GarnhirJc and Glasgow Railway, 55 



the price of coal only one shilling per ton (I believe it is even 

 more), it will give an annual saving of L. 50,000. 



The progress which such works are making in England holds 

 out a good example for the encouragement of the same in this 

 part of the country. 



It is to be hoped, that when the public are made fully aware 

 of the great advantages to be derived from such undertakings, 

 we shall soon see works of this description intersecting all the 

 populous districts of Scotland. I have no doubt that this will 

 ultimately be the case, and that thereby the many rich mineral 

 fields of the country will be rendered available ; while its com- 

 merce will be extended, and the comforts of the labouring popu- 

 lation proportionally increased. 



Edinburgh, 1 5th April 1835. 



I was at the meeting of this Society when Mr David Steven- 

 son's " Observations on the Liverpool and Manchester Railway" 

 were read. He stated that it required one hour and twenty mi- 

 nutes to raise the steam. Mr Grainger, one of the members, 

 stated that the time was generally from twenty minutes to half 

 an hour ; the difference of opinion being so great, I was anxious 

 to ascertain the exact time required. I therefore wrote to Mr 

 A. Fyfe, su^rintendant of the locomotive engines on the Li- 

 verpool and Manchester Railway, and beg leave to annex the 

 following excerpt from his letter. 



Excerpt. 



6 Manchester, 1th March 1835 f 

 i Dear Sin, — Your's of the 4th I received, on the subject of 

 getting up the steam in the boilers of locomotive engines. At 

 the engine-house here, the night watchman puts into the fire-box 

 the full of his arms of timber, in general old oak sleepers, which 

 are (as you must be aware) in a wet state. He then takes from 

 a large furnace a few shovelsful of coke, then fills the fire-box 

 with dry coke ; this is done one hour and a half before the en- 

 gine is to be used, with from four to six inches more depth of 

 water in the boiler than the engine runs with. With dry deal 

 and coke one half hour is sufficient. The engines sent from 



