The record-union., 1897-10-22
SPIRAL RAILWAYS.
A Dizzy Device FOR Giving Fear and
Joy to Seaside Merrymakers.

At first sight the title given to a
new form of engineering device for in
creas1ng the enjoyment of holiday max
ers suggests a scheme for exploiting the
monumental tombs of Egyptian Kings.
For an illustration of it's meaning, how
ever, one need go no further east than
Southend-on-Sea, where in the newly
formed Marine Park a giant structure
that is rather conical than pyramidical
in contour rears it's head above sur
rounding tree tops. 1t stands on a
ridge that makes the hight Of its top
mast gallery seem dizzy, though in re-
ality this is not more than forty feet
from the base. Round the skeleton
frame of iron spiral railway runs like
huge Archimedean screw, the lower
end of which is lost in a tunnel. This
railway is not merely in an experiment
tad stage, having been at work since
August Bank holiday, when many
thousands experienced the pleasant
sensation of swift descent on its curved
gradients, and kept the cars going in
cessantly for twelve hours. Appar-
emily the Directors of a company that
has come into existence with the OBJ
ject of placing similar delights within
reach of holiday makers throughout
Great Britain had not seen the thing in
operation until yesterday, when, with a
party of invited guests they went to
Southend and made several Journeys on
the spiral railway with all the lively
enjoyment of children trying a new
toy. They do not claim TO have done
| more than discover new pleasure for
the hundreds whose ideas of exhilarat-
| ing amusement have not hitherto scared
much above switchback railways If
any among them had any misgivings as
to the possible dangers attendant on
such forms of amusement their ankle
ties must have been dispelled by the
series of practical tests yesterday.
The structure itself is absolutely safe,
though it has nothing about it so pom
derous as the base of a Wembley Tow
er. On a bed of concrete the central
iron framework stands crowned by an
Eoctagonal pagoda, which at present
lacks ornamental finish. Within this
frame work are the engines and other
appliances for giving motive power to
a lift. From it iron struts extend
round a great circular area, and serve
as supports for the railway, which is
| fenced by stout ratings on each side.
The little cars. constructed to hold six
passengers each, are not drawn UP the
spiral by locomotive engines, but hoist
ed to the highest gallery in the lift one
or two at time From these they
are set going down the incline by a
slight exercise of manual or mechani-
cal force, and then the only thing is
| to check their speed by the judicious
application Of brakes These are of
such power and so perfectly under con-
troll Of the driver that two cars coupled
together can be stopped instantly at
any point no matter how fast they
may be going. By an ingenious ar
rangement of levers actuating auxiliary
wheels that run along a middle rail
any tendency of the car to get off its
track is effectually prevented, and short
of breakage, which seems impossible,
no accident that might happen could
/ lead to serious consequences. The
mechanism by which these cars are
lifted to the top is, according to an
estimate made by the engineer, capable