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STEAM TOWING
RIVERS AND CANALS,
BY MEANS OF A SUBMEEGED CABLE.
DESCEiraON OF THEIR CABLE SYSTEM,
BY THE PATENTEES
F. J. MEYEK
W. W E R N I G H. ><?7)?);..
ENTERED AT STATIONERS' HALL — ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
tONDON: E. aitd F, ». SPON, 18, CHARING CBOS
NEW YORK; 1«S, BROOUB STREET
1876.
/U
-r.
GENERAL EEMABKS.
:0:-
For many years past the serious attention of the authori-
ties and of the leading engineers on the Continent has been
turned to the various means of utiUzing and improving the
extensive wat«r communications of their respective countriesi
for the purpose of regular and cheap goods traffic*
Prior to the introduction of the railway system, rivers
and canals were the sole recognised and possible means of
transporting large quantities of goods at anything like reason-
able prices. Since their introduction however, and owing to
their development, the growth of trade has been so rapid, that
many of the railways are now inadequate to the traffic they
have so much assisted in fostering, while in many cases the
goods to be forwarded are of such a nature that they will not
bear expensive carriage. Frequently also, the lines themselves
might be more profitably employed in forwarding goods and
passengers at rates that would give them better returns.
It is for the carriage of large quantities of bulky, or
cheap goods, at slow speeds and at low rates that, in France
and Germany especially, so much attention is being devoted
to the improvement of their rivers, and the development of
their system of canals.
The advantages of water carriage as compared with that
upon roads and railways, especially upon the latter, for such
goods which, relatively to their value are of great volume, and
the forwarding of which is not a question of hours, will be best
appredatedi when it is remembered that a horse of .average
B
strength will draw on a level road 1*5| upon a railway 16, and
upon a canal or in still water 60 tons weight at equal speeds.
In France the Budget for 1877 includes 111,499,625
francs for improvements of rivers, 23,372,000 francs for canals,
and 97,123,000 francs for harbours, a total of je9,279,785.
The first two items are for improving the Eastern Canal, and
for deepening the Seine, Ehone and the Burgundy Canal.
Besides these sums on the part of the State, the City of Paris
has voted £8,000,000, and the four departments Meurthe et
Moselle, Vosges, Meuse and Ardennes together JB2, 560,000
exclusively for the Eastern Canal.
In Prussia upwards of 1045 miles of new canals are
authorized and partly being built, in addition to the 1289
miles the country already possesses and to the 4925 miles of
navigable rivers in Germany.
As a general rule the new canals are designed to unite
rivers to bring large manufacturing and industrial places in
direct communication with mining centres, or rich agricultural
districts in connection with an existing waterway more or less
distant.
And it is precisely this desire to develope and make the
best use of the inland waterways that has created the necessity
also for a new and reliable means of working the traffic, which
while being economical should at the same time be equally
applicable to lakes, rivers and canals, and yet answer all re-
quirements as to space, draught, currents, curves, ice, rocks,
locks, crowded or limited traffic, cheap rates and regularity.
With submerged Chain or Wire Cable towage it is alone
possible to meet all these requirements, and practical success
has been the gradual growth of many years' experience and
trials ; and much money and still more thought and labour
on the part of foreign engineers have been expended in arriving
at a satisfactory solution of the difficulties — ^peculiarly inherent
to the system — to be successfully overcome, before it was
possible to profit fully by the immense advantages secured
thereby.
The system of Cable or Chain towing may be shortly ex-
plained thus : — ^A Wire Cable or Chain of the necessary
strength is laid along the bed of the river, canal, or
lake, and moored at its extremities. The tow-boat is
provided with steam engines and suitable machinery for
taking up the Wire Cable or Chain at the bows, and hauling
thereon, whereby it propels itself and its train of barges at a
speed varying with the requirements of the case, and re-lays
the Cable or Chain by the stern as it progresses.
By this means the full force of the steam power is ex-
erted without slip or waste of any kind, and the boat is able to
tow a practically unlimited number of barges.
The advantages of this mode of propulsion, as will be
readily understood, are very great, provided that the steamers
and necessary plant are properly adapted for the purpose.
Irrespective of all the other advantages it oflfers, there is
one, which in its application to canals and narrow rivers is
of incalculable value, and that is, in obviating all wash of the
banks. This washing of the banks, which is so destructive to
canals, and which has been the principal reason why steam
has not been more generally applied to canals instead of horse
power hitherto, is caused mainly by the wash waves formed by
the paddles or screw in acting upon the water in a confined
space (especially where the depth is inconsiderable), coupled
with high speed. As the towing steamer's power is exerted,
not upon the water directly, but upon a fixed point, or a series
of fixed points, represented by the Cable, and the speed is
always under control, all destruction of the banks from this
cause is entirely avoided.
As far as is known, at present, the first experiments in
towage were made in 1732 by M. Le Marechal De Saxe. The
practical application of this system however, dating from 1820,
was first made at Lyons, on the river Saone. In this case the
tow-boat was a flat-bottomed vessel of 17 feet beam, and 75 feet
long, on which a wooden platform was erected to receive a
tvindlass worked by six horses, giving motion to the hauling
drums, and round which the towage rope was wound. In the)
trials made in June, 1822, between Givors and Lyons, one-and-
a-half miles of hempen rope, 2J in. diameter, was employed..
This rope was divided into two equal lengths, and placed in
one of two small barges called *' courriers," which was towed'
up-stream by men and horses ; one end of one length of the;
rope was then anchored in the channel, and the other end was
wound several times round the drums on the tow-boat, which
then commenced to haul on it, and paid the slack over the
stem into the empty " courrier*' following it. Meantime the'
first " courrier'* had been sent on, and had anchored its second,
portion of rope, and on reaching the upper end of the first piece
of rope, the lower end of the second piece was ready to be
taken over the drums of the tow-boat, while the second
" courrier," with the first length of cable on board, was again
towed further up the river to anchor its length of rope afresh.
These trials having succeeded to a certain extent, the
horses gave place some years later to steam power.
As it was soon found tliat the adhesion of a chain re-
posing on the ground is from 70 to 80 per cent, of the weight .
of that portion in contact with the ground, it was proposed to
build tow-boats, which should apply their motive power to
submerged chains, and the first practical trial in this respect
was made at Kouen, in J 825, by De Kigny, who constructed a
chain tow-boat there and laid down a chain along the river.
After many trials and improvements with steamers, too
numerous to mention here, a definite system of chain towage
was eventually arrived at, such as is actually in use on the
Seine, between Paris, Montereau, and the Oise ; on the Elbe,
between Hamburg and Schandau and on part of the River St. ,
Lawrence, in Canada.
Experiments of a more perfect kind were continued for
some .years in Belgium with Iron and Steel Wire Cables; and
in 1865 Baron De Mesnil, made experiments in Belgium and
in America, adopting the Fowler clip-drum, with a view to
obtain a perfect grip on the Wire Cable.
In May, 1868, the Societe Anonyme de Touage de
Liege, was incorporated for carrying out cable towage on the
River Meuse, and in December, 1868, the Belgo-Netherlands
Towing Company, for working the Temeuze Canal from Ghent
to the River Schelde.
The first section of the Liege Company's line was
opened between Liege and Namur in the year 1869, and in
1870 extended to Maestricht, and thence along the canal
(connecting Antwerp and Rotterdam), as far as Bocholt, a total
length of 137 kilometres. Although the materials and plant
were found on the whole to answer their expectations, and the
results were satisfactory, yet on the Liege and Namur section
the service was gradually given up temporarily, on account of
the large number of oldfashioned locks and weu's which
occasioned such loss of time in passing the trains of barges
that it was found more profitable to work this section by horses.
There are ten sets of locks on this short length of canal, each
of which took a train of barges, with its towing steamer, two
hours to pass through.
The Belgian Government, however, has finally been
brought to see and understand the importance of cheap water
carriage, as carried out on a regular system, and it has learnt
to understand, that to neglect inland water traffic for the sake
of feeding its railway system, is contrary to all true principles
of economy. It has, amongst other works, undertaken the
re-building of these locks of sufficiently large dimensions to
pass several barges at a time, and far more speedily than
through the old ones.
The Cable employed on the Mouse is 1 inch diameter,
and formed of 42 wires wouud in a spiral round a tarred
hempen core. Its weight is i '5 lb. per foot, its ultimate breaking
strain 290 cwt., and its safe working strain 41 cwt. A Chain
to withstand the equal strains would require to be made of *78"
iron weighing 6-1 lbs. per foot, or nearly four times as heavy^
6
!rhe tow-boats employed were of two diflEerent kinds, but
the principle aimed at in both cases was to make use of
Fowler's clip-dmm for getting the necessary grip on the Cable.'
In both cases the Cable is taken along the side of the Steamer;
in one, Fowler's drum is placed vertically, projecting with other
wheels and gearing, beyond the Steamer's side, and in the other*
design it is placed horizontally under the deck.*
In France, towage on the chain system is at work from
Montereau, through Paris as far as the mouth of the Oise
near to Pontoise, and also on the river Oise.
The Chain first employed was made of | in. iron, and;
weighed from 5 to 5J lbs. per foot, and was tested to an
an ultimate strain of 180 cwts. before being laid down, as it
was supposed that the working strain would never exceed 60
cwts. ; but after a short trial it was found inadequate to the
purpose and was replaced by a new chain of 'SS" iron weigh-
ing 7.37 lbs. per foot and tested to . 240 cwts. It is doubtful
whether this Chain will last any length of time, as it is admitted
that frequently sudden strains are developed, (partly owing to
the weight and construction of the Chain and to the entire .
system of Chain towage) which reach as much as 180 cwts.,
while the constant working strains vary between 80 and 90
cwts.
The first Steamers adopted were of 16 and 25 H.P., but
as they were found insufficiently strong for the purpose, others
were soon built of 40 H.P., intended to go at four miles per
hour upstream and eight miles downstream ; these speeds how-
ever are never attained, when there is any train of barges
in tow.
On the lower Seine, a Steamer called the Napoleon, was '
built by M. Cail, at the cost of £9000, fitted with engines of 60
H.P., but it is found, that a smaller class of Steamer is better
suited for that river.
* Both arrangements with Fowler's clip-drum are objectiomible, as we
shall show farther on, the sole redeeming feature being the possibility of getting rid
of the Cable at any moment, but which then leaves a Towing Steamer as useless as
a locomotive off the rails.
In the United States, a length of upwards of 42 miles is
now in successful operation on the Erie Canal, between Middle-
port and Buffalo, and in this case it has been practically
proved that the present speed by animal power can thereby at
least be doubled at the same working expense. The heaviest load
towed by a cable Steamer on the Erie Canal comprised seven
barges carrying ISOO^tons of coal against a current of three miles
an hour at a speed of three miles. The State offered a prize of
$100,000 for a successful introduction of steam on the Erie
Canal, and paid $60,000 to the most meritorious for the pur-
pose intended. The only success is the Wire Cable towing
system, whereas every attempt to introduce steam as a motor
on each canal boat has proved a failure, being unable to
compete with animal power, and except at cost equal to that of
a new canal boat, in being practically applied to the existing
5000 canal boats, which would represent an investment of ten
millions of dollars.
In Bussia, the traffic on the river Shecksna is being
worked by a cable ; last year the dividends paid exceeded 18
per cent, per annum.
The upper Volga, between Twer and Rybinsk, is being
worked on the Chain system, a distance of about 210 miles by
means of ten Towing Steamers, and although in the first year
of its existence it had many difficulties of an exceptional nature
to encounter, it is now beginning to produce very fair returns.
The Imperial Government granted a concession for lay-
ing a cable down along the whole Marinskie canal and river
system, between Bybinsk and Petersburg and Cronstadt, a
distance of 600 miles, and also on the Bussian part of the
river Vistula, from the Austrian frontier through Warsaw to
the Sea Coast.
