MLfjff COLLISIONS fllEVENTED. 
 
 cNGlNIERmG i 
 ALTGELD HAIL STuKaUs: 
 
 BY 
 
 ALFRED OGAN, 
 
 " In the examples which I here bring in, of what I have heard, read, done, or said, T have 
 forbid myseif to dare to alter even the most light and indifferent circumstances. My conscience 
 does not falsify one tittle. What my ignorance may do, I cannot say."— Montaigne. 
 
 LONDON: 
 
 ^G. J. POPE, 12, CHURCH STREET^ACKNEY. 
 
 ^^^^ 
 
4 
 
 i 
 
EAILWAY COLLISIONS PEEYENTED. 
 
 BY 
 
 f 
 
 ALFRED OGAN. 
 
 *' In the examples which I here bring in, of what I have heard, read, done, or said, T have 
 forbid myself to dare to alter even the most light and indifferent circumstances. My consclencft 
 does not falsify one tittle. What my ignorance may do, I cannot say."— Montaigke. 
 
 LONDON: 
 
 G. J. POPE, n, CHURCH STREET, HACKNEY, 
 
 1855. 
 
POPE, PRINTER, CHURCH STREET, 
 HACKNEY. 
 
CONTENTS. 
 
 CHAPTER L 
 The Rise and Progress of Steam-Power and of Railways 
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 The Causes of Accidents upon Railways 
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 How Collisions may be Prevented • 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 Electro-Magnetic Railway Signals 
 
 Appendix 
 
 a 2 
 
TO 
 
 CAPTAIN R. H. BARLOW, 
 
 GENERAL MANAGER OF THE SOUTH-EASTERN RAILWAY. 
 
 Dear Sir, 
 
 You have at all times, during your official connexion with 
 the South-Eastern Railway, evinced a most laudable anxiety to protect the 
 lives and persons of its passengers, and the property of the Company under 
 your management, from the terrible effects of a " Collision" of trains. The 
 application of the ordinary Electric Telegraph to record the transit of a 
 train is due to your penetration and practical knowledge of the require- 
 ments necessary to prevent such lamentable accidents; you were likewise 
 the first to test, by severe experiments, and afterwards to recognize the 
 practicability and usefulness of the system and invention which I have 
 now feebly attempted to describe. It is only just, therefore, that your 
 name should be associated with the introduction of a means which will 
 in future render Railway travelling the safest, as well as the most 
 expeditious and comfortable that can be employed. 
 
 With this object, and in the hope that your continued exertions 
 for the safety of the public may be fully recognized and appreciated by 
 them, I respectfully dedicate the few following pages to your perusal. 
 
 I have the honour to subscribe myself, 
 Dear Sir, 
 
 Yours most respectfully, 
 
 THE AUTHOR. 
 
 2, Turn WHEEL Lane, Cannon Street, 
 London, February, 1855. 
 
PREFACE. 
 
 While deeply lamenting the unfortunate Railway Collisions 
 by which the public has so frequently and severely suffered, 
 the Author was led to a full consideration of the subject, 
 from a conviction that it was only requisite to look the matter 
 boldly in the face, in order not only to discover their cause, 
 but to prevent their recurrence. 
 
 In tracing the origin of accidents arising from collisions of 
 trains, he found that many valuable suggestions for their 
 prevention had been from time to time made by the Govern- 
 ment Inspectors of Railways, but which, from being diffused 
 through a mass of Parliamentary Reports, lost half their force ; 
 he has therefore endeavoured to collect and concentrate these 
 official opinions in support of his own views, which he felt 
 might otherwise be passed lightly by; but which he now hopes, 
 confirmed as they mainly are by those of eminently practical 
 men, will be favourably regarded. 
 
 It can scarcely be supposed that Railway Companies, whose 
 interests are so deeply affected by these sad occurrences, axe 
 not desirous of terminating the dangers to which the lives of 
 the public, and their own property have been so long exposed, 
 if effective remedial measures can be suggested; were there no 
 other motives to actuate them, economy " would surely 
 
viii 
 
 be an inducement sufficiently powerful, to cause them to 
 adopt any plan whicli, after a fair trial, had been found to 
 accomplish such a very desirable result as the putting an end, 
 for ever, to these disasters. This, through the skill and in- 
 telligence of Mr. Tyer, an Electrical Engineer, may now be 
 considered as " un fait accompli.^'' There is no longer any room 
 for scepticism, — the system has been tried sufficiently long, 
 and under every variation of weather, temperature, speed and 
 succession of trains, and has been so uniformly successful, that 
 it must effectually solve all doubts and silence every objection 
 The Author deems himself privileged in being permitted 
 to associate the name and plans of a gentleman of so much 
 ability in his profession, in connection with, and in sup- 
 port of his own ideas, as well as in being able to exhibit to 
 the public and to Eailway Companies by what simple means 
 " collisions," with all their frightful consequences, may be 
 numbered amongst the things that were. 
 
 ^, Turn WHEEL La.ne, Cannon Street, 
 London, 1^^ February y 1855. 
 
OPINIONS OF THE PRESS, 
 
 Morning Chronicle, December 23rd, 1853. 
 
 An attempt has recently been made to devise a set of railway signals, by 
 means of electricity, wbich shall have the effect of diminishing, if not en- 
 tirely preventing, all future collisions on railways. The plan, which is the 
 invention of a Mr. Tyer, is based on the principle of electro-magnetism, and 
 does not differ much in its operation from the electric telegraph. It is pro- 
 posed to place — say at the distance of a mile from each station — a piece of 
 metal supported on a frame of wood, the frame constructed on the principle 
 of an inclined plane. These pieces of metal, placed on both sides of the line, 
 and exactly opposite each other, act as the two poles of magnetism, to be 
 connected together by springs placed at the bottom part of the engine 
 frame, and connected with an electro-magnet on the engine itself. Suppos- 
 ing these metal plates to be connected by a wire with a machine at the 
 station, the station-master can set the machine at his pleasure either at the 
 point of "all right" or "stop." If the latter signal be made, the engine, by 
 passing over the two metal plates, connects the two poles together, and 
 moves the magnet on the engine, which in its turn will ring a bell by the 
 side of the engineer, and may be made to blow the steam whistle, or even to 
 shut off the steam altogether ; in any case allowing the engineer plenty of 
 time to pull up before he arrives at the place of obstruction. There is an- 
 other invention by the same ingenious mechanist, which enables the engine- 
 driver of a train to communicate with the station before he comes to it, and 
 again some distance after he has left it. This is effected by wires, connected 
 with what is called a " spring treddle," placed so close to the rails that the 
 flange of every wheel in a train must press against it. The pressure gives 
 birth to an electrical current that acts upon a bell at the station, causing it 
 to continue ringing as long as the train may be passing over it. The same 
 process is accomplished on the departure from the station — say a mile beyond 
 it, or at whatever distance they may be placed — so that the station-master 
 will always be apprised of the number of trains in the neighbourhood of his 
 station, and need never allow the one to come on till the other has got fairly 
 clear. The latter part of the invention, we understand, has been in use for 
 the last seven months on the South-Eastern Railway, and where, in its prac- 
 tical working, it has given great satisfaction. 
 
X 
 
 Daily News, December 23;-J, 1853. 
 An invention, the object of which is the achievement of this very' desu-able 
 result, was submitted yesterday to a private view by Messrs. Ogan and 
 Goddard, at theii' office, No. 2, Turnwheel-lane, Cannon-street. Avaihng 
 themselves of the electro-magnet, which is now applied to such a variety of 
 purposes, the inventors undertake to establish, by means of wires, a commu- 
 nication between the different railway stations and intermediate distances. 
 A wu-e connected with a battery runs fi'om the station to the required 
 distance, one or two miles, or further according to the circumstances, where 
 it joins two bars, placed one on each side of the Ime, which are charged with 
 electricity. By means of the usual signals, " All right," " Stop," " Clear," and 
 so on, the station-master on the one side, and the engine-diiver of each train 
 on the other, are apprised of the state of the line at any particular moment, 
 and enabled to pursue the proper coiu-se. Connected with the bars is a 
 treddle spring, which cannot fail to be touched by any train which passes 
 over the spot, and the action of which is such as to set in motion bells at the 
 station, which continue ringing during the whole time occupied by the pass- 
 ing of the train. The signalling appears to be so arranged that it is next to 
 inTpossible for two trains to enter at the same time on the intermediate 
 ground without wanton disregard of duty on the part of the railway servants 
 in charge of the stations or the trains. Mention also was made yesterday of 
 an apparatus which has been in operation on the South-Eastern Railway for 
 several months ; the effect of it being to enable the station-master to prevent 
 any train from starting until a signal has been received announcing that the 
 line is clear. Even this appears to be well adapted to secure the public 
 against a recurrence of many of the most fatal accidents recorded; but if there 
 are no practical difficulties of an insiu^mountable natiu'e to be m-ged against 
 the more recent and exact invention exhibited for the first time yesterday, 
 the public will have a right to expect to be saved from having broken bones, 
 and railway companies to be relieved fi-om expenses and compensations and 
 repairs which sometimes have a serious effect on dividends. 
 
 Railway Gazette, December 2m, 1853. 
 \ PmvATE exhibition and description of a model of an apparatus for 
 signalling from a station to the driver of a train while in motion the 
 position of a train previously passed, or that the line is clear; and a so a 
 station signal, showing whether the line is free from one station to another, 
 took place on Thin^sday last at Messrs. Ogan and Goddard's, 2, Turnwheel- 
 lane. These desirable results are effected in the most simple manner by 
 galvanic electricity, patented by Mr. Tyer, and appeared to us highly 
 effective. For signalUng the cWver wHle his train is in motion, a pinr of 
 brass plates, about six feet long, formed as double-inclined planes are fixed 
 on the rails at any desirable distance, and put in connection with the con- 
 
xi 
 
 ducting-wires of the station-batteiy. On the locomotive is placed an 
 armatui-e and index ; beneath the carriage-frame are two metal spiings, 
 which, as they pass over the brass plates, complete the circuit ; and as the 
 station-master, according to his knowledge, places his index at " down- 
 train," " up-train," meaning they have just passed, and care must be taken, 
 or " line clear," such information is displayed on the index on the passing 
 locomotive. What is tenned the " station-signal," is effected by a converse 
 arrangement. An instrument is fixed in front of the station, where it can 
 be seen by all the officials of the railway. At any requii^ed distance— say 
 one, two, or more miles, or even including the space between three stations, 
 metallic springs are so fixed by the side of the rails, that the flange of every 
 wheel of the train completes the circuit, and instantly rings a bell con- 
 tinuously at the station in advance during the passage of tbe train ; and 
 also notifies to the station-master, by the index of the instrument, that the 
 line is clear, and enables him to give such information to the di'iver of the 
 next coming train by the fii'st-described arrangement. It will be seen that 
 the apparatus can be variously modified to meet every kind of casualty, and 
 must prove exceedingly efficacious in the prevention of collisions. One of 
 the instruments for station-signals has been in use on the South-Eastern 
 Railway above seven months, and one for signalling drivers in motion, on 
 the Brighton line, three months, with most satisfactory and effective results. 
 The former is known to have prevented at least three collisions. 
 
 Sunday Times, December 2bth, 1853. 
 We witnessed, on Thursday last, a very interesting demonstration of a 
 new patent invention of Mr. Tyer, for the prevention of railway accidents, 
 by means of electric communication, which appears to us to possess the great 
 desiderata of simplicity and unerring certainty in its operation. It consists 
 of an electric battery, of which a wire from the positive and negative poles 
 is carried from the station where the battery is fixed, to any distance along 
 the line — say one or two miles — where two detached brass bars are placed 
 on each side close to and parallel with the rail. Should a necessity arise at 
 the station for stopping any approaching train, the electric battery is put in 
 action, and a current transmitted by the wire to the brass bars on the line. 
 But the electric cu'cle is not complete until the train comes up, the engine of 
 which being furnished with a connecting apparatus, and a spring which 
 passes on each side over and toucliing the two brass bars, the electric cu-cle 
 is formed and the action communicated to an indicator on the engine, which 
 rings a bell, and may be made to shut off the steam. The station-master 
 has it thus in his power to give instantaneous and certain warning of 
 danger at any distance thought necessary to any train approaching the 
 station, either on the up or down line. A further application on the 
 principle is developed on what the inventor terms the station-signal, by 
 which notice of the approach of a train may be communicated, from the 
 
xii 
 
 driver of tlie engine. It is also intended to apply the invention to prevent 
 accidents to trains by collision while being shunted into a siding, or from 
 one line to another, by connecting the arm of the lever working the points 
 with an electric battery, which would give notice to approaching trains to 
 stop or slacken the speed. We understand that both these inventions are 
 now employed on two of our railways ; the South-Eastern having had the 
 station-signal in use for seven months, and the Brighton line the danger- 
 signal for three months past. 
 
 Morning Advertiser, January 9, 1854. 
 If many be the inventions infanted, and many be still wanted, as civilisa- 
 tion progresseth in her levelling com-se, not one was more required, and 
 whose benefit will be more gratefully felt by humanity in general, than a 
 life-preserving series of " electro-magnetic railway signals," and this we 
 find in the new invention of Mr. Tyer, a gentleman of highly distinguished 
 scientific acquirements and experience, of modest and retiring habits besides, 
 and of whose system we shall give a description, according to what we 
 ourselves saw and examined into with admiration and delight. 
 
