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J or THE CIVIL ENGINEERING or NORTH AMERICA; CUMPRI8INO HKMAUKS OM THE HARB0UU8, RIVER AND LAKE NAVIGATION, LIGHTHOUSES, STEAM-NAVIGATION, WATER- WORKS, CANALS, ROADS, RAILWAYS, J3RIDGES, AND OTHER WORKS IN THAT COUNTRY. BY y DAVID STEVENSON, CIVIL KNfllNKER. / LOiNDON: JOHN WEALE, ARCHITECTURAL LIBRARY, 59. HIGH HOLDORN. MDCCCXXXVIII. "I. ALE, .',1. II,,, I, IIOI.nollN. ">".v «i;ai.e, .... „,„„ u„i.n,n,s. *'t-'v Aikinuu Sc. k PRKFAOK. Having at various times heard much to interest and surprise me respecting the engineering worlds of America, and liaving been unable to meet with any publication containing satisfactory information regarding them, I resolved to take advantage of a short interval of professional leisure, to examine the subject for myself. In a tour of about three months I visited Upper and Lower Canada, and the most interest- ing parts of the United States of America, and endeavoured, throughout, to direct my attention to those objects which are of greatest importance to a Cml-Engineer. My observation embraced many of the principal Sca-ports, and navigable Rivers. 1 5^ 9»0 „.,^>i[iiiil iiiiitei «fi«^^^^l Vlll PREFACE. " ,i' two of the Great Lakes, the principal Canals, Rail- roads, Bridges, and other means of communication, and the most remarkable of the works* for supply- ing the cities with water. The Steam-navigation of those countries, and the system of Lighthouses established along their coasts, also came incident- ally under my notice, as well as some other points of more or les-s interest and importance. I was well aware, before leaving this country, that a field so extensive and vai'ied could not be fiilly examin' d in so limited a period ; but this rapid tour, though it has not afforded that full measure of information upon many points of in- quiry, which, had my time permitted, it would have been my endeavour to procure, has fully answered my purpose, by giving me a general view of the state of Civil-Engineering in America. Having in the course of this journey seen a good deal that was entirely new to me, I have been in- duced to lay before my professional brethren the information thus obtained. It is true that Civil- Engineering, as practised in America, is not always applicable to the circumstances of Europe; but still the modifications to which it is subject in a new country may proA e useful, by suggesting va- PKEFACE. IX rious methods of working, adapted to local circum- stances or limited funds. The object, however, of this brief sketch is not to satisfy the curiosity of Engineers in England ; but rather to stimulate others, who may have it in their power, not only to examine more tho- roughly the ground here gone over, but to ex- tend their researches to other parts of the coun- try, which my limited time did not permit me to visit. Judging from the attentions shewn me by all classes of persons in America, and their readiness to communicate freely every kind of information, I feel certain that any such extended engineering tour would be attended with no less pleasure than interest. It is impossible to acknowledge in suitable terms the kindness experienced by me while in America. 1 had the honour of seeing the Earl of Gosford at Quebec, and received from his Lordship repeated offices of kindness during my stay in Canada. At Washington I had the honour of being presented to Mr Van Buren, the President of the United States, who afforded me every facility in prosecu- ting the ol;ject of my joui-ney. To Mr Poinsett, ■ ■ f I .^ \ PREFACE. the Secretary at War, and Mr Pleasonton, one of the Auditors of the Treasmy, I am much indebted for attentions received from them in their official capacities. At Pittsburg, much kindness was shewn me by Judge Baldwin : and, in the course of my journey, I profited on many occasions by the good offices of Professor Hare, Professor Bache Mr Strickland, Mr Walter, and Mr Keating, at Phila- delphia; Professor Webster at Boston; Professor SiUiman at Newhaven ; DrFrancis, Dr Wilks Mr Pitcairn, and Mr Redfield, at New York; and Ge neral Van Rensselaer, the Patroon, at Albany. It is unnecessary here to mention the names of the Civil-Engineers to whom I was introduced in America, as occasions will occur in the following pages, to acknowledge the pleasure derived from then- acquaintance, and their liberality in affording me mformation regarding the works under their care. DAVID STEVENSON. EniNBiiuoH, Jtity 1838. "'•'^-^'-•'*---]rliiiri CONTENTS. CHAP. I.— Hakboubs. Pahr Natural facilities for the formation of Harbours on the American Coast-Tides-Construction of Quays, and Jetties- Cranes -Graving Docks-Screw Docks-Hydraulic Docks-Land- .ng Slips, &c.-New York-Boston -Philadelphia-Balti- more- Charleston - New Orleans -Quebec - Montreal - Halifax, 17-47 CHAP. II.— Lakk Navigation. Great Western Lakes-Onta.-io-Erie-Huron-Miehigan-Su-l perior-Welland Canal-Lake Harbours-Construction of I Piers, Break-waters, &c.-Bufralo_Erie-Oswego-Toronto -Kingston-Vessels employed in Lake Navigation- Violent / Effects of Storms on the Lakes-Ice on the Lakes-Effects' of Ice on the Climate-Lake Champlain, . . . 48,^4 CHAP. III.—RivHR Navigation. The sizes and courses of the North American Rivers influenced In- the Alleghany and Rocky Mountains-Rivers flowing .nto the Pacific Ocean-Rivers flowing into the Gulf of St Lawrence-River St Lawrence-Lakes, Rapids, and Islands on the River-Lachine Canal-St Lawrence Canal-The Ot^owa-Rideau Canal-Towing vessels on the St Lawrence -Tides-Freshets-Pilots, &c.-Rivers rising on the east of tl- Alleghany Mountains, and flowing into the Atlantic V Xll CONTKNTS. t>AUI Ocean, aiui north-east corner of the Gulf of Mexico— The Connecticut — Hudson— Delaware— Susquehanna — Patapsco — Potomac, &c.— Missiimlppi aiid its tributaries — The Yazoo — Ohio— Rtd River- -Arkansas— White River- St Francis — Missouri— Illinois, &c.— Static of the Navigation—" Snags," " Planters," " Sawyers," and " Rafts"— Construction of Vessel for renoving " Snags," &c 76-116 CHAP. IV. — bTKAM Navigation. Introduction of Steam Navigation into the United States— Dif- ference between the Steam Navigation of America and that of Europe — Three classes of Steamers employed in America —Eastern Water, Western Water, and liake Steamers— Cha- racteristics of these different classes— Steamers on the Hudson —Dimensions of the " Rochester"— Construction of the Hulls of the American Vessels — Arrangement of the Cabins — Engine Framing — Engines — Beams — Mode of Steering— Rudder — Sea-Boats — Dimensions of the " Naragansett" — Cabins Engines — Pa ddle- Wheels — Boilers— Maximum speed of the " Rochester" — Power of tl i Engines— Mississippi Steamers— Their arrangement— Engines- Boilers— LakejStcamers— St ' Lawrence Steamers — Explosir.is of Steam-Boilers — Table of the Dimensions of several American Steamers, . 116-169 CHAP. V — FiJKL .\,\i) Matiikials. Fuel used in Steam- Engines and for domestic purposes — Wood — Bituminous Coal — Anthracite Coal — Pennsylvanian Coal- mines—Boilers for the combustion of Anthracite Coal — Building Materials — Brick — Marble — Marble-quarries of New England and Pennsylvania — Granite— Timber— Mode of con- ducting the " Timber Trade"—" Bo.^ms"— Rafts on the St I \ Lawrence, and on the Rhine — Woods chiefly used in America —Live Oak— White Oak— Cedar-Locust— Pine— ' ' Shingles" — Dimensions of American Forest Trees, . . 170-184 CONTKXTS. XUl CHAP. VI.— Canals. P/»OII Internal ImproveiiK iits of North America— (ircat extent of the Canals and Railways— Introduction of Canals into the United States an d Canad a— Groat lenfi:th of the American Canals- Small urea of their Cross Sections— North Holland Ship Canal —Difference between American and British works— Use of wood very general in America — Wooden Canal- Locks, Aqueducts, &c.— Artificial navigation of the country stopped by ice— Tolls levied, and mode of travelling on the American Canalj— Means used in America for forming water-communi- cations— Slackwater navigation on the River Schuylkill, &e. —Construction of Dams, Canals— Locks— Erie Canal— Canal Basin at Albany— Morris Canal— Inclined Planes for Canal "^*«'*^^ 186-214 CHAP. VII.— Roads. Roads not suitable as a means of communication in America- Condition of the American Roads— "Corduroy Roads"— Road from Pittsburg to Erie—NewEngland Roads- The "National Road"— The " Macadamized Road"— City Roads— Cause- waying or Pitching— Brick Pavements— Macadamizing— Tesselated wooden Pavements used in New Yo;k and in St Petersburgh, 216-222 CHAP. VIll.— |{RM,6„,. Great Extent of many of thft American Bridges— Different Con- structions adopted in America— Bridges over the Delaware at Trenton, the Schuylkill at Philadelphia, the Susquehanna at Columbia, the Rapids at the Falls of Niagara, Ac- Town's " Patent Lattice Budge"-Long'g " Patent Ttubb ®"^««'" 223-236 XIV CONTENTS. i: ) CHAP. IX.-R^,uvAV8. aelphiaand Co,u.nHa, Boston and Vro.^tZft and NorHstown, New Yo.k and HaeWenrMr i^d ^^ gara, Camden and Amhoy, Brooklyn and r Charleston «n,^ a . rookiyn and Jamaica, and the jrleston and Augusta, Kailroads-Iiails, Chairs, Blocks and Sleepers, used in the United States-Oridna Cost l; American Railways- ExnensA ^f u ,.- ^ Jstates-Construction of the Eneines-O,....^ a . — Fi.«i p • ^ , ^^^'""fd used in America --Fuel-Engine for burning Anthracite Coal-gtationarv Fn CHAP. X.- Water- Works. fairmount Water- works at Philadelphia Pn . ■ Heservoirs, &c — ThP W f , ^nci water- wheels— g ^^^onf-eal—Cincinnatti— Albany— Trov—\\\,ii tor supplying New York and Boston-Pl.nf • °^ ^^ ''"^ -pply of Water for New York Ic "'""""" ''' ' ■ • • . 278-29d -Nuu,ber of Lighthouses, Floating Lights, a„d Buoy«_An-' nualExpenditure-Management-Superiutendent8_Li.ht- Keepers-Supplies of Stores, &e.-Lighting Apparatus-Dis- Unct^ons of Lights- Communication on the subject from Stephen Pleasonton, Esq., Fifth Auditor of the Treasury, 206 30B HoUSK-MOVlNG, CHAP. XII. Note on thk Manufactokibs at Lowell, 309-316 317-320 I! fi lil EHKATUM. Page 200, line 12, /or twenty-nine locks, read one hundred and twenty-nine locks. i 1 SKETCH OF AMERICAN ENGINEERING. CHAPTER I. HARBOURS. CoMt-T,de^Coostr»ction of Quays, and Jelties-CKnes Sl,p, &„._Ne„ Yo,k-Bo.ton_PI,iladelpUa-BaUimore!f Charie,„a_Ne„0,U.a„_Q„ebec-M„„.J_HaWax The eastern and southern coasts of North America are mdented by numerous bays and sheltered som,ds. which afford natural facilities for the formation of har- bours more commodious than any which works of art akne however costly, could possibly supply, and to an extent of wh.ch, perhaps, no other quarter of the globe can boast. The noble rivers with which this country abounds, and its inland lakes, which, for expanse, dZ serve the name of seas, are subjects of great intlrest to thegeneral traveller ; but to the civil-engineer, who .s more alive to the importance of deep wat" Ind good shelter in the formation of harbours, atd wl B 18 HARBOURS. at every step in the exercise of his profession, feels the difficulty, and is made aware of the expense, which attend the attainment of these indispensable qualities by artificial means, the natural harbours of the conti- nent of North America afford a most interesting and instructive subject of contemplation. The original founders of the sea-port towns on this coast appear to have been very judicious in their se- lection of situations for forming their settlements. The towns, if not placed at the mouths of fine navi- gable rivers, in most cases possess the advantages of sheltered anchorages, with deep water, and accommo- dation for all classes of vessels. The chief object in founding most of the towns seems to have been the formatic of a port for shipping, or the cultivation of a valuable adjacent tract of country watered by a navi- gable river ; in which latter case the harbours do not always possess the same natural advantages, but stand m need of works for their improvement, which would mvolve a greater expenditure of capital, and occupy more time in their execution, than a country, as yet new in the arts, has been disposed to bestow upon them. Viewing the harbours of America generally however, no one can fail to be struck with their im- portance, and, in connection with its inland naviga- tion, convinced of their mighty effect in advancing the prosperity of that enterprising country. The larrre..^, ports of North America are Quebec Halifax, and Montreal, in the British dominions, and nifintliii illlliiim. HAHBOtlRS. 18 Boston Ne. YoA. Philadelphia, Baltimo,., Charier ton. and New Orleans, in the United States. Besides these ports, there are many towns on the coast, of Jater ongin, having less trade and importance, but nevertheless possessing splendid natural facUiti,s for the formation of harbours. I was fortunate enough to visit many of the Ame- "can ports, and in most of them, I found that aceom- modafon for vessels of great burden had been obtain- ed m so satisfactory a manner, and at so small an ex pense, as could not fail to strike with astonishment all who have seen the enormously costly docks of London and L,verpo„l. and the stupendous asylum harbours of i'l>™outh,ICingstow„,and Cherbom^g. I have little hes.tat,on m saying, that the smallest of the post-office packet stations in the Irish Sea has required a much larger expenditure of capital, than the Americans have invested in the formation of harbour accommo- dation for trading vessels along a line of coast of no lass than 4000 miles, extending from the Gulf of St Lawrence to the Mississippi. The American packet-ships trading between New York and the ports of London, Liverpool, and Havre are generally allowed to be the finest class of mer- chant-vessels at present navigating the ocean ; and tor their accommodation we find in England the splen- did docks of London and Liverpool, and in France the docks of Havre. An European natm-ally con- cludes that a berthage no less commodious and costly b2 < i. ' i 20 HARBOURH. awaits their arrival in the ports to which they sail ; but great will be his astonishment when, on reaching New York, the same fine vessel which lately graced the solid stone-docks of Europe, is moored by bow and stem to a wooden quay ; and. on leaving the vessel, he will not fail to miss the shade of a covered veran- dah enclosed within high walls, the characteristic of a British dockyard, and will have ..ny thing but pleasant sensations when he is ushered forth upon a hastily constructed wooden jetty, which, in certain states of the weather, is deeply covered with mud, and gene- rally affords a footpath far from agreeable. This state of things strikes a foreigner, on first landing in America, in a very forcible manner. The high, and in some cases superfluous, finish, which the Americans bestow on many of their vessels employed in trading with this country, lead those who do not know the contrary to expect a corresponding degree of com- fort, and an equal display of workmanship, in the works of ait connected with their ports ; and it strikes one at first sight as a strange inconsistency, that all the works connected with the formation of the harbours in America should be of so rude and temporary a de scription,that, but for the sheltered situations in which they are placed, and other circumstances of a no less favourable nature, the structures would be unfit to serve the ends for which they were intended. But when we come to inquire into the reasons for this dif' ference between the construction of the European and HAUBOUR8. 21 An,er,ca„ h«.H,„„, they ,«,„ become apparent and safsfaetory. The difficnlties and expense encounter ed m tl,e formation of most European harbours, have .nsen ch.efly from th, necessity of constructing „„rk3 of a sufficent strength to withstand the violence of a ragmg sea to which they are in general exposed, or in obtaunng a sufficient depth of water, by the construe Hon of docks or other means, to enable the vessels fre- quentmg them to lie afloat at all times of tide. I„ Bntam. these difliculties in a great measure arise from he narrowness of our country, which necessarily con- tarns but a small extent of inland waters, whose quan- tity and current,, when compared with the bays and nvers on the American coast, are agents too unim- portant and feeble to produce, without recourse to ar- t.fic-,al means, the depth or shelter required in a good harbour. The Americans, on the contrary, among the numerous large bays and sounds by which their coasts are indented, have the choice of situations for their harbours, perfectly defended from the surge of the ocean, and requiring „„ works, like the breakwa- ters of Plymouth and Cherbourg, for their protection ; and the basins formed and scoured by their large na- vigaWe nvers afford, without resorting to the con- struet,on or docks like those of Liverpool, London. - e:th, or Dundee, natural havens, where their lar- gest vesse s lie afloat at all times of tide within a few paces of their warehouse doors. The kind of workn,a„ship which has been adopted 22 HARBOURS. in the formatio I of the American harbours is almost the same in every situation ; and the harbours gene- rally bear a strong resemblance to each other in the arrangements of the quays, and even in their locaU- ties. This renders a detailed description of the wor^r*- of more than one harbour unnecessary ; and, for iue purpose of giving an idea of an American harbour, I would select that of New York, because it undoubted- ly ranks as the first port in America, and is, in fact, the second commercial city in the world, the aggregate tonnage of the vessels belonging to the port being ex- ceeded only by that of London. The island of Manhattan, in the state of New York, is about fifteen miles in length, and from one to three miles in breadth. The city of New York is situate on the southern extremity of this island, in north la- titude 40° 42' and west longitude 74° 2' from Green- wich. It was founded by the Dutch in the year 1612, and it now contains a population of about 300,000 inhabitants, and measui-es about ten miles in circumference. On the east, the shore of Manhattan Island is washed by the sound which separates it from Long Island, and on the west by the estuary of the river Hudson, which, as far up as Albany, is more pro- perly an arm of the sea than a river, the stream itself being small and contemptible. These waters, which have received from the Americans the appellation of the East and North Rivers, meet at the southern ex- tremity of the island of Manhattan, and at tlieir June- UiiMtMIH " i >H ! J «> J»! ' i.,UL„ s HARBOURS. 28 tion form the spacious bay and harbour of New York, the great emporium of the western hemisphere. The Bay of New York, which extends about nine miles m length and five mile, in breadth, has a com- munication with the Atlantic Ocean through a strait of about two miles in breadth, between Statten Island and Long Island. This strait is called " The Nar- rows ;" and on either shore stands a fort for protect- ing the entrance to the harbour. This magnificent bay, which is completely sheltered from the stormy Atlantic by Long Island, forms a noble deep-water basm, and offers a spacious and safe anchorage for shippmg to almost any extent, while the quays which encompass the town on its eastern, western, and southern sides, afford the necessary facilities for load- ing and discharging cargoes. The shipping in the harbour of New York, therefore, without the erection of breakwaters or covering-piers, is, in all states of the wmd protected from the roll of the Atlantic. With out the aid of docks, or even dredging, vessels of the argest class lie afloat during low water of spring- tides, moored to the quays which bound the seawafd des of the city ; and, by the erection of wooden jet- ties the inhabitants are enabled, at a very small ex- penditure, to enlarge the accommodation of their port, and adapt it to their increasing trade The situation of New York is peculiarly favourable or the extensive trade of which it has become the seat, by the nearness of its harbour to the ocean ; the 24 HARBOURS. quays being only about eighteen miles from the shore of Sandy Hook, which is washed by the waters of the Atlantic. This naturally makes the communication more direct and easy, as a very short time elapses between making land and mooring at the quay ; aud all the anxiety which is experienced after falling in with the European land, in a coasting navigation of several days, before the mariner terminates his cares by docking his vessel in Liverpool or London, or in any other port of Great Britain, is thus avoided. I may mention, in illustration, that 1 left the quays of New York at half-past eleven on the forenoon of the 8th of July 1837, in the " Fran9ois Premier" packet- ship. Captain Pell, for Havre, with a very light breeze from the north-west ; aad, at seven o'clock on the evening of the same day, our vessel was gliding through the Atlantic with nothing in sight but sky and water. This case is strongly contrasted with what took place on my outward passage, on which occasion I left Liverpool, under no less advantageous circum- stances, on the 12th of March of the same year, in the "Sheffield" packet-ship. Captain Allen ; but we did not clear the Irish land till two days after our leaving port. ^ The perpendicular rise of tide in the harbour of New York is only about live feet. The tidal wave, however, increases in its progress northwards along the coast, till at length, in the Bay of Fundy, it at- tains the maximum height of 90 feet Towards the HARBOURS. • 25 south „„ the contrary, it. rise is very much dee^^ased ; ana, ,„ the Gulf „f Mexico, is reduced to eighteen mches, while on the shores of some of the West India islands it is quite imperceptible. I „t ^^, T"**' '"" ^'""^y "'^'^ '» *e shore of Long Island, across the entrance to the harbour. Over this here is a depth of twenty-one feet at low watl wh-^^suflicienttofloatthelargestclassofmercha::: The wharfs erected for the accommodation of the ipping of New Yort are formed entirely of timW and earth, m a very rude and simple manner. A row w^en piles driven close to each other into;: ob^in a depth of water su«l^:Ctr:r; ass of vessels at all times of the tide. The situaC of New York, m this respect, is very favourable Z deep water IS very generally obtained at the dis^;: water. The piles, of which the faee-work of the piers " -"Po^ed, are driven perpendicularly into tie ground, and are secured in their place by hon^onta wale-pieces or stretchers, bolted on the face of tl quay and running throughout its whole extent. Ma 'Zi "'™";" ''"" *•""«• »» the i»side of the pU s and beams of wood are connected to the face-work and :rdrrre:£r;:r----" nese beams act both as struts and ties, % « ) I i( 26 HARBOURS. serving to counteract the tendency of lateral pressure, whether acting externally or internally, to derange the line of quay. The void between the perpendicular piles, which form the face-work and the sloping bank rising from the margin of the water, is generally filled up with earth, obtained In the operation of levelling sites and excavating foundations for the dwellings and ware- houses of the city. This hearting of earth is carried to the height of about five feet above high water of spring-tides, at which level the heads of the piles, forming the face-work, are cut off, and the whole roadway or surface of the quay is then planked over. The planking used in forming the roadway of the quay is, in some pases, left quite exposed ; but, in general, where there is a great thoroughfare, the sur- face of the quays is pitched with round water-worn stones, and corresponds, iu appearance and level, with the adjacent streets. The following cross section of one of the wharfs, will shew more clearly the man- ner in which they are constructed. a MJIWB I MW HARBOURS. 27 A continuous line of wooden quay.waU, constructed m this manner, surrounds the city of New York on its eastern, western, and southern sides ; and the inhabi- tants are stUl rapidly extending their harbour accom- modation to meet the wants of increasing trade, which has now become so great, tb,t the wooden wharf-walls, by which the city is surrounded, have attained a length of no less than seven miles. Numerous jetties, of the »me construction as the continuous quay-wall already descnbed, proj^t i„t„ the harbour from its face, at distances of from three to four hundred feet apart.- The je ties are generally from two to tlu-ee hundred feet in length, and from fifty to sixty feet in breadth. The vessels frequenting the harbour, for the pumose f discharging or loading their cargoes, are r.LZ in the bays formed between these projecting jetties, where th y he eosey penned together, waiting their turn to get a berth alongside the wharfs. The wood-work in the quays and jetties is of a very rude descnption. The timbers employed in the^ construction are seldom squared, J„ever, in any ^.protected bypaint or coal-tar from the destroying effects of the atmosphere. Wood is so plentifj^i! America, that to repair, or even construct works i" which timber is the only material employed, is ge„ rally regarded as a very light matter. ^ The fixed crane for raising great weights, which is so ed m New York, nor, in fact, in any „f the American MMW II 28 HARBOURS. ports. There, vessels generally discharge and take in cargo with a purchase hung from the yard-arm. Tackling, attached to moveable sheer-poles or der- ricks, is also in pretty general use in some of the ports ; but this apparatus proves a very poor substitute for fixed quay-cranes, which are certainly of great convenience and utility in a shipping port. The want of proper accommodation for vessels re- quiring repair is much felt by the shipping frequenting the American ports. The construction of an effective graving dock is, under any circumstances, an operation of considerable expense ; but, in situations where the rise of tide is small, the difficulties encountered in its construction, and the inconvenience and expense at- tending the use of it when completed, prove a great bar to the introduction of this useful appendage to a dock-yard. It is, in a great measure, owing to these circumstances that graving docks, for the repair of trading vessels, are not used in the American ports ; in the most important of which, the perpendicular rise of tide is so small, as to lessen, in a great degree, the advantages which, under more favourable circum- stances, would be derived from their introduction. The only graving docks at present existing in North America, are those which have been erected for the use of the Navy by the Government of the United States, in the Navy-yards of Boston in Massachusetts, and Nor- folk in Virginia. These docks have been formed of such a size, as to admit, with ease, the largest class of govern- HMMMlr -ym HARBOURS. 2.9 ment vessels belonging to the American Navy. The dock of Boston measures 341 feet in length, and 80 feet in breadth, and has a depth of water of 30 feet. But, although the depth of water in the dock is 30 feet at high water of spring tides, the fall of the tide is only 13 feet, which leaves 1 7 feet of water to be pumped out of the Jock by means of a steam-engine every time a ves- sel IS admitted for repair, an operation both tedious and expensive. The material used in their construction IS a grey-coloured granite from Quincy in Massachu- setts, and, as far as regards workmanship and general execution, they are inferior to no marine works which I have ever seen. These graving docks are believed to have cost about L. 152,000 each. They are the finest specimens of masonry which I met with in Ame- rica, and are equally creditable to the government of the United States, and to Mr Baldwin, the engineer under whose direction they were constructed. In the American harbours the method of careening or laying vessels on their sides to get at their lower tim- bers, IS still often resorted to. I, however, met with three different mechanical arrangements for raising ves- sels from the water, when decay or damage renders this operation necessary for effecting their repair. In one of these arrangements, the requisite object is attained by the use of an inclined plane (on the well-known principle of Morton's patent-slip, but of a very rude de- scription), on which vessels are drawn ashore by means of a system of wheel-work drivenby a steam-engine. ."i 30 HARBOURS. : The second method, which savours more of origina- lity, is called the Screw-dock, the operation of which I witnessed on one occasion in the harbour of New York. The vessel to be raised by this apparatus was floated over a platform of wood, sunk to the depth of about ten feet below the surface of the water, and suspended from a strongly built wooden frame-work by sixteen iron screws foiu- and a half inches in diameter. This platform has several shores on its surface, which were brought to bear equally on the vessel's bottom, to pre- vent her from canting over on being raised out of the water. About thirty men were employed in working this apparatus, who, by the combined power of the lever, wheel and pinion, and screw, succeeded, in the course of half an hour, in raising the platform, loaded with a vessel of 200 tons burden, to the surface of the water, where she remained high and dry, suspended between the wooden frames. At Baltimore, I saw a large screw dock, constructed on the same principles, on which the platform for supporting the vessel was suspended by forty screws of about five inches in diameter. The last of those methods to which I have alluded, is an apparatus called the Hydraulic-dock, a beautiful application of the principle of Bramah's press, to pro- duce a power capable of raising vessels of 800 tons bur- den. In this apparatus, as in the screw-dock, the ves- sel is raised on a platform swung between two frames. In the hydraulic dock, however, the platform is sus- pended by forty chains, twenty on each side, which mgina- ^hich I V York, floated ' about pended sixteen This h were to pre- of the orking J lever, course with a water, Jtween ; screw ch the ed by luded, lutiful o pro- sbur- e ves- ames. s sus- which ■ t CJ n s •^ ^ 81 W] HAHBOURS. 21 pass over cast-iron p„ffie,, ,„j,^^ „„ ^^^ the woojlen frarae-work. The lower ends of the chai„r are fixed .0 the platform, and the upper ends to a" monta beam of w«kI. which is attached by means of . erosshead to the .m of. hydraulic engine wL^ the ram, therefore, which is placed in a hori.ontd^no s.t.on. .s moved, by the injection of water into t^ cast..on cylinder in which it works, the motion is cot mun,cated to the horizontal beam, and then^ by I" su^end,„g chains, t. the platform bearing tie ™s2 which ,s thus slowly raised to the surface ' a"ndir;rT;;ih"?i-"-^--'-^'^^^^^ p™h pi wf;:n;r- ------ --.the^iiiesi'iii^rr^sr- n-U. beam to which the chain'sar^ied/th": nydrauhc engine • nnrl /• +1, • • . '*^"^ » ^. tne the water is i::;;::i:tr--p'p«>'y which The cylinder and ram of thp «o.f • 1 which I saw, were made"! EnZT T r'"'''''' of Messrs Bolton and Watt ThT i ! """^ cylinder are embedded in a L mass of "' '"^ %:;t;tt':';:— ^^ ^hestim^iitrr;:;:^^^^ --1 depends in a great meas^oni ;"?"'"''"' of this object. The extPrn.l i attainment external diameter of the water ^ liMWill mmm9m» 32 HARBOURS. ^ cylinder is twenty-eight inches and its internal dia- meter is twelve inches. The ram which works in it is eleven inches in diameter, and ten feet in length. There are several racks attached to the apparatus, for supporting the platform, and taking part of the weight off the ram after the vessel is suspended. When she is ready to be lowered, these racks arc unshipped, and the water being permitted to escape through a small aperture provided in the cylinder for that purpose, the vessel slowly descends into the water. The water is injected into the cylinder by a high-pressure steam- engine, of six horses' power, and the attendance of four persons is all that is necessary to raise a vessel of 800 tons register. The perpendicular /«/? of these docks is ten feet, which is found to be sufficient : the rise of tide in New York harbour being only five feet at spring tides, renders a greater height unnecessary. The Screw and Hydraulic docks belong to a party of private individuals, called the " New York Screw-dock Company," who derive a considerable re- venue from laising vessels by their ingenious appa- ratus. The following are their terms : — For vessels under 75 tons, £3 per day. Single-decked vessels of 75 tons and upwards, lOd. per ton per day. Double-decked vessels of 75 tons and upwards, 1 s. O^d. per ton per day. After the first day the charge is For vessels under 170 tons, £3 per day. For all vessels of 170 tons and upwards, 4|d. per ton per day. Cargo or ballast is charged at the rate of 1 s. O^d. per ton. HaRBoL'HS. m The wharfs in the harbour of New York, are in general the property of private individuals, possessing the land on tne margin of the river. Some of them also belong to the Corporation of New York. The wharfage dues are collected by the owners of the re- spective quays, and vary in their rates according to the local advantages which the sites possess, and the plea- sure of tHe parties to whom they belong. Vessels have, occasionally, been damaged while ly- mg at the quays of New York, by the vast masses of floatmg ice which, upon the breaking up of the frost, are brought down from the interior of the coun- try by the waters of the Hudson. For the protection of shipping against the recurrence of such accidents which, however, are liable to affect only the vessels lying on the western side of the town, the erection of a breakwater in the river above New York harbour, has been for some time contemplated. The trade of this great port is generally more or less mterrupted by ice, for about a month every win- ter, and the river Hudson at New York has, once or twice, been covered by a coating of ice so thick as to afford a safe road for carriages. This, however, happens very rarely ; but such is the severity of the' New York winter, that the omnibuses, and other wheel-carriages employed in running in the city, are always laid up for the space of five or six weeks during the depth of winter, and their places supplied by sledges, which run on the hardened snow. ■m ♦'J C 34 HARBOURS, The large suburb called Brooklyn occupies the shore of Long Island, directly opposite to New York. It is separated from the town by Long Island 8ound, which at this point is about one-third of a mile in breadth, and forms part of the harbour of New York. One of the United States' navy-yards has been esta- blished at Brooklyn, which is also in other respects a place of considnrable trade and importance. A con- stant communication is kept up between it and New York, by means of numerous steam-boats, which cross every five minutes, adding greatly to the bustle and confusion of this busy and crowded part of the har- bour. The stoppage and inconvenience which a bridge across the sound in this situation would occasion to the shipping, has prevented its erection, but the spi- rited inhabitants have had designs under their consi- deration for connecting the opposite shores by means of such a work, and also by the formation ot a tunnel passing under the bed of the river, similar to that at present in progress under the Thames at London. The steam ferry-boats, however, are so well managed, that the want of a more constant means of communi- cation is not much felt. They are twin boats with the paddle-wheel placed in the centre, and in their general construction resemble those at one time used on the ferries of the Tay at Dundee, and the Mersey at Liverpool. The landing slips between which they ply are very Harbours. 85 convenient and suitable for situations where the rise of tide is not great. The slip consists of a large plat- form of wood, the landward extremity of which is at tached to the edge of the quay by moveable hinge- jomts admitting of its free motion. The seaward ex- tremity of this platform rests on a floating tank, and has the same elevation above the surface of the water as the deck of the ferry-boat. The outer extremity of the platform which rests on the floating tank, is thus elevated or depressed with the rise and fall of the tide, but always remains on a level with the steam-boat's deck, and affords during high-water a level road, and during low-water an inclined plane for the passage of carriages and passengers between the vessel and the land. Before quitting the subject of harbours, I shall make a few general remarks on some of the other Ame- rican ports of consequence. Boston, in Massachusetts, is generally supposed to rank next m importance to New York and New Or- leans. The town is situated at the head of Massa- chusetts Bay, which extends over about fifty miles of coast between Cape Ann and Cape Cod, and contain, withm Its limits many excellent anchorages. Boston Bay m which the harbour has been formed, is a shel- tered mlet of about seventy-five square miles in ex- tent, enclosed by two necks of land, which so neariv approach each other as to leave only a verv narrow entrance communicating directly with the Atlantic. 2 3tr HARBOURS. fV I ii The exports from Boston are of a varied nature, con- sisting chiefly of the produce and manufactures of that part of the United States called New England. The population of the town is about 80,000. Its si- tuation is curious. Placed on a peninsula having deep water close in-shore, and almost entirely sur- rounding it, it is connected with the adjoining coun- try by means of a dam and seven wooden bridges, of which the most extensive is about a mile and a half in length. The dam consists of an embankment of earth 8000 feet in length, enclosed between two stone retaining-walls. It serves the double purpose of af- fording a means of communication, and also forming a large basin, in vhich the tide-water being collected a water power is created for driving machinery. The quays at Boston are constructed in the same style, and of the same materials, as those of New York, but more attention has been paid by the builders to the durability of the work. Some of the wharfs extend about a quarter of a mile into the harbour, and are of sufficient breadth to have a row of warehouses built on them. The rise of tide in Boston Harbour is thirteen feet in spring and nine feet in neap tides. In the suburb called Charlestown, which is connected with Boston by means of three wooden bridges, is situate the navy-yard of the United States, and tiie graving-dock already noticed. Philadelphia is a town of 230,000 inhabitants, and stands on a peninsula between the rivers Delaware HARBOURS. 87 and Schuylkill in the State of Pennsylvania. Its harbour is at the head of the ship navigation of Dela- ware Bay, a vast arm of the sea, which is navigable for vessels of the largest class as far as Philadelphia a distance of about a hundred miles from the Atlantic Ocean. In the bay of Delaware the tide has generally a rise of only three feet, but it is sometimes much in- creased by the state of the winds. The town of Baltimore contains a population of about 80,000 inhabitants, and lies on the north side of the river Patapsco, about fourteen miles from Its mouth. The basin forming the harbour is a splen- did sheet of water, in which it is said 2000 vessels could ride at anchor with ease. Chesapeake Bay, which receives the waters of the nver Patapsco, on which Baltimore stands, is navi- gab^ for 200 miles from the ocean, and fonns an out- et for the trade of the ports of Baltimore, Annapolis, Washington, Fredericksburg, Richmond, and Nor- folk, and receives the waters of the Susquehanna, Fatapsco, Potomac, and James rivers. The rise of tide at Baltimore is about five feet, but is much in- fluenced by the state of the wind, which has a great effect upon the waters of Chesapeake Bay. Charleston, in North Carolina, is a port of consi- derable size, built on a tongue of land formed by the rivers shley and Cooper. There is a bar at the entrance of the harbour with only twelve feet of water on It at low tides, but within the bar there is a good 38 HAHBOURS, anchorage. The rise of tide hi this harbour is about six feet. As I had it not in my power to visit the Mis- sissippi, I cannot speak of the port of New Orleans from personal knowledge ; but as it is certainly the most important in the southern states, I felt unwill- ing to omit all mention of it in this sketch, and therefore applied to my friend Captain Basil Hall, who has kindly sent me the following notice on the subject. " You are quite right," says Captain Hall, " to in- clude New Orleans in your list of American harbours, for though it is not strictly a sea-port, it answers all the purposes of one in a remarkable degree. New Or- leans lies ut the distance of about a hundred miles from . the Gulf of Mexico, and the ebb and flow of the tide do not reach so high as the city. The level of the ri- ver is, however, subject to fluctuations, in consequence of the changes in the supply of water from the upper countries through which it flows. It rises from Janu- ary to May, remains full all June and a part of July, after which it begins to fall, and goes on decreasing in height till September and October, when it is lowest. The perpendicular difference in height of the surface of the Mississippi at New Orleans, is about thirteen or fourteen feet, and when at its lowest, it is nearly on a level with the sea at the mouth of the river, so that the flow is then scarcely perceptible. " In former times, before steam-navigation was known, there was great delay, and considerable diflli- .;■#. taff'Ji. zm HAK nouns. sy eulty as well as danger, in getting from the sea to New Orleans, in consequence of the opposing stream, the numerous shoals, and tiie very tortuous nature of the course, which rendered it scarcely possible to sail up all the way with the same wind. To these annoy- ances may be added the very bad nature of the an- choring ground every where, and the difficulty as well as risk of lashing large vessels to the banks of such a river. All these things rendered New Orleans a harbour highly objectionable in a nautical point of view. " Now, however, that steam has got command of « time and space," New Orleans may be considered an excellent sea-port, safe, and as easy of access as of egress. I need not mention that there are at all times any number of steam-tugs ready to take ships down the river, or to bring them up. When I was there in April 1827, eleven years ago, several steam -boats left the city every evening about sunset, each having in tow one or more vessels astern, besides one, two, or three lashed on each aside, so that the boat was often quite hid by the cluster round her. In this way they proceed- ed down, and at daylight came to the bar which lies across the mouth of the river openmg into the Gulf of Mexico. On reaching the sea, or rather before they reached it, the steam-boats cast ofF their companions, and left them to be taken in charge by their respec' tive pilots, unless in cases of calm or contrary wind, when, of course, they got a tow into the offing. 40 HARBOURS. I I " The most important service of these steam-boats, however, is to tow ships up the river, for although it is always troublesome, and often very dangerous, to orop down with the current from New Orleans to the sea, it can be and is done, even without the help of steam. But to make way upwards against the Mississippi is a most heart-breaking work without such aid, and now-a-days the attempt would be considered absurd. Accordingly, the steam-vessels which have carried down the ships during the night, and have launched them in safety over the bar into the salt sea, look about them for others, which having made the land, are ready to enter the river. These they seize upon, and either take in tow, or lash alongside of them, and tow up to New Orleans. Of course they cannot, as in the down- ward case, carry along with them such a cluster as they brought down, nor is it likely that they will often be called upon to exert their strength so far, for the ships arrive off the entrance of the river by one or two at a time, and are not prepared, as within the port, to start in bodies at a given time. " In this way, it may be fairly stated, that New Or- leans, though a hundred miles from the sea, is virtu- ally one of the best and most accessible ports in the Union. It maybe added, that, as all the ships lie along- side of the levde or embankment which separates the river from the city, and which serves the purpose of a perfectly commodious wharf, and as the water is always smooth, nothing can be more easy and secure than the Harbours. 