Allaire Iron Works
Encyclopedia
The Allaire Iron Works was a leading 19th-century American
marine engineering company based in New York City
. Founded in 1816 by engineer
and philanthropist
James P. Allaire, the Allaire Works was one of the world's first companies dedicated to the construction of marine steam engine
s, supplying the engines for more than 50% of all the early steamships built in the United States
.
James P. Allaire retired from the company in 1850 when it was taken over by Cornelius Vanderbilt
. During Vanderbilt's ownership, the Allaire Iron Works made a significant contribution to the Union
cause during the American Civil War
. Following the war, the Allaire Works, like many other American marine engineering companies, fell on hard times, and in 1869 it was wound up, whereupon its equipment was purchased by John Roach
, who also hired its best employees for his own company, the Morgan Iron Works
.
Amongst the many notable achievements of the Allaire Works, it supplied the engine cylinder for the first steamship to cross the Atlantic, Savannah, pioneered the use of the compound engine in steamships, and built the engines for two winners of the coveted Blue Riband
. The company also supplied the engines for at least 17 U.S. Navy warships during the American Civil War
.
foundry
, at 466 Cherry Street, New York, in 1804. In 1807, Allaire received an order from steamboat
pioneer Robert Fulton
for brass fittings for the North River Steamboat
, the world's first commercially successful steam-powered vessel. Allaire and Fulton struck up a friendship, and Allaire provided fittings for later vessels built by Fulton.
Following Fulton's death in 1815, Allaire leased his plant and equipment from the Fulton and Livingstone families, and entered a partnership with Fulton's chief engineer, Charles Stoudinger. Allaire and Stoudinger built the engine and boiler for the last steamboat contracted for by the Fulton shop, the Chancellor Livingstone, which was completed about a year later.
Stoudinger himself died shortly after completion of Chancellor Livingstone, after which Allaire decided to move Fulton's equipment from its location in New Jersey
to his brassworks at Cherry St., New York. With the consolidation of his business at the Cherry St. plant, Allaire renamed it the Allaire Iron Works.
In 1817, the Allaire Iron Works supplied the engine cylinder for Savannah
, the first steamship to make a transatlantic crossing. The cylinder, one of the largest then built, had a diameter of 40 inches, while the piston had a stroke of 5 feet. Savannah was not a commercial success, and following her return voyage from Europe
, her engine was removed and sold to Allaire.
In 1819, the Allaire Works supplied the engine for Robert Fulton, the first steamship to enter service along the United States coastline (as opposed to working the inland waterways). This engine had a 44 inches (1,117.6 mm) cylinder and a stroke of 5 feet. Robert Fulton helped to demonstrate that steamships were capable of reliable seagoing service. Other engines built in this period by the Allaire Works include those for United States—a 140-foot steamer said to be the first American steamboat to issue tickets (rather than "way-bills") to passengers—and for James Kent, North Carolina, South Carolina and other Hudson River
steamers.
from which to manufacture his engines. The best quality pig iron was imported from Britain
, but high tariff
s made it uneconomic to use. The pig iron industry in the United States was at this time still in its infancy, and producing neither the quality nor quantity of pig iron required.
The only solution was for Allaire to become a manufacturer of pig iron himself. In 1822, in response to a recommendation from a friend, Allaire purchased 7000 acres (28 km²) of land in Monmouth County, New Jersey
, which contained a furnace used for manufacturing pig iron from the natural resource of bog iron
. Allaire renamed the furnace the Howell Works
, and over the next 20 years used it to source most of his pig iron, during which time Howell Works grew to be a substantial and largely self-sufficient community, complete with its own church, school, company store and farmland.
Other vessels equipped with compound engines from the Allaire Works to 1828 included Sun, Commerce, Swiftsure and Pilot Boy. The Allaire Works built compound engines decades before the advantages of such engines became widely recognized in the shipbuilding industry.
, was driven by a pair of beam engines.
Allaire had also accumulated considerable interest in steamships by this time. In 1836, a ship in which Allaire was part-owner, William Gibbons, ran aground and was destroyed. In the same year, the Howell Works furnace blew out and production there temporarily ceased. The following year, the Panic of 1837
plunged America into a severe recession, and later that year, the steamboat Home, wholly owned by Allaire and largely uninsured, sank with the loss of 100 lives, damaging Allaire's reputation and leaving him short of capital.
Allaire had up until this point in his career been able to borrow to meet cash shortfalls, but with the recession affecting demand for his products, he was obliged to look elsewhere for working capital. In 1842, he sold shares in the Allaire Iron Works, which was incorporated for the sum of $300,000. Shipping magnate Cornelius Vanderbilt and Allaire's brother-in-law John Haggerty were thus able to eventually gain a controlling interest in the company.
With the capital infusion from incorporation, the Allaire Iron Works remained productive through the 1840s. In this period, engines were supplied for steamboats such as Isaac Newton in 1846, C. Vanderbilt in 1847, and Commodore in 1848 (the names for the latter two reflecting Vanderbilt's growing influence in the company). Engines were also supplied for the sister ships Bay State and Empire State in 1846-47, the former of which was the fastest boat on Long Island Sound for some years. In 1849-50, the Allaire Works supplied the engines for two of the original four Collins Line
steamers, and . The engines for these two vessels were of the side-lever type, with Pacific having a 95 inch cylinder and 9-foot stroke, and Baltic a 96-inch cylinder and 10 foot stroke. Both ships were to become Blue Riband winners by setting speed records for transatlantic crossings.
In 1850, James P. Allaire retired from the Presidency of the Allaire Iron Works—according to one report, through the machinations of his brother-in-law John Haggerty, who may have been scandalized by the former's marriage to a young woman 26 his junior in 1846. Cornelius Vanderbilt subsequently gained control of the company, appointing T. F. Secor, former proprietor of the Morgan Iron Works
, as its manager.
After the Vanderbilt takeover, an increasing percentage of the company's contracts came from Vanderbilt himself, who from this point had most of his new steamboats and steamships engined there, just as most of his shipbuilding contracts went to the same firm, that of his trusted nephew, Jeremiah Simonson. Vanderbilt brought his own ideas to the field of marine steam engineering. Defying the prevailing wisdom, he began powering oceangoing steamships with American walking beam engines, believing that their relative lightness of construction, economy of operation and low maintenance requirements made them preferable to the low center-of-gravity, but more complex, British-designed side-lever and oscillating types. Other American marine engine manufacturers quickly followed his example, and walking beams became the preferred engine type for oceangoing American sidewheel steamships until the introduction of the much more economical surface condensing compound engine in the early 1870s.
