The Sun.
London, England, 1842-05-23 00:00:00

there have been 120 or 140 grave accidenta , of which
abOut the sixtieth part were fatal. " 1 shOuld
haVe wished," says M. Delessert's correapotident,
in conclusion, " to prohibit the use of. locomaotives
joined together, for there is no doubt that the -danger
is increased when two machines are attached to a large
train. But it has been found impoesible to adhere to
this measure, the wants of the service requiring more
waggons than could be drawri by a ,single locomotive.
The passengers, however, are constantly separated
from the steam-engine by a waggon filled with
parcels and goods." After the reading of this letter,
M. Perdonnet, formerly an engineer of the Versailles
and' Meudon Railway, and who is said to have been
recently charged with the re-organization •of the
service, and the adoption of all possible precautionary
measures to prevent the recurrence of accident, was
permitted to read a long paper on the points under
consideration by the Academy. In this paper M.
Perdonnet, after a preamble. which is only of in-
terest •to scientific men, says—" Four-wheeled loco-
motives are much less subject to get off the rail in
curves, which must be considered a great advantage.
When the front axletree breaks, as occurred the other
day; the locomotive with four wheels falls, and gets
off the ; but the six-wheeled engine, in a similar
case, does the very same, and arises froM the circum-
stance of the portion of the•weight of the machine
vyliiol rests on the axletree being almost always pre-
Tonderant. What proves how little Stephenson, the
ablest locOmotive manufacturer in 'England; reckons
on the middle and hind axletrees in a six-wheeled 10,
comotive to support the machine in case .of the front
axletree's breaking, is, that he suppresses the ledge of
the wheels of the middle axletreaa and thus renders
the !getting off the rails inevitatilea should the front
axletree break. Six-wheeled locomotiVes, in cer-
tain. cases, when the rails are curved, can rest
on only four wheels, the two others being, as it were,
suspended in the air. In this alase they often break
the rails by their enormous weight, which, in its turn,
liecomeS a new cause. for getting off the rails. Four-
wheeled locomotives always rest on. four, or at least
on three points, and, as they are much less potaleroua,
the pressure on the rail is less. - And, therefore, it is
generally acknowledged that the breaking of the
axletree is more frequent in six-wheeled lecomoth-es
than in those with four. A proof of this is, that on .
the London and Birmingham Railroad, where four-'
wheeled locomotives are exclusively employed, and on
the Manchester and Liverpool line, where both soils;
are • used, accidents are neither- more frequent nor
more disastrous than where six-wheeled locomotives
alone are made use of. If, therefore, some enaineers
prefer six-wheeled locomotives, it is not by any
means because they are attended • with less danger.
It is because they are more powerful, and, on that
account, more suitable, in certain•cases, such as steep
ascents. Also, because engineers consider them as
requiring less repairs and less fuel."' On the question
&connecting two locomotives, as was the case on the
Meudon and Versailles line, by placing the weaker
one, with four wheels front' Perdonnet says:—
" Admitting that four-wheeled locomotives are quite
.as'safe as those with six wheels., and allowing them,
above all, the advantage of being less dangerous in
the curves, it was natural that on the, left-bank line,
where curves are frequent, the . fottr-wheeled loco-
mOtive should be placed most undoubtedly in front,
iii order that the train might he guided more
safely. This was recommended by George him-
self, who was a clever engineer, and the reason which
We have just assigned, powerful as it is to justify this
mode of placing the locomotives,. is not the only
one that may be assigned. The effort at the moment
of departure ought to be gradual, weak at, first, in
order to stretch the chains which unite the waggons,
and greater afterwards to drag on the train. It is
proper, therefore, that the locomotive in front should
be the weaker one." On the important question, as
or whether large or small trains ought to be
.prc-
fered, ;11. Perdonnet adds :—" The 'use of several
locomotives to draw large trains is general on a great
number of railroads, and I am 'not aware that, up to
the present time, any grave inconveniences have been
felt from the practice. We must allow, first of all, that
the momentum of a large train is greater than that of a
smaller one,' and therefore an accident; in the first case,
is more grave than in the other. But the question
Must not be examined in a single point of view. If large
trains are in this respect more 'dangerous, there are
cases in which they offer more security. On the
railroads in the neighbourhood of Paris, the use of
small trains following, at short' intervals would, on
fete-days, be. nearly impossible, for:
,time would be
wanting to execute the shifting at the stations. Be-
sides this sort of service would increase the chances
of accident. On the Versaillf;s• line large trains
leave every half hours so that small ones should set
out every. quarter. If any delay occurred in the
progress of one of those trains, that which folloWed
might overtake it. An accident' sufficiently grave
occurred in this way on'the St,. 'Germain line, at the
Asnieres station, in consequence Of 'the trains starting
every quarter of an hour. Considered in another point of
view, large trains appear. to be attended with less
danger than the small ones. For, suppose that a train
of thirty waggons be drawn by three locomotives,
should the axle-tree of the second Or'third break, it is
possible that the first might. continue to drag on the
two others, and the passengers would have merely to
sustain a shock. If on the other hand the great train
be divided into three each, drawn by -one locomotive,
should an accident occur to limo machine, a certain
number -of' passengers must necessarily suffer from it.
