William Thomas Mulvany – The story of a Civil Engineer
by Olaf Schmidt-Rutsch
presented to the Newcomen Society on 8th October 2008
ABSTRACT
Mulvany's first major task as a civil engineer was work on the Shannon-Erne-Canal in 1836. He became responsible for the introduction of arterial drainage in Ireland and was appointed Commissioner of Public Works in Ireland in 1846. After the Famine it became obvious that the system of arterial drainage touched the main problem of the Irish land system. The works, which increased during the relief operations, were criticized by a strong lobby of landowners, resulting in an investigation by the House of Lords. Mulvany’s career was very much a product of Ireland’s active state intervention, and when the drainage works were cut down, he became a scapegoat and retired on pension in 1854. But his career was by no means finished.
One year later Mulvany arrived in the developing Ruhr area to found the Hibernia colliery in Gelsenkirchen. He managed the transfer of British mining technology and made the mine the most productive in Westphalia within three years! He was also an important figure in the formation of industrial lobby groups in the Ruhr. He was responsible for the formation of the “Association of economic interests in Rhineland and Westphalia” and was appointed the first president of this important pressure group in 1871. His extensive memoranda are an important source, drawing light on the political and economic questions of his time on an European scale.
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Archibald Sturrock and the Steam Tender Experiment
by Lord Vernon, Member of the Society
presented to the Newcomen Society on 12 November 2008
ABSTRACT
Archibald Sturrock is best remembered for his experiment with the auxiliary or powered steam tender. The Great Northern Railway obtained over half its revenue from the coal and mineral trades in the 1860s. By utilising the additional adhesion derived from the weight of the powered tender, the load on each coal train could be increased by 50% and capital and running costs reduced. Fewer trains were required and the capacity of the line increased without damaging the weak iron rails of the time.
This paper will:
- assess the impact of Sturrock’s career and family circumstances on his decision to experiment with the steam tender;
- review earlier experiments with the steam tender in France and Scotland, particularly the Caledonian Railway’s experience in 1859-60;
- examine the contribution of Charles Sacré and the Manchester, Sheffield and Lincolnshire Railway to the development of the steam tender on the GNR;
- identify the reasons for the failure of the experiment and the impact this had on Sturrock’s decision to retire from the Great Northern Railway in December 1866;
- consider the influence of Sturrock’s experience on the development of Gresley’s booster and the Poultney steam tender in the 1920s.
Sturrock believed the steam tender would have been a success if it had been persistently pursued, but he did not stay with the GNR to pursue it. Writing in a memoir for his children in 1892, he recognised the steam tender ‘forms another of the schemes which was supposed likely to make a great fortune, but which historically will be described as a failure.’
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The Transport Revolution (abstract)
by E F Clark (past President)
presented to the Newcomen Society on 10 December 2008
ABSTRACT
The author has felt for a long time that the level of knowledge, and most particularly the materials available, were and still are what really govern developments, particularly in the field of transport, where any existing technology is stretched to the limit.
In making a broad review of the Transport Revolution in the context of "Taking Stock of our Industrial Heritage", the Author will concentrate on ideas and concepts, materials and circumstances, achievements and discoveries, rather than hardware. He will discuss how there are definite steps in acquiring knowledge, either consciously, or by what one might call "progressive experience", each step being a pre-requisite for the next.
Topics include:
- early history
- horses
- ships in the ancient world
- from the romans to the renaissance
- the start of industry
- steamboats
- steam railways
- the internal combustion engine
- flight
- new prime movers
- jet aircraft
- the future
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Building Knowledge: British engineering design in the late 19th century. (abstract)
by Dr Klaus Stauberman
presented to the Newcomen Society on 14th January 2009
ABSTRACT
During the late 19th century, British engineering encountered growing competition from Germany and the United States. By the 1870s the question of how to improve technical education in Britain had become a pressing topic of debate. A key topic of debate was how and whether to implement scientific theory into the engineering curriculum. The British debate is useful since it sheds some light on the relationship of theory and practice in late 19th century machine-making and provides useful information on what factors shaped successful machine design. What was the actual role of theory and practice in the making of machines? And was there anything specific about British engineering practice that made engineers reluctant to trade it for the new theory? I will argue that despite the adoption of new theoretical knowledge, engineers became increasingly aware of their existing practical knowledge and were keen to promote it if necessary.
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The Western Canal - forerunner of
The Kennet and Avon Canal
(abstract)
by C Ian Broom, Member of the Society
presented to the Newcomen Society on 11th February 2008
ABSTRACT
The Kennet and Avon Canal together with the rivers Avon, Kennet and Thames formed a commercial link between Bristol and London. This paper looks at the various schemes that preceded the Kennet and Avon Canal.
Schemes were proposed to link the Thames with either the Severn or Avon as early as the 1600’s but no practical progress was made until the 1720’s when the rivers Kennet and Avon were canalised.
In 1788 a group of gentlemen meeting in Hungerford proposed a canal to run from Newbury to Hungerford and “as far further as is thought desirable”. This was soon extended to Marlborough and eventually all the way to Bristol. The committee that had been formed first hired Messrs Weston, Simcock and Barnes to survey alternative routes. Robert Whitworth was then called upon to comment on their report. He stated that the route via Calne, Chippenham and Bath was possible but might be short of water in the summer months. The committee then chose John Rennie to do more detailed surveys. Having had a satisfactory report from Rennie, the committee tried to launch the canal at a public meeting in 1790, but not enough shares were taken up. The project then lay dormant for two years.