During the 1850s, the Allaire Works supplied engines to such notable ships as Buckeye State in 1850—only the second ship on the Great Lakes
to be fitted with a compound engine—and the 3,360-ton Vanderbilt, whose twin 90-inch cylinder beam engines were believed to make her the fastest oceangoing ship operating from New York upon launch in 1856. Other ships fitted with Allaire powerplants in this period include North Star (1853), a transatlantic ocean liner, St. Lawrence (1853), built for operation on the Great Lakes, and the Long Island Sound steamer Plymouth Rock (1854).
In 1861, the Allaire Works built the engines for two of the 700 ton or "90-day" gunboat
s, and . The following year, the company supplied the engines for the 1,533-ton screw steamer , and for two of the 1,173-ton Sassacus class double-ended sidewheel gunboats, and . In 1864, the Allaire Works supplied two 100-inch cylinder, 4-foot stroke vibrating-lever engines for the 4,912-ton monitor ; however delays in supply of the ship's 20-inch Dahlgren smoothbore cannon prevented the vessel from seeing wartime service.
The Allaire Works also supplied the engines in 1864 for the 4,215-ton Wampanoag class screw sloop . Intended to be a very fast ship, Madawaska was fitted with experimental vibrating-lever engines designed by Navy architect John Ericsson
. The engines proved a failure, delivering a cruising speed of only 12.73 knots, well under the specified speed of 15 knots, and they were later replaced with a more conventional power plant.
In addition to the engines directly contracted for, the Navy also requisitioned a number of merchant steamships powered by Allaire engines and converted them into warships. Some of these vessels had been built prior to the war, while others were built during the war and requisitioned by the Navy as they entered service.
The largest and most impressive of these ships was the 3,360-ton oceangoing sidewheel steamer Vanderbilt, launched in 1856, and gifted to the U.S. Navy by Cornelius Vanderbilt in 1862. With her 14 knot speed and long operational range, Vanderbilt was an ideal candidate for a pursuit ship, and after being fitted out with a formidable battery of cannon, the newly commissioned was employed in a year-long hunt for the notorious Confederate
raider CSS Alabama
, but without success. Other Allaire powered ships commissioned by the Navy included , , , , and , all built before the war, and and the ferries and , built during the war.
The Allaire Works also continued to produce engines for commercial vessels during the conflict, such as City of New London, built in 1863, and St. John, which was built in 1864 and used as a hospital ship.
By 1867, the Allaire Iron Works had only one engine and one boiler on its books. The company soldiered on until 1869 when Cornelius Vanderbilt sold its plant and equipment at auction, which were bought by John Roach
at scrap metal prices. Vanderbilt was wealthy enough to survive the slump, but had apparently decided to move his assets into railroads by this time. After the auction, the property of the Allaire Works was divided into a tombstone factory and horse stables.
Roach, one of the few marine entrepreneurs to survive and prosper in the postwar period, took the best of the Allaire Works tools, along with its best former workers, and employed them at his newly acquired plant on the East River
, the Morgan Iron Works
.
Legend: n/a=information not available; Built=year built; Ton.=gross tonnage; Deployment=original location of operation. Where the original deployment is not known, the location is followed by a number, which represents the last two digits of the year in which the vessel is known to have operated at the given location; No.=number of engines; Cyl.=diameter of engine cylinder(s) in inches; Str.=engine stroke in feet; Type=engine type. Types of engine include: AC=annular compound; B=beam; C=compound; CB=compound beam; C=crosshead. Crosshead engines built by this company are almost certainly all of the American "square" type, rather than the Steeple type; DA=direct-acting; DS=double screw; GS=geared screw; HBA=horizontal back-acting; I=inclined; O=oscillating; S=screw; St=steeple; SL=side-lever; V=vertical; VB=vertical beam; VL=vibrating-lever.
Legend: Type=ship type. Types include - G=gunboat; SS=screw sloop; DEG=double-ended gunboat; M=monitor; SF=screw frigate. Built=Year of ship launch, or completion where launch date is unknown; Builder=Name of ship builder; Disp.=displacement in tons; No.=number of engines; Cyl.=diameter of engine cylinder(s) in inches; Str.=engine stroke in feet; Type=engine type. Types of engine include: DA=direct acting; DS=double screw; HBA=horizontal back-acting; I=inverted; S=screw; VL=vibrating-lever. See marine steam engine
for explanation of various engine types.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
marine engineering company based in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
. Founded in 1816 by engineer
Engineer
An engineer is a professional practitioner of engineering, concerned with applying scientific knowledge, mathematics and ingenuity to develop solutions for technical problems. Engineers design materials, structures, machines and systems while considering the limitations imposed by practicality,...
and philanthropist
Philanthropist
A philanthropist is someone who engages in philanthropy; that is, someone who donates his or her time, money, and/or reputation to charitable causes...
James P. Allaire, the Allaire Works was one of the world's first companies dedicated to the construction of marine steam engine
Marine steam engine
A marine steam engine is a reciprocating steam engine that is used to power a ship or boat. Steam turbines and diesel engines largely replaced reciprocating steam engines in marine applications during the 20th century, so this article describes the more common types of marine steam engine in use...
s, supplying the engines for more than 50% of all the early steamships built in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
.
James P. Allaire retired from the company in 1850 when it was taken over by Cornelius Vanderbilt
Cornelius Vanderbilt
Cornelius Vanderbilt , also known by the sobriquet Commodore, was an American entrepreneur who built his wealth in shipping and railroads. He was also the patriarch of the Vanderbilt family and one of the richest Americans in history...
. During Vanderbilt's ownership, the Allaire Iron Works made a significant contribution to the Union
Union (American Civil War)
During the American Civil War, the Union was a name used to refer to the federal government of the United States, which was supported by the twenty free states and five border slave states. It was opposed by 11 southern slave states that had declared a secession to join together to form the...
cause during the American Civil War
American Civil War
The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...
. Following the war, the Allaire Works, like many other American marine engineering companies, fell on hard times, and in 1869 it was wound up, whereupon its equipment was purchased by John Roach
John Roach
John Robert Roach was an American clergyman of the Roman Catholic Church. He served as Archbishop of Saint Paul and Minneapolis from 1975 to 1995.-Biography:...
, who also hired its best employees for his own company, the Morgan Iron Works
Morgan iron works
The Morgan Iron Works was a 19th century manufacturing plant for marine steam engines located in New York City, United States. Originally founded as T. F...
.
Amongst the many notable achievements of the Allaire Works, it supplied the engine cylinder for the first steamship to cross the Atlantic, Savannah, pioneered the use of the compound engine in steamships, and built the engines for two winners of the coveted Blue Riband
Blue Riband
The Blue Riband is an unofficial accolade given to the passenger liner crossing the Atlantic Ocean in regular service with the record highest speed. The term was borrowed from horse racing and was not widely used until after 1910. Under the unwritten rules, the record is based on average speed...
