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THE LIFE
OP
ISAMBARD KINGDOM BRUNEL,
CIVIL ENGINEER.
BY
ISAMBAED BEUNEL, B.C.L.,
OF LINCOLN'S INN; CHANCBLLOR OP THB DIOCE8H OF ELY.
LONDON:
LONGMANS, GREEN, AND CO.
1870.
FEB 23 W
PEEFACE.
I HAVE NOT attempted to describe the events of my father's life in chronological order beyond the end of Chapter III., which brings down the narrative to the close of 1835, the year in which the Act was obtained for the Great Western Railway.
Chapter IV. contains a general account of my father's railway works, with the exception of the Bridges, which are described in Chapter VII. The history of the Broad Gauge and of the trial of the Atmospheric System on the South Devon Railway is given in Chapters V. and VI.
Chapters VIII. — XIII. contain an account of my father's labours for the advancement of Ocean Steam Navigation. It will be noted that these chapters cover the same period as Chapters IV. — VII., namely, from 1835, the year of the commencement of the Great Western Railway and the ' Great Western '
VI PEEFACE.
Steam-ship, to 1859, the year of his death, in which the Saltash Bridge and the ' Great Eastern ' were both completed.
Chapters VII. (on the Bridges) and XIV. (on the Docks) have been written by Mr. William BeU, for many years a member of my father's engineering staff; and in regard to Chapter V. (on the Broad Gauge), I have to acknowledge assistance rendered me by Mr. William Pole, F.R.S.
For the Note on the Carbonic Acid Gas Engine which follows Chapter I., I am indebted to Mr. William Hawes; and for Chapter VI. (on the Atmo- spheric System) to Mr. Froude, F.R.S.
I have also printed letters, written to me at my request, relating to various incidents in my father's life.
The assistance I received in the preparation of the chapters on Steam Navigation from my friend the late Captain Claxton, R.N., has been referred to in the note to p. 234.
I have throughout availed myself of my brother's professional knoAvledge.
I have been compelled, in order to bring the work within the compass of a single volume, to omit much
PEEFACE. vii
that would otherwise have been inserted, and I must therefore be held responsible for the general arrange- ment of those parts which have been contributed by others, as well as for the chapters which I have written myself.
Lastly, I desire gratefully to thank those friends who, by supplying me with materials and revising the proof sheets, have helped me in my endeavour to make this book, as far as possible, an accurate record of my father's life, written in the spirit of which he would have approved.
I. B.
18 Duke Street, Wesiiiinster : November, 1870.
CONTENTS.
PAGE
List op Reports and other Original Documents . . xvii
List of Lllustrations . . . . . . xxvii
CHAPTER I.
EARLY LIFE.
A.D. 1806—1828.
Birth of Mr. Brunei, April 9, 1806— Sir Marc Isambard Brunei — The Block Machinery — Mr. Brunei's School Life — The Thames Tunnel — Sinking of the Rotherhithe Shaft — Description of the Shield — Extracts from Sir Isambard Brunei's Journals from the Commencement of the Thames Tunnel to the date of the Second Irruption of the River, January 12, 1828 — Note A : The Bourbon Suspension Bridges — Note B : Experiments with Carbonic Acid Ga«. ........
CHAPTER II.
THE CLIFTON SUSPENSION BRIDGE.
A.D. 1829—1853. .ffiTTATls 24—48.
Origin of the Undertaking— The First Competition, November 1829 — Description of Mr. Brunei's Plans — Mr. Telford's Decision as Umpire — Mr. Telford's Design — The Second Competition — Mr. Brunei appointed Engineer, March 1831 — Commencement of the Works, August 1836— Description of the Design — Abandonment of the Works, 1853 — Formation of a New Company and Comple- tion of the Bridge, 1864 — Note: The Hungerford Suspension Bridge 46
X CONTENTS.
CHAPTER III.
EARLY HISTORY OF THE GREAT WESTERN RAILWAY.
A.D. 1833—1835. .fflTATis 27—30.
PAGE
Sketch of the History of Railways in England prior to 1833 — The Stockton and Darlington — The Livei-pool and Manchester — The London and Birmingham —Proposed Railway between London and Bristol — Mr. Brunei appointed Engineer, March 7, 1833 — Survey of the Line— Unsuccessful Application to Parliament in 1834 — Successful Application in 1835 — Reminiscences of Mr. Brunei, 1833-1835 — Extract from Mr. Brunei's Diary, written at the close of 1835 . . . . . . .61
CHAPTER IV.
RAILWAY WORKS.
A.D. 1835—1859. .ETATIS 30—54.
Construction of the Great Western Railway — The Box Tunnel — The Bath and Bristol Stations — The Paddington Station — The Great Western Hotel — Branches and Extensions of the Great Western Railway — The Bristol and Exeter Railway — Railways in Devonshire and Cornwall — Railways to Basingstoke, to Wey- mouth, and to Salisbury — In South Wales — In Ireland — In Italy — In India — Supervision of Works — Mr. Brunei's Engineering Staff — His Reputation as a Witness — Reminiscences of Mr. Brunei, 1835-1838 79
CHAPTER V.
THE BROAD GAUGE.
Origin of the Ordinary Gauge of Railways — Adoption by Mr. Brunei of the Broad Gauge on the Great Western Railway — Reasons for its Adoption — The Permanent Way — Repoi-ts of Mr. Nicholas Wood and Mr. John Hawkshaw, 1838 — Extract from Repon-t of Director's of Great Western Raihoay Company (December 20, 1838) — Extension of the Broad Gauge System — Break of Gauge — Royal Commission on the Gauge of Railways, 1845 — Letter of Mr. Brunei on the Broad Gauge (August 6, 1845) — Gauge Act of 1846 — The Mixed Gauge — Report of Railway Commissioners, 1847 — Northern Extensions of the Great Western Railway- Advantages of the Broad Gauge — Partial Abandonment of the Broad Gauge . . . . ^ . .99
CONTENTS. XI
CHAPTER VI.
THE ATMOSPHERIC SYSTEM.
A.D. 1840—1848. .asTATls 35—43.
PAGE
Preliminary Observations — The South Devon Railway — Description of the Atmospheric System — History of its Introduction prior to 1844 — Report hy Mr. Brunei, recommending its Adoption on the South Devon Baihvay (August 19, 1844) — Examination of this Report — Mr. Brunei's Evidence before the Select Committee on Atmospheric Railways, 1845 — History of the Application of the System on the South Devon Railway, 1844-1848 — Hejwrt on State of Works (August 28, 1847) — BeiJort on Causes of Failure (August 19, 1848) — Abandonment of the System, September 1843— Note : Comparison of Stationary and Locomotive Power , 131
CHAPTER VII. RAILWAY BRIDGES AND VIADUCTS.
1. Brickwork and Masonry Bridges— Hanwell Viaduct — Maiden- head Bridge — Flying Bridges — Letter from Mr. Brunei on Bridge Construction (December 30, 1854) — 2. Timber Bridges — Souning Bridge — Bath Bridge — Stonehouse Viaduct — Bourne Viaduct — St. Mary's Viaduct — Viaducts on the South Devon Railway — Ivy- bridge — Viaducts on the South Wales Railway — Newport — Lan- dore — Viaducts on the Cornwall Railway — St. Pinnock — Viaducts on the West Cornwall and Tavistock Railways — Preservation of Timber — 3. Cast-iron Bridges — Letter on Use of Cast Iron (April 18, 1849) — Hanwell Bridge — Experiments on Cast-iron Girders — Eoctract from Letter to Secretary of Commission on Aj)-
plication of Iron to Railway Structures (March 13, 1848)
4. Wrought-iron Bridges — Girder Bridges — Experiments on Wrought-iron Girder — Opening Bridges — Trussed Bridges — New- port Viaduct — Windsor Bridge — Chepstow Bridge — Method of Sinking the Cylinders — Description of the Main Truss — The Floating Operations — The Royal Albert Bridge at Saltash — The Centre Pier — Description of the Superstructure — The Floating and Raising of the Trusses — Opening of the Bridge by H. R. H. the Prince Consort — Note : Experiments on Matters connected with Bridge Couatiuction . . . . , . 171
Xll CONTENTS.
CHAPTER VIII.
STEAM NAVIGATION. THE ' GREAT WESTERN' STEAM-SHIP.
A D. 1835—1847. ^TATIS 30—42.
PAGE
Introduction to the Chapters on Steam Navigation — Formation of the Great Western Steam-Ship Company — Commencement of the Building of the 'Great Western '—i?epor^ on Selection of the Builders of the Engines (June 18, 1836) — Statements of Dr. Lardner on the probable Failure of a line of Steam-ships between England and America — Voyage of the * Great Western ' to London — Completion of the Engines — Her return to Bristol — Fire on Board, and Accident to Mr. Brunei — Voyage to New York — Com- parison between the Performances of the * Great Western ' and the * Sirius ' — Subsequent History of the ' Great Western ' — Note : Dimensions of the Ship and Engines .... 231
CHAPTER IX
S TEAM NA VIGA TION. THE ' GREA T BRIT A IN' STEAM-SHIP.
A.D. 1838—1847. iETATIS 33—42.
Commencement of the building of the * Great Britain ' — Heport on the Engines (June 13, 1839) — Experiments on the Screw Pro- peller— Its Adoption in the ' Great Britain ' — Completion of the Ship — Her Voyage across the Atlantic — Stranding of the * Great ' Britain ' in Dundrum Bay — Letter to Captain Claxton on the Condition of the ' Great Britain,' and on the Means to be adojtted for saving her (December 10, lM&)—Iieport to the Directors on the same Subject (December 14, 1846)— Appointment of Captain Claxton to superintend the Execution of Mr. Brunei's Plans — Letter to Captain Claxton on the Difficulties to be overcome (December 29, 1846) — Report enclosing Captain Claxton' s Account of the Erection of the Breakwater (February 27, \%A7)— Report on the Arrangements for Floating off the Ship (May 4, 1847) — Successful Accomplishment of the Floating Operations — Sub- sequent History of the ' Great Britain '—Note : Dimensions of the Ship and Engines . . . . • • 246
CONTENTS. Xlil
CHAPTER X.
STEAM NAVIGATION. INTRODUCTION OF THE SCREW PROPELLER INTO THE ROYAL NAVY.
A.D. 1841—1844. .srrATis 36—39.
PAGE
Appointment of Mr. Brunei to conduct Experiments for the Admi- ralty with various Forms of the Screw Propeller, April 1841 — Trials with the * Polyphemus ' — Opposition to Mr. Brunei's Experiments — Trials with the ' Rattler/ October 1843 — October 1844 . . 283
CHAPTER XI.
STEAM NAVIGATION. THE 'GREAT EASTERN' STEAM- SHIP, FROM THE COMMENCEMENT OF THE UNDER- TAKING TO THE LAUNCH.
A.D. 1851—1857. iKTATIS 46—52.
Introductory Observations — The Australian Steam Navigation Company — Statement of Mr. BruneVa Project of a Line of large Ships (June 10, 1852) — Adoption of his Plans by the Eastern Steam Navigation Company — Attract from a Letter describing the Scheme (July 1, 1852) — Letter to J, Scott Russell, Esq., on tJie Form and Dimensions of the Great Ship (July 13, 1852) — Report on Mode of Proceeding (July 21, 1852) — Report on Enquiries Relating to the Draught and Form of the Vessel (October 6, 1852) — Report on tJie Proceedings of the Committee appointed to con- sider Mr. BruneVs Plans (March 21, 1853) — Tenders invited for the Ship and Engines — Report on Tenders (May 18, 1853) — Preparation of the Contracts and Specifications — Extracts from Mr. Brunei's Memoranda (a.d. 1852, 1853, 1854) — Letter on his Position and Duties as Engineer of the Company (August 16, 1854) — Letter on an Article in a Newspaper (November 16, 1854) — Rejwrt on the Undertaking (February 5, 1855) — Arrangements proposed for obtaining Astronomical Observa- tions— Letter to G. B. Airy, Esq., Astronomer Royal (October 5, 1852) — Appointment of Mr. William Harrison to the Command of the Ship — Meinorandum on the Management of the Great Shij? (October 1855) — Letter on the Duties of the Chief Engineer (March 19, 1857) — Suspension and Resumption of the Works , 289
XIV CONTENTS.
CHAPTER XII.
S TEAM NA VI G A TION. THE ' GREA T EAS TERN ' S TEAM- SHIP. THE LAUNCH.
A.D. 1857, 1858. iETATiS 62.
PAOE
Determination that the Ship should be launched broadside to the River — And that the Launch should be slow — Extracts from Mr. BruneTs Report of February 1855 — Reasons for the Adoption of Iron Sliding Surfaces — Description of the Ways and Cradles — And of the Motive Power provided for launching the Ship — Memo- randum on proposed Arrangements for the Launch (September 26, 1857) — Letter to Captain Harrison on River Tackle (September 30, 1857) — Letter on the Nature of the Operations (October 23, 1857) — Memorandum on general Arrangements and intended Mode of Proceeding (October 30, 1857) — History of the Launch, Nov. 3, 1857 to January 31, 1858 — Letter to the Directors (November 26, 1857) — Report and Memorandum on the Launching Ojwrations (December 17, 1857) — Floating the Ship — Note A: Experiments and Observations on Friction — Note B: Letter to W. Froude, Esq. (February 2, 1858) 340
CHAPTER XIII.
S TEAM NA VI G A TION. THE « GREA TEAS TERN' S TEAM- SHIP. COMPLETION AND SUBSEQUENT HISTORY.
A.D, 1858, 1859. JETAllS 52-54. A.D. 1859—1870.
Preparations for completing the Ship — Formation of the Great Ship Company — Mr. Brunei's Absence from England — Progress of the Works from his Return to his last Illness — Voyage to Wey- mouth— Explosion of Water-Heater — Storm at Holyhead — De- scription of the Ship — Her first Voyage to New York, June 1860 — Second Voyage to New York, May 1861 — Voyage with Troops to Quebec, June 1861 — Fracture of Rudder Head and Destruction of Paddlewheels, September 1861 — Voyages in 1862 — Accident off Montauk Point, August 27, 1862— Voyages in 1863 — Formation of the Great Eastern Steam-Ship Company — Remarks on the History of the ' Great Eastern ' previous to her Employment in laying Submarine Telegraph Cables — Telegraph Expeditions of 1865 and 1866— French Cable Expedition of 1869— Voyage to Bombay and Aden, 1869, 1870— Concluding Remarks — Note: Dimensions of the Ship and Engines 392
CONTENTS. XV
CHAPTER XrV.
DOCK AND PIER WORKS.
A.D. 1831—1859. iETATis 26-54,
PAGE
Monkwearmouth Docks, 1831 — Bristol Docks — Floating Harbour, 1832 — Proposed Works at Portishead — New Lock at Bristol, 1845 — Bristol Dock Gates — Plymouth Great Western Docks, 1847 — Briton Ferry Docks, 1851— Brentford Dock, 1856— Pier at Mil- ford Haven, 1857 417
CHAPTER XV.
MISCELLANEOUS WORKS.
The Great Exhibition of 1851— The Crystal Palace Water Towers, 1853— Polygonal Rifle, 1852 — Gunnery Experiments, 1854 — Floating Gun-Carriage, 1854 — Renkioi Hospital Buildings, 1856 . 445
CHAPTER XVI.
MR. BRUNEUS PROFESSIONAL OPINIONS AND PRACTICE.
Scheme of the Chapter — Mr. Brunei's Position in relation to the Companies of which he was Engineer — Letter on the Dii-ection of Railway Works in Italy (March 4, 1845) — Letter on the Position of Joint Engineer (October 16, 1843) — Letter on tJie Position of Consulting Engineer (December 30, 1851) — Letter on the Position of the Engineer in relation to the Contractors (May 26, 1854) — Letters on the Position of the Engineer in relation to the Directors (April 15, 1850, December 6, 1851, January 22, 1857)— Mr. Brunei's Assistants — Letters on Interference of Directors with the Assistant Engineers (January 19, 1842, January 28, 1842, January 12, 1851)— Mr. Brunei's Pupils— His Relations with other En- gineers— Inventors — Letter in reply to an Inventor (September 17, 1847) — Mr. Brunei's Views as to State Interference — Letter on the Royal Commission on the Application of Iron to Raihvay Structures (March 13, 1848) — Letter on a Proposal to obtain the Recognition in England of Decorations conferred at the Paris Exhibition of 1855 (February 9, 1856) — Mr. Brunei's Opinion on the Patent Laws — Metnorandum for Evidence before the Select Committee of the House of Lords on the Patent Laws, 1851 — Extract fro7n Observations on the Patent Laivs, made by Mr. Brunei at a Meeting of the Society of Arts, March 26, 1856 . . . . .474
XVI CONTENTS.
CHAPTER XYII. PRIVATE LIFE.
PAGE
Keininiscences of Mr. Brunei's Private Life — Removal to 18 Duke Street, Westminster — His Marriage, 1836 — Special Constable in 1848— Mr. Brunei's Love of Art— His Journey to Italy, 1842— Accident vrith the Half-Sovereign, 1843 — Purchase of Property in Devonshire, 1847 — His life at Watcombe — The Launch of the ' Great Eastern,' 1857 — Mr. Brunei's Failing Health — Journeys to Switzerland and Egj^t, 1858 — Letter from Philce (February 12, 1859)— His last Illness— His Death, September 15, 1859— Funeral — Address of Joseph Locke, Esq., M.P., at the Institution of Civil Engineers, November 8, 1859 .... 499
APPENDIX I.
Report to the Directors of the Great Western Railway on the Broad Gauge, &c. (August 1838) . . . . .525
APPENDIX II.
Report to the Directors of the Great Western Steam-Ship Company, recommending the Adoption of the Screw Propeller in the < Great * Britain ' Steam-ship (October 1840) .... 539
INDEX 559
LIST
OF
EEPORTS AND OTHER ORIGINAL DOCUMENTS.
FAGS
1. Extract from Mr. Brunei's Diary (December 26, 1835). . 78
2. Letter on the Box Tunnel (June 21, 1842) . . .81
3. Extract from Report to Directors of the Great Western Rail-
way Company on Break of Gauge (December 13, 1838) . 105
J 4. Extract from Report to Directors of the Great Western Rail- way Company on the Permanent Way (February 1837) . 109
5. Letter on various Points relating to the Broad Gauge (August 4,
1845) 120
6. Extract from Letter on Atmospheric System (April 8, 1844) . 137
7. Report to the Directors of the South Devon Railway Company,
recommending them to adopt the Atmospheric System (August 19, 1844) . . ... 138
The question had been frequently considered by him (p. 138) — Stationary power is cheaper and otherwise better than locomotive power (p. 138) — The Atmospheric System is a good, economical mode of applying stationary power (p. 138) — Reasons for con- sidering it applicable to the South Devon Railway (p. 139) — In the construction of the line (p. 140) — In the subsequent working (p. 141).
8. 9. Letters on giving Evidence before the Select Committee of the
House of Commons on the Atmospheric System (March 31, 1845 J April 3, 1845) 146
10. Report to the Directors of the South Devon Railway on the
State of the Atmospheric Apparatus (August 27, 1847) . 149
Regret at postponement of working (p. 149) — Which has been caused by delay in completion of the engines (p. 149) — Experi- mental trains have run (p. 149) — Difficulties have exceeded all just anticipations (p. 150).
a
XVlll LIST, OF REPORTS, ETC,
PAGE
11. Report toa Committee of tlie Directors of the South Devon Railway Company on the Causes of the Failure of the Atmo- spheric System (August 19, 1848) . . . .159
The first difficulty has been in the stationary engines, which have consumed an excessive amount of fuel (p. 159) — The diffi- culties in the working of the longitudinal valve have been more numerous (p. 161) — The principal evil might be remedied in a new valve (p. 1 62) — An extension of the system beyond Newton cannot be recommended (p. 162) — The delay in obtaining the telegraph has been a great disappointment (p. 163).
12. Letter on the Design of Engineering Works (December 30, 1854) 178
13. Extract from Letter on the Use of Cast Iron in Bridge Con-
struction (April 18, 1849) . . . . .100
14. Extract from Letter on the same Subject (March 13, 1848) . 192
15. 16, 17. Extract from Letters on Bridges of Large Spans
(January 31, 1862; December 1, 1852; May 30, 1854) . 212
18. Extract from Report on the Cornwall Railway as to making
the Saltash Bridge for a Single Line (February 5, 1862) . 214
19. Report to the Directors of the Great Western Steam-Ship
Company on the Selection of the Builders of the Engines for the * Great Western ' Steam-ship (June 18, 1836) . 235
Every means must be taken to secure the best engines possible in this the boldest attempt yet made (p. 235) — The peculiar con- ditions required in these engines (p. 235) — They must, as far as is possible, be perfect in all their details from the moment of their completion (p. 235) — The machinery required is by no means an ordinary steam-engine (p. 236) — Modifications neces- sary in designing engines of so large a size (p. 236) — Reasons based on these considerations for preferring Messrs. Maudslay and Field as builders of these engines (p. 236).
20. Letter on the Engines for the ' Great Britain ' Steam-ship
(June 12, 1839) 249
Both the plans of Messrs. Maudslay and Field and Mr. Hum- phrys are adapted to the case, and the choice will depend upon the relative cost and advantages of forming an establishment to build the engines, and that of having the skill of experienced manu- factvu^ers (p. 249).
