Small folio. 36 + (2)pp, including docket title. Wrappers. In 1818 Thomas Morton patented his slip for hauling ships up an iron-railed inclined plane on small trucks. Able to take ships of up to 800 tons, the invention meant that dry docks could be dispensed with; it was also portable. The slip was remarkably successful and by the time the patent was due to expire Morton had put down over forty of them in most of the major harbours in Britain, including Dublin, Glasgow, Hull, Liverpool, Portsmouth and Swansea, as well as harbours in Canada, Australia, France, Russia and America.Morton wished to extend the patent because he had made very little money from it. The committee investigated Morton’s accounts before interviewing a number of witnesses. These include a naval captain who had seen the slip in use in New York and in Leith and a Harwich ship-builder, who had taken up 84 ships over a six-year period with considerable savings amd had also carried out a series of experiments with Morton with the idea of substituting the cast-iron rails with wrought iron. Other witnesses, including John Farey, compare Morton’s patent with Samuel Brown’s more recent patent for a ship railway for conveying vessels overland. However, despite the generally favourable accounts of Morton’s device and its value to shipping, the committee turned down his application but the report is of interest for the considerable amount of first-hand information it contains on an unsung but highly effective invention.
GBP 180.00
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