CHAMBERS'S
INFORMATION FOR THE PEOPLE.
CONDUCTED BY WILLIAM AND ROBERT CHAMBERS, EDITORS OF CHAMBERS'S
EDINBURGH JOURNAL, EDUCATIONAL COURSE, &c.
Number 28. New and Improved Series. Price 1 ¿d.
CONVEY AN CE—ROADS—CAN ALS—RAIL W AY S.
primitive modes of conveyance.
The means adopted in early times for the artificial
transport of either person or property, were, as may
be supposed, of the rudest kind, as is still the case in
those countries which are little advanced in the useful
arts. The most degrading species of artificial convey¬
ance that seems to have been practised, was the em¬
ployment of human labour in bearing litters or palan¬
quins, specimens of which, on a scale of barbarous
splendour, are now seen in India, Burmah, and China.
The first and most obvious improvement in modes
of transport was the substitution of brute for human
labour ; and it is reasonable to conclude, that the value
of this practice could not have been long in being
pressed on the attentiou of mankind. We find the
term " beasts of burden" used in the most ancient re¬
cords, the animals meant being the ass, the horse, or
the camel. No trace, however, exists of the progress
from burden to draught, though it also must have been
in very early times. The ass and horse are equally
adapted for carrying or drawing, but the camel exerts
its power only by carrying ; draught is alone suitable
for the reindeer and ox, the backs of these animals not
being adapted by nature for bearing burdens.
The draught of the reindeer is employed in Lapland
as the chief means of artificial locomotion, and is always
exerted 011 a species of sledge, which, by its form, is
suitable for gliding easily over the frozen ground or
snow. The shape of the sledge somewhat resembles
a small boat, with a sharp prow, and flat in the rear,
against which the inmate of the vehicle rests. The
traveller is swathed in his carriage like an infant in a
cradle, with a stick in his hand to steer the vessel, and
disengage it from pieces of rock or stumps of trees that
it may chance to encounter in the route. He must
also balance the sledge with his body, otherwise he will
be in danger of being overturned. The traces, by which
this carriage is fastened to the reindeer, are fixed to a
collar about the animal's neck, and run down over the
breast, between the fore and hind legs, to be connected
with the prow of the sledge ; the reins, managed by the
traveller, arc tied to the horns ; and the trappings are
usually furnished with little bells, the sound of which
is agreeable to the animal. With this draught, the
reindeer, if pressed, will travel from sixty to eighty
miles in a day ; but more frequently he does not travel
more than forty or fifty, which is a good day's journey.
Occasionally he halts to moisten his mouth with snow.
Before he sets out, the Laplander whispers in his ear
the way he has to go, and the place at which he has to
halt, firmly persuaded that the beast understands his
meaning. In the beginning of winter, the Laplanders
mark the most frequented paths, by strewing them
with fir boughs ; which, being frequently covered with
new snow, alternately pressed by the sleighs, hardens
them ipto a kind of causeway, which is the more smooth,
rt ei si
,C3r
if the surface lias felt a partial thaw, and been crusted
by a subsequent frost. It requires great caution to
follow these tracts ; for, if the carriage deviates to the
right or left, the traveller is plunged into an abyss of
snow. In less frequented parts, where there is no such
beaten road, the Laplander directs his course by cer¬
tain marks made on the trees.
In Russia, and also in Canada, sleighs are used in
winter for conveyance from place to place, the beast of
draught being the horse. As the roads in many parts
of Canada are very unsuitable for any species of tra¬
velling, it happens that sleighing over the hardened
surface of the snow in winter is by far the best mode of
communication in that country. It is almost unneces¬
sary to add, that the sledge or sleigh, which is the
rudest kind of carriage for draught, has disappeared in
all countries which have advanced considerably in im¬
provement.
From the rude sledge, drawn with an incalculable
degree of labour over the rough ground, the next
important step in mechanical construction is to apply
wheels, for the purpose of lessening the friction of the
moving body. The first application of wheels to carriages
is beyond the reach of record. Waggons are spoken
of in the book of Genesis, from which it may be in¬
ferred that a knowledge of wheels was common in a
very early age. 11 is further known, that the malting
of wheels formed a distinct trade among the citizens of
Thebes in ancient Egypt, three or four thousand years
ago.
Ancient Egyptian Carriages.—The most elegant of
the Egyptian carriages was a kind of gig, or light open
chariot, on two wheels, called the plaustrum, which is
thus described by Mr Wilkinson, in his work on the
plaustrum was very similar to the war-chariot and the
curricle, but the sides appear to have been closed, and
it was drawn by a pair of oxen instead of horses. The
harness was much the same, and the wheels had six
spokes. Ina journey it was occasionally furnished with
CHAMBERS'S INFORMATION FOR THE PEOPLE.
a sort of umbrella, fixed upon a rod rising from the
centre or back of the car ; the reins were the same as
those used for horses, and apparently furnished with a
bit ; and besides the driver, a groom sometimes at¬
tended on foot, at the head of the animals, perhaps
feeding them as they went. The annexed wood engrav¬
ing represents an Ethiopian princess, who is on her
journey through Upper Egypt to Thebes, where the
court then resided. The plaustra are called in Genesis
waggons; they were commonly used iu Egypt for tra¬
velling. Besides the plaustrum, they had a sort of pa¬
lanquin, and a canopy or framework, answering the
purpose of a sedan-chair, in which they sometimes sat
or stood, in their open pleasure-boats, or in situations
where they wished to avoid the sun."
From the researches of Mr Wilkinson, we are enabled
to form some estimate of the enormous trouble incurred
by the ancient Egyptians in the transport of the heavy
stones which they employed in building their temples.
Some of these stones weighed 5000 tons, and were
usually conveyed from the quarries from which they
were cut in flat-bottomed boats, on canals made for the
purpose. Occasionally, however, when this mode of
transport was unsuitable, the stone was drawn on sledges,
perhaps some hundreds of miles, by oxen or by human
labour. The accompanying woodcut represents, in an
abridged form, the mode of conveying colossal figures
in stone from the quarries to the temples in which they
were to be set up. " One hundred and seventy-two men,
in four rows of forty-three each [we repi*esent only as
far as twenty each row], pull the ropes attached to the
front of the sledge ; and a liquid, probably grease, is
poured from a vase by a person standing on the pe¬
destal of the statue, in order to facilitate its progress
as it slides over the ground, which was probably co¬
vered with a bed of planks, though they are not indi¬
cated in the painting. Some of the persons employed
in this laborious duty appear to be Egyptians, the others
are foreign slaves, who are clad in the costume of their
country. Below are persons carrying vases of the
liquid, or perhaps water, for the use of the workmen,
and some implements connected with the transport of
the statue, followed by taskmasters with their wands of
office [but which we have not had space to include].
On the knee of the figure stands a man who claps his
hands to the measured cadence of a song, to mark the
time, and ensure their simultaneous draught. The
height of the statue appears to have been about twenty-
four feet, including the pedestal. It was bound to the
sledge by ropes, which were tightened by means of
pegs inserted between them, and twisted round until
completely braced ; and to prevent injury from the
friction of the ropes upon the stone, a compress of
leather or other substance was introduced at the part
where they touched the statue." It may be added, that
the representation is constructed without any'reference
to perspective, which was not understood by the ancient
Egyptian delineators. Besides the great number of per¬
sons employed in drawing these huge blocks, it was
customary for a band of some hundreds of soldiers to
434
attend, perhaps for the purpose of overawing the slaves,
and compelling obedience in their odious task. A more
degrading means of mechanical conveyance it would be
impossible to represent.
Conveyance by Camels.—From the earliest times, the
camel, in its two varieties of camel and dromedary,*
has been employed in the sandy regions of Asia as a
beast of burden ; and without its invaluable services in
this respect, these countries could scarcely have been
habitable. In the sacred writings we find frequent
notices of the camel in connexion with commercial
transport. The brethren of Joseph having cast him
into a pit, " they sat down to eat bread \ and they
lifted up their eyes and looked, and behold a company
of Ishmaelites came from Gilead, with their camels
bearing spicery, and balm, and myrrh, going to carry
it down into Egypt." Thus the camel formed the
engine of carriage among the merchants of Arabia,
and conveyed the products of India across the deserts
to the populous and wealthy land of Egypt.
The camel is expressly suited by nature for inhabit¬
ing and traversing sandy and parched deserts, in which
there are places of rest and refreshment only at remote
distances. " It is the most temperate of all animals,
and can continue to travel several days without drink¬
ing. In those vast deserts, where the earth is every
where dry and sandy—where there are neither birds
nor beasts, neither insects nor vegetables—where no¬
thing is to be seen but hills of sand and heaps of
bones, there the camel travels, posting forward, with¬
out requiring either drink or pasture, and is often found
six or seven days without any sustenance whatsoever.
Its feet are formed for travelling upon sand, and utterly
unfit for moist or marshy places ; the inhabitants, there¬
fore, find a most useful assistant iu this animal, where
no other could subsist, and by its means, cross those
deserts with safety, which would be impassable by any
other method of conveyance.
An animal thus formed for a sandy and desert re¬
gion, cannot be propagated in one of a different nature.
Many vain efforts have been tried to propagate the
camel in Spain and America, but they have multiplied
in neither of these countries. It is true, indeed, that
tlbey may be brought into both countries, and may
perhaps be found to produce there ; but the care of
keeping them is so great, and the accidents to which
they are exposed, from the changeableness of the cli¬
mate, are so many, that they do not reward the care of
keeping. In a few years, also, they are seen to dege¬
nerate ; their strength and their patience forsake thein,
and, instead of making the x'iches, they become the bur¬
den of their keepers.
The camel is easily instructed in the methods of tak¬
ing up and supporting his burden ; their legs, a few
days after they are produced, are bent under their belly ;
they are in this manner loaded, and taught to rise ; their
burden is every day thus increased, by insensible de¬
grees, till the animal is capable of supporting a weight
adequate to its force. The same care is taken in mak¬
ing them patient of hunger and thirst : while other
animals receive their food at stated times, the camel is
restrained for days together, and these intervals of fa¬
mine are increased in proportion as the animal seems
capable of sustaining them. By this method of educa¬
tion, they live five or six days without food or water ;
and their stomach is formed most admirably by nature
to fit them for long abstinence. Besides the four
stomachs which all animals have that chew the cud
(and the camel is of the number), it has a fifth stomach,
which serves as a reservoir to hold a greater quantity
of water than the animal has an immediate occasion
for. It is of a sufficient capacity to contain a large
quantity of water, where the fluid remains without cor¬
rupting, or without being adulterated by the other ali¬
ments : when the camel finds itself pressed with thirst,
* The only essential difference between the two varieties is,
that the camel has two hunches and the dromedary one ; but
there are mixed breeds between them.
CONVEYANCE.
it has here an easy resource for quenching it ; it throws
up a quantity of this water, by a simple contraction of
the muscles, into the other stomachs, and this serves
to macerate its dry and simple food. In this manner,
as it drinks but seldom, it takes in a large quantity at
a time; and travellers, when straitened for water, have
been often known to kill their camels for that which
they expected to find within them.
In Turkey, Persia, Arabia, Barbary, and Egypt, the
whole commerce is carried on by means of camels ;
and no carriage is more speedy or less expensive in
these countries. Merchants and travellers unite them¬
selves into a body, furnished with camels, to secure
themselves from the insults of the robbers that infest
the countries in which they live. This assemblage is
called a caravan, in which the numbers are sometimes
known to amount to above ten thousand, and the num¬
ber of camels is often greater than that of the men.
Each of these animals is loaded according to his strength,
and he is so sensible of it himself, that when his burden
is too great, he remains still upon his belly, the posture
in which he is loaded, refusing to rise till his burden be
lessened or taken away. I n general, the large camels
are capable of carrying a thousand pounds' weight, and
sometimes twelve hundred ; the dromedary from six to
to seven. In these trading journeys, they travel but
slowly ; their stages «are generally regulated, and they
seldom go above thirty, or at most about thirty-five miles
a-day. Every evening, when they arrive at a stage,
which is usual$ some spot of verdure where water and
shrubsare in plenty, they are permitted to feed at liberty;
they are then seen to eat as much in an hour as will
supply them for twenty-four ; they seem to prefer the
coarsest weeds to the softest pasture—the thistle, the
nettle, the cassia, and other prickly vegetables, are their
favourite food ; but their drivers take care to supply
them with a kind of paste composition, which serves as
a more permanent nourishment. As these animals have
often gone the same track, they are said to know their
way precisely, and to pursue their passage when their
guides are utterly astray. When they come within a
few miles of their baiting-place in the evening, they
sagaciously scent it at a distance, and, increasing their
speed, are often seen to trot with vivacity to their stage.
