The Sun.
London, England, 1846-12-16 00:00:00

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7sl
614

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1 '-“4 To scF.,A ux R AILWAY. / trical point of view. In effect, in order that the two
?t; e.
teaec , aa"wing interestirer account of this railvvey is j axles of the coach which precedes, and the first axle of
e,l "coal the Essex Herald : the coach which fellows, may converge towards the
1"-ii•_te estehli.shment and opening of the railway between centre of the circle formed by their three main bol.e, it
ae, and Steaux has excited considerable interest, net is necessary that the radius of the.. small crown fixed to
.3 arnoe
:11 eiods,
714 e Parisians but among scientific men of the beam should be to the radii of the crowns of tre
;le, as ro 6 f it
a ''cularcy engineers, or establishes 1 axles.as the length of the tiniest* is to the total length of
as, Ystem, that of moving a railway train es eliant ' this Omen and the beam which conducts it.
in sese
eee.x.
~
,- ..p etu.,-.-, Will the chains which coenees the aelas together be
s the projector of which is M. Ar
;are aft sense, em.e,,ini,t j,,.
~,,,.at
„xpr,ric,ne.,_ To tie 1 frequently suatject to be br.oleeit ? In re ea, to this ones-
lai''S" a Lles eeps,
~ ,
.2
~,, r",..., , ...,1 i, „. ~, ;,,,,„..
~ I tion, it is stated th.v. •t is e-asy to see ih,v, t,le str,o,
it
Iviiae,:,,,;lint ~i, i s de,
ei ,
.i,
e:,•,. is
~übali,;,. ~ ov ~,,. e_,,, i upon teem is very trifleig, being limited to turning. tie
Atleiti4el,l•.);el,bhrerriirsotiu‘ seen that
tthheant tacticalrpctina
r:p)nriojes(.,:ss.,, f its success 11,,,ve ii,,t crowns, the draught of the train bsing wholly confined
to the timon and the b am. At one of the experiments
in the year 1838, presented to the French at St. Mau..-4 a chain separated, after which they made
The den, molds and specimens of his new system. an entire circuit before giving. notice to the persons who
is sit iirSt exp- riruents were tried et St. Mea 6 wl'ia'' conducted the train to stop its prigs ss. This ?irctm-
of direct'. rI I
vance proves that if the whole of the means . .
wee,selleazt.dereftefr. yinoetmes, abent lour pill, from Paris •
as pre, as being successful, a pria et fora law be necessary,. they can, without. serious inconvenience.
Peth sentett to the Chamber of I h-puties (in Erenis' be dispensed wish upon an intermediate pint of the
Jueselentary languiese, a Bill was introduced),. 29th of train. The binding of all the parts of the system keeps
ear; 1844,the axle, which may be without a guide, in the regular
to establis-h an experimental railway on the
route.
do ortsena between Paris and Sceaux. The examine-
teajee tue vs: ions details, and the discussion on iho As to the essential pint—that of overcoming the !e-
-ars: ty occupied
pay et be el the Chamber at least a month, and the sistances. When once the train is started, and during,
it eame a law sth of Augest, 1844. The rail- the whole time of its motion, are there,. in. the proposed
a 9 0 ee
Stew, p a,d to the public in June, 1846. system, causes which might definitely increase their
toilet 'lO4 is about 61- English miles from, and lies due mean value? If the resistances are diminished in the
the B°•'. Paris ; the terminus of the railway is close to curves, are they increased in the straight parts, which
the ot,arr:4 'e d'Enfer, on the south side of Paris, near will always be longest ?
„,,ti ,tservatory
Palace of , , and. going. direct from the Louvre, the It is in regard to the friction of the axles that there
see be an uncertainty.
'sr ero the Luxembourg is on the route, and not v. ry nn • , .
atone ln the Barris;
e. The line passes over the vast
bear the weight of the waggons, as is the practice in the
stelablearries south of Paris, and indeed over the cata-
tiler,' ;it runs some distance parallel with, and goes ordinary system, nothing requires. him to augment the
I,Atoeseeitit,le P Paris and Orleans coach road. ; it passes diameters of the axles and spindles. He has never
theless increased the length of the boxes of the inde-
eteeae. Cachan, Bagneux, Beurg-la seine, and near
pendent wheels.
'Esti% •Y aux•Ro3es, at each of which places are „ This length," M. Arag.o say.s, "is a guarantee ag?inst
elem. s' °n leaving the Barre •e, Paris is at. once
Geld etl, and the •• deviations from the plane in which the wheels turn-.' It
ee, , Eted , scenery on the route is rural, diverse. does nit appear that this plane is less well maintained in
sa"Kine ; Pleasing, On the return, the view of Paris,
the system where the wheels turn on the axle, than in
‘'ha ''• -li the heights of Mont alart;e, the Pantheon, the
strati:eh of Val-de- Grace'that where they are fixed, at least for the time these
le , and the Observatory, is very
tSat, big' Before wheels last.
s eh returning to the system in question, it