 This invention consists of an entirely new system of communicating 
 signals to trains at lo7ig distances (from the stations to which they may be 
 approaching) by the agency of voltaic electricity, enabling the engine-driver 
 to receive the requisite signal long before he can see those at the station to 
 which he may be approaching, giving him instantaneous notice of any 
 obstruction that may be on the line, so that he can stop short, or come on 
 with caution, as the case may require, ensuring safety to the passengers, 
 freedom from loss to the company, by damage, and rendering collision next 
 to impossible. These advantages, combined with econom^j, simplicity, and 
 certainty, render this invention superior to the present imcertain mode 
 of signalling trains, as will be readily understood from the following 
 remarks : — 
 
 A train coming towards a station (say, for instance, two miles off), either 
 upon the down or up-line, gives instantaneous notice to the ofiicial on 
 duty of the said train's approach, enabling him to make preparation for its 
 reception. : 
 
 Should any obstruction be upon the line, which obstruction cannot be 
 removed before the train would arrive, he would immediately turn a small 
 handle, when the train, although proceeding at a rate of from ten to sixty 
 miles per hour, would receive (upon a small instrument fixed upon the dome 
 of the engine) notice to sto^). 
 
 The engine-driver would, accordingly, turn off the steam, and pull up, 
 and should he not do so, immediately it is tm-ned off /or him from the 
 station itself. The obstruction may, in the mean time, be removed from the 
 line, in which case the man upon duty would, by another moA cnient of his 
 
xiii 
 
 handle, give notice to the engine-driver, either to come on with caution, or 
 that all was right, and so come on at his usual speed. 
 
 In the event, however, of the line being perfectly free from obstruction, 
 the train at two miles off, will, after giving notice to the station of its 
 approach as above, receive notice (without any intervention of the official) 
 that alVs rigM, i.e., supposing that both the up and down lines are free 
 from obstruction, each train vnll give notice of its approach, and at the 
 same moment receive notice that alVs right, and thus arrive in safety- 
 Presuming that the train is now at the station, and after the passengers 
 have alighted, proceeds on its journey, as soon as it arrives past the said 
 station, say again, for instance, two miles, it gives back notice that the line, 
 either up or down, is so far clear, thus enabling the man, whose duty it is to 
 attend to the signalling, properly to signal all other trains upon the same 
 line of rail. 
 
 Want of space prevents us from entering further for the present into Mr. 
 Tyer's apparatus, which is not only an admirable invention, but a saving act 
 of humanity. A beautiful model of this new system is open to view every 
 Tuesday and Friday, at three o'clock, at Messrs Ogan and Goddard's, 
 No. 2, Turnwheel-lane, Cannon-street, City, and all those interested or 
 not in railway travelling improvements, should go, see, and judge for them- 
 selves. 
 
 Times, January 19, 1854. 
 Yesterday a private meeting, over which the Lord Mayor presided, was 
 held at the London Tavern, in order to hear from the inventor of these new 
 railway signals an explanation of them. Mr. Tyer proposes, by the agency 
 of voltaic electricity, to accomplish the following objects: — 1. That the 
 train itself, upon entering any station, shall give notice to the station it last 
 left that the line is so far clear ; 2, that, upon quitting a station, the train 
 shall transmit a signal to the next station in advance, directing attention 
 thereto by sounding a bell ; 3, the transmission of signals from any in- 
 termediate point between stations, so that an alarm can be given, and 
 assistance obtained, in. the event of a break down, or other stoppage of the 
 line ; 4, that the engine-man may be signalled from the station he is 
 approaching at any distance deemed requisite, auxiliary signals and fog 
 detonators being thus rendered unnecessary. The inventor proposes to 
 arrest the attention of the driver by causing his apparatus to sound the 
 steam whistle ; and his plan of signals includes a self-acting register, kept 
 at each station, of the exact signals received. He believes that his in- 
 vention would be found valuable not only at stations, but also at junctions, 
 tunnels, level crossings, watchmen's boxes, in shunting trains, and in other 
 emergencies. These various objects are mainly accomplished by the intro- 
 duction of two contrivances — the one for establishing communication from 
 the train to the stations on either side of it, the other for signalling from 
 
XIV 
 
 the station to tlie driver of an approaching train. The first contrivance 
 consists of a treddle spring, which, pressed by the flanges of the carnage 
 wheels in their passage over it, and establishing thereby an intermittent 
 circuit of electricity through the wire extending to the station, sounds a 
 bell and moves an index on a dial plate there, so as to give the required 
 signal both to the eye and the ear. The second contrivance is a pair ot 
 brass plates, forming double inclined planes, about six feet long, and fixed 
 upon the rails, so that metal springs beneath the frame of the engine come 
 in contact with them, when the voltaic circuit is again completed, and 
 signals at once indicated to the driver by an index on his locomotive, by 
 the sounding of his whistle, or even by cutting off steam. The whole 
 apparatus can be applied at any required points between stations ; can 
 be adapted to the existing lines of telegraph, and possesses the advantage 
 of being self-acting. Mr. Tyer says that his arrangement of treddles has 
 been satisfactorily tested on the South-Eastern line, and that of signalling 
 the driver on the Croydon. His explanations to the meeting ye^sterday 
 were well illustrated by working models, and at a time when the best 
 means for preventing railway accidents are regarded with such general 
 interest, this plan for guarding against some of the most fruitful causes of 
 them will, no doubt, receive all the consideration to winch it is entitled. 
 The electric telegraph presents facihties for promoting the safety of railway 
 travelling as great, if not greater, than any other agency and these have 
 hitherto been very imperfectly developed. Mr. Tyer is therefore working 
 in the right direction, but whether his plan can be advantageously adopted 
 can only be decided by experience of its merits. 
 
 Daihj News, January 19, 1854. 
 Yesterday a number of gentlemen connected, or supposed to be con- 
 nected, with railways, assembled at the London Tavern, at a pnvat. 
 meeting, on the invitation of Messrs. Ogan and Goddard who have an 
 interest in Tyer's patent railway signals, to receive an explanation of the 
 principles of the invention, and to witness some experiments by means of 
 working models illustrative of its efficiency in preventing the col ision 
 of trains, and to that extent decreasing the danger of railway travelhng. 
 The Lord Mayor ]3resided. . , 
 
 Mr Tver, the inventor, gave in minute detail an explanation of the 
 mechanism and mode of working his apparatus, of -hich a genera 
 deseription was published in the DaUy Ne,„s some weeks »go- The 
 station signal, which, as we hefore stated, is worked by means of e 
 electro-magnets, the wheels of the engine or tram as they P-s »v- 
 line at a given point-say the entrance to a station-pressmg upon a 
 trd^e. which, uniting under ground with a coil or line f^^^ 
 completes the voltaic current, and, acting upon the uuhcato s a the 1 . 
 station passed and the nearest onward, gives m the one case the nohce 
 
XV 
 
 " Line clear," and in the other " A train on the line," at the same time 
 striking a bell to call the attention of the person in charge. In connexion 
 with this is another signal, also worked by a voltaic battery, for communi- 
 cating with a train while in motion between stations. At a sufficient 
 distance from the station, say one or two miles, parallel bars are laid down, 
 which, by pressure of the wheels while passing over them, are made, at 
 the option of the person in charge at the station, the entrance to a tunnel, 
 or other place where an impediment may arise, to complete an electric 
 current between the point of danger and an indicator fixed on the top of 
 the engine of the train, warning the engine driver to shut off his steam, 
 and by sounding the break whistle, which it does at the same instant, 
 gives notice to the guard to put on the break. Mr. Tyer stated that the 
 former had been for some months in successful operation at one of the 
 South-Eastern stations, and the other upon one of the engines of the 
 Brighton Company. 
 
 The Lord Mayor expressed the gratification he felt at having the 
 opportunity of witnessing the experiments and hearing the explanations 
 which had been given ; and Alderman Wilson proposed a vote of thanks 
 to Mr. Tyer, which, having been unanimously accorded, and the usual 
 compliment paid to his lordship for presiding, the meeting separated, 
 without, however, any discussion having been elicited as to the practical 
 merits of an invention which is, to say the least of it, exceedingly 
 ingenious. 
 
 Morning Chronicle, January lOth, 1854. 
 A HIGHLY interesting lecture, accompanied by descriptive experiments, 
 was delivered yesterday at the London Tavern, upon the powers and capa- 
 bilities of Tyer's electro-magnetic railway signals. They are intended to 
 prevent accidents from collisions, &c., on a line, by giving to each station- 
 master and engine-driver instant notice of all that is taking place between 
 any three adjacent stations, and from their extreme simplicity, comprehen- 
 siveness, and efficacy, supply what the public have long looked for, and have 
 a right to demand from the directors of railway companies, provision for 
 their safe conduct along the line, from the many accidents by which so 
 many persons have been such serious sufferers. The batteries are in 
 themselves complete and instantaneous in action, and their arrangement 
 ensures the objects required, for the train itself, upon entering any station, 
 gives notice to the station it last left that the line is so far clear. Upon 
 quitting a station, the train transmits a signal to the next station in advance, 
 and calls attention thereto by sounding a large bell, thereby giving the 
 signal-man timely notice. Signals can be transmitted from any inter- 
 mediate point or place between any two stations, so that, in the event of a 
 break-down, or other stoppage on the line, an alarm signal can be given to 
 the stations on each side, and assistance be obtained. The engine-driver 
 
xvi 
 
 can be signalled from the station he may be approaching at any distance 
 deemed requisite, rendering auxiliary signals and fog detonators unnecessary. 
 The signal transmitted to the engine-driver is upon his engine, to which 
 his attention is called by the sounding of a whistle of considerable power. 
 Any neglect of the signal given is at once detected, by a self-indicating 
 register kept at the station showing the exact signal received. In the 
 event of " shunting " at a station, notice is given to the stations on each 
 side ; and should any train be approaching, the engine-driver would receive 
 a " danger " signal. 
 
 Sussex Advertiser, January 1854. 
 The recent accidents on railways, and the strong conviction that with the 
 increased and increasing traffic on these roads there is a co-existent tendency 
 to an increased number of collisions in the present imperfect condition of 
 railway management, have directed the minds not only of the public in 
 general, but of the engineering world in particular, towards the discovery of 
 some efficient means of remedying the existing state of things. Amongst 
 others whose efforts have been engaged in this direction is Mr. Tyer, a 
 gentleman who has for some time past been occupied in perfecting a system 
 of signals by means of voltaic electricity. Mr. Tyer's invention has, we 
 understand, been tested in part on the South-Eastern and on the Croydon 
 line, in the latter case for a period of about seven months, and the result 
 has been such as to justify him in now bringing it more prominently 
 forward, with a view to general adoption. The objects which Mr. Tyer 
 proposes to accomplish by his invention are — 1, That the train itself, upon 
 entering any station, shall give notice to the station it last left that the line 
 is so far clear; 2, that, upon quitting a station, the train shall transmit 
 a signal to the next station in advance, directing attention thereto by sound- 
 ing a bell; 3, the transmission of signals from any intermediate point 
 between stations, so that an alarm can be given, and assistance obtained, in 
 the event of a break down, or other stoppage of the line ; 4, that the engine- 
 man may be signalled from the station he is approaching at any distance 
 deemed requisite, auxiliary signals and fog detonators being thus rendered 
 unnecessary. The inventor proposes to arrest the attention of the driver 
 by causing his apparatus to sound the steam whistle; and his plan of signals 
 includes a self-acting register, kept at each station, of the exact signals 
 received. 
 
 The mode by which these objects are sought to be achieved is com- 
 paratively simple. For conveying signals from a station to the driver of 
 an engine in transitu at a distance, the following is the process. A pair of 
 brass plates about six feet long, formed as double inclined planes, are fixed 
 on the rails at any desirable distance, and put in connexion with the conduct- 
 ing wires of a battery placed at the station. On the locomotive is placed 
 an armatui-e and index ; beneath the carriage frame are two metal springs 
 
xvii 
 
 which, as they pass over the brass plates, complete the circuit ; and as the 
 station-master, according to his knowledge, places his index at "down 
 train," " up train," meaning they have just passed and care must be taken, 
 or " line clear," such information is displayed on the index on the passing 
 locomotive. In addition, the contact may, by means of the magnet on the 
 engine, be made to ring a bell, so as instantaneously to attract the attention 
 of the engineer, or to blow the steam whistle. Indeed there would appear 
 to be no reason why the agency might not be applied to shutting off the 
 steam itself. As regards signalling the station, this is effected by an instru- 
 ment fixed in front of the station, where it can be seen by all the officials of 
 the railway. At any required distance— say one, two, or more miles, or 
 even including the space between "three stations, metallic springs are fixed 
 by the side of the rails, so that the flange of every wheel of the train completes 
 the circuit, and instantly rings a bell continuously at the forward station 
 during the passage of the train ; and also notifies to the station-master, by 
 the index of the instrument, that the line is clear, and enables him to give 
 such information to the driver of the next coming train by the first described 
 arrangement. By this plan the station-master would be aware of the 
 approach of every train, and, having the remedy in his own hands, would be 
 at once enabled to apprise its driver of any obstruction, so as to prevent 
 all possibility of those collisions which now so frequently arise from the 
 blocking of the line at the stations, either from unexpected causes, or from 
 the ordinary transaction of station " business." 
 