The patience of this animal is most extraordinary ;
and it is probable that its sufferings are great, for when
it is loaded, it sends forth most lamentable cries, but
never offers to resist the tyrant that oppresses it. At
the slightest sign, it bends its knees and lies upon its
belly, suffering itself to be loaded in this position ; by
this practice the burden is more easily laid upon it than
if lifted up while standing. At another sign it rises
with its load, and the driver getting upon its back, be¬
tween the two panniers, which, like hampers, are placed
upon each side, he encourages the camel to proceed with
his voice and with a song. In this manner, the crea¬
ture proceeds contentedly forward, with a slow uneasy
walk of about four miles an hour, and when it comes
to its stage, lies down to be unloaded, as before."*
From Major Skinner's account of his "Journey to
India," in the course of which he travelled twenty days
with a numerous caravan from Damascus to Bagdad,
we have the following lively picture of the mode of
conveyance by camels :—
" I must give a description of our equipage, now that
we are fairly launched on the great waste. I ride a
white camel, with my saddle-bags under me, and a pair
of water-skins, quite full, beneath them : over the saddle
is my bed. A thick cherry-stick, with a cross at the
end of it, serves to guide the animal ; a gentle tap on
the side of his neck sends him to the left, and one on
the opposite makes him turn back again to the right ;
a knock on the back of his head stops him, and a few
blows between the ears bring him to his knees, if ac¬
companied by a guttural sound, resembling, as the
Arabs say, the pronunciation of their letter sehe. To
make him move quickly, it is necessary to prick him,
with the point of the stick, on the shoulders.
* Goldsmith's Animated Nature, vol. iv.
435
To tho north there is a range of bare hills, and at
their bases are patches of green ; the rude tents of a
tribe of Bedouins are pitched, and their cattle enliven
the scene. We passed over a perfect level this morn¬
ing, strewed with flowers, and thick with pasture for
the camels, where we are now resting. It is not usual
here, as in many parts of the east, for the camels to
wind in long strings, one after the other. Our numbers,
amounting to fifteen hundred, are scattered over the
surface in all directions, as far as the eye can trace.
In travelling, the sheiks or chiefs of the caravan,
attended by the military part of their equipage, mounted
on dromedaries, move in advance, while tho loaded
camels follow at some distance, in parallel masses,
opening out, or changing the form, as the grass ren¬
ders it necessary. They fall so naturally into military
figures, that it is difficult.to conceive their doing it
without direction.
We have several tents in the caravan. They are
pitched so as to permit the camels belonging to each to
lie in the intervals, where they are placed in squads for
the night. They are by no means agreeable neighbours :
for, although they are not able to move from their
place, they make a most unpleasant gurgling noise ; the
bales of the merchants always form the windward de¬
fence, for the tents have no sides to them, and but
flutter over the goods to keep the Sun from their
owners.
At the usual hours of prayer, a loud call is heard
throughout the camp, and parties flock to where the
muezzin takes his stand. At sunset, as the camels
draw in from the pasture, all the Arabs are on their
knees, in a line of two or three hundred, in two ranks.
The priest, like a fugleman, in front, gives the time for
bowing their heads, and performing the rest of the
enjoined ceremonies. As they rise on the signal, tliey
sink again to their knees, and press their foreheads to
the earth with the utmost devotion : the scene is sin¬
gularly impressive.
The rate at which a loaded camel travels is estimated
at two miles and a-half an hour by almost every tra¬
veller. Our caravan has not, I think, exceeded this ;
but the variety of its movements has" been very tire¬
some. The Arab drivers, who walk in front of the
animals, never miss an opportunity of a piece of pasture ;
but, however distant it may be from the proper course,
lead them towards it, and, with the short sticks they
carry, beat them into the thickest part of it. The
camels are anxious enough for the matter themselves,
and huddle so together that their riders' legs are in
tolerable danger of being crushed in the contact.
There is so strong a resemblance to a voyage at sea
in a passage across the desert, that I cannot divest
myself of the belief that the moving mass is but a col¬
lection of small vessels, carried into a heap by the tide.
Every man is ready with his stick to fend off the ani¬
mal that approaches him ; one push separates the
camels as it would separate a couple of boats ; and the
camels move away, quite unconscious of the circum¬
stance, till another movement swings them together
again."
TRAVELLING IN PAST TIMES IN BRITAIN.
The modes of travelling and conveyance generally,
were of a comparatively rude and primitive kind in
Britain till the latter part of the seventeenth century ;
and any thing like comfortable and quick travelling
cannot be said to have been known till a century later,
when mail-coaching was introduced. In old times,
people of a humble rank travelled only on foot, and
those of a higher station on horseback. Noblemen and
gentlemen, as much for ostentation as use, kept run¬
ning footmen—a class of servants active in limb, who
ran before them on a journey, or went upon errands
of special import. The pedestrian powers of these foot¬
men were often surprising. For instance, in the Duke
of Lauderdale's house at Thirlstane, near Lauder, on
the table-cloth being one morning laid for a large
dinner-party, it was discovered that there was «a defi-
CHAMBERS'S INFORMATION FOR THE PEOPLE.
ciency of silver spoons. Instantly the footman was
sent off to the duke's other seat of Lethington, near
Haddington, fully seventeen miles off, and across hills
and moors, for a supply of the necessary article. lie
returned with a bundle of spoons, in time for dinner.
Again—at Hume Castle in Berwickshire, the Earl of
Home had one night given his footman a commission
to proceed to Edinburgh (thirty-five miles off), in order
to deliver a message of high political consequence.
Next morning early, when his lordship entered the
hall, lie saw the man sleeping on a bench, and conceiv¬
ing that he had neglected his duty, was about to com¬
mit some rash act, when the poor fellow awoke, and
informed Lord Home that his commission had been
executed, and that, having returned before his lordship
was stirring, he had only taken leave to rest himself a
little. The earl, equally astonished and gratified by the
activity of his faithful vassal, rewarded him with a
little piece of ground, which to this day bears the
name of the Post Rig—a term equivalent to the post¬
man's field, and an unquestionable proof, as all the
villagers at Hume devoutly believe, of the truth of
the anecdote. The custom of keeping a running foot¬
man did not cease amongst noble families in Scotland
till the middle of the last century. The Earl of March,
father to the late Duke of Queensberry, and who lived
at Neidpath Castle near Peebles, had one named John
Mann, who used to run in front of the carriage, with a
long staff. In the head of the staff there was a recess
for a hard-boiled egg, such being the only food taken
by Mann during a long journey.
When the matter of communication was of particular
importance, or required to be dispatched to a consider¬
able distance, horsemen were employed ; and these, by
means of relays of fresh animals and great toil of body,
would proceed journeys of some hundreds of miles to
accomplish what would now be much better done by a
post letter. Some journeys performed 011 horseback in
former days would be considered wonderful even in
modern times with good roads. Queen Elizabeth died
at one o'clock of the morning of Thursday the 24th
of March 1603. Between nine and ten, Sir Robert
Carey left London (after having been up all night), for
the purpose of conveying the intelligence to her suc¬
cessor James, at Edinburgh. That night he rode to
Doncaster, a hundred and fifty-five miles. Next night
he reached Witherington, near Morpeth. Early 011
Saturday morning he proceeded by Norham across the
Border ; and that evening, at no late hour, kneeled
beside the king's bed at Holyrood, and saluted him as
King of England, France, and Ireland. He had thus
travelled four hundred miles in three days, resting
during the two intermediate nights. But it must not
be supposed that speed like this was attained 011 all oc¬
casions. At the commencement of the religious troubles
in the reign of Charles I., when matters of the utmost
importance wei*e debated between the king and his
northern subjects, it uniformly appears that a com¬
munication from Edinburgh to London, however press¬
ing might be the occasion, was not answered in less
than a fortnight. The crowds of nobles, clergymen,
gentlemen, and burghers, who at that time assembled
in Edinburgh to concert measures for opposing the
designs of the court, always dispersed back to their
homes after dispatching a message to King Charles,
and assembled again a fortnight thereafter, in order
to receive the reply, and take such measures as it might
call for. And even till the last century was pretty far
advanced, the ordinary riding post between London
and Edinburgh regularly took a week to the journey.
In consequence of the inattention of our ancestors
to roads, and the wretched state in which these were
usually kept, it was long before coaching of any kind
came much into fashion. Though wheeled vehicles of
various kinds were in use among the ancients, the close
carriage or coach is of modern invention. The word
coach is Hungarian, and the vehicle itself is supposed
to have originated in Hungary. Germany certainly ap¬
pears to have taken the precedence of the nations of
43G
Western Europe in using coaches. They were intro¬
duced thence into England some time in the sixteenth
century, but were, after all, so little in vogue through¬
out the whole reign of Elizabeth, that there is no trace
of her having ever used one. Lord Grey de Wilton,
who died in 1593, introduced a coach into Ireland, the
first ever used in that country. One was introduced
into Scotland—we rather think from France—about the
year 1571. It belonged to the famous Secretary Mait-
land of Lethington, who, during the horrid civil war
between the adherents of Mary and those of her son
James, made a journey in that vehicle from Edinburgh
Castle, which he was holding out for the queen, to Nid-
dry in West Lothian, for the purpose of holding a con¬
sultation with some others of her friends—the first
time, it is believed, that a close carriage was ever used
in Scotland. Fynes Morison, who wrote in the year
1G17, speaks of coaches as recently introduced, and still
rare in Scotland. For a long time, these conveniences
were only used by old people, who could not well bear
riding. The young and active despised them, as tend¬
ing to effeminacy, and as not being so quick of move¬
ment as the horse. The Dulce of Buckingham, in 1619,
first used a coach with six horses—a piece of pomp
which the Duke of Northumberland thought proper to
ridicule by setting up one with eight. Charles I. was
the first British sovereign who had a state carriage.
Although Henri IV. was killed in a coach—the only
one, by the way, he possessed—his ordinary way of ap¬
pearing in the streets of Paris was on horseback, with
a large cloak strapped on behind, to be used in case of
rain. lu Scotland, previous to the time of the civil
war, coaches were only used by persons high in the
state. It is very curious to find that the same sort of
complaints now made by persons interested in coaching
respecting the introduction of steam-locomotives, were
made when coaches were introduced. Taylor, the
water-poet, complains, in the reign of Charles I., that
large retinues of men were now given up by the great,
since they had begun to use coaches. Ten, twenty,
thirty, fifty, yea a hundred proper serving men, were
transformed, he says, into two or three animals. The
old-wifical thinkers of that day were as much concerned
about the fate of the discharged men-servants, as the
twaddlers of the present are distressed about the need¬
less horses. It is further very amusing to find Taylor,
in his antipathy to coaches, complaining that their
drivers were all of them hard drinkers.
In a pamphlet called the " Grand Concern.of Eng¬
land Explained," published in 1673, the writer very
gravely attempts to make out that the introduction
of coaches was ruining the trade of England. The
following is an example of his mode of reasoning :—
" Before the coaches were set up, travellers rode on
horseback, and men had boots, spurs, saddles, bridles,
saddle-cloths, and good riding-suits, coats and cloaks,
stockings and hats, whereby the wool and leather of
the kingdom were- consumed. Besides, most gentle¬
men when they travelled on horseback used to ride
with swords, belts, pistols, holsters, portmanteaus, and
hat-cases, which in these coaches they have little or no
occasion for. For when they rode 011 horseback they
rode in one suit, and carried another to wear when
they came to their journey's end, or lay by the way ;
but in coaches they ride in a silk suit, with an Indian
gown, with a sash, silk stockings, and the beaver hats
men ride in, and carry no other with them. This is
because they escape the wet and dirt which on horse¬
back they cannot avoid ; whereas in two 01* three jour¬
neys on horseback, these clothes and hats were wont
to be spoiled ; which done, they were forced to have
new very often, and that increased the consumption
of manufacture. If they were women that travelled,
they used to have safeguards and hoods, side-saddles
and pillions, with strappings, saddle or pillion cloths,
which, for the most part, were laced and embroidered ;
to the making of which there went many several trades,
now ruined." But the writer has other reasons to urge
against coach travelling. "Those who travel in this
CONVEYANCE.
manner," lie observes, u become weary and listless when
they ride a few miles, unwilling to get on horseback,
and unable to endure frost, snow, or rain, or to lodge
in the fields." Besides, he asks " what advantage it
can be to a man's health to be called out of bed into
these coaches an hour or two before day in the morn¬
ing—to be hurried in them from place to place till one,
two, or three hours within night ; insomuch that, after
sitting all day, in the summer time, stifled with heat
and choked with dust—or in the winter time, starving
or freezing with cold, or choked with filthy fogs, they
are often brought into their inns by torch-light, when
it is too late to sit up to get supper, and next morning
they are forced into the coach so early that they can
get no breakfast? What addition is it to men's health
or business to ride all day with strangers, oftentimes
sick, ancient, diseased persons, or young children cry¬
ing ; all whose humours he is obliged to put up with,
and is often poisoned with their nasty scents, and crippled
with boxes and bundles? Is it for a man's health to
be laid fast in the foul ways, and forced to wade up to
the knees in mire; afterwards sit in the cold till teams
of horses can be sent to pull the coach out ? Is it for
their health to travel in rotten coaches, and to have
their tackle, or perch, or axle-tree broken ; and then
to wait three or four hours (sometimes half the day),
aud afterwards to travel all night to make good their
stage?"
