Trials of Traction-Engines at Wolverhampton. 571 
by no means unpleasant. This engine, with its omnibus, is one of four 
which the Post-office authorities in India intend to employ to run on the 
high road between Chelum and Kawl I'indee. The "Chenab" was in charge 
of Lieutenant Crompton, who very kindly put it at the disposal of the 
Judges to accompany the competition engines on the run to Stafford. As 
much as 8 miles an hour was accomplislicd by " Chenab " on parts of the road ; 
but it was suffering the whole time from a deficiency in steam. 
On the arrival of all the engines at Staftbrd they drew up in the station- 
yard, where later in the day they were inspected by the President of the 
Society, by many Members of the Council, and by some Members of the Select 
Committee of the House of Lords on Common Road Locomotion. 
Some of the engines that had steam up were worked to show their powers 
of starting, stopping, and turning, and the results were very satisfactory. 
Tettenhall Hill Trials. 
It will be remembered that Messrs. Eansomes, Sims, and Head, under their 
entry No. 2150, had exhibited for competition in Class XVII. the " Sutherland. " 
engine, with iron wheels. We felt that this afforded an opportunity for testing 
the merits of iron as against indiarubber, which might not be met with again, 
and we were thus most anxious to try article No. 2150. 
To have gone through the full programme it would have been necessary to 
take this engine to Barnhurst to run her over the farm ground with her iron 
wheels ; but the exhibitors wrote to the Judges, saying that, as those wheels 
were not provided with suitable paddles to enable them to cope with the state 
of the ground at Barnhurst, they desired the engine might be withdrawn from 
that part of the competition. We readily fell in with this view, because we 
are certain that had iron wheels of the small diameter of 5 feet, and without 
extremely well-devised paddles, been tried upon the Barnhurst ground, the trial 
could only have ended in disappointment. With respect to the highroad, how- 
ever, the matter was very diflerent; and in order to test the comparative merits 
of indiarubber and iron, we, on Saturday, the 8th of July, directed the " Suther- 
land " to be taken to a point on the road from Wolverhampton to Shrewsbury, 
about 22 miles from Wolverhampton, where the engineers of the Society had 
selected a piece of the road near Tettenhall, about 2000 feet in length, starting 
from and ending on a level, but being a continuous hill from the beginning to 
the end of the run, varying in gradient from 1 in 35 as a minimum to 1 in 18 
as a maximum. The sketch of the road. Fig. 18, p. 572, will show ijrecisely 
where the different gradients commenced and ended. The "Sutherland" drew 
behind it 26 tons, made up of three waggons and one portable engine. Its own 
weight was about 10 tons, making 36 tons in all. With this load the " Suther- 
land " went up the hill, 1900 feet in length, and of the various gradients men- 
tioned, in 10 minutes 27 seconds; the steam was at 145 lbs., the engine was in slow 
gear and in the least expansion, but the steam-valve was only about half open. 
The average speed, it will be seen, was 2'11 miles per hour. The engine was 
l^erfectly successful in taking up this load. There was not the slightest difBculty 
or hitch of any kind or description. We then determined upon putting a greater 
load on the " Sutherland." Aveling and Porter's 10-liorse-power engine was on 
the spot with steam up, and by the kindness of Mr. Aveling we were enabled 
to make use of this engine, not as a motor, but as a load to be drawn. Adding 
it to the train, brought up the load behind the " Sutherland" to 38 tons, or 
including its own weight, to 48 tons. This was re-started from the bottom of 
the hill with steam at 156 lbs. with the lowest expansion, and with the steam- 
valve half open. Up to the 400 feet mark upon a gradient of 1 in 35 the 
engine just drew the load, but about 450 feet the wheel began to slip, by the 
shoes round about the indiarubber tire slipping on the road. Stopped to take 
out of the train a portable engine, weighing 5 tons, leaving 33 tons of train load, 
or 43 tons of total load, to be taken on. At the 500 feet the wheels were just 
2 p 2 
