The life of Isambard Kingdom Brunel, Civil Engineer Part 26

A.D. 1835--1847. aeTATIS 30--42.

INTRODUCTION TO THE CHAPTERS ON STEAM NAVIGATION--FORMATION OF THE GREAT WESTERN STEAM-SHIP COMPANY--COMMENCEMENT OF THE BUILDING OF THE 'GREAT WESTERN'--REPORT ON SELECTION OF THE BUILDERS OF THE ENGINES (JUNE 18, 1836)--STATEMENTS OF DR. LARDNER ON THE PROBABLE FAILURE OF A LINE OF STEAM-SHIPS BETWEEN ENGLAND AND AMERICA--VOYAGE OF THE 'GREAT WESTERN' TO LONDON--COMPLETION OF THE ENGINES--HER RETURN TO BRISTOL--FIRE ON BOARD AND ACCIDENT TO MR.

BRUNEL--VOYAGE TO NEW YORK--COMPARISON BETWEEN THE PERFORMANCES OF THE 'GREAT WESTERN' AND THE 'SIRIUS'--SUBSEQUENT HISTORY OF THE 'GREAT WESTERN'--NOTE: DIMENSIONS OF THE SHIP AND ENGINES.

It will readily be conceded that Mr. Brunel's railway works, which have formed the subject of the five preceding chapters, would have given him ample employment for the thirty years of his professional life.

Nevertheless, during almost the whole of that period--namely, from 1835, the year of the pa.s.sing of the Great Western Railway Bill, to his death in 1859--he was also engaged in the accomplishment of undertakings which had for their object the systematic development of Ocean Steam Navigation.[116]

The 'Great Western,' the first steam-ship which made regular voyages across the Atlantic, the 'Great Britain,' the first large iron steam-ship, and the first large ship in which the screw propeller was used, and, lastly, the 'Great Eastern,' were Mr. Brunel's works, built under his direction, in the midst of his other engrossing occupations, and at the sacrifice of his health and life.

The history of these projects will contain records of many disappointments as well as of success; for no great and novel undertaking can be perfected at once and without changes of plan and arrangement. As engineer to the Companies which built these steam-ships, Mr. Brunel advised the adoption of measures strongly in opposition to current popular opinion, and far bolder and more daring than even his recommendation of the broad gauge and the atmospheric system. The results obtained have verified his calculations, and the conclusions he sought to establish are now so generally accepted that it is difficult to believe that they were ever questioned. No one now has any doubt that large vessels can with safety be built of iron, or that the screw propeller can be advantageously employed in ships of war and the mercantile navy; no one can now deny that it is practicable for steam-ships to make long voyages across the ocean with regularity and speed.

A detailed account will now be given of the ships whose performances first demonstrated the truth of these propositions.

Although the 'Great Western' was the first steamer which was built for regular voyages between Europe and America, the first attempt to use steam in the direct voyage across the Atlantic was made by an American ship of 300 tons burden, called the 'Savannah,' and built at New York.

Her engines were of small power, with paddles made to ship and unship.

She made only two voyages to and from Europe: in the first of these she left the port of Savannah on May 25, and anch.o.r.ed at Liverpool on June 20, 1819.

No further advance in Ocean Steam Navigation seems to have been attempted until 1835. In the October of that year, at a meeting of the Directors of the Great Western Railway Company, at Radley's Hotel, in Bridge Street, Blackfriars, one of the party spoke of the enormous length, as it then appeared, of the proposed railway from London to Bristol. Mr. Brunel exclaimed, 'Why not make it longer, and have a steamboat to go from Bristol to New York, and call it the "Great Western?"' This suggestion was treated as a joke by most of those who heard it; but at night Mr. Brunel and Mr. T. R. Guppy, one of the Directors, talked it over, and afterwards consulted three of the leading members of the Board--Mr. Scott, Mr. Pycroft, and Mr. Robert Bright.