These, however, do not exhaust the patriotic clamours
of the writer against the odious innovation of stage-
coaching. He says that the practice discourages the
breed of horses," an argument which it is amusing to
observe, has also been used in opposition to the intro¬
duction of railways in recent times. In certain very
peculiar circumstances, he allows, stage-coaching might
he tolerated, but in no other. " If some few stage¬
coaches were continued, to wit, one to every shire-town
in England, to go once a-week backward and forward,
and to go through with the same horses they set forth
with, and not travel above thirty miles a-day in the
summer, and twenty-five in the winter, and to shift
inns every journey, that so trade might be diffused—
these would be sufficient to carry the sick and the lame,
that they pretend cannot travel on horseback ; and,
being thus regulated, they would do little or no harm ;
especially if all be suppressed within fifty miles of Lon¬
don, where they are no way necessary, and yet so highly
destructive."
We have thought fit to introduce these extracts here,
not so much for the purpose of amusing our readers
with their absurdity, as to afford a caution to the gene¬
ral opponents of improvement. Arguments of a simi¬
lar illogical nature are now used in reference to almost
every proposed melioration in our social condition, and
will doubtless, in a century hence, be quoted for their
shortsighted folly, though at present meeting with coun¬
tenance from a large class in the community.
Notwithstanding the introduction of stage-coaches in
the seventeenth century, they were placed only on the
principal roads, and used almost exclusively by persons
of refined taste and wealth. The popular mode of con¬
veyance continued for at least a century afterwards to
be by stage-waggons ; these were very large and cum¬
bersome machines, drawn by six or eight horses, and
devoted chiefly to the carriage of goods to and from
the metropolis. The only part of the vehicle which
afforded accommodation to passengers, was the tail of
the waggon, as it was called, a reserved space with a
hooped-up cover at the hinder part of the machine ; and
here, sitting upon straw as they best could, some half-
dozen passengers were slowly conveyed on their jour¬
ney. The chance attacks of highwaymen, and other
incidents which occuiTed to the occupants of the waggon,
also their adventures at the inns where they slept for
the night, are graphically described by Smollett in his
story of Roderick Random, and will be in the recollec¬
tion of most of our readers.
The waggons thus employed in the double office of
carrying both goods and passengers, were, as we have
437
said, confined chiefly to the great Hues of road in Eng¬
land. Un all the less important routes, and particularly
in Scotland, the only means of conveyance for goods
was by pack-horscs. These animals were loaded with
sacks thrown across the back ; and, if not too heavy,
piled to a considerable height. A number together
were generally conducted in a line along the narrow
and badly constructed paths, that which went before
carrying a bell, by the tinkling sound of which the
cavalcade was kept from straggling after nightfall. This
exceedingly rude mode of conveyance continued in
operation in some parts of the country till the year
1780, or thereabouts, when one-horse carts came into
use.
The old-fashioned waggons still remain in use in
England, notwithstanding the numerous improvements
in modes of conveyance and locomotion. They are
chiefly employed for the carriage of goods between the
metropolis and country towns which are at a distance
from any line of canal or railroad. A waggon of this
kind is provided with four broad and huge wheels, and
is drawn by six large horses, the driver usually riding
on a separate small pony. The waggons employed in
London to convey coal from the wharfs to the houses
of consumers, or beer from brewers, are of the same
unwieldy form, and are drawn with a needless expen¬
diture of power.
The length of time consumed in journeys by even
the best kind of carriages of past times, is now matter
for surprise. The stage-coach which went between
London and Oxford in the reign of Charles II., re¬
quired two days, though the space is only fifty-eight
miles. That to Exeter (1G8£ miles) required four days.
In 1703, when Prince George of Denmark went from
Windsor to Pet worth to meet Charles III. of Spain,
the distance being about forty miles, lie required four¬
teen hours for the journey, the last nine miles taking
six. The person who records this fact, says, that the
long time was the more surprising, as, except when
overturned', or when stuck fast in the mire, his royal
highness made no stop during the journey.
In 174*2, stage-coaches must have been more nume¬
rous in England than in Charles Il.'stime ; but it does
not appear that they moved any faster. The journey
from London to Birmingham (116 miles) then occupied
nearly three days, as appears from the following adver¬
tisement :—" The Litchfield and Birmingham stage¬
coach set out this morning (Monday, April 1*2, 1742),
from the Rose Inn, Holborn Bridge, London, ancf will
be at the Angel, and the Hen and Chickens, in the
High Town, Birmingham, on Wednesday next, to din¬
ner j and goes the same afternoon to Litchfield. It
CHAMBERS'S INFORMATION FOR THE PEOPLE.
returns to Birmingham on Thursday morning to break¬
fast, and gets to London on Saturday night ; and so will
continue every week regularly, with a good coach and
able horses." Thus the whole week was occupied in a
journey to and from Litchfield by Birmingham, an en¬
tire space of probably not more than two hundred and
forty miles—that is, at an average of forty miles
a-day.
Of the stage-coach journey to Bath about 1748, we
learn some particulars from Smollett's celebrated novel.
Mr Random enters the coach before daylight. It pro¬
ceeds. A highwayman attacks it before breakfast, and
is repulsed by the gallantry of the hero. Strap mean¬
while accompanies the coach on horseback. A night
is spent on the road, and the journey is finished next
day, apparently towards evening—108 miles ! At that
time there was no regular stage-coach from London
to Edinburgh ; and the newspapers of the latter city
occasionally present advertisements, stating that an
individual about to proceed to the metropolis by a
post-chaise, would be glad to hear of a fellow adven¬
turer, or more, to lessen the expenses for mutual con¬
venience. However, before 1754 there was a stage¬
coach between the two British capitals. In the Edin¬
burgh Courant Tor that year, it is advertised that—
" The Edinburgh stage-coach, for the better accommo¬
dation of passengers, will be altered to a new genteel
two-end glass coach machine, hung on steel springs,
exceeding light and easy, to go in ten days in summer
and twelve in winter ; to set out the first Tuesday in
March, and continue it, from Hosea Eastgate's, the
Coach and Horses in Dean Street, Soho, London, and
from John Somerville's in the Canongate, Edinburgh,
every other Tuesday, and meet at Burrowbridge on
Saturday night, and set out from thence on Monday
morning, and get to London and Edinburgh on Friday.
In winter, to set out from London and Edinburgh every
other [alternate] Monday morning, and to go to Bur¬
rowbridge on Saturdaynight ; and to set out from thence
on Monday morning, and get to London and Edinburgh
on Saturday night. Passengers to pay as usual. Per¬
formed, if God permits, by your dutiful servant, Hosea
Eastgate." Here the distance of two hundred miles
requires six days in winter, being at the rate of little
more than thirty-three miles a-day. So lately as the end
of the last century, the journey by the stage between
Edinburgh and Glasgow (forty-two miles) occupied a
whole day, the passengers stopping to dine on the road.
It was considered a great improvement when, in 1799,
a coach was started with four horses, which performed
the journey in six hours. The usual time now taken
is four and a half hours. It is not unworthy of being
noticed, that, when the mail-coaches were started by
Mr Parker in 1788, six and a half miles an hour was
the utmost speed attained.
The length of time spent by carriers on the roads,
whether with pack-horses or carts, was of course pro¬
portionally greater. An aged gentleman writing his
recollections of past times (1770 to 1780) in Scotland,
drolly observes, "that the common carrier from Selkirk
to Edinburgh, thirty-eight miles distant, required two
weeks to make out his journey between the two towns,
going and returning, with a suitable resting time at
each to his poor fatigued horse, which had perhaps not
less than five or six hundredweight of goods to drag
along. The road originally was among the most peri¬
lous in the whole country ; a considerable extent of it
lay in the bottom of that district called Gala Water,
from the name of the principal stream. The channel
of the water itself, when not flooded, was the track
chosen, as being the most level, and easiest to be tra¬
velled on. The rest of the way, very much up-and-
down-hill, was far worse. The townsmen of this adven¬
turous individual, on the morning of his way-going,
turned out to take leave of him, and to wish him a safe
return from his perilous undertaking." *
* Robertson's Rural Recollections.
438
ROADS.
It will appear from the preceding notices respecting
travelling and modes of carriage for goods, that little
or no improvement could be expected in either case, till
a great change for the better was made on the state of
the roads. In no branch of art do our ancestors seem
to have been more deficient or heedless than in that of
making roads and keeping them in constant repair. In
this respect, indeed, they were in a condition of greater
ignorance than the ancient Romans, whose roads were
on the most extensive and efficient scale, suitable to the
necessities of the period, and may here be shortly de¬
scribed.
ancient roman roads.
It is, we believe, generally allowed that the Romans
gained a certain degree of knowledge on the subject of
road-making from Greece and Carthage, and also per¬
haps from Egypt ; but whatever they learned they
greatly improved upon, and therefore they are entitled
to be called the first and best roadmakers of whom
history has preserved any account. One great leading
principle actuated the Roman authorities in establish¬
ing roads : it was that of maintaining their military
conquests. On vanquishing a barbarous country, their
first efforts consisted in penetrating it with good roads,
which were maintained with jealous care, and were
connected as far as possible in unbroken lines with the
seat of government at Rome : this, indeed, formed one
of their grandest engines of subjugation, and affords
us a striking proof of their sagacious and active cha¬
racter.
Speaking of the subordinate Roman capitals in Asia
Minor, Syria, and Egypt, Gibbon describes as follows
the manner in which they were connected by roads :—
" All these cities were connected with each other and
with the capital by the public highways, which, issuing
from the Forum at Rome, traversed Italy, pervaded
the provinces, and were terminated only by the fron¬
tiers of the empire. If we carefully trace the distance
from the wall of Antoninus [in Scotland] to Rome, and
from thence to Jerusalem, it will be found that the
great chain of communication, from the north-west to
the south-east point of the empire, was drawn out to
the length of 4080 Roman [or 3740 English] miles.
The public roads were accurately divided by mile¬
stones, and ran in a direct line from one city to an¬
other, with very little respect for the obstacles either
of nature or private property. Mountains wei*e per¬
forated, and bold arches thrown over the broadest and
most rapid streams. The middle part of the road was
raised into a terrace which commanded the adjacent
country, consisting of several strata of sand, gravel, and
cement, and was paved with large stones, or in some
places near the capital, with granite. Such was the
solid construction of the Roman highways, w hose firm¬
ness has not entirely yielded to the effect of fifteen cen¬
turies. They united the subjects of the most distant
provinces by an easy and familiar intercourse ; but
their primary object had been to facilitate the marches
of the legions ; nor was any country considered as
completely subdued, till it had been rendered in all its
parts pervious to the arms and authority of the con¬
queror. The advantage of receiving the earliest intelli¬
gence, and of conveying their orders with celerity,
induced the emperors to establish, throughout their
extensive dominions, the regular institution of posts.
Houses were every where erected, at the distance of
only five or six miles ; each of them was constantly pro¬
vided with forty horses ; and, by the help of these relays,
it was easy to travel an hundred miles in a day along
the Roman roads. The use of the posts was allowed
to those who claimed it by an imperial mandate ; but
though originally intended for the public service, it was
sometimes indulged to the business or conveniency of
private citizens."
From other accounts, we learn that the Roman roada
ROADS.
Varied in importance and uses. The great lines were
called prœtorian ways, as being under the direction of
the pnetors; and these formed the roads for military
intercourse. Other lines were exclusively adapted for
commerce, or civil intercourse, and were under the
direction of consuls. Both kinds were formed in a
similar manner. The plan on which they were made
was more calculated for durability than ease to the
traveller ; And for our modern wheel carriages they
would be found particularly objectionable. Whatever
was their entire breadth, the centre constituted the
beaten track, and was made of large ill-dressed stones,
laid side by side to form a compact mass, of from twelve
to twenty feet broad ; and, therefore, in their external
aspect, they resembled the coarse stone causeways
which are still in use in towns and in the highways of
France. Some of the roads had double lines of this
solid pavement, of this nature, with a smooth brick
path for foot passengers ; and at intervals along the
sides, there were elevated stones on which travellers
could rest, or from which cavalry could easily mount
their horses. One important feature in the construc¬
tion of aH the Roman roads, was the bottoming of them
with solid materials. Their first operation seems to have
been the removal of all loose earth or soft matter which
might work upwards to the surface, and then they laid
courses of small stones, or broken tiles and earthen¬
ware, with a course of cement above, and upon that
were placed the heavy stones for the causeway. Thus,
a most substantial and durable pavement was formed,
the expense being defrayed from the public treasury.
Various remains of Roman roads of this kind still exist
in France, and also in different parts of Britain. One
of the chief Roman thoroughfares, in an oblique direc¬
tion across the country from London to the western part
of Scotland, was long known by the name of Watling
Street, which has been perpetuated in the appellation
of one of the streets in the metropolis.
BIODERN M ACAD ABIISED ROADS.
We now proceed to offer some account of the in¬
troduction of a proper kind of roads in modern times.
Attempts to improve the roads forming the leading
thoroughfares in England, were made at the beginning
of the eighteenth century; and for that purpose turnpike
acts for various districts were passed by parliament.
