SKETCH <4? s - OF TH£ GEOGRAPHICAL ROUT OF A GREAT RAILWAY, / BY WHICH IT IS PROPOSED TO CONNECT THE CANALS AND 1MAVIGABLE WATERS, OF NEW-YORK, PENNSYLVANIA, OHIO, INDIANA, ILLINOIS, MICHL GAN, MISSOURI, AND THE ADJACENT STATES AND TERRITORIES ; OPENING THEREBY, A FREE COMMUNICATION, AT ALL SEASONS OF THE YEAR, BETWEEN , '' 4 THE ATLANTIC STATES, AND THE GREAT VALLEY OF THE MISSISSIPPI. SECOND EDITION, WITH ADDITIONS. , - r 74. 4 p ' /f c / fl NEW-YORK : G. & C. & H. CARVILL. 1830, A V i wn.v > U0CU4 A I This Pamphlet, on the subject of establishing a Rail¬ way from the city of New-York to the Western country, is recommended to a candid examination ; and your per¬ sonal influence and exertions are respectfully solicited for the promotion of the object. SKETCH OK THE GEOGRAPHICAL ROUT or a GREAT RAILWAY, BY WHICH IT IS PROPOSED TO GONNECT THE CANALS AND NAVIGABLE WATERS, OF NEW-YORK, PENNSYLVANIA, OHIO, INDIANA, ILLINOIS, MICHI¬ GAN, MISSOURI, AND THE ADJACENT STATES AND TERRITORIES; » OPENING THEREBY A FREE COMMUNICATION, AT ALL SEASON8 OF THE YEAR, BETWEEN THE ATLANTIC STATES AND THE GREAT VALLEY OF THE MISSISSIPPI. r I -* < r- ^ ^ ■ SECOND EDITION, WITH ADDITIONS. D*C 3 " " 1 lb. " 616 " " " 2i " " When motion was first given by other power to the carriage, then 1 lb. with 617 kept it moving 4£ miles per hour. 1 lb. " 800 kept it moving. When 12 lb. 12 oz. and upwards were used to bring the carriage and load forward, it invariably gained in speed. On the whole, the results were highly satisfactory, and from them it would appear, that a horse's work on the Railroad, at a slow speed, may be brought to approximate much nearer to his work on a canal, than per¬ haps had been generally imagined. One point seemed to be fully estab¬ lished, that this principle has greater advantages under a quick speed, than under a slow one ; for when considerable speed was given at first, by oth¬ er power, the speed was better kept up or increased by the respective weights, than when tried under a slow speed. From the above, it appears, that rating the power of the horse, at 150 pounds, the result will be equal to 41 tons, drawn by a single horse, at the rate of two and a half miles an hour. In the tables found in the books, founded on experiments formerly made, on the old railroads and cars, one pound is stated to draw 170 pounds, which equalizes the advantages of traction on a canal and railway, at a speed of about 5 miles an hour, and of course giving a canal the advantage in traction, at lower rates of speed. If, how¬ ever, we take the above experiment, with the Winans car, as the basis of calculation, the effect will he equalized at a speed below 2 1-2 miles an hour, and the work, which may be performed by the same power on Canals and Railways, at different rates of speed, will stand nearly as follows. Velocity in ( On a level ( ( Advantage in favor miles per hour. \ Railway. ( On a Canal. ( of Railroads. 2 h 52,000 say 52,000 5 52,000 13,875 3f to 1 7 52,000 7,080 7 to 1 10 52,000 3,468 15 to 1 13,5 52,000 1,900 27 to 1 The results of the above experiments, are, however, more favorable than will probably be realized in the general use of cars constructed on the same principles. Steam Carriages.—Some experiments have been recently made on the Liverpool and Manchester Railways, by putting in competition several lo¬ comotive Steam Carriages. There are, it seems, only three Railways in 3(> Great Britain, which have been constructed for the purpose of super' ceding the employment of ordinary roads by the public, as far as carriages are concerned. The first was the Surrey Railway, which is used for the transportation of heavy goods ; the second was the Stockton and Dar¬ lington Railway, on which steam power was, for the first time, employed in transporting passengers. This has beaten the old turnpike road out of the field. Since the present year, it is stated, it has drawn to it nearly the whole carrying trade between Stockton, Richmond, Darlington, &c. The third is the Liverpool and Manchester Railway, of which about fourteen miles have been already laid. The Directors of this Railway offered a premium of 500/. for the most improved locomotive engine, " ca¬ pable of drawing after it, day by day, on a well constructed railway, on a level plain, a train of carriages of the gross weight of twenty tons, includ¬ ing the tender and water tank, at the rate of ten miles per hour." For this premium, two engines were started, the least powerful of which went without any load at the rate of eighteen miles an hour, whilst the Novelty engine actually realized nearly double that speed. An English Editor remarks, of Railways in general, what some person had said before of the Stockton and Darlington Line :—" Let the country hut make the Railroads, and the Railroads will make the country." Baltimore Paper. Railway Experiments.—The adoption of Railways, for the purposes of general transportation, together with the use of locomotive steam en¬ gines, marks a new era in the progress of internal improvements, and promises results as wonderful, and of more general utility, than even those which have already been realized from the application of steam to the purposes of navigation. Our citizens, it is feared, have been too little awake to the great benefits that must result from the establishment of well chosen lines of Railway through the interior of our own country, which affords a better field for such improvements than any other por¬ tion of the globe. The great Railroad, between Liverpool and Manchester, being nearly completed, a trial was lately made of the speed and working powers of several new locomotive engines, on a level portion of the road. From the results obtained on these trials, which are detailed in the English papers, the following have been selected, as affording sufficient evidence of the high advantages and great perfection of this mode of conveyance. The directors had offered, in the month of April last, a prize of 500/. for the best Locomotive engine, which should, at a public trial, draw on the railway a given weight at the greatest speed, and the least expense, and suitable preparations were made for this important and interesting experiment. By this competition, the capability of the Railway, to do all that was promised, and a great deal more, has been at once placed beyond all doubt; and the chances of a profitable return for the money invested in it, increased at least ten fold. This demonstration of the extraordina¬ ry celerity with which carriages may be propelled on Railways, must also give a powerful impulse to the more extensive adoption of this great mod¬ ern improvement. It was required, that each engine, entered for the competition, should weigh not more than six tons, and be capable of drawing after it, day by day, on a level plain, a train of carriages of a gross weight equal to three times the weight of the engine itself, at a rate of not less than ten miles per hour, with a pressure of steam on the boiler not exceeding fifty pounds oil the square inch. Great crowds of people were assembled to witness the sight; and never, perhaps, on any previous occasion, were so many scientific gentlemen and practical engineers collected together.