The Sun.
London, England, 1848-12-11 00:00:00

I . DECEMBER 11, IFUR
[PRICE SD.

IRELAND.

THE LATE CATASTROPHE ON BOARD THE

LONDONDERRY STEAMER.
The Banner of Ulster contains the following details,
communicated by a Londonderry correspondent:—
" DERRY, DEC. 6.—A1l now is unravelled, and with
every one the feeling is, that there was the very grossest
neglect, on the part of the commander and crew, regard-
ing the unfortunate dead. The destruction of human
life was so great, that the mind can hardly believe it a
reality; yet this morning about one-half of the bodies
were still uncoffined and uninterred. It is thought that
by to-morrow morning all will be enclosed inside the
burying-ground of our workhouse. As cart after cart
moved on to the workhouse, yesterday, some containing
four, five, and six coffins, the wailing and the cries of the
surviving relatives were most heartrendingi; and, no
wonder, as the coffins of wife or husband, of brothers,
sisters, and children, with whom they hoped to spend in
a foreign land many happy days, hurried so barbarously
to a premature pauper's grave, unwaked, and almost un-
known of to their acquaintances of early life.
" I regret that the coroner's jury did not call the at-
tention of the Government to the shocking manner in
which steerage passengers are provided for and treated
on board our steamers plying between Ireland and Bri-
tain. It is surely as much, if not more so, the duty of
our legislators to interfere with steam-packet companies
as with railway companies; and, when they caused the
waggons for the transit of fourth-class passengers to be
covered over for land travelling, how much more neces.
nary is it for those travelling by water, exposed to the
roughest sea, the coldest wind, and the pitiless rain, to
have a covering to shelter them, which their wretched
clothing is insufficient tor,doing. And I do hope the press
of this country, ever forward in promoting acts of, phi-
lanthropy and benevolence, will not rest satisfied until
they see some desirable reform, brought about for the
safety and comfort of the poorer classes, so many of
whom travel daily by our steamers from one port to
another. With such an awful lesson before them as
seventy-two human beings sacrificed for want of such
accommodation as I suggest, is enough to arouse not
only the whole press of the United Kingdom, but every
Member of the Legislature, to devise and bring about a
speedy remedy."
The Londonderry Standard of Friday contains the
following statement in reference to the number of per-
sons on board the steamer, compiled from the ship's
papers, and the records of the inquest:—

NUMBER OF SOULS ON BOARD.
Steerage passengers...
Cabin ditto ...
Captain and crew ... ... 26-203
Of these died on board (all steerage passengers)—
Men ••• ... 23
Women 30
Children 17— 72
Remaining to be accounted for ... 131
Steerage passengers surviving
Cabin ditto ditto
Captain and crew

... 174

26-131

CATTLE ON BOARD.

'Black cattle .. 44 died 13
Sheep ••• ••• ••• ••• 62 died 25
Pigs ••• 26 died 1
LIST OF PERSONS DEAD, AND WHOSE BODIES HAVE
BEEN RECOGNISED:--Biddy Tearsny, Owney Scanlon,
John M'Laughlin, Anthony Martin, Mary M'Laughlin,
Pat. Clancy, Pat. Milmo ; Ellen M'Anulty, Anne
M'Anulty, Michael M'Anulty, Nancy M'Anulty, Cathe-
rine M'Anulty, Biddy M'Anulty (one family); John
Tearnon, Teady Armstrong and son, John M'Gowan,
Mary Talland, Anne Cullan, John Connaughton, Mary
Kane, Margaret Connaughton, Catherine M'Gowan,
Michael M'Gowan, Hannah Brown, Catherine Gilgan,
Pat. Glin, Pat. Neallon, Bridget Bailly, James Cathey,
Pat. Clark, Catherine Reilly, Brien Flyn, Thomas Ton-
ner, Anne Cullen, Michael Egan, George Stevenson,
Owney Haugbney, Mary Rowen, Anne Rowen, James
M'Cormick, Bridget Bourke, Mary M'Donagh, Mary
Cain, James M'Griskin, Brien Melvin, Thady Tearsny,
Owen Scanlan, Dominick Carty and son—in all 50, leav-
ing 22 bodies yet to be identified.
We understand that a total sum of 124/. 15s. 81d. was
found by the constabulary on the bodies of the deceased
individuals, and on examining the floor, after their re-
moval from the scene of death, a further sum of about
101. was discovered. It is scarcely necessary to add, that
all this money will be accounted for.
LIST OF PASSENGERS SAVED.—We have made every
effort in our power to obtain the names of the passengers
who were saved on this occasion; but in consequence of
a number of them having left Derry immediately after
the termination of the inquest, we have not been able to
complete the list. The following are all the names that
could be procured:—

