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THE CIVIL ENGINEER AND ARCHITECT'S JOURNAL. 



[March, 



lonR without it. Thus we find that the geoeral adoption of every great 

 improvement creates a refinement and fastidiousness of taste which stimu- 

 lates others, so that we can no longer '.olerate those imperfections which in 

 a less ailvanced state of civilisation were passed over unnoticed. The 

 introduction of oil gas by John Taylor, and by Taylor and Martineau ; 

 Gordon's system of condensing into close vessels for rendering it portable ; 

 and resin gas by IJaniell, must not be forgotten, on account of the superior 

 light produced from those substances, although it has been superseded by 

 the more economical coal gas, and when naplithalized on Lowe's plan, its 

 light appears so pure as scarcely to be suscepticle of improvement. Gas 

 for lighting on an extensive scale was introduced into France by Manby in 

 18211, and has since become general on the Continent. The use of gas- 

 light in private dwelling-houses is gradually extending, and as the objec- 

 tions of smoke, bad smell, and risk of explosion, are fast disappearing 

 before the exertions of the modern improvers, it will become more general ; 

 the ingenious contrivance of Faraday, conv(;ying away by pipes all the 

 products of combustion, is worthy of notice.' Clark ami I'll'Neil's, and 

 other burners, which insure more perfect combustion, are decided improve- 

 ments. 



The employment of gas for Lighthouses promises important results ; for 

 there, almost any reasonable degree of cost and trouble in perfecting the 

 light, so that it may be rendered more distinctly visible at greater distances 

 at sea, will be amply repaid ; in this class may be mentioned with praise 

 the oxy-hydrogen light of Drummond, and the Bude light by Gurney. 

 Latterly, the catoptric and dioptric system of Fresael, which consists in 

 an ingenious and scientific coustruciion of the lenses, and an adaptation of 

 the compound argand burners to suit them, has been introduced into several 

 of our light-houses with advantage, but further experience is necessary to 

 decide which is the best, — the system of Fresnel above mentioned, or the 

 old argand system with the parabolic polished silver reflectors; both plans 

 have been well executed by Wilkins and by Deville. 



In the construction of Lighthouses since Smealou, Messrs. Stevenson's 

 and \Valker have done much, and recently Gordon's cast-iron Light- 

 houses- appear, for certain situations, to merit attention. 



Roads. 

 In proportion as the wealth and commerce of the country increased in 

 the latter half of the last century, so it became absolutely necessary to 

 improve the communication by roads and wheel-carriages, between all the 

 different towns and districts of the empire, for supplying them with pro- 

 visions, fuel, and the necessaries and luxuries of life, with greater facility 

 and economy, as well as for expediting commercial and general intercourse, 

 in fact, the one followed as the necessary consequence of the other, and 

 the public seeing and feeling the beneficial effects of what had been ef- 

 fected, and convinced of the practicability and advantage of proceeding 

 further in the cause of improvement, would not rest satisfied until those 

 improvements were made; accordingly, the improvements of roads attract- 

 ted general attention. Originally, roads were mere footpaths, or h'jrse 

 tracks, across the country, in the most convenient and shortest direction 

 between the desired places, but wholly unadapted for wheeled carriages ; 

 by degrees they became practicable for the rude carriages of the times, and 

 were maintained in a very defective stale by local taxes on the counties or 

 parishes in which they were situated; nevertheless, nothing in the way of 

 effectual improvement was attempted, until turnpike trusts were estab- 

 lished by law, for raising or levying tolls or taxes from persons travelling 

 upon the roads. Several Acts of Parliament for these trusts were passed 

 previous to 17li.5, but in the earlj part of the reign of George Id. many 

 more were passed, notwithstanding violent opposition was made to the 

 tolls. They subsequently became general, and penalties were recoverable 

 at common law, against the trustees, for not keeping the roads in proper 

 repair; a long period, however, elapsed before any good system of road- 

 making was established. Tlie old old crooked horse tracks were generally 

 followed, with a few deviations to render them easy; the deep ruts were 

 filled with any materials which could be obtained nearest at hand, and 

 were thrown upon them in irregular masses, and roughly spread to make 

 theiu passable : the best of these roads would in our time be declared in- 

 tolerable. Road-making as a profession was unknown, and scarcely 

 dreamt of, and the parties employed to make and keep the roads in repair 

 were ignorant and incompetent to do their duties ; but inasmuch as tra- 

 velling was uncommon, and the funds at the command of the trustees were 

 scanty, we cannot be much surprised at it, as they could not couiiuand 

 Irigher talent. Engineers, except in cases of great difiiculty, such as 

 making a bridge over a deep and rapid river, cutting through a hill, or 

 embanking across a valley, where more than ordinary skill was required, 

 considered road-making beneath their consideration, and it was even 

 thought singular, tiiat Smeaton should have condescended to make a road 

 across the valley of the Trent, between Markham and Newark, in 1768. 

 The great activity and prosperity, however, which resulted from the mo- 

 dern manufacturing system, convinced people of the value of time, and 

 that easier and more rapid means of communication than the old roads 

 permitted were required ; hence, the acclivities were partially reduced by 

 cutting down the hills and raising the intervening valleys ; improved 

 bridges were built with easier ascents, and in some cases cuts were made 

 to shorten the distance ; still, however, the general line of the old road 

 was preserved. The roads were certainly improved by these means, but 

 ttili there was no general system ; they were parcelled out into small dis- 



1 See C. K. & A. Journal, Vol.6, lb«, p. 196. 2 Vol. 4, IWl, ]>. 3Xi. 



tricis under separate trustees, without any common concert or harmony ia 

 working together, and but little effectual progress was made. The im- 

 portance of forming good roads was but imperfectly understood, the legis- 

 lation connected with it was equally short-sighted, and many of the im- 

 provements in cutting down hills and levelling valleys were frequently 

 repeated, from want of proper skill and foresight at first. The rebellious 

 in Scotland, in IT 15 and ITl.i, induced the government of that day to turn 

 their atleniion to thi subject, and several roads were constructed by mili- 

 tary engineers for military purposes. 



