Chapter VI: Descriptions of Some Notable Shipyards (1)

Although in the preceding chapter the main directions in which progress with respect to shipyard appliances and methods of work have been outlined, the record necessarily fails to cover many minor matters which are still essential to an appreciative view of modern shipbuilding. This want cannot better be supplied than by giving detailed descriptions of some representative shipyards and engineering works throughout the principal centres. The establishments which will be selected for notice are amongst the largest in the several districts, and on the whole represent almost all that is advanced in the shipbuilding industry, while to most of them a special interest attaches through the many high-class vessels produced from their stocks for the better-known shipping lines. On such grounds it is hoped the intelligent reader will find the choice of yards—where there was no alternative but to choose—justified and fitting. Three Clyde shipyards, two on the Tyne, one on the Wear, and one at Barrow-in-Furness, will be described. The accounts are written from authoritative information specially supplied, aided and verified by personal knowledge of the works dealt with, and are chiefly concerned with the capability and arrangement of the several yards. Other matters of a more technical nature, such as the comparison of methods of work in the several districts,[31] are not dealt with. To some extent this still differs in individual yards, but modern practice is being more assimilated throughout the districts as time goes on. The first establishment dealt with will be:—

MESSRS JOHN ELDER & CO.’S
SHIPBUILDING AND MARINE ENGINEERING WORKS,
FAIRFIELD, GOVAN, NEAR GLASGOW.

The progress of shipbuilding and marine engineering on the Clyde
may be said to include several more or less well-defined periods
or stages, and the student of industrial progress must feel
bound to connect with these the name of the late John Elder, a
distinguished leader in these important industries, and an engineer
whose improvements in the marine engine deserve to rank alongside
those improvements which James Watt effected in his day. In 1852 Mr
Elder joined his friend, Mr Randolph, in an established business,
and shortly afterwards made preparations to add marine engineering
to the mill-wright and other businesses of the firm. The new firm
speedily established itself through a series of improvements,
having for their object the reduction of fuel consumption on board
steam vessels. In 1860 the firm commenced to build ships, and as
shipbuilders and marine engineers they laboured successfully for
sixteen years, building during that period 106 vessels, with an
aggregate tonnage of 81,326 tons, and constructing 111 sets of
marine engines, showing a nominal power of 20,145 horses. At this
time the co-partnery contract expired, and Mr John Elder took
over the entire works, carrying them on with great success until
his death, which occurred in London in September, 1869, when at
the early age of 45 years. After his death the business of the
firm was taken up by Mr John F. Ure, Mr J. L. K. Jamieson, and Mr
William Pearce, all of whom had previously achieved distinction in
shipbuilding and engineering, and the efforts of these gentlemen
far exceeded the success of Mr John Elder’s first firm. In 16
years, as above stated, the latter launched 106 vessels of an
aggregate tonnage of 81,326 tons, and constructed 111 sets of
marine engines of 20,145 nominal horse-power, whereas the new
firm launched in nine years 97 vessels of an aggregate tonnage
of 192,355 tons, and constructed 90 sets of marine engines of
31,193 nominal horse-power. About six years ago Mr Ure and Mr
Jamieson retired from the firm, leaving Mr Pearce sole partner,
and during these six years the activity and enterprise formerly
characterising the firm have been worthily sustained, and the firm
has kept in the very front rank. In maintaining this position, and
achieving unprecedented results in the matter of swift steamships,
not a little credit is due to Mr A. D. Bryce-Douglas, an engineer
of well-attested skill, who wields the sceptre of authority in the
engineering section.

The works, which are situated on the south bank of the Clyde at
Fairfield, near Govan, occupy an area of about 70 acres, and
comprise shipyard, boiler shop, engine works, and tidal basin.
The disposition of the various workshops is admirable, and as
these are connected with each other by a broad gauge line of
rails communicating with all parts of the yard and the terminus
of the Govan railway, the conveyance of raw material in the first
instance, its location in whatever section of the works it may
be specially designed for, and its transmission in the form of
finished items of structure or outfit to the vessels of which it is
to form part, are all accomplished with ease.

Entering by the south-east gate, the visitor proceeds in the
direction of the business offices, his first impression probably
being one of wonder at the immense quantities of iron and steel in
plates and bars covering every available piece of ground, as well
as the great quantity of timber of all dimensions stacked and in
racks, maturing for after use. Arriving at the offices of the firm,
the visitor is probably first ushered into the draughtsmen’s rooms,
which, as well as a large reception-room, contain an extensive
collection of models of the vessels that have been constructed by
the firm. In these apartments a large staff of draughtsmen are
employed in the work of designing new vessels, and making working
drawings of ships already contracted for.

Following the routine of practical operations the visitor is
conducted to the moulding loft, which is 320 feet long by 50 feet
wide. Here the drawings of the vessels are put down full size.
The term “laying off” is applied to the operation of transferring
to the mould loft-floor those designs and general proportions of
a ship which have been drawn on paper, and from which all the
preliminary calculations have been made and the form decided. The
lines of the ship and exact representations of many of the parts
of which it is composed are delineated here to their actual or
real dimensions, in order that moulds or skeleton outlines may be
made from them for the guidance of the workmen. These lines, when
completed and carefully verified, are afterwards transferred to
scrieve boards, from which the frames, floors, &c., are bent. In
connection with the moulding loft is a pattern shop, in which the
various moulds required in “laying off” are made.

