THE RAILWAYS OF THE FUTURE.

Lyttelton Times, Volume XXXIII, Issue 2931, 1 June 1870, Page 3

THE RAILWAYS OF THE FUTURE.

(from the Tima March 1.) The object of the experiments on the Welsh railways was to ascertain, whether or not the Fairlie engine increased the carrying capacity of a railway or diminished the cost of working it. With this view two engines were put on their trial-one, the Little Wonder, on the Festmiog Railway, of 2ft gauge, in North Wales ; the other, the> Progress, on the ordinary gauge of 4.8*, in South W The Fairlie engine consists of one long boiler haring two sets of tubes, with double firebox between, and poised on two bogies. increased power is gained, with an extraor denary facility of movement upon _ swift curves, and with a freedom from collation which makes the Fairlie engine leBB J e live to the rails than of much system'depends chiely on bogies. It

may be necessary to explain for some readers that a bogie is simply the name for a small truck. Instead of resting a waggon or a locomotive upon wheels of its own, which would make a long wheel-base that could hot by any possib lity get round very sharp curves, and that might get round moderate curves, but only with an amount of flange-friction destructive to the rails and retarding speed, the waggon or locomotive is poised on two independent trucks, which have a short wheelbase, and which can, therefore, find little difficulty in curves of exceeding sharpness. In the small cabbage-garden at liatcham, half an acre in extent, and laid out with rails of the ordinary gauge, Mr Fairlie exhibits a steam carriage of 43ft, in length travelling at a speed of 25 miles an hour round curves of 60ft. radiusj and they could with equal ease, and even greater safety, travel round curves of 25ft. radius, which is only about that of an ordinary engine turn-table. The engine, therefore, on a : air of bogies is prepared for a circuitous line of country, even on the standard gauge, which engines of the current type could not attempt. The excellence of the bogie, however, does not merely consist in its adaptation to curves. It i as an extraordinary effect in reducing oscillation. An ordinary carriage rests directly upon the ends of axles, and when, through any defect in the road, there comes a disturbance in the plane of movement, the carriage, waggon, or locomotive rocks from side to side with immense violence in a series of oscillations that hammer the rails to their destruction. It is calculated that these oscillations in a train going at the rate of 30 miles an hour add more than half as much again to the normal weight upon the wheel; and this is very serious in the wheels of a locomotive, each of which may be loaded up to seven or eight tons. The oscillation is reduced to a minimum by means of the bogie, inasmuch as the vast superincumbent weight of the locomotive is balanced on a pin, called the bogie-pin, in its centre. The bogie is a flat table upon wheels, with a great pivot in the middle of it. This table, and the wheels which support it, must naturally submit to whatever deflections there may be in the road, and so far it is impossible to get rid entirely of oscillation ; but the great mass of weight above, being poised in the centre of the bogie and upon the centre of the roadway, is comparatively free from the influence of rocking, and transmits little or no hammering to the rails. A child can understand this by watching at see-saw the difference between placing a weight in the middle of the plank and dividing it between the ends. Now it is an enormous advantage thus to steady the locomotive, to reduce the tendency to oscillate, and to get rid of the violent impact upon the rails. To steady the locomotive is to make its motion safer, and to diminish the chances of its leaving the rails—a point of considerable importance on the narrow gauge. The most important point of all, however, is to save the rails, which are so perishable under the demands of a heavy traffic that there are instances in which the strongest steel rails have to be replaced in six months. The rails where the line has any curve are torn up by the flange-friction of monster engines with an immense wheel-base, and, whether the line is curved or straight, are hammered out by the oscillations of the same engines. We have already explained bow, in the Fairlie engine, the flange-friction is reduced by the substitution of bogies with a short wheel-base for the old plan which necessitates a long one ; and there is an absolute unanimity of opinion as to the disappearance of oscillation with the use of the double bogie. We have only one word more of preface before we proceed to state what were the experiments