Leith.] THE EDINBURGH DOCK. 287
This embankment was finished in February, 1877,
and thereafter the excavation of the dock was proceeded
with by a force of about five hundred men,
who worked daily at it. Two " steam nawies," each
of which filled a railway waggon in three minutes,
were used. .
Thus, in a'day of ten hours one of these excavated,
on an average, 400 .cubic yards, representing
550 tons of material, equal to the work of forty
able-bodied men ; and several other approved a p
pliances were employed by the contractors to
economise manual labour. In the progress of excavation
no remarkable difficulties, in an engineering
point of view, were encountered, the ground
being what is technically termed " dry."
Water, of course, gathered in the works, but was
led to a tank on the north side, and pumped into
a sewer-pipe running under the north embankment.
The walls are constructed of stone from Craigmillar
quarry, and the lime came froin the kilns at Lyme
Regis, and was crushed by machinery erected on
the Leith side of the dock. From the bottom of
the latter the walls are thirty-five feet in height, and
at high tide the depth of water is twenty-seven
feet. The entire amount of masonry about the
west dock is IOO,OOO cubic yards, and the quayage
accommodation amounts to 6,775 feet.
The total -length of the parallel walls on the
north and south sides is 1,500 feet, and the extreme
breadth of the dock 750. From the eastern end,
a jetty, 250 feet in width by 1,000 in length, runs
up the centre of the dock, which is thus formed
into two basins. This, of course, greatly increases
the quay accommodation. The western end
forms an open basin, 500 feet in length by the
entire breadth of the dock. In the centre of this
noble jetty a graving dock has been constructed,
350 feet long, forty-eight feet wide at the bottom,
and seventy at the top. Its gates are at the western
end of the jetty, and have twenty feet of water on
the sill, and are opened and closed by means of
four crab hand-winches.
The pumping machinery is placed in an edifice,
built of fire-clay brick, near the gates. The entrance
tothe Edinburgh Dock is through the Albert Dock,
the channel being 270 feet long by 65 broad;
and across it, for the accommodation of traffic, is an
iron swing bridge, worked by hydraulic machinery.
The space round the dock for the accommodation of
shipping traffic extends to about thirty acres ; and in
addition to this, the Caledonian and North British
Railways have each acquired twenty-seven acres
of the reclaimed ground from the Dock Commissioners,
which at their own expense they filled up
to the level of the quays.
On the south side of this truly noble dock has
been built a line of goods sheds, each 80 feet wide
by 196 feet long. On the north side a powerful
hydraulic coal-hoist has been erected specially for
the coal traffic
The designs included a promenade and drive
along the sea-wall, thus giving a magnificent outlook
on the Forth. The whole works, including
the railway undertakings, cost about ~400,000.
Mr. Clark, C.E, the engineer of Scott's Trustees,
and Mr. J. R Allan, C.E., representing Messrs.
Rendell and Robertson, the engineers of the Commission,
carried them out.
By the 15th of June, 1881, preparations were
made for letting in the water of the ocean, and
for that purpose gangs of workmen had been busy
night and day for some time previous. A wooden
platform 'was erected underneath a large pipe,
which had been built into the sea-wall for the purpose
of breaking the fall of the water in admitting
it into the dock. That pipe, 3 feet 6 inches in
diameter, was part of the old Edinburgh and
Leith main outfall sewer, which had been diverted
round the end of the dock. It extended from the
north side Qf the reclamation wall to the inside of
the quay, under the water-line, and a piling-ram of
more than a ton weight had to be used in breaking
it off flush with the face of the masonry.
At four p.m. on the day mentioned, the valve in
the pipe was partly lifted to admit the outer tide
into the vast basin, the water being turned on by
Mr. Torry, W.S., Clerk to the Leith Dock Commissioners.
The water then rushed furiously and
steadily in, but, owing to the extent of the dock,
several days elapsed before it was filled.
The wall between the Albert Dock and the new
one had to be removed before vessels could be
admitted, and to accomplish this a number of holes
were bored in it and cRarged with dynamite to blow
it up, and seven divers were brought from London
to assist in clearing away the wreckage.
As the reserve squadron of the ironclad fleet
was expected in the Firth of Forth in July, 1881,
under the command of H. R H. the Duke of Edinburgh,
the latter was invited by the local authorities
to open and to name the dock, alike after
the city and himself-an event which passed of?
with the greatest lclaf.
The opening took place on the 26th of July.
The reserve squadron was moored in the Roads
in two lines, and could be seen from the shore
looming large through a somewhat vapouxy atmosphere.