Descending to the iron-work machine shop, which measures about
1000 feet long by 150 feet wide, a scene of great activity meets
the eye. Proceeding to that section where the bending blocks are
situated, the operation of forming the frames of a vessel may
be noticed. The bending blocks are massive iron plates weighing
several tons, on which the form of the frame is marked from the
scrieve boards. All over the blocks are round holes, closely spaced
and equidistant, in which iron pins are placed to give the form of
the frame to be bent. Long bars of angle-iron, properly heated in
adjacent furnaces, are brought by the workmen to the blocks, and
there the bars are bent round the pins to the form required. The
half frame of a ship is thus fashioned to the proper form in little
more time than it takes to describe the process. It is now allowed
to cool, and it is then returned to the scrieve boards to be set
or adjusted with the reverse frame, which with the floor plate go
to make the frame in its finished form. While this is going on,
the keel blocks are being laid in the usual manner on the building
slip, and the keel, stem, and stern-posts are being forged and
drilled. The keel is laid, and the frames are then set up in their
places, and are kept in position by shores and ribbon pieces. The
stem and stern-posts are then set up, and the work now becomes
general all over the vessel. The beams previously made are put
up, the bulkheads, stringer plates, and keelsons are added in due
succession, and the outside shell is being fitted and riveted. Thus
the full and perfect form of the vessel is gradually developed,
and exhibits one of the most interesting and useful productions
of man’s labour. In the bending shop alluded to are several large
Gorman furnaces, 25 smithy fires for heating angle irons, several
sets of plate-bending rolls, five stands of vertical drilling
machines with several spindles each, a huge punching machine
capable of producing ten rivet holes at each operation, squeezers,
boring, planing, counter-sinking, plate-bending, plate planing,
numerous punching and shearing machines, and other appliances.
The motive power of this section is supplied by a powerful set of
engines lately erected by the firm.

Immediately to the front of this building are the slips, which
extend 1,200 feet along the Clyde, and admit of 12 to 14 vessels
being proceeded with at one time. While proceeding among the slips
hydraulic riveters may be observed at work on several structural
features. The attention given to such machines in the preceding
chapter makes further notice here unnecessary.

When a steamship leaves the ways she is towed into the firm’s tidal
dock to receive the boilers and machinery. With the assistance of a
pair of 80-ton sheer-legs, Messrs Elder & Co. are able to complete
this part of the construction of a vessel with wonderful despatch.
In connection with this section is a smithy and small mechanics’
shop, which are alongside of the wharf. Space will not permit a
description of the smiths’ shop, the paint shop, riggers’ loft,
plumbers’ shop, belt-makers’ shop, boat-builders’ shop, block and
pattern-makers’ shop, pattern store, general store, &c., about each
of which much of interest might be written.

The wood-working department, though stocked with the most approved
labour-saving appliances, still affords employment to several
hundreds of hands. In the saw mill, which is about 100 feet square,
there are several sets of steam saw frames, circular saws, planing
machines for operating on deck planks, and other tools, the
producing capacity of which is very large. Adjacent to this is the
spar shed, where all the spars required on board the vessels are
made.

In the joiners’ shops are numerous wood-working machines, which
are placed advantageously all through this department, comprising
planing, morticing, and moulding machines, circular and fret saws,
surface planing and jointing machines, general joiners, lathes,
and a variety of other tools from the most noted makers of this
class of mechanism. The cabinetmaker’s shop is a spacious one, and
here the finer class of interior fittings are seen in all stages
of progress. Nothing in this section seems omitted in the way of
mechanical appliances to afford the utmost facility for rapid
production and excellence of workmanship.

The marine engineering department of the business is conducted
in an imposing pile of buildings about 300 feet square. This
immense shop is 50 feet high, and is divided into four bays, or
compartments, by three spacious galleries of two floors, each
30 feet wide, and extending the entire length of the building.
These galleries serve the double purpose of supporting powerful
travelling cranes (two of which are capable of lifting loads
of 40 tons, and the other two lesser weights), and providing
convenient retreats where boilermaking, copperwork, and other
operations are conducted. It is doubtful if a similar collection
of ponderous tools is to be found anywhere else in Great Britain.
Notable among the heavy tools seen here in operation is one of
enormous proportions for planing and trimming armour plates, being
capable of smoothing a surface 20 feet by 6 feet. There are three
self-acting screw-cutting lathes, two slotting machines of great
power, a universal radial drilling machine, with a radius of 18
feet, capable of boring a hole 4 inches in diameter, through a 9
inch plate in half-an-hour; a turning lathe having a 10-ft. spindle
with a diameter of 20-ins.; a planing machine which cuts either
horizontally or vertically, and has a traverse of 15 feet by 12
feet; two vertical boring machines, each with a travel of 5 feet;
a turning lathe 8½ feet in diameter, with a 34 feet shaft; and a
terrible and mysterious-looking machine, with a metallic disc 18
feet in diameter, armed with powerful steel cutters fixed round its
circumference, which takes a shaving of 2½ inches off the mass of
iron upon which it is operating. This machine was the invention of
the late Mr Elder’s father, and is one of the most wonderful tools
in existence. Adjoining this engine shop is the forge, which, with
its 50 fires, 16 steam hammers, and all the necessary appurtenances
to produce forgings with despatch, is an exceedingly busy section
of the works. It is 300 feet long and 100 feet wide; and being
lofty, excellent ventilation is obtained.

