THE ATTEMPTED LAUNCH OF THE LEVIATHAN.

Colonist, Issue 53, 23 April 1858, Page 4

THE ATTEMPTED LAUNCH OF THE LEVIATHAN.

Anengineer1 writes to the Builder :-^ "The first -step in preparing for the launch was tb clear away/the mud and dirt to a.regular inclination of I.in 12 froni the. ship down to the low-water mark'; after, which, the five rows' of piles forming each way, and varying^ from 2o feet long near ; the ; ship to, about. 6 feet near lo^wate'r : marlc^ were cjriyen; the two outer r.ows on: each side of each way were pitched 3 feet apart, and a distance of-20 feet inside.them' another row; .but these inside:rows, three mi number, were pitched six feet apart* so that the breadth of each way-^vi?., 80 feet, was divided into five strips,; of 20; feet wide, extending from the bottom of the ship down to the low watermark*:' To' the' sides of these piles, just below their tops; balks: of timber, called waling-pieces, each about 12 inches square,' were bolted, oh "the outside of each row only, by. I|. inch iron bolts, and the surface of the mad over the area of 80 feet wide was then Covered with a layer of concrete, barely one'foot thick,, upbri wliicli other balks were laid,,. about.2.feet*apart; and in lines parallel to the rows of piles ; these balks were also about ,1 fooj> %uare, and concrete was then put in tor the empty space between -them, and levelled; to an even surface with their! tops;. so.,that, instead of the ways being constructed. on •' 2 feet of concrete/Uho whole superstructure is carried upon only 1 foot1 of this material* and; the support derived • from the bolts in the waling-pieces against the heads of the piles.' "■ ;: ' .'i.'": '•;/ ,■"■ ,'/■■'.■ ' ' ': ' " As an instance of the amount of calculation and foresight exhibited throughout this famous launching exploit, it may be mentioned-, that when' the .ways ( were. completed it; was, f, found', that they w t ere not wide enough-—that is to say, that theywere not sufficiently strong to. carry the great weight about to be-•' lowered' down them, and the consequence Xvasthateach way was increased in width by an addition of 40 feet; which was done by driving a'• row of piles dri each' side(:6f each vyay, Ut a distance of 20 feet from each outer 'one, thus' making the rows of piles in, eadh way'seyeh] in number!, afrd', cbncrfete, balks,' waling pieces, $c., were' adclecl, as,was done,'in constructing tne "part.' already ! cor^rjleted., What addition .this -made ,to 'esti^ mate for the launch wonldbe an interesting item; but, ther,e, can be no doubt tljaj the total cost; wilt form a valuable record for, the archives) of the: Institutipnof •Civil; En-1 gineers, where they might be enrolled as; a sort1 of thing tofae avoided, with a salutary effect.' -:■-■■■'•■ ■■■■./ '-i :-'; '■■"-*t < < i--»"C\ "[ ■"■■■ "We now come to the 'ultra-scientific5' 'check-tackle,' which is thus described:— " ' The' most interesting arid important parts of -the material/dbiinectedwitfr the launching o£ the lieyiathan are the " che'cki tackles." ■In front of, the cradles,'on, the shore side of the ship, and in or^er to regu-| late the too rapid descent of the vessel, arid retard :her progress should it become,.too rapid, two immense friction-di'ums, ; or capstans, have been constructed. The drum parts of these machines,- round i.which: the main chains are coiled, are 18 feet long, by 8 in diameter, and are connected with the cradles by powerful chains 2f inches in thickness; of Imk, Weighing 5 dwt'to the fathom, passing "round 'double-sheaved iron blocks in the frameworkbf the cradles^ and, with brakes, bearings,' &c., weigh no less than 60 tons each. '.TJtie whole•'has been fastened') firmly ,by .me^ns of' piles driven into the earth, so as to resist any possible strain that might ,be put, .upon them (?). They are, without doubt, the largest and most powerful of the kind ever (constructed. The flanges of the; barrel which carry the chain serve for the brakes; they are about 1 foot wide and-13 feet in diameter. Round those are bands or straps iof wrought iron, 12 inches wide by 1 inch thick, which can be tightened up by means of levers 15 feet long, worked by block pulleys. The chains, after being carefully wound upon the barrel, are passed through, ithe sheaves, the two lower ones being attached to the cradle. Tho end is then jsecured to the ; timber framing which carries the whole apparatus, and is constructed in the strongest possible way. Nothing has, been lef; undone to render this part of the tackle as effective as it can be made. The frames which carry all this are constructed of timber driven to the depth of many feet into the ground, and strutting against the timber framing of the ways, the whole being