with the Fairlie engine, both on the narrow and" on the broad gauge. It is that the statements we are about to make do not rest solely on our authority. The various Commissioners and other observers met together under the presidency of the Duke of Sutherland, compared their notes point by point, and came to a perfect agreement as to the facts which they were prepared to vouch for. Our facts, therefore, have the authority of documents signed by the Duke of Sutherland, as chairman of the different meetings which were held ; by the Russian Imperial Commissioners ; by the Commissioners of our Indian Government; by Captain Tyler, of the Board of Trade, who acted as secretary, and was mainly instrumental in putting the facts into proper form ; and by others who were well able to judge. The Little Wonder is an eight-wheeled double-bogie engine of four cylinders 8 3-16 in. in diameter, with a stroke of 13in. The diam.'ter of its wheels ia 2ft. 4in.; its average stea pressure is 1501 b.; its weight is 19£ tons; its total length is 27ft.; its total wheel-base is 19ft,, and the wheel-base of each bOide, which practically has alone to be considered, is sft. This engine was first of all made to carry from Portmadoc to Festiniog a train made up of 90 slate waggons, weighing 57J tons; 7 passenger carriages and vans, weighing 13J tons ; and 57 passengers, weighing 4 tons—in all 75 tons. Add to this its own weight, and we have a total load of 94 J tons. The weight, it will be seen, was considerable, if 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 to the length of the train, which was 834 ft. —nearly the sixth part of a mile. A train of such a length on such a line had to run often upon two or three reverse curves, some of them with a radius as short as If chains, and it curled and doubled upon itself as it wound among the Welsh hills so that the passengers in the front carriages could, sitting in their seats, make signals to the passengers in the hindmost ones. The-engine, being in full gear, took this very long train up the hills and in and out among the curves at an average speed of 14J miles an hour, and at a maximum speed of 26J miles. Let us here add by way of parenthesis, in order not to refer to it again, that some days afterwards a similar train of 140 empty and seven loaded waggons, weighing in all 101 tons, and measuring in length 1323 feet, that is, a quarter of a mile—a train so long, in fact, that there were parts of the road on which it had to run on no less than five reverse curves—was by the same engine hauled up the hills at an average speed of 12i miles, and a maximum of 16J. Now, what was the result observed in wriggling along these curves ? It was generally observed (we now quote almost verbatim from the protocol signed by the chief witnesses) that even on curves of li chains radius, and at maximum speed, there was very little perceptible oscillation or movement on . the engine or in the carriages, and by no means such as is felt on comparatively easy curves on ordinary railways. Nor must this remarkable point be forg dten—a fact almost incredible, but yet certified by competent witnesses— that the oscillation diminished as the speed increased. The speed, let it be added, is naturally less on a narrow gauge than on a broad one. Captain Tyler, the Government Inspector of Railways, was at first so doubtful of the safety of a high speed on a railway of such narrow gauge and such wild curves as that at Festiniog that he insisted on limiting the company to a maximum speed of 12 miles an hour. Since then, however, his doubts have been so completely dispersed that be has removed all restrictions as to the rate of speed ; and as a matter of fact the Little Wonder, when necessary, works lip to 30 and 35 miles an hour.

Next day the oscillation o£ the Little Wonder was put to a further test, and compared with that of the other engines—the Welsh Pony and the Mountaineer—which are of the ordinary type. In this series of experiments the speed was confined to ten or twelve miles an hour on a comparatively level line, the gradient being only one in 1200 ; and the line was laid with rails weighing only »olb to the yard, and not fished at the joints. On the Welsh Pony and the Mountaineer, tank engines of the ordinary type, weighing, the one ten and the other eight tons, it was found that there was a strong vertical oscillation and a lateral oscillation not so strong. On the Little Wonder, the double-bogie engine weighing 19J tons, it was found that when riding on the foot plates there was no oscillation whatever, vertical or lateral, perceptible only “ a smooth floating movement; ” and that when riding on the bogie frames there was felt a

