1S41.] 



THE CIVIL ENGINEER AND ARCHITECT'S JOURNAL. 



381 



PROPOSED IMPROVEMENTS IN RAILWAY CARRIAGES 

 FOR THE PREVENTION OF ACCIDENTS 



Sir — In conversation with a friend on the late Brighton R-\ilway 

 accident, I have been informed, and beUeve the fact is, that from the 

 generality of accidents on railways affecting the passengers on the 

 first carriage behind the tender, (the engineer or engineers lives being 

 considered of little value) a luggage van is placed behind the tender, 

 or between the tender and first passenger-carriage, and the company 

 do it as a great preventive of danger to the lives of the passengers, and 

 as to the engineers, it is better for them to be in danger of their lives 

 to make them vigilent and careful ; all this may be very good for 

 railway companies to soothe the public, but it can never be necessary 

 to make engine-men careful by placing their lives in jeopardy beyond 

 what can be absolutely avoided or eased, and I most respectfully sub- 

 mit it to the public, that as the engineers in the tender, and passengers 

 in the first carriage behind the tender are subject to greater risk of 

 their lives than the passengers in the second carriage behind the 

 tender, and those at greater risk than the passengers in the third 

 carriage and so on, the risk decreasing in the ratio to the distance of 

 the carriage from the engine, the cause ought to be solved, or at 

 least an attempt made to render the tender safer, and the first carriage 

 as safe as the fifth one is now, and not let it rest by placing even a 

 luggage van, to say nothing of passengers luggage in the van, in a 

 situation of such imminent risk. 



As a strenuous advocate for rendering travelling by railway the 

 ne plus ultra for safety, I propose for consideration a few suggestions 

 for the prevention of accidents on the following grounds. 



The carriages are now all provided with elastic concussion receivers 

 of equal elasticity, although it must be quite evident the elasticity is 

 not acted on equally. To illustrate this we will suppose the elasticity 

 of each carriage equals 1, and all the carriages are close on their 

 concussion receivers ; and we will suppose each elastic receiver to 

 have already given way a length equal to one foot. 



A train of carriages are started down an inclined plane, and at their 

 arriving at their maximum velocity, an obstruction is met with, 

 and the engine is stopped ; the result will be that the tender comes 

 with a force that the elasticity of 1 in 1 foot is completely overcome, 

 and a concussion is the result between the tender and the engine to 

 such an extent as to throw the men off or out of the tender, and the 

 tender being stopped, the first carriage adjoining thereto receives a 

 concussion on it, although the elasticity between the tender and 

 engine had allowed the same to be eased one foot, and consequently 

 with the elasticity between the first carriage and the tender of 1 in 

 one foot, the first carriage is eased by the elasticity of one in two feet, 

 but this proves to be insufficient and so does the elasticity or the 

 easing received by the second carriage which is equal to 1 in 3 feet, 

 but the elasticity received by the third carriage, proves iu some cases 

 sufficient to overcome to a very great extent, the concussion caused 

 by the obstruction met with. As an improvement, I propose that the 

 elasticity between the engine and tender should be increased to the 

 greatest extent possible, say five feet, and the receivers of the con- 

 cussions be kept close to each other, that is the drawboys or connect- 

 ing chains should be just long enough to keep the receivers close, 

 this would give the luggage van behind the tender, the safety the sixth 

 carriage, and the first passenger-carriage the safety, the seventh one 

 now enjoys. Trusting ray motive in forwarding the preceding re- 

 marks, being for the safety of railway travelling, will be a sufficient 

 plea for requesting it a place in your columns. 



I am. Sir, 

 Your very obedient servant. 



W. B. 



ANONYMOUS ARCHITECTS. 



Sir — I should feel obliged to any of your correspondents who would 

 supply some information relative to the Market Cross at Shepton 

 Mallet, which I understand is a new structure, and a handsome one of 

 its kind. I could further wish to ascertain who was the architect of 

 the building occupied by the "Society of Arts," at Birmingham, his 

 name not being mentioned in Drake's " Picture " of that town, although 

 the structure itself is there spoken of as "one of the most striking 

 edifices" in the whole place. Surely local " Guides" might afford 

 some information as to the authorship of modern buildings — which 

 could be ascertained on the spot without any very great difficulty ; or 

 are we to suppose that the public have not the slightest curiosity 

 ■whatever as to such trivial matters, and care no more who was the 



architect that designed, than who were the masons and laboiirers 

 employed upon a public edifice. 



