GEORGE O’DONOVAN,
engineer, Empress of Ireland,
Sworn.
Examined by Mr. Meredith:
3776. You were one of the engineers on the Empress of Ireland, were you not?
- Yes.
3777. At the time of the disaster you were in the stoke?
- Forward stoke, sir.
3778. I want to know whether you had any special charge of the steering gear?
- Yes, sir.
3779. How long had you had that special charge?
- About eight months.
3780. During those eight months, had you any complaints about the steering gear?
- No, sir.
3781. Anything found wrong with it?
- Never found anything wrong with it.
3782. How often did you inspect that steering gear?
- Every day, sir.
Mr. Aspinall:
I notice this gentleman said - I did not know it before - that he was in the forward stokehold at the time of the accident. It may be that he might be capable of giving some information with regard to what happened there at the time of the collision.
By Mr. Meredith:
3783. Can you give the Court any information which would help us in regard to what happened in the stokehole? Your stokehole was in the boiler room, naturally?
- Yes, sir.
3784. In front of the engine room?
- Forward of the engine room, yes.
3785. Can you tell us what happened; what was the first thing you felt?
- After the impact, about 20 seconds after, water rushed through the starboard No. 2 bunker into the stokehole.
Lord Mersey:
I should like a plan to be held up now which shows the position of the doors through which this witness says the water rushed in. (Plan showed to Court).
By Lord Mersey:
3786. What do you call No. 1?
Mr. Hillhouse:
The boilers, you understand are in this part, (indicating on plan). No. 1 is forward of the boiler and No. 2 is here. The doors of which Mr. O’Donovan speaks are one here and one there, and the same on the other side.
By Chief Justice McLeod:
3787. Mr. O’Donovan was in No. 2?
The Witness:
No. 2.
By Lord Mersey:
3788. That is on the starboard side of the ship?
- Yes, my Lord.
3789. Now tell me what happened. How far below the water are these stokeholes?
- The water runs above them sir.
3790. How far below the water are they?
- I would think, 15 feet.
Mr. Hillhouse:
The lower edge of the door is 22 feet 6 inches below water.
By Chief Justice McLeod:
3791. You say the water rushed through which stokehole?
- No. 2 main bunker door.
By Lord Mersey:
3792. Was it coming in in a great body?
- Oh, a great body, yes; the full volume of the door.
3793. That is what I mean. It was not coming in in small quantity; it came in as much as it could come in?
- As much as it could come in, my Lord.
3794. Now, that is what happened first?
- Yes.
3795. What happened next, after you saw this great body of water?
- When I saw this great volume of water in the stokehole, I ordered the firemen out of the stokehole.
3796. Otherwise they would have been drowned?
- They would have been if they stayed there, my Lord. I waited a few seconds longer and then went up the forward stokehole, aft of the main. I went aft along the alleyway and I reported to the junior second engineer that there was water coming in the forward stokehole through No. 2 starboard main bunker. I then went back to the same stokehole and when I got back I could see nothing, all lights were out in the stokehole. I went in and stopped the two forward fans. I tried to get at No. 2 fans but I could not do so with the list of the ship; they are further aft than No. 1, so I let those two go. While I was there starboard No. 2 fan was working in the water. I then came out, went aft again and when I got aft of the engine room door the engineer was leaving the engine room.
3797. The engine room being flooded?
- No, my Lord.
3798. None of you ever saw any appreciable quantity of water in the engine room?
- Not that I know of, my Lord. I didn’t go down to the engine room.
3799. I thought you said you did.
- The engine room door, my Lord, that is the top of the engine room. That is where I met the junior second engineer.
3800. You could see down?
- Yes, I could see down, my Lord.
By Chief Justice McLeod:
3801. You say No. 1 stokehole was also flooded?
- That was also flooded.
By Lord Mersey:
3802. I am asked to ask you whether it was possible to close the doors leading to No. 1 stokehole, where the water was rushing in?
- That door is closed from the steerage dining room, No. 2 and 3 stokehole.
3803. From the first class dining room?
- It was closed from the third class dining room.
3804. Well, was it possible to close that door?
- Quite possible.
