414 



THE CIA IL ENGINEER AND ARCHITECT'S JOURNAL. [December, 



RAILWAY MANAGEMENT. 



Sib,— Before railways can ever be expected to be properly managed, 

 several important alterations mvist be made in the present system. In 

 the first place, the Directors must efl'ectually suppress the propensity 

 to amateur engineeriitg on the part of the "clever practical men" of 

 their body, of whom all boards have more or less. In the next place, 

 they must make a common sacrifice of all patronage and personal con- 

 sideration in the appointment of persons to situations, when any 

 neglect would be likely to be followed by danger to either life or pro- 

 perty. Were this system to be fairly and honestly acted upon, I have 

 no doubt the necessary result would be the appointment of an indi- 

 vidual, to whom would be confided the enfire and uncontrolled manage- 

 ment of the whole of the out-duor business of the railway. To him 

 would be committed the whole charge of the selection, employment, 

 pay, and superintendence of every engineman, fireman, guard, porter, 

 rail-layer, and labourer on every part of the line, any of whom he 

 should fine, punish, or dismiss at his pleasure, and on him, and him 

 alone, should rest the responsibility, both with respect to the public 

 and the Directors, of every hindrance or accident which might cccur. 

 In proportion to the success of his management he should be paid, and 

 on his appointment it should be distinctly intimated to him, that in the 

 event of his being found unfit fc:- his office, or even unfortunate, no 

 hesitation or dehcacy would be tljserved with respect to his dismissal 

 and the appointment of another in his room. Any person aware of 

 the importance of the duties which would devolve on an officer of this 

 description, would at once perceive that they could not be properly 

 and efficiently fulfilled without his constantly traversing every part of 

 the line, and by personal inspection and observation, making himself 

 intimately acquainted with the respective abilities, character, and dis- 

 position of every man employed under him, obtaining accurate know- 

 ledge of the varying circumstances of the traffic, and of those parts of 

 the railway, where danger was most to be apprehended, and by the 

 foresight which, by this means, he would be enabled to exercise to 

 prevent the confusion and accidents with which the present system is 

 so rife. The influence, moreover, which an officer of this description 

 would exercise over the men, would be instantly visible in their 

 guarded and more careful conduct, the well disposed from a hope of 

 reward or promotion, and the bad from the fear of detection and 

 punishment. Energy, perseverance, and tact, combined with sobriety 

 and habits of business, would be the chief requisites in his character. 

 It would also be essential that, in addition to his being an experienced 

 engineer, he should be practically conversant with the nature and 

 details of every man's employment, especially that of the engine-men, 

 as a more self-important and uncontrollable set of men do not exist, if 

 they have reason to think that those who are placed over them are 

 not perfect masters of their craft. 



The first thing to which I should suppose a person placed in this 

 situation would direct his attention and instantly prohibit, is the very 

 common practice of making use of either line while travelling in the 

 same direction, a practice so obviously fraught with danger, that I am 

 astonished how any board of directors or superintendant can, for a 

 ment, allow it, except under the most extraordinary circumstances, 

 and most stringent and well defined regulations, whereas, on the con- 

 trary, there appears to be no instructions whatever on this important 

 point, nor any farther discretion exercised in the practice of it, than 

 such as the circumstances of the case, in the opinion of those present, 

 seem to require. Indeed, throughout the whole system, the absence 

 of individual and responsible management is glaringly evident, and in 

 all cases of danger and emergency, every one seems to " do that which 

 is right in his own eyes." 



Then as regards the signals, there is a red light for danger, a green 

 light which indicates neither " danger or safety," and a white one 

 which it would appear means anything or nothing, as the engine-man 

 can best make out, all of which are confided without check, and almost 

 without instructions, to ignorant, forgetful, and sometimes careless 

 men. Can any reasonable person for a moment expect, that with a 

 complex and ill-defined code of signals like fliis, railways are likely to 

 be free from danger, or would he not rather express his astonishment, 

 that so few accidents should have happened. If the road is perfectly 

 clear, what necessity is there for any signal whatever, if it is not so, 

 what need of more than one ? Instead of all this complexity, I would 

 at once adopt the broad and intelligible principle, that a signal of any 

 kind, exhibited under any circumstances, should always indicate danger; 

