1848.1 



THE CIVIL ENGINEER AND ARCHITECT'S JOURNAL 



213 



The Assistant Engineer's Railway Guide. By W. Davis HaskolI/, 

 C.E. Part II. London : John Williams and Co., 1848. 



Many excellent works on subjects connected with the profession 

 of the civil engineer have at various times been published. But 

 while the wants of the more advanced portion of the profession 

 have been comparatively well supplied, the junior members have 

 been left, at their entrance on the practical duties of their calling-, 

 almost without any guide to assist them. The need of a book, 

 treating in a practical manner of the minor, though most impor- 

 tant, operations which form the principal duties of the assistant 

 engineer, has long been felt ; and we are glad to find that this 

 requirement has been satisfied by Mr. Haskoll, in the work before 

 us. 



In the first part, published in 1846, the subjects of setting-out 

 the centre line, taking the permanent section, boring, and the 

 otlier operations preliminary to breaking ground, were discussed ; 

 in the second part, the author has devoted his attention to the 

 setting-out of works, the subject of earthwork, the formation of 

 the permanent way, and the many operations necessary while the 

 railway is in progress of construction. These various topics are 

 treated in a clear and practical manner : every variety of work, 

 whether on the skew or square, on a straight line or curve, is con- 

 sidered ; and the methods of setting-out, and the precautions neces- 

 sary during the construction are shown. Tlie author is no advo- 

 cate for the " rough-and-ready" system, but inculcates a careful 

 attention to accuracy in every particular. ^V^ere this course more 

 commonly adhered to, we should not so often hear of failure in 

 works, causing often loss of life, and always profuse expenditure of 

 capital. The following passage will illustrate the author's views on 

 this subject : — 



"Let me persuade the young practitioner, that the gratification 

 he will feel at finding the string-courses of his bridges and viaducts 

 at their true height and gradient, or the formation of a tunnel at the 

 intended levels, will alone amply reward him for his trouble, inde- 

 pendently of a reputation for accuracy, which he will not fail to 

 obtain in the opinion of a judicious chief, as also in the estimation 

 of directors. Let him beware of the vaunts of ' rough-and-ready' 

 men (rough work and readiness to blunder), who disguise their in- 

 capacity and ignorance, by pleading the impossibility in practice 

 to obtain truly correct levels ; for if there be any truth, rationally 

 speaking, in this excuse, the greater should be the engineer's care 

 to avoid errors, and not to do his work in a slovenly manner, 

 whereby he may double and treble his '■mistake ;' and he will find 

 that contractors, masons, bricklayers, &c., will be careful and at- 

 tentive, exactly in proportion to the care and attention which he 

 himself bestows on the works. This observation applies exactly 

 in the same sense, and to the same extent, in setting-out works. 

 He will, moreover, have the satisfaction of knowing, that his mind 

 on this subject will be at ease as the works proceed, and that no 

 reproach can be made to him ; on the contrary, an error of this 

 kind carried out can be considered little better than wilful neglect 

 of duty." 



After giving an example of a section book, containing columns 

 for the half-widths, distance, total rise, finished levels, excava- 

 tion, and embankment, on one side, — with a sketch of the surface, 

 and notes of the position and particul.-irs of bridges, culverts, &c., 

 on the other, — the author adds the following hints : — ■ 



" The pocket section being prepared so far, we should, as soon 

 as the works of construction are determined on, insert notes from 

 the working drawings, or otherwise, of the angles of skew at 

 which the line crosses roads, canals, &c. ; the spans of arches on 

 the square and skew, the rise of the arch, the depth of arch stones, 

 of puddle, if any ; also, if the works be on an inclined plane, the 

 rise or fall from centre to centre of piers ; memoranda also, of 

 nearly similar nature, should be made of girder bridges, culverts, 

 drains, and other works occurring along the line. These remarks 

 are more than necessary ; because, when on the works, the draw- 

 ings, when required, are often mislaid, or partially defaced or 

 destroyed. It must be added, however reluctantly, that the tracings 

 with which contractors and sub-contractors are supplied, are often 

 wrongly figured ; and the site of construction, amidst the moving 

 to-and-fro of masons, labourers, and ' navvies,' is not the place 

 where such errors may be most readily detected and corrected." 



The second chapter is devoted to earthwork; and here the 

 author shows a practical acquaintance with the numerous consi- 

 derations that determine the course to be taken in the treatment 

 of this most important feature of the works of a line of railway. 