21. Letter to T. R. Guppy, Esq., on the Construction of Iron Ships
(August 3, 1843) 259
22. Extract from Letter on the * Great Britain ' Steam-ship (Decem-
ber 11, 1844) 261
23. Letter to Captain Claxton on the State of the ' Great Britain '
Steam-ship (December 10, 1846) . . . .264
LIST OF REPORTS, ETC. XIX
PAGE
24. Report on the Condition of the 'Great Britain' Steam-ship
when stranded in Dundrum Bay (December 14, 1846) . 267
The ship is, apart from mere local damage, perfectly sound, which would not have been the case had she been built of timber (p. 267) — Description of hor injuries (p. 268) — Consideration of the best means of recovering the property invested in her — It would not be profitable to break her up (p. 268) — How, then, is the vessel to be got into port? (p. 269) — This question is secondary to that of how she is to be preserved until she can be removed (p. 269) — A stiff timber breakwater would not stand, even if it could be safely constructed (p. 269) — The best plan is to form under the stem and along the exposed side of the ship a mass of fagots (p. 270) — And in order to preserve the ship, this must be done without delay (p. 270) — As to floating her off, she should be lifted and made water-tight (p. 271) — But she must first be preserved (p. 272).
25. Letter to Captain Claxton on the Breakwater (December 29,
1846) . 272
26. Report enclosing Captain Claxton's Account of the Proceedings
at Dundrum (February 27, 1847) . . . .273
Success achieved by Captain Claxton in constructing the break- water of fagots (p. 273) — Introduction by him of several im- portant alterations and improvements in the plans proposed (p. 274).
27. Report on the proposed Means of Floating the * Great Britain '
Steam-ship (May 4, 1847) . . . . .278
The ship has been successfully protected and lifted, and made water-tight, so that the operation of floating by camels becomes more practicable (p. 279) — The Directors would do well to call in Mr. Bremner to advise them (p. 280).
28. Extract from Letter relating to Proceedings at the Admiralty
as to the Screw Propeller (July 8, 1842) . . .283
20. Extract from Letter on the same Subject (August 6, 1842) . 286
80. Statement of Project for a Line of large Steam-ships (June 10,
1852) . . . . . . . .292
The principle advocated is that of making the vessel large enough to carry her own coal for the voyage, just as the ' Great 'Western' steam-ship did in 1838 (p. 292) — The size being limited only by the extent of demand for freight, and by the circumstances of the ports to be frequented (p. 292).
31. Extract from Letter describing the Project of the Great Ship
(July 1, 1852) 293
32. Letter to J. Scott Russell, Esq., on the Form and Dimensions of
the Great Ship (July 13, 1852) . . . .294
33. Report to the Directors of the Eastern Steam Navigation Com-
pany on mode of Proceeding (July 21, 1852) . . 296
a 2
XJC LIST OF EEPORTS, ETC.
FAOB
34. Report on Enquiries relating to the Draught and Form of the
Great Ship (October 6, 1852) . . . . .297
35. Report on the Dimensions of the Great Ship (March 21, 1853) 299
36. Report on the Tenders for the Ship and Engines (May 18,
1853) 301
A short specification was drawn up for the engines, and detailed drawings and specifications for the ship (p. 301) — Tenders have been received for the engines from Mr. J. Scott Eussell, Messrs. Watt and Co., and Mr. Humphrys (p. 302) — After fre- quent communications with these gentlemen, Messrs. Watt and Co.'s designs are preferred for the screw engines, which will be the largest yet made, and on which will mainly depend the perform- ances of the ship (p. 302), and Mr. J. Scott Russell's for the paddle engines (p. 302) — As regards a tender for the ship, after communications with several parties, the result is a tender from Mr. J. Scott Russell (p. 303).
87. Extracts from Mr. Brunei's Memoranda relating to the ' Great
Eastern ' Steam-ship (July 11, 1852, to Novemher 18, 1853) 304
July 11, 1852 : Dimensions of the ship (p. 304) — Division of power between the screw and paddle engines (p. 305) — Every known means must be adopted to ensure efficiency (p. 305) — Jacketing of steam pipes, &c. (p. 305). July 17, 1852: Con- ference with Mr. Field as to division of power between the screw and paddle engines (p. 305) — Pressure of steam (p. 305) — Nothing uncertain must be risked (p. 305) — Jacketing (p. 305). July 19, 1852 : Strong bulkheads every 30 feat or thereabouts, and the main ribs, and even at least two main deck beams, to be longitu- dinal, instead of transverse (p. 305). February 2, 1853 : Present views as to the construction of the ship and engines (p. 306) — Boilfirs (p. 307) — Advantages of oscillating engines for both screw and paddle engines (p. 307). February 21, 1853 : Proper dimen- sions for the Calcutta line (p. 308) — Gas (p. 308) — Ventilation (p. 308)— Steering (p. 308). March 14, 1853: Dimensions now determined on (p. 308). March 22, 1853 : Various dimensions settled (p. 308). April 28, 1853 : Tenders are being sought for (p. 308) — Arrangements for measuring the coal (p. 309) — Use of clean water (p. 309). August 7, 1853 : Memoranda for engines (p. 309). November 18, 1853 : Governors (p. 309)— Auxiliary engine and boiler (p. 309).
38. Extracts from Mr. Brunei's Memoranda relating to the * Great
Eastern ' Steam-ship (February 25 to March 10, 1854) . 310
February 25, 1854 : Thought and labour involved in the details of the construction both of the ship and engines (p. 310) — Cabin arrangements (p. 310) — Economy of material in the con- struction of the ship (p. 310) — A matter generally neglected in shipbuilding (p. 310) — AH this misconstruction forbidden (p. 311). March 3, 1854: Details of screw engines (p. 311). March 10, 1854 : Details of ship (p. 311).
LIST OF REPOETS, ETC. xxi
39. Letter to the Secretary of the Eastern Steam Navigation Com-
pany, on Position as Engineer of the Company (August 16, 1854) 311
His unusual stake in the undertaking, and the heavy responsi- bility he has incurred (p. 311) — The work is one which requires that it should be entirely under his individual management and control (p. 312) — And therefore there must be no other adviser or source of information on any question connected with the con- struction or mode of carrying out the work (p. 312).
40. Letter to the same on an Article in a Newspaper (November
16, 1854) 813
His general rule is not to notice newspaper articles, but this one bears the stamp of authority (p. 313) — Marked care is shown in depreciating his former efforts in advancing steam navigation, and in representing him, in the present case, as the passive approver of the project of another (p. 313) — Whereas it originated solely with him, and has been worked out by him with great thought and labour (p. 314).
41. Report to the Directors of the Eastern Steam Navigation Com-
pany, describing the Nature of the Undertaking (February 5, 1856) 315
Labour of preparing the preliminary designs for the ship (p. 316) — [Proposed arrangements for launching] — Principal peculiarities in the construction of the ship (p. 316) — Water-tight compartments (p. 316) — Transverse bulkheads (p. 316) — Double skin (p. 317) — Longitudinal bulkheads (p. 318) — Economy in materials (p. 318)— Engines (p. 318)-y Boilers (p. 319)— The best advice has been sought on every point (p. 319) — The position and design of the paddlewheels (p. 319) — The screw propeller — (p. 320)— Protection from fire (p. 320)— Masts and sails (p. 320)— Astronomical observations (p. 320) — Lightning conductors (p. 321) — Adjustment of compasses (p. 321).
42. Letter to G. B. Airy, Esq., Astronomer Royal (October 5,
1852) 821
As so much depends on perfect navigation, every means is to be taken to ensure a constant determination of the ship's position and course (p. 321) — It is proposed to have an observatory and staff of observers to be constantly engaged in taking observations (p. 322) — What should be the nature of these observations and of the instruments required ? (p. 322).
43. Memorandum on the Management of the Great Ship (October
1865) 324
The principles to be followed in the use of this new machine, and the qualifications of the commander, have long been a subject of anxious consideration by him (p. 324) — This ship requires a totally different management from that suited to ordinary vessels (p. 325) — Examples of this proposition (p. 326) — Size of the great ship (p. 326) — By no possibility must she be allowed to touch the ground (p. 327) — Probable effects of the great size and mass of this vessel
Univergitv — -
XXU LIST OF EEPORTS, ETC.
PAGE
(p. 329) — And of her speed (p. 330) — The proposed system of con- tiuuous observation (p. 330) — The exact course the ship is to take must be determined previously to the voyage, and must be strictly adhered to (p. 331) — Economy of fuel another consideration of the highest importance (p. 332) — Proper speed of the engines (p. 332) — Use of the sails (p. 333) — Peculiarities of the position of the com- mander (p. 333) — His attention must be devoted exclusively to the general management of the system by which the ship is to be made to go like a piece of machinery (p. 333) — His assistants (p. 334) — Four chief officers (p. 334) — A master at the head of a staif of ob- servers, who are to make continuous observations upon the position and performances of the ship (p. 334) — The chief engineer (p. 335) — The principles herein set out are to be adopted by the com- mander as the guide of his conduct in working this machine (p. 336).
44. Letter on the Responsibility of his Position (sent with last) . 324
46. Letter on the Duties of the Chief Engineer of the Great Ship
(March 19, 1857) . 335
The success of the ship as a steamboat will depend entirely upon the amount of power developed by the engines in proportion to the fuel consumed (p. 336) — The peculiar duties of the chief engineer will be to obtain the largest amount of steam from the defined ex- penditure of fuel, and the use of this steam so as to obtain the largest amount of power and the largest amount of result (p. 337) ■ — Accurate measurements required of fuel expended and results obtained (p. 337) — Economy in every department may make the difference between the success and failure of the ship (p. 337) — The chief engineer should, if possible, superintend the erection of the engines (p. 338).
46. Extract from Report to the Directors of the Eastern Steam Na-
vigation Company, describing the proposed Arrangements for Launching (February 5, 1855) .... 341
Eeasons for deciding to launch the ship sideways (p. 341) — And probably gradually (p. 342).
47. Extract from Memorandum as to Power rec[uired to move the
Ship (September 26, 1857) . . . . .352
48. Letter to Captain Harrison on the River Tackle (September 30,
1867) . . . . . . . . 354
49. Letter to the Directors of the Eastern Steam Navigation Com-
pany on the Nature of the Launching Operations (October 23, 1857) 355
The date is imcertain (p. 355) — The ship is to be lowered down and floated off by a slow and laborious operation (p. 355) — She may stop or not move at all (p. 856).
50. Memorandum on General Arrangements and intended JMode of
Proceeduig in the Launching Operations (October 30, 1857) . 356
LIST OF EEPORTS, ETC. xxiii
PAGE
51. Letter to the Directors of the Eastern Steam Navigation Com-
pany on the State of the Operations (November 26, 1857) . 366
52. Letter to the Directors, and Memorandum on the State of the
Operations (December 17, 1857) .... 377
53. Letter to W. Froude, Esq., describing the Floating of the ' Great
Eastern ' (February 2, 1858) . . , . .389
64. Extract from Report to the Directors of the Bristol Dock Com- pany on the Condition of the Floating Harbour (August 31, 1832) 423
55. Extract from Report on the same subject (January 31, 1842) . 424
66. Extract from Report on Portishead Pier (December 26, 1839) . 427
57. Letter on the Distribution of Prizes, addressed to the Chairman
of the Committee of the Section of Machinery of the Exhi- bition of 1851 (March 11, 1850) . . . .445
58. Extract from Report of the Jury of Class VII. of the Exhibition
of 1851 on Sir Joseph Paxton's Design for the Building . 447
59, 60, 61. Letters to Westley Richards, Esq., on the Polygonal Rifle
(October 25, 1862 ; February 7, 1853; November 26, 1858) 450-1
62. Extract from Letter to James Nasmyth, Esq., on the Construc- tion of Large Guns (April 2, 1855) .... 452
C3. Extract from Letter to W. G. Armstrong, Esq., on the Wire
Gun (June 8, 1865) . . . . . .464
64. Memorandum on the Floating Gun-Carriage (December 20,
1855) 455
The principle is fixing a very heavy gun in a floating shot-proof chamber (p. 465) — Mode of working the gun (p. 455) — Mode of manoeuvring the vessel (p. 456) — Mode of attacking the Baltic forts with a fleet of such vessels (p. 457) — Thickness of iron re- quired to make the vessel shot proof (p. 458) — Best manner of constructing the vessels (p. 458).
65. Letter to the Secretary of the Admiralty on the Floating Gun-
Carriage (July 27, 1855) 459
66. Memorandum on Renkioi Hospital Buildings (March 1856) . 463
Necessary conditions in designing these buildings (p. 463) — General description of them (p. 463) — Closets and lavatories (p. 464)— External and internal covering (p. 464) — Ventilation (p. 464) — Kitchens (p. 465) — Drainage (p. 466) — Officers' quarters (p. 466) — Transport of materials (p. 466) — Portable baths {p. 467) —Cost of buildings (p. 467).
ixiv LIST OF EEPORTS, ETC.
PAGE
67. Letter on the Direction of Railway Works (March 4, 1845) . 476
68. Letter on the Position of Joint Engineer (October 16, 1843) . 476
69. Letter on the Position of Consulting Engineer (December 80,
1851) 477
70. Letter on the Position of the Engineer in relation to the Con-
tractors (May 26, 1854) . . . . .477
71. 72, 73. Extracts from Letters on the Relations between the Engi-
neer and the Directors (April 15, 1850 ; December 6, 1851 ; Jan. 22, 1857) . ..... 478-481
74, 76, 76. Extracts from Letters on Interference of Directors with the Assistant Engineers (January 19, 1842 ; January 28, 1842 ; December 12, 1851) ..... 481-3
77. Extract from Diary (May 6, 1846) ... 485
78. Letter to an Inventor (September 17, 1847) . . .486
79. Letter on the Royal Commission on the Application of Iron to
Railway Structures (March 13, 1848) . . . 486
80. Letter on a Proposal to obtain Recognition in England of De-
corations conferred at the Paris Exhibition of 1855 (Feb. 9, 1866) . .489
81. Memorandum for Evidence before the Select Committee of the
House of Lords on the Patent Laws, a.d, 1851 . . 490
He has had large experience of the patent laws (p. 490) — Has never taken out one, and is of opinion that the system is productive of immense evil (p. 491) — Eeasons for this belief (p. 491) — Condi- tions necessary for a successful patent (p. 493) — Disadvantages of patents (p. 494) — Impediments in the way of improvements (p. 495).
82. Extract from Observations on the Patent Laws made by Mr.
Brunei at a Meeting of the Society of Arts (March 28, 1856) 497
83. Letter from Philse, describing the Ascent of the Cataracts
(February 12, 1859) . . . . . .617
84. Report to the Directors of th© Great Western Railway Com-
pany on the Broad Gauge, &c. (August 1838) . . 625
He is desirous of combining his views into one report (p. 625) — The difficulties have been overcome, or are gradually diminish- ing (p. 625) — And the result justifies the attempt which has been made (p. 526) — The gradients of the Great Western Eailway are favourable (p. 526) — Advantages of the broad gauge (p. 527) — Eeasons for adopting it (p. 528) — Additional cost in construction is very slight (p. 529) — Weight of carriages (p. 630) — Freedom
LIST OF REPOETS, ETC. XXV
from accidents (p. 531) — Greater space for works of locomotives (p. 532)^ — The greater width gives scope for improvement in every part (p. 532) — Speed obtained (p. 532) — Design of the engines (p. 533) — The continuous system of permanent way is best adapted to high speeds (p. 535) — Calculations as to its cost compared with that of a well constructed line with stone blocks (p. 537).
85. Report to the Directors of the Great Western Steatn-Ship Company, recommending the Adoption of the Screw Pro- peller in the ' Great Britain ' Steam-ship (October 1840) . 539
This subject will be considered under two heads : 1 . The efficiency of the screw propeller, compared with the paddlewheel. 2. The advantages or disadvantages attending its use (p. 539) — The first question involves the consideration not merely of the effect produced, but also of the proportionate power absorbed in producing that effect (p. 539) — Observations on the slip of the paddlewheel and screw in the 'Great Western' and 'Archimedes,' respectively (p. 540) — The result of the comparison being, that with similar areas the screw will meet with at least equal, if not a greater resistance, and will consequently slip as little as or less than the ordinary paddle-board (p. 542) — Eefiitation of the com- mon error, that the action of the screw is a very oblique one, and that it imparts a considerable rotatory motion to the water (p. 543) — Description of the action of the screw (p. 543) — The result of the experiments is that, as compared with the ordinary paddlewheel of sea-going steamers, the screw is, both as regards the effect produced and the proportionate power required to obtain that effect, an efficient propeller (p. 548) — Objections to the use of the screw propeller (p. 548) — Answered seriatim (p. 549) — Statement of the principal advantages peculiar to the use of the screw (p, 652) — The result of these enquiries is a strong and decided opinion in favour of the screw propeller being adopted in the ' Great Britain ' steam-ship (p. 657).
LIST
OF
ILLUSTRATIONS.
ENGRA VINGS.
Portrait (engraved with permission of Messrs. Graves and Company by T. O, Barlow, from a portrait by J. C. Horsley, R.A., in the pos- session of Mrs. Brunei) ..... Frontispiece
PLATE to face PAGB
I. The Clifton Suspension Bridge . . . . . 49 '
n. The Hungerford Suspension Bridge . . . .59
III. The Royal Albert Bridge at Saltash. General View . . 171
IV. The Newport, Windsor, and Chepstow Bridges. Elevations
and Sections ...... 206
V. The Royal Albert Bridge at Saltash. Elevations and Sections . 218
WOODCUTS.
FIG. PAQB
1. Maidenhead Bridge (longitudinal section) . . . 174
2. Bourne Viaduct (outline elevation) . . . . 181
3. Ivybridge Viaduct (the same) ..... 182
4. Landore Viaduct (the same) ..... 184
XXVIU LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS.
no. PAGB
5. St, Pinnock Viaduct (outline elevation, transverse section, and
plans of piers) ....... 187
6. Experimental Girder (transverse section) . . . 193
7. Girder on South Wales Railway (the same) . . . 194
8. Girder on Eastern Bengal Railway (the same) . . . 195
9. Cumberland Basin Swing Bridge (transverse section of girder) . 196
10. Windsor Bridge (transverse section of truss) . . . 200
11. Chepstow Bridge (the same) ..... 208
12. Saltash Bridge (the same) . . . . .219
13. Transverse Section of the ' Great Britain ' Steam-Ship . . 256
14. Copy of a Sketch in a Letter on Iron Ships . . . 259
15. Transverse Section of the Cradles and the Launching Ways of
the ' Great Eastern ' Steam-Ship .... 347
16. Longitudinal Section, Plan, and Midship Section of the ' Great
Eastern ' Steam-Ship . . . . . . 397
17. Monkwearmouth Dock Gates ..... 421
18. Bristol Dock Gate . . . . . .430
19. Plymouth Great Western Dock Gates .... 435
20. Briton Ferry Dock Gate . . . . . .439
21. Brentford Dock Gate . . . . . .441
22. Renkioi Hospital . . . . . .470
LIFE
OF
ISAMBAED KINGDOM BEUNEL
CHAPTEE I.
EARLY LIFE. A.D. 1806—1828.
BIRTH OF MR. BRUNEI,, APEIl 9, 1806 — SIR MARC ISAMBARD BRUNEI,
THE BLOCJt MACHINERY MR. BRUNEl'S SCHOOL LIFE THE THAMES TUNNEL
SINKING OF THE EOTHERHITHE SHAFT DESCRIPTION OF THE SHIELD
EXTRACTS FROM SIR ISAMBARD BRUNEL's JOURNALS FROM THE COM- MENCEMENT OF THE THAMES TUNNEL TO THE DATE OF THE SECOND IRRUPTION OF THE RIVER, JANUARY 12, 1828 — NOTE A : THE BOURBON SUSPENSION BRIDGES t^OTE B ; EXPERIMENTS "WITH CARBONIC ACID GAS,
IsAMBAED Kingdom Brunel was born on the ninth, day of April, 1806, at Portsmouth, and was the onlj son of Sir Marc Isambard Brunei.^
Most biographies commence with an account of the parentage of the person whose life is about to be written. If this be permitted in any case, no apology can be needed for prefixing to a Life of Mr. Brunei some par- ticulars of his father's career, since he was indebted to him, not only for the inheritance of many natural gifts, and for a professional education such as few have been
' To avoid confusion, Sir Isambard on March 24, 1841.
Brunei has been called throughout by His Life has been written by Mr.
that designation, the one by which he Kichard Beamish, F.E.S. (London,
is generally known : he was knighted 1862.)
'O
B
2 SIR ISAMBARD BRUNEL.
able to procure, but also for a bright example of the culti- vation of those habits of forethought and perseverance, which alone can ensure the successful accomplishment of great designs.
Sir Marc Isambard Brunei was a native of Hacqueville, a village in Normandy, where his family had been settled for several generations. He was originally intended for the priesthood ; but, as he showed no inclination for that calling, and a very decided talent for mechanical pursuits, he was permitted to enter the French Navy ; and he served in the West Indies for six years, namely, from 1786 to 1 792. On his return home, at the expiration of his term of service, his strong loyalist sympathies made it unsafe for him to remain in France, and with great difficulty he managed to escape to America. He landed at New York in September 1793, and soon obtained employment as a civil engineer. A few years afterwards he was appointed engineer to the State of New York ; and, while holding that office, he designed a cannon foundry and other im- portant public works.
In January 1799, when Sir Isambard was in his thir- tieth year, he came over to England, and shortly after his arrival married Miss Sophia Kingdom, a lady for whom he had formed an attachment some years before.^
The first great work undertaken by him in this country was the machinery for making blocks, which he designed and erected for Government at Portsmouth.
