Weekly standard. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1858-1865, 1864-11-02
A New foreground Atmospheric
Railway.

The London correspondent Of the New York Her.
aid, dated September g. gives the following account
of new and important phase of railway progress ::
This week has been made memorable by the most
important experiment in locomotion since the first
opening of railway. This has been the successful
commencement of new railway-one to be worked
without horses, locomotives stationary engines or
water power. And what power then? you may ask
Why, the pneumatic, to be sure-the atmospheric
air as motor.
will not 60 so far as to predict that the days of
locomotives over soon to be among the things
that we're but thing seems certain, and that is
that for short lines, where large traffic is required
lines in attics and lines under rivers and up and
down steep ascents, the pneumatic propulsion must
take the place of both locomotives and horses As
a power, under such circumstances, it is far more
economical, more efficient more comfortable, and
will give travellers almost entire immunity from
accidents and casualties.
The pneumatic princlple-using air as MOTOR
is not new but this method Of applying it to rail-
ways is quite new-the patented invention of Thorn
as W. Rammell, Esq, of Bridge street. Westminster,
civil engineer Of high standing. .-.-..
Former pneumatic, or atmospheric" railways
as they were termed, were worked by means OF a
cylinder and continuous piston, some twenty inches
in diameter, under the carriages between the rails.
The power was connected to the train by valve
and slot; but it was impossible to prevent great
loss of power by Leakage and after two trials
it was abandoned. 10 Mr.. RammelPs pneumatic
railway the "cylinder," is the railway tunnel, and
the piston is the train itself One carriage Tor car
known as the "ps!on," has q projection or disc of
metal, the outer edge Of 1t being soft substance
like brush of bristles, and this comes in contact
with the brick work, other material forming the
inside Of the railway tunnel, touching all around
sides, top and bottom, and thus excluding the air.
1t is not actually air tight like piston rod in pis-
ton but practically the leakage makes no material
loss of power.
Then the pneumatic machine, or grand wheel of
Eolus, that raises the wind, is stationed near one
end of the railway tunnel, and is moved by small
stationary engine, or any power. The first pneu.
1,atc railway experiment on this principle, you
aware, small line, about three feet in diameter
for carrying mails and parcels, and that has been in
operation from Easton London and Northwestern)
Railway terminus 10 the Northwest District Post
Office, in the North west part Of London. Thathas
been in successful operation, carrying the mails
twenty or thirty times a'day, for over year and a
half .-.-
Next, line for goods and mails, about five feet
in diameter, has been built under the streets, like
the smaller one, to carry the mails to and from the
general post office, St Martins lie Grand, and that
is soon to be opened It will also connect the Lon.
don and Northwestern railway with Chaplin &
Horns (the great railway carrieIs) premises, in
Gresham street. near the Bank of England. Tha,
line, besides carrying the London mails between the
postofiice and the railways, will transport thou.
sand tons OF goods dag, between the heart of the
city and suburban railway station, (Camdentown,,
and all through single cast iron tube, and with
| one stationary engine
The passenger line opened this week is about six
hundred yards-say third of mile-in the Crys
tai Palace Park and 10 between ten and eleven fee
in diameter-not nine feet by ten, a. enormously
stated by some Of the newspapers-and will take il
agreat Western (broad guagel train, and transpor
It from one end to the other. The line has beer
purposely constructed with all the disadvantage,
that any railway is liable to-neither strait or level
but with very sharp curve, and up a sleeper in
cline (cne foot in teen1 than is practicable for an,
| locomotive to work.
The trains are blown through in one direction
| and then sucked back on their return, the powe
working equally we'll in each direction. A grea
deal OF nonsense is talked and written about til,
pneumatic railways, like the trains being "sho
through" or working in q vacuum. Now, be i
known, once for all, that a vacuum" in workin,
apneumat:c railway is both useless and impossible
Take the train when it is sucked through, and wha
is the processf Why, precisely the same as that o
boy sucking pea or bullet through hollo1
reed. The train stands at the farther end of tn
tunnel or tube, quarter Of mile from the pneu
matte machine. Then the air is sucked by thi
powerful apparatus out Of the tunnel. OF course
% the air is gradually drawn out-the other end Q
the tube being closed BY the trsin-the atmosphes
becomes rarihed, or attenuated, and the process
goes on second or two till the air in the tunnel
made thinner-rari6ed-by about one per cent, an
the pressure of the surrounding atmosphere outsid
equal to fourteen pounds to the square inch) the
Or drives the train into the tunnel and tn
sucking process going on all the time, the trail
runs it's third of mile in some forty eight or fit
| secoads-eighteen to twenty miles an hour. O
hines Of any length, Atty miles on hour will be at
tanned with ease.
The carriage is lighted by lamps that give bril-
hsnt light and, having none of the gases or smoke
i or the heavy iolting that attends the nassapa of