The herald., 1893-02-12


Banning's window on Second street,
near Spring, and Capt. W. L. Merry OF
Nicaragua canal fame, pronounced it an
excellent likeness when he was here in
October last. At the period when the
Vanderbilt was running to Havre, the
record stood like this on transatlantic
passages:
ACROSS THE ATLANTIC.
Year. American. d. h. m.
1852-Arctics ................... II 10
5sSS-sdiiio 5sSS-sdr,st .;..........''..' Is 40
1oo5-VanuerDlltt ......-............ w
English
5-ssssIs;. 5sss-ssssIs; sss-ssssIs; i
New York to Liverpool. t New York to
southampton. Liverpool to New York.
\ In those days passage meant from
tport to port. Now they are timing
pships from Sandy Hook to Tuskar light
or the Connebeg lightship, which is
good deal shorter distance to be Iun,
Sandy Hook being 26 miles from New
York and the distance on the other side
being still greater. 1t 10 319S miles
from New York to Havre, and from Liv-
erpool to New York about 26SS miles,
while the ordinary passage is computed
from Sandy Hook to Daunt's rock,
which is 27S2 miles. The oscillsting
engine, which was first introduced on
the Republic, then plying between
Philadelphia and Charleston, was put
into the Illinois and Golden Gate
(double) and the John L. Stephens
(single) of the Pacific mail line between
s1S51 and 1854; and into the Adriatic OF
the Collins line in 1857. 1t was very
economical and conducive to speed as
well, but was Objectionable about max
ing landings. as it did NOS reverse
shandily.
Up to the outbreak of the civil war in
1851, the Adriatic was the largest
wooden steamer afoat, but in that year
the keel was laid for steamer that
should surpass them all both in size
sand speed. By this time opinion had
revolted against double engines for side
wheel ships, because in heavy weather
.one wheel would be totally submerged
to the pillow-blocks while the other
would be almost, if not entirely, out of
water. This created, of course, great
strain upon the center shaft, being that
portion of the shafting lying between
the cranks of the two engines. In this
way the Golden Gate broke three shafts
in five years and the Illinois two
in the same period, while the
Sierra Nevada, Cortes, Winfield
Scott, and Prometheus in three years had
eachbroken two. On the other hand the
United States, Ocean Bird, Golden
Rule. Brother Jonathan, Golden Age
and Pacific, all ran over 10 years with
their original shafts. Hence it was that
Allan McLane, on his accession to the
superintendency of the Pacific Mail fleet
and afterwards to the presidency of the
company, decided to use the single beam
only. The new steamship was called
the Constitution and arrived in San
Francisco in October, 1862, previous to
which time she had made little for
tune in carrying to Fortress Monroe and
other southern points, troops and NUM-
tion of war for the government. Capt.
Oliver Eldridge, my ideal of the most
enlightened type of an American sailor,
was her commander. He is now resid-
ing in San Francisco in the twilight of
an honorable life.
x*x
In those days the Panama steamers
were doing all the passenger traffic of
California, Oregon and Nevada; and the
big Constitution was bowling success,
as she carried from 400 to 1000 passen-
gers per trip at $500 each. She was the
Francisco and Panama inside of twelve
days. Emboldened by her success the
company built the big Golden City, of
the same length as the Constitution
and two feet more beam. This was, in
my belief, the best sidewheel ship ever
built, right up to the present writing.
The schedule time was 260 miles per
diem, and the log.book of the Golden
City (still preserved in the Pacific Mail
archives) will chow that she on more
than one occasion made this with con-
sumption of 2S tons in "a hours. With
40 tons she could keep up through pretty
bad weather, and with 60 tons she
could drive through the biggest gales
she ever met. In 1884 the company
built three steamships--the Henry
Chancey, Arizona and Colorado--the
, latter intended as sister ship to the
Golden City.
Some clever maritime writer (I know
not who) has said that there were never
two sister ships, and such appeared to
be the case in this instance. The Colo
RADIO was built on the Golden City's
lines with the same boiler surface, same
diameter of cylinder and stroke OF
piston (10Sxr44 inches) and yet she
never could equal the Golden City'a
time by ten bours, without exceeding
her consumption of fuel nearly IS per
cent. In weather where the Golden
City would burn 80 tons of anthracite,
the Colorado would require SS to AZ; and
in heavy weather 80 tons would be the
best she could do for herself. The same
is true OF sister locomotives. s. G..
Reed, now resident of Pasadena but
then vice-p president of the Oregon Steam
Navigation company, went east in 1867
and had two engines of like weight and
design built at Paterson, N. j., for their
Cascade portage, Money was no object,
they wanted the best. One of these was
named for Colonel Ruckel and the other
for himself. The Reed could always
haul eight loaded cars up that steep in
cline, while the Ruckel would almost
blow her cylinder heads out in trying to
handle seven.
Just about 1854 came a menace to the
Bidewheel ships in the shape of four
propellers built by John Elder of Glas.
cow for the Cunard line. They were
28O0 tons each, with 22O0 horse power
in the shape of compound vertical en-
gines, designed to economize both space
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