5. Mr. Burstall, of Edinburgh; "The Perseverance," weight 2 tons, 17 cwt. The trial took place, Oct. 6, 1829, on a level part of the railway, on the Manchester side of Rainhill-bridge, about nine miles from Liverpool, and lasted seven (not successive) days. The "course" selected, was one mile and a half in length each way, which, with one eighth of a mile allowed at each end "for getting up the speed and for stopping the train," made ten trips of the running engine equal to 35 miles, the distance between Liverpool and Manchester. A vast concourse of spectators was assembled nearly every day, as many it was said, on so me occasions, as 15,000. We shall notice the engines in their order as per list, commencing with "The Novelty," of Messrs. Braithwaite and Erickson, of London.

For the facility of describing this particular engine, as well as for giving some idea of the form of locomotive engines in general, we annex a representation of it.

The singular lightness, elegance, and compactness of this engine are obvious at the first view. One of the principal advantages which it exhibits, is its carrying, without the aid of a separate tender, all the fuel and water required for its operation, while it is nevertheless much lighter than any engine constructed on the old plan. The ponderous engines on the Stockton and Darlington rail-road, are said to weigh even as much as 12 tons.

The steam, necessary to the performance of the engine, is generated in a circular boiler, a portion of which is seen projecting on the left side of the engraving. This boiler extends beneath the whole of the wooden frame-work, and communicates with the furnace, which is the lower cylindrical vessel on the right. Above this, and immediately connected with it by a sufficient aperture in the frame, is the great steam chamber. The vapour here collected, passes through the joint and tube attached for that purpose, to the working cylinders, (one only of which is here visible) and there acting upon the pistons, motion is ultimately imparted to the fore-wheels of the engine. The contrivance by which the wheels are made to revolve is that commonly known by the name of Watt's simple crank-movement, and is, we think, too evident to need explanation. On the top of the steam chamber is a copper to receive the fuel which thence falls through a pipe in the centre of this reservoir, (as seen in the subsequent engraving) into the furnace below. The irregularly shaped kind of box, on the left of the working cylinder, is the blast apparatus (peculiar to this engine) which acts upon the fire by a pipe passing under the frame work, and just apparent in the print, as it opens into the bottom of the furnace. Below the frame is seen the great water tank. The coke needed for consumption is generally carried in small baskets.

The subjoined sectional view, will give a clearer notion of some of the parts referred to, and will help us to explain "The Novelty's" distinguishing principle,―its mode of generating steam.

The heated air from the furnace S passes into a flue, winding two or three times up and down the cylinder EE, and gradually diminishing in bore, till it terminates in the escape-pipe Q. By contact with the water, the pipe or flue gives out its heat, and in this manner causes the generation of steam. Besides this, water (distinguished by the shading in the cut,) is admitted round the sides of the furnace. Taken altogether, however, the extent of surface exposed to the action of heat, is considerably less in this than in engines in general; and we might thence be led to expect a proportional reduction in power. And under common circumstances, this must necessarily be the case; but the disadvantage is much more than compensated by the effect of the powerful blast apparatus to which allusion has already been made. By means of this, the heated air is driven rapidly through the flue, and by thus supplying a greater quantity of heat in a given time, the same advantages are obtained as would result from very much increasing the size of the furnace, and the extent of the flue. The oxygen gas, too, which is one of the components of atmospheric air, is itself a source of heat, and helps to feed the flame, thus supplying the place of so much additional coke. The flue is made to diminish gradually, because the heated air cools in its passage through it, and gradually requires less and less vent. The estimated cost per mile for fuel to this engine, is one half-penny only; so that it is as remarkable for cheapness, as we shall soon shew it to be for speed. Such are the principal points of distinction in this very superior engine, which, though prevented by untoward mischances by no means calling into discredit the principle upon which its action depends, from obtaining the £500 premium, for which it contended, has gained without doubt, as a public journalist expresses it," the grand prize of public approbation." On its first exhibition-carrying only its complement of coke and water, with two persons to manage it—it traversed the railway at the astonishing velocity of 28 miles an hour, and actually performed one mile in the space of one minute, and fifty-three seconds, being at the rate of very nearly 32 miles an hour. It subsequently drew upwards of nine tons, (or thrice its own weight, including fuel and water) at the velocity of 20 miles per hour, while its lowest rate of motion was 15 miles in the hour.* The proprietors have, indeed, offered to stake 1000 pounds, that it shall travel the whole distance between Manchester and Liverpool, (35 miles) in an hour, when the rail-way is quite finished. From the accidents hinted at, which arose from the newness of the engine,† and its not being, consequently, in good working-order; on the 7th day of trial, Messrs. Braithwaite and Erickson,

Since the trial, "The Novelty" has given astonishing proofs of its efficiency. It has travelled by the whole day, at the rate of 25, 32, and even 40 miles per hour. It has drawn, too, "for several hours, a gross weight of 35 tons; that is at least ten times its own weight, at the rate of twelve miles per hour."

