1845. 



THE CIVIL ENGINEER AND ARCHITECTS JOURNAL. 



281 



rails ; tlifn in order to make the comparison we must have the size of tlie 

 pipes of the atmnspheric railway ; hut, taking it on tlie average, I should say 

 that you can <lo with a very much lighter rail altogiMlier. If you take a single 

 line of atmospheric railway, and say a 13 or 1 1-incli pipe, and engines at 

 every three or four miles, with the necessary air-pumps, and so on, 1 shoulil 

 think th:it putting aside everything except the upper works, and in the one 

 case of the stationary power, and in the other of tlie locomotive power, they 

 would he ahout the same ; perhaps the atmospheric would he 500/. a mile or 

 more cheaper.— If you took a U inch tuhe, 1 should think it would he more. 

 In a flat countrv, would a 12-inch tuhe he sufficient.'— I shonld tliuik quite 

 tufficicnt, hccause it is the size of llie tuhe which rcguhues the load, and 

 therefore if a countrv be flat, you have a sufficient amount of power to pass 

 over a level line, and von do not want an increased power to overcome the 

 gravity of the planes.' Does a rise or fall in the price of iron equally affect 

 the tuhe and the rails.'— It would hear iiard up>in the atmospheric, because 

 there is a large amount of iron required j the weight of the tube is about 0[ie 

 cwt. to the foot." 



Observation as to Mr. Samuda's estimate of 1,300/. a mile, for workshops, 

 tools, water tanks, and matters of this description, being excessive— S/c;;/ien- 

 toti, 



" Mr. Samucla has given an estimate of 1,300/. a mile for workshops, tools, 

 water-tanks, and matters of that description; do you consider that exces- 

 sive .' Tliere is scarcely a line in the country that has anything like it e.\cppt 



the Uirmingham, and that is much beyond what is necessary, I think. I 

 reckon upon other lines of railway sometliing like 2,000/. for locomotive en- 

 gincs, carriages, workshops, and so on. I hare here the cost of several lines 

 of railway in this country, not first-class lines of railway, like the London 

 and liirrningham, but second-class lines. Tlie first is the Northern and 

 Eastern, leading to Cambridge ; the cost of the carryini cstalilisliment upon 

 that is 1,700/. a mile altoge'lher. Can you separate the engines from the 

 other items .'—No, but if you take one engine for two or three miles, it is 

 amplv sufficient J in fact, they have not that upon several lines that have 

 considerable traffic. Does that include the water-tanks .'—Yes, everything ; 

 upon the York and North Midland, which has a complicated traffic, and a 

 large traffic, the cost is 2,5S2/. per mile. Upon the Birmingham and Derby, 

 before the amalgamation took place with tlie Midland, the cost was 1,840/. 

 a mile. I would observe, that this bad reference to what I should call se- 

 cond-class railways in trunk lines of country. I assumed it in my report at 

 l.iO,000/. for shops and apparatus at the various stations, when I was making 

 the comparison between the atmospheric system upon any line and the loco- 

 motive system, and I am sure that that l.'iO.OOO/. is more than is necessary. 

 I assume that Mr. Sanuida must have taken that as the criterion wlien he 

 stated that 1,300/. a mile is necessary; whereas there is not another line in 

 the kingdoiu that is anything like it, and I assumed 150,000/., because I 

 could not prorurc the exact sum from the office; but the probability is, that 



I took it 50,000/. more than it was. In judging of the expenses of a line of 

 railway to he made now, we must not take the London and Uirmingham as 

 a fair tfst .' — In the carrying establishment, I think not ; I think it is a most 

 extravagant carrying establishment, because I had there to consult the roni- 

 fort and the caprice sometimes of the public. The carriages are exceedingly 

 inferior to the carriages upon the other superior lines ; take the Great Wes- 

 tern line ? — I do not think that they are inferior to the Great Western car- 

 riages. They are smaller .' — Yes, but a large house may he very bad. You 

 are very much cramped when you travel any long distance .' — I never was." 