41 communication, both for loading and unloading goods The shii« lie alongside of ei.ch other in tiers, and I have seldom seen, in any country, such a forest of map^s. "Abreast of the upper part of the city may be seen, m like manner, numerous tiers of steam-boats of gi- gantic dimensions, just arrived from, or preparing to start for, the upper countries, through which the Mis- sissippi and its innumerable tributaries pass. And far- ther up in this most extraordinary of harbours, lie crowds of huge rafts, or arks, as they are called,-rude vessels without masts, which have dropped down the nver, and are loaded with that portion of the produce of the mterior which will not bear the expense of steam-cariage. "At every hour,-I had almost said at every mi- nute of the day,-the magnificent steam-boats whieh convey passengers from New Orleans into the heart of the western country, fire off their signal g„„., and thtkT '* ' ""' """'' "'"'" "" ^•''•^ '^'^ '» "I must now conclude this brief notice by regret n,g, that the limitation in your time did not !l low you to visit, and to describe in detail, this most remarkable of aU the wonderful commercial phZ men^ as it may be called._which the great westen m-gMy cty bmlt m the midst of one of the most uL healthy swamps on earth, and a port, 100 miles from i; I III 42 If ] 1^ HARBOURS. the sea, which rivals, in all essential respects, that of New York or London ; possessing, moreover, an un- interrupted and ready communication with the inte- rior parts of a vast continent, to the distance of thou- sands upon thousands of miles, every where rife with civilization, though, but a few years ago, the whole was one vast wilderness, the exclusive abode either of al- ligators, wild beasts, or savages !" These are the most considerable ports in the United States ; but, in addition, it may not be amiss shortly to notice the following bays and sounds, which deserve attention, as many of them afford good anchorage and sheltered lines of navigation. Passamaquoddy Bay is situate at the boundary be- tween the British dominions and the United States. It receives the waters of the river St Croix, the bound- ary line between the two countries. The tide in it rises twenty-five feet. Penobscot Bay receives the waters of the Penobscot river, and has a rise of tide of ten feet. Narragansett Bay is navigable for vessels drawing sixteen feet of water to the town of Providence, which is about thirty-five miles from the sea. The town of Newport in this bay, though a place of little im- portance, has one of the finest natural harbours in America. Long Island Sound lies between the mainland and Long Island, and extends in a north-easterly direction from New York harbour. It affords a sheltered line HARBOUllS. 48 of navigation of about a hundred and tventy miles in extent. Albemarle and Pamlico Sounds, in North Carolina, are more remarkable for their curious geological for- mation than for any advantages held out by them for navigation, for which the difficulties of their entrance and shallow water, wholly unfit them. The narrow stripes of land, by which these sounds are separated from the Atlantic Ocean, stretch along the coast for a distance of about two hundred miles, and extend about forty miles south of Pamlico Sound. They are very little elevated above the level of the sea, and from their alluvial formation appear to have been gradually deposited by the Gulf Stream, which flows from the Gulf of Mexico, charged with the sediment and earthy mattersbornedown by the Mississippi and other streams which discharge themselves into the Gulf of Mexico. Chatham, Appalachee, and Mobile Bays, in .lie Gulf of Mexico, are not reported as possessing, in any extraordinary degree, the qualifications of good ha- vens, and, as already noticed, there is very little rise of tide on this coast. It may also be mentioned, that the hot and unhealthy climate of all the southern ports of the United States, from Charleston to New Orleans inclusive, as well as the nature of the slave population of the southern states, renders them very unsmtable for the growth of that hardy race of sea men, of which the northern ports of the country^are tile true and only nurseries. I . 44 HARBOURS. 1; I The naval-yards belonging to the Government of the United States are established at Boston, Ports- mouth in New Hampshire, New York, Philadelphia, Washington, Norfolk in Virginia, and Pensacola in the Gulf of Mexico ; and those of them which I had an opportunity of visiting seemed to be very well regula- ted. Considering the natural advantages held out by that country, and the abundance of fine timber pro- duced in it, it is not surprising that the Americans have bestowed so much attention upon naval affairs, or that their efforts should have been crowned by so great success in the improvement both of inland and maritime navigation. The genius of the people for naval affairs is doubtless the birthright of their British origin, and their patrimony has been improved by the energy which characterises all their efforts. Quebec is the seat of government of Lower Ca- nada, and, in a commercial point of view, is the first port in the British dominions in America. It is si- tuate at the junction of the river St Charles with the St Lawrence ; and, though distant fully 700 miles from the Atlantic Ocean, the spacious and beau- tiful Bay of Quebec, formed by the junction of the two rivers, affords a noble deep-water anchorage for vessels of all sizes, and almost in any numbers. The bay measures about three miles and three quar- ters in length, and two miles in breadth, and the water in some parts of it is twenty-eight fathoms in depth. The population of the town is about 22,000, and its •iiM,' "^iguwyt ' HARBOURS. 45 trade consists in the export of wood, potash, and furs, the produce of Upper and Lower Canada. The rise of tide at Quebec is twenty-three feet in spring-tides, and the quays and wharfs there, as well as in the har- bours of the United States, are constructed entirely of wood. The ferry-boats at Quebec, plying between the opposite sides of the liver, which is about a quarter of a mile m breadth, arc propelled by horses and oxen. These animals are secured in small houses on the decks of the vessels ; and the effort they make in the act of walking on the circumference of a large hori- zontal wheel, produces a power which is applied to drive the paddle-wheels of the ferry-boat, in the same manner as the motion of the yvheel in the tread-mill IS apphed to the performance of different descriptions of work. I have seen horse ferry-boats in Holland and, I believe, they have also been used in America' in which the power was more advantageously applied by means of an apparatus like the gin of a thrashing- imll, m which case the horses are not stationary, but are made to walk in a circle, and the motion commu- nicated by them to an upright shaft, is conveyed, by means of wheel-work, to the paddle-wheels of the vessel. A boat of this kind was used for some time m England, between Norwich and Yarmouth Montreal, which is 180 miles to the westward of Quebec and 880 miles from the ocean, is at the head of the ship navigation of the St Lawrence, and consi- 1 'I 46 HARBOUHS. derably above the influence of the tide. The town is built on the island whose name it bears, which is situate at the junction of the Ottowa, or Grand River, with the St Lawrence. The quays and land- ing slips at Montreal are built of stone ; and in this respect it differs from the other American ports which I have noticed. The material used in their construc- tion is a blue limestone, which is very abundant throughout ihe greater part of Canada, and is much used in all building operations. The trade of Montreal is of the same description as that of Quebec, though not so extensive. Halifax harbour is considered one of the finest in the world, and is calculated to afford anchorage for upwards of a thousand vessels of the largest class. It is a place of very considerable importance ; for through it comes much of the trade of Nova Scotia ; and it is the British post packet-station for Canada. Such is a brief sketch of the construction and capa- bilities of some of the principal harbours of America, in the formation of which nature has done so much, that little has been left for the labour of man, and works of an extensive and massive description, and operations such an are found to be indispensable in rendering European harbours accessible or commo- dious, have there been found to be unnecessary. By erections of a temporary description, constructed of the wood produced in the operation of clearing their ifAU nouns. 47 lands, tile inhabitants have been enabled, along the whole line of coast, to afford, at a very small cost, ac- commodation for an extent and class of shipping, to obtain which, in any other quarter of the globe, would have involved an enormous investment of capital, and a much greater consumption of time. m ( 48 ) CHAPTER ir. LAKE NAVIGATION. Great Western Lakes — Ontario — Erie — Huron — Michigan — Supe- rior — Welland Canal — Lake Harbours — Construction of Piers, Break- waters, &c. — Buffalo — Erie — Oswego — Toronto — Kingston — Vessels employed in Lake Navigation — Violent Effects of Storms on the Lakes — Ice on the Lakes — Effects of Ice on the Climate — Lake Champlain. The great chain of inland lakes, whose vast expanse justly entitles them to the name of seas, are the largest bodies of fresh water in the known world, and consti- tute an important feature in the physical gr raphy of North America. When viewed in connection with the River and Gulf of St Lawrence, by which their surplus waters are discharged into the Atlantic Ocean, ideas of magnitude and wonder are excited in the mind, which it is impossible to describe. But the effects which they produce on the commercial and do- mestic economy of the country are considerations far more important and striking. With the aid of some short lines of canal, formed to overconie the natural obstacles presented to navigation by the Falls of Nia- gara and the Rapids of the St Lawrence, these great LAKE NAVIGATION. 40 lakes are converted into a continuous line of water- communication, penetrating upwards of 2000 miles into the remote regions of North America, and afford- ing an outlet for the produce of a large portion of that continent, which, but for these valuable provisions of nature, must, in all probability, have remaired for ever inaccessible. The great western lakes of America are five in number .--Ontario, Erie, Huron, Michigan, and Su- perior. The extent of these lakes has been variously stated, and the several accounts which have been given of them, differ very considerably ; but the dimensions which I shall quote are taken partly from the work of Mr Bouchette, the Surveyor-General of Canada, and partly from the charts constructed by Captain Bayfield, of the Royal Navy. Lake Ontario, the most eastern of the chain, lies nearest to the Atlantic. The River St Lawrence, wl ich has a course of about a thousand miles before reaching the ocean, is its outlet, and flows from its eastern ex- tremity. This lake is 172 statute miles in length, ^>^ miles in extreme breadth, and about 483 miles in circumference. It is navigable throughout its whole extent for vessels of the largest size. Its surtace is elevated 220 feet above the medium level of the sea • and It is said to be, in some places, upwards of 600 feet m depth. The trade of Lake Ontario, from the great extent of inhabited country surrounding it. is very considerable, and is, at this moment, rapidly increasing. D u. 60 LAKE NAVIGATION. Many sailing vessels and splendid steamers are now employed in navigating its waters. Owing to its great depth, it never freezes, except at the sides, where the water is shallow ; so that its navigation is not so effec- tually interrupted as that of the comparatively shal- low Lake Brie. The most important places on the Canadian or Bri- tish side of Lake Ontario, are the city of Toronto, which is the capital of Upper Canada, and the towns of King- ston and Niagara, and, on the American shore, the towns of Oswego, Genesee and Sackett's Harbour. Lake Ontario has a direct communication with the At- lantic Ocean, in a northerly direction, by the St Law- rence, and in a southerly direction by the river Hudson and the Brie Canal, with which it is connected by a branch canal, leading from Oswego to a small town on the line of the Erie Canal called Syracuse. Lake Erie is about 266 miles in length, from thirty to sixty miles in breadth, and about 529 miles in cir- cumference. The greatest depth which has been ob- tained in sounding this lake is 270 feet, and its surface is elevated 665 feet above the level of the Hudson at Albany. Its bottom is composed chiefly of rock. Lake Erie is said to be the only one of the chain in which there is any perceptible current, a circumstance which may, perhaps, be occasioned by its smaller depth of water. This current, which runs always in the same direction, and the prevailing westerly winds, are rather against its navigation. The shallowness of the water LAKE NAVIGATION. 5J also, which varies from 100 to 270 feet in depth, ren- ders it more easily and more permanently affected by frost, its navigation being generally obstructed by ice for some weeks every spring, after that of all the other lakes is open and unimpeded. The principal towns on Lake Erie .-re Buffalo Dunkirk, Ashtabula, Erie, Cleveland, Sandusky, Port' land, and Detroit. Between forty and fifty splendid steam-boats, and many sailing-vessels, are employed in Its trade, which is very extensive ; and several harbours mth stone-piers have been erected on its shores for their acconrmodation. The surface cf Lake Erie is elevated 322 feet above Lake Ontario, into which its water is discharged by the river Niagara. In the course of this river, which IS only.thirty.seven miles in length, the accumulated surplus waters of the four upper lakes descend over a perpendicular precipice of 162 feet in height, and form the "Falls of Niagara." These falls, with the rapids which extend for some distance both above and below them, render seven miles of the river's course unfit for navigation. The unfavourable structure of the bed of the river Niagara,-the connecting link between Lakes Erie and Ontario,~for the purposes of naviga- tion, induced a company of private individuals, assisted Dy the British Government, to construct the Welland Caml, by which a free passage from the oneTSH-o^the oIKer IS now afforded for vessels of 126 tons burden This undertaking was commenced in the year 1824, b2 If n ' 52 LAKE NAVIGATION. and completed in 1829, five years having been occu- pied in its execution. The expense of the works con- nected vi^ith it is said to have been about L.270,000. The canal extends from Port Maitland on Lake Erie to a place called Twelve-lNIile Creek on Lake Onta- rio. Its length is about forty-tw^o miles ; its breadth at the surface of the water is fifty-six feet, and at the bot- tom twenty-six feet, and the depth of water is eight feet six inches. The whole perpendicular rise and fall from the surface of Lake Ontario to the summit level, and thence to Lake Brie, is 334 feet, which is over- come by means of thirty-seven locks of various lifts, measuring one hundred feet in length and twenty-two feet in breadth, most of which are formed of wood. The most considerable work occurring on the Wel- land Canal is an extensive excavation of foi-ty-five feet in depth, from which 1,477,700 cubic yards of earth, and 1,890,000 cubic yards of rock, are said to have been removed. Lake Brie is connected by the Brie Canal with the river Hudson and the Atlantic Ocean, and again by the Ohio Canal with the river Ohio and the Gulf of Mexico. The Brie Canal is 363, and the Ohio Canal 334, miles in length. I shall advert more particularly, however, to the construction and details of the canal works in North America in another section. Lake Huron is about 240 miles in length, from 186 to 220 miles in breadth, and 1000 miles in cir- cumference. The outline of this lake is very irregular, LAKE NAVIGATION. 53 and MrBouchette says of its shores, that tliey consist of " clay cliffs, rolled stones, abrupt rocks, and wooded steeps." Its connection with Lake Erie is formed by the river St Clair, which conveys its water over a space of thirty-five miles into a small lake of the same name, of a circular form, and about thirty miles in diameter, from whence the river Detroit, having a course of twenty-nine miles, flows into Lake Erie. The communication between the two lakes is navi- gable for vessels of all sizes. Lake Michigan is connected with Lake Huron by the navigable strait Michillimackinac, in which is si- tuate the island of Mackinaw, now the seat of a cus- tom-house establishment, and a place of considerable trade. Lake Michigan is about 300 miles in length, seventy-five miles in breadth, and ,920 miles in cir- cumference, having a superficies of 1G,200 square miles. It is navigated by many steamers throughout Its whole extent. The principal towns on the lake the southeni shore of which has now become the seat of many prosperous settlements, are Michigan Chi- cago, and Milwawkie. The Illinois river takes its rise near the shores of Lake Michigan, and flows into the Mississippi ; and a canal, for the purpose of con- iiectmg their waters, is now in progress ; an improve- ment which, when completed, will form a second water- communication, extending from the Gulf of St Law rence to the Gulf of Mexico, a distance of upwards of 3000 miles,— the other communication being that 54 LAKE NAVIGATION. tfati I already alluded to between Lake Erie and the Ohio by a canal from Cleveland to Portsmouth. Lake Superior is connected with Lake Huron by the river St Mary. This river, which is about forty miles in length, has a fall of twenty-three feet on the whole length of its course, and is navigable only for small boats. As yet the march of improvement has not penetrated to this remote region, but ere long Lakes Superior and Huron, like Erie and Ontario, will pro- bably be connected by a canal. Lake Superior is about 300 miles in length, 140 miles in breadth, and 1116 miles in circumference ; the depth is in some places said to be 1200 feet, and its surface is 627 feet above the level of the sea. Its bottom consists of clay and small shells. This lake is the largest body of fresh water known to exist ; and al- though surrounded by a comparatively desert and un- cultivated country, at a distance of nearly 2000 miles from the ocean, and at an elevation of 627 feet above its surface, it is navigated by steam-boats id sailing vessels of great burden, which are reported to be not inferior to the craft navigating the lower lakes. From what has been said regarding the great western lakes, it will easily be believed that, notwithstanding the secluded situation which they hold in the centre of North Amc'ica, far removed from the ocean and from intercourse with the world at large, their waters are no longer the undisturbed haunt of the eagle, nor their coasts the dwelling of the Indian. Civilization LAKE NAVIGATION. 55 and British habits have extended their influence even to that remote region, and their shores can now boast of numerous setUements, inhabited by a busy popula- tion, actively engaged in commercial pursuits. The white sails of fleets of vessels, and the smoking chim- neys of numerous steamers, now thickly stud their wide expanse, and beacon-lights, illuminating their rocky shores with their cheering rays, guide the be- nighted navigator on his course. Every idea con- nected with Q. fresh-water lake, must be laid aside in considering the different subjects connected with these vast inland sheets of water, which, in fact, in their general appearance, and in the phenomeni which influence their navigation, bear a much closer resemblance to the ocean than the sheltered bays and sounds in which the harbours of the eastern coast of North America are situated, although these estu. aries have a direct and short communication with the Atlantic Ocean. The whole line of coast formed by the margins of the several lakes above enumerated, extends to upwards of 4000 statute miles. There are several islands in Lake Superior, and also at the northern end ^f Lake Michigan, but the others are, generally speaking, free from obstructions. They have all, however, deep water throughout their whole extent, and present every facility for the purposes of navigation. It was not till the year Igl^gb^t the navigation ot the lakes had become so extensive and assumed so h!'J 1 1 ^■Pf s 1 1 56 LAKE NAVIGATION. J 1 1, i |. hi 1 1 important a character, as to render the erection of lighthouses necessary and expedient, for insuring the safety of the numerous shipping employed on them. Since that period, the lighthouses have been gradual- ly increasing, and, on the American side of the lakes, they uow amount to about twen;ty;&ife in number, be- sides about thirty beacons and buoys, which have been found of the greatest service. About the same period at which the introduction of lighthouses was considered necessary, some attention was also bestowed on the subject of lake harbours. Many which formerly existed, were then improved and enlarged, and others were projected, and the works con- nected with them are now either finished, or are draw- ing to a close. I visited several of these ports on Lakes Erie and Ontario, which have good sheltered anchor- ages, with a sufficient depth of water at their entrances for the class of vessels frequenting them. But good harbour accommodation is by no means so easily obtained on the shores of the lakes, as, generally speaking, on the sea coast of the United States. Most of the lake harbours are formed in exposed situations, and as regards the expense and durability of the seve- ral works executed in their formation, are much better calculated to resist the fury of the winds and waves, than the wooden wharfs of the sea-ports on the east- ern coast of the country of which I have given a de- scription. In connection with what has already been said on the subject of the harbours of the American if j' ' tHI SB^iMMUatatttMMt^-^, LAKE NAVIGATION. 67 Lmerican coast, I shall give abrief sketch of some of those which came immediately under my notice on the shores of the lakes. The town of Buffalo stands at the eastern comer of Lake Erie in the state of New York, and contains a population of about 16,000. As regards th. num- ber of its inhabitants and the extent of its commer- cial transactions, it is the most important place on the lakes, being in fact the New York of the west- ern regions. From the month of June till the month of December inclusive, during which period the navi- gation of the lakes is generally open and unimpeded by ice, between forty and fifty steam-boats, varying from 200 to 700 tons register, are constantly plying between Buffalo and the several ports on the shores of the lakes. Some of these steamers make regular voy- ages once a month to Chicago in Lake Michigan, a distance of no less than 905 miles ; and one leaves the harbour of Buffalo twice every day, during summer, for Detroit, a distance of 325 miles. The New York and Erie Canal, the earliest, and perhaps the most important public work executed in the United States, which enters the lakes at Buffalo, has a great effect in increasing its trade and importance. Buffalo is built at the mouth of a creek commu- nicating with the lake, in which the harbour is formed. The wharfs in the interior of the harbour are made of wood, but the covering pier, and other works ex- posed to the wash of the lakes, are built of stone. 58 LAKE NAVIGATION. v 'sm .^B^\ 1 ,SB 1 I 1 i! B ^Km \ I ^R } 74 LAKE NAVIGATION. steamer by which I travelled informed me that, in the spring of 1810, when the snow was leaving the ground, the surface of the lake rose to the height of nine feet above its summer water level. Its navigation, like that of the other lakes, is suspended for five months hi the year by ice, and transport is carried on during that pe- riod by sledges, which run on its surface. ( 7b ) CHAPTER Hi. RIVER NAVIGATIOIS. can., T„„,, _,. „„ rs.tt:ri?r-;:!:'r White River -St pJw m "^ ""'^ ^''^'- - Arkansas— Thp river., of North America are no less interest- mg features m the hydrography of that country than her „,land sound, and lakes ; and the great lines of av.gab e comm.Ucation which so many of them af- ford, eytendmg ,„ all directions from the shores of the ocean to the very heart nf ri.„ ^ , » "i me g^eat pubhc highways for the easy and quick tmns port of the „„st bulky produce of the interior, aswel, f f "^"^"^^ ".anufactures and luxuries of foreign an s. c„t.tle them, i„ a commercial point of vie"1^ ••n equal share of attention. i \ 7fi RIVER NAVIGATION. P 4 It is impossible to convey to the reader an adequate idea of those vast bodies of moving water, or to de- scribe the feelings which the traveller experiences, when, for instance, after crossing the Alleghany Moun- tains, and completing a fatiguing land journey from the eastern coast of several hundred miles into the in- terior of the country, he first comes in sight of the Ohio River at Pittsburg. Here, in the very heart of the continent of North America, the appearance of a large shipping port, containing a fleet of thirty or forty steamers moored in the river, cannot fail to sur- prise him ; and his astonishment is not a little in- creased if he chances to witness the arrival of one of those steamers, iwhose approach is announced long be- fore it makes its appearance by the roaring of its steam, and the volumes of smoke and fire which are vomited from the funnels ; but his wonder only attains its height when he is told that this same vessel has come direct from New Orleans, in the Gulf of Mexico, and that fifteen days and nights have been occupied in making this inland voyage, of no less than two tliou- sand miles, among the meanderings of the Mississippi and Ohio. Tha continent of North America may be said to be divided into four distinct portions by the ranges of the Alleghany and tlie Rocky Mountains, which run from north to south, in directions nearly parallel to each other, and regulate tlie lengths of the various rivers by which the country is drai'ied, and, as it were, KIVER NAVIGATION. 77 -sign to aacl,, the quantity of water which i. due to .t, and the direction it must follow in its progress to the ocean. I shall consider the rivers, therefore, under four d,st.nct heads. Fir.t, those which rise on the west of tne Rocky Mountains, and flow into the Pacmc Ocean. Second, those which take their rise to the north of the mountain ranges, and discharge themselves .nto the Atlantic Ocean by the river and gulf of St Lawrence. Third, those which have their A^harge themselves intc the Atlantic and the north- eastern part of the Gulf of Mexico ; .r.,.fourm,. the nvers comprehended under the head of the AI.ss.ss,pp, and its tributaries, which have their rise m the great valley stretching between the Alleghany and the Rocky Mountains. ^ first of these divisions, or those which discharg^ themselves .nto the Pacific Ocean, is very limited »mg to the unexplored state of the country ^^0 e vvestward of the Rocky Mountains, through which "'ey flow. It is certain, however, that their courses ZT , . "P' ""■' ^°^'y- ^•'^'^ds to within a few hundred miles of the shore, a circumstance which -nfe ,t not unlikely also that the declivity f thdr beds ,s eons.derabIe, and their currents in genera to ap.d to admit of easy navigation. Those whi Lt heen v.su«l are Fra^r-s River, the Caledonia, he C 78 RIVER NAVIGATION. :te lorado? and the Columbia The Rivers Colorado and Columbia, are said to be navigable for a considerable distance. The rivers which flow into the great western lakes, and those joining the St Lawrence in its course from Lake Ontario to the sea, form the second division. Although the St Lawrence does not assume its name until it issues from Lake Ontario, it neverthe- less takes its rise to the westward of Lake Superior. Between Lakes Superior and Huron, it is called St Mary's river. From Lake Huron it flows un ipwn 80 RIVER NAVIGATION. whole extent, and be capable of admitting the passage of all vessels under 100 feet in length, which do not draw more than eight feet of water. The locks arc to be built of limestone, which is obtained in fine blocks and great abundance in the surrounding country. The Ottowa, after a course of about 500 miles, joins the 8t I^awrcnce immediately above the island of Montreal. It is navigable to Bytown, 120 miles from its mouth ; and the Grenville Canal, the locks and works connected with which have been formed on the same scale as those of the liachine Canal, was constructed to obviate some of the rapids which occur on the river. The Ridcau Canal, leading from Bytown on the Ottowa to Kingston on Lake Ontario, was construct- ed by the British Government, chiefly with the view of providing a sheltered passage, at a secure dis- tance from the frontier, for the transport of military stores to the lakes, in the event of war with the United States ; and, notwithstanding its construction, a great deal of trade is still carried on by the batteaux which continue to navigate the rapids of the St Lawrence. About seventy miles of the Rideau Canal consist of what is technically called slackwater navigation, which in this case is formed by damming up the wa- ters of the Rideau river and lake, and increasing their depth so as to fit them for steamers of a pretty large size. The entrance of the canal at Bytown is 283 RIVER NAVIGATION. 87 awn is 283 feet beiow Ridcau Lake, which is the summit level, and 1 29 feet below Lake Ontario. There are several bold and arduows works on the line of this canal, the execution of which in so rough and unfavourable a country confers great credit on Colonel By, the prin- cipal, and Mr M'Taggart, the assistant, engineers, un- der whose directions they were conducted. The length of the canal is 135 miles ; seventy miles of this, as before noticed, are slackwater navigation, and its cost is said to have been about L. 600,000. The works are constructed on a scale sufficient to admit vessels of 125 tons burden. It is much to be regretted that the locks of the Lachine (anal at Montreal had not been originally constructed of wood instead of stone, as in that case they miglit have been enlarged at a small cost, and rendered suitable for the same class of vessels which now navigate the Ridcau Canal, the locks of which are of much larger dimensions, and consequently admit larger craft. The Lachine Canal, the Rideau Canal, and the Welland Canal, constructed by the British subjects, together with Ohio Canal, constructed by the inhabi- tants of the United States, amount in all to four hun- dred and fifty-one miles in extent, /fhese interesting works connect the Gulfs of St Lawrence and Mexico by a water communication, forming with Lakes Onta- rio and Erie, and the rivers St Lawrence, Ohio, and Mississippi, a gigantic line of inland navigation up- wards of three thousand miles in length IMAGE EVALUATION TEST TARGET (MT-S) 1.0 I.I ^ 1^ 12.2 m ..„ III. 2.0 i.8 1.25 1.4 1.6 ^ 6" ~ ► ^.

hesapeake Bay. It has a course of about one lumdred miles in length, and is navigable to the distance of sixty miles from its mouth. The Potomac has its source in the AUegiiany Moun- tains, and is 335 miles in length. It is seven and a half miles in breadth at its entrance into Chesapeake Bay, and is navigated, by vessels of the largest class, as far as Washington, the seat of government of the United States, which is situate about 103 miles from its mouth. The tide flows three miles above Washing- ton, but beyond this point the river is obstructed by shoals, and several short canals have been constructed for the improvement of its navigation. The Rappahahnock has a course of 176 miles, and is navigable to the town of Fredericksburg, about 110 miles from its junction with Chesapeake Bay. York River also flows into Chesapeake Bay, and has a course of one hundred miles, thirty miles of which are navigable for large vessels. The James River has a course of upwards of 400 miles, and discharges itself into the Atlantic, at the southern extremity of Chesapeake Bay. It is navi- gable, for vessels of 125 tons burden, to the town of Richmond, situate 122 miles from its mouth, where the navigation is obstructed by falls in the river. By means of a canal which has been formed to overcome this obstacle, batteaux are now enabled to ascend the river to a distance of 352 miles from the sea. The Roanoke flows into Albemarle Sound in North ■■ii irse of about gable to the ^iiaiiy Moun- seven and a 3 Chesapeake largest class, iment of the >3 miles from »ve Washing- )bstructed by 1 constructed JQ miles, and •g, about 110 Bay. ike Bay, and irty miles of Awards of 400 :lantic, at the It is navi- the town of mouth, where he river. By d to overcome to ascend the 3 sea. )und in North KIVER NAVIGATION. »7 Carohna, after a course of 370 miles, ft is navigable for vessels of forty-five tons, to Halifax, seventy miles' Batteaux ascend the river to the distance of 300 miles from its mouth. The Pamlico falls into Pamlico Sound. It has a course of 200 miles, and is navigable for forty miles. The nver Neuse has a course of 271 miles ; Cape Fear, 288 ; Pee Dee, 415 ; Santee, 370 ; and Edisto, 161 miles. These rivers are in North and South Carohna, and are said to be capable of affording, by means of some small improvements, about 630 miles of boat-navigation. The rivers Ashley and Cooper in South Carolina, have courses of forty-three and forty-four miles, and. at their junction, form the harbour of Charleston The Savannah River flows between the states of South Carolina and Georgia. It has a course of 340 miles, and is navigable, for vessels of the largest size to the town of Savannah, situate eighteen miles from the sea. Above this, steam-navigation extends as far as Augusta, 140 miles. The great Ogeetchee is navigated by small vessels for 300 miles, the Alatamaha for 220, the Santilla for 180, and the St Mary for 150 miles from the sea. The rivers St John and Suwanee, in Florida, are said to have courses of about 250 miles. Many of the streams in the southern part of th^ United States, however and more particularly in Florida, have never been fully explored. a j^ii^MkumHHHeimi^Bitt - 08 RIVER navi{;ation. The Appalachicola has a course of 425 miles. It is formed by the junction of the Chattahoochee and Flint rivers, and discharges its waters into the Gulf of Mexico. It is navigated by steamers to the town of Columbus, IGO miles from its mouth. The Mobile river is formed by the junction of the Alabama and Tombeckbee. The Alabama has a course of 500, and the Tombeckbee of 350 miles. The Alabama affords ship-navigation to Clairbone, 100 miles, and batteaux-navigation to Fort-Jackson, 200 miles. The Tombeckbee is navigated by ships as far as 8t Stephens, 100 xT.iles, and by boats to the falls of the Black Warrior, 250 miles from the Gulf of Mexico. The part of 'North America which extends from north to south between the great northern I^akes and the Gulf of Mexico, and from east to we, t between the ranges of Alleghany and Rocky Mountains, in- cludes within its limits the valleys of the Mississippi, Missouri, and Ohio, and is remarkable for the extreme richness and fertility of its soil, which, after being brought into cultivation, yields with little labour a very abundant harvest. These fertile valleys include nine of the United States of America, and a great part of them is now in a high state of cultivation, and thickly peopled, ^n the State of Louisiana, the crops o-rown are sugar, cotton and tobacco ; and in Missis- sippi and Arkansas cotton is produced in great abun- dance, and of fine quality. Tennessee affords cotton and tobacco, and Kentucky produces hemp, tobacco, wheat and Indi RIVKR NAVIGATION. Oi) I corn. The states of Ohio, Indiana, II- Hnois, and Missouri, are too far removed from the equator for the growth of cotton, sugar, or tobacco, and their inhabitants confine all their attention to raising grain. The geographical structure of North America shuts up this immense tract of land from any direct communication with the seas which wasli its eastern and western coasts ; for if we trace upwards, in their com-se of many hundred miles through the eastern States, those numerous large navigable rivers which discliarge themselves into the Atlantic, we find them holding the character of rivulets long before we pene- trate even to the verge of these fertile valleys ; and on the western coast of the country, the range of the Rocky Mountains extending along the shores of the Pacific, present an insurmountable barrier to any dv rect communication with that ocean. The Mississippi, however, and its numerous navi- gable trioutaries, afford a perfect and easy access to the remotest corners of these States. The produce which annually descends the river, is valued at the enormous sum of fourteen millions of pounds Sterling, and Its four mouths pour into the Gulf of Mexico the drainage-water of a district of country which has been estimate-^, at no less than 1,300,000 square miles in extent. The source of the Mississippi is said to have been discovered in the year 1832. It is situ- ate to the westward of the great lakes, at a distance of upwards of three thousand miles from the Gulf of G 2 Sftl 100 RIVER NAVIGATION. Mexico, and at au elevation of fifteen hundred feet above its surface. The river flows from its source as a small stream, and gradually gathering stren^h, pre- cipitates itself over the falls of St Anthony, after which it swells in importance at every step of its course, gain- ing accessions of strength from the numerous small rivers which pour in their tributary streams from all directions, vntil it is at length joined by the great Missouri. The character of its waters, formerly clear and tranquil, is here completely changed, and the combined streams of the two rivers flow on in a deep and muddy torrent. The Ohio, the Arkansas, the Red River and many other large streams, fall into this giant of rivei*s, which, swelled by the waters of its various tributaries, whose aggregate length is upwards of forty-four thousand miles, at last pours itself into the Gulf of Mexico. The Mississippi, exclusively of its tributaries, affords an uninterrupted line of navigation for 2250 miles between its mouth and the falls of St Anthony. New Orleans, the most important town en the river, has already been noticed. The town of Natchez, which is about 380 miles from its mouth, stands on the left bank ; it is a place of considerable importance, and is the highest point visited by sailing vessels ; above this, the Mississippi is navigated only by steam-boats. St Louis, on the right bank of the river, about eighteen miles below its junction with the Missouri, is also a place of great trade. ^ff^ RIVER NAVIGATION. 101 The Mississippi forms a striking contrast to the St Lawrence, which, as has been already observed, flows m a rocky bed, occasionally expanding into extensive flats, or contracting its limits, and thus presenting great impediments to navigation. The bed in which the Mississippi flows, is of a soft alluvial forma- tion, maintaining a nearly uniform breadth through- out Its whole coiu-se, and aflPording, at every point be- low the falls of St Anthony, a sufficient depth of water for vessels of the largest size. Its breadth from the Gulf of Mexico to its junction with the Missouri which IS a distance of about 1100 miles, is said to be no more than half a mile, and its average depth no less than a hundred feet. The principal mouth of the Mississippi has a bar, on which the depth of water in 1722, according to Malte Brun, was twenty-five in 1767 twenty, and in 182G sixteen feet. Captain' Hall mentions that in 1828 it was only fifteen feet The vast tract of Delta land at the mouth of this nver, caused by the deposition of the earthy matter carried down by its current, is gradually extending Its limits, and stretching into the Gulf of Mexico a circumstance which has led some to remark that' in the course of time, the whole Gulf of Mexico' at present occupied by the sea, may be filled up by these alluvial deposits, and become a flat plain watered by an extension of the Mississippi. In enumerating the tributaries of the Mississippi r shall first notice those flowing into it from the oait, 1' ■ » ^; 102 KIVEK NAVIGATION. and afterwards those which have their rise in the western country, in the order in which they occur in ascending the river. The Yazoo, flowing through the State of Mississippi, joins the river about 450 miles from the sea, and is navigable for 150 miles. The Ohio, the largest of its eastern tributaries, is, excepting at one or two parts of its course, a smooth running stream. It is formed by the junction of the Monongahela and Alleghany rivers. The Mononga- hela is navigable, for small boats, for two hundred miles, and the Alleghany is navigable, for boats of ten tons, for two huadred and sixty miles. The Ohio flows over a course of 945 miles, and discharges itself into the Mississippi about 1000 miles above New Orleans. Its banks, which rise rather precipitously, are thickly co- vered with fine timber, and the country through which it passes is highly cultivated, and very productive. The navigation of the river is stopped for about four months every year by ice. The principal towns on the Ohio are Louisville, Cincinnati, Wheeling and the ma- nufacturing town of Pittsburg, which stands atthehead of the navigation, on a point of land formed by the junction of the rivers ^lonongahela and Alleghany. During the spring months, when the Ohio is swollen, stean -boats of the largest class, drawing from eight to ten feet of water, ascend from the Gulf of Mexico to Pittsburg, a distance of nearly 2000 miles. But wlicn the water is low, steamers cannot ascend llIVEll NAVIGATION. 103 higher than Louisville, in Kentucky, which is situ- ate on the left bank of the river, 560 miles below Pittsburg. Here the river has a fall, occasioned by an irregular ledge of limestone rock, of twenty-two feet six inches in two miles, which produces rapids that can only be passed when the river is high The Louisville and Portland Canal, constructed with a view to remove the obstruction to navigation occa- sioned by this fall, is rather more than two miles m length, and is excavated in rock nearly throughout Its whole extent. It is sixty-eight feet in breadth, and sixteen feet in depth, affords a passage for all steam-boats under 180 feet in length, and is used by them when the low state of the water in the river renders the rapids impassable. The canal has three lift-locks, measuring 183 feet m length, and 50 feet in breadth, and one guard-lock measuring 190 feet in length, and 50 feet in breadth, all of which are built of stone. Several shoals occur, in the upper part of the river which are also very hurtful to the navigation, as thj current on many of them runs with considerable velo- city. In ascending the Ohio, the steamer by which r travelled was very deeply loaded, and we were de- tamea several hours in attempting to pass one of these shoals called the « White Ripple." Many unsuccess- tul efforts were made, but the power of the engines could not surmount the obstacle, until some of the crew ascended tlie stream in a boat, and dropped an 104 RIVER NAVIGATION. n u \W^ z t anchor with a strong cable attached to it, in the middle of the channel ; the other end of the cable was made fast to the capstan of the steam-boat, and the vessel was at length, after much labour and detention, warped through the rapid. The principal tributaries flowing into the Ohio from the north, are the Muskingum, which is navigable for 120 miles, the Miami, navigable for 75 miles, the Scioto, which is navigable for 120 miles, and the Wabash. The Tennessee river flows into the Ohio from the south. It is 850 miles in length, and is navigable to Florence, a distance of 250 miles. At this place there is an expansion in the bed of the river ; and a collection of stones, called " the Mussel Shoal," terminates the navigation. The other tributaries flowing into the Ohio from the south, are, the Cumberland river, navigable for 440 miles. Green river, for 150 miles, Kentucky river, for 130 xniles, and Licking river, for 70 miles. The aggregate length of the Ohio and its tributaries is about seven thousand three hundred miles. The Illinois enters the Mississippi about 160 miles above the Ohio, and is navigable for steam-boats for about two hundred miles. Ouisconsin and Chippewa rivers take their rise in the neighbourhood of the lakes, and are both navi- gable for some distance. The most southern tributary of any importance which flows into the Mississippi from the west is the Red River. This river lakes its rise at the base of KIVER NAVIGATION. 