Winney- Carthy, Catherine Dwyer, Bridget Nimmo,
Margaret M'Gowan, Margaret Blundon, Mary Mourne,
Bridget Wynne, James Wynn, Jane Dwyer, Betsey
Dwyer, Sabine Carron, Bridget Melvin, Nancy Melvin,
Mary Melvin, Mary Manley, Catherine Quinan, Bridget
Merrick, Anthony Merrick, Bridget M•Donald, Maria
M'Donald, John WDonald, Catherine Molloy, Nancy
Feeney, J. Martin, Michael Martin, Patrick Martin,
Mary Martin, Bridget Martin, Patrick Blundon, Anne
Gannon, Bryan Heiver, Bridget M'Dermott, Edmund
M'Dermott, Bridget Crafton, Margaret Bank, Patrick
111orron, Betsey Hogan, James Dwyer, Bridget Brennan,
sen.; Bridget Brennan, jun. ; Anne Brennan Michael
Brennan, Dominick O'Connor, Bridget Feeney, Ca-
therine Gallagher, Mary M`Gettens, Betsey M‘Fad-
den, Owen Kane, Mary Kane, Mary Walsh, Patrick
Walsh, James Coyne; Bridget Connaughton, Michael
M'Laughlin, John M'Andrew, Thomas Colman, Jerry
M'Anulty, Mary M'Anulty, John Allen, Eliza
M'Gowan, Patrick Golden, James Quinan, Thos. Jinks,
jun.; James Colgan, Miles Gibbons, Philip Gannon,
Edward M'Dermott, Peter Walsh, Patrick Tynan, John
Logan, Mark Milmore, Patrick M'Niff, John Martin,
James Nellin, Patrick Blunt, Charles Scullion, and Mat-
' thew Molloy.
The Londonderry Standard adds—
" The superintendence of the funeral arrangements was
principally undertaken by the Mayor and Sir R. Fergu-
son, but in this department also the constabulary had
heavy labours, while Mr. Lyon, the company's agent, not
only defrayed all the expenses, but sent twelve of his
own men to assist in digging a suitable grave. Ground
for this purpose was obtained in the burial-place at-
tached to the workhouse, where the coffins were depo-
sited in rows of two in depth, and all the solemnities be-
longing to the melancholy occasion were duly performed
with the utmost decency and order. Clergymen belong-
ing to the different denominations were in attendance.
All the luggage and property of every description, be-
longing to the deceased passengers, has been landed from
the steamer, and is now in process of being handed over
to the friends of the parties, on its being properly iden-
tified. Everything not disposed of now will remain in
the charge of the constabulary until it is regularly
claimed, and as the men belonging to this force have had
an immensity of extra fatigue, the authorities ought to.
provide some means for their proportionate remunera-
tion."