. The company also supplied the engines for at least 17 U.S. Navy warships during the American Civil War
American Civil War
The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...
.
Background
James Peter Allaire founded his first company, a brassBrass
Brass is an alloy of copper and zinc; the proportions of zinc and copper can be varied to create a range of brasses with varying properties.In comparison, bronze is principally an alloy of copper and tin...
foundry
Foundry
A foundry is a factory that produces metal castings. Metals are cast into shapes by melting them into a liquid, pouring the metal in a mold, and removing the mold material or casting after the metal has solidified as it cools. The most common metals processed are aluminum and cast iron...
, at 466 Cherry Street, New York, in 1804. In 1807, Allaire received an order from steamboat
Steamboat
A steamboat or steamship, sometimes called a steamer, is a ship in which the primary method of propulsion is steam power, typically driving propellers or paddlewheels...
pioneer Robert Fulton
Robert Fulton
Robert Fulton was an American engineer and inventor who is widely credited with developing the first commercially successful steamboat...
for brass fittings for the North River Steamboat
North River Steamboat
The North River Steam Boat or Clermont was the first commercially successful steamship of the paddle steamer design. It operated on the Hudson River between New York and Albany...
, the world's first commercially successful steam-powered vessel. Allaire and Fulton struck up a friendship, and Allaire provided fittings for later vessels built by Fulton.
Following Fulton's death in 1815, Allaire leased his plant and equipment from the Fulton and Livingstone families, and entered a partnership with Fulton's chief engineer, Charles Stoudinger. Allaire and Stoudinger built the engine and boiler for the last steamboat contracted for by the Fulton shop, the Chancellor Livingstone, which was completed about a year later.
Stoudinger himself died shortly after completion of Chancellor Livingstone, after which Allaire decided to move Fulton's equipment from its location in New Jersey
New Jersey
New Jersey is a state in the Northeastern and Middle Atlantic regions of the United States. , its population was 8,791,894. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York, on the southeast and south by the Atlantic Ocean, on the west by Pennsylvania and on the southwest by Delaware...
to his brassworks at Cherry St., New York. With the consolidation of his business at the Cherry St. plant, Allaire renamed it the Allaire Iron Works.
Early period, 1816-1822
SS Savannah
SS Savannah was an American hybrid sailing ship/sidewheel steamer built in 1818. She is notable for being the first steamship in the world to cross the Atlantic Ocean, a feat that was accomplished from May to June 1819, although only a fraction of the distance was covered with the ship under steam...
, the first steamship to make a transatlantic crossing. The cylinder, one of the largest then built, had a diameter of 40 inches, while the piston had a stroke of 5 feet. Savannah was not a commercial success, and following her return voyage from Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
, her engine was removed and sold to Allaire.
In 1819, the Allaire Works supplied the engine for Robert Fulton, the first steamship to enter service along the United States coastline (as opposed to working the inland waterways). This engine had a 44 inches (1,117.6 mm) cylinder and a stroke of 5 feet. Robert Fulton helped to demonstrate that steamships were capable of reliable seagoing service. Other engines built in this period by the Allaire Works include those for United States—a 140-foot steamer said to be the first American steamboat to issue tickets (rather than "way-bills") to passengers—and for James Kent, North Carolina, South Carolina and other Hudson River
Hudson River
The Hudson is a river that flows from north to south through eastern New York. The highest official source is at Lake Tear of the Clouds, on the slopes of Mount Marcy in the Adirondack Mountains. The river itself officially begins in Henderson Lake in Newcomb, New York...
steamers.
Howell Works
As Allaire's business grew, he found it increasingly difficult to source adequate amounts of quality pig ironPig iron
Pig iron is the intermediate product of smelting iron ore with a high-carbon fuel such as coke, usually with limestone as a flux. Charcoal and anthracite have also been used as fuel...
from which to manufacture his engines. The best quality pig iron was imported from Britain
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
, but high tariff
Tariff
A tariff may be either tax on imports or exports , or a list or schedule of prices for such things as rail service, bus routes, and electrical usage ....
s made it uneconomic to use. The pig iron industry in the United States was at this time still in its infancy, and producing neither the quality nor quantity of pig iron required.
The only solution was for Allaire to become a manufacturer of pig iron himself. In 1822, in response to a recommendation from a friend, Allaire purchased 7000 acres (28 km²) of land in Monmouth County, New Jersey
Monmouth County, New Jersey
Monmouth County is a county located in the U.S. state of New Jersey, within the New York metropolitan area. As of the 2010 Census, the population was 630,380, up from 615,301 at the 2000 census. Its county seat is Freehold Borough. The most populous municipality is Middletown Township with...
, which contained a furnace used for manufacturing pig iron from the natural resource of bog iron
Bog iron
Bog iron refers to impure iron deposits that develop in bogs or swamps by the chemical or biochemical oxidation of iron carried in the solutions. In general, bog ores consist primarily of iron oxyhydroxides, commonly goethite...
. Allaire renamed the furnace the Howell Works
Howell Works
Howell Works was a bog iron-based production facility for pig iron which was established in New Jersey in the early 19th century by American engineer and philanthropist James P. Allaire...
, and over the next 20 years used it to source most of his pig iron, during which time Howell Works grew to be a substantial and largely self-sufficient community, complete with its own church, school, company store and farmland.
Pioneering compound engines, 1820s
In 1824, the Allaire Works built the engine for , the first steamship in the world fitted with a compound engine. The high-pressure cylinder was 12 inches in diameter and the low-pressure cylinder 24 inches, with both having a stroke of 4 feet. In the same year, the Allaire Works also supplied a compound engine for a 200-ton towboat called Post Boy, and another for a small steamer, Linnaeus.Other vessels equipped with compound engines from the Allaire Works to 1828 included Sun, Commerce, Swiftsure and Pilot Boy. The Allaire Works built compound engines decades before the advantages of such engines became widely recognized in the shipbuilding industry.
Growth and financial problems, 1830s-1850
In the 1830s, the Allaire business empire reached the peak of its expansion. The Howell Works in New Jersey was producing a surplus of pig iron, enabling Allaire to diversify into the manufacture of household goods in addition to his production of marine engines in New York. Ships supplied with Allaire-built engines in this period included Frank, New Haven, Rhode Island and Massachusetts. Massachusetts, then the largest ship operating on Long Island SoundLong Island Sound
Long Island Sound is an estuary of the Atlantic Ocean, located in the United States between Connecticut to the north and Long Island, New York to the south. The mouth of the Connecticut River at Old Saybrook, Connecticut, empties into the sound. On its western end the sound is bounded by the Bronx...
