266 



•ON ROADS, 



litter from G. Cumberland, Ffij. on a Project for extended 

 Roads on the Principle of the inclined Plane, 



To Mr. NICHOLSON. 

 SIR, Oa. Q6, 1805. ' Wefion-fupra-Mcrc. 



Account of rail- j| \.BOUT ten years ago having frequent occafion to remark, 

 and (lifter from, the miferable ftate of the roads from Staines to 

 London during the winter feafon, I ventured to propofe (not 

 having at that time either feen or heard of rai!-roads) a plan 

 which I called a truck-road for the whole of that iiage, becaufe 

 it was intended to convey all forts of goods and even carriages 

 on trucks, going to town on one fide of the old road and re- 

 turning by the other. 



communicated This plan I fent fome time after to Dr. Anderfon, with a 



toDf,Andwfon ' drawing, for his Recreations, but by fome accident it was roif- 

 laid and loft ; and the reward of my trouble was the fly fneers 

 of my grave Windfor neighbours, to whom it was known, 

 accompanied with a fort of pity for heads capable of propoting 

 fuch eccentric inventions. 



Time however revenged my caufe, by (bowing them the 

 practicability of fuch fchemes in the progrefs of the Surry 

 undertaking. 



At the fame time another plan of expeditious conveyance 

 occurred to my mind, but which I was deterred from then 

 producing owing to the cold reception my firft contrivance 

 met with — And as no one, as far as I can learn, hap hitherto 

 brought forward any improvement of the kind (although fo 

 very obvious that it might eaiily be fuggeftcd to the mind of a 

 child who had heard of roads on inclined planes,) I take the 

 liberty to recommend it to your patriotic publication, convinced 

 that whatever may, at one time or other, be of fervice to man- 

 kind, will be always fure of a favouiable reception at your 

 hands. 



The plan I propofe then is this: — That all difpatches and 



tail. Difpatches p ft_i e tters may, wherever it is compatible with the inclina- 



may be rolled in \ . , ' 



a fpherical cafe tion of the ground, be conveyed ten or hlteen miles to and from 



down a long in- London by means of iron t>r wooden Jliells of a globular form, 

 dined channel. * »• 



rolling 



Another plan 

 by an inclined 

 toad. 



Particular de- 



