My brother-in-law sent me this today:
'Elijah Moreton, one of our ancestors, who
decided in 1865 to up sticks and go to America. Once there, he changed his
name to Morton, got married, and set up a very successful business in 1879
as Captain of the paddle-steamer “Solano”, ferrying trains across the
Carquinez Strait between Benecia and Port Costa, California.
Here are the statistics:-
The Solano was 424 feet in length, was 116ft 8ins wide, and had 4 train
tracks. Her registered tonnage was 3549 tons. She drew 6ft 4ins light and
10ft 7ins loaded. Two independent vertical walking beam engines having a 5ft
diameter piston and an 11ft stroke, developing 2,252 HP each. The paddle
wheels were independent and were 30ft in diameter with a 24 inch diameter
shaft and 24 buckets. There were 8 boilers (6 in use, 2 being serviced
whilst transporting trains). There were 4 rudders at each end of the boat
controlled by a steering lever in each pilot house which operated a valve
and used a steam driven hydraulic pump to move a piston connected to the
rudders. She could carry 2 Pacific 4-6-2 locomotives plus 17 or 18 heavy
weight Pullman sleeper and baggage cars and the “Boat Goat” (0-6-0
switcher). Her crew consisted of 2 crews of 17 men, each working 12 hour
shifts. Her operation was to carry entire trains across the Strait on the
Central Pacific and the Southern Pacific mainline, connecting Sacramento
with Oakland (San Francisco). The crossing was 1 mile with an 8ft average
tide, 13ft extreme tide. She travelled 8 miles per hour in a bi-directional
current. Fog was a main concern.
History:
1879 Solano carried first train
1905 Rebuilt to handle larger and heavier trains
1916 Rebuilt again to handle even bigger trains
1930 Railroad Bridge finished, last sailing of the Solano
1931 Solano sunk as a breakwater near Antiock, California and is still there
today
She was probably the busiest train ferry in the world. In 1904 she handled
approximately 115,000 freight cars and 56,000 passenger cars in the one
year. In this year she was making 36 to 46 crossings every 24 hours
Elijah Moreton/Morton was captain of the ship until 1902/3 when the
following occurred as described in this newspaper report:-
“ While on her way across the straits Monday night from Port Costa, the
steamer Solano with two heavy trains aboard became unmanageable and drifted
onto the mud flats on this side of the straits. There are several rumours
afloat regarding the exact cause of the difficulty, but the fact is known
that the passengers on the Oregon Express were subjected to quite a fright
and instead of being landed here at the scheduled time 10 o’clock pm, it was
1 o’clock Tuesday morning before they reached terra firma. There was a
little excitement at first, but when the passengers saw that their lives
were not endangered by the mishap, they took the accident as philosophically
as they could, the through passengers retiring to their births, leaving the
local passengers to sit up and grumble at the delay.
We understand that Captain Morton, who was in command of the Solano, has
tendered his resignation and Captain John Fahrenholtz, a former first mate
of the ferry, has been transferred here to fill the vacancy for the present.
Captain Morton has been a commander of the Solano since it was placed on the
straits, over 23 years, and it is with regret that he resigns on account of
an accident that would undoubtedly have been overlooked”
Although Elijah resigned from the Solano in 1902/3 he is still shown as a
mariner on the 1910 census. That is the last we heard of him, as he does not
appear on the 1920 census.'
Has this boat been covered here in the past and can anyone out there shed any additional light on her, her history and any models that have been made of her?
Many Thanks and New Year greetings to all...Bernie
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