105 in the middle )le was made ttd the vessel itioii, warped he Ohio from navigable for es, the Scioto, the Wabash, ora the south. e to Florence, ;e there is an I collection of rminates the dng into the )erland river, 'or 150 miles, ^ing river, for ; Ohio and its lundred miles, out 160 miles eam-boats for e their rise in ,re both navi- ly importance he west is the at the base of the Rocky Mountains, and is 1500 miles in length ; but its navigation is obstructed by a huge pUe of wood,' composed of large trees, which having been swept away in floods, and floated down the stream, have finally found a resting place in the bed of the river, among their former neighbours of the forest. This obstruc- tion, which is called the " Red River Raft," has been accumulating for ages. It commences about 500 miles above its mouth, and is said to extend about seventy miles. Measures have been adopted for effecting its removal, and should this arduous undertaking, which is at prpsent in progress of execution, be successful, the navigation of the river will be extended 500 miles farther into the interior of the coimtry. The Wa- shita, one of the tributaries of the Red River, has a course of 450 miles. The Arkansas has its source in the Rocky Moun- tains, and is said to be upwards of 2500 miles in length, and with its tributaries 4500 miles. Steam- ers can ascend this river for 640 miles from thf; Mis- sissippi. The White River, after a course of upwards of 1200 miles, including its tributaries, flows into the Mississippi, twenty miles above the Arkansas, and is navigable for 400 miles. The St Francis has a course of 450 miles, but its entrance is choked by a large stationary raft of drift timber which puts an effectual stop to the navigation of the river. 106 RIVER NAVIGATION. The Merrimeg is navigable for 200 miles. The Missouri joins the Mississippi 18 miles above the town of St Louis, and about 1200 miles from the Gulf of Mexico. It is, in every respect, the greater of the two rivers, but the Mississippi having been first discovered, the original name has been retained. The sources of the Missouri are in the Hocky Mountains, its whole course is 3217, and in connection with all its tributaries upwards of 10,000 miles. Its navigation is uninterrupted for 2532 miles from its mouth, and is there broken by the falls of the Missou :, which are said to vie in grandeur with those of Niagara, but the river is navigable above the falls for 500 miles. The lead mines on the river Missoari, are of very great value. The district in which the lead occurs is about seventy miles in length, and forty-five miles in breadth. The government of the United States have reserved 150,000 acres of land in the state of Missouri as government property. This is let in small lots to persons who undertake to open the mines ; they are now very extensively worked, and a large quantity of lead is prepared on the spot, and brought down the Missouri for the market. The tributaries of the Missouri are the Gasconade, navigable for 150 miles; the Osage, said to be navi- gable for 500 miles ; the Chariton for 300 miles, the Tauzas for 200, and the Yellowstone for 800 miles. The Moine flows into the Mississippi, 130 miles UIVER NAVIGATION. 107 above the Missouri, and is supposed, with its tributa- ries, to be navigable for a distance of 1500 miles. The St Peter's, which is the most northern of the tributaries, has a course of 500 miles, and is navigable only for boats. ' With the exception of the falls at LouisviUe, and the White Ripple on the upper part of the Ohio River, the Mississippi, and the navigable tributaries which have been enumerated, are perfectly free from those obstructions to navigation which are caused by any irregular forjnation in the beds or banks of the stream. Their currents have been estimated to run at the ave- rage rate of about three miles an hour. In some places, shoals or rapids occur, but these are by no means for- midable, and do not affect the passage of steamers to a greater extent than by retarding their progress a Uttle in ascending the river. Some dangers, however, exist, which are peculiar to the navigation of the western waters of America, and are even more to be dreaded than currents and rapids produced by permanent ob- structions in the bed of the stream, as they are con- stantly changing their positions, and springing up afresh every day, so that they cannot be guarded against by any previous knowledge of the navigation of the river. These dangers are caused by large trees, which, being precipitated into the water, by the river undermining its banks, are borne away on the current, and occasionally get entangled, and even become firm- ly fixed, in the bed of the stream. Sometimes a branch aiVEU NAVIGATION. of the tree is seen projecting from the water, but of- ten no part of it is visible, and then the only indica- tion of the existence of these hidden dangers is a slight ripple on the surface of the water. They have re- ceived from the boatmen of the Mississippi, the names of " Snags," " Planters" and " Sawyers," bearing one or other of these designations, according to their po- sitions and the manner in which they are fixed in the river. The term " snag" is applied to a tree firmly imbedded in the bottom, and lying at a consider- able angle, with its top inclined down the stream. A " planter" is a tree firmly fixed in a perpendicular position ; and a " sawyer" is the name applied to a tree whose roots or branches have become entangled in the bed of the river, and, whose trunk being loose, is kept constantly swinging up and down by the current, alternately shewing its head, and ^)lunging it under the surface. Sometimes several of these trees collect together in the same place, and form a small islet, which, after maintaining its position for some time, and gradually increasing its dimensions, at length at- tains an enormous magnitude, and often becomes an impassable barrier, extending along the river's course for many miles. This is what the boatmen call a " raft." It generally occurs in the tributaries of the Mississippi, and not in the river itself. One instance of this is afforded by the Red River, already men- tioned, and another by the Atchafalaya, a river flow- ing out of the Mississippi, at a point about 250 miles ttlVEK NAVIGATION. 109 from the sea. The Atchafalaya raft, which is particu- larlynoticed in Captain Hall's work on North America, extends over a space of twenty miles ; but the river's bed, for the whole of this distance, is not filled up with drift timber ; the actual length of the raft itself being only about ten miles. The Atchafalaya is 220 yards in width, and the raft extends from bank to bar.?:, and is supposed to be about eight feet in thickness. All these obstructions are most injurious to the na- vigation of the Mississippi and its tributaries, and have, on many occasions, caused great loss both of lives and property by sinking steamers. The " snags" are more dangerous than any of the other obstructions. They are generally encountered by vessels on their up- ward passage. Vessels descending the river keep in the middle of the stream, where the water is deep and the current is strongest, while those ascending the river keep as close to the shore as possible, where they have a more gentle current and shoaler water, and, of course, are more apt to be injured by impediments' in the bottom. Besides, as the "snags" are always inclined down the stream, vessels, going in the direction of the current, slide easily over them, if they happen to come in contact with them ; but their inclined position ren- ders them exceedingly dangerous for vessels ascending the river, which obviously encounter them in their most destructive position. The strongest vessels in the western waters are unable to withstand the shock occasioned by running against a " snag.^' It almost no RIVER NAVIGATION. invariably pierces their bows, when they generally fill with water and go down. Several steamers are built with false bows, called " snag-chambers," as a pallia- tive of the danger arising from accidents of this kind. In the event of the bow being stove in, the small com- partment called the " snag-chamber," in the fore part of the vessel, is all that is filled with water, and her buoyancy is thus vei-y little affected. Some grants of money have been voted by the go- vernment of the United States for the improvement of the western water navigation. The money has been expended in removing, from different parts of the Mis- sissippi and its tributaries, the stationary rafts of tim- ber a\ -1 snags b^ which their streams are obstructed. For this purpose, an apparatus called a " snag-boat," has been used with much success. The machine con- sists of two hulls, firmly secured to each other, at a dis- tance of a few feet apart ; and over the intervening space a deck is thrown, having an aperture left in the centre. A powerful crab is placed over this aperture, from which strong chains and grapplings are suspended in the space between the two vessels. The " snag- boat" is propelled by paddle-wheels, which, with the gearing for raising the snags, are worked by a steam- (^ngine placed on its deck. In using the apparatus, the vessel is brought to an anchor over the snag or obstacle foo be removed, and the grapplings are made fast to vhe pieces which are to be raised. The pad- dle-wheels being thrown out of gear, the engine is mvEB navioation. jji applied to work the crab, by whieh the mag is torn fron. ,U hold in the bottom of the river, and, after bemg cut m short pieces, is allowed to float down the stream. This " snag-boat" has been extensively used on the Red River, in the partial removal of the lanje stationary raft formerly noticed, which at present ot structs the navigation of the stream. The Mississippi and Ohio rivers are perfectly pure arnhmpKl; but after being mingled with the water of he Missouri, which holds a large quantity of allu- vial matter in suspension, they assume a red and muddy appearance. A quantity of water, taken from he lower part of the Mississippi, and allowed to settle for fifteen or twenty minutes, deposits a thick cake of mud on the bottom of the vessel containing it • but notwithstanding this, the water is supposed by manv persons to be healthful, and, after undergoing the process of filtration, is very generally used for do- raeshc pmroses by the inhabitants of all the towns Situate on the river. The average height of the annual rise in the waters of the Ohio is fifty feet, the lowest state of the river occurring in September, and the highest in March • but I was informed that the waters of the Mississippi andjhssour. are not subject to so remarkable a change The following interesting details are from Captain Hall s work on North America, which contains much lahiable mformation regarding the Mississippi. 112 RIVER NAVIGATION. " At New Orleans, the difference between the level of the highest water and that of the lowest is thirteen feet eight inches perpendicular, English measure. The sea is distant from the city upwards of 100 miles, and, as the tide is not felt so far, the rise and fall alluded to are caused exclusively by the rainy and dry seasons in the interior." " In proportion as we ascend the river, we find the perpendicular space between the rise and fall of its surface to increase. Near the efflux of the river La- fourche, the rise and fall is twenty-three feet. This is about 150 miles from the sea. At a place called Baton Rouge, 200 miles from the sea, the pilot-books state the perpendicular rise and fall of the river at thirty feet. At Natchez, which is 380 miles from the sea, it is said to be fifty feet. After it has flowed past Natchez, the volume of water in the Mississippi is dissipated over the Delta by such innumerable mouths, and overflows its banks at so many places, that the perpendicular rise and fall is of course much diminish- ed. The velocity of the middle current seldom ex- ceeds four miles an hour any where between the con- fluence of the Ohio and the sea. " The width of the river at New Orleans at low water is 746 yards, which is somewhat less than hf?lf an English statute mile, being very nearly four-tenth<'. —the mile being 17G0 yards. At high water it .. 852^^ yards broad, or 106^ more than at low water. 5& RIVEH NAVIGATION. 113 This, however, is still under half a mile, being a little more than forty-eight hundredths. " I am the more particular in stating these mea- surements, from high authority, because a general be- lief prevails, I think, that the Mississippi ig much broader. It may be mentioned that thi/. /. h'hi. .■{. KliXdtivn.Phin '•"/•■ ,■!' /■;-,■/ /„/-;;,„„y /,, /'/..r/y, // /:' ,! , ''■■J /r. /.///, //;■.//,•, .;y iii,ji, //,.//..,„, jxis. ('ti: Jikithifi , Srn/f,l 122 STEAM NAVIGATION. retical principles, in the application of which, to the practice of propelling vessels, by the action of paddle- wheels on the water, numerous difficulties have hither- to been experienced. There are local circumstances, connected with the nature of the trade in which the steam-boats are en- gaged, and the waters which they are intended to na- vigate, that have given rise to the employment of three distinct classes of vessels in American steam navigation, all of which I had an opportunity of sail- ing in and particidarly examining. These steam-boats may be ranged under the fol- lowing classification : First, those navigating the East- era Waters. This class includes all the vessels plying on the River Hudson, Long Island Hound, Chesapeake and Delaware Bays, and all those which run to and from Boston, New York, Philadelphia, Baltimore, Charles- ton, Norfolk and the other ports on the eastern coast of the country, or what the Americans call the Sea-board, ^^^econd, those navigating the Western Wa- ters, incluaing all the steamers employed on the river Mississippi and its numerous tributaries, including the Missouri and Ohio. Third, the steamers engaged in the Lake navigation. These classes of vessels vary very much in their construction, which has been mo- dified to suit the respective services for which they are intended. The general characteristics by which the Eastern Water boats are distinguiblivd, are, a small draught of STEAM NAVIGi\TION. 123 the Eastern water, great spoen a level with guards, one be- The cylinder, ! first deck, is tween the two ; situate in the te large cabin, oden partition, onnected by a 1 of the pistov.' 3casionally em- ,te the Eastern er, much more adopted by the is very much Europe. This tres of the en- m performs its arable elevation ng bean., there- id above every he tops of the forming one of of an American BB^^^^^H STEAM NAVIGATION. l.'Jl steam-boat, and presenting, as may naturally be sup^ posed, a strange effect in the eyes of those accustomed to see European steam-boats only, in which no part of the machinery is visible even from the deck of the vessel. The beams are constructed wholly of malleable iron, in the manner shewn in the following diagram- in which a is the main centre, and h and c the points to which the piston and connecting rods are attached. This construction combines lightness with strength and rigidity, and is found to act very well. The arrangement of the decks and machinery which I have just described, and which is represented in Plates IV. and v., renders the vessel's course, when she is un- der weigh, quite invisible from her stern, and, conse- quently, itis impossible to steer herfrom that part of the ship ; but the wheel by which the rudder is moved is placed in a wheel-house, erected for the pilot on the fore part of the promenade-deck, and in some instances at a distance of nearly 200 feet from the stem of the boat. The steersman, by this arrangement, stands so far for- ward in the vessel, and in so elevated a situation, that he cannot easily discover when the vessel swerves from i2 132 STEAM NAVIGATION. her course, without the assistance of a tall perpendi- cular pole, placed at the bow, in the manner shewn in the plates. On this he keeps his eye, and, by nar- rowly observing its position in relation to some fixed object at a distance, he readily detects the smallest deviation from the course. The motion produced by moving the wheel is com- municated to the rudder by ropes working in a series of grooved pulleys. The application of ropes for this purpose has, on several occasions, in cases of fire, been attended with most unhappy results. During my stay in America, a steam-boat on the Mississippi, called the " Ben Sherod," took fire, and upwards of one hundred lives were lost, in consequence of the vessel's becoming unmanageable owing to the rudder ropes being burned. Iron rods and chains have lately been introduced instead of ropes, and will, doubtless, soon come into general use. The rudder in general measures about feet in depth, and 8 feet in length. It moves on pivots, which work in gudgeons fixed to the stern of the ves- sel, and thus far resembles the rudder used in all sea- vessels. The ropes, however, by which it is put in motion are made fast to the outer extremity of the rudder, in the man- ner shewn in the annexed diagram ; and in this way the tiller, which takes up much room, is altogether dispensed with. STEAM NAVIGATION. 133 This mode of steering in an elevated situation, near the bow of the vessel, is peculiarly well adapted for steamers navigating narrowrivers, such as the Thames and Clyde in this country, which are crowded with craft of all kinds. On the suggestion of Captain Basil Hall, It has been introduced, a short time ago, on the Thames, in the steamer " Adelaide." It is singular that It IS not m general use on such a river as the Thames, on which serious accidents, from the collision of ves- sels, are of so frequent cccurrence, and where it is ut- terly impossible that a s ;eersman, placed at the stern, can direct the vessel properly. The foregoing remarcs regarding the construction of the steamers refer particularly to those vessels na- vigating the rivers on tae eastern coast of the United states. Those used o^i the bays and sounds, called sea-boats by the Americans, are somewhat different in their construction, their hulls and machinery loins more strongly made, and their draught of water con! siderably greater. The river-boats draw from four to SIX feet of water, and the sea-boats from five feet six inches to nine feet ; but still the machinery and boil ers, as well as a great part of the cabin-accommoda- tion in that class of steamers, is elevated above the level of the deck ; an arrangement which seems very 111 adapted for vessels exposed to the heavy gales and rough seas of the ocean. The best specimens ot the American sea-boats are those which ply be- ^ "^Ji: 134 STEAM NAVIGATION. J! tween New York and the ports of Providence and Charleston. The finest of these sea-boats, and indeed the finest steamer which I saw in the United States, is the " Nar- ragansett," plying between New York and Providence, which is shewn in Plate III. Fig. 1. is an elevation of the hull ; Fig. 2. a plan ; and Fig. 3. shews her wa- ter-lines. It could hardly be credited, from a mere examination of the drawings, that this vessel plies re- gularly from New York to Providence. By inspecting the map, it will be seen that, during the fifty miles of this voyage, extending between New London and Newport, she is quite exposed to the roll of the At- lantic Ocean ; and, notwithstanding this, she makes her passages with great speed and regularity. The " Narragansett" measures 210 feet in length of keel, and 2d feet in maximum breadth of beam. The depth of her hold is 10 feet 7 inches, and her draught of water is 4 feet 6 inches without the keel, and 5 feet with the keel, when she has her average load on board. She is built entirely of oak, and is strengthened by dia- gonal straps or ties of iron which connect her timbers. The vessel is propelled by one condensing engine, which works expansively, cutting off the steam at half stroke. The condensation of the steam in this engine, as well as in most of the American marine engines, is produced by the injection of a jet of cold water into the condenser. She carries two boilers, in which an aggregate amount STEAM NAVIGATION. 1^5 of 3000 square feet of surface is exposed to the fire, and works with steam of a pressure varying, accord- ing to circumstances, from twenty to twenty-five pounds on the square inch. The cylinder is pfeced horizontally, and is 56 inches in diameter; the.length of the stroke is 11 feet 6 inches, and the piston makes twenty-four double strokes per minute, so that its ave- rage motion in the cylinder is at the rate of no less than 6.27miles per hour. The diameter of the paddle-wheels is 25 feet, and, as they perform twenty-four revolu- tions in the minute, the motion of the periphery is at the rate of 21.4 miles per hour. The breadth of the " Narragansett's" paddle-wheels is 11 feet, and theif dip 2 feet 2 inches. The diameter of the paddle-wheel" axle on which they are keyed is 13 inches. The cabins of the sea-steamers are of great size, and their accommodation for passengers is excellfent. In most of them about four hundred berths are pro- vided. The principal cabin in the « Massachusetts," a vessel running on the line between New York and Providence, is 160 feet in length, about 22 feet in maximum breadth, and 12 feet in height ; and, what adds greatly to its convenience and capacity, it is entirely unbroken by pillars or any other obstruc- tion throughout its whole area. I have dined with 175 persons in this cabin ; and, notwithstanding this numerous assembly, the tables, which were arranged in two parallel rows extending from one end of the cabin to the other, were far from being fully oc- 136 STEAM NAVIGATION. cupied ; the attendance was good, and every thing was conducted with perfect regularity and order. There are 112 fixed berths ranged round this cabin, and about 100 temporary berths can bt erected in the middle of the floor. Besides these, there are 60 fixed berths in the ladies' cabin, and several temporary sleeping-places can be erected in it also. The cabin of the " Massachusetts" is by no means the largest in the United States ; some steamers have cabins upwards of 175 feet in length. Those large saloons are lighted by argand lamps suspended from the ceiling, and their appearance, when brilliantly lighted up and filled with company, is very remarkable. The passengers gene- rally arrange themselves in parties at the numerous small tables (into which the large tables are converted after dinner), and engage in different amusements. The scene resembles much more the coffee-room of some great hotel than the cabin of a floating vessel. I found no variety in the construction of the paddle- wheels of the different American steam-boats. They are all made in the manner represented in the follow- ing diagram. The spokes are made of wood, and STEAM^AVIGATION. jg/ bolted into cast-iron flanges which are keyed to the axle of the paddle-wheel ; their outer ends are con- nected together by bands of iroi^ encircling the cir- cumference of the wheel. The float-boards, which are formed of hardwood, are attached to the spokes sim- ply by bolts. The float-boards do not extend across the whole breadth of the paddle-wheel, as is always the case in this country. They are divided into two and sometimes three compartments, and the wheel is furnished with three and sometimes four sets of spokes arranged in parallel planes. " This construction was mtroduced by Mr Stevens of New York, and may be described," says Dr Renwick, « by supposing a com- mon paddle-wheel to be sawn into three parts in planes perpendicular to its axis. Each of the two additional wheels that are thus formed, is then moved back, until their paddles divide the interval of the paddles on the original wheel into three equal parts. " In this form the shock of each paddle is dimi- nished to one-third of what it is in the usual shape of the wheel ; they are separated by less intervals of time, and hence approach more nearly to a constant resistance ; while each paddle following the wake of those belonging to its own system strikes upon water that has been but little disturbed."* The large diameter of the American paddle-wheels renders unnecessary the use of the cycloidal paddle of YlkZr '" '^' ^''^"•"-Engine hy James Renwick. LL.D,, Xcw il 138 STEAM NAVIGATION. ll:iA Mr Galloway, or the eccentric paddle of Mr Morgan, now frequently adopted in this country to obviate the evils arising from indirect impulse and backwater, which affect so powerfully the action of paddle-wheels of small diameter. In some of the Western Water boats, which are often very deeply laden, the paddle- wheels are constructed with moveable float-boards, so that their dip may be increased or diminished to suit the draught of water ; but this construction, so far as I know, is not in use in any other part of the country. The American steamers are generally propelled only by one engine, and a counter-balance attached to the paddle-wheels is in some cases found necessary, to enable the engine to turn its centres. The great length of the stroke, however, allows time for a de- gree of momentum to be generated, which is sufficient in most cases to carry the engine past its centres, and failing this, the paddle-wheels, from their large dia- meter, become good generators of momentum, and act in the same way as the fly-wheels of land engines in regulating their motion. Even in those vessels where two engines are employed, their connecting- rods are not attached to the same axle ; each engine works quite independently of the other, and drives only one of the paddle-wheels ; whereas in this country the connecting-rods of both engines are attachcfl to the same axle, by cranks placed at right angles to each other, so that one engine is exerting its full li^ STEAM NAVIGATION. IB9 power at the very moment when the other is expend- ing none of its force, and the power is thus employed in the most advantageous manner for keeping up the speed. The short stroke and comparatively small dia- meter of the paddle-wheels in European boats, ren- ders this construction necessary to enable engines to pass their centres. The general construction of the boilers, and the arrangement of the flues, in the steam-boats on the Eastern Waters, resemble in a great measure those of European steamers. The flame and smoke genera- ted in the fire-place by the combustion of the fuel, pass through flues in the interior of the boiler, and are afterwards discharged into the smoke-tube. The boilers are strengthened in the usual manner, by means of iron braces or ties, arranged so as to form a strong connection between the interior surfaces, and thus render them more capable of resisting the ex- pansive force of the steam, which has a tendency to tear them asunder. Copper was, until lately, very generally employed in America for the construction of the boilers of vessels navigating the sea, this metal being less liable than iron to be acted on by the saline deposits. By means of some improvements which have lately been introduced, these deposits are prevented from collecting in iron boilers to any dangerous ex- tent, and the difference of expense is so much in fa- vour of iron, that it has now been adopted instead of copper, in the sea, as well as in the river boats. The 140 STEAM NAVIGATION. f i f ] means used in America for checking the deposit which takes place in boilers from the use of salt-water, is the same as that generally employed in this country, namely, by " Blowing off," an operation which is performed every two or three hours, while the boat is running, without stopping her progress. A valve in the bottom of the boiler being opened, part of the water is permitted to escape, which, in its rush from the boiler, disturbs any deposit that may have taken place on its bottom, and generally carries it off. The speed of the American steam-boats has excited considerable wonder in this country ; and some people have been inclined to doubt the accuracy of the state- ments that have frequently been made regarding the extraordinary feats performed by them. Fast sailing is a property which is not possessed by all American steam-boats ; but that a few of those navigating the River Hudson and Long Island Sound perform their voyages safely and regularly, at a speed which far surpasses that of any European steamer hitherto built, every impartial person, who has had an opportunity of seeing the performances of the vessels in both countries, must be ready to admit. Some difficulties at present exist, which preclude the attainment of more than an approximation in as- certaining the maximum rate at which the steam- boats on the Hudson are capable of being propelled in still water. One of these is caused by the currents of the flowing and ebbing tide, which are felt as far STEAM NAVUJATION. 141 as Albany, and whose velocity has never been accu- rately ascertained, and the other by the doubt that exists as to the actual distance of the route between New York and Albany, which has been variously stated at from 145 to 160 miles. The road between these towns runs nearly parallel to the river, and is said to be 162 miles in length. In the American Almanac for 1837, the town-house of New York is stated to be in north latitude 40° 42' 40" and vvest longitude (from Greenwich) 74° J' 8", and that ol Albany in north latitude 42° 39' 3", and west longitude 73° 44' 49", which makes the distance be- tween the two places, as the crow flies, 134.5 statute miles. The navigable channel of the Hudson, how- ever, is by no means straight ; its direction ranges over iifteen points of the compass, from West to E N E including an angle of 157° 30'. Mr Redfield of New York, who has bestowed much attention on the sub ject of steam navigation, is of opinion that the length of the steam-boat route is 150 miles, being 15.5 miles greater than the distance measured by a straight line drawn between the two places.* This may be re- garded as a near approximation to the truth The same difficulties occur regarding the length of the routes performed by the boats navigating Long Island bound and the strength of the tidal currents encoun- tered by them. It is quite evident that until these tacts are accurately ascertained, it is impossible, with- * Professor SiUiman's Journal, vol. xxiii. p. 312. 142 STEAM NAVIGATION. 1/ 1^ out a series of experiments made solely with that ob- ject in view, to discover what is the actual speed ge- nerally attained by American steam-boats. A very general opinion exists in America on this subject, in which many persons possessing the best means of information concur, that the fast steam-boats in that country can be propelled at the rate of eighteen miles an hour in still water, a feat which it is said has of late been often performed. I cannot vouch for the accuracy of this statement, however, from per- sonal experience or observation ; but this I can state pooitively, that the average length of time occupied by the steamers in making the voyage from New York to Albany, is ten hours, exclusive of time lost in making stoppages, which, taking the distance at 150 miles, gives fifteen miles an hour as their average rate of motion. The " Rochester" and the " Swallow" were said to be the two swiftest boats running on the Hudson in 1837. I made a trip from Albany to New York in the « Rochester," on the 14th of June, on which occasion, with a view to test the vessel's speed, I carefully noted the horn- of departure from Albany, the times of touching at the several towns and landing places on the river, with the reputed distances between them, the number of minutes lost at each place, and the hour of arrival at New York. Thirteen stoppages, which T found to average three minutes each, were made to land and take on board passengers. The »;■ ■ — STEAM NAVIGATION. I43 '• Rochester" perfonned rhe voy«^ i„ ten hours aiid forty minutes. From this, tJ^irty-nine minute, must be deducted for the time lost in making the thir- teen stoppages, which leaves ten hours and one minute as the time during which the vessel was actually oecu- pied in running from Albany to New York Assuming the distance between those places to be 150 miles the average speed of the vessel throughout the trip 'was 14.97 miles per horn-, but even if we assume the dis- tance to be only 145 miles (the shortest distance I have ever heard stated), which there is every reason to believe is too small, the average rate is still 14 47 miles per hour, the difference of five miles in the length of the route, producing a diminution in the vessel's average rate of sailing of but half a mile per hour. The current was in the « Rochester's" favour dmdng the first part of the voyage, but the Overslaugh shoals, and the contracted and narrow state of the na- vigable channel of the river for about thirty miles be- low Albany, checked her progress very much ; and consequently, for the first twenty-seven miles her speed was only 12.36 miles per hour. This was her average rate of sailing during the part of her course when her speed was slowest. After the first thirty mUes the river expanded, affording a better navigable channel, when her speed gradually increased, and be- fore the flowing tide checked her progress the vessel attained the maximum velocity indicated by my ob- servations, which, between two of the stopping places 144 STEAM NAVIGATION. I! !'<' was 1(5.55 miles per hour. When going at this speed it is possible that she was influenced by some slight degree of current in her favour, although it was quite imperceptible to the eye, as the flow of the tide ap- peared to produce a stagnation in the water of the river. At West Point we encountered the flood tide, as was very distinctly proved by the swing- ing of the vessels which lay at anchor in the river. After this we had an adverse current all the way to New York, a distance of about fifty miles, and the vessel s speed during this part of the voyage averaged 14.22 miles an hour. About one half of the voyage was thus performed with a favourable current, and the other half was performed under unfavourable cir- cumstances, owing partly to the shallowness of the water and the narrowness of the channel in the upper part of the river, and partly to an adverse tide in the lower part of it. When the Rochester is pitched against another vessel and going at her full speed, her piston, as formerly stated, makes twenty-seven double st;rokes per minute. On the voyage above alluded to, however, the piston, on an average, made about twenty-five double strokes per minute, so that the speed of 14.97 miles per hoiu-, which she attained on that occasion, cannot be taken as her greatest ordinary rate of sailing. During the time, however, at which her speed was 16.55 miles per hour, her piston was making twenty- seven double strokes per minute, and at that time the vessel could not be far from having attained the maxi- ^^e STEAM NAVIOATION. 145 Polling her through the water. ^ The „te of rfxteen and a half miles an hour is very g^eat, bu perhaps not „„re than Is due to the formZ he vessels, and the power of the engines by wTieh hey are propelled. The " Roehester" draws ol four feet of water, but the power of her engine is greater than that of any stean,er in this country The eonstn,et,on of the American marine engines is ,0 mmo tion at the stern ; and the diverging wave, which invariably foUcw the steamers in this country, and break on the banks of our rivers with considerable violence, are not produced by the fast boats in Ame- rica. The waves in their wake are very slight, and as far as I could judge, seem to be nearly parallel ; and the marks of the vessel's course cannot be traced to any great distance. These facts are quite in accord- ance with the result of some of Mr Russell's experi- ments, by which he was led to conclude that "the com motion produced in a fluid by a vessel moving through It, IS much greater at velocities less than the velocity of the wave" (which is proportioned to the depth of the water), " than at velocities which are greater than it "* Steam-boats were first introduced on the Mississippi "1 the year 1811, and in 1831 no less than 348 steam- 800^.^0^? 7 yi'^y^T'"' ''°'" *''^ Transactions of the Roval ^ocu ty of Edinburgh for 1837. By John Scott Russell, E.sq. " K 2 m:' ■ k Jb mjbfi ii M'i iintiWifilM Ml 148 STEAM NAVIGATION. ers had been built for the Western Water navigation, 198 of which were then in actual operation. Since that time their number has rapidly increased, with the in- creasing population and trade of the country, and is now said to be between 350 and 400 ; but, so far as I know, no official statement regarding the Western Water navigation has appeared since the publication of the following table, which is taken from the American Almanac for 1832, and contains a list of steamers up to that date, specifying those which have been woni out and have been lost to the service. Whole Number of Steam-Boats built on the Western Waters. When Whole Now Lost or buUt Number. running. worn out. 1811 1 1 1814 4 4 1816 3 3 1816 2 2 1817 9 9 1818 23 23 1819 27 27 1820 7 1 6 1821 6 1 6 1822 7 .•• 7 1823 13 1 12 1824 13 1 12 1826 31 19 12 1826 62 36 16 1827 26 19 6 1828 31 28 3 1829 63 63 ... 1830 30 30 ... 1831 9 9 ... 348 198 160 ...i^^g^.iU4^f4 STEAM NAVIGATION. UQ Of the boats now running, 68 were built at Cincinnati. ^ — Pittsburg. * f Louisville. *2 ... New Albany. * ••• Marietta. * ••• Zanesville. 1 ••• Fredericksburg, 1 ••• Westport. 1 ••• Silver Creek, 1 — Brush Creek, 2 ... Wheeling. 1 ••• Nashville. 2 ... Frankfort. ' ... Smithland. 1 ••. Economy, ^ ••• Brownsville. 3 ... Portsmouth. 2 ... Steubenville, 2 ... Beaver, 1 ... St Louis. 3 ... New\ork. 1 ... Philadelphia. ^^ — (Not known where.) 198 Of the whole number. 111 were built at Cincinnati. 68 of which were running in 1831. . "« oi wnicn Of the 160 lost or worn out, there were— W^omout, Lost by snags, ... ' o« Burned, ....."; .* ^ Lost by collision, . ■ . . ; 3 By other accidents not ascertained, . .' 34 Total, 160 Most of the vessels at present employed have been built on the banks of the Ohio, and a few at St Louis on the upper part of the Mississippi, but, according to the above list, the building-yards which have pro. duced the greatest number are those of Pittsburg and f'incinnati. nn tli*> nLi^ du^^u .1.1 . . ' '^' ' 'it=»i"g, uitnougii about 150 STEAM NAVIGATION. 1^ 1 f ft 2000 miles from the Gulf of Mexico, is a place of great trade. Its population is 30,000 persons, a great part of whom are employed in the construction and management of steam-boats, and some idea may be formed of the extent of their trade, when I state, that I have counted no less than thirty-eight steam-boats moored opposite the town in the Monongahela, all of which were engaged in plying to and from the port. The vast number of vessels on the Western Waters, the peculiarity of their construction, and the singular nature of the navigation in which they are employed, make them objects of considerable interest to the tra- veller. We must not expect to find, hov»rever, in that class of vessels, the same display of good workman- ship, and Siie attainment of the high velocities, which characterise the vessels on the Eastern Waters. These qualifications may be very easily dispensed with, and the want of them is by no means the worst feature in the western navigation ; but, what is of far more im- portance, too many of the vessels are decidedly un- safe ; and, in addition to this, their management is intrusted to men whose recklessness of human life and property, is equalled only by their ignorance and want of civilization. Economy would indeed seem to be the only object which the constructors of these boats have in view, and therefore, with the exception of the finery which the cabins generally display, little care is expended in their construction, and much of the workmanship con- nected with them is of a most superficial and insuffi- > a place of ms, a great ruction and iea may be state, that steam-boats ihela, all of the port. ;m Waters, he singular ; employed, ; to the tra- ver, in that [ workman- ities, which ters. These d with, and it feature in ar more im- !cidedly un- lagement is nan life and ce and want only object ave in view, [inery which expended in lanship con- aud insuffi- l a in wnwrnyii ^ ''-^HSi mm!': J I Mlm' H m 1 1.^ ■niMiiiiimiii t iiiin % Kill M ^ Blii ' 1 ?' jkIWI 1 1 1 1 1 < H ' ^ |y|i'| '>. \ 1 -^ If mm 1 ^ ■ 1 :H|ili!lii s 11 III Mil"'"' I' ^3 HI II : ■■ 1 fWmt \\lf.' u ^ Hi %■ H '' 1 ■'" |i!S' J N II 5 III Ijl;, ill III 'i i i 1 'II 1 ■■■1 a lllljl" ii'i' ' ■ 1 iiii 1 f: P. :| . ill' •■iifj |l!: '^■..-^ 'mi • ; ji':,;. . . ■ J m" ^ STEAM NAVKiATION. 151 cient kind. Wlieii the crews of these frail fabrics, therefore, engage in brisk competition with other ves- sels, and urge the machinery to the utmost extent of its power, it is not to be wondered at that tl vir ex- ertions are often suddenly terminated by the vessel taking fire, and going to the bottom, or by an explo- sion of the steam-boilers. Such accidents are frequently attended with an appalling loss of life, and are of so common occiu-rence, that they generally excite little or no attention. During my stay in North America, a steamer called the "Ben Sherrod," us already men- tioned, was burnt on the MississM)pi, when 120 per- sons were reported to have lost their lives. I am happy in being able to add, that there is reason to be- lieve that, in consequence of this accident, the Govern- ment of the United States have resolved to take some measures to insure the better regulation 'of this navi- gation, which has been too long neglected by them. The vessels on the Western Waters vary from 100 to 700 tons burden, and are generally of a heavy built, to enable them to carry goods. They have a most singular appearance, and are no less remarkable as regards their machinery. Plate V. is a perspective view of one of them, taken from a sketch which I made on the Ohio. They are built flat in the bottom, and generally draw from six to eight feet of water. The hull is covered with a deck at the level of about five feet above the water, and below this deck is the hold, in which the heavy part of the cargo is car- 152 STEAM NAVIGATION. *!-1tfl m II i 1 11 1 IS 1 ll ■ iS BJ '^^ . BN 1 'W| ried. The whole of the machinery rests on the first deck ; the engines being placed near the middle of the vessel, and the boilers under the two smoke chim- neys, as shewn in the drawings. The fire-doors open towards the bow, and the bright glare of light thrown out by the wood fires, along with the puffing of the steam from the escapement pipe, produce a most singu- lar eflPect at night, and serve the useful purpose of an- nouncing the approach of the vessel when it is still at a great distance. The chief object in placing the boilers in the manner described, is to produce a strong draught in the fire-place. The other end of the lower deck, which is covered in, and occupied by the crew of the ves- sel and the deck passengers, generally presents a scene of filth and wretchedness that baffles all description. A stair-case leads from the front of the paddle-boxes on each side* of the vessel, to an upper gallery about three feet in breadth. This surrounds the whole after- part of the vessel, and is the promenade of the in- habitants of the second deck. Several doors lead from the gallery into the great cabin, which extends from the funnels to within about thirty or forty feet of the stern of the vessel ; the aftermost space is separated from the great cabin by a partition, and is occupied by the ladies. The large cabin contains the gentle- men's sleeping berths, and is also used as the dining- room. This part of the western steamers is often fitted up in a gorgeous style ; the berths are large, and the numerous windows by which the cabin is sur- STEAM NAVIGATION. 