The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1889-09-07
THE GREAT LONDON DOCKS.
A System Covering a Space of over
900 Acres.
From the Boston Transcript.

From the Boston Transcript.
Apropos of the great strike among the
dock laborers the following description Of
the London docks may prove interesting
Comparatively few of the Americans who
annually cross the sea on tours of summer
pleasure have visited the docks of London.
They may stand GA London bridge and
look down the Thames to the great shipping
center, but the itenerary of the American
slghtseer does not usually include an inspec-
tlon or the city below the tower. There is
one very obvious reason for this. 1t would
take week at least to make anything like
tour of the metropolitan dock system,
covering as 1t does over 900 acres, extending
from tue tower of London to Galleons Reach,
near Woolwich, every mile range of ware
houses, wharves, railways, cranes and the
other various belongings that make up
dock property and waterside life. There
are ST. Katharine's docks. London docks,
the West India docks, the East India cks,
the Victoria and Albert docks, the Mlllwall
docks and the Surrey Commercial docks.
Six of these docks are on the north and two
on the south side of the Thames. st. Kath-
arlne's docks are the nearest to London
bridge. They were planned by Telford and
opened in 1928, aving been built at a cost
of about e2,000,000. Tney are not very ex-
tensive as compared with the cocks lower
down the river, but cover at least twenty
four acres. London docks, next
below st. Katharine's, are very old.
They We're opened in 1906 and
contain ninety acres, about one-third
being water. Their original cost was ga
OOOOOO. The great warehouses for tobacco
rented by the government are located there,
as are also Uhe immense wine vaults, and
wool, spice, tea, drug and sugar warehouses
innumerable. The Surrey docks and the
Commercial docks are more spacious. They
are located on the south side in a bend of
the river, aud afford ample room for yes
sci engaged In the grain-Shipping trade.
j ust across the Thames are the West India
aud East India docks, the former the oldest
in London, were opened in 1902,
and extend over 300 acres to Black,
wall; the latter are adjoining, but contain
only thirty-5wo acres. Millwall docks
are in the Isle Of Dogs, near the West India
docks. They were opened in 1868 and cover
200 acres. Extending from Blackwell to q
point opposite Woolwich are the Victoria
and Albert docks. The Victoria docks were
first used in 1856. They occupy 200 acres
and contain craving docks aud dry dock:
capable of docking the largest steamship!
afioat. One set of warehouses connected
with these docks is used chiefly for storing
and other products of India and China
The average stock stored here is estimated
at $25, 100000, and the value of the prop
erty passed through in year has exceeded
| 1000, 900
The Royal Albert dock connected will
the Victoria by passage 80 feet in width
has a water area of rs acres. This Is 0
most recent construction, its completion
having been the occasion for a royal cee
bration in June, 1850. This dock is
Splendid stretch of water way, almost tire
| miles IN extent, with range of over mill
of IRON warehouses and double lines of loco
motive tracks and numerous travelling
cranes. The dock walls throughout are con
structed entirely Of Portland cement con
| crete, made and deposited in stu. The aggre
gate length of dock and passage walls is 81
miles. The walls are 40 feet high, 5 feet thic
at the top and from Is to 10 feet thick a
the base. and used up in their construction
| 100000 cubic yards OF concrete, represent
| ing $4,000 tons of Portland cement. Thre
thousand workmen, 600 or 700 wagons, l
or Is locomotive engines, steam navie
and a great quantity OF minor machlner
of various kinds, had been engaged iron
| 1875 until the summer of 1880 in the con
struction of this magnificent system of dock
| "a work compared with which the building
| of the pyramids, with modern appliances
would have been no signal feat. Railwa,
trains from every company can unloal
straight into vessels, cattle are driver
aboard. the railway platforms being leve
with the receiving decks, and the larges
possible weights Of merchandise are lifte
| by hydraulic cranes that travel from sheC
to shed with singular facility. The dock i
lighted with electric lamps, and the enor
nous sheds and warehouses are so con
structed that they can be opened out from
| end to end