Alexander Stephens & Sons

ALEXANDER STEPHENS & S0NS, Shipbuilders and Marine Engineers, Linthouse, Govan, Glasgow.

    Probably in no other industry during the last fifty years has there been so much scientific investigation and energy displayed as in that of marine architecture.

    The rapid development and progress which has taken place in ship-building and construction was, of course, not dreamed of by Dionysius Lardner, the great star in scientific circles, at the time when in 1838 he persisted in stating, and proved by figures (to his own satisfaction, at any rate) that the passage across the Atlantic by steam could not become an established commercial fact unless the ships could replenish their bunkers at the Azores and at Newfoundland.

    It is a far step from that day to this, and we suppose it will be generally admitted that the learned doctor was a little wide of the mark in his statement.
No better illustration of the development of steam navigation and marine construction during the last half century can be given than the rise and progress of the firm of Messrs. Alexander Stephen & Sons (now one of the largest and most important ship-builders in the United Kingdom) and a brief recital of particulars of a few of their achievements.

    Although the Stephen family have been shipbuilders for over a century (originally belonged to Aberdeen) it was not until 1851 that the firm, fully alive to the fact that the Clyde had become the leading river for marine architecture, removed the seat of their operations to Kelvinhaugh.

    In 1870 their rapidly growing requirements necessitated a further extension of premises, and the firm acquired by purchase the fine old estate of Linthouse. This property gives a frontage to the river of 1,070 feet, and allows full accommodation for eleven ships. It covers an area of some 32 acres, which is now occupied by the works and the handsome range of workmen’s dwellings erected by the firm. The property extends 1,400 feet from the river to the Govan Road, from which the firm have a broad-gauge railway running down to the ship-building department and intersecting the engineering and boiler shops. The raw material may therefore be forwarded direct to and from the works.

    In the handsomely appointed private offices of the firm, into which we were first ushered when recently making a tour of inspection of the establishment, are three hundred or so of the most beautiful and exquisitely finished models it has ever been our good fortune to examine. Mr. Alexander Stephen takes great pride in the elaborate pieces of workmanship, and pardonably boasts that he himself has had a hand in the building of each one, the formation of the model of every vessel the firm puts into the water being completed in a technical studio which was originally used as a billiard room.

    The first operation of ship-building is, of course, to provide drawings of the required sections and elevations, and all established firms employ a very similar modus operandi in producing the working drawings. The originals are usually on a scale of J inch to a foot, and enlarged copies of these are afterwards made to the full size of the object represented. The drawing offices of the firm are spacious and scientifically furnished ; nests of drawers surmounted by drawing tables surround the principal room, the excellent light and ventilation being everywhere apparent.

    Following our courteous conductor, we enter the wood-working shops. The timber, purchased in cargoes, is conveyed at high water to the steam cranes, and is lifted by these on to trucks which convey it to the saw mills. Here are three frame saws, two by Messrs. Thomson and Allen, of Johnstone, and one by McDowall. Deserving of special mention in this shop is Messrs. Western & Co.’s patent band saw. This labour saving machine, which is also a compound tool having a circular as well as a band saw, cuts twists of any angle without stopping, and in any length or thickness of timber. Another novel and ingenious construction is a set of powerful planing machinery by Messrs. Thomson & Allen, which takes planks 24 inches broad by 12 inches thick and, after planing them, delivers them to any distance required by the aid of an automatic slide.

    Passing next into a substantial three-storey building, each floor of which is 280 feet by 66 feet, we receive our first illustration of the thorough way in which the firm do their work. The first feature impressed upon us is that every precaution is taken against fire, and if it were to break out it could not last long, for, in addition to fire plugs, extincteurs, &c., which are distributed everywhere, an efficient brigade is always at hand to man the fully-equipped and powerful fire-engines by Shand and Mason.

    The ground floor of the building is set apart as the spar, block, and small-boat making departments, wherein the firm make lifeboats and captains’ gigs, in addition to the whole of their spars and iron and wood blocks. The next floor is devoted to joining and cabinet-making. That this is a very active department will be easily understood when we state that all the cabinet and other fittings necessary for the vessels built in this yard are manufactured on the premises. Although assisted in every way by the best labour-saving machinery, it is necessary to employ a large number of skilled workmen in order to produce the work with dispatch and finish in the high state of perfection and excellence which the firm have always striven after, and which has deservedly placed them in the high position they hold in ship-building circles. The whole of the wood working machinery is driven by a pair of horizontal compound engines with 23 1/2-inch and 39-inch cylinders and a stroke of 48 inches. The third floor of this building is the moulding loft; here we are shown the drawings of the vessels put down full size, technically termed “laying off”.

