IV. W. H. WARREN. 
freight cars on goods trains ; cylindrical wheel treads, running 
upon the flat top of the rails, which are not canted as with us}; 
the easing of curves of small radius, by introducing a transition 
portion at each end, leading gradually to the straight line ; the 
introduction of vertical curves in the hollows and summits of 
grade lines; all contribute to the efficiency and economy of the 
railway. 
In the Eastern States there is a very decided improvement 
both in the character of the railway and in the safety appliances 
used. I doubt if there are any better railways than the New 
York Central and Hudson River Railway, or the Pennsylvania 
Railway, these companies pay the strictest attention to all those 
matters which affect the efficiency, safety, and economy of railway 
working. In regard to the interlocking of points and signals, I 
do not think we have much to learn from America, indeed I think 
they might introduce with advantage on the western lines, the 
system which has been introduced and perfected by our Railway 
Commissioners here. On the western lines of America there are 
no signals, excepting starting, and at points, and excepting at 
grade crossing, there is no interlocking whatever. In the eastern 
States on the other hand, the interlocking system has come into 
use and is being gradually extended. At the large terminal 
station of St. Louis, known as the Union Depét, I saw @ Very 
fine example of the electro-pneumatic interlocking system which 
deals with the starting and arrival of trains of twenty-two railway 
companies. This is an elegant arrangement, but it is not a block 
system. There are some fine examples of terminal stations in the 
larger cities, such as St. Louis, Philadelphia, and New York, with 
large arched roofs, the platforms are however, only a few inches 
above rail level. The absence of raised platforms, and station 
buildings at intermediate stations, and at smaller towns is charac 
teristic, but here the economy appears to have been carried too far. 
In regard to Locomotive Engines we haye had considerable 
experience in this country, but it would be doing the Americans 
an injustice if we were to “shane the recently — Baldwin 
