22(1 CoNGKESS. [ Doc. No. 101. ] 5^ . or Reps.
1st Session.
REPORT
STEAM CARRIAGES,
SELECT COMMITTEE OF TIIE HOUSE OF COMMONS
GREAT BRITAIN;
TTITH THE
MINUTES OF EVIDENCE
APPENDIX.
REPRINTED BY ORDER OR THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES.
M E
n WASHINGTON:
5U3 DUFF GREEN, PRINTER.
^ if. . i83a-
|S3&
In the House of Representatives of the United States,
February 9, 1832.
On motion of Mr. Mercer,
Resolved, That the Report of a Select Committee of the House of Com¬
mons of Great Britain, bearing date October 12th, 1831, on the use of
Steam Carriages on Common Roads, with the Minutes of Evidence, and
Appendix attached thereto, be printed.
[ Doc. No. 101. ]
3
REPORT.
The Select Committee appointed to inquire into, and to report upon, the pro¬
portion of tolls which ought to be imposed upon coaches and other vehi¬
cles propelled by steam or gas, upon turnpike roads; and also, to inquire into,
and to report upon, the rate of toll actually levied upon such coaches or
other vehicles under any acts of Parliament now in force; and who were
instructed to inquire generally into the present state and future prospects
of land carriage by means of wheeled vehicles propelled by steam or gas
on common roads; and to report upon the probable utility which the pub¬
lic may derive therefrom; and who were empowered to report the mi¬
nutes of the evidence taken bofore them, to the House; have examined
the matters referred to them, and agreed to the following report:
The committee proceeded, in the first instance, to inquire how far the
science of propelling carriages on common roads by means of steam or me¬
chanical power, had been carried into practical operation; and whether the
result of the experiments already made had been sufficiently favorable to
justify their recommending to the House that protection should be extended
to this mode of conveyance, should the tolls imposed on steam carriages, by
local acts of Parliament, be found prohibitory or excessive.
In the progress of their inquiry, they have extended their examination to
the following points, on which the chief objectiorts to this application of
steam have been founded, viz. the insecurity of carriages so propelled, from
the chance of explosion of the boiler, and the annoyance caused to travel¬
lers, on public roads, by the peculiar noise of the machinery, and by the
escape of smoke and waste steam, which were supposed to be inseparable
accompaniments.
It being also in charge to the committee, "to report upon the proportion
of tolls which should be imposed upon steam carriages," they have examin¬
ed several proprietors of those already in use, as to the effect produced on
the surface of roads by the action of the propelling wheels.
As this was too important a branch of their inquiry to rest entirely on the
evidence of individuals, whose personal interest might have biassed their
opinions, the committee also examined several very scientific engineers, by
whose observations, on the causes of the ordinary wear of roads, they have
been greatly assisted.
The committee were directed also to report "on the probable utility which
the public may derive from the use of steam carriages." ' On this point they
have examined a member of the committee, well known for his intelligence
and research on subjects connected with the interests of society, and they
feel that they cannot fulfil this part of their instructions better than by merely
referring the House to the evidence of Colonel Torrens.
These inquiries have led the committee to believe that the substitution of
inanimate for animal power, in draught on common roads, is one of tho
most important improvements in the means of internal communication ever
4
[ Doc. No. 101. ]
introduced. Its practicability they consider to have been fully established;
its general adoption will take place more or less rapidly, in proportion as
the attention of scientific men shall be drawn, by public encouragement, to
further improvement.
Many circumstances, however, must retard the general introduction oí
steam as a substitute for horse power on roads. One very formidable obsta¬
cle will arise from the prejudices which always beset a new invention, es¬
pecially one which will at first appear detrimental to the interests of so many
individuals. This difficulty can only be surmounted by along course of suc¬
cessful, though probably unprofitable, experiment. The great expense; of
the engines must retard the progress of such experiments. The project¬
ors will, for a long period, work with caution, fearing not only the expense
incurred by failure, but also that too sudden ari exposure of their success
would attract the attention of rivals. It is difficult to exemplify to the House
how small and apparently unimportant an adaptation of the parts of the ma¬
chinery, or of the mode of generating or applying the steam, may be the cause
of the most rapid.success; yet he who, hy along course of experiment, shall
have first reached this point, may be unable to conceal the improvement, and
others will at once reap the benefit of it.
The committee are convinced, that the real merits of this invention are
such, that it may be safely left to contend with these and similar difficulties;
there are others, however, from which the legislature can alone relieve it
Tolls, to an amount which would utterly prohibit the introduction of steam
carriages, have been imposed on some roads; on others, the trustees have
adopted modes of apportioning the charge which would be found, if not ab¬
solutely prohibitory, at least to place such carriages in a very unfair position
as compared with ordinary coaches.
Two causes may be assigned for the imposition of such excessive tolls
upon steam carriages. -The first, a determination on the part of the trus¬
tees, to obstruct, as much as possible, the use of steam as a propelling power;
the second, and probably the more frequent, has been a misapprehension of
their weight and effect on roads. Either cause appears to the committee a
sufficient ju tificntion for their recommending to the House, that legislative
protection should be extended to steam carriages with the least possible delay.
It appears from the evidence, that the first extensive trial of steam as an
agent in draught, on common roads, was that by Mr. Gurney, in 1829, who
travelled from London to Bath and back in his steam carriage He states,
that although a part of the machinery which brings both the propelling wheels
into action when the full power of the engine is required, was broken at
the onset, yet that, on his return, he performed the last eighty-four miles,
from Melksham to Cranford bridge, in ten hours, including stoppages. Mr.
Gurney has given to the committee very full details of the form and power
of his engine, which will he found in the evidence.
The committee have also examined Messrs. Summers & Ogle, Mr. Han¬
cock, and Mr. Stone, whose steam carriages have been in daily use. for
some months past on common roads. It is very satisfactory to find that,
although the boilers of the several engines described, vary most materia lly
in form, yet that each has been found fully to answer the expectation ol its
inventor So well, in fact, have their experiments succeeded, that in each
case where the proprietors have ceased to use them, it has only b.en for the
purpose of constructing more perfect carriages, in order to engage mote ex¬
tensively in the business.
[ Doc. No. 101. ]
5
When we consider that these trials have been made under the most unfa¬
vorable circumstances—at great expense—in total uncertainty—without
any of those guides which experience has given to other branches of engi¬
neering;—that those engaged in making them are persons looking solely
to their own interest, and not theorists attempting the perfection of ingeni¬
ous models;—when we find them convinced, after long experience, that
they are introducing such a mode of conveyance as shall tempt the public, by
its superior advantages, from the use of the admirable lines of coaches which
have been generally established—it surely cannot be contended that the
introduction of steam carriages on common roads is, as yet, an uncertain
experiment, unworthy of legislative attention.
Besides the carriages already described, Mr. Gurney has been informed,
that from "twenty to forty others are being built by different persons, all
of which have been occasioned by his decided journey in 1S29."
The committee have great pleasure in drawing the attention of the House
to the evidence of Mr. Farey. His opinions are the more valuable from
his uniting, in so great a degree, scientific knowledge to a practical acquaint¬
ance with the subject under consideration. He slates that he has "no
doubt whatever but that a steady perseverance in such trials will lead to the
general adoption of steam carriages:" and again, "that what has been done
proves to his satisfaction the practicability of impelling stage coaches by
steam) on good common roads, in tolerably level parts of the country, with¬
out horses, at a speed of eight or ten miles per hour."
Much, of course, must remain to be done in improving their efficiency;
yet Mr. Gurney states that he has kept up steadily the rate of twelve miles
per hour; that " the extreme rate at which he has run is between twenty
and thirty miles per hour."
Mr. Hancock "rekons that, with his carriage, he could keep up a speed
of ten miles per hour, without injury to the machine."
Mr. Ogle states " that his experimental carriage went from London to
Southampton, in some places, at a velocity of from thirty-two to thirty-five
miles per hour."
" That they have ascended a hill rising one in six, at sixteen and a half
miles per hour, and four miles of the London road at the rate of twenty-
four miles and a half per hour, loaded with people."
"That his engine is capable of carrying three tons weight, in addition to
its own."
Mr. Summers adds, " that they have travelled in the carriage at the rate
of fifteen miles per hour, with nineteen persons on the carriage, up a hill
one in twelve."
" That he has continued, for four hours and a half, to travel at the rate of
thirty miles per hour."
" That he has found no difficulty of travelling over the worst and most
hilly roads."
Mr. James Stone states that " thirty-six persons have been carried on
one steam carriage."
" That the engine drew five times its own weight nearly, at the rate of
from five to six miles per hour, partly up an inclination."
The several witnesses have estimated the probable saving of expense to
the public, from the substitution of steam power for that of horses, at from
one-half to two-thirds. Mr. Farey gives, as his opinion, "that steam
6
[ Doc. No. 101. 3
coaches will, very soon after their first establishment, be run for one-third
of the cost of the present stage coaches."
Perhaps one of the principal advantages resulting from the use of steam,
will be, that it may be employed as cheaply at a quick as at a slow rate;
"this is one of the advantages over horse labor, which becomes more and
more expensive as the speed is increased. There is every reason to ex¬
pect that, in the end, the rate of travelling by steam will be much quicker
than the utmost speed of travelling by horses; in short, the safety to travel¬
lers will become the limit to speed." In horse draught the opposite result
takes place; " in all cases horses lose power of draught in a much greater
proportion than they gain speed, and hence the work they do becomes more
expensive as they go quicker." On this, and other points referred to in
the report, the committee have great pleasure in drawing the attention of
the House to the valuable evidences of Mr. Davies Gilbert.
Without increase of cost, then, we shall obtain a power which will insure
a rapidity of internal communication far beyond the utmost speed of horses
in draught; and although the performance of these carriages may not have
hitherto attained this point, when once it has been established, that at equal
speed we can use steam more cheaply in draught than horses, we may fairly
anticipate that every day's increased experience in the management of the
engines, will induce greater skill, greater confidence, and greater speed.
The cheapness of the conveyance will probably be for some time a secon¬
dary consideration. If at present it can be used as cheaply as horse power,
the competition with the former modes of conveyance will first take place
as to speed. When once the superiority of steam carriages shall have been
fully established, competition will induce economy in the cost of working
them. The evidence, however, of Mr. Macneil, showing the greater effi¬
ciency, with diminished expenditure of fuel, by locomotive engines on rail¬
ways, convinces the committee that experience will soon teach a better
construction of the engines, and a less costly mode of generating the re¬
quisite supply of steam.
Nor are the advantages of steam power confined to the greater velocity
attained, or to its greater cheapness than horse draught. In the latter, dan¬
ger is increased, in as large a proportion as expense, by greater speed. In
steam power, on the contrary, "there is no danger of being run away with,
and that of being overturned is greatly diminished. It is difficult to con¬
trol four such horses as can draw a heavy carriage ten miles per hour, in
case they are frightened or choose to run away; and for quick travelling
they must be kept in that state of courage, that they are always inclined for
running away, particularly down hills and at sharp turns of the road. In
steam, however, there is little corresponding danger, being perfectly con¬
trollable, and capable of exerting its power in reverse in going down hills."
Every witness examined has given the fullest and most satisfactory evidence
of the perfect control which the conductor has over the movement of the
carriage. With the slightest exertion it can be stopped or turned, under cir¬
cumstances where horses would be totally unmanageable.
The committee have, throughout their examinations, been most anxious to
ascertain whether the appréhension very commonly entertained, that an ex¬
tensive use of these carriages on roads would be the cause of frequent acci¬
dents and continued annoyance to the public, were well founded.
The danger arising from the use of steam carriages, was stated to be two-
[ Doc. No. 101. ]
7
fold; that to which passengers are exposed from explosion of the boiler, and
the breaking of the machinery, and the effect produced-on horses by the
noise and appearance of the engine.
Steam has been applied as a power in draught in two ways: in the one,
both passengers and engine are placed on the same carriage; in the other,
the engine carriage is merely used to draw the carriage in which the load is
conveyed. In either case, the probability of danger from explosion has
been rendered infinitely small, from the judicious construction of boiler
which has been adopted.
These boilers Expose a very considerable surface to the fire, and steam is
generated with the greatest rapidity. From their peculiar form, the requi¬
site supply of steam depends on its continued and rapid formation; no large
and dangerous quantity can at any time be collected. Should the safety
valve be stopped, and the supply of steam be kept up in a greater abundance
than the engines require, explosion may take place, but the danger would
be comparatively trifling, from the small quantity of steam which could act
on anyone portion of the boilers. As an engine, invented by Mr. Trevi-
thick, has not been as yet applied to carriages, the committee can do no
more than draw the attention of the House to the ingenuity of its contri¬
vance. Should it in practice be found to answer his expectation, it will re¬
move entirely all danger from explosion. In each of the carriages described
to the committee, the boilers have been proved to a considerably greater
pressure than they can ever have to sustain.
Mr. Farey considers that " the danger of explosion is less than the dan¬
ger attendant on the use of horses in draught; that the danger in these boilers
is less than in those employed on the railway, although there even, the in¬
stances of explosion have been very rare." The danger arising to passen¬
gers from the breaking of the machinery, need scarcely be taken into con¬
sideration. It is a mere question of delay, and can scarcely exceed in fre¬
quency the casualtiès which may occur with horses.
It has been frequently urged against these carriages, that wherever they
»hall be introduced, they must effectually prevent all other travelling on the
road, as no horse will bear quietly the noise and smoke of the engine.
The committee believe that these statements are unfounded. Whatever
noise may be complained of, arises from the present defective construction
of the machinery, and will be corrected as the makers of such carriages gain
greater experience. Admitting even that the present engines do work with
some noise, the effect on horses has been greatly exaggerated. All the wit¬
nesses accustomed to travel in these carriages, even on the crowded roads
adjacent to the Metropolis, have stated that horses are very seldom fright¬
ened in passing. Mr. Farey and Mr. Macneil have given even more
favorable evidence in respect to the little annoyance they create.
No smoke need arise from such engines. Coke is usually burned in loco¬
motive engines, on railways, to obviate this annoyance; and those slearn
carriages which have been hitherto established also burn it. Their liability
to be indicted as nuisances will sufficiently check their using any offensive
fuel.
There is no reason to fear that waste steam will cause much annoyance.
In Mr. Hancock's engine it passes into the fire, and in other locomotive
engines it is used in aid of the power, by creating a quicker draught and
more rapid combustion of the fuel. In Mr. Trevithick's engine it will be
returned into the boiler.
8
[ Doc. No. 101. 3
The committee not having received evidence that gas has been practical¬
ly employed in propelling carriages on common roads, have not considered
it expedient to inquire as to the progress made by several very scientific
persons who are engaged in making experiments on gasses, with the view
of procuring a still cheaper and more efficient power than steam.
The committee having satisfied themselves that steam has been successful¬
ly adopted as a substitute for horse power on roads, proceeded to examine
whether tolls have been imposed on carriages thus propelled, so excessive
as to require legislative interference, and also to consider the rate of tolls by
which steam carriages should be brought to contribute, in fair proportion
with other carriages, to the maintenance of the roads on which they may be
used.
They ¡lave annexed a list of those local acts in which tolls have been
been placed on steam, or mechanically propelled carriages.
Mr. Gurney has given the following specimens of the oppressive rates of
tolls adopted in several of these acts: On the Liverpool and Prescot road,
Mr. Gurney's carriage would be charged £2 8s. while a loaded stage coach
would pay only 4s. On the Bathgate road the same carriage would bff
charged £1 7s. Id., while a coach drawn by four horses would pay 5s. On
the Ashburnham and Totness road Mr. Gurney would have to pay £2, while
a coach drawn by four horses would be charged only 3s. On the Teign-
mouth and Dawlish roads the proportion is 12s. to 2s.
Such exorbitant tolls on steam carriages can only be justified on the fol¬
lowing grounds:
First, because the number of passengers conveyed on, or by, a steam car¬
riage will be so great as to diminish (at least the extent of the difference of
the rate of toll) the total number of carriages used on the road; or, secondly,
because steam carriages induce additional expense in the repairs of the road.
The committee see no reason to suppose that, for the present, the substi¬
tution of steam carriages, conveying a greater number of persons than com¬
mon coaches, will take place to any very material extent; and, as to the se¬
cond cause of increased charge, the trustees, in framing their tolls, have pro¬
bably not minutely calculated the amount of injury to roads likely to arise
from them.
The committee are of opinion that the only ground on which a fair claim
to toll can be made on any public road, is to raise a fund which, with the
strictest economy, shall be just sufficient, first, to repay the expense of its
original formation; secondly, to maintain it in good and sufficient repair.
Although the committee anticipate that the time is not far distant when,
in framing a scheme of toll for steam carriages, their general adoption, and
the great number of passengers which will be conveyed on a small num¬
ber of vehicles, will render it necessary not only to consider the amount of
injury actually done to the road, but also the amount of debt which may
have been incurred for its formation or maintenance; yet at present they
feel justified by the limited number of such carriages, and by the great diffi¬
culties they will have to encounter, in recommending to the House, that, in
adopting a system of toll, the proportion of " wear and tear" of roads by
steam, as compared with other carriages, should alone be taken into conside¬
ration.
Unless an experiment were instituted on two roads, the one reserved
solely for the use of steam coaches, the other for carriages drawn by horses,
for the purpose of ascertaining accurately the relative wear of each, it would
[ Doc. No. 101. 3
9
be quite impossible to fix with certainty the proportion of tolls to which, on
the same road, each class of vehicles should be liable. To approximate,
however, as nearly as possible to the standard of relative wear, the commit¬
tee have compared the weights of steam carriages with those of loaded van-
and stage coaches. They have tried to ascertain the causes of the wear of
roads; also the proportion of injury done by the feet of horses and the
wheels of coaches; how far that injury is increased by increased velocity,
and also in what degree the wear of roads by loaded carriag s njay be de¬
creased by any particular form of wheel.
The committee would direct the attention of the House especially to the
evidence of Mr. Macneil, whose observations on this branch of the subject,
being founded on a long course of very accurate experiment, are peculiarly
interesting and useful. He estimates that the feet of horses drawing a fast
coach, are more injurious to the road than the wheels, in the proportion
of three to one, nearly; that this proportion will increase with the velocity;
that by increasing the breadth of the tires of the wheels, the injury done to
roads ny great weights may be counteracted. He considers that, on a good
road, one ton may be safely carried on each inch of width of lire of the
wheels.
Mr M'Adam and Mr. Telford have given corresponding evidence as to
the greater wear caused by horses' feet than by wheels of carriages.
Each of the above witnesses agrees, that, adding the weight of the horses
to that of the coach, and comparing to the injury clone to a road by a stear. :
carriage of a weight equal to that of the coach and horses (the wheels being
of a proper width of tire), the deterioration of the road will be much less
by the steam carriage than by the coach and horses.
As to the injury to roads which is anticipated from the "slipping" of the
wheels, it may safely be left to the proprietors to correct: the action of the
wheel slipping involves a waste of power and an useless expenditure of fuel,
which, for their own sakes, they will avoid.
Apprehension has also been entertained that, although the peculiar action
of the wheels may not be injurious, yet that, from the great power which
may be applied if the steam were worked at very high pressure, or if the
size of the engine were increased, greater weight might be carried than the
strength of the road could bear.
Undoubtedly, in propefrtion to the advance of the science, will be the in¬
crease of weight drawn by an engine with a given expenditure of fuel; but
there are many practical difficulties to be surmounted before the weight so
drawn can reach the point when it could be destructive of roads. There are
no theoreticalreasonsagainst the extension ofthesizeof the engines. Thedif-
ficulties, according to Mr. Gurney, are of a practical nature, and only in the
"difficult}'' of management of a large engine." In proportion as we aug-
mentthe powerof theengines, we must increase theirstrength, and consequent¬
ly their weight; the greater weight will be a material diminution of their effi¬
ciency. To a certain extent the power may be increased in a greater ratio
than the weight, but, with our limited knowledge of the application of steam,
and with the present formation of the public roads, the point will be very
soon attained, when the advantage of increased power will be counterbalanc¬
ed by the difficulties attendant on the increased weight of the engines.
The weight of the steam carriages at present in use, varies from 53 to 80
cwt. ; but it must be recollected that they are mere models; they were made
with attention to strength only, to bear the uncertain strain to which they
2
10
[ Doc. No. 101. ]
would be exposed in the course of experiments, and a very considerable
diminution of weight may be anticipated.
The weight drawn, at the rate of ten miles per hour, By Mr. Gurney's
engine, has not, on any extent of road, exceded the weight of the drawing
carriage; nor is it likely, with the difficulties to be encountered on the pre¬
sent lines of road, from their quality and the numerous ascents, that the
weight drawn will be in excess of the strength of the roads. The immense
quantity of spare power required to surmount the different degrees of resist¬
ance likel^ to occur, would render the engine too unmanageable. This will
appear evident from the force of traction required to draw a wagon over the
Holyhead and Shrewsbury road, which varied from 40 to upwards of 300 lbs.
In considering the effect on roads, we must not overlook one peculiarity
in which they have a great advantage over other carriages. In coaches
drawn by horses, the power being without the machine to be removed, it
becomes an object of the greatest importance to give as much effect as pos¬
sible to the power, by diminishing the resistance arising from the friction
of the wheels upon the surface of the road. For this purpose, the proprie¬
tors of coaches and wagons have adopted every possible contrivance, so to
■ educe the tires of their wheels, that a very small portion of them may press
un the road; in some coaches they are made circular in their cross section,
•o that the entire weight of the carriage presses on a mere point; should the
materials be soft, such wheels cut their way into the road like a sharp instru¬
ment. The owners of wagons too have adopted a similar plan. Mr. Mac-
neil states that the actual bearing part of the tire of apparently broad-wheel
wagons, is reduced to three inches by the contrivance of one band of the
tire projecting beyond the others.
With steam, on the contrary, a certain amount of adhesion to the roads
js required to give effect to the action of the machinery, or the wheels would
slip round and make no progress. It appears of little importance therefore,
so far as relates to the engine, whether the requisite amount of friction be
spread over a broad surface of tire, or be concentrated to a small point; but
as the wheels, by being too narrow, would have a tendency to bury them¬
selves in every soft or newly made road, and thus raise a perpetual resistance
to their own progress, it actually becomes an advantage to adopt that form
which is least injurious to the road. The proprietors, who have been ex¬
amined on this point, seem to be quite indifferentes to the breadth of tire
they may be required to use.
These considerations have convinced the committee, that the tolls enforc¬
ed on steam carriages have, in general, far exceeded the rate which their in-
juriousness to roads, in comparison with other carriages, would warrant; they
have found, however, considerable difficulty in framing a scale of tolls ap¬
plicable to all roads, in lieu of those authorized by several local acts.
With this view, they have carefully examined the various modes of im¬
posing toll either suggested by the witnesses, or already adopted.
They are as follows:
1. To place a toll proportioned to the weight of the carriage and load;
2. On the number of passengers;
3. On the horse-power of the engine;
4. On the number of wheels;
5. An unvarying toll.
Each of these plans seems liable to serious objections, which the commit¬
tee beg to submit to the House.
[ Doc. No. 101. ]
11
No plan of toll has been more frequent]} recommended than that of a
charge in proportion to the weight of the engine and load. As this is the
most plausible, and (if it could be levied without other disadvantages) would
probably be the fairest standard, the committee have considered it right to
state, at some length, their reasons for not recommending its adoption.
If weight be taken as the standard, the toll must be a fixed charge,
either upon the weight of the engine and carriage, without reference to the
load; or upon an estimated average of the load carried; or a fluctuating
charge, according to the weight, at the several periods of a journey.
The first would be at least free from the uncertainty of the other two, and
therefore would be preferable; but what scale of charge per cwt. could the
committee recommend as applicable to all roads? Their toll should vary ac¬
cording to every different rate of charge on carriages; besides, it would ap¬
pear to the trustees very unjust to exclude the consideration of that which
would be deemed the most material cause of the wear of their roads, viz:
the load.
A fluctuating charge on weight would be most injurious to a carriage,
which will mainly depend for success on its speed; constant altercations
would take place between the toll collectors and proprietors; a minute calcu¬
lation would be required at every turnpike gate; in fact, unless an accountant
were placed at each, the committee cannot conceive how the proportions
could be satisfactorily arranged, nor would there be any desire, on the part
of the toll collector, to shorten the delay occasioned by these interruptions.
Mr. Gurney has delivered in a scale of tolls graduated according to
weight and width of tire of the wheel. As this has been drawn up by a
person interested in the success of steam carriages, it might have been ex¬
pected to be more favorable to them. The committee, however, have not
adopted it, because of the difficulties and interruptions which a fluctuating
rate of toll would induce; besides, this scale purports to be intended for a
road, where 3d. is charged for a horse drawing, and 1 d. for a horse not
drawing; the scale would be inapplicable therefore when the charge was 2d.
and la!., 3a!. and 1 \d., 4d. and Id., 4d. and 1 \d., 8d. and so on. Again,
what standard of weight, in relation to horse coaches, could be adopted?
The average weight of loaded coaches differs very much on different roads.
It has been suggested, that a loaded coach, including the weight of four
horses, would weigh on an average four tons; and that if 3d. per horse were
ehargeable to the coach, 6c!. per ton should be placed on a steam carriage;
this would be unjust, as vans, which frequently weigh upwards of six tons,
would only pay 2s., and a steam carriage would pay 3s. Even if the inju¬
ry done to the road by each'were equal, this would be an unfair toll; but it
will appear more evidently unjust if the greater proportionate injury done
by the feet of horses drawing, than by the propelling wheels, be taken into
consideration.
The object of every steam coach proprietor will be to attain the greatest
possible lightness of machinery and engine; because thereby he renders his
power more efficient for the draught of the remunerating load. To place
the toll on the weight of the engine would tend to induce him to decrease
the strength of his boiler and machinery to an extent which might be dan¬
gerous to the passengers, and very detrimental to the success of steam travel¬
ling, as the public will easily be led to believe, that the accidents really oc¬
curring from injudicious legislation, were inseparable from the adoption of
this power as an agent in propelling carriages.
12
[ Doc: No. 101. ]
The only fair plea for charging tolls on such carriages, in proportion to
their weight, is to prevent a load being propelled or carried which would
permanently injure the road; within this limit it would be as injudicious to
interfere with their progressive fefficiency, (which can only result from im¬
provements of the machinery and the system of generating and applying
steam) as it would be to lax carriages drawn by large and well-bred horses,
more heavily than such as were drawn by horses in worse condition and of
smaller size and power.
Tiie roads at present have to sustain wagons, weighing, at times, with
their horses, nearly ten tons; it is in evidence, that the breadth of wheels
required by various acts of Parliament, is so easily evaded, that it affords no
protection to the road. There appears to the committee no fair reason to sup¬
pose that steam carriages, approaching even to this weight, will be used
on any turnpike road, at least for a very considerable period, during which'
the increase of weight will be gradual, and will give warning to thp legisla¬
ture when it should interfere.
To charge a toll according to the number of passengers conveyed, is scarce¬
ly less objectionable. If a fluctuating toll be intended, it would be as inad¬
missible as to propose a similar mode of charging for fast coaches, and would
be open to all the cavil and interruptions to which a fluctuating toll on weight
would be liable. If the toll were fixed according to the number of passen¬
gers the carriage were capable of conveying, it would imply the necessity of
a license limiting the number of passengers, and cramping the progress of
improvement of a machine, the capabilities of which can only be ascertain¬
ed slowly and by continued experiment.
It must be also recollected that these carriages will probably have to travel
for a long period without passengers, until by their punctuality and safety
they shall have induced the public to venture in them. Nor is this proba¬
bility weakened by the immense number of passengers who commenced
using the locomotive carriages oti the Manchester and Liverpool railway
immediately after their introduction: these engines were established among
a population accustomed to machinery and steam, and therefore not enter¬
taining the same apprehensions of its danger which will require to be sur¬
mounted elsewhere.
The trustees of the Liverpool and Prescot road have already obtained the
sanction of the legislature to charge the monstrous toll of Is. 6d. per
<< horse-power," as if it were a national object to prevent the possibility of
such engines being used. Besides, they have supplied no standard of their
own conception of horse-power. Engineers have differed very much in
their estimates of this power; there is not, therefore, much probability that
Ihe opposite interests of a steam coach proprietor and toll collector would
lead to any agreement as to the meaning of the term. But suppose the le¬
gislature were to settle this point, and to arrange that a certain length of
stroke and diameter of cylinder should represent a certain power, we still
fail to ascertain that which alone it is essential to know, viz. the actual effi¬
ciency of the engine. Can we regulate the density of steam at which an
engine of a given s:ze should be worked? To be effectual, it would be also
necessary to ascertain the quantity of water consumed, and even this check
would be inadequate with an engine on Mr. Trevithick's principle. If the
toll be left as at present on " horse power," it would be the obvious interest
of the proprietor to work with the smallest nominal power, but to increase
as much as possible the force of his steam, thereby increasing the probabili¬
ty of explosion.
[ Doc. No. 101. ] 13
Some trustees have placed the toll upon the number of wheels. The
committee would object to this mode of charge, if only, because it interferes
between the rival modes of steam travelling, and gives a bounty in favor of
that in which the engine is placed on the same carriage with the passengers.
The opposite plan of separating the engine from the carriage is that which
probably the public will prefer, until the safety of the mode of conveyance
shall have been fully ascertained.
There is still a more serious objection to this mode of charge: it tends to
discourage the use of separate carriages; although it must be evident that,
if a certain weight be carried, it will be much less injurious to the road when
divided over eight Wheels, than when carried on four only. On this point,
the committee must again refer to Mr. Macneil's evidence. They cannot,
therefore, recommend the House to adopt a scale of toll which shall increase
in inverse proportion to the injury done to the road. It will be seen in Mr.
M'Adam's evidence, that the toll on steam coaches imposed by the Metro- •
politan roads act, is liable to,this objection.
Some of the local acts have placed an unvarying toll on steam carriages!
This, if moderate, would be unobjectionable; but the committee could not
propose any sum which would adapt itself to the necessary varieties of ex¬
pense in keeping up different roads, by which the tolls on common carriages
have been regulated. A fixed toll has, too, this disadvantage: that light ex¬
perimental carriages, or suchas are built solely for speed, would be liable to
the same toll as steam carriages heavily laden.
The committee feel that, however strong their conviction may be of the
comparatively small injury which properly constructed .-team carriages will
do to the roads, yet this conviction is founded more on theory, and perhaps
what may be considered as interested evidence, than practical experience;
they would therefore recommend that the House should not make, at pre¬
sent, any permanent regulations in favor of steam. The experience which
will be gained in a very few years, will enable the legislature to form a
more correct judgment of the effect of steam carriages on roads, than can
be now made. They therefore recommend that the lolls imposed on steam
carriages by local acts, where they shall be unfavorable to steam, shall be
suspended during three years; and that, in lieu thereof, the trustees shall be
permitted to charge toll according to the'rate to which the committee have
agreed.
The House will have perceived, in the former part of this report, that
there are two modes of applying steam in lieu of horses in draught: one,
where the engine and passengers are on the same carriage; the other, where
the engine is placed on separate wheels, and is merely used to propel or draw
the carriage. Although the difference of weight may be in favor of the
former mode, yet, as on the latter it is divided over eight wheels instead of
four, its small excess cannot justify a larger toll being imposed, as it will
be found much less injurious to the roads. The committee therefor e recom¬
mend that, in charging toll, the engine carriage and carriage drawn shall be
considered but as one.
As it is the opinion of all the engineers examined, that the use of nar¬
row wheels has been the great cause of the wear of roads, and that cylindri¬
cal wheels, of a certain width of tire, are not only the least injurious, but
that, in some states of the road, they may be even beneficial, the committee
recommend that the wheels of the engine carriage should be required to
be cylindrical, and of not less than inches width of tire. No proprietor
14
[ Doc. No. 101. 3
of steam carriages has expressed the slightest fear of any inconvenience or
loss from the use of such wheels. Beyond this, the committee would not
recommend interference with the breadth of tire, or form of wheels: it
should be left to the proprietors freely to select the breadth of tire they shall
find most convenient in proportion to the weight carried.
The committee have divided steam carriages (intended for passengers) in¬
to two classes, to be subject to different rates of toll. The first, where the
carriage is not plying for hire, or where, if plying for hire, it shall not be
calculated for, or carry at any time, more than six passengers. The original
cost of such machines, and the expense of working tjjem, will sufficiently
protect the roads from any great number of merely experimental carriages;
and for the same reason they will not be of a weight or size likely to be in¬
jurious. A steam carriagejonly calculated to convey six passengers, will be
solely used where great speed is required, and will be so light as to cause
. very little wear of the road, probably much less than many carriages drawn
by the number of horses which the committee recommend as the standard
of charge for this class. The toll, therefore, proposed to be placed on this
class of steam carriages is that, which (on the several roads where they may
be used) is charged on a carriage drawn by two horses.
In the second class, they have placed all other steam carriages, except those
travelling at slow rates, for goods only: carriages of this class should pay
the same toll as may be charged on a coach drawn by four horses. This may
at first appear unjust from the supposed power of steam to draw almost un¬
limited weight. The committee have already enumerated the difficulties
hitherto encountered in attempting to propel very heavy loads on turnpike
roads. They are such as to discourage the expectation, that, within any
short period of time, the system will have been so perfected as to give rise
to inconvenience from this source: should any hereafter be found, it will
then be sufficient to remedy the defect. Until a due proportion of the parts
of the machinery shall have been ascertained, the makers of these carriages
will vary but cautiously from the models at present in use: their object will
be, for some time, the perfecting of them, rather than the uncertain experi¬
ment of increasing their size.
The committee do not anticipate that, for a considerable period, steam
will be used as a propelling power on common roads for heavy wagons. It
appears to have been the general opinion of the witnesses, that, in proportion
as the velocity of travelling by steam on common roads is diminished, the
advantages of steam over horse power are lost. The efficiency of horses
in draught is rapidly diminished as their speed is increased; while, on the
eontrary, the weight which could be carried or propelled at any great ve»
locity, by steam, could not be more cheaply conveyed were the speed de¬
creased to that of the slowest wagon.
As speed, therefore, is the cause of greatly increased expense where horses
are used, while with steam it is comparatively unimportant, it is probable
that the latter will be chiefly resorted to when rapidity of conveyance is re¬
quired. Mr. Gurney considers, that, under four miles per hour, horses can
be used in draught more economically than steam. -Should it, however, be
deemed profitable to convey heavy goods by steam carriages, the committee
recommend that there should be as little interference as possible with the
number of carts employed; as the effect on the surface of roads would be
infinitely more injurious if heavy loads were placed on a single cart,
than if the same weight were d:t ided over several. The committee recom-
[ Doc. No. 101. 1
15
mend, that where carriages, containing heavy goods alone, are propelled by
steam, the weight of the load should be charged, without reference to the
number of carts on which it may be carried.
As a horse is able to draw from 20 to 40 cwt. on common roads, they
propose that each 20 cwt. of load conveyed in, or drawn by, a steam carriage,
should be chargeable at the same rate of toll as one horse drawing a cart.
A charge on weight is not so objectionable where goods are conveyed at
a slow rate, as when speed is alone required.
In conclusion, the committee submit the following summary of the evi¬
dence, given by the several witnesses, as to the progress made in the appli¬
cation of steam to the purposes of draught on common roads.
Sufficient evidence has been adduced to convince your committee—
1. That carriages can be propelled by steam on common roads at an ave¬
rage rate of ten miles per hour.
2. That at this rate they have conveyed upwards of fourteen passengers.
3. That their weight, including engine, fuel, water and attendants, may
be under three tons.
4. That they can ascend and decend hills of considerable inclination with
facility and safety.
5. That they are perfectly safe for passengers.
6. That they are not (or need not be, if properly constructed) nuisances
to the public.
7. That they will become a speedier and cheaper mode of conveyance
than carriages drawn by horses.
8. That as they admit of greater breadth of tire than other carriages, and
as the roads are not acted on so injuriously as by the feet of horses in
common draught, such carriages will cause less wear of roads than
coaches drawn by horses.
9. That rates of toll have been imposed on steam carriages, which would
prohibit their being used on several lines of road, were such charges
permitted to remain unaltered.
MINUTES OF EVIDENCE.
Mercurii, 3° die Jlugusti, 1831.
Mr. Goldsworthy Gurney called in, and examined.
Are you the proprietor of a steam carriage used on public roads? Not
the proprietor; I am the patentee.
On what roads have you commenced running such carriages? I have
commenced on several roads. The first road I commenced was Edgeware,
then Stanmore; I ran there for a short time only; principally experimental¬
ly; then to Barnet, to Edgeware, to Finchley, and other places. I also ran
a carriage on my own account to Bath and back; that was onlyone journey;
16
£ Doc. No. 101. ]
an experimental journey. Since that they have been running as publie
stages, principally between Gloucester and Cheltenham.
For what period? Since February last. They were stopped about three
weeks, in consequence of an accident to one of the axle-trees; they were to
begin again about this time.
Have you been yourself on these carriages while they have been running?
Yes; in the first instance, I almost always accompanied the carriage.
State in detail the progress which yon have made in bringing these car¬
riages to their present improved state? I must beg to have reference to the
drawings. [ The witness produced the drawings, Nos. 1,2,3, 4, 5, and 6.]
This first drawing, No. 1, was the first experiment I made connected with
the subject, in which I conceived I had removed the difficulty of driving
steam carriages on common roads, by inventing a light and powerful boiler,
of which this is a representation. The application of that boiler vvill be
seen in No. 2. The boiler itself is not represented on the carriage in this
drawing, but simply the engine, and the modes of propelling the carriage.
This was in the year 1825. It was then a very prevalent opinion that the bite
or friction of the power to the ground was not sufficient to propel the car¬
riage along a common road, particularly up hill; it was thought that the
wheel would turn round, and the carriage not proceed. With that view, the
apparatus shown in this figure, No. 2, which I call feet or propellers, were
proposed to be used; the mode of action I presume will be seen from the
drawing. I soon found by experience, in numerous experiments not con¬
nected with the drawing, that the propellers were rarely or never wanted;
and I then applied the power immediately to the two hind wheels, through
a crank, in the common mode of a steamboat, the propellers being also fixed,
but travelling slower than the wheels, were brought into action if the wheels
slipped, which it was thought would be the casein difficult situations. This
carriage went up Highgate hill in 1826, and to Edgeware, also to Stanmore,
and went up Stanmore hill, and Brockley hill, near Stanmore, and against
all those hills the wheels never turned, and the legs never came into action.
This is No. 3. After these experiments, the legs or propellers were entire¬
ly removed, and from further experiment it was found, by a peculiar appli¬
cation of the steam, (namely, by "wire drawing,") that the bite of one of
the hind wheels was sufficient for all common purposes. If the steam was
let on suddenly, the wheel would turn round, and the carriage not go for¬
ward; but when wire-drawn, one wheel was found sufficient. By this ar¬
rangement, also, the carriage was guided more accurately and more easily.
The second wheel was applied by uniting it with the crank at any time, if
one was found insufficient.
In general, were the wheels connected together, or had they an independ¬
ent motion? Always one was attached to the axle; they had no independ¬
ent motion; this will be seen by reference to No. 5 on the arm or carrier of
the wheel (which is a part of the axle,) and can be attached to the wheel at
pleasure by a bolt, making the wheel also in that case part of the axle. This
carriage, 1 should observe, ran to Barnet, snd went up all the hills to Bar-
net, in 1827, with one wheel only attached to the axle, and was run for
about eighteen months experimentally in the neighborhood of London. F rom
these experiments showing that one wheel was sufficient to propel the car¬
riage, and the carriage being at the same time reduced two thirds in weight,
it was thought desirable to draw another carriage, instead of to carry on the
same; that will be seen in No. 5. This carriage went to Bath, and over all
£ Doc. No. 101. ]
1?
the hills between Cranford bridge and Bath, and returned with only one
wheel attached to the axle; the other carrier, by means of attachment, having
broken in the first onset, and not having been repaired until after its return;
the carriage was also injured slightly at Melksham, in consequence of a riot
there. We waited about two days at Bath to get this injury repaired-, and
returned from Melksham to Cranford bridge in ten hours, a distance of
eighty-four miles, including stoppages. I have come now almost to the
practical application of it. This is a drawing of the carriages we are now
now building (No. 6.)
Have you made any alteration in the formation of the boilers since 1825?
We have altered and changed in the mechanism only; the principle has been
invariably adhered to; the present carriage is deprived of its chimney, and
a variety of other disagreeables about the carriage.
Has your principle, with respect to all, remained the same? Precisely the
same.
How far have you improved the formation of your working carriage as
to weight? The weight was a principal objection to the practical application
of the carriage. The first carriage of a given power weighed four tons; this
vvas objectionable on account of its weight, which was severely felt in con¬
sequence of its effect on the roads. I thought it would injure the roads,
which injury would produce a toll that would perhaps injure the economy
of it: No. 3, weighed four tons; No. 4, weighed three tons, with the same
power; No. 5, two tons, with the same power; the present carriages build¬
ing will not weigh more than 35 cwt. with the same power.
What does the carriage which runs between Gloucester and Cheltenham
weigh? By a letter from the magistrate, now produced, it is stated to weigh
nearly three tons; it ought to weigh only 45 cwt.; if it weighs three tons,
there is extra weight, of which 1 know nothing. This which I produce a
sketch of, marked No. 6, weighs 35 cwt. and it has the same power. Those
carriages at Gloucester were built principally under the superintendence of
another person.
When you state the weight of 35 cwt. you mean the weight of the tra¬
velling carriage alone, without the weight of the passengers, or the weight
of fuel or water? Yes, just so; I think it is possible to reduce the weight
considerably as improvements go on. I have a carriage now building which
I do not expect will weigh above five cwt., which I expected to do the
work of about one horse, and carry two or three people; speed is a particu¬
lar object, and it is not intended to carry any thing more than light parcels.
Into what stages would you divide your journeys most conveniently? I
think about seven miles.
What weight of fuel and water would you lay in for such a stage? The
fuel and water will be in proportion to the size and power of the carriage.
For a machine, weighing 35 cwt. marked by you No. 6, what weight of
fuel and water would you require? Three bushels and a half of coke
is the quantity we take to supply this distance, and the first charge two
bushels; the first charge always remaining, it decreases of course down to
the first charge, and, taking the mean, it will be 3§. The weight of water
at present I think is about 10 gallons a mile which is consumed, that would
be 70 gallons, a gallon weighing about 10 lbs. malung 700 lbs. ; the mean
of this will give the quantity. If the roads are good it does not take so
much, we can do with almost half the quantity; if the roàds are bad we
must take the whole quantitv. and the mean will be 350 lbs,
3
18
[ Poc. No. 101. ]
Will you state the progressive alterations you have made in the diameter
of your wheel, and the breadth of the tire? The diameter of the wheel
has generally been the same, about five feet.
What difference is there between the fore and hind wheels? About a
foot in diameter difference; about the proportion of an ordinary carriage.
The power is attached to the hind wheels? To the hind wheels only.
Do the wheels follow in the same track? That is a matter of option.
The committee understand that they do not in that which travels between
Cheltenham and Gloucester? Perhaps that is the case there; it is a matter
of convenience in some experiments. I have built them with three wheels
only, one wheel in front, and in some, as in No. 3, with six wheels; my
present carriage has only four.
Do the hind wheels of your present carriage follow in the same track
with the fore wheels? Yes; those carriages now building will do so; the
hind wheels will be nearer to each other than in many others.
What diameter do you propose to make the propelling wheels of your
new carriage? I propose to have them about five feet. I would observe,
that bv taking a wheel of five feet diameter off the axle, and putting on one
of two feet six, the engine would be multiplied double in its power, and
lose of course one half in speed. In some cases it may be desirable to do
so if the carriages are used for general purposes; for speed or dragging of
heavy weights alternately, larger or smaller wheels may be put to meet
circumstances as they occur.
From the experiments you have made, with a view to proportion the di¬
ameter of the wheels with the weight to bedrawn and the velocity required,
what diameter of propelling wheel do you think will be generally used?
Five feet; the piston of the engine should not travel more than two miles
and a half per hour; therefore we may multiply from this rate to any speed
we please.
What is the bieadth of the tire of your present wheel? None less than
two inches; but in late experiments we found a wide tire more desirable
lhan a narrow one, and we have increased it to about three inches and a half
in width; we .found that there is no increase of power necessary with a wiffe
wheel, but I think, on the contrary, rather less. We have not been able to
decide positively the irue variation in power, but the difference is so slight,
that it is not perceptible.
What is the ordinary width of the tire of wheels of coaches? I think
about two inches; in a private carriage rather under two, and in stage
coaches over two inches.
Of how many horse power is your ordinary travelling engine? Twelve
nominal steam engine horse-power; to work eight hours it takes the com¬
mon stage coach 32 horses; an engine propelling the same weight for eight
hours should be considered a 32 horse power, according to the rule laid
down by engineers, but this is not true as to locomotive engines.
Taking your latest improvement, to what number of draught horses would
it fee equivalent? I think about 10 cwt. will do the work of a horse on the
road; 35 cwt. will be about 3i horses' work always.
You mean that it will displace about three horses and a half at a time ou
the road? Yes, in each stage it will displace 3J or 4 horses, and about 30
horses in the eight hours.
Is that in practice, or in idea? Practice.
Is the chief weight, supported on springs? The whole is on springs.
£ Doc. No. 101. J
19
What is the weight of an ordinary stage-coach? About 24 cwt. ; I think
from 18 to 24. .
How many persons will that take? I think about 18.
What would be the weight of your engine carriage sufficiently powerful
to draw a carriage containing 18 persons? The weight of the propelling
carriage would be about the weight of four horses; the weight of the car¬
riage drawn would be precisely that of a carriage drawn by horses, and I find
the weight of a horse to average about 10 cwt. ; therefore, taking four horses
at 10 cwt the four horses would be two tons, which is somewhere about the
weight of my carriage; to do the same work, some horse3 weigh as much as
16 cwt. some considerably less than lOcwt.
Have you examined the effect on the roads of the propelling wheels of
your carriage? As far as I am enabled to judge, I should say that they did
no more injury than any other carriage of the same weight; I mean the
carriage itself, weight for weight. I have taken the loss of iron from the
tires of the wheels, and compared it with that of the loss from other carriages
running the same number of miles, and I found the loss the same nearly.
Do you find that the wheel never slides in the turn? If it does, it is either '
imperfect or the fault of the engineer; if the steam is wire-drawn (using the
technical term) it never does so; if the steam is laid on suddenly on the en¬
gines, it acts like a percussion, and affects the wheels as if struck with a
hammer. The carriage, of course, would not be propelled in such ease.
Practically, as far as you have seen in the operations of these carriages,
does the wheel slideia that way frequently? It may sometimes at starting for
an instant, but never on the road unless it is over-weighted; I mean, if it has
an over-weight attached to it.
Is there much smoke created by your carriage ? There is no smoke unless
any smoky matter gets accidentally into the fire, the fuel being coke; of
course there will be smoke if there are coals.
Are you frequently obliged to let off steam? Yes, but not openly; the
steam is allowed to escape from the safety-valve into a chamber peculiarly
constructed, which prevents any nuisance from it.
There is no annoyance either from smoke or steam? There is no annoy- '
ance either from smoke or steam, when the engine is perfect.
Have you found that horses are more liable to be frightened by passing
your carriages, than passing other carriages? As far as my own observation
goes, I shuuld say about the same. I have travelled with a carriage, I think,
five years, more or less, every week. I have been very frequently in the
public streets of London with the steam carriage, and the roads round Lon¬
don, and also in the private and public roads in the country; I have cer¬
tainly seen horses shy often, but never saw ahorse make a dead stand.
Is there a very peculiar noise attending the motion of your engine car¬
riage? The noise of wire-drawing, &c. is at the will of the engineer; if the
carriage should make a noise, he has the means of stopping the noise; but
there ought not to be any disagreeable noise. ■
Must not the noise proceed from the imperfection of the works? Yes,
and that only.
Do you attribute the startling of horses to the peculiar noise of the en¬
gine, or to its unusual appearance? I think it must be from its unusual appear¬
ance. It appears from an observation on the carriages at Cheltenham, made
in this committee, to have been more troublesome than any where else.
Those carriages were made with curtains, to inclose persons who might ride
[ Doc. No. 101. ]
in them, and the carriage altogether rather more outre in its appearance;
from the flapping of those curtains, or some circumstances of that kind, the
horses have been startled, or accidents have occurred there.
Are yon aware that there is an imperfection in the carriage at Cheltenham,
which is stated to occasion noise? I have not seen much of these carriages;
I was never at Cheltenham but twice or thrice, and then but for a short time.
What have you found to be the effect of the wheels on a very rough road
full of ruts? If you start the carriage from a rut, it takes more power; but
when the carriage is in motion, the momentum takes it over all the inequali¬
ties with the usual force.
Do you find that when the propelling wheel gets into a rut, the first
power it exerts is in sliding? Frequently; and sometimes it will be neces¬
sary to attach the two wheels, for one wheel will not be sufficient to get it
out of that difficulty. The engineer, in such case, attaches a second wheel by
the bolt, and I have never known'a situation yet, in which a carriage with
both wheels attached will not get out. I have seen it in a. clay pit eight
inches deep propel itself through, having sunk through the upper surface of
gravel in a yard.
When you attach the second wheel, is the increased power owing to the
more favorable situation of the cranks? The power of the engine remains the
same, but the application of it is doubled by friction.
Suppose that both wheels were in the rut? 1 have seen both wheels in a
rut. In the case I have just spoken of they were both in a rut; in a differ¬
ent state of weather, the effect, hold or bite on the wheels is very different;
if the state of the road is between half wet and half dry, it is more apt to
slide; and, in some instances, with a heavy weight attached, we are obliged to
go with both wheels locked, when the same weight would have been taken
by one wheel only in very wet or dry weather.
Is it only in starting that that difficulty occurs? Only in starting on a
level or slight incline; but up hills we have sometimes been obliged to attach
both wheels;1 the bite only from the one wheel being not sufficient to pro¬
pel a load behind it.
What is the operation of the propelling wheel when it meets with the
obstruction of a large stone on the road? If the difficulty is so great that the
carriage cannot advance, it slips on the stone; but I have blocked up the
wheels of the carriage with square pieces of wood four inches in diameter,
and started it when so blocked up.
in proportion to the size of such obstruction there is liability in the crank
to break? Certainly; but the cause which oceasio-ns a crank to break is one
which cannot be explained on common principles: it frequently happens, as-
in steam-boats, and very often in this carriage, when the power applied to
it is not equal to its being broken, the accident occurs, and must be referred
to a jar or percussion; the axles are unusually large in consequence.
What is the throw of the crank? Half the diameter of the stroke of the
engine; eight inches and a half to nine inches.
With a wheel of five feet diameter what is the throw of your crank? About
nine inches.
What is the length of the stroke of your cylinder? I think 16 to IS inch¬
es; the crank is half that. I may state here, that I have had accidents of
breaking the crank two or three times during my experiments; thelast crank
was broken in consequence of going thrpugh some rough stones laid unusu¬
ally thick; J understand as much as IS inch.es deep.
[ Doc. No. 101. ]
21
What do you anticipate will be the most frequent accident which will hap¬
pen to your drawing machines? I should say the derangement of the pumps
s most likely to occur, in consequence of which the carriage would merely
îtop.
During the experiments you have been making, have you frequently had
your tubes burst? Very oiten.
Do you conceive you have remedied the probability, of such occurrence?
Ves; the first tubes we used were iron gas tubes, which were not welded,
out simply " butted" together. The consequence was, that whenever any-
great pressure came upon them the seam opened; but from practice and ex¬
perience we found it necessary to wrap over, or over lap the edges, and weld
them from end4o end; and now we are not subject to those accidents.
What is the diameter of the tubes of your boiler? We make th m from
isalf an inch to two inches; the best size, 1 think, is an inch diameter.
To what pressure per square inch do you prove them? To about S00 lbs. ;
[-think they would bear 2,000 lbs.
What is the greatest pressure they would bear? It is impossible to say.
I have never been able to burst one when well made, when lapped and
welded. - -
What is the average pressure on the boiler per square inch, in your ordi¬
nary rate of travelling? About 70 lbs.
And you have tried the tubes to 800? Yes; we sometimes may work up
to 100 lbs. and 120 lbs.; but that is a case of great emergency.
What is the greatest probable pressure it will be exposed to? Nevermore
than 130 lbs. ; the safety valve blows at 70 lbs. to the inch; it is generally
on the lift -on a level hard road. I do not think that the pressure is more than
20 lbs. to an inch on-the piston. t
Is it likely that persons would ordinarily work with the safety valve on
the'lift? Yes; or nearly so, sometimes.
Is there not a waste of fuel when you work on the lift? It will be in pro¬
portion to the escape of steam from the safety-valve; the pressure on the
boiler is 70 lbs.; on the engine frequently it does not exceed 20 lbs. to an
inch; and when I was asked the pressure I worked at, I supposed the ques¬
tion referred to the pressure on the piston collectively.
What is the thickness of your tubes? The thickness of the iron is about
the eighth of an inch.
What-is the thickness of your working cylinder? It is about three quar¬
ters of an inch; it has also ribs round it.
Of what metal is your working cylinder formed? Cast-iron; we have
worked gun metal, but cast-iron appears to be best.
Have you found that there is great facility in guiding those carriages? I
have always found the most perfect command in guiding them.
Supposing you were going at your ordinary rate of eight miles an hour,
could you stop immediately, or would the carriage run for any distance?
In case of emergency, we might instantly throw the steam on the reverse
side of the pistons, and stop within a few yards. The stop of the carriage is
singular; it would be supposed that the momentum would carry it far for¬
ward, but it is not so; the steam brings it up gradually and safely, though
rather suddenly.
Supposing you were going at the rate of eight miles an hour, can you say
at what number of yards it would be.possible to stop? I would say within
six or seven yards.
22 [ Doc. No. 101. ]
How would you manage on a declivity? On a declivity we are well stored"
with apparatus; we have three different modes of dragging the carriage.
You have stated that you found no difficulty in guiding the drawing carriage,-
pr any difficulty in guiding the carriage which is drawn? Not the least; it
is peculiarly connected, so that the fore wheels of the carriage drawn fol¬
low the tracks oi the hind-wheels of the steam carriage drawing, although
making a circle of 15 feet diameter, which is a singular property.
In what circle do you think you could turn both carriages? In a circle
of 10 feet, the inner diameter.
Supposing you were going at the rate of eight miles an hour, in what inner
circle do you suppose you could turn? I should be very sorry to attempt to
turn within a small circle. I think I might say, probably it might safely be
done in one of 100 feet diameter.
In the further progress of the improvement of this description of carriage,
do you suppose that greater weight will be drawn, by adding to the number
of carriages; or by increasing the size of the one carriage drawn? The
carriage drawn with its load, should never exceed three tons, and the car¬
riage to draw it should never exceed the weight I have previously stated,
about two tons or 50 cwt. ; it is possible to draw more than one carriage on
good roads, but I do not think it would be a circumstance of common occur¬
rence.
What have the chief inconveniences been that you have met with on your
joumies? The principal inconveniences we have met with have been minor
derangements of some parts of the machinery, such as the valves of the pump
being deranged, or tanks leaking, or something of that kind. 1 never met
with any serious accident, except perhaps the first accident in going up
Highgate Hill, which was five years ago. The- carriage wasnot tben com¬
plete in referrence to dragging; I went up the hill contrary to the expecta¬
tions of every body present, and the workmen were so delighted at it that
they neglected to lock the wheel; the carriage was started down the hill
without any drag to it; it became difficultly manageable, and ran against a
gtone, and was upset. This is the only accident I have ever experienced
myself. I believe Sir Charles Dance onceupset the carriage in a first essay.
Those are the only accidents of the kind I am aware of.
It has been stated that one of your engines has blown up at Cheltenham;
is that the case? I am not aware of that; I rather believe that the lifting of
the safety-valve when the carriage stops is considered to be a bursting, which
I think must be so in this statement. I saw the carriages the day after the
accident of the crank breaking, where it is stated to have burst, and certain¬
ly the carriage had not blown up then; nothing more than the safety-valve
had lifted. I came to Cheltenham the day after the accident occurred.
What was the nature of the accident which occurred? The breaking of
one of the cranks, occasioned by the extra difficulty the carriage was placed
in; new stones were laid in a hollow of the road, I am told about 18 inches
deep; the carriage had gone through it twice with twenty passengers; the
third time it fractured the axle, from the extra force necessary to get it
through; the road was in an unusual state; I saw the passengers of a four-
horse coach get down in the stones. I was told at the time, by people of great
respectability, that all the two-horse coaches invariably put down their pas¬
sengers; that the mail was stopped; that there" were two wagons and two
coaches in the stones stopped at the same time, and that they were obliged
to èxckange their horses to get through.
[ Doc. No. 101. ]
23
Has any other aceident occurred to that carriage except that j-ou have
now stated? Nothing that I am aware of material.
Have the wheels of your carriages frequently caught fire? Never; I saw
the three carriages the day after the accident-, neither one had taken fire. I
am sorry such an idea should for a moment exist: I think it has been occa¬
sioned by misconception or prejudiced mis statements.
Is the construction of your boiler and of your fire-place such, that it is
impossible for the carriage to catch fire? I believe it to be impossible.
You have stated that you require to charge your engine once in seven
miles? Yes; to charge the tank with water, and to take fresh fuel.
Do you anticipate, in the course of your experience, that you would be able,
to overcome that inconvenience of being obliged to charge so frequently?
We can now go double the distance; but we should bave a weight of water
and a weight of fuel, a greater expense to carry than if we take in one charge
at seven mile stages.
Are the wheels you ordinarily travel with four inches wide on the tire?
From three and a half to four inches.
Have you any information to give to the committee in relation to the re¬
lative wear of the tire of wheels and the shoes of horses? That is a new horse
shoe [producing one,] and this is a shoe of the same size, worn on the
streets of London nine days: the shoe has lost about IS ounces.
Have you any means of ascertaining how many hours a day it had been
out? The horse ran in a cab; it was out a certain number of hours, I think,
three or four hours each day; the smith was taking off the shoe which had
been worn, and putting on the other, when I asked him to let me have them.
The difference between the wear and tear of tires and horse shoes on the
roads in the neighbourhood of London are in the proportions of about three-
fourths on the shoes, and one-fourth on the tires; but in London, over the
streets, about seven-eighths and one-eighth. I would observe that on rail¬
roads, where horses draw the carriages, the expense of keeping the horse
roads is so great, that the proprietors frequently go to a great expense to
pave them. From Cheltenham to Gloucester, for instance, and in many
other parts of England, this is the case. I would also call the attention of
the committee to some parts of London, where the horses and the wheels
continue to pass over the same ground respectively, as in Wych-street; and
I would submit the importance of the committee referring to the expense of
keeping the towing-paths of canals in repair, where only horses, and com¬
paratively few, travel over them. At this moment, those are the only means
enabling me to speak to the relative wear and tear.
Have you used your carriages on pavements? Yes; never to run continu¬
ally on a pavement, but to run in and out of towns.
Do they run easier on pavements than on ordinary roads? Yes; they on¬
ly take about a quarter the power on a pitched pavement, that is, a quar¬
ter of the power they would over a gravelled road.
In the progress of this improvement, do you anticipate that it will be ne¬
cessary to adapt some portion of the turnpike roads to carriages of this de¬
scription, or do you think they can be put into operation on the turnpike
roads as they are now existing? I think they can be put into operation on
the turnpike roads as they are now existing; I have no doubt at all about it.
You do not anticipate the necessity of paved roads being made for the
purposes of those carriages? As far as economy goes, in the expense of
power, it may be desirable; but for the practical application of the steam
it is not necessary.
24
[ Doc. No. 101. ]
Can any proportion be drawn between the friction occasioned by tile horses
feet and the tire of the wheel? I do not see how it is possible to do so, un¬
less you take the loss or abrasion of the two metals respectively, in a given
quantity of work or miles travelled over.
Have you any practical experience in the repair of turnpike roads? I have
had my attention turned to it, connected only with this subject. I have seen
the great expense of keeping towing paths and horse-paths in repair; and I
have seen the great expense of keeping the streets in repair, where horses
alone travel; and I have seen the great wear and tear of iron shoes, when
compared with the wheels of carriages.
Have you any plan to submit for fixing the tolls on steam carriages?
The plan I should propose would be, if I may be allowed the term, that an
iron horse of the same weight as one of flesh and bones should pay the same '
toll; and takingone horse to weigh 10 cwt., that for every 10 cwt. the steam
carriage weighs, it it should pay the same toll as one horse pays; although f
do not admit that the same weight carried on four wheels will do as mueh
mischief as on four hoofs. If we take the turnpike acts, and look at the
comparative rate of tolls charged when a horse is drawing, and when he is
not drawing, I shall be, I conceive, borne out in my position.
Can you point to any clause in private bills which press more than you
conceive they should on steam carriages? There is one, the Liverpool and
Prescot road bill, this session, charging a toll per horse-power, which it is
difficult to determine. My objection to that is, that if the horse-power is taken
as the nominal engine horse-power, a steam coach would have to pay 21.
S s. where a stage coach pays only 4s. a toll. The next is the Bathgate, near
Edinburgh road, where the tolls are on weight, and an engine of three tons
(about the usual weight of a loaded four-horse stage-coach), would have to
pay 1I. Is. Id., when four horses would have to pay 5s. The next is the
Ashburn and Totness road bill, where 21, would be charged on the steam
carriage and the carriage attached, being 5s. on each wheel; four horses, at
the same time, would have to pay 3s. The next is the Teignmouth and
Dawlish roads: they are in the proportion of 2s. and 12s.
What is the most favorable instance to steam carriages? The Metropo¬
lis roads, near London, charge Is. for four horses, and 2s. for the steam car¬
riage and the one drawn. I complain of that because it limits me to a particu¬
lar kind of carriage. I am building one which will not weigh more than 5
cwt. and carry only two or three persons, and it would be excessive to have
to pay 2s. There is no reduction if it is no bigger than a wheelbarrow; being
propelled by machinery, it will be charged double.
How many private bills have been introduced this session in which steam
carriages have been specially taxed? I have fifty-four, which I now pro¬
duce. I understand there are others.
Have any of them passed into a law? Yes, some of them have.
In your opinion, vvhat proportion of the tolls should horses and carriages
be chargeable with? Talcing the average of the amount of tolls throughout
the country, it will be found that where a horse pays a penny not drawing,
he pays about three-pence when he is drawing. In that case, the toll upon the
coach is nominally put upon the horse (it says, so many horses drawing): four
horses drawing will be a shilling; four horses passing through, not drawing,
will be four-pence; in some cases it is three half-pence a herse when not
drawing, and sixpence when drawing; but in general the proportions appear
to be, three-eighths the toll placed upon the horse, and five-eighths upon the
[[ Doc. No. 101. ]
carriage; three half-pence a horse not drawing, and sixpence drawing, gives
three-fourths; but the mean is about three-eighths and five-eighths; so that
the toll is virtually about five-eighths on the carriage, and three eighths on
the horse. I have previously stated that I have had horses weighed, and
found the average about 10 cwt. each horse; therefore, if a steam engine
weighs 10 cwt. it should pay only as one horse when it passes through not
drawing, and as one horse drawing when it has any thing attached to it. A 10
cwt. steam engine cannot propel more than one horse can draw; therefore
the weight drawn cannot exceed a certain quantity. If the weight of the
engine exceeds 10 cwt. and not twenty, it should pay as two horses; if it
exceeds 20 and not 30, it should pay as three horses; if 30 cwt. and not ex¬
ceeding 40, it should pay as four horses, and so on.
Practically horses drawing frequently draw a weight of 80 cwt. ? Yes,
sometimes, but 15 cwt. a horse is the usual weight. I have always felt a
great anxiety that the weight of the steam engine should not injure the road,
and I have felt desirous of not introducing it until it was reduced; and I now
cheerfully admit, that if the weight of the locomotive exceeded 60 cwt.,
which is the weight of the present loaded stage coaches, with the passengers
and their luggage, there should be a very heavy toll put on them. I would
also propose that if my wheels are wider than four inches, the tolls should be
less; if they are six inches, then they should be still less; but taking the prin¬
ciple of 10 cwt. of iron and copper to do the work of one horse, and that it
should pay the same tolls, and that no weight of steam carriage should be
admitted above 60 cwt. on the road, I certainly should myself be content,
and as I cannot for a moment imagine that the 10 cwt. running on four wheels
can do so much harm as 10 cwt. carried on four feet, that the interests of
turnpike trusts would be fairly preserved by such a scale of tolls.
What is the amount of toll charged between Gloucester and Cheltenham?
Five shillings and sixpence.
What would be charged on a four-horse coach? Two shillings and eight-
pence.
Your steam carriage, according to the last improvement, weighs 35 cwt.
without the weight of persons to direct it? Yes, and without the weight of
the fuel.
Do you not consider that the steam carriages would be applicable not on¬
ly to the moving carriages at a rapid rate, but also to moving certain weights
at a slower pace? I think it is possible, but it would be very expensive, be¬
cause I find that when you get below a rate of four miles an hour, the ex¬
pense in fuel is greater than the expense in horses; if the rate exceeds four
miles an hour, then it is cheaper, and it becomes cheaper geometrically over
horses as you get up.
What is the greatest weight which you conceive your steam carriages
could draw after them on a level road at the rate of four miles an hour, the
carriage weighing two tons? Every 10 cwt. in the engine would draw
what one horse could draw, so that two tons would draw as much as four
horses.
Will the rate of tolls you have remarked in the bills you have produced,
prohibit the use of steam coaches on these roads? Certainly.
What do you calculate to be the comparative expense of running a steam
carriage and running a coach with four horses? That varies in different situ¬
ations, according to the price of coke and the price of labor. It is in all cases
considerably less, at least one-half less.
4
26
[ Doc. No. 101. ] *
You anticipate that the principal use of steam carriages will be the con¬
veyance of passengers, and at one half of the expense at which they travel
now? Yes; and in less time.
Can you deliver in to the committee a detailed estimate of the expense of
running a steam coach, and one of running an ordinary coach? Yes, I
will prepare them.
At what rate do you suppose it would be safe to run steam carriages on
the public roads? I have run them safely eighteen and twenty miles an hour;
but twelve miles an hour is perfectly safe and practicable. The rate will be de¬
termined by practice principally: in directing the carnage at present there is
no difficulty or danger in guiding the carriage at this rate.
Would there not bedanger in passing a carriage drawn by horses? If the
engineer was careless it might be, but not with care; a mail-coach travels far
beyond that at times.
You make your wheels cylindrical? They must be cylindrical, for they
turn with the axles.
None of yours are less than three inches now? No; three inches to three
and a half, even where the carriage weighs two tons weight
Veneris, 5° die Jiugusli, 1831.
Mr. Goldsworthy Gvrney, again called in, and examined.'
Will you give in the statement that you were directed to produce on
the last examination? I will.
[The witness delivered in the same.]
Calculation as the relative expense betwixt Horse and Steam Power
for Locomotion.
In order to estimate the comparative expense between horse and steam
■oower ior orawing carriages on common roads, I will take the relative ex¬
pense on lOOmiies of ground for working a common stage coach by steam
and by horses
The first cost, wear and tear of the coach drawn, in every respect, is the
same in both cases.
The expense of men to manage is about the same also. In one case there
is a coachman and guard: in the other, an engineer and director.
Government duty and turnpike tolls must also be considered the same.
It remains then to show the difference in the expense of power only, viz.
betwixt the expense of horses and the expense of steam. First in the out¬
lay, on 100 miles of gound. To work a coach well with horses 100 miles
up and 100 miles down once a day, will require 100 horses. A horse a mile
is the present calculaiion for doing the work. If these horses be taken at
£ 20 or £ 30 per horse, or say £ 25, it will amount to £ 2,500. Three
steam carriages will do the same work, and the expense of these will be
about £ 500 each, or ¡ß 1,500 for the three. A saving will consequently be
effected in the first outlay of £ 1,000 in capital.
The wear and tear of horses may be estimated at about £ 5 each per an¬
num on the 100 horses, viz. £ 500 per annum.
[[ Doc. No. 101. ]
27
The wear and tear of three steam towing carriages will not exceed £ 100
each per annum: £ 300 for the three;—saving in wear and tear, £ 200.
The expense of shoeing, keep, provision, attendance, harness, &c. is per
day somewhere about 3s. each or £ 15 upon the 100 horses.
The expense of fuel for two carriages, one up and the other down, doing
the same work, will be that of 100 bushels ofcokeat 6d. per bushel; say
£2. 10.
Or if we take Is. per mile per horse power, it will be about the same.
The expense of fuel for the steam carriage will be, on an average through¬
out England, about 3d. In some coal districts it will not exceed Id. per
mile; while in other situation it will amount to 6d.
I have not taken into this estimate the expense of stables which is consid¬
erable when compared with sheds for coke and water.
From these data, I conclude the carriage may be worked by steam at one-
filth the expense of horses.
Abstract.
Horse power.
£.
s.
d.
1 Steam power.
£. s.
d.
Outlay for horses
2,500
0
0
Outlay for steam carriages -
! Balance of saving in the outlay
1 in favor of steam power. -
1500 0
1,000 0
0
0
Wear and tear of horses, per
annum -
500
0
0
j
Wear and tear of steam tow¬
ing carriages,
Balance, saving in tear and
wear in favor of steam pow¬
er-
300 0
200 0
0
0
Shoeing, keep, attendance, pro¬
vision, harness, &c., per day,
for 100 horses
Fuel for steam carriages, half
bushel per mile travelled, at
6d. per bushel
Balance, saving
15
0
0
2 10
12 10
0
0
Have you any additional evidence to give to the committee, on points
which you have considered after your last examination? I have no further
evidence in connection with the practicability of the carriage.
Would you wish to explain your former evidence, or to give any addition¬
al evidence upon the subject? On looking over the evidence, I find it cor¬
rect. I should observe, in explanation, that at 3s. a day I have taken in the
wear and tear of the horses, and the attendance, and the fuel.
How long are your boilers calculated to last? About three year.: fair
treatment.
How frequently do they require examination? Oncea fortnightor three
weeks: it depends on the situations where they work. In some situations
where lime is held in solution in the water in large quantities, they require
cleaning oftener, but in other situations, where there is very little earthy
matter held in solution, they will run for a month or two months.
Is there a facility of cleaning them? There is, from recent improvements
in cleaning, very great facility.
Is there any expense attendant on the operation of cleaning? One day's
work of a laborer, their not requiring an engineer.
[ Doc. No. 101. 3
You have stated in your former evidence that it would be unjust to put a
toll on steam carriages according to the nominal horse power of the en¬
gines; will you state why it would be unjust to put a toll in that way? Be¬
cause I conceive at present there is no standard by which we can fix a horse
power.
Will you state to the committee the variations of rate at which the differ¬
ent engineers have calculated horse power? The most generally received
standard is ISO pounds at two miles an hour—say from 150 to 200.
Could there be any fair system of toll established by the length of stroke
and the area of the piston? I think not; the length of stroke and the area of
piston will give power in proportion to the pressure of the steam upon it;
the apparatus for supplying or generating the necessary steam would vary
considerably in weight in different engines; and therefore the weight ot
different engines would vary so much perhaps as three times or four times.
Would there be any objection to placing toll on an engine according to
its greatest power of working? I think it would be very difficult to ascer¬
tain its greatest power of working; it might be done, but it would be very
inconvenient.
Are there no means of ascertaining the average power of working? Horse¬
power is very arbitrary ; the best standard which I can give, is the evapora¬
tion of water, and I should say that the evaporation of nine gallons of water
in an hour, ought to be equivalent to one horse-power. One engineer will
apply the steam with more effect from nine gallons of water, and with more
general advantage than another: nine gallons may be taken as an average.
What is the diameter of your cylinder, and what the length of stroke? I
believe I have given the length of stroke in my former evidence, but not the
diameter of the cylinder. The diameter of the cylinder now used is about
eight inches, offering 64 circular inches area on the piston.
Is there not on those engines an average rate of expenditure, not speaking
with mathematical certainty; is there not the means of calculating pretty
well the expenditure necessary to work them? The expense of fuel for work¬
ing them is well ascertained.
Having ascertained that it will evaporate nine gallons of water in an hour,
you come pretty nearly to the expenditure of one horse power? It does riot
follow in all cases that one horse power will be practically produced from
nine gallons; and, on the other hand, I may state that I have seen a horse
power produced from five and six gallons.
At what pressure? It does not signify much at what pressure.
You say that the evaporation of nine gallons of water is equal to one horse
power; does it not make a difference according to the pressure? This is a
point unsettled at present by engineers; some advocate high, others low
pressure.
You have stated that if you wished to increase the power of your engine
you would increase the weight of it, and decrease the size of the wheels? It
might be done either way: the union of the two is not necessary as far as re¬
gards the intensity of power: the quantity of power must be produced by an
increase of weight, or by some increased or rapid formation of steam.
What is the weight of a loaded wagon, with horses? At this moment I
am not prepared to give an accurate answer, but I should think six tons.
Does that include the weight of the horses? No.
What should you judge to be the weight of the horse usually attached?
From 14 to 16 cwt. each horse.
[ Doc. No. 101. ]
29
Would not you, by increasing the size of the cylinder, increase your
power? Yes, in direct proportion with the increase of the area.
What objection do you see to increasing the size of your cylinder, and ap¬
plying it to a large wagon, so as to use steam carriages for the mere carri¬
age of goods? I think the difficulty and objection lies in the management
practically; it would be difficult in our present stage of knowledge and ex¬
perience to manage a large cylinder very rapidly on the road; but I see no
other obstacle to great speed; there is no theoretical difficulty. I would
wish to state, in connection with my former evidence with respect to fuel
for working slowly heavy carriages, that my opinion was founded on some
peculiar laws of momentum lately observed. It is well known that one en¬
gine, when worked at a given rate, works expansively; that an engine work¬
ing at a quicker rate, if a piston only travels half a mile an hour, or 50 feet
a minute, it will require more fuel for it to do a given work, than if working
at 200 feet a minute.
Is not the momentum gained by greater velocity an accumulation of pow¬
er? I think the advantage gained by certain rapidity of action, arises from
the inequalities of the road being- overbalanced by the momentum of the
carriage. When the carriage travels slowly, every inequality, every stone or
slight obstacle partly destroys the momentum, but at a certain speed it over¬
comes them. There is no actual gain of power by momentum; it is only an
accumulation very much like that in a common fly-wheel, and in a carriage
on a common road: it acts on inequalties as a fly-wheel does in overcoming
unequal obstacles in machinery.
You use coke only? We occasionally may use charcoal, but very seldom.
What is the proportion in price, and what in value, between coal and coke?
I think one bushel of coals is equal in raising steam to two bushels of coke.
What is the difference of price on the average? The difference of price
is, I think, about two-thirds.
Then there would be a loss, as compared together, in using coke? Coals
would be much cheaper than coke, but that loss in the expense of fuel we
are disposed to suffer rather than produce a nuisance on the road by smoke.
Do you conceive that there can be no mode of escaping that by any smoke-
consuming apparatus? I know of no mode that is likely to succeed, nor do
I conceive that it is possible to make such a combustion of coals that is like¬
ly to consume all the sublimated or volatilized matter: the consuming of
smoke or the combustion of smoke is prevented principally by the parti¬
cles being mechanically mixed with, or surrounded by, carbonic acid gas. I
believe it not to be chemically combined.
Would not the motion of the carriage and the current of air that is pro¬
duced by going quickly through the air, give great facility in the application
of a smoke-consuming apparatus? If the consumption of smoke depended on
the presence of oxygen gas or atmospheric air which contains it, I think it
would; but on my previous reasoning, I do not think the consumption of
smoke would be effected by any quantity of atmospheric air. I have madej
several very extensive experiments on this subject, and the only experimen
that I have succeeded in, was by passing it through sand mixed with quick
lime, by which the carbonic acid was obsorbed, and the smoke, as it passed
through the mixture, rendered combustible; the carbonic acid was removed
to a considerable extent, and left the carbonic oxyde and hydrogen gas in
such a free state as to be combustible.
30
[ Doc. No. 101. 2
Of what materials are your propelling wheels? The same as a common
stage coach wheel.
Are the wheels of the carriage drawn nearly of equal diameter with the
wheels of your drawing carriage? Rather less; the diameter of the wheels
of the drawing carriage is about five feet, and the ordinary diameter of a
stage coach that is drawn is about four feet six.
From the experiments you have made, supposing the drawing carriage and
the carriage drawn were ot equal weights, what do you think would be the
different proportion of weight, on the wheels? None.
Do you speak that with any certainty? Yes, I do. I have taken the loss
of iron upon coaches after knowing the number of miles they had travelled
over, and the loss of iron on the steam carriage, and the number of miles it
had travelled over, and find that the loss in both cases bore the same pro¬
portion.
Is coke alone used on the railways in the locomotive engines? On
the Manchester and Liverpool railroad, I believe there is a clause in their
act to prevent any nuisance being made by smoke, and coke is therefore
used; but in the ordinary railroads in Wales and other places coal is used.
In what part of your engine is your safety-valve situated? It is situated
at the option of the engineer; frequently in the steam pipe leading from
the boiler to the carriage, most generally; so that the steam as it passes
through that pipe, may lift the safety-valve, or it may go to the engine, as
the state of pressure shall determine.
Do you make use of one or two safety-valves? Only one. I occasional¬
ly use two, but we now use only one.
If your carriages were brought into general use, would you suggest that
two safety-valves should be required, one out of the reach of the engineer
to prevent accidents from occurring from racing, or other causes which could
induce the guide to increase the pressure of steam? I should recommend
one being locked, and an inspector being appointed to examine it every jour¬
ney. Perhaps I may be allowed to make an observation or two with respect
to the bursting of boilers, which subject, I believe, is now under consideration.
From experiments which 1 have made in connection with this subject, I am
led to believe that the bursting of boilers is not always occasioned by pres¬
sure of steam. I have discovered that, at a certain degree of temperature,
and under certain circumstances, when water is decomposed, that the hydro¬
gen is often formed into a new state of combination with oxygen and nitro¬
gen gas, which compound is exceedingly explosive; so much so, that I believe
scarcely any provision that we can make in the shape of a safety-valve, would
protect the vessel. This was a subject which I was led to some time ago,
from some observations which I had made on the combinations of oxygen
and hydrogen only. I had some conversation with Gay Lussac on this sub¬
ject, and he was of the same opinion with myself, particularly that there
were different chemical compounds of hydrogen and oxygen gases which at
present were not acknowledged. The only one acknowledged in this coun¬
try is that forming water. A compound of two proportions in volume of
oxygen and two of hydrogen, has been chemically combined in Paris, al¬
though I believe we have never succeeded publicly in this country. This
compound was highly explosive when brought in contact with certain sub¬
stances,
It would be by expansion? By chemical contact; if brought into contact
with certain substances, it would be affected as to produce explosion. I have
[ Doc. No. 101. ]
31
reason to believe from some original experiments, that there is a compound
of these elements produced under certain circumstances in steam boilers.
The want of water in a boiler is favorable, in which case the temperature is
raised and the compound formed; the bursting of boilers I believe frequent¬
ly takes place, from this compound coming in contact with substances that
will decompose it, and perhaps I might mention this fact, as it is a very in¬
teresting one, namely, that boilers often burst when the vavles are known to
blow at a pressure very considerably lower than the boiler has been proved
to.
Does not that take place also when the water is in the boiler? If the water
is low in the boiler, it will take place; if it is high, never.
Has it not frequently happened that boilers that were calculated for a high¬
er pressure, have even burst at a lower pressure than they were intended for
when water is in them? When water is high in them, never; but when it is
so low in them as to form this chemical compound, it does. I would state a
fact which was mentioned to me by my friend Sir Anthony Carlisle, which
throws considerable light upon the subject, and first led me to my suspicions
and experiments respecting it. The case was, that a boiler at Mr. Meux's
brewery, with an open top—a common cauldron—burst with a violent ex¬
plosion. I believe one man was killed, and two very severely scalded.
There was no cover at all on the vessel. This phenomenon, upon inquiry,
appeared to be occasioned by gelatinous matter, forming a crust, a film, or
blister, and prevented the contact of water with the bottom of the boiler. The
bottom of the boiler consequently got hot; the compound I alluded to was
formed, or the rupture of this film, and the sudden contact of water against
the hot surface below, produced such an immense and sudden volume of
steam, that it burst the boiler. I would explain it by saying it was analogous
to the bursting of a gun, in which case an ounce or two of shot is placed on¬
ly against the charge. Whenever there is a sudden formation of elastic matter
and there be ever so small a weight opposed, the shock will be very great,
and a gun will frequently burst, though there is not an ounce of shot in it,
and which charge may be considered in the light of a safety-valve in this
case.
What precautions have you taken in your boilers, that there may be no
probability of their being without water? This compound never forms with¬
out a certain raised temperature. Before this temperature, necessary for de¬
composition, takes place, it melts a fuseable compound alloy of metal, placed
so as to allow of its escape. The matter formed escapes, and all danger is pre¬
vented.
Have you any precaution to prevent the water escaping out of your nar¬
row tubes, by bubbles of steam? Yes; that I would explain by reference
to the first drawing, (No. 1.) which will show that the bubble of water, as
it escapes from a tube in connection with a part of the boiler, is supplied
simultaneously from the lower part of the tube, and a stream of water is thus
made constantly to pass through.
Would not that stream of water act as a safety-valve? When there is
water, it is sufficient, but when water gets down in any boiler, there is no
safety-valve that will protect it, and hence arise the inexplicable accidents
that have occurred frequently in steamboats; the size of the boiler is the on¬
ly protection without the safety alloy.
Have you any guage, or means of ascertaining when there is a defiency of
water in the boiler? Yes; the melting of the safety plug, I would state, on
32
[ Doc. No. 101. ]
ly takes place in cases of great negligence, or in cases of extremity. The
guage by which we ascertain the quantity of water in the boiler, is the com¬
mon glass guage, well known to those acquainted with the subject.
Have you any guage to examine the intensity of the steam? Yes, we have
a piston which is forced out in proportion to the pressure; in addition to the
glass guages, there are also stop cocks, so as to ascertain, by turning them,
the actual height of water. I beg to state, that the safety plug has never,
but four or five times, given way in all my experiments, and that has been
in cases where we -have been accidently out of water in our tanks; no per¬
sonal mischief can arise from such an accident. I am satisfied, without this
plug, an explosion would have taken place in some of the tubes. In large
boilers, under these circumstances, inevitable destruction would have atten¬
ded it.
Are you aware of the size of the cylinders and stroke of the engines on
the Manchester and Liverpool railroad? I believe them to be ten inches
diameter, and about fourteen inches stroke. In some of the later engines, I
believe they have been made of fourteen inches diameter, the stroke being
the same; but I rather think that that size has been given up, and that they
have returned again to the ten inches diameter.
What is the greatest weight, in proportion to its own weight, which any
carriage draws on a railroad? A carriage was originally supposed to draw
only three times its own weight on a railroad; but in some experiments
which I made in Wales with Mr. Crawshay, of Cwrfaithfa Castle, we found
in an experiment, that a carriage draws thirty times its own weight. He.
has the minutes which we made upon the occasion; but I believe, in prac¬
tice, they scarcely exceed five times, or from five to ten.
You have stated that in your carriages you do not anticipate drawing
more than the weight of the engine? Practically, on the common road,
weight for weight. I explained, in my former evidence, that it was possible
to do more under favorable circumstances; but circumstances vary so much
on the common road, that we ought not to calculate on doing more than
weight for weight.
The diameter of your steam-wheel is rather greater than the diameter of
a carriage-wheel? Yes, the size of the wheel I proportion to the engine, so
that the piston may work under the most favorable circumstances.
It is by experiment simply that you have arrived at your present size of
cylinder? Yes.
You stated in your former evidence, that you anticipated that passengers
would be carried atone-half the rate by your steam carriages that they are
by the common carriages; what difference in the ordinary expenses of car¬
riage would it make if you had a paved road for this purpose? 1 think that
it would reduce the expense to one-half again.
If there were properly paved roads, you conceive that passengers might be
carried at one-fourth the present expense? Not exactly; because the total ex¬
pense includes the government duty, tolls, &c. as the same; but as far as the
steam power is concerned they would. These subjects have been inquired
into by a mathematical friend of mine, and he has published the result of his
inquiries, which I will take the liberty of delivering in.
[The ivitness delivered in the same.]
You have stated that, in certain states of the road, you find increased diffi¬
culty than in other states? I have; and the difficulty arises from a meehani-
[ Doc, No. 101. ]
33
cal application of the steam simply; namely, in consequence of the road be¬
ing in a greasy state, and the wheels therefore more easily slipping, and, un¬
der the circumstances, do not furnish so good a fulcrum for propelling.
Have you ever watched the operation of your carriages in snow? I have;
I have used them both on snow and on ice. On ice, a very little roughing
of the wheels is necessary, in the same manner as you rough horses, and
little power is sufficient to propel the carriage, because, under those circum¬
stances, the power to draw the weight is very considerably reduced, and
therefore the full power of the engine is not necessary to be exerted; in
deep snow, there certainly is great difficulty; but I have no doubt that as the
subject goes on improving, all those practical difficulties will be overcome.
The difficulty would be greater in your carriage than in other carriages,
would it not? I think not; I think the carriage might be so constructed as
to remove the difficulty.
Will you state effect of ice below, and snowabove, upon the action of your
carriages? I have had occasion, in two or three instances, to use the car¬
riage under those circumstances, with a view judging of the practical result
of it; and I have not found any difficulty in its progress. The snow is press¬
ed strongly under the wheel, becomes almost immovable, and furnishes â good
fulcrum for the wheel; a little preparation is only necessary, and a very little
is sufficient to overcome any moderate obtsacle of that kind. May I be al¬
lowed to give in to the committee a scale of what I conceive to be an equita¬
ble toll on steam carriages? it is the same in principle as I gave in on my last
examination, but is extended.
[ The witness delivered in the same.']
To what width could you extend the tire, without any inconvenience to
the working of your carriage? At present I cannot say to what limit it may
be carried, but six inches would be no inconvenience.
Then your carriage would go with six inches tire? I think so; and, un¬
der certain circumstances, easier, where the crust of the road is hard.
Would not that depend very much upon the road? It would; I would
state general principles: I would submit to the consideration of the commit¬
tee, better to explain my meaning, that it frequently happens that a frost
forms a crust sufficiently hard to support the weight of a carriage a ton
weight, but that it breaks under one or two tons; the power required to draw
two carriages respectively so circumstanced is so great, that I can give you
no data for estimates off-hand; but it is evident, that the power of drawing a
one-ton carriage would be little compared with the proportion of power re¬
quired for drawing two. My answer to the question is, generali}', as I find
the public roads at this time.
To what velocity could you increase your present rate of travelling with
your engine? I have stated that the velocity is limited by practical experi¬
ence only; theoretically it is limited only by quantity of steam; 12 miles, I
think, we might keep up steadily, and run with great safety. The extreme
rate that we have run is between 20 and 30 miles an hour. I stated in my
former evidence, that the carriage when upset by Sir Charles Dance, was, at
that time, going at 18 miles an hour, but no injury happened either to the ma¬
chinery or the persons upon it: still I am of opinion that that speed might
be maintained with perfect safety by a little experience in practical manage¬
ment.
5
34
[ Doc. No. 101. ]
What are the practical objections to going at that rate? I think the prin¬
cipal objections are want of real knowledge and experience: I have been so
many times disappointed in what theoretically I had imagined true, that I
am afraid to give a decided opinion on subjects not practically proved.
Have you any thing further that you wish to state to the committee? I
would state generally, in regard to themain improvements on steam engines,
by which this country has been so much benefitted, and the prospects of ad¬
vantages arising from steam carriages, that they have almost always been in
a direct ratio with that of removing of horses; that the great and splendid im¬
provements of Mr. Watt have generally been supposed to be principally con¬
nected with the separate condenser of the steam engine, and the saving of
the fuel; but before Mr. Walt's day, we could empty our mines of water in
Cornwall, and we could do a variety of other simple work by the steam en¬
gine, and so far the improvement of Mr. Watt was simply with respect to
the saving of fuel; but I consider that the great national advantage arising
from Mr. Watt's improvement, has been his application of the steam engine
to machinery; and the extent of that advantage to the community has been in
a direct proportion to the removal of horse power, a most unproductive la¬
borer, and a dead expense to the country. If this view of the subject be en¬
tertained, the application of steam to propelling carriages on common roads,
will be as important above its application to machinery generally, as the
number of horses employed in locomotion exceed those necessary to machi¬
nery, which bears no proportion with respect to each other. At Hounslow
alone, there are, at this moment, upwards of 1,000 horses employed in stage
coaches and posting. On the Paddington road, a distance of five miles only,
there are upwards of 1,000 horses employed at this moment. Throughout
Great Britain, it is almost impossible to say how many horses are employed,
but I should perhaps be within bounds if I were to say millions, in posting
and stage coaches. If it is possible to remove those horses by an elementary
power, which I firmly believe is practicable, the national advantage must be
in proportion to the nnmber of horses so removed; for if it is shown that one
carriage horse can be removed trom the road by the present state of steam
carriages, I see no reason why every horse so employed should not be so re¬
moved. It has been decided that the consumption of a horse is equal to that
necessary for eight individuals, so for every horse that is removed and is sup¬
plied by elementary power, we make way for the maintenance of eight indi¬
viduals. If it is possible to carry the idea so far, and I see no objection to
it, to do the principal work of horses by steam, or if if can be done by ele¬
mentary power, the committee may imagine to what extent we may provide
for our increasing population. I think we may do much by political laws and
enactments, but natural laws will do more, and when pointed out by the fin¬
ger of Providence, may be made to provide for his wise dispensations. I firm¬
ly believe that the introduction of steam carriages will do more than any
other thing for this country. I have always had this impression; 1 left an
honorable and lucrative profession, in which I was extensively engaged, in
order to attend to this subject, because I was convinced of its importance and
practicability; I have always entertained the same idea as I do at present.
Imperfections will exist in'the machinery ; but I conceive that the main points
of difficulty have been removed by the experiments I have made, and that
all those now remaining are practical difficulties, which will be removed by
further experience; and if there is no cause opposed by the Legislature, or any
other source, I will be bold to say, that, in five years, steam carriages will be
[ Doc. No. 101. 3
35
generally employed throughout England. I have not hesitated, having
these feelings, to devote all my time for the last six years to the subject, and
am mentally recompensed by the present state of the subject. Private car¬
riages also will be used. Under this opinion, I have given directions for build¬
ing a small one. I expect it will go quicker, safer, more easily, and certainly
more independently than a common carriage, because it does not need the
food of a horse.
Do you apprehend much decrease in the price of your engines? Ido, and
I also anticipate that steam will be supplanted by the use of other elementary
power; but I do not think that will take place in our day. I think that
steam will be generally introduced, and that the pubic will feel the import
tance of it; and that scientific men will be directed to examine and employ-
in ks stead other substances, and new compounds are continually turning up,
and some will eventually be applied to mechanical purposes.
Do you believe that there will be other ways of raising steam? I do not
now speak of steam, but certain compounds. I do not specify any particular
compound at this moment. I state those generally which are known to pro¬
duce power by chemical change: some peculiarly explosive and aeriform
bodies for instance. I am informed that at present there are between 20 and
40 different carriages building, or about to be built, by different persons, all
of which have been occasioned principally by the decided journey which I
took of 200 miles in 1829, and which convinced not only the public of its
practicability, but also some of those very men who are now employed in
this object, and who previously had laughed at the idea, and considered it
chimerical.
In what particular point of machinery does your patent consist? I have
three patents, the first for the boiler, the second for the peculiar application
of it, and the third for improvements that have been made since.
Do you anticipate much saving of fuel in your future experiments? I do;
I think the saving of fuel will be in proportion to the saving of water.
That is, that there will be a saving from the better application of the fuel
and boiler? Yes; and from the general improvements in machinery. For in¬
stance, it is an unsettled point at this moment whether a pressure of 20 lbs.
to an inch, or 120 lbs. to an inch, is best. It is not yet decided, which time
will decide.
Do you cut off your steam, so as to work expansively? Yes, we generally-
work expansively.
You have mentioned that various accidents had happened to the crank of
the engine, which were not accounted for: have you in contemplation to ef¬
fect any change in the application of the power ? At present, I think the
crank the most simple; in some of my first experiments I worked with a
chain passing over two wheels from one to another; also by a rack and pin¬
ion, and various motions of that kind; but I think that nothing is equal to a
crank: that also is the opinion of others besides myself. Upon the Liver¬
pool railroad they first applied the power'to the outside of the wheel, but
they have come to my drawing (Mo. 3.) at last, and they now work by the
crank on the axle: this practically confirms my opinion. There is one ob¬
servation which I would at this moment make in connection with my former
evidence. I have been frequently asked, what would happen in case of an
accident happening to the guide or director, in case he falls asleep, or in case
he is disengaged from his seat? I have provided for all those casualties, dis¬
tant as they are, by making the valves of the engine only remain in gear
36
[ Doc. No. 101. ]
when the guide is in his proper situation: the moment he is thrown off his
seat, by accident or otherwise, the engine instantly stops.
Does that depend upon the guide's weight? No; it is by his foot he keeps
the valves down, and the effect on the carriage when he takes it off is very
singular. I merely mention that fact in connection with the practical detail
and safety of the carriage. The same contrivance, by simply lifting the foot,
prevents the carriage from running down hill too quickly, and we do not re¬
quire the complicated drags that were before used.
Mr. Walter Hancock, called in, and examined.
Are you the proprietor of a steam carriage running on a turnpike road?
Yes.
How long have you been running that steam carriage? I dare say about a
twelve month this present coach, but I have been working for hire on the
road only a month.
Are you the inventor of that particular description of engine that you make
use of? Yes.
Will you state the progress which you have made in the improvement of
your steam carriage? The principal improvement I consider is in the boiler;
that of constructing the boiler much lighter than any that are now in use.
Will you be kind enough to give a general outline of your plan? There
are flat chambers which are placed side by side, the chambers being about
two inches thick, and there is a space between each two inches; there are ten
chambers, and there are ten flues, and under the flues there is six square feet
of fire, which is the dimension of the boiler top and bottom. The chambers
are filled from half full to two-thirds with water, and the other third is left
for steam : there is a communication quite through the series of chambers top
and bottom; this communication is formed by means of two large bolts, which
screw all the chambers together; the bottom bolts the bottom part of the
chambers, and the top bolts the top part of the chambers; and by releasing
those bolts at any time at all the chambers fall apart, and by screwing them
they are all made tight again. We have braces to fasten them; the steam is
driven outfrom the centre of one of the flues, and the water is ejected from
the pump at the bottom communication for the supply of water.
Does the fire pass between the boxes, or does it pass through them? It
passes only between them.
There is no line of communication for the fire made between the boxes?
Nothing more than the flue through which the fire passes; the sides of the
boilers form the chimneys.
Have you ascertained what pressure such boilers are equal to? I have
never gone beyond 400 lbs. on an inch. I have worked^it on a road at 400;
the average pressure on an inch is froin 60 to 100.
At what pressure do you set your safety-valve? Taking the average of
roads, I work at about 70 lbs. upon the square inch.
You have calculated how may square feet of boiler? At the present car¬
riage, I have 100 square feet of boiler exposed to the fire.
What distance do you run from stage to stage? What I consider the stages
I have run is four miles; but every eight miles I take in water; I go there
and back.
You consider your stage eight miles? Yes.
Do you take in both water and fuel at the end of a stage? Yes, at the end
of every eight miles.
[ Doc. No. 101. ]
37
What quantity of water and what quantity of fuel do you use for each stage?
About 7 cwt. of water, and sometimes eight; it depends upon the roads; we
consume more steam when the roads run heavy. -
How much coal or coke do you use for each stage? About two bushels of
coke.
Do you mean that you take two bushels at the commencement of each
stage? I take more with me, but I always consume a quarter of a bushel per
mile.
You do not in that include your first charge of coke when you set off? No,
chat would vary according to circumstances. If I were in a hurry, I could
get the steam up in five minutes; but the average time is about twenty min-
Jtes in getting up our steam, and we do not consume more than a bushel.
That is at first starting? That is at first starting.
Do you apply a second carriage to your engine for passengers, or do you
carry them in the same carriage? The boiler is placed behind the carriage;
;here is an engine-house between the boiler and the carriage; the engines are
daced perpendicular between the passengers and the boiler, and the fore
cart of the vehicle is for the passengers, so that all the machinery is quite
oehind the carriage, and the fore part of the carriage entirely for the con¬
venience of passengers.
Where does the guide sit? In the front, the same exactly as a coachman ,
n a common stage.
How many passengers have you carried? We carry ten; but I am making
jrovision to carry fourteen. .
What is the weight of your vehicle? I should imagine about three tons
»nd a half.
Have you ever weighed it? Not this carriage, but the carriage I had be¬
ere, the vehicle itself with the engines and boilers, weighed three tons. I
consider the present carriage to weigh from three tons to three and half
ons, with fuel and water. -
Have you found the rate of tolls that have been charged at the turn-
oike gates very high? tOn the city road toll, I have paid a shilling. I do not
itnow whether it is according to proportion, for it was a thing that did not
embrace my attention at that time; but the highest toll that I have paid is a
shilling; but on the road that I run from Stratford to London they told me
they would not take it; they would take it another day.
What effect do you think your carriage has upon the road, in prôportion'
with a carriage equally loaded with four horses? I think, myself, we should
rather improve the roads by the operation of our engines, because a steam
coach requires broad wheels, perfectly upright and flat on the oülside of
the tire.
What is the breadth of the tire? The tires of the present wheels are about
three inches and a half.
What is the diameter of the hind wheels? Four feet. That is not a pro¬
portion that I consider to be working as a profitable diameter; I consider
that the diameter that should be used for a steam coach is at least five feet.
How wide could you make that tire without losing power? It depends on
the weight; but taking the common coaehes, I should say from six to eight
inches.
Without injuring the power? I have no doubt it would be no drawback
on the power. ,
38
[ Doc. No. 101. ]
Do you consider that such breadth would be as good as any other, the best
you could make? Yes; because a broad wheel on gravel is considered to be
a great advantage; it is a great disadvantage on a road which is between wet
and dry; but in those cases we have always an overplus of power blowing off
at the safety-valve, and, from that circumstance, I am rather pleased'at having
rather a dead road to run upon, because we are obliged to construct the ve¬
hicle so as to overcome all obstacles in the road, such as dead gravel, &c.
To how many of your wheels do you apply your power? To two; occa¬
sionally one.
Do you apply it to a crank? The axletree of the present carriage is made
precisely the same as the common axles now in use, straight and merely bent
at the end, and I have a chain which I put on the nave of the wheel, and
that communicates with a corresponding chain wheel on the crank shaft of
the engines.
What is the size of the circle on the wheel to which you apply your chain?
About ten inches.
How wide is the corresponding circle on the crank shaft? The corres¬
ponding pully of the shaft is just the same; so that the power of the engine
is the same exactly as though it were applied to the wheel itself.
You have two wheels; how do you move the first wheel? There are two
engines working on two cranks, exactly on the same principle as used in
common for steam coaches. I take the chains; I place the engine four feet
from the axletree of the hind wheels, and the communication of the chain is to
allow me to put my work on the springs; and the play of the carriage up
and down is accommodated by the chain.
Is your cylinder on springs? Yes, every thing on springs.
Do you make use of one or two cylinders? Two.
What size? Twelve inches in the stroke, and nine inches in the bore.
Has your engine met with accidents? No, except once I broke my chain;
but in the course of five minutes we could replace that chain, by taking an
extra chain with us.
Are your boilers easily cleaned? In all the experience I have had with
the working of boilers, 1 have found that they never require cleaning. I con¬
sider that the ebullition is so rapid, and the action of water so violent, tha
it will not allow any dirt to fix.
How long do you calculate one of your boilers would last? It depends up¬
on the thickness of metal. The boiler we use I consider will last, in loco¬
motive engines, from a twelvemonth to two years.
What is the thickness of the iron that you use? I should suppose about
the eighth of an inch thick.
Of what material are they composed? Of the best charcoal iron.
What is the appearance of your carriage; has it an unsightly appearance?
I think my present carriage is any way from being handsome, because it has
been built entirely for experiments.
Does the chimney rise above the carriage? No, you cannot see the chim¬
ney.
When steam is let off, where is it let ofi? You can see nothing of it.
Then there can arise no annoyance either from smoke or from waste
steam? None at all.
Do you find that horses are frightened by your carriage? I think I may
say safely, that not one horse in a thousand will take the least notice of it;
[ Doc. No. 101. ]
39
occasionally a horse may shy at it. I have seen fine blood-horses come along
and shy at a wheelbarrow lying in the road, and not shy at my engine. There
is one very curious instance which I had once occurred, and I was obliged
to the gentleman for the pains he had taken. He had a fine horse on the
road and this horse shyed: he was determined to get over the difficulty, if it
were possible; and to make him acquainted with it, he came with the engine
to town; and at last,- when we got to London, the horse got quite tranquil,
so that he put his head in the engine-house, which is very uncommon, and
which is a thing I never saw a horse do before.
Then you anticipate that if such engines become more common, there will
be less difficulty in this respect? I have no doubt of it.
Does it produce any very extraordinary noise in its motion? We have
worked so quietly latterly, that I have almost run over people on the road,
and they have not heard me. I have had to halt very often: they have not
been aware of the coach coming.
Under any circumstances, the noise that is anticipated would take place
from the defect of the machinery, and not from the machinary itself? Yes;
we make one-third of the noise of a common stage.
When you let off steam, does it produce any violent noise in stopping? I
can give an instance to the contrary which occurred in London, which is the
best place to put the thing to a test. About a fortnight or three weeks ago, Mr.
Wilks was kind enough to mention my running on the Stratford road, and
I wished him to present a petition from me to the House of Commons, and
at the same time requested that he would take a ride with me in my engine
on the Stratford road. I waited three quarters of an hour for him, and the
machinery was working the whole of the time; there were hundreds of peo¬
ple walking round it, and I suppose they did not know it was working at
all; there was no noise at all in the machinery ; and you could not, unless you
had gone to the back, known that it was working.
Does spare steam pass off without noise? Not any.
Supposing that you were going at full work, and that you had occasion to
stop for a passenger, you would be obliged to letoffsteam? Yes; but know¬
ing from experience how to obviate a disadvantage of this kind, which of
course practice alone has brought to bear, it is probable that a stranger would
hardly know it, it is so quiet.
In what part would it be thrown off? It is divided and thrown off from
the fire in every direction, and it is instantly consumed; the force is spent.
Is not that rather a dangerous experiment to throw a great body of steam
upon a confined fire? No, we have never found any disadvantage from it.
In no circumstances in which the engine may be at work, have you to let
off steam in a way to create a noise? No, the boiler will not hold any quan¬
tity of steam; we let off steam from the safety-valve as fast as we make it;
there is no capacity for accumulation; the fault of many of the boilers is, that
if any accident happens there is a complete explosion.
Then, of course, the danger is lessened? Yes, to construct a boiler of that
kind has been my object, so that the stpam may be let off.
Suppose if one of your boilers were to burst, what would happen? I will
give the committee an instance. I was travelling about nine miles an hour
at the time the boiler was the twenty-fourth part of an inch thick. I was
workingthen at 100 lbs.jon the square inch, with 13 persons on the present
vehicle that I have now inttee; and all of a sudden the carriage stopped, and
for what reason I was at a loss to know. I got from my stage seat and went
40
[ Doc. No. 101. ]]
to the engineer to ask him what was the reason he had stopped the steam; he
told me he had not stopped the carriage, and he immediately applied his hand
to the guage cocks. I found there was neither steam nor water in the boiler.
I immediately knew that the boiler was burst; they said they did not know it,
as they heard no noise, and I told them that I did not mean they should know
it. I said I would show them that it was so, and I took the boiler from the
carriage and unscrewed it, and there were four large holes that I could put
my hand into. This occurred from the chambers being too thin, and they
drove all the water out of the boiler, and yet there was no injury to any per¬
son; there was not one person that heard any report; there was no steam,
and there were no symptoms in any way that the machine itself had burst.
Do your boilers extend under the place where passengers sit? No, quite
at the back.
What is the length of the carriage? About 16 feet, and the room the boil¬
ers occupy is about three feet.
Are the chambers of the boiler placed upright side by side? They are
placed sideways.
In what circle could you turn your carriage? The circle of the inner
wheels would bç four feet, and the outer wheel would exceed that by the
breadth between the wheels: .taking the average it would be ten feet.
Supposing you wanted to turn round, what should you do? If I got into
any difficulty, and wished to go back, by applying my hand to the lever I
should reverse the motions and run the reverse way.
Supposing that you are travelling in a street of ten feet wide, and that there
was another street of ten feet wide branching off at right angles with the first
street, would there beiany difficulty in turning into it? Not any; but I could
not turn round in thatVjstreet. In that case, I should back the engine.
Would you check your speed? That would depend upon the speed I was
going at. If I was going at six miles an hour, it is probable that I should
not check the speed; but if I were going ten miles, it is probable that I should
before I turned round into the street.
■ Are your fore-wheels and hind-wheels the same diameter? The fore-
wheels are three feet three, and the hind wheels are four feet.
Can you reverse the action of your carriage with great ease? Yes; by sim¬
ply pulling a lever: it is done momentarily. In my present carriage I could
not; but I have an arrangement of that kind in the other carriage which I
am making.
Supposing you were going at the rate of eight miles an hour, and that you
wished to stop suddenly, in what number of feet could you stop your car¬
riage? I will say twelve feet.
üf course there is equal facility in avoiding any particular object on the
road? Yes.
In stopping so suddenly, would there not be a danger of your being thrown
off? No, I think not
Have you ever done it? Yes, I think I have.
Supposing you wanted to stop in the quickest possible way, at what dis¬
tance could you stop at that rate of speed? About four feet, I should think,
by backing the engines, because it is like putting a block to the wheel.
Would there be no danger in that? No, I think not; it would throw a
strain on the engines; the rate ofeight miles an hour is not so great; it is only
in extreme ¿ases that that would be done. I aiñ very frequently obliged to
pull up very short, from children running in the road.
[ Doc. No. 101. "I
41
Of what materials arc jour wheels made? Like common dished wheels,
they ought to be perfectly cylindycal. I merely took them to avoid expense;
thejr were wheels which I had by me.
Are you proprietor of any other coaches? No.
Have you any means of ascertaining the proportion of friction that there
• son your wheels, and those drawn by horses? No; I have never gone in¬
to experiments to any extent upon that point.
Are your wheels shod frequently? No, I have never had occasion to
have the wheels shod; they were not worn out.
For what number of miles could you run without being obliged to shoe
your wheels? I do not know.
Do jTou find any difference of wear between jTour propelling wheels and
your drawing wheels? No, except in relation to the weight on the hind
wheels. We throw more weight in order to produce friction, to get adhe¬
sion to the ground.
Have you any scheme of tojls to produce to the committee, which you
think would be equitable to lay on steam carriages for the use of the road?
I have considered the thing a great deal, and, after taking every thing into
consideration, the weight of the engine and the weight of the boiler, and so
OR, on the one hand, 1 think it is much upon a par with the weight of the
horses,'and the weight of the coach, and the weight of the passengers, on the
other.
What would you consider the most equitable mode of charging steam car¬
riages? I think there can be no better mode than charging them as other
coaches are charged.
Supposing that a common conch at present takes eighteen persons, and
you, by improvement of your coaches, could take tliirty-six persons, how
would you apportion the rate of tolls that you ought to pay? In that case, 1
think the fairest way would be to have it in proportion to the number of per¬
sons that are carried.
Do you think it should be charged by weight? That, perhaps, would be
as fair a way as any of charging the toll.
Charging the weight of your engine as compared with the weight of com¬
mon coaches? Yes.
Have you turned your attention to the improvement of your machine, by
affixing a carriage to it, and making your engine independent of the carnage?
Yes; I have considered the thing well in every point, and I think it is much-
better to construct the carriage both for passengers and macninery on one
arrangement, not to have the thing divided: mj- reason for considering it an
improvement is this; for instance, if a new road is made, the object of the
proprietors ofthat road is to get as heavj' a roller as they can, even if it requires
eight horses to draw the roller They do that in order to imbed the gravel to
make it solid; and the nearer that steam coach approaches that roller, the
better it is for the propelling wheels.
With respect to the tolls, are you satisfied with the present tolls you pay?
" I think they are exhorbitant: from Islington to the city road they charge me
a shilling.
Are you aware what four-horse coaches, with eighteen passengers, pay on
the same road? I am not aware.
From what cause do you judge it excessive? From the short distance
which I come. I do not know'what length of road I should have had to run
before I should have been subject to another toll.
6
42
[ Doc. No. 101. ]
Have you considered the subject whether it would be more equitable to
charge the steam carriages by horse-power or by weight, or by the number
of passengers? I think the fairest way wofild be in proportion to the num¬
ber of persons they carried, or in proportion to the weight.
What would you give as the basis of your calculation, considering that the
number of persons which the different coaches carry varies from eight to
eighteen? I see no other way, excepting that of the number of passengers,
or according to the weight.
Have you made any calculation as to the number ofhorses that the exten¬
sion of these carriages will displace with respect to each stage; what horse
power is equivalent to the carriage that you run? I take a stage to run 100
miles a day, and I reckon upon the average it would take from from 48 to 50
horses for the whole distance; the common average is a horse a mile; but
from the information I have endeavored to get, from what 1 have gathered,
I find it about 48 or 50. I believe it is to be taken backwards and forwards
at a horse a mile.
Would your carriage displace along the rtiad four horses on each stage?
Two ten-horse engines would displace the whole number of horses along the
stage.
Have you made experiments which enable you to answer these questions?
I was not at all prepared; my principal object has been to ascertain what pow¬
er I have to do a certain work. I have paid very little attention to horse
power.
Do 3rou think that your carriage is equivalent to a four-horse carriage on
the road, in the number of persons it would draw? It is more than equiva¬
lent to it, from the circumstance ofits being able to do more work.
Supposing you have to run seven miles, how many passengers could you
carry at your present speed? Fourteen.
Supposing that a coach of four horses were to run that seven miles, how
many passengers would it take? It would carry the same number.
What weight, upon a dead level, will set your carriage in motion on the
road if you were to attach a rope to the pole, and suspend that rope over a
pulley, and attach a weight to it, what weight will set your carriage in mo¬
tion? It is an experiment I never tried, and I am not prepared to answer.
Do you know what, if you were to set your carriage on an inclined plane,
is the inclination that will set it moving? No, that is not a thing which I
have tried.
Do all the wheels follow in the same track? Yes, they do.
Have you ever tried your carriage up hill on an inclination? Yes, I have,
repeatedly.
Do you find an increased difficulty in proportion to the length of the in¬
clination? No, we go much slower; but we never find any difficulty.
Have you ever found your wheels slip? No, excepting once on the city
road, at the time when the frost was on the road; it was quite slippery; and
then, for an experiment, I tried to see if I could run up the Pentonville Hill
with one wheel only; and I did, but it was with some difficulty towards the
top. If I had propelled by the two wheels, there would have been none.
Have you found at what inclination in a frost the wheels will begin to turn?
I never witnessed such a thing.
Are you aware that such a thing will occur? Yes; but I think there are
no hills which are to be found, upon which horses travel, but what a coach
would propel itself up.
[ Doc. No. 101. ]
43
Have you ever seen your carriage get into a deep rut? Yes.
In such a case what generally happens? If it is a single wheel, it may go
round two or three times; if I have two wheels, it is improbable I should get
into such a situation.
Do you find peculiar states of the roads upon which you travel, more dis¬
advantageous than others to the progress of your carriage? Yes.
Which do you find the most disadvantageous? When the roads are be¬
tween wet and dry.
In going down a hill, are you obliged to lock your wheel in any way? Yes,
if it is much down hill; it depends upon its inclination.
What is the nature of the provision for locking the wheel? A metallic
band, bearing upon the outer part of the wheel.
What are the fares that you take, higher or lower than ordinary stages?
They are the same fares as the stages fares; eight-pence from Bow, and nine-
pence from Stratford.
How much is that a mile? Barely two-pence a mile.
In what proportion to what is charged by stage coaches do you think you
should be able to charge your fares? I think the fares would be reduced to
tw'o-thirds, after a short time, if supported and not overburdened by tolls.
Should you be able to continue running if the fares were reduced to two-
thirds? Yes.
In your present state of knowledge upon this subject, in what propor¬
tion do you think the rate of travelling would be diminished? In the pro¬
portion I have stated of two-thirds.
Is it your opinion, that, generally speaking, it would be reduced two-thirds?
Not in the outset, but after the thing has had full play.
Have you made any calculation of the expense of running a coach drawn
by four horses, carrying a certain number of passengers, and that of running
with one of your carriages at the same velocity? I have endeavored several
times, but I have never been able to get an accurate account of the power and
other expenses incurred in driving a long stage; but I reckon my own expen¬
ses will cost from three to four pounds a day, including all expenses at¬
tached to the coach, wages for engineer, steersman, fuel, oil, &c.
What expense is it a mile upon your coach? I have taken the one hun¬
dred miles, and included the day's expenses.
Were you ever a stage proprietor yourself? No.
Then from your own knowledge you can state nothing as to the cost at
carrying passengers by a stage coach? No.
Could you, if you were to travel one hundred miles in ten hours, keep up
that rate without damage to the machine? Yes, I reckon the work would
be done in eight hours, but the stoppages and one thing and another will take
up two hours.
Mercurii, 100 die Augustin 1831.
John Farey, esquire, called in; and examined.
Have the goodness to state your profession? I am an engineer.
How long have you been so? It is twenty five years since I began my
studies; I have been much employed by inventors to assist them in bringing
forward nçw inventions of a mechanical nature, and in establishing them as
practical businesses, when they have been sufficiently perfect to admit of so
doing.
44
[ Boc. No. 101. ]
Have you turned your attention to the subject of propelling stage coaches
or other carriages, by steam power on common roads, instead of by horses?
I have had occasion to prepare specifications of several such inventio ns for
which patents have been taken out, and have in consequence paid a close at¬
tention to that subject. I have also been consulted to settle the plans for the
practical execution of steam coaches, but I have not directed or superintend¬
ed any such execution myself. Of the specifications I have prepared, three
have been followed up by building coaches, which have actually travelled on
common roads; viz. Mr. Gurney's, Mr. Hancock's, and Messrs. Heaton's.
I believe those three are the only trials amongst many others which have had
so much success as to have been persisted in to the present time. I have ex¬
amined other steam coaches, but they had no chance of success, and have
been abandoned.
Will you state, generally, your opinion as to the probability of this mode of
propelling carriages superseding the necessity of using horses? All that has
been hitherto done, or which is now doing, in that way, must, I think, be
considered as experimental trials. I have no doubt whatever but that a stea¬
dy perseverance in such trials will lead to the general adoption of steam coach¬
es, and that, at an earlier or later period, according to the activity and intelli¬
gence with which an experimental course is conducted; and I am firmly con¬
vinced that the perfection which is essential to their successful adoption will
never be attained by any other course than that of reiterated trials. The
difficulties with which the steam coach inventors are at present contending,
are chiefly of a practical nature, which, I think, are not likely to be avoided
by any great efforts of genius or invention; but I expect that they may be
surmounted one after another by the experience which may be gained by
competent mechanicians in a course of practice. I do not look for much
more invention as necessary to the establishment of steam coaches; but it is
certain that the practice is indispensable. Each of the three inventors I have
named has brought his steam coach to that state which renders it a full-sized
model for making such experiments as serve to prove the principle of action,
and to teach how a better coach may be made the next time, but nothing more.
The probability that such next better coach will be sufficiently perfect to
answer as a trading business, depends as much upon the natural judgment and
acquired skill of each inventor, as upon the qualifications of his present pro¬
duction.
Has the experience which has already been had of steam carriages been
such as to enable us to say that it is not merely in theory we have calculated
on these carriages? Yes; what has been done bythe abovementioned inven¬
tors, proves to my satisfaction the practicability of impelling stage coaches
by steam on good common roads, intolerable level parts of the country,
without horses, at a speed of eight or ten miles an hour. The steam coacffi
es I have tried, have made very good progress along the road, but have
been'very deficient in strength, and consequently in permanency of keep¬
ing in repair, also in accommodation for passengers and for luggage; for
which reasons they are none of them models to proceed upon to build coa-ch-
es as matter of business. From the complexity of their structures and the
multiplicity of pieces of which they are composed, it is impracticable to
give them the requisite strength by mere addition of materials, because
they would then be too heavy to carry profitable loads as stage coaches. I
do not consider that it is now a question of theory, for the practicability I
conceive to be proved; but many details of execution, which are necessary to
[ Doc. No. 101. J
45
a successful practice, are yet in a very imperfect state. My view of the
subject will be best understood by stating, that I believe an efficient steam
carriage might now be made merely to carry despatches, by following the
general plan of the best steam coach which has yet been produced, improv¬
ing the proportions wherever experience has shown them to be faulty, using
the very best workmanship and materials, and giving a judicious increase of
strength to the various parts which require it, allowing all the weight of a
load of passengers and luggage, and of the accommodations for them, in ad¬
ditional strength of materials, so that the total weight of the coach, without
any passengers or goods (beyond the people and stores necessary for its own
use and one courier,) should be as much as the weight of the previous model
containing a full load of passengers and luggage. If three such coaches
were constructed, one of them might start every morning at each end of aey
fair line of road 100 or 120 miles long, and one would arrive every evening
at each end of that line in less time than a common stage coach; and I should
expect that, after twelve months' perseverance, and after making all the im¬
provements and alterations in the machinery which so much experience
would suggest, the double passage ought to be made with as much safety and
punctuality, and with much more expedition, than by the mail. The road
between London and Bristol might be taken as a suitable line, but I should
expect a pair of horses to be provided at every notable hill, to help the steam
carriage up it. Such a proposition, it is obvious, olfers no inducement to
individuals, because it would be all expense without any return; but if it
were judiciously done at public expense, I have no doubt but that it would
lead to as much improvement in the mode of execution of future coaches as
would enable them to be run permanently as stage coaches with profitable
loads. The great defect of all the present models, is' want of strength to re¬
sist the violence to which they are subjected in rapid travelling with a full
load; and if that strength were given upon the present construction by the
mere addition of materials, they would become too heavy to be efficiently
propelled, even if they carried no load in them.
Have you seen the last coaches of Mr. Gurney and of Mr. Hancock? I
have not minutely examined the last addition of Mr. Gurney's carriage, but
have met it several times on the roads in my neighborhood, as I have also
that of Mr. Hancock; and I have travelled in the latter; but he has enlarged
the cylinders of his engine since I have gone in it.