+ It is stated by the editor of the Mechanics' Magazine, that it was begun and finished in the short space of the six weeks immediately preceding the competition, and had never been subjected to any sort of proof,

withdrew it from the contest "leaving it to be judged of by the performances it had already exhibited." As, however, the "stipulations" required, that a journey of 70 miles should be continuously performed, which was not done by "The Novelty," the judges could not allow the consideration of its merits to intercept the premium from that engine which satisfactorily fulfilled the conditions. It is, however, more than probable, that this exhibition of its efficiency will enable the proprietors to net eventually a sum very far greater than that competed for.

The next on the list is "The Sans Pareil" of Mr. Ackworth, of Darlington, an engine of great power. It differs from "The Novelty," in requiring a separate tender for its coke and water, and its weight is nearly double that of the latter. Its efficiency is great, but it requires a very large supply of fuel and water to keep up a uniform performance. The expense for coke per mile, for this engine, is estimated at about two-pence. At the time of its trial, it drew 13 tons, 6 cwt. (the stipulated weight) with great regularity for two hours, completing in that period 25 miles; and showed occasionally (though this was its utmost speed) a rate of motion of 15 miles per hour. An accident, however, in one of the pumps, disabled it for farther action;-nor was it afterwards exhibited.

"The Rocket" of Mr. Robert Stephenson displayed, nearly on every occasion of its appearance, a surprising degree of power and speed. Like "The Sans Pareil," it has a tender attached to it, is of bulky proportions, and its chimney is of great height; which latter circumstance gave both engines, while in rapid motion, a slight tendency to sway from one side to the other of the railway.* This engine appeared on the first day of trial, but did not then make any very surprising exhibition of efficiency. With three times its weight, (or 12 tons, 9 cwt,) it travelled at the rate of a little more than 10 miles an hour. This weight, however, being detached from it, its velocity equalled about 18 miles an hour. On the third day, it accomplished, (drawing 12 tons, 15 cwt.) the required journey of 70 miles, without accident, taking in a fresh supply of water after the completion of the first half, or 35 miles; this being equal to the distance from Liverpool to Manchester. The remaining 35 miles were of course reckoned equivalent to a journey from Manchester back to Liverpool. The average rate of speed in the first 35 miles was 11 miles an hour (exceeding the stipulated maximum by 1 mile); and that in the last 35 miles, 12 miles an hour, including all stoppages. On the fifth day, being stripped of its tendercarriage and every other encumbrance, it actually performed 7 miles in 14 min. 14 sec., being at the rate of 30 miles an hour. This astonishing velocity could not, of course, have been long maintained, from want of fuel and water; but still it fully proved the very great power of the engine. The premium was ultimately awarded to "The Rocket," since this engine alone fulfilled the necessary conditions, in travelling the entire journey of 70 miles continuously. Subsequently to the trial, it has even far outdone its previous feats-drawing the enormous weight of 20 tons at from 18 to 20 miles per hour, and the still more enormous weight of 40 tons at an average rate of 14 miles per hour, on a dead level, and 18 tons up a plane inclined 1 in 96, at the rate of 8 miles an hour. The cost of fuel for this engine has been estimated at about threehalfpence per mile.

The before-mentioned are the principal competing engines. The other two may be passed by with a very slight notice. "The Cycloped," Mr. Brandreth, of Liverpool, is not moved by steam. The internal machinery, in fact, is a sort of horse tread-mill. Instead of running before the carriage, the horses (two, we believe, are employed,) are placed in stalls, fixed on a wooden platform within it, and made to trample constantly upon "an endless chain of cross-bars, which

The Novelty, having its water-tank underneath the frame-work of the engine, by which the centre of gravity is lowered, was free from this fault.

+ It is further stated, in the "Companion to the British Almanack" for 1830, that "The Rocket" has accomplished 1 mile in 1 minute 20 seconds, being 45 miles per hour!! The time when this was done is not given.

work into and revolve round the axles of the wheels." There are some advantages in this method of using horse-power; the principal of which is, that the horses never can be "run down" by an acquired momentum; yet even its most efficient performance only proved that steam is far superior both in cheapness and power.

Mr. Burstall's steam carriage," The Perseverance," performed nothing worthy of notice, when compared with the three superior engines. It made but few trials, and its velocity did not exceed 5 miles an hour.

On considering all the performances at the recent competition, we see established, on "the firm ground of experiment," that which theory has long ago decided to be practicable. The various elements in which the attainment of great velocity on railways consists, have been long ago minutely and carefully investigated by the most eminent mathematicians and engineers. These individuals have estimated the amount of retardation from friction, resistance of the air, ascending inclined planes, &c.; the increase or diminution in speed from proposed improvements in the construction of locomotive engines; the comparative advantages of canals and railways; the effects of altering the form and materials of the latter, &c., &c., with a precision which subsequent experiments could only confirm. There were, indeed, some, and sensible men too, who having often detected an important difference between theory and practice, demurred about receiving some of these results, and anticipated that all that was expected would not be attained. We think, however, that their strongest doubts must now be set at rest; and so far the ends of science have been answered. But the consideration of the effects likely to result to society from the general adoption of railways, leads to reflections of a higher kind. Some may have been rather too sanguine, and some, perhaps, too fanciful in their speculations upon this point; but it cannot be doubted, for an instant, that consequences of the most extraordinary nature will necessarily ensue.