In Germany, the river Elbe is worked by the Chain
system, laid from Hamburg to Schandau, a distance of about
425 miles, and it answers well, having paid dividends for some
years at the rate of 6^ per cent, per annum, besides having a
large reserve fund.
8
A Company on the Rhine has received a concession for
laying down towage on the German portion of the river, and a
section is already at work ; but the system of Steamers they
have adopted, to which we shall refer further on, presents mo
many drawbacks, that they must either abandon their system
or their line. The lower Bhine from Rotterdam to Elten, belong-
ing to Holland, has been conceded by the Dutch Government,
and will be carried out on the Wire Cable system.
On the river Oder the Wire Cable system has been laid
and tried and found to succeed, and our system of Steamers
adopted, and will be shortly carried out.
The daily increasing importance of this system of
improved inland navigation is shown by the concessions granted
by the Prussian Government to Mr. F. J. Meyer, for towing by
Chain or Cable on the rivers Havel and Spree in North Germany,
thereby bringing the cities of Berlin, Hamburg, Stettin, Dresden,
and the Saxon and Bohemia coalfields, and by means of the Oder,
the Silesian coalfields, ironworks, and mines, and Polish and West
Russian timber and agricultural districts, into communication
by this cheap and efficient means of transport.
The distance embraced in the concessions is about 230
miles, and comprises the river Havel from its junction with the
Elbe at Havelort to Hennigsdorf (whence there is communica-
tion with the lower Oder, via the upper Havel and the Finow
canal) ; the river Spree from Spandau through Berlin to Copnick,
with a branch lino up to Rudersdorf; another line along the
Spree to Newhaus (the western end of the Friedrich Wilhelms
Oanal, communicating with the upper Oder), and a third branch
by the river Dahme to the Neuen MUhlo Lock ; and lastly along
the new Sacrow-Paretz Canal, and the SchifiGfahrts Canal, from
Berlin to Tegelort on the HaveL
The whole of these waters have been carefully surveyed
and sounded, and it has been found, that although the depth
varies considerably in different parts of the course, as for example
in the Muggel SeOi where the depth attains 27 feet, and in the
9
Ide Havel 4 5 feet, while in some portions of the npper Spree,
the direction of Neuhans, there is hut an average depth of three
^t of water, yet upon the whole, neither depth nor shallowness
esent any great obstacles in laying and working the line, the
ily additional outlay being for dredging works in deepening the
jdlow parts of the channel* One advantage, in point of econ«
Qy in working, these waters have over other rivers now being
)rked by this system of towing, lies in the £skct that the current
for the most part sluggish, not exceeding two to three miles per
lur, except during spring time. On certain parts of the Elbe, on
e contrary, it runs at a speed of five miles an hour, and on the
lecksna, in Russia, (a tributary of the great Volga) there is one
ot where the trains encounter successfully a current of eight
ten miles per hour in flood time*
; In the case of these concessions, which are undoubtedly the
ly to an immense system of towage, which will shortly spread
^ronghout and embrace all the waterways of Central Europe,
ere are several points worthy of remark*
Whereas traffic on other lines has had to a certain extent
. be created and nursed, here it is already immense, and accord-
g to all returns is growing larger every year*
The City of Berlin, the centre of the German Empire,
•ntains a million of inhabitants, and is built in the middle of a
ndy plain utterly unproductive of anything except small
itatoes. The inhabitants require not only to be fed, clothed
^d lodged, but all the raw materials for the supply of their
uxiberless factories and industrial works have also to be brought
om long distances* The increase of population averages 50,000
lyear, and this is equivalent to an augmentation of abput 500
luses built annually; and all the materials, such as bricks^
Dues, timber, limestone and so forth have to be brought from a
stance by water to Berlin. Hence results the enormous traffic
i these rivers, in all articles of food, hay, fruits, market pro-
tee from intermediate towns and villages, brown coal or lignite,
id coal via the Upper Elbe from Bohemia ; iron, petroleum and
10
general merohandize by the Lower Elbe from Hamburg ; and coal,
iron and other metals, timber and foreign merchandize by the
Oder from Stettin and Breslaii;
The amount of traffic on the Berlin waters embraced in
these concessions, as shown by the Police Keturns, is very con-
siderable. In 1874 the Returns of Goods entered, despatched or
passed through Berlin only by water, amounted to 70,346,872 cwts.
exclusive of floats of timber.
There is besides a large intermediate traffic which it is
next to impossible to determine accurately. It is of an impor-
tant and extensive character, as apart from the ordinary local
traffic the numerous brickworks and manufactories have to be
supplied with raw material and fuel, the latter of which reaches
its destination principally by the Havel and Spree rivers, via
the Elbe, from Bohemia. This intermediate traffic certainly
exceeds §00,000 tons — probably it is really more than double
this if the number of villages and small towns bordering on these
rivers and lakes are taken into consideration.
The working of the Government Limestone Quarries at
Rudersdorf, east of BerUn, results in an annual output of upwards
of half a million of cubic meters of difierent kinds of limestone,
being equivalent to about 1,250,000 tons, and more than three-
quarters of this finds its way to Berlin by water, the duration of
the journey averaging three days.
Upwards of 15,000 tons of coal from Bohemia, are con-
sumed annually at these Quarries, the whole of which would be
carried along these waters and delivered at 40 % less cost than
at present, as soon as punctuality and honesty could be secured.
The lines of railway to Berlin are already overworked ;
it will therefore be a relief to them to be rid of a large portion of
their cheap and heavy traffic.
The barges get no assistance to their progress from the
stream, which is mostly agaiust them. In many parts there is
insufficient room to sail ; and even in those portions of the water
which are wifle enough, the way is tortuous, and every quarter of
11
an hour brings a change in the direction of the channel. Horsed
cannot be used, as the river banks are not provided with towing
paths. There is, therefore, but one mode of propulsion left —
namely, ppling, which is the sole reliable resource for all this
immense traffic ; and a more arduous, degrading, and inefficient
toil cannot well be conceived.
At present it is impossible to say beforehand how long a
barge will be on the road ; it is not a question of days or weeks,
but often of months. Now, one of the principal advantages of
towage, and which cannot be too strongly insisted upon both in
this as well as in every' other case, is that of punctuality ; and
whereas a barge now takes a fortnight as a moderately quick
journey from Havelort to Berlin, though frequently longer, when
the entire line is completed, it will be possible to deliver it at
Berlin the third day. This must necessarily have a direct
influence upon the cost of carriage.
The cost of barge hire for 100 tons of cargo to go a distance
of 150 miles, taking only ten days on the road, including the
crew and all expenses, averages about JSll.
The hire of a similar barge, forwarded by towage, and
deUvered that distance, the third day will cost about £4: 10s.
With this example in view it would appear at first sight
that the barge owners will be the losers ; but this is, however,
not the case; because, although barge hire is considerably
reduced, wear and tear, working expenses, men's wages, and the
time necessary to make the journey are reduced more than in
proportion to this difference in price.
Moreover, a barge is burdened with heavy mast
and rigging, weighing from Ijt to 10 tons, so much dead
weight, which done away with, would considerably increase its
carrying capacity.
There is another fruitful cause of loss to merchants and
others forwarding goods in bulk by water at present, and that is
frequent theft. The longer a barge is on the road, the greater
the loss in this respect. I know a case in which a barge con-
12
taining 92 tons of lignite, from Bohemia, arrived at Berlin with
78 tons 14 cwt. only. This state of things is more generally the
rule than the exception, and it is only by adopting a regular
and speedy means of transport, in which everything is under
control, that this can be remedied.
That the importance of these Unes of towage may be more
readily understood and appreciated, we add a few words here in
reference to towage on the Oder, and the way it is proposed to
carry it out, which, as it will form one of the principal feeders of
the Berlin system, is of some interest.
The river Oder takes its rise in the high lands of Upper
Silesia and flows past Eatibor, Cosel» Breslau, Frankfort and
Stettin into the Baltic at Swinemiinde. It is navigable from
Batibor, a total length down to the sea of about 530 miles.
The total fall in this distance equals about 508 feet. The
current in the upper portion of the river is in some parts rapid,
attaiuing a velocity at ordinary levels of 3*5 to 4*5 feet per
second, especially between Ciistrin and Frankfort.
The volume of water varies very considerably. In spring
time it rises to an average of 14 feet above Swinemiinde water
level, and in the driest summer falls to 1'6 and 2*0 feet below 0.
For various reasons it has been neglected until within the
last few years ; but now the necessary works are being carried on
actively to regulate it, and in the course of a few years it is to be
hoped it will be second to no river in Europe in commercial
importance.
At Cosel it is connected with the Silesian Coal fields by the
Klodnitz Canal, a length of 40 miles. In its course down to the
sea it receives many tributaries, and above Ciistrin it joins with the
Vistula, via the rivers Warthe and Netze and with the upper
Prussian Canals, &c. Westwards it is united by means of the
Finow Canal at Hohensaathen and the Frederich Wilhelm's
Canal at Neuhaus with the Berlin water system by the Havel and
Spree and thence with the Elbe and Hamburg, It commands
the transports of the produce of the Silesian mines, and in its
course it flows through a rich and prosperous agricultural country.
13
The Coal fields of Silesia cover an area of upwards of
3000 square miles. The output in 1875 of the 146 coal mines
amounted to 10,444,361 tons, having during the last four years
increased by 3,887,159 tons There are also many important
iron, zinc, and lead works (166) the output of which last year
amounted to 18,704,965 cwts., and extensive limestone quarries,
firebrick, brick, tile, hardware, porcelain and glass works,
chemical works, machine shops, spirit distilleries, oil mills and
beet sugar factories, (47) — cotton, linen, woollen cloth and
paper mills. Previous to the development of the railways the
various industrial resources of Silesia remained but little noticed ;
but since their development, the growth has been sure and rapid.
At present Breslau is approached by six different lines of
Ruilway, three of which with numerous branches traverse the Coal
fields. These lines which carried, in 1874, 13,369,453 tons, and
of which considerably more than the half travels in the direction
of Stettin, Frankfort and Berlin, are totally inadequate to the
increasing demand for carriage. It is a fact worthy of note, that
the leading lines have been paying exorbitant dividends (in 1874
the earnings amounted to £5,211,839), produced mostly by their
goods traffic, and therefore every person interested in the industry
of the country looks forward anxiously to the time when their
produce can be forwarded by the cheaper and more commodious
means of water transport than at present.
Gleiwitz, Cosel, Oppeln, Brieg, Ohlau, are smaH towns
on the river above Breslau. They contain a number of factories
and works of various descriptions.
Breslau, the capital of Silesia, is the second town in
Prussia, with about 240,000 inhabitants ; it is situated on either
side of the Oder, and contains numerous large industrial establish-
ments of all kinds, and is at the same time the centre of the whole
trade of Eastern Germany and a greater part of Poland. The
principal goods imported byway of Hamburg, Stettin and Berlin
to Breslau, comprise raw cotton, wool, silk, wines, magnetic iron
ore, petroleum, machinery, piincipally agricultural. The exports
being iron, coal, zinc, com, spirits, paper, cloth and cotton goods^
chicory, sugar, tobacco, &c*
14
Only two railways have given Eeports for 1874 on the
import and export trade of Breslan, which by these lines
amonnted to —
Breslau-Schweidnitz Railway .... 1,546,826 tons.
Rechte Oder-Ufer Railway .... 1,455,860 „
8,002,686 tons.
These figures do not include the through traffic from Upper
Silesia to Berlin, Stettin, &c.
