18 



THE CIVIL ENGINEER AND ARCHITECT'S JOURNAL. 



[January, 



which, 89 in the caso of the lonomotite whistle, acts by the vibration of the 

 nielal. When it is required to cnmniunicate the rime if departure of any 

 of llic trams from either station, the signal-man has oul> to shut offconi- 

 niuDicalioii with the whislle, and immerse the bell further amongst the 

 water. The air in the one btll will thus be forced, by pressure, ibrough 

 the tube into tlie other bell at the further end of the tube, and will escape 

 by passing tlirou);h, and at thi- same lime acting upon, the whistle. 



Nothing strikes the traveller sn much with astonishmi-ut, when he de- 

 scends the valley ol the Meuse, and enters that of Verviers, as the contrast 

 the face of the country presents to that which he a few minutes ago left. 

 The scenery, indeed, as soon as he leaves Aus, is entirely changed. In- 

 stead of the Bat and monotonous country through which he has just passed, 

 he is ushered into a finely varied district of lulls and valleys. The number 

 and extent of the dill'erent works of art he observes, tell him also of the na- 

 ture of the country through which he is passing, and the difficulties which 

 the engineer encountered iu the execution of this part of the national system 

 of railroads. 



It may be remarked, that, in the execution of the different works o''art 

 throughout the different lines, the workmanship is inferior to that of similar 

 undertakings in this couulrj ; and that also in their construction, due at- 

 tention has always been paid to the fortifications of the towns by which 

 the Tculway passes. 



Curves and Oradkiits. 



The curves and gradients, as necessarily follows, from the extent of the 

 different lines, vary very much, and present many of the results which arise 

 from their existence on railways in general. The radii of the principal 

 curves are as follows :— 3-73 chains ; 944 chains, (both on the branch of 

 Louvain to the canal); 9 94 chains; 1243 chains; 17-4 chains; 18 14 

 chains; 19-88 chains; 24 25 chains; 2'J-83 chains; 348 chains; 37-28 

 chains; 39 77 chains; 43-74 chains; 44 74 chains; 49-71 chains; 54-68 

 chains; 59-65 chains; 62-14 chains; 67 I chains; 69-59 chains; 72 58 

 chains ; 74-56 chains ; 7954 chains ; and I mile 45 chains. 



The most important gradients are : — 



That towards Waremme, at the station of Landen, of 1 in 241, of 2 mileS 

 39 chains in length.— That towards Tirlemont. at the station of Louvain, of 

 1 in 250, of 3 miles 58 chains in lengih. — That between Tubiseand Biaiue- 

 le-Comte, of 1 in 200, of 5 miles 47 chains in length —That on the branch 

 from Louvain to th'' canal, of I in 71, of 32 chains in length. — That be- 

 twixt Jurbise and Hraine-le-Cumte, of 1 in 250, of 4 miles 3 chains in 

 length —That betwixt Mous and Jurbise, of 1 iu 250, or 6 miles 42 chains 

 in length. 



Slat ions. 



The stations throughout the difTerent lines are numerous, and, in generab 

 neat and commodious buildings. Antwerp, Brussels, Malmes, and Ghent, 

 are reckoned of the first order, and comaius the warehouses and arsena' 

 for provision and material. Ample accommodation is set apart in them 

 for passengers ; one large room bdiiig always devoted to first and second, 

 and another to third class, passengers. The next stations in importance 

 to these are, Bruges, Termonde, Louvrin. and Tirlemont ; and then the 

 minor stations upon the diH'»renl subdivisions of tlie line. Malines was, 

 from th.- very first, chosen as the central station through which the greatest 

 numbei of passengers was expected Inflow; and it was al»o fixed upou 

 as the workshop for the repairs of the heavy machinery, and ofthe railways 

 in general throughoi.i the country, the workshops at any ofthe other sta- 

 tions being only of a secondary importance. But. notwilhslanding its 

 many advantages, Brussels has become the principle station, and draws 

 one-fourth of the receipts ofthe whole ofthe ditlerent lines. In consequence 

 of tins uuexpecied result it became necessary to build a more extensive 

 st.itiun at the north of Brussels. The stations, with the exception of 

 Ostiiid, Bruges, and Ghent, are placed without the towns, for the purpose 

 of evading the local taxes, which can only be accomplished by placing 

 them beyond the houndarh s of the excise. Tickets for the trains are is- 

 sued from the windows of the dilierent offices ; and, to avoid conlusiun 

 during a crowd, stalls are erected tlnongh which the pa>sengers pass one 

 b> one, ri-ceive their checks, and return by a passage parallel to the one 

 h\ whiih they entered If the traveller has luggage exceeding 44 1b. 

 weight, he has to proceed to the luggage depot, where it is weighed, and 

 he IS charged a trilling sum per lb. L'pon paying this su u he receives a 

 ticket with a number marked upon it, corresponding to one which is put 

 upon his luggage. From this time he sees no more of his property until he 

 arrives at hi= destinaii.m, wliere it is brought from the luggage-wagon, and 

 rhe nnmiier marked npnu it called out by one of the olHcers in attendance, 

 who reiurus it to its owner on pieseuting the ticket which he had received. 



