Virginian-pilot. (Norfolk, Va.) 1898-1911, 1899-10-29


ss s5ft So much has been said recently con
" cerninE the; Norfolk County Ferries, It's
& 'schedule and what not. that the Nir-'
s(ftinian- Pilot determined to investigate
the ma tier on Its own account and pre-
81 se nj to its many readers who largely
& patronize Sthe ferries the true condition
81 OF affairs, and not rely upon street gos-
sS6lp,1 as seems TO nave peen SO iarseiy
Nd one by many.
.sisstI n al accordance with this resolutio the
sSVirginian- Pilot man secured permission
s.: to m AXE a full inspection of everything
ngthe shape Of ferry property.
ssss THE BOATS INSPECTED.
we first went aboard the Norfolk
Il County, and Inspected the finest ferry
& teanier ever seen here. and superior to
Esthe majority of boats in the larger
ScitiesS IThis beat is u credit to our fer
81 ries ahd!9 the public should be proud of
& er.GSThe great saloon cabins are finish
N ed in white and gold, hard wood seats
" and handsome electric fixtures. The
cabins are finely heated, lighted and
VENTILATED. a man Is employed with no
tS other duty than to keep the cabins
SFclean, and the cleanliness is all that
Isl can be asked or expected In n boat
81 Handling thousands upon thousands OF
s. people daily, many of whom will spit
Il on the freshly painted floors, despite
n the printed requests of the Board of
~ Health and the Lessees not to do SO.
Then. too, the decks are well lighted
ana CLEANED, hence we found no ground
v forScomplaint about this boat, OH the
{3contrary much TO commend.
ssss The Irwin CITY," plying between
4 Norfolk and Berklcy, was also found
Ito beSin scleanly condition. as was also
the hantha launch plying between
H Portsmouth and Berkeley.
NJ Having seen all the boats running, we
turned our attention to the boats not
Mn n condition TO run, with the fol-
flowing results:
The city OF Portsmouth" (thc main
stay of the line for years. is undergoing
most extensive repairs, which we
Il found necessary from the fact that the
Il boat had been running for eleven years
Z nndshad never had any general repairs,
81 orgher machinery taken apart and eX
Z. RmiHed. This work, as is generally
n known 10 tho travelling public, Is an alb
S3solule necessity, ms The boat was run
fsunt!l the United States Supervising In
3 Rpectorj Of Steam Vessels ordered that
81 She be at once taken off the line. The
Il work required on this steamer is both
expensive. as her boilers.
and in fact the whole boat
II must have a general overhauling, while
sSthe large bed plate called the channel
Way, which supports the engine and
machinery is cracked 10 such an cx-
lSilt tiIdtA we ne JuStille(l Ill say
ling that 1t was crushed by the great
i Weight upon it, and would have drop
81 ped to pieces years ago but for the lib
fseral patching done to it, which has also
sSWorn out This boat will get back on
f the line between the 18th and a0th of
sSNoyember thoroughly rejuvenated.
e The Eliza BETH has been put in con-
s dit ton to have her old condemned boil
s5Sers removed so that the hull can be
4 thoroughly rebuilt, after which she will
she fitted out for service when she will
ss;be in as good condition as she was
twenty years ago.
The old CITY of Norfolk no doubt
Is did good service during her nearly half
century of life, but has been found too
88old and decrepit for further service rs
ii a ferry boat as Inspection shows. Sho
&is only fit for, the junk pile, from which
& her engine, (said to be the Oldest in
4 service in the United States) can be put
,%in the crncible and the good metal used
y for other purposes. This vessel is
dead expense to the lessees, as they
81 have to keep up steam constantly and
men abroad night and day to pump the
water out SO that she Will not sink In
y the slip.
.gsIE ANOTHER NEW BOAT COMING
1850 Having viewed all the boats, the
ssscrtbe asked the lessee with whom he
was In company, to tell him about the
i Il saedditional boat that had been men
STONED frequently OF late, and was adj
5Ss5yised that the superintendent, with an
Il ex pert, was now ut the North examin-
y iinng the condition of Il boat fully as
Large or larger than the City of Ports
mouth, and IL this ,es;j.lination proved
& satisfactory the boat would be pur-
n chased and put on The lire in a short
as d nm The lessee also said: when we
s TOOK charge Of this property we did
y not expect to hndfit linew, but we did
fS.expect< to be in good running order
s and condition, and that the boats would
a - p eSii Z and able to make the schedule
Y an In we had right to expect this, as il
3 wa va REQUIRED by the lease then IN force,
San and we naturally supposed the city and
Il coun tyFfwould see to it that this condi-
I! lon wa $ complied with. We were denied
sS8t he privilege OF having any inspection
d ma ma tde, even during the month interven-
isssllg between the time we leased the fer
sssl " a.pd The time we took charge and IL
must lnllst also be remembered that the city
I'D W were not ready 70 begin our
4 sS,i.isal5 until some time after We took
ssSf instead Of finding the property
81 f % q RICH to suppose, Nhat was
a. 5s = condition? The City of Ports
I'D been In bad shape FOR years
sasl fauld only use her for rew
81; Ed: III hen she was ordered off the
4 G government authorities. ana
w ss5s now spending thousands Of dol
" b. 9ss On ler in repairing and rebuild
should have been done years
elizabeth was condemned II
hotiias o boiler. ana hull.
sssslIs@s w of Norfolk on account. az /
ssaSssll. rem iicr rotten condition. I
d flf1 Der Dachinnry$ into a plac,i-
para Bile mass, leaving one
!; y ssp. the Twin city, avail.
r. n 4
s Eli @ yj,rS Q IL ClIO.AS.