, was driven by a pair of beam engines.
Allaire had also accumulated considerable interest in steamships by this time. In 1836, a ship in which Allaire was part-owner, William Gibbons, ran aground and was destroyed. In the same year, the Howell Works furnace blew out and production there temporarily ceased. The following year, the Panic of 1837
Panic of 1837
The Panic of 1837 was a financial crisis or market correction in the United States built on a speculative fever. The end of the Second Bank of the United States had produced a period of runaway inflation, but on May 10, 1837 in New York City, every bank began to accept payment only in specie ,...
plunged America into a severe recession, and later that year, the steamboat Home, wholly owned by Allaire and largely uninsured, sank with the loss of 100 lives, damaging Allaire's reputation and leaving him short of capital.
With the capital infusion from incorporation, the Allaire Iron Works remained productive through the 1840s. In this period, engines were supplied for steamboats such as Isaac Newton in 1846, C. Vanderbilt in 1847, and Commodore in 1848 (the names for the latter two reflecting Vanderbilt's growing influence in the company). Engines were also supplied for the sister ships Bay State and Empire State in 1846-47, the former of which was the fastest boat on Long Island Sound for some years. In 1849-50, the Allaire Works supplied the engines for two of the original four Collins Line
Collins Line
The Collins Line is the common name for the American shipping company started by Israel Collins and then built up by his son Edward Knight Collins...
steamers, and . The engines for these two vessels were of the side-lever type, with Pacific having a 95 inch cylinder and 9-foot stroke, and Baltic a 96-inch cylinder and 10 foot stroke. Both ships were to become Blue Riband winners by setting speed records for transatlantic crossings.
Vanderbilt takeover
thumbIn 1850, James P. Allaire retired from the Presidency of the Allaire Iron Works—according to one report, through the machinations of his brother-in-law John Haggerty, who may have been scandalized by the former's marriage to a young woman 26 his junior in 1846. Cornelius Vanderbilt subsequently gained control of the company, appointing T. F. Secor, former proprietor of the Morgan Iron Works
Morgan iron works
The Morgan Iron Works was a 19th century manufacturing plant for marine steam engines located in New York City, United States. Originally founded as T. F...
, as its manager.
After the Vanderbilt takeover, an increasing percentage of the company's contracts came from Vanderbilt himself, who from this point had most of his new steamboats and steamships engined there, just as most of his shipbuilding contracts went to the same firm, that of his trusted nephew, Jeremiah Simonson. Vanderbilt brought his own ideas to the field of marine steam engineering. Defying the prevailing wisdom, he began powering oceangoing steamships with American walking beam engines, believing that their relative lightness of construction, economy of operation and low maintenance requirements made them preferable to the low center-of-gravity, but more complex, British-designed side-lever and oscillating types. Other American marine engine manufacturers quickly followed his example, and walking beams became the preferred engine type for oceangoing American sidewheel steamships until the introduction of the much more economical surface condensing compound engine in the early 1870s.
During the 1850s, the Allaire Works supplied engines to such notable ships as Buckeye State in 1850—only the second ship on the Great Lakes
Great Lakes
The Great Lakes are a collection of freshwater lakes located in northeastern North America, on the Canada – United States border. Consisting of Lakes Superior, Michigan, Huron, Erie, and Ontario, they form the largest group of freshwater lakes on Earth by total surface, coming in second by volume...
to be fitted with a compound engine—and the 3,360-ton Vanderbilt, whose twin 90-inch cylinder beam engines were believed to make her the fastest oceangoing ship operating from New York upon launch in 1856. Other ships fitted with Allaire powerplants in this period include North Star (1853), a transatlantic ocean liner, St. Lawrence (1853), built for operation on the Great Lakes, and the Long Island Sound steamer Plymouth Rock (1854).
American Civil War
The Allaire Iron Works made a substantial contribution to the Union cause during the American Civil War, providing the engines for at least seven warships, while at least another ten merchant ships with Allaire engines were purchased or chartered by the U.S. Navy and converted into warships.In 1861, the Allaire Works built the engines for two of the 700 ton or "90-day" gunboat
Gunboat
A gunboat is a naval watercraft designed for the express purpose of carrying one or more guns to bombard coastal targets, as opposed to those military craft designed for naval warfare, or for ferrying troops or supplies.-History:...
s, and . The following year, the company supplied the engines for the 1,533-ton screw steamer , and for two of the 1,173-ton Sassacus class double-ended sidewheel gunboats, and . In 1864, the Allaire Works supplied two 100-inch cylinder, 4-foot stroke vibrating-lever engines for the 4,912-ton monitor ; however delays in supply of the ship's 20-inch Dahlgren smoothbore cannon prevented the vessel from seeing wartime service.
The Allaire Works also supplied the engines in 1864 for the 4,215-ton Wampanoag class screw sloop . Intended to be a very fast ship, Madawaska was fitted with experimental vibrating-lever engines designed by Navy architect John Ericsson
John Ericsson
John Ericsson was a Swedish-American inventor and mechanical engineer, as was his brother Nils Ericson. He was born at Långbanshyttan in Värmland, Sweden, but primarily came to be active in England and the United States...
. The engines proved a failure, delivering a cruising speed of only 12.73 knots, well under the specified speed of 15 knots, and they were later replaced with a more conventional power plant.
In addition to the engines directly contracted for, the Navy also requisitioned a number of merchant steamships powered by Allaire engines and converted them into warships. Some of these vessels had been built prior to the war, while others were built during the war and requisitioned by the Navy as they entered service.
The largest and most impressive of these ships was the 3,360-ton oceangoing sidewheel steamer Vanderbilt, launched in 1856, and gifted to the U.S. Navy by Cornelius Vanderbilt in 1862. With her 14 knot speed and long operational range, Vanderbilt was an ideal candidate for a pursuit ship, and after being fitted out with a formidable battery of cannon, the newly commissioned was employed in a year-long hunt for the notorious Confederate
Confederate States of America
The Confederate States of America was a government set up from 1861 to 1865 by 11 Southern slave states of the United States of America that had declared their secession from the U.S...
raider CSS Alabama
CSS Alabama
CSS Alabama was a screw sloop-of-war built for the Confederate States Navy at Birkenhead, United Kingdom, in 1862 by John Laird Sons and Company. Alabama served as a commerce raider, attacking Union merchant and naval ships over the course of her two-year career, during which she never anchored in...
, but without success. Other Allaire powered ships commissioned by the Navy included , , , , and , all built before the war, and and the ferries and , built during the war.
The Allaire Works also continued to produce engines for commercial vessels during the conflict, such as City of New London, built in 1863, and St. John, which was built in 1864 and used as a hospital ship.
