28 
On Rail-Roads. 
the diameter of the tube, in order that the same force may 
move it in both cases. 
NO. 6. 
On Rail-Roads. By a Correspondent.^ 
To Mr. Tilloch . 
Sir— A s the proposed rail- way from Sanquhar to Dum- 
fries has of late been the subject of some conversation, it is 
hoped the following short account of that useful invention 
will not be unacceptable to some of your readers. 
I am, sir, 
Your most obedient servant, 
X. Y. Z. 
Bumf vies, July 2, 1811. 
Rail- ways are roads of very easy inclination, having 
cast iron rails, on which waggons, with wheels adapted 
to those rails, move. 
These rails are usually about three feet long, and are 
rested at each end on stone, wood, or cast iron. 
The origin of this invention may be traced back to the 
year 1080. About that period, coal came to be substi- 
tuted for wood as fuel in London and other places. The 
consequent consumption of Newcastle coal became so 
considerable, that the difficulty and expense of maintain- 
ing a great number of horses employed to convey the 
coals from the pits to the vessels, and the cost of main- 
taining the roads, gave rise to the introduction of wag- 
gon roads, or wooden rail-ways. On these rail-ways, a 
horse could draw a waggon of a large size, owing to the 
* Tilloch , vol. xxxviii, p. 51 
