632 



FARMERS' REGISTER— ON RAILWAYS, &c. 



remark, that "the locomotive engine is, heyoiul 

 comparison, the most elifijible, indeed the only effi- 

 cient moving power for Railways ;" nor can I re- 

 fuse to accord to those Directors a lull measure of 

 praise for their sagacity in selecting this instru- 

 ment as their motive force, in preference to horses 

 or stationary engines, as well as for their fostering 

 care of its infantine weakness. I am aware tliat 

 an Edinburgh Reviewer, and other self-sufficient 

 (perhaps, self-interested !) critics, have thought 

 that, by ordering engines from every aspirant to lo- 

 comotive glory, the Directors would have achiev- 

 ed still brighter conquests. 1 am not the panegy- 

 rist of the Liverpool Directors but this opinion is 

 groundless ; and I do think that the learned Re- 

 viewer v/ould act more creditably and usefully by 

 confining himself to his compilations and cheap- 

 knowledge books, than by giving public and ano- 

 nymous vent to petty tales and slanders on the con- 

 duct and performances of men, whose practical sci- 

 ence and labors have accomplished more in two 

 years, for the benefit of their country, than all the 

 scribblers and all the Reviewers will accomplish in 

 two centuries. 



The Locomotive Engine is a combination of the 

 ideas and contrivances of many heads. That it 

 should, with all its imperfections, have been 

 brought to its present state of usefulness in so short 

 a time, is highlj' creditable to the ingenuity and 

 exertions of the Messrs. Stephenson, and of the 

 other contributors to its actual mechanical form 

 and powers. I know, ho^vever, that various very 

 admirable schemes for increasing the power and 

 durability of the boiler, as well as for improving 

 the general arrangement and application of the en- 

 gines, are contemj)latcd by different contractors. 

 But it is vain toexpect that inventions, which may 

 be termed rather skilful dispositions of parts than 

 new discoveries, should see the light, when it is 

 considered how heavy is the expense incurred by 

 the engine builder in experimenting on so costly an 

 apparatus, how uncertain is his success, and how 

 immediate would be the adoption of his improve- 

 ments by his rivals in trade. Nor can any rea- 

 sonable man urge the Directors of a Railway to 

 speculate in inventions; but they n)ay hasten their 

 development, and ajjpropriate them to their ser- 

 vice ; they may, through timely encouragement, 

 anticipate, by many years, the fruits of mechani- 

 cal skill, and brighten the prospects of their own 

 and similar enterprises. 



The Directors of the Liverpool and Manchester 

 Railway will, I trust, pardon me for suggesting to 

 their consideration a measure which might possi- 

 bly accelerate the march of improvement, and, at 

 the same time, diminish, in no slight degree, the 

 amount of that weighty item in their disburse- 

 ments, "Locomotive Power.'' I advise them to 

 repeat the trial of wh'at they themselves have cor- 

 rectly styled a "happy expedient ;" I mean that 

 they should renew the offer of a reward for that en- 

 gine Avhich shall unite, in the most eminent degree, 

 the now well-ascertained requisites to its perfection. 

 Let the prize contended for be worthy the accep- 

 tance of engine-makers; let it be such as, to induce 

 them to risk a failure in the strife ; and sucli as, in 

 the event of success, Avill constitute, an ample re- 

 muneration for their skill and labor. I feel confi- 

 dent that the olTcr of one thousand guineas re- 

 ward to the victorious candidate in such a contest, 

 would be attended with results not less beneficial to 



Railways at the present era, than were those which 

 came out of the first fi^mous mechanical combat. 



It appears that the working and repairs of the lo- 

 comotive engines, on the Liverpool and Manches- 

 ter Railway, cost, annually, about £24,000, or, in 

 other words, the startling sum of £800 per mile, 

 per anninn, on the length of their line. Two-thirds 

 of this amount are comprised under the sole head 

 of repairs ; to which outgoings should be added the 

 interest upon, and depreciation of, a large stock of 

 tools and materials, composing the workshops and 

 hospitals ; the latter of which are commonly filled 

 to overflowing with sick or disabled Locomotives. 

 Surely, then, one thousand, or even two thousand 

 guineas, might be well applieil in the endeavor to 

 diminish so large a draught from the profits of the 

 Company, for wear and tear is an absolute and irre- 

 coverable loss. 



I will now proceed to trace the outline of the 

 bi-oad principles on which such a trial of skill should 

 be conducted ; a ti'ial which vvould bring competi- 

 tors to the goal, the productions of whose efforts 

 would far more than compensate the Company for 

 the value of the stake. 



I assume, as postulates, that the average weight 

 of the best engines now on the Railway is sufficient- 

 ly great, and that two eleven-inch cylinders, work- 

 ing under a pressure of steam of fifty pounds per 

 square inch, are found to possess sufficient power. 

 I then suggest, as bases, the following conditions : 



1. That the maximum weight of the competing 

 engines shall not exceed that of the best engine in 

 the Company's employ. 



2. That the maximum pressure of the steam 

 shall be fixed, and shall be alike in all the engines; 

 and that the calculated power shall be equal to that 

 of two eleven-inch cylinders, withaneighteen inch 

 stroke, working under a pressure of steam of 50 lbs. 

 per square inch.* 



3. That all the competing engines shall com- 

 mence working on a given day : their duty to be 

 tliat of making complete trips, during a given peri- 

 od, betw een Liverpool and Manchester reciprocal- 

 ly, with trains of merchandise of a determinate and 

 ascertained weight. 



4. That in the event oi equality of performance 

 between any of the competing engines or between 

 them and any of those in the Company's employ, 

 their relative powers and properties shall be decided 

 by subjecting them to a proof of their aAsoZuie pow- 

 ers and proi)erties ; and that this shall be the conclu- 

 sive trial. 



5. That one thousand guineas shall be awarded 

 to the constructor of that engine which shall have 

 proved itself superior both to all its competitors, 

 and to any engine in the Company's use : that the 

 Company shall purchase such engine for the sum 

 of one thousand guineas, and order from its maker 

 the next five engines which they may require. 



6. That five hundred guineas shall be awarded 

 to the maker of the second best engine, provided it 



*That the greatest latitude of construction may be 

 given to engine-makers, the dimensions of the cylinders 

 should not be prescribed, merely the calculated power 

 resulting from the bulk of steam consumed by the num- 

 ber of strokes of the pistons per minute. This is re- 

 quisite in order to insure a fair trial, as all the engines, 

 whatever may be their construction, should be on pre- 

 cisely equal terms as to their nominal power ; otherwise 

 a proof of their absolute power would not be conclusive 

 in regard to their relative merits. 



