Lynchburg Virginian. [volume] (Lynchburg [Va.]) 1829-185?, 1851-04-17
THE Y IRGINIAN.
A. w. G. TERRY, EDITOR.
LyNCHBuRG, APRIL ~, 1851
"Freneh's Railway Improve

|
Engineers have yet ventared to encounter.
1t il undoubtedly great desilcratum in
| the science Of engineering and the an Of
constructing railroads, 10 overcome these
heavy grades, say Of 200 or 800 feet to
10 the mile; and this, Mr. French claims
70 have furnished. Many gentlemen Of
intelligence. whose opinions on most sub
jccts on which they undertake to advise,
are entitled to great weight, have examined
the invention and expressed themselves
entirely convinced as to its usefulness and
practicabihty whilst others who aspire to
nothing higher than 70 reflect the hue of
opinion ey cannot even comprehend,
have waded through much ink and non
sense to pronounce Mr.. French's scheme
the very eureka Of the age. With no pre-
tensions TO engineering skill, we have for
born to express any opinion on the mer-
its ofthe invention, which might mislead
our readers; whilst we confess, as a Viz
gilman, State pride and all our sympatllies
have leaned TO the inventor, in the hope
that he might successfully viudicate his
claims, justly to be regarded as abeneiac-
tor Of lineage.
| a recent (but imperfect we ADMIT ex-
animation Of tie subject, however leads
US to doubt, not only the feasibility of the
plan, but the originality oft, with Mr.
French. Ii is not our purpose Just now,
to examine thevalue fthe Improvement"
but to ascertain whether it be in fact, Mr.
French ), as claimed Certaiuit is, there is
another claimant for the invention, though
he has abandoned it as worthless, We
have now before us a pamphlet of twenty
SIX pages in quarto form, published IN Gin
cinnati, Ohio, in 1919, by GEORGE EscoL
SELLERS, Practical Engineer, entitled
IMPROVEMENTS IN LOCOMOTIVE ENGINES
AND RArLwAys," from which we make the
following extract, on page II:
"Among other plans which naturally suggested
themselves for applying the balanced adhesion. was
that of using wheels upon the sides Of The ordinary
rails but became at satisfied, that the use of
a central rail would be more economical as the en-
ployment of the side rails for this purpose would re-
quire modification in their shape, which would in
crease their weight probably ; much as that Of the
central rail besides the horizontal drivers project
ing on the outer sides of the rails would present a
very serious objection, of distractions or
il the rails elevated, still the objections
would hold, which induced me to abandon plan
which proposed when engaged in locomotive bull
I,,r in usli+ L., l.
with rio-.rc projecting either inwards OF ouwar,ls
and to elevate the rail either upon string pieces or
ON piles, a sufficient height to allow small tric
| ton wheels these friction wheels being drawn up
by lever. OF otherwise, against the angc 10 pro-
duce IN additional adhesion q. the driving wheels
to the upper scssaccs OF the rails The first ohicc
tion urged against this plan by engineers, the
difficulty Of securing rails elevated against the side
surging of the locomotive and cars the next, the H.
crease of weight in the rail, without any increase %
strength or durability; and the most wrighiy Of all
objections. is that these friction wheels dri-
| vers, and although they have much adhesion
the rail the drivers that adhesionis not made use
Of and the friction their journals only adds the
| load upon the engines. Besides. the increase Of
mechanical power BY the smaller diameter OF the ho-
rizontal adhesion wheels rs in my combined engine
could not be attained by this mode, even. although
the friction wheels be ceared be used dri
vers, saying NOTHING ct the complication OF nachin-
cry required to effect that object.
Now, if we understand Mr. French's
plan, it is technically the same as that
claimed to have been considered, and a
bandoned as value!ess by Mr.. Sellers, as
far back as the year 1886. Here then is
paternity Of this scheme, which, of course,
we shall not undertake to decide, though
it is a well known maxim in law, land sure
y better one as regards invcntions) that
"Qa' prior est feAaPore, potion est jHre. -
| We do not know when Mr.. French first
made Known his discovery, but as well as
we remember, it was somewhere about
the year 1915, nine years subsequently to
Mr.. Sellers abandonment of it. Nor are
we aware, as some have intimatcd, that
the merits of an invention are to be meas
ured by the accidental locality of the in
ventor's birth-whethci he be born in Vir-
GINA or Connecticut-but surely if the
mere fact Of its coming from Northern
tpldlt, Is SuilCieiiI CAUSE iOT VIEW my IL do d
'humbug," thai at least ought to be aban
doned which is not only of Northern origin,
butts even too sreata ''huInbug" for North
ern impudence to presume TO impose it up
on Southern credulity.
The question of title to this discovery
becomes matter Of public interest, since
the State has already contributed $4,000
to Mr.. French, for experiments, and came
near giving him more and we call atten-
| ton TO it, not with the view of deprcciating
his claim TO ii, but to have those claims
properly determined five knew his adj
dress, we would send copy Of this paper
Having discarded the plan, now claim
ed by Mr.. French as his Mr.. Sellers gives
description of another invention which
he regards as infinitely better and as Ger
tain TO secure all the results aimed at in
his first attempt. The invention consists
Of a central rail and a safety gripping"
apparatus which is made to catch hold of
this central rail in ascending or descending
the incline planes, and this adhesion is al
ways in proportion to the weight of the en-
tire train Of cars. But we let Mr.. Sellers
describe it himself:
Ny locomotive is very similar in il construction
and appearance to those now in use, and in short
may be said 10 be pre- i5cly sitnilar To them FAR
working the levels IS concerned but ascending
or descending the gradients, employ the resistance
Of the tain to produce adhesive Or tracive pow
cr. in addition thai of the ordinary driving wheels
This r-sistnnce ofthc train, load to be drawn is
made upon rlain whoels operating on the op-
poSitc sides al iron central rail- combining within