Britain at Work
A Pictorial Description of Our National Industries

BRITAIN AT WORK. three branch clocks ; they are connected with a tidal basin by means of a lock, 700 feet long and 80 feet wide, in which are three pairs of gates. The main dock is 1,800 feet long by 600 feet wide ; each branch dock is 1,600 feet long, the centre one being 300 feet wide, and each of the others 250 feet wide. The total water area of the docks is fifty-four acres, and of the basin nineteen acres ; the depth of water in the main dock is thirty- eight feet, and in the basin at high water, spring tides, forty-five feet , and there is never less than twenty-six feet at the lowest tides. Here are to be found the largest dry docks in the world, being 850 feet long; they are enclosed and divided by six caissons, and can be emptied in one hour and a quarter by pumping out 12,000,000 gallons of water. There are twenty-four sheds, 300 feet by 120 feet, and three in the basin, and fifty-three hydraulic cranes, with a lifting power of thirty hundredweight each, capable of making a complete circuit in forty seconds The engine-house for the hydraulic system is on a massive con- crete foundation, and has a chimney shaft 120 feet high. It is fitted with three pairs of horizontal compound hydraulic engines, each pair of 175 horse-power. The hydraulic pressure is conveyed underground, through cast-iron pipes, and connects with travelling cranes, lock-gates, sluices, railway sidings, capstans, etc. The premises are lighted throughout by electric light; there are twenty-six miles of rails, and direct communication with the railway system of the United Kingdom. In addition to the clocks, this company also has extensive warehouses at Cutler Street, Crutched Friars, Commercial Road, and West Smithfield for the reception of mer- chandise of a multifarious character. The Surrey Commercial Docks are em- ployed principally in the timber and grain industries. They are situated on the south side of the Thames, in the bend of the river which divides the London Docks from the West India Docks, and have a total land area of 217 acres, and a total water area of 166 acres. 3 here are five miles of quays, seven miles of roads, and sixteen miles of alleys in yards and sheds, six timber ponds for floating timber, and 221 sheds for the storage of wood goods. These shedswill accommodate 61,500 standards — a standard — being equal to 165 cubic feet. There are nine grain warehouses, with net hold- ing- capacity of 271,000 .SW-