Crossings of Lines. — The immense number of crossings, and the variable 

 nature of them in their positions, that would be required for the working of 

 the London and liirmingbam railway, supposing it to have been a single line, 

 and showing the meetings of the trains .it dilfercnt points — (S!ej>fieiison.) 



"With a view of explaining the effect of intersections by a single tube, I 

 will just read, if the Committee will allow me, a paragraph from my Keport : 

 ' Suppose, for example, a line of railway 112 miles length were divided into 

 stages of 35 miles each' (that is, supposing the London and liirmingbam 

 linej, 'as proposed by the inventors; if a train were dispatched from each 

 end, every half hour, for 12 hours' (which was the assumption), ' and the 

 speed of about 37 miles per hour, including the stoppages for trafiic,' — which 

 would really require a speed much beyond what has been attained under any 

 circumstances at present with a moderate load, — ' there would be a train in 

 motion at every 10 miles of line, and each train in its journey would meet 



II other trains, with whose progress it would interfere: in short, cac/i train 

 vould of necnssil ij be stopped 1 1 times, and delayed nntil tlie train occtipying 

 the section of tube had quilled it, and the tube had been again exhausted. 

 Such a scries of stoppages would, it is plain, give rise to so great an amount 

 of delay as would render the use of a double line of tube absolutely impera- 

 tive. In the example just brought forward by way of illustration, the mean 

 ipeed assumed is 37 miles per hour, the vxhole time of the journey would 

 therefore he three hours,' supposing no stoppages to take place ; ' but the 1 1 

 stoppages occupying at least 10 minutes each, which is very considerable be- 

 low what practice would require, would, notwithstanding the great velocity 

 assumed, extend the time to five hours ;' that is, notwithstanding the liigli 

 average rate of speed of 37 miles |ier hour assumed. ' But let it be reinein- 

 bercd that these stojipages cause additional meeting of trains;' because the 

 the allowance of time for stoppages increased the time from three hours to 

 five hours. In those two additional hours there must he four more trains 

 dispatched from the other end ; therefore, instead of meeting 11 trains you 

 would meet 15, in consequence of the stoppages. In fact, as the true ii-o.le 

 of considering this question of working by a single tube, you must take this 



as an axiom, that whatever your intervals are you must meet a train every 

 half interval ; that is, if you take half-hour intervals you must meet a train 

 evt-ry i|narter of an hour; if you dispatch a train every quarter of an hour, 

 you must meet a train upon the line every 7} minutes. 1 will take this case: 

 I start from London to Birmingham at 12 o'clock, and I intend getting there 

 at three; 1 must meet all the trains that are dispatched from Birmingham 

 betwd'n 12 and three; but I must also meet those which were di-patched 

 from Biriuingham at nine o'clock, because they are all on the road too; and 

 therefore, if you have to work with a single tube, and to run the distance in 

 three hours, you must meet all the trains that are dispached in six hours. 

 That applies, in a remarkable way, to the atmospheric and the locomotive 

 systems, for all experience on railways at present leads to the concentr.ition 

 of trains, and not to the division of them, that may be said to be the effect 

 of the locomotive system. Suppose we admit that for the sake of argument. 

 On tlie other hand, the atmospheric system, in order to make it work with 

 the greatest possible economy, requires the greatest possible division as re- 

 garrls the power; because as I have stated that when the vacuums were 

 low, the velocity attained might he high, but with a high vacuum the velo- 

 city could not be high, therefore the atmospheric diff-rs from the locomotive 

 system in rather requiring a subdivision of traffic, whereas the locomotive 

 requires a concentration of trathc. But then the very circumstance which 

 the atmospheric requires to make it work economically is fatal to it practi- 

 cally, because, as you divide the trains and dispatch tliem every quarter of 

 an hour, the inter^ectious become so numerous, that you would not get to 

 Blrniingham in 10 hours, as shown in my Report, because twice the time 

 would be employed in stoppages that you wonld he passing from place to 

 Iilace. This is not a theoretical view, but it is a matter of fact which every 

 one may test." 



