385 
The Chairman expressed a hope that some observations 
would be made upon this paper, as the question was one of 
very great importance. 
Mr. Clay inquired whether the reason of coke being used 
instead of coal, for locomotive engines, was that more heat 
was obtained by the consumption of coke than by coal ? 
Mr. West said he quite understood that coke was used 
in the early commencement of railways because of the 
objections to the smoke from coal, but, independent of that, 
he believed that persons engaged in railway undertakings, 
thought there were either real or supposed advantages pos- 
sessed by coke over coal. The object of his paper was to 
show, that whatever those advantages might be, they did not 
consist in coke giving out more heat than coal, but that in 
fact it only gave out about one half the heat. 
Mr. Clay asked Mr. West if that would be his opinion, 
supposing there was an equal bulk of each in the fire-place ? 
Mr. West replied, that he did not at that moment carry 
the specific gravities in his head, but, apart from such consi- 
derations, he had no difficulty in saying, that coal must pos- 
sess more heating power than coke, supposing the bulk to be 
equal, because of the hydrogen which it contained. 
Mr. Briggs understood that attempts had been made to 
smelt iron with raw coal, but the metal was found to be very 
inferior. He had made the same attempt at Flockton col- 
liery, but had not succeeded. The same coal, when they 
rendered it into coke, answered very well indeed for that pur- 
pose, but in a raw state the result was by no means so satis- 
factory. 
Mr. T. Heaps observed, that three parts of coal were 
required to accomplish what one part of coke would do, and 
yet he understood Mr. West to hold the opinion, that coke 
did not contain the heating power which coal did. 
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