—The interesting and important nature of the experiments to be tried, had drawn them from all parts of the kingdom, to be present at this contest of lo¬ comotive carriages, as well as to witness the amazing utility of railways in expediting the communication between distant [/laces. The engine, which made the first trial, was the '"Rocket," of Mr- Ro¬ bert Stephenson. It, is a large and strong built engine, weighing 4 tons, 3 cwt. and went with a velocity thought surprising enough. It drew a weight of 12 tons 9 cwt. at the rate of ten miles 4 chains in an hour ; and when the weight was detached from it, went at a speed of about 18 miles an hour. The journey was 1 1-2 miles each v. ay, with an additional length of220 yards in which to stop the engine—making, in one journey, 3 1-2 miles. On the third day, this engine started for a run of 35 miles with its load, which is exactly ten journies, and including all the stoppages at the ends, was performed in three hours and ten minutes, being upwards of 11 miles an hour. After this, a fresh supply of water was taken in, which occupied 16 minutes, when the engine again started with its load and ran 35 miles in 2 hours and 52 minutes, which is upwards of 12 miles au hour, including ail stoppages. The speed of the engine, with its load when in full motion, was from 14 to 17 miles an hour ; and had the whole distance been in one continued direction, there is no doubt but the result would have been fifteen miles an hour. On the fifth day, this engine was run without its load, and stripped of all its extra weight and appendages. In this condition, seven miles was performed in 14 minutes, being at the rate of 30 miles an hour. This was a highly interesting exhibition, and gave universal satisfaction. The next engine that exhibited its powers, was the "Novelty," of Messrs. Braithwaite and Erickson. The lightness of this engine, its com¬ pactness and beautiful workmanship, excited universal admiration ; a sentiment which was speedily changed into wonder by its performances. . It was resolved to try, first, its speed merely; that is, at what rate it would go, carrying only its complement of fuel and water, with Messrs. Braithwaite and Erickson to manage it. Almost at once it darted off" at the amazing velocity of 28 miles an hour, and it actually did one mile in the incredibly short space of 1 minute and 53 seconds, or at the rate of 32 miles an hour. Had the railway been completed, the engine would, at this rate, have gone nearly the whole way from Liverpool to Manchester within the hour; and Mr. Braithwaite has indeed publicly offered to stake 1000/. that as soon as the road is opened, he will perform the entire dis¬ tance, (34 miles) in that time. On the fifth day the Novelty again started, in order to make a fair ex¬ periment of her power, her load being attached. Mr. Vignoles, the engi-r neer, who rode on the Novelty, and timed it, has given the following re-* cord of its weight and performances: cwt. q. lb. Weight of the engine, water fuel, &c. . . 74 1 6 Load assigned by the judges, . . . 122 0 0 Total weight of engine, load, and several passengers, 10 tons, 6 cwt. and up¬ wards. The engine went off from the starting place at the rate of twelve miles an hour, and the velocity rapidly increased during the whole trip. The one and a half miles was performed in 4 minutes, 30 seconds, being at the rate of 17 1-2 miles an hour. There is no doubt that the 38 Novelty, thus loaded, would have freely travelled at the rate ot 20 miles an hour, in a continued direction. The Novelty, after this highly interesting experiment, ran down to the grand stand with empty wagons, into which, a large party of gentlemen and ladies mounted, among whom were Dr. Traill and his family. The doctor timed the speed of the Novelty, while running the full course, and it appears to have averaged 22 miles an hour, with 45 passengers; and at one period it carried the same passengers at the inconceivable rate of 32 miles an hour. Several other locomotives were tried on this occasion, with various, but highly favourable results.—N. Y. Commercial Advertiser. Locomotive Carriages.—We cannot allow the grand and astonishing re- eults of the late experiments with Locomotive Carriages on the Liverpool and Manchester Railway to pass, without once more calling the attention of our readers to the new prospects which open upon us from those experi¬ ments. We have already expressed our sense of the very interesting and important character of the results which have been attained by the locomo¬ tive engines: but this is a subject which appears the more important the longer and more attentively it is considered. We had intended to give seve¬ ral illustrations of the effects of this improved mode of conveyance, but this has already been so well done in articles which we have extracted from the Scotsman and the Liverpool Times, that we need do little more than direct the attention of our readers to those articles. There is scarcely any more important means of advancing and perfect¬ ing the civilization of a country, than by a good system of internal com¬ munication. The greater the facility of travelling, from place to place, the more active will be the social and commercial intercourse; and the more ready the transmission of all the fruits of the earth and all the products of manufactures, the more rapid the communication of improvements and in¬ ventions, and the more complete the dissemination of knowledge. Time is money in all operations requiring labor, and therefore a saving of time will be a saving of money. In every country there are tracts and situa¬ tions which would be highly valuable but for their distance from towns and the more populous districts ; by easy and quick modes of conveyance, this disadvantage is overcome, and the most may be made of all the natural capabilities of the country. It seems highly probable, that, in a short time, we shall travel on railways, with ease, at the speed of thirty miles per hour; and it is difficult for the imagination to foresee how great will be the changes produced by such a Tate of conveyance. Time will, of course, be required to establish rail¬ ways on the great lines of communication, and the utmost care should be taken to construct them on the best principles; but the success of the Liv¬ erpool and Manchester Railway, and of the locomotive carriages upon it, renders it certain that this mode of conveyance will become general, and that the advantages which attend it will be realized to the community.