Engineering Wonders of the World
Volume I
År: 1945
Serie: Engineering Wonders of the World
Sider: 448
UDK: 600 Eng -gl.
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366
ENGINEERING WONDERS OF THE WORLD.
of the cable, and render it more capable of
supporting its own weight in deep water.
With recent improvements in manufacture,
this type of cable was found to bear a stress
of eight tons and to suspend eleven miles of
itself. It was, indeed, at that time generally
considered to meet all the various requirements
in the best possible way. The shore ends
had a further outer sheathing of twelve
strands, each strand containing three stout
The apparatus adopted for laying the cable
was generally similar to that previously used
in 1858, and was installed on board by the
famous firm of engineers, Messrs. John Penn
and Sons.
As it was not possible to moor so large a
vessel as the Great Eastern off the works, the
cable was cut into lengths as fast as made,
and coiled on two pontoons, whence it was
transferred to the big ship.
Fig. 9.—S.S. “VGREAT EASTERN.”
galvanized iron wires of No. 2 B.W.G.,
bringing the weight up to twenty tons per
mile.
It happened that the Great Eastern (the
conception of one of our greatest engineers,
Isambard Kingdom Brunel) had just been
completed.
This enormous craft of 22,000 tons was
eagerly secured for laying the cable in a
single length, thereby avoiding one of the
many disadvantages under
The Great the first Atlantic cable
Eastern been placed. This was,
secured. r ’
indeed, the first piece of really
useful work she (the Great Eastern) was
destined to perform.
As soon as all the cable had been shipped,
the Great Eastern, under the command of
Captain (later Sir James) Anderson,* left the
Thames on July 23rd, 1865, with a total dead
weight of 21,000 tons, and
proceeded to Foilhommerum Laying
Bay, Valencia. Here she
joined up her cable to the
shore end, landed the day previously by a
small vessel, s.s. Caroline.
The great ship then started laying the line
towards Newfoundland, escorted by two Brit-
ish men-of-war, the Terrible and the Sphinx.
On behalf of the contractors, Mr. (afterwards
* Afterwards the able managing director of tho “ Eastern ”
and Associated Telegraph Companies.