674 Memorandum on the Newcastle Engine Trials. 
the event of some temporary mishap in the trial, a circumstance 
which often occurs. 
In future, a good clock with a seconds hand should be fixed 
in a conspicuous position, and should be the standard of reference 
for time. Hitherto the watches of the Judges and engineers 
have been used, but considerable confusion has more than once 
arisen when a Judge has not been able to see a trial run through. 
He has had either to hand his watch over to his colleague, or to 
get the watch of the latter set to his own. 
With respect to the employment of automatic recording 
instruments, about which many suggestions have been offered, 
I do not think that they are applicable to the wants of the 
Society. In the first place, the time allowed for the trials is 
necessarily short, and it would therefore be difiicult to fix and 
adjust the apparatus ; but the chief objection is, that it is impos- 
sible to find out from the exhibitors, in reasonable time, what 
their engines will be like. 
Many of the engines are not even designed at the time ot 
entry, and are not completed till a very few days before the 
trials ; the speeds and brake horse-power are not fixed, and 
even such a simple matter as the indicator gear is not properly 
prepared. Thus at the last trial one engine had indicator cocks 
and pipes so small that the diagrams were worthless ; in two 
other engines the gear had to be altered, and these same engines 
ran in a direction contrary to all the others, so that a spare 
brake, provided for such a contingency, had to be altered on the 
s^jot for their special benefit. 
It might perhaps be instructive, after the competition is over, 
to ]'un the prize engines a second time, and make observations 
which could not be undertaken during the competitive runs ; 
but it is doubtful whether the exhibitors would like any such 
proceeding, as it would prevent the engines appearing at once 
on the stands. 
31 There has been a good deal of controversy in the engineering 
papers respecting the action of the Society's brakes fitted with 
Appold's automatic adjusting levers. 
It ajipears that both Mr. Appold and Mr. C. E. Amos were 
aware of the effect which the pull upon the upper end of the 
adjusting levers has on the power developed on the brake; they 
do not seem, however, to have attached any importance to it, or 
to have made any corrections in respect of such error in the 
trials recorded in the Journal. The late Mr. Rich, who con- 
ducted most of the brake experiments after the retirement 
of Mr. J. C. Amos, was well aware of the possible source of 
inaccuracy, but lie was of opinion that it was insignificant, or, 
