Cleopatra's Needle

"The consulting engineer is Mr. B. Baker, well known by his connection with the Metropolitan Railway, and the work will be performed by Mr. Dixon. The removal of this obelisk will be accomplished in the following manner: A wrought-iron cylindrical pontoon, 92 feet long and 15 feet in diameter, tapered at each end to a vertical edge, will be its only support in the water. Its draught is 9 feet, and displacement 270 tons. If completely submerged, its power of floatation is equal to 705 tons, and as the weight of the obelisk is only 150 tons, with 30 tons ballast, it is evident that there is no chance of its foundering.

"The pontoon is furnished with a series of bulkheads, or diaphragms, which support the obelisk at about every 10 feet, and suitable elastic packing secures it from shocks. The obelisk is 66 feet long over all, and the base (8 feet 6 inches square) will be placed forward, giving great buoyancy to the forepart, as the apex is close to the stern, which will be furnished with a rudder. On top of the pontoon and near its centre, will be placed a small deck house, with steering-wheel in the forepart and accommodation for three men. There is a long narrow hurricane-deck above the steering-room, and a short mast with two small sails surmounts the whole ... The boat will be towed by steamer to London, the sails being merely used for steadying purposes. It is calculated that the roll will not be excessive...."

• Illustrated London News, March 10th 1877, from The Victorian Dictionary which incorrectly gives the newspaper date as 1887, by which point the Needle was already an established sight.

• Cleopatra's Needle, looking north-northeast along TheEmbankment; the bridge is WaterlooBridge^?.

-- ChrisLehrich^? - 29 Dec 2004

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