There are three smithies of large dimensions—one being retained
for heavy work, and the others for light work. In connection
with the engine shop is a pattern shop which, like all the other
wood-working departments of the premises, is fully provided with
tools having the most modern improvements. The brass foundry is
well appointed, and is arranged in two sections—one for light, and
the other for heavy work. Manganese bronze propellers, of which the
firm make a speciality, are made here in great numbers; the monthly
output of this department amounts to 45 tons, all of which is used
up in the yard, with the exception of a number of propellers which
the firm supply to other shipbuilders.

The capabilities of the Fairfield establishment, it may readily
be believed, are of the highest order. Scarcely anything need
be said in substantiation of this, as the past few years have
witnessed the continuous production from its stocks of very many
steamships of the highest class, whose names have already become
“household words.” Of these it may be sufficient to instance the
_Arizona_, the _Alaska_, the _Austral_, the _Stirling Castle_, and
the _Oregon_. Apart from these, and perhaps no less worthy examples
of Fairfield work, vessels of war have been turned out to a goodly
extent, as well as vessels for a great variety of trades, but it is
for the fast mail and passenger steamships that the establishment
is chiefly famed. Its reputation in this respect bids fair to be
augmented by the production of the two powerful Cunard steamers
already referred to in this work, and which are now nearing
completion.

The following tabulated form shows the amount of tonnage built, and
the horse-power of engines fitted, by Messrs Elder & Co. during the
past fourteen years:—

+--------+----------+----------++--------+----------+----------+
| Years. | Tonnage. | H.P. || Years. | Tonnage. | H.P. |
| | Gross. |Indicated.|| | Gross. |Indicated.|
+--------+----------+----------++--------+----------+----------+
| 1870 | 22,795 | 18,139 || 1877 | 7,704 | 9,550 |
| 1871 | 31,889 | 29,000 || 1878 | 18,247 | 11,750 |
| 1872 | 24,510 | 22,450 || 1879 | 16,895 | 15,510 |
| 1873 | 24,829 | 18,300 || 1880 | 32,775 | 38,024 |
| 1874 | 31,016 | 16,110 || 1881 | 26,575 | 43,728 |
| 1875 | 17,818 | 12,040 || 1882 | 31,686 | 41,192 |
| 1876 | 13,533 | 16,550 || 1883 | 40,115 | 56,995 |
+--------+----------+----------++--------+----------+----------+

During ordinarily busy periods the number of operatives employed
by Messrs Elder & Co. reaches six thousand. The united earnings of
this great army of workmen amount to over £33,000 per month. As
a further indication of the stupendousness of the works, it may
be mentioned that on board a single vessel—the _Umbria_—as many
as 1,200 workmen have been employed at one time. The supervision
of affairs in this great establishment is, as may readily be
understood, a matter necessitating numerous “heads,” “sub-heads,”
and departments. The general manager in the shipyard is Mr J. W.
Shepherd, a naval architect of well-approved ability.

The second of the three Clyde establishments selected for notice, and one in many ways specially noteworthy is:—

MESSRS WILLIAM DENNY & BROTHERS’ LEVEN SHIPYARD, DUMBARTON.

The firm of William Denny & Brothers, Dumbarton, began the business
of iron shipbuilding in the year 1844, in a small yard situated
on the east bank of the river Leven. To this they subsequently
added the “Woodyard” on the opposite side of the river, which
had been occupied for a considerable period by William Denny the
elder, builder of the “Marjory,” “Rob Roy,” and many other notable
craft, during the infancy of steam navigation. The composition
of the firm at the outset comprised William, Alexander, and
Peter, sons of the builder of the “Marjory,” but it was augmented
after a time by the assumption of two other brothers, James and
Archibald. The co-partnery some time after again underwent change
when the two brothers Alexander and Archibald seceded, and formed
small yards of their own. In 1854 the firm sustained an almost
irreparable loss in the death of William, the original promoter
of the concern, to whose energy and surpassing skill most of the
success then attained was due. His decease was deeply lamented, not
only as an irreparable family bereavement, but as a public loss.
When he first devoted his energies to the formation of an iron
shipbuilding concern, it was at a time of great industrial gloom in
the community. With its successful establishment began a brighter
era in the industrial and social history of the burgh—one which has
never once been seriously interrupted, and seems only now to be
approaching the “high noon” of its prosperity. Sometime subsequent
to the decease of William, the co-partnery was further reduced
through the death of James. For a considerable time thereafter the
business was carried on by Peter alone, until in 1868 he was joined
by his eldest son William, and 1871 by Mr Walter Brock—co-partner
in the firm of Denny & Coy.: a distinct marine engineering business
established by Peter Denny and others in 1851. Within the past
three years farther accessions to the firm have been made in Mr
James Denny, son of James of the original firm, and in Messrs Peter
Denny, John M. Denny, and Archibald Denny, sons of Peter, and
younger brothers of William, who for some time has been managing
partner of the shipbuilding firm, as Mr Brock is of the engine
works.

