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THE CIVIL ENGINEER AND ARCHITECTS JOURNAL. 



[April, 



were fome men of no ordinary ability and experience, and it was not until 

 the triuiiiiihant success of he };reat expcrinjent iu ]H'2'J, that tlie most scep- 

 tical were convinced of the applicatiuo of tiie system eventually beconnug 

 universal. The scientific worlcl beheld with amazement this extraordinary 

 result, the consequences of which could hardly be foreseen. Springing at 

 once from a velocity of travelling of 10 miles, the gre*ilest speed of coaches, 

 to a.') miles an hour, so far exceeded even the most sauguiue expectations 

 of its promoters, that they saw no bounds to its extension. 



Stephenson's erigine for the competition was upon an improved plan ; 

 the boiler contained numerous small lubes, through which the flame, or 

 lather heat, from the lire-box or furnace, was made to pass, thus exposing 

 a greater .-'Urface of water for the heat to act upon, and increasing its powers 

 of evaporation, lioolh, the indefatigable secretary to the company, has 

 the credit of this great improvement, which is now universally adopted, not 

 only in locomotive, hut also in marine boilers. The engine had two cylin- 

 ders vihicli impelled the wlieels, and the waste steam from the cylinder 

 was discharged through a small tube or blast-pipe into the chimney, with 

 a vertical jet, thus increasing the draught of the lire, and enabling it to 

 produce ilie desired heat iu the tire-box. This blast-pipe was a most sim- 

 ple, ingenious, and important invention, which has contributed very mate- 

 rially to the improvement and perfection of the locomotive. The merit of 

 this is claimed by both Stephenson and Hackworth. The boiler and ap- 

 paratus were supported on the frame by springs, in the same manner as in 

 ordinary wheeled carriages, thus preventing the concussion to which the 

 diifeieiit parts would otherwise have been subject, and enabled the machine 

 to work with greater effect. The ' Novelty,' by Hraithwaite and Ericson, 

 was also a very ingeniously contrived engine. The ' Sans Vareil,' by 

 Hackworth, was an improvement upon previous engines, bill did not lulbl 

 the conditions required so well as that of Stephenson, to whom the premium 

 was awarded. I^ooking back at the result of these experiments, and what 

 has occurred sinc-e, it appears injudicious that the weight and size of the 

 engines should have been thus limited ; for inasmiicli as the power of 

 traction of a locomotive engine depends upon the force of adhesion, which 

 could only be produced by weight, and its capahiliiy of generating steam 

 by increased dimensions, by limiting these two elements the power of the 

 engine was necessarily reduced. L'pon reflection, however, we cannot be 

 surprised, for nothing but experience could have pointed out beforehand 

 the present extraordinary results. 



The Manchester and Liverpool railway was opened in September, 1830) 

 with great ceremony by the Duke of Wellington, Sir Kobert Peel, Mr. 

 Huskisson, and an immense concourse of spectators ; but unfortunately 

 this great event in the mechanical, commercial, and social world was 

 clouded by the death of that great man, Huskisson, in consequence of a 

 locomotive engine passing over him, thus becoming one of the tirst victims 

 of that extraordinary invention, of which he entertained so high au opinion. 

 The tirst engines for this line were made by Steplieuson, after the plan ot 

 the ' Rocket,' but improved ; and in other engines made soon after, he in- 

 troduced a better arrangement of the parts, giving a greater number of 

 tubes to the boiler, and adapting cranked axles to work the wheels; the 

 first of these was the 'Planet,' which afterwards served as a model for the 

 locomotives on other railways. Great improvements have since been 

 made ; heavier engines, weighing from 18 to 30 tons, capable of evaporat- 

 ing 200 to 300 cubic feet of water per hour, instead of CO cubic feet, as in 

 the early engines, with tenders capable of carrying 1000 to 1500 gallons 

 of water ; straight axles, with outside cylinders, like those of the ' IJocket,' 

