The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser. — Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1845-04-29 00:00:00

LAS and elan ot h 8 e 'was introduced into the last act of parliament affecting the convenience of the passenger s hotild , at ,. t lafac between ouf'town and the opposite Cheshire shore, requiring that the Dock Trustees Priki h i e w lt uin a given time, construct two flights of steps and a slip on an improved principle or gen r era l i at George's Pier—the utmost incline of the slip being specified. Advertisements were (as „„ 81 ett a D „Y k,flown) put forth by the Dock Committee offering rewards—X2oo and £loo—for the "Laers'a' cve u Plans—the two considered the best, and the second best—and inviting engineers and let b e i n compete, and affording a greater latitude than that prescribed,—the stage described in the elireemed inadequate. Though the notice was short, the ingenuity of many individuals was eN dera te,d--some sending in models (many of them costly) with descriptions, some plans, and a Peet f number both. Many of these were very ingenious in their way, some, as might be ex d'orlre in conception, and others, though clever, so complicated in construction and mechani 181Prove, gasto be inapplicable. It must be admitted that, from the nature of the site where the Pectl ar 7 e nt in landing places is purposed, many difficulties present themselves ; that we have a e Xtei l t ; there or sand bank to contend with, upon which encroachment can proceed only to a limited (14 0 „,_ at the rise of tide (at springs) is comparatively great ; and that unless the Public Baths tio gre'a7liat unprofitable building, about 40 feet only from the sea-wall,) be removed or thrown back, bal k of ttindenture can be made inland. The strand is left dry to a considerable distance from . the ti i ttc .'„e wall at low water of spring tides, and as these tides rise 33 feet any permanent projec 11eXt t o • he bed of the river in the shape of solid stone slips or piers (as on the Cheshire side) is tip to tv,l93Practicable, as such would interrupt the navigation—vessels having occasion to come close t,ll edo e i_ llll others to approach the wall in landing and receiving passengers, or in entering or leaving b e 414 8 , at that quarter, at all times when they have sufficient water. Such erections would, indeed, t ike s , o ,equal to carrying out the whole line of sea-wall skirting our docks to deep water, at all Wol l i d 1 ; In other words to reach a depth of, say, seven feet for steamers, to attain which 100 feet ~1 1, 8 8 els t a : e to be taken in ; for isolated piers, where there is much shipping to pass, would subject bl eb, o e "stant difficulties : they would be liable to get against or upon them if they parted their qloth er l. were otherwise thrown near them, this side being generally the lee shore during heavy gales. °b ieetion to solid projecting piers is that they would, in all probability, by interrupting the i .._.l S \ 20 40 60 SCALE OF SIXTY FEET TO AN INCH PUBLIC BATHS. ------- SLIP • ~.---- _ _ -- - Gsouovs rztutv 33.asir.J. GEORGE'S PIER. SIM • I it. RIVER MERSEY. ~ ' - 'r -- il I --~f'"' ------------ 1 1 II ~; It II LOW WATER' MARK. Ground Plan of George's Pier II ead and Landing Stage, showing the Projections on Iron Pillars into the River. I 1 t e 1) 1a --- 4 to 114 t alluded to is No. 19, and we give above typographic diagrams and a section of it, which, ° I, Perhaps minutely accurate, approaches so nearly to reality as will enable those interested its merits. It comprises nearly the whole extent of quay (opposite the Baths) from the e basin t o th e b as i n o f George's dock slip, about 500 feet, to which we see no objection. etY A t e xc avated or reconstructed into two inclined planes or slips, which, too, appears to be all he ton 'i L u en the tide is up. The low-water projections are, however, the most important points. of': Pill ar end it is proposed to carry out a slip into the river at a right angle, to be supported on g Pri4 " eolith - ins whih last are to be elevated all alon two feet above the level of high-water ° lltv g tid .srd es, and braced together at the top by stringers or battens. This slip will reach at its extremity a sufficient distance into the river to secure six feet of water for steamers at ebb Section of South Slip and Cast Iron Pillars from the Pier to tow Water. tide of springs. At the north end there is a similar projecting slip, also on iron pillars, but with an elbow or angle at about half its length, giving its outward half a slanting position to the south west, which it is supposed will give the upward tidal current a direction in that way the better to protect within the two slips, by operating, so far, as a breakwater. These slips or inclines, of which we give a section, are to be covered with wood, and it will be perceived they will form a sort of embayment or basin for steamers when within them, though vessels will, we think, be limited for room in going in and coming out when the tide is up. At low-water they will, of course, get to the ends of or along side the slips. It is proposed, we learn, that the perpendicular pillars should be boarded up out wardly from the top down to within six feet of the sand-bank, so as to leave that depth (six feet) for a clear course for the stream. 3OMIEM=3WEIMME datLna ' G PLACES 3 1 , G is _l l 'S ; E t strong tidal current both in its upward and downward flow, tend greatly to accumulate sand and silt in their wake, and thus injure the navigation to a great extent (it might be) along the sea-wall—while the great desideratum for many years has been to deepen rather than to shallow ; for if the water were deep enough at ebb of flood tides for steamers drawing six to seven feet to get along'side the wall, the difficulty now sought to be overcome would be removed, nothing being then required for easy landing but gently inclined planes. We are not, therefore, much surprised that the Dock Committee have been unable to satisfy themselves as to which of the plans presented—no fewer than 286—t0 select ; or, in other words, that they find themselves puzzled. We are of opinion that the question can only be properly decided for the public, who are mainly interested, by a board or committee of engineers and nautical men, who have fully acquainted themselves with the nature and circumstances of the locality We have Privately seen only a few of the Plans and Models, but have had others described to us. The probability is that few or none of them are applicable in all their details, though if a really good principle be shown, it may be improved upon and adopted. With the opinions expressed we are not a little surprised to learn that one only out of the whole 286 has been selected as alone worthy of being sent up to the Parliamentary Committee for their sanction or rejection, though that one is not only " not adopted," but is stated to be at variance with the act. Is this meant as a specimen of the whole batch, or is the Committee above to be left to infer that not one of the rest is worthy of the slightest consideration ? The proceeding is somewhat strange. Of the favoured one we have obtained the principle or outline, and we apprehend that if it should be finally fixed upon, the result will prove either that we are under mistake in our premises, and have over-rated the difficulties which we have assumed to exist, or that the science of the country to meet them effectually has not yet reached the conquering point. We, however, premise in behalf so far of the Plan, which comprises piling, that we do not think it possible, in the peculiar locality in question—and which from its central position is the only eligible site—to form a convenient and safe landing place, that shall not seriously obstruct the navigation and tide way, and be available at all times and all weathers, without some projection or outward erection, in part or in whole permanent. .1 9 • iFs- CD le N 9 ''"' . I• G'l 4 1 I • 4. °I i il. I. m t — i co . 1 ‘-1 1,..2" 1. ,„1. M i . :l4 I. PIER. =rcizm