153 i rounded give abundance of light, and, what h of great consequenee in that scorching climate, admit a plen- tiful supply of fresh air. From the gallery surrounding the chief'cabin, two fl.ghts of steps lead to the hurricane deck, whijh, in many of the steamers, is at least thirty feet above the level of the water. The wheel-house, in which the tccrsman .s placed, is erected on the forepart of this deck, and the motion is communicated to the helm by means of ropes or iron r«ls, in the manner already descnbed m speaking of the Eastern steamers. The first cabin of a Mississippi steam-boat is strange y contrasted with the scenes of wretchedness m the lower deck, and its splendour serves in some measure to distract the attention of its unthinking in- mates from the dangers which lie below them But no one who is at all acquainted with the steam-engine can examine the nachinery of one of those vessels.' »d the manner in which it is managed, without shuddanng at the idea of the great risk to which all on board are at every moment exposed. The Western Water steamers are propeUed some- times by one and sometimes by two engines. When two engines are used, the ends of the piston-rods work in slides, and the connecting-rods are both at- tachcd to cranks on the paddlo-wheel axle, placed at right angles to each other, as is the case in most of the steamers in this country. When only one en. gme IS used, which is more generally the case, a large 154 STEAM NAVHiATloN. i! i' m fly-wheel, from ten to fifteen feet in diameter, is fixed on the paddle-wheel shaft, and serves to regulate the motion of the engine, and ''vnMe it to turn its centres. The cylinders are inv'iiinl>lv )»'aced horizontally, and the engines are always constructed on the high-pres- sure principle. The engines are generally very small in proportion to the size of the vessel which they propol, and, to make up for their deficiency in volume, they are work- ed by steam of great elasticity. The "Rufus Put- nam," for example, a pretty large vessel drawing six feet of water, which plies between Pittsburg on the Ohio and St Louis on the Mississippi, is propelled by a single engine having a cylinder 16 inches diameter, and 5 feet C inches in length of stroke, but this en- gine is worked by steam of a most dangerously great elasticity. The captain of the vessel informed me that, under ordinary circumstances, the safety-valves were loaded with a pressure equal to 138 lb. on the square inch of surface, but that the steam was occa- sionally raised as high as 150 lb. to enable the vessel to pass parts of the river in which there is a strong current ; and he added, by way of consolation, that this amount of pressure was never exceeded except on extraordinary occasions ! I made a short voyage on the Ohio in this vessel, but after receiving this in- formation, I resolved to leave her on the first oppor- tunity that presented itself. The " St Louis," one of the newest boats on tlio STKAM NAVI(;aTION. 155 Mississippi, is 230 feet in length of deck, and 28 feet in breadth of beam. She draws 8 feet of water, and carries about 1000 tons. This vessel is propelled by two engines, with cylinders 30 inches in diameter, and 10 feet in length of stroke, worked by steam having a pressure of 100 lb. on the square inch of the boiler. Explosions, as may naturally be supposed, are of very freauent occurrence ; and, with a view to cure this evil, several attempts have, at different periods been made to introduce low-pressure engines on the Western Waters, but the cheapness of high-pressure engines, and the great simplicity of their parts, which reqmre comparatively little line finishing and good fit- ting, certainly afford reasons for preferring them to low-pressure engines, in a part of the country where good workmen are scarce, and where the value of la- hour and materials is very great. It must also be re- collected, that a condensing or low-pressure engine takes up a great deal more space than one constructed on the high-pressure principle. J do not apprehend however, that the number of accidents would be dimi- nished by the simple adoption of low-pressure boilers, without the strict enforcement of judicious regula- tions ; and if those regulations were properly applied to high-pressure boilers, they would not faU to render them perhaps quite as safe as those boilers which are generally made for engines working on the low-pres- sure principle. One very obvious improvement on the present hazardous state of the Mississippi navigation. ) 150 STKAM NAVIGATION. r I ;■ if' V m 11 '-i would be the enactment of a law that the pressure of the steam should in no case exceed perhaps 50 lb. on the square inch. The boilers of these steamers are all tubular, and have circular flues in them, which permit the passage of the flame through the body of the boiler. Those of the St Louis are nine in number. They are 42 inches in diameter, and 24 feet in length. Two circular flues 16 inches in diameter pass through the interior. The whole of the flues and outer coating of the boiler are made of sheet-iron three-sixteenths of an inch in thickness, and the end plates are formed of ma- terials of greater strength. The boiler is strengthened bv numerous internal ties, and is calculated to sustain a pressure of 100 lb. on the square inch of surface. The only protection which the boilers have from the atmo- sphere is a layer of clay, with which they are in all cases covered to prevent the radiation of heat. The steamers make many stoppages to take in goods and passengers, and also supplies of wood for fuel. The liberty which they take with their vessels on these occasions is somewhat amusing, and not a little hazardous. I had a good example of this on board of a large vessel called the " Ontario." She was sheered close inshore among stones and stumps of trees, where she lay for some hours taking in goods. The additional weight increased her draught of wa- ter, and caused her to heel a good deal, and when her engines were put in motion, she actually crawled m% STEAM NAVIGATION. ir>r into the deep water on her paddle-wheels. The steam had been got up to an enormous pressure ^- --.able her to get off, and the volumes of steam -a.cu*., ed from the escapement pipe at every half s. .l:e o. the piston made a sharp sound almost like the .: civ re of fire- arms, while every timber in the vessp) seemed to tremble, and the whole structure actwaii^ groaned un- der the shocks. During these stoppages, it is necessary to keep up a proper supply of wuter to prevent explosion, and the manner in which this is effected on the Mississippi is very simple. The paddle-wheel axle is so construct- ed, that the portions of it projecting over the hull of the vessel to which the wheels are fixed can be thrown out of gear at pleasure by means of a clutch on each side of the vessel, which slides on the intermediate part of the axle, and is acted on by a lever. When the vessel is stopped, the paddle-wheels are simply thrown out of gear, and the engine continues to work The necessary supply of water is thus pumped into the boiler during the whole time that the vessel may be at rest, and M'hen she is required to get under weigh, the wheels are again thrown into gear, and re- volve with the paddle-wheel shaft. The fly-wheel formerly noticed, is useful in regulating the motion of the engine, which otherwise might be apt to suffer da- mage from the increase and diminution in the resist ance offered to the motion of the pistons, by suddenly throwing the paddle-wheels into and out of gear The 158 STKAM NAVIGATION. '\M44 l^!: water for the supply of the engine is first pumped into a heater, in which its temperature is raised, and is then injected into the boiler. I saw several vessels on the Ohio which were pro- pelled by one large paddle-wheel placed at the stern of the vessel, but it is doubtful whether this arrange- ment is advantageous, as the action of the paddle- wheel, when placed in that situation, must be impeded by the floatboards impinging on water which has been disturbed by the passage of the vessel through it. The Mississippi steamers carry a captain, a clerk, two engineers, and two pilots, one of whom is always at the helm. The firemen and the crew are people of colour, and generally slaves. The passage from New Orleans to Pittsburg, against the current of the river, is generally performed in from fifteen to twenty days, and from Pittsburg to New Orleans in about ten days. The distance is rather more than 2000 miles, and the cabin-passage, including all expenses, is about L.IO. The third class of vessels to which 1 have alluded, are those which navigate the Lakes and the River St Lawrence. They differ very materially from those I have already described, being more like the steamers of this country, both in their construction and appear- ance. Steam-boats were first used on the St Law- rence in 1812, and it is probable that they were also introduced on the Lakes about the same time. The Lake steamers are strongly built vessels, furnished with STEAM NAVIGATION. 15.') masts and sails, and propelled by powerful engines, some of which act on the high-pressiire and some on' the low-pressure principle. ^ The largest steamer on the Lakes in 1837 was the " James Madison." She measures 181 feet in length on the deck, 30 feet in breadth of beam, and 12 feet G inches in depth of hold. She carries about 700 tons of goods, and draws about 10 feet of water. This vessel plies between Buffalo on Lake Erie and Chi- cago on Lake Michigan, a distance of 950 miles. The hulls of the vessels are bnilt in the ports on the shores of the Lakes, and the engines are generally made at Pittsbiu-g. It is somewhat curious to find such vessels engaged in inland navigation ; but their dimensions and strength are rendered necessary by the severe storms and formidable waves encountered on the Lakes, to which I have already particularly alluded, in the chap- ter on Lake Navigation. Some of the St Lawrence steam-boats, all of which are owned by her Majesty's subjects resident in Ca- nada, are fine powerful vessels. The machinery of most of them is made at Montreal. The " John Bull" is the largest of these vessels, and measures 210 feet in length of deck, 33 feet inches in breadth of beam, and draws 10 feet of water. She is propelled by two condensing engines, having cylinders 00 inches in diameter, and 8 feet in length of stroke. This steamer is principally employed in towing vessels ; and of her performance in this way I have already spoken iU 100 STEAM NAVIGATION. at page 88. She has a small engine of ahout 3 horses power for pumping water into the boilers while the vessel is at rest. The vapour contained in the boiler of a steam-en- gine is liable to have its volume increased or diminish- ed to a dangerous extent by sudden variations of tem- perature, and the application of an apparatus capable of counteracting the tendency of such changes of tempe- rature to produce rupture, is absolutely indispensable to the safe operation of the boiler. The want of the or- dinary precautions necessary for insuring safety, or the inefficient manner in whi^h these are applied, together with the very high pressure at which the vapour is used for propelling the engines of many of the Ame- rican steam-boats, and the recklessness of the engineers employed on some navigations, have occasioned many disastrous accidents in that country from the explosion of steam-boilers. These, however, as already stated, are now happily, in a great measure, confined to the ves- sels employed on the Western Waters. The frequent occurrence of these accidents, and the melancholy con- sequences attending them, induced the Government of the United States in 1832, to institute an inquiry into " the causes of steam-boat explosions, and the best means of preventing them." At th.^c period a list of the explosions which had taken place was made up by Mr Redfield of New York, which I shall give at full length, as the best means of affi)rding an idea of their extent and serious nature. v % STEAM NAVIGATION. 161 List of Steam-boat Explosions which hav« occubued in the United States, by W. C. Redfield. I When exploded. 1817 1824 1828 1830 Namei. Place of Explosion. Killed. / a a. , o Constitution, General Robinson Yankee, Heriot, Etna, . . Grampus, . Barnet, Helen Maceftegor Caledonia, . Car of Commerce Huntress, . Fair Star, . Porpoise, . Previous to 1826 -f Enterprise^ copper (. boiler. Paragon, do Alabama, Feliciana, Arkansas, Fidelity, copperboiler. Patent, do. Atalanta, do. Bellona, do. MaidofOrleins, do. Raritan, unknown. Eagle, do. Bristol, Powhatan, cop. boiler, Jersey, do Tesch, Constitution, Legislator, . Hudson, Franklin, , Ramapo, in January, Do. in March, Oliver Ellsworth, Carolina, . , . C. J. Marshal, cop- per boiler. United States, . General Jackson, 1824 1826 182G 1827 1830 1831 Mississippi, Do. Do. Do. New York Bay, Mississippi, Long Island Sound, Mississippi, Do. Ohio River, Mississippi, Alabama, Mississippi, I Charleston, S. C. Hudson River, Mississippi, Do. Red River, New York Harbour, Do. Do. Do. Savannah River, Ifaritan, Chesapeake, . Delaware River, Norfolk, Jersey City, . Mississippi, Hudson River, New Yrrk Harbour, East River, Hudson River, New Orleans, . Do. Long Island Sound, New Yor';. -f arbour. 13 9 4 1 13 unknown 1 33 11 28 unknown 2 unknown Wounded. Hudson River, Long If land Sound, Hudson River, { 116 9 1 4 2 4 2 6 2 2 6 1 2 2 2 several 3 6 1 6 1 3 1 11 9 12 (supposed) 95 14 11 29 } 64 1 2 several 1 2 1 2 1 2 13 29 L %_. l()2 STEAM NAVIGATION. ^. ff,—Of the above low-pret^surc explosions, ten were copper- boilers," from which ^crc . . • killed 42, wounded 7 8 iron-boilers, <^«- 36, do. 3 y boilers, inctjil unknown (probably iron), do. 18, do. 19 The number of copper-boilers in use is now very small compared with those of iron. Charactkb op Engines not specifieu. U"' Wliiii exploUud. laiG 182(5 1827 182() 1827 1830 1831 Names, Cotton Plant, . . Washington (high p.) Macon, .... Hornet (low p.), . Susquehannali, . . Union (high p.), . W. Peacock, . . Tallyho (high p.), . Kcnhawu (low p.), Atlas, Andrew Jackson, . Tri-eolor (low p.), Place of Explosion. Mobile, . . . Ohio Hivei, . . South Carolina, . Alabama, . . • Susquehann.'di, . Ohio River, . . Ikiilalo, . . . Cumberland River, Ohio River, . . Mississippi, . . Savannah River, Ohio River, . . Killed. UnknowD t 4 o 2 4 16 8 1 2 8 Wouncieil. Unknown. 9 2 7 4 8 46 [63?] 21 [30?] Recapitulation. 13 High-pressure accidents, 27 Low-pressure do 12 Character of engines unknown, supposed to be chiefly high pressure, 52 Total, Killed. 116 95 46 256 Woundei!. 54 29 21 104 " In some of the principal accidents comprised in the foregoing list, the number of killed includes all who did not recover from their wounds. In other cases, the number killed arc as given in the newspa- pers of the day, and some of the wounded should per- haps be added. In some few instances no list has been 'x»|:f" STEAM NAVIGATION. 103 obtained, and possibly in some no loss of life occurred The accounts of some of the minor accidents may have been lost sight of. In making an Itpproximate estmiate of the whole number of lives which have been lost in the United States by these accidents, I should fix it at 300." In order to lessen the chances of explosions from the expansive power of the steam, properly construct- cd boilers are provided with safety-valves, which are loaded with a weight proportioned to the pressure of steam which the boiler is capable of resisting. So long as one of the safety-valves is locked up so as to be in^, accessible to the engineers, no danger is to be appre- liended from their being overloaded, a practice too fre- quently resorted to by the ignorant men to whom the managementof steam-engines is occasionally entrusted. The best constructed safety-valves, however, may get deranged from rust or other causes, and by re- maining closed after the steam has attained the pres- sure at which it should be permitted to escape, may fail in performing their duty. A mercurial gauge is generally apphed to the boiler, by an examination of winch the engineer may at any moment ascertain the expansive power of the steam. The safety-valves and steam-gauge perform a most important office, .ind operate chiefly when the engine ceases to work, as, for example, when a steamer stops to land passengers. The volume of vapour wh'ch is 110 longer withdrawn for tlie supply of the engine, is L 2 164 STRAM NAVK.ATION. permitted to escape by the opening of the valves ; while the steam-gauge, by indicating any increase of pressure, gives timely warning of danger, and calls the attention of those in charge to such measures as may arrest too rapid accumulation of steam within the boiler. Thus far the safety-valves and steam-gauge have the effect of insuring the safety of the boiler, but unfortunately they have no control over the accidents arising from a deficiency in the supply of water, to which circumstance almost all the explosions which now take place may be traced. The heat to which the flues and bottom of a steam- boiler are exposed may be very intense, but the metal of which they are formed will preserve a comparative- ly low degree of temperature, so long as its interior surface is kept in contact with the water. If the level of the water be permitted to sink, however, so as to uncover or lay bare part of the flues or bottom, the ac tion of the fire immediately renders the parts so ex- posed red hot. When this state of things occurs, a boil- er, as we shall presently see, is placed in a most critical situation. Deficiency of water may occur when a ves- sel is in motion, from derangement of the apparatus for its supply, but it is most apt to arise when a ves- sel stops for the purpose of taking in goods or landing passengers. On such occasions the working of the en- gine is stopped, and at the same time the pump for supplying the boiler with water nmst cease to act. Meanwhile, the fire is kept briskly burning, and if the STEAM NAVUiATION. 105 Stoppage IS of long duration, the level of the water, from the evaporation which is going on, falls consider- ably, and occasionally to such an extent that the flues become exposed and are quickly rendered red hot. When the vessel is about to proceed on her voyage the engine is set in motion, and the pump, which has till then remained inactive, injects heated water into the boiler. This water comes in contact with the por- tions of its surface which have been uncovered and rendered red hot, and is instantaneously converted into vapour. So rapid is this change, resembling in effect the if^nition of gunpowder, that the safety-valves in most instances, are too small to give vent to the im- mense volume of vapour which is suddenly created and an explosion of the boiler is the unavoidable con- sequence. A proper uninterrupted supply of water is the only safe-guard against the occurrence of such explosions which, from their nature, are equally apt to occur to low-pressure and high-pressure boilers. Some engines have self-acting pumps for the supply of water, and m others the injection-cock is under the control of the engineer, who by opening or shutting it, regu lates the supply. The latter plan is adopted in all locomotive engines, and in most of the American steam-boats. It is of the greatest consequence that the water-pump should be so arranged as to work while the engine is at rest. The steam-boats on the eastern part of the United States, are not so con- 160 STEAM NAVIGATION. llifl .1 I structed ; but in the steam-boats on the Mississippi and the St Lawrence, as formerly noticed, I found apparatus for effecting this important object. A gauge is applied to almost every boiler, for indicating the height at which the water stands in its interior, and if this is carefully observed and tried from time to time by the engineer, it to.ms a great means of preventing accident. Some ingenious applications have been proposed to render the safety of the boiler less dependent on the attention of the work- men. One of these is a valve of larger dimensions than the common safety-valve, which is intended to be acted on by the expansive force of a rod of iron, when heated beyond a certain temperature. The introduction of plates into the sides of the boiler, <5omposed of an easily fusible metal, which would melt before the contained steam had attained a dan- gerously high temperature, and form large vents for its escape, is another method not unworthy of attention. The collapse of the large boilers of weak con- struction, which are sometimes employed for gene- rating low-pressure steam, is another casualty to which steam-vessels are liable. It is occasioned by the fire getting low, and the surface of the boiler becoming cool. This produces condensation of the steam, and the formation of a partial vacuum in the interior of the boiler, the form of which is generally so ill calcu- lated for resisting external pressure, that it yields to the weight of the atmospliere. A spring valve so con- *. .;i^i STEAM NAVIGATION. 1G7 structed as to be opened by external pressure alone, is occasionally applied in tliis country. When a vacuum is fomed in the boiler, the valve is opened by the weight of the atmosphere on its exterior surface, and the air rushing in, restores the equilibrium, and in- sures the safety of the boiler. The exposed situation in which the boilers of all the American steam-boats are placed, renders them very liable to collapse, which has been of very frequent occurrence, and has on some occasions been attended with serious consequences. Of the several adaptations, for reducing the chances of accident which I have mentioned, I found in use in the American steam-boats the single safety-valve, the steam-gauge, and the water-gauge, and in a few ves- sels the apparatus for continuing the supply of water while the vessel is at rest. It appears from Mr Redfield's list of accidents, that there have been nearly four explosions every year for the last fourteen years, and an annual loss of twenty- one lives from these accidents. Of the forty cases regarding which definite information had been ob- tained, twenty-seven were low-pressure engines, and only thirteen high pressure. The average loss of lives by each low-pressure accident, is only three and a half, but the loss by high-pressure accidents averages nine on each occasion. This may be accounted for by the great elasticity of the steam in all the high-pressure en- gines in America, which in its escape causes propor- tionally greater mischief M £ f I ' 1^1 . ' i^ ■" ^.1 h " 1 i 168 STEAM NAVIGATION. The following table, containing the dimenaons of several of the best steamers plying in America in 1837, was compiled partly from actual measurement of the vessels, and partly from the report of the engineers in charge of them. To Mr Alfred Stillman of New York, I am indebted for much assistance in obtaining the information contained in it. < at z •0 u M « S < a t M in •1 •noj«| •31I0JJ 2 •raai •PIO] •wraa STEAM NAVIGATION. I 91 a -2 a ^ ^ 60 a M Z ^ G ■g o D *• a ^^^ t. aj tfS 9^ bo V a •r -a a si • -r « b s a' aj o; 6 6 6 6 QQQQ 01 ra 169 a 0> ^ g.S-^ .-a .§ o o o " L_ii5^*^ =^ ;^ : ;?}^ « O O 6 C: 6 i» c 01 ^ bDbc IN : 21 (N ■ N (N ; t ■^ Tiieooooooooooo© 55S§^5§^5§5§^55^SSS ^ ^ ^ "- *22 = 2-2^«-o«-o,^o O © t^O © © o « CO © 9« = w'co J? • ©©©©©«©©oo©©©©©eo ©O©©© 000©©©©ooo .2 oT •4) a ■a B.a o o> "3 "O « U 3 m CO «8 S 23 • ■^sMyi>' ^ M .5 15 s ^ ® -3 « tS .«J z^<^ggfigggj^ggg^ I IMAGE EVALUATION TEST TARGET (MT-3) /, {./ :/ A* 7. '^ 1.0 I.I 1.25 £ fc!£ IIII2.U IS 1.8 |[ll 1.4 11.6 7] ^ o« 'W ^ cr^ 1^7 -(^ '^ Photographic Sdences Corporation 33 WEST MAIN STREET WEBSTER, N.Y. 14SS0 (716) 872-4503 s. r^^ V \\ ^ rv* C^ 'is V ^^^ . 4?^^ ^1>' m-" > ( 170 ) CHAPTER V. V H ifii i \ FUEL AND MATERIALS. Fuel used in Steam-Engines and for domestic purposes-Wood- Bituminous Coal-Anthraeite Coal-Pennsylvaman Coal-mmcs -Boilers for the combustion of Anthracite Coal-Buildmg Ma- terials-xJrick-Marblc-Marble-quarrics of New England and Pcnnsylvauia-Granite-Timber-Modeofconduetingthe"l.m- ber Trade"-" Booms"-Rafts on the St Lawrence, and on the Rljinelwoods chiefly used in America-Live Oak-White Oak -Cedar-Locist-Pinc-" Shingles"-Dimensions of American Forest Trees. I NEED scarcely mention, that wood is very much used as fuel throughout the greater part of the United States and the British dominions in America, both for domestic purposes and for steam-engines, excepting in tlie neighbourhood of most of the large towns, where, the surrounding country having been cleared and brought into cultivation, it has now become very scarce, and much too valuable to be made use of in that way. In such situations coal has of course been substituted in its place. Still, however, throughout a large part of the territory of the United States, the forest is looked to for the great supply of fuel. The firewood is cut into pieces about four feet long, and twelve inches in girth, and is sold in piles four feet square, I FUEL AND MATEJllALS. 171 . and eight feet in length, containing each 128 cubic feet, a measure called by the Americans, a " cord " It varies in price in different parts of the country. In New York, a cord of wood costs about 20s. ; in Albany, 14s. ; on Lake Champlain, the average price is Os. ; on the St Lawrence, 7s. 3d. ; and on Lake Ontario, 5s. ; its value gradually decreasing as the country becomes less populous. On the Mississippi and Ohio, the price of wood is from 5s. to 8s. a cord. Many experiments have been made in America to ascertain the relative values of wood and coal as fuel for steam-engines ; the result of whicli is, that about two and three-fourth cords of wood, and one ton of coal, generate, in well-constructed boilers, an equal quan' tity of steam. Pine timber is considered to be the best fuel : its texture is more open, and its combustion IS more perfect than hardwood, the heart or interior of which, being less affected by the heat, is often left nnconsumed. An abundant supply of fresh air, and a capacious fire-place, are the great objects to be attained in boil- ers intended for the combustion of wood. To insure the first of these desiderata, the boilers of the improved steam-boats, as formeriy mentioned, are placed on the guards of the vessel. No ash-pit is placed below the fire-grate ; and the ashes and charcoal which come from the fire fall directly into the water, while a co- pious stream of fresh air, constantly ascending through tlic fire-bars, affords a large supply of oxvgen for the 172 FUEL AND MATF.UIAI.S. Is TO combustion of the fuel. The most advantageous depth of the fire-grate, or the space left between the 5re-bars and the bottom of the boiler for the reception of the wood, has been found in practice to be about three feet. Bituminous coal occurs in large quantities on the western side of the Alleghany Mountains, and has been extensively worked in the neighbourhood of Pittsburg, v>'here it is much used in the manufacture of iron. This coal occurs in other parts of the United States, particularly in New England and in Rhode Island. In the British dominions of Nova Scotia, a vein has also been opened at the Albion coal-mines, which is said to be fifty feet in thickness. The steam- boats on the Ohio, and also on the St Lawrence, oc- casionally burn bituminous coal ; but the fire-places are all too large for coal, having been constructed for the combustion of wood. Anthracite coal has been more extensively worked, and is much more generally used in the United States for domestic purposes, than bituminous coal. Tho most extensive anthracite coal-fields occur in the State of Pennsylvania, on the courses of the rivers Schuyl- kill and Lehigh, the navigation of which has been im- proved at a great expense, to facilitate the carriage of the coal from the mines to the sea for shipment. It has also been found on the banks of the Merrimac, in New England. The Schuylkill and Lehigh coal-fields lie between FUEL AND MATKKIALS. 173 antageous ween the reception I be about ies on the , and has irhood of mufacture he United in Rhode I Scotia, a loal-mines, ^he steam- /rence, oc- fire-places tructed for ly worked, ited States !oal. Tho a the State jrs Schuyl- is been im- carriage of iment. It Merrimac, lie between a mountain called the Blue Ridge and the river Sus- quehanuii, and are situate about 100 miles north- east of Philadelphia, the port from which the coal is shipped. The moa extensive workings are at Potis- ville, on the Schuylkill, and Mauch Chunk, on the Lehigh. At Pott vilie, the strata of coal dip from N.E. to S.W., at an angle of about 45°, and at Mauch Chunk they are nearly horizontal. They are in general worked by level drifts, carried into the face of a long range of rising ground, which is entirely com- posed of one vast hev of coal. The quantity of coal brought from the Pennsylvanian mines to Dela- ware Bay during the year 1830, was no less than 690,520 tons. The anthracite coal of North America has a strong resemblance to that found in some parts of Wales, and also in Ireland. It is exceedingly close-grained,' has a bright lustre, and, when broken, the fracture pre- sents a great variety of fine colours, from which cir- cumstance it has received in America the name of "peacock-tail" coal. It requires a very high tempera- ture for its combustion, and in order to obtain this, it is necessary that the fire-places in which it is used should be lined with a good non-conducting substance. It has been several times tried in the boilers com- monly used in steam-boats, but in the fire-places of the common construction it was found that the coal was brought too closely into contact with the bottom of the boiler and flues, and the caloric being too sud- 1 I m ■Ml mmm -i \i- f) I. , 174 FUEL AND MATERIALS. denly withdrawn f;om it, the fire burned languidly and was occasionally extinguished. Dr Nott of New York has bestowed much labour and time in con- structing a boiler and fire-place suited for anthracite coal. These have been introduced in one or two steam- boats, and particularly in some of the ferry-boats ply- ing in the bay of New York. This kind of coal is also burned in the locomotive engines on the Balti- more and Washington railway ; but its application to the purpose of generating steam, cannot yet be said to have assumed a more permanent character than that of an experiment. The principle on which the anthracite boilers are constructed is sufficiently simple. The combustion of the fuel is carried on in a chamber lined with anon- conducting substance, which is quite detached from the boiler, and the heated air only is allowed to pass through the flues, so that the disadvantages arising from the rapid abstraction of caloric from the fuel, which takes place in fire-places constructed for the combus- tion of bituminous coal or wood, are in this boiler com- pletely obviated. The coal is also broken into small pieces about the size of a hen's egg, and in this way a great surface is exposed to the atmospheric air, and a thorough combustion of the fuel is produced. The anthracite coal is much used for domestic purposes in New York, Philadelphia, Baltimore and Washington. It is burned sometimes in stoves, and sometimes in an open fire-place. Theheat given out i|^^:^¥f? FUEL AND MATERIALS. 175 by it, when burned in either way, being very dry, evaporating pans are generally used to produce that degree of moisture in the apartments which is requi- site to counteract the disagreeable effects produced by breathing a dry and close atmosphere. Brick is the building material uniformly used for dwelling-houses in the large towns in the United States, in most of which wooden structures are not now permitted to be erected. The public edifices, however, are generally built of marble, which is found in great abundance in different parts of the country.* Several marble quarries have been opened in Mas- saclmsetis and in Vermont, which produce good ma- terials for ordinary building purposes. The City Hall at New York, and the State House at Albany, have been built of the stone produced by these quarries. This marble has a white ground with blue streaks, but its colour lies in irregular patches, and its effect in a building is not good. The finest marble is found in the neighbourhood of Philadelphia, where several quar- ries have been opened, and are at present extensively worked. This stone, laid down at Philadelphia, costs from 4s. to 7s. per cubic foot, according to its quahty. The Bank of the United States, the Philadelphia Bank, the Mint, the Exchange, and many other public edifices in Philadelphia, are built from these qu'arries, in J t T 'f ?,'"^ '° ^' '^'""^'"^^ ""^ P^'^^^dclphia for some interest- States '' " '"formation regarding the marbles of tlie United MP 176 FUEL AND MATERIALS. which produce pure wliite marble of very good quality. The public buildings in Philadelphia, most of which were designed by Mr Strickland, architect in that city, present by far the finest specimens of architectu- ral design which are to be met with in the United States, and the extreme purity of the marble of which they are built adds greatly to their general effect. The new Girard College at Philadelphia, designed by Mr Walter, architect, is at present in an advanced state of progress, and promises, when completed, to be a magnificent building. The marble of the Uni- ted States is rather coarse in the grain, and not very suitable for forming the finely wrought capitals of co- lumns ; and the materials of those parts of all the pil- lars of the public buildings in Philadelphia, were there- fore brought from Italy. I visited some of the quarries in the neighbourhood of Philadelphia, in which the beds of marble dipped from north to south at an inclination of 60° with the horizon. In one of them the quarriers were working a bed fourteen feet in thickness, at a depth of one hundred and twenty feet below the surface. The blocks of marble, some of which weighed twelve tons, are raised to the surface of the ground by means of a horse-gin. A thick layer of common limestone rests on the marble ; this is blasted off with gunpowder, and burned for making mortar. Grey coloured granite, of excellent quality, occurs at Quincy in JNIassachusetts, and Singsing on the ^r^g FUEL AND MATERIALS. irr Huds The ly hydraulic works in which it has been used are the graving-docks at Boston and Nor- folk, which have been already noticed ; but it has also been used a good deal in New York for door-lintels and stairs, and latterly it has been introduced for pub- lic buildings. The Astor Hotel, the Gaol, and some others, are formed of it. It is much to be regretted that there are no build- ing materials in the neighbourhood of New York. On examining the ground laid open in some of the railway cuttings in the vicinity of the town, I found it to consist of a stratum of gravel from ten to fifteen feet in depth, with boulder-stones of granite, mica- slate, greenstone, and red sandstone ; below this, mica- slate occurs, dipping from north to south at an angle of 45° ; but it is not fit for building purposes. This formation occurs on the island of Manhattan, on which the town of New York stands, and also on Long Island, which protects its harbour. The fine timber which the country produces is much employed in all the public works, and, while it serves in some degree to compensate for the want of stone, it also affords great advantages for ship-building and car- pentry, which have been brought to high perfection in America. The lumber trade, as it is called in Ame- rica, that is to say, the trade in wood, is carried on to a greater or less extent on almost all the American livers ; but on the Mississippi and the St Lawrence it affords employment to a vast number of persons. The M FUF.I. AND MATF.HIALS. chief raftsmen, under whose directions the timber ex- peditions are conducted, are generally persons of very great intelligence, and often of considerable wealth. Sometimes these men, for the purpose of obtaining wood, purchase a piece of land, which they sell after it has been cleared, but more generally they purchase only the timber from the proprietors of the land on which H grows. The chief raftsman, and his detach- ment of workmen, repair to the forest about the month of November, and are occupied during the whole of the winter months in felling trees, dressing them into logs, and dragging them with teams of oxen on the har- dened snow, with which the country is then covered, to the nearest stream. They live during this period in huts fonned of logs. Throughout the whole of the newly cleared districts of Acitrica, the houses are built of rough logs. The logs are arranged so as to form the four sides of the hut, and their ends are half- checked into each other in such a manner as to allow of their coming into contact nearly throughout their whole length, and the small interstices which remain are filled up with clay. About the month of May, when the ice leaves the rivers, the logs of timber that have been prepared, and hauled down during winter, are launched into the numerous small streams in the neighbourhood of which they have been cut, and float- ed down to the larger rivers, where their progress is stopped by what is called a "boom." The boom consists of a line of logs, extending across the whole FIJEI- AND MATERIALS. 179 breadth of the river. These are connected byiron links, and attached to stone piers built at suitable distances in the bed of the stream. The boom is erected for the purpose of stopping the progress of the logs, which must remain within it till all the timber has left the forest. After this, every raftsman searches out his own timber, which he recognises by the mark he puts on it, and, having formed it into a raft, floats it down the river to its destination. The boom is generally owned by private individuals, who levy a toll on all the wood collected by it. The toll on the Penobscot river is at the rate of three per cent, on the value of the timber ; and the income derived from the boom is about L.300 per annum. The rafts into which the timber is formed, pre- vious to being floated down the large rivers, are strongly put together. They are furnished with masts and sails, and are steered by means of long oars, which project in front as well as behind them. Wooden houses are built on them for the accommoda- tion of the crew and their families. I have counted upwards of thirty persons working the steering oars of a raft on the St Lawrence ; from this some idea may be formed of the number of their inhabitants. The most hazardous part of the lumberer's business is that of bringing the rafts of wood flown the large rivers. If not managed with great skill, they are apt to go to pieces in descending the rapids ; and it not un- M 2 „ik.lsi. !8(> FUEL AND MATEHIAI-S. frequently happens, that the whole lahour of one, and sometimes two years, is in this way lost in a moment. An old raftsman, with whom I had some conversation on hoard of one of the steamers on the St LikWrence, informed me that each of the rafts hrought down that river contains from L.3000 to L.SOOO worth of tim- ber, and that he, on one occasion, lost L.2500 by one raft, which grounded in descending a rapid, and broke up. The safest size for a raft, he said, was from \ 40,000 to 50,000 square feet of surface ; and rafts of ! that she require about five men to manage them. I Some rafts, are made, huvvever, which have an area of ! no less than 300,000 square feet. Rafts are brought to Quebec in great numbers from distances varying from one to twelve hundred miles ; and it often hap- pens that six months are occupied in making Jie pas- sage. They are broken up at Quebec, where the tim- ber is cut up for exportation into planks, deals, or bat- tens, at the numerous saw-mills with which the banks of the St Lawrence are studded for many miles, in the neighbourhood of the town. Sometimes the tim- ber is shipped in the form of logs. The timber-rafts of the Rhine are, perhaps, the only ones in Europe that can be compared to those of the American rivers ; but none of those which I h ive seen on the Rhine were nearly so large as the rafts on the St Lawrence, al- though some of them were navigated by a greater num- ber of hands, a precaution rendered necessary perhaps, b} the more intricate navigation of the river. FUEL AND MATKRIALS. 181 I The woods exported from the St Lawrence are white oak (quercus alha), the average price of which IS 15d. a cubic foot ; white pine (Pinus strobus), 44d. ; red pine (Pinus rej^inomj, lO^d. ; elm (Ulmus Americana), 4^A. ; and white ash (Fraxinus acu- mmataj, lOd. These, according to the information 1 received, are the average prices at which the wood sells at Quebec. The woods used for ship-building in the United States are live-oak (Quercus virens), white oak (Quercus alha), white cedar (Cupressus thyoides), locust (Rohinia pseud-acacia), yellow pine (Pinus variabilis), and long-leaved pine (Pinus palustris, or australis of Michaux>. The live-oak, so called because it is an evergreen grows only in the Southern States. This valuable wood IS too heavy to be applied to a great extent in ship-buildmg, its specific gravity being greater than that of water, and it is generally used along with white oak and cedar for the principal timbers only. " The chmate becomes mild enough for its growth near Norfolk, in Virginia, though at that place it is less multiplied and less vigorous than in a more south- em latitude. From Norfolk it spreads along the coast for a distance of f.fteen or eighteen hundred miles, ex- tending beyond the mouth of the Mississippi. The sea air seems essential to its existence, for it is rarely found in the forests upon the mainland, and never more than fifteen or twenty miles from the shore. It I mi ^K ^^H^K^Ks'^ > IIMt FUEL AND MATERIALS. is most abundant, most fully developed, and of the best quality, about the bays and creeks, and on the fertile islands which in great numbers lie scattered for several hundred miles along the coast. The live oak is commonly forty or fifty feet in height, and from one to two feet in diameter, but it is sometimes much larger."* White cedar is considered the most durable wood in use in A'nerica. It grows in the Northern States to the height ot forty-five or fifty feet, and is some- times more than ten feet in circumference. The wood is reddish, an'' somewhat odorous. It is much used in fences, and also for railway sleepers. It does not exist in a natural state in Canada ; but th^ arbor vitae, which is there called white cedar, is put to all those purposes to which white cedar is applied in the United States. Locust is a hard and durable wood, and is used for treenails. It grows most abundantly in the Southern States ; but it is pretty generally diffused throughout the whole country. It sometimes exceeds four feet in diameter, and seventy feet in height. The locust is one of the very few trees that are planted by the Americans. They are often seen forming hedge-rows in the cultivated parts of Pennsylvania. The yellow pine is chiefly confined to the western countries and the range of the Alleghany moimtains ; and the long-leaved pine is entirely confined to the * The Sylva Americana. By J. D. Browne, Boston, 1832. MMM FUi:i, AND MATERIALS. 183 Southern States. These pines are generally employed for the masts and spars of vessels.* Timher is employed in great quantities in the con- struction of quays, railways, canal locks, aqueducts, bridges, roofing of houses, and, in short, for every purpose to which it can possibly be applied. The wood used for roofing is formed into pieces called shingles, which measure eighteen inches in length, four inches in breadth, Mid one-third of an inch in thickness. They are nailed on the rafters of the house, and arranged in the same manner as the slates used in tliis country. Six inches of each shingle is left exposed to the weather, and as each piece of wood is eighteen inches in length, every part of the roof has three thick- nesses of wood, or, in other words, is one inch in thick- ness. The shingles are generally made of white pine, cedar, or arbor vita;. They are split with a single blow of the axe, and afterwards smoothed with an instrument resembling a spoke-shave. They cost 8s. per thousand. The American forests are particularly interesting to the traveller in that country. According to Mr Browne, whose work I have already quoted, there are no less than 140 species of forest-trees indigenous to the United States which exceed 30 feet in height. In * I would refer such of my readers as desire information regarding tiic American forest-troes to an excellent paper in the Agricultural Journal for 1835, on the local distribution of trees in the native fo- rests of America, by Mr James Macnab of Edinburgh, who lately m/idc an extensive botanical tour ia the United States and Canada. 184 FUEL AND MATERIALS. France there are about thirty, and in Great Britain nearly the same number. One may travel a great way in America without finding a single tree of very large dimexisions, but the average size of the trees is far above what is to be met with in this country. The largest tree which I measured was a buttonwood-tree {Platanus oc- cidentalis) on the banks of Lake Erie, which I found to be 21 feet in circumference ; but I measured very many varying from 1 5 to 20 feet. M. Michaux mentions, that on a small island in the Ohio, fifteen miles above the mouth of the Muskingum, there was a buttonwood-tree, which, at five feet from the ground, measured 40 feet 4 inches in circumference, giving a diameter of about 13 feet. He mentions another on the right bank of the Ohio, thirty-six miles above Marietta, whose base was swollen in an extraordinary manner ; at four feet from the ground it was 47 feet in circumference. This tree ramified at the height of 20 feet from the ground. A buttonwood-tree of equal size is mentioned as existing in Genessee. M. IMichaux also measured two trunks of white pine on the river Kennebec, one cf which was 154 feet long, and 64 inches in diameter, and the other was 142 feet long, and 44 inches in diameter at three feet from the ground. He also measured one which was 6 feet in diameter, and had reached the greatest height attained by the species, its top being about 180 feet from the ground. ( 185 ) CHAPTER VI. CANALS. Internal Improvements of North America-Great extent of the Canals and Railways— Introduction of Canals into the United States and Canada-Great length of the American Canals-Small area of their Cross Sections— North Holland Ship Canal— Difference between American and British works-Use of wood very gene- ral in America-Wooden Canal-Locks, Aqueducts, &c.