— Leeds' Mercury. The late Steam Carriage Experiment at Liverpool.—It is melancholy to observe, how rarely objects, events, or individuals, are esteemed according to their importance. All the periodical pens in London, at this moment, are at work upon the Turkish Treaty, the New Po¬ lice, Cobbett's Corn, Mr. Lister's Tragedy, the Newark Meeting,—and, perhaps, one or two most bloody and barbarous" murders. We have columns and pages filled, day after day, with comments on these matters, 39 which, two months hence, will be completely superseded by something' equally ephemeral, while we have not seen in one of the metropolis prints a single remark on the experiments at Liverpool, which unveil mechanical truths of such stupendous importance, that if objects are to be judged of by their influence on the condition of man, the Russian campaigns, the Catholic Question—nay, though some may stare, we will add—the French Revolution, sink into nothing in the comparison. How trifling was the effect produced by all the wars of the fifteenth century on the state of the world, compared with the discovery of Printing! And how little were the consequences of that discovery understood by the contemporaries of Faust and Gottenburg! The experiments at Liverpool have established principles which will give a greater impulse to civilization than it has ever received from any single cause since the Press first opened the gates of knowledge to the human species at large. They may be said to have furnished man with wings, to have supplied him with faculties of loco¬ motion, of which the most sanguine could not have dreamed a few years ago. Even steam navigation gives but a faint idea of the wondrous pow¬ ers which this new agent has put into our hands. It is no exaggeration to say, that the introduction of steam carriages, 011 railways, places us on the verge of a new era—of a social revolution, of which imagination can¬ not picture its ultimate effects. The three best engines, when yoked to loads equal to three times their own weight, respectively performed as follows. The first travelled at the rate of 11 miles, the second of 14 miles, and the third of 20 3-4 miles in an hour. The distances passed over were not short, in these cases, the first having travelled 70 miles, the second 25, and the third 21. In an¬ other trial, the lightest engine was proceeding at the rate of twenty-four miles in an hour, with its full load, when the joint of a pipe failed, and stopped its motion. It is to be observed, too, that the engine worked under considerable disadvantages. The piece of railroad, selected for the experiment, being only 1 3-4 miles long, the engine had to check its ve¬ locity, make a full pause, and begin again about twelve times in going twenty miles. A great amount of power was thus wasted, and in many cases, the engine, perhaps, had not acquired its maximum or terminal velo¬ city when the stop took place. We run no risk, therefore, in saying, that the performance, upon an unbroken line of road, of the full length travel¬ led over, would have been greater than the average of these short trips. One of the heavier engines, the Rocket, drew 36 passengers in a car¬ riage, at a velocity which sometimes reached 28 miles an hour. The light¬ est engine, (the Novelty,) when loaded with 45 passengers in wagons, made several trips with a velocity of 22 miles an hour, at an average; but when she was going at her greatest speed, she travelled at the scarcely credible rate of 32 miles. The Rocket, also, drew a number of passengers (about 30, we believe) upon an inclined plane, rising one foot in 96, at the rate of 12 miles an hour. This single fact shows how much the powers of the locomotive engine have been underrated; for Mr. Walker, in the Report which we noticed on Wednesday last, inferred from the facts be had collected, that the entire power of one of these machines would be consumed in dragging its own weight up an acclivity like this, at two or three miles per hour. We are quite aware that the performance of a single engine, when its powers are tasked by way of experiment, and for a short time, will exceed the average rate of a number working permanently. But against this we must place, on the other hand, the disadvantage of having this motion checked and renewed every five or six minutes, the inexperience of our engineers in the construction of machines for such rapid rates of motion, 40 and the accidents to which first attempts are liable. The Novelty, the most successful of the engines, was the first which the makers had ever built. Making due allowance for these circumstances, we have not the slightest doubt that we have it now in our power to command a velocity of thirty miles an hour, on a level, well made rail road, or 25 miles, allow¬ ing for the necessary stops ; and we know that this is the opinion of some of the most skilful engineers who witnessed these experiments. Such a rapid rate of travelling, of course, will not be attempted at first. Perhaps it would be attended with too much danger to be permanently adopted at any time ; but taking it as the extreme term of what is practicable, we may approach as near to it as circumstances will permit. No one, who saw the experiments, doubts that 20 or 24 miles an hour are within reach, safely and easily, whenever a double railway is laid, (as it will be by and by) to allow of two different velocities being employed ; a slow one for goods, and a quick one for passengers. Twenty years ago, we believe, the mails did not travel faster than about 7 miles an hour. From 7 miles it was raised to 8, and every one cried out, what an improvement ! From 8 it was raised to 9, and this was hailed as nothing less than "prodigious!" Attempts are now making to force it up to 10 miles an hour, but at any thing beyond this, to a cer¬ tainty, horse power fails us. How then shall we find terms adequate to express the value of a discovery which lifts us at once from 9 miles to 20 or 24 miles an hour ?