The duration of the wheels in the present system is not
t lee; served, as French admeasurement is used, that e. , • e • , s. 1. fi d
he ,reis e little eat. et is known witn what exactitucie tne wneels xe
l'l've tni, and
li more than 39 inches, a centimetre the i
to the axles must be turned in the making. It is known
eece ito:e 'metre the I,oooth part of a metre, as
also with what rapidity the flanges of these wheels are
s._
.Ete inconvenience st ate. destroyed by their friction against the sides of the rails 1
Faber tril, indeed it may be added, the serious
in cases of curves.
'eve '" would arise from using locomotives, as at
rota nnst
et tee . .ructed, in turning sharp curves, is evident In the system cf ala Arnoux these resistances disap-
th luvari pear ;it gives them a longer duration to the wheels, or
d eels, we able parallel of the axles and fixity of the
ullteetterr, in hereby admits of their being made with less perfection and
the turn together. To avoid this
strength.
Which le shearamg the. curve, it is necessary, first, that
In the St. Mamie') experiments the wheels were simply
14. the train tbe directed in a right angle to the curve
of wood bound with iron ; the edges, instead of forming
thillautl..epst presses over •; secondly, that the wheels
one body with fellies, were iron hoops made flat, and
the
eaoieet ,et each other and turn upon the axles,
fixed to the body of the wheel by wooden screws.
Prebl %in the curve, sliding on the rail. This is
lYstete era which Notwithstanding, however, the length of curves so
fleece ' Prop° leh M. Arnoux, the inventor of the new varied, and of so small a radius, in a total circuit of
,ssfel, sed to solve, and his solution bas been most
suchgreat extent, none of the iron hoops, although so
le i'
41 teed slightly fixed, vyere torn off, nor did they present any
•• sYste 3to the belief," he says in the exposition of
titled fo re' that • sensible alteration.
%sett i the rail In the construetion of carriages des- This is another material proof establishing the fact
move ti searctli:says, enough perseverance has not been that the wheels hold perfectly well together, and that
Pre.ornecer/t is deiP for the canna whence the facility of
the axles are properly directed.
?art re Illsiee wird in thdry routes ; too much Daring these lang experiments there was never felt
the great work on hand, of which a in any marked manner those oscillating movements
iteionneae:elebtneb.!re,egaarrrdiaegdesa,s the consequence of the imper- which are so commonly found in the ordinary railways,
it is thought that the engineers and which are so uncomfortable and so destructive as re-
malerfecti'aeU to use their endeavours to correct the pals wear and tear.
or"tticlll theupurlit'e.lf, and that they have ton easily ad • The only remark which arose when going at the
11
I axlestee, eenedlpillie of rigorous and inflexible parall.elis,m greatest speed, was relative to. the very slight incline-
Ns_ eico consequence the fixity or tne wneys. ;ion of the bo lies of the carriages proceeding from the
incline-
sal ineari'eaqunce, because it is evident that with centrifugal force, yet this effect may be lessened by rais-
lsraissibi4°43' parallel, the movability of the wheels is•
i cr the outer rail
sotteate_ eet eiroh_L'cau.se it would lead tto easily to ylis- in
now come to the estimate of the total resistances
ssd rti divers
the rails." M. Arnoux then bring, by the aid of the dynannuseter.
tiso
‘,P2iets ``s inconveniences of the present system, These resistances proceed from the current of the
Of the
the axles upngst them the too great apprexima-
atclias eerri4 01 respect to the length of the bodies 'sir. limn the collision of the wageons upon the cm
movable air, from the friction ef the axles upon their
ties hearth gas, whereby the latter do not obtain a
‘., th -g. and • . . periahery, from the rolling of the wheels upon the
settee. e traeeo as, in consequence of this disposi- rails, From the sliding of their edges upon their sur- 1
ot tilities `0,...1. n. annot be transmitted but by the face, from sushi( n jolts, from the accelerations or
is
e„..earriao__ the frames which bear the be 'ace,
s in the route of the train, which the best con-
teo:eallleter, sthe.slightest deviation gives to them ductors cannot avoid, and of vvlach the influences have
ad," to th.." which is conveyed from one end of the' tiecom.- considerable on account of the magnitude of the
tisiirlielie poseitinther, and •tends to give to each axle an mass in motion Now all this is susceptible of varist-
kreptsowbeeideca_ ti the direction of the rails, and re- Lion, according to the tightness of the screws, the
„It w Pertioa,„4_l?ahle of resisting. these efforts, which sea,sine of the box,,s, the moisture of the air, and the
Illep all in te,-...ety more violent as the speed increasos. orcater or less s liclity of the rails. As to the last in •
