30 



THE CIVIL ENGINEER AND AKCHITECT'S JOUUNAL. 



[Januavt, 



" The sutiject of the book being ' Rusticum,' I have ven- 

 tured to putt the Viae Wreath on it, I hope I have not 

 bound it in too rich a manner for the book. It takes up a 

 great deal of time do these Vine wreaths ; I guess within 

 time I am certain of measuring and working the different 

 and various small tools required to fill up tlie Vine wreath, 

 that it takes very near 3 days' work in finishing the two 

 sides only of the book — but I wished to do my best for the 

 work, and at the same time I cannot expect to charge a full 

 and proper price for the work ; and hope that the price will 

 not only be found reasonable but cheap . . . . 18 0" 



Of the binders of the present century, the following deserve to be men- 

 tioned with respect — viz., Mr. Mackenzie, Mr. Clarke, Mr. Bedford, and Mr. 

 Hayday ; the bindings by the latter consist almost invariably of adaptations 

 and modifications of ancient examples. Among the many splendid speci- 

 mens of his work exhibited, that of " the Sheriffs of Shropshire," in impe- 

 rial folio, deserves special notice, as being enriched with the armorial bear- 

 ings beautifully coloured. The binding is of blood-coloured morocco, e.x- 

 tending an inch and a half all round the inside of the cover, on which is 

 stamped a bold, open border, tooled iu gold. 



The author, after alluding to the numerous specimens of modern bindings 

 which have of late been produced to the public, and regretting their want of 

 originality, concluded by urging the necessity of attempting something ori- 

 ginal and suitable to the advancing and improving taste of the time. Then 

 we may hope that ere long ornamental art in bookbinding will be wedded to 

 our present perfect execution, and that the 19th century will be able, like 

 the 15th, to boast of a stvle of its own. 



Mr. H. Cole, assistant keeper of the Public Kecords, exhibited a number 

 of very curious and beautiful specimens of bookbinding, among which was 

 one containing the deeds relating to Henry the Seventh's Chapel at West- 

 minster, in which the monks undertake to pray for the soul of its founder as 

 long as the world is. 



Noo. 17.— W. H. Bodkin, Esq., V.P. in the Chair. 

 The first communication read was by Mr. Briant, on his " Plan for over- 

 coming the difficulties of a Break of Gauge, and of Uniting the Broad and 

 Narrow Gauge Railways." 



Mr. Briant commenced his paper by pointing out the difficulties which 

 had arisen from the adoption of the two gauges in this country, and the 

 objections which have been urged against the various plans — viz., the tele- 

 scopic axles for the wheels; the shifting of the carriages from one gauge on 

 to that of another; laying down double lines of rails ; &c. He then pro- 

 ceeded to describe his own plan, which is as follows : — At the point of junc- 

 tion of the two gauges, a platform is to be fixed in the centre of the rails ; 

 the carriages are then to be placed upon wheels, the two ends of the axles 

 of which are to be made as male screws ; on the centre of the axle a pinion- 

 wheel is to be fixed, and under it attached to the frame of the carriage a 

 lever, upon the upper side of which is a rack, and at the lower end an anti- 

 friction roller. The nave of the wheels is to extend under the carriage in 

 the form of a female screw, to receive the axles. By this arrangement, 

 while the train is travelling on the narrow gauge, the wheels would be 

 screwed up to the required width, the racked lever hanging loosely under the 

 pinion-wheel, and the axle would turn with the wheels ; but when the train 

 reached the point of junction, the lever would be caught up by the platform 

 (which is to be 40 yards long), and with it the rack. The axle would thus 

 be prevented from turning by the pinion-wheel and rack, and the wheels, 

 from the weight of carriage, passengers, luggage, &c. pressing upon them, 

 would immediately begin to unwind the screws, which, by the time the car- 

 riage has reached the other end of the platform, will have extended the 

 axle to the required width — the lever would drop and free the pinion-wheel, 

 and the axle would then turn with the wheels as before. The wheels are 

 kept in their position when unwound by coupling-rods. In backing the 

 train, the screw is prevented from acting by means of a stop fixed to the 

 carriage and blocking the axle. A working model was exhibited. 



The second paper read was by D. J. Hoare, Esq., " On a Railway Tele- 

 graph and Alarum, to be used as a means of Communicating between the 

 Guard and Driver of Railway Carriages." 



The plan proposed is that a series of rods should be passed through the 

 carriages of a train, and united at their extremities by a telescope-joint, so 

 as to allow of extension and contraction : the rods being made with a uni- 

 versal joint, admit of a rotary motion, — the only motion which a railway 

 train has not. At the end of the rod on the guard's carriage is a crank, 

 which, when the rod is turned, comes in contact with a hammer, and causes 

 it to strike a bell. A signal is then to he raised, indicating the carriage from 

 which the signal is made ; the guard will then immediately ascertain whether 

 it is necessary that the train should be stojiped, and if so, by turning the 

 rod in the reverse direction to what the person signalling had done, will 

 ring another bell at the driver's end of the train, or sound the whistle of the 

 engine. — Mr. Hoare stated that it is immaterial what the curve of the rail- 

 way may be, as the universal joint admits of the rod varying from a right 

 line. It would also act in case a carriage got off the line, or even on to the 

 buffers of the carriage preceding it. 



Nov. 24.— T. WnnsTER, Esq., F.R.S., V.P., in the Chair, 

 The first communication read was on Mr. Ddtton's " Railway Communi- 

 cator." 