—which carries us as far beyond the speed of the mail, as the mail is beyond that of a brewer's dray, or a carrier's wagon ? The extraordinary speed of this conveyance is only one of its many ad¬ vantages. A friend of ours, who was present at all the experiments, and in the wagon, when going at thirty-two miles an hour, assures us, that the motion is so remarkably smooth and easy, that if you fix your eyes on the inside of the machinery, or on any distant object, you cannot believe that you are travelling faster than in an ordinary stage coach ; and it is only when you look at the hedges, trees, or houses close to the road, and see them vanishing like meteors, that you get an idea of the tremendous velocity of your movement. The editor of the Leeds Mercury, who was present, says :—" We had the pleasure to travel on a level at the rate of twenty-eight miles an hour, with as little appearance of danger, and even of undue speed, as is felt in a stage coach travelling on the highway at the ordinary speed. The motion, indeed, of the carriage, is so slight, that the passengers could read, with perfect ease, at the period of its utmost velocity ; and if the springs, on which the carriage for the passengers was mounted, had been in perfect order, we think it would not have been very difficult to write." Were the vehicle nicely poised on springs, and cover¬ ed in to exclude the external current of air created by its motion, you might imagine that you were in a state of perfect rest, while you are fly¬ ing along the surface with the speed of a racer. Then the steam horse is not apt, like his brother of flesh and blood, to be frightened from his propriety by sudden panics which defy the prudence and skill of the dri¬ ver. Explosion, if it takes place, will not injure the passengers, for they are in a separate vehicle, and the enginemen may be trusted with the care of their own lives. The rails, too, which confine and regulate the motion of the engine and carriage, keeping them upon one invariable line, and that line perfectly smooth, lessen the chances of accident in a remarka¬ ble degree, as the proceedings at Liverpool shew ; for though scores of persons were hanging about the carriages, and thousands standing along the sides of the paths, and pressing within a few inches of the machines, while moving with their ut most speed, not a single individual received the smallest injury. In daylight, and with good arrangements, our friend's opinion is (and few are more competent to judge) that, travelling 41 in the steam coach, at twenty miles an hour, may be much more safe, as ■well as pleasant, than in an ordinary stage coach at eight or nine. One of the great recommendations of this species of conveyance will be its cheapness. It is expected that the goods will be carried from Manchester to Liverpool for less than five shillings per ton. Men, of course, cannot be packed like bales of calico, but let us allow them five times the space, and suppose that the charge is in proportion. Now, since twelve passengers, with their luggage, are reckoned equal to a ton in the mails, it follows that a place, in the steam coach from Manchester to Liverpool, should cost the twelfth part of 25s. or 2*. We may arrive at the same result by another process. It may be inferred, from one of the experiments, that the Novelty would carry fifty passengers from the one town to the other at the rate of 20 miles an hour, and would of course yield the proprietors the sum of 5/. by an hour and a half's work. Six trips a day, performed at this rate, would produce 30/.; which we conceive would make the conveyance of passengers a very profitable branch of trade. As the Railway Company will have a monopoly, they may prob¬ ably charge more at first, but when Railway carriage is subjected, like other branches of business, to the law of competition, we imagine the terms will not be higher than we have stated. When the carriage of goods, which is now about 9d. or 10c7. a ton per mile by land, is reduced to 2d., and when, in point of speed, one day does the work of four, the heaviest commodities, such as corn, potatoes, coals, will bear the expense of carriage for a hundred miles. The result of this will be, that the living in great towns will be reduced, and the price of raw produce will rise in remote parts of the country. The facility, celer¬ ity, and cheapness of internal intercourse, contribute more, probably, to the advancement of civilization, than all other circumstances put together. Sixty or seventy years ago, the journey from Edinburgh to London occu¬ pied 20 days. At present, taking the average of all the modes of convey¬ ance by land and water, it occupies three or four, and the quantity of tra¬ velling has increased probably 20 or 30 fold. Are we too sanguine in anti¬ cipating another increase, equally great, when the time is reduced from three or four days to 20 hours, the expense in almost the same proportion, and when the traveller is put in possession of a much higher degree of ease and comfort ? Let the improvement we speak of be realized ; let what was once a journey of twenty days be reduced to one of as many hours, and we have not a doubt that we shall have five hundred times as much travelling as we had in the year 1760. In point of fact, when the time is re¬ duced from eighty hours to 20, the result is exactly the same as if Edinburgh were brought as near to London, as Leicester or Birmingham and, to pursue the comparison, when the journey was one of 20 days, the effect is the same as if Edinburgh had stood in Iceland. Besides, we must always remember, that the intercourse grows in a much greater ratio than the distance is shortened. Volumes might be written with¬ out exhausting the materials for speculation arising out of such a change. To use our own words, when writing upon this subject, in 1824, " With so great a facility and celerity of communication, the provincial towns of an empire would become so many suburbs of the metropolis—or rather the effect would be similar to that of collecting the whole inhab¬ itants into one city. Commodities, inventions, discoveries, opinions, would circulate with a rapidity hitherto unknown, and, above all, the intercourse of man with man, province with province, and nation with nation, would be prodigiouslv increased."—Edinburgh Scotsman. 6 42 Locomotive Engines.