Ntsrenee Academy
year 1838 that M. Arnoux presented to Fluence it is real : ior on the journies, the waggons often
lase 4he es. c'lclernY the specimen of the new system snake on the sand lying on etch side of the rails, figurt s
ring` as l"•°Posed to apply to railways. This speci- es that kind which natural philosophers call acoustic
tilto este"el, the fifth part of the six- of the car- figures.
so4l_to 8 adopted, and it is of this model we are Another question. In the system of M. Arnoux is
he:le,,hategiaeel,akt,l; foe although the inventor_ has made the resistance perceptibly the same on the straight parts
lit erieci e ey are not ot a nature to aueet the ge- as on the curves of the railway?
tis *As i/ll'• 37--trit f llaux d D nanometrical experiments have been made by M.
ea ted his system as follows, in submit- Morin with a delicate apparatus, which he has greatly
tl•I'lle °r
the j Lei • •
figment of the m aitute : contlibuted to improve, and with all the care which a
atiftseerese4rirraction of the beds of the carriages will scientific man brings to the estimation of the resistances
teW etteek "tile from the construction of those of ordi- he measures.
blip gag ; they will consist of a fore and hind bed With wheels not turned the relation which the resist-
tit;l4eh tZ]each other. ante bore to the charge was found, for the whole of the
ei}e tree ofe: Pierced by a main iron bolt,* will have road, consisting of straight lines and curves of 50 and
hie, 4,eisturning horizontally upon it. 150 metres radius, as also in the small circle of 18 metres
The Neten,:ll_usted with patent cylindrical boxes, will radius, to be the fraction 1-175 ; with wheels turned
%tet fore a_l' pday on the axles. , the relation descended to 1-204. This relation increased
he Noe e.?el hind beds of the different carriages in in an experiment where a guide wheel accidentally
eitteh Will `Pa be united by means of a carriage beam, touched the cushions of the rails.
(et the
beams
xesPie_rce.d by the two main iron bolts that It thence follows that the curves of the road add no•
s Teeeeearrea eaannetwswhhich will support two transoms thing to the resistance, and more than that it shows that
q cewicizhe%uP° will
bi lei c
otnhe spridngbs willbeplaeed. the wheels should be turned, and the guide-wheels ad-
y .an inflexible iron.
th of the a thnoh), piercednbeyettehe main bolt of the hind jested with exactitude.
9eS°re Preneding carriage, and upon the same bolt in The commission of the Academy determined on corn•
tivehe fere of the carriage which follows paring this report with that which exists upon the ordi-
lise.frote the of the first coach will ' • its dire'- nary railroads ; the expsriments took place on the Paris
owns Neale road itself ; to effect this,retwceoLviero s, act' and St. Germain, and the result was found to be 1-200.
"It is necessary to add," said M. Arago, " to the advan-
Iv vat bees° Prongs, will be attached to the centren ofe the
, art), fa', of the axle ; the two prongs descending to- tage of the system of M. Arnoux, that the large spindles
of the axles of all his coaches might have been brought,
whiCli e, eh rail, will carry a small wheel (in all four)
without inconvenience to diameters, of 55 millimetres,
Cr, tn' °Y slightly touching the rails, will, without effort,
e„-tha axl the right angular directien to the road. instead of 65, and that then, after a co- efficient of fric-
st!on rather too feeble than too strong, the mean re-
eo—tu thi. foere axle the symmetrical direction will be
'tie sated to the hind axle ofthe carriage, by 'stance upon the St. Maude road, would be reduced
of 8 CIF tWa chains, one crossing the sameother and the ends to 1-230.
Finally, the equality of friction and resistance upon
eace
etto, e fastened to two circular crowns (one fixed on
di
so a axle) of equal the curved and straight parts of the railway, when the
amonegter. Each chain, as it may be coaches are constructed according to the system of M.
lie„e,ftsiledt, consists of a l
;h4etn
are
exed
ma .
crowns.iron rod in the centre, with
that
a each end, to whi it Arnoux, and that the speed does not exceed certain
fixed to the et are attached pieces of chain limits, is completely established by the experiments at
The form of these chains st. matte&
Tess i , Nhe co
° 4 nevizontal Mpired to the section of an hour- These experiments prove practically that the con-
tire 8. Position, in fact somewhat like the vergence of the axles is the indispensable condition of a
good service of locomotion, upon the curved rails ; they
fore rtemd btyll emfieran t to the second coach the traction will be
means of the inflexible iron rod (droop) be- prove also that the mechanism of which the projector
pre-
the mentionedmakes 11Fe, to establish this convergence, has all the
,fore
a...,_0.; the direction will be communicated to cision that can be desired.