You have seen Mr. Gurney's original boilers; he states that he has altered
very little in the.form of them? Yes; I was well acquainted with the con¬
struction and performance of all that Mr. Gurney had attained at the time
when I specified his patent, three years ago; and I understand generally the
alterations he has since made, though I have not made trial of any of his more
recent coaches; the principal change is in separating the engine and machi¬
nery from the carriage which is to convey the passengers, so that there are
two four-wheeled carriages, one drawing the other after it. This change in¬
volves no very great alteration in the machinery, which I understand, is
nearly the same as it was; but the impelling carriage in which it is placed is
very much lightened by transferring all the passengers to the additional car¬
riage which is drawn. Mr. Hancock continues to follow the original plan
of carrying the passengers in the same four-wheeled carriage with the en-
gine.
As far as your experience has gone, which plan of steam carriage do you
think will hereafter be most generally resorted to, that of an engine carriage
46
[ Doc. No. 101. ]
drawing after it another carriage containing the passengers, or of conveying
the passengers in the carriage in which the machinery is placed? I have not
had experience in drawing by two carriages, except by the analogy of what
is done on railways, and hence I feel some difficulty in speaking positively
upon that point. There are advantages ami disadvantages to be considered in
both modes, but all the mechánical considerations incline to one side, viz.
to place the engines in^the same carriage with the passengers. That plan will
eertainly be lighter than when two separate carriages are used, and also the
weight will be laid on those wheels which are turned by the engines, as it
should be, to give them a firmer adherence to the road; also one carriage
will steer and turn much better than two, and will go safer down hill, and
will be cheaper to build and to work.
By that means great weight is saved? Yes; perhaps one-third is saved in
exerting an equal power. In stating my opinion of the probability of a pro¬
fitable result, after twelve months' trial of three coaches to run regularly two
hundred miles every day, with despatches only, I contemplated that the en¬
gines and passengerswould be ultimately inonecarriage, becausethatplan has a
most decided mechanical advantage in making progress along the road, and also
in facility of steerage, and safety in going down hill, and fewer servants are re¬
quired to manage one carriage than two. On the other hand, all the constructions
that have yet been tried with one carriage, subject the passengers to more or
less occasional annoyance from heat and noise, smoke and dust, and there is
still an apprehension of danger from the boiler: hence passengers will inva¬
riably prefer to go in a separate carriage to be drawn by the engine-carriage;
that mode also offers a facility of changing the engine for another, or for post
horses, in case it gets deranged, because the change may be made without
unloading, and discomposing the passengers. For common stage coaches these
are strong motives to use a separate carriage, and if it can be brought to bear
in comparison with horses, that mode will probably be most generally adopt¬
ed by the influence of the passengers, although the other mode will inevita¬
bly perform the best and attain the greatest speed of travelling.
Taking the two machines of Mr. Gurney and Mr. Hancock in their pre¬
sent state, do you think them entirely free from defects likely to prove dan¬
gerous to travellers? I do not think the danger is at all considerable in
either Mr. Gurney's or Mr. Hancock's: there are dangers in all travelling;
but I do not think the amount of danger will be at all increased by substitu¬
ting steam for horses, according to either of those plans.
The question refers to the peculiar danger from the nature of the propell¬
ing power? I am not inclined to think that there is any peculiar danger which
would be incurred by the change; and if the engines and passengers are not
on the same carriage, I think the ordinary danger would, on the whole,
be diminished.
The question is with reference to the relative danger of travelling ten miles
an hour when drawn by horses, and when propelled by steam at the same
rate? The danger of being run away with and overturned is greatly dimin¬
ished in a steam coach. It is very difficult to control four such horses as can
draw a heavy stage coach ten miles an hour in case they are frightened, or
choose to run away, and for such quick travelling they must be kept in that
state of courage that they are always inclined for running away, particular¬
ly down hill, and at sharp turns in the road. The steam power has "very
little corresponding danger, being perfectly controllable, and capable of ex¬
erting its power in reverse, to retard in going down hill; it must be careless-
[ Doc. No. Í01. 3
47
ness that would occasion the overturning of a steam carriage, which carries
the passengers in the same carriage with the engines. The distinct carriage
I consider to be much less controllable in turning corners and going down
hill, but yet far more so than horses. The chance of breaking down has
hitjierto been considerable, but it will not be more than usual in stage coach¬
es when the work is truly proportioned and properly executed. The risk
of explosion of the boilers is the only new cause of danger, and that I consi¬
der not equivalent to the danger from the horses. There have been, for
several years past, a number of locomotive engines in constant use on rail¬
ways, all of them having large high pressure boilers, very much more dan¬
gerous than Mr. Gurney's or Mr. Hancock's, whether we consider the pro¬
bability of explosion, or the consequence likely to follow an explosion, be¬
cause, being of large diameters, theytare less capable of sustaining the inter¬
nal pressure of the steam; and also they contain a large stock of confined
steam and hot water. The instances of explosion among those locomotive
engines have been very rare indeed.
Have you seen Mr. Hancock's last improvement? Yes; I consider Mr.
Hancock's boiler to be much better for steam coaches than any other which
has been proposed or tried.
If that boiler were to explode it is understood that there would be no dan¬
ger at all? It is very difficult to foresee that; at the same time, the risk of
explosion in'Mr. Hancock's boiler is certainly very much less than in the
locomotive boilers which are in constant use on a large scale on railways,
and where we have proof that the extent of the danger is very small.
Do you think his boiler might explode without the passengers knowing
anything about it? The metal plates of which the boiler is composed will
burn through by the continuance of the action of the fire, and may crack or
open so as to let the steam or water out of the boiler and disable the coach
from proceeding, but that is hardly to be called an explosion; no one would
be hurt. The crack which lets out the hot water is sure to throw it into the
fire in that case, and not on the passengers.
You consider the danger to passengers by the chance of bursting of a boil¬
er as not eauivalent to the danger of horses running away? It is not equiva¬
lent, in my opinion; the probability of a coach being overturned by the horses
ss far greater than that of a boiler bursting, and when either accident does
occur, the probable extent of mischief from an overturn in which all the
the passengers must participate, is much greater than could be expected from
the bursting of a boiler, which must always be kept at a considerable dis¬
tance from the passengers on account of the heat.
Supposing either Mr. Hancock's or Mr. Gurney's boiler were to burst; in
the one case the boiler being in a separate carriage, and in the other, the boil¬
er being at, considerable distance behind the passengers, what danger do you
think could arise to the passengers from the bursting of the boiler? There
is very little difference between the two cases; the separate carriage obviates
any apprehension that passengers could entertain from the danger of explo¬
sion, and will therefore be preferred by most passengers, but for myself I do
not rate that risk so high as to be induced to encounter the complexity of the
two carriages, and to forego some of that new security which steam power
offers by its controllability in descending hills and turning corners, compared
with horses; and which circumstance, as I have before stated, I think the
plan of one carriage is much to be preferred, and probably the other objec¬
tions of heat and noise and dust may be overcome by some new means,
48
[ Doc. No. 101. 3
which have not yet been shown. In Mr. Hancock's carriage the boiler is
, quite behind, and away from the passengers, so that they are out of dan¬
ger, if there is any, and are not materially annoyed by heat or smoke and
dust, except at limes when the wind brings it forward, and that rarely hap¬
pens when the coach is moving.
Is not the danger attendant on the bursting the boiler greatly diminished
by the subdivision of its internal capacity into tubes or small and flattened
chambers? Unquestionably, until the danger of explosion has become ex¬
ceedingly small; but the great difficulty of boilers for steam coaches is, that
the liability to burn through the plates has been increased by that expedient
for ensuring safety ; and the progress of the invention has been impeded be¬
tween those two difficulties in a greater degree than from any other circum¬
stance. It was a desideratum fora long time to contrive a boiler, which, be¬
ing made of such thin metal as would not render it too heavy, should have
sufficient strength to retain high pressure steam without danger of bursting;
also that it should expose a sufficient external surface of metal to the fii'e and
flame, and of internal surface to the contained water, to enable the required
quantity of steam to be produced from such a small body of water as could
be carried on account of the weight: both these conditions were fulfilled by
subdividing the contained water into small tubes or into flat chambers, which
expose a great surface in proportion to their internal capacity, and admit of
being made strong with thin metal; but there is also another condition which
is rather incompatible with the two former, viz. that there shall be such a
very free communication between the interior capacities of all the tubes or
narrow spaces, as will combine them all into one capacity, and permit the
contained water to run from one to another, and also permit the steam, which
is generated in innumerable small bubbles within the narrow spaces, to get
freely away from them, to goto the engines without accumulating and col¬
lecting into such large bubbles as would occupy the spaces and displace or
drive out the water before them; for, if that effect takes place, it produces
three great evils; the water boils over into the engines along with the steam,
and is wasted, and the thin metal which remains exposed at the outside to
the fire, becomes burning hot in an instant, after the water is so driven away
from the internal surface, and the further production of steam is suspended,
so long as the water continues absent. If such displacement of the water
takes place frequently, and in many of the narrow spaces at once, the
boiler will not produce its proper quantity of steam, and the thin metal will
soon be destroyed by the fire and burned through.
Have you seen Mr. Hancock's boiler? Yes; I have had many trials of it;
and I am well acquainted with Mr. Gurney's. The former uses flat chambers
of thin iron plate standing edgeways upwards over the fire in parallel vertical
planes; the latter uses small tubes (such as gun barrels are made of,) to contain
the water, the fire being applied on the outsides of the tubes. In Mr. Gurney's
boiler I think the subdivision of the water into small spaces is carried too far,
because the steam cannot get freely away, out of such small tubes as he uses
(and they are also of great length) without displacing much of water which
ought always to be contained within them. By an ingenious arrangement
of connecting pipes and vessels which he called separators, he collects all the
water which is so displaced along with the steam, and returns it again into
the lower ends of the same tubes, and thus avoids the evil of water boilino-
over into the engines; but thatmakes only a partial remedy for the diminish¬
ed production of steam, which is attendant on the absence of the water from
[ Doc. No. 101. ]
49
the heated tubes, and the still greater mischief of burning and destroying
the metal. Hence the evil of burning out the tubes is very great. Also his
separators hold a considerable weight of water, from which no steam is
generated; and they require to be heavy in metal, to render them quite safe
and strong. Mr. Hancock has taken the middle course in subdividing the
water in his boiler, having all that can be required for safety, and the weight
I believe, on the whole, to be less than that of any other boiler which will
produce the same power of steam; for, owing to the freedom with which the
steam can get away in bubbles from the wrater, without carrying water with
it, the surface of the heated metal is never left without water. Hence a
greater effect of boiling is attained from a given surface of metal and body of
contained water, and that with a much greater durability of the metal plates,
than I think will ever be obtained with small tubes.
Do you think there is a danger of such an explosion as could do injury
from the mode in which Mr. Hancock's boilers are constructed? That danger I
hold to be very slight; the metal of Air. Hancock's chambers will burn through
in time, the same as that of Mr. Gurney's tubes will do, but not so soon. I
think, taking the thickness of metal to be the same in both cases, no injury
will be done by such burning through. The flat chambers in Mr. Hancock's
boiler are very judiciously combined, and are secured against bursting by
causing the pressure which tends to burst each one open, to be counteracted
by the corresponding pressure of the neighboring chamber, and the outside
chambers are secured by six bolts of prodigious strength, which pass through
all the chambers, and unite them all together so firmly that I see no probabli-
ty of an explosion. Air. Gurney's vessels, called separators, are secured by
hoops round them, and, being of a small size, may be made very safe. Hence
I think the two boilers may be put on a par as to their security; but there is
a decided preference in my opinion of Mr. Hancock's form of subdividing
the water and steam compartments, which I believe is carried too far in Air.
Gurney's tubes whereby the water, included within the several tubes, cannot
make way to allow the bubbles of steam to pass by it. This is owing to the
great length and the small bore of the tubes; and they are so isolated one from
another, that the water within them is not able to act as a common stock of
water, or to keep all the interior surfaces of the metal tubes thoroughly sup¬
plied with water: thence, there is a deficient production of steam and an un¬
necessary destruction of metal.
Are you aware that, in Mr. Hancock's carriage, the waste steam which is
discharged from the engines after having performed its oifice, is thrown into
the fireplace, and makes its escape upwards along with the flame, smoke and
heated air, and gas, which ascend from the fire to act on the boiler?—That
is the way in which he gets rid of the waste steam which the engines dis¬
charge, and I understand that he thereby avoids the puffing noise and ap¬
pearance of steam which is common with high-pressure engines. Air. Han¬
cock blows the fire with a current of air produced by a revolving fanner,
which is turned rapidly round by the engines, and therefore he requires no
tall chimney to produce a draft. Mr. Gurney formerly used a singular fan¬
ner to blow the fire, and also a chimney of some height; but I understand
he has lately laid it aside, and adopted the plan of carrying the waste steam
which has passed through the engines into the bottom of the upright chim¬
ney, and there discharging that steam through a contracted orifice in a ver¬
tical jet, which, by rising upwards with great velocity in the centre of the
chimney tube, gives a vast increase to the draft of heated air and smoke in
7
o
[ Doc. No. 101. ]
the chimney tube, without any great height being necessary; and this plan
occasions a most active current of fresh air to pass up through the fire, and
urge the combustion. This isa most important improvement in locomotive
engines, which has been introduced by Mr. Stephenson into his engines on
the Liverpool and Manchester railway, and being there combined with an
improved boiler, it has been one of the great causes of the brilliant success of
that undertaking. I believe the same plan will be indispensable to the com¬
plete success of steam carriages; for chimneys cannot be used high enough
to obtain a draft, and blowing the fire is a very troublesome affair. I fear
Mr. Stephenson's plan would occasion more noise than is allowable on com¬
mon roads; but that may perhaps be avoided or diminished by some new ex¬
pedient.
Do you think any danger would arise from the waste steam being dis¬
charged over a large mass of fire on Mr. Hancock's plan? Not the least
danger; all the waste steam which blows off at the safety-valve, and which
the engines do not require, is got rid of in the same way; but 1 expect Mr.
Hancock does not help the combustion of the fuel by thus mixing the waste
M earn with the flame before it acts against the boiler. Mr. Stephenson's
: mprovement, which Mr. Gurney has adopted, is to discharge all the waste
.-team into the bottom of the upright chimney with a violent vertiaal jet, in
< rder to accelerate the draft up the chimney. The waste steam, therefore,
is mixed with the smoke and gas, after the smoke had ceased to act on the
boiler. The waste steam was very commonly discharged into the bottom
of the chimney, in Trevethick's high pressure engines, many years ago, in
order to mix with the smoke ascending in the chimney, and thus get rid of
the waste steam; it improved the draft in that way, by rendering the smoke
more buoyant, but only in a slight degree; but the waste steam was not dis¬
charged through a contracted orifice to give it velocity, nor was it directed
upwards as is now done by Mr. Stephenson, and that vertical jet of steam
in the centre of the chimney, gives such an intensity of draft through the
fire as was never procured before, and, with the further advantage, that the
rapidity of draft so produced, increases whenever the engines work faster,
and discharge more steam, just in proportion as the demand for fire and
steam increases by that working faster.
Is there any noise occasioned in that way ?—Yes; but the sound is direct¬
ed upwards by the chimney, and is not much heard in the locomotive en¬
gines on the railway when they are in the open air, but when they pass un¬
der the bridges, the sound is reverberated down again by the arch, and then
it sounds very loud. The noiseis no great consequence there, andnoparticular
pains have been taken to avoid it. The metal pipe of the chimney has
something of the effect of an organ-pipe or trumpet, but it is probable the
sound might be deadened.
Will the burning out of the plates of Mr. Hancock's boiler, that you spoke
of, be attended with risk of explosion of the whole boiler, or only of the
smaller divisions of the boiler?—It will be attended with no violence which
could be called an explosion, nor with any danger whatever, but only with
the inconvenience of disabling the carriage until the ruptured chamber is re¬
placed by another. The rupture or crack of the metal plate at the burned
place, would let out the water and steam very gradually into the fire, and
probably extinguish it. All steam boilers burn out in that manner sooner
or later. The different chambers of Mr. Hancock's boiler are kept together
by six very strong bolts, which pass through them all, and which are
f Doc. No. 101. ]
51
quite protected from the action of the fire; to burst the boiler those bolts
must give way altogether, and there is no adequate force to produce any
such effect.
Are you acquainted with the construction of the new steam carriage which
started this week from Gloucester to Cheltenham?—I am not, further than
that is on Mr. Gurney's plan.
Apprehension has been felt that these steam coaches will be found to give
great annoyance to travellers passing them on the public roads, from smoke
and the peculiar noise from letting off the steam; do you apprehend such re¬
sults will take place?—I do not anticipate any great annoyance will result
to travellers in other carriages. I have passed Mr. Hancock's on the road
several times and Mr. Gurney's also, and have travelled in them often;horses
take a little notice of them when in motion, but not much, and very soon
become accustomed to them. I once met Mr. Hancock going very quick
along the New road, and drew up to see him pass; I had no difficulty what¬
ever in making my pony stand, though rather a spirited one. Mr. Hancock
did not observe me; and as I wished to go with him, I turned and drove af¬
ter him, and after a race to overtake him, I had no difficulty in drawing
alongside of his steam carriage fora good way in order to speak to him, and
get him to stop for me. The emission of hot air was very sensible, when
following close alongside of the boiler at the hinder end of the carriage,
but I did not observe any puffing of steam.
Do you think that whatever annoyance exists in the present steam coach¬
es may be removed by the improvement of the carriage, and particularly
the appearance of the carriage?—Certainly their appearance may be improv¬
ed; they are most unsightly now. The general question of farther im¬
provements in steam coaches depends upon the general mechanical skill and
judgment of the mechanicians who turn their attention to the subject, and
the peculiar experience they acquire in this particular branch of mechanics,
by continually practising and exercising with steam carriages, on roads of all
kinds in all weathers, to find out their defects, and how to remedy them;
ind what is the best mode of management; also, by building new and better
carriages as soon as they have learned what will be better than the present
ones. But all this must be at a great pecuniary loss, and some further en¬
couragement must be held out in order to induce the more skilful mechani¬
cians to embark in such a pursuit; for, at present, it is by no means an object
of attention to our best and most competent engineers, because they know
they would only throw away their money and time by undertakiug steam
coaches, even if they were to succeed ever so completely. The patentees
are a different class of men; they are the inventors, who have first organized
and arranged the combination of machinery which is to be used; and accor¬
ding to law, they have acquired a legal property in those peculiar combina¬
tions which they have discovered, that has been their encouragement and
stimulus to exertion; but the terms of their patent rights will be very likely
to expire before their inventions come into use to such an extent as will re¬
pay them their previous costs with any profit thereon; and also, with the
present defective state of the law on the subject of patents, they will be un¬
usually lucky if they are able to make good their patents at law, in case
their rights are contested. The patentees are not experienced mechanicians
or engineers, and have had to learn the business of engine-making and of
coach-making as they went on; and a great deal of the deficiency of the pre¬
sent steam coaches has arisen from the circumstance, that th ey have been
52
[ Doc. No. 201. ]
made by persons who were not at that time qualified to execute either a com¬
mon coach or a common steam engine; but they have acquired more skill,
now, and we may expect more finished productions from them in future.
There is no mechanician, of the class of those who will be ultimately em¬
ployed to make the engines and machinery of steam coaches when they
do come into use (and who alone can give that perfection of design, proportion
and execution, which is essential to their coming into use,) who will have
any thing to do with them now; not so much from any doubts that they
would not be able to succeed in perfecting them, as from a conviction that
the expense of attaining success would be greater than would be repaid by
any advantage they could afterwards derive from making such machines,
in open competition with every other mechanician who chose to copy after
their model when perfected; for that perfection of design, proportion, and
execution, in which steam coaches are now wanting, though very laborious
and expensive of attainment, would not be grounds for exclusive privileges
under the existing law of patents. The patents to the first inventors are
the only ones which are professed to be recognised by law, though in effect
they can scarcely ever be maintained at law. That is a very important
point for the consideration of the committee, and one which deserves
great attention. As the law of property in inventions now stands, when
a new invention is advanced to such a stage that it may be considered to
be tolerably perfect as an invention, no further exclusive privilege can be
maintained to compensate for the skill, labor and expense, which must be
incurred to find out true proportions, dimensions, weights and strength, which
are essential to bring it to bear as a practical business. The law professes
to give the whole to the first inventor, although he may have only laid the
foundation on which another has raised the superstructure;and if, as usually
happens, the claim of the first inventor is setaside, from technical informali¬
ty in his title-deeds, and also when his term expires, the whole superstruc¬
ture lapses, to the public. For these reasons, those who are the most com¬
petent to the task of giving the finishing touches of practical utility to great
inventions, are kept back by being aware that they shall not be repaid.
Under such circumstances, a defect of judgment would be proved a priori
against any one who might commence such an unpromising pursuit, and
that want of judgment which could permit a man to overlook the pecuniary
considerations, would not be favorable to his success as a mechanician, in
giving that precision of form and dimensions, and that practical utility, to
an invention which requires an exercise of the cool judgment resulting from
experience, rather than of the genius depending upon original thought.
You do not consider the inconveniences of the present steam coaches to
be inseparable from the invention? Certainly not; but I do not think that
any of the individuals at present engaged in the pursuit are the most compe¬
tent persons who could be chosen to overcome the remaining difficulties,
being inventors, who have almost completed their parts of the task, and not.
experienced practical engineers, into whose hands the affair of building the
next steam coaehes ought now to pass, under the general direction and ad¬
vice of those inventors. If the building of steam coaches is continued in
their hands, they will only advance towards perfection of proportion and
execution by slow degrees, as the patentees acquire that general skill as en¬
gineers and mechanists which is already possessed by professional engineers.
You think that the machinery may be improved by better machanists?
I have not the least doubt of it; and yet those mechanists are not the proper
[ Doc. No. 101. 3
53
men of genius to have invented what lias been hitherto done by the
patentees.
Apprehensions have been felt by trustees and surveyors of roads that
steam carriages are more injurious to roads than carriages ot equal weights
drawn by horses; what is your opinion upon that point? I should not ap¬
prehend that the present coaches are injurious in a greater degree than other
carriages of equal weights; and when steam coaches are really brought to
bear, I think they will be much less so than any carriage at present in use
taking horses and the carriage they draw against engines and the carriage
they impel, at weight for weight. All my observation upon steam carriages
has led me to believe that they do no particular harm to the road. I could
never perceive any peculiar marks that they left in their tracks, and, an ex¬
amination of the iron tire on the edges of the wheels of Mr. Hancock's car¬
riage, shows evidently that no slipping takes place on the surface of the
road; and that fact is proved to a certainty by other observations on the
working of that carriage. It will be a long time before a sufficient number
of steam carriages travel over any road to bring their effect on the materials
to the test of experience; but, on general principles, I have no hesitation
whatever in stating my opinion that they never will answer as long as they
do injure the roads any more than the fair wear occasioned by the wheels of
other carriages of the same weight; for any injury they might do to the road
must be by slipping of their wheels on the road, which would be a waste of
the power of their engines, and hitherto they have had no power to spare;
or, if their wheels are too narrow, and they cut deep into the road, the
power of the engines will be wasted. If they are to be efficiently ad¬
vanced, the whole power must be fairly exerted in advancing them fortvards
along the road, without turning their wheels in vain on the road, or cut.
ting ruts in the road. I am confident that, if the wheels slip at all on the
the roads so as to lose motion, or if they penetrate so as to make ruts, those
coaches will not answer, and the defects must be remedied, or the coaches
must be given up. I do not mean to affirm whether the present steam
coaches which draw other carriages after them do or do not slip on the road,
because I have not examined them; but I am of opinion that, for the ulti¬
mate successful application of steam power, the carriages must be so con¬
structed that they will do less injury to the roads than carriages drawn by
horses; and whenever steam coaches become common, I think the roads
will be most materially benefitted by the change.
Supposing the total weight of a stage or mail coach, drawn by four horses
at ten miles an hour, to be two tons, and the weight of the four horses to be
two tons, what proportion of the wear of a Macadam road would you ex¬
pect to be occasioned by the wheels of the coach, supposing them to be the
usual breadth of stage coach wheels, and what would be the wear by the
horses' feet? It is impossible to fix an accurate proportion for such a ques¬
tion as that; but I have no doubt but that, weight for weight, horses' feet do
far more injury to a road than the wheels of a carriage, and particularly
so at quick speeds, because wheels have a rolling action on the materials of
the road, tending to consolidate, and the horses' feet have a scraping and
digging action, tending to tear up the materials. One test of the wear by
horses' feet will be in the wear of towing paths for canals, and the railway
roads where horses are employed. In either of those cases, the number of
horses which pass along is so small, that no turnpike roads afford any ex
54
[ Doc. No. 101. j
ample of comparison, and yet the wear of towing and railway paths is
found to be considerable. The rapid wear of horses'shoes is another test.
It has been stated by a previous witness, that the proportion of the wear
of a Macadam road, under such circumstances, would be about two thirds
by the horses, and one-third by the carriage; should you think that a fair
approximation to the truth? I have no means of judging with such pre¬
cision, but I have no doubt whatever that, in the case above supposed, the
wear by the horses' feet would be much greater than the wear by the
wheels; for, independently of the difference of the action, as before stated,
the rapidity of the blows wherewith the horses strike down their feet, in
stepping quickly, wears the road, and they keep their feet pressing on the
same spot for a sensible time afterwards, which must have a far greater ef¬
fect on the materials, to wear and loosen them, than the comparatively pro¬
gressive rolling of the wheels over the road, because the latter remain only
an imperceptibly short space of time on the same spot, and have a consolidat¬
ing action.
May you take the wear of horses' shoes, in proportion to that of the tire
of the wheels, as a fair test of the proportionate wear of the road by each?
No, by no means; because the pressure which the wheels exert, and which
wears away the tire, is, under certain conditions, very beneficial to the road;
whereas the pressure occasioned by the horses'feet is in all cases pernicious.
On a gravelled road, which is not yet consolidated, the rolling action which
causes the wear of the tire of wheels produces a great improvement of the
road, when the treading action, which causes an equal wear of horses'shoes,
does nothing but mischief. The harder and more solid the road becomes,
the less this may be apparent, because the wear of the road becomes so im¬
perceptible; nevertheless, I think the proportion of less wear by wheels
than by horses' shoes, will still hold true.
What is the average width of the tire of the wheels of steam carriages
you have tried? Mr. Hancock's wheels are two inches and three inches
broad; in Mr. Gurney's carriage, when he carried the load along with the
engines, the wheels were two inches and a half broad; but I understand he
has widened them since he h|s altered his system of drawing a separate
carriage, which is to be expected as a ..necessary consequence of the altera¬
tion.
Do you think the machine would act with less advantage if the wheels
were wider? That depends entirely upon the weight resting upon the
wheels, and the sort of roads they are to run upon. I think it would be
better for those individual carriages to use broader wheels than they had.
If the tire of Mr. Hancock's were six inches broad, would it be an advan¬
tage or a disadvantage? I think six inches would be too wide for that
description of carriage; about four inches I should think a suitable width for
his wheels. Mr. Hancock's carriage is so arranged, that a greater propor¬
tion of the whole weight of the carriage is thrown upon the hinder
wheels, to one or both of which the power of the engines is applied, than
upon the fore wheels: that I think is very judicious, because it ensures such
an effectual adhesion of the hind wheels to the road, that no slipping can
take place. The breadth of the wheels must be so proportioned to the
pressure that they exert on the road, that they will not indent or press in,
to leave deep marks behind them. The actual breadth that will be suitable
to any given weight will depend upon the hardness of the materials of
[ Doc. No. 101. ]
55
which the road is made, and roads differ very much in that respect. I
think that in all cases the breadth of wheels which will enable the carriage
to make the best progress, will be that which will do the least injury to
the road, for it will be that which will occasion no disturbance of the stones
after they have been consolidated, but will only wear away their upper
surfaces, and the iron of the tire.
You have stated that you think the bringing of these machines to perfec¬
tion is retarded, because there is not a sufficient prospect of encouragement,
and that steam coaches are therefore confined to the hands of persons who
have not the same skill in practical mechanics as others, who would under¬
take the subject if adequate encouragement were offered; can you point out
any mode by which that encouragement could be given?—Nothing could
do it so effectually as offering a handsome parliamentary reward for the attain¬
ment of some specified performance, such as keeping a steam coach for pas¬
sengers regularly plying on some suitab'e road for two years, during which
it should not have failed to arrive by steam more than some specified num¬
ber of times, and within a certain number of hours of lost time from the
time-bill of the mail on the same road. Suppose this were done between
London and Bistol, for a reward of 10,000/. it would cost the public no¬
thing if it were not accomplished, and the establishment of that one coach to
carry the mail would be worth the money to the public whenever it was ac¬
complished; or between London and Holyhead would be still more im¬
portant, but that would require 20,000 /. reward. Another plan of more
immediate application would be to offer a bounty of a fair price per mile
for carrying despatches by steam (as I suggested before) whenever they ar¬
rived in a specified time; the price should be sufficient to pay expenses.
That would, I think, be the best course, because I believe it would be un¬
dertaken at once by individuals, provided that no stipulations were made
either for or against carrying passengers or goods. They would be sure to
carry passengers and goods as soon as they could, for their own profit; and
it might be stipulated, that after any coach had earned a certain sum in
bounty, it should not be entitled to more. The. effect of such public re¬
wards has been very striking in the case of the invention of means of ascer¬
taining the longitude at sea. Another way would be, instead of money,
to give exclusive privileges for a term to any persons who should first suc¬
ceed in establishing steam coaches on specified roads, under specified con¬
ditions of performance; or a society offering a premium, as was done in the
case of steam navigation to India, would have a good effect: as was also
ishown in the case of the locomotive steam carriages on the railway between
Liverpool and Manchester. There a most inadequate premium (only 500/,)
brought the invention forward more than ten following years of desultory
and unencouraged attempts would have done.
You think those means would produce a great effect?—I have no doubt
of it; an important result may often be within a moderate sum of attainment,
¡and yeta prudent man will not set about it. It will be certain to cost 1,000 /.
¡and a year's hard labor of an engineer, whose timéis worth 500 /. more, to
make a new steam carriage in a proper manner and bring it to bear as a busi¬
ness, supposing that its performance turns out as near to previous calculation,
according to the experimental coaches now in existence, as can be expected,
and that no radical alterations require to be afterwards made in it. After
succeeding in the attempt, he must expect to make copies of it on the same
ternas as other makers, who tvould examine one of the first coaches he sends
56
[ Doc. No. 101. ]
out, and copy it with very little trouble. The operations of competent me¬
chanicians in making first machines of new invention, and bringing them to
perfection in all their details, are necessarily more expensive than those of
first inventors, who execute their experimental machines in a slovenly man¬
ner with cheap workmanship only as experiments; but when those experi¬
ments have been gone through, an extreme soundness and accuracy of
workmanship is the only chance of attaining success in the machines which
are sent out for real business. For want of experience to direct the me¬
chanician as to the right form, dimensions and weight of each piece of his
machine, it often happens that, after having made a piece of expensive work,
it will prove too slight or too heavy when set to work, and he may have
to make it over again as expensively. The copyists, who will afterwards
come into competition with him when his machine is brought to bear, will
have no such difficulties.
You conceive that a grant of public money as a premium would call forth
the necessary degree of skill?—I have no doubt of it; we have had very
few instances of invention being stimulated by the offer of public reward;
but the instances, ascertaining the longitude is a most brilliant example.
The facility and accuracy with which the longitude is now determined at
sea, is the result of one of the greatest efforts of human genius and presever-
ance. The stimulus of reward has occasioned both modes of it be perfect¬
ed, viz. by astronomical observations and by time-keepers. We should very
soon have steam carriages brought into full use if such a reward were offered.
Have you ever ascertained the duty or performance of work done in res¬
pect to the fuel consumed by locomotive engines?—They vary so greatly,
that it is difficult to make a statement. The common locomotive engines
which have been used for several years to draw coal wagons on railways,
have remained without material improvement for a long time, and their per¬
formance is very low, being only equal to raising about four millions pounds
weight one foot high by the consumption of a bushel of coals, their boilers
evaporating about four cubic feet and a half of water into steam with each
bushel of coals. Such engines exert six to eight-horse power. Mr. Ste¬
phenson's new quick-going engines on the Liverpool and Manchester rail¬
way are more improved in duty, and are in a progressive course of improve¬
ment; but as they burn coke instead of coal, the established mode of com¬
putation is inapplicable. Mr. Stephenson's small engine, called the Rocket,
which gained the prize of 500 I. offered by the Liverpool and Manchester
railway company, and which was the model for succeeding engines, exert¬
ed about six horse power during that trial, and burned 177 lbs. of coke per
hour, which is at the rate of about five millions and a half pounds weight,
raised one foot high by the consumption of 84 lbs. of coal; but they have
greatly reduced the consumption of fuel in the succeeding engines on that
railway, owing to enclosing the cylinders of the engines within the low¬
er part of the chimney, were they are kept very hot, and an increased ef¬
fect has been given to the fire by blowing the waste steam upwards through
the chimney, as I stated before. In the Rocket they were just beginning to
be aware of the value of that expedient for animating the fire, and it was
done in a degree, but it has been since done more completely.
Do you know how near any part of the railroad between Manchester and
Liverpool runs to the common road?—I cannot say; in passing along the
railway, I do not recollect seeing the turnpike road, except crossing it se¬
veral times.
[ Doc. No. 101. ]
57
The noise made by the engines used on the railway is much greater than
by the steam coaches, is it not? Yes; Mr. Hancock's coach makes less
noise than any of Mr. Stephenson's engines; but the power exerted by the
latter is much greater than by Mr. Hancock's engines. The quick-travel¬
ling carriages on the Manchester and Liverpool railway, when drawn by
the last improved engines, are extremely easy in their motion.
Is it your opinion, that a road would suffer less injury from the fore and
hind wheels of a steam carriage following each other, in the same tracks on
the road, than if they run on different tracks?—That depends upon what
kind of action the wheels exert on the road; if they cut it up and disturb
the materials, by pressing down some stones so deep as to displace other
stones sideways, and cause them to rise up at the sides of the track, then it
is best not to allow such wheels to cut the road twice in the same places; but
if the fore wheels roll the road smooth on the surface, and consolidate, with¬
out disturbing the materials; that is, if they only press down the stones over
which they pass as much as will produce a close contact, but not so much
as to displace the neighboring stones laterally, then I think the hinder
wheels should follow in the tracks of the fore wheels; certainly that is best
for the carriage; and I believe it will be found that it makes but little dif¬
ference to a good hard road whether the four wheels of a carriage follow in
the same track or not, provided that the wheels are not loaded so as to in¬
dent deep into the solid materials of the road. All- carriages ought to have
ïheir wheels of such a breadth that they will not leave any material inden¬
tations in the road. They should rather consolidate the materials than break
them up. If the fore wheels are only so much loaded, in proportion to
their breadth and to the hardness of the road materials, that they will con¬
solidate the materials over which they have passed, then I think it is quite
as well for the road and much easier for the carriage, that the hind wheels
should follow in the tracks of the four wheels. The loading of the carriage
may be so arranged that the principal weight will be borne on the hind
wheels, and the fore wheels may (by a suitable apportionment of breadth)
be qualified to consolidate the road in their tracks, and thus prepare the way
for the passage of the hind wheels, with the least wear of the road and the
greatest ease to the carriage. It is quite as much the interest of the proprie¬
tors of carriages, as of the road trusts, that the roads should not be cut up
by too narrow wheels, for it is always at the expense of horse-labor that the
road is thus injured, independently of the evil of having a worse road to
travel over the next time. If the wheels are too narrow for the load upon
them, and the road materials soft, so that the wheels do print tracks in the
road, that evil will be greater, if the hind wheels follow the fore wheels
than if they run in new paths; but it is better to remove the evil, by using
broader wheels or less load, or harder road materials, and to run the wheelsin
the same tracks; because the resistance to a carriage is, in all cases, increased
by running the wheels in different tracks, and that with little or ¡10 benefit
to the road; particularly, when the road is covered with mud and wet dirt or
snow. The above observations apply to all four wheeled carriages, whether
they are drawn by horses or impelled by steam; but, in common carriages,
the horses' feet tend to dig up the road. I think the steam carriages will,
when perfected, be free from that objection, and that tney have a greater
claim to be allowed to run their wheels in the same tracks than other car¬
riages.
Were you ever in Mr. Hancock's carriage, when travelling? Yes; I have
S
58 [ Doc. No. 101. ]
ridden on it; but he has put in larger cylinders since I went with him the
last time, and I understand makes better progress now. I have examined
all his present machinery in detail, and think it very judiciously planned.
Did you find that it frightened horses, or annoyed passengers? I have
stated before, that I found horses were not frightened; but every one must
judge for himself of the degree of annoyance he experiences. Persons who
are accustomed to travel in luxurious private carriages, would find many an¬
noyances in a common stage coach, which others would consider as excel¬
lent travelling. I am so accustomed to machinery, and to stage coach tra¬
velling and to steamboats, that I am not liable to be annoyed thereby; and
I found riding in Mr. Hancock's carriage to be exceedingly like travelling
in a stage coach. I heard no complaints by passengers. I believe he has
never found any difficulty in getting passengers, since he has run for hire.
Persons are reported to be annoyed by the smell of hot grease, in the steam
coaches on the Cheltenham road; I can only say, that I never observed such
a smell in Mr. Hancock's carriage. If there are any real annoyances to the
passengers in particular steam coaches, they will work their own cure in a
short time, either by the proprietors finding out remedies, or else giving up
their coaches, as they must do if they are not rendered agreeable to the pas-
engers. The only question that deserves attention, is, whether there is any
danger to psssengers, or any serious annoyance to other persons not passen¬
gers.
Did you observe any horses or carriages passing his carriage? Yes, I have
always passed through crowds of horses and carriages with all the steam coach¬
es I have tried; there is so much curiosity excited by the novelty of a steam
coach in motion, that all the horses on the road are drawn up to get a sight of
it, and many are turned to follow after it. I have observed that some horses
take very little notice of the steam coach; others are a little startled, but I
never saw any difficulty which the reins could not control with the great¬
est ease. Horses are easily alarmed at any thing unusual, but they very soon
become accustomed to any thing, as is shown by the readiness with which
horses can be brought to endure discharges of fire-arms and of artillery. A
patent was taken out some years ago for what was called a travelling Adver¬
tiser; it was a small four-wheeled carriage, supporting an enormous octagonal
tower, which was stuck all over the outside with printed bills for advertise¬
ments. It was drawn very slowly through the streets by one horse, and had
a most unusual appearance: this machine was indicted as a nuisance because
it frightened horses.
Have you never observed horses to shy at a stage coach when heavily la¬
den? I have observed horses to be alarmed at the enormous bulk which
some of the vans carry at times at a greet height above ground. Horses are
the most timid animals to encounter every thing that they are not accustom¬
ed to, and the most courageous animals to encounter every thing that they
are accustomed to, even when really terrific, such as discharges of fire-arms.
Had you occasion to turn any sharp corners when in Mr. Hancock's car¬
riage? Yes, many; the yard of his premises is exceedingly narrow and in¬
convenient to turn into and out from, but it is done with ease by the steam
coach; but the same place would not do at all for a coach and four horses to
put up at.
Going at what speed can you turn round a sharp corner without any dan¬
ger? 1 do not remember turning with any considerable speed, nor should
it ever be attempted with any carriage if it can be avoided, and there can be
[ Doc. No. 101. ] 59
£ . ■*'
'
no pretence or necessity for going quick when turning a steam coach, as its
power is quite controllable, in which respect it has a great advantage over a
common carriage; for four horses at the moment of turning, are very little
under the control of the reins, particularly the leaders, and it depends upon
their good will whether they choose to go slow or go quick when turning.
In a steam carriage, the conductor has such a perfect control of the power,
that he can never fail in checking the speed at the moment of turning. I
observed that Mr. Hancock's carriage is steered with the greatest ease; and
will turn round in a very short space : I have seen him turn round in the
new road to return without backing the carriage at all, although he was in
the middle of the road when he began to turn.
If you had turned a sharp corner, could you have stopped immediately on
meeting a carriage? Yes; the power of stoppage is most remarkable: that
is oneof the great advantages of a steam coach. I have steered Mr. Han¬
cock's carriage myself, and found it to be most completely under control.
The carriage may he turned in the smallest space that the wheels will per¬
mit it to go round in? Yes, in a much smaller space than a carriage with
horses can turn, because it is so much shorter in the total length, and the
power being completely under control, there is no danger in turning quite
short; whereas no prudent driver will turn a four-horse coach round in a*
read, without the guard getting down and holding the leaders' heads; for
they are not sufficiently under the control of the reins in turning to do it
with safety.
Did you ever see a steam carriage going down a hill? Yes, down the hill of
the new road at Islington; and it was done with more safety than with any
carriage with four horses; but I do not contemplate the descent of steam
coaches down very steep hills, for that supposes their getting up such hills,
which is not likely to be accomplished soon, and the present coaches seem
to me to be only fit for our most improved lines of roads, where all very
steep hills have been reduced to moderate slopes.
Have you turned your attention particularly to the subject of going up
steep hills, and what ascent do you think can be surmounted? In forming
my opinion of the probability that steam carriages will be brought to bear, I
could not overlook the circumstance that they would have to go up and down
hills; but most of our great lines of roads are now so improved, that what were
formerly called steep hills are not very numerous or frequent; but wherever
they do occur, I propose to give the steam coach the assistance of a 'pair of
post-horses in aid of its own power. In going down hill, steam coaches are.
very safe, because the-whole power can be effectually exerted to retard or
resist the turning of the wheels. '■«»
Mr. Gurney's steam coach has gone up Highgate hill without horses? Yes,
but I understood that it was broken,in pieces in coming down again. My
objection to attempting to make a steam coach go up a steep hill, in the pre¬
sent state of our knowledge, is, that it requires to have a great strength, and
consequent weight of machinery to- have a sufficient power to do so with
safety, and which weight is a useless incumbrance and impediment to pro¬
gression at all other times. The question is, whether all the machinery of
a steam carHage should be made twice as strong and heavy as is necessary
for impelling it with safety on a tolerable level road, merely that it may have
power within itself for going up a few occasional hills, or whether it is better
to make the machinery lighter, and take the occasional assistance of a pair of
post-horses? There can be no objection to the latter expedient, except the
60
[ Doc. No. 101. ]
expense of such horses; and as the steam coach can carry goods to profit in
place of all the weight of machinery which is saved by making it lighter, I
think that the aid of post-horses would be an economy. In forming such an
opinion, I follow a maxim which I had always found to hold true; viz. that
steam power is certain to be more profitable than horses, if the work is to be
kept constantly going on, because then the great advantage of steam power,
that it does not tire, becomes fully available; and to perform the same ser¬
vice by horses, a very great number must be kept for change; but for busi¬
nesses, which require only occasional working, or for working during on¬
ly as many hours each day as horses can do without changing, steam power
loses its great advantage over horses, and in some cases they will do the
work cheaper. One great item of the expense of steam power is the first
cost of machinery and engineers' wages, both which would be only the same
for working twelve hours per day as for one hour and a half, which is the
utmost that a stage coach horse can draw at ten miles an hour. A steam
coach should work twelve or fourteen hours in every twenty-four hours, to
gain the full advantage of the system of steam power over horse labor; the in¬
tervening tenor twelve hours will allow ample time for putting every thing
in perfect order for the next journey, if the machinery is what it ought to be,
and there should be a spare coach for every two which are running, to al¬
low time for more considerable repairs: hence, I reckon that three steam
coaches should keep up a double passage of 100 or 120 miles a day continu¬
ally. Expensive machinery, which is only to be worked occasionally, will
not, in some cases, do work so cheap as it can be done by men or by horses
without machinery; and that I conceive to be the case with the extra cost,
weight, strength and complication which must be given to the machinery of
a steam coach, in order to enable it to go safely up steep hills without assis¬
tance. I apply these remarks to the present steam coaches, but future im¬
provements may in time produce that species of machinery which will effect
the going up hill with less difficulty than the present. It has been supposed
that the diameters of the cylinders being larger than is necessary for going
on level ground, they could be worked with a diminished strength of steam
to go on level ground, and stronger steam when going up hill. To get up
ordinary and moderate hills, that is certainly the right plan; but it requires
the strength of all the moving parts of the engines to be made sufficient to
bear the utmost force that the pistons can exert when impelled by the strong-
steam that is ever to be used; also, the large wheels which run upon the road
should be made very broad on the edges, and of proportionate strength. The
present coaches have been faulty in these respects, and yet the machinery is
too heavy. Another way of getting sufficient power to go up hill, is to have
the pistons only a suitable size for going along the ordinary road, and to in¬
troduce wheel-work, which can be thrown into action when a hill is to be
ascended, and which will turn the wheels of the carriage round only once
for three turns of the cranks of the engine, and consequently with a triple
lotee. Mr. Hancock has shown me the parts of such machinery which he
is now making for a new steam coach, with wheel-work and endless chains,
on a plan which 1 think very likely to answer for ascending moderate hills;
but for very steep hills, I think it is desirable to have a help by post horses.
The immediate desideratum is, to construct a steam coach with the power
and strength necessary to go quickly and safely along the best lines of road
which can be found, without any steep hills upon them, and taking assistance
of post-horses where it is necessary. If that is accomplished, and sucha
[ Doc. No. lot. ]
61
coach is worked continually for two or three years, it would probably lead
to the knowledge of the proper kind of machinery to go up sleeper hills; but
if the adoption of steam coaches is to wait until they are rendered much more
perfect, it will be a very long time, because practice is essential to finding
out a proper plan. Ä
Do you think there is any danger in going down a hill in a steam carriage?
Much less than in a common stage coach; for, by backing the engines, so that
their power is brought to an act in opposition tà the turning round of the
wheels, and with the assistance of drags or brakes, rub on the rims of the
•wheels, and aid in retarding their motion by friction, steam coaches will
safely get down all moderate hills, such as are met with on our best lines
of turnpike roads, say between London and Holyhead; and with machinery
such as Mr, Hancock is now making, if it is suitably proportioned, I expect
a steam coach would not require assistance to get up hill at more than five
or six places between London and Holyhead. ,
Stanmore and Highgate hill you call moderate hills?—Not the old High-
gate hill; but the Archway is a very fair road, on which a steam coach
should not feel the least difficulty. Ï do not call those moderate hills which
are common on the roads in many parts of Devonshire and Cornwall; it will
be a long time before steam coaches will be able to travel there; and the
goodness of the roads is to be considered as well as the slope. No steam
coach that I have seen, possesses that strength and weight of machinery
ftvhich, being on the present construction, will enable it to get up even a
moderate hill without risk of breaking; for, though it may climb up the hill
by accumulating the strength of the steam, the parts have not been made
strong enough to resist the strain to which they are then subjected, if they
were frequently used; and if the work were made, on the present plan,
strong enough to endure the extra strain of getting up a steep hill with safe¬
ty, there would be too much weight of machinery for travelling on the or¬
dinary road.
Can they ascend a hill so steep as one in eighteen?—That I think is too
much for them, without the aid of horses, unless the surface of the road
were of the very best quality; but such hills are usually bad roads.
Are they competent to ascend a such hill as St. James's street?—I have not a
very particular recollection of the slope of that hill, but I believe it is
paved, and I think that it would be about their maximum; for a great deal
would depend upon the surface of the road. They would go up all the length
of Regent street, which is, I expect, almost as steep as St. James's, but it is
a better surface; and I think they should go up any good road not exceed¬
ing a rise of one in thirty; and if more inclined, or if the road is bad, they
should be allowed one or two horses. I doubt if they could ascend the
Pentonville hill in its present-shameful state of neglect; but if it is made
good, then I think they might.
Have you turned your attention to the subject of apportioning the tolls
on steam carriages, so that they may bear their due proportion to the tolls
on carriages drawn by horses? No, I have not paid much attention thereto;
it is a subject which would require more consideration and more data than
Ihave before me. Iam convinced that if a steam coach, complete when
travelling, weighs no more on an average than a stage coach with its four
horses complete weighs on an average, there is no reason for charging any
extra toll for steam coaches, but, on the contrary, I believe it will turn out
in the sequelthat they ought to go for less toll, because they will wear the
*«4* ' '■ *
62
[ Doc. No. 101. ]
roads less than the present coaches whenever they are made really efficient;
and, in the mean time, until that is accomplished, I think it may be very
safely left to the chance of events as to injuring the roads to any extent'
whatever, by injudicious attempts to work steam coaches of an injurious
construction, on the consideration that if any new coach which may be
tarted, does injure the road, it will be very soon given up from its own de¬
merits, probably before it has produced any visible effect on the road.
Suppose its wheels were to slip so much as to plough out ruts on the road,
t would most likely stick fast, or be broken to pieces in the first journey
along the road, and such abortive attempts will not be repeated very fre¬
quently. It is idle to talk of one or two steam carriages doing much visi¬
ble injury to a frequented road in a year or two, even if they run constant¬
ly, for, suppose that it wears the road four or five times as much as one carri¬
age of the same weight drawn by horses (including those horses in the
weight,) it would only be equivalent to four or five additional coaches pas¬
sing each day, and that on the road from London to Birmingham, for in¬
stance, would be quite imperceptible. I am confident that any steam coach
which does a road any greater damage than equivalent to carriages drawn
by horses, will fail of itself in a short time, and prove an unsuccessful pro¬
ject. I should strongly recommend the new system to be left to its own
chance of success or failure, as far as the roads and the safety of passengers
are concerned; and I think the same reasoning applies against any regulation
for the breadth of the wheels for steam carriages, because they will not per¬
form well if their wheels are so narrow as to cut the road materially. I
understand that the old system of regulations and penalties, as to over weights
on given breadths of wheels for common carriages, has been done away
with on the roads in an extensive district round London, and I think that
it is good policy, from the circumstance that the proportion regulates itself
by the interest of the owners of carriages, when the fact is understood that
carriage wheels, which are too narrow in proportion to the load on them, and
to the hardness and goodness of the road, will always draw heavier than
wheels of a suitable breadth; and that, though the carriers may not find out
the proper breadth at once, they will do so in the end. The old acts for
forcing the use of very broad wheels by making tolls operate as penalties
and premium, was a most injudicious system of legislation, and did nothing but
harm; the carriers soon found out how to evade the intention of the act, by
using very broad conical or barrelled whells, rounding on the edges, which
conformed to the words of the law, but which acted on the road like
narrow wheels. The broad wheels intended to have been encouraged
by the old act of Parliament, were expected to act as rollers to make and
improve the roads, and were encouraged to carry excessive loads for that
object; but if the wheels of the broad wheeled wagons actually used had
been really such as the Legislature contemplated, they could not have
been continued in use on account of the great increase of draft; but the
'¡«road wheels actually used, carried such loads, that they crush the road
materials to powder, owing to the conical form of the wheels and' the
bending of the axletrees; they bore on the road almost wholly at the
inner edges of the iron tires, and not across all their breadth, as was intend¬
ed. The advantage to the carriers in tolls, and in increased loads, induced
them to use such broad wheels, when it would have been against their in¬
terest to have done so, if they had paid the same tolls for the weight of
goods as other carriers, and their operation on the road was more injurious
than any other carriages. There is no particular breadth of wheels which
[ Doc. No. 101. ]
63
can be prescribed as the best to carry given loads'over all sorts of roads, for
much depends upon the hardness of the road materials, the size to which
the pieces are broken, their general form and disposition to consolidate into
a hard bed the resistance the materials offer to wet and frost, and to wear¬
ing by the wheels, the breadth of the wheels, and the load upon them,
should be adapted to all the combinations of circumstances, and the carrier
will soon find, if his wheels are not best adapted to the road, by the draft
being greater than it ought to be. As to steam; coaches, the wear which
will take place on roads, from all that can, by any probability, be expected
to be brought into use for some years, will be so small that it cannot be felt
for a considerable period, and when it is felt it, will be time to look round
and see what is the real effect on the roads of those particular coaches which
are in use, and apportion the tolls that they ought to pay.
Is it your opinion that weight for weight, including the weight of horses
on one hand, and of engines and an average of the water and fuel on the
other, the tolls should be the same on steam carriages as on horse-drawn
carriages?»?' I think that if it were so, it would prove a considerable advan¬
tage to the roads, because, as I have stated before, I think the roads will be
considerably benefitted by the change of impelling by steam instead of by
horses. I think it will be a great public benefit when steam coaches come
into common use, and hence that it is expedient that a moderate bounty should
be offered for the adoption of steam carriages, by giving them all possible
'advantage they can have without trenching on the interests of individuals;
and if they were allowed to run toll free, and duty free, until a certain
number were in use, or during a certain time, it would much accelerate
their introduction, because it would diminish the loss that must necessarily
be incurred by running them before they are perfected in their construction.
Small encouragements or discouragements have a considerable effect on new
inventions in their infant and imperfect state. The advantage to the public
from steam navigation is now generally acknowledged; but when steam¬
boats were in their infancy, an attempt was made by the watermen on the
Thames to suppress them, by contending that, according to their charter,
and the usage of the city of London, no persons could be allowed to own a
vessel plying for passengers on the Thames, nor to work on board of such
a vessel, except they were freemen of the city, and belonging to the wa¬
termen's chest. This would have effectually prevented any engine men
being employed, and, in addition, the watermen engaged all their members
to refuse to navigate them. After a long dispute and delay of the steam¬
boats, it was decided that one out of a number of owners being free was
if sufficient, and that the men employed to manage the engines were not sub¬
ject to the watermen's regulations of freedom of the river; some watermen
were induced, by giving them small shares in lieu of wages, to exercise
their right of freedom in favor of the real owners, and to navigate the ves¬
sel. It was afterwards attempted to get the measurement and calculation
for the registered tonnage of the steam vessels made according to the extreme
breadth across thè*projecting boxes which contain paddle wheels, under the
pretext that they occupied that width in the river and in harbors, instead of
measuring the breadth of the vessel at the surface of the water. If that
could hâve been enforced, it would have nearly doubled all the rates on steam
vessels compared with other vessels; but the subject being brought before
Parliament, an act was passed to give them the advantage of deducting as
much from the length of the vessel as is occupied by engines and machinery
64
[ Doc. No. 101. 3
in calculating the registered tonnage. This was in effect a small bounty
upon steam vessels, for they have no claim to such an advantage over sailing
vessels, when the weight of masts, sails and rigging, in the latter is not de¬
ducted in calculating their tonnage. The effect of that measure has been
favorable to the advancement of steam navigation, for though it was but a
very trifling bounty, and is now of no consequence, it came as a well-timed
aid, at the date when that act passed, because almost all steam vessels were
then navigated at a loss, they were so imperfect (like steam coaches at the
present day,) that their engines were continually getting outof order, where¬
by they failed to make their passages, and required expensive reparations,
their consumption of fuel was great, and thewearof boiler excessive. On
the other hand, few passengers would go by them at first, and some terrible
accidents which happened in a few vessels caused them all to be avoided by
passengers for a long time. It was only by persisting in keeping them going
as well as they could, and thereby gaining experience in their management,
that the numerous defects of their construction were remedied. Most of the
earliest steamboats had two or three successive editions of engines and ma¬
chinery before they were rendered so perfect as to become profitable; and,
in addition to the expenses of such alterations and improvements in the ma¬
chinery, they were obliged to make their passages regularly for some time
after they were rendered tolerably effective before they acquired sufficient
confidence with the public as to their safety and punctuality, to enable them
to obtain as many passengers as would pay the expenses of navigating the
vessels. For all these reasons, any increase of their expenses was severely
felt, at that losing period; many were abandoned, and the difference in the
expenses occasioned by the rates to which vessels are liable, being calculated
according to the breath across the paddle-wheels, or according to the act
passed for measuring them short by all the space taken up by the engines,
would have occasioned others which have been brought to bear to have been
given up, before they had attained so much perfection as to enable them to
earn their expenses. In the same manner the tolls levied upon steam coaches
at present are to be regarded, not as payments out of the profits of a gainful
trade, but as an increase of loss upon that which is yet, and which must in¬
evitably continue to be for some time, a losing business. The ultimate suc¬
cess to which I look forward is entirely dependent on the circumstance of
the first speculators in steam coaches being enabled to go through a sufficient
term of inefficient performance, and consequent loss, to acquire experience
in the new business; and that experience will, no doubt, lead to expensive
alterations and reconstructions of their machinery. There is so much me¬
chanical talent to be had for-money, that I have no doubt of the final accom¬
plishment, if the attempts now making are continued long enough; because
I am confident that there is (as was the case in steamboats) a real efficacy
in the principle of action. The general opinion of engineers was not very
favorable to steamboats when they were first brought forward as a novelty;
many doubted if they could ever be made to perform well, particularly at
sea; and others, who foresaw the possibility of that, doubted whether they
would answer in point of expense of fuel, and wear and tear of engines and
boilers. If no assistance or encouragement is given to new inventions when
o o
they are in the infant state which steam coaches are now in, persons who
find that they only lose money when they expected to gain, by being the
first to adopt the improvements, are liable to become disheartened, and give
up the pursuit too precipitately, whereby their undertaking dies a natural
[ Doc. No. 101. ]
65
death; and that is sometimes the case when it might have been established
by another two or three w;eeks' continuance of the efforts; and that contin¬
uance might be induced by some small relief, like the reduction which was
made by Parliament in the register tonnage of steam vessels, or the taking
off of tolls from the earliest steam coaches. If by any means they are
enabled to go on till the proper plan of machinery and management is found
out, they will afterwards keep their ground, because the profit of working
by steam in lieu of horses will be very great. The present steam coaches
are mere experiments, and the next editions of each plan of them will, I
expect, be losing concerns, and will continue so to be for some time. Under
those circumstances, every small increase of their expenses is a real retarda¬
tion to that practical establishment of the invention which will render it
useful to the public; such retardation by small causes is operative to a greater
extent than can easily be conceived. Steam coaches will very well bear
all tolls and taxes to which other coaches are subject, when they are able to
carry passengers- regularly and profitably; but they want encouragement*
now, instead of difficulties being thrown in their way. As to the right of
tolls on turnpike roads, it should be recollected that turnpike roads are not
property, like canals, but trusts, to be exercised for the benefit of the public;
and if it is for the interest of the public that steam coaches should be brought
into use, and if that bringing into use will be accelerated by suspending the
tolls on therii at first, the trustees of roads ought not to object to such an
arrangement. The real amount of tolls they will forego, will be an exceed¬
ingly small per centage on the income of their tolls; for so long as steam
coaches are losing concerns, they cannot be very numerous.
In the course of your examination, have you meant to confine your evi¬
dence to steam coaches? Yes, to steam coaches for public conveyance of
passengers and parcels in the manner of stage eoafthes, and travelling at the
rate of ten miles an hour on our best lines of turnpike roads, with occasional
assistance of one or two post-horses, where necessary, to surmount unusual
hills or very bad pieces of new laid road. -If it were thought admissible to
begin \yith travelling at a less speed than that, and to carry goods only in the
manner.of vans, the thing is nearer to accomplishment, because the accom¬
modation and comfort of passengers would then be out of the question; and
also the violence to which quick travelling carriages are subjected, requires
a greater,strength of all the parts than would be necessary to carry the same
weight at->a slower speed. ■ In other respects, steam power will propela
carriage as cheaply at a quick rate as at a slower rate. That fact is proved on
railways, in actual business; and steam coaches will be the same whenever*
they can be made strong enough to bear quick motion without being over-»
loaded with weight of machinery. That will be one of their great ad¬
vantages over horse labor, which becomes more and more expensive as the
speed is increased. There is every reason to expect, that, in the end, the
rate of travelling by steam will be much quicker than the utmost speed of
travelling by horses; in short, that safety to travellers will become the limit
to speed, as is now the clise on railways.
What is your opinion as to impelling wagons by. steam? I have never
considered that at all in detail, and am not prepared Jo give evidence upon
the subject. The price of carrying passengers or goods at a quick speed, as
ts done by stage coaches or vans, will always be so much higher than the
prices of carrying an equal weight at a slow speed, as is done by wagons,
that I see no inducement to attempt steam wagons, which I think would
9
*
66
£ Doc. No. 101. ]
present almost all the same difficulties"^ steam vans. According to theory,
the cost of carriage by steam will (as I have stated, be proportionate to
■weight and distance, without regard to speed of motion; for instance, to con¬
vey a coach loaded with two tons for a distance of ten miles only, the same
fuel will be consumed, and the same wear of machinery will be occasioned,
whether that distance is run in one hour or in four hours. (¿"he wages of
engineers, conductor and guard will be only one-fourth with the'quick speed,
and the first outlay in machinery would be only one-fourth, because four
times as many engines must be on the road, with their attendants, at the
same time, to do the work ata slow speed, as at a quick speed; but the
money earned by the carrier at the slow speed, will be only a small part of
what would be earned at the quick speed.
Taking into consideration the comparative expense of horse carriages
and steam carriages, do you suppose that steam carriages will be able to rug
for half the charges of horse carriages? My own idea is, that steam coach-
' es will, very soon after their first establishment, be run for one-third of the
cost of the present stage coaches; but to become a business at all it must
necessarily be a business which will offer strong inducements to persons to
embark in it; and to do that, the rate of profit must be very much greater
than that which is commonly expected to be realized by the proprietors of
stage coaches. Their present trade affords a less profit on the capital and trou¬
ble of management probably than any other sprt of business which is car¬
ried on with spirit in this country. The great reason of that is, the constant
loss by destruction of horses, the fluctuations 6f the price and quality
of horse-keep, and the impossibility of reducing stage coach establishments
in times when travelling business is flat; because the horses must be kept
and men to attend them at all events, and the loss of running a coach half
employed is not so great as suspending it, and keeping the horses idle on
short allowance, till better times come round] The profit of stage coaches
which load well is very high, particularly in the fine travelling season, and
that occasional profit creates an-excitement which induces the injudicious
setting up of more coaches than are wanted for an average of aff seasons;
and for the reasons above stated, their expenses when once set going, can¬
not be reduced to meet bad times. The adoption of steam coaches will set
the trade free from its great commercial difficulty, because they can be laid
up and kept idle without considerable loss, and brought out again when
wanted without any new outlay; also fuel does not fluctuate either in price®
or quality to any considerable extent like horse corn. In short, the capital
, embarked in a steam coach trade will not be so rapidly wasted as at present
¿n horses. Owing to the great number of horses which must be first
bought and then kept to do the same work as one steam coach, the first out¬
lay in stock will be very small in steam coaches, compared with horses, the
same of stables, hostlers and harness. The daily expenses of fuel and at¬
tendants will be very much less than that of horse keep and attendance; the
wear and tear of the coaches, and all that is eoachmaker's work, will be only
the same as at present, but the wear and tear of^engines and machinery,
though a very expensive item on each engine, will be nothing to compare
with the present repairs, loss and decay of horses, because the number of
engines is so small. Stage coach horses require to be all renewed every
three years, notwithstanding a heavy annual expense for what may be called
repairs of horses: viz. harness, shoeing and farriery. Engines with an
squally heavy annual expense of repairs to that of horses, will, when per-
£ Doc. No. 101. ]
67
fected, be kept up thereby in such a state as to last for many years without
renewal. The metal parts of machinery only wear at particular places,
which are capable of being repaired or renewed, so that they become as good
as new; but a horse, when worn to disease at any part, feet, eyes or lungs,
becomes'incapable of stage coach work forever afterwards. ¿y
v Do you apply the principle you have stated respecting the probable wear
of the roads by steam power being less than by horses, to heavy wagons?
Yes; my proposition that the wear of the roads will always be at the expense
of the carrier, applies to all carriages whatever, but more particularly to those'
impelled by steam than to those drawn by horses, because carriages drawn by
horses may be so mismanaged, as to do very great injury ¿o the roads, and yet
may make good progress in travelling. For instance, a wagon having very nar¬
row wheels, carrying a heavy over-load, having a sufficient team of strong
heavy horses, may be drawn along although it breaks the road up to any extent,
ind that as much by the feet of the horses as by the narrow wheels; but, if it
were attempted to impel the same wagon by steam power acting by the adhe- ^
sion of the wheels to the road, they would slip round, and it would not get along-
the road. I am confident that carriages to be impelled by steam machinery
turning the wheels, cannot be made to answer any good purpose, either for
conveyance of travellers or goods, so long as they materially injure the
roads, because if the wheels slip materially on the road, or if they cut sensible
ruts in the road, they will not advance the carriage efficiently. On the
Other hand, horses may bp made to draw a carriage which will injure the
road. I think that principle must apply to steam wagons as well as to
steam coaches.
Then heavier the loads to be drawn, the more important it is to apply
Steam instead of horses, if the roads will be benefitted by that substitution?
I think so, as far as the roads are concerned, but 1 doubt if steam wagons
ill offer any comparison of the profit to be derived from steam coaches,
o get along the road, steam wagons will require very broad wheels, and there
is no danger of doing injury to the road by them, for they will not get along if
the wheels are too narrow, but narrow-wheeled wagons drawn by horses
may do an injury to any extent, for extra horses may be put on, and they
will injure the road with their feet at the same time that they draw a car¬
riage after theniy which also injures the road. It will be a loss to the carrier
to do so, byt there is nothing in the nature of the operation to prevent it
being done, as there would be in the case of steam wagons.
Of course, a steam carriage going slower than ten miles an hour will be*
more expensive to travel, on account of the greater expenditure of fuel?,*
No; the consumption ot fuel, according to time, would be as much less as*
the motion would be slower; so that the consumption of fuel, according to
distance, would be the same, whether for a quick speed or for a slow speed;
but when profit is considered, every thing is in favor of quick speed; be¬
cause all goods carried slow must be carried cheap; and quick conveyance
will bear the highest price of carriage, on account of the expense of going
quick by horses. For instance, a ton of goods may be carried a mile byi
steam power with a certain consumption of fuel,, but.it should take no more
fuel to carry it a mile, at,the rate of two and half miles an hour, than at ten
miles an hour. There is some qualification to be made in that statement ac¬
cording to the state of the roads; it will be true if they are hard and good,
but if they are heavy, the expense of fuel will be a little more for the quick v.
speed than for the slower speed; and it is also tobe understood, that the engines,
tnust be suitably proportioned for attaining quick speed, because engines,
68
£ Doc. No. 101. ]
which are only adapted for slow motion, do not work to so great an advanr
tage when they are urged to work quick as when they are worked at or be*
low the speed which the proportions of their parts are adapted to move
with; nevertheless, that extra expense of going quick by steam power will
be but small, and nothing like the increased cost of travelling quick with
horses; for horses have only a limited speed at which they can travel, if
they have no load to carry or drag after them, the whole of their muscular
strength being then required to advance the weight of their own bodies. The
.speed with which stage coaches now travel, approaches so near to the speed
with which the horse could travel without any load, that their force of
draught becomes very small. In all cases, horses lose force of draught in a
much greater proportion than they gain speed, and hence the work they do
becomes more expensive as they go quicker. The quickest stage coaches
travelling is now at the rate of eleven miles an hour, and that appears to be
very near to the utmost limits which nature has prescribed for animal exer¬
tion; for those horses require renewal of the whole stock every two or three
fcyears. .This is a comparison of steam power and horse labor, during the
time that each is actually in operation; but the real difference between the
performance of a steam engine and that of a set of horses will be found to
be very great, when it is considered, that, by having one spare steam coach
for every two or three which are on the road, those coaches can travel con¬
tinually all the year round, during fourteen or fifteen hours in every twenty-
four hours, without any intermission, except Stopping for one or two mi¬
nutes to take in waterat every stage of about seven or eight miles; .and thus
each steam coach can travel 140 or 150 miles a day; whereas a set of four
stage coach horses can only work during seven hours and a half out of
every twenty-four hours, or each horse can run fifteen miles a day, and that
exertion wears them out very soon. A cart-horse, travelling at the rate of
two miles and a half an hour can work during eight hours out of every
twenty four hours, or he can travel 20 miles in a day. Suppose that in botJji
cases, of horses going ten miles an hour or only two miles and a half an
hour, the force of traction was the same during the time that they were
actually drawing; even on that supposition, there would he the difference
between twenty miles a day and fifteen miles a day in favor of slow travel¬
ling; but in considering the work performed, the great loss in the force of
draught by quiek travelling must be taken into account; and it will be found
that a cart horse walking at two miles and a half an hour, could draw with a
force of traction lOOlbs. on an average, but that a stage coach horse, running at
'ten miles an hour, cannot exert more than 28lbs. force of traction at an aver¬
age. The above proportion of distance travelled, and force of ¿traction ex¬
erted in each case being combined into one product, the portion will stand
thus: 20 miles a day X lOOlbs. draught = 20,000, to represent the work done
by a horse tiavelling at the rate of two miles and a half an hour, and 15 miles
a day x28lbs. draught=420 to represent the work done by a horse travel¬
ling at the rate of ten miles an hour, which is 43 to 1 in favor of a slow
speed; when with steam power there would be only a very slight difference
of performance at the quick or the slow speed.
Respecting the injury done to the roads by heavy carriages, whether
they are drawn by horses or impelled by steam power, you consider that
weight for weight (including horses and engines as part of the weight) the
one will not do more injury to the road than the"other? In my opinion, the
steam carriages will do the least injury of the two. The horses, by tread-
. . . #
[ Doc. No. 101. J 69
, .v
ing with their feet, excavate and scrape out depressions in the surface of the
road, that is particularly the Case before the road materials are consolidated
into a solid mass; and the evil of depressions or holes in the road is not
the merely injury done by the feet of the horses to those particular parts of the
•road in which the depressions are made, but the wheels of other carriages
which pass over such depressions, drop heavily with force in to them, so as
to make the depressions continually deeper and larger, and to loosen the
surrounding stones. In this manner the horses after injuring the road them¬
selves, prepare the way for further injury to the road by the wheels of
carriages. For to have the full benefit of the rolling action of the wheels
in consolidating the road materials, the latter must be laid smooth and level
before the wheels come upon them; but if the materials are previously
thrown up into little hills and holes, the wheels will do mischief instead of
g;ood. !
Suppose the engine and machinery in a steam carriage to weigh two tons,
and to be able to advance.,an additional load, equal to their own weight*
along a good road, at an average speed of ten miles an hour, do you think
that any additional toll should be imposed upon steam carriages be¬
yond that paid by four horse stage coaches, or vans; assuming the four
'horses to weigh two tons, and to draw a load of two tons, at the rate of ten
miles an hour? In such a case, I can see no reason whatever for any increase
oí toll; but the diminished wear c$ the roads, which I anticipate from the
use of iteam in lieu of horses, will be a reason for a reduction of tolls
whenever such a diminution of wear is realized.
Would horses drawing 80 cwt. upon a road, with a slow walking pace, in
your opinion, do more injury to the. road than an engine doing the same
work? I have had no experience of drawing heavy weights by steam to en-
£ble me to form an opinion respecting the effect that the broad wheels,
rhich must then be used, would have on the road, and what advancing
power they would have before they began to slip on the road, without ad¬
vancing the carriage forwards; nor what would be the weight of engines
which could advance 80 cwt. ata slow speed. I feel some doubt of the
practicability of making steam engines advance so many times their own
weight, as I expect it would be, with effect, and I feel confident that, in the
present state of the art, there would be no profit in doing it; but if it were
accomplished, I believe that the broad wheels of the steam wagon would
do no injury to the road, whereas, in heavy wagons drawn slowly by
horses, the horses do far much more injury by digging and scraping with
their feet than is done by the horse in coaches and vans travelling quickly;
because the wagon horses having a heavy pull to take must choose places
sin the road where they can place their feet in depressions, in order to get
hold; hence, on a good smooth road they slip and scrape up the surface.
,, t Veneris, 12° die ¿higusti, 1831. , .
Á *
Mr. Richard Trevithicfc, called in, and examined.
Have you been long conversan! with steam engines?, Twenty-six years
ago I invented a high pressure steam engine and a locomotive engine, and
since that time Boulton and Watt's engines have been ihrown aside in Corn¬
wall, and the high pressure steam engines,vvitjj the improvements upon the
# 4«* _ *y
70 * [ Doc. No. 101. ]
>«
boilers I have made, have been throwing Boulton and Watts,'s engines con-,
stantly out of use, there is not one of those now in use in the mines. The
average of the duty of Boulton and Watts's engines, about twenty years ago,
was taken by Mr. Gilbert, which gave, perhaps, about seventeen millions of
pounds, lifted a foot high with a bushel of coals; and sometime after that,
Mr. Gilbert made a report in the transactions of the Royal Society, that he
had lound one of my high pressure engines in Cornwall was doing seventy-
five millions: and, in the same report, he stated that they were doing nearly
as seven to twenty-eight, or four to one, and as ten to one on the atmospheric
engines.
Have you lately paid attention to steam carriages on common roads? I
have noticed the steam carriages very much: I have been abroad l'or a good
many years, and had nothing to do with them until lately, but í have it in
contemplation to do a great deal on common roads; railroads are useful for'
speed, and for the sake of safety, but not otherwise: every purpose would be
answered by steam on common roads. v
Is your machine applicable to steam carriages? It is chiefly for that pur¬
pose, it worlds without water; now the Manchester carriages use four tuns a
day, two tuns that they take in when they start, and two they take in mid¬
way of their journey; there is that weight to carry, and the loss of time.
You conceive steam carriages to be applicable to common purposes? Yes,
to every purpose a horse can efiect. y.
Have you any plan particularly applicable to that purpose? Yes^I have
taken out a patent for that purpose. This, the plan which I produce, (pro¬
ducing the same, J will show the principle. I built a twenty horse engine
in Cornwall, in order"to try this: this I produce is for a ship engine. \_Mr.
t Trevithick explained to the committee the different parts of the machine
on the plan.'] The bursting of boilers has been occasioned by the boilers f
being left under gauge, neglected to be charged with water, and, I believe, »
by their getting foul and incrusting with salt from using Salt water; the low
pressure engines have burst as welí as the high pressure; if the tubes of the*
boilers are heated-red hot, and the engine is standing at the time water is
still in'v the boiler is quiet; but on the engine setting to work, a discharge of
steam from the boiler to the cylinder causes a great ebullition-in the boiler,
and the water splashing over the hot sides make a superabundant genera¬
tion of steam. The space that would be filled instantaneously from the hot
tubes being suddenly cooled, the space occupied by that superabundance
would fill three hundred times the space usually allowed for steam, and a
safety valve of five times the size would give no relief, or not in time; a
proof that a high pressure steam engine boiler has not been broken gene¬
rally by the pressure of the high steam, but from being heated, is because the ■
portable gasholders are about ten inches diameter, and the sixteenth of an
inch thick, and they are charged with 30 atmospheres, or 450 lbs. each
without accident; an accident never happens to them, and the pressure is
not so great as on half of the strength of iron; the boilers of steam en¬
gines in Cornwall have burst that have not been loaded to an eighth part of
that pressure for the same substance and size of boilers. Therefore, that is a
proof that they must have been broken by the heating of the boiler, and sud¬
denly cooling itby a sudden expansion. The gas holders have never been heat •
ed, and have never been injured. I have known instances whereby turning
cold water into a red-hot boiler they have exploded. An engine I had the
care of was injured by neglect of one of the enginemen in that way. The
boilers to the high pressure steam engines on my constrag&jpn are cylinders,
[ Doc. No. 101. ]
71
one in the other, the inner cylinder containing fire, and the outer cylinder
surrounds the water, and leaves a space of about a foot between the two
tubes for water. Where they have been neglected the fire tube has been
made red-hot, and the splashing of water over the hot tube from the ebulli¬
tion occasioned by the escape of steam, has burst the boiler by the water
"flowing over the red hot sides, and generating steam faster than it can be
discharged.
By neglected you mean that the tubès were not completely covered with
water? They are not covered with water. With my inferential engine,
that never can be the case.
Have the goodness to state to the committee your opinion with respect to
the wear of the road by steam carriages? I think that the roads will not be
injured so much by steam carriages in future as they have been, because «
there will be no need to chain the wheels; by putting the valve to the stop,
. the steam going off that has never yet been applied, there is no need to chain
the wheel. That is very easily done; if the steam is prevented escaping, the *
piston must stand still, and it can be let down as gently as possible; they
may either stop instantly or go as easily as they please; the throttle barrel
will answer the purpose to throttle between the cylinder and the dis-
, charge pipe; that would be saving of the roads.
Have you made any observation on the injury done to the road by a car¬
riage propelled not in the usual manner, but by a motion communicated to
its wheels? I think the roads would be less injured by steam carriages than
by horses, because the wheels will have very little more to carry now than
. they have with horses, and there are no horses' feet to injure the road: there¬
fore that part of it is saved; the engines now will be so very light that it
will be scarcely felt. The power to draw the carriage will be very little more
than the weight of harness on the horses.
Would you be inclined, for the advantage of the road, to give greater
width to wheels if you give greater velocity? I would rather give greater
width; I do not think the road is injured so much; there is less friction. If
*.two inch wheel goes two inches deep, and a four inch wheel goes only
bne inch deep, there is two to one difference in the friction, for the ascent
in getting up out of a two inch rut requires a great deal more frictiou. The
wider the wheels, in my opinion, though the greater extent the less friction;
they use wide wheels to go over soft ground on farms to prevent their sink- ;
ing; there is a great friction, for it is always going down hill, and the friction
is pulling it up hill. There is a power thrown away, but that would not have .
been the case with a wider wheel.
Do you think for a greater weight with a great velocity of carriage, you
could put wheels so wide that, instead of doing injury, they should do good
to the road? Yes; I think if the wheels had been as wide as they ought to
have been to'take the advantage of ease, they would rather have done a
service to the road than an injury, that is, to settle down the road; but the
greatest folly I have ever seen is the wide wagon wheels which go free of
turnpike duty: one part is nine feet round and the other part not above se¬
ven and a half or eight feet, one part is going faster than the other, and the
one part must rub; had the wheel'been upright, and it was turned off, the
point only would meet, but it would not be rubbing.
There is a particular width of wheel in which no injury will be done
to the road, but rather good? It will be rather good after the road has been
mended to settle it down; there will be wear iu it as at other times; but in
72
[ Doc. No. 101. ]
certain states of the roads, to settle them down, they will doing good, but at'
no state of the road could it do good with narrow wheels.
What would be the effect when the road was once settled? You see very
often roads which have been gravelled; in, dry weather the dust blows away;
they can never settle again, but if the broad wheels passed over to crush it.
over with the dust, it would settle down much firmer; but the narrow wheels
slide so easy through, that they sink down, and shove them on each side.
. Is there any state of the road in which you think a wide wheel would do
injury to the road? No; there is no state of the road in which wide wheels
will do an injury; if there was to be a wheel of an inch in diameter instead
of six inches, it would be like a stamping wheel cutting the road constant¬
ly, but the width of the wheel takes off that: the tenacity of stone is equal
to the weight.
Does not the whole of this refer to wheels that are cylindrical and the
axles horizontal? Yes, they ought to be straight; that is, the very wheel •
which I want for a steam carriage with straight axles.
Is not the road injured in two ways by the wear of it, and by the separa¬
tion of the materials? The separation of the materials is not so likely to
takes place with wide wheels as with narrow.
That is the reason why narrow wheels injure the roads more than wide •
wheels? Yes; and there isa much greater weight upon one pebble than is
thrown on two or three; double the weight is thrown on one pebble than
would otherwise be; then that pebble is crushed; for the stone does not bear
strongly enough together to resist it.
For this reason, the operation of horses' shoes must be much more inju- '
rious than that of broad wheels? Yes; they are more likely to break the
hard stones than a dead weight. I think the horses' feet much more like»
]y-
There are certain states of the roads 111 which the widths of the wheel
would occasion your losing power, are there not? No, I think not, I have
heard that mentioned, but I think it is not so.
Is there any slipping or sliding in the wheel of the steam carriage? Whea
the trial for the premium given on the Manchester railway was decided, the"
engines ran for a certain time, and the strokes were counted, and the dis¬
tance was measured, and there were remarks made upon that day's peform-
ance: they found, by measuring the periphery of the wheel, the number of
the strokes made, and the distance run, that there was not the least variation
whatever: they could find no difference.
Was not that on a railroad? Yes.
The cylindrical wheel, with the horizontal axle, is the best for the road?
Yes.
Is there not much less likelihood to slip on a common road, than on ail
iron railroad? Yes.
Suppose there are sharp ascents upon a common road, how would that ap¬
ply? There is no ascent that any common carriages go over, where the
steam carriage will not go down the hill with one wheel chained; no road
in the neighborhood of London that they would not run down with one
wheel chained; that is, only one quarter part of the weight of the carriage,
if the wheel is chained. If you are drawing up hill with two or four wheels
driven by an engine, by their all turning round, they are as like y to go up
bill. One wheel ought to put it up hill. It will go up a hill of double that
ascent without slipping.
.
- ♦
£ Doc. No. 101. ]
73
Will the increasing breadth of the wheel render slipping in ascending a
hill more or less likely to take place? I rather think that will increase the
friction, because that does not tend to make a rut. In making a rut, there is
a very great difficulty in the wheel getting out of that rut, for there is no
footing; but where it does not sink, that is not the case.
Supposing the width of the wheel to be the same on a carriage and a
steam engine, and the weight of the carriage the same, do you consider that
a wheel perfectly cylindrical, with a horizontal axle, preferable to a wheel
dished like that of a common stage coach, with a common axle? You can¬
not have a dished wheel to a great width, without its dragging as I have
described, unless you alter the system. If you keep the present dish, you
must have a narrow wheel, or it is rubbing; but if it is a straight axle, it
ought to be as wide as that where there is no more friction, and then the
wide wheel will not do half the mischief that the coach-wheel does. The
present stage coach-wheel will do a great deal more mischief, working as it
does, than if it had been perpendicular.
Are you to be understood that, in no state of the road, a wide wheel such
as you have described would do injury to the road? A wide wheel will do
a partial injury, but not one quarter of that which it would do if it were
narrow.
What sort of injury will it do? It will tend to crush the pebbles and
wear them, but that will be very trifling indeed; if you have a hundred
weight upon a wheel of an inch wide, and a hundred weight upon a wheel of
two inches wide, that one of an inch wide will break ten times as many
pebbles as the other; every inch it goes will break stones; a wide wheel
does away the injury.
You are aware that in the carriages that run at present on the common
roads, the wheels do not run in the same track—in the event of having wheels
with the tires four inches wide, do you think it would be better that
the tire of the hind wheels should run in the same track or a different track?
For the carriage making one turn only, it is easier for the wheels to go on
the same track; but if you wish to take the average of the duty, they never
ought to go in one track.
You think, in the steam carriages, that the tire of the hind wheels should
go in different tracks? Yes; the one produces a burr, and the other smoothes
it down. *
Will the carriage run so easy? No; it would for one turn; but, in the
course of time, going every day backwards and forwards, the work will be
done easier.
You think the tire may be extended to almost any width: what is the
width which you think a steam engine travelling rapidly ought to have? It
depends upon the weight they have to carry; but if you draw a conclu¬
sion from the coaches carrying four tons on two inch wheels, you might,
with a great deal of convenience to the engine, makb them six; but a six
inch wheel would not break one-tenth part of the stones which a two inch
would.
You see no objection to a steam carriage, intended to travel fast, with
passengers, which may weigh as much as a coach and four with its horses,
having a six inch tire? No; I know it is condemned by people in general;
but 1 have never heard, nor have I seen, any reasons for its being condemn¬
ed.
The wheels being wide and being cylindrical, with their axle horizontal,'
10
74
[ Doc. No. 101. ]
supposing you were to double the diameter, orto increase the diameter con¬
siderably of a wheel six inches wide, would it go more easily for the road?
It would go easier for the machine; but then there must be a wheel of dou¬
ble the width, and that would be loading the machine in going up hill with
an unnecessary weight; but that would ease the road; it will have a longer
bearing on the ground; there would not be so quick a circle.
With respect to the road, there would be a considerable advantage? Yes,
for it is a larger arch.
With respect to the engine, would there be any other disadvantage but
the additional weight? Ño; I do not know any material objection except
that, and that would throw the engine very high; it would be top heavy.
I do not think it would be convenient to make wheels above six feet.
Can you state the weight of your engine as compared with the weight of
the present engine? I will furnish an answer to that question.
Do you conceive that your engine, of which you have produced a plan,
is as applicable to carriages on roads as to the propelling engines at sea?
Yes, that is one object I have in view, and for agricultural purposes, for
ploughing, and every other purpose.
Have you ever calculated what the weight of a carriage would be with
one of your engines? Yes; I am looking to see the necessity of the doing
away with the supply of water that I have done away with; but, in dispen¬
sing with the water, I shall save three-quarters of the fuel; every time we
double the force of steam we save seventy-five per cent, upon it. This en¬
gine, I conceive, will not take one quarter part of the fuel; one charge of
water will do for a month. I have just taken out a patent for my engine.
Do you condense with a sufficient rapidity to take from the piston the pres¬
sure of the returning steam? Yes; there was an engine which had been
working with high steam and one of my boilers, and the cylinder was en¬
closed with brick work to keep off the external air: while I was abroad
they took down the brick work, and set it at a distance from the cylinder
of four or five inches, and turned the draught from the fire round the cy¬
linder to keep it off, and from that made more than sixty per cent, difference
in the fuel; if the engine was doing forty millions to a bushel of coals be¬
fore, it then did sixty-three millions, and they burnt five bushels of coals to
keep the cylinder hot. If they had put that under the boiler, it would have
done forty millions as before; but in putting in five bushels round the boiler,
it did three hundred and fifty-six millions; then the difficulty was to know
how it would make that difference. I could not at first make it out; howev¬
er it turned out afterwards how it was, and it was the steam; when coming
in upon the piston, the cold sides of the cylinder took out a part of the
heat; these are single engines; the steam is returned under the piston upon
the engine going that stroke again. The cold sides of the cylinder caused a
dew by the steam; the steam was expanded to full.four times the space; by
the time it had gone a quarter part it was shut; then it was expanded; it
was entirely cooled by itself; but when it came to touch the cold sides of
the cylinder, it hung about them like a dew. The moment there was a com¬
munication to the condenser, that instant it expanded, and it threw itself
into a second ; the next stroke threw that heat again into the side
■ of the cylinder, the weight of the cylinder was about six tons; if it had
taken out one degree each time, that would have taken out more than the
engine burnt. There is a clear proof how quick cold will con¬
dense.
[ Doc. No. 101. 3
75
Are there not steam engines in which the cylinder is within the boiler?
Yes; those are commonly used now in the high pressure steam engines..
Have you ever considered what toll should be charged upon steam car¬
riages, assuming that a steam carriage of 40 cwt. is equal to four horses,
and does no more damage than four horses would do upon a road? I should
judge that there would be no need to fix them heavier than just to pay for
repairing the road, whatever it may be; people are not to get their mainte¬
nance out of roads; and if the steam carriages do not injure the roads half as
much as a common carriage, they should not pay hdlf so much.
You do not suppose that a steam carriage weighing four tons would do
more injury than a horse carriage? A steam carriage with the same weight
would do nothing like the same injury as a horse coach, for they have nar¬
row wheels and these have not; and there are no horses' feet.
Your opinion is, that there should not be a higher toll charged upon those
steam carriages than upon a coach drawn by four horses? If the toll is
charged according to the injury done to the road, it would be not more than
half.
Do you conceive there would be any difficulty in applying steam carriages
to the present roads with the present ascents? Under the present circum¬
stances there is a difficulty. It is a question whether it. shall go over the road,
for the weight is too great; but if the weight is done away, and three to one
in power added, it will be possible to do it, and I have no doubt it will be
effected on my principle.
You think that the steam engines already prepared would go on the com¬
mon roads? They are between sinking and swimming at present, and I
think they will swim: I think that the improvement is effected, and that
they will do.
Would it not lighten the weight of engines if you had fixed stationary
engines to pump gas, fifty atmospheres for instance; and shift the vessel con¬
taining it at each stage? We do not want air or gas.
Something that has a power to drive? A vessel that weighed that would
be so heavy, it would not carry its own weight; the vessel it was compres¬
sed into would be of considerable weight; a cubic inch of water will fill a
cubic foot.
In the application of your power to a steam carriage, do you suppose there
would be less danger of bursting than at present exists? Yes; this cannot
burst; that is prevented.
Have the goodness to state your reason? There are fivq separate cylin¬
ders, the one encircled in the other; and if the hoiler, or the inner circle
burst, there are four other circles that might take the pressure, one after the
other, before it can externally explode, which outer circles are never heat¬
ed; and the boiler can never be heated or low, because the steam that is
made use of by the engines is returned every stroke into the boiler, and
provided an engine is tight, it may work forever without a fresh supply of
water.
What height would the shaft be, as applied to your steam carriage,? It
does not require to be higher than a common steam carriage.
Have the steam carriages that now ply on the roads a shaft? No; they
get the fuel through a fire door, but it will answer best to fill through
you get considerable advantage. In the first place you have a less boiler;
by having a less boiler it is lighter; it is much stronger by getting a greater
76
[ Doc. No. 101. ]
pressure; there is 75 per cent on, !,he fuel. If you take the average of the
advantages, it will save daily nearly ten to one on travelling engines.
That will render it necessary to have a chimney in a steam carriage? A
chimney is not necessary for the sake of draught if there is a forced draught.
The engine of which I have produced a drawing, is made for a ship, where
we are not bound to height, but five or six feet would be quite sufficient.
Do you apprehend that, in your engine, there would be any noise from fric¬
tion, so as to alarm horses? No more than in any other engines; there is
no more noise; whether the steam is generated in the same way or how it is
conducted, makes no difference.
With what would you work? With coke; that would be the most con¬
venient.
Do you think the road would suffer less damage from the carriage itself
containing the engine conveying the passengers, or conducting another
carriage intended to convey passengers? I think it better to have separate
carriages for the roads, as well because there is less weight upon the
wheels; The weight would be more equally divided on the four wheels; but
there will be six wheels in a general way I think. The two fore wheels
will bear very little weight.
Might not a single truck wheel do for that? It would not be steady.
Mercurii, 17° die Jiugusti, 1831.
Mr. Richard Trevilhick, again called in, and examined.
Are there any additional observations you wish to make to the commit¬
tee?—There are. I was asked what 1 had performed, and what was my
opinion as to whether steam power could be made useful on common roads
in general, and the difference in effect between broad and narrow wheels on
such roads, respecting their breaking up or settling down the surface, and
what farther advantages I might expect from my late improved steam en¬
gine? In answer, I beg to say, in 1804 I invented and introduced the high-
pressure steam and locomotive engines, and, also, in 1813, invented the iron
tanks and buoys for his Majesty's navy. In 1814, I was engaged by the
Spanish Government to construct in England nine high-pressure steam en¬
gines, and a mint, with pump-work, and every thing complete for draining
the great mines of Paseo, in Peru: they weighed 500 tons, in 20,000 pieces,
the boilers each of six tons weight, all in single plates, and the cylinders
each in six pieces, all carried up the mountains on mules' backs, and put to¬
gether on the spot, by which the mines were effectually drained, the ores
wound up, stamped, smelted and coined; they remained in full work until
the Spanish army retreated through the mines before the patriots, and, on
their retreat broke the engines, and threw them into the engine pits.
For a report of my progress in Peru, see the first number of the
Geological transactions of Cornwall, copied from the Lima Gazettes. In
reply to the questions put to me by the committee of the House of
Comrrfons, respecting the probable process of steam power for loco¬
motive purposes, I beg to say, on railroads, they have been proved to
be useful to a certain extent, but are still defective, on account of their
great weight of.machinery and water, and the difficulty of getting water at
all times, also a want of permanent safety against explosion; but, from a
[ Doc. No. 101. ]
77
a late improvement of mine, these obstacles are novv removed, and when
these late improvements are combined with my former locomotive engines,
they can be constructed so light as to travel at almost any speed, and thou¬
sands of miles, without a supply of water, and the risk of exploding is re¬
duced to an impossibility, with a saving of considerably above fifty per cent,
in fuel; all those improvements will appear in my statement hereafter. Tra¬
velling on common turnpike roads would be by far the greatest national ad¬
vantage, but which, on the present plan, never can be accomplished, be¬
cause the difficulties of getting a supply of water, and the inequalities of the
surface of the roads, will always, under these circumstances, prevent the
limited povverto ascend the hills; and this objection is irremovable, because, as
the power at present increases, the weight increases in nearly the same ratio.
At the present moment, we havfe a proof of this, from the engines travelling on
common level roads being as nearly as possible in equilibrium, their power
just capable running their own weight at a fair speed on a level surface;
and they now only wait an increase of their power, independent of weight,
to accomplish their general adaption to every purpose, both on the road and
also to agriculture; and as the expense of fuel bears so small a proportion to
horse labor, the removal of the present objections would accommodate their
general use to unlimited advantages that the public àre anxiously in search
of. As the axles of steam carriages require to be straight, and the wheels
perpendicular, there remains no objection to employing any width of wheel
that the road inspectors require, which, to a certain extent, will reduce the
resistance, instead of increasing it. It is my opinion, that all wheels now
in use on common roads are much too narrow; but this ought to be accom¬
modated to the materials that the road is formed with: for instance, narrow
wheels on an iron road do not yield to the pressure of the weight, but keep
themselves perfectly horizontal, and do not pulverize; but every Macadamized
road, more or less, is subject to this inconvenience, and the narrower the
wheels, the greater mischief is done to the road, and more resistance is
given to the horses. The usual notion, that wheels grind the road, is wrong;
if any difference, it is the roads grind the wheels, the road-material being
generally the harder of the two; but the roads are injured by the wheels
crushing the stone, by a narrow surface bearing on small points, or on sin¬
gle stones, the tenacity of which will not support the weight under narrow
wheels: under wide ones, they would sustain no injury, because the wide
wheel reduces its weight on each inch of surface in contact with the road, as
the number ot surface inches is increased by its additional width, and settles
down the road firmly, and gives each stone a side support also. Therefore, by
double the bearing on the road, half the weight is taken off from every bear¬
ing surface inch; and that, in addition to the side support, by being bedded
firmly, a wide wheel will, I have no doubt, save four out of five, if not nine
out of ten stones that are crushed at present, and reduce the road expenses
in the same proportion; but while the fancy of having carriage-wheels out of
upright with crooked axles is continued, wide wheels would be a serious ob
jection. The inside and outside of the wheel being of different diameters, and
going different speeds, must cause an increase of load to the horses, because
their rubbing on the road and tendency to twist move the stones out of their
bed in the road, and, instead of bedding them firmly, has the contrary ef¬
fect. Another great evil arises from the use of narrow wheels: they sink
lower into the road, and the road being in part elastic, whatever that may
be, is a resistance added to the horses according to its perpendicular rise aai
78
[ Doc. No. 101. 3
fall. The passing over sand or snow gives a proof of this on a larger scale,
and wide surfaces will bed snow, and form a firm road, w'mle narrow sur¬
faces would defeat the effect. Another proof of wide surfaces bedding firm¬
ly is seen in Cornwall, where the mills for stamping the ores in the mines
have steam engines in constant work, lifting twelve inches high iron stam¬
pers of three or four hundred weight, of about seventy inches of bearing: at
the bottom surface these form their own bed, which is about a foot thick of
Macadamized stones, and are an everlasting foundation, though the stamps
pulverize at the surface as fine as sand. It would be advisable for the fore
and hind wheels of carriages to run about half the track out of a line from
each other, because the bank that is formed by the fore wheel would be re-
bedded by the hind one, and the leveller the road is kept, the less the jolts,
and of course the shoaler will be the ruts, while the surface of the road re¬
mains sound, and even the wear is scarcely any thing, and the crushing
cannot take place but in a very small degree; because the small gravel, bind¬
ing uniformly with the larger stones, supported on every side, brings the
whole surface into uniform contact with the wheel, in which state but very
little injury can be done; but when uneven or broken, the loose stones roll
about without a support, and kept so by narrow wheels, they independently
receive the whole weight of the wheel, and, instead of being bedded down,
are crushed to powder. The unnecessary resistance given to carriages and
wear of roads by narrow wheels, far exceeds all conception. Asa proof that
locomotive wheels will not injure the roads by slipping round, I give you
the copy of a report printed on the performance of the locomotive engines
on the Manchester road for the premium. The following calculation, loun-
ed on the reported result, was made by Mr. Vignoles and Mr. Price, of
Neath Abbey. The maximum number of strokes was 142 per minute,
while 440 yards were traversed in 43 seconds; diameters of wheels 50.1
inches, circumference 157.4 inches; 157.4+142 inches, equal to 621 yards,
being the velocity per minute of the circumference of the wheel, or 21 miles
and 300 yards per hour: then as 60 seconds is to 621 yards, so is 43 seconds
to 445 yards. Thus, the calculated distance of the run, considering the
wheel as a perambulator, agrees within five yards with the space actually
passed over, and this difference might arise from the most trifling inaccura¬
cy, of noting the time, a quarter of a second at each end being sufficient to
produce this discrepancy, so that it might fairly be concluded there was no
slipping of the wheels at a velocity of nearly 22 miles an hour with a load.
If wheels will not slip round on iron roads, there can be no doubt but that
they will be firm on common roads. A steam carriage never needs the
wheel chained, or to be still in going down hill, because, if a throttle cock is
put between the discharge pipe and the piston, it cannot go down hill any
faster than the steam is permitted to make its escape from bpfore the piston,
and, if required, would stand still intstantly. Below is stated the commence¬
ment of both my high pressure and locomotive steam engines, with the ad¬
vantages derived from them. Since 1804, at which time I invented and
erected this high pressure engine, up to the present time, little improve¬
ment has been made in addition to my own. The first locomotive engine
ever seen was one that I set to work in 1804, on a railroad at Merthyr
Tydvil, in Wales, which performed its work to admiration, a correct copy
of which is now in general use on the railroad. The advantages gained by
this improvement was a detached engine, independent of all fixtures, work¬
ing with five times the power of Boulton and Watt's engine, without con-
[ Doc. No. 101. 1
79
densing water, and the fire enclosed in the boiler surrounded with water,
and a forced draught created by the steam for the purpose of working on
the roads without a high chimney; and from this was copied all the boilers
for navigation engines, which, without it, could not have been available;
this being independent of brick work, light, safe from fire, and occupying
little room. In March, 1830, Davies Gilbert, esquire, then president of the
Royal Society, wrote a treatise on the improvement made in the efficiency
of the largest steam engines in the world, then working in Cornwall, in
which he states, that, in 179S, he made trial of Boulton and Watt's engines
in that county, and found the average duty performed in the mines was
I7,62I,0U0 lbs. lifted one foot high with one bushel of coals; and, in 1830,
when he published his treaise on the improvement of the steam engines in
the Cornish mines, he says, that the improvement was so great that a duty
of 75,628,000 lbs. lifted one foot high, with the same quantity of coals,
was then performing in the mines; that when compared with the duty done
in 1795, the improvement exceeded Boulton and Watt's engines, as 3.865 to 1,
or 27 to 7 nearly; and exceeded the standard of the old atmospheric engines,
that were at work in 177S, as 10.75 to 1, (at present some of the best en¬
gines have performed a duty of 90 millions with a bushel of coals,) and the
result of this great improvement has been, that not one engine on Boulton
and Watt's plan remains at work in Cornwall; and it is acknowledged by
all the Cornish miners that this improvement solely has been the salvation
of their deep and extensive mines, without which the mines could not have
continued to work; but, from this increase of power and speed, a duty and
saving both in fuel and size of four to one, which has caused the saving of
coals in the Cornish mines alone to exceed one million sterling, and a con¬
stant saving of above'one hundred thousand pounds per year. The saving
of fuel in theory, by working with high steam, is 75 per cent, every
time that the elasticity of the steam is doubled, because double the quantity
of coals doubles the pressure, aud increases the bulk three-eighths, and by
this steam expansively three-eighths more are gained, and not only theory
but practice proves that gain on all the Cornish engines. The usual height of
steam is sixty pounds above the atmosphere, but if the boilers could be
made safe against explosion and work with much higher steam, the advan¬
tages would almost exceed limit. The accidents that have taken place by ex¬
plosion, do not appear to be from overloading the safety-valve, but from
overheating the boiler, because low pressure boilers have often exploded,
and this generally takes place immediately on setting the engine to work.
When the boiler is under water guage it must be red hot, and while the en¬
gine is standing, the water in the boiler is still, but the moment that the en¬
gine starts, the sudden escape of steam from the boiler to the cylinder
Causes a great ebullition of the water, and splashes it over the red hot sides,
which instantaneously generates a superabundant quantity of steam more
than the strength of any boiler, however strong, can sustain; because one
pound of melting iron will boil three pounds of water, therefore the red hot
tubes of a boiler, to be suddenly cooled by water splashing over them, would
immediately generate a hundred times as much steam as the space of the
boiler would contain: therefore, while the feed is so uncertain, and the height
of water fluctuates so much in the boiler, no permanent safety can be relied
on, however light the safety-valve may be loaded, or strong the boiler may
be. Boilers fed with salt or even foul water are dangerous; they are often
incrusted with salt, repeatedly heated red hot, and quickly reduced in sub-
80 [ Doc. No. 101. ]
stance and strength. To prevent the salt accumulating, a constant stream
of boiling water is ejected Irom, and cold water in its stead injected into the
boiler, which occasions a constant fluctuation in the height of water in the
boiler, and requires a constant caution in the engineer to prevent mischief.
A proof that boilers do not explode from the regular working pressure of
steam, is by the portable gasholders of one-sixteenth of an inch thick and
ten inches diameter being regularly charged with thirty atmospheres, or 450
pounds to the inch, without accident: and though this pressure is not one-
half the pressure that the theory of the strength of iron would bear, yet
boilers have often exploded, though the safety-valves have never been loaded
with one-eighth part of the pressure of the gas holders, or one-sixteenth of the
pressure of the theory of the strength of iron in proportion to the strength and
diameter of boilers, when compared with gas holders; therefore, perfect
safety never can be relied on under the present regulations. To remove
these serious evils, save fuel, and give a considerable increase in the pow¬
er of engines with less space and weight, I have made an entire new
engine, both in principle and arrangements. The fire-place, boiler and conden¬
ser are formed of six wrought iron tubes standing perpendicular on their ends,
encircled the one within the other for the purpose of safety, and to occupy
little room, also for keeping the boiler to one constant gauge, with fine distill¬
ed water, permanently working without loss, by condensing the steam and
never suffering it to escape out of the engine, but returning it from the con¬
denser back again into the boiler every stroke of the engine by a force
pump; and where an engine is perfectly tight, it would work for ever with¬
out a replenish of water. But, to supply, leaks a small evaporating apparatus
is used for supplying the deficiency with distilled water, which effectually
prevents any fluctuation in the height of water in a boiler or collecting sedi¬
ment, and an impossibility of ever getting the boiler red hot, there being no
space for the water to fly to out of the boiler but into the condenser: and this is
so small, that if, by any means, the force pump did not return the water regu¬
larly from the condenser to the boiler, the space in the condenser, by taking
one inch in depth of water out of the boiler, would fill and glut the condenser
so, that the engine would stand still, and, as the water cannot diminish, it does
not requre a large quantity of water, or water space in the boiler, so neces¬
sary in other engines, to guard against fluctuation in the feed, and prevent the
boiler becoming red hot. The boiler being considerably less, the strength
and room will be increased, and, never getting hot, the engine might be
worked with much higher steam; if so high as the gas-holders are charged
with, the theory gives a saving of fuel, weight and room, over low pres-
snre engines of sixteen to one, without a supply of water, f state this to
show the probable advantages that will arise from this new engine. For
my engine to be one hundred horse power, to raise sufficient steam, the fire
tube must be three feet diameter, which would give the boiler a diameter of
three feet eight inches; and that a half inch thick, according to the theory
of the strength of iron, would sustain a pressure of 1,736 pounds to the inch,
which is four times as great as the gas-holders are charged with, and thir¬
ty-two times the pressure that the high pressure engines work with at
present, which is still farther proof that the explosions have been solely oc¬
casioned by the boilers being under water gauge, and heated red hot. If,
after boilers have been forced on their trial by cold water pressure, to stand
ten times the pressure that they are to be worked at, and a boiler should
happen to explode, the shock would be first received by the next surrounding
[ Doc. No. 101. 3
81
tube, and so on for six successive surrounding tubes; each space between the
tubes would admit the steam to escape gently up the chimney without harm,
and the outside tube that encircles the whole, might be made of three quarters
of an inch thick, so that it would put injury from explosion beyond possi¬
bility, The arrangement of this new engine embraces every advantage that
can be wished for; safety, saving of fuel, lightness, little room, cheapness,
simplicity, and nearly independent of water, it can be made applicable to
any purpose, and, much more effectual than horse power, the first cost of
erection far less than a quarter the cost of horses, for the duty performed,
independent of the difference of expense between coals and horse feed, because
a one horse engine will, by constant work, perform the work of four horses eve¬
ry twenty-four hours. For breaking up and tilling large commons, very liule
establishment will be required. Another great national advantage will be
gained, by the whole of the kingdom being abundantly supplied with fresh
fish, as it will be in the power of every fishing-boat to get a small engine,
and bring fish to market all round the coast while fresh, independent of
wind: this may be carried by locomotive engines, in a few hours, to the in¬
terior of the country. Besides, every merchant ship will be propelled by
steam, as an engine of ten tons weight on the deck, occupying very little
more room than a ton cask, would propel a ship of 500 tons five miles per
hour with sixpence worth of coals, and will also pump the ship, weigh the
anchor, and take in and out the cargo. The principles of the leading pow¬
er being matured, all the applications will soon follow.
Davies Gilbert, esquire, a member of the committee, examined.
Have you paid any attention to the general nature and advantages of wheels
and springs for carriages, the draughts of cattle and the form of roads? I paid
considerable attention to it during the sitting of the committee of this House
about twenty years ago, of which Sir John Sinclair was chairman; and I
then drew up some observations on the nature of wheels and springs on
roads, which, with some alterations, I printed in the eighteenth volume of
the Journal of Sciences, and which I would beg to deliver into the commit¬
tee as the result of mjt observations on the subject.
[ The same was read as follows:]
" Taking wheels completely in the abstract, they must be considered as
answering two different purposes.
"First, they transfer the friction which would take place between a slid¬
ing body and the comparatively rough uneven surface over which it slides,
to the smooth oiled peripheries of the axis and box, where the absolute
quantity of the friction as opposing resistance is also diminished by lever¬
age, in the proportion of the wheel to that of the axis.
" Secondly, they procure mechanical advantage for overcoming obstacles
in proportion to the square roots of their diameters, when the obstacles are
relatively small, by increasing the time in that ratio, during which the
wheel ascends; and they pass over small transverse ruts, hollows or pits,
with an absolute advantage of not sinking, proportionate to their diameters,
and with a mechanical one as before, proportionate to the square roots of
their diameters: consequently, wheels thus considered, cannot be too large; in
practice, however the are limited by weight, by expense, and by convenience.
"With reference to the preservation of roads, wheels should be mada
wide, and so constructed as to allow of the whole breadth bearing at once;
and every portion in contact with the ground should roll on it without the
least dragging or slide; but, it is evident from the well-known properties of
11
82
[ Doc. No. 101. J
the cycloid, that the above conditions cannot unite unless the roads are per¬
fectly hard, smooth and flat; and, unless the fellies of the wheels, with their
tiers, are accurately portions of a cylinder. These forms, therefore, of roads
and of wheels, are the models towards which they should always approxi¬
mate.
" Roads were heretofore made with a transverse curvature to throw off
water, and, in that case, it seems evident that the peripheries of the wheels
should, in their transverse sections, become tangents to this curve, from
whence arose the necessity for dishing wheels, and for bending the axes,
which contrivances gave some incidental advantage for turning, for protect¬
ing the nave, and by affording room for increased stowage above. But re¬
cent experience having proved that the curved form of roads is wholly in¬
adequate for obtaining the end proposed, since the smallest rut intercepts
the lateral flow of the water; and that the barrel shape confines carriages to
the middle of the way, and thereby occasions these very ruts; roads are
now laid flat, carriages drive different over every part, the wear is uni¬
form, and not even the appearance of a longitudinal furrow is to be seen.
It may, therefore, conlidenllj' be hoped that wheels approaching to the
cylindrical form will soon find their way into general use.
"The line of traction is mechanically best disposed when it lies exactly
parallel to the direction of motion, and its power is diminished at any in¬
clination of that line in the proportions of the cosine of the angle to ra¬
dius. When obstacles frequently occur, it had better perhaps receive a small
inclination upwards, for the purpose of acting with most advantage when
those are to be overcome. But it is probable that different animals exert
their strengths most advantageously in different directions, and therefore
practice alone can determine what precise inclination of this line is best
adapted to horses, and what to oxen. These considerations are, however,
only applicable to cattle drawing immediately at the carriage; and the con¬
venience of this draft, as connected with the insertion of the line of traction
which continued, ought to pass though the axis of the wheels, introduces
another limit to their seize.
" Springs were in all likelihood applied at first to carriages, with no other
view than to accommodate travellers. They have since been found to an¬
swer several important ends. They convert all percursion into mere in- i
crease of pressure; that is, the collision of two hard bodies is changed by the
interposition of one that is elastic, into a mere accession of weight. Thus
the carriage is preserved from injury, and the materials of the road are not
broken: and, in surmounting obstacles, instead of the whole carriage with its
load being lifted over, the springs allow the wheels to raise, while the
weights suspended upon them are scarcely moved from the horizontal level.
So that, if the whole of the weight could be supported on the springs, and
all the other parts supposed to be devoid of inertia, while the springs them¬
selves were very long, and extremely flexible, this consequence would clear¬
ly follow, however much it may wear the appearance of a paradox, that such
a carriage may be drawn over a road abounding in small obstacles without
agitation, and without any material addition being made to the moving
power or draft. It seems, therefore, probable, that, under certain modifica¬
tions of form and material, springs may be applied with advantage to the
very heaviest wagons, and consequently, if any fiscal regulations exist,
either in regard to the public revenue or to local taxation, tending to dis¬
courage the use of springs, they should forthwith be removed.
t
£ Doc. No. 101. ] 83
"Although the smoothness of roads, and the application of springs are
beneficial to all carriages, and to all rates of travelling, yet they are eminent-
ly so in cases of swift conveyance, since obstacles, when springs are not inter¬
posed, require an additional force to surmount them beyond the regular
draft, equal to the weight of the load multiplied by the sine of the angle in¬
tercepted pn the periphery of the wheel between the points in contact with
the ground and with the obstacle, and therefore proportionate to the square
of rts-herght; and a still further force, many times greater than the former
when the velocity is considerable, to overcome the inertia, and this increases
with the height of the obstacle, and with the rapidity of the motion both
squared. But, when springs are used, this latter part, by far the most im¬
portant, almost entirely disappears, and their beneficial effects, in obviating
the injuries of percussion, are proportionate also to the velocities squared.
"The advantages consequent to the draft, from suspending heavy baggage
on the springs, were first generally perceived about forty years since on the
introduction of mail coaches; then baskets and boots were removed, and
their contents were heaped on the top of the carriage. The accidental cir¬
cumstance, however, of the weight being thus placed at a considerable ele-
' vation, gave occasion to a prejudice, the cause of innumerable accidents,
and which has not, up to the present time, entirely lost its influence; yet
„moment's consideration must be sufficient to convince any one, that, when
the body of a carriage is attached to certain given points, no other effect can
possibly be produced by raising or by depressing the weight within it, than
to create a greater or less tendency to overturn."
I The extensive use of wagons suspended on springs, for conveying heavy
/articles, introduced within these two or three last years, will form an epoch
in the history of internal land communication not much inferior perhaps in
importance to that when ma-il coaches were first adopted; and the extension
of vans, in so short a time, to places the most remote from the Metropolis,
induces a hope and expectation that, as roads improve, the means of preserv¬
ing them will improve also, possibly in an equal degree; so that perman¬
ence and consequent cheapness, in addition to facility of conveyance, will
be distinguished features of the Macadam system.
I have made some further remarks, which I would beg to deliver in also,
pending to point out particularly the advantage of steam conveyance when
the rate of travelling is great: I would beg to add, that it appears to me
extremely difficult to lay down any general rule which would be applicable
to'all situations and all roads, inasmuch as they vary with the nature of the
materials: that up to a certain weight, proportionate to the corresponding
width of the wheel, it is probable that the injury to any road may be very
little, but that beyond a certain weight, compared again with a correspond¬
ing breadth of the wheels, the materials would be entirely crushed, and the
road totally destroyed. Therefore it follows, that even on all roads there
must be a limit to the weight of carriages, as it is quite impossible that a
( wheel of enormous breadth could bear uniformly on all its surface. For
instance, where trains of artillery are drawn over roads, the excess of their
weight beyond what materials are capable of sustaining, has been found
sufficient for grinding them to powder. " The slow conveyance of heavy
weights may perhaps be effected by steam on well-made and nearly level
roads, so as to supersede the use of hors,es; but steam power is eminently
tiselul for producing great velocities. It was last year determined by the
Society of Civil Engineers, after much inquiry and discussion, that the
84 [ Doc. No. 101. ]
• I
expense of conveying carriages drawn by horses was at its minimum
when the rate of travelling equalled about three miles an hour, and that ex¬
pense increased up to the practical limit of speed, nearly as the velocity;
including the greater price of horses adapted to swift driving, their increased
feed and attendance, the reduced length of their stages, and, with every
precaution, the short period of their services. On the contrary, friction
being a given quantity as well as the force requisite for impelling a giveri'
weight up a given ascent, the power required for moving steam carriages
on a railway remains theoretically independent of its speed, and practically
increases but a very little, in consequence of resistances from the atmos¬
phere, slight impacts against the wheels, inertia of the reciprocating pis¬
ton, &c. The expenditure of what I have termed efficiency, is, as actudl
force, multiplied by velocity, and the consumption of fuel in a given time
will be in the same proportion, but the time of performing a given distance
being inversely as the velocity, the expenditure of fuel will theoretically
be constant for a given distance, and very nearly so in practice. The pow¬
er requisite for moving bodies through water is in the opposite extreme!
here, the mechanical resistance of the fluid increases with the square of the
velocity, as do the elevation of the water at the prow, and its depression at1
the stern. The oars or paddles must therefore preserve a constant ratio to
the velocity of the vessel; and the force applied will consequently vary as^
the squares of the velocity; and the expenditure of efficiency being as the
force multiplied by the velocity; the consumption of fuel will be as the
cube of the velocity in a given time, or as the square of the velocity on a given
space; and I have ascertained from the records of voyages performed by steamy
vessels, that the law is nearly correct in practice: hence the great power,
required for such steam vessels as are constructed not merely for speed, but
also to set at defiance the opposition of winds and seas; while, on the
contrary, a very small power will be found sufficient for moving ships
of the largest dimensions through the water, at the rate of two or three miles
an hour, when their sails are rendered useless by continued calms."
Mr. Nathaniel Ogle, called in, and examined.
What is your profession? I have no profession; I am pursuing the intro¬
duction of locomotive engines on common roads. ^
Have you invented any carriage of this description actually now in prac¬
tice? Yes, partly so.
Have you run your carriage for any length of time on public roads? About
800 miles, or rather more, over roads of various descriptions, and up lofty
hills.
Will you describe, generally, the nature of your carriage, and of any im¬
provements you have made since yqu first turned your attention to the sub¬
ject? The object in all locomotive vehicles is to obtain a mode of genera¬
ting steam that shall give the command of a sufficient power, under all va¬
rying circumstances to be met with on the common roads. We have ob¬
tained that desideratum, by combining the greatest heating surface in the
least possible space, with the strongest mechanical force, so that we work
our present boiler at 250 lbs. pressure of steam on the inch, with the most
perfect safety. Our\experimental vehicle, weighing about three tons, or
rather more, we have propelled from London to Southampton, and on the
roads in the vicinity of Millbrook, at various speeds. The greatest veloc£
ty we obtained, over rather a wet road, with patches of gravel upon it, was
I
[ Doc. No. 101. J
85
■between 32 and 35 miles an hour, and might have been continued under
similar circumstances, and we could, on a good road, have increased that
velocity to 40 miles. We have ascended a hill with a soft wet bottom,
rising one foot in six, at rather a slow rate. We have ascended one of the
loftiest hills in the district near Southampton, at 161 miles an hour. We
have gone from the turnpike gate at Southampton to the four mile stone
on the London road, a continued elevation, with one very slight descent, at
tárale of 241 miles an hour, loaded with people. The locomotive vehicles
used on the Liverpool and Manchester railroad would-not go at three miles
an hour on a common level road, and would not ascend any hill; and on ac¬
count of the diameter of their boilers, cannot, scientifically speaking, be con¬
sidered safe. The vehicle is under perfect control in every respect. No
aocident from explosion can take place. We have had whole families of
ladies, day after day, out with us in all directions, and who have the most
perfect confidence. We are now upon the point of establishing a factory
Where these vehicles will be made in numbers; and a great manyare already
required by coach proprietors, carriers of merchandise, and others, for their
use on the public roads. Railroads, excepting in very peculiar situations,
are behind the age; and it is my decided opinion, that those who embark
capital in constructing them will be great losers.
Will you describe the form of your boiler? The base of the boiler and
the summit aré composed of cross pieces, cylindrical within, and square
Without; there are holes bored through these cross pieces, and inserted
through the hole is an air tube. The inner hole of the lower surface,
and the under hole of the upper surface-, are rather larger than the other
ones. Round the air-tube is placed a small cylinder, the collar of which fits
/ound the larger aperture on the inner surface of the lower frame, and the
under surface of the upper frame work. These are both drawn together
by screws from the top; these cross pieces are united by connecting pieces,
the whole strongly bolted together, so that we obtain in one-tenth of the
space, and with one-tenth of the weight, the same heating surface and power
at$ is now obtained in other and in low pressure boilers, with incalculably
greater safety. Our present experimental boiler contains 250 superficial feet
of heating surface in the space of 3 feet 8 inches high, 3 feet long, and 3
feet 4 inches broad, and weighs about 800 weight. We supply the two
cylinders with steam, communicating by their pistons with a crank axle, to
|Se ends of which either one or both wheels are affixed as may be required.
One wheel is found sufficient, excepting under very difficult circumstances,
and when the elevation is about one foot in six, to impel the vehicle for¬
ward.
Have you taken out a patent for this invention? We have, in the nam«
of William Altoft Summers and Nathaniel Ogle.
You state that the weight of that carriage is about three tons or more—is
, that independent of ^he necessary load? That will include the coke and
the water, but not the passengers.
Have you any peculiar means for rendering explosion impossible? Yes$
(the cylinders of which the boilers are composed are so small as to bear
a greater pressure than could be produced by the quantity of firs be¬
neath the boiler, and if any one of these cylinders should be injured by
violence, or any other way, it would become merely a safety valve to the
rest. We never with the greatest pressure, even, burst, rent or injured our
' boilers, and have not once required cleaning after having been in use twelve
months.
86
[ Doc. No. 101. 3
\
Is the connexion between your different cylinders so perfect, that there is
no danger of the steam collecting in one particular point of it? There is a
perfectly free communication, and not the least danger to be apprehendejl.
Have you one or two safety-valves! Two.
At what pressure do you usually work your carriage? Two hundred and
forty-seven pounds on the square inch of the boiler, but we have worked*
it at a greater pressure than that.
To what pressure do you usually weight your safety-valve? Two huivp
dred and forty-seven pounds.
