The miners' express. (Dubuque, Iowa) 1849-1854, 1853-04-13
NUMBER 80.
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED
STATES
FL8EUAnY IS,1S53

~
STATES.
february II, 1859
IS MR.. Io1T MADE THE foLLpwISG RFpogr
IS The se'ect committee to sch0m ,oas referred Il
petition Of Jamss S. French astiag an ayyr.
priatioa IF Congress for tie puyp0sc of tes
ing the epracticat raiae Of a nsso piau of ra Il
road and toeomoti1e cngias iate'y perfecie
!, W him, hare had the same under coasidera
ti9n, and, af.er careful examination If N
SUBJECT, beg isare to submit the fo.iosOlng ye
port:
The plan Of Mr. French Is certainly oripina
and is the only one known 10 your connitte
III which smooth wheels and the rails of h
TRACK are 40 arranged to enab,e the enpin
Y work readily and safely on far higher grade
tlian have heretofore been attempted in con
nexion with railway transit. This is effected b.
very slight modification Of The present plan
and Consists IN substituting presscre for weigh
in producing the required adhesion
i The apparatus by which adiie sion 10 any ex.
tent desired by the engineer may be Produced a
pleasure, is simple, compact mechanical con.
trivance costing but few hundred dollars
| readily attached to any engine, and may bs
thrown IN or Out OF gear instantly by the turning
of a steam c,ck. When ou, Of gear, il. is lifiee
some twelve or eighteen inches above the rails
and the engine in no way differs from the coz,
n,n locomotive, but runs readily, by the ad-
hrsion due to It's weight, over the level portion.
of the road.
! This plan, therefore, adds nothing TO the ex-
p"nse OF constructing railroad save a smal
increase in the weight Of the rail On heavy in
= clines, where large business il done hui ves
time and expenditure IN grading, reduces The
! weight OF the eng ine, aud consequently the
! working expenses of the road gives creates
security ~ railway travelling, and sugges. $ the
Introduction OF railroads with machinery
50 iyht as scarcely to exceed in weight The or.
dinary mail stage.
Surely, the present system mus, be regarded
! as greatly detective, when to express even the
| President 5 message, Contained in few n-ws-
paper slips weighing bu! few pounds, it can
only be done by some thirty or forty .ul.s oil
machinery and the d.sproportion throughout
the system between the dead weight AID pa wing
load, whenever passengers or light art cles are
transported is so great as to account readily for
! the great depreciation in railway sticks This
invention, by substituting pressure for weight,
equa'izes this d'spropor,lon, aud suggests an
entire changr In system which has absorbed
and is abi ,rong, all The floating capital of the
world 1t proves that m lions of d liars have
been unnecessarily expended end, looking 10
the future, snultlp'Ies roads and distributes their
advantages at greatly reduced expenditure OF
time and money.
plan, far cheaper railroads may be Constructed
and safely worked, witt, correspondin. light
| machinery, than any now in use; nor can they
doubt that, by II, an engine may be made to as
cend any required grade. These things are
perfectly apparent from he working model
which has been submitted to our inspection, and
we see nothing whatever to Justify as IN assert
! ing that this invention will not accomplish all
the inventor claims for it, The application Of
we'll established principal iss, simple in this
Invention, We can see no reason why il will not
work as well on large scale as Oh a sul III one ;
and, referring to the experiments heretofore
| made by the Inventor on this plan, our conf.
dence is increased in The belief that he has per-
tected (regardng The vast Interests to be affectl
| iD one Of the most remark able improvements
ct the age. lie has supplied what has eve r
been considered as The greatest desideratum in
railway motive Power--namey, sufficient adj
hesi"n for tn. engine an he rail. 1t was this
want Of sufficient adhesion which Tor many
years delayed the introduction Of railroads into
common u.s., and led to vast expenditure of
time aud money, and much ingenuity, in rem
ed ,ing this defect. With the exception OF an
lingeni"ps contrvance, which gave to The en- O ne
legs, t. enable i, to push tram o.! cars, all the
carly plans for obtaining adhesion consisted of
Cog wheels ard rack rails in ,me form or other
Some few years after The building Of the Liver
pool and Manchester railway, a Centre rail-
pressed by two horizontal wheels, driven bY
extra cylinders. was tried in En- ilnd aud found
30 complicated for use and all these vari.us
contrivances have, with slight notifications.
