Perrysburg journal. (Perrysburg, Wood Co., O. [Ohio]) 186?-1965, 1871-06-30
Superiority Of Narrow-Gauge Rail
Wava

ways.
In the question Of superior efficiency, as 10
cost Of construction aud productlvencss in work
ing, there is no longer any dispute between en-
gipeeis 10 those countries whsre the narrow
gauge railroads have been fully tested. Tha.
test has demonstrated the superiority Of the mar
row over the broad-gauge.
The consideration Of the merits Of this system
oftransit. and its general application ,o the Level
roads Of this county is that ons dsSderaium
which. in our estimate, will tend moro than any
other TO tue development of the unsurpassed re-
sources Of the soil Of Wood county and thus place
ii in the foremost rank Of productive counties.
That our fellow citizens who have not given
attention to this matter, may in some slight man
ner ascertain the facts relating to this system Of
railroads, its cost and the manner Of working,
we invite there consderate attention to the fol-
lowing particulars copied from the London Times
regarding the operations Of little locomotive,
the driving wheels of which were feet inches
in diameter aud its cylinder s3.l6 inches in
diameter and which operated on a narrow
gauge railroad in the mountain regions Of Wales
England
The Little Wonder is an eightwheeled
double bogie engine Of four cylinders, 3.l6
inches in diameter, with q stroke of l3 inches.
The diameter of its wheel 2 feet inches its
average steam pressure is $50 pounds its
weight 5li5 tons its total length IS n feet;
its total wheel base is 10 feet. aud the whoc
base Of each bogie, which practically has alone
to Dc considered, is feet. This engiae was
first of all made tn carry frnm PUrtmadOc to Fes-
tiniog. train made up Of 90 slate wagons weigh
ufaI Nana
weighing Is X tons aud 81 passengers, weigh
ing 4 tons in all rs tons. Add this to its own
weight, aud We have n total load Ot P4l5 tons.
The weight. It will be seen was considerable, IL
we take into account the size of the engine, the
narrowness Of the gauge. The steepness OF the
gradients, and the sharpness and multitude OF
the curves. But the chief point Of interest in
this experiment had reference 10 The length of
the train, which was 85I ieet-nearly the sixth
part Of mile,
A train of such length on such line had OF.
ten to run upon two or three reverse curves,
some of them with a radius as short as ono aud
three quarter chains and it is 50 curlsd and
doubled upon itself as il wound among the
Welsh bills that passengers in the front car
riages, while sitting in their seats, could make
| signals to the hindulosi onss. The engine being
ia full gear took thus very long train up the hills
and in aud out among the curves at an averag
speed of l4l5 miles an hour, and at maximum
| speed of 2ji4 mi'es. Let H. here add by way of
parcnhesis, ~ order not t. refer to IL again, that
some DAYS aiterward similar train oi 40 empty
and seven loaded wagons, weighing in all lGl
tons. and measuring in length ,323 ieet-thai
is a quarter of a mlQ--a train 80 long, in fact
| that there were parts Of the rad on which II
| had to run on no fewer than five reverse curves
--was bv the same engine hnuied mp the hills ut
an average speed If l2l9 miles, and maximum
| OF l6lI.
Now, what was the result observed in wrig-
| Cling along these curvesY II WAS generally OBJ
| served that, even on curves Of one and three
! Quar;er chains radius. aud ut nximnm speed,
there very little percepub'e oscillhtiun or
movement ON the engine nr IN the carriages, and
5y m means such as is felt ON comparatively ea-
sy curves on ordinary railways. Nnr must this
remarkable point be forgotten "a fact almost in
credible, but vet certified by competent witncs
ses-that the oscillation diminished as the speed
increased. The speed, let il be added, is natu-
rally less ON a narrow gauge than n broad one.
Capt Tyler, the government inspector OF rail-
wdvs, was at first so doubtful DG the safety of
high speed on n railroad OF such narrow gauge
and such wild curves as that ut Fcstiniog, that
he insisted ON limiting the company toa maxi
mum speed OF twelve miles AN hour. Since
then, howevei his doubts have heen so cnm-
pletely dispersed that he hns removed all The re-
strction, as u the rate Ot speed and, MS n mat
ter OF fact, the Little Wonder when necessary, 4,
weeks up To Thirty five miles mn hour"
MoRB ABOUT NARRow-G AuGE RAILWAYS.