    Our next visit is to the ship-building shed, some 500 feet long by 200 feet wide. Near to this is the forge, where we find modern giants in the shape of large forging furnaces, ten steam cranes, and nine steam hammers ranging from 2 1/2 cwt. to 3 tons busily engaged in forging the “best scrap” and other iron for the rudder frames and the keels and posts of the vessels. Even in a cursory examination, one could not fail to be struck with the fact that the great aim of the firm was perfection, and not only to obtain the most perfect work, but to produce it with as little manual labour as possible. In the next process we are initiated into the mysteries of frame setting. This is done on massive iron blocks each weighing several tons. On these blocks the form of the rib is marked from a set of full-size drawings taken from the scrieve boards, and pins are placed in holes which correspond with the outline. Long bars of angle iron are then brought, the hammering and bending begins, and the hot iron is shaped to form the half frame of the ship in a remarkably short space of time. To describe in detail all the marine tools, “the appliances and means to boot” to be found here, would be an impossible task ; suffice it to say that better machinery than that selected for this department could not be found, for Bennie, Cook, Harvie, Cameron, Shanks, in fact all the best makers, have a hand in the supply. While the ribs are being fashioned, the keel and stem and stern posts are drilled, the keel blocks laid down, and the plates marked, drilled, punched, sheared, &c. The framing proceeds in a very short time after the keel is laid down, owing to the fact that it is the invariable custom of the firm not to lay down the keel until the parts forming the stringers, bulkheads, &c., are ready.

    Leaving the noise and clatter of this department behind, we are next conducted to the slips. They are eleven in number, as we have previously mentioned, and eight or nine of these are invariably occupied. One of the special features of this yard is a gigantic travelling steam crane which spans most of the vessels and can be made to run the entire length of the yard. This species of machinery is, we are informed, peculiar to the firm, and not only enables them to send vessels much sooner to sea, but is also productive of a great saving both of labour and expense. The system and technique of the firm are based on sound scientific principles allied to thorough practical experience, and the vessels built by them have been constructed for owners representing all the principal nationalities of the world. In a list of the many vessels built since their arrival on the banks of the Clyde we find the “Nepaul” for the Peninsular and Oriental Company ; the “Lessing”, “Herder”, “Gellert”, and “Wieland”, for the Hamburg American Company ; the “Washington”, “Vincenzo Florio”, “Archimede”, “Independente”, “Gottardo”, and “Elettrico”, for the Florio-Rubattino Line, Rome ; the “Ethiopia”, and others for the Anchor Line ; twelve steamers for the Clan Line ; three paddle steamers for the Brazilian Mail Service (in connection with which Mr. Alexander Stephen was, in 1872, knighted by the Emperor of Brazil) ; thirteen vessels for Messrs. Wätjen and Company, Bremen ; eighteen for the Line of Messrs. Sloman, Hamburg ; &c., &c.

    As may be supposed, many of these vessels have had eventful histories, a peculiar instance being afforded by the “Sea King”, a speedy China tea clipper. During the American war she was converted into the notorious and successful cruiser “Shenandoah”, and afterwards purchased and used by the Sultan of Zanzibar as a yacht. Some fourteen years later, if our memory serves us right, she was lost on the African coast.

    During the last fifteen years Messrs. Stephen & Sons have produced over a quarter of a million tons of shipping, and the engines constructed by them during that period give a total of more than 110,000 indicated horse power. Among other specialities, the firm introduced the system of ship-building known as “Composite”, a system on which a large number of vessels have been built and which was afterwards adopted by several ship-building firms and by the Admiralty. Coming to the later achievements of the firm, we may mention the magnificent steel-screw steamer the “Boston”, built for the Yarmouth Steamship Company, Nova Scotia. The “Boston” is a steamer of the following dimensions : length between perpendiculars 245 feet, breadth 36 feet, and depth from the hurricane deck 28 feet 9 inches. Constructed for the passenger trade between Yarmouth and Boston, she has sleeping and other accommodation for 300 first-class passengers ; she completed her series of official trial trips last October, to the entire satisfaction of all concerned.