M. Vie de' Beaumont has aaaerted, that with double
locomotives, there are double causes of accident. Undoubtedly there are double --causes, but there are
also twice the number of waggons pulled on, and
the passengers on the one-half of the train placed
behind run no danger whatever ibacase. of the loco-
motive getting offthe rails. If the train were divided
and:the locomotives separated, there would be for
the second half of the train, separated from the first,
and drawn by the second locomotive, just as much
danger as for the first. That learned person has also
stated that it is difficult to make two locomotives
work in unison. But a perfect harmony is not ne-
cessary, and, besides, if, as M. de Bet timont says, ma-
chines are not intelligent, engineers arc, and they
regulate and control their machines 'better than pos-
tilions govern their horses. A'aecond machine could,
however, in certain cases, I confess, impede the
motions of the first, but in other cases it gives assist-
ance,. Suppose, for instance, that an obstacle wet*
suddenly seen on the road, it would be more easy to
stop, the train with two locomotives than with one, for
a double force is at the engineer's disposal. The im-
pulsion' of a train might be mastered by two machines,
though one might be ineffectual. 'ln conclusion, I
declare, that four-wheeled locomotives are not more
dangerous than with six, and' that they are more
steady in their mode of going; that, when a six-
wheeled and four-wheeled locomotive are used toge-
ther, the latter ought to be 04.60 in front; and that
large trains do not expose passengers to greater danger
than small ones multiplied, but their speed ought to
be Moderated." The remaining part of the paper read
by M. Perdonnet is devoted to an inquiry as to the pre-
cautions necessary to prevent accidents. It is of less in-
terest than the portion which we have given above ;
for in that distinct assertions are made, which, al-
though they may be controverted by other engineers,
are important in themselves, whereas, in the second
portion of the paper, the author deals more in gene-
ralities.
M. Perdonnet notices three points, which
had 'already been discussed by the Academy-Ist.
The; use of a sort of hook or _drag to impede the
motion, and, in case of accident, unconnect the train ;
-Ad, the propriety of rendering the wood of the car-
riages incombustible; and 3d, the addition of wag-
.4ons without passengers, and filled with inert matter,
before and behind the train. The first two points
are but slightly glanced at ; on the third, M. Per-
donnet says—" Such a measure .would be very one-
rous for Railway Proprietors whiihave to convey mer-
chandise, and where the railway declinations exceed
certain limits. In such case the practice would augment
beyond measure the dead weight.,` ;The objection of
M. Perdonnet is founded on the expense to railroad
companies olcarrying a dead weight; but it strikes
us also that a dead weight would increase the momen-
tum- of a train on a descent, and would therefore be
dangerous to passengers with 'an otherwise heavy
train. Such danger can only .be avoided by having
short trains. After the reading of this paper, M.
13osquillon :node some observations on the changes
which malleable iron undergOes by use and
rime, lie stated that after certain period it
becomes. crystallised and brittle, more especially
• when 'exposed to sudden shocks arid the influence
of vibration. It has been frequently remarked (he
' said) that the axletrees of locomotives which have
been:a considerable time in use suddenly snap and
show a crystalline appearance, ',similar to cast-iron.
lie therefore proposes that the axletrees should be
carefully examined from time to time, in order to
ascertain the molecular change of the,internal parts of
the metal. The business terminated with the reading
factsthe andof a letter by M. Arago, from Mr. A4n119-e ,
Eng-
lish engineer, corroboration many ,t 1. the
inferences alluded to above. -The other }maims,
before the Academy was without importance.

was held nn Friday at the London
c—iriliesliareliolders of the Commercial
A meeting
Steam Packet Company
Tavern, for the purpose of considering and determining upon
the propriety of dissolving. and potting an end to the Company,
and of authorising and empowering the Directors to wind up
and settle its affairs, pursuant to the terms of the deed of settle-
ment of the Company. Mr. Bleaden. Chairman of the Coin-
par y, presided. The Report, setting forth the difficulties of the
Compai,y, having been read, a motion was made that it ha
adopted, and referred hack to the Directors' to carry the same
into execution, and that with the Trustees they be authorised
and empowered to sell the vessels and property of the Coogan).
and assist in winding up the Company's affairs in the most ad-
vantageous manner. After some discussion the motion was
agreed to.
A letter from Pisa, in the .Augsburg Gazette,
says :—The University of that place ha; been closed in conse-
quence of an attack committed by some of the students on Pro.
lessor del Rosso, for having proposed to exclude from the lec-
tures some of the youth, who hare been guilty of unpardonable
excesses. The Government is said to have ordered a revision
of the University statutes.