LETT 
 
 
 LEADING ENGINEERS 
 
 NAVAL ARCHITECTS 
 
 AS TO THE PRACTICABILITY OF CONSTRUCTING AND OPERATING 
 
 A SHIP RAILWAY. 
 
 ST. LOUIS: 
 a. I. JONES & COiVIPANY, Printers. 
 
 1882.
 
 XjETTEI^S 
 
 LEADING ENGINEERS 
 
 NAVAL ARCHITECTS 
 
 AS TO THE PRACTICABILITY OF CONSTRUCTING 
 AND OPERATING A 
 
 SHIP RAILWAY. 
 
 ST. LOUIS: 
 
 G. I. JONES & COMPANY, Fhintkks. 
 1882.

 
 -rs? 
 
 J 
 
 6> 
 o 
 
 ^ LETTERS FROM > 
 
 LEADING 
 
 ENGINEERS AND NA VAL ARCHITECTS 
 
 AS TO THE PRACTICABILITY 
 
 OF CONSTRUCTING AND OPERATING A 
 
 SHIP RAILWAY. 
 
 4 
 
 The publicjition of the following letters from the ino>>t cini- 
 
 , nent naval architects, engineers, and professional experts in 
 
 Great Britain, the United States, and other countries, should 
 
 ■% suffice to dispose forever of the question of the practicability of 
 
 '^ constructing a ship raihvaj' and of transporting loaded vessels on 
 
 ' it across the American Istliraus. They are published as they 
 
 were written, Avith the addition of an occasional biographical de- 
 
 V' tail, to further emphasize the value of their testimony. 
 
 o The very able and unanswerable letter of Sir Edward J. Reed 
 
 ^y to Admiral Ammen has already been published separately, but it 
 
 is added to this collection, and will be found at the end of the 
 
 c pamphlet. The attention of the reader is particularly directed to 
 
 it, as it discusses the subject at full length, and demonstrates in a 
 
 most convincing manner not only the entire practicability of the 
 
 ship railway, but its superior economy over every other plan of 
 
 Isthmian transit. 
 
 It will be noted that some of the letters are addressed to Sir 
 Edward Reed. They reached liim at the time when he had the 
 imi)ortant questions submitted to him In' Admiral Annnen, under
 
 4 LETTERS FROM 
 
 consideration, and are the result of his interchange of views with 
 the writers. 
 
 Nothing could add to the value and completeness of the evi- 
 dence of these letters with regard to the question at issue. They 
 are written bj- men of eminence and distinction in their profes- 
 sion, who would never lend the weight of their authority to any 
 doubtful statement, nor risk their reputations in supporting an im- 
 practicable project. Their cAidence closes finally the question 
 as to whether the ship railway is scientifically practicable. In 
 addition to these letters, the plan has received the sanction of 
 the ablest scientific journals in Europe and America, and I there- 
 fore deem it unnecessary to reply to any of the arguments that 
 have been published by othei"s against the practicability and econ- 
 omy of transporting ships across the Isthmus by rail. 
 
 Inasmuch as some doubt has been raised as to the practicability 
 of the route by misstatements of the topograph}^ of the countr}' 
 along the line, it is only necessary to refer to the letters of Don 
 Francisco de Garay, on page 18 ; of Mr. E. A. Fuertes, on page 
 31 : and of Mr. J. J, Williams, on page 28, to show the utter un- 
 reliability of such statements. All three of these engineers are 
 much more familiar with the Isthmus, through the careful surv^eys 
 which they have each made for canals and railroads across it, than 
 any other parties assuming to have knowledge of the route of the 
 ship railway. This route has not yet been definitely determined, 
 although my surveys have demonstrated the existence of two dif- 
 ferent ones, both of which are entirely practicable, and on one of 
 which there are no grades greater than one foot in a hundred, and 
 the distance over which such a grade as this is requisite will not 
 exceed one-tenth of the entire route. It is believed that additional 
 surveys will develop a still better route. James B. Eads. 
 
 St. Louis, December, 1881. 
 
 The writer of the following letter, Nathaniel Barnaby, C. B., is the 
 present Chief Constructor of the British Na^^r. 
 
 London, Octobers, 1881. 
 Dear Sir : — I was not prompt to offer you a written opinion 
 upon the part of your system of ship railwaj^ to which you told 
 me certain persons had objected, \az., the possible straining of
 
 LEADING ENGINEERS AND NAVAL ARCHITECTS. ■> 
 
 loaded ships when Ufted out of the water, and as a mere conse- 
 quence of losing the support of the water. 
 
 I saw that you had so thoroughly considered the question in all 
 its bearings, that I did not suppose any word of mine could he 
 useful to you. 
 
 I learn, however, from Sir Edward Reed, that you think other- 
 wise, and are not willing to leave any obstacles on the road to suc- 
 cess, if pains and care on your part can remoA^e them. 
 
 I note, therefore, the question vou wish to put to me, which is : 
 " Do I think the problem insoluble of constructing a car, on which 
 a fully loaded shi}) can be safely transported over such a rail- 
 way as could be built through a tolerably level country ?' ' 
 
 In reply to this, I say not onlj- that it is soluble, but that the 
 solution is, in my opinion, fairly indicated in j^our plans as laid 
 before the Committee on Inter-Oceanic Canals and shown to me. 
 
 Ships which would be strained by ordinary docking, would be 
 liable to be strained also when suspended on a car not specially 
 designed for their crazy condition ; but such ships would be still 
 mo»e strained in their ordinary sea passages. 
 I am, dear sir. 
 
 Yours faithfully, 
 
 Nath'l Barnaby, 
 Director of Naval Construction. 
 
 To Mb James B. Eads, St. Louis. 
 
 Mr. John, the writer of the following, is a Fellow of the Royal School 
 of Naval Architecture and Engineering; was, until recently, the scientific 
 adviser of the Committee of Lloyd's Register of British Sliipping, White 
 Lion Court, Cornhill, London, and is now the manager-in-chief of the 
 Barrow Ship-Building Company, which has just completed the construc- 
 tion of the Inman Steam Liner, the " City of Rome." 
 
 The fact that Mr. John was for many years the scientific adviser to the 
 Committee of Lloyd's Register of British Shipping, should not be passed 
 over without an explanation to the popular reader: The Committee of 
 Lloyd's Register of British Shipping publishes what are known as 
 "Lloyd's Rules." These state the different sizes of the various parts of 
 vessels by which they are entitled to be insured as first-class sea-going 
 ships, and unless all vessels are built in accordance with these rules they 
 are refused insurance. The duty of the scientific adviser is to investi- 
 gate all of the various strains to which vessels are liable in violent storms 
 or when stranded, and to determine, according to the length of the vessel, 
 her breadth and depth, etc., the sizes of the plates or planking, the beams.
 
 6 LETTERS FROM 
 
 ribs, floor timbers, keels, keelsons, etc., that are necessary to safely sus- 
 tain these strains. The very highest acquirements in the science of ship- 
 building are, therefore, absolutely necessary to fit a naval architect for 
 this highly important position. These rules being published, any intel- 
 ligent ship-builder, without a knowledge of the scientific principles 
 involved in ship-building, is able to build vessels which would be ranked 
 as A. 1 by the underwriters in England and the United States. 
 
 Baukow Shu'-Building Company (Limited), ) 
 Barrow-in-Fuuness, Lancashire, Oct. 6th, 1881. ) 
 
 My Dear Sir Edward: — 
 
 I have, in accordance with your request, carefully thought over 
 the question of the ship railway, and altho' the practical difficul- 
 ties of carrying it out would be great and will require the most 
 careful foresiglit and arrangement, and the most accurate calcula- 
 tions, I do not see that the problem is at all an impossible one. 
 
 The practice of lifting a ship of large size clean out of the 
 water has become an every-day occurrence. The further step of 
 lifting her to a considerable height is not a great one, especially if 
 you can start with her floating in a considerable depth of water. 
 Beyond these the conveyance of her over a railway, provided the 
 latter is moderately level and moderately straight, is a simple 
 matter which is certainl}^ not outside the reach of ciAil engineers. 
 
 We could unquestionably' do the lifting and depositing part of 
 the business, and from an engineering and scientific point of view 
 these must be the greatest difficulties. 
 
 I do not enter into the question of cost, because it would in- 
 volve an investigation of details which I have not at the present 
 moment the time for. I w-ould not, however, hesitate to go into 
 it if it was coming to immediate practical business. 
 
 Believe me, yours faithfully, 
 
 Wm. John. 
 
 Sir E. J. Reed, K. C. B.. M. P., Broadway Chambers, West- 
 minster. 
 
 George Fosbury Lyster, Esq., the writer of the following letter, is the 
 engineer-in-cliief of the Liverpool Docks, a position which he has held for 
 twenty years. He is recognized as one of the most able and conserva- 
 tive engineers in England. The docks referred to, constructed from the 
 designs of Mr Lyster, are among the wonders of the world. The Alex-
 
 LEADING ENGINEERS AND NAVAL AUCHITECTS. 7 
 
 andra Docks, opened by H. R. H., the Prince of Wales, on the 8th of Sep- 
 tember last, required seven years in their construction, and involved an 
 ■expenditure of twenty-flve million dollars. Either one of two of the 
 Alexandra Docks is capable of docking the " Great Eastern " : — 
 
 Meksey Dock Estate. ) 
 
 Engineer's Office, Dock Yakd, > 
 Liverpool, 2d November. 1881. ) 
 Dear Mr. Eads: — 
 
 In reply to your letter of the Kith iilt., referring to the several 
 interviews I have had with you dui'ing your recent visit to this 
 countiy, on the interesting subject of j'our proi)osed ship railway 
 across the Isthmus of Tehuantepee. as also to the papers which 
 you were good enough to leave with me, further illustrating your 
 opinions on the point, I have now been able to give the whole mat- 
 ter, as far as its engineering features are concerned, very careful 
 consideration, and have concluded that if the permanent way, 
 cradle arrangements, and general details are carried out in the inge- 
 nious and substantial manner you described, there will, in my judg- 
 ment, be little or no difficulty in transporting properly constructed 
 ships from sea to sea with entire convenience and safet}'. 
 
 As regards the advantages of the geographical i)osition selected 
 by you for the undertaking — not having visited the locality, I, of 
 course, am unable to give an opinion of any value on the point ; 
 but from the views you laid before me, and the reasons you urge 
 for its adojjtion. it appears to me that your arguments are unan- 
 answerable and worthy of suppoit. 
 
 Wishing you ever}^ success towards the fulfillment of this grand 
 conception, I remain. Yours very faithfully, 
 
 GE<)K(iE FOSBLKY LySTER, 
 
 C. E.. and Mem. Inst. C. E. ., Engineer-in-Chief, Liverpool Docks. 
 James B. Eads, Esq., 
 
 502 Chamber of Commerce, St. Louis. U. S. A. 
 
 Mr. John Fowler, the writer of the following letter, was consulting 
 engineer of the Egyptian Government, engineer-in-chief of the Metro- 
 politan (Underground) Railway of London, and is now constructing 
 by far the largest bridge in the world. He is a past president of the 
 Institute of Engineers in England, and a gentleman who is recognized 
 'as one of the ablest and most experienced of living engineers : — 
 
 2 QiEEX Square Place, Westminster, September 4, 188L 
 My Dear Sir : — You will be interested to know that about
 
 9 LETTERS FROM 
 
 eight years ago, wlien acting as consulting engineer to the Egyp- 
 tian Porte, I was instructed to prepare a project for the transport 
 of steamers and other vessels from one level to the other at the 
 First Cataract of the Nile. 
 
 After a very careful investigation of the alternative plajis of 
 canal and ship railway on the spot, I decided in favor of the rail- 
 way, having satisfied myself that there was no mechanical difh- 
 culty in canying ships of any size, without injurj' to themselves, 
 on a properly designed car or cradle over a solidly constructed 
 railway. Yours very truly, 
 
 John Fowler. 
 
 Capt. James B. Eads. 
 