Then you travel always on the lift? Yes; we are always glad to see our
steam blowing off, and when our fire is even moderately good, it is always
blowing off, even up the steepest hills, proving an excess of power.
Does that create any annoyance to passengers along the road? None what-'
ever; the waste steam is carried round a double casing of the fire place,
then brought over the surface of the fire where some portion is consumed,
and the rest passes off through a very small chimney in an aeriform state. V
Do you use coal or coke? Soft and good coke which easily ignites and
burns rapidly. x 1
You have not any annoyance then to passengers from smoke from your
carriages? None, whatever; there is no appearance of smoke, except on light-,,
ing the fire with wood, which is necessary to ignite the coke.
That takes place before you start? Yes; but even that will not be neces.
sary when every thing is arranged. *
You state that your carriage is under the most perfect control? Perfect.
Supposing you were going at the rate of ten miles an hour on a level',
road, in what number of feet do you suppose you could entirely check the
carriage? It would be difficult to state precisely the number of feet, buè.
certainly in a less space than you could stop a pair of carriage horses going
with the same weight attached to them. I have no hesitation in saying, that a
steam vehicle is safer in every respect han one with horses, that it is under
more complete management at the same velocities and with the same weight,
that it is more easily controlled, and that none of the accidents from fractiou^
horses can take place with steam carriages.
Do you find that horses are generally frightened by passing your car.
riage? Very few indeed; persons usually alarm their own horses (the ani-'1
mal being quickly subject to alarm) either by dismounting or patting them,
and thus anticipating apprehension. ft
What rate of toll has been charged on your carriage in the neighborhood
of Southampton? None, whatever. I have paid near London, when trying
experiments, a shilling or two, and I made no inquiry. I remember going
out of London, throwing one man a shilling, and another two, being too
much occupied to trouble myself about the matter.
You pass through turnpikes in travelling round Southampton? Yes.
What is the reason they have not charged you? I do not know, unless
they had the good sense to see that we rather do eood to the road than injury.
Do you know on what authority they levy tolls on carriages? I know of
only two instances in which they have been levied on steam carriages, ona »
at Hammersmith bridge, and the other at Cambridge heath, near Hackney.
If toll collectors at Southampton abstain from demanding tolls, is it not
because they had not authority to demand them? I do not know their mo-
tive.
You think that the toll collector is so interested in the good state of the '
road, that he would abstain from demanding toll on that ground? I think
[ Doc. No. 101. 3
87
that if they have contracted to keep the road in repair, they would be glad
that steam vehicles should run upon that road in preference to carriages drawn
by animals; because the wheels of steam carriages, if the tires are of a pro¬
per breadth, act as rollers.
Do you know whether the toll collectors in general, contract for keeping
the road in repair? I do not know.
Do you know any instance of it? No, I do not.
Have you heard any complaint by contractors of the injury done to roads
from your carriages? No.
Nor from the surveyors of roa<js? No.
What is the breadth of the tires of your wheels? About three inches.
Could you increase the tire of your wheels without inconvenience? Cer-
> f'H'y-
To what breadth? With a given weight there might be given breadths;
in my opinion a vehicle carrying four tons weight, the engine itself weigh¬
ing three tons, should have a tire about four inches and a half in breadth, a
flat tire, not a round tire, and the wheels should be cylindrical. It is decid-
, edly to the interest of steam coach proprietors to have the tires broad, as the
wheels have a diminished tendency of sinking into the road.
Should they be increased according to the weights? Yes, but I do not
think that we have knowledge enough to speak precisely on that subject, and
to go into minute details as to the exact breadth which should bear a given
weight.
Taking either an increased or a diminished weight, what would be the
increased or diminished breadth of wheels which you would recommend?
I am not prepared to answer that minutely.
Is it your opinion, that, in case they exceed three tons weight, that wheels,
three inches wide, improve the road, passing with the velocity they do?
Certainly; the velocity has nothing to do with the wear of the road.
How many wheels have you? Our present carriages have only three, so
that the centre wheel rolls that portion of the road which has been cut up
by the action of the horses' feet.
Is it of the same breadth as the two hind ones? It is broader, being four
inches and a half.
Is the centre wheel a guiding wheel? It is.
What portion of weight is upon that as compared with the others? That
I must vary a little, but generally about one-third.
Is yours a coach? No, it is a treble-bodied phaeton.
How many passengers have you carried when you have gone at the rates
you have described? I think 1 have seen nineteen; weight is of no import«
ance to a steamer.
Taking the weight of your carriage, with the engine, at three tons, what
weight do you suppose that you could carry at the rates you have spoken
of? Between three and four tons, very well.
Besides its own weight? Yes.
Doubling its own weight? Yes; twenty people will weigh more than a
ton and a half.
For what distance do you travel without taking in water?—We can in¬
crease our capability to a great extent; at present, we carry about seven hun¬
dred weight of water; it lasts about fourty minutes; that depends on the
quality of the road.
How much coke? The quantity we carry is according to the distance we
wish to go.
88
[ Doc. No. 101. ]
What weight of fuel would you think it necessary to take in, to go one
of your averages stages? Three bushels. '
How much does a bushel weigh? That is difficult to answer, coke differs t
in its weight; the average weight is about forty pounds a bushel.
What proportion of injury do you think one of your steam carriages does
to the road in comparison with the injury done by a coach drawn by horses
proceeding with the same velocity? Not one half; first of all they receive no
injury from the feet of the horses; a horse must have something to hold by,
and the action of a horse's foot is to scrape and dig up the ground. Vehicles
drawn by horses of equal weight, have usually narrower wheels, which
must increase the injury done to the road.
Are your wheels dished, or are they cylindrical? Cylindrical, with flat
tires. <
What are the diameters of your propelling wheels? We have generally
used them about six feet; those we have now are about five feet six.
Have you changed the diameters from experiment, from finding the smal¬
ler diameter more convenient? From finding some wheels with the spokes
cut through, whether intentionally by the workmen, or from mere neglect,
we could not tell; but they were merely reduced from six feet to five feet
six.
For a carriage calculated to carry eighteen persons, what would be the
length, and what the breadth? I think that our next will measure eighteen
feet six; that is not so long as a carriage with two horses: the breadth six
feet nine inches between the wheefs.
During the course of your experience, have you met with any accident,
such as the breaking of your machinery? None whatever of any de¬
nomination; not one bolt, not one screw has ever given way, during a period
of twelve months, and under circumstances which would have utterly de¬
stroyed any other carriage, and very much to the surprise of engineers,
who are sadly uninformed on all points relative to steam coaches, and have
never advanced their success.
In the improvements you are now engaged upon in your carriage, are
ihey relative to the size and weights of the different parts, or merely in the
conveyance of the goods and passengers? They are more in improving
slight details; the power we have beyond all question to propel vehicles of
any weight, at any required velocity.
Have you made many experiments as to the size of your cylinder? We
have made several experiments.
In reference to the usual velocity you require, and the weight you have to
carry, what do you find the most advantageous size of cylinder? The larger
the cylinder, certainly, the better; but wereT to give definite answers to
such questions, it would be giving too much information to those opposed
to us.
What is the greatest weight that any steam engine you have ever built is
capable of carrying ten miles an hour? About three tons, in addition to its
own weight. The majority of the London engineers treated our opinions,
founded on the laws of nature and experiment, with contempt and ridicule,
and were amazed at witnessing the vigor of our engines, and the velocity
with which we left the factory in Cablestreet, Whitechapel, and proceeded
towards Shouthampton.
Have your ever ascertained that that carriage, when loaded, weighs six
tons? No, never.
[ Doc. No. 101. ]
89
What was the greatest weight you ever weighed? We never weighed
it at all. I can only speak from conjecture. I have seen nineteen persons
on it, and seven cwt. of water.
At what rate did you travel with that load? We went with that load up
a considerable ascent, about thirteen • miles from Southampton; I should
think, about from a quarter to half a mile. We travelled about ten miles
an hour.
How did you ascertain that rate—did you make accurate observations at
the time? We knovv pretty accurately, by observation, at what rate we are
going; but we can ascertain with the greatest minuteness, by knowing the
number of revolutions made by a wheel of a certain diameter.
When you were conveying those nineteen persons, how many horse
power do you suppose was exerted by your machinery? Nearly twenty
horse power.
Jfou have stated that your carriages do not. do injury to roads, but are ra¬
ther a benefit; subsequently you have said that your carriages did not do
half the injury of common carriages? Yes; if the tire of the wheel was
Very broad, it would be no injury.
Do you know the ordinary breadth of the tire of a stage coach wheel?
About two inches or two and a quarter, varying a little.
Do you know the weight of a stage coach, with its complement of eighteen
passengers? Three Ions.
What particular coach do you refer to? The Telegraph from London to
Southampton, with its full load, has been reported tome, by its proprietors,
to weigh about three tons.
What would be the weight of your machine when loaded? Three tons,
besides its load.
What do you suppose the nineteen passengers weighed? A ton and a
half certainly.
The breadth of your tire is three inches? Yes.
From your observation of the effect of a coach weighing three tons, and a
two and a quarter inch tire going along a road, seeing the impression made
upon the roads, and witnessing your own carriage weighing four tons and a
half, with a three inch tire, what is the relative indentation or injury done
to the road? Not greater, as far as I have ever been able to observe.
Is it as great? I think not as great.
Independent entirely of the injury that the four horses do to the road?
Just so. Independent of that entirely.
Can you suggest any mode by which tolls shall be fairly charged on steam
carriages? I should say by their weight, with a deduction in favor of the
steam engines, inasmuch as they do not the same degree of injury to the road
as a vehicle drawn by horses.
Do you think that the injury done by four horses on a road is greater
than the injury done by the four wheels of the same carriage? Decidedly.
Upon what data do you state that opinion? Because the animal must hold
on as he goes; if he has a great weight behind him, he must hold tighter thaa
if he merely carries his own weight. I do not know the number of strokes
that a horse's foot must have gone in an hour, but it is a great number, and
where there are four horses, those must be multiplied; and this, on a road
moistened by the rain, must make great indentations, and tear up the surface:
the transit being continuous, the road must suffer more than from the mere
pressure of the tire over it.
12
90 . v [ Doc. No. 101. ]
Do you state that as your opinion merely, or as the result of your observa¬
tion and practice? As the result of my observation and practice, and also
from the deductions of reason.
Where have you made those observations? In going about on horseback
in my own steam vehicle, and my own carriage, I have observed the manner
in which the road has been cut up. I have also observed the road, after it
has been passed over by a steam vehicle, and have seen that part of the road
we found injured by the horses' feet rolled over by the middle wheel.
In what state was the road at the time? Rather-wet.
Were the materials recently laid down, or consolidated? There were
patches of gravel; and there the steam carriage was a decided advantage.
Was it of more advantage than the wheel of an ordinary carriage? Yes,
decidedly so.
Do you conceive that the injury done by horses' feet is in the wearing
of materials, or the displacing materials? In both.
What is the nature of the injury which the wheel does? The wheel al¬
ways forms for itself a hill, and that hill is in exact proportion to the inden¬
tation.
Do you mean to say that the hill is formed by the displacing materials?
Yes there is a line, of the materials of which the road is composed, on both
sides of the tire.
If a road is properly constructed, will that take place? The harder the
road, the less the indentation.
Have you paid much attention to the construction of roads? Not much.
Will you state more definitely the nature of the injury you have seen in
regard to the effect of the horses' feet, in comparison to that of the wheels bf
carriages? First of all they displace at every blow, they tear up, and throw
the surface behind them; whereas the wheel only rolls as it goes, and throws
some portion on both sides of it, if the road is soft.
Do you know from your own knowledge how much the crust of an ordi¬
nary road round London will bear? No; it depends so much upon the nature
of the road.
Mr. Alexander Gordon, called in, and examined.
Are you an egnineer? I am.
Have you had much experience in the propelling carriages on common
roads by steam? My principal experience in that has been whilst observing
what Mr. Gurney has done. I have also been connected with locomotive
engines, for which my father took out patents in 1822 and in 1824; and also
with an engine that Mr. Brown attempted to propel by a gas vacuum engine
in 1S24, 1825, and 1826. 1 have not had time to prepare a drawing, but I
have made a small sketch of two distinct patents (producing the same) which
my father had in 1822 and 1824. The one in 1822, was a machine, with
a small high pressure engine in a drum ; as the drum advanced with a rolling
motion, it moved, before it, a carriage body on two wheels, attached to the
front of the large rolling drum. Subsequently, in 1824, my father discon¬
tinued his former plan, and took out another patent, in which his object was
to substitute propellers instead of the driving wheel: for that purpose, he had
propelling legs in the middle of the locomotive engine, similar to horses'
legs and feet, working through the bottom of the body of the carriage against
the ground, thus propelling the carriage onward. Mr. Gurney's progress in
1826 and 1827, showed clearly that this arrangement was not necessary in
[ Doc. No. 101. ]
91
every case, but that one of the wheels of the carriage, when attached to the
steam engine, had a sufficient hold of the ground to give progressing motiou
to the carriage without using propellers; and the introduction of that inven¬
tion has subsequently been given up by me in consequence.
Have both the plans you have given in been given up? Both. They
were given up from prudential motives on my own part, as it was an bxpen-
sive business to proceed with them. Mr. Gurney had made such great ad¬
vances, that it would have been throwing away money I think to have .gone
on further with them. I found that the propelling fçet, shown in the mid¬
dle of the engine, do more injury to the roads than the propelling wheels.
Have you been engaged in running stage coaches? I was engaged in run¬
ning a stage coach with horses four years ago; and since this committee com¬
menced their examination, I have been making some calculations as to the
comparative wear and tear of the road by horses' feet and coach wheels; and
I consider that the te3r and wear of the horses' shoes is very much greater
than that of the tires of the wheels. I know it to be so. A set of tires will
run 3,000 miles in good weather, or on the average 2,700 miles, while a set
of horses' shoe will travel only 200 miles. Take the square inches of the
rubbing surface, I think the rubbing surface of the wheel, on an ordinary
road, to be somewhere about sixteen square inches; I am taking a gravelly
road.
Do you mean to say that if a coach was standing still, there would be a
segment of the wheel of eight inches touching the ground? On a gravelly
road, with a dished wheel, it is about that; and I take the average of sixteen
square inches, because all tires are not limited to two inches width: some of
them area little more; 1 take sixteen inches as the standard on the average
quality of roads.
You state that eight inches of the wheel are imbedded in the road in
ordinary cases? That is the fact. I took the whole together at the average.
With the front wheels it would not be so much, on all occasions, as on the
hind wheels. I take the average, allowing for this variation.
Do you give this answer from actual experiments? From observation.
Having measured that part of the wheel which touches the road? I can¬
not say that I have put my rule to it; but I mean to say a segment of eight
inches is pretty accurate. If it is on a perfectly hard road, in dry weather,
the load will almost be a mere tangent to the circle; but on a soft road, in
damp weather, the wheel will make more or less of a rut, and the average
depth of the rut will give the average for the segment.
Will you give the. proportion of surface for the horses' feel? I think
twelve square inches superficial for one horse-shoe. I cannot say that I have
measured it.
What is the weight of the carriage which you say imbeds itself eight
inches? I take the weight of the ordinary post coaches, when fully loaded,
to be somewhere about three tons. I principally rest my opinion, as to the
comparative tear and wear, upon the wear of the horses' shoes when com¬
pared with the wear of the tires. A horse, aftera run of 200 miles, must be
shod; and after^i run of 3,000 miles, in dry weather, a coach must have
new tires. 9
From thence you infer that the wear of the two is in proportion to those
numbers? I think it must be thereabout; that is, setting aside altogether for
the present, the consideration that the horses' movement is a series o ,
thumps and picks, while the wheel it a roller.
92
[ Doc. No. 101. 3
Is not the iron of the wheel thicker than that of the horses' shoe? Yes;
to keep the wheel firm.
Do you not infer, from the action of the horse's hoof upon the road, that
the injury would be great in proportion? I think that the action of the
horse's foot on the ground is more destructive to the road: there is more
tear and wear to the road by the horse's shoe than by the tire. In rolling
two tons along the ground, on four wheels, there will be no less damage
done than by driving four horses without drawing any thing after them
along the same ground.
Have you made any observations as to the relative wear of the shoes of
riding horses compared vvith those of horses employed in carriages? INo; I
now speak from circumstances which came to my knowledge when I was
connected with running a stage.
Have you had an opportunity of comparing the wear of the wheels of a
steam carriage with the wear of the wheels of a carriage, supposing they run
equal distances and carry equal weight? I have seen Mr. Gurney'sproceed¬
ings from the beginning to the present time, and in riding with him, I have
very narrowly observed the driving wheel to see whether it ever made a
surd, (that is to say) made a slip or missed its hold of the ground; and that
has so seldom happened, that I do not think it can do much more injury than
any other wheel, indeed I might say none; if it does, it is very trifling.
You speak of the propelling wheel? Yes.
Do you know the weight of Mr. Gurney's carriage? I know the weight
of Mr. Gurney's carriage from having been told. I take the weight of Mr.
Gurney's present locomotive engine when it carries six or eight persons, to
be nearly as heavy asan ordinary four horse carriage without the weight of
its horses, that is, about three tons with coke, water and passengers.
Are you speaking of the comparative injury to the roads done by Mr.
Gurney's carriage and a four horse coach? Yes.
Which do you think does most injury to the road? I should think it
must be the same thing, carrying a great weight on any four wheels of
equal diameters and surfaces: it will amount to the same thing.
Does not that suppose that the tire is of the same width? I take the tires
to be the same.
That is independent of the four horses? Yes.
Then the injury done by the four horses is in addition? Yes.
Have you observed what the proportion is of the damage done by four
horses drawing a coach, and the four wheels of a coach? I cannot say that
1 have made any observation upon that further than the tear and wear of
the shoes, and the tire. I have seen the ruts in a narrow road and the
horses' path between them; viewing these and viewing the towing path on
the side of a canal and between the rails of railroad, 1 should think that the
horses do fully more harm than the wheels.
Do you think that the action of the horse's feet on a towing path will do
more injury than on a road? Yes; but the action of the horse's feet on a tow¬
ing path is not quite the same as when he is carrying a weight or pulling a
weight directly after him. The horse hauling on a canal lias a motion side¬
ways, and leans to the side farthest from the boat, platt in 14(91 is feet: this is a
more destructive action than that of horses' feet on a road.
Have you found that there is any tendency to slip in Mr. Gurney's car¬
riages in going up a hill covered with new stones? When the surface of the
road is not firm, there is a tendency to slip; and when I said there was
[ Doc. No. 101. ]
93
merely a fraction more of injury done by that wheel than by the others, I
was taking such cases into account.
Do you think that the injury that steam carriages do to the roads will be
exactly in proportion to their different weights, taking the same breadth of
the tire? I cannot state the proportion; if you increase the weight, you
must increase the breadth of the tire: at different speeds, the injury will dif¬
fer.
Taking the same breadth of tires, and the same velocity, do vou conceive
the injury to the road increases in exact proportion to the weight; for in¬
stance, that a steam carriage of two tons will do only half the injury that a
coach of four tons would do? I do not know that it will be exactly in these
proportions; but it will be somewhat similar.
Then supposing that a steam coach carrying two tons, had tires of a
breadth of three inches, and that a steam coach carrying four tons had the
tires of the wheels of the breadth of six inches; do you think that the injury
would be proportionate? I think that there would be nearly the same
amount of injury.
Suppose you increase the weight so as to break through the crust of the
road? If you put a very heavy weight, you will break the crust of the road
altogether, no doubt.
Do you think that could be obviated by increasing the breadth of the tire
of the wheel? To a certain extent; but you may increase the weight so
much as to pulverize the material of the road, even with a broad lire.
llave the observations you have made been founded on actual experiment
or not? It is on observation; I have observed the action of Mr. Gurney's
wheels very narrowly on the roads, because I was interested in another pa¬
tent that was to introduce propellers in the middle of the locomotive engine
as shown in the drawing produced. 1
Have you observed them under different ascertained weights? No great
Variety. •
Upon an ordinary road, is the injury done by a stage coach or by a steam
carriage so great as to be apparent at each time that carriage travels along
the road? Whenever you see a mark left by a wheel, you are entitled to say
there is an injury done to the road to the extent of the rut.
Do you state that if it is merely a mark on the soft surface of the road?
Yes, from the wheel being at all imbedded in the soil; the water gets in and
soaks its way through. If it is in frosty weather, the water and the damp get
down, and the alternate freezing and melting destroys the road.
In an ordinary road, is the impression of the wheel of a stage coach upon
the solid surface of the road so great as to make the injury apparent every
time the carriage passes over it? It is apparent to me, because, wherever
there is a mark upon the road, there is a consequent injury.
Whether that mark is merely the impression of the wheel on the soft mud
or dust, or by crushing the materials? Wherever the road is damp, the con¬
sequence of the mark, however slight, tends to destroy the road.
• Do you mean whether on the soft mud on the road, or on the solid sub¬
stance? The road must be destroyed to some extent; I do not say that it is
perceptible. Myou put out of consideration the surface, the mere mud, it is
not perhaps perceptible at the time, but there must be tear and wear goinj
on on the road, or it will last for ever. I do not now talk of the action of the
elements.
On what data do you state that the steam carriage does not do more injun
94
[ Doc. No. 101. ]
than the wheels of a stage coach? Because it does not make a deeper rut.
Does either of them make a rut? If you suppose the road to be a concrete
mass, and that there is merely a little mud and dust on the top of it, I cannot
prove that a four horse coach does any perceptible injury to that road. I
will say also a steam carriage will, in a similar case, do no perceptible in¬
jury to it.
Of course, if the road was composed of solid rock, you would not be able
to tell whether a coach of any description had gone over, there being no
mark left, but talking of ordinary turnpike roads, should you be able to trace
the indentation that coach made? Yes.
Would you not be able to do the same with the steam carriage? Yes; there
are some roads in England, apart of the Holyhead road, for instance, so well
made that you cannot trace any vestige of injury done in good weather. A
part of Mr. Telford's road there is a concrete mass.
Do you know whether that road has ever been mended since it was first
made? I suppose it has.
Should you not say that the injury done to the road by a carriage passing
over it, depends greatly on the state of that road, whether damp or dry, or
otherwise? • Certainly.
Are there any states ih which a road is placed in which no injury is done
by a carriage passing over it—take the case of a hard frost for instance? No
perceptible injury is done in that case, if the road is so hard that the wheel
makes no mark upon it. But where the road is at all soft, and when the
wheel sinks into that road, it must destroy the road: if it be merely in mud on
the surface of the road, it is making a cistern to hold a puddleof water.
The greatest injury done to the road, will be just after the. breaking up of
a frost? Yes; or in fact after the effect of the frost, the water having got
into the interstices, has been frozen and expanded. When it thaws, the road
is not so compact, it is soft and pulpy.
That is the state in which the greatest injury will be done to the road by
a heavy weight passing over it? Yes.
Have you ever, in such a particular state of the road, observed the injury
done by a stage coach drawn by horses, and that by a carriage propelled by
steam? I have seen the locomotive engine travelling in the month of Janu¬
ary, and also the ordinary carriages, and I cannot see that the locomotive
engine has done any more injury than an ordinary carriage. The destruction
on the road after a frost is much greater than in other cases.
Have you made observation as to the effect on the road by each carriage
when the road was in the worst state? I have seen them exactly at the same
time and in the same circumstances. In the month of October, when there
had been a considerable deal of rain, and the old road to Barnet, down by
Stanmore, was very soft in consequence of the rain, I have seen the effect of
a locomotive engine, and the effect of the Hemel Hempstead coach running
along side of each other, and I consider that there was no difference at that
time. I was then watching the action of Mr. Gurney's wheels, and particu¬
larly his driving wheel, with that view. I put the horses out of the case
Was there any perceptible difference in the damage done? None, that
[ perceived. 9
What are the effects on the wear of the road, by increasing the velocity
of the steam carriage? I have not observed that, but it must be less. Sup¬
pose you are carrying a weight on a road slowly after a frost, you will break
he crust; but travelling at a greater rate over it, it will not have thatefféct;
he frozen crust will remain unbroken.
[ Doc. No. 101. ] 95
Have you observed the effect on the road, by increasing the diameter of
the wheels? I cannot say that I have seen that.
In Mr. Gurney's carriage, the wheels do not always follow in the same
track? Sometimes they do, and sometimes they do not.
Under those circumstances, supposing equal weights on the four wheels,
it would be easy for you to observe whether the wear of the fore and hind
wjpeels was the same? I never observed any perceptible difference in the
injury.
A considerable proportion of the wear of the road is to be attributed to
the atmosphere, without reference to the carriages which pass over it?
Yes; the most destructive element in nature is water; and, in the course 9I
the winter, the action of the water that gets sucked up into the road is very
bad, and the very washing is also very bad.
Are they many states of the road in which a wide tire is of considerablè
advantage to the roadi Yes.
In the majority of cases do you think the superior width of the tire which
the steam carriage has over a carriage drawn by horses, is altogether an
advantage or a disadvantage? A wide tire has the advantage upon the aver¬
age.
And the steam carriage has that advantage over the other? Of late, Mr.
Gurney has increased the width of his tire: it was at all times wider, but he
has increased it still more.
Does the width of the tire impede the velocity at all? Scarcely in a per¬
ceptible degree.
Are you of opinion that a wide tire, under any circumstances, does in¬
jury to a road in any state of it? I have made no observation as to its doing
an injury.
Complaints have been made'that a great inconvenience arises to passen¬
gers along the road from the use of these carriages, from the horses being
frightened in consequence of the peculiar noise; the smoke, and the letting
off the steam? have you seen any inconvenience of that kind? I have seen
one case where a gig ran off for about 200 yards, and was then stopped
without any accident. I have also seen the same thing happen with a stage
coach; it is a common thing with a young shy horse. I have seen Mr.
Gurney's coach at work in the barrack yard, in the Regent's park, and have
not seen the horses frightened these.
Should you say you have seen a much greater number of cases of horses
being frightened and running away attending the use of steam carriages than
of common coaches? My experience in steam carriages is limited, and so
must be that of every one when compared with the experience had with
ordinary coaches. I have seen Mr. Gurney's engines, in going through the
streets of London, and I have not seen horses frightened in any case: they
may be shy, and prick their ears at it, but they have not started.
Have you turned your attention to the question, how tolls should be fair¬
ly charged on such carriages? No.
Mr. Joseph Gibbs, called in, and examined.
Are you an engineer? I am.
Were you brought up to that business? I was.
Are you the patentee or proprietor of a steam carriage? I am patentee
of a new method of more economically and safely generating steam, which
I am applying to steam carriages.
96
[ Doc. No. 101. 3
Has it been practically carried into effect in steam carriages? No; I
am building steam carriages, one of which is complete. I have been to
Cheltenham to see the effect of a carnage there, and travelled nearly 100
miles between Cheltenham and Gloucester, with Mr. Gurney's carriage with
that view.
Did you find that any inconvenience arose to the persons travelling u|>on
the roads from Mr. Gurney's carriage? I did not observe any particular
inconvenience ; certainly the horses shyed a little. That may be accounted
for from too great a quantity of fuel being consumed, which caused too great
a smoke and vapor, but that will be reduced as improvements take place.
Have you paid attention to the effect on the roads of Mr. Gurney's steam
carriage? I have.
Will you give the result of your observations? I conceive that steam car¬
riages do no injury to the roads further than the carriages at present in use;
no horses being applied, there is so much diminution of injury to the road
from the horses not being used: the wheels I do not conceive do any more in¬
jury than those of a stage coach, supposing them of both the same weight
Then deducting the weight of the horses, do you conceive that the injury
is the same, weight for weight? Precisely.
What opportunity had you of examining the state of the roads after the
carriage had passed over? I frequently went in a carriage attached to the
steam carriage, passing behind it: my object was to know the right width
a wheel ought to be made to obtain sufficient traction, and I never saw any
mud displaced which was upon the wheel during its revolution. * I particu¬
larly remarked the indentations in the tire which will be made in conse¬
quence of the wheel coming in contract wilh the sharp flints upon the road;
now if the wheel had slipped, the tire would have been graved or cut into
small furrows, but that was not the case: I had the wheels cleaned in or¬
der to observe the effect.
Did you go up any hills? The hill going into Gloucester.
At what elevation? That I cannot say exactly; it isa considerable hill.
Do you conceive great improvements will take place in Mr. Gurney's
carriage? I conceive great improvements will take place in all steam car¬
riages; that they are in their infancy; that there are not yet sufficient practi¬
cal data to form a perfect judgment by as to the ultimate shape of the vehi¬
cle, arrangement of parts, and weight of machinery.
Have you considered what would be the best mode of charging toll on
such carriages? No; I have not yet paid attention particularly to that sub¬
ject.
Is toll charged on Mr. Gurney's carriage? None was charged while I
was there.
Have you seen Mr. Hancock's carriage? I have.
He carries his passengers—he does not draw them? No, he does not.
Do you give the same result as to your experience of the injury from that
carriage? Yes; except that Mr. Hancock's wheel is not cylindrical; it is
rather conical, and a conical wheel must be more injurious to the roads than
an upright one, although, in this case, the wheel being narrow, the differ¬
ence cannot be very great.
On the principle on which you state that you are forming your carriages,
shall you be enabled to diminish the weight greatly? The carriage I am
now constructing weighs two tons, without water: it is made stronger, be¬
cause there are not any practical data yet respecting the parts.
[ Doc. No. 101. ]
97
Veneris, 19 die dlngusti, 1331.
Thomas Telford, esquire, called in, and examined.
You are aware that the object of this committee is to ascertain, as far as
acticable, how far the operation of carriages propelled by steam upon pub-
: roads is more or less injurious than the operation of carriages drawn by
irse^1 I hav^ never had any experience of steam carriages upon roads,
d therefore 1 cannot say experimentally what effect they will produce,
it if there is no projection upon the surface of the wheel, and they are not
ffered to drag upon the road, it does not appear to me that any injury can
se more, but rather less than by common carriages.
Do you consider that, supposing the weight of a steam carriage were equal
that of a carriage drawn by horses, that is two tons each, the injury done
the road by horses or by the carriage would be the greatest? I should ex-
c( that by the horses.
In a much greater degree, do you conceive? I cannot exactly say the
oportion, but I should think the greatest degree of injury arises from the
irses' feet. '
What is the nature of the injury done to roads by the travelling" of
rriages and horses? By the horses chiefly, by tearing up the surface
th their shoes. I do not consider that the pressure of the wheels upon a
od made road is nearly so injurious to the road as the. tearing up of the
ad by the horses' feet. •
Supposing that the operations of a steam carriage were so perfect that
ere should be no sliding of the wheels, and that such steam carriage were
four tons weight, and also that the joint weight of a coach and horses
;re four tons, travelling at equal velocity and with equal breadth of tire,
aich do you think would do the least injury to the road? I should think
at the steam carriage would do the least injury, but that is not from expe-
;nce of steam carriages, but only from my general information, always
sing for granted that there is no projection outside the wheel.
If, under those circumstances, the breadth of the tire of the carriage drawn
■ horses were two inches and a half, the usual breadth, and the breadth
the tire of the steam coach were four inches, should you then have any
ubt which would do the least injury to the road? I have already said if
stires were equal, I conceive the steam carriage would do the least injury,
d certainly the chance of injury will be lessened if the tire is made dou-
e the breadth.
If the breadth of the tire of the wheels of steam carriages could be ex-
aded to six inches, might they not, in many'states of the roads, be rather
neficial than injurious? Where the road is properly made, of good ma-
rials and well consolidated, the mere pressure of a carriage would not have
y effect.
Do you think it would be fair to impose an equal toll, weight for weight,
i steam carriages and on carriages drawn by horses? I think it ought not to
ceed that. •
Do you think that it ought to be equal, as the one carriage you state does
it do so much injury as the other? In justice it ought to be diminished,
it that is only opinion until it is proved.
Have you paid any attention to the mode of charging toll on steam car-
iges? I have not.
13
9S
[ Doc. No. 101. ]
Mr. William Mtoft Summers, engineer, called in, and examined.
Are you practically acquainted with the operation of steam carriages on
common roads? I am.
Have you ever superintended the building of steam carriages? I have su¬
perintended the building of two steam vehicles.
What was the weight of the lightest of those steam carriages? The light¬
est of the two was about two tons ten cwt. * * *
Do you give that from guess or from actual weighing of the vehicle?
From actual weighing of the vehicle.
That was without the charge of fuel and water? Yes; without the charge
of fuel and water.
What would that add? The quantity of water we carried with that vehi¬
cle was five cwt., that carried us about eight miles, and the quantity of fuel
we carried would be about four cwt. generally, that would last nearly double
the time the water did: we always carried an extra quantity of fuel to meet
any exigencies on the road.
On the mean of the distance that would bring it to about four hundred and
a half? Yes.
Then the steam carriage, and the average charge of fuel and water, and
the persons to guide it, would weigh about how much? About three tons two
cwt.
What is the greatest weight which you have known that carriage to be
able to carry exclusive of its own weight and charge? I remember, in one
instance, that we had ten persons upon it, and that we travelled with those
ten persons at the average rate of about nine miles an hour.
On what road did this vehicle you are speaking of, run? It ran from
Cable street, Wellclose square, to within two miles and a half of Basing¬
stoke; (it was only an experimental journey—the same vehicle had run in
various directions, about the streets and outskirts of London before;) that
was the furthest distance we ran with it.
Is it running at the present time? No.
Why was it given up? When we arrived within about two miles and a
half of Basingstoke, the crank shaft broke, and we were obliged to put it
into a barge, and send it back to London.
Is this a carriage of which the committee have had any information?
No; the committee have had no previous information respecting this car¬
riage.
Is this on the same principle as that described by Mr. Ogle? No it is not
on the same principle.
Have you a drawing of this carriage? I have not; but I can explain the
principle pretty cltarly. ,
Have you abandoned the principle upon which this carriage was formed?
Entirely; except that the boiler, with which it was furnished when we ran
down to Basingstoke, was the same with which we travelled in the vehicle,
of which Mr. Ogle has given a description.
When you were travelling with those ten persons, did you try to increase
the speed? Yes.
You were not able to do it? We were not; because the size of our en¬
gines would not consume the quantity of steam generated by the boiler, and
we were not able to go any faster, the engines not being calculated for taking
a sufficient quantity of steam to produce greater speed.
What was the size of the cylinder with which you worked? We had
[ Doc. No. 101. ]
99
three cylinders, each four inches diameter, and the stroke of the piston
twelve inches in each.
■ In the present carriages which you run on the Southampton road, what is
the size of the cylinders? Seven inches and a half diameter each, and the
stroke of each piston eighteen inches.
Do you apply your power immediately from the piston to the crank?
Through the medium of a connecting rod only.
You have witnessed the operation of Mr. Ogle's carriage on the South¬
ampton road? I have always been with it.
, 1 He has stated that the weight of that is about three tons? It is about three
tons.
, What is the greatest weight by actual experiments, exclusive of its own
weight, that you have seen that carriage draw? We never weighed the
present carriage; but I remember nineteen persons being at one time on the
.■vehicle.
To what distance did you carry the whole of those nineteen persons?
We carried those nineteen persons a distance of about three miles and a half.
Was that on a level road, or on a road with hills? We ascended two
very considerable hills in the distance; it was in the New Forest.
At what average speed did you travel with those nineteen persons? We
travelled at the average speed of nearly ten miles an hour.
What was the utmost speed with which you travelled? We ascended one
of the hills at the rate of more than fifteen miles an hour.
, What do you suppose to be the inclination of that hill, and what the
length? I should think the inclination of that hill would not be less than
<jme in twelve, and the length of it from half to three quarters of a mile: it
is one of the steepest hills in the New Forest.
If you are able to drive up one of the steepest hills at the rate of fifteen
^niles, how is it that you give your average speed at less than ten? The
reason we travelled with greater speed up the hill is, that the fire was
in better order on ascending the hill than whilst travelling on the level road,
and caused a greater generation of steam.
You have stated that you went up at the rate of fifteen miles an hour—how
did you make that calculation? By counting the number of revolutions
made by the hind wheels.
Are you quite sure there was no loss from slipping during that period?
am quite sure there was no loss.
Having ascended the most difficult part at the rate of fifteen miles per hour,
and placing your mean power at so low as ten miles per hour, and stating
the reason of the mean being so low that the fire was in better order at one
, period than another; does it proceed from any defect in your fire place
which renders it difficult to keep the fire always at a certain power? At
that time we had not the means of stoking or putting fuel on the fire
'through the centre of the boiler; the consequence of which was, that we
were obliged to put a greater quantity of fuel on the fire than we otherwise
.should have been, which caused the fire to be a considerable time before it
burnt through the fresh fuel; but having lately made a trifling improvement
¿n our boiler, we now average, with the present vehicle, fifteen miles per
hour.
Were you travelling for hire on that road? We have never travelled for
hire yet, but merely on experimental journies.
You have never made the experiment of weighing your carriage to ascer-
1
100 [ Doc. No. 101. ]
r
tain at what rate you can travel with any particular weight? We never made
the experiment, except by carrying persons. ,
Do you find it easy to increase the velocity with any certain weight?
That depends on a great many circumstances; the state of the roads has very
great influence on that; but our power is capable of being increased to almost
any extent.
As an engineer, what should you say would be the greatest weight which'
Can be carried by a carriage weighing three tons at the rate of ten miles an
hour? 1 have no doubt it would be able to carry three tons at th'e rate of
ten miles an hour besides itself; and after the improvements I have in view
are completed, I have no doubt that much greater weights may be carried at
that rate. , 1 ■
Have you ever tried it? We have never tried it; but I ground my opin¬
ion on having seen the steam blowing off at both safety-valves, with tre¬
mendous violence, during the time we were travelling at the rate of upwards '
of thirty miles an hour.
What distance have you ever continued travelling at the rate of thirty
miles an hour? We have continued travelling at the rate of thirty miles an
hour, four hours and a half very frequently, and could have continued to have
gone longer, had we not required a fresh supply of water, our tank not be¬
ing quite large enough.
How could you continue to travel at the rate of thirty miles an hour,1
when you have already given so low a mean of the average of travelling on
account of your fire place? Because it depends entirely on the quality of,
the fire: we have never found any difficulty in travelling over the worst and
most hilly roads since our last improvement in the furnace, when the fire i^ ,
in good order.
Have you watched the operation of your propelling wheels on the road?
Continually. •
Have you ever seen the operation of a drag on a common coach going
downhill? Very frequently.
What is the effect produced on a road which is nearly dry? The effect
produced on a very hard road, when nearly dry, is very trifling, but on a soft
or gravelly road it does great injury. r
Does not it produce a glossy appearance on the rut? Always.
Is that same effect produced by your carriage in going down a hill? No,\
certainly not; because our wheels in going down hill are always revolving.
By what operation do you decrease the velocity ot the carriage going
down the hill so as to check the inclination of itself to run down the hill,'
and yet keep it under control? On arriving at the brow of the hill, we
throttle or wiredraw the steam in order to check the velocity of the engines, •
and if we find that the hill is so steep that the carriage would run faster than
we wish, we have two drags attached to the hind wheels, and with the foot,
we press on one drag or on both, as it may be required, and by that means
regulate the velocity of the carriage.
Does not that stop the motion of the wheel? No, it does not prevent '
the wheel revolving.
How is the drag applied? It is a kind of iron band or strap which goes',
round a portion of the tire or the wheel, and our power of breaking is multi¬
plied by levers to a very great extent.
You have stated that the utmost weight your carriage would carry, at the
rate of ten miles an hour, was three tons; do you think you would be able to
[ Doc. No. 101. 3
101
carry a much greater weight at the rate of five miles an hour only? Cer¬
tainly we should.
To what extent should you increase your power of carrying? I cannot
answer that from experience.
At what period of slow motion do you think that the increased expense
of fuel would be greater than the use of horses in draft? I have not ascer¬
tained that from experiment; but I think steam will supersede horses in
drawing carriages, even at low velocities.
How often do you find it necessary to clean your boiler? We have never
found it necessary to clean it yet: it has been in operation more than twelve
months.
Do you conceive that is owing to the peculiar quality of the water, or
that, under any circumstances, that would happen? We have had water of
every description.
^ Is there no incrustation upon it? Not the slightest.
Supposing there were incrustation upon it, would it be difficult to clean it,
and would that require an engineer? It would merely require a common
laborer to clean the boiler, which might be done by removing some plugs
¿hat communicate with each of the cylinders of which the boiler is compos¬
ed, and, when required, may be done with a scraper or wire brush
What becomes of the carbonate of lime and the sulphate of lime, and so
on, which are in solution in different waters? Every time after we have ar¬
rived at our journey's end, we open a cock communicating with the bottom
of the boiler; perhaps we do not give the matter time enough to rest: it is all
blown out at the pressure of 240 lbs. on the square inch.
Have you ever had your boilers rent? No, we have never had an in¬
stance in which the boiler has given way in any part of it; and, in several in¬
stances, we have had it red hot.
Of what material is it formed? Of the best charcoal iron.
Have you ever tried it by pressure? I proved the boiler before it was
put into the steam carriage at 364 lbs. on the square inch; it will support
740 lbs. on the square inch,
At what pressure do you work? We usually work it on the road at a
pressure between 240 and 260, finding that pressure more economical than
any other.
What surface of iron is exposed to the fire and heated air? Two hun¬
dred and fort-five superficial feet: the weight of the boiler is eight cwt. two
quarters.
What is the thickness of the iron? About one-tenth of an inch; thin
boilers last longer in proportion than thick ones, because the heat sooner
passes through it into the water, and has not time to act upon the iron.
For vvhat period do you conceive that it is calculated to last? From having
had twelve months' experience, I should say it would last very well two
years and a half.
During what portion of the twelve month was the engine in' actual opera¬
tion? It has not been in constant operation everyday; but we have been
in the babitof goingout four days out of six, and working from eight in the
morning till seven or eight o'clock at night; the boiler is not at* all injured,
it is in the same state in which it was when first put into the vehicle; nei¬
ther have we had any accident with the machinery, contrary to the opinion
of almost every engineer who saw the vehicle before it left London. The
vibration or jar being much less on common roads than on a railrway, and
the whole of our machinery being suspended on springs; the engines work
as smoothly as if they were fixed on the firmest foundation.
102 [ Doc. No. 101. ]
»
Where are the passengers placed, in reference to the boiler? They are
placed in front, and in the middle of the vehicle, and the boiler is entirely
behind the body ol the carriage and passengers.
You are frequently in the habit of passing horses? Yes.
Do you find that they are frightened? I have occasionally observed them,
shy, as they sometimes do ata wheelbarrow; but we never had any accident
from horses being alarmed.
Do you find it less now than at the commencement of you experiment?
Certainly.
Is there a peculiar noise attends the motion of your engine? The noise
is notas great as in a vehicle drawn by horses.
Is there any peculiar noise from the escape of your steam? I cannot say
that there is no noise at all; there is a noise, but it is so trifling that the rat¬
tling of the wheels on the road entirely drown it.
Is there continually steam being let off from the safety-valves? Almos^
continually.
Does that produce any disagreeable effect to the passengers? None what-1
ever: all the waste steam is blown into the furnace, which entirely prevents
any noise that can be heard on the road. ,
It has been stated to the committee, that, in some steam carriages, actually
in operation, there is a very peculiar noise from the escape of the steam,
from whence does that proceed? It proceeds in one carriage, which 1 have
seen running along the roads, from the steam being blown in at the. bottom
part of the chimney of the furnace, at a distance very near to the open air. '
That may be obviated by a different form of chimney—may it not? No
doubt it may. )
You are aware that that principle is one of thç most important principles
which has been introduced into the working by steam? I am quite aware,
that, on the Liverpool and Manchester railway, that is the principle they
have adopted with some success. We have produced the same effect by
another, and I think better means.
Will you state by what means you produce that effect? Instead of blow¬
ing our waste steam into the chimney, in order to produce a draught, we
have a fan or blowing machine, which is driven by the engines when in ope¬
ration, and this gives us intensity of heat in the furnace. The waste steam
from our engines goes into a double casing round the furnace; we admit a ^
small portion underneath the firebars of the grate, and the remainder is al¬
lowed to expand itselt into the double casing, after which it comes over the
top of the fire, and escapes in the form of invisible vapor. '
Then, in fact, you arrive at the same result, but with this difference, that
you increase the draught of the fire by using a certain quantity of the power
of your engine, whilst those who introduce the steam into the chimney in¬
crease the draught by a power which yûu throw away? We have tried it
in hoth ways, but we find this the most advantageous, because in those car¬
riages in which the steam is driven into the chimney to produce a draught,
the aperture is so much diminished in order to produce velocity of current
and corresponding increase of draught, that the waste steam is choaked in
escaping from the engines, and produces a greater loss of power than by
working the fan.
From your experience in steam carriages, do you conceive that it will be
necessary to make any alteration of the present roads, such as paving them
for the purpose of this mode of conveyance? No, certainly not; we have
[ Doc. No. 101. 103
found that our vehicles will travel over every hind of road with great velo¬
city, and up the steepest hills. From observation which I have made very
minutely on the operations of the vehicle, my decided opinion is, that if
the common roads were put into a tolerably good state of repair, we should
be able to carry all the goods which a railway would be able to carry, and
at much less expense, taking into consideration the original expense of the
railway, and its continued wear and tear. I believe I have, from a correct
source of information, that every yard of railway loses on an average about
four ounces per year in weight when it is in full operation. This loss arises
from oxydation, and the action of the great numbers of wheels of the car¬
riages that pass over it.
Have you travelled over pavements? Very frequently.
Did you find that your carriage travelled with greater case over them?
With much greater case.
Supposing you had a pavement to run on, what increase of power should
you gain by running on that rather than on a common Macadamized road?
We find that when we are travelling on a rough bad pavement, we do not
consume more than one-fourth of the steam we do on a gravelly soft road.
You conceive you increase your power I on a paved road? Yes.
What steepness of hill have you ever ascended? Une foot in six; I mea¬
sured it myself; that is, the hill at Shirley.
Were there any symptoms of the wheel slipping in that case? Not the
slightest: we had both the wheels in gear at the time we ascended it.
At what velocity did you ascend it? At a velocity of nearly five miles
an hour.
What weight had you? We had fourteen or fifteen persons on the carriage.
Did you find any difficulty in working? Our engines worked with per¬
fect freedom.
Wha^distance did you travel on that ascent? The hill is about SOOyards long.
You are now improving the form of the carriage—are you not? Our pre¬
sent operations are in improving the form of our vehicle, and the arrange¬
ment of the different parts of the machinery.
For what number of passengers will your present carriage be calculated?"
Eight inside and sixteen outside passengers.
How many wheels have you? Our present vehicle is on three wheels;
our proposed carriages will be on four wheels.
In what space can you turn on a road? We have frequently turned en¬
tirely round on the London road leading from Southampton, in the space in
which a post chaise can turn, or rather less.
Supposing you were travelling at the rate of ten miles an hour on a level
road, in what number of feet do you suppose you should be able to stop your
carriage entirely? We should be able to stop the vehicle in the space of
twelve feet. I have ascertained this from experiment: when we were des¬
cending Staine's bridge, which is very steep, one of the crowd fell down in
front of the vehicle, very near the vehicle; we immediately reversed the ac¬
tion of the engines, and the man escaped without any injury.
When you state that you can stop in twelve feet, is that by reversing the
action of the engines? No; by merely shutting off the communication be¬
tween the boiler and the engine.
But supposing you were in such situation that it would be requisite to stop
in a much shorter distance, could you do it instantaneously by reversing the
engine? We could certainly stop in the space of three feet by reversing
104
[ Doc. No. 101. 3
the engines; but it would not be prudent to do so in less, as it might endan¬
ger the lives of the persons on the vehicle by their being pitched or thrown
forward.
Have you turned your attention to the question by what mode tolls would
be most fairly charged on such carriages? I have not turned my attention
much to that subject.
What is the horse power of your engine, according to the common modes
of calculation by engineers? About twenty horse power.
On the Liverpool and Prescot road, the toll for steam carriages is as fol¬
lows: for every carriage not drawn by horses, but propelled or moved by
machinery, any sum not exceeding the sum of Is. 6d. for each horse
power: would you be able to run your coach, subject to a toll so high as that?
We certainly should not be able to run it to any advantage.
What advantage in point of expense do you anticipate to the publie
from the use of steam in propelling carriages over that by horses? I have
no doubt that when they arrive at tolerably practical state of perfection,
passengers will be carried the same distance which they are carried now, by
horses, at the same velocity, for one half of the expense; it may be even at
less than that in future.
What mode should you suggest as the fairest for placing tolls on those
carriages, by passengers, by the wheels, by the horse power, or by the
weight? I should certainly suggest that the tolls should be levied by the
number of passengers the vehicle carries, provided the breadth of the tires
of the wheels be increased in proportion. As to vehicles for carrying mer¬
chandise, 1 think the tolls should he in proportion to the weight which such
vehicles are capable of carrying—the velocity of the vehicle travelling on
the roads not materially affecting the state of them.
Many turnpike acts having passed this session, which place tolls on steam
carriages, how would Parliament be able to adopt one principle of placing
toll on the passengers? The proprietors of steam vehicles will always carry
as many passengers as they can, and the greatest number of passengers that
they are able to carry should be the standard at which the tolls should be
levied.
Supposing that, on two roads, the toll on a coach calculated to carry eigh¬
teen persons, was 2s. and on the other 3s. how would you propose that any
scale should be adopted by which a toll could be introduced applicable to
both those roads? My opinion is that the toll on steam carriages ought not
to exceed one half of the toll paid by other vehicles drawn by horses, be¬
cause they do not injure the roads more than in that proportion, probably
not so much, the tires of the wheel having been increased in proportion.
Your new carriage will be calculated for twenty-four persons—the average
of coaches carry eighteen at their utmost—how would you proportion the
tolls on your carriage and on carriages drawn by horses? My opinion is,
that it would be but justice that the steam vehicle in such case should not
pay even more than one-half that which is paid by other vehicles carrying
the same number of passengers; therefore, supposing the average of coaches
carried sixteen passengers, and that the toll charged upon them was 2s., the
toll paid by the steam vehicle, carrying twenty-four passengers, should be
1$. 4d.
What do you think ought to be the breadth of the tire of q steam carriage
calculated to convey sixteen passengers? Three inches.
What do you think should be the breadth of the tire of a carriage calcti-
£ Doc. No. 101. 3
105
lated to convey twenty-four passengers? Not less than four inches; proba¬
bly it may be found advantageous to make the tire wider than that in prac¬
tice; I think it probably will.
Do you think that steam carriages should be licensed to carry a certain
number according to their power? I think they should.
What do you mean by their power? It will he to the advantage of every
steam coach proprietor to carry as many passengers as he can, giving each
passenger sufficient accommodation, and he should have a license for that
number and no more: each of the passengers should have the same quanti¬
ty of space allowed them as they have in the present vehicles drawn by
horses; it is my opinion it should be the comfort of the passengers which
should be consulted.
Should you have no reference in the license to the power of the engine?
I think not; because the danger does not increase as the power of the en¬
gine increases.
How would you suggest that an equivalent duty should be placed on
steam carriage*, so as not to give them an unfair advantage over common
coaches? I am not able to give any opinion upon that subject.
Can you give any reason why the same amount of duty should not be
charged on steam carriages as is charged upon the present stage coaches? I
cannot give any reason, except that I think it would be extremely improper
to place such duties on steam vehicles, in their present infant state, as to
crush so important an invention.
Mr. Joseph Gibbs, again called in, and examined.
Have you any observations to make, in addition to your evidence given
last Wednesday? WTith a view of giving my opinion upon the best method
of collecting tolls from steam carriages, I will commence by stating that
steam carriages can be constructed upon three several principles; my object
being to show this honorable committee the difficulty in collecting tolls from
steam carriages, except by the number of wheels, without stopping the pro¬
gress of that improvement in which they stand so much in need. Steam
carriages can be constructed as follows: first, steam carriages which propel
themselves, and carry the supply of water and fuel, likewise passengers and
goods; second, steam carriages which propel themselves, and carry the sup¬
ply of water and fuel, but draw the load after them in a separate carriage or
carriages; third, steam carriages which propel themselves, and partly
carry passengers, goods, fuel and water, and draw the rest in a separate car¬
riage or carriages after them. This will show the great difficulty of levying
a toll upon the weight ofsteam carriages; as, for instance, 600 lbs. of water and
100 lbs. of coke are requisite per hour on an even road, with a steam carriage
as now constructed; but upon a road, abounding with hills, 1,000 lbs. of water
and lb'O lbs. of coke will be required. Now if the weight is taken when the
water and fuel are one half diminished, say on the average 400 lbs. of wa¬
ter and 65 lbs. of coke, and the toll is levied uppn the weight of the steam
carriage, the carriages (being drawn) paying as ordinary carriages, the
weight of water and coke can be transmitted to those carriages which pay¬
ing, not by weight but by the number of wheels, will of course receive an
augmentation of from five to six hundred pounds additional weight. Like¬
wise the danger from explosion will be increased if tolls are collected upon
the weight of steam carriages, inasmuch as by loading the safety-valve to
double the pressure, a carriage can be made to draw double the weight
14
106
[ Doc. No. 101. 3
•with only an alteration in the fire place, and an increase of water, air and
fuel; a diminution of weight will likewise take place to a considerable
amount in the boilers and engines, although it is more essential an increase
of strength should take place rather than any diminution. I can state a
case in point. I have a steam carriage now constructed, from which I could
abstract 900 lbs. of iron withoutmaking it too weak to travel even on rough
roads, but I should not be induced to do so except as a matter of economy
in case the tolls are levied upon the weight, and at too high a raté. The
steam carriage as used upon common roads, being an invention of recent
date, sufficient has not been done with them for practical men to decide what
arrangements of machinery are best for their construction. It may be found
hereafter that it is proper to place the engine in one carriage and the boiler
in another, and blowing apparatus in another, all carrying other weights,
so that three distinct carriages (although they each carry only a part of a
steam engine with them,) yet if so arranged, and tolls are collected by the
rveight of the steam engine, the whole of these carriages would be liable to
pay toll by weight. I think that, in carrying heavy goods, it is more than
probable the steam engine will be on a separate carriage, and the power trans¬
mitted t© the hind axle of the carriage containing the goods, by means of
a flexible bolt or intermediate wheels, in order to obtain a slow motion of
the carriage, the speed of the engines being the same; but does not this con¬
nect them, so that they may be considered as one carriage, and liable to pay*
by weight? As it is probable that steam carriages or locomotive engines
will be used for ploughing, or to draw the plough to it, the engine remain¬
ing during that time in its location, and only moving when the plough has
completed its furrow, yet, in going and returning to the field, it may travel
upon a turnpike road, and be subject to the toll of a steam carriage; an en¬
gine of this description will be very heavy, and, unless a provision is made,
the farmer would be obliged to attach horses to it to prevent its being con¬
sidered a locomotive engine. It appears to me that the only method of
collecting tolls is by payment (under proper regulation) on the number of
wheels employed, and not on the weight of any part of the train, for if
one part pays by weight and the other upon the number of wheels, the
weight can be removed to a dangerous extent from the part paying by weight,
and placed to an injurious extent upon the part paying by the number of
wheels. I can well appreciate the difficulty the committee must have to
contend with in coming to a just decision as to the best method of levying
tolls. I hare been a number of years constantly having new inventions
under my consideration, as well as being the inventor of several patent in¬
ventions which are now in full operation: therefore, without presumption, I
feel myself qualified to give an opinion. I hive constantly observed that
all new invented machines entirely change shape, dimensions, weight and
general arrangement of parts as they proximate to perfection, so that the
perfect machine could not be recognized, by persons unacquainted with the
subject, as being intended for the same purpose as the original machines, yet,
during all these successive alterations, the principle of the machinery re¬
mained unchanged. I make these observations to show the difficulty of an¬
ticipating the ultimate power and dimensions of locomotive carriages.
Will you exemplify your proposition as to the payment of tolls, giving
2 s. as the amount of the tolls for a carriage drawn by horses; what amount
of tolls should be charged on the two following steam carriages, the one
earriage to carry passengers on itself, and to weigh four tons; and suppos-
[ Doc. No. 101. ]
107
ing in the second, the engine part of the carriage to be separate, the engine
carriage and the carriage drawn weighing together four tons, should a high¬
er amount of toll be chargeable on the one steam carriage than the other?
I think not. •
Yet the one has four wheels, and the other has eight wheels? My opinion
is, that it ought to pay the same tolls it does now, supposing they are of equal
weight, the diminution of the horses being taken into account.
Then your proposition would be resolvable into charging tolls by weight?
Of course; I contemplate that a regulation will take place, that only a cer¬
tain weight shall be placed upon the wheels, and the width of the wheels
will come under a regulation.
Then it becomes absolutely a toll on weight? Not exactly so; I am only
stating the limits I think they ought to carry.
In the case stated on the one steam carriage carrying the passengers with
the engine, and the second the engine being placed in a separate carriage
from that containing the passengers, both carriages being of equal weight,
that of four tons; butin the one case there being eight wheels, and in the
other only four, would you charge a different amount of toll on those two
carriages? I would charge in proportion to the weight carried. In stating
this, I conceive that there should be a maximum weight which steam car¬
riages ought not to exceed.
What should you suggest as the standard of weight? I have not turned my
attention to that part of the subject, but I will do so if it is wished.
Are you aware what the average weight carried in vans is? I have made
inquiry from van proprietors, and find that they frequently carry six tons,
including the weight of the van, but the average weight is about four tons>
and the width of their wheels is from 2a inches to 2è inches.
Do you anticipate that steam will be applied shortly for the purpose of
conveying goods in vans? I believe it will; I contemplate the putting
some vans on the road to be worked by steam.
Will such carriages be on four wheels, or on any greater number? I think
it probable that they will be on a greater number than four wheels—from
six to eight wheels.
What do you conceive to be the maximum weight that ought to be placed
on a wheel of three inches width? One ton and a half ought to be the ut¬
most limit.
Jovis, 25° die Jiugvsti, 1831.
Mr. James Stone, called in, and examined.
What are you? An engineer.
Have you had the superintendence of Sir Charles Dance's steam carriage?
Yes, I have.
On what road does it run, and how long mas it ran on that road? It was
running regularly from the 21st of February to the 22d ctf June, inclusive.
During that period has any accident occurred? Yes, by the breaking of
the axletree.
Mention the nature of the accident? We supposed it broke in conse¬
quence of an unusual quantity oi stones laid down upon that part of the road
that was always the most difficult to pass over: but no accident as to the
108
[ *Doc. No. 101. ]
bursting of the boiler, or any other thing took place, that occasioned any
unpleasantness, or any thing like a serious accident as to injuring any per¬
sons. We had several little stoppages from defective tubes, of which the boil¬
er is constructed; but nothing accrued from that, except merely stopping the
progress of the carriage.
Was the carriage able to work with the axletree broken across? It
broke about a mile and a half from Cheltenham, and it came back all the
way to Gloucester, notwithstanding the axletree being broken: one of the
engines was able to work during that time, and, of course, having only one
engine, when it came to a hill, the men were obliged to assist it over the
centre, as there was no momentum.
Can you state, accurately, the weight of the carriage? I cannot.
As far as you have observed, is the injury done to the roads by the pass¬
ing of the carriage, greater or less than that by a carriage drawn by horses?
I think, taking the horses into the account, the injury must be much less;
the tire of the wheels three and a half inches wide, whereas many of the
stage coaches are as heavy as the steam carriage, and with narrower wheels:
and I think it is only fair to take the weight of the horses into the account,
which I have found to be from eight to ten hundred weight each horse; con¬
sequently, four horses would weigh from a ton and a half to two tons.
You are answering now from theory—you were directed to answer from
observation? From observation,I do not think that the steam carriages in¬
jure the road so much from the wheels being wider.
How frequently do you clean the tubes of the boiler? It would be neces¬
sary to clean them once a month; I should recommend that, but if they
were actually cleaned once in three months they would not give away: it
depends upon the quality of the water made use of.
Is there great facility in cleaning them? Very great; it is merely remov¬
ing oppsite the end of the orifice of the tube the screw-bolt; it is only to
withdraw the screw-bolt and introduce the cleaning rod. We are in the
habit of blowing out the tubes every two or three days to cleanse them.
What is the greatest number of passengers you have taken on that car¬
riage? Thirty-six.
Thirty-six passengers and their luggage? Yes, but being a short stage,
there is never much luggage. *
What do you suppose is the greatest weight you could draw by that car¬
riage, at the rate of ten miles an hour? From forty to fifty hundred weight;
it is found to be drawn much easier by dividing the weight into two carri¬
ages than taking it in one only.
Do you work, on an average, at half your utmost power of working with
safety to the engine? I should think we did.
Full half? Yes.
Do you think more than that? It depends so much upon the slate of the
fire. 1
The questionfwas, do you Äork, on an average, at half your full power?
Yes, I should think we did. The greatest weight we ever drew on the
common road, at a rate of from five to six miles an hour, was eleven tons.
Is that merely by guess, or did you actually weigh? By weight; we
made the experiment on the Bristol road.
What should you suppose to be the weight of the drawing carriage? The
weight of that was upwards of two tons.
Th„n it drew five times its own weight? Yes, it did; the eleven tons I
[ Doc. No. 101. 3
109
have stated, included the weight of the drawing carriage; and I did no
consider that the maximum power, at all.
Did you ever try it at a less velocity? No, because, in applying the
greatest power, we confine both the wheels to the engine.
Did you draw the nine tons with only the power of one wheel? Yes.
Are you able, from the two circumstances you have mentioned, to say,
• that, at three miles an hour,you could draw consideràbly more weight? Yes,
I have no doubt of it whatever.
On what breadth of tire was that weight drawn? I think the tire was
five inches of the propelling carriage.
For what distance did you continue to draw that nine tons? A mile and
a quarter.
Did the road vary in its inclination? Yes, a little; the greatest elevation
could not be more than one in twenty-five.
Did you ascend an inclination of one in twenty-five with that weight?
Yes, we did.
For what distance? From twenty to thirty yards.
And, on the average of the mile and a half, and it an ascending or a des¬
cending road? It was both; there were little undulations in the road.
Can you measure accurately the power you are employing at any particu¬
lar time—have you any gauge? No, we have never applied one; I have
conceived one, and am going to apply it.
The barometer tube? Yes, that is the one. I think it right to state,
that the wheels were taken off that measured five feet diameter, and others
were substituted, measuring only three feet diameter.
Do you wish to have it inferred from that, that you employed, in both
cases, the same amount of power? There must have been a little more
power with wheels of three feet diameter.
Do you think you exerted your utmost power when you were drawing
nine tons? No, and for the reasons stated, that there was only one wheel
affixed to the engine.
May you not exert your utmost power upon one wheel, taking into con¬
sideration that the strain is greater? No, the wheel would slip round.
Was the surface of the road on which you tried that heavy weight broken
up, or in any way rough, to give a greater amount of friction? No, it was
a good hard road.
What proportionate charge do you make for conveying passengers be¬
tween Cheltenham and Gloucester? One shilling.
What do the coaches charge? Haif a crown the four-horse coaches, and
two horse coaches 2s.
Travelling at the same speed, do you think you could charge in the same
proportion? Yes.
There would be a saving to the public of more than one-half? Yes.
Have you taken many passengers? Yes, a great number; from February
to June, between three and four thousand passengers.. I have a book con¬
taining an account of the number of minutes that each journey took.
The committee have received a letter from the surveyor of the Glouces¬
ter and Cheltenham road, stating that there is a very great noise proceeding
from this carriage? I have not heard that observation generally; there is a
little noise, but not much.
With red hot burning coals falling on the road continually, or whenever
the fire was moved? That has taken place when the ash pit has been burnt
110 [ Doc. No. 101. J
I f
out, but that is not necessary. The carrriage I have recently fitted up will
not he subject to that.
You are of course aware that the letting coals drop is desirable to be ob¬
viated? Yes, and that I have guarded against. '
He also states few animals will pass it without being frightened; and of¬
ten the traveller was obliged to take his horses into the fields adjoining the
road; and very many who did not use that precaution had been placed in
the most perilous situations; and that a gentleman's carriage in the neigh¬
borhood, was overturned from the horses taking fright at it? Yes, I have
understood that; but that carriage has been overturned once or twice owing
to the carelessness of the driver. I have seen the gentleman, and he did
not think any thing of the accident, the coach turned round, and the coach¬
man jumped off, but I never saw any thing bordering upon an accident dur¬
ing the time I was with it.
He states that persons have completely deserted that road? I have never
known but one individual that has been against it at Gloucester; but I have
seen horses take fright at a stage coach and not at our carriage. In one in¬
stance, going out of Gloucester, we were just behind the stage coach, and a
horse in a chaise coming past took fright at the stage coach, and when he
came up to us he took no notice of us, and therefore, I am fully persuaded,
that horses do not take more fright at us than at a loaded stage coach, from
the observations I have made upon a number of experiments.
Were there 14 inches of stone laifl on the road at the time the accident
happened of the breaking the axletree? Yes, it was; when the stones were
levelled, they measured seven inches, but, at that time, they were merely
laid across the road, so that the carriage could not pass them without go¬
ing through them.
Do you know that the passengers on the common stagecoach got out and
helped the coach along? No, 1 do not know it: I only heard it, I do not
know it.
Mr. James M'rfdam, called in, and examined.
Are you surveyor of the Holyhead line of road? As far as St. Alban's.
Have you the superintendence of any other portion of it? Of no other
portion of it.
Have you had considerable experience in road-making, and superintend¬
ing roads? Yes, for the last fourteen years.
Have you made any experiments, or are you able to give any information
to the committee, as to the comparative wear of;roads, or injury to roads
by carriages and horses passing? I have generally found that horses' feet
do very great injury to the surface of a well-made road; and I am of opinion
that a carriage, with properly constructed wheels, does less injury to a road
than the horses drawing.
Would you explain what the operation of the injury done to the road is
by travelling on it; is it the wear of the road, or the displacement of the
materials? Both take place; the wheels, to a certain degree, wear out the
material, but, upon a road properly constructed, and that has become con¬
solidated, and the surface smooth, that wear is very small and gradual; the
injury to the road from the horses' feet, more especially upon gravel and
flint roads, arises, particularly in dry weather, from the knocking up and dis¬
placing the materials upon the surface, and each succeeding journey adds
to the evil, and were it not for the effect of the wheels following the horses
[ Doc. No. 101. ] 111
in mitigation of that evil, we should have the flint and gravel roads all
loose throughout the whole summer.
But the wheels of the carriage do not actually follow in the track of the
horses? But in roads of much thoroughfare, especially near the Metropolis,
other carriages do.
On the Metropolis roads, have you made any new regulations as to the
mode of charging tolls by weight or otherwise? In the last act passed for
the Metropolis roads, the toll was put upon the horse drawing, and a regu¬
lation as to the formation and breadth of the wheels expressly enacted, by
which all wheels were required to be not convex, but a perfectly flat sur¬
face, with no projecting nails; but, by the powers granted to the commis¬
sioners in that act, that perfectly flat surface was mitigated to a surface not
exceeding a quarter of an inch from the flat surface; to meet the practical ef¬
fect arising from the wear of the wheels upon the road ; and to prevent litiga¬
tion at the several gates, by applying a guage, a toll of 3d. per horse for
each seven miles is psyable upon a six-inch wheel so constructed; a quarter
more upon a wheel so constructed of four inches and a half in breadth, and
a half more upon a wheel less than four inches and a half. Those additions
do not apply to stage coaches or carriages with springs. The toll upon all
horses drawing carriages and coaches with springs is 3d. a horse for seven
miles, whatever may be the breadth of the tire.
You have had no reference to the weight of the carriage drawn in your
rate of the tolls? There is no reference to the weight drawn in any wagon
or such like carriage, provided the wheel is of the construction required by
the act, and the result of some years' experience proves that no injury what¬
ever is sustained upon a well-made road, from any weight practically car¬
ried in wagons, or such like carriages, with wheels as described.
You do not mean that the committee should infer weight is of no conse¬
quence, but that the power of the horse will be your guard against an over¬
weight being drawn? Yes; the toll being laid per horse, I consider that
the penally in the shape of toll per horse, more than compensates for the
injury done by the weight. Before those regulations took place, the roads
in truth sustained an equal pressure, from the well known fact that the
weighing engines were universally compounded for by all the carriers, and
that the roads, after these regulations, had no greater but even less weights
to sustain than before that took place, and it was observing that fact, which
induced the commissioners of the Metropolis roads to do away with all the
weighing engines.
Do you know whether the Holyhead road commissioners are trying to
do away with the necessity of weighing engines? Upon the trusts, on that
line of which I am surveyor, the trustees have done away with all the
weighing engines, and the happy result of compelling the wagons to set out
and arrive upon the Metropolis roads with properly constructed wheels, has
had the effect of enabling the trustees upon all the roads within a circle of
fifty to eighty miles, to dispense with the weighing engines; also, because if
the wagons set out and arrive in the Metropolis district with a properly
constructed wheel; it was not worth their while to alter it, but to travel
throughout to Cambridge, Newmarket, &c. with the same wheel; and the
benefit of the metropolis wheel has extended itself in consequence.
Then supposing a broad wheel wagon with dished wheels was to pass
through your turnpike, what rate would be charged? It would be charged
the highest rate of a narrow wheeled wagon.
112
£ Doc. No. 101. ]]
Have you heard any complaints from the wagon masters of the regulation
of the form of the wheel? On the contrary, a few days since, we had a peti¬
tion most numerously signed by the wagon masters from Norwich, Cam¬
bridge, Newmarket, &c., requesting the trustees of the Wadesmill road to
dispense with use of their weighing engine, they having found by experi¬
ence that the wheels required by the Metropolis commissioners, were not
only best for the road, but the most advantageous for themselves to use, and
inconsequence of that application, on Friday last, the only remaining en¬
gine On the roads of which I am surveyor, was ordered to be abandoned. .
Can you state the weights of a loaded stage coach, and a loaded wagon,
and a loaded van, on the average? I should state a stage coach loaded, at
from two and a half to three tons; a wagon from five tons to seven and a
half.
Does that include the weight of the wagon? Eight tons would; I should
think the weight of the vans about four or five tons.
Have you observed the operation of wheels when they are dragged?
Yes; they are injurious upon roads newly coated certainly, but upon an old
road, I mean a road that has become consolidated upon the surface, the in¬
jury, with proper skid pans is but small, and confined of course to one side
of the surface of the hill. 1
Do you think the efficacy of your toll in protecting the road is equally ap¬
plicable to a heavy van as a loaded coach? I think that the toll per horse
will always be a sufficient guard for the weights drawn, the van being on
springs does infinitely less injury in proportion than such a weight without
them.
But if the injury to the road proceeds from the weight the horses have to
draw, the same rate of toll would not be applicable to a carriage of two tijns
and one of six tons, both being drawn by four horses? Certainly not; but
that is a supposition hardly fair to be taken, because we conclude that the
additional weight requires additional horses.
But in practice the vans pass all through the country with only four horses,
and the coaches equally with four horses? That is true; the coaches go at
a much more rapid pace.
Do you think that the velocity with which a coach goes, has any thing to
do with the wear of the road, or is it -not actually less injurious in propor¬
tion to its velocity? In some instances, where any blow takes place, the
speed does more injury to the road by crushing the materials.
You did not contemplate the general use of vans when that act was drawn-
up? No; not that they would come into such general use.
What proportion of the injury to the road do you think takes place from
the changes of the atmosphere; frost and wet, has it any material effect?
Yes, decidedly, in chalk soils in particular; at Royston, and through that
country, a great and serious injury takes place upon the breaking up of all
frosts, nor can we, by any care or attention or strength of surface of the road,
prevent that taking place; it comes in a very eccentric manner, and breaks
up one year at one part of the road, and another at another, occasioned in a
great measure by the standing of the water in the sub'soil; and I suppose
also, by the way in which the wind is at the time it freezes. It is the
modern practice of road making to abstain from all general repair of^the
roads from the middle of April until the middle of October; during that
period, the only repairs that ought to take place are partial coatings, neces¬
sary from accidental circumstances. As soon after the middle of October
[ Doc. No. 101. ]
113
as possible the general coating takes place in pieces of the road at a time so
as to interefere and interrupt as little as possible with general travelling,
and we endeavor, by the month of February, to have the whole of the
coatings put on; in no instance above a sixth part at a time.
On your line, the committee find that the course of horizontal traction
varies from 42 to 140; with these remarks, in the case of 42 " granite sur¬
face of many years standing," and the 140 "smooth surface road made of
broken granite;" can you explain why such a difference should take place,
both being smooth surfaces? I am quite unable to account for it; no coat¬
ings of dirt upon a granite road ought to have produced so great a difference.
Have you witnessed the operation of a carriage propelled by steam on
the public roads? 1 have observed it; but in a small degree.
Who was the proprietor of the carriage you noticed? I think it was Mr.
Gurney's; I accidentally saw it.
Then you only saw it once? Only once.
What was the state of the roads when you saw it? Tolerably good at the
time; I saw it in the Regent's park.
Were they in such a state you could make any observation upon the
greater or less injury produced by it than by a common carriage? I cannot
say that my attention was directed at that time to that fact; I have not had
an opportunity practically of seeing the effect of steam carriages upon roads;
there have been none used near us except passing down to Virginia water,
&c. ; but not being brought into general use, I have not seen sufficiently the
effect of their wheels upon roads.
From the experiments you have before stated, what should you recom¬
mend should be the breadth of the tire of the wheel of a carriage with four
wheels weighing four tons? I consider that a carriage of anv^e^criptiofi
required to carry a great weight, five or eight tons, ought to ¿aveht wheel
of four inches and a half in breadth, constructed agreeably t the clause in
the Metropolis act; and I consider that a carriage with such ; -vheel, though
carrying an excessive weight, would do very little injury to uie road.
It has been stated by a previous witness, that a carriage of the weight of
two tons propelled by steam, drew after it another carriage weighing nine
tons; what should, from your experience, be the breadth of the tire of the
wheel of the propelling carriage and the carriage drawn? Looking solely
to the welfare of the load, I should prefer a wheel of four inches and a half,
flat on the tire, to any other class of wheel that can be made, being of opinion
that a greater breadth of wheel cannot at one time touch the surface of a
well-formed turnpike road.
Then you would prescribe that breadth as the minimum breadth of
wheel for any weight? Yes; I do not think any increase of breadth would
be of any service.
Supposing two carriages, one drawn by horses, and the other propelled
by steam, the weight of the steam carriage being four tons, and the weight
of the carriage drawn by horses being two tons, which would do most in¬
jury to the road, provided the breadth of the wheels were the same in both
cases? I should prefer, with a proper wheel in both cases, the steam carri¬
age without the horses, because that question can only be answered with
reference to the wheel.
Then,"in the case given, if the wheels of the steam carriages were four
inches and a half, and the wheels of the coach two and a half, which would
do the greatest injury? The coach, decidedly, drawn by horses, though only
15
114
[ Doc. No. 101. 2
two tons and a half, infinitely more; because I consider, that of all classes of
thoroughfare at present, the stage coach, as usually laden, does us the great¬
est injury.
Can you suggest any mode by which tolls could be fairly charged on
steam carriages in relation to the tolls charged on coaches? The mode
adopted in coaches, of taking toll per horse as well as wagons, has been
found to answer every purpose, it being, in truth, a penalty upon weight
If greater weight is put upon a wagon, a greater number of horses are ne¬
cessary to move it, and the parties bring the penalty in the shape of toll in
their hands. This cannot be applied to steam carriages, and I am at a loss
to recommend to the committee any general mode, unless the diameter of
the cylinder or poWer of the engine could be taken. In the Metropolis act
of 1829, there is a toll laid upon steam carriages; any carriage that shall be
in any manner drawn by steam or gas, shall pay the toll that would be paid
by any carriage drawn by four horses.
If the power of the engine is equal to any number of horses, you only
ehargethe same toll? The same toll.
Then if a steam carriage drew another carriage after it, or two carriages
after it, would it be two or three tolls, or one only? Two or three tolls;
where a steam carriage conveys passengers by drawing another coach, they
would each pay the toll of four horses: this is a matter si ill in its infancy;
in many acts, such as the Lemsford mills act, a toll of half-a-crown was in¬
troduced for any carriage drawn or propelled by steam.
Would not this inconvenience arise from the clause you have read in the
Metropolis tolls act; it would be a premiumgiven in favor of one description
of steam carriage over another, though the injury done to the road might be
in favor of the one less taxed, as in the case of a steam carriage carrying 20
passengers, and another steam carriage drawing a carriage containing the
same 20 passengers? In that case the toll would certainly be an unjust one,
and require revision; it was a point not settled, and it was put in merely
to commence the toll, and call the public attention to it. I beg leave to
observe, that if these carriages come into general use, they would necessari¬
ly require a still greater perfection in the surface of our roads, and also in
the levelling pf the remaining hills; as good surface and little inclination is
to them of the greatest importance.
If that is the case, would it not be necessary to lay considerable rate of
toll upon those carriages, for the purpose of affording the means of execu¬
ting those improvements? It is found, that lowering the hills, and improv¬
ing the surface of all the roads, is productive invariably of a great increase
of thoroughfare; and although lowering the hills might be attended with the
first expense, any excitement that would induce the trustees of the roads to
keep them in good order, would be at the same time productive of economy,
a good road being always the cheapest.
Do you not suppose, if those carriages were in general use, the very ac¬
tion of the wheels upon the roads would prevent the necessity of such fre¬
quent repairs as are required at present? I should think that the absence of
the horses' feet in a great degree upon the roads, would be a very conside¬
rable saving; and I have already stated, that these carriages, with properly
constructed wheels, would be the class of carriages that would do the least
injury to the roads.
What is the greatest speed you have known a carriage drawn by horses
to execute a given number of miles on your trust? I once, by mere acci-
[ Doc. No. 101. J 115
dent, came in the Leeds Union coach from Grantham, which is 110'miles
from London; I got into the coach at three o'clock, and I was in London at
half after one the same morning; that was at the time the Leeds Union and
the Rockingham were racing the whole way up.
Are you aware that Mr. Telford states in his report on the state of the
Holyhead roads, that three of the Birmingham coaches perform the journey
of 110 miles in less than eight hours, without any accident, at the rate of
thirteen miles and six furlongs an hour? I have frequently heard it stated
upon the road, though I do not know it of my own personal knowledge.
Have you any other observations you would wish to make to the com¬
mittee? I am not aware of any point.
You do not think it will be necessary to limit steam carriages to any par¬
ticular number of passengers, provided the wheels were of the dimensions
stated? If the wheels were of the dimensions and the description stated, I
should, in reason, be regardless of weight, experience having completely
proved, with properly constructed wheels, we sustain little or no injury
from weight.
What is the maximum weight a road would bear upon each wheel? The
injury done by weight upon a road in a carriage with proper wheels is
principally, I might almost venture to say exclusively, to the new coatings;
if the weight in such carriage isa crushing weight, as applied to the mate¬
rials with twhich the road is made, it does a very considerable injury, and
therefore were steam carriages to become in general use, it would be a mat¬
ter of great importance, that harder material should be introduced, that
flint should take the place of gravel, and that granite or whinstone take the
place of flint, which is the principle acted upon by the commissioners of the
Metropolis roads; but, upon a hard and well consolidated road, a very great
weight may be sustained without doing comparatively any injury.
When you state that if steam carriages come into general use harder ma¬
terials ought to be used, you suppose that these steam carriages will be
much heavier than the carriages used at present? Yes; I contemplate that
they will carry much greater weights.
Your answer does not apply to carriages that are of the same weight as
those now used? No; but to carriages of the weight of eight or ten tons;
when I spoke of the weight of from eight to twelve tons, I supposed a car¬
riage with four wheels.
Upon the present well constructed roads, what weight do you think could
be put upon them without crushing them? I should not apprehend any in¬
jurious result from the general use of steam carriages with properly made
wheels, carrying upon an average from eight to ten tons.
Your answer refers to roads that are so well made that the whole pressure
shall be as that of an arch, but on the average of roads, such as shall he found
in the country, would you give the same answer? No, certainly not.
Taking the average of any line of road fora great number of miles, where
materials less capable of bearing weight must necessarily be used for a con¬
siderable proportion of that road, Iwhat should you say is the maximum .
weight that should be allowed with reference to the preservation of that
road on any one wheel of four inches and a half? Two tons.
Have you ascertained that by experiment? I have not had an opportuni¬
ty of judging of it, except in all the wagons that depart from the Metropolis
that are required to have the wheels constructed in the way I have describ¬
ed, some of which carry considerable weights.
116 [ Doc. No. 101. ]
«
Martis, 6° die Septembris, 1831. '
Mr. John Macneil, civil engineer, Daventry; called in, and examined.
State your profession? A civil engineer; I am at present the resident and
assistant engineer, under Mr. Telford, to the Parliamentary commissioners
on the Holyhead road between London and Shrewsbury, and London and
Liverpool.
What is the weight, of a coach, a van and a wagon, each carrying what
would be considered an average load; state also the breadth of the tires of
their wheels? The weight of four horse stage coaches vary from fifteen cwt.
and three quarters to eighteen cwLjmost of the Birmingham day and night
coaches weigh about sixteen cwt., and frequently carry, the night coaches
in particular, upwards of two tons of goods and passengers, exclusive of the
coach; yet, taking into consideration the number of times they travel with
very light loads, I should say that from two tons five cwt. to two tons ten
cwt., including the carriage, would be a fair average weight during the
year. The tires of the wheels are mostly two inches, but some of them are
less; those constructed by Mr.jBrown, and used on his patent coaches, have
the edges chamfered off, so as to give a flat bearing of one inch and a half,
but from the peculiar manner in which those coaches are mounted with
springs, I am inclined to think the injury done to the roads by these wheels
is not so great as it otherwise would be. Some coach wheels tljat I have
seen are rounded off, so as to form in the cross section a segment of about
one inch and three quarters in diameter. The bearing in this case on the
road, where the surface is hard and smooth, is reduced almost to a point, and
flaust be extremely injurous. The coachmen remark that carriages with
such wheels run wild in descending hills in summer, but heavy in winter,
and when the roads are soft and muddy. The mail coaches weigh very
nearly twenty cwt. Some of them, the Holyhead coach for instance, fre¬
quently carries upwards of a ton of letters and parcels, independent of pas¬
sengers and their luggage. The average weight of the whole may probably
betaken at two tons. Some others, the Liverpool day mail for instance,
travel very light, and probably will not average one ton and a half. The
breadth of tire of mail coaches is two inches anda quarter; the four horse
vans, which travel about six miles an hour, weigh on an average four tons
and a quarter, including the carriage; the breadth of tire of one which 1 mea¬
sured was two inches and a half, but I am not prepared to say that this is
the general size of such wheels; the horses used in these carriages are of the
very best and largest description, which, added to so great a weight on nar¬
row wheels, probably renders this carriage more injurious to the ' public
roads than any other description of vehicle at present employed. There
are four descriptions of wagons in general use, the eight horse wagon, the
six horse wagon, the four horse wagon, and the farm wagon, which is drawn
sometimes by two, three or four horses, according to the load. The eight
horse wagons, though frequently weighing, with the load, seven tons, may
probably be averaged at not more than six tons the year round; the wheel
is nine inches in the tire, but, from a very improper plan followed in its
construction, the bearing on a hard solid road is only three inches, for these
wheels are generally shod with three hoops of three inch iron, the centre
one of which is of a greater diameter than the others, and projects full half
an inch beyond them, which, on weak roads, such as in the neighborhood of
London, must be most injurious. I have measured one since I came to
[ Doc. No. 101. 3
117
London, which travels on the Bath and Bristol road, the outer rim is coni¬
cal; and can certainly never come in contact with the road surface, unless it be
one on which the wheel would sink two or three inches. The section of the
wheel is represented in the following sketch: the six horse wagons, with
their load, generally weigh four tons and a half; their wheels are six inches
wide, and of a better description than the former, though sometimes one of
their hoops projects beyond the other, as in the case of the nine inch wheel;
the four horse wagons, with their load, commonly weigh three tons and a
half, their wheels are four inches wide, and are more upright than the
others, and have a more level bearing on the road; the farm wagons, used
in Northamptonshire, weighs, on an average, one ton one cwt., the breadth
of a wheel is three inches, and it carries from one ton to three tons,,(-accord¬
ing to circumstances, and lasts nearly twenty years.
On an average line of road of not less than 100 miles, on which, in many
places, materialsof very inferior description must have been used, both in its
formation and subsequent repair, what is the maximum weight per wheel
(say if not less than four inches width of tire,) which should be carried on
any kind of carriage (carriage weight included,) without risk of injury to
the road? On a road, such as here described, the injury will be considerable
by any wheel passing over it; but without a more defined statement of the
quantity and quality of the materials used, I do not think this question can
be answered with any degree of certainty. On all gravel roads, however,
made, without a foundation or bottoming, I should say the weight, on a four
inch wheel, should not exceed fifteen cwt., and on a wheel less than that ten
cwt. on the generality of roads, throughout the country, I do not think it
would be safe to run a carriage with almost any width of wheel if the load
much exceeded ten tons; in fact there are some bridges even between London
and Birmingham, that it would be running a risk to pass over with a car¬
riage weighing ten tons.
Can you, from observation, say what proportion the breadth of the tire of
wheels should be to the weight? The breadth of tire in proportion to the
weight, will depend entirely upon the description of road over which the
carriage passes; on such a road as that lately constructed by the parliamenta¬
ry commissioners of the Holyhead and Liverpool roads, at the Highgate
Archway, I have frequently observed wagons, carrying upwards of six tons
pass over it; the weight of each wheel on the road was then about thirty
cwt. ; and though the bearing of the wheels, from the cause I have before
staled, was not more than three inches, the effect produced was impercepti¬
ble. The pressure, in this case, was ten cwt. on pvery inch, which is unques¬
tionably too much for the generality of roads; but if we take the road from
London to Shrewsbury, as a criterion to judge by, I should say that a wheel
ought to be an inch in width for every ton that a carriage and its load would
weigh; i and that if every carriage that now travels that road, was limited
not to exceed that proportion, the roads would be better, and maintained at
a cheaper rate than at present. According to the average weight of coaches
and wagons, as hefore stated, I have calculated the following table, show¬
ing the weight at present carried on each inch of bearing, and what I con¬
ceive might be the breadth of the different wheels if they were made
cylindrical with an even bearing, and in the proportion of one inch of width
for every ton including the carriage.
118
£ Doc. No. 101. 3
i
Description of
carriage.
Velocity in
miles per
hour.
Weight, on
an average,
in tons.
Breadth of
the wheels,
in inches.
Pressure of
each wheel,
in cwts.
Pressure on
each inch, in
cwts.
Breadth of
wheel, calculat¬
ed in the propor¬
tion of 5 cwt. to
the inch.
Mail coach
9 to 11
2
24
10.0
4.40
2
Stage coach
8 to 11
24
2
12.5
6.25
24
"Van
6 to 7
44
24
21.25
8.29
44
Wagon
24 to 3
6
9
25.0
2.77
6
Ditto
21 to 3
41
C
23.5
3.75
- 44
Ditto
2à to 3
34
4
17.5
4.37
34 1
State your opinion as to the relative wear of a road by two carriages,1
both drawn by four horses, one carriage of two tons weight, with two inch
tires, the other four tons, with four inch tires? My opinion is, that the
wear of the roads would in each case be the same, as far as it was affected
* by the wheels of the carriages, probably rather less, by the carriage carry¬
ing four tons, on four inch wheels, than by the carriage carrying two tons,
with two inch wheels; but it must be recollected that both the carriages
are supposed to be drawn by the same number of horses, and as the horses
drawing the carriage of four tons, must use greater exertions than those
drawing the carriage of two tons, lam of opinion that the aggregate wear
of the road would be more by the transit of the four ton carriage, than by
that of the carriage weighing two tons.
How would the foregoing answer be affected by an increase or decrease
of velocity in either carriage? If the road over which the carriages are
drawn be hard, solid and smooth, I think there would be very little increase
of wear from the effect of the carriage wheels by an increase of velocity;
but if the road should be uneven or rough, there would be an increase of
wear, in consequence of the impetus or blow with which the wheels would
strike the road after passing over the inequalities in its susface, particular¬
ly if the carriages were made without springs; but whether the road be a
good or a bad one, the wear occasioned by the feet of the horses will be
greater when they travel with an increased velocity: for a coach-horse
which travels at the rate of ten miles an hour, works on an average 270
miles in a month, and wears out in that time about four pounds'of iron in
shoes; whereas a wagon-horse, which travels at the rate of three miles
an hour, and works twenty-six miles a day, for four days in the week, goes,
on an average, 416 miles in the same period of time, and wears out 4.8
pounds of iron. If the coach-horse travels the same distance, the wear
would be six-sixteenths, which exceeds the wear of the wagon-horse one-
thirty-sixth. In the same way might the relative injury caused by the
wheels of the wagon and the coach be ascertained.
What is the operation of the atmosphere on roads? Well made roads,
formed of clean hard broken stone, placed on a solid foundation, are very
little affected by changes of atmosphere; weak roads, or those that are im¬
perfectly formed with gravel, flint, or round pebbles, without a bottoming
or foundation of stone pavement or concrete, are, on the contrary, much af-
[ Doc. No. 101. ]
119
fected by changes of the weather. In the formation of such roads, and
before they become bound or firm, a considerable portion of the sub soil
mixes with the stone or gravel in consequence of the necessity of putting
the gravel on in thin layers. This mixture of earth or clay, in dry warm
seasons, expands by the heat, and makes the road loose and open: the con¬
sequence is, that the stones are thrown out, and many of them are crushed
and ground into dust, producing considerable wear and diminution of the
materials; in wet weather also, the clay or earth, mixed with the stones,
absorbs moisture, becomes soft, and allows the stones to move and rub
against each other when acted upon by the feet of horses or wheels of car¬
riages. This attrition of the stones against each other, wears them out sur¬
prisingly fast, and produces large quantities of mud, which tend to keep
the road damp, and, by that means, increases the injury.
Supposing the actual wear or deterioration of a road to be represented by
100, and that only coaches, vans and wagons have passed over it during any
given period, in what proportion would" you estimate the effects; first, of
atmosphere; secondly, of the carriage; thirdly, of the horses? This ques¬
tion can only be answered in a general way; no two lines of road would
probably give results at all similar; much will depend on the manner in
which the road is constructed, the materials of which it is composed, the
care bestowed on its drainage, and whether it be in an open situation or
shaded by trees. If the road be properly made, and in an open situation, the
injury arising from the atmosphere will be little, compared with the actual
wear caused by the wheels of carriages and the feet of horses, probably not
ten per cent, during the year; whereas, on weak roads in clay countries,
every shower loosens the materials of which the road is composed, and
causes considerable wear, perhaps thirty per cent, or dVen more in some
situations, where the road is shaded by trees; to get at something like an
average proportion between the wear occasioned by horses' feet and the
wheels of carriages, I have procured the following facts: the coaches which
run between London and Birmingham, require an hundred horses on an
average, to work the up and down coach; the horses are generally shod by
contract, at about 2s. 6d. per horse per month; those near London are much
larger and heavier, and therefore require heavier shoes than those twenty
miles out of London, and from thence to Birmingham; near London, in the
tlint districts, the wear of horses' shoes is much more than it is in the quartz
and limestone countries. At Stony Stratford, the weight of the four shoes
of a mail and stage coach-horse averages five pounds, and when taken off
at the end of about twenty-eight days, they weigh very nearly two pounds:
in this period, the horses run 252 miles. At Towcester, Weedon and Da-
ventry, the weight of the new shoes is one pound and a half each, and,
when taken off, weigh nearly three-fourths of a pound; the length of time
which they remain on is about thirty days; this would give a wear of three
pounds per horse per month, but if the greater wear near London be con¬
sidered, I think it would not be too much to allow the wear equal to four
pounds per horse per month, which, for 100 horses for ten weeks, would give
a wear of 1,000 lbs. of iron. The bind wheels of the coaches are mostly
four feet eight inches in diameter, and the front wheel three feet. The width
of tire, I before stated is about two inches, and when new, the thickness of
the iron is three-quarters of an inch. These wheels are found to last from
' two to three months, according to the state of the weather, the workman¬
ship and quality of iron, (about twenty years ago they did not last seven
r.
120 [ Doc. No. 101. J ✓
days on an average;) suppose they now last ten weeks, in that time the tire
is worn down to one-sixth of its original thickness. This would be equal to
163.4 lbs. or 326.8 for both coaches; this would be to the wear of the hor¬
ses' shoes as 326.8 to 1,000, or as 1 to 3-14ths nearly; now if the injury
done to the road by the horses' feet and the wheels of carriages be esti¬
mated in the same proportion, I think it would probably be near the actual
effect produced; that is to say, the injury done by the wheels of'fast coach¬
es is to the injury done by the horses which draw them as one to three in
round numbers. The effect produced by slow carriages and horses is differ¬
ent: a wagon drawn by four horses, which travels regularly from London
to Daventry at the rate of three miles an hour, is worked by fifteen horses;
the wagon weighs twenty five cwt. and carries, on an average, sixty-seven
cwt. ; the hind wheel^ are four feet eight inches in diameter, and the front
ones four feet; the breadth of the wheels is six inches; they are nearly up¬
right but not cylindrical. The iron tire, when put on, weighs on the fore
wheel, 285 lbs., on the hind ditto,-396 lbs., making 621 lbs. When re¬
moved, the weight is on the fore wheels, 144 lbs., on the hind ditto, 168
lbs., making 312 lbs.; wear in five months, 309 lbs. The number of miles
travelled in this time is 6,048; the shoes that are put on the horses employ¬
ed to draw this wagon, weigh, when new, from two pounds and a half to
three pounds each; the average of a great many gave two pounds and three
quarters, and when removed one pound and a quarter. They last from four
to six weeks, according to the weather and state of the road; but we may as¬
sume five weeks as an average, and the wear in that time for each horse six
pounds, and for fifteen horses for five months, it would be 360 lbs. The
proportion in this case would be as 309 to 360, or as one to 1.16, or nearly
one to 1 i on the generality of roads: therefore, I would say the proportion of
iujury would be nearly as follows, when travelled by fast coaches:
Atmospheric changes 20
Coach wheels 20
Horses' feet that draw them 60
100
and when travelled by wagons :
Atmospheric changes - . 20
Wagon wheels - - - 35-5
Horses'feet that draw them - - 44.5
100
What is the effect ol travelling by coaches and horses; whence, and in
what proportion, does the injury or deterioration arise; the crushing of ma¬
terials; their actual wear; their displacement? If the wheels of carriages be
properly constructed, and cylindrical, the friction, and consequently the
wear on the surface of a well made road, will be very little, and there will
be no injury from displacement of materials, except what may arise from
the few surface stones that will sometimes be started out by the feet of horses
on steep hills, when they are obliged to exert a great force to draw up a
heavy load. When stones are thus thrown out on a hard and solid surface,
the wheels of heavy carriages will crush them, and cause an injury which
yvould be much more than that caused by the actual wear of the wheels pas-
[ Doc. No. 101. ]
121
sing over the surface. If the roads be weak or elastic, and bend or yield
under the pressure of the wheels, the particles of which it is composed
will move and rub against each other, or perhaps break by the action of
heavy wheels over them. On such roads, I conceive the injury caused by
steam carriages will be much greater in proportion to the injury caused by
light carriages drawn by horses, than it will be on solid firm roads. In one
instance, where an accurate experiment was made, the wear was found to
be four inches of hard stone, when it was placed on a wet clay bottom,
while it was not more than half an inch, on a solid dry foundation, (form¬
ed as described in the report of the select committee on the Holyhead road,
on the 30th May, 1 SßO,) or with a pavement bottom, on a part of the same
road, when it was subject to the same traffic. On the Highgate archway
road before mentioned, the annual wear does not appear to be more than
half an inch in depth. Now, as this road is very little affected by wet, in
consequence of its peuliar construction, and the care bestowed on its drain¬
age, I attribute almost the whole of the* diminution of materials to actual
wear. On many roads, where the sides are weak, great injury arises from
the crushing of materials, particularly by the action of wagon-wheels. In
frosty weather, weak roads very frequently suffer more in one month than
all the rest of the year. In such cases, the injury is caused by the wheels
of carriages, and not by the horses' feet.
If 30 lbs. be sufficient to move a carriage of 21 cwt. 8 lbs. on a level plat¬
form, little affected by friction, and 266 lbs. be required to move the same
carriage up an inclination of 1 in 10, the pressure in the one case being
exactly the weight of the carriage, 21 cwt. 8 lbs., what would be the pres¬
sure on the road, or platform, on the inclination?—As the pressure on the
horizontal is to the pressure on the inclined plane, as the length of the plane
w b
is to its base, we have this proportion, \/b2-\-p2 :b:\W: — = the
(o2+/>3)è
pressure on the plane. In this example, w=2360. ô=10._p=l, which
w b
®'VeS (/,»+jn»)t'==2360^-=2349.5 lbs. or lO^lbs. less than the pressure
v/100+1
on the horizontal.
Taking twenty miles near London, 150 lbs. appears to be the average
force actually engaged in drawing the carriage of 21 cwt 8 lbs. including
hills, would the force required to draw a carriage of 42 cwt. 16 lbs. be on
an average 300 lbs. and so on in proportion?—the extreme traction of the
carriage being 343 lbs. what, on this road, would have been the maximum
force required to draw a carriage of four tons weight? It does not follow
that because a carriage is twice as heavy as another, that its draught would
be twice as much. The resistance arising from gravity on the inclined planes
would, abstractly considered, be double, but that part of the resistance aris¬
ing from the friction and penetration of the wheels into the surface materi¬
als, would much depend on the construction of the carriage, and its wheels,
and the different sorts of roads over which it was drawn. In order to as¬
certain the average draught of a carriage of 42 cwt. 16 lbs. over the above
road, I conceive that the friction of the surface or resistance opposed to the
motion of such a carriage, should be ascertained on each description of
road within the above limits, and then by knowing the rates of acslivity, or
the amount of gravity acting on each, the average draughts might be ascer¬
tained, if the same carriage and wheels were used, but loaded so as to make
16
122
[ Doc. No. 101. ]
up 42 cwt. 16 lbs. the average draught. It might probably be calculated
pretty nearly from the following table of experiments, which, as it may be
of use in the present inquiry, I here beg leave to hand in; but it must be
remembered that the proportions given in this table between the increase of
weight and the increase of draught, will not be the same on every descrip¬
tion of road. To be enabled to answer the second part of the question, it
will be necessary to know the rate of acclivity on which the draught of the
carriage weighing 21 cwt. 16 lbs. was 343 lbs., and also to know the
draught of the four ton carriage on the horizontal; but even then a difference
might arise from the construction of the carriage, and the situation of its
centre of gravity.
TABl.E of Experiments made on the 28th January, 1829, immediately
after a rapid thau>: the mud was full one and a half or two inches
thick on the road at the time.
Table I.
No. of
Planes.
Wagon empty,
weight 1 ton.
Half a ton in the wagon.
1 to» 2 cwL in the wagon.
Down.
Up.
Down.
Up.
Down.
Up.
1
30
99
45
145
58
210
2
64
88
105
120
125
150
3
75
85
115
120
135
155 ,
4
75
85
105
115
135
155
5
80
88
105
125
135
165
6
85
93
105
135
135
170
Neither the rates of acclivity, or the lengths of the planes, were taken at
the time, but it might still be done, if thought necessary by the committee,
as the points are well ascertained.
Experiments made on a horizontal timber platform in January, 1829.
Table II.
Weight of the wagon
and load.
Powers required in lbs.
to move iL
Difference between
empty wagon and load.
2,240
29
2,800
74
45
3,360
104
75» o
3,920
140
111*«
If 266 lb3. be required to move a carriage of 21 cwt. 8lbs. upan inclined
plane of one in ten, what amount of weight would be required to keep the
{] Doc. No. 101. J
123
carriage stationary, or to allow it to descend with the slowest possible mo¬
tion on the same inclination?—this question has reference to the injury done
to the roads by "dragging " the wheels, and subsequently to the slow motion
of the propelling wheels of steam carriages in descending hills. If the
base of the inclined plane be 10, and its height 1, the length will be
■v/lO*-f I2 = v/101 = 10.05 nearly, and we have the proportion 10-05-
:1 : : 2360 : 234 -82 lbs. the weight which would be required to keep the
carriage stationary if the surface of the plane was hard and smooth, and
the mass collected in a point; but, as 266 is stated to be the moving power,
the resistance arising from the friction of the surface, and the axle trees,
would, in this case, be 31.18 lbs.; it may be well to observe here, that the
experiments made on inclined planes, as detailed in the seventh report of
Parliamentary commissioners of the Holyhead and Liverpool road, were
not intended for any thing further than to get practical results, the descrip¬
tion of which could be easily understood by road surveyors and their assist-,
ants, and even by men in the habit of driving coaches. It could not be ex¬
pected that experiments made with a large unwieldy wagon, mounted with
common axle-trees besmeared with tar, could furnish results on which to
found a refined mathematical calculation. I have, however, within these
few days, commenced a series of experiments, with a small carriage con¬
structed on purpose, and furnished with a very delicate instrument for
measuring the draught. From the little way I have as yet gone in these
experiments, I cannotfurnish any details at present; but I think I am war¬
ranted in saying that a very great benefit would arise in the saving of road
materials, by the adoption of a better method of hanging the coaches, in a
manner, perhaps, something similar to gentlemen's carriages. Many of
these weigh, when fully loaded, two tons, yet a pair of post horses draw
them, with apparent ease, the rate of ten miles an hour; and, on some parts
of the road between London and Birmingham, where the road is tolerably
level, at a much greater speed; some of the Birmingham and London coach¬
es travel the same ground, at twelve miles, and sometimes fifteen miles an
hour. This velocity, however, may, in a great measure, be attributed to the
level and perfect state of that road.
The details of various kinds of steam carriages have been given to the
committee; all act without propellers; without projection on the wheels,
with cylindrical wheels; some with greater or less breadth of tire, even six
inches wide; the power Is applied either by crank or wheels to one or two
propelling wheels, according as greater or less force may be required. Some
of the experimental carriages had three, some six wheels; all will have four
wheels. Some have the engines in a separate carriage, and draw the load;
some carry the load and engines on one carriage. Taking the above cir¬
cumstances into consideration, which would be most injurious to a road—a
stage coach, drawn by four horses, weight of coach three tons, horses two
tons, breadth of tire two inches and a half; or steam coach, wheels four
inches tire, weight four tons; in both cases veiucity ten miles per hour?
Taking for granted that the injury which a road sustains by the wheels of
carriages and the feet of horses is proportional to the wear of iron on the
wheels and on the horses, and that the statement before given as to the actual
wear on each be found correct, I would say the injury done to the road by
lite steam carriage weighing four tons with four-inch wheels, would be less
than that occasioned by the coach weighing three tons, drawn by four
horses.
124
[ Doc. No. 101. ]J
Would it be beneficial or otherwise to the roads, that steam carriages: i
drawing heavyweights in carriages attached to them, should be substituted i
for wagons drawn by horses, supposing that the weight of the drawing or
propelling carriage should not in any case exceed the weight of the number
of horses that would have been used to draw a corresponding weight, e g.
Wagon 8 tons
Eight horses, 15 cwt. each - 6 ditto
14
On steam carriage - - 4
Carriage drawn - - 10
14?—
I am of opinion, that if the steam carriage and its accompanying carriage
be constructed with wheels of a proper width, and of the same diameter as
the wagon wheels, and travel with the same velocity, that the injury on
well-made solid roads will not be more than that caused by the wagon and
horses: in fact, if the proportion of injury before stated be correct, it will
be less; but it must be recollected that weak roads suffer more than solid
ones from the heavy pressure of wheels, and, in such cases, the steam car¬
riage and its tender would be more injurious.
In descending hills, steam carriages can regulate their velocity by reducing
the action or number of revolutions of the wheels; this acts as a drag, but
with the advantage to a road that the wheel moves continually round; which
would be most injurious to a road, the descent of a carriage dragged as usual
(not omitting the operation of horses' feet,) or the steam carriage dragged
or regulated in the mode described? Not having seen a steam carriage de¬
scending a hill in the manner described (that is, regulated by the action of
the engine on the wheel,) I cannot give a satisfactory answer to this ques¬
tion; but, as far as opinion goes, I should say that the joint action of the
horses and drag would be more injurious than the steam carriage, the motion
of which was regulated in the above manner, provided the wheels were of
the proper width, and the total weight not greater than that of the coach
and horses.
Various local acts have passed, placing excessive tolls on steam carriages—
it may be requisite to introduce a general bill, which shall, on such roads,
place steam carriages on a fair equality (so far as their relative injury or
wear of road, to common coaches on each such road; the toll on a coach on
such roads may vary fron one to two shillings, according to local circum¬
stances, on a wagon in the same proportion; what standard of charge would
you suggest for steam carriages? It has been stated to us, that one steam
carriage has drawn a carriage containing as many as thirty passengers at the
rate of even ten miles per hour, and nine tons weight at the rate of five
miles per hour, but with smaller wheels, what regulation would you sug¬
gest as to the breadth of tire, or should tolls be chargeable in inverse pro¬
portion to the breadth of tire? The toll which carriages propelled by steam,
or by any other mechanical means, should be required to pay, ought, in my
opinion, to be in proportion to the injury they would do to the roads com¬
pared with that done by the present description of carriages and the horses
employed to draw them, without reference to the weight or quantity of
£ Doc. No. 101. ] 125
goods carried; but, as I before stated, I do not believe an accurate estimate
can be at present formed as to the injury that roads may sustain from steam
carriages, compared with the injury done to them by coaches drawn by
horses. It may, however, I think be safely assumed that the injury done to
a road by a steam carriage would not be greater than that occasioned by a
stage coach drawn by horses, the weight of the engine and its load being
supposed not to weigh more than the stage coach, together with its load and
horses. If this be granted, and an act passed limiting the width of wheel in
a certain proportion to the weight carried, there would not be much difficul¬
ty in arranging a scale of tolls applicable to steam carriages, which would
put them on an equitable footing with carriages drawn by horses. If, for in¬
stance, a proportion, such as I have already mentioned be adopted, viz. that a
wheel should be an inch in width for every 5 cwt it has to support, and a
toll charged for each inch equal to the amount charged for a horse drawing
in a carriage which travels with the velocity of the engine, it would, in my
opinion, be a fair and equitable toll, at least for some years, or until a cor¬
rect proportion of injury was ascertained by experience and observation,
when it might be altered or amended according to circumstances. This
mode of charging toll would be extremely simple, and not likely to be mis¬
understood by toll-collectors, or to occasion any disputes; but there should
be a heavy penalty attached to the proprietors of steam carriages if they
put a greater weight on the carriage than the wheels were intended to car¬
ry. If the engine, instead of carryingthe load, draws one or more carriages
after it, the toll should be collected and charged on each carriage in a simi¬
lar manner as it is charged on the engine, that is, in proportion to its wheels.
An example will illustrate my meaning more clearly: suppose an engine,
together with its load, to weigh nine tons (which is about the average weight
of two stage coaches, including the weight of the horses which draw them)
to pass through a toll-gate where horses drawing coaches are charged 6d.
each, the toll on the two coaches, would be 4i., and of the steam carriage
4a 6d. Suppose that thejengine, instead of carrying the load, draws a car¬
riage after it, and that the weight of the engine is five tons, with five-inch
wheels, and of the accompanying carriage four tons, with four-inch wheels,
the toll of the engine would be 2i. 6d., and of the tender 2s., making 4s. 6d.
as before. The only objection I can see to this mode of charging toll on
steam carriages travelling over the turnpike roads, would be, that, in the
event of their being able to carry a greater number of passengers at a cheap¬
er rate than the present description of carriages drawn by horses, it would
lessen the amount of toll collected as a fewer number of carriages would
do the work, and many persons who drive their own horses would travel by
them if found cheaper to do so; and this circumstance, although it would
not affect the state of repairing in which the road was previously maintain¬
ed, it might lessen the value of property invested in the different turnpike
trusts throughout the kingdom, which is a very considerable sum; but such
circumstances should not militate against an invention likely to prove bene¬
ficial to the country at large.
Give your opinion on the probable extent of injury to roads from steam
carriages? Generally speaking, I should say that the injury roads will sus:
tain by the introduction of steam carriages will be much less than is com¬
monly supposed; but the actual amount of injury, or correct estimate of the
comparative injury that will be done by a steam carriage, cannot, in my
opinion, be formed at present with any degree of certainty. Experience
126
[ Doc. No. 101. 2
alone will decide the point. The only danger, in my mind, that is to be
apprehended, is the injury which roads may sustain by the possibility of the
wheel which is acted upon by the engine, turning round without propell¬
ing the carriage, in which case the road would suffer considerably; and this
would take place if a train of carriages were attached to the engine, the
draught of which was more than the friction or gripe of the engine wheel on
the surface of the road. As long, however, as the weight is carried by the
engine, and not drawn after it, nothing of this kind will take place even on
our steepest hills.
Have you communicated you conclusions on these subjects to Mr. Tel¬
ford? I have.
Does he coincide with you? Quite so.
You stated that the only probable injury to the roads from travelling of
steam carriages, would be the slipping of wheels; would it not be directly
against the interest of the proprietor that the wheels should slip in any de¬
gree, there being a necessary loss of power every time they do slip? Clear¬
ly so.
From your observations of the effects produced by heavy carriages drawn
by horses in ascending and descending hills, what would be the effect, un¬
der similar circumstances, of a steam carriage of weight equal to the weight
of the coach and horses? I am of opinion that the effect or injury to a
road would be less by the steam carriage; for when hills exceed a certain
rate of inclination, gravity overcomes the friction of the surface, and the car¬
riages, in descending, press upon the horses, unless a drag be applied to one
of the wheels. This, in itself, injures the road, but not so much as when no
drag is used, because the horses are then obliged to bear against the car¬
riage, and set down their feet very strongly: this often tears up the surface,
particularly of weak roads. The time that is lost by the coaches in de¬
scending some of the hills on the road between London and Birmingham,
is full as much as is lost in ascending them, besides the imminent danger,
even with the greatest caution, on the part of the drivers, if proper springs
were used, the draught would be lessened, and of course the injury to the
road would be much diminished.
On every road there are numerous six horse wagons; you state the weight
to be four tons and a half, the horses weighing four and a half more, mak¬
ing nine tons—should any objection be taken toa single steam carriage of
this weight, or from nine to ten tons, provided the wheels be of a proper
description? No; I think in the general state of roads, a steam carriage of
from nine to ten tons could run with perfect safety, without injury to the
roads, if it was constructed with proper wheels.
The above question refers to a steam carriage carrying its load; if the en¬
gine carriage were of the weight of four tons, drawing a second carriage of
the weight of six tons, thus dividing the weight over eight wheels, would
the effect on the road be less injurious, provided it was four and a half tire?
I think the injury would be less, provided the engine had the power to pro¬
pel itself, and draw a carriage with six tons after it, without a slipping of its
wheels.
Carrying this principle further, if the load were divided into two car¬
riages, each to weigh three tons, thus dividing the load over twelve wheels,
would not less injury still be done? Decidedly; particularly on weak
roads.
If, under these circumstances, you can diminish the pressure on the road by
[ Doc. No. 101. ]
127
multiplying the number of wheels, should not care be taken so to frame
the tolls to be levied as not to discourage the use of those steam carriages,
whose greater number of wheels could be least injurious to the roads?
I think that would be regulated by the mode I have suggested of charging
toll.
Have you seen Mr. Gurney's carriage, and examined its effect on the
roads? I have seen it.
What state were the roads in, at what velocity was it going, how many
persons did it carry, and what was its weight? I do not know the weight
of the carriage, there appeared to be eight or ten people on and about it;
the road on which I saw it was excessively bad, one of the worst in the
country; the velocity was probably five or six miles an hour.
Were there other loaded carriages passing along the road at the same
time? Several; both coaches and wagons.
Did you remark the effect of the steam carriage on the road, to see that
it did less or greater injury than the other carriages? I could not perceive
any difference.
If there had been any great difference, you would have perceived it? As
far as leaving a track behind, which would have been perceived, I could not
ascertain the amount of injury: it was nothing more than that done by com¬
mon coaches. ,
Do you think it essential that the wheels of steam carriages should follow
in the same track, provided they have a proper breadth of tire? Not at all
as regards the injury to the road; it would require more power to work them
if the wheels did not follow in the same track.
Supposing the steam carriages, either the propelling carriage and the
carriage drawn, or the engine carriage carrying the passengers, were gener¬
ally to be four tons, what would you recommend to be the minimum breadth
of tire to either of the carriages? In the present state of steam carriages,
as applied to the working over turnpike roads, I should say you might limit
them to not less than four inches for a few years.
Supposing their averageweight never exceeded from six to eight tons, do
you think four and a half would be a safe minimum? I am inclined to
think it would be rather too little.
Do you think it would be necessary to make any alteration in the form of
the present line of turnpike road for the facility of working by steam? I do
not think it would be absolutly necessary: it would, however, be of great
benefit to the country and every person in it, if the hills on the present lines
of road were more reduced, and the surface strengthened. No road should
have a greater ascent than one in thirty or one in thirty-five; in almost every
instance the expense would be saved in horse labor in a few years. The fol¬
lowing table will show pretty nearly the increase of expense in transport¬
ing goods by stage coaches drawn by horses up planes of different rates of
ascent. Roads in general have, in some parts, steep ascents; one in fifteen
between this and Birmingham, for instance, is too much on a road of such
traffic. The surfaces are not so good generally as they ought to be; the
roads should be strengthened, either with a pitched bottoming of stone, or a
concrete mass, such as the Highgate archway, or the new road near Coventry.
128
[ Doc. No. 101. ]
TABLE.
Expense of drawing one ton over one mile at different rates of acclivity,
by a stage coach and wagon.
Four-horse stage coach, average velo¬
Wagon, four horses, average velocity
city 10 miles per hour.
2i miles per hour.
Rates of acclivity.
Pence and decimals.
Rates of acclivity.
Pence and decimals.
d.
d.
1 in 10
77-24
1 in . 10
52-07
1 in 15
57-78
1 in 15
28-70
1 in 20
50-47
1 in 20
22-83
1 in -30
44-15
1 in 30
18-55
1 in 40
41.25
1 in 40 '
16-79
1 in 50
39 -56
1 in 50
. 15-S2
•1 in 60
38-46
1 in 60
15-20
1 in 70
37-68
1 in 70
14-77
1 in 80
37-09 •
1 in 80
14-46
1 in 90
36-64
. 1 in 90
14-22
1 in 100
36-28
1 in 100
14-04
1 in 150
35-19
1 in 150
13-46
1 in 200
34-64
1 in 200
13-18
1 in 300
34-09
1 in 300
12-91
1 in 500
33-65
1 in 500
12-69
1 in 1,000
33-32
1 • in 1,000
12-53
Horizontal
32-98
Horizontal
12-36
What would be'the difference of expense of pavement, and forming a good
granite road,~in the neighborhood of London; say twenty miles? If you
take twenty miles, and also take the repairs of the roads for twenty years
into account, I should say paving would be the cheapest. The great defect
of all the London pavements arises from want of a strong and firm founda¬
tion. In Fleet-street, and some others, this has been partly accomplished
of late, but certainly not as perfect as it might be. If on the road from this
to Birmingham there was a portion laid off on the side of the road for steam
carriages, which could be done without difficulty, and if it be made in a
solid manner with pitching and well broken granite, it would fall very little
short of a railroad. My only reason for keeping it distinct from the other
road, is the evident injury every road sustains from horses travelling over it
and breaking up the surface, and the steam carriages would be able to go
with greater velocity if they were not interrupted with droves of cattle;
besides, it would be easy to fence it off from fifteen to twenty feet, without
injury to property; and the expense of making a solid road of twelve or
fifteen feet would not be very considerable.
[ Doc. No. 101. "]
129
But have you any doubt whatever that steam carriages can be brought into
practical use, with great benefit to the public, even on the present lines of
turnpike roads? I am'quite convinced they can.
Would the wear of such roads as you have described be much affected by
' the greater or less velocity of the steam carriages? It would be hardly
i affected at all, on a good road, by increased velocity; if any thing, perhaps
■ rather less.
Do you propose in your scheme of toll that weight should be the basis of
: toll, but that the wheel be an index to the weight? Yes, that is the princi-
: pie on which I haye suggested the scale of tolls.
How would you check the frauds of proprietors of steam carriages by
: the.ir placing a greater weight in proportion to the breadth of tire? I conceive
: the use of the steam carriage would be for passengers solely and their lug-
; gage : if the weight was ascertained in the yards at London, Birmingham,
:or Shrewsbury, the intermediate trafic would differ very little, for persons
: going short distances would go by the coaches as at present.
Would you suggest that a license should be granted to steam carriages,
limiting the number of passengers they should take in proportion to the
: breadth of tire of the wheel? I think it would be quite as much as the road
trustees could expect; and by marking in large characters the width of
i wheel on the carriage, it would be a great preventive to the proprietors
i altering the wheels.
Do you think that, considering the infant state of this invention, that the
road trustees would practically suffer any great injury or inconvenience by
merely, for two or three years, placing steam carriages, whatever weight
they may be, on a level with ordinary carriages, with reference to the toll
charged for them? Considering the present imperfect state of steam carriages
for turnpike roads, I think it would do no injury to road trusts if such a
regulation was adopted.
Would you place steam wagons on the same footing as wagons drawn by
horses? Yes, provided the wheelsare made, as I described, in proportion to
the weight; there should be the same toll on a wagon drawn by steam as a
wagon drawn by horses, that is, the width of wheel should be charged per
inch as the horses are now charged.
Should a steam wagon be licensed, as to its weight, in the same manner as
a steam coach? I think just the same.
Did you conduct the experiments made on the Holyhead road as to the
force of traction required on different inclinations? I did.
Were they carefully made or otherwise? They were carefully made as
far as the materials would allow; the wagon was a very large one, with
common axle-trees; the result in some cases differed from two to three
pounds; on the whole, I should say the results stated in that report do not
:exceed in any case five pounds beyond what they would be found if proved
by the best practical instruments, and are confirmed by my subsequent ob¬
servations and experience. The object we had in view, by these experiments,
'was to show to the trustees and the surveyors of the roads, that a road might
appear a very good one, and still not be one adapted for traffic. By these
means they have perceived the defective parts in the road; and within three
months after the report of the Parliamentary commissioners became public,
there was not a hedge on that part of the road where the draught was shown
to be excessive, that was not cut down, and improvements made on the sur¬
face.
130
£ Doc. No. 101. ]
When you followed Mr. Gurney's carriage, did you perceive that any
horses were frightened, or any inconvenience arose to passengers on the
road? I did not perceive the least inconvenience. I saw several horses pass,
both gig and saddle-horses, .also coaches, and not one took the least notice
of it.
Veneris, 9° die Septembris, 1831.
Colonel Torrens, a member of the committee, examined:
Have you considered the effect which will be produced upon British agri¬
culture, by substituting, on common roads, steam carriages for carriages
drawn by horses? I have.
