The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1854-03-07 00:00:00

DOCK COMMITTER

The proceedings of this committee having been con-
firmed, the remainder of the monthly business, including
several important matters, were delayed till 'Wednesday
(to-morrow), till which day the council was adjourned.

PROPOSED ATETV LANDEVG-ST-IG_E.

THE benefits derived by the public from the
existing landing-stage have been so decided and so
self-evident, as to create an irresistible desire for
the construction of one with capabilities sufficient
to accommodate the larger steam-ship traffic of the
port. At first it was contemplated to have it of an
amplitude great enough to suffice for the traffic of
both ocean-going and channel steamers, and a report
having reference to such an erection was prepared
by Sir W. Cubitt. Further consideration of. the
subject led to the belief that its benefits could not
be readily participated in by the ocean steamers,
except on occasions of rare occurrence, and a modi-
fication of the plan was accordingly suggested.
The following modified report has, therefore, been
prepared by the eminent engineer, and was sub-
mitted to the Town Council at its meeting on
Wednesday last :-
6, Great George-street, Westminster. Feb. 23, 1854.
Gentlemen,—l have now the honour of addressing to you
this report on the subject of a modified landing-stage. suitable
for the accommodation of what are termed the channel
steamers,' to distill zuish them from the large and lolly ocean
steamers,' for which the former report, plans, and estimates,
dated the 31st of October last, were designed.
As regards length, breadth, and means of communication
with the shore, the two designs are the same in principle.
The great change is in the height of the deck above the water;
that of the stage for ocean steamers being 18 feet, while that
for the channel steamers is confined to 8 feet. This change
has necessitated an entire revision of the whole structure,
and an entire recalculation of the weights of the pontoons
and kelsons, and the quantities of timber, &c., inasmuch
as the lessening the heights of the deck rendered essential
thicker iron and extra work in the kelsons and in other parts
of the fabric, and also the providing of yet lower decks at
either end to serve as berths for the tenders of the ocean
steamers, at which passengers and goods to and from those
vessels might he shipped and landed without interference
with the present ferry landing-stage. All these modifications
will be explained by a reference to the tirawincs, which are, I
trust, sufficiently clear to render a long description of them
unnecessary. _

The extreme length of 0)6 stage will be 1.000 feet, and the
width will be 82 feet, the same as that of the present ferry-
steamers' stage.
The height of the deck above the water line will be about
8 feet for 920 feet of its length, and about 5 feet for 40 feet
at each end, as berths for tenderA and other small steamers
not plying to the ferry-stage. Should this 40 feet not be
deemed sufficient to afford a landing berth for the tender
steamers it might be extended to 50 feet, but as it is now
planned there will be four 40-foot berths, at all times, for
small steamers lying parallel with the tide, besides the two
ends of the stage, each 82 feet long. which, I presume, would
be ordinarily available at the `lee-tide end' during both
flood and ebb.