Telford, previous to his being employed to construct the Caledonian 

 Canal, had turned his attention to road-making, and was appointed by th e 

 government to lay out new lines of road, both for the purpose of employing 

 the then pour and thinly scattered population of the Highlands, as well as 

 to improve the districts by more general intercourse with the rest of the 

 kingdom ; he evinced a skill and knowledge which had not hitherto beeo 

 bestowed on ;his important suliject, but which was afterwards developed 

 upon a greater scale in Ireland, and lastly in Kngland. in his great works, 

 the Holyhead, Liverpool, and Great North Uuads, formed in consequence 

 of the increased communication with Ireland after the Union, and which 

 were excellent models for roads throughout the kingdom. Telford set out 

 the roads according to the wants of the district through which they were 

 made, as well as with a view to more distant communication, and the 

 acclivities were so laid out, that horses could work with the greatest effect 

 for drawing carriages at rapid rates. The road was formed by a substra- 

 tum of large stones, with sufficient interstices between them for drainage ; 

 the materials laid on this foundation were hard and angular, broken into 

 small pieces, decreasing in size towards the top, until they formed a fine 

 hard surface, whereon the carriage-wheels cuuld run with as little resist- 

 ance as possible. The transverse section of the road had no greater con- 

 vexity or rise, than was sufficient to cause the water to run steaddy into 

 the side-drainage channels ; by this means, the carriages not being inclined 

 laterally, the weight was mire equally divided on the wheels, whereby 

 they moved more easily and with the least wear and tear of the roads. 

 The surface of the road was always kept even and clean, by the addition 

 of proper fresh materials where necessary, and distributed equally in thiu 

 layers immediately after rain, in order that the new materials might bind 

 and incorporate properly with the old. Telfonl's system was afterwards 

 extended by his assistant, Macneill, and is fully described by our late ho- 

 norary member. Sir Henry Farnell, afterwards Lord Congleton, who, by 

 his perseverance and support of Telford, mainly contributed to its exten- 

 sion and success. About the year 181G, M'Adara introduced his system, 

 and brought it into general use in the vicinity of Bristol. It resembled in 

 some respects that of Telford, but differing from it by making no founda- 

 tion in the first instance ; it consisted in simply laying a stratum of flint-, 

 or other hard materials, 10 or tl inches thick, broken equally into small 

 pieces about two inches diameter, and spread equally over the intended 

 road ; this soon became so consolidated together by carriages passing over 

 it, that they could travel with great facility and expedition. The section 

 and the mode of applying fresh materials and keeping it clean, resembled 

 that of Telford. M'Adam, professing to be a road-maker only, devoted 

 his whole time and attention to the propagation of his system, which was 

 greatly superior to the old, and became very generally adopted. Its intro- 

 duction and extension was in a great degree due to our honorary member, 

 the Earl of Lonsdale, who is ever alive to improvement ; and to his lord- 

 ship's exertions we are indebted for the present system of metropolitan 

 roads, which has proved of great advantage to the public. 



Carriages. — The great improvement in roads, which was accompanied 

 by a corresponding improvement in the carriages and breed of horses, 

 produced an extent of travelling commensurate with the increased facili- 

 ties afforded. Coaches were first introduced into England in 158U, about 

 the time of Elizabeth. Public, or hackney-coaches, were only estab- 

 lished in Loudon in 1025; and stage or public travelling coaches, not until 

 a much later period : in fact, there were few roads upon which they could 

 pass ; and for fear of being robbed by highwaymen, or of being overturned 

 or stuck fast in the mire, and other accidents of the road, they seldom or 

 ever travelled during the night. In IGOC (the year of the Fire of London), 

 a coach was established, which travelled between London and Oxford in 

 two days; and another, called the Flying Coach, afterwards started to 

 perforin the journey in thirteen successive hours, or at the rate of 4 miles 

 an hour, but only ran during the summer months. The journey between 

 London and Edinburgh by stage coach, which was begun in 1712, took 

 thirteen days to perform the journey : in fact, so great was the difficulty 

 and danger of travelling, that, before setting out on a long journey, people 

 made their wills, as if they never expected to reach tlieir homes again. 

 After the roads had become sufficiently improved, mail-coaches, upon an 

 iiuproved construction, to carry passengers and letters, were first intro- 

 duced by Palmer in 17S4, and the journey between London and Edinburgh 

 was reduced to three days and nights by this conveyance. At the first 

 appearance of this extrordinary novelty, the inhabitants of the rural dis- 

 tricts crowded the roadside to see the royal vehicle, with its gaily appa- 

 relled horses and scarlet liveried coachmen and guards, galloping by at the 

 accelerated speed of 7 or S miles au hour; but, when it was increased to 

 10 and 1 1 miles nn hour, by further improvements in the roads, carriages, 

 and axles, by Vidler, Collinge, and others, ameliorating the breed of 

 horses, and shortening the stages, and the distance between London and 

 Edinburgh was performed in 42 hours, it was considered that this could 

 Qot be exceeded — and so far it was true ; fur animal strength and endur- 



