Moreton railway, for carrying coal and agricultural produce. It was completed in 1821; was 181 miles, in length including branches, and was also worked by horses.

Another individual who, about this period, displayed much prescience in the railway system, was Mr. Thomas Gray of Leeds, who, from a work he published in 1820, entitled "A General Iron Railway," has been considered the projector and founder of the present iron railway system. It has been stated that Mr. Gray, like many other projectors, has reaped no advantage from his useful suggestions, which is more to be regretted, when so much wealth has been acquired by railway schemes. No one, a few years ago, or in 1820, could have forseen the giant strides which the system of railway transit, in so short a period, could have made; and the spirit and enterprise which have been displayed in carrying out their construction are beyond human calculation. All this success has, however, sprung from one single circumstance the invention of an efficient impelling force; for without a powerful prime mover, of how little utility the ferreous system for passenger traffic would really have been, is at once ascertained by contrasting the railways at that time in use with those at the present.

Not thirty years back, large sums were expended in the construction of railroads for horse traffic, on which passengers considered it a boon, from the cheapness of the fares, to be drawn in carriages, by one horse, at the rate of 8 or 10 miles an hour. So late as 1826, a railway Act was passed for constructing a cast-iron edge railway, worked by horse power, between Edinburgh and Dalkeith, with branches to the coal-works, which was opened for traffic in 1831, and it is still worked in the same manner. This railway is indeed about to be remodelled and extended, for locomotive transit; for at present, from the lightness of the rails originally laid down (which were fish-bellied, about 281b. per yard, on stone blocks and chairs), and from the short radii of several of the curves (600 feet, or less than one eighth of a mile), this railroad is unfit for locomotive engines. Its alterations will, however, be attended with much expense, and may even be imperfect when completed. It would be more advantageous perhaps to leave it as it is, for

*

* On railways, the lengths are described in miles, chains, yards, and feet. One mile contains 5280 feet, 1760 yards, or 80 chains. A chain is subdivided into 100 links; and the fractional part of a chain is expressed decimally, as 10.5, which is 10 chains, a little more than one eighth part of a mile; 10.75, which is 103 chains, &c.

coal traffic, and construct a more direct line of railway.

Other railways at the same period were constructed for horse power, some of which have already been altered to suit locomotive engines. So late as 1831, an act was obtained for constructing the Whitby and Pickering railway for horse traffic*: several small railways are still worked with horses. It has indeed been well remarked, that excepting on account of humanity, little comparative advantage, so far as passengers are concerned, could be gained by the use of railways worked with horse power, over the old mode of travelling by stage coaches, and even this is doubtful.

RIGIDITY OF MALLEABLE IRON RAILS.

It would be tedious to describe the multiplicity of forms which have been proposed of late years for iron rails: one indeed might be puzzled, amongst the variety, to determine their relative merits, and

* On this railway, the average speed at which the carriages are drawn, is 11 miles an hour; and at this speed, one horse will draw a carriage weighing 3 tons, and about 30 passengers; in all, 5 tons.

to fix on that which is best. It is important, however, for understanding properly the construcof railways, to have a clear conception of the different methods which have been adopted in laying down the rails on different railways.

After the formation of the road, and when the banks have become consolidated, the great principle to be kept in view, where steam is the motive power, is the application of malleable iron rails, in such a manner that they shall have sufficient stability for heavy carriages to run upon them with velocity and safety.

For a long time after the introduction of

was continued, and is still the method adopted in the great majority of the railways in this country. The iron rail being obviously liable, between these supports, to be depressed or deflected, when heavy loads passed over it, and, if it possessed much elasticity, to become dangerous, as acting like a spring, it therefore became an important point to give it such a form, and such strength,

that the undulations it might be subjected to, would not communicate a shock and disturbance of the joints, and add to the amount of friction. A great deal has been written on this important subject; although it might have seemed an easier thing to adopt another plan entirely, where the deflection of the rail would be merely nominal, than to endeavour to correct a plan, in the principle of which there was an inherent defect.

The form of rail, it has been shown, which was long in general use, and preferred, was the elliptical, which, from the upper edge being level, and the under part swelled out, was supposed to possess greater strength. Of this shape were the malleable iron rails first laid down on the Liverpool and Manchester railway, weighing only 35 lb. per yard. Fig. 15. is the elevation of this rail and

Fig. 15.

Fig. 17.

I

chair.

Fig. 16. is the section at the middle

Fig. 16. of the rail.

Fig. 17. is a section through the rail and chair. These rails were, however, soon ascertained to be too light; and heavier ones, of the same shape, were adopted.