The power of travelling three or four times as fast as at present, is not to be considered merely as a personal convenience, nor as an advantage which restricts itself to individuals;-it must, of necessity, produce a far wider effect. In proportion as the time necessary to travel from one place to another is diminished, so, in effect, is the actual distance between those places. And thus, in the intercourse between manufacturing and sea-port or other towns, nearly the same advantage (as the editor of the Mechanics' Magazine remarks) is gained as if "the workshop of the manufacturer were brought alongside the quay where he obtains his raw material, and whence he sends it forth again in a manufactured shape to the most distant parts of the world; or as if the collieries, iron-mines, and potteries of the heart of England, were scattered along its shores." It is needless to point out the benefits of such an approximation, even on the score of speed. If, however, we combine with that, another element in the advantage of railways, cheapness, we shall instantly see that the price, both of natural produce and manufactured goods, cannot fail to be considerably lowered. It is well known, that the expense of carriage is one of the component parts of the price which every purchaser must pay for all manufactured articles, even if he buys them at the place where they are made up. The manufacturer must be paid the expenses incurred by him in obtaining the raw material; and in proportion as these are reduced, the purchaser's price is reduced too. Again, there are many heavy commodities upon which the cost of carriage has the effect of partially, or even totally, restricting their sale. These can never admit of being sent beyond a certain distance to market, or they would not obtain an advantageous price for the trader. If sent beyond this distance, the market-price obtained for them would not even pay the expenses of conveying them. We thus see that goods of this kind become more and more marketable as the cost of carriage is diminished. Hence, if instead of paying nine-pence or ten-pence a ton, per mile, for carriage, two-pence only be paid, it is easily seen that numerous commodities, which could not pay the former price, will, when that price is so much reduced, be at once sent even to distant markets-and the more goods conveyed to the market, the lower is necessarily the rate at which they are sold.

The editor of the Scotsman has presented some ingenious remarks on the

very great increase of travelling that would result from the combined speed and cheapness of railways. "If the journey from Edinburgh to Manchester could be performed in 10 hours, at an expense of fourteen or fifteen shillings, every merchant knows that the amount of travelling between the two places would increase, not ten, but fifty fold." There is little doubt of the truth of this, nor of the following:-"Let what was once a journey of twenty days be reduced to one of as many hours, and we have not a doubt that we shall have five hundred times as much travelling as in the year 1760." By this great increase in travelling, also, wealth would be more equally distributed, and men would become better known to each other-knowledge, too, could not fail to be increased, when the improvements or inventions made in one part of the country would be almost instantaneously known in every other part. The abbè Raynal has remarked, that "Wherever we shall find no facility of trading from a city to a town, or from a village to a hamlet, we may pronounce that people to be barbarians, and we shall only be deceived respecting the degree of barbarism." If this proposition be correct, it follows, from the considerations already adduced, that the converse of it must also be true; that in proportion as the facilities of intercourse are increased, so will civilization advance. Another illustration is furnished us, by considering a commercial country as an organised body, and the roads and canals interspersed throughout it, as its veins and arteries. Now, the quicker the healthy circulation of blood, the greater, evidently, is the vigour and strength of the frame. This argument applies with far greater force to railways than to roads and canals; for, in the former, the blood, so to term it, flows much more rapidly and more freely, and hence more efficiently for the general operation of the organised machinery than in the latter.

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The foregoing are the principal considerations, derived from the cheapness and rapidity of this mode of travelling. Mr. Herapath, however, in a published Letter to the Duke of Wellington, on the Utility, Advantages, and National Importance of Mr. Gurney's Steam-carriage," has investigated, with much ability, the effects, in another point of view, arising from the substitution of steam for horse-power.* He calculates, allowing that one horse consumes for food as much land as would maintain eight persons, that "ten thousand steam-carriages would save stage-coach proprietors, and, consequently, the travelling and mercantile part of our community, from £91,759,479, to £100,000,000 per annum; that is, about double our whole national revenue; and would convert, for the purposes of human support, land sufficient to maintain fourteen millions, four hundred thousands of persons; that is, more than the whole population of England, Scotland, and Wales." These are, indeed, magnificent anticipations, and, we think, rather exaggerated: be this as it may, they are, in the main, well-grounded; and though many years must elapse before the fulfilment of them, during which time a thousand disturbing causes may arise, yet we feel little hesitation in saying, with the Scotsman, on a general review of all the circumstances, that "the introduction of steamcarriages on railways,† places us on the verge of a new era-of a social revolution of which imagination cannot picture the ultimate effects."

• Mr. Herapath's computations are intended to refer to steam-carriages employed on the common roads; but it is easily seen that they are confirmatory in even a greater degree, of the advantages derivable from the use of locomotive engines on railways.

It is singular that nearly all the speculations respecting the advantages of railways now agitated, were published to the world, many years back, by Mr. Wilkes, of Measham, in Derbyshire. It does not appear that they then met with so much attention as at present.-See Rees's Encyclopedia.--Article, Railway.