One has only to read a declaration of this character, by one of the leading shipbuilders of his day, and then compare the situation, the difficulties of which appeared to him wellnigh insuperable, but every one of which has passed away, with the frequent sailings of the enormous vessels which journey the whole of the way between England and Australia under steam alone without stopping, and carry passengers by the hundred, to realise the phenomenal developments which have marked the progress of the last fifty years.
Races between steamers fitted with the rival modes of propulsion were not uncommon, but did not always take place with official sanction, though the results were carefully noted. One most exciting race was held by arrangement in the Channel to test the relative capacities of twin-screw and paddle boats in March 1865, the competitors being the twin-screw steamer Mary Augusta and the London, Chatham, and Dover Railway Company’s new steamer La France, said to be the fastest boat in the Channel service. The screw boat left Greenhithe early in the morning and steamed down to Dover to wait the departure of the mail steamer. The latter, when time was taken, was about three cables’ length ahead of and on the weather bow of the Mary Augusta. The screw drew level, but a hot bearing developed in her starboard engine, necessitating that engine making fewer revolutions and causing her to steer badly. She continued to gain however, her rival, according to a contemporary record, “emitting such immense volumes of steam and smoke from her two funnels as satisfactorily proved that the engines were having more steam than they could make use of, and that La France could never at any time or under any circumstances during her yet short career have been driven with more purpose to win than at the present.” After the heated bearing was cooled the Mary Augusta resumed her full speed and the race was her own from that moment, and she reached Calais Pier three and a half miles ahead. The Mary Augusta returned to England at full speed without entering Calais Harbour. The time occupied by her in the double run from Dover to Calais and back was 2 hours 45 minutes 10 seconds, a rate of speed never equalled by any screw steamer before. She went to the Thames at full speed in a violent north-east gale and was back at Gravesend at a quarter-past nine the same evening.
We will now continue the history of the steam-ship services to the East, Africa, and South America. The P. & O. steamer Himalaya has already been mentioned. She was built of iron, was launched at Mare’s shipyard at Blackwall in May 1853, and was originally intended to carry paddle-wheels driven by engines of 1200 horse-power, but at an early stage in her construction it was decided that she should be a screw boat. Her engines, by John Penn and Son, were of 700 horse-power. This steamer was 340 feet between perpendiculars and 46 feet 2 inches beam, and of 3550 tons.
One notable steamer the company had was the Delta, launched in 1859 by the Thames Iron Works and Shipbuilding Company, and described as the handsomest of her class yet built on the Thames. She was a clipper-bowed vessel, carrying stump bowsprit, had two masts, and was fore and aft schooner-rigged. Her masts and her two funnels raked aft considerably, and gave her the appearance of possessing great speed. She was 350 feet in length over all, with a beam of 35 feet 3 inches. The engines, by Penn of Greenwich, were previously in the Valetta, from which they were taken to make room for machinery of less power. The change was of benefit to the Valetta, as she did equally well with her new engines. At her trial in Stokes Bay the Delta averaged rather more than 14¹⁄₂ knots an hour, stated to be a greater speed than had been attained there by any previous vessel. She was double the tonnage of the Valetta and carried 300 tons more coal, and had 1200 tons more displacement. Her engines, of 400 nominal horse-power, gave an indicated horse-power of over 1600.
The “Delta” leaving Marseilles for the Opening of the Suez Canal.
The company kept abreast of the times in its steam-ships, and without displaying any recklessness was not behind in adopting innovations likely to be advantageous. Its experiences with the compound engine were not such, however, as to encourage it to take the lead with new inventions. Its first essay in this direction was in the Mooltan, built in 1860, and by 1864 several steamers had been constructed with the new and costly engines.
“But the result was a grave disappointment. The economy was undoubted; but the machinery, although it had been fitted by one of the most eminent firms in the country, regardless of cost, was found to be unreliable. The accidents were numerous, and although comparatively slight, they occurred so frequently that the efficiency of the mail service was in danger of being impaired. The result was that several of the ships thus fitted had these costly engines replaced by less complex machinery, involving the company in serious loss. The Mooltan was an example of a vessel fitted with appliances in advance of the age. Not only were her engines of the new type, but she was likewise fitted with hydraulic steering gear and refrigerating machinery; and all these appliances had eventually to be removed, because they could not be relied on to work satisfactorily throughout a long voyage. It was not until 1869 that the company succeeded in building a steamer with high and low pressure machinery which could be considered thoroughly successful.”[88]
[88] P. & O. Company’s Handbook.
The African Steamship Company was incorporated in 1852 to carry out a contract with the British Government for conveying the mails monthly to the principal ports of the west coast of Africa and to Madeira and Teneriffe, and also to establish a line of steamers between Sierra Leone and the West Indies. The contract for the mails was entered into by Mr. Macgregor Laird in December 1851, and was for ten years from the ensuing December, commencing with an annual payment of £23,250 and diminishing by £500 a year during the continuance of the contract, thus averaging £21,500 per annum.