3805. Where the water was rushing in?
- It may be, I could not say.
3806. But you do not know whether or not it was closed?
- No, I could not say whether it was closed.
3807. All you know is that the water was rushing through it at full capacity?
- Do you mean the watertight door, my Lord, or the door of the bunker?
3808. I mean the water-tight door.
By Chief Justice McLeod:
3809. Did you say the water-tight door?
- The water-tight door between No. 2 and 3 stokeholes.
3810. Was that closed or not?
- I could not say, sir.
3811. From where did the water rush into the No. 2 stokehole?
- From the starboard side of No. 2 main bunker; between No. 2 and 3 stokeholes on the tween decks.
3812. Did it go in through this water-tight door?
- No, sir, through the main bunker door.
Mr. Aspinall:
I think possibly there may be a little confusion between your Lordships and the witness in respect of the bunker door and the water-tight door.
By Chief Justice McLeod:
3813. It was the bunker door through which the water rushed in?
- Yes.
By Mr. Haight:
3814. How long have you been in the employ of the Canadian Pacific Railway Company?
- Six and a half years.
3815. Always in the engine room?
- Not always.
3816. How long have you been in the engine room?
- About four years in the engine room and two years and a half in the stokehole - about, I am not sure of the time.
3817. How many moments, according to your calculation, elapsed after the jar of the collision? You went aft and then came back and found the lights and the starboard fan running in the water? Was it a very short interval?
- About 4 or 5 minutes, sir.
3818. So that within 4 or 5 minutes after you felt the jar, the vessel was listed over so far that you could not get at the starboard fan, which was actually running in the water?
- Quite so.
3819. The lights were then all out?
- All out, sir.
3820. Almost immediately after the jar of the collision, as I understand you, water was rushing into your stokehole, to the full capacity of the door?
- Yes, sir.
3821. During the eight months that you had been inspecting the steering gear, how frequently was the inspection made?
- Every day, sir, at sea.
3822. And what does the whole inspection consist of?
- Have a look at the telemeter on the bridge; the same on the steering gear aft, also have a look at the engine and any valves that want to be tightened up I tighten them up.
3823. As you look at the mechanism in the wheel house, the telemeter [sic] is right in the wheel house with the wheel, is it not?
- Yes, there is also one aft in the steering house as well.
3824. Are there two telemeters on the ship?
- Yes, there is one on the bridge and one in the steering house, manipulating the control valve of the steam engine.
3825. Do you connect one and disconnect the other, or are both of them working all the time?
- One on the bridge and one in the steering house are always connected at sea.
3826. So that whichever wheel you turn, whether on the upper bridge or on the lower bridge, it all works the same way?
- Excuse me, you do not understand what I mean.
3827. Let us understand it a little bit more fully. I do not understand what you call the telemeters, and how they are connected.
- There is one on the bridge, connected by two copper pipes to another in the steering house. The one in the steering house regulates the control of the steam steering engine.
3829. The regular telemeter system requires everything that you have got on that ship; you have not got a double set?
- Yes, there are two sets on the Empress of Ireland.
3830. Will you please describe, Mr. O’Donovan, just what the telemeter system is? Make it as little technical as you can - the telemeter system.
- I do not know that I can describe it very clearly.
3831. Well, try.
- Well, the telemeter on the bridge consists of a cylinder inside of which works a plunger.
Lord Mersey:
What does the word ‘telemeter’ mean?
Mr. Haight:
I am sure I do not know. Perhaps the naval architect, Mr. Hillhouse, will tell us.
Lord Mersey:
No, I want to know the meaning of the word.
Mr. Haight:
Telemotor.
Lord Mersey:
Is it telemotor?
Mr. Haight:
Yes, telemotor.
By Lord Mersey:
3832. Tell us what this apparatus is.
- Inside the cylinder works a plunger to which is attached a rack. The man turning the wheel on the bridge forces this plunger up and down the cylinder. Attached to this cylinder are two copper pipes leading to another telemotor in the steering house. As the man shifts the wheel, these pipes are filled with glycerine and water; as the man moves the wheel he forces this plunger down or up, as the occasion may be, and he forces the water through one of these pipes to the telemotor below; causes a pressure and so shifts the telemotor below fore and aft. Attached to this telemotor are levers connected with the control valve of the steam steering engine and according as he shifts the wheel he opens the control valve more and more and shifts the engine either way, port or starboard.
