Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1889-09-03
The Great London Docks.
From the Boston Transcript

From the Boston Transcript
Apropos of the great strike among the dock
laborers the following description Of the Lon
don docks may prove interesting. Compare
lively few Of the Americans who annually cross
the sea on tours of summer pleasure have
visited the docks Of London. They may stand
on London bridge and look down the Thames
to the great shipping center. but the itinerary
OF the American sightseer does not usually In
clude an inspection of the city below the tower.
There is one very obvious reason for this It
would take week at least to make anything
like tour Of the metropolitan dock system.
covering as it does over 800 acres. extending
from the tower of London to Gallons Reach,
near Woolwich, every mile a 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 docks, the Victoria and
Albert docks, the Millwan docks and the
Surrey Commercial docks. Six of these
docks are on the north and two on the
south side OF the Thames. st. Katharine's
docks are the nearest to London bridge. They
were planned by Telford and opened in 1928,
having been built at a cost OF about e.. OOO, OOO
They are not very extensive compared with
the docks lower down the river, but cover at
least "a acres. London DOCKS next below st.
Katharines. are very old. They were opened
in 1905 and contain 80 acres about one-third
being water. Their original cost was f4.00O,-
QUO. The great ware houses for tobacco rented
by the government are located there, as are
also the immense wine vaults, and wool, SPICE
tea, drug and sugar ware houses innumerable.
The Surrey docks and the Commercial docks
are more spacious. They are located on the
south side in bend of the river, and afford
ample room for a vessel engaged in the
grain-shipping trade. Just across the Thames
are the West India and East India docks
the former, the oldest in London, were
opened in 1902, and extend over 800
acres to Blackwall; the latter are adjoining, but
contain only thirty-two 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 point
opposite Woolwich are the Victoria and Albert
docks. The Victoria docks were first used in
1856. The occupy 200 acres and contain grav-
ing docks and dry docks capable of docking
the largest steamships aioat. One set of ware
houses connected with these docks is used
chiefly for storing tea. silk, cochineal, carpets,
piece goods and other products of India and
China. The average stock stored here is esti-
mated at S25.000, 900. and the value of the
property passed through in ayear has exceeded
$1,000 O0O
The Royal Albert dock CONNECTED with the
Victoria by passage 80 feet in width has a
water area Of 175 acres. This is Of most recent
construction, its completion having been the
occasion for a royal celebration in June, $780,
This dock is a splendid stretch Of waterway al
most three miles In extent, with a range of
over mile of iron ware houses and double
lines Of locomotive tracks and numerous trav-
cling cranes The dock walls throughout are
constructed entirely Of Portland cement con-
crete, made and deposited in STU The aggre-
gate length of dock and passage walls is 80
miles. The walls are 40 feet high 5 feet thick
at the top and from Is to 10 feet thick
at the base, and used up in their
construction 100000 cubic yards Of con-
crete. representing $4,000 tons of Port
land cement Three thousand workmen,
six hundred or seven hundred wagons, seven
teen or eighteen locomotive engines, three
steam navvies and great quantity of minor
machinery Of various kinds, had been engaged
from 1875 until the summer of 1880 in the con-
struction OF this magnificent system of docks
work compared with which the building of
the pyramids with modern appliances, would
have been no very signal feat. Railway trains
from every company can unload straight into
vessels, cattle are driven aboard, the railway
platforms being level with the receiving decks
and the largest possible weights Of merchan-
disc are lifted by hydraulic cranes that travel
from shed to shed with singular facility. The
dock is lighted with electric lamps, and the
enormous sheds and ware houses are SO con-
strncted that they can be opened out from end
to end.