—The recent trial of these on the Liver¬ pool and Manchester Railway, is, without doubt, one of the most interesting experiments, in regard to the powers of such machines, which has yet occurred, whether we view it as an exhibition of scientific and me¬ chanical skill, or look forward to the wonderful improvements in the in¬ tercourse and internal communication of the country to which this grand discovery may yet be applied.—In regard to the use of locomotive car¬ riages on common roads, we have repeatedly and decidedly expressed our opinion, and the reasons for it, that all such projects are crude and ill con¬ sidered, and inconsistent with any just view of principles; and we regret to see ingenious persons still wasting their efforts on such vain projects. But on railways, as we formerly stated, all those impediments, by which the engine is rendered so insufficient, even on the smoothest turnpikes, are entirely removed. There the engine, however ponderous, meets with hardly any resistance to oppose its progress, and accordingly drags after it the.most enormous loads; and when these are lessened or thrown off, it then advances with a speed beyond any thing ever attempted on land or water, and to which indeed we can hardly assign any limits, because the engine is neither checked like animal force, by the mere speed of its mo¬ tion, nor resisted as in navigation, by the continued and increasing oppo¬ sition of the element in which it moves. It is on the railway, therefore, that the locomotive engine has always been displayed with striking ef¬ fect, and the engines lately exhibited furnish new and remarkable exam¬ ples. With a load of thirteen tons, including many passengers, Mr. Ste¬ phenson's engine, the Rocket, travelled at the rate of fifteen miles an hour; and the engine of Braithwaite and Erickson, of London, moved at the astonishing speed of 28 miles an hour. " It seemed, indeed," says a spectator, "to fly, presenting one of the most sublime spectacles of hu¬ man ingenuity and human daring the world ever beheld. It actually made one giddy to look at it, and filled thousands with lively fear for the safety of the individuals who were on it, and who seemed not to run along the earth, but to fly, as it were, on ' the wings of the wind.' It was a most sublime sight—a sight, indeed, which the individuals who beheld it will not soon forget." Such is the account of those engines; and we can¬ not conclude without remarking how slowly improvements advance, even in our enlightened community, and how much they are retarded by preju¬ dice and by partial and interested views. The locomotive engine has now been travelling on railways for upwards of twelve or fifteen years, and with complete success, yet the Liverpool and Manchester Railway Com¬ pany were originally restricted, by their Act of Parliament, to the use of horses, and even after the self-moving engines were allowed, a warm con¬ troversy arose on the question, whether it might not be advisable to sub¬ stitute the artificial, and in other respects extremely inconvenient appa¬ ratus of fixed engines, and long ropes, extending from mile to mile, all along the road : and lastly, the first Engineer of the day, has recently de^ clared himself, from want of experience, incapable of offering an opinion whether either of these plans will fully answer in practice.—Nothing, however, can prevent, sooner or later, the application to the purposes of trade and intercourse, a machine of such prodigious powers of trackage and swiftness of locomotion as above described. Let us only consider, for a moment, the consequences of such an engine travelling from London to Edinburgh, at the rate of 15 or 20 miles an hour, and thus performing the journey in less than a single day and night—of the practicability of such a scheme there can be little doubt; and all that is wanted is capital and skill to carry it into effect.—Edinburgh Courant. t 43 The Triumphs of Steam.—The march of improvement seems likely soon to become a race ; so much of it at least as is to be effected by steam-en¬ gines. We have mentioned the great interest and excitement produced in Great Britain, by the recent competition of Locomotive Engines on the Liverpool and Manchester Railway. Since then we have received three numbers of the Mechanics' Magazine, a work published in London, each of which contains some notice of the truly amazing results of these expe¬ riments. The motto of one of these numbers, well expresses the feeling which every one must have in contemplating the late inventions: "I had a dream, which, in my waking hour, Seem'd less the work of fancy's airy power, Than reason's deep creation." In fact, a very wonderful fairy tale might be made, in which the marvels would be sufficiently striking and beautiful, without exceeding the experi¬ ence of a workman at a gas factory, a steam-mill, or the Liverpool and Manchester Railway. To show how soon what is regarded as visionary, comes, in the present age of invention, to be not only accomplished, but far surpassed, we may notice the following, amongst many other interesting facts connected with locomotive engines. On the Stockton and Darling¬ ton Railway, the maximum speed was eight miles an hour. The idea of any thing beyond that rate was scouted as visionary. Mr. Wood, who published his book on railways, after the opening of the Stockton and Dar¬ lington Railway, was pleased to say, " It is far from my wish to promul¬ gate to the world that the ridiculous expectations, or rather professions of the enthusiastic speculatist will be realized, and that we shall see engines travelling at the rate of twelve, sixteen, eighteen, or twenty miles an hour. Nothing could do more harm towards their adoption, or general improve¬ ment, than the promulgation of such nonsense!" It was under these im¬ pressions that the Directors of the Liverpool and Manchester Railway, lately offered the premium of £500 for the most improved locomotive en¬ gine. They stipulated that it should be " capable of drawing after it, day by day, on a well constructed railway, on a level plane, a train of carriages of the gross weight of 20 tons, including the tender and water-tank, at the rate of ten miles per hourMore they did not ask for ; and as if to evince how perfectly they agreed with Mr. Wood as to the " nonsense" of expect¬ ing more, they selected that gentleman*to be one of the judges of their competition. What has been the wonderful and unexpected result? Mr. Wood not only saw what he considered nonsense, reduced to unquestiona¬ ble matter of fact, but he saw the least powerful of the engines then ex¬ hibited, reach "the highest degree in his scale of nonsense." It went, without load, at the rate of eighteen miles an hour, while "The Novelty," actually realized almost double that speed! This is going forward per saltum. While we are wholly at a loss to compute the effect of so important a leap in improvement on the general affairs of society, we may mention the gain arising from it to the proprietors of the Liverpool and Manchester Railway alone. The competition produced by their premium of 500/. had such an effect on fhe public mind, that the selling price of the Company's shares advanced no less than 10 per cent. Their total capital is 650,000/., so that the gain is 65,000/. We shall pursue, at another time, some of the important considerations which this topic suggests.