..„—........ ..„...
The main support of the landing-stage will consist of 67
pontoons, of various lengths (see drawing No. 4), and of an
uniform length of 10 feet, (with the exception of the two
end pontoons, which will each be 12 feet wide, and much
stronger than the others), and an uniform depth of 5 feet.
The whole are intenoed to have an uniform draught of 3 feet
of water, with all erections, stores, &c., on deck, which will
represent a weight of 4,500 tons.
Upon and across all the pontoons will be five hollow
beams or kelsons, extending fiorn end to end of the stage,
and well fastened to the pontoons, at every intersection, so
that the pontoons and kelsons will form a strong and in-
flexible iron frame, of which those parts that are in the water
(the pontoons), the only portions subject to accident or decay,
can be each separately removed for cleaning, painting, repair-
ins.: or replacing, without at all interfering with the use of
the stage, or with the steamers lying alongside, so that the
sta"e„ will not need to be unrnoored at any time.
Upon and across the kelsons, at four-foot distances, will
be laid the deck-beams, each two feet deep by one foot in
thickness, consisting of two whole balks of timber, well
scarfed, jointed, and trenailed together, and strongly bolted
down to the kelsons. Upon these, lengthways of the stage,
will be laid the deck, in two thicknesses,—the main portion
4a incites th'ck, which will be securely fastened down to the
deck beams, and upon this a 12 inch covering of harder
wood, less subject to wear, and capable of being easily
removed and repaired, in any part, without damaging or
disturbing the main portion of the deck.
Round the sides and ends of the stage will be fender-
guards and boiler welve inches square, the spaces
between which will led up flush from the level of the
dip
deck to six inches belo the surface of the water, with stout
planking, so that it will be impossible for the paddle beams.
or ally other part of the steamers lying alongside, to strike
the stage, or for the stage to damage the vessels alongside.
The landing-stage will be moored to Prince's Wharf by a
set of horizontal diagonal moorings to check it against the
run of the tide ; a set of preventor moorings, laid square from
the wharf to the stage, to prevent vessels from driving in be-
tween them and damaging the bridges; and, lastly, a double
set of underfoot moorings, either screw or lewis, at each end,
hove as short as the very highest equinoctial tides will admit,
to serve as safety moorings to bring the stage up in case of
accident of any kind to the horizontal mooring cables or pre-
ventor chains.
All the above apparatus for safely and effectually mooring
this stage are similar in principle to those of the present ferry
stage, for although the underfoot moorings have fortunately
never yet been brought into play, they are not the less
necessary.
Lastly, the landing-stage will be connected with the
Prince's Quay by means of four strong bridges, which will
rise and fall with the stage to the extremes of the highest and
lowest tides, and more sufficiently up and down the river with
the flood and ebb, to give perfectly free play to all parts of
the apparatus, and to permit them to be at all times passable.
They will be available for all purposes to which bridges are
adapted, either for persons on foot, or horseback, or in car-
riages; or for droves of cattle, or other stock, passing to or
from the steamers; or for carts and drays, with luggage and
stores. In short, they will so connect the stage with the top
of Prince's Wharf that it will possess all the advantages that
would arise if the surface of the Mersey were, at all times, at
such a height as would keep the deck of the channel steamers
on the level, or within a foot of the level, of Prince's-parade.
"The stage, besides the provision for the tenders of the
ocean steamers already described, affords a large and safe
boat harbour, of a thousand feet in length, between the stage
and the shore, with four landing-places for boats, having an
aggregate length of nearly 300 feet; and eight sets of stairs
to the deck of the stage, accessible at all times of the day or
night, and well lighted with gas from thence to the shore.
These are advantages to row-boat owners, and to the public,
which no open landings and fixed stairs, of a common kind,
could pos-ibly give.
The deck of this landing-stage will have an area of very
nearly two acres, giving ample space for light buildings of
wood and corrugated iron to any extent that may be requisite
for the accommodation of a steam passenger trade, and of
the parties connected both with the stage and with the trade,
as will further appear by my stating the capabilities of the
stage as a vessel or platform of burden.
The total displacement of all the pontoons with a mean
draft of three feet will equal 157,560 cubic feet, which is equal
to 4500 tons ; and it will take 125 tons, distributed over the
deck, to put the stage one inch deeper in the water, or 1500
tons to bring it one foot deeper, and 3000 tons to bring the
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THE ESTIMATE.

To form an estimate for a work of this kind is a very diffi-
cult, and, in a great degree, an uncertain operation ; inasmuch
as, although some of the work, such as the pontoons, the kel -
sons, or longtitudinal hollow beams, and the hollow beams
for the bridges, may, probably, be let out by contract, there
is a great deal of work that cannot. The only estimate that
can be made with anything like certainty is that the weights
of the ironwork, and the cube quantity of the timber, which,
according to the calculations I have made. are as follow :
Pontoons llO-1 tons.
Kelsons ll5B
Wrought-iron, in knees, bolts,
stran &c 2O

Total ironwork
2283
Timber wrought in
place, 90,000 cube feet; four bridges,
with stone, timber. and ironwork, complete in place; moor-
ings, tkc., complete; contingencies of various kinds; total,
from £lOO,OOO to £115,000. Being the estimated maximum
and minimum, according to times prices, and circumstances,
exclusive of any establishment at Liverpool of an office and a
resident engineer, and assistance of clerks and inspectors of
works during their erection.—l have the honour to be, gen-
tlemen, your most obedient Strlllnt, W. CiainT.