By Mr. Haight:
3833. There is, then, no direct physical connection between the wheel which the man turns and the steering gear which must be moved really to start your steam steering engine going?
- No.
3S34. You have merely -
- Just to pull the wheel over.
3835. Wait a minute. You have merely a cylinder next the wheel?
- Yes.
3836. And the turning of the wheel works this valve one way or the other as you pump the glycerine from one side to the other?
- Yes.
3837. And the glycerine, being pumped into or out of one side of the cylinder in the house below, then works the rods connected with the steam valve?
- Yes.
3838. If, then, there is anything wrong in the quantity of glycerine in either telemotor, or if there is by any chance any obstruction, your steering gear is partially or totally out of effective use?
- Partially.
3839. Well, if the glycerine should leak out from either cylinder, it would be totally out of use?
- No, sir, it just depends on the quantity that leaks out.
3840. If enough leaked out, you would absolutely lose control.
By Lord Mersey:
3841. If it all leaked out, the telemotor would cease to work?
- Quite, sir.
3842. And the more that leaks out the nearer you get to that point?
- Yes.
By Mr. Haight:
3843. How much glycerine have you in the upper cylinder, the one next thp wheel?
- I do not know, sir.
3844. Have you never refilled it during the eight months you inspected the apparatus?
- I pumped her up twice a trip. It doesn’t require filling; it is full already. There might be a slight leak one way or the other.
3845. What do you mean by pumping her up? Do you mean that you inject into one or both cylinders some additonal glycerine?
- Yes.
3846. And that is done how often?
- Twice a trip, once in Liverpool and once in Quebec.
3847. Could you give me an idea of the size of the cylinder next the wheel?
- About 4 inches, 4½ inches.
3848. Four and a half inches long?
- Diameter.
3849. In diameter. And how long?
- I could not say that.
3850. Well, give me some idea. A foot? A yard?
- About a foot.
By Lord Mersey:
3851. Who makes these instruments?
- Brown, sir; John Brown, of Edinburgh.
3852. Where does he carry on his business?
- Edinburgh.
3853. Are there any specifications or descriptions of the apparatus to be found anywhere?
- I could not say, my Lord.
3854. What?
- I do not know, my Lord.
3855. Can anyone here tell me whether this apparatus can be bought in Quebec?
- No.
3856. You do not think it can?
- No.
By Mr. Haight:
3857. You have a cylinder, then, about a foot long and about 4½ inches in diameter?
- Yes.
3858. It would contain, then, less than two quarts probably of glycerine, would it not?
- Probably.
3859. Now, is the cylinder in the lower house of the same size?
- Yes.
3860. If you should lose a quart or a quart and a pint of glycerine out of the upper cylinder, wouldn’t your entire apparatus be out of business?
- Yes.
3861. You have the pipes which connect the upper cylinder with the lower - through what? They run through the deck straight down, do they, or do they run out across, or how?
- Through the decks.
3862. Is the lower cylinder directly below the upper cylinder?
- Yes.
3863. So that the pipes connecting the two cylinders are vertical?
- Yes.
3863. How long are those pipes?
- Oh, I could not say that.
3864. Well, how many feet is it approximately from the upper cylinder to the lower?
- In height or in length?
3865. Give me the approximate idea of the length of the pipe which connects the upper cylinder with the lower?
- About 500 feet.
By Lord Mersey:
3866. What?
- About 500 feet, my Lord.
By Mr. Haight:
3867. Do you mean that there is a pipe filled with glycerine which runs practically the length of the ship?
- Yes.
3868. You have not only a cylinder next the wheel and a cylinder below, but you have also pipes connecting the cylinder below with your steering engine aft?
- Yes.
By Lord Mersey:
3869. Is that the usual plan?
- The usual plan, my Lord, as far as I know.
By Mr. Haight:
3870. Now, along what decks or what deck did the long pipes run from the steering house to the steering engine at the stern?
- I couldn’t say.
