The Sun.
London, England, 1833-11-04 00:00:00

SIR CHAS. DANCE'S STEAM-CARRIAGE.

This carriage started from London on Friday morning, on
an experimental trip to Birmingham. The journey was un-
dertaken at the instance of several scientific men, by whom
the vehicle was borrowed for the purpose, with the view of
making personal observations on the application of steam.
engines to the purposes of draught on the common roads. On
the preceding day the carriage was removed from Mr. Maudes-
ley's manufactory, in the Westminster-road, at half-past
three o'clock, and passed over Westminster-bridge, through
Parliament. street, Whitehall, Cockspur-street, Pall-mall,
Regent-street, to Portland-road, thence into the New-road,
and so on by Battle.bridge to Mr. Seddon's large manufac-
tory, formerly the City Light Horse exercising ground, in
Gray's Inn-road. This distance, about five miles, was per.
formed, although a great part of the road was fresh covered
with broken granite, in thirty-three minutes, and the perfect
facility with which the machine passed through the crowded
avenues at the most bustling part of the day, tended to confirm
the opinions which had previously been entertained of its ap-
plicability to the general purposes of travelling. It was ar-
rangnd that the departure on Friday morning should be as early
as possible, and the following gentlemen were booked as pas-
sengers :—Mr. Rickman, clerk of the House of Commons ;
Mr. Talfourd, the engineer ; Mr. M`Neill, the engineer of the
Holyhead roads ; Mr. Field, the engineer ; Mr. Braham,
Colonel Paisley, Mr. Gordon, Mr. Carpmael, Mr. Donkin, Mr.
Simpson, and Sir C. Dance. Some of these gentlemen proceeded
to St. Alban's the night before, there to be taken up. The road
pursued was through Kentish Town, and by the New Cut to
Highgate Archway, beyond which, to the distant end of the
archway.road, all went well, when unfortunately one of the
tubes of which the boiler is composed burst, and although the
fracture was small, it was sufficient to stop the progress of the
carriage, and nearly five hours elapsed before the necessary re-
pair was effected. It is a singular fact the tube which burst
had been substituted for another which had previously been
long in use; and it is suspected that this had not been suffici-
ently proved, as it was quite new. We believe it became
necessary to send to Mr. Maudesley's manufactory before afresh
tube could be obtained. The delay of course retarded the
vehicle, and it did not reach St. Albans till eleven o'clock,
where fresh water and coke having been taken in, it proceeded
to Stoney Stratford (fifty-four miles from London). Here it
was determined, as it was then too late to reach Birmingham
the same night, to remain, with the intention (if nothing oc-
curred to prevent it) of renewing the journey on Saturday
morning. The road throughout was in as bad condition as it
was possible to imagine at this season of the year, being soft
and greasy in some parts, and in others completely covered
with fresh gravel. The progress of the carriage under these
circumstances appears to have been slow, which is perhaps
not a matter of surprise, when the weight of the omnibus,
with its passengers and luggage, is considered. No acci.
dent occurred after that we have already described,
and "...we understand that the result of the experiment,
as far as it has yet gone, is afar from unsatisfactory. As,
however a scientific report of the whole journey, with
the observations of the gentlemen engaged in the investiga-
tion, will be published, it would be unfair to offer any de-
cided opinion upon the subject. Sir Charles Dance's engine
will have been put to the severest test, and no doubt others
upon a different construction will be subjected to a similar
scrutiny before their comparative merits will be declared. It
should not be forgotten that the boiler in Sir Charles Dance's
engine has been long in use, and that the whole machine has
undergone repeated alterations, which may have diminished
its powers, or at least rendered it more liable to casualty. It
was originally determined that the experiment should have
been tried on Tuesday last, and every preparation was made
on the road for the purpose, but it was unavoidably postponed
to afford an opportunity for the presence of Mr. Rickman,
one of the Clerks of the House of Commons, whose presence
was necessary at the prorogation of Parliament on Thursday.