Maltsch, Leubus, Steinau, Eoeben, Glogau, Carolath,
Neusalz, Rothenbnrg, Crossen, Fiirstenberg are small towns
lying on the Oder, and their importance merely consists in theilr
being the centres of Iheir respective districts for the sale and
transport of the produce of the agriculture and industry of each
district, and for the supply of fuel and manufactured goods
required in the neighbourhood.
Frankfort is a large manufacturing town situated in the
Oder valley. The imports and exports, in 1874, amounted
to 1,142,625 tons. Its principal trade lies with the neighbour-
ing small towns and with Breslau, Stettin and Berlin.
Clistrin, Schwedt and Greiffenhagen are also small towns
receiving the produce of the country and supplying fuel and goods
required for the use of the inhabit-ants of those districts. Clistrin
is the centre of the Beetroot Sugar trade of the Oder valley,
there being 47 large Beetroot Sugar factories in the neighbour-
hood.
Stettin is a large manufacturing and shipping port, con-
taining about 83,000 inhabitants. It has several iron and
machine works, and mills of various descriptions. It owns a line
of steamers running to America, and does a considerable shipping
trade with England and its Colonies, and with French, Italian,
Ameiican, and Baltic ports. Greater part of the foreign trade
of Breslau is carried on through Stettin. In 1873, 997,180 tons
of grain, 37,400,000 litres of spirit, and 38,215 tons of rape oil
were shipped from Stettin, the principal portion coming from the
upper Oder, 421,400 barrels of petroleum and 735|597 tons of
It
other goods were imported, and 225^103 tons were exported
by sea. By rail 300,591 tons of goods arrived at Stettin, prin-
cipally from Breslau and Berlin, and 604,602 tons were sent off
by rail, principally in the same direction. The number of barges
arriving in Stettin was 8,460, carrying 538,134 tons, and those
leaving amounted to 8,472, carrying 537,974 tons.
Swinemunde is a small town situated at the mouth of the
Oder, where it flows into the Baltic. No extensive trade is
carried on, but it is the residing place of a large number of Oder
and Baltic pilots.
At present the greater part of the coal, iron, and
manufactured goods produced in Silesia is carried by rail
at very considerable cost, simply because no regular system
of transport exists on the Oder for the cheaper carriage of the
same. Of the 10,400,000 tons of Coal worked in Silesia at
least two-thirds finds its way by rail to Breslau, Berlin, Dresden,
Frankfort, Stettin, and the neighbouring towns. Of this amount,
Berlin alone takes 822,714 tons, Stettin 45,750 tons, and
Frankfort 126,540 tons.
Although statistics are wanting to prove where the whole
of the Silesian Coal produced and sent off is consumed, and as
it is not traceable beyond these towns and the Oder districts,
the only concJusion to be arrived at is that the greater part of
the remainder directly unaccounted for, is consumed in the
numerous small towns and places bordering on the Oder. There
is therefore a large quantity of goods, which absolutely require
cheap carriage, to be dealt with. The lowest rates per rail for
Coal from Silesia (Eonigshiitte)
to Berlin equal 13/4 per ton,
to Stettm „ 16/9 „
to Brandenburg . ,, 15/8 ,,
In all cases, although the coal is brought to the town, yet great
expense is st^l incurred before it reaches the consumers.
Amongst other items of expenditure is that occasioned by a
general regulation — that waggons of coal arriving at Breslau,
Berlin^ Stettin, Frankfort, or any other station, have to be
u
unloaded within six hours of notice of arrival, or a fine of 6/- per
day has to be paid. Most of the factories and coal depots have
water frontage ; but there is no railway in Germany that has
any wharfage, and therefore the cost of carriage from the
Kailway Station averages another 3/- a ton.
Very little Silesian Coal is exported now, but as soon as it
can be brought to Stettin for 12/- a ton, it will be able to
command a considerable share of the Baltic Coal Trade.
Of the manufactured goods, such as Iron, Steel, Cloth,
Hardware, Lime, Cement, &c., the larger part finds its way to
Berlin and Stettin, and of course is under still greater disadvan-
tages than coal respecting high freights.
The freight for ordinary manufactured goods in quantities
of not less than 10 tons between Berlin and Breslau is from
38s. 3d. to 23s. per ton. Between Stettin and Berlin from 10s.
to 6s. 7d. per ton, and between Stettin and Breslau from 46s. to
27s. per ton.
Now as regards the traffic on the Oder, upstream from
Stettin, it can be explained very briefiy. The barges from Stettin
en route for Berlin require to be tugged up to the mouth of the
Finow Canal or the Friedrich Wilhelm's Canal, as the river not
being tidal fiows only in one direction, downstream. Therefore
between these points thexe is already a considerable up traffic.
Higher up, the currents and the smaller depth of water present
greater obstacles to ordinary sail navigation, while the cost of
tug steamers is too great to allow of their being generally used.
(Nevertheless the First Stettin Tug Company paid dividends last
year of 88 per cent., and the new Company dividends of 10 per
cent. ) Between the mouth of the river Warthe and the Finow and
Friedrich Wilhelm's Canal, there is a very considerable traffic in
timber, mostly coming from Poland. In 1871, the Oranienburg
Lock (Finow Canal) passed 14,759 fioats of timber, and the
Neuhaus Lock (Friedrich Wilhelm's Canal) 2,190 floats (9
logs « 1 float); these quantities have since then largely
increased*
It
The traffic between Swinemiinde and Stettin, comprises
the passage of sailing vessels and steamers, the former of which
have mostly to be towed to and from Stettin. Last year the
number of sailing vessels from foreign and German ports entering
and leaving Stettin was 2508 and 2395; the number of
steamers being 1302 and 1259 respectively.
A proper service of towage, barge accommodation, and
proper arrangements for easy and expeditious loading and
unloading, would undoubtedly command to a very considerable
extent, the amount of traffic now existing along the proposed
line, especially as goods can be profitably forwarded at less than
half the lowest railway rates.'*'
In order to carry out the Oder towage completely, in such
a manner as to meet the demand of existing and future traffic,
and by well combined and perfect arrangements to carry on this
traffic regularly and cheaply, it will be necessary that the under-
taking be carried out at once on a comprehensive scale. The
conditions of trade and country are such that in working out this
undertaking regard must be had not only to the existing traffic,
but also to a much larger one to be made and diverted to the
system. And that this is reasonable, will be easily seen on com-
paring the various rates, and on estimating the comparative
costs of working railways and towage, and especially taking into
consideration the various advantages offered by the latter.
The line of towage will commence from Swinemiinde and
crossing the Little and Great Haff run up to Stettin. This
comprises a length of about 90 miles. From Stettin the line
will continue up the Oder past Hohensaathen, the junction of the
Finow Canal, and up to Ciistrin, the junction of the river Warthe.
Thence to the Brieskow Lake, the junction of the Friedrich
Wilhelm's Canal, and from there past Breslau up to Cosel, the
junction of the Klodnitz Canal, leading to the coal fields, and
embracing a total length of 497 miles. As the Klodnitz Canal
contains 18 locks, while it has a very large reserve of water, it
* Hemark. The whole of the above figures and qnaniatieB have been extracted
from the variouB Board of Trade Beports, GoTemment Statistic^ Coosnlar Reports and
Railway Tariffs.
18
would not be necessary to lay down a cable for the present. The
different classes of traflSc to be dealt with require the construction
of dilBferent sizes of towing steamers and barges. On the section
between Swinemiinde and Stettin, provision has to be made for
the towage of seal going vessels, and for that purpose three
towing steamers of 4 feet draft and indicating about 240 horse-
power, are advisable. Between Stettin and Brieskow Lake, 12
ordinary light-draft towing steamers must be employed, but of
the same power arid description of engines and towing apparatus
as in the first case. Between Brieskow and Cosel, 10 smaller
light-draft steamers will be necessary, indicating about 160 horse-
power.
In order to bo to some extent independent of the ordinary
barges on the Oder, it will be necessary that barges in sufficient
number be secured to allow of the coal and direct traffic being
taken in hand at once. For this purpose 370 barges will be
requisite for the commencement; and these, which will have a
total tonnage of 52,500 tons, will be sufficient to keep up an
annual carrying trade of 1,000,000 tons.
It should be remarked here, that as soon as the line is in
operation, barge accommodation can be rented to any extent
required, while the whole of the general traffic of the river will be
undoubtedly towed up-stream. For the easier loading, unloading
and transhipment of coal, ores and merchandize, 2000 iron coal
buckets, each to hold from 20 to 25 cwts. should be used. As
a large profit also can be earned from the export of the coal to
German and foreign Baltic ports, it would be advisable that
Steam Colliers be acquired. The dredging works in the river
necessitate the supply of six steam dredgers, with their sand
hoppers, etc., and for Stettin and the Brieskow Lake, it would
be necessary to advise the supply of four ordinary tug steamers,
especially with a view to the timber traffic at these points.
Commodious and proper workshops and slips must be
erected at Stettin, Frankfort, Breslau and Cosel, and these repair
and workshops must be capable of carrying aut any other small
work which may be oflferedi besides that required for the repair
1§
and constraction of the plant. Coal depots^ goods stations and
loading places must be acquired and established at Gleiwitz^ Cosel,
Breslau, Glogau, Frankfort, Custrin, Stettin, and Swinemttnde ;
while at Oppeln, Brieg, Ohlau, Koeben, Brieskow, Custrin and
Schwedt arrangements should be come to with the proper persons
for smaller depots to be held in each place. The establishment
of these coal depots is most desirable, as they will not only
supply a want long felt in those places, but will, at the same
time, prove to be a source of direct profit from the sale or storage
of the coal and the storage and wharfage of goods. Travelling
steam cranes for the transhipment and unloading of the coal
should be furnished and erected at Cosel, Breslau and Brieskew.
It being a matter of primary importance that the Cable
should be, from the first, well laid and maintained, it is
requisite to include the construction and supply of two steamers
to be specially devoted to this purpose.
The forwarding of the existing goods traffic on these lines
conjointly, by means of Wire Cable Towage, will produce a net
profit of over i!280,000 annually, the rates and charges being as
shown in the accompanying table : —
RATE OF CHARGES FOR TOW^ING A BARGE (SAY 100 TONS
CAPACITY) AND CARGO:
Distance.
MiT.E.
CHAEGE FOR UP STREAM,
Dawn Stream 20 % less.
Empty Barge
per Mile.
Laden Barge
per Mile.
1 Ton of Cargo
per Mile.
Tow Ropes
per Mile.
1
d.
5-6
d.
2-9
d.
•15
d.
•58
In order that a just appreciation of the difference in price
may be arrived at between towage and carriage per rail, the
following table gives the minimum and maximum rates for the
forwarding of goods by land and water, so far as these great
German towing lines are concerned, and I have no reason to
doubt, that this comparison will also hold good in other
countries, especially in England and France.
^
IS
IS
JO o o
'i 9
l§
eflt- - -I
I ^|i i 11
1^ id % So'
k -Si I I
^t 4 I
21
«
It is to be hoped that the day is not far distant when the
fall advantages of this system of cheap carriage will be recognized ^
even in England, and then some of our old canals and many new
ones which might be profitably bnilt to carry it out, will help to
break through the present railway monopoly. It must ever be a
recognized tmth» that water carriage is cheaper than railway
carriage, and when worked on this system, which may best be
compared to a railway with a self-maintaining and level
permanent way, there can be no doubt, that for the transport of
heavy goods at low speed, it will prove the solution of a question
of grand national importance, not only to the English manu-
facturer and merchant but to the whole English commonwealllL
22
WIRE CABLE.
When Towage was first introduced, its advocates generally
adopted Chain as the material to be submerged for towing upon.