The history of the invention and construction of this system of machinery (for it consisted oi forty -three separate machines) need not be given at length ; but it may be per- mitted to extract the following passage from Mr. Beamish's
' Lady Brunei survived her husband wife of the late Sir Benjamin Hawes,
five years. Of their children, three K.C.B., Under Secretary of State for
lived to maturity, one son, Isambard War, and Emma, wife of the Rev.
Kingdom, and two daughters, Sophia, George Harrison, Rector of Sutcombe.
THE BLOCK MACHINEEY. 3
'Life of Sir Isambard Brunei' (pp. 97, 99, 2nd edition), in wliich lie points out the benefits whicli have resulted from its introduction, and the position its inventor is entitled to hold among those who have contributed to the progress of mechanical science.
Where fifty men were necessary to complete the shells of blocks previous to the erection of Brunei's machinery, four men only are now required, and to prepare the sheaves, six men can now do the work which formerly demanded the labours of sixty. So that ten men, by the aid of this machinery, can accomplish with uniformity, celerity, and ease, what formerly required the uncertain labour of one hundred and ten.
When we call to mind that at the time these works were executed, mechanical engineering was only in its infancy, we are filled with amazement at the sagacity and skill that should have so far anticipated the progress of the age, as to leave scarcely any room, during half a century, for the introduction of any improvement. . . .
Beautiful as are the combinations and contrivances in the block machinery, and highly deserving as the inventor may be of credit for originating such labour-saving machines for the production of ships' blocks, there is a far higher claim to the admiration and gratitude of all constructors of machinery, and of all workers in metal. In this block machinery exist the types and examples of all the modern self-acting tools, without the aid of which the various mechanical appliances of the present day could not be produced with the marvellous accuracy which has been attained. It is true that to the trades unions or combinations among the artisans, is in a grent measure directly due the introduction of self-acting machines ; but the types of all these tools existed in the machines and combinations of Brunei's block machinery. The drilling, the slotting, and the shaping machines, the eccentric chuck, and the slide rest, Avith the worm wheel motion, are all to be found in his machine.
On the completion of the block machinery Sir Isambard
Brunei removed to London, and took a house in Lindsay
Row, Chelsea, where he remained until he was obliged
to live nearer the works of the Thames Tunnel.
Mr. Brunei's first recollections were of the house at Chelsea ; and in 1814, when he was eight years old, he
B 2
4 ISAMBAED KINGDOM BKUNEL. [a.d. 18U.
commenced his school life under the Rev. Weeden Butler, who resided in the neighbourhood. Previously to his going to Mr. Butler, he had been taught Euclid by Sir Isambard ; and he had also a great talent for drawing, for which he had been remarkable even from four years old. His drawings were beautifully precise and neat, but, when the subject admitted of it, full of vigour and picturesque effect.
After some time he was sent to Dr. Morell's school at Hove, near Brighton. The following extract is taken from one of his letters home in 1820 : — ■
I have past Sallust some time, but I am sorry to say I did not read all, as Dr. Morell wished me to get into another class. I am at present reading Terence and Horace. I like Horace very much, but not as much as Virgil. As to what I am about, I have been making half a dozen boats lately, till I have worn my hands to pieces. I have also taken a plan of Hove, which is a very amusing job. I should be much obliged to you if you would ask papa (I hope he is quite well and hearty), whether he would lend me his long measure. It is a long eighty-foot tape ; he will know what I mean. I will take care of it, for I want to take a moi'e exact plan, though this is pretty exact, I think. I have also been drawing a little. I intend to take a view of all (about five) the principal houses in that great town. Hove. I have already taken one or two.
In the intervals of his classical studies he seems to have employed himself, not only in making a survey of Hove in its existing state, but also in a critical examination of the works in progress for its enlargement. It is told of him that one evening he predicted the fall, before the next morning, of some houses which were building opposite the school, and laid a bet on the subject, which his com- panions readily accepted. He had noticed the bad way in which the work was done, and that the stormy weather, which appeared to be setting in for the night, would probably blow the walls down. In the morning he
iET. 9.] SCHOOL LIFt:. 6
claimed the wager, for the buildings had fallen in the night.
Except from November 1820 to August 1822, when he was at the College Henri Quatre at Paris, ^ Mr. Brunei was so verj little absent from home that he became tho- roughly acquainted with all his father's undertakings. Among these was the veneering machinery at Battersea, remarkable for the great diameter of the saw, the steadi- ness of its motion, and the mechanical arrangements for clearing the veneer from the saw ; also the works at the Government establishments at Woolwich and Chatham, and the machinery for making shoes. They have been fully described by Mr. Beamish ; but the mere mention of their names is enough to show how great were the advan- tages enjoyed by Mr. Brunei in receiving from his father his early professional education.
From the year 1828 Mr. Brunei was regularly employed in his father's office. It was in the early part of this year that the project of the Thames Tunnel first began to occupy Sir Isambard's attention ; but he was also engaged at that time in other works of great importance, among them the suspension bridges for the He de Bourbon, and designs for bridges of the same character over the Serpentine, and over the Thames at Kingston.^ Some ac- count of the Bourbon bridges, and also of experiments with carbonic acid gas, on which Mr. Brunei was engaged, will be found in the notes to this chapter.
' He was sent to Paris to re- holidays in examining the various cover his knowledge of French, which engineering works going on in Paris, had got rather rusty at school, and and he used to send his father draw- also to study mathematics. He re- ings and descriptions of them, tained through life a great admira- ^ Sir Isambard was also consulted tion of the method of teaching this upon a proposed suspension bridge subject which was adopted in France. over the Tamar at Saltash, where Mr.
In addition to the time spent in the Brunei subsequently built the Koyal
study of mathematics and languages, Albert Bridge. Mr. Brunei occupied himself on his
6 THE THAMES TUNNEL. [a.d. 1823.
The history of the Thames Tunnel will be told, as far as possible, in Sir Isambard Brunei's own words, as given in his journals.^ Although these extracts do not relate to works for which Mr. Brunei was personally responsible, they have been inserted in the belief that they are valu- able, not only as showing the nature and extent of his duties as his father's assistant, but also as displaying, in the most interesting and authentic form. Sir Isambard's character and genius at a time when his son was brought into hourly contact with him, and under circumstances which would cause the influence of his example to make a deep and lasting impression.
Previously to the year 1823 there had been several plans suggested for the construction of a tunnel under the Thames ; and it would seem that a great demand was supposed to exist for some such means of communication between the two sides of the river eastward of London Bridge ; for after the failure of the operations undertaken by Mr. Vasie in 1805, and Mr. Trevethick in 1807,^ a high level suspension bridge was proposed, although it was not intended to be used for heavy traffic.^
The first reference to the Tunnel in Sir Isambard's journals is dated February 12, 1823. * Engaged on draw- ' ings connected with Tunnel ; ' and on the 1 7th and following days of the same month, ' Isambard was en- * gaged on Tunnel.' These entries become more and more frequent in the pages of his diary, until it is evident that
' This history has been -written by * For an aceonnt of these earlier
Mr. Beamish in his Life of Sir Isam- attempts see Law, pp. 3-7.
hard Brunei, pp. 202-304, and also, up ^ This expectation does not seem to
to the year 1828, in the very valuable have been realised, as there was never
work by Mr. Henry Law, C.E., entitled any considerable traffic through the
' A Memoir of the several Operations, Thames Tunnel. Perhaps, however,
' and the Construction, of the Thames it would have been otherwise had the
' Tunnel,' and published by the late large descents for carriages and horses
Mr. Weale in his Quarterly Papers been constructed. on Engineering.
iET. 17.] OKIGINATION OF THE PROJECT. " 7
Sir Isambard's whole time and thouglits were absorbed in this work.
The spring of 1823 was occupied in preparing drawings and models of his plans, and in enlisting the sympathy and assistance of various influential persons. By the close of the year the designs were matured sufficiently to enable the promoters of the scheme to commence the task of organising a company for carrying it out ; and in January 1824 they resolved to call a general meeting of their friends, and invite public subscriptions.
On February 17, Sir Isambard explained his plans at the Institution of Civil Engineers, and on the next day a meeting was held at the City of London Tavern, under the presidency of Mr. William Smith, M.P., more than a hundred persons being present. Resolutions authoris- ing the formation of a company were passed unanimously, and the share list was opened. In the course of an hour one-third of the subscriptions was filled up, namely, 1250 shares ; and before the end of the day the number of shares taken was 1381.
Borings were then commenced in order to ascertain the nature of the strata through which the Tunnel would pass. A bed of gravel was found over the clay, which gave Sir Isambard great anxiety. A large pipe or shaft was sunk on the side of the river, and in it the water rose to within three feet of the surface of the ground, and fell about eighteen inches with the tide. ' It is manifest (Sir ' Isambard writes) from this that unless the Tunnel is
* enclosed in the stratum of clay, it would be unsafe to
* drive through the bed of gravel. The Tunnel must,
* therefore, begin with the substantial clay.'
However, the result of thirty-nine borings in two parallel lines across the river, to the depth of from 23 to 37^ feet, seemed to prove that there was below the gravel a stratum
8
THE THAMES TUNNEL.
[a.u. 1824,
of strong blue clay of sufficient depth, to ensure tlie safety of tlie Tunnel.^
' The results obtained by tbese borings were no doubt fallacious, but- not to the extent which has sometimes been imagined. At a meeting of the Institution of Civil Engineers, in No- vember 1849, Dean Buckland called attention to ' the evils arising from ' the ignorance of the engineers who ' reported to Sir Isambard Brunei, ' previous to tlie commencement of the ' Thames Tunnel, that the whole of ' the bottom of the river at that spot ' was London clay.' Whereupon Mr. Brunei rose and said, that he ' agreed ' that knowledge of every kind was ' most desirable, and that it would be ' well if engineers were generally much ' better informed on many subjects ' which would be useful, and more par- ' ticularly on matters connected with ' geology; at the same time he could ' not admit that tlioy were deficient in
* that knowledge of the surface of the ' earth which was necessary for the ' purpose of guiding them in their ' work. It might be true that many ' members of the profession were, like ' himself, not perfectly well acquainted
* with the minute geological character- 'istics of the soils they bad to deal ' with, but he thought the education ' and the practical experience of the ' profession generally rendered them ' well acquainted with those features
* and characteristics which were ne- ' cessary for their guidance in the de- ' sign or execution of work. He must ' also say a few words in defence of ' those persons (now nearly all dead) ' who made the borings in the Thames, ' and were stated to have made so fal- ' lacious a report previous to the com- ' mencement of the Tunnel. Now, ' although that statement had by con- ' stant repetition become a sort of
* historical fact, it was really only one ' of those popular fallacies which ob- ' tained too ready credence in the
' world. The position of the Tunnel ' was not determined by any report, or ' by the result of any borings, but with ' a view to establishing a communica- ' tion between particular localities for ' encouraging the traffic which was an- ' ticipated from the facility of access to ' the docks, and for other local reasons, ' such as the general direction of the ' roads and streets on both shores. ' After the position was settled, and ' not until tlien, borings were made to 'ascertain what soils might be ex- ' pected in that part of the river. It ' must be remembered that these bor- ' ings were made fuU twenty-five years ' ago, when boring in the bed of a ' river through a depth of water of ' nearly thirty feet was not an ordinary ' occurrence. The tool then generally ' employed was the worm, and tubes ' were not even used in such cases. ' The borings showed the existence in ' that spot of something which, in the ' ordinary acceptation of the term, ' might have been inadvertently called ' London clay, but he had no recoUec- ' tion of its geological designation ' having ever been thouglit of. It was ' reported and shown to be a very fair 'clay for working in .... The ' errors which were made in giving the ' results of the borings did not, in fact, ' arise from ignorance, but from me- 'chanical defects in the tools, for it ' was subsequently discovered that the ' worm frequently carried a portion of ' the upper tenacious clay through the ' softer strata beneath, and brought it ' up again. The tenacious clay might ' have been called London clay, but ' no value was attached to that parti- ' cular designation ; they cared little ' in engineering for its denomination, ' provided it was of a good tenacious ' quality. This mistake in terms ' (supposing it to have occurred) could ' not have had any influence on after
^T. 18.] COMMENCEMENT OF THE WORKS. 9
A report to this effect was made to tlie shareholders at their first general meeting in Julj, and it was also stated that the works would be completed in three years.
The first operation connected with the works, was the construction of a shaft; and for this purpose land was bought on the Rotherhithe bank, about fifty yards from the river. On March 2, 1825, the ceremony of laying the first stone of the shaft was performed.
Mr. Smith, our chairman, attended by most of the members of the Court of Directors, and a very numerous cortege of friends invited on the occasion, proceeded from the Tunnel Wharf to the ground, where they were received among the cheers of a great concourse of people. Mr. Smith addressed the assembly in a very eloquent speech suitable to the occasion, and performed the ceremony of laying the first stone. From this day dates the beginning of the work.^
The mode in which Sir Isambard decided to construct the shaft was one not uncommonly adopted in the con- struction of wells ; but to apply it to sinking a shaft fifty feet in diameter was a novel and bold undertaking. The brickwork intended to form the lining of the shaft was built on the surface of the ground, and the earth being excavated from within and underneath the structure, it sank gradually down to its final position.
The brickwork was 3 feet thick, bound together by
' proceedings ; for, Ijefore the Tunnel ' length into these details than might
' was far advanced, he conducted with ' perhaps appear necessary, because he
' great care a series of borings extend- ' felt it was incumbent upon those who
' ing across the Thames, and, as he ' had the conduct of works to show
' used improved tools and worked ' that they did not proceed so igno-
' through tubes, the holes were kept • rantly or so recklessly as had been
' so dry that a candle was frequently ' assumed, in the design or execution
' lowered down to the bottom in order ' of large undertakings.'
' to see the amount of infiltration. By ' The paragraphs in small type,
' this means he was enabled to con- without any reference, are from Sir
' struct a correct section of the bed of Isambard's joiuTials. The sentences
• the Thames at that spot, showing inserted at the side are his marginal
' every layer of shells and gravel as summary. Occasionally a few words
' well as every variation of the surface are added (in square brackets) by way
' of the silt, &c. He entered more at of explanation.
10 THE THAMES TUNNEL. [a.d. 1825.
iron and timber ties, and tliere were built into it 48 per- pendicular iron rods, one inch, in diameter, fastened to a wooden curb at the bottom, and to another curb at the top of the wall, by nuts and screws.
When the shaft or tower of brickwork was completed np to the top, 42 feet in height, the next step was to remove the blockings on which it rested, and this being done the gravel was excavated and hoisted up, and the shaft descended by its own weight.
The Eotherhithe shaft was only sunk forty feet in this manner ; the remaining twenty feet, in order to leave the opening for the Tunnel, was constructed by under- pinning, or underlaying, as it was then termed. The underlaying was commenced in the beginning of June.^
By July 4 they had got down to the level of the in- tended foundation of the shaft, having passed into a stratum of gravel, black pebbles embedded in greenish sand, with little or no water ; from which circumstance Sir Isambard was of opinion that it was unconnected with the stratum of gravel above.
July 12. — Engaged on a general drawing for the great shield, and in preparing some instructions for moving the same (a very intricate operation ! )
July 22 Underlaying is a very laborious mode of proceeding.
The sinliing of a wall well bound as the first, would evidently be the best and cheapest mode for making another tower of 50 feet diameter.
On the 28th Sir Isambard enters in his journal the following additional observations upon the success of his plans for sinking the shaft : —
Considering the great labour necessary for securing the ground for the underlaying, the waste of planking, and of shores, and the time necessarily taken up in moving about, in securing and in baling out
' The shaft subsequently made on the Wapping shore was sunk to its full depth without any under-pinning.
XT. 19.] THE EOTHEKHITHE SHAFT. 11
the water, and the many causes of interruption, and the imperfect way tliat things are done in underlaying, it is quite conclusive that the original plan of making a shaft, by sinking the structure, is the safest and the most economical. What is done is sound, and when once in place, may be secured with foundations in a very easy man- ner. The brickwork of the shaft is remarkably hard. Had it been made with brick facings and rubble stone, it would certainly be water-tight, and almost impenetrable by ordinary ways. The vertical ties and the circular wall bands are not to be dispensed with in a structure destined to be moved as the present has been.
On August 11 the underlaying was completed, and pre- parations were made for constructing a reservoir in the bottom of the shaft for receiving the permanent pumps. This was finished on October 11, with great difficult j, ovdng to the nature of the ground, which consisted of loose sand containing a large quantity of water.
August 19. — Engaged at home in revising my plans for the man- ner of carrying on the horizontal excavation, more particularly of penetrating through the shaft. This part of the operation requires indeed very great attention, as it presents great difficulties, arising from the wall to be broken through, and chiefly from the angular opening that is to be made at each extremity. Then another con- sideration is the uniting the brick arches to the brickwork of the shaft.
September 16. — Engaged in the early part of the day on revising my plans of future operations in the Tunnel work, and in adapting them to the nature of the ground as it is found at the various depths we have penetrated : namely, to about 73 feet. Went afterwards to Maudslay to request that the great shield may be completed.
October 14. — Engaged in the early part of the morning in making Great shield, some arrangements for the working of the great shield. Too much attention cannot be given to that subject at the early part; for, when once in its place, it would be extremely inconvenient to make any alteration.
October 15. — The dome of the reservoir will be covered to-day about noon ; the bottom of the shaft will therefore be completed. Thev are now preparing to apply two frames of the shield. Preparing
r^-, 1 • 1 / • 1 1 , T T for the
The ground now open in the front is remarkably hard ; frames. it consists of pebbles imbedded in a chalky substance, Avith hard
12 TIIE THAMES TUNNEL. [a.b. 1825.
loose stones of the nature of the Kentish rag. Everything is going on well. Devised -with Isambard how to make our wells for the descent of the materials, &c.
TIlus at last the shaft was completed, and Sir Isambard was able to commence the Tunnel itself, which, he nlti- matelj determined to construct in the form of a rectan- gular mass of brickwork, 37^ feet wide and 22 feet high, pierced bj two parallel horseshoe archways, each 14 feet wide and 17 feet high.
Before entering upon the history of this undertaking, some account must be given of the machine which Sir Isambard Brunei devised for effecting its accomplishment.
In order to avoid a quicksand of considerable depth and extent, the Tunnel had to be carried but a short distance below the bed of the river ; and, as in all tunnelling through soft soil,^ the top and sides of the excavation had to be supported until the brickwork was built in ; and the front or face had also to be held up as the miners advanced. This support was given by means of a machine called 'the shield,' described on one occasion by Sir Isambard as ' an ambulating cofferdam, travelling hori- * zontally.' ^
The main body of the shield consisted of twelve inde- pendent structures or ' frames ' made of cast and wrought iron. They were each 22 feet high, and rather more than 3 feet wide ; and, when placed side by side, like books on a shelf, against the face of the excavation, they occupied the whole area of the face, and also the top, bottom, and sides for 9 feet in advance of the brickwork. Each frame
' Professor Rankine, in his work on circumstances which led Sir Isambard
Civil Engineering, p. 699, describes to conceive the idea of a shield, and
the Thames Tunnel works under the the earlier designs he made for it, are
significant heading ' Tunnelling in described, with illustrations, by Mr.
' Mud.' Law, pp. 7-10.
^ Proceedings Inst. C. E. i. 34. The
XT. 20.] THE SHIELD. V6
stood on two feet resting on tlie ground, and was divided in its height into three cells by cast-iron floors. In these cells, of which there were thus thirty-six in all, the miners stood, and worked at the ground in front of them.
The duty which the shield had to perform was to sup- port the ground until the brickwork was built within the excavation ; but it was essential that this should be done in such a manner as to allow of the mining operations being carried on ; and it was also necessary that the machine itself should be capable of being moved forward. The first point, therefore, which has to be explained in the action of the shield is the manner in which the earth was supported by it.
It has been already stated that each frame rested upon two feet, or large iron plates. These two feet together covered the ground under the frame to which they belonged, and thus the whole of the earth beneath the frames was pressed down by the feet.
The earth above was supported by narrow iron plates, called staves, laid on the heads of the frames parallel to the line of the Tunnel, the ends resting on the completed brickwork behind it. The earth at the sides was kept up by staves resting against the outermost frames.
The arrangement for holding up the earth at the face of the excavation was necessarily of a more complicated character. Each frame supported a series of boards called poling-boards, by means of small screw-jacks or poling- screws, two to each poling-board, which abutted against the frames, and pressed the boards against the earth. The boards were 3 feet long, 6 inches wide, and 3 inches thick, and were arranged horizontally. These poling- boards, more than five hundred in number, covered the whole surface in front of the frames.
14 THE THAMES TUNNEL. [a.d. 1825.
To resist the backward tlirust of tlie poling-screws against tlie frames, eacli frame was held forward by two large screws, one at the top of the frame, and the other at the bottom, abutting against the brickwork of the Tunnel. The brickwork was completed close up behind the shield as it advanced.
The way in which the earth was excavated, and the shield moved forward, has now to be explained.
The plates or staves which supported the ground at the top and sides of the shield were pushed forward sepa- rately by screw-jacks ; but in order to advance the poling- boards in front, it was necessary that that portion of the ground against which they pressed should be removed.
The miner, standing in his cell, took down one, or, at the most, two of the poling-boards, commencing at the top of the cell, and having excavated the earth a few inches in advance, replaced the poling-boards against the newly-formed face, pressing them against it with the poling-screws. Thus the excavation was carried on with- out depriving the ground of the support it received from the shield, except at the point where the miner was actually at work.