 The distinguished writer of the following letter, Mr. E. Leader Williams,, 
 was the chief engineer of the Trent and Mersey Canal, and was the origina- 
 tor of the celebrated Anderton Lift, which unites the River Weaver with the 
 canal by means of an ingenious arrangement by which a section of the 
 canal, about 150 feet long and containing two barges and the water in 
 which they float, weighing in all about 250 tons, is raised and lowered 
 by simple hydraulic apparatus through the space of fifty feet. 
 
 This lift has been in operation for seven years without the slightest acci- 
 dent, and has given such satisfaction that the government of France has 
 ordered one of four times its capacity to connect two different levels of 
 one of the French canals, and the government of Belgium is now building 
 four similar ones of still greater capacity: — 
 
 Queen's Chambers, John Dalton St., ^ 
 Manchester, September 5, 1881. I 
 
 Dear Sir : — I consider your plan for a ship railway quite prac- 
 ticable, and that it may be developed into a sound commercial 
 enterprise. 
 
 When I first proposed to lift loaded boats vertically' fifty feet, 
 so as to pass them in three minutes from the River Weaver to the 
 Trent and Mersey Canal without locks, manj' persons considered 
 my scheme visionary. You, however, have seen the lift at work, 
 and it has now been in constant operation, without any hitch, for 
 the past seven years. 
 
 I believe that your ship railway only requires carrying out into 
 execution to prove most successful in every way. 
 Yours very truly, 
 
 E. Leader Williams, 
 
 M. Inst. C. E. 
 
 James B. Eads, Esq.
 
 LEADING ENGINEERS AND NAVAL ARCHITECTS. H 
 
 The following letter is from tlie engineer now in charge of tlie Ander- 
 ton Lift : — 
 
 Weaver Navigation, Engineer's Office, 
 NoRTHwiCH, England, October 20th, 1881. 
 My Dear Sir : — Having been for five years employed in super- 
 intending and cariying out works of various desci'iptions in ship- 
 building yards, including the construction of ships of large size, 
 and the repair of ships on hauling up slips, and having for the 
 last four years had charge of the Anderton Lift on this navigation, 
 which is used daity for raising laden barges a height of fifty feet 
 to transfer them to a canal on the upper level, I am satisfied that 
 the proposal of Captain Eads to raise ships by mechanical means 
 and convey them overland on a railway and on carriages espe- 
 cially designed for the purpose, is one which is feasible and ought 
 to succeed ; and that the strains on the hull may be more accu- 
 rately calculated and provided for on land than is possible when 
 ships are subject to the varying conditions inseparable from a sea 
 passage in stormy weather. I remain. 
 
 Yours faithfully, 
 
 Lionel B. Wells, 
 
 M. Inst. C. E. 
 Sir E. J. Reed, K. C. B., F. R. S., M. P. 
 
 Mr. Duer, the writer of the following letter, is an able civil engineer, 
 who has devoted many years of his life to the study of hydraulic appa- 
 ratus for lifting vessels : — 
 
 6 Westminster Chambers, 
 Victoria Street, London, September 2, 188 
 
 .J 
 
 Captain Eads, etc., etc. 
 
 Dear Sir : — Previous to the day on whifth I had the pleasure 
 of meeting you at Anderton, and of there explaining to j^ou the 
 details of the canal-lift, a ship railway was a subject to which I 
 had never given serious attention, and for want of proper exami- 
 nation my prejudices were not favorable to it. Since that time I 
 have, however, given a considerable amount of thought to this 
 subject, and as I have for many years been in the habit of seeing 
 ships standing out of the water on floating pontoons, and moved 
 about in all kinds of weather at the Victoria Docks, my mind
 
 10 LETTERS FROM 
 
 could easily pass to the consideration of a ship similarly mounted 
 on a carriage on land ; and when it is remembered that the ships 
 at the Victoria and other hydraulic docks remain on the pontoons 
 for days and weeks together, sometimes with their cargoes on 
 board, I feel that there ought to be no doubt as to the safety of a 
 ship at rest on a properly constructed carriage. 
 
 As all the details of the lai-ge hydraulic dock which was con- 
 structed ten years ago for the government of Bombay, were 
 entrusted to my care, and as this dock is capable of Ufting any 
 ship afloat, my experience fully justifies me in saying that the 
 lai'gest ship can be as readily- and safely placed on a carriage as a 
 small one can. 
 
 When, again, I reflect on the nature of the strains to which a ship 
 is subject at sea : the shocks that occur from the blows of heavj- 
 seas, and the large portions of the ship's surface that are at times 
 entirely out of the water, I begin to wonder why an^^ one should 
 doubt that it would be as safe or even safer on a well-constructed 
 railway than when so tossed and buffeted about in what we have 
 hitherto regarded as its proper element. As I am not acquainted 
 with railway traveling in America, I must call to your remembrance 
 the ease and comfort with which one journeys on the London and 
 Northwest'Crn Railway of England. It is not difficult on this rail- 
 way to forget altogether that one is traveling, while in a gale at 
 sea this oblivion is impossible. 
 
 As a ship is ordinarily supported in a graving-dock on keel blocks 
 with side shores placed on the altars, as the level of the water 
 in the dock falls, it must be considerably strained, as almost the 
 whole of its weight is carried on the keel ; but when the bilge- 
 blocks are carefully introduced under water while the ship is 
 afloat it must be almost, if not quite, as free from strain as when 
 in smooth water. To avoid all danger from too much weight being 
 carried on the keel, the bilge-blocks for the Bombay Dock were 
 so designed that the ship on a pontoon can, if desired, be lifted 
 entirely off its keel and the whole of its weight carried on the bilges. 
 With a system of blocking so entirely under control it is impos- 
 sible that a ship can be injured while on a good carriage on a good 
 railway, as the deck-beams must be amph* sufficient to resist any 
 outward thrust that can arise from the cargo. In a word, we ma\- 
 say, from long experience, that there is no danger or difficulty in 
 placing a loaded ship on a carriage suitable for a railway, of trans-
 
 LEADING ENGINEERS AJfD NAVAL ARCHITECTS. 11 
 
 porting that ship and cai'riage from the water to the railway ; and 
 when this is done, I am of opinion that it will not be diflScult to 
 draw it quickly and safely across the Isthmus. 
 
 These and other considerations too numerous to trouble you 
 with in a letter which has already become too long, have converted 
 me from being skeptical to having perfect confidence in the railway 
 you propose, and I hope that you may be enabled to carry out 
 your project which, while being perfectl}' practicable, so far exceeds 
 in gi-andeur anything that man has yet attempted. 
 I am, dear sir. 
 
 Yours faithfully, 
 
 SlDENGHAM DuER. 
 
 The following letter is from the distinguished civil engineers, Clark & 
 Standfield, who have had a most extensive and successful experience in 
 lifting ships. Mr. Edvvin Clark was the chief assistant of Robert Stephen- 
 son in the building of the celebrated tubular bridge over the Menai 
 Straits, and is the engineer who introduced the hydraulic vertical lift sys- 
 tem, the most notable example of this kind being at Bombay ; another, 
 of lesser capacity, at Malta ; and still another at the Victoria Docks, in 
 London, all of which works hav'e given the most perfect satisfaction : — 
 
 6 Westminster Chambers, ) 
 London, September 6, 1881. 5 
 Capt. J. B. Eads, C. E. 
 
 Dear Sir : — Referring to our interview on the subject of the 
 proposed ship railway across the American Isthmus, we new beg 
 to say that our works are likely to be so much occupied during the 
 next year that we should scarcely be in a position to execute 'Any 
 works out of England in connection with the proposed railway, 
 but we should be very happy to prepare tlie drawings for the con- 
 struction of the terminal works for lifting the vessels at the At- 
 lantic and Pacific ports. 
 
 We understand it will be requisite to transport loaded vessels of 
 the weight of 4,000 to 6,000 terns, moi'e or less, on the railway at 
 the rate of about six miles per hour, on a gradient of one or two per 
 cent, and that it will be required to raise the vessels on a railway 
 car out of the water to a variable height not exceeding 46 feet, 
 and deposit them on the rails in a time not exceeding thirty min- 
 utes. These conditions may be fulfilled in two different ways, 
 and we need not say that it is a plan in which Mr. Edwin Clark
 
 12 LETTERS FROM 
 
 has entire confidence, and in which he will take the fullest interest 
 in arranging the details. The hydraulic system would probably 
 be the most rapid but probably the more costly. At the Bomliay 
 Hydraulic Dock we have lifted weights up to 12,000 tons, with 72 
 presses, 14 inches diameter, and 3G feet stroke. The Victoria and 
 Malta Hj'^draulic Docks have been many years in constant opera- 
 tion. 
 
 At the canal lift at Fontinettes we employ presses with rams, 
 6 feet 7 inches in diameter, with a oO-feet stroke. Each of these 
 presses will raise a dead weight of 1,000 tons through a height 
 of about 50 feet, in three minutes. The weight lifted is a movable 
 portion of the canal, about 132 feet long, containing the water 
 and a" barge floating in it. This work is now in course of con- 
 struction for the French government, and it is to be erected near 
 St. Omer, in France, and we are now designing a set of four sim- 
 ilar canal lifts for the Belgian government, in which the weight 
 raised will be somewhat larger. It is evident that a few presses 
 such as these would more than accomplish the work required. 
 
 Our ordinary depositing dock, similar to that at Sebastopol, 
 which raises vessels of (>,000 tons, would also meet the require- 
 ments of the case very satisfactorily. We are now constructing 
 a second of these docks, of 10,000 tons, for the Russian govern- 
 ment at Vladivostok, and a third, of 3,000 tons, for the Barrow 
 and Railway Company, at Barrow-in-Furness, to be after- 
 wards increased to 5,000 tons. We have designed one of these 
 docks for the Italian government, to raise iron-clads of 15,000 
 tons' weight with a lift of 30 feet. There would be no difficulty 
 in modifying the proportions so as to render it suitable for a lift 
 of 46 feet, and this form of dock raises the vessels out of the 
 water and deposits them on a gridiron stage in a most convenient 
 manner for railway transport. 
 
 It will probably depend to a great extent on their relative cost 
 as to which of these systems may be adopted, and we shall be 
 prepared at any time to go into the necessary calculations, and 
 render every assistance in our power towards the accomplishment 
 of the great work in which you are engaged. 
 
 We apprehend no difficulty in perfecting the necessary details 
 of the plans so as to insure the safe transportation of the largest 
 loaded ships on the railway cars with absolute safety. 
 
 We remain, dear sir, yours faithfully, 
 
 Clark & Standfield.
 
 LEADING ENGINEERS AND NAVAL ARCHITECTS. 13 
 
 The writers of the following letter are the contracting engineers who 
 constructed the Anderton Lift and the hydraulic docks at Malta and at 
 Bombay. The execution of these works was so satisfactory as to prompt 
 the most flattering testimonials in their behalf: — 
 
 Heatox Founduy, Stockport, October 1, 1881. 
 
 Jamks B. Eads, Esq., C. E. 
 
 My Dear Sir : — When you are i-eady to commence the con- 
 struction of your ship railway, we shall be pleased to undertake 
 the building and completion of the necessary works for placing 
 the ship, with her cargo, on the railway track, ready for attaching 
 the locomotives to her, and after transport across the Isthmus to 
 lower her safely again until she is afloat. A lifting apparatus will be 
 required at each side of the Isthmus which will lift or lower ships 
 as required. This portion of the work we are fully prepared to 
 execute with the greatest promptness, on the same terms on which 
 we built the hydraulic docks at Bombay and Malta, and the An- 
 derton Canal Lift in Cheshire. 
 
 We have no hesitation in guaranteeing the lifting of a fully 
 loaded ship or steamer of 8,000 or 10,000 tons' weight on a rail- 
 way car from the sea or harbor level to that of your permanent 
 way in 30 minutes, with absolute safety to the ship and the works 
 where the lift is not over 50 feet vertically. We will undertake to 
 construct all the plans and works necessary to do this at each end 
 of your line, and complete everything ready for attaching the loco- 
 motive to the car on which the ship is to be lifted and transported ; 
 this car, or any number of them, we will furnish also. 
 
