Engineering Wonders of the World
Volume I

24 ENGINEERING WONDERS OF THE WORLD. PRISING UP THE NEEDLE WITH HYDRAULIC JACKS TO GIVE SPACE FOR BUILDING THE CASING ROUND IT. Its Trans- portation. removing it, on a vessel and con- vey it to this coun- try. When this pier was about half com- pleted it was washed away in a storm, and, the soldiers being called home the Needle was left where it lay. Some years later Mehemet Ali, the first Viceroy of Egypt, offered it to George IV., who po- litely refused it. His ERECTING THE FRAMEWORK ROUND THE OBELISK. 1877 workmen removed the sand about the fallen stone, and, to the delight of those most interested, the Needle was found to be in an excellent state of preservation. Next came the arduous business of something more being necessary than a raft, as of old, for the long sea voyage which lay before it. /. long article might be written on the diflerent methods and numerous plans suggested. After careful consideration, it was decided that the simplest transpor- tation method was to surround the Needle with a casing so constructed as to form a seagoing craft of it- self. Here many diffi- culties had to be reckoned with and arranged for in ad- vance. First, there was the difficulty of launching the monument when en- cased, as it was clear that it could not be slid into the water in the usual way. Sec- ond, the bay by which the obelisk lay was successor, William IV., also declined to accept it, and it was not until the English people took up the matter, and Professor Erasmus Wilson generously offered to pay a sum of £10,000 the moment the Needle was erected in London, that definite efforts were made to transport the obelisk to London. The late Mr. John Dixon, a civil engineer, undertook the task. He was ably assisted by the late Mr. (afterwards Sir) Benjamin Baker. In July PUTTING ON THE CASING.