The Sun.
London, England, 1853-01-18 00:00:00

[PRICE SD.

Oxford, and acknowledged there ; then passed on from
Islip to to the Oxford-road station, where it was again
telegraphed to Oxford, and Oxford having answered (From the New York Daily limes.)
A great experiment in navigation is now on the eve of
"All right," it then proceeded on until the disaster
trial. The caloric ship is undergoing the finaltook place which was the subject of inquiry. Thattrial. P prepara-
tions for her experimental trip, and will soon be before
morning's investigation, by the examination of the sta- the public for praise or censure. Our own port is des-
tion master at Bletchley, had further shown that there tined to reap the honour or suffer the repoach of its ulti-
was no unnecessary delay at Bletchley ; and if they re- mate success or failure. In a former article we alluded,h
ferred to the time-book which was given to the guard,
sintrficetnieornal JetriTiss,
vessel,
os9telr
itritntciepinvolved
h lepsublic int in
erest has been
.leeenri.
and which was now in evidence, they would find that
so largely drawn towards the enterprise, that a more
the coal-train was to leave Bletchley after the 2.40 complete description of the plan which it is now proposed
train from Bletchley. Perhaps, before dismissing that to prove, seems to be not only desirable but necessary.
point, ho ought to call their attention to the Wise men have long pondered the idea which Captain
fact of three engines having been dispatched with
needErics soofn
ni se
wwionroktionrgs
ioi ua ts i i)seautoi
iennet Iy
morean dm
ahopefully,nfest .
tv
th Thethe
a coal train much longer than usual, and suggest for
advance of time and commercial prosperity. Steam has
their consideration whether so stringent a rule as rule 18 gone into disrepute, and proves itself untrustworthy, un-
ought to have been infringed without written instructions, safe, and expensive. Electricity has been tried, and has not
and whether the explanation of Mr. JOhnson, the station- succeeded. Caloric was something never known in its best
t
master, that it is better for the advantage and safety of soefidisirectin a attention to an old agent of which Capt. Ericsson
new aPP lica-
the general traffic,
.while it is all carried over a single
Lions may produce the most remarkable results. The ,
line, that extra engines should be attached, and a greater experiment now making is no ephemeral fancy, but is the
number of waggons sent on by one train, than .for the work of a quarter of a century of mature reflection and
train to be divided into two, is a satisfactory explana- diligent inquiry. The ingenious projecter, under whose
tion, and whether that is a better course than the aolizitcoes
theit is cakrriaenddfoirtwawrdth hnasotdfeayirtielbuisghbewstlnetneorf-
separation of an inordinately long train into two. That 7
forecast, judgment, or ability. The public will assuredly
was probably a matter which they would discuss when accord to him their most hearty sympathy.
they were deliberating on their verdict. The great ques- The Ericsson, taking the name of her inventor, is a
tion for them to consider, however, was as to the starting first class vessel of the ordinary steam-ship pattern,
of the 5.30 train from Oxford ; and there he thought .
though combiningth ine
isher coendstbruction many valuable
improvements.
they should begin by inquiring seriously with whom that
clianrtesTtellaliss.city, among() whom is Mr. 111' re.eljloPhann company
B. eK
il nt
c hr--
starting rested. They had heard from A series of i
wit- ing. The builders of her hull were Messrs. Perrine,
nesses that the guard was the person to start all the-trains, Patterson, and -Stack;---of Williamsburg. Her engines
and that he should do it by his whistle. The book are the workmanship of Messrs. Hogg, and Delamater,
of instructions had been put in to show that ; and Capt. loefn:tibisicsitiio
feet,
registe register of the ship
with 26 feet 6 inc is 1,903 tons ; her
es depth in hold,
Wynne had very properly drawn attention to the fact
and 40 feet breadth of beam : her paddle wheels which
that the regulation ,only applied to road-side stations. are similar to those of the Collins steamers, differing only
Now, certainly, Oxford could not be called a road-side in being somewhat smaller, are 32 feet in diameter, with.
station. But it had been shown all through the inquiry buckets of 10 feet 6 in. le decks are abundantly pro-
that
the custom had been for the guard to start the train vided with life-boats, among which is one of Francis's
by his whistle; and although some of the witnesses—
celebrated " life-cars,', ready to be cast off from the da-
vits at a moment's notice. Thus far, dry details. We
Hayes and Gwynne in particular—said that they had now come to the first causes of difference which are to be
known a train to start by the words "All right," or a noticed as marking the contrast between this and the ordi-
waive of the hand, yet it must be recollected that the nary steamship. The peculiar conformation of the boilers
evidence of Capt. Bruyeres and 'Cinch himself was that has served to produce very essential modifications in the
exterior as well as the interior of the vessel which
the whistle only was used. He (the coroner) had ens we shall endeavour to describe as briefly as possible. To
deavoured to collect from the evidence that portion commence, then, with the upper deck. In place of the
which related to the company's servants, because his doe- solitary smoke-funnel commonly employed in the steam-
trine as a coroner had always been, that where machines ships to convey away the smoke and gases of the furnace,
the caloric ship presents four small tubes,gaily painted
were under human agency some human agent ought in
white
and gold, rising but five feet above the paddle-
to be resposible for any casualties that might occur.