 Mr. Button proposes that a small metal pipe should be fixed in some 



convenient part of each railway carriage, and connected at its extremities 

 with the carriage preceding and following it by means of a short length of 

 vulcanized india-rubber tubing and a kind of bayonet fastening ; at the end 

 of the tube, near to the guard's seat, a whistle is to be fixed, which will be 

 capable of being sounded by the passengers on their blowing into a small 

 branch tube, to be fixed in each carriage in connection with the metal pipe. 

 A model was exhibited. 



The second communication was by Mr. F. Brothers, " On his plan for 

 forming a Communication between the Passengers, Guards, and Drivers of a 

 Railway Train." 



Mr. Brothers proposes, by means of a fly-wheel, to be worked by the 

 rapid current of air passing through it, to set in motion a multiplying power 

 which shall work a small air-pump, and compress air into a chamber in con- 

 nexion with which two wliistles shall be fixed; one of these the passengers 

 are to be capable of sounding, by allowing the compressed air to escape. 

 The second whistle is to be of a different size and sound, and entirely under 

 the control of the guard, and only to be used when it is necessary to stop 

 the train. 



The third paper was by Mr. E. E. Allen, on his means of effecting a simi- 

 lar communication. 



Mr. Allen proposes to make use of electricity as a means of sound- 

 ing the steam whistle. Galvanised wires are to be carried along each of the 

 carriages of a train, and the electric circuit is to be completed by the use of 

 galvanised coupling chains, which, so long as the circuit is complete, mag- 

 netises a piece of soft iron and holds a detent attached to the steam-cock ; 

 but whenever the circuit is broken, the iron is demagnetised, and the detent 

 allowed to go free, upon which the steam escapes, and the whistle thereby 

 sounded. 



The fourth paper read was by Messrs. Brett and Little, on their method 

 of forming a similar communication. — In this plan, as in Mr. Allen's, it is 

 proposed to use an electric current, the circuit of which is to be completed 

 by means of wires and chains, but is to act only when the circuit is com- 

 plete, when a bell is rung. 



Dec. 1.— W. Wyon, Esq., R.A., in the Chair. 



Five specimens of " Painting on Glass," by M. De Ron, of Munich, 

 were exhibited. — The Secretary stated that the colours used by M. De Rou 

 are peculiar, and the method of preparing them known only to himself, and 

 which colours are glasses of different degrees of hardness, care being taken 

 in using them never to put a harder upon a softer metal. He also uses both 

 sides of the glass, which enables him to obtain clearness and decision of 

 colour. 



Mr. Hall offered some remarks on the history of stained glass, and ex- 

 hibited several specimens of modern manufacture. 



Mr. S. Moulton exhibited a model of an " Iron Truss Railway Bridge," 

 the invention of Mr. Rider, of New York. — The pecuUarities of this bridge 

 are its simplicity, lightness, and strength. The directors of the New York 

 and Harlem railroad have erected a bridge on this principle, the span being 

 70 feet, and having a double track or roadway upon it ; the entire weight of 

 metal used in its construction was 13 tons, while its cost was under jEdOO. 



A paper was read by Mr. Archer, " on Engraving with reference to 

 Monumental Brasses and Incised Stones." 



The author commenced by referring to the very early period at which the 

 art of engraving appears to have been known and practised by the lapidary 

 and goldsmith, and the probability that those to whom the art was knowa 

 were subject to a precise code of laws and connected with the priestly office, 

 these laws having the effect of regulating the productions according to a 

 given standard set up by the heads of their order ; thus giving a singular 

 uniformity to the numerous examples of antique art, whether in painting, 

 sculpture, or engraving. After alluding to the Egyptian, Etruscan, Greek, 

 and Roman specimens of engraving, and their similarity and common origin, 

 he proceeded to point out the various purposes to which the art of engrav- 

 ing on brass was employed, such as the representation of geographical dia- 

 grams. In the time of Herodotus, edicts and public records were sometimes 

 inscribed on brass tablets, a striking instance of which occurs in the preser- 

 vation down to the present time of tlie will and acts of the emperor Augus- 

 tus. Having touched upon some few instances of the ancient practice of 

 the caleographic art, the author proceeded to detail some particulars of that 

 process as it appeared at the general revival of art during the middle ages. 

 In the 8th century, by a law of Kenneth, king of Scotland, it was enjoined 

 that a cross should be put on every gravestone — i. e. coffin-lid ; and this 

 appears to have been done in three ways :— 1st. By the use of incised lines 

 drawn around tiie object. 2ndly. By producing the form in low relief. 

 3rdly. By a wholly excised figure. — The use of sepulchral brasses appears to 

 have originated with the general revival of art in the 13th century, one of 

 the earliest specimens being that of Sir Roger de Trompington, who died in 

 1289. The brasses of the 14th and loth centuries contain, besides the effi- 

 gies of warriors, churchmen, ladies, and civilians, many examples of beau- 

 tiful decoration, derived from the architectural practice of the time. Diffe- 

 rent combinations of the letters I.H.S., composing the sacred monogram, 

 appear in the brasses of the 15th and beginning of the 16th centuries. In 

 the 16th century, at the time of the Reformation, these sacred monuments 

 appear to have become obnoxious, and were accordingly swept out of the 

 churches with an unsparing hand — few (comparatively) having escaped de- 



