Edgefield advertiser. [volume] (Edgefield, S.C.) 1836-current, 1845-08-20
From the Washington Union.

| t:On oi The savars OF the United King
dom Thin he past three months. thai
any other; yet, hitherto, We have been
able 10 Gull noIhing 10 lay before the read.
ers of The ''Uniou." likely 10 presen, an
idea of its nerhanical c Instruction. al.
though we have CAREFUL, examiued our
exchange files with that view. W. find
the following report Of late experiments
with an atmospheric railway in the London
Times OF the 18th ulr.; which. though
obscure and unsatisfactory. is worth read
ing; because. in America, not one mau IN
a thousand nas the least inkIing of knowl
edge respecting this invention, which
some ol The scientific in Europe unite 10
declaring destined to supercede the use of
the ordinary railway.
Piibro,c's atmospheric Rml,cly. .-Ex
periments, on model on very large
scale, on which carriage, in which a
lady or gentleman was whirled along at.
prndigious rate of speed. were yesterday
exhibited at The Adelaide Gallery, in the
Lower arcade. The experiments being
preliminary to the opening ofihe exhi-
biIion of them 10 The public, which takes
place Ibis day. only tedAnumber Of
persons connected with science and engi-
neering, and persons Of rank, were ad
milted: amongst the latter class were the
Marquis of Douro, the Earl of Morning
ton, Lord Rose. Ladies Wesinealh,
Stafford, Barton, &c. These three ladies
all tested the efficiency o. the system, by
riding 10 the carriage, and being propelled
or drawn along the rails at a very rapid
rate, ascending or decending the'gradients
and enjoying the celebrity Of the transit.
AS The mode of operation Of this invrn
lion is bun imperfeclIy knnwn loahe pub.
lie, and as it is likely 10 exci,e.yery con
siderable interest amongst all persons
connected with railway conveyance, it
may be as well to extract from the des-
crplion of its manner Of working, des,
cribed by its very ingenious inventor,
some account of its principal and its de-
lails: "A pipe or tube of sufficient d.
ameter being laid along in a,holow be-
tween the rails Of railway, aud being
exhausted of air. and having spiudes and
piuions arranged as can only he under
STOOD correctly by seeing the model itselC)
al intervals throughout its length, The pis
ton, with its track attached, in placed in
this tube. al The farther end from where
The air has been. or is being, exhausted or
Withdrawn, The piston rack being in gear
with The pinious inside the tube; rail
way carriage having carriage rack at
tached to it, being placed on the rails this
carriage rack being also IN gear corres
poudingy with the pinion on the upper
part of The same spindles, outside the
tube; that is To say, the relative position
of each rack being the salne;tie piston
rack being precisely under, and matching
end TO end with tile carriage rack; the
one rack cannot, therefore, move back
wards or forwards without turning the
spindIes or pinions; these being also in
GEAR with the other rack, that must move
also, and in The same direction. II The
vacuum. then. has such an effecI upon
the piston, that il advances, the rack upon
the carriage will be effected by and tIro'
the mrdium of the spindles aud pinions,
aud will advance also, aud keep IFS rea-
tive situation eGuclly with the other. The
racks being long enough to reach as des-
cribed, al ts,s,si two pairs of Pinons at one
time; the ney in advance is acled upon
before the one acting has ceased; aud,
,ne,efore, as long as the power applied
coninuess and the piston advances The
carriage will do tTe same 10 The eud Of
the tube, neither arriving beiore nor after
The other, but together. as they cannot
separate, nor can>one move or stop win
out the other, thus would The carriage
be propelled, and others If attached to It.
As il is necessary aud important that The
atmosphere should BE- admitted as nearly
behind The piston as possible The spindle
and piston may he lifted up by the ad
vance of the piston rack, or by the car
riage rack, and the air will enter through
the space allowed by the lifting Of The
cnuical or fat portion of The spindle {"
axis Of The pinions. Thus would there
always be least Two or m"re such pas.
sages open, as the rack may aci upon a
required number Of tinions. Alter the
track has passed by, the spindes, by TIER
own weight fall into their original place.
and thus make an air tight lube ready i"f
The next exhaustion; when. If an AR pump
br set to work at the other end, and tn"
direction Of The piston and rack chsnged,
and placed again, as before, info proper
gear. The Carriage would return again In
like manner This description must
suffice for the present; it will at least
have the effect Of ruusins public attention
to very important, and, as far as me III
limited experiments have shown, an elm
cacious invention. That the atmospheric
principle will ultimately, and perhaps at
no very distant period, supercede The
cumbrous and dangerous use of locomo
tive engines, seems almost certain: Ir
therefore. in the presen, state of railway
conveyance, is almost duli for all err
sons to make themselves acquainted with
the merits Of various inventions of this
kink. A written description cannon su'-
fee. even with diagrams, which cannot b.
given in public journal; nor are the;'
! necessary, when the working and pracll-