 The locomotives and railway construction are not in our line ; 
 ))ut if it were a matter of importance to cover, in addition, the 
 construction of the locomotives, turn-tables, etc., and ten miles of 
 railway, as proposed by you to the United States, we have no 
 iloubt we could unite with us some other responsible parties en- 
 gaged in that kind of works, to execute them and guarantee the 
 safe transportation of the loaded ships of the weight menl;ioned, 
 over the railway. VerN' truly yours, 
 
 Emmerson, Murgatroyd & Co. 
 
 The following letter is from W. Pearce, Esq., who is the sole proprie- 
 tor of John Elder & Company's works, Govan, Glasgow. These 
 works are so celebrated that it is only necessary to say that a great many
 
 14 LETTERS FROM 
 
 of the finest and largest steamers trading between New York and Great 
 Britain were constructed in them : — 
 
 Fairfield Works, 
 
 GrOVAN, NEAR GLASGOW, 26th AugUSt, 1881. 
 
 My Dear Sir Edward : — 
 
 In replying to the letter enclosed in your note to me of the 
 17th inst., I would observe that the constant use of iron floating 
 docks proves that the largest ships, including heavy armour clads, 
 may be lifted out of the water without any damage, and also that 
 loaded ships may be lifted upon the same conditions as if they 
 were put into a graving-dock loaded. 
 
 I am of opinion, from what I know of the working of iron 
 floating docks that I have designed and built, that iron steamers of 
 4,000 to 5,000 tons' displacement may be docked, loaded, without 
 any injury whatever. 
 
 It is also m}' opinion that a ship railway for vessels of this 
 size may be constructed and worked successfully, pi'ovided the 
 land is solid and the line moderately level, 
 
 I remain, my dear Sir Edward, 
 
 Yours faithfully, 
 
 Wm. Pearce. 
 
 Sir E. J. Reed, K. C, B,, M, P. 
 
 The writer of the following letter, Mr. B. Baker, is the partner of 
 Mr. John Fowler, C. E., and is recognized as one of the ablest engineers 
 in London : — 
 
 2 QiEEN Square Place, 
 Westminster, September 13, 1881. 
 Dear Captain Eads : — 
 
 As you are aware, I have during the past twentj'^ years had 
 occasion to consider, in conjunction with Mr. Fowler, many novel 
 problems, and amongst them the transport of laden vessels by rail 
 and by pontoon. One project elaborated by us Avas a ship-incline 
 at the First Cataract of the Nile, and another was a ship-canal 
 from Alexandria, through Cairo, to Suez. The latter project 
 involved the elevation of the largest ocean steamships high and 
 dry on shallow pontoons for the purpose of passing them across 
 the Nile at low summer level. Political jealousies alone have
 
 LEADING ENGINEERS AND NAVAL ARCHITECTS. 15 
 
 delayed the execution of this work. English and French cajjital- 
 ists are still prepared to find the required £10,000,000, and ship- 
 owners to entrust their laden vessels to the pontoons. 
 
 Whether a ship be placed on a railway car or on a pontoon will 
 obviously not affect the question of the safety of her being lifted 
 high and drj^ when fully laden. When critics have expressed to me 
 their opinion that a ship would be injured by so doing, I have 
 invited them to condescend to a little more detail, and to point out 
 which bottom plate would be bulged, which frame bent, which 
 l)utt-joint opened, and why? The general laws affecting the streugtli 
 of materials apply to iron and steel ships as to other metallic 
 structures, and in order to s1k)w that any of the above injuries 
 could result, I have satisfied myself, by long and careful investi- 
 gation, it is first necessary to assume either criminal negligence or 
 a singularly badly designed car. In other words, apart from all 
 practical experience in dry docks and elsewhere, it can be theoret- 
 ically demonstrated that a vessel which would not break up at sea 
 in an ordinary gale, would not be injured by transport in a well- 
 constructed car, on a suitably formed railway. 
 
 With reference to the latter point I am prepared to admit that a 
 railway which may be all that could be desired for the high-speed 
 transit of an articulated railway train, is not necessarily suitably 
 formed for the transport, at comparatively low speeds, of a long, 
 rigid car and ship. Elasticity is one of the chief desiderata in the 
 first case. while perfect immobility is the most important in the sec- 
 ond. In rock cuttings perfect immobility is clearly at once attaina- 
 ble, by simply laying the steel rails direct on the rock and holding 
 them down by spikes driven into oak trenails fixed in holes dnlled 
 in the rock. This may, perhaps, appear a bold and novel experi- 
 ment to some engineers, but it is nothing of the sort. About thir- 
 ty-five years ago a i)ortion of the Leeds and Manchester Railway 
 was so laid, the cast-iron chairs being spiked directly to the rock ; 
 and the system, though necessarily too hard and rigid for fast 
 trains, proved quite satisf actor}' for slow-speed traffic. In ordi- 
 nary cuttings through soft soil, immobility would, in my opinion, be 
 best attained by reverting to the old plan of stone block sleepers, 
 and bedding them in a continuous foundation of concrete hud 
 under each rail. In the case of embankments, special precautions 
 would be required to attain immobility. I miderstand tliat the 
 banks will be formed of the material taken from the rock cuttings,
 
 16 LETTERS FROM 
 
 and nothing better for the purpose could be desired. It is neces- 
 sary, however, to remember that the voids in a rubble bank consti- 
 tute about thirty to forty per cent of the whole contents, and that 
 such banks are liable for some years to considei-able and unequal 
 settlement, unless these voids are previously filled with smaller 
 materials. At Alderney Breakwater, for instance, although the 
 rubble mound was allowed three years to settle before the masonry 
 superstructure was commenced, the latter sunk about six feet into 
 the mound, in places. In my own practice, I have found that all 
 settlement is obviated if a proper proportion of sand and gravel 
 or quarry rid be tipped with the rubble, and the bank be watered 
 liberally as it is brought up. If you adopt this plan, and take the 
 additional precaution of running a twenty-ton steam road roller a 
 few times along the line of each rail-bed preWous to putting on 
 the concrete foundation for the stone block sleepers, you will, I 
 have no doubt, attain as perfect immobility on the banks as else- 
 where. 
 
 It will be self-evident to most persons that ship-owners would 
 much prefer to entrust their ships to a special roadway, as true 
 and inflexible as a lathe-bed, than to an ordinary elastic railway, 
 the truth of which would be dependent upon the care bestowed by 
 the plate-layers in packing the sleepers. The saving in main- 
 tenance is also self-evident, for with good 80 pound steel rails 
 spiked to 2 feet square by 1 foot. thick stone sleepers bedded upon 
 a continuous layer of Portland cement concrete 2 feet 6 inches 
 wide by 1 foot thick, the road should not require touching for ten 
 years. Some engineers may doubt the propriety" of dispensing 
 with the elastic timber sleepers and bedding the rails direct on 
 stone and concrete, therefore it may be well to say a few words 
 on that point. 
 
 Firstly, I would quote the following opinion of Stephenson, 
 expressed at the Inst, of C. E, long ago, at the time when about 
 one-half of the railways in this country were laid with stone blocks 
 and the other half with wooden sleepers : ' ' Stone blocks suffice 
 for a railway for the conveyance of heavy minerals at a speed of 
 about twelve miles an hour ; ' ' indeed, he thought ' ' a stone block 
 road offered less resistance than a timber sleeper road, and with 
 these slow trains resistance is a very important object." 
 
 Again, I would draw attention to the fact that the result of our 
 experience with tramways, subject to the enormous wear and tear
 
 LEADING ENGINEERS AND NAVAL ARCHITECTS. 17 
 
 of London traffic, is the adoption of a deep-flanged rail bedded 
 direct npon a solid concrete foundation without the interposition 
 of any elastic medium. 
 
 Finally, I would mention that aliout three years ago stone blocks 
 were re-introduced on a heavily worked mineral line in Cornwall 
 with entire success and with the cordial api)roval of the govern- 
 ment inspectors. The cost of maintenance has proved to be 
 light, and it is found that with the modern tj'pe of foot rail prop- 
 erly fished, the fastenings no longer work loose as in the old block 
 roads, and the railway, for all practical purposes, is as noiseless 
 as the best maintained timber sleeper lines. 
 
 I have explained at some length what I understand by the term 
 a suitably formed railway, because I am of the opinion that the 
 success of your novel and difficult undertaking will depend upon 
 attention to details. I am further of opinion that ship-owners are 
 entitled to demand that the shij) railway shall be something far 
 more solid and immobile than an ordinary railway, even though 
 the weight upon the car wheels be no more than usual. With this 
 principle admitted, the public, I feel sure, will have full confidence 
 in your ability to carry your project to a successful conclusion. 
 Yours faithfully, 
 
 B. Baker. 
 
 Captain Eads. 
 
 Mr. Francis Elgar, the writer of the following letter, is a Fellow of the 
 Royal School of Naval Architecture, and was until recently general man- 
 ager of Earle's Ship-building and Engineering Co., and is a naval archi- 
 tect of recognized abilities : — 
 
 Broadway Cha>ibers, Westminster, 
 London, S. W., 29th August, 1881. 
 My Dear Sir: I have carefully considered the letter from 
 Capt. J. B. Eads, of which 3'ou sent me a copy, respecting the 
 practicability of raising loaded vessels out of the water, and 
 transporting them by railway over a tolerably level country with 
 safety. 
 
 1. As to raising a fully loaded ship out of the water: It is 
 
 surely practicable to arrange for doing this without risk of injuiy 
 
 to a well-built ship. Vessels more or less fully laden have been 
 
 occasionally docked in a dry dock in this country in emergencies, 
 
 2
 
 18 LETTERS FROM 
 
 and more frequently abroad ; and thej^ have also been lifted out 
 of the water by hydraulic appliances such as the hj^draulic dock 
 at Malta. Ships of war, with bottoms much weaker and less 
 adapted for enduring the strains of docking than ordinary mer- 
 chant vessels, have also been docked with all their principal 
 weights, such as armor, guns, stores, etc., onboard. When one 
 sees the rough way in which iron steamers are sometimes docked 
 and slipped without injury when light, but with engines and boil- 
 ers on board, and the small amount of support they get during the 
 process, there can be little question of their being able to stand 
 the strain of docking or lifting out of the water with a full cargo, 
 if me^is are devised for doing it by which the bottoms and bilges 
 and some portions of the sides will be well supported. 
 
 2. As to transporting a loaded vessel by railway over a tolerably 
 level country, I see no reason to prevent rails being laid and a 
 cradle constructed to run upon it that will carry a loaded ship at a 
 moderate speed through the country without risk of injur}-. The 
 cradle will require to be arranged so that the bottom of the ship 
 shall receive continuous support over as much of its surface as 
 possible, and it should be practicable to do this so that any strain- 
 ing caused by this railway transport will not exceed that met with 
 by ships under the other conditions of their employment. 
 I am, dear sir. 
 
 Yours very faithfully, 
 
 Fkan. Elgak. 
 
 Sir E. J. Reed, K. C. B. , M. P. 
 
 Don Francisco de Garay, the writer of the following, has been made a 
 member of the Legion of Honor by the French government as a recogni- 
 tion of his eminent abilities as a civil engineer. He is at present en- 
 gineer of the Valley of Mexico, and was sent by the Mexican government 
 to the canal convention at Paris in 1879. 
 
 Mexico, September 22, 1881. 
 Dear Sir : — I have been greatly surprised to read in a news- 
 paper that Captain Phelps had stated that Mr. McAlpine had 
 informed him that ' ' your engineer ' ' had selected a route for the 
 ship railway which involved a cutting in one place 800 feet deep. 
 As I am the engineer referred to, I feel myself bound to rectify
 
 LEADING ENGINEERS AND NAVAL ARCHITECTS. 19 
 
 this gross error, without being able to understand how such a 
 great mistake has been made. 
 