    Another recent production of the firm is the S.S. “State of California”, which was launched on January 29th in the presence of a large concourse of people. She was originally built for the State of California Steamship Company, Limited, but, on account of the Line in connection with which she was intended to work having changed hands, her trial trip which was to have taken place in April has been postponed, and it is believed that the vessel, which is remarkably well adapted for many trades, will either be sold or worked in a new connection. The adaptation of the “State of California” for many trades will be apparent when we say that she is built of mild steel, is classed 100 A1 in Lloyd’s under special survey, with additional strengthening over Lloyd’s requirements, and is built to comply with the Admiralty regulations for transport service. She is 400 feet long over all, 46 feet beam, and 32 feet moulded depth. With a gross registered tonnage of 4,500 tons she is designed to carry 5,300 tons dead-weight on Lloyd’s freeboard. The “State of California” is a high-class passenger steamer, having sufficient engine power to ensure the greatest regularity by the maintenance of a good rate of speed in any weather, and has a capacity for carrying cargo to ensure good earnings from freight even with few or no passengers. To ensure the greatest amount of safety in case of accident, the vessel is divided into eight watertight compartments, the bulkheads of these being all carried to the upper deck. In addition to this she also has water-ballast tank in cellular double bottom, fore and aft, which may be filled or emptied, as occasion requires, very expeditiously. In her general arrangements she is very similar to the type of vessel now generally adopted for Atlantic passenger ships. The vessel has a very handsome appearance and should take little water on deck, for there are bulwarks all round. The saloon accommodation, capable of meeting the requirements of 250 passengers, is situated all at the middle of the vessel, where there is the least motion. A novel arrangement is that the greater part of the state rooms is capable of being easily taken down if required, say for instance to suit a reduced number of passengers during the winter months. The extra space thus acquired can either be utilized for cargo or fitted up for steerage passengers in the emigration season. The saloon accommodation is entered from the main deck by doors on each side of the deck house. These are fitted with inner vestibule doors and admit one into a spacious well-lighted entrance hall, from which, on the after side, a grand staircase leads to the main saloon and state rooms. On the forward side a double staircase leads up to the promenade deck and smoking room. The decorations are exceedingly chaste and effective. The main saloon is in walnut and figured birch, with upholstery in Moquette. The music room, upholstered in Gobelin tapestry, is panelled in satin wood, birch, and sycamore, and the ladies’room is Tynecastle tapestry, panelling, and silk upholstery. To suit parties travelling in company the main saloon has small tables placed athwart ships in addition to those running fore and aft. The state rooms are all in white enamel, upholstered in red velvet, the berths and sofas being fitted with spring mattresses. Steerage accommodation is afforded for some seven or eight hundred passengers, and is situated fore and aft of the saloons on the main and upper decks.

    Both cabin and steerage are heated by steam and thoroughly ventilated, and the vessel is fitted throughout with a double installation of electric light. The accommodation for officers and engineers is situated in deck houses amidships, that of the crew being forward under the upper deck. Everything is of the most ample and comfortable description, and the galleys and butcher’s and baker’s shops are all adjoining each other in the deck house round the funnel. The machinery consists of a set of triple expansion engines of the latest designs having 34-inch, 55-inch, and 88-inch cylinders, a stroke of 54 inches, and supplied with steam by three boilers at 160 lbs. pressure. The steam steering gear by Messrs. Muir & Caldwell, and also the hand gear by Napier. Brothers, are both placed in the wheel-house under the after poop. There are seven steam winches, five cargo hatches, and a steam windlass arid capstain. There is not the slightest doubt that, had the “State of California” been put on the station for which she was intended, the vessel would have fulfilled the highest expectations of all concerned and would long have been — as no doubt she yet will be in another connection — a striking example of the best marine engineering and construction produced by Messrs. A. Stephen & Sons. Bearing in mind that the main elements upon which success in steam navigation depends are chiefly a well-formed and well-made vessel, economical engines, and an efficient propeller, it must be admitted that the firm of which we are speaking (who have made vast improvements in the system of marine construction in all these particulars) have justly earned, and therefore fully deserve, the high encomiums which are being showered upon them.

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