Bessemer Saloon Steamer, 1874

The SS Bessemer (also called the Bessemer Saloon) was an experimental Victorian cross-Channel passenger paddle steamer with a swinging cabin, a concept devised by the engineer and inventor Henry Bessemer, intended to combat seasickness. Bessemer, a severe seasickness sufferer, devised in 1868 the idea of a ship whose passenger cabin - the Saloon - would be suspended on gimbals and kept horizontal mechanically to isolate the occupants from the ship's motion: an idea he patented in December 1869. The ship sailed from Dover to Calais on a private trial in April 1875. On arrival, it sustained damage to a paddlewheel when it hit the pier at Calais, due to its failure to answer to the helm at slow speed. The first and only public voyage took place on May 8, 1875, the ship sailing with the swinging cabin locked (some observers suggested due to its serious instability. The ship was operated by the London, Chatham and Dover Railway. After two attempts to enter the harbor, it crashed into the Calais pier again, this time demolishing part of it. The poor performance lost the confidence of investors, leading to the winding-up of the Saloon Ship Company in 1876. The ship remained in dock at Dover until being sold for scrap in 1879

Picture No

12698035

Media ID

47677376

Size

4200px x 3184px (11.4MB)

Credit

Science Source/Mary Evans