AMERICAN INSTITUTE. 547 



benefactors. Now the nation owes her spinning mills to Ark- 

 wright, her canals to Brindley, her philosophy to Bacon, steam- 

 engines to Watt, steamboats to Fulton and Miller, railways to 

 Stephenson. The names of these men and others are familiar in 

 our mouths as household words; we forever meet them employ- 

 ed 'to point a moral or adorn a tale' besides their permanent 

 achievements/' 



Mr. Wm. G. Creamer read the following paper upon the mo- 

 mentum, theory and practice of arresting railway trains : 



THE MOMENTUM, THEORY, AND PRACTICE OF 

 ARRESTING RAILWAY TRAINS. 



Railroads have, in the short space of twenty-five years, become 

 a fixed fact among the institutions of the world; their economies 

 and advantages cannot be for a moment questioned. While we 

 for a moment acknowledge the fact that their construction and 

 management are succeptible of vast improvement, that the disasters 

 and loss of life of the past are matters of course or necessity we 

 disbelieve. In fact a railroad properly constructed and managed 

 need scarce ever have an accident causing the loss of human life. 

 The far reaching navigator provides for every possible contin- 

 gency, even though the danger be ever so remote, he provides 

 every available security. While we would not condemn the 

 practice of having life boats on the dangerous beach, we should 

 think it just as necessary to have them on board the ship at all 

 times; there may be places where the life boat is not provided. 

 The able mechanic, in his combinations of the mechanical powers, 

 anticipates every difiiculty and provides the remedy beforehand, 

 he calculates with exactness the strength af materials, the speed 

 of the pully, and power of the engine. The experienced engineer 

 too estimates the cost of removing mountains, filling valleys, 

 cutting rocks and bridging rivers, with an exactness correspond- 

 ing to his knowledge of his business. 



The wise statesman looks for into the future to judge of the 

 success or policy of any popular scheme, he sees with almost 

 prophetic vision the results of measures which perhaps at the 

 time, to the unthinking or superficial multitude, seem wise and 

 salutary. And so too the railroad superintendent who will 

 achieve the top round of his ladder of greatness, will anticipate 

 and provide for every possible contingency. Every known com- 

 bination of mechanism or improvement calculated, even in a 

 remote degree, to save life and property will demand his attention. 