 A private exhibition of the invention took place on Thursday last at 
 the London Tavern, at which a considerable number of scientific gentlemen 
 and practical engineers were present. The process was illustrated by 
 working models, conveying an extremely accurate notion of the various 
 operations achieved. It was stated at this meeting that that part of the 
 invention which provides for signalling the arrival of trains to the station- 
 master has been at work for several months on the Croydon line, and that 
 in no instance has it been known to fail ; the other portion of the invention 
 has also been satisfactorily tested on the North Kent line. 
 
 For the information of those specially interested in such matters we may 
 mention that this invention is being brought out by Messrs. Ogan and 
 Goddard, through whose courtesy we had the pleasure of inspecting the 
 models a few days ago at their offices. No. 2, Turnwheel-lane, Cannon-street. 
 We understand that applications have akeady been made to these gentlemen 
 on behalf of the French government with a view to the adoption of the 
 process on the French lines. As to the value of Mr. Tyer's invention, time, 
 and the experience gained by its practical working, can only properly decide. 
 So far as an opinion can be formed from the models themselves, and from 
 the statements made, the contrivance would seem well adapted to the objects 
 intended. There is unquestionably a crymg want for some better means of 
 signalling between the station-masters and the drivers "of engines actually 
 171 transitu along the Une^ than has yet been discovered, and Mr. Tyer has 
 
 b 
 
xvui 
 
 done good service in shewing how so powerful an agent as electricity may 
 be brought to render its valuable aid in effecting such a purpose. 
 
 Chambers^ Jouarnal February IWi, 1854. 
 While locomotive facilities are increasing, we see with pleasure that the 
 experiments for increasing the safety of travelling are every day acquiring 
 greater value. A meeting has been held at the London Tavern, to consider 
 the merits of Mr. Tyer's electric railway-signals, which, if verified by 
 further trials, -will be highly useful. In the words of the report, the 
 inventor's plan is : " That the train itself, upon entering any station, shall 
 give notice to the station it last left that the line is so far clear : that, upon 
 quitting a station, the train shall transmit a signal to the next station in 
 advance, directing attention thereto by sounding a bell : the transmission of 
 signals fi^om any intermediate point between stations, so that an alarm can 
 be given, and assistance obtained in the event of a break-down, or other 
 stoppage on the line : that the engine-man be signalled from the station he is 
 approaching at any distance deemed requisite, auxiliary signals and fog 
 detonators being thus rendered unnecessary." The apparatus will also sound 
 the steam whistle, and keep a register of the signals ; and all this is to be 
 accomplished by galvanic agency and the wheels of the engine. The latter, 
 in certain places, press a system of springs which open or close the cii'cuit. 
 
 Art Journal. 
 
 Those important preventives of danger have recently been much im- 
 proved. Mr. Tyer's patented signals evolve a new system of communica- 
 tion with trains at long distances, by the agency of voltaic electricity, 
 enabling the driver to receive a signal long before he can see those at the 
 station to which he may be approaching ; it will thus enable him to be 
 cognisant of danger two miles distant, and stop a train when going at its 
 fastest speed. The indications being made by words, not signs, error is 
 avoided, and its improvement over the present system also consists in one 
 code of signals being used under all circumstances. 
 
 Builder, Blarch 25, 1854. 
 A Chatham correspondent, Mr. J. P. Eickon, C.E., speaks of a new^ self- 
 acting signal, just patented by a Mr. Tyer, and called the "Electro- 
 Magnetic Railway Signal," of which it is said that by this invention, and 
 the agency of voltaic electricity, the train itself, upon entering any station, 
 gives notice to the station it last left that the line is so fai' clear. Upon 
 quitting a station, the train transmits a signal to the next statioji in 
 
advance, and calls attention thereto by the sounding a large bell, thereby 
 giving the signal-man timely notice. Signals can be transmitted from any 
 intermediate point or place between any two stations, so that in the event of 
 a break-down, or other stoppage on the line, an alarm signal can be given 
 to the stations on each side, and assistance obtained. The engine-driver 
 can be signalled from the station he may be approaching at any distance 
 deemed requisite, rendering auxiliary signals and fog detonators unnecssary. 
 The signal transmitted to the engine-driver is upon his engine, and his 
 attention is called by the sounding of his whistle. Any neglect of the 
 signal given is at once detected, as a register is kept at the station of the 
 signal received. In event of " shunting" at a station, notice is given the 
 stations on each side ; and should any train be approaching, the engine- 
 driver will receive the danger signal. It is also applicable to all stations, 
 crossings, junctions, tunnels, &c. All of this, according to our corres- 
 pondent, has been done by this apparatus, on the North Kent line, between 
 Lewisham and Blackheath. " I have no other motive," he adds, " in 
 writing this beyond the wish of seeing the different companies compelled to 
 adopt some effectual means for the public safety." The apparatus described, 
 he says, has been exhibited in town, at the offices of Messrs. Ogan and 
 Goddard. 
 
 Cours General des Actions, Sept. 7, 1854. 
 Le systeme invente par M. Tyer a ete experimente sous la direction de 
 M. Barlow, chef d'exploitation du Chemin de Fer South Eastern, en Angle- 
 terre, pendant huit mois. Dans un rapport fait par M. Galton par ordre 
 du Gouvernement Anglais, sur les moyens d'empecher les accidents sur 
 les Chemins de Fer, il recommande ce systeme a I'attention de MM. les 
 Ingenieurs des Chemins de Fer dans le Royaume-Uni de la Grand-Bretagne. 
 
 Des experiences de ce nouveau systeme de signaux electriques ont ete 
 faites en France, sur le Chemin de Fer de Saint-Germain et sur celui du 
 Nord ; mardi, 5 septembre, une derniere experience tres-concluante a eu lieu 
 a Paris, a la gare du Chemin du Nord, en presence d'administrateurs de 
 Chemins de Fer, d'ingenieurs et de notabilites de la presse. 
 
 On salt que le passage d'un courant electrique autour d'un morceau de fer 
 doux, a angles droits, produit, ou bien attire de fortes proprietes magnetiques. 
 
 On place un appareil ayant les mots : train et tout est bien a chaque 
 station. Une indication ou aiguille est placee sur cet appareil, et se trouve 
 attiree par la bobine magnetique a I'interieur, a Tune ou I'autre direction 
 selon le courant electrique. 
 
 A I'exterieur de chaque station on place une pedale a ressort ajustee de 
 maniere que chaque roue du convoi exerce mie pression sur le ressort, 
 etablissant un contact qui imprime un mouvemont de la pile a Fappareilj ce 
 qui produit les effets suivants ; 
 
XX 
 
 1. Un coup de sonnette a la station snivante, annon9ant que le convoi est 
 en marche et avance, ce qui permet aux employes de se preparer pour son 
 arrivee ; 
 
 2. L'indicateur, a la station precedente, vien de signaler : la vote est Itbre ; 
 £1 la station d'ou part le convoi, l'indicateur indique : train, et, au meme 
 instant, la sonnette donne avis a la station suivante. 
 
 Quand le chef de la station re9oit:ie signal par la sonnette, il regarde 
 immediatement I'indicatem-, et si ce dernier indique : la voie est lihre, il 
 permet au convoi annoncS de s'avancer ; si, au contraire, l'indicateur est 
 dii'ige vers le mot : train, en tirant la manivelle de I'appareil a sa station, 
 il communique a l'indicateur fixe sur la locomotive le signal : arretez ; mais 
 aussitot que l'indicateur de la station indique ; la voie est lihre, en renversant 
 la manivelle indiquee ci-dessus, le mecanicien qui conduit la locomotive re90it 
 le signal : tout est hien ; il sait alors qu'il pent avancer avec securite et con- 
 
 tinuer sa route. ^ ^ j - i 
 
 Par une combinaison fort simple, quand le signal arretez est donne, le 
 conducteur de la locomotive pent arreter instantanement la vapeur ; par ce 
 mode tres-simple, on pent done prevenir tout accident. 
 
 Morning Post, Nov. 17, 1854-. • 
 Some experiments have lately been made of a new system of electric signals 
 at the Paris station of the Northern Railway. An apparatus having the 
 words train and tout est hien is placed at each station. An indication, or 
 hand, is placed in this apparatus, and is attracted by the magnetic power on 
 the inside, in one or the other direction, according to the electric cm-rent. 
 On the outside of each station is placed a pedal, with a spring adjusted in 
 such a manner that each wheel of the train presses on the sprmg, thus 
 establishing a contact which gives a movement of the pile to the apparatus, 
 and produces the following effect : 1st. A ring of a bell at the next station 
 announces that the train is advancing, by which means the. employes 
 prepare for its arrival ; 2dly, the indication to the preceding station havmg 
 iust signalised la voie est lihre, it allows the announced tram to advance, it, 
 on the contrary, the hand points towards the word train. In drawmg the 
 handle of the apparatus at its station, it communicates to the mdication 
 fixed on the locomotive the signal arretez ; but as soon as the indicator at 
 the station shows la voie est lihre, by reversing the handle above mentioned, 
 the engine-driver receives the signal tout est hien, and he then knows that 
 he may advance with security. By a very simple combination, when the 
 signal arretez is given, the engine-driver can immediately shut off his steam, 
 so that all accident may be prevented. 
 
 See also an article by M. I'Abb^ Moigno, in Cosmos," Sep. 
 15, 1854 \ Ainsworth's Magazine/' &c., &c. 
 
^ Since going to press, the returns of the Railway De- 
 partment of the Board of Trade, for the year ending 31st 
 December, 1854, have been issued, by which it appears there 
 were during the year 85 accidents specially reported upon, 
 resulting in the following, viz. 
 
 Killed ^oS 
 
 Injured 453 
 
 of which numbers, suffered in collisions between trains. 
 
 Of these 85 accidents, there are no less than 5S which arose 
 from collisions, or nearly 61.18 per cent. of. the accidents from 
 all causes. 
 
EAILWAY COLLISIONS PREVENTED. 
 
 CHA.PTER I. 
 
 THE RISE AND PROGRESS OF STEAM-POWER AND OF 
 
 RAILWAYS. 
 
 j « Soon shall thine arm, unconquered steam, afar 
 
 Drag the slow carriage, and impel the rapid car." 
 
 Prophecy of Dr. Darivin, about 1780. 
 
 It is not intended to enter at any length into the history of 
 Railways, or of steam locomotion in connection therewith, but 
 simply to give a brief narrative of their progress, and especially 
 to exhibit the rapidity with which the former have attained the 
 vast influence which they exercise upon the welfare and con- 
 dition of the nation at the present day, and afterwards to trace 
 the principal causes of the many accidents which have unfor- 
 tunately occurred since their introduction, and to suggest a 
 simple and practical remedy, by means of which they may be 
 in future, to a great extent, if not entirely avoided. 
 
 More than 2,000 years ago, the attention of Hero, a mathe- 
 matician of Alexandria, (contemporary with Archimedes,) was 
 directed to the power of steam, and its applicability as a prime 
 mover. The simple apparatus invented by him, (b.c. 209,) in 
 order to demonstrate his discovery, consisted of an iron 
 cauldron, or boiler, from which the steam passed through 
 hollow tubes turning a globe fixed at the top of the boiler. 
 
 In 1624, De Cans, a French mathematician, applied tins 
 power to the purpose of raising a jet of water for fountains. 
 
 B 
 
2 
 
 In. 1629, it was first employed to macliinery by Giovanni 
 Branca, an Italian philosopher. The apparatus invented by 
 him, consisted of a vessel, over a boiler, having tubes fixed 
 thereto, through the orifices of which, the steam rushed against 
 the floats of a wheel (similar to the x^addles of a steamer) which 
 was driven round by the force of the vapour ; attached to this 
 w^ieel was a pinion giving motion to any machinery with 
 which it was put into connection. From this date to 1781, the 
 Marquis of Worcester, Sir Samuel Moreland, Captain Savery, 
 Smeaton, and others, severally directed their attention to the 
 subject; but it remained for James Watt, an engineer of Soho, 
 Birmingham, (who was born at Greenock in 1736,) to con- 
 tribute such improvements as enabled steam power to be 
 applied to useful purposes. A portable steam engine, and 
 machinery for moving wheel carriages," was invented by him 
 in 1784. The honour of inventing and introducing the first "Lo- 
 comotive Carriage," or " Carriage by Steam," is however due 
 to Mr. Blenkinsop, an engineer of Middleton Hall, near Leeds, 
 who made his first successful experiment in 1804, and in the 
 same year, his locomotive w^as in active operation at a mine at 
 Merthyr Tydvil, in South Wales, drawing on the occasion of 
 its first trial, carriages containing ten-and-a-half tons a distance of 
 nine miles, at a rate of five-and-a-half miles per hour ! 
 
