THE "COMET."

Dominion, Volume 5, Issue 1536, 4 September 1912, Page 8

THE "COMET."

FIRST PASSENGER STEAMER'S CENTENARY. STEAM NAVIGATION 100 YEARS AGO, On Saturday last the centenary of the first passenger steamship—the Ooinet-waij celebrated at Glasgow. Exactly , one' hundred years ago, Mr. Henry Bell put into the waters df the Clyde the-first passenger steamer in Europe. Bell had-to svrmounr many obstacles before he waa able to put'his Comet into the river (says the "Westminster Gazette"). "My Lords' of the Admiralty" could tee nothing in his scheme when, it was submitted to them; they looked upon Bell as a fanatic, and oven James Watt, the great inventor, had his doubts as to how Bell would bo able to engine his craft. . Previous to Ibl2 the means of communication to the then'new port of Greenock -wore a species of wherry-built. net-shells, designated "fly-boats," and the run from Glasgow to Greenock took ten hours. All this was to be changed by two. Clyde men. It was James Watt, a native of Greenock, who, as instrument-maker in . Glasgow university in 1705, had the little model ot Nencomeu's engine placed in his hands : for repair, and, in the. course-of .the., work, discovered the separate : condenser ; which has-i-evolutionifert; the' navigation i of the world. And it was Henry bell, a resident of ■ .Helensliiirgh, who in :1813/ placed on the waters'.of the Clyde' the' Comet, .which was' the pioneer,: ,of ,the splendid fleet of passettge'r steamers vkicb now ply on those waters. ' • ■'

■Supported by Lord Nelson. ' -.Henry Bell-"has left;it on record that' in ISOO and ajain in 1803 he-laid before Lord Melville and the' Lords of the Admiralty a; scheme showing "the practicability'and .great utility of applying.itearii to, theprd'ps'lling of vessels against wilids ,aiid tides.* . . : ■ . : '• ', .

Of all. the LoroVof. the' .Admiralty, Lord Nelson alone, believed., in-the. sane-' ness, of the scheme. .."My, lords, and , gentlemen," he said emphatically, "if, vou >lo.not adopt Mr. Bell's scheme,; other nations wilt,, and in tlie epd,.vex every vein of the Empire. . It wilLsucc'eed,' aiid you', should encourage Mr. : Bell." .Notwithstanding .tlie. support,, of this . great, ■ Admiral, "My Lords considered that the s proposal would bo of no value. : . Commehtiiig on the result of his appeal, Mr. Bell says:—"Having obtained no support from my country, .1 made correct pibspoctives, and forwarded copies to the. nations of Europe' arid the United States. The Americans were the first who put my plan into practice,. lind were quickly ioU lowed by other nations." . Before Bell's time .there had .been, cxj periinents in propelling vessels byiiteani. In 1781 the Trench Maquis ,de. Joufl'roy made fruitless attempts.on.the Savone ; at vLyons. .In 1785 two. Americans, Ramsay ■and Fitoh, encouraged by George Washington, made similar ' efforts' with like results, and. in 1788 Patrick Miller, of Dalswinton, with Andrew. Symington for-his engineer, cx'i erimsuted with a mid-wheel boat t>n Dalswinton Loch with some degree of success. It was not until the year 1802 that the'project proved itself to bo practicable. In March, of that year. Lord D'undas, at the instance of the then Governor of the Forth and Clyde Canal, got Symington to Sut his stern wheel steamer, the 'CliarloHa lundas, , upon that waterway and towed two loaded sloons of seventy-, tons each a distance ■ of-nineteen.miles in'six hours-, against a- strong wind. v ' . ; ' ' Robert Fultoa, who had'visited Heniy, ■Bell and was in correspondence'with hini( ■en tho subject, came, next,. and' in. 1607 i, the eteainor Clermoiit was plying for gocda between New York and Albany.' _ The, , great triumph of the Helensburgh , inveu-' tor came four years'later.' Whoever may, b3 entitled to priority in ■ tho conception of a navigable steamer, it is an undoubted ,, fact that the credit of the introduction; of tho first steamboat to ply for passen-; gers in European waters, is duo to Bell. Tlie inventor .was a. mail of restless, , ingenious ■'mind,:ever , 'plodding' and, scheni-: ing to reach an eminence , by original ,iu-.-ventions. The steamboat,' however,-; vrae ever before his mind's eye, aiuhafter.'ill, our British engineers, with James Watt' himself at their head, had nearly abandoned the hope of ,conqucriug tho ocean ;by: fire-driven steam-propelled vessels, Henry Bell made the Broomielaw resound with, the shouts of thousands when he put.the' new fiery-power to his little Comet.