slight lateral oscillation, through less than on the other engines! It is kdded that the oscillation of the Fairlie engine being confined to the bogie, the influence of impact on the rails from the flanges of the wheels was far less than in the case of the Welsh Pony and the Mountaineer, the whole weight of these engines being in the course of tbeir oscillations brought to bear upon the rails. Next followed some rather tedious but very interesting tiisls ns to the comparative powers of the two classes of engine. The Wel-h Pony was selected to represent the common type of engine. It is a four wheeled locomotive, weighing ten tons, with cylinders 8J in diameter, having a stroke of 12in, and with wheels 2ft in diameter. It was in the first instance tacked on to a load of 50 slate waggons full of slate, weighing 123 J tons. To this add 3£ tons for passengers and 10 tons for its own weight, and we get at the entire load of 137 tons. With this the Welsh Pony started from Portmadoc, and, running along the comparative level (1 in 1200) of the Traeth Mawr Embankment, stopped on a gradient of 1 in BS, unable to proceed further, with 1601 bto the square inch of steam pressure. Hereupon half the number of waggons was removed, and the load (including passengers and the engine itself) was consequently reduced to 72 tons 17cwt. With this load it was found ttiat the Welsh Pony could mount the gradient of 1 in 85 easily enough. Being successful with 25 waggons, the question arose could it manage more? It was then tried with 30 waggons, but on the gradient of 1 in 85 it was found that it could not start, though, since the engine-wheels did not revolve, there was no lack of adhesion. Then again the load was reduced to 26 waggons, weighing (with passengers and engine) 73 tons 16 cwt, and it was found that this was the limit of the Welsh Pony’s power. It started with suoh a load on the gradient of 1 ia 85, and carried it as far as was necessary at the rate of five miles an hour—the average pressure being 1601 b to the square inch. If the Welsh Pony could carry nearly 74 tons up such a gradient, and with this load also start on it, what could the Fairlie engine, the Little Wonder, do ? It was supposed that it ought to pull double. If the Welsh Pony could, on a gradient of 1 in 85, manage 26 waggons full of slate, weighing with all else 74 tons, surely the Little Wonder could manage 52, Mr Fairlie said he was quite prepared for this ; he would stake the credit of his little engine on its power to carry such a load; and to show that he could be generous, he even added three waggons to the load; he thought bis engine could manage 55 waggons. However, as the Welsh Pony had first of all been tried with an excessive load, it was but fair that the Little Wonder should be similarly tried. A train was prepared of 72 loaded waggons of slate, weighing 138 tons 17cwt., with empty ones weighing 43 tons lOcwt.; and when you add to this 56 passengers, weighing 4 tons, and the weight of the engine itself, 19J tons, you have a total load of 206 tons. With this load the Little Wonder started from Portmadoc (steam pressure, 1651 b.), and passing along the level embankment, went up the gradient of I in 85 with perfect ease, and to the astonishment of all the visitors, who crowded round Mr Fairlie and shook him heartily by the hand on such a triumph. His engine was warranted to do double the work of ordinary engines, and on trial it was found equal to treble the work. But th en arose the question—The Little Wonder has pulled such a load up the gradient of 1 in 85, having had a good start on the level embankment; can it start with this load on the gradient itself ? It was, perhaps, scarcely fair to make the trial, inasmuch as the day was wearing late, and the engine-driver had, through a misapprehension, let the fire run low. Still the trial was made, and with perfect success. There is this further, however, to be added, that whereas the shorter trains were standing when they started, or attempted to start, partly on a curve of 4J chains radius, partly on a straight line, the train of the Little Wonder being much longer (it was 648 feet), stood partly on the curve of 4J chains radius and partly on a reverse curve of a little wider sweep, which, of course, means an increased resistance, and might be resolved into an increase of gradient. Also let us add here, to complete the statement, what really happened four or five days afterwards, that whereas these experiments last described were intended to test the extreme power of the engines, other experiments followed to show what the Little Wonder could do, not merely in a short run, but in its ordinary daily work between Portmadoc and Festiniog. It took, for example, a train 407 ft long, and loaded to 1411 tons, from Portmadoc to Festiniog, at a maximum speed of 15 miles an hour and an average one of 11 j. The usual practical load, however, of the Little Wonder upon the average gradient of 1 in 92 is from 90 to 100 tons (exclusive of engine), at from 12 to 15 miles an hour. On a level it is calculated that its power is equal to the carriage of 450 tons, at a speed of 14 miles an hour.