Postwar slump and closure
Shortly after the end of hostilities, the U.S. government dumped more than a million tons of unwanted shipping onto the market, driving down prices and depriving the shipbuilding industry of new orders. The slump lasted several years, and many ship and marine engine builders were driven to bankruptcy in this period.By 1867, the Allaire Iron Works had only one engine and one boiler on its books. The company soldiered on until 1869 when Cornelius Vanderbilt sold its plant and equipment at auction, which were bought by John Roach
John Roach
John Robert Roach was an American clergyman of the Roman Catholic Church. He served as Archbishop of Saint Paul and Minneapolis from 1975 to 1995.-Biography:...
at scrap metal prices. Vanderbilt was wealthy enough to survive the slump, but had apparently decided to move his assets into railroads by this time. After the auction, the property of the Allaire Works was divided into a tombstone factory and horse stables.
Roach, one of the few marine entrepreneurs to survive and prosper in the postwar period, took the best of the Allaire Works tools, along with its best former workers, and employed them at his newly acquired plant on the East River
East River
The East River is a tidal strait in New York City. It connects Upper New York Bay on its south end to Long Island Sound on its north end. It separates Long Island from the island of Manhattan and the Bronx on the North American mainland...
, the Morgan Iron Works
Morgan iron works
The Morgan Iron Works was a 19th century manufacturing plant for marine steam engines located in New York City, United States. Originally founded as T. F...
.
Merchant ships
The following table lists merchant ships with engines supplied by the Allaire Iron Works from the company's inception in 1816 until its closure in 1867. Names in small print preceded or followed by an arrow in the "Name" column indicate that the engine either originated from or was later installed in the ship so named. This is an incomplete list.| Ship | Engine | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Name | Built | Builder | Ton. | Deployment | No. | Cyl. (ins) |
Str. (ft) |
Type |
| Chancellor Livingstone | 1816 | Henry Eckford Henry Eckford (shipbuilder) Henry Eckford was a Scottish-born shipbuilder, naval architect, industrial engineer, and entrepreneur who worked for the United States Navy and the navy of the Ottoman Empire in the early 19th century.-Early life:... |
495 | Hudson | 1 | 44 | 5 | C |
| Sophia | 1817 | A. S. Roberts | 50 | Great Lakes | n/a | n/a | n/a | n/a |
| Savannah | 1818 | Fickett & Crocker | 320 | Transatlantic | 1 | 40 | 5 | I/DA |
| Robert Fulton | 1819 | Henry Eckford | 702 | Atlantic coast | 1 | 44 | 5 | C |
| United States | 1821 | J. Williams | 180 | Hudson | 1 | 44 | 5 | C |
| James Kent | 1823 | Blossom, Smith & Dimon | 364 | Hudson | 1 | 44 | 5 | C |
| Martha Ogden | 1823 | A. S. Roberts | n/a | Great Lakes | 1 | n/a | n/a | C |
| Augusta | 1824 | Brown & Bell | 206 | Charleston, SC 38 | n/a | n/a | n/a | n/a |
| align="left" | | 1824 | Mowatt Brothers & Co | 150 | Hudson | 1 | 12, 24 | 4 | Cm/C |
| Linnaeus | 1824 | Elijah Peck | 92 | Long Island Sound | 1 | n/a | n/a | C |
| Oliver Ellsworth | 1824 | Isaac Webb | 227 | Long Island Sound | 1 | n/a | n/a | C |
| Post Boy | 1824 | n/a | n/a | n/a | 1 | n/a | 6 | Cm/B |
| Pilot Boy | 1824 | n/a | n/a | n/a | n/a | n/a | n/a | Cm |
| Thistle | 1824 | n/a | 202 | n/a | n/a | n/a | n/a | n/a |
| Chief Justice Marshall | 1825 | Thorn & Williams | 314 | Hudson | 1 | n/a | n/a | C |
| Commerce Ontario 56 |
1825 | Christian Bergh | 371 | Hudson | 1 | 16, 30 | 4 | Cm |
| Fanny | 1825 | Lawrence & Sneeden | 126 | Long Island Sound | 1 | n/a | n/a | C |
| Swift Sure | 1825 | Christian Bergh | 265 | Hudson | 1 | 16, 30 | 4 | Cm |
| Sun | 1825 | n/a | n/a | Hudson | 1 | 16, 30 | 4 | Cm |
| Swan | 1826 | James P. Allaire | 353 | n/a | n/a | n/a | n/a | n/a |
| Benjamin Franklin | 1828 | Brown & Bell | 410 | Long Island Sound | 2 | n/a | n/a | VB |
| Rufus W. King | 1828 | Smith & Dimon | n/a | New York Harbor | 1 | 34 | 4 | C |
| Transport | 1828 | n/a | 73 | Virginia 38 | n/a | n/a | n/a | n/a |
| President | 1829 | Brown & Bell | 518 | Long Island Sound | 2 | 48 | 7 | VB |
| John Stoney | 1830 | Brown & Bell | 163 | n/a | n/a | n/a | n/a | n/a |
| Napoleon | 1830 | Lawrence & Sneeden | 136-169 | NY-New Brunswick | 1 | 51 | 6 | C |
| Boston | 1831 | Brown & Bell | 380 | Long Island Sound | 2 | 40 | 7 | VB |
| John Cooley | 1831 | P. & T. Peck | 35 | Atlantic Coast? | n/a | n/a | n/a | n/a |
| Superior | 1831 | Smith, Dimon & Comstock | 194 | Long Island Sound | 1 | 36 | 8 | C |
| Water Witch | 1831 | Brown & Bell | 207 | Long Island Sound | 1 | 36 | 8 | C |
| William Seabrook | 1831 | Lawrence & Sneeden | 227 | Atlantic Coast 38 | n/a | n/a | n/a | n/a |
| David Brown | 1832 | n/a | 190 | Atlantic coast | 1 | n/a | n/a | C |
| Flushing | 1832 | Elijah Peck | 107 | NY–Norwich, CT | 1 | n/a | n/a | C |
| Splendid | 1832 | Smith, Dimon & Comstock | 209 | New Haven | 1 | 37 | 7 | C |
| Daniel Webster | 1833 | John Carrick | 358 | Great Lakes | 1 | n/a | n/a | C |
| William Gibbons | 1833 | S. Sneden | 294 | Atlantic coast | 1 | n/a | n/a | C |
| Bangor Sudaver |
1834 | Brown & Bell | 385 | Boston–Bangor Bangor, Maine Bangor is a city in and the county seat of Penobscot County, Maine, United States, and the major commercial and cultural center for eastern and northern Maine... |
