G.— ENGINEERING. 139 



stone Lighthouse. I allude to this fact because in those days it was 

 regarded as a wonderful scientific invention which fascinated the most 

 eminent scientific men. Yet to-day we take it all for granted, and hardly 

 realise the comfort and convenience that the introduction of the telephone 

 has brought into our lives. 



I admit that the introduction of wireless telephony and telegraphy has 

 amazed the world to a greater extent than that of the telephone, and it 

 is certainly more within the capacity of the pure scientist than of the 

 engineer to explain the scientiiic problems involved. I am not going to 

 state whether the introduction of wireless broadcasting into our homes 

 is an amenity or not, chacim son goiU, but when we turn to the application 

 of wireless telegraphy we acce])t without hesitation the benefits it has 

 brought into the world. It is impossible to say what number of lives 

 have already been saved by boats in distress having been able to secure 

 help from other vessels by means of wireless communication. 



The development of electricity as a mechanical driving power was very 

 slow up to a certain date. For instance, I went by electric train from 

 Berlin to Charlottenburg in the spring of 1882. The running of the railway 

 appeared to be quite satisfactory, and yet it was at least ten, and I think 

 fifteen, years before any real development took place in the way of electric 

 railways or trams, the difficulty, I believe, being in producing satisfactory 

 dynamos on an economic basis. The first electric railways in this country, 

 so far as I know, were the Liverpool Overhead Railway in February 1893 

 and the Liverpool to Southport Railway in April 1904. The practicability 

 of electric driving on main lines is still a matter under discussion. The 

 only country which has wholeheartedly adopted this system is Switzerland, 

 a country which has undoubtedly been influenced by the uncertainty of 

 obtaining a uniform supply of coal at reasonable prices, coupled with the 

 fact of an efficient and ample supply of water power for their generating 

 stations. The Barberine reservoir, which has now been completed, and 

 the large reservoir at the Grimsel Hospice now under construction, are 

 fine examples of civil engineering work carried out for the purpose of 

 developing electric current for the Swiss railways. 



In this country considerable developments are taking place on the 

 various main lines, but engineers are at present concentrating on the use 

 of electric driving mainly for suburban trafiic, and not at present on main 

 line long-distance expresses. It is probable that the great extension of 

 high-power installations throughout the country contemplated by the 

 electricity commissioners will render possible a more extensive use of 

 electric trains on our main lines. 



The application of electricity for driving purposes in the various large 

 works in this country made very rapid strides as soon as electrical machinery 

 for the purpose was available. I remember showing to a former president 

 of this Association, Sir William White, the first set of Belliss and Morcom 

 engines we had installed in a works in the Midlands, the various machines 

 in these works at that time being driven by steam engines in different shops 

 and line shafting. Sir William said to me then, ' Do you realise that 

 within ten years every machine in these works will be electrically driven ? 

 I think few engineers realised at that time that electric driving would 

 replace so rapidly the existing methods. Apart frqm the economy 



