had a base of 5 inches, a depth of 4 inches, weighed 75 lbs. per yard, and had stood very well. If the base was reduced much below that it was impossible on soft sleepers to get a good fastening, or one which would pass a Board of Trade inspector. That was a matter of interest at the present time, since a considerable and perhaps increasing mileage of branch lines was being constructed upon working arrangements with the parent companies. It was the interest of the constructing company to make as light a road as possible, while it was the interest of the parent company to get a good and perhaps expensive road. His experience of the working of the first light railway constructed in Wales, under the Act referred to, coincided with that of Mr. Galbraith.

Mr. W. B. LEWIS asked what was the width of the base of the rail on the Ilfracombe line. He had been engaged in laying a length of 15 miles of railway in Ireland, with rails 5 inches wide at the base, and these carried heavy engines without difficulty.

Mr. GALBRAITH said the base was 4 inches and the height 4 inches. He had no hesitation in saying that a base of 4 inches was too small.

Mr. J. FERNIE said he had been over the Pennsylvania railroad, and had witnessed many experiments on the steel to which reference was made, some specimens of which he exhibited. He had also seen chilled wheels cast at one of the best known works established for that purpose in Philadelphia. He was not only shown the process of manufacture, but also the pig iron used, and he thought the observation made by Dr. Pole was correct-that the high quality of the steel and of the iron castings in America was owing to the excellent pig iron employed, as well as to the great care exercised in casting. The following statement, of the pig iron made in the United States during the year 1872, was extracted from the Statistical Report of the National Association of the iron manufacturers of the United States:

From that return it would be seen that less than one-third of the quantity was manufactured with coke and coal, and this was equal in quality to the British iron imported, that about one-half was made with anthracite, some of which ranged in price about $5,

say 208., per ton dearer, and that more than one-sixth was charcoal iron of the best quality. He was not prepared with similar statistics of the qualities of pig iron made in Great Britain; the total manufacture, however, in 1872 was about 7,000,000 tons. Νο doubt a large quantity of high-class pig iron was imported from Sweden, while a considerable quantity of cold-blast iron and of hæmatite iron of good quality was made and used in this kingdom.

In considering the quality of the iron manufactured in America, reference ought to be made to the character of the fuel. Large quantities of anthracite were consumed in all branches of the iron trade, and he had no idea of the purity and excellence of this material until he had seen it in the great colliery districts on the Philadelphia and Reading, and the Lehigh Valley railroads. The supply of this fuel was practically inexhaustible, and it was used not only for smelting iron, but also for puddling and reheating it. He had likewise seen cast steel melted in crucibles with anthracite coal instead of coke. This anthracite was won in large blocks, and was very hard. In the colliery he examined it was raised about 50 feet above the ground, and was passed through a series of crushers, which broke it up to the different sizes required. While passing from one crushing-machine to another it was carefully examined, and all impurities picked out.

An English engineer, visiting the United States, thought it extraordinary to see car wheels of cast iron. Contrasting the English complicated wheel, with its wrought-iron centre of many parts welded together, and a tire shrunk on tight, with the simple American chilled wheel, he was induced to think the Americans were in advance of this nation. From the humblest wagon to the most sumptuous Pullman car, all were fitted with the simple chilled wheel. On inquiring as to the manufacture of these wheels, he found they were not made in ordinary foundries, but in special manufactories. The moulding boxes were of simple construction; the outer rim and flange of the box consisted of a heavy metal chill; the other part of the pattern was rammed up in sand, dried in a stove; and the metal- a mixture of worn-out wheels, anthracite iron, and charcoal iron-was carefully melted in an air-furnace, and poured into the mould. When the metal was sufficiently set, the casting was taken to an annealing oven, where it remained several days, and slowly cooled, after which it was bored out, pressed on the axle without any key, and was forthwith ready for use. These wheels were even employed as the leading wheels of engines. Through the courtesy of the late President of the Company, Mr. Edgar Thomson, he had gone

through the works at Altoona, and had witnessed the various operations connected with locomotive repairs and rebuilding, in which there was nothing special, but the carriage department was excellently arranged. At Altoona, he was particularly struck with the manufacture of the boilers, and with the steel of which the fire-boxes were made. He exhibited a specimen of boiler plate which had been made red-hot, then dipped in cold water and bent round flat, and it was without a flaw. Being so much pleased with the steel, he visited the maker, Mr. Parkes, at Pittsburgh, who received him most kindly, and he obtained a good deal of information from him. The steel was made of a mixture of charcoal and anthracite iron, and was cast in a plumbago crucible, two heats per day being obtained. He had not been able to apply any delicate chemical or mechanical tests to ascertain the quantity of carbon it contained, or its tensile strength per square inch; but he had, both with Mr. Worsdell at Altoona, and Mr. Parkes at Pittsburgh, tested it severely by bending and re-bending, and by heating and cooling it rapidly, and under all these changes it appeared perfectly adapted for fire-boxes. For the purpose of this discussion he had re-tested a piece: he had nicked each end with a file; he then hardened one end, and bent each end over till they broke; the result was that the hardened end broke a little sooner than the other, but the difference in hardness was not perceptible when tested by a file; the centre-piece was afterwards bent quite flat, and was without a flaw. The maker said that, after the plates were rolled, they were dipped in a large vessel of cold water, and if they came out uninjured they were good plates. Afterwards the edges were sheared, and the plates were tested before being

* Vide "Metallurgy, Iron and Steel," by Dr. Percy, p. 837.