3871. But you have inspected those pipes; where are they?
- I inspected the pipes?
3872. Didn’t you?
- No. I inspected the telemotors.
3873. Are not the pipes which extend this long distance from the lower cylinder back to the engine part of your steering systems?
- I do not understand your question.
3874. Do I understand that the pipes which run from the lower cylinder back to the engine were never inspected by you during the eight months that you were in charge of the steering gear?
- No.
3875. So far as you know no one inspected these pipes during the eight months that the duty of inspecting the steering gear is left to you?
- No.
Lord Mersey:
Let me ask him this question.
3876. When you inspect the steering-gear do you observe to see whether it is working properly?
- Yes, my Lord.
3877. And that I suppose is the main part of your inspection?
- Yes, my Lord.
3878. To see that it is working properly?
- Yes, my Lord.
3879. When did you last inspect it before this calamity?
- The day before sailing.
3880. What day was that?
- Well that was a Wednesday morning . . . . what day did we leave?
3881. Well at all events was it then working properly?
- Yes, my Lord. Any leak in these pipes that you mention would be shown on the bridge. There is an indicator on the bridge, on the telemotor, which shows if there is any leak in the pipe. If there was any leak in the pipes, it would show on the indicator.
3882. Any leak in the pipes I suppose would cause the apparatus to work improperly? To work badly?
- Yes, my Lord.
Mr. Haight:
Is your Lordship finished and am I now at liberty to go on?
Lord Mersey:
Yes, yes.
By Mr. Haight:
3883. At what hour on the day you referred to, when the steamer sailed?
- The day before sailing, do you mean?
3884. Well that was the day you inspected it. I understood?
- Yes.
3885. At what hour did you make the inspection?
- At eleven o’clock in the morning.
3886. The steamer was therefore at her dock?
- Yes.
3887. So you made your inspection, not while the vessel was under way, and when it was necessary to turn the helm, but when she was lying still at the dock?
- Yes, it was done alongside the wharf as it is always done, the day before sailing.
3888. You did not direct your attention at all to the steering gear after you left the dock, when she started upon this voyage which resulted in disaster?
- No.
3889. Now when you made your inspection on the day before sailing, will you please state, as precisely as you can, exactly what you did?
- Well I pumped the gear up.
3890. That is you injected some more glycerine?
- Yes.
3891. How much?
- She might not take anything at all.
3892. Oh, I know she might not, but I want to know what it did take?
- I couldn’t say.
3893. Did it take some?
- It may have. I couldn’t tell you whether it did or not.
3894. How did you pump it up?
- Circulated it, got the water running around the pipes right through the telemotor.
3895. Did you have a hand-pump?
- Yes.
3896. And where does the hand-pump work from?
- It works from the steering-house.
3897. And do you simply open the stop-cocks and begin to pump?
- Yes.
3898. You don’t know how much is going into the pipe?
- I couldn’t tell you.
3899. And how long did you pump?
- Usually about ten minutes.
3900. And at the end of the ten minutes what indicated to you the fact that you had pumped in enough?
- I went up on the bridge and tried the wheel for myself.
3901. Now had you tried the wheel for yourself before you began to pump in?
- I did.
3902. And as you tried the wheel you reached the conclusion that she needed to be pumped up?
- No I did not.
3903. Then why did you go and pump her up?
- It is the usual thing to pump her up in case of the least slackness in the wheel.
3904. Now the valve you had to look at was on the deck above the pump, is that correct?
- No, the indicator is on the telemotor, on the bridge.
3905. I understood you to say you pumped for ten minutes and went on the deck above to try the wheel?
- Yes.
3906. Isn’t the indicator where the wheel is?
- Yes.
3907. Then the indicator was not on the same deck as your pump?
- No.
3908. And after you had first tried the wheel and made up your mind at least that you were going to pump her up . . . . that is right isn’t it?
- Yes.
3909. You then went below and pumped for ten minutes before you went back into the steering-house above to see if you had pumped her up enough?
- Yes.
3910. Now, when had you pumped her up last before this Wednesday you speak of?
- The day before leaving Liverpool.
3911. How many days was that?
- About fourteen days.
