One of the proposed alternatives to the Panama Canal

[bruce d]

Scientific American, December 1884. The cover illustrates the 'ship railway' that would have been a cheaper alternative to the Panama Canal. Think of the fun we modelers would have had with this!

 

 

Edited November 26, 2021 by bruce d

[mtaylor]

That would have been a bit bizarre to see.  I can't imagine it being expanded for the large battleships, etc. that have used it over the decades.  And hopefully, no strong crosswinds.....

[druxey]

Fascinating stuff!

[CDR_Ret]

And to minimize grades, the project would have had to excavate even more earth and rock than they did to use the locks and canal

 

[Keith Black]

22 hours ago, CDR_Ret said:

the project would have had to excavate even more earth and rock than they did to use the locks and canal

 

 Not to mention the amount of coal required for power and coal required for transporting coal to the isthmus. I bet big coal was heavily promoting this idea. 

[JKC27]

I watched a show a couple weeks back on History channel on the planning and building of the Panama Canal.  The obstacles (physical/economic/political) they had to overcome to get this kind of project built was amazing. 

[vaddoc]

I think this is a great idea that makes every sense today. We will offset the carbon footprint of the construction by building many wooden clippers which will be the only merchant ship allowed in the oceans.

Where do I sign?

[Roger Pellett]

Drydocking a ship is complicated, as care must be taken to avoid straining the hull.  Stability must also be considered since as the water level recedes the vessel’s hull geometry changes.  It would also be unusual for a vessel to be drydocked in the fully loaded condition.  For these reasons,  drydocking plans that specify how the vessel is to be supported during docking are prepared.

 

Overcoming these problems for each individual ship would be enough to doom this approach.

 

Roger

 

 

[robert952]

And to imagine... in an alternate, steam-punk multiverse, this works.  Huge elevators would raise and lower each ship to address the grade change issues.  

 

I use to subscribe to Scientific American.  I liked the '100 years ago...' they would run.  Fun to see the thoughts from those times and items proven to be a bit off point as science has advanced.    

 

Interesting point is the concern over the movement of the bar and how to cope with the shift of sand.  Still a concern today. 

[uss frolick]

Did you know that the following phrase, describing president Theodore Roosevelt , “a man a plan a canal Panama”, reads the same frontwards and backwards?

[druxey]

Yes, a classic palindrome, Frolick! Another example; 'evil rats on no star live'.

[hollowneck]

Bruce d, I'm already there....

 

Doomed ships, or not, your thread immediately got me thinking that I'd like to build a 5-masted schooner being hauled across Panama on railway tracks.

 

What a diorama this would make, an intriguing combination of a model railroad with a ship model. Probably not HO scale though....the medical tents and staff to deal with the results of mosquitoes would be a vexing challenge.

 

I know! to bring the diorama into the 21st century, what about a 600ft. long Maersk container ship being dragged across Nicaragua by Teslas?

 

Ron

[Keith Black]

1 hour ago, hollowneck said:

Probably not HO scale

 You might be able to squeeze it all in using TT scale (1:120) and still save your sanity though 1:120 can be a bit maddening at times. 

[bruce d]

1 hour ago, hollowneck said:

I know! to bring the diorama into the 21st century, what about a 600ft. long Maersk container ship being dragged across Nicaragua by Teslas?

Ron, that echoes my original reaction when I saw the article: pure Monty Python!