*"H.C.G. Ketchum, C.E. " University
Monthly 24, 5 (March
1905): [148]-151 -- Distinguished Graduate Series, No.
III.
Henry George Clopper
Ketchum, whose name
will remain associated with the
important engineering undertaking of the
Chignecto Ship Railway, was
born at Fredericton, New Brunswick, on the 26th February, 1839, and was
educated at the Collegiate School in that town. Early
in 1854 he
entered King’s College, New Brunswick, where he studied engineering
under Mr. Thomas McMahon Cregan, and obtained the first diploma for
civil engineering granted by that institution. He then
passed the
government examination for deputy land surveyors but failing to find
employment in that branch of the service, he acted for a time as a
telegraph operator. In August, 1856 he became an assistant to Mr.
Alexander Luders Light who was then engaged in carrying out, for the
Government of New Brunswick, a line of railway from St. John on the Bay
of Fundy to Shediac on the Northumberland Strait. He served under
Mr. Light four years, at first as a draughtsman, and then as an
assistant engineer on this line which was at that time called the
European
and North American Railway but is now known as the
Intercolonial Railway of Canada. Mr. Ketchum was thus, at the
outset of his career, associated with an engineering enterprise in the
neighborhood of the Isthmus of Chignecto, which was destined to be the
scene of the most important work of his life.
In August, 1860, Mr. Ketchum
proceeded to Brazil on the engineering staff of the contractors for the
São
Paulo Railway. He was in charge of some of the
heaviest works on that line, including the Mogy viaduct of twelve
spans, 180 feet high, which was constructed of iron columns on granite
piers and was erected in the short space of seven months. On
returning to New Brunswick in 1865 he was appointed resident engineer
on the construction of the line from Moncton to Amherst, now part of
the Intercolonial system, which work again brought him to the Isthmus
of Chignecto. Not long after, the Intercolonial Contract Company,
which was responsible for the line, failed, and the Company’s interest
in the contract was taken over by Messrs. Clark, Punchard and Co. for
whom Mr. Ketchum undertook at his own responsibility, and successfully
carried out, the completion of the works as far as Dorchester.
This undertaking accomplished, he began to practise on his own account
in April, 1868. In the following year he was appointed chief
engineer on the construction of the New Brunswick Railway from
Fredericton to Edmundston, 170 miles, on which he was engaged for some
years. He also acted as engineer on a section of the Quebec and
New Brunswick Railway.
It was about this time that Mr.
Ketchum first practically turned his attention to the great enterprise
with which the last twenty years of his life were connected. In
April and May, 1875, letters from him appeared in the Daily Telegraph
of St. John, proposing a ship railway across the Isthmus of Chignecto
between the Bay of Fundy and the Gulf of St. Lawrence, with
railway and
steam communication to Prince Edward Island and graving docks at Baie
Verte, in connection therewith. This bold suggestion arrested all
further idea of a canal, which had long been under discussion, but for
six years no attempt was made to solve the problem of transit across
the Isthmus. At length, in 1881, Mr. Ketchum carried out, at his
own expense, a survey and location for a ship railway, and submitted a
proposal to the Honorable Sir Charles Tupper, then Minister of Railways
and Canals, offering to form a company to carry out the work, provided
the Government would subsidize the undertaking, for about one third the
cost of a canal. This proposal was accepted by the Government,
approved by the Parliament and a company, of which Mr. Ketchum was a
director, was incorporated to carry out the project.
