JULY 1901. 596 BARROW DOCKS AND APPROACHES BY LAND AND SEA. BY MR. FRANK STILEMAN, OF LONDONAND BARROW-IN-FWRNEEB. The Barrow Docks,* Plate 108, are owned by the Furness Railway Company, who are also the Harbour Authorities. The railway system connects with the Midland at Wennington Junction (the line between Wennington and Carnforth being jointly owned by the Furness and Midland Railway Companies), and with the London and North Western Railway at Carnforth and Oxenholme to the South, and Whitehaven on the North. The Furness Railway Company also owns and works the branch lines to Lake Side (Windermere), and to Coniston Lake, and on both Lakes it has a regular service of steam yachts. The following are the dates of the opening of the various lines now constituting the Furness Railway system :- * See also ‘‘ Docks and Railway Approaches at B.irrow-in-Furneas,” by Mr. F. C. Stileman ; Proceedings 1850, page 321. Downloaded from pme.sagepub.com at NANYANG TECH UNIV LIBRARY on June 5, 2016 686 BABBOW DOOES. JULY 1901. DATESOF OPENINU. &in Line. Year. Miles. Chains. 1846. Dalton to Kirkby ....... 6 69 1847. Roose to Barrow Old Passenger Station ...1 33 1848. Kirkby to Broughton .......3 43 1849. Ravenglassto Whitehaven. .....16 61 1850. Foxfield toRavengless ......17 45 1851. Lindel to Dalton .......1 53 1854. Ulverston to Linda1 .......268 1857. Carnforthto Ulverston ......19 35 1867. Millwood Junction to Dalton Junction ...0 33 1875. Barrow, Old Station, to Ormsgill Junction ...1 70 1881. St. Luke's Junotion to Barrow Docks ....1 42 1882. Barrow and Park Loop (Salthouse to Park) ...5 41 Branch Lines. 1846. Goldmire Junction to Pie1 Pier .....6 13 1859. Broughtontoconiston ......8 67 1863. Hawcoat Branch .......0 52 1865. Millom to Hdbarrow. ......1 49 1867. GmklandetoStainton ...... 1 56 1869. Levens Junction to Greenodd Junction ...0 29 1869. Ulverston to Lake Side ......9 38 1873. Salthouse JunctiontoStank ..... 1 74 1876. Arnside to Hinca8tt.r (Kendal Branch) - . 5 25 1882. Oak LeaendGoldmire Junctiou. ....0 31 1883. Plumpton Junction to Bardsea (Priory Station) . 2 00 38 34 Joint Liaes. 1867. (F. and M. Joint) Camforth to Wennington ...9 50 1880. Carnforth (F. and M. Curve) .....0 21 9 71 Total ......127 58 Downloaded from pme.sagepub.com at NANYANG TECH UNIV LIBRARY on June 5, 2016 JULY 1901. BARROW DOCKS. 597 The approaches to the docks from the sea are past Hilpsford Buoy to the south west of Walney Island, through a dredged cut some 300 feet wide, and of a depth of 14 feet at low water ordinary spring tides, thenoe round the south end of Walney, past Pie1 and Roa Island (from which the Belfast steamers used to depart years ago), wp Walney Channel and past what was once an island known as Barrow Rameey, but now forming the southernmost end of the dock system. There are therefore four reaches from the sea to the Ramsden Dock entrance, all of which have required a considerable amount of dredging. Three of them are provided with sir leading lights, two in each reach ; the first in each reach are constructed in timber work, the back ones of brick work, the front panels of which are of white glazed bricks. Nos. 1 and 2 reaches are also provided with illuminated buoys lasting for three months; some of them are Pintsch's gas buoys, while others are Wigham's oil buoys. These latter are now being experimented with. They consist of a copper cylinder with a receiver on top. The wick, which is carbonized and is burnt horizontally, passes over a roller on top. The burner is surmounted by a combustion cone and surrounded by lenticular apparatus ; one end of the wick is conveyed up through an oil-tight copper tube with holes in its sides, and the other end is brought down through a tube standing above the level of the oil in the lamp, and soldered or secured at the lower end. A circular float is placed in a copper cylinder fixed to the bottom of the lamp and filled with oil. When the lamp is first lighted, this float is at the top of the cylinder and is attached by means of hooks or loops to the wick. The oil in the cylinder is caused to drop slowly out of it through a valve of peculiar construction supplied by a cotton core, at such speed as may be necessary. Ramsden Dock.-The entrance to this dock is situated to the north of Barrow Ramsey, and has entrance gates 100 feet wide, with a depth of 31 feet 6 inches of water at high water ordinary spring tides. Downloaded from pme.sagepub.com at NANYANG TECH UNIV LIBRARY on June 5, 2016 Sliding Caisson.