—Bait, paper. The editor of the Liverpool Mechanics' Magazine rode in the mirac¬ ulous Railroad vehicle, called the Novelty, which is to travel at the rate of a mile or more in two minutes. He describes his ride thus: 44 A carriage, with seats for the accommodation of passengers, being substituted for the loaded wagons attached to the Novelty, about 45 la¬ dies and gentlemen ascended to enjoy the excursion by steam. We can say, for ourselves, that we never enjoyed any thing in the way of trav¬ elling more. We flew along at the rate of a mile and a half in three minutes, and though the velocity was such, that we scarcely could distin¬ guish objects as we passed them, the motion was so steady and equable that we could manage, not only to read, but write." Extract of a letter from W. Brown, Esq. received in Baltimore, dated Liverpool, November 6th. u Mr. Winans and Geo. A. Brown have just returned from Rain Hill, about 12 miles from this city, on the Liverpool and Manchester Railroad, where they have been amusing themselves riding on Mr. Sttvenson's Locomotive Engine, at the r-ate of twenty-eight miles an hour—drawing about thirty passengers. She is represented to have gone one mile in a minute and sixteen seconds ! (about forty miles an hour !) but this Mr. Stevenson himself can scarcely credit. She drew forty-two tons, on a level road, fifteen miles per hour. New Railroads are projecting all over the country—a meeting is to be held on Wednesday to create a company to carry one to Birmingham. Canal property is ruined. I be¬ lieve the Sanky has fallen from 1800/. per share to 600/. In fact, they are even anticipating that it may be necessary to let the canals dry, and to lay rails on them. The canal property, in this country, has cost about thirty millions of pound sterling—its length about 2600 miles." Extract of a letter from a respectable gentleman in Liverpool, to his friend in Baltimore, dated 19th November, 1829. You will be rather surprised when I communicate to you that the Stock¬ holders in the Sankey Canal, the most profitable canal in this kingdom, rising from £100 to £1800 per share, have had a meeting this week, as is most confidently believed, to take into consideration the expediency of letting it dry and laying a Railroad on it, and that they are about apply¬ ing to Parliament for this liberty. This very day Lord Grosvenor, the Earl of Derby, and the Marquess of Stafford, with some of the Liverpool and Manchester Directors, are going over the road, accompanied with Engineers, for the purpose of making examinations. These noblemen are very heavy holders of canal property, and think it may be advisable to make them into railroads. A railroad from this to London is contemplated, and I believe a nego¬ tiation is at this moment going on between the Manchester Railroad Com¬ pany and certain powerful and influential holders of canal stock, in order, so far as possible, to make the canal property available, provided they will support a bill in Parliament for the above object. This is, however, kept as quiet as possible. Thirty millions sterling are invested in canal pro¬ perty in this country, and its fall must, therefore, ruin many people. The late experiments must save you a great deal of money in levelling. Rain Hill inclined plane ascends one foot in ninety, (fifty-five feet per mile,) and it was intended to place a stationary engine on it, but it is now quite unnecessary, as the locomotives ascend it with considerable loads. The Manchester Railroad stock has advanced to 171/. and the Bolton and Leigh to 124/. 45 The daily expense of a locomotive engine now at work on the Man¬ chester Road, (a large engine,) is—Engine-man 4s., fire-man 2s. 6d., coals 3s. 4d., oil Is.—Total, 10s. 10a?. This, supposing the engine to carry 30 tons, at the rate of ten miles an hour, and to work 12 hours each day, realizing but 10 hours' speed, or 100 miles, makes the cost of traction about 1-23 of a penny sterling, or less than one tenth of a cent per ton a mile. Railroads.—The shares in the Liverpool and Manchester Railroad sold, before the act was obtained, as high as 58 guineas premium. On the 20th of November, they were sold at 162/. per share, namely, 90/. the amount of calls on each, and 72/. premium. The Bolton and Leigh rail¬ way shares are now at a premium of 21.; and the shares in the Wigan railway, though only projected three weeks ago, are all taken up, and al¬ ready at a premium of 4/. per share. Railway Shares.—The shares in the Manchester and Liverpool Rail¬ way, which, a few months ago, were selling at 118/. a share, are now sell¬ ing at 175/., being at the premium of 65/. They have risen with great rapidity since the experiments at Rainhill, and such is the estimation in which they are now held, that it is very difficult to procure them on any terms. The demand is very considerable, and there are scarcely any in the market. Railways made from Canals.—The practicability and desirableness of, at some period or other, converting the numerous canals with which this kingdom is intersected into railways, is an interesting subject of specula¬ tion, and has latterly been exciting some attention. We have heard, we believe on good authority, though, of course, we do not vouch for the truth of the statement, that the engineer of the Huddersfield Canal Com¬ pany has very recently made a representation to the Committee of Ma¬ nagement of that concern, that the best, if not the only chance of making it profitable, is to convert it into a railway.—Manchester Guardian. According to a calculation recently made, there are 103 canals in Great Britain, extending 2682 miles, formed at an expense of thirty millions ster¬ ling. O Railroads in France.