A history of the growth of the steam-engine . Lock No. 20on the Forth and Clyde Canal, and two vessels of 70 tonsburden each taken in tow. Lord Dundas, William Sym-mington, and a party of invited guests, were taken on board, 348 THE MODKRN STEAM-ENGINE. and the boat steamed down to Port Glasgow, a distance ofabout 20 miles, against a strong head-wind, in six hours. The proprietors of the canal were now urged to adoptthe new plan of towing ; but, fearing injury to the banksof the canal, they declined to do so. Lord Dundas thenlaid the matter before the Duke of Bridgewater, who gaveSymmington an
A history of the growth of the steam-engine . Lock No. 20on the Forth and Clyde Canal, and two vessels of 70 tonsburden each taken in tow. Lord Dundas, William Sym-mington, and a party of invited guests, were taken on board, 348 THE MODKRN STEAM-ENGINE. and the boat steamed down to Port Glasgow, a distance ofabout 20 miles, against a strong head-wind, in six hours. The proprietors of the canal were now urged to adoptthe new plan of towing ; but, fearing injury to the banksof the canal, they declined to do so. Lord Dundas thenlaid the matter before the Duke of Bridgewater, who gaveSymmington an order for eight boats like the CharlotteDundas, to be used on his canal. The death of the Duke,however, prevented the contract from being carried intoeffect, and Symmington again gave up the project in de-spair. A quarter of a century later, Symmington receivedfrom the British Government £100, and, a little later, £50additional, as an acknowledgment of his services. TheCharlotte Dundas was laid up, and we hear nothing moreof that Fig. 76.—The Comet, 1812. Among those who saw the Charlotte Dundas, and whoappreciated the importance of the success achieved by Sym-mington, was Hbnet Bell, who, 10 years afterward, con-structed the Comet (Fig. 76), the first passenger-vessel built STEAM-NAVIGATION. 249 in Europe. This vessel was built in 1811, and completedJanuary 18,1812. The craft was of 30 tons burden, 40 feetin length, and 10^ feet breadth of beam. There were twopaddle-wheels on each side, driven by engines rated atthree horse-power. Bell had, it is said, been an enthusiastic believer in theadvantages to be secured by this application of steam, fromabout 1786. In 1800, and again in 1803, he applied to theBritish Admiralty for aid in securing those advantages byexperimentally determining the proper form and propor-tions of machinery and vessel; but was not able to con-vince the Admu-alty of the practicability and great utilityof applying steam to the propelling of ve
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Keywords: ., bookcentury1800, bookdecade1870, bookidc, booksubjectsteamengines