The Inventor's Career. " V ) The inventor was descended from a famj . ily which had followed the occupotion ol\ millers and wheelwrights for centuries. '. Bell was born near Liulirhgow.' on April , 7, 1767, and after tiying mason work and. serving an apprenticeship with his uncle, ns a millwright, he worked successfully at tho trade of ship-modelling aud engi-i peering, and was engaged, for. a' time. iin-v der the celebrated engineer, Rennie, in: , London. ' ■ ■ ' ■ ■ i ■In 1790 ho settled in Glasgow. .In ; the, spring of 1800 he became acquainted with,-; the owner, of a pleasure yacht.' In this ( Bet', placed a boiler and engine, of four-' horsa power, with machinery. for the. paddles, and a strong cover .board .th&t'. folded over from tho top of the bulwark?;, to prevent the rushiiig-up. of the waters. In the following years,, seeking.to ' imJrove on his experiment, he [applied, to ames Watt, who was , then at-Birming-ham, for'advice as.'to a portable engine, that would , staind on its own"ba.se, with; stout.lovers, of which he prepared a plan. . Watts's reply was discouraging. ."Howi many noblemen, gentlemen, and ' engineers," he wrote, "have puzzled their, brains .and spent Hieir thousands of: pounds, and none of all these, nor your* , sell', hnvo been able to bring the uowetf of. steam in navigation to a'successful issue." ' •■•..••

Bell struggled for ten years',for therealisation of ']iis : project, and ho realised it at last. The Comet, .so called from a' meteor-which appeared in the -heavens at' this period, was built in 1811 to the order ■' of-Henry Bell, by John Wood, at Port Glasgow, ani was ready and advertised in August 1812 as a public conveyance foi passengers between Glasgow and Grcenock, Tho vessel ■ was . -}3feot...G .inches in length, had '.1 feet {inches of beam, and was:s feet .9 inches'in'depth.* The engine was male by John Bolerlsou,. nf v Dempster Street, Glasgow. It-was four nominal'horse-power, with a single upright cylinder of 12pn. diameter, and 16in. stroke, and driving, by means-of-two rods, a, pair of half-sido levers. The .-.crank; shaft.on. which was. fixed . a heavy, fly- , wheel, was worked from the lev.ors by.a., connecting rod. Tho slide; rod was driven ' by an eccentric on the main shaft through n rocking shaft, while the condenser was placed between the side levers, which drove the vertical air pump. ■ Originally ■ the engine was fitted with a smaller cylinder, but after being used for sonie mouths' this was replaced by 'the* qno described.. Steam was supplied by an in- . ternal flue boiler, built by David Napier. Tho vessel was'originally propelled, b) two paddles on each side, driven by spur gear, vith the paddles on detached arms but this arrangement Riving' trouble, com. plote wheels were substituted, and-aftei the vessel had been lengthened by 20ft, tho number of wheels was reduced to two, i 'peed of about five knots per hour was attained. The Comet successfully carried on o. passenger service thirteen years lwforo the openiui: of the first public railway. ' ' .'

A Schoolmaster as Captain* ' ' \ Her first matter was Captain William Mackenzie,' originally a. .schoolmaster m Edinb'urph. The crow consisted of eight hand.', including a piper. The fare to (ireenock or B.plen;'V)urgh was 4s. Iwst cabin'and .Is. second cnbin. When slw. ■went down the Clyde fh.ofc livin? ou the. banks used to run'down to see her nas?, fully -convinced that some, day she. was bound to blow. up. The sailings ot the Comet vero extended via Tarbert and thfl Ci-i'nau Caual to Oban, Port Appin, and Fort William, the return journey occupying four da.yj. On December 13, If2o, the Comot was caught by the strong tide-race aud «i«tor»! ly wind and wrecked a't the Doris Mhqr, outside Crinan. Tho afterpart of the ves-' seL drifted towards Corriewrcchen, but the fore-end, from which Henry 'Bell, thecrew, and paKengers had scrambled ashoro' remained on the 'rocks, and from it the machinery w afterwards removed. Tne original cnume of »the Comet is now inthe. SAuth'Kenfiljgton Museum, London. After 'a- disaster to his second Comet, Bell's steamship enterprise ended. A siib- ' fcrlption was raised for him. and the Ch'df Trustees bestowed on him an annuity of -£100; which they, coutinued'to' his widow when the great inventor'died .at Helensburgh. iu November'of-1530, ,