The operation of advancing the frames was effected in the following way. When everything was ready for a move, one of the feet which carried the frames on jointed legs was lifted up, and advanced forward a few inches, and then pressed down on to the ground, until in its new position it again bore the weight of the frame. This done, the other foot was lifted, moved forward, and screwed down in the same manner, and then the frame itself was pushed ahead by means of the large abutting screws, which kept it top and bottom from being forced back on the brickwork.
It is, however, evident that these abutting screws would
MT. 20.] THE SHIELD. 15
have been unable to push on the frame, while the ground in front was pressing back the poling-boards against it; therefore, during the process of moving a frame, it had to be relieved from the thrust of its poling-screws. Accordingly, when it was desired to advance any one of the frames, the butts of the poling-screws of the tier of boards in front of it were shifted sideways, so as to rest, not against the frame to which they belonged, but against the frames next it on either side. This done, the frame itself was advanced, and was then ready to receive again its own poling-screws, and also those belonging to the adjoining frames, so that they might in their turn be moved forward. It will thus be seen that the whole shield was not moved forward at one time, but that the frames were advanced alternately.
There were many other ingenious arrangements in the design of the shield, which need not be referred to in a description intended only to give such a general idea of the machine as may make the history of its operation in- telligible.'
When the frames had been completed in Messrs. Mauds- lay's factory, they were conveyed to Rotherhithe, and lowered down the shaft. An opening had been left at the bottom of the wall, about 37 feet wide by 22 feet high, and against this the shield was erected. It was then ready to commence its progress through the ground below the river.
On November 25, 1825, the shield made its first start. Sir Isambard was unfortunately unable to witness what was in fact the actual commencement of the Tunnel, as he had three days before been seized with a sudden and alarming attack of illness, which kept him at home till
' Mr. Law's memoir contains a detailed description of every part of the shield, illustrated by careful drawings.
16 THE THAINIES TUNNEL. [a.d. 1825.
December 6. The works were left under the direction of Mr. Brunei.
December 8. — The great shield is advancing very slowly, meeting with much interruption by the water, which still runs within the cells, and also by the difficulty of forming abutments for the frames. {^Temporary abutments were necessary until the shield was sufficiently advanced to allow of its being pushed forwards from the hrichworh built up behind itJ]
December 29. — The frames are very much out of level in the transverse line of the Tunnel. This would be attended with serious inconvenience if I had not provided for the means of recovering any irregularity that might take place, and which, as it appears, cannot perhaps be prevented ; but having foreseen this, I have provided the remedy by being able to take down the top of each frame, and to remove the top staves in parts, or the whole, at pleasure — a very important provision it proves to be.
January 16, 1826. — Too much precaution cannot be taken, in the management of the frames, to have the leg- screw particularly well secvired, as every foot- run of the arch of the Tunnel sustains 82 tons. Each frame carries as follows : —
The two end frames each 65 tons = 130 Ten others, each . . 52J ,, =525
655 tons.
January 21. — The ground at the top and sides very good ; same in the front. In breaking the ground out of the limits of the shield on the right a great deal of ground fell in. This indicates that, if it was not for the protection of the shield, nothing could be done. This accounts also for the occasional breaking of the ground in making the drift in 1809. Tunnel The brickwork of the entrance being carried as far as
begun. directed, the body of the Tunnel was begun to-day.
January 26. — Isambard went down to Eotherhithe ; the water had broken in in great abundance upon the work over Nos. 4 and 5. Water broke [The twelve frames were distinguished by numbers.'] A ■works. 4-inch pipe was driven over the shield from inside the
shaft, but the water did not follow it, and the stream augmented very rapidly. The frame No. 5 was moved forward, and it checked the water for a moment, but it came again with violence. A heading was immediately ordered by Armstrong [the resident engineer] from the east well, in which Isambard concurred.
^T. 20.] PEOGEESS TO MAECH 6, 1826. 17
Fehruaru 3. — Ordered a pit to be opened and made by sinking a curb 8 feet diameter and 18 inches thick, well bound with bolts. \_This pit teas a loell sunk from the surface to enable the gravel containing water, into which the head of the shield had penetrated, to he removed, and clay substituted.^
Febi^ary 6. — The shaft begun last night, and was sunk 20 feet to-day, and remarkably true. Had we known the ground as we now know it, we might, by having opened a Avell contiguous to the great shaft, have sunk the shaft in a week ; but for that purpose we must have had two steam engines, one for pumping the water, and the other for taking up the ground.
February 10. — Went very early to the Tunnel for the purpose of giving directions to prop up the back of the staves, which, for want of weight at the new shaft, might be overbalanced by the pressure of the ground at the back. I could not rest a moment txnremittcd
° , attention
until it was done, for the consequences might have been wanted. fatal, at this moment in particular. What incessant attention and anxiety 1 To be at the mercy of ignorance and carelessness ! No Avork like this.
February 12. — The ground having been opened carefully from under the curb of the pit [see above on date February 3], ^^l^^ni^d* the greater part of the gravel Avas removed, and stilf adopted to clay substituted for it. This was done by driving first water, some wrought-iron flat bars, Avhich kept the ground up. This shoAvs that the shield is a most powerful protection, and Avould enable us to penetrate through a bed of gravel. Though the break- ing in of the water had somewhat terrified the man in No. 5, he soon returned to his post, and the others have acknoAvledged their full confidence in the security afforded by the shield. The boring ahead had not yet been attended to : it is owing to the want of this precaution that this accident is chiefly to be ascribed ; for had Ave knoAvn as much as Ave now do, Ave might have passed through Avith- out the pit being opened.
March 1. — Water at the back of the frames, but less than before. The men show a great deal of spirit in overcoming the present diflBculties. Isambard was very busy yesterday and to-day in the frames, and about the works. He was severely hurt in the leg by a piece of timber falling against it. \_This accident prevented his attending again at the Tunnel until the 24^^.1
On March 6 tlie proprietors paid a visit to the Tunnel,
0
18 - THE THAMES TUNNEL. [a.d. 182G.
and were liignly satisfied with what they saw. On that evening Sir Isambard writes : —
It is of absolute necessity now to provide for everything that is conducive to the more expeditious management of the frames, and to a greater facility in getting up the brickwork. If these two points are realized, then indeed we may soon expect to be moving at a good rate — not less than I have held out, namely, 3 feet per 24 hours.
March 11. — Eecelved early In the morning a report from Armstrong stating that the water was completely stopped — that it Water had been stopped during the night. Aware that we had
ptopped as , , , . „ , ,
expected. passed the gravel, it was of course expected that we were under the clay ; means were therefore resorted to, to drive clay and oakum at the tail of the top staves, which was productive of a very good effect. The great shield was soon entirely free of water. This shoAvs the efficiency of the shield to oppose difficulties which could not have been overcome without the complete protection it affords, under almost any circumstances. Indeed this has been a tedioils operation since January 25, when the water first burst upon No. 5, at the front of the shield. The miners as well as the bricklayers have worked with great spirit and perseverance through the whole, during a period of 44 days. The well that was made at the front of the shaft has been of use in acquainting us with the extent of the open ground we had to pass through. It will be made a useful opening for ventilating the works. By means of this well Ave have been able to apply the lead pipes with which the water has been diverted : it is not therefore a useless expense. Things were put in better order to prepare for a more expeditious Avay of working. Directions Avere given to place the frames in a better condition. Isambard is ?till too unwell to go to the Tunnel.
March 25. — Went to the Tunnel with Isambard. Found that a considerable fall of ground had taken place again at the right side. Considerable ■'^° *^"^ could account satisfactorily for it. I inspected it, slip of and directed that, after making it good, flat bars of Iron
pround:how _ ' . .
to check it. be driven at the head of the side staves, in order to pin it up, and in order to enable the miners to get at the solid ground, y dan- I* i^ '^'^^y b'^^ ^"^ extremely dangerous ; the ground is gerous. evidently the same as that which, in the report of the
first attempt, was found so loose as to have dropped upon the Avorks, leaA'ing a large cavity above, AA'hen it is said the man ascended and made good the hole. We should be warned by this, lest Ave shoidd
iKT. 20.] PROGEESS TO JUNE 5, 1826. 19
meet another as fatal as it ultimately was on that occasion. [^This observation refers to the driftway o/1807.]
April 24. — By Armstrong's report the water is entirely out, and the men at work in the morning in removing the dirt, &c. Isam- bard engaged at the Tunnel, where I am not yet able to attend as often as I could wish. Everything goes on well, much through his exertions.
]\ray 11. — One hundred feet will be completed to-night.
Maij 22. — The top plate over the frame No. 1 has been cracked without any particular violence or stress. It appears that it is nothing but the change of temperature that is the cause of that rupture. The accident justifies the opinion I have of cast-iron not being safe upon traction, and the precaution of having had wrought- iron bolts at the back of the frames. [ TAese were vertical rods ivhich took the tensional strain.^ Without these bolts what would have become of the shield, if one casting Avas to break ? The fracture was accompanied with a loud report like that of a gun. Isambard was in the work.s at the time of breaking : nothing could have pre- vented it.
May 25. — I observed that nothing whatever had been gained to recover the deviation [^the shield had gradually ivorked The shield 2 feet 3 inches to the ivestward'], which subjects us to so mich out, much inconvenience and loss of time. The only way to move^ft *" bring the shield right is by taking the frames sideways. bodUy.
June 3. — Finding it too laborious and almost fruitless to bring the frames in the right way, I came to the determination of having them brought bodily to the east by cutting the ground on the side. I accordingly gave directions to Armstrong to proceed in making a heading out of No. 12, and by securing the side staves to continue downwards until the ground be clear. The working was accordingly discontinued in front.
June 4. — The mode of proceeding by the common way of mining shows the impracticability of carrying a large excavation anywhere, particularly under a considerable body of water. The expense of timbering Avould be too great, even if it could be sound. The ground above the frames is remarkably good, but under it there is a stratum of silt which breaks and falls in large masses.
June 5. — Isambard got into the drift, and gave the line for the better disposition of the staves, which was afterwards done isambard's in a proper manner, Isambard's vigilance and constant important attendance were of great benefit. He is in every respect effldciit? a most useful coadjutor in this undertaking.
c 2
20 THE THAMES TUNNEL. [a.u. 1826.
June 10. — The last frame (No. 1) is brought close to the others, and the brickwork brought up to fill the back,
June 15. — On inspecting the face of the ground this morning I
observed a breach in the front of Nos. 3, 4, and 5, where the ground
Dangerous has given wav in the lower cell. This was truly alarm- state of the . '^ •' •' ground. ing. 1 Ordered iron staves to each floor in order to pin
taken. the ground, and thereby to counteract the slipping which
would immediately take place.
June 19. — The bricklayers left off work, but, on enquiring into the cause, I learned there was no other but to have a libation upon the new arrangement of piece-Avork.
June 29. — Gave positive directions to cut only 4^ to 5 inches thick at a time at the front of the top cells, instead of 9 inches, as they had done for some time.
July 3. — The great question is, does the clay undulate at its surface ? We should have some reason to apprehend that it does so, because at the beginning we had not proceeded many feet into the clay when we struck again into the gravelly stratum. The surface of the clay must therefore have sunk at that particular spot ; which circumstance seems to warn one of the need of great vigilance and great prudence in the progress of the enterprise.
July 10. — A cofferdam burst yesterday at the works at Woolwich, Cofferdam having blowu up from the foundation. How cautious this Wooiw^kih should make our men ! The cofferdam may be repaired, Warning and very easily too, but an irruption into the Tunnel — • forus. what a difference, particularly at this eai-ly period !
August 10. — Found the lowest cell of No. 1 left by the workmen Carelessness witliout a single poling against the ground. This is indeed miners. a most unjustifiable neglect.
August 12. — At six this morning completed 205 feet.
August 21. — This piece-work has not been productive of much effect as to quantity of work. As to quality it is very qucstion- Observations able. A work of this nature should not be hurried in
on the bad ,
effect and this manner. Fewer hands, enough to produce 9 feet
consequence , iiipi ^ ■,
of driving per Week, would be far better than the mode now pur- done.'^ sued from necessity^ but not from inclination on my part. Great risks are in our way, and we increase them by the manner the excavation is can-ied on. The frames are in a very bad condition
September 5. — It is much to be regi-etted that such a work as the Tunnel should be carried on by the piece. Obliged to drive on, no time is left to make any repair, or to recover any lost advantage.
MT. 2].] PROGRESS TO SEPTEMBER 12, 1826. 21
Isanibard is most active. Mr. Beamish shows much judgment in his exertions, and zeal in his attendance.*
Septembei' 8. — About 2 p.m. I was informed by Munday that water was running down over No. 9. I went immediately to it. The ground being open, and consequently unsupported, it water soon became soft, and settled on the back of the staves, arback^or moving down in a stream of diluted silt, which is the ^aii'^s- most dangerous substance we have to contend with. Some oakum was forced through the joints of the staves, and the How to water was partly checked. Isambard was the whole j^ambard's night, till three, in the frames. At three I relieved him. exertions. He went to rest for about a couple of hours ; I took some rest on the stage.
September 9. — Towards noon the stream changed its character. The clay, being loosened by the water, began to run, but it thickened gradually. It was late in the evening before the loosened clay acquired the consistency of a loose puddling, which covered the staves, and made them a complete shield against further irruption, or rather, oozings of mud. If we consider that at this place Ave have at the utmost 9 feet between the top staves and the gravel, over which the river flows, it is most satisfactory and most encouraging to have this additional proof of the protection which the shield affords. At nine o'clock at night Isambard sent me word that ' tout * va a mcrveille ; ' indeed it was so, for it was like a stopper inter- posed between the river and the top-staves. Instructed Things as the men were by the fii'st accident, they went on as ™p'o'^"'s. usual in the irrespective occupations. Pascoe, junr., and Collins were remarkably active and persevering, and some other men equally so ; while old Greenwell encouraged them by a speech of his own in high commendation of the secimty of their situation.
September 12. — The water, bringing with it a sort of clay broken in small particles, increased to an alarming degree. In consequence of this continued displacement of the silt and clay, a water more cavity had been formed above the staves. At about i^i"^o'm three, when I had gone to the Court of Directors, the *^® ^''^^ ' ground fell upon the staves with great violence, causing a surge most alarming as to probable consequences. Isambard was at that moment in the upper frames, and he gave directions for increasing the means of security. On my return I found things much worse than I left them, but every means of security was judiciously
1 Mr. Beumiah had joined the works on August 7.
22 THE THAMES TUNNEL. [a.d. 182G.
applied. During the night in particular things presented a very unfavourable appearance. The men, however, were as calm as if there were no other danger to be dreaded than wet clothes or the splashing of mud. I observed the men in the lower cells were sound asleep.
September 13. — Every means were resorted to in the course of the night and during the early part of the day to stop the water. Exertions by '^^^^ vaeii have shown great zeal and good manage- themen. ment in their respective avocations, and above all the utmost confidence. Isambard has not quitted the frames but to lay down now and then on the stage. I have prevailed on him to go to his bed, or rather, used my endeavours to induce him ; but he has Blight im- ^ot since last Friday night (the 8th). Things were proTement. j.aj.jjgr better at the close of the day.
September ^14:. — Things upon the whole have assumed a more favourable aspect. The situation is nevertheless very critical. Nothing but the utmost precaution in following up what has begun can bring us out of it. This has been a most eventful week !
September 18. — Isambard was the greater part of the night in the works, and the benefit of his exertions is indeed most highly felt : no one has stood out like him ! Everything is quite safe, the water is kept back, and the work proceeds in a most satisfactory manner.
October 22. — It is evident [_from a Jloio of silt which had taken place on that day] that with the shield we have passed close under a body of collected water a few inches only above the staves. Isambard is too unwell to stay long in the works.
October 24. — The want of the main drain which was originally intended to carry the water to the main reservoir is felt every- The want of where. This drain is in my original plan, but the com-
a drain sub- . . , ..,.,
jects us to mittee expressing on several occasions a wish that 1 shou.]d convenience, dispense witli it, I complied, most reluctantly however, to prove my earnest wish to reduce the expenses. It will not, I apprehend, be found an economy,
October 26. — Every step we take shows how much security is derived from the shoes, supporting as they do the shield and the superincumbent weight. They press down in the same shoes in proportion the ground on which they bear. They keep grouna^ ^ it ^■s dense as it originally was, and fit it for the structure dense. ^^^ -g ^^ come Upon it. It is evident, therefore, that
what is wanted is that the ground should be kept pressed. It is with this object in view that I have holdfasts ar d jacks. What incessant vigilance is required, what an incessant call on the re-
A^T. 21.] PROGRESS TO DECEMBER 12, 1826. 23
sources of the mind, not only to direct, but more particularly to provide for many things that may occur.
November 17. — At this date 307 feet 9 inches had been com- pleted.'
December 8. — The evil [that of not having a proper drain] is going on with us, and virithout any remedy except the drain, or a cesspool by way of expedient. How much anxiety must one feel at being so circumstanced! Should any water break in, how should we proceed ? This is another source of great solicitude. "We have no command of the frames when they rest upon wooden legs, or when the screws are bent ; and what is w^orse is that the men drive on without any consideration or any fear of consequences. This circumstance, and the apprehension of the water breaking in, are matters of the most dreadful anxiety.
December 12. — Little do others know of the anxiety and fatigue I have to imdergo day and night. Advanced as we are, we have only gained somewhat more experience, but the casualties are just the same. An accident now might be as fatal as it Avould have been 200 feet back, or as it would be 200 feet forwards. We have not a period when we can think ourselves safe except when we have connected these arches with a shaft on the other side. Loaded as we are with the weight of the river, we have to advance our shield and build our structure under that weight, a weight which varies twice a day, and twice a month to a much greater extent. Tlie shoes are the great foundation ofoitr security. When once pressed down with the greatest power that can be applied, they do not give in the least afterwards. They have not yielded even suporincum-
° J J bent weight
xipon loose gravel ; Ave must therefore congratulate our- varying selves that they have answered so completely. We have stiumore now walked oiir frames upwards of 350 feet ; we have fortnight. had to renew the legs and the heads, but it is not on the'' ^^^ through want of strength so much as from mismanage- Thfllfoes ment. The first legs were never injured so long as their '^feJj^fT'^a action was limited to 3 inches, but when it was increased mostpport- to 6 inches, they immediately gave way one after another, cumstance. without however any damage to the structure or to the shield. The heads gave way, or began to give way, from the moment the legs did ; because, when a leg gave way, it brought upon the contiguous frame an increased weight which broke the heads one after Another. That
' On November 20 Mr. Brunei ' in the Tunnel. For nine days on an mentions in his diary that he had ' average 20^ hours per day in the ' passed seven days out of the last t^n ' Tunnel and 3f to sleep.'
24 THE THAMES TUNNEL. [a.d. 182G.
the breaking of so important a part of oxir shield should not have been attended with any bad consequences is a proof that provision had been made for the casualty. The proof that it had been foreseen and provided for is in the manner these heads were adapted to the frames. By the way they were fixed they would be easily taken down and replaced. Though the heads gave way, the top staves were not materially affected by it, and the service continued until new heads were substituted. Some have fancied that the ground did not bear wholly upon the shield and the arches, but supported itself in parts. Experience proves that the pressure is rather more than that which rests artificially on the frames. The ground is com- pressed all round by the increased weight of high water : we might therefore conclude that the shield operates as a pillar, that supports beyond the limits of its base or cap. It is a great satisfaction to be able to say that so long as we followed the original plan, nothing gave way except the back screws. These again were damaged by being run out of the sockets. We may therefore ascribe most of the evils and damages to the increased range of action, and still more to the rude implements the men have used, whenever they met with any difficulty in moving the frames. If it is considered that we had no other men to train in the use of this immense machine but ex- cavators and miners, very great allowance must be made for what has occurred.
December 20. — An accident of an alarming nature occurred. The poling-screws of Nos. 10 and 12, being on No. 11, Moul, the Falling of miner in that frame, removed his butting screw ; the con-
threefacings i ,. -i ■, ^ ^
from sequence was that the frame started back, the polmgs and
Awful f poling-screws fell down with a tremendous crash, and the ground followed to a considerable extent. This is the most formid- able accident that has yet occurred in the face of the work. The ground was fortunately unusually firm, and no fatal consequences ensued.
December 31. — Isambard and nine friends sat down to a dinner under the Thames ! Now a year is over since we began to make any progress horizontally, for we had only 1 1 feet of arch when the water broke in on January 24 last. We may therefore say that the whole of what has been made of the Tunnel has been made in that period. It is worthy of remark that until the end of April no fracture whatever, no bending of the legs, had taken place, notwithstanding that we had siipported for a period of nearly three months a greater weight than we ever had since. The ground nearly 40 feet high Icept sinking upon us p.s we advanced, and yet no stave, no top, no
^T. 21.] rnOGRESS TO FEBRUARY 2G, 1827. 25
leg gave way. Each leg was capable of carrying nearly 80 tons at the point of fracture, consequently the aggregate strength of 3G legs was equal to 2,880 tons, which is six times over the greatest effort tliat could be exerted by the superincumbent weight. The heads, after they had given way, remained in place, some — namely, Nos. 1, 8, 12 — for seven months, and the others from four to six months. It cannot be said therefore that there was a want of strength, since the broken heads continued to perform for so many months after being so much damaged ; nor is there any defect in the iron. If the frames were, as some have fancied, lanky, which implies weakness in their sides, how could they have supported the alternate stress to which they are put by standing alternately on one leg ? Not one single joint has yet started. Every frame has been upwards of 2,000 times in that raking posture, consequently the shield has been upwards of 24,000 times strained under the weight that has broken the heads. One single side has broken, and is now as good as the rest. Is such a machine to be stigmatised as it has been, without looking more minutely into its operations ?
