working pressure of 60 lb. per square inch. The grate surface was 112 square feet, and the total heating surface 4506 square feet, there being 328 iron tubes 4 in. in diameter.

Plate XII.

GENERAL ARRANGEMENT OF THE MACHINERY OF THE "ACHILLES."

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The three pioneer ships of the Holt line—the Agamemnon, Ajax, and Achilles—proved most economical. The Achilles came home from China in fifty-seven days eighteen hours, net steaming time, or, including the stoppages at ports, sixty-one days three hours. She travelled during this period a distance of 12,352 miles, on a consumption of coal which did not exceed 20 tons per day for all purposes,[48] equal to 2-1/4 lb. per unit of power per hour, which for those early days, with comparatively low steam pressures, must be regarded as a highly satisfactory result.

The non-stop voyage between Liverpool and Mauritius was made as early as 1866 in thirty-seven days, equal to 10 knots, with a number of passengers and a fair cargo. The higher economy established for the compound engine on long voyages resulted in the ultimate supersession of the sailing ship.[49] Thus the Scotts, while still enjoying the credit of the splendid performance of the Lord of the Isles in the early 'sixties, produced at their foundry the Holt compound engine, which sounded the death-knell of the clipper. The compound system had at once an influence on the size of ships. Up till 1862 no ship of over 4000 tons had been constructed, with the exception of the Great Eastern; by 1870 there were fifteen; by 1880, thirty-seven.[50]

The Scotts, aided by Holt, continued their research towards higher economy, and a large fleet of steamers was built, with engines having flywheels which, it was found by experience, considerably improved the economy up to a certain stage, although with increased pressure the proportion of saving was not commensurate with the weight of the wheel, and the three-cylinder three-crank engine was ultimately adopted.

The Scotts throughout the century continued to have a close association with the China trade, constructing a long series of successful steamers for the Holt company and for other lines, with services from Britain to the Far East, and carried out very extensive work in the building up of the coasting trade of Asia and Oceania. For the Holt line alone there have been constructed by the Scotts forty-eight steamers, aggregating 148,353 tons; while the propelling machinery of these represents 19,500 nominal horse-power. For the India and China services there have, in the past fifty years, been completed over one hundred and thirty steamers.

The China Navigation Company, Limited, was formed in 1873 by Messrs. John Swire and Sons, of London, for trading in China, and the first steamers built for them by the Scotts were two vessels of 1200 tons gross, completed in 1876.

Since then the Scotts' yard has practically never been without a vessel for one or other branch of the Eastern trade, and particularly for the China Navigation Company, which runs steamers from China as far south as Australia, as far west as the Straits, and as far north as Vladivostock and the Amur river. They also have ships trading up the Yangtsze Kiang to Ichang, 1000 miles from the sea, where the rapids prevent navigation farther into the interior. For this service the twin-screw steamer was adopted in 1878, much earlier than in many other trades, largely owing to the strong advocacy of the late John Scott, C.B. Up to that time most of the Yangtsze steamers were propelled by paddle-wheels driven by walking-beam engines. The first of the twin-screw steamers was built in 1878—a vessel of 3051 tons gross—and there has been constructed since then a long succession of very serviceable steamers. For this line alone, sixty-four vessels have been constructed by the Scotts, the aggregate tonnage being 115,600 tons, while the nominal horse-power of the propelling machinery fitted to these vessels is 15,000 horse-power.

Plate XIII.

THE "ACHILLES" OF 1865 OFF GRAVESEND.

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But having in our brief historical sketch come to times within the recollection of the reader, it may be more satisfactory to depart from the purely chronological review of the company's operations, and to offer rather an analysis of the progress made, deferring a description of typical modern steamers for a separate Chapter.

The direct-acting vertical engine, with inverted cylinders, almost as we know it to-day, and as illustrated in connection with the work of the twentieth century, was introduced in the late 'fifties. The compound engine, introduced in 1854, was developed into the triple-expansion system in 1882, and later into the quadruple-expansion type; but this latter has not been much adopted, only some 3 per cent. of the vessels registered at Lloyds being so fitted. This is in a large measure due to the satisfactory economy attained with triple-expansion engines. As to the progress made, Table II., giving average results at different periods, is instructive.[51]

Table II.—Progress in the Economy of the Marine Engine, 1872 to 1901.