In 1867 the firm transferred their establishment to the present
site on the east bank of the river Leven near its confluence
with the Clyde, and under the shadow of the Castle-rock, which
figures largely, alike in the scenic renown and the historic annals
of Scotland. Through a most elaborate series of extensions and
improvements carried out within the past two-and-a-half years,
the works have been enlarged to more than double their previous
dimensions, and correspondingly increased in working capability.
They occupy a total area of forty-three acres, over five acres of
which are taken up with wet dock accommodation, and as much as
seven-and-a-half acres with workshops, sheds, and roofed spaces
of various kinds. The yard has a most advantageous and extensive
frontage to the Leven, which, under the provisions of a recently
obtained Harbour Act, is being greatly improved as regards width
and deepening. The principal launching berths, eight in number,
are ranged about the centre portion of the yard’s length, and
their projections into the river Leven, favoured by a bend at this
part, are almost in the direct line of its course. Through the
recent improvements, these berths are capable of receiving vessels
of dimensions and tonnage such as the present race for big ships
has not even approached. The arrangement permits of eight vessels
being built of lengths ranging gradually from a maximum of 750 feet
downwards. Besides these principal berths, there are spaces near
the south end of the yard, where light-draught paddle-steamers and
the smaller class of screw vessels are constructed and launched, or
taken to pieces and shipped abroad. All the work of construction,
fitting out, and putting machinery on board ship, is accomplished
within the yard gates. Contributing to this result are two tidal
docks, one newly formed, of over four acres in extent, and another
of over an acre. The bottom of the new dock is 26 feet below the
level of the yard and wharfage, affording at high tide 20 feet of
water. In connection with the dock, powerful sheer-legs are being
erected by Messrs Day & Summers, of Southampton, capable of lifting
the enormous weight of one hundred tons. Alongside of the smaller
dock are a pair of sheer-legs, capable of lifting 50 tons, with
two subsidiary cranes of 10 tons each. For all purposes, either
of construction or outfit of the largest vessel, these and the
other enlarged resources place the firm in a position of entire
independence with regard to extraneous accommodation or appliances.
The engines and boilers for Messrs Denny Brothers’ vessels are
invariably supplied by Messrs Denny & Company, whose large works,
greatly extended within recent years, are situated further up the
Leven. Along the eastern boundary of the Leven Shipyard, for over
1000 feet of its length, the joiners’ shops, blacksmiths’ shops,
machine sheds, outfit stores, &c., are ranged. The joiners’ shops
are most admirable for the completeness of their appointment. They
occupy the ground floor and first flat of a three-storey building,
250 feet by 65 feet, forming part of the range spoken of. The
machines contained in these apartments are of the newest and most
approved description of both British and American make, and embrace
moulding, planing, mortising, tenoning, dove-tailing, nibbling,
scraping, and sand-papering machines; circular, band, and cross-cut
saws; also machines for decorative carving and incising, &c., the
whole being driven by a special engine of considerable power,
located near the building. A large sawmill and shed, containing
various wood-working machines, are situate close to the Leven, near
the south end of the yard, and all the wood employed in the yard
is here cut from the rough. The blacksmiths’ and angle smiths’
shops and the machine sheds are correspondingly well furnished
with the most modern appliances. The former of these contain
over fifty fires, and ten steam hammers, as well as verticals,
lathes, &c., conveniently situated. The latter are splendidly
equipped, containing several large plate rolls, planing machines,
beam-bending machines, and an assortment of multiple drills and
counter-sinking machines of the most modern type; also a large
number of punching and shearing machines, including two man-hole
punches capable of piercing 30 by 20-in. holes in plates ¾-inch
thick. The plate and frame furnace, bending block, and scrive board
accommodation throughout the yard, is of extent commensurate with
the other features above described, all of which being of recent
formation, are of the most approved and modern description.

The system of railways throughout the shipyard is of an unusually
complete description. Connection is made with the main line of the
North British Railway, and enters the yard on its north side, where
a store-yard of about two acres affords ample storage accommodation
for material in steel and iron. Leaving this and traversing the
building yard throughout, the lines of railway are designed to
permit of material being conveyed without retrocession to the
vessel of which they are to form part, but with the stoppages
necessary for their being put through the various courses of
manipulation. In addition, the yard is traversed in directions
and to situations inaccessible to the main lines of rails, by the
narrow gauge portable system, patented by M. Decauville, which is
of great service.

A special department in the establishment of Messrs Denny, and an
entirely novel feature in a private shipyard, is the experimental
tank, already referred to in the Chapter on scientific progress.
This notable section of Messrs Denny’s works may be described as
consisting of a basin 300 feet long, 22 feet wide, and containing
9 feet of water over the principal portion of its length. Around
this basin are the shops and appliances for the work which has
to be done—constructive, experimental, and analytical. This work
on the constructive side consists of making paraffine models,
which represent on an appropriate scale the ships to which the
experiments have reference; the paraffine is melted, cast in a
rough mould to the approximate shape, and afterwards faired off
by a specially-constructed and very ingenious cutting machine.
When finished the model is passed on to the second stage—the
experimental. A stationary engine draws a carriage along a railway
suspended above the water space, the carriage is accompanied by
the model, with an attachment which allows the model to move
freely, and at the same time to depend entirely for its propelling
force upon a spring carried by the carriage. The extensions of
this spring are measured and recorded automatically, so too are
the speeds, the record being made by electric pens in the form of
diagrams, on a revolving cylinder which is part of the apparatus
of the carriage. The analytical work consists of obtaining from
the diagrams the items of speed and propelling force, the relation
between which, at all speeds for which the experiments have been
made, is thus obtained. The facilities which are offered by the
tank for investigating to the utmost the laws of hydrodynamics
in so far as they affect, practically, the resistance of ships,
is thus obvious. On the facade of the tank, fronting the public
street, Messrs Denny have placed an admirably-sculptured medallion
portrait of the late Mr William Froude, of Torquay, the noted
experimentalist. Underneath is the following inscription:—“This
facade of the Leven Shipyard Experimental Tank is erected in
memory of the late William Froude, F.R.S., L.L.D., the greatest
of experimenters and investigators of hydrodynamics. Born 29th
November, 1811. Died 14th May, 1879.”

