The Sun.
London, England, 1861-01-24 00:00:00

GOVERNMENT TROOP STEAMER FOR
IN..DCTS;

Yesterday a satisfactory trial trip took place on
the Thames of a very peculiarly constructed
steamer, intended for the conveyance of troops
upon the Lower Indus. A numerous company of
persons interested in marine engineering were pre-
sent on board, among whom may be mentioned Mr.
Dinnen, the Admiralty Inspector of Machinery;
Mr. Luke, Admiralty Surveyor of Shipping ; Capt.
Robertson, of the Board of Trade Mr. flake, of
the firm of Messrs. James Watts and Co.; Mr.
Henry S. Pitcher, of Northfleet Dockyard}} and
many others. This vessel is nee yf 0, 80tiez of
various dililv,h6ioW3, tetornmended by a commission
appointed by Government in 1857 to investigate the
subject of river navigation) and to report on the
besthe
class of
commission
vessels
Consisted
for, serVite oh the rivers of :India.T,sted of the late Colonel Craw-
ford. of the Indian Engi4eets ; Ca
the Indian Navy and Mr. T. b. Wptail Ba'claisis Of
inter, Coriult-
ing Marine Ergireer. The rivers of India are
usually broad, although their best channels are at
various places comparatively. narrow. In general
these rivers are tortuous, shallow, very rapid in
flood seasons, and abound in shifting sandbanks.
The form of boat recommended by the above com-
mission as best adapted to meet these circumstances
is popularly known as the "spoon-ended" form, and
resetnblee in principle many of the native craft.
Several steam vessels have been sent out during the
last few years more or less approximating to this
model, and have been found the most useful on the
Indian rivers. The commission recommended the
still further carrying out of the "spoon-ended"
principle by dispensing entirely with any
approach to an angular form at either end of
the vessel, in order to counteract, as far as
possible, the difficulties to steering caused by
the cross currents of the rivers, and also to
reduce the labour of hauling the vessel off a sand-
bank, should she at any time run aground. For
ordinary purposes tug-vessels, with barges attached
thereto, were recommended, but for the all-important
service of the speedy conveyance of troops, the
necessity for which was so apparent during the late
Indian rebellion, vessels of the class about to be
described were advised. Mr. T, B. Winter, the
engineer member of the commission, was subss •
quently instructed by Government to prepare the
plans and specifications of the various vessels above
referred to, and was then intrusted with the charge
of superintending their construction in this country.
The vessels are sent out td India in pieces and cooa•
pleted there; but one tug, and now this larger
steamer, have been finished for previous trial in this
country. Afterwards these vessels will have to be
taken to pieces and packed for shipment. The con-
tract for the present troop steamer was given to
Messrs. J. Watt and Co., of London and Birming-
ham, who have built her ergines and sublet the
building of the hull to Messrs. M. Pearse and Co.,
of Stockton-on-Tees, where the vessel was " tot-
tered" together, and afterwards was brought up in
pieces to the Victoria Docks, and there rivetted and
finished. The dimensions of the steamer are :
Length over all, 377 feet ; beam, 46 feet ; breadth
over paddle-boxes, 74 feet; depth, 5 feet; ditto, at
paddle shafts, 12 feet; ditto, to top of arched girders,
18 feet ; working draught of water, 2 feet; displace.
ment at 2 feet draught, 739 tons; tonnage (old
measurement), 3,911 tons. Accommodation is pro-
vided onboard for about 800 troops and their officers.
The engines are 220 nominal horse power, having
horizontal cylinders of .55 inches diameter and 6 feet
stroke. The diameter of the paddle-wheels is 26 feet
and the breadth of the floats, or paddle-boards, 12
feet. There is a separate pair of small oscillating
engines, intended to assist in maintaining a vacuum
for the main engines when the navigation becomes
intricate. These engines are likewise to work crabs
for hauling the vessel off sand-banks. The hull of
the troop steamer is constructed entirely of puddled
steel made by the Weardale Company, near Dur-
ham, and the average tensile strength of which is
42 tons per sectional square inch, or double that of
boat-plate iron. The vessel is strengthened longi-
tudinally by four arched girders ; two at the sides,
rising to a height of 12 feet, to carry the paddle-
wheels, &c., and extending 130 feet in length on
deck. The other two, or main girders, run fore
and aft, about 10 feet from the sides of the vessel
these are 18 feet high in the centre and extend
nearly the whole length of the ship. In walking
fore and aft on the maindeck you pass underneath
the paddleshafts. Ath wartsbips, the vessel is
strengthened through the engine and boiler space
by 12 overhead beams or girders, extending the
whole breadth of the vessel and car s 3 ing the stays
by which the sponsons are suspended. Beyond the
space occupied by the engines and boilers she is
framed. again athwartehips by trusses under the
maindeck, repeated every three feet, and which
resemble in principle the iramework of an iron roof.