After the experiments on the Festiniog Railway the exploring party met together in council, under the presidency of the Duke of Sutherland, to hear Mr Spooner read a paper on the wonderful little line of which he is the engineer, and to compare with each other their notes and impressions. Mr Spooner gave ample information on every detail connected with his railway, which in the year ending June, 1869, had a mineral traffic of 118,132 tons, a goods traffic of 18,600 tons, and a passenger traffic of 97,000 persons, but no night traffic and no Sunday trains. His paper will, no doubt, be published, and those who may be interested in the subject will find in it all the statistics of which we have given the cream. We only state here that he wound up his remarks by saying that he does not recommend for light railways a gauge so narrow as 2ft. The gauge he recommends is one of 2ft. 6in. The large amount of traffic which can he done with ease on lines of this limit is, he said, really surprising, and with the Fairlie engine it is quite equal to that which can be earned on a 4ft. Biin. gauge. Hereupon the discussion became general, but we can refer to only a few of the opinions which were expressed. The Duke of {Sutherland said he wished he had known more of the Festiniog Railway six years ago. “ I have expended,” said his Grace, “ about £200,000 in promoting and making railways in the north. Had these lines been constructed on the narrow gauge, and had they in consequence cost only twotbir Js of the sum that has been expended on them, I should have obtained a direct return on this large sum which I have laid out for the benefit of my estates and of the people in those remote districts. As it is, I shall suffer considerable loss.’ Then Mr Crawley insisted in a vigorous argument on the perfect sufficiency of a 2ft 6in gauge, if worked on the Fairlie system, for the heaviest traffic, and on the folly, if this were sufficient, of adding another inch to the gauge. The argument may be sound as regards heaviness of traffic, but as other considerations besides the weight to be carried have to be taken into account, as. for example, the comfort of passengers, and the bulk of goods, say in a cotton country, it is natural that there should be some difference of opinion as to the precise narrow gauge which is best. Mr Fowler and Mr Fairlie have both recommended a 3ft gauge for India ; and it is not at all unlikely that this gauge may ultimately be adopted in Russia. The invention of the double bogie is exceedinizly simple-—bo simple that one wonders it was not thought of before. It is like the egg of Columbus —when once it was poised anybody could do the same thing. Wow. when we see by the double bogie how to poise an engine so that it shall not oscillate, so that it can bo indefinitely increased in size, and so that it shall not murder the rails in its violence, one is inclined to say, “We knew all this before; there is nothing novel here. There is nothing novel, the principle is obvious ; but it was never before 80 ®PP he^ a . 8 .,° have a practical result, and Mr Fairhe has the credit of introducing into the construction of the locomotive one of those slight changes which lead right on to a prodigious developmentand almost to a revolution. We are on the brink of a new era in railways—the narrow gauge era-an era of renewed activity, when every village, almost every farmstead, may have Us railway, and if such an era be now at hand it is mainly because the Fairlie engine, by its

increased power, by its adaptation to the sharpest carves, by its economy on the rails, and by its freedom from oscillation, even upon rude roads, has rendered it possible. Bogie has arisen to ttie incantations of Mr Fairlie, and promises to make the old railways work better than they ever did before, and to make new railways, of lighter, smaller, cheaper construction, that will vie in performance with any of the old.