-Arti. ficial navigation of the country stopped by ice— Tolls levied, and mode of ^ravelling on the American Canals-Means used in America for forming water-communications— Slackwater navi- gation on the River Schuylkill, &c.-Construction of Danis, Canals- Locks-Erie Canal- Canal Basin at Albany-Morris Canal— Inclined Planes for Canal lifts, &c. The Americans have not rested satisfied with the natural inland navigation afforded by their rivers and lakes, nor made the bounty of Nature a plea for idle- ness or want of energy ; but, on the contrary, they have been zealously engaged in the work of internal improv^ement ; and their country now numbers, among its many wonderful artificial lines of communication, a mountain railway, which, in boldness of design and difficulty of execution, I can compare to no modern works I have ever seen, excepting, perhaps, the passes of the Simplon, and JMont Cenis in Sardinia ; but even 18G CAN^ALS. 7'1] these remarkable passes, viewed as engineering works, did not strike me as being more wonderful than the Alleghany Railway »n the United States. The objects to which that enterprising people have chiefly directed their exertions for the advancement of their country in the scale of civilization, are the remo- val of obstructions in navigable rivers ; the junction of different tracts of natural navigation ; the connection of large towns, and the formation of lines of communi- cation from the Atlantic Ocean to the great lakes, and the valleys of the Mississippi, Missouri, and Ohio. The number and extent of canals and railways which they have executed in effecting these important objects, sufficiently prove that their exertions, during the short time they have been so engaged, have been neither small nor ill directed. The aggregate length of the canals at present in operation in the United States alone, amounts to upwards of tv.o thousand seven hundred miles, and that of the railways already completed to sixteen hundred miles. Nor are the labours of the people at an end, for even now there are no fewer than thirty- three railways in an unfinished state, whose aggregate length, when completed, will amount to upwards of two thousand five hundred miles. The zeal witli which the Americans undertake, and the rapidity with which they carry on every enterprise, which has the enlargement of their trade for its object, cannot fail to strike all who visit the United States as u characteristic of the nation. Forty years ago, that CANALS. 187 country was almost without a lighthouse, and now no fewer than two hundred are nightly exhibited on its coast ; thirty years ago, it had but one steamer and one short canal, and now its rivers and lakes are navi- gated by between five and six hundred steamers, and its canals are upwards of two thousand seven hundred miles in length ; ten years ago, there were but three miles of railway in the country, and now there are no less than sixteen hundred miles in operation. These facts appear much more wonderful when it is considered, that many of these great lines of communication are carried for miles in a trough, as it were, cut through thick and almost impenetrable forests, where it is no uncommon occurrence to travel for a whole day without encounter- ing a village, or even a house, excepting perhaps a few leg-huts inhabited by persons connected with the works. The routes of the principal canals and railroads in North America, which are delineated in the accom- panying map, are not wholly confined to the seaward and more thickly peopled States, but extend far into the interior. The stupendous canals which have already been executed enable vessels, suited to the inland navigation of the country, to pass from the Gulf of St Lawrence to the Gulf of Mexico, and also from the city of New York to Quebec on the St Law- rence, or to New Orleans on the Mississippi, without encountering the dangers of the Atlantic Ocean. But, that the reader may be able fully to understand the nature of lines of inland navigation so enormous, I 188 CANALS. "tA shall give in detail the route from New York to New Orleans, which is constantly made by persons travelling between those places. From New York to Albany by the River Hudson, the dis- tance is, . ... Albany to Buffalo by the Erie Canal, ... Buffalo to Cleveland by Lake Erie, . ... Cleveland to Portsmouth by the Ohio Canal, . . . Portsmouth to Newr Orleans by the Ohio and Missis- sippi Rivers, ..... Total distance, Miles. 150 363 SIC 309 1670 2702 This extraordinary inland journey of no less than 2702 miles, is performed entirely by means of water- communication ; 072 miles of the jouiney are per- formed on canals, and the remaining 2030 miles of the route is river and lake navigation. The internal improvements of the United States are placed under the management either of the Le- gislature of the States in which the works are situate, or of joint-stock companies. The works constructed by the Legislatures of the States are called State- works, and are conducted by commissioners chosen from the diflFerent Legislatures, who publish annual reports on the works committed to their charge. The joint-stock companies, on the other hand, are compo- sed of private individuals, who receive a charter from the Government, investing them with power to exe- cute the work, and afterwards to conduct the affairs and transact the business of the company. The pub- CANALS. 189 he works in the British dominions in North America have been executed partly at the expense, and under the direction of the British Government, and partly by companies of private individuals. It is believed that canals, which were, until very lately, the onlymode of conveyance employed in North America, were in use in Egypt, China, Ceylon, Italy, and Holland, before the Christian era ; but the peric^ at which the flrst artificial water-communication was formed, and the country in which the construction of a canal was first attempted, are equally unknown The earhest canal constructed in France was the Langue- doc, connecting the Bay of Biscay with the Mediter ranean Sea, which was completed in the year 1681 • and the first formed in Great Britain was that of Sankey Brook in Lancashire completed in 1 760. Se- veral short canals were made for improving the river navigation in the Unites States about the end of the last century ; but the first work of any importance in that country was the Santee Canal, in the State of South Carolina, which was opened in the year 1802 • and the first in the British dominions in America was the Lachine Canal mJLower Canada, opened in the y!!!i^l- At the end of this chapter, I have given a table oFthe principal canals in the United States ; and their routes, as formeriy noticed, are shewn in the map The table, which is compiled from the American al- manacs and the annual reports of the canal commis- swners, contains the names of all the canals of any 190 CANALS importance now in operation in the country ; together with such information, regarding their size and ex- pense, as these documents contain. The great length of many of the American canals is one remarkable feature in these astonishing works. In this respect they far surpass "ny thing of the kind hitherto constructed in Europe. The longest canal in Europe is the Languedoc, which has a course of 148 miles ; and the most extensive in the United States is the Erie Canal, which is no less than 363 miles in length. But the cross-sectional area of the American canals is by no means so great as that of many in Europe. The North Holland Ship Canal, for example, between the Zuyder Zee, at Amsterdam, and the Helder, which I lately visited, has a larger cross-sectional area than any other European work of the same description. It measures T 4 feet 6 inches at the water-line, and affords sufficient breadth to allow large vessels to pass each other with perfect ease. It is 56 feet in breadth at the bottom, and has a depth of water of no less than 21 feet. This remarkable canal, which is nearly fifty miles in length, undoubt- edly ranks as one of the r;reatest works of the kind that has ever been executed. It was constructed for the purpose of facilitating the passage of vessels to and from the port of Amsterdam ; and, by means of the sheltered inland passage which it affiards, the intricate and dangerous navigation of the Zuyder Zee is avoided. At the time when canals were introduced into Ame- CANALS. h)i rica, however, the trade of the country was small, and did not warrant the expenditure of large sums of money in their construction, the chief object being to form a communication with as little loss of time or outlay of capital, as might be consistent with a due regard for the safety and stabiUty of the work. It is not to be expected, therefore, that the American works, althongh on an extensive scale, should be con- structed in the same spacious style as those of older and more opulent countries. The dimensions of many of the canals in the United States are now found to be mconveniently small for the increased traffic which they have to support ; and the great Erie Canal, as well as some others, is at present undergoing ex- tensive alterations, by which its breadth will be in- creased from 40 to 70 feet, and its depth from 4 to 7 feet. It is doubtful whether the increased depth will, on the whole, prove advantageous, especially for quick transport. According to Mr Russell, the velocity of the wave due to a depth of 4 feet, making allowance for the sloping sides of the canal, is about seven miles an hour ; and if the boat is dragged in the top of the wave, the horses must travel at somewhat more than this rate, in order to keep before it. If, on the other hand, the depth of the canal be 7 feet, the velocity of the wave will be about nine miles an hour ; a speed which it would be difficiUt for horses regularly to keep up. The boat would, consequently, travel at a less speed than the wave, which is shewn by Mr Russell, in 192 CANfAI-S. his Researches in Hydrodynamics, to be very disad- vantageous. English and American engineers are guided by the same principles in designing their works ; but the dif- ferent nature of the materials employed in their con- struction, and the climatds and circumstances of the two countries, naturally produce a considerable dissi- milarity in the practice of civil-engineers in England and America. At the first view, one is struck with the temporary and apparently unfinished state of many of the American works, and is very apt, be- fore inquiring into the subject, to impute to want of ability what turns out, on investigation, to be a judi- cious and ingenious arrangement to suit the circum- stances ot a new country, of which the climate is severe, — a country where stone is scarce and wood is plenti- ful, and where manual labour is very expensive. It is vain to look to the American works for the finish that characterises those of France, or the stability for which those of Britain are famed. Undressed slopes of cut- tings and embankments, roughly built rubble arches, stone parapet-walls coped with timber, and canal-locks wholly constructed of that material, every where offend the eye accustomed to view European work- manship. But it must not be supposed that this arises from want of knowledge of the principles of engineer- ing, or of skill to do them justice in the execution. The use of wood, for example, which may be considered by many as wholly inapplicable to the construction of CANALS. 183 canal-Iocks, where it must not only encounter the tear and wear occasioned by the lockage of vessels, but must bo subject to the destructive consequences of alternate immersion in water and exposure to the atmosphere, .s yet the result of deliberate judgment. The Ame- ricans have, in many cases, been induced to use the material of the country, ill adapted though it be in some respects to the pm^oses to which it is applied in order to meet the wants of a rising community, by speedily and perhaps superficially completing a work of importance, which would otherwise be delayed, from a want of the means to execute it in a more substantial manner ; and although the works are wanting i„ finish, and even in solidity, they do not fail for many years to serve the purposes for which they were con structed, as efficiently as works of a more lasting de- scnption. ° When the wooden locks on any of the canals begin to shew symptoms of decay, stoue stnictm-es are ge- nerally substituted, and materials suitable for their erection .-.with ease and expedition conveyed from the part of the country where they are most abundant by means of the canal itself to which they are t^ be applied; and thus the less substantial work ulti. mately becomes the means of facilitating its own im provcment, by affording a more easy, cheap, and speedy transport of those durable and expensive ma- toials without the use of which, perfection is unat- tamable. N If)4 ( ANALS. One of the most important advantages of construct- ing the locks of canals, in new countries such as Ame- rica, of wood, unquestionably is, that in proportion as improvement advances and greater dimensions or other changes are required, they can be introduced at little cost, and without the mortification of destroying expensive and substantial works of masonry. Some of the locks on the great Brie canai are formed of stone, but had they all been made of wood, it would in all probability have been converted into a ship-canal long ago. But the locks are not the only parts of the Ameri- can canals in which wood is used. Aqueducts over ravines or rivers are generally formed of large wooden troughs resting on stone pillars, and even more tem- porary expedients have been chosen, the ingenuity of which can hardly fail to please those who view them as the means of carrying on improvements, which, but for such contrivances, might be stopped by the want of funds necessary to complete them. Mr M'Taggart, the resident engineer for the Ri- deau canal in Canada, gave a good example of the ex- traordinary expedients often resorted to, by suggest- ing a very novel scheme for carrying that work across a thickly wooded ravine situate in a part of the coun- try where materials for forming an embankment, or stone for building the piers of an aqueduct, could not be obtained but at a great expense. The plan consist- ed of cutting across the large trees in the line of the ■■,794^ - 1835, . 6g^767 ... 1836, . 67,270 The average number of lockages p.r day at each lock was, — In 1834, ... 1835, ...1836, '2 112 118 The whole tonnage transported on the canal during the year 1836 was 1,310,807 tons, the value of which amounted to 07,643,343 dollars, or L. 13,626 868 206 CANALS. ¥ The proportion betwe^^n the weight of freight convey- ed from the Hudson to the interior of the country, and that conveyed from the interior of the country to the Hudson, was in the ratio of one to five. The tolls collected in 183G, for the conveyance of goods and passengers, amounted to L. 322,867. The rates of charge, according to which the tolls are collected, are annually changed, to suit the circumstances of the trade, and are not the same throughout the whole line of the canal, which renders it difficult to give a view of them. In 1836, the passage-money from Albany to Buffalo in the packet-boat was L.3, 3s., being at the rate of nearly 2d. per mile ; and in a. line-boat, which is an inferior conveyance, L.l, 18s., being at the rate of one penny and two-tenths per mile. The expen- diture for keeping the canal and its branches in repair during 1836 was 410,236 dollars, or about L.82,047, which, taking the whole length at 543 miles, gives an average of L.151 per mile. The average cost of repairs for tho six preceding years amounted to L.l 36 per mile. Before leaving the subject of canals, I must not omit to mention the Morris Canal, in the State of New Jersey, which I visited in company with Mr Douglass, the engineer for that work, to whom I am essentially indebted for the information and attention which I received from him during my stay in Ame- rica. This canal leads from Jersey on the Hudson to Easton on the Delaware, and connects these two !onvey- auntry, ntry to lie tolls ds and ates of ed, are of the )le line a view Albany ' at the which le rate Bxpen- hes in about It 543 The years st not ;ate of th Mr 1 I am ention Ame- [udson se two i;n 'f i'. l! * 4h-\ \ \\\k: n M'i\Mil! ill \\\\#i ! \\\\V \\\m I ! ': i I ' KN S2 3 i 1 a inn :l a t:f ilhi^ •3^' «; i-i- S! t I CANALS. 207 I rivers. The brcadtJi at the water-line k thirty-two, and at the bottom sixteen feet, and the depth is four feet. It is 101 miles in length, and is said to have cost about L.(JOO,000. It is peculiar as being the only canal in America in which the boats are moved from different levels by means of inclined planes in- stead of locks ; a construction which was first in- troduced on the Duke of Uridgewater's Canal, in England. The whole rise and fall on the Morris (^anal is 1557 feet, of which 223 feet aie overcome by locks, and the remaining 1334 feet by means of twenty-three inclined planes, having an average lift of 58 feet each. The boats which navigate this canai .-e 81 feet in breadth of beam, from GO to 80 feet in length, and from twenty-five to thirty tons burden. The greatest weight ever drawn up the planes is about fifty tons. Plate VI. is a drawing of one of the boat-cars used on this canal. Fig. ] is an elevation, in which the boat is shewn in dotted lines ; and fig. 2 is a plan of the car. It consists of a strongly made wooden crib or cradle, marked letter «, on which the boat rests, supported on two iron waggons running on four wheels. When the car is wholly supported on the inclined plane, or is resting on a level, the four axles of the waggons, hhhh, are all in the same plane, as shewn by the dotted line .r .y ; but when one of the waggons rests on the inclined plane, and the other on the level surface, their axles no longer re- main in the same plane, and their change of position i -f:-^ .-»..-i.J»isi,,y|.., V*- f ■I M -.x'. • 208 CANALS. produces a tendency to rack the cradle, and the boat which it supports ; but this has been guarded against in the construction of the boat-cars on the Morris Canal, by introducing two axles, shewn at letters c c, on which the whole weight of the crib ai d boat are supported, and on which the waggons turn as a centre. The cars run on plate-rails laid on the inclined planes, and art raised and lowered by means of ma- chinery driven by water-wheels. I examined several of the planes on this canal near Newark, which appeared to operate remarkably well. The railway, on which the car runs, extends for a short distance from the lower extremity of the plane along the bottom of the canal ; when a boat is to be raised, the car is lowered into the water, and the boat being floated over it, is made fast to the part of the framework which projects above the gunwale, as shewn in the drawing at letter d. The machinery is then j >ut in mo- tion ; and the car bearing the boat, is drawn by a chain to the top of the inclined plane, at which there is a lock for its reception. The lock is furnished with gates at both extremities ; after the car has entered it, the gates next the top of the inclined plane are closed, and, those next the canal being opened, the water flows in and floats the boat off the car, when she pro- ceeds on her way. Her place is supplied by a boat travelling in the opposite direction, which enters the lock, and the gates next the canal being closed, and the water run off, she grounds on tlie car. The gates next CANALS. 206 heplanearethen opened, the car is gently lowered to the bottom when it enters the water, and the boat i, .«am floated Theprincipal objection urged againstthe use of .nchned planes in canal navigation, for moving boats from d.iFerent levels, is fonnded on the inj J which the boats are apt to sustain in supporting grZ weights whde resting on the cradle during its pas- sage over the planes. It can hardly be supposed that a shmly bmlt canal boat, measuring from sixty to eighty feet m length, and loaded with a weight of twenty or thirty tons, can be grounded even on a smooth surface, without straining and injuring her imbers ; a circumstance which is a decided objection to tins mode of construction, and has operated power- fully m preventing its intro% ja T3 4> s u a> M a> a a> v 43 0) l» ■rt ,c £; u ^ ♦> o e. 11) tS A •*-» S <0 ^ -g ctt Q d (9 n 1 c» • +- 3 ,0 JB -*-» r^ rri (U V ,!4 M u a s B 00 en IS o e a cfl el uy o o ir o B *> e .„ rt § 3 5 m ■a c: o bts ■■KMMMini CANALS. 05 • Carry forward r 1 S4 nti hi 211 Sin r^ 55 2 ;o i2 £^2'~?'o;o >-c OS O co<£ CO _< 2S 2 "^o CO":© & M j2 C3 .$5 .Si - fe i • fi <9 ^^ fl Cr*=i S 2 S-S cr^ ■" S u S cuts 3^ E;«j|w g g-n g 3^ +•■»—»- 4- -I- 4-4- ^ 3 K-r « 1= □ ."2 m O O O C o c3 ^aii 3^« o 2 J 212 CANALS. oo>o © « Sion o o TfOO • osoo" i-T eif iQ Q O r-* i—t ^ ^ *0 CO ^ 5 ss g CO 8 CO C^«0 ^ i—F COi-H (M <0(N«C '! 4 < H o ;§5 S «« IS (U ^, •^ a > V « a !* _ 0) O fe-S "3 ■J t < u a a s OS'S fc.E; ■M 0) , -♦-» a o •I .2 "> •f o • H Xi 5 1^ © r M n n« m S = «a3 fl, •a i. 3 2-^ 5 S « « •! S «° •So*' ^-- CO r3 « rt <1> .9 o o bnHH o Xl c9 O (S'rt fa ;4 I O'^ fe O « 4> t9 -^■^ H O O h o o o o EiH mh *< P^ (^ Er (^ a ^ -a- • • • otO a> t« a o a o CO ^ I a Xi OS j3 a m S3 • . >■ ' ■ S d <* • pq "^ .. CQ Q) 60" el. So MMMM ( 215 ) 03 «3 V a 5H o 09 O a o ■a s o u > o o H 2 ^ 3 ca viw' CO 2.2 «o 5S d (U tog Sd CHAPTER VII. ROADS. Roads not suitable as a means of communication in America— Con- dition of the American Roads—'' Corduroy Roads"— Road from Pittsburg to Erie— New England Roads— The « National Road" —The " Macadamized Road"— City Roads— Causewaying or Pitchmg-Brick Pavements-Macadamizing— Tesselated wooden Pavements used in New York and in St Petersburgh. Road-making is a branch of engineering which has been very little cultivated in America, and it was not until the introduction of railways that the Ameri- cans entertained the idea of transporting heavy goods by any other means than those aflPorded by canals and slackwater navigation. Their objection to paved or aiacadamized roads such as are used in Europe is founded on the prejudicial effects exerted upon works of that description by the severe and protracted win- ters by which the country is visited, and also the dif- ficulty and expense of obtaining materials suitable for their construction, and for keeping them in a state of proper repair. Stone fitted for the purposes of road- making is by no means plentiful in America ; and as the number of workmen is small in proportion to the 216 ItOADS. quantity of work which is generally going forward in the country, manual labour is very expensive. Under these circumstances, it is evident that roads would have been a very costly means of communication, and as they are not suitable for the transport of heavy goods, the Americans, in commencing their internal improvements, directed their whole attention to the construction of canals, as being much better adapted to supply their wants. The roads throughout the United States and Ca- nada, are, from these causes, not very numerous, and most of those by which I travelled were in so neglected and wretched a condition, as hardly to deserve the name of highways, being quite unfit for any vehicle but an American stage, and any pilot but an Ameri- can driver. In many parts of the country, the ope- ration of cutting a track through the forests of a suf- ficient width to allow vehicles to pass each other, is all that has been done towards the formation of a road. The roots of the felled trees are often not removed, and in marshes, where the ground is wet and soft, the trees themselves are cut in lengths of about ten or twelve feet, and laid close to each other across the road, to prevent vehicles from sinking, forming what is called in America a " Corduroy road," over which the coach advances by a series of leaps and starts, par- ticularly trying to those accustomed to the comforts of European travelling. The following diagram re- presents the manner in which these roads are formed, ROADS. 217 Fig. 1 being a plan, and Fig. 2 a view of the ends of the logs. F<9.S. On the road leading from Pittsburg on the Ohio to the town of Erie on the lake of that name, 1 saw all the varieties of forest road-making in great per- fection. Sometimes our way lay for miles through extensive marshes, which we crossed by corduroy- roads, formed in the manner shewn above ; at others the coach stuck fast in mud, from which it co d be extricated only by the combined efforts of the coach- man and passengers ; and at one place we travelled for upwards of a quarter of a mile through a forest flooded with water, which stood to the height of seve- ral feet on many of the trees, and occasionally covered the naves of the coach-wheels. The distance of the route from Pittsburg to Erie is 128 miles, which was accomplished in forty-six hours, being at the very slow rate of about two miles and three quarters an houi. although the conveyance by which I travelled carried the mail, and stopped only for breakfast, din- I 218 ROADS. ner, and tea, but there was considerable delay caused by the coach being once upset and several times " mired." The best roads in the United States are those of New England, where, in the year 1790, the first American turnpike-act was granted. These roads are made of gravel ; a material which, by the way, is much used for road-making in Ireland. The surface of the New England roads is very smooth ; but as no attention has been paid to forming or draining them, it is only for a few months during summer that they • possess any superiority, or are, in fact, at all tolerable. In Virginia and all the States lying to the south, as well as throughout the whole country to the west- ward of the Alleghany Mountains, the roads, I be- lieve, are, generally speaking, of the same description as the one already mentioned between Pittsburg and Erie, affording very little comfort or facility to those who have the misfortune to be obliged to travel upon them. But on the construction of one or two lines of road, the Americans have bestowed a little more attention. The most remarkable of them is that called the " National Road," stretching across the country from Baltimore to the State of Illinois, a distance of no less than 700 miles, an arduous and extensive work, which was constructed at the expense of the govern- ment of the United States. The narrow tract of land from which it was necessary to remove the tim- ber and brushwood for the passage of the road, mea- sures eighty feet in breadth ; but the breadth of the ""'---"'^^jjj^iBjy^''' IIOADS. 210 road itself is only thirty feet. The line of the "National Road" is laid down on the accompanying map. Commencing at Baltimore, it passes through part of the State of Maryland, and entering that of Pennsylvania, crosses the range of the Alleghany Mountains, after which, it passes through the States of Virginia, Ohio and Indiana, to Illinois. It is in contemplation to produce this line of road to the Mississippi at St Louis, where, the river being crossed by a ferry-boat stationed at that place, the road is ultimately to be extended into the State of Mis^souri which lies to the west of the Mississippi. The « Macadamized road," as it is called, leading from Albany to Troy, is another line which has been formed at some cost, and with some degree of care This road, as its name implies, is constructec! with stone broken, according to Macadam's principle It is six miles in length, and has been formed of a suffi. cient breadth to allow three carriages to stand abreast on It at once. It belongs to an incorporated company, who are said to have expended about L.20,000 in constructing and upholding it. Some interesting experiments have lately been set on foot at New York, for the purpose of obtaining a permanent and durable City Road, for streets over which there is a great thoroughfare. The place chosen for the trial was the Broadway, in which the traffic is constant and extensive. The specimen of road-making first put to the test 220 ROADS. ivi was a species of causewaying or pitching; but the materials employed are round water-worn stones, of small size ; and their only recommendation for such a work appears to be their great abundance in the neigh- bourhood of the town. The most of the streets in New York, and indeed in all the American towns, are paved with stones of this description ; but, owing to their small size and round form, they easily yield to the pressure of carriages passing over them, and pro- duce the large ruts and holes for which American thoroughfares are fair.ed. To form a smooth and du- rable pavement, the pitching-stones should have a considerable depth, and their opposite sides ought to be as nearly parallel as possible, or, in other words, the stones should have very little taper. The foot- paths in most of the towns are paved with bricks set on edge, and bedded in sand, similar to the " clinkers," or small hard-burned bricks so generally used for road- making in Holland. The second specimen was formed wdth broken stones, but the materials, owing chiefly no doubt to the high rate of wages, are not broken sufficiently small to entitle it to the name of a " Macadamized Road." It is, however, a wonderful improvement on the ordinary pitched pavement of the country, and the only objections to its general introduction, as already noticed, are the prejudicial effects produced on it by the very intense frost with which the country is visit- ed, and the expense of keeping it in repair. I HO A us. 221 The third specimen is rather of an original descrip- tion. It consists of a species of tesselated pavement, formed of hexagonal billets of pine wood measuring six inches on each side, and twelve inches in depth, arranged as shewn in the following cut, in which Fig. 3 is a view of part of the surface of the pavement, and Fig. 4 is one of the billets of wood of which it is composed, shewn on a larger scale. From the manner in which the timber is arranged, the pressure falls on It parallel to the direction in which its fibres lie, so that the tendency to wear is very small. The blocks are coated with pitch or tar, and are set in sand, form- ing a smooth surface for carriages, which pass easily and noiselessly over it. There can be no doubt of the suitableness of wood for forming a roadway ; and such an improvement is certainly much wanted in all Ame- rican towns, and in none of them more than in New York. Some, however, have expressed a fear that great difficulty would be experienced in keeping pave- ments constructed in this manner in a clean state, and that during damp weather a vapour might arise from the timber, which, if it were brought into general use, would prove hurtful to the salubrity of large towns. ' In the northern parts of Germany and also in Rus- . ROADS. sia, wooden pavements are a good deal used. My friend Dr D. B. Reid informs me, that at St Petersburgh a wooden causeway has been tried with considerable suc- cess. The billets of wood are hexagonal, and are ar- ranged in the manner represented in the diagram of the American pavement. At first they were simply imbedded in the ground, but a great improvement has been introduced by placing them on a flooring of planks laid horizontally, so as to prevent them from sinking unequally. This has not, so far as I know, been done in America. ( 223 ^ CHAPTER VIII. BRIDGES. Great Extent of many of the American Bridges-Different Construc- tions adopted in America-Bridges over the Delaware at Tren- ton the Schuylkill at PhUadelphia, the Susquehanna at Colum- bia the Rapids at the Falls of Niagara, &c.-Town's "Patent Lattice Bndge —Long's " Patent Truss Bridge." The vast rivers, lakes and arms of the ..ea, span- ned by many of the American bridges, are on a scale which far surpasses the comparatively insignificant streams of this country, and, but for the facilities af- forded for bridge-building by the great abundance of timber, the only communication across most of the American waters must still have been by means of a ferry or a ford. The bridge over the river Susque- hanna at Columbia, and that over the Potomac at Washington, for example, are each one mile and a quarter in length ; and in the neighbourhood of Bos- ton there are no less than seven bridges, varying from 1500 feet to one mile and a half in length. The bridge over Lake Cayuga is one mile, and those at Kingston on Lake Ontario, and at St John's on Lake Champlain, are each more than one-third of a mile in length. * '., h ■A .iTf; :-.'.tt '^- - ■ *:. V ■• 1 ; ; . *"■ r 224 BRIDGES. The American bridges are in general constructed entirely of wood. Although good building materials had been plentiful in every part of the country, the consumption of time and money attending the con- struction of stone-bridges of so great extent must, if not in all, at least in most cases, have proved too con- siderable to warrant their erection. Many of those recently built, however, consist of a wooden super- structure resting on stone-piers, and in general exhibit specimens of good carpentry, and not unfrequently of good engineering. In those bridges which are of con- siderable extent and importance, the roadway, and the timbers by which it is supported, are generally pro- tected by a roof or covering to preserve the wood from decay, in the manner shewn in Plate VIII., in which one-half of the bridge is represented as covered in, and the other half as left exposed, in order to shew the timbers. The roadway is lighted by windows, formed at convenient distances in the covering, as shewn in the drawings. The wooden bridges in Switzerland and Germany are generally covered in the same man- ner as those in America ; and by adopting this plan, the objections to wood as a building material, arising from its tendency to decay by exposure to the atmo- sphere, are in some degree palliated. The planking or flooring of the American bridges is never covered with any composition, as is generally the case in this country, but is left quite bare. The simplest method of constructing wooden bridges ^ -5^ -< \ ^b istructed [naterials Qtry, the the con- must, if too con- of those Q super- l exhibit lently of 3 of con- , and the illy pro- )od from n which I in, and hew the , formed hewn in tzerland ne man- lis plan, , arising e atmo- iking or red with 30untry, bridges \ '"I';::',' I I i... ' ■! iiiir ^- J I 1- **J ^ ^ % ^ M n-fi ^!h I i'- PLATt: VIl JhtWatsc- Jiinifs Ani/fvus. Jh'l* L'fo. -. I iktmtn. Siufp' BRIDGES. 225 IS to form the roadway on horizontal beams, supported on a series of piles driven into the ground, and where the nature of the situation admits of this construction. It IS very generally adopted in America. But in span- ning rivers, where it is of consequence to preserve a large water way for the passage of ice, or on railways, where it is often necessary that the surface of the rails should have a considerable elevation above the level of the water or ravine over which they are to pass, the use of horizontal beams supported on piles is often wholly impracticable, and in such situations other con- structions have been resorted to for forming communi- cations, some of which I shall briefly notice. Plate VII. is the bridge over the river Delaware at Trenton, about thirty miles from Philadelphia. This bridge consists of five wooden arches, three of 200, one of 180, and one of IGO feet span, supported on'four stone piers.* Fig. 1 is an elevation of the bridge. Fig. 2 is a plan of one of the arches, and Fig. 3 is I cross section ; Fig. 4 is an enlarged view, shewing one of the piers, and a part of two of the arches. The road- way of each span or opening, is suspended by iron rods, from five wobden arcs, represented by the letter a in Figs. 3 and 4, on the same principle as the iron bridge over the river Aire at Leeds in Yorkshire. The wooden arcs in the three largest openings are 200 feet in span, and have a versed sine of 27 feet. The arcs and sus- b/J'leir^'""'"''""' ""^ *'"' ^"''^' '"'' "°^ ^'""^ measurements made V nruli,e over t/,r Hiver Delaware, at Tn Pui. 1. * Fig. 2. ■'""''■•' •'n.//vii;t, l),lt Steven. '/• t/ie Wver Delaware, at Trenton. Fui I. ; ^^^t— -^ FuiS. Surfaiv fit' I'LATK VII. I lite Aikman, Sailp' 226 BRIDGES. pending rods divide the roadway into four compert- mente, as shewn in Fig. 3, forming two carriage-ways in the middle of the bridge, each of which is nine feet ten inches in the clear, and a footpath at each side four feet ten inches in the clear. The entire breadth of the bridge, measured over the outer suspending arcs, is thirty-three feet eight inches. The whole is cover- ed with a roof, in the manner shewn in the drawing. The suspending arcs, marked letter a Fig. 4, butt against strong oak planks, as shewn at letter x, which extend throughout the whole breadth of the stone- piers. They are supported at each pier by struts marked letter c in Figs. 2 and 3, and are connected at the top by a series of diagonal beams, represented by the dotted lines in Fig. 2. These extend only about half-way down the arcs on each side of the crown, so that they do not interfere with the height of the road- way. The suspending arcs are composed of eight thicknesses of pine plank, and measure two feet eight inches in depth, and one foot one inch in breadth. The planks of which they are made measure one foot one inch in breadth, four inches in thickness, and from thirty to fifty feet in length, and are arranged so as to break joint. The wooden braces, marked letter c. Fig. 4, are for the purpose of stiffening the roadway. They are fixed at the points, e, to the suspending arcs, and aty to the longitudinal bearing beams of the roadway by straps of iron. The suspending rods, d, are formed of malleable iron, and occur at every six- BKIDGES. 227 teen feet in the two exterior arcs, and at every eight feet in the three inner ones, which support the car- riage-way. The bridge over the Susquehanna at Columbia is constructed somewhat on the same principles as the one at Trenton which I have just described. The wooden suspending arcs, however, do not spring from the level of the roadway, but from a point about eight feet be- low it. In each span of the bridge, therefore, that part of the roadway which is next the springings is supported upon the arcs ; and the centre part of it is suspended from them by a framing of wood. This bridge, which was begun in 1832, and completed in 1834, IS perhaps the most extensive arched bridge in Ihe worid. It is certainly a magnificent work, and Its architectural effect is particularly striking. It con- sists of no less than twenty-nine arclies of 200 feet span, supported on two abutments, and twenty-eight piers of masonry, which are founded on rock, at an average depth of six feet below the surface of the water. The water-way of the bridge is 5800 feet ; and itf» whole length, including piers and abutments,' IS about one mile and a quarter. The bridge is sup- ported by three wooden arcs, forming a double road- way, which is adapted for the passage both of road and railway carriages. There are also two footpaths ; which make the whole breadth of the bridge thirty feet. The arcs are formed in two pieces, each measuring seven inches broad by fourteen inches in depth. These i'2 228 HHIDOKS. are phiecnl nine inehes asunder ; and the beams com- posing the wooden framing, by which the roadway is Nuspended, are placed between them, and fixed by iron bolts passing through the whole. Plate VIII. is the " Market Street Bridge," over the Schuylkill at Philadelphia. Fig. 1 is an eleva- tion, fig. 2 a plan, ai:d fig. 3 a cross section. It con- sists of three arches. The span of the centre arch is 104 feet ten inches, and the versed sine is twelve feet. The other two arches are 150 feet in span, and have versed sines of ten feet. The breadth of the road- way is 35 feet. The piers were built with cofferdams, one of them at^ the depth of 41, and the other at the depth of 21 feet below the surface of the river at high water. The work was commenced in 1801, and completed in 1805 ; and the expense, which amounted to L.60,000, was defrayed by a company of private individuals. There is another bridge over the Schuyl- kill at Philadelphia, consisting of a single arch of no less than 320 feet span, having a versed sine of about 38 feet. This bridge has a breadth of roadway of about 30 feet. It has been erected for several years, and is still in good repair and constant use. I regret, however, that I was unable to procure drawings of the wooden ribs or frames of which it is composed, suffi- ciently detailed and accurate to enable me to lay them before the public. The bridge across the rapids of the river Niagara is placed only two or three hundred yards from the UHIIJUKS. 220 tHl^c of the great falls. It extends from the Ameri- can bank of the river to (Joat Island, which separates what 18 calleil the " American" from the '• British faU." The superstructure of the bridge is formed of timber. It is 3Q0 feet in length, and is supported on SIX piers, formed partly of stone and partly of wood. When 1 visited the Falls of Niagara in the month of May, the ice carried down from J.ake Erie by the rapids of the river, was rushing past the i)iers of this bridge with a degree of violence that was quite terrific, and seemed every moment to threaten their destruction. The following very interesting account of this work is given by Captain Hall.* " The erection of such a bridge at such a place is a wonderful effort of boldness and skill, and does the projector and architect, Judge Porter, the highest honour as an engineer. This is the second bridge of the kind ; but the first being built in the still water at the top of the rapids, the enormous sheets of ice, drifted from Lake Erie, soon demolished the work,' and carried it over the falls. Judge Porter, however,' having observed that the ice in passing along the rapids was speedily broken into small pieces, fixed his second bridge much lower down, at a situation never reached by the large masses of ice. " The essential difficulty was to establish a founda- tion for his piers on the bed of a river covered with * Forty Etchings, from sketches made in Nortii America, with the Camera Lucida, by Captain Basil Hall. Edinbur^'h, ]H,1o, 230 PIllDCiES. huge blocks of stone, and over which a torrent was dashing at the rate of six or seven miles an hour. He first placed two long beams, extending from the shore horizontally forty or fifty feet over the rapids, at the height of six or eight feet, and counter-balanced by a load at the inner ends. These were about two yards asunder ; but light planks being laid across, men were enabled to walk along them in safety. Their extre- mities were next supported by upright bars passed through holes in the ends, and resting on the ground. A strong open frame- work of timber, not unlike a wild beast's cage, but open at top and bottom, was then placed in the water immediately under the ends of the beams. This being loaded with stones, was gra- dually sunk till some one part of it — no matter which — touched the rocks lying on the bottom. As soon as it was ascertained that this had taken place, the sinking operation was arrested, and a series of strong planks, three inches in thickness, were placed, one after the other, in the river, in an upright position, and touching the inner sides of the frame-work. These planks, or upright posts, were now thrust downwards till they obtained i firm lodgement among the stones at the bottom of the rivo • ; and, being then securely bolted to the upper part of the frame-work, might be considered parts of it. As each plank reached to the ground, it acted as a leg, and gave the whole consider- able stability, while the water (lowed freely through openings about a foot wide, left between the planks. ,-,«^--^^jpsp3Sia!-;ij BRIDGES. 