The daily dispatch. [volume] (Richmond [Va.]) 1850-1884, 1869-11-12
A Hint for tse Fa~rnv;lie ard Buck.
fngham Rnisroasi--A New Kind oil
Track.

A Hint for tao Farrnvilie ard Buck.
fngham Rnisreasa--A New Kind OF
Track. !
The Fcstiniag railway is twelve and one
halt miles in length. aud was originally de-
signed for t,ainway for conveying slate,
coal, &c, from the qiarrics in Merionet-
shire, Wales, to ports of shipment. Its
construction was authorized by act of 1892,
and the Lands to be taken were restricted to
twelve feet wide, except where necessary
for stations, cuttings, or entertainments, and
the gauge on the road in no case was to ex-
coed three feet. Its original cost was only
.G36, 900, o. less than 5000 per mile, includ-
Ing tunnel OF half mile, and goodly pro-
portion OF bridges. Since the line was built,
$4,000 haye been expended for improve
ments aai additions to rolling stock and
other mat, re. which, having been paid for
out of earnings, has since been capitalized,
and the total cost is now $4,000. On the
increased capital it pays dividends of II per
cent. per annum, or on the original cost 81
per cent. Ii was originally operated by
horses, but for the last few years steam has
been substituted. The great feature Of this
railway is that its gauge is only t1c0 feet,
and its average speed about % miles per
hour. II carries passengers, slate, and
merchandise. The question arises, What
Is the cause Of this great success? 1t IS be-
cause the proportion between dead weight
than in other railways. The engine and
tender on this line weigh 10 tons, rs against
10 tons upon the wider gauge Of other lines.
Instead OF first-claSs carriages weighing ! .
tons TO carry 81 passengers, the cars on this
road weigh only | y ton, and carry L. pas
sengers. on this miniature line truck
weighing - hundred weight is made to
carry Il load of nearly four times its own
weight, while on the ordinary gauge truck
vii! not carry more than twice, and i'll
many Instances Il load not greater than It's
Own weight. Here, therefore, Is the great
secret Of success, and the lesson which the
experience of the working Of this Welsh
railway li;r teaches is that the nearer we
can approximate to the paying load the
greater Will be the profitable results Oh
tanned.
The difference in level between the termi-
nus at PortI.Iadoc and the top Of the NOUN
tain at Dinas is 700 feet, 50 that 4 coutluu-
Gus gradient of l in 81 has to be surmount-
ed. Tie Stccpcst gradient Is III 6O, ana
the curves are, in some cases, rs sharp rs
two chains radius, and in two instances only
l1G feet. The line is succession Of curves,
and so close 40 they follow each other that
IN ordinary train on some parts of the line
is on three separate curves at the same time.
At one part the curve is so sharp that the
engine is abreast ofthc last car III the train !.
The line is worked by class of engines Of
which the seventh ("The Little Wonder
is Il fair specimen. 1T has four cylinders 81
inches in diameter, with 13-inch stroke and
2S-inch coupled wheels. The tanks contain
| 900 gallons OF water, and the whole weight,
in steam, is estimated ut about 20 tons. The
total wheel base is 10 feet, each boge having
lis wheel centres snacnd feet apart. The
Little Wonder" i, n,in-....-... no." r..,-
sure of 100 TO 900 pounds, the boiler, Of
steel, being feet and inches in diameter,
u of ~ inch thick, and doublc-rivctted III
the longitudinal seams. The eng inc easily
hauis from 100 TO 40 empty slatc-tEucks up
the line, or say 100 to 100 tons, including Its
own weight.
The Engineer. in giving an account of
trip over this road, says " y speed OF IL
miles an hour WAS made with ease, and on
one occasion 4 velocity Of 30 miles an
hour was reached, the bOgie engine swing
inc round the curves with graceful ease and
:! total absence Of strain or jerk. But even
at this tremendous specd-corrcSpondi
to velocity Of 90 miles an hour for fleet
whccl-the engine ran with ali almost total
absence of oscillation, nor did the bearings
heat in the slightest degree. 1t Is further
stated that no accident has ever occurred on
this railway since it has been operated by
steam"