A FEW WORDS ON RAILWAYS.
BY DELTA.

In this age of improvements and inventions, nothing perhaps has interested public attention more than Railways. These modern wonders are now making rapid strides all over the kingdom, and their rise and progress are truly wonderful; it is difficult in a country like England, in which public opinion bears a decided sway, to discuss any measure that is likely to have a wide influence upon society, with feelings altogether unbiassed, or with a tone perfectly impartial:

But I will confess that my opinion is favourable to Railroads, and I am sorry to see so few scientific men* amongst the names of directors and promoters of these Herculean labours. I think it needs no spirit of prophesy to foresee that all foreign powers, without exception, will follow our example; the time too is not far distant, when these modes of conveyance will become general all over the world. It will of course reduce the price as well as bring new supplies into use. We shall by this means lower the price of all those manufactures, of which the expense of fuel forms a constituent part, increasing the demand for them, and by this method enlarge greatly the circle of British commerce. It is obvious to all that the choicest productions of the earth are of no value, unless they can be conveyed to those for whose use they are designed; and accordingly, we learn that in countries destitute of proper roads, in Spain and Portugal for example and in parts of France, the delightful wines of the various districts are of little value, because they cannot be conveyed to their proper markets. The soil, accordingly, is but indifferently cultivated, each spot yielding but a very scanty produce, for the immediate supply of its own particular neighbourhood. But if railroads were established, its produce could be transported to the sea-ports, or to any of the great markets of the country,-what a revolution would be the natural consequence! Every article of produce would then be at once improved in value by the new demand which would necessarily arise; we should then see the slumbering powers of productive industry awakened, and all the varied and wonderful treasures of nature would be poured forth for the use and comfort of the human race.

National works of such magnitude and expense cannot possibly be undertaken without very serious consideration, and without time to mature and bring to perfection the different designs, to reconcile different jarring interests, and to open the public mind to all their manifold advantages; indeed I hope to see this mighty improvement

If Delta had seen as much as we have, he would indeed have cause to lament the want of such men among them.-ED.

adopted zealously throughout the whole of Great Britain and Ireland, but not rashly, and first of all in situations where it is actually called for by pressing inconveniences.

The great object of these mighty undertakings is to remove all the obstructions which occur on roads constructed of the usual materials; and this it does by substituting for the unequal and soft surface of the common roads, a smooth surface of a parallel wroughtiron rail, laid in two narrow tracks, along which the wheels of the carriages roll with a velocity as far exceeding the effect of the most perfect modern macadamized road, as the latter exceeds those known in former times. These tracks are called rails, and are manufactured universally of iron, laid in lengths of from four to sixteen feet, united firmly together by joints at the end, and resting on blocks of stone, firmly fixed in the ground; these lengths are termed rails. The tracks on each side form what is denominated a single line of Railway. Where there is considerable traffic, another line is put down, parallel with the first, and at about five or six feet distance from the first, which is called a double line, to allow carriages going in an opposite direction to pass each other without interfering. In some instances a third or fourth or more are laid down, if thought necessary; between each there are communications at intervals, by which one overtaking another in the same track may turn aside and pass each other without stopping either. Simple as a railway appears to be, the execution is by no means so easy; and is also attended with great expense. It is only in a country like England that such a scheme can be thought of for the present, abounding as it does with intelligence and science. We do not find until about the middle of the seventeenth century, that I can perceive, any traces of this art of making railways; it appears to have been first introduced amongst our collieries at Newcastle, at which place the immense traffic in conveying coals from the pits to the several places of shipment on the Tyne, rendered its adoption of peculiar value and utility. Since which period, it has been constantly in use,-gradually improving as it made its rapid progress, thereby raising the draught, and adding to the powers of traction. The first railways appear to have been made of wood, and although much superior to the roads then in use, were, in all probability inferior to our present turnpike roads, on which a horse draws about 16 hundred weight at an average; such is the perfection however to which this art has now arrived, that a single horse will with perfect ease draw a load of ten tons besides the weight of the carriage: we may anticipate a still greater increase on the powers of traction. This is the great advantage of the Railways, and adapts them so particularly for the carriage of heavy goods; it will also be a more economical kind of conveyance, as well as being admirably adapted for the purposes of speed, a coincidence which was not once thought of in the original railways, nor by me, to the best of my belief, until the first opening of the Darlington and Stockton railway in 1825; an invention which at once demonstrated all the advantages of railroads in England. Vehicles have been regularly