231 " This great frame or box, being then filled with large stones tumbled in from above, served the pur- pose of a nucleus to a larger pier built round it, of much stronger timbers firmly bolted together, and so arranged as to form an outer case, distant from the first pier about three feet on all its four sides. The intermediate space between the two frames was then filled up by large masses of rock. This constituted the first pier. " A second pier was easily built in the same way, by projecting beams from the first one, as had been previously done from the shore ; and so on, step by step, till the bridge reached Goat Island. Such is the solidity of these structures, uiat none of them has ever moved since it was first erected, several years before we saw it." Plate IX. is a drawing of " Town's Patent Lattice Bridge," which is much employed on the American railways. This construction is sometimes used for bridges of so large a span as 160 feet, and it exerts no lateral thrust tending to overturn the piers on which it rests. A small quantity of materials of very small scantling arranged in the manner shewn in the plate, possesses a great degree of strength and rigidity. For this drawing I am indebted to Mr Robinson of Philadelphia, who is constructing many large bridges on this principle on the Philadelphia and Reading railway, several of which I examined both in their fi- nished and unfinished state. '^^ ^ :§. f s. • c '^ ^ Si 232 BRIDGES. Fig. 1 is an elevation, and Fig. 2 a cross section on an enlarged scale of the frame- work of the bridge. The surface of the railway is indicated by letter a in both %ures. The lattice framing or ribs of which the bridge is formed are composed entirely of pine -planks, marked &, measuring twelve inches in breadth, and three inches in thickness. The planks are arranged at right angles to each other, so as to form a fabric resembling lattice work, as shewn in the drawing ; and from this circumstance the bridge derives its name. They are fixed at the points of their intersection by oak tree- nails, one inch and a half in diameter, passing through them. The horizontal runners, marked c, are formed of planks of the same scantling, and extend through- out the whole length of the bridge. They are also fixed at the points where they intersect the planks &, by oak treenails passing through the whole, as shewn by the dotted lines at letter^J in Fig. 2. The depth of the lattice work is proportioned to the span of the bridge. The span shewn in the drawing is seventy- eight feet, and the depth of the ribs is nine feet six inches. In a bridge of larger span, the planks h would be made of greater length, and another square or dia- mond added to the lattice-work. There were only two ribs or frames of lattice-work in all of the bridges constructed on this principle which I examined. One of these was placed under each side of the roadway, as shewn in the cross section Fig. 2, by the btters h h. The ribs are connected together BRIDGES. 233 at the bottom by cross beams marked e, at every twelve feet. At the top they are connected in a similar manner by beams marked d, at every six feet. On these, the longitudinal beams g are supported, to which the planking of the roadwa) is spiked. To prevent the ribs from twisting or warping, they are braced at every twelve feet by diagonal beams arran- ged m vertical planes, as shewn at letter h in %. 2. Fig. 3 is a plan of the wood-work directly under the roadway. In this figure the beams d, aie those on which the planking of the roadway is spiked, and the diagonal braces m arranged in horizontal planes are mtroduced to render the structure rigid. For the same reason the braces i are introduced, as represent- ed in Fig. 4, which is a plan of the wood-work con- necting the lower part of the lattice frames. The dia- gonal braces are aU fixed in the same manner.- One of the extremities rests in a seat cut for it in the beam against which it butts, and wedges of hardwood are inserted at the other end, by which the brace can be nicely adjusted, and afterwards tightened up, should the vibration of passing trains, or the effects of the at- mosphere, cause any yielding of the timber to take place. The lattice-frames have a rest of about five feet, in checks formed in the stone abutments for their recep- tion, as shewn in dotted lines in the elevation Fig. 1 and in Fig. 5, which is a plan of one of the abutments. If the bridge is of greater extent than can be included 234 BRIDGES. in one span, it is simply rested on a thin pier, in the manner shewn in the elevation, without any other sup- port. A covering of light boarding, extending from the level of the roadway to the bottom of the ribs, is spiked on the outside of the lattice-work to preserve the timber. The largest lattice-bridge which I met with, was constructed by Mr Robinson on the Philadelphia and Reading Railroad. It measures 1 100 feet in length. The lattice-frames of which it is formed extend throughout the whole distance between the two abut- ments without a break, and are supported on ten stone- piers, in the manner shewn in the plate. On the New York and Haerlem Railway, there is a lattice- bridge 736 feet in length, supported in the same man- ner on four stciie-piers. Plate X. is a drawing of "Long's patent frame bridge," which is also much employed on the different lines of railway in the United States.* Fig. 1. is an elevation ; Fig. 2. a plan ; and Fig. 3. a cross section of this bridge, which contains a small quantity of materials, and exerts no lateral thrust. Bridges constructed on this principle, having spans of from one hundred to one hundred and fifty feet, are very commonly met with. That tjiewn in the draw- ing is 110 feet in span, and the depth of the truss- frame is 15 feet. The level of the railway is indi- cated by letter a in the Plate ; letter b represents the * A Description of Long'is Bridfic. Concord, 183fi. 1 M i k i ji \ \ ■i ^ 1 1 1 v. 1' ^ • 1 , i 1 ? / \ f I th( " strii " post braces Th maniK posts < ter-be 6, and is forn attach ed wit which when ( necess; shewii the sti tion at at c. and th fixing 1 piece. the ma of han cned n ployed string, brace, i the coil the top BRIDGES. 286 " String-pieces," as they are called in America ; c the "posts ;" d the "main-braces ;" and e the "counter- braces." The string-pieces arc formed of three beams, in the manner shewn in the plan and cross section. The posts and main-braces are in two pieces, and the coun- ter-beams are formed of a single beam. Figs. 4, 5, 6, and 7, illustrate the manner in which the joining is formed, at the points where the posts and braces are attached to the string-pieces. This joining is effect- ed without the use of bolts or spikes, a construction which admits of the bridge being very easily repaired, when decay of the materials or other causes render it necessary. Figs. 4. and 5. are enlarged diagrams, shewing the manner in which the posts are fixed to the strings. In Fig. 4. the strings are shewn in sec- tion at letter b, and the posts passing between them at c. In Fig. 5. the posts are shewn in section at c, and the strings at b. Fig. 6. shews the manner of fixing the main an-l counter braces to the upper string- piece. In this diagram b is the string, c the post, d the main-brace, e the counter-brace, and ^ is a wedge of hardwood, by which the whole woodwork is tight- ened up. Fig. 7 shews the manner of fixing em- ployed at the lower string. In this diagram b is the string, c the post, d the mainbrace, e the counter- brace, ^ a wedge of hard-wood, and/a block on which the counter-brace rests. The frames are connected at the top by cross beams, .r, and at the bottom by the I 236 BltlDUES. beams marketl letter y, which support the planking of the roadway. I met with Long's Bridge in many parts of the country, but the best specimens I saw were those erected on some of tlie railways in the neighbourhood of Boston, under the direction of Mr Fessenden the engineer. The timbers of which Town's and Long's bridges are composed, are fitted together on the ground pre- vious to their erection on the piers. They arc again taken asunder, and each beam is put up separately in the place which it is to occupy, by means of a scaffold- ing or centering of timber. •*Ui. ( 237 ) CHAPTER IX RAILWAYS. European Railways- -Introduction of Railways into tlie United States —The European construction of Railways unsuitable for Ame- rica— Attempts of the American Engineers to construct a Rail- way not likely to be affected by frost-Constructions of the Bos- ton and Lowell, New York and Paterson, Saratoga and Sche- nectady, Newcastle and Frenchtown, Philadelphia and Colum- bia, Boston and Providence, Philadelphia and Norristown, New York and Hacrlem, Buffalo and Niagara, Camden and Amboy, Brooklyn and Jamaica, and the Charleston and Augusta, Rail- roads-Rails, Chairs, Blocks, and Sleepers, used in the United States— Original Cost of American Railways-Expense of up- holding them-Power employed on the American Railways— Horse-power— Locomotive Engines— Locomotive Engine Works in the United States— Construction of the Engines— Guard used m America-Fuel— Engine for burning Anthracite Coal— Sta- tionary Engines— Description of the Stationary Engines, Inclined Planes, and other works on the Alleghany Railway— Railway from Lake Champlain to the St Lawrence in Canada. Within a very few years, a wonderful change has been effected in land communication throughout Great Britain and America, where railways have been more extensively and successfully introduced than in any other parts of the world. As early as the sixteenth century, wooden tram-roads were used in the neigh- bourhood of many of the collieries of Great Britain. umm 238 RAILWAYS. In the year 1767, cast-iron rails were introduced at Colebrookdale, in Shropshire. In 1811, malleable- iron rails were for the first time used in Cumberland, and the locomotive engine, on an improved construc- tion, was successfully introduced on the Liverpool and Manchester line in 1880. Little progress has hitherto been made in the formation of railways on the Con- tinent of Europe. A small one has been in existence for some time in the neighbourhood of Lyons, but the only railroad, constructed in France, for the conveyance of passengers by locomotive power, is that from Paris to St Germains, which was opened only in 1837. In Bohemia, the Chevalier Gerstner, about eight years ago, constructed a railway of eighty miles in length, leading from the river Muldau to the Danube. In Belgium, the railway from Antwerp to Ghent has been in use for some time ; and some lines are at present being constructed in Holland and Russia. But my present purpose is to describe the state of this wonderful im- provement in communication, in the United States, The Quincy Railroad in JNIassachusetts was the first constructed in America. It was intended for the con- veyance of stone from the Quincy granite quarries to a shipping port on the river Neponsett, a distance of about four miles. At the end of this chapter I have given a tabular list of the principal railroads which are already finished, and also of those that have been be- gun in the United States, which shew the rapid increase of these works since 1827, the date at which the ■Siitt RAILWAYS. 239 Quincy Railroad was completed. From these tables it appears that, in 1837, there were no fewer than fifty-seven railways completed and in full operation, whose aggregate length amounts to upwards of 1600 miles ; and also that thirty-three railways were then in progress, which, when completed, will amount to about 2800 miles. In addition to this, upwards of one hundred and fifty railway companies have been incorporated ; and the works of many of them will, in all probability, be very soon commenced. The early Amer jtm railroads consisted of iron rails and chairs resting on stone blocks, and were con- structed on the same principles as those in this coun- try. But the American engineers soon discovered that this construction of road, although it had been to a certain extent successfully applied in England, was not at all capable of withstanding the rigours of an Ameri- can winter. The intense frost, with which the north- em part of the country is visited, was found to split the stone blocks and to affect the ground in which they were embedded, to such a degree, that their positions were materially altered, and the rails were in many cases so much twisted and deranged as to be quite un- fit for the passage of carriages. The consequence was, that ni^^lffi!}.^ ^^^^^'^^^s constructed in the United States after the English system, had actually to be re- laid at the close of every winter, and during the conti- nuance of the frost could only be travelled on at a de- creased speetl. The Americans have put numerous I 240 HAILAVAYS. 1 plans to the test of actual experiment, in their endea- vours to form a structure for supporting the rails, adapt- ed to the climate and circumstances of the country. There are hardly two railways in the United States which are made exactly in the same way, and few of them are constructed throughout their whole extent on the same principles ; but although great improvements have undoubtedly been effected, it is doubtful whether a structure perfectly proof against the detrimental ef- fects of frost has yet been produced. An enumera- tion of the various schemes which have been pro- posed for the construction of railways in America, would not be very useful, even if it were possible. I shall, therefore, only mention those constructions which came under my own observation, some of which are foimd to be very suitable. The Boston and Lowell Railway in Massachusetts is twenty-six miles in length, and is laid with a double line of rails. The breadth between the rails, which is four feet eight and a half inches, is the same in all the American railroads, and the breadth between the tracks is six feet. Pig. 1. Fig. 2. ,^^ ' ; r ! Taw a g M ' jgiW! ' iii;! ' f.i^ * RAILWAYS. 241 Fig. 1 is a transverse section, and Fig. 2 a side view of one of the tracks, in which a are granite blocks six feet in length, and about eighteen inches square. These are placed transversely, at distances of three feet apart from centre to centre, each block giving support to both of the rails. This construc- tion, as formerly noticed by me in some communica- tions made to the Society of Arts for Scotland,* was first introduced in the Dublin and Kingstown Rail- way, in Ireland, but was found to produce so rigid a road, that great difficulty was experienced in securing the fixtures of the chairs. From the difficulty, also, of procuring a solid bed for stones of so great dimen- sions, most of them, after being subjected for a short time to the traffic of the railway, were found to be split. The blocks on the Boston and Lowell Railway were affected in the same manner, and are besides found to be very troublesome during frost. Fig. 8 is an enlarged view of the rail and chair used on this line. The rails are of the kind called fish- bellied. They weigh 40 lb. per lineal yard, and rest in cast-iron chairs, weighing 16* lb. each. The form of the rails and chairs resembles that at first used on the Liverpool and Manchester Railway. Figs. 4 and 5 represent anotlier construction which has been tried on this linp In these views a ar? longitudinal trenches, two feet i^ inches square, and * Transactions of the Society of Arts for Scotland, Edinburgli New Philosophical Journal for A ' 1835 and April 183(5. Q 242 RAILWAYS. jricf.^. Ft a. 3. \ \\ II four feet eight and a half inches apart from centre to centre, formed in the ground, and tilled with broken stone, hard punned down with a wooden beater, as a foundation for the stone blocks h on which the rails rest. These blocks measure two feet square, and a foot in thickness, and c is a transverse sleeper of wood, two feet eight inches and a half in length, one foot in breadth, and eight inches in thickness, which is placed between the blocks to prevent them from moving. The plan of resting the railway on a foundation of broken stone, shewn in the last and some of the fol- lowing figures, was adopted in the expectation that it might be sunk to a sufficient depth below the surface of the ground, to prevent the frost from affecting it ; but it has failed to produce the desired effect, as sub- sequent experience has shewn that many of those railways whose construction was more superficial have resisted the effects of frost much better. The New York and Paterson Railway is sixteen and a half miles in lengtli, and extends along a marshy tract of ground. Its construction is shewn in Figs. C and 7. The foundation of the road consists of a line of pits undor each rail, eighteen inches square, of RAILWAYS. 243 "i<^.a. F1().7. and three feet in depth. They are placed three feet apart from centre to centre, and filled with broken stones. On this foundation transverse wooden sleepers, b, measuring eight inciies square, and seven feet in length, are firmly bedded, on which rest the longitu- dinal sleepers marked c, measuring eight inches by six. To these, plate-rails of malleable iron, two and a half inches wide, and half an inch thick, weighing about 13 lb per lineal yard, are fixed by iron spikes. Figs. 8 and 9 are a cross section and side view of the Saratoga and Schenectady Railway. The parallel trenches marked a, are eighteen inches square, and four feet eight and a half inches apart from centre to centre. They extend throughout the whole line of the railway, and are firmly punned full of broken stones. Longitudinal sleepers of wood, marked h, mea- suring eight by five inches, arc placed on these trenches, which support the transverse wootlen sleepers, marked c, measuring six inches square, and placed three feet q2 244 RAILWAYS, apart from centre to centre. Longitudinal runners, marked dy measuring six inclies square, are firmly spiked to the transverse sleepers, and the whole is surmounted by a plate-rail half an inch thick, and two and a half inches wide, weighing about 13 lb. per lineal yard. The Newcastle and Frenchtown Railway, which is sixteen miles in length, and forms part of the route from Philadelphia to Baltimore, is constructed in the same way as that between Schenectady and Saratoga, excepting that the plate-rail is two and a half inches broad, and five-eighths of an inch thick, and weighs nearly IG lb. per lineal yard. The Baltimore and Washington Railway is also constructed in the same way as regards the foundation and arrangement of the timbers, but edge-rails are employed on that line three and a half inches in breadth at the base, and two inches in height. Fig.W. 4 C A Kltii J^ -^'muSKEu M— ^T -- — 'Hlllfl Btr=:- v*^^.^^^ - -■_" --"ilr-i^i^ &-r:- Several experiments have been made on the Co- lumbia Railroad, in Pennsylvania, which is eighty-two miles in length, and is under the management of the State. Part of the road is constructed in accordance with Figs. 10 and 11, which are a transverse section and side view of one of the tracks. The trenches RAILWAYS. 245 marked «, measuring two feet six inches in breadth, and two feet in depth, are excavated in the ground, and filled with broken metal ; in these, the stone-blocks, A, two feet square, and a foot in thickness, are im- bedded at distances of three feet apart, .to which the chairs and rails are spiked in the ordinary manner. The rails on each side of the track are connected to- gether by an iron bar, marked c in Fig. 10. This attachment is renderetl absolutely necessary on many parts of the Columbia Railroad, by the sharpness of the curves, which, at the time when the work was laid out, were not considered so prejudicial on a rail- way as experience has shewn them to be. Fig.l2. Fig. 13. Another plan tried on this line is shewn in Figs. 12 and 13, which are a transverse section and side view. In this arrangement a continuous line of stone curb, one foot square, marked a, resting on a stratum of broken stone, is substituted for the isolated stone- blocks, shewn in Figs. 10 and 11. A plate-rail, half an inch thick, and two and a half inches broad, is spiked down to treenails of oak, or locust wood, driven into jumper-holes bored in the stone curb. ! 246 RAILWAYS. I'iy.Li: Fig. 25. Figs. 14 and 15 represent the construction of the Boston and Providence Railway, which is forty-one miles in length. Pits, measuring eighteen inches square, and one foot in depth, marked a, are exca- vated under each line of rail, at intervals of four feet apart. They are filled with broken stone, and form a foundation for the transverse sleepers, marked h, measuring eight inches square, on which the chairs and rails are fixed in the usual manner. Fig. 16. Fig.l'/. •mc a ESSi? Fig. 18. The construction shewn in Figs. 16 and 17, which are a cross section and side view of one of the tracks, is in very general use in America. I met with it on the Philadelphia and Norristown, the New York and Haerlem, and the Buffalo and Niagara railroads ; and I believe it has been introduced on many others. It consists of two lines of longitudinal wooden runners, marked a, measuring one foot in breadth, and from :v)^ RAILWAYS. 247 three to four inches in thickness, bedded on broken stone or gravel. On these runners, transverse sleepers, b, are placed, formed of round timber with the bark left on, measuring about six inches in diameter, and squared at the ends, to give them a proper rest. Longi- tudinal sleepers, c, for supporting the rails, are notched into the transverse sleepers, as shewn in the diagram. Fig. 18 is an enlarged view of the plate-rail and longitudinal sleeper usetl for railways of this construc- tion. The rail is made of wrought-iron, and varies in weight from 10 to 15 lb. per lineal yard. It is fixed down to the sleepers at every fifteen or eighteen inches, by spikes four or five inches in length, the heads of which are countersunk in the rail. Fig. 19. Fig.20. Figs. 19 and 20 are the rails used on the Cam- den and Amboy Railway, which is sixty-one miles in length. They are parallel edge-rails, and are spiked to transverse sleepers of wood, and, in some places, to wood treenails driven into stone blocks. Their breadth is three and a half inches at the base, and two and a half at the top, and their height is four inches. They are formed in lengths of fifteen feet, and secured at the joints by an iron plate on each side, with two screw- bolts passing through the plates and rails, as shewn in I 248 UAILWAYS. the diagram. On the Philadelphia and Reading Rail- road, rails of the same form have been adopted. Fig. 22. Figs. 21 and 22 shew another construction, which I observed on several of the railroads. It was proposed with a view to counteract the effects of frost. Round piles of timber, marked «, about twelve inches in dia- meter, are driven into the ground as far as they will go, at the distance of three feet apart from centre to centre. The, tops are cross-cut, and the rails are spiked to them in the same way as in the Camden and Amboy Railway, which is shewn in Figs. 19 and 20. The heads of the piles are furnished with an iron strap, to prevent them from splitting ; and the rails are connected together at every five feet by an iron bar. Fig. 25. Wig. 24. Fia.26. RAILWAYS. 249 Figs. 23 and 24 are a transverse section and side view of the present structure of the Brooklyn and Jamaica Railroad, on which Mr Douglass, the engi- neer for that work, has made several experiments. The road, represented in the cut, is exceedingly smooth, and is said to resist the effects of frost very successfully. It consists of transverse sleepers, mea- suring eight by six inches, marked a, supported on slabs of pavement, two feet square, and six inches thick, marked h. The wooden runner, marked c, is spiked on the inside of the chairs to render them firm. An enlarged view of the rail is shewn at Fig. 25. This rail rests on the cheeles or sides of the chair, and not on the bottom, as is generally the case. '. The railroad between Charleston and Augusta, and many others in the southern States, where there is a scarcity of materials for forming embankments, are carried over low lying tracts of marshy ground, eleva- ted on structures of wooden truss-work, such as is shewn in Figs. 26 and 27. The framing in Fig. 27 * I IMAGE EVALUATION TEST TARGET (MT-3) 1.0 I.I 1.25 no '""■■ 2.5 ^ 1^ 1 2.2 1.8 U II 1.6 V] i^ c*l ^ SS ^ Phol ^ Scimces Corporation 23 W£ST MAIN STREET WEBSTER, N.Y. 14580 (716) 872-4503 ^^ iV <^ 4? ^. ^o^ \ k i/.x I 250 RAILWAYS. is used in situations where the level of the rails docs not require to be raised more than ten or twelve feet above the surface of the ground. Piles from teff to fifteen inches in diameter, marked «, are driven into the ground by a piling engine, and, in places where the soil is soft, their extremities are not pointed but are left square, which makes them less liable to sink under the pressure of the carriages. The struts marked h are attached to the tops of the piles, and are also fixed to dwarf piles driven into the ground. Their effect is to prevent lateral motion. Fig. 26 is a truss-work which is used for greater elevations, and is sometimes carried even to the height of fifteen or twenty feet. Piles marked a are driven into the ground, and connected by the transverse beam c. Above these the superstructure formed of the beams d is raised, and upon it, the rails are placed. It is evi- dent, however, that these structures are by no means suitable or safe for bearing the weight of locomotive engines or carriages, and, as may naturally be expect- ed, very serious accidents have occasionally occurred on them. They are besides generally left quite ex- posed, and in some situations, when they are even so much as twenty feet high, no room is left for pedestri- ans, who, if overtaken by the engine, can save them- selves only by making a leap to the ground. These varieties of construction were all in use when I visited the United States in 1837, but the Ameri- can engineers hatl not at that time come to any defi- RAILWAYS. 251 I nite conclusion as to which of them constituted the best railway. It seemed to be generally admitted, however, that the wooden structures were in most situa- tions more economical than chose formed of stone, and were also less liable to be afFe9ted by the frost. Struc- tures of wood also possess a great advantage over those of stone, from the much greater ease with which the rails supported by them are kept in repair. Wooden railroads are more elastic, and bend under great weights, while the rigid and unyielding nature of the railroads laid on stone blocks causes the impulses pro- duced by the rapid motion of locomotive carriages, or heavily loaded waggons, over the surface, to be much more severely felt both by the machinery of the en- gine and by the rails themselves. Experience, both in this country and in America, has shewn the truth of these remarks. On the Liverpool and Manches- ter Railway, for example, on which a large sum is annually expended in keeping the rails in order, the part of the road which requires least repair is that extending over Chat Moss, where the rails are laid on wooden sleepers, and the weight of passing trains of loaded waggons produces a sensible undulation in the surface of the railway, which at this place actually floats on the moss. These considerationa are worthy of attention ; and since the introduction of Kyan's pa- tent anti dry-rot preparation, wood is beginning to be more generally employed for the construction of rail- ways in this country. The rails of the DuWin and F ^62 RAILWAYS. i ( Kingstown road are now laid on wood, and it has also been extensively employed on the Great Western Railway now in progress. The rails used in the United States are of British ma- nufacture. They are often taken to America as ballast ; and the Government of the United States having re- moved the duty from iron imported for the purpose of forming railways, the rails are laid down on the quays o': New York nearly at the same cost as in any of the ports of Great Britain. Those of the Brooklyn and Jamaica road, which are in lengths of fifteen feet, and weigh 39 lb. per lineal yard, are of British manu- facture, and cost at New York when they were landed, in 1830, L.8 per ton ; the cast-iron chairs, which are also of British manufacture, weigh about 15 lb. each, and cost L.O per ton. There is a great abundance of iron-ore in America, and some of the veins in the neighbourhood of Pittsburg are at present pretty ex- tensively worked ; but the Americans know that it would be bad economy to attempt to manufactiue rails, so long as those made at Merthyr Tydvil Iron- works, in Wales, can be laid dovm at their sea-ports at the present small cost. In some of the iron-works which I visited, the workmen were rolling plate-rails, which is the only kind they ever attempt to make ; but even these can be got, if not at less cost, at all events of much better quality, from Britain. The stone blocks in use on some of the railways are made of granite, which, as already noticed, is i il nHM iU M T- f RAILWAYS. 253 found in several parts of the United States. Yellow pine is generally employed for the longitudinal sleep- ers, and cedar, locust, or white-oak, for the trans- verse sleepers on which the rails rest; cedar, how- ever, if it can be obtained, is generally preferred for ^'^e transverse sleepers, because it is not liable to be split by the heat of the sun, and is less affected thau perhaps any other timber, by dampness and exposure to the atmosphere. The cedar sleepers used on the Brooklyn and Jamaica Railway, measuring six inches by fiNe, and seven feet in length, notched and in readi- ness to receive the rails, cost 2s. S^d. each, laid down at Brooklyn. It is a costly timber, and is not very plentiful in the United States ; it has also risen greatly in value since the introduction of rar ,^ays, for the construction of which it is peculiarly applicable. For all treenails, locust-wood is universally employed. The American railroads are much more cheaply constructed than those in this country, which is owing chiefly to three causes ; first, they are exempted from the heavy expenses often incurred in the construction of English railways, by the purchase of land and compensation for damages ; second, the works are not executed in so substantial and costly a style ; and, third, wood, which is the principal material used in their construction, is got at a very small cost. The first six miles of the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad, which is formed " in an expensive man- ner, on a very difficult route," has cost, on an ave- i 254 RAILWAYS. rage, about L. 12,000 per mile. The railroads in Pennsylvania cost about L.5000 per mile ; the Al- bany and Schenectady Railroad upwards of L.6(K)() per mile ; the Schenectady and Saratoga Railway L.1800 per mile ; and the Charleston and Augusta Railroad about the same.* Mr IMoncure Robinson, in a report relative to the Philipsburg and Juniata Railroad, states, that the first ten miles of the Dan- ville and Pottsville Railroad, formed for a double track, but on which a single track only was laid, cost on an average L. 4400 per mile, and that the Hones- dale and Carbondale Railroad, 16^ miles in length, laid with a single track, and executed for a consider- able portion of its length on truss- work, is understood, with machinery, to have averaged L.3600 per mile. The average cost of these railways, constructed in dif- ferent parts of the United States, is L.4942 per mile. This contrasts strongly with the cost of the rail- ways constructed in this country. The Liverpool and Manchester Railway cost L.30,000 per mile : the Dub- lin and Kingstown L.40,000 ; and the railway between Liverpool and London is expected to cost upwards of L.25,000. The following extract, embodying an estimate from Mr Robinson's Report, will give some idea of the cheapness with which many of the American works are constructed : — * Facts and suggestions relative to the New York and Albany Railway. New York, 1833. RAILWAYS. 265 Robinson, Philii)sburg IS " The following plan," says ] proposed for the superstructure oft Juniata Railroad. " Sills of white or post oak, seven feet ten inches long, and twelve inches in diameter, flattened to a width of nine inches, are to be laid across the road at a distance of five feet apart from centre to centre. In notches formed in these sills, rails of white oak or heart pine, five inches wide by nine inches in depth, are to be secured, four feet seven inches apart, measured with- in the rails. On the inner edges of these rails, plates of rolled iron, two inches wide by half an inch thick, resting at their points of junction on platesof sheet iron,' one-twelfth of an inch thick and four and a half inches long, are to be spiked, with five-inch wrought iron spi kcs. The inner edges of the wooden rails to be trimmed slightly levelling, but flush at the point of contact with the iron rail, and to be adzed down outside the iron to pass off rain-water. " Such a superstructure as that above described would be entirely adequate to the use of locomotive engines of from fifteen to twenty horses power, con- structed without surplus weight, or similar to those now in use on the little Schuylkill Railroad in this state (Pennsylvania), or the Petersburg Railroad in Virginia ; and it will be observed that only the sills, which constitute but a very slight item in its cost, arc much exposed to the action of those causes which in- duce decay in timber. It is particularly recommend- 25C RAILWAYS. 1 * 'J- ed for the Philipsburg and Juniata Railroad, by the great abundance of good materials along the line of the improvement, for its construction, and the conse- quent economy with which it may be made. " The following may be deemed an average esti- mate of the cost of a mile of superstructure as above described. DoUan. -Z64> 43b\48 52.80 1056 trenches 8 feet long, 12 inches wide, and 14 inches deep, filled with broken stone, at 25 cents each, Same number of sills, hewn, notched; and embedded, at 50 cents each, .... 10,912 lineal feet of rails (allowing 33}t per cent, for waste), at 4 cents per lineal foot, delivered, 2112 keys at 2^ cents each, .... 10,5G0 lineal feiet of plate rails, 2 inches by | i"ch, weight 3i lb. per foot, I5j'^^ tons, delivered at 50 dollars (L. 10) per ton, .... 1509 lb. of 5-inch spikes, at 9 cents per pound, Sheet iron under ends of railsj Placing and dressing wood, and spiking dowTi iron rails. Filling between sills with stone, or horse-path, 2692 dollars, or about L.540. f I found it rather difficidt to obtain much satisfac- tory information regarding the expense of upholding the American railways. It is stated in a report made by the Directors of the Boston and Worcester Rail- road, that Mr Fessenden, their engineer, to whom I am indebted for much kind attention and valuable infor- mation, estimates the annual expenditure for repairing the road, carriages, and engines, and providing fuel and necessary attendance for forty-three and a half 785.50 135.81 30.21 280 180 2692.80 -™^ RAILWAYS. 267 miles of railway at L.082» per annum, which is at the rate of L.157 per mile. The expense of the repairs on the Utica and Schenectady Railroad, which is about seventy-seven miles in length, amounts to L.28,000 per annum, being at the rate of about L.363 per mile. These sums for keeping railroads in repair are ex- ceedingly small, compared with the amomit expended in this country for the same purpose. On the Liver- pool and Manchester Railway, for example, the ex- pense annually incurred in keeping the engines in a working state and the railway in repair, amounts to upwards of L.30,000 or L.IOOO per mile. This difference in the cost arises in a great measure from the comparatively slow speed at which the engines working on the American railways are propelled, which, in the course of my own observation, never exceeded the average rate of fifteen miles per hour. On the State railways, and also on many of those under the management of incorporated companies, fif- teen miles an horn- is the rate of travelling fixed by the administration of the railway, and th speed is seldom exceeded. On some of the American railways, where the line is short or the traffic small, horse power is em- ployed, but locomotive engines for transporting goods and passengers are in much more general use. In New York, Brooklyn, Philadelphia, Baltimore, and other places which have lines of railway leading from them, the depot or station for the locomotive en- R ■—■■IP BW 258 UAir.WAYS. gines is |reiierally plac«l at the outskirts, but the rails are continued through tlie streets to the heart of the town, and the carriages are dragged over this part of the line by horses, to avoid the inconvenience and danger attending the passage of locomotive en- gines through crowded thoroughfares. I travelled by horse power on the Mohawk and Hudson Railway, from Schenectady to Albany, a distance of sixteen miles, and the journey was perform&i in sixty-five minutes, being at the astonishing rate of fifteen miles an hour. The car by which I was conveyed carried twelve passengers, and was drawn by two horses which ran stages of five miles. • The first locomotive engines used in America were of British manufacture, but several very large workshops have lately been established in the country for the con- struction of these machines, which are now manufac- tured in great numbers. The largest locomotive en- gine-works are those of Mr Baldwin, Mr Norris, Mr Long, and Messrs Grant and Eastrick, all in Phila- delphia, and the Lowell Engine-work at Lowell. When I visited the work of Mr Baldwin, to whom I am indebted for much attention and information, I found no less than twelve locomotive carriages in different states of progress, and all of substantial and good workmanship. Those parts of the engine, such as the cylinder, piston, valves, journals, and slides, in which good fitting and fine workmanship are indispensable to the efficient action of the machine. U- RAILWAYS. 250 highly were very nigniy finished, but the external ,.„.„„ „,.,.. as the connecting rods, cranks, framing, and wlieds' were left in a much coarser state than in engines of British manufacture. The American engines with their boilers filled, weigh from twelve to fifteen tons and cost about L.140() or L.1600, including thJ tender. This is not much more than the cost of an engine of the same weight in this country. They have six wheels. These are arranged in the following manner, so as to allow the engine to travel on rails having a great curvature ; the driving wheels, which are five feet in diameter, are placed in the posterior part of the engine close to the fire-box, and the fore part of the engine rests on a truck running on four wheels of about two feet six inches in diameter : a series of friction-rollers, arranged in a circular form, is placed on the top of the truck, and in the centre, stands a vertical pivot which works in a socket in the fram- ing of the engine. The whole weight of the cylinders and the fore part of the boiler rests on the friction rol- lers, and the truck turning on the pivot as a centre, has freedom to describe a small arc of a circle ; so that when the engine is not running upon a perfectly straight road, its wheels adapt themselves to the curvature of the rails, while the relative positions which the body of the engine, the connecting rods, and other parts of the machinery bear to och other, remain unaltered.* * I believe an attempt was made to apply Avery's Rotatory Engine to propel a locomotive carriage, on one of the American railways, but k2 ll wnm 200 UAFr.WAYS. From tlic unprotected state of most of tlie railways, which are seldom fenced, cattle often stray upon the line, and are run down by the engines, which are in some cases thrown off the rails by the concussion, pro- ducing very serious consequences. To obviate this, and render railway travelling more safe, an apparatus called a "guard" has been very generally introduced, a drawing of which is given in Plate XL Fig. 1. is a side view of a locomotive engine, with the guard at- tached to it ; and Fig. 2. is a plan of the guard and the two front wheels of the engine. The guard con- .sists of a strong framework of wood, marked n, fixed to the fore-axle of the locomotive carriage at the point b, and suppofrted on two small wheels c, about two feet in diameter, which run on the rails about three feet in advance of the engine. Tne outer extremity of the framework, d, is shod with iron slightly bent up, and comes to within an inch of the top of the rails. The upper part of the surface of the guard, as shewn in Fig. 2, is covered with wood, and the lower part with an iron-grating. The apparatus af- fords a complete protection to the wheels of the engine. -5 •*0 ■si ■' lliUJlllllllll B ■s I could not obtain satisfactory information either as to the particulars of the experinent, or the part of the country in which it was made. A very's engines are^ i believe, a good deal used in the northern parts of the United States, for driving small mills. They are generally of from 6 to 12 horses power. In New York I saw three of them at work, one in the Astor Hotel, which was employed to pump water, grind coffee, &c. one in a saw-mill in Attorney Street, and the third working a printing press ; these were the only engines constructed on the rotatory principle, which I saw in actual use in the country. ( 05 3 4 PLATE Iir. LocomoLwe Eru/ine luudon tJie WttsluJufWn uiul BuJturwre Rwluuy. (JomUwJed r'or die. ty>rnbiistioii of AutJirudU Coal. \ ' StirfmonS SketrJi oi'the Oyd Erit/uu-m/u^ vfNotfh Amcnai. Jiinwx .^jiJtrms.Ddt PliblishcJ I'vJolm Weale. S&. Bigk Holbom. /X'uS. AUmM.S,ulf' ''*V»mmimmtf»'mf^m^ RAILWAYS. 2G1 I experienced the good eflPects of it upon one occasion on the Camden and Amboy Railway. The train in which I travelled, while moving with considerable ra- pidity, came in contact with a large waggon loaded with firewood, which was literally shivered to atoms by the concussion. The fragments of the broken waggon, and the wood with which it was loaded, were distributed on each side of the railway, but the guard prevented any part of them from falling before the engine-wheels, and thus obviated what might in that case have proved a very serious accident. This appa- ratus might be introduced with much advantage on the railways in this country, on which accidents, at- tended with the loss of several lives, have happened from similar causes. The fuel used on most of the railways is wood, but the sparks vomited out by the chimney are a source of constant annoyance to the passengers, and occa- sionally set fire to the wooden bridges on the line and the houses in the neighbourhood. Anthracite coal, as formeriy noticed, has been tried, but the same diffi- culties which attend its use in steam-boat furnaces are experienced to an equal extent in locomotive engines. Plate XII. is a drawing of a locomotive carriage used on the Baltimore and Washington Railway, construct- ed by Gillingham and Winans at Baltimore, which is adapted to the use of anthracite coal. It has vertical cylinders, with a vertical tubular boiler, and weighs about eight tons. I ti,v .IdmM.S.vlf 262 IIAII.WAYS. In situations where the summit level of a railway cannot be attained by an ascent sufficiently gentle for the employment of locomotive engines, or where the formation of such inclinations, though perfectly prac- ticable, would be attended with an unreasonably large outlay, transit h generally effected by means of in- clined planes, worked by stationary engines. This system has been introduced on the Portage Railway over the Alleghany Mountains in America, on a more extensive scale than in any other part of the world. The Portage, or Alleghany Railway, forms one of the links of the great Pennsylvania canal and railroad com- munication from Philadelphia to Pittsburg, — a work of so difficult and vast a nature, and so peculiar, both as regards its situation and details, that it cannot fail to be interesting to every engineer, and I shall, there- fore, state at soiiie length the facts which I have been able to collect regarding it. This communication consists of four great divisions, the Columbia Railroad, the Eastern Division of the Pennsylvania Canal, the Portage or Alleghany Rail- road, and the Western Division of the Pennsylvania Canal. These works form a continuous line of com- munication from Philadelphia on the Schuylkill to Pittsburg on the Ohio, a distance of no less than 395 miles. Commencing at Philadelphia, ihe first Division of this stupendous work is the Philadelphia and Colum- bia Railroad, which was opened in the year 1834. It -— '^^Oli ^i^iii. MP* RAILWAYS. 