The Hercules, with the duke's flag flying
at her mizen, was the last of the line nearest to the
Leith Shore. Ahead of her were the Wan-wp;
288 OLD AND NEW EDINBURGH. [Leith.
Dgeme, and YaZiant; while in the POTt line were
the Lord War&rt, the Hector, and the Pen&@
Great preparations had necessarily been made
for the accommodation of spectators, and a display
of flags, usual on such occasions, was made across
Constitution Street on the public buildings, and
everywhere else suitable, In the Roads, immediately
off the pier-head, lay the Gad CastZe, of
Currie?s line, a magnificent ship, 370 feet long,
which cost~Ioo,ooo, was fitted up so as to be able
at any time to act as a cruiser, and was capable of
conveying 1,200 troops to the Cape or India. On
board of her were Sir Donald Cume, M.P., and a
select party, including many members of the House
of Commons. A vast fleet of yachts and pleasureboats
was grouped about the anchorage ground,
which was smooth and still as a millpond.
Provost Henderson, with the nlagistrates and
Town Council of Leith, in their robes of office,
proceeded by steamer to H.M.S. Hermles, and
presented to the Duke of Edinburgh-to whom
they were introduced by Captain Colville-an
address, enclosed in a valuable casket, made 01
pierced silver-work. The document was written
on vellum, and after stating how heartily the bearers
welcomed him, added :-? A member of our beloved
royal family we rejoice at all times to see among
us, but when we combine your position with the
remembrance of early days spent by you in this
neighbourhood, and with the high rank you so
worthily hold in the gallant service to which you
have allied yourself, together with your many good
qualities, which we recognise, but forbear to mention
here, we feel, and are sure the inhabitants of the
burgh feel, a peculiar pleasure in your present visit.
We would also desire to welcome the fleet of which
you have command, and which we are proud to
think has also come to the Forth.?
At noon, the duke, accompanied by Prince Hen9
of Prussia, General Macdonald, and the staff at
head-quarters in Scotland, and a host of othei
officers, including the Dock Commissioners, left the
flagship in the BerZin steamer, which was covered
with bunting, and amid loud cheering from the fleet
and pleasure yachts, stood is shore under a salute
from the Gartii CmtZe.
The Berlin threaded her way up the harbour inta
the Albert Dock, under the eyes of more than
eighty thousand spectators. The quays were lined
by the Leith Volunteers, but at the landing place
stood a guard of honour, furnished by the Black
Watch.
The swing gate of the new dock had been opened
at twelve o?clock, and a silk ribbon only stretched
acxoss the aperture as a fanciful bar to the vas1
expanse of water which lay beyond, and which was
now for the first time to bear a vessel on its bosom.
Increasing her speed a little, the Berlin cut the
ribbon with her bow, and as the ends fluttered
away on either side, the dbke, standing on the deck
amidships, exclaimed-
? I declare this dock to be open, and name it the
Edinburgh Dock ! ?
At the same time a salute of cannon was fired
from the sea wall at the dock, and the most
vociferous cheering came from the crowds on the
quays, the grand stands, and the manned yards of
the adjacent shipping.
After being banqueted by the Dock Commissioners,
the Duke drove to Edinburgh by the way
of Leith Walk, and at the Council Chambers received
an address of welcome, which was placed
in his hands by Lord Provost Boyd, and which
was contained in a magnificent silver casket. He
returned to Leith by the way of Fettes College and
Inverleith Row.
At the latter place he alighted at the Botanical
Gardens, where, at the request of the professor of
botany, he planted in front of the botany classroom
a Hungarian oak, about ten feet high. He
reached the Victoria Dock at six in the evening,
and was soon after on board the ZLermZes. The
signal was then given to weigh anchor, and long
before nightfall the whole squadron was steaming
opt of the Firth.
It may be mentioned that the swing bridge over
the entrance ?of the Edinburgh Dock, and which
weighs 400 tons, has hydraulic machinery of a nature
so delicate that it was opened on the above
occasion by a boy four years of age, a younger son
of theresident engineer.
In 1876 the constitution of the Leith Dock
Commission was again altered by Act of Parliament.
Now the board ,numbers fifteen members-three
elected by the Town Council of Edinburgh, three
by the Town Council of Leith, one by the Edinburgh
Merchant Company, one by the Edinburgh
Chamber of Commerce, one by the Leith Chamber
of Commerce, two by the shipowners, and four by
the ratepapers.
Besides the ordinary police force of the town,
there is a regular dock police, under a superintendent,
consisting of watchmen entirely for dock
service, paid and governed by the Dock Commissioners.
The superintendent of the town police has
no authority over them; but as the commission has
no police office, they bring their prisoners to that
of the town.
Before quitting this subject, a glance at the trade
of the port may not be uninteresting.
It cost ;C;15,000.