—That railroads are far preferable to canals for communication, is a truth of which England has been only of late con¬ vinced by the dear bought fruits of experience. Our continental neigh¬ bors, profiting by our discovery, are gradually extending, throughout the whole of their fine country, a system of communication by railroads, which, ultimatelv, will be of extreme benefit to their domestic commerce. The tramroad between St. Etienne and Lyons is now rapidly advancing ; and, from the tunnels, bridges, and embankments, required for its completion, will be inferior to none which this kingdom can, at present, boast.—Liv>- erpool Albion. 46 Railroad Experiment.—An experiment was made on Saturday oil the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad, with a car built upon an improved construction, by Jno. Elgar and Geo. Gillingham, of this city, which we learn, resulted to the entire satisfaction of all who witnessed its powers. We are assured by a gentleman who has examined its structure, that it promises to be a highly useful improvement. The car, conveying thirty- six men, was drawn by one horse with great ease, at the rate of at least twelve miles an hour, and there was not the smallest doubt but that could double the number of persons have found accommodation upon it, that the horse would have been able to have conveyed them at the same speed. So little effort was required on the part of the animal, that the traces were frequently quite slack. We subjoin a description of the car :— In this carriage, the axles extend through the wheels as far as to ad¬ mit of a journal outside. The bearing, or box in which the journal re¬ volves, is one piece of cast iron ; the aperture is formed by casting it on a chill, the size of the journal,—but the sides of this chill are composed of segments of a circle larger than that of the journal, so that the latter receives the bearing upon only one fourth of its circumference. The journal is of steel, and the end is turned to a blunt centre point, which runs against the back end of the box, and is the end-bearing in¬ stead of shoulders. There is a packing plate passed on the journal in front of the box, which is screwed up to the latter with packing to exclude the dust and confine the oil. The box will contain perhaps one half gill of oil, be¬ sides the journal, which insures a perfect lubrication of the latter. This combination procures, perhaps, as great a reduction of friction (the lead¬ ing object in constructing a railway car) as any other mode that is as cheap, simple and permanent. We learn that the Railroad Company have nearly in readiness several cars for the conveyance of passengers, and for articles of burthen, upon various plans of construction ; and that it is contemplated to make some experiments upon the road with them in a few days.—Baltimore American. The Railroad.—The mild temperature of yesterday, resembling much the softness of an early summer's day, attracted a number of visi¬ ters to the Railroad. Several parties of ladies and gentlemen were pres¬ ent, among whom were the Hon. Mr. Webster of the United States Senate, and lady. Two of the carriages were brought out, and made several trips to and from the viaduct at the rate of eleven to twelve miles an hour. From fifty to sixty passengers, we learn, filled the carriages, at each trip, and the whole were drawn by a single horse with perfect ease- We are also informed, that the light carriage of which we spoke yesterday was brought out by the gentleman to whom it belongs, for the purpose of ascertaining the effect of wind as a propelling power. A small light sail having been spread to the very gentle breeze which prevailed, it car¬ ried the carriage and the six persons who were in it at a rapid rate. The experiments afforded much amusement to the spectators, and went to shew that with a larger sail and a fresh breeze, carriages may be propel¬ led with the greatest velocity.—American. Railroad Experiments.—We have, on several late occasions, taken notice of the novel and highly satisfactory experiments which have been made on that part of the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad, laid down between Pratt-street and the Carrollton Viaduct. Notwithstanding the limited 47 extent of this experimental line, the road appears to attract fresh crowds of visiters every day the weather will permit, all of whom, whether citi¬ zens or strangers, come away highly gratified. The weather yesterday, being remarkably mild and pleasant, vast numbers availed themselves of the opportunity to examine the road and Viaduct, and to enjoy the grati¬ fication of a ride in the Winans carriages. The Hon. the Post Master General, having reached this city the evening before, and being desirous of visiting the road, he was, accordingly, accompanied thither yesterday by the gentlemen attached to the Board of Direction. A carriage hav¬ ing been brought out, the party, consisting of twenty-four ladies and gentlemen, including the Post Master General, were drawn to the Via¬ duct by one horse, in actually a little less than six minutes! After alighting to view the magnificent granite structure,—of which a minute description was published in last week's American,—the party again seat¬ ed themselves, and were conveyed back to Pratt-street in the same brief period, or at the extraordinary rate offifteen miles an hour ! In order to show the perfect ease and rapidity with which heavy loads can be trans¬ ported on a well constructed railroad, three carriages were attached to each other, and being filled with more than eighty persons, were readily drawn by one horse at the rate of upwards of eight miles an hour. Aver- aging each passenger at one hundred and fifty pounds weight, and esti¬ mating the three carriages to weigh together two and a half tons, it fol¬ lows, that a single horse has actually drawn a load of at least eight and a half tons, at the speed of upwards of eight miles an hour. And this ex¬ traordinary result was accomplished without any apparent distress to the animal, or, indeed, uncommon exertion on his part.—Bait. Paper. Railroad Travelling.—The Mayor of the city of Baltimore, the mem¬ bers of both branches of the City Council, with other gentlemen, to the number of forty-two in all, on Wednesday last took a ride on the Balti¬ more and Ohio Railroad, to visit the Carrollton Viaduct. They seated themselves in two cars connected together, and were drawn by a swift trotting horse, which took them easily to the Viaduct in eight minutes, and returned in less than seven and a half minutes, being at the rate of about 13 miles an hour.