wheels, and only 30 inches each in diameter. Two of
They would no doubt agree with him, that some these tubes, or chimneys, are intended for use, and two
fault was attributable to Smith, the foreman of the are for ornament and to preserve uniformity. The two
engines, for leaving the station at four o'clock on the 3d corner chimneys are attached to the cylinders of the
instant, without leaving some one in his place in charge engine, and the remaining two protect the hold from the
impure and heated air which would otherwise render a
of the trains, and to examine the persons wko had to
residence therein quite uncomfortable. By this arrange-
conduct them before they started from the station. The ment, also, and in consequence of the peculiar construe-
evidence on this point was confirmed by Mr. Blott, who Lion of the engines, the upper deck of the vessel is en-
said that he was not aware that there was any one to tirely clear. No impeding machinery serves to hinder free
discharge Smith's duty in his absence, and, indeed, that passage fore and aft. The four chimneys, each resting
he did not know that Smith was away at all. Smith also ff!oponead ntewatolyocfarzedetainrdonpaainntr
twooctoafgo
wnoaoldpedestael, are
stated that there was only one line for the traffic between the only noticeable alterations in the exterior of the
are
e
Islip and Oxford, and that fact would leave no doubt on ship, save the unusual clearness and roominess of the
on their minds that there was greater risk at that parts. deck, where the passenger may promenade pleasantly
cular point than on any other part of the line between when the weather shall permit him. But the chimneys
Bletchley and Oxford ; and also that there was a still aeareehnota.arloonfe
tllnesthei.r ventilating.ll properties. Besides
greater risk between Banbury-road and Oxford, in cense- bottom pair
the shiep,pirhersoulgsha whichw aexteeunrrdeing
of Bold
etoll(ci
quence of the other line being set apart for the ballast- air is carried down to the fire-room, rendering that
engines in the use of the contractors, who were effecting precarious place as cool and comfortable as the upper
repairs at the Wolvercott tunnel. Whether the precaution deck, and effectually preventing all danger of con-
now adopted, of using a pilot-engine, ought not to have fi,,agrealtsiT from over heating. The mouths of these
been adopted before, was a matter for their consideration ; thew carefullyroomaroeccupe: s coveredhardl e wniatlli
.and
and whether a further amount of communication with Through the open space thusy afforded, an hatchway.additional
the station, by signals or otherwise, ought not to have advantage is given for the working of the force pumps, '
been resorted to while there was this additional risk, or the pipes of which are carried up through its entire
whether the company or its servants had used additional
length,
convenient for the seamen to projecting upon the upperwork them to free the ship deck in a mannervery
means of caution or not during that time, were also mat- from water. The deck accordingly supplies three desi-
ters in the consideration of which the jury must be piled deists, viz. :-1, ventilation of the hold ; 2, safety from
in a great measure, by the following facts which appeared fire ; 3, a means of preventing danger from leakage, by
in evidence—namely, that from the station to the bridge, readiness of access to the pumps.
a distance of 300 yards, there was only one policeman ; The deesicent from the upper deck is accomplished,
bshed, not
that at the bridge the pointsman who was also the sig-
astsalinrcstaseas,nsbfoirPsw, bhiych imPr
ampleac i c
apacea bl e lai s earffs
0,
rbdue a
ly)y neat
the
nalman, liad the herculean task of attending to fourteen position of the engine-room. The peculiarities of con-
sets of points besides the bridge and auxiliary signals. struction of the vessel begin to appear in this region.
And although Captain Bruyeres had stated that they The compact form of the engine leaves a free space on
were only bridge signals for that part of the line only, it each side of the ship, from fore to aft, both above and
was evident, from what had occurred, that they were
below, thereby affording opportunities for easy transi-
tion between all parts of the vessel. The shaft which
necessary for the security of trains and their passengers turns the paddle-wheels is concealed between decks, and
when starting. from Oxford. Then, again, what otheroffers no such obstruction to the midship section of the
communication had they between the engine-house, the vessel as is generally to be found, even in the first-class
auxiliary signal, and Wolvercott tunnel ? None. A steara
nersa.dTtlliee saloons are located aft of title
engine,
line of two miles was left without any signal, with- theo
being obtained by Means of substantialwea sayndasepeaescLus
out any policeman ; and except the platelayers, who stairways. The appointments of the saloons, state rooms,
left work at dark, there was not the least protection to and other parts of the vessel intended for the accommo-
the public. It was for them to consider, not only dation of passengers, are very perfect, and expense has
whether they would allow that inquest to pass over not been spared to render the Ericsson without a supe-
with a mere expression of opinion, but whether they rior
4hine lead
theserespects.