held together by bolts and ties. In these framings are also placed the hydraulic presses which start the vessel. The necessity and efficiency of the " check-tackle " in controlling the descent of the vessel were fully proved at the first attempt to launch.' " We find from the above that the«checktackle' and machinery, were found to work admirably, and shewed how completely the movements of the monster could be controlled, and that their necessity and efficiency in controlling the descent ©f the ship were fully proved at the first attempt to launch. ■ This, no doubt, reads well, and looks remarkably grand; but so far i'rom their efficiency having been proved, or their having in any way been shewn to be of the slightest utility in checking the ship, the contrary is satisfactorily proved by the fact that when the ship stopped after her first movement, and at the moment it was reported that she was held by this ' checktackle,' there was at least one foot of slack between each cradle and check-drum.

"Another circumstance has proved the complete uselessness of these costly appendages—viz., that at every renewed attempt to launch, and with .everything slack and nothing to stop her but ' friction,' it has been found nearly impossible to.start her, or keep her in motion with the overwhelming power applied to get her along.- ---■ "Instead of carrying on a series of vagaries (dignified by the title of * experiments ') vvith a couple of pieces of balk, some rails, and a few tons of iron, in order to 'discover' the amount of friction of metal ' upon metal, which, by the by, was done some thirty years since by Morion and others, it would have been far better to profit, in this instance, at least, by the experience of others." The following is from the Engineer: — " So far as we may trust description, the way is formed of 14-inch balks laid side by side on piles, parallel with the vessel, at the distance of 18 inches apart. \On these are laid bridge rails, apparently of the Great Western type, at right angles athwartthe balk, also 18 inches apart. The cradles that bear on these rails are supported on flat iron bars, 1 inch by 7 inches, also 18 inches apart. The bearing surfaces of the bars on the rails form an area of 'about 1700 feet. ; , _\ t The total weight of the vessel is," in round numbers, 12,000 tons—seven tons per square foot, or about 109lbs. per square inch. Estimating the- friction at one-fifth of the' total weight, we have 2400 tons; and allowing 1000 tons for the .effect of tfravity down the incline of 1 in 12, the total resistance 'which should have been provided, for .is about 1400 tons. , Six hy- , draulic presses, with lO'-inch rams, would be competent to this, supposing the weight to be equally distributed' over the "two ' planes of the cradles and the rails, being 18451b5. per square foot, or 13 pounds per square inch. Sixty similar presses would be competent to lift the craft bodily into | the air y supposing an unyielding fulcrum could..beibrmed.below. . ... .j "Now, it seems, some ten rams are at work, varying from' seven to ten inches diameter, in addition to chains, and that they only succeed.in giving impulses to the vessel like pulses at distinct periods pressing on a, short slide, after which .the large vessel again comes to rest—••ibrings up,' as the sailors phrase it. How is this to be !accounted for? '■> ■_ -! ; :." Only on the supposition of an interlacing of surfaces owing to unyielding undulations, or to the' flexibility of surfaces forming sue- : cessi ye waves of fails over which the.1 'cradles are forced. In the fiVst* place, it is' not probable that in; laying (iown the rails ariexaci; plane' is produced:; 'and, secondly^ !the mode,of forming;tlie,cradles'vyould, tend; ito ! induce inequality.'" The modle appears: Itp be, as follows r^—Tlie flat platen were laid ' on, the, rails, hard, timbers were laid on i the plates, and the shoresin various lengths •were1 then thrown into; their placesr by 1 means of swung ibeanjs. If theifoundation ! (the rails) had been a perfect plane, the' i cradle'surface wdulfrhavebeeri tiffatimmk; 1 if a; yielding ;;itridula J ting|pl'ane,;t% : cradle | would "correspond stb i:it,'; and! the jwhole; I would" fbrni :;a Uvkittd Jof jigj^joirit, Mich, even the' Waves' pr undulations :b^ily to rise halj^an-incli, .wqulx^ asi yery ; 'materially,to'th^e/resigtance.. ; ; ;,' \.-., | ; ; V«:lt;is iquite,.clear;that the calculations, however correctly --made,.!must have been based on data formed -from false perceptions, jit was supposed that the vessel would slide down 'lik6an ordinary launch', or 'even | quicker^ so that".Varibus preparations were | ma£le to hold her in chßek1 by.iron cables); i but the; chief .difficulty ha^ been to! get'her i tp'riiiDvie, 'and no Calculation seeiiis to have ' bejen arrived, at as the amount of resisi tance.'"' The -whole has ( befer| .a;mere system iof trial and error. If, one hydraulic press and two chains won't do, what will two do? If'not two, what will four do ? and 50.,0n, And the disadvantage: has been ■ the, incessant breakages of machinery by the overtasking!of inefficient'power; while the uni equal progress of the two ends of the vessel has; aggravated ;the friction dfthe undulat-igh-declmeJ;1-;-;:;;" " r _': .', ;• r M '' ';\\. Engineering science^ if anything, is a science of positive knowledge on . which ;predictions, founded,, We, have examples or this in the Con way and s ßri T ,tannia Bridges, : Experiments were devised and inventions were achievedtin which!the , actual structure was predicted and ordained; ' and this whole work vva's accomplished with' exactitude. '■ '■ ■' '-■■ !l- !-' ;; "\-- '■■/ "':[\ ■."■"'}. I