January 4, 1827.' — A work that requires such close attention, BO much ingenuity, and carried on day and night by the observations rudest hands possible — what anxiety, what fatigue, both gpoJ^isib'iity of mind and body ! Every morning I say. Another day attached to of danger over ! prise.
January 12. — It is astonishing how the silt resists the sliding of the top staves. Assiired as we were of having stiff clay from 33 to 37 feet, with what confidence we might have looked to making 18 feet per week. There would be no difficulty in having accomplished it. We must not look back, but overcome all difficulties !
January 1 6. — Isambard having been up several successive nights, went to bed at ten, and slept till six the next morning, igambardon I am very much concerned at his being so unmindful of guccessrvT^ his health. He may pay dear for it. nights.
February 2. — Work done to this day 405 feet 4 inches.
Feh-uary 3. — I visited the works ; and, being in the cabin, I complained of the dust there. Dust under the Thames !
February 26. — I went to the Tunnel. The arch being well lighted up, and the whole walk completed, a few visitors were ad- mitted. The coup d'oeil was splendid. Mrs. Brunei, Emma, Sophia and her three little children were the first. It gave me great pleasure to see the whole of my family in the new scene.
• On the previous day Mr. Brunei had been formally appointed residen engineer.
2G THE THAMES TUNNEL. [a.». 1827.
No clay March 21. — There being no clay above us, there is
stl'ouid'wMk' iiiuch to apprehend from the springs. It would be much slower. better to work slower than Ave do. It is indeed very hard
to be under the necessity of driving. Anxiety increasing daily.
March 28. — The top pumps failed; the water rose above the abutting screws. The frames of some of them could not be ad- Waterin- vanced, nor could the bottom brickwork be laid down —
creasing
daily. great source of complaint. Isambard called the men in at
10 o'clock ; they went ou cheerfully. It is surprising that tlic men are so steady.
March 29. — Things are getting worse every day by the influx of water ; by which the ground is softened, and the operation rendered Oursitua- extremely complicated and slow. As to the ground, it is ting much evident we are now as Isambard found it by his borings worse daily, ^f August last. We have nothing above our heads but clayey silt, and it is of a nature to be detached and run into mud by the action of water.
April 3. — The pumping now requires forty hands. There is no exaggeration in saying that the influx of water, and the badness of the ground, cause an extra expense of 150Z. a week. Obstacles in April 7. — It may now be said that we are contending every way. with the elements above and around, gaining and disput- ing every inch that we add to the structure.
April 9. — Isambard's birthday, he being of age to-day.
April 14. — Doing as well as can be expected from the nature of the ground, and the difficulties that increase upon us.
April 18. — The faces are foimd extremely tender; but having proceeded with great caution, no accident occurred. None, I feel confident, would occur if all idea of piece-work were abandoned. It To be Ob- always operates as a stimulant, a very dangerous one. drive too Obliged to drive on, on account of expense, Ave run im- aiternative. minent risks indeed for it. That a Avork of this nature, under such circumstances, should be thus carried on, is truly lamentable. It is obvious that the clay Ave have above our heads has been broken, by the ground beneath it running or breaking in upon us. We shall have to fight it out until Ave have a stronger or thicker stratum of clay. Sad prospect indeed it is for us 1
April 20. — The ground at No. 1 broke in again, and occasioned great delay. Some bones and china came doAvn.
April 22. — The diving-bell being on the spot, and Isambard having moored it over the shield, he and Gravatt' descended at
' Mr. Gravatt had been appointed an assistant engineer six months before.
;et. 21.] TEOGEESS TO MAY 13, 1827. 27
thirty feet water. They found the same substances which had come through the ground into the Tunnel. When Isambard was in the bell, he drove a strong rod into the ground. Nelson, who Avas in the frame, heard the blows.
April 29. — Ground improving as we advance ; we are not, how- ever, free from danger : a dreadful alarm took place this morning. While Isambard and Gravatt were at breakfast, the porter ^ dreadful came running in, and exclaiming, ' It is all over ! The P**'"*^- ' Tunnel has fallen in, and one man only has escaped.' Gravatt Avas the first to get to tlie spot, and found all the pumpers upon the floor of the shaft, all stupefied with horror, though every one was there quite safe, and no rush of water was heard. Gravatt and Isambard were soon in the shield, where they observed that a small portion of clay had fallen from the top on the top floor.
May 8. — At half past three in the morning, an irruption took place, bringing down the deposits of the bottom of the river — lumps of clay, stones, bones, wood, nails, &c., &c., with water. The pumpers and men on the stage (Irish) all ran away, some exclaiming, * The Thames is in ! The Thames is in ! ' Ball and Rogers stood to their post, and soon stopped this most formidable attack.
May 10. — Great difficulties present themselves, that oppose our progress ; the chief, hoAvever, is the lodgment of Avatcr above our heads. There it loosens the silt or sand, and runs out, leaving cavities that cause the clay above to break, and run down in lumps and disturbed streams. This is very aAvful ! This opens the Avay for the river.
May 12. — In moving No. 6, they left by some unaccountable neglect the top staves behind, and in that state t\\^o top polings were taken down. The ground being very bad, and ^^^^^ high water at the same moment, the ground began qumcesof
° _ ' o o want of care
SAvelling. Attention was called to several points, and more terrific Gravatt continued in No. 6. He drew out at the front of chievous the top staves a shovel, and also a hammer, that had come precedSig through the ground above. They are the same which °^^^' Isambard left at the bottom of the river, Avhen he went down in the diving-bell.
May 13. — Notwithstanding every prudence on our part, a disaster may still occur. May it not be when the arch is full of visitors ! It is too awful to think of it. I have done my part by recom- mending to the directors to shut the Tiumel. My solicitude is not lessened for that : I have indeed no rest, and I may say have
28 THE THAMES TUNNEL. [a.d. 1827.
Tiiumph of ^^^^ none for many weeks. So far the shield has triumphed the shield. Qyer immense obstacles, and it ivill carry the Tunnel through. During the preceding night the whole of the ground over our heads must have been in movement, and that too at high water. The shield must have therefore supported upwards of six hundred tons : it has walked for many weeks with that weight twice a day over its head. What flippancy and inconsistency in some indi- viduals, who, without any knowledge of the subject, without so much as examining the state of the work, will Avithout the least reflection and hesitation obtrude their suggestions upon every case. What shallow conceit for such to pretend they can know better than those that have already the experience that must result from years of deep thought, from days and nights of incessant attention ; Avho have the advantage of the combined talents of several ingenious men, who devote their undivided study, the whole resource of their well- stored minds, to the enterprise ; and to add to this, the benefit of the skill of one hundred miners and excavators. Among this class of men, some have been employed in the most perilous enterprises, when each individual must have acted upon his sole judgment, where, in fact, there is no room for an engineer to instruct and How easy to direct their efforts. How easy it is to attack everything, detract. ^^ detract from the merits of the best plan. There is always some weak point which may be open to the penetration of the shallowest mind. Then comes the exulting expression. That I always said woidd never do, &c., and all the consequences with it.
3Iay 15. — The water increased very much at 9 o'clock. This is inquie'tant ! My apprehensions are not groundless. I apprehend nothing, however, as to the safety of the men, but first the visitors, and next a total invasion by the river. We must be prepared for the worst. I have had no rest for many weeks on this apprehension. Should it occur we must make the best of it, by improving our situation.
May 17. — There is no doubt of the ground having improved very materially since last Saturday. Very cheering indeed.
Jifay 18. — Visited by Lady Raffles and a numerous party. Having had an intimation by Mr. Beamish of their intended visit, I waited to receive and to accompany them, not only from the interest I felt at being acquainted with Lady KafSes, but also from motives of solicitude, knowing that she intended to visit the frames. Indeed, my apprehensions were increasing daily. I had given some instructions for enquiring where we could obtain clay, that we should have some barges full of clay to be in readiness. I was most anxiously Avaiting
JET. 22.] FIRST lERUPTION, MAY 18, 1827. 29
for the removal of the tier of colliers that was over lis, being convinced that we should detect some derangement then. I attended Lady Raffles and party to the frames, most uneasy all the while, as if I had a presentiment, not so much of the approaching catastrophe to the ex- tent it has occurred, but of what might result from the misbehaviour of some of the men, as was the case when the Irish labourers ran away from the pumps and the stage. I left the works at half-past five, leaving everything comparatively well : Mr. Beamish continued on duty.'
Mr. Gravatt's account is as follows : I was above with I. Brunei looking over some prints, Beamish being on duty. Some men came running up and said to Isambard something I did not hear. He immediately ran towards the works, and down the men's staircase. I ran towards it, but could not get down. I leaped over the fence, and rushed down the visitors' stairs, and met the men coming up, and a lady, who 1 think was fainting. Met Flyn on the landing- place, who said it was all over. I pushed on, calling him a coward, and got down as far as the visitors' barrier. Saw Mr Beamish pidled from it. He came on towards the shaft walking. I went up to him to ask him what was the matter. He said it was no use resisting. The miners were all upon the staircase ; Brunei and I called to them to come back. Lane^ was upon the stairs, and lie said it was of no use to call the men back. We stayed some time below on the stairs, looking where the water Avas coming in most magnificently. We could still see the farthest light in the west arch. The water came upon us so slowly that I walked back- wards speaking to Brunei several times. Presently I saw the water pouring in from the east to the west arch through the cross arches. I then ran and got up the stairs with Brunei and Beamish, who were then five or six steps up. It was then we heard a tremendous burst.
' Sir Isambard's journal of this form in his Life of Sir Isamhard
eventful night consists — as he was not Brunei, pp. 244-248.
himself present — of Mr. Beamish's * Mr. Michael Lane, at this time
journal, with a few words in warm foreman brickhiyer, became one of
commendation of that gentleman's Mr. Brunei's most vahied assistants,
'judgment, coolness, and courage,' and was employed by him on the
followed by observations upon the Monkwenrmouth Docks and the Great
stability of the shield. He then gives Western Railway. After filling va-
a statement made by Mr. Gravatt, rious posts in the service of that com-
and taken down in shorthand. No pany, he was in 1860 appointed their
extracts are given in the text from principal engineer, an office which he
Mr. Beamish's narrative, as he has held till his death, in Febrxiary, 18G8. already inserted it in a condensed
30 THE THAMES TUNNEL. [a.u. 1827.
The cabin had burst, and all the lights went out at once. There Avas a noise at the staircase, and presently the water carried away the lower flight of stairs. Brunei looked towards the men, who Averc lining the staircase and galleries of the shaft, gazing at the spectacle, and said, ' Carry on, carry on, as fast as you can ! ' Upon which they ascended pretty fast. I went up to the top and saw the shaft filling. I looked about and saw a man in the water like a rat. He got hold of a bar, but I afterwards saw he was quite spent. I was looking about how to get down, when I saw Brunei descending by a rope to his assistance. I got hold of one of the iron ties, and slid down into the Avater hand over hand Avith a small rope, and tried to make it fast round his middle, Avhilst Brunei AA'as doing the same. Having done it he called out, ' Haul up.' The man was hauled up. I swam about to see where to land. The shaft Avas full of casks. Brunei had been swimming too.
The first alarm, as I heard it, Avas as folloAvs : Goodwin, in No. 11, said to Eoger, in the next box, ' Eoger, come, help me.' Roger said, ' I can't, I have my second poling down, and my face Avill run ' in.' In a little time Goodwin said, * You must come,' Avhich Mr. Beamish directed him to do. Eoger turned round and saAv Goodwin through a sheet of water. Corps, a bricklayer, Avent to help Good- Avin : he was knocked doAvn. Eoger made his Avay alone, calling to Mr. Beamish, * Come aAvay, sir, 'tis no use to stay.' Eoger saw Corps fairly washed out of his box like a lump of clay.
Sir Isambard's journal continues : —
May 19. — Eelieved as I have found myself, though by a terrible catastrophe, of the worst state of anxiety, that Avhich I have been in for several Aveeks past, I had a most comfortable night. Lsambard and Gravatt descended Avith the diving-bell, and stood upon the tails ofNos. 10, 11, and 12.
May 20 — Having descended into the hole and probed the ground, I felt that the staA'^es Avere in their places, and that the brickwork Avas quite sound. It is evident that the great hole has been a dredging spot. A large mass of bags full of clay, and united together with ropes, was let down. The Eotherhithe curate, in his sermon to-day, adverting to the accident, said it was a fatal accident, that it Avas but a just judgment upon the presumptuous aspirations of mortal men, &c. ! The poor man !
May 23. — Went with the diving-bell to examine the ground and the bags, which do apparently Avell, but it is working rather in the dark. It cannot, hoAvever, fail of making a much better stratum than that Ave had before. Tlie plan is therefore good.
MT. 22.] FIRST IRRUPTION, MAY 18, 1827. 31
On the 30tli a raft was sunk over tlie shield, and the water in the shaft was brought so low that the last flight of steps was visible. However, on the next day the river broke in again; and as it was found that the raft was open at the west side, it was raised and towed on shore.
June 5. — There is much danger in getting oixt of the diving-bell, the bags are so loose in some places. One might sink and be swallowed, which had very nearly happened to-day. Isambard and Pinckney being down, the latter lost his hold. The footboard being accidentally carried away, he could not have recovered himself had not Isambard stretched out his leg to his assistance.
June 17. — Visited by Charles Bonaparte. Isambard took him into the arch with the yawd. Isambard fell overboard.'
On June 19, a general meeting of the proprietors was held, to consider the position of the company. Sir Isam- bard addressed the meeting, and also presented a long report, in which he entered very fully into the circumstances of the recent accident and the causes which led to it. He then described the means he had taken to restore the works by sinking bags of clay and gravel. He adds : ' I *have already succeeded in closing the hole through
* which the water first penetrated, and feel confident that
* the second opening which afterwards appeared is also ' stopped, but a short time is necessary to elapse for the ' new ground over the shield to settle and consolidate.
* It has already supported a head of water of thirty-five
* feet.'
' On this occasion an amusing in- mentions) fell overboard. As soon as
cident occurred. Mr. Brunei was ex- he recovered himself, and turned to
eeedingly unwilling to permit his swim back to the boat, he remembered
visitors to make this expedition into that he had unwittingly given to his
the arch; but on the assurance that companions the signal to jump out in-
they could all swim perfectly well, he to the water. Ho was much amused,
consented to take them, wnth the un- on looking up, to see that they were not
derstanding that, if he jumped over- swimming after him, but were still
board, they were immediately to follow sitting in the boat clinging to the
his example, and swim after him to gunwale, with faces expressive of
the shaft, "While they were in the blank despair. arch Mr. Brunei (as Sir Isambiird
32 THE THAMES TUNNEL. [a.d. 1827.
June 25. — At 7 p.m. made preparations to re-enter the shield. Isambard, mustering the men who had been the last to quit the frames, told them they would be the first to take possession of them again — a precedence due, as he said, to them. Rogers, Ball, Goodwin, Corps, and Compton, were accordingly ordered to trim themselves for the expedition, provided with a phosphorus box, and dressed in light clothes, to be fit for a swim.
At about ten o'clock, Isambard and Mr. Beamish, accompanied by Ball and Woodward (miners), went down with the punt, and got to the large stage, the head of the crane just emerging. It was found impossible to get into the frames, as a mound of clay and silt closed the entrance. The centering was in place and quite sound, and of course the brickwork. Finding that they could not get nearer, they gave three cheers, which were rapturously answered by the men at the mouth of the Tunnel. Having placed candles upon the ground that closed the entrance, and upon the head of the crane, they returned. Isambard, having promised that the men who had left the frames last should be the first to re-enter, returned with them. This is a great day for our history !
June 27. — Mr. Beamish was able to get to the frames, which he found firm and undisturbed.
A small tarpaulin was now spread over the frames, and ojDerations commenced for cleaning them. This was a most difficult and dangerous work, especially as the water was still so high that the frames could only be approached by boats. The men, even the best hands, were at first greatly alarmed at the danger they were in ; but the ex- ample set by Mr. Brunei and Mr. Beamish produced, as Sir Isambard notes, the best effect, and they soon became reconciled to their situation.
July 7. — Very uncomfortable in the frames ; the candles cannot burn, the ventilation cannot act. Isambard went several times to- day down in the diving-bell. On one occasion the chain slipped through the stoppers, but most providentially it jammed itself tight before being altogether run out. 2'he consequence miglit indeed have been fatal. Can there be a more anxious situation than that which I am constantly in? Not one moment of rest either of mind or body. Mr. Beamish always ready. Poor Isambard always at his post too, alternately below, or in the barges, and in the diving-bell.
^T. 22.] THE SHIELD REGAINED. 33
On July 11 J Sir Isambard thought that matters had so far advanced that a large tarpaulin, which it was proposed to sink over the frames, ' would have its full effect.' It was accordingly sunk on the following day, under the superintendence of Mr. Brunei. Sir Isambard adds to his account of the operation — ' This reflects great credit on
* Isambard, and the apparent facility with which it was
* effected evinces his presence of mind, for a single faux 'pas would have spoilt the whole.' ^
Juli/ 21. — Dxiring the early part of the night an alarm was given, by Fitzgerald calling for clay wedges, and exclaiming that the whole of the faces were coming in altogether. Eogers collected a quantity of wedges to go to the frames, but no boat was to be seen. He called to the men in the frames, but received no answer. Taking the small boat in the east arch, he reached the frames, but found nobody, nor any appearance of derangement in the ground. Conjecturing they might be drowned, he explored further, and saw the four men stretched on the small stage, not drowned, but sound asleep !
July 26. — ^Water nearly out of the arches. For the first time we could walk to the frames — a most gratifying circumstance indeed ! Two months and eight days.
September 30. — How slow our progress must appear to others ; but it is not so, if it is considered how much we have had to do in right- ing the frames and in repairing them ; what with timbering, shoring, shipping and refitting — all these operations being in confined situa- tions, the water bursting in occasionally, and the ground running in : in short, it is truly terrific to be in the midst of this scene. If to this we add the actual danger, magnified by the re-echoing of the pumps, and sometimes (still more awful warning !) the report of large pieces of cast iron breaking, it is in no way an exaggeration to say that such has been the state of things. Nevertheless, my con- fidence in the shield is not only undiminished — it is, on the contrary, tried with its fviU eifect, and it is manifest now that it will soon
' Mr. Brunei's comment in his ' ways to the men who were to execute
diary is as follows : — ' Without ascrib- ' them, I succeeded in an operation
' ing any particular merit to myself, I 'not altogether mean, and which a
' cannot help observing, for my future ' very trifling want of precaution or
'guidance,that being alone, and giving ' order might have caused to be a
' few but clear orders, and those al- ' total failure.'
^4 THE THAMES TUNNEL. [a.u. 1827-
replace us in good ground, and in a safe situation. No top staves have given way. That is our real protection.
October 17. — At 2.15 a.m. Kemble, having first called upon Gravatt, came to Isambard in a hurry, and, quite stupefied Avith fright, told him that the vv^ater was in. Says Issimbard — 'I could not ' believe him. He said it was up the shaft when he came. This ' being like positive, I ran without a coat as fast as possible, giving
* a double knock at Gravatt's door in my way. I saw the men on
* the top, and heard them calling earnestly to those whom they ' fancied had not had time to escape. Nay, Miles had already, in his
* zeal for the aid of others, thrown a long rope, and was swinging it
* about, calling to the unfortunate sufferers to lay hold of it, ' encouraging and cheering those who might not find it, to swim to
* one of the landings. I immediately, I should say instantly, flew ' down the stairs. The shaft was completely dark. I expected at
* every step to splash into the Avater. Before I was aAvare of the ' distance I had run, I reached the frames in the east arch, and met
* there Pamphillon, who told me that nothing was the matter, but a
* small run in No. 1 top, where I found Huggins and the corps
* ci elite. They Avere not even aware that any one had left the frames.
* The cause of the panic was one of the labourers ; hearing the man in ' No, 1 call for Ball, he ran away, jumping off" the stage, crying,
* " Run, nin, murder, murder; i^ut the lights outy His felloAV- ' labourers followed like sheep, making the same A'ociferations.'
November 10. — Isambard gave his entertainment to nearly forty persons, who sat at table in the Tunnel. Nothing could exceed the effect for brilliancy. About 120 men partook of a dinner in the adjoining arch.
As tlie year drew to a close, the difficulty of working the silt increased, and with this difficulty increased also the expense of maintaining the staff of men required. On December 18, Mr. Brunei, writing for his father, who was absent from town for a few days, thus describes the nature of the soil through which they Avere then passing.
The state of the ground over Nos. 1, 2, and 3 top has caused considerable delay, particularly this week, although not such as to give any cause of anxiety as to our future rate of progress, or to have any serious effect except the increased expense incidental to this delay. My father desired me to describe to the Board the causes of these difficulties. There is a considerable spring at this
Mr. 22.] PROGRESS TO JANUARY 12, 1828. 35
point, and a corresponding soft part in the bed of the river, which seems to indicate the rising of the spring. The ground in the neighbourhood is affected by this spring in rather a peculiar manner : at the half-flood tide the pressure is greatest : dry hard clay oozes with great force through openings hardly observable, the silt and water running by starts. At high-water the pressure and quantity of water begin to diminish and on the ebb-tide the ground is hard and dry, and can be worked Avith ease. On the flood-tide there are as many as twelve and fifteen of the best hands, besides myself (or one of my assistants) and the foreman, engaged entirely at one face.