COMBINED VAPOUR ENGINE.
On Friday we bad an opportunity of examining an
engine on this principle invented by M. Du Tremblay, at
the yard of Messrs. Home, theengineers of Higl!•street,
Whitechapel, in full work. The engine was originally
brought out in Paris, in 1846; subsequently the French
Government had an engine on the principle of the inven-
tor, with some trifling modifications, constructed, and
appointed commissioners, with M. La Fonte, an officer of
marines, at their head, to experimentalise as to its value.
This commission made a report in July last, in which
they stated that the power of the steam-engine was more
than doubled by the addition of M. Du Tremblay 's appa-
ratus, without any additional fuel being required; and
that, consequently, the space occupied by the combined
apparatus was below that of a steam-engine by reason of
the diminution in the boiler and the number of furnaces
required. According to a description of the inven-
tion with which we were favoured by Mr. Horne, it
appears that it is applied " either to a single eni,ine
with two cylinders and pistons, or, as is usual for
maritime purposes, two distinct engines with a cylinder
ec o
and piston each." To the engine exhibited a small pipe
is attached from a boiler, by which one of the pistons is
acted
theas in the
it
ordisinranrcyeivsetedaimn-eanngairine:
whichih uponit
so aby t
sp steam,on
Upon the escape of the steam from the first cylinder in
tight case, termed a vapouriser, in which there are a
number of small copper tubes filled with perchloride, or
chloroform. Upon the steam coming into contact with
the tubes, the perchloride becomes vapourised, and works
the other cylinder, while the steam is condensed and re-
turns into the boiler, as warm water, to regenerate fresh
steam, or motive power. In the mean time, the per-
chloride, after exerting its force upon the second
cylinder, is, in its turn, condensed, and, by means of
a force pump, returned to the,vapooriser, which it thus
kept regularly supplied, the perchloride being alter-
nately vapourised and condensed. In addition to the
advantage of giving greater power to engines than by
the ordinary steam process, the vapour being nearly as
1k to .1. more powerful than steam, it is stated that a
saving of nearly 50 per cent. is effected in fuel—a kreat
desideratum, irrespective of the saving in cost, to:steam-
vessels going on long voyages, where it is desirable to
have the fuel in as small bulk as possible. M. Du
Tremblay originally used ether as his vapourising
agent, but, at the suggestion of M. Arago, the eminent
French astronomer, he has substituted perchloride,
which, although it did not vapourise at quite so low a
temperature as ether, has the advantage of being per-
fectly incombustible and inexplodable, thus removing
an objection which was made to the invention as origi-
nally brought out of the inflammable nature of the liquid
used. We are informed by Air. Du Tremblay that an
engine of similar construction to that exhibited on Fri-
day (which is about 10 or 12-horse power) or 35-
horse power, has been constantly at work for 14 hours
a day at a glass manufactory in Lyons for more than 12
months, during which time the liquid used has been
ether, without any accident or disarrangement of the
machinery having occurred. The inventor having se-
cured the right to the sole use of the invention in the
United Kingdom, we understand that a company is
about to be formed to bring it before the public, one
with a similar object having been already formed in
France.

LIGHT RAILWAY PASSENGER
ENGINES.
THE " FAIRFIELD."

On Friday the first long trip was made with a class of
locomotive which, in connexion with a carriage attached
and fixed to the same frame, is considered by some
practical men to be the one thing necessary for an eco-
nomical mode of working much of the branch traffic of
the country—a species of railway trade that has, per se,
sadly disappointed the anticipations of the majority of
railway directors. The engine, or rather the engine-car-
riage in question, is the " Fairfield," described by us
some ten days or a fortnight since, and has,
as we then stated, been constructed by Mr.
Adams, of the Fairfield works, near Bow, for
the Bristol and Exeter Company, who purpose work-
ing with it the traffic of their Tiverton Branch.
The engiiie itself weighs about five tons, and is
attached to the carriage both transversely and longi-
tudinally by bolts, so that the two run together upon one
frame. The engine has a 4 feet 6-inch driving-wheel,
an 8-inch cylinder, and a 12-inch stroke. She has an
upright boiler, her heating surface, including 25 feet of
fire-box, is 235 feet, and she keeps steam very,well at
1001bs. pressure. The entire length of the engine and,
carriage is, we believe, 40 or 41 feet, and the distance
between her leading (viz., her driving) wheels and the.
trailing-wheels, 28 feet. The centre and trailing-
wheels run loose on their axles, which also run
loose on their journals. The carriage is a composite
one, with a first compartment affording accommodation
for 16, and a second-class compartment for holding 32
persons.
The tender, as we explained in our previous notice,
is in front of the driving-wheels, and holds about 220
gallons. The coke is carried in a box attached to the
front of the carriage.
The
_trip made on Friday was from Paddington to
Swindon and back. The number of guests was 18, but
the second-class compartment was weighted so as to
make the load taken equal to the full complement of
passengers. Among those who made the trip were—
Mr. Mac Gregor, the chairman, and Mr. Swale, one of
the directors of the South-Eastern Company; Mr. Bruce
the chairman of the East Anglian Company; Mr. Farey,
C.E., Mr. Roney, the secretary of the Eastern Counties
Railway; Mr. D. Gooch, the locomotive superintendent
of the Great Western Railway; Mr. Samuel, the resi-
dent engineer of the Eastern Counties; Mr. Adams, the
patentee; Mr. A. Sturrock, the superintendent of the
Swindon locomotive works of the Great Western
line; Mr. lijorth, the inventor of the electro-
magnetic engine; Mr. Reynolds, who carried out
the whole of the details for the construction of the en-
gine; and several other gentlemen.;
The weather was extremely unfavourable, a stiff side
wind prevailing all the way down to Swindon. In addi-
tion to this, the " little passenger engine" laboured un-
der the disadvantage of a leak at the mouthpiece of the
boiler. As the leak was inwards, it tended slightly to
damp the fire. A drizzling rain fell almost throughout
the trip, but as the driving-wheels have four or five tons
upon them, there was very little chance of their
" slipping."
In the journey down, the driver, Alexander Hind-
marsh, a picked man from the Eastern Counties, and
who worked the engine admirably, was obliged to slacken
his speed over several of the girder bridges, as there
was some doubt whether the tank and framing, which
are not more than nine inches from the rails, would
clear the timbers. lie was obliged to slacken for
several miles, by a goods train being ahead. This
slackening afforded abundant opportunity of testing the
starting and stopping capacity of the engine; and, as
will be very naturally supposed, the "little" engine be-
haved remarkably well under the test. She " brought
up " in 150 or 200 yards from 30 or 35 to 6 or 8 miles
per hour, and got into her speed again within a quarter
of a mile.