eelia
rities of the caloric ship, it is well
should not suggest that the legislature ought to inter- known, consist in the application of heated' air to the
fere, by the enactment of pains and penalties, in propulsion of vessels. The radical alteration which is
order to prevent the recurrence of such disasters, accomplished by this plan in the construction of the en-
arising from the want of precaution, and to secure better gine renders a description of the machinery unaccompa-
niedby diagrams a matter of some difficulty. The engine
protection to the public in future. The coroner then
went on to consider the important question by whom the consiststion
bu
but not
twolaitralf
eb
si cylinders,de Each connectedpr
is
sn theircomposed
e saecd-
5.30 passenger train was started, and read over the evi- of two cylinders, of which the the lower one is muc the
dente of the various witnesses who deposed as to that larger. The upper is termed "the supply cylinder," the
point. He then proceeded to observe that if the jury lower " the working cylinder." The diameter of the
should be of opinion that the driver was the person to working or lower cylinder is 168 inches ; of the upper,
blame, the culpability, although he was dead, would still
sur ipriilseinheel eitcrh.e. Theeir,o btoiren, it :will be
drermarked, is
attach to him in law. The explanation which had been in the cegntyre aofgthe vessiasl.
" Theetmagnitude of the lower
given them of the cause of the accident by the witnesses cylinder of each pair, it will be noticed, is enormous,
whose position best qualified them to judge was this : though, from the compact form of the remaining por-
The coal train had not arrived—the passenger train was tions ofthemajihinery, the bulk of the entire mass is not
waiting to depart. A ballast engine, with a white light, se great
The operationasin
n commonoe
fth e enginess is remarkably
n-shiP*
which might have been mistaken at a distance for green, fire is kindled in the furnaces attached to simple.the A
lower
came in on the same line, and went up to the ticket plat- cylinders, the flames being removed to a distance of
form, in the same manner to all appearance as the coal about five feet from the bottom of the cylinder, so
train would have done. It went on to the bridge, and then that no actual contact can take place. The appli-
went back again, as the engine of the coal train might have ocrtohne oafir haelart
ready
tt? increase the temperature
done if it had been unhooked. In conclusion, the learned The air thus eiaezternseaeiknseda inventht e
which ?r . cylinder.
gentleman said that it was the duty of the jury to divest found in a series of valves properly arrangedfolrs
ther Peadurily.
their minds of all that they had heard on this question, pose. The cylinders being each provided with a piston
excepting what had been sworn to in that room. They fitting closely within it, but so contrived that the pistons
must not let even the sad appearance of their fellow- of both
bcylinders operate simultaneously, the vacuum
rneczte thehescape of the air from the working cy-
creatures, who had been hurried to so unfortunate and er causes t e descent of the lower piston, which, of
so untimely an end, have any effect in swaying their de- necessity, draws down with it the piston of the supply
cision. Their only duty on behalf of the Crown was to
incylinder,and the work of the engine is fairly commenced
express that opinion which the evidence adduced wouldthis wise. :—A series of valves, each of which is two
warrant as to the cause of this melancholy and fatal acci- feet •
nd in diameter, is placed in the top of each supply cy-
dent, and if they considered that one or more of the ser- lier., and these valves instantly open at the descent of
vants of the company had been guilty of such negligence the
d pistons ; a current of cold air rushes in, which passes
as would make him or them liable to punishment, in a
it is
following the piston of the upper cylinder, until
court of justice, they must declare that to be their de- •
i a stopped by the regenerator—a contrivance upon
cision, without favour or affection, and without prejudice
or malice. With regard to the starting of the train, if The
which depends the successful operation of the machinery.
air,
cold
entered this regenerator, is converted
any one of the officers in charge of it had started it with- from
a into a warm current by the operation of the
out orders, or if any one who ought to give the order simplest philosophical: laws. The construucton of the
had done so before proper caution had been taken, his
conduct would come within the legal definition of man- invention
"regeneratorot this h i s
isremataroalesfiemaptlereaonid
the engine
i The
en-
slaughter. It would be for the jury to say whether they tirely due to the genius of Captaini Ericssonen''Heefosund
considered any one or more of the confidential servants by a series of careful experiments on the.