7taboye o'elnet, I the second coach by similar cross chains e Thus," adds M. Arago, in terminating his remark-
ia.earri_ma . ,mentioned, which passing from a crown fixed to able repert, "the system of M. Arnoux would not ilia
!il.4.lxte k. ,l of the first coach; and pierced by the
ll ed
;.,at.
et he hind bed, to a crown of double diameter Pose, so far as one can judge of it, any appreciable in-
' Vs, the axle of the fore bedofthe second h , creasep of expense for traction. With reference to safety,
To eesee manner f
m ought to satisfy even the most timid. M.
astened by the main bolt.
arts 1103unicate
far °I. atr ' successively the movement to all the Arnoux seems then to have completely solved the diffi-
cult problem that has been proposed. Henceforward
the
_..
earth, and to make them converge, the one engineers will fear less in tracing railroad lines, to turn
Zap), t:blrl_ , towards the centre of the curve, it is ne- from the direct routes to avoid obstacles of all kinds,
se! Chan_ e understood that the beam of a carriage will eh
at
present, they are obligeal to have removed.
laaaweees ir Its direction, except when the road itself which,
expense of tunnelling will be less frequently
olltt eeo ti,;ethus in determining the relation which exists The
heavy
and finally, by haring side rail stations for
sttl_eiee ofild,rangle which the beam describes in each
eirl.i!i4s also `.eutian, and the angle that each axle d, - Passing.
required
.the•
trine iocelities where, according to the pre-
roads with a single line of rail, will become
t t out ,to pass from the first the second el. • sufficient in i .. .
ot..e ceas,
to
,to trecte n sent eb. a ilea__ a'g be at right angles to the route the ' rice of the new coaches does not
of any emu, w ia,ever may be
tabled by
of the axles '''.h I ' "lf a long experie
f• reseen the name of
method, two lines would be absolutely necessary.
cedes i y the .
.4 tdirection of the beam of that which pre- rablv placed by the side
Sea "M. Arnoux will hemost hosou . produce difficulties,
• inventions, have
rendered great
03,.°4 to isquestion, in this state, wis the subject of a special of others, who, by thee:,
at present un o ~. , .
thortatiee
saae academy, which, in acknowledging the an- service to the railways.
to an inventor, the
"4 the This is most fl ittering approval
ato systems , Proposed solution, expressed a wish thatfor hi,, labours. But
ssre, by should be tried to prove Its value, and to re- sweetest recompense he c-ai desire
merely enough to
K. Practi M. Arnoux has a•und that it is not .
1' K• tirri,,e_ ee, Certain apparent objections. for ' e that time he has
- tiree 4 set himself immediately to werk, and in a ' :
lissve merited these 'lnc
praises,. , his severe, an:.,
sad tnod , invited the academy ' not only a theory been constaiitly occupier'. in imps:wine ..e ,
,_,
les els, but to see,
according to the • • ef 13 al. an. he has I
e ten turned
It aY. a practical system at work on an actual . a pn tept .
and repolishing
ltes '`lts at s to his work for the purpose of poi:shine . e
ha'
ter Made t• it where the experimental railway it ;we shall state presenty the ins rovernents h
made.
itt s.Rion, oitand the examinationof it confided to a corn-
'lse h which At Ara l , Let us first considthe objections that have been
er
.th ead, go, the Astronomer Roya , was ..
raised against the s•st • •some of its parts.
fat le experim. ern, or against .
It has been said, oofpies, of
i "4 th from
eel M. Arnoux, at St. Matel6, did not The great number
0_ an fromwhichthe chains
composedrender the • 'stem
tesa?raotlee, 6,0001. to 8,000/. All sorts of obstacles to.are
many accidents • " but tension,
eier leg, cressisuch
r, as inclined planes ascending and (le- the chains have no
..
s,
since the traction is'
Wakes in %a on-g °f• ways, straight lines joinel to curves,
as we have seenerformed by the tirnons ; beside
te. "mit inte r'Pesite dire •succeeding other • above, a chain has been detached on
e eoen, . riteeslo_ direction, each
... tan route, without an) I arm being done.
lb (' In the eel and also curves of very small radii,
out thiee Perim
It is added that the system is more complicated than
h'ch is
ttia3ed
eire
.quarters eeeutal rail in question, w 1
c„ ,
that in common use. To that M. Arnoux it >plies,
spin, t ult.}, Thinua' a mile in length,fortmheinerei"
a When it is observed that the main bolts, the c;Owes,
44; lilted t-e point. rningement permitted and the timons are substitutes for the guard plat a-A3 often as es, .
sut withou. v of departure as ~ grease boxes, the buffers, the traction and -
aired to run ' stopping, thus enabong the .percussion
-m• All as greast d'''', . could be de- springs, and. their iron
.bolts,. as well as the braces, and
tathase then that remainedistanace as
ascertain whether the connecting chains, it will be found that there 'is no
