SIX WILLIAM SIEAfENS, F.R.S. 303 



passengers, which formed part of the continental system, would 

 not, however, suit English habits and notions, and the custom of 

 locking up the passengers could not be considered an element of 

 safety. Passengers were seldom, if ever, injured on a railway 

 platform ; it was while the train was in motion that the principal 

 danger existed. The careful manner in which the rolling stock 

 was manufactured on the German railways also contributed to 

 tluMr safety. Through the agency of Mr. Krupp, cast steel had 

 been very successfully employed in the manufacture of tyres and 

 ax Irs. He believed that gentleman alone had supplied nearly fifty 

 thousand of each, and he had been followed by other manufacturers. 

 In fact, at the present time it was exceptional to find anything but 

 cast steel tyres or axles on the German railways. Much depended 

 upon the manner in which the tyres and axles were prepared. 

 Mr. Krupp had devoted much time and attention to the subject. 

 The hammer which he employed weighed as much as 45 tons, and 

 fell through a space of 10 feet. The anvil was composed of nine 

 pieces, and weighed nearly 1,300 tons. The centre piece was a 

 solid casting, weighing 185 tons. It rested upon the remaining 

 eight pieces, which were of a segmental shape, and each weighed 

 135 tons. It was only by means of such an agency, that large 

 masses of steel could be welded, so as to form a compact and 

 homogeneous mass. The steel tyres and axles so prepared were 

 used on the northern railways in Germany, where the winter was 

 very severe, and Mr. Siemens was not acquainted with a single 

 instance of a tyre, or an axle breaking during frost. 



Another point in regard to the management of the railways in 

 Germany deserved attention. The arrival or passage of each train 

 was telegraphed from station to station, and two trains were not 

 allowed to occupy one section of a line at the same time. He 

 thought that sufficient consideration had not been given to the 

 advantages which would be derived from the adoption of a similar 

 system in England. The trains on the main lines of this country 

 followed each other, in some cases, at as small an interval as five 

 minutes. It would be more correct not to divide the space between 

 them by time, but by distance. But, assuming that u system of 

 telegraphing the train was adopted, as five minutes would represent 

 a distance of 2 miles, or 3 miles, there would be no difficulty in 

 signalling trains at such intervals. If the stations were further 