Dalkey Line. — Nnmher of trains run on the Dalkey line during the eleven 

 months previously to 1st March, 1815; aggregate number of coaches ; num- 

 ber of passengers ; items of the expense of the Dalkey line during the above 

 eleven mouths, with explanation of these items — (ISergin.) 



" The sum paid for coals during the 12 months for the steam-engine was 

 4C7/. 4s. 3d.; the sum paid to the engine-men, the stokers, and others con- 

 stantly employed in the engine-bouse, was 302/. 5s. Crf, ; then the supplies 

 of oil, tallow, waste, and things of that sort, amounted to 43/. 4</.; the 

 wages of mechanics employed in repairs of those accidents of which I have 

 alr^-ady spoken, as well as the ordinary current re]iairs, amounted to \V7l. 

 5s. 3d. ; the cost of materials consumed by them was 112/. 17*. 2(/.; and 

 there ncre some little petty expenses, 21. Sd. ; luaking a total charge for the 

 steam-engine and air-pump on the Dalkey line, 1,124/. lis. 2rf. The ex- 

 pense of the main, travelling, piston, and valve, including the wages of the 

 valve men, and all, is 271/. Is. 6r/. for the eleven months. The result of all 

 is. that the total cost of the locomotive power (haulage is the general termj 

 and of the maintenance of way, have together amounted to 9-nj(/. per train 

 per mile. It may be well here to state some particulars as to the valve com- 

 position : I find, from the experience we have bad, that it costs Is. per pound 

 as at present made. If the whole main and valve were cleared from com- 

 position, the quantity necessary to put it in proper working condition would 

 be ^ths of a pound per yard, or 1,408 lb. per mile, and the expense of lay. 

 iiig it would be about 10/. to 12/. This, however, being done in the first 

 instance does not, according to my experience, require any thorough re- 

 newal. Small bits do occasionally break olT, and each poli e or other man 

 along tbe line has at all limes a small supply vuth him for the purpose of re- 

 pairing any such loss. The entire quantity used in this way tliroughout tbe 

 whole term of our working did not exceed 14 lb. per week : this is included 

 in the sum 1 have already given." 



The Dalkey line is If statute miles in length. Dalkey is 71^ feet higher 

 than Kingstown — {ISergin.) 



Dalkey to Bray. — .\n atmospheric line is proposed from Dalkey to Bray, 

 in continuation of the Kingstosrn and Dalkey railway — (Samuda.) 



Electric Telegraph. — Though of very great assistance in working economi- 

 cally, it is by no means indispensable — {Samuda.) 



" If either from the electric telegraph not acting well, or from any other 

 cause, the men did not pay attention to the notice given by the telegraph, 

 by the very nature of the power, the vacuum would accommodate itself to 

 the load which it had to draw." 



The atmospheric system cannot be applied without great difficulty, unless 

 the electric telegraph be used — (Bidder.) 



" Now, with an electric telegraph on a railway, whether with two lines 

 or a single line, I do not believe that an accident could occur, except from, 

 I might almost use the expression, malicious negligence, because, vihere the 

 train is, and what it is doing, and all tbe circumstances connected with it, is 

 always known at every part of the line, and it can only therefore be by ab- 

 solutely running, with a full knowledge of the train coming into it, that an 

 accident can happen upon a line worked upon either system. We have an 

 electric telegraph on the Yarmouth and Norwich line ; that line has been at 

 work for nearly a twelvemonth, and with perfect safety. With respect to 

 every train, as it starts from one station, before it starts, notice of its start- 

 ing is sent throughout the line, and an answer is received from every station 

 to say that everything is clear : till they have this answer, the train should 

 not start, and as it comes in sight of every station, information is given of it : 

 and if that train were to break down, there would be no uncertainty with 

 respect to it. Suppose the train has started, and anything has broken down, 

 they will know it iraiuediately throughout the line, and, therefore, starting 