111. 41•11,711% a, necessary to
be donew s
toto test the s"stem of co aparison to be established either in the number, in the
weight, or. in the value cf these essentials ; the error
~t 1 roils x effectually as regarded strength, injury to
cannot exist when. the actual. coaches are seen." The
eitiloyeA, duration of the wheels, and the mechanism
I„,..tier, 24 to give the axles the intended and proper di- new coaches, in fact, weigh half a ton less than the
others, and cost. 'theta 241. lees,
t't)tiot, 'to examine well the effect of curve • loco others, ,
4r e."--ettrves of less radius than It is again said, that the coaches are higher than
Of ,a • say engineer woull
on the other railways. This is •
. a r Perienee in a regular railroad, viz., a small circle those
It% agi
, Sift„ Ili of only 18 metres, completely closed, joining which an actual survey of them will immt diately destroy.
LI% ers' the principal road (i, e. the closed circuit) by Further, that the axles support their charge in the
'red asiehes of curves of 30metres radius ; once • middle of their length. This assertion is not founded
tlit_. ill
the
the train could run over it indefica on facts ; M. Arago laboured, like persons less ac-
ii.y, circuit,quainted with the subject, under this error ;in principle
Ara the charge was supported at 50 centimetres from tt
4 Peti„, go, after having described the nature of the
vo "'ehtal train. corn d f l t• ' •
wa pose o a ocomo ire engine and .ofthe axles. then M. Arnoux has
e centre brought
-I, ggnns it nearly to the extremities, by increasing the diameter
ti 4`.. he , examines the system itself.
netnYstere "he " • lofthree d' of the support of the springs.
Of Parts," , says, is compose(
Again, it is said, that the horizontal movement of the
each. It will be right to point out the effects
• The beds of the carriage experiences a friction equivalent to
lh fir that of the flanges of the wheels ; but it is equivalent
kth It—the articular and • lof d' .t-
-,,,a e fir.,
o'ly in part, since the friction takes place at the entry
„e' es_'t axle of the coach,
s of the curves, while in the ordinary system
line ogres
'cleof 'cond—the common means of directing the first
F. each it exists throughout the whole passage of the train upon
Tta laall of the coaches that follow.
Ne e• 3's-the m of • • • each carriage the ellives.
kis ;see
.eans giving in
The only serious and real objection which prevents
flea t "on which the first axle has already deter-
Th 0 thethe system of M. Arnoux from being geometrically per-
Vas e ers, axle of the second.
feet is, that the axles take their obliquity a little too
Iv ''" means consist, as has been stated, of iron
;hese tth , bent prongs, furnishedwithsmallwheels, soon, inasmuch as the directing axle the moment it en-
4acli -ueel
tars the curve forces the second, which is still in the
h„ oed,
.s move pretty-nearly horizontally, slightly -
direct • • Ifat right angles to the curve
straight part, to itself
sing lean inside and out, from top to bottom, and in rol-
o'aett et" against the d th t the vertical into which it is tibout to enter. There, in fact, a resist-
es the
rails, e ges, or ra er agains
tis well _
s! These directing wheels, when they .
amen is crested, which acts during a time, though cer-
eat a adjusted, •
att yvhother resistance teh , experience no
tainly very short, but which is, nevertheless discernable.
At the egress of the curve the same effect is produced
Ppon arises from the rolling, for the axles which
°lle 4 hem hinders a . in an inverse ratio. But to this it may be replied that
aa atitai them from ever bearing by their
the friction lasts but a trifling period, and that it is,
s eels surface on the rails. The centres of these
ea are
eeßie, Is t thus maintained . , of
right moreover, of that kind ivhich the ordinary waggons
at four summits a
'-a"ert the constantly experience in circulating carves.
Entity et. , e opposite rails, with a very little
If a guide wheel were to break would the train be ex-
guiperi„ laY.
se e has proved the advantages
which these
delticehY to 1 wheels Present. Th guide wheel was taken off, and the train stopped itself.
made
the ree'e,ate the reel tFeery
hasave never shown any ten-
But when an axle breaks there is no remedy ; the
e.ade ee-"Le ;the surface,'e been no breaking dewn
brealiiier of an axle is a very serious accident, that of a
'l4hed lleft item which was worn rapidly when d 7
With . • showed no perceo ' ible wear when fur- se s
gin e w "eel much less ..o.
AS circular bands of • It is said thee n. i her a partite coaches nor the whole
°f AS
to tee _ steel. I ach
ear eneans employed for direstine the first I tram cat, he moved baclewards. As to the separate
axle . . nge, they a-e unexceptionable-in Le ts s ;ffi tent tier the purpose to render the two
, eeotne e''''' ''' ' '1 ' '