What do you conceive that effect would be? I think it would produce
very beneficial effects upon agriculture.
State your reasons for believing that agriculture will be benefited by sub¬
stituting inanimate for animal power, consuming the produce of the soil? I
conceive that agriculture is prosperous in proportion as the quantity of pro¬
duce brought to market exceeds the quantity expended in bringing it there.
If steam carriages be employed instead of carriages drawn by horses, it will
be because that mode of conveyance is found the cheapest. Cheapening the
carriage of the produce of the soil must necessarily diminish the quantity of
produce expended in bringing a given quantity to market, and will there¬
fore increase the nett surplus, which nett surplus constitutes the encourage¬
ment to agriculture. For example, if it requires the expenditure of two
hundred quarters of corn to raise four hundred, and the expenditure of one
hundred inore on carriage, to bring the four hundred to market, then the
net surplus will be one hundred. If, by the substitution of steam carriages,
you can bring the same quantity to market, with an expenditure of fifty
quarters, then your net surplus is increased from one hundred to one hun¬
dred and fifty quarters; and consequently, either the farmer's profit or the
landlord's rent increased in a corresponding proportion. There are many
tracts of land which cannot now be cultivated, because the quantity of pro¬
ducé expended in cultivation and in carriage exceeds the quantity which
that expenditure would bring to market. But if you diminish the quantity
expended in bringing a given quantity to market, then you may obtain a
nett surplus produce from such inferior soils, and consequently allow culti¬
vation to be extended over tracts which could not otherwise be tilled. On
the same principle, lowering the expense of carriage would enable you to
apply additional quantities of labor and capital to all the so>ls already under
cultivation. But it is not necessary to go into any illustrative examples to
explain this, it being a well known principle, that every improvement which
allows us to cultivate land of a quality which could not previously be culti¬
vated, also enables us to cultivate, in a higher manner, lands already under
tillage.
If horses were displaced from common roads, would not the demand for
oats, beans, and for pasture, be diminished, and land thereby be thrown out
of cultivation, and labor out of employment? If steam carriages were very
suddenly brought into use, and horses thereby displaced, I think the effect
stated in the question would be produced for a time; but, practically, steam
carriages can be introduced only very gradually, and the beneficial effect
[ Doc. No. 101. ]
131
'upon the profits of trade, by bringing agricultural produce more cheaply to
market, will tend to increase profits, to encourage industry, and to enlarge
the demand for labor; so that by this gradual process there will probably be
no period during which any land can actually be thrown out of cultivation,
the increasing population requiring all the food which horses would cease to
i consume. With respect to demand for labor, that demand consists of the
iquantity of food and raw materials which can be cheaply obtained; and as,
by the supposition, the displacing of horses will leave at liberty more food
;and more material, the demand for labor will ultimately be greatly increas¬
ed instead of being diminished. It has been supposed, I know not how
¡accurately, that there are employed on the common roads in Great Britain,
one million of horses, and a horse, it is calculated, consumes the food of
eight men. If steam carriages could ultimately be brought to such perfec¬
tion as entirely to supersede draught horses on the common roads, there
would be food and demand for eight millions of persons. But when we
'take further into consideration, that, lowering the expense of carriage would
enable us to extend cultivation over soils which cannot now be profitably
i tilled, and would have the further effect of enabling us to apply, with a
profit, additional portions of labor and capital to the soils already under
¡tillage, I think it not unfair to conclude, that, were elementary power on the
common roads completely to supersede draught horses, the population,
'wealth and power of Great Britain would at least be doubled.
There are soils which are stated to be so poor, that oats alone can be rais¬
ed upon them—would not the substitution of steam for horse power have the
effect of throwing out of employment the labor required for the cultivation
of such lands? If there are soils of such a peculiar quality that oats is the
only marketable product which they will yield, the persons employed in
'Cultivating those lands would certainly be thrown out of that particular
occupation; but the extension of tillage over other lands not of this pe-
■ culiar quality, would create a demand for labor which would much more than
absorb the persons thrown out from the culture of oats upon that land which
would grow nothing elsel But I doubt of there being any land which it is
profitable to cultivate, which would not raise some other agricultural produce
than oats either for man or cattle, for which the increasing population would
create a demand.
The general impression on the minds of the committee is, thatsteam car¬
riages will, at least for the present, rather be substituted for horses used in
conveying travellers, than for the conveyance of bulky articles. Do you
think that the substitution of steam in this manner will be injurious to agri¬
culture, and to the demand for labor without any adequate compensating ad¬
vantages? Upon the case supposed, namely, that steam carriages should be em¬
ployed in conveying passengers only, and the whole change to be affected in a
sudden manner, I think that there would, in the first instance, be a diminish¬
ed demand lor agricultural produce, but the following process would take
place. As the demand for agricultural produce was diminished, the price
of such produce would fall, food would become cheaper, and the cheapening
of food would benefit partly the laboring class and partly the capitalist—the
one obtaining higher real wages, and the other higher profits; this increase
in real wages and profits, would effect a great encouragement to manufac¬
turing industry, and would necessarily lead to an increase in. the manufac¬
turing population, and to the amount of capital employed in manufactures.
The consequence would be, that, after some degree of pressure upon agricul¬
ture, the increased number of human beings would create the same demand
132
[ Doc, No. 101. ]
for agricultural produce which the employment of horses formerly created.
So that even upon the extreme and most improbable supposition that steam,
carriages should never be employed in conveying agricultural produce to>
marketata cheaper rate, still the benefit tbthe country would be very great,
inasmuch as we should-have a vastly increased industrious population, andi
England would become much more extensively, than she is at present, the
great workshop of the world. In point of fact, superseding horses by me¬
chanical power, would have precisely the same effect in increasing the pop¬
ulation and wealth of England as would be produced were we to increase:
the extent of the country by adding thereto a new and fertile territory,
equal in extent to all the land which now breeds and feeds all the horses em¬
ployed upon common roads. Such addition to the extent of fertile territory
in England, suddenly affected, would, in the first instance, lower the value
of agricultural produce, and be injurious to the proprietors of the old por¬
tion of the territory, but no person would, therefore, contend that if we
could enlarge the island of Great Britian by additional tracts of fertile land,
the public interests would be injured by such enlargement: this would be
monstrously absurd. It is not less absurd to object to the increase of food
available for human beings, by substituting mechanical power for horses.
In addition to the advantages you have already anticipated from the in¬
troduction of steam conveyance, would not the increased speed and cheap¬
ness of intercourse occasion vast public benefits in which agricultural capi¬
talists and laborers must greatly partake? Certainly.
As it is impossible to conceive that steam should be generally substituted
for horses, and be confined only to the conveyance of travellers, and, as it
would necessarily be employed as vans and coaches are at present, for the
speedy conveyance of light goods as well as travellers, (by the hypothesis
steam carriages being cheaper than horse draft, or it would not be used,)
would not such cheapening of the conveyance of such goods have a consid¬
erable effect upon the demand for them, and thereby for labor and food? On
the principles that have been already stated with respect to agriculture, the
eost of bringing all things to market is comprised of the cost of production
and the cost of carriage. Reducing the cost of carriage is precisely the
same thing in its effects as reducing the immediate cost of production, con¬
sequently the conveyance of light goods by steam power must cheapen all
such goods to the consumers. This will necessarily enable them to con¬
sume a greater quantity of such goods, and the consumption of the greater
quantity will enlarge the demand for labor, call a larger manufacturing popu¬
lation into existence, and thereby re-act on agriculture by increasing the de¬
mand for food. This cheaper mode of internal carriage will not only lower
the price of light and refined manufactures to the home consumer, but will
lower their price also to the foreign consumer. This will increase the ad vanta¬
ges which weat present possess in the foreign market, and tend to increase our
foreign commerce. So that here again there will be an increased demand
for manufactures and fora manufacturing population, and here again will be
another beneficial re-action upon the soil. So that the more we contemplate
the various effects produced upon the industry of the country by a cheaper
mode of conveyance, the more we must be convinced that wealth and
population will be increased, and that agriculture, instead of being injured,
must necessarily partake in the increased prosperity of the country. In ad¬
dition to what'I have already stated, the saving of expense and of time in
conveying passengers and goods, and the rapidity of communication, will pro¬
duce effects, the amount of which it would be almost impossible to calculate.
[ Doc. No. 101. ]
133
APPENDIX.
APPENDIX A.
Answers to queries submitted by the committee to Mr. John Macneill.
c
Query 1. What is the greatest weight, in proportion to its own weight,
which any locomotive steam engine has been found capable of drawing upor
a railroad, and at what velocity?
In the first edition of Mr. Nicholas Wood's Treatise on Railroads, pub¬
lished in 1S25, he states that a locomotive engine, weighing tons, and
containing one ton of water, equal to li tons, dragged twelve loaded car¬
riages, each weighing 9,408lbs., up a plane ascending 134 inches in 1,164
feet, and also the conveying carriage, weighing 1$ tons, the wheels no1
slipping, the rails dry. .
He also gives the following experiments made on the Killingworth rail
road: The length of plane was 2,260 yards, with an ascent in one directior
of 6 feet 5 inches, not uniform, varying from a dead level, or slightly un
dulating, to an ascent in one place of 1 in 330. Edge rail, 21 inches broac
on the surface; carriages all the same construction, weighing 81$cwt. each
wheels 34 inches diameter, axles 2f inches diameter.
, I
Experiment 29.
Wheels, three feet; nine carriages, weighing 731$ cwt., were drawn uj
the plane fourteen times in 317 minutes, and fourteen times down theplam
in 258 minutes; distance traversed, 36 miles in 9-hours 35 minutes; coal
consumed, 2,534 lbs.; water, 890 gallons.
Experiment 30.
Wheels, four feet; nine carriages, weighing 731$ cwt., were driwn u]
the same plane nineteen times in 302 minutes, and nineteen times downthi
plane in 265 minutes; distance traversed, 48.8 miles in 9 hours 27 minutes
coals consumed, 2,534 lbs. ; water, 854 gallons.
Experiment 31.
Wheels, four feet; twelve carriages, weighing 975 cwt., were drawn u]
the plane nine times in 155 minutes, and nine times down in 133 minutes
Distance traversed, 23 miles in 4 hours 48 minutes; coals consumed, 1,54
lbs. ; water, 452 gallons.
Experiment 32.—( With a different locomotive engine.)
Wheels, three feet; nine carriages, weighing 731$ cwt., were drawn u¡
the same plane ten miles in 212 minutes, and ten times down in 180 minutes
Distance, 26 miles; time, 6 hours 32 minutes; coals consumed, 1,487 lbs.
water, 490 gallons.
134 [ Doc. No. 101. ]
Experiment 33.
Wheels, four feet; twelve carriages, weighing 975 cwt, were drawn up
the plane five times in 45 minutes 48 seconds, and five times down, in 40
minutes 26 seconds. Distance each journey, 2,002 yards. Total, 11.375
miles; distance passed over in the above time 1,663 yards each journey, or
0.45 miles; time, 1 hour 26 minutes 14 seconds; coals consumed, 587 lbs.;
water, 200 gallons.
In this experiment, the engine was allowed to traverse a given space, to
put the train of carriages into their proper velocity before the time was
noted; the time was then marked until the velocity was again checked at
the farther end of the stage. This will explain the difference between the
two distances stated in the experiment: the one was the whole distance,
from the commencement to the end of the stage; the other was that part of
the stage which the engine passed over when the regular velocity was ac¬
quired, and before it was again diminished at the end of the stage, to stop
the train; the time given, was that which transpired while the engine was
passing over that space, while the velocity was uniform, and may therefore
be taken as a measure of speed.
At page 281, Mr. Wood states: Upon a railroad near Newcastle, a loco¬
motive engine, in fifty-four weeks, conveyed 53,823 carriages of coals, each
weighing 9,438 lbs., 2,541 yards, and returned with the same number of
empty carriages, each weighing 3,472 lbs. This was in fifty four successive
weeks; and, in that time, exclusive of Sundays, the engine, from want of
goods to convey, was at least twenty days off work; so that in 304 days,
the performance was 446,815 tona conveyed one mile; or 1,470 tons one
mile each day, on a stage only 2,541 yards. The engine had three feet
wheels, which were calculated for a rate of about 4J miles per hour.
Mr. Rastrick, in his report to the directors of the Liverpool and Man¬
chester railway, dated January, 1829, gives the following table of the ab¬
solute quantity of work done by five different locomotive engines, when
reduced all to the same standard of five, eight, and ten miles per hour. The
carriages proportioned tö the weight of goods, in the same ratio as they were
proposed for the Liverpool and Manchester railway, and also of the work
that the ten-horse engine, proposed by him and Mr. Walker, would be ca¬
pable of doing:
TAULE.
—
At five miles per hour.
ENGINES.
RAILROADS.
Goods.
Car¬
riages.
Engine
and
tender.
Engine on six 4 7
feet wheels, >
(Hackworth.) 3
Stockton and 7
Darlington, 3
Tons.
47*
Tons.
231
Tons.
15
Engine on four 4 7
feet wheels, 5
Stockton and 7
Darlington, 5
34|
17}
12
Engine on four 4 ¿
feet 2 in. wheels, 3
Eillingworth 7
Colliery, 5
38
19
10}
Engine on four 3 7
feet wheels, 3
Hetton Colliery,
24*
12
10}
Engine on four 7
wheels, rack S-
rail, 3
Vliddleton 7
Colliery near >
Leeds, 3
22*
11
6*
IN SUMMEN.
Gross
weight.
Tona.
86}
64
67}
461
39}
At eight miles per hour.
Goods.
Tons.
26
*8*
21
12}
12*
Car¬
riages.
Engine
and
tender.
Tons.
Tons.
18
15
9t
12
10}
10}
6*
10}
6*
6*
Gross
weight.
Tons.
54
40
42
29*
24|
At ten miles per hour.
Goods.
Tons.
18*
13}
1'5}
Sf
Car¬
riages.
Tons.
9}
71
4}
4}
Engine
and
tender.
Tons.
15
12
10}
10}
6*
Gross
w'ght
Tons.
43*
32
32#
23}
19#
TABLE—Continued.
es
a
ENGINES.
lix 4}
'' I
rth. ) 3
Engine on six 4
feet wheels.
(Hackworth
Engine on four 4
feet wheels,
Engine on four 4
feet 2 in. wheels, 5
Engine on four 3
feet wheels,
Engine on four~
wheels, rack J
rail, '
RAILROADS.
Stockton and >
Darlington, $
Stockton and )
Darlington, J
Killingworth
Colliery,
Hetton Colliery,
Middleton j
Colliery near >
Leeds, )
IN WINTER.
At five miles per hour.
— m—
At eight miles per hour.
At ten miles per hour.
Goods.
Car¬
riages.
Engine
and
tender.
Gross
w'ght
Goods.
Car¬
riages.
Engine
and
tender.
Gross
weight.
Goods.
Car¬
riages.
Engine
and
tender.
Gross
weight.
Tons.
Tons.
Tons.
Tons.
Tons.
Tons.
Tons.
Tons.
Tons.
Tons.
Tons.
Tons.
401
20*
15
76
211
101
15
471
15*
71
15
38
281
14*
12
55*
15
7*
12
34*
10T4O
V.
12
27A
'TO
31*
15|
10*
57*
17
8*
10*
36
12
6*
10*
281
191
91
10*
40
9i
41
10*
25
6*
.3*
10*
20
19*
9*
6*
35
10*
5*
6*
21|
7*
31
6*
17*
[ Doc. No. 101. ]
137
The engines started for the premium of £500, on the Liverpool and Man¬
chester railway, in October, 1829, were the Rocket, Novelty, and Sans
Pareil.
The Rocket weighed - - 4 5 --") --Full speed, 30 miles
' tender, with water and coke 3 4-2 in 2h. 14m. 8s., equal to
two carriages, loaded - 9 10 3 26 >13T4ff per hour; back, 30
: miles, in 2h. 6m. 9s.;
17 _ _ _J equal to 14,ä0 per hour.
Sans Pareil—weight of engine 4 15 2 -
tender, with water and fuel 3 6 3 -
three carriages - • 1019 3 —
19 2 - -
--Full speed, 10$ miles
_ in 50m. 49s. equal to
>12yk per hour; back,
12 miles in 40m. 27s.;
equal to 15TJS per hour.
Novelty—weight of engine with ")
water in the boiler 5
tank, water and fuel -
two carriages,
3 1 -
- 16
6 17
- 14
10 14 - 14
- - Total time, 22m. 57s. ;
and distance run, 4$
miles.
N. B.—The railway was level, and about two miles in length, where the
experiments were made.
Querv 2. What may be considered as the greatest performance of loco¬
motive carriages previous to the Manchester and Liverpool railway being
opened?
Mr. Wood, in 1825, states, that the performance of the best locomotive
engine was equal to 40 tons, conveyed at the rate of six miles an hour; and
four years after, (in 1829,) Messrs. Rastrick and Walker have stated that
48$ tons, conveyed five miles an hour, or 19$ tons conveyed ten miles an
hour, was the greatest performance the directors of the Liverpool railway
could expect from them.
1 have seen some statements of experiments in which the effective work
was greater than the above; but I am inclined to think they could not be so
well depended on as those of Messrs. Wood, Rastrick, and Walker.
Query 3. What has been the greatest performance of any engine since
that period?
On the 23d of February, 1831, Mr. Robert Stephenson stated to the Sc^
ciety of Civil Engineers,, that the Northumbrian locomotive engine, weighing
6 tons 3 cwt., drew 50 tons up the inclined plane at Rainhill, at the average
rate of 7$ miles per hour: pressure of steam was 50 lbs. on the square inch.
The inclination of the ground at Rainhill is 1 in 96.
On the 1st of March, 1831, Mr. Locke stated that "the Samson" drew
a gross weight of 151 tons, in 30 wagons, (the nett weight being 107 tons,)
the whole distance from Liverpool to Manchester, in 2 hours 34 minutes,
including 13 minutes of stoppages. The diameter of the wheels was 4 feet
6 inches.
18
138
[ Doc. No. 101. J
On the 19th of April, 1831, Mr. Locke stated, that "the Samson" drew
up the inclined plane at Rainhill, about 44J tons, gross, of goods and wagons,
at the rate of about eight miles an hour.
Weight of the engine was 8§ tons; weight of tender, (which was full of
water,) 4 tons; making the total-weight of goods, wagons, engine, and ten¬
der, 57 tons; and, calculating the speed of the engine eight miles per hour,
she was exerting a force equal to 39 horse power.
He also stated that a new engine, " the Jupiter," had just been started.
From the 4th of March to 6th of April, she drew 226 wagons (only ten of
which were empty,) and 847 coaches, a total distance of 3,426 miles. In
one fortnight she made fifty journies, equal to 1,500 miles.
Diameter of cylinder, 11 inches; length of stroke, 16 inches; diameter
of the wheels, 5 feet. Value of such an engine, £700.
APPENDIX B.
Proposed scale for turnpike tolls on steam carriages.
Every carriage propelled by steam, or other elementary power, carrying
only fuel and engineers, and having the tires of the wheels less than
two inches and a half, and,
But if the carriage
draws or propels
another,
Cwt.
Cwt.
Weighing 5
and not exc'ding 10
a toll as
One horse not drawing
then as
One horse
Two
drawing
10
20
.
-
Two
20
30
-
Three
-
Three
30
40
-
F our
-
Four
40
50
.
Five
-
Fite
50
60
"
Six
■
Six
Above this weight an arbitrary toll, preventing its exceeding it on narrow
wheels.
If the tires of the wheels exceed three inches, the tolls should be about
one quarter less; and the weight, without injury, may extend to three tons
and a half. If the tires of the wheels are six inches wide, the tolls should
be about a third less, and the weight allowed to extend as far as four or five
tons.
£ Doc. No. 101. ]
139
APPENDIX C.
RETURN of all turnpike road bills which passed the House of Com¬
mons in session 1830-31, wherein any toll has been imposed on
carriages propelled by steam, or other mechanical contrivance, distin¬
guishing the amount of totl charged per horse on stage carriages,
vans, wagons, and cars, and the charge on steam carriages.
Bedfont road
Highgate and Whet¬
stone road
Norwich and Yarmouth
road
Walsall roads
Stretford road
Tunbridge Wells, and
Maresfield road
Birmingham & Broms-
grove road
Perry Bar and Hands-
worth road
Enfield Chase road -
Lemsford Mill road -
Linlithgowshire roads
Coventry, and Over
Whiteacre road
Watling Street road -
Pinwall Lane road
Worthing and Little- )
hampton road $
Leeds and Birstal road
Haslemere road
Macclesfield & Neth- )
er Tabley road )
Glamorganshire roads
Cleeve and Evesham
road
Pucklechurch roads -
Leicester and Welford
road
Lampeter roads
Llandovery and Llan- )
gadock road J
Stage coaches,
&c. per horse.
6d.
,6d.
4d. 5d. 6d.
Gd.
4d. 6d.
4¿d.
4$d. 6d. 8d.
6d.
6d. 7$d. 9d.
4d.
•2d. 3d. 4¿d.
4£d.
4^d.
4d.
7^d.
For 1 horse,
( Is. 6d.; two
) horses, 2s.; 3
. or 4 ditto, 4s.
Wagons, vans,
&c. according
to the breadth
of the wheels
per horse.
4d. 5d. 6d.
2£d. 3d. 4$d.
4£d. 6d. 8d.
3d. 4£d. 6d.
6d.
For 1 horse, 6d.
2 do. lOd.
3 do. 3s.
4 do. 4s.
5 do. 6s.
6 do. 8s.
3d.
2d. 3d. 4d.
4}d.
4d. 5d. 6d.
4¿d.
4d. 5d. 6d.
6d.
4d. 5d. 6d.
Sd.
6d. 7jd. 9d.
4Jd.
4Jd.
6d.
6d. 3d.
6d.
Gd.
9d.
9d.
6d.
Gd. 7¿d. 9d.
4jd.
3d. 3}d. 4d.
6d.
4jd. 5^d. 6d.
6d.
4¡¡d. 5jd. 6d.
Propelled by machinery.
Carriages with two
wheels.
Carriages
with four
wheels.
6d. per wheel for all
carriages.
Is. 6d.
2s. for all carriages.
2s.6d. for all carriages.
The same toll as if
drawn by 4 horses.
Íls. per ton weight for
all carriages.
( For locomotive en¬
gines drawing car¬
riages, 2s.; for steam
carriages for passen¬
gers, &.C., Is. 6d.
2s. 6d. for all carriages.
Is. for all carriages.
Is. 6d.
One penny per cwt.
for all carriages.
2s. 6d. for all carriages.
2s. 6d. for all carriages,
2s. 6d. for all carriages.
Íls. per wheel for all
carriages.
2s. per wheel for all
carriages.
Is.
Í9d. per wheel for all
carriages.
Is. 6d.
Is. 6d.
Is. per cwt
Is. for all carriages.
The same toll as if
drawn by 4 horses.
C The same toll as if
( drawn by 4 horses.
140
[ Doc. No. 101. ]
APPENDIX C—Continued.
Bathgate roads
Titchfield & Coeham )
road . J
Cheadle roads
Bruton roads
Coventry and Stony
Stanton road
Liverpool and Preston ¡
road <
Stage coaches,
&.c. per horse.
Is. 3d.
6d.
6d.
6d.
3d.
6d.
Wagons, vans,
&c. according
to the breadth
of the wheels
per horse.
f Fori horse,9d.
? if more than 1,
( 6d. per horse.
3d. 3fd. 4¿d.
4d. 5d. 9d.
4Jd. 6d. 74d. 9d.
4d. 5d. 6d.
' If drawn by 4
or 5 horses,Is.,
Is. 5d., 2s. 3d
I 2s. 5d. If by
I 2 or 3 horses
[4d., 6d.,8d.
Propelled by machinery.
Carriages with two
wheels
Í 2s. 9d. for all car-
< riages not exceeding
( 25 cwt.
< 2s. per wheel for all
( carriages.
5s. for all carriages.
4s. for all carriages.
2s.6d. for all carriages.
If not exceeding one
ton, 6d. per wheel;
and 6d. per wheel
for every further ton
weight.
APPENDIX D.
RETURN of all private bills which have passed the House of Com¬
mons, wherein any toll has been imposed on carriages propelled by
steam or other mechanical contrivance, distinguishing the amount
of toll charged per horse on stage carriages, vans, wagons, and cars,
and the charge on steam carriages.
Kidwelly roads
Lynn (east gate) road
Lynn (south gate) road
Handsworth road
Aylsham road
Cheltenham roads
Liverpool and Prescot )
road )
Abergavenny roads -
Stage coaches,
&c. per horse.
6d.
4d.
4d.
6d.
3d.
8d.
Is. 6d. and Is.
6d.
Wagons, vans,
&c. according
to the breadth
of the wheels.
4d. 5d. 6d.
3d. 3Jd. 4Jd.
3d. 3id. 44d.
6d. 8d. 9d.
2d.
6d. 8d. lOd. Is.
8d. 9d. Is.
Propelled by machinery.
Carriages with three,
or a less number of
wheels.
2s. for two-wheeled
carriages -
2s. 6d. for all carriages.
2s. 6d. for all carriages.
The same toll as if
drawn by 4 horses.
9d.
3s. for all carriages.
Sis. 6d. for every horse¬
power for all carriages.
The same toll as if
drawn by four horses.
Carriages
with four
£ Doc. No. 101. 3
APPENDIX D—Continued.
141
-Drogheda roads
St. Alban's road
Sunderland roads
Wisbech and Thorney
road
Frome roads
Huddersfield & Wood
head road
Wakefield and Auster
lands road
Monmouth roads
Wakefield Ings road
Stirlingshire roads
Exeter roads -
Teignmouth & Daw-
liBh road
Darlington road
Stage coaches,
&c. per horse.
6d.
6d.
4¿d.
6d.
6d.
Cd.
6d.
Sd.
3d.
Is. 3d.
8d. 9d.
If drawn by 2
or 3 horses,
8d.; if by 4
or more hor¬
ses, 6d.
If drawn by 2
or 1 horse,
10d.; if by 4
horses, 8d.
and if by 6
horses, 6d.
per horse.
Wagons, vans,
&c. according
to the breadth
of the wheels.
2d. 4d. 6d. Is.
3d. 4d. 9d. is.
3d. 3|d. 4Jd.
6d. 7d. 8d.
3d. 4d. 4Jd.
4d. 5d. 6d.
5d. 6d. 7d. Is.
Id. lid. 2d.
If not exceeding
25 cwt., 9d.; if
between 25 and
30 cwt. Id. in
addition, and
so in propor¬
tion.
If drawn by one
horse only, 9d.;
if by two or
more horses,
6d. per horse.
9d.
6d. 8d. lOd.
Propelled, by machinery.
Carriages with three,
or a less number of
wheels.
The same toll as if
drawn by two horses.
Is. 6d.
6d. for every horse pow¬
er for all carriages.
2s. for all carriages.
2s. 6d. for all carriages.
2s. 6d. for all carriages.
Is. 6d.
6d.
' 2s. 6d. for every car¬
riage not exceeding
25 cwt.; if between
25 and 30 cwt. Id.
per cwt. in addition,
and so in propor¬
tion.
If not exceeding one
ton, 6d. per wheel;
if more than one ton,
6d. per wheel in ad¬
dition, and 6d. per
wheel for every fur-
. ther ton weight.
If not exceeding one
ton, 6d. per wheel;
if more than one ton,
6d. per wheel in ad¬
dition, and 6d. per
wheel for every fur¬
ther ton weight.
Is.
Carriages
with four
or more
wheels.
Private Bill Office,
House of Commons, August 22, 1831.
EDW. JOHNSON.
APPENDIX E.
SCALE for fixing Tolls on the various kinds of Steam Carriages equivalent to Horse Coaches, calculated on the com¬
parative wear and tear of roads.
[Given in to the Committee by Mr. Gurnet.]
The following Scale of Proportions is taken from a trust where the tolls fixed are three pence for every horse drawing, and one penny not drawing-, and may
be applied to determine the tolls on any other trust, where the tolls are fixed at a higher or lower rate.
»
Every Steam Carriage with the tires of the wheels
under two inches and a half, and
Every Steam Carriage with the tires of the wheels
not less than four inches, and
Weighing
But not ex¬
ceeding
Shall pay a
toll, when
drawing
one car¬
riage on¬
ly, of
Not draw¬
ing any
carriage
W eighing
But not ex¬
ceeding
Shall paya
toll,when
drawing
one car¬
riage on-
ly, of
Not draw¬
ing
Weighing
But not ex¬
ceeding
Shall pay a
toll,when
drawing
one car¬
riage on¬
ly, of
Not draw¬
ing
Cwt.
Cwt.
s. d.
d.
Cwt.
Cwt.
s. d.
d.
Cwt.
Cwt.
s. d.
d.
5
10
0 3
1
10
20
0 4
1
20
30
0 3
1
10
20
0 6
2
20
30
0 6
14
30
40
0 5
14
20
30
0 9
3
30
40
0 8
2
40
50
0 7
2
30
40
1 0
4
40
50
0 10
3
50
60
0 9
24
40
50
1 3
5
50
60
1 0
4
60
70
0 11
3
50
60
1 6
6
60
70
\ 2
44
70
80
1 1
34
above 60
for every ex¬
above 70
for every ex¬
above 80
for every ex¬
tra 100 wt.
0 3
1
tra 100 wt.
0 2
i
tra 100 wt.
0 14
4
Every Steam Carriage with the tires of the wheels
not less than six inches, and
u
O
O
O
N. B.—The carriage and load drawn by the steam carriage, shall not exceed double the weight of the drawing carriage.
APPENDIX F.
EXTRACTS from Seventh Report of the Holyhead Road Commissioners, showing the number of lbs. required to
draw a wagon of the weight of 21 cwt. 8 lbs. at the rate of 2\ miles per hour.
Parts on which the experiments were tried.
No. 1.—Piccadilly Pavement:
From Strntton-streetto Devonshire House
Devonshire House to Dover-ötrcct
Dover-street to James-street *
St. James-street to Bond-street -
Bond-street to Burlington Arcade
Burlington Arcade to Albany-court
No. 2.—Archway Road:
Between toll-bar and new house on the right
Between new house and Depot No. 1
Between Depot No. 1, and Archway
Between Archway and lamp No. 11
Between eleventh and twelfth lamp posts -
Between twelfth and thirteenth lamp posts
Between thirteenth and fifteenth lamp posts
Between nineteenth and twenty-first lamp
posts
Between twenty-first and twenty-second
lamp posts
Between twenty-second lamp post and
M'Pherson's
Between Wellington inn and Whetstone-
road
«
o
g .
§
o-a
Rise, 1 in 114
Rise, 1 in 150
Ful!, 1 in 429
Rise, 1 in 245
Fall, 1 in 286
Horizontal «
Rise, 1 in 23
Rise, 1 in 23
Rise, 1 in 22
Rise, 1 in 49
Rise, 1 in 229
Horizontal •
Fall, 1 in 382
Rise, 1 in 27
Rise, 1 in 27
Rise, 1 in 3,437
Horizontal -
e
-G
a>
G
JÉ
tUD
O w
r: 0
cd
0)
■a
cd
ce
^ P
Oll
G
-a
0» «
"O
.2
G
cd
G
v- -2
0 Ë
r s
CD
'3
c
0
0
Ob
u
CA-.
O
<v
u
en C
cd
<
X¡ —i
— CU
CO
0
604
484
424
54
40
41j
173
163
171
115
7S
47
46
151
152
59
44
204
154
54
9
84
1024
1024
108
48
104
64
87
87
ö .2
- J=
O m-X
m s
¿ o «Ils
Ici
®i "5 £ -h 5
fi Sgl §J
40
33
43
45
484
414
704
604
63
67
674
47
624
64
65
584
44
OBSERVATIONS.
All the experiments were made in the middle of the
month of March, 1830, during dry weather.
Excellent, smooth, well laid pavement.
Ditto ditto.
Í Pavement uneven and worked into holes, the top of
the stones a good deal rounded, and the joints
opened.
This road lately repaired by putting on a cemented
foundation, and covering the fifteen middle feet
with broken Guernsey granite, six inches in thick¬
ness.
The surface not perfectly consolidated, and shaded
with trees.
On this portion Hartshill Was used instead of granite.
u
o
p
%
o
APPENDIX F—Continued.
Parts on which the experiments were tried.
Ño. 3.—Hockliffe and Stratford
Trust:
Near Fountain inn, Shenley
Near Talbot inn, north of Shenely
Flat, north side of Shenley
Ditto, near Speckland Hollow
Crown Hill ....
Ditto, near summit
Between Crown Hill and the tollbar
Flat between Two-mile Ash and Stony
Stratford
Near same place, tried back
No. 4.—Stratford and Dunchurch
Trust:
Flat between 65th mile-stone and brick
house
Between brick house and road to North¬
ampton
Over small embankment above brick house
Between sand pits and road to Stowe
Between road to Stowe and the Angel inn
Between hollow and 66th mile-stone
Between 66th mile-stone and summit of
hill
Rising next hill -
S =*
a
a
o
O -£J
tí
c ' œ.
-M G V
- o œ
1?°!
£ g" o
p, S '
i ë-i
m G
X> -3
Horizontal
Rise, 1 in 20$
Fall, 1 in 119
Horizontal
Rise, 1 in 45
Rise, 1 in 27
Rise, 1 in 66
Rise, 1 in 3,437
Fall, 1 in 3,437
Rise, 1 in 20
Rise, 1 in 21
Rise, 1 in 22$
Rise, 1 in 39
Rise, 1 in 71$
Rise, 1 in 31
Rise, 1 in 26
Rise, 1 in 50
a o
a \3
cr et
97
232
93
120
12S
136
115
60
57
270
292
343
123
95
130
145
90
' -a
l g
» ? 2 S «
O
115
19$
52$
87
35$
1
1
119
112
103
60$
33
76
91
47
g g -g
<v S
u
o °
f®J
«•s S
o
su «J
Jî C
"o í o
"G N
G -r-
•w £ »
.S3«
: 'S er £
97
117
112$
120
75$
49
79$
59
53
152
180
240 '
67$
62
54
54
43
observations.
All the experiments were made in the middle of the
month of March, 1830, during dry weather.
12 inches of limestone; low fences.
Ditto good foundation,firm and dry,
not worked in.
12 inches limestone; plantation south side.
11 inches pebble and limestone; plantation south side.
Í Embankment; paved foundation, covered with 10
inches of broken limestone.
12 inches limestone; no sub-pavement.
18 inches limestone; low fences, no trees.
Ditto
ditto.
u
O
O
6 inches limestone; low fences each side; trees and
high bank on west.
5$ inches limestone; high hedges, and bank on south¬
west.
6 inches limestone, high hedges, new stone, on a
week.
6 inches limestone; open and low fences.
5 inches limestone; open wide space between, low
fences.
3$ inches of Hartshill, and 2 inches of limestone, on
pitching.
3 inches ditto ditto over embankment.
5 inches
ditto
ditto through cutting.
[ Doc. No. 101. ]J
145
Extract from Mr. Telford's Report on the state of the Holyhead and
Liverpool Roads.
Being authorized by the commissioners to have the machine invented by
my assistant, Mr. Macneill, (for measuring the force of traction, or the la¬
bor of horses in drawing carriages,) completed, and also to have the several
districts of the Holyhead road in England tried by it, Mr. Macneill has
done so, and prepared a statement showing the results of the trials between
London and Shrewsbury, a distance of 153i miles.
The general results of these experiments* on different sorts of roads, are
as follows:
1. On well made pavement, the draught is - - 33 lbs.
2. On a broken stone surface on old flint road - - - 65
3. On a gravel road ------ 147
4. On a broken stone road, upon a rough pavement foundation 46
5. On a broken stone surface upon a bottoming of concrete,
formed of Parker's cement and gravel - - - 46
The general results of experiments made with a stage coach,t on the same
piece of road, on different inclinations, and at different rates of velocity, are
given, from which the following statement has been calculated:
Rate of inclination.
Rates of travelling.
Force required.
1
in
20
6
miles per hour
268 lbs.
* 1
in
26
6
<<
213
1
in
30
6
u
165
1
in
40
6
«
160
1
in
600
6
<<
111
1
in
20
8
«
296
1
in
26
8
«
219
1
in
30
8
a
196
1
in
40
8
a
166
1
in
600
8
<<
120 .
1
in
20
10
<<
318
1
in
26
10
«
225
1
in
30
10
«
200
1
in
40
10
a
172
1
in
600
10
a .
128
Having the results of these accurate trials to refer to, leaves it no longer
a matter of conjecture in what manner a road should be made to accomplish,
most effectually, the main object, that is, diminishing, to the greatest possible
degree, the labor of horses in draught.
* In making these experiments, a wagon, weighing about 21 cwt. was used,
t Weight of coach, exclusive of seven passengers, 18 cwt.
146 [ Doc. No. 101. "]
Although the observations of scientific persons have led to nèarly similar
conclusions, others have been in the habit of laying down rules for road-
making at variance with all the established laws of motion; it is satisfactory
to be able to produce a positive proof by actual experiment, of their opi¬
nions being wholly erroneous.
In this view, I consider Mr. Macneill's invention, for practical purposes
on a large scale, one of the most valuable that has been lately given to the
public.
DOCUMENTS
IN RELATION TO
THE COMPARATIVE MERITS OF CANALS AND RAILROADS,
SUBMITTED BT
ma. Howard, or rxartlahd,
AND APPENDED BY ORDER OP THE COMMITTEE ON INTERNAD IMPROVEMENTS
OF THE HOUSE OP REPRESENTATIVES.
r Doc. No. 101. 1
c
149
DOCUMENTS
relative to
The comparative merits of Canals and Railroads, submitted by Mr.
Howard, of Maryland.
Enoineer's Office, Baltimobk and Ohio Railroad,
Baltimore, March 5, 1832.
To Philip E. Thomas, President, fyc.
In accordance with thy request, I have read document No. 18, of the
House i of Representatives, 1st session 22d Congress, and now submit the
following report and accompanying documents on the subject of the relative
advantages of railroads and canals.
It is regretted that more time could not be allowed for the compiling of
statements and explanations with regard to the relative merits of canals and
railways. As it is, what can now be presented will be very limited and
brief, and much short of that which, it is conceived, the subject demands,
and far less of that of which it admits. We shall begin with the following
comparison of canals, railways, and turnpike roads, with regard to the effects
of the moving power upon them.
In document No. 18, (before mentioned,) page 190, after quoting from
N. Wood's Treatise on Railroads, éd. 1825, and from Tredgold's Treatise
of the same date, is the following paragraph, to wit:
It is proper to remark, that from Tredgold, as from other English trea¬
tises on railroads, passages may be extracted less favorable than the pre¬
ceding to the superiority of canals: but enough is here quoted to show the
uncertainty which hung over the question—whether canals or railroads
were to be preferred for the transportation of persons and property. No
two authors, scarcely, will be found to concur, precisely, in opinion on the
subject; nor the same author with himself."
In the first place, we may here remark, that the disagreement of authors
with each other, or with themselves, cannot be received as good evidence
against improvements either in mechanics or in modes of conveyance, any
more than difference of opinion, opposition, or even apparent inconsistency,
in the members of a legislative body, would be valid evidence against bills
or, amendments: for, otherwise, improvements in the one case, and amend¬
ments in the other, would be indefinitely postponed. The truth, however,
is, that public opinion will always be founded upon the facts, as they shall
be, from time to time, developed and shown to exist, with regard to all im¬
provements; and public opinion will seldom err. Turnpike roads, canals,
the steam engine, and steamboats, h aye each, in turn, in spite of powerful
opposition, received the sanction of public opinion. Railroads are now upon
the stage, and are being subjected to the same great and discriminating
ordeal; and when we reflect upon the magnificent results which their suc¬
cess, coupled with the application of steam, upon them, will produce, we
150
£ Doc. No. 101. ]
can neither wonder that their introduction should be opposed, nor doubt of
their triumph. #
The author of the document, whose object would appear mainly to have
been to determine Congress and the public in favor of the canal, and against
the railroad, here acknowledges that passages more favorable to the railroad
system exist in the works of those authors.
Now, what are the facts? The compiler of document No. 18 has quoted
from English works seven years old. Seven years is a long period, when
measured by the time elapsed since the application of railways to the pur¬
poses of general conveyance. Within this period, very great improve¬
ment have been effected, not only in the formation of railways, but in the
application to them of machinery, and motive power.
These improvements have been such as to double or treble the useful
effects, and even to quadruple the attainable velocity which had previously
been had upon railways. The relative friction, or traction, upo'n level rail¬
ways, in the year 1835, was set down by Tredgold at the T±Tth part of the
weight moved, and his table V.,* copied-on page 18.9, document No. 18, was
calculated accordingly; whilst Wpod, in his treatise of the same date, (1825,)
expressed his opinion, derived from experiments, to be, that the fraction
may be taken at the ^J0th.
Since that time, however, the common railway car, in England, has un¬
dergone improvements, and the friction is stated, in the second edition of
Nicholas Wood's Treatise on Railroads, London, 1831, to be the 5-j0th of
the weight. In this country, and on the Baltimore and Ohio railroad, seve-
* The following is the table, as given in Doc. 18.
A TABLE showing the effects of a power or force of traction of one hundred pounds, at differ
ent velocities, on Canals, Railroads, and Turnpike Roads.
Velocity of motion.
Load moved by a power of 100 lbs.
Miles per
hour.
'Feet per
second.
On a Canal.
Total mass
moved.
On a level Railway.
Useful Total mass
eftect. moved..
Useful
effect.
On a level Turnpike
road.
Total mass
moved.
Useful
effect.
24
3
i*
5
6
7
8
9
10
13.5
3 66
4 40
5.13
5.86
7.33
8.80
10.36
11.73
13.20
14.66
19.9
Lbs.
55,500
48,542
28,316
21,680
13,875
9,635
7,080
5,420
4,282
3,468
1,900
Lbs.
39,400
27,361
20,100
15,390
9,850
6,840
5.026
3,848
3,040
2,462
1 350
Lbs.
14 400
14.400
14,400
14,400
14,400
14,400
14.400
14,400
14,400
14,400
14,400
I.bs.
10,800
10.800
10 800
10,800
10,800
10.800
10,800
10,800
10,800.
10,800
10,800
Lbs.
1,800
1,800
1,800
1,800
1,800
1,800
1,800
1,800
1,800
1,800.
1,800
Lbs.
1,350
1,350
1,350
1,350
1,350
1,350
1,350
1,350
1,350
1,350
1,350
[ Doc. No. 101. 3
151
rat of the greatest recent improvements in railway cars have been made.
These have resulted from the formation and bringing into practical use, on
this road, two kinds of cars; one of which having friction wheels pendant
upon the ends of the axles of the road wheels, the other a plain, simple,
chilled box, with outside bearings and steel pointed journals; and from the
use of the cone and cylinder wheel. And there is no doubt that the Cars
in use on this railroad are by far the best extant, in Europe or America.
From a set of experiments made on the Baltimore and Ohio railroad,
the relative friction, or the force of traction on a level, will be, with a full
load, when the chilled box car is used, the -j-j-yth, and when the Winans'
friction car is employed, the ^|0th of the weight of the car and its load.
The experiments were made with two cars of each kind, and the results
just given are the averages. To meet practical imperfections, some allow¬
ance must be made; but there is no doubt, that, in practice, these ratios will
be the j-j^tli and the ^„th, at the least. The diameter of the wheel is 30
inches, and that of the axle, where it is subject to friction, 2 inches. If
the wheel should be enlarged to 36 inches, as will probably be the case, as
is now preferred in England, then the relative friction will be reduced in
the proportion of 36 : 30, and the ratios for the two cars will be -jyyth and
^Ij-th. Moreover, whilst it is believed that the diameter of the axle cannot
be reduced in the Winans' car, lest its attrition should prove injurious to
the friction wheel, yet it is otherwise with the chilled box car, and the
axle now employed for this car has a diameter of If inches. This, again,
has the effect of reducing the effect of the friction in proportion as 2 : If.
Hence, in the chilled box car, with 30 inch wheels, as now used on the
Baltimore and Ohio railroad, the traction on a level is the 5yTth, and, with
a 36 inch wheel, the -jyyth. And these may be set down, in practice, at the
d^handthe^th.
. The limits of practical perfection, then, of the two kinds of cars now in
use on the Baltimore and Ohio railroad, when wheels three feet in diameter
shall be employed, wij] be such, that, with the one, 1 lb. traction will draw
300 lbs., and with the other 450 lbs. Whilst, at present, as they are now
furnished on the Baltimore and Ohio railroad, with 30 inch wheels, 1 lb. will
draw 264 lbs. upon one car, and 400 lbs upon the other.
Through the perseverance of our ingenious countryman, Ross Winans,
the inventor, and the patronage of the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad Com¬
pany, the friction car has gradually assumed more fitting proportions and
consistency of parts, until it has arrived at a practical state that will ensure
its use upon railways. In all our comparisons, therefore, of great lines of
railway and canal, we are fully authorized to assume the traction necessary
with this car upon railways, when three feet wheels shall be used; but, as
hitherto, 24 feet wheels have been running upon the Baltimore and Ohio
railroad, and as it may be more satisfactory to some that the comparison, in
relation to friction, should not, in behalf of the railway system, contain any¬
thing not experimentally tested, we shall, for the present occasion, employ
the traction of the
With this measure, let us correct the Table V, page 189, of Doc. No. 18,
which Tredgold, seven years ago, formed with a view to his then opinion of
a traction ofsthe T^Tth, and we shall then see in what relation the effects of
a given power upon railways will stand, when compared with those upon
canals and turnpike roads.
152. £ Doc. No. 101. 3
TABLE V—Corrected.
A TABLE showing the effects of a power, or force of traction, of one
hundred pounds, at different velocities, on Canals, Railroads, and
Turnpike Roads. —
Velocity of motion.
Load moved at a
pcfwer of 100 lbs.
Miles per
Feet per
On a Cansl.
On a level Railway.
On a level Turnpike
hour.
second.
' road.
Tota! mas»
Useful
Total mass
Useful
Total mass
Useful
moved.
effect.
moved.
effect.
moved.
effect.
Cbs.
Lbs.
Lbs.
' Lbs.
Lbs.
Lbs.
n
3.66
55,500
39,400
40,000
30,000
1,800
1,550
o
4.40
ob, 542
27,361
40,COO
30.000
1,800
1,350
3j
5 13
28,315
20,100
40,000
30,000
1,800
1,350
4
5.86
21,680
15,390
40,000
30,000
1,800
' 1,350
5
7.33
13,875
9,850
40,000
30,000
1,800
1,350
6
8.80
9,635
6,840
40,000
30,000
1,800
1,350
7
10.26
7,080
5,026
40,000
30,000
1,800
1,350
8
11.73
5.420
3,8*8
40,000
30,000
1,800
1,350
9
13.20
4,282
3,040
40,000
30,000
1,800
1,350
10
14,66
3,468
2,462
40,000
30,000 ,
1,800
1,350
' 13.5
19.90
1,900
1,350
40,000
30,000
1,800
1,350
1 From an inspection of the corrected table, it will appear, that, when the
velocity is 3 miles per hour, (instead of 5 miles, as indicated in the former
table,) it requires less power on the railway than on the canal, to produce
an equal effect. From a strict calculation, it will be found that the power
required will be equal when the velocity is 2 miles per hour, or 4.2 feet
per second.
According to Tredgold, the maximum of useful effect of the labor of a
horse will be obtained from a duration of 6 hours of labor per day, at a ve¬
locity of 3 miles per hour, and the mean power of traction will be 125 lbs.
The railway will, therefore, have the advantage of the canal, at a rate of
speed best suited to the action of the horse. And it will also appear that
tíie effect on the railway is to that on the turnpike road as 22 to 1.
We see, therefore, that the comparison between canals and railroads is
vastly more favorable to the latter, than when Tredgold, in his treatise on
railroads, remarked, that, " recollecting that railroads are yet in an imper¬
fect state, while the united talents of our civil engineers have been chiefly
devoted to canals for about à century, we may confidently hope that there
is yet scope for improvement; and we may fairly infer, that, for new works,
railroads will, in nine cases out of ten, be better adapted for the public be¬
nefit than canals."
Seeing, therefore, that the improvements in railways and cars have been
such, that, with a velocity of 3 miles per hour, the effect is greater than on
a canal, and that, at higher, velocities, the effect will be vastly more decided
in favor of the railway, in consequence of the resistance in the canal increas¬
ing in a duplicate ratio of the velocities; and when we also reflect upon the
[ Doci No. 101. ]
153
very great improvements which have, in the last two or three years, been
made in the locomotive steam engine, and consider the paramount impor¬
tance of speed and certainty to a travelling and commercial people, more
especially in a-country of such extended surface as the United States, and
that this avenue of communication will be open throughout the year, in
winter as well as ¿n summer, shall we hesitate to say, what the author just
quoted would, under the same circumstances, undoubtedly say, that the rail¬
way should be preferred in ninety-nine cases out of a hundred?
As the late edition of Wood's Treatise on Railroads has not been men¬
tioned in Doc. No. IS, it is probable the compiler of that document had not
seen it. And, inasmuch, as the chapter which treats of the comparative
merits of canals and railways has been improved in this edition, and like¬
wise contains a commentary upon experiments said to have been made in
Scotland, tending to show the practicability of high velocities upon canals,
(See Doc. No. 18, page 31 to 34;) it is thought proper to give that short chap¬
ter at length; it is accordingly appended hereto, and marked No. 1.
In estimating this' chapter, however, a similar correction, though not to
the same amount, must be made, as has been applied to Tredgold's table V.
Owing to the improvements already mentioned, the canal although with
horses at a speed of two miles per hour, it is superior to the railroad so far
as regards the effective power of traction, yet, it is not so, in as great a pro¬
portion as 3 : 1, and instead of an equality of effect taking place at 3g miles
per hour, as Wood, has it, we have shown that the effect of the power of trac¬
tion with Winans' cars on a level railway, will be equal to that on a canal,
when the velocity upon each is very little more than 23 miles per hour; whilst,
at 3 miles per hour, the performance on the railway will evidently prepon-
* derate.
To show the performances of locomotive engines according to the state
of improvement which existed in the year 1830, and their comparison with
respect to the power of horses upon railroads, certain copies of tables, and
extracts from the same work, are also annexed, marked No. ¡i.
In the year 1828, the power of the locomotive engine wan no more than
sufficient to propel itself up an ascentofl in96, at therateof 10 miles per hour,
without dragging any load after it. In the course of two ye:ars after, how¬
ever, such were the improvements made in this engine, that it could draw
up that ascent, a train of cars, weighing, with their freight, 17 tons, at ten
miles per hour; at the same time, it could draw, on a level, at the same speed,
63,* torts; at 15 miles per hour, 30 tons; and at 20 miles per hour, 15 tons.
Of the cost of motive power.
According to Tredgold, the power of traction of an average horse, is
125 lb.; and his useful effect is a maximum, with a velocity of 3 miles per
hour, continued six hours in the day. The resistance with the Winans'car,
is the and the gross load for one horse will be 125 x 400=50,000 lb. =
22 tons, drawn 18 miles in a day. Deducting one-fourth part for the
weight of the c%rs, the freight will be 16(*0 tons drawn 18 miles per day.
But, as the most economical ratio of weight between that of a car and its load
is 1 : 3, and as the weight of a car to carry 3 tons, is 1 ton; we shall therefore,
on the present occasion, assume the proper weight of each car to be one ton3
and ils freight 3 tons, as a general rule upon great lines of railway. The
horse will not draw six of such cars when fully laden: his load must, there*
20
154
[ Doc. No. 101. ]
fore, be five cars, containing 15 tons of freight drawn 20 miles (and not 18
miles) in a day, equal to 300 tons drawn one mile in a day. •
One man may drive two horses, but we shall, at present, allow a man to
a hórse, and 5 cars. The average daily wages of a man will be about 80
cents, including board, and'the average cost of a horse, including harness
and every other expense, about 40 cents; of both together 120 cts.=^|g=|
of a cent per ton per mile.
The five Winans' cars will oost, In their construction, $750, and they will
probably have to be renewed after five years' use; at the end of which time
the materials will be worth $250; loss $500. The annual incidental repairs,
for five years, may be set down at $S0; and, supposing one third part of the
entire number of cars to be inactive at depots, sidings, and shops, then the
calculation of the expense attendant on these cars will be as follows:
1. Annuity to produce $500 in 5 years; interest a 5 per cent.
per annum, - - - - - $90 51
2. Interest on $750 at 6 percent - - - 45 00
3. Annual incidental repairs, - - - 80 00
4. Interest on spare cars, one-third, - - - 15 00
Amounting to - - - - - - $250 51
800 tons conveyed 1 mile in a day, for the year of 312 days, make
93,600'tons conveyed 1 mile, at an expense, for cars, equal to $230 51.
The expense per ton per mile will, therefore, be = a little less than
one-fourth of a cent, or, more exactly, .2461 of a cent
The consumption of oil with the Winans' car is exceedingly small, per¬
haps not so much as the one-twentieth of a cent per ton per mile, and the
summary will be as follows:
Cost of drivers and horses per ton per mile, - - = .4 cts.
Do of cars, ------ = .2461
Do of oil, - - - - - = .05
Amounting to • a .6961
or a little less than 7 mills per ton per mile, when one man drives one
horse.
It is, however, considered, practicable for each man to conduct two
horses, in which case half the wages of a man, or 40 cents per day, would be
deducted in the foregoing calculation, and the expense of transportation, in¬
cluding cars and oil, would then be 5| "mills per ton per mile.
If to these amounts we add 10 per cent to cover the pay of agents em¬
ployed to regulate the transportation and contingencies, which is conceived
to be ample on a line where much business is correctly carried on, there
will result 761-100 of a cent per ton per mile for the cost of transportation,
when each man drives one horse, and T49*o °f a cent per ton per mile, when
one man drives two horses; and the gain in the latter case will be 19 per
cent
It must be borne in mind that the foregoing estimates are predicated on the
assumption that common, or medium horses only, so far as regards their
power of traction, are to be employed, whilst the cost is enough to com¬
mand horses of a heavier draught, and yet sufficiently active for the pur¬
pose required.
Upon the Cumberland road, and, indeed, throughout from Baltimore to/
Wheeling, the turnpike road is very hilly. The maximum grade employed
[ Doc. No. 101. 3
155
in the location and construction of the road, was 5 degrees, equal to about
1 in 11 J, and there frequently occur stretches of road for miles together, as¬
cending mountains at an ascent of 1 in 12. Let us see what is here the ac¬
tual draught of a horse. The common load for a team of five horses is
4,500 pounds of freight, plus 3,000 pounds for weight of wagon, equal to
7,500 pounds, or 150 pounds per horse. The resistance on a level is the
T^lh of this, equal to 83 lbs., whilst the gravity on the ascent is the T'j, or
125 lbs. But the resistance in passing up the ascent is the sum of these, that is,
208 lbs. Moreover, the horse has, in addition to this, to overcome the
gravity of his own body, which, if he shall weigh 750 lbs. is™| = 62 lb. This
added, shows the force of traction to be really 270 lbs. when all the five
horses draw simultaneously, and equally, and the road is good. These con¬
ditions, however, are frequently not verified, and there is doubtless a ne¬
cessity in this service to employ horses that shall be capable of exerting a
muscular energy of 300 lbs at the least. Now, the proper constant working
energy of a horse, (and it is the same with mechanical agents, of all kinds,
including the steam engine) is the one half of his capable energy. See note,
p. 68, also p. 84, Tredgold's Treatise on Railroads, N. Y. ed. 1825. Con¬
sequently, the horses employed upon the Cumberland road, are capable of a
constant draught, during 8 hours each day, of 150 lbs. And this happens
to be the same as the horse power established by engineers as the unit of
measure in reckoning the power of the steam engine.
The time these horses employ in performing the trip from Baltimore to
Wheeling, 266 miles, over this hilly road, is usually 15 days, averaging 18
miles per day; and they could, with equal, if not greater ease, travel 20
miles per day, on a railroad, with the same draught Upon the level parts
of the railway, the horse could occasionally take advantage of the momen¬
tum of the load, and relax his traces, whilst, upon the descending parts, his
load would at all times be less than ordinary? and where the descent was 15
to 20 feet per mile, he would be entirely free from draught, inasmuch
as the gravity would equal, and perhaps exceed the friction of the cars.
Moreover, upon the railway, he would be entirely relieved from holding
back, for, in case the gravity upon a descending part of the way should Ex¬
ceed the friction, the conductor of the train would apply the brake, and ef¬
fectually regulate the motion of the cars; and, we may remark, by the way,
that, upon a canal, the draught is necessarily almost a contant tug, and does
not admit of relaxation without coming to a pause, when there is a loss of
time; added to this, the animal has to draw at the end of a long elastic rope
not parallel to the direction of motion, thereby suffering a partial distress,
together with a loss of effective power in the ratio of the co-sine to the sine
of the deviating an'gle.
We see reasons, therefore, for the conclusion that, in general, the horse
will work and thrive belter in operating upon a railway than in tugging upon
the tow path of a canal.
Having shown that the horses employed upon the Cumberland turnpike
road are competent to a traction of 150 lbs. each, and that they could exert
this force for 20 miles a day on a railroad, we will next compare their power
with that counted upon in the preceding estimates in relation to horsé power
upon the railway. We there assumed the working power to be 125 lbs.;
tence, the double of this, or 250 lbs. will be the muscular energy of this
orse. He would, therefore, not be bo powerful by 20 per cent, as one of
156
[ Doc. No. 101. 3
those which have to work upon our turnpike roads, and he would be entirely
inadequate to the work that has there to be performed.
Unless the railway, therefore, is exactly level, there will be a decided
advantage in using the more powerful horse, since he will be able, with the
same train, to surmount ascents that, with the weaker horse, would be im¬
practicable. At the same time, it is not recommended that the stronger
horse, though able to draw six cars, should be made to draw a train of more
than five, on a level, inasmuch as he would be able, with this load, to tra¬
verse occasional ascents of from 15 to 20 feet per mile, whilst his speed
would be somewhat augmented on the level parts, in order to compensate
there for his want of a full load. It is proper to state, however, that the
load of this description of horse being precisely the load of the other aug¬
mented by one-fifth of it, that is, six laden cars, the useful effect, when mea¬
sured as it should be by the relative cost of transportation, will exhibit a gain
of ten per cent, since, in pursuing the calculation, the cost in the case where
one man attends one horse is found to be the of a cent per ton per mile,
inclusive of agencies and contingencies. There cannot be a doubt, there¬
fore, that upon a railway that shall undulate in its grade within the limits
«f 20 or even 30 feet per mile, the transit will be effected with horses at a
cost varying very little, if any, from three-fourths of a;cent per ton per mile;
and, in all cases where the descent of the line shall be'in the direction of the
movement of the greater tonnage, as will often be the case, the cost may be
reduced even to 5 a cent. This is the result when each man drives but one
horse, but if one driver shall conduct two horses, the three-fourths will be
reduced to three-fifths of a cent per ton a mile.
Upon the whole, therefore, and considering that the cost of subsistence
and labor will continue to be cheaper in the interior of the cbuntry than is
here calculated upon, there does not appear any valid reason to estimate the
cost of transportation of commodities by means of horse power, at a rate per
ton per mile greater than three-fourths of a cent.
It is true, ihat to effect this result, the railway, the machinery, and the
management must be good. But what object is there, to which the atten¬
tion of man is properly and lawfully directed, that does not merit, if it does
not absolutely require industry and systematic attention? In Doc. No. IS,
herein before referred to, in the letter from Benjamin Wright, civil engi¬
neer, is this sentence, p. 174, to wit: "But the great advantage a canal
will always have over a railroad, consists in the little mind or thought that
is required to use it:" an objection, which, no doubt, canals themselves
had once to encounter, and which would be equally valid against the steam
engine, steamboats, and a host of other splendid inventions and improve¬
ments; if, indeed, it does not (though certainly unintentionally) strike at the
root of all advancement in the application of science and the arts to the im¬
provement of our physical and mental condition. Are our countrymen pre¬
pared for this objection? Shall a people who have assumed the responsi¬
bility of self-government, and, in consequence, have become a great nation,
refuse to applaud the genius of their Fulton, and demur at the further ad¬
vancement of their country in the mighty march of improvement, in order
to repose ingloriously in littleness of thought and inactivity of mind? Cer¬
tainly not. The genius of the people forbids it, and the age forbids iL
Judge Wright thinks he is probably in the minority in the United States
on the question between railroads and canals, and that the public mind doe-
not take all circumstances and bearings into consideration when they unders
[ Doc. No. 101. ]
157
take to give opinions. He says, also, (p. 174) in the case of the Baltimore
and Ohio railroad " we are kept in the dark about wear and tear."
The expression " kept in the dark," seems to imply a belief in the mind
of the respectable writer, that all was not as it should be; that something
was kept hidden that ought to be divulged or communicated to the public.
Now, the fact is, the company have never yet been prepared, nor have their
works been so advanced or matured, as to enable them to make definite and
official statements of wear and tear to the public in their annual reports,
that could be relied upon in determining important principles, much less of
exhibiting practical results that should fix the precise amount or relative
degree of wear and tear. And, until they can make statements which are
not calculated to mislead, and which shall be freed from the contingencies
incident to a new work of a comparatively new description, and from the
expenses incident to the bringing to practical perfection of two new kinds
of cars that it is believed will be found superior to all others hitherto em¬
ployed upon railways, they will no doubt be excused. It is conceived that
the public will be much less interested in knowing the amount expended in
the inventing and perfecting of a machine, than in its powers and the ex¬
penses attendant upon its employ when brought into practical use. Never¬
theless, I have, on the present occasion, given an approximate estimate, ac¬
cording to the best of my judgment, of the probable practical cost of the
Winans' car, and its wear and tear, and this wili be the most expensive of the
two kinds, not only in the construction, but in the wear and tear.
With regard to the criticism preferred in pages 19S, 199, of Doc. 18, in
relation to the expenses of transportation on the first 13 miles of the Balti¬
more and Ohio railroad, as stated in the 5th annual report of the company,
in which the passengers are rated at 12 to the ton, and, after adding the ton¬
nage thus made out, to that of the commodities calculated from the actual
expenses incurred, the author infers that the cost of moving power is more
than 4í cents per ton a mile. It may be remarked, that the expenses in the
incipient stages of all new works, will range far above the average of what
they will be when every thing comes to be regular and systematic. But,
in this instance, the result is as unfavorable as can well be conceived, inasmuch
as, coupled with the disadvantages already alluded to, a much greater number
of men and horses had to be kept in pay and on hand than were sufficient
to afford the effective power exerted in the nine months. As the weather
was fine or otherwise, the passengers of pleasure were numerous or none at
all; yet, still, establishments had to be every day maintained to the extent
adequate to the demand of any day. But, further, in consequence of pas¬
sengers not being paid for by the ton, it does not appear fair to bring this item
to the standard of so much per ton per mile; and, what is of so much conse¬
quence with regard to this deduction, is, that it should be recollected that
much the greater part of the gross tonnage was conveyed by horses at the speed
of ten miles per hour. Now, the effect of a high velocity with a horse in
lessening his useful effect is very great. In table VI. p. 169, Tredgold's
treatise, already referred to, it is shown that the useful effect of a horse,
when working on canals, at ten miles per hour, is only the T'T of that which
it would b'e with a velocity of miles per hour, whilst, on railways and
turnpike roads, it would he the one-fourth part. We see, therefore, that
although the action of the horse has such a decided advantage upon the rail¬
way over that upon the canal when the velocities are considerable; yet,
even upon the railway, his useful effect, when he is put at a speed of ten
158
[ Doc. No. 101. 3
miles per hour, is diminished three-fourths; and, consequently, the expenses
of transit would become increased in the proportion as 4 :1, beyond what
they would be with a velocity of two and a half miles per hour.
When these things shall be taken into the account, as it is not doubted
they will be by the public, it will be conceded that the results afford no just
ground for the disparagement of the railroad system.
It may likewise be stated, that, although the passengers were almost alto¬
gether conveyed in carriages made upon the Winans' friction wheel princi¬
ple, it was otherwise with the freight; much the greater portion of which
was conveyed in the chilled-box car. Now it has been shown, that the
friction of the first car is to that of the last as 4J0 : We have also
shown, that, with the Winans' car, a horse will draw 300 tons, one mile in
a day. Consequently, by proportion, as 400 : 264:: 300 tons: 198—the
effective daily work of a horse with chilled box cars, so far as depends upon
the friction. But, upon making a strict estimate, proportioning the num¬
ber of cars in the train, and making allowance for the lesser weight of this
car in proportion to its strength, we find the effective power of a horse to be
220 tons drawn one mile in a day; and it will be recollected that the report
of W. Woodville, the superintendent of transportation, gives 227è tons.
Although the whole annual charge attendant upon these cars, embracing
repairs, renewals of interest on capital, will not be far from $30 for the
chilled box car, to $45 for that having friction wheels, supposing two-thirds
of their number to traverse 20 miles in a day for 312 days, or 6,240 miles
in the year, whilst the residue of the cars shall be stationary for the pur¬
pose of repairing, or for other cause; nevertheless, it is conceived that the
cost of transportation has been enhanced to an amount beyond what it would
have been with the exclusive use of the friction car in the state of compara¬
tive durability to which it has recently been brought.
The railway owned by the Lehigh Coal and Navigation Company, at Mauch
Chunk, in Pennsylvania, (see Doc. No 18, pages 8, 163 to 173, 178, 199,
201, 211, and 216,) has been, it would seem, much relied upon, not only
by the ingenious and respectable superintendent himself, but likewise by the
author of the document just recited, as a standard whereby to test the com¬
parative merits of railways and canals. In proof of this, we cannot have bet¬
ter evidence in the one case than the fact that, instead ol continuing the rail¬
way down the side of the river Lehigh, from Mauch Chunk to the Dela¬
ware, at Easton, a distance of 463 miles, upon a descent, in favor of the
trade, of about S feet per mile, a canal and river navigation has been formed,
at an expense of $1,55S,000, or 833,326 per mile; or, in the other case,
than the prominent array of pages in which this railway finds notice in the
document.
We shall endeavor to show that the Mauch Chunk railway is not only a
peculiar one, but that the results upon it should, in no wise, be held up as a
precedent, or as a test of the railway system, much less as an argument in
the comparison of that system with canals, unless, indeed, due allowance is
made for all the conditions which are peculiar to it, or to those similarly
circumstanced.
From the summit near the mines, to the head of the chute of inclined
plane at Maych Chunk, the distance by the railway is 8 miles, with a descent
of 767 feet; the descent is nearly uniform, and is, therefore, at the rate of
96 feet per mile, or 1 in 55.
\ "
£ Doc. No. 101. 3 159
»'
In his official report to the board of managers, dated Philadelphia, 1st
mo. «12th, 1829, the superintendent observes: "Perhaps some remarks on
our experience with our railroad, on which has been transported upwards
of 60,000 tons, may settle the question with some of our stockholders, who
have doubted the policy of canaling the valley of the Lehigh, in place of
making a railroad." (See Doc. iNo. 18, p. 164.)
The following estimate, after some remarks regarding the Erie canal, is
then presented, to wit:
" Cost of transportation on our^Railroad for the year 1828.
" Mules and horses cost 1$ cents per ton per mile.
"Hands, - lj do do
" Repairing wagons, 4 do do
" Oil for do £ do do
" Total, cents Per ton Per niile."
The superintendent, it appears, has also published estimates, &c. in the
Mauch Chunk Courier, under date of the 5th mo. 20th, 1830, in which he
states the cost of mules and drivers for the year 1829, to have been about
2 cents per ton per mile, being a saving over that of the previous year of
two-thirds of a cent per ton per mile. The statement proceeds to show tbafy
at the date last mentioned, a further economy, to about the same amount, had
been realized; for that the mules and drivers were then estimated to cost
only Ii cts. per ton per mile. The statement is as follows: (See p. 170,
Doc. Ño. 18.) '
' " Cost of hands and animal power, from the summit to the end of the
" road, descending all the way.
"28.mules go two trips a day, and draw up 42 coal and 7 mule wagons,
(to carry down the mules) each trip, &c. going 32 miles a day; the 42,wagons
.each carry 33 cwt. coal each trip; total 134 tons.
" 2S mules at 33 cents a day = $9.24
" 4 drivers 90 do = 3.60
"$12.84-r-134=10 cts.
" for 8 miles, or li cents per ton per mile."
The cost of this heavy item, has, therefore, according to the document,
been, through good management, decreased, since the year 1S2S, about 50
per cent. Ñor will this be deemed extraordinary, when we reflect that it
is impossible for the human mind to embrace, in advance, so as to provide
for every contingent circumstance that will have a bearing on the economi¬
cal management of a new work. It is obviously unfair, therefore, to mea¬
sure the value of a whole system by a standard so distorted and monstrous
as that generally afforded by first experiments.
We shall now proceed briefly, upon scientific principles, to test the value
of the descent by gravity, which, it seems, (p. 165) in comparing the cost
of transit upon it, with that upon canals, is to be reckoned one of " the fa¬
vorable circumstances attending that road," inasmuch, as " being located
upon a plane descending in the direction of the load, and requiring no expen¬
sive or complicated machinery in its use, [it] approximates, io facility ol
istrant, to a small canal," (pages 163-4.)
160
[ Doc. No. 101. ]
Forty-two wagons laden with 67 tons of coal, and 7 wagons carrying 28
mules, descend by their gravity, conducted by 4 men, who, with the brakes,
regulate the speed.; otherwise, the distance being 8 miles, and rate of de¬
scent 1 in 55, the velocity would become ruinously great. The descent
having been performed in about II hours, the four drivers return through
the S miles up the ascent of I in 55, with the 49 wagons; that is, 21 mules draw
42 empty coal wagons, and the remaining 7 mules ascend with the 7 mule
wagons. In order that this round shall be repeated in the day, so as to
transport 134 tons of coal daily, the ascent has to be performed at the rate
of about 4 miles per hour, for two hSurs; so that the two entire trips over a
distance of 32 miles, are performed, as the day's work should be, in 8 hours;
making allowance for detentions at each end of the road, and at the half¬
way station, where, it being a single railway, the trains have to pass each
other.
The labor performed by each mule in a day, in addition to the muscular
exertions necessary to his own exertion on a level, is therefore the sum of
the forces required to overcome, his own gravity, together with the gravity
and friction of two empty coal wagons, on 16 miles of railway, ascending
1 in 55, and at a speed of 4 miles per hour. The way is much curved, and
some of the curvatures have a radius not exceeding about 160 feet, and there
is considerable flange friction. The wagons work with inside bearings and
have wheels two feet in diameter. They have about the same model as the
English coal wagons with which Tredgold was conversant, and consequent¬
ly about the same amount of friction, to wit: the ,i_th.
If the weight of the empty wagon was one-third of that of its load
(32 cwt. = 3,584 lbs.) it would be about 1,200 lbs. ; but, in the smaller wagons,
this ratio cannot well be attained: we shall, therefore, in the absence of pre¬
cise information on this head, assume it at 1,300 lbs. A mule that will
perform the work of an average horse, is lighter than the horse, ,and his
weight may be about 550 lbs.
Gravity of the mule = 550 divided by ¿5 - = 10 lbs.
Gravity of 2 wagons =2,600 divided by 55 - = 471
Friction of do =2,600 divided by 144 - =18
Gravity and friction of 1 mule and 2 empty wagons = 751
This will be reduced to its equivalent, with a velocity of 2è miles an hour,
thus:
2i : 4 :: 751 ; 120è lbs. = the draught of each mule at 2\ miles per hour
16 miles in a day, which is somewhat less than 125 lbs. the draught allowed
for a medium horse 18 miles in a day. The difference is probably made up
in a small increase of the friction, beyond T-~, or it may be that, owing to
the manner of working, the effect is, nevertheless, equivalent to 125 lbs.
under other circumstances. The difference, however, is small.
We have calculated what the grade of the road should be, that the trac¬
tion necessarily employed in returning with the empty wagons shall be pre¬
cisely the same in amount as that used in drawing the loaded wagons, and
find it to be about 21 feet per mile, or 1 in 253. At this grade, a horse'of
medium strength, or a mule, if that animal is preferred, will draw nine wa¬
gons, as will appear by the following calculation, which will, at the same
time, show the force of traction to be the same in either direction. To ob¬
tain a correct result in the other case, we took into the account of the gravity
of the agent or mule, and we shall do so here likewise.
[ Doc. No. 101. ]
161
3584x1300=4884 lbs. wt. of one wagon and its load, and tbe weight
of the train of 9 wagons is 43,956 lbs. subject to friction, plus 550 lbs. the
wt of mule gives 44,506 lbs. the weight of the entire mass in motion in the
descending course, and subject to gravity.
Friction = 43,956 divided by 144 = 306
Gravity = 44,506 divided by 253=176.
Take the difference (for the gravity aids,) 130.
There remains, therefore, 130 lbs. traction for the work of the animal.
In ascending, the nine empty wagons will weigh 11,700 lbs. subject to
friction, plus 550 lbs. for the mule= 12,250 lbs., the whole weight in motion,
tnd is retarded by gravity.
Friction= 11,700 divided by 144=81 lbs.
Gravity= 12,250 divided by 253=49
The sum of which is - 130
and the traction, or force exerted, is the same in ascending, as it will be in
descending.
The force of 130 lbs. has to be exerted for 16 miles in a day, and this
is equivalent to a force of traction of 116 lbs. 18 miles in a day; for
18 : 16 :: 130 : 116. Consequently, this exertion is within that usually reck¬
oned as the day's work of a medium horse.
In this arrangement, the animal makes but one trip in a day, to wit: he
travels eight miles down the inclination with the loaded train of nine wa¬
gons, and on the same day he is made to return 8 miles up the ascent with the
train of nine empty wagons: thus, each animal transports 9 wagon loads of
coal in a day, and 28 mules will convey 250 loads in a day.
In the actual arrangement, however, the 2S mules make two trips in a day,
each trip conveying 42 wagons, that is 84 wagon loads per day.
We see, therefore, that, as the road is actually graded, and, notwithstand¬
ing that the laden wagons descend by their gravity, and that the mules ride
in the bargain, yet the animal power, under these circumstances, has only
the one-third part of the useful effect that it would have if the line had
been graded to-the best advantage for such a railway.
Consequently, the power costs threefold what it would then do: added to
this, the outlay upon the mule wagons, together with their wear and tear,
and their action upon the railway itself, would likewise be saved. And yet,
these are the practical results attendant upon the use of a railway that is to
give tone to the opposition raised against the whole railway system, when
any part of that system conflicts with a canal!
With respect to the wear and tear of wagons, which, upon this road, is report¬
ed at two-thirds of a cent per ton per mile, (p. 16S, Doc. No. IS,) it must be
borne in mind that the cost is estimated on the distance through which the
coal is conveyed; which is only one half of that traversed by the wagons,
these having to return empty; consequently, the wear and tear of the wa¬
gons, in returning, is that much more added to the cost of transportation
per ton of freight, than it would be if the wagons were laden in both direc¬
tions. Again: the cost of wagons upon this road is also enhanced, very con¬
siderably, by the mule wagons, since the transportation istaxed with the wear
and tear of one mule wagon in running 16 miles for every 8 miles passed
over by the coal conveyed in 6 coal wagons, and, likewise, by that occasion¬
ed from carrying the mules 8 miles. We must further observe, that this
estimate was given as the wear and tear that occurred in the year 1828, 'and,
21
163
[ Bjoc. No# 101. ]
therefore, it is augmented by the effects consequent on the high velocities .
which were employed upon this road in that year. It is not doubted that the
causes here mentioned, without supposing any want in the general economy
of the concern, either as respects the plans or the constructions, are altogether
sufficient to account for this item being more than one-fourth of a cent per
ton per mile. With respect to the effects of the high velocity which swell
this estimate, as well as that of the cost of repairs of the railway—see " ex¬
tracts from letters of Mr. White to a distant correspondent, Mauch Chunk,
3d mo. 5th, 1830," (p. 171-2, Doc. No. 18.)
Much reliance has been placed upon the experience with regard to the inju¬
rious effects that resulted from the high velocities of 20 to 30 miles an hour,
which were employed in the descent upon this road during two months of
the year 1828, and conslusions are drawn from thence against the practicability
and expediency of high velocities upon all railways. Now, this is a rail¬
way on a very limited scble, peculiarly circumstanced, and very cheaply
constructed. The way is very narrow, being only three aud a half feet in
width between the rails, the wagons are consequently narrow in proportion, the
wheels are only two feet in diameter, and some of them, those of the mule
wagons, for instance, only 20 inches, whilst the track is very much curved,
even with a radius of 160 feet; the iron bars constituting the rails, are thin,
narrow, and short, having a thickness-of three-eighths, and various widths of
from 1^ to 2 inches, and they were laid upon cheap wood, which yielded to
the pressure. The cheapness of the construction is indicated by the cost,
being only S3,050 per mile, inclusive of the graduation of those parts that
were not laid upon an old turnpike. The wheels were not coned so as to
suit the curvatures, nor so as to prevent the flanges of the wheels from act¬
ing against the rails to the manifest injury of the wheels and railway. The
ceutrifugal force in these curvatures with such velocities, doubling the heads
of deep ravines, and whirling round the abrupt protuberances from the pre¬
cipitous mountain side, was awfully great upon this road, as we have more
than once personally experienced. The number of revolutions for wheels so
small in diameter, was, by far, too great for the useful durability of the parts
subject to attrition, unless the journals and boxes had been protected from
dust, and otherwise constructed in theyery best manner—conditions which
cannot have place, it is believed, with bearings inside of the wheels. Nor
would any velocity secure the advantage of a third trip upon this road in the
same day. Viewing all these conditions, we should think it exceedingly
evident; that rashness itself would scarcely contend for the higher velocities
here that could safely and profitably be maintained where every part should
be planned and formed upon correct scientific principles, with a view to such
a result. And where, but in the want of information with regard to the phi¬
losophy of motion and forces upon railways, are we to look for a charita¬
ble reason, why the little peculiar railway under consideration, and the ope¬
rations upon it, should be used as a measure in estimating the value of rail¬
ways, and the degree of speed admissible upon them?
In the first place, the Mauch Chunk railway is located and constructed
and traversed in a manner rendering it impossible that it should approximate,
in its effects, to any thing beyond those of " a small canal" and its use is
suspended nearly one half of the year, in consequence of the canal, to which
it is made only an aid, being unnavigable from the effects of frost in that
mountain region, or for repairs. In a word, the fate of this railway has
been predetermined to be such, that it can at best only belong to a grade of
mprovement ranging between turnpike roads and canals; and, in the next
i
[ Doc. Np. 101. 3
103
' place, we are told with emphasis that in its use it approximates to that of
" a small canal," and that, in general, railroads must be considered as oc¬
cupying a place intermediate between canals and turnpike roads.
The useful effect of a horse on the Cumberland turnpike road, of a mule
1 on the Mauch Chunk railway, and of a horse on the Baltimore and Ohio
railroad, taking the latter as reported by W. Woodville, the agent of trans¬
portation, and performed chiefly with the chilled-box car, wilt be respec¬
tively 7i tons, 38i tons, and 227i tons, drawn one mile in a day; being in
the ratio of the three numbers, 1, 5è, and 31J; from which it will appear—
1st. That the animal force of traction is rather more than five times as
effective on the Mauch Chunk railway, as it is on the turnpike road between
Baltimore and Wheeling, whilst, on the Baltimore and Ohio railroad, it is
31 times as effective. *
2d. That these effects are about 6 (times as great on the Baltimore and
Ohio railroad as they are on the Mauch Chunk railway; that a mean be¬
tween the Baltimore and Ohio railroad apd that turnpike being 122 tons,
conveyed one mile in a day, therefore the Mauch Chunk railway, in this
respect, scarcely reaches to one-third of that mean.
In dismissing this branch of the inquiry, we think it proper to state,
distinctly, that it has been no part of our purpose to endeavor to show that
the. affairs of the Lehigh coal and navigation company have been mis-
managed. Far from it. As pioneers in the cause of internal improve¬
ment, they have done much, and their efforts should be duly appreciated.
Our purpose has only been to exercise our limited efforts defensively, after
being driven, as it were, "to the wall," in document No. 18, publish¬
ed and circulated throughout the Union at the public expense, (the right
or propriety of which we do not question,) in essaying to make it evidently
appear that, whether this railway had been located, constructed, and man¬
aged, properly or improperly, scientifically or otherwise, yet the facts attend¬
ant upon it were such as by no means to justify the erroneous conclusions
which we apprehended might possibly, if left unnoticed, be drawn from the
numerous quotations and remarks in relation to this railway, which appear
in that document.
The period fixed upon for the duration of wagons upon the Mauch Chunk
railway, is four years, as appears in document No. 18, page 170. In our
estimate of cars, however, for great lines of railway, we have predicated the
amount-of cost upon superior plans of construction, and which, it is confi-
, dently believed, will ensure more durability, and have assigned five years
as the limit of duration. We have estimated the annual expense accord¬
ingly, at the same time having due regard to practicability. It may be
pertinent here to state that, in the autumn of 1830, we visited the line of the
railway of the Delaware and Hudson Canal Company, situated in Pennsyl¬
vania, and observed the operations upon it. At Carbondale, we were par¬
ticularly informed by the engineer and the superintendent in relation to
the cost of repairs in the wagon department. Each wagon carried 2| tons
of coal; had 3 feet wheels and inside bearings, the body resting upon the axles
by means of cast iron chairs or seals, which, like those of the old English
coal wagon, were not chilled or hardened; consequently elicited the more
friction and wear and tear. This wagon, however, compared very well
with those at Killingworth, England, and had the same friction, to wit, T*#t,hs.
Their first cost is #120. The following is our memorandum made on the
occasion, at Carbondale:
164
£ Doc. No. 101. 3
" Wear of Wagons,
•
" The bodies or beds must be renewed every two years. These bodies
cost ¡830. The iron work would be good at the end of the two years, and
thus the renewing would cost about $10 or $5 per year. The wheels will
last five years, if well chilled, but, with the loose wheels, the flanges will
wear out first, to wit: J. Archbald, the superintendent, thinks in three years,
and hence they are going to adopt the method of fast wheels as decidedly
the best
" The seats must be renewed once a year. They cost about $1 75 per wagon.
The axle must be taken off, and new collars put on, and turned once a year;
cost $3 00; add for contingencies, such as repairing brakes and other mat¬
ters, $5 25 per annum; making the annual repairs of a wagon, $15 00."
In order to perpetuate the wagon, we must add, for the renewing of the
wheels, say $7 75 per annum, and $7 20 for interest, plus $2 40 for inter¬
est on spare wagons; the whole amounting to $32 35, as the entire estima¬
ted annual charge incident to the use of a coal wagon used on this railroad]
The wagons are made to travel 4 miles per hour on this railway, and they
will therefore make one trip in a day, to wit, 16 miles with coal, and 16
miles back empty. The operations upon this railway being also affected by
the navigation upon a canal, we will assume 225 days as the duration of "the
year's work;' and one wagon tvill carry in a year 2f x 16 x 225=9900 tons
coal, one mile, for 3235 cents; being i of a cent per ton per mile, and just one
half the estimate at Mauch Chunk, given in page 164, document No. 18.
The cost of coal wagons, however, will continue to be greater than that
of cars on other railways, in consequence of the greater wear and tear of the
bodies.
With regard to the cost of transportation on this railway, between Car-
bondale and Honesdale, I have no doubt that it is three or four fold more
than it would be on a level railway of equal length, even with the imperfect
wagons there employed. A level road would be 16 miles in length. From
Carbondale, the coal is elevated to the summit of the mountain at Rix^ gap,
by means of five stationary steam engines, that work as many inclined planes.
There are short levels between, worked by animal power, and there is from
the mines to the foot of plane No. 1, at Carbondale, a distance of 2250 feet,
having an ascent of 1 in 75, also worked by horses. The whole altitude
overcome in ascending the mountain is about 850 feet. The wagons used,
have a friction in equilibrio with gravity, on an inclination from a level of
26.4 feet in a mile. Wherefore, the power of traction would be doubled on
an ascent of 26.4 feet in a mile. Hence the gravity opposes an ascent of
each 26,4 feet, with a force equal to that opposed by the friction on a mile
of the level parts of the railway; and, consequently, as many times 26.4 as
is contained in 850 feet, the rise of the mountain, by just so many miles of
level road, would it virtually lengthen the distance. This will add 32 miles
to the 16. Again: although the roads descend about 700 feet by gravity
upon self-acting planes, yet the cost of ropes.and other machinery is so con¬
siderable, that I doubt not other sixteen,miles should be added; and we thus
conclude that a level railway, 64 miles in length, between Carbondale and
Honesdale, would be as economical as the present one, which is only 16
miles in length.
Benjamin Wright, whose name has been already mentioned, had, it ap¬
pears from page 173, document No. 18, examined into the cost of transpor-
[ Doc. No. 101. 3
169
tation on this railway, at the desire of the company, and reported the cost
; to be from 34 to 34 cents per ton per mile; and we have every confidence
in the correctness of his statement. When we visited that road, we found
* it to be about 34 cents per ton per mile, when the quantity of coal trans¬
ported was 250 tons daily. But the engines and machinery were calculated
for a transit of 400 tons daily, and it was the opinion of the superintendent,
when the latter mentioned tonnage should be passed, which they expected
to effect, the cost would be reduced to about 24 cents per ton per mile, or
874 cents for the 16 miles.
Taking, however, the cost at 34 cents, and equating for a level road, we
have 64 : 16 : : .34 to very little more # of a cent per ton per mile.
Inclined planes, worked by stationary power, become quite .expensive
per ton per mile, however, when the tonnage is so small as 250 tons per
day, or about 56,000 tons in a year of 225 days, which, it appears, is the
1 time calculated upon for the navigation that is to connect the market with
the railway. Let the quantity be increased to from 500 to 1000 tons per day,
which it should be on a great line of railway, and let the railway be untram¬
melled by a canal, so that it could continue active through the winter season,
and the case will be widely different.
It should be recollected that the Delaware and Hudson Ganal Company
have had the honor of being the first in America to introduce the stationary
steam engine system upon a railway. May they be well rewarded for their
enterprise! ,
Presuming that it will not be doubted by any one that so small a quantity
as 56,000 tons per annum is transported 16 miles across a mountain summit
850 feet in height above the termini of the road, in the manner that has been
mentioned, at a cost of about 34 cents per ton per mile, including the pay,
hire, boarding, and feeding of all the men and horses, and the cost of harness;
also superintendence and the depot expenses at Honesdale; also the expenses
of working the engines, fuel, and engineering; the repairs of ropes and of
wagons, and the supply of oil; do we not see how entirely practicable it is
to pass the Alleghany mountain, from the eastern to the western waters, in
precisely the same manner? It would not require more than double the
altitude already mentioned, and perhaps not so much, to connect the parts
of the railroad upon which the locomotive engine could ply on either side,
by a line of railway without a tunnel, that should be worked with station¬
ary power. The length of this part of the railway, as it would overcome,
say double the height, would likewise be twice the length of thë railroad of
the Delaware and Hudson Company; consequently, since the fuel would be
equally abundant and cheap on the Alleghany, the transportation should not
cost more than on that road in the distance embraced by the system of in¬
clined planes and stationary engines, notwithstanding that the amount of
tonnage should be vastly less than that which would unquestionably pass up¬
on a railway that should connect the tides of the Chesapeake with the steam¬
boat navigation of thè Ohio, When passengers shall be added to the con¬
veyance, as they will be across the mountains, the railway being continuous
and operative throughout the year, it could not fail to be immensely profit¬
able, as a stock, and proportionably advantageous to the country.
The charge for the carriage of commodities from Baltimore to Wheeling,
on the turnpike road, averages about 2 cents per lb. or 844 80 per ton on
the whole distance of 266 miles, being at the rate of about 17 cents per ton
permile!
16«
[ Doc. No. lÖi. ]
We will now compare this wilh what may be the cost of transit per ton
per mile over that part of a railway to connect the Chesapeake and Ohio,
which would be much the most expensive to manage, as it would necessa¬
rily be incumbered with the stationary system and inclined planes. Length
32 miles.
The route may be supposed pretty^ expensive, and may probably cost
¡520,000 per mile in the construction, or ¡5640,000. Sixteen stationary
steam engines, houses and fixtures, at ¡510,000 each, (86,000 was the cost on
the Delaware and Hudson railroad, but these should be more powerful,) is
¡5160,000, making together 8800,000, or 825,000 per m.ile; the annual in¬
terest of which is 81,500, and, for the present we shall assume the repairs of
the railway at 8500 per mile per annum. The annual charge for the capi¬
tal, including repairs of the railway, therefore, is 82,000 per mile.
We shall now assume, (which will be too low) that only about thrice.the
tonnage shall pass the Alleghanies, in both directions, in the year of 312
days, that has been mentioned as passing in one direction only on the Del¬
aware and Hudson railroad, in 225 days, to wit, 150,000 tons. A toll of
lè cents per ton per mile will pay the estimate of. 82,000 for interest and
repairs; and if we assume the cost of transportation to be equal to that on
the other railway, under the disadvantages mentioned above in relation to
it, that is, 3i cents, then the toll and transportation together will amount
to 4t7j, or a little exceeding 4i cents per ton per mile.
It is highly probable, therefore, that the entire charge upon this mountain
section of the railroad will not exceed the one-fourth part of the present rate
of charge upon our turnpike roads. The charge of 4J cents will not be far
from that which the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad Company is allowed by law
to make. The investment would therefore be remunerated, while the pub¬
lic could be saved three-fourths of the cost of carriage on the turnpike road,
upon a trade immensely augmented.
It will be recollected that this result in the calculation has been attained
without allowing any income from the conveyance of passengers, and like¬
wise without drawing to the aid of this expensive section any part of the
greater profits to accrue from the more level portions, and which will con¬
stitute, by far, the greater part of the entire railway.
Although the stationary system is entirely practicable, yet being more
expensive than either that of locomotive engines or horses, that system
should not be resorted to upon a level, nor upon grades where the other
modes will apply to advantage. It should therefore be employed only
where great and sudden changes of altitude have to be met.
In the parallel which we have just drawn between the railway of the Del¬
aware and Hudson Company, and one which should be made to overcome
that part of a route across the Alleghany mountain, requiring the stationary
engine system, we must not be considered as in anywise indicating the route
by-which that mountain should be passed by a railway to extend from th,e
Chesapeake to the Ohio, since the point at which the Ohio should be inter¬
sected has not been fixed.
Having made this explanation, we shall now claim indulgence while we
briefly contrast the railway and canal systems upon the routes surveyed and
estimated across that mountain for the Chesapeake and Ohio canal; and, in
doing this, we shall not avail ourselves of the estimate of the United States'
board of internal improvement, at the head of which was General Bernard:
on the contrary, we shall take that stated on pages 122, 3, 4, 5, of document
No. 18, as the estimate of N. S. Roberts and A. Cruger^ civil engineers.
[ Dófc. No. lût. ]
167
This section of the route includes the .summit level, upon which there js to
to be a tunnel four miles in length; piercing the mountain upon a level some.
800 feet below its crest; it likewise includes the reservoirs to supply the
summit level and contiguous parts with water. The length is 35? miles,
with 139 locks, overcoming an altitude of 1028 feet on the eastern side of
the summit, and 28 locks lifting 224 feet on the western side. The dis¬
tances and estimate may be stated as follows:
Miles. Chs.
Summit level 5 40 estimated to cost - - #1,856,056
Eastern side 15 60 - - - - 1,370,618
Western side 14 ' 40 - - - - 503,042
————— 1 '
Totals, 35 60 . - - - 3,729,716
This amount upon 35? miles is at the rate of #104,320 per mile.
These estimates are predicated upon a breadth of 48 feet, and a depth of 5
feet for the canal, excepting the tunnel, which was to be 22 feet wide, in¬
clusive of 5 feet for the towing path. The cost of the tunnel alone is esti¬
mated at #1,610,821; but the author of document No. 18, on page 120,
gives his opinion that the width allowed " is about 17 feet less than the great¬
est utility of the work would require," and, after commenting upon the es¬
timate of the engineers, further advances his opinion that the cost of the
tunnel should be "put down at #2,200,000, including all contingencies."
We shall proceed, however, without correcting the estimate of the en¬
gineers, as is here recommended, although it is much less than the sum esti¬
mated by the United States' board of internal improvement; and it will be
observed that, supposing, in case of a railroad, the tunnel should be dis¬
pensed with, then the proportion of the altitude to be overcome, compared
with the distance or length of the road, will be about the same as that of the
Delaware and Hudson railroad, or of the one which we had supposed would
be required upon almost any route across the Alleghany mountain. And,
therefore, the cost per mile of both toll and transportation, will not exceed 4J
cents per ton, as we have already endeavored to show.
Let the cost per ton per mile now be reckoned upon these 35? miles of
canal, the construction of which is estimated to cost #104,320 per mile.
On account of the great number of locks, and the magnitude of the reser¬
voirs, which would have to be maintained upon this short section of canal, the
repairs would.go much beyond an average amount for canals, and we think it
a moderate assumption to rate the annual repairs, in this instance, at #1,000
per mile.
An allowance for attendance at the locks must likewise be made, inasmuch
as, upon the railroad, the cost of transportation, at the same as upon the Dela¬
ware and Hudson railway, which included the engineering and attendance
at the stationary engines and inclined planes; we shall set down the
attendance at only #100 per annum per lock; which, for 167 locks in 35?
miles, is #467 per mile:
The lolls will therefore depend upon the following itelns of annual inter¬
est and expense per mile:
1. Interest on #104,320, (the cost per mile) ... #6,259
2. Repairs per mile, - - - - - - 1,000
3. Attendance at the locks, - - -, - - 467
Amounting per annum, per mile, to #7,726
168
[ Doc. No. 101. 3
The toll, therefore, when 150,000 tons shall pass in a year, (as was as¬
sumed in estimating for the railroad,) must be 5i, or a little' exceeding 5
cents per ton per mile.
The cost of transportation has yet to be added. It is contended by some,
that the cost of transportation at 2J miles per hour upon a spacious canal,
(with but little lockage, it is presumed,) can be reduced to half a cent per
ton a mile. If we take this favorable assumption, and allow the speed to
be 2j miles per hour, when there is one lock to the mile, the time employed
in passing-351 miles will be 14 hours. In addition to one lock to the mile,
there will here be 131 locks, and the time allowed for passing them, accord¬
ing to the estimate of the United States' board of internal improvement, (see
page 101,.document No. 18,) is 17 hours. The whole time spent in pass¬
ing these 35J miles of canal will, therefore, be 31 hours, and the cost of
transportation will be proportionably increased; then 14 : 31 : : Ja cent:
1| cents per ton per mile.
The entire cost, therefore, to. be charged upon this section of theoanal,
will be (according to the data) 6J cènts per ton per mile; whereas upon a
railroad, worked upon'the stationary engine system, it will not exceed 4J
cents.
It must be borne in mind that this comparison is founded solely upon the
freight of commodities; that the railroad will 'be relieved, to a considerable
extent, by the receipts from the conveyance of passengers and the mails,
whilst the tolls upon the canal, independent of the transportation, would ex¬
ceed both the tolls and transportation of commodities on the railroad.
It must likewise be recollected that we have transferred the cost of trans¬
portation found to obtain upon the Delaware and Hudson railroad, when the
quantity transported daily was only 250 tons, or 56,000 tons per annum,
to the estimate for the railway across the Alleghany; but it should be re¬
membered, that the rates of transportation by means of stationary power,
becomes much reduced when the engines and planes are worked more
nearly to the limits of their full capacity. The steam, engines, machinery,
and attendance, will remain to be very nearly the same. We feel author¬
ized, therefore, to estimate the cost of transportation by means of stationary
engines when working to the best advantage, where coal is as chpap as it
will be on the Alleghany at 1J cents per ton per mile, at the most.
If it be said that double the tonnage which we have allowed, or 300,000
tons per annum, will pass the mountains, we say, in that case, that the capa¬
city of the engines and planes will be competent to this, and that the cost
of toll and transportation by the railway would not exceed 2J cents per ton
per mile, whilst it would still be as much as 3| cents by the canal.
So recently as the beginning of the year 1829, the relative economy of
the stationary and locomotive systems, upon level railways, or upon those
but slightly inclined, was warmly contested in England, and the question
was not put at rest until the recent improvements in the locomotive engine,
already alluded to, took place.
About that time, the directors of the Liverpool and Manchester Railway
Company appointed two engineers of known ability, (Walker and Rastrick,)
to examine the railways in England, and to report "what, under all cir¬
cumstances, is the best description of moving power to be employed upon
the Liverpool and Manchester railway." See Reports, &c., Carey & Lea,
Philadelphia, 1831. These engineers reported that the amount of freight,
to wit, 2,000 tons, might Ite conveyed daily in each direction between Liver-
£ Doc. No. 101. 3
169
pool and Manchester, at the rate of 10 miles per hour, either by the fixed
engine, or by the locomotive system; they appeared to incline rather in
favor of the former, since they conceived it necessary, in either ease, to
work the Kamhill and Sutton planes, ascending 1 in 96, with fixed engines
Without including the wear and tear of wagons, and rating their friction at
the , J0, these engineers reported the rate of cost per ton per mile, upon the
locomotive principle, to be - - - .2787 of a penny.
And upon the stationary plan, - .2134 of a penny.
And by horse power, - - - .4500 of a penny.
The latter, when the horse takes back the empty coal wagons. This es¬
timate for horse povver was made from the operations of the horse at a speed
of miles per hour, upon the Brenton and Sheelds railway. It should
here be noted that the purchase of one such horse, was there, at that time,
£40, and his keeping £50 per annum-; and we see from this, that the cost
of that animal is there twice as great as in the United States.
The report, as has been mentioned, was not very decided as to which
system should be adopted, notwithstanding the expense for a very large trade
predominated in favor of the stationary plan, each system had its peculiar
advantages and disadvantages.
The engineer of that railway, however, was very decided in favor of the
locomotive system, and the directors offered a premium of £500 for the
best improved engine of a given weight and power. In the course of that
year, the locomotive engine received new and valuable improvements, and
the question which, for years, had been unsettled, was now determined in
favor of that engine. Its relative powers, in 182S and 1830, have been al¬
ready stated.
Since the improved locomotives were brought into use, it has been esti¬
mated that the expense, per ton per mile, by these engines,
will be ...... ,1C4 of a penny,
And by the stationary system - - - .269 of a penny.
We are not yet prepared to say, from experience, what the cost of con¬
veyance by the locomotive system will be in this country. We think it
probable, however, that an engine, capable of conveying 30 tons of freight
120 miles in a day, will cost, including interest, repairs, renewals, en¬
gineering, attendance, and fuel, from §9 to $15 per day, according to the
price of fuel at the place demanded; and the cost per ton per mile, in the
one case, will be ^ of a cent, and in the other 5-12, or something less than
i of a cent—more exactly .417 of a cent.
Now the cost of horses and their drivers, was found to be,
when 1 man drives 1 horse, per tonpermile - - .4 of a cent,
and when 1 man drives 2 horses - .267 of a cent.
When, therefore, the locomotive engine costs but 59 a day, it will be
cheaper than horse power, under either of the foregoing circumstances; but
when it shall cost $15 a day, it will cost about as much as horse power.
In all places, therefore, where coal is cheap, the power of the locomotive
engine will be cheaper than that of the horse, when the latter moves ata
speed of 2i or 3 miles per hour, and the former at 10 miles.
The great advantage, however, to result from the locomotive engine,
does not so much consist in the small saving that there may be in the cost
of conveyance at slow speeds, as in the circumstance that the cost of transit
by it, will be very nearly as cheap at 10 miles per hour as at any less ve¬
locity; and this adds greatly to the capacity of the railway, en4 lessens the
an
170
£ Doc. No. 101. ]
number of cars necessary to do the same amount of business; while the
freight can be carried, without conflicting with the regular and speedy con¬
veyance of passengers, or the mail. Upon some lines of railway, it may
become expedient to travel with a velocity of 15, and even 20 miles per
hour: and, as any speed, exceeding 10 miles, is obviously beyond the capa¬
bility of the horse, the locomotive steam engine can, alone, there be used
in the conveyance of passengers.
With regard to the cost of transportation upon canals, there are various
and conflicting statements, as welí as in respect to railways. We have
shown that the cost by the latter when level, or slightly departing from a
level, may be reduced to about half a cent per ton per mile, with horses,
including the cost of cars, and that it will vary according to the number of
drivers employed, from that to iths of a cents. It appears that, on the
Erie canal, the cost, with boats of 40 tons burthen, is one cent per ton per
mile, with full loads in one direction, and empty in the other.
The information we personally obtained, in the autumn of 1S30, upon
the works of the Delaware and Hudson Canal Company, in relation to
their canal, was, that two men, a boy, and a horse, would convey a boat,
freighted with 25 tons of coal, 20 miles in a day; in October, however,
owing to the want of water, the quantity carried was only 20 tons. The
transportation was done by contract for $1 50 per ton; the length of the
canal being 108 miles, the cost per ton per mile was l-¡%*ff of a cent, ex¬
clusive of tolls; but they hoped to economize to {51 25, or per ton per mile,
lTyr This very well agrees with Judge Wright's statement of " one cent
to one cent two mills." See Doc. No. 18, p. 173.
The present cost of transit, on the Lehigh canal, in rough arks, is one
cent per ton per mile. See Doc. No. 18, p. 173.
With a boat of 75 tons burthen, Josiah White, the superintendent, esti¬
mates the cost of transportation on the Lehigh canal to be about I of a cent
per ton per mile. P. 170.
This is an unusuallj' spacious canal, being 60 feet wide, and 5 feet deep;
and there is no doubt that, with a velocity as low as 2| miles per hour,
the traction of a horse would be more effective here than on a level railway,
but it would be otherwise at any higher rate of speed.
With respect to the two lesser canals just mentioned, it does not appear
that they have any advantage over the railway; as respects the cost of trans¬
portation where horses are employed, they would certainly not compare
with a railway upon which the locomotive engine could be properly used,
not to say any thing as to the advantages which the railway would possess
over the canals in the winter season.
The greatest advantages which the railway will possess over the canal,
when horse power is employed, will consist in the continuity of the transit
upon the railway throughout the whole of the year; as the two most potent
enemies to canals, drought and frost, do not prevent operations upon the
railway; and, likewise, in its peculiar fitness for the conveyance of passen¬
gers, light and valuable goods, and the mails at velocities from 3 to 10 miles
per hour—a range of speed, demonstrated, by experience, to be within the
powers of the horse, and throughout which, his effects upon the railway
predominate beyond dispute.
With regard to the conveyance of persons, light goods, and the mails,
it can scarcely be doubted that the facilities offered by the railway system,
aven with horses as the motive power, beyond those afforded by either
%
[ Doc. No. 101. ] 171
canals or turnpike roads, will be such as to insure to that system a favora¬
ble reception, and that railways will be required by the country, even
should they be preceded in the order of time by canals. And when it is
recollected that the useful effect of horses will be a maximum, at about the
same speed at which it will also be equal on both the railway and the
■canal, to wit, about 22 miles per hour, may not the great advantages, to
arise from the operations of the railway through the winter season, in
equalizing trade, affording regular supplies, preventing scarcities as well as
monopolies; taking to the distant market the products of the soil, when
the farmer can best prepare his crops for that purpose; rendering unne¬
cessary an expensive and undue accumulation of stock and capital at mills,
mines, iron works, and other manufactories, and promoting the general
industry; we say, may not these great advantages, attendant upon the con¬
veyance of bulky, heavy, and less costly commodities, when added to that
acknowledged even by the advocates of the canal system to exist with
respect to the mails, passengers, and light goods, be sufficient to decide the
public in favor of the railway system? How decisive will these advantages
be, therefore, when the locomotive engine shall be employed, the expense
of which will be about the same, at a speed of 10 miles per hour as at any
less velocity? See Wood's Treatise, ed. 1831, p. 431.
Cost of construction and repairs. •
The graduation and masonry of the Baltimore and Ohio railroad have
been completed as far as to Frederick city, 60 miles, and to the "Point of
Rocks" at the Potomac river, 671 miles from the depot at Baltimore; and
a double railway has been laid down through three-fourths of the distance
to Frederick, and a single track on the residue of the distance to that city,
as well as a single track to the " Point of Rocks," with the exception of a
space of one or two miles, which could not be laid on account of the se¬
verity of the present winter at its setting in. The materials are collected
and collecting for the second track throughout to the Potomac. The branch,
connecting the main stem of the road with Frederick, is 31 miles in length,
and it unites with the main line on the western bank of the JVlonocacy
river, 561 miles from Baltimore.
Almost the whole of the expenses of construction have, therefore, been
already incurred, and it is easily foreseen what amount will be required to
complete the work to the extent already mentioned. For information on
this head, we will quote from the fifth annual report of the President and
Directors to the Stockholders made, in October last, as follows: "The actual
cost of graduation and masonry upon the 71 miles between Baltimore and
the Point of Rocks, including the lateral road to Frederick, will not exceed
gl, 101,615, or $15,500 per mile; and that the cost of a double set of tracks
upon the main stem of the road, and of a single set on the lateral road to
Frederick, will not exceed $S05,238, or $I1,62S per mile of road, with
a double set of tracks; thus making the total cost of graduating the entire
line of these portions of the road, and of laying the rails upon them,
gl,906,S53, or $27,128 per mile. About one-third of this line will be
laid with stone rails, and the remaining two-thirds with wood."
In this charge is included the heavy expenditures incurred or. the first
division of the road. According to the report of the superintendent of
graduation and masonry hereinbefore referred to, it appears that the gradua-
172
[ Doc. No. 101. 3
tion and masonry ef the 2d, 3d, 4th, and 5th divisions of the road, em¬
bracing the entire line between Ellicott's mills and the Potomac river, and
extending over a distance of 54£ miles, will cost $465,443, or $8,540 per
mile; if to this be added $11,628, the average cost of laying a double set
of tracks on the entire line between Baltimore and the Point of Rocks, the
actual cost of graduation, masonry, and laying a double track of rails on
the road between Ellicott's mills and the Potomac, will be $20,16S per
mile; and this district, it is believed, may be assumed as affording a fair
specimen of the. labor and expense which will be incurred on the remain¬
ing line of the road, from the Point of Rocks to the coal mines in Alleghany
eounty."
We are induced to believe that the fact would not be far from what is
here assumed. The distance from the Point of Rocks to Cumberland, by
the route surveyed for the canal, is about 140 miles. The route of the rail¬
road, however, would be made to cut off bends of the river which the canal
would have to traverse, and it is probable that the line of the railroad would
be less than 130 miles in length, say 130 miles, at $20,168 per mile,
is - - - - - - - - $2,621,840
Cost from Baltimore to the Potomac - 1,006,853
And the estimated probable cost of a double railway, from Bal¬
timore to Cumberland, is - - - - - $4,528,693
We are inclined to the opinion that the actual cost would approximate
much more nearly to the amount just given, than the round sum of
$5,000,000, as given, in our report, to a committee of the Legislature of
Maryland, last winter.
The report, just alluded to, was made to the President of the Baltimoro
and Ohio Railroad Company at his request, in order to enable him to com¬
ply with a call from the Committee on Internal Improvements of the Legis¬
lature of Maryland, inquiring "into the relative expense, benefits, and
facilities of constructing railroads and canals, with a view of ascertaining
to which of these means the funds of the State can be most beneficially
applied."
It will be perceived, therefore, that, in making this report, we did not
voluntarily enter upon debateable ground, but, from a sense of duty, made
sueh statements and observations as we considered pertinent to the com¬
plex inquiry, and which our limited knowledge and ability allowed us to
compile.
This report has been noticed in the third annual report of the President
and Directors to the Stockholders of the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal Com¬
pany, in a spirit and style most satisfactory to themselves. The third an¬
nual report, however, which contained the criticisms, does not appear to
have been accompanied by the report which it professed to review and
criticise: it is to be presumed, therefore, that the stockholders are yet unac¬
quainted with that report.
In the hope that the report may be allowed to accompany the remarks in
regard to it, and that it may share the public favor to the same extent as
the commentary upon it in Doc. No. 18, it is hereto appended and number¬
ed 3. It is asserted, in effect, in Doc. No. 18, page 35, when commenting
upon this report, (now numbered 3,) that there were about 10 miles out of
the 12, between the "Point of Rocks" and Harper's Ferry, not surveyed
by us, and that our survey was "exclusively directed to those narrow
[ Doc. No. 101. ]
173
passes, as the only lines of expected interference between the canal and
railroad."
We reply, that this is an error on the part of the writer, which he has
possibly fallen into from the circumstance that this part of the line of the
railway was not definitively, that is, finally located, and staked out ready for
contract; all the preliminary suveys and levels, however, were taken for
this purpose, and we have not, therefore, spoken of ground with which we
were not perfectly familiar.
The reasons assigned in the third annual report to the Canal Company
(see 1st paragraph, page 36, Doc. No. 18,) are, no doubt, not the true ones why
the construction of the canal should cost more than that of the railroad to
which it is parallel; and the advantages over the canal possessed by the rail¬
road, in that respect, upon such ground, are thereby demonstrated.
We are still of opinion, that the expense of constructing a canal from
Baltimore to the "Point of Rocks" would be double what the railroad be¬
tween the sume points will cost. But our "reason" for that opinion
was not that imputed to us in Doc. No. 18, p. 33. Upon a reference to
that report, which, as before mentioned, is hereto annexed, and^umbered 3,
it will be found that we did not, on that occasion, detail our reasons for this
opinion. The paragraph which it seems has been regarded as containing
our " reason," is entirely independent of that in which we gave our opinion
in relation to the route between Baltimore and the Point of Rocks. So far,
therefore, was the sentence in which mention is made of Doctor Howard's
estimate for a canal between Georgetown and Baltimore, from affording the
"reason" for the opinion asserted in the paragraph which preceded, that it
concerned a route entirely distinct and separate from that between Balti¬
more and the Point of Rocks.
Exception has been taken to our estimate of the probable cost of walling
the inner banks of the canal, (p. 39,) and it is asserted that "more than
40,000 superficial yards, one foot in thickness, of such walls, have already
been constructed in the Chesapeake and Ohio canal, at the cost of less than
16 cents a yard, including the price of transporting the stone some distance
by land." It is believed that the slope generally given to the interior
banks of canals, is 13 to 1: with 6 feet depth of water, then, and a bank
two feet above the water, the base of the slope of each bank would be 14
feet. It is believed to be necessary, in order to secure the banks from the
action of the water, and from the injurious effects of frost, as well as to
render the wall itself secure, that it should be based upon the bottom of
the canal, and be made to extend to the top of the bank, which is 2 feet
above the usual surface of the water. The shortest distance from the bot¬
tom of the canal to the top of the bank, measured on the slope, will, there¬
fore, be 16 feet; hence, the number of superficial yards of such a bank,
one mile in length, will be 9,3S7, and of both banks 18,774 yards. At
the price of 16 cents, which it is alleged such walling has been built for,
the cost for a mile of the canal would be 153,003 84, whilst our esti¬
mate was 155,000. This wall is only one foot thick, but we are of opi¬
nion it should be IS inches in thickness, to insure its stability, and to pre¬
vent the water from sapping the bank through its crevices: then the cost,
if it should be in proportion to the quantity of stone used, would be about
84,500 per mile. An angle of 45 degrees instead of 30, which we have
been allowed for the slope, would be preferable when the bank is walled.
In situations where artificial embankments form the canal, the walling
174
[ Doc. No. 101. 3
should be postponed until these embankments have subsided in their set¬
tling, after which they will be found not to have a less slope than 30 degrees,
when, to adjust their slope to 45 degrees, would be more costly than to face
it at 30 degrees.
In forming a wall one foot thick, i of a cubic yard, or ,4® of a mason's
perch, if stone is employed, and the rule is for the mason to charge the same
for a wall 18 inches thick as he would be entitled to for one of that thick¬
ness, inasmuch as the facing is the same in either case, whilst the wall of a
less thickness must be laid with more care to ensure comparative stability.
This charge, therefore, for the laying of of a perch of wall one foot thick,
will be the same as for f of a perch. Now, if we reckon at the low rate
of 25 cents per perch for the mason, and 6i cents for his attendance after
the materials are all upon the spot, and the banks properly dressed to re¬
ceive the wall, the cost will be about 31? «ents per perch, amounting upon
,*040 of a perch, to about 17 cents as the cost of each superficial yard, under
these circumslatices, instead of 16 cents, the cost alleged. It is unacounta-
ble, therefore, how the wall could have been erected for 16 cents a yard, in¬
cluding the transportation of the materials " some distance by land," unless,
indeed, we suppose the laborer, as is too often the case in public works, not
to have received adequate remuneration.
In addition to the 31^ cents, there should be added, in making an esti¬
mate, an allowance to remunerate the proprietor of the quarry, and likewise
for quarrying and transportation; and it will be seldom found that the cost
of a rubble wall will be less than from 75 to 100 cents per mason's perch, or,
in terms of the superficial yard, from 403 to 54 cents. It has been asserted
that it is unnecessary to face with stone more than a part of the slope of the
bank, at and near to the surface of the water; should this be so, our estimatewill
have been too high. We should, however, lack confidence in a wall built
for 16 cents a yard, and also in one not founded on a level with the bottom
of the canal, unless it were based upon a rock.
It is conceded, that, where the materials of which the wall is constructed
»re excavated in the formation of the canal, leaving a rock bound bank on
one side, its cost will be reduced below our estimate, but the excavation ac¬
count will be fully charged with the quarrying. It will be recollected, how¬
ever, that it has been said (Doc. No. IS, p. 35) that only about two miles
out of the twelve, between the Point of Rocks and Harper's Ferry, are'of
this favored description.
In the earnestness of the commentator to defend his favorite work, it
would seem that his imagination has applied to the canal along the Potomac,
our remarks in relation to canals in general, and, accordingly (p. 40, Doc.
No. 18) treats our judgment in the words following, to wit:
" What shall be thought of the judgment which, under the climate of Ma¬
ryland, and in relation to the Potomac, pronounces, that from the combined
effects of floods, breaches, repairs, drought, and cold, the average duration
of the navigation of a canal, in our climate, is reduced to about one-half of
the year?" And, again: "Does any man believe that the Potomac river will
not supply an adequate quantity of water, &c. ?"
We will, however, now assert our opinion that a canal across the Alle-
ghanies would be liable to the evil effects of all the causes here enumerated,
whilst the injurious consequences of most of them would be felt along the
Potomac.
We see no cause to change our opinions, as then expressed, with regard
[ Doc. No. 101. ]
175
to the relative merits of canals and railways. Public opinion and public inter¬
est will settle the question in due time, and we rest assured, that, at the same
time that it is the tribunal of last resort, the decision will be just.
Repairs.
With regard to the cost of repairs upon railways, much has been advanced
in the voluminous document now before us, and an estimate has been given
(p. 170) amounting to $983 *,•„ perannum per mile of double track. This
estimate is alleged to be founded on the experience upon the Manch Chunk
railway, already described, and has been, it appears, preferred by the su-
erintendent of that road, in a controversial essay, in an answer to John L.
ullivan, civil engineer, who advocated the superiority of railroads over ca¬
nals.
The next estimate presented is stated in an ''extract of a letter from John
Bolton, esq., of New York, late President of the Hudson and Delaware
Canal Company, to the President of the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal Com¬
pany, dated, New York, December 17th, 1831." (See Doc. No. 18, p. 176.)
In this extract, it is stated that the repairs of the Delaware and Hudson
railroad were estimated, for the year 1831, "at rather more than $1,500 per
mile: that the railroad has eight inclined planes; five worked by steam en¬
gines, and three by gravity."
It is, however, not stated in the " extract" from the letter of the late Pre¬
sident of the Delaware and Hudson Canal Company, nor is it intimated in
the wide amplitude, of materials which compose Doc. No. 18, in what par¬
ticular manner this railroad was constructed. Having, in person, examin¬
ed this railroad, throughout its entire extent, more than once, we deem it our
duty, on this occasion, to state that, through the greater part of the 16 miles
(which is the whole length of the road,) the railway is mounted upon wooden
bridges or trussel work, in lieu of embankments of earth. This frame work
is employed upon all the grades of the road, from a level to inclinations of
1 in 12 or 43 degrees, and varies in height, from the ground to the railway,
from 2 or 3 feet up to 20, 30, and even to 35, feet! It is very serpentine,and
is much curved even in parts where the trussels are quite high. Notwith¬
standing these frail structures were resorted to in places where the gradé of
the road passed above the broken surface of the ground, which it was made to
do on most of the line, and therefore rendering the procurement of earth,
for the supply of embankment, unnecessarj'; yet the abruptness and uneven-
ness of the surface was such that cuts of considerable length and depth, es¬
pecially in graduating for the planes, had to be made, and as if a preference
overembankments had been awarded to these wooden structures, on account
of some intrinsic merit which they were supposed to possess, the earth, from
the excavations, was not hauled forth upon the descending grade to make
permanent embankments for the support of the railway; but, on the contra¬
ry, it was thrown out in spoil banks, and, in some instances, with additional
expense.
The railroad passing through a dense beech and hemlock forest, these two
kinds of inferior timber, but the latter in much the greater proportion, en¬
ter largely into the composition of the structures which form the work. In
parts of the way, the superstructure is made to rest upon posts planted in the
ground, and these posts were not unfrequently of beech. The kind of lim-
176
[ Doc. No. 101. ]
ber most convenient to the site of the road was generally employed in the
construction.
After this manner, was this railway, from Carbondale to Honesdale,
constructed, 16 miles in length across the Moosic mountain, with eight in¬
clined planes, all furnished with machinery, including a length of more than
3£ miles of rope, and 5 stationary steam engines, for the sum of about
$200,000.
The original design was to use locomotive engines on those parts not
covered by the system of inclined planes, that is, on more than half the dis¬
tance next to Honsedale at the commencement of the canal.
It was predicted, however, and verified upon trial, that so frail a mode of
structure would not admit of the employment of those engines, and the al¬
ternative was adopted, of using horses instead. To provide, however, for
this change, a horse path of wood had to be laid upon the frame work
throughout—thus greatly adding to the expense of construction as well as of
repairs.
It is presumed that the bare mention of these facts will sufficiently account
for the estimate of $1,500 per annum per mile, as the probable expenses of
repairs for the year 1831. Indeed, when it is considered to what extent in
height and length these perishable frames have been employed, and how
very temporary and frail the structures made in this manner, and of such
wood, must necessarily be, and what extent of flooring for the horses to
walk upon, remains constantly exposed to the weather, and to the action of
the travel, and that the repairs of 3| miles of rope, together with the machi-
nary and fixtures appurtenant to the planes, must be met, the surprise, if
any, should rather be, that the amount required was not greater.