On January 1, 1828, Sir Isambard returned to London ; and on the 12th, when about 600 feet of the Tunnel had been completed, a second irruption occurred, which put a stop to the works for seven years.
The particulars of this accident are thus described by Mr. Brunei, in a letter to the Directors of the Company : —
I had been in the frames (shield) with the workmen throughout the whole night, having taken my station there at ten o'clock. During the workings through the night, no symptoms of insecurity appeared. At six o'clock this morning (the usual time for shifting the men) a fresh set or shift of the men came on to work. "We began to work the ground at the west top corner of the firame : the tide had just then begun to flow ; and finding the ground tolerably quiet, we proceeded by beginning at the top, and had worked about a foot downwards, when on exposing the next six inches, the ground swelled suddenly, and a large quantity burst through the opening thus made. This was followed instantly by a large body of water. The rush was so violent as to force the man on the spot, where the burst took place, out of the frame (or cell) on to the timber stage behind the frames. I was in the frame with the man, but upon the •rush of the water I went into the next box (or cell), in order to command'a better view cf the irruption, and seeing that there was no possibility of then opposing the water, I ordered all the men in the frames to retire. All were retiring, except the three men who were with me, and they retreated with me. I did not leave the stage until those three were down the ladder of the frames, when they and I proceeded about twenty feet along the west arch of the Tunnel. At this moment the agitation of the air, by the rush of water, was such as to extinguish all the lights, and the water had
UNIVr-RGITY OF 'iO;.-3Ni.'
36 . THE THAMES TUNNEL. [a.d. 1828
gained the lieiglit of our waists. I was at that moment giving direc- tions to the three men, in what manner they ought to proceed in the dark to effect their escape, when they and I were knocked down, and covered with a part of the timber stage. I struggled under water for some time, and at length extricated myself from the stage, and by swimming and being forced by the water, I gained the eastern arch where I got a better footing, and was enabled by laying hold of the railway rope, to pause a little, in the hope of encouraging the men who had been knocked down at the same time with myself. This I endeavoured to do by calling to them. Before I reached the shaft the water had risen so rapidly that I was out of my depth, and theiefore swam to the visitors' stairs, the stairs for the workmen being occupied by those who had so far escaped. My knee was so injured by the timber stage that I could scarcely swim, or get up the stairs, but the rush of the water carried me up the shaft. The three men who had been knocked down with me were unable to extricate themselves, and I am grieved to say, they are lost ; and I believe also two old men, and one young man, in other parts of the work.
This statement Sir Isambard embodied in a report to the Directors of January 28, which was circulated among the proprietors.
As soon as the first excitement caused by the irruption had ceased, Mr. Brunei directed the diving-bell to be pre- pared in order to ascertain the state of the shield and the extent of the disturbance of the bed of the river caused by the rush of water into the Tunnel.
He was, however, so seriously injured that he could not actively superintend the preparations, but his orders were given with his usual clearness, calmness, and decision ; and as soon as the barge containing the diving-bell was pro- perly moored over the Tunnel, he was carried out and laid upon a mattress on the deck of the barge, that he might direct what was to be done.
As evening came on he became so much worse that he was taken into the cabin ; but everything which took place was reported to him.
JBT. 22.] SECOND IRRUPTION, JANUARY 12, 1828. 37
At length, the bell being ready, it was lowered early on the Sunday morning, but the chain not being long enough, proceedings were delayed until a longer chain could be obtained.
As, however, a chain of the right size and length could not be obtained, the strongest cable which could be procured in the neighbourhood was substituted, for the chain. A controversy then arose between the assistant engineers and the foremen as to the sufl&ciency of the strength of the cable; and it was agreed to consult and to abide by the opinion of Mr. Brunei, who was then lying in great pain in the cabin.
No answer could be obtained from him for some minutes, and then he only said, ' Don't go down.' This not being satisfactory to the advocates of the sufl&ciency of the cable, it was agreed to lower the bell empty, which was done, and it was brought up safely ; but just as it was swung over the barge, the rope broke and the bell fell on to the stage.
The next day Mr. Brunei was taken home, when it was found that, besides the injury to his knee which he received while endeavouring to save the lives of the three men who were with him,^ he had received serious internal injuries, which kept him under medical treatment for several months.
When he was able to return to Eotherhithe all hope of continuing the works was for the time abandoned. When
' On January 15, 1828, the Direc- ' neer, when the Thames broke into
tors of the Thames Tunnel Company ' the Tunnel on the morning of tho
passed the following resolution, which '12th instant, are desirous to give
they ordered to be advertised in the ' their public testimony to his calm
Times, New Times, Herald, Ledger, ' and energetic endeavours, and to
and Courier : — ' That this court, ' that generous principle which in-
' having heard with great admiration ' duced him to put his own life in
' of the intrepid courage and presence ' more imminent hazard to save the
• of mind displayed by Mr. Isambard ' lives of the men under his immediate
Brunei, the company's resident cngi- ' care.*
38 THE THAMES TUNNEL.
they were resumed, in 1835, he was entirely engrossed in the independent pursuit of his profession ; and, with the exception of a few occasions when he acted for his father, he had no farther connection with the Tunnel.
It is not, therefore, necessary to continue the narrative in detail ; but a brief summary of the subsequent history of the enterprise may be interesting to those who are un- acquainted with it.
The Tunnel was cleared of water, and efforts were made, unfortunately without success, to raise funds for the com- pletion of the undertaking. Great enthusiasm was ex- hibited by the general public and by many eminent persons, including the Duke of Wellington ; but the money was not forthcoming, and nothing was left but to brick in the shield, and wait for more favourable times.
It was not till the beginning of 1835 that the Company was able, by the aid of a loan from Government, to recom- mence the works. The old shield was removed and a new one substituted, in which considerable improvements were introduced. Slings connecting the frames were added, which enabled each frame to support its neighbours when necessary, and important alterations were also made in the arrangements for keeping the frames at the right distance from one another, and for giving greater facility of adjustment to the various parts.
Before the Wapping side was reached there were three more irruptions of the river, namely, August 23, November 3, 1837, and March 21, 1838; but in October 1840 the shaft on the Wapping shore was commenced. It differed from the Rotherhithe shaft, in being sunk the whole depth without underpinning, and was made of a slightly conical form, to reduce the friction in sinking, and had a larger quantity of iron hoops introduced into the brickwork, in order to increase its strength. When
EESUMPTION OF THE WORKS, a.d. 1835. 39
this structure liad been sunk to the required depth (70 feet), the excavation of the Tunnel was resumed, and at last the shield was brought up to the brickwork of the shaft. The operation of making the junction between the Tunnel and the shaft was one of much difficulty, but it was at length satisfactorily accomplished, and the Tunnel was opened to the public on March 25, 1843 — eighteen years and twenty- three days after the commencement of the work.'
Sir Isambard Brunei, whose health had for some time been failing, now retired altogether from his profes- sional labours. After passing a few years in peaceful and happy seclusion, surrounded by those he loved, and watched over by their affectionate care, he died on December 12, 1849, in his 81st year, having been spared to carry to completion his greatest work, and to see his son following in his footsteps with a success which must have exceeded his most sanguine expectations.
The education Mr. Brunei received from his father was well calculated to form the foundation of his future career. During the later and more arduous part of the contest, which was ended by the irruption of January 1828, he held both the nominal and actual post of Resident Engi- neer of the Thames Tunnel ; but from the commencement of the works, when he was only nineteen years old, he had been, as stated by Sir Isambard, * a most valuable coadju- tor in the undertaking.' While placed in this respon- sible position he acquired habits of endurance and of self- reliance, and learnt to act with promptitude and decision
' The Thames Tunnel was not sue- by the East London Railway Company,
cessful as a commercial undertaking; and trains now (March, 1870) run
but it has always been considered, es- through it. The possibility of using
pecially by foreigners, one of the most the Tunnel as a railway had been
interesting sights in London, and has considered in Mr. Brunei's lifetime,
been visited by several millions of and the idea was approved of by him. persons. In 1865 it was purchased
40 EAKLY LIFE.
in the application of those measures which experience had shown to be effective in each particular class of emergency. But beyond all other advantages, he had before him the example of his father's character, in which a rare degree of gentleness and modesty of disposition was joined to unflinching energy, and a determination to overcome all difficulties.
NOTE A (p. 5).
The Bourbon Suspension Bridges.^
The suspension bridges designed by Sir Isambard Brunei for cross- ing rivers in the He de Bourbon were two in number. One of them had two spans of 122 feet each in the clear, and 131 feet 9 inches between the points of suspension of the chains. The second had but one span of the same dimensions as tliose of the larger bridge. In the design of these bridges one of the most important points to be attended to, was to render them secure against hurricanes, which are both frequent and severe in the lie de Bourbon.
In the larger bridge there was a pier of masonry, built in the middle of the river up to the level of the roadway of the bridge. The suspension chains of the bridge were in three groups, i) feet 8 inches apart, so as to leave room for two roadways, each aborit 8 feet 9 inches wide. Each of these groups of chains consisted of two chains side by side. Each chain was made with long links like those of the chain cables used for moorings.
These links, which were made of iron 1'36 inch in diameter, were 4 feet 8 inches long, inside measure, and were each connected to- gether by two short coupling links, 8f inches long, inside measure, of iron 1'36 inch by 1 inch, and two pins, each two inches in diameter.
The two chains of each group were placed side by side, with the links upright; one of the pins at each joint was made long enough to serve for both chains, and, in the middle of its length between the
' This description is based on the Suspendus,'byM.'Sa.yieT (Paris, 1823,
translation given by Mr. Drewry p. 49). M. Navier saw the bridges
(Suspension bridges, London, 1832, when they were erected at ShefBeld
p. 7o), from the Mhnoirc sw les Fonts in May 1823.
THE BOUEBON SUSPENSION BEIDGES. 41
two chains, was passed through an eye at the upper end of one of the suspending rods of the bridge. Thus to every joint in each group of the main chains, or at intervals of about 5 feet, there was a sus- pending rod. These rods were 1^ inch in diameter.
The pins of the joints of the main chains had half heads at each end of them. They could thus be easily inserted in erecting the bridge, but once in place were quite secure. At every fourth joint in the main chains one of the joint pins was made in two halves, with wedges inserted between them for adjusting the length of the main chains.
Thus there Avere six chains, and as the links of these had each two parts of iron 1*36 inch in diameter, the total sectional area of the six chains was 17 '4 inches.
Each group of the main chains was supported at a height of 25 feet 6 inches above the roadway at the centre pier, and at a height of 5 feet 3 inches at each of the side piers, the lowest portion of the curve of the chain being about 1 foot below the points of suspension of the side piers.
The upright standards, carrying the chains both at the centre pier and at the side piers, consisted for each group of chains of a trian- gular framework of cast iron, strengthened by long bolts of wrought iron. There were thus three of these triangular frames parallel to each other at each of the piers, and those at the centre pier were braced together over the carriage road. The main chains were not bolted to the standards, but were slung from them by a vertical suspension link, which thus allowed them to move a little lengthways. This link, in fact, performed the function of the rollers now generally put under the saddles of suspension bridges.
The ends of the main chains Avere held by back stays, formed of bars 3 inches broad by 1^ inch thick, and 10 feet long, with joints made with short links, and 2| inch pins. The ends of those back stays were secured to holding down plates 3 feet in diameter, sunk deep in the ground and well loaded.
As there was a vertical suspension rod at each joint of the main chains, there was a suspension rod hanging from each of the three groups of chains at about every five feet of the length of the bridge. To each set of these rods was attached a cross girder of cast iron of a y section, with a large rounded bead at the lower edge of the upright web ; and connecting these imder each of the main chains was a longitudinal timber beam about 8 inches square.
The cast-iron cross girders carried longitudinal teak planking, the planks on which the carriage wheels ran being 12 inches wide and
42 EARLY LIFE.
4 inches tliick, protected at the top by wrought-iron plates running longitudinally. The horse-path was protected by iron plates arranged crosswise.
Under each span of the bridge were four chains curved upwards and also sideways. These chains were fastened at their ends into the piers, and were connected to the roadway by ties drawn up tight and attached to the main longitudinal bearers of the platform ; the object being to stiffen the platform.
These under tie chains were made each of a set of rods 1 ^ inch in diameter with eyes at their ends, the ends being connected by short joint links and 1;^ inch pins ; and to these joint links were attached the tie rods which connect these inverted chains with the platfoi-m of the bridge, and so prevented its being lifled or blown sideways by the force of the wind.
In the smaller bridge, which, as has been said, consisted of one span of 131 feet 9 inches between the points of suspension, these points were 15 feet 5 inches above the roadway, and the lowest part of the chain was 9 feet 7 inches below the points of suspension. The details of this bridge were similar to those of the larger one.
NOTE B (p. 5).
Experiments with Carbonic Acid Gas.
In 1823 Mr. Faraday made the important discovery that under certain conditions of temperature and pressure many gases could be liquefied, and that these liquids exerted great expansive force by slight additions of temperature, returning quickly with regularity and certainty to their original state upon the application of cold.
The discovery of this new force appeared of such importance, that Mr, Faraday lost no time in publishing it to the Avorld ; and Sir Isambard Brunei very soon aflerwards commenced a series of ex- periments to determine the value of the liquid gas as a mechanical agent.
The first experiments were made at Chelsea ; but the prosecution of them was soon transferred to the care of Mr, Brunei at Eotherhithe, where he devoted all his spare time to the construction of his father's proposed * Differential Power Engine.'
That the progress of this discovery, and of the experiments made
THE CAEBONIC ACID GAS ENGINE. 43
with a view to the application of the liquid gas, as a motive power, may be understood, it is necessary to state that in March 1823 Mr. Faraday communicated to the Royal Society the results of his first experiments on the liquefaction of gases.
The fluid Avas then produced by the decomposition of the hydrate of chlorine by heat in a closed tube, the amount of gas evolved being so great as to produce a pressure in the tube suiScient to condense the gas into a fluid of the same volume.
This interesting experiment was followed by others with tliat rapidity and success so remarkable in everything undertaken at that time in the laboratory of the Royal Institution ; and within a month another paper was read before the Royal Society, in which the degrees of pressure and temperature at which several gases could be liquefied were recorded, and the means employed to pro- duce and liquefy each gas accurately described.
On April 17 a third paper was communicated by Mr. Faraday, ' On the Application of Liquids produced by the Condensation of ' Gases as Mechanical Agents.'
The question is thus stated : ' The ratio of the elastic force ' dependent upon pressure is to be combined with that of the ex-
* pansive force dependent on temperature ; and the development of
* latent heat on compression and the necessity of its reabsorption in
* expansion must awaken doubts as to the economical results to
* be obtained by employing the steam of water under very great
* pressures and very elevated temperatures.
' No such doubt can arise respecting liquids, which require ' for their existence even a compression equal to thirty or forty ' atmospheres, and where slight elevations of temperature are ' sufficient to produce an immense elastic force, and where the
* principal question arising is whether the effort of mechanical
* motion is to be most easily produced by an increase or diminution ' of heat by artificial means.'
Difficulties were suggested by Mr. Faraday as to the possibility of obtaining sufficient strength in the apparatus, but the small difference of temperature required to produce an elastic force of many atmo- spheres, he considered would render the risk of explosion small.
To construct the machinery whereby this new force could be practically applied as a substitute for steam, occupied the time of Sir Isambard Brunei and his son at intervals for several years ; for although Mr. Brunei was satisfied at an early period of the enquiry that the liquefied gases could only be advantageously employed where the cost of motive force was secondary to economy of space
44 - ' EAELY LIFE.
and to the avoidance of the cumbrous apparatus required for the use of steam, still he was so impressed with the importance of the subject, if the difficulties he foresaw in its application could be overcome, that he continued his experiments for a long period with unflagging energy and perseverance.
The facts relating to the liquefaction of the gases, their elastic force when liquefied under different temperatures, the rapidity with which they could be alternately expanded and condensed, and the best mode of producing each gas, were determined by Mr. Faraday ; and as Mr. Brunei was at that time attending the morning chemical lectures at the Eoyal Institution, he was in constant communication with him, and thoroughly conversant with his experiments.
After Mr. Brunei had made a few preliminary experiments. Sir Isambard determined to employ liquefied carbonic acid gas for the motive power of the proposed new engine, the facility and cheapness of its production, its great expansive force, and its neutral cha- racter distinguishing it from any other gas ; but it was long before vessels were constructed, in which gas could be produced in sufficient quantity and purity to exert the force required to liquefy it in its own volume, for it was soon found to be impossible to obtain the required pressure with pumps.
Carbonate of ammonia and svilphuric acid were the elements used, and the generator Avas so arranged that it could be charged, emptied of atmospheric air, and the joints made perfect, before the com- mencement of the formation of the gas which was to be liquefied.
To the generator was attached a receiver, which could be sur- rounded with a freezing mixture, so that the temperature of the gas in the cylinder might be below that in the generator.
The gradual formation of the liquid, the development of its elastic force, and the regularity and rapidity with which it increased or diminished by each degree of heat or cold, were carefully Avatched through a glass gauge, and the receiver when filled with liquid could be disconnected from the generator.
The mechanical difficulties as they arose, one after the other, in the construction and arrangement of the various parts of the gene- rator and receiver were at length overcome ; and the receiver was not only filled with liquid gas, but found to be capable of retaining it, whether exerting an elastic force of 30 atmospheres at ordinary temperatures, or of ICO atmospheres when subjected to a slight degree of heat.
The receiver being satisfactorily completed, the next object of attention was the design and construction of a Avorking cylinder
THE CARBONIC ACID GAS ENGINE. 45
capable of resisting at least 1,400 lbs. pressure on tlie square inch ; a task which was one of great anxiety, as any weakness might havg caused a serious accident.
It was only after the trial of every known method of makng joints to resist high pressures had failed, that an arrangement was devised, requiring the most perfect workmanship, by which packing of any kind was dispensed with, and the cylinder fitted for use.
With the improved tools of the present day it is not easy to realise the difficulties, delays, and disappointments which forty-five years ago occurred from the failure, first of one part of a joint, and then of another ; but the construction of vessels capable of producing and also of retaining the gas in its liquid state, with the means of alternately expanding and condensing it from thirty or forty to eighty or one hundred atmospheres, having been accomplished, the object of the expenditure of so much labour and inventive power appeared to be within reach.
The construction of the machinery to utilise the elastic force con- tained in the cylinder was now proceeded with. Day by day new difficulties arose, and each as it was successfully met seemed but to leave another of greater importance to be surmounted.
It is not necessary in this Note to describe the various arrange- ments which were devised for transferring the great elastic force in the cylinder of small diameter to a piston in another cylinder of much larger dimensions ; it is sufficient to say, that after the devotion of much valuable time extending over several years, and a very large expenditure of money, and after carefully considering the cost of the liquid carbonic acid gas, the difficulty of preventing waste, and the necessarily very expensive character of the machinery, Mr. Brunei was satisfied * that no sufficient advantage in the sense of
* economy of fuel can be obtained by the application of liquefied
* carbonic acid gas as a motive power ; but so thoroughly did he exhaust the subject before he committed himself to this opinion, that no one has since renewed the enquiry or attempted to make a machine to be moved by the elastic force of liquefied gases, the construction of which, it was well known, had baffled the inventive genius of Sir Isambard Brunei and his son.
46
CHAPTER II.
THE CLIFTON SUSPENSION BBILGE. A.D. 1829—1853, ^TATis 24—48.
ORIGIN OF THE UNDERTAKING THE FIRST COMPETITION, NOVEMBEE
1829 DESCRIPTION OF MR. BRUNEl's PLANS — MR. TELFORd's DECISION
AS TIMPIKE — MR. TELFORD's DESIGN — THE SECOND COMPETITION MK.
BRUNEL APPOINTED ENGINEER, MARCH 1831 COMMENCEMENT OF THE
■WORKS, AUGUST 1836 — DESCRIPTION OF THE DESIGN — ABANDONMENT OF THE ■WORKS, 1853 — FORMATION OF A NEW COMPANY AND COMPLETION OF THE BRIDGE, 1864. NOTE: THE HUNGERFOBD SUSPENSION BRIDGE.
After Mr. Brunei liad recovered from liis accident in tlie Thames Tunnel, he went for a trip to Plymouth, where he examined with great interest the Breakwater and other engineering works in the neighbourhood. He notes in his diary that he went to Saltash, and that he thought the river there 'much too wide to be worth having a ' bridge.' This remark was no doubt made in conse- quence of his father having some years before been con- sulted as to the construction of a suspension bridge at this place, which Mr. Brunei himself, eighteen years afterwards, selected for the crossing of the Tamar by the Cornwall Railway, and built there the largest and most remarkable of his bridges.
Por the remainder of the year 1828, and during the greater part of 1829, Mr. Brunei kept himself fully em- ployed in scientific researches, and in intercourse with Mr. Babbage, Mr. Faraday, and other friends ; but he was without any regular occupation, until, in the autumn of 1829, he heard that designs were required for a suspension bridge over the Avon at Bristol, and he determined to compete.
ORIGIN OF THE UNDERTAKING. 47
This project originated in a bequest made in 1753, by Alderman William Vick, of the sum of 1,000Z. to be placed in the hands of the Society of Merchant Venturers of Bristol, with directions that it should accumulate at com- pound interest until it reached 10,000Z., when it was to be expended in the erection of a stone bridge over the river Avon, from Clifton Down to Leigh Down. Alderman Vick stated that he had heard and believed that the building of such a bridge was practicable, and might be completed for less than 10,000Z.