3912. That is, it was about fourteen days before this since you had pumped her up last?
- Oh, no . . . . yes, about fourteen days.
3913. About 14 days before this Wednesday on which you pumped for about ten minutes, you had pumped her up in Liverpool?
- Yes.
3914. Can you give me an idea of the size of the valve on the pump which you are working?
The Witness:
The valve on the pump?
Counsel:
Yes.
The Witness:
It might be half an inch in diameter, I don’t know exactly.
Lord Mersey:
I don’t much like this speculative evidence. Do you know these things? You say, it might be half an inch, I think, I don’t know . . . . now I don’t know what that means.
Witness:
I don’t know the exact size, my Lord.
Lord Mersey:
Then you had better say you don’t know, because you may be misleading us altogether.
By Mr. Haight:
3915. Is it fresh water or water and glycerine that you pump into the cylinder?
- Water and glycerine.
3916. That is you have a tank of the mixture somewhere?
- Yes.
3917. And your pump connects with that tank?
- Yes.
3918. Now, what is the size of this long 500-foot pipe which you say leads from the wheelhouse back to the stern? What is the diameter of that pipe?
- I don’t know; I have never measured it.
3919. Have you seen that pipe?
- I have.
3920. Can you give me an idea whether it is one inch or two inches in diameter?
- About half an inch.
3921. What is the pipe made of?
- Copper.
3922. Is it run along the deck or where?
- I couldn’t say.
3923. Is it under a deck or on a deck - you don’t know which?
- Under a deck.
3924. So this pipe runs under a deck?
- Yes.
3925. But you don’t know what deck it runs along?
- No, it runs through several decks.
3926. But in any event, as I understand you, the man at the wheel who actually obeys the orders from the bridge, not only pumps the glycerine from one side to the other of the cylinder immediately at the wheel, but he is also forcing the glycerine down through the pipe to the cylinder below, and moreover he is also forcing a column of glycerine nearly 500 feet long, which leads back to the stern, to the steering engine?
- Yes.
3927. He must turn his wheel hard enough to move the glycerine in that entire line of piping?
- Yes, sir.
By Lord Mersey:
3928. Is this the usual apparatus on board ocean-going steamers?
- Yes, my Lord.
By Mr. Haight:
3929. What other boats have you been on which were equipped with the telemotor system?
- This is the first ship I have been on that had it.
3930. So your experience is limited to this particular ship so far as the telemotor goes?
- Yes, sir.
3931. What was the difference you noticed, Mr. O’Donovan, between the first time you tried your wheel on this Wednesday before the accident, before you pumped for the ten minutes that you told us about, and the feeling of the wheel after you had pumped for ten minutes?
- There was none.
3932. No diffrence at all?
- None.
Mr. Haight:
That is all, my Lord.
Lord Mersey:
Now, Mr. Aspinall, have you any questions?
Mr. Aspinall:
No questions, my Lord.
Lord Mersey:
Mr. Newcombe, do you desire to cross-examine this witness?
Mr. Newcombe:
No, my Lord.
By Lord Mersey:
3933. Can you tell us where in your opinion this ship was struck?
- Somewhere between No. 2 and No. 3 stokeholds, my Lord, I don’t know where, that is I couldn’t say about the exact position.
3934. You couldn’t do that?
- No, my Lord.
Mr. Haight:
My Lord, may I say here that I am told now that we may be able to-morrow to give the court some pretty definite testimony on that point from our ship. I find that one of our deckhands, or the look-out, or one of the seamen, picked up from our deck, or somewhere on our bow, after the collision, a number-plate from one of the staterooms of the Empress. I don’t know whether he found it on the starboard side, or the port, or where.
Lord Mersey:
That may throw some light upon it.
Mr. Haight:
It may come pretty close to localizing the position, and I understand we will have it here to-morrow.
By Lord Mersey:
3935. Now, then, can you tell me this can you tell me whether water was entering through the side of the bunkers aft?
- There is an engineer here at present can tell you all about that.
3936. Can you answer that?
- No, my Lord, I cannot answer.
By Mr. Aspinall:
3937. And who is that engineer that you say can tell us about that?
- Mr. McEwen.