It is a very remarkable fact, that some of the counties
in the neighbourhood of London petitioned parliament
against the extension of turnpike roads into the remoter
parts of the country. Those remoter counties, it was
pretended, from the cheapness of labour, would be able
to sell their corn at a lower rate in the London market
than themselves, and would thereby reduce their rents
and ruin their cultivation. In spite of these remon¬
strances, turnpike roads were extended into the re¬
moter counties, and, as ought to have been expected, so
far from injuring the neighbourhood of the metropolis,
they greatly increased its value—for a free and easy
interchange of commodities is always universally bene¬
ficial.
It is of little moment to ascertain the exact period
when these improvements were effected on the roads
of England ; for, upon the whole, they were only partial,
and as yet the proper mode of road-making was not
understood. The plan consisted in making the paths
somewhat more level than formerly, and of filling up
the ruts and holes with stones gathered from the adja¬
cent fields. By this means the holes, ruts, and sloughs
were considerably limited in both breadth and depth ;
but as perfec levelness was not attained, carriages were
dreadfully jolted over the rougher parts, and the wheels
sunk jarringly into the softer ground beyond. As also
no pains were taken to lay down stones of equal bulk,
but small and large mixed, it happened that the larger
ones in time wrought to the surface, and so created
additional jolting to vehicles and damage to the roads.
The defects in this species of improved roads were so
conspicuous, that various engineers of eminence, and
other individuals, turned their attention to the subject ;
439
and among these is to be numbered Mr M'Adam, whose
plans surpassed all others, and, as is well known, are
now generally adopted. The name of this gentleman
has become so completely associated with the idea of
good roads, that a slight sketch of his history may here
be acceptable.
John Loudoun M'Adam was the representative of
an old and respectable landed family—the M'Adams
of Waterhead, in the Stewartry of Kirkcudbright, and
was born, September 21, 1756, in the town of Ayr. By
the death of his elder brother, he became, in infancy,
the only son of his father, and entitled to inherit the
distinction—considered in Scotland, in such cases, a
matter of some consequence—of being the representa¬
tive of the family, and chief man of his name. In con¬
sequence of the destruction, by fire, of a house which
he had built for his residence at Lagwyne, in the moor¬
land parish of Carsphairn, his father removed, about
this time, to Blairquhan, in Ayrshire, which he rented
from Sir John Whitefoord. The family estate was now
sold to the Earl of Stair, from whom it was afterwards
purchased by a junior branch of the M'Adam family,
who still possesses it. Mr M'Adam received his edu¬
cation at the school of Maybole, under a teacher named
Doick, who possessed considerable local reputation. On
the death of his father in 1770, when he was only four¬
teen years of age, he was sent to New York, where his
uncle William, a younger brother of his father, had
been settled for some years as a merchant. Here he
remained fourteen years, during which the war of in¬
dependence took place. Under the protection of the
British forces, who possessed the city, he realised a
considerable fortune, as an agent for the sale of prizes.
At the conclusion of the war, he returned, with the loss
of nearly the whole of his property, to his native coun¬
try, and resided for some time at Dumcrieff, a beauti¬
ful place in the neighbourhood of Moffat, subsequently
the seat of Dr Currie, the biographer of Burns. He
afterwards lived for thirteen years at Sauchrie in Ayr¬
shire, where he was in the commission of the peace and
a deputy lieutenant. During this period, he enjoyed
the society of his first wife—a lady named Nichol, whom
he had married at New York, and who brought him
three sons and three daughters, most of whom survive
him. He married, secondly, in 1827, Miss de Lancey,
who survives him, but has no family.
In the year 1798, Mr M'Adam received the govern¬
ment appointment of agent for victualling the navy in
the western parts of Great Britain, and accordingly
removed to Falmouth. He subsequently resided for
many years at Bristol, and latterly at Hoddesdon in
Hertfordshire. It was while acting as one of the trus¬
tees upon certain roads in Ayrshire, that he first turned
his attention seriously to the mechanical principles in¬
volved in that branch of national economy. While
engaged in England in duties of an entirely different
kind, he continued silently to study the process of road-
making in all its details, keeping particularly in view
the great desiderata of a compact and durable substance
and a smooth surface. By the exertions of various able
engineers, who had turned their attention to road-mak¬
ing, the highways of Great Britain were already in the
course of a rapid improvement ; but Mr M'Adam was
the first to point out and prove, in practical operation,
that a bed, of a few inches in depth, formed of fragments
of primitive rock—granite, greenstone, or basalt—small
enough to pass through a ring not larger than two inches
and a half in diameter, was the best material for ordi¬
nary roads. His system, in its leading features, is so
conspicuously displayed in the public eye, that any
minute account of it would be superfluous. It was not
till 1815, when on the borders of sixty, that he began
to devote his whole mind to the business of road-mak¬
ing. Being then appointed surveyor-general of the
Bristol roads, he had at length full opportunities of
exemplifying his system, which he forthwith proceeded
to do in a manner that attracted general attention, and
caused it to be quickly followed throughout the whole
kingdom. In 1823, Mr M'Adam was examined be foro
CHAMBERS'S INFORMATION FOR THE PEOPLE.
a committee of the House of Commons respecting the
propriety of converting the ruble granite causeway of
the principal thoroughfares into a smooth pavement
resembling those which he had already formed on the
principal roads. He expressed himself as decidedly of
opinion that such a change should be made: " I consi¬
der," said he, " that the expenses would be materially
reduced ; the convenience of passing over the surface
would be generally facilitated, particularly in the lead¬
ing streets ; and the same weight of stone, now put upon
those streets as pavement, would be obtained at infi¬
nitely less expense, in a different form, for the purpose
of road-making." The consequence was, that, in London,
Edinburgh, and Dublin, some of the principal lines of
street, which had previously been remarkable for soli¬
dity of pavement, as well as the large sums that pave¬
ment had cost, were—to use a phrase already familiar
to every ear—Macadamised.
In introducing this improvement into British roads,
Mr M'Adam had spent several thousand pounds from
his own resources. In 1825, he proved this expenditure
before a committee of the House of Commons, when an
equivalent sum was voted to him, besides an honorary
tribute of two thousand pounds, in consideration of the
public benefits resulting from his labours. The inade¬
quacy of this remuneration is very striking ; and it is
impossible to avoid contrasting it, in some bitterness of
spirit, with the ratio in which services of other and less
beneficial kinds are usually acknowledged. Many a lieu¬
tenant, in being promoted to a captaincy for some little
display of personal bravery, has reaped nearly as valuable
a reward as that bestowed upon Mr M'Adam for bring¬
ing into operation a mechanical improvement, the con¬
sequences of which, in saving animal labour, facilitating
commercial intercourse, and rendering travelling easy,
quiet, and pleasant, are beyond all calculation. Though
the remuneration was thus small, and never, as we have
been informed, fully paid, Mr M'Adam would have been
the last to complain of it. He never made money an
object, but, on the contrary, rejected on principle many
opportunities of gathering wealth, which his office as a
superintendant opened up to him, and which many men
of by no means blunt feelings as to professional pro¬
priety would have taken advantage of. He therefore
died a poor, but, as he frequently expressed himself,
" at least an honest man." Mr M'Adam's decease took
place, November 26, 1836, at Moffat. He was in the
81st year of his age.
According to the principles of road-making, as laid
down and consistently acted upon by Mr M'Adam,a road
ought to be an artificial and hard flooring, placed on a
level and dry surface. To make a good road, therefore,
we must in the first place level and prepare the ground.
If the ground be soft, as, for instance, have a covering
of turf and earthy matter beneath, the top must be
pared off, and as much earth removed as will produce
a hardish base. In some instances, it may be necessary
to excavate, and fill up the gap with compact and sub¬
stantial materials ; but should this be the case, the
materials used must on no account include any large
stones, or be otherwise unequal in their nature : The
principles on which the road should be made are thus
alluded to by Mr M'Adam :—" Roads can never be
rendered perfectly secure, until the following prin¬
ciples be fully understood, admitted, and acted upon :
namely, that it is the natural soil which really sup¬
ports the weight of travel ; that while it is preserved
in a dry state, it will carry any weight without sinking,
and it does, in fact, carry the road and carriages also ;
that this native soil must previously be made quite dry,
and a covering, as much impenetrable to rain as pos¬
sible, must then be placed over it, to preserve it in
that dry state ; that the thickness of a road should only
be regulated by the quantity of material necessary to
form such impervious covering, and never by any refe¬
rence to its own power of carrying weight."
To put these principles in practice—after the base
of the road has been prepared, it should be laid with a
laver of small stones, made by breaking larger stones
.440
into pieces weighing about three ounces. No round
pebbles or channel stones must be employed ; all must
be angular or irregularly shaped pieces. The covering
of this kind of material, technically called road metal,
should be spread to a depth of from six to ten inches,
as may be found necessary, and raked level on the sur¬
face. The sides of the road must possess wet ditches
or gutters, into which all water may be readily con¬
veyed and run off. For this purpose, culverts, drains,
and gratings may be necessary.
In certain cases it may be expedient to carry a line
of road across a bog or peat morass ;.and this may be
done with perfect security by laying a bottom of shrubs,
furze, or small branches of trees, on the soft under¬
stratum, and covering it over with gravel, and the
ordinary stone material above. The road so formed
may perhaps yield or bend a little when travelled by a
heavily loaded vehicle, but will sustain as much tear
and wear as any other portion of the highway.
The width of the road is a matter of taste and con¬
venience, but it should not be less than thirty-three
feet, to allow a free passage of vehicles in different
directions. On all the good roads in Britain, near
towns, a side footpath protected by a curb-stone is
added to the ordinary breadth. " With respect to the
shape of the surface of the road, when completed, there
is also some difference of opinion ; but all agree that
it should be convex, the only difference being in the
quantity. The degree of convexity should be governed
in a great degree by the locality. A road formed of
soft materials should have a greater convexity than one
formed of hard materials ; for the obvious reason that
water will injure a soft road quicker than a hard one.
A road upon uneven ground should have a greater con¬
vexity than one upon level ground, to prevent the de¬
scent of rain-water along the face of the road, which
is there caught by the slightest impressions of wheels ;
and thus wear channels, as may too often be seen, from
the top to the bottom of the hill. A wide road also
requires to be more crowning than a narrower one ;
which more readily frees itself from rain-water, inas¬
much as the distance the water has to run is less. But
it must be borne in mind, that the freeing a road from
rain-water is not the only object to be kept in view in
making a road crowning. The ease and safety of car¬
riages, and particularly those with heavy burdens or
with high loads, must be consulted. A carriage moves
most freely, or with the least resistance, when the load
lies evenly upon the wheels. J ust in proportion as the
weight or load is thrown on one side or the other, the
resistance is increased. Hence the inconveniency of a
very crowning road on a steep ; and hence the utility of
bars or breaks in long ascents. It is plain that a road
should be equally and duly convex in every part of it ;
otherwise it becomes more partially worn ; the more
level parts being most used.
When a road is carried round a hill instead of going
directly over it, or when a road is made on a side-hill,
it should not be made convex from the middle, but it
should be formed like half of a common road, with the
highest part on the upper side, thus giving the water a
tendency to run off on the lower side. Mr Walker
recommends the least possible convexity consistent with
a proper drainage of the road. In most localities this
will rarely exceed four inches ; that is, the middle should
be four inches higher than the sides. An idea of a
perfect road may be formed from a frozen canal, where
flatness, smoothness, and hardness are combined ; in
imitation of such a surface, railways were invented, and
fully illustrate the principles assumed. Roads cannot
be made with all of these perfections, but they should
always be kept in view ; for the nearer we approach to
this standard, the greater will be the draught. M'Adam
says, roads should be made as flat as possible. ' Where
a road is made flat,' he says, ' people will not follow the
middle of it, as they do when it is made quite convex,
which is the only place where carriages can run up¬
right, by which means three furrows are made by the
horses aud the wheels, and the water continually stands
ROADS.
there ; and I think that more water actually 9tands
upon a very convex road, than on ona which is reason¬
ably flat.'
In laying out a new road, it is of some importance
that the rises and falls be not too great. The most
approved angles of ascents and descents in England are
about one inch in a foot—from this to one inch in a
yard. In order to obtain ascents not exceeding these,
it is necessary in our uneven country to wind up a
hill instead of going directly over it. In such cases
the road is to be built upon the side of a hill, and this
is considered the most advantageous ground upon which
a road can be built, provided the hill has not too great
an ascent; because what is taken from the upper side
serves to form the embankment on the lower side.
While we are speaking of embankments, we may men¬
tion the English method of forming them, which is so
manifestly superior to our own, that it deserves to be
imitated. ' The natural sod, which would be covered by
the base of the embankment, having been cut off and
set aside, the earth is then wheeled or carted on to form
the two outsides, which are raised to the required height,
leaving the middle open. The sods are then placed on
one another, the grassy surface at"right angles to the
face of the outer slopes, forming as it were a battering
wall of sods against the embankment.' This method is
found effectual in preventing the banks from washing
away and gullying. While the outsides are forming,
the lumps of earth, stone, &c., run downward to the
middle ; and in this way the whole is finished. When
the work settles, it is found to tend towards the centre,
thus preventing the outside slopes from giving way."*
The following judicious observations are made by the
same authority on the subject of fences, and junctions
of different roads :—" Fences are necessary along the
sides of a road in all enclosed countries ; but they should
never be allowed to rise higher than four feet on com¬
mon roads. It is absolutely necessary that the air and
sun have free admission to a road ; besides, where the
fences are high, it gives a sweeping power to the wind,
which is not beneficial. Mr Telford thinks that fences
should never be more than four feet high, and that all
trees within twenty feet of the sides of the road should
be removed. He also thinks that twenty per cent, of
the expense of repairing or improving roads is incurred
by the improper state of the fences and trees along tile
sides, particularly on the sunny side ; this will be ma¬
nifest to any person who will take the trouble to ex¬
amine the condition of that part of a road which is
much shaded, compared to the other parts which are
exposed to the sun and air.