1 | 36 | 9 | C |
| Fox | 1834 | n/a | 66 | NYC–Long Island Long Island Long Island is an island located in the southeast part of the U.S. state of New York, just east of Manhattan. Stretching northeast into the Atlantic Ocean, Long Island contains four counties, two of which are boroughs of New York City , and two of which are mainly suburban... |
1 | n/a | n/a | C |
| Sandusky | 1834 | F. Church | 377 | Lake Erie Lake Erie Lake Erie is the fourth largest lake of the five Great Lakes in North America, and the tenth largest globally. It is the southernmost, shallowest, and smallest by volume of the Great Lakes and therefore also has the shortest average water residence time. It is bounded on the north by the... 38 |
n/a | n/a | n/a | n/a |
| Stonington | 1834 | n/a | 211 | Rhode Island Rhode Island The state of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations, more commonly referred to as Rhode Island , is a state in the New England region of the United States. It is the smallest U.S. state by area... 38 |
n/a | n/a | n/a | n/a |
| Thomas Jefferson | 1834 | S. Jenkins | 428 | Great Lakes Great Lakes The Great Lakes are a collection of freshwater lakes located in northeastern North America, on the Canada – United States border. Consisting of Lakes Superior, Michigan, Huron, Erie, and Ontario, they form the largest group of freshwater lakes on Earth by total surface, coming in second by volume... |
1 | 50 | 9 | C |
| Columbia | 1835 | n/a | 423 | Atlantic coast | 1 | 56 | 6 | C |
| Frank | 1835 | Lawrence & Sneeden | 175 | Hudson River | 1 | 30 | 6 | C |
| New Haven | 1835 | Lawrence & Sneeden | 342 | New Haven | 1 | 47 | 10 | B |
| Pioneer (2nd) | 1835 | n/a | n/a | Georgia | n/a | n/a | n/a | n/a |
| Portland | 1835 | Nathan Dyer | 445 | Atlantic Coast | 1 | 56 | 6 | C |
| Cincinnati | 1836 | James Poyas | 211 | Florida Florida Florida is a state in the southeastern United States, located on the nation's Atlantic and Gulf coasts. It is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the north by Alabama and Georgia and to the east by the Atlantic Ocean. With a population of 18,801,310 as measured by the 2010 census, it... 38 |
n/a | n/a | n/a | n/a |
| Home | 1836 | n/a | n/a | Atlantic coast | 1 | 56 | 9 | C |
| Massachusetts | 1836 | Bell & Brown | 676 | Long Island | 2 | 44 | 9 | VB |
| New York | 1836 | Lawrence & Sneeden | 524 | Long Island | 1 | 52 | 10 | C |
| Ochmulgee | 1836 | W. Kirkwood | 231 | Georgia 38 | n/a | n/a | n/a | n/a |
| Pioneer (3rd) | 1836 | n/a | n/a | Georgia 38 | n/a | n/a | n/a | n/a |
| Rhode Island | 1836 | Brown & Bell | 588 | NY–Providence, RI | 1 | 50 | 11 | C |
| Buffalo | 1837 | John Carrick | 613 | Great Lakes | 1 | 54 | 9 | C |
| Clifton | 1837 | Vanderbilt | 162 | Atlantic Coast 38 | n/a | n/a | n/a | n/a |
| Illinois | 1837 | W. H. Brown | 349 | Hudson River | 1 | n/a | n/a | C |
| Isis | 1837 | n/a | 130 | Georgia Georgia (U.S. state) Georgia is a state located in the southeastern United States. It was established in 1732, the last of the original Thirteen Colonies. The state is named after King George II of Great Britain. Georgia was the fourth state to ratify the United States Constitution, on January 2, 1788... 38 |
n/a | n/a | n/a | n/a |
| Mud-machine | 1837 | Charleston, SC 38 | 60 | William Bird | n/a | n/a | n/a | n/a |
| Despatch | 1838 | James Poyas | 53 | Florida 38 | n/a | n/a | n/a | n/a |
| Gov. Dudley | 1838 | Bishop & Simpson | 408 | Atlantic Coast 38 | n/a | n/a | n/a | n/a |
| Illinois | 1838 | B. S. Goodell | 755 | Great Lakes | 1 | 56 | 10 | n/a |
| Neptune | 1838 | Lawrence & Sneeden | 745 | Atlantic Coast | 1 | 50 | 11½ | n/a |
| Osiris | 1838 | Bishop & Simonson | 145 | NY–Red Bank Red Bank, New Jersey -Demographics:As of the census of 2000, there were 11,844 people, 5,201 households, and 2,501 families residing in the borough. The population density was 6,639.1 people per square mile . There were 5,450 housing units at an average density of 3,055.0 per square mile... |
1 | n/a | n/a | C |
| 1840? | n/a | 150 | n/a | 1 | 25.3 | 6 | C | |
| Iolas Gipsey 66 |
1842 | Bishop & Simonson | 180 | NY-Red Bank | 2 | n/a | n/a | VB |
| Lady Of The Lake Queen City 53 |
1842 | George S. Weeks | 425 | Great Lakes | 1 | n/a | n/a | C |
| Massachusetts John W. D. Pentz 63 Massachusetts 69 |
1842 | Lawrence & Sneeden | 308 | Long Island Sound | 1 | n/a | n/a | C |
| Hero | 1844 | H. Lawrence | ~500 | Hudson River | 1 | n/a | n/a | C |
| Hendrik Hudson | 1845 | George Collyer | 1,170 | Hudson | 1 | 72 | 11 | n/a |
| Traveller Traveler 54 |
1845 | Bishop & Simonson? | 584 | Long Island Sound | 1 | 52 | 11 | VB |
| Bay State | 1846 | Sneeden | 1,600 | Long Island | 1 | 76 | 12 | B |
| Cricket L. Boardman 57 River Belle 80 |
1846 | W. H. Brown | 204 | Hudson River | 1 | 36 | 10 | VB |
| Isaac Newton | 1846 | William Brown | 1,332 | Hudson | 1 | 81 | 12 | B |
| C. Vanderbilt | 1847 | Bishop & Simonson | n/a | Long Island | 1 | 72 | 12 | B |
| Commodore | 1848 | Bishop & Simonson | 984 | Long Island Sound | 1 | 65 | 11 | VB |
| Panama | 1848 | William H. Webb William H. Webb William Henry Webb was a 19th-century New York shipbuilder and philanthropist, who has been called America's first true naval architect.... |
1,087 | Intercoastal | 1 | 70 | 8.7 | SL |
| Plymouth Rock Empire State 48 |
1848 | S. Sneeden | 1,598 | Long Island Sound | 1 | 76 | 12 | VB |
| State of Maine San Pelayo 71 |