Telephonic communication having previously been established with
advantage between Leven Shipyard and the Engine Works of Messrs
Denny & Co., towards the close of 1883 a telephone exchange
system was established in the shipyard, by which means twenty-six
separate places are in communication with one another. These are
the residences of the principal members of the firm, the manager’s
house, the Levenbank Foundry, the Dennystown Forge, four stations
at the Engine Works, and seventeen stations within the shipyard,
representing in all from six to seven miles of line wire. The
electric light has already been partially introduced into the
shipyard, but steps have been taken by the firm for further
extending it to the various offices, the experimental tank, the
joiners’ shop, and the upholstery and decorators’ rooms, as well as
providing arc lamps of great power to light up the area of the yard
itself.

Besides the introduction of the electric light into their yard,
Messrs Denny have formed an electrical department in connection
with their works, which will not only be employed in arranging
and maintaining the yard installation, but will also undertake
the fitting of the electric light installations on board vessels
built in the yard. To supervise and manage this important
department—which, it may be remarked, is entirely novel as a branch
of shipyard work—the firm have engaged the services of a skilled
electrician, under whom a staff of operative electricians are
employed.

On account of the increased employment it brings to their
townspeople, and also doubtless on grounds of increased economy and
efficiency, Messrs Denny seek to overtake, as much as possible,
the entire work connected with a ship’s construction and outfit
in their own establishment. Towards the close of 1881 they began
the introduction of a department for the designing, decoration,
and furnishing of the saloons of their vessels. This department
is now of established importance in the yard, and embraces four
more or less distinct branches. Firstly, the architectural and
decorative designs of the various saloons are determined upon by
what may be called the architectural branch, under the immediate
supervision of a professionally-trained architect. The work of
practically carrying out these designs is at present entrusted to
three sections of workers. (1) The decorative department, proper,
which overtakes the painting of the various ornamental panels,
dados, friezes, &c., of the saloons, and the staining of the
coloured glass used in saloon windows, skylights, doors, &c. (2)
The carving department, in which the carved work fitted on the bow
and stern of vessels, also the numerous small pieces of carved work
introduced into the architectural arrangement of the saloons, are
overtaken. (3) The upholstery department, in which all the work
connected with upholstering the saloons and state-rooms—usually,
in other yards, made the subject of sub-contract—is overtaken
from first to last. In this branch female labour is employed to a
considerable extent, while much of the decorative painting referred
to above is also done by females. Under the guidance of a lady
artist, the employés in this branch have evinced much aptitude and
taste for the work.

Successive enlargements and increased appliances have now rendered
the Leven Shipyard capable of turning out from 40,000 to 60,000
tons of shipping per annum. The work hitherto achieved has been
almost exclusively that of steamship building, but inside of that
general limitation it has been of a varied and comprehensive
description. Steamships for many of the largest ocean and
coast-trading companies, gun-boats and transport ships for foreign
Governments, and light-draught paddle-steamers for the rivers
Volga, Danube, Ganges, and Irrawaddy, have all been furnished from
the stocks of Leven Shipyard. The accompanying list, which is of
work done during the period of the firm’s existence, viz., since
1844, affords at once an adequate conception of the large amount of
important work done for the better-known shipping companies:—

No. of Vessels. Tonnage.
British India Steam Navigation Co., 50 107,060
Peninsular and Oriental Steam Navigation Co., 15 39,171
Austrian Lloyd’s Steam Navigation Co., 16 27,191
J. & A. Allan, Glasgow, Allan Line, 11 24,530
J. & G. Burns, Glasgow, 20 21,101
Union Steamship Co., New Zealand, 19 19,700
A. Lopez & Co., Cadiz, 7 19,178
British and Burmese Steam Navigation Co., 12 18,837
River’s Steam Navigation Co., 18 10,678
Union Steamship Co., Southampton, 2 6,227
Irrawaddy Flotilla Co., 14 6,006

Adding to this record the work finished since the close of 1883
and presently on hand, the total for the British India Company
is increased to 115,960 tons; that for the Union Company of New
Zealand to 21,260, and en addition is made to the list in the
two large steamers _Arawa_ and _Tainui_, for the Shaw, Savill,
& Albion Company, which together make about 10,000 tons. The
following exhibits in tabular form the number and tonnage of
vessels built by the firm from their beginning the business of iron
shipbuilding in 1845 up to and including 1883:—

+------+--------+--------++------+--------+--------+
|Year. | No. of |Tonnage.||Year. | No. of |Tonnage.|
| |Vessels.| || |Vessels.| |
+------+--------+--------++------+--------+--------+
| 1845 | 3 | 365 || 1865 | 6 | 4,543 |
| 1846 | 3 | 252 || 1866 | 8 | 10,867 |
| 1847 | 6 | 1,007 || 1867 | 4 | 9,154 |
| 1848 | 3 | 618 || 1868 | 8 | 9,855 |
| 1849 | 6 | 2,173 || 1869 | 12 | 13,227 |
| 1850 | 5 | 1,577 || 1870 | 4 | 8,852 |
| 1851 | 5 | 1,460 || 1871 | 7 | 14,922 |
| 1852 | 5 | 6,622 || 1872 | 6 | 14,056 |
| 1853 | 7 | 5,163 || 1873 | 7 | 18,415 |
| 1854 | 5 | 4,380 || 1874 | 9 | 18,475 |
| 1855 | 6 | 5,443 || 1875 | 9 | 17,191 |
| 1856 | 7 | 7,436 || 1876 | 5 | 4,394 |
| 1857 | 5 | 2,822 || 1877 | 10 | 10,533 |
| 1858 | 3 | 5,293 || 1878 | 18 | 22,054 |
| 1859 | 5 | 5,903 || 1879 | 13 | 16,138 |
| 1860 | 2 | 1,897 || 1880 | 12 | 18,114 |
| 1861 | 4 | 8,463 || 1881 | 8 | 17,455 |
| 1862 | 5 | 4,271 || 1882 | 13 | 22,010 |
| 1863 | 9 | 9,745 || 1883 | 10 | 22,240 |
| 1864 | 13 | 11,239 || | | |
+------+--------+--------++------+--------+--------+

