Weekly national intelligencer. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1841-1869, 1853-03-05

ahon dne 10 it's own weight; stli the adnesion uuo
to its weight sufficient 70 CIV smootb wheels and
s;va motion and the advantage OF smooth Wheei anu
s .J,.ea system in which the steam power OF the
nna was limited by its weight; ana supsequeh, ouuers
6ndng if the engine had more pow 'aan - az
was not available, GUY 49,
% this time it doubt apparent that the
heavier the engine the more It woua pSe r
t,,ry and regarding heavy machinery as very ueUl-
antai Ia them they forbid its use, ana the Liver
pool and Manchester railway was worked ol many
With standing order from the directory thst no engine
weighing more thah 81 'OS ~
The adhesion due to these light engines fuctuated
tI an account of the weather, and gradually leo 10
e introduction Of heavier ones with corresponding IN
crease in the weight of the rail- From that time 70 he
present no improvement has been made Tor increasing he
adhesion OF the engine other than the mere
ber several pairs of wheels for drivers, ana thereby
rendering available of the weight OF the engine W
can be done BY single pair. To increase the ADMISSION
Of the engine must increase It's weight ana YET
we cannot increase its adhesion directly ID proporuon
10 the weight added if could, the present system
would not be defective as is Experiment 5eacnes
that one pound of iron suspended from Puey wan move
ON nane six pounds of iron resting on iron hence IL IS
said the adhesion of iron upon iron IS equa 10 onesx
the nsstent weight If this be so, requires SIX tons OF
weight to be added the engine 10 give one ton Oh al
hesion-six pounds added for every one pound gained
Rp actual practce on railways shows that the adhesion
is not worth so much, but is, under ordinary clrcum-
stances probably oneninth of the in
when affected by the weather. that it will be seen,
while t 4e of the boiler and its effective power may De
INCREASED directly in proportion TO the weight added the
nine pounds aided ean csanos De- put lor J vet the
adhesion limits the tractiie power OF the 1t is
therefore and has ever been since the introduction
present system the object Of engine-buders to make
these forces proportonate for if the steam be
greater than the adhesion the wheels will reoo but not
progress if less, the engine remains stationary.
We have entered thus minuely into this branch of our
INQUIRY to show that heretofore there has been no in
ducement to combine in the locomotive engine as much
power as possible with little weight but that on the
contrary all the inducements held out have demanded
more weight. From this view, your committee are con-
WINGED that the locomotive engine may be greatly reduced
in weight without diminishing its steam capacity, and
vet be made to retain sufficient strength for all practical
purposes In examining this subject OF the practcabty
Of ascending high grades railroads your committee
have had their attention directed not only 10 the many
various plans which have suggested dor ehecng this
object but they have also examined the various reports
of the performances of teamcarrages on common roads
in England reprinted in 1882 by order of the Congress
the United States On the common roads the roughnes
of the earths surface afforded sufficient adhesion and
the great object then to accomplish 10 adapt the
gnes to the undulatons of the roads, and give them as
much power possible and the necessary strength with
little weight practicable In this report seye
raj very important facts stated rather exhibited
First that these seam-carrages, from weighing five or
six their first introduction, we're improved upon
until they were reduced in weight 10 and
three tons without essening their effective power; Sc
condy that there far less dsproporton between the
weight Of the machinery and the available load than is
ordinarily exhibited on railways anu thlrdy that
they hauled up steep inclnes far greater loads in pro-
portion TO their weight than now be done by the or
binary locomotive railway.
These facts but serve strengthen the opinion before
expressed that locomotive engines may be constructed
much lighter than those in use with equal capacity
generate and whenever It shall become the inte
rest Of builders to supply hight engines combining the
greatest steam capacity with the necessary strength,
American ingenuity will not be found wanting IN capacity
TO construct them.
/ That by mechanical adhesion a properly-constructed
locomotive engine may be made draw far greater loads
than il can do by the adhesion Of its weight is undena
ble has often been shown in practice and may at any
time be proved by converting locomotive into station
engine Your committee therefore, feel great eonh-
dence in the opinion that If mechanical adhesion as ap-
Piled in the plan before be substituted Tor weight en-
nes may be made to draw remunersdve oaas over uch
higher grades than am used even such as are work
81 with assistant engines These opinions not in har
mony with the current thoughts OF the day ana SIMPLY
because having long besn accustomeu y seeing lngs
done in particular way we come 70 regard mat as the
onIy wav n which they be done We see huge en-
zine drawing train and another monster engine push
ing il up .grade eighty or one hundred feet to the mile
and tlabor appears so great one IS apt to think the
orkng Of crses cannot prove remuneraye, when, in
ae instance erred to- the weight Of the engines them
selves may ave constituted the greater part Of the
sistanee.
II twenty years ago it had been proposed to work
grade eighty feet the mile with the locomo
tive engine il would have been thought entirely imprac
ticab as 1t was when ii claimed that engines could
be made to twenty miles an hour; much So that
one writer in derison Of what he deemed be absurd
proposition, published his opposition to il, with the de-
caration that incur the risk attending such
velocity, were il possible 70 obtain it. he would
sent to be placed in mortar and shot out OF il headfore
most"
When we look abroad at the wonderful effects Of steam
and the various Offices in which is employed and reflect
that tires but performs the most arduous duty
readily it does the ghtest aboring necessarily, and
demanding only water and fuel-when il driving
the the largest vessels which float regard
less CT opposing winds and wayes-we have been led to
wonder why il should have been regarded insult
fcent for hauling train Of up inclination Of
few hundred feet to the mile. The want Of adhesion
plains il and the Of steam shows when the supply
Of adhesion shall all times become equal to the de-
mand then will grades be worked with much
level lines
Your committee FEEL also convinced that the plan for
producing mechanical adhesion proposed will offer
less resistance to engine ascending plane than it
would the quantity Of adhesion produced by
weight. This is illustrated in the model we have K
amined. This works generally grade Of about 100
feet to the mile, and the engine is made ascend by
Of adhesion produced piling lust
over its driving wheels Sufficient weight produce
required quantity This is then removed and mechanical
adhesion is produced and with this the engine up
the plane rapidly and steadily than when loaded
with the necessary weight That this effect exhibited in
the model will be realized in practice your committee do
not doubt When the locomotive engine shall become
limited in its power only by its steam capacity il will be
much powerful and effective than it IT, we
reasonably expect advantages almost great flow
from this change in its character those which have
hitherto accompanied its introduction
la view Of these things, and seeing nothing whatever
N theory TO dprove the utility practical value Of this
INVENTION aud confirmed in belief by the working
model, and by experiments heretofore made quite