This was of course natural, as it was requisite to have something
that should be strong enough to withstand great and varying
strains and sudden jerks, at the same time be pliant and easily
moveable, and yet capable of withstanding for a great length of
time submersion in rivers or lakes, exposed to the chemical action
of decomposing matter on the river bed, or where rapids occurred,
from injury by attrition with a coarse sand or pebbly bottom
and sharp edges of stones and rocks. Ropes made of flax or
.hemp had been tried ; but sufl&cient strength could not be obtained
in anything like a useful size ; and besides this, they very soon
rotted from the constant exposure to air and water. Bars of
round iron welded together, forming one continuous line, had
also been essayed, but unsuccessfiilly, on account of the absence
of elasticity and pliancy. So long, therefore, as chain was the
only material that could be employed for the purpose, it received
the sole attention of those interested in lines of towage, and
hence in course of time it came to be looked upon as part of the
system. But as soon as it was found possible to manufacture
Wire Ropes or Cables a fresh impulse was given to towage, and
the way opened of attaining results utterly beyond the limits to
be secured by the employment of chain.
Experience has shown that the adhesion of a chain upon
the ground is from 70 to 80 per cent, of the weight of that
portion in contact with the ground, which of course, all advocates
of chain towage have seized upon as a fact of great importance,
forgetting at the same time, that the friction of the chain, wear
and tear, and waste of power, are in exact proportion to its
weight and its adhesion to the ground.
It soon came to be generally admitted that wire cable
was the towing medium of the future ; but it brought with it
difl&culties of a technical nature, the really satisfactory solution of
which has puzzled and defied the many attempts hitherto made*
23
Strength for strength, the relatiye weight of chain and iron wire
cable are as 42 to 11. The chain, say one of ^ in. in diameter,
is heavy enough to run off the steamer of its own weight with
the slightest tension. A cable on the contrary, of i in. diameter,
requires, under certain circumstances, to be drawn on to, and
nearly always to be re-laid from the steamer, by means of special
apparatus, on account of its small weight. This fact hitherto
has been little understood, and when it has been understood,
imperfectly or incorrectly provided for.
When cable towage was first thought of, and indeed even
now generally, it was supposed that any wire cable would suit for
the purpose, provided its strength was sufficient. This is an
error, however, and one of the principal ones that have been
committed throughout.
Theoretically, a line of towage is the laying down of a
cable in a straight line, and at unvarying depths, between two
fixed points, upon which the haulage is performed by means of
the steamer's engines, or other suitable appliances. Then only
two essential conditions require consideration and fulfilment ; the
first the weight to be towed, reference being had to the current
and depth, and, secondly, the speed at which the same is to be
performed.
Practically however, in applying or laying down a cable
there are numerous points which have to be taken into consider-
ation, such as the general conditions of the river or stream, the
sets of the current, the curves, the depths, the description of
river bottom, varying depths of water either due to constant tide
or to freshets and mountain floods, and all these points must be
considered in conjunction with the probable amount, direction,
and periods of greatest and least traffic. And even in straight
lines, there are two difficulties to be avoided — that is, laying down
the cable too sparingly, so that the constant tensional strains
fore and aft of the steamer produce undue friction and usure ;
while, on the other hand, a too liberal allowance of cable will
cause it to pack in the river whenever a steamer slackens speed
24
or stops suddenly. This packing of the cable, which consists
in its coiling in heaps on the bed of the river, will occnr in
front or astern of the towing steamer according to circumstances.
It is almost needless to add that this packing of the cable is one
cause of kinks.
Indeed the various conditions under which cable can be
employed for towing purposes necessitate so wide a divergence
in the general plan of arrangements, that we have found it
better to class its adaptation into two separate and distinct
systems : the first as applied to large rivers and lakes, and the
second as applied to canals and canalized rivers.
The general conditions of the river or stream comprise the
maximum and mininmm strength of current or tide along its
whole course, or in any particular portion of its course. In
most rivers it will generally be found that there are some
especial obstacles, such as sandbanks, steep shores or shallow
foreshores stretching far out into the stream, even extraordinarily
muddy, rocky or sandy bottoms, weirs, locks, or artificial
structures, such as quays, bridges, which beyond the question of
fall, govern the passage of the water at particular spots and at
particular times. The width and depth of the bed of the stream
also influence the currents, while straight or broad reaches of
water exposed to the action of a high wind, are subject to very
considerable di£ferences in depth. In this latter respect I can
cite two cases, the mouth of the river Neva and the mouth of the
Oder, where the diflferences in depth of water, caused solely by a
high wind, attains as much as nine feet within a few hours.
The sets of the current, due in part to any of the above-
named causes, or to curves in the channel, have also an
important bearing on the correct position and length of the
cable. It is found frequently that in curves the current is
strongest on the outer side of the stream, while at other times
pebbles, stones, or sand-banks having been deposited gradually
on the outside of the curve, the channel is transferred more or
less gradually to the inside. Varying depths of water, with the
26
■^
attendant alteration in the speed of the current at those places,
will materially alter the available length of the cable to be towed
upon. Then, a line of cable that would be slack at a depth of 5
feet would be taut at 25 feet. And finally, the direction of the
heaviest traffic which will necessarily be against the
current, tends to cause the cable to creep down
stream gradually. In laying it, therefore, all these
I points have to be previously carefully considered,
and arrangements made to avoid or remedy the
drawbacks they may occasion. In this respect
experience has proved that in general an allowance
of from three to five per cent, of the actual length
of cable laid, over and above the channel distance to
be worked, will amply suffice.
In canals and canalized rivers, where generally
speaking, the depth of water does not vary more
than two or three feet, and the channel itself is
constant, and does not shift from side to side, as in
the case of swiftly-flowing and wide-bedded rivers,
the length of cable to be laid does not exceed at
most two per cent, of the channel distance, except,
of course, at the passage of locks, and here the
increase depends mainly upon the means adopted
for passing them.
The advocates of chain have urged against the
cable as a drawback, the distance it is raised and put
in movement in front of the ship, when being towed
upon, which is in part due to its less weight, and in
part to the comparative ease, as compared with
chain, with which it is moved over the ground ;
in other words, its sUght adhesion to the ground.
The annexed Figure (1) and following Table
rshow the length the Cable and Chain rise in front
of the towing steamer under different strains from
different depths of water and at. different heights
above the steamer's line of immersion.
(Fig. 1.) D
'r •'I'
26
H -
P =
P =
L =
1 =
Vertical distance in feet from bed of river to point of
application on steamer.
Total resistance to traction in lbs.
Weight of Chain or Cable in water in lbs. per foot.
Length of Cable raised = V 2 H.J
Length of Chain raised = V 2 H.f
p
■
Ft.
In.
Ft.
Ft. '
P — 50 Cwts.
H- 8
2
L
292
1 = 154
P — 40 „
H— 8
2
L
__
262
1 = 137
P = 30 „
H= 8
2
L
226
1 = 115
P = 20 „
H— 8
2
L
__
190
1 = 95
P = 15 „
H- 8
2
L
160
1 = 88
P — 10 „
H- 8
2
L
131
1 = 72
P- 5 „
H- 8
2
L
^ZIZZ
65
1 = 36
P- 1 „
H= 8
2
L
=
42
1 = 23
P — 50 Cwts.
H=ll
6
L
344
1 = 180
P = 40 „
H= 11
6
L
312
1 = 164
P - 30 „
H= 11
6
L
269
1 = 138
P — 20 „
H- 11
6
L
223
1 = 112
P = 15 „
H 11
6
L
190
1 = 98
P = 10 „
H_ 11
6
L
154
1 = 82
P= 5 „
H= 11
6
L
—""
78
1 = 40
P= 1 „
H- 11
6
L
^ 4
52
1 = 26
*
P = 50 Cwts.
H= 11
9
L
351
P — 40 „
H — 11
9
L
_^
314
P = 30 „
H= 11
9
L
zzz
272
P = 20 „
H = ll
9
L
—
226
f
P = 15 „
H- 11
9
L
—
193
P = 10 „
H- 11
9
L
-__
158
P= 5 „
H- 11
9
L
__
82
P= 1 „
H= 11
9
L
—
52.
■
P — 50 Cwts.
H — 15
•
L
^■^i^
397
P = 40 „
H= 15
L
—
354
P — 30 „
H — 15
L
ssz
308
•
P = 20 „
H= 15
L
=
249
P = 15 »
H= 15
L
^s
216
•
P = 10 „
H— 15
L
err
177
P- 5 „
H— 15
L
r=
88
P- 1 »
H= 15
L
==
56
'27
At first sights these figures show a difference considerably
in favour of the chain, whether in a straight line, or as applied
to rounding curves of sharp radii. In shallow waters however,
it has been found by experience that any inconvenience consequent
thereon is a matter greatly due to the captain of the towing
steamer. The inconvenience can momentarily affect only the
traffic not being towed, or in rounding curves, the traffic coming
from the opposite direction. The captain of a towing steamer
can by a simple manoeuvre give slack cable in front of his
steamer, and thus so far remedy this as to avoid any hindrance
to the ordinary traffic.
If considered as a question of friction and wear and tear,
however, the advantage is all on the side of Wire Cable> for a
chain which is under the most favourable circumstances four
times as heavy, strength for strength, as the cable, on coming on
the steamer has in consequence of its weight, to be led over a
series of guide-rolls along the whole length of the steamer inter-
rupted only while winding round the drums. These guide rolls
form so many points at which the chain is jerked and worn away
and the guide-rolls themselves annihilated by the continuous
hammering of the links in their passage over them. Whereas a
cable can come straight on to the taking-in apparatus, and after
passing the. drums is paid out again without any wear and tear ;
and in deep waters, as will be evident, this advantage is still more
important.
In working a sharp curve with a long train of barges,
requiring altogether a tractive power of say 5000 lbs., unless care
be taken, the cable will naturally glide more or less over the river
bottom, on the upper part of the curve, to an angle corresponding
with the radius and extent of the curve. To avoid this, the
steamer and train must enter and pass through slowly, and follow
the outside of the curve as far as is feasible. The following
sketch shows a couple of curves now being worked by us on the
river Havel, without any assistance whatever beyond careful
attention and management on the paxt of the captains, and this
28
with a general traffic in a narrow channel, sometimes exceeding
400 barges a day.
Fig. 2.
Distance from A to F 640 yards.
Should the curve be less than, say 100 yards radias,
or form an elbow in the river, the channel nan*ow and the
current swift, these difficulties can be successfully overcome by
driving in a few piles at the head of the curve, as far forward as
may be convenient without impeding the navigation, and by
laying the cable on the near side as short as possible. The
cable can now be towed on without risk of inconvenience. As
the towing steamer proceeds up-stream, with stem well out and
stem following nearer in the curve, the cable may, in the case
of counter curves, be drawn against or round some of the leading
piles, by which it will be confined within proper limits. The
next steamer that passes down-stream will be careful to re-lay
the cable as far out again as convenient.
In hilly or mountainous districts, where the current is
fre(juently very rapid, and the river bends or doubles up as it
were, it is requisite to make other arrangements to overcome the
diflBculties of the passage. With a current of seven or eight
miles an hour, a bend or two of 50 or 60 yards radius, and a
narrow channel, were the cable or chain 20 times their ordinary
weight they would be drawn out of place. The following sketch
shows a couple of bends of the kind on the river Neckar.
A
Fig. 3.
To remedy this we employ a small apparatus we term
a slip hook at B and C, the object of which is to grip and hold
fast the cable at those points.