44tlea.twil • .
- `4:14 beam. ,e,t is ordinary carriages goes through the * rod which connects the coaches •Iran
The 1.. e tch. world
,tinum is eaployed tor brevity's sake,
instead of inflexible i
to-
gether, as before stated.

axles of each coach fixed and parallel ; this result is ar-
rives at by means of a simple bolt passing through two
holes, corresponding with etch other, pierced in the two
crowns of each one serving the trr_nsom uh_te, the
other the bed plate. As regards the whole: train, that
can be backed equally well ; for this purpose M. Arnoux
applies the means which the commission of the academy
pointed out to him ; he places at the tail of the train a
coach, the hind wheels of which are furnished with
guide wheels, and on the fore b,,41 ,:f each a little crown,
the same ai on the hind bed ; each crown carries some
chain ends, and to connect them it is necessary to take
the rods of the other chains.
As to the mode of connecting the coaches, it is effected

very easily; the two halves of each timon (inflexible iron
rod) being pierced lengthways with a screw groove, are
brought together by a screw bolt, this screw bolt being
turned by a screw key fitted to a nut which passes up ,n
the hilt. The directing chains are then fastened by
hooking the rods to the chain ends fixed to the beam
crown of the carriage which precedes, and to the fore
axle crown of the carriage which follows; these chains
are tightened by the screws which attach them to the
crowns, which terminates the operation.

