IS6 



THE CIVIL ENGINEER AND ARCHITECT'S JOURNAL. 



Juke 



fold, at a coniparalivcly very in=i;'iiificant cost, as tlie actual pspenditure for 

 the works at Corliel Loiif;li <liil not exceed j,300/. — the cl(jspst econoniy, 

 consistent witli the eiricieiicy and durahility of the work, being rigidly ke]>t 

 in view, and the utmost attention being exercised by the resident engineer, 

 Mr. W. L. Stoney. 



May 0. — " Odserra/ions on ihci Causes that are in constiint Operation, 

 tending to alter tlie Outline of the Coasts'of Great Britain, to affect llie 

 Entrances of Rivers and I/artwm-s, and to form Shoals and Deepa in the Bed 

 of the Sea." Uy Mr. J. T. Haruison, M.l.C.E. 



After noticing tlie gradual deterioration which the Iiarliours of Great 

 Britain are undergoing, the 'paper gave as the causes of these effects, the 

 action of fresh water, of the tidal wave — the wind waves, aiul springs, and 

 atmospheric changes, dwelling piincipally upon the tidal and wind waves. 

 Professor Airy's and Mr. Scott Russell's views on the positive wave of 

 translation (first order), and the oscillating wave (second order), were ex- 

 amined ; the peculiarity of the former being, that the motion of the whole 

 mass of the water was in the same direction as that of the wave itself; 

 whilst, in the latter, (he motion of the water was alternately ojiposed to, 

 and in the direction of, the wave. The tidal wave was considered as a purely 

 oscillating wave in the open sea, changing its character as it passed into 

 shallow water. It was supposed that a wave of tlie tirst order ^^'as generated 

 ■whenever the water, heaped up by a projecting headland, passed and made 

 its escape into the adjoining water, at a lower level, and that it carried with 

 it gravel and shingle into mid-channel. The regularity of the bottom of the 

 English Channel, and the material of which it is composed, were instanced, 

 to prove that the bottotn was now in progress of formation from the aqueous 

 action of this deposition of matter. The effects of the tidal wave along 

 the coasts at Poole, and in the Isle of Wight, were given, to show that such 

 a wave of translation was generated and crossed the Channel, from the De- 

 partment de la Manehe. The results of a series of experiments upon the 

 action of waves on transportable materials showed that certain definite forms 

 were assumed by sand or shingle, under given circumstances— for instance, 

 that the depth of the end of the foreshore below the water depended upon 

 the size and character of the wave acting upon it. It was urged that the 

 end of such a foreshore was to be found at 90 or 100 fathoms under water, 

 stretching from Usliant to the south-west coast of Ireland, and that the 

 tidal wave, in its progress up the channel, drew down to the mouth the 

 material thrown into it by the waves of translation from the headlands. 

 The accumulative action was seen in the carriage of sand through the Straits 

 of Dover to be deposited on the sand banks of the North Sea. 



Ueferiing to Mr. I'almer's paper " On Shi'.yle Beaches," the destructive, 

 accumulative, and progressive actions of the wind waves were considered. 

 The cases most favourable for the display of the effective actions of each 

 were adduced. The influence of tides by varying the height of the water, 

 and that of an on-shore wind in facilitating the destructive action, by retain- 

 ing the water at a higher level, were pointed out. A flat foreshore, was 

 shown to prevent, in a great degree, the destructive action ; whilst, on the 

 other hand, deep water, whether from a strong in-shore tidal current, or 

 from other causes, had a contrary effect, facilitating encroachments on the 

 coast. The jirogrcssive action was shown to depend principally upon the 

 angle at which the waves strike the beach. The general question of the 

 travelling of shingle, and of its ultimate destination, was considered at great 

 length — instancing particularly the accumulation of shingle at the Chesil 

 Bank and Dungeness. The state of the Great Western Bay, between the 

 Start Point and Portland, was examined, and arguments were offered to 

 show that it had been formed, in a great measure, by the encroachment of 

 the sea. The process of this encroachment, and the alteration in the mouths 

 of the estuaries falling into the bay, were analysed ; and extracts were given 

 from Sir 11. De la Heche's work on the geology of Devon and Cornwall, to 

 prove that this process was still in operation. The summary of the argu- 

 ments in the papers was, that the observed changes in our coasts and the 

 mouths of the rivers were the result of the combined action of the wind 

 wive, and of the tidal wave ; and the attention of engineers was particularly 

 directed to these actions in different localities, in order that, by presenting 

 to the Institution the result of their observations, an invaluable coUectiun of 

 recorded facts might be assembled, which would be of great benefit to the 

 profession, and to the scientific world. 



Mai/ 16. — This evening was occupied with a discussion on Mr. Gooch's 

 paper " (ju the Resistance to Railwai/ trains at different Velocities," read at 

 the meeting on April 18. — [See Journal, ante p. 155.] 



