The Sun.
London, England, 1857-01-13 00:00:00

TRANSPORTING SHIPS OVERLAND.

The following account of a proposed measure of
transporting ships from sea to sea across the Isth-
mus of Suez, by a gentleman belonging to th• Hon.
E. I. C. S., is published in the Mechanics' Maga -
zinc :

As long ago as 1847, I designed a slip of nearly
the same construction, in connection with a section
of railway which I proposed to apply to the Isth-
mus of Suez, on the lino of the ancient canal, for
the purpose of transporting vessels overland from
the Mediterranean to the Red Sea, and vice versa,
and I am anxious to lay the plan before your scien-
tific readers. My design was to construct a slip
running out into the sea at an easy slope (or rather
perhaps a convex curve), to a depth of not more
than 15 feet. As that depth would be insufficient
to enable large vessels to be brought directly on
to the slip, I proposed to use large camels, of a
construction which I will describe hereafter, but
similar in principle to those used in the Neva for
floating down large vessels from St. Petersburg to
Croustadt. These were to be towed out into deep
water by a small steamer, to receive the vessel,
and would be sufficiently large when empty to re-
duce the vessel's draught of water sufficiently to
admit of its being brought on the cradle of the slip,
with the camels still supporting her. A stationary
engine (or, as has since been proposed, hydraulio
power) would then be proposed to haul her up the
incline, and she would be transported to the oppo-
site shore of the Isthmus by as many locomotives
as there were lines of rail employed in supporting
her, and there launched again into her proper ele-
went by a process the reverse of that already described.
The "camels" were somewhat peculiar in form;
they were to consist of two long hollow prisms of
Ilie andupper
tcompartments.frames, stout sheet iron, strengthened interiorly by strong
il
twooden
triangular
dividedsur
fiancteo
owf ae taeerh-
oof the prisms, as they floated in the water, were
several Air-tight cusions or bags, made of four or
five thicknesses of stout leather or air-proof can-
vas, extending the whole length of the prisms in
longitudinal co mpartments, or divided transversely,
as might be preferred, and forming, when inflated,
an elastic bed to receive and adapt itself to the lines
of the ship. These camels would be brought along-
side the vessel and sunk, by admitting water into
them, till they were well under her. They would
ken be connected together by rods and screws, and
then pumped out again. As the vessel rose, the
cushions would be inflated to receive her, and, by
distributing her weight over the whole surface of
the pontoons, would prevent any strain from une-
qual support. The railway would consist of from
five to nine lines of parallel rails of sufficient gauge
and calibre to distribute and support the vessel's
weight on as largo a base as practicable, consistent
with the condition of locomotion.
I may, in conclusicn, add, that it would obviate_
what 1 conceive to be the two great difficulties of
the proposed canal—namely, the shallow approachest_
to its entrances in each sea, and the scarcity of he
water supply to maintain a sufficient depth in_ the
higher levels of the canal itself. Admiftting,e hotw-
ever, that a canal would be pre e.rabl,
bringing
vessels might be a valuable adjunct .
vessels to its entrance, and by giving greater buoy-
ancyht of water, would. carry
with a less draught
vessels through the canal whichtherwise would
not admit of them.