Telephone was a sternwheel-driven steamboat built in 1884 by Captain Uriah Bonsor "U.B." Scott for service on the Columbia River. Reputedly the fastest steamboat in the world in its time, Telephone served on the Columbia River and San Francisco Bay. Telephone was rebuilt at least twice. The first time was after a fire in 1887 which nearly destroyed the vessel. The reconstructed and much larger second vessel was sometimes referred to as Telephone No. 2. The third vessel, Telephone No. 3, built in 1903 and using components from the second steamer was larger but little used during its time on the Columbia river.
Plans and design
Newspaper reports of the plans to construct the steamer which eventually was named Telephone appeared in July 1884. U.B. Scott and his partners intended to build the fast boat on the Columbia river which could make the 110 mile distance from Portland, Oregon to Astoria in five hours. The boat was expected to be complete by December 1, 1884. It was expected to cost $35,000.
Construction
Telephone No. 1 was built in East Portland, Oregon for Captain Uriah Bonser Scott (1827-1913) and his partners. The contract for construction of the vessel was signed on July 18, 1884. Scott was a steamboat owner and captain on the Mississippi and Ohio rivers during, before and after the American Civil War who had come to Oregon in 1873.
The steamer was launched on October 30, 1884. The vessel’s trial trip occurred in February 1885.
Telephone No. 1 was 172 feet long measured over the hull, exclusive of the extension over the stern, called the "fantail" which mounted the sternwheel. Telephone had a width, called "beam", which measured across the hull, and exclusive of the long wide protective timbers along the sides of the hull, called the "guards", of 28 feet, with a depth of hold of 7.2 feet. The steamer drew 3.5 feet of water. The planned draft was 3.5 feet.
The total size of Telephone No. 1, measured in tons, a unit of volume and not weight, was 386.27 gross and 333.97 registered tons.
Engineering
The machinery for Telephone No. 1 was built at Willamette Iron Works in Portland. The engines generated 500 indicated horsepower. The official steamboat identification number was 145400.
Power was furnished by two non-condensing steam engines, with a 22-inch cylinder bore and a stroke of 8 feet. The boiler was 32.5 feet long, 6.5 feet in diameter, containing 280 tubes, each 2.5 inches through, and 18 feet long. Total heating surface was reported to be 3,468 square feet. The purpose of having 280 tubes in the boilers was to raise steam rapidly.
The authorized steam pressure generated by the boilers was 140 pounds per square inch. With the stern-wheel turning at 38 revolutions per minute, the theoretical horsepower generated by both engines combined would be 1301. (According to one report, the stern-wheel made 14 revolutions per minute, with four paddles in the water, two completely and two partially.)
The boilers were wood fired, and when running fast, the consumption of wood was estimated to be approximately 3 cords per hour.
Telephone No. 1 was equipped with three lifeboats and 315 life preservers. The steamer was reported to have cost $15,000 to build, and was insured for $30,000.
In early 1886, Telephone No. 1s stern-wheel was fitted with new paddles, called "buckets". These buckets were twenty inches wide, and were four inches wide on the inside of the while, gradually curving and tapering to one and three-quarter inch thick on the outside of the sternwheel.
This bucket design was thought to improve the speed of the steamer, because less water would have to be lifted off the paddles after they rotated out of the water. Instead, before the bucket reached the level of the stern-wheel shaft, the water would have completely run off. Backing operations were also improved by the new design.
Captain Scott was reported to have estimated fuel savings of 15% as a result of the new paddle design and a speed increase of 10%.
In February 1888, Captain Scott ordered a new pair of cylinders for Telephone No. 2. The new engines would have a 25-inch bore and an eight-foot stroke.
Searchlight on Telephone No. 2
In September 1895, Telephone No. 2 was fitted with the most powerful searchlight on the Columbia River, rated at 5,000 candle power. The light was manufactured in New York and had been furnished by Campbell & Swigert, of Portland, and installed by their chief engineer, Joseph Gleason. The light was reported to be "so simply constructed that the pilot can throw it in any desired position by the pressure of three fingers."