plying ever since that period between those two towns on that railway; these vehicles are each drawn by a single horse, they take from 20 to 26 passengers besides luggage; they did not appear to be at all particular with regard to the number they took on each journey; they travelled at the rate of ten miles an hour. It appears a very large load for one horse to take, but the animal appeared not to make the least exertion. These vehicles had no springs, and yet the motion was less than by a common stage coach, and the passengers were frequently seen reading the newspapers on the road. The economy also of this conveyance is another recommendation; the fare being at the rate of only one penny per mile for passengers.

These vehicles roll entirely free from the usual impediments of motion, and such are the great advantages of these railways, over the common roads, it increases the power of draught ten times, even with horses, which is unequalled by any other conveyance.

These wonderful effects are truly surprising, and could not possibly have been anticipated, by the mere changing one material for another. It arises from the probable hardness and smoothness of the metallic surface, thereby exhibiting that grand principle in mechanics, that locomotion is absolutely as natural to bodies as a state of rest, and is quite as easily maintained when once produced, and with so little force, almost as if they were standing still.

Our ancient philosophers imagined that rest was more natural to bodies than motion, but this is a fallacy :—it is easily shewn that an inclination to rest arises solely from the obstacles which come in the way of a moving body. The more we rid ourselves of these, so much the longer does any motion that we impress on bodies continue to actuate them, so that if we could remove all obstructing causes, the vehicles would for ever roll along without any addition to the propelling force. But we can never arrive at such perfection of that

kind, on account of the friction or adhesion incident to smooth surfaces, which certainly can be very much reduced, but cannot altogether be done away with. There is one strange circumstance connected with these obstructions, viz. that friction is not increased by the rapid motion of bodies: now this is quite the reverse in navigation; for no sooner does a ship acquire any degree of velocity in the water, than the resistance of the water becomes visible, and thereby a limit is soon attained, beyond which it is quite impossible to advance. This may be seen by watching a train of horses on the banks of any of our canals, triving in vain to advance with any degree of speed.

At sea, even, we are never informed of any ship sailing beyond 10 or 12 miles an hour-even in steam navigation, with their engines of 200 horse power, they scarcely ever exceed 10 or 12 miles an hour. The cause is this, that any fluid medium produces resistance, which increases with the velocity of the moving body, and soon forms a counterpoise to the power that is applied to conquer it.

The resistances that are met with in railways, on the other side, are of such a nature, that they sooner diminish than increase by the

swiftness of motion, so that the faster we move along, affords less time for the retarding force to operate; and by adding to the rapidity we escape in a great degree from its influence, and may advance with a smaller force, should the machinery allow of so quick a rate of action.

This at once shews the nature and advantages of railways, and exhibits at once the magnificent powers of the steam-engine in propelling carriages by land. All the impediments that take place on ordinary roads, to retard the progress of vehicles, are immediately done away with by the metallic smooth level which it affords; and the resistance to the moving body is thereby greatly diminished, so that an engine of small power, is all that is absolutely necessary to drag the most enormous loads with the greatest possible velocity, and greatly surpassing the utmost possible stretch of animal power, because it rolls along unimpeded in any degree by the speed of its motion. It is only on railroads that the locomotive engine has been attended with any thing like success.