After various unsuccessful attempts
had been made to induce the contractors to undertake this novel and
difficult work, and to find the money, Mr. John G. Meiggs, on the
report of Sir Benjamin Baker, Past President of the Institute of Civil
Engineers, undertook the contract and a company was formed in London to
carry it out. Plans were prepared and submitted by Sir Benjamin
Baker and Mr. Ketchum personally to the Chief Engineer of the
Department of Railways and Canals, and, after much detailed
consideration, formal approval was given by the Governor-General in
Council in May, 1888. The works were commenced in the following
October, under the superintendence of Mr. Ketchum and Sir Benjamin
Baker, and were prosecuted vigorously until July, 1891 when, owing to
financial reasons, they were unfortunately stopped. At that time
three fourths of the work was done – including the hydraulic lifts for
raising ships of 2,000 tons gross weight a height of 40 feet, and the
cradles for carrying and locomotives for hauling the ships – and it was
said that but one summer season was required to finish the ship-railway
and docks fit for opening to the public. A complete description
of the works by Sir Benjamin Baker has appeared in the Nineteenth
Century, from which the following brief particulars are
taken.
The ship-railway is 17 miles in a straight line from Fort Lawrence on
the Bay of Fundy to Tidnish on the Gulf of St. Lawrence, with a dock at
each end. The method of transport intended to be adopted is as
follows: – A vessel coming up the Bay of Fundy on the flood tide would
pass into the dock and wait its turn to be lifted. Keel and bilge
blocks having been arranged on a cradle, the cradle and gridiron would
be lowered by hydraulic rams into the water and the vessel hauled over
it by capstans and winches in the usual way. The gridiron would
then be slowly raised until the vessel rested on the keel-blocks
throughout the whole length, after which the sliding bilge-blocks would
be pulled tight against the ship’s bilge by chains attached to the
blocks and carried to the quay on either side. Lifting, by
hydraulic rams and presses, would then proceed until the rails on the
gridiron attained the same level as those on the main line; the ship
and cradle would then be hauled on to the railway by powerful hydraulic
winches and transported by locomotives across the isthmus to the
hydraulic lift at the Tidnish end, where the converse operations would
be effected to enable the vessel to resume her ocean voyage.
Messrs. Easton and Anderson constructed the lifts and Handyside and
Co. the cradles.
While still fighting against adverse
circumstances and, the financial difficulties having been overcome,
seeking an extension of time from the Canadian Government to complete
the work which had occupied so many years of his life, Mr. Ketchum, who
had been in indifferent health for some months, died suddenly at
Amherst, Nova Scotia, on the 8th September, 1896. His enthusiasm
and confidence in the ultimate completion and success of this great
undertaking never wavered. With persistent, earnest effort he
devoted himself for fifteen years to the promotion of the enterprise
with which his name is identified, and although baffled when the work
was within sight of completion, he never lost hope and he was ready to
stake all in support of his opinions. Some months before his
death he had selected the spot, on the site of the great work of his
life, where he now rests.
Mr. Ketchum was elected an Associate
of the Institution of Civil Engineers on the 1st May, 1866, and was
transferred to the class of Members on the 30th April, 1878.
[The Ketchum medal, founded through
his generosity, is a fitting memorial to a man, who during his whole
life was interested in his Alma Mater.]
*Excerpt Minutes
of Proceedings of the
Institution of Civil Engineers cxxviii, Part ii (1895-96).
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Henry George Clopper
Ketchum, whose name
will remain associated with the
important engineering undertaking of the
Chignecto Ship Railway, was
born at Fredericton, New Brunswick, on the 26th February, 1839, and was
educated at the Collegiate School in that town. Early
in 1854 he
entered King’s College, New Brunswick, where he studied engineering
under Mr. Thomas McMahon Cregan, and obtained the first diploma for
civil engineering granted by that institution. He then
passed the
government examination for deputy land surveyors but failing to find
employment in that branch of the service, he acted for a time as a
telegraph operator. In August, 1856 he became an assistant to Mr.
Alexander Luders Light who was then engaged in carrying out, for the
Government of New Brunswick, a line of railway from St. John on the Bay
of Fundy to Shediac on the Northumberland Strait. He served under
Mr. Light four years, at first as a draughtsman, and then as an
assistant engineer on this line which was at that time called the
European
and North American Railway but is now known as the
Intercolonial Railway of Canada. Mr. Ketchum was thus, at the
outset of his career, associated with an engineering enterprise in the
neighborhood of the Isthmus of Chignecto, which was destined to be the
scene of the most important work of his life.