The apparatus consists of a pecuUarly- shaped and wide,
faced hook, furnished with proper jaws to receive and hold the
cable without damage to it. The whole is capable of being canted
over, and so of releasing the cable at any moment by simply
withdrawing a catch-pin, and as the hook cants over the jaws
release their hold on the cable. The whole apparatus is fixed
to an iron screw or strong timber pile, well secured, and when
necessary, strutted. As a steamer approaches B up-stream, the
cable is held in position by the hook ; on arriving at B, and as
the steamer swings round, the catch-pin is withdrawn on a signal
from the captain, and the cable released. The steamer and train
now make a fresh start in fair channel towards C. On arriving
there the same operation is repeated. When the passage is
clear, the cable which has been left lying in the channel, and a
30
few days' experience shows exactly where, is hauled on to a small
boat, and thence by means of a light hand-winch to shore again,
where it is replaced on the respective hooks. By this means the
swiftest currents in the sharpest bends can be successfully and
safely overcome.
In every curve the chain is subject also to be drawn over
itt a straight line, although not to so great an extent, on account
of its much greater weight and adhesion to the bottom.
A difficulty that has existed hitherto in the use of Wire
Cable for towing purposes has been its great liability to kink and
knot together, or to get twisted into long spirals or corkscrews,
which on being subjected to sudden strains, are drawn into a
kink, or if they happen to form at a spot where there is too much
cable, to get inextricably knotted together. Usually the kinks
are found to occur below curves, when from the captain's
negligence, the cable has not been properly relaid into the river ;
whereas the spirals are caused at places where a great strain
has been brought upon the cable, perhaps occasioned by
the sand or mud having embedded the cable, or by its
having caught under a large boulder, or submerged pile or
trunk, from which it can only be freed under great tension. The
cable will then often come up quite vertically from the bed of the
stream, and in so doing it is drawn over the edge of the steamer's
fenders, causing displacement of the strands under tension, and
if the cable is not of the requisite quality and springy enough to
regain its original form on being relieved from this strain, the
result is the formation of these spirals. One other cause of
kinks, beyond a faulty design and construction of the towing
steamers, lies in the quality and manufacture of the cable itself.
Care requires to be taken in the manufacturing of the wire, as
well as while the cable is being laid. When ready, there will
always be found more twist in the cable than is represented by
the number of turos the strands take in a given length, and
before it can be employed for towing purposes the whole of this
superfluous twist must be taken out of it. The harder and more
31
elastic the cable is, the more of this twist there will be in it, and
the whole must be got rid of before it can be properly used for
towing upon.
All these difficulties, however, can now be overcome
successfully, and when they occur, completely remedied, provided
that proper cable be employed, that it be laid in the river care-
fully and with a perfect knowledge of the character of the
Stream, that the design and construction of the steamers be such
as to insure the cable being fairly used to its full strength — but
not misused — and that the captains of the towing steamers
exercise ordinary care and common sense in the fulfilment of
their duties, for they, even more than an imperfect cable, are
the cause of accident or injury to it.
Under equal strains a chain will elongate less than a
cable; but on being relieved from the strain the elongation
produced remains in it, and in this way the chain continues to
elongate gradually when towed upon, until finally (if not pre-
viously worn out by continual friction) the links form into rigid
bars, sometimes eight to ten feet in length, and is thus rendered
quite useless. Besides this, the links of a chain being formed
of one solid piece of iron, should a flaw occur, or should a weld
be imperfect in any of them, the chain must snap. With a wire
cable, on the contrary, if of the requisite quality, permanent
elongation and rigidity are impossible; it will stretch con-
siderably under tension, and when relea*sed will resume its former
length, the hempen core allowing play for the stretching of the
strands, so that its pliancy and elasticity are not injured by fair
work. Should the strains brought to bear upon it at any time
exceed its ultimate strength and a rupture be imminent, the
ptrands will snap one after another, always giving sufficient time
to prevent entire rupture. The risk of rupture of a wire cable
is far less than that of a chain, from the fact of its being
formed of a number cf wires, each of which commences at a
different spot, its homogeneity is much more perfect ; but weld-
ings in a chain, however much care may be bestowed upon its
manufacture, will always continue to be a cause of weakness*
Sis
tt occasionally happens that the cable or chain gets
embedded in a sandy river subject to sadden floods, and if not
used for some weeks. In such cases the cable can be freed fiir
more easily than chain, which has often to be cut and abandoned
if the depth exceeds three of four feet ; for example, whereas on
the Oder, the cable has been drawn out of a newly-formed
sandbank from a depth of over seven feet.
Difficulty was anticipated in applying the towing system
to canals, in regard to the passage of the locks; and here again
the light and pliant cable possesses decided advantages over
chain, as it can be conveniently passed over the lock gates or be
suspended at a proper distance above on a couple of uprights, and
let down when required for use.
In France and Belgium it has been found advisable to
lay down the cable or chain through the lock. When the gates
are closed it lies on the sills of the lock between the gates, where
tliere is generally found sufficient room for it without risk of its
being either jammed between the gates or of its preventing the
gates from closing. M. Bouquie tried to pass the chain above
the Aubervillers lock on the St. Denis Canal ; but we understand
that it was found to have several drawbacks on account of its
weight.
As the result of many experiments we have found that a
Wire cable of | of an inch diameter is most convenient for all
purposes of towing, both as regards size, weight and strength.
The cable is composed of 42 wires of -093 of an inch, nearly
No. 13 B. W. Or. Each wire has a cross section of '0075 of a
square inch and the 42 wires equal •315 of a square inch. The
centre of the cable is formed of a sound and compact hempen
cere, well tarred, not exceeding 5-1 6ths of an inch diameter. The
lay of the strands ccmposing the Wire Cable should be at 18
degrees, equalling one complete twist in lOJ inches length. The
weight of such a rope is say between 6'75 lbs and 6.875 lbs per
iathom;
**-■».
83
If made of good iron wire its nltimate strength will reach
253 cwts. (90,000 lbs. per square inch x -SIS of a square
inch section). If of very strong charcoal iron wire, the ultimate
strength will be 320 cwts. (114,000 lbs per square inch x •315
of a square inch section).
If formed of American Chrome Steel which has been tested
to 180.000 lb. per square inch, its ultimate strength will be 506
cwts. (180.000 lb. per square inch x '315 of a square inch
section).
Chain of equal strength, presuming the welding of the
Unks to be infallible, will be from four to eight times as heavy.
If a chain breaks it can be easily repaired by means of a
split link. If a kiok or knot occurs in the cable which cannot be
straightened without fracturing the wires it must be cut out and
the ends spliced. This is an operation which requires an hour's
work for two men, and when done carefully is as strong as the
rest of the cable.
As it is convenient to have certain places in the cable
where it can be separated, we employ a steel screw coupling
which is found to answer the purpose very well. It is made of
such a size as to pass over the drums and through the taking-in
and paying- out gear without injury. The strength of such a
coupling made of Chrome Steel equals a strain of about 180
cwts. It is found very useful for taking steamers off and for
putting them on to the cable ; and may be used for uniting a
branch to a main cable, and in fact serves the same purpose as
points on a line of railway.
At the extremities of each section of the line of Wire
Cable it is advisable to place double swivels, so that any twist
forming in the cable from any cause can easily be worked off.
Finally in regard to the durability of a Chain, it is
calculated that one of good quality will last JO years, and
experience in this respect in regard to cable is not wanting to
34
•
prove that when worked under similar conditions, it will last
considerably longer. Trials made with clip-drums, which,
as is well known, destroy wue cable very speedily, proved that
a good cable would last ten years.
At the works of Messrs. Felten and Guilleaume, in
Cologne, a cable is employed for transmitting a force equal to
twelve horse-power a distance of 1,193 yards, and has already
lasted twelve years.
On the inclined plane of the Bergisch-Maerkische
Railway at Hochdahl, 2,900 yards in length, a cable is used to
draw up eleven trains a day, and lasts 4J years.
On the Morris Canal, near to New York, cable was employed
to draw vessels up the inclined plane ; 60 barges per day for 250
days annually are hoisted by this means, and according to M.
De Mesnil the cable would last nine years.
In coal mines the life of a wire cable is taxed according
to the number of times it is bent. It is estimated in WestphaUa
that it will last out with perfect safety being bent 120,000 times*
This, however, is but a rough way of guessing at best. It must
depend entirely upon the quaUty of materials and workmanship
as well as on the kind of bends, and the conditions under which
such bends occur. At this rate, nevertheless, the cable employed
for our system of steamers would last for 20,000 runs of a
towing steamer, or 800 working days per annum, and two trips
a day would bring the life of our cable to over 16 years. At
present we estimate that a good iron wire cable will last ten
years, and one of steel fifteen years.
There is little cause for apprehension in regard to
oxydation of the wire cable, and the experience of the last five
or six years can be brought forward in support of this.
As great as is in principle the difference between chain
and ordinary towage, so is that between cable and chain towage,
and in support of this we quote the opinion of the greatest
authority on chain towage, Mr. Bellingrath, of Dresden; who
says : — " I am convinced myself that it must be the work of the
*' future by means of properly constructed steamers to substitute
<' wire cable for chain."
Mr
35
TOWING STEAMERS.
The principle aimed at in towage consists in the forwarding
of large quantities at comparatiyely low speed, and at little cost.
Whether applied to ascending riyers, against a swift current, or
to working Canals with next to none^ the principle remains the
same. Speaking generally, the advantages of employing force
in the way it is applied in the different systems of towage, in
direct haulage, consists in avoiding slip or waste of power on the
water, and in avoiding the development of that resistant force in
front of the vessel which is caused by the paddles or screw
forcing the water away from the after body. This must not be
confounded with the preceding wave which the prow of a ship
drives along in front of her, and which of course occurs with the
towing steamer as well as with any other vessel.
The loss of power due to slip only, in a well-built paddle
steamer of ample draft in still water, is equivalent to about 33
per cent, of its total power. Therefore, if there is no current,
the ship will be propelled forwards at the rate of about 67 per
cent, of the speed of its paddles. But should there be a current
= a in the stream, take the paddle-wheel speed = b, and the
corresponding speed of the ship in still water = c, the useful
effect of a paddle steamer will be represented by the following
formula :—
100 X £^
b
experience has shown that
b == ^ = 1-5 c.
67
therefore the useful effect of the paddle steamer at present
= 67 X
c — a
b "
If, for example, a = 5 feet, and the ship is to progress
at the rate of 3 feet, then c = 8 feet, and the useful effect
will be — ]
= 07 X I = 25-12 per cent. j
If a = 12 feet, and the speed of the ship is to be 2 feet, I
then c =« 14 feet, and the useful effect will be — !
= 67 X ^ « 9-56 per cent.
r
86
The slip of screw' steamers in still water varies between
10 and 30 per cent, according to circmnstances, but usually
it may be taken at an average of 20 per cent.
But it has been proved in practice that the average total
loss of power from resistance due to the sti&ess of the cable
and friction in going through tlie press-rolls and over the drums,
is in our steamer from four to eight per cent., so that of the
power developed in the engines, and brought to bear from them
upon the cable and employed in direct haulage, from 92 to 96
per cent., works with useful effect.
The machinery of a chain-towing steamer, the most
perfect type of which, as worked on the Elbe, is given in Fig.
3a, consists of a pair of drums worked by gearing fi-om engines
of 80-horse power. At each extremity it is furnished with long
outriggers, pivoted at one end, the other projecting beyond the
the ends of the vessel, formed of double T irons, holding a series
of loose pullies and a pair of vertical guides. Between the drums
and the outriggers there are 16 or more horizontal pullies placed
in a gutter of about 10 inches wide by 8 inches deep, and four
or more vertical guides for supporting and guiding the chain.
Fig. 3a.
