The Sun. — 1865-12-22 (London, England)

THE TRIAL FOR MURDER.  RAILWAY INTELLIGENCE.  GREAT NORTTERN. The new locomotive engines specially constructed for working the local traffic of this company's railway have now been running between Hatfield and the Farringdon Station of the Metropolitan Railway for about two months. The great object in the construction of those engines which Mr. Sturrock, the locomotive engineer of the Great Northern Company, had in view was to dispense with a separate tender and to obtain as much tractive power as  possible, together with the facility of running safely on the steep curves and steep-gradients of the Metropolitan and the London, Chatham, and Dover (Metropolitan) lines. It was also considered necessary that the engine should run equally well backward as forward, carrying its fuel and water, _ _ .  so that the -weight on the driving-wheels should also remain about the same, whether the tank por tion be full or nearly empty ; and it appears that all these requirementshave been successfully accomplished. The new engine is well proportioned and compact, having six wheels, two under the tank and fuel portion, and four under the engine and boiler portion, being placed between the firebox and the smokebox. The latter are the driving-wheels, the axles of which are about 7ft. 6in. from centre to centre, and are coupled together by side rods in the usual way. The aide of the other pair of wheels for carrying the tender portion of the enginebehind the fire-box is placed at a distance of about 12ft. from the nearest axle of the driving wheels, making a total wheel bearing of 19ft. Gin. The four driving wheels act together ; bnt the two end wheels under the tank portion of the engine are worked on the radial system patented by Mr. W. Bridges Adams, having a lateral self-acting motion, which instantly adapts the position of the wheels to the curves, passing smoothly round them, keeping the engine steadily on the track, and allowing the driving wheels to exert freely their full power in propelling the engine and train forward. The lateral play of a few inches from side to side of the radial axle boxes  attached to the separate pair of wheels being on a transverse curve, has the effect of moving the axle in a line with a radius of any curve of the rails along which the engine is at that moment passing, and of course always keeping those pair of wheels parallel to the line of rails, and consequently safe from getting off the line. The wheels or the engine therefore run with great freedom from flange friction, avoid the usual obstructions in that respect, and prevent a deal of wear and tear as compared with other engines. The arrangement of these radial axles is very ingenious, simple, and effective. The cylinders of the engine are 16iin. in diameter, the tank holds 1,000 gallons of water, equivalent to a supply for a run of 30 miles. The engines run freely round the sharpest curves, for which they are designed, and the weight upon each pair of wheels is 13 tons. The chief difficulty with tank engines hitherto has been the lessening of the adhesion of or weight on the driving wheels, by the gradual consumption of the water from the tank, but in the arrangement of those engines the difference of weight on the driving wheels is estimated at only about a quarter of a ton out of 26 tons. These engines run every working day to and from Farringdon Station ' and places on the Great Northern line. Mr. Sturi. reports that the patent radial axles of Mr. Adams answers admirably, both at high and low speed, the engine running perfectly steady at above 1 50 miles an hour, and that the new engine therefore has given entire satisfaction.