9 <> 
Ordinary Meeting’, January 1 1th, 1859. 
W. Fairbaiiin, F. R.S., &c.. President, in the Chair. 
The President exhibited various specimens of the iron 
of certain locomotive boilers which had been found to have 
suttered local corrosion of a dangerous kind, after only a few 
years work. The first specimen was from the boiler of the 
goods locomotive engine, “Goliah,” built by Messrs. Hick and 
Son, in 1839. It was a part of the fire-box, through which 
one of the longitudinal stays had passed. The iron ( Low 
Moor) had been cut away by the corrosive action in grooves 
radiating from the stay as a centre. The second specimen, 
taken from the same engine, and likewise of Low Moor iron, 
was from a part which had been rent asunder in the explosion 
of the boiler in 1847, before the engine was nine years old. 
A third specimen was from the boiler of the “Bat” goods 
locomotive, built by Mr. Woods. It consisted of a part of 
the angle iron ring at the smoke-box end. A deep groove 
had been formed by the corrosive action, and water escaped 
through the angle iron after the engine had worked less than 
six years. A fourth specimen was taken from the passenger 
locomotive, “Ostrich,” built by the Liverpool and Manchester 
Railway Company. The bottom plate of this boiler, made of 
Low Moor iron, had been corroded in less than four years to 
such an extent that water escaped through it. The President 
observed that these remarkable effects belonged exclusively 
to locomotive boilers, and had not been noticed in those of 
stationary engines. He recommended the subject to the 
attention of the Society as one of scientific interest, as well as 
great practical importance, indicating, as it did, a source of 
hitherto unsuspected danger. 
A lengthened conversation ensued, some members being of 
opinion that the phenomena were owing to the vibratory 
motion of the engine, predisposing certain parts to chemical 
action. Others thought that currents might exist in uniform 
Prooeebixgs — Lit. & Phil. Society — 8 . — Session, 1858 - 9 . 
