1846.] 



THE CIVIL ENGINEER AND ARCHITECTS JOURNAL. 



91S 



»re underneath in this case. The principal objection is the crank shaft, to 

 get room for the hoiler ; but on the drawing and on the elevation of the 

 engine, the centre of gravity does not seem to be at all too high. Those 

 engines have four eccentrics, and are to be worked with the link motion. 

 Thinks a speed of from 12 to "iO miles an hour with a goods train, as 

 great as would be safe with this weight of engine on either gauge. These 

 engines not used for passenger trains, the wheels being only 4 feet 6 inches 

 in diameter, aud wanting adhesion as well as power. 



Description nj the improvements un narrow gauge engines of the second 

 kind, namely, those with Jour wheels.— ^\t. Buiy has always bet-n a maker 

 and supporter of the four-wheel locomotive engine. They are in use on 

 the London nnd Birmingham Railway and several other railways. They 

 also have been much improved ; the boilers have been lengthened to about 

 11 feet; they have been increased in size with 15 inch cylinders and 2 feet 

 stroke. Tlie inlerval lietween the fore and hind axle is somewhere about 

 6 to 7 feet; in those of Mr. Slephenson's the distance is rather less 

 than 12 feet ; they nre all in the space between the tire-box and the smoke- 

 boi. A plan is adopted on the London and Birmingham, of attaching the 

 engine to the tender by a dra»v spring, rendering it au 8 wheeled machine. 

 Believes, with the inside bearings adopted by Mr. Bury, that thr engine 

 would go on with the axle bioken. Has seen them going 12 or 14 miles 

 an hour with the axle cut through. Has known the axle broken, and not 

 discovered till the train was at the station. The breaking of the axle takes 

 place close to the journal, and sometimes at the corner ol the crank, the 

 iron being cross iliere, and not so strong. Prefers the straight axle with 

 outside cjlinders for safety. The chief objection to the crank aile is lia- 

 bility to give way. 



John Urpeth Rastrick, Esq. : The largest engine on the London and 

 Brighton Railway is one of ISinch cylinder. Gives a preference to the 

 cross over the longitudiual sleeper, as it is much more easily rectified and 

 kept in order. At Uie lime the extension of the Greenwich Railway (that 

 is. the widening out of it where the Croydon, Dover, and Brighton Kail- 

 ways run over it,) was proposed to be done, the Directors of Ihe Green- 

 wich Railway Company desired their engineers (Colonel Landmann aud 

 Mr. Miller) to make a report upon the sort of rails they ought to use in 

 the laying down of those two lines. Each of those gentlemen made out a 

 report; one recommended rails to be laid of the same size as those that 

 are laid on the Croydon Railway, which is a rail that has got a flat top to 

 it ; it is rather a low rail, with a wide flange at the bottom, and a narrow 

 rib between the top and the flacch.and that was to be laid on longitudinal 

 bearers. The other gentleman recommended that the rails should be made 

 about 75 lb. per yard (these are called the H rails), and fixed in cast iron 

 chairs with wooden keys. The Directors of the Greenwich Railway 

 Company did not think proper to take upon themselves to decide which of 

 those rails should be laid down, and they sent the reports that bad been 

 made to them, to witness (of course not putting the names ot the engineers 

 to the reports, but merely stating that they were the reports of their en- 

 gineers), and requested an opinion as to which of these methods they ought 

 to adopt. Advised them to adopt neiiher of the rails, as the Croydon rail 

 seemed (that is the light rail, and the light longitudinal bearer,) altogether 

 too weak, and the other was not so well adapted for a viaduct as it would 

 be if laid on longitudinal bearers, but a stronger rail ; therefore recom- 

 meoded them, instead of making use of a cross sleeper, with a 73 lb. rail, 

 to make use of a bridge rail of 80 lb. per yard, which had got a wide 

 flange at the bottom. The rail was about 2J inches wide at the tup. The 

 flange was half-an-inch thick, and the outside width of the flange was six 

 inches, and each of those sides was three-quarters thick ; these rails were 

 screwed to Ihe timber; screw pins went through the longitudinal timbers, 

 «od underneath there were bars into which the screw pins were screwed. 