 By the profile of my line (of which you have a copy) it can 
 be seen that the deepest cutting exists at Banco IVfarques, on 
 the western slope of the hills that line it on that side the Pass of 
 Chivela. That cut is 312 feet maximum depth, but the ridge that 
 it divides has only 2,500 feet in thickness. 
 
 I have felt also some surprise at reading Mr. McAlpine's letter 
 to Admiral Ammen, dated June 3rd. I have not the pretension 
 to refute Mr. McAlpine's criticisms, but I must give some explana- 
 tions about the location of the railway line that I made. in the 
 Isthmus. That line for the present is oulj' a study ; it may be 
 modified, but on the whole I think that it is in the right place. It 
 comprises the most diflScult part of the route. It has been traced 
 with the transit and the level right across the mountain ridges by 
 the Chivela Pass, in a single straight line, from the suberb of San 
 Bias, near Tehuantepec, to the borders of the Chichihua River, in 
 a distance of 40 miles. The country is very rough, but owing to 
 the geological formation of the soil, the work of excavation and 
 filling will be easy. The dividing ridge between the two oceans 
 in the Isthmus runs east and west. The nucleus of the range is 
 formed of blue limestone, covered by a formation of shale that has 
 been upheaved, and which constitutes the lower parallel hill i-anges, 
 with very steep slopes. 
 
 The line which I have run cuts all the ranges alniost perpendic- 
 ularl}^ forming numerous peaks, very difficult of access for the 
 engineer, but most convenient for blasting, as well as for the solid 
 establishment and drainage of the way. In all the distance sur- 
 veyed by me, from the Chichihua to Tehuantepec, there is no 
 change of line. In Tehuantepec, or near it, there must be a turn- 
 table to direct the railway to the Bay of Salina Cruz, or to the 
 Upper Lagoon. I must here observe that I have never proposed 
 to carry the railway across the coast range to Shipehua Bay. On 
 the contrary, on mj'^ return to Tehuantepec from the Pacific coast, 1 
 gave it as my opinion to Mr. ^Ic Alpine (on l)eing asked by him), 
 that no railway could be conveniently carried across the Sierra 
 Alta range, and that the best and only way to reach Shipehua was 
 by Salina Cruz, and thence following the coast, tunneling through 
 all the promontories that divide the bays. With a ship railway 
 even that line is impossible.
 
 20 LETTERS FROM 
 
 Now with regard to grades : I have no grade on my line above 
 two per cent, and for no greater distance than two and a half miles. 
 The ascent to the summit, as well as the descent, are constant, 
 but divided in different short sections. 
 
 To resume what we have said, we see: — 
 
 1st. That the line traced and located by our commission for 
 the present is only a study, that may be improved and perhaps 
 even abandoned for a better line, if, in subsequent surveys, more 
 favorable ground is found. 
 
 2d. That such, as it has been traced and located, the line from 
 the Pacific to the Chichihua River, has only one break in a dis- 
 tance of fifty miles. 
 
 3rd. That in all the line there is no grade greater than two per 
 cent, and in no greater distance than two and a half miles. 
 
 4th. That the greatest cutting is 312 feet in maximum depth, 
 and 2,500 feet in length. 
 
 5tli. And finally, that the results obtained hav6 demonstrated 
 the entire practicability of the ship railway, which was the main 
 object for which tlie commission was sent to the Isthmus. I have 
 no dou.bt that 3^ou will be able to answer the objections that Mr. 
 McAlpine makes to your plans. For my part, I am quite satisfied 
 with his final declaration, as he admits the whole question in his 
 statement that the ships cannot be carried at a greater speed than 
 one mile an hour over the railway. This would he only six days 
 from sea to sea, by the route of Tehuantepec, and would even then 
 be a saving of time and distance between the east and west coast 
 of "North America over any other line by Nicaragua or Panama. 
 Besides, we must not forget that when the Liverpool and Manches- 
 ter road was opened, a speed of sijf miles an hour was considered 
 almost impossible; to-day, on the same railway, the trains run 
 sixty miles an hour. If we begin with one mile on the ship rail- 
 way, before long we will run ten or fifteen. 
 
 Although most of the data put in this letter were already known 
 to you, I have thought it proper to set them again before your 
 eyes, hoping that they may be of use to you. 
 
 Yours very truly, 
 
 Francisco de Garay. 
 
 Tt) James B. Eads. 
 
 The writer of the following, William Sooy Smith, is an American
 
 LEADING ENGINEERS AND NAVAL ARCHITECTS. 21 
 
 engineer of great experience and ability. lie designed and constructed 
 some of the most important railroads and bridges in tiie United States, 
 and lie is now in cliarge of the tunnel under the Hudson River, which 
 was placed in his care after the occurrence of the frightful accident at 
 that work in 1880: — 
 
 New York, July 15, 1881. 
 Captaix James B. Eads. 
 
 Dear Sir: — As part of the designs of a canal around Niagara 
 Falls on the American side, which I made in the year 1857, I 
 planned a ship railroad to carry vessels navigating the Western 
 lakes down the side of what is called the mountain, near Lewiston. 
 
 The study given to the subject at that time convinced me of 
 the entire practicability of moving ships of the largest size over 
 land safely, expeditiously, and economicall}-. This conviction has 
 been strengthened b}^ all the investigations and observations made 
 upon the subject ever since. 
 
 I was told by learned Greeks in Athens that their countrymen 
 built and used a ship railway to transfer ships across the Isthmus 
 of Corinth long before the Christian era. 
 
 Ship railways on a small scale have long been in successful 
 operation, both in this countrj' and Europe, and anyone who has 
 seen the large ocean steamers now in use launched, cannot fail to 
 pass by an easy transmission from the very cheap and temporary 
 ' ' waj^s ' ' which carry them so easily into the water, to a well- 
 constructed railway with a suitable number of firmly-built tracks, 
 over which these steamers with their cargoes can be hauled rapidly 
 and safelv. 
 
 I should be sorry to doubt that the mechanical skill of our 
 country will prove equal to the task of planning and building 
 such a road, and all the necessary appurtenances, in the way of 
 cradles, to carry ships of the largest size, and traction engines to 
 haul them. This will be but the larger development of a system 
 which is already in successful operation — and such larger devel- 
 opment the needs of the present demand. 
 
 I believe you can work it out, and I think you have selected the 
 best possible place in which to prove it both practicable and prof- 
 itable. You have my best wishes for tlie success of your great 
 ship railway. Very truly yours, 
 
 William Sooy Smith.
 
 22 LETTERS FROM 
 
 The following is from one of the oldest and ablest constructors in the 
 United States Navy : — 
 
 Orange, New Jersey, January 22, 1881. 
 Mr. James B. Eads. 
 
 Dear Sir : — I have watched with great interest the efforts you 
 are making to establish communication between the Gulf of Mexico 
 and the Pacific Ocean for sea-going vessels by means of a ship 
 railway. In this effort I hope you will have success. With a 
 substantial road-bed for your railwaj^, on the easy grades across 
 Tehuantepec, which, I understand, do not exceed one or two feet 
 in the hundred, there can be no mechanical difficulty in the way 
 of transporting loaded ships b}'^ railroad ^with entire safety to the 
 vessel, whether they be built of wood or iron. With a sufficient 
 number of rails on the road-bed, and a sufficient number of wheels 
 to distribute the weight in the manner proposed by you, the trans- 
 portation of a fully loaded vessel without straining her hull will 
 be assured. The speed with which 3'ou can move the vessel will 
 depend entirely upon the size and number of your locomotives. 
 What weight and power they should possess to move the largest 
 vessels used in commerce at a speed of ten miles an hour, over 
 your maximum grades, is a matter which experienced railroad 
 engineers will be able to deteimine with great accuracy. 
 
 The ship railway plan possesses the advantage of more rapid 
 transit for the vessels, and its capacity could easily be increased 
 to meet the future wants of commerce. 
 Very truly yours, 
 
 Edward Hartt, 
 United States Naval Constructor. 
 
 The following is from another United States naval constructor, of rec- 
 ognized ability and talent: — 
 
 Philadelphia, February 7, 1881. 
 James B. Eads, Esq., Washington, D. C. 
 
 Dear Sir: — Ha\ang carefully examined the plans and papers, 
 pertaining to your proposed ship railway across the Isthmus of 
 Tehuantepec, I do not hesitate to say that in my judgment there
 
 LEADING ENGINEERS AND NAVAL ARCHITECTS. 23 
 
 will be no difficulty whatever in transporting, in the manner you 
 propose, any properly built vessel with absolute safety. 
 
 Your railway will possess one quite important advantage over 
 the ordinary canal, and that is, that the vessel's bottom, propellor, 
 etc., can be examined, and, if necessary, cleaned in transit, and 
 repairs of whatsoever nature can be made wherever it is practi- 
 cable to construct suitable sidings, transfer- tables, shops, etc., 
 more economically, other things being equal, than in a dry-dock. 
 
 Your well-known skill as a scientific and practical engineer is a 
 sufficient guarantee that this great undertaking will receive careful 
 consideration in every detail, and that it will be a success, both 
 as an engineering achievement and a financial investment. 
 
 Wishing you all the success possible, I remain 
 
 Your obedient servant, 
 
 H. L. FeunaLd, 
 Naval Constructor, U. S. N. 
 
 The following is from the distinguished engineer who is President of 
 the Mississippi River Commission: — 
 
 New York, January 21, 1881. 
 James B. Eads, Esq., Washington, D. C. 
 
 Dear Sir : — I have to acknowledge the receipt of your note of 
 the 17th instant, relating to your project of a ship railway across 
 the Isthmus of Tehuantepec. 
 
 In my judgment the construction of a ship railway across the 
 Mexican Isthmus, in general accordance with your plan, is not only 
 feasible as an engineering problem, but the successful maintenance 
 and operation of such a road is entirely practicable as a business 
 enterprise. This assumes that your engineers will find a route of 
 suitable alignment and grades, a question of prompt and easy 
 solution, upon which your information is much greater and better 
 than mine. 
 
 In pushing forward this great project, I wish you that full 
 measure of complete success which your will, energy, and prestige 
 as an engineer are so well calculated to command.- 
 
 Very respectfully, your obedient servant, 
 
 Q. A. GiLMORE, 
 
 Lieut. -Col. Engineera, Brevet Major-Gen.
 
 24 LETTERS FROM 
 
 The following is a letter written by Mr. Henry Flad, a distinguished 
 civil engineer, President of the Board of Public Worlcs in St. Louis : — 
 
 To E. W. Fox, Esq., Publisher Exporter and Importer^ St. 
 Louis, Mo. 
 
 Dear Sir : — In reply to your request that I give my views in 
 regard to the ship railroad proposed by Captain James B. Eads, I 
 beg to state my opinions : — 
 
 First. That the first cost of the construction of a ship railroad 
 will not be one-fourth of that of a ship" canal. 
 
 Second. That a ship railroad can be constructed in probably 
 one-third of the time required to construct a canal. 
 
 Third. That ships can be transported on such a railroad with 
 absolute safety, and with the same dispatch as through a canal. 
 
 Fourth.. That the cost of maintenance will be less for a railroad 
 than for the canal. 
 
 Fifth. That although the cost of transferring ships by railroad 
 will exceed that of passing them through a canal, the difference 
 will be insignificant compared with the saving of interest on the 
 first cost. 
 
 Sixth. That the ship railroad will, therefore, offer a safer and 
 better investment for capital. Very respectfully^, 
 
 Henry Flad, C. E. 
 