A fresh wave of canal mania in late 1792 resulted in frenzied activity, with two groups trying to gain control of the canal. Once that had been settled, there was sufficient money available to proceed and Rennie was hired to make a fresh survey. The necessary Act of Parliament was obtained in 1794.
The paper makes use of the reports of Weston, Whitworth and Rennie to map out the proposed canal and to highlight some of the problems. The copious letters written by John Ward, Agent to the Marquess of Ailesbury, Treasurer and later Secretary to the Kennet and Avon Canal, provided more detailed accounts of the affairs of the canal.
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Robert Stephenson: Chief Telegrapher? (abstract)
by Dr Neil Barton, Member of the Society
presented to the Newcomen Society on 11th March 2009
ABSTRACT
When E F Clark lodged the Bidder papers in the Science Museum Library,
he provided material that opens up the possibility of a re-examination of the introduction of the electric telegraph.
Similarly the recent biography of Robert Stephenson, by many Newcomen Society notables, with new research on his business relationships and political views facilitates a re-appraisal of his attitude toward signalling. Although Clark viewed Stephenson as a passive investor, this paper will argue that Stephenson played a secret but critical role in the commercialisation of the telegraph.
In 1837 Stephenson trialled the electric telegraph between Euston and Camden. The historiography states that this was rejected in favour of a ‘pneumatic telegraph’. It is also accepted that the world’s first commercial electric telegraph was from Paddington to West Drayton, the first section of which opened in April 1839. The paper will show, however, that there is archival evidence that an operational electric telegraph was actually installed from Euston to Camden immediately before the official opening of the railway in September 1838.
In the railway mania of 1845, more than 1,400 prospective railways were registered as candidates for incorporation, creating a wonderful business opportunity for the electric telegraph. A secret consortium was formed to purchase the Cooke and Wheatstone patent for the equivalent of £9 million. In order to conceal their identities for this illegal purchase, and in order to be able to sell electric telegraph systems to the widest number of railways, Stephenson was not disclosed as a shareholder but his shares were held in George Bidder’s name. Bidder also held the shares of some of the other partners such as Peto, and probably Brassey and Locke. The paper will also show that, after the Electric Telegraph Company was incorporated in 1846, its business was seeded by orders from most of the Stephenson railways, particularly those where George Hudson was the Chairman.
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The Polonceau roof and its analysis (abstract)
by Professor Stefan M Holzer
Presented to the Newcomen Society on 8th April 2008
ABSTRACT
The roofing system named after Camille Polonceau (1813-59) was invented around 1840 and quickly became popular for large-span roofs in France and Germany.
Firstly, we follow the development of the wide-span timber roof from the last third of the 18th century to the middle of the 19th century. The contemporary state of technology of the traditional timber roofing provides the backdrop for various attempts to introduce iron elements into the timber roof. We trace the "Polonceau" roof back to cable-trussed beams of military bridges, describe the "invention" of the "Polonceau" roof around 1840 and the evolution of its construction until the late 19th century, in particular, its rapid transformation into an all-iron roofing system.
In the second part of the paper, we study the methods of analysis employed in the design of "Polonceau" roofs. We find two distinct lines of tradition, one based on the analysis of individual components, making use of Johann Albert Eytelwein's Handbuch der Statik (1808), as well as another one based on the incipient methods for the analysis of statically determined trusses, particularly on graphical methods (Maxwell, Rankine, Culmann). We observe that both traditions – incompatible with respect to the underlying modeling assumptions – co-existed for quite a number of decades, and even mixed occasionally, with disastrous consequences for the validity of the analysis.
The paper concludes with an evaluation of both lines of tradition and highlights the eminence of novel approaches attempted by Castigliano.
The paper provides, in a nutshell, both a history of the Polonceau roof and a history of structural analysis in the 19th century.
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Broughton: From Wellington Bombers to the Airbus A380 (abstract)
28th Dickinson Memorial Lecture
by Andrew Levers CEng FIET, of Airbus UK
ABSTRACT
Presented to the Newcomen Society on 13th May 2009
The Airbus Broughton factory is situated in North Wales and was established by Parliament as a shadow factory for the mass production of aircraft. During December 1938, work on the factory commenced, to a demanding schedule. The works, which involved significant drainage operations due to the poor ground conditions, were completed during the summer of 1939. This was followed by the delivery of the first aircraft, a Wellington bomber, on the 2nd August 1939. The factory, with a floor of 1 million square feet, was larger than any other aircraft factory in Europe. Broughton, under the management of Vickers Armstrong, continued to manufacture Wellingtons for the duration of the War, producing a total of 5,540 - nearly half the total number manufactured.
Broughton was reallocated to the De Havilland Aircraft Company on the 1st July 1948. There followed an intense period of activity that included the manufacture of the Mosquito, the Comet 2 and 4 variants and the DH125 executive jet. Since 1970 Broughton has been established as the sole manufacturing site for wings of all Airbus aircraft, with perhaps the most significant developments in its history occurring with the introduction of the A380, the world’s largest commercial aircraft.
This lecture will detail the development of the Broughton site, from its initial conception to the development of the facilities, infrastructure and manufacturing processes used to produce wings for the world’s largest commercial aircraft, the Airbus A380.
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