The Washington union. [volume] (City of Washington [D.C.]) 1857-1859, 1857-09-01
Correspondence Of the Union
THE NEW RAILROAD BRAKE.

ASHLAND, Va, August 30, 1857
left Washington yesterday evening on brief visit to
Ashland for the purpose of witnessing the testing
McDonads railroad brake. Having recently read
communication in the Union setting forth the import
ance of this Improvement / thought it would be in
teresng to your readers to be informed Of the practical
results of the trials of to-day
After leaving the boat at Acquia Creek, and before
taking my seat in the cars approached negro brakes
man and inquired whether the brake the
train Receiving negative answer, asked what was
his opinion of it? HThe best kind of brake,
it sabes heap of labor, returned Being asked
how long it took to stop the with it, his reply
Stop EN- in Just time at all, massa. Brakesmen
no use now, massa USE 1t was with renewed
dence in the success of the exhibition of this invention
that took my seat in the cars
The exhibition made at Ashland, formerly Slash
Cottage Shortly after breakfast small number Of rail
road pointed out to being ready to wit
ness the trial AT ten o'clock the train equipped with
the steamboat arrived from Richmond, bringing
raj experienced railroad engineers and machinists The
preparations being completed and the track clear
the first experiment was made The train was put in
motion at speed of twenty miles an hour At given
signal the steam brake applied and the train brought
to q rest in thry-ve seconds, having distance of
four hundred and twentyeght feet This trial pro-
nounced unsatisfactory it being clear to all that the
chnery disarranged.
For the purpose of comparing the improved brake with
that now universally used railroads. the train was
again brought up at nearly the rate of speed Five
brakesnen stationed at their respective posts At
the signal their power promptly exerted and the
train stopped in forty-our seconds The distance ira
versed nine hundred and fifty feet Double the
Der Of brakesmen used to perform this duty on rail
roads were employed on this occasion.
The third trial favorable to the steam
brake than the first, in consequence of a careful rear
rangemen of its machinery although the speed was only
eighteen miles hour The stopped in thirty
seconds after having distance of one hundred yards
The fourth trial quite satisfactory The speed at
tanned twenty-five miles hour, and the train was
taken up in twenty seconds after running distance of
20s feet
Several other experiments made with similar results
The engineers and masters of machinery as well as the
spectators unanimous in testfng the entire sue
cess of the various experiments Notwithstanding the
that the machinery not in perfect ORDER and that
several of the brake blocks not acted on from the
varying length of the chains which should have been
uniform length the engineers held that the principle had
been fully tested and that they fully satisfied that
train with this brake perfectly arranged could be taken
up in less time than that of either Of the experiments Of
the day But houd this not be the case clearly de-
monstrae that the brake is far superior that in
II finally determined to lay before the railroad
convention which will assemble at New York Tues
day next statement Of the practical results which have
followed it's use the Richmond fredericksburg and
Potomac railroad and ask il to consider It with the view
Of Fastening it's use throughout the country