Public ledger. [volume] (Memphis, Tenn.) 1865-1893, 1868-10-30
steam Carriages for Common Roads

stsam Carriages for Common hoaas'
From the Edinburg seotsman'i
On Saturday afternoon very remark
ahle s;gbt was seen 10 this city. A train
Of heavily laden coal wagons, looking ex,
actly like luggage train, was observer
coming steadily up the steep ,nchns
Leading into Edinburg from Dalkeith. !.
was one of Mr.. r. W. Thompson . paten,,
road steamers, with india rubber wheel
tres having four huge loaded wagons IN
tow Each wagon weighed when empty
two and three-quarter tons, and carried
a load of Eve and one-quarter tons OF
coal. making. the gross weight Oh ine
wagons thirty-lhree tons. Thus to.a'
Of 1ortv-one tons was in motion. Inc
road steamer had drawn tram rom
Newbattle's collieries, eight miles rom
Edinburg, over very hilly ROAD win
rising gradients of one in SIX.
The hill from Pow Burn up to the
Mimic street is both long and steep, but
,ha road steamer drew its train 10 the
,on With nerfect ease IL was curious 10
wa,ob The bshavior Of the patent india
,nhher tires of the road steamer as they
nsss over the various road surface.
Over these sharp loose stones the india.
rubber tires Of the road steamer passed
without crushing, or, in fact, disturbing
them in the least. The toughest ana
sbarpest bed Of broken stones sank
sentIy into the elastic cushion OF india
rnbber which rose from the contact with
the most Jagged fragments OF stone
m;,hont anv traces of mark or injury.
Tbs nerfect command which the con-
dnctors of the train had over its move
rnants. enabled them TO control both ITS
ooursa and speed with the utmost pre-
cision. The line OF streets through
which il passed are always the most
crowded in the city, bur, notwithstand-
inc ali these obstacles, aggravated by
the streets being at some points under
renair and closed for one half OF their
width. no difficulty was experienced IN
steering clear Of every impeachment. /,
The extremely curious way IN which
the whole four wagons follow, snake.hke,
in the track of the road steamer was
clearly seen passing out North Bridge
into Leith street. First, the road steamer
had to turn to the right, and before the
last wagon vas round the corner to the
RIGHT. the road steamer had already
turned sharp to the left to go into Leith
street-thus the train actually assumed
the form of the letter s, every wagon 60
inc over the same ground as the road
steamer with the most perfect accuracy.
The final maneuver was one which the
conductors of the train did not expect
to be able to accomplish without break
inc il into two portions. 1t had to be
taken out of the bennington road, which
;sa narrow street of thirty feet in width
which rises with steep incline to the
entrance of Bowershsll works. II was
determined to attempt the narrow en-
trance with the entire train OF ninety
feet long, and it passed in at the first
trial leaving so much space to spare that
il was found, on afterward measuring
the wheel tracks, width OF fourteen
feet would have sufficed, though the
breadth of the wagon is seven feet. The
train curved in through the narrow en-
trance mounting at the same time the
steep incline leading up to the works,
and drew up in the yard in perfect
order.
There can be no doubt this invention
of the application of vulcanized india
rubber to the tires of road steamers
forms the greatest step which has ever
been made in the use of steam on COM
mon roads. It completely removes the
two fatal difficulties which have hitherto
barred the way to the use of traction en-
gines, viz: the mutual destruction OF the
traction engine and the roads. The
india rubber tires interposing soft and
elastic cushion between the two, effectu-
ally protect them from every jar and jolt
in fact, as much so as if the engine
were travelling over a trainway OF india
rubber. The road steamer which drew
the four wagons of coal from Newbattle
colIiery on Saturday was constructed to
draw less than one-hslf the weight COM
prised in the coal train.