The firm, it may be stated, is now engaged in the construction of
their 300th vessel. Notwithstanding the work of re-arrangement and
enlargement which has been under progress for two years or more,
the work turned out during that period has been in no way behind as
compared with other periods—a fact which eloquently testifies to
the administrative ability of those in authority, and to the skill
and energy of Mr John Ward, the general manager of Messrs Denny’s
large works.

In August, 1880, the firm issued a notice to their workmen
stating that, having observed during the previous two years many
improvements in methods of work and appliances introduced by them
into the yard, they very readily recognised the advantage accruing
to their business from these efforts of their workmen’s skill, and
were desirous that they should not pass unrewarded. The notice
further stated that to carry out this desire an Awards Committee
had been appointed, which would consider any claims made by the
workmen, and grant an award in proportion to the worth of the
improvement made, the amount in no case to be more than £10, or
less than £2. The committee then appointed, and which still holds
office, was composed of well-known local gentlemen, in every way
competent to adjudicate. Fully a year later the firm announced that
in the case of an invention thought worthy of a greater award than
£10, they had empowered the Committee to grant such an award, or
were willing, in addition to giving an award of £10, to take out
at their own expense provisional protection at the Patent Office
on behalf of the inventor, so that he might either dispose of his
invention or complete the patent, provided always they had free use
of the thing patented in their own establishment. From the reports
which have yearly been issued by the committee, it is apparent
that considerable success has attended the scheme. The number of
claims made since its institution has been as follows:—In 1880, 12;
in 1881, 32; in 1882, 27; in 1883, 20; in 1884 (till July only),
91; total, 182. Awards have been granted as follows:—In 1880, 5;
in 1881, 22; in 1882, 21; in 1883, 18; in 1884 (till July only),
27; total, 93. It is worthy of note that about one-half of the
awards have been gained by workmen in the joiner’s department.
Some of their machines have been modified or altered so as to
do twice the quantity of work previously possible, some to do a
new class of work, and others to do the same work with greater
ease and safety. Four inventions have gained the maximum award
of £10, viz., (1) an improvement made on ships’ water-closet and
urinal; (2) the invention of a machine to cut mouldings imitative
of wicker work; (3) an improved arrangement for disengaging steam
and hand-steering gear on board ship; (4) an improved method of
laying the Decauville railway across the main line. In connection
with this latter invention, the patentee of the Decauville railway
system, supplemented the committee’s grant to the extent of £10. In
a note to last year’s report, the firm state that they have decided
to increase the maximum grant from £10 to £12, and the minimum from
£2 to £3; and that in the case of two men being engaged at the same
invention, should it be found worthy of an award, each will receive
at least the minimum award of £3. A still more recent announcement
states that “whenever any workman has received as many as _five_
awards from the committee, reckoning from the time the scheme came
in force, he shall be paid a premium of £20, when he has received
as many as _ten_ awards he shall be paid a further premium of
£25—the premiums always increasing by £5 for every additional five
awards received.” Already, it may be stated, four separate workmen
have received _five_ awards, and become the recipients of the £20
premium.

With regard to the employment of females in Messrs Denny’s yard,
it may be interesting to state further that the total number
generally employed throughout the works amounts to between 80
and 100. In addition to the numbers employed in the decorative
and upholstery departments, already noticed, a large contingent
are engaged in the polishing rooms, and a further number in the
drawing offices as tracers. The employment of females as tracers
in shipyard drawing offices, it may be stated, is of recent date.
The system had previously been in operation at the locomotive
works of Messrs Dübs & Co., and Messrs Neilson & Co., of Glasgow.
Having proved a success there, it has been gradually adopted by
shipbuilding and engineering firms on the Clyde, and more recently
on the Tyne. The staff in Leven Shipyard consists of 20 members,
four of whom are employed in the experimental tank department. All
the girls are selected by written competitive examination, the
subjects of examination being arithmetic, writing to dictation, and
block-letter printing. At first it was intended the girls should
simply be trained as tracers, but they displayed such aptitude that
to tracing was added the inking-in of finished drawings and the
reduction of plans from a greater to a less scale. This they do
with a very fair degree of accuracy and neatness. The experienced
members of the staff are now employed making displacement
calculations, including plotting the results to scale, centre of
buoyancy, and metacentre calculations; calculations of ships’
surface, working up and plotting of speed trial results, stability
calculations. Most of these calculations are made out on prepared
printed schedules, and the whole of the work is superintended by
a member of the male staff. In the work of calculation the girls,
it may be stated, make large use of such instruments as the slide
rule, Amsler’s planimeter and integrator. To secure clearness and
uniformity in the work of writing titles, data, scantling, &c., on
the various drawings and tracings, it was found advisable to train
the females in the art of lettering these features in a uniform
style of lettering in place of writing them. In this work they
display considerable proficiency and expertness, the results being
uniformly legible and well arranged.

