TRACTION-ENGINES VERSUS HORSES ON FARMS. 303 



heavy goods-trains, and on lines where the gradients are steep. When 

 the rails are wet and slippery, the wheels often slip that is, they re- 

 volve round without making much progress. To improve the catch of 

 the wheel upon the rail, or what is by the engine-drivers termed the 

 " bite," sand is allowed to run down upon the rail in front of the wheel. 

 This, however, would not answer the purpose on tramways with very 

 steep gradients. 



I see no reason why tramways should not be made over hilly coun- 

 tries with steep gradients, the chief points to attend to in such lines 

 being to make the locomotive wheels in such a way as to have a firm 

 catch on the rail. Mr Page, C.E. (the engineer of Westminster Bridge), 

 has taken this subject into consideration, and has invented a system of 

 tramway suitable for steep gradients. The arrangement is to have 

 the wheels of the locomotive broad about eight inches and to have 

 the running surface of the tram rough, so as to give " bite " to the 

 wheels. On the inner edge of the tram iron rails are fixed on which the 

 wheels of the carriages or waggons run. The wheels of the carriages are 

 flanged the same as on our ordinary railways. Mr Page suggests that 

 tram-railways may be made at a small cost by laying down the rails 

 along the sides of our common roads, and that the owners of the tram- 

 way undertake to keep the road in good repair for the right of using 

 part of its surface for the tramway. Most of our highways would require 

 to be widened to admit of this being done ; but where the roads are of 

 sufficient width, it might be done with great advantage to any district 

 through which it passed. Mr Page estimates that the cost of the new 

 tram-railway would not exceed 1800 per mile for a single line at 

 English prices ; but where timber or stone is abundant, and at a reason- 

 able cost, this amount would be considerably reduced. 



In experiments made with a model of Mr Page's system of tram-rail- 

 way, it worked on a gradient of 1 in 3. 