In the case of a paltry building, the concealment of the architect's 

 name may be an act of great kindness towards him; but it is some- 

 what preposterous to speak of one as " a splendid edifice" — "a truly 

 elegant piece of architecture;" or in other terms of very high praise, and 

 yet treat the author of the design as if he were a mere nobody, whose 

 name was not worth recording at all,— not so much as that of an organ 

 builder, for artists of the last description come in far more frequently 

 for some share of notice. 



Such being the case, it becomes a question whether its architect's 

 name ought not invariably to be inscribed on every building making 

 any pretensions to design; — I do not mean that it should be conspicu- 

 ously placed so as to attract notice, but inscribed quite unobtrusively 

 somewhere on the level of the eye, where if sought it could at once 

 be found out, — in fact just as the name of an artist is attached at the 

 bottom of an engraving ; and if no objection be made to this last prac- 

 tice as savouring of presumption or conceit, hardly could there be any 

 scruple as to adopting a similar practice in regard to buildings. In 

 some few instances it might be altogether superfluous, — for example 

 in the New Houses of Parliament, and the Royal Exchange, it being 

 already matter of notoriety throughout the kingdom, that Barry is the 

 architect of the one, and Tite of the other. But there are many works 

 • — and those not without merit, of which owing to there being no 

 architect's name attached to the structures themselves, it is very diffi- 

 cult to ascertain by whom they were designed. However should I be 

 mistaken at least in regard to the two above-mentioned — the informa- 

 tion I ask for, can be furnished me in your next number. 



I remain, &c. 



DREDGE'S SUSPENSION BRIDGE. 



Sir — I have been accidentally prevented from seeing your Journal 

 of September last until now, or I should sooner have availed myself of 

 your kind permission to reply to Mr. Dredge's communication. I do 

 not know whether it is a part of Mr. Dredge's patent right to be exempt 

 from criticism, but if such be the case, it ought in fairness to have 

 been announced to the public at the same time that the invention was 

 made known ; as this, however, has never, I believe, been done, it is 

 hard to account for the expression of "injured innocence" with 

 which Mr. D. has seasoned his letter, unless, indeed, he is to be re- 

 garded as a sort of privileged character, whose inventions are not to 

 be subject to animadversion like those of other individuals. Neither 

 was I before aware that the truth of a mathematical demonstration 

 was, in any degree dependent upon the name of its author, but as 

 Mr. D. seems to think otherwise, I now give my name, in order that 

 he may no longer suffer from the intellectual trammels which it would 

 seem I have most unwittingly imposed upon him. It is much to be 

 wished that Mr. Dredge, at the same time that he made known my 

 having misconceived the construction of his bridge, had, at least for 

 the benefit of your readers, if not of myself (who it appears am unde- 

 serving of such a favour, because I have omitted my name) stated in 

 distinct terms, what are the peculiar features which distinguish his 

 patent bridge. I should thus have been enabled to form an opinion of 

 the merits or demerits which it may possess, without incurring the 

 danger of a second "great mistake ;" but as the case now stands, I 

 do not see how I can enter upon the discussion with justice to myself 

 or your readers, as it might very possibly happen that I should not be 

 writing about Mr. D.'s bridge, but something quite difterent. The 

 drawings which appeared in your Journal (Vol. III. page 193), it must 

 I think be allowed, are calculated to convey the impression that the 

 suspension rods are arranged in parallel though inclined positions, 

 especiaUy Fig. 3, at least they do not appear to be tangents to the 

 curve which Mr. D. seems to assert, and no one could suppose, of 

 course, that they are arranged without any order or method whatever. 

 I think, therefore, that the inspection of the drawings alluded to, 

 would necessarily lead to the conclusion that the rods were parallel. 

 If, however, I have fallen into an error upon this point, which, however, 

 Mr. D. does not distinctly assert, it will follow that such of ray re- 

 marks as are founded on the supposition of the rods being parallel, 

 will immediately fall to the ground as inapplicable to Mr. D.'s bridge, 

 and I am qnite willing to allow him the fail benefit of this, claiming, 

 however, at the same time for myself, the privilege of examining his 

 bridge de novo, when I know what it is ; and he may rest assured that 

 should I discover any merits which were not before apparent, I shall 

 at once freely acknowledge them. 



I remain. Sir, 



October lit Your obedient servant, 



George F. Fordham. 



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