Nor is it to be wondered at that the retiring President, when judging from
the only examples with which he was probably familiar, to wit, the railway
at Mauch Chunk, and the one which had shared so largely of his enterprise
and public spirit, should assign to the advantages of the railway system a
place between those of turnpike roads and canals, or look upon the public
favor, which is beginning to be put forth in behalf of that system, as a
mania. (See Doc. No. IIS, p. 177.)
We have made an estimate of the probable amount necessary for the an¬
nual repairs and renewals of a mile of double railway of good construction,
when sleepers of wood, and string-pieces likewise of wood, shall be em¬
ployed to support the iron bars or rails of the railway, and find the sum
necessary for the object to be about $500. It is believed that the price
allowed will procure timber that will last twelve years. Some think that
southern pine will last beyond the period here assigned. It may be so.
Hut it is conceived that, in the absence of more experience, it may be ju¬
dicious to assume this period for timber that can be procured for twenty
dollars per thousand, board measure. If locust or red cedar shall be used,
the repairs will be diminished to some extent.
For information with regard to the probable duration of wheels and
maleable iron rails, we have compiled a short document, and annex it for
reference. It is marked No. 4.
For our estimate of the probable annual repairs of a mile of double rail¬
road, when wood instead of stone shall be used in the construction of the
railway—see document No. 5, hereto annexed.
With stone sills employed in the construction, the railway will be form¬
ed exclusively of stone and iron, of which two materials, the iron alone will
£ Doc. No. 101. ]
177
be subject to loss, from wear and decay; in which case, the construction
having been properly executed, the annual repairs of one mile cannot, we
think, exceed two hundred and fifty dollars.
As we intimated, with regard to the cost of tsansportation, so do we say
with respect to that of repairs; which will depend upon vigilance, and a
{'udicious direction of means to the end to be attained; and it should never
ie lost sight of, that much will likewise depend upon the location and con¬
struction of the railroad.
Repairs of Canals.
The superintendent at Mauch Chunk, after having concluded his es¬
timate for the repairs of a double railway, as already alluded to, next pro¬
ceeds to estimate the " wear and tear of the canal" upon the line from
Mauch Chunk to Bristol; length 106 miles; fall 524 feet; number of locks
66; lift, 8 feet.
It is assumed that each set of lock gates will cost $500, and that they
must be renewed every ten years. The cost of 66 sets of gates will be
#33,000; and the tenth of this, or $3,300, is taken as the annual cost,
which, being divided by 106, the number of miles, there results $31-2 0J0 as
the cost per annum per mile of this item." See document No. 18, p. 171.
It is next assumed that, " after eight years' duration," one man working
250 days in the year, at #1 per day, will keep in repair an average length
of two miles through the whole line from Mauch Chunk to Bristol; and
the second, and last item of expense, is calculated to be $125 per mile.
The two items will, therefore, stand as follows:
Repairing lock gates per mile - $31 12
Other labor - - - - - 125 00
Amounting to - 156 12
And thus the expense of repairs per annum per mile upon the Lehigh
canal, extending down the Lehigh from Manch Chunk to the Delaware
river, at Easton, about 46 miles; and that upon the Delaware division of
the Pennsylvania canal, extending thence along the margin of the Delaware
to Bristol, 60 miles more, in all 106 miles, is estimated at 156-
Without calling in question the adequacy of the sum allowed for the
repairs of a set of lock gates in ten years, to wit, $500, it is believed that
the allowance of $125 would not do more than maintain the towing path in
a state of repair, open ditches, drains, and culverts, and keep the banks in
good condition. We can, however, conceive of other items of expense,
which will as certainly have to be met, as will those two which have been
admitted into the foregoing estimate. In an estimate for the repairs of the
Lehigh canal, something might have been allowed for renewing the lining
of the lock chambers, which is of wood. The locks are built of rubble,
laid in hydraulic cement, with frames of timber secured in the face of the
walls, to which the planks are fastened that form the lining. A good lock
is constructed after this manner, probably at an expense of some $400 per
foot lift less than with cut stone. As this form of construction has not
generally been employed, and although the repairs contingent upon it
could not be disregarded in a full estimate for this particular canal, yet we
shall also omit to assign its amount, inasmuch as it is our aim to approxi¬
mate to that which will be found generally to obtain with regard to the
repairs of canals.
23
178
[ Doc. No. 101. ]
There is another item to be provided for, which, if it has not already oc-:
cured on this canal, will doubtless command attention before the termina¬
tion of the " eight years," the period which seems to have been fixed upon'
in the foregoing estimate, during which the embankments shall have sub¬
sided, and all " the extraordinary repairs" consequent upon latent defects;
which could alone be detected after the admission of water into the canal,
or such as are inseparable from the necessary weakness of all new works of
this description. The item just alluded to, is an allowance for cleaning out
the canal after the lodgment within it of sediment, consisting of alluvial
deposite, and sand gravel and clay that shall, from time to time, be brought
from the adjacent farm lands, and from feeders and streams admitted to
discharge their contents into the canal; and likewise from the overflowing
of ditches and drains during freshets and heavy rains; and, also, from the
washing of the banks.
We profess not to know what amount of materials will annually accumu¬
late in the canal from these causes; but we think, even under good manage¬
ment, it will be quite favorable to the canal to assume an average quantity
equivalent to a uniform depth of two inches per annum upon the bottom of
the canal; and that, in every six years, if not in shorter periods, materials
amounting to a foot in depth will have to be removed.
Supposing the canal to be 40 feet wide at bottom, the number of cubic
yards in the mass to be removed per mile, at the end of every period of six
years, will be 7,S22; and, considering the diagreeable nature of the work,
it could not well be expected to be done for less than 20 cents a cubic yard,
or per mile §1.564, and the annuity to raise the amount in six years at
5 per cent., will be S230, the annual allowance for this item of expense.
If it should be alleged that many miles of the navigation may consist (as
on the Lehigh and the Conemaugh) of slack water, procured by the erection
of dams across the river, and the construction of a towing path along its
margin, and other contingent works directed to this end, we say it appears
to us but too probable that the encroachments of the water, drift, and ice, in
freshets upon the channel, which must be kept clear for the passage of the
boats, and upon the towing path, together with the deposites of mountain tor¬
rents putting into the river from that side, will, without any allowance for
the repairs of the dams, be amply sufficient to exhaust that small amount.
An allowance should likewise be made, adequate to the insurance of the
perpetuity of dams destined to form reservoirs, slack water, or for the di¬
rection of water into feeders, and the repair of the guard locks attached to
them, as well as of the feeders. All canals have more or less of the works
here named: some are more costly in their dams, some in their feeders, and
others in their reservoirs; whilst some will be heavily burthened with a plu¬
rality, or even with the whole of these classes of works. What shall we
assume for an average? Extended periods of duration, and the whole canal
system, should here be averaged, commencing " eight years" after the intro¬
duction of the navigation, so as not to include the "extraordinary repairs"
already alluded to, as being liable to happen within that term.
It will probably be a moderate estimate to assume the cost of these ap¬
pendages at 10 per cent, of the entire outlay, and that, " barring accidents,"
the dams will last 20 years, but, in consequence of their exposed situation,
the probability would be that, upon an average, they would have to be re¬
newed every 12 years, or, that the expenses attendant upon them, would be
barely covered by this assumption.
[ Doc. No. 101. ]
179
We shall assume $1,500 per mile as a medium sum to be provided in
¡periods of 12 years for the amount of these charges, which will be rather
more than ten per cent, of the entire outlay upon the least costly canals,
'whilst it will be less than 5 per cent, upon some others, and the cost per mile
iper annum of these appurtenances will be $94.
The next permanent source of expense peculiar to the canal system, that
■we shall mention, is that ot the maintenance of waste weir, and the towing
path across them. Wood as well as stone will generally enter, more or less,
into the construction of the weir, and perhaps altogether into that of the
bridge constituting the towing path over it. There will, generally, be one
of these structures to each level or pool, but, if the level be long, more than
one. We assume $125 per mile as the least amount for this item to be
expended every 12 years, which is equivalent to about $S per annum per mile.
The difference that will be found to exist in the cost of maintaining accom¬
modation and road bridges across canals, beyond that which will be neces¬
sary across railroads, should not be excluded in the comparison. The facili¬
ties of passing across railways upon a level with their surface, both as re¬
spects private and public roads, are so'great, that it may be said the railway
offers scarcely any obstruction, and bridges, for this purpose, will seldom be
required; whereas, upon canals, such bridges constitute a considerable item
in the expenditures. Sometimes, however, the proprietor of the lands
through which the canal passes, is paid a sum that disposes him to relinquish
his claim to an accommodation bridge; but still the capital invested is en¬
hanced in amount by that sum. Many farms, andall public roads that are to
be kept up, and which the canal intersects, must have bridges over the canal.
We shall, for the present occasion, only assume that an outlay of $1,000
every 12 } ears, to sustain wooden bridges on three miles of canal, as the
average of the excess beyond that required for similar expenditures in the
railway system. This will equal $63 per annum, or $21 per mile per annum.
Supposing $500 to be required at the end of each term of ten years to
sustain a set of lock-gates, we should estimate the cost of 66 sets, on 106
miles of canal, at $25 per annum per mile, and not $31 12 as calculated on
page 171, Doc. No. 18, since an annuity of $3 112 regularly invested with the
annual incomes in 5 per cent, stocks, would, at the end of ten years, when
the money would be wanted, amount to $43,566, instead of $33,000, the
sum assumed in the estimate for this item, as required uf>on the whole line of
the canal. And it may here be remarked, that the estimates for the annual
cost of a line of double railway, preferred in Document No. IS, p. 169-70,
have been unduly swelled by adopting the same mode of calculation.
We shall here recapitulate the several items of expenditure per annum
per mile, upon a canal, to the extent already calculated, with an allowance
for superintendence and contingencies to the same amount as on the railway.
1. Repairing lock gates - $25
2. Incidental attention and labor upon the banks, tow-paths,
ditches, drains, and culverts - 125
3. Cleaning the canal of sediment, sand, gravel, and clay - 230
4. Repairing dams, feeders, and guard locks - - - 94
5. Maintenance of waste weirs, and towpath over them - 8
6. Renewing of bridges beyond that required on a railroad - 21
7. Superintendence and contingencies - - - 25
Amounting to - - $528
180
£ Doc. No. loi. ]
From an examination of the foregoing estimate, it will doubtless be no¬
ticed that we have not set down any thing to cover the contingency of a
failure in walls, culverts, or aqueducts. To apologize for this omission, it
may.likewise be stated that, in making our estimate for the annual repairs
upon'the railway, we neither included walls, culverts, nor viaducts. These
works were supposed to be well contructed in both cases. Had we entered
upon the inquiry touching these structures, however, we shbuld have been
compelled to have awarded a balance in this respect against the canal system.
It is unnecessary, therefore, to look beyond the items of expense already
enumerated, to see that the annual expenses attendant upon the repairs of a
canal, may be expected to exceed those of a double railroad, even though
wood, in lieu of stone, shall be used in the construction of the railway. [See
doc. No. 5, hereto annexed, and already referred to.]
But the sum of $528, the amount of the foregoing estimate, does not in¬
clude the whole of the yearly charge due to the maintenance of a mile of
canal. It is the amount estimated to be required after the canal shall have
been 8 years in use. It does not embrace any allowance for the " extraor¬
dinary repairs" which all new works of this description will certainly re¬
quire, and which are supposed to cease within that term of years, in conse¬
quence of the acquired comparative permanency of the embankments. The
great amount of " extraordinary repairs" and expenses to which a canal is
subject when it is new, and, as a consequence, the length of time that elapses
after it is declared to be finished, taken off the hands of the contractor and
paid for, before it can be profitably used, will continue to be a peculiar
characteristic belonging to this species of internal improvement, that should
be brought into the account when a comparison is to be instituted between
Ute relative merits of canals and railways, inasmuch as the latter are com¬
paratively free froWsuch expenses, and can be used, without delay, as soon
as the rails shall be laid.
The experience of the canal system will not permit us to fix upon less
than one year as the time that may be expected to elapse, after a canal is de¬
clared to be finished and is paid for, until its navigation becomes advanta¬
geous. This conclusion is corroborated by the instances which have occur¬
red on the Pennsylvania canals, without looking further. See Report
Pennsylvania Canal Commissioners, December 15, 1831.
The estimate stated on page 171, Doc. No. 18, for the annual repairs of
the canals from Mauch Chunk to Bristol, and amounting to IS 156 12 per mile,
as we have already stated, was made in the month of May, 1830. The cal¬
culator prudentially avoided swelling his estimate by the repairs that might
take place during the first eight years. This estimate embraced 59# miles
of canal along the Delaware, then in the course of construction by the State,
but which was that season pronounced to be completed, and the water in¬
troduced in October of that year (1830.) This canal, however, has not yet
been brought into profitable use, on account of the extensive repairs which
had to be made during the year 1831, and amounting to $97,339 51, or
$1,629 per mile.
The repairs during the year 1831 upon the following canals in Pennsyl¬
vania, viz. The Delaware division, (just mentioned,) Columbia line of the
eastern division, Harrisburg line, including the Susquehanna, to lock
at Barry's falls, North Branch division, West Branch division; Juniata di¬
vision,Western division, and French creek feeder, being, in the whole 426#
miles of canal, amounted to $353,644 58, or $830 per mile. (See Canal
[ Doc. No. 101. ]
181
Commissioners' report aforesaid. ) And there has been at least a year lost
in the use of these canals on account of the " untoward circumstances"
attendant upon them. It is stated that this amount contains, besides the
cost of " ordinary and extraordinary repairs," an allowance " for additional
structures to render them [the canals] more perfect," but what this amount
may be is not stated, .nor is it material, since, as the imperfections were not
foreseen, they could only be met and provided for in the repairs.
We will not take the result upon any one of these divisions of canal a^
an index of what may be expected to befal other canals; yet we think that
an average upon 426 miles of canalling, situated in different and distant sec¬
tions of the Commonwealth, should be regarded as data in completing the
comparative estimates commenced in Doc. No. 1$, but not finished, as we
have shown.
Assuming, for the present occasion, the average cost of canals and their
appurtenant works at $25,000 per mile, and seeing that their useful effects
will, in general, be postponed a year after the time of their completion, it
follows that the additional sum of $1,500, being the interest for a year, will
be added to the capital, the interest of which, that is, $90, must therefore
be provided for annually thereafter, and it may be considered as augment¬
ing the annual repairs, inasmuch as it will originate in consequence of the
canal requiring repairs.
It will next be proper to assign the amount of "ordinary" and "extra¬
ordinary repairs," that is, to determine how much of- the $830 per mile,
incurred in the repairs of 1831, was made up of the kind of repairs that
are included in the seven items of thp estimate which we have already made,
(amounting to $528,) and the residue which will then be lacking to make
up $830, will be for " extraordinary repairs" that will not occur after
some years.
The canals being new, item No. 1, being for repairs of lock gates, will
be nothing; No. 2 will be the full amount, $125; No. 3 will be nothing,
since there has not been time for much alluvial deposite; No. 4, consisting
of the repair of dams, &c., may probably have occurred to the extent of
three-fourths of the amount of a permanent estimate, or $70; Nos. 5 and
6 nothing, for want of time for decay; No. 7 the full amount, $25. These
items, being collected, make $220 as the probable amount per mile of the
" ordinary" repairs, not consequent upon the weakness or defectiveness of
new works of this description.
Consequently, $830, minus $220, leaves $610 as the amount per mile of
the "extraordinary repairs" on these 4261 miles of canal, in the year 1S31.
On reference to the Canal Commissioners' report before referred to, page
82, (as printed by order of the Senate,) it will appear, that, of the sum of
$353,644 58, the total amount of repairs, the Canal Commissioners assign
$92,70S 84 for "ordinary," and $260,935 14 for "extraordinary repairs,"
which result in $218, and $612, per mile, respectively. It will be seen
that the allotment of $220, and $G10, which we have just given, differs
very little from that made by the Canal Commissioners.
Now, when it is considered that 195 miles of these canals were reported
by the Canal Commissioners, on the 18lh December, 1829, as finished, and
therefore that nearly one-half of the entire extent had the advantage of the
whole of the year 1830 to consolidate, it will be inferred that $610 per
mile is not enough to cover the extraordinary repairs of the first year, in¬
asmuch as it is to be presumed that the benefits of the repairs made in 1830
»
182
[ Doc. No. 101. ]
were effective in 1831, as limiting in degree the amount for that year.
We shall, however, in this comparative estimate take these repairs at $610
for the first year and, instead of the apparently arbitrary assumption made
on page 171, Doc. No. 18, that this description of repairs will extend through
the term of" 8 years' duration," shall limit them to 5 years, presuming that,
during this period, the subsiding and consolidating of the parts will have
been effected, or, at least, to such an extent, that the decreasing series of ex¬
penditures on this head will be covered in the respective years by 610, 488,
366, and 122 dollars. Discounting at 5 per cent compound interest, the
present worth of this series of payments is $1,63S.
The interest of this sum at 6 per cent per annum, or $9S, will therefore
be the perpetual annual charge estimated to flow from these " extraordinary
repairs."
And the estimate for the amount of the repairs of a canal per mile, per
annum, will finally be—
1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7. Items herein before estimated, and to accrue after
due permanency is acquired, , - - - 528
8. Interest of interest, accruing from delay in commencing profitable
use, - - - - - - -90
8. Interest on present worth of extraordinary repairs made in the
first few years, - - - - - -98
Amounting to - - - - - - 8716
The capital at first expended will be augmented by one year's inte¬
rest from the delay of the profitable use, beyond that to which
railways are subject, by - - • - - - 1,500
It will also be augmented by the extraordinary repairs to which the
canal is subject in the first few years, beyond those of the railroad,
by - - - - - - - - 1,638
Total, - - - - - - - -83,138
Hence if the construction when the canal is considered to be " finished,"
be 825,000 per mile, then the annual repairs per mile will be estimated at
8716.
But should it be preferred to augment the capital by the beforementioned
items, amounting to 83,138, then the capital per mile will be 828,138, and
the repairs of canal, per annum, per mile, will be estimated at 852S.
We can readily account, therefore, for the circumstance that the canals
of New York which, when they were declared to be " finished," had cost
only at the rate of 818,000 per mile, should, in the course of a very few
years after, have been stated to have cost 821,000 per mile. Por this pur¬
pose we have only to suppose the 83,138, or rather 82,718, (as the first cost
was 818,000 instead of ¿25,000 per mile,) to have been further augmented
to £3,000 by interests which the current tolls did not pay, or otherwise
by greater repairs than are measured by the average we have adopted.
Having, in a concise and candid manner, endeavored to present such
views of the subjects treated of as the present time and opportunity would
allow, we shall annex a reference to the following additional papers, annex¬
ed hereto, and marked as follows:
[ Doc. No. 101. ]
1831
No. 6. An abstract prepared by Wm. Woodville, superintendent of
transportation on the Baltimore and Ohio railroad, containing an account
of the number of passengers and tons of commodoties which were convey¬
ed on that road, from the 1st of January to the 25th of February, both
days inclusive, 1S32, and tending to show not only the advantages to trade
and intercourse to this particular road in the depth of a severe winter, when
canal navigation was closed, but the great advantages which may be expect¬
ed from the adoption of the railway system.
No. 7. An extract from an account of the Liverpool and Manchester
railway, by Henry Booth, treasurer, Liverpool; republished by Carey &
Lea, Philadelphia, 1831, containing " a general abstract" of the expendi¬
tures in the construction of that stupendous work, with " observations"
thereon.
Frequent reference having been made, in Doc. No. 18, to the great cost
of this road, without any allusion to the items and attendant circumstances,
we have though it but just to annex them, and, at the same time, to protest
against the endeavors which have been made, apparently to induce an im¬
pression of their inapplicability to this country. It is to be presumed, that,
in the absence of special information, it would not be imagined that it could
become necessary to pay ¿695,305 sterling, for land on about 30 miles of the
route of a railway, or $14,000 per mile, independent of the land and build¬
ings purchased at the two ends of the road, costing a further sum of 86,000
per mile. The expense incurred in obtaining a charter from Parliament,
and for law, was j628,465, or aboul? 84,000 per mile, yet such were the facts.
Notwithstanding the enormous cost of this road, however, the dividends
have been 4j per cent, on the par value of the shares for each six months
of the year 1831, or at the rate of 9 per cent, per annum; and it is said
that the dividends could have been still greater, but for the reservation of a
surplus with a view of forming a second tunnel under the town of Liver¬
pool, at an estimated cost of ¿6100,000.
Further observations in relation to the comparative merits of Canals
and Railroads.
If it should be alleged that we have not been sufficiently definite in rela¬
tion to the cost of construction, we would answer that, if our essay is liable
to this charge, it is so, not from the want of the will to do ample justice to
the subject, but rather from the absence of a sufficient number of examples
in a new system of improvement scarcely yet introduced into the country.
We will, however, now offer our opinions a little more at length in rela¬
tion to the cost of construction, having regard to the examples which we
have, and to the facilities which we believe to exist.
The cost of a single tract of railway, laid with the use of sleepers and
strong pieces of wood, the sleepers being 4 feet apart, and bedded upon
broken stone, the dimensions and cost of the wood and iron! being as in the
estimate in the accompanying document No. 5, was, on the first division of
the Baltimore and Ohio railroad, about 84,000 per mile, inclusive of the
broken stone, labor, and contingencies. For the renewing of the perisha¬
ble part of this structure, we have already furnished an estimate. It may
be proper to say that, upon some of the divisions, the wood railway has cost
more than upon the first division, owing, principally, to working too late in
the season; {o giving more than an average price for some of the materials
* 184
[ Doc. No. 101. ]
and labor, on emergencies; and to hauling some of the materials greater dis¬
tances on the turnpike road than would have been necessary, but for a de¬
terminaron to open the road by a specified time. We are of opinion,
therefore, that the average cost of such a railway in this country, may be set
down at & 8,000 per mile, since, in the interior, where wood is cheaper, the
iron will be more costly. Such a railway would not only be suited to the
use of horses as the motive power, but would likewise admit theuseof light
locomotive steam'engines for the conveyance of passengers, moving within
the following limits of velocity, that is to say: not exceeding ten miles per
hour in curvatures of a radius of 1,000 feet or less, nor exceeding 15 miles
per hour on the curved parts of the way, having a radius greater than 1,000
feet and less than 2,000 feet, and upon the straight parts; and on the curved
parts having a radius greater than 2,000 feet, a velocity of from 15 to 20
miles per hour.* It will be practicable, therefore, as much the greater part
of the curvatures of a railway from Baltimore to the Ohio, may have a ra¬
dius greater than 1,000 feet, to carry passengers at an average rate of 15
miles per hour, with the use of the locomotive engine; in which case the
entire distance may be performed within 24 hours! With the use of.horses
as the moving power, the route to the Ohio would be performed in about
40 hours. The inclined planes across the Alleghany mountain would be
worked with stationary steam engines at the rate of 10 miles per hour.
We have just given S S,000 as the average cost per mile of a double rail¬
way, upon which these performances may be made. It will now be proper
to assign the probable average cost per tnil§ of preparing fhe line for the re¬
ception of the railway. This will include the graduation and masonry; and
we shall suppose the culverts and bridges to be of stone, with the exception
of bridges over large streams, which may be of wood.
We shall suppose that few lines in this country of equal length will cost
more than that part of the Baltimore and Ohio railroad from Ellicott's mills
to the Potomac, a distance of 544 miles. The cost of preparing this part
of the line of that road, amounted to the'average sum of $ 8,540 per mile.
About 20 miles of this distance is in the granite reformation, the gradua¬
tion of which, was rendered very expensive on account of the large mass¬
es of that material which had to be removed by blasting, whilst thorough
cuts through projecting points of hills, 20, 30, and 40 feet in depth, had to be
made, and new and extensive channels for the stream which occupied the
narrow ravine formed; whilst the road was made to intersect and traverse
the old channel in order to secure the proper curvature and direction. Up¬
on the residue of the line, the excavations and embankments were heavy
items, and included the graduation of four inclined planes at Parr's ridge.
The quantity of masonry is likewise fully as great upon this line, as will be
an average on most lines of equal length in this country. The work upon
a large part of this line, was carried on with greater speed than comported
with economy in the construction, in order that the road should be open for
use to Frederick at the commencement of the winter. The last letting for
graduation and masonry which was made, took place in June last, (1831,)
to the extent of twelve miles including the planes at Parr's ridge, and the
work did not fairly commence under this letting till after wheat harvest;
yet with such energy was the work prosecuted, that a track of railway was
completed to Frederick by the 1st of December last, at which time yie road
was formally opened and travelled from Baltimore to Frederick. On the
twelve miles so quickly finished, the quantity of earth and slate rock re-
*
I Doc. No. 101. ] 185
moved,;in the formation of the road bed, averaged about 25,000 cubic yards
to the mile, whilst the wages of laborers were enhanced from 75 to 100
cents per day.
These facts are stated to show that this part of the road cost more than
àn average amount for the same quantity and description of work under or¬
dinary circumstances; at the same time they also demonstrate with what ce¬
lerity a railway can be constructed.
As we proceed westward, the price of provisions and labor will become
less. Tne reduction will probably amount to 25 per cent by the time we
arrive west of the Alleghany mountain. The rock to be encountered there
will be principally freestone and other softer species of sand stone; the
removing of which, will not be more than half as expensive as that on the
Patapsco. For the same reason, the masonry will also cost much less. Un¬
der these views, it is highly probable that the same quantity in cubic yards
of excavation and embankment, and the same quantity and extent of mason¬
ry and bridges that, between Ellicott's mills and the Point of Rocks, cost
$ 8,540 per mile, would, west of the Alleghany, cost no moré than $ 6,000.
Adding the cost of a double railway laid with wood as belore described, and
the estimated cost of a double railroad per mile will be,
East of the Alleghany mountains - - - - $ 16,540
West of do. ' do. - - - -. 14,000
And, in a comparatively level part of the western country, where
timber is abundant, and to be used for the principal bridges,
abbut - - - - - JS 11,000
We shall now augment the prime cost of the railroad by a sum,, which,
we think, will be sufficient to .compensate for restoring the embankments to
their proper heights after settling, ánd for the removal of slips in the exca¬
vations. These will constitute the "extraordinary repairs" of the railroad,
and will cease in a few years. Having endeavored to estimate this descrip¬
tion of repairs for a canal, and at a rate that should only show the excess
against the canal when compared with the railroad, it was not considered
necessary, under that view ofthe subject, to estimate the extraordinary re¬
pairs to which a railroad is subject in its new state, from a want of solidity
in its embankments. It is very evident that this description of repairs for
a canal, will be greatly in excess; pince, in the formation ofthe canaj, on ac¬
count of its greater, width, and the depth below the berm, the excavations
must be deeper than for the railroad, and' the excavated banks in sidelong
situations much higher. And, moreover, a slip of earth from the bank, af¬
ter having fallen into the canal, will be much more expensive to remove
from thence, than it would be to remove an equal quantity from the surface
of tho railroad. And, again, when a breach in the bank of a capal takes
place, all the water upon that level to the nearest lock, each way, rushes
throftgh the breach, and, by enlarging it, cuts the embankment to its foun¬
dation, depositing the excavated materials in the bordering river, or, perhaps,
upon the adjacent farm lands; to the damage of the proprietor; whereas
no such breaches or devastations can be charged to the account of the rail¬
road system.
The charge for the restoration óf the embankments to the extent of their
settling, as respects the railroad, can be estimated quite readily, as we know
it, from experience, to be about 10 per cent., in case the embankment is of
ordinary earth, and has been properly made.
Now we have supposed 25,000 cubic yards as about the average quantity
24
JSjB
[ Doc. No. 101. J
#
of embankment entering into the formation of a mile of railroad, one tenth
part of which may be considered to be of rock or of such consistency as not
to decrease in volume; and there will remain 22,500 cubic yards, 10 per cent,
of which, or 2,250 yards, have to be supplied, to counteract the effects of
settling of each mile of the railroad. Eastward of the mountains, the cost
of this removal may be taken at 25 cents per cubic yard, and westward at
20 cents. And, therefore, the allowance for this item will be, in the east,
$563, and, in the west, $450. The greater part, and, in some instances,
the whole of the earth required to raise the embankment to its 'requisite
height, and from which it had receded, will be supplied from the redundant
earth removed from the ditches in the cuts, at the prices stated. But as this
may not happen in every instance, whilst, in places, more earth will have
to be removed from the cuts than the repairing of the contiguous embank¬
ments will require, it may be proper to add 20 per cent., to cover the
expense to arise from that difference, together with $160 in the one" case,
and $12S in the other, for adjusting the railway to the proper level at the
same time that the embankments are raised.
The "extraordinary repairs" for each mile of a railway will, therefore,
average $835 eastward, and $668 westward of the mountains. Supposing
¿hese repairs to take place proportionally, and in the same,period as those
upon the canal, and discounting for present money, these sums become $748
and $598 respectively, and the cost of construction will be further charged
with these respective sums; or, otherwise, $45 in the one case, and $36 in
the other, being the annual interests, will be set down as repairs per annum
per mile. At present, we shall add these costs to the prime cost of con¬
struction in the two first stated cases; and, on account of the greater supposed
favorabléness of the country in the third case, we shall add to it only $500.
The cost of a mile of double railway, laid with the use of wood to support
the rails, will, therefore, ultimately be,
1. Eastward of the Alleghany mountain, - $17,283
2. Westward of do - - - 14,598
3. Westward of do and in the more level
parts, where timber is abundant, - - - t 11,500
We now assert our opinion, that the average prime cost attendant upon
the construction of canals and their appendages, upon grounds of similar na¬
tural formation, judging from what is.understood to be the experience in
this country, wilt, with but a medium number of locks and aqueducts built
of cot stone, and no very expensive reservoirs, be as follows:
1. Eastward of the Alleghany mountain, - - - $25,000
2. Westward of do . 20,000
3. Westward cf do and in the more level and
favorable parts, - - - - .- - 12,000
Upon the western section of the route of the Chesapeake and Ohio eanal,
extending from Cumberland to Pittsburg, a distance of 153 miles and
of a mile, the cost of construction, as estimated by N. S. Roberts and A.
Cruger, engineers, with a width of 48 feet, and depth of 5 feet for the canal,
is $50,347 per mile. (See Doc. No. 18, page 126.) We feel confident
that a double railway, upon the same route, would not cost the half of this
amount per mile.
It is believed that the experience of New York, Pennsylvania, and Ohio,
in relation to canals only 40 feet wide and 4, feet deep, will justify the as¬
sumption of these amounts; as it is probable that the canals constructed east
[ Doc. No. 101. 3
187
of the Alleghany, by the State of Pennsylvania, inclusive of dams, aqueducts,
and basins, will have cost thé rate here assigned, and it must be recollected
that great reaches of the New York Erie canal occupy ds favorable ground
as do the canals of the State of Ohio, whilst provisions and labor were abun¬
dant and cheap. It must likewise be considered that, in the more recent
formation of works of internal improvement, the competition, and, conse-
quently, l)ie cost, has been, and will probably continue to be, greater than
when New York constructed her magnificent canals.
We have already endeavored to show that, upon an average, the! ultimate
cost of a mile of catial will exceed the cost when it is first declared to be
"finished," by 83,138; and we gave our opinion that this would not be
the absolute excess, but only the relative when compared with railroads.
Taking it, however, to be the absolute instead of the relative excess of
the cost of a mile of a canal, when its embankments shall have become con¬
solidated through time, beyond that of its first cost, and supposing the less
cost of the canals in Ohio' to require but the one-half of this allowance, with¬
out making any- allowance fora western cafial connected with the mountain
region, since the damages upon the western division of the Pennsylvania
canal, in consequence of freshets, have already, during the present winter
been almost as great in amount as the reported repairs upon that division,
which were made during the year 1831, then the relative cost of canals and
railroads, such as we have described, will be as in the following table:
No.
Situation.
Railroad
per mile
Canal
per mile.
1
Eastward of the Alleghany mountain,
17,283
828,133
2
Westward of do -
14,598
23,128
3
Westward of do and when
the facilities for construction are greater,
11,500
13,569
We have already estimated the annual repairs of this description of rail¬
roads at 8500 per mile, and of a canal that should be compared with it, 8538
per mile. Adding the annual interest on the cost of a mffle according to No.
1 of the foregoing table, and find the annual charge that Í9 to govern .the toll
upon the railroad to be 81,537 28, and upon the canal 82,216 28. With a
traffic amounting to 100,000 tons per annum, the toll necessary to repay
these respective charges \vouhl be, upon the railway, 1 -jVA cents per ton
per mile, and upon the canal 3 *0\'0 cents. Taking the cost of transporta¬
tion per ton per mile upon the railway at £ of a cent, as we have estimated
it, and upon the canal at à of a cent, as some have estimated it to be on spa¬
cious canals, then the cost of both toll and transportation on the railway will
appear to be 2 2S7-1000 cents per tonper mile, and upon the canal 2 716-1000
cents.
When 150,000 tons of commodities shall pass in a year, then the toll and
transportation upon the railway will be 1 775-1000 cents per ton'per mile,
and upon the canal 1 977-1000 cents; but when 271,600 tons shall be the
amount of trade, then the cost of toll and transportation will be the same on
either, to wit: 1 316-1000 cents per ton per mile; and when the quantity of
tonnage shall be greater than is here mentioned, then the entire cost ottran-
188 [ Doc. No. J01. ]
si); will be something less upon the canal than on the railroad. It will how¬
ever occur only on great lines of intercommunication that even so large an
amount of traffic as 150,000 tons per annum shall pass upon either a canal or
a railway. -
In the case of No. 2, the amount of anhual tonnage that will be conveyed
at an equal expense, both on the railway and the canal, is 216,160 tons;
whilst, in the case oí No. 3, it is only 100,S56 tons; from which last we
conclude that, in Ohio or any other place where the cost of a canal will aver¬
age but $13,569 per mile, and a double railroad but $11,500, the canal will
be preferable to the railway only when the tonnage in "both directions shall
exceed 100,000 tons per annum, and having regard only to the cost of the
tolls and transportation. Other considerations attached to, and connected
with either of the two modes of improvement, will, as a matter of course, be
duly weighed, as well as the circumstance that the railway will be operative
during the winter season.
These deductions, which award a slight preference in favor of the railway,
regard only the conveyance upon it, as well as upon the canal, of heavy,
bulky, and cheap articles. The instant, however, that we contemplate the
conveyance of passengers, and the mails, or the transportation of light but
costly articles of commerce; with regard to which it has often been truly
said that " time is money," that moment the advantage must be awarded to
the railway system in preference to the canal system, beyond the possibility
of cavil. Moreover, these deductions flow from a contemplation oí the use
of horses alone, as the motive power, and it would be altogether unnecessary
to reiterate in this place the advantages to result from the application to rail¬
ways of the locomotive steam engine.
With regard to these estimates, it may be asked, how it comes that we
have made the cost per mile only $17,288, when, the average cost of the Bal¬
timore and Ohio railroad, between Ellicott's mills and the Point of Rocks,
will be $20,168 per mile, and from Baltimore to the Point of Rocks $27,12S?
We would answer that the cost of $20,168 includes a considerable length of
railway, laid with granite instead of wood, whereas.it ¿vill be observed that
our estimate of $17,28S is for a railway constructed with sleepers and strong
pièces of wood, as we have more than once described. This estimate, it is
conceived, is a fair one for the average cost of such a railway. It is, howevér,
but au average, Ad it may be expected that the actual cost will, in some in¬
stances, exceed, whilst in others it will fall short of this amount; principally,
however, on account of variations in the Cost of the graduation and bridging.
With regard to the average of 827,128, which will be the actual cost on 67è
miles from Baltimore to the Potomac, it has, on more than one occasion,
been stated to the public, that this amount was caused by the uncommon ex-
pensiveness of the first division, extending to Ellicott's mills, and indeed of
the first seven miles only; and this was owing less to the inherent difficulties
which nature really presented to the contemplation of the engineer than to
circumstances connected with the interests of the improved parts of the city,
and which claimed to be respected, by means of an approach to the city upon
a high level, that greatly increased the expenses of the graduation as well as
of the m'asonry. We cannot view this occurrence as having any claim to en¬
ter into the question of comparison between canals and railways, unless it
should be agreed also to contemplate the probable cost of a canal on the 7 or
even 13 miles, in which event«we should e*pect a decided balance against
the canal. A different view of this case, would be as unfair as it would be to
[ Doc. No. 101. 3
189
allege the cost of the tunnel under the town of Liverpool as an item insepar¬
able from the railway system, when it is known that the docks could have
been approached differently in another quarter, though not so agreeably to
the interests of all parties. It is gratifying, however, to know, that, in con¬
ducting the railway to the basin, the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad Company
have accomplished, on the surface of the streets of Baltimore, at an expense
of from 15 to 20,000 dollars, what has cost the Liverpool and Manchester
Railway Company g240,000 to secure, bypassing under Liverpool!
It may also be expected that we should advert to the causes of the excess
oftheestimatedcost of the "Alleghany portage railroad,in Pennsylvania,"and
of the''Columbia and Philadelphia railroad," beyond the average estimate
which we have made. We did not expect this estimateof 217,288, toapply to
that part ofa railway that should include the inclined plane, and stationary
engine system across the Alleghany mountain. It will have been noticed
that, when upon this particular subject, our estimate for that section was
225,000 per mile, with a railway constructed as herein before described.
The " Alleghany portage railroad" will be made to overcome an elevation
of about 1,400 feet on the eastern side of the summit, and 1,171 feet on the
western side, by means of stationary steam power, and when it is consider¬
ed that it is to be laid exclusively of stone and iron, whilst the latter is of
the heavy English rail, costing three times as much as the rail employed on
the Baltimore and Ohio railroad, and that, besides a tunnel, some extensive
bridges are contemplated, it may readily be conceived that this railway
should cost 234,600 per mile, inclusive of the machinery. The "Columbia
and Philadelphia railroad" is likewise to be laid with the expensive kind of
rail just alluded to, upon cast iron chairs and stone blocks, and it also in¬
cludes inclined planes and their machinery, and other very expensive work,
and especially of bridges, having to traverse the country across the streams.
This railway is estimated at 228,173 per mile. The construction is of the
most expensive character, and it has been planned with a view to great per¬
manency, and for the use of heavy locomotive engines.
We have founded our estimates upon that description of railway which
willoccupy an intermediate place in the system; being superior to that having
buta single track, and inferior to that constructed exclusively of stone and
iron, or to that which should be formed with heavier iron rails laid upon
timber. We have done so, in part, because of the probability that is
sort of railway will be extensively laid, and, in part, because its strength
will be sufficient to withstand the action of common cars, and the lighter
description of locomotives; but with a less velocity than is attainable, or
than will be found to be expedient upon some lines of railway that have been,
or that will be, projected; yet, allowing ofa speed altogether sufficient for the
general purposes of trade and intercourse, decidedly superior to canals for the
conveyance upon it of passengers and goods of the comparatively light and
valuable descriptions, and not inferior to them for Che conveyance of com¬
modities of the more bulky and heavy character, especially as the operations
upon it will not be interrupted from drought, nor, in any material degree,
from frost and snow.
It will be seen that the estimate for the annual repairs of a mile of rail¬
way, laid with wood, is about the double of that laid with stone sills, when
the quantity of iron in the rail is the same in each case; that is, the differ¬
ence is 2250 per annum. When, therefore, in the construction, or in the
repair, after the wood shall decay, the substitution of stone sills for wood,
190
f Doc. No. 101. ]
shall not involve an expenditure in the construction or repair, as the case
may be, beyond that of the use of wood that wiil last 12 years, to an amount
that will produce an interest of $250 per annum at 5 per cent., or $5,000
per double track, then it will be cheaper to use stone than wood.
It follows from thence that the toll will be as moderate upon a railway
laid exclusively of stone and iron, as it will be when wood shall be used in
the construction; that is, when the railway alone, exclusive of the gradu¬
ation and masonry, shall cost in the one case $13,000 per mile per double
track, and in the other $8,000. It may be expected that, eastward of the
Alleghany, the stone sill and iron railway will cost from $12,000 to
$16,000 per mile of double track, exclusive of the graduation and masonry,
according to the quality of the stone and the local facilities. We conclude,
therefore, that the advantages of the use of stone sills, instead of strong pieces
and sleepers of wood, in the construction, should, in every ease, be a sub¬
ject of due consideration and calculation as to the difference of expense;
which should not be allowed to exceed $5,000 per mile, as-we have stated.
These remarks regarda railway upon which the motive power shall be
horses, stationary steam engines, and the lighter description of locomotives
that shall not move with high velocities. If, however, it shall be intended
to use the more powerful locomotives, or to employ a velocity that shall
reach to 15, 20, and, occasionalljq to 30 miles per hour, it is conceived that
the stone sills must be employed, or the railway must be laid according to
the English plan, as adopted on the " Columbia and Philadelphia railroad,"
or, lastly, it may be laid upon wood, by using iron rails that shall not weigh
less than 100 tons to the mile of double track, whilst the wood may be in¬
creased somewhat in quantity. Of these methods, we lean in favor of the
stone sills, or the wood, in preference to the English method of stone blocks
and cast iron chairs, inasmuch as we believe that the object will then be at¬
tained at a less expense in the construction'and repairs. The adoption of
wood, however, in the latter case would not be preferred to the stone sills,
if the latter were accessible at a sufficiently reasonable amount of expense.
The kinds of railway last adverted to, Will vary, in expense of construc¬
tion, from $12,000 per mile of double track, up to $20,000 per mile, ex¬
clusive of the graduation and masonry, according to the degree of perma¬
nency given to the work and the quantity of iron employed. It is probable,
however, that a railway constructed with a view to the use of locomo¬
tive engines weighing six tons, to move with the higher velocities, so as to
average 15 and 20 miles per hour, can be constructed for from $15,000 to
$16,000 per mile, exclusive of the graduation and masonry.
A railroad constructed in this manner, and for these purposes, may be ex¬
pected to cost from 825,000 to $30,000 per mile, when the graduation and
bridging shall be of a medium character in point of expense; but may be ex¬
pected to ascend to 40, 50 or 60 thousand dollars a mile, or even more, ac¬
cording to the obstacles to overcome in the character of heavy excavations,
embankments, viaducts and tunnels.
Previous to engaging in the construction of any considerable work of in¬
tercommunication, but more especially of a railway of the latter very expensive
description, the project should be well weighed in ali its attendant aspects
of probable expense and income.
We have not undertaken to institute a comparison between a canal anda
railway of the latter description, inasmuch as this kind of railway is planned
[ Doc. No. 1Ö1. 3
191
and executed to accomplish effects in time and space, of which the canal sys¬
tem has furnished no example, and for which it is, beyond question, vfhoily
inadequate.
Respectfully submitted.
J. KNIGHT.
• N. B% The estimate [appended, marked No. 87.] recently made upon
the route between Baltimore and Washington, is for a railroad of the charac¬
ter here contemplated and just described.
No. 1.
CHAP. IX. WOOD'S TREATISE, ED. 1831.
Comparative performances of motive power on Canals and Railroads.
The existing agitation of the public mind respecting the relative utility of
railroads and canals in the transit of goods from one place to another, ren¬
ders it a subject of proper inquiry, to ascertain the relative performances of
the different kinds of motive power upon those two species of internal com¬
munication.
I shall, therefore, give a brief comparison, founded on the foregoing de¬
ductions of the different kinds of motive power upon railroads, with the per¬
formance of horses, by the present mode of canal navigation.
Not having had an opportunity, from my own personal observation, of
ascertaining, with sufficient accuracy, the weights which a horse will drag
in a -boat upon a canal, I shall be obliged to have recourse to the reports of
those engineers, whose practice, in that line, has enabled them to obtain the
necessary data,
Mr. R. Stevenson, of Edinburgh, in his "report on the Edinburgh rail¬
way, in 1818, states: " Upon the canals in England, a boat of 30 Ions burden
is generally tracked by one horse, and navigated by two men and a boy; on
a level railway, it may be concluded that a good horse, managed by a man
or lad, will work with eight tons: at this rate, the work performed on a rail¬
way by one man and horse, is more than in proportion of one-third of the
work done upon the canal by three persons and a horse;" and Mr. Steven¬
son, in his calculations afterwards, assumes the power of a horse, upon a
good railway, equal to lep tons.
Mr. Sylvester, in his report on the Liverpool and Manchester railway,
gives twenty tons as the performance of a horse upon the canal, travelling
at the rate of two miles an hour.
The variation of these two statements may have arisen from the observa¬
tions being made on canals of different widths. Mr. Stevenson, in another
report, states, that the striking difference between the draught of horses on
coming out of a narro^v canal into a more capacious one, induced the reporter
to give the subject particular attention; and, by means of experiments made
with the dynamometer, so far as he had an opportunity of carrying the ex¬
periments into effect, the difference appeared to be at least one-fifth in favor
of the great canal.
We have been favored, by Mr. Bevan, with some experiments and obser¬
vations on the force of traction, with different loads and velocities, on canals.
192
[ Doc. No. 101. ]
The resistance was ascertained by a spring dynamometer attached to the
towing rope. The length of the boat was 69.5 feet, breadth 6.92 feet. The
correct transverse section of.the canal was not obtained, but was from. 90 to
100 feet; the immersed part of the boat being about 19 feet, or .one-fifth of
the channel.
The force of traction required to move this boat, loaded with 23.77 tons,
at a mean velocity of 2.45 miles an hour, was, on an average of fifty-four
observations, 79.5 lbs.
With this load, Mr. Bevan remarks, one horse generally travelled 26è
miles a day. *
The same gentleman has also favored us with the following experiments
made on the Grand Junction canal at Paddington:
Transverse section of canal 142 feet
Loaded boat - - 17.2
a weight of 72 lbs. acting over a pully, drew the empty boat at the rate of
3.45 miles an hour.
A weight of 77 lbs. acting in a similar-way, produced a medium velocity
of 2.5 miies an hour when the boat was loaded with 21 tons of cast iron.
And all circumstances the same as the last experiment, it required a weight
of 308 lbs. to produce a mean velocity of 3.83 miles an hour.
Mr. Bevan adds, "Tbelenglh of the towing line may be considered 98
feet, and the mean distance of the boat from the towing-path, 20 feet. From
this experiment, considering that the canal, in that part, was of greater area
than it is upon an average, it may be inferred that, to maintain a velocity of
four miles an hour, with a loaded boat, it would require the aid of four
horses, provided the safety of the banks would allow; but as the canal is now
formed, it would not be capable of withstanding the waste produced by such
a velocity."
Mr. Chapman (Canal Navigation, page 73) states, that he observed a boat,
8 feet width of floor, 10 feet width of water line, 50 feet extreme length,
loaded with 14 tons, and drawing 2.25 feet of water, dragged against a
stream, the velocity of which was 5J miles an hour, with 28 trackers, and
three men in the boat, pulling it on, and yet itdid not advance more than a
quarter of a mile an hour.
Mr. Smeaton's estimate was, 22 tons burden, from 2 to 2| miles an hour,
with one horse.
Mr. James Walker, of London, made some experiments in the London
docks on the relative resistances at different velocities, the result of which
he communicated to the Royal Society, (May 31, .1S27) which being very
conclusive, and conducted with great care, we give an abstract of them.
(Note L. Appendix.)
The result of these experiments was, t)iat the resistance increased in a
greater proportion than the duplicate ratio of the velocities, the respective
resistances being as follows:
Velocity in miles an hour. Observed resistance in lbs. Resistance calculated
^ in duplicate ratio of
the velocity standard.
2.529 9.41
4.529 42.59 38.11
3.871 ■ 28.07 22.07
Some experiments, subsequently made, on the Forth and Clyde» canal,
are said to have produced a contrary résultat high velocities. We have not
[ Doc. No. 101. 3
193
seen any official account of these experiments, but it is'said that, at low ve¬
locities, the resistance was found to correspond with that previously known;
but, on pushing the horses at a greater rate of speed, the force of traction
diminished, the wave at the bow of the boat disappeared, and the agitation
of the water in the canal became comparatively trifling.
We confess we are somewhat sceptical as to the practical result of these
experiments, and, at the present eventful period in the life of canal convey¬
ance, should think that such an important fact ought not to lie dormant.
Thejveifare, and, indeed, almost the existence of so many millions of pro¬
perty depending upon the inquiry, calls loudly for the substantiation or dis-
proval of such important results by a series of incontrovertible experiments.
Whatever may have been the experimental rçsult, we had an opportu-
nify lately, on a visit to Edinburgh, of observing the practical result aris¬
ing out of these experiments.
A boat, constructed ofjhat form which was found to produce the least agi¬
tation of the water in the canal, has been applied to convey passengers from
Edinburgh, by the Union, and then the Forth and Clyde canal, to Glasgow.
The boat is of great length, and narrow, and, in passing at the rate of
miles an hour, or 1,120 yards in 366 seconds, the wave, following the boat,
was verj considerabjp; so great, that we observed, at one of the bridges, the
water washed over a height of masonry 194 inches above the ordinary level
of the water in the canal. ■
The boat was dragged by three horses attached to the towing line, with a
boy riding a poney .to drive them. The distance, travelled upon the Union
canal, is 314 miles, and, in that distance, there are six sets, or changes of
horses; the same horses returning the same distance back.
This will give the power required equal to that of three horses travelling
10.5 miles per day; the boat carrying about 60 passengers.
The horses seemed much distressed by the draught, the action being that
of a continual dead and unrelaxing effort. Since this, at the commencement
of the frost in December, the boats have been laid aside, and are not, it is
said, to be resumed until an iron boat of a better form be built.
5x10
Suppose the useful load of this boat equal to 5 tons, then —-i— = 16| tons,
conveyed one mile, will be the daily performance of a horse on a canal at
seven miles an hour. And if we take 21 tons of goods, conveyed 20 miles,
at 24 miles an hour, we have the relative performance at 24 and 7 miles, a9
161 : 480.
Eut we have the relative effort of horses at 24 and 7 miles an hour as
102 : 384, whence 11í_*_!?£Í=62.5: and, therefore, the relative perform-
102
ance of horses dragging boats on canals, at 24 and 7 miles, is as 62.5 : 4S0;
the resistance, being equal to the duplicate ratio of the velocity, would give
62.5 : 490.
According to the experiments of Messrs. Bevan and Walker, the resis¬
tance should have afforded results greater than the duplicate ratio of the ve¬
locities; but we must observe that those experiments were made with the
same boat; whereas the results above is from another boat than that which
was used for slow rates of speed, and of a construction more adapted for di¬
minishing the resistance.
We are, therefore, we trust, justified in concluding that when the most
suitable form of boat is adopted for the particular load it has to carry, the
25
194
[ Doc. No. 101. ]
resistance of boats on canals, is,at least, equal to the duplicate ratio, or square
of the velocity.
The diagram III., page 195, will, therefore, represent the resistance at the
different velocities; and the following table will show the relative quantity
of work which a horse.is capable of performing by dragging boats on canals,
and carriages upon railways; assuming that the maximum of useful perform¬
ance daily on the former is equal to 4S0 tons of goods conveyed one mile;
and, upon the latter, 160 tons conveyed one mile; making the relative per¬
formances as 3 : 1.
TABLE XIII.
Velocity in
miles an
hour.
Maximum
rate.
Useful weight
conveyed in
tons.
Distance in
miles.
Useful effect
in tons con¬
veyed 1 mile.
Number of
horses .re¬
quired on
canal.
Number of
horses re¬
quired on
railway.
Ratio of per¬
formances of
horses on ca¬
nals and rail¬
ways.
24
20
4S0
1.
4 3
1 : 0.33
3
24
20
480
3.4
. 4.5
1 : 0.75
4
24
20
480
8.2
6.3
1 : 1.3
S
24
20
480
18..
8.7
1 : 2.7
6
24
20
480
31.8
10.6
1 : 3.
7
24
20
480
53.6
13.0
1 : 4.1
8
24
20
480
85.6
16.
1 : 5.3
From this, we find that, when the rate of speed is about two miles an hour,
the quantity of goods which a horse can convey upon a canal, is three times
that which the same horse can convey upon a railroad. And that, when the
velocity on each is about 3J miles an hour, the resistance of the canal in¬
creasing as the square of the velocity, while that of a railroad remains the
same—the two become equal; and a horse is then enabled to drag as much
weight upon a carriage on a railroad as in a boat on a canal. When the ve¬
locity is further augmented, then the disproportion becomes greater, and a
much heavier load can be conveyed on a railroad, with the same quantity of
motive power, than can be done on a canal.
If, therefore, the rate of tonnage on a canal, arising from the cost of form¬
ing, and keeping it in a state of active use, together with the cost of boats,
be not greater than the tonnage required to form and keep a'.railroad in repair,
and also the carriages by which the goods are conveyed; then the relative
economy, at different rates of speed in the transit of goods upon canals and
railroads, will be represented by column 7 of the preceding table. But, as in
general, the formation of a canal costs much more than the formation of a
railway, and the annual charges of keeping the boats, towing paths, and
bridges, &c., in repair, is also considerable, if those expenses be as much
greater on a canal than upon a railroad, so as to compensate for the extra ad¬
vantage of the canal in the greater quantity of goods conveyed at a slow
rate, then their relative utility will assume a different value, and the rail¬
way, requiring a less investment of capital, and less annual charges, may be
superior, and more economical, even at the lowest and most advantageous
rate of motion upon canals; and, where facility or expedition of transit is an
object, then, at the more rapid rates of speeds, the railway will be propor-
tionably superior.
f Doc. No. 101. J
195
These elemental considerations being, however, matters of calculation,
where every instance may present a different conclusion, and being de¬
pendent upon all the various concomitant circumstances incident to each
oarticular case, cannot, in a work like this, be made the subject of even
:onjecture. We have endeavored to furnish all thtise data which appeared
general,, and which applied to the two modes in conjunction with each other,
in a practical and general point of view; and it must be left to those pur¬
suing the inquiry into all the circumstances of each particular case, when
they come into competition with each other, to judge, from the individual
¡characteristics of each mode, which of the two is preferable.
When it becomes the subject of discussion which of the two modes is to
oe adopted, it assumes rather a different shape than when a railroad, the
transit on which is performed by horses, is to enter into competition with
a canal already formed.
In the latter case, the canal proprietor commences with considerable ad-
wantage, by the additional quantity of goods which a horse can drag at a
slow pace upon a canal, where, perhaps, a litt le loss of time may he no ob¬
ject; and the canal proprietor may, even with his great investment of capi¬
tal, by reducing his rates of tonnage extremely low, be enabled to compete
successfully with a railway.
For, although a horse may, when travelling at the rate of four or six miles
an hour, convey a greater quantity of goods upon a railway than when em¬
ployed in dragging goods at the same velocity upon a canal;,yet still a horse
cannot drag more goods at the rate of four miles an hour upon a railway
than he can at two miles an hour upon a canal; for, in no case, does the
greatest quantity of work that a horse can do at the most beneficial pace
on a canal, reach below three times that which a horse can do at any pace
upon a railroad.
For the conveyance of passengers, or where the transit of any species of
goods may require a celerity of four miles an hour, then railways become,
unquestionably, more economical than canals; but if the question be the
abstract performance, or quantity of goods to be transported from one place
to another, without reference to speed, then the quantity of work done
by a horse on a canal will always be three times that which he is capable of
doing on a railway. The comparative expense arising from the extra in¬
terest of capital, and the annual charges and maintenance of a canal, may
reduce this proportionate performance near to an equality; or, if the one
compensate for the other, then, perhaps, the less investment of capital in
a railroad, and the greater certainty of transit, may make it superior to a
canal. But, unless the disparity of cost is great between a railroad entering
into competition with an existing canal, or unless some extraordinary cir¬
cumstances in the nature of the traffic occur, it may be difficult to say,
when horses are the motive power on each, which is superior.
There is one very important property in a railway which gives it a great
advantage over a canal, viz. the range of undulation which its nature per¬
mits; a straighter and shorter line can mostly be made between one place
and another, which, from the necessity of having canals always perfectly
level, or, at least, that level only broken at certain intervals by the occur¬
rence of locks, occasions, frequently, a difference in distance of consider¬
able magnitude; and this, in many instances, may diminish the comparative
cost of transporting goods, and give a superiority to railroads.
And, again, in many cases, where the principal part of the goods are to
196
[ Doc. No. 101. 3
be conveyed in one direction, by a proper inclination of the railway, the:
weight oí the goods conveyed, or quantity of work done, may, in some in¬
stances, be considerably augmented, without presenting a greater average;
resistance than previously stated, when the relative performance upon rail¬
roads will be proportionably increased. We have a very striking proof of'
this in table 5, of the weight which a horse can drag, urron certain inclina¬
tions of road, when the train is descending. On 1 in 25Ö, the gross weight
is 28.44 tons, an increase of performance in the ratio of 28.44 : 12, which
cannot be taken advantage of by a canal;as, in that case, locks would be re¬
quired, which would diminish, rather than increase, the performance.
Having thus given a few hasty remarks on the comparison of railroads
with canals, in the use of animal power, we shall now give a brief compari¬
son between the use of mechanical power on railroads, and animal power
on canals; and here, as in every other case where the two species of action
come in competition, we shall find the mechanical power outstrip the animal
in general economy.
TJIB LE of the relative performances of Horses dragging boats on Ca¬
nals, and Locomotive Engines dragging carriages upon Railroads.
The former supposed to be without locks, und the latter horizontal.
TABLE XIV.
Velocity in miles, per hour.
Useful weight conveyed, in
tons.
Distancé, in miles, being that
which a horse travels in a
day.
Time, in hours, occupied by
horses in travelling 20
miles, at the respective ve¬
locities of column 1.
Number of horses required
to perform the work on a
canal, from table xiii.
Distance, in miles, which a
locomotive engine, on a
railroad, would travel in
the time of column 4.
Ratio of distance traversed in
the same time by locomo¬
tive engines on a railroad,
and horses dragging boats
on a canal.
Ratio of performance of
horses on canals, and lo¬
comotive engines on rail¬
roads, in the time of co¬
lumn 4,
Max.rate
24
20
8
i.
120
6 : 1
1 : 6
3
24
20
c!
3.4 *
100
5 : 1
1 : 17
4
24
20
5
S.2
75
31 : 1
1 : 30
5
24
20
4
18.
60
3 : 1
1 : 54
6
24
20
34
31.8
50
2i : 1
1 : SO
7
24
20
2f
53. G
42®
2i : 1
1 : 120
S
24
20
2 h
85.6
37 è
1 S . 1
'f. 1
1 : 175
From this table, we find that a locomotive engine, effecting a constant
average velocity of fifteen miles an hour, will, in ten hours, on a railroad,
perform the work of six horses, employed in dragging goods at the rate of
two miles an hour upon a canal; and, as this rate of speed on a canal is that
when the performance of a horse is a maximum, we derive the conclusion—
that, so long as the expense of one locomotive engine does not exceed that
of six horses and their attendants, then goods can be conveyed with the
same expenditure of motive power, at fifteen miles an hour, upon a rail¬
road, that they can be conveyed at two miles an hour upon a canal.
f Doc. No, 101. ]
197
We have elsewhere stated that, in general, one locomotive engine may
be estimated to cost as much as four horses; but the comparison was made
with horses upon railroads, where one attendant to each horse is sufficient.
On canals it will be different, as the attendants upon each horse and boat are
generally three; the relative cost of locomotive engines will, therefore, be
diminished, and their utility, in comparison with horses on canals, propor¬
tionally increased.
But this is not the only benefit resulting from the application of steam
power to railways, viz. that goods are conveyed with the same expenditure
of motive' power on a railroad, at the rate of fifteen miles an hour, that goods
can be conveyed at the rale of two miles an hour upon a canal.
If it be attempted to augment the velocity on a canal to three miles an
hour, then one locomotive engine on a railroad will, in six hours and two-
thirds, perform the work of seventeen horses on a canal; and if the velocity
be further increased to four miles an hour, then, in five hours, the locomotive
engine will perform the work of thirty horses; and, as often as these times
are. repeated, a similar ratio of performance will be accomplished.
• We have a very conclusive illustration of thfe in the instance of the fly-
boat on Û\e Union canal: supposing it loaded with sixty passengers back and
forwards, the 31 i miles requires eighteen horses. Upon the Liverpool and
Manchester railway, nearly the same distance, an engine traverses, twice a day,
120 X 2"
with 120 passengers at a time=120 miles. Therefore—_—xlS = 72
horses. From which we find that an engine, half loaded, performs the work
of 72 horses, conveying passengers on the railroad at a rate of transit more
than double that on the canal.
This is sufficient to show the utter impracticability of attempting a compe¬
tition between canals with horses, and railroads with locomotive engines,
in the conveyance of passengers. It follows, from this, that the only su¬
periority existing in any part of the economy of canals, and that wherein a
transient advantage over railroads occurs, when animal power is employed,
and which consists in the less resistance opposed to the motive power in
transporting heavy goods at a slow pace, is superceded by the application of
machinery to railways. And this result may be expected whenever, as
previously slated, the nature'of the work permits the application of mecha¬
nical power in the one case, and it is brought into competition with animal
labor in the other.
These observations of the relative performances, with respect to work on
railroads and canals, apply to the motive power only.
If the formation and annual charge of a canal exceed that of a railroad,
then a further increase of advantage is produced in favor of railroads: on
the contrary, if the balance is in favor of a canal, then it will become a
question, whether the additional celerity in the transit of goods by a rail¬
road, will compensate for any additional cost of the railway? In general,
the difference of cost, both in the formation and annual charges, is presumed
to be in favor of railroads, (see note M,) and, if any judgment can be formed
from a comparison of the tonnage upon the various canals in the different
districtsof England, arid that on railroads, the presumption appears nearly
indisputable. (See note N.)
The trifling injury done to the road by the action of the locomotive en-
!;ine, considerably enhances its value, by diminishing the charges of tonnage
or annual repairs, which, added to the less investment of capital required
198
[ Doc. No. 101. ]
in the formation of a railroad, excites reasonable expectations of a very im¬
portant change in the economy, and also celerity of internal communication.
In the above disquisitions, canals have been compared with railways in
their most favorable state, as being without locks; any variation from this,
will throw the balance more in favor of the latter; any deviation in the line
of a canal from the horizontal, must be overcome by locks, which are pro¬
ductive of delay; whereas, in a descending line, especially when the trade
is in that direction, an incaease of effect takes place.
In these disquisitions, we have a decided superiority of railroads, both in
point of economy and despatch, in the conveyance of heavy goods over
canals. In the conveyance of light goods, or passengers, no practical com¬
parison can be made. Canals, after between 70 and 80 years' experience,
seem incapable of being applied to those purposes.- Railways, on the con¬
trary, seem indisputably the best and most economical for all the purposes
of internal communication and traffic, for light or for heavy and bulky goods,
as well as for celerity of intercourse, the most rapid ever yet effected.
Taking all these circumstances into consideration, it can no longer be
questioned which of the two modes is superior: the example of the Liver¬
pool and Manchester railway, where it has been proved that, with an expen¬
diture of capital of the greatest magnitude in overcoming difficulties which,
perhaps, will never again present themselves, the conveyance of passengers
alone was sufficient to realize a remunerating price to the company.
Canals being incapable of adaptation to the celerity of transport requisite
for such purposes, are, therefore, deprived of a source of revenue the most
lucrative; in a few, and, perhaps, only in a very few instances, can there¬
fore canals be brought into a comparison with railways.
And when vve look at the rapid improvement which the latter have under¬
gone within so short a period, the improvements which are still in progress,
and which the ingenuity of that combination of talent now so powerfully di¬
rected towards them cannot fail of bringing to the highest stale of perfection,
we are led to expect the most important results in the economy and celerity
of commercial intercourse.
It will not, perhaps, be necessary, in a work like this, to explain, at
greater length, the relative merits of canals and railroads. Local circum¬
stances may effect general results, but, unless other causes transpire than the
simple abstract question of the two modes in comparison with each other,
we have, by the application of mechanical power to railroads, the advantage
of a less investment of capital, and also a saving, by the motive pow.er,
which, combined with the celerity of despatch, must prove of infinite im¬
portance to commerce.
L Doc. No. 101. ]
199
No. 2.
TABLE X. WOOD'S TREATISE, ED. 1831.
Gross load, in tons, which a locomotive engine, capable of taking 30
tons, at 15 miles an hour, will drag at the undermentioned velocities,
in miles an hour.
Inclination of
plane.
10
11
12
13
•
14
15
16
17
18
19
Level
53.4
51.81
45.
39.23
34.28
30.
26.25
22.94
20.
17.36
1 in 4480
50.85
49.35
42.57
37-35
32 62
28.57
24 97
21.82
18 97
16.5
2240
48.51
47.1
40.87
35.62
31.12
27.22
23.85
20 85
18.15
15.9
1120
46 5
45.03
39 07
34 05
29 77
26.02
22.8
19 95
1732
15.07
1000
43.56
42 3
36 75
32.02
27.97
24.45
21 45
18.7
16.27
14.17
900
42.9
41.7
36.3
31 57
27.6
24 15
21.15
18.45
16.12
13.95
800
41.7
39.9
35.15
306
26.77
23 4
20.47
17.85
15.6
13.5
700
41.25
39.
34 05
297
25 95
22 73
19 87
17.32
15.07
13.12
600
39.
37.8
32 85
28.57
24 97
21.9
19.05
16,72
14.55
12.67
500
37.05
36.
31.2
27 22
23.77
20,85
18 22
15.9
13.87
12.
443
35.61
34 5
30.
26.1
22.87
19.7
17.47
15.25
13 27
11.55
400
33.75
33.15
28.8
24.37
21 97
19.2
16 8
14 7
12 75
11.1
350
32 7
31.56
27.37
23.92
20.85
18 25
15 97
13.95
1,2 15
10.5
300
31.44
29 76
25 8
22.53
19 65
17.17
15.07
13 12
11.47
9.97
250
28.2
27336
23.77
20 7
18 57
15.82
13 87
12.07
10 57
9.15
200
25.11
24 36
21 22
18 45
16 12
14 1
12 37
11.05
9.37
8.17
150
21 36
20 7
18.
15 6
13.65
12.
10.5
9.15
7.95
6.93
100
17.55
17.02
14.77
12.9
U 25
9 82
8.62
7.5
6.58
5.71
Table X gives the performance of a locomotive engine, at the rate of 10
miles an hour, 53.4 tons; and we are convinced, from experiments
made since the calculation of that table, that we are quite within their pow¬
ers. An experiment, with the "Planet" engine, gives 75 tons gross con¬
veyed from Liverpool to Manchester (30 miles) in 2 hours and 54 minutes.
(See Appendix, Note E.)
We shall, however, take the performance in the table at 12 miles an hour,
equal to 45 tons, aod continue the comparison for 8 hours, which will malte,
at 2J miles an hour, the horses accomplish their day's work of 20 miles,
and the engine 96 miles in that time.
The following table will then show the respective performances:
TABLE XII.
Velocity in
miles per
hour.
Load taken
in tons.
Dis'ance tra
veiled per
day.
Effective
performance
in tons con¬
veyed 1 mile
No. ofhorses
equal to one
locomotive
engine.
Locomotive engine
Hones - ^
12
10
45
12
3 3-8
96
20
13
4,320
240
43.8
18
98
We have given two tables, one table X, on the supposition that 30 tons
moved at 15 miles an hour, is the load, and the other (table XI,) one-third
more, or 40 tons moved at the same rate.
200
[ Doc. No. 101. ]
On long lines of read, we may calculate upon a load equal to the reisisti
ance of 30 tons upon a level being taken, calculated upon the average inclii
nation of the* whole line: provided that any short undulations, which may
occur, do not present a resistance greater than the power of adhesion of the
wheels, or greater than given in table XI.
The latter table will, therefore, show the load which may be overcome
upon any short undulations, and the velocity which the engine can move
with such loads; and we have carried the calculations of those tables farther
than the load which the adhesion of the wheels can overcome.
That the engines are capable of effecting such a performance as that
shown in table XI, will appear from a calculation of the powers of the
" Planet" engine. The cylinders are 11 inches diameter; length of stroke
16 inches; area of cylinders =190 inches, which, moved through 32
inches in each revolution of the wheels, = 6,080.
The diameter of the wheels is 5 feet; circumference 18S.4; the resistance
of 40 tons, is 400 lbs.; whence 188.4x400 = 79,360; therefore, 'gWö0 —
13 lbs. per square inch upon the piston effective pressures, to overcome a
resistance equal to 40 tons, .moved at the rate of 15 miles an hour; which,
with steam of the elasticity of 50 lbs. per square inch, is an effective pres¬
sure of 26 percent—the number of strokes per minute being 84; velocity
of piston 224 feet per minute. We shall now ascertain, if the boiler is ca¬
pable of generating a sufficient quantity of steam, to keep up an adequate
supply at 50 lbs. pressure per square inch.
The area of the two cylinders is 6080 x 84 strokes per minute, = 510.720
cubic inches of steam expended every minute. We find, from table IX,
that the " Arrow," whose powers of generating steam is not equal to the
" Planet," evaporated 275 gallons per hour, or 4.80 gallons per minute;
which will give about 501,32S cubic inches of steam, at 50 lbs., or 510,720
cubic inches, at 49 lbs., increasing the effective pressure from 26. to 26'.5
per cent. We have previously found that these engines are capable of
yielding an effective power of upwards of 30 per cent, of the pressure on
the piston.
We thus see that those engines are not only capable of effecting a per¬
formance equal to that in table XI, for short distances, or over casual un¬
dulations; but that, with a power of evaporation equal to 275 gallons per
hour, they will be capable of constantly keeping up that performance.
Note E.
"On Saturday last, (4th December, 1830,) thé 'P.lanet' engine, Mr.
Stevenson's, took the first load of merchandise which has passed along the
railway from Liverpool to Manchester. The team consisted of 18 car¬
riages, containing 135 bags and bales of American cotton; 200 barrels of
flour; 63 sacks of oatmeal, and 34 sacks of malt, weighing, altogether, 51
tons 11 cvvt. 1 quarter.
To this must be added the weight of the wagons and oilcloths, viz.
23 tons 8 cvvt. 3 quarters; tender, water, and fuel, 4 tons; and 15 per¬
sons on the team, 1 ton; making a total weight of exactly eighty tons,
exclusive of the engine about 6 tons.
The journey was performed in 2 hours and 54 minutes, including three
stoppages of five minutes each, (one only being necessary under ordinary
circumstances,) for oiling, watering, and taking in fuel; under the disacL
>
[ Doc. No. 101. 3
201
vantage also of an adverse wind, and of a great additional friction in the
wheels and axles, owing to their being entirely new. The team was as¬
sisted up the Rainhill inclined plane, by other engines, at the rate of 9 miles
an hour; and descended the Sutton incline at the rate of 16è miles an
hour. The average rate, on the other part of the road, was 12è'miles an
hour, the greatest speed on the level being 151 miles an hour, which was
maintained for a mile or two at different periods of the journey."—r
Liverpoof paper.
." The journey between the two places was, on the 23d November, per¬
formed by the 'Planet' engine in 60 minutes, including two minutes, the
time employed in taking in water on the road as usual.
" The molive for performing the journey, was, that the engine had been
engaged to bring up from Manchester to Liverpool some voters for the
election; and, by some cause or other, the time of setting out was delayed,
rendering it necessary to use extraordinary despatch in order to convey
the voters to Liverpool in time."—Liverpool paper'.
"The engines have conveyed about 50,000 passengers, and have tra¬
versed a*dislance of 28,620 miles, or 954 trips from Liverpool to Man¬
chester and back, from the 16th of September to the 7th December, inclu¬
sive; during which period there have only been eleven instances of the
journey exceeding by half an hour the time fixed for its performance."
—Liverpool paper.
No. 3. •
Office of the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad Company,
January 27, 1831.
Gentlemen: In compliance with your request, under date of the 19th
instant, and in obedience to an order of the House of Delegates, passed on the
11th, requiring " the Committee on Internal Improvements to inquire in¬
to, and report the relative expense, benefits and facilities of constructing rail¬
roads and canals, with a view of ascertaining to which- of those means the
funds of the Stale can be most beneficially applied;" I now enclose a com¬
munication, illustrative of these several subjects, from the chief engineer of
the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad Company. ê
And am, very respectfully, &c.
P. E. THOMAS, President,
Baltimore and Ohio Railroad Company.
To the Committee on Internal Improvements,
House of Delegates, Annapolis.
Engineer's Office of the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad
Company, January 24, 1831.
In accordance with thy request, I submit the following observations in
regard to the comparative merits of canals and railways, so far a« relates to
their expense, facilities of constri ction, and benefits to the Slate "of Mary¬
land, in point of revenue, as well as of general advantage to the citizens.
26
202
[ Doc. No. 101. 3
1. First—Comparative expense. As a canal and a railroad cannot both be
constructed between any two points on the same identical route, therefore,
the evidence, by which we are to judge of their comparative expense on a gi¬
ven line, must consequently be that of an estimate for each, or by an ap¬
proximate conclusion drawn from analogy.
I know of but one route, on which careful estimates have been made at
the same time both for a canal and for a railroad. The route here alluded
to, is along the Potomac river, from the Point of Rocks to Harper's Ferry,
or at least so much of that route as was included in the narrow passes.
These estimates were made by N. S. Roberts and myself, as commission¬
ers appointed by the Chancellor of Maryland to examine and survey the
ground with a view to the location of the Chesapeake and Ohio canal and
the Baltimore and Ohio railroad along that line. In the first place, a route
was run for the canal, and an estimate made for it, without any regard to
the railroad. In the next place, a route was run and estimated for the gra¬
duation and masonry of the railroad, with a view to three sets of tracks
through the same narrow passes, without any regard to the canal.
From these estimates, therefore, adding to the estimates for the railroad,
an average price for the laying of three tracks of railway on the graduated
surface so to be prepared, we arrive at results which will give the compa¬
rative probable expense of both the canal and railroad.
The canal was assumed to be of such dimensions, that, with a depth of
water of 6 feet, its cross section should contain an area of 306 square feet
The breadth of the graduation for the railroad was to be 30 feet.
Estimates for the Canal.
Lower Point of Rocks, length 3,023 feet, cost ... g 45,766
Upper Point of Rocks, length 2,133 do - - - - 23,123
Miller's Narrows 3,052- do - - - - 30,028
Harper's Ferry Narrows, 1,126 do - - - - 28,102
Total, - - - 9,334 g 127,01
Add 10 per cent, for superintendence, &c. - - - - 12,70
Amountingto - § 139,721
Equal to §79,036 per mile.
* Estimates for the Railroad.
Lower Point of Rocks, length 3,427 feet, cost - - - $ 12,472
Upper Point of Rocks, 3,107 do - - - - 9,746
Miller's Narrows, 3,500 do - - - - 16,S79
Harper's Ferry Narrows, 1,100 do - - - - 5,556
Total, - - 11,134 §44,654
Add 10 per cent, for superintendence, &c. - 4,466
Also for three sets of tracks on a length of 11,134 feet, at §5,000
per mile per track, including superintendence, &.c. - - 31,631
Amountingto - -- -- -- - §80,751
Equal to §38,294 per mile—with but a double set of tracks, the cost of
the railroad, when completed, would be $ 33,294 per mile.
£ Doc. No. 101. 3
203
In relation to the faregqing estimates, the following remarks may be made:
1. The estimate for laying the rail track is assumed equal to the actual
cost of that on the Baltimore and Ohio railroad, which has been laid with
the use of wooden string pieces and stone blocks. According to the expe¬
rience whièh we have already had, the substitution of wood sieepers for the
stqne blocks would result in a cost of §4,000 per mile, and the use of stone
sills in lieu of either, \Vould result in about 6,000 to 6,500 dollars per mile,
as the cost of a single track, as stated in the 4th annual report of the com¬
pany.
2. The estimates for the canal above stated, do not include any lockage,
though there will be about forty feet of fall to provide for by locks between
the Point of Kocks and Harper's Ferry. Nor is the cost estimated for
lining the interior banks of the canal with stone, a precaution, without
which such a work cannot be considered as finished. This conclusion re¬
sults from experience had on the New York Erie canal.
The amount of this latter item would perlvaps be about $5,000 per mile,
to which must also be further added the proportional expense per mile for
the requisite lockage.
3. On the whole, therefore, whether we take the estimates as already
stated, or with such additions as will make them of the most permanent
character, still the ratio of the probable expense of their construction will,
on the ground here estimated, be about as two for the canal to one for the
railroad.
4. I have not seen the last estimates for the canal on the intermediate
grounds, and, therefore, cannot institute so strict a comparison with regard
to them. My opinion is, that, in the most favorable ground along the river
bottom lands, the expense of the canal would exceed that of the railroad
from 25 to 60 per cent.
In relation to other routes. Until we have definitive calculations for a
greater variety of instances in this country, than we are yet able to lay be¬
fore the public in relation to this question, we can only offer our opinions
upon the limited data within our reach.
In the report of the United States' Board of Internal Improvements, the
cost of constructing the Chesapeake and Ohio canal from Georgetown to
Cumberland, was estimated at about g S,000,000. It is true, other esti¬
mates have since been made reducing the amount perhaps to about
§5,000,000. But it is understood, that, so far as the construction of that
work has been prosecuted, the latter estimate has been found to he wholly
inadequate, and I am of the opinion that, unless the dimensions shall be
cohtracted, or the work be made less permanent in its character, the esti¬
mate first mentioned will not be far from the amount which that work will
have actually cost, should it be completed to Cumberland.
5. It is confidently believed, that the cost of the railroad to Cumberland,
inclusive of the extraordinary expense of that portion of it between Balti-
moreand Ellicott's mills) will not exeeed g5,000,0u0.
The estimate made by the same board for the entire canal from George¬
town to Pittsburg, amounted to about §22,000,000. It is conceived that
the cost of the railroad would not be one half of this amount, and it might not
exceed one third of it.
The stupendous reservoirs and tunnel, and the numerous locks which
have been considered necessary in crossing the mountains on the middle di¬
vision of the canal, would be dispensed with in case of a railroad, and the
204
[ Doc. No. 101. 3
comparatively insignificant expense of inclined planes, and stationary steam
power, substituted.
It is believed that the expense of constructing a canal from Baltimore to
the Point of Rocks would be double what the railroad between the same
points will cost.
The estimate reported by Dr. Howard, for a canal from Georgetown, 4).
C., to Baltimore, the length being 44ä miles, amounted to about. $¿,800,000.
It is not doubted but that the half of this sum would be more than ample
for a railroad.*
Upon the whole, I infer, that, over rough and difficult grounds, yet such
as have been pronounced practicable for a canal, the cost of a canal would be
about from 50 to 100 per cent, more than that of a railroad. The former
to be as spacious as such works may be expected to be made on such ground,
and the latter to have a double set of tracks; and that, on the most favorable
grounds which the country affords for such works, the ratio of expense may
be expected to vary, from an equality to 50 per cent, in favor of railroads.
Second—Facilities for Construction. The answer to this part of the
inquiry may be considered as almost included in the preceding one.
It may, however, be added, that, by reason of the supply of water neces¬
sary for canals, their number, extent, and locality, will necessarily be much
more limited than railways. It may also be recollected that the minimum
discharges of running streams becomes less as the country advances in agri¬
cultural and manufacturing improvements.
Railroads can be constructed, advantageously, over a considerable variety
of inclination and character of surface, impracticable for canals, and their
branches can be made to penetrate thé glens and defiles of the mountains,
where lockage would be very great, and the supply of water for canals total¬
ly insufficient, but where extensive iron and other manufacturing establish¬
ments may' be located.
Third—Benefits to the State, and advantages to the citizens. The
benefits and advantages, both to the State and to the citizens composing it,
it is conceived, will be greater from the railroad than from the canal system.
The following observations are offered in support of this opinion:
The capital invested in a given line of railroads and canals will, in no
case, be greater in the first, and will often be only half of what the latter
would require, whilst the speed on the former may be four times as great as
on the latter. The resistance from friction is equal through equal spaces,
* Recently, an estimate, based upon experimental surveys, (appended, marked No. 8,) has
b*en made by me, of the probable cost of constructing a railroad upon 29 miles of this route, to
wit: between the Baltimore and Ohio railroad and the northeastern boundary line of the city of
Washington, amounting to ,555 ,529, including contingencies and superintendence, and it
is probable if the route had been extended to the basin at Baltimore, on the route surveyed for
the canal, and to Georgetown, on the apparently favorable ground through Washington, so as
to embrace the extreme points estimated for the canal, that the estimate for the railroad on the
entire route from Baltimore to Georgetown, would have been about $2,000,000.
This estimate, however, is baeeed upon a plan for a railroad of the first class, with a double
railway of such strength, and with grades and curvatures so reduced, as to allow of the employ¬
ment of the heavier locomotive engines, with the highest velocities that may be desired or ad¬
missible; and is, therefore, much higher than was contemplated in the comparison abovemen-
tioned, or than would be sufficient for a railway that would be equally effective with a canal.
With less latitude than has been taken upon the roailroad between Baltimore and the Point of
Rocks, as respects grade and curvature, there can be no doubt that a railroad could be con¬
structed from Baltimore to Georgetown for one-half the estimate for the canal.
J. KNIGHT.
March 5, 1832.
[ Doc. No. 101. ]
205
whatever may be the velocity. The resistance of fluids, occasioned from
a body passing through them, is rather more than in proportion to the squares
of the velocities of the bodies in motion, whether it be a boat or a car; and
as the density of water is to that of the air as 800 is to 1, therefore the re¬
sistance from water will be S00 times greater than the resistance from the at¬
mosphere with an equal velocity. It is not likely, therefore, that velocities
on railroads will often be as high as to require a calculation for atmospheric
resistance; whilst the law by which the resistance of fluids increases, causes
that resistance, in a medium so dense as water, soon to be in equilibrio with
any impelling power which can be employed.
The force of the wind and of steam has been the most successful in propel¬
ling vessels upon water; but the maximum velocity, under the most favorable
circumstances, (not in canals, but in seas, bays, and large rivers,) is not
known to have exceeded about 13 miles per hour, whilst, on a railway, in
the present yet almost infant state of that kind of improvement, more than
lour times that velocity is known to have been obtained.
The inference, therefore, is, especially if canals are included, that locomo¬
tion upon land by means of railroads will take place with quadruple the ve¬
locity that can possibly be attained upon water. I say possibly, for if any
one should say that he imagines improvements will yet be made in the con¬
veyance upon water, I answer that the probability is much greater that fur¬
ther improvements will yet be made in the conveyance upon land. The
law of resistance is decisive of this matter, and, being a law of nature, it must
always continue to operate.
Seeing, therefore, that the capital invested will be less, and that the cele¬
rity and ease of movement will be vastly greater on a railway than on a ca¬
nal, and supposing, which will not be doubted when the velocity is con¬
sidered, that the capacity of railways will be ample for all the wants of trade
and intercourse, what can prevent the advantages of a railway being as great,
nay greater, to the State and to the community, than those to result from a
canal?
If it be said that goods can be conveyed cheaper on a canal, it may be re¬
marked that the abundance of fuel in this country will always give to steam
a preference as the cheapest moving power, and that this agent will secure
to railways their full effect, and cannot fail to place them pre eminent above
all other modes of inland communication.
A locomotive engine and its train, conveying thirty tons of goods 120
miles in a day, would cause a daily expense of about ten dollars. This
would be 3,600 tons conveyed one mile for 100 cents, that is, at the rate of
278, or a little over one quarter of a cent per ton per mile. The operation
of the locomotive at Charleston, S. C. will justify this conclusion, without
reference to what has been demonstrated in England.
The cost of transporting coal on the Hudson and Delaware canal, during
the last season, was $1 50 per ton, exclusive of any charge for toll—the
length of this canal is 108 miles. The engineers stated, however, that the
company expected to reduce the charge to one dollar and twenty-five cents,
which would be at the rate of 1| cents per ton per mile. This canal has
considerable lockage, but not more than an average quantity. The larger
dimensions, however, of the Lehigh canal and of the Chesapeake and Ohio
canal, would, (if we except the mountain section of the latter, in which the
quantity of lockage will be unprecedented) allow the charge for transporta¬
tion to be less. But I do not perceive how it could, on any canal, be less
than half a cent per ton per mile.
206
[ Doc. No. 101. ]
It would appear, therefore, that the cost of transportation will not be
greater, but may, and probably will be less, or even one half, on a railway
with locomotive engines, than it can be on the best canal; and the capital in¬
vested being less, the tolls may also be less.
Therefore, whether we regard the amount of revenue to be derived,,or the
facilities and general advantages to the citizens to result from the canal or rail¬
road system, it will follow that railroads must have the preference. This pre¬
ference will be renden d more decisive, when we reflect that a canal generally
occupies the most valuable lands, and that it requires a much greater quantity of
land for itself, its feeders, dams and reservoirs; that it interferes with the plans
of irrigation and drainage, and deranges the hydraulic improvements connect¬
ed with the manufacturing industry of a country, and, to that extent, crip¬
pling ils powers of production, whether present or prospective; that it con¬
siderably interferes with the free access and intercourse to and from the
lands and neighborhoods lying upon its opposite sides, and tends to prevent
the location and use of roads where public or private convenience might re¬
quire them across the route of the same—that, from the combined effects of
floods, breaches, repairs, drought and cold, the average duration of its navi¬
gable condition, in our climate, is reduced to about one-half of the year—and
that the navigation is tardy when in operation, being too slow for the transit
of light goods, or for the conveyance of passengers, mails, or messengers;
that the railroad requires a less width of ground, and none that may be re¬
quired for feeders, dams or reservoirs, and will not so frequently occupy the
best lands; it does not use or interfere with the streams and waters employed,
or which may be employed for irrigation, or for any hydraulic or manufac¬
turing purposes; but, on the other hand, it adds to the value, and thus im¬
mensely increases the resources and wealth of the country, and in turn the bu¬
siness and revenue upon the road consequently thereby become increased; that
it interferes comparatively in a very small degree, if at all, with a free passage
over it from side to side, either for the purpose of agriculture, or for other in¬
tercourse, or with public or private roads, whether existing or hereafter to be
located; that breaches will be rare, and their effects to prevent the use of the
way, will be so temporary, that very little inconvenience, if any, will be felt in
consequence; repairs in general will not prevent a free use of the road, whilst
their amount will be less for the railway than for the canal; that the movement
upon the railway will not be impeded either by drought or cold, the only im¬
pediment during the winter season will be from a fall of snow, which it has
been demonstrated is so easily removed as scarcely to offer any obstruction,
and consequently that the railroad may be considered to be virtually passable
throughout the whole year; that the rapidity of the movements upon it may
be as great as the wants of trade and intercourse can demand, or prudence
admit; not only for the conveyance of persons, and the public mails, but of
every commodity for which conveyance could be sought; that, since necessi¬
ty would cause railways to be preferred to canals in many places and situa¬
tions, whatever might otherwise be our opinions of their relative value; and
since transfers and transshipments add to the expense and risk, therefore,
from this cause alone the ratio of advantage would work favorably to the
railroad system throughout. For the car that issues from the mine, or from
the manufactory, with its freight of minerals or of wares, would then have no
obstacle to its travelling to the most remote depot; and at once delivering its
freight into a warehouse, ship, coal yard, or other place, without any expense
or delay on the intermediate shifting of the load. Tredgold gave iiis opin¬
ion in favor of a canal in a level district, but, at the same time, remarked that,
[ Doc. No. 101. ]
207
in nine cases out of ten, the railroad should be preferred. (See his Treatise
on Railroads, 1S25, ch. 1.) Our climate is more unfavorable to canals than
that of England; in addition to which, it must be remarked, that from the
inventions and improvements which have since been made, the railroad sys¬
tem has double, if nottreble the efficiency that it had when Tredgold wrote.
(See also Wood's Treatise on Railroads, 1S25, ch. ix.)
In offering the foregoing remarks, it is by no means intended to contro¬
vert or dispute the utility of canals, but to make known, in a brief and summary
manner, the comparative advantages of canals and railways so far as concerns
our country, and to state explicitly my preference in favor of railways. In¬
deed it is obvious, that, of two States, the one adopting the railroad, and the
other the canal system, the one which adopts the railroad would always con¬
tinue to have a decided advantage, whether as regards its agriculture, its
manufactures, or its commerce, in proportion to the greater celerity, econo¬
my, and certainty which the one system affords over the other—consequent¬
ly, other things being equal, would become the most populous, wealthy, in¬
telligent and powerful. And that whatever advantages may result to Eng¬
land from the high speed attainable on railways, the amount, of the advan¬
tages to arise, from the same high speed, must be greatly enhanced in a
country so extended and so governed as the United States.
Respectfully submitted.
JONATHAN KNIGHT,
Chief Engineer.
Philip E. Thomas, President, fyc.
No. 4.
Duration of Malleable Iron Rails and of Wheels.
The rate of wearing of the wheels and rails will be at least as 50 to 1, even
when the traffic is very great. N. Wood's Treatise, p. 178.
The quantity of wearing of wrought iron tire, of locomotive engine wheels,
is one-eighth of an inch per annum, (see same treatise, p. 179) equal to one-
fourth of an inch in two years, which will, therefore, be about the limit of
duration of the tire of these wheels.
The wheels of the common cars will be subjected to about half the weight,
and be of three-fourths the diameter of the locomotive wheels, and will,
therefore, last 2x2 xl = 3 years use when the tire is malleable iron. Cast
iron would wear only one-fifth part as long, (see same treatise, p. 179) but
when cast in chills, the wheels will wear many years, say from 5 to 10
years, according to the degree of hardening communicated. (See same trea¬
tise. p. 69.)
Now, supposing one-fourth of an inch of wear to be admissible for the rails,
and that the quantity of traffic is great, and such that the ratio of the
wearing of the wheels to that of the rails is 50 to 1, then, if the malleable
tire of the wheels should only last two years, the rails will last 100 years.
But, although atmospheric action is scarcely perceptible in its action to dete¬
riorate the rails of a railway in use, (see N. Wood's Treatise, p. 48,) yet
they cannot be supposed to be altogether exempt from such action. We
will, therefore, assume that the deterioration from this cause will equal that
from the action of the wheels, and the probable duration of the rails will
be 50 years.
208
[ Doc. No. 101. ]
An experiment with regard to this subject is reported to have been made
upon the Stockton and Darlington railway, (see N. Wood's Treatise, p.
472) showing the loss of weight of a malleable iron rail fifteen feet long,
weighing 136è lbs., to have been half a pound in one year. If, therefore,
as is probable, this rail would not be unfit for use until it had lost one-fourth
of its original weight, or 34 lbs., its duration, in that case, would be 68
years.
After the rail shall become unfit for use, there will remain three fourths of
the original weight to be sold as old iron, and would probably be worth
one-third of the prime cost.
In the absence of further experience, therefore, the assumption of 50 years,
as the probable duration of the rails, would not appear to be too favorable.
No. 5.
Repairs of double Railway, length one mile; construction, wood strings,
and sleepers.
The perishable materials will consist of—
1. Iron rails, each 15 feet long, 2h inches wide, and |th inches thick, 44 tons,
at $50 per ton, = $2,200, to which add, for turnouts, &c., 5 per cent.,
making §2,310, and to be renewed in 50 years.
2. Iron plates under the joinings of the rails, and spikes to fasten down the
rails, $350, plus 10 per cent, for turnouts and waste, amounting to
$3S5; to be renewed in 12 years.
3. Scantling 6 inches square for string pieces, 63,360 feet, board measure,
plus 10 per cent, for turnouts, waste, and for keys= 69,696 feet, at $20
per M. =$1,394; to be renewed in 12 years.
4. Sleepers of wood, in number 2,640, plus 160 for waste and for turnouts
= 2,800, at 20 cents=$560; and to be renewed in 12 years.
Now, the annual charge of these respective items will be measured by
the annuities, which, being yearly invested ,together with the accruing inte¬
rests, will amount to the several sums required at the time the repairs are
to be made. To insure the investments, the interest has been calculated at
five per cent, per annum.
The annual charge for these four items and for labor, will, therefore, be
as follow:
1. Annuity amounting to $2,310 in 50 years, - - $11 04
2. Do do $385 in 12 years, - 24 18
3. Do do $1,394 in 12 years, - - 87 57
_4. Do do $560 in 12 years, - 35 18
Transportation and distribution of
materials, ... §500
Re-laying the railway, at $5 per rod, 1,600
Superintendence and contingencies, 400
R
5"
R ,
c>o.
o
2,500 in 12 years, - 157 04
Annual charge for renewing the railway, - $315 01
6. Opening ditches and making other miner repairs, per annum, 185 00
Total, $500 01
[ Doc. No. 101. ]
209
No. 6.
Mstract of commodities, and number of passengers transported on the
Baltimore and Ohio Railroad, from the Is/ January to the 25th
February, 1832, inclusive, viz.
Westward.
Lumber, - Tons, 128 0 0 0
Coal, ------- 229 0 0 0
Iron, ------ 107 13 0 0
Grain, - - - - - - -68 1100
Groceries, plaster, bricks, &c. &c., - - - 561 12 0 0
Tons, 1,094 16 0 0
Eastward.
Flour, 33,800 bbls.
- Tons, 3,259
5
2
0
Whiskey, 223 tl
33
15
0
0
Firewood, - - -
2,481
0
0
0
Timber, (for mechanical purposes)
18
1
0
0
Tanners' bark,
9
0
0
0
Iron, ...
13S
16
0
0
Nails -
29
18
0
0
Granite, -
647
16
0
0
Wheat, ...
14
7
0
0
Rye,
41
11
0
0
Corn, -
34
5
0
0
Shorts and shipstuff,
54
IS
0
0
Pork, ...
5
15
0
0
Tobacco, -
1
14
0
0
Furniture, leather, lime, glue, &c.,
31
15
0
0
6,801 16 2 0
Total tonnage, 7,896 12 2 0
Passengers.
2,352 7 .
2,408 5 '
W. WOODVILLE,
Jlud'r and Sup't B. fy O. Railroad.
Westward,
Eastward,
Office of Transportation
Bait, and Ohio Railroad.
No. 7.
Observations upon the cost of the Liverpool and Manchester Railway.
Brick making accounts.—The greater part of these bricks are fast using
in Ihe building of the Manchester warehouses, offices, &c. and some in com¬
pleting the bridges at each end of the line.
27
310
[ Doc. No. 101. 3
Bridges. —The foregoing description of the several bridges, in a tabular
form, I have thought would not be uninteres>ng, as affording a popular view |
of the kind of structures that may be expected to occur in similar undertak¬
ings. It will be seen that several of the bridges are unfinished, though fast
approaching their completion. For this purpose, a fund is reserved, as per
the estimate below.
Chat Moss.—Under this head is comprised the earth work from Bury-
lane bridge to Legas occupation bridge, on the east border of the Moss, » dis¬
tance of 4| miles. The embankments in this space consist of 277,000 cubic
yards of moss earth, in the formation of which about 677,000 cubic yards of
raw moss have been used ; the difference in measurement being occasioned by
the squeezing out of the superabundant water, and consequent consolidation
of the moss. The expenditure on this district has been less than the average
expenditure of the rest of the line.
Cuttings and embankments.—Under this head, is comprised the earth
work on the whole line, exclusive of the Chat Moss district. The cuttings
somewhat exceed the embankments, the surplus is principally deposited along
the border of the great Kenyon cutting. The excavations consist of about
722,000 cubic yards of rock and slate, (including some side cuttings at Ec-
cles to expedite and improve the consistency of the Barton embankment)
and about 2,006,000 cubic yards of marie, earth, and sand. This aggregate
mass has been removed to various distances, from a few furlongs to between
three and four miles, and no inconsiderable portion of it has been hoisted up
by machinery, from a depth af 30 to 50 feet, to be deposited on the surface
above, either to remain in permanent spoil banks, as at Kenyon, or to be af¬
terwards carried to the next embankment, as at the deep cutting through
Olive mount; the process in this latter case being rendered expedient from
considerations of increased expedition. Where land for the deposite of spoil
banks has been purchased, the cost of the land forms part of the expenditure
under this head, and a good deal of substantial and lofty walling in the deep
cuttings is also included. The unavoidable expense of pumping out the wa¬
ter from the several cuttings on the line, during a wet season, was adverted
to in the text.
Formation of the permanent road.—This consists of what is termed
ballasting the road, that is, depositing a layer of broken rock and sand about
two feet thick, viz. onefoot below the blocks, and one foot distributed between
them, serving to keep them firm in their places. Spiking down the iron
chairs to the blocks or sleepers, fastening the rails to the chairs with iron
keys, and adjusting the railway to the exact width, and curve, and level,
come under this head of expenditure.
Iron rail account.—This expenditure comprises the following items:
Rails for a double way from Liverpool to Manchester, with occasional lines
of communication and additional side lines at the different dépôts, being
about 35 miles of double way, = 3,847tons, at prices averaging something
less than £12 10s. per ton - - - - £48,000 0 0
Cast iron chairs, 1,428 tons, at an average of £10 10s. - 15,000 0 0
Cost of spikes and keys to fasten the chairs to the blocks and
the rails to the chair -
Cost of oak plugs for the blocks
Sundry freights, cartages, &c. &c.
3,830 0 0
615 0 0
467 0 2
£67,912 0 8
£ Dóc. Nö. 101. ] 21-1
■ Land.—This is a heavy item of expenditure. The price of land in the
vicinity of large towns is usually high, and the outlay was farther enhanced
by numerous claims for compensation, owing to the prejudice which, a few
years since, existed against railways, and especially against what now appears
thejr peculiar recommendation—the locomotive engine. A great change has
taken place in this respect. * At the close of 1828, the charge under this head
was nearly £102,000, buta portion of this amount, being for the dépôts, has
been transferred to the carrying department.
Office establishment.—This comprises the salaries of treasurer and clerks,
office rent, stationery, printing, &c. since October, 1824.
Stone blocks and sleepers.—Out of the 31 miles, about 18 are laid with
stone blocks, and 13 with wood sleepers, oak orjlarch; these latter being laid
principally across the embankments, and across the two districts of moss.
A considerable quantity of wood sleepers have been destroyed, unavoidably,
in the progress of the work.
Surveying account.—This comprises the cost of surveys, plans, &c. for
the two applications to Parliament in 1825 and 1826; also, the salaries of the
engineer and principal assistants, stationery, &c. from ¿he commencement of
the undertaking.
Travelling expenses.—This includes the cost of sundry journeys and de¬
putations to London, Darlington, Newcastle, &c. since 1824; also the cost of
journeys of inspection on the line of railway during the progress of the
works.
Tunnel compensation account.—This consists of compensation paid to
parties under whose premises the Liverpool tunnel is excavated, for damage,
either real or supposed; and, farther, of loss sustained on the resale of sundry
houses and lands which the company were required to purchase. There
will be a credit to this account, for premises resold, to the extent of about
£2,500.
Wagon account.—This expenditure is principally for wagons used in the
progress of the work. There will be a credit to this account from the rèsale
of such wagons as cannot conveniently be adapted to the future purposes of
the railway, and by a transfer of the remainder to the carrying department,
at their estimated value. ' It will be observed that the statement of expendi¬
ture is up to the 31st of May, 1830; the railway, however, will require a far¬
ther outlay to render it complete, though the locomotive engine has passed
over .every foot of ground from Liverpool to Salford. The slopes of the cut¬
tings want dressing, and several of them want protecting with foot walls.
Thepermanent roadway is not quite finished, and some portions that have
been laid down require adjusting and re-leveling. The fencing, also, in por¬
tions of the line, will be incomplete for some time.
The Directors, in their report dated 25th March last, estimated the total
expenditure, including warehouses, machinery, and carriages, at £820,000,
which may be apportioned as follows:
Expenditure as above, in actual payments, to 31st May - £739,165 5 0
Outstanding engagements to the same date - - - 7,500 0 0
For walling the slopes in sundry places, and completing per¬
manent road - - - - - 6,750 0 0
For completing the bridges, including the I§well, £6,000, and
parapets of the Saukey viaduct £1,400, and compensation
in lieu of bridges - - - - - 9,500 0 0
Additional engines, wagons, and machinery, part under con¬
tract for delivery - - - - - - 17,000 0 0
212 [ Doc. No. 101. J]
Completing stations, wharves, warehouses, 4cc. 25,000 0 0
Fencing at sundry places - - - - 3,000 0 (r
Contingencies ...... 12,084 0 0
¿6820,000,0 0
Washington, March llth, 1832.
I now enclose an account of the increase of the trade and income of the
Liverpool and Manchester railway, being a comparison ofthat of the two half
years of 1S31, and which I mentioned it was my desire to obtain and have add¬
ed to the essay already sent by thee to Gen. Mercer, the chairman of the com¬
mittee. It consists of an extract from No. 11 of the " American Railroad
Journal;" D. K. Minor, New York, 10th March, 1832.
My request is that the enclosed paper, already described, may be added
to my document No. 7, in the character of a note to it
Very respectfully,
J. KNIGHT.
Hon. B. C. Howabd.
Extract from No. 11 of the " American Railroad JournalD. K. Mi¬
nor•, New York, 101A March, 1832.
Liverpool and Manchester Railway.
It appears from the following statement, taken from the report just print¬
ed and circulated amongst the proprietors of the Liverpool and Manchester
railway, that the trade and revenue are increasing rapidly:
During the half year, ending 30th of June last, there were
conveyed between Manchcester and Liverpool
During the half year, ending 31st December last, sènt
Increase - -
Goods for Bolton and other parts of the road, during the
half year ending the 30th June -
Goods for Bolton and other parts of road for the half year
ending 31st December -
Increase -------
. Coals to Liverpool for the half year, ending 30th June
Do do for do do 31st December
Increase -
Being an increase of 25,847 tons, or 50 per cent, upon the last, as compar¬
ed with the preceding half year.
Tons of goods.
35,865
50,234
14,369 tons.
6,827
12,997
6,170 tons.
2,8S9
8,197
5,308 tons.
1 [ Doc. No, 101. ] 218
As respects passengers, an opinion was pretty generally entertained that,
as soon as the novelty of steam tíonveyance had ceased, the number of pas¬
sengers would fall off. The report, just circulated, shows a very different
result.
Passengers entered in the company's books during the half year,
ending 30th June ...... 188,726
Passengers entered in the company's books during the half year,
ending 31st December last, being .... 256,321
•
Increase ..... . 67,595
Being upwards of 33 per cent, increase forthe last six months beyond the
'first six months of the year, and upwards of 135 per cent, increase on the
travellers, between the two towns, during the corresponding months previ¬
ously to opening the railway.
As respects the revenue, this has increased, of course, very considerably.
The revenue from coaches for half the year, ending 30th
June .......
The revenue from coaches forthe half year ending 31st
December last ------
Increase - - - '
f
The revenue for merchandise for half year ending 30th
June, was - J - -
I The revenue for merchandise for last half year
Increase - - ■ -.
The revenue from coal for half year ending 30th June,
( was -
The revenue from coal for the last half year -
Increase ------
Making a total increase upon the last half year, as com¬
pared with the preceding, of -
£.
s.
d.
43,600
7
5
58,229
5
0
14,628
17
7
21,875
0
1
31,085
18
4
9,210
18
3
218
6
0
692
10
7
474
4
7
24,314
0
50
No. 8.
Communication from the President of the Baltimore and Ohio Rail¬
road Company to the Legislature of Maryland, enclosing surveys
and estimates of the Railroad from Balt imore to Washington.
Office of the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad Companv,
February 21, 1832.
Esteemed Friend: The Legislature of Maryland having, at the last ses¬
sion, passed a law authorizing the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad Company
to lay out, survey, locate, and construct a railroad from some point on the
314
[ Doc. |*ío. 101. ]
Baltimore and Ohio railroad already constructed, within eight miles of the
city of Baltimore, to the line of this State, adjoining the District of Cdlum-
bia, in a direct line towards the city of Washington, along the most direct anci
suitable route that might be reasonably and conveniently practicable, the
directors of this company were desirous of ascertaining, as well the facilities
which the intermediate country between the cities of Washingtob%nd Balti¬
more afforded for the location of a direct and efficient railroad, as also the
probable cost of the construction of such a road in a manner, worthy of its
position, between the principal commercial city of this State and the Capitol
of the United States, and as a part of the great highway between the south¬
ern and eastern States, in order that it might be ascertained whether this
company could undertake to avail themselves of the authority granted by
the law here referred to. As early, therefore, after the passage of this act, as1
their chief engineer could be spared from the important duties in which'he
was then Engaged in relation to the location of the route for the railroad
between Baltimore and the Potomac river, the board directed that officer to
proceed, with all his assistants, to make the necessary examinations, sur¬
veys, and estimates, and report the results as soon as practicable. After aj
most careful and assiduous attention to the duties assigned to him, the engi¬
neer has completed the general preliminary surveys and estimates; 'and I now
have the pleasure to enclose to thee a copy of his report, which I respect¬
fully request may be laid before the House of Delegates.
By this report, it will be seen that a sum exceeding fifteen hundred thou-*1
sand dollars will be necessary for the construction and completion, in a com¬
petent manner, of such a railroad as will be adequate to effect tfie great ob¬
ject contemplated; and the experience of the directors justifies them in re¬
posing the fullest confidence in the correctness of the report in all its details
and estimates. I
It may be proper for me to add, for the information.of the Legislature, that
the sum that appears to be necessary for effecting this most desirable' im¬
provement, greatly exceeds the amount which the directors feel themselves
authorized, at this time, to divert from the principal object contemplated by
the company, and to effect which they were incorporated—the connexion of '
the principal commercial city of Maryland, by an easy, speedy, safe and
cheap mode of intercommunication with the western States—an object of the
first importance to the prosperity of Maryland. At the same time, the direc¬
tors cannot but consider a similar intercourse between Baltimore and the
Capitol of the Union as second only in importance to this great object and
in fact as properly forming a part of it, since its early accomplishment would
in an eminent degree, contribute to secure the accomplishment of the prin¬
cipal work—a work which, when completed, will be amongst the most
magnificent, as well as extensively useful improvements, ever accomplished
by human efforts. Such a work is, therefore, peculiarly deserving of the
further aid and patrohage of the State, more especially as the assistance al¬
ready accorded has been productive of so much benefit, and has enabled the
company to afford a demonstration that has resulted in the most satisfactory
assurance of its certain and triumphant accomplishment.
Permit me then, respectfully, but earnestly, to ask the favorable attention
of the Legislature to this subject, so vitally important to the welfare and pros¬
perity of the citizens of Maryland. The aid of the State will ensure the
construction of a railway between Baltimore and Washington, of the capa¬
cities described in the report herewith transmitted. At an early period, a
^ '
[ Doc. No. 101. 1
215
portion ot the funds necessary will be cheerfully furnished by the individual
stockholders, and it is believed that the city of Baltimore will as readily
) furnish another part. The liberal encouragement we have already experienc¬
ed from the Legislature, and the great benefit which must result to the State
from the execution of the proposed work, will not permit a doubt but that
the representatives of the people of Maryland will also promptly contribute
toit accomplishment, and that they will not suffer the energies of this com¬
pany to be paralyzed for want of patronage and support.
With the assurance of my high regard and esteem,
I am, very respectfully,
Thy friend,
P. E. THOMAS, President,
Baltimore and Ohio Railroad Company.
The Hon. Richard Thomas,
Speaker of the House of Delegates.
REPORT.
Engineer's Office, Baltimore and Ohio Railroad,
Baltimore, February 17th, 1832.
The calculations and estimates of the probable amount of èxpense that
will be required in the construction of the contemplated railroad to connect
the cities of Washington and Baltimore, having just been finished, I take
the earliest occasion, in accordance with thy request, to communicate the
general results.
In the first place, however, it may be proper to give a concise general
description of the proposed-plan and profile of the contemplated railway,
and to advert to the character of the country over which the route must be
conducted.
The purpose of this railway being to effect an easy and rapid communica¬
tion between the national capital and the third city in the Union, as well as
to form an important and permanent part of the great inland highway that
must, in connection with the seat of the General Government, eifist, and al¬
ways be used, in a direction parallel to the coast, through Richmond,
Charleston, and Savannah, to the south; and Baltimore, Philadelphia, New
York, and Boston, to the north; it would appear to be a concern involving
great general interests, and the benefits of which would descend to remote
generations.
The railroad under consideration, therefore, will have a national charac¬
ter, and should be planned and constructed in a manner worthy of its highly
important position and functions.
To do less than this, would be to mar a great national work, to the loss
of the investment, and to the lasting detriment of our character for science
and enterprise. The capabilities of the road should, therefore, be such that
no other work of any conceivable description could be brought into success¬
ful competition with it.
In this is involved considerations of speed and motive power, both scien¬
tific and practical, and these again must regard the resistances to be over¬
come, whether arising from friction, gravity, or the passing of curves,
Friction upon railways has, within a few years past, undergone great and
216
[ Doc. No. 101. ]
important reductions; and it may be that the final term to which its ratio
has been approximating, is not yet attained. From a careful consideration
of this important item of resistance, and assuming the average of that of the
two best kinds of cars now in use, and making allowance for practical im¬
perfections in the railway, and supposing also the wheels to be three feet in
diameter, 1 have no doubt that the attainable rate of the friction will be such
as to reduce the traction on a level to less than the 30th part of the weight
moved; but as wheels of less diameter may be employed for common cars,
I shall assume the practical traction at an average equal to 264th. This re¬
sistance, therefore, will be equal to the gravity down a line of railway, des¬
cending at the rate of one in 264, or 20 feet per mile; consequently the incli¬
nations of a railway from a level should not exceed this rate.
All motive agents, mechanical as well as animal, are capable of exerting,
for a short time, and, occasionally, twice the power, that their regular and con¬
stant average work or movements require when the effect produced is a
maximum. This has been demonstrated by the mathematician, and has
likewise been found to accord with experience. Hence, the ascending lines
of a road of any description should not have a grade requiring more than
double the power necessary on the level parts of the same road. The power
required on the ascent of the railway, at the rate of 20 feet per mile, will
be double of that required on a level, in addition to that which will be ne¬
cessary to counteract the gravity of the motive agent. If, therefore, whilst
the friction is the 264th, the ascents and descents are greater than one in 264,
there will either be a loss of time, or else an unnecessary surplus of power
would exist on the level parts of the railway. In either case, there will be a
loss of effect when compared with the cost of transmit.
Moreover, since, with the use of locomotive steam power upon this rail¬
way, the velocity on the level parts should be as great as will comport with
due safety; it follows that the velocities, upon the descending, should not
be greater than upon the level parts; and, therefore, any acceleration from
gravity would not be useful, and could not be employed to any valuable ex¬
tent in this particular instance. Consequently, in descending, as well as in
ascending, an inclination exceeding 20 feet in the mile would be disadvan¬
tageous.
Although the grade had been restricted, as already mentioned, to çne in
264 as the maximum, it was still desirable that it should be less than this:
limit, and that as much of the road should be level as the surface of the coun¬
try to be traversed would admit of, consistently with a due regard to the ex¬
pense of construction.
It was evident, that the velocities to be employed'upon this road would!
be as high as confidence and safety would permit, and that a speed of about!
twenty miles per hour must be attained, so as to perform the trip from city
to city within two hours. This will probably require the use of a locomo¬
tive engine, weighing six tons, to convey a train of six cars, containing one:
hundred passengers in the time proposed; for, although the adhesion of thei
wheels of a 4J ton engine would be sufficient for the draught of this train:
upon an ascent of 20 feet per mile, yet it is doubted whether its capacity for1
the generation of steam would be adequate to the whole performance within i
the specified time.
Taking it then for granted, that a six ton engine will be employed, and !
that the speed will be made to average twenty miles per hour, it becomes ne- ■
cessary that the road should be comparatively straight, in order that the
[ Doc. No. 101. ]
217
centrifugal force, in curves, may be small, and the stability of the engine
and its train upon the rails insured; and likewise, that the unnecessary wear
tear should be prevented, and, at the same time, the power economized.
It was consequently concluded to make the curvatures so slight as to ad¬
mit of the use of locomotive engine wheels of a diameter of four or five
feet, and so that just such engines in all respects as are now used on the Li¬
verpool and Manchester railway, could be run upon this road.
The minimum radius of curvature was assumed at 1400 feet. It is now
known, however, that the line may be so laid that the radius of curvature
shall, in no place, be less than 2000, and, in very few places, less than 3000
feet, whilst the ascents and descents shall not, in any part, exceed twenty feet
per mile.
The greater part of the experimental lines already run, with a view to this
railway, have been traced, with a view to the limits of grade and curvature
already mentioned, and the estimates are made for a line of this character.
A line more nearly approaching to that of a perfectly straight and hori¬
zontal line would have been preferred, but the character of the country does
not admit of it within any practicable limits of expense in the construction,
nor would the gain in the motive power be a sufficient return for the capital
which must be added to make any material reduction in the altitudes of the
summits to be passed, beyond such as are contemplated in the estimates.
The ridges crossed between the Baltimore and Ohio railroad and Bladens-
burg, are three in number; the first divides the slopes ot the Patapsco and
Paluxent rivers; the second the two branches of thePatuxent; and the third
the Patuxent and the Northeastern Branch of Potomac. The altitudes of
these ridges, at the comparatively low points at which they are crossed, vary
from 200 to 215 feet above the level of mid tide at Baltimore, and cuts, from
40 to 50 feet in depth will be required, at the same time that the Patapsco
and each of the Patuxents must be crbssed at altitudes above them of from 40
tö 50 feet respectively. It will, however, depend upon the result of surveys
yet to be made, whether the route may be laid across the second and third
ridges just mentioned, at points less elevated; but it is not expected, that
this would materially reduce the amount of the estimate, as the route would
be lengthened by the change; yet the question will involve considerations
connected with the moving power to an extent that should not be disregard¬
ed in a route of such magnitude. The Patapsco may be crossed either at an
altitude of 50 feet, or of 66 feet above tide, according as the one or the other
of the two places proposed shall be ultimately selected for this purpose.
From the Patapsco to the first ridge, in a distance of about six miles, the
route passes up the valley of I/eep Run. In consequence of the uniformity
of the extreme grade necessary to Be adopted in order to gain the summit
at an altitude of 165 feet above tide, the line is here thrown upon very rough,
uneven ground, encountering a succession of spurs from the ridges, and deep
indentations at the lateral small streams which have to be crossed; thus mak¬
ing the graduation of this part of the line very expensive. Thence to the
head drains of the Northeastern Branch, a distance of about ten miles, the
route continues to be equally expensive, in consequence of the cuts through
the three ridges before mentioned, and the embankments across the valley«
of the two Patuxents. The tributary of the Northeastern Branch having
been gained, the route for about eight miles in its descent down the valley
of that stream, to Bladensburg, is remarkably favorable. At Bladensburg,
the valley of the Northwestern Branch must be crossed with a long em.
28
218
[ Doc. No. 101. 3
bankment, from 30 to 35 feet in height, and thence to the line of the plat
of the city of Washington, a distance of about four miles, the route is rough,
and will require much heavy excavation.
From the line of the city of Washington, the railway can be conducted to
the General Post Office in the further distance of about two miles, upon
such route, and to such other point as shall be agreed upon. The uncer¬
tainty, however, of the future position of this part of the line renders it im¬
possible at this time to extend the estimates to any point within the city
boundary.
The materials to be excavated will consist of sand, gravel, and clay; the
latter will, probably, in places, be found to be of a hard texture, and such
as has been encountered on the first seven miles of the Baltimore and Ohio
railroad. This will probably be the case along Deep Run, and also between
Bladensburg and Washington. With these exceptions, a greater portion of
sand and gravel may be found to obtain. Very little rock will be found in
the whole extent of the route.
The estimate for the graduation has been carefully made up from the de¬
tails cf the several excavations and embankments, with a view as well to the
supposed degree of tenacity of the material to be excavated, as to the dis¬
tance it must be transported in executing the work, and the width of the
road bed' to accommodate a double railway, that is two tracks, and the ditches
necessary for drainage.
The masonry has been estimated on the plan of stone culverts and substan¬
tial stone arched bridges, without ornament or any unnecessary dressing.
The stone will be found on the Patapsco, the two Patuxents, the North¬
western Branch, and on the Potomac generally, within a distance, probably,
of 5 or 6 miles of the site of the works to be constructed. In estimating the
masonry, due regard has been paid to the probable expense of securing the
foundations, the quality of the work, the quantity of the materials, the dis¬
tance of transportation, and the proportions of the parts.
In estimating the cost of the railway, regard has been had to the action it
will have to sustain, the quantity and quality of the materials to be used in
the construction, to the necessary labor to be expended, and to contingencies
and superintendence.
It is confidently believed that the great ends to be expected from the es¬
tablishment and use of this important avenue of communication, will be at¬
tained, should the plan and profile, as already described, be adopted, and a
railway suited to the action of locomotive engines, weighingsix tons, be con¬
structed.
With a view to the action of such engines in high volocities, it is proposed
to lay down rails of a description different from those on the Baltimore and
Ohio railroad. The absence of stone suitable for sills thoughout this entire
line, renders it impracticable, in the first instance, to use that material in
the construction; and it may be likewise remarked, that even were this ma¬
terial sufficiently abundant, it would be some years before the embankments
would be sufficiently settled to receive a structure of this kind.
These circumstances compel the use of wood instead of stone to support
the iron rails, and it is proposed to place the sleepers or tie pieces three feet
apart instead of four feet as heretofore, and to use string pieces of wood un¬
derneath the sleepers in addition to those laid upon them, in order to strength¬
en the track, and to prevent unequal and partial settling. These under tim¬
bers may be various in their dimensions, and such as are to be procured with
[ Doc. No. loi. ]
219
most convenience. The tipper string pieces, however, which rest upon the
sleepers, and on which the iron rails will be placed, are proposed to be six
inches square, of southern pine scantling, and of the best quality that can be
obtained. The iron rails will have1 a continuous flat base, in width 3$
inches, resting upon the wood; each rail will be about 15 feet in length, and
about 2 inches in height, so as to permit the flanges of the wheels to play
above the base plate. These rails will be rol led of such form as to econo¬
mize the quantity of iron to the greatest extent consistent with utility. The
rail will weigh about 32 pound per running yard, and it will require 50 tons
for each mile of single track.
With regard to the policy of estimating for two sets of tracks instead of
one only, it may be proper to observe, that, although there is little doubt that
the capacity of a single track, with the proposed velocities, would be suffi¬
cient to effect the whole of the transit that would be required upon the pro¬
posed railway for some years to come, yet when it is considered that re¬
pairs will be needed, and that, for these purposes, materials must be conveyed
for long distances on the line, and that considerable quantities of earth must
occasionally be removed from the ditches in the long and deep cuttings, and
transported in railway cars to supply defects in embankments, or to some
other place of deposite, and when it is also considered that two tracks would
allow the business of the road to be performed in the day time, whilst the
number of trains, and their hours of deparlureand arrival could be increased
as circumstances should require, the belief is entertained that it will be ad¬
vantageous to have two sets of tracks.
The difficulties to be overcome having been adverted to, and the plan of
the work described, it will be proper, next in order, to give the results of
the estimates.