from time u time, been brought before the
american public. In asid lion to these, tuany
ether plans have alsn3lere been resorted to OBJ.
tain the same end. The tender, by means nf a
lever, has been made I, add o portion of its
a inhf IN hat of tha
the steam of the boiler has been conveyed into
perpendicular cylinders aud made TO exert its
entire pressure ON the driving axles aud Ihe
ordinary driving wheels Of the engine have, on
Incllnes, been substituted for very small wheels,
running on elevated rails, thus increasing the
power OF the engine by diminishing the dame
TER OF The driving wheels Magnetism has also
been invoked, to furnish the necessary a adhesion,
with many other Suggestions which we have not
time to enun,eratr. None Of those, however,
have answered The purpose, and the growing
wants OF the railway have only been suppi;-d
by henping weight upon The engine, untilit
has become huge steam tug, with III. sand
box, as an appendage, for sprinkling the rails
nus carrying within itself elements Of desruc-
ton which no rold, however well built can
long withstand; for, while the huae engine
presses the road Inso the earth and laminates
the rails, the sand winch it sprnkles cuts away
its journals aud greatly adds to the wear IF the !
road
We have egannnad md revie we'd ali these
various plans for ihe purpose of comparing them
with The one now before as; and while they
seive TO strengthen our convictions that the
railway system can never be perfected s., LONG
As weight limits the power of the en- yine, they
confirm us in our belief that Mr. French's plan
Is the most slupie, the mos; effective, and most
readily adapted t. the present system, which
has yet been su ggested.
Fhr model which has been for some time
workins. in the Capitol shows at glance the
whole arrangement. II consists Of cnmnon
wonden supersructure, with q fiat bar-rai !: the
ends Of The cross timbers are cut eff flush with
the slrepars and the fist bar resting on the 81 e.
parS projects over on he outside Of IN. track.
t"r'ning clear continuous space each side |
of the road for friction rollers, or small wheels.
to revoive up aga, Ist the priec,ing edrp OF the
rail. The cranks are attached 10 me ends O:
the driving axle, and between these and the
driving wheels is suspended from the axle. on
each side, a friction roller. or wheel! which is
made to drop at pleasure directly under the driv
inL wheels. Using the driving axle asa full
crun, by means of a compound lever. these
friction rollers or wheels pressed up al plea.
sure, and so that eztent press down the driving |
wheels, producing instantly whatever atnouot
vi auiirsioh my oS required. Ihe tread of the |
driving wheels, is wide as the rails, and the
friction rollers revolve just under them, with
hanges 10 prevent their rubbing the sides of the
road These friction rollers or small wheels. |
when not required, are instantly thrown up some
eighteen inches above the track, where they re |
main until they are again required, when they |
are instantly thrown into gear. This facility oe |
removing them adap the engine in all respects
to the common road, and requiring inodlica-
ton OF the rail only in working the ircnes
That road On this plan may be az suhstanii-
ally constructed as on any nthsr, your commit
tee can not question, nor that the heavy rail I
may be readily adapted to it; thus giving 10 the
road: however constructed, the use ot tnachip
cry directly suited tots wants Light onsines,
with hight loads, at high velocity, while on the
same road, might follow freight engines; and |
even these grra y reduced ia weight, with larre
loads, at slower velocity: and The adhesion b..
ing at times ready and certain, ind the be-
lief on he part of your comnd'te that roads /
with high grades can be worked in all conditions
of he weather with more certainty and REGULAR y
than are now the more level lines The vor,y
Gus modes which suggest themselves for e,ev,