They took up the idea warmly, and a committee was formed to carry out the project.

As a preliminary measure, Mr. Guppy and Captain Christopher Claxton, R.N., made a tour of the great ship-building ports of the kingdom, in order to collect information. The results of their inquiries were embodied in a report, dated January 1, 1836, which describes at great length the advantages to be gained in large vessels. The ma.n.u.script was submitted to Mr. Brunel previously to its publication, and he inserted the following pa.s.sage:--

The resistance of vessels in the water does not increase in direct proportion to their tonnage. This is easily explained; the tonnage increases as the cubes of their dimensions, while the resistance increases about as their squares; so that a vessel of double the tonnage of another, capable of containing an engine of twice the power, does not really meet with double the resistance. Speed therefore will be greater with the large vessel, or the proportionate power of the engine and consumption of fuel may be reduced.

This was an important addition to the report, for it enunciates the principle which governed Mr. Brunel in determining the dimensions and power, not only of the 'Great Western,' but also of the 'Great Britain'

and 'Great Eastern' steam-ships.

Immediately after the publication of this report a Company was formed in Bristol called 'The Great Western Steam-Ship Company,' Mr. Peter Maze being the Chairman, and Captain Claxton the Managing Director. Captain Claxton's exertions in the service of the Company from its formation to its dissolution were unremitting and invaluable. He was also, from the date of Mr. Brunel's first connection with Bristol, one of his most intimate friends, and his confidential adviser on all points on which nautical experience was of value.[117]

Mr. Patterson (an eminent ship-builder of Bristol) was selected to superintend the building of the first ship, under the direction of a 'Building Committee' consisting of Captain Claxton, Mr. Guppy, and Mr.

Brunel. Whenever railway business called Mr. Brunel to Bristol, which at this time was at least once in every week, the Committee and Mr.

Patterson used to meet at the office, or at Captain Claxton's or Mr.

Guppy's house, and often sat far into the night discussing the details of the design of the ship.[118]

One of the most important questions which occupied Mr. Brunel's attention was the selection of the builders of the engines. Tenders were invited; and on receiving them, he addressed the following report to Captain Claxton, the Managing Director:--

June 18, 1836.

In considering the three tenders for the supply of marine engines for your first vessel, which you have submitted to me for my opinion, I have a.s.sumed that the interests of the company are paramount, and that all feelings of partiality towards any particular manufacturer or any local interest must yield to the absolute necessity, in this the first and the boldest attempt of the kind yet made, of not merely satisfying yourselves that you will obtain a good engine, but also of taking all those means of securing the best which in the eyes of the public may be unquestionable. In this view of the case, if you agree with me, I think you will consider that, provided the prices are fair individually, the relative amount of the tenders is a secondary consideration.

I a.s.sume, also, that the high respectability of all these parties would ensure equally from either the best materials and workmanship, and I shall confine myself simply to pointing out a few of the conditions peculiar to the engines which you require, and the means which the different parties have of complying with these conditions.

I need hardly remind you that, owing to the lateness of the season, you will require that the vessel should be prepared to run her first voyage almost immediately after the engines are fixed. You will remember, also, that it will be the longest voyage yet run; that in the event of unfavourable weather a total failure might be the result of the engine not working to its full power, or consuming too great a quant.i.ty of coals--a very common occurrence with engines apparently well made, after six or eight days'

constant work; and, lastly, that the future success of the boat as a pa.s.senger ship--nay, even of the company's boats generally, and, to a great extent, and for some time, the reputation of Bristol as an American steamboat station, may depend upon the success of this first voyage. It is indispensable, therefore, to secure as far as possible a machine which shall be perfect in all its details from the moment of its completion. There may be time for a few trials for ascertaining the fact of its completion, but there will be none for effecting any alterations should they be found necessary, or for making any experiments. The machinery which you require to be so perfect is by no means an ordinary steam-engine.

