The watermen on the Thames established the Waterman Steam Packet Company to compete with the Woolwich Steamboat Co.
c.1843 Owned 12 steam boats, one of which was built at Napier's Millwall works (see notes below).
The Waterman’s Company, an old guild dating back to the 14th or 15th century, possessed the greatest possible authority in connection with the navigation of the river, and even to this day passenger river steamers must be navigated above Gravesend by a member of this body.
When the Woolwich Company was formed, bitter antagonism was shown by the Thames watermen, who claimed that their very ancient privileges and rights had been ruthlessly trampled on. At first they vented their spleen by such petty tricks as blocking the way of the packets by barges, but when they found such tactics unavailing the Waterman’s Guild, which was very wealthy and powerful, decided to carry the war into the enemy’s, camp by forming the Waterman’s Steam Packet Company, with a fleet of twelve fast packets which were put into service between 1840 and 1844. A fierce competition at once arose between the rival concerns. The packets were purposely timed to start together and racing was indulged in without any restraint. The pace became too hot to last, the Waterman’s Company gave up the contest, and it was eventually—in 1865—bought up by the Woolwich Company. Even when the railways reached Woolwich— the G.E.R. to North Woolwich in 1847 and the S.E.R. in 1849—the popularity of the Woolwich packets did not lessen to any marked extent.
The Waterman’s Company’s boats were, not named originally, but were numbered 1 to 12. After the taking-over by the Woolwich Steam Packet Co. the boats were named as follows: 1 CYGNET, 2 IBIS, 3 OSPREY, 4 CERES, 7 FALCON, 10 MERLIN, 12 SWIFT. There were five boats named TEAL, WIDGEON, PENGUIN, STORK and TERN. These names most probably fit in with numbers 5, 6, 8, 9 and 11, of which no details are available. In 1853, a thirteenth boat named ELFIN was acquired, which probably was never numbered as the superstitions connected with that number might have affected its popularity.
1867 The Waterman’s Company purchased two larger vessels, one of which will always be remembered with sorrow by those interested in the success of the Thames pleasure steamer. These Vessels were the ALBERT EDWARD and PRINCESS ALICE.
1871 The competition between the two companies nearly ruined both of them and resulted in the Woolwich company buying the Waterman company
1876 The London Steamboat Co acquired most of the vessels.
Notes on Waterman's boats from the biography of David Napier[1]
"Of the twelve boats owned by the Waterman Steam Packet Company, eleven were engined by the Messrs. Penn (although the name of the last fitted by them was Waterman No. 12). These had oscillating engines, embracing their makers' latest improvements.
"Of the one steamboat of the dozen (Waterman No. 9) not engined by Penn there is something worth noting. Possibly it may not be known that the mystic art of ‘betting’ is not altogether a product of these enlightened days. It flourished half a century ago, and heavy bets were made on the performances of some of our river steamboats, so high had the spirit of rivalry attained among the captains, if not the owners, of these boats. The order for Waterman No. 9 boat was therefore given to her builder, Mr. David Napier of Millwall, under rather onerous conditions. She was to be constructed of iron, and fitted with engines, under a guarantee that she should, when completed and tried, beat every other vessel of her class on the river, while burning less fuel, and this she did thoroughly. The dimensions of this vessel were: Length between perpendiculars, 107 feet; breadth at paddle boxes, 15 feet; depth under deck, 7 feet 2 inches; draught of water, 2 feet 9 inches. She was propelled by a single engine—known as a 'steeple-engine'— having a cylinder 30 inches diameter, with a piston stroke of 3 feet. Its piston was fitted with four piston-rods, whose upper ends were attached to a four-armed crosshead, from the centre of which the connecting-rod hung, the lower end of the latter embracing the crank-pin brasses, with a strap secured to it with a gib and cotter. The air, feed and bilge pumps were worked by a rocking beam, one end of which was connected by links to the piston-rods crosshead. The engine was of the surface-condensing type. The vessel being double-bottomed, the space between the two bottoms was used as a condenser, into which the steam, after use in the cylinder, was admitted, its condensation being effected by external cold, the resultant fresh water being used for boiler feed. This engine, invented by Mr. Napier, offered many advantages by its compactness and direct action for river-boat service. Its one objection was the protrusion of a large portion of the machinery above the deck, which rendered it unsuitable for sea-going vessels.
"The boiler supplying this engine with steam was of the vertical cylindrical type, 7 feet diameter, with a circular fire-grate, over which was a 14-inch water-space, in whose upper or tube-plate was a series of concentric circles of tube holes, fitted with water-tubes. Their lower ends communicated with the bottom water-space, and the upper ends with the water above the top tube-plate, the hot air and gases in their passage from the fire-box permeating among the tubes, — which were of brass, — and thus imparting their heat before reaching the chimney. The steam-producing power of this boiler was very great, and its consumption of fuel exceedingly moderate.
"As competing steamboats were plying to the same ports as Napier's, although none were equal in speed, a keen rivalry appears to have existed between the masters of the respective vessels. This at times led to incidents on both sides manifesting more zeal than discretion, and a total disregard of passengers' wishes and convenience. A curious episode of this nature involved no less a personage than Charles Dickens, and his indignant letter on the subject to Messrs. Napier may be quoted, as illustrating these amenities of old-time travel."
See Also
Sources of Information
- ↑ "The Thames Steamboat Companies", published in The Engineer, Sept., 1900, and Nov., 1897
- 'Steamers of the Thames and Medway' by Frank Burtt