1854.] 



RAILWAY INTELLIGENCE. 



19 



the road experiences a satisfaction similar to what he feels at the con- 

 templation of any perfect specimen of art. The road is certainly one 

 of our best specimens of engineering skill, and one in which icience 

 has contributed most in guiding and assisting labour. The work may 

 be regarded as a chef cVceiiore." 



The earnings on 292 miles of road in operation, for the week ending 

 July 22nd, 18.54, were from the following sources: — 



No. 4,.579 Passengers, first class S-5,332 95 



No. 323 J Passengers, second class 235 90 



No. 2,418| Tons Merchandise 5,865 84 



No.557,627 Feet of Lumber 2,027 12 



No. 943 Cords of Fire Wood 1,318 90 



Mails, &c 779 27 



Total earnings for the week §15,559 98 



Previous earnings since January 1, 1854 390,368 77 



Total earnings since January 1st §405,928 75 



Railways in Neiv Brunswick* 



We learn (says the same authority) from A. C. Morton, Esq. Chief 

 Engineer of the European and North American Railway, in New 

 Brunswick, who is now in this city, that the contractors for building 

 the East and North American Railway in that Prorince, Messrs. 

 Jackson, Brassey, Peto and Betts, are pushing on, with all practicable 

 despatch, the construction of the entire line from St. John to the 

 Gulf of St. Lawrence, and to the frontier of Nova Scotia. A large 

 portion of the rails are already delivered, and the iron bridges are 

 either all received, or already shipped from England. All the principal 

 bridges are of iron, similar to those going up on the Quebec and lUch- 

 mond Railway, and the road is to be of a superior character throughout. 



Some difficulty exists, from the scarcity of labourers, but from the 

 ps'esent posture of the work it is believed that during the coming year 

 the line may be completed from St. John to the Nova Scotia line. The 

 locating surveys arc finished, and the work is sub-let to American 

 contractors. 



Canada Great Western Railway* 



The earnings for the week ending August 4th, 1854, on 229 miles of 

 road in operation, were from the following sources : — 



From Passengers £2,429 7 



From Freight 589 8 6 



From Sundiies 2G8 10 4 



Total earnings £3,286 19 5 



Amount of previous receipts 144,456 14 2J 



Total receipts since the 1st of January £147, 7J3 13 7J 



Total number of Passengers since 1st January 202,565 J 



Nova Scotia RaiUvays* 



The State of Maine informs us that Nova Scotia and New Brunswick 

 have both adopted the gauge of 5J feet making it uniform with the 

 line of the Grand Trunk Railway of Canada ; and wlien the various 

 sections, the ^'disjecta membra," in Canada, Maine, and in the provinces 

 east, become connected, they will form an unbi'oken line of railway, of 

 uniform gauge, from Halifax to Detroit. 



In 1853 Nova Scotia provisionally agreed to adopt the "Company 

 principle," similar to tliat of New Brunswick, and six months time was 

 allowed after the royal assent, for the organization of the Company. — 

 On the failure of this, '• the government scheme" was to come into 

 operation. 



The war in Europe checked, and in fact defeated the plans of those 

 who souglit to inaugurate tlie Cornpany within the six months, and at 

 the end of that time Mr. Howe intvojuced and carried through Parlia- 

 ment his scheme for a government line. 



The work was commenced on the 8th of June, 1854, at Halifax, and 

 a section of some ten miles is under contract to be opened this year. — 

 An additional section of fifteen miles will bo opened in 1855. 



The first 25 miles forms a common Trunk for the lines running to 

 Amherst, to Windsor and to Pictou, and we learn from Mr. Howe tlmt 

 they intend to push the Trunk lino to the frontier of New Brunswick, 

 so as to meet their line at that point, as soon as it can reach it, from 

 St. John. They will then extend branch lines to Windsor and Pictou as 

 occasion may require. 



The Province of Nova Scotia has an overflowing Treasury, and is free 

 of clcht. For some years to come, the city of Halifax will furnish a 

 really market for her debentures, at 5 per cent, and as the line pr iposed 

 will form an important link in the Great Trunk Railway from Halifax 

 to the United StjUes and Canada, no fears are ontcrtaincd as to tlio 

 paying qualities of the Line." 



Ni.iG.iE.v Suspension Bridge — The new Suspension Bridge over the 

 Niagara River, connecting the Great Western and New Vork Central 

 Railways, will possess a strength equal to six times the tension that can 

 be produced by a maximum strain on the upper floor and a full load 

 on the lower floor at the same time. — The permanent tension of the 

 cables from their own weight and that of the superstructure, will be 

 only one-tenth of their ultimate strength. There is, therefore, ample 

 provision for safety. Moreover, the whole structure will be so arranged 

 and stayed, that no oscillations or very perceptible movement can take 

 place. A hurricane which would prostrate the whole city of Buffalo, 

 and every wooden bridge in the counti-y would be harmless to this 

 bridge — so well will it be guarded by stays. 



Angle Railko.vd Wheels. — One of the most interesting sights 

 in Paris, and one that no American ever thinks of visiting, as he pro- 

 bably never heard of it, is the railroad from tlie Barrier d' Enfer to 

 Sceaux. It is but seven miles long, and was built as an experiment 

 upon a new system of wheels. The engine, tender, and hindermost 

 car of the train, are furnished with oblique wheels, under the ordi- 

 nary upright ones. Where the track is straight, these do not touch 

 the rails ; but at the curves, they come into play, rattling along the 

 inner edge of the rails, and preventing the train from running off the 

 track. The road was therefore made purposely tortuous, and the most 

 sudden and seemingly dangerous bends were introduced at frequent 

 intervals. The two stations are circular, and the train as it recfives 

 its passengers, is doubled up into a rmg of 50 feet radius. The 

 smallest curve upon the road is 68 feet radius, and over this the train 

 goes at full speed. The corners of the cars are cut off, so that the 

 vehicles, in following the curves, do not infringe upon each otlicr. 

 Sceaux is upon an eminence, which the road ascends spirally, with 

 something like a mile of tract — it only going, in advance, a humh'ed 

 feet. The invention — which, by the way, is ten years old — has proved 

 practicallv very successful ; but it has never been applied to any extent. 

 Daily nines -V i'. 



Paper from Wood. — In the last sitting of the Socicto d'Encourage- 

 ment pour I'lndustrie Nationale a paper was read setting forth a plan 

 for making paper from wood. The bark is first taken off the wood, 

 and the wood is then cut insncli a way us to be easily made into shavings; 

 the shavings are theu cut very thin ; next they arc pliu-eil in woter 

 for six or eight days, then lliey are dried, afterward.'* tliey arc reilueol 

 to the finest powder possil>le by the means of a corn mill. This pow- 

 der is then mixed with the nigs which servo to prepare the pulp of 

 paper, and the ordinary operation of paper making is proceeded to. 

 All white woods, such as the poplar, the lime, and the willow, nro 

 suitable for the purpose, but the discoverer ascribes a good cicnl of his 

 success to the quality of water ho employed — that of the little river 

 Dollar, which runs near Mulhouse. For th" first experiment ho em- 

 ployed the wood of the trembling poplar, and ho prcsontod spccimcnji of 

 paper made from it. 