The first patent was obtained by Messrs. Vivian and Co. in 1802, and it was first started on the Merthyr-Tydvil railroad, and in the best of my recollection was then stated to have drawn in 1804, ten tons of bar iron, at the rate of five miles an hour; but they did not come generally into use on railroads for the carriage of goods till ten years after. In 1811 there were several engines of this kind in use at the collieries near Leeds, for forwarding coals to the town, but these had toothed wheels, working into a rack of the same description, this invention was liable to many objections.

It appears to have been on the railway at Killingworth, in 1814, that the improvements were made by Mr. Stephenson, the principal engineer of the Manchester and Liverpool Company, by whom most of the engines now in employ were made, so that 40 tons were moved at the rate of four miles an hour, by the introduction of two cylinders, which made the fly wheel unnecessary, as they acted at different parts of the wheels and produced a more regular motion than formerly, but it was still encumbered with tooth wheels.

It was not till 1825 that these tooth wheels appear to have been done away with, and the machinery much simplified, which was found to act proportionably better. In October 1829, the Manchester and Liverpool Company offered a prize, to try the power of these engines; the speed was to be ten miles an hour, and the carriages were to draw six tons. There were two which excited universal attention, viz. Messrs Stephenson and Co's Rocket, with a boiler made by Mr. Booth, of Liverpool; and Messrs Braithwaite and Co's (of London), Novelty. The first of these in this trial of draught, drew 13 tons, about three times its own weight, at the rate of 35 miles in three hours and ten minutes, and the next 35 miles in two hours and fifty-two minutes; the latter drew 6 tons 200 cwt. being three times its weight. The cost of these engines are about 1,000l. and they are kept in repair by the builders for 12 months. Messrs. Stephenson and Co's Meteor, with an improved cylinder, of about

20 horse power, the consumption of fuel appears only to have been 528lbs. for 37 miles, and the cost did not exced 5s. 6d.; these still continue to be improved from time to time.

The railways ought to receive from Englishmen extensive patronage, as they are English inventions, and therefore this astonishing undertaking claims also an additional support, as it will not interfere with existing interests, and will eventually greatly improve canal property, as well as improve the isolated railways already introduced, (or about to be introduced), by connecting the several branches all over the kingdom into "the grand duct of these several commercial veins in the kingdom," and calculating minutely all the several expenses incident to it, the proprietors will be able to transport heavy goods at the rate of rather less than one farthing per ton for each mile; the addition of dues, &c., I suppose will raise this to three half-pence for coal, lime, straw, &c., and perhaps to 2d. on grain and some other articles, and 3d. on general merchandise, while now the charges are from 5d. to 8d. including toll-dues. Even on our canals, with the addition of dues, are about 31d.; and if we consider the importance of these facts, and their wonderful influence on internal trade, for how great a portion of the several articles of daily consumption consists of heavy goods, it stands to reason that will reduce the price of articles so transported, and therefore will necessarily increase trade in those branches at this moderate rate of carriage. Suppose we take coal for an example; this important article of family expense, the charge of conveying it forms the chief part of the price. Coals you may purchase at the mouth of the pit; this article is sold at the rate of from 5s. to 10s. per ton, and at the distance of fourteen miles we find it costs double that sum, so that in fact the natural resources of this country lie waste, and valuable stores of coals, as well as many other mineral treasures in different parts of this country are allowed to rest in the earth, as the sum they would fetch in the market would not be sufficient to defray the expenses. And that is a very excellent and unanswerable argument in favour of railways being established all over the kingdom,-this shews at one view the immediate advantages in pounds, shillings, and pence.

This country has gained the start of all others by this new mode of internal conveyance, by the assistance of the gigantic power of steam; whether we look to Commerce, to Agriculture, or to Manufactures, at a time when the national energy has so much need of a stimulus, owing to the depressed state of the industrious classes. But we must look with a perspective glance, and become prophetic in the case of this splendid invention, and consider it far above all priceit will become a check to the alarming growth of cities and towns, especially in this modern Babylon in which I write; and will, there is no possible doubt, above all, spread knowledge and diffuse intelligence over towns and cities, and finally tend to "universal good."