—Boston Paper. Internal Improvement.—No place in the interior of the Union can pro¬ bably boast of such rapid rise and progress, in the same space of time, as Pottsville, Pa. It is but a few years since it was the safe retreat of the fleet stag and the ferocious bear—the sporting field of the indefatiga¬ ble huntsman and his yelling hounds. Instead of the rebounding echo of the huntsman's horn, and the yells of his anxious pack in pursuit of the flying game, you now encounter the noise and bustle of a busy and popu¬ lous borough. Property, which, six years ago, could have been pur¬ chased at ten dollars per acre, now sells readily for so many thousands ! The improvements which have taken place within a few years at this place, seem almost incredible. Pottsville, even at this time, presents, probably, a wider scope for speculators than any other place of its size in the country.—Poulson's Am. D. Adv. Effects of Internal Improvement.—At a sale of lots, which took place at Hebron, Ohio, on the 4th and 5th nit. about thirty lots were sold, the 4S whole embracing about seven acres of land, which averaged more than one thousand dollars per acre. This town i6 at the junction of the great National road, and the Ohio Canal, 26 miles west of Zanesville. The subjoined article, from an English paper, with the comments of an American editor, appeared after these pages were prepared for the press, and contains a valuable suggestion on the subject of establishing great lines of railway, adapted to the nature and extent of the country. The proposed great Western Railway.—In a Manchester paper, receiv¬ ed by the last arrival from Liverpool, we find a project for constructing a Railroad, "if possible, through the island, from South to North, or at all events, from London to Edinburgh." A work of this kind, say the Editors, " would be of prodigious impor¬ tance, not merely foi the purpose of facilitating the ordinary intercourse which takes place between different parts of the country, but also in a political and military point of view. In case of invasion, or internal com¬ motion, the whole disposable force of the country could, with the aid of such means of conveyance, be brought to act on any given point in an amazingly short space of time,—a circumstance which would enable go¬ vernment considerably to diminish the number of troops, which, under other circumstances, they might be compelled to keep up. It appears to us, that, in order to secure the execution of a work of such first rate im¬ portance, Ministers ought to cause a survey to be made of the best line which presents itself for the formation of a Railway, such as we have de¬ scribed, without paying the slightest attention to the towns or districts near which or through which it may happen to pass. A power should be obtained from the Legislature to grant a certain sum per mile to any company, who, being about to construct a railway, would make it wholly or partly upon the line laid down, and in a manner which should be pre¬ scribed to them. By the adoption of this plan, it is probable that a con¬ siderable portion of the national railway might be constructed at a mode¬ rate cost, and the remainder then be completed at the public expense. If some plan of this kind be not adopted, it is probable that many railways will be so formed as to afford little assistance in the construction of that national work, which, at some period or other, must be undertaken." If these remarks had been written in reference to the proposed Rail¬ road from this city to the Mississippi, every one would acknowledge their applicability and point. We ought, however, to except the words "if possible;" for it admits of no doubt that the Road to the Mississippi is practicable, in a physical point of view; that it is more necessary than a Railroad North and South, through Great Britain; and that it will even¬ tually, if not immediately, be productive of far greater advantages. These advantages are so clearly set forth in the communication of Col. Clinton, which we publish at length to-day, that we need not repeat them here. We know not a Railroad that opens a communication to more valuable commodities. Besides bringing some 20,000,000 or 30,000,000 acres of valuable land into close connexion with the largest markets in the coun¬ try, it connects with, or passes through, inexhaustible mines of coal, iron, lead, and perhaps copper. It will be neither encumbered with locks, nor sealed up with ice, nor will it subject the cars and carriages which run upon it, to the sluggish motion which is unavoidable on canals.-—'Yew- York Journal of Commerce. 7V«Te K iVJt fttBL Wa skraglon mie j£v «t froiit WashuL^tou US-?/':! I '.Cuas/ea/aa/u L. %rill Jteofsc Heart Z. ' / '~ChX y ■ L.Tourers, Ta/ltollt^. But Stone! Green. Bae_^ I'aL.-i ■"< r//.p«»/ SlAntlwn i Jhnioor \Ftaw beau L. Shallow Flaa/derB.. p;__ .Feno/j, AlfitirSfa^ [miQ m lake"! §7§P^' )r, i^axuplamE^v,^'- g___^—V=|r—-ggLrotm y.r y,'////, rAaV, thfy /labor ^^conderpaa rf^ )7" Oswego ^ / )c S Rome'- 1 Srd° Chambersbiu The Figures refer to the names iff those States which are... omitted 1 Yew Hampshire.^ 'J.Vermont •>. Jhissoihusetts. /. Rhode /stand-. f>. Connecticut C. Yew Jersey. 7. Delaware - at Inlet olran Wolf R • (Chi/lick^ (4lL< li4iekshaid4^Fd dfarmonv Prank t'ojit S-CltfUif f/ierdl, MsiskaJ/dei 4n— \ /ShawneeT.a Fotosi Uardinshura rpe . 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To gentlemen of intelligence and influence is res¬ pectfully suggested the idea of a Topographical In¬ stitute, the object of which shall be the collection and preservation of facts and information respecting the physical geography and resources of every section of our country. The numerous scientific examinations, _ and surveys which have been made by public authority, and by enterprising associations, have developed a vast mass of intelligence, which it is highly impor¬ tant to preserve and to dissemminate ; and the results of mineralogical, geological, hydrographical, and other investigations, which might be obtain¬ ed from various sources, would ^be of great value. The lights of science thus concentrated, would illu¬ mine the paths of individual enterprise and public prosperity. A national institution of this kind, with branches or depositories in the several states, it is believed would be patronised by the general and state governments ; and might, perhaps, be advantageously connected with the Lyceums in our large cities, or with other literary associations.