The legacy was duly paid to the Society of Merchant Ven- turers, and invested by them. The interest accumulated ; and in 1829, Avhen the fund amounted to nearly 8,000L, a committee was appointed to consider in what way it would be possible to carry out Alderman Vick's intentions.
An estimate for a stone bridge was procured, but as it gave the cost at 90,000L, it was evident that this scheme must be abandoned.
The committee then advertised for designs for a sus- pension bridge. Mr. Brunei, on hearing through a friend of the proposed competition, went to Bristol ; and, after examining the locality, he selected four difterent points within the limits prescribed by the instructions of the committee, and made a separate design for each of them. His plans were sent in on the day appointed, Nov. 19, 1829, with a long statement, from which the following description of them is taken.
The first design was for a bridge of 760 feet span be- tween the points of suspension, the length of the suspended floor being 720 feet. In order to obtain a height of 215 feet above high-water mark (which was the least that the levels allowed of), towers 70 feet high would have had to be built on the cliffs to carry the chains. The total length
. University or Tc;:o.;t
48 THE CLIFTON SUSPENSION BRIDGE. [a.d. 1829.
of chain, including the land-ties, was about 1,620 feet. Mr. Brunei did not approve of this design, as the situation was not favourable to architectural effect, a point to which the committee attached great importance ; but he suggested it from its being somewhat more economical in construction than his other plans.
In another design, the situation being some way farther down the river than that of the design last mentioned, towers would also have been necessary. The distance between the points of suspension was 1,180 feet, with a suspended floor of over 900 feet. It is probable that Mr. Brunei only proposed this plan because the site came within the limits of deviation, as he does not say anything in favour of it in his report.
The two remaining plans are the most interesting of the series, as there can be no doubt that, if Mr. Brunei had had his own way, he would have adopted one of them for execution ; and it appears from a little sketch on the top of one of his earliest letters from Bristol, that his first idea for the bridge was that which is carried out in these two designs. The site selected was one where the rocks rise perpendicularly for a considerable height above the proposed level of the bridge, and therefore piers and land- ties were dispensed with, the chains being hung directly from the rock. No masonry was required except for architectural effect.^
' The dimensions of these designs were as follows : —
|
(fi.) Length of floor .... |
. 890 feet. |
|
Distance between points of suspension |
. 980 „ |
|
Length of chain .... |
. 1,300 „ |
|
With a capacity to bear excessive load of . |
. 660 tons. |
|
(b.) Length of floor .... |
. 916 feet. |
|
Distance between points of suspension . |
. 1,160 , |
|
Length of chain .... |
. 1,468 „ |
|
With capacity to bear excessive load of |
. 650 tons |
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vET. 24.] ME. BEUNEL'S PLANS. 49
The principal difference between these two designs is that in the second a short tunnel is avoided at one end. The style of architecture selected for the tunnel-front and the face of the rock, as shown on the drawings sent in to the committee, is Norman. There are also extant many beautiful sketches made by Mr. Brunei for different parts of the design.'
In determining upon the mode of construction, which was the same in the four designs, Mr. Brunei acted upon the principle which guided him in all his subsequent undertakings, which was, as he states in his report, 'to ' make use of all that has been found good in similar
* works, and to avail himself of the experience gained in ' them, and to combine with all their advantages the
* precautions which time and experience had pointed out,'
He dismissed in a few words the plan of breaking the span into two or three lengths. This was in his opinion unnecessary, and he computed that the cost of a pier built up from the water's edge to sufficient height above the bridge to carry the chains, would be at least 10,000?. For this reason he recommended the adoption of spans, the smallest of which far exceeded any up to that time constructed.
In designing the chains, he dispensed with the short connecting links, which had been previously adopted in suspension bridges, introducing instead the method now universally used, of connecting each set of links directly with, the adjoining one by means of a pin passed through the holes of both. The number of joints and pins was thus reduced one half, and a considerable saving of ex- pense, as well as diminution of weight, effected.
Another improvement, which diminished still further
' On plate I. is given (fig. 1) a fac- ing sent in by Mr. Brunei for the last- simile on a smaller scale of the draw- mentioned {/>) of these two designs..
50 THE CLIFTON SUSPENSION BRIDGE. [a.d. 1829.
the weiglit of the chains, was making the links in lengths of 16 feet, or nearly double that of the longest links at the Menai bridge. The chief reason for this altera- tion was to ensure a near approximation to equality in the strains on the different links, should all the dis- tances between the holes not be exactly equal. This improvement was afterwards carried still further in the Hungerford Suspension Bridge, the links of which were 24 feet long.*
Mr. Brunei also intended to introduce equalising beams in the supports of the floor, so that each chain should bear an equal share of the load. By this arrangement, there would have been comparatively few points of suspen- sion, and * the view of the scenery would not be impeded
* from the observer being surrounded by a forest of sus-
* pension rods.'
The disturbance of the strains on the links arising from the greater expansion of the metal of the outer links by tha direct heat of the sun, he proposed to obviate by sheet- iron plates placed on each side of the chains, but separated from them by a small interval, and thus screening them from the heat. He did not, however, use this protecting covering at the Hungerford bridge.
All the designs show a camber or rise in the centre of the platform of the bridge, to the extent of two or three feet; and the main chains are brought down almost to the level of the platform. To this last arrangement, as tending to prevent undulation, Mr. Brunei attached some importance ; and he further intended to stiffen the bridge against the action of high winds by a system of transverse bracing, and by the addition of inverted chains, similar to those used with success by his father in the Bourbon bridges.'*
Such, then, were the main features of the bold and
' Sec below, p. 60. ' See above, p. 42.
;kt. 24.] MR. TELFORD'S ADVERSE DECISION. 51
carefully matured designs placed by Mr. Brunei before the committee. Out of twenty-two plans submitted, only tliose of Mr. Brunei and four otber competitors were deemed worthy of consideration. He and his friends were naturally much gratified at this, and were full of hope for his ultimate victory. But now, when he seemed to have a fair chance of success in a contest which he justly deemed would have a most important bearing upon his future professional career, an obstacle presented itself, which for the time seemed almost insurmountable ; for he met with an unexpected opponent in Mr. Telford, the foremost engineer of the day, and the designer of the famous suspension bridge over the Menai Straits.
The committee of the Society of Merchants had, not unnaturally, found themselves unable to decide upon the merits of designs for a suspension bridge, and had asked Mr. Telford to act as their adviser in the matter. Un- fortunately for Mr. Brunei, Mr. Telford was of opinion that the maximum span admissible was that of the Menai bridge, i.e. under 600 feet, and that Mr. Brunei's proposed bridge,-* though very pretty and ingenious, would most certainly tumble down in a high wind.
This decision was, of course, fatal to the success of any design which substituted one large span for two or more smaller ones, and dispensed with pillars. Mr. Brunei therefore obtained permission to withdraw his plans from the competition.
Mr. Telford then reported to the committee that none of the remaining designs were suitable for adoption with- out the introduction of such material alterations as would, in fact, constitute a new design. Whereupon the com- mittee took the only course which, under the circum- stances, was open to them, and requested Mr. Telford to prepare a design himself.
E 2
52 THE CLIFTON SUSPENSION BRIDGE. [a.d. 1829.
Mr. Bnmel was not a little disappointed at the turn matters had taken ; but, having, as he said, * smoked away *■ his anger,' he took leave of his friends at Bristol, and went for a visit to some of the principal manufacturing towns in the north.
Meanwhile Mr. Telford prepared his design, and it was exhibited in Bristol in January 1830. It consisted of a suspension bridge of three spans (the centre span 360 feet, and the side ones 180 feet each), the chains being supported at the intermediate points by tall stone piers rising from the river's banks at just sufficient distance apart to avoid interfering with the roadways on either side of the stream. The style of architecture was a florid Grothic ; and, in order to display the peculiar features of that style, the faces of the piers were covered with elaborate panel- ling, and the chains ornamented with fret-work.
This design was received with a flourish of trumpets ; numerous engravings were published, exhibiting the bridge from various points of view, and * thousands of copies * were disposed of; ' but, after a time, it would appear that the captivating effect of the Gothic belfries wore off, and that the more the citizens of Bristol looked at Mr. Telford's plan, the less they were satisfied with it; for, although it was deposited in the Private Bill Office, on application being made for an Act of Parliament, the trustees who were appointed under the Act determined to invite a second competition.
On this occasion, Mr. Telford appeared as a competitor and not as a referee, that office being filled by Mr. Davies Gilbert, sometime President of the Eoyal Society.
The site of the bridge was fixed, being that selected by Mr. Telford ; but the trustees expressly left it to the judg- ment of the competitors to decide whether there should be intermediate piers or one unbroken span.
JET. 24.] MR. BRUNEL APPOINTED ENGINEER. 53
Of tlie thirteen designs sent in, five, including those submitted bj Mr. Telford and Mr. Brunei, were reserved for further examination. On March 17, 1831, Mr. Davies Gilbert (who had been assisted by Mr. Seward) made his report. Mr. Telford's design was put aside, ' on account of
* the inadequacy of the funds requisite for meeting the
* cost of such high and massive towers as were essential
* to the plan which that distinguished individual had pro-
* posed.'
Mr. Brunei's design was placed second.* Although Mr. Gilbert reported that it presented every desirable strength and security, he saw objections to many of the details, and therefore did not recommend it for adop- tion. However, on the following day, March 18, he stated to the trustees that he had seen Mr. Brunei, and that it gave him much pleasure to state that the explanations made by Mr. Brunei had materially altered his views as to the details of the plans, which he (Mr. Gilbert) was now satisfied were quite equal to those which he had placed first, and that, considering the superiority of Mr. Brunei's design in the essential particular of strength, he should judge it preferable to any of the others.
Thereupon the trustees, * having considered Mr. Davies ' Gilbert's report, and referred to all the plans, including ' Mr. Telford's, unanimously gave the preference to Mr.
* Brunei's,' and appointed him their engineer.
Subscriptions came in but slowly, and it was not till 1836 that the works were commenced.
The first stone of the abutment on the Leigh woods or Somersetshire side of the river was laid on August 27
' The dimensions proposed in this design were as»follows : —
Distance between points of suspension . , 600 feet.
Versed sine. . . ^ . . 60 ,,
Width of roadway . . . . . 32 „
54 THE CLIFTON SUSPENSION BRIDGE. [a.d. 1836.
by the Marquis of Northampton, President of the British Association, which was then holding its meeting in Bristol. »
The span of the bridge is greater than that of Mr. Brunei's design for the second competition, but much less than the spans of the earlier designs, to which he had given the preference.'* On this point, as well as on the question of site, he had to conform to the wishes of the trustees.^ The span approved of by them necessitated the building of a very large abutment on the Leigh woods side, the height of which, from the surface of the rock to the level of the roadway, is 110 feet. Above the road- way, the tower to carry the chains is built to a height of 86 feet. On the Clifton side, the base of the tower is formed by one of the boldest of the range of St. Vincent's rocks, which here rise almost perpendicularly to a height of 230 feet above high water, and consequently a very small abutment was required. The tower on this side is 3 feet higher than that on the Leigh woods side, and the roadway has a general inclination of about 1 in 233. Mr. Brunei thought that if the roadway were level, it would have the appearance of falling towards Clifton,
' A few days before this ceremony, destine trial trip, and owing to a bend
an iron bar, 1^ inch diameter, and in the bar, the basket stuck half way,
about 1,000 feet in length, was hung and the mast of a passing steamer
across the valley from Clifton Kocks caught in the rope. The rope was '
to Leigh Down, to facilitate the works. however cut, and he was drawn back.
It was traversed by a basket pulled When the apparatus had been put to
by ropes. The first few journeys of rights, on another occasion, when Mr.
this machine were somewhat perilous. Brunei was in the basket, it got
It was intended that Mr. and Mrs. jammed, and he had to climb up the
Brunei should be the first passengers ; connecting link and get upon the bar,
but, when all was ready, one of Mr. before he could release the basket. Brunei's assistants started on a clan-
2 Span . . . . .702 feet 3 inches.
Versed sine . . . . 70 „
Roadway above high-water . . 248 „
^ Plate I. fig. 2 (p. 49), shows an elevation of the bridge according to the designs on which it was commenced.
JET. 31.] DESCRIPTION OF THE DESIGN. 55
owing to the ground there being precipitous, while on the Leigh woods side it is sloping.
He intended, in the construction of the bridge, to have followed out the ideas embodied in his report of 1829, and would have preferred to have had only one chain on each side of the bridge, and that much stronger than was usually adopted; but, in deference to public opinion, he put two chains, though he doubted if they would expand equally. * A rigid platform would in some degree pre-
* vent the unequal distribution of load thus caused, but ' he endeavoured to lessen the effect of unequal ex-
* pansion by arranging a stirrup at the top of each
* suspending rod, so as to hold equally at all times on
* both chains, and thus to cause each to sustain its
* proportion of the load.'
The road platform was to have had beneath it ' a com-
* plete system of triangular bracing, which would render ' it very stiff.'
In order to lessen the action of wind on the bridge, he brought down the main chains in the centre nearly to the level of the platform, and intended to apply the system of brace chains at a small angle to check vibration. There were, moreover, to be two curved chains lying horizontally, and attached underneath the platform, so as to resist the lateral action of the wind.^
He here introduced movable saddles to carry the chains on the top of the towers, with rollers running on perfectly flat and horizontal roller beds.^ By this arrangement no pressure except a vertical one could come on the towers.
He also devised means, by levers and hydraulic presses,
' See Mr. Bmnel's remarks : — Pro- * EoUers on an arched surface had
ceedings Inst, C. E. for 1841, pp. 78, been used previously in several 79. bridges.
66 THE CLIFTON SUSPENSION BKIDGE.
for relieving the rollers and roller beds from pressure, in the event of their requiring renewal.
Mr, Brunei ultimately determined to adopt the Egyp- tian style of architecture. His brother-in-law, Mr. John Callcott Horsley, E.A., gives the following account of the proposed designs for the towers ; —
' His conception of the towers or gateways at either
* end of the bridge was peculiarly grand and effective, as
* may be seen from his sketches still existing. They were
* to be purely Egyptian ; and, in his design, he had caught ' the true spirit of the great remains at Philie and Thebes. ' He intended to case the towers with cast iron, and, as ' in perfect accordance with the Egyptian character of ' his design, to decorate them with a series of figure sub- ' jects, illustrating the whole work of constructing the ' bridge, with the manufacture of the materials — begin- ' niug with quarrying the iron ore, and making the iron; ' and ending with a design representing the last piece of ' construction necessary for the bridge itself. The subjects ' would have been arranged in tiers (divided by simple ' lines) from top to bottom of the towers, and in the exact ' proportion of those found upon Egyptian buildings. ' He made very clever sketches for some of these pro- ' posed figure subjects, just to show what he intended by ' them. I remember a group of men carrying one of the ' links of the chainwork, which was excellent in character.
' He proposed that I should design the figure subjects, ' and he asked me to go down with him to Merthyr Tydvil,
* and make sketches of the iron processes. We accom- ' plished our journey, and all the requisite drawings for the ' intended designs were made.'
The works were commenced with the Leigh abutment, which was completed in 1840, great delay having been caused by the failure of the contractors. This misfortune
ABANDONMENT OF THE WORKS, a.d. 1853. 57
led to a large excess of expenditure over the original esti- mates. In 1843 the whole of the funds raised (amounting to 45,000 Z.) were exhausted, and there still remained to be executed the ornamental additions to the piers (the cost of which was estimated at about 4,000Z.), half of the iron work, the suspension of the chains and rods, the con- struction of the flooring, and the completion of the ap- proaches, &c., the estimate for the execution of which was 30,000Z.
Unfortunately, all efforts to raise further subscriptions were unsuccessful; and in July 1853, when the time limited for the completion of the bridge had expired, the works were closed in, and the undertaking abandoned.'
Several proposals for completing the bridge were made in Mr. Brunei's lifetime, and he took every opportunity of furthering this object, which he had very much at heart. It was not, however, till about a year after his death that the superstructure of the bridge was actually commenced.
A company was formed in 1860 by some of the prin- cipal members of the Institution of Civil Engineers, * who
* had an interest in the work as completing a monument
* to their late friend Brunei, and at the same time remov-
* ing a slur from the engineering talent of the country.' ^ Mr. John Hawkshaw, F.R.S., and Mr. W. H. Barlow, F.R.S., were appointed the engineers, and "Mr. Brunei's old friend Captain Christopher Claxton, E.N., the secre- tary. The works were carried on with vigour; and the bridge was opened with much ceremony on December 8, 1864.
The chains were brought from the Hungerford -Suspen-
' The ehiiins weiv iisod in the con- Captain Mark Iluish, at the first gene- struction of the Saltash bridge. ral meeting, August 2, 1861.
' Speech of the Chairman, the late
68
THE CLIFTON SUSPENSION BRIDGE.
sion Bridge, tlien in process of demolition. A description of the Hungerford bridge will be found in tbe note to this chapter.'
Although the Clifton bridge was not completed by- Mr. Brunei, his connection with it forms a very important passage in the history of his life. Doubtless, if he had never heard of the proposed competition in 1829, or if he had been one of the disappointed competitors, he would have found some other opportunity of making a name in his profession ; but, as a matter of fact, the Clifton bridge competition did give him the opportunity he desired, and all his subsequent success was traced by him to this victory, which he fought hard for, and gained only by persevering struggles. He never forgot the debt he owed to Bristol, and to the friends who helped him there ; and he would have greatly rejoiced to see the completion of his earliest and favourite work.
' Some re-arrangement of Mr. Brunei's design was rendered neces- sary in order to adapt the Hungerford bridge chains to the Clifton bridge, and there are three chains instead of two, as in Mr. Brunei's design. The platform is stiffened by wrought-iron girders instead of by timber trussing, and the whole bridge is stiffened trans-
versely by the wrought-iron girders at the sides, which are connected throughout by diagonal bracing. The clear width of the bridge is 30 feet, 5 feet less than originally intended. It shoidd be added, that no attempt has been made to complete the towers according to Mr. Brunei's architec- tural designs.
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69
NOTE (p. 58).
The Hungerford Suspension Bridge.
The suspension bridge which spanned the Thames at Charing Cross, on the site of the present railway bridge, was designed and constructed by Mr. Brunei between the years 1841 and 1845. It consisted of a centre span of 676 feet, and two side spans of 343 feet each. Being intended for foot passengers only, its width was 14 feet. The versed sine, or deflection of the middle of the catenary, was 50 feet. The two river piers, which still exist up to the level of the railway, and form piers of the present bridge, were of brickwork, with large footings at the bottom, so as to distribute the pressure over a considerable area. The whole structure was made hollow and as light as possible. From the level of the footway the piers were carried up as ornamental cam- panile towers, the weight of the chains being taken by four ^solid pillars of brickwork, 7 feet 3 inches square, forming the angles. Mr. Brunei introduced here many of the arrangements he had designed for the Clifton bridge. In order that the pressure from the chains might be always vertical on the piers, the saddles rested on rollers working in oil, on the level surface of a large cast-iron bed-plate. By this arrangement it was rendered possible for the chains of the land spans to leave the tower at a greater inclination than those of the middle span, so that the chains were made shorter, and as they were at a lower level where they met the abutment, there was less change in their direction at that point, and consequently less thrust on the brickwork. Freedom of horizontal motion was also secured, so that, in the case of imequal loading of the spans, the chains might accommodate themselves to the strains, and move horizontally until equilibrium was restored. At each of the land abutments the chains passed down over a fixed saddle, at an inclination, to anchorages placed at the bottom of the abutment. The brick- work under the fixed saddle was so disposed as to resist directly the thrust resulting from the change of direction between the main chains and the anchor chains. To resist any movement of the abutments, the piles on which they rested were driven obliquely, with their heads inclined from the river. These piles were very numerous, the abutments spreading out so as to cover a large
60 THE HUNGERFOED SUSPENSION BRIDGE.
area at the foundations. Nearly all the spaces between the longi- tudinal, cross, and outside walls were filled with concrete, in order that the abutments might be as massive as possible. The details of the brickwork in the piers and abutments showed Mr. Brunei's skill in the economical employment of this material. The chains were constructed so that the sectional area was proportional to the strain ; the total area at the centre was 296 square inches, while near the piers it was 312 square inches. There were four chains, two on each side of the bridge, placed one above the other, and consisting each alternately of ten and eleven links. The links were 24 feet long and 7 inches in depth, the thickness varying so as to give the requisite sectional area.
The relative diameter of pin, and proper form of the ends of the link, wer(i subjects of much consideration, and many experiments were made in order to determine these points. The fact that two specimens of iron, apparently identical in every respect, sometimes exhibit considerable difference in their breaking weights, shows that an average of a great number of experiments is required in order to test satisfactorily any proposed refinements of construction. Mr. Brunei, however, convinced himself by experiment that he had practically arrived at such a form of link and diameter of pin that the chain would have no tendency to break at one point rather than another. The links were forged with shoulders near the eyes, in order that by means of clamps the pin could be taken out and the links disengaged, if necessary.
The eflficient action of the rollers was demonstrated shortly after the completion of the bridge. On the occasion of the opening of the Corn Exchange by Prince Albert, one of the land spans was crowded with people, while the centre span was nearly empty. In consequence of this the land chains became depressed con- siderably below their normal position ; and the saddles on the top of the tower nearest to the loaded span moved horizontally on the "rollers to the extent of 3 inches ; and, when the crowd bad dispersed, they returned to their original position.
