1837] 



FARMERS' REGISTER, 



21 



Siiico th(> last notice in j-our Miio;azinP, a now 

 carriuire, the "Aiitomutnn," has hoon brouiTtit 

 updii the. road; Uie only din'erenco between which 

 a!i(l those [HTcediii!:' it is, that the enirines are of 

 irrealer power (i\avinu cyiinch^rs ot twelve inches 

 diameter, wiiiisi (liose of the others are of nine 

 inches,) ami tlie carriaire ailogether of iaro-cr ili- 

 niensjoiis liian tiie others, it iiavin<r seats tor twen- 

 ty -two, wlhlst they are only calcnhiied lort()urteen 

 jiassenijers. It is an open carriaije like the "In- 

 tan!;" and althouijh only calcnhited lor the accnm- 

 modation of tweniy-two passeij<r('rs, it has carried 

 thirty at one time, "and would then have surplus 

 power to draw liie omnibus or oilier carriage con- 

 tainiiiix eiiihteen more passengers, without any 

 material diaiinution oC speed ; its general rate of 

 travelling is from twelve to tilieeri miles per hour. 

 On one occasion it perlbrmed (when put upon to 

 the top of its speed, and loaded with twenty full 

 grown persons) a mile on the Bow-road, at the 

 rate of twenty-one miles per hour. 



The first lime the " Automaton" was brought 

 uiion the road, (the latter end of July) it convey- 

 ed a party to Romlbrd, and back, at the rate of 

 ten to twelves miles per hour, without the least in- 

 terruption or deviation in its working, although it 

 was the first, or as 1 may call it. the day of prov- 

 inir, nor has it required any repairs whatever to 

 this time. 



Alter this discression in describing the "Au- 

 tomation," I will return to the actual work done 

 on the public roads and streets of the metropolis 

 during the last twenty weeks, or five months, in 

 as concise a manner as I can : 



The miles run, about 

 Passengers carried. 

 Trips — City to Isliuo-ton and back, 

 Do. do Paddington do. 



Do. do Stratford do. 



4.200 



12,761 



525 



143 



44 



Supposing the carriage had always been 

 full, the passengers carried would have 

 been 20,420 



Average time a carriage has run each day 

 — 5 hours 17^ minutes. 



An exact account of the number of times that 

 the carriages have gone through the city in their 

 journeys has not been kept, but I shoiild suppose 

 that it must be iriore than 200. For the last five 

 weeks a carriage has been at the Bank twice a 

 day, viz. between the hours of 2 and 3, and 5 and 

 6 in the afternoon. 



It was on one of the morning trips from Strat- 

 ford to the Bank, through the city, that the steam- 

 er became entangled with a wagon at Aldgate ; 

 and which I am happy to say, is the only accident 

 worth recording. The shafts of the wagon 

 were swung by the contact, against the projecting 

 front of a shop; the damage done was Iriflng, 

 and occasioned by the wheels of the steam car- 

 riage having got into the iron gutter and out of 

 which it is not an easy thing to gain the fair sur- 

 face of the street with any ordinary carriage in so 

 confined a situation as that part of Aldgate in 

 which the accident happened ; and it should be 

 observed, that this occurred in making way for 

 another carriage passing at the time. 



I will now give you an account of all other ac- 

 cidents (which have all happened to the damage 

 of the steamers themselves,) viz. the chain piil- 

 ley of the '' Enterprise " once broke on the axle- 



tree ; the same occurred once to the " InHint," 

 which we permanently and immediately replaced 

 by castings from the same pattern, with a greater 

 thickness of metal, and which have since stood well. 



The severe test afibrdeil by the state of the 

 City Road and onward to Paddintrion, caused 

 these liiilures, lor the pulley had stood well on the 

 other roads for many miles. 



Another accident was a hand-wheel of the 

 "Erin" coming olf in the New Street, near the 

 Bank, on which occtision the carriage sunk only 

 about eight or nine inches, in consequence of the 

 Irame-work of the machinery taking the ground ; 

 and so little was the coach thrown out of the level, 

 that the inside pass.'ngers weresurp/riscd when in- 

 formed tiitit the wheel was ofi'. The concluding 

 accident was by the steerage chain of the " In- 

 lant" being loo slight, and breaking at Islington, 

 when the carnage turning short round, with one 

 of the fore wheels against the cuib, the wheel 

 was broKen. This wheel was an old one, of 

 much slighter construction than I now make them. 



In the early part of the five months' running, 

 the close-bodied carnages, " Erin " and "Enter- 

 prize" were about equally em[)loyed — in the latter 

 part, and to the present time, in consequence of 

 the fine weather, the open carriages " Inlant" and 

 "Automaton" have been running. 



I have occasionally examined the boilers and 

 entrines of all >he carriages, and found that the 

 enirines have in most parts actually improved, 

 whilst the boilers and fire places have suii'ered a 

 deterioration, less than could have been expected, 

 from the use they have undergone. 



It may be remarked, that both boilers and ma- 

 chinery are suspended on well-acting springs, and 

 which accounts for the state of till the parts hnincr 

 so well preserved. Some of the boilers have 

 been in use for two or three years. 



There have been consumed in the before men- 

 tioned traffic, 55 chaldrons of coke, which is equal 

 to 76 miles per chaldron, or about 2^d. per mile 

 for fuel ; but this is on long journeys would be 

 much reduced by the apjilication of" the moveable 

 fire-place, patented by me about three years ago, 

 as our greatest exueiiditure of coke in these short 

 journeys is iu lowering and again raising the fire. 



I cannot conclude without noticing with o-rati- 

 tude, the general civilit}' and attention which I 

 have met with, and my pleasure in discovering' 

 that the antipathies which existed in the earlier 

 part of my career are gradually subsiding, and 

 that, in fact, I never now meet with incivility, ex- 

 ce[)ting with a iew carters or draymen, who con- 

 sider the introduction of steam-carriages as an in- 

 liingement upon the old established use of horse 

 flesh. 



Years of practice have now put all doubts of 

 the economy, safety, and superiority of steam 

 travelling on common roads at rest, when com- 

 pared with horse travelling ; and I have now in 

 preparation calculations founded upon actual prac- 

 tice, which when published will prove that steam- 

 locomotion on common roads is not unworthy of 

 the attention of the capitalist, thouyh the reverse 

 has/ been disseminaied rather widely of late by 

 parties who do not desire that this branch of im- 

 provement should prosper against the interests of 

 themselves. 



WALTER HANCOCK. 



Slratford, Sept. 22, 1836- 



