The Sun.
London, England, 1866-12-25 00:00:00

Recovery of the London Steamship.

The steamship London, belonging to the Dundee,
Perth, and London Shipping Company, which has
lain on the Horseshoe Shoal, in the Tay, since the
18th November, 1865, was on Saturday taken off
and brought up to Dundee. It will be remenTherel
that the London left Dundee on the afternoon of
the day mentioned (18th November, 1865), with a
cargo of goods valued at £12,000, and a number of
passengers on board, on her weekly trip to London,
and that when about two miles below BroughtY
Ferry she came into collision with the Harvest
Queen, coal laden, from Newcastle, then coming
up the channel of the river. The result of the eel"

lision was that the London went upon the Horse-
shoe Shoal, where she sank, her passengers escaping
with difficulty, some on board the Harvest Queen,
and some on board a tug sent to her assistance.
The Harvest Queen, after proceeding up the river
about three miles, sank upon the Newcome Shoal,
within a short distance of the south shore, where
she was nearly dry at low water. After a :good
deal of difficulty she was brought off several months
ago, and has been renovated, and is now again in
the coal trade. In order to recover the London
it was resolved first to take out the cargo ;
and this was effected by Captain Hicks and
several divers under him. The value of the
goods recovered amounted to £9,000, or three-
fourths of the original value. After this had been
done several attempts were made to raise the steamer
by Mr. Page, of London, Admiral Keppel, and
others, but without success, and it was generally
considered that there was no hope of her recovery,
and that the loss of £15,000, at which she was
valued, would have to be submitted to. In the end
of September, however, an arrangement was made
with the Messrs. Gourlay, engineers and iron ship'
builders, Dundee, to endeavour to raise her, and
after some preparations the first attempt was made b 9
them on the 24th November, but without success.
It was then found that several of the leaks, which
were supposed to have been closed up by the divers,
were still open. These were carefully closed 1113
under the superintendence of Mr. Macniddert
manager for the Messrs. Gourlay ; and it was re-
solved to make another attempt to raise her on
Saturday, the tides being then at the lowest. Ac-
cordingly, the steamer Queen went down on Friday
afternoon, with two powerful pumps on board, i°
addition to two which had been erected on the Lon"
don, and at three o'clock on Saturday morning 5
vessel left Dundee with a fifth pump. The weather
was favourable. At half-past seven the two purePs
on board the Queen and the two on the Loudon
were set agoing, being wrought by the Queen's
engines, and they were kept going until 9 o'clock,
when, on putting down the lead, it was found that
the London had risen two feet. The fifth pump iv°
then added, and by a quarter past nine she had risen
four feet. At half-past nine the two tugs Atlas and
Samson took the London in tow, when she
came away with them. The tide was then mak-
ing, and she was slowly floated up to Dundee, the
pumps working all the time. The hull, when seen,
appeared a melancholy spectacle, being c)vered With
barnacles and mussels, and the masts all gone. The
London was beached in the afternoon to the east of
the Camperdown Dock, where she will receive 3
partial overhaul, previously to being taken into the
dry dock to be thoroughly renovated.