 The earliest approach to a Rail-road of which notice is made, 
 consisted of stone tram-ways laid down at Newcastle-upon-Tyne 
 in 1676, to facilitate the passage of waggons, heavily laden with 
 coals from the collieries. The use of stone was continued until 
 1736, at which time wood was substituted, iron not having been 
 employed for the purpose until 1767, when the Colebrook 
 Dale Company laid down some rails for the use of their works 
 in Shropshire. In 178^^, Sheffield contributed her mite to the 
 slowly developing system ; it was not however till 1825, that 
 Railways began to acquire any important commercial position. 
 In 1820, the " Stockton and Darlington Railway Company " 
 Avas incorporated by Act 1 and 2 Geo. iv., c. 44, for the 
 formation of an iron tram-road from the river Tees, at Stockton, 
 to the Wetton Park Colliery, with power to make branches 
 therefrom. Tliis Railway was commenced in 1823, and was 
 
s 
 
 opened for coal traffic on September 27th, 1825, the length being 
 40 miles, and the cost about £15,000 per mile, locomotive 
 steam power being employed instead of that of horses. About 
 the same time, (1820,) the " Stratford and Moreton Company," 
 also obtained an act of incorporation (1 and 2 Geo. iv., c. 63,) for a 
 Railway from Stratford-on-Avon to Moreton, in Gloucestershire, 
 a distance of 16 miles, which was opened in 1827, the construc- 
 tion having cost nearly £70,000. 
 
 In 1822, a company was projected by a Mr. James, an 
 engineer of London, and an unsuccessful application was made 
 to Parliament in 1824, for powers to make a line between 
 Liverpool and Manchester. The Company, nothing daunted by 
 the previous defeat, continued their efforts, and in 1826, 
 obtained an act (7 Geo. iv., c. 49,) after a most vigorous 
 opposition thereto by the Earls Derby and Wilton, and also by 
 the Marquis of Stafford. 
 
 It appears that for some time after this project was 
 commenced, it was undecided whether to apply horse power, 
 fixed steam engines, or locomotive engines as a means of 
 transport, and no idea was entertained of employing Railways 
 in any other manner than for the carriage of goods. It was in 
 1829, that the Directors of the Liverpool and Manchester Railway 
 first determined to apply the power and facilities which they 
 would shortly possess, to the conveyance of passengers to and 
 from those tov/ns. In April of that year, they advertised a 
 premium of £500, for the best locomotive engine, the weight not 
 to exceed six tons, and to be capable of drawing three times its 
 weight, at the rate of not less than 10 miles an hour ; no smoke 
 was to be produced, and the pressure of steam was limited to 
 50 lbs. on the square inch ; the engine was to be supported on 
 springs, and the height was not to exceed fifteen feet. Three 
 engines, the "Hockef constructed by Mr. Geo. Stephenson, the 
 
 SansjyarieV^ by Mr. Hackworth, and the Novelty by 
 Messrs. Braithwaite and Ericson, were entered for the contest, 
 which took place at Rainhill on the 6th October, 1829, the result 
 being that the premium was awarded to Mr. George 
 Stephenson, whose engine, the Brocket,'"' was the only one 
 which succeeded in performing all the conditions imposed ; this 
 
4 
 
 engine accomplished the stipulated distance of 70 miles in less 
 than six-and-a-half hours, including forty stoppages which it 
 was compelled to make, in consequence of the trial takmg 
 place on a piece of road a mile and three quarters in length, the 
 weight of the engine, &c., being as under, viz : — 
 
 Tons cwt. qrs. lbs. 
 
 Engine " Rocket " ....,4 5 0 0 
 
 Tender, with water and coke 3 4 0 2 
 
 Two carriages loaded 9 1 0 3 26 
 
 Total tons H 0 0 0 
 
 During the trial, a speed of from 18 to 20 miles an hour 
 was frequently attained. 
 
 Here, then, was the first great step in advance, towards our 
 present system of travelling, an important end accomplished, a 
 new era commenced ! 
 
 The Manchester and Liverpool line having been completed 
 by Messrs. Stephenson and Locke, at a cost of £1,089,818, was 
 finally opened to the public on the 15th September, 1830, the 
 late Duke of Wellington attending the ceremony. It is from 
 this time also that we have unfortunately to date the first of the 
 numerous " Railway Accidents " which have since occurred from 
 employing the powerful agents which had so recently been in- 
 troduced to our use. On that most important but fatal day, Mr. 
 Huskisson was run over and killed, depriving England of one 
 of her most eminent statesmen, whilst assisting by his presence in 
 the inauguration of a work, destined to become the forerunner of 
 many similar undertakings, by which the power and wealth of 
 the nation have been rapidly increased, and its commercial and 
 social welfare advanced to an almost incredible extent. 
 
 From that time to the present, the attention of scientific men 
 has been continuously engaged upon the subject, with what sur- 
 prising and important results, need not here be told. 
 
 The requirements of commerce, the large increase of popula- 
 tion, the discoveries in science, and the general advancement of 
 civilization, have led to an enormous amount of personal loco- 
 motion previously unknown, and which continues to increase 
 day by day, as greater facilities are afforded to the public. At the 
 present date, there are in the United Kingdom 7,686 miles of 
 
5 
 
 Railway already open for the traffic of goods and passengers, 
 and SSS miles are in tlie course of construction * The one loco- 
 motive of 1804, has become the progenitor of nearly 4000 
 fiery messengers/' daily travelling on their several peaceful 
 and prosperous errands^ at a speed varying from 15 to 60 miles 
 per hour ! 
 
 To have a just and proper appreciation of the benefits result- 
 ing from the introduction of Railways, it is only necessary that 
 we should glance at the means of transit existing at the time 
 when the first small step was taken in 1676, towards that grand 
 system which now grasps England in its length and breadth 
 with roads of iron/' At that period, the very best and i7iost 
 important highways were in an extremely wretched condition, 
 at all times several feet deep in mud and mire, abounding with 
 holes, and frequently covered with water, rendering them im- 
 passable, except in fine weather, for the waggons and pack, 
 horses, by which the goods and passengers were ordinarily con- 
 veyed, and then only at an enormous expenditure of time and 
 money. A few years afterwards (1689) saw the introduction of 
 stage coaches, which travelling at an average rate of 40 miles 
 per day, and occupying five to six days in journeying from 
 London to York or Exeter, (the utmost limits yet ventured upon,) 
 were considered to be so dangerous to the public interest from 
 their excessive speed, that several petitions were presented to 
 Parliament to restrict their future rate of travelling to 30 
 miles per day. 
 
 A short 25 years back, just previous to the opening of the 
 Liverpool and Manchester line, and within the recollection 
 of many now living, with good macadamized roads, and all the 
 improvements elFected by a persevering and practical people 
 during 144 years, the performances of the Brighton "Age," 
 
 * The Capital invested therein, up to 31st December, 1853, being 
 £273,324,516, 6s. M,, namely :— 
 
 £ s. d. 
 
 Share Capital, paid up 208,251,557 13 10 
 
 Loans 65,072,958 12 11 
 
 £273,324,516 6 9 
 
6 
 
 between London and that town in five hours, and of the 
 "Defiance" between London and Exeter in thirty hours, were 
 looked upon with wonder, and excited the especial admiration 
 of all travellers, who considered that the very perfection of 
 travelling had been attained. And yet, in about one-third of the 
 allotted term of man's brief existence, by the aid of science, and 
 the ingenuity of the human mind, the same distances are traversed 
 in one-fifth the time, with far less trouble, fatigue, or expense. 
 Who, after snch results, will dare to prescribe the boundaries 
 to these most wonderful and valuable inventions, or the limits 
 to man's genius, when exploring the arcana of science ? 
 
 CHAPTER IT. 
 THE CAUSES OF ACCIDENTS UPON RAILWAYS. 
 
 " If I find not what I seek, show no colour for my extremity." 
 
 Merry Wives of Windsor. 
 
 " Nothing extenuate, 
 Nor set down aught in malice. " 
 
 Othello. 
 
 Railways, in common with every other mode of travelling 
 which has at any time been adopted, have not been free from 
 accidents. The number, however, occurring thereon are much 
 less in proportion to the miles traversed, and the daily amount 
 of trafiic over them, than happened under the old system of 
 stage coaches, &c. ; but, from the nature of the agent employed, 
 the accidents which do occur are generally most calamitous 
 to life and limb, and destructive of property to an enormous 
 extent. 
 
 By the 3 and 4 Vict., c. 97, (1840,) and subsequently by 
 6 Vict., c. 55, (1842,) power is given to the Board of Trade to 
 " require of Railway Companies returns of all serious accidents, 
 
7 
 
 whether attended with personal injury^ or not." The exact 
 number of all accidents occurring is not, therefore, stated in 
 these returns, but they are sufficiently correct for the present 
 purpose. 
 
 It appears that during the six years ending 31st December, 
 1852, the number of persons killed and injured from accidents 
 reported to the Board of Trade, was 2,917, mz. 
 
 Killed 1,063 
 
 Injured .......... 1,854 
 
 From the 1st January, 1853, to the 31st December of the same 
 year, there were 103 accidents to the trains and engines, of 
 which 76 were considered sufficiently ^^smows" to be brought 
 to the notice of the Board of Trade by the inspecting officers^ 
 The total number of persons, who suffered in conseq^uence of 
 these 76 accidents was 754, mz. : — - 
 
 Killed ............ 305 
 
 Injured 449 
 
 During the six months from 1st January, to 30th June 1854, 
 these numbers have been increased by 46 accidents, by which 
 there were— 
 
 Killed 100 
 
 Injured 119 
 
 In analyzing these last 122 accidents, we find that no less 
 than 66 arose from collisions between trains, or rather more 
 than 54 per cent, of the accidents from all causes. To the con- 
 sideration of these fruitful sources of danger will we therefore 
 direct our attention. 
 
 It appears, by the report furnished by Captain Galton, E-.E., 
 to the Lords of the Committee of Privy Council for Trade, 
 that these collisions were attributable more or less to the 
 following causes : — 
 
 1. — Inadequate signals. 
 
 2. — Unpunctuality . 
 
 3. — Defective system for securing a proper interval between 
 trains. 
 
 4. — Trains shunting at sidings or stations. 
 
 The system at present adopted on nearly all the lines of 
 railway, is to have fixed at each station a post having two 
 
8 
 
 folding arms, (known as a " semaiDliore,") which is used for 
 giving signals to approaching trains, both on the up and the 
 down lines ; and it is the custom, so soon as a train has entered 
 a station, for the signal-man to extend one of these arms at 
 right angles with the post, intimating "danger'' to any ap- 
 proaching train. This signal is repeated at a distance down 
 the line, on another semaphore placed there for the purpose, 
 in order that the signal may be observed by the driver of a 
 succeeding train at a long distance from the station. After this 
 signal has been continued for five minutes, its position is 
 altered to an angle of about 45 degrees, which implies 
 that the driver may proceed with ''cautioyi:' A further interval 
 of five minutes, making ten minutes in all since the passing 
 of the train, is permitted to elapse, when the arm is lowered 
 into the post, and this conveys to the engine-driver that " all 
 is right'' and that he can continue his route at his usual speed. 
 At night, lamps with various coloured lenses are employed for 
 the like purpose. 
 
 Red, implying " Danger," 
 Green, "Caution," 
 White, „ "All right." 
 
 The slightest consideration of this system will show that it 
 contains within itself the elements of danger. The permission 
 for a succeeding train to proceed, is given after a specified 
 time has expired since the preceding train has passed, without 
 reference to the comparative speed at which they may he tra- 
 velling, or to the possibility of an accident having occurred to 
 the earlier train from a broken axle, or otherwise. 
 
 If time is to be the guide to the signal-man, it follows as 
 a necessity, that every man so employed, or who may in any 
 way have to regulate the departure of the trains, should be 
 provided with the means of measuring that time correctly, 
 and not only so, but that he should consult the time-piece 
 provided him, or how is it possible that the semaphore signal 
 can be worked accurately? Numerous are the complaints 
 made by the Government Inspectors, that the servants of 
 several companies are not supplied tvith watches, but it will 
 be seen by the following extract from the report of Lieutenant 
 
9 
 
 Tyler, (one of the Inspectors of Kailways,) to the 
 
 Railway Department of the Board of Trade, (under date 
 January 10, 1854,) relative to a collision which occurred 
 between two trains on December £9, 1853, on the Lancashire 
 and Yorkshire Railway, that the time-pieces (when provided) 
 are not always consulted, but that the signals are turned 
 through their several phases by guess-work. Is it too much 
 to infer that at times they are neglected entirely ? but here 
 is evidence of the laxity and recklessness displayed :— 
 
 " It is not possible," (writes Lieutenant Tyler,) " to ascertain the exact 
 interval between the departure of the trains either from Manchester or 
 Miles Platting, on account of the culpable negligence of the Company's 
 servants in 7iot consulting their clocks. The station-master at Manchester 
 observed that the Rochdale train started exactly at 9.45, as he happened 
 to he opposite the clock at the time ; and he allowed the Oldham express 
 to follow it, at an interval which he considered to be more than ten minutes ; 
 
 BUT HE DID NOT TAKE THE TROUBLE TO LOOK AT THE CLOCK, and he states 
 
 that it is his custom to start trains one after another, without ascertaining 
 from the clock that there is a proper interval between them. The signal- 
 man at Miles Platting junction, whose duty it is to exhibit the danger 
 signal for five minutes after the passage of the Rochdale train did not look 
 AT THE CLOCK provided in his cabin, but believes that the Oldham train 
 must have passed him ten minutes after the other train. The station-master 
 at Miles Platting, whose duty it is to see that the danger signal is exhibited 
 iovjive minutes after the passage of a train, was not more particular." 
 