The advance of the century may be popularly expressed by stating that, whereas in the first coasting steamships built by the Scotts the fuel consumed in carrying 1 ton of cargo for 100 miles was 224 lb., the expenditure to-day is from 4 lb. to 5 lb. The economy of the steam engine has accounted, as is shown in the Table, for a considerable part of this improvement. But, at the same time, the growth in the size of ships has enabled the normal speed of 10 knots to be realised, with an addition to engine power of much less ratio than the increase in the capacity of the steamer. As to speed, recent progress has been most marked in the Navy, and it is therefore fitting that here we should direct our attention to Naval work.

Plate XIV.

MODEL OF H.M.S. "PRINCE OF WALES," 1803.

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A Century's Work for the Navy.

THE work for the Navy by the Scotts began with the building, in 1803, of a sloop-of-war named The Prince of Wales; a photograph from the model of this vessel is reproduced on [Plate XIV]. Since the construction of this ship the firm have carried out several important Admiralty contracts, including the first machinery manufactured in Scotland for a dockyard-built ship, the first steam frigate built in the North, and several later ships, with their engines; the most recent order being for the machinery of the armoured cruiser Defence, of 14,600 tons displacement, and 27,000 indicated horse-power, to give a speed of 23 knots.

The progress demonstrated by a contrast between the small sloop-of-war and this latest powerfully-armed and well-protected high-speed cruiser, is a record of research and invention, not only on the part of the naval architect, but also of the chemist, the metallurgist, and the engineer; the triumph is greater than that reviewed in the case of the Merchant Marine. Great speed has been achieved, notwithstanding that the problems to be solved in its attainment have been intensified by the limitations in the size of the ship in order to minimise the target presented to the enemy's fire, and by the necessity of providing for heavy armour, armament, and ammunition in the displacement weight.

When a comparison is made of the Navy ships at the beginning of the nineteenth century with those of a hundred years earlier, it is found that little progress had been made, either in design or in gun-power. The largest vessel in 1700 was of 1809 tons burden, with a hundred guns. A century later, the size had increased only to 2600 tons, with a hundred and twenty guns.[52] But even this was an exceptionally large vessel. The British ships were, as a rule, smaller, and perhaps slower, than the French ships; but then—as now and always—skill in strategy, courage in combat, and devotion to duty were the most powerful factors in action. No fault in these respects could be found with the work of our Navy in the various engagements which terminated in the epoch-marking victory in Trafalgar Bay.

The peace following the Napoleonic wars was not conducive to advancement, as there was little incentive to pursue the sciences which contributed to the development of destructive weapons. Steam as a motive power and iron as a constructive material were not so readily adopted in the Navy ship as in the Merchant Marine. Progress in the utilisation of iron was not continuous. The first application of steam was belated, and its popularity was not unalloyed.

Plate XV.

From an Old Engraving.

THE LAUNCH OF THE FIRST CLYDE-BUILT STEAM FRIGATE "GREENOCK," 1849.

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The Admiralty ordered their first ship of iron in 1839—a small, non-fighting boat for the Dover station—and there followed other vessels for the exploration of the River Niger. But the first iron fighting ship was not built until 1843. In 1848-9 the Scotts constructed the iron steam frigate Greenock, the largest iron warship of her day, and the first steam frigate built on the Clyde. The over-all length of this vessel was 213 ft., the beam 37 ft. 4 in., and the depth of hold 23 ft. She was of 1413 tons burden, and carried ten 32-pounder smooth-bore muzzle-loading guns. The illustration on Plate XV. is a reproduction from an old engraving of the launch of the vessel. It is a noteworthy feature that the figure-head was a bust of John Scott, the second of that name. This compliment by the Naval authorities of the time was well merited, as he did much not only for the advance of naval architecture, but also for the development of Greenock.

