THE CABLE STEAMER EDINBURGH

Colonist, Volume XVIII, Issue 2017, 8 January 1876, Page 4

THE CABLE STEAMER EDINBURGH

(From the South Australian Register, December 20.)

Wniia^the Postmaster-G-eneral and Superintendent of Telegraphs is absent down the coast, with sundry members of the Marine Board, in the steamer Governor Musgrave, making preparations for the line which is to unite Kangaroo Island and the mainland, the cable ship Edinburgh has arrived from London.

Early on Sunday morning, December 19, a look-out descried a large steamer heading' up the Gulf, and it was soon made out, by the flags that the Edinburgh, with the Backstairs Passage cable, had arrived from Lon don. She is a fine-looking screw steamer, built by Tod, of Glasgow, in 1855, and subsequently adapted for cable-laying in the service of the Telegraph Construction and Maintenance Company. Her total tonnage is 2,315, but the reduction for engine space leaves her '.1,81% register. She i 5,300 feet loug by 398 feet breadth of beam, and 25 feet depth of hold. The afterdeck-house contains a dining-salopn and quarters for the telegraph staff. That consists of electricians, operators, clerks and constructors, numbering in force twenty-one persons, under the supervision of Messrs Laws and Kiddle. Further forward, before the mainmast, is another deck-houee,in which the master and ship's officers have quarters. There also is space for the bperating-roona. By means of instruments of extreme nicety and sensitiveness the exact spot where any flaw exists in a wire can be found. The mode of reading the message transmitted through the cable by means of a. reflected ray of light is beautifully shown, and the whole apartment bristles with astonishing apparatus. The delicacy of the apparatus in the1 electrician's cabin strikingly contrasts with the gear under the charge of the 'constructor, Mr Law. On climbing to the bridge a platform leads to the topgallant forecastle, where the recovering machinery is placed. It is principally on the port side, in the wake of the fore rigging, and looks like a combination of steam engine and such a lot of powerful wheels as would make a patent; slip. These lead to the guidesheaves set inbearingsoverthestemhead. .Far away aft the paying-oufc machinery occupies more space, and has more wheels and heavier breaks. "While the upper part of the vessel contains so much of interest, there is a great deal worth seeing below. She has four tanks for the carriage of cable, and sometimes all have been in use. Un her present voyage the ship has only a part of one tank full, and that contains a total of 24.9 miles of cable, only 45 of which are intended for South Australia, the balance being for the INew Zealand line. The 45 miles must, however, be first paid out. The tanks are immense receptacles nearly 30ft in diameter, and 25ft deep, builti into' the ship. They are perfectly water-tight, and when in use have to be filled to cover the cable with water. Thers is one abaft the enpine space, two amidships, and one forwards, which is of smaller dimensions, only reaching from the keel to the main deck. At present this is filled with gear in the shape of ropes, grapnels, buoys and chains, together with a few anchors and seaman's tools. There is one coil of rope something over six miles long. There are coir hawsers, and hawsers of wire and hemp ; there are poles, lamps, and bars, with ill-shaped implements scattered about, the use of which is only known to the initiated. There are on board 700 tons, or about 249 miles of cable, and 120 tons of rope, made in a peculiar way, of the best steel wiro and Manilla fibre, for grappling purposes. The rope, shackles, &c, have been submitted to the severest tests, and the electricians know tv a nicety their exact weight. With the apparatus they recovered over three miles of cable between Lisbon and Madeira, and the accuracy with which the electric instruments record the power of the cables under all circumstances is remarkable. The cable is led up from the watertight tanks in which it is coiled, over revolving drums, to a combination of huge wheels, and it " p;iys " itself by its own weight into the water, the utmost attention intestiug and laying it down being given duriug the operation. When a break occurs and a cable is lost, huge grapplers of various shapes, and sizes are dragged about the spot, and long experience has enabled the operators to detect in an instant when the grapplers sieze the cable, or are only obstructed by a rock. To the uninitiated, it seems almost incredible'that the tiny copper wire, enclosed in layers of Manilla, wire, gutta-percha, and other protecting coats, should be bo effective an agent, and it is still more astonishing to see the readiness with which observations of tbe most delicate and intricate character can be made by means of the beautiful appliances on board. The greatest patience, vigilance, and skill are required to avoid the many dangers that lie in the way of properly putting down or recovering a canle, and it 'akes years of study to master the details. The telegraphic staff oh board the Edinburgh number 12, and the principals are—Mr Law, chief electrician; Mr E. Kiddie, chief constructing enginer; Mr K. E. Peake, acting on behalf of Clark, Ford and Co., engineers for South Australia ; and Mr Donovan.