The mason work will consist of 6,357 perches of culvert masonry, esti¬
mated to cost $24,010, being an average of $3 771 per perch of 25 cubic
feet, together with 32,380 perches of biidge mnsonary, in which arches are
to be made. The cost of tnis item is estimated at $215,135, or at the rate
of $6 64$ per perch: amounting, together, to 3S,737 perches of masonry, and
costing $239,145, being an average of $6 173 per perch. This charge is
considerably enhanced in consequence of the estimated expense of securing
the foundations for the works.
The total mass of earth and other material to be excavated, removed and
supplied, to effect the entire graduation, is calculated to be two millions four
hundred and sixty thousand seven hundred and sixty-one cubic yards, esti¬
mated to cost the sum of $779,518 15, being an average of 32.39 cents per
cubic yard.
The length of the route included in the estimate is 29 miles.
Summary.
Graduation, 2,406,761 cubic yards, at $3,239, - $779,51S 15
Masonry, 38,737 perches, at $6 17$, - - 239,145 00
Amounting to - - 1,018,663 15
Add 10 per cent, for contingencies and superintendence, 101,S66 32
1,120,629 47
Railway double track 29 miles, at $15,000 per mile, 435,000 00
Total amount - - , $1.555.529 47
220
[ Doc. No. 101. 3
The details of the estimate from which the foregoing results have been
obtained, are in this office, and statements of them will be reported if neces¬
sary. Maps and profiles are likewise nearly completed, representing the
several routes surveyed.
'ifibe final location of the route of the railway can be commenced as soon
as the weather will permit.
In making the estimates, I have been assisted, with regard to the masonry,
by Robert Wilson, assistant superintendent of masonry; and so far as relates
to the structure of a track of railway, by James P. Stabler, superintendent
of construction of the Baltimore and Ohio railroad.
In the surveys, drawings, and calculations, I have been aided by Henry
J. Ranney, Benj. H. Latrobe, and the other young gentlemen named in my
last annual report.
All which is respectfully submitted.
J. KNIGHT, Chief Engineer.
Extract from the report of the Committee on Railroads of (he Neiv York
Legislature on so much of the Governor's message as relates to that
subject.
Mr. Stilwell, from the Committee on Railroads, to which was referred so
much of the Governor's message as relates to the construction of railroads,
and the incorporation of companies for that object, submitted the following
report:
The important and responsible duties assigned to your committee have
been duly appreciated, and the zeal which animates to the discharge of trusts
however arduous, has impelled them forward under the various difficulties
which they have had to encounter. The brief space which is allowed in the
daily routine of legislative duties, scarcely leaves sufficient leisure to prepare
for the investigation of the public any document which may be a subject
of material interest. Your committee have lost no time, however, and have
■spared no pains to meet the expectations of all.
Perhaps no subject, since the foundation of this Government, has engross¬
ed the public mind to so great an extent as the one under consideration; and
as a necessary consequence, the halls of the Legislature are crowded with
applicants seeking permission, from the sovereignty of the State, for liberty
to reap the rich and honorable reward which their imaginations may pic¬
ture as the consequence of success.
Excitements of the character which at present pervade the public mind,
must arise from one of two causes. Either from a settled conviction that
the object to be obtained will be a source of profit to the stockholders and ol
the public, or from a desire to throw before the public the means by which
speculation may be promoted, and the few enrich themselves at the ex¬
pense of the many: to promote the former is the province of the Legisla¬
ture—to discourage the latter is their duty.
Entertaining these views, the committee have felt it their duty to exam¬
ine more minutely into the subject referred to them, than would seem, on
first reflection, to be required; and, in the range of inquiry they have pro¬
posed, they will proceed to examine into the practicability of the system
which has called forth such general and enthusiastic expression^ of opinion.
There is scarcely any more important means of advancing the prosperity
of a country than by a good system of internal communication,. The great-
[ Doc. No. loi. ]
221
er the facility of travelling from place to place, the more active will be the
social and commercial intercourse; and, the more ready the transmission of
all' the fruits of the earth, and all the products of manufactures, the more
rapid the extension of improvements and inventions, and the more com¬
plete will be the dissemination of knowledge. Time is money in all
operations requiring labor, and therefore a saving of time will be a saving
of money. Every country embraces more or less of territory which would
be highly valuable but for its seclusion and distance from the more populous
districts;—by easy and quick modes of conveyance, these disadvantages are
overcome, and the most may be made of the capabilities of a country.
The various means which human ingenuity has devised for effecting an
extensive intercourse in the present slate of knowledge, consist of roads,
railways, and canals.
The enterprise of our citizens was, at an early, period turned to the first,
and, if we may credit accounts on this subject, scarcely less anxiety was felt
at that time to obtain grants from the Legislature for the construction of
turnpike roads, than is now evinced to obtain railroad privileges. These
early enterprises did not yield much pecuniary profit to the stockholders;
nevertheless they were of incalculable good to this young but growing coun¬
try. The facilities of intercourse were promoted, and the general interests
of the community were advanced. Next in succession came the desire for
canals. The Slate having yielded her assent, the construction of the Erie
canal presented at once a new and interesting view of the benefits of this
mode of internal communication—the public mind again became engaged
in works of internal improvement, and, to what extent this feeling prevailed,
may be learned from the following extract taken from the message of the
Governor in the year 1827. " The canals, which now principally occupy
the public attention, embrace a navigable union of the principal bays on
Long Island—of the Delaware and Hudson rivers—of the Erie canal, with
the east and west branches of the Susquehannah—with the Alleghany river
—with Lake Ontario, by Great Sodus bay—with Black and St. Lawrence
rivers, and between the latter river and lake Champlain; and even a canal
from Lake Erie to the Hudson river, by an entire new route, has been sug¬
gested as practicable and expedient, and urged with great earnestness and
energy." At the time this message was communicated to the Legislature,
only one charter for a railroad had been granted, and of so little importance
was this new mode of conveyance considered, that the Governor did not
even allude to the subject, and individuals could not be found possessed of
means and faith sufficient to fill the stock and undertake the enterprise.
The public have thus been led on from one useful and patriotic improve¬
ment to another, constantly developing new resources, and holding out for
example and emulation some of the most bold, useful, and successful enter¬
prises, that any country in any age has ever witnessed. From the know¬
ledge we possess of the rapid advance of our fellow citizens in this know¬
ledge of their wants and resources, and the most efficient manner of deve¬
loping them, it will not be necessary for us to more than hint at the difference
between the two last mentioned improvements.
The object of any mode of communication is to facilitate the transporta¬
tion of heavy bodies from one section of the country to another. It conse¬
quently must be so ordered as to overcome those obstacles or irregularities,
in the surface, which nature has placed between the points to be connected.
The principle on which the railway operates in effecting this object, dif-
222
[ Doc. No. 101. ]
fers essentially from that of a canal. In the latter, the body to be moved is
sustained by the greater gravity of the fluid on which it is placed, and the
yielding nature of the particles which compose that fluid permits the body
to move along the surface under a moderate application of force. This fluid
is thrown into an artificial channel, constructed for the purpose, and ranges
through the whole extent of country to be united. In the former, the
weight to be transported is contained on rollers or wheels, and is made to
move under the application of a comparatively moderate force, along the
hard.and even surface of planes, either level or partially inclined.
Upon a canal, with an extremely moderate motion, the difierence between
the weight moved and the propelling power is exceedingly great. This
difference diminishes rapidly with an increase of velocity. The resistance
encountered lies in the gravity of the water, a nature which it is not possi¬
ble to alter, or in anywise to control.
Upon a level railway, the resistance to be encountered consists principally
of the friction at the axles of the carriages, and the flexure of the rails, and
is not materially affected by a change in the velocity.
Canals are confined to comparatively low districts, on account of the
necessity of an adequate supply of water, and of the expense and delay of
locks and lockage. Railways may be made to traverse regions however
elevated, and the ascents and descents are not only not limited, but they are
overcome in a comparatively short space of time, owing to the great supe¬
riority which inclined planes possess over locks.
Canals experience the change of the seasons most sensibly; the drought,
the floods, and the frost, are serious and insurmountable impediments to
their construction, and whether they be constructed in the frigid, temperate,
or torrid zone, the effect of such changes cannot be avoided.
Railways are said not to be affected by either; and certainly the two first
cannot operate upon them. The last has been a subject of speculation among
the inexperienced, and, as the construction of railways in this country is of
so recent date, perhaps we may not be enabled to rely with implicit confi¬
dence on such experiments as have been made.
The Baltimore and Ohio Railroad Company, however, furnishes some
evidence on this point, and would seem to put this question at rest. Under
date of the 31st of December last, the Baltimore American says: "while
all the communications by river and canal throughout the country are sus¬
pended on account of the ice, our great railroad continues in active and
steady operation, without the least interruption or hindrance from frost,
snow, or any other obstacle. The passenger carriages, generally full
both ways, have traversed the line of sixty miles between Baltimore and
Frederick, daily, since the opening of the road." This fact tends to prove
that railroads may be used at all seasons of the year. The difference, how¬
ever, between the climate of Maryland and New York, may be assigned as
a reason for still urging this latter objection, and is certainly worthy of con¬
sideration.
In consequence of the almost exclusive use of steam power on railways,
this question, on some routes, mav be one of serious import, and would re¬
quire close and satisfactory investigation, before entering upon the construc¬
tion of any road, the utility and profit of which depend solely on the busi¬
ness of the winter: on any other route it cannot be a matter of so much
£ Doc. No. 101. ]
223
propositions have been made to obviate this difficulty, but as the question
does not seem to be entirely settled by experience, the committee are not
prepared to point out any remedy or express any opinion. They may,
however, safely anticipate, that all obstacles which are not insurmountable,
will be overcome by the ingenuity and enterprise of our citizens. Many
difficulties have already been overcome, and, as the spirit of improvement
has, by recent discovery, received a new impetus, we are warranted in the
most sanguine anticipations of entire success.
The first mention of railroads in England, is made in the year 1600; they
were then made for crossing marshes, where materials could not be pro¬
cured for constructing a solid road; subsequently they were used for trans¬
porting heavy bodies for short distances, and, at Newcastle-upon-Tyne, for
conveying coal from the mines to the furnace. In Russia they have been
in use for many years. The first description of them we find in the year
1676; they are thus described:—" The manner of the carriage is by laying
rails of timber from the colliery to the river, exactly straight and parallel;
and bulky carts are made with four rollers, fitting those rails, whereby the
carriage is so easy that one horse will draw four or five chaldrons of coals,
and is an immense benefit to the coal merchant." Iron tracks have since
been substituted and used with great advantage, when an efficient and eco¬
nomical mode of transportation was found necessary.
It is only within a few years, however, that any considerable attempts
have been made to establish railways for general purposes. The entire
success of these undertakings has fully proved the superiority of this kind
of conveyance, and the English are now engaged in such an extension of
their system of railroads, as promises results of the most important cha¬
racter.
The aggregate length of railroads in Great Britain, including those now
constructing, is estimated at near 3,000 miles.
The introduction of the locomotive engine, as a moving power on rail¬
ways, and the extraordinary increase of speed as well as power which has
been thereby attained, promise to work a revolution in human affairs as
great as has been accomplished by the application of steam to the purposes
of navigation.
" Twenty years ago, we believe, the mails did not travel faster than about
seven miles an hour. From seven miles it was raised to eight, and every
one cried what an improvement! From eight it was raised to nine, and this
was hailed as nothing less than <prodigious!"' Attempts are making to
force it up to ten miles an hour, but to any thing beyond this, to a certainty,
horse power fails us. How then shall we find terms adequate to express
the value of a discovery that carries us at once from ten to twenty or thirty
miles an hour?
The experiments which have been made in England go far to prove that
we have not yet arrived at the point where improvement in speed must
cease. The present average of speed upon the Liverpool and Manchester
railway is sixteen miles per hour. The maximum velocity, unloaded, is
thirty-two miles per hour. With a load of thirteen tons, including many
passengers, Mr. Stevenson's engine, the Rocket, travelled at the rate of
fifteen miles an hour; and the engine of Braithwaite and Erickson, of Lon-
dan, moved at the astonishing speed of twenty-eight miles an hour. " It
seemed indeed," said a spectator, "to fly, presenting one of the most sub-
lime spectacles of human ingenuity and human daring the world ever beheld.
224
[ Doc. No. 101. ]
It actually made one giddy to look at it, and filled thousands with lively
fear for the safety of individuals who were on it, and who seemed not to run
along the earth, but to fly, as it were, on the wings of the wind. When
the vehicle," he continues, "nicely poised on springs, and covered in to
exclude the external current of air created by its motion, you might imagine
you were in a state of perfect rest, while you are flying along the surface
with the speed of a racer. Then the steam horse is not apt, like his brother
of flesh and blood, to be frightened from his propriety by sudden fancies
which defy the prudence and skill of the driver. Explosion, if it takes place,
will not injure the passengers, for they are in a separate vehicle, and the
enginemen may be trusted with the care of their own lives. In daylight, and
With good arrangements, travelling in the steam coach, at twenty miles an
hour, may be much more safe, as well as pleasant, than in any ordinary stage
coach at eight or nine.
The practicability of railways for the transportation of passengers, has
been proved beyond question, and, from recent experiments, no doubt can
be entertained that every description of article will be eventually conveyed
on rails. Even now, many companies in England, owning the most pro¬
fitable canals in the Kingdom, contemplate draining them, and laying rail¬
ways on their site. Should they do so, it will be a very strong evidence of
the superiority of railways over canals in the transportation of bulky ar¬
ticles.
From the experiments made on the Liverpool and Manchester railway
for the purpose of ascertaining the requisite power or weight to move a given
body on a level railway, the following were the results: The carriages and
weight were moved along the road at various speeds, and with 10, 15, 17,
19 lbs. from which the following proportionate results were deduced: one
pound moved 334 pounds, and kept it moving 44 miles per hour; one pound
moved 470 pounds, and kept it moving 3 miles per hour: one pound moved
616 pounds, and kept it moving 2è miles per hour. On the whole, the re¬
sults were highly satisfactory; and, from them, it would appear that the work
of a horse on a railway, at a slow speed, may be brought to approximate
much nearer to his work on a canal than perhaps had been generally
imagined. Rating the powers of the horse at 150 pounds, the result will
be equal to 41 tons, drawn by a single horse at the rate of two and a half
miles an hour. Experiments have been made on the Mohawk and Hudson,
and Baltimore and Ohio railroads, but the precise results have not been com¬
municated to the public.
The difference in the expense of constructing railways and canals have
been variously estimated; some put it down at one half, others at one-third,
and again we have seen it estimated as nearly equal; but, from the know¬
ledge possessed by your committee, either derived from actual observation
or indisputable authority, they are induced to believe that the cost of a rail¬
way is about two-thirds that of a canal through the same route. A single
railway, or one set of tracks, with suitable turn-outs, will cost from nine to
twelve thousand dollars. A double railway, with two complete sets of
tracks, will cost from 15 to IS thousand dollars per mile. These estimates
are for well constructed lines of railways, through a favorable country, and
do not include any extraordinary difficulty. Every road which is intended
to pass over a large extent of country, will be more or less obstructed by-
mountains, streams, vallies, &c., and in all these cases, the divisions of the
road will be subject to change accordingly. The cost of that part of the
|] Doc. No. 101. ]
225
Baltimore and Ohio railroad which has been completed with double tracks,
consisting of 61 miles, is not precisely known; but the company are of
opinion that the average cost, to the Ohio, from the present termination,
will fall but little short of 820,000 per mile.
Connected, in some measure, with the cost of railways and their practi¬
cability, is the cost of transportation. In making a comparative estimate,
we must always remember that time is money, and that the attainment of
greater speed and certainty, amounts, in effect, to a reduction of expense.
The advantages of a more speedy conveyance are often of greater value
than the whole charges of transportation. The actual average cost of trans-
portion is equal to about one dollar per ton per hundred miles, exclusive of
the tolls, and the cost of a draft, or traction, upon a level railway, will not
exceed a quarter of a cent, per ton per mile. And the above rate of one
cent per ton per mile, for the whole cost of transportation, is believed to be
entirely sufficient to cover all expenses, and afford a reasonable profit. The
daily expense of a locomotive engine now at work on the Manchester road,
is as follows: the hire of the engineman, four shillings; firemen, two shill¬
ings and six pence; coal, three shillings and four pence; oil, one shilling.
Total, ten shillings and ten pence sterling.
Supposing the engine to carry 30 tons, at a rate of ten miles an hour, and
to work 12 hours each day, realizing but 10 hours' speed, or 100 miles,
makes the cost of traction about one-tenth of a cent per ton.
The improvements that are constantly making in engines, leave the costs
of construction entirely problematical, and the same may, in some 0easure,
be said of the way.
The most approved method of constructing railways, is on the plan adopt¬
ed by the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad Company. A line of road is first
graded, free from short curves, and as nearly level as possible. A small
trench is then formed for each track, which is filled with rubble-stone, on
which are laid blocks of granite or other suitable stone, (in the place of wood,)
which will square about one font, and of as great length asean be obtained.
The upper and inner surfaces of each track are dressed perfectly even, as
well as the ends of the blocks at their joinings. Bars, or plates of wrought
iron, near an inch in thickness, are then laid upon these blocks or rails, in a
line with the inner surfaces, and fastened to the stone with iron bolts or
rivets, entering about four inches in holes fitted to receive them, and at a
distance of about 18 inches. The distance between the two tracks, for the
wheels, should be about five feet
The railway cars or carriages are fitted] with iron wheels, which, being
cast in a chill, afford surfaces like hardened steel. Each wheel has a flange,
or projecting rim, of about one inch in depth, which runs below the rail-
plates on the inner side of the tracks, and which effectually prevents the
wheels from leaving the fails.
This mode of construction, both of ways and cars, is now supposed to ex¬
ceed any other; and when the stone can be obtained to answer the purpose
at reasonable expense, no wood is made use of in the construction of ways.
This, it will be perceived, renders the work proof against dilapidation, and
creates but a trifle more expense.
29
DOCUMENTS
IN RELATION TO
THE COMPARATIVE MERITS OF CANALS AND RAILROADS.
PUBLISHED BT ORDER OF THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE 17TH
DAY OF FEBRUARY, 1832, UNDER THE SUPERINTENDENCE OF THE COM¬
MITTEE ON INTERNAL IMPROVEMENT.
[ Doc. No. 101. 3
229
EXTRACTS
FROM THE
MEMORIAL OF THE CHESAPEAKE AND OHIO CANAL COMPANY,
(Being Document No. 18 of the 1st Session of the 22d Congress.)
REFERRED TO IN THE RESOLUTION OF THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF
THE 17TH DAY OF FEBRUARY, 1S32.
The relative cost of the construction of Railroads and Canals, the com¬
parative expense of transportation thereupon, and of their respective
annual repairs.
It is believed that these interesting topics of inquiry have recently had
new l'ght shed upon them by facts and authorities entitled to the highest
confidence.
Some of these, with the conclusions to which they lead, have been alrea¬
dy briefly noticed. Others are embodied in the following note, an apology
for which, it is hoped, will be found in the intrinsic difficulty, novelty, and
importance of the investigations which it undertakes, and the growing anxi¬
ety of the public to be correctly informed in relation to the various subjects
which they necessarily involve.
In all cases where practicable, the language of the authorities cited will be
found to be employed, with a view to insure greater confidence in the con¬
clusions at which the memorialists have arrived.
Extract from the report of the Board of Managers of the Lehigh Coal
and Navigation Company, presented to the stockholders on the 12th
January, 1829:
"The railroad continues an effective auxiliary to the business of the com¬
pany, and, being located upon a plane descending in the direction of the
load, and requiring no expensive or complicated machinery in its use, ap¬
proximates, in facility of transit, to a small canal; and, whenever an en¬
larged business shall require the construction of another track, the peculiar
advantages presenting for its location will insure its effects to be fully com¬
mensurate with the most extended prospects of trade. The report of the
engineer will exhibit the progress of the improvements on the Lehigh, and
what still remains to be done; from which it will appear that the whole can
be completed in the early part of next season, and will then furnish a navi¬
gation from Mauch Chunk to Easton, made up of thirty-seven miles of canal
and ten miles of slack water pools, having five feet depth of water, and a
well constructed towing path the whole distance. The canals are sixty feet
in width on the top water line, with locks twenty-two feet wide, and one
hundred feet long, and fed, at eight separate points, by substantial dams
across the river. These, besides furnishing an ample supply of water for
all the purposes of navigation, will also afford important water power in ad¬
vantageous positions, especially the one at Easton, which has already begun
even to attract the attention of manufacturers."
230
[ Doc. No. 101. ]
To the annual report, from which the preceding extract is made, is ap¬
pended the following report of the acting manager, Josiah White:
" That the railroad to the company's mines, notwithstanding it was put
up in such an expeditious manner, and was the first made, of such a magni¬
tude in our country, continues to answer the desired purpose, although it
has been subject to some modifications and alterations. Since we have re¬
duced the velocity of travelling, from twelve to fifteen miles an hour, down
to five and seven miles an hour, our horses and mules, which, in the for¬
mer rate, got and kept sick, in the latter continue healthy, notwithstanding
their regular daily work is thirty-five to forty-five miles per day; and, so
strong is their attachment to riding down, that, in one instance, when they
were sent up with the coal wagons, without their mule wagons, the hands
could not drive them down, and were under the necessity of drawing up
their wagons for the animals to ride in."
"Perhaps some remarks on our experience with our railroad, on which
has been transported upwards of 60,000 tons, may settle the question with
some of our stockholders, who have doubted the policy of canalling the val¬
ley of the Lehigh in place of making a railroad. I, therefore, now give
the cost of transportation on our railroad, and also on the Erie canal. Data
for the latter, I obtained from the superintendent of the east division of the
Erie canal, and also from a gentleman largely engaged for three years in
the making of hydraulic lime or cement, and transporting it on one hundred
and fifty-two miles of this canal. Both are given, without tolls, or repairs
of road or canal.
" Cost of transportation on our railroad for the year 1828.
Mules and horses cost - - - 1 1-3 cent per ton per mile.
Hands - - - - - 1 1-3 do. do.
Repairing wagons ... 2-3 do. do.
Oil for do - - - 1-5 do. do.
Total - 3 53-100 cent per ton a mile,
full and one way, and the whole cost divided into the distance one way
only.
Cost of transportation on the Erie Canal.
" For boats of forty tons burthen, one cent per ton a mile: full loads one
way, and returning empty. Calculated as per the railroad.
" Calculating on same data as above, on a boat of sixty-seven tons, such as
will be adapted to the Delaware canal, will cost seven-tenths of a cent per
ton a mile; and, for a boat of one hundred and thirty-four tons burthen,
adapted to the Lehigh canal, one-half cent per ton a mile; the latter being
less than one-sixth the cost per mile, as per our railroad, notwithstanding
the favorable circumstances attending that railroad.
" A railroad, well made, is attended with little expense for repairs and
decay at first; but all its essential parts begin, though slightly, to decay at
its existence, and its decay gradually increases to its final annihilation.
" A canal is attended with expensive breaches, &c. in the first instance,
but every repair makes the work better; and most of its constituent parts
are as durable as time.
" Our canal, it is believed by our engineer, will be passable by the seventh
month (July) next. It is calculated for boats of one hundred and thirty to
[ Doc. No. 101. 3
231
one hundred and fifty tons burthen. All the locks, aqueducts, culverts,
&c. are laid in hydraulic lime. The ponds connecting the canal are clear¬
ed out in the channel fifty feet in width, and five feet deep: and all the tow-
paths along them are faced with a permanent slope wall. In the whole line,
I know of no part on which money is expended for ornament; but, inas¬
much as we were sure of a large transportation on it, money has been ex¬
pended to make it substantial, that might have been avoided, if the desire
had been more to come within the original estimate of the engineer than to
have made a substantial and permanent work.
"In the dryest weather of last autumn, our engineer, Canvas White, was
on the summit between the Nescopeck and Lehigh, and, at the Lehigh,
where it was proposed to take the water out for the supply of the canal to
Nescopeck and the Susquehannah; and his opinion was given, that there is
an abundant supply of water for the summit; and, since then, Mr. Robin¬
son, a skilful engineer, appointed by the State commissioners to examine
those grounds, for a canal or railroad from the head waters of Schuylkill
and Lehigh, or Broadhead creek, to the river Susquehannah, has examined
those grounds; and I learn that the result of bis examination is, that, of all
the lines proposed, there is but one adapted for a canal navigation, and that
one is by the Nescopeck to the Lehigh; and here, by rfesorting to a tunnel
of only one hundred and seventy-five poles in length, and a dam only ten
to thirteen feet in height across the Lehigh, at the mouth of Bear creek, the
river Lehigh will flow into the summit. When it is recollected that it is the
only line for a water communication north of the Blue mountains, that can
connect the Susquehannah with the Delaware and Philadelphia, and that the
produce of the west branch of the Susquehannah can get as cheaply this
way as any other, arid all on the north branch of the Susquehannah, cheaper
to Philadelphia, and thus be tributary to the Lehigh canal, and the Dela¬
ware division of the State canal, the stockholders of this company, and the
public at large, will know, ere long, how to appreciate it. The Nescopeck
and Lehigh canal is calculated to correspond with the Delaware section, for
boats of sixty seven tons burthen, and will cost for transportation, from
Berwick to Mauch Chunk, from the best data I can get, about one-third
as much per ton a mile as on our railroad; this, added to the advantages
of a continuous voyage in the same boat, and with the same superintend¬
ing hands, (and no trans-shipment,) from the extreme ends of the Sus¬
quehannah canal to Philadelphia, will, I presume, settle public opinion on
the manner of passing the ridge of land between the waters of the Susque¬
hannah and the Delaware.
"All which is respectfully submitted.
"JOSIAH WHITE, dieting Manager."
Philadelphia, 1 si mo. 12th, 1829.
Extracts from the report of the Board of Managers of the Lehigh Coal
and Navigation Company, for the year 1S30, and the Acting Mana¬
ger's report:
" The length of our line of improvement is 46| miles, and has cost, in¬
cluding the whole of the river improvement, from its commencement as a
descending navigation, to its final completion, about ¡81,558,000; the dis¬
tance being divided into 36| miles of canal, and 10 miles of pools, with a
tow path throughout the line."
[ Doc. No. 101. J
From the Acting Manager's report of 1829.
" We have made some very satisfactory alterations in the railway, for the
purpose of preventing the early decay of the timber, and jolting of the wa¬
gons. We now run the wagons at the average rate of about six miles an
hour, and find this motion produces much less wear, both of the wagons and
road, than a greater velocity. I have demonstrated to my satisfaction, that
the wear and tear of the road and wagons is in proportion to the motion;
and that, in the end, a motion exceeding twenty miles an hour (which we
tried in the first months of our business) will make the transportation on
railroads more expensive than on our graded turnpike on which the rails
were laid."
In addition to the information derived from the published documents and
reports of the Lehigh Coal and Navigation Company, it is deemed proper
to insert in this note the following essay in the Mauch Chunk Courier, from
the pen of the highly respectable superintendent of that work, sustaining
the views of the comparative advantages of railroads and canals which his
official duty had prompted him to communicate to those in whose service he
has long been engaged; and whose confidence he is known to have possess¬
ed, in an eminent degree.
To the Editor of the Mauch Chunk Courier,
A friend handed me, a day or two since, the " Paterson (N. J.) Intelligen¬
cer," dated 7th April, and called my attention to a long article, signed by
John I. Sullivan, civil engineer, wherein I am made to appear the enemy of
the public improvements now going on in our country. It would be a poor
compliment to human nature for me to change at this time of day, after
twenty years' personal devotion to works of a public nature, and twice jeo¬
pardising my whole estate in promoting those improvements, and now take
a contrary course.
We began our railroad early in January, 1827, and finished in May fol¬
lowing. Up to this time, we transported on it more than 100,000 tons. Its
entire length is nine miles, single tracks; its branches at the ends and side-
lings, four miles more. The elevation of the road, from the head of the
chute to the summit, is 767 feet, in a distance of eight miles, being an aver¬
age of ninety-six feet to the mile. W,e have not had a week's interruption,
from casualty, since it was finished; so that it may be called a practicaljroad
from its completion. The first two months' use of the road, our wagons
moved fifteen and twenty miles an hour, as the men who had charge of their
descent were anxious to get through the route as soon as possible, to avoid
the fatigue of holding them in check by the breaks. We soon perceived
our utter inability to keep the wagons repaired without reducing the speed,
or be subject to cost and repairs greater than the gains made over the good
turnpike we had abandoned ; besides, the tremulous motion occasioned by the
wagons going at those rapid rates ground the corners of the coal into pow¬
der, which enveloped the driver in a continual cloùd of dust.
Dur railroad was new when we travelled at the high speed, and, although
not so perfect as it might have been made, I presume it was as evenly made
as those which are made more perfect in other respects, in the first instance,
would be, after one year's wear and tear from 100,000 tons per year going
on them, at the rate of 15 or 20 miles an hour. Thirty years ago, the rail-
[ Doc. No. 101. ]
233
roads in England, and, until very lately, had their flanges on the track of
the road, or most of them in that way; and, as a consequence, were always
liable to be covered with dust, dirt, &c. : ours is of the modern construction,
and we have adapted it to ride the horses down, so that they perform two
ordinary days' work in each day. The only difference between our road and
the most modern one in England, is, that their work is put together more
evenly and stronger, to carry their locomotive engines, which weigh two
or more times as much as passes on our road. Our road is graded so as to
have such a continued descent from the summit down, as for the wagons to
descend on all parts of it by gravity. When they began to pursue this
mode in England, I know not: ours was the first of the kind we had any
knowledge of, and the English have not improved on it.
I am too good a republican to fear responsibility when I see my way clear.
I should suppose the men of science in England would be governed in their
knowledge of facts, the same as in other places. It is but a thing of yester¬
day, they had any knowledge of wagons going at the rate of twenty to
thirty miles an hour; and they had no experience to test the consequences;
to get these motions has caused them unusual efforts. The case was differ¬
ent with us; we had a difficulty to go slow; and we thought we had explod¬
ed {he economy of a rapid motion before the English began theirs. 1 be¬
lieve that if a railroad was made perfectly even, and could be kept so, that
the wear and tear would be very different from what is the every day's expe¬
rience. I am so unaccustomed to see perfect articles, that I sometimes doubt
of their being such, and they are hardly to be expected on the track of long
roads, exposed to all kinds of weather and casualties. I have never noticed
a long bar of wrought or cast iron of an even degree of hardness, the whole
length, on all its sides.
I had an interest in a wire factory at the falls of Schuylkill, which made
half a ton of wire per day—we cut the bars into from five to eight pieces, (and
our iron was the best we could select,) and it was a very rare thing to find
the bars so evenly tempered as to bear reducing this small quantity without
breaking, and, generally, in several places.
With the utmost skill and experience of our mechanics, we do not find
them to bore a steam engine cylinder perfect; the pistons all require pack¬
ing to prevent the escape of steam. I never noticed a wheel cast perfectly
true; we cast ours in, (turned,) but they do not come out perfectly correct;
and if they were cast or turned true, it isas difficult to wedge them on per¬
fectly correct: so difficult is the attainment of perfection on this side the
grave. With these difficulties before us, I will take it for granted the wheel
of the cars is 1 -161h of an inch out of truth, and that they are three feet in
diameter: to go thirty miles an hour, would require them to revolve 278
times per minute, and the wagon and load weighing four tons, is one ton to
each wheel: each wheel of the car strikes the road with a weight of one ton
273 times a minute, faster, I presume, than any man can count: besides this
evil, the materials which compose the heaviest item of expense are of a per¬
ishable nature, whether used or not, and wear and tear proportioned to use.
These are some of the reasons why I believe a road will not be made perfect;
and, if so made, will not last interminably long, like the materials in a
canal.
I am asked, if I could, on my experience, check the spirit of inves¬
tigation and enterprise that is abroad in the country ? 1 answer cer¬
tainly not the former, but, as to the latter, I think it only valuable when
30
234
[ Doc. No. 101. ]
governed by prudence, and then only ¡1 is invaluable. I reeollcct very
well when the coal trade, and even the making inland navigation in our
country was in disgrace in the eye of the public; but neither is so now.
The public is now extra hot in the same degree as it was extra cold for¬
merly. The coal trade is now large, as well as respectable, in the opinion
of the public; but there are no doubt ten times as man}' in the trade, as
many canals and railroads talked of to transport coal to, market, as there
are markets for the article. Can this, then, he an enterprise wanting a spur?
or what can the numerous canals and railroads contemplated be worth, if
made? A canal has two advantages over a railroad, besides the economy
of using. Their number of sites are known, and they are limited by wa¬
ter; and if they are made faster than the wants of the country, occasioned
by a feverish state of the public mind, or by an error of judgment, they
do not decay, whether used or not, except the lock gates, and wood work,
of which, there is very little since hydraulic lime has been brought into use.
I believe that a railroad can be made strong, solid, and true enough, to not
only admit of a speed upon it of six miles an hour, but even sixty miles an
hour, fora short time; but I do net believe there will be economy in going
more than six miles an hour with heavy loads, unless it is with passerfgers,
valuable goods, &c. which will hear heavy tolls. Our company have no
reason to dislike railroads—ours has undoubtedly saved §500,000 already;
but, by our canal, we now go an equal distance at one-fourth the cost of the
railroad. But a canal cannot be made to the mines, so we resort to the
next best thing.
J. L. Sullivan says, "the Stockton and Darlington road is certainly
kept in the best repair, and is the best constructed railroad now in operation
in England. Cast rails have been tried, but malleable rails are principally
used, and decidedly preferred by the proprietors."
This road has been made about live years, and, since that time, they have
condemned the old plan. But what, say they, of the best English road, in
October last? The London Mechanics' Magazine, of Oct., 1829, page 141,
has the succeeding observations: "the speed of the engines has been in¬
creased on the Darlington road, by substituting wheels of four feet diameter
instead of three feet; but these, working on the plane bars, cannot be case-
hardened, for fear they would turn round when they have a hard pull; con¬
sequently, they are made of soft iron, which, from the immense weight of
the engine, wears them in grooves the width of the rail, and twists them
sideways, which keeps men, incessantly on the line, setting them straight."
So we find thirty years' experience is condemned; and all ,that wo now
have worthy of our notice, are the experiments of a few days or hours,
and these are leading brother Jonathan by the nose. Thus much for the
best railroad in England. But still, I allow they may make them stronger,
although not so as to prevent those effects in a greater or less degree, if a
speedy motion is resorted to, particularly with a locomotive engine, as the
stress necessary to pull the load impinges through the wheels on the road,
and thus the joints of the road are pulled together between the wheels of
the engine and the ears, so as to keep up an incessant action in the rails.
J. L. S. gives us credit for constructing our railroad at §1500 per mile; no
one has the company's authority for this; our statement was §3,050 a mile,
and most of it was laid on an old turnpike and single track.
The Manchester and Liverpool railroad is not a fair comparison for other
¿railroads; neither is the novelty engine justly cited, as a standard, by
[ Doc. No. 101. 3
235
which others are to be judged. The quantity of valuable merchandise
passing between the two towns is said to be 1200 tons daily; and the passen¬
gers only, it is supposed, will produce Sill,112, per year. The whole
length of this road is but 321 miles. They can, therefore, afford to con¬
struct it in a manner approaching as nearly to perfection as possible. The
Novelty has had but. a limited trial; our last accounts made it amount to a
period of about six hours. It would hardly be prudent to invest millions on
a thing that was not as durable as Jonah's gourd. It may do well: it isa
neat affair enough; but it would be safer to wait a year or more before we
pronounce it entitled to full faith, or consider it of such amazing utility,
with no other data for our decision than the result of six hours' experiment¬
ing. Its boiler carries but 36 gallons of water, which is the main cause
of its lightness. To produce the requisite steam, the evaporation must run
rapidly from this 36 gallons of water; and if the supply pump does not corres¬
pond with the making of the steam for a few moments, a blow up is the in¬
evitable consequence.
To compare railroads and canals by dollars and cents, as far as we have
practice and experience for our guide, will, no doubt, be coming nearer the
point the public desire to attain. And whether it is gratifying to some oi
not, we, I trust, will all find that economy in the use of the improvement!
resorted to, is the one thing needful, which the public at large is most in
terested in having accomplished.
The annexed calculation is estimated from the cost, &c. of the Mauch
Chunk road. But that part of it only, from the summit of Mauch Chun!
being eight miles, descending the entire distance, and the whole owned by
single company, (so that we are exempt from the interference of neighbors,
it is presumed can pompare in its use with the minimum cost of a fir;
rate railroad under the most favorable circumstances.
Estimate of the repairing, <§-c. of the perishable part of the railroa
with double tracks.
For one mile, 20 tons plate iron, cost for iron and laying down, S2,00'
last, say 20 years $100 (
Wood for rails and sills, 126,720 feet at$15 - gl,900 SO
Carpenters' work say - - 1,900 80
S3,801 60
S3,SOI 60 last six years-f-6=,633
One man repairing road to each mile, 250 days « - 250
Cost of repairing one mile per year - * - g983
If the transportation be 100,000 tons, it is, say one cent per mile; i
the repairs increase with the increase of the use of the road.
Wear and tear, or renewing of the railroad wagons, they lasting 4 ye;
42 wagons (load a boat) cost - $4,i
7 mule wagons
4,
Last four years, is §1,137 50 peryi
225 days in the season, and 32 cwt. each wagon going two trips a daj
134 tons 8 cwt. a day, or 30,240 tons a year-r-1187 30=3.76 — 9=42.
236
[ Doc. No. 101. ]
Making daily repairs to wagons, three hands, 225 days - $ 675
Materials for repairs ------ 1,350
Annual cost of current repairs - 2,025
3,025-=- 9 miles=$225 = 30,240 tons is per ton a mile, 74-100 of a cent.
Total repair of wagons 1 16-100 cent per ton a mile.
Cost of hands and animal power from the summit to the end of the road,
descending all the way:
28 mules go two trips a day, and draw up 42 coal and 7 mule wagons (to
carry down the mules) each trip, &c. going 32 miles a day, the 42 wagons,
each carry 32 cwt. coal each trip. Total 134 tons.
28 mules at 33 cents a day, - - - $9 24
4 drivers, 90 do - - - 3 60
12 84-5-134= 10 cts.
for S miles, or 1¿ (cents a ton a mile.
This H cent a ton a mile is the nett cost, without any contingencies; the
cost last year was 17è cents for 8 miles, being, say 2 cents. The difference
between the two was made up of the superintendent of the railroad, hands
assisting to provide for the animals, lost time through the season, keeping
animals in the winter, &.c. making the whole cost, at a close estimate,
4 16-100 cents a ton a mile, exclusive of interest account and grease.
Canal estimates of transportation and repairs of canal.
The boat carrying 75 tons makes a trip loaded, down to Easton, 46 miles,
and returns empty in 4h days.
3 men at 90 cents. = 270 x4à days=-12 15
2 horses and rope, 85 cts. = 170x4èdays= 7 65
Boat, 70 cents a day, 4è days= 3 15
(Boat cost $700, and last 1,000 days) 22 95
§22 95-5-75 ton = 30 60-100=46 miles=a ton a mile 66Î-100.
Wear and tear of the canal.
The lockage from Mauch Chunk to Bristol, in tide, is 524 feet, which,
with 8 feet lifts, is 66 locks, distance 106 miles; 66 locks will require their
gates renewed every 10 years, and the cost of a set of gates, say
$500x66 = 833,000=10 for their duration, is per year,
$3,300 = 106 miles, per mile, - $31 13
52 hands, 250 days, being 1 hand to 2 miles, repairing, (after 8 years'
duiation) is, a mile, ----- 125 00
156 13
100,000 tons=$156 13-100=11 miles, or 15-100 a mile, which, added
lo 62Í-100, makes the total cost of transportation by canal, including wear
and tear of canal, 81è 100 cents a ton per mile, exclusive of interest.
Our present cost of transportation on our canal, in rough arks, is, per
ton per mile, r - - 1 cent
To which add the wear and tear of canal, as above, do do 15-100
Total cost, at present, per mile, per ton,
1 15-100
[ Doc. No. 101. 3
£57
Hence, it appears that our canal, used in the ordinary way, will costless
than one-fourth of a first rate railroad.
It may be observed, that I have not noticed the cost of lock gate keepers,
this was omitted, because the water power passing from one- level to the
other to keep them up, will produce a revenue greater than their pay.
There are two items, not heretofore taken in account, that will lessen the
cost of transportation on the canal, where there is plenty of water as in the
Lehigh and Delaware, viz. one is, that, as the freight is 7nostly down¬
wards, half the power may he saved by letting a current pass down the
canal; the other is, that, by using propellers, and having two locks at each
lift, one for ascending and the other descending, we can save all the animal
power by substituting water power, and one-third of the hands; thus re¬
ducing the cost of transportation about one-half. Our railroad friends must
allow us to avail ourselves of improvements in canals, if they take that course
in railroads. But, in making my estimates, 1 have endeavored to consider
what expenses have occurred, rather than what may occur; for many of our
supposed improvements oft times prove in jurious, rather than beneficial, to
those who have been at the trouble and expense of making them.
JOSIAH WHITE.
5th mo. 20, 1830.
The following are extracts from letters of Mr. White, to a distant corres¬
pondent:
"Mauch Chunk, 3d rne. 5th, 1830.
"Railroads are a great improvement on turnpikes; but, in my opinion,
are vastly inferior ('particularly as a public work, and in a republican coun¬
try) to canals, both as to convenience as well as economy. A canal is ac¬
cessible every where, a railroad nowhere, (without interrupting the current
of wagons,) except by an arrangement for turning out; and the more turn
outs are made, the greater the casualties. By canal, every boatman may
choose his own motion, within the maximum motion; by railroad, every
traveller must have the same motion, or be subject to turn outs; which, as
I have said, have their casualties. The motion of twenty and thirty miles
an hour on railroads will be fatal to wagons, road, and loading, as well as
human life.
" We have a distance of eight miles from the mines, with a descent of
seventy to one hundred and twelve feet in a mile. The velocity of the
wagons would exceed thirty miles an hour, if not checked. Our first two
months' use of the road was fitteen and twenty miles an hour, which would
have soon ruined both road and wagons, and, I am persuaded, was then
dearer than the turnpike we put our rails on.
"Our present motion, say of six miles an hour, is very satisfactory: and
makes the railroad an immensely valuable appendage to our coal business.
Wet or dry, we go on it; moist and wet weather, which ruins turnpikes,
makes the wagons run freer on the railroad; snow, however, is an impedi¬
ment. Our wagons will not run down from the mines, by gravity, in a
snowstorm; the snow packs on the road. In such weather, as well as in
sleety weather, we cannot use the break, as it slips too freely to produce the
necessary friction to check the wagons. '
"I think it rather fortunate for society, that'railroads are not of equa
value to canals, for a railroad can be taken anywhere; and, consequently
238
[ Doc. No. 101. ]
r.o improvements would be safe on their line: for the moment the improve¬
ment succeeded, it would be rivaled, so as to destroy both, &c., whereas
we know the line and limits of our canals, by the supply of water, and gra¬
duation of the ground; so that all improvements thereon are safe against the
undermining of rivals. I should consider, that, if the railroads superseded
canals, they would, for the above reasons, render the tenure or value of pro¬
perty as insecure as it would be if without the protection of law."
"MaticH Chunk, 2d mo. 25th, 1830.
" Thee, no doubt, has observed the last accounts of the "Novelty" loco¬
motive engine on the Manchester and Liverpool railway, stating that the
fuel (at ten shillings sterling a ton for coke) costs but thirty-seven shillings
sterling to carry a ton of goods round the world; and that the owners offer
to make engines to weigh five tons, and draw one hundred tons, that shall
not consume more than about one-third of a mill, our money, a ton a mile.
This, no doubt, will be received as a well settled experiment in favoh of
railroads, and against canals.
" I suggest, if this engine is of the superior order represented, that it is
equally adapted to canals, by having a less power, and proportioning it
to the load it has to draw. Our canal can carry boats of one hundred and
lorty and one hundred and fifty tons. Our State canals generally carry boats
of seventy-five tons. This power can be applied as advantageously on the
canals as on the railroads, by having light rails on one or both sides of the
canal for the wheels, which drive or draw the boat to run on, and keeping
the engine on the boat: by which means, the engine will, no doubt, be
made to last three times as long as if on a railroad, from the incessant jarring
of the latter. Thee will perceive, by the tables in the books on the subject
of railroads, that, at two and a half miles an hour, the effect from the same
weight is 55,500 pounds by canal, and 14,400 pound by a level railway; so
that the same engine would propel three and a half times as much on a
canal as on a railroad, and, of course, save two-thirds the fuel, and the same
proportion nearly of tire power of the engine, in addition to its increased
durability.
"With regard to engines on railroads, moving with equal weight with
indefinite velocity, it is proved by us, and on the Liverpool railway, to be
a false, theory; the motion invariably was reduced by adding to the weight
to be pulled; and the wear and tear, no doubt, is as the velocity, the weights
being equal."
It is not deemed improper here to insert the opinion of the oldest and
most eminent civil engineer in the United States of America, who has serv¬
id more than fifteen years in the best school for all practical science, that of
ixperience.
Extract from a letter of Benjamin Wright, of Neio York, dated October
31, 1631, in reply to a letter addressed to him by the President of the
Chesapeake and Ohio Canal Company.
" The Delaware and Hudson Canal Company own 10S miles of canal, on
vhich there are 110 locks; and also 16 miles of railroad, on which there are 5
Learn power stationary engines to draw up coal SOO feet, and 3 self acting
lanes to let down coal about 700 feet.
[ Doc. No. 101. ]
239
. " The board of directors were not satisfied that all these works, in min¬
ing coal, in transporting over the railroad, and along their canal, were ma¬
naged with that rigid and strict economy which the competition in the ar¬
ticle made useful and necessary for the interest of the company, and they
appointed myself and one other gentleman to go through all their work, and
examine into every expenditure; of what had been, as welLas what, in our
opinion, ought to be done, to economize in mining the coal, in transporting
over the railroad and along the canal, to tide water. We had full powers
to call on every man in their employ, and examine into every expenditure,
m all its details, so as to report what would, in the present state of things,
when the railroad and canal were both in good order, be a fair and proper
charge on the coal.
" We spent 20 days in this duty, and made our report to the board of
directors. We found that the expense on the railroad, not including any
toll, would be about 3J to 3i cents per ton per mile; and, on the canal, with¬
out toll, one cent to one cent and two mills per ton per mile. We took great
pains to get every information on all points having the least possible bearing,
and I have no doubt the comparison is a fair one for this canal and this
railroad. Perhaps railroad advocates may say that this is not a fair sample
of railroad to compare with. In so far as it is loaded with 5 steam engines,
as stationary power, to draw up coal, and 3 self-acting planes to let down,
it has an extra charge upon it; but then the great number of locks on the
canal causes detention and increases expenses. As the result came out so
nearly like Josiah White's statement on the Mauch Chunk canal and rail¬
road, as published in the Intelligencer some two years ago, and proved the
correctness of that statement, and as their railroad was not subject to station¬
ary power, I consider the comparison a fair one on the whole."
Letter from the same to the same, of subsequent date.
New York, December 17, 1831.
Dear Sir: You ask me my opinion of the comparative advantages of ca¬
nals and railroads as applied to the Potomac valley, and the great plan of a
connection between the eastern and western waters?
This question presents a great field for argument, and no doubt much mav
be said on both sides. I will, however, give you my own views as applied
to the locality in question.
I am decidedly in favor of a canal in preference to a railroad, and more
particularly for that part between tide water and Cumberland, and between
Pittsburg and the mouth of Casselman's river. As to the intermediate space,
a question might arise whether the great amount of lockage, and the long
tunnel, would, at present, justify the expense of a canal in preference to a
railroad. Time, and the probable prosperity of the country, when a dense
population should cover it, along the line and beyond it, would probably
justify a continuous water communication over and through the mountains,
in half a century or less.
These are the outlines of the results of my own mind as applied to this
case.
J am probably, at this time, in a minority in the United States as to
.my opinions of the comparative advantages of canals and tailroads. I
240
[_ Doc. No. 101. ]
have very little doubt I shall be in the majority before two years more are
expired.
The public mind does not, in my opinion, take all circumstances and bear¬
ings into consideration, when they undertake to give opinions. They hear
of the Manchester and Liverpool railroad, and of the great effects and re¬
sults produced on it, but they do not know the whole of the expenditure as
well as the whole receipts. In this case, as well as on the Baltimore railroad,
we are kept in the dark about wear and tear, and shall be for some time to
come.
I admit that, for passengers, a railroad is a useful and rapid conveyance;
but, in our country, and particularly in the Potomac valley, the passengers
are a small matter compared with the products of the soil; the forests and
mines. We know that the Erie canal has more tonnage, in lumber, than all
other tonnage on it, and, for the article of square timber alone, this year, the
rafts of it, which have passed, (being rafted only 14 feet wide, so as to pass
locks) would, if put together, stretch 50 miles. This is an article of first
necessity, and could not come as cheap, if at all, on a railroad as on a canal.
I may add boards, also, which are brought in boats much better than on rail¬
road wagons.
But the great advantage a canal will always have over a railroad consists
in the little mind or thought that is required to use it. Any man or boy
can navigate a canal, but it requires much more mechanical skill to manage
on a railroad even by horse power, and many times as much more to man¬
age a locomotive. 1 consider a long line of railroad, where the power is of¬
ten changed, as it must necessarily be, in passing from Baltimore over the
mountains, as a very complicated machine; as liable to have its parts get out
of order, at a distance from any work shop, where repairs can be made; and
as being odious in this country, as a monopoly of the carrying, which it ne¬
cessarily must be. A canal, on the contrary, is open to any man who builds
a boat, and he m&y travel or stop, when and how he pleases, if he does not
interrupt the passing of others.
In short, I place a railroad between a good turnpike and a canal. I con¬
sider the expense of transportation, from the little experience I have had, to
be about in the proportion of three to one, between a canal and railroad, in
favor of the former, without tolls on either. All these opinions are the con¬
clusions of my own mind, from critical examinations of works of both kinds,
and all the light I have been able to obtain on the question. I could say
much more, but I presume what is said above is sufficient is answer to your
question.
With much esteem, I am, dear sir, your obdient servant,
BENJ. WRIGHT.
Gen. Mercer.
Letter from John Bolton, late President of the Delaware and Hudson
Canal Company, to the Editor of the Savannah Georgian.
New York, July 21, 1831.
Dear Sir: I perceive that some of the papers are endeavoring to arouse
the people of Georgia to a sense of the importance of artificial means oí
transportation between the interior of the State and the coast. Both inter¬
est and good will induce me to wish them success, and, were I a young man,
[ Doc. No. 101. "J
241
I should like much to take a part in executing any work that should have
a favorable bearing on Savannah. A six years' experience in the construc¬
tion and operations of the works of the Delaware and Hudson Company
would give me some advantages; but, as it is, I can only offer my good
wishes and any useful information that may be in my power. From the
articles I have seen, I perceive, with some regret, that they entirely overlook
the great natural advantages that Georgia has over most of the States in the
construction of canals, and recommend railroads; which are the only re¬
source of those who do not possess facilities for canals, and who, conse¬
quently, endeavor to make the public believe that they are superior to ca¬
nals. In this they have succeeded to some extent for the present; but, hav¬
ing some experience of both, I am not among the converts to this new sys¬
tem. I give it a place between turnpike roads and canals, and feel a confi¬
dence that time will confirm this order; and this only in cases where the
amount of transportation will justify the expense of a railroad.
In a late report to the proprietors of the Liverpool and Manchester rail¬
road, it is stated that they had reduced the expense of transportation from
15-s. per ton by canal, to 10s. by railroad, for 32 miles. This reduced rate,
at 7 pet cent, exchange, is g2 37£ per ton. On the Erie canal and Dela¬
ware and Hudson canal, the highest rate on merchandise, including toll,
freight, and receiving and forwarding, is 5 cents per ton per mile, ¿1 60
for 32 miles; on flour, and on other articles of small value, itis still less. Flour
does not exceed, for long distances, 3 cents per ton per mile, making only
96 cents for 32 miles. On the Delaware and Hudson canal, a boat carrying
30 tons costs $400; 5 per cent, per annum, will keep her in repair. It re¬
quires 12 wagons to carry the same weight on the railroad, cost $1,400, and
the repairs will probably be from 15 to 20 per cent. The annual repairs of
the canal cost about $400 per mile; the railroad about $1,500 per mile. The
canal is getting better every year, the railroad worse. The railroad of the
Delaware and Hudson Canal Company passes over a rough uneven country,
and has eight inclined planes. The wear of machinery and ropes, on these
planes, is very expensive, and bears a greater proportion to the length of line
that would be found in Georgia below the mountains. I have, however, no
doubt that the annual expense of railroads will be found to be greater than is
generally estimated.
The greatest advantage claimed, by the advocates of railroads, over canals,
is in the rapidity of travel; and the Liverpool and Manchester railroad fur¬
nishes the grounds for this claim, as the results of the Erie canal have fur¬
nished data on which to found similar projects; and both are equally exposed
to disappointment. The Liverpool and Manchester road has cost $118,000
per mile, whilst, in this country, we estimate our railroads to cost from 5
to $12,000, and nothing is now better ascertained than that strength and firm¬
ness must be in proportion to velocity of movement; and that, to avoid the
expense and delay of inclined planes, hills must be cut down and valleys
filled up. These requisites cannot be attained without great expense, ex¬
cept in locations peculiarly favorable, but strength and firmness are indis¬
pensable in any location. Besides, there is one advantage claimed in favor
of railroads in this quarter, which is not applicable to the South. The wa¬
ters diminish here at the period of greatest business: the reverse is the case
at the South. Here also canals are shut by ice in winter, and then it is be¬
lieved railroads will continue to be used, but, from my experience, the ex¬
pense and difficulties will be found to be much enhanced; and where inclin-
31
242
[ Doc. No. 101. ]
ed planes are used, so much so, as to forbid their use upon a calculation of
profit. I write from no other motive than good will towards my fellow-
citizens of Georgia. I wish them prosperity, and should therefore regret to
see them carried away by the fashion or mania of the day.
The above letter appeared in the Savannah Georgian of the 25th of Au¬
gust last. Its author is John Bolton, esq. of New York, late President of
the Hudson and Delaware Canal Company. The letter, as the paper'ob-
serves from which it is copied, contains lessons of practical knowledge
worth a thousand of the wild theories of untried experiment.
Extract of a letter from John Bolton, Esq. of New York, late Presi¬
dent of the Hudson and Delaware Canal Company, to the President
of the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal Company, dated New York, Dec.
17, 1831.
''"Having resigned my station in the Delaware and Hudson Canal Com¬
pany early in April last, the document to which you refer is not accessible
1o me. Í can, however, repeat on the subject, what I stated to Mr. Haber¬
sham, that the Delaware and Hudson canal is 10S miles, the railroad 16
mites; that the toll, on coal, on the canal, was revised, I think, in January
last, and fixed at Si 50 per ton for'the whole distance, and on the railroad,
at 50 cents per ton; that the expense of repairs and superintendence on the
canal was estimated, for 1831, at about S400 per mile; and on the railroad
at rather more than Si,500 per mile; that the railroad has 8 inclined planes,
5 worked by steam engines, and three by gravity; and the canal has 110 lift
locks, and 3 guard locks, used also as lift locks in high water; and that the
form of country and obstacles to be overcome on the line of railroad are not
more unfavorable for a railroad, than the canal line was for a canal; that a
section of canal on the Delaware river, of 1 mile and S chains, cost full
840,000, and there are several shorter sectionsproportionably expensive.
For the rest, I must beg to refer you to my second letter to Mr. Habersham.
I may, however, add, that I corrected, on more recent information, the error
in my first letter as to the cost of the Liverpool and Manchester railroad:
I think I made it out to be 8149,000 per mile. I have no specific informa¬
tion of late date in relation to railroads in England, nor have I seen lately
any quotations of the value of canal and railroad stocks in England. There
is, however, no doubt on my mind that railroads in England are getting the
station which I long since assigned them, that is, between turnpike roads
and canals. Gentlemen from that country say they are less popular than
they have been; that, in fact, the mania is wearing off by reason of the great
expense of maintaining them, and the machinery used on them; and it was
recently stated that a projçct got up in Birmingham, had, by a resolution of
the contributors, been suspended for six months, for the purpose of seeing
the results of those then in feperation."
Extract from the last annual report of the Pennsylvania Canal Com¬
missioners, to the Legislature of that State, dated December, 1831.
" The board have, in like manner, been frustrated in their calculations,
by some of the contractors lor laying rails abandoning their contracts. The
difficulty of procuring stone blocks of a suitable quality has proved to be
much more serious than was at first anticipated, and the consequence has
/
[ Doc. No. 101. ]
243
been a retarding of the work, and an increase of its cost over former esti¬
mates. The present estimate of the cost of the whole work, when complet¬
ed, is ¡$3,297,120 21, being equal to ¡$28,173 63 per mile.
"The work is constructing upon the principles of the latest improvements
in railroads, and in the most substantial manner; and, although the cost of
it may appear to be large, yet, when the quality of the work, and the sum
^required to construct similar works elsewhere, are duly considered, it is,
perhaps, as reasonable as ought to be expected.
"The graduation and masonry alone, of the first twelve miles of the Bal¬
timore and Ohio railroad, cost $46,354 56 per mile; and that whole road,
now under contract, (being 71 miles upon the main stem of the road with
Rouble tracks, and a branch of 3i miles to Frederick with a single track,
one-third of the whole road to be laid with stone rails, and the remaining
two-thirds with wood,) is estimated to cost $1,906,853, or $27,228 per mile.
The company, in their late report, state " that it required 6! months to lay
down 6 miles of stone track," and " that the cost of laying with stone has
jbeen underrated in every instance." *The celebrated Liverpool and Man¬
chester railroad, in England, which has been the principal cause of creating
an excitement in public opinion favorable to that species of improvement,
' cost the enormous sum of 117,000 dollars per mile.
" While the board avow themselves favorable to railroads where it is im¬
practicable to construct canals, or under some peculiar circumstances, yet
they cannot forbear expressing their opinion, that the advocates of railroads,
generally, have greatly overrated their comparative value. To counteract
the wild speculations of visionary men, and to allay the honest fears and
¿prejudices of many of our citizens, who have been induced to believe that
1 railroads are better than canals, and, consequently, that, for the last aix
years, the efforts of our State to achieve a mighty improvement, have been mis¬
directed, the canal commissioners deem it to be their duty to advert to a few
facts which will exhibit the comparative value of the two modes of improve¬
ment for the purpose of carrying heavy articles cheaply to market, in a dis-
' tinct point of view.
"Flour is now carried, by the canal, to Philadelphia, from Lewistown, 211
miles, for 62è cents, and from Harrisburg, 150 miles, for 40 cents a barrel;
and gypsum is taken back, for three dollars a ton, to Harrisburgh, and five
f dollars a ton, to Lewistown; thereforethe freight (exclusive of tolls) is, down¬
wards, 14i mills per ton per mile, and, returning, 7 mills per ton per mile;
or, on an average both ways, one cent and three-fourths of a mill per ton per
mile for carriage.
"On nine miles of railroad at Mauch Chunk, and on ten miles of railroad
between Tuscarora and Port Carbon, the carriage-of coal costs 4 cents, and
the toll on the latter road is a cent and a half per ton per mile.
" The comparison will then stand thus:
On ten miles of railroad between Tuscarora and Port Carbon:
Freight per ton, - 40 cents.
Toll on coal per ton, - - 15
— 55 cents.
On ten miles of the Pennsylvania canal:
Freight per ton, - 10!
Toll on coal at half a cent per ton per mile, 5
15!
39!
244 [ Doc. No. 101. ]
" Being 391 cents difference in favor of the State canal, on each ton, for
every ten miles of transportation.
" The following table will exhibit the relative useful effects of horse power1
when employed on common roads, on turnpike roads, on railroads, and on
canals.
Four horses will draw, in addition to the weight
of the carriage or boats containing the load,
Weight of
freight
transported.
Number of
miles per
day.
On a common róad, in a wagon,
On a turnpike road not exceeding five degrees of
inclination, in a wagon,
On a railroad having a rise and fall of 30 feet (or
one-third of a degree) to the mile, in 8 cars,
On the Pennsylvania canal, in two boats,
1 Ton.
14 "
16 "
100 "
12 Miles.
18 " '
27 "
24 " .
"The introduction of locomotive engines, and Winans' cars, upon rail-1
roads, where they can be used to advantage, will diminish the difference be¬
tween canals and railroads in the expense of transportation. But the board
believe that, notwithstanding all the improvements which have been made
in railroads and locomotives, it will be found that canals are, from two to two
and a half times better than railroads, for the purposes required of them by
Pennsylvania.
"The board have been thus explicit, wRh a view to vindicate the sound
policy of the commonwealth in the construction of her canals; yet they
again repeat that their remarks flow from no hostility to railroads, for, next( N
to canals, they are the best means that have been devised to cheapen trans¬
portation. They are valuable in many situations, and particularly along
courses of great thoroughfare, which will bear the expenses of their con¬
struction. They can be made to carry ihe United States' mails and passen¬
gers, and also light valuable goods, where time is of more importance than ,
cost of transportation."
" Alleghany Portage Railroad.—The length of railroad, from the east
end of the lower basin at Hollidaysburg. to the west end of the basin at
Johnstown, is 36 miles and 221 perches; but, between the head of the basin
at Johnstown, and the upper basin at Hollidaysburg, the distance is only 35
miles and 310 perches."
" A space one hundred and twenty feet wide, has been staked out and ap-
propriated to the use of the commonwealth the entire length of the railroad.
The reasons which governed the board in occupying so much ground, are
these: It was necessary to clear off the till heavy timber of the mountain,
for at least 60 feet on each side of the centre of the road, and hereafter the
incalculable trade of the Mississippi basin and the lakes, will require an ad¬
ditional number of tracks over the mountain; hence, prudence seemed to
dictate the propriety of appropriating to the use of the State, as much ground,
as may hereafter be required, while it is at present of very little value."
* The bed of the road is graded 25 feet wide, for a double set of tracks."
"The railroad when completed, with a double set of tracks of stone and
iron, with the necessary machinery, the whole executed in the best manner,
is at present estimated to cost $1,271,718 IS. The amount of work done
on the 1st day of November was $75,195 96, of which $63,984 84 has
been paid, and $11,211 12 is retained."
"It may be proper here to remark, that the cost of the work yet to be
[ Doc. No. 101. ]
245
' done has been estimated at the contract prices, with a liberal per centage
added to cover contingencies; and, although estimates have hitherto proved
little else than their own fallacy, yet the board believe the above is ample,
and may be relied upon."
The Pennsylvania Canal Commissioners, after saying in their report of
the estimates with which they had hitherto been furnished, that " they have
proved, little, else than their own fallacy," speak of the Columbia and
Philadelphia railroad, as having had work done on it of the value of 231,000
dollars; and acknowledged that, so far as the work has gone, ¿t has cost more
than the estimates. The present estimate of the whole work, they state
« to be $2,297,120 21, being equal to $28,173 63 per mile."
■ i Of the Alleghany Portage railroad, between the Juniatta and Conemaugh
rivers, in length about 36 miles, upon which but $75,000 has been as yet
laid out, they say, " that the bed of the road is graded 25 feet wide for a
double set of tracks;" and that, when completed, with the necessary ma-
(chinery, it is at present estimated to cost $1,271,718 18," being about
j $35,325 per mile.
In the sixteenth report of the Board of Public Works, to the General
Assembly of Virginia, Mr. Crozet, the principal engineer of that common¬
wealth, in his report to the board, expresses himself as follows:
" From their acknowledged superiority in a great many instances in Eng¬
land, railways have obtained warm advocates in this country, though the
opinion seems most generally to prevail that they are not applicable here.
Without attempting to judge of what is expedient in other States, I am of
opinion that, at least in Virginia, railways could not be extensively intro-
> duced."
' The engineer thep proceeds to consider the expediency of a railroad, as
a substitute for the navigation of James river; and concludes (p. 491) with
the following remarks in relation to a railroad across the mountains:
" The making of a railway across the mountains has been also mentioned;
but it would be attended wilh still greater practical difficulties.
' " In the first place, the mountains are so rugged and broken, that the only
practicable way to carry this plan into execution would be to follow the
valley of some creek, which leads up to the top of the dividing ridge. But
here all the difficulties presented in the valley of James river would be
/ greatly multiplied. The graduation of the road must be almost every where
among cliffs; its windings would be more numerous and considerable; the
deep cut would be enormously expensive, and the stationary engines and in¬
clined planes very frequent, &c. After having, at an immense expense,
established the foundation of the rpilwây, blocks of stone must be obtained,
shaped, and transported into a complete wilderness, and put into their place.
Then castings must be obtained from a foundry at the rate of at least one
hundred and twelve dollars per ton, and transported an immense distance to
this same wilderness, to form a railway perhaps one hundred miles in length,
at the rate of nearly one hundred tons of iron per mile, exclusive of fixed
steam engines and machinery.
" In England, where facilities of all sorts are concentrated; where there
exists an extensive practical knowledge of these things, the nice adjustment
pf railways may not be thought an ohject capable of having a material influ¬
ence on the expense; but, among the mountains of Virginia, far from foun¬
dries, rails would have to be procured of particular shapes to suit each of the
numerous curves of the road, and counteract the centrifugal force of the
wagons in the turns.
246 [ Doc. No. 101. ]
« What the expense of railways, made under circumstances so unfavora
ble, would be, I am not prepared to say; but certain it is, that it would be
immense, and that the present state of things would not justify it."
In a letter of this engineer, dated the 6th of August, 1831, to Benjamin
Wright, who was associated with him in an examination and report on the
best mode of improving the channel of intercourse along the valley of James
r¡Yer, he says, " As regards the railroad plan, J have estimated it as about
equal to the cost of (meaning, evidently, in cost to) a canal."
The associate engineer, with more precision, says, in his letter to the
Governor of Virginia, of the 7th °f April, 1831—r
" 1 arrived in Richmond on the evening of the 23d July, in order to
commence upon the execution of the duties as associate engineer.
" I was a little disappointed in not finding the chief engineer at the seat
of Government: the fault is, perhaps, partly chargeable to myself, in not
adverting to the fact of the great extent of territory of the State; and th^t
the duties of the chief engineer might call him to the extreme parts of it,
and, therefore, a longer notice of my intention to visit here ought to hade
been giyen.
" In waiting the retqrn of the chjef engineer, J have (through the hind,-,
ness of the Second Auditor,) employed my time usefully and beneficially,
in the examination of all the reports, plans, profiles, and estimates, &c..,
which have been made, from tiiqe to time, of the valley of James river
and New river, and the intermediate country, where a probable connexion,
as contemplated by tlie apt of April 7, 1831, might be made. '
" On the 3d of August, the chief engineer arrived in Richmond, and the
next day we had a conference upon the proper course of duties to be pur¬
sued under the act of tfie State, and the appointment which brought me
here.
" I took the liberty to address 3 note to him, a copy of which I enclose,'
as also his reply theretp.
u Yoqr excellency will perceive, that the chief engineer has, by his fon
mer official reports, at various times, expressed opinions upon the kind of
improvement adapted to the James river valley, which opinions I could not
expect he would controvert. Situated as I now am, I have only to make up
an opinion of my own, which I have done from the reports, estimates, plans,
and profiles, before referred to, and from a personal examination of the val¬
ley of James river, from a point above the Blue Ridge, to Richmond, for an
improvement of this kind, in 1824.
"By the act of the Legislature above naqied, it appears there are three
plans or kinds of improvement to be examined and estimated:
" 1st Rams and locks—Moving power, supposed steam. 1
" 2d. Canal—Continuous.
3d, Railroad frpni Richmond to Lypchburg, and supposed tP be con¬
tinued westward to the proper point on the western waters,
" If the act contemplated an estimate of the whole of the several routes
mentioned in it, from a personal survey made by us, all these duties could
not be preformed in less than two or three years, in such manner as an. en¬
gineer would like to be responsible for, Believing as I do, that any further
survey to enable me to make up an opinion of the kind of improvement which
the State ought to adopt, are unnecessary, and that an approximation of thç
cost of executing such improvement can be as nearly determined at this
time, as is useful or important to permit a legislative body to act benefi-
[ Doc. Ne. 101. J
247
daily for the State, I take the liberty to give that opinion, which you can
lise as you think proper,
I. Lock and Dam Navigation, with a moving power by steam tow-
boats.
"1 have careful examined the report and estimate of the chief engineer,
for locks and dams in James river, from Maiden's Adventure to Covington,
"I am very sorry I cannot agree with him as to the cost of such a work.
My own experience, and what I have seen of such works executed by others,
applying the principles as far as they are applicable to the James river valley
to Lynchburg, assure me that 1 cannot make such an improvement for
double the money estimated.
"If such an improvement was made, there are strong objections to the
moving power. It requires too much mechanical skill, and either the Stale
or some wealthy individuals must become the carriers.
2. Railroad.
"Ifa railroad should be adopted, it ought to start from Richmond instead
of Maiden's Adventure; this would destroy all the use of the present canal.
"I do not believe a railroad, vyuh two tracks, permanently constructed,
and proper turn-outs and fixtures, pan. be constructed for so small a sum per
mile as a good canal.
,l It requires great mechanical skill, if thp moving power is locomotive
engines, and, without these, applying only horse power, it will he found that
no great speed is gained, and it is certain that the expenses of transportation
per mile will be much greater than on a canal. Property cannot be as safe
from storms and depredations as in a good canal boat under lock and key.
3. Continuous Canals.
" Ofall the three plans which have been directed by the act, so far as the
valley of James river from Maiden's Adventure to Lynchburg, the best, in
my opinion, is an independent canal, with such connexions with the river
as can make it accommodate the south side.
" The simplicity of a canal, and its adaptation to the capacity of every
man in the community, will certainly make transportion on it cheaper than
any other mode.
" It is, withqut doubt, better suited to James river as far as Lynchburg,
and, probably, taking into consideration what has been done at the Elue
Ridge, it ought to be extended beyond that point. Every man is his own
carrier, if he chooses to be so: lie moves as he pleases, and stops when he
pleases, if he does not interrupt others, in a canal.
"The question arises, then, if a canal is to be made, what shall be the size
of it?
" If the canal between Maiden's Adventure and Richmond can be so al¬
tered as to bring it to the size I would wish, (and I am inclined to the opi¬
nion that it can be so done, without very great expense,) I would then recom¬
mend that the canal from Maiden's Adventure to Lynchburg, should be
fifty feet surface, thirty feet bottom, with five feet depth of water in all its
parts, where the excavation and embankments were good. At the heavy
bluff points of rocks, where it is expensive, I would reduce the width so as
barely to permit two boats to pass eaqh other. Where I had culverts of any
considerable size, I would reduce the width to forty feet, so as to save ten
248
[ Doc. No. 101. ]
feet of masonry. The aqueducts I would build of stone, if good stone
could be found, and cement is not too expensive. These I would have 19
or 20 feet water way.
" The present locks are built 85 feet between the gates, and 16 feet wide.
These are entirely too wide for the canal. I should prefer locks of the
length of the present ones, but not more than 14j feet wide, or 15 teet at
the extreme.
" Such a canal can be built along the valley of James river, from Venture
falls to Lynchburg, under good management, for IS to 20,000 dollars per
mile, provided water cement can be procured at or near the Blue Ridge.
" It. is proper that I should give a reason why I would enlarge the canal
to the size I have mentioned, and give the hanks a slope of 2 to 1. It is
well known, by experience, that common earth is inclined to assume this
shape when washed by water, and my experience leads me to believe, it is
better to form the banks with this slope at first, than to supply the abrasion
of the banks with new earth after they have washed down and assumed this
shape.
" Such banks, when raised above the natural earth, are stronger; they will
sooner take vegetation and be protected from wash; or, if abraded, they are
easier protected by a few small stones thrown along next the water surface.
"Many persons who have not examined the question, suppose that a ca¬
nal increases in cost according to size: this is not the fact. It will be found,
that, for a canal of the size I have mentioned, the additional expense of ex¬
cavation and embankment over a canal of the size of the New York canal,
will not exceed from G to S per cent., and this item forms the whole addi¬
tional expense: the locks, aqueducts, and culverts, being the same upon the
plan I propose.
" On comparing a cross section, it will be found that the one is 200 feet,
the other is only 136 feet; and a boat loaded and moving at the rate of 3
miles per hour, the power to move her will be nearly 20 per cent, less, in
the large, than the smaller canal.
" Such a canal will permit boats 75 feet long, 14 feet wide, and drawing
4 feet water, to carry 70 to 75 tons, if desired. My own opinion is, that
the most profitable kind of boat will be found to carry about 50 tons.
" 1 have been thus particular in my views of a great plan of improvement
from Maiden's Adventure to Lynchburg, and probably the same ought to be
continued above the Blue Ridge.
" From the point where a canal ought to stop, and a railroad commence,
all the examinations are not quite complete: enough is known to show that
there is a favorable place to pass the Alleghany, either with a railroad or
canal. So far as I have examined the surveys made, the formidable diffi¬
culties appear to be on the New river: these may require examination to de¬
termine what kind of improvement ought to be adopted.
" The law of April 7, 1831, appears to require of the engineer to state
the advantages and disadvantages, the commercial benefits, the probable
revenue, &c.
" Any statement of this kind, from me, would not be entitled to a mo¬
ment's consideration. It is well known to all persons who have been con¬
versant with the opening of canals in this country, that a new kind of trade
is opened: articles which could never reach amarket, by reason of the great
expense of transportation before the canal was opened, are1 brought in great
abundance afterwards. It is well known, that more than half the tonnage
[ Doc. No. 101. 3
249
now passing on the Erie canal, consists of property which would never have
been moved at all, but for this easy and cheap conveyance.
"This view of the question makes it impossible for any one to do more
than conjecture the result of a great work of this kind.
"If it was thought proper, in constructing, a canal to make locks, aque¬
ducts, &c. j of more temporary materials, the costs per mile would be re¬
duced, probably, 20 to 30 per cent., but I cannot recommend this plan for such
a work, in such a place as the valley of James river, and for the State of
Virginia."
In a subsequent letter from the same to the same, dated August 9, 1831,
he says:
" I have drawn up a short report, in which I have given opinions as to the
various plans of improvement adapted to the valley of James river, and de¬
cided upon what I think best.
" I have not gone into long arguments to show why a canal is better adapt¬
ed to the peculiar location of this valley. The simple fact that it is that
kind of machine which, in its use, is brought to the capacity and under¬
standing^ every man in the community, is, in my mind, enough to decide
the question.
"As to the cost, I have fixed the maximum, under good management,
and this will make a permanent, excellent work. If the Legislature choose
to make a less permanent work, of eourse, the cost of it will be considerably
less.
" I have not touched upon, or made any remarks, as to the improvement
from a point on James river, to New river. A railroad will, no doubt, be
the improvement which ought to be adopted, and the surveys now going on
will determine the best route, probably.
" The public mind is now so unsettled in their opinions on the compara¬
tive advantages and disadvantages between railroads and canals, and con¬
sidering that it will take some little time to have the good people of Virgi¬
nia satisfied, -I have had doubts in my mind whether it would be useful for
me to jeturn here again. I fear I can do but little, if any good, under the
impressions I now view the matter, and I presume you will see it in the
same light. I have explained myself fully to Captain Crozet and to the Se¬
cond Auditor.
" I can only say that, if I can render good service to Virginia, I would
return in October, but my view of the whole ground is against it, under a
full belief that it would be useless. I regret that I could not have the plea¬
sure to see you. The situation of my private affairs, which I adverted to in
my former letter, make it very important for me to return to the north at
this time."
In two reports made to the Liverpool and Manchester Railroad Company,
by two eminent civil engineers, who were empowered, prior to making
their reports, to visit all the railroads in use in England, for the collection
of suitable materials to solve the inquiry propounded to them by the officers
of that company, which was, by what means of transportation their railroad
could be most effectually made to subserve its ends, the public convenience,
and the profit of the stockholders? it is distinctly stated to be their opinion,
that the commerce and intercourse between Liverpool and Manchester are
not competent to maintain the cost of the application of stationary steam
engines to that great thoroughfare; and that a greater velocity, than of ten
32
è
250
[ Doc. No. 101. 3
miles an hour, ought not to be attempted by the locomotive engines, which
they recommend as a less expensive propelling power than the stationary.
It was designed to incorporate, in this note, copious extracts from the reports
of those engineers, which have, however, been mislaid.
From an English work on railroads, of prior date, and by far the most
valuable now extant, that of Wood, the following extracts will show that,
in 1825, the date of the publication of his treatise, the question was not re¬
garded to be settled as to the relative value of railroads and canals. " Ca¬
nals," says this writer, "ever since their adoption, have undergone little or
no change; some trivial improvements may have been effected in the man¬
ner of passing boats from one level to another, but, in their general economy,
they may have been said to remain stationary. Their nature almost pro¬
hibits the application of mechanical power to advantage in the conveyance
of goods upon them; and they have not, therefore, partaken of the benefits
which other arts have derived from mechanical science.
" The reverse of this is the case with railroads; their nature admits of the
almost unrestricted application of mechanical power upon them, and their
utility has been correspondingly increased. No wonder, then, that canals,
which, atone time, were unquestionably superior to railroads in general
economy, by remaining in a state of quiescence, should, at some period or
other, be surpassed by the latter, which has been daily and progressively
improving; and perhaps that time is arrived. The human mind is generally
averse and slow in adapting itself to the changes of circumstances; and
though from this cause the competition in consequence might not have been
so speedily brought into action, had not the present prosperity of the coun¬
try induced capitalists to seek out every source of speculation, affording the
least prospect of success. The natural course of events would, however,
soon have developed the real situation of the two modes, in their respective
relations to each other; and though the time might have been prolonged
when railways were brought into active competition with canals, yet its ar¬
rival would not be the less certain. .
"One might be led to suppose, that the question could readily be solved
by an appeal to facts, or by the comparison of particular canals with similar
railways; but it is here, I presume, where the difficulty lies; we cannot
perhaps find canals and railways whose external features are precisely the
same: we are obliged, therefore, to have recourse to a comparison of general
facts or principles peculiar to each mode, which, again, cannot be accomplish¬
ed, unless we are fully and intimately acquainted with all the various pro¬
perties and characteristics of each mode. The want of proper data was felt,
and it is with a view of furnishing these, that the present work was under¬
taken; which, by a concise, and at the same time comprehensive description
of the construction, uses and advantages of railroads, together with an elu¬
cidation of the various principles of their action, the reader might be ena¬
bled to make a comparison with other modes of internal communication, and
thus form a judgment of their relative value.
"It is much to be regretted that a similar inquiry has not been made
with respect to canals; the present state of commerce requires that goods
should be conveyed from place to place with the utmost rapidity, and per¬
haps we owe no small portion of mercantile prosperity to our facility of
despatch. The slow, tardy, and uninterrupted transit by canal navigation
must, therefore, of necessity yield to other modes affording a more rapid
f Doc. No. 101. J
251
means of conveyance, (especially when their relative economy is the same,)
unless they can be made to partake of the general activity, and additional
celerity given to the boats conveyed upon them. Experiments, to ascertain
the amount of rcistance at different rates of speed, would be therefore
highly valuable: it is to be hoped that such will be made on a practical
scale upon sorm e canals, to show how far they are capable of affording
a more speedy tr a sit.'
" The existing agitation of the public mind, respecting the relative utility
of railroads and canals in the transit of goods from one place to another,
renders it a subject of proper inquiry to ascertain the relative performances
of the different kinds of motive power upon those two species of internal
communication.
" I shall, therefore, give a brief comparison, founded on the foregoing
deductions of the different kinds of motive power upon railroads, with the
performance of horses by the present mode of canal navigation.
" Not having had an opportunity, from my own personal observations,
of ascertaining, with sufficient accuracy, the weights which a horse will drag
in a boat upon a canal, I shall be obliged to have recourse to the reports of
those engineers whose practice in that line has enabled them to obtain the
necessary data.
"Mr. R. Stevenson, of Edinburgh, in his report on the Edinburgh rail¬
way, in 1813, states, ' upon the canals of England, a boat of thirty tons'
burden is generally tracked by one horse, and navigated by two men and a
boy; on a level railway it may be concluded that a good horse, managed by
a man or lad, will work with eight tons; at this rate, the work performed on
a railway by one man and a horse is more than in proportion of one-third of
the work done «pon the canal by three persons and a horse;' and Mr. Ste-
. venson, in his calculations afterwards, assumes the power of a horse, upon a
good railway, equal to ten tons.
44 Mr. Sylvester, in his report on the Liverpool and Manchester railway
gives twenty tons as the performance of a horse upon a canal, travelling at
the rate of two miles an hour.
" The variation between the two statements may have arisen from the
observations being made on canals of different widths. Mr. Stevenson, in
another report, states, that the striking difference between the draught of
horses on coming out of a narrow canal into a more capacious one, induced
the reporter to give the subject particular attention; and, by means of ex¬
periments made with the dynamometer, so far as he had an opportunity of
carrying the experiments into effect, the difference appeared to be at least
one-lifth in favor of the great canal.
" Under these circumstances, I shall take the performance of a horse
equal to that of thirty tons upon a canal, which is the greatest I have seen
assigned by any one, and we have previously found the energy of his power
equal to ten tons upon a railway: which will make the relative perform¬
ances as 3 : 1.
" I am not acquainted with any experiments, made on a practical scale, to
ascertain the ratio of the increase of resistance, either with different weights,
or with the same load moved at different velocities, upon a canal; but it is
assumed by all writers on the subject, as a law of hydrodynamics, which
appears unquestionable, that the resistance at least is proportionate to the
square of the velocity. »
252
f Doc. No. 101. ]
"Taking these premises as sufficiently established, the diagram IIP will
represent the resistances at different velocities; and the following table will
show the relative quantity of work performed by horses dragging boats on''
canals, and carriages upon railroads.
"Velocity in miles per hour.
J Weight convoyed in cwts.
Distance in miles, being that which a
horse travels in a day.
1 Resistance upon a canal in lbs., taking
a horse's power at 112 lbs., and sup-
t posing this force will drag a boat of 30
tons at two miles an hour.
Resistance upon a railroad in lbs., as per
Table VIII.
Power which a horse can exert upon the
load, at the respective velocities, from
224
formula
V
Number of horses required to perform
the work upon a canal.
Number of horses required to perform
the work upon a railway.
Ratio of the performance of horses, with
respect to work on oanals and rail¬
roads.
2
soo
20
150
448
112
1.3
4
4: 1.3
3
800
20
337
448
74|
4.5
6
6: 4.5
4
800
20
600
448
56
10.7
8
18:10.7
5
800
20
937
448
44f
21.2
10
10:21.2
6
800
20
1,350
448
37J
36.
12
12:36.
"From this we find, that, when the rate of speed is about two miles an
hour the quantity of goods which a horse will convey upon a canal is three
times that which the same horse can convey upon a railroad; and that when
the velocity on each is about 3è miles an hour, the resistance of the canal
increasing as the square of the velocity, while that on a railroad remains the
same, the two become equal; and a horse is then enabled to drag as much
weight upon a carriage on a railroad, as in a boat on a canal. When the
velocity is further augmented, then the disproportion becomes greater, anda
much heavier load can be conveyed on a railroad, with the same intensity
of motive power, than can be done on a canal.
" If, therefore, the rate of tonnage on a canal, arising from the cost of
forming and keeping it in a state of active use, together with the cost Of
boats, be not greater than the tonnage required to form and keep a railroad
in repair, and also the carriages by which the goods are conveyed; then the
relative economy at different rates of speed, in the transit of goods upon
canals and railroads, will be represented by column nine of the preceding
•III.
Velocities ...
Spaces
Times ...
Resistance ...
Mechanical force required, 3
acting for the above time 3
Mechanical force íequired, )
for any given distance 5
1
2
3
4
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
' 1
1
4
9
16
1
8
27 •
64
1
4
9
16
[ Doc. No. 101. ]
253
table. But as, in general, the formation of a canal costs about three times
as much as the formation of a railway, and the annual charges of keeping
the boats, towing paths, and bridges, &c. in repair, is also considerable, if
those expenses be as much greater with a canal than upon a railroad, so that
they will compensate for the extra advantage of the canal in the greater
quantity of goods conveyed at a slow rate, then their relative utility will
assume a different appearance, and the railway, as requiring a less investment
of capital, and less annual charges, may be superior, even at the lowest and
most advantageous rate of motion, upon canals; and, where facility or expe¬
dition is an object, then, at the more rapid rates of speed, the railway will be
proportionally superior.
. " These, however, being matters of calculation, where every instance may
present a different conclusion, and depending upon all the various concomi¬
tant circumstances incident to each particular case, cannot, in a work like
this, be made the subject of even conjecture. I have endeavored to furnish
all those data which appeared general, and which applied to the two modes
in conjunction with each other, in a practical and general point of view. It
must be left to those acquainted with all the circumstances of each particu¬
lar case, when they come into competition with each other, to judge, from
the individual situations, which of the two is preferable.
"When it becomes a subject of discussion, which of the two modes are
to be adopted, it assumes rather a different shape, than when a railroad is to
enter into competition with a canal already formed. In the latter case, the
canal proprietor commences with considerable advantage by the addi¬
tional quantity of goods which a horse can drag at a slow pace upon a
canal, where perhaps a little loss of time may be no object; the canal
proprietor may, even with his great investment of capital, by reducing
his rates of tonnage extremely low, be enabled to compete successfully
with a railway.
"For, although a horse may, when travelling at the rate of four or six
miles an hour, convey a greater quantity of goods upon a railway than
when employed in dragging goods at the same velocity upon a canal, yet
still a horse cannot drag more goods at the rate of four miles an hour upon
a railway, than he can at two miles an hour upon a canal; for, in no case,
does the greatest quantity of work that a horse can do, at the most benefi¬
cial pace on a canal, reach below three times that which a horse can do
at any pace upon a railroad.
"For the conveyance of passengers, or where the transit of any species of
goods may require a celerity of four miles an hour, then railways become
unquestionably more economical than canals; but if the question be the ab¬
stract performance, or quantity of goods to be transported from one place
to another, without reference to speed, then the canals will at all times
have a superiority over railroads, in point of quantity of work done by
a horse, in the proportion of 3 : 1. The comparative expense arising from
the extra interest of capital, and the annual charges and maintenance of a
canal, may reduce this proportionate performance near to an equality; or,
if the one compensate for the other, then perhaps the less investment of
capital in a railroad, and the greater certainty of transit, may make it supe¬
rior to a canal; but unless the disparity of cost is great between a railroad
entering into competition with an existing canal, or unless some extraordi¬
nary circumstances in the nature of the trafic occur, it may be difficult to
254
[ Doc. No. 101. ]
say, when horses are the motive power on each, which is superior." (Wood
on Railroads.)
The writer in England on the subject of railroads, next in celebrity to
Wood, is Tredgold, a member of the Institution of Civil Engineers, whose
treatise was republished in New York in 1S25.
"In discussing," he says, "the merits of railroads, we have to compare
them with turnpike roads and with canals. Railroads give the certainty of
the turnpike road, with a saving of seven-eighths of the power; one horse
on a railroad producing as much effect as eight horses on a turnpike road.
In the effect produced by a given power, the railroad is about a mean be¬
tween the turnpike road and a canal, when the rate is about three miles an
hour; but where greater speed of conveyance is desirable, the railroad
equals the canal in effect, and even surpasses it." (Page 3, of the New
York edition.)
" When it is attempted to compare railroads with canals or common roads,
it must be obvious that each mode has its peculiarities: the same may be
said of each line of traffic." (Id. page 8.)
"Both the first cost and the annual repairs of a canal exceed those of a
railway; the excess differing according to the nature of the country. But
in a country suited for a canal, the difference of first expense is more than
compensated by a greater effect produced by a given power on a canal
than on a railway, provided the motion does not differ much from three
miles an hour, and this renders a canal decidedly better for a level dis¬
trict. On account of the resistance increasing in the ratio of the squares of
the velocities, when bodies move in fluids, and also on account of the inju¬
ry the banks would suffer by too rapid a movement of the water, the
velocity of canal boats must be considered as limited to a speed not far ex¬
ceeding that which they obtain at present; but, on a railway, a greater velo¬
city may be obtained with less exertion, even where animal power is em¬
ployed." (Id. page 9.)
" The average cost of a proper railroad, with a double set of tracts, will
not be less than ¿65,000 sterling (or 22,222 dollars) per mile, when all the
expenses in our list are included, and the works are done in a good and
substantial manner." (Id. p. 141.)
The Liverpool and Manchester railroad, thirty-two miles long, is known
certainly to have cost three times that sum, and rumor makes it nearer six
times.
"From a list of estimates for no fewer thah seventy-five canals, including
those of the greatest and least expense, a writer in the Quarterly Review,
No. 62, p. 363, draws a general average of £7,946 (35,280 dollars) per
mile; but it is well known that these works have rarely, if ever, been ex¬
ecuted for the estimated expense." "The Union canal cost ¿612,000
(52,280 dollars) per mile: the Forth and Clyde, ¿612,400" (54,056 dollars.)
(Id. p. 143.)
" The average cost of a canal may be estimated at £10,000 per mile,"
(44,444 dollars.) (Id. p. 143.)
" Smeaton informs us that twenty-two tons burden, at from two to two
and a quarter miles per hour, is the work of a horse on a canal. And Mr.
Beavan has informed us that the horses on the Grand Junction canal usually
travel twenty-six miles per day, and draw a boat containing twenty-four
tons at the rate of 2.45 miles per hour; the empty boat being nearly nine
[ Doc. No. 101. J 255
tons, the whole mass moved is about thirty-three tons; and the average
force of traction he found to be eighty pounds." (Id. p. 150.)
Table V.
A TABLE showing the effects of a power or force of traction of one
hundred pounds, at different velocities, on canuls, railroads, and
turnpike roads.
Velocity of motion.
LOAD MOVED BT A POWER OF 100 LBS.
'
On a
canal.
On a level railway.
On a level turnpike
road.
Miles
Feet per
per hour.
second.
Total mas
Useful
Total mass
Useful
Total mass
Useful
moved.
effect
moved.
effect
moved.
effect
lbs.
lbs.
lbs.
lbs.
lbs.
lbs.
2t
3.66
55,500
39,400
14,400
10,800
1,800
1,350
3
4.40
38,542
27,361
14,400
10,800
1,800
1,350
3Î
5.13
28,316
20,100
14,400
10,800
1,800
1,350
4
5.86
21,6S0
15,390
14,400
lO.SOO
1,800
1,350
5
7.33
13,875
9.S50
14,400
10,800
1,800
1,350
6
8.80
9,635
6,840
14,400
10,800
1,800
1,350
7
10.26
7,080
5,026
14,400
10,800
•1,800
1,350
1 8
11.73
5,420
3,848
14,400
10,800
1,800
1,350
1 9
13.20
4,282
3,040
14,400
10,800
1,800
1,350
i 10
14.66
3,468
2,462
14,400
10,800
1,800
1,350
1 13.5
1
19.9
1,900
1,350
14,400
10,800
1,800
1,350
" Table V.—This table is to show the work that may be performed by
the same mechanical power, at different velocities, on canal, railroad, and
turnpike roads. Ascending and descending by locks on canals may be
considered equivalent to the ascent and descent of inclinations on railroads
and turnpike roads. The load carried, added to the weight of the vessel or
carriage which contains it, forms the total mass moved; and the useful effect
is the load. To find the effect on canals at different velocities, the effect of
the given power at one velocity being known, it will be as 32 : 2.52 :: 55,-
500 : 38,542. The mass moved being very nearly inversely as the square
of the velocity.
" This table shows, that when the velocity is five miles per hour, it re¬
quires less power to obtain the same effect on a railway than on a canal; and
we have added the lower range of figures to show the velocity at which
the effect on a canal is only equal to that on a turnpike road. By com¬
paring the power and tonnage of steam vessels, it will be found that the rate
of decrease of power by increase of velocity, is not very distant from the
truth; but we know that in a narrow canal the resistance increases in a more
rapid ratio than as the square of the velocity, only we have not time to
spare to follow up the inquiry at this moment. Other tables of a similar
256
[ Doc. No. lOi. ]
kind have been published, and we find our column exhibiting the useful
effect on canals nearly agrees with that of Mr. M., the ingenious author of
a series of essays on the subject, which first appeared in the Scotsman; but
we differ respecting railways, his being more in favor of railroads. From
Mr. Sylvester's table this differs very considerably: he has underrated the
effect on canals as much as he has overrated the effect on railways and com¬
mon roads."
It is proper to remark, that, from Tredgold, as from other English trea¬
tises on railroads, passages may be extracted, less favorable, than the preced¬
ing, to the superiority of canals: but enough is here quoted to show the
uncertainty which hung over the question, whether canals or railroads
were to be preferred for the transportation of persons and property. No
two authors, scarcely, will be found to concur precisely in opinion on the
subject, nor the same author with himself.
The knowledge possessed by the founders of the Baltimore and Ohio rail¬
way of the superiority of railroads to canals, was comprised in the pam¬
phlet detailing their proceedings, from which copious extracts have already
made part of note N.
It is there introduced in the following language of the report of their
committee, beginning on the 7th page of the proceedings:
" The stock of information upon the general subject of railroads, now in
the possession of the committee, is admitted not to be very extensive, but
they have gleaned from the several publications and reports which they have
examined upon this interesting subject, enough to leave no doubt upon their
minds that these roads are far better adapted to our situation and circum¬
stances than a canal across the mountains would be: they therefore recom¬
mend that measures be taken to construct a double railroad between the city
of Baltimore and some suitable point on the Ohio river, by the most eligible
and direct route, and that a charter to incorporate a company to execute
this work be obtained as early as possible; and, in support of this opinion,
they submit the following views and statements."
Among these statements, which are all from books and pamphlets in
common circulation, are the following:
" The proprietors of the few canals which do answer, will have the
greatest reason to complain," (that is, of the introduction of railroads;) " but
they must, of course, submit to any superior method of ¡mpróving the con¬
veyance or transport of merchandise, just as the common coasting traders
will to the established steam vessels: with respect to those canals which do
not answer, and those that never can, the sooner they are abolished, in toto,
the better." (Gray, p. 66.)
" The expense of forming railways is not only, far less, than that of canals,
but the former exhibit the peculiar advantage of a better conveyance than
roads and canals conjointly afford at present. (Gray, p. 67.)
" The mode of conveyance that most nearly assimilates to railways is
canals; but to them, the agency of steam cannot be available, as they are
limited to the size of their loads, and, as regards utility, to the speed of
conveyance; for, to draw a load of forty or fifty tons, with double the speed
that is now done, by one horse, could not be effected, on a common canal,
by any power.that can be applied." (Jessop in Gray, p. 103.)
"A railway can, according to circumstances, be made at from a half to a
fourth of the expense of a canal, and convey goods more cheaply, which
L Doc. No. 101. ]
257
would render them lucrative when any other mode would be ruinous."
(Idem in Gray, p, 104.,)
" Railways may be constructed at one-fifth of the expense of canals;
and, as it has been shown that they will convey as cheaply, where the pros¬
pect of remuneration to the adventurer in one case is doubtful, the lesser
expense makes the other certain." (Gray.)
Whether these essayists merited all the confidence reposed in them, ex¬
perience has already determined, in the relative cost of a considerable
part of that very canal, denounced as affording too tardy, circuitous, and
expensive a route to the Ohio, compared with the actual cost of a
correspondent part of a railroad from Baltimore towards the " Point of
Rocks,"—a canal exceeding greatly, in dimensions, as well as in the diffi¬
culty of its construction, any canal in England, and surpassed in breadth
by but one in Great Britain, compared with a railroad of two tracks only.
At the moment of the publication of this pamphlet, it had been ascer¬
tained that the railroad between Manchester and Liverpool, of two tracks,
in length not thirty-two miles, and surmounting an elevation of less than
150 feet, would exceed in cost sixty thousand dollars a mile! Its actual cost
has surpassed, it is currently believed, the double of that sum.
That the cost of the Ohio canals has not exceeded 11,000 dollars per mile
has already been noticed, as well as the computed cost of the Erie canal of
New York, which has, in fact, been less than 18,000 dollars the mile; its
price was made to reach 23,000 dollars, by the addition of interest on loans,
which have no relation to the contract prices of the works of a canal, and'
depend, for their necessity and their terms, on the wealth or credit of the
borrower.
The conclusion that permanent railroads, of several tracks, cannot be
constructed at one-fifth of the expense of canals, may be farther confirmed
by reference to the. cost of the canals of Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and
Connecticut. The eastern section of the Chesapeake and Ohio canal is ex¬
pected to cost from '25 to 30,000 dollars the mile; but a canal of such
dimensions should be compared with no railway of less than four tracks;
and the rails, alone, of such a road, would probably cost more than that sum,
exclusive of the graduation of the road.
The greater part of the extracts from treatises on railroads, made by the
Baltimore committee, (in 1827,) were, as we have seen, from a work entitled
" Gray's Observations on a General Iron Railway," the fifth edition of
which was published in 1825.
The following extracts from the very same work, show the importance
of having presented both sides of the question now made, between the ad¬
vantages of canals and railroads.
"In order," says Gray, in examining the same authority, "to establish
a general iron railway, it will be necessary to lay down two or three rail¬
ways for the ascending, and an equal number for the descending vehi¬
cles." (Page 12.)
" In the immediate neighborhood of London, the traffic might demand
six railways." (Page 12.)
"It is desirable to show the probable expense of this scheme, but this de¬
pends almost entirely upon the state of the country through which it may
be found necessary to pass."
" Wagons laden with merchandise can never expect to proceed with the
same velocity as coaches." (Page 12, 13.)
33
258
[ Doc. No. 101. 3
" By the second extract it will be seen, that the sums quoted, as the ex¬
pense of railways, vary too much to be depended on." (Page 13.)
'< Mechanic power, when once put to the test, by comparison on land and
water, will, no doubt, prove more favorable on the former, in proportion
as that element is more stable, and not under the influence of winds, tides, i
or currents." (Gray's Observations, &c.)
And from the appendix to the above edition of this work, the following
passages merit attention: " On the whole, then, it may be concluded that,
on a level team-road, making allowance for the weight of the wagon, one
horse will be required for every four tons of coal, or other articles convey¬
ed; and, on an edge railway, one horse will be required for every seven
tons. On an ordinary canal, one horse, with a boat, will be sufficient for
eighty tons. But the first cost of a canal is three or four times greater, than
that of a railway; so that, in some cases, it may become a question,
whether a railway might not be adopted with advantage!" Page 17S.
"The public in general entertain wrong impressions respecting railwáys;
they never hear them mentioned, without recurring to such as are seen in
the neighborhood of coal pits and stone quarries. But such improvements
have taken place, that they are no longer the same thing; besides which, a
railway, without a locomotive engine:, is something like a cart without a
horse, a trade without profit, or'a canal without water." (Page 184 and
185.)
" On a canal, a horse, travelling at two piiles an Hour, draws SO tdns, in
a boat weighing probably 15 tons. Reducing the ton to 2,000 pounds, for
the sake of round numbers, as in the last calculation, we find here that a
power of traction of 100 pounds moves à mass; of 90,000 pounds, or the
resistance which the water opposes to the motion of the vessel is equal to
one nine-hundredth part of the load or entire weight. At sea, where the
water is of unlimited breadth, the resistance probably is one-third less."
" We see, then, that the effect produced by the draught of a single horse
is ten times as great upon a railway, and thirty times as great upon a canal,
as upon a well made road; yet a railway costs only about three times as
much as a good turnpike road, and a canal about nine or ten times as much."
w With regard to the comparative advantages of canals and railways, so far
as the present facts go, we may observe, that, if a horse power effects
three times as much upon a canal as upon a railway, the canal costs about
three times as much, and will of course require nearly the same rates or dues
per ton to make the capital yield the same interest." (Pages206 and 207.)
" Railroads, as hitherto worked by horses, possess very little, if any, ad¬
vantage over canals; but railroads worked by the locomotive steam en¬
gine, have so decided a superiority, both as it regards time and expense, that
there can be no question but they will be generally adopted wherever a new
line of conveyance has become necessary, either from an increased trade,
or from the exorbitant demands of canal proprietors." (Page 185.)
Here is the true secret of the imputed superiority of railroads to canals in
England: the former are designed to break down a very lucrative monopoly,
which had, in some cases, when this author wrote, swelled the profit of cer¬
tain canals so high, that, on that of the Trent and Mersey, as he informs his
readers, £15 was the annual dividend on a single share of ¿6100 original
cost, which was selling in December, 1824, at £2,300 advance on the £100;
yet this canal has three tunnels, one of 2,880 yards, and another of 1,241,
in 22 miles, and two aqueducts, of which, that over the river Dove has 23
arches.
(] Doc. No. 101. 3
259
* The appendix of the work, from which the above quotations are made,
speaking of another canal, that between Birmingham and Liverpool, avers,
as an argument for breaking down, or dividing, by means of a railroad, its
long uncontested monopoly, that the original shares had risen from Ü140
sterling, to the sum of £2,840; and adds: "These facts on the increased value
of this canal, which exceeds twenty times its original cost, prove, also, that
the public transits might have been performed at much cheaper rates, and
yet the company obtain an adequate remuneration."
The tolls on the Chesapeake and Ohio canal are not only limited to two
cents per ton per mile, but the profit on any possible amount of tonnage, to
15 per cent, on the capital expended. The freight for carriage, left by
law to be reduced by open competition on the public highway which the
canal affords to every boatman who may please to use it, the experience of
the Lehigh navigation, demonstrates, on a smaller canal, will not exceed
one cent per ton per mile.
/ The Baltimore and Ohio'Railroad Company,on the other hand, are al¬
lowed to charge for toll and transportation, from west to east, four cents per
ton per mile, from east to west six cents; and their charter allows them to
be the exclusive carriers, with no other limitation to the extent of their fu¬
ture profit. ''
Jfhe exclusive advocatesmf railways insist that the resistance of water to
the motion of a canal boat increases, at every addition to its speed, in the ra¬
tio of the square of its velocity. Be it so. A single horse can draw, in a
boat, on a canal, at the rate of two miles àn hour, (the appendix to Gray af¬
firms, page 206,) 90,000 pounds; consequently, at four miles an hour, he
could draw but the one-fourth of that weight, or 25,000 pounds; but at one
mile an hour, he could draw 360,000 pounds; and at half a mile an hour,
the enormous weight of 1,440,000 pounds. Thus a single horse draws, on
the large canal between Amsterdam and the Helder, a ship of several hun¬
dred tons. On the Champlain canal, a gentleman met a raft of timber so
united, by a single plank, with a pivot for each lockhold of the long raft, that
one horse drew it, with facility, at the rate of a mile an hour. It was from
the lake, and then on its way to Albany; its computed weight was 200
tons, and the horse had drawn it the entire length of the Champlain canal.
What velocity, and how- many railroad cars would be required to balance
. the economy of this transportation? Yet a full moiety of the revenue of
the New York canals is derived from the productions of the forest, in their
rudest form. Would any contemplated speed of a carriage on a' railway,
which, at most, could but save the interest of a few days or hours on the
very small capital vested in this vast moving mass of wood, countervail the
cheapness of this slow voyage?
One great advantage attending the canal on which it was drawn is, that
the swiftest packet boat, in meeting or overtaking such a raft, can pass it by,
without the least obstruction, or a moment's delay. On a canal 60 feet wide,
the tracks are never impeded by heavy carriages.
The numerous English authorities in favor of the superiority of railroads,
in a country where there are, as yet, very few railroads, and there have
long been more than one hundred canals, are contradicted, as we have seen,
by American engineers, of at least equal merit, who, considering the very
wide field which the United States present for both species of improvement,
cannot be suspected of undue partiality for either.
But the disproof of the arbitrary and most extraordinary assertion of these
260
£ Doc. No. 101. ]
British writers, that canals are attended, in their construction, with three,
and even/our times the cost of rail ways, does not rest on mere authority.
The actual experience of both countries has now settled this question, pro¬
vided the cost of the only railroad in England, adapted.to an active.exchange
of commodities, or exceeding a few miles in length, be assumed, as the mea- •'
sure of the expense of such structures on that side of the Atlantic.
On turning to the numerous facts, developed by the past experience of
both Europe and America, an impartial engineer will infer, amidst their
seeming contradictions, some principles calculated to guide his judgment to
a sound conclusion, as to the original cost, the annual repairs, and expense '
of carriage, of these two rival modes of internal improvement. Let these
principles be then applied, so as to determine the relative cost of 'a canal
and railroad, over every description of ground. ,
The most favorable ground', for any railroad, woüld, obviously, be that
which required no graduation or masonry; or îrçhich, in its natural state, s
was ready to receive the rails.
Supposing a double track of these to cost no more, when laid on stone
sills, than the first thirteen miles of the Baltimore and Ohio railway, which
led to excellent granite quarries, it is obvious, that the cost of such a road, (
over such ground, would be . at least $13,000, or, if the rails be laid on
wood, not less than $10,000 per mile.* ■ ' *
Assuming a surface of country, alike favorable for a canal," we have to
löok, for the elements of a just calculation of its cost, to its plan and dimensions.
A canal of the dimensions and plan of the Erie canal of New York, of
the canals of Ohio, and of the canals, in general, of Pennsylvania, having à
breadth, at the surface, of 40 feet, at bottom of 28 feet, and four feet depth *
of water, with a tow path 9 feet, and a berm bank 5 feet wide, will require
an excavation, in level ground, of 2^904(1 feet cutting, in order to supply the
necessary quantity of earth for its embankments.
The cross section of the excavated prism of such a canal being 95-^'^ square
feet, the number of cubic yards of earth to be excavated in one mile of it,
would be 95Tyff x 5280, the number of feet in a mile, divided by 27, the
number of cubic feet in a cubic yard, or 18.6321,535 cubic yards.
If this canal be required to be enlarged to the dimensions recommended
for the Chesapeake and Ohio canal by the United States' Board of Internal
Improvement, in their report of October, 1826, that is, to 48 feet at thesu£? '
face, 33 feet at bottom, with S feet depth of water, and embankments of the
height or breadth of the former, its depth of cutting, in the same ground;
will be the same as in the last case, or 2X4ff feet. The prism of earth to
be excavated to form its embankments will have a cross section of 110 square
feet, and will contain 20,770ts/j yards.
If this canal be extended to the size of that, 48 miles of which are already
constructed in the valley of the Potomac, between Washington and the
"Point of Rocks, " that is, to a breadth, at the water line, of 60 feet, at bot¬
tom of 42 feet, with a towing path 12 feet, and a berm bank 8 feet broad at
top, elevated two feet above the water, and having moderate slopes towards
the bottom, then the necessary depth of cutting will be 3T^ feet, the cross
section of the excavated prism will be 157 feet, and the number of cubic
yards to be excavated, 30,700T*5*5.
"In a late estimate for the extension of .this road to the District of Columbia, the cost of a
double track of rails is computed at 15,000 dollars a mile, and of the entire road near 50,000
dollars a mile, for the distance of 29 miles, between the present railroad and the District line.
(See ante.)
[ Doc. No. 101. ]
261
1 The price of the excavation will depend on the quality of the earth. But that
being supposed in this case to be such, as is ordinarily encountered, where nei¬
ther hard pan, slate, nor rock is in the way, 9^ cents per cubic yard may be
taken for the measure of its excavation, that being found to be the average
-rate of such excavation, throughout the entire Chesapeake and Ohio canal,
for a distance of 48 miles. So that, if these three canals be charged with
the same price, per cubic yard, for their excavation, the narrow and shal¬
low, as the wide and deep, which, for the first and second would be a very
unfavorable estimate, then the canal, 40 feet wide and 4 feet deep, would be
completed for $1,845 the mile; the canal, 48 feet wide and 5 deep, for
£2,056; and the largest, for $3,040 per mile.
If these several sums be compared with the lowest estimated cost of a rail¬
way of two tracks, laid on stone sills, the ratio of the cost of such a rail¬
road, to that of the smallest of these three canals, is as $13,000 to $1,845
"or near 7 to 1; of the 2d, as $13,000 to $2,056, or near 6§ to f; and, of
/the largest, as $13,000 to $3,040, or near 4i to 1.
Such, therefore, is the proportional cost of the cheapest practicable canals,
of the above dimensions, when compared with the cheapest practicable rail¬
road of two tracks, laid on stone sills, where stone is very convenient.
' But it may be truly said, that it is very rarely, if ever, that a canal passes
overground, as favorable, as that assumed above. To this, it may be as truly
replied, that a railroad can as rarely be constructed, without any gradua¬
tion whatever of the surface of the earth, or any expense of masonry. Of
the actual canal, along the Potomac valley, already constructed, the cheap¬
est mile, as will be seen in the second table-of the third annual report, con¬
sists of the 4Gth and 47th sections, on both of which there was paid an extra
price for the transportation of a part of the earth forming the embankments.
This mile cost $4,064, or less than a third of the cost of the cheapest mile
of two tracks, upon stone sills, of the Baltimore and Ohio railroad, allowing
nothing whatever for its graduation or masonry.
If this comparison, although founded on-actual experience, be objected to,
on account of its assuming, as its basis, the most favorable ground both for
canals and railroads, then, let the most costly mile, on these two lines of
communication, be compared; and, although the disparity will be by no
means so great, the dearest mile of this large canal, consisting of its 17th
and 18th sections, in which an ascent of 48 feet is overcome by six locks,
costing about $10,000 each, will be found to have been less expensive, by
35 per cent., than the mile composed of the 4th and 5th sections of the first
division of the Baltimore and Ohio railroad, or the single mile a short dis¬
tance to the west of the former, consisting of a part of the 8th and the 9th
sections of the same division of this road.
If a series of connected miles of the railroad and canal be preferred for
the terms of this comparison, let the 13 miles composing this first division of
the former, be compared with any thirteen consecutive miles of the most
expensive part of the canal, and the railroad will be found to have cost more
than the canal, in the ratio of near 4 to 3.
If, however, this be also objected to, because of the great cost, so far, of
both works, take their corresponding and cheapest portions after climbing
the granite ridge pierced by the Potomac and Patapsco rivers, as from the
38th section of the canal, up to the "Point of Rocks," being a distance,
along the Potomac, of 47 sections, making, together, 24 miles. The cost
of the grubbing, excavation, embankment, puddling, walling, and extra work
262 [ Doc. No. 101. 3
*
of the 24 miles, amounts to to $285,960, or $11,876 50 cents a mile; to
which, adding for a granite aqueduct, of 7 arches of 54 feet span each across
the river Monocacy, costing singly $96,000; for 30 culverts and 3 cut stone
locks, with their appurtenant houses, in all, 8171,847, or an average of
$7,160 03 cents a mile; and the average cost of the 24 miles will be'
$19,036 53 cents, exclusive of such contingencies as are applicable to both
works. Allowing, for these, ten per cent., they will swell this average to
$20,940 18 cents per mile. Of this cost, but a very inconsiderable part now
rests on mere estimates, the work on the canal, except the Monocacy aque¬
duct, having been very nearly completed at the date of the annual report, from
which, the basis of this calculation is derived.
Recurring, in like manner, to the last annual report, made by the Presi¬
dent and Directors of the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad Company, it will,
be found, that, allowing nothing for the necessary fixtures to surmount the
inclined planes at Parr's ridge, for neither toll-houses, nor depots, nor for \
the cost of a wooden, instead of a stone bridge,, across the Monocacy river, near
which, it seems, there is no-stone; nor for the fact that five-sixths of the
whole of this part of the railroad is hastily laid on. wooden sills, it is stated
in this report, distinctly, that its graduation and masonry alone will cost
$8,532 16 the mile, for the distance of 54§ miles above Ellicott's mills, or 13
miles from Baltimore, and that the other charges will amount to $11,628 per
mile, if computed at the average cost per mile, of a double set of tracks upon
the entire stem of the road, (67J miles,) and of a single track, on the lateral
road to Frederick, (of 3i miles,) being one-third laid with stone rails, (i. e. in¬
cluding the first division of 13 miles,) and the remaining two-thirds, of wood.
From the one-third laid on stone sills, should be deduced the 13 miles
next to Baltimore, leaving, out of the en tire 58 miles above Ellicott's mills,
including the single track to Frederick of 3$ miles, but about 9 miles, or
one-sixth of this road laid on stone sills.
Adding the $11,628 a mile, which is somewhat more than the average
cost of a double track on wooden sills, to the $8,532 16, the average cost
allowed for graduation and masonry, and the sum total of the cost per mile
ef this road, is $20,160 16. But if the expense of the fixtures at Parr's ridge,
estimated at $40,000 in another part of this report, be added, and, with it,
the further cost of toll houses and depots, thisaverage will be swelled to a sum
exceeding, without any allowance for contingencies, the cost per mile of the
canal; and let it be remarked, that, of this average cost, a large proportion is
founded on mere estimates of expense» yet to be incurred. If a due allow¬
ance be made for a bridge of stone arches over the Monocacy, instead of a
wooden superstructure, and for the substitution, hereafter, of stone for wood¬
en sills, where stone is said to be difficult to be procured, and for contingen¬
cies also, the railroad will be found to exceed the canal, in cost, by near the
same per centage, on the more easy, as on the more difficult parts of the routes
of the two works. Nor should it be forgotten, that this last comparison is of a
railroad through an open country, allowing a choice of way, for a work, not
confined to a certain inclination in the mile; while the canal must, of necessi¬
ty, hug the parent of its existence, the Potomac river, and cross all its tribu¬
tary streams, where widest and deepest, because near their mouths.
When the railroad shall have entered the valley of the Potomac, and
encountered the same disadvantages with the canal, its masonry as well as
its graduation, will rise in cost much beyond the estimate here admitted.
So much for the relative cost of these works, which, for many reasons,
[ Doc. No. 101. ]
36 3
is not to be assumed as a standard to measure the relative cost of all railroads
and canals. The. canals of New York cost about 18,000 dollars a mile,
those of Ohio have cost very little more than 11,000. The Farmington
canal, in Connecticut, cost less than either. The canals of Pennsylvania
will cost less, per mile, than her railroads. The disparity would have been
greater, but for moral for political rather than physical causes.
To proceed with the second object of inquiry, the cost of transportation
on railroads and canals.
The amount of. tplls and the cost of transportation on the Baltimore road
and the Potomac;canal, are regulated, to a certain extent, by the provisions
of their respective^ charters. TJie railroad being a close monopoly, and
not a public highway like the c^nal," the transportation, as well as the tolls
upon it, is left with'the company, which is required not to exceed 4 cents
per ton per mile, in its charge on.the tonnage moving eastwardly; nor
more than 6 cents on that moving westwardly. The canal tolls are limited,
in both directions, to 2 cents only per ton per mile; and the charge for
transportation on the canal, if its trade be active, in both directions, will
probably be reduced, by competition, to one-third of a cent a ton. Under
no circumstances, will it exceed one cent a ton per mile. So that, by the
permission of their charters, the Railroad Company may charge 33 1-3 per
cent, more for toll and transportation, one way, and 100 per cent, more the
other way, than the Canal Company. If, however, departing from the limi¬
tations of their charters, these two companies were allowed equal nett pro¬
fits, then the relative magnitude of the burthens which they w oil Id impose
on the people, supposing that profit to be equal, and their tonnage too,
would depend, as stated in a former note on the relative cost of their works,
their relative repairs, -and their rate of transportation. If the relative cost of
the construction of the canal and road be'the same, then, on their respective
annual repairs and rat.e of transportation. Now, the lock gates are almost
the only perishable j^rts of a canal constructed of such materials, as com¬
pose that now passing up the valley of the Potomac. Its very wide and
solid embankments of earth, often paved with stone, its massy walls, its
locks, culverts, and aqueducts of durable freestone or granite, united by hy¬
draulic cement, will be strengthened, rather than impaired, by time. While
every part of a railway exposed to the action of the weather, to the constant
attrition of heavy cars, and heavier locomotive engines, moving with great
velocity, and alike injurious to the road and its carriages, to say nothing of
its wooden sills, for two-thirds of its route, or of its aqueduct of wood across
a considerable river, is liable to gradual, though certain wear, and to ulti¬
mate destruction or continual repairs, from the very use which constitutes
its profit.
Although the late report of the President and Directors of the Baltimore
and Ohio Railroad Company forbears to include the repairs of any part of their
road, or of their cars, among the expenses, involved in the collection of the
tolls of nine months-receipts, the suggestion, in the report of their chief en¬
gineer, that "the durability of the road," to use his own language, " and of the
cars, and especially of the wheels, would be promoted by the use of springs;"
and again, that " the concussions upon the rails are very considerable, and
are greatly augmented by an increase of the rapidity of the movement,"
would indicate that some expenses, from these causes, had been already in¬
curred, and should be considered as involved in the receipts.
To diminish such expenses, the Liverpool and Manchester Railroad Com-
264
[ Doc. No. 101. J
pany are said, to employ several hands with brooms and scrapers, for every
mileoftheir road, to cleanse it of dust; an expense, which the cheaper labor
of England may possibly enable their road to bear; but which.would, of it¬
self, much detract from the profit of any railroad, even amidst the most
crowded population of America; to say nothing of the solitudes of the Al¬
leghany and its parallel ridges. " <
Some of the British authorities in favor of the superior economy of rail¬
roads, were invoked to their aid, by the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad Com¬
pany in their early appeals to the public, and have been more recently
quoted, with approbation, by their chief engineer; but they do* not appear to
have been sustained by the progress of that enterprise,'either as regards the
comparative cost of the road itself, or the comparative cheapness of its
transportation.
Of the last, we have not been allowed to judge at all; since two essential
ingredients of any just estimate, are singularly omitted from the late annual
report of the President and Directors, viz. the cost and repairs of the ne¬
cessary carriages; and the wear and tear, or repairs, of the road itself.
If the acknowledged expenses of transportation bear the same proportion,
to those which are omitted, that the experience of other railroads in Ame¬
rica warrant the belief, then, it is more than probable, that a just compari¬
son of the receipts and disbursements of this company, for nine months of
the present year, would bring them in debt; since "the moving power,
drivers, and engine men, agents and conductors, depot expenses, oil, and"
certain "contingencies," &c., (amountingto 4S2 dollars,) required an outlay
of very near 11,000, out of the gross receipts of 31,405 dollars, being, as
the Superintendent says, "of 1 to 2.S6." Computing the 81,905 passen¬
gers on this road, who were attracted to it, mostly, as Mr. Woodville, the
Superintendent, states, "by novelty or amusement," at the allowance
of 12 persons to a ton, and the entire tonnage of the nine months use of this
road, between Baltimore and Ellicott's Mills, or for. 13 miles, is about
12,750 tons.* Of this, the greater part of the passengers; amounting to 6,825
tons, travelled out and in, or about 26 miles; the commodities, 5,931 tons,
it is presumed, in no instance, more than half that distance, or 13 miles.
The whole operation, therefore, is equivalent to the carriage of 254,553
tons a single mile; and the charge of $10,994 87 cents, for the moving
power exerted in 9 months, on this railroad, is more than 4J cents a ton
per mile, totally excluding any allowance for-profit, or interest on the first
cost of the road or of its carriages, the repairs of those carriages, or the ne¬
cessary repairs of the road in use.
