The Sun.
London, England, 1862-08-25 00:00:00

EXPERIMENT WITH A TRACTION
ENGINE.

Au experiment of some interest, as illustrating the power
Of Dray'a trartion exteine for drawing ponderous loads, al-
most impracticable to horses, along our public thorough-
fares, took place on Friday night and Saturday morning. A
large wrought-iron girder, of the hog-back construction, 74
feet long, 5 feet 8 inches high in the centre, and weighing
20 tons, had to be removed from the works of Mr. H.
Grissell, Eagle-wharf-road, New N orth-road, to the hi anor-
road, Dulwich, where it is to form part of a bridge for the
London, Chatham, and Dover Railway.

The journey had to be performed between 10 p.m. and 6
a.m , the hours to which the use of traction engines is re-
stricted by the police regulations within the metropolitan
district. The first difficulty was how to get the huge, un-
wieldy mass out of the yard where it had been constructed.
Placed upon rollers, it had to be raised by means of jacks to
a height of six or seven feet from the ground. Two strong
trucks were put underneath it, the one in front being a large
four-wheel boiler truck, and the second, which bore the
weight behind, a very heavy " trolly" with two wheels.
These trucks together f ,rmed the carriage, the girde'• being
kept in its position by stout chains passing over it and under
the trucks. A wooden bolster was placed under the load
on the larger truck, with a swivel between the fore and
hind wheels, by the action of which facility was obtained
for turning corners with comparative ease. Naphtha lamps,
to light the workmen and give warning to all passers-by,
were fixed along the whole line of the girder ; and, thus
equipped. with the traction engine yoked in front, the mas•
sive load went apon its journey, multftudes turning out of
their houses and crowding the footways to witness the un-
usual apparition. Indeed, so great was the curiosity to see
it, and so deafening the shouting of the excited urchins
who came thronging round it, that it was occasionally
almost impossible for the workmen to understand the direc-
tions given to them, and no little nerve and coolness were
required to prevent confusion or accidents. At Pitfield-
street, Iloxton, an ugly corner presented itself, but good
management and address overcame all obstacles. Then all
went smoothly until the end of Noorgate•street was in
sight. Here the crossing lamps at the beginning of Prin-
cess-street, by the Bank, suddenly take away one-halt the
avail ;Lie width of the road. This impediment safely over•
come, the moving mass went on to London-bridge, which
was cr seed in capital style. At the foot of the bridge, by
Tooley-street, there is a sort of double declivity, the effect
of which was counteracted by keeping well to the right-
hand side in passing. St. Geoi ge's Church, Southwark,
was reached about midnight, end the real difficulties of the
route were then all surmounted. It was daylight when the
final des'ination (Dulwich) was attained. A great many
more of these girders are to be conveyed to the same place
by the same means. The ext t riment on Friday ight was
eminently successful. Loads quite as heavy have l cell
taken through the streets of 1 ondon before ; but we under-
stand that this was almost the first combining such length
(24 yards) with so great a weight (20 tons). It would
have required 25 horses to draw it by the ordinary method,
and the difficulty of getting such a number of animals
to pull all together, to say nothing of the obstruction
they would cause to the regular traffic, may be readily
imagined.

A letter from St. Petersburg of August 16 states
that Prince Alfred has paid a short visit to Moscow. After
visiting the Kremlin and other objects of interest, his royal
highness returned to St. Petersburg. As his royal high-
ness travelled incognito there was no official reception.
Prior to the Prince's excursion to the south, the Emperor
Alexander accompanied him in .visits to the fortress of
Cronstadt, the docks, and the naval hospital. When his
Majesty passed the English squadron, he was saluted by all
the vessels, and the Russian frigate Gromoboi returned the
salute, all the Russian vessels at the same time hoisting the
English flag. his Majesty went on board the English vessel ,
St. George. The Emperor and the Prince afterwards pro-
ceeded to the Menchikuff and Oranienbaun ports. The
Russian sailors give fetes daily to the crews of the English
vessels.
TRADE OF LONDON, A.D. 604.—The earliest men-
tion of Lon 'on at a commercial city occurs in the works of
Bede, who, in referring to events of the year A.D. 604, de-
scribes London, though at that perio I the capital of one of
ttlthtoeni ssounnt aotlthl :es t
banks kingdomsoftthe
eo of
England,obl e navigable e"
emporium for many nations repairing to it by laud and sea."
bryivietrs hTabpaptnyessi,tutia;
indeed, to be suppo ed that at an earlier period
there was any trade with the Thames. Althoughthe ,Jartinv
ginians sent ships to Cornwall for tin and hides, and al'
though there was a certain trade carried on with Britain by
the Veneti, of which we have no particulars, the trade OP'
pears to have been entirely passive on the part of the t
inhabitants of our island. Indeed, trade on their part Ns's°
impossible, for they had no ships. No early author men'
tions any kind of vessel belonging to the Britons other
than boats, of which the keel and principal timbers were.
made of light wood, and the bottom and sides of a kin a
basket-work of osiers, the whole being covered with hides*
--Qapper'l Pvrt and Trade of Lyndon,