 Mr. 0. Chanute, the accomplished and experienced civil engineer, who 
 is superintendent of the Erie Railway, says in a letter to me : — 
 
 " I am much pleased to find in this morning's Tribune your very 
 able and clear presentation for a scheme for a marine railway across 
 the Isthmus ; the rather as I gave some attention to the subject 
 myself nearly a year ago, and reached conclusions almost identi- 
 cal with yours, as 'to the feasibility and general features of the 
 project. * * * I gee ^q reason why the railway should not 
 be worked at ten miles per hour, and assuming it to be sixty miles 
 long, why a steamer can not be transferred from ocean to ocean 
 in twelve hours. " 
 
 The following is a letter addressed to me by Commodore R. W. Shu- 
 feldt, U. S. N., the accomplished officer who surveyed the Isthmus of 
 Tehuantepec : — 
 
 Washington. D. C, January 21st. 
 Mr. James B. Eads, Washington, D. C. 
 
 Dear Sir: — I forward to you with great pleasure, an extract of
 
 LEADING ENGINEERS AND NAVAL ARCHITECTS. 25 
 
 a letter from Commodore Farquhar, commanding United States 
 
 ship •' Quinnebaug," at present at Alexandria, Egypt. 
 
 ******* 
 
 " I am of the opinion that Tehuantepec possesses the best route 
 for transit. I do not see why a railroad capable of carrying a ship 
 could not be built, and why the long slopes of our route should 
 not be best. The fact of a harbor twenty-five miles long, on the 
 Atlantic side, is of the utmost importance, more so than the one 
 on the Pacific shore, because that is almost always a weather shore 
 in that latitude." 
 
 I send 3'ou the extract as a disinterested opinion of an accom- 
 plished naval ofl3cer, not only as to the advantages of the route 
 of Tehuantepec, but as to the practicability of a ship railway across 
 the Isthmus. Veiy truly yours, 
 
 R. W. Shufeldt, U. S. N. 
 
 The well-known and able civil engineer, Colonel C. Shaler Smith, in a 
 letter last year, said of the ship railway, to the editor of the Exporter and 
 Importer: — 
 
 The engineering problems involved have all been solved on a 
 smaller scale in the construction of various works in this country 
 and in Europe during the past thirty years, and the adaptation of 
 these tried and proved principles of mechanical design to the case 
 
 in hand is by no means diflftcult. 
 
 * * * * * * * 
 
 It will be a serious reflection on the enterprise of American 
 capitalists, the science of American engineers, and the patriotism 
 of our statesmen, if foreign capital and foreign skill are to per- 
 form the work of severing our continents, and then pocketing the 
 profits of an enterprise most of the cost of which must eventually 
 be paid by our citizens in the shape of tolls upon our bi-oceanie 
 coasting trade. 
 
 The following is from a member of the Mississippi River Commission, 
 formerly State Engineer of Louisiana, and an engineer of acknowledged 
 ability : — 
 
 New Orleans, February 9, 1881. 
 Dear Captain : — Your letter of February 3rd, in answer to mine, 
 is just received after " accidents by flood and field." The most
 
 26 LETTERS FROM 
 
 terrific gales on record have destroyed many miles of our Eastern 
 railroad connections. I wish we had as stable a transit as your 
 inter-oceanic railway project promises to give. I h^ive followed 
 carefully the development of the designs of this enterprise with 
 increasing confidence in their practicability and correctness. It 
 seems to me to have the great merits of excluding the necessarily 
 uncertain elements in the estimate for any canal ; of relying upon 
 the experience of successful engineering works differing from this 
 only in magnitude ; of aA^oiding a direct and dangerous conflict 
 with natural obstacles, such as the damming or diversion of water- 
 courses, the control of floods, etc. ; of latitude in choice of 
 location pesulting in stability and economy ; of facility and rapidity 
 of construction, maintenance, and repair, and of an easy extension 
 of capacity proportioned to an increased trade. These points, 
 together with its extremely favorable geographical location, give 
 the ship railway, in my judgment, a decided advantage over other 
 plans for Isthmus transit. I shall impatiently wait for the first 
 through train>. Very truly, 
 
 B. M. Harrod. 
 
 The following is from Mr. T. C. Clarke, of the firm of Clarke, Reeves & 
 Co., one of the most able and successful railroad and bridge engineers in 
 the United States : — 
 
 ' ' I am desirous that my opinion should be put on record that 
 your ship railway is practicable to construct, and can be main- 
 tained as easily as any other railway having as large a tonnage ; 
 and that vessels of four thousand tons can be carried across with- 
 out injury to themselves or their cargoes." 
 
 The following is from Gen. G. T. Beauregard, formerly a member of 
 the United States Corps of Engineers : — 
 
 New Orleans, January 25, 1881. 
 My Dear Sir: — I take pleasure in communicating to you, in 
 as few words as possible, my views relative to the practicability 
 and economy of a ship railway across the Isthmus of Tehuantepec. 
 I feel no hesitancy in saying that I see no diflSculty in construct- 
 ing a railway strong enough to carry out the object referred to. 
 It is only a question of the strength of the cradle to hold the ship,
 
 LEADING ENGINEERS AND NAVAL ARCHITECTS. 27 
 
 and the division of weight on a sufficient number of i-ails and 
 wheels, which can certainly be accompUshed by any engineer of 
 al)ility and ingenuity. 
 
 As to the danger a loaded ship would incur in being transported 
 on a smooth and well-built railway, it is all imaginary, for it would 
 be well braced and ' cushioned in a strong car or platform, 
 supported by spiral steel springs on a very large number of 
 wheels which, being separate from each other, could be easily 
 replaced if broken during the trip. Moreover, the breaking of 
 one or a few of them out of so many would not endanger the rest. 
 
 With regard to the economy of such a ship railway, I would 
 remark that the tonnage carried over it being moved entirely by 
 machinery, and the ratio of paying cargo to dead weight being 
 much greater than on ordinary railroads, the cost of operating 
 such a railway must be much less; The cost of maintenance 
 should be also less in proportion, for the road would be substan- 
 tially built and short in comparison to the amount of tonnage car- 
 ried over it. Moreover, the machinery used would be simple and 
 substantially made. It is, therefore, safe to assume that the cur- 
 rent expenses and those of maintenance would not exceed fifty 
 per cent of the gross receipts, which would be more profitable 
 than from a canal costing probably two or three times more than 
 a ship railway', and requiring three or four times longer to build, 
 thereby increasing greatly the amount of interest alone on the 
 actual cost of the canal. 
 
 A ship railway has other important advantages over a canal, 
 such as the facility with which the number of trucks could be 
 increased to accommodate the demands of commerce ; the rapidity 
 of transit and the greater number of vessels per day that could be 
 transported than through a canal ; the practicability of building a 
 railway where a canal would be impossible ; the ability of estimat- 
 ing correctly for the first, while the latter, if partially built under 
 the water, or liable to be submerged or interrupted by water, 
 would be very difficult, if not impossible, to be estimated for as 
 to cost and time of completion. I am, yours very truly, 
 
 G. T. Beauregard. 
 
 Mr. J. J. Williams, a very able engineer, with long experience in rail-
 
 28 LETTERS FROM 
 
 road building, who has made a number of surveys for railroads on the 
 Isthmus of Tehuantepec, says : — 
 
 ' ' I have been greatly interested in your proposition to construct 
 a ship railway across the Isthmus of Tehuantepec for the largest 
 class of merchant vessels. Having carefully examined the de- 
 tails of your plans for accomplishing the object, and being thor- 
 oughly familiar with the topography of the Isthmus, I desire to 
 express my full conviction of their entire practicability." 
 
 Mr. E. L. Corthell, the engineer of the bridge across the Mississippi 
 River at Louisiana, and of the Sny Island Improvement Works, and who was 
 resident engineer at the jetties until their completion, writes as follows: 
 
 " My studies of the engineering difficulties convince me that they 
 can be easily overcome, and I believe the ship railway for the 
 transportation overland of the largest vessels can be made entire- 
 ly successful, and that ships can be transported more rapidly by 
 the railway than by the canal, and with equal safety." 
 
 The following is from one of the engineers sent by the L^nited States to 
 Europe to investigate the improvement of the mouths of rivers there, and 
 to report upon the jetty system. He is likewise an experienced railroad 
 engineer : — 
 
 Richmond, February 5, 1881. 
 James B. Eads, Esq. 
 
 My Dear Sir : — Why should not j'^our ship railway be practi- 
 cable ? Ships Jiave been hauled on marine railways for I know 
 not how many years, and the hauling of larger ships a longer 
 distance is onlj' a development or expansion of this practice, as 
 the steel roadway worked b}' locomotives is the development of 
 the tramway, or the old incline worked by stationary power. 
 
 The idea is worthj- of the age, and to make it a success you 
 have simply to improve and expand the details of the old marine 
 railway and make it more perfect. I have the greatest confidence 
 in your ability in this particular, and hope you will have the oppor- 
 tunit}' to demonstrate it. Very Xv\\\y 3'ours, 
 
 H. D. Whitcomb, 
 Civil Engineer in Charge of Improvement of James Biver.
 
 LEADING ENGINEERS AND NAVAL ARCHITECTS. 29 
 
 Tha following is from the accomplished and able engineer in charge 
 of the improvement of the Missouri River: — 
 
 United States Engineer's Office, ) 
 
 1351 Washincjton Avexle, St. Louis, January 31, 1881. ) 
 Dear Captain : — I have watched with much interest the devel- 
 opment of your plan for the construction of a ship railwa}'^ across 
 the Isthmus. The project has great and obvious advantages to 
 recommend it; and from an engineering point of view, it is, in my 
 opinion, perfectly practicable. The various operations contem- 
 plated are constantly being performed, on a small scale at least, at 
 all the great seaports of the world, and any difficulties which might 
 attend their extension to the scale you propose, could, I think, he 
 readily met by suitable mechanical devices. The construction, 
 maintenance, and operation of the railroad are quite within the 
 resources of our profession. 
 
 With my best wishes for your success, I am. Captain, 
 Yours very truly, 
 
 Chas. R. Suteu, 
 Major of Engineers, U. S. A. 
 Caft. James B. Eads, Washington, D. C. 
 
 The City Engineer of Pittsburg, a gentleman who has had an exten- 
 sive practical experience in engineering works, has sent the following : — 
 
 City Engineer's Office, ) 
 Pittsburg, Pa., January 31, 1881. j 
 James B. Eads, Esq. 
 
 Dear Sir : — I heartily indorse the project of a ship railway 
 across the " cord of the continents," in preference to a canal. My 
 reasons are that it will not cost more than about one-third as much 
 as a canal with locks ; it will not require more than one-half 
 of the time to construct it that will be consumed in the con- 
 struction of the canal ; it will cost less to maintain and operate 
 it than a canal, and the facilities of transportation can be much 
 more readily, cheaply, and advantageously increased on the railway 
 than on a canal when the necessities of commerce require it, and 
 the very "leviathans of the merchant marine" can be trans- 
 ported more easily and with as much safety on the rail- 
 way as through the canal, and without any break of cargo,
 
 30 LETTERS FROM 
 
 or any danger thereto. It would extend this letter to too 
 great a length to give figures to ratify the statement herein 
 made, but they will substantiate it to the full ; and I f ui;ther state 
 that if the profits of the ' ' canal investment ' ' would amount to 
 "five per cent" those of the railway project would amount to 
 not less than twentj"^ per cent on the investment, and verj' prob- 
 ably more ; yea, it would be a paying investment under circum- 
 stances of disastrous loss to the canal projectors ; therefore, in 
 view of all the considerations connected therewith, I have come to 
 the conclusion above embodied. 
 
 Hoping that j^ou may succeed in procuring the necessary- 
 encouragement and substantial aid that the importance of the 
 project demands, so that you may be enabled to demonstrate prac- 
 tically the truth of the above and verify the assertions made., 
 I am, most respectfully, etc., 
 
 A. Dempster, City Engineer. 
 
 The writer of the following letter, Mr. Max E. Schmidt, is a member 
 of the American Society of Civil Engineers, was for several years resi- 
 dent engineer at the jetties, was afterwards in charge of important river 
 improvements on the upper Mississippi, and is now engaged in the con- 
 struction of one of the Mexican railways. He is an engineer of acknowl- 
 edged ability and standing : — 
 
 St. Louis, Mo., March 22, 1881. 
 Mr. James B. Eads, C. E., Washington, D. C. 
 