263 is eiglity-two miles in length, and was executed at a cost of about L.666,025, being at the rate of L.8122 per mile. There are several viaducts of considerable extent on this railway, and two inclined planes work- ed by stationary engines. One of these inclined planes is at the Philadelphia end of the line. It rises at the rate of one in 14.6 for 2714 feet, overcoming an elevation of 185 feet. The other plane which is at Columbia rises at the rate of one in 21.2 for a dis- tance of 1.914 feet, and overcomes an elevation of 90 feet. A very large sum is incurred in upholding the inclined planes, and surveys have lately been made with a view to avoid them. The cost of maintaining the stationary power, and superintendence of the Phi- ladelphia inclined plane, is said to be about L.SOOO per annum, and that of the Columbia plane about L.3498 per annum. Locomotive engines are used between the tops of the inclined planes. The steepest gradient on that part of the line is at the rate of one in 117 ; but the curves are numerous, and many of them very sharp, the minimum radius being so smaU as 350 feet. This line of railway was surveyed and laid out before the application of locomotive power to railway conveyance had attained its present ad- vanced state,— at a period when sharp curves and steep gradients were not considered so detrimental to the success of railways as experience has since shewn them to be. The passenger carriages on the Columbia Railroad 264 RAILWAYS. are extremely large and commodious. They are seat- ed for sixty passengers, and are made so high in the roof, that the tallest person may stand upright in them without inconvenience. There is a passage between the seats, extending from end to end, with a door at both extremities ; and the coupling of the carriages is so ar- ranged, that the passengers may walk from end to end of a whole train without obstruction. In winter they are heated by stoves. The body of each of these car- riages measures from fifty to si>. 'y feet in length, and is supported on two four-wheeled trucks, furnished with friction-rollers, and moving on a vertical pivot, in the manner formerly alluded to in describing the con- struction of the locomotive engines. The flooring of the carriages is laid on longitudinal beams of wood, strengthened with suspension-rods of iron. At the termination of the railway at Columbia, is the commencement of the Eastern Division of the Pennsylvania Canal, which extends to Hollidaysburg, a town situate at the foot of the Alleghany Moun- tains. This canal is rather more than 172 miles in length, and was executed at an expense of L.91 8,829, being at the rate of L.5342 per mile. There are 33 aqueducts, and 111 locks on the line, and the whole height of lockage is 685.8 feet. A considerable part of this canal is slackwater na\igation, formed by dam- ming the streams of the Juniata, and Susquehanna. The canal crosses the Susquehanna at its junction with the Juniata, at which point it attains a considerable RAILWAYS. 206 breadth. A dam has been erected in the Susque- hanna at this place, and the boats are dragged across the river by horses, which walk on a tow-path attached to the outside of a wooden bridge, at a level of about thirty feet above the surface of the water. I regret that I passed through this part of the canal after sunset, and had only a very superficial view of the works at this place, which are of an extensive and curious nature. ^ HoUidaysburg is the western termination of the Eastern Division of the Pennsylvania Canal. The town stands at the base of the Alleghany Mountains, which extend in a south-westerly direction, from New Brunswick, to the State of Alabama, a distance of up- wards of 1100 miles, presenting a formidable barrier to communication between the eastern and western parts of the United States. The breadth of the Alleghany range varies from a hundred to a hun- dred and fifty miles, but the peaks of the mountains do not attain a greater height than 4000 feet above the medium level of the sea. They rise with a gentle slope, and are thickly wooded to their summits. " The Alleghany Mountains present what must be considered their scarp or steepest side to the east, where granite, gneiss, and other primitive rocks are seen. Upon these repose first, a thin formation of transition rocks dipping to the westward, and next a series of secondary rocks, including a very extensive coal formation."* The National Road, which has * Encyclopaedia Brit., article America. Hi 266 KAILWAYS. already been noticed, was the first line of communica- tion formed by the Americans over this range ; and in the year 1831, an Act was passed for connecting the Eastern and Western Divisions of the Pennsylvania Canal by means of a railroad. This important and arduous work, which cost about L. 5*26,871, was commenced within the same year in which the Act for its construction was granted, and the first train passed over it on the 26th of November 1833, but it was not till the year 1835, that both the tracks were completed, and the railway came into full ope- ration. The railway crosses the mountains by a pass called ** Blair's Gap," where it attains its summit level, which is elevated 2326 feet above the mean level of the At- lantic Ocean. Mr Robins'^ n surveyed a line of rail- way from Philipsburg to the river Juniata, which is intended to cross the Alleghany Mountains by the pass called " Emigh's Gap." The summit level of this line is stated, in a report by the directors, to be 292 feet lower than that of the Portage railway. The preliminary operation of clearing a track for the passage of the railway from a hundred to a hun- dred and fifty feet in breadth, through the thick pine forests with which the mountains are clad, was one in which no small difficulties were encountered. This operation, which is called grubbing, is little known in the practice of engineering in this country, and is es- timated by the American engineers, in their various RAILWAYS. 267 railway and canal reports, at from L.40 to L.8() per mile, according to the size and quantity of the tim- ber to be removed ; an estimate which, from the ap- pearance of American forests, I should think must in many instances be much too low. The timber re- moved from the line of the Alleghany railway was chiefly spruce and hemlock pine' of very large growth. I passed over the Alleghany Moiintains en the 11th of May, at which time the trees were thickly covered with foliage, and formed a wall on each side of the railway, which completely intercepted the view of the surrounding country during the greater part of the journey. An extensive view was occasionally obtained from the tops of the inclined planes, when nothing but a dense black forest was visible, stretching in all direc- tions as far as the eye could reach. The line is laid with a double track, or four single lines of rails, and is twenty-five feet in breadth. For a considerable distance the railway is formed by side- cutting along steep sloping ground, composed of clay-slate, bituminous coal and clay, part of the breadth of the road being obtained by cutting into the hill, and part by raising embankments protected by retaining walls of masonry. The railway is con- sequently liable to be deluged, or even entirely swept away, by mountain torrents, and the thorough drain- age of its surface has been attended with great ex- pense and difficulty. The retaining walls by which the embankments are supported, are in some places r ! 268 RAILWAYS. not less than a hundred feet in height ; they are built of dry-stone masonry, and have a batter of about one- half to one, or six inches horizontal to twelve inches perpendicular. There are no parapet or fence walls on the railway, and on many parts of the line, espe- cially at the tops of several of the inclined planes, the trains pass within three feet of precipitous rocky faces, several hundred feet high, from which the large trees growing in the ravines below, almost resemble brushwood. One hundred and fifty-three drains and culverts, and four viaducts, have been built on the rail- way. One of the viaducts crosses the river Conemaugh at an elevation of seventy feet above the surface of the water. There is also a tunnel on the line 900 feet in length, twenty feet in breadth, and nineteen feet in height. The inclined planes are, however, the most remark- able works which occur on this line. The railway extends from Hollidaysburg on the eastern base, to Johnstown on the western base of the Alleghany Mountains, a distance of thirty-six miles ; and the total rise and fall on the whole length of the line is 2571.19 feet. Of this height, 2007.02 feet are over- come by means of ten inclined planes, and 504.17 feet by the slight inclinations given to the parts of the railway which extend between these planes. The distance from Hollidaysburg to the summit-level is abouf; ten miles, and the height is 1398.31 feet. The distance from Johnstown to the same point is about RAILWAYS. 209 twenty-six miles, and the height 1172.88 feet. The height of the summit-Ievel of the railway above the mean level of the Atlantic is 2326 feet. The following arc the lengths, gradients, and ele- vations overcome by the several inclined planes, five of which are placed on each side of the summit- level : — No of Plane. Length In Feet. 1G07.74 Gradient. Plane No. 1. One in 10.71 2. 1760.43 ... 13.29 3. 1480.25 ... 11.34 4. 2196.94 ... 11.68 5. 2628.60 ... 13.03 0. 2713.85 ... 10.18 7. 2665.01 ... 10.19 a 3116.92 ... 10.13 9. 2720.80 ... 14.36 ... 10. 2296.61 ... 12.71 "eight overcome. 160 132.40 130.50 187.86 201.64 266. >0 260. 9 307. > 189.60 180.62 feet. The following table shews the length of each sec tion of the railway between the inclined planes, and the elevation overcome on it : \i From Johnstown to foot of plane No. 1 — head of plane No. 1 to foot of plane No — do. No. 2 to dof No — do. No. 3 to do. No. — do. No. 4 to do. No. ~ f * r , No. 5 to head of plane No. — foot of plane No. 6 to head of plane No. — do. No. 7 to do. No. — ^o- No. 8 to do. No. — do. No. 9 to do. No — do. No. 10 to Hollidaysburg, 2, .3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, Length | In miles. 4.13 13.06 1.43 1.90 2.56 1.62 0.15 0.61 1.18 1.70 3.72 Gradient. 1 in 214.92 — 363.73 — 477.87 — 533.61 — 523.90 — 449.24 level — 596.44 — 519.20 — 303.44 — 133.88 Height overcome. 10J.46 189.58 15.80 18.80 25.80 19.04 5.40 12.C0 29.58 146.71 I 270 KAIL WAYS. M The machinery by which the inclined planes are worked consists of an endless rope passing round ho- rizontal grooved wheels placed at the head and foot of the planes, which arc furnished with a powerful break for retarding the descent of the trains. The ropes were originally made 7^ inches in circumference, but they have lately been increased to 8 inches, to prevent a tendency which they formerly had to slip in the grooved wheels, occasioned by their circumference be- ing too small for the size of the groove or hollow in the wheel. Two stationary engines of twenty-five horses' power each are placed at the head of the inclined planes, one of which is in constant use in giving mo- tion to the Horizontal wheels round which the rope moves while the trains are passing the inclined ;j,ianies. Two engines have been placed at each station, that the traffic of the railway may not be stopped should any accident occur to the machinery of that which is in operation ; and they are used alternately for a week at a time. Water for supplying the boilers has been conveyed at a great expense to many of the stations in wooden pipes upwards of a mile in length. The planes are laid with a double track of rails, and an ascending and a descending train are always at- tached to the rope at the same time. Ma', -^vr.eri- ments have been made to procure an efficJi.nt t-Mety car to prevent the trains from running to the toot of the inclined plane, in the event of the fixtures by which they are attached to the endless rope giving HAILWAYS. 271 way. Several of these safety-cars are in use, and are found to be a great security. The trains are attached to the endless rope simply by two ropes of smaller size made fast to the couplings of the first and last wag- gons of the train, and to the endless rope by a hitch or knot, formed so as to prpvent it from slipping. Locomotive engines are used on the parts of the road between the inclined planes. The following extract from the Report of the Penn- sylvania Canal Commissioners for 18.30, affords the best proof of the traffic which the road is capable of sustaining. " The Portage Railway, however complicated in its operations, and limited in cajiacity by inclined plane-s as canals are by locks, is nevertheless adequate to the transaction of a vast amount of business. Occupying as it does, a nearly central position on the main line between Columbia and Pittsburg, the capacity of the planes ought to be equal to that of the canal locks on those Divisions. Many suppose the planes fall very far short of that limit, and that their full capacity is nearly reached. " Jt is, however, due to our commercial interest and the public at large, to state that the maximum of that limit is very far from being attained. The length of the longest plane is about 3000 feet ; the time occu- pied in moving up or down it is five minutes ; the time occupied in attaching is two and a half mi- nutes, making seven and a half minutes, or eight 272 RAILWAYS. 1 1''.' drafts per hour of three loaded cars, carrying three tons each, making twenty-four cars, or seventy-two tons per hour. " It will be observed by th^Report of the Superin- tendent, that the number of cars weighed a'l oUidays- burg and transported from east to west, from April 1st to October 31st, is 14,300, making a transit of a number not exceeding a hundred per day ; but, in- stead of this number, when the trade demands it, twenty-four cars can be passed up and the same num- ber down the longest plane in each hour, making two hundred and eighty-eight cars in the day of twelve hours, or five hundred and seventy- six in one direction in twenty-four hours; this can be accomplished by using the road day and night, by means of a double set . f hands. This is the true limit of the capacity of the road." From the same report it appears, that from the 1st of April to the 31st of October, the time during which the railway was open in the year 1836, 19,171 pas- sengers were conveyed along the line ; and the follow- ing is a statement of the merchandise weighed at the weigh-scales at HoUidaysburg during the same pe- riod, amounting to 37,081 tons, conveyed in 14,300 waggons. ■y» ^»i)W'u i jii < .iwu:' ' ''i '»?>-'^''.-' ■••>•'« Ji i « i w ii .. i«»« RAILWAYS. 273 Month I Merchandise. iron. 1 Coal. Lumber. Numbfcr of Cars. April, May, Juue, July, August, Sept. October, 1 7,192,310 13,262,218 6,146,415 4,724,830 8,124,370 7,132,346 6,899,050 1,863,170 1,654,495 3,389,160 1,843,760 2,076,820 2,063,646 1,938,710 673,060 2,336,390 2,384,735 1,019,070 2,094,300 3,645,660 2,899,730 315,436 258,940 367,045 63,310 347,960 86,620 260,140 1,323 3,208 1,947 1,335 2,183 2,.S24 1,!»80 1 61,481,538 14,829,760 15,061,945 1,699,440 14,300 The travelling on this railway is very slow. The train by which I was conveyed left Hollidaysburg at nine in the morning, reached the summit at twelve, where it stopped an hour for dinner, and arrived at Johnstown at five in the evening, seven hours having been occupied in travelling thirty-six miles, being only at the rate of about five miles an hour. Much time is lost in ascending and descending the inclined planes, and an hour is generally spent for dinner at an inn on the summit, which is the only house unconnected with the works which is met with on the whole journey. The fourth division of this grand work is the West- em Division of the Pennsylvania Canal, which extends from the termination of the Portage Railway at Johns- town to Pittsburg. It has 64 locks, 16 aqueducts, 04 culverts, 152 bridges, and a tunnel upwards of 1000 feet in length. This canal traverses the valleys of the Conemaugh, Kiskiminetas, and Alleghany Rivers, measures 105 miles in length, and cost L.5G0,000, being at the rate of L.5333 per mile. 274 RAILWAYS. The whole distance of the Pennsvlvania canal and railroad communication, extending from Philadelphia -to Pittshurg, is 396 miles. I travelled this distance in ninety-one hours, exclusively of the time lost in stopping at Columbia, Harrisburg, and other places of interest on the route. The average rate of travelling was therefore 4.34 miles per hour. One hundred and eighteen miles of tiiis extraordinary journey were per- formed on railroads, and the remaining 277 miles on canals. The charge made for each passenger conveyed the whole distance was L.3, being at the rate of nearly 2d. per mile. There is only one railway in the British dominions in North America. It extends from St John's on Lake Champlain to the vUlage of La Prairie on the St Lawrence, and was made by a company of private individuals, called the Champlain and St Lawrence Railroad Company, who obtained their act of Parlia- ment in 1 832. Tlie railwj^sjixjteen.j|)il&s in length, and consists of plate-raUs laid on wooden sleepers. There are no works of importance connected with it, as the line passes thro-^gh an extensive prairie of low lying level land very favourable for its construction. Two locomotive engines are used on the railway, one of which was made in England and the other in the United States. ^gjKgES RAILWAYS. 276 TABLE of the Principal Railways in operation in the United States in 1837. Name. Coune. Bangor and Orono, Quincy, Boston and Lowell, Boston and Providence, Dedham Bianch, . Boston and Worcester, Andover and Wilmington, Taunton Branch, . Andover and Haverhill, Providence & Stonington, Mohawk and Hudson, Saratoga & Schenectady, Rochester, Ithica and Oswego, Rensselaer and Saratoga, Utica and Schenectady, Buffalo and Niagara, Haerlem, Lockport and Niagara, Brooklyn and Jamaica, Camden and Amboy, . Paterson, New Jersey, . Columbia, Alleghany, Mauch Chunk, Room Run, . Mount Carbon, Schuylkill Valley, Schuylkill, . MiUCreelJ, . Minehill ond Schuylkill, Pme-grove, . Little Schuylkill, . Lackawaxen, When opened. Maim. From Bangor to Orona, Mil88ACHU8BTTS. {Quincy Quarries to Neponset ] River, .... J Boston to Lowell, Boston to Providence, . / Boston and Providence Rail- 1 ( road to Dedham, . j Boston to Worcester, . /Andover to the Boston andl I Lowell Railroad, . j f Boston and Providence Rail- \ I road and Taunton, / Andover to Haverhill, . Providence to Stonington, New York. f Between the Rivers Mohawk ) I and Hudson, . . / Saratoga to Schenectady, Rochester to Carthage, Ithica to OswegOj . Troy to Ballston, . Utica to Schenectady, Buffalo to Niagara Palls, New York to Haerlem, Lockport to Niagara Falls, Brooklyn to Jamaica, . Nbw .rBRSXY. Camden to Amboy, Paterson to Jersey, Jersey City to New Brunswick. Pennsylvania. Philadelphia to Columbia, . j Hollidaysburg to Johnstown, 1 I , over the Alleghanv Mts. / /Mauch Chunk to the Coal-1 I mines, . . . . j Mauch Chunk to Coal-mines, Mount Carbon to Coal-mines, /Port Carbon to Tuscarora, ) I with numerous branches, J Port Carbon to Mill c'reekj . Length in Mile*. Pine-grove to Coal-mines, Port Clinton to Tamaqua, / Lackawaxen Canal to the I River Lackawaxen, Carry forward. ■} 1886 1827 1835 1835 1885 1835 1836 1836 1837 1837 1832 1882 1833 1834 1835 1836 1837 1837 1837 1837 1832 1834 1836 1828 1830 1831 10 26 41 2 44 7i 11 10 47 Whol* length In each Sute. 10 16 22 3 29 2U 77 21 7 24 12 \92i 61 m 31 82 36 5 H 30 13 7 20 4 23 16i 2a')i 108^ 249i He^ 276 RAILWAYS. Nunc. Courae. When opened. Length in MllCf. Whole length in each Sute. Westchester, . Philadelphie and Trenton, Philadelphia&Norristown, Central Railway, . Newcastle & Frenclitown, Baltimore and Ohio, . Winchester, . Baltimore & Port- Deposit, Bftltimore & Washington, Baltimore & Susquehanna, Chesterfield, . Petersburg an4 Roanoke, Winchester and Potomac, Portsmouth and Roanoke, Richmond, Fredricks- \ burg, and Potomac, J Manchester, . S, Carolina Railroad, . Alatamaba & Brunswick, Tuscumbia and Decatur, Pontchartrain, Carolton, . , Lexington and Ohio, Brought forward, PxNNSYLVANiA Continued. Westchester to Columbia ) Railroad, . . . . j Philadelphia to Trenton, Philadelphia to Norristown, . Pottsvillc to Danville, . Dblawarb. Newcastle to Fienchtown, . Maryland. f Completed to Harper's Ferry, \ X with branches, . . . ) Harper's Ferry to Winchester, Baltimore to Port-Deposit, Baltimore to Washington, . Baltimore to York, Virginia. r Richmond to Chesterfield } I Coal-mines, . . , | f Petersburg to Blakely on the\ \ Roanoke, . . . .J Winchester to Harper's Ferry, Portsmouth to Weldon, Richmond to Fredricksburg, Richmond to Coal-mines, . South Carolina. f Charleston to Hamburg on \ i the Savannah, . . . j Uroroia. Alatamaba to Brunswick, Alabama. Mussel-Shoals, Tenessee River, Louisiana. f New Orleans to Lake Pont- > \ chartrain, , . . .J New Orleans to Carolton, . Kkntuckv. Lexington to Frankfort, Total length in miles. • 1832 1833 1837 1832 1835 1836 1837 1833 1831 2494 9 26i 19 61 J 546) 355i 16 249J 260i 136 12 46 II 29 16 86 30 34i 40 594 13 59 30 77i 58 13 136 12 46 5 6 29 1652^ RAILWAYS. 277 'ngth in llM. Whole length In each Sutft 49^ 546) 9 26i 19 61 J 355i 16 16 86 30 34i 40 59i 249J IS £9 30 77i 58 13 250i 136 136 12 12 46 46 5 6 )l 29 29 1652^ L.«T OK THE PK.NCIPA. RaILWAV WoBKS NOW ,N PB0OKK88 IN XHB United States. Namb. Nashua and Lowell, Eastern Railroad, Worcester and Norwich, Western Railv/ay, Hartford and Newhaven, Auburn and Syracuse, Catskill and Cfanajoharie, Hudson and Berkshire, Long Island, New York and Erie, . Saratoga and Washington, Tonawanta, . Elisabethtown &. BelviJere, Burlington & Mount Holly, Morris and Essex, Philadelphia and Reading, Oxford, . Philadelphia and Baltimore. Tioga, .... Greensvill and Roanoke, Augusta and Athens, . Charleston and Cincinnatti, Macon and Forsyth, Central Railroad, . Montgomery and Chatta- \ hoochee, . . . / Mississippi Railroad, . Frankfort and Louisville, Bowling Green & Barren 1 River, ... J Mud River and Lake Erie, Sandusky and Monroeville, Detroit and St .Joseph, . Coune. Nkw Hampshiri. Nashua to Lowell, Massachusitts. Boston to Portsmouth, Worcester to Norwich, Worcester to Springfield, . CONNBCTICUT. Hartford to Newhaven, New York. Auburn to Syracuse, Catskill to Canajoharie, Hudson to the Boundary of Massachusetts, .Jamaica to Greenport, . New York to Lake Erie, Saratoga to Whitehall, Rochester to Attica, . . ' " New Jbrsry. Elisabethtown to Belvidere, Burlington to Mount Holly, Morristown to Newark, Pennsylvania. Philadelphia to Reading, Columbia Railroad to Fort Deposit. .' Philadelphia to Baltimore, . . Chemung (anal to Tioga Coal-Mine^ ' ViRorNiA. S. Carolina. Augusta to Athens, .... Charleston to Cincinnati, . . ', Georgia. Macon to Forsyth, .... Savannah to Alacon, . . . ' Alabama. Length In Mile*. Mississippi. Natchez to Canton, Kentucky. Frankfort to Louisville, Bowling-Green lO Barren River, Ohio. Dayton to Sandusky, Sanduxky to Monroeville, Michioan. Detroit to the River St .foseph, 15 50 58 35 35 26 68 30 50 .505 41 45 60 7 20 40} 38 93 40 18 100 500 25 200 Total lon"th. 90 150 50 H 153 16 20O 3760 ( 278 ) Sin '• ■ S CHAPTER X. WATER-WORKS. Fairmount Water-works at Philadelphiar— Construction of the Dam over the River Schuylkill — Pumps and Water-wheels — Reser- voirs, &c. — The Water-works of Richmond in Virginia — Pitts- burg — Montreal — Cincinnatti — Albany — Troy — Wells for sup- plying New York and Boston — Plan for improving the supply of Water for New York, &c. The Fairmount Water-works are situate on the east bank of the river Schuylkill, about one mile and a half from the town of Philadelphia. They are re-- markable for their efficiency and simplicity, as well as their great extent, being the largest water-works in North America. They were commenced in 1819, and were in a working state in 1822. According to the Water Company's report for the year 1836, the whole sum expended in their execution, up to that date, was L.276,206.* The water of the river Schuylkill, with which the town of Philadelphia is supplied, is raised by water- * Annual Reports of the Watciing Committee to the Select and Common Councils of the City of Philadelphia. e Dam -Reser- -Pitts- r sup- pply of 1 the 3 and re re- ell as ks in L819, tig to t, the that I the ater- 3t and m ^ ^ WATEK-WOUKS. 27» power into four large reservoirs, placed on a rocky eminence near the bank of the river ; and after pass- ing through gravel filter-beds, it is conveyed in two large mains to the outskirts of the town, and thence led into the various streets by smaller mains and branch-pipes. Plate XIII. is a ground plan of the water- works, including part of the river Schuylkill and the adjoin- ing country. Letters ahc represent a dam which has been thrown across the river in order to obtain a fall of water for driving the water-wheels. Letter d is the mill-race, e e the buildings in which the water-wheels and force-pumps are placed, and^^X/ are the filters and reservoirs for the reception of the water. The erection of the dam across the river was the first and most arduous part of this work. It measures about sixteen hundred feet in length from bank to bank, and creates a stagnation in the flow of the stream, which extends about six miles up the river. The greatest depth of water in the line of the dam at low water of spring tides is twenty-four feet, and the rise of tide is six feet. From c to * the bottom of the river consists of rock covered with a deposit of mud about eleven feet in depth, and from * to « the bottom is entirely composed of bare rock, part of which, at the western side of the river, is ex- posed during low water, as shewn in the plate. The line of the dam forms an angle of about 45 degrees with the direction of the stream. In this way a large 280 WATKR-VVOUKS. overfall :s formed for the water, and its perpendicular rise above the top of the dam. when the river is in a flooded state, is not so great as it would have betn had the dam been placetl at right angles to the stream. By adopting this direction the strength of the struc- ture is also considerably increased, for the mass of the dam opposed to any given section of the stream is greater directly as the cosine, or inverselv. as the sine of the angle formed by the line of the dam and the direction of the stream inpinging on it. The part of the dam which was first formed is that which is founded on the mud bottom extending from c to A. It consists of a large mound composed of rubble stones and earth thrown into the river It ^measures 270 feet in length. 150 feet in breadth at the ^, and 12 feet at the top. and its upper slope or face, which IS exposed to the wash of the river, is cased with rough pitching formed of large stones. The termina- tion of the dam at the point b, is protected by a cut- stone pier, measur-ng twenty-eight feet by twenty- three feet, which is founded on rock, and built in wa- ter twenty-eight feet in depth. The part extending from A to « is the overfall dam It measures 1204 feet in length, and is founded on a rocky bottom, which rises pretty regularly from b where there is a depth of twenty-four feet during the lowest tides, towards a, where the rock is uncovered at low water. The current of the river being strong, it was found ■ 1 • 1 • w»"m» ■mrn.^wwwT ^iatupp t 1 , f r i -rt- sit. --^4 — ■: -^.iir- % I r <; -.5 1 WATKR-WORK». 281 impossible to form this part of the dam by construct- ing a mound of rubble on the rocky bottom, according to the plan followed in founding the first part of the structure, on a bottom composed of mud. The expe- dient resorted to for retaining the stones on the shelv- ing rock, was extremely ingenious, and has proved very effective. The overfall dam consists of a strong wooden frame- work or crib, which was formed in separate compart- ments, and sunk in small portions in the line of the dam, by filling it with stones. Plate XIV. is a draw- ing of the dam, in which Fig. ] is an elevation of a part of its lower front or face, and Fig. 2 is a cross section. These views shew the wooden frames or cribs of which the dam is composed, and also the rubble- stone hearting which prevents them from floating. The cribs are formed of logs of wood, measuring eighteen by twenty inches, connected together by strong dove- tailing, notched three inches deep, in the manner shewn in the drawing. The size of the wooden frame- work, measured in the direction of the stream, is seventy-two feet, and the separate compartments of which it was formed measured twenty feet in breadth. The part of the dam over which the water flows marked a a, and also the posterior part of it, a h, are covered with planking six inches in thickness. In forming the dam, the cribs were floated one after an- other to the site which they were to occupy, and large stones being thrown into them, they gradually sank, iJ82 WATER-WORKS. until at last they rested on the bottom of the river. The upper parts of the several cribs, or those portions of them which stood above the level of low water, were then firmly connected together, so as to form one con- tinuous frame- work, behind whic ' i a large mass of rub- ble hearting and earth was placed, in the manner shewn in the drawing, to give the whole structure weigiit and stability, and to prevent leakage. This mode of forming dams is very generally prac- tised in America in forming lines of slackwater navi- gation, and has been found to stand remarkably well. The dam just alluded to, at the Fairmount water- works, withstood a great flood which occurred at the breaking up of the ice, on the 21st February 1832, without sustaining the smallest injury. On that oc- casion the water of the Schuylkill flowed over the top of the dam in a solid body no less than eight feet eleven inches in depth. As the ^ rection of the dam impeded the navigation of the river, the Water Com- pany had to compensate the Schuylkill Navigation Company by forming a canal, marked hh m Plate XIII., for the passage of their coal barges. This canal is about 900 feet in length. It has two locks of six feet lift each, and one guard-lock at the upper extremity. The water is admitted into the mill-race d, by three archways at c, which have a water-way sixty-eight feet in breadth, and, when the river is in its ordinary state, admit a body of water six feet in depth. These arch- WATER-WORKS. 283 ways can be shut by means of gates, and the whole of the water can be drawn off from the mill-race, if re- quired, by opening a sluice communicating with the part of the river below the dam. The mill-race, which is excavated in solid rock, was a most laborious and expensive work. It is 419 feet in length, and 140 feet in breadth ; its depth varies from sixteen to sixty feet. From d, the water flowing through the wheel-houses e e, drives the water-wheels, and afterwards makes its escape into the Schuylkill. The wheel-houses have been built of a sufficient size to admit of eight wheels and eight force-pumps being employed to raise the water. In 1837 only six of the wheels and six force- pumps had been put up. The average daily quantity of water raised by each pump during the last year, was 530,000 gallons, and the whole quantity of water distributed from the reservoirs per day, to 19,678 householders, was 3,122,664 gallons. It has been calculated that thirty gallons of water, acting on the wheel, raised one gallon into the reservoir. The water-wheels vary from fifteen to sixteen feet in diameter. They are fifteen feet in breadth, and make thirteen revolutions per minute. The spokes, rims, and buckets are formed of wood, but they revolve on cast-iron axles, weighing five tons each. The working of the wheels is impeded during spring tides, by the water rising upon them ; but it has been found that their motion is not affected until the back-water 284 WATER-WORKS. rises about sixteen inches on the wheel. They are stopped, however, on an average, about sixty-four hours every month from this cause. The pumps are common double-acting force-pumps, having a stroke of six feet, worked by cranks attached to the axles of the paddle-wheels. The height to which the water is forced, is no less than ninety-two feet, and the most substantial work is necessary to in- sure the stability of the pumping apparatus, under the pressure of a column of water of so great a height. A cast-iron main, sixteen inches in diameter, leads from each of the force- pumps to the reservoirs. The communication between the force-pumps and the re- servoirs, can be cut off by a stop-cock, p. ced on the main, so that, when the pumps are not in motion, they can be relieved from the pressure of the co- lumn of water. The shortest main is 284 feet in length. The reservoirs for containing the water are placed at an elevation of 102 feet above the level of low water, and fifty-six feet above the hi«rhest part of the streets of Philadelphia. There are four reservoirs, the aggregate area of which is about six acres. The re- servoirs are founded on an elevated rock, but the water is retained by means of artificial walls and em- bankments. The side walls of the reservoirs are built with stone, behind which there is a backing of clay puddle, two feet in thickness, and the whole is sur- rounded towards the outside, by an embankment of WATER-WORKS. 285 earth, sloping at the rate of one perpendicular to one horizontal, and covered with grass sods. The reser- voirs are paved with bricks, laid with lime-mortar, on a layer of clay-puddle, and well grouted, to prevent leakage. The depth of water in the reservoirs is twelve feet three inches, and when filled, they contain upwards of twenty-two millions of gallons of water. There is a considerable advantage in having four reservoirs. The water, after being discharged from the force-pumps into one of them, passes through all the other reser- voirs, between each of which there is a filter, so that any impurities in the water are extracted during its passage from one cistern to another, and prevented from entering the pipes, which distribute it to the town. The water is conveyed from the reservoirs, and dis- tributed through the town, in 08| miles of cast-iron pipes. About one-half of these pipes was cast in America, and the remainder were imported from this country. The two mains leading from the reservoirs to the town, measure twenty-two inches in diameter. The small mains and pipes which have been laid in the streets, measure from three to twelve inches in diameter. The pipes are formed in the usual manner, and the different lengths are connected by spigot and faucet joints. The average cost of the whole of the pipes and mains laid down, was 7s. l^d. per lineal foot. The very small cost at wliich the town is now sup- Iv 280 WATER-WORKS. plied, is an ample ground for having substituted, even at considerable outlay in the first instance, the system of raising by means of water, instead of steam power ; steam having been used at the Fairmount works pre- vious to the year 1822. The expenditure, including repairs and salaries connected with the works, for dis- tributing a daily supply of 3,122,664 gallons of water, was, in 1836, L.2800. The following information re- garding the details of this most interesting and ejfficient work, are drawn up by Mr Graffe, the superintendent, and printed in the Water Company's annual report for the year 1836 :— - The Reservoir No. 1. was finished in 1815, and contains, ...... The Reservoir No. 2. was finished in 1821, and Gnllors. 3,917,669 Gallons. contains. The Reservoir No. 3. was finished in 1827, and contains, 3,296,434 2,707,296 Containing, The first section of Reservoir No. 4. was finish- ed in 1836, and contains, . . . 3,668,016 The second section of Reservoir No. 4. was fi- nished in 1836, and contains, . . 4,381,322 The third section of Reservoir No. 4. was finish- ed in 1836, and contains, . . . 4,071,260 9,921,388 The Reservoirs contain together. Reservoir No. 1. cost, Reservoir No. 2. cost, Reservoir No. 3. cost, First, second, and third sections of Reservoir No, 4. cost, 67,214.68 Total, . D.133,824.42 12,110,688 22,031,976 D.32, 508.62 9,679.47 24,521.76 ■- *,-.-- .SttM ^"i'.»«!^rmw¥i(?j(>^(«i.>A »* WATER-WORKS. 287 The whole expense of the reservoirs amounted to 133,824 doUars, which is equal to about L.26,765. " The water of the reservoirs covers a surface ex- ceeding six acres. The reservoirs are each 12 feet 3 inches deep, and are elevated above the water in the dam 90 feet perpendicular. " The water flowing from the reservoirs for the sup- ply of the city and districts, per day, at different pe- riods of the year 1836, was as follows :— From February 1st to the 21st, in very cold weather, ... February 21st to March 20th, . ... March 20th to June 3d, . ... June 3d to July 22d, ... July 22d to September 9th, ... September 9th to October 28th, ... October 28th to December 31st, Oallon!). 1,769,800 2,113,267 3,046,120 3,942,643 4,152,917 3,679,800 3,lfi4,114 "The average daily supply, in 1836, was 3,122,664 gallons. The above supply oi water is distributed to 16,678 tenants by private pipes, and to 3000 families by public pumps, making the total number of families supplied 19,678. " The quantity of iron pipes laid for the distribu- tion of the water is as follows : In the city, , . . \ In the district of Spring Gardens, In Southwark, In the Northern Liberties, In Moyamensing, . In Kensington, Miles. 68 m m 2| 3 Together, 98j 288 WATER-WORKS. '•^ The water rents collected for the year 1837 are as follows : — ' In the city, D.67,080.50 Including rents on the Ginird estate, and rents due by H. J. Williams and others at Fairmount, . 1,048.60 In Spring Gardens, 13,674.26 In Southwark, . 10,617.60 In the Northern Liberties, . . . . • 20,009.37 In Moyamensing 1,066.00 In Kensington, 2,146.26 Total, D.106,432.37 Amounthig, in all, to about 106,432 dollars, which is equal to about L.21,286. '*■ The expenses for the water-power works connected with the ap- plicable parts of the former steam-works, were, December 31,1831, D.1,138,323.64 Add the expenses for reservoirs, iron pipes, &c. in 1832, 65,196.58 Do. Do. in 1333, 37,364.06 Do. Do. in 1834, 66,163.36 Do. Do. in 1836, 73,288.38 Do. Do. in 1836, 71,706.61 D.1,461,031.43 From which deduct for the support of working machinery, materials, salaries, &c. 14,000.00 dol- lars per annum for the last five years, . . 70,000.00 Leaves the expenditure for the permanent works, up to 31st December 1836, . . . D.1,381,031.43 The expenditure for permanent works, therefore, amounts to 1,381,031 dollars, which is equal to about L.276,206. The supply of water for the town of Richmond in Virginia, is procured from the James River, in the mmmmmmmmm WATER-WORKS. 289 same manner as at Philadelphia ; but the works are on a much smaller scale. The water is raised 160 feet by two water-wheels into two reservoirs, mea- suring 194 feet in length, 104 feet in breadth, and ten feet eight inches in depth, which are capable of containing upwards of two millions of gallons of water. Before leaving the reservoirs, the water is purified by passing through two gravel filters. The water-wheels are eighteen feet in diameter, and ten feet in breadth, and the fall is ten feet. The barrels of the two force- pumps are nine inches in diameter, and six feet in length of stroke, and, in the ordinary state of work- ing, when only one wheel is in operation, raise about 400,000 gallons of water in twenty-four hours. The cast-iron main which leads from the pumps to the reservoir is eight inches in diameter and about 2400 feet in length. Mr Stein was engineer for the work, which is said to have cost about L.20,000. Pittsburg, on the Ohio in the State of Pennsylva- nia, is supplied with water from the river Alleghany. It is raised by a steam-engine of 84 horses power into a reservoir capable of containing 1,000,000 gallons of water, and elevated II G feet above the level of the river. The main leading from the pumps to the re- servoir is fifteen inches in diameter, and the pump raises l,f^OO,000 gallons in twenty-four hours. Montreal also is supplied in the same manner from the water of the St Lawrence, which is raised by 200 WATER-AVORKS. steam power to an elevated reservoir, and then distri- buted through the town. The following account of the water- works which have lately been established at Cincinnati, on the Ohio in the State of Ohio, is given by Mr Davies the Su- perintendent. " The Cincinnati water-works were constructed in 1820. The water was taken from the Ohio river, by a common force-pump, worked by horse-power, placed upon the bank of the river, sufficiently near low water- mark to be witiiin the usual atmospheric pressure, and thrown from that point to the reservoir, 160 feet above low water-mark, from which it was conveyed to the town in wooden pipes. The town at that time af- forded no inducement for a larger supply of water than could be brought through wooden pipes of three inches and a half in diameter, consequently the works at the river were only calculated to supply a pipe of that size. Only a short time, however, was necessary, to prove the necessity of an increase, and a change from horse power to steam. " The works now consist of two engines, one pro- pelling a double force-pump of ten inches in diameter, and four feet stroke, throwing into the reservoir about 1000 gallons a minute ; the other propelling a pump of twenty inches in diameter, eight feet stroke, and discharging about 1200 gallons per minute. The re- servoirs are built of common limestone ; the walls are from three to six feet thick, and grouted. The water m ■i WATER-MOKKS. 2&1 is conveyed immediately to the town, without being permitted to stand or filter. Iron pipes of eight inches in diameter convey it through the heart of the town, from which it branches in wooden pipes of from one and a half to three and a half inches in diameter. From these it is conveyed into private dwellings in leaden pipes at the expense of the inhabitants, who pay from eight to twelve dollars* per annum, accord- ing to the purposes for which it is used. Each fa- mily, of course, use any quantity they choose, their hydrants communicating freely with the main-pipes. The iron-pipes are made in lengths of nine feet each, and connected together by the spigot and faucet joint run with lead, which occupies a space round the pipe of three-eighths or half an inch in thickness." Albany on the Hudson is principally supplied with water procured in the high ground in the neighbour- hood, and conveyed in a six-inch ^.ipe for a distance of about three miles to a reservoir near the town. Troy, on the eastern or left bank of the Hudson, about fourteen miles above Albany, is also abundantly supplied with good water collected in the high ground in the neighbourhood. The reservoir stands about one-third of a mile from the town, and is seventy feet above the level of the streets. It is capable of con- taining 1 ,900,000 gallons, and the water is conveyed from it to the town in a main twelve inches in diame- \'i * From about L.I, 12s. to L.2, 8s. T 2 202 VVATEH-AVORKS. ter. The works are said to have cost L.23,000. The annual expense of conducting them is L.IOO. The only supply of water which the inhabitants of New York at present enjoy is obtained from wells sunk in different parts of tiie town. The water is raised from these wells by steam-power to elevated reservoirs, and thence distributed in pipes to different parts of the town. Some of the wells in New York belong to the Manhatten Water Company, and some to the corporation. One well, belonging to the cor- poration, is 113 feet in depth. For the purpose of collecting water, there are three horizontal passages leading from the bottom of the well, which measure four feet in width, and six feet in height ; two of them are seventy-five, and the third is one hundred feet in length. This well cost about L. 11,500, and yields 21,000 gallons in twenty-four hours. There are many other wells in the town, some of which are said to produce 120,000 gallons in twenty-four hours. This mode of collecting waicr in subterraneous galle- ries has been successfidly practised in this country, on a great scale, at the water-works of Liverpool, by Mr Grahame, the engineer to the Harrington Water Com- pany. The supply at New York is far from being adequate to the wants of the inhabitants ; and the water in most of the wells being hard and brackish, is not suitable for domestic purposes. New York is built on a flat island, which is nearly surrounded by salt water, so that the method that has WATER- Wok KS. '2y'3 been resorted to for the supply of Philadelphia and most other towns in the United States is altogether impracticable in that situation. Many plans have been proposed, and, among others, that of throwing a dam across the Hudson, so as to exclude the salt water ; but as a free passage, by means of locks, must be preserved for the numerous vessels which navigate the river, the success of sucli a plan seems very doubtful. Many engineers in the United States, of great repu- tation, have made surveys of the country in the neigh- bourhood of New York, in order to devise a plan for the supply of the city with water, and they have pro- posed to effect this object, so important to its inhabi- tants, by conveying the water of the river Croton in a tunnel to New York. The point from which the water is intended to be withdrawn, is about thirty miles distant from the city. The estimate for the entire execution of the work, is upwards of one million Sterling. The situation of Boston is somewhat like that of New York. It is surrounded by the sea, and the supply of good water is far from being sufficient for the inhabitants. Mr Baldwin, civil- engineer, has made a survey and plan for the supply of the town, in which he contemplates bringing water from some springs in the neighbourhood.