In further illustration of the comparative mer-
its Of the narrow gauge system we give the fol-
lowing long but highly interesting article on
that question which was recently published IN
the Chicago 7rsJHie, which we hope vii be at
tcutively read by all parties who are interested {;
"Weare asked the question how can a three
foot gauge railway be constructed tor $4,000 per
mile, when it costs $4,000 per mile to build u
Tour-foot ten-inch gauge track un the best loca-
ted routes. The cost of building and eqnipping
a railroad Of a narrow gauge is in the proportion
or its cube root to tina, Of a wide gauge. The
cube uf 3 ieet is 81. The cube Of 4 set ga
inches, which is the narTowest Of existing
gauges, equals iO4, and in this proportion does
the cost oi building aud equippng roads Of these
respcctiye tracks differ: S2.I00 will build a.
much three-foot road as $40 400 will construct
| ol 4 feetsH ineh track.
To i'll ustraie this principle: A man tleice tht
height of a boy will weigh eight times much
| Ii the boy is feet high. and weighs, say 40L
pounds, man 5 feet "a inches. built in tn,
same proportion, will weigh lj6 pounds, al
though he is only feet s "a inches taller thai
the boy. common freight car weighs eight tc
ten tons, and carries burden of ten tons. a
| freight locomotive weighs about thirty tons. o.
| a ihree-foo track il has been found that iron
/ made freight cars need weigh but $40 pounds
| and were amply strong ennngh To carry thre,
| tons of freight. In this case the car eau carry
! four times its own weight, whereas on the " ldt
track il can bear Lad only, or slightly, exceed
ing its own weight. Twelve narrow gauge iron
ears only weigh as much as an ordinary WOO
| nul iron freight truck. but they will convey thir
ty-six TONS of freight wherever the big truck cal
| safely move under only one fourth as mucl
| freight An empty freight train Of one lucumO
| tive tender, and twenty trucks will weigh oveI
200 tons, and, when fully loaded, as much m re
or 400 tons. One-half Of the power ol the locr
| motive is therefore. consumed in moving dead
weight and the uther hall IN moving burden
! A lncnmotvr, as we said. weighs 30 tons, ills ten
| der with coal and water. weighs IL tons. AMI q Z
| two together. AZ tons 81 that the detd 'cslght -
the engine AMI tender is "a per cent. OF the cup
ty train or | per cent, Ol the laden train. TIT
weight on each driving " heel of II locOmitve u
between fire anl sir tons The injury SUSTAINED
by thetrack under this ennrmnus pressure I'm
single pnintnf the riIl. mnst be obvious at
glance. One l'cnm Miye eXeTting pressure a
six tons IN each of ITS driVng-whecls, VIII d
the rails m ire harm than hundred locomotive
running at the same speed whose wheels pres
the rail with bui one ton and a half ut pressure
In the nne case the iron is pressed bevnnd il
resisting lnwer its fibre is strained and crush
oil, aud the rails soon wear out nnler such ex
"essive weight But 10 obtain the necessary I'D
hesire pnwtr m we the train and itA load NJ
graieS, locnm iiyes mus. be built enormousl
heavy, which speedily deteriprates ani destroyi
the rails bat there is M help for il On a wid
track except hy he Use Of steel rails, and the
are liable 10 snap like pipe stems under the in
fueuce of frost aud the weight nf the locomotive
On the uarrow-gauge tack the lOromniive ma
: be II tank engine, aud carry its avn coal and WI
ter and dispense with a tender. II need M
weigh but six or eight TONS wiihiis supply OF II
ell nd water. The pressure Ofits wheels wit
therefore, be but one and half t0 two tons eacl
A pony locomotive, weighing six tons, with
l. n and a half pressure ON Tue rail from eac
wheel, will draw at the same speed more tha
one quarter Ms much load AS II thrty-ton locc
! motive, because part the weight at the la