 We subjoin a few extracts on cutting and embankment : — 



" The determination of slopes for earthwork is one of the 



most uncertain subjects the engineer has to contend with, if he 

 be anxious to reduce as much as possible the quantity of excava- 

 tion, and tliat of land to be purchased — both formidable items of 

 expense : but this reduction is attended with one great danger — 

 namely, a ' slip,' which will often, for a considerable length, occa- 

 sion a double and treble quantity of excavation, and the purchase 

 of a corresponding quantity of land. * * * The slopes of 

 cuttings in gravel will stand at almost any depth at U to 1, and at 

 depths of 10 feet and 15 feet at 1 to 1 ; — chldk is more uncertain ; 

 in solid rocky masses, it will stand perpendicular; friable, it may 

 require slopes of 1 to 1 ;— shale will stand at a^ to 1, if the stratifi- 

 cation be horizontal and dry, but when wet and soa])y, there wUl be 

 great uncertainty ;— clay, however, is by far the most uncertain and 

 treacherous earth to be met with in excavating; we have known it 

 for many months to stand perpendicular for a depth of 40 feet, and 

 suddenly slip oflF, determining a slope of 3 to 1 ; there is no doubt, 

 that one of the most dangerous practices of excavators is to allow 

 a gullet of this depth and nature to stand for a great length of 

 time without lightening the sides, nor should it under any circum- 

 stances be allowed. A thin bed of clay wiU very often occasion 

 the slip of material of a better nature. * * * 'When a slip 

 has once fully declared itself, there is little left but to submit to 

 the circumstance, and to form the slope to the extent determined 

 by the slip ; except, indeed, in the case of buildings, or gardens, 

 &c., when we must have recourse to retaining walls and long coun- 

 terforts, with a good system of drainage, which will always be 

 found indispensable ; so mucli so, that no good results can be ex- 

 pected from the best built and thickest walls witliout it." 



" The best materials for tlie formation of embankments are 

 gravel and sand, both from the facilities they ofi'er for drainage, 

 and their more rapid final consolidation ; — soft, shaly earths are 

 unfavourable, but if hard and dry they form good embankments, 

 and settle well at slopes of 1 to 1 ; — vegetable earths, or what is 

 termed soil, must be entirely rejected for the embankment, from 

 their being so easily converted into soft mud ; landowners, how- 

 ever, are always ready to carry these away, but care should be 

 taken to preserve a sufficient quantity for soiling slopes, as when 

 a good depth of soil has once produced a strong vegetation, it 

 forms one of the best safeguards to slopes ; — clays mixed with a 

 quantity of stones, are by no means a bad material, and if dry, 

 will form a sound embankment, though rather long in consolidat- 

 ing ; — wet clay is as bad as peat, if not worse ; it should never be 

 allowed to be used under any circumstance whatever ; a few 

 wagons of wet clay, tipped in a deep embankment, will do more 

 mischief by its slipping, and saturating all other materials laid on 

 it, than one or even two thousand of good stuff will rectify, be- 

 sides becoming for many years a continual source of settlement, 

 and perhaps of danger, on that portion of the line. Where the less 

 favourable materials must be employed for forming embankments, 

 it is as well to make an exception to the general rule, of forming 

 at once an embankment to its full height and width, and to leave 

 a few feet in height to be raised up with drier materials, if conve- 

 niently at hand; isolated masses of this description are often found 

 in excavations, otherwise of very inferior materials, which may be 

 successfully employed for this purpose." 



Two tables are given at the end of this chapter, which will prove 

 of great assistance in estimating earthwork. The chapter on 

 setting out of works goes very completely into the whole subject, 

 and will render most valuable assistance to the young beginner ; 

 indeed, the information therein contained can be found in no other 

 book than the one before us. After tables of experiments, by 

 George Rennie, Esq., on tlie strength and other properties of 

 various materials, now for the first time published, are given the 

 specification and drawings of a very elegant and scientifically, 

 designed laminated arch, over the river Ouse, on the East Anglian 

 Railway, designed by J. S. Valentine, Esq. ; and at the end of the 

 book are placed many tables of a useful character. 



Facts and Evidence Identifying the Authorship of the Letters of 

 Junius. By John Bbitton, F.S.A. 



Mr. Britton, who takes in a wide range of subjects in his anti- 

 quarian ken, has added a new book to the many on the vexata 

 questio of the authorship of " Junius." He favours Colonel Barre. 

 This discussion does not come within our scope, — but it does to 

 record the labours of one wlio has contributed so much to archi- 

 tectural literature. 