Marine engines of 80 or 90, and even some of 100 horse-power, are mere models on a large scale of the ordinary-sized engines. Engines of 160 or 180 horse-power each would be unmanageable without many material modifications in the details; the arrangement must be different, and, as the strength of materials remains the same, the proportionate dimensions of the parts must be modified. Many contrivances of this description have been introduced into the large engines of 110 horse-power each made for the Navy. From 110 to 160 is still another and a very great stride. Those who have led the way in the first step are certainly the most likely to be aware of the difficulties of the second, and to be able to appreciate them better, and be more prepared to overcome them than those who have as yet only manufactured, however successfully, engines of the ordinary cla.s.s. Of three parties tendering.... Messrs. Maudslay have made by far the largest number, and have for some years led the way in the introduction of the largest armed steamboats; and there can be no question as to the fact that they are the oldest manufacturers of marine engines, that they are themselves the originators of the greatest number of the improvements of the day, that they have made the largest engines yet made, and the greatest number of large engines of all sizes; and, lastly, that they have the princ.i.p.al supply of engines for the large war ships now used for the Navy, and have had hitherto the sole supply of all above 70 horse-power. With these facts before you, it remains only for you to consider how far you agree with me in the conclusion I have come to, and which I have no hesitation in expressing--that I think you will be safest, in the peculiar case of the first ship, in the hands of the parties who have had most experience, and that Messrs.

Maudslay are those persons. Their price is, I think, moderate.

This report was read by Mr. Brunel at a meeting of the Board, summoned at his request; the Directors adopted his advice, and accepted the offer of Messrs. Maudslay & Field, of Lambeth.[119]

The 'Great Western,' for so the ship was called, had not been long commenced when a somewhat celebrated controversy arose, in which the correctness of Mr. Brunel's views was questioned by the late Dr.

Dionysius Lardner.

The circ.u.mstances which led to this discussion were as follows:--

The British a.s.sociation for the Advancement of Science held its sixth meeting at Bristol in August 1836; and, as Dr. Lardner was announced to lecture on Transatlantic Steam Navigation, great interest was felt in Bristol on the occasion.

After some postponement, he delivered his lecture on August 25, to a crowded meeting of the Mechanical Section. The proceedings of the a.s.sociation unfortunately do not give any report of Dr. Lardner's observations; but, as in his latest work on the subject[120] he speaks in commendatory terms of the report given in the 'Times' newspaper, that account may be relied on as correct.

In the 'Times' of August 27, 1836, it is stated that in the course of his lecture Dr. Lardner said,--

Let them take a vessel of 1,600 tons, provided with 400 horse-power engines. They must take 2? tons for each horse-power, the vessel must have 1,348 tons of coal, and to that add 400 tons, and the vessel must carry a burden of 1,748 tons. He thought it would be a waste of time, under all the circ.u.mstances, to say much more to convince them of the inexpediency of attempting a direct voyage to New York, for in this case 2,080 miles was the longest run a steamer could encounter: at the end of that distance she would require a relay of coals.

There is no detailed report remaining of the animated discussion which followed the lecture, and in which Mr. Brunel took part. He exposed several errors in Dr. Lardner's calculations, but failed to produce any effect upon the majority of those present, who were powerfully impressed by the lecturer's dogmatic a.s.sertions.

Those a.s.sertions seem to have had a wide circulation beyond the walls of the lecture-room; and if Dr. Lardner's arguments were sound, and if transatlantic steamers ought to have taken their departure from 'the most western sh.o.r.e of the British Isles,' the enthusiastic advocate of a railway scheme in Ireland might well exclaim,--

The promoters of this vast object stand forewarned of defeat. Dr.