 and in order to carry it out, I would render it imperative on every 

 train to have a light in front and one behind from sunset to sunrise, 

 placed at such a height from the ground that persons moving about 

 could not intercept the view. Similar lights should be exhibited 

 during the same period at all the stations, placed at the same height, 



and occupying the same relative position, as those in the trains, so that 

 an engine-man could not be certain, on seeing the signal, that it was 

 not a train in his way, But the improvement to which I should be 

 disposed to attach the most importance, and from which I should 

 anticipate the happiest results, would be to place the whole of the 

 station signals on a machine, which should be so far self-acting as 

 always, when left to itself, to indicate danger, and to require an ifforl 

 on the part of the attendant, before that warning could be removed; 

 from this very simple precaution would be derived the important 

 result, that wegfec^o/' or /iwHtHtoK to the signals would insure safety, 

 which is sufficiently evident, as, whether danger did or did not exist, 

 the signals would always indicate it, and cause tlfe coming train to 

 step until it should be removed. There are many more points con- 

 nected with railway management, which are by no means brought to 

 the greatest degree of perfection of which they are capable, but for 

 the present, I will leave them for a future communication, should it 

 be necessary. 



I am. Sir, 



Your's very respectfully, 

 November 24, 1840. A Railway Engineer. 



REVIEWS. 



Papers on Iron and Steel. By David Mushet. 



(THIRD NOTICE.) 



Continuing our remarks upon the subject of iron, we may remark 

 that the ores from which the metal is derived are distinguished by 

 the autlior into two principal classes, primary iron ores and iron stones. 

 The primary iron ores are defined to be those found in the older for- 

 mations, bearing little resemblance to those in the stratified planes, 

 and have, in Mr. Mushet's opinion, been formed by secondary agency, 

 although they differ widely from each other in their properties. Some 

 are distinguished as being obedient to the magnet, and others the re- 

 verse, but this property is by no means dependent upon the quantity 

 of iron contained in the ore, but on its being in the state of protoxide, 

 united or not with a portion of peroxyde, as ore from the Isle of Elba 

 yielding 70 or 80 per cent, is but slightly affected by the magnet, while 

 many of the Norwegian and Danish ores with only 18 to 30 per cent, 

 of metal are highly magnetic. Mr. Mushet well defines the magnetic 

 property as a test rather of the presence of iron than of the probable 

 quantity to be obtained. The principal localities in England for 

 primary iron ores are Cumberland, and Furness in Lancashire, also in 

 the island of Islay, Muirkirk, and other places in the north, Cornwall, 

 Devon, &c. 



The Cumberland ores which present a perfectly formed crystal 

 seem to be formed by the agency of water, an opinion which is coun- 

 tenanced not only by the structure but by several remarkable circum- 

 stances, water having been found in cavities of this ore, which had 

 been transported several hundred miles. This ore is generally found, 

 as well as that of Furness, in caverns or churns of the mountain lime- 

 stone in large masses, splinty and globulated, consisting of various 

 kidney terms called hamatites, striated and smooth, of bluish and 

 reddish colours. The Lancashire ore is composed of smaller masses, 

 softer and of a more greasy appearance, but highly crystalized. Both 

 of these ores, in the kidney variety, contain fine specimens of graphite 

 or fossil plumbago. The ores both of Cumberland and Furness are 

 much sought after for the purpose of mixing with poorer ores, large 

 quantity of the Furness ore being shipped from Ulverston for South 

 Wales. An opinion has prevailed unfavourable to the working of 

 these ores on the spot, where both coal and limestone are at hand; no 

 effective method of reducing them having yet been employed, although 

 the autlior of the work before us has on more than one occasion given 

 his weighty testimony as to the practicability. The Islay ore is found 

 regularly stratified, and resembling, in point of deposition, the Nor- 

 wegian and Danish ores. The strata, as described, are almost vertical, 

 ana are found imbedded in a loose ochreous earth surrounded with 

 soil. The ore is not smelted with advantage owing to the excess of 

 silex it contains. In different parts of Scotland, in the West High- 

 lands, at Muirkirk, Salisbury Craggs, La Mancha, Cranston, the Ochil 

 hills, &c., small quantities of ore have been found, but no quantity- 

 sufficient to justify the working. The chief Cornwall ores found in 

 the granite are those of Lostwithiel, much mixed with quartz and 

 manganese, and averaging about 48 per cent., and those of Fowey, a 

 brown hsematite, with 58 per ceftt. Those of Devon are the ores of 

 Haytor, containing about 4."> per cent, and lying in a schistose forma- 

 tion. We may also notice here the alluvial Minehead, in the new red 