The chain is taken on at the stem, and dragged between
and over the pullies and guides to the drums, which are massive
castings of chilled cast iron or cast steel. The peripheries of
these are divided into grooves to prevent the triple rounds of
chain in their passage over the drums from getting entangled
together. Thence the chain runs along the gutter, supported by
the loose pullies, and over the outrigger, where it is paid back
again into the water. The objects of the outriggers are firstly,
to allow the chain to come on or to run off the steamers without
87
cntting into the edges of the deck or fenders, and to clear the
rudders ; and secondly, in passing round curves, to allow of its
being taken up and run out at an angle to the line of the
steamer's movement. In front and astern of the drums there are
wells for containing the slack chain, should there from a surplus
quantity of chain be no strain astern of the drums to haul
the chain from off the vessel. This slack remains until the
tension behind draws it away again into the river.
Without going further into the matter here, it will be well,
nevertheless, to point out the drawbacks to this system of towage.
From its form, a chain in movement ^vill develop more friction
than any other body of equal weight. The grooves of the drumSi
around which the chain passes three times, whatever may be the
material they are composed of, get unequally worn away after a
few days' work, partly on account of the varying strains and
unequal hardness of the metal, and partly on account of the
relatively different tensions, on the first, second and third turn of
the chain round the drums. As soon as the diameters of the
different grooves of the drums are rendered unequal by being
worn away, a series of false strains are developed on the chain
through these unequal diameters, and hence the chain must
either sUp, give in length, or snap asunder. We may add here,
that breakages of the chain always occur on or between the
drums, and that last year on the Upper Elbe, in a length of
207 miles there were 322 breakages. It is for this reason that
the cable which was originally adopted of f in. iron has
been gradually increased to one of 1 in.; and in some places to
1 l-16th in. iron, in the hope of remedying these breakages by
offering greater resistance to the strains which cause them. It
has still to be seen whether this is a step in the right direction,
and whether, if the chain be increased to such dimensions as to
be practically strong enough to resist any effort that can be
brought upon it, the engines, gearing, and drums will not suffer
more in consequence. In its entire passage over the steamer,
besides the drums, the chain comes into contact and friction
88
with 28 dififerent points of support, which are constantly requiring
repair and renewal. The steering power of a chain steamer is
also defective, in as far as beyond the heavy chain hanging down
from it at each end, it is held to a rigid base on the chain,
comprising the entire distance between the ends of the ontriggerSi
over ] 40 feet ; and, moreover, as the deviation from the straight
line of the outriggers themselves is confined to l^"" each way, as
shown in Fig. 4, the steamer's capabihty to move out of the
channel to avoid collisions, is limited. The continual hammering,
grinding, and jolting of the chain in its passage over the steamers,
besides causing great outlay for repairs, racks them to pieces in
a few years.
Fig. 4.
Length of steamer confined to chain.
r
~1
Fig. 5.
Length of cable base on Type B of cable steamer, with
self-adjusting taking-in and paying-out gear.
d
t-**«
i
Fig. 6.
Length of cable l)aso on Type C. of cable steamers.
39
WmE CABLE TOWING STEAMERS.
By most of the advocates of Wire Cable, the clip
pulley was considered to be the grand solution of all the
difficulties presented by the use of this regular, smooth and
elastic material for towage. With all due re^eet for an
invention which has proved of so much utility and value in other
respects, we must nevertheless confess, that for the purposes
which we have now under consideration, it is not suited. It is
perfectly true that it obtains a perfect grip on the cable, but it
is at a great sacrifice. The cable is jammed between the jaws of
the pulley ; but each jaw leaves its mark every time the cable
passes over it. Under heavy strains ever so small a slip of the
cable over the edges of the 48 or more jaws on the periphery and
the pulley must of necessity cause injury to the cable. After
some months' use the whole surface of the cable is found to be
covered by a series of small cuts, which of course represent o
much wear of it. When the strains are constant, the length
of cable to be used and its cost of little account, speaking com-
paratively. Fowler's pulley is excellent. But when the strains
are constantly varying, the wear and tear a question of
importance, it is unsuited for the purpose. It has, however,
been adopted and employed in several cases, principally because
it allowed of the steamer leaving and retaking the Wire Cable
easily ; but this facility has in eveiy case been acquired at the
sacrifice of steering power, stability and cable. A few years back
Messrs. Fowler, assisted by Mr. Eyth, designed one or two Wire
Cable towing steamers, in one of which of 20 H.P. the pulley
was placed vertically projecting from the vessel's side as shown
in Figure 7, while in another of 15 H.P. it was laid horizontally
under the deck as shown in Figure 8. In the steamers designed
by Director Schwarz for the Upper Bhine, the Fowler pulley is
also placed projecting beyond the steamer's side, as in Figure 9,
while in another case a steamer was designed for the Danube by
the Danube Navigation Company in which the arrangement is
modified as shown in Figure 10.
40
Fig. 7.
. Fig. 8.
Fig. 9.
Fig. 10.
In M. De Mesnirs system, as carried out by Mr. Charles
Beer, of Jemeppe, the Fowler pulley is also employed, and is
placed equally at the vessel's side, driven by 20 horse-power
engines. Some of these boats are furnished with auxiliary
screws, and all with stem and stem rudders to increase the
steering power on account of the light draft. Now in all of
them, when the cable is taken over or along the steamer's side,
the steering power always is extremely defective, and when the
cable is taut in front and astern of the vessel, she is utterly
41
deprived of all steering power in the opposite direction. In all
these vessels^ the principle of the side wheel arrangement is
the same throughout. In rising from the water the cable
passes over a small loose guide at the stem^ and hangs along the
vessel's side till it reaches the middle^ where it is passed under
a large guide pulley held in position by blocks working
in a slide and backed with a spring; here it is guided
on to the Fowler pulley, by means of which the power
is applied to the cable, which on leaving the Fowler drum passes
under a second guide pulley similar to the one on the other side,
whence it likewise runs over a second loose guide placed at the
side of the stem of the boat* The most conspicious defects,
evident even to the uninitiated, are unequal distribution of weight
in the steamer, unequal distribution of strains, application of
the engine power at a leverage equal to the distance from the
centre of the shaft and clip pulley to the line of travel of the
pistons on the one, and to the vessel's centre line on the other
hand, and consequent loss of power, less stability, liability to
injury from sudden strains, great friction of the cable and bending
it suddenly in two diiferent directions causing displacement of the
strands, greatly decreased steering power, and impossibility to
work curves on the side opposite to that on which the cable is
attached to the vessel, or to move out of the channel to avoid
collisions or stoppages except on the one side, and Uability to
injury and possibly the loss of the guide wheels, should kinks or
knots occur in the cable. And the one apparently redeeming
feature is the possibility of throwing off the cable. It must not,
however, be supposed that this is an operation that can be per-
formed at an instant's notice in time to avoid a catastrophe
arismg from coUision or from any possible injury to the cable.
On the contrary, the cable has first to be freed from the large
centre guide pullies and from the Fowler cUp pulley, and then
from the end guide wheels. Beyond this it is difficult to find
any arguments except in disfavour of the entire design.
Reflection will show that there are several points to be
42
. • • • • « • •
considered in order to arrive at a satisfactory solution of the
difficulties peculiar to the whole system of towage, and therefore
our attention from the first has been carefully devoted to designing
a type of wire cable towing steamers which should fulfil the
following requirements : —
1 st. To obtain a perfect hold on the cable without undue
friction or injury to it.
2nd. Great steering power.
3rd. Light driaught.
4th. Economy in working expenses and maintenance.
To obtain a perfect hold on the cable two ways are open :
the one by means of the Fowler clip drum, around which the
cable makes half a turn, procuring perfect adhesion ; the other
by employing two drums with smooth surfaces, and by winding
the cable round them such a number of times that the adhesion
on the two surfaces should exceed the maximum working strains
to be brought to bear upon the cable. And it is the latter means
that we have adopted and carried out.
The objection urged against this method, the validity of
which, however, cannot be admitted, was that it is practically
impossible to drop the cable at any moment during work. The
only reply to be offered to this is that a true towing steamer is
no more intended to run without cable or chain than is a loco-
motive without rails. In this respect the two systems are so
analogous, and the efforts and forces concerned so similar, that
the comparison will hold good if carried still further by adding
that it would be as difficult to combine a general harmony of
design in a locomotive intended to run on rails and equally well
on a common road, as it would be to invent an efficient towing
steamer to work equally well with or without cable or chain.
That the manner in which we fulfil the requirements
specified in page — may be understood and appreciated, we will
here describe generally our types of towing steamers.
In the centre or mid line of the towing steamer, and
raised to A sufficient height, we employ two metal drums, the
43
periphery or outer circumference of which is divided into five
grooves. These drums are made conical, so that the length of
each groove measured round the circumference of the drum is
diflferenty greater or less than the rest, to correspond with the
difference of the strains developed by the tension of the cable ;
or in other words, by the power transmitted from the engines to
the drums and from the drums to the wire cable. The grooves
are lined with hoop iron of superior quality, bolted down to the
metal composing the drums, in order that any wear and tear
consequent upon the continual passage of the wire cable may not
wear away the surface of the grooves, and hence alter their relative
lengths. This arrangement allows of the hoop iron being speedily
changed (and these relative lengths exactly maintained) with
little loss of time.
These drums, revolving upon strong shafts, are worked
by double sets of gearing from the engines, for fast and slow
motion; but that their speeds, which vary under different strains,
may correspond and be regulated exactly, they are coupled
together by means of the three-toothed wheels, one of which is a
friction wheel.
This form and arrangement of drums ensures the perfect
adhesion of the cable without any friction due to its shpping on
them,* it obviates any gripping of the cable to obtain such
adhesion, and at the same time it allows of the cable being
brought along the mid line of the steamer, or above the keel-
line, so that full steering power can be exercised without having
first to overcome any tendency sideways as heretofore, owing to
the line of effort not being one with the line of resistance.
Furthermore, the steamer can be worked forwards and backwards
equally well in consequence of this arrangement.
* As a proof of this we have now in work on the river Havel two cable steamers
which have already each travelled over 6000 miles on the cable ; the wear and tear of
the hoop iron with which the grooves are lined, carefully measured ^ith a template has
not yet reached -^ of an inch, and very frequently 20 and 25 barges are towed at a time
against a heavy wind along a lake, in some parts, over a mile wide and exceeding 60 feet
deep.
44
A loose pulley raised or lowered by a lever is placed
between the drums below the lower line of their circumference,
for the purpose of insuring the adhesion of the cable to the drums
when necessary.
The shafts carrying the drums also support the trans-
mission pullies which by means of two endless Wire Cables held
at the vessels extremities by pullieSi transmit the necessary
movement from the engine to the taking-in and paying-out
apparatus, termed a ^^ truck/' to be described hereafter.
In order to regulate the speed of the gearing pullies,
they are constructed with a special arrangement of Motional
gearing which can be regulated to support any desired working
strains.
The taking-in and paying-out apparatus^ one of which is
placed at each end of the towing steamer is employed for the
purpose of guiding the Wire Cable with a certain tension onto the
drums and of relaying it from the steamer as it leaves the drums.