 Several other instances might be given, if necessary, to show 
 that although time is the standard for the starting of trains, 
 yet that it is continually disregarded, either from culpable 
 negligence," or the want of means of measuring it, although 
 such neglect might possibly be attended with fatal conse- 
 quences. 
 
 But" suppose the signal-man, station-master, and other 
 officials, to be at all times most attentive to their duties, still, 
 under this arrangement, collisions may and do occur. Let 
 us imagine a case where the regulations of the Company 
 require that an interval of five minutes should be maintained 
 between the passage of every train past a particular spot. 
 A train travelling at a speed of 18 miles per hour has 
 
10 
 
 passed the signal-post ; at the end of the five minutes it will 
 have reached a distance of one-and-a-half miles, when an 
 express " train, travelling at say 40 miles per hour, also 
 passes at the proscribed interval of five minutes. Is it not 
 clear that the latter will overtake the former before it has 
 proceeded far upon its journey ? Here is an illustration : — 
 
 On January 24, 1853, a collision between a passenger train 
 and a cattle train occurred near the Chorley station of the 
 Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway. The Report of Captain 
 Galton says — * 
 
 " That the cattle train left Preston at about 4.35, p.m., and passed the 
 Euxton junction at 4.55, p.m. At this junction, the rule is observed of 
 showing the danger signal for Jive minutes after the passage of a train, 
 and the cautionary signal for the following five minutes * * * * The 
 cattle train travelled something over 18 miles per hour ****** 
 The time at which the passenger train passed the Euxton junction was 5.15. 
 * * * * The passenger train overtook it and ran into it." 
 
 In this case, tiventy minutes had elapsed between the cattle 
 and passenger trains passing the signal-post at the Euxton 
 junction instead of five, but withal the cattle train was 
 overtaken, " and run into." 
 
 Another, and a very strong objection to regulating the intervals 
 between the passage of trains by time, is that there is no surety 
 that the first train has not met with an accident, or been delayed 
 after leaving the station ; in such a case, the succeeding train 
 may have been detained by the semaphore signal the allotted 
 time, and yet afterwards overtake the preceding one. We will 
 give an example or two : — 
 
 On the 5th October, 1853, a collision on the Great South 
 Western Railway, " (Ireland,) occurred between an express 
 passenger train and a goods train, by which 15 persons lost 
 their lives, and five others were seriously injured, besides a 
 considerable amount of property destroyed. 
 
 Lieutenant Tyler, R.E., reports : — 
 
 " That the express train was brought to a stand in consequence of the 
 breaking of one of the pistons * * * Tlie goods train dashed into the other 
 with a crash " (^-c, ^'c. 
 
11 
 
 On the 23rd November, 1853, a collision occurred near the 
 Leicester station of the Midland Railway, by which several 
 persons were injured. Lieutenant Tyler's Eeport says 
 
 " It appears that the coal train was unable to proceed at a greater rate 
 than four or five miles an hour, when within about one mile and a half of 
 Leicester, on account of the disabled state of its engine, and that it was over- 
 taken and run into by the mail passenger train." 
 
 On the 14th December, 1853, a collision occurred between two 
 coal trains in the Stoke tunnel of the "Great Northern 
 Eailway." The Eeport of Lieutenant Tyler, E.E., says :— 
 
 " Three trains left Corby for Grantham in the following order, and at the 
 following times : — 
 
 1. A goods train at 12.30, p.m. 
 
 2. A coal train . , 12.35, . . 
 
 3. A coal train . . 12.45, . . 
 
 The driver of the first coal train, followed the goods train closely up to the 
 mouth of the tunnel, and the tunnel being so full of steam and smoke as 
 to prevent his seeing any distance before him, he proceeded through it at a 
 caM^iOM-s speed. * * * * Whilst so proceeding, his train was run into by 
 the second coal train, when about two-thirds through the tunnel, and the 
 guard of the first coal train was seriously injured." 
 
 It will be observed that an interval of five minutes only had 
 elapsed between the starting of the first and second trains, whilst 
 the full TEN minutes had expired between the second and third. 
 It was impossible for the driver of the second coal train to avoid 
 the collision. The caution " speed used by him was doubtless 
 the secondary cause of the accident, but it is clear that had he in- 
 creased his rate of travelling, the first train would have been over- 
 taken, and run into by the second, and with a fair probability 
 of a second collision by the arrival.of the third train ; the primary 
 cause is traceable to the interval having been regulated by time. 
 
 A very great deal of additional evidence might be adduced, 
 but the foregoing will be sufficient to prove that such oc- 
 currences have been frequent, and that the interval of time is 
 not a sufficient guarantee against accident. 
 
 Collisions also frequently take place through shunting, and 
 there are no less than six reported as having occurred during 
 
\2 
 
 1853 ; but the following will suffice to show the necessity of 
 some arrangement, which shall prevent the recurrence of similar 
 misfortunes : — 
 
 On the 31st August, 1853, an express train came into collision 
 at Hornsey, on the " Great Northern " line, with a portion of an 
 up coal train, " which was in the act of being shunted across the 
 line at the time the express reached the station." 
 
 The whole of the before-mentioned accidents might have 
 been avoided, had a system of measuring the intervals by dis- 
 tance instead of time been adopted ; but of this we shall have 
 more to say in describing the means to be employed for the 
 prevention of these sad calamities. 
 
 We cannot, however, quit this part of the subject, without re- 
 ferring to the numerous accidents which have happened in 
 consequence of the semaphore signals exhibited at the stations, 
 not having been seen by the drivers of the trains for whose in- 
 struction and guidance they are especially provided ; we will 
 content ourselves by selecting from a host of similar cases, a 
 few of the reasons assigned by the Government Inspectors, &c., 
 for those signals being passed unnoticed, without waiting to 
 distinguish the several accidents which arose therefrom. 
 
 1.— "It is stated that a snowstorm was heating in the driver's face at the 
 time of the accident." 
 
 2 _« The accident was caused by the neglect of signals by the engine- 
 driver of the coal train. From the man's own statement, he appears to have 
 been engaged in attending to some part of the machinery, and the fireman 
 was heaping on coals as they approached the siding'' 
 
 3. —" The morning is described to have been so foggy, that it was impossible 
 to see more than 20 yards." 
 
 4. "The fog was so dense, that an object could not he seen 100 
 
 yards off." 
 
 5. —" The fog was then so thick, that the driver and guard coidd not see 
 each other. 
 
 6. _" It appears that the driver, as soon as he got out of the station, began 
 blowing steam through the cylinders ; the engine was in consequence so i?i- 
 volved in steam., as to render it impossible that he coidd see the danger signals 
 that were made to him." 
 
 7 It is most true, that the signal-post is Hable to be interrupted 
 by fog, rain, or snow, a defect which it possesses in common with all signals 
 that appeal to the vision" 
 
13 
 
 This last is a most important admission, coming as it does 
 from the Manager of the " Caledonian Railway/' and proves, 
 taken with the others, how totally inadequate the semaphore 
 signals are upon extraordinary occasions, to the purposes for 
 which they are intended, the very times when good signalling be- 
 comes absolutely necessary, and really valuable. It is true, that 
 in misty weather or at night, fog detonators" are employed in 
 order to give notice of any accident or delay which may have 
 occurred ; but were it not for the space which the particulars 
 would occupy, numerous proofs could be afforded of their not 
 being effectual at all times, and consequently not to be de- 
 pended upon as a means of avoiding or preventing accidents. 
 Prequently, when required the " fog-detonators " were not at 
 hand ; and if otherwise, then the time has not in many cases 
 been sufficient to allow the guard to place them on the rails at 
 a proper distance^ to stop a coming train. 
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 
 HOW COLLISIONS MAY BE PREVENTED. 
 
 King. — Upon thy certainty, and confidence, 
 
 What dar'st thou venture ? 
 Helen. — Tax of impudence, 
 
 All's Well that Ends Well 
 
 Having ascertained that the majority of railway accidents 
 arise from collisions, let us consider how they may be pre- 
 vented. Our first enquiry will be therefore, 
 
 What is a collision f 
 
 Dr. Johnson defines it as an act of striking together. Now 
 this word " together " is a key to the whole ; it provides that in 
 
14 
 
 order to effect a collision, tioo bodies must be brought into 
 contact with each other. It is therefore utterly impossible that a 
 collision can occur between two trains with one train only, and 
 it follows by a parity of reasoning, that if a second train is 
 always kept at a certain distance of " space " apart from a 
 preceding train, and that under no circumstances whatever it 
 be permitted to lessen the limit fixed upon as necessary to 
 exist between them, the striking together,'" or ''collision'' of 
 two trains cannot occur. 
 
 In order to provide for this, it is necessary that the line of 
 Railway should be divided into certain portions, say A, B, C, 
 which for convenience we will consider to be the ordinary 
 stations. Upon the arrival of a train at A, notice should be 
 given to B of the same, enabling the ofiicials to prepare for 
 its approach ; upon receipt of this notice, B must commu- 
 nicate with A whether the ''line is clear," or otherwise, to 
 that station-— whether a preceding train has passed that 
 station or not)— the train at A not being allowed to proceed 
 until a notification of "line clear" has been received from B. 
 Upon the train reaching B, the same interchange of cau- 
 tionary notices or messages should be made with C, and so 
 on along the whole line. 
 
 It is clear that if this order be preserved, a collision would be 
 utterly impossible, whether from deraillement of the train, un- 
 punctuality, excess of speed of one train over that of another, 
 delays arising from the bad state of the weather, deficiency of 
 steam power, defective machinery, or from a7iij other cause 
 whatever. In this we are supported by the opinions expressed 
 by the Government Inspectors on this proposal. 
 
 Capt. Wynne, E.E., on the llth October, 1853, says :— 
 
 " No train should be allowed to pass a station until it had been tele- 
 graphed back that the preceding train was clear of the station next in 
 advance. Such a plan faithfully carried into execution, would render collision 
 im2)ossihle, except under very peculiar circumstances." 
 
 Capt. Galton,R.E., under date 27th September, 1853, writes: 
 
 " It appears to me that the most efficient mode of securing an interval 
 between trains, and of doing away tvith any possibility of collision to trains 
 
15 
 
 between stations is, to divide the railway into portions, and not to allopj a 
 train to enter upon one portion until the precedincj train shall have left that 
 portion. The length of these portions would be regulated by the amount of 
 traffic." 
 
 Again, under date 5tli December, 1853, he says :-— 
 
 " It shows how impossible it is practically at all times to preserve trains 
 from collisions, when their safety depends alone upon the interval of time 
 which elapses between the starting of the trains; and it adds another argu- 
 ment to the many which already exist in favour of adopting a system of 
 working all trains, in which the interval between trains following each other 
 on the same line of rails is one of distance between the trains, instead of 
 an interval of time between the starting of the trains." 
 
 The question however arises, how the needful communications 
 between the stations can be effected with sufficient speed and 
 accuracy, so as to avoid any unnecessary delay in the working 
 of the traffic, and at the same time to ensure a perfectly safe 
 conduct to the succeeding train ? The facilities afforded by 
 electricity remove all the difiicultics which might otherwise 
 have presented themselves in the above shape, and we will 
 presently show that a modificatio7i of the electric telegraph will 
 answer all these very desirable ends. 
 
 The opinions of the Government Inspectors are valuable, as 
 they are the results of great experience, and mature con- 
 sideration of the several causes of accidents painfully forced 
 upon their attention, in the discharge of the duties entrusted to 
 them by the Government. Such statements as the following are 
 therefore deserving of the greatest respect, as evidencing the 
 necessity of providing a better means for the prevention of 
 accidents to trains whilst " shunting." 
 
 Capt. Wynne, E-.E., on the Uth October, 1853, writes 
 
 " Accidents arising from shunting operations, when carried on but a shor t 
 time in advance of express trains being due, have been of such frequent 
 occurrence, even with the danger signals duly displayed, that railway 
 authorities ought at length to be convinced of their uncertainty as safe- 
 guards against danger, and be induced to regard the best arranged syste m of 
 signals, as but auxiliaries to safety." 
 
16 
 
 Lieut. Tyler, R.E., on the 30th Novemher, 1853, writes :— 
 
 One of the most fruitful sources of accidents is the allowing trains to he 
 shunted across the main lines of a railway when other trains are due. 
 