The maximum speed going down was 38'3 miles per
hour, up a gradient of 4 feet per mile. The consump-
tion of coke, with the heavy wind and all the drawbacks
invariably attendant upon the working of a new engine,
was, we understand, 141bs. per mile.
At Swindon the fire was "drawn," and the leak in the
mouth-piece of the boiler greatly lessened.
The speed from Swindon to Paddington was very
good. The greater portion of the trip was run at an
average speed of upwards of 43 miles per hour, and the
maximum velocity down four feet per mile was 49'3
miles per hour. The distance from Slough to the ticket
platform at Paddington, about 17i miles, was rue within
30 minutes, including the time lost in slackening for up •
wards of a mile in approaching the platform. Mr. Gooch
rode upon the engine throughout the down and up trips.
We understand that the consumption of coke in the
up journey was from 111 b. to 121 b. per mile. Mr.
Samuel, the resident engineer of the Eastern Counties
Railway, under whose direction the. 22 cwt. " Express"
used upon that railway by him for inspecting the per-
manent way was built, and who has given much atten-
tion to the question of light engines, is of opinion that
he will be able to work the " Fairfield" at 71b. of coke
per mile. We think he underrates the •quantity that
will be consumed.

In stating the average maximum velocities maintained
and reached by the passenger engine on Friday, it is ne-
cessary to state that she has not been constructed for
high speeds. The Tiverton branch, for which she has
been built, has very heavy gradients; as heavy, if our
memory does not deceive us, as 1 in 87, and it is with a
view to the working over such gradients that the dia-
meter of the driving-wheel has been limited to 4 feet 6
inches. A similar description of engine-carriage, but
with the common horizontal boiler and a five feet driv-
ing-wheel, is in the course of construction for the
Eastern Counties Company. We have little doubt that
from 56 to 60 miles per hour will be reached by the latter
engine.
The singular feature in the construction of these light
engines is, that we are returning nearly to the very
weight of the late George Stephenson's "old Rocket,"
which carried off the prize on the memorable trial
of locomotive speed upon the Liverpool and Manches-
ter Railway, in October, 1829. The "Rocket" was,
road-worthy, 4 tons 5 cwt. With her tender, 3 tons 4
cwt., including coke and water, she took two loaded car-
riages, weighing 9 tons 10 cwt., or a gross load of 17
tons, at a maximum velocity of 29 miles per hour. That
experiment was upon a level run of two miles. We here
see that with an engine and tender weighing together,
in working order, 7 tons 9 cwt., a speed of 29 miles per
hour was reached with a gross load of 17 tons. The
precise maximum speed was 29 1.9, and the pressure in
the boiler is stated to have been 50 lbs. only. The
" Fairfield" engine—tender, water, and coke—weighing
5 tons, will, with a gross load of 13 tons, reach a velo-
city, we believe, of nearly 50 miles. per hour; and we
have no doubt tbat the engine-carriage now being con
structed for the Eastern Counties Company will, with
its tender, coke, and water, weighing 6 or 61 tons, take
a gross load of 17 tons at 45 miles per hour. Such are
the locomotive improvements over a period of twenty
years. We believe the improvements in steam power, as
applied to navigation, have been greater, and that during
the last ten years we have reduced the dead weight of
steam-vessels one-third, and increased the relative power
of the engine sixfold.

The question involved in tho construction and work-