Road Progress, Or, Amalgamation of Railways and Highways for Agricultural Improvement, and Steam Farming, in Great Britain and the Colonies; Also Practical Economy in Fixed Plant and Rolling Stock for Passenger and Goods Trains (Paperback)

This historic book may have numerous typos and missing text. Purchasers can download a free scanned copy of the original book (without typos) from the publisher. Not indexed. Not illustrated. 1850 Excerpt: ...greater safety; for, in case of collision, the long carriages will not leave the rail to ride on each other's backs, in which case the compressed buffers are discharged like cannon balls, breaking passengers' legs beneath the seats, as has more than once occurred in collisions; thirdly, eight wheels to one carriage are safer than four. " The advantages to the shareholders are as follows: --" First. These composite carriages cost the companies only one-half the price per passenger that the common stock costs. Secondly. The dead weight per passenger is only one-half that of the ordinary stock. Thirdly. The number of wheels are eight instead of sixteen. " For these reasons, cmteris paribus, the engine power required ought to be considerably less, and the wear and tear of the road ought to be considerably reduced. " The next question is of accommodation to passengers. " The carriage is divided into four apartments, each having 90 feet of floor area. Externally they are all alike, being all fitted with plate-glass windows of larger size than any other carriages on any line, giving full view of the country. One of these apartments is furnished or trimmed with cloth and blinds, cushions, &c, and is arranged for twenty passengers seated. Now to compare this with an ordinary first-class carriage. " The usual length is 16 feet 6 inches, the breadth 6 feet, and a proportion of the cubic contents is taken off by partitions, so that we may estimate this area in round numbers, say at 100 COMPARATIVE ECONOMY IN COST AND WORKING. 41 square feet: but the height is only about 5 feet 3 inches, making up 525 cubic feet; but the height of the long composites is upwards of 6 feet 6 inches, making up a total of 585 cubit feet, giving the same cubi...