-Arrangement of Decks, etc. 4 Plan of No. 1 Deck. =f&+dliSqV& Scale, 18 feet to 1 inch. Downloaded from pme.sagepub.com at NANYANG TECH UNIV LIBRARY on June 5, 2016 Plan of No. 3 Deck. 2 E. Ejector Suction Valve. I. Inlet Valvc. R. Ram. S. Scupper Valve. T. Trunk. Notes. W k eJ No. 1. Ejector Suction Valve draws from No. 5 Tank. No. 2. Ejector Suction Valve draws from No. 3 Tank (RaiqRoom). 4! 1. 3. 1, ,, ,, ,, ,, 3 ,, (Ram Room). ,, 4. ,, ,, 11 11 ,I 2 ,, z To Flood No. 5 Tank, open Inlet Valves No. 1 and No. 2. To Flood No. 2 Tank, open Inlet Valves No. 3 and No. 4. i-4 ,, ,, ,, 3 ,, ,, either Ejector Suction Valves Nos. 1 and 2 and Inlet Valves Nos. 1 and 2. m or ,, ,, Nos. 3and4 ,, ,, ,, Noa.3and4. Depth of Water in No, 2 Tank not to be less than 9 ft. 0 in. nor more than 9 ft. 1 in. ,, ,, ,, ,, ,, 5. ,, ,, ,, ,, ,, ,, 9ft.3in. ,, ,, ,, 9ft.4in. Tanks Nos. 1, 3 (Ram Room), and 6 to be kept dry. Scupper Valves to Tank No. 4 on Dock side of Caisson will always be left open except at high spring tides. When water in lock rises above level of water in dock, the valves on dock side must be closed and those on lock side opened, reversing them apain as soon as tides fall to dock level. All sluices open by moving levers over to south side. All valves npen with a left-hand en CD potion and close with 8 right-hand rqotion. All valves except the scuppers to be kept cloged cg Downloaded from pme.sagepub.com at NANYANG TECH UNIV LIBRARY on June 5, 2016 600 BARROW DOCKS. JULY 1901. To the north of this entrance a quay wall has been built, having a depth of water varying from 12 feet 6 inches to 20 feet at low water ordinary sphg tides, fitted with hydraulic cranes, sheds, etc., and behind which is the Ramsden Dock Railway Station, fropl which passengers embark for Belfast and the Isle of Man, the former boats sailing nightly throughout the year, the latter sailing daily from Whitsuntide to the end of September. The station is provided with two passenger subways, the larger one, for the Isle of Man service, haviug a hydraulic lift with an :approach which at high water is level, at half tide assumes an incline, while at low water it is in the form of steps. The dock entrance basin is 900 feet long, and has four berths fitted with twelve hydraulic cranes. Where the foundations have been found good at a reasonable depth, concrete walls have been .constructed in sit&, where there are poor foundations, and at a .considerable depth open timber quays have been built, the piles of which, and the under-water timbers, are of Karri wood. The gravel .of which the concrete is made comes from the south end of Walney, and is of the very best description. The lock, 100 feet in width, is fitted with two pair of gates, and 8 sliding caisson-the caisson having taken the place of one pair of gates, which were originally erected there previous to the cill; a portion of the invert of the lock at this point having been recently lowered 6 feet, makes it uniform with the cills at the entranco to $hew docks, and at the western end of the lock. The necessity for lowering this cill was due to the heavy draught of the men-of-war, ,cruisers, and other large vessels that have been, and are being built at the Naval Construction Works of Messrs. Vickers, Sons and Maxim. ‘The work of lowering the Gill was completed in the present year, and the appesrance of the invert before and after this lowering is sespectively shown in Plate 109. This lowering will permit of the railway company, when trade demands it, constructing any new queys that may be required to such a depth thai they will be .capable of accommodating vessels drawing 30 feet of water. The caisson, shown in diagrammatic form (pages 598-9), is tank-shaped, 103 feet long by 12 feet wide, and 39 feet 6 inches in depth. It is Downloaded from pme.sagepub.com at NANYANG TECH UNIV LIBRARY on June 5, 2016 JULY 1901. BARROW DOCKS. GO1 worked by means of chains and hauling bow actuated by small hydraulic engines, placed at the head of the caisson recess, to reduce the resistance when hauling the caisson ; the bottom and lower parts of the ends have been left open, so enabling the water to flow freely through longitudinally, the water ballast can at the same time be reduced by means of hydraulic ejectors, the ejected water being readmitted when the caisson is at rest. Four sluices each 6 feet by G feet go through the caisson, and are opened and closed by double- acting hydraulic lifting cylinders.