1848 | Bishop & Simonson | 806 | Maine Maine Maine is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States, bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the east and south, New Hampshire to the west, and the Canadian provinces of Quebec to the northwest and New Brunswick to the northeast. Maine is both the northernmost and easternmost... coast |
1 | 54 | 11 | VB |
| Canonicus | 1849 | Lawrence & Sneeden | 396 | Long Island Sound | 1 | 36 | 12 | VB |
| Pacific | 1849 | Brown & Bell | n/a | Transatlantic | 2 | 95 | 9 | SL |
| America | 185? | n/a | n/a | n/a | n/a | n/a | n/a | n/a |
| Niagara | 185? | n/a | n/a | n/a | n/a | n/a | n/a | n/a |
| Baltic | 1850 | Brown & Bell | n/a | Transatlantic | 2 | 96 | 10 | SL |
| Buckeye State | 1850 | n/a | 1,187 | Great Lakes | 1 | 37, 80 | 11 | AC |
| Daniel Webster | 1851 | William H. Brown | 1,035 | NY-Nicaragua | 1 | 56 | 10 | VB |
| Illinois | 1851 | Smith & Dimon | 2040 | S. America | 2 | 85 | 9 | O |
| Northern Light | 1851 | J. Simonson | 1,768 | NY-Nicaragua | 2 | 60 | 10 | VB |
| Union | 1851 | n/a | n/a | S. America | 2 | 60 | 7 | SL |
| Black Warrior | 1852 | W. Collyer | 1,350 | Atlantic coast | 1 | 65 | 11 | VB |
| San Juan Star Of The West 52 CSS St. Philip 62 |
1852 | J. Simonson | 1,172 | NY-Nicaragua | 2 | 66 | 11 | VB |
| California | 1852 | S. Sneeden | 480 | Gulf of Mexico Gulf of Mexico The Gulf of Mexico is a partially landlocked ocean basin largely surrounded by the North American continent and the island of Cuba. It is bounded on the northeast, north and northwest by the Gulf Coast of the United States, on the southwest and south by Mexico, and on the southeast by Cuba. In... |
1 | 40 | 10 | VB |
| align="left" | | 1852 | William H. Webb | 1152d | Atlantic coast | 1 | n/a | n/a | SL |
| Uncle Sam | 1852 | Perine, Patterson & Stack | 1,800 | Atlantic Coast | 1 | 66 | 11 | B |
| North Star | 1853 | J. Simonson | 2,000 | Atlantic coast | 2 | 66 | 10 | VB |
| St. Lawrence | 1853 | F. N. Jones | 1,844 | Great Lakes | 1 | 81 | 12 | VB |
| Yankee Blade | 1853 | Perrine, Patterson & Stack | 1,767 | NY-Panama | 1 | 76 | 12 | SL |
| Cahawba | 1854 | W. Collyer | 1,643 | Atlantic coast | 1 | 75 | 11 | VB |
| Magnolia | 1854 | J. Simonson | 1,500 | California | 1 | 75 | 11 | VB |
| Mercury | 1854 | W. Collyer | n/a | N.Y. Harbor | 1 | n/a | n/a | n/a |
| Plymouth Rock →Plymouth Rock 64 |
1854 | J. Englis | 2,202 | Great Lakes | 1 | 81 | 12 | VB |
| Plymouth Rock | 1854 | J. Simonson | 1,752 | Long Island | 1 | 76 | 12 | VB |
| Western World →Fire Queen 64 |
1854 | J. Englis | 2,202 | Great Lakes | 1 | 81 | 12 | VB |
| Ariel | 1855 | J. Simonson | 1,850 | Atlantic coast | 1 | 75 | 11 | VB |
| Granada | 1855 | J. Simonson | 1,059 | Atlantic coast | 1 | 65 | 10 | VB |
| Leviathan | 1855 | Eckford Webb | 500 | New York Harbor | 1 | 60 | 10 | VB |
| Vanderbilt | 1856 | J. Simonson | n/a | Transatlantic | 2 | 90 | 12 | VB |
| William H. Webb | 1856 | William H. Webb | n/a | N.Y. Harbor? | 2 | 44 | 10 | B |
| USRC Harriet Lane | 1857 | William H. Webb | 674d | U.S. Coast Guard United States Coast Guard The United States Coast Guard is a branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the seven U.S. uniformed services. The Coast Guard is a maritime, military, multi-mission service unique among the military branches for having a maritime law enforcement mission and a federal regulatory agency... |
2? | n/a | n/a | I |
| Champion | 1859 | Harlan & Hollingsworth | 1490 | Pacific Ocean | 1 | 42 | 10 | VB |
| align="left" | * | 1859 | Thomas Stack | 513 | NY Harbor | 1 | 38 | 9 | VB |
| John Brooks | 1859 | John Englis | 900 | Bridgeport Bridgeport Bridgeport is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Connecticut.Bridgeport may also refer to:-Places:In Canada:* Bridgeport, Nova ScotiaIn the United States:* Bridgeport, Alabama* Bridgeport, California, in Mono County... |
1 | 56 | 12 | VB |
| Seth Grosvenor | 1859 | Henry Steers | 84 | Liberia Liberia Liberia , officially the Republic of Liberia, is a country in West Africa. It is bordered by Sierra Leone on the west, Guinea on the north and Côte d'Ivoire on the east. Liberia's coastline is composed of mostly mangrove forests while the more sparsely populated inland consists of forests that open... |
1 | 28 | 3 | St |
| 1860 | J. Westerwelt | 2,000 | Charleston Charleston, South Carolina Charleston is the second largest city in the U.S. state of South Carolina. It was made the county seat of Charleston County in 1901 when Charleston County was founded. The city's original name was Charles Towne in 1670, and it moved to its present location from a location on the west bank of the... |
1 | 72½ | 12 | B | |
| 1860 | S. Sneeden | 1200d | NY-Havana | 1 | 70 | 4 | VDA/G | |
| Yankee | 1860 | T. Collyer | 376 | NY Harbor | 1 | 38 | 8⅔ | C |
| 1861 | J. Simonson | 977 | Staten Island Staten Island Staten Island is a borough of New York City, New York, United States, located in the southwest part of the city. Staten Island is separated from New Jersey by the Arthur Kill and the Kill Van Kull, and from the rest of New York by New York Bay... |
1 | 50 | 10 | VB | |
| Kings County | 1861 | Roosevelt & Joyce | 500 | NY-Long Island | 1 | 34 | 9 | B |
| Suffolk County | 1861 | Roosevelt & Joyce | 500 | NY-Long Island | 1 | 34 | 9 | B |
| Thomas Freeborn | 1861 | Lawrence & Foulks Lawrence & Foulks Lawrence & Foulks was a 19th-century American shipbuilding company based in New York. Established in the early 1850s, the company built 144 vessels of all types over the course of some fifty years, but is best known for its production of high-speed wooden-hulled steamboats and steamships... |