The principal speakers were Messrs. Brunei, Gooch, Bidder, Locke, Hard- 

 ing and Russel), and their arguments were necessarily so complicated by 

 calculations as to render it difficult to convey, within reasonable limits, even 

 an outline of the discussion. It was contended on one side that the subject 

 had been so treated in the paper as to make it almost a question of the 

 comparative gauges; that the experiments upon which the arguments were 

 founded could not be received as applicable to railways in general, inasmuch 

 as it was presumed from the statements that the portion of the line was 

 selected as being in the best working condition ; that the engine and the 

 carriages were also picked as being in the best order ; and that therefore the 

 results were due to these peculiar circumstances, and not to the ordinary 

 working state of the line ; that the amount of resistance per ton was under- 

 stated by Mr. Gooch on these accounts, and that the rate of resistancei 

 arrived at by the committee of the British Association, by projecting trains 



of carriages down inclined planes, was nearer the truth than the e.xpression 

 of resistance arrived at with the locomotive and the dynamometer ; that the 

 tables were partly made up from the actual results of the experiments and 

 by using .Mr. Harding's formulic, which had been repudiated in other cases 

 as incorrect; that the greater weight of the trains in the late experiments, 

 as compared with those of the British Association, &c., reduced the 

 value of the deductions; that the atmospheric railway could alone give the 

 resistance due to the frontage, which was not given when a locomotive was 

 used, as it covered a portion of the carriage frontage, and the dynamometer 

 being behind the engine, the resistance of the train of carriages alone could 

 be arrived at; and that the valuation of the pressure of the wind upon the 

 train at various angles w,-,s not satisfactory. Such was the general tenor of 

 the arguments ; and on the other side it was urged that .Mr. Gooch had 

 endeavoured, as much as possible, to avoid introducing, in any degree, the 

 question of the gauges, and to give the actual results of the experiments, in 

 order that any persons examining them might draw bis own conclusions ; 

 that the portion of the line on which Jlr. Gooch's experiments were tried 

 was not selected for its good condition ; that it was fixed upon by Mr. 

 Brunei himself only the night iireviously to the experiments, and was not 

 that part which had been originally intended to be used; that the engine 

 and carriages were such as could be spared from the working stock and were 

 not picked — in fact, that they were not the best of their class; that there- 

 fore the results were not due to peculiar circumstances, but were those of 

 the average working of the line; but that even had the line, engine, and 

 carriages being selected, engineers would, from the results, have been able 

 to make allowances for other cases, and that the value of the experiments 

 would not have been diminished ; that it was believed that in descending 

 Wootton Basset incline by gravity, without the aid of an engine, a greater 

 velocity had been attained than the maximum recorded in the experiments 

 of the British Association ; that the tables were divided into columns, dis- 

 tinctly showing what resulted from experiment and what from the use of 

 formula;; that it was impossible, with engines of the ordinary weight, as 

 now constructed, with an ordinary train, to limit the experiments to such 

 small weights as had been formerly used ; that in all cases the surface of the 

 locomotive was allowed for in calculating the frontage resistance; that it 

 was expressly stated in the paper that the apparatus for the wind gauge was 

 not so satisfactory as could iiave been desired, and therefoie its results we.re 

 kept separate in the tables; that Mr. Gooch had not intended to cast any 

 reflections upon the former experimentalists, but merely to point out the 

 errors into which he thought they had fallen, and to induce, by his experi- 

 ments, others which should fix more certainly the amount of resistance ; 

 this, it was still contended, was less than bad been formerly stated, and 

 although other experiments would be necessary to set the question com- 

 pletely at rest, it was unanimously agreed that Mr. Gooch's experiments and 

 paper were very valuable contributions, and it was hoped he would continue 

 his observations on this most iuteiesting subject. 



ROYAL INSTITUTE OF BRITISH ARCHITECTS. 



On the 8th ult., a special meeting of the Institute was held, to lake into 

 consideration a memorial submitted to the council in April, 184 7, urging the 

 lormatiou by the Institute, of a bene^■olent fund for the less fortunate mem- 

 bers of the profession, signed by thirty. four architects. Mr. Bellamy, Vice- 

 President, laid before the meeting a summary of the proceedings which had 

 been taken upon it, the result of which was, that the council had adopted 

 the report of a joint committee (part memorialists, part members of council), 

 advising the foimation of such a fund, and recommended it to the considera- 

 tion of the members at large. The rule of the Artists' Benevolent Fund, 

 that recipients must be authors of " works known and esteemed by the 

 public," would shut out many deserving members of the profession, and 

 those connected with it. Communication had been opened with the officers 

 of that fund, by some who thought that the desired end might be better 

 attained by an arrangement with them than by a fresh fund. A long dis- 

 cussion followed as to the mode of carrying out the views of the memorial- 

 ists, and as to the necessity for the fund. An opinion was generally ex- 

 pressed, that if raised at all, it was quite unnecessary to give the administra- 

 tion of it to another society. L'ltiiuately, on the motion of Mr. Angell, a 

 resolution was jiassed, declaring the importance of establishing such a fund, 

 and appointing a committee of nine, to consider in what way it could best 

 be effected, and to report hereafter. 



May 15. — Mr. J. W. Papworth read a paper in illustration of some 

 drawings of Proaneste, ancient and modern ; and Mr. J. Thomson read 

 some observations on the ancient village church of Leigh-de-la-Mere, 

 \Yilts. 



Mr. Jnijell's Conversazione. — On the 25th a conversazione was given by 

 Mr. Angell, Vice-President of the Institute of British Architects, at his re- 

 sidence in Gower-street, which was attended by all the leading members of 

 the architectural profession, the Marquis of Northampton, and the heads of the 

 scientific world. Many works of art were exhibited, and much gratification 

 was expressed at the valuable example set by Mr. Angell to his colleagues, io 

 affording such a reunion to the professors of architecture. 