The junction of one road with another requires a
little attention : it should always be made at right
angles, and on the same level, if possible. All engineers
agree that plantations of trees should not be made close
to roads ; but what the distance should be, depends on
the elevation of the country, the soil, the breadth of
the road, as well as its direction, See. &c. An elevated
situation is always more exposed to winds than a level
or hollow. A bx-oad winding road has chances of the
direct influence of the sun and wind, according to the
obliquity of its angles ; a road l'unning north and south,
though planted closely 011 both sides, will enjoy the sun
during a part of every day in the year ; one running
cast and west, planted on the south side with trees forty
feet high, or more, will enjoy no sun during the winter
months. The least injurious trees are single rows
trained to high stems, propei'ly pruned."
For some time after a road has been laid with fresh
materials, it presents a rough surface, unpleasant to
the feelings of those who arc conveyed over it ; but this
roughness is gradually abated, the small stones are
crushed into a compact mass, and finally, the road is
smooth, hard, and level. The length of time that may
elapse before any new repair is required, depends on
the amount and kind of ti*affic, as well as the weathei*.
Rain is a gx*eat enemy to macadamised roads, and par¬
* Scientific Tracts. Boston : 1U33.
■141
ticularly so when accompanied with much traffic. The
water lies on the surface, and softening the material,
the action of the hoi'ses' feet and of the wheels causes
a certain depth of thin liquid mud. This mud should,
by all means, be scraped off to a side, for the longer it
lies, the sti-atum beneath is the more liable to be cut
up and damaged. The scraping of the roads, therefoi-e,
becomes an essential duty of all who are interested in
preserving the highways economically in repaii\ When
the mud which is scraped aside thickens by exposure,
it should be cai'ted off, and may be employed on many
soils as a useful manure. Besides containing a propor¬
tion of refuse from horses, it is loaded with particles
of ii'on from wheels and hoi-se shoes ; and being sub¬
stantially silica or ground stone, it may be administered
with special advantage to heavy clay grounds.
Roads exposed to much traffic require to be renewed
in surface at least once a-year. The first indications
of decay are observable in the form of slight hollows,
and ruts next make their appearance. In some cases,
where the decay is only partial, a small quantity of
metal may be scattered in the hollows, bringing them
up to a level with all around. However, this is not usu¬
ally done 011 well-kept roads near large towns. There
the l'oad undergoes a thorough repair once a-year,
which is preferable to partial mendings. The best time
for repairing roads is about November, or before the
winter frost and snow set in. In commencing the re¬
pair*, the road should be picked across, at intervals of
twelve 01* fifteen inches. This is done by men, each
having a pick by which he indents the hard bottom,
or forms scox*es an inch deep in the road. The use of
such a preliminai*y pi*ocess, is to cause a ready union
between the new and old materials. If the fresh metal
wei*e scattered over the old road, without any prepa¬
ration, it would with difficulty unite to the substratum,
and at best form an upper crust, which would be too
easily damaged.
With respect to the keeping of roads in efficient re¬
pair, the most advantageous plan consists in assigning
the entire duty to a contractor. This person, by under¬
taking to keep all the roads in a county 01* disti-ict
in co 11.-.tant and uniform repaii*, is able to execute his
functions much more economically than the private
gentlemen who act as trustees of the highways and
turnpikes. The trustees appointed by local acts of par¬
liament to supei'intend highways, now generally employ
conti*actors to keep the roads in repair at a specified
pi-ice per mile,, the payment being made fi*om funds
collected from the lessees of the toll-bai*s.
The aggregate length of the turnpike roads of Great
Britain is now calculated to be 25,000 miles, at a gene¬
ral breadth of from fifty to sixty feet.* The cost of
keeping these roads in repair differs considei'ably in
different counties. In the neighbourhood of London,
the annual cost is about L.550 per mile, in Yorkshire
it is L.60, and in Wales L.20. The average is about
L.50. Nearly all the road trusts ai*e in debt for box*-
l-owed money. It is supposed that the debt is on an
average L.320 per mile, 01* probably L.6,000,000 for
the whole.
Law of the Road—For general convenience and safety,
drivers of vehicles and riders, in ti*avelling along a road,
ai*e expected to take a particular side ; and this practice
is now so well understood, and is in itself so proper, as
to have become a part of the common law. The law
of the road is, that when drivei*s meet from different
dii'ections, each shall keep his left hand to the wall or
footpath. Secondly, when one driver overtakes another,
and wishes to pass him, he must keep his left hand to
the vehicle which he passes. In the case of either
meeting or passing, each party is entitled to the half
of the road. The same rules apply to riders. If these
regulations be neglected, and an accident occur, the
* Turnpikes were so called from poles or bars, swung on a pivot,
having been placed on them, and turned either way when dues
were paid. Gates are now substituted for these poles in Great
Britain. In Germany, the pole is still used, one end being de¬
pressed to raise the other, and so permit a free passage.
CHAMBERS'S INFORMATION FOR THE PEOPLE.
law is always in favour of the party who kept his own
proper side, and no excuse can shelter the aggressor.
The trustees of the road are liable in an action of da¬
mages for any injury that may be sustained through
the carelessness of themselves or servants, in leaving
the road grossly out of repair.
According to a well-known rule, foot passengers on
pavements or side-paths, are expected to walk with
their right hand to the wall—that is, they keep their
left hand to those whom they are meeting and passing.
This custom prevents confusion in the streets of large
towns, but is not a matter of law.
CANALS.
A canal is an artificial channel of water, and is usually
constructed for inland navigation. Where natural
rivers can be resorted to for purposes of this kind, they
are preferable to canals, because little expense may be
required to suit them for navigation, and they may be
easily kept in repair. But few rivers, generally speak¬
ing, are sufficiently level, straight, or deep, to admit of
being profitably navigated by barges, and therefore
artificial channels require to be cut. Canals are ex¬
tremely suitable in level countries, possessing rivers or
brooks which can afford a due supply of water. In China,
from a very early age, certain large rivers have formed
natural canals longitudinally through the country from
west to east, while artificial canals have been made to
proceed in a cross direction from north to south, thus
effecting a universal water communication throughout
the empire. Canals existed in ancient Egypt in con¬
nexion with the Nile, on a similar plan to what now
prevails in China. Notwithstanding that canals were
known to have existed from a remote antiquity in the
east, it was long before they were introduced into
western Europe. In modern times, they were first
used by the inhabitants of the Netherlands, in conse¬
quence of the extreme flatness of their country, and
the numerous channels of water which intersect it in
all directions, in connexion with the lower branches of
the Rhine, and other rivers. In Holland and Belgium,
therefore, canals in a great measure exist as an essential
requisite in the general arrangements of the country,
and are, in point of fact, so many wet ditches or drains
to receive the superfluous waters.
In countries differently constituted, canals are con¬
structed only with reference to the profit, in the form
of commercial speculation. The great question, ac¬
cordingly, in forming the project of a. canal, is, whether
the anticipated amount of traffic will raise tolls suffi¬
cient to compensate the outlay of the undertaking and
subsequent charges for repair and superintendence.
It simplifies such an inquiry to know the following
truths in reference to cost of conveyance. The cheapest
mode of conveyance is by sloops, smacks, brigs, packets,
steamboats, &c., and these will at all times be employed
for heavy and bulky goods, such as coal, barrels of
liquids, iron, and other cumbrous materials proceeding
coastwise. The next cheapest mode of conveyance is
by barges on rivers ; and the next is by means of canals.
After this are ranked, in point of economy, conveyance
by land, on railways and roads, the last being the dearest,
though often the only means of transport which can be
obtained. According to this view, canals can never
answer as profitable speculations, when they have to
compete with coasting vessels of any description, or
with any species of conveyance by rivers. They cannot
even in certain circumstances compete successfully with
railways, on account of the slowness of speed at which
barges or boats are drawn along them ; and as speed is
becoming daily a matter of greater moment in traffic,
canals are gradually losing the conveyance of every kind
of goods for which quickness of transit is desirable. For
the sake of economy in national resources, it is very
desirable that these truths in statistics should be gene¬
rally understood and remembered. j
When the undertaking appears warrantable from a
careful consideration of circumstances, the next thing
to be taken into account is the obtaining of an adequate
supply of water, and the fixing 011 the best—that is, the
most level and unexpensive—line of route. In some
parts of England, where an enormous traffic could be
reckoned upon, canals have been projected and executed
on a stupendous scale ; mountains have been perforated
to admit channels of water through them, valleys raised
by embankments, and bridges built in the form of aque¬
ducts across rivers ; in short, no expense has been
spared to render the inland navigation complete.
The supply of water necessary for a canal which is
level throughout its course, is 6mall in comparison with
that of one pursuing an uneven line. When there is a
common level of surface, the only expenditure of water
is by evaporation ; but when the level is various, a large
loss is incurred at the locks in raising or lowering ves¬
sels. A lock is a portion of the canal enclosed by fold¬
ing doors, and must at least measure the length of a
vessel. If a vessel is to be raised from one level to
another, it is drawn up to the doors of the lock, and
these are opened to admit it. Having sailed into the
lock, the doors are closed behind it, and it is now in a
kind of prison from which there is no apparent escape.
While in this situation, the doors at the opposite end of
the lock, which retain the water at the higher level,
are slowly opened, and admit a rush of the liquid mass,
which speedily buoys up the vessel, and allows it to
sail off along the higher level. The lock is not imme¬
diately emptied, but remains full of water, and is there¬
fore ready to be employed in letting a vessel down.
When the vessel approaches, and is fairly within the
lock, the upper doors are shut, and then the lower doors
are opened ; by this means the vessel is carried into the
lower level along with the rush of liquid, and is drawn
on its course. A lockful of water has now evidently
been shot from a higher to a lower level on the canal,
and is lost, unless required for lower locks. To prevent
inundation of the banks from the issuing of water from
the locks, waste outlets require to be provided at cer¬
tain distances, particularly at the lower termination of
the line of canal. The provision of water to supply the
locks is ordinarily from an artificial lake which is esta¬
blished near the highest ground in the line.
The breadth of most canals varies from twenty to
thirty feet, and the depth from four to six feet. If the
depth of water be sufficient to keep the vessels from
touching the bottom, no greater volume is necessary,
for less power is required to pull a boat upon a shallow
than a deep water, there being less liquid agitated or
displaced. At one side of the canal a narrow road,
called the towing-path, is constructed, and upon this
the horses which drag the vessel proceed. There is a
difference in the manner in which the dragging rope is
attached to the vessel. In Holland it is the practice to
attach the rope to near the bow of the boat, and to
cause it to proceed over the outer extremity of a pole
or species of mast, so as to keep it considerably above
the water and prevent its friction on the banks. This
is not attended to in England, where the rope proceeds
direct from the bow to the horse, and, except when in a
state of great tension, it trails along the bank and surface
of the water. In either case, the draught of the horse
is exerted with a loss of power, for instead of being a
fair draught behind, it is oblique, or in the direction of
the rope slanting to the vessel. The tendency of the
draught is to bring the boat to the shore, which is
counteracted by the helm, and this again assists in di¬
minishing the general amount of available power.
Throughout the canals of England and Scotland,
only one horse is employed to drag a boat, loaded to
the extent of from fifty to seventy tons ; and with this
weight dragging after it in a manner most disadvanta¬
geous, it will travel at the rate of two miles and a half
or three miles an hour. That one horse should be
capable of drawiug fifty tons of goods in this unexpen¬
sive manner, gives an apparently favourable view of
canal conveyance; but laying all charges out of the
CANALS.
question, the slowness of the motion, and consequently
the detention of goods by the way, is a drawback of the
most serious nature, and in reality renders canals
almost useless for the transport of any but heavy and
raw materials. Latterly, on a few canals, attempts
have been successfully made to run 44 swift boats" for
passengers, drawn by two horses, at a rate of seven or
eight miles per hour ; but as these vessels are run at a
great expense for horse power, and at the utmost speed
are not quicker in their transit than stage-coaches, it
may be expected that they will utterly fail in competing
with railways.