306 | Atlantic coast | 1 | 40 | 8 | VB |
| City of Norwich | 1862 | John Englis | 890 | New Haven | 1 | 52 | 10 | VB |
| Eagle | 1862 | J. Westervelt | 1,561 | NY–Havana Havana Havana is the capital city, province, major port, and leading commercial centre of Cuba. The city proper has a population of 2.1 million inhabitants, and it spans a total of — making it the largest city in the Caribbean region, and the most populous... |
1 | 75 | 12 | VB |
| 1862 | J. Simonson | 1850 | n/a | 1 | n/a | n/a | VB | |
| 1862 | J. Simonson | 709d | Staten Island | 1 | 36 | 8 | VB | |
| Westfield | 1862 | J. Simonson | 960 | Staten Island | 1 | 36 | 8 | VB |
| City of New London | 1863 | J. Englis & Son | 696- 1,203 |
New Haven | 1 | 52 | 10 | B |
| Commodore Costa Rica Genaki Maru |
1863 | J. Simonson | n/a | n/a | 1 | 80 | 12 | B |
| Evening Star | 1863 | n/a | n/a | NY-Havana | 1 | 81 | 12 | B |
| Hu Quang | 1863 | Henry Steers | 1,570 | China | 1 | 76 | 12 | VB |
| Katahdin | 1863 | J. Englis & Son | 1,234 | Long Island Sound | 1 | 56 | 11 | VB |
| Kin Kiang | 1863 | J. Englis & Son | 1025 | China | 1 | 58 | 12 | VB |
| Morning Star | 1863 | Roosevelt & Joyce | n/a | NY-Havana | 1 | 81 | 12 | B |
| Po Yang | 1863 | Roosevelt, Joyce | 956 | China | 1 | 50 | 12 | VB |
| ←Western World Fire Queen Kiangwae 77 |
1864 | John Englis | 3,801 | China | 1 | 81 | 12 | VB |
| Moro Castle | 1864 | J. A. Westervelt | 1,987 | NY-Havana | 1 | 76 | 12 | VB |
| New York | 1864 | J. Simonson | 3,200 | n/a | 1 | 90 | 12 | B |
| ←Plymouth Rock 54 Plymouth Rock Foong Shuey 64 Plymouth Rock 64 Kiangyuen 77 |
1864 | Westervelt & Bro. | 2,379 | China China Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture... |
1 | 81 | 12 | VB |
| St. John | 1864 | n/a | n/a | Hudson | 1 | 85 | 15 | n/a |
| Dean Richmond | 1865 | J. Englis & Son | 2,525 | Hudson | 1 | 75 | 14 | VB |
| Favorita | 1865 | J. Westervelt & Son | 865 | Pacific | 1 | 56 | n/a | VB |
| Niagara | 1865 | Westervelt & Son | 1,100 | NY-Richmond Richmond, Virginia Richmond is the capital of the Commonwealth of Virginia, in the United States. It is an independent city and not part of any county. Richmond is the center of the Richmond Metropolitan Statistical Area and the Greater Richmond area... |
1 | 60 | 11 | VB |
| Old Colony | 1865 | John Englis & Son | n/a | NY–Fall River, MA | 1 | 80 | 12 | VB |
| Orient | 1865 | n/a | n/a | n/a | 1 | 68 | 11 | B |
| Rising Star | 1865 | Roosevelt, Joyce & Waterbury | 1,915 | n/a | 1 | n/a | n/a | VB |
| Saratoga | 1865 | Westervelt & Son | 1,100 | NY-Richmond | 1 | 60 | 11 | VB |
| Drew | 1866 | John Englis | 2,902 | Hudson | 1 | 81 | 14 | VB |
| Oregonian | 1866 | Lawrence & Foulks | 2,200 | California California California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area... coast |
1 | 82 | 12 | VB |
Legend: n/a=information not available; Built=year built; Ton.=gross tonnage; Deployment=original location of operation. Where the original deployment is not known, the location is followed by a number, which represents the last two digits of the year in which the vessel is known to have operated at the given location; No.=number of engines; Cyl.=diameter of engine cylinder(s) in inches; Str.=engine stroke in feet; Type=engine type. Types of engine include: AC=annular compound; B=beam; C=compound; CB=compound beam; C=crosshead. Crosshead engines built by this company are almost certainly all of the American "square" type, rather than the Steeple type; DA=direct-acting; DS=double screw; GS=geared screw; HBA=horizontal back-acting; I=inclined; O=oscillating; S=screw; St=steeple; SL=side-lever; V=vertical; VB=vertical beam; VL=vibrating-lever.
Warships
The following table lists warships powered by Allaire Iron Works engines. This list is confined to vessels that were designed and built as warships, and does not include merchant ships commissioned into the Navy.| Ship | Engine | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Name | Type | Built | Builder | Disp. | No. | Cyl. (ins) | Str. (ft) | Type |
| G | 1861 | C. P. Carter | 691 | 2 | 30 | 1½ | HBA/S | |
| G | 1861 | C. & R. Poillon | 691 | 2 | 30 | 1½ | HBA/S | |
| SS | 1862 | New York Navy Yard | 2,526 | 2 | 42 | 2½ | HBA/S | |
| DEG | 1863 | New York Navy Yard | 1,173 | 1 | 58 | 8¾ | I/DA | |
| DEG | 1863 | New York Navy Yard | 1,173 | 1 | 58 | 8¾ | I/DA | |
| M | 1864 | Continental Iron Works | 4,192 | 2 | 100 | 4 | VL/DS | |
| SF | 1865 | New York Navy Yard | 4,105 | 2 | 100 | 4 | VL/S | |
Legend: Type=ship type. Types include - G=gunboat; SS=screw sloop; DEG=double-ended gunboat; M=monitor; SF=screw frigate. Built=Year of ship launch, or completion where launch date is unknown; Builder=Name of ship builder; Disp.=displacement in tons; No.=number of engines; Cyl.=diameter of engine cylinder(s) in inches; Str.=engine stroke in feet; Type=engine type. Types of engine include: DA=direct acting; DS=double screw; HBA=horizontal back-acting; I=inverted; S=screw; VL=vibrating-lever. See marine steam engine
Marine steam engine
A marine steam engine is a reciprocating steam engine that is used to power a ship or boat. Steam turbines and diesel engines largely replaced reciprocating steam engines in marine applications during the 20th century, so this article describes the more common types of marine steam engine in use...
for explanation of various engine types.