Page 11 While working at the gas plant, Robert Foulis conceived the idea of using a steam whistle as a fog alarm. Fresh in his mind were the newspaper accounts of the loss of the Collins Line steamer Arctic due to a mid-sea collision in fog with the French screw vessel Vesta. Foulis knew that a river boat steam whistle, using a system of coded blasts, would be very effective as a fog alarm. He had to convince the Light House Commissioners to try his alarm on Partridge Island.
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Partridge Island had been a fog alarm and signal station since 1791, when a
small cannon was placed there to be fired in foggy weather. This alarm was
ineffective, and in 1832 a 1000 lb. bell was placed in a tower, to be rung in
foggy weather. This also was not effective, as evidenced by the complaint of
the captain of the steamer Creole, in fog off the island in 1851;
"the fog bell on the island was of no use whatsoever. It rang a few
peals and was heard no more."
Saint John is as famous today as she was during the 19th century for her fog.
Although we are far from being the foggiest city in Canada, much of our fog
occurs during the summer season. Newspapers of the 1800's kept the citizenry
well informed of things 'foggy', publishing 'mist by mist'
accounts every month. Such a moist atmosphere made Saint John an ideal
candidate for the fog alarm as proposed by Robert Foulis.
When Foulis first approached the Commissioners with his gas light idea in
1852, he had also proposed that
"The Alarm Steam whistle may by having a very simple machine attached
having certain measured intervals of time between each sound this would
distinguish the locality."
They were obviously not impressed by the concept as they spent several hundreds
of pounds sterling over the next few years trying to perfect a fog bell!
Foulis' improved gas light provided a cheaper, brighter light for some years, but there were problems with the system. In 1858 Foulis again agitated for his steam fog whistle, but possibly because of the problems with the gas light, the Commissioners of Lights ignored Foulis. However, Isaac Woodward, one of the Commissioners, asked Foulis to put together detailed plans for the steam fog alarm and deliver them to him. This was done and Foulis heard no more.
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