Lardner, who has bestowed a great deal of pains in arguing the bearings of this undertaking, has p.r.o.nounced it impracticable; and I entirely agree with him in his conclusions. The effort, nevertheless, will be made; the genius of English enterprise will hazard the consequences; and every honest spirit that shall hear of the brave British crew which will embark upon that perilous expedition will feel his heart beating high for the merchant-sailor, whom nothing can deter. He will sail; but, though dangers will encompa.s.s him, and destruction appear, there is yet a hope for his ultimate success. Let us cheer ourselves with the expectation that, as the exhausted mariner returns, he will fall in with the western sh.o.r.es of Ireland; that, worn out and hopeless of home and comfort upon earth, the Shannon will win him to her bosom; that, invited by the graceful sinuosities of that n.o.ble stream, and the rich and fertile lands around, he will advance to this convenient and improving city; and as he rests within its walls that he will exclaim, 'This is the place from which I ought to have set out, for here have I returned with ease and safety!'[121]

Dr. Lardner's views are repeated in an article in the 'Edinburgh Review'

for April 1837 (vol. lxv.); and in the report of the proceedings of the British a.s.sociation for 1836 (p. 130 of the proceedings of the sections), the reader is referred to this article, apparently as a subst.i.tute for an abstract of the lecture.

The following _resume_ is there given of the lecture:--

The conclusions at which he arrived were briefly these: that, in the present state of the steam-engine as applied to nautical purposes, he regarded a permanent and profitable communication between Great Britain and New York by steam-vessels making the voyage _in one trip_ as in a high degree improbable; that since the length of the voyage exceeds the present limits of steam-power, it would be advisable to resolve it into the shortest practicable stages; and that, therefore, the most eligible point of departure would be the most western sh.o.r.es of the British Isles, and the first point of arrival the most eastern available parts of the western continent; and that, under such circ.u.mstances, the length of the trip, though it would come fully up to the present limit of this application of steam-power, would, nevertheless, not exceed it, and that we might reasonably look for such a degree of improvement in the efficiency of marine engines as would render such an enterprise permanent and profitable. (P. 119.)

Among other objections to long voyages the reviewer enumerates the incrustation of boilers, and the choking of smoke flues; and then, with reference to the quant.i.ty of fuel required, he proceeds:--

In proportion as the capacity of the vessel is increased, in the same ratio or nearly so must the mechanical power of the engines be enlarged, and the consumption of fuel augmented.... It is therefore demonstrable that, in the present state of steam navigation, if this voyage shall be accomplished in one uninterrupted trip, the vessel which performs it must, whatever may be her power and tonnage, be capable of extracting from coals a greater mechanical virtue, in the proportion of three to two, than can be obtained from them by the combined nautical and mechanical skill of Mr.

Lang, the builder of the 'Medea,' and Messrs. Maudslay and Field.... That the pa.s.sage from Liverpool to New York cannot on any occasion be made in one run by a steam-ship we do not maintain....

The average time of the outward voyage to New York is thirty-six days, and we say that when the circ.u.mstances of wind and water are such that a sailing vessel would require that time to make the pa.s.sage, a steamer cannot make it without an intermediate supply of fuel. (Pp. 127, 139, 143.)

To sum up Dr. Lardner's views in his own words written at about this time,[122] 'We have as an extreme limit of a steamer's practicable voyage, without receiving a relay of coals, a run of about 2,000 miles.'[123]

It will be seen from these extracts that the proposition Dr. Lardner laid down as the basis of his 'demonstration' was, that the power of the engines must be increased as the size of the vessel. Were this true his conclusion would also be true--namely, that the capacity of a given vessel regularly to accomplish a given voyage does not increase with the increase of size, since the consumption of fuel is augmented in about the same ratio.

This a.s.sumption is directly opposed to the opinion held by Mr. Brunel, and acted on by him in his recommendations to the Steam-Ship Company--namely, that while the tonnage of a ship is increased as the cube of her dimensions, the resistance is increased only about as the square.

This question was the main point at issue between Dr. Lardner and Mr.

Brunel; and the proposition which Mr. Brunel then a.s.serted is at the present time the basis of the calculations which determine the proportion between the tonnage of a steam-ship and the length of voyage she has to perform without a relay of fuel.