Locomotive Engines. 



The locomotive engines, at the Ist of January 1843, were 129 in number, 

 42 of which were made in England, and the ri-niaiiider in Belgium. Of 

 tiicse, '.;5 are in good working order, and 34 undergoing rei airs. In addi- 

 tion to tlie.-e, however, 10 were iu course of being consiriRted, which »« ill 

 make, in all, 139. The following table gives the makers' names, and the 

 niiiiiher each has made; with the diameter of the cyliuders and driving 

 wuceU ; — 



Fuel. 



The coke r* quired for the consumption ofthe locomotives is manufactured 

 at Monplaisir, Malines. Antwerp, Ghent, Ostend, Aus, and Hal: and 

 costs at these places respectively, 1/. 4s. 2ir|., \l. 3s. Il^d , 1/. 7s. 7|d., 

 \l. 3s. 8id., \l 5s. 2Jd., 17s Ojl., and \l. Is. 5d. per ton. The quanuty 

 consumed in 1841, in running over 927 080 miles, was 29 303 tons, or 

 70-80 lb. per mile. This is including, however, the quantity required for the 

 rewrve ■>ind lighting. v!\\\A\ amounted to 4399 tons, and which, if deducted, 

 will make the consumption 60 17 lb. per mile. In 1842, the distauce run 

 over was 987,432 miles, and the total quantity of coke consumed was 

 28,317 tons, or 64 24 lb. per mile. The quantity required for the rtserce 

 and lighti'ii; was 563 i tons, and which, if deducted, will make the con- 

 sumption 51-46 lb. per mile. 



Cai-riflg-fs. 



The carriages consist of three classes, as they do in this country, hut are 

 much more commodious, and. in some cases, vastly superior in comfort. 

 I'or example, second class carriages possess not only windows, but the 

 seats are cushioned, and almost as coinl'orlable as those of the first class, 

 though, perhaps, a little less elegani. F.ven third class carriag-s have 

 covered seats, and very often roofs supported upon perpendicular iron rods 

 fixed at the corners ot ihe carnages. The seais are placed iransversely, 

 and wi'huut any proper mode of entrance, which is a great inconvenience 

 to passengers; and the doors are, in every case, unlocked, but are held 

 close by a catch, which can bj opened and shut from either aide of the 

 carriage. 



The rate of travelling, generally, is about 2ft miles per hour ; but on 

 some lines, on account of the gradients, it varies from 19 to i5 miles per 

 hour. 



Power of the Engines on Inclines. 



The greatest gradient, with the exception of that betwixt Ans and Liesre, 

 is I in 71 on the branch Iroin Lonvain to the canal. A locomotive, ol a 12J 

 inch cvlindcr, and driving wheels of 5 J feet diameter, can ascend tins slopt- 

 with A train of three loaded and three empty wagons, of a lotul weight of 

 about 44| Ions; but a locomotive of a 14 inch cylinder, withinupled 

 driving wiieels of 45 feet, can ascend it Willi six loaJed and tliree empty 

 wagons, of a total weight of about 09 tons, Ihe rate of travelling in both of 

 these cases being three miles per hour. From a curve in several parts of 

 this lin-, however, of 3 73 chains of radius, it is thought to be more con- 

 venient to work it with horses. .\ strong horse npnu this incline can diavir 

 a wagon ot about six tons w eight, at the rate of 2i miles per hour. 



On the luclinatiiiu beiwixt Tubise and Braine le-t'onite of 1 in 200, two 

 trains, of 16 and 17 carriages each, with a total weight of 88j to 9si tons, 

 and a lucomoiive of a I2J inch cylinder, and driving wheeU ot a\ leei dia- 

 meter, were unable lo proceed in iiiifavourable vvea.her. At aiioiber time, 

 equally unfavourable, an engine <if the same size look up two (rains of 13 

 and 11 carnages each, with a total weight ofalioiit 88^ and 78| tons, with 

 great difficulty. On the inclination betvvnl Jurbise and Soiiinies of 1 in 

 250, two trains, of 12 and 13 carriages each, vviih from 78j lo s^J tou-i, 

 and an engii.e of the same dinieuaions could not ascend. A third, now- 

 ever, with 13 carriages of 884 tons, succeeded in mounting the alope. 



From these observations it was concluded, that the greatest weight with 

 which an engine of a 12j inch cylinder, and driving wheels of 5j feel dia- 

 nieler, can ascend either of these inclinations, is from 88^ lo 9-^ ions in 

 ordinary weather, but otherwise with only Ironi 73 J to 78j iout> »t ah Ihe 

 same of cylinder, however, eilher of these iu. nncs can oe ascended wiili 

 09 tons, at a velocity from about Vil to laj miles per hour; or, wi.li an 

 engine of a cylinder of 14 inches diameter, about 108^ tons can be taken 

 up, at the rate ol about i:'i miles per hour. 