 Dear Sir: — In 1718 Emanuel Swedenborg, at the age of 30, 
 performed a "noble feat in engineering b}" hauling two galleys, 
 five boats, and a sloop some fourteen miles overland." If this 
 could be accomplished at a time when steam and hydraulic engines 
 were unknown, why should not the present century at its close 
 witness the conveying of vessels across the Isthmus in the manner 
 proposed by you? I have studied the Isthmian problem with 
 care, and am convinced that the railway is the best solution 
 offered. The project is based u{)on sound, well-known mechan- 
 ical principles, and I have no doubt that a realization of the 
 scheme will lead to its frequent duplication in the future. 
 Very respectfully. 
 
 Max E. ScHjnoT, Civil Engineer.
 
 LEADING ENGINEERS AND NAVAL ARCHITECTS. 31 
 
 The following is from the distinguished civil engineer who is now 
 Dean of the Department of Civil Engineering in Cornell University. He 
 was the Chief Engineer of Commodore Shufeldt's Surveying Expedition 
 in 1872:—. 
 
 Department of Civil Engineering, Cornell University, i 
 Ithaca, N. Y., February 4, 1881. ( 
 Cavt. James B. Eads. 
 
 Dear Sir : — My surroundings during the past ten years have 
 cut me out from taking active part in the discussions upon trans- 
 Isthmian routes ; but I have never lost my great interest in this 
 matter, nor doubted what I have put on record several times, \\z. : 
 ' ' Tehuantepee will be open to the world earlier than any other 
 route." This conviction is owing to the fact that I have made a 
 thorough, disinterested, honest, and patriotic study of nearly all 
 the bearings of this important question, and my. conclusions are 
 almost mathematically correct. When your ship railway project 
 ai)peared and was ridiculed by inconsiderate engineers, I made 
 computations which proved conchisively to mj^ mind that the 
 "Great Eastern" could be carried safely overland upon rails, 
 with less strain to her timbers than in any of her sea voyages. 
 There can be no difficulty about wheel-base enough to support a 
 weight that has been supported in the ways of any dock ; or about 
 rails upon which to roll the weight ; or power to draw it at any 
 desirable speed ; and all this, with absolute safety to the keel, ribs, 
 and joint points of any vessel (yet built) and transported out of 
 water. No bridge that is now in use undergoes the bendings, 
 twistings, and. shaking that any vessel is bound to withstand, 
 upon a rough sea, without opening a seam ; and yet, no one 
 doubts the practicability of transporting a truss by rail. In fact, 
 every railroad car is a clumsily made truss. I am well acquain- 
 ted with the data obtained, and supposed to have been obtained, 
 to within a few j'ears, upon the subject; and I am perfectly 
 familiar with every possible point through which a canal could be 
 located at Tehuantepee. 
 
 I am sure it is easy to prove that all routes outside of the Gulf 
 of Mexico will be detrimental to the most vital interests of the 
 United States, and a source of great danger to our national stabil- 
 ity. But the people at large have not had a fair opportunity to 
 study this question so as to place more faith upon its merits than 
 upon the men advocating the routes proposed. Time must take
 
 32 LETTERS FROM 
 
 its course to allow the specific truth of this case to survive the 
 machinations of partisanship. But the time has now arrived for 
 effective work and determined action ; and I thank God that your 
 brain, reputation, and sledge-hammer has been set to work to batter 
 the Isthmus into an American highway. I can assure you, upon 
 knowledge of every inch of the ground, that you will find no diflH- 
 culty about curves, grades, or bridges. The ascent of the Atlantic 
 slope will offer no more difficulties than the Hudson River Railroad ; 
 and on the Pacific side, either one of the three passes in the 
 neighborhood of Tarif a or Chivela will allow of no steeper grade 
 than 25 to 35 feet per mile to bring you down to the Pacific plains. 
 The ground offers you 50 miles to get down in, and as much 
 more as you may wish by following the hillside. . All the bridges 
 required will be of comparatively short spans. You will find very 
 little anxious work on either terminal harbor, very little tentative 
 work being required, and permanence without ulterior complica- 
 tions will reward almost any kind of attack. The drainage of the 
 works, building materials (including excellent, cement-yielding, 
 dolomitic limestone, between San Miguel and Tarif a), abundant 
 native labor, a remarkably healthy climate, etc., will be all you 
 may desire. 
 
 I think the estimate of tonnage upon which you base your 
 reasons for the safety of the government in guaranteeing three per 
 cent semi-annual dividends is quite modest, since in spite of offi- 
 cial statistics I believe the road will handle thirty thousand tons 
 daily very soon after its being opened. 
 
 The discussion of this subject is long, and my letter is growing 
 likewise long. 
 
 I write to you to give you encouragement to push on this matter 
 with all your might. I have no personal motive to subserve ; my 
 field is here for a lifetime, which I fear will be too short for my 
 purpose. Therefore, if I have bothered you, you at least can say 
 this is a case of disinterested boring. 
 
 If I can be of any service to you, command me, and I will be 
 glad to furnish any data upon unpublished notes or surveys I 
 have, and be sure you have my most sincere wishes for the happy 
 issue of your undertaking. Very truly youi's, 
 
 E. A. FUERTES. 
 
 In discussing the merits of the several Isthmian routes before the
 
 LEADING ENGINEERS AND NAVAL ARCHITECTS. 33 
 
 Merchants^ Exchange, in St. Louis, pending the unanimous adoption by 
 that body of resolutions recommending the favorable consideration of 
 the ship railway to the government. Captain Silas Bent, a gentleman who 
 has devoted much study to the winds and currents of the ocean, and who 
 was formerly an officer of the United States Navy, made the following 
 remarks : — 
 
 " Mere statements of thfe difference in miles is a very inade- 
 ([uate measure of the difference in time that would be occupied by 
 sailing-vessels in making these several passages, and when we 
 consider that three-fourths of the ocean commerce of the world is 
 carried in sailing-vessels, you can see what an important factor 
 this question of sailing-time becomes in the solution of the prob- 
 lem before us. 
 
 "The northeast trade-winds which extend across the Atlantic 
 are so broken and interrupted when they encoiuiter the West 
 India Islands, that they never penetrate the Caribbean Sea ; but 
 the northwest portion of them, however, do extend into tlie Gulf 
 of Mexico, and often so far down as to reach well toward Tehuan- 
 tepec, so that whilst in the Gulf winds are always found, yet the 
 Caribbean Sea remains a region of almost relentless calms. 
 
 " Nor is this all ; for the mountain ranges, extending the length 
 of the Isthmus of Panama and through Central America, offer a 
 still more formidable barrier to the passage of these winds, thus 
 throwing them still higher into the upper regions of the atmo- 
 sphere, and extending these calms far out into the Pacific Ocean, 
 on the parallel of Panama, with lessening width, for fifteen or 
 eighteen hundred miles to the northwest, along the coast of Cen- 
 tral America. 
 
 "This whole region of calms, both in the Cari))bean Sea and 
 in the Pacific Ocean, is so well known to navigators that sailing- 
 vessels alwaj^s shun it, if possible, though the}' maj' have to run a 
 thousand miles out of their way to do so. 
 
 ' ' This absence of wind of course leaves this vast area exposed 
 to the unmitigated heat of a torrid sun, except when relieved mo- 
 mentarily by harassing squalls in the dry season, and by the 
 deluging rainfalls of the wet season. With these meteorological 
 facts in view, let us now suppose that the Lesseps Canal at Pan- 
 ama, and the Eads Railway at Tehuantepec are both completed 
 and in running order ; then let us start two sailing shi])s of equal 
 tonnage and equal speed from the mouth of the ^Mississippi, with
 
 34 LETTERS FROM 
 
 cargo for China, one to go by way of the Panama Canal, and the 
 other by the way of the Tehuantepec Railway, and I venture to 
 affirm that by the time the Panama vessel has cleared the canal 
 and floats in the waters of the Pacific, the Tehuantepec vessel 
 will have scaled the Isthmus and be well on to the meridian of the 
 Sandwich Islands ; and that before the former vessel can worry 
 through the fifteen or more hundred njiles of windless ocean before 
 her, to reach the trade winds to the westward of Tehuantepec, 
 the latter will have sped five thousand miles on her way across the 
 Pacific, and be fully thirty da3's ahead of her adversary. For it 
 is a fact worth mentioning here, that. the strength of the northeast 
 trade winds in the Pacific, as well as the maximum strength of the 
 northern portion of the great equatorial current in that- ocean, are 
 both found on or near the parallel of latitude of Tehuantepec, the 
 former blowing with an impelling force to the westward of ten or 
 twelve miles an hour, and the latter with a following strength of 
 three or four miles per hour. 
 
 " To my mind, there is no difficulty in the way that cannot be 
 readil3' overcome by engineering and mechanical skill, neither in 
 the construction of the road nor in the necessary machinery to 
 handle and carry vessels of any size and of an}' weight across the 
 easy gradients of the Tehuantepec Isthmus. 
 
 "And I further believe that such a railway can be built at half the 
 cost and in half the time — jes, in one-third the time — that any 
 canal can be constructed ; and that while the railway, for many 
 reasons, would be of greater practical benefit to the commerce of 
 the world at large than a canal, it would be in that locality of im- 
 measurably greater advantage to both the commerce and the 
 political well-being of oiu- own country."*
 
 LEADING ENGINEERS AND NAVAL ARCHITECTS. 35 
 
 SHIP RAILWAYS AND CANALS; 
 
 By Sir Edward J. Reed, K. C. B. , in Reply to a Letter Addressed 
 TO Him by Rear- Admiral Daniel Ammen, U. S. N. 
 
 \_Sxr Edward Beed is a member of Parliament, and was for many years 
 Chief Constructor of the British navy. He was made a Knight Commander 
 of the Bath, as a recognition of his eminent abilities as a naval architect. 
 He is a Fellow of the Royal Society; Member of the Institution of Civil 
 Engineers, and of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers, and is Vice- 
 President of the Institution of Naval Architects. He has written several 
 treatises on ship-building, and is, tcithout doubt, the highest authority in the 
 world to-day on this subject.'] 
 
 Broadway Chambers, WESxinNSTER, London, 
 September, 188 L 
 To Rear- Admiral Ammen, U. S. N. 
 
 Dear Sir : — In a former letter I explained to you that illness, 
 &e. , prevented me from replying promptly to your esteemed favour 
 of March loth, and I regret to say that the same causes have 
 operated until the present time. I will now endeavour to reply 
 >nth sufficient fullness to j'our inquiry, first thanking you for the 
 copies which you have so kindly sent me of papers by yourself, by 
 Mr. Menocal and by Capt. Pheips, all of which I have read with 
 interest and profit. Your own paper and that of Mr. Menocal 
 are full of the most instructive and valuable information upon the 
 various Canal projects, but naturally have little or no direct bear- 
 ing upon the Ship Railway proposal. In discussing that I must 
 therefore direct my attention to the pamphlets by Capt. Phelps 
 which are specificall3' addressed to it. 
 
 The suggestion to transport ships loaded with cargo from one 
 ocean to another over a railway more than 100 miles long 
 is one which was certain at first to excite many doubts and 
 suspicions, both among those who do, and among those who do 
 not, understand the construction of ships and railways.
 
 36 
 
 LETTERS FROM 
 
 But fii*st impressions upon a matter of this kind are of little 
 value, and all such, whether favourable or otherwise, may be dis- 
 missed from consideration. Let us investigate the matter closely, 
 and in the light of existing knowledge and experience. 
 