 By placing an auger-spanner on the top of the pins, the raits can be 

 screwed down most securely. The rail laid down on the viaduct of the 

 Brighton Railway was found to answer so well that witness recommended 

 its adoption to the Greenwich Railway, and those rails are now laid down 

 there. The nut keeps its hold and will run back, because it can at any 

 time be screwed up ; they have nothing to do but to apply an auger-span- 

 ner 00 it. Is laying down a railway from Hastings to Lewes, and likewise 

 from the Chichester line, from Shoreham to Chichester, with rails of that 

 description, but on cross bearers with this addition, that to each of them, 

 at the joints, there is a wrougbt-iron plate into which the two rails slip. 

 There is a wrougbt-iron plate about 10 inches long, turned up on the 

 edges, so as to lorm grooves ; the two rails come together into this wrought- 

 iron plate ; the rails cannot separate, and of course that part which turns 

 down on the upper flange of the rail keeps the one rail from rising above 

 Ihe other. In laying down these rails on the Greenwich Railway, we had 

 no provision of that sort, and consequently they are liable in some degree 

 to rise one above the other, unless the screws are kept tight ; but even if 

 the screws are all slack where these wrought iron joint plates are used, 

 they cannot rise one above the other. The rails were laid on cross sleep- 

 srs; did not use the screw-pins at all, but merely a parallel bolt live- 

 eighths of an inch in diameter, which holds better than screws or any 

 other contrivance. We bore a hole half an inch in diameter, and then 

 drive in the bolt ; in fact, they hold so very fast, that in endeavouring to 

 get them out sometimes on the Brighton Railway when a chair has broken, 

 we have had to bend the pin backwards and forwards considerably before 

 we could pull it out. 



The velocity of the express trains on the Brighton is about 34 miles an 

 iioyr, with one stoppage at Red Hill. There is vtry little oscillatioa if 



the road is in good order. Outside cylinders do not produce any yawing 

 motion; it is impossible any such motion can be produced, unless there is 

 a play in the framing itself. Considers the outside cylinders to be verj 

 much preferable to the inside, and thej run a great deal steadier. 



Mr. Henry Pringle Bbdyeres: Is superintendent of the London 

 and Birmingham Railway, and controls the general arrangements both of 

 passengers and goods. Average speed of express trains on London and 

 Birmingham line between staiion and station, exclusive of stoppages, 

 rather more than 40 miles an hour, making no allowance for slacking and 

 regaining speed. Including the stoppages at siaiions, the speed is 37 

 miles an hour. Does not think the greatest speed at any time exceeds 45 

 miles an hour for any distance. Passenger carriages on London and Bir- 

 mingham line greatly improved. The improvement in the first class car- 

 riages is, as respects the construction, making the under framework 

 stronger, and making it solid instead of open, as it was originally ; Iq 

 point of comfort to the passengers, in making the carriages larger alto- 

 gether ; each compartment being longer, to give more room for the legs, 

 aud higher. The carriages the company now build are in size proportion- 

 ate to those on the Great Western Railway, with the exception that they 

 may be three or four inches less in height. The reason of having them 

 less in height is to allow of the luggage being conveyed on the roof ; how- 

 ever, ample room is given, even for a tall person with his hat on inside. 

 The luggage placed upon the lops of the carriages is principally " through" 

 luggage, belonging to passengers that are going a long distance, so that 

 when they arrive at the end of their journey, instead of having to seek 

 their luggage at the forward part of the train, it is over their heads, and 

 if they can only diiest themselves of the idea that they are in a crowd 

 upon their arrival, and remain stationary on getting out of the carriage, 

 they will find their luggage immediately before them. All inside 

 cylinders, and only one six-wheeled engine. The Company are now 

 building six-wheeled eni;ines. The engine and tender are tighily screwed 

 together. Probable expense of London and Birmingham goods wagons 

 into loose boxes for transfer on to broad gauge, about £50 per wagon. 

