CS Monarch
1853 The Electric and International Company bought a steamer, the Monarch, from Messrs. Brownlow and Pearson, of Hull, for £6250, the first telegraph steamer ever built.[1]. She was a paddle steamer, built of wood, of about 500 tons burden.
1870 British inland telegraphs were taken over by the government, who also thereby acquired the Monarch. Her first duty for her new owners was to repair the Wexford cable but her propulsion machinery broke down off Land's End, and she had to be towed into the Irish Channel. Despite the problems, her officers decided to do their best with the available gear and succeeded in effecting the repairs necessary by use of one paddle wheel with the help of a tug on the disabled side. After this she was taken to Birkenhead by tug boats, condemned and sold; she became a coal hulk (it is thought).
After this the few government cables were maintained using chartered vessels including the Dacia, the International, the La Plata , the Carolina, the Hubert Lowe, the Sydney Hall, the Lightning, the Morun, several of Messrs. Watkins' tugs, the Anglia, the Victoria, the Blazer, &c.
During this period a great number of cables were laid down; by 1884 it was thought the company had almost 100.
1883 After much pressure, the Postmaster-General gained the funds to build a new steamer.
1884 The new CS Monarch was built and equipped at a cost of well under £50,000 by David J. Dunlop and Co., of Port Glasgow, to the design of Mr. J. H. Ritchie. Her principal dimensions were 240ft length between perpendiculars; moulded depth 33ft.; depth from keel to deck, amidship, 20ft.; tonnage, c.1350 tons. With 600 tons of cable and 120 tons of fuel on board, she was expected to have a draft of 15ft. 6in.
WWI: In anticipation of the need for more cable ships, the Post Office had prepared plans and specifications to replace the CS Alert. However, the CS Monarch was sunk before the "Alert" was sold, so the proposed new ship was subsequently named "Monarch"; she was launched in 1918, constructed by Messrs Swan, Hunter and Wigham Richardson for the Post Office
Designed to operate in shallow waters only.
Originally coal-fired but converted to oil fuel in 1920.
See Also
Sources of Information
- ↑ The Engineer 1884/05/02
- CS Alert [1]