two wires for a single line, as in the case of Mr. Clark's system. A single line could be worked by the semaphore system on one wire alone, but he deprecated the use of a single wire. It must also be observed, that in the event of derangement from any cause, either to the wires or to the instrument, the arm immediately showed the danger signal, and thus warning was at once given, and security obtained. In conclusion, he expressed a hope that the time might come, when all the great railways of the kingdom would be worked on one plan for the manifest advantage of all.

Mr. HAWKSHAW,-President,-said the discussion of this subject showed that electricians were still a long way from uniformity; and he was not sure if, at this stage of the inquiry, uniformity was desirable. It had been objected, on the score of safety, that there were too many trains on railways. He was afraid that objection would not be obviated, for, in his opinion, the number of trains would increase, as the growth of population, and the tendency of people to live near railways, must lead to the multiplication of trains. He felt that whatever science and vigilance could accomplish, to ensure greater safety on railways, should be done; and he thanked Mr. Preece for having brought forward a Paper which had elicited a great variety of opinions, as to the best mode of applying telegraphs to railways. He placed a high value on the opinions of Captain Huish, who had had such long experience on this subject; but he could not agree with him on one point. Theoretically, no doubt, the train-staff led to greater safety than any other mode of working. But persons might be preserved from railway accidents by not going upon a railway at all; and the train-staff system was an approach to doing away with railway travelling. As a system, it simply meant that, provided a Company confined itself to one staff, it would also limit itself to one locomotive; and so long as only one locomotive at a time ran upon the line there could not be any collision. But it was obvious that, under that system, trains could not be started from the same end of the line at short intervals of time; as when the staff was at the other end, it must be brought back, and this necessarily involved delay. He considered the train-staff system was wholly inapplicable to any railway on which the traffic was large. Neither could he concur with the remark, that a great mistake had been made, in not more generally adopting single lines of railway; or that, with the use of the telegraph, proper superintendence, and due vigilance, a single line of railway could be made as useful as a double line. If an accident happened upon a single line, the traffic of the whole system was stopped. Therefore, although there were cases in which single lines were proper, inasmuch as the district might not afford sufficient traffic for a double line of rails, yet he should not wish it to be understood, that one line of rails could ever answer all the purposes of two lines.

As to this particular question, he concurred with those who thought, that every one engaged on railways should always be on the alert, and that nothing should be done to diminish, or to relax, the vigilance of the engine driver, in looking out for the signals during his journey; but, so far as he knew, he