PS London Engineer
120 ft length, 24 ft breadth, 5 ft draught, 12 ft 6 ins dia paddle wheels.
1815 The engines built by Maudslay, Sons and Field [1]
1818 Messrs. Maudslay, of Lambeth, engined a boat intended for Thames passenger traffic, called the London Engineer. In this vessel the paddle wheel was placed centrally in the inside of the bull, the paddle race, or space in which the wheel revolves, being cut out of the middle of the boat.[2]
A number of experimental steamers have been constructed from time to time which might well be described as freaks. Of these the LONDON ENGINEER was one of the most prominent examples. She was built in 1818 for the Margate service by Brent of Rotherhithe and engined by Maudslay of Lambeth.
Her dimensions were 120 feet long, beam 24 feet, with a draught of 5 feet, tonnage 315. The machinery was of a peculiar design, being of the bell-crank pattern, having two vertical cylinders 36 inches diameter with a 30 inch stroke. The cylinders were placed on either side of the vessel driving a pair of internal paddle wheels. The two paddles made 28 revolutions a minute, and the stream of water to them was kept constant by air forced into' the waterway by two large pumps. The boiler pressure was 5 lb. per sq. inch and steam was supplied by three single-furnace copper boilers.
As the whole contraption was not in any way a success it was not surprising that the LONDON ENGINEER did not have a long life. She was a fine vessel in her way, having a nice saloon aft, with the luxury of upholstered settees, although the passengers in the cheaper fore- cabin had to be content with wooden benches. She was too big a vessel to have her sail set on the funnel and was given two proper masts, although the funnel with its decorated top was nearly as tall as the masts.
The author has no record of any steam vessel being built in the interval between the LONDON ENGINEER and the RAPID. When once the certainty and safety of the river steam packets was established, it was not surprising that they gained immense popularity, not only as a means of transport pure and simple, but also for excursion purposes. It is related on good authority that from 1820 to 1824 the number of passengers exceeded a million each year, and in one particular year exceeded 1,250,000, and the number of packets increased with equal rapidity.
See Also
Sources of Information
- ↑ Fielden’s Magazine Vol 4
- ↑ The Engineer 1897/09/24
- 'Steamers of the Thames and Medway' by Frank Burtt