 It may perhaps be argued, that to issue a positive order 
 against shunting when another train is nearly due would 
 amount practically to a total cessation of the business of the Ime 
 at many stations, and in this we perfectly agree: o^^- J^=;"edy 
 therefore must be sought for in another direction. With the 
 assistance of the telegraph, nothing can be easier or more 
 effectual than that whenever shunting operations are about to 
 be performed, notice should be sent to the station on either 
 side, so that approaching trains may be stopped, from whichever 
 direction they may be coming, until a message had been com- 
 municated to the station " shunting," when the line would be 
 cleared, and the operations deferred until the tram had passed. 
 The only delay which would thus arise to the tram, would be 
 the short time occupied in clearing the line; and to the shunhnff, 
 that of the time occupied in the transit of the train between the 
 two stations; delays ABSOLt^TELY NECESSARY, if the safety of the 
 train and its passengers is at all to be considered. Immediately 
 after the departure of the train, the shunting could be recom- 
 menced, notice being first given to the station on either side to 
 ston both up and down trains whilst the operation is continued, 
 and as often as a train arrived at either of the stations whilst 
 the line was " stopped," a telegraphic message would procure 
 a removal of the obstruction, when the train might be per- 
 mitted to proceed, the line being again « stopped "upon i-esum- 
 ing the work. In this way little or no time would be lost, and 
 to act in any contrary manner xoouU he only to court danger. 
 
 As frequent instances were given in the preceding chapter, ot 
 the semaphore signals having been passed by engine-drivers 
 unnoticed, it may perhaps be considered unnecessary to add 
 thereto but we cannot refrain quoting from the evidence ot 
 Mr George Hawkins, traffic-manager of the'Brighton and South 
 Coast RaSways, given at the Coroner's Inquest held m conse- 
 quence of the late lamentable accident at Croydon, m proof of 
 the inadequacy of the present system. That gentleman says :- 
 
17 
 
 " No doubt a better system than that now in operation might be used to 
 signal the departure and approach of trains. * * * * Much however 
 depended upon the state of the weather. Two Engines ^iassm^ eac/i o^Aer 
 a little to the south of the station might obscure the signal, but it would only 
 be for a moment. The two bridges obscured the semaphore signal for a 
 moment or two, while the train traversed a distance of 187 yards, and the 
 smoke and steam might further obscure it. The signal had not, however, 
 been complained of as ineffipient." 
 
 Unfortunately complaints of the inefficiency of signals are 
 rarely made until such inefficiency has been painfully and 
 forcibly proved by an accident occurring. 
 
 The above extract from the evidence of Mr. Hawkins shows 
 that it is not only fog, rain, or siioio^^ which prevent the 
 signals being seen, but that it sometimes happens from other 
 causes. Captain Barlow, the General Manager of the South 
 Eastern Railway, deposed upon the same occasion to the effect 
 that having on the following day v/alked up that portion of the 
 line at which the accident occurred, he lost sight of the sema- 
 phore four times, in consequence of the sun shining strongly 
 upon it over the Norwood Hills. 
 
 It will be readily understood also that a signal post may be 
 passed unnoticed by either the driver or the fireman, whilst 
 performing any of their duties in connection with the engine. 
 
 At night, or in fogs, lights are employed, as before stated ; but 
 it has been frequently known in country districts for these lights 
 to burn dimly, and go out altogether in cold weather, from the oil 
 having been frozen, and lately an accident occurred in conse- 
 quence of the signal-lights having been blown out by the force 
 of the wind during a severe tempest. 
 
 Again, it sometimes, and w^e fear ofttimes happens, that engine- 
 drivers and firemen take it in turns to keep the " look out," 
 whilst the other sleeps on the engine, and thus signals have 
 been passed unnoticed, when the attention of the " look out " 
 has been directed to the state of his fire, or to similar matters. 
 
 From the foregoing, it appears absolutely necessary that some 
 more certain mode of signalling the driver of an engine, than 
 that at present employed, should be adopted, so as to prevent 
 the possibility of any mistake occurring, or of the signals not 
 
 c 
 
18 
 
 being seen. The opinion of Lieut. Tyler, R.E., on this subject 
 is worthy of quoting here. He says : — 
 
 Accidental stoppages to trains must be expected to arise at times, and 
 the means to provide for the safety of both the stopping tm"' ^nd the one 
 following it, should never be wanting. Those means should be the simplest, 
 the readiest, and the most certain that can be devised." 
 
 The proposal before made, of not permitting a train to pass a 
 station, until previously advised that a preceding tram had 
 arrived safelv, and departed from the station in advance, fully 
 provides for^the safety of both the trains, in the event of any 
 " accidental stoppage " occurring, provided that a communication 
 can be made with the coming train, in sufficient time for it to 
 stop, and that the signal is such as can be seen. 
 
 Any system of signalling trains which may be proposed, 
 should therefore contain, as a sine qua non, the following 
 conditions : — 
 
 1 -Each station should be enabled to communicate readily 
 with the station on either side of it, so as to announce the 
 approach and departure of every train. 
 
 2.— The agent employed should be that of electricity, as 
 being the ^'readiest'' and ''most certain" in its operation. 
 
 3-_The telegraph instrument used, should be of the 
 "simplest" form, not liable to derangement ; and the manipula- 
 tion of it so easy and intelligible, that the veriest novice may at 
 once understand the operation thereof. 
 
 4 —The sicrnal should not consist of arbitrary signs, but be 
 ^iven in plain language, such as "line clear," or "line stopped." 
 
 5 _^The person receiving the signal, should have no means or 
 power of altering it ; the person or station transmitting the 
 signal, should alone be enabled to reverse it. 
 
 6— The signal once given, should remain until the next 
 .i^nal be sent, so that both the sender and receiver should have 
 the means of referring to it, and ascertaining at any time the 
 state of the line, and the last signal forwarded. 
 
 7 _The signal from a station to an engine-driver should be 
 ^iven upon the engine whilst travelling, and in such a manner that 
 mnot possiblv escape his notice, and ready means of effecting 
 
 it ca^ 
 
19 
 
 this communication with him at several parts of the line between 
 each station, should also be afforded. 
 
 8. — It should be distinct and positive in its instructions, either 
 of "All right or ^'Sfop" so that the meaning cannot be 
 mistaken. 
 
 9. — An alarm should be given to the driver each time a signal 
 is sent, so as to direct and ensure his attention thereto. 
 
 10. — The guard of the train should receive in his van a 
 similar signal to that sent to the driver. 
 
 11. — A register of the signal received hj the driver and guard 
 should be recorded, with the sender, to prove that it had been 
 duly received. 
 
 12. — It should be such an arrangement as could not be inter- 
 fered with by others than the proper officers of the Company, 
 to whom the management of the trains is entrusted. 
 
 13. ~The person sending the signal should have the power 
 of stopping the engine, if the driver neglects the signal. 
 
 14. — In the event of an axle breaking, or a stoppage of the 
 train from any other cause, means should be provided by which 
 the guard may be enabled to communicate instantly with the 
 station on either side of him, without having to leave his train 
 for any distance. 
 
 If these "conditions" be carried out, every train would be 
 always placed, as it were, under the guardianship of three 
 stations, viz., that in advance, that at which it had arrived, and 
 that in the rear, a constant communication would be kept up 
 from each train to the several stations en route, and vice- 
 versa, from each station to the train, rendering collisions abso- 
 lutely impossible, except from wilful neglect, in which case the 
 actual offender would be at once discovered, and be made to bear 
 the responsibility of his misconduct; this being so, we need 
 scarcely say would ensure greater attention to their duties from 
 all the officials and employes. 
 
 How these great desiderata may be accomplished, will be 
 described in the next chapter ; it will be sufficient here to say, 
 that the means employed have all undergone very lengthy and 
 severe practical tests, and that they have been found to answer 
 most successfully. 
 
CHAPTEE IV. 
 
 ELECTRO-MAGNETIC RAILWAY SIGNALS. 
 
 " What I can do, can do no liurt to try." 
 
 AWs Well that Ends Well. 
 
 " I drink the air before me, and return, 
 Or e'er your pulse twice beat." 
 
 Tempest. 
 
 An attempt has been made within the last two years, to 
 accomplish some of the ends proposed in the foregoing pages, 
 by means of the ordinary electric telegraph instruments; but as 
 they are not adapted to the work which they are intended to 
 perform, it is not surprising to find that they have only 'partially 
 succeeded, and for the same reason, the expense to those Com- 
 panies who have made the experinent has been very great. 
 
 These instruments have usually two vertical needles, and the 
 signals are represented by certain preconcerted arbitrary beats 
 of these needles either to the right or to the left, it follows that 
 as two instruments must be employed, one each for the down 
 and up lines, that the movements of four needles have to be 
 closely watched, in order to discover the meaning of the signals 
 transmitted. This involves the necessity of employing a person 
 well skilled in the manipulation of the electric telegraph ; and 
 the multiphcity of " beats " increases the Hability to error, and 
 opens the door to danger ; but in addition to this, the indications 
 made are not permament, so that no means of reference to the 
 last signal given is afforded either to the sender or to the 
 receiver, and consequently each has to trust to his memory as 
 to the state of the line, and it will be readily understood that 
 with the number of signals which have to be given in the 
 course of each day on a railway where the traffic is considerable, 
 that this is a very serious objection, and that mistakes may 
 easily happen. Again, suppose a toro^iy signal has been sent, 
 upon whom is the responsibility and blame to rest? A 
 reference to the instruments will afford no information, as the 
 
21 
 
 needles, after giving the signals, return to the vertical, and it 
 will scarcely do to depend upon the statements of the officers, 
 whose interest and inclinations would lead each to endeavour 
 to exculpate himself. Further, under the arrangements at 
 present existing, the instruments at several stations are con- 
 nected with one wire, and are therefore in communication 
 with each other; it follows that each instrument is acted 
 upon whenever a current of electricity is sent along the 
 wire, although the signal is intended for one of the stations 
 only, and as it frequently happens that this wire is employed 
 also for sending messages other than those applicable to the 
 working of the trains, it may a?id has occurred, that at the ver^ 
 moment that a signal is required to be sent^ the wire is pre- 
 occupied. Captain Galton, R,£., who has paid considerable 
 attention to this subject, says : — 
 
 " This system of working is not carried to the perfection which it admits 
 of, because the wii^es and instruments used for telegraphing trains are the 
 same as those used for the transtnission of messages ; and on this accomit the 
 system is liable to occasional interruption, from the wire being occupied; and 
 besides^ as the instruments are of a more complicated description than those 
 which would suffice for merely telegraphing trains, the duty requires to be 
 performed by men in some measure accustomed to the working of telegraphic 
 instruments" 
 
 In addition to this very distinct opinion, we may add also the 
 following, as expressed by the Directors of the Midland 
 Eailway, through their Secretary, as especially confirmatory of 
 the above. 
 
 " With reference to the electric telegraph, the Directors quite concur in 
 the opinion that a systematic working of all trains by telegraph would be 
 desirable, if it could be accomplished ; but they repeat their opinion, that the 
 telegraph, as at present arranged, does not admit of being worked with such 
 certainty as to be depended upon for -purposes of safety.^'' 
 
 To this. Captain Simmons, R.E., by direction of the Board of 
 Trade, replied : — 
 
 " My Lords desire me to state that they entirely concur in that opinion^ 
 
 It is very clear from the above, that whilst the Railway 
 Commissioners of the Board of Trade, through their Inspectors 
 
of KaiUvays, have strongly and frequently urged tlxe adoption of 
 a system of signalling trains by means of the electric telegraph, 
 yet that they consider the present arrangement of the instru- 
 ments is not such an one as -will ensure safety. 
 
 To effect the conditions which in the preceding chapter we 
 stated to be absolutely essential in order to prevent collisions 
 instruments of quite a different construction are required, and 
 these the ingenuity of Mr. Tyer, an Electrical Engineer has 
 supplied ; and as that gentleman has been permitted, through the 
 courtesy of Captain Barlow, the General Manager of the South 
 Eastern Railway, to test the greater portion of his invention 
 during twelve months on a part of that line, and has also put 
 the whole to most severe trials upon the lines of the Saint 
 Germain," and "Great Northern of France," in the presence of 
 several scientific gentlemen, and railway and electrical engineers, 
 and as these experiments have been in the highest degree 
 satisfactory, we will ventui-e to describe this most important, yet 
 
 simple invention. 
 
 The principle adopted by Mr. Tyer is that which we have 
 recommended, of preserving an interval of space and not ot 
 time between the starting of any trains, and this he accomplishes 
 by instruments arranged to be either self-acting, or to work by 
 hand, as may be preferred. 
 
 The description of the self-acting instrument is as follows :- 
 Let A (plate No. 1) represent an indicator fixed at every 
 station, having a needle, or pointer, faj which inclines o 
 the words " Stop," or " Line Clear," engraved on the dial-plate 
 AS according to the direction which the electric current is 
 made to take through the instrument. At the bottom, but 
 inside the instrument fcj, is placed a bell, which is rung by 
 means of an electro-magnet. A little at the outside of each 
 station, and by the side of the rail, is fixed a spring-treadle 
 B arranged in such a manner that the flange of every wheel 
 of the train passes over and depresses it, the treadle being 
 raised by the spring fdj underneath, immediately the wheel 
 has passed. Under the part is fixed a " connector C.havmg 
 a small piston ffj passing through a compound spring 
 enclosed in a cylinder fgj- Tpon the passage of a wheel 
 
over the treadle B the part fej, being depressed, comes into 
 contact with the piston ffj, which, in its turn, presses against 
 a metal spring (hj, to which the line wire fij, leading to the 
 stations and indicators, is attached. The electric circuit being 
 completed each time a wheel passes over the treadle, a current 
 of electricity passes along the line-wire, with the following re- 
 sults: — The bell at the station in advance is rung several times, 
 announcing to the officials there that a train has left the pre = 
 ceding station, and giving them therefore timely notice to 
 prepare for its reception. The indicator at the station just 
 left, would go over to " Stop," because a train is on the line 
 between it and the next station, and the indicator at the 
 previous station would at the same moment show " Line 
 Clear." 
 