As a writer of the day put it, this vessel was the experimentum crucis of the principle of constructing fighting ships of iron.[53] By 1850 there were six large iron vessels, ranging downwards from the 1980 tons of the eighteen-gun ship Simoon, with eleven smaller vessels; but they were all condemned, because it was found by experiment[54] that the 32-pounder gun at short range could perforate the side of the iron ship, and that the projectile carried its "cloud of langrage" with great velocity into the interior of the ship, so that men could not stand against it. Tests were also made with sixteen wrought-iron plates superposed, to give a total thickness of 6 in., but these also were perforated by the 32-pounder projectiles at 400 yards range; so that the adoption of iron on the main structure of the ship was practically delayed until armour-plates were first rolled in 1859.

The obstacle to the adoption of steam was the unsuitability of paddle-wheel machinery for fighting ships. The wheel was exposed to gun-fire, and the whole of the machinery could not be located below the water line. Moreover, the side wheel limited the number of guns which could be utilised for broadside fire. The first steam craft ordered by the Admiralty was a small vessel of 210 tons and 80 nominal horse-power, built in London in 1820.[55] Several other non-fighting steamships followed. By 1837, the largest steam vessel in the fleet was a sloop of 1111 tons and 320 horse-power.[56] In 1839 five steam vessels were built, and two of them—the Hecate and Hecla—were engined by the Scotts. These wooden steamers were the first Naval vessels sent to Scotland to have their machinery fitted on board. They were of 817 tons and 250 horse-power. The paddle-wheels had a diameter of 25 ft. 1/2 in., and there were seventeen floats. The main engines, illustrated on page 29, represent the type adopted, not only in the Naval, but in the Merchant service of this time. The steam pressure was then about 3 lb. per square inch.

On Plate XVI. we illustrate the general arrangement of the machinery in the Hecate and Hecla. There were four boilers of the rectangular type, each with two wet-bottomed furnaces at one end and large return flues at the other end. The uptakes passed up inside the boilers through the steam space, uniting in one funnel.

Smith's screw-propeller was tried experimentally in 1837, and Ericsson's about the same time. The comparative trials of the Archimedes fitted with Smith's screw against existing paddle-steamers did much to prove the efficiency of the new system.[57] The screw-ship excelled the performance of paddle-steamers on the service, and the screw-propeller was adopted by the Admiralty in 1845; twin-screws followed twenty-five years later.

Plate XVI.

MACHINERY OF H.M.SS. "HECLA" AND "HECATE," 1839.

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The Greenock, built in 1848, was the first war vessel by the Scotts fitted with the screw-propeller. We have already referred to her construction in iron, and to her launch. She had a displacement of 1835 tons, and her engines were of 719 indicated horse-power. The speed realised on the trial was 9.6 knots. The Greenock's machinery, which is illustrated on the next page, is specially interesting, as it represents one of the earliest attempts to drive the screw-propeller by gearing. Two horizontal cylinders were fitted, each 71 in. in diameter, with a stroke of piston of 4 ft. The gearing consisted of four sets of massive spur-wheels and pinions, in the ratio of 2.35 to 1, so that 42 revolutions per minute of the engines give 98.7 revolutions to the propeller-shaft. The propeller was 14 ft. in diameter, and was so fitted that it could be detached and raised to the deck. There were four rectangular brass-tube boilers, each with four wet-bottomed furnaces, and all the internal uptakes united in one funnel, which was telescopic, so that when it was lowered and the propeller raised out of the water, the vessel had the appearance, as well as the facility, of a sailing frigate.

As will be seen from the drawings, both the engines and boilers were arranged very low in the hull, to be safe from the enemy's fire. The engine and boiler compartment occupied 72 ft. of the length of the ship—about one-third of the total length—and the seating for the machinery was specially constructed, with a very close pitch of frames which were only 1 ft. apart. For comparison with the drawings of the machinery in the Greenock, we give on page 49 a similar drawing of the machinery of the Canopus, of 12,956 tons displacement, seven times that of the Greenock. To double the speed, the power of machinery had to be multiplied twenty times, and yet the space occupied is only about trebled.

MACHINERY OF H.M.S. "GREENOCK," 1848.

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