It may not be generally known that the principal ob¬
stacle to the use of steam-engines on board canal-boats,
is the injury done to the banks by the action of the water
from the paddles. How far this obstacle might be
overcome by the use of the archimedian screw propel¬
ler, it would be premature to say. Meanwhile, an at¬
tempt has lately been made in Scotland to introduce
the use of steam-power for inland navigation, by means
of a railway and locomotive tug, along the line of the
Forth and Clyde Canal. The following account of an
experiment is from the Edinburgh newspapers of No¬
vember 1839:—
" The experiment, which was of a novel nature, was
conducted by Mr John Macneil, civil engineer, and
consulting engineer to the Canal Company. It is well
known that the haulage of boats 011 this canal has
hitherto been performed by horses ; the rates of speed
being, for the heavy sloops, brigs, &c., in the London,
Dundee, and other trades, about 1£ to 2 miles per
hour, when drawn by two or five horses, according to
the state of the weather ; and for the swift or passenger
boats between 8 and 9 miles per hour, on an average,
when drawn by two horses. The object of the experi¬
ment was to ascertain the possibility of using locomo¬
tive steam power to draw the boats, instead of horses.
Accordingly, a single line of rails, upon blocks, like an
ordinary railway, was laid down for a considerable
space along the canal banks, near Lock 16; and a
locomotive engine and tender, built by Mr William
Dodds, having been brought down the canal and set on
the rails on the morning of the 21st, Mr Macneil, Mr
Johnston, the canal director, and several engineers and
gentlemen, being present, the experiment commenced
by attaching to the engine the towing-line of the first
passenger-boat that made its appearance, and which
contained upwards of ninety passengers, with their
luggage. There was a trifling delay in disengaging
the horses and tying the line to the engine ; but this
was amply compensated when the 4 Victoria' briskly
set off', and almost immediately gained a speed of 17£
miles per hour, which she kept up round two curves,
and until the termination of the rails made it necessary
to stop, amid the cheers of the delighted passengers.
This experiment was repeated, during the course of
the day, with each passenger-boat as it came on the
railed space, and with equal success each time. On
one occasion a towing-rope, which was much decayed,
got foul of a curb-stone and broke, but without causing ,
the slightest inconvenience, except about one minute's
delay. The engine employed being intended only for a
slow trade, was not calculated to go at greater speed
than 18 miles per hour; but it was the opinion of all
present, that, with proper passenger locomotives, a
speed might be obtained equal to that upon the best
railways, few of the latter possessing the advantage se¬
cured by the canal bank of a perfect level throughout.
The nature of the motion was highly gratifying to all
the passengers, being more uniform, steady, and smooth,
than when the boats were drawn by horses. Several of
the heavy (masted) vessels were also taken in tow dur¬
ing the two days of trial, at the rates of 3, 34, 4, and 5
miles per hour ; and on one occasion, two loaded sloops,
' and a large waggon-boat, were together attached to the
' engine, and hauled with ease at the rate of 2| miles per
hour, whilst only one-fourth of the steam was allowed
to pass the throttle valve. The foregoing statements
render palpably apparent the immense advantages
which might be gained by this new adaptation of steam-
power—a great economy of haulage expenses, as one
engine might draw at least six sloops, which now would
require from eighteen to twenty-four horses, and, if
necessary, at double the present speed ; and a propor¬
tional increase of the present traffic on the canal,
which might be reasonably expected. Passengers would
increase in a great proportion, when attracted by eco¬
nomy and speed of transport. The Union Canal from
Edinburgh to Falkirk might be traversed in 2 hours,
and the Forth and Clyde Canal from Falkirk to (J las-
go w in 14 instead of 4 hours and 3£, as at present, and
this by only assuming 16 miles per hour, though more
might easily be performed, as the experiments have
shown."
Fully more satisfactory results ensued from subse¬
quent experiments, but as the mode of draught has not
come practically into operation, it is unnecessary to
narrate them here.
One of the largest canals in Europe is that which
extends from the German Ocean to the river Ai, at
Amsterdam, by which vessels are enabled to reach that
city by a direct channel, instead of sailing round by the
Zuyder Zee. This ship canal was begun in 1819, and
finished in 1825, at an expense of £850,000. Its
length is nearly 52 English miles; its breadth 125 feet
at the surface, ami 38 feet at the bottom ; and its depth
20 feet 9 inches. Traversing a perfectly flat country,
it has no locks except at its extremities, and is of such
magnitude, that two frigates or the largest merchant
vessels can pass each other. There is a towing-path
for horses on each side ; and about eighteen hours are
required to perform the voyage from Amsterdam to
the ocean. As a commercial speculation the canal
yield® no profit, but its service to the shipping of Am¬
sterdam is incalculable, and without it the town must
have sunk into comparative insignificance.
France possesses about fifty different canals, some
of which are of great importance for general traffic.
The chief canal is allowed to be that of Briare, called
also that of the Loire and Seine. It was completed in
1642, measures 34£ miles in length, and has 40 or 42
locks. The width is 25 feet at bottom. By this canal
Paris receives large supplies of inland produce. The
Canal du Midi, or Languedoc Canal, makes a communi¬
cation between the Mediterranean at the city of Cette
and the Atlantic Ocean at the mouth of the Garonne,
passing through the province of Languedoc. Altogether,
there are 900 miles of canals in France.
The United States of North America possess upwards
of 2500 miles of canals, the whole of which have been
constructed within the last thirty years. The principal
undertaking of this kind is the Erie Canal, which unites
the river Hudson at Albany with Lake Erie at Buffalo,
a distance of 363 miles. The Miami Canal, from Cincin¬
nati to Lake Erie, which extends 265 miles, is another
great undertaking ; and there are a number of other
canals scarcely less important for the general traffic of
the country. The Rideau Canal in Canada, extending a
distance of 160 miles, from the Ottawa (a tributary of
the St Lawrence) to Lake Superior, is a stupendous
undertaking, and will ultimately be of great service to
the trade of British America.
The canals of Great Britain are believed to extend
to an aggregate length of 2400 miles. The greater part
are in the midland districts of England, including Lan¬
cashire, and have for their object the connexion of the
large seats of manufacture with the sea on both sides
of the island and with the Thames at London. The
Grand Trunk Canal, connecting the Mersey with the
Trent and Humber, extends 93£ miles. The Birming¬
ham and Worcester connects the Grand Trunk Canal
with the Severn. The Grand Junction connects the
Grand Trunk with the Thames. Thus, the four great
ports of the kingdom, London, Bristol, Liverpool, and
Hull, arc connected by canals. So generally are these
and other canals spread over England, that it is sup¬
posed there is not a place south of Durham more than
fifteen miles from water communication. The trade on
CHAMBERS'S INFORMATION FOR THE PEOPLE.
some of the lines of canal, since the introduction of
railways, has sunk in an extraordinary degree, greatly
to the loss of the proprietors. Ireland has about 300
miles of caflals, mostly government undertakings, and
in general they possess little trade.
Scotland has a number of canals, but they are chiefly
confined to the western and mid district of the country.
That which possesses the largest traffic is the Forth
and Clyde Canal, reaching from the Clyde, a short way
above Dumbarton, to the Forth at Grangemouth. This
canal, which was opened in 1790, and affords a ready
communication for small vessels between the east and
west coast, extends 39 miles in length ; its highest level
is 160 feet, with 20 locks on the eastern acclivity and
19 on the western. The canal is connected with Glas¬
gow by a side cut ; and it is now joined by the Union
Canal, which extends from near its eastern extremity
to Edinburgh. This latter canal has proved a poor
commercial speculation, but has been of great service
to Edinburgh, by introducing coal at a cheap rate to
the city, and affording an exceedingly convenient means
of conveyance for goods to and from Glasgow. The
Caledonian Canal is formed in a great measure by a
chain of lakes, stretching across the country from In¬
verness on the east to Loch Eil on the west coast, a
distance of 59£ miles. The canal part is 20 feet deep,
50 feet wide at bottom, and 110 feet at'top, which affords
a passage to frigates of 32 guns, or merchant vessels
of a similar size. This great canal was undertaken as
a public work by government ; and after a labour of
eighteen years was opened in 1822, having then cost
£800,000. It possesses 13 locks on the east and 12
locks on the west coast, the highest level being 94 feet.
13y this canal the dangers of rounding the northern
extremity of the island, by the Pentland Firth, may be
avoided ; but from the prejudices of seamen it has
never been much used, and is now abandoned by go¬
vernment to a private company. As a means of allow¬
ing steam-boats to run between the Clyde and Inverness,
the canal has been of great public service.
CONVEYANCE BY STEAM POWER.
steam-boats.
Until the year 1807, the only means of communica¬
tion by sea was by sailing vessels affected by the winds,
and on the land by the power of draught in animals,
both of which were exceedingly defective. In 1807,
Fulton introduced the use of steam-propelled vessels
on the Hudson, between New York and Albany. In
1812, Bell introduced a similar mode of steam naviga¬
tion on the Clyde at Glasgow ; and in two or three years
afterwards, steam-boats were common on British rivers
and on the sea around the coasts. We do not consider
it ©f the least moment to mention how or by whom
steam propulsion was first discovered ; the merit of this
and every other great invention is alone due to the
person who brought it into practical use, and in the
present instance it is clear that that person was Fulton.
Leaving all account of the mechanique of steam
power, as applicable to propulsion, to be given in our
article on the Steam-Engine, we need here only allude
to the extraordinary changes which have been effected
upon conveyance by sea and land by this newly ap¬
plied motive force.
444
Steam navigation has hitherto been chiefly applied
to coasting and voyaging on rivers and estuaries, and
in these respects it has greatly altered the system
of transit. In 1840 there were in the United King¬
dom and colonies 630 steam-vessels, possessing an ag¬
gregate burden of 71,000 tons. The rivers on which
they principally plied were the Thames, the Mersey,
the Clyde, the Forth, the Tyne, and the Severn. The
Clyde alone owned 76 steamers, having nearly 8000
tons. Besides those which were devoted to making
trips up and down these rivers, a large proportion plied
regularly between different coasts in Britain and Ire¬
land, and between different ports and the Thames.
From the Thames, also, steamers proceeded to many
different ports on the continent. In short, steamers
are now found traversing the whole line of coast, steer¬
ing up and down rivers, and holding communication
with ports in distant parts of the globe.
One of the finest lines of large steamers now in ope¬
ration in Britain is that between Edinburgh and Lon¬
don ; it has for several years consisted of from six to
eight vessels of about 800 tons each, and these sail
regularly twice a-week. Formerly, the passage by
sailing smacks occupied, on an average, six or seven
days, but sometimes it was three weeks ; now the
voyage by steam is performed with remarkable pre¬
cision in from 48 to 54 hours, the distance being 400
miles. The lines of steam-packets between Glasgow
and Liverpool, Glasgow and Belfast, Liverpool and
Dublin, Bristol and Cork, Aberdeen and London, Dun¬
dee and London, London and Rotterdam, London and
Hull, London and Newcastle, Southampton and Havre,
Dover and Calais, are all upon a great scale, and effect
an amount of communication for passengers and tran¬
sit for goods, of which no description of ours could con¬
vey any just idea.
The above may, however, be considered only to in¬
clude those vessels which proceed on voyages of not
more than two days' duration. Latterly there have been
added steamers which proceed between England and .
Lisbon, and thence to Maderia ; also steamers to India by
the Cape of Good Hope ; and more lately still, steamers
which make the voyage across the Atlantic, and form a
means of regular communication between Britain and
North America. The Great Western, a steamer of
1340 tons burden, was the first large vessel which plied
regularly on this station. This vessel departed from
Bristol on the 7th of April 1838, and reached New
York on the 23d of the same month ; but the clear days
occupied on the passage were only 14. This voyage
established the practicability of steam-vessels crossing
the Atlantic, and now there are several which sail at '
regular intervals. Besides crossing from London, Bris¬
tol, and Liverpool, to New York, and returning, there
is also a line of large steamers which sail between
Liverpool and Halifax in Nova Scotia. The largest of
the Atlantic steam-boats is the British Queen, which
measures in entire length 275 feet. Her two engines
are of 250 horse power each, and she is calculated to
carry 1862 tons. The outward voyage of 18 days of
this magnificent steam-vessel requires a consumption
of 540 tons of coal, and her homeward voyage of 12
days 360 tons. Larger and more powerful vessels are
now in preparation.
On the coasts and rivers of North America, steam
navigation has been carried on to a much greater ex¬
tent than in Great Britain or any other country. In
1834, there were 234 steam-vessels on the Ohio, Mis¬
sissippi, and other western waters ; but now the num¬
ber is above 500. Some of the American steam-vessels
are larger than any in Britain, and also more splendid
in decoration ; but they are much more liable to acci¬
dents, from the employment of steam at a very high
pressure, and a general carelessness in the mode of
management.
The Rhine, the Seine, the Danube, and other large
rivers on the continent of Europe, are now navigated
by steam-vessels, chiefly for conveying passengers. The
engines used are mostly made in England.
RAILWAYS.
RAILWAYS.
Before the practice of steam navigation had attained
that degree of improvement which it now possesses, a
not less wonderful mode of travelling by steam power
on land had come into use ; wherefore, during the first
thirty years of the nineteenth century, infinitely greater
improvements in the means of locomotion have been
discovered and brought into practical operation for the
benefit of mankind, than had ever previously been
known. To understand and value the application of
steam power to land travelling, we must advert to the
subject of draught on common roads.