From an analysis Mr. Siemens recently had made of a piece of this steel.

sent out as finished. Mr. Fernie had not seen steel of that particular quality in England. For the manufacture of cutters, axes, taps, dies, and articles of that kind, the makers said they obtained the best steel from Sheffield; but they manipulated it very cleverly, and were able to send to this country tools with which the Sheffield people had not yet been able to compete.

In his travels through the United States what he saw in regard to mechanical engineering work was of the best kind. All appeared to aim at perfection, and no expense was spared in arriving at that result. Many revolutions in mechanical engineering had been introduced into this country from America, besides the Pullman car and the fare of 14d. a mile, and he believed there was still a good deal to be learnt. The greatest facilities were afforded him for seeing everything in connection with the mechanical and engineering progress of the country, and he had invariably been received in the kindest and most courteous manner by all American engineers.

Mr. BERKLEY observed, with regard to the Pullman car, that he had no desire to interfere with the scheme propounded for promoting traffic, on a particular railway, by offering passengers a palace car at 14d. a mile; but there appeared to be an impression that the railway company would not lose by the transaction. Now he wished to show, by facts and figures, that the anticipations of a more general use of the Pullman cars were not likely to be realised. An ordinary first-class carriage, which, as usually made, was moderately comfortable, would accommodate about as many as the Pullman car, namely, twenty-four passengers in comparison with twenty. It cost on an average £650, while a Pullman car cost £3,000. It weighed 8 tons in comparison with 20 or 24 tons. He maintained that it was better to provide the best possible accommodation for the many at the least cost, and by the most scientific appliances, than to provide special luxuries for the few at a great cost. When in the United States, eight years ago, he was specially struck with the fact that the railroads first made to meet the very limited demands of American society, were being improved as the requirements increased. These improvements consisted in the introduction of steel or heavier iron rails, of iron bridges instead of wooden bridges, larger engines, better rolling stock, new and larger stations, and the like. He had, therefore, hoped to learn something from the Paper of the history of those improvements, especially in connection with the Pennsylvania Central railroad, which had been called the London and North-Western of America. He had looked in vain for that kind of information. It should not be forgotten [1874-75. N.S.]

I

that in England a comparatively small proportion of railways consisted of single lines, while in America the proportion of single lines was very great. He was surprised to find it stated that the cost of the Pennsylvania railroad had only been £12,310 per mile for the whole system, and £11,250 for the main line. On that subject he had consulted the "Report of the Investigating Committee," appointed so lately as the 10th March in the present year, with the concurrence of the directors (a circumstance that might be commended to the notice of English railway companies), to investigate the position of the company in every respect. The Committee had therefore the services of the directors and of the whole of the staff in making their inquiries. Under the head of "Cost of Main Line," it was stated, "By referring to the article on the cost of real estate, road, &c., you will find that your main line, including the Philadelphia and Columbia railroad with the present value of its equipment, real estate, &c. . . . . stands charged on your books at $48,571,808." That really amounted to upwards of £27,000 a mile, instead of the cost given in the Paper. He should have been much astonished if the result had been otherwise, considering the accommodation afforded, the many improvements introduced, and the summit to be ascended and descended. It was difficult to imagine that such a line could have cost less per mile than the average of the lines-most of them single-throughout the country. The sum mentioned did not include stores, but probably they should not be included in the capital. The report presented a comparison extending over ten years. As a similar comparison had been made in regard to English railways by Mr. J. Thornhill Harrison, M. Inst. C.E.,2 it would be found particularly apposite and valuable.

On this subject the report stated :

48

4159

42

:-
466

"1. That with an increase of 59 per cent. of capital, there was a gain in tons carried one mile of 229,49 per cent., and a gain in freight earnings of 210 per cent., while the rate of compensation received for carrying one ton one mile was reduced from 2 cents to 15 cents per ton per mile, and expenses from 1% cents to 0%, and the profit per ton only from 0.5 cents to 055 cents per ton per mile; thus showing that while the charge for moving freight was reduced 1 cents per ton per mile, the expense of doing the work was reduced 1133 cents per

89

5589

857

1000

59

Vide Minutes of Proceedings Inst. C.E., vol. xxix., p. 322 et seq. 1 Vide "Report of the Investigating Committee," &c., p. 98.