110 
MORE DISCOVERIES IN RAILWAY TRANSIT. 
great wherever there are considerable inclines 
to be overcome, and the first expense of con- 
structing the railway so enormous, from the 
endeavours made by tunnelling and embank- 
ing to reduce that expense. I am, therefore, 
induced to send you a new plan of an undu- 
lating railway, by which locomotive engines j 
(except on very rare occasions, indeed,) will 
be dispensed with ; the trains will travel by ' 
the force of their own gravity from station to . 
station, as described in the following dia- 
gram : — 
E E are stationary steam-engines, and 
O O O O inclined planes by which the sta- 
tionary engines bring the trains up to a level ; 
when the trains, going and returning, take the 
roads the arrows point to. I have no doubt 
but in many situations falls may be obtained 
each way for miles together. Deep cutting 
and tunnelling would be thus, in a great mea- 
sures, dispensed with; and if tunnels in some 
situations were absolutely necessary, by giv- 
ing them the required falls for the trains to 
go through them, by gravity alone, travelling 
through them would not be disagreeable, as 
no engine would go with the trains. 
I am, Sir, your obedient servant, 
Thomas Deakin. 
Blaenavon Iron Works, June 5, 1835. 
MR. WOODHOUSE’S ANGULAR 
RAILWAY BARS. 
/- 
Slr,_Asthe form of rails best salted for 
affording safety, economy, durability, &c. has 
occupied the attention of many scientific per- 
sons, and formed the subject of several com- 
munications in your pages, hope, without 
presumption, I may be permitted to propose 
the following as a plan, in my humble estima- 
tion, calculated to effect these objects. 
Some few months since (No. 572), I pro- 
posed the use of an angular rail ; my plan 
was not then matured, but as I have since 
given some little attention to the subject, I 
send you the results. 
The purpose of giving an angular shape to 
the rail is, that the engine wheel (also having 
an angular grooved rim to correspond) may 
have a greater hold upon the rail, thereby 
giving greater efficiency to the power of the 
machine, preventing an irregular action, 
which must be produced vvhen the wheel 
slips on the rail (a circumstance much allud- 
ed to at the opening of the Selby Railway), 
and thereby much strain to the machinery. 
The top surface, one inch broad, is intended 
for the train-wheels, and where friction would 
be a defect, it is thereby avoided. The form 
of the rail is intended to admit of being re- 
versed at any future time when the upper sur- 
face is worn. The chair is not intended to be 
fixed, but the central part, which projects 
downwards, is to let into the stone sleeper, 
and be bedded in with cement or not, as found 
best. The rail is not fixed to all the chairs, 
hut only to the centre one ; which proposition 
I made with another plan of Rail and Chair 
sent to the London and Birmingham Rail- 
way Directors. The size of the present rail 
is as follows: — Depth, inches; extreme 
width, 2^ inches ; surface, 1 inch ; angles, 
from 15 to 25^, as the friction is required ; 
the calculated weight is rather more than 51 
lbs., but upon shrinking, it would probably 
not be more than BOlbs. to the lineal yard. 
It has been objected to turning the rail 
when one side is partially worn down, that 
in proportion as it is so worn, its strength 
must be diminished. But as long as the in- 
ternal structure of the rail is not so perma- ! 
nently injured as to prevent its return after 
deflection to its original horizontal form, it 
seems to me that it must be nearly, if not to 
the fully, as efficient as ever. ! 
As respects the supporting of the rails, I | 
also proposed that instead of having the rail 
resting solely upon the chair, the chair should j 
be so planned, that the rail should also rest ' 
upon the surface of the stone, whereby it 
would be strengthened, and the stone, by re- 
ceiving a steady vertical pressure, would be 
rendered less liable to the casualties so fre- 
quently complained of, 
I also proposed that the stone-block or 
sleeper should be placed in an angular direc- 
tion with the length of rail or line of road, 
whereby a greater surface of stone would be 
placed in the directions most required, viz. 
lengthways and sideways. By this plan an 
18-inch stone exposes a surface of 2 feet and 
more to the pressure. ^ , 
Fig. Is a section of the rail as it rests in 
the chau-, which, when the lower portion of 
the chair is let into the stone, will rest upon 
the stone also ; the two small sections are for 
purpose of the fixing the centre of each rail to 
its chair. Fig. 2 is a vertical view, showing 
the angular position of the stone upon a smaller 
scale. 
1 am. Sir, yours respectfully, 
P, WOODHOUSE. 
Kilburn, May 27tb, 1835. 