There exist three obstacles to the i*apid motion of
carriages—terrestrial attraction, the atmosphere, and
friction. By no human power can the two former be
removed, but the latter can be so far modified as to
form little or no opposition. On all common roads, 110
matter how well they may be constructed, there is a
certain degree of roughness which it is impossible to
remove, and this causes so great a friction, that to over¬
come it much of the drawing power is consumed with¬
out advancing the carriage. On some roads, the plan
of laying down continuous lines or tramways of smooth
pavement for the wheels to roll over, has been resorted
to, but has never been found generally answerable, not
only in consequence of the great expense of construc¬
tion, but because drivers will not take the trouble to
keep their vehicles upon it.
The draught of a horse upon a macadamised road
may be estimated at fifteen hundredweight, walking at
an ordinary pace and for several hours continuously.
Particularly sfrong horses may habitually draw twenty
or twenty-two hundredweight, but to cause them to
pull to that amount is not economical. Allowing, how¬
ever, that all horses can draw a ton weight, that is a
small amount of draught in relation to great purposes
of commerce ; and the speed at which the fleetest horse
can travel, when drawing a weight after it, though
perhaps ten miles an hour, is unsuitable for the rapid
transit of passengers 011 long journeys. To drag a
mail coach from London to Edinburgh, a distance of
about 400 miles, in 43 hours, which was reckoned a
good speed, it was necessary to employ four horses, and
to change these every eight miles on an average; thus
200 horses were required for the performance of the
whole journey. Having attained this rate of locomo¬
tion, by improvements 011 roads, carriages, and in the
breed of horses, nothing more could be done. Some¬
thing new required to be devised.
The idea of employing steam-power to drag car¬
riages over common roads, and thus save a large out¬
lay for horses, besides accomplishing a greater speed,
was suggested by various enterprising minds, but to its
practical application there were and are many serious
objections. Independently of the ordinary and unavoid¬
able roughness of common roads, all highways are less
or more uneven ; because to construct them upon a
perfect level throughout would be attended with an
expense which the tolls from no traffic could sustain.
The general unevenness of roads, therefore, causes
a great loss of drawing power. In these circumstances,
it is evident that, for the avoidance of friction and
economising of forces, an entirely new species of road
required to be contrived. This important desidera¬
tum is found in the invention of railways. The design
of a railway is to furnish a hard, smooth, and un¬
changing surface for wheels to roll upon. No pro¬
vision, as respects smoothness, is required for any part
of the path, except the narrow lines which are imme¬
diately to come under the rim of the wheels. Accord¬
ingly, it is sufficient to provide two rows or lines of
strong and straight iron rails, that is, long slips of iron,
about an inch in thickness, and four or six inches deep.
These rails, laid in two parallel lines, to suit the width
of a carriage, are raised a little above the general level
of the ground, being placed neatly end to end, and
secured by fastenings to blocks of wood or stone at
short intervals. Such is the very simple contrivance
445
of a railway, or chemin de fer (road of iron), as it is
called by our French neighbours. By the establish¬
ment of railways, a way was opened for the adaptation
of steam power to locomotion, and now, as is well known,
that has come generally into use.
The earliest railway of which there is any account,
was one constructed near Newcastle-upon-Tyne. In
Roger North's Life of Lord Keeper North, lie says
that at this place, in 1676, the coals were conveyed from
the mines to the banks of the river, " by laying rails of
timber exactly straight and parallel ; and bulky carts
were made with four rollers fitting those rails, whereby
the carriage was made so easy, that one horse could
draw four or five chaldrons of coal." One hundred
years afterwards, about 1776, Mr Curr constructed an
iron railroad at the Sheffield colliery. The rails were
supported by wooden sleepers, to which they were
nailed. In 1797, &Ir Barns adopted stone supports in
a railroad leading from the Lawson main colliery to the
Tyne, near Newcastle ; and in 1800, Mr Outram made
use of them in a railroad at Little Eaton in Derbyshire.
Twenty-five years afterwards, this species of road was
successfully adopted on a public thoroughfare for the
transportation of merchandise and passengers, namely,
the Stockton and Darlington railway, which was com¬
pleted in 1825, and was the first on which this experi¬
ment was made with success. From that time, accord¬
ingly, a new era commenced in the history of inland
conveyance.
It is a remarkable circumstance, that the early prac-
tisers of railway conveyance could not imagine that a
carriage, moved by steam power, could proceed along
the rails without the aid of toothed wheels and a rack ;
and to overcome this imaginary difficulty, no small de¬
gree of expense and labour was fruitlessly incurred.
About the year 1815, Mr Blackett, of Wylam, near
Newcastle, effectually proved, by repeated experiments,
that the adhesive power of the wheels on the rails was
at all times sufficient to cause a progressive motion in
an engine, with a train of loaded carriages, upon a rail¬
way cither level or with a small acclivity. Important
as was this discovery, fifteen years elapsed before steam
locomotives were established. This great triumph of
art occurred in connexion with the opening of the
Liverpool and Manchester railway, on the 15th of Sep¬
tember 1830, since which period railways have spread
to all populous parts of the country.
Simple as is the idea of a railway, a prodigious ex¬
pense is necessarily incurred in bringing it into prac¬
tical operation. All inequalities of surface in the ground
must be removed, low parts must be filled up by em¬
bankments, high parts must be reduced, eminences,
which it would be impolitic to level, must be perforated
by tunnels—the whole route being brought as nearly as
possible to a level. Besides, the land over which it is
to proceed must be purchased, frequently at an exorbi¬
tant cost ; and the preliminary expense of overcoming
petty opposition and procuring an act of parliament to
establish the line, sometimes amounts to as much as
£2000 per mile. A11 entire charge of £30,000 per mile
is considered a moderate outlay in the construction of
railways in Britain.
No long line of railway that has yet been formed is
perfectly level throughout, but the acclivity is seldom
more than one foot per mile, and this does not px-oduce
any x-etax-dation, which it would be absolutely neees-
sax-y to obviate by an excess of expenditure. Every
line, also, is curved, or bent from a truly sti'aight
dix'ection, at various places in its coux-se ; and this is
another evil which it is necessary to tolei'ate to a cex1-
tain extent rather than avoid by ineconomical outlay.
For the reasons now stated, nearly all railways ax-e
neither pex*fectly straight nor perfectly level ; and so far
as such is the case, there is a loss of power in drawing
vehicles along them. Yet, in the most disadvantageous
known circumstances, the railways are so compai'atively
smooth and suitable for transit, that they allow the
nearest approach to a total absence of friction. It is
deserving of notice, that the absence of friction in rail-
CHAMBERS'S INFORMATION FOR THE PEOPLE.
roads, is advantageous not only for the saving of power
but the saving of painful sensations to the traveller.
The suffering usually endured in ordinary modes of
land conveyance is that which chiefly arises from fric¬
tion. Friction is the grand evil to be overcome. Were
friction altogether removed, we should feel no sensation
in moving ; as, for example, we experience no sensa¬
tion of motion in being carried along with the earth
in its ceaseless rotations, although proceeding at an in¬
conceivable velocity. It maybe argued from these pre¬
mises, that no one need fear to be carried along at any
rate of speed—even a hundred miles an hour—provided
the motion be perfectly smooth or free from friction,
and that there is a protection from the atmosphere.
Practically, in locomotion upon railways, a small de¬
gree of friction is required between the wheels and the
rails, to cause adhesion, and this is accomplished by the
ordinary roughness of the iron.
Rails.—The experience of ten years has introduced
a few improvements in the construction and manage¬
ment of lines of railroad. At first, malleable iron rails
were supposed to be preferable to those of cast-metal ;
but now it is understood that cast rails, if properly
made, will endure all the tear and wear to which they
can be fairly subjected. To be of the strongest and
best form, each individual rail should be at least twelve
feet in length, six incites in depth at the two ends, and
thence gradually deepening beneath in the fish-belly
form to the centre. The thickness should be fully one
inch, and the upper surface, on which the wheel is to
run, should be an inch and three-quarters or two
inches, so as to project laterally like the cross top of
the letter T. The rails are to be supported at their
joint extremities, where they are pinned together, and
also at intervals of every three feet. The supporters
should consist of transverse bars of wood, sunk in the
ground ; by being thus crossing from the one track to
the other, both lines of rail are kept from separating
or shifting, and if there is any tendency to subside,
both are equally lowered. On many lines of railroad
stone sleepers are preferred to wood, but, as it seems,
with no adequate advantage. Stone sleepers present
too unyielding a base to the rolling of the wheels, and
cause a jolting most injurious to the mechanism of
the carriages. In several instances, lines with stone
sleepers have been taken up, and wood substituted.
The railways in Belgium are laid on wood. To attain
the highest perfection in the mode of laying rails, a
plan has been followed on the Newcastle and Shields
line, and also on that of the Great Western between
London and Bristol, of placing rails having an even
under side upon longitudinal beams of timber, which
are united at certain intervals by transverse bars:
thus the whole substructure is a handsome framework
laid on the ground, and presents the best species of
support. In general, this will be found too expensive
a kind of railway; and it may be anticipated that the
method of fixing rails upon cross bars of wood, at inter¬
vals of three feet, will ultimately come into universal
use.
Turn-outs.—If all the waggons upon a railroad,
whether for the transportation of passengers or mer¬
chandise, were to travel at the same time, and at the
same speed, two sets of tracks would be sufficient to
accommodate the whole, as there would be no necessity
of their turning out to pass each other. But in the
transportation of passengers, greater speed is desirable
than in the transportation of merchandise ; for the
transportation of merchandise, whether by horse power
or steam power, can be done more economically, and
with less injury to the road, at a low than a very high
rate of speed. It is, therefore, a very considerable
object, in railroads upon lines of public travel, to allow
waggons to pass others travelling in the same direction.
Provision must be made, accordingly, for turning out.
This provision is particularly necessary in case of a
road with a single set of tracks, on which the carriages
must meet. These turn-outs are made by means of a
moveable or switch rail at the angle where the turn-
446
out track branches from the main one. This rail is
two or three feet, more or less, in length, and one end
may be moved over that angle, and laid so as to form
a part of the main track, or the turn-out track. The
switch rail is usually moved by the hand, so as to form
a part of that track on which the waggon is to move.
Carriages—Wheels.—The principal consideration, in
regard to the construction of carriages, relates to their
bearings on the axle and the rim of the wheel. The rule
given by Mr Wood, as to the bearing on the axle, is, that
in order to produce the least friction, the breadth of the
bearing should be equal to the diameter of the axle at
the place of bearing. This diameter must be deter¬
mined by the weight to be carried ; and the breadth of
the bearing will accordingly vary with it. In order to
keep the wheels fairly on the rails, they are furnished
with thin edges which dip on the outside ; these flanges
are about an inch and a half in depth. The mid wheels
of locomotives are now made without flanges, but the
fore and hind pair require flanges of rather more than
usual depth. Wheels of large diameter move with
greater ease over the rails than those which are small,
because the large ones, in this as in all similar cases,
have more power in overcoming obstacles. Yet there
is a proper medium in the dimensions of wheels. Large
wheels are inconvenient in point of height, and are apt
to produce a rocking motion. It would appear that
the most suitable diameter for the waggon or carriage
wheels is from two and a-half to three feet, which is
the usual size. The wheels of the locomotive have a
diameter of about four feet ; to make them broader is
considered injudicious.
Curvatures in the Road.—The curvatures of the rail¬
road present some obstructions, since the axles of the
car and waggons being usually fixed firmly to the
frames, every bend of the tracks must evidently cause
some lateral rubbing, or pressure of the wheels upon
the rails, which will occasion an increased friction. If
the wheels are fixed to the axles, so that both must re¬
volve together, according to the mode of construction
hitherto most usually adopted in passing a curve, the
wheel that moves on the outside or longest rail must
be slided over whatever distance it exceeds the length
of the other rail, in case both wheels roll on rims of the
same diameter. This is an obstruction presented by
almost every railroad, since it is rarely practicable to
make such a road straight. The smallest curvature
that is allowable should not be less than a radius of
300 feet. In going round a height, the radius should
on no account be so small as this, in order that the
engine drivers may have a clear look-out ahead, and
so prevent collisions and overtakings on the road.
Inclined Planes.—Where the inclination of the road
is greater than that for which the ordinary power is
calculated, the ascent must be effected by means of an
additional power, the amount of which can be readily
computed, since in those parts no additional friction
of the cars or wheels is to be provided for, and only
the additional resistance arising from gravity is to be
overcome. If, for instance, the additional inclination
is one in ninety-six, or fifty-five feet in a mile, the
additional power must be to the weight as one to ninety-
six, or as fifty-five to the number of feet in a mile,
namely, 5280. In descending planes, so much inclined
that the gravity would move the carriages too rapidly
for safety, the velocity is checked by means of a break,
which consists of a piece of wood of the same curva¬
ture as the rim of a set of the wheels, upon which the
break is pressed by means of a lever, so adjusted as to
be within reach of the conductor, in his position on the
carriage.
