(205.)

Among the numerous popular prejudices to which this new invention has given rise, one of the most mischievous in its effects and most glaring in its falsehood, is the notion that carriages thus propelled are more injurious to roads than carriages drawn by horses. This error has been successfully exposed in the evidence taken before the committee of the [Pg433] House of Commons upon steam carriages. It is there demonstrated, not only that carriages thus propelled do not wear a turnpike road more rapidly than those drawn by horses, but that, on the other hand, the wear by the feet of horses is far more rapid and destructive than any which could be produced by the wheels of carriages. Steam carriages admit of having the tires of the wheels broad, so as to act upon the road more in the manner of rollers, and thereby to give consistency and firmness to the material of which the road is composed. The driving wheels being proved not to slip upon the road, do not produce any effects more injurious than the ordinary rolling wheels; consequently the wear occasioned by a steam carriage upon a road, is not more than that produced by a carriage drawn by horses, of an equivalent weight and the same or equal tires; but the wear produced by the pounding and digging of horses' feet in draught is many times greater than that produced by the wear of any carriage. Those who still have doubts upon this subject, if there be any such persons, will be fully satisfied by referring to the evidence which accompanies the report of the committee of the House of Commons, printed in October, 1831.

The weight of machinery necessary for steam carriages is sometimes urged as an objection to their practical utility. Mr. Gurney states, that, by successive improvements in the details of the machinery, the weight of his carriages, without losing any of the propelling power, may be reduced to 35 cwt., exclusive of the load, and fuel and water: but thinks that it is possible to reduce the weight still further.

A steam carriage constructed by Mr. Gurney, weighing 35 cwt., working for 8 hours, is found, according to his statement, to do the work of about 30 horses. He calculates that the weight of his propelling carriage, which would be capable of drawing 18 persons, would be equal to the weight of 4 horses; and the carriage in which these persons would be drawn would have the same weight as a common stage coach capable of carrying the same number of persons. Thus the weight of the whole—the propelling carriage and the carriage for passengers taken together—would be the same [Pg434] with the weight of a common stage coach, with 4 horses inclusive.

There are two methods of applying locomotives upon common roads to the transport of passengers or goods; the one is by causing the locomotive to carry, and the other to draw the load; and different projectors have adopted the one and the other method. Each is attended with its advantages and disadvantages. If the same carriage transport the engine and the load, the weight of the whole will be less in proportion to the load carried; also a greater pressure may be produced on the wheels by which the load is propelled. It is also thought that a greater facility in turning and guiding the vehicle, greater safety in descending the hills, and a saving in the original cost, will be obtained. On the other hand, when the passengers are placed in the same carriage with the engine, they are necessarily more exposed to the noise of the machinery and to the heat of the boiler and furnace. The danger of explosion is so slight, that, perhaps, it scarcely deserves to be mentioned; but still the apprehension of danger on the part of the passengers, even though groundless, should not be disregarded. This apprehension will be obviously removed or diminished by transferring the passengers into a carriage separate from the engine; but the greatest advantage of keeping the engine separate from the passengers is the facility which it affords of changing one engine for another in case of accident or derangement on the road, in the same manner as horses are changed at the different stages: or, if such an accident occur in a place where a new engine cannot be procured, the load of passengers may be carried forward by horses, until it is brought to some station where a locomotive may be obtained. There is also an advantage arising from the circumstance, that when the engines are under repair, or in process of cleaning, the carriages for passengers are not necessarily idle. Thus the same number of carriages for passengers will not be required when the engine is used to draw as when it is used to carry.

In case of a very powerful engine being used to carry great loads, it would be quite impracticable to place the engine [Pg435] and loads on four wheels, the pressure being such as no turnpike road could bear. In this case it would be indispensably necessary to place a part of the load at least upon separate carriages to be drawn by the engine.

In the comparison of carriages propelled by steam with carriages drawn by horses, there is no respect in which the advantage of the former is so apparent as the safety afforded to the passenger. Steam power is under the most perfect control, and a carriage thus propelled is capable of being guided with the most admirable precision. It is also capable of being stopped almost suddenly, whatever be its speed: it is capable of being turned within a space considerably less than that which would be necessary for four-horse coaches. In turning sharp corners, there is no danger, with the most ordinary care on the part of the conductor. On the other hand, horse power, as is well known, is under very imperfect control, especially when horses are used adapted to that speed which at present is generally considered necessary for the purposes of travelling. "The danger of being run away with and overturned," says Mr. Farey, in his evidence before the House of Commons, "is greatly diminished in a steam coach. It is very difficult to control four such horses as can draw a heavy stage coach ten miles an hour, in case they are frightened or choose to run away; and, for such quick travelling, they must be kept in that state of courage that they are always inclined to run away, particularly down hill, and at sharp turns in the road. Steam power has very little corresponding danger, being perfectly controllable, and capable of having its power reversed, to retard in going down hill. It must be carelessness that would occasion the overturning of a steam carriage. The chance of breaking down has been hitherto considerable, but it will not be more than in stage coaches when the work is truly proportioned and properly executed. The risk from explosion of the boiler is the only new cause of danger, and that I consider not equivalent to the danger from horses."

That the risk of accident from explosion is extremely slight, may be proved by the fact that the railway between Liverpool and Manchester has now been in operation for about ten [Pg436] years, and that other railways more extensive in length have been worked for a considerable time, and that no instance has ever yet occurred of an accident to passengers from the explosion of a boiler. Generally these machines, when they fail, are attended with no other effect than the extinction of the fire, by the water of the boiler flowing in upon it. I am not aware of more than one instance, in which a serious accident has been produced by explosion; and in that instance, the sufferers were only the engineer and stoker. In the steam-engine of Mr. Gurney, the carriage is drawn after the engine, as represented in fig. 117.

Fig. 117.

Fig. 118.