properties of
of tne company had been guilty of that offence, and the caloric, that the affinity of metals for heat was marked
party or parties might be sent to another tribunal to take by peculiar circumstances • that the absorption and ra-
their trial. It would be for them to say whether diation of heat from metallic surfaces are nearly instan-
there had been a general negligence throughout the taneous, and that the expansive force of air when its
whole
whole of this sad tragedy—whether, in fact, what volume 'is doubled by the
application of heat was at
should have been one man's business had been re- least equalthe
to power of steam. To effect the prac-
garded as everybody's business—and whether the tical application of this principle was the thing to be
precautions provided by the company were inefficient for accomplished. Captain Ericsson found
that his expe-
the safety of the public. It might, under all the circum- riments warranted a belief in the practicability of a new
stances, be their duty to inquire whether any suggestions improvement in the constructionof marine and loco-
might not be offered by which the company might adopt motive engines, and he set himself to establish the truth
additional means of security for railway passengers ; be- or falsity of the idea which had been so happily su -
cause the importance of their decision could not be over- gested to his mind. Hence the construction
yli g
of t e so-
rated, inasmuch as it might be made—and he believed it called "Caloric Ship."
would be made—the basis for future legislation. But it is time to follow the action of the regenerator,
The jury then retired, and after an absence of several and its effect upon the en • gine and the currents of air,
hours, returned the following verdict : The apparatus known as the regenerator is little
" That the deceased persons came to their death from than a series of fine wire netti
gof iron,placed more
netting,
a collision that occurred between a passenger-train and side, to the thickness of 12
t2O side by
.inches. As the air
a coal-train, on the Bucks branch of the London and passes through this h
g mass of metallic surfaces, penet •
North-Western Railway. through the minute cells formed in the in • t . rating
erstices of the
"That the collision took place in consequence of the wires, it imbibes a greater
volume of caloric, which in-
passenger-train being started without orders from the creases in temperature as th
station-master ; and they find a verdict of manslaughter to the fire beneath. The
the current a
e pproaches nearer
against Kinch, the guard of the said passenger-train, on the air in 'this
passage tmaximum of heat absoed by
whom the responsibility of starting the train devolved ; degrees. The minimum hrough the regenerators 450
and they think the engine-driver worthy of blame for below is 30 degrees,makingnecessary to be applied from
proceeding at a much faster rate than is usual at first at which •
point the volume of air •11. degrees,
leaving the station. 'A Reich has entered the
engine is exactly doubled
, and ." It appears from the evidence that, in consequence sets in motion the by its expansive of repairs now going on at the Wolvercott tunnel, the d •
during a revolution of 'the shaft by machinery, pro-
whole of the traffic between Oxford and Islip • is now car- wheels are revolved, ) which the ddl -
pa e
ried on upon a single line, and
,the jury beg to express The and the vessel* their opinion that in all such eases a pilot engine should transpiremanner in which these .is put in motion.
be employed in order to lessen the probability of
a colli- the re..
is quite remarkable. As various performances
the air passing through
sion.regenerator has performed •
"They consider also that a policeman or signalman revolution of the crank—
wb. its work in causing the
should be stationed between the swing-bridge Wol-andthe working cylinde • which rests upon the piston of
cott tunnel, as that part of the line appears to be at apparatus by the upward
cylinder—it is made to re-enter the
sent quite unprotected, and as it includes a level r pre-
piston.
As it aspressure of the now ascending
"It appears also that part of the line e • *
ossing reverse order, •t_ . ses through the regenerator, in exact
on which the fore acquired I loses the volume of heat which it had be-
accident occurred is the Oxford and Rugby and
lure • th., • , a itbecomes cooler as it approaches then
is very difficult to distinguish on which
train is travelling, until it is close at lan approaching that the regenerator
surfaces—think that some distinctive mark o l
liand ; and they one, or the u rator presents two different
directly
the respective companies, so thats theiru! be adopted by opposed t e upper, is the cooler, because Toestc
linders
engines should f o the current of cool air entering h
ybelow,
be immediately recognised, both by day rom above • the other warmed by the furnaces .
the jury beg especially to call the . and night. And • , ,
contrary action
attention of the railway preserving a warm exterior ; and by this
or
directors and the legislature to theparamount way 1 the current of air which is alternately drawn through.o,,
i p rtane , "
of some means of communication b• I"
--- iex petted from 't d oes essential modifications t
tween the guard and the engine-drivingein established be- ' temperature. 'A! veryun erg
smallper tentage of. the
.whole
sma d is permitted
lo The Coroner immediatelyPornof t h ric air thus ei.np
1 me o a mosp e . .
iple evolves no use-
into ordered Kinch to be mc
ic pr
custody. taken i gto waste. The calor
1 of fuel re uired
1 less expenditure of material. The sup y q

ERICSSON'S CALORIC SHIP,