Against this estimate, it might be said, with truth, that the transportation
of persons requires a greater number of carriages than the transportation of
commodities of equal weight, since these may be pàcked in a less compass.
* The Superintendent makes the total tonnage, no doubt, more correctly, " amount to
upwards of 1,100 tons per month;" which, allowing for the indefinite form of expression,
could not be supposed to swell the aggregate for the nine months much, if any thing, beyond
10,000 tons. If so, the calculation here made is more favorable to the economy of this road
than it should be, by more than 25 per cent., so far as the expense of the moving power is in¬
volved in it. He also expressly says, that, under the head of expenses of " transportation, he
does not include any charges for the construction, the repairs, or the wear and tear of wagons
and cars; that branch of the service being under the immediate care and superintendence of a
committee of the board," who, it appears, have excluded any notice of it from the text of the
report, and have not thought proper to say any thing about it in its voluminous appendix,
making, together a work of more than 130 pages.
[ Doc. No. 101. ]
265
That a load of the former is more elastic, and, therefore, less injurious to
the road. This objection is met by the greater velocity with which they
are transported, the greater number of wheels which they bring in contact
with the road, and its greater injury, from the friction of those wheels. On
these considerations is founded, no doubt, the higher charge for passengers.
Assuming 4$ cents, per ton per mile, to be the actual measure of that
part of the expense, shown by the superintendent of transportation on this
road, to have been involved in the carriage of persons and property upon it,
in the first nine months of the current year; and adding, as is warranted
by the report of the superintendent of the Mauch Chunk railroad,
cents per ton per mile, for the repairs of the carriages; and, as the former road
is of much better quality than his, only half a cent a ton per mile, or one-
half of his estimate, for its repairs, there will result 6 cents a ton per mile,
as the cost of transportation, in an experiment of nine months, on the first
13 miles of the Baltimore and Ohio railroad, the materials of which were
all new, and as perfect as the expenditure of 60,000 dollars a mile, the cost
of this part of the road, could make them.
The conformity of this estimate, which is by no means exaggerated, to
the acknowledged cost of transportation, for the first six months of the same
period, on the equally new, and much more costly, and, it is presumed,
more perfectly constructed Liverpool and Manchester railroad, greatly con¬
firms its probable truth.
A brief transcrip? of the Mauch Chunk Courier, from the annual report
laid before the stockholders of the Liverpool and Manchester railroad, at
their meeting in September last, gives, for the gross receipts on that road,
for the first half of the present year, from the carriage of persons alone,
£43,600 7s. 3c/.; for merchandise, £21,875; and for coals, ¿218 bs. 2c/.;
making the total amount of gross revenue £65,693 13s. 7c/.; from which
is to be deducted the sum of £35,379 for the gross expenditure involved
in the collection of this revenue, including an inconsiderable land tax, (the
stock is free of all assessment by the charter,) and a sum, not stated in this
transcript, paid for interest on an outstanding debt of the company. The
nett revenue for the half year, was, as there staled, £30,314 135. 7c/., on
an investment of capital exceeding £S00,000 sterling, or, very near, it is
believed, 4,000,000 of dollars, making due allowance for every thing, and
including the difference of exchange between English and American cur¬
rency.
Although neither the sum paid as land tax, nor the interest included in
the six months disbursements, is stated in the extracts from this report, here
quoted, at second hand,* they supply the following particulars, which answer
the same purpose: That the actual receipts " for the goods carried," were
equal to 10i shillings sterling, about 245 cents per ton, for the entire road
of thirty miles, (stated in a late work to be 293 miles,) and that the expense
chargeable on their transportation, amounted to 7s. 7d. a ton, about lSlj
cents; leaving 2s. Sd. per ton, or 633 cents, as the profit on the stock of
the company; and making the total cost of transportation six cents a ton per
mile, on this new, truly magnificent, and, it is presumed, perfectly con¬
structed railroad of two tracks, laid on a solid foundation of stone. The
receipts for passengers, in gross, £43,600 7s. 3d., amounted to 4s. 7id.
each; and the expenses of their transportation to 2s. 6id.; making the nett
* The entire report is added to this document, and is correctly quoted above.
34
266
[ Doc. No. 101. ]
profit, on each passenger, 2s. ,7d.; or very near the same as on a ton of
goods.
What, though not immediately connected with the present inquiry, is
well worthy of notice, in passing along, is that the receipts for passengers
doubled the receipts for the transportation of property. That the total sum
received for the latter, indicates the whole tonnage of goods, for the six
months, not to have much exceeded 40,0G0 tons, which, doubled for the
year, makes but a fourth of the tonnage of the Erie canal of New York; and
that this road, from the second sea port to the largest manufacturing town
in England, through a country abounding in coal, the source of the greatest
revenue on the most profitable lines of inland navigation in Great Britain,
yielded, in six months, for the carriage of this primnm mobile of all the
British work shops, but 4521S 6s. 2d. sterling.*
The present object, however, for introducing the preceding facts, is to
confirm, as they undeniably do, the estimates made by the highest American
authorities, of the relative cost of transportation on railroads and canals,
by reference to the most perfect railroad that has yet been constructed—it
may be added, over favorable ground, in a country where manual labor is
so cheap that it can be economically employed to sweep the road; where
the arts have reached the greatest degree of improvement, and their inge¬
nuity has been excited by high rewards, to invent and construct the most
* How small a part of the imports of Manchester, through Liverpool, is comprehended in
these 40,000 tons, which comprehend the trade both to and from that sea port, will be the
more apparent from the fpllowing description of the trade of the former, from the Edinburgh
Gazetteer, published in 1822, vol. IV. p. 135.
" The greater part of the cotto» trade of Great Britain centers in Manchester, extending
around in all directions, to Furness on the north and south, and to Leeds and Liverpool on the
east and west." The various branches of the manufacture are carried on more or less through
all this district, but by far tl^c most extensive, especially the spinning, in Manchester. Man¬
chester is, besides, the general depot from which the raw material is distributed through all
parts of the district, and in which all this scattered merchandise is again collected, when fin¬
ished, into a centre, to be again expanded over a wider circle."
Though various causes have concurred to render Manchester a great emporium of manufac¬
tures, the foundation of the whole is unquestionably laid in the natural situation of the place,
on the banks of a navigable river, in the midst of inexhaustible fields of coal, near the centre of
the kingdom, and capable of haying its external and internal communications greatly improved
by art.
" By means of the canal which proceeds from it to different parts of the country, Manchester
enjoys a communication, by water, both with the eastern and western seas, being situated di¬
rectly in the line of navigation which here extends across the island from shore to shore; while
it is equally open to the nqrth and south by various branches from the main trunk. The Irwell
and Mersey form an easy access to Liverpool. The act for making these rivers navigable,
passed in 1720; and, in 1755, this communication was still more facilitated by the famous canal
of the Duke of Bridgewater, from the Duke's coal works to Manchester, and from thence to
Runcorn, which, at the same time, uniting with the grand trunk, or Staffordshire canal, extends
the navigation southwards to the Trent and Severn, to Nottingham, Birmingham, and Bristol.
" In 1795, 25 boats, of 55 tons each, were employed on the Mersey and Irwell, plying between
Manchester and Liverpool, and making 36 trips a year; and on the Duke of Bridgewater's canal
there were 42 boats of 50 tons each, which made 80 trips a year." "The Leeds and Liver¬
pool canal runs greatly to the north of Manchester." "On the north, the Duke of Bridgewater's
canal is prolonged by Leigh, to the Leeds and Ljyerpool canal, near the coal district of Wigan."
Under the Liverpool head, vol. III., page 786, it is said, " The Duke of Bridgwater's canal, be¬
gun in 1761, had opened a. communication to Manchester much superior to that of tire Mersey
and Irwell." Yet fcho annexed table, showing the value of the stock vested in the former
navigation to be 5.} times its original ccst, and its dividend, 20 per cent., proves that, though
inferior in value tq the public, it finds, no doubt, at cheaper rates of transportation, very exten¬
sive employment.
In 1819, the tannage of Liverpool was 86,7,318 tons, or moro tiran that of the whole United
States of America at the same period. The duties qn it amounted to £110,127 Is. 3d. sterling.
[ Doc. No. loi. ]
267
perfect locomotive engines; and where the coal which gives these engines
motion, is so cheap as, under the obligations of a charter, to be sold seven
miles from the pit, in the town of Manchester, at 320?. for a bushel of seven
score, which is at the rate of 2d. sterling for the Pennsylvania bushel of
SO lbs. weight.
Ten shillings sterling, or about 240 cents, American currency, was the
price to which the undertakers of this enterprise bound themselves to reduce
the cost of transportation between Manchester and Liverpool, being, as has
been shown, 8 cents a ton per mile. But the cost of this reduction is found
to consume, for carriage only, rather more than three-fourths of this sum;
or to exceed 6 cents a ton per mile; leaving but 2 cents a ton per mile to
pay the interest on the capital invested in the road, and its necessary appur¬
tenances; which falls little short of 4 millions, and may, possibly, be found
to exceed that amount; allowing nothing for the interest lost during the six
years' progress of this very heavy expenditure.
Here, again, is seen, a verification of the results of the experience of the
ingenious superintendent of the Mauoh Chunk railroad; who, long since,
informed the public, that while a velocity of fifteen or twenty miles an hour
(which he, then said, could be extended to sixty,) was very easily attained,
and actually attempted on that railroad, such was the injury occasioned to
the cars and the road, from such rapid motion, as to render the transporta¬
tion, nearly as costly, as on an ordinary turnpike.
The description given by travellers lately returning from England, of the
ruiis of cars and rails scattered along the margin of the Liverpool and Man¬
chester road, farther corroborates Mr. White's statement; although it is very
evident that, while so large a proportion of the revenue of this railway is
derived from the carriage of persons, they must be offered the attraction of
quick motion and economy of time, to tempt them to pay the fare of five
shillings for travelling on a railroad, the same distance, for which they would
pay, on a canal, less than a moiety of that sum. Mr. Fairbairn states, in
a work quoted in a former note of this appendix, that two pence a head
would pay the expense of the mere carriage or trackage of persons, exclu¬
sive of tolls, through the fifty-four miles of canal navigation between Glas¬
gow and Edinburg.
That so little merchandise is transported on the railroad from Liverpool
to Manchester, between which, the water carriage used to be fifteen shillings
sterling a ton, either by the Mersey and Irwell" navigation, or by the river
Mersey, for sixteen miles, and the Duke of Bridgewater's, now the Marquis
of Stafford's canal, of twenty-nine and a half more, is, without doubt, to be
ascribed to the breaking up of those profitable monopolies, and the recent
reduction of the price of carriage, on both those lines of water communica¬
tion. But that, in this competition, the victory must ever remain on the
side of the cheaper intercourse, by water, is evident, from two considera¬
tions: first, that on the same portion of a,ny improved canal communication
* The Mersey and Irvvell navigation, above Runeeorn gap, is mixed of still water, produced
by dams and locks, and occasional canals.
" A third line of navigation, though much more circuitous than either of the above, may also
be said to connect Liverpool with Manchester. It is the Liverpool and Leeds canal, and the
cut from Wigan, by Leigh, to Worsley mills, and thence, to .Man ehester, by the first canal con¬
structed by the Duke of Bridgewater, which now crosses the Liverpool and Manchester railroad,
within a mile and a half of those pits; whence, by the obligations of his charter, that enterprising
nobleman was compelled to deliver coals, at Manchester, distant seven miles from their entrance,
at about four cents for the Pennsylvania bushel.
26S
[ Doc. No. 101. ]
in America—and it cannot be less true in England—ninety cents would pay
the reasoable toll, as well as freight, on the carriage of a ton of goods for
thirty miles; and 135 cents, for a distance, equal to the entire voyage of
forty-five miles, from Liverpool to Manchester, by the circuitous route of
the Bridgewater canal and the river Mersey: and next, that the imposing
opening, and very near twelve months' use of this very costly railway, so
far from reducing the antecedent revenue of the Mersey and Irwell naviga¬
tion, has enabled its proprietors to recover from the panic of the years 1828
and '29, and to augment their dividend from 35 to 40 per cent., or to five
per cent, beyond its extent ten years ago. (See the table, post.)
The price of their stock has, in that time, it is true, fallen from Si to 5i
times its original cost. This depression may, also, be temporary; though,
much for the public benefit, canals will, hereafter, be compelled, by the
wholesome competition of railroads, to reduce those exorbitant profits,
which injudicious charters, framed without any limitation, but in the maxi¬
mum rate of tolls, have hitherto allowed them to divide.
It has been already noticed, that the charter of the Chesapeake and Ohio
Canal Company, pursuing the policy of the act establishing the Virginia
fund for internal improvement, limits the profit of their stock to fifteen per
cent, per annum; a regulation to which no just exception can be taken; ior,
while the receipts of a canal will always be proportioned to the magnitude of
its tonnage, its wear and tear, or annual outlay for repairs, will not. In this
respect, as in so many others, canals have, obviously, great advantages over
the best railroads; the repairs of which must be proportioned to their use,
and increase with their gross revenue.
The last annual report of the Liverpool and Manchester Railroad Com¬
pany confirms the preceding rumor, so extensively circulated in the United
States, that the Bolton Bury and Manchester Canal Company, have ob¬
tained the consent of the British Parliament to substitute a railroad for their
present canal.
To rebut the inference already drawn from this solitary fact, to prejudice the
American public against all canals, there is subjoined, to this note, a late es¬
say from a public gazette, which, while it demonstrates the expediency of
this substitution, as conclusively proves, that no general inference can be
deduced from it, to the prejudice of inland navigation, when compared with
railroads.
Conclusively, as the preceding facts, derived from the joint experience of
England and America, appear to settle the relative merits of railroads and
canals, it is probable that, while the present delusion on this subject, so ge¬
nerally pervades both countries, immediate assent will not be yielded to
their force.
Canals can be constructed only where a sufficient supply of water exists
to fill them. They must pursue the valleys of those rivers whose fountains
feed them. Railroads, on the other hand, naturally seek the driest plains,
avoiding, where practicable, water courses and alluvial lands. They have
an ubiquity of locomotion which adapts them, if not to the real interests, to
the illusory hopes of villages, towns, and cities, which no canal can ever be
expected to reach: and those who advocate their exclusive use, know, full
well, how to profit by this quality. Hence, a whole country may be set
in commotion, by promises of railroads to intersect it in every possible
direction. Such is the present excitement in the United States. Such has
been recently, and, perhaps, continues to be,the excitement in England: such
[ Doc. No. 101. ]
269
was once, the excitement, though it soon subsided, in the same country, at the
time of the completion of the Croydon railroad, in the county of Surry.
This road was finished in 1802, under the eye, almost, of her great com¬
mercial and political metropolis; for its distance from the capital of the Bri¬
tish empire is but eight miles; and it is crossed by the public highway, be¬
tween London and Epsom, a village of no little note, for its periodical races,
its mineral waters, and the beautiful scenery of its neighborhood.
Yet, a very short period ago, (less than two years,) no railroads stock had
reached an advance of one hundred per cent, above par, in the English
market; while the following were, at that time, the prices of the several
canal stocks comprehended in the subjoined table.
The annexed table of the prices of canal and railway stocks, in the Lon¬
don market, at various times, is composed, in part, from the trade list of the
day, which is published weekly, by an assistant clerk of the bills of entry
of the British customs, and may be, consequently, deemed to have an offi¬
cial sanction.
The table comprises only thirty-five, of more than one hundred canals,
in Great Britain, and those the most profitable.
This table furnishes the best, because incontrovertible evidence, of the
estimation of canal stocks, in England, at the several periods to which it re¬
fers, between March, 1821, and November, 1831.
270 [ Doc. No. 101. ]
DESCRIPTION and statement of the Prices of the Slock of
Ci
c °°
S CT
o
o
°*= &
a
~ S
et —
2-
Ci . —
Names of the several Ca¬
nals and Lines of Navi¬
gation.
Original cost
each share,
pounds stcrf
Ü
§
O
ó
¡3
Price of ea. sh
in 1821.*
Dividend on ci
share, at t
time.
Price of the sa
in March, IS
Dividend at
same time.
Price of ea. eh
in Jan. 1831.
(Trade List.
£. i.
£.
£. s. d.
£.
£.
£.
Ardrossan
-
-
.
-
-
.
Barnesley
160
5,720
300
13
-
-
215
Birmingham
17 10
4,000
203
12 10
565
20
270
Bolton and Bury -
250
477
-
-
-
-
106
Carlisle -
50
1 ,600
490
Chesterfield
100
1,500
150
8
120
8
170
Coventry -
100
500
1,200
44
999
41
800
Cromford -
100
460
400
19
-
_
420
Derby -
100
600
150
7 10
-
-
130
Erewash -
100
2S1
1,400
72
1,000
58
700
Forth and Clyde -
100
1,297
570
25
-
.
600
Glamorganshire
100
600
250
13 12 8
-
-
290
Grand Junction
100
11,600
307
13
218
9
243
Grantham -
150
749
215
9
-
_
210
Leeds and Liverpool
100
2,897^
395
16
278
10
395
Leicester -
100
540
325
17
260
10
220
Loughborough
100
70
4,000
200
2,400
119
1,800
Milton Mowbray -
100
250
240
11
170
8*
200
Mersey and Erwell
100
500
825
35
650
30
600
Monmouthshire
100
2,409
215
10
-
-
239
Monkland
100
101
.
-
-
_
90
Neath ...
100
247
350
15
-
300
Nottingham
150
500
290
12
-
-
290
Oxford -
100
1,786
670
32
640
32
500
Shrewsbury
125
500
210
10
-
_
250
Shropshire
125
500
135
r
-
_
140
Somerset Coal
50
800
170
10 -•
-
-
166
Stafford and Worcester
140
700
800
40
64-2
40
760
Stourbridge
145
SÛ0
220
12
-
-
220
Stroud wat er
150
200
450
23
-
_
430
Swansea -
100
533
280
12 10
-
.
230
Trent and Mersey
tVarwick and Birmingham
101
2,600
820
37 10
900
75
620
100
1,000
265
13
210
11
220
Varwick and Napton
100
980
205
12
235
10
220
Vyrley and Essington ' -
125
800
160
6
-
-
115
Prices, at the same dates, of the Stock
iverpool and Manchester
100
5,100
181
romford, High Pt.
100
1,600
-
-
-
-
anterbury
50
500
-
-
25
25
heitenham
100
330
-
-
78
78
roydon ...
65
1,000
1,000
-
-
.
:rsey ...
60
ivcrn and Wye -
50
3,762
-
-
23
1
11
19 10
>rest of Dean
50
2,500
.
-
45
2
16
45
ockton and Darlington -
100
1,000
-
-
160
5
200
onmouth
50
553
î
arence ...
100
1,500
-
-
40
* Price in 1821, from the Monthly Magazine, transcribed from the Report of the Ohio
■"rom the above it appears that canal stocks in England, of the medium original cost of
rth £9,287', more than six times their original cost."
[ Doc. No. 101. ] 271
certain Canals and Railways in England, at various periods.
Dividend at the
same time.
1 Price of ea. share,
Nov. 1, 1831.
I (Trade List.)
Dividend at the
same time.
! Length of each
Canal, in miles.
Lockage, in feet.
Cost, in pounds
sterling.
Date of comple¬
tion.
REMARKS.
£. ». d.
£.
£. s. d.
£.
Anno.
-
_
_
33*
170
253,000
1799
10
210
10
14
120
97,000
1812
12 10
244
12 10
224
204
115,000
1772
6
106
6
15
187
97,000
1797
8
170
8
46
389
160,000
1776
,
44
750
50
27
96
120,000
1790
19
410
19
18
80
80,000
1794
6
120
6
9
78
90,000
1794
70
600
54
11}
181
_
1797
27
600
27
35
321
421,525
1790
13 12 8
290
13 12 8
13
235
13
93 i
760
2,000,000
1805
10
195
9
33}
148
124,000
1799
20
405
20
130
841
600,500
1774
13 10
211
17
21*
230
84,000
180
2,550
180
9i
41
_
1776
2 10
190
2 10
-
-
-
Navigation.
40
525
40
.
-
-
_
Navigation.
12
208
12
17}
1,057
275,330
1796
Inclined plane«.
-
90
12
96
18
300
18
14
35,000
1798
12
245
12
15
-
_
1802
32
510
32
91*
269
330,000
1790
11
205
11
17*
155
70,000
1797
j Inclined planes.
8
140
8
7*
8*
453
47,500
1792
10 10
160
10 10
138
185,000
1802
36
555
36
46*
394
100,000
1772
11
220
11
5
191
30,000
1776
23
480
23
8
108
20,000
1796
'15
203
15
17*
366
90,000
1798
37 10
620
37 10
12
230
12
25
__
180,000
1799
12
210
12
15
_
130,000
1799
6
115
6
23
270
160,000
1794
of Railways, in England.
205
8
29}
800,000
1830
20
_
35
_
78
-
-
-
-
-
-
1803
1 2
17
0 17
2 19
O.Î
2 4
-
230
6
65
Canal Commissioners, of January 21st, 1824; to which they add the following remark:—
£ 1,525, pay a medium dividend of £ 485, exceeding 31} per cent, per annum; andaré now
272
£ Doc. No. 101. ]
Of the lines of water communication described in the preceding table,
that of the Mersey and Irwell navigation, and one other, not included in
the table, because its stock, the property of a «ingle individual, (the Mar¬
quis of Stafford,) is not in market, are the channels of trade, with which
the Liverpool and Manchester railroad {enters into immediate competition.
The extension of this railroad from Manchester to Leeds, and to Lon¬
don, would extend its competition to several other canals included in this
table, as the Leeds and Liverpool, Grand Junction, Trent and Mersey, the
Oxford, and to several others, less directly.
It is remarkable, however, that the prices of the stocks of the canals near¬
est to Liverpool, have fallen less, than those at a distance from it. While
that of the Mersey and Irwell navigation had, in January last, sunk more
than ¿£300 on the share, its dividend, far from falling off, had risen 10 per
cent, beyond that of 1S28, and five above that of 1821. The price of its
stock is still 5J times its original cost.
The Leeds and Liverpool canal stock, as well as dividend had, in like
manner, risen, the latter 4 per cent, since lS21,and 10 per cent, since 1S2S,
when the railroad had inspired the greatest alarm; the former, after falling
at that period, from ¿6335 a share to 278, mounted up again, and was selling
on the first of November last, at ¿6405 a share, or at more than four times
its original price.
Of the thirty-five lines of improved navigation enumerated in the pre¬
ceding talqle, the dividends of the stock of seventeen have been stationary,
or very nearly so, for ten years past; six only have sustained any diminu¬
tion; while as many have sensibly improved in value.
The Loughborough dividend, which was once £200 on the share of 100,
and had fallen to 119, had, at the last accounts, again risen to 180, and its
stock, which had exceeded £4000 the share, and fallen at one time to 1S00,
was, in the last month, at £2550 the share.
Although all the canal stocks in England have been affected more or less,
in the estimate of their value, by the expected application of steam as the
propelling power of railroads, and by the apprehended introduction of railroads
in the immediate vicinity of all the most productive canals, but one canal in
that country has, as yet, been proposed to be converted into a railroad, and
that, from considerations very peculiar to itself.
These are so minutely, and it is believed, so correctly detailed, in are-
cent essay which appeared in the National Intelligencer, that it has been
deemed expedient, as well as proper, to attach it to this note.
The length, lockage, and cost of the canals included in the preceding ta¬
ble, are derived from a work of unquestioned authority, by M. Huer ne de
Pommeuse, membre de la Chambre des Deputes, originally written in
French, and, it is believed, not yet translated into English. Its other facts
are from the " Trade Lists."
It is obvious, under the circumstances disclosed by this table, that rail¬
road stocks, yielding, on the same amount of capital, a half, a fourth, or a
tenth even, of the profit of certain canals, in the same neighborhood,, would
furnish profitable investments for money. And engineers of every descrip¬
tion, therefore, and pamphleteers too, would not be. wanting, after the canal
system of that kingdom had been already pushed to the utmost limits of its
land and water, to recommend railways in preference to canals.
[ Doc. No. 101. ]
273
The following receipts on certain American canals, charging for toll and
transportation together, not more than three cents a ton per mile; two
cents being the average toll, and one cent the price of transportation, de¬
serve consideration here.
To show that a canal may be profitable, with a toll, not exceeding an average
amount on its tonnage, of two cents a ton per mile, it may not be immaterial
to notice the total amount of tolls on the New York canals, which have cost
about §18,000 a mile, or about 74 millions, and the Schuylkill navigation,
the stock of which is now, at an advance in the American market, of near
one hundred per cent, on the share of §100.
Extracts from the letters of Hamilton, containing " A brief view of
the system of internal improvement of the State of Pennsylvania,"
by M. Carey, M. A. P. S., and of the Antiquarian Society, publish¬
ed in Philadelphia, in 1831.
" New York did not begin to collect tolls on her canals, except on a very
small scale, before the fall of 1822, above five years from the time when
they were commenced.
" Canal tolls, 1821, .... $2,220
1822, - - - 44,4S6
1523, .... 89,938
1524, - 319,320
1825, - 521,345
1526, 750,759
1527, - S47,759
1828, - S97,265
1529, ... - 771,685
1530, ... - 1,056,922
1 S31, - 1,193,435"
The following are the chief articles that reached Albany, by way of the
canal, in 1S30:
Barrels of flour, ------ 396,900
ashes, ------ 25,670
provisions, ----- 22,008
salt, ------ 42,601
whiskey, - 2S,207
Hogsheads of whiskey, ----- 1,420
Boxes of glass, ------ 6,374
Barrels of lime, ------ 2,404 '
Bushels of wheat, ------ 209,011
corn, rye, and oats, - 114,9S9
barley, ------ 1S2,7S3
Cords of wood, ------ 12,976
Feet of tjgaber, ------ 31,621
Shingles, ------ 11,810,000
Feet of lumber, ------ 25,S32,142
" New York is destitute of coal, one of the greatest sources of canal tolls.
She, it is true, derives a small supply of iron from the borders of Lake
Champlain. But that the amount is insignificant, appears from the fact, that
the total tolls of the Champlain canal, up and down, were, last year, only
89,053 dollars."
35
274
L Doc. No. 101. 3
"The tolls of the Schuylkill Navigation Company, last year, were 148,165
dollars; of which, 87,195 dollars were received on coal, being about sixty
per cent, of the whole."
The supplies not only of iron, but of lime, for manure, as well as cement,
must depend oñ the vicinity of coal to the ore bank, and the quarry.
Increase of tolls on the Schuylkill Navigation.
Years.
Tolls
Total tolls.
Tonnage.
Price of stock: shares, $ 100 each.
on coal.
«
1825
15,775
January, 1826, = 75 to 80
1826
-
43,108
32,404
" 1827, = 95 to 101
1S27
33,317
58,149
65,501
" 1S2S, = 101 to 102)
1828
46,202
87,171
105,462
" 1829, = 100 to 101
1829
77,032
120,039
154,504
" 1830, = 160 to 165
1830
87,195
148,163
ISO, 785
" 1831, <= 176 to 180
The works of this canal "are, in extent, about 108 miles; commencing
at the Lancaster Schuylkill bridge, and ending at Mount Carbon: of which
62 miles are by canals, and 49 by pools in the river. The number ofehouses
for lock-keepers, is 65; the number of locks below Reading, 39; and above,
81; being, in the whole, 120, (of which 28 are guard-locks,) overcoming a
fall of 588 feet."
In 1826, the amount paid for this improvement, was g 1,704,948 80
for land, - - 63,405 64
for damages, - - 39,701 73
Total cost, - - g 1,808,056 17
exclusive of interest on loans, and securities.
In the same annual report of this company, from which the above is ex¬
tracted, is the following testimony in favor of large canals: "The pools
having towpaths along them, are a very important, and, it is believed, when
finished, will be a favorite part of the navigation, with those who use them;
for it is a fact worthy of notice, that a horse, towing a boat, will, with great¬
er ease, go at the rate of four miles an hour, in a pool, than three miles in a
t canal."
This proposition is in accordance with the experiments of the French
academicians, on broad and narrow canals; and corroborates the policy which
has given such enlarged dimensions to the Chesapeake and Ohio canal; while,,
in every other respect, the navigation of the eastern section of the Chesa¬
peake aud Ohio canal will be much less obstructed by locks, in proportion
to its length, than the Schuylkill navigation; the stock of which isflow near,
or quite, 100 per cent, above par.
From the National Intelligencer.
"Messrs. Gales &r Seaton:—Toan impartial press, whatever tends to
guard the public mind from delusion, and especially in relation to topics
of national interest, must be acceptable.
[ Doc. No. 101. ]
275
" I confidently, therefore, anticipate your ready admission into your use¬
ful columns, of the correction of an error current in the gazettes of the
•United States, that canals arc, every where in England, giving place to
railroads: and, as conclusive evidence of this, that the Bolton, Bury, and
Manchester Canal Company, have offered their canal for the site of a rail¬
way.
" The first position is no further true, than that, as almost all the canals
'that could be made, and many that ought never to have been made, have,
long since, been constructed in England; and as some of them have proved
the richest monopolies known to the world, railroads have, of late, arisen
to compete with them, for a share of their dividends. These have been,
and still are, so considerable, as to occasion an advance, on the original price
of canal stocks, in some cases of a thousand, in others of two thousand, a%d
three thousand, and in one case, of more than four thousand per cent.
■ " But, as I have suggested, very near, or quite half of the canals of Eng¬
land, having great lockage, little water, and less trade, have proved, from
,^heir very outset, to the presentday, of little, or no value to the proprie¬
tors of their stock. This has, indeed, in some cases, so completely disap¬
peared from the money market, that neither the weekly " Trade" nor any
other " list" of prices, pretends to state what is its selling price.
" Examine, not the present merely, but the past condition of the canal,
connecting Manchester with the towns of Bolton and Bury, since this is
triumphantly adduced as a canal—the only one, indeed, so quoted, which has
been offered,- by its proprietors, as part of the site of a railway, to be con¬
structed between Manchester and Leeds.
" This canal, I have seen: but I do not, for that reason, ask the least reli¬
ance on my authority for the facts respecting it, which I am about to state.
" Rees' Encyclopaedia, the Encyclopaedia Metropolitana, Bradshaw's
maps of the canals and railways of the midland counties of England, and
similar sources of intelligence, may be appealed to, for the verification of
my statements: and, to them, I refer the reader.
4 "The canal between Bolton and Manchester,tone of the straighest in
England, is eleven miles long: the branch to Bury intersects it, three miles
from Bolton, and is, in length, about four miles; so that, both together, be¬
ing the property of one company, make 15 miles; and while the distance
of Bolton from Manchester is 11. that of Bury from the same place is 12
rrfiles.
"There are 12 locks on this canal, and two costly aqueducts over the ri-
,vers Irwell andLeven. It was fed, in 1799, by the former of these rivers, but
in 1S02 it was founjl necessary to construct a reservoir at Ratcliffe. Its
construction exceeded in price 30,000 dollars a mile. The shares of its
átock, in number 447, originally cost £250 sterling; were selling, as far
back as 1824, at £112 sterling each; having then fallen below one half of
itheir former price.
" The object of this canal was to reach Liverpool through Manchester, by
the Duke of Bridgewater's canal, with which it is there united by means of
tiie Medlock brook. From Manchester, the cheapest and safest water com¬
munication with Liverpool is by the Duke of Bridgewater's canal, of 29
miles, to Runcorn, where that canal enters the river Mersey, and thence,
along the open bosom of that broad river, often too rough for canal boats,
}6 miles more, to the harbor of Liverpool.
" The whole water communication of Bolton, with Liverpool, thus com-
276
[ Doc. No. 101. ]
i
posed, is therefore 56 miles in length. The cost of carriage, on the part of
this line of intercourse, between Manchester and Liverpool, the memorial
to the British Parliament, in behalf of the Liverpool and Manchester rail-'
way, stated to be 15s. sterling per ton; which that memorial promised to re¬
duce, by means of the railroad, to 10s. a ton. The cost of carriage cannot
be less, from Bolton, which, by water, is 11 miles farther than Manchester,
frorti Liverpool.
" But the distance of Bolton, from Liverpool, over land, is less, by three'
miles, than that of Manchester from Liverpool, by the recently constructed
Manchester and Liverpool railway. This railway, moreover, approaches
within two and a half miles of the town of Leigh, at a point 17h miles from
Liverpool; and from Leigh to Bolton, a distance of about seven miles, a rail-
nftd has been already constructed, by authority of an act of Parliament,'
which passed in 1828. So that while the water communication between
Bolton and Liverpool, mixed, circuitous and hazardous, is 56 miles in'
length, that, by land, is 27 miles, of which, all, but 2è miles, consists of1«
highly improved railway;* and while the cost of transportation for a ton qf
goods, by water, from Bolton to Liverpool, does not fall short of 15s. ster¬
ling, that, by land, cannot exceed 10s. sterling.
" The same considerations apply with nearly equal force to the short'
branch to Bury, which is, a few miles, east from Bolton.
" It is not difficult, then, to account for the willingness of the proprietors
of this canal to surrender it, for a railway, or any other purpose, to any one,
who will take it of their hands, and pay them any thing for it.
"If, indeed, the carriage to Liverpool, by water, from Bolton, by Man¬
chester, and thence, by the Duke of Bridgewater's, now the Marquis of
Stafford's canal, and the river Mersey, which spreads, out to great breadth J
below Runcorn gap, a distance, in all, of 56 miles, could be reduced from
15s. sterling, or 3.60 cents, to 3 cents a ton, per mile, the entire cost of
transportation of heavy commodities, on the canals of New York, Pennsyl¬
vania, and Ohio, then, indeed, the case would be not quite so hopeless for
the Bolton canal. ,
"Ten shillings sterling, per ton, the price now charged, on the railroad,
for transporting a bale of cotton from Liverpool to Manchester, a distance of
293 miles, measured from the wharf of Liverpool to the entrance of Man¬
chester, if this sterling money be turned into American currency, witb<a
suitable allowance for the difference of exchange, and the relative value of
the metallic mediums of the two countries, is not less than S2 40 cents, or
eight cents a ton per mile, for transportation; a charge not too great, con«
sidering the cost of the road, which is, now, known to |jave been, all charges
included, about 140,000 dollars a mile.
" The American charges forcanal transportation, at 2 cents per ton per
mile for toll, and one for freight, which last is quite high enough, would
reduce the cost of carriage on the line of 45 miles, between Manchester'
and Liverpool, to 1.35 cents the ton, or 1.05 cents less than the present
charge on the railroad of 30 miles, between the same places; and adding 1J
miles, or 33 cents, for the distance, from Manchester, to Bolton, still, the
advantage, excluding any allowance for the danger and delays, of 16 miles
of open river navigation, of the water, over the land transportation, be¬
tween Bolton and Liverpool, would be 72 cents on the ton; or quite enough
fo keep the carriage in its old track. ,
* Leigh is now connected with the Liverpool and Manchester railroad, by a railway.
[ Doc. No. 101. ]
277
" As to the river Mersey; from Runcorn, it is open to every one. What
.the Marquis of Stafford may charge, on what was once the Duke of Bridge-
water's canal, subject to the restraints of the charter, under which he holds
his title, it is for himself to decide. But if the exclusive advocates of rail¬
roads, either in this country or in England, find any cause for exultation in
the preceding facts, let them rejoice! If they question the facts, let them
1 'adduce their conflicting evidence, and they shall again hear from
1 • TRUTH.
. A fair experiment of the relative utility of railroads and canals, would
depend on so many circumstances, as regards their relative plans, location,
cost, and species of traffic, that many years would be consumed in bringing
' it to a satisfactory conclusion.
/ In the first stages of such an experiment,*a canal, liable to frequent in¬
terruptions from the unsettled state of its banks, would labor Under great
comparative disadvantages; while the railroad would possess the recom¬
mendation of being new, and, therefore, in its most perfect condition.
Their relative profits would depend, of course, on the proportion of their
nett income, to the cost of their construction, and the former subject of this
•comparison would, itself, depend on the expense of those very repairs, which
would be diminishing, on the canal, as its bank acquired stability from
, time, and increasing upon the railroad, as use impaired.its strength, by
friction, frequent changes of temperature, and unforeseen accidents.
. As to the relative speed of transportation on both, the decision of that
question must await the equal use of both the canal and railroad, for a con¬
siderable period, and under various circumstances, by the same amount of
tonnage. It is difficult even to conceive how a railroad, with but two
tracks, and having both occupied at the same time, by numerous and
heavy laden cars, moving in oposite directions, can admit of the velocity,
Which it is believed, a boat may attain, on a canal, without the slightest in¬
terference with any other vessels moving on the same surface, in opposite
directions, and with different velocities.
Of the possible application of steam, to canals, not indeed, to such canals
^as those which so often occur in England, but to the canal of the Forth and
'Clyde, in Scotland, which has near the same breath with the Chesapeake and
Ohio canal, a doubt can no longer be entertained, notwithstanding the nu¬
merous and very confident authorities cited to disprove it, by the Balti¬
more and Ohio Railroad Company; all of which, indeed, derive their whole
( force, as they doubtless do their existence, from their application to the
comparatively narrow and shallow canals oPEngland.
A reference to the able essay of the practical civil engineer superintend¬
ing the Lehigh Coal and Navigation Company's works in Pennsylvania,whc,
having both a railway and a canal under his charge, with abundant expét-i-
¿ence, and no motive whatever to deceive himself or others, will shed more
real light, on this inquiry, than all the British authorities united; and his
suggestions of various modes of diminishing the expense, and of accelerating
the speed of transportation on canals, while it evinces his mastery of his
profession, may inspire a doubt, at least, whether mechanical genius may
/ not hereafter find, as full exercise for its invention, in improving the naviga¬
tion of canals, as in propelling railroad cars.
278
[ Doc. No. 101. ]
When, therefore, the appeal to public opinion will be so far settled, as to
enable the Federal Government to decide a question, which now perplexes
the civil engineer, cannot, probably, be determined-
One thing which is certain, appears not to have been generally known,
that the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal Company depend on the prosecution of
their work, above "the Point of Rocks," for a supply of water to five and
twenty miles of their canal, now nearly completed, below that point, and,
therefore, that the result of the experipnent which has been recommended,
could not be patiently awaited, by that company, without most serious loss
to their stockholders, and to the public.
If, as two of the most eminent civil engineers have said, after careful in¬
quiry, the internal intercourse of England be not sufficiently active to war--
rant the use of stationary steam engines, on such a railroad, as that be¬
tween Manchester and Liverpool, the cost of which, it is ascertained, ex¬
ceeds §130,000 a mile, it must be manifest that the United States cannot,
in the present state of their population and commerce, avail themselves ofS
the cheapest propelling power applicable to railroads.
Whether America be ripe for the profitable employment of locomotive
engines between her chief cities, or between those cities and the country
which sustains them, is a question yet to be tried and determined, by ex¬
perience. If mere animal force be, at present, the most economical moving
power on railroads and canals, then, their relative value is admitted to be
unequivocally settled in favor of the latter.
Railroads are universally acknowledged to be greatly superior to all other,
roads; and the time may and probably will arrive, in the United States,
when constructed with many tracks, for carriages moving at the same time,
with different velocities, in the same, as well as in opposite directions; and
propelled by stationary engines, having sufficient occupation to sustain their
constant and therefore profitable use, railroads will prove formidable, if
not successful rivals of canals. In the interim, it cannot be wise, or pru¬
dent, to arrest the improvement of a country, by institutions suited to its
actual condition, because it is expected that, at some future and distant pe¬
riod, these may be superceded, by inventions of more expensive structure
and costly use.
In the progress of navigation, the floating raft, the bark canoe, the open
boat, and the decked vessel, varying in size, from the light sloop which
scuds along the coast, to the magnificent Indiaman, or the awful battle ship
which braves the ocean and the storm, have all their appropriate places.
Indulging similar views of the future march of invention, should it so
happen in process of time, as there is much latitude for hope, if not suffi¬
cient ground for confident prediction, that, by the introduction of steam
power on canals, or the use of a part of their surplus water to propel their
boats, on the principle of the action of the stationary engine on the railway,
the expense extending canal navigation may be greatly reduced, and its ve¬
locity be proportionably accelerated, the spirit of liberal and enlightened
competition which railroads have recently awakened both in Europe and
America, will yield to commercial and social intercourse, to the union of
States and the happiness of their people, as substantial benefits, as if the most
flattering promises of their exclusive advocates had been fully realized.
The Jollowing impressive caution against rash speculations in railroads,
is given in a publication, entitled " an account of the Liverpool and Man¬
chester railway, by H. Booth, esq., treasurer to the company."
[ Doc. No. 101. ]
279
«'The Liverpool and Manchester railway is a magnificent work; but it
will be useful to keep in mind that such works cannot be executed except
at an expense of no ordinary magnitude. This railway will cost above
£800,000, including the charge for stations and depots at each end, and ma¬
chinery, wagons, fyc., for a carrying department. The immense traffic be»
tween Liverpool and Manchester amply justifies this outlay. But, with re¬
ference to any similar scheme in extension of the railroad system, it is de¬
sirable the projectors should impartially calculate the cost of the work, as
well as the income it may be expected to produce; and, especially, that they
should make an ample allowance beyond the first estimate of the expendi¬
ture, before they embark in the undertaking."
In an address to the members of both Houses of Parliament, from which
the above is transcribed, the following very pertinent remarks appear:
" Whatever hope and encouragement for the future may arise out of the
trial of the Liverpool railway, now going on, especially as respects the consis¬
tency of speed with safety, it cannot be pretended that sufficient proof has
yet been given of the main point, required to establish the superiority of
railways over canals, viz.—their greater economy. Of this, the reduc¬
tion in the tonnage of raw cotton, in which the railway has been followed
by the water carriers, is no proof; because the rate now charged, within one
«hilling per ton, wasfixed by the railway act, at a time when the cost of
its conveyance could only have been approximated by an estimate. Unless
however, the cardinal point of greater economy can beclearly made out, the
advantages of the railway will be limited, (as is still the opinion of many of the
best judges) to those cases, in which an extra-price can be aflorded, for the
rapid conveyance of passengers, and ofthose lighter articlesof merchandize
which are required to supply immediate demands. , The proof which is requir¬
ed must consist, not in estimate* or calculations; for, of the fallaciousness
of these we have already had sufficient experience in the case of the Liver¬
pool railway, the cost of which (upwards of £30,000 per mile) is more
than double the estimate;—but in bona fide evidence, to be derived, at a fit
season, from a fair winding up of the accounts of the concern;—from a
balance sheet proving that, after paying interest on the sunk capital, and
defraying the current expenses, there will be a surplus of actual profit, how¬
ever moderate, to be divided among the proprietors. Such an investiga¬
tion, it is obvious, cannot be entered upon at present, with any trustworthy
result. It will require that the railway should be completely finished;—that
the sufficiency of the work should be ascertained by longer experience;—
that the solidity of the foundation, the durability of the road and embank¬
ments, should be fairly tried ;—that the wear and tear of the rails, carriages,
and machinery, should be determined, both under the present system of
exclusive use by the company of proprietors, and when thrown open, as
carriers in general. These, and a variety of other data, hitherto unknown,
must be acquired by actual experience, before it can be pronounced, with
just confidence, that railways can carry at a cheaper rate than canals. They
are points upon which directors and engineers can at present offer nothing
but random conjectures, quite unworthy of being made the ground of under¬
takings, which will absorb rqany millions of the capital of the nation."
*
280
[ Doc. No. 101. ]
A reference to the last annual report of the Baltimore and Ohio Rail¬
road Company, in order to ascertain the cost of transportation on that
road, as well as of its construction.
The last report of the Pennsylvania Canal Commissioners quotes from the
late annual report of the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad Company the esti¬
mated cost of their road, and states it to be 27,228 dollars per mile. They
notice, that, of the 71 miles of this road, so estimated, no less than two-thirds
are laid with wooden sills, or rails, and that the branch to Frederick, of3$
miles, is of one track only; but they do not notice, that the viaduct of this
road across the river Monocacy, over which the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal
Company are constructing an aqueduct of white granite, is of wood resting
on stone piers, and estimated at a cost, less by g 1000 per mile, on the entire
railway, than the cost of this stone aqueduct; nor do they notice that no
charge whatever is made, in the above estimate, for the fixtures and
machinery of the inclined planes at Parr's ridge, which are, however, as. ne¬
cessary a part of the road, as a lock is of a canal.
The Pennsylvania Commissioners, also, remark, that this company admit
" that it required Gi months to lay down G miles of stone track," and
*' that the cost of laying with stone has been underrated in every instance,"
but they do not remark, that the reason given by the Railroad Company, in
their last annual report, for not using stone on two-thirds of their road, or
on their Monocacy viaduct, is, that the adjacent country could not supply
it; and, if this be true, to replace, hereafter, the wooden, by stone rails, must
be a work of much enhanced cost.
Making due allowance for all these considerations, it cannot be deemed
unreasonable to estimate the construction of the Baltimore and Ohio rail¬
road, when made of durable materials, and with two tracks, at a cost not less,
at any rate, than 30,000 dollars a mile.
It would have been very gratifying to public curiosity, if the annual report
of this company, made early in October last, had either stated the amount
of the dividend of profit on the stock of the company, for the preceding
vear, which was done by the antecedent annual report, and then promised
for every succeeding year; or that this report, which does state the gross
amount received for transportation, had also stated the nett revenue of the
company, from the 13 miles of the railroad, the only part which has been
in common use, and the part, on which, the former dividend was declared.
This information would have cast some light on, by far the most im¬
portant question remaining to be solved, at least in the United States, as to
the annual expenses attending the transportation and repairs of railways,
compared with canals. As to their relative prime cost, it is now to be pre¬
sumed, that the current error which has hitherto prevailed on this subject,
has been corrected by actual experience, the best test of truth in every
branch of practical philosophy. Whatever may be the scientific calculations
in Europe, the actual, as well as estimated cost, per mile, of the Maryland
and Pennsylvania railroads, designed to consist of two tracks only, exceeds
the average cost of their canals.
With regard to the only railroads in America, in relation to which we
have any disclosure of the annual cost of the repairs, and expenses of trans¬
portation, other than tolls, it must be admitted, on the concurrent authori¬
ties, already cited in this appendix, from New York and Pennsylvania, that
[ Doc. No. 101. j
281
they greatly exceed the usual cost of repairs, and the long and well established
rate of carriage on canals of ordinary dimensions.
In relation to the Baltimore and Ohio railroad, it is understood that every
thing, respecting the original purchase and repairs of the curs, or vehicles for
transportation, is under the care of a special committee of the directors,
whose expenditure on these subjects, for the preceding year, does not ap¬
pear in their late annua! report. Indeed, neither the gross revenue, nor the
expences of transportation, between October, 1S30, and January, 1S31, ap¬
pears in Hiat report.
In a table of the aggregate revenue, from tonnage and. passengers, from
January, to September, (both months included,) of 1S31, the gross amount
stated to have been received is S'27,249 74 cents, for passengers, and $4,155
50 cents,for tonnage; makinga total sum of $31,405 24 cents.
In another table, under the head of " expenses of transportation," from
which, might be inferred, but for the preceding report of the Superintendent,
that the total expenses were meant, we have an analysis, which excludes
the original cost of the carriages, and even the interest on that cost, as weil as
any estimate or charge for their repairs as well as those of the road itself. The
recapitulation of those expenses furnishes,
For the undefined itêm of " Moving power- - $5,526 55
, Drivers and engine men, - 1,763 45
Agents atid conductors, - 1,901 32
\ Depot expenses, - .- 1,066 39
Oil, , - - - 254 98
Contingencies, - - 4S2 IS
Making the total expenses of the preceding nine months, S10.994 S7." <
On the 19th page of the report, *•'the machinery and moving power,"
are treated of under one head; but,, if the phrase " moving power," applies
to the animal labor, and also to the locomotive steam engines employed to
propel the carriages, it is presumed that the cosí of the carriages, and of their
repairs, is not included in the above list of expenses; 'and so we are, accord¬
ingly, told by the Superintendent.
In the estimate accompanying this report, of the anticipated expenditures
of the company, during the ensuing twelve months, '• the construction of
the necessary cars and locomotive engines is computed at $150,000."
(See page 102 of the report.) Some expenses of asimilar character must
have occurred, in the nine months of the past year \ hut, after a diligent ex¬
amination, it does not appear that any part of them hare been charged upon the
current receipts for transportation, or on the revenue of the year.
In like manner, the Superintendent of construction, on this road, in his re¬
port to the principal engineer, ofthe 30th of September, 1S31, appriseshim
that the "railway in the city and first division ofthe road has undergone
a thorough examination, and such repairs, as appeared necessary, have been
made:* and we learn from the 12th page ofthe report, that this first di¬
vision extends to Ellicott's mills, or all the road in use. But there, no¬
where, appears any statement of the cost of the repairs of this division, nor
does the gross revenue, appear any where to be charged with them, or with
any part of them. Yet, it is very obvious, that the actual cost of carriage
on a railway, cannot be ascertained, without a due reference to those items of
unavoidable expenditure.
68
2S2
[ Doc. No. 101. ]
Although, therefore, the annual report of-this company explicitly states,
that, " upon reference to Ike report of the Superintendent of transporta¬
tion, hereto annexed, it will be seen, that 81,905 passengers have, passed
on this division, since the first of January last, and that, within the same
period, 5931 tons have been transported upon it, yielding an income of
$31,405 24 cents, and involving an expenditure of $10,994 87 cents," it
is very evident, that this is not the only expenditure involved, in this trans¬
portation; and that, so far, the statement of the report is calculated to mis¬
lead the public judgment, as to the proportion, between the gross receipts,
and the nett profit on the transportation of this railroad. .
Indeed, the preceding statement of the President and Directors, in their
annual report, is the more extraordinary, since the Superintendent of trans¬
portation, whose annual report to the President, is quoted by them, most
expressly says, in the body of his report, that he has " exhibited a return of
the actual expenditures by the company, under the head of 'expenses of
transportation,' amounting to $10,994 S7 cents; but these, as will be per¬
ceived," he candidly adds, ''do not include any charges for the construc¬
tion, the repairs, or the wear and tear of wagons and cars; and'he pro¬
perly adds, as the reason, "that branch of the service of the company being
under the immediate care and superintendence of a committee of the
board." A fact, to which, this is the only allusion, in their annual report.
In the "general remarks" of the engineer in- chief of this company, oil
the 100th page of this report, he states, as a result of those " improvements
on Winan's car," which have so greatly reduced the friction' of railroad
carriages, that "the working effort of a horse, on a level, would draw IS
tons, 2i miles per hour."
Now, if these improvements have been introduced on this road, which
cannot be doubted, we have against the authority of the engineer in chief,
that of the Superintendent of transportation, who, on the 129th page of
this very same report, says, "that for some months past, a. series of experi¬
ments have been made, with the view of ascertaining, practically, the force
of traction, ata slow draft., horses can exert, consistently with the preser¬
vation of their vigor and health. It has been found that, graduated, as
this road is," (its graduation and masonry alone, the same report states to
have cost $46,354 56 cents, per mile,) "and each horse moving 3 miles
per hour, he can traverse the 13 miles westwardly with 7 tons, and return¬
ing he can transport 101 tons." In going, let it be remarked, the horse
reaches a higher plane, in returning, he descends to a lower.
The Superintendent's report corresponds with the British authorities on
the same subject; but, if the maximum power of a single horse; on a level
railroad, when drawing Winan's improved car, be computed, as it has been,
b y the engineer in chief of this company, and it is very probable that he
does not underrate it, since he makes it near twice the British estimate,
still, the Chesapeake and Ohio canal has nothing to apprehend, from the ex¬
ertion of animal power, on this rival railway; a single horse having drawn,
at his usual walk'of 2.1 or 3 miles an hour, with apparent facility, mo|p than
fifty tons, on this canal, for many hours together.
By turning-to the analysis made by Josiah White, the able director and
superintendent of the Lehigh Coal and Navigation Company, it will be seen,
that the annual repairs of carriages on the Manch Chunk railroad actually
amounted "to two-thirds of a cent a ton per mile;" while the same autho¬
rity apprises the public, that the total cost of transportation, on the Erie
[ Doc. No. 101. 2
2S3
canal, for boats of 40 tons burthen," is " one cent per mile, fulljoads
one way o.n.àreturningempli/." " Calculating on the same'data, on a boat
of 67 tons, (33 tons less than the burthen of those of the Chesapeake and Ohio
canal,) such as will be adapted to the Delaware canal," he makes the cost of
transportation " seven-tenths of a cent, per ton, a mile." The mere ex¬
pense of the repairs of carriages omitted, in thelast annual report of the
Baltimore and Ohio Railroad Company, from among the items of the cost
of transportation on their road, will, therefore, be found to exceed the en¬
tire cost of transportation on the Chesapeake and Ohio canal.
There remains, in fact, but one element of a just comparison between
those works, to.be ascertained by experience, to determine the relative
economy of their use; that is, the sum required for their respective annual
repairs, or to maintain against natural decay, and injury from use, the
Value of the fixed capital vesied(in them, respectively ; that capital being, in
fact, proved to be, very nearly, the same in amount. Railroads, asoften, ex¬
ceeding canals in their original cost, as they fall short; and the price of both
being equally dependent on their location, and dimensions, and the peculiar
character of the ground over which they respectively pass.
In further illustration of the relative cost of railroads and canals, the
following extracts are made from the memorial prefixed to the appen¬
dix of Doc. IS, relative to the plan and probable cost of the Chesa¬
peake and Ohio canal.
The condition of the Chesapeake and Ohio canal, and of the funds of the
company, at the period of the general meeting of the stockholders in June
last, is disclosed in the accompanying annual report of the President and
Directors, to the stockholders, at their last annual meeting; in the annexed
tables exhibiting the cost of its various works, and the report of the manner
of their execution, made by Colonels Abert and Kearney, of the corps of
United States'Engineers, to the Secretary of War, pursuant to an order of
that department. •
F rom these documents, it will appear that the construction of the canal has
been completed as far west, as no legal obstacle opposed its progress; that,
for forty eight miles above Washington, its various works had been, with
scarcely an exception, faithfully executed; and that, between its first and
second feeders, where the greatest piiysicial obstructions were to be overcome,
its navigation has been long in active Use.
F rom these facts, it may be inferred that the construction of the canal, but
for the injunction of the Chancellor of Maryland, might, in the same time,
have been carried, as far up the left bank of the Potomac, as the funds of the
company would warrant; as it may, from the actual cost of the part which
has been completed, that the expense of the whole eastern section, making
but a reasonable allowance for the great enlargement of its dimensions, will
not much exceed the estimate of Messrs. Geddes and Roberts, , nor that of
prior date, by the Central Committee of the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal
Convention, from the proceedings of which, the charter of the present com¬
pany originated.
Those estimates were applied, respectively, to three different canals, or to
three several dimensions of a Canal, passing, as nearly as practicable, over the
same ground. The estimate for the first of these, having the same plan
and dimensions with the State canals of New York, Pennsylvania, and
284
[ Doc. No. 101. ]
Ohio, viz. being forty feet at the surface, and four feet deep, and extending
from Georgetown to Cumberland, a distance of 18Gf miles, amounted to
tke ■sum of $4,OOS,065 28, or $21,461 S7 per mile; for one extending the
same distance, and along the same shore of the Potomac, with a breadth of
48 feet at the surface, and a depth of 5, they computed at £4,3SO,991 68,
or £23,191 38 per mile; and for a third, of the same depth with the second,
but having, for 126 of the 1S6§ miles, a breadth at the surface of 60 feet,
and at bottom of 42, they computed at £4,479,346 73 orat$23,9S5 79 per
mile.*
The difference between these estimates, when compared with the relative
resistance to be encountered by the same boat, in passing along these several
canals, induced not only preference of the largest of the preceding plans,
but an enlargement of that, to a depth of six feet. Accordingly, the canal
placed under contract, and now nearly completed, is no where less than six
feet deep; and, except for about three-fourths of a mile, made up of short
spaces, here and. there, at which, on account of peculiar difficulties, it is re¬
duced in breadth to about fifty feet, its least width at the surface is sixty feet,
and at bottom forty-two feet; affording a cross section of 306 feet It may
be proper,¡here to remark, that the cross section of ihe New York canals is T36
feet only, and thfit of the canal recommended by the United States' engineers,
no where exce'eds, and often falls short of 202? feet.
. The locks of the Chesapeake and Ohio canal are, consequently, one foot
deeper, and being in their chamber 100 feet by 15, they are ten feet longer
than those recommended by Messrs. Geddes and Roberts. They exceed in
depth, to the same extent, those proposed by the United States' Board of
Internal Improvement: and though less in length by 4 feet, they exceed the
latter by 1 foot in breadth, heing calculated for boats ninety feet long and
fourteen feet eight inches wide, drawing four feet water, capable of carrying,
each, one hundred tons, and of being propelled by the labor of two, or at
most of three horses assisted by two men and a boy.
The breadth of this canal being about "four and a half times the breadth of the
boat, and its cross section very nearly six times that of the boat, the latter
will move with a moderate velocity, as on an indefinite expanse of water."
But, the company extend their views beyond this result Turning to
practical advantage the rock which abounds every where along the line of the
canal, and which has so greatly enhanced its first cost, they purpose, by wall¬
ing its inner slopes, not only to obviate the necessity of future repairs, but,
also, to fit this line of communication between the east and the west, for the
use of steam, as its propelling power.
On the Chesapeake and Delaware canal, the breadth of which was design¬
ed to be sixty, and its depth eight feet, a velocity of seven miles an hour has
been already attained by animal labor, and has superseded a resort to land
transportation, for .persons as well as property, across the peninsula between
the cities of Baltimore and Philadelphia.
Economy, rather than velocity, being the great desideratum in the transpor¬
tation to market of the very heavy and bulky products of the'American forests,
mines, and agriculture, the purpose of this canal would have been accomplish¬
ed without looking to this powerful agent. By the efficacy of steam, how¬
ever, combined with the enlarged volume of the Chesapeake and Ohio canal,
passage boats, it is believed, may be expedited on its surface with a rapidity
surpassed, at present, only on the best improved mail roads. In this anti-
* In the last of these estimates, there wss doubtless, a jreat error committed, if the first
be assumed to be correct. Experience has shown that neither was so. ■
[ Doc. No. 101. ]
285
cipation, your memorialists make no allowance for those discoveries which
are daily surprising the world with new applications of art and science to
human use and comfort. They do, however, confidently rely on the very re¬
cent experiments on the Ardrossan, as well as upon the Monkland, the Union,
and the Forth and Clyde canals of Scotland, referred to in the,annual report ap¬
pended to this memorial^ which have demonstrated the fallacy of all former
philosophical calculations, of the resistance encountered by boats moving on
a canal with different velocities.
Without greatly increasing the propelling power of the passage boat, or
materially endangering the abrasion of the banks of a canal, the speed of such
boat may, it has now been . demonstrated, be accelerated, from six to nine,
ten, or even twelve miles an hour. The previously established ratio of the
resistance to the velocity of the boat applying, it is now discovered, to slow
and not to quick motion.
Should the views of the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal Company, meet the
approbation of the several parties to their charter, and the western section of
the canal be immediately begun, and conducted up.the Monongahela and
Yougheogany rivers, the portion of the canal between Pittsburg and Con-
nelsville may be first executed, being a distance of less than sixty miles.
A canal extending 5S| miles above Pittsburg, having a depth of six feet
water, with a breadth of sixty feet at its surface, and forty-two feet at bot¬
tom, overcoming an ascent of 146 feet 4 inches, by nineteen locks, has been
computed, by two practical civil engineers, Messrs. Roberts and Cruger, of
Mew York, to cost #1,718,633. • •
This estimate, includes no allowance for land rights or fencing; but it
computes the entire lockage-above mentioned at $1,000 the foot lift, the slope
walls at more than one dollar the perch, and these two items, taken together,
at more than a fourth of the entire sum above mentioned; while the heavier
expenses oí excavation und embankment, constituting, together, more than
a moiety of the whole cost of the canal, are computed at more than the actual
cost of the like items upon the part of the eastern section of the Chesapeake
and Ohio canal already completed.
The average cost of more than three and a half millions of yards of embank¬
ment, exceeds eighteen cents, and of two millions of yards of excavation,
twelve cents the cubic yard. On the western section of the great State canal
of Pennsylvania, the reports of her canal commissioners show, that every de¬
scription of work was done on cheaper terms, than on the eastern section. The
preceding sum may, therefore, be considered as the maximum cost of so much
of the western section of the Chesapeake and Ohio canal. With the liberal
patronage of the United States, and such further aid as the State of Pennsyl¬
vania and individual enterprize within that commonwealth and elsewhere
may afford, this sum will be, it is hoped, readily obtained.
Having completed one half of the portion of the canal between the west¬
ern basis of the summit level and Pittsburg, there will remain but 27 miles of
the other moiety of this .distance to be provided for, in order to reach the
mouth of Casselman's river, a point on the line of the canal in the vicinity of
the Cumberland road. By the route of that road, this point is about 44 miles
from Cumberland, the western termination of the eastern section of the
Chesapeake and Ohio canal; by the route surveyed for the canal, about 67
miles; thirty-one of which lie between the mouth of Casselman's river and
the western basin of the summit level.
It is apparent, therefore, that there will be several stages of this work
where a pause may be made in its prosecution, without the loss of all benefit
286
[ Doc. No. 101. ]
from the portion of it which will have been completed. To this view, may
be superadded, the highly important consideration, that the part which may,
at any time, have been accomplished, will afford increased facilities for the
more speed}'" and economical construction of the residue, and, in the interim,'
will contribute, by its profitable use, to the advancement of the public wealth
and the general revenue of the company. •
The memorialists having explained the motives which prompted the
adoption of a plan of such enlarged dimensions for the eastern section of the
canal, in order to obviate objections to the immediate commencement
of the western section, return to the estimate of the probable cost of
the former. With the view of shewing the competency of the funds, on
which a reliance has been hitherto had for the" completion of this section of
the canal, they proceed to demonstrate, or render probable at least, the truth
of their statement, as to the proportion which the cost of the part of this sec¬
tion now under contract, being that to the east of the "Point of Rocks,"
may be expected to bear to the greater portion extending to the west of that
point, and east of Cumberland, along which their progress has been hitherto
obstructed. For this purpose, they add to the statements of the last annual
report, the following considerations:
Not onlj' have-the provisions hitherto consumed on the canal been trans¬
ported a considerable distance, but nearly all the hydraulic lime for its costl}'
aqueducts and its numerous locks and culverts, has been obtained from the
New York canals, or from the Potomac quarries near Shepherdstown, twen¬
ty-five miles west of the <l Point of Rocks," along a navigation so obstructed
as sometimes to double its prime cost at the kilns on the river shore. Much
of the stone for this masonry has been alike transported, and no small part of
it by land, for great distances, and at great expense. Two dams, one of them
exceeding half a mile in length, have been required across the widest part of
the Potomac, to force the water of that river into the necessary feeders; and
the expense of their construction, as well as of two considerable aqueducts,
and of 28, of the 72 locks, required on the eastern section, are comprehended
in the estimated or actual cost of the forty-eight miles of canal next below the
" Point of Rocks."
Two other causes have powerfully contributed to swell the expense of the
work already executed. The usual ill health, for a certain season of every
vear, of the valley of the Potomac, below the Kitoctin mountain; and the
competition for labor on the canal, with two considerable works, the Balti¬
more and Ohio railroad and the Susquehanna and Juniata canal, of Pennsyl¬
vania; the former approaching very near, and,the other not one hundred
miles distant from the line of the Chesapeake and Ohio canal. Both causes
have,conspired for two years past to raise the wages of ordinary labor very
far beyond the price anticipated when the estimates of the Washington con¬
vention were made. One of these causes will, in a great measure, cease, after
the canal shall have ascended the Potomac to the healthy country above the
" Point of Rocks;" and the final completion of the great State canal of Penn¬
sylvania, will shortly limit the operations of the other.
Without taking into account the probable reduction of the prices of mate¬
rials and subsistence, as well as of the wages of labor in the more fruitful
country above the Kitoctin mountain, your memorialists are sustained, as well
by experience, as by a comparison of the relative difficulties that were to be
encountered by the canal, below and above the Blue Ridge, in computing the
cost of the first sixty miles, between Georgetown and Harper's Ferry, at
[ Doc. No. 101. J 287
much more than a third of the entire expense of the eastern section of 186 J
miles.
For the cost'of the twelve miles of this distance, immediately below Har¬
per's Ferry, not already placed under contract, they rely on the frequently
repeated estimates of practical engineers, corrected by a reference to the price
of that part of the remaining 48 miles actually placed under contract, and at
this time, either completed, or very nearly so. No part of these twelve miles
nor of the 126 miles above them, presents obstacles, as difficult to surmount,
as those which have been successfully encountered on the part of the eastern
section already finished. The twelve miles next above the Kitoctin moun¬
tain, and below Harper's Ferry, comprehend but a single dam across the Po¬
tomac, at a place where the river is much narrower than either at Seneca or
the Little Falls; and there are, in this space/but three lift locks to be added to
the 2S below the " Point of Rocks."
Assuming, therefore, the present enlarged plan of the Chesapeake and Ohio
canal to be the permanent basis of the-dimensions of the entire eastern section,
and computing the total cost of the section at near thrice the actual cost of the
60 miles next above Georgetown, and about five millions of dollars would be
found to be the sum required to reach the town of Cumberland. It will prob¬
ably. reach five and a half millions. From this estimate, the work within
and immediately above Georgetown is excluded, under a conviction that
the mole and basin, at the mouth of Rock creek, willrepay all the expenses in¬
curred there, except on the loeks. As these would have been required to de¬
scend to the tide, had the canal stopped above this town, they are comprehend¬
ed in the preceding estimate.
For the mountain, or middle section, over, which the Chesapeake and
Ohio Canal Company are authorized to construct, either inclined planes and
railways, or a continued canal, the memorialists have, however, never
ceased to indulge the confident hope of.assistance from that Government,
which, created for the purposes of union and commerce, cannot be insensi¬
ble to the claims of both these great interests upon the vigorous exercises of
.its powerful energies to remove every impediment to the easy intercourse
of the Atlantic and western States through the centre qf their common ter¬
ritory, and the seat of their common Government.
A plan for effecting this desirable object, has already received the appro¬
bation of the memorialists, and was sustained in an application to the Pre¬
sident of the United States, on a recent occasion, by a large proportion of the
House of Representatives. The doubts expressed by the Chief Magistrate of
his power to employ the army on works of internal improvement, if still exist¬
ing, it would, it is presumed, be in the power of Congress to remove in con¬
formity with the past usage not only of other Governments, but with that of
the United States, and the earnest recommendation of the Department of War
in the second year of Mr. Monroe's administration. Should the direction be
given to the labor of a part of the public force which that recommendation en¬
forced, there will remain to be provided only the portion of the western
.section of the canal lying between the Alleghany mountain and Pittsburg;
and, for this portion, an appeal is most respectfully addressed to the enlight¬
ened patriotism of the representatives of the States and people of America.
Should the western section of the canal be retarded in its progress from
Pittsburg towards Cumberland, by a suspension of it, for any considerable
period, at any one of the points suggested above; should it, for example, be
prosecuted no farther than the mouth of Casselman's river, it will, even
[ Doc. No.. 101. ]
1
there, have arrived within a few miles of the national road, which already
connects the Youghogany, at Smithfield, with the Potomac, at Cumberland.
Through the application of the various mineral treasures, apart from the
productions of the agriculture, and of the forestsof the country between Smith-
field and P;ttsburg, a part of the resources for the completion of this section,
would be speedily developed by the canal itself. It is, therefore, believed
that, if a subscription be authorized, by Congress, for this purpose, to the ex¬
tent of a single million, it will elicit a capital sufficient to defray the cost of all
this central communication, except its summit level, and the descending
planes or locks which are designed to connect it with the lines of continuous
canal, stretching to the east and west, from the base of the Alleghany moun¬
tain.
To open, through this great barrier, from the Gulf of Mexico to the Chesa¬
peake bay, an easy avenue of trade and intercourse to millions born and un¬
born, is, of itself, a work of such magnitude, as to require that it be commenc¬
ed and prosecuted on a plan of suitable dimensions and with adequate re¬
sources for its speedy completion. It ig for the Federal Government to
sanction the one, since it is probable that it is, alone, competent to provide
the other.
The memorialists would here close the appeal, which they have presum¬
ed to make, to the wisdom of Congress, in behalf of the western section of
the canal, if they were not imperiously required, by a report of a former com¬
mittee of the House of Representatives, to consider and to remove an objec¬
tion to their whole enterprise.
To the memorials of the numerous citizens of Pennsylvania, who prayed
for the aid of the General Government towards the construction of the
western section of the Chesapeake and Ohio canal, the Committee on Inter¬
nal Improvements, to whom these memorials were referred at the first ses¬
sion of the last Congress, replied, " that they duly appreciate the great and
national importance of a communication between the western waters and the
navigable waters of the Chesapeake bay, as is manifested in their report of
the 19th of February, 1830, on the memorial of the Baltimore and Ohio
Railroad'Company."
The committee further stated, that, actuated by the same "desire of af¬
fording to the Government a satisfactory experiment upon which it can de¬
cide, whether a preference ought to be given to a canal or railroad, as the
mode of conveyance over the mountains, they deem it inexpedient, at pre¬
sent, to make the appropriations, as the western communication, in the
opinion of the committee, should correspond with the one leading over the
mountains."
Such, the memorialists beg leave to remark, had not been the course of
Pennsylvania, who is proceeding to connect, by a railroad of about 40
miles extent, across the Alleghany, her Conemaugb and Juniata canals; nor
that of the Hudson and Delaware Canal Company, who combine a railway
of Id miles, overcoming an elevation and descent of 1768 feet, with a canal,
exceeding in length one hundred miles, in order to reach the Laehawannock
coal mines, from the North river; nor of the "Lehigh Coal and Navigation
Company," who, for a similar purpose, have connected a canal and still-water
navigation of 46 miles on the Lehigh, with a railroad of 9 miles, between
Easton, on the Delaware, and Manch Chunk. This last mentioned work
overcomes, by its railway, a descent of more than 700 feet, and has, in a
distance of 46 miles of mixed navigation, 47 lift locks, 6 guard locks, and
[ Doc. No. 101- ]
289
9 dams. The use, moreover, of its railway, long preceded, in point of
time, the commencement of its canal.
The memorialists aver, that, at no period whatever, either before or since
the prosecution of the great enterprise in which they are engaged, have they
been unmindful of the progress of the science of internal improvement either
in Europe or America.
While the proceedings of the founders of the rival enterprise of Baltimore
disclosed the grounds of their preference of a communication with the west,
by " a direct railroad, " rather than by the course of the Chesapeake and
Ohio canal, along the winding valley of the Potomac, the friends of the
latter had no motive to deceive themselves or others. If such a communi¬
cation were likely to supersede the use of the canal, while the former
kept its avowed direction, and could not possibly interfere with the latter,
the undersigned had not the power to arrest its progress, had they ever mani- ,
fested or felt the disposition. They accordingly consulted all the informa¬
tion which the essays of scientific writers, or the actual experience of Eu¬
rope or America could supply, in relation to the relative advantages of these
different modes of transportation. They not only availed themselves of the
reports of incorporated companies, df the matured judgment and counsels of
practical civil engineers, but carefully inspected all the materials fora correct
decision upon this interesting sub ject, which the advocates of the "direct rail¬
road, from Baltimore to the Ohio," could, themselves, supply.
These inquiries ended in a conviction which remains to this day unshaken,
that such a canal as they.have planned and partly executed, will furnish a
much cheaper mode of transporting the heavy products of American indus¬
try, than any railroad whatever; and" especially, than one, the cost of which
shall not very greatly exceed that of the Chesapeake and Ohio canal. In
this opinion, they arc fortified by all the recent information which they
have been able to obtain from Europe or in America, as well as by ihe con¬
tinued practice of various incorporated companies, and States of this Union.
Let it be remarked, that not a single canal in Europe or America has yet
been converted into a railroad; that, from those very railways in America,
on which reliance was early had to establish the superior advantages of rail¬
roads over canals, abundant testimony \tas been obtained to disprove tho
truth of this position, while the reference, so often repeated, to the experi¬
ment now in progress between Liverpool, the chief western port of En¬
gland, and Manchester, her greatest inland manufacturing town, through
her richest and most extensive mineral and manufacturing district, if it
manifests any thing at all conclusive, on this subject, demonstrates the utter
unfitness of this species of communication to Ihe very uneven as well as un¬
improved surface of the country, between the tide of the Atlantic and tho
Ohio, and to the present condition of the wealth, arts, and population of the
United States. ^
The construction of this road, about 30 miles long, has been the labor of
six years, attended with the cost of about S 140,000 a mile. Its highest ele¬
vation above tidewater is 140 feet; its patrons originally proposed by it, to
reduce the cost of transportation between Liverpool and Manchester, from
15 shillings sterling a ton, to 10 shillings, or eight cents a ton per mile—a
price which, when compared with the average cost of carriage on the canals
of the United States, exceeds the latter in the proportion of three to one.
Persons are hired along the margin of this road to sweep the dust from tho
rails, to give signals of accidents, and, after all, a report of its proprietors ac-
290
[ Döc. No. 101. ]
knowledges that the wear and tear, both of the carriages and road, surpassed
greatly their early anticipation.
In conformity with the sober and deliberate conclusions of experience,
from known facts, is not only the past, but the still continued practice, as has
been intimated, of the most enlightened States of this Union, in all cases,
where canals are practicable, and no narrow ^interests, or local jealousies
have arisen to obstruct their execution. New York, Pennsylvania, Con¬
necticut, and Ohio, may be confidently cited to sustain this authoritative
appeal to experience.
A report on the long contemplated and much desired union Of the waters
of the Delaware and the Raritan, adds to these authorities the weight of the
commonwealth of New Jersey, whose proceedings in connecting the waters
of her rivers, have been marked by so much prudence and circumspection.
•In the language of the committee, to whom was referred the subjeet of the
Delaware and Raritan canals, addressed to the House of Assembly of that
State, in January, 1829, in answer to the' suggestion that ««there is time
enough to profit by additional experience," your memorialists admit that
"science is daily improving," but, like the authors of that able report, they
are not willing, and they trust, that the)' shall not be required, to delay a
great national enterprise '«till time ceases to shed new light," and "science
pauses in hfer career." " Time is money," and "time stops for no man,"
arc maxims applying with peculiar force to all such enterprises. The Che¬
sapeake and Ohio canal, the long contemplated object of un ceas big solicitude
and unwearied labor, can be completed, in five, as readily as in fifty years.
On the other hand, the experiments of the relative utility of railroads and
canals, which have already occupied more than one-fourth of a century, are
still, it would seem, regarded as inconclusive. Many years would yet be re¬
quired, and much capital of necessity be wasted, were the particular experi¬
ment instituted, which the Committee on Internal Improvements of the last
Congress proposed, before it would be definitely settled, by the comparative
expense, for a series of years, of the anrcual repairs of the Baltimore and
Ohio railroad, and of the Chesapeake and Ohio canal, to say nothing of their
original cost, and their annual receipts. As the one deteriorated, it might
be found that the other improved, from use. The very question, so often
triumphantly urged on one side upon the public notice, touching the rela¬
tive speed of transportation, along two such lines of communication, could
be fairly tested, only by the long continued use of both, with equal amounts
of tonnage. That railroads should be constructed in Great Britain, where
canals have so long afforded a monopoly of enormous profits, and have, in
fact, appropriated to themselves almost every stream capable of being divert¬
ed from its natural channel, to their support, furnishes no very conclusive
argument in favor of their superiority in America, a country in which the
navigation of so many considerable rivers yet remains to be improved. Nor
is the advance of the prices of railroad slock, in England, to fifty, or even
to one hundred per cpnt. above par, at all more conclusive on this point,
since, in the very same money market, canal stocks -are still, in some cases,
a hundred, in others a thousand, and evqp two thousand per cent., above par.
The time,, though remote, may, possibly will, arrive in America, wfien
mere speed of transportation will warrant the very heavy cost of con¬
structing railways of such graduation, and of so many different tracks, as to
admit of various velocities, for persons and property, moving at the samö
[ Üoc. Nd. 101. ] 291
; f
time in Opposite directions; and of the substitution, on each of those tracks,
of locomotive, or even of stationary steam engines, of various powers,' for'
animal labor. When this period does arrive,, it will be time to legislate for
,it; until then, it is demonstrable that canals cannot be profitably turned into
railroads.
'Extracts from note E. of the appendix in Doc. I£o. 18, designed for the
same purpose as the preceding.
From the character öf the canal airead^ completed below the i'oint of
Rocks, and especially of that part of it between the 11th and 33d sections,
as well as in the vicinity of Georgetown, it must ntaw be apparent that the
early assurance given to the public, that the entire eastern section could be
finished in three years from its commencement, might have been realized, pro¬
vided no legal obstruction had impeded its progress, and adequate funds could
have been provided.
It is as confidently believed, that nothing more is necessary, in order to
manifest the superiority of the Chesapeake and Ohio canal, to any other mode
of transportation applicable to the valley of the Potomac, than to bring it into
actual use above the obstructions of that river, at Harper's Ferry.
The annexed tables, ipresenting an exhibit of the cost of each section of
the canal, from the tide-lock in the mole at Washington, to the Point of
Rocks, and of the estimated cost of the twelve miles above that point, which
remain to be constructed, in order to reach the mouth of the Shenandoah,
will show that the work above Georgetown; done, and to be done, on the
first sixty miles of the canal, will cost about 30,000 dollars a mile, exclusive
of contingencies. In one of those tables, a comparison is instituted between
the actual cost of this work and the estimate made of it by the United States'
engineers, who terminated their calculations at Market street in George¬
town; where they proposed to form a basin, and to which, therefore, this
comparative view is made to descend.
For the sake of any inference which may be drawn from this comparison,
it should not be forgotten, that the breadth of the canal, at the water-line,
was designed, by the United States' engineers, to be 48 feet, its bottom 33
feet, and its depth 5 feet; of which, they say, "this transverse section is to
be modified, where local circumstances require it, and more especially, in
the cas/'s of deep cutting, steep side-cutting, embanking, and also where the
canal is 'supported by walls. The depth of 5 feet has been preserved
throughout the line, but the breadth has often been much lessened."
The actual canal, on the contrary, is 60 feet wide at the water-line, 42 at
bottom, and 6 feet deep, and has been reduced in breadth, below these di¬
mensions, though all the above contingencies frequently occur in its course,
for less than a single mile altogether, of the 48, now very nearly completed.
It is, indeed, much more frequently enlarged than reduced; it is never less
than 6 feet deep; and where its breadth, as for the four miles next above
Georgetown, is less than SO feet, its depth is extended to seven feet below
the top water' line, forming a cross-section, throughout, of about 420 feet
below water.
To compare these two canals together, the surface of their respective tow-
paths and berm-banks being, with the same inside slope, two feet above
292 [ Doc. No. 101. ]
»,
their water-line, it should be considered, that their entire cross sections, or
mea;i breadth,multiplied into their depth, are to each other as 432 to 304.6;
and the cross sections of their water-prisms, where the larger is only 6 feet
deep, as 306 to 202.5.
The breadth of the tow-path of the larger canal is, also, constructed three'
feet wider than that required by the estimate of the smaller; the'culverts of
the larger are never reduced to a less length, than a canal of 60 feet breadth
requires: all of them are constructed, where practicable, so high, as to ena¬
ble a laborer to walk erect through them, and sevëral are enlarged to dimtn-,
sions which will permit)» loaded wagon*, and all other conveyances for per¬
sons or commodities, to pass under them. The locks are four feet shorter
than thcjje recommended by the 'United States' engineers; but they are, at'
the same time, a foot wider and a foot deeper; and they are all constructed
of. cut-stone masonry, laid in hydraulic lime, without any use of common
lime, except in the backing of a few of them, where, in the facing, tho
!> English f^oman cement was freely used. Grubbing will be found pot to"'
have been included in the estimate of the United States' engineers, nor the
incidental expenses of excavating and embanking the locks, constructing
houses for lock-keepers, nor the necessary improvements developed, on
opening the canal, by the admission of water. These items in the table
»well the cost of the actual canal. 110,000 dollars; on the other hand^ the cost
of but one permanent bridge, and an allowance of 4,400 dollars for that and
the bridges above the Market house in Georgetown, is included in the cost
of the part qf this canal above that town. The cost of fencing, estimated
by the United States' engineers at 54,900 dollars, although not included in
the actual cost of the work, is comprehended, in the indemnities award¬
ed by juries, and the compensation voluntarily agreed on, or the prices
paid, for the land purchased of the adjacent proprietors in behalf of ths
company, between the canal and river.
.The United States'engineers considered their estimate, moreover, as pos¬
sibly covering the usual allowance of five or^ten per cent, for unforseen con¬
tingencies—some of which are comprehended in the cost of this part of the
actual canal, and others of which have been already noticed in this report.
As might have been expected from the enlarged dimensions of the area
and embankments of the new canal, thb quantities of the work estimuted,
and done, essentially and greatly vary. The cubic yards of embankment
estimated by the United States' engineers, for the canal below Harper's
Ferry, amounting to 748,580 yards, and, if the puddling be added, which
does not seem, frdm the estimate of its cost,, to have been designed to affect
ihe quantity of the embankment, to 1,056,710 cubic yards; while the actual
embankment, including the puddling, as the calculation requires, added to
the estimated quantity of that remaining to be done, amounts, to 1,753,571,
exclusive of the embankments around the locks, which are separately charg¬
ed in account, and amount to no inconsiderable quantity.
The excavation and the walling are, in Quantity, nearly the same, though
differing in cost near $740,000. The walling of the actual canal exceeds
that of the estimated, less than 14,000 cubic yards, while the computed cost
of the latter surpasses the actual cost of the former near $500,000. Ninety-
six culverts are provided for in the estimate; eighty-one in the canal; hut the
disproportion in breadth, between the aqueducts, arises from the different
denominations given to them: the aggregate cost of both, on the two
canals, varying less than 4,000 dollars, notwithstanding the greater breadth
of those on the larger canal, and the peculiar difficulties attending the con.
»
[ Doc. No. 101. ] 293
,1
strnction of the aqueduct across the Monocacy, which surpasses in the size
of its arches, and exceeds in length, as does that at Seneca, the dimensions
for which an estimate is given by the United Spates' engineers.
The total difference, presented by this table, of the cost of these two canals,
is, subject to the preceding explanations, 677,184 dollars, pn an expenditure
actual and estimated, of 1,848,941 dollars; and this, notwithstanding the
great enlargement of the area and embankments of the cheaper canal.*
These facts and comparisons are presented to the stockholders, and to the
public, in no spirit of triumph over the very eminent, disinterested, and
highly honorable engineers, by whom the first estimate of this work was
made; it is well known, and gratefully acknowledged, with no unfriendly
feeling towards its future progress. This progress, indeed, their very errors
are calculated to promote: for, having accustomed the publi(\mind to so large
an estimate of this work, they have laid the foundation of its ultimate suc¬
cess, by the coiitentment with its actual cost and plan, and, it is believed,
/with iis construction also, which, whatever dissatisfaction may elsewhere
prevail, must finally pervade its early and steadj patrons, as well as the sub¬
scribers to its stock.
But this comparison will disprove, and such is one of its purposes,
the allegation, recently repeated, after reiterated contradictions, thiit the ac¬
tual cost of the Chesapeake and Ohio canal had not fallen short of that esti¬
mate, by which, the construction of its eastern section of 18(3 miles, ending
at Cumberland, was made to reach §8,177,081 05, and its total cost to Pitts¬
burg §22,375,427 69.
Lest advantage shall be supposed to have been taken in the compari¬
son just closed, either of the easier ground, along the bottoms above Seneca
and the Monocacy, or of the mere estimate of the work, not, as yet, begun,
between the Point of Rocks and Harper's Ferry., the board especially in¬
vite the public attention to the portion of the canal which is not only com¬
pleted, but has now been in actual use for several months; and, of this, to
the tenth subdivision, which extends from the head of the Great Falls, to
tide-water, at the old locks below the Little Falls.
The accompanying table, distinguishing the several subdivisions of the
canal, from the 7th, beginning at Harper's Ferry, to the 11th, ending at
the Market house in Georgetown, gives to the 10th a length of 11 miles
i 1023 yards in the'estimate by the United Stateif engineers, and 10 miles
1005 yards in the actual canal between the same termini; a difference occa¬
sioned by a change of the location for about three milles and a half of the
way. The difference of cost, after deducting from the estimate the comput¬
ed expense of the locks transferred from the 10th to the 11th section,on this
subdivision of the canal, largely exceeds 200,000 dollars. While the actual
excavation and embankment, together, of the new canal, surpass, in quan¬
tity, the estimated quantity of earth and rock 124,000 cubic yards, the wall-
'ing 27,463 perchés, the actual cost of the three items is less, on the larger
canal, than in the estimate for the smaller, by 265,985 dollars, although the
embankment of the larger subdivision exceeds that of the smaller, in'cost
56,747 dollars, and, in quantity, including the earth puddled, in the ratio of
very near two to one. If the quantity of puddling should not be added to
the quantity of the earth estimated in this ratio, which is believed to be cor¬
rect, then this ratio will be as 529,933 to 150,860, or will considerably ex¬
ceed 3 to 1.
* The real expenditure lias been found to exceed the estimated, so as toreduoe this sum
to sbeut $500,000.
294 t D°c* No. 101. ]
To guard against the supposition that this part of the canal passes oveV
easy ground, here follows the description of it by the United States' engi¬
neers, in their own language, to be seen in the 49th page of a congressional
á°C" Subdivision iot'h. From the head of the Great Falls to tide, below,
the Little Falls:
Distance, 111 miles—descent, 173 feet—22 looks. ,
From Cumberland, lS3è 578 74
"The breaking of the Potomac through the granite ridge, at the Great
Falls, presents, at first sight, difficulties of the greatest magnitude. The'
river o-radually narrows its channel as it approaches its perpendicular pitch.
At th'Í6 point, and a little below, the width does not exceed one hundred,
yards, at a moderate stage of the stream. Here the perpendicular rock, 60
or 70'feet high, forming the banks, the deep water at their foot, the violence
and great rise of the freshets, render truly appalling the idea of supporting a
canal along this pass by means of walls. Most happily, there is no necessity^
for such a plan; a ravine, or rather two ravines, which can be rendered con^.
tinuous by comparatively little labor, extend for the whole distance between
what is termed Bear island and the high bluffs forming the Maryland shore. ^
" This fortunate circumstance will not only enable to make thenianal here '
at much less expense than through the pass of the stream, but it will also
procure to the work a security which neither ingenuity nor expense could ■
afford on the other alternative.
"Below the Great Falls, the ground, with the exception of some por¬
tions of easy execution, is generally difficult, requiring a large extent of
walling and ot steep side cutting, for about seven miles! that is to say, as far ,
down as the head of the actual canal round the Little Falls."
Although the location of this line was improved by subsequent examina¬
tion, yet, on no canal in America, and on very few, if any, in the world,
will'there be found, and certainly on no part of the Chesapeake and Ohio
canal do there remain to be encountered, obstacles more appalling, than have
been'here overcome: so they were regarded by the distinguished forejgn
engineer then at the head of the United States' Board of Internal Improve¬
ment, whose language has been quoted above.
In the compass of eleven miles, along precipices of granite, bounding a
river which bore last winter, on its bosom, ice and snow, elevated for several (
miles thirty feet above its ordinary height, a canal was to be constructed, to
overcome a rise of 128 fed, bging more than eleven feet in each mile. For
a part of this Way, a practicable pathway could not be formed but at great
cost- and many hundred acres of huge and craggy rocks, piled on each other,
chilled the enterprise which attempted to subdue them. Earth was to be
derived from remote distances to construct embankments, and the embank¬
ments to precede the transportation of the stone and other materials required
for the construction of six of the sixteen locks. The beds of not a lew ô£
these were either to be sunk in the uneven rock, or to be lifted up high above
it and sustained by lateral walls and embankments. It is not wonderful
that the United States' engineers, who first traversed, described, and esti¬
mated the route for this canal, along the north bank of the Potomac, around
the Great Falls, should have estimated its cost at near 80,000 dollars a mile,
supposing their canal to be forty-eight feet wide at the surface of the water,
and five feet deep except where " reduced considerably," us often as pecu¬
liar difficulties, which here occurred at every step of their way, required
that breadth to be diminished.
[ Doc. No. 101. 3
1 A reproof is given to those persevering misrepresentations, wh'ch swell
the actual to very near the estimated cost of this work, by the spectacle
of a canal, in use, between the same termini on the Potomac, completed at
a cost of 20,000 dollars a mile less than that estimate; constructed, too, with
a breadth exceeding every where in that distance, forty-eight feet, often more
and seldom less than sixty feet, and a depth never short of six feet; having
beneath it, numerous culverts, some large enough to serve as viaducts to
every species of conveyance; with sixteen cut stone locks, laid in hydraulic
lime, seven of which are of hard granite blocks, and nine of free stone,
transported from 10 to 60 miles, by water and land; while the canal itself
is, for several miles of the eleven, lined along one ór both of its inner slopes
, with a neat stone pavement, supported pn the outside by massy walls, in
some places sixty feet high, to guard it from abrasion, and has, moreover,
included in its cost, more than 22,000 dollars expended on its improvement,
exclusive of its repairs, since the opening of its navigation.
' Several benefits would accrue to the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal Company
from a close analysis of the causes of the actual, compared with the estimated,
cost of this enlarged and difficult line of canal. Among them, would be a
general conviction, that too much has not been expended in repeated surveys,
by eminent practical civil engineers, preparatory to its final location; nor if
the number, variety, and quality of its works be regarded, in multiplying,
to the necessary extent, the corps of engineers, by whom its actual construc¬
tion was to bh vigilantly and constantly watched.
There can be no question but that the part of the cänal already completed
exceeds in difficulty, and will be found to have surpassed in cost, that part
of the eastern section which remains to be executed.
Between Harper's Ferry and the basin of Washington and Georgetown,
31 of the 72 lift-locks of this section occur; so that 24S feet of the entire ele¬
vation frop the tide to Cumberland, will have been surmounted in the first
60 miles of the 186 which constitute the entire eastern section; making, if
this proportion be examined, a difference of more than $3,000 per mile, for
lockage only, in favor of the part of the canal above the Shenandoah.
In the single material of hydraulic lime, required for every species of ma¬
sonry exposed to the action of water, and absolutely necessary in the con¬
struction of durable locks of stone, not less than the farther saving of 500
dollars will be effected on the cost of each lock, by the reduced price of
transportation.
Stone, if not more abundant, will be found more conveniently distributed,
above the Blue Ridge, than below. Outward protection walls will be often
required, and, for considerable distances, above, as below, but no walls or
, embankments, exceeding in height one-half of the elevation of those on"12th,
15th, and 18th sections of the work already completed. Much narrower
dams across the river, as noticed in the former report, will be necessary to
fill the feeders at and above Harper's Ferry. Above all, setting down at
nothing the gain of experience, the general health oí the valley of the Poto¬
mac, and the abundant supply of provisions and accommodation, which that
circumstance, as well as the superior fertility of the eountry, promises to the
laborer above the Point of Rocks, will reduce the price of every species of
work after passing that point.
If the company shall be permitted, by the courts of Maryland, to conduct
their canal along her shore, on the ground so often surveyed for its use, no
aqueduct like that of seven arches of fifty-four feet span, across the Mono-
296
[ Doc. No. $01. ]
cacy, will occur to swell the cost of the masonry above that river. All the
aqueducts and culverts of the 140 miles above will probably not exceed, in
cost, those of the 40 miles below the Point of Rocks.
Twenty-five thousand dollars a mile is, therefore, considered an ample
estimate of the part of the eastern section^ in length 126 miles, above Har¬
per's Ferry. This part of the canal will thenefore, require for its construc¬
tion .1,150,000 dollars, which, added to the cost of that between Harper's
Ferry and Georgetown, will produce very near the former estimate of
6,000,000 dollars, leaving, as that estimate did, the works in and above that
town, to he paid for by the peculiar uses of which they are susceptible, in
the manner heretofore proposed.
The compass of this already extended report refuses admittance, into its
text, of all the very interesting intelligence to be derived from the late work
of :!ir. William Fairbairn, addressed to Thomas Grahajne, esq. of Glasgow,
from which the following extracts are made:
They prove, beyond the possibility of doubt, that a velocity of 15 miles
an hour has been attained on the Forth and Clyde canal, which, although
ten feet deep, is, in width, but. three feet broader than the Chesapeake and
Ohio canal; that, on the Ardrossan canal, one of the narrowest in Scot¬
land, a velocity of 12 miles per hour has been attained, and that "eight
persons and the steersman of d boat accomplished a distance of two. miles,
with one horse, in ten minutes, without any surge, or agitation of the wa¬
ter, injurious to the banks."
The summary of the results from the first experiments on the Forth and
Clyde canal, embraced three objects, worthy of particular notice, as this au¬
thor very justly affirms: " First, the ease with which boats were brought
up, or stopped, when moving at a high rate of velocity; secondly, the little
additional labor, in drawing, occasioned to the horse, when drawing the
boat at this high rate, as compared with a low rate of velocity; and thirdly,
the apparent diminution of the surge, or agitation in the water, at. a high
rate of velocity.
Since these experiments, "a boat has been regularly plying between
Glasgow, Paisley, and Johnston, on the Ardrossan can^,?' and carrying
"from forty to fifty passengers, at the rate ,of from nine toten miles an
hour." i
Other experiments have been made, on the Monkland, the Union, and
the Forth and Clyde canals of Scotland, to two ôf which, made on the last
of these canals, as far back as the 7th and 8th of July, 1830, the attention of
the stockholders is particularly invited, as they show that the velocity of the
passage-boats on the Chesapeake and Ohio canal, will not encounter pecu¬
liar or inseparable obstructions from its numerous locks. It has, as yet, but
one permanent bridge above Georgetown, in a distance of 4S miles, and that
is not only very elevated, but designed to he provided with a suitable draw.
" On VVednesda)', the 7th of July, the Swift, a boat 60 feet long and 8
feet 6 inches broad, twin-built, and fitted to carry from 50 to 60 passengers,
started from Port Dundas, at 16 minutes past nine in the morning, having
on board 33 passengers (all men) and their baggage. Proceeding through
the Forth, and Clyde, and Union canals, she reached Edinburgh at 29 mi¬
nutes past four in the afternoon. She thus made a voyage of 56 miles and a
half in the space of 7 hours and 14 minutes. In the course of this voyage,
she passed through 15 locks, 18 draw-bridges, a tunnel of 750 yards long,
and over three long narrow aqueducts, and under 60 common bridges,
[ Doc. No. 101. ]
297
which carry roads over the Union canal. Her average rate of speed,
during the voyage, was nearly eight miles per hour, including every stop¬
page."
"On the following day, Thursday, the Sth of July, the Swift started
from Edinburgh, 22 minutes past nine in the morning, and returning by
the same route, with 33 passengers (all men,) and luggage, she reached Glas¬
gow precisely at 4 o'clock in the afternoon—that is, in 6 hours 38 minutes:
going, thus, at the rate of nearly nine miles per hour." "On both days the
weather was most unfavorable, from much rain, and a strong gale of wind
directly in her face, having been from the east on Wednesday, and from the
west on Thursday." "When free from the locks, tunnel, and other im¬
pediments, the speed at which she proceeded varied from 6 to 12 miles an
hour; and the extraordinary results of the previous experiments made on
the Paisley canal, and Forth and Clyde canal, were again completely veri¬
fied and ascertained during her progress through 113 miles of canal naviga¬
tion. For it appeared that when she moved through the water at the rate
of 6 or 7 miles an hour, there was a great swell or wave constantly in her
front, and she was followed by a strong surge or wave bearing against the
bank of the canal. At these times, the hauling rope was tight, and the
horses appeared to be distressed. But, as the speed was increased, the wave,
or swelling of water in her front, sunk down; and when the speed came to
be about nine miles an hour, the swell entirely disappeared; the waters in
front became smooth and level; the hauling rope slackened, and the horses
seemed easy; and little or no surge was to be seen on the banks behind the
vessel."
On these experiments, the following comment is made by the same writer:
" There appears, therefore, no reason to fear that the banks of canals can
ever be hurt by increasing the speed of boats to the utmost attainable height;
and measures are in progress for increasing the speed of passage-boats on the
Forth and Clyde canal, and the Union canal; or, at least, of keeping it,
during the whole voyage between Glasgow and Edinburgh, to the highest
rate which has been already realized, and thus reducing the time consumed
in the voyage to five hours."
To these experiments, Mr. Fairbairn has added many others, which are
referred to in the text, and more minutely described in the appendix of his
very interesting work; and from them he deduces results confounding all
the established theories, " that the resistance to a body drawn along a line of
water confined within the banks of a canal, did not appear to increase in the
ratio laid down in theory; and that, while at a low rate of velocity, viz. at
and under six miles an hour, the resistance to the progress of the boat, on a
broad line of water, was considerably less than on a narrower line; on the
contrary, at a high rate of velocity, say above ten miles an hour, the forces
necessary to the propulsion of the boat, on a broad and narrow line of water,
appeared to be the same, if the advantage was not rather in favor of the
narrow line."
From these observations, he was induced "to recommend, and the Forth
and Clyde Canal Company to agree to build a light twin iron steam passage-
boat, to ply between Glasgow and Edinburgh," which, at the date of his
publication, he was preparing to launch. " Her length is to be 68 feet, her
breadth of beam Hi feet, her steam-engine to be of ten horse power, the
diameter of her paddle-wheel 9 feet," " and its motion calculated to give
from 50 to CO strokes in the minute; her whole weight 7 tons 16 cwt. and
3S
Q9S '
[ Doc. No. 101. ]
her draught of water 16 inches. She will accommodate from 100 to 150
passengers; her anticipated velocity will be from nine to ten miles an hour,
and the cost to the canal company, for the conveyance of a passenger be¬
tween Edinburgh and Glasgow, 56 miles, will not much exceed two pence;
which," Mr. Fairbrain adds, " is nota fifteenth of the expense of the con¬
veyance of the same person, at the same rate, supposing it attainable and
maintainable, by horses."
Mr. Fairbairn says, " that however much I was persuaded that steam
power was the cheapest for high velocities, and also for propelling vessels
in canals, where the trade was regular, I was not, till lately, prepared to con¬
sider a steamboat, on a canal, as the cheapest for the conveyance of goods,
where the trade was irregular, and where the boat had not only to contain a
cargo, but, at the same time, to carry her own engine, and all the conve-
niencies necessary for the application of machinery."
But he proceeds—" Mr. Grahame has lately put into my hands a letter
on this subject, addressed to a shipping company, carrying goods along a
line of canal 56 miles in length; the calculations contained in that commu¬
nication are given in the appendix, and seem to be decisive in favor of steam
power. The company to which this letter is addressed, have to pay for a
quantity of horse power sufficient to deliver forty tons of goods,at each ex¬
tremity of this line of 56 miles, every day in the year, besides a spare
power employed chiefly in one particular branch of their trade.
" The sum they pay for each delivery is one guinea, each way, or at a
rate of about one-ninth of a penny per ton per mile, for the trackage of the
goods conveyed, the company in question supplying the tracking lines, but,
with this addition, the charge fortrackage is not increased to one-eight
of a penny per ton per mile.
" This," says Mr. Fairbairn, " is certainly a small sum ivhereon to effect
a saving by a change of power; but, nevertheless, it appears (from Mr.
Grahame's and my own calculations) that not only such saving may be ef¬
fected, but an additional saving of a large portion of time can be made, by
the change from horse to steam power."
"The calculations there referred to, make it quite unnecessary," adds
the writer, " to say any thing on the subject of steam power asa substitute
for trackage, on canals. If ¿¿be so much cheaper than horses, in the ex¬
pensive shape of a moving and carrying power united in the same boat,
what advantages may not all canals derive from its introduction, in the
cheap form of a tug boat, in place of horses?"
In his appendix, the author adds—" I am the more convinced of the effi¬
cacy of steam trackage above all others, from the circumstance that the train
of boats intended to be towed, would follow in each other's wake; as the
eddy formed by the leading vessel materially lessens the resistance opposed
to the succeeding boats." " The small amount of power required to a tow
vessel, was remarked'by Mr. Grahame, in his account of the voyage of the
Cyclops, from Alloa to Port Dundas." lie states that '* when we brought her
into the canal, we attached her to the passage boat, and she drew her along
the canal two miles—one mile in fourteen, and the other in fifteen minutes.
We then detached her from the passage-boat, and did two other miles, but
could not save by this decrease of labor, more than a minute, or a minute
and a few seconds in each mile. One thing is very evident," says Mr. Fair¬
bairn, "that the introduction of steam instead of animal power, would dis¬
pense with the annual repairs and maintenance of the horse paths; the coin-
[ Doc. No. 101. ]
299
plaints and delays arising from drivers, horses, &c. would be avoided, and
many contingent expenses saved by the introduction of this never-failing
and very effective agent as a moving power for the towage of boats on canals."
The great importance of the facts and views supplied by the work of Mr.
Fairbairn, of which, it is believed, but very few copies have reached the
United States-, will constitute, it is confidently hoped, a sufficient apology
for the copious extracts here made from it. If this work shall serve but to
invite the public attention to the erroneous but prevalent opinion, that no
further improvement can be made in inland navigation, by canals, because,
sustained by monopoly, they have been so long stationary, this notice of Mr.
Fairbairn's work cannot prove useless, since experience, as he has incon-
testibly shown, is exploding the doctrines on this subject, hitherto sustained,
without exception from any quarter, by the exclusive advocates of railroads.
But the board do not feel that they would discharge their duty to their im¬
mediate constituents, or to the public, who are interested in the completion of
the great highway which they have long been constructing, if they did not
proceed one or two steps farther in this investigation.
In the course of proceeding to which a committee of the House of Dele¬
gates of Maryland resorted, last winter, letters were cotemporaneously ad¬
dressed by the chairman of the committee, to the Baltimore and Ohio Rail¬
road, and the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal Companies, inquiring, among
other topics, for which the undersigned beg leave to refer to the letter itself,
"intothe relative expense, benefits, and facilities of constructing railroads
and canals, with a view of ascertaining to which of these means the funds
of the State can be most beneficially applied." Their own answer to this
letter, through the official communication of the President of the board,
will be seen in an accompanying printed pamphlet.
That of the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad Company was made, in part,
through their chief engineer; and never having been seen by this board, nor
the report, of which it made a part, till since the adjournment of the Legis¬
lature of Maryland, the present affords the first occasion for referring to
some of its very curious contents.
Reserving for a separate notice, the other subjects of the report, and es¬
pecially those of a personal nature, seemingly designed, and certainly cal¬
culated, to reflect on the proceedings of this board, they invite the attention
of the stockholders of the company, and of the public, to the very singular use,
among others, which the chief engineer of the Railroad Company, has made
of the joint survey fora railroad and canal, along the difficult passes, four in
number, somewhat less than two miles in extent, in a distance of twelve,
between the Point of Rocks and Harper's Ferry, in order to establish the
superior economy of railroads to canals.
The writer premises, " that, as a canal and a railroad cannot be construct¬
ed between any two points on the same identical route, the evidence of their
comparative expense, on a given line, must consequently be that of an esti¬
mate for each, or by an approximate conclusion drawn from analogy;" " I
know," he adds, "of but one route on which careful estimates have been
made at the same time, both for a canal and a railroad. The route here al¬
luded to, is along the Potomac river, from the Point of Rocks to Harper's
Ferry, or at least so much of that route as was included in the narrow
passes:" as was included, he should have added, in 1| mile, out of a dis-
ance of 12, along which no estimate whatever was made for a railroad of
any description. Thb survey of that engineer having been exclusively di-
300
£ Doc. No. 101. ]
rected to those narrow passes, as the only lines of expected interference be¬
tween the canal and railroad.
But his conclusion far outruns his premises. £t From these estimates,
therefore, added to the estimates for the railroad, an average price for the
laying of three tracks of railway, on the graduated surface, so to be prepar¬
ed, we arrive at results \Vhich will give the comparative probable expense
of both the canal and railroad. The canal'was assumed to be of such dimen¬
sions, that, with a depth of water of six feet, its cross section should contain ■
an arena" [supposed to be intended for area] "of 306 square feet. The
breadth of graduation for the railroad was to be 30 feet." Hence, as the
canal was to cost, at these narrow passes, "at the rate of $79,036 per mile,
and the railroad constructed on wooden sills, but $38,294 per mile, or after
adding $1,000 or 1,500 per mile for stone sills, something less than $40,-
000," the writer concludes, "on the whole, since the estimates for the ca¬
nal do not include any lockage, although 40 feet elevation is to be over¬
come bettoeen the Point of Rocks and Harper's Ferry, nor $5,000 a
mile," at which he is pleased to estimate the cost of lining the interior banks
of the canal with stone; " a precaution," he says, " without which, the
experience of the Erie canal shows that no such work can be considered
as finished," "that the ratio of the probable expense of a railroad and canal
will, on the ground here estimated, be as two for the canal, to one for the
railroad."
So singular does his own conclusion appear to himself, that, to guard
against criticism, he acknowledges in his fourth commentary on these com¬
parative estimates, that, " he has not seen the last estimates for the canal, on
the intermediate grounds, (more than ten miles of the twelve,) and there¬
fore cannot institute so strict a comparison with regard to them;" but he
makes a broad assertion, that "in the most favorable ground along the
river bottom lands, the expense of the canal will exceed that of the railroad,
from 25 to 50 per cent."
Whether this reasoning proved satisfactory to the President of the Balti¬
more and Ohio Railroad Company, to whom it was addressed, and by whom
it was transmitted, without eomment, to the committee of the House of Dele¬
gates of Maryland, does not further appear, any more than does the effect
it may have produced on the committee or on the House. But such reason¬
ing is so extraordinary in itself, and contradictory of known facts, part of
which are supplied by the author himself, that it is difficult to reconcile it to
his high reputation for candor.
The spaces along which the four short lines of canal and railroad were
expected to come in collision, the longest of which is in length but 3,052
feet, and the shortest 1,126, are four difficult projecting cliffs of rocks, hem¬
ming in the current of the Potomac, at the bases of the mountains and ridges,
by which it descends, from the Blue Ridge, through the Kitoctin mountain.
The railroad was to be bedded on these rocks, for a space of 30 feet only, in
breadth. The canal, having a cross section of 306 feet; and a depth of 6
only, could not have a breadth, at the surface, of less than 51 feet; and, add¬
ing 3 feet, for the stretch of the inner slope of earth, next the river, 12 for
the breadth of its tow-path, and 20 for the horizontal stretch of the outward
slope; supposing that the tow-path bank is not any higher, above its base, (here
in the river,) which is improbable, and that the angle of the slope is as steep
as 45°, which would be inexpedient, we have a space, .constructed, partly on
rock and partly in water, of the breadth of 86 feet, compared with one of
30 feet; and the canal, in this space, charged with all the attendant ex-
Doc. Ño. 101. ]
301
penses of outside walling, to guard against abrasion from the river, puddling
within its banks in order to regain the water admitted into it, and, as the
calculator provides, $5,000 a mile also, for paving within, although one of
its sides must be of. rock. ■ - • , • '
Had the writer inquired for the estimates of the part of this canal along
the "intermediate grounds," he would have found that the working esti¬
mate, prepared to regulate the acceptance or rejection of proposals for its
construction, does not extend the cost of the twelve miles, after including
not only its lockage, but the expense of a substantial dam across the river,
immediately below Harper's Ferry, beyond $250,000; a sum, less than that,
which he admits the railroad will cost, within the same distance. * For, put¬
ting down the cost of the road provided for, on his own estimate, at $39,704
a mile, and its length, at his measurement,' of 11,134 feet, its tracks, as he
proposes, at three in number, to be laid on stone sills, as he suggests, though
on the principle of perfection, which,he applies to canals, he ought to pro¬
vide, at least, a fourth track, for the cars to pass each other with various ve¬
locities, which would add to this estimate at least »13,233 more, for*this
track; and the further cost of graduation, and their results, in order to reach
Harper's Ferry, for the 3 .tracks, at $6,500 each, on a line of 9 miles, and
4,706 feet, for the rails alone, $192,880, which, added to the cost of 11,134
feet, computed, by himself, at $39,794 a mile, furnishes an aggregate of
$276,794 without any allowance whatever for graduating the foundation of
the rails for a distance oí 9 miles and 4,706 feet, or for a single perch of ma¬
sonry, for culverts, viaducts, or side drains of any description; an aggregate
exceeding the working estimate for the canal, along the same line, by the
sum of $26,794; and if, but a moderate allowance be made for the gradua¬
tion, including the masonry of therailroadj by a sum, not much short of one
hundred thousand dollars.
It has been acknowledged that these items, exclusive of the rail tracks on
the first 7 miles of this road, leading out of Baltimore, cost $438,775 85,
exclusive of all contingencies, being $62,Ç54 80 per mile; and allowing for
three tracks with stone sills, make up a sum, exceeding $80,000 a mile,
exclusive of contingencies. These, even on this part of this road, cannot
appear inconsiderable when reference is had to the report of the President
and Directors, from which the-above facts are obtained, wherein "sixty-
one thousand one hundred and seventy-seven dollars twenty-five cents are
charged to expenses incurred in surveys and locations, including the pay
of engineers and their assistants; six thousand eight hundred and sixty-five
dollars thirty-two cents for law expenses, fees of counsel, and chancery ex¬
penses; and sixty-six thousand nine hundred and eighty-eight dollars sixty-
two cents for cost of machinery, for the purpose of construction of the rail¬
road, of transportation and weighing, including the purchase of patent
rights, and moving power, contingencies, expenses of widening the cuts,
and embankments, and perfecting the graduation at the time of laying the
rails, releases of the right of way, discounts, expenses of opening the
books, &c." How much of the $66,988 62 should be charged to the first
seven miles of the road is not stated, though a part of it would seem to be¬
long to the graduation, or the "perfecting of the graduation, prior to the
laying of the rails," it being the part of this road whereon the rails were
first laid; nothing is added for the improvements subsequent to opening the
road.
"The 12 miles have recently been placed under actual contract, fo¡i$324,000; including the
cost of land rights and fencing, and five per cent for contingencies.
302
[ Doc. No. 101. 3
It would, it is obvious, be unfair to charge the proposed railway, between
Harper's Ferry and the Point of Rocks, with the maximum cost of the gradua¬
tion, on the most expensive part of the rouie of this road, but it would be
equally correct, with the course actually pursued, by the chief engineer of
this company, in ascertaining the relative costs of canals and railroads, by re¬
ferring to the construction of short pieces of canals and railways, under,
or upon precipices of granite, and in the bottoms, or along the rocky margin
of rapid rivers.
Much more incorrect, however, is the general assertion of this engineer,
}hat, " on the most favorable ground," for a canal, " its cost will exceed by '
•50 or 25 per cent that of a railway," (of course sueh as he has been describ¬
ing,) of three tracks, or at least of two tracks.
Several miles of the Chesapeake and Ohio canal have been constructed,
along the bottoms of the Potomac, for less than the cost of the rails'of a single
railway track; one half mile, on level ground, at little more than 21,800; and
the possibility of this is obvious to any engineer, who will take the trouble
to make a calculation of the necessary depth of cutting, to supply the banks
of a canal, where you can choose its level.
It is not, however, more so, than what the same engineer attempts to prove
in relation to "other routes of canals and railroads," than those of a few
thousand feet under the precipices of the Potomac, to which he first gives his
candid attention.
The liberality of his course of inquiry towards the Chesapeake and Ohio
canal is here again manifested in his statement, " that, so far as the structure
of this canal has been prosecuted, it has been understood," he does not say
by whom, " that the estimate of its cost, at $5,000,000 between Georgetown
and Cumberland, has been found to be wholly inadequate; and he is of
opinion, that, unless the dimensions of the canal be contracted, or the work
be made less permanent in character, the estimate first mentioned, that of
28,174,000, will be not far from the amount which that work will have ac¬
tually cost, fhuld it ever be completed, to Cumberland."
It is now, well known, that no survey, of any description, for a railway up '
the left bank of the Potomac, had been attempted, before the purchase, by
the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad Company, with a celerity unexampled,
of the ground along the difficult passes, on the left bank of that river,
where they admit, themselves, that no choice of way existed; and while it ,
is believed that no working survey has even since been completed of the en¬
tire route of a railway from the Point of Rocks to Cumberland, it is not a
little astonishing, that the chief engineer of this company, who has so little
reliance on the calculation« of experience, entertains the confident belief
that the railway from Baltimore to Cumberland, will not exceed, in cost,
$5,000,000! ; *
He also believes, it appears,(that the expense'of constructing a canal, from
Baltimore to the " Point of Rocks, would be double, what the railroad, be¬
tween the same points, will cost:" while the reason that he gives for this
belief, is, that the estimate reported by Dr. Howard, "for a canal from .
Georgetown to Baltimore, the length being 44| miles, amounted to
$2,800,000." Now, this author of the comparative estimate of the cost of
railroads and canals, might have as well assumed any other estimated route
for a canal, as this, for his standard of comparison; since the Baltimore and
Ohio railroad, in passing to the Point of Rocks, occupies but a very small .
part, if any, ofthat space, which Dr. Howard surveyed for a canal, from Bal-
[ IJoc. No. loi, ]
303
timoçe to Georgetown; and this engineer very well knew, at the same time,
that the estimate of the cost of this canal, was founded on the same erroneous
data, which led Dr. Howard, in conjunction-with the United States* engi¬
neers, to compute a canal with a cross section of 202.5 feet, only, at a price
greatly exceeding the actual cost of one of 306 feet, along the valley of the
Potomac, and over very nearly the same ground. Let the estimate for the
Baltimore canal he reduced by a reference to the actual cost of the Chesapeake
and Ohio canal, and the estimated cost of that, by recurring, from its actual,
to its former estimated dimensions, and a canal from Georgetown to Balti¬
more, 48 feet wide and 5 deep, would appear capable of construction, by this
fair standard, at less than the present estimate of the sixty-seven miles of
railroad from Baltimore to the Point of Rocks, or of a substantial railroad
from Baltimore to Georgetown.*
• It is not a little surprising that, in reply to the grave call of a Legislature,
this engineer did not recur to the ascertained cost of the archetype and model
of all modern railroads, that between Manchester and Liverpool, for one
term of his comparative estimate of the cost of railroads and canals. In look¬
ing to his other term, it is equally strange that he should have passed, un-
heedingly, by the numerous canals of the United States. Those, for exam¬
ple, of New York, of Pennsylvania, and of Ohio.
By.an early report of her Canal Commissioners, the canals of New York
were stated to have cost about seventeen thousand dollars a mile. By the
last report of the Canal Commissioners of Ohio, 190 miles of canal in that
State, extending from Lake Erie to the north end of the Licking Summit,
and now regarded as finished, have been constructed, with all their costly
appurtenances, at a price which, embracing every contingent expense, is less
than $11,000 a mile; or, by ¡82,000 short of the cost of the mere rails of a
double track, on stone sills, of the Baltimore and Ohio railroad, according to
the same engineer.
This comparison omits any allowance for graduation, and contingencies
of every description. Yet this practical civil engineer tells the Legislature
of Maryland, " that, in the most favorable grounds along the river bot¬
tom lands" of the Potomac, it is presumed, "the expense of the canal,
would exceed that of the railroad, from 25, to 50 per cent." If the chief
engineer of the Baltimore and Ohio railroad could have awaited the late
annual report of the Liverpool and Manchester Railroad Company, he
would have seen that a railway of only two tracks, overcoming in 32% miles
an elevation of less than 150 feet, had cost, including all contingencies,
¿£865,000 sterling, a sum exceeding 120,000 dollars per mile; while he
must have known, that the magnificent canal of Languedoc, in length 148
miles, with a mean breadth of 49 feet, and overcoming a summit of more
than 600 feet, with a lockage of 1200—though constructed with the reve¬
nues of the French monarchy, cost much less per mile than the half of that
sum. He would also have perceived that the present charge for transport¬
ing a bale of cotton, on the Liverpool and Manchester ^railroad, is 105. ster¬
ling a ton for a distance of 32J miles, and 5s. sterling for each passenger.
Rates which, for commodities, are treble the cost of transportation, for like
distances, on the canals of Pennsylvania and New York; and for passengers,
more than double the cost of transportation for the greater distance of 56
miles, on the canal between Glasgow and Liverpool.
• The same engineer l a« since actually presented to the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad
Company, by whom it has been submitted to the Governor of Maryland, an estimate for this
road, which n akes its cost near 50,000 dollars a mile.
804
r Doc. No. 101. ]
■' ■ .<
As to the cost of repairs on canals and railways, which must regulate their
nett profits, experience,'until matured by time", cart furnish nó measdre of
their relative extent . Much must depend upon the excellence of their con-
struction. A celebrated constructor of steam engines and carriages, who
has recently returned to America, from England, apprises the public, that
there is no railroad in America, of sufficient strength tó bear the free use of
locomotive engines; and whether the railroad of Liverpool and Manchester
will sustain their use, with profit to the company, by which that costly work
has been constructed, remains to be verified by the fulfilment of promises
notyet realized, and against the suggestion of nine months' experience, on
a perfectly new and very smooth road.
Lest the estimate of this board, that the canal between Georgetown and
Cumberland will cost about 5,000,000 dollars, should appear to be impaired, by
passing unnoticed anothér error of the same engineer, to whose calculations
reference has been so often made, it is proper to remark, that if the experi¬
ments on the Ardrossan, and other canals of Scotland, have not destroyed
all apprehension of injury to the banks of a canal, by boats moving on their
surface with great velocity, the remedy hitherto applied to prevent such in¬
jury, is much less expensive than this engineer supposes, who charges 5,000
dollars a mile for walls calculated to protect the inner slopes of a canal from
washing. More than 40,000 superficial yards, one foot in thickness, of such
walls, have already been, constructed in the Chesapeake and Ohio canal, at
the cost of less than sixteen cents a yard, including the price of transporting a
part of the stone some distance by land. The residue of this work, for which the
canal excavation furnishes an abundant supply of materials, has been per¬
mitted to await the introduction of water into the canal, that the stone may
be transported by boats tracked by horses.' Allowing twelve cents, a cubic
yard, for transportation, hut reducing the height of the wall as has been found
expedient, the cost of such an inner lining for feet, on each side of the canal,
immediately below the surface of the water, which is found to be all that is
necessary for its object, would be' reduced to less than $1000 a mile.*
For several miles together, the Chesapeake and Ohio canal has a border of
solid rock on one side, which needs no lining for its protection. In other
places, it is spread out to such breadth, hy a single embankment on the side
next the river, that it needs no such linin'g along either slope. When com¬
pressed, as it is, for less than a single mile on a line of 48, within a breadth
under 60 feet, it is always bounded by rock, which yields stone for its inner
♦ The first inside slope walk or pavement, on the Chesapeake and Ohio canal, was
made, by special contract, of stone, which the contractor found it more convenient, and was
permitted to leave in the bed of the canal, at the cost of 8 cents the square yard. The ma¬
sons engaged in the construction of this inside wall, which is the best on the line of the ca¬
nal; acknowledged that they made by it, their customary day's wages. In this case, the pave¬
ment extended from the bottom of the slope to within two feet of the top of the embank¬
ment, on both sides of the canal.
