1S43.] 



THE CIVIL ENGINEER AND ARCHITECT'S JOURNAL. 



31)9 



interior decorations. That this principle cannot be injurious to the 

 artist, we are prepared to affirm ; that it must have a beneficial influ- 

 ence, the competition to which we have just alluded has fully proved. 

 The incentive to exertion, the sentiment of responsibility, the foretaste 

 of success, which the artist already feels, all tend to develop the 

 highest faculties, and to produce the noblest works. We cannoti 

 perhaps, in this day, reproduce the feeling of religious responsibility 

 which animated the artists of old, and the. want of which has been 

 one great cause of the deadness of modern art ; we must, therefore, 

 avail ourselves of the nearest approach which the institutions of the 

 present day afford. The vitality of this principle is thus established, 

 and its general application a matter of necessity. We have already 

 alluded to the happy effects of public responsibility in the case of the 

 Houses of Parliament ; we now demand its application in an edifice 

 scarcely less remarkable, and not less popular — we mean the British 

 Museum. This is peculiarly the palace of the people, and it is not 

 unnatural that deep interest should be felt as to the designs contem- 

 plated for the approaching completion of this edifice, affording, as 

 it will, in its facade, the opportunity for great architectural display 

 and having the resources of government available for the purpose. 

 We consider it most essential, both as a matter of principle and expe- 

 diency that some satisfaction should be given to the public anxiety by 

 the announcement and exhibition of the intended design, These are 

 the views which we most earnestly beg to impress on the proper 

 authorities, and we confidently hope for every attention to the many 

 expressions of the public voice on this subject. 



DAVIES' RAILWAY CARRIAGE BREAK. 



This railway break has now had a long trial on the London and 

 Birmingham Railway, where it has been adopted to some of the car- 

 riages with great success, and has been highly approved on the line. 

 It is the invention of Mr. David Davies, of Wigmore Street, Caven- 

 dish Square, who is well-known as an extensive railway carriage 

 builder. The following description, by a reference to the accompa- 

 nying engraving, which we copy from the Mechanics' Magazine, will 

 fully explain the action of the breaks. 



a a represent the underside of the framing of a railway car- 

 riage ; 6 6 are the four wheels ; c c are breaks on the extremeties 

 of eight long levers, whose fulcra are at d d\ e e' is a shaft carrying a 

 shaft carrying a quick threaded screw, working in fixed bearings, and 

 furnished with a bevil wheel e, for connecting it with a vertical shaft 

 and handle, led off to any point at which it may be convenient for 

 the breaksman to be stationed ; /, is a traversing nut, attached by the 

 connecting ruds g g, to the two cross levers h h. There are two mor- 

 tices in each of the cross levers, through which the break levers pass; 

 these levers are connected by a pin on the extremity of one lever 

 sliding in a slot in an iron plate on the end of that opposite to it, so 

 that any motion conveyed to the one, is simultaneously communicated 

 to the other. 



Motion being given to the screw e e', the traversing nut /is drawn 

 towards the bevil wheel, which causes the several levers to assume 

 the position shown by the dotted lines, which will occasion the breaks 

 C c to press against the circumference of all four of the wheels with 

 immense force, preventing their rotation and converting the carriage 

 into a perfect sledge. This combination of the mechanical powers is 

 so favourable to the development of power, that with such an ar- 

 rangement it would be almost possible to crush the wheels. In all the 

 breaks we have hitherto seen, there has always been a violent thrust 

 between the wheel and the carriage, or between two of the wheels, 

 tending to break or bend the axles; in the present plan there is not 

 the slightest strain upon the axle, the gripe being exerted on the two 

 opposite sides of the wheel, and the force that might be thus applied 

 with perfect safety, would be sufficient, if applied in the usual man* 

 mer, to cause an inevitable rupture in the machinery. Although the 

 action of this break is rapid, it is by no means so sudden as to entail 

 any evil upon that account. • 



In illustration of the power of such a system of breaks, let us sup- 

 pose that each of the breaks c presents a surface of only three times 

 the area of the bearing surface of the wheel upon the' rail, and that 

 the total weight of the carriage is ten tons; it follows then that if 

 each of the eight breaks were pressed against the eiicumference of 

 the wheel with a force of little more than eight hundred weight, ro- 



tation of the wheels would be effectually prevented. When it is 

 further seen that this small force is exerted through the medium of a 

 screw, acting upon a system of levers most advantageously disposed 

 for the multiplication of power, it will be evident that the application 

 of a few pounds to the break handle would instantly arrest the pro- 

 gress of the wheels. 



NEW BUILDING ACT. 



We have a copy of the last bill as amended, and we are happy to announce 

 that in this the amendments suggested by ourselves and others have been 

 fully carried out, and the bill in its present shape, with a few trifling altera- 

 tions, we should be happy to see passed. As, however, the bill is again re- 

 ferred for further consideration and amendment to Mr. George Smith, one of 

 the city district surveyors, and architect to the Mercers' Company, Professor 

 llosking and Mr. Thos. Cubitt, the builder, all well known for their practical 

 attainments, we defer going again into the details of the measure until we see 

 the result of their labours and recommendations, which is to be presented to 

 Parliament in the ensuing session. We cannot conclude these few remarks 

 without expressing the obligations under which the profession are to Lord 

 Lincoln, for the readiness he showed to enter into the free discussion of the 

 details of the first bill, and to amend its defects. 