 The London and Birmingham line now so consolidated, that the rains have 

 litile eSect upon it ; subsidence of the ballast dues not take place upon 

 the embankments. 



The area of the Rugby Station is about 12 acres, including the portion 

 used by the Midland Railway, as well as the London and Birmingham. 



Dimensions of old and of new carriages. — They consist of three com- 

 partments, holding six persons each ; the old carriage was in length, that 

 is between the persons, face to face, 4 feet 11 ; the new are S feet 9, being 

 an increase of 10 inches ; the width of the old carriage was 6 feet, and 

 the new is 6 feet 6, giving 2 inches more in width to each seat. The 

 height of the old carri-ige was 5 feet, and the new ones are 5 feet 7, giT- 

 ing an extra height of 7 inches, that is between the floor and the ceiling, 

 and taking it at the centre of the ceiling ; the ronf is curved about 2 

 inches, and is 5 feet 5 at the two sides. The outside length of the old 

 carriages was 15 feet 6, and of the new, are 17 feet 0. That is the entire 

 body. The width was 6 feet 6 in the old, and is 7 feet in the new. The 

 height, allowing for the curve mentioned before, would be 5 feet 2 the old, 

 and 5 feet 8 the new. The total height above the rail of the top of the 

 carriage is 8 feet 9 the old, and 8 feet 10 the new. The additional height 

 inside has been obtained by lowering the floor. 



At present, if the Great Western Company require engines from the 

 North of England, when not carried by water, they come up upon the 

 London and Birmingham, and are transferred from Euston-square to Pad- 

 dington, and run down Ihe Great Western line. This has frequently been 

 the case ; they are brought up on trucks. The comparative dead and net 

 weight carried by the down express train for the month of August, 1845, 

 is as follows : number of passengers, 1,613 ; carriages, including luggage 

 van, 132 ; weight of passengers, at ten to a ton, 101 tons; weight of car- 

 riages, 556 tons. 



CoNONEL George Landmann : Was engineer of the London and Greea- 

 wich Railway and the projector of that scheme. When the line was con- 

 structed, used a very light rail, uf 50 pounds to the yard. Subsequently 

 changed those rails for others of a heavier description, weighing 85 pounds ; 

 the first rails did not reverse; the present rails do reverse; the new part 

 is upon the Great Western principle, upon longitudinal sleepers; in the 

 first instance, used stone blocks, which were afterwards changed to trans- 

 verse sleepers. The widened portion of the line, from London to the 

 separation of the Croydon, and the portion from Deptford to Greenwich, 

 originally laid upon longitudinal sleepers, with the same form of rail as 

 the Great Western ; that rail was £0 pounds to the yard, whilst the Great 

 Western was 43 pounds. The longitudinal sleepers between Deptford 

 and Greenwich are 12 inches wide by 6| deep; those upon the widened 

 part are the whole size of the baulk ; 12 and 13 inches, with ties across the 

 same depth, to preserve the gauge. The longitudinal sleepers of the 

 Greenwich line, extending from Deptford to Greenwich, rest upon trans- 

 verse sleepers, 1 inches by 6, by 6 to 7 feet long, and placed at distances of 

 about 4 feet apart, and to which the longitudinal sleepers are spiked; these 

 sleepers were all Kyanized,aod, as far as witness has been able to die. 

 cover, are still quite sound. With longitudinal sleepers a lighter rail 

 might be used than would be required where there is a space between the 

 supports; and if the ground be properly made at first under longitudinal 

 sleepers, is of opinion that that would be the best mode of constructing a 

 line ; objects to the mode adopted under Mr. Bastrick's direction of laying 