'"In" the launching of the Leviathan a new process'was devised—a system of iron slides. This was the invention either of the .engineer himself, .or of-some person or persons, employed by him, and. it was adopted without previous experiment. Now,, Mr. Brunei l^s peculiar ideas on the subject of invention, as may be gathered from his evidence *on the subject of the Patent < Laws. He therein lays it down as an axiom that all inventions are the production of working men, and that a man producing anything good would be rewarded by a fair-dealing master with £2 sterling. If

a very good invention, and a very generous master, -the prize would be increased to £5. Did Mr. Brunei invent the iron slides' himself or were they produced by his working men ? In any case the invention would be dear at £2, and it is probable that the company, would be glad to compromise for many thousands with any inventor or other who could insure them against further expenses by the unsatisfactory system of * trial and error.' The rails and cradle slides would in such case be made stiff enough to prevent deflection the iron would be galvanized to prevent rust, and lubricators would be provided with certain action, or the ordinary wooden slides would be resorted to.

" This launch, then, has no interest in an engineering point of view, because it is j known that, with sufficient force and sufficient fulcrum, this or any other bulk or weight may be moved within the limits of cohesion. There is an interest of a vulgar* kind in the mere attribute of ' bigness' — a quality which, it is remarked, is worshipped especially by the Saxon vulgar on both sides the Atlantic. - ' ' " There is another interest. All people like the exhibition of 'pluck,' bravery, hardihood, valour. And the public beholds theengineer—the deus ex machina —sticking to it day after day, hoping against hope— the very incarnation of a " forlorn hope'— with the full belief that there he will remain, even to the end of time if need be, and go down with the vessel, the interest increasing like the former launch of the wrecked Great Britain from Dundrum Bay. A brave man struggling with adversity was, according to the ancients, a spectacle the gods loved to look down on. If the bravery be not mere dogged arrogance, and if thereto be added a genial and generous spirit, recognising the merit of all helpers and assistants—a chivalrous nature like that of, a Hayelock and an Outram —this worker on a great work" becomes a popular hero, and such a man comes to be designated by those who surround him and. love him, as 'The Chief.', ■

" With regard to the utility of the vessel when launched, her value as a vehicle of goods transport is much' doubted. _ As' a passenger vessel, hopes ar,e entertained that the great obstacle to • the multiplication of sea travellers —sea sickness —will be put an end to by her size. As to speed, it. is very doubtful ,if she will exceed that of existing vessels/ And the mode of structure—every alternate plank1 of iron forming a broad' rib vvith valleys of the adjoining planks, pn either side, will give increased resistance in the water, with advantage ground for barnacles to hold on in the angles."