* * Report on iutrodiicing pure water into tlie City of Boston. Ry Louuuni Baldwin, C. K. Boston, 1836. 294 WATEU-WORKS. At present the town is supplied chiefly from wells. According to Mr Baldwin's report, there are no less than 2767 wells in Boston, thirty-three of which are Artesian. Only seven, however, out of the whole numher, produce soft water ; and of these, two are Artesian. Great diflficulty has heen experienced in forming many of the wells on the peninsula of Boston, in some of which, on tapping the lower strata, the water is said to have risen to seventy-five, or eighty feet above the level of the sea.* The following very interesting remarks regarding two of these wells, are quoted by Mr Storrow in his Treatise on Water-works. " Dr Lathrop gives the following history of a well dug near Boston Neck.f ' Where the ground was opened, the elevation is not more than one foot, or one foot and a half above the sea at high water. The well was made very large. After digging about 22 feet in a body of clay, the workmen prepared for boring. At the depth of 108 or 110 feet the augur was impeded by a hard substance ; this was no sooner broken through and the augur taken out, than the water was forced up with a loud noise, and rose to the top of the well. After the first effort of the long confined elas- tic air was expended, the water subsided about six feet • A Treatise on Water-works. By Charles S. Storrow. Boston, 1886. t Memoirs of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, vol. 3 . WATER- WOUKb. 295 from the surface, and there, remains at all seasons ebb- ing and flowing a little with the tides.' " Dr Lathrop observes, that the proprietors of this well were led to exercise great caution in carrying on the work, by an accident which hid happened in their immediate neighbourhood. ♦ A few years before, an attempt was made to dig a well a few rods (16^ feet) to the east near the sea. Having dug about GO feet in a body of clay without finding water, preparation was made in the usual way for boring ; and, after ; :^8- sing about 40 feet in the same body of clay, the av-^ur was impeded by stone. A few strokes with a drill broke through the slate covering, and the water gush- ed out with such rapidity and force, that the work- men with difficulty were saved from death. The wa- ter rose to the top of the well and ran over for some time. The force was such as to bring up a large quan- tity of fine sand, by which the well was filled up many feet. The workmen left behind all their tools, which were buried in the sand, and all their labour was lost. The body of water which is constantly passing under the immense body of clay, which is found in all the low parts of the peninsula, and which forms the basin of the harbour, must have its source in the interior, and is pushed on with great force from ponds and lakes in the elevated parts of the country. Whenever vent is given to any of those subterranean currents, the wa- ter will rise, if it have opportunity, to the level of its source.' " I, ( 2J.)« ) CHAPTER XL LIGHTHOUSES. Parts of the United States in which Lighthouses have been erected— Great extent of coast under the superintendence of the Light- house Establishment— The uncultivated state of a great part of the country, and the attacks of Indians a bar to the establish- ment of Lights on the coast— Introduction of Sea Lights in Ame- rica—Description of the present establishment— Number of Lightliouses, Floating Lights, and Buoys— Annual Expenditure- Management — Superintendents — Light-Keepers — Supplies of Stores, &c.— Lighting Apparatus— Distinctions of Lights— Com- munication on the subject from Stephen Pleasonton, Esq., Fifth Auditor of the Treasury. The parts of the territory of tlu nited States ou which lights have been erected under the management of the General Liglithouse Establishment, are, First, The eastern coast of the country from Passamaquoddy Bay, the boundary between the American and British dominions, to the State of Texas, in the Gulf of Mexico, a stretch of coast extending to upwards of 3000 miles, exposed to the Atlantic Ocean. Second, Ihe courses of the rivers Mississippi and Oiiio, ex- tending to about 1250 miles. Third, The southern shores of Lakes Ontario, Erie, Huron, and Michigan, including a line of coast of not less than 1200 miles LIGHTHOUSES in extent. In addition to these great outlines, lights have also been placed on some of the smaller rivers and lakes, for the purpose of facilitating their navi- gation. The western coast of the country, which is washed by the Pacific Ocean, is entirely cut off from any com- munication with the inhabitants of the United States by a great tract of uncultivated and unexplored land, stretching from the northeni to the southern extremity, and flanked by the rugged ridges of the Rocky Moun- tains. The United States of America, therefore, are quite unapproachable from the Pacific. The western coast of the country (a great part of which has never been explored), is still far removed from the limits of civilization, and is inhabited only by tribes of wander- ing Indians. The whole extent of coast under the jurisdii "on of the American Lighthouse Establishment embraces the three compartments which have been enumerated, and is not less than 5450 miles, while the coast of Great Britain and Ireland may be stated at 2800 miles, and that of France at 1100 miles. The unin- habited and desolate condition of a large part of the coast proves a great bar to the regular and efficient establishment of lighthouses. This fact has been strikingly exemplified, and its consequences severely felt, in the State of Florida, Avhicli is said to be the most dangerous coast in the United States of North America. The country in this State is almost wholly I! I 298 MGIITHOUSKS. uncultivated. It is still in many places peopled only by remnants of Indian tribes, who have shewn their hostility to the introduction of any thing like civi- lization, by opposing the erection of lighthouses on the coast, and in some places, by burning the light- house towers, and even murdering the keepers. In one instance, a light-keeper on the coast of Flo- rida, after defending himself for a considerable time against an attack made by a body of Indians, was at last forced to take refuge in the balcony of the light- house, where he was shot by the arrows of the assailants. The following extract, taken from a letter addressed by the Fifth Auditor, to the Secretary of the Treasury of the United States, shews the difficulty that is often encountered in transacting the business of the light- house establishment : — " A contract was made in the month of July last, for rebuilding the lighthouse at Cape Florida, and the contractor proceeded to that place with materials and men to execute the work ; but finding that hostile Indians were in the neigh- bourhood, he returned to Boston (a distance of about 1300 miles) without effecting his object. When the contract was made, there was just reason to believe that the Indian war was at an end, and that the work could be done with safety." The fact of a lighthouse system having been ex- tended to the remotest corners of so extensive a coast, under circumstances so inauspicious and unfavourable, is what covUd hardly have been looked for, and is -4^ LIGHTHOUSES. 209 certainly highly creditable to the government of the United States and to the officers of the Lighthouse Establishment. Even the most superficial observer cannot fail to discover that there is a striking contrast between the regulation of that establishment and the efficient and admirable systems pursued by the Light- house Boards of Great Britain and France ; but a candid enquirer will rather be disposed to admire the activity and zeal which have extended the benefit of lighthouses to remote and unhospitable regions, of difficult access, than to wonder at the defects of the system which has been established for the purpose of cai-rying that important object into effect. The period at which lighthouses were first used for facilitating navigation is not correctly known. The Pharos of Alexandria seems to have existed as early as 300 B.C. In England they were in use in the reign of Henry VIIL ; in Scotland in the reign of James VI. ; and in Ireland in the reign of George II. We are perhaps indebted to France for the in- troduction of a more perfect system of management, the Government of that country having first placed the management of the lighthouses under the charge of Engineers. The date at which the first sea light was exhibited on the coast of America is not exactly known ; but the management of the lighthouses appears to have been undertaken by the Government of the United States, and a system for conducting them regularlv 1 #1 ? i1 300 LKJHTHOUSKS. organized in the year 1791, at which period they were only ten in number. These appear to have been erected in the States of Massachusetts, New York, and Virginia, which were the earliest settlements in the country. The whole number of lighthouses, includ- ing harbour lights (which are also under the control of the (xeneral Lighthouse Board), in 1837, was 202. Of these about 172 are situated on the sea coast, and the remaining 30 are on the great lakes and rivers. There are also 2G floating light ships, whicli are moored in the vicinity of particular dangers on the coast, and vary in size from 50 to 225 tons register, according to their position and importance. Their lights are exhibited in the usual manner from lanterns suspended at the mast-heads of the vessels. In addi- tion to the duties connected with the management of the lights, the Board has also the charge of upwards of 600 buoys and beacons placed on different parts of the coast. The total expenditure connected with the light- house establishment of America for the year 1837 was 356,863 dollars, which is equal to about L.71,352. Of this outlay the sum of L.1D,652 was expended in paying the " salaries of principal officers, superinten- dents, and light-keepers ; L. 17,720 in the purchase of oil and other stores for the lights, and in repairing lamps ; L.7000 in supporting the buoys ; L. 13,000 in keeping the light ships in repair, and L. 13,1)80 in repairing lighthouse towers and executing new works. ■Hi ■m MGHTHOL'SES. 301 The business of the Lighthouse Establishment, as has already been noticed, is under the immediate con- trol and management of the (iovemment. The official person to whom the duties of tliis department have been specially assigned, is the Fifth Auditor of the Trea- sury, who superintends the building and maintenance of the various lighthouses, floating-light ships and buoys on the coast, and the general expenditure con- nected with the establishment. He resides at Wash- ington, the seat of Government of the United States, and does not himself visit the lighthouse stations, but conducts the business with the assistance of superin- tendents. This vast stretch of shore is divided into forty-one districts, over each of which a superintend- ent is placed, for the discharge of the coast duty. The person chosei: to fill this office is generally resi- dent in the part of the country where his duty lies. Some of these superintendents have as many as twenty- four lighthouses, while others, in parts of the country where the lights are few in number and widely sepa- rated, have proportionally fewer under their charge. The duty of the superintendent consists in visiting and inspecting the lighthouses of his district, re- porting the repairs required on them, and seeing the same executed, and in receiving from the keepers of the lighthouses quarterly returns of the quantity of the stores expended. These he transmits to the Fifth Auditor of the Treasury. The superintendent also makes an annual report on the general state of the 302 IJGHTHOrSES. lighthouses, and the conduct of the light-keepers un- der his charge. This officer is paid for his services at the rate of two and a half per cent, on the amount of his annual disbursements, a mode of remuneration which appears to be of very questionable propriety. One keeper only is appointed to the charge of each lighthouse, who, as before noticed, makes a quar- terly return to the superintendent of the quantity of stores expended, but keeps no journal of the times at which the lamps are lighted and extinguished, and no register of the weather. The keepers' salaries range from L.50 to L.120 per annum, according to the fa- vourable or unfavourable nature of the situation at which they are placed, and keepers of the floating- light ships are paid at nearly the same rate. The desolate and uninhabited state of many of the situa- tions in which the lights are placed, as well as the fact of there being only one responsible person at each sta- tion, render it difficult to conceive how the duties of the light-keepers can be efficiently performed; while the imperfect nature of their periodical reports, and the remote intervals at which they are made, affiard very little security for, or at all events satisfactory evi- dence of, the fulfilment of the important duties com- mitted to them, on the faithful discharge of which, the lives and fortunes of many individuals must con- stantly depend. The furnishing of oil and other stores, and the re- pairs necessary for keeping the lamps in a proper work- -:5S;-:^: ■H MGHTHOUSES. 303 ing state, as well as the delivery of the supplies at the different stations, are let at a gross sum hy contract for five years at a time. In 1837, this contract was executed at 35 dollars 87 cents, or L.7:9:5 per lamp per annum, a sum which, taking into considera- tion the actual value of the oil and supplies consumed, and the difficulty and expense of delivering them, seems quite inadequate. The contractor is also ex- pressly bound, on landing the supplies, to examine the state of the several lighthouses, and send an an- nual report to the Fifth Auditor of the Treasury, spe- cifying the repairs on the light-towers or dwelling, houses, which he considers necessary for maintaining the efficiency of the lights. This arrangement is un- derstood to have been adopted as a check on the con- duct of the superintendents. The apparatus used in illuminating the American lighthouses is in general constructed on the catoptric principle. The reflectors in use are made of polished tin-plate, and measure from nine to eighteen inches in diameter. They are inferior to those employed on the coasts of Great Britain and France, which are of much larger dimensions, and made of copper plated with silver, and highly polished. The common argand lamp, similar to that in use in British lighthouses, but of a smaller size, is employed in illuminating the reflec- tors. Spermaceti oil, the produce of their South Sea fishery, is burned in all the lighthouses. Some expe- riments have lately been made with oil produced from I! 304 LIGHTHOUSES. cotton-seed, which have been considered satisfactory, and it is expected that ere long this description of oil will be generally adopted for lighting the American coast. Common crown-glass is used for the windows of the lighthouses, while in this country polished plate-glass, which, from its greater strength and purity, is much better suited for the purpose, is uni- versally employed. The characteristics used in the American lighthouses, for the distinction of one light from another, are the stationary, revolving, red, and double lights. On the British coasts, seven differ- ent distinctive lights have been introduced, with much success, in those lighthouses which are illumi- nated on the catoptric principle. These seven distinctions are called sfationarf/, re- volving white, revolving red and white, flashings in- termittent, double, and hading lights. The first ex- hibits a steady and uniform appearance, and the re- flectors used for it are of smaller dimensions than those employed in lights which revolve. This is ne- cessary in order to permit them to be ranged round the circular frame, with their axes inclined at such an angle as shall enable them to illuminate every point of the horizon. The revolving light is produced by the motion of a frame with three or four faces, having reflectors placed on each of its sides ; and as the revo- lution exhibits a light gradually increasing to full strength, and in the same gra(iual manner diminish- ing to total darkness, its appearance is extremely LIGHTHOUSES. 305 niarked and obvious to the mariner. The alternation of red and wliite lights, is produced by the revolution of a frame, whose alternate faces present red and white lights. The flashing light is produced in the same manner as the revolving light, but owing to a different construction of the frame, and the greater quickness of the revolution, a totally different and very splendid distinction is obtained. The lightest and darkest periods being but momentary, this light is characte- rized by a rapid succession of bright flashes, from which it gets its name. The intermittent light is distin- guished by its bursting suddenly on the view, and continuing steady for a short time, after which it is suddenly eclipsed for half a minute. This striking ap- pearance is produced by the perpendicular motion of circular shades in front of the reflectors, by which the light is alternately hid and displayed. The double light consists of two lights exhibited from the same tower, the one raised above the other. The leading lights are exhibited from two towers, one higher than the other, and when seen in one line, they fonn a di- rection for the course of shipping. To those acquainted with the British lighthouse system, the remarks that have been made regarding the general management and the details of the Ame- rican lighthouses, will shew that much may still be done in improving this important class of public works in that country ; and it is to be hoped that when the hour of improvement arrives, a rapid stride will be u uoo MCIHTIIOITNI'.M. made, no on nt once to bring into ibrco all the boNt at- tAininents which have bocn ollectctl in Europe. The (lioi>tric instninuMitH of Frcsnci iiro now gonornlly ac- knowUnlgiMl, under certain circum8tanc<>8, to increase the power, while they lessen the expense of illumina- ting lighthouses, and have lately been intro rwoivr the following coinmuiiimtioii tVoin Stoplicii IM(-iiN()iit()n, Kmj., in atiNwor to N(»ine iiiquirioN miuU* by inc rolutivo to the rovonuu by wliicb tbo Aniericun ligiitN lire Hupportcd. " Trfimrij lhimHmi>nl, Fifth AudHin-'i (tfiiv, Miiji I. 111:111, " Deah Hir, — I hml tlic honour to receive your letter of the 2Jieration of moving houses, which is often practised in New York. Most of the old streets in that town are very narrow and tortuous, and in the course of improving them, many of the old houses were found to in- terfere with the new lines of street, but instead of taking down and rebuilding those tenements, the in- genious inhabitants have recourse to the more simple method of moving the whole en masse, to a new site. This was, at first, only attempted with houses formed of wooden framework, but now the same li- berty is taken with those built of brick. I saw the operation put in practice on a brick house, at No. 130 (-'hatham Street, New York, and was so much inte- 310 Hr)USE-MOVING. rested in the success of this hazardous process, that I delayed my departure from New York for three days, in order to see it completed. The house measured fifty feet in depth by twenty-five feet in breadth of front, and consisted of four storeys, two above the ground- floor, and a garret-storey at the top, the whole being surmounted by large chimney stacks. This house, in order to make room for a new line of street, was moved back fourteen feet six inches frotn the line which the front wall of the house originally occupied, and as the operation was curious, and exceedingly in- teresting in an engineering point of view, I shall en- deavour, by referring to the accompanying diagrams, to describe the manner in which it was accomplished. Fig. 1 is an elevation of the gable, and Fig. 2 an elevation of the front of the house. Fig.l. ■■w HOUSE-MOVING. ail hHy.;i. The first step in the process is to prepare a foun- dation for the walls on the new site which the house is intended to occupy. A trench is next cut round the outside of the house, and the lower floor being removed, the earth is excavated from the interior, so as to expose or lay bare the foundiitions of the side walls and gables, which are represented in the cuts by a. Horizontal beams of wood, marked 5, mea- suring about twelve inches square, are then arranged at distances of three feet apart from centre to centre, at right angles to the direction in which the house is to be moved, their ends being allowed to project about three feet each beyond the building, through holes drifted in the gables for their reception, as shewn futhh in Fig. 2. A series of powerful screw-jacks, marked c, 'Jll- 31^ HOUSE-MOVING. amounting perhaps to fifty in number, are then placed under the projecting ends of the horizontal beams, b. The screw-jacks, as shewn in the diagrams, generally rest on a beam of wood bedded in the ground, but in some cases they are placed on a foundation of stone. They are carefully ranced or fixed, so as to prevent them from kanting or twisting on the application of pressure. When the process has reached this stage, the screw- jacks ary worked so as to bring the upper sides of the horizontal beams h, into close contact with the gables, through which they pass, and the intermediate por- tions of the walls, between the several points of sup- port, being carefully removed, the whole pressure of the gables is brought to bear on the horizontal beams by which rest on the screw-jacks c. Two strong beams, which are represented by letters dein the diagrams, are placed, one resting above the other, under each gable, (a part of which is removed for their reception) at right angles to the horizontal beams b ; the lower beam e, rests on the old foundation of the house, which is levelled for its reception, and the upper beam d, is firmly fixed, by means of cleats of wood and spikes, to the horizontal beams 5, passing through the house. The lower beams form the road, as it were, on which the upper ones, supporting the house, slide. The lower beams are accordingly extended, as shewn at e, Fig. 1, bymeans of similar beams, resting on a firm foundation, to the new site of the house. After the beams, de, have V ^ .Sf^masvrm KM HOUSE-MOVING. 313 been securely placed close under the horizontal beams, b, the screw-jacks are unscrewed, and the whole weight of the gables is again made to bear on the foundations. Holes, at distances of about three feet apart from centre to centre, are next drifted in the front and back walls of the house, through which logs, marked f, are inserted, in the same way as formerly described in the gables. The ends of these logs project about three feet beyond the faces of the walls, and are sup- ported by cross beams, shewn at^^. Fig. 1, the ends of which, rest upon the beams, d, under the gables. The intermediate portions of the front and back walls, between the supporting beams, being removed in the same manner as the gables, the whole weight of the building rests on the lower beams, d and e, on which the motion is to take place. A very power- ful screw-jack, shewn at h. Fig. 1, is fixed, in a hori- zontal position, to each of the beams, e, on which the house is to move. The ends of the screw-jacks butt against the upper beams, d ; and when they are worked, the upper beams, bearing the whole weight of the house, slide smoothly along on the lower beams, e. The two beams are well greased ; and a groove in the upper, and a corresponding feather on the surface of the lower one, insure a motion in the direction of their length. The length of the screws in the screw-jacks, h, is about two feet ; so that if the house has to be removed to a greater distance than that included in their range, they are unfastened, and [ 814 HOUSE-MOVING. again fixed to the beam, e, when the house is then propelled other two feet. In this way, by prolonging the beams e, and removing the screw-jacks, the house may be moved to an indefinite distance. When the house has been brought directly over the foundation which was prepared for it, and which we shall now suppose to be represented by a in the cuts, the spaces between the beams/and the foundation a, in the front and back walls of the house, are built up, and also the intermediate spaces between the several beamsy: Screw-jacks, as shewn at c and i, are then ranged all round the house under the ends of the pro- jecting beams ; they are now, as formerly, placed on firm foundations, and properly braced, to prevent them from twisting or kanting. These screw-jacks are then all worked, and the weight of the house is transferred to them from the beams d, e, g, which are carefully removed. The space between a a. Fig. 1, and the horizontal beams h, which was occupied by the beams d, e, is now built up, and also the intermediate spaces between the beams h. The screw-jacks c are then slackened one after another, and the beams h with- drawn, the space which each occupied being carefully built up before another screw-jack is removed. The same process is performed with the beams f, and the house then rests on its new foundation a, which, in the case I saw in New York, was fourteen feet six inches from the spot on which the house was built. The operation I have attempted to describe is at- mm HOUSE-MOVING. 316 tended with very great risk, and much caution is ne- cessary to prevent accidents. Its success depends chiefly upon getting a solid and unyielding base for supporting the screw-jacks c i, and for the prolonga- tion of the beam e to the new site which the house is to occupy. It is further of the utmost importance that in working the screws their motion should be simultaneous, which in a range of 40 or 50 screw- jacks is not very easily attained. The operation of drifting the holes through the walls also requires caution, as well as that of removing the intermediate pieces between the beams b andjl which pass through both walls. The space between the beams is only two feet, and the place of the materials removed, is, if ne- cessary, suppUed while the house is in the act of mov- ing, by a block of wood which rests on the beams d. The screw-jacks h, by which the motion is produced, require also to be worked with the greatest caution, as the cracking of the walls would be the inevitable consequence of their advancing unequally. Notwithstanding the great difficulty attending the successful performance of this operation, it is prac- tised in New York without creating the least alarm in the inhabitants of the houses, who, in some cases, do not even remove their furniture while the process is going forward. The lower part of the house which I saw moved was occupied as a carver and gilder's shop ; and on Mr Brown, under whose directions the ope- ration was proceeding, conducting me to the upper 316 HOUSE-MOVING. storey, that lie might convince me that there were no rents in the walls or ceilings of the rooms, I was as- tonished to find one of them filled with picture frames and plates of mirror glass, which had never been re- moved from the house. The value of the mirror glass, according to Mr Brown, was not less than 1500 dollars, which is equal to about L.300 Sterling ; and so much confidence did the owner of the house place in the success and safety of the operation, that he did not take the trouble of removing his fragile property. 1 understood from Mr Brown that the whole operation of removingthis house, from the time of itscommencement till its completion, would occupy about five weeks, but the time employed in actually moving the house four- teen feet and a half was seven hours. The sum for which he had contracted to complete the operation was 1000 dollars, which is equal to about L.200 Ster- ling. Mr Brown mentioned that he and his father, who was the first person who attempted to perform the operation, had followed the business of « house- movers" for fourteen years, and had removed up- wards of a hundred houses, without any accident, many of which, as in the case of the one I saw, were made entirely of brick. I also visited a church in "Sixth" Street, capable, I should think, of holding from 600 to 1000 persons, with galleries and a spire, which was moved 1100 feet, but this building was com- posed entirely of wood, which rendered the operation Fiuch less hazardous. ( :^17 ) NOTE ON THE MANUFACTORIES AT LOWELL. The manufactures of the United States are be- coming every day more important. The largest fac- tories in that comitry have been established at Lowell, on the banks of tie Merrimac, in the State of Massa- chusetts. The tollowing statistical table, relative to r-the works at that place, may perhaps be useful to those interested in that subject. The first mill built at Lowell was opened in 1822 ; and in 1837, there were twenty-seven mills in the town, which employed no fewer than 7912 persons. The machinery in -all the mills which I had an opportunity of visiting at Lowell, was excellent. In the cotton-mills, in parti- cular, the carding-machines and spinning-frames were very highly finished ; and the dressing-machines were more simple, and apparently quite as effective as any I have ever seen in this country. With the excep- tion of the works of Mr Smith at Deanston, I have seen no establishment in which the beneficial effects of good machinery and excellent regulation were more obvious than at the Lowell works in the United A States. 318 LOWELL MANUFACTORIES. Pittsburg is also entirely a manufacturing town ; and, in addition to several cotton-mills which have been built in it, there are several glass-works and iron- foundries. The sandstone from which the glass is made is found on the banks of the Alleghany river, about 100 miles from Pittsburg ; the ironstone is got on the banks of the Juniata and Susquehanna rivers, and brought to the town on the Pennsylvania Canal. I visited some of the glass and ironworks in Pittsburg, which are similar to those of this country ; but the woods manufactured are decidedly inferior in quality. pn ■< ', CO < ►"J Q M H O % ^ 8 O rji O I— I H CO l-H H <) H m LOWELL MANUFACTORIES. 310 ill i I |s I s i C3 « 75 '' '• ^ C 0-! is ^- s 11 a o I p 0> CQC to to —I" to I I in i= a*= 5 "5 Sl e> g CO CI " * 5 5 3 SS'O ^ o o © 3 tOIMttj*} >. S »>■ S "^ •* oS 05 '^ 1 §^ 0000 *• • ._ «;a^to«o& .o OOCO *" ■ ^ M W § S ut ?? a2(> LOWEM. MANUFACTORIES. fi? Remarks to the foreooi.no Table. Yards of cloth made per annum, . . . , 49 413 000 Pounds of cotton consumed, 15 444 qoq Assuming half tr ^ 't, '^pd, and half New Orleans and Alabama, the consumption in bales, averaging 361 lb. ^^^^> '■' • 41,964 A pound ol cotton averaging .... 32t'b yards. 100 pounds of cotton will produce 89 pounds of cloth. As regards the health of persons employed, great numbers have been interrogated, and the result shews, that six of the females out of ten enjoy better health than befn-i- bnhi, • employed in the mills,— of males, one-half derive the sume advantage. As regards their moral condition and character, they are not infe- rior to any portion of the community. Average wages of females, clear of board, 2.00 dlrs. per week, of males, clear of board, . 80 cts. per day. Medium produce of a loom on No. 14, yarn, 38 to 49 yds. per day. No. 30, 26to30 Average per spindle, lly'a yds.per day. Persons employed by the companies are paid at the close of each month. The average amount of wages paid per month, 106,000 dollars. A very considerable portion of the wages is deposited in the savings bank. Consumption of starch per annum, . . . 610,000 lb. Consumption of flour for starch in the mills, print-works and bleachery, per annum, . . . 3,800 bushels. Consumption of charcoal, per annum, . . 600,000 bushels. To the above-named principal establishments may be added the extensive Powder Mills of Oliver M. Whipple, Esq. ; the Lowell Bleachery ; Flannel Mills ; Card and Whip Factory ; Planeing Ma- chine ; Reed Machine ; Grist and Saw Mills ; — together employing about 300 hands, and a capital of about 300,000 dollars ; and in the immediate vicinity. Glass- Works, and a Furnace supplying every description of Castings. The Locks and Canals Machine Shop, included among the twenty- seven mills, can furnish machinery complete for a mill of 6000 spindles in four months, and lumber and materials arc always at command, with which to build or rebuild a mill in that time, if re- quired. When building mills, the Locks and Canals Company em- ploy directly and indirectly from 1000 to 1200 hands. FINIS, fmm w^prm JOHN WEALE, ARCHITECTURAL LIBRARY, No. 5!), HIGH HOLBORN, HAS JIST PtBLISIIEO THE TWO FOLLOWING NATIONAL WORKS ON **• Export OrUors Executt-J. TREDGOLD ON THK STEAM ENGINE, AND V UNO Cor- ON STEAM NAVIGATION, 1 IS vwv'/r." *''? ^"'^^'l-"- '^■I'l? '■"■>' ""Portant and interesting Volumes, comprisinff 118 very elaborn e and beautifully engraved Plates, are, in Sections, Eleva ions Plans SiSne' fcon ' •" '""'Tr^ "?i>' '•' '^"■' ^:^"^''"^^'- r^ «'"^^^'"^' '" Manufacture of Marine, Locomotive, and Land Engines ; its comprehensiveness, its science and uur THE STEAM ENGINE, Comprising an Account of its Invention and Progressive Improvement, witli an In VKSTiOATioN of Its Principles, and the Proportions of its Parts, for EimciLsf and Strength; detailing also its Application to Navigation, Mining Impei Machines, &c., and the Result in numerous Tables for Practical Use, with Notes rections, and New Examples, relating to Locomotive and other Engines. ' ' By W. S. B. WOOLHOUSE, Esq., F.R.A.S. The Algebraic Parts transformed into easy Practical Rules, accomnanied bv Fv amples familiarly explained for the Working Engineer, with an ample APPENDIX ON STEAM NAVrOATION, Its Present and Progressive State, by Illustration of the various Examples of Enffines constructed for Sea, War, and Packet Vessels, and River Boats, by the most Emu en t Makers of England and Scotland, drawn out hi Plans, Elevations. Sections 3 Details, with a Scientific Account of each, and on ' *^''^°'^'' «'«* STEAM NAVAL ARCHITECTURE, Showing, by existing and the latest Examples, the Construction of War Sea and Packet Vessels ; their Naval Architecture, as applied to the Impelling Power of Steam for Sea and River purposes. This portion of the Work is edited bv four vpvv eminent Shipbuilders— ^ ^ OLIVER LANG, Esq., of H.M. Dockyard, Woolwich, J. FINCHAM, Esq., H.M. Dockyard, Sheernes;, T. J. DITCHBURN, Esq., Union Dock, Limehouse, And JOHN WOOD, Esq., Port Glasgow. li TREDOOLD— c:im Ship of War Phoenix. 3 Plate TREDOOLD— cwi/inwerf. 28. cVcloidal Paddle Wheel fitted to the Great Western Steam JeMel.byM^^^^^^ Maudshiy, Field and Co. Position of a Float of a Cyduidal Paddle W heel. 27. Captain Oliver's, R.N., Five Points from Courses of Sailing a Steam \»'^\ 2^. Her Majesty's Steam Ship of War sailing at Different Points in the Wmd. 4 views. 29. Trial at sailing her Majesty's Steam Ship of War Medea agamst the Caledonia, Vanguard, and Asia. 30. Engine of the Red Rove/, Side Elevation,, id Plan. 31. Longitudinal Section of ditto. 32. Cross Sections ditto, with Pa ' les. ^ 33. Side Elevation of the Engine ol 'hi- P; .ha of Egypt's Steam Ship Nile. 34. Plan of ditto, with Paddles. 35. Cross Sections ditto, showing Boilt 36. Section at Paddle Wheel dif.3. 37. Plan of Engine of her Majesty " 38. Side Elevation of ditto. . 39. Cross Section of ditto, showing Paddles and Construction of hhip. 40. Engine of the Ruby Steam Vessel (Gravesend Packet). Plan and Elevation. 41. Section of one of the Engines of the Don Juan, Peninsular Company jacket. 42. Boilers of her Majesty's Ships Hermes, Spitfire, and Firefly. , ^ , , ' 43. Plan of the Engines of the Imperial Russian Steam Ships Jason and Colchis. 44. Section of ditto. 45. Longitudinal Section of ditto. 46. Section at the Shaft, Section abaft Boilers, ditto. 47. Elevation of Mr. Samuel Hall's Patent Condensing Engines. 48. Section of ditto. , ., 49. Elevation of the Engine of her Majesty's Steam Ship Megaera, fitted \Mth Messrs. Seaward's Engines and Mr. Samuel Hall's Condenser. 50. Section of ditto. tt n j 51. Messrs. Hall's, of Dartford, Engines of the William Wilberforce, Hull and London Packet, fitted with Mr. Samuel Hall's Condensers. Plan. 52. Elevation of ditto. 53. Cross Section of ditto. 54. Longitudinal Section of ditto. ■« , ^t. .r j 55 A. Messrs. Hall's, of Dartford, Patent Engines, fitted in the Steam Packet Dartford. 55 B. Ditto, Plan. Elevation ditto. 56 A. Cross Section ditto. Longitudinal Section ditto. 56 B. Ditto. Ditto. 57. Messrs. Fairbairn and Murray's Engine of Twenty Horse Power. Plan. 58. Ditto Section. .')9. Ditto Front Elevation and Back Elevation. 60. Messrs. Fau-bairn and Co.'s Ten Horse Power Engine. Elevation. Gl. Plan. Sectional Plan. 62. Sectional Elevation. 63. Cross Sectional Elevation. 64. Elevation of a Locomotive Engine, manufactured by Messrs. Stephenson, of Newcastle, for the Stanhope and Tyne Railway. 65. Longitudinal Section of ditto. 66. Spring and Balance Safety Valves. 67 A. Cylinder Cover and Connecting Rods. 67 B. Piston and Cylinder. r * Tin,- 68. Boiler Sealing of 20-hors2 Engine, at the manufactory Ot i«cs"r?. tt hi. worth and Co., Manchester. 69. Messrs. Hague's Double Acting Cylinder, Slide8,.Sections, &c. m\: it/ 1 8J u. very elaborate UiagraniH, Hcctjons of Paddle Wheels of itions and Uses. The subject mucli amplified, .ind described by Y, Esq. The riates are dniwn out to n large Scale, lay and Ficld'a G5-inch Cylinder Engine, erected at Chelsea 4 Plate. TREDGOLD— co«^M«f(/. 70 A. Side Elevation of the Engine lU'-de by Mr. Napier, of Glasgow, for the Berenice Hon. East India Company's Armed Steamer. * 70 B. Cross Section ditto. 71. Mr. Leale's Rotary Engine, Elevations. 72. Ditto, Sections. 73. Ayre's Contrivance for Preventing a Locomotive Engine from Running off a Railway. 74 to 83 A., 83 B., 83 C. Very elaborate Diagrams, Sections of Paddle Wheels of various Inventions and Uses. A. A. MoRV.vY, 84. Messrs. Maudshi Water-works, Elevation. 85. Plan, Section ditto. 8(5. Sections ditto. 87. Boilers of ditto. 88. Details ditto. 89. Avery claboratclv Shaded Elevation of a Locomotive Engine, made by Messrs, Stejjlienson, of Newcastle, for the London and Bii'minglmm Railway. 90. Longitudinal Section ditto, 91. Cross Sections ditto. 92. Plan, Details ditto. STEAM NAVAL ARCHITECTURE. 93. Tlie Comet, the first Steam-boat in Europe, constructed by Mr. Henry Bell of Glasgow, for the Clyde River. ' 94. View of the Pasha's Steam Ve.-sel of War, the Nile, at Sea— in the Nile. 95. View of the Hon. East India Company's Steam Vessel Berenice, at Sea off Bombay. ' 96. Sheer Draught and Lines of Bottom of ditto. 97. The Draught of the* Forbes Steamer, constructed at Calcutta by Alexander Hen- derson, Esq. — Chinese Rigged, 98. Heme Bay Steam Packet Red Rover— Draught, Bottom, and I'lan of Deck. 99. Diamond Company's Gravesend Steam Packet Ruby— Draught, Bottom Plan of Deck, and Profile. ' 100. Draught, Profile, and Bottom of her Majesty's Steam Vessel of War the Medea 101. Upper and Lower Decks of ditto. 102. Sections of ditto, 103. View of ditto at Sea, off Athens. 104. Draught, Bottom, and Profile of Steam Vessel of War (Egyptian) the Nile 105. Decks of ditto. 10(5. Sections of ditto. * • ' Sections, Details of ditto. Draught, Bottom, and Profile of his Imperial Majesty's Armed Steam Vessels Colchis and Jason. Decks of ditto. Views of ditto at Sea. Decks of the Admiralty Yacht the Firebrand, from the Drawing of James H Lang, Esq, ° 112, Draught of ditio, by ditto, 113, Portrait of the late Mr. Watt. 114, Portrait of the late Mr. Tredgold. In all 12G plates, in sizes of single double, treble, and quadruple of tjie book, AMERICAN STEAM NAVIGATION, 10/ 108, 109, 110. 111. 115. IIG. 117. 118. dation, &c View of ditto •♦.* Such iiersons as wefcr the Plat on printed on AtU size, con have them uuon appUcation, by payng the extra cost, . * PUBLIC WORKS OF GREAT BRITAIN, CONSISTING OP Railways, Rails, Chairs, Blocks, Cuttings, Embiinkments, Tunnels, Oblique Arches, Viaducts, Bridges, Stations, Locomotive Engines, &c. Cast-Iron Bridges, Iron and Gas Works, Canals, Lock-gates, C'cntcring, Masonrj- and Brickwork for Canal Tunnels, Canal Boats, the London and Liveriwol Docks, Pliuis and Dimensions, Dock-gates, Walls, Quays, aid their Masonry, Mooring-chains, Plan of the Harl)Our nnd Port of London, and otlier imwrtant Engineering works, with Descriptxor mA Specifications ; the whole rendered of the utmost utility to the Civil Engineer iUitl to the Nobility and Gentry, as Monuments of the useful Arts in this Country, and as Examples to the Foreign Engineer. Edited by F. W. SIMMS, C.E. 153 Plates, engraved in the best style of art, half-bound, very neat, price 4/. 48. This Work s on an Imperial Folio size, the Drawings and Engravings have been executed by eminent Artists, and no Expense has been spared in rendering it highly essential to the Civil Engineer and Student ; also, as an ornamental Volume of Practical Representations of im^wrtant Engineering Works in several Parts of the Kingdom. The Work is bound in lialf-niorocco. There are some Plates in the Volume that may be preferred in Colours, viz., the elaborate subject of the Blisworth Cuttings, in the' Birmingham Rail Line, 18 Plates, geologically coloured; Glasgow and Gairnkirk Railway Cutting through Moss, geologically coloured ; the Plan and Map of the Port of London, showing its Docks, Wharfs, Manufactories, Steam Engines, and Iron Works, &c., making 21 Plates, to be carefully coloured, and fov Vi'hich an additional I/, will be charged. THE FOLLOWING IS A NUMERICAL LIST OF THE PLATES, And comprise the Eiujiiteeriny Worits of Rhodes Telford Thomas Tiemey Clark Walker Brindley Jessop Bnmel Landmann Buck M'Adam George and Robert Stephenson Hartley Palmer Rennic Hosking Plate. LONDON AND BIRMINGHAM RAILWAY. RoBEBT Stephenson, Esq,, C.E. 1. London Entrance to Primrose-hill Tunnel. 2. Engine Station for Hot Water, Watford. 3. Chimneys at Cjiindcn-lown. — Fixed Engine Station. 4. Grand Entrance, Euston-st^uare. 5. Plan of Euston-square Station. 6. Under-Ground Work and Chimneys, Camden-town. 7. Passenger Roof, Euston Station. 8. Stanhopc-placc and Park-street Bridges. 9. Iron Bridge over Regent's Canal. 10. Details of ditto. 11. Bridge — View of Harrow in the Distance. ""Bridge near W..W. ''''="° WORKS.^„„.w j^- Bndge over Railroad at Watford. \i' ■^^^^^'^^ over Colne, near Watford. 5. Bridge over Excavation, South of Watford Tunnel. 16 Boxmoor Skew Bridge. ^ ^i'^,^7- I^^ ^»^ of Blisworth Cutting. •S" l^i?^?,T»P^l-EiivationofEntrancl. 39. Ditto Section, Details, &c. 40 to 47. Ditto, ditto, ditto. 48. Bails, fifty pounds weight. 49. Ditto, sixty-five pounds weight. 50. Mr. Buck's Chairs. 51 . Plans of Crossings from one Lin? to another. 52. Tunu^ils. 53. First Class Canriages. GREAT WESTERN RAILWAY. - . , ^„ „ J- K. BauNEL, Egg., C.E. 54 to 56. Brent Viaduct. 57 and 58. Maidenhead Bridge. ••T .1!. .01 SOUTHAMPTON RAILWAY. G. Lock, Esq., C.E. 59. Occupation Bridge over Railway. 60 and 61. Ditto Bridge under ditto. 62. Embankment. 63. Bridge under Railwiw. 64. Earth and Timber Waggons. 65. Neckinger Viaduct. 66. Section of ditto. 67. Spa Road Viaduct. 68. Section of ditto. 69 and 70. Viaducts and Oblique Arches. GREENWICH RAILWAY. Cot. Imndaunn, C.E. CROYDON RAILWAY, .los. GiBBS, Es«. C.E. ^' """^H.^"^' ^.Tn Bridge-Section of F ., and Continuous Bearing-Embank- ment.j. Earth Carnage, and Details. '^ ""<"««. THAMES AND BRISTOL JUNCTION RAILWAY. W. HosKiNO, Esq., C.E. 73 and 74. Tunnels, Bridges, Rails, Chairs, Details, Foundations, &c. GLASGOW AND GAIRNKIRK. Messrs. Miller and Grainoer, Edinburgh, C.R. 75. Transverse Section at Robrovston, Moss, &c. 76. Comparison of Rails of different R'>,ilways. 77. Comet, Locomotive Engine, on Newcastle and Carlisle Railway. 1, PUBLIC WORKS— cow