Account of the Skerryvore lighthouse : $b with notes on the illumination of lighthousesStevenson, Alan
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Account of the Skerryvore lighthouse : $b with notes on the illumination of lighthouses
Stevenson, Alan
Skerryvore Lighthouse (Hebrides, Scotland)
The advantages of this arrangement, as applied to the Northern
Lighthouses, were much less palpable than those which are described in
the beginning of Dr FARADAY’S paper, because their ventilation was very
good before its introduction; and the flame in particular was perfectly
steady, being by no means subject to derangement from sudden gusts of
wind from the roof in the manner noticed above.
~Arrangements and internal management of a Lighthouse.~
All the Lighthouses in the district of the Commissioners are under
the charge of at least two Lightkeepers, whose duties are to cleanse
and prepare the apparatus for the night illumination, to mount guard
singly after the light is exhibited, and to relieve each other at
stated hours, fixed by the printed regulations and instructions, under
which they act. The rule is, that no keeper on watch shall, under any
circumstances, leave the Lightroom until relieved by his comrade; and,
for the purpose of cutting off all pretext for the neglect of this
universal law, the dwelling-houses are built close to the Light Tower,
and means are provided for making signals directly from the Lightroom
to the sleeping apartments below. These signals are communicated by
air-tubes, through which, by means of a small piston, or a puff of wind
from the mouth, calls can be exchanged between the keepers, enabling
the man on guard in the Lightroom, at the end of the watch, or on any
sudden emergence, to summon his comrade from below, who, on being thus
called, answers by a counter-blast, to shew that the summons has been
heard and will be obeyed. For the purpose of greater security, in
such situations as the Bell Rock and the Skerryvore, four keepers are
provided for one lightroom; one being always ashore on leave with his
family, and the other three being at the Lighthouse, so that, in case
of the illness of one lightkeeper, an efficient establishment of two
keepers for watching the light may remain. At all the land-lighthouses
also, an agreement is made with some steady person residing in the
neighbourhood, who is instructed in the management of the light and
cleansing of the apparatus, and comes under an obligation to be ready
to do duty in the light-room when called upon, in the event of the
sickness or absence of one of the lightkeepers. This person is called
the _occasional keeper_, and receives pay only while actually employed
at the Lighthouse; but in order to keep him in the practice of the
duty, he is required to serve in the lightroom for a fortnight annually
in the month of January. The details of the lightkeeper’s duty may be
seen by referring to the instructions already alluded to, which will
be found in the Appendix.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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