Description:
- Object ID: ALSA 2006.01.01
- Made by: Unknown
- Model: Unknown
- Serial Number: Unknown.
- Date Made: Unknown.
- Approximate size: Length 100 feet.
- Accessories: None.
- Condition: Good
Commentary:
The Engineer’s Chain is also called the Ramsden Chain. It was orginally constructed by Jesse Ramsden for the British Royal Engineers in 1784. F. W. Simms in England noted in 1836 that the recent construction of canals and railroads had led to the introduction of a chain in which each link and its associated rings was 12 inches long. Chains of this sort, measuring either 50 or 100 feet overall, were soon known as engineer’s chains.
This chain is 100 feet long consisting of 100 one foot links with markers every 10 feet.
Source of Object: Unknown
Notes: This engineers chain is owned by the Alberta Land Surveyors’ Association. Another engineer;s chain is owned by the Society: SHF 2018.01.04 (Estate of E Scovill).
References: See https://americanhistory.si.edu/collections/nmah_762993. and https://www.ramsden.info/Ramsden/Ramsdens/RamsdenChain.htm.
Description by: Entered by Ed Titanich, October 2, 2024.