Although the vessel is built throughout of exces-
sively light scantling, she is rendered strong by
means of the class of framewosk adopted. She is
steered at each end by means of " blades," which,
instead of being worked from side to side in the
ordinary manner of rudders, are caused to rise or
lower into the water at the proper angle. When
out of
,action these blades are completely within
boxes or wells, formed for their reception. Both
sets are actuated simultaneously by steering
wheels, placed towards the head of the vessel,
and provision is made to work one set only should
an accident occur to the other. The principle of
this ingenious arrangement is patented by the in-
ventor, Mr. A. Chaplin, of Glasgow. There are
two tiers of cabins placed one above the other; and
these, as on board American river steamers, are
houses rising above the vessel's maindeck. They are
entirely surrounded with Venetian panels for the ad-
mission or exclusion of air. The tops of the upper tier
of cabins form the chief promenade deck. The saloon
and state rooms for the officers are at the fore end of
the vessel. No attempt at ornamental work has
been made ; everything being plain but substan-
tial. The berths for the troops are composed of
frames of galvanised iron covered with perforated
sheet zinc, for the free circulation of air. The
lower tier of berths is constructed at a convenient
height to form seats, and the upper tier is placed
sufficiently above the lower to allow the occupants
to sit comfortably upright. In each main troop
room there is an officer's cabin partitioned off, and
the accommodation for the troops is divided in five
compartments, so as to permit of separation in case
of sickness. Fresh air, drawn from the paddle-
boxes, in order that it may absorb moisture, is sup-
plied to the cabins (by fans worked with the steam
power) in sufficient quantity to change the whole
amount in each troop room every half-hour. These
fans are Schele's patent, and being independent of
the engines, can be worked while the ship is lying
to for the night, as all navigation on the Indus
ceases at dark. The engineers' cabins are placed on
the extensive sponsons, where are also bath rooms
and other accommodations, poultry houses, sheep-
pens, &c. As a precaution against shoaling, the
draught of water is taken by water gauges, placed
inside the ship, and enalogous in principle to the
water gauges of ordinary steam boilers. The whole
vessel is covered with an awning of the strongest
sailcloth, the area of which may be estimated by the
fact of its weighing three tons. The extensive
framework for supporting this awning has received
especial attention, and while every care has been
taken to reduce as eight by making all the stanchions
and stays tubular, they are, nevertheless,very sub-
stantial. The handrails all round the main and
promenade decks are also tubular, and advan-
tage has bean taken of this form to make
it serve as a speaking tube from the
pilot to the engine room. The engineering diffi-
culty in the construction of this vessel was to adopt
such a class of framework that, while still possess-
ing great strength, the quantity or weight of
metal used in building her should be so small as to
ensure the excessively limited draught of two feet.
In principle, the general arrangement, and also
many of the plans for stiffening and strengthening,
this vessel, resemble the American river steamers,
very many of which nearly approach it in the
dimensions of length and beam, and ono of which
is believed to be about 30 feet longer and 4 feet
wider. Some vessels on the Ithone are 100 feet
longer than this troop steamer, but not so wide.
of the larger
American The d raug hate edf ah tee:
e, hho
ewaet:
is baeltdhom so little as
four feet, or double that of Mr. Winter's design.
The cabins of the American boats frequently rise
from 40 to 50 feet above the maindeck, whereas
those of the Indus troop-steamer do not exceed 15
feet ; so that, although the hold on the water due
to the two feet draught is less than that of the
American boats which have so long and successfully
navigated: the Hudson and the Mississippi, the
troop steamer has proportionately less top hamper.
The vessel was tried up and down on the measured
mile in Long-reach, the average speed attained
being 12 statute miles per hour ; the prevalent
opinion of the many competent authorities
acquainted with the requirements of the Indian
service being, that this first Government troop
steamer for the navigation of the Indus would
effectively fulfil her intended object.