 And in the first place I feel obliged to express surprise at the 
 contention of Capt. Phelps that the ship-railway across the 
 Isthmus of Tehuantepec must be adapted for transporting "the 
 heaviest vessels used anj'where. ' ' On the contrary, the primarj' 
 requirement clearh' is, that the railwa}^ should be adapted to carrj- 
 the vessels engaged in ordinarj^ commerce, and more particularl}' 
 such as are employed in distributing to the world the corn and 
 other products of California and the neighbouring States. To 
 Americans, the quick and economical interchange of products be- 
 tween the Eastern and Western States, by means of their own 
 mercantile A'essels, would, I think, be the primarj^ object to attain ; 
 for this purpose it would certainly not be necessary to provide for 
 the transport of such ships as the " City of Rome," the " Servia," 
 and other immense vessels now building in this country expressl}* 
 and solely for improving the intercourse between America and 
 Europe. On the contrary', I should anticipate that a ship-railwaj'^ 
 across the Isthmus of Tehuantepec, which would reduce the sea 
 communication between the East and West of the United States 
 to the utmost possible extent, would be a great stimulant to the 
 employment of American built vessels, of wood as well as of iron ; 
 and in so far as the wood-built sailing vessels are concerned, 
 it is obvious that the demand for immense size would not arise. 
 Looking to the still available resources of the United States in 
 ship-building timber, I can understand that the ship-railway would 
 be a very great encouragement to the continued building of this 
 class of ships in Maine and other States. There is undoubtedly a 
 general tendency to increase the size of iron-built steamers in 
 many trades, and this will certainly have to be taken into account 
 in determining the character both of the railroad and of the ter- 
 minal works, but after much consideration of the subject I have 
 satisfied myself that no present necessity exists, or is in ^iew, for 
 proceeding with the ship-railway upon a scale so large as to ac- 
 • commodate the heaviest and longest of the passenger liners now 
 in course of construction. The trade of the world, and assur- 
 edly the American trade, would be amply provided for if pro-
 
 LEADINO KN(.I\KEIJS AM) NAVAL ARCHITECTS. 37 
 
 vision is made for transporting ships of a maximum displacement 
 of 6,000 tons. But even 6,000 tons displacement is a limit higher 
 than would be needed to accommodate the vast majority of the 
 world's merchant- vessels at present, and would provide for a large 
 and pretty general increase in their size hereafter. I will add but 
 two remarks in this connection : (1.) It might be wise, and would 
 certainly be easy, to ensure the commercial success of the ship- 
 railway across Tehuantepec by carrying, in the first instance, ves- 
 sels of say 4,000 tons at most, making due provision for the sub- 
 sequent increase of size and weight in such a manner as to avoid 
 interference with the operation of the line. (2.) One of the ad- 
 vantages which the railway project possesses is that, if suitably 
 designed, its capability of transport, both as to the size and as to 
 the number of vessels transported, can be increased with facility 
 and economy. 
 
 You will see from what I have ab*eady said that I am unable to 
 accept the view of Capt. Phelps with respect to the weight of the 
 ships to be carried, I regret to say that I am equally unable to 
 accept his statement of the auxiliary weights to be carried, viz. , 
 those of the ship car and cradle. These Capt. Phelps regards as 
 about equal to the weight of the ship and cargo. I am of 
 opinion — after making some guiding calculations — that the 
 weight of a car and cradle, of ample strength to carry a ship of 
 4,000 tons weight, need not exceed 500 tons ; if to caiTy a ship 
 of 6,000 tons it need not exceed 750 tons. The aggregate weight 
 to moved, therefore should be: — 
 
 For a ship weighing, with cargo, 4,000 tons, - - . - - 4,500 tons. 
 " " " G,000 "... - 0,750 " 
 
 r therefore regard his estimate as enormously excessive. 
 
 I will next consider the mode of raising and transporting the 
 ships. And I would state that although there would be great and 
 obvious conveniences in keeping the ship alwa^'s afloat during the 
 transit, I am of opinion that this would involve much unnecessary 
 expense, both in the construction and in the working, and that no 
 suflficient reason exists for pursuing this plan. In so far as the 
 lifting of the ship bodily out of the water is concerned, this pro- 
 cess is in repeated operation at the Victoria Docks on the Thames, 
 at Malta, at Bombay, at Sebastopol, and elsewhere ; while the
 
 38 LETTERS EROM 
 
 process of hauling ships up out of the water upon a wheeled car- 
 riage on an inclined plane laid with rails is, as you know, a ver^^ 
 common one. I had two such hauUng-up sHps under my con- 
 trol for some time at HuU, and the company working them have 
 found them so convenient and profitable that they are now laying 
 down a third for hauling up ships of 3,000 tons register and 
 more. No engineer can doubt that either process is perfectly 
 applicable, with increased power, to ships of larger size, although 
 I should myself prefer the process of direct lifting, for several 
 reasons, the chief of which is that it furnishes the readiest and 
 best opportunities for supporting the ship upon the cradle as she 
 leaves the water. 
 
 This brings me, of course, to the crucial questions: 1. Can 
 ships with their cargoes on board be lifted out of the water, bj- 
 hydraulic lifts or other\fise, and upon adjustable cradles, without 
 injury? 2. If this is so, can they be with safety transported over- 
 land upon such cradles ? I answer both questions affirmatively, 
 and for the following reasons : I would lay down as a first con- 
 sideration that in both cases the chief cause of injury to be 
 guarded against is not general structural strain, but local strain 
 resulting from unequal distribution of weights, and more especially 
 of cargo. I may perhaps be excused for speaking with some con- 
 fidence upon this question, inasmuch as it was in a paper read hy 
 me before our Royal Society in 1871, and published in extenso 
 by that learned body, that the principles of strain in ships 
 and the method of estimating the strains, now universally ac- 
 cepted were first laid down. I affirm that the general struc- 
 tural strains which are likely to be brought upon a ship 
 by lifting and transporting her, presuming, of course, that reason- 
 able skill and care are applied to these processes, are inferior, much 
 inferior, to those strains to which every ocean-going ship is con- 
 tinually liable at sea. Indeed the only structural strain which 
 would require to be very specially guarded against, is that which 
 exhibits itself in, and in connection with the beam-knees of wooden 
 ships ;* and even this, with proper bilge support, would be less 
 than the like strain which occurs at sea. The strains to be most 
 
 * Perhaps I ought to mention that all my early experience as a ship- 
 builder, extending over some eight or ten years, was acquired in the con- 
 struction aud repair of wooden-built shipa. — E. J. R.
 
 LEADING ENGINEERS AND NAVAL. ARCHITKCT8. 39 
 
 apprehended, and against which it would be necessary to make 
 effectual and ample provision, are local strains, and chiefly those 
 arising from heavy cargo pressing severely upon parts of the bot- 
 tom, and often alternating with places of much less weight, or of 
 none at all. But I apprehend that an engineer of the ekill and 
 eminence of Capt. Eads, with all the experience of ship-builders 
 at his command, would not undertake the work of lifting and 
 transporting loaded ships without making full provision, as may 
 be readily done, for applviug ample local support to every ship's 
 bilge at every part ; nor would the company who construct and 
 operate a ship- rail waj"^, and who are responsible for the ship, be 
 likely to fail to have the support carefully applied in every case 
 where needed. In fact, it would be made,.! should think, a ruling 
 consideration in this enterprise to so bring the great resources of 
 hydraulic art into play, as to give to each ship that is lifted, far 
 better support than has ever before been provided in any docking 
 system whatever. To accomplish this object effectuall}^ would 
 certainly be a problem of much easier solution than many which 
 Capt. Eads and other engineers have solved with perfect satisfac- 
 tion, both in your country and in ours. Nor are we without ex- 
 perience to guide us in this matter. The hydraulic lift at Malta 
 has raised numerous ships, with cargo on board, without the 
 slightest injury of any description. From a list of such vessels 
 furnished me by Mr. Webb, the Secretary of the Anglo-Maltese 
 Hydraulic Dock Company, Limited, I find that ships carrying heavy 
 cargoes have been frequently raised high and dry in this way with- 
 out detriment. 
 
 In the next place, it seems to me quite certain that the appli- 
 ances which would secure ample and firm support to the ship, at 
 ever}*" part, when lifted high and dry, would almost necessarily be 
 such as would effectually keep her upright in storms, and preserve 
 her from any injury upon the road. I take for granted that the 
 railroad constructed for the purpose would be of the most solid 
 kind, and so laid as to have its double or triple sets of rails as 
 nearly as possible in the same plane, and also that the carriages 
 would be made with equal care in all their parts. With these pre- 
 cautions taken, and considering that a comparativel}^ low speed is 
 all that is required or contemplated, I am at a loss to see in what 
 way danger to the ship is to arise. I will only add upon this part
 
 40 LETTERS FROM 
 
 of the subject, that I see no sort of necessity for hax-ing a special 
 cradle fitted to each ship, in any other sense than that of taking 
 care to give support to each ship, wherever necessary by hy- 
 draulics or othei-wise. 
 
 There are some observations of Capt. Phelps which I am at a 
 loss to understand. I do not, for example, know what he means 
 by saying that the pressure of the water upon the bottom of a 
 floating ship exerts " equal force upon every inch of its surface ; " 
 or by saving, ' ' whether rolling or pitching, the support from the 
 water is uniform at all times and at all points; " or by adding, 
 " when waves toss the ship about it becomes a falling body re- 
 ceived upon a water cushion, so to speak, which presses and yields 
 everywhere in exactly the same degree ; hence there is little or no 
 strain in a well-constructed ship when the weight carried is evenly 
 distributed, as seamen take care it shall be." With all respect I 
 must say that these statements are in conflict with both the most 
 elementary and most developed doctrines of science, which declare 
 that the still water-pressures upon a ship afloat vary with and as 
 the depth ; that they are consequently different in amount at dif- 
 ferent depths ; and that when a ship is tossed by the waves she is 
 thereby subjected to great, and sometimes to enormous strains, 
 and that these strains undergo continual fluctuations. In the 
 Royal Society paper which I have prcAiously adverted to, I have 
 shown that even the light wood -built yacht of Her Majest}' the 
 Queen, the *' Victoria and Albert," when lifted upon the 
 crest of a wave of her own length (300 "feet) and 20 feet high 
 from hollow to crest, has her bending moment tending to produce 
 "hogging" (which moment in still water is 5,080 foot tons)* 
 increased to 16,400 tons, while in the hollow of similar waves the 
 hogging moment disappears, and is replaced by a reverse or " sag- 
 ging" moment of no less than 31,000 foot tons. In the passage 
 of a single such half- wave under her, therefore, i.e., in less than 
 four seconds, this lightly built vessel may at any time be subjected 
 at sea to a change of breaking strain at a given section of no less 
 than 47,400 foot tons. Forgive me if I here quote a few sen- 
 
 * Foot tons, in this sense, measure leverage which constitutes the 
 straining or bending moment. Thus, 5,080 foot tons means a weight of 
 6,080 tons acting at the end of a lever 1 foot long, or 508 tons at the end 
 of a lever 10 feet long, or any equivalent leverage.
 