Before passing from the subject of female employment in Messrs
Denny’s establishment, attention should be drawn to one fact, of
which assurances have been given by those well informed in the
matter. In no instance has the employment of females led to the
displacement of men as yard operatives. Those departments into
which females have recently been introduced are now numerically
as large as before the innovation. In some cases, indeed, the
numbers are greater than before; new avenues of labour, and
greater elaboration of the old, being the grounds of need for the
accessions.

The other establishment selected for notice from the Clyde district is:—

MESSRS J. & G. THOMSON’S
SHIPBUILDING AND ENGINEERING WORKS,
CLYDEBANK.

The business of this firm was founded in 1846, by Messrs James
& George Thomson, father and uncle respectively of the present
members of the firm. Originally the firm were engineers, but in
1851, shipbuilding operations were commenced, the yard being
then situated in the upper reaches of the Clyde. Twenty years
later the increase of the firm’s business and the demand for
better accommodation for shipping made it necessary for the firm
to take new ground. The present site at Clydebank was therefore
chosen for their shipyard, and since its formation many wonderful
transformations have been effected. It is fully twelve years
since ground was first broken. At that time there was neither
house nor railway accommodation, and the difficulties were not
easily surmountable, and it must have been determined courage and
energy that in such a short time not only formed such a large
establishment, but created a town, and introduced a railway. From
Clydebank yard, it may be needless to state, many of the most
famous vessels of the Cunard, Peninsular, and Oriental and Union
Lines have been launched. From its stocks have emanated such
well-known vessels as the _Bothnia_, _Gallia_, _Thames_, _Moor_,
_Hammonia_, and the great Cunard liner, _Servia_, while within a
very recent period another vessel—the _America_—seemingly destined
to eclipse the fame of all these other notable craft, has been
built and sent to sea.

Until about two years ago, the engineering section of Messrs
Thomson’s business was conducted at Clydebank Foundry, Finnieston,
Glasgow. It was then resolved, however, to centralise the
works, and thus save the great expense of fitting out vessels
away from the yard, as well as secure the increased facilities
offered in the management and controlling of large bodies of
workmen. This important undertaking has now been accomplished,
and the establishment, as now arranged, is equal in extent and
working capability to any other private shipbuilding concern.
The entire premises occupy about thirty-five acres of land, and
comprise building yard, tidal basin, yard workshops, and engine
and boiler works. When in full operation the establishment gives
employment to over 4,000 workmen. The yard possesses eight
building slips, laid out for the largest class of vessels, and
owing to their situation—facing the river Cart, which here joins
the Clyde—excellent facilities for the launching of vessels are
afforded.

Proceeding to describe the works more in detail, as in the case
of a personal visit, the first feature that may be noticed is
a handsome block of buildings which stands some distance from
the main entrance to the shipyard. These buildings comprise the
clerical, managerial, and naval architects’ offices; also a
spacious apartment in which are located splendidly-executed models,
and sections of the hulls, of the vessels which have been built
by the firm. Passing through the yard large quantities of the raw
material of the modern shipbuilder are observed on railway waggons,
and in sheds—including iron and steel plates, bar, T, H, Z, angle,
flat, channel, tubular, and other forms of wrought-iron. This
material is brought into the yard by railway, which forms a siding
of the North British system about a quarter of a mile distant.

The iron and steel plates are first manipulated in a large shed
open at the sides and ends, and measuring some 500 feet by 150.
Here are situated a large number of powerful machine-tools—bending
and straightening machines, punching and shearing machines,
drilling machines, hydraulic riveting machines and the like. Some
are of the largest sizes made, one punching machine being a 33-inch
gap tool. Several other machine-tools in this large shed have
special features worthy of notice, and one in particular, a flat
keel plate bending machine, must be referred to with some detail.
The machine in question was made by the Messrs Thomson themselves,
and constitutes perhaps the latest application of machinery to
shipbuilding purposes. It is supplied by hydraulic power from the
accumulator that works the riveting plant—which is on the Tweddell
system—and is composed of a number of arms resting on a horizontal
bar. The arms are raised or lowered to suit the different shapes
required, by means of a hydraulic ram placed at each end and
pressing upon the horizontal bars.

Leaving the machine-tool shed, which, by the way, is amply
provided, as indeed are the works generally, with travelling and
fixed lifting appliances, and while _en route_ for the smiths’
shop, are observed several isolated punching and shearing and other
machine-tools for special purposes, and driven by self-contained
engines or hydraulic power. The smiths’ shop is a well-arranged
workshop, 600 feet long by 60 feet wide, and contains 108 smiths’
fires, besides three furnaces at each end for heating frames
and plates, for bending and other manipulative purposes. This
department is well supplied with the mechanical contrivances of the
forge, including steam hammers of various capacities graduating
from 12 cwt. up to over one ton. There are 16 small jobbing hammers
in this shop; a massive 70-cwt. hammer of Messrs Thomson’s own
make, is used in the production of stern-posts, rudders, and heavy
forgings. The smiths’ shop is built upon excellent and somewhat
unusual principles, the roof being so constructed as to readily
admit of the egress of the smoke from the fires, thus securing good
ventilation.