This apparatus comprises a strong framing of angle iron,
and is furnished below with small wheels by means of which it
runs on and is held down to rails of proper form bolted down to
the deckbeams. At either end of the rails a small buffer is
placed to break the shock of any sudden motion of the truck up
or down. The truck is furnished with 4 horizontal press rolls,
two above and two below, working in pairs on two upright
shafts. The lower pair of press rolls receive and transmit the
power from the engines, and the upper pair guide and pay the
cable on to and draw it off from the drums and relay it. These
press rolls are cast iron wheels carrying at their periphery sixty
teeth working on India rubber rings. These teeth are cast in
metal and their outer faces bear the impress of the strands of the
cable so that the latter in passing between them may receive or
transmit power without friction or injury to either. The truck
carries in front two large hollow vertical drums for guiding the
cable during the passage of curves between the press rolls, and is
furnished above and below with several small horizontal pullies
for supporting the wire cable horizontally.
fr
The engines being started, the drums and the transmission
pnllies commence to revolye, and the transmission cables driving
the lower press rolls of the forward and after truck, the cable is
paid on to and drawn off from the drums at the requisite tension,
by the revolution of the upper press rolls. The accelerated speed
of these press rolls which is advisable in order to obtain a slight
tension of the cable, fore and aft of the drums, is regulated by
the &ictional gearing of the transmission pullies, which can be
arranged to work at any tension by tightening or loosening the
friction rings. As the cable passes from between the upper press
rolls of the fore track, it rans straight on to the first groove of
the forward drum. The cable revolves round the drums, and
then runs to the after truck, where it passes between the upper
press rolls, and is paid out over the stern of the steamer. When
following a straight line both trucks stand, as nearly as convenient,
to the extremities of the steamer, and the cable rises from and
is paid out into the water without touching any portion of the
vessel's sides or ends. When the steamer rounds a curve, the
forward track by the sideward pressure of the rising cable rans
nearer to the drams, and takes the cable over at one angle, equal
to that formed by the radius of the curve with the centre line of
the drums. And in very sharp curves the after track also runs
nearer to the drams, and pays the cable out equally over the
side, without the cable touching the steamer's side until in
passing a curve of sixty degrees, the cable comes in contact with
the side guide pullies.
From this general description it will be seen that although
we employ our force in direct haulage upon the cable, yet that in
so doing we have taken every efficient precaution to protect it
from friction and rough usage. That the adhesion of the
cable to the drams is perfect in our system is proved by the fact
that with a tension on the cable in front of the drums of 50 cwts.,
the tension on the cable aft of them does not generally exceed
12 lbs., and is not as much as the weight of that portion of
the cable suspended between the drum and the paying-out
46
apparatus.* In towing round curves where possibly the cable is
laid sparingly^ of course the cable may be taut in front and astern
of the steamer, and other forces then come into operation ; but
these do not in any way affect our principle of the drums. By
bringing the Wire Cable along the steamer's centre line we obtain
greater steering power than by any other existing arrangement
embracing the use of a clip-drum or of any other similar
apparatus requiring to be placed in any position along the side or
jutting out beyond the side of the steamer. In regard to steer-
ing power also it is much increased by the comparatively longer
rise of the cable on our steamers. The advantages secured by
the use of the moveable trucks for taking-in and paying-out the
cable in front and astern of the drums are firstly, that they
enable a steamer to tow in every different depth of water under
different strains (which give different vertical angles to the
cable), and secondly, that in going round curves the length
of rigid cable on the steamer can be reduced by the
trucks running closer up to the drums (Figures 5 and 6)^
aad thereby to increase her steering power when most
required, and at the same time to avoid friction of cable and
apparatus due to the horizontal angles formed by the cable with
the centre line of the steamer. The symmetrical arrangement of
drams, engines, gearing and other apparatus obviates the
necessity hitherto recognized of employing a certain amount of
dead weight in other parts of the towing steamer as a counter
balance to the irregular position of the machinery, and thus
allows of obtaining a minimum draught.
Fig. 11.
47
Fig. 12.
Fig. 13.
By bringing the wire cable along the steamer's centre line
forward and backward motion is rendered more easy and regular,
and the employment of our apparatus allows of the steamer
working as well backwards as forwards, without having to turn
her round in changing the direction of her movement.
The outlay for maintenance and repairs is reduced out of
all proportions with that required for chain steamers, or for the
clip-drum arrangement of cable steamers, as we have throughout
reduced all friction and wear and tear to a minimum. The
engines and their gearing are completely isolated from the deck
and sides of the vessel, and are fastened directly by strong
framing on the floor-beams and keelsons, so that the strain acting
upon the engines and gearing shall not be transferred to the
weak parts of the vessel's hull, while collisions or other injury to
the hull as well as the strains acting thereon, shall not affect
the engines.
In designing the steamers for the different work they are
intended to perform, we have classed them into three types.
Type A (figures 11 and 14), is designed for heavy traffic or swift
flowing rivers, or against rivers on which there is a strong ebb
and flood. This is a steamer which has been specially designed
and approved for the river Oder. It is shown in the frontispiece,
the sole difference between the two being that in the first case
4d
the press rolls are fixed; and the iaking-in and paying-ont
apparatus are also fixed at either end of the steamer; whereas
in figure 11 the press rolls and taking-in and paying-out
apparatus are combined in one apparatus, and made moveable.
This class of steamer is fitted with engines of 50 horse-power
nominal and two boilers. Its principal dimensions are as
follows : —
TT^PE A.
Ft. In.
Length of Hull on deck line • ..
«...
.... 129 m
,, jj water line «...
• • . .
.... 123 4
JL/\?ct'UX •••• ••••, •••• • •••• •»•»
••••
16 5
Depth at centie
....
.... Of
X/raugnu «••• •••• .1.. •••• «•••
..1.
.... X V
Total height
«•..
.... 11 9i
J-JLl^lU^ •••• •••• .«•. •••• •••.
«...
.... SOfl.P.
Diameter of Cylinder
- . .J
1 ft.
OvlUlXV •••• »»§» •••• 4««* •••«
• • •
.... ^ ft
RcTolutions per minute ...• ....
....
45 to 60
M JjijiiGm ••• .... •.*• .«• •..•
.... '
each 323 it.
heating surface working to
«•«.
.... 90 lbs.
pressure.
Revolutions of drums up-stream
....
80 "
per minute, or down- stream .... =
«x«) X « = 30
per minute.
Low speed 210 ft. per minute ....
.•^»
- 2*2 miles
per hour.
High speed 61 7 J ft. per minute
....
- 7 „
per hour.
Weight of Hull — Ironwork
...»
62,169 lbs.
99 99 Woodwork ....
.••*
23,767 „
„ Fittings
.. • .
16,400 „
,, Engines
....
16,776 „
Carried forward....
117,102 lbs.
4d
Brought forward...; 117,102 lbs«
Weight of Boilers 22,770 „
Gearing • 24,813 ,,
Cable apparatus 16,794 „
Fuel and water . 17,050 „
99
Total displacement weight 200,875 lbs.
or 89 tons 1 8 cwts. 2 qrs. ===
The weekly average working expenses of this class of
steamers, inclusive of repairs^ amounts to «£20 8s.
Type B (Fig. 12) is designed for heavy river, lake or
canal traffic, or where the channel is confined and tortuous.
The power of the engines is similar to type A, the principal
diiference in the design consists in its being shorter and wider.
TYPE B.
Ft. In.
Length of Hull on deck line
••«.
.•••
•»•■
108 3
„ „ water line
•.«•
.••«
«•••
101 8
••«..
.«••
••«•
19 8
JL/raugut ••«. •.*•
.«••
..a.
i ...
1 9
Total height
. .
«...
..«•
11 9J
Engines
• • • •
. • • .
••. ••
60 H.P.
Diameter of cylinder
••••
• .•*
••••
1ft.
ovroixo ...• .••. ••.• ••••
• • • a
...•
....
2ft.
Revolutions per minute ....
...«
....
••••
45 to 50
2 Boilers
....
each
328ft.
Heating surface working to
. • t «
....
••.«
90 lbs.
pressure.
Revolutions of drums up-stream
....
••..
.... 10
„ „ down-stream
...•
• ••
.... 30
Low speed 210 ft. per minute
• •••
...•
=
2*2 miles
per hour.
High speed 617^ per minute
«••«
•••»
B
7 miles
3d
Weigltt ofHnll — Ironweftk -^.
62,169 n«.
ff ff
Woodwork «h^
23,757 ..
f> S9
Fittings *... ..^ ..••
15,400 „
99 ff
Engines .«^
15,776 „
*> »>
JLW^II"tS •••• *»»• •**•
22,770 „
99 »f
24,809 „
>f ff
Cable apparatus
16,794 „
ff ff
Fuel and water
17,050 „
198,525 Ibfi.
Total displacement welglit = S8 tons 1 2 ewts. 2 qis.
The weeUy ayerage working expenses of this class of
steamers inclnsiTe of repairs amount to £'20 8s.
Type C (Fignre 13) has heen designed espedallj to suit
canal traffic or that of a small and swiftly flowing riTcr. It is
famished with engines of 25 horse power, and the engines,
gearing and apparatus are' designed as compactly as possible.
As the length is comparatiyely short, 62 ft. on the water line,
the taking'in and paying-ont gear is not made moTeable^ bnt is
fixed together with guiding drums, at each end of the yessel,
forming, however, a rigid cable base on the steamer of only 59 ft.
This steamer requires a crew of three men to work. her. The
principal dimenmons are as follows :—
• • ....
TYPE C.
Length of Hull on deck line
ff M water „
Beam ....
Draught
Total height
Engine
Diameter of cylinder ....
Stroke
Beroliitions per minute
...»
'•«•
«•••
••••
Ft. :
78
In.
8
62
4
14
9
2 Oi
11 5J
25 H.P.
2ft. lin.
50
£1
X JD01X\3i .• I • •••• t***. •»*• ■••• •••• »*•* ^0\Jlv*
Heating surface, working up to 90 lbs.
pressure per square inch
Number of revolutions of drums up and
downstream .,. .... 60 x ^ = 20
Speed up-stream 395 ft. per minute.
Average of speed 4-6 miles per hqur.
Weight of Hull— Ironwork.;. ..: . ., 33,889 lbs.
Woodwork .... V.i 10,758 ,
Fittings ...; .... ♦„. 10,560 ,
Engines .... ... .... 11,000 ,
Boiler, chimney and
connection ; 15,180 ,
Gearing ..•• 16,880 ,
Boiler water .... .... 8,960 ,
JL U wx •••• •••• •••• ,*••• '^f ^kv/\/ I
Cable, crew, etc 880 ,
99
V
>>
M
n
>>
99
99
>J
»>
>> -
J>
>>
J>
>>
• 99
......
106,957 lbs.
or total displacement weight 47 tons 14 cwts. 8 qr6.
The weekly average working expenses of this class of
steamers inclusive of repairs amounts to J015.
In all these three types of steamers brakes for stopping
can be worked from the deck. They are designed to be fitted
with steam-steering apparatus and with ordinary helms.
Possibly there may be circumstances of a special nature
in some cases, where cable towage could advantageously be
adopted, which would require a design of steamers diflfeiing in
some of the details from either of the three types we have
mentioned here ; but considered as a general design they embrace
all that is requisite.
A further advantage of an efficient system of wire cable
towage is, that when once a proper cable has been laid down,
towing steamers of any diflferent sizes and power within the feir
limits of the cable's strength can be conveniently worked upon it,
$2
should the in&e be intennittent ; wliereas on eham, as in the
case of some paits of the.Elbc, where one of 1 1-lGih is in use
in some places, it would be impossiUe to put a 20 hoise-power
steamer to woik.
We Append hereto a table of the maximmn working
capabilities of wire cable towing steamers deduced firom trials we
have carefoUy worked oat.
In condnsion we may add tiiat there are many rirers and
canals m the United Kingdom, as well as in other conntrieSy
where this system of diei^ and r^olar goods traffic, once known,
might be soccessfolly carried oot, and tiiat in many of the British
colonies instead of bnilding costly and nsdess railways, attention
might be &r more adyantageonsly deyoted, and capital nsefoUy
and carefhlly employed to improye and render ayailable for the
transport of produce the thousands of miks of magnificent
waterways they possess.
F. J. MEYEB.
W. WEENIGH.
BERLIN, &W. 1876,
9, Hedsmann Sib.
Paleidees* Bepnsmiaike in ike UmUed Kimgiamf
H. IL METER,
B 12, Exchange Buiuoings, LiYEBrooL.
68
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57
APPENDIX.