 But in order to understand this more clearly, let ABC, (plate 
 No. 2) represent the indicators at three stations. TV is the line 
 wire in communication with each of these indicators, T is the 
 treadle at station B. Let us suppose the train to have just 
 passed A, the bell at B would be ringing, and so announcing 
 the approach of a train, whilst the indicator at A would be 
 at ''Stop," and that of B at '' Line Clear." The train therefore 
 proceeds, and on its departure from B the bell at C commences 
 ringing, the indicator at B passes over to " Stop," and that at 
 A to " Line Clear." (Vide plate No. 2.) The station-master 
 at B therefore, will stop every succeeding train at his station, 
 until his indicator is reversed to " Line Clear," which will be 
 the case so soon as the train passes over the treadle at (7, the 
 indicator at which station would then be at " Stop," and so on 
 the entire length of the line. 
 
 In this manner, the tram itself gives notice of its progress^ 
 both in the rear and in the advance ; but as many railway 
 managers would prefer having the means of attaching a re- 
 sponsibility to individuals for the correct performance of their 
 duties, to any self-acting system whatever, Mr. Tyer has in- 
 vented a hand-instrument, of which the plate No. 3 is a repre- 
 sentation ; with this instrument the " treadle " is not employed. 
 The upper part (h) , or receiving portion, is the same as before 
 described, (%. A, plate No. 1,) the lower part (I) is the trans- 
 
24 
 
 rnittiiig portion, the needle f mj is made to incline to the right 
 or to the left, at the will of the operator, by turning the brass 
 button fn ), to which it is attached, and which has the effect 
 of reversing the direction of the current ; fojh a stud which 
 upon being pressed rings the bell at the station in advance. 
 
 The modus operandi will be as follows. Upo^n the train's 
 approach to station B, the clerk will, by pressing the bell stud, 
 ring the bell at (7. This is to be considered as an enquiry as to 
 the state of the line. C will reply by ringing the bell at B, 
 intimating that he is aware of the latter having called him. If it 
 is sale for the train to proceed on its way, C will put the needle 
 of the transmitting portion of the instrument flj over to " Line 
 Clear," and the indicator at B will then register the same signal, 
 and the train will be permitted to pass B, the clerk at that station 
 then giving the signal " Line Clear " to ^. 
 
 When sliunting is about to take place, or any other obstruction 
 prevents the coming on of the train, the clerk at Cwill put the 
 needle of his transmitting instrument at " Stop," and B will be 
 apprised of the same by the ringing of his bell, and also by his 
 own instrument following the movement. 
 
 It must be remembered that the signal given remains fixed 
 until a new signal be sent ; so that a station-master wishing 
 to inform himself what was the last signal either received or sent 
 by him can readily do so, and he has only to look to his indicator 
 to ascertain at any time the state of his portion of the line. 
 
 One great advantage in this description of instrument is that 
 the station receiving the signal cannot alter it, this can only be 
 done by the sender, consequently if an improper signal be given, 
 or there is any inattention to the signal given, the offender is 
 at once discovered ; further, if required, it can be so arranged, 
 and that by an exceedingly simple contrivance, that no station- 
 master shall be able to alter the indicator of another, without the 
 consent of the receiving station, whilst the latter cannot alter it, 
 unless by the aid of the sender at the next station, thus— a 
 small hole Q;) is drilled in the dial plate, through which an 
 ivory stop projects in such a manner as to prevent the needle 
 passing over ; q is a small stud which when pressed withdraws 
 the ivory stop ; upon the bell ringing, the station master or 
 
< 
 
25 
 
 officer in charge of the indicator^ after replying hy pressing the 
 bell stud (o), and ringing the bell at the transmitting station, 
 removes the ivory stop (p). by pressing against the stud (q), 
 when the needle will immediately pass over to the signal sent. 
 
 This hand system, with the last described arrangement, is that 
 preferred by Captain Bariow, after very lengthy and severe 
 experiments of all. 
 
 Another and a very important recommendation, is, that by the 
 latter method one line wire only is required for both the up 
 and down lines, instead of two, as by the ordinary telegraphic 
 instruments, thus a great saving of expense is effected. 
 
 Notwithstanding these precautions, it may happen, that a 
 train after having passed a station (say B), may become 
 derailed, have an axle broken, or by some other accident be 
 detained ; in such a case its rear would be protected from 
 any following train, because the indicator at B would be 
 at " Stop," in consequence of the non-arrival of the train 
 at C. But it is highly important that the guards should 
 remain with the train, so as to render every assistance in their 
 j)ower, instead of being despatched each way, as under the present 
 imperfect system, to stop coming trains. It is equally essential 
 that the station on either side should be apprised of the accident, 
 so that speedy assistance may be forwarded to the scene of the 
 catastrophe. 
 
 A very simple plan will effect this. On the telegraph posts 
 at every quarter mile, a wire in connection with the line wire 
 is brought down to a small deal box f r), (plate No. 4), which 
 is kept locked, every guard and driver having a key to open the 
 same. In the event of such an accident occurring, the greatest 
 distance to be traversed by the guard to one of these boxes, will 
 be one-eighth of a mile : upon his arrival at, and opening the 
 box, he would be enabled, by pressing against a small stud, to 
 ring a bell violently at the station on either side of him, and 
 continue the alarm so long as he may deem necessary. 
 
 Having thus provided for the actual safety of the train, and 
 of several of the conditions before mentioned, if an efficient 
 communication he made with the engine-driver and guards, the 
 question now arises, how such communication is to be made, so as 
 
26 
 
 to ensure not only the receipt of the signal by them, but also 
 their noticing the same when sent, and that in all conditions of 
 the weather and atmosphere, as well by night as by day. 
 
 This, like the arrangements previously described, is of the 
 simplest character. Along the line two parallel bars of wood, 
 having surfaces of iron or other metallic substances, (fig I), plate 
 No. 5,) are fitted at certain intervals ; at each station is fixed 
 an instrument called a "Lock commutator" (E) having the 
 words " Danger " and " Line Clear " engraved thereon. When- 
 ever it is necessary to send a signal to a train, the station master 
 will with a key (s) similar to an ordinary lock key, turn a bolt or 
 slide in this " lock commutator," either to the right or to the left, 
 the needle {t), following the direction to " Danger " or " Line 
 Clear," as the case may be. The eff'ect of this is, to transmit 
 either a positive or negative current of electricity along the line 
 to the bars ( D) before described, which become charged with 
 the current ; the engine and guard's van are each fitted with a 
 pair of metallic springs (F), adjusted in such a manner as to 
 come into contact with, and glide over the bars, the current 
 immediately flows up one of these springs to a small magnetic 
 needle instrument (G) fitted on the dome of the engine, and 
 before the eyes of the driver, and similarly, on the passage of 
 the guard's van over the bars, to the instrument fitted therein ; 
 these instruments at once record the signal sent from the station 
 fthe needle remaining fixed), whilst at the station the upper 
 portion of the instrument {E) being in connection with the wire 
 leading to the bars, is instantaneously operated upon, and regis- 
 ters the same signal as that received by the driver and guard, 
 putting it entirely out of the power of either to say that the 
 signal had not been transmitted, for inasmuch as that the 
 electricity must pass through the engine instrument before 
 reaching that at the station, it is not possible for the latter to be 
 operated upon without the former having first received the like 
 signal. If the signal given is " All right," the driver proceeds 
 on his journey ; if, on the contrary, the " Stop " signal be given 
 from the station, at the first parallel bars reached by the engine, 
 the driver and guard will each be informed thereof, when the 
 former will shut off his steam, and the latter apply his breaks, 
 
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27 
 
 and this without any intercommunication from guard to driver, 
 or from driver to guard. In order however to provide against 
 the possibility of danger arising through the driver being asleep, 
 or otherwise the signal escaping his notice, an arrangement is 
 made by which the steam-pipe from the boiler to the whistle is 
 opened (on every occasion of a signal being received) and the 
 latter keeps sounding until the driver himself shuts it off ; but 
 this is not all : by a remarkably simple mechanical contrivance, 
 the same busy current of electricity will operate upon the 
 regulator of the steam to the machinery, and however incredible 
 it may appear, will absolutely shut off the steam, and the train 
 will come to a stand-still. The importance of this will be 
 readily reognized in the event of a " run-away " engine. 
 
 We would wish to observe, that we have not been indulging 
 in ^iTiy fanciful or theoretical speculations , but have simply de- 
 tailed that which has been done by Mr. Tyer over and over 
 again, without a single failure ; that each division of his inven- 
 tion is distinct from the other ^ and can he applied separately , 
 and that the expense of introducing the same is remarkably 
 small, whilst its future maintenance is trifling as compared 
 with the present imperfect and complicated arrangements of 
 semaphores, distant and auxiliary signals, (none of which would 
 be required,) and the painting, burning of oil, &c., to say no- 
 thing whatever of the increased security and protection which 
 it aflTords, and the consequent saving of enormous outlays at 
 present incurred by Railway Companies, in the replacing and 
 repairs to engines, carriages, permanent way, &;c., and the mone- 
 tary recompense to be made to injured persons and orphan 
 families, whenever a "collision" unfortunately occurs. 
 
 The whole of the apparatus now described, is dependent 
 upon no complicated machinery requiring a constant supervi- 
 sion to prevent its derangement, and to preserve it in good 
 working order ; on the contrary, its extremely simple contri- 
 vances are its greatest recommendation. It embraces the three 
 requirements which Lieut. Tyler considers absolutely necessary 
 for railway signals, mz.,^^ Simplicity , Readiness ^ and Certainty 
 and as the whole of the invention is based upon a simple law of 
 nature, these requirements must always be fulfilled. 
 
28 
 
 In conclusion^ and in order to confirm the opinion expressed 
 in the efficacy of the plan submitted in the preceding pages, 
 and of the invention just described, for carrying the same into 
 effect, we cannot do better than to quote the written opinions of 
 those, who from their practical knowledge of the subject are 
 well qualified to offer them. 
 
 M. I'abbe Moigno, the celebrated Parisian writer on elec- 
 tricity, after having witnessed the trials on the " Saint Germain" 
 and the " Great Northern of France" Railways, before referred 
 to, wrote in "Cosmos," 15th September, 1854, (page SS2.) 
 ******** 
 
 " Le systeme de M. Tyer est evidemment bon et efficace en theorie ou en 
 lui-meme; il tient un juste milieu entre un controle purement mecanique et 
 un controle qu'on pourrait appeler purement moral, c'est-a-dire qui depende 
 uniquement de I'exercice des volontes liumaines, de la vigilance des gardiens. 
 II demande a I'electricite juste ce qu'il faut lui demander, et laisse a Thomme 
 la responsabilite dont on ne pent pas, dont on ne doit pas le decharger. 
 
 " Ce qu'il fallait pour faire accepter les dispositions nouvelles, c'etait de 
 prouver qu'elles restaient dans la pratique ce qu'elles sont en tbeorie ; qu'il 
 ne se presentait aucune difficulte insurmontable, que chaque mecanisme, tres- 
 simple d'ailleurs, produisait son effet a coup sur, que le but propose etait 
 toujours atteint, au moins dans I'immense majorite des cas; et c'est, comme 
 nous I'avons dit au commencement de cet article, ce qui est resulte d'une 
 longue experimentation, ou mieux d'un service regulier de huit mois, en 
 Angleterre, sur le South-Eastern, pres de la station du pont de Londres, 
 c'est-a-dire au point ou les trains se succedent avec le plus de rapidite. 
 
 " Parfaitement bien organises grace, a la bienveillance de I'administration 
 et a la complaisance des ingenieurs, les essais auxquels nous avons assiste 
 dans la gare du chemin de fer du Nord n'ont rien laisse a desirer ; la reussite 
 de M. Tyer a ete complete ; nous pourrions citer les noms de quelques inspec- 
 teurs soit des chemins de fer, soit des telegraphes, qui, apres avoir conyu 
 quelques doutes et souleve quelques objections, nous ont avoue franchement, 
 qu'en y reflechissant bien, ils etaient arrives a se convaincre eux-meraes de 
 I'excellence et de I'efEcacite du nouveau systeme. 
 
 "II ne nous reste done plus qu'un voeu a former, c'est que les directeurs 
 des compagnies, hommes de conscience et de savoir, fassent taire les scru- 
 pules materiels et miserables d'une depense a aj outer a leur budget." 
 
 " F. MOIGNO." 
 