 LEADING ENGINEERS AND NAVAL ARCHITECTS. 41 
 
 teuces bearing" upon this matter from the paper referred to: "I 
 give these figures merely as indications of what may be expected 
 to happen in the changes of strain in ships at sea ; and they prob- 
 ably fall much below the truth, since no account has been taken 
 of the effect of violent pitching motions, which must lead to still 
 more abrupt and violent changes. I will simply add that a very 
 convenient way of expressing the effect I have been attempting to 
 describe, is afforded by the supposition that the ship is fixed, and 
 that what may be termed ' waves of strain ' roll through her struc- 
 ture. The introduction of this idea will help us to understand 
 more clearly how changes in strain affect a structure ; for a very 
 small strain (considered statically), which would not affect a com- 
 paratively weak structure sensibly if it were constantly acting in 
 one direction, Avill suffice to destroy a far stronger structure if its 
 direction is continually and I'apidly changed. This subject has 
 not escaped the attention of preceding writers ; and Mr. Fair- 
 bairn has made some interesting remarks upon it, at page 13 
 of his work on 'Iron Ship-building,' where he refers to the re- 
 sults of a series of experiments on the endurance of iron 
 jointed beams when subjected to changes in the loads put 
 upon them. He says the joints of an iron-rivetted beam 
 sustained upwards of three million changes of one-fourth the 
 weight that would break it, without any apparent injuiy to its 
 ultimate powers of resistance. It broke, however, with 313,000 
 additional changes when loaded to one-lhird the breaking weight, 
 evidently showing that the construction is not safe when tested 
 with alternate changes of a load equivalent to one-third the weight 
 that would break it." You will see, therefore, that it is quite im- 
 possible to assent for a moment to Capt. Phelps' opinion that a 
 well-constructed ship undergoes " little or no strain " when waves 
 toss the ship about. On the contrary, a ship tossed about at sea 
 undergoes enormous strains and changes of strain, the rapid re- 
 currence of which adds greatly to their power of injury. It may 
 serve, perhaps, to give, greater definiteness to the matter if I say 
 that while, as I have stated, the change of breaking strain caused 
 by waves may, in the case of the royal yacht in question, readily 
 exceed 47,400 foot tons, the whole breaking strain amidships if 
 she were left high and dry upon two rocks, one at the bow and the 
 other at the stem, would only be 114,700 foot tons ; so that the
 
 42 LETTERS FROM 
 
 breaking effect of waves passing smootlily along her amounts to 
 r^^ which is nearly one-half the greatest breaking strain that 
 she could possibly undergo if accident left her to ground upon a 
 rocky coast, under the very worst conditions, I therefore differ 
 altogether from Capt. Phelps, believing that he greatly overrates 
 the strains to which ships properly docked and transported would 
 be subjected, and as greatly underrates the strains to which they 
 are undoubtedly subjected at sea. 
 
 If I may now turn to the non- nautical parts of the pamphlets by 
 Capt. Phelps, I would say that it really appears to me that the 
 difficulties which he apprehends concerning gradients, turn-tables, 
 tilting-tables, sidings, and locomotives requisite for a ship-railway 
 are mainly, and in so far as they profess to be insuperable, wholly 
 imaginary. I will not discuss them at any length, but will trouble 
 you with only one or two remarks upon them. Capt. Phelps' esti- 
 mates that 60 locomotives would be required for use upon a gra 
 dient of 40 feet per mile. Now, in a paper recently read before 
 the British Association at Yot-k, Sir F. J. Bramwell, one of the 
 very ablest engineering experts in this country (who, by the way, 
 said at the same place, that ' ' ships upon a railway would not be 
 exposed to half the rack and strain that they are now exjjosed to 
 on the ocean " ), stated that at slow speed good engines would draw 
 800 tons. They can in fact draw more, but let us accept these 
 figures. Sixty engines would therefore draw 48,000 tons, or 7 
 times the maximum weight which, as I estimate, it is at present 
 requisite to provide for. Instead of 60 locomotives, therefore, 9 
 or 10 locomotives of the ordinary type would suffice, and proba- 
 bly'5 or 6 would be sufficient for the large majority of the ships 
 to be transported, extra power being, of course, applied over the 
 short distance where the gradients are exceptional. Again, Capt. 
 Phelps give 5 tons pressure per wheel as the limit which may be 
 properly applied ; but this is only about one-half of the pressure 
 which is sometimes allowed for the wheels of our fast-running 
 locomotives. Instead of 4,800 wheels being required, as he esti- 
 mates, I should think that the 800 (without the 4,000), would be 
 ample for the largest carriages to be employed on the railway. 
 
 In the pamphlet entitled ' ' Review of the Proposed Tehuantepec 
 Ship Railway," Capt. Phelps tabulates all the largest ships in ex- 
 istence and in course of construction, both mercantile and war
 
 LEADING ENGINEERS AND NAVAL ARCHITECTS. 43 
 
 ves8els, and correctly shows that both descriptions have obtained, 
 in exceptional instances, displacements of about 13,500 tons. I 
 cannot myself accept the arguments with which he follows these 
 tables, nor does it appear to me to be necessary to do so ; for while 
 I should consider it advisable to make an Isthmus Canal, once for 
 all, of sufficient capacity to give passage to the very largest ships 
 that can be found, I should deem it perfectly unnecessary to give 
 a ship-railway equal capacity in the first instance, because the 
 railroad accommodation is itself so susceptible of extension at any 
 time. To illustrate this, let me point out the fact, employing the 
 table of Capt. Phelps, that although the ''Tokio" may liave a 
 displacement of 9,000 tons, and the "City of Rome " is to have 
 a displacement of 13,500, the two vessels differ in breadth by 
 only 4^ feet, but differ in length by 123 feet. It is manifest at 
 once that4,he principal change required in passing from the smaller 
 to the larger ship would be that of pro\iding a carriage or cradle 
 100 or 120 feet longer. But the fallacy of arraying the largest 
 ships that can an3rwhere be found against a plain business proposal 
 like that of the Isthmus Ship Railwaj^, may perhaps be best seen 
 by observing that, as Capt. Phelps shows, while the very largest 
 of the mercantile ships, the " City of Rome," is only 52:J feet 
 broad, the war-ship "Inflexible " is 75 feet in breadth; so that 
 it would appear to be the view of Capt. Phelps that it would be 
 improper to construct a shii>railway at Tehuantepec for commer- 
 cial purposes, even if it were capable of transporting the largest 
 mercantile ships in the world, unless you added 50 per cent to 
 the width and cost of the permanent way necessary for them, so 
 as to accommodate the biggest iron-clad that England has ever 
 produced I It only needs to state the case thus in order to show 
 the fallacy of the contention, and to indicate, as I think, that 
 it is not by considering the cases of the very largest ships that 
 can be found in the world that the project of Capt. Eads ought 
 to be tested. I believe that even if this were a legitimate test the 
 scheme would not be found to fail in a scientific sense ; but 
 clearly both the commercial value of the ship-railway, and its 
 value to the United States as a nation, are entirely independent of 
 these exceptional cases, and must mainly be judged of by the 
 measure of facility which its adoption would afford to the general
 
 44 LETTERS FROM , 
 
 commerce of the world, and to the mercantile marine of the 
 United States in particular. 
 
 I do not think I need add to these observation?, which have 
 occurred to me on reading the pamphlets of Capt. Phelps. But 
 in your letter to me you make specific mention of a proposal said 
 to have been made by Capt. Eads, to allow the ends of vessels to 
 project, if necessary, beyond the supporting cradle by 50 or 60 
 feet. I do not understand Capt. Eads to have made any general 
 proposal of this kind, and I feel confident that he would confine 
 any such proposal to the case of iron ships ; it certainly would not 
 be safe to allow such oyerhang in wooden vessels, but in iron ves- 
 sels of large size it would, as a rule, do no harm whatever. It 
 will follow from what I have previously said, that the bending 
 moments due to such unsupported ends would be very small in 
 comparison with the bending moments induced by the straining 
 action of ocean waves. Of course it is possible that when the 
 ship was in motion along the railway, a considerable amount of 
 lateral vibration might be set up ; but I am at a loss to understand 
 how either the forces producing the vibration, or its amount, could 
 well be so great as those which are often experienced in screw 
 steamships of immense engine power when under full steam ; and 
 yet these vibrations, although sometimes distressing and almost 
 alarming, seldom do any actual harm. If any excessive tendency 
 to vibration should exhibit itself, which I very much doubt,, it 
 would not be diflicult to check it sufficiently by mechanical appli- 
 ances. 
 
 I do not feel at liberty to discuss, with my present information, 
 the relative cost of the Nicaraguan Canal and of the ship-railway 
 of Tehuantepec. I should require to give both projects more 
 lengthened investigation with that object in mind. All that I do 
 feel justified in saying is, that it seems to me that the advantage 
 as between the Canals of Panama and Nicaragua are all on the 
 side of the latter, from almost every point of view, while from the 
 point of view of United State citizens the preponderance of 
 advantage in favor of the Nicaraguan route is enormous. 
 
 As regards the comparative economy of transporting a ship's 
 cargo by canal or railway, I am inclined to believe that the railway 
 would prove the more economical of the two. 
 
 It was stated in evidence before a committee of the House of
 
 LEADING ENGINEERS AND NAVAL ARCHITECTS. 45 
 
 Commons, by the chairman of the Great Eastern Railway Com- 
 pany, on the 7th March, 1878, that coals could be profitably trans- 
 ported by this company at the rate of ^d per ton per mile ; and 
 this was confirmed by the locomotive superintendent of the North- 
 "Western Railway, on the 21st March, 1878. If we assume that 
 the total distance to be hauled across the Isthmus of Tehuan- 
 tepec is 150 miles, it would appear that a ship's cargo can be 
 profitably carried for that distance, in the ship, over a first- 
 class railway, for $0. 75 per ton. I arrive at this conclusion from 
 the follo\ving considerations: 1st, ^d, or one- half cent, per 
 mile gives $0.75 per 150 miles; and, 2nd, the weight of the 
 ship and car upon which she is transported appears to bear 
 about the same ratio to the cargo carried in the ship, when 
 fully loaded, that the weight of a coal-car bears to the weight of 
 coals it carries. It was also stated in e\'idence, on the occasion 
 above referred to, that the weight of coal carried on one truck is 
 7^ tons, and the weight of the truck 4^ tons. The paying load 
 is, therefore, about 58 per cent of the total ; and this is about 
 tlie proportion that the cargo would bear, in many ships, to the 
 total weight of the ship, car and cargo. These facts are suf- 
 ficient to show that the transport by sliip- railway , over a first-class 
 road with easy gradients, in a country where fuel is abundant and 
 labor not excessively dear, ought to be about the same per ton 
 per mile, for the cargo carried, as in England. If, however, we 
 assume it to be twice as expensive, the rate would then be $1.50 
 per ton across the Isthmus of Tehuantepec. I am credibly in- 
 formed that at this time $20 ])er ton is being paid for the transport 
 of grain from California, round Cape Horn, to Liverpool. 
 
 It should be borne in mind that there are two elements in the 
 ship- railway plan proposed by Capt.' Eads which tend to greater 
 economy than is obtained in the railway system of England: 
 1st, the ship-railway will be devoid of all curves ; and, 2nd, the 
 cargo transported will be handled wholly by machinery, and in 
 vast bulk. 
 
 I am afraid, Dear Admiral Ammen, judging from some indica- 
 tions which I have observed in letters from your pen, that the 
 views which I have herein expressed concerning the ship-railway 
 will appear to you both unexpected and unsatisfactory. I shall 
 very much regret it if this be so, because to differ with an officer
 
 46 LETTERS FROM 
 
 of your experience and of your manifest fair-mindedness must 
 necessarily detract from one's own influence. At the same time I 
 find myself wholly unable to believe that there are many ships at 
 sea which could not, with proper appliances and the needful care, 
 be lifted, fully loaded, from the water, and transported upon rails ; 
 and if ships could not be thus employed as railway cars for their 
 own goods, I should think it time to deal with the matter the other 
 way about, and make large cargo carriages which could take the 
 sea, and steam and sail eflSciently there. I have, therefore, no 
 words but those of encouragement for a ship-railway, regarded 
 from my point of view as a ship-builder, accustomed for a life- 
 time (which is getting now to be a long one) to the designing, 
 building, repairing and docking of both wood and iron ships ; 
 and while wishing no harm to the Nicaraguan Canal scheme, and 
 not having anything to say against it, I trust the ship-railway 
 scheme may also, for the credit alike of engineering science and 
 of commerce, be hereafter discussed by others with that dispas- 
 sionateness with which, I am confident, it will always be treated 
 by you. 
 
 "Will you allow me to add an expression of the very great sorrow 
 and pain which are everywhere felt in this country on account of 
 the attack made upon your President, also of our heartfelt sym- 
 pathy with him in his sufferings, and of our admiration at the 
 heroism displayed by him throughout them. His name and his 
 noble endurance are upon every tongue here. 
 
 I have the honour to be, Dear Admiral Ammen, 
 
 Yours, very truly, 
 
 E. J. REED.
 
 
 »i
 
 UNIVERSrTY OF ILUNOMMMBANA 
 
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