 have been again introduced, lu order to increase the power and to obviate 

 the objections raised against the cranked axles, as to their liability to 

 break; engines, with six wheels instead of four, are now generally ap- 

 proved, as being safer; and those with coupled wheels have been made to 

 increase the adhesion on steep planes, luiprovemeuls in the slide valves 

 and working gear have been made for using the steam expansively in the 

 cylinders, and rendering the engines mure manageable either for backward 

 or forward movement. 'I he increased size and power of the engines have 

 enabled them to ascend planes of 1 in 37, as on the Gloucester and Bir- 

 mingham railway, drawing after them heavy loads at considerable veloci- 

 ties, which, at the first introduction of the locomotive, would have been im- 

 possible. On that line, at the Lickey incline, engines made in America 

 were at first used. 



Linjiiig the Rails. — The mode of making and laying the rails of the per- 

 manent way has also partaken of the improvements in the engines ; the 

 original rails of the Manchester and Liverpool line weighed only 301b. per 

 yard, of the form termed Mish-bellied,' and, for the most part, were laid 

 upon stone blocks, after the plan of the colliery railways, on which the 

 speed rarely exceeded 2 to .I miles per hour, but when it was increased to 

 20 or 30 miles per hour, greater strength was necessary. The concussion 

 produced by such heavy engines and trains, weighing from ."iO to 300 Ions, 

 travelling at the ri.teof20 miles and upwards per hour, soon deranged the 

 light rails, and the concussion produced by the stone blocks rendered the 

 employment of some mure elastic medium desirable. Accordingly, heavier 

 rails, parallel iu depth, with a rib at lop aud bultoin, were adopti d, after the 

 form suggested by the experiments of Professor Barlow, with as iSuch 

 weight as the art of rolling iron could give, until it reached 75 lb. per yard; 

 instead of stone blocks wooden sleepers have been preferred ; heavier and 

 improved chairs for suppoitiug the rails, with side keys of hard compressed 

 wood to keep them in their places and resist the concussion, have been 

 adopted; in this latter department Kausome and Alay have introduced 

 great changes ; the sleepers have been steeped in preparations from the pa- 



tents of Burnet, Kyan, and Bethell, for the purpose of securing greater 

 durability. A variety of plans for making the rails and laying the perma- 

 nent w ay on improved methods, have been proposed and tried, such as the 

 bridge or hollow rail screwed down to longitudinal sleepers, which again 

 are screwed to transverse sleepers below them, as adojited on the (Ireat 

 M'estern railway ; the solid rail secured by screws to longitudinal sleepers 

 alone, as adujited on the fJreenwich and Croydon lines ; the parallel rail 

 tixefl lo transverse sleepers, as adopted on ihe Dublin and Drogheda line, 

 and others, all of which require tlie test of experience before any correct 

 opinion can be formed as to their respective merits. Rails of prepared 

 wood, patented by Prosser, have been proposed for insuring the adhesioQ 

 of the wheels on steep inclines, but have not been much adopted. 



Stone railways or trams, which have been in use in the streets of Milaa 

 for a long period with considerable advantage, were employed at the Dart- 

 moor railway, lo bring down granite from Dartmouth to Ilymoulh, a dis- 

 tance of 20 miles; also one of 12 miles in length for a similar purpose 

 from Ilaytor to Newton ; and a more perfect example was completed by 

 Walker between the West India Docks and Loudon, on the Commercial- 

 road, a distance of two miles, iu 1820. The tramway is composed of 

 blocks of granite, 4 to 5 feet long, IG inches wide, and 12 inches deep, 

 nicely squared, bedded, and jointed, and laid in a bed of concrete; it has 

 been found of considerable service in reducing the friction, aud enabling 

 horses to draw heavier loads with facility, in ordinary cases. 



