, 1877-07-18

uOneu. 1t Is rather a Illuminating result. One
is sometimes tempted to the conjecture that the
Watts, the Bottoms, the Bells, and the Stepben-
sons of other days would have done better, and
to put the queStion,-HoW is it that the science,
the ingenuity, and the mechanical skill Of
Britain should be thus foiled :
Chafe as We may, The discontinue seems,
meanwhile, TO be complete and irredeemable.
We are forced upon the system of Tramyavs.
as affording the only mode by which steam or
any other force can be applied to purposes of
traction on roads. rs regards the introduc.
ton of that system, We in Britain were left
tar behind. 1t was in use throughout large
portions of the United States ere we dreamt Of
resorting to il. At length it was brought in,
at the lnstigation and under the presidency of
The worst manager who could have presented
himself, that madcap Yankee, George Francis
Train. Yet even from the first the advantages
of his vehicles, in respect alike of comfort TO
travellers and of ease to horses, were fully
Acknowledged. Had he not committed the
blurder of choosing for his lines one of the
worst patterns of tram that had been laid in
New York, though long ere then it it had been
discarded, he might have won a fortune and been
reckoned a public benelaclor. 1t made a groove
ia the road Of FIVE fest in width, and nearly an
inch in depth, thus rendering the street dan.
gtrUuS for any other mems of conveyance. 1t
was well nigh impossible for a carriage Of any
sort to cross it without having wheels Rugged,
aXles strained, and the risk of serious accident
encountered. All this has teen changed for
the better. In most of our great towns there
are now street railways which are entirely I'M
Objectionable, save where The streets are mar
rev and there no ~tramway should be driven
through. On these lines the rails are counter
sunk in the roadway, and do not rise above the
surface they Ctler no obstruction therefore 10
the crossing of other vehicles, while those that
are fitted to The same gauge may run along
them with the utmost facility. That The strain
upon horses is wpch less severe than in the
old Omnihus-trafi cannot be doubted. Still it
is formidable enough where gradients are steep
to prompt the wish that it might be allevia;ed,
or that a suitable Substitute might be found.
The likelihood Of such a discovery has of late
become considerable. After a long period Of
neglect or slacknesS, inventors seem anew TO
have devoted themselves with a rush TO this
subject. They have applied their ingenuity
to the true conditions of the problem, namely,
to provide such a motive power as shall be
adequate for all exigencies, while at the same
time 50 cheap, in respect to original expense
Of m maintenance and of working, that it may
proftably supprsede horse-tracti0n. Apart
from this, it is plain anything which might
be tried &, however interesting aS an experiment.
or amusing as a spectacle, could have no solid
and lasting value. 1t is to give facilities for
such trials that the Government proposal has
been made. The BiI empowers the Board OF
Trade to license for a year, under such condI,
tions as they m y see fit to impose, the use OF
airy mechanical power for moving tramway car
riages, such licences being renewable Tor a
like period, but also subject to suspension or
revocation, without cause being assigned.
AT present, the law npon this subject Is con-
tanned in an Act passed in 1865, which con-
templates the employment only of ponderous
vehicles for dragging heavy weighs at a slow
speed. Nevertheless, various engines have
been tried, with The conniyance and sanction
of local authorities, in some cases rather grudg-
ingly given, and the results have been
full Of promise. One Of these is a light steam
engine, designed by Mr.. Hughes, of Loices.
ter, which makes no noise, emits neither smell
nor vapour, does not scare horses, can be
stopped within its own length, and takes the
s~teepest gradients or the sharpest curves with
ease. The regularity of its construction is
directed to the task of mounting %incIlncs, a
system cf condensltio being adopted which
enables the exertion put forth to be proper
toned 10 the resistance which has to be over
come 80 that on a level road no more force
is used than will give the requisite velocity
while that force may be increased according
to the steepness of the elevation which has to DO
assembled. Another engine, driven by COM