On section i 4, by advice of a New-York canal commissioner, the wall was constructed on a
bench formed in the sloping embankment, about 4$ feet below the top of the embankment,
and extended up the bank, with very little slope, to within two feet of the top. So that
here the wall is 2$ feet high. This height of wall, the commissioner affirmed, from the expe¬
rience of the New York canal, was quite sufficient, and so it has been here found, to guard
the bank from abrasion, either by high winds or the motion of the boats engaged in its navi¬
gation. This wall was put up at 12$ cents the perch. In one mile of the canal, supposing
both shores of it to be so protected, there would consequently be 1760 lineal yards x by 10
feet = yards 3 J x1760 = 5866 yards, which, at 12$ cents per yard, would cost $733$ a mile.
At 8 cents, the square yard, this sum woifld be less than $500 a mife; at 16, it would not reach
$1000, as stated in the text.
[ Doc. No. 101. 1
305
pavement, free of the cost of transportation, so as to save a part of the above
estimated expense.
It is somewhat remarkable that the chief engineer of the Railroad Com¬
pany should add 5,000 dollars a mile to the cost of the canal, at the Point of
Rocks, for its inner lining of stone, when he takes care to lodge it, as well as
the railroad, on abed of rocks, and provides, in an estimate, of the joint
cost of the two works, fora partition wall of three feet thickness between them.
"The residue ofhis comparison ofrailroads with canals, is equally impar¬
tial with the preceding, and obviously designed to withdraw the patronage
of the State of Maryland from her canal, for it is hers unless she chooses to ex¬
pel it from her territory, to the Baltimore and Ohio railroad. The far greater
part of his facts are inconsistent with each other; his assertions are without
proof; and his principles have been refuted by experience, as we hare seen.
"What shall be thought of the judgment which, under the climate of Mary¬
land, and in relation to the Potomac, pronounces that, "from the combined ef¬
fects of floods, breaches, repairs, drought, and cold, the average duration of the
navigation of a canal, inour climate, is reduced about one half of the year?"
"The Chesapeake and Ohio canal was easily kept open for navigation, and
actually navigated with facility, when frozen to the depth of very near
three inches. In the late hard winter, its use was not suspended by ice till
after the middle of January.
"Does any man believe that the Potomac river will not supply an adequate
quantity of water, in any drought, to feed a canal along its banks; or that in¬
ternal intercourse will be promoted, and "transfers and transshipments, add¬
ing to the expense and risk of transportation, be prevented," as this writer
insinuates, by substituting a railroad for a canal, along the margin of a river
which has already upon its stem and its branches above tide-water, a descend¬
ing navigation, practicable at some seasons, of 750 miles; or that a country will
resort to railroads instead of canals, which has a coast, thus bordering naviga¬
ble water, for 1,500 miles, counting both shores of this river, and of its often
navigable tributaries?
"How well does it fit the occasion of his letter, to comprehend, among the
advantages of railroads over canals, that the latter occupy the best lands of
a country, when the very railroad, which this engineer is endeavoring to
exalt in value above the Chesapeake and Ohio canal, is seeking to establish
a right to pre-occupy the very ground along the Potomac, so often surveyed
for the construction of the canal? Let railroads, which are admirable time
and labor saving inventions, be constructed wherever the trade which they
are designed to accommodate, will defray the cost of their construction and
use, and they can either be rendered more beneficial than canals, or canals
eannot be made."
Extracts from the report of Colonel John J. Ab er I and Colonel Jumes
Kearney, of the United States' Topographical Engineers, upon an ex¬
amination of the Chesapeake and Ohio canal, from Washington City
to the " Point of Rocks;" made by order of the Secretary of War, at
the request of the President and Directors of the Chesapeake and Ohio
Canal Company.
"To Brig. Gen. Gratiot, Chief Engineer U. S. A.
" Sir: In obedience to your orders of the 11th of May, we have made tha
examination of those parts of the Chesapeake and Ohio canal which ai b
39
306
[ Doc. No. 101. ]
" completed and under construction," and have now the honor to report the
result of our observations.
" The first part of the work which we 'visited, was the basin at George¬
town. This basin is formed by a dam thrown across the mouth of Rock
creek, forming an extensive quay or landing place, one of its faces being on
Rock creek, and the other on the Potomac river. The length of the quay
on the Potomac face, is one thousand and eighty feet: two hundred feet of
which is occupied by a tumbling dam, for the delivery of the surplus water
of this creek, and thirty-eight feet occupied by the tide lock, leaving eight
hundred and forty feet front on the Potomac river. Piles, each one foot in
diameter, were driven throughout the whole extent of the riverfront, touch¬
ing each other, and then at every three feet of the interior, to a distance of
twelve feet, until they refused a pile driver of eleven fyundred pounds. The
whole of these piles were then connected by heavy timbers, bolted to the
head of each pile, and this frame work was then united by a course of hewn
timbers fitting close to each other, and five inches thick, and well secured to
the frame and piles. On the front of this pile work, there is a well laid dry
wall, twelve feet thick, and seven feet high, including the coping. Strong
and frequent ties of timber firmly connected with the pile work, are extend¬
ed under the soil of the quay. Until these were fixed, a slight curving had
been observed in a part of the wall, but, since that time, not the least indi¬
cation of yielding is perceptible, nor do we think there is any just ground of
fear for the durability of this part of the work. It stood without injury the
unusual freshet of the river of the last spring, on the breaking up of the ice.
" The width of the quay is one hundred and sixty feet, except at the
city end, where it narrows to eighty feet. Sixty feet in width of the centre
of this quay, is intended for warehouses and stores, and the rest of the
space is to be left open for streets and landing places.
" A bridge is constructed over the head of the tumbling dam, connecting
the Georgetown part with the city part of the quay. This bridge is of tim¬
ber, on piles—a simple, but substantial structure.
"The inside of the quay forming the Rock creek face, is protected by a
well laid dry wall, surmounted by a stout hewn timber coping, bound to its
place by tie-timbers extending some distance into the soil. The whole of
the space between these two fronts, is already filled up with earth.
" The walled face of the basin also extends upon both sides of Rock creek,
to the second bridge, constituting an entire length of walling on the inside
of the basin of five thousand five hundred feet, (about 300 feet of the wall is
yet to be laid,) and enclosing an area of eight and one-quarter acres.
" But. the real extent of this basin is much greater, as the water of this
creek, when raised by the dam at the quay, will be deep and navigable up
nearly to Patterson's paper mill, and will extend over an area about twice
as great as that included between the walls."
" The width of the canal up to Frederick street, (in Georgetown,) is forty-
six feet, and its depth six; from this street it gradually widens to eighty
feet, and increases in depth to seven, which it maintains through the re¬
maining part of this level up to lock No. 5." "This level is continued
from lock No. 4 to lock No. 5, near the Little falls, throughout a distance
of about four miles."
"Lock No. 5 is similar in its plan, dimensions, and materials, to those
we have heretofore spoken of. It appears to have been faithfully built, and
is very tight. The great dimensions of the canal, heretofore stated, termi-
f Doc. No. 101. J
307
nate at this lock, beyond which the width, at the water surface, is sixty
feet, and the depth six,"
" Lock No. 10 is built entirely of granite. It is a fine structure, extreme¬
ly tight, and has every appearance of durability. We take this opportuni¬
ty to remark, that all the locks previously noticed, were also tight We
saw no leaking or spouting from the walls; and we examined them immedi¬
ately after they were emptied, when such defects, if they exist, will always
show themselves."
"Lock No. 21, is similar to those previously noticed, and has all the ap¬
pearance of faithful work; is tight, and exhibits no evidence of yielding."
" This last lock (No. 20) has the general lift of the Jocks of this canal,
of eighty feet, and completes the series necessary to surmount the elevation
of the Great falls of the Potomac." "The line of the canal from the Little
falls- to this lock was replete with difficult passes, which the engineer ap¬
pears to have attacked with boldness, and to have admirably surmounted."
" The usual time employed in the passing of a lock by the packet-boat, is
four minutes. A passage, however, may be readily effected in three mi¬
nutes and a half; and were informed that, in an experiment of several pas¬
sages, the average of the time occupied was but three minutes."
" The culverts are of an admirable length, extending well and sufficiently
through the embankments."
" Over this river (Seneca) an aqueduct is constructing. It will consist of two
piers and three arches. The sheeting, as well as the ring stone, are to be
cut to the proper angle, and "laid in hydraulic mortar." We believe that
this structure will be both beautiful and enduring."
" The aqueduct over the Monocacy is four hundred and thirty-eight feet
long, from the face of one abutment to the face of the other, and the mason¬
ry of the abutments and wing-walls extends ninety-six feet farther. The
whole work will consist of two abutments, six piers, and seven arches, to
be fifty-four feet span, with a rise of nine feet. The two arches which rest
against the abutments are conducted within the abutments by what is called
a blind arch, down to the rock foundation. The masonry of the abutments
and piers rests upon the solid rock which forms the bed of the river, and
which had been previously cleared and prepared for the purpose. The piers
and abutments are thirty-three feet four inches long, exclusive of the pilas¬
ters. The piers are ten feet wide above the water table, and fourteen feet
wide, and thirty-eight feet long at the foundation, which last dimensions are
preserved up to within one foot of the low water surface."
" We visited the quarries. The stone lies high, and is of easy access; its
color a dull white. It is of the kind usually called by workmen mountain
granite, but by geologists it would be called gray wacke. It splits well,
hammers without fracture, is fine grained, and, in our opinion, a very last¬
ing stone."
" The work was executing in good faith by the contractor, and was vigi¬
lantly watched and inspected by the engineer. We consider the plan judi¬
cious, as well as its execution, in which are united the true principles of
economy, usefulness, and durability."
"It may be proper to remark, that, in the whole length of the canal be¬
tween the aqueduct over Seneca, to that over the Monocacy, wherever the
embankment touches in the river, it is carefully protected against its action
by extended and well constructed walls of dry masonry. These walls, so
frequently mentioned in our report, might, without explanation, be consider-
308
[ Doc, No. 101. ]
cd objects of extravagance; we will, therefore, add, that the valley of the
river occupied by this canal, is bounded, to a great extent, by high rocky
cliffs, which, in many places, project into the water, leaving the engineer no
other course than to blast his path through them, and to establish the foun¬
dation of his embankment in the river itself."
"The length of the canal between locks 21 and 22 is three miles.
Throughout the greater part of this distance, the embankment on the river
side is sustained by a beautiful and well built sloping stone wall of dry ma¬
sonry, resting upon a judiciously laid footing, and rising to the top of the
embankment; the inside slope of which is rivetted also with aslope wall,
laid from the bottom of the canal. There is one continued line of two
miles of this walling, curving with the canal, in which we did not observe
the slightest indication of yielding or of weeping in any part of it. In parts
of this line, the rock excavation was very great, and the superfluous stone is
judiciously placed outside of the walling, and in a manner to relieve it from
the current of the river."
"A pit is excavated, and part of the foundation laid for another roadway,
intended for the convenience of Conrad's ferry. We cannot forbear here
expressing our decided approbation of this method of crossing canal lines,
over the more usual method by bridges."
" We observed a paved ford to accommodate the adjoining farms. This
ford can be conveniently used when the water in the canal is aboutfour feet
deep—when deeper, it is contemplated to use a large boat at this space; for
which purpose docks are constructed on each side of the canal, that the boat
may lie out of the canal line."
" We are fully aware, that, after all we have said, we have not yet given
an adequate idea of the great and interesting work we have been directed to
examine. The difficulties which have been surmounted—the quantity of
labor it has received—the vast amount of rock excavation—the extent and
excellence of the walls of dry masonry—the durable aspect of all the struc¬
tures—the great and imposing dimensions of the canal—the judicious adap¬
tation of the excavations to the fillings and embankments—can be duly ap¬
preciated only by visiting the work.
"The trade of the canal in the part now in use is very active; there is,
however, a necessity for a system of regulations to govern the boatmen."
Extract from the report of the United States' Board of Internal Im¬
provement, accompanying the President's message to both Houses of
Congress, of the 1th of December, 1826.
"PLAN AND ESTIMATE OF THE CANAL.
"The transverse section of the canal is exhibited on the sheet No. 3. The
breadth at the bottom is 33 ieet; at the surface, 48 feet; the depth of water,
6 feet; the tow path, 9 feet wide; the guard banks, 5 feet at the top; the
surf berms, kept on the level of water, 2 feet wide each ; the tow path, and
top of the guard bank, 2 feet above the surface of the canal.
"This transverse section isto be modified where local circumstances require
it, and more especially in the càses of deep cutting, steep side cutting, em¬
banking, and also where the canal is supported by walls. In the framing of
the plan, a due attention has been paid to these modifications, with a view to
conciliate the convenience of the work with the strictest economy. The
[ Doc. No. 101. ]
309
depth o£ 5 feet has been preserved throughout the line, but the breadth has
been often much lessened. As to the surf berms, they are intended to pro¬
tect the slopes from being washed off, as, also, to lessen the resistance opposed
to the boat, by affording to the eddy water a free passage.
" We must submit, however, the reasons which led us to propose the above
dimensions.
" The experiments made in 1775, by the French academicians, (D'AIem-
bert, Condorcet, and Bossut,) have shown: 1. That the resistance of wa¬
ter to the perpendicular motion of a given plane, may be regarded as pro¬
portional to the square of the velocity; 2. That the velocity being the same,
the resistance of water may be considered as proportional to the area of the
plane; 3. That these results obtained only in the case of an indefinite ex¬
panse of water; 4. That, in narrow canals, the resistance increases in a
more rapid ratio than the square of the velocity.
"To attenuate, as much as practicable, this inconvenience, researches have
been made to ascertain what should be the ratio between the transverse sec¬
tion of the canal, and the transverse section of the boat, in order that the
boat might move through such a canal as through an indefinite expanse of
water. Experiments made on the subject by the celebrated Chevalier I)u-
buat have shown that, to attain this result, the cross section of the canal
ought to be, with moderate velocities, 6.46 times across the section of the
boat, and the water line 4$ times the breadth of the boat.
"Adopting, to preserve uniformity, 13$ feet for the breadth of the boats
used on the Chesapeake and Ohio canal, (which is the breadth of the Erie
canal and of the Ohio canal boats,) if we suppose the draft to be three feet,
the prow to be rectangular, and the sides and bottom of the boat to conform
to it, the cross section of the boat will be 40.5 square feet. Taking, now,
this area 6.46 times, we find 261§ square feet for the cross section of the
canal, through which the boat would not meet with a greater resistance than
through an indefinite expanse of water. The water line should be 604 feet,
that is, four times and a half the breadth of the boat.
"Were not expense to be taken into consideration, these dimensions might
be recommended; but fitness of the work and strict economy must be re¬
conciled as much as practicable, and it is in such a view that smaller dimen¬
sions are to be fixed upon.
"It is to be remarked, that the distance from Georgetown to Pittsburg, in
following the line of canal, is 341f miles, which, at the rate of 2$ miles per
hour, will be travelled in about - 136 hours
The ascent and descent, amounting together to 3,158 feet, will
require, at the rate of 1 minute per foot, about 52
Distance, in time, from Georgetown to Pittsburg, " - 188 hours.
"Though a number of canals, selected among those executed to this day,
might afford together the distance and lockage found for the Chesapeake and
Ohio canal, yet there is not, within our knowledge, any line of the same
extent requiring even 1,800 feet of ascent and descent taken together: the
Erie canal requires 688 feet for 362 miles; the line from Liverpool to Lon¬
don, 1,4514 feet for 264 miles; the canal from the Rhone to the Rhine,
connecting Lyons with Strasburg, has about 1,458 feet of lockage for a length
of 200 miles. The proposed canal has, therefore, as to time, a decided in¬
feriority, when compared to à canal of the same length, but having a less
amount of lockage; and it becomes, in the present case, indispensable to reme-
310
f Doc. No. 101. ]
dy this inconvenience. The means we propose consists in the increase of
the dimensions of the cross section of the canal, with a view to compensate
by a greater weight transported without additional power for the virtual
increase of distance caused by so great an amount of lockage.
" We have shown that this section ought tobe 261 squarefeet, with a water
line of 60 feet, to procure a boat 13 feet 6 inches in breadth, the advantage
of moving on the canal as on an indefinite extent of water. After many
trials and minute calculations, we have concluded to adopt, for the contem¬
plated canal, the | of the foregoing results, viz. for the cross section, 208
square feet, and for the water line 4S feet; and from these data vve have
framed, with a depth of five feet, the general transverse profile of the canal
as exhibited on the sheet No. 3.
" Let us now compare this profile to one having 40 feet at the surface, 28
feet at the bottom, and 4 feet in depth—the boat used being the same for both,
and having 13è feet in breadth, and 3 feet draft.
" We find, by calculations, that, the velocity remaining the same, the re¬
sistance to the boat moving in the 48 feet canal, is to the resistance to the
same boat moving in the 40 feet canal, as 1.21 to 1.58, or as 100 to 130.
Therefore, at the same rate of velocity, 100 horses will, on the 48 feet canal,
perform the same work as 130 horses on the 40 feet canal; and, with the
same towing power, the weight transported on the 48 feet canal will be to
the weight transported on the 40 feet canal as 130 to 100.
" But the depth of the 48 feet canal being one foot greater than the depth
of the other, let us examine what would be the comparative resisitance of the
boat being immersed 4 feet into the 48 feet canal, and but S feet into the
other. We find, in this case, the ratio to be 1.47 to 1.58, or 100 to 107,
and we infer from it that, with a gain of about seven per cent, of towing
power, the weight transported on the 48 feet canal will be one-third greater
than the weight transported, during the same time, on the 40 feet canal.
" The foregoing considerations show, that, in determining the transverse
section of a canal of great length, and with a dividing summit level, the
amount of lockage must have a due influence upon the breadth and depth of
the water section. And, indeed, taking into view the great distance and
considerable lockage belonging to the present case, a cross section larger
than that recommended might have been suggested, had not a regard to
economy, and to a competent supply of water during the dry season, for¬
bidden it.
" However, the transverse section, as just proposed, may be deemed suf¬
ficient to fulfil, in a satisfactory manner, the main requisite for which it has
been intended. And, in order to remove all doubt, let us compare, as to
amount of transportation, the contemplated Chesapeake and Ohio canal with
another of the same length, but whose lockage would be 600 feet only, with
a transverse section of 40 feet at the surface, and 4 feet in depth.
"The rate of travelling being supposed, for both, 2J miles per hour, and
one minute allowed for each foot of lockage, 60 feet will be, as to time,
equivalent to 2i miles; and these canals will then compare as follows:
"The Chesapeake and Ohio canal, having 3,158 feet of lockage in a dis¬
tance of 3411 miles, is equivalent, as to time, to a single level canal of 473
miles, which would require 189 hours to be travelled from one end to the
other.
The 40 feet canal, having 600 feet of lockage in a distance of 341J miles,
is equivalent, as to time, to a single level canal of 367 miles, and which
[ Doc. No. 101. ]
311
would be travelled in 146 hours, from one end to the other. But it has been
ishown, that, on the first canal, the amount of transportation being expressed
by 130, it will be 100 on the 40 feet canal—the velocity and towing power
remaining the same in both cases. Comparing, now, this ratio of 130 to
100 with that of the times employed to travel, respectively, each canal, viz.
189 hours to 146, it is found that these ratios are equal. Therefore, on
either of these canals, and notwithstanding a difference of 2,558 feet lockage,
an equal weight will be transported during the same time, and with an equal
towing power; a result entirely due to a larger transverse section having
been assigned to the canal whose lockage is greater."
" After the enlarged dimensions of sixty feet by six feet for the volume
of water in the canal, were recommended to the -Committee of the House of
Representatives on Roads and Canals, by the chairman, he addressed a letter
óf inquiry to Gen. Bernard, on the comparative resistance of the motion of
a boat of given structure and burthen on such a canal, and one of the dimen¬
sions recommended by the board over which that officer presided. The
annexed-letter contains his answer to this inquiry:
''Letter from Gen. Bernard to Hon. C. F. Mercer.
Washington City, February 17,1827.
" Sir: I have the honor to forward to you the result of the calculation
you asked for, in relation to a canal 60 feet wide at the water line, 45 at the
bottom, and 5 feet deep.
" The cross section of the boat remaining as assumed in the report on the
Chesapeake and Ohio canal, such a boat would, for the reason set forth in
this report, move, at moderate velocities, on 60 feet canal, as on an indefinite
extent of water.
" The resistance proved, in this case, by the boat, being expressed by 1,
the number 1.21 will represent the relative resistance in a 48 feet canal,
and 1.58 that in a 40 feet canal. Thus, with a towing power of 100 horses,
the same work will be performed on the 60 feet canal as with 121 horses
on the 4S feet canal, and 158 on the 40 feet canal—these two latter canals
being here supposed to retain the respective cross sections assigned to them
in the aforesaid report.
" Now, assigning to these two canals the same comparative length and
amount of lockage as alluded to in the report, they become on the same
footing as to towing power, but the sixty feet canal has the same length and
amount of lockage as the 4S feet canal: therefore, it will have an advantage
of 21 or IS per cent, over the latter, as to towing power, and the same
advantage over the 40 feet canal. In other words, 18 per cent, more
weight would be transported during the same time, and wrai the same tow¬
ing power, on the 60 feet canal, than on the two others.
I have the honor to be, sir, very respectfully, your obedient servant,
BERNARD, Brig. Gen.
To the Hon. C. F. Mercer, M. C., Washington City.
Extract from the first annual report of the President and Directors
of the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal Company.
"The enlargement and elevation of the Chesapeake and Ohio canal, from
the lowest dam and feeder to the entrance of the streets of Georgetown, have
been prompted by a due respect for the well known object of the express con¬
dition attached to the United States' subscription of a million of dollars, added
312
[ Doc. No. loi. 3
to the desire on the part of this board, sanctioned by the voice of the stock¬
holders, of promoting the application of water power to domestic manufac¬
tures, at the very advantageous sites afforded, immediately above, as well as
near, the termination of the canal.
" It is well understood that this cannot be effected without some injury to
the navigation of the canal, for the whole, or a part of that distance, and it
should not be encountered without an equivalent benefit to the company,
and to the community.
"Should the pretensions of certain individual claimants, holding lands on
both sides of the Potomac, to the exclusive use, for manufacturing purposes,
of the water of this river, the highway, but recently, of two sovereign States,
be not sustained, the profit- to be derived to the company, from the proposed
application of part of the water of the much enlarged canal, will amply repay
the cost of its enlargement, while the public, as well as the stockholders,
will be compensated for some delay in their ascent of this short portion of
the canal, by the rapid growth of their common market The company
cannot be a loser, though the construction given by these claimants to the
charter of the late Potomac Company be confirmed, by the judicial inter¬
pretation which they have sought of its true import, and of its subsequent
modification by the charter of this company.
" Still, it remains, in the judgment of the board, a question to be deter¬
mined hereafter, whether the enlargement of the dimensions of the canal,
beyond fifty feet, shall be extended above the mouth of the Shenandoah, and
through its ascent to Cumberland.
"As far, at least, as the former point, a prudent regard to the competition
which this commercial avenue has to encounter, not only for the trade of
the west, but of its own tributaries, the valleys of the Potomac, and of its
navigable branches, required that the board should avail themselves of all
the aid which science couid supply to fix this commerce in its natural channel.
" The acquisition of at least sixty per cent, to the facility of transportation,
upon the broader and deeper channel provided for the Chesapeake and Ohio
canal, is believed to be worth more than an advance of tweuty per cent, upon
the'cost of its construction.*
" In the same spirit which has given these enlarged dimensions to the plan
of the canal, the board have diligently and laboriously sought, by negotia¬
tion and argument, as well as by appeals to legislative authority, to preserve
the entire line of canal, above Georgetown, free from the dangerous, incon¬
venient, and costly obstruction of permanent bridges. They have invoked
the interest as well as the patriotism of individuals, and the wisdom and
policy of juries and legislatures. The appeal to the last has been in but one
case availing; l£t they have been able to suspend the erection of any bridges
for the present; and still seek, by the purchase of small tracts of land, lying
between the-canal and the river shore, to diminish the number of persons in¬
terested in opposing their wishes. Until a modification can be had of the
• "By an early order of the President and Directors, it was determined to verify, by ex-
{jeriment, the relative advantages afforded to navigation in boats of given dimensions, by
arge and small canals. For this purpose, troughs were made, each 30 feet in length, de¬
signed, by their relative capacity, to illustrate the proportions of the New York and Ohio
canals to the Chesapeake and Ohio canal.
" Although the result of these experiments demonstrated the very great superiority of the
larger over the smaller canal, so many defects were apparent in the manner of arriving at
the results, that the board determined to ascertain, by the actual construction of a small part
of the canal, the exact difference of the resistance offered to the passage of a boat of given
dimensions and cargo, on these canals."
£ Doc. No. 101. ]
SIS
chart«1 of the company, conveyances for such parcels of land are proposed
to be taken to trustees, for their future use.
" The entire quantity of land, from the District of Columbia to the Kitoc-
tin mountain, lying between that required for the canal, and the river, was
long since found, by actual survey, not to exceed 1,300 acres, of which,
more than 500 are reported to be inarable. This land is not in One body,
but in narrow slips, the property of numerous proprietors; and the erection
and maintenance of permanent bridges for the accommodation of each, would,
apart from obstructing the navigation of the canal, cost more than the land
itself is worth, at any fair estimate of its value. From the Monocacy to the
Point of Rocks, along the far better part of this country, the quantity of land,
exclusive of the precipitous banks of the river, cut off from the main by the
canal, does not comprehend fifty acres; for five miles, it does not exceed six
acres; the canal having been generally, always where practicable, conducted
along the margin of the river, as well to avoid interruptions, as for the
■sake of better ground, and a more ready access to the canal, itself, from the
opposite shore of Virginia. Although much more deeply interested in pro¬
curing a ready passage across the canal than her neighbor, whose territory
it immediately borders, this State has readily assented, where the company
may deeni it expedient, to the substitution of ferries, for bridges over the ca¬
nal. Between Harper's Ferry and Georgetown, but few public highways
at all interfere with such a provision. One of these may be provided for by
a very elevated bridge, another by a pivot bridge over a lock immediately
crossing it; and, in some «ases, ferries, attended with no danger and very
little delay, may be resorted to, with the approbation of the loeal authority
charged with this branch of the public police.*
"Should the confident hope, inspired by intelligence recently received
from the canals of Europe, as well as of the United States, be confirmed, and
it be found practicable to substitute, on this canal, the application of steam for
animal labor, as its propelling power, its enlarged and unobstructed surface
will favor, alike, economy of transportation and the comfort of the travel¬
ler: and render that, which is obviously the shortest, also the cheapest
and the most agreeable channel of intercourse between the eastern and
western States. Boats of elevated cabins and double decks, propelled by
steam, will countervail, by a velocity of seven or eight miles an hour, the-
transient suspension of their motion by the Jocks; arid by supplying the
wants of every description of passengers, will afford, at the same time, cheap
accommodation to the needy, and multiplied enjoyments to the rich. By
such means will this improved channel of internal commerce, national in its
end, as it is, in part, in the resources provided for its accomplishment, con¬
firm the union of the States, without an undue increase of the power of their
common Government And if, in the prosecution of such an object, some
expense may seem to have been encountered which parsimony might have
denied, the patriotism from which this enterprise sprung, and on which it
must continue to rest, will not, it is presumed, reject the powerful appeal
which an enlarged economy, in conducting such a work, addresses to the Le¬
gislatures of the Federal Government, and of the States who shaFe the cost
of its prosecution with public spirited individuals. To these individuals
themselves, the argument in favor of the plan adopted by the board is, as
simple as it is intelligible, that a more costly annal, with an active navigation,
* It has been decided, by a Judge of the Court of Apporte tri M^rvhtnd, fbrrt, (Sic dbraprfrry
cannot bo r-onrpelled to erect bridges "across ibe catfitl.
314
[ Doc. No. 101. ]
will yield a better dividend, than one of cheaper dimensions without any
commerce whatever."
Extracts from the reports by Messrs. Roberts and Cruger, of the exam¬
ination, survey, and estimate of the western section of the Chesapeake
and Ohio canal; and from the first report of the United States' En¬
gineers, of the examination and location of that section in 1824.
Georgetown, Sept. 2, 1S29.
To the President of the Board of Directors of the Ches, and 0. Canal Cornp-y:
Sir: The summit level of the Chesapeake and Ohio canal, embracing the
tunnel through the Alleghany ridge, the deep cuttings, and the basins at each
end, and the feeder from the Casselman river, are the subjects of this com¬
munication.
All which is respectfully submitted.
NATHAN S. ROBERTS,
Engineer of the second division C. and 0. Canal,
The Alleghany ridge, through which the tunnel is to be cut, is supposed
tó be sandstone, with a mixture of slate: this opinion being formed from the
quality of the rocks which appear on the surface, and in cliffs in the sides of
the mountain at various heights. And, in corroboration of this opinion, it
is proper to state, that the same qualities of stone present themselves both
above and below the level of the tunnel, along the line of the canal, in de¬
tached boulders and large masses, variously disposed in the bed and on the
margin of the rivers, and in the debris or fine broken stone, which in many
places cover the steep sides of the mountain; and, proceeding west, the re¬
gular layers and horizontal cliffs and ledges of sandstone, appear in all the
steep hills and mountains through which the channel seems to have been
worn down by the Casselman and the Yougheogany, till they have united
and passed through Laurel hill. And the same quality of sandstone, with
veins ot slate, appears in horizontal strata above the coal veins, in the high
hills in the vicinity of the Monongahela and Pittsburg, and in the coal dis¬
trict near Cumberland. Frostburg and Westernport sandstone is found in
the same situations. .In a few places these stone are of the millstone grit,
and wrought for that purpose. This was observed on the national road, and
about twelve miles down the valley of Wills' creek; but, in general, they
are a soft sandstone, suitable for locks and all other purposes where cut stone
work is necessary.
The elevation of the tunnel or summit level is 1972 feet above low tides
at Georgetown, and 1273 feet above low water in the Ohio at Pittsburg; and
the difference shows that the Ohio river at low water at Pittsburg is 699 feet
above common low tides at Georgetown.
The length of the summit level consists of the tunnel of 4 miles, to be ex¬
cavated through the Alleghany ridge, and, at each end of the tunnel, a deep
cut and a basin are extended, and terminated by a lock.
The length of the deep cutting and the basin at the eastern end is 40
chains, and the length of the deep cutting and basin at the west end is 1 mile,
making the whole length of the summit level, from lock lo lock, 5 miles
and 40 chains.
The dimensions of a transverse section of the interior of the tunnel, and
upon which the following calculations are presented, are shown in the an¬
nexed diagram, and are as follows, viz.
I Doc. No. 101. ]
315
The water for the passage of boats through said tunnel is to be 6 feet deep
and 17 feet wide. The towing path to be 7 feet high (rising one foot above
water) and 5 feet wide. The width of the tunnel above the towing path
will be 22 feet, and the height 7 feet to the spring of the arch, which is sup¬
posed to be equal to a semicirle of 11 feet radius. On each side of the bot¬
tom of the tunnel, a drain is to be sunk in the rock, below the bottom of the
canal, equal to a cut of two feet square, with a descent of 3 feet in the dis¬
tance from the centre to each end of the tunnel. A section of the tunnel,
according to these dimensions, is equal to 52i superficial yards; and the
solid contents, in 4 miles, will be equal to 368,428 cubic yards.
In the prosecution of this work, it is calculated that 120 men, divided into
relays of 30 men each, may be advantageously employed at blasting and
quarrying at each end of the tunnel: one company to perform 12 hours, and
then be relieved by another company, to labor for an equal length of time,
and thus proceed through the 24 hours, making, in the result, a force equal
to 120 men laboring for 12 hours in each day. And it is computed that,
taking a portion of the heading, the side trimmings, and the drain, together
with the blasting and quarrying from the breast or body of the tunnel, a good
hand will not average less than â of a cubic yard for each day's work. At
this rate, 120 men will bietst and quarry 90 cubic yards per day.
The tunnel, as above stated, contains 368,428 cubic yards; this quantify,
divided by the amount of one day's work, gives 4,094 days, and, allowing
300 days for labor in each year, the time required to complete the excavation
of the tunnel will be 13 years and 194 days.
The wages, subsistence, and apparatus, furnished and kept in repair, for
each man per day, for blasting and quarrying in the tunnel, is computed, as
follows:
Wages per day, on an average - - - - -Si 00
Board and other necessaries of subsistence per day - 50
Gunpowder, all necessary tools, and light, per day - - 75
Making the average expense of a day's work of one man - 02 25
Then, a day's work of 120 men, at the above rate, will be S270; and the
amount of rock quarried, in the same time, being 90 cubic yards, the average
cost will be $3 per cubic yard.
The expense of transporting the excavated materials out of the tunnel, i,s
computed as follows: a railroad with two sets of tracks is to be laid on and
bolted to the bottom of the tunnel, as the work progresses, and to extend past
the deep cutting and basin at each end of the tunnel, for the purpose of con¬
veying the materials to a place of deposite and distribution. The expense of
a double railroad, equal to the whole length of the tunnel, and half a mile at
each end, for the above purposes, is estimated as follows, viz.
5 miles of double tracks will require 105,600 feet of timber, 8
by 12 inches square, and from 20 to 40 feet long, for side rails,
delivered at 8 cents per foot ----- 08,448
10,560 inch bolts, 16 inches long, equal to 23 tons, at 150 dollars 3,450
105,600 feet of rolled iron plates, 11 inches wide and -fths of an
inch thick, equal to 106 tons, at 0130 per ton - - 13,780.
1 ton of spikes - - - - -, - oqq ,
Fitting down and bolting the side rails to the rock, and spiking
on the plates on the inner edge of each set of tracks, in a work¬
manlike manner, ,and completing the same fit for use, (the
bolts^ing ready made, and the plates punched at the above
516
[ Doc. No. 101. ]
prices,) 6,400 rods of the road, laid as above stated, at 50 cents
a rod - - - - - - 3,200
Making the whole expense of the railroad $29,070
The materials excavated from the tunnel are to be transported on this rail¬
road, being laid for the purpose, from each end towards the centre, as the
excavation of the tunnel progresses.
The load which a horse will draw on such a railroad, and moving at the
rate of 2£ miles per hour, is stated variously by different authors, and varies
from S to 11 tons. But, in these calculations, 1 ton only is estimated for
each load, on an average, to be drawn by one horse. The day's work of a
man and team is computed at ten hours each day, moving at the rate of 2-î
miles per hour, including the time of loading and unloading—making 25
miles for every period of 12 hours.
The cost of a day's work of a man and team is estimated at - $2 00
One assistant loader to each wagon, to have the loads ready, &c. 1 00
Making the cost of 1 team and 1 loader, per day, equal to - $3 00
Supposing the materials to be taken from the tunnel to be sand rock and
slate, the comparative weight or specific gravity of which is estimated at 2.8,
then the weight of the contents of the tunnel to be transported, will be equal
to 388,576 tons, to be taken out at. each end of the tunnel, at 1 ton per load,
or 777,152 tons in the whole 4 miles.
The distance to be travelled out and in at each end of the tunnel is thus
stated: at the commencement the distance would be, on an average, 40 chains
oipt and 40 chains back; and, at the centre of the tunnel, the distance would'
be 2 miles and 40 chains out, and the same distance back, and the number
of times the average of these distances is to be travelled, is equal to the
number of tons to be taken out at each end of the tunnel—thus stated:
40+40 + 200-(-200 x 388,576=S0= 1,165,720 miles to be travelled out and
2
in. from each end of the tunnel. This sum, divided by 25, the estimated'
length of a day's travel, gives 46,629.12 days' travel foi- one team at
each end of the tunnel. But the transportation is to be done in the same
time with the excavation; then, 46.629. 12x2
— =22.8 teams per day, in the
4.094
whole, or 11.4 teams per day at each end of the tunnel, to keep even with
the excavation.
As the height of the mountain over the line of the tunnel would render
vertical shafts very expensive, it is proposed that, when the excavation of
the tunnel has advanced about half a mile at each end, or, perhaps sooner,
to ventilate the tunnel by means of a steam engine, of about ten horse power,
to be stationed, one at each end of the tunnel, with the necessary apparatus, to
operate upon one or more cast iron blast cylinders, to be attached to a:
wooden trunk of the capacity of one foot square, and made of two inch plank,
well matched, pitched/and banded with iron, so as to be perfectly air tight,
tnd properly placed and secured on the towing path of the tunnel, and to
je extended by additions, from time to time, as may be required. Through
his tube, a sufficient quantity of air is to be forced, by the above apparatus,-;
o ventilate the tunnel to its centre-. f
[ Doc. No. 101. 3
By a statement received from Mr. John Anthers, steam engine
manufacturer at Pittsburg, the cost of a first rale steam engine
at that place, of 10 horse power, is ....
One large air cylinder and apparatus . -
Transporting the same to the tunnel, and putting the whole in good
order fit for use ......
A wooden trunk of the description above stated, and being extended
by degrees to the centre of the tunnel, 10,560 feet, at 50 cents a
foot, -
The expense of fuel, Mr. Anthers states, for 24 hours, is " 25
bushels of coal," estimated at 8 cents, or "2 cords of good wood,"
estimated at $1, - - - - - 2 00
Cost of attendant and keeping in repair - - 2 50
> Making the whole cost for 24 hours - - - $4 50
This expense would be necessary about 10 years, then 10 + 300=
3,000 days, at $4 50 per day ....
Add for contingencies, 20 per cent. -
Making the whole cost of ventilating one end of the tunnel, for
the required time, amount to - - - - $25,000
Mr. Anthers states further, that such an engine, with but very little re-
pairing, will last 10 years in constant use.
It is proper to observe that bituminous coal, of the best quality, can be
obtained within 5 or 6 miles of the west end of the tunnel, and that timber
for fuel abounds more at the east end, where coal is not to be expected so
«heap; but perhaps it can be obtained at the above estimated price, or found
in excavating the tunnel.
Whether the tunnel, or any part of the interior, will require a lining of
masonry, is uncertain. If the excavation should be sound rock in regular
strata, no lining will be necessary, except, perhaps, at the ends, to give a
finish, and prevent the earth from falling into the mouth of the tunnel.
The cost of lining, more or less, is not included; and it is proper to observe,
, that, where a lining becomes necessary, the section of excavation should be
so enlarged as to preserve the same dimensions within the lining as are herein
expressed.
From the foregoing calculation and analysis of prices, the estimated cost
of the tunnel will stand as follows, viz.
Excavating 36S,42S cubic yards of rock, at $3 - $1,105,284
Railroad, with double tracks, 5 miles ... 29,070
Transporting the contents of the tunnel, viz. 22.8 teams, with
one teamster and one loader to each team, for 4,094 days,
making 93,343 days, at $3 ... - - 280,029
Ventilating the tunnel, viz. 2 steam engines of 10 horse power,
one at each end of the tunnel, with the necessary apparatus for
ventilating, including the expense of fuel, attendant, and re¬
pairs, for 10 years, at $25,000 each ■« 50,000
Add for contingencies 10 per cent. - 146,438
$1,200
500
300
5,2S0
13,500
4,220
Making the estimated cost of excavation, transportation, and ven¬
tilating the tunnel, amount to ... $1,610,821
3íS
[ Doc. No. 101. ]
$1,610,821
Which is equal to or $4 37 per cubic yard ior the whole
yds. 368,42S
quantity of materials required to be taken out of the tunnel, according to the
dimensions above stated.
The deep cutting and basin at the east end of the tunnel, is 40 chains in
length; the expense of constructing the same is as follows, viz.
Grubbing and cleaning for canal and basin ... $1,000
Common excavation, 44,600 yds. at 20 cts., to be laid in the
lining for the basin - - - - - - 8,920
Rock excavation, 15,800 yds. at $1 - 15.S00
25,720
Add for contingencies 10 per cent. - » - - 2,572
$2S,292
The deep cutting and basin at the west end of the tunnel, occupy 1 inile:
the expense of constructing the same is as follows:
Grubbing and clearing, preparatory .... $500
Common excavation, 56,320 yds., at 20 cts., to be laid in embank¬
ment to form the basin - - - - 11,264
Common excavation 74,800 cubic yds. at 15 cts. - - 11,220
Rock excavation, 44,000 cubic yds., at $1 . - 44,000
66,984
Add for contingencies 10 per cent. .... 6,69S
$73,682
The dimensions of the deep cuttings for the canal from each end of the
tunnel, are 30 feet at bottom of the canal, and the sides perpendicular through
the rock cutting, with the usual slope of 3 to 2 given to the earth excavation.
The basins will be formed by occupying the valley at each end of the tun¬
nel, where the same is below bottom, for depositing the materials taken from
the tunnel in the form of an embankment; and lining the same with the
excavated earth, to render the banks and bottom of each impervious to wa¬
ter. Each basin is to be formed with a waste-wier and a lock at the extremi¬
ty. The distance between these locks is 5 miles and 40 chains, including
the basins, the deep cutting, and the tunnel, which compose the length of the
summit level."—Rep. oj Roberts and Critger.
In the able report of the United States' engineers, on the plan and cost
of constructing the contemplated tunnel through the Alleghany, they pro¬
posed to expedite the progress of the work, and to cheapen its expense, by
sinking over the tunnel forty-eight working shafts. By each of these, two
additional surfaces to operate upon, would be presented to the laborers engag¬
ed in the tunnel, who work day and night without any interruption, except
while elevating them to the surface of the mountain and letting them down,
to renew their operations at regular intervals. These would, of course, be
so ordered, as to allow ample time for refreshment and recreation to the
laborer.
A steam engine of ten horse power, costing about $1,200, and placed near
the summit of each working shaft, would raise, and transport out of the way,
£ Doc. No. 101. 3
319
the excavated materials, whether of rock or earth, as fast as the laborers
could remove them, within the tunnel, to the bottom of the shaft
As to the mode of elevating these materials, none would, perhaps, bettet*
answer, than an application of the principle, by which the wheat is elevated in
a manufacturing flour mill. The empty buckets, on one side of an endless
chain of large square links, would balance those on the opposite side, at eve¬
ry stage of the revolution of the drum or cylinder, over which the chain re¬
volves; so that the weight to be elevated would be that only of the excavat¬
ed materials from within the tunnel.
The cost of all the working shafts recommended by the United States'
Board of Internal Improvement, is less than 3300,000. If reduced in num¬
ber, to four only, for each mile, their cost would be reduced in like pro¬
portion, so as not to exceed one hundred thousand dollars; while the oppor¬
tunity, thus afforded, of applying sixteen times the number of hands, which
could be worked on the two extremes of the tunnel, would proportionably
expedite its completion. Instead, therefore, of consuming thirteen years,
with such facilities, the same work would be accomplished in less than a
fourth of that period.
Tunnelson railroads, as well as canals, are now so numerous in England,
that estimates can be as accurately formed of the money and time required
for their construction, as for the cost of any other part of a railroad or canal.
On the canals, alone, of that country, there were, in 1S24, near forty tun¬
nels, varying in breadth from nine to twenty one feet; in length, from 70 to
4,840 yards; their aggregate extent being 62,291 yards exclusive of those
numerous subterranean canals for coal boats, of which, on a single canal of
the Duke of Bridgewater, there are branches of the extent of eighteen miles
on various levels; some sixty yards below the main canal; others thirty-five
and a half above it; the greater part of them all being hewed out of solid
rock.
The driving of the tunnel through Harecastlc hill, on the Trent and
Mersey canal, the first canal tunnel constructed in England, cost, in 1776,
£3 10s. 6(1. sterling, per yard run. On this single canal, in length 93 miles,
with a lockage of 642 feet, there are as many as five tunnels, one mile of
the longest of them, which is 2,8SS yards in extent, was completed in a
single year, though the natural surface of the earth was 210 feet above the
tunnel.
Messrs. Roberts and Cruger estimate the entire cost of the proposed tun¬
nel through the Alleghany, at 1,610,821 dollars. To reach this sum, they
compute the wages and board of the hands engaged in the excavation, at
Si 50 cts. each per day, after allowing 75 cts. more for his gunpowder, tools,
and light: the price of a cart, horse, driver, and assistant, working on a
railway, and drawing less than half a cubic yard of the excavated materials
at a load, at S3 a day. It is not hazarding much to pronounce these al¬
lowances at least one-third too high. Carts are never hired on the Chesa¬
peake and Ohio canal, at more than Si 25 cts. per day, the driver being
himself found, but finding his own horse; and 80 cents per day is believed
to be an adequate allowance for the wages of each hand, including his board.
The subterranean character of the work would prevent the reduction of
the working days of the month, by changes of weather, and still farther
cheapen the operation. Still, as the breadth calculated for the tunnel, in
this estimate, is about 17 feet less than the greatest utility of the work would
require, after deducting the third of the computed cost of the excavation
320
£ Doc. No. loi. ]
and transportation of materials, or 450,000 dollars for the above reason, ,
and the cost of ventilating the tunnel, in consequence of the introduction of
the perpendicular working shafts over it; being, in all, half a million of
dollars, so as to reduce the cost of the tunnel described by the above engi»
neers, exclusive of contingencies, to less than one million; the residue may
be doubled on account of its increased breadth, and the sinking of the shafts;
and the cost of the tunnel put down at 2,200,000 dollars, including all con¬
tingencies.*
The ratio of the solid contents of the enlarged, to the solid contents of the
smaller tunnel, it is admitted, would not be in the direct proportion of their
relative breadth; hut the increased facility of working in an enlarged space,
and the reduction of the cost of transportation, effected by the application of'
the working shafts, would make this estimate sufficiently great to cover the
total expense of a tunnel, within which the canal boats might readily pass
each other in opposite directions.
This estimate supposes the tunnel to be conducted through solid rock; and ,
an inner arch of brick or stone to sustain the crown of it, to be unnecessary.
Should its passage be through ea'rth, requiring artificial support, the cost of
this should be added, but the expense of excavation be reduced, since this
necessity supposes the excavation not to be of rock.
Comparative cost of the various works on the western and eastern sections
of the State canal of Pennsylvania.
The river Alleghany, uniting with the Monongahela, after having received
the Yougheogany 12 miles above Pittsburg, forms the Ohio, at that city,
proposed termination of the Chesapeake and Ohio canal.
A canal, from Pittsburg, up the Alleghany, Kiskiminetas, and Conemaugh
rivers, to Johnstown, 104 miles in length, has already been constructed.
The country along the line of this canal, and that along the Monongahela and
Yougheogany rivers, up which, the western section of the Chesapeake and
Ohio canal is to be extended, is, in truth, the same. The cost, therefore, of
the works on the canal, already finished, may be assumed to be the measure
of the cost of the other: and, for this reason, it is deemed expedient to in¬
sert the following extract from a communication of Abner Lacock, esq. dated
December 15, 1827, to the hoard of Canal Commissioners of Pennsylvania.
"By the voluminous reports of the engineers, the board will learn what
has been accomplished, and what remains to be done, on this division of the
Pennsylvania canal, of which the following is a brief extract:
There has been, of excavation of earth - - yards, 1,522,436
Do do do roek - - 350,837
Embankment made ----- 692,71,8
Stone wall for protection - perches, 22,390
Mason work in locks, aqueducts, culverts, and bridges 32,307
It must be evident that the principal expense of a lock and canal naviga¬
tion will arise from, and be applicable to, the work comprehended under the
foregoing heads, taken conjointly ; and to settle a question that has been made
a subject of dispute, an exact average has been made of the actual cost
on each branch of the work upon this line, and the following result has been
obtained:
* A stove pipe continued from the top to the bottom of each shaft, with a smalt fnrnaoe erect«
ed over its summit, would ventilate the shaft, effeetuallv.
[ Doc. No. 101. ]
321
D. C. M.
Average price of earth, per cubic yard - - - 00 07 1
rock, do - - - 00 39 7
embankment - - - 00 10 2
wall, per perch - - - 00 52 5
road and farm bridges - - - 145 00 0
fencing canal, by the perch, with posts and
boards - - - - 00 75 0
locks, per foot lift, complete - - 578 50 0
The contract prices (undoubtedly less than the actual cost) of the like
work on the eastern section of the Pennsylvania canal, running through a
country much resembling the valley of the Potomac, to which it is parallel,
will be seen in the subjoined synopsis, by Mr. James Clarke, superintendent
of the Juniata division of that canal, submitted to the Board of Commission¬
ers, of which he was a member, cotemporaneously with the preceding re¬
port of General Abner Lacock.
A TABLE
EXHIBITING the average prices at which the various kinds of work were taken,
at the several lettings, on the Juniata division of the Pennsylvania Canal.
u
p
AVERAGE RATE AT WHICH THE WORK WAS GIVEN OUT.
Date of
the
lettings.
»
O
'5
o
a>
en
<*-
J»
Is
w •
o 0
>
B. *
Exca¬
vation.
Em¬
bank¬
ment .
Pud¬
dling.
Solid
rock.
Slate
rock.
Hard-
pan.
Verti¬
cal
wall.
Out¬
side
slope
wall.
Inside
slope
wall.
-a
" ti
if. 5
f S
ô
fc
d
2
Cents per cubic yard.
Cents pr perch
of 25 cub .ft.
Cts.pr.
sq. yd.
3 O
u
O
1827
Aug. 15
35
724
9
13}
18}
42 J
24}
19
39
49
13
$170
29
28
652
8}
12J
16}
42}
22}
17}
42}
-45}
,12}
76
Sept. 12
28
562
8}
13
15J
43}
23}
17}
45
50}
12}
160
Aver, of 91 sections
8}
13
16}
42}
23}
18
42}
48}
12}
135}
Conclusion of the appendix to the memorial of the Chesapeake and
Ohio Canal Company.
From the facts and reasoning in the preceding part of this appendix, which
has been unavoidably swelled to a voluminous size, the following deductions
must be apparent:
1st. That the actual cost of any canal or railroad must depend on the plan
adopted for each work, and the character of the ground over which it is con¬
ducted, both as to the quality of its soil or excavated materials, and the re¬
gularity, or inclination of its surface.
41
1
322
[ Doc. No. 101. ]
2d. That the prime cost of the best constructed railroad, of two tracks
only, passing over the most favorable ground, must ever greatly exceed the
prime cost of the best constructed canal, of ordinary dimensions, passing
over ground equally favorable for this species of improvement.
3d. That the best constructed railroads, of two tracks, in Europe or Ame¬
rica, and there are none, in either country, as yet, with more than two, ex¬
ceed, in their original cost, the best constructed canals in America, of ordin¬
ary dimensions.
4th. That the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad Co. acknowledged, by the last
annual report of its President and Directors, to be as yet imperfectly made
for two-thirds of itsextent below the Point of Rocks, and having but two
tracks, will cost, per mile, nearly or quite as much, and if its obvious defects be
hereafter supplied, probably more than the Chesapeake and Ohio canal,
which, when done, will be the largest in the world; and, in construction,
inferior to none.
5th. That the actual cost of transportation, for commodities, on the only
railroad in England, of two tracks, on stone sills, fitted for the exchange of
commodities between its extremes, exceeds the actual cost of transportation
on any of the canals of ordinary dimensions in the United States, in the ratio
of near or quite three to one, and this, whether the propelling power be ani¬
mal labor, or steam.
6t.h. That the cost of transportation on the first and best constructed divi¬
sion of the Baltimore and Ohio railroad, a division, about 13 miles long,
which has cost 860,000 a mile, has not been reported by the President and
Directors of that company, but probably exceeds the cost of transportation
on the Liverpool and Manchester railroad, and is thrice as great, as the
cost of transportation on the Chesapeake and Ohio canal.
7th. That the relative cost of keeping up, by annual repairs, th& fixed
capital vested in the construction of railroads, and their necessary appurte¬
nances, and that of canals, has not been, as yet, determined by actual expe¬
rience for a series of years; but must prove to be greatly in favor of canals,
so constructed, as to have no perishable structures about them, except the
wood of the lock gates, and certain parts of the houses of their attendants.
Sth. And hence it follows, that where great velocity is not required for
the transportation of the commodities of a country, as in one, the chief
commerce of which, consists of the rude productions of its forests, mines,
and agriculture,'canals furnish much more valuable channels of trade, than
railroads.
9th. But it rapid motion be desired, such have beçn the late discoveries
made in propelling passage boats on the canals in Scotland, that a rational
and well grounded hope may be indulged, of approximating the speed of
travelling on canals, very near to the useful or practical velocity on the best
constructed railroads of two or more tracks.
10th. There will remain, then, to counterbalance all these considerations
in favor of canals, having an adequate supply of water, but one advantage in
favor of railroads of any number of tracks, that of being unobstructed by ice,
during that part of each winter, in which the canal may be frozen, so deep,
as to be ^innavigable. But to this objection it may be replied, that many
winters, as far north as the valley of the Potomac, like that of 1S27 and
1S3S, afford no ice, at any time, of the thickness of three inches; and none
are so intensely severe as to pass without occasional thaws.
11th. To counterbalance this disadvantage, snow in winter, and dust in
summer, will be more injurious to railroads, than to canals. A remedy for
£ Doc. No. 101. ]
323
this last cause of objection, is purchased, as we have seen, on the Liverpool
and Manchester railroad, at a heavy cost of labor. In a thinly peopled
country, in passing successive ranges oí inaccessible as well as lofty moun¬
tains, beneath precipices of rocks extending for miles together, the remov¬
al of drifts of snow, in winter, would be attended with still greater expense,
and in snow storms or ice sleets of many hours, or several days' duration,
would be nearly impracticable.
12th. The freezing of the water in a canal, is then, the sole consideration
operating in the comparison unsettled between canals and railroads, to the
prejudice of. the former.
And on this subject, there yet remains to be stated, some facts that are not.
unworthy of consideration.
On the 1st of January, 1 S31, twelve members of the House of Represen¬
tatives ascended the first twenty miles of the Chesapeake and Ohio canal, in
a commodious packet boat, 'drawn by three horses amidst floating ice of
three inches thickness, broken only the day before. It was broken by a
fiat bottomed boat, of the value of six dollars, commonly called a gondola; on
board of which, were 24S barrels of flour, drawn by two horses, guided by
a lad of fourteen years of age, whose father received three dollars for the
labor of his son and houses, who descended twelve miles, and returned the
same day. The boat was protected from being cut by the ice, by two green
cut poles having their stump ends attached to the bottom of it, and brought
together at the other ends, and fastened to the tow-rope. As it proceeded,
it pressed the ice down, and made its way through it by crushing it to pieses,
so that the gondola received no injury. And if the ice on the surface of the
canal, when three inches thick, can be overcome with such facility, by means
so rude and simple, a very short period, only, of suspended navigation, in
each year, remains to be remedied by future invention.
The celebrated civil engineer, to whom the world owes so much, and
whom America, his country, has so imperfectly rewarded, the late Robert
Fulton, always believed that it would be very easy to construct a boat capable
of freeing the navigation of canals and rivers from the obstruction of ice in
O O
winter.
In the winter of 1S27 and 1S2S, there was not ice enough, after the month
of November, 1827, on the rivers of Virginia, to fill an ice-house; and the
ice consumed in the southern cities on navigable water, in the ensuing summer,
was imported from New England. In the latitude of the Potomac, therefore,
the possibility, whenever an active commerce shall require it, of removing
the obstruction of ice, on a broad canal, cannot be doubted. And with this
confident expectation, the memorialists close the long protracted appeal
which they have felt it their duty to make to the representatives of the
American people, in behalf of a national enterprize which owes its existence
to their wisdom and patriotism, and which, if steadily prosecuted, on the
plan on which it has been successfully begun and faithfully continued,
will be completed in a few years, and remain, ever after, the proudest
monument of that freedom and independence which gave it birth.
324
[ Doc. No. 101. 2
ADDITIONAL DOCUMENTS.
41 description of the plan, and a statement of the cost, of the Union
Canal of Pennsylvania.
The Union Canal Company of Pennsylvania connects the Susquehannah at
Middletown, nine miles below Harrisburg, with the Schuylkill,' three miles
above the head of the Girard canal, two miles below Reading, and about
fifty-seven miles above Philadelphia.
Its length is SO miles, exclusive of a navigable feeder on the Swatara,
hereafter mentioned.
Its works comprehend a tunnel of 243 yards in length, 18 feet wide, and
fourteen feet in height, two summit reservoirs, containing 12 millions of
cubic feet of water, one of them covering 27, and the other S acres; two
steam engines of 100 horse power each, and three water wheels for feeding
the canal by pumping; two dams, one across the Schuylkill, near Reading,
and the other across the Swatara, below Hummelstown; 43 waste wiers; 49
culverts; 135 bridges; 12 small and two large aqueducts: the latter are over
the Swatara, one 276 feet, the other 175 in length; two guard locks of wood,
92 locks of cut stone, and 14 miles of protection walls of stone.
The Swatara feeder, which is, in fact, a branch canal, is 24 miles in length,
including the great reservoir, formed by a dam 40 feet high, and covering
near 1,000 acres of surface, extending the navigation to the basins at Pine
Grove. A railroad of about four miles in length has also been constructed,
commencing at the basins in Pine Grove, and extending to the neighbor¬
hood of,the coal mines, with a rise of about 130 feet.
The works, and especially the numerous aqueducts and locks, have the
reputation of being well constructed.
Qn the eastern division of the Union canal, there are—
37 miles and 61 chains of canal,
3|| " of towing path,
54 locks and two guard locks,
311 feet of descent.
On the western division—
33t45 miles of canal,
4s towing path,
37 locks to the Pennsylvania canal,
192J feet of descent,
2 locks of wood at Middletown, near the mouth of the Swatara; descent
16 feet.
The summit level, which is planked, bottom and sides, is 67Í miles in
length.
Width of canal at bottom, - - 24 feet,
" " surface of water, - 36 "
Depth, - - - - 4 "
Depth of summit level, - - 5 "
Length of lock chamber, - - 75 "
Breadth of do - - 85 "
Length of boat, - - - 67 "
Breadth, out and out, - - - 8 " 3 inches,
Greatest width inside the clear, - - 7 " 6 "
[ Doc. No. 101. ]
325
Burthen from 25 to 30 tons, and will draw three feet of water: requires
ene horse or mule, and the attendance of one man and one boy.
The Swatara feeder is 6# miles long, 20 feet in width, four miles long,
five feet wide, and two feet deep, descent 7 feet.
Feeder from Kentner's reservoir If miles long, two feet deep, and 4J
feet wide; descent 4T\0y feet^
The cost of this canal and railroad has been, exclusive of interest on
loans, about two millions of dollars. Its stock consists of 2,500 shares of
new, and 738 shares of old stock, at $200 each, which are now selling in the
Philadelphia market at 228 to $230 for the former, and 185 to 190 for the
latter. The company have loans amounting to $1,430,400, upon which they
pay quarterly an interest at the rate of six per cent, per annum.
The tolls of this canal for the two last years, amounted to the following
sums: in 1830, $35,133 82; in 1831, 5£,137 21; and was derived from the
following commodities, viz.
Flour, Gypsum, Tobacco,
Wheat and rye, Fish, Leather,
Whiskey, , Salt, Limestone,
Iron, Merchandise, Butter,
Coal, Corn, Lard,
Lumber, Flaxseed, Hemp,
Shingles, Cloverseed, Bricks, &c.
Staves, Cotton,
The repairs of this canal from the 1st of April, lS28,'to January 1, 1831,
amounted to $14,737 40.
Repairs for 1831 alone, $2,723, which shows that the amount for repairs
is fast decreasing.
It has four collectors of tolls, whose salaries amount, altogether, to about
$1,250 per annum; 80 lock tenders and engineers at water works, who re¬
ceive, on an average, $10,223 25 per annum for their services.
The tolls are collected at the following places, viz. Fair Mount, Reading,
Lebanon, and Middletovvn, and some of the lock tenders are allowed to re¬
ceive tolls from boats passing a short distance on the line.
RATES OF TOLL UPON THE UNION CANAL—1831.
**■,f>l ' - l'
ARTICLES.
PER TON, &C.
toll per
mile.
Toll
whole
dist'ce.
Ashes, pot and pearl
Per ton of 7 barrels -
1J cts.
$1 20
Bark -
cord - - - -
1
80
ground -
ton -
H
1 00
Bricks ....
ton of 500
f
60
Beef, salted -
ton of S barrels -
là
1 20
Boards and other sawed stuff -
100 feet board measure
If
1 00
Barley ....
ton of 50 bushels
lè
1 20
Butter ....
ton ....
là
1 20
Clay . - - - -
ton . . . -
à
40
Cider - - - -
ton of 8 bbls, or 2 hhds
là
1 20
Coal
1
■
1
a
o
f
60
326
[ Doc. No. 101. 3
RATES OF TOLL—Continued.
ARTICLES.
PER TON,
&c.
toll per
mile.
Toll
whole
dist'ce.
Corn, Indian -
Per ton of 40 bushels
n
1 20
Earth -
ton -
-
è
40
Fish, salted -
ton of 7è bbls or 14 half
bbls
-
lè
1 20
Flour -
ton of 10-i barrels
lè
1 20
Furniture, household -
ton -
-
2
1 60
Grindstones -
ton -
-
1
80
Gypsum -
ton -
-
1
80
Hay
ton -
-
1
SO
Hoop poles, for barrels
ton of 400 "
Do for hhds. and pipes
ton of 200
1
80
Heading for do
ton of 400
1
Do for barrels
ton of 500^
Iron, bar, blooms, or wrought
ton -
-
14
1 00'
castings -
ton -
-
H
1 00
ore -
ton -
-
è
40
pig ...
ton -
-
i
SO
Lard
ton -
-
lè
1 20
Lime -
ton of 28 bushels
i
60
Limestone - - -
ton -
-
è
40
Manure -
ton -
-
è
40
Marble, unwrought
ton -
-
ï
60
manufactured -
ton -
-
2
1 60
Merchandise -
ton -
-
2
1 60
Mill stones and French burrs
ton -
-
14
1 00
Oats -
ton of 80 bushels
lè
1 20
Oysters -
ton of 4,000
2
1 60
Pork, salted -
ton of 8 barrels -
lè
1 20
Posts, and rails, split
Plastering lath, 3 feet long -
100 -
-
i
SO
SO bundles,
or 5,000 to
' the ton -
-
lè
1 20
Rye -
ton of 40 bushels
lè
1 20
Rosin -
ton of 8 barrels -
2
1 60
Salt, fine -
ton of 45 bushels 0
2
1 60
coarse -
ton of 32 bushels V
Seed, clover }
flax V
ton of 40 bushels >
lè
1 20
of all other lands S
Shingles ... -
thousand -
-
1
60
Straw -
ton -
-
è
40'
Staves, for pipes -
ton of 400
for hogsheads
ton of 500 >
-
l
80
for barrels -
ton of 600 N
Stone -
ton of 4-5ths of a perch
è
40
Tar
ton of 7 barrels -
2
1 60
Timber, round and square
90 solid feet
.
14
1 00
Wheat ....
ton of 40 bushels
lè
1 20
£ Doc. No. 101. ]
RATES OF TOLL—Continued.
327
Whiskey, and other domestic
distilled spirits -
Window glass -
Wood -
On all articles not enumerated,
passing eastward
On all articles not enumerated,
passing westward
On passing boats -
On boats used for transporta¬
tion, carrying over 5 tons -
On boats, if empty, or carrying
not more than 5 tons, besides
the toll on cargo
For passing the outlet locks at
Middletown (except such
boats as have come,or are go¬
ing immediately on the Uni¬
on canal):
On every loaded boat -
On every empty boat -
Per ton of 2 hhds. or S bbls.
ton of 2,800 feet
cord -
ton -
ton -
mile -
mile -
mile -
It
2
1
lè
2
20
STATEMENT of the Tonnage which, passed the Union Canal, from
the first of November, 1S30, to November 1st, 1831.
ARTICLES.
QUANTITY.
WEIGHING TONS.
Flour -
74,905 barrels
7,133
16
ù
0
WTheat and rye -
257,565 bushels
6,439
o
O
2
0
Whiskey - - - -
12,763 barrels
1,595
7
2
0
Iron -
-
5,110
15
3
14
Coal (bituminous)
85,053 bushels
2,835
2
3
0
Lumber - - - -
13,303,000 feet -
13,303
1
1
0
Shingles - - - -
6,292,000 -
3,146
5
o
0
Staves -
-
S3
0
3
0
Gypsum - - - -
-
6,996
1
2
0
Fish -
12,263 barrels
1,635
2
1
7
Salt -
61,920 bushels
1,54S
8
O
O
23
Merchandise -
....
6,3S9
6
3
0
Sundries, consisting of corn,
flaxseed, clover seed, cot¬
ton, tobacco,leather, lime¬
stone, butler, lard, hemp,
bricks, &c. -
-
3,755
4
0
22
Total amount of tonnage
59,970
16
2
10
Amount of tolls received during the same period, $59,137 21.
328
[ Doc. No. loi. 1
Extract from a speech of Mr. Maynard, delivered February 25, 1S 32,
iu the Senate, of New York, showing how small a portion oj the reve¬
nue of the Erie canal is derived from passengers.
The report of the canal board, said Mr. Maynard, states the amount of
tolls received on passengers in packet boats during the last year, at about
8,000 dollars; but that they were not able to state the precise amount re¬
ceived on passengers in other boats. They had, however, given seme data
from which a calculation could be made, and from which he had made an
estimate, though it was difficult to ascertain the precise sum. His estimate
was, that the tolls on packet boats amounted to 12,000 dollars, to which, be¬
ing added the 8,000 dollars received on passengers, made the whole amount
received on these boats and their passengers, 20,000 dollars. The amount
of line boats, he estimated at 2S,000, but would set it down at 30,000. The
whole amount would then be 50,000 received annually from this source; and
it remained to be considered how much would be withdrawn from the canal,
should this road be constructed.* Mr. M. conceded that all the travelling in
packet boats would be withdrawn from the canal if this road should be con¬
structed, but denied that any would be withdrawn from the line or freight
boats. Those who travelled in them consisted almost wholly of emigrants
from the eastern States to the western country, and emigrants from Eu¬
rope, English, Irish, Swiss, [Germans, Mancks, and Welsh, having the
same destination, none of whom would ever travel on the railroad. They
did not desire expedition, but sought a slow, safe, and economical mode of
conveyance, and there was none more economical, than in those boats, where
an adult passenger could be carried one hundred miles, for two dollars and a
half, including his board. Mr. M. believed it a fair estimate that $50,000
annually, for tolls from this source, was all that would ever be realized.
Now, said Mr. M., will the State retain all this, if the railroad be not made?
He thought not. A report made by the canal board to the Senate, in 1830,
"stated that these packet boats should be driven from the canal, sooner or
later. And a report from the Committee on Canals of the Senate of the same
year, stated that it was a convenient mode of travelling and transporting
valetudinarians, but that they had done moreinjury to the canal, lhan all the
tolls ever paid by them, into the canal fund, had benefitted that fund, and
that it would be better to stop them at once. Still they had been permitted
to remain. The proprietors, themselves, believed that the time was not far
distant when they would be driven from the canal."
RAILROAD FROM ALBANY TO SCHENECTADY.
Report of the President and Secretary of the Mohawk and Hudson Rail¬
road Company to the House of Assembly of the State of New York.
New York, January 26, 1S32.
The undersigned, the President and Secretary of the Mohawk and Hudson
Railroad Company, beg leave, in compliance with the resolution of the hon¬
orable House of Assembly of the 21st instant, respectfully to report:
1. That it appears by the books of the treasurer of the said company, that
the sum ol four hundred and eighty three thousand two hundred and fifteen
dollars and forty-six cents, (483,215,46) has been actually paid and disbursed
in the construction of said railroad,! up to the present date.
* A road parallel to the canal.
I This railroad is but sixteen miles long.
[ Doc. No. 10 i. 3
329
2. That, from the estimates of the engineers of the said company, and from
an examination recently made of the contracts not yet completed, it appears,
that, to complete a double railroad within the limits prescribed by the act
incorporating the Mohawk and Hudson Railroad Company, with the neces¬
sary machinery, carriages, and appurtenances, will require the expenditure
of the additional sum of one hundred and fifty-six thousand six hundred and
ninety-three dollars and eighty-seven cents, ($156,693.87.)
3. That the precise route of the branch railroad contemplated by the said
company, has not yet been determined upon, nor any accurate examination
made of the ground. The undersigned are therefore unable to state with
any certainty what the expense of constructing the branch railroad will
amount to, but they are inclined to believe that it will not vary materially
from the sum of one hundred thousand dollars, ($100,000,) beingthe amount
the said company has (in the joint application made with the Albany and
Schenectady Turnpike Company, to the honorable the Legislature of the
State,) prayed may be added to its capital stock for the express purpose of
making said branch.
The undersigned beg leave respectfully to add, that, until the railroad be
completed, the details of the items on which the expenditures above recited
have accrued, are necessarily kept in the offices of the engineers of the com¬
pany, in the cities of Albany and Schenectady. They have therefore judged
it to be more respectful to the honorable House over whose deliberations
you preside, to communicate forthwith the information immediately within
their reach, complying, as it fully does, with the terms of the resolution, than
to delay for the purpose of presenting their report in a detailed form, speci¬
fying the exact objects to which the expenditures have been directed. They
beg leave, however, to tender, on behalf of the board of directors of the
Mohawk and Hudson Railroad Company, any additional information their
archives may contain, and this not as a matter of mere duty, but in the be¬
lief that the experience of this company may be of value in the investigation
of the many projects of similar character now pending before the Legisla¬
ture.
All which is respectfully submitted.
STEPHEN VAN RENSSELAER,
President of the Mohawk and Hudson Railroad Company.
JAS. RENWICK,
Secretary of the Mohawk and Hudson Railroad Company.
RAILROAD FROM NEWCASTLE TO FRENCHTOWN,
IN THE STATE OP DELAWARE.
The length of the road from centre of Front street, in Newcastle, to the
wharf, on Elk river, at Frenchtown, is 86,910 feet, or miles.
f^ote.—The length of a straight line, connecting the eastern and western
terminations of the road, is 84,332 feet, or 15^^ miles.
This road is composed of 6 curves and 6 straight lines, of which the
curves amount to 27,240 feet, or miles.
And the straight lines amount to 59,670 feet, or 11-A miles.
The radius of the least curve is 10,560 feet, or 2 miles. The deflection on
100 feet of which, is of a foot, or l~tj inches.
The radius of the greatest curve is 20,000 feet, or 3T7595 miles. The de¬
flection on 100 feet of which, is 0.062 of a foot, or I of an inch.
42
330
[ Doc. No. 101. ]
The road bed is graded 26 feet wide, exclusive of side drains; average
width, including drains, about 35 feet.
The whole amount of excavation, exclusive of those drains, is 496,000
cubic yards.
And the whole amount of embankment is 423,000 cubic yards.
There are 4 bridges or viaducts, and 29 culverts of stone masonry.
The deepest excavation is 36t3ö feet.
The highest embankment 23-^ feet.
The greatest ascent or descent on the road is 29 feet to a mile. This
grade is only for about ^ of a mile next to the western termination of the
road.
The greatest ascent or descent on any other part of the road, is 16^ feet
per mile.
The cost of graduation, including the cutting of drains, filling wharves for
landings at New Castle and Frenchtown; and also horse track within the
rails, and exclusive of masonry, .... $185,000
Or, per mile, about, ------ 11,000
The cost of bridges and culverts, (materials and workmanship) about 16,000
Or, per mile, nearly, - 1,000
A single track of railroad is laid down with seven sidelings for turn-outs of
500 feet in length each.
On about 9 miles of the track, the rails are laid upon blocks of granite, con¬
taining each about 2 cubic 'feet, placed at the distance of 3 feet apart from
centre to centre, and well bedded on sand or gravel.
The string pieces upon which the iron bars, or rails, are laid, are of Geor¬
gia yellow heart pine, 6 inches square, and are fastened to the blocks by cast
iron knees, two to each stone.
The iron rails (or bars) are 2% inches wide, and f of an inch thick.
On the remainder of the track, say 1\ miles, the string pieces and rails of
the above description, are supported on wood foundations; the greater por¬
tion of which is of the description following, viz.
Hemlock plank, averaging about 10 inches wide and 4 inches thick, are
laid lengthwise along the track on both sides, in the bottom, resting on sand
or gravel. On this foundation, cross sleepers of white oak, about 7j feet
long and eight inches in diameter, are laid 3 feet apart from centre to centre,
which are spiked down to the plank. On these sleepers, the string pieces
rest, and are secured to them in the usual manner.
The cost of materials and workmanship for the part of the track with stone
foundations, per mile, ----- $6,300 00
Cost of the materials and workmanship for the part of track with wood
foundation, per mile, ------ $4,440 00
The total cost of the road, including land, fencing, damages, wharves or
landings, expense of engineer department, pay of officers, &c., and exclu¬
sive of depots and other buildings not completed, - - $365,000 00
Or, per mile, about, ..... 22,000 00
New Castle, April 1th, 1832.
Dear Sir: The preceding answers to your inquiries relative to our rail¬
road, are made out as exhibiting, as near as practicable, the information de¬
sired. As we have not yet entirely completed the road, we cannot present
[ Doc. No. lOi. ]
331
a statement of expenditure embracing the full amount, with certainty. As
to the expense of transportation, we have not yet had time to ascertain what
it will be.
Yours, respectfully, &c..
' KENSEY JOHNS, Jr.
Hon. Chas. F. Mercer.
LIVERPOOL AND MANCHESTER RAILROAD.
From Gore's Liverpool General Advertiser.
Published prior to the commencement of the road.
" proposed railroad.
"Mr. Stephenson, of Newcastle-upon-Tyne, has laid down the line be¬
tween Liverpool and Manchester; the distance is 33 1-16 miles. The sur¬
veys are nearly completed, and the committee entertain not the least doubt
of being ready for the next session of Parliament. Independent of the great
benefit which the commercial interest will derive from the project, which,
both as regards time and cheapness, will prove most important, the landed
interest in the vicinity of the line, will also derive very great benefit. The
communication will be so cheap and rapid, that the distance from a market
for produce, or for the supply of manure, will amount to very little. New
collieries will be opened, and coals w.ill be much reduced in price. The
public, in general, entertain wrong impressions respecting railways: they
never hear them mentioned, without referring to such as are seen in the
neighborhood of coal pits and stone quarries. But such improvements have
taken place, that they are no longer the same thing; besides which, a rail¬
way, without a locomotive engine, is something like a cart'without a horse,
a trade without profit, or a canal without water."
From the Courier.
railroads and locomotive steam engines.
The public, generally, are but very little aware of the uses to which rail¬
roads are about to be applied. The following information, therefore, will, we
trust, be acceptable to our readers.
Hitherto, railroads have been used for very limited purposes, and when¬
ever they are spoken of, it is in connection with coal pits and stone quarries;
but they are now about to be applied for the purpose of conveying mer¬
chandise over very extended lines of country, and thus they are becoming
an object of great national interest.
Railroads, as hitherto worked by horses, possess very little, if any, ad¬
vantage over canals; but railroads worked by the locomotive steam engine,
have so decided a superiority, both as regards time and expense, that there
can be no question but they will be generally adopted, wherever a new line
of conveyance has become necessary, either from an increased trade, or from
the exorbitant demands of canal proprietors.
By the locomotive engine, fifty tons of goods may be conveyed by a ten
horse power engine on a level road, at the rate of six miles an hour, and
lighter weights at a proportioned increase of speed. Carriages for the con¬
veyance of passengers, at the rate of 12 or 14 miles per hour. For canals,
it is necessary to have a dead level, but not so for railroads; an engine will
work goods over an elevation of one-eighth of an inch to the yard. Where
332
[ Doc. No. iOl. ]
the ascent or descent is rapid, and cannot be counteracted by cuttings or em¬
bankments, recourse must be had to permanent engines and inclined planes,
just as recourse is had to locks for canals: but here again the railroad sys¬
tem has a great advantage; the inclined plane causes no delay, while locking
creates a great deal.
Two acts of Parliament have already been obtained, namely, the Stockton
and Darlington act, and the Moreton act. On these lines, which exceed
thirty miles each, it is intended to adopt the locomotive engine, and they
will both be very soon ready for the conveyance of goods. There are also
three or four other railroads projected.
Two years ago, several gentlemen in Liverpool and Manchester subscrib¬
ed to obtain a survey of a line between those two towns. It was accom¬
plished and found practicable. From various causes, the prosecution of the
plan was delayed; but, a few months since, it was undertaken with great
spirit. A deputation from both towns was appointed to inspect the rail¬
roads and locomotive engines of the north. They inspected the Stockton and
Darlington line, and inquired minutely into its cost; they witnessed the en¬
gines working on the Helton railroad, near Sunderland, and made a most
favorable report. The committee immediately appointed Mr. George Ste¬
phenson, of Newcastle-upon-Tyne, their engineer, who has since surveyed
and adopted a new line. Its length is 33 and l-16th miles, and the greatest
ascent or descent is only 1-16th of an inch to the yard. The distance by
the high road is 36 miles, and by the canals and river 50 miles. The shares
appropriated to Liverpool and Manchester, have all been disposed of, but
the committee have a small number placed in their hands, to be distributed
as they may deem proper. Application for an act will be made next session
of Parliament; the cost is estimated at about £ 300,000.* Mr. Stephenson
has also laid down a line between Birmingham and Liverpool, of which re¬
port speaks most favorably; and the Birmingham committee will also go to
Parliament next session.
Extract from a late Report of the Directors of the Liverpool and Man¬
chester railway.
Liverpool, 28th September, 1S31.
The directors, at thegeneral meeting held in this place exactly six months
ago, laid before the proprietors the result of the working of the railway for
Sà months, up to the 31st December, 1830.
They have now to report the result of six months' operations, from the
1st January, to the 30th June last. During that period, the company's busi¬
ness, both in merchandise and passengers, has been gradually and steadily
on the increase.
The tonnage of merchandise conveyed between Liverpool
and Manchester, for the six months, amounts to
Between Liverpool and the Bolton junction,
Coals, principally from the Huyton collieries, a distance
of five miles from Liverpool, -
Number of passengers booked at the company's offices,
35,865 tons.
6,827 "
42,692 «
2,899 "
188,726
* About one-third of its actual cost.
[ Doc. No. 101. ] 333
The gross receipts on this traffic are as follows:
On passengers, - =643,600 J 5
merchandise, ....... 21,875 0 1
coal, - - - - - . - - 218 6 2
=665,693 13 8
Amounting to 4s. 7id. each, per passenger booked, and 10s. 3c?. per ton
of merchandise conveyed.
The disbursements upon the same traffic, amount to =635,379 3 10
Or, belonging to the coaching department, - - =619,099 16 5
to merchandise, &c. .... 16,279 7 5
¿35^379 3To
These disbursements, the .directors, from the classification of their ac¬
counts, are enabled to apportion to the different departments, and under
different heads of expenditure, as follows:
Disbursements exclusively in
the coaching1 department,
consisting of porterage, sal¬
aries, repairs, &c., includ¬
ing 2£d per passenger for
Omnibussus
Disbursements exclusively in
the merchandise depart¬
ment, consisting of porter¬
age, salaries, cartages, &c.
Locomotive power account,
proportioned according to
the number of trips of 30
miles, in each department
respectively,comprising re¬
pairs of engines, wages,
coke, &c., including £33
17s. 3d. for conveyance of
coal as back carriage
Sundry disbursements pro¬
portioned according to the
receipts in each depart¬
ment, conisting of police
establishment, general of¬
fice establishment, mainte¬
nance of way, rates, taxes,
&c. including £2910 0s. 3d.
for interest of money bor¬
rowed - - -
Total disbursements
Amount of profit -
Cross receipts as per above
statement
Per pas¬
senger
booked.
s. d.
0 7i
0 5|
0 lOf
2 0i
2 7
4 7i
Per ton
of mer¬
chandise.
». d.
3 lOj
1 8J
1 11¿
7 7
2 8
10 3
Coaching de.
partment.
£. ». d.
6146 11 0
4505 18 10
8447 6 7
19099 16 5
24500 11 0
43600 7 5
Merchandise
department.
£. s. d.
8306 3 11
3692 14 5
4280 9 1
16279 7 5
5813 18 10
22093 6 3
Totals.
£. ». d.
6146 11 0
8306 3 11
8198 13 3
12727 15 8
35379
30314
3 10
9 10
65693 13 8
334
[ Doc. No. 101. 3
" The directors have found the disbursements consider ably heavier than
they anticipated, especially that portion of them belonging to the merchandise
department. It may be proper, however, to remark, that the quantity of mer¬
chandise conveyed is comparatively small, the business at the present moment
being on a much larger scale than the average business of the six months in¬
cluded in this statement, while the expense of carriage will not keep pace in.
the same ratio with the increase of the tonnage. On the other hand, with re¬
ference to the present result, as no allowance is made for wear of materials,
(except what is comprised in actual repairs,) the first six months will have
some advantage over succeeding periods, from the wagons, &c. being new
to begin with. The above statement of receipts and disbursements has refer¬
ence, of course, exclusively to the traffic on the line. The sum raised by
the creation of new quarter shares, being appropriated altogether to the
building of warehouses, wharfs and sheds, the purchase of engines, cranes
and wagons, and, generally, to the completion of the road and the works."
The following extracts are from a work entitled " Remarks on Canal
Navigation, by William Fairbairn, Engineer, published in London
in 1831."
Since the first formation of canals in this country, 'there have been very
few attempts made to improve the construction of vessels adapted to an in¬
land navigation. The passage boats of the present day are nearly the same
as they were fifty years ago; and little, or rather no improvement has taken
place in the heavier description of vessels for the conveyance of goods,
since the period of their first introduction. Probably this might have gone
on in the same state of supposed perfection, had not the introduction of
railways, which are now in progress, occasioned such a sensation in the
country.
From the first commencement of canal navigation up to the present
time, the average speed of conveyance has never exceeded four miles and a
half per hour on passage boats, and two miles and a half on heavy flats.—
This seems to have been the maximum velocity; and it was taken as an es¬
tablished rule, that boats could not be conveyed along canals) at a greater
rate, without incurring loss, and a considerable increase in the cost of transit
My particular attention was, in the month of January last, drawn to
these very obvious defects in canal navigation, by Mr. Thomas Grahame,
of Glasgow, who had, for some years before, been giving a great deal of at¬
tention to the improvements on canal navigation, by the introduction of
steam as a moving power.
Mr. Grahame requested me to give Ihe subject my best consideration, in
order to see how far such a light description of boat, having a small draught
of water, would be applicable to quick speed, and whether steam could not
advantageously used as a propelling power on canals.
The fulfilment of Mr. Grahame's instructions, was surrounded with diffi¬
culties of no ordinary character; such as the resistance of fluids to moving
bodies, the agitation of the surface, and the consequent danger to the banks
of the canal, arising from the surge or wave, occasioned by vessels propell¬
ed at a quick rate. These and many other obstacles presented themselves.
Not the least, however, was the power requisite to raise, and maintain an
accelerated velocity in bodies opposed by such a powerful resistance. It
also appeared questionable, whether the power required was not more than
commensurate to the advantage gained by the proposed increase of speed.
£ Doc. No. 101. 3
335
In Holland, the passage boats travel at the rate of six English miles per
hour; and I believe, on some lines of navigation, It is no uncommon occur¬
rence for boats to move even at a greater velocity. In this country we sel¬
dom, if ever exceed five miles; and I am inclined to think, that four miles
*nd a half per hour is the greatest and most advantageous speed we have
yet attained.
The source, to which I looked for improvements, was steam; a judicious
employment of which might remove the difficulties, and furnish power suf-
ficient to overcome all obstructions. Steam engines of the usual con
struction, from their great weight, seemed but indifferently calculated for
propelling boats on canals, as the draught of water would be increased, and
greater risk of injury to the banks would be the consequence. Engines on
the locomotive principle,.from their portability and lightness, appeared best
fitted for the purpose, and best calculated to give the requisite force, with¬
out materially increasing the weight of the boat, or producing the appre¬
hended injury to the canal banks.
This being a settled point, the next consideration was, how to employ
these engines to advantage; how to give perfect security; and, at the same
time, how to produce at least a double velocity, without incurring the inju
rious tendencies already délailed. This was certainly a desideratum more
to be wished for than expected. We all know that force must be applied to
a body to move it through a fluid; that such force meets with opposition from
the resisting fluid; and, that that resistance is stated to increase with the
squares of the velocities. These points being taken for granted, it will be
seen that there was much to contend with in surmounting such formidable
obstacles.
Taking as a datum what has been already stated, that the resistance of
fluids to passing bodies is as the squares of the velocities, I had then to cat
culate what power would be requisite to give the increased speed to boats of
different tonnage, and to produce a force equal to the resistance as laid
down by scientific men, who have treated on this subject.
I was prevented pursuing with Mr. Grahame the inquiries on the sub¬
ject of canal steam navigation, by business, which compelled my own and
his attendance in London for the greatest part of last spring.
While we were engaged there, an experiment was made by William
Houstoun, esquire, of Johnstone, on the Ardrossan canal; the results of
which were communicated to me, and which at once seemed to make rapid
motion on a canal infinitely more easy, by doing away with the danger of
injury to the banks, by wave or surge consequent on quick motion through
a comparatively narrow body of water.
The experiment, made by Mr. Houstoun, consisted in the introduction in
to the canal of a common gig boat, in which ten or twelve passengers were
seated; after which the boat was drawn through the canal by a single track
horse, at the rate of twelve miles an hour, without either wave or surge.—
Unluckily no printed account of this experiment was ever published, or it
would be proper here to insert it.
In pursuance of this first experiment, Mr. Grahame, on his return to
Glasgow, proposed to have it renewed on the Forth and Clyde canal; but,
on examining the gig boat, with which the experiment was made, he found
it was so light and unsteady, as to give an idea of want of safety to passen]
gers; and he was afraid that if a larger and stronger boat were built, it
might have the same faults; and, at all events, it would be so crank as to be
unfitted for the application of steam power.
336
[ Doc. No. 10Ï. ]
To avoid these difficulties, and to obtain steadiness and security on the:
water, the idea of a twin boat, of the description of the single gig boat, sug¬
gested itself to Mr. Grahame, and, to prove the suggestion, an experiment
was made, of which the following account appeared in the various newspa¬
pers of the day:
"Experiments on the velocity of light boats on a canal.
"The following experiments prove, most satisfactorily, that a very high
rate of speed may be obtained and kept up on canals for the conveyance of
passengers and luggage, at a very trifling expense, and without injury to the
banks, by the agitation of the water.
"About six weeks ago, at the suggestion of one of the committee of ma¬
nagement of the Ardrossan canal, a gig, such as is used in rowing matches,
was hired, and being launched on that canal, it was found that she could be
drawn along the canal at the rate of twelve miles per hour. On this occa¬
sion, eight persons and the steersman were in the gig, when a distance of
two miles was accomplished with one horse in ten minutes, without any
surge or agitation of the water, so as to injure the banks.
" As, from the necessary lightness of the above description of boats, they
are very crank or unsteady in the water, and easily moved from side to side,
the following experiment, to try the effect of a double or twin boat, was
made on the Forth and Clyde canal, on Thursday last.
"Two gigs were hired, but unluckily two of the same size could not be
procured. The one gig was thirty-three feet in length, and four feet two
inches in breadth, at the broadest point. The other was thirty feet in length,
and four feet in breadth, at the broadest. They were strongly fastened toge¬
ther by cross planks, and otherwise secured, so as to prevent any yielding.
At the point in front where the respective keels cut the water, the distance
was exactly four feet nine inches, measuring along the surface of the water,
while the distance about the centre of the boats, measuring on the surface
of the water, was only 18 inches. Between the prows of the two boats, a
pole was fixed or inserted in one of the connecting boards, three feet in
height, and to the top of which a towing line was attached, which, unfortu¬
nately, however, was too short and too thick. The horses, also, used for the
trial, could not, except at a gallop, go at a pace above eight miles.an hour.
The boats proceeded from the old basin on the Forth and Clyde canal, and
went out three miles and a half towards Kirkintilloch." The first mile, in¬
cluding the passage of a bridge, where the line was thrown off, and the
time lost in consequence of the rope yielding over the top of the pole, and
being thus disengaged from the boat, was about seven minutes; and the
surge was not greater than that raised by the common canal passage boat.
Even at the curves, where, from the shortness of the line, the boats were
obliged to come close into shore, the water never receded under the bottom
of the stone facing. The next two miles were done, each in the course of
six minutes, but the pace was very irregular, owing to the necessity of
keeping the horse at a gallop. In returning the three miles and a half
homewards, no regular account was kept of the first two miles and a half;
but the last mile was done in five minutes, including the time lost at the
passage of a drawbridge, where the line had to be thrown off, and the pass¬
ing of a large sloop, where the speed was obliged to be slackened. In the
last mile, the surge occasioned by the passage of the boat through the canal,
was less than when moving at a lower velocity, and could not, by possibili¬
ty, injure the banks in the least degree, where lined with stone; nor would
[ Doc. No. 101. J
337
the surge have injured the banks more, though unlined with stone, than the
ordinary passage boats moving a little upwards of five miles an hour. Mr.
Hunter, the proprietor of the boats, stated his belief that this would be the
result of a high rate of speed before it was tried; but whether the decrease
of wave arose from the steersman of the boats having become better ac¬
quainted with their trim in the canal, or from whatever other cause it arose,
their effect was evident to every person on board When passing through
the water, there was very little agitation on the outside of the two boats, but
the water was frequently raised six and seven inches, and more in the centre
parts of the little trough or canal between the boats; so much so, that small
portions of it were thrown over into the boats. The water, after passing the
straight parts of the trough or canal between the boats, came out with great
rapidity behind, and went off in a small column or wave, sometimes five or
six inches above the keels or rudders, making towards the banks on each
side. The number of.people on board the boats, was nine or ten. After
this experiment, the larger boat was detached-, and two miles out and in on
the canal were done at the rate of fifteen miles an hour. One of these
miles, where a bridge had to be passed, and in which a loaded vessel was
also passed, and where, at the bridge, the line had to be thrown off, and then
caught and thrown into the boat, was done in four minutes and a half. In
fact the speed seemed only limited by the power of the horses. The surf or
surge was very slight with the single boats, even when moving at fifteen
miles ail hour; but still it bore a much greater proportion-to that occasioned
by the double boat, considering the very unfair nature of the trial, than
could have been imagined. No danger is to be apprehended from the stop¬
page of the double or single boats, however suddenly, as they brought them¬
selves up almost instantaneously. It is right to explain, in regard to the trial
of the single boat, that this trial was made with the same horse that had
previously done the experiment in the double boat; otherwise, the time
would, no doubt, have been considerably shorter. One horse only was used
in drawing, and, for the first two or three miles, it was ridden by the driver,
a heavy man, without a saddle.
"There can be no doubt, that, if the above experiment had been made
with a properly constructed twin boat, the surge or wave must have been
much diminished, if not entirely done away with, while the boat would have
been equally steady. We understand that a large passage boat, ofa gig-shapc,
is at present constructing by*Mr. Wood, of Fort-Glasgow, for the Ardros-
san canal, and that it is expected she will perform the voyage between Pais¬
ley and Glasgow, in three quarters of an hour, carrying SG passengers. As
this boat is to be single, it has been suggested that any unsteadiness or crank-
ness in the water, may be done away with, by placing around the boat, and
a little above the water mark, a hollow copper or iron tube, such as is used
in safety boats. In this way, she would at once be brought to a bearing, be¬
fore yielding much to either side, and, at the same time, the boat would be
at once made a safety boat.
"Three different results from the above experiment, are worthy attention:
first, the ease with which the boats were brought up or stopped, when mov¬
ing at a high rate of velocity; second, the little additional labor in drawing,
occasioned to the horse when drawing the boat at this high rate, as compared
with a low rate of velocity ; and, third, the apparent diminution of the surge
or agitation in the water, at a high rate of velocity. The best explanation
of these matters, is by the supposition, that, at a high rate of velocity, the
flat boat rises toward the surface, and skims over instead of cutting the water.
43
338
[ Doc. No. 101. ]
The moment the towing line is slacked of, the boat sinks to her usual depth,
and of course "brings herself up immediately, owing to the increased resist¬
ance of the additional column of water which she must cut. On the other
hand, when moving at a high rate, and skimming near the surface of the
water, the labor of the horse is diminished in proportion to the diminution
of the column of water displaced, and the wave or surge is diminished in a
like ratio. The Ardrossan canal isa very small barge canal, fitted for boats
of from 25 to 30 tons burthen, while the Forth and Clyde canal is ten feet
deep, and of a proportional breadth. The gigs with which the above expe¬
riments were made, belonged to Mr. Hunter, boat-builder, Brown street,
Glasgow, who fitted up the twin boats for the experiments in the Forth and
Clyde canal; and who is, at present, engaged in making the model of a large
twin boat, fitted to carry passengers and luggage on the Forth and Clyde canal.
Great credit was due to Mr. Hunter for the mode in which the twin boat
was fitted up and connected."
The diminution of wave or surge consequent on very rapid motion through
the canal, stated to have been.observed by Mr. Grahame, the writer of the
above account, appeared very anomalous, and contrary to all previous theory,
and was, by many persons present at the experiment, considered as ideal.
In the month of June afterwards, in consequence of the success of Mr.
Houstoun's experiment, a light gig-shaped boat, built by the Ardrossan Canal
Company, was launched on that canal, and the following is a detailed ac¬
count of her first voyage to and from Paisley:
"First voyage of the Paisley Canal New Passage Boat.
"Some months ago, by the suggestion of Mr. William Houstoun, of
Johnstone, the committee of management of the Ardrossan and Paisley ca¬
nal were induced to make certain experiments for ascertaining the rate of
velocity at which a light gig boat might be propelled along that canal., The
experiments were made with a gig rowing boat of about thirty feet in length,
constructed by Mr. Hunter, boat-builder, Brown street, Glasgow; and this
boat, with ten men on board, was drawn two miles along the Ardrossan or
Paisley canal, in the space of less than ten minutes, without raising any
surge or commotion on the water—the force employed being one horse, rid¬
den by a canal driver. No account of this trial has ever been given to the
public; but it was so satisfactory as to induce the committee of the Ardros¬
san canal to contract with Mr. Wood, of Port Glasgow, for a gig-shaped
passage boat, sixty feet in length, and five feet ih breadth, fitted to carry from
thirty-six to forty passengers.
"In the month of April last, a number of experiments were made in the
Forth and Clyde canal, with two gig boats-fixed together, constructed by
Mr. Hunter, and thus forming what is called a twin boat. The object of
these trials was to ascertain the rate of speed at which vessels might be pro¬
pelled along that canal, and the effect of a light double or twin boat, in giv¬
ing that degree of steadiness, which, it was apprehended, would be so much
wanting in a light single boat. A statement of these experiments on the
Forth and Clyde canal, has already appeared in the newspapers, and the
only fact therein mentioned, which it seems necessary to repeat here, is the
remarkable circumstance, that the quicker the boats were propelled through
the water, the less appearance there was of surge or wave on the sides of the
canal. This result, so contrary to every previous theory, was doubted by
several of the parties present at these experiments. The surge was, at no
£ Doc. No. 101. ]
339
time, and, in no instance, to any extent, and the apparent diminution of it at
a high rate of velocity, was supposed to be imaginary. The result of the
experiment, however, was so satisfactory, that a twin boat of a gig shape,
sixty feet in length, and nine feet broad, is at present building by Mr. Hun¬
ter, Brown street, Glasgow, and will be launched in the Forth and Clyde
canal in the course of the present month.
" The single gig-shaped passage boat, contracted for by the Ardrossan
Canal Committee, was launched at Port Glasgow on Wednesday last, the
2d of June, and she was towed up to the Bromielaw, and thence carried to
Port Eglinton the day following; and, on Friday the 4th of June, a trial, of
which the following is¡an account, took place. The boat is sixty feet long,
four feet six inches breadth of beam, and drew, on an average, including a
deep keel, ten inches when light.
"From the great hurry in which this trial was made, it was done under
many disadvantages. None of the canal horses were accustomed to, or able
for a continuation.to move at any high rate of speed, and a post horse which
had never towed a boat, and was quite new to the kind of work or pull ne¬
cessary on a canal, was the substitute. The hauling rope was too thick. The
boat started from Port Eglinton for Paisley, a few minutes after one o'clock,
with twenty persons on board, and the distance from Port Eglinton to Pais¬
ley, being seven miles, was accomplished in one hour and seven minutes.
The greatest speed with which the boat moved during this journey, was at
the rate of one mile in nine minutes; and the slowest rate at which any one
mile was accomplished, was eleven minutes.
" As the horse was quite unaccustomed to dragging boats, and it was ap¬
prehended that it might scare at the canal, and in passing under the narrow
bridges, the rider was ordered to start, and proceed the first mile or so at a
very moderate pace; but even at this moderate pace, the wave raised in
front of the boat was very considerable. A high wave was seen on the ca¬
nal preceding the boat, about eighty or ninety feet in front, and, in some
cases, farther, and causing an overflow at the bridges, and in the narrow
parts of the canal. The surge or cutting wave behind the boat was, how¬
ever, comparatively slight, and, except at the curves, would not have caused
much injury to the canal banks. The horse was very much exhausted when
he got to Paisley; though by no means so exhausted as he was about the
middle of the journey, having sensibly recovered after the first four or five
miles.
"As it would have detained the party who came to witness the trial, too
long, if they had remained at Paisley till the horse was fed, two post horses
were hired there; and, lighter towing lines being attached to the boat, it
started again, on its return to Glasgow, with twenty-four persons on board,
four of whom were boys, and arrived at Glasgow, a distance of seven miles,
in forty-five minutes. Unluckily, one of the horses, the front one, scared
very much at the canal, and at the bridges; and two or three stoppages took
place in consequence of this horse getting entangled with the ropes. ' By
altering the mode of attaching the rope, and putting the second horse in
front, this difficulty was partially got over; and the distance of seven miles
was accomplished in forty-five minutes, including in these forty-five minutes
the time occupied in disentangling the horses, and changing their positions,
and the constant delay occasioned by the horse before mentioned scaring at
the canal. The greatest speed attained diiring the journey, was two miles
in eleven minutes. During this voyage, the surge behind was entirely got
quit of, even at the curves, where it was reduced to nothing; and there
340
[ Doc. No. 101. ]
was no front wave, exceptât the bridges. It appeared only at the bridges,
and just as the boat was about to enter under the bridge, and gradually
disappeared as the stern of the boat cleared the bridge. Thequicker the
boat went, the more entire was the disappearance of all wave and surge,
except where the water escaped in the centre of the canal, and met in two
very noisy and rapid currents from each side of the boat at the rudder.
This noise and rush of water was so great behind, as to induce persons
on board to look round, expecting to see a great, wave or surge on the
bank of the canal, but on the hanks there was hardly a ripple. The two
rapid noisy currents seemed to be completely spent and exhausted by the
shock of their concourse behind the boat. Here, therefore, there was no
room to doubt of the correctness of the reports of the Forth and (Hyde canal
experiments. It was not merely to be said that the greater the speed the
less the surge or wave, but it was demonstrated that, at a high rate of speed,
surge and wave were done away wjth altogether.
" Although, according to all established theory and calculation, as to the
force requisite to obtain accelerated speed on water, the two horses from
Paisley did more than triple the work of the single horse from Glasgow,
supposing they had worked together, while it was evident that almost the
whole work was done by one of the two, yet they were both much less fa¬
tigued than the single horse. Unluckily, there was no dynamometer attach¬
ed to the rope, so as to ascertain whether, contrary to all theory, the strain
or pull was not equally diminished with the wave, and the tugging labor of
the two horses lessened instead of increased, by the accelerated rale at which
they drew the boat. There can be no doubt, however, that with one train¬
ed horse, properly attached, the distance could be done in a period under
forty minutes.
" Contrary to expectation, Mr. Wood's boat was quite steady in the water,
and by no means crank. When in the basin at Paisley, seven full grown
persons stood on one side of her while she was empty, and could not, with
their united weight, bring down that side to within some inches of the water.
The keel was, however, very deep and heavy, and is to be altered.
" It may be proper to mention that the Ardrossan canal is, throughout,
very narrow; at the bridges and many other places, it is only nine feet
broad. It has a great number of turns, and many of them very sudden."
This voyage, at once set at rest all doubts on the subject of the effect of a
high velocity with a gig-shaped boat in a canal; and the boat in question has
since been regularly plying on the Ardrossan canal, carrying from forty to
fifty passengers, between Glasgow, Paisley, and Johnstone; and has fulfilled
all the anticipations of the parties for whom she was constructed.
From the above, it will be seen that the question of surge and injury to
the banks, so much feared, and so strenuously insisted upon by the parties
opposed to improvement, was forever set at rest by the voyage made by the
light gig boat, in one of the narrowest canals in Scotland.
The trial of the Paisley boat was speedily followed by a second trial, on
the Forth and Clyde and Union canals, of a twin boat built for Mr. Grá¬
bame, by Mr. Hunter of Glasgow, to prove, on a large scale, the practica¬
bility and advantages of twin boats for canal navigation.
The boat built by Mr. Hunter being launched, an experimental voyage
was made to and front Endinburgh. At this voyage! was present, at the re¬
quest of the Committee of Management of the Forth and Clyde canal, in order
to give an opinion as to the practicability of. the application of steam power,
[ Doc. No. 101. ]
341
to propel, with rapidity, a boat of the twin form. The following is an accu¬
rate account of this experimental voyage.
[The account of this voyage will be seen in the extracts already published
from the same work. ]
The facts detailed in the preceding article seem to establish the principle,
that the greater the speed the less the surge; and that a gig-shaped boat,
moving at a velocity of nine miles per hour, completely surmounted the
surge, and rode over the accumulating swell that, otherwise, would have
risen in her front.
It is a curious yet important fact, that a gig-shaped boat, moving at a ve¬
locity of from seven to eight miles an hour, produces a considerable swell
running longitudinally with the canal, and, by the displacement of water,
forms a hollow trough, with a heavy surge fore and aft of the boat, roiling
slugglishly along the banks, and, in many cases, washing over the track
path, tenor twelve inches deep. Produce, however, an impulse equal to
nine miles an hour, or until the boat is impelled at a velocity greater than
the undulating motion of the water, and immediately the swell disappears;
the boat glides smoothly along the surface, and proceeds with as much ap¬
parent ease, as if she were moving at only four or five miles an hour.
Having thus mentioned the peculiar adaptation of the twin boat to high
speed, and to the conveyance of passengers, I shall now give the reasons,
why a boat constructed with a stern paddle seems best fitted to succeed in a
voyage, where the boat, carrying goods and luggage, has to pass from a canal
into the open sea, or vice versa.
It is quite clear, that, whatever may be the comparative merit of side
paddles, such paddles are out of the question in canal navigation; as, inde¬
pendent of their liability to be injured in the locks, and on the banks of the
canal, they must contract the bearings of the vessels to which they are at-
tachod, and make them of very small burthen. The centre paddle or twin
boat principle, in like manner, contracts the bearings of the vessel, and the
tunnel in which it works is liable to be choked, whenever the vessel moves
from the canal into the sea, in stormy weather.
The stern paddle seems, therefore, the only means for adapting a canal
steamboat, both for sea voyages and canal traffic. The Cyclops steamer,
formerly mentioned as built for the use of the Forth and Clyde Canal Com¬
pany, fully confirms this conclusion, and also points out what improvements
maybe made on boats of this description. I shall here give an account of
her first voyage to Alloa, as contained in a letter from Mr. Grahamc to my¬
self, in the month of October last:
Glasgow, 1th October, 1S30.
"My dear Sir: Since I wrote you last, I have been on the Firth of
Forth, and through our canal in Mr. Nelson's boat,'with the paddle behind;
and the results of this voyage have been most satisfactory. The boat, ex¬
cept as regards shape, is replete with errors. She is too heavy, viz. she
bears about with her a quantity of iron, sufficient to build nearly two boats
of the same size, and of equal strength. Her engine, which ought to have
been high pressure, is low pressure, and, though a sweet-going machine, is
much too heavy. Her paddle, which, from its position, must necessarily la¬
bor under the disadvantage of a deficient surply of water, is so placed as to
enjoy this disadvantage to its greatest possible extent, and, in addition, a
considerable portion of the broken water, coming from the paddle, strikes
on the stern-iron of the boat, and retards her progress. I could state à num-
342
[ Doc. No. 101. ]
ber of other faults, but will not trouble you with them. The party most'
opposed to stern padclles could not have desired a trial, where every possi¬
ble disadvantage was more decidedly experienced. With all these disad¬
vantages, and taking them to be irremediable, I am decidedly of opinion,
that, in all cases where the breadth of a boat is limited, or where the pad¬
dles are subjected to risk of damage from narrow banks, &c. stern paddle-
boats will be introduced, as best adapted for boats intended to carry large
cargoes of goods, at a moderate velocity. If all that is wanted is despatch,
or the slow or moderate trackage of vessels through a canal, the stern
paddle may not answer so- well as side or centre paddles; but if a boat is
wanted which will carry a large cargo, and move, bbth in a canal, river, ov
at sea, with a moderate velocity, then the stern paddle ¿is the right means.
" We have already ascertained that the Cyclops can move through the canal
with twenty tons of cargo, at a rate of about four miles and a quarter per hour,
or rather better; and that, even with this loading, she can drag another vessel
behind her, without any considerable diminution of her speed. Every
person on board the Cyclops, when the above facts were ascertained, was-
convinced that an increase of the cargo to thirty-five or forty tons, would not
have affected her speed. In fact, it appears as difficult to lessen her speed
as to increase it. When her engine makes twenty-five and thirty-three
strokes in the minute, her velocity in the canal is about the same; while,
without any addition to the number of strokes, her velocity was increased
nearly one half when in the Firth of Forth. This clearty shows that the-
deficiency in speed arises from a defective supply of water.
"But, to return to our experimental voyage:. We started from Grange¬
mouth for Alloa, after breakfast on Tuesday the 29th of September. The
distance is said to be ten miles, and cannot be under nine miles. We had
the tide against us for the first two miles, going out of the Carrón river, and
for the last mile or so going up to Alloa, and we accomplished the distance
in one hour and forty minutes, including a stoppage of some minutes for a
small row boat that hailed us. We returned with a favorable tide in the
Forth, but strongly against us in the Carrón, in an hour and a half. The Cy¬
clops in these two voj'ages was much by the stern,being without a cargo. We
had intended to take in twenty or thirty tons of coal at Alloa, but could not
get them. There was a very strong side wind on the Forth, and the Cy¬
clops proved herself a most steady, excellent sea-boat, and steered most
beautifully. She appeared to me to steer far better than a side paddle boat,
and the men on board Said she could turn almost in her own length. When
we brought her into the eanal, we attached her to the passage boat, and she
drew her along the canal two miles—one mile in fourteen, and the other
in fifteen minutes. We then detached her from the passage boat, and did
two other miles, but could not save, by this decrease of her labpr, more
than aminute,oraminuteandafew seconds ineach mile. She was then attach¬
ed to the passage boat, and dragged her on to Port Dundas. The whole time
consumed on the voyage from Alloa to Port Dundas, a distance of forty
miles, including the passage of twenty locks, by the Cyclops, and four by
the passage boat, a considerable time lost at Grangemouth making some in¬
spections, and several other delays, and a long stop at the entrance of the
Union canal, was something under 10 hours and a half; and if the Cyclops
had been properly loaded, with a cargo of twenty or thirty tons, the voyage
would have been accomplished, in less time, with all the delays and the
trackage of the passage boat. The estimate of Mr. Johnstone, who is to have
the management of the Cyclops, and myself, is, that with a cargo of from
[ Doc. No. 10!. ]
343
forty to fifty tons, she will do the voyage to Alloa, even against a head wind,
in eight hours and a half, and i do not think this period would be much in¬
creased, except by delay at locks, though the Cyclops, in addition, towerl
another vessel the whole way.. I am also much inclined to think that she
will make her way agai'nst a head wind, much better than a side paddle
boat; and that, contrary to the American statement as to stern paddle boats,
she will do better than any other kind of steamboat at sea; but this does not
bear on the subject of steam-carrier boats intended for sea and canal naviga¬
tion, as to which I am now writing, where breadth of beam or bearing can¬
not be attained with side paddles. In canals, stern paddles for goods' boats
must be applied, if these boats are intended to go to sea; and, from the ex¬
periments already made with the Cyclops, I am certain the application must
be successful. I am.also convinced that a boat, exactly similar to the Cyclops,
may be built, which will carry a larger cargo, and move at a much higher
velocity, with the §ame power. The first improvement is in the use of lighter
■iron; the second improvement is the substitution of a high pressure fora
low pressure engine, and the cutting away all the iron work which obstructs
the escape of the broken water. This last alteration would balance the boat
a great deal better. The next improvements are by no means so certain or
assured as the two last-mentioned, and consist in an alteration of the position
of the paddle and of the build behind, so as to obtain abetter supply of wa¬
ter for the paddle to act on. To understand these improvements, I beg leave
to refer to the accompanying sketch of the Cyclops. From this sketch it
will appear that Ihe paddle works in a box supplied with water from the
front, sides, and stern of the boat. The supply from the front and sides of
the box must come in under the bottom of the boat; and, to facilitate the sup¬
ply from- the front,'the centre keel or bottom of the boat is made to ascend
a little to the front of the wheel, so as to let the water from the bottom of
the boat get easier into the box or tunnel. The water which supplies the
wheel, except the portion coming in from the stern, is in a manner pumped
up by the wheel from under the bottom of the boat, and there is evidently
a constant want of supply, as the water in the inside box is always lower than
on the outside. The first improvement, that would suggest itself to any one,
would be the removal of the paddle^noarer to the stern of the boat, or outer
end of the box, so as to make the supply of water from the bottom of the
boat more firm, unbroken, and regular, than it can be at that part of the box
where the paddle is now situated. To this improvement, it may be object,
ed that such removal would not only make the boat hang more by the stern,
but would cause a lengthening of the connecting rod which moves the pad¬
dle, and a consequent loss of power. So far as this objection is founded on
the additional stern weight, it may be got quit of by the application of a high
pressure engine. The weight saved by this application would much more
■than counterbalance the additional lever power given to the paddle. At all
•events, if the paddle is not at the end of thé box, the box should end where
the paddle ends, or a small portion of the paddle might even be left out. The
next improvement would be the giving of a supply of water to the box and
paddles by two large pipes passing angularly from the side of the boat into the
front part of the box. This would occasion a certain additional resistance to
■the progress of the vessel, and the question here, to be determined, is, wheth¬
er this additional resistance would counterbalance the effect of the additional
supply of water to the wheel. The last improvement, and which is one
that occurred to myself, would be to cut away tire two lower sides of the
344
[ Doc. No. 101. ]
boxes on each side of the paddle, so as to give a perfectly free admission oí
the water to the wheel. To this, again, it is objected that you lose a consider¬
able portion of the stern bearing of the boat, and that you also require this
bearing, and the strength of the iron cut away to support the paddles. I
should think the weight, saved by the high pressure engine, would-more
than counterbalance the loss of bearing; and, at all events, I think the side
boxes might be partially cut away at the bottom and end, so as to allow the
supply of water to come more easily and plentifully; and I am rather inclin¬
ed to think this is the proper improvement, as, by sinking the side boxes in
the water a little, they will act as a more effectual protection to the paddles
against side wave and wind at sea. All that is wanted for the stern paddle,
is to give it an additional supply of water, and, if such additional supply
can be obtained, I think these boats will, in time, supersede the use of side
paddle boats, even as of passenger boats. In the tiirtm time, I think as
goods and luggage boats, more especially where breadth of beam is wanted,
and where it would be contracted by the use of side paddles, they are the
best. In the case of the Union canal, for instance, where the locks are only
twelve feet broad, and where it would be very desirable to 'have a steam
communication direct from Edinburgh to Greenock, this can easily be at¬
tained by a stern paddle boat. The boat might be nearly twelve feet beam,
and, by building her of lighter iron, and using a high pressure engine, she
might be made to carry nearly as much as the Cyclops on the same draught
of water'. This is also the kind of boat which the Mersey and Irwell Com¬
pany should get for their goods' trade. She could act as a d'ragger when re¬
quired, and would herself do more business than three, four, or five of their
lighters.
" I have written to the Union Canal Committee on this subject, and wish
them to employ you to prepare for them a plan and specification of a stern
paddle boat, and, in the mean time, trouble you with this information."
Since the foregoing letter was written, the Cyclops has been regularly
trading between Glasgow and Alloa, and has made her voyages to and from
that place, during several of the most stormy days of this winter; leaving
Grangemouth on lier voyage to Alloa, when no sailing vessel could venture
out. She has carried in these voyages a cargo at one time of forty tons, and
performs the voyage, from Alloa to Port Dundas, in little more than half
the time which is consumed in tracking a vessel of the same burden from
Grangemouth to Port Dundas, about two-thirds of the distance. Every
person must be struck with the great power of burden of this vessel (the Cy¬
clops) on a small draught of water, and I question much if there be a steam¬
boat in the kingdom which, on a draught of almost double that of the Cy¬
clops, can carry such a cargo. One of the great objections slated by Mr.
Grahame to this boat, in his letter to me, is the weight occasioned by the
unnecessary thickness of the iron side plates, but this was unavoidable, as
the Cyclops was constructed, or rather altered, from an old passage boat be.
longing to the canal company, where these thick plates were used, and this-
thickness of plate it was impossible to alter, unless the buat had been entirely
rebuilt.
Having been consulted by the Forth and Clyde Canal Company, as to the
improvements suggested by Mr. Grahame on the Cyclops, I have inspected
her, and made a voyage with her to Alloa. After due consideration, I am
convinced that all the objections to the build of the Cyclo-ps may be got over,
and that, by a change in the position of the paddle, a much greater improve-
[ Doc. No. 101. ]
345
Jnent may be made in the powers and capabilities of stern paddle vessels^
than is at present anticipated.
The improvements I suggest, would be, to construct a vessel with' two
rarrow paddles on each side, close to the rudder or stern of the vessel.
This would, in a great measure, obviate the objections urged against the Cy¬
clops; it would remove every impediment to the free access of the water to
the paddles, and allow a free and open outlet to the discharge of the wheels
on each side: it would also give considerably more bearing to the stern of
the vessel; facilitate the working of the rudder; and furnish a large useful
hold, instead of two comparatively small ones. It may here be urged, that
two paddle wheels, viz., one on each side at the stern, would be liable to get
damaged against the locks, bridges, and banks of the canal: this is certainly
an objection of some weight, but, on a minute inspection of the plan, it will
be found that a remedy is provided by a fender, or Portcullis, sliding down
on the outside of the wheels, to protect them from injury during the time
they are passing the canal: at other times, when the vessel is in the open sea,
the Portcullis is drawn up, leaving the whole space open for the free action
of the paddles.
I am quite persuaded that this change will tend to assimilate, as 'much as
possible, the navigation of the sea, rivers, and canals, and will have no ef¬
fect on the surge occasioned by the motion of the vessel through the water:
in fact, I am rather inclined to think it will have a tendency to neutralize
the surge, and produce no other agitation than a rippling wave in the centre
of the canal. 1 think the change must also greatly improve the speed of the
vessel, but, to what amount, it is impossible to say without trial. A plan
of the new proposed steamer is annexed to this publication with the other
plates.
It may be asked whether steam navigation is applicable to, or would pay
on canals not communicating with the sea. The experiment of the Cyclops
has completely proved the benefit of steam navigation in a canal connected
with a firth or arm of the sea. In this case, greater speed is acquired, both
in the canal and at sea, than could be got by any other kind of boat, and, in
addition, perfect regularity is insured after the steamer leaves the canal; or,
in short, the firth, or arm of the sea connected with the canal, and even the
sea itself, are turned into a portion of inland navigation, so far as respect»
regularity.
In a canal, however, not communicating with the sea, steam-power must
be equally efficacious, although, in its general application, it may not be pro¬
ductive of the same advantages as on those canals having a free outlet to th«
aea; as, in the latter instance, vessels have the opportunity of extending their
voyages to the adjoining ports on the coast.
However much I was persuaded that steam power was the cheapest for
high velocities, and also for propelling vessels on canals where the trade was
regular, I was not, till lately, prepared to consider a steamboat on a canal as
the cheapest for the conveyance of goods where the trade was irregular, and
where the boat had not only to contain a cargo, but, at the same time, had to
carry her own engine, and all theconveniencies necessary for the application
of machinery.
Mr. Grahame has lately put into my hands a letter on this subject, ad¬
dressed to a shipping company, carrying goods along a line of canal fifty-six
miles in length: the calculations contained in that communication are given
?n tlj.e appendix, and seem to be decisive in favor of steam pewer-
44
346
[ Doc. No. 101. ]
The company to which this letter is addressed, have to pay for a quanti¬
fy of horse-power sufficient to deliver forty tons of goods at each extremity
of the line of fifty-six miles every day in the year, besides a spare power
employed chiefly in one particular branch of their trade. The sum they
pay for each delivery is one guinea each way, or at a rate of about one-
ninth of a penny per ton per mile for the trackage of the goods con¬
veyed. The company in question supply the trackling lines, but, with this
addition, the charge for trackage is not increased to one-eigth of a penny per
ton per mile.
This is certainly a small sum whereon to effect a saving by a change of
power; but, nevertheless, it appears (from Mr. Grahame's and my own calcu¬
lations) that not only such saving may be effected, but an additiohal saving
of a.large portion of time can be made, by the change from horse to steam-
power. Having said this much, 1 will refer the reader to the calculations
printed in the appendix, in order that he may draw his own conclusions as
to the accuracy of those statements.
The calculations here referred to make it quite unnecessary to say any
thing on the subject of steam power as a substitute for trackage on canals.
If it be so much cheaper than horses in the expensive shape of a moving
and carrying power, united in the same boat, what advantages may not all
canals derive from its introduction in the cheap form of a tug-boat in place
of ho; ses?
I should here observe, that the application of steam, either as a propelling
or tracking power on canals, will, on most navigations, require a regular
system of management. Certainty and despatch are the very sinews of
commerce. Every facility should, therefore, be given to the arrival and de¬
parture of vessels, to insure the confidence of traders, and perfect certainty
that goods will be received and delivered at their respective destinations,
at proper and stated intervals. I conceive this to be a principle of manage¬
ment imperative on canal and all other companies, as nothing conduces
mpre to the well-being of trading establishments than good regulations,
founded on celerity and despatch in the traffic.
Errcfia,
Page 155, line 6 from top, for 150 read 1500.
" 173, line 10 from top, strike out the word not, so as to read " are
no doubt the true ones why."
*l 216, line 7 from top, for 30 read 300.