In addition to the adoption of wooden sleepers, it has in some cases, 

 where great speed is employed, been considered advisable to introduce a 

 layer of india-rubber, or elastic felt, between the rail or chair and the 

 sleeper, in order still further to reduce the concussion, and to render the 

 motion more easy ; for now that the extraordinary speeds of 40 lo 50 miles 

 per hour have been efl'ected, and are daily employed on the Great Western 

 and oilier railways, too much care cannot be taken in constructing the 

 works of the railway, and particularly in laying the permanent way ; and 

 until this be dune it is scarcely prudent to exceed the present high velo- 

 cities. 



Gauge of Raibrays. — Before leaving this subject, it may perhaps be 

 necessary to make a few remarks upon the width of gauge. "This impor- 

 tant question comprehends so many elements, that the determination of it 

 is involved in considerable difficulty, and experience alone can afford it 

 satisfactorily. Stephenson, who has taken such a prominent part in the 

 introduction and extension of Ihe railway system, adopted the gouge of 



4 feet 85 inches. Messrs. Kennie proposed 5 feet for the Manchester and 

 Liverpool railway before it was commenced ; this, conirary to their advice, 

 was afterwards made 4 feet Sh inches. Brunei proposeil, and carried into 

 effect, 7 feet on the Great M eslern. The Eastern Counties was originally 

 laid at 5 feet 6 inches, and afterwards altered to 4 feet 8| inches. The 

 Dublin and Drogheda is 5 feet 3 inches ; and the Ulster lines are laid at 



5 feet inches. Gubitt now proposes a uniform width of 6 feet through- 

 out the kingdom ; the object of all being to ensure the greatest perfection 

 in the engine ; as to speed, power of traction, economy of working, and 

 safety in transferring passengers and goods. Taken in the abstract, a 

 broaiJ gauge would appear to afford the means of making more powerful 

 engines, which can draw greater loads with greater speed and safety than 

 a narrower gauge ; but then it involves a greater first outlay, and a com- 

 mercial question arises, is this necessary, when already, upon the narrow 

 gauge, a speed of GO miles an hour has been obtained with a tolerable 

 load ? A greater velocity appears not to be advisable, until the mode of 

 making the road has been improved ; and in the mining and manufactur- 

 ing districts, the narrow gauge is stated to be more convenient and less 

 expensive. Uniformity of gauge, however, is generally admitted to be 

 desirable, in order to avoid the delay, expense, and inconvenience of a 

 change of carriage for both passengers and goods, and it is to be regretted 

 that a broader gauge had nut been adopted on the Manchester and Liver- 

 pool railway, which might have served as an example to all subsequent 

 lines, and have [irevented the difference of opinion which has since pre- 

 vailed. The gauge of the Great Western is probably greater than is 

 necessary ; but as it has already been adopted to a considerable extent, 

 and has certainly realised very extraordinary results, and as it is impos- 

 sible lo foresee what further improvements may result, so as to obviate any 

 inconvenience arising from a break of gauge, it would seem not to be 

 desirable to stop the progress of improvement by altering it now, when it 

 may be the nieaus of creating further improvements in itself, as well as in 

 the narrow gauge system, which might otherwise never be thought of. 



Pragnss of RuUuinjs. — The trafiic on the Manchester and Liverpool 

 railvvay I'ar exceeded the most sanguine expectations, and the passenger 

 Irallic, which was scarcely reckoned upon as a source of revenue (goods 

 alone bein,i? relied upon), increased to such a degree, that it soon super- 

 seded every other conveyance betweeu Liverpool and Manchester, and 

 produced a large additional revenue. Nolwiihslanding, h:)\\ever, its bril- 

 liant success, the great cost of the railway, and the reiiiuunts of old pre- 

 judices against iiiiiovatiou, combined to keep alive the doulits aud fears as 

 to the prunts which might be expected from other railways, less favourably 

 situated tluiu between two such large manufacturing and commercial 

 towns, depending so eiitiiely upon each other. Hence the numerous pro- 

 jects which were lirst brought forward met with a great deal of opposi- 

 tion, and did not receive that encouragement which subsequent experience 

 has proved them lo be entitled to. 



After much delay, several acts of parliament for new lines of railway 

 were oljtained, uotwithstanding the must strenuous opposition of the ex- 