The present encumbered state of many English lines of
railway and the continually increasing — and we may add, costly
struggle they have to maintain in dealing with vast quantities of
mineral and other cheap traffic, notwithstanding the splendid
network of canals spread over the whole country, and especially
the industrial parts of it clearly show that there is room for im-
provement in the utilization of these comparatively neglected, but
invaluable highways.
We have spoken with many people variously interested
on this subject, and its truth and importance is generally ad-
mitted ; but, irrespective of one or two technical difficulties, such
as locks and bends, the gravity of which is however much
exaggerated, there appears to be a general conviction that such a
thing as a fair and reasonable co-operation between railways and
canals would meet with determined opposition on the part of the
former.
We are, however, in a position to deny the justice of this
opinion so far as some of the principal lines are concerned,
although we admit that formerly this might have been the case.
At present, however, when the largest portion of the commerce
and trade of the whole world is centred in and about England,
many lines would be only too glad to transfer much of their cheap
and unprofitable traffic to the canals, where it could be made to
pay the canal owners well, and be carried at far lower rates than
are now charged by the railways.
58
By this means many lines which are now spending millions
annually in so increasing their permanent way and plant so as ta
enable them to deal with the immense quantities of cheap traffic
which is thrown upon them, would be relieved from this constant
and apparently endless outlay or increase of capital, while another
immediate result would be, increased security and capacity for
passenger and ordinary goods traffic, and at rates remunerative
to the railways and satisfactory to the public.
We have shown in the accompanying pamphlet that
towage assures a punctual and speedy forwarding of traffic, and
that it vastly increases the carrying capacity of any waterway to
which it is applied. It is analogous to the working of railways
by steam, and we may, not inappropriately remark, that if railways
had been worked by means of horses hauling single trucks in
something like the way canals are now managed, they never could
have accomplished the hundreth part of what they have done.
In the case of existing English canals the principal diffi-
culty to which reference has been made is the locks, for with an
efficient system of cable towage the curves or bends on canals are,
practically speaking, no difficulty whatever* It is only in the
case of swiftly-flowing rivers that special arrangements are re-
quisite for working round very sharp curves.
The locks do constitute a difficulty, inasmuch as they occa-
sion delay in the passage of trains of barges. At present the
barges towed by horses one by one along the canal, arrive in this
manner at each succeeding lock, and are lifted or let down, as
the case may be, without regard to time. A train of barges
arriving at a lock would, under the existing state of things,
have to be locked up or down, also one by one, and consequently
some part of the time saved by the towing would be wasted at
each lock. The great increase of paying traffic which would
undoubtedly accrue by the adoption of towage on the canals,
would however justify some expense being incurred in modifying
many of the present single locks, or where several are clos^
59
together, in running them into one lengthened lock, so as to admit
of a whole train of barges being locked at once ; where tiers of
locks occur, these would be most satisfactorily dealt with by doing
away with them altogether, and adopting proper hydrauUc barge
lifts, similar to those working at Anderton. With a properly
arranged traffic, the waste of water, in the first case, would not
be more than working each lock and barge separately ; whereas,
in the second case, if the supply of water is limited, there need
be no waste at all. There are many long stretches of
canals, however, quite free from any locks, and these therefore
require no further outlay than is necessary for the direct appli-
cation of the system to make them most invaluable highways of
traffic and increase their usefulness tenfold, whereas they are now
neglected and a source of sorrow to their owners. Cable towage
does not in any way necessitate altering the present barges,
dimensions of the canals, overbridges, wharves, or towing paths.
One direct advantage however would be, that in course of time,
the maintenance of towing paths would be totally avoided, as well
as injury to the banks from wash of the water. It must
be recollected that this system entirely obviates the washing of
the banks, as the motive power is applied not to the water, but
to the cable lying on the bottom of the canal, and that the speed
at which the towing of a whole train is effected, say four miles an
hour, does not form a larger wash- wave than that raised by a
single barge towed by horses.
The application of this system furthermore, would not in
any way impede or obstruct towing by horses, although we
are convinced that in a comparatively short time there would not
be a single barge owner who would not prefer to have his boats
forwarded by steam towage ; for irrespective of cost, with him as
with every one else, time and regularity must be considerations
of ever-increasing importance.
In order to suit the exceptionally small dimensions and
other technical peculiarities of many of the old canals and locks
60
in England, we have designed and patented a type of steamer
specially adapted for working them.
The dimensions of this class of towing steamers is as
follows :
Length over all ....
„ at water line
•Dt^aiii •••• .... ••.•
Draught in work ...
Total clear height from bottom
Height above water
Nominal horse power of engines
Length of boiler ...
Diameter of boiler
Grate surface
Heating surface ....
Diameter of drums
••V
99
>>
60 feet.
52 ,, 6 inches.
7
2 „ 9
8 „ «
6
15
9
4
10 square feet.
267
5 feet.
4 miles.
Speed per hour ....
Steel wire cable, diameter f inch, weighing 3^ lbs. per
fathom, ultimate strength 27,000 lbs.
The total weight of steamer with gearing, fittings, fuel,
&c., in complete working order, is 23 tons.
This class of steamer is designed to tow a train of about
61
800 tons floating weight, or say 600 tons nett cargo weight, at
about four miles per hour along a canaL
The entire crew of a steamer consists of two men, and a
boy to look after the tow ropes. The Cable is provided with the
necessary couplings at the junction of branch canals with the main
line, which correspond to the points on a railway, so that the
traffic may be worked from these direct on to the main line.
The annual expenses, including depreciation of first cost
of plant, and repairs of an entire line of 100 miles, to work a
traffic of 500 tons a day, presuming there are no special diffi-
culties in the case, are covered by a charge of one-eighteenth of
a penny per ton per mile ; while for a heavy traffic of some
thousands of tons daily, the working expenses will be com-
paratively less.
Of course we do not attempt to make any comparison in
point of speed with railways, but we are convinced that there is
no railway in existence of which the total cost of traction, in-
cluding maintenance and repairs of permanent way, can be
covered by one-eighteenth of a penny per ton per mile. In point
of cost moreover, irrespective of every other consideration, we
even doubt whether the present antiquated mode of haulage by
horses, mules or donkeys, can compete with these rates.
By the introduction of this system it is not sought to
compete with rail^w^ys, but to aid them in that part of their traffic
which is worked, directly or indirectly, at a loss. No doubt it
will at first find determined opponents, some from reasons of
fancied danger to their interests, others from not understanding
the subject. But as railways have lived down the enormous
opposition raised against them when first projected as being im-
practicable schemes, so it is hoped will this practical solution of
the question of cheap and regular inland water carriage, and by
revitalizing our invaluable but neglected waterways, be a ftirther
means of aiding industrial England in her competition with the
world.
Fig. 14.
Vf
A.
INDEX.
PAGE.
Introduction ... ... ... ... ... ... ••• ... 1
Advantages of Water Carriage ... ... ... ... ... 1
Constraction of new and improvements to existing Canals in France. 2
>)aterways in Prussia ... ... ... .. ... ... ... 2
Explanation of system of Submerged Chain and Cable Towage ... -3
Slip or waste of any kind prevented 3
Wash of the banks prevented 3
First experiments in Towage ... ... ... ... ... ... 3
Adhesion of Chain to the ground ... ... ... ... ... 4
Experiments in Belgium, America, and Holland 4
Rebuilding of Locks by Belgian Government ... 5
Cable used on the Meuse ... ... it
Towboats used on the Meuse ... G
Towage on Chain in France 6
Steamers used... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... G
Cable Towage on the Erie Canal 7
Cable and Chain Towage in Russia ... 7
Towage on the Marinskie Canal System 7
Chain Towage on the Elbe in Germany 7
Cable Towage on the Rhkie 8
Cable Towage on the Lower Rhine 8
Cable Towage on the Oder 8
Cable Towage on the rivers Havel and Bj^ree ... 8
Description of these Concessions 9
Extent of Water Traffic centering in Berlin 10
Iliidersdorf Limestone Quarries (output of) 10
Present State apd Cost of Traffic H
Weight of Barge Mast and Rigging H
Loss by Thefts H
Importance of Central German Lines of Towage 12
Description of River Oder 12
Silesian Coalfields 13
Silesian Manufactures 13
58
INDEX.
• ••
• ••
• ••
•••
Silesian Eailways
Towns along the river Oder...
Breslaii
Eailway Eetums
Trade of Stettin
Swinemiinde ... ... ...
Freight by Eail of Silesian Coal
Freight by Eail of ordinary merchandize
viQer X ramc ... ••• ... ... ... ... ...
Plan approved for carrying out the Oder Concession ...
Eate of Charges for Towing
Comparison of Eates by Eail and Water
Advantages to be secured by adopting Cable Towage in England
Introduction of Chain Towage
Friction, wear and tear and waste of power of Chain in proportion
to its weight and adhesion ...
Comparative weight of Chain and Cable ...
Quality of Cable important ...
A theoretical Line of Towage
Practical Line of Towage
Conditions under which Cable can be employed for towing upon
Eise of Water due to High Winds
Points to be considered in laying down a Line of Towage in rivers
and canals
Alleged drawback urged against use of Cable
Table and Figure showing length of rise of Cable and Chain
in front of Steamer under different strains
Temporary inconvenience caused by this is a m.-ttier in the Captain'
OvfULX \)L ■•. ... •*. ... ... ... ... ..
Advantage of Wire Cable
Working Curves
Figure showing Double Curve being worked on the river Havel ..
Working Bends, with Swift CuiTents
Description of Slip Hook employed ...
Difficulty in the use of Wire Cable caused by kinks
VyauBe 01 ivinKs ... •■• ... •*. ... ... ... ..
Surplus Twist in Cable
Elongation of Chain and Wire Cable
Advantages of Cable in respect of Elongation and Eupture...
Chain or Cable embedded in sand or mud
Passage of Locks
Passage of Locks in France and Belgium
13
13
13
U
14
15
15
16
16
16
19
20
21
22
22
23
23
23
23
23
24
24
25
26
27
27
27
28
28
29
30
30
30
31
31
32
32
32
#••
• ••
••»
• ••
•••
• ••
• ••
• •
• ••
59
INDEX.
Dimensions of Wire Cable
Strength of different qualities of Wire Cable...
•Cable made of American Chrome Steel
Repairing Ruptxired Chain and Cable...
€able Couplings
Swivels to allow of Surplus Twist in Cable being worked off
Durability of Chain and Cable...
Towing Steamers ... .«•
Principles aimed at in Towage...
Loss of Power due to Slip •
Expenditure of Power in Towing against a current with ordinary
X Uk o u\?<uimro •*. .•* ... ••• ... ••• •••
Loss of Power in Cable Steamers
Chain Towing Steamers ... ... ...
Drawbacks, principal, to Chain Towage
Breakage of Chain ... ... ... ... ... ••• ...
Steering Power of Chain Steamer
Length of Base on Cable Steamer
Use of Clip Drums on Towing Steamer
Different arrangements adopted
Disadvantage of taking Cable along or over Steamer's side
Want of Steering Power
Sole redeeming feature in Side Wheel arrangement ...
Requirements of a good Cable Towing Steamer
Two ways of obtaining perfect hold on Cable
How our Steamers fulfil such requirements
Description of Steamers and Machinery adopted
Description of taking-in and paying-out gear
Manner of working Steamers
Advantages of our System
Towing on Curves
Forward and backward motion
Maintenance and Repairs
Our different Types of Steamers
Towing Steamers of different size and power can work on same
Cablft
^^fUKfXV ... ... ... ••• ••■ ... ... ...
Table of working capabilities of Wire Cable Towing Steamers
•••
•••
•••
•••
•••
32
33
33
33
33
33
33
35
35
35
35
36
36
36
37
38
38
39
39
40
40
41
42
42
42
43
44
45
45
46
47
47
47
52
53
t t
**
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