 The following is the copy of a letter written by Captain 
 Barlow, after that gentleman had tried the invention for eight 
 months : — 
 
g9 
 
 " Soutii-Eastern Railway, 
 " London Terminus, 24:th January, 1854. 
 
 "Dear Sir, 
 
 ''In reply to your request that I should express an opinion upon 
 the principle and practice of the self-acting Electro-Magnetic Signals, 
 placed by you at the New Cross, Lewisham, and Blackheath Stations, for 
 the purpose of notifying the arrival and departure of trains to the Stations 
 respectively in rear and advance, I have much pleasure in stating that, 
 during the eight months they have been in action, their performance has 
 been regular, and that they have not been subject to any derangement of an 
 unusual character. 
 
 " With regard to the principle, I am of opinion, that by doing away with 
 the treadle, and so arranging that the signal man at each station 
 should have the power of giving the signal hij hand, you will have effected 
 the most valuable method of signalling trains which has been brought forivard, 
 and one which will give the officers in charge of Stations a confidence in 
 the working of the Railway hitherto not attained by needle instruments. 
 
 " I am, Dear Sir, yours truly, 
 
 (Signed) « R. H. BARLOW." 
 
 " To Mr. Edward Tyer." 
 
 The hand system of signalling here recommended is now in 
 successful operation at these stations of the South-E astern 
 Railway, a prelude (it is hoped) to its use throughout the 
 whole of the same. 
 
 Captain Galton, in his report, page 201, says : — 
 
 The true system of working a line by electric telegraph, is to devote 
 one wire exclusively to this purpose, and to place it in connexion with 
 simple instruments capable of striking a bell, and giving two signals, — such^ 
 for instance, as " Line Clear," and " StojJ." These instruments should be 
 placed at such distances apart, as would meet the requirements of the 
 traffic, that is to say, on lines of very large traffic, and numerous trains, it 
 might be necessary to have them at as small intervals as a mile ; whilst 
 on lines where the traffic is limited, and conducted in a small number 
 of trains, it might be sufficient to place them at the ordinary passenger 
 stations. But whatever the length of each portion of line between the 
 instruments, no train should be allowed to enter upon one portion, until 
 the preceding train had left that portion. * * * * 
 
 " This method of working a railway appears to me to be the only method 
 which can effectually secure in practice safety from collision between trains 
 proceeding in the same direction, especially upon lines where the trains are 
 
30 
 
 numerous, and where they travel at different rates of speed, and accidents 
 from this cause have hitherto heen more numerous tlian from any other 
 cause. 
 
 "In my opinion, this system of conducting the traffic cannot he too 
 strongly or too frequently impressed upon Railway Companies, as being 
 one which is especially desirable upon lines of large traffic, traversed by 
 trains at different rates of speed ; and I would remark that great credit 
 appears to me to be due to the South-Eastern Railway Company, for having 
 been the first Company who have discovered its advantages, and practically 
 applied them. I would, however, suggest that it is extremely desirable 
 that the above-mentioned more perfect system of telegraphing trains should 
 he extended as rapidhj as possible over the whole of the South-Eastern 
 Railway and branches ; and the sense of security which will he derived from 
 it will far more than repay the cost of establishing it" 
 
 Let us hope tliat after such a very distinct expression of 
 opinion, that Railway Companies will no longer hesitate in 
 adopting a plan so capable of preventing a recurrence of such 
 frightful calamities as railway collisions have hitherto produced. 
 
APPENDIX. 
 
 RAILWAY COLLISIONS. 
 
 The following Circular has been issued by the Railway Department of 
 the Board of Trade : — 
 
 "Whitehall, August 12, 1854. 
 
 " Sir, — The Lords of the Committee of Privy Council for Trade are de- 
 sirous of calling the attention of railway companies to a system of working 
 the trains, which is in use on some railways to a limited extent, and which 
 promises to afford security from accidents, occasioned by collision between 
 trains following each other upon the same line of rails. 
 
 " This class of accidents has been hitherto very numerous, as compared 
 with other classes. In 1853 the total number of accidents to trains reported 
 to this department was 103, of which 30 occurred to trains following each other 
 upon the same line of rails ; and, in the six months ended the 30th of June 
 in the present year, the total number of accidents to trains which came under 
 the cognizance of this department amounted to 47, of which 13 occurred by 
 collision between trains following each other upon the same line of rails. 
 
 " The system under which trains are ordinarily worked is, that trains 
 should not be allowed to approach each other within a certain interval of 
 space ; and, to effect this object, signals are exhibited during a certain time 
 after the passage of a train, and no succeeding train is allowed to follow 
 until such interval has elapsed. 
 
 " Experience, however, shows that this mode of endeavouring to secure a 
 certain interval of space between succeeding trains will occasionally fail, in 
 cases where the speed of the respective trains varies, or where accidents 
 occur to the machinery of trains ; and when, from any cause, a train becomes 
 stationary on a part of the line away from stations, its safety from a collision 
 with a succeeding train is dependent upon the chance of such succeeding 
 train being at such a distance as to allow time for the guard to run back 
 with a signal. 
 
 " With the view of effectually securing that an interval of space shall, 
 under all circumstances, be at all times maintained between trains following 
 each other upon a line of railway, the South-Eastern Railway Company have, 
 on a portion of their railway, placed electric telegraphic stations at intervals 
 along the line ; and no train is allowed to pass one of these stations, and to 
 move upon the line between it and the next station, until a notification has 
 been received from the next station that the preceding train has passed off 
 tJiat portion of line. 
 
" On portions of tlie line where the trains arc numerous, and tlic intervals 
 between them are necessarily very short, these stations have been placed at 
 little more than a mile apart; but, upon parts of the line where the number 
 of trains is more limited, the distance between the ordinary passenger sta- 
 tions has not been found too great an interval. 
 
 " Into the detailed arrangements my Lords purposely abstain from enter- 
 ing ; they would, however, add, that in order that the system should be 
 effectual, it is necessary that a telegraphic wire be exclusively reserved for 
 this service ; and that the instruments used should be simple, and should 
 exhibit the signals with sufficient clearness for the signalling to be carried 
 on by a person of ordinary intelligence. 
 
 " My Lords are aw^are that, from considerations of expense or otherwise, 
 this system has not been generally adopted ; yet, in parts where a single 
 line only has been laid, or where peculiar difficulties exist in the working, or 
 in tunnels, directors of railw^ay companies have resorted to it with the most 
 beneficial results. 
 
 " My Lords are, therefore, desirous that the subject should receive the 
 careful consideration of the directors of the different companies, in the hope 
 that that consideration may lead to the more general adoption of a plan 
 which experience seems to have proved to be so well calculated to diminish 
 the risk of danger. 
 
 " I have the honour to be. Sir, 
 
 " Your most obedient servant, 
 
 DOUGLAS GALTON, 
 " CajJtain Royal Engineers.''^ 
 
 Leading Article from " the Times^^ A ugust 16, 1854. 
 In another column will be found an official communication on a subject 
 which, at a period like the present, when all the world is upon the rail, must 
 needs command very general attention. It has appeared to the Railway 
 Department of the Board of Trade, that means have been at length discovered 
 of obtaining something like actual security from at least one description of 
 railway accidents ; and they have accordingly issued a circular manifesto, 
 inviting the careful consideration of those authorities with w^liom it rests 
 to bring the precautions referred to into general operation. The scheme 
 professes to secure nothing less than the prevention of all such accidents as 
 arise from the collision of trains following each other upon the same line, a 
 result which would be almost tantamount to the prevention of all collisions 
 whatever. "This class of accidents," observes the circular, "has been hitherto 
 very numerous as compared with other classes," a circumstance which there 
 can be no difficulty in understanding. In point of fact, it might be almost 
 laid down as a formula in such matters, that it takes two trains to make an 
 accident. If there where such things in England as lines traversed by one 
 train only in the day, we should hear of very few casualties under such 
 
ss 
 
 arrangements. Now and then, it is true, an engine gets off the line, or a 
 carriage breaks down, or an accident is in some other way manufactured 
 without the aid of any extraneous ingredient, but in the great majority of 
 cases it is a second train which does all the mischief. The first accident^ 
 whether occurring from breakage, or overloading, or insufficient locomotive 
 power, or bad weather, or defect in the permanent way, would amount in 
 many, perhaps in most instances, to little worse than the shock of a sudden 
 stoppage, when up comes train No. 2, runs headlong into the disabled No. 1, 
 and converts the stoppage into hideous and mortal disaster. If, therefore, it 
 could be rendered a matter of certainty that no train, whether disabled or 
 delayed, could ever be overtaken by a second one, a productive source of 
 railway accident would undoubtedly be removed, and this is what it is now 
 hoped to accomplish. 
 
 The method of proceeding, as usually happens in all such cases, is ex- 
 tremely simple. The result to be secured is, that no train shall enter upon 
 any given portion of a line until it is ascertained that such portion of a line 
 is free from obstruction. Lines are already divided into portions by the 
 successive passenger stations ; and if, therefore, it could be always communi- 
 cated from one station to another immediately above or below it that the 
 last on its passage had gone safely by, the object in view would be so far 
 obtained. But the means of such communication are already provided to 
 perfection by the electric telegraph, and here, therefore, is the problem 
 solved. Such, indeed, and no more, is the solution now before us. The 
 Railway Department of the Board of Trade, having heard that a certain 
 company— the South-Eastern— has actually brought such a system into 
 operation, recommends the adoption of the practice by other companies. 
 That is the sum total of the design. Railway directors are simply advised 
 to consider whether, inasmuch as they possess means of instantaneous com- 
 munication between any one point of their lines and any other point, an^ 
 such communication, fairly carried out, would prevent a numerous class 
 of accidents, it would not be advisable to turn the opportunity to account, 
 and diminish the risks of travelling accordingly. 
 
 The first thing that strikes us in this circular is the circumstance of its 
 being called for at all, or issued only in the year 1854. The most obvious 
 use of the electric telegraph, when first discovered, was in aid of these rail- 
 way exigencies, and yet, as is well known, railway companies for some time 
 repudiated this valuable instrument altogether. Both on the London and 
 Birmingham line and on the Great Western line the invention, after being- 
 actually brought into use, was deliberately discarded. Now, however, as it 
 is everywhere in practical operation, why should it not long since have been 
 turned to this the most natural as well as the most beneficial of all purposes 
 in preventing disaster, by the instantaneous distribution of information ? 
 The circular supplies us with an answer—" My Lords " represent themselves 
 as " aware that, from considerations of expense, or otherwise, this system 
 has not been generally adopted." But what is the expense, either in itself 
 
 D 
 
84 
 
 ijv as compared with the results obtainable ? It seems that where trains are 
 •very numerous, and the intervals between them unavoidably short, it may 
 become necessary to have special electric stations at intervals of little more 
 than a mile apai't, and the establishment of such a chain would, of course, be 
 attended with some outlay. Yet even here the very origin of the necessity 
 points to a compensating return, for, if the trains are so numerous as to 
 require all this precaution, the receipts must be in proportion, and extraordi- 
 nary traflfic would be set against extraordinary expense. On parts of the 
 line where the traffic is less continuous the ordinary passenger station would, 
 it is said, be close enough to each other for all the necessary purposes. All 
 that is required is, that there should be one telegraphic wire reserved for 
 these communications exclusively, and that all the arrangements of the 
 service should be simple. 
 
 Supposing this scheme were brought into general operation, and every 
 line divided by electric stations at longer or shorter intervals, no train would 
 be allowed to pass station A on its road to station B until it had been 
 distinctly notified by a communication from B to A that the train last started 
 had passed off that portion of the line, and left the space between A and B 
 undoubtedly clear. At present this kind of security is only very imperfectly 
 obtained. The common practice is to intimate by means of signals that the 
 road is or is not free for the passage of a train on the track of that imme- 
 diately before it. If the first train has passed the spot in question a certain 
 number of minutes before the second train comes up, the signalman notifies 
 that all is right, and train No. 2 proceeds on its journey. If No. 1 has been 
 delayed by any accident, then No. 2 is delayed also. This system, however, 
 is only good as far as it goes, and no further. What is wanted is the certifi- 
 cation that train No. 1 has passed clear away from the whole space between 
 the point where the signal safety is exhibited and the next point where a 
 like signal will be forthcoming; and no such assurance can, under the 
 present system, be obtained. All that can be certified is, that the first of 
 two trains has passed by that particular spot at its appointed hour, and 
 that it ought, consequently, to be out of reach of the second. But, if any 
 accident should happen to the machinery, or the speed of the engine should 
 be materially slackened, this consequence will not have followed, and the 
 train may be lying disabled within, perhaps, a mile of the spot which it 
 passed at its accustomed speed a quarter of an hour previously. Under the 
 new system this contingency would be escaped, for the safety signal, when 
 exhibited, would imply not merely that the train had passed that spot, but 
 that it had passed another spot at some distance where the like assurance 
 would be repeated. That these regulations may give some trouble is possible 
 enough, and, perhaps if they had never been put in practice, we should be 
 assured by railway authorities that they were utterly impracticable. 
 Fortunately, however, the experiment has been made, and we trust soon to 
 see the general adoption of a scheme promising such material advantages 
 to companies and travellers together. 
 
i 
 
 I 
 
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