M. Arnoux, as we have said, has introduced important
improvements in his system; the first consists in giving
freedom to the axles to turn of themselves, independently
of the wheels. For this purpose instead of fixing the
main bolt through the centre of the axle, he fixes it to a
collar which encircles the centre of the axle. At
its extremity the axle is similarly encircled by two
collars, which press it sufficiently to prevent its
turning except where the wheel grips the spindle.
In the experiments which are daily made on
the Sceaux line, it has happened many times, arising as
much from the friction, which a new material always
experiences, as from other causes, that the axles have
turned in the collars, which proves that if this freedom
were not left to them, the wheel would have heated, or
at least that the friction from rolling would have been
changed into friction from sliding.
The second improvement introduced by M. Arnoux
in his system, and which seems to us to be altogether
inherent in the mode of infltxible and inextensible car-
riage beds which constitutes it, consists in a break of a
particular kind by the means of which all the wheels
can be instantaneously stopped ; this break is worked
by the stoker, the handle is upon the tender, below the
coaches are some rods which are hooked to the central
collar of the axle, and which go the whole length of the
train ; the moment the handle acts, the first rod has its
effect upon the breaks disposed nearly the same as in
the diligences on the common roads, the movement com-
municates itself from one rod through the whole length
of the train. We find but one objection to this break,
and that is that it cannot be worked except on the ten-
der and on the last carriage, thus the conductors of the
intermediate coaches cannot work it independently of
the movement which proceeds either from the tender or
the hind carriage.
A train on the Sceaux railway has at its head a loco-
motive engine, of which two axles only, the fore and
hind, are directed by the guide-wheels, but each axle
carries its guide plates ; the locomotive, therefore, is al-
together independent of the rest of the train, it directs
itself, and does not give direction. Afterwards come
the tender and the other coaches, which are fastened to-
gether. The necessity for having a uniform material, of
which all the beams are of the same length, has induced
M. Arnoux to give to his tender a different form to that
of the ordinary ones ; it resembles one of the coaches of
the train ; in front is the place for the coals, behind and
at the bottom of the coach is the water cistern, and above

this cistern a sort of cupboard for tools ; the tender is
terminated in the hind part by a watch-box with win-
dows, and furnished with two seats ; from this box a
conductor has a view of the fore and hind part of the
train.

The coaches consist of saloons, and first, second, and

third class divisions, and are very carefully fitted up.
The tares from Paris to Sc: aux are, saloon 10d., first
class 7d., the second 5d., and the third 3d.

The appearance at each terminus is singular, you see
the whole train ranged in a curve, the bodies of the
coaches forming direct right angles, while the axles con-
verge to a point of the station indicated by a flag. The
station bears no resemblance to others ; here are no
mulcipliciiy of rails, no needles, no turning plates, no
straight lines. The station itself is oval, having the form
of a racket bat, the outlet being, as it were, the handle.
A single line of rail forms the circle of the station, and
the train arriving to discharge its passengers is in a posi•
Lion to quit again and make another journey. In prac-

tice at aux and Paris, when the arriving train is near
at hand, the departing one starts, and leaves the circle
the moment the other has entered it.

On starting from Paris the curves immediately com-
mence, for M. Arnoux seems to have been willing to
give at once a high idea of what his system promises
—curves of 300, 150, 50, and even 30 metres radius!
The engine is seen twisting and accommodating itself to
all the caprices of the road, and heading the train, the
whole appears like a supple serpent moving over the
yellow sand.
From Bourg-la-Reine to Sceaux the distance by the
carriage road is 1,600 metres, about ten yards less
than a mile ; the difference in level between these
two points is 30 metres, 100 English feet ; to have
gone direct from one place to the other it would have
been necessary to make an inclined plane of 1 in 50,
but the condition of the law imposed the obligation of
ascending by irregular planes and short curves. For
this purpose they adopted a slope of nearly one in a
100, being exactly 11 metres in 1,000 upon a distance
of 3,510 metres. The railway route from Bourg-la-
Heine is a straight line of 1,500 metres to the station
of Fontenay-aux-Roses, then a sudden curve of 36
metres radius takes you back parallel to the road you
have travelled for half the distance, then by a second
sudden curve you ascend the hill still higher, then a
third, then a fourth, and finally you reach Sceaux.
The route may be compared to a zigzag sheep walk up a
hill side.

The line subjected the system of M. Arnoux to a
severe test, which it has stood triumphantly.
In regard to speed, which is no object on this short
line, 24- minutes are occupied on the route, there being
three stations on a distance of little more than five
miles, which require much time for discharging and re-
ceiving passengers, express trains, without stoppages,
however, have gone at the rate of 37 miles an hour, not-
withstanding the numerous abrupt curves and steep
ascents before pointed out.