Hi Paddleducks!
First of all apologies for my silence over the past two weeks which
was the result of a fairly large Model Boat show I was involved with
followed by a week of the dreaded 'flu! Now that the coughing has
subsided and I'm feeling somewhat less sorry for myself, I'll attempt
to catch up on my paddlelife as there have been some interesting posts
in the forum.
My recent period of inactivity did provide a grand opportunity to
catch up on some reading, and a number of books arrived in the
mail..one of which was Alistair's fine book "Steamers of the Clyde -
NB and LNER" which I'll write more about in a later post. It has some
superb pictures of a number of the early railway sidewheelers which
have a definite Victorian elegance and charm all of their own.
Alistair's book includes photos of the lovely "Worthing Belle/Diana
Vernon" which is one of the three paddlers I am currently researching.
Another book which arrived was an Ebay purchase I am very pleased
with. Written in 1934, it's Frank Burtt's classic "Cross-Channel and
Coastal Paddle Steamers". Of course, as soon as it arrived I started
flicking through the photo plates and suddenly my jaw dropped.
Sitting there plain for all to see on page 131 is a photo of a
sidewheeler with TWO SETS OF PADDLES each side...a classic 4 x 4
configuration if ever I saw one. The vessel was the "Bessemer" and
she was indeed a STRAAAAAAANGE looking vessel!
For those of you who are familiar with the narrow and often vicious
straits which separate England from the Continent of Europe, you'll
know the English Channel with it's violent South Westerly storms and
opposing currents can make for a very uncomfortable crossing. I know
this from personal experience, although in my case, fortunately the
excitement of the crossings has always acted as an antidote to sea
sickness!
It seems, not surprisingly, that one of the greatest preoccupations of
Cross Channel Ferry operators of the latter 19th Century was to
prevent their passengers staggering off vessels at their destinations
with the dreaded death mask of green tinged palour which proclaims
unmistakably.."mal de mer"!!
The first attempt to combat this was the quite revolutionary
"Castalia", a paddler catamaran!!! ..and which you have already heard
me mention in this forum. I'll quote from Mr. Burtt's book on page
130.
" The second attempt to combat Channel waves was made in 1875, when
Earle's Shipbuilding & Engineering Company launched at Hull the
"BESSEMER". This steamer had a complete ship's hull, and in the
centre of her length was slung a large swinging saloon controlled by a
hydraulic arrangement worked by skilled labour, the idea being to keep
the saloon always on a level, irrespective of the movements of the
ship's hull....."
Naturally the news of such a revolutionary innovation was met with
rapturous anticipation by the British seagoing public. However...
"....The swinging saloon proved to be a failure from the first, with
the result the "BESSEMER" was withdrawn from public service."
"She had four paddle wheels, two on each side of her hull, for and
aft, thus reverting to the plan of Bell's Comet of 1811 (you guys
already pegged that one correctly !) Both pairs of feathering wheels
were 30 feet in diameter and were placed 106 feet apart centre to
centre...."
".... she was a curious looking craft, (to say the least, Mr. Burtt!)
being a double-ender with bows at both ends built very low."
In fact the photos do not depict an "elegant" ship by any means.
However, what she lacks in aesthetic appeal she more than compensates
for in historical interest..definitely a product of the Industrial
Revolution as was her namesake, Sir Henry Bessemer..and definitely a
ship worthy of a great model by some intrepid "Paddleduck"!
I was so fascinated by this "ugly duckling" that I tracked down a copy
of Richard Clammer's "Paddle Steamers" which has some wonderful photos
and descriptions of both "Castalia" and "Bessemer". When I finally
get the new scanner hooked up, I'll digitize some images along with a
tribute to these ships in our files.
So there she is...what might be the world's first (and last) 4 X 4
passenger paddler...a distinction which most certainly puts her
right up there with Paddlewheel Aircraft Carriers!!
PJ
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