An engineering and machine shop, well equipped with lathes, drills,
and other appliances, limited to the operations connected with the
production of water-tight doors, steering gears, and the like,
is next passed. In close proximity is the riggers loft, where a
large staff of workmen, with the aid of mechanical contrivances,
manipulate the rigging for the vessels nearing completion in the
dock. The firm’s well-appointed saw mills are provided with a full
complement of sawing machinery, much of it of a special and very
cleverly contrived character. One machine, for instance, is capable
of cross-cutting and ripping a log into the required sizes right
away, without the usual intermediate manipulation. The arrangements
for conveying the timber into position, and for removing it
when cut, are very complete, and eminently calculated to ensure
rapidity of production. In convenient proximity to the saw mills
are the “saw-doctor’s” quarters. The old-fashioned practice of
sharpening the teeth of the saws by hand-filing is discarded here
in favour of a more rapid and effective method of obtaining the
requisite amount of sharpness and “set.” Emery-wheels are employed
and accomplish the process with a great saving of time and labour.

Amongst the other departments with regard to which no details need
be given, yet all of which are admirably appointed, are the brass
foundry and finishing shops, where the brass castings and fittings
are prepared. The joiners’, carpenters’, and cabinetmakers’ shops
are an important and extensive branch of the Clydebank premises.
The building in which they are located measures 220 feet in
length, by 156 feet in width. Here the ordinary ship-joinery work
is undertaken, and the tasteful and magnificent furnishings, used
in the luxurious equipment of the vessels built in the yard, are
produced in great numbers. The joiners’ and cabinetmakers’ shops
are provided with a vast number of ingenious sawing, wood-working,
as well as the more ordinary joinery appliances, manufactured
for the greater part by Messrs J. M‘Dowall & Sons, Johnstone,
near Glasgow, and Fay & Son, the well-known American house. It
is noteworthy that the belting for driving the multiplicity
of machines located in this department is all conducted below
the floor: in this way a welcome freedom from obstruction, and
comparative immunity from danger, is effected.

A word may be added with regard to the engines and boilers used by
the firm for driving their machinery. During the day the most of
the machinery is driven from these main engines, the chief of which
is a 200 horse-power motor, by Messrs Tangye, of Birmingham; and
at night the principal machine tools and several of the workshops
derive their requisite motive power from the small self-contained
engines, which are attached, or are in close proximity, to them.

The engineering and boilermaking section of the works occupies
in all a space of about 12,000 square yards. The boiler shop is
a large and lofty galleried workshop, occupying an area of 4,000
square yards. It is splendidly equipped with all the most modern
appliances for accurate and heavy work. Attention may specially be
drawn to an enormous hydraulic riveter, erected by Messrs Brown
Brothers, of Edinburgh. This riveter, which is just undergoing
completion, is designed with a 6½ feet gap, and can close with
ease rivets up to 1¾ inch diameter. It is rendered necessary owing
to the tendency to greatly increase pressure since the introduction
of the triple expansion engine. An engine of 100 H.P., having a
steam accumulator, gives the necessary power for working this, and
advantage has been taken of the extra power to actuate a system of
hydraulic hoists, winches and capstans, which are being substituted
for the coal-devouring and often dangerous donkey boilers and steam
winches, usually in use for this purpose. The hoists will also be
applied to the larger latches in order to save manual labour.

When ready to be placed on board ship, the boilers are run down
to the dock by means of a tramway, in the foundations of which as
many as 600 tons of slag have been packed. The boilers are then
lifted on board and lowered to their proper place by means of
massive shear-legs, constructed by Taylor, of Birkenhead, which are
capable of lifting the enormous weight of 120 tons, and which have
a foundation composed of some 700 tons of cement.

The new engine works comprise erecting, turning, and tool shops,
smithy, brass foundry, and depot for laying castings and other
goods, also large stores. The whole cover an area of about 8,000
square yards, making, with the 4000 square yards occupied by the
boiler shop, a total area of 12,000 square yards. Machinery by
the well-known makers, Messrs Shanks, Heatherington, Harvey, and
others, of the most modern and powerful description, has been laid
down, also overhead travelling cranes, by Taylor, to lift 30 and
40 tons respectively. Railways have been introduced throughout
the shops, and a 6-ton crane locomotive lifts and deposits
castings where required. In fact, everything that the most modern
engineering skill could suggest has been introduced in order to
fit the place for turning out not only the largest class of marine
engines, but also for the saving of manual labour, and it is
expected that 50,000 I.H.P. can be turned out per annum. The entire
premises, it should be stated, are illuminated by the electric
light, partly on the “Brush” and partly on the “Swan” systems.
The vessels on the slips and in the dock are also illuminated by
electric light applied in a portable form.

Since having commenced shipbuilding operations, Messrs J. &
G. Thomson have placed as many as 200 vessels in the water,
representing an aggregate of 300,000 tons, and a gross capital
value of about £7,500,000. The position, therefore, that Clydebank
yard takes amongst the shipbuilding establishments of the United
Kingdom is certainly in the very front rank. The general manager
of the extensive works is Mr J. P. Wilson, a gentleman of extended
experience, who has before held similar posts, but none more
onerous and exacting. Amongst other of the responsible officials at
Clydebank of whom mention should be made Mr J. H. Biles, the firm’s
naval designer, occupies an important position and shares in the
credit attaching to successful work.

The three yards selected from the Clyde district have now been described, and their distinctive features enlarged upon. In passing to the notices of the yards from other districts, it may be stated that efforts will be made to avoid repetition in details that are essentially similar. The notices will be of a still more general character than those preceding, the only portions where anything like fullness may occur being those concerned with features which are not embraced in any of the Clyde yards. The most stupendous and comprehensive of the works to be noticed are those of:—

PALMERS SHIPBUILDING AND IRON COMPANY, LIMITED, JARROW-ON-TYNE.