Locomotive Engines.—Within the last few years,
very considerable improvements have been made in the
construction of the locomotiveá by which the draught
of the trains of carriages is effected. Originally the
locomotive was placed upon four wheels, the two front
ones being smaller than those behind. Now, six wheels
are employed, the front and hind pair being smaller
than those in the middle, these middle ones being the
RAILWAYS.
wheels upon which, by the action of cranks from the
engine, the whole mass is propelled. As may be seen
by the small annexed engraving, which represents a
railway train, the locomotive consists of a long iron
barrel or cylinder supported by six wheels, with a
chimney rising in front, and affording standing space
■¡S» HBS
>.H.
behind for the engineer who conducts and regulates
the machine. It is unnecessary to confuse the mind
of the unscientific reader witli a minute account of this
wonderful apparatus ; it will suffice to say, that the end
of the barrel-like object next the engineer, consists of
a furnace or fire-box, and the heat generated in it by
the consumption of coke, is conducted thence through
a great number of tubes in the cylinder, and finally
escapes at the chimney. The cylinder in which the
water is boiled and steam generated, is sheltered from
the external air by a case ; and by receiving the action
of heat from so many tubes passing through it, the
steam is rapidly generated for the use of the engine.
The engine lies horizontally beneath the chimney, and
in such a position as to permit the working of the piston
upon the crank of the axle of the middle set of wheels.
By means of lever handles affecting the mechanism, the
engineer can at pleasure produce or stop the motion,
as effectually and much more readily than a coach-
driver could set off or arrest the progress of his horses.
Immediately behind the locomotive is a carriage called
the tender, which is loaded with a supply of fuel and a
tank round its sides containing water. The weight of
a locomotive, supplied with its proper quantity of water
and fuel, is about twelve tons. The tender, when filled
with water and fuel, weighs seven tons : it can carry
700 gallons of water, and eight hundredweight of
coke forms a sufficient supply for a trip of from thirty
to forty miles with an ordinary load. The cost of a
locomotive is about £1700, and it seldom wears longer
than two years without undergoing a very extensive
repair. On the Great Western Railway, which is of
unusual breadth of track, the locomotives are much
larger and more powerful. Ordinary locomotives eva¬
porate seventy-seven cubic feet of water per hour, but
those on the Gi'eat Western evaporate about 200 cubic
feet. It is calculated that the evaporation of one cubic
foot per hour, produces a gross mechanical force of
nearly two horse power; consequently, to ascertain the
power of a locomotive, we must multiply by two the
number of cubic feet which it evaporates per hour.
plane rising 1 in 96, and extending mile, the engine
was assisted by another engine called the Samson,
and the ascent was performed in 9 minutes. At start¬
ing, the fire-place was well filled with coke, and the
coke supplied to the tender accurately weighed. On
arriving at Manchester, the fire-place was again filled,
and the coke remaining in the tender weighed. The
consumption was found to amount to 929 pounds net
weight, being at the rate of one-third of a pound per
ton per mile. Speed on the level was 18 miles an hour;
on a fall of 4 feet in a mile, 21 £ miles an hour ; fall of
6 feet in a mile, 25£ miles an hour; on the rise over
Chatmoss, 8 feet in a mile, 17¿j- miles an hour; on level
ground sheltered from the wind, 20 miles an hour. The
wind was moderate, but direct ahead. The working
wheels slipped three times on Chatmoss, and the train
was retarded from two to three minutes. The engine,
on this occasion, was not examined before or after the
journey, but was presumed to be in good working order.
On the 29th of May, the engine called the Samson
(weighing 10 tons 2 cwt., with 14-inch cylinders, and
16-inch stroke; wheels 4 feet 6 inches diameter, both
pairs being worked by the engine ; steam 50 lbs. pres¬
sure, 130 tubes) was attached to 50 waggons laden with
merchandise ; net weight about 150 tons ; gross weight,
including waggons, 223 tons 6 cwt. The tender weighed
7 tons, making a gross load (including the engine) of
240 tons 8 cwt. The engine with this load travelled
from Liverpool to Manchester* (30 miles) in 2 hours
and 40 minutes, exclusive of delays upon the road for
watering, &c. ; being at the rate of nearly 12 miles an
hour. The speed varied according to the inclinations
of the road. Upon a level, it was 12 miles an hour;
upon a descent of 6 feet iu a mile, it was 16 miles an
hour ; upon a rise of 8 feet in a mile, it was about 9
miles an hour. The weather was calm, the rails very
wet ; but the wheels did not slip, even in the slowest
speed, except at starting, the rails being at that place
soiled and greasy with the slime and dirt to which they
are always exposed at the stations. The coke consumed
in this journey, exclusive of what was raised in getting
In common circumstances, an ordinary sized locomo- up the steam, was 1762 lbs., being at the rate of a
— * - „r i ÇA i — j „ i _r _ j •) ?»
tive exerts a power of 150 horses, and a larger one
exerts a power of 400 horses. To estimate this degree
of force, it is necessary to recollect that a horse upon
a common road cannot draw for any length of time
more than fifteen hundredweight, while on a railway it
will pull with equal ease ten tons, being thirteen times
the amount. We may now, therefore, compute that
the power of a locomotive such as is usually employed,
is equal to a draught of 1500 tons. With this weight
to drag, however, only a slow motion is obtainable ; and
to procure the necessary speed of from twenty to twenty-
five miles per hour, the load must be proportionally
diminished. Something must also be allowed for the
difficulty of ascending inclined planes. A weight of
from 100 to 150 tons is considered a fair load for a
locomotive to draw ; but it is seldom more than sixty
to seventy tons. The following experiments on the
power of draught were made by Dr Lardner on the
Liverpool and Manchester Railway in 1832 :—
" On Saturday the 5th of May, the engine called
the Victory took 20 waggons of merchandise, weighing
gross 92 tons, 19 cwt. 1 qr., together with the tender
containing fuel and water, of the weight of which I
have no account, from Liverpool to Manchester (30
miles), in 1 hour, 34 minutes, 45 seconds. The train
stopped to take in water half-way for 10 minutes, not
iucluded in the above-mentioned time. On the inclined
447
quarter of a pound per ton per mile."
General Appearance and Management.—In America
and Belgium, most lines consist of but one track ; in
Great Britain all possess two tracks, suitable for trains
going in opposite directions, besides which there are
turn-offs at which quick-going trains may pass those of
slower motion. At certain convenient points along the
line there are station-houses, at which the trains stop to
take up and set down passengers, and there is no stop¬
page at any other place. On most of the lines there
are slow trains, taking goods and second-class, or an
inferior kind of carriages, and fast trains, taking only
first and second class carriages ; some lines also have
mail trains, which proceed at more than usual speed, and
taking only first-class carriages, stop at fewer places by
the way. The first-class carriages are covered, and
resemble three coach bodies united, but of more com¬
modious dimensions ; second-class carriages are open
at the sides, and not lined with any stuffing ; a third-class
carriages are entirely open ; goods carriages are open
trucks, on which the articles are piled and fastened ;
trucks for cattle are open, with a railing round the
sides. All the carriages in a train are linked one to
the other by strong iron hooks ; and to prevent them
from shocks against each other, the various carriages
are provided with.projecting rods on springs, cushioned
at the outer extremities. Generally, the fares charged
CHAMBERS'S INFORMATION FOR THE PEOPLE.
for transmission are higher than they need be ; a com¬
mon charge is at the rate of 3d. per mile for each
passenger in a first-class carriage ; and it is under¬
stood that lower rates would create more than a com¬
pensatory amount of traffic.
There are certain excellences in the arrangements
of all the railways which deserve to be mentioned.
Each liue, being the property of a private association,
is secluded from one end to the other from the intru¬
sion of the public ; and therefore no jostling or confu¬
sion takes place, either upon entering or leaving the
carriages. The rails of one line, likewise, join those of
another, by which means carriages generally proceed
onwards without changing passengers or luggage. A
carriage in which passengers take their seats at London
goes straight on to Preston—that is, along the lines of
three companies. The extraordinary magnitude of
the railway undertakings has enabled the directors to
organise rules which could never be enforced in the
irregular scramble of stage-coaching. It is customary
to dress the subordinate functionaries on all the lines
in a uniform resembling that of the London police—
each man having his number inscribed in figures on
some part of his dress ; so that, if any one be guilty of
incivility or inattention, he can be easily reported to
his superiors. There is one pleasing peculiarity in
the arrangements, which is entitled to the highest
commendation : it is the rule that no officer shall on
any account take a fee from passengers, on pain of in¬
stant dismissal. Those who imagine that fees to guards,
coachmen, or waiters, are requisite to ensure civility,
will be surprised to find that railway attendants are
infinitely more polite and attentive than their brethren
of the coach conveyances. This, in itself, gives tra¬
velling by railway a great superiority over all other
modes of public conveyance.
The London and Birmingham line, which was the
first completed after that of Manchester and Liverpool,
has always appeared to us to be among the best ma¬
naged of the various railways, as well as the most com¬
plete in all its arrangements. There are accommoda¬
tions on this line which are to be seen on no other. On
all the lines there are waiting-rooms both for ladies
and gentlemen at the different stations ; but exclusively
of those on this line, there is a large and commodious
house of entertainment at the Birmingham terminus,
where meals stand ready prepared for the passengers.
At Hampton, a place half way from the metropolis,
and where the train stops ten minutes, there is likewise
a large establishment in the form of an open booth or
shop, where tea, coffee, or viands of a more substantial
kind, with different liquors, are sold on the instant to
those who require refreshment.
Passengers who make the journey for the first time
by the mail train, will be amused by observing a tra¬
velling post-office in the string of carriages. This
" Grand Northern Railway Post-Office," as the inscrip¬
tion on its side denotes, is a carriage consisting of two
small apartments, one of which is appropriated to the
guard, whose duty is to exchange the bags, and the
other is fitted up with a table for sorting letters, and
holes round the walls for their reception. The manner
in which the duties of the clprk and guard are per¬
formed in this flying post-office, is strikingly significant
of the new order of things introduced by the railway
system. Outside the vehicle a species of net is extended
by a hoop, and into this the letter-bags are dropped as
the train sweeps onward in its course, the bags which
are to be left being at the same time tossed from the
window by the guard. The fresh bag of letters being
received, it is speedily opened, its contents re-arranged,
and a new bag for next town being made up, it is pro¬
jected as before at the place of its destination. By this
means a letter may be written, sent through the post-
office, and delivered at the distance of twenty miles, in
the space of a single hour.
The number of railway companies incorporated by
act of parliament up till January 1839, in Great Bri¬
tain and Ireland, was 107, and the capital which they
448
were allowed to raise by shares was £41,610,814 ; they
were besides allowed to raise by loan £16,177,630. A
considerable number of these railways being jobbing,
or àt least crude speculations, have never commenced,
and the number of railways actually begun to be pre¬
pared or finished at the beginning of 1840, in the united
kiugdom, was only about fifty. The principal lines are
—the Liverpool and Manchester RaiFway, about thirty-
two miles long, and uniting these populous towns ; the
Entrance to the Railway Tunnel, Liverpool.
London and Birmingham Railway, about one hundred
and twelve miles long, connecting the metropolis with
the centre of England ; the Grand Junction Railway,
continuing the London and Birmingham line to that of
Liverpool and Manchester, and also to a railway pro¬
ceeding northward to Lancaster, and thus forming a
most important thoroughfare obliquely aci'oss the coun¬
try ; the Midland Counties, North Midland, and Great
North of England railways, connecting the great seats
of trade in Northumberland, Durham, Yorkshire, and
Derbyshire, with the London and Birmingham line ;
the Newcastle and Carlisle Railway, connecting these
towns; the Great Western Railway, about one hun¬
dred and seventeen miles long, connecting London with
Bristol, and with smaller tributary lines opening- up
the west of England ; the South-Western ' Railway,
about seventy-seven miles long, connecting London
with Southampton ; the Manchester and Leeds Rail¬
way, connecting these populous towns. In Scotland,
the Edinburgh and Glasgow Railway, and the Glasgow
and Ayr Railway, are the principal lines. The greatest
of the whole of these undertakings is the Grand West¬
ern. This line has two tracks, each of seven feet wide,
while on all other railways in this country the width is
between four and five feet ; the carriages, therefore,
which rim on the Grand Western, must be necessarily
confined to itself. The most prosperous of all the lines
is that of the London and Birmingham, the weekly
revenue of which is upwards of £16,000 : the weekly
revenue of the Grand Junction, which joins it, is £9000;
The speed at which railway trains usually proceed, is
from twenty to twenty-five miles per hour, though
sometimes it is much more. At the ordinary rate of
speed, a journey from London to Liverpool by the mail
train is performed iu about nine hours ; and when rail¬
ways are extended north to Edinburgh, the journey
from London to that city will be performed in eighteen
hours, or perhaps less. Travelling by railway at any
of the common rates of speed is attended with less
personal danger than stage-coaching, because the loco¬
motives are perfectly under control. Any deaths or
personal injuries which have occurred on railways, are,
with scarcely an exception, attributable to the careless¬
ness of the engine-drivers, and by the employment of a
superior class of men to direct the motions of the trains,
this fruitful cause of mischief is in the course of being
obviated. With this improvement, conveyance by rail¬
ways will be ranked among the most useful and stu¬
pendous inventions of art.
Printed and published by W. and R. Chambers, Edinburgh.
Sold also by W. S. Orr and Co., London.