Many years after the completion of the bridge a proposal was made to widen it for carriage traffic ; but this was not carried out, and eventually the superstructure was removed, to make way for the bridge of the Charing Cross Eailway. As the Hungerford Suspension Bridge has ceased to exist, an engraving has been given of it (Plate II. p. 59), in order that some record of its appearance may remain.
61
CHAPTER III.
EARLY HISTORY OF THE GREAT WESTERN RAILWAY. A.D. 1833—1835. iETATis 27—30.
SKETCH OF THE HISTORY OF RAILWAYS IN ENGLAND PBIOB TO 1833 —
THE STOCKTON AND DARLINGTON THE LIVERPOOL AND M^VNCHESTER
THE LONDON AND BIRMINGHAM — PROPOSED RAILWAY BETWEEN LONDON AND BRISTOL MB. BRUNEL APPOINTED ENGINEER, MARCH 7, 1833 SUR- VEY OF THE LINE UNSUCCESSFUL APPLICATION TO PARLIAMENT IN 1834
SUCCESSFUL APPLICATION IN 1835 REMINISCENCES OF MR. BRUNEL,
1833-1835 — EXTRACT FROM MR. BRUNEl's DIARY, WRITTEN AT THE CLOSE OF 1835.
Before entering upon the history of the Great Western and the other railways of which Mr. Brunei was the engineer, it may be useful to give a brief sketch of the development of the railway system, previous to the period when he first became engaged in works of this descrip- tion.
The first railway in England designed for the con- veyance of general merchandise and passengers, was the Stockton and Darlington. An Act of Parliament author- ising the construction of this line was passed in 1821.
In 1823, a further Act was obtained, in which a clause was inserted, at the request of Mr. George Stephenson, then the engineer of the company, taking power to work the railway by locomotive engines, and to employ them for the haulage of passengers. This railway, which con- sisted of a single line with four sidings in the mile, was opened for trafiic on September 27, 1825. Its success
62 THE GEEAT WESTERN RAILWAY.
led at once to the promotion of similar works in other parts of the country.
Next in order must be noticed the celebrated railway- between Liverpool and Manchester. A project for con- structing a line of railway between these important towns was discussed as early as the year 1822 ; but a company for carrying it out was not formed till two years later. In 1825, the directors applied to Parliament for an Act; and after a long contest before a committee of the House of Commons, the preamble approving of the construction of the railway was carried by a majority of one. The Bill was, however, withdrawn, as the first two clauses em- powering the company to make the line, and to acquire land for that purpose, were lost.* In the following year the Act was obtained, and the works were commenced under the direction of Mr. George Stephenson. The line was opened for traffic on September 15, 1830.
In 1824, Mr. George Stephenson wrote a report on a proposed line connecting Liverpool and Birmingham. Surveys were made, and plans deposited ; but the Bill was thrown out on standing orders. A similar fate attended the introduction of a Bill in 1826. In 1830, a new line was surveyed by Mr. Joseph Locke and Mr. Rastrick, under the direction of Mr. George Stephenson. The Act was obtained in 1833, and the railway, which was called the Grand Junction, and is now a part of the London and North- Western system, was constructed by Mr. Locke.^
In 1830, surveys were commenced by Mr. Robert Stephenson for a line between London and Birmingham, and a Bill was introduced into Parliament in 1832. The
' A graphic account of this famous Lives of the Engineers, chapter xi. parliamentary contest will be found - See Mr. Smiles' Life of George
in the third volume of Mr. Smiles' Steiyhenson, p. 325.
HISTOEY OF RAILWAYS PRIOR TO a.d. 1833. 63
Liverpool and Manchester Railway had now been opened for some time, and the promoters of the Birmingham line had the advantage of being able to give in evidence the results of the working of the earlier undertaking. Those results, it is said, were such as to startle most of those who heard them. It was shown that a speed had been attained double that of the fastest stage-coach, that the cost of travelling had been diminished by one half, and that out of 700,000 persons carried since the opening of the railway, only one had met with a fatal accident. The amount of travelling between Liverpool and Man- chester had increased four-fold, and the value of the shares of the railway had risen one hundred per cent. Similar evidence was given as to the results of the working of the Stockton and Darlington Railway, and the promoters endeavoured to prove that advantages at least as great would arise from the construction of a railway between Birmingham and London. They were successful in the House of Commons; but, they failed to convince the Upper House that the benefits which such a railway would confer on the country traversed by it were sufficient to entitle its promoters to receive for it the sanction of the legislature. The Bill was again intro- duced in the following session (1833) ; and, strange to relate, it passed both Houses almost without opposition.*
Meanwhile, the principal merchants of Bristol, who had in 1825 made an attempt to get up a railway company, were urged forward, both by the inadequacy of their communications with the metropolis, and by the success of the Liverpool and Manchester Railway, to make another effort. In the autumn of 1832 a committee was formed of members of the corporation, and other public bodies of
' Sec Mr. Smiles' Lives of the Engineers, vol. iii. chap. xv.
64 THE GREAT WESTERN RAILWAY. [a.-d. 1833.
the city of Bristol, to carry out the project of a railway to London.
The first step taken by the committee was the ap- pointment of an engineer to make the preliminary surveys, and to prepare an estimate of the cost of the undertaking.
Among the candidates for the post was Mr. Brutnel. He was well known in Bristol as the engineer of the Clifton Suspension Bridge, and of the works for the improvement of the Floating Harbour. He had made many friends among the leading citizens, and they used their best exertions to procure his election; but there were several other candidates in the field who had great local interest, and the contest was a close one.
While the issue was yet undecided, an unexpected difficulty arose. Some members of the committee resolved to select their engineer by means of a competition among the candidates, as to which of them would provide the lowest estimate. Upon this being announced, Mr. Brunei declared that he must withdraw his name, as he could not consent to become a party to so objectionable a pro- ceeding. * You are holding out,' he wrote to the com- mittee, ' a premium to the man who will make you the
* most flattering promises. It is quite obvious that the ' man who has either least reputation at stake, or who ' has most to gain by temporary success, and least to lose
* by the consequences of disappointment, must be the
* winner in such a race.' Happily, this plan was aban- doned ; Mr. Brunei obtained a majority of votes, and was appointed engineer on March 7, 1833.
He commenced the survey without delay ; and in ad- dition to his strictly professional duties, he assisted in forming a committee in London, and took a leading part in the consultations which were held upon various im- portant matters connected with the general interests of the undertaking.
.TiT. 27.] PRELIMINARY SURVEYS. 65
A hasty siii'vey of the country between London and Bristol occupied him till the middle of June ; and as soon as it was completed, and the course of the line settled on, preparations were made for placing the scheme before the public.
The first public meeting was held on July 30, 1833. Mr. Brunei thus refers to it in his diary : — * Got through
* it very tolerably, which I consider great things. I hate
* public meetings : it is playing with a tiger, and all you
* can hope is, that you may not get scratched, or worse.' The result, however, seems to have been successful, and in a month's time a company was formally constituted, and the parliamentary survey commenced.
Mr. Brunei organised a staff of assistants, at that time rather a difficult task, and set them, to work on various parts of the line. His own duty of superintendence severely taxed bis great powers of work. He spent seve- ral weeks travelling from place to place by night, and riding about the country bj'' day, directing his as- sistants, and endeavouring, very frequently without suc- cess, to conciliate the landowners on whose property he proposed to trespass.
His diary of this date shows that when he halted at an inn for the night, but little time was spent in rest, and that often he sat up wi'iting letters and reports until it was almost time for his horse to come round to take him on the day's work. ' Between ourselves,' he wrote to Mr. Hammond, his assistant, * it is harder work than I like. ' I am rarely much under twenty hours a day at it.
A great portion of this labour was for the time thrown away, for as November 30 drew near, it became evident that subscriptions were not coming in to the extent which would enable the directors to lodge a Bill for the whole line in the session of 1 834.
66 THE GREAT WESTERN RAILWAY. [a.d. 1833.
The directors therefore determined to apply to Parlia- ment for powers to make a railway from London to Read- ing, and from Bath to Bristol, ' as a means of facilitating ' the ultimate establishment of a railway between London * and Bristol ; ' postponing till a future session their ap- plication for an Act to enable them to complete the under- taking by making the line from Reading to Bath.
The Bill was introduced into the House of Commons, and on March 10, Lord Granville Somerset moved that it be read a second time. This motion was seconded by the Earl of Kerry, and supported by several influential members, amongst whom were Mr. Labouchere (the late Lord Taunton) and Mr. Daniel O'Connell.
The second reading was carried by a majority of ninety in a House of 274 members.
The Bill was then referred to a committee which met on April 16, Lord Granville Somerset being in the chair. Evidence was called to prove the advantages of the railway to the agricultural and trading community of the country through which it would pass, even if only the two proposed divisions of the line were constructed.
The traffic in merchandise between Bristol and London was at this time principally carried on by means of water carriage, consisting, first of the river Avon navigation from Bristol to Bath, next of the Kennet and A.von Canal from Bath to Reading, and lastly of the river Thames from Reading to London. The evidence went to show that the distance between London and Reading, which by rail- way would be thirty-six miles, amounted by the river to nearly eighty; that the delays and impediments arising from drought, flood, and frosts on the rivers, were such as sometimes to detain barges for several weeks ; and that so great were the consequent uncertainties and inconveni- ences of this navigation, that goods which came as far
JET. 28.] HOUSE OF COMMONS COMMITTEE, a.d. 1834. 67
as Reading by the canal, M'^ere frequently sent thence to London by road, although at a great increase of expense. Even under the most advantageous circumstances, goods could not be conveyed from Reading to London in less than three days, or in less than a day by the river Avon from Bath to Bristol. It wsls therefore contended, that to form a railway w^hich should supersede, or at all events come in aid of, the worst portions of the navigation between London and Bristol, would be an important public benefit.^ The various advantages of the measure were most fully discussed in an investigation which lasted during fifty-seven days. Against the Bill was arrayed every class of opponent that a private Bill could possibly encounter. Those interested in the canals, rivers, and stage-coaches, opposed it from the fear of competition; the inhabitants of Windsor opposed it, because the rail- way did not run so near to the town as they wished ; the corporation of Maidenhead opposed it, because they thought that all the traffic which paid toll on their bridge over the Thames would be diverted to the railway ; land- owners and farmers near town opposed it, because they feared it would bring produce to London from a distance, as cheap as that supplied by themselves.
There was another very formidable class of opponents to the Bill, consisting of landed proprietors and owners of houses in the immediate neighbourhood of London.
Many engineers were called by these several opponents, to show that a more advantageous line of railway might have been selected; but, upon sifting the merits of the various new lines proposed, it became apparent that the one chosen by Mr. Brunei was the best. Indeed, although
• By mpans of the railway (it was or four hours, and from Bath to said) goods woiild be conveyed with Brif<tol in one hour, ease from London to Reading in three
r 2
68 THE GEEAT WESTERN EAILWAY. [a.d. 1831.
some ti'ifling deviations of liis Kne were suggested, the opposing engineers admitted tliat in all essential features the railway had been most skilfully laid out. It was generally agreed that the line through the valley of the Thames, and thence in a direction north of the Marl- borough Downs, was the only proper course for a railway between Bristol and London, as the levels were much better, and communication could be made with much greater ease with the northern and South Wales districts, than if the route to the south of the Marlborough Downs had been selected.
The plans proposed for entering London raised great opposition. In this respect public feeling has greatly changed, for now no railway is thought complete which has not a terminus in the heart of London ; and it is considered an advantage for houses to be within easy reach of a railway station ; but in 1834 such a neighbour was looked upon with horror and dismay — a nuisance to be, if possible, absolutely prohibited.
When Mr. Brunei commenced the survey for the London terminus, he had some idea of bringing the railway in on the south side of the Thames ; but this was abandoned, as it was found to involve very heavy works, and the line proposed in the first Bill was made to terminate on the north side of the river at Vauxhall Bridge. It was to have been carried on a viaduct 24 feet high, with a parapet 6 feet 6 inches high, to prevent the passengers looking into the windows of the neighbouring houses.
The owners of the land through which this part of the line would pass were influential members of the Upper House, and therefore the directors thought it useless to brave their opposition ; accordingly, on the thirteenth day of the hearing, they abandoned the last two miles of the viaduct, and proposed to stop at the ' Hoop and
ii:T. 29.] HOUSE OF COMMONS COMMITTEE, a.d. 1834. 69
* Toy,' a public-house near tlie site of the South Kensington Station of the Metropolitan Eailwaj.
But although the opposition of some of the landowners was conciliated hj this concession, that portion of the line through Brompton which had not been abandoned was attacked with unabated energy. The residents in Brompton opposed the Bill from the apprehension that the railway would interfere with their quiet and seclusion ; Brompton being at that time considered, at any rate by one of the counsel for the opposition, ' the most famous of any place
* in the neighbourhood of London for the salubrity of its
* air, and calculated for retired residences.' They could not, indeed, be blamed for indulging in these apprehen- sions, if they really believed in their counsel's statement that * streams of fire would proceed from the locomotive
* engines.'
Others objected to the viaduct itself as being an under- taking of so colossal a nature as hardly to be practicable ; and the supposed increase of traffic and consequent ob- struction in Piccadilly and other leading thoroughfares brought down upon the promoters the opposition of the Commissioners of Metropolitan Roads.
All these objections were made the ground of much argument in committee, and doubtless had great influence over the minds of those who voted against the Bill.
The engineering evidence occupied, as might be expected, the greater part of the forty-two days during which witnesses were examined before the committee, and of these forty-two days no less than eleven were taken up by the cross-examination of Mr. Brunei. So protracted a cross-examination has probably never been heard in any court or committee-room. One of those present thus describes it : — •
' The committee -room was crowded with landowners
70 THE GREAT WESTERN RAILWAY. [a.d. 1834.
* and others interested in the success or defeat of the Bill, ' and eager to hear Brunei's evidence. His knowledge of
* the country surveyed by him was marvellously great, and ' the explanations he gave of his plans, and the answers he
* returned to questions suggested by Dr. Lardner, showed a
* profound acquaintance with the principles of mechanics.
* He was rapid in thought, clear in his language, and never ' said too much, or lost his presence of mind. I do not
* remember ever having enjoyed so great an intellectual ' treat as that of listening to Brunei's examination, and I ' was told at the time that George Stephenson and many
* others were much struck by the ability and knowledge ' shown by him.'
In his evidence, Mr. George Stephenson stated that he did not know any existing line so good as that proposed by Mr. Brunei. 'I can imagine (he said) a better line,
* but I do not know of one so good.' ^
At length, on the fifty-fourth day of the sittings of the committee, Mr. Harrison, K.C., rose to reply on behalf of the promoters, and on the conclusion of his address the Bill was passed.
In the House of Lords the second reading was moved by Lord Whamcliffe. It was opposed, and on a division being taken, the motion was lost by a majority of seven- teen (30 content and 47 non-content). The Bill was therefore thrown out.
• During Mr. Stephenson's cross- ' Counsel. I feel the disadvantage,
examination, several questions were ' Mr. Bte'phenson. I am siire you
put to him as to the dangerous conse- ' must.'
quenees which might be expected to In other parts of the engineering evi-
result from travelling through a tunnel dence there are some statements which
a thousand yards long. At length he read strangely enough at the present
lost all patience at the ignorance dis- day, as for example the following :
played by the questions put to him by ' The noise of two trains passing in a
counsel, and the following passage of ' timnel would shake the nerves of this
arms took place : — ' assembly. I do not know such a
' Mr. Stephenson. I wish you had ' noise. No passenger would be in-
' a little engineering knowledge— you ' duced to go twice.'
* would not talk to me so.
JET. 29.] HOUSE OF COMMONS COMMITTEE, a.d. 1834. 71
The directors, undaunted by their defeat, lost no time in making preparations for bringing a Bill before Parlia- ment in the session of 1835, with such improvements as the experience of the past campaign suggested to them. Taking into consideration the various grounds on which opposition had been raised to the plans they had proposed for entering London through the Brompton district, they opened negotiations with the London and Birmmgham Railway Company, and arrangements were concluded by which the traffic of the Great Western Railway was to be carried upon the London and Birmingham line for the first four miles out of London, the junction being made a little to the west of the Kensal Green Cemetery.
They had also during the autumn raised money enough to enable them to apply to Parliament for powers to construct the whole of the line from London to Bristol. They thus escaped all the sarcastic observations which had been made upon the scheme of 1834, of which it had been said, that it would be a head and a tail without a body, and neither ' Great ' nor * Western,' nor even a ' railway ' at all, but ' a gross deception, a trick, and a fraud upon the ' public, in name, in title, and in substance ! '
On March 9, the earliest day allowed by the standing orders, the Bill was read a second time and committed. A division being taken on the motion for committal, there appeared in favour of the motion 160, and against it none but the tellers.
Shortly after its first meeting, the committee, of which Mr. Charles Russell, then member for Reading, was chairman, came to the resolution that, inasmuch as the evidence given in the previous year as to the public ad- vantages of a Bristol railway had been referred to them by order of the House, they needed no further evidence on that subject. Counsel were therefore directed to
72 THE GEEAT WESTERN RAILWAY. [a.d. 1835.
confine tlieir case as much as possible to the merits of the line proposed.
Evidence was called by the opponents chiefly with a view to show the advantages of a proposed line from Basing to Bath, and the inexpediency of granting an entirely new line of 115 miles in length to the Great Western Railway Company, which involved the con- struction of a * monstrous and extraordinary,' 'most dan- ' gerous and impracticable, tunnel' at Box, and this, when 44 miles of railwa}' in a western direction — viz. as far as Basingstoke, had already been sanctioned by the legisla- ture in the Southampton Railway Act, passed in the previous session. The promoters of the Bill contended that the levels of the Basing and Bath line were not so good as those proposed for their own, and that the Great Western Railway would approach almost every town of importance situated on the proposed Basing and Bath line, by means of short branches ; whilst at the same time it presented the great advantage of being capable of easy extension to Gloucester and Wales, and to Oxford, an object wholly unattainable by the other line. In reply to these assertions, the opponents maintained that although the levels of the Basing and Bath Railway presented greater inclinations than those of the Great Western, yet that they were so balanced as that the rises and falls compensated one for another, so as to render the line practically level. The enunciation of this theory called forth a remark by the chairman that according to this principle the Highlands of Scotland would be as good as any other place for the construction of a railway.
The preamble was voted proved, and the Bill passed the House of Commons without further opposition, and on May 27 was read a first time in the Lords. On June
XT. 29.] PAELIAMENTARY CONTESTS, a.d. 1835. 73
10, the second reading was carried after a sharp debate, the numbers being 46 contents, and 34 non-contents.
Lord Wharncliffe was chairman of the committee.' The proceedings began by an opposition on the standing orders, which, after much skirmishing, were voted to have been complied with. The promoters, however, judged from the nature of the first day's proceedings, that they had to expect a contest of no inconsiderable duration ; and the result proved their anticipations to have been correct. For forty days the battle was fought with a degree of earnestness and vigour on both sides, almost unequalled in any similar proceedings.
The committee soon came to the same decision as the House of Commons, that, with regard to the advisability of a Bristol railway, they were satisfied, and needed no further evidence. The case became then one of mere comparison between the relative merits of the two lines proposed.
The case in support of the Bill occupied eighteen days, and was closed with a speech by the Hon. John Talbot.
Mr. Serjeant Merewether, whom the opponents had chosen as their leader in the House of Lords, was then heard on their behalf, and occupied no less than four days in the delivery of his speech, in which certainly no argu- ment that ingenuity could devise was omitted to strengthen his case. There was hardly any conceivable injury which, according to the learned Serjeant's notions, the Great Western Railway would not inflict. It was said that the Thames would be choked up for want of traffic, the drainage of the country destroyed, and Windsor Castle left unsupplied with water. As for Eton College it would
' At this time the Lords' commit- sidered indecorous for peers who had tees were open to all peers who chose not attended any of the previous sit- to sit on them, and it was not con- tings to vote on the division.
74 THE GEEAT WESTERN RAILWAY. [a.d. 1835.
be absolutely and entirely ruined : London would pour forth the most abandoned of its inhabitants to come down by the railway and pollute the minds of the scholars, whilst the boys themselves would take advantage of the short interval of their play hours to run up to town, mix in all the dissipation of London life, and return before their ab- sence could be discovered. Moreover, while the beauty of the country and the retirement of private dwellings would be destroyed, the interests of the public would be far more effectually served by the adoption of the Basing and Bath line, and a line from the London and Birmingham Rail- way to Gloucester. This was in fact the point at issue, and on this the result of the contest depended. The pro- moters of the Bill had called, in support of their line, in addition to Mr. Brunei, who being engineer to the com- pany might be considered an interested witness, Mr. Locke, Mr. Palmer, Mr. Price, Mr. George Stephenson, and Mr. Vignoles. They expressed their unqualified appro- bation of the line chosen by Mr. Brunei, and of the estimates he had prepared.
The preamble was proved, and after an unsuccessful opposition the Bill was read a third time, on August 27. The E/Oyal Assent was given on the last day of that month. ^
During this contest Mr. Brunei made among his fellow- labourers many deep and lasting friendships. One of the most intimate of these friends, Mr. St. George Burke, Q.C., has, in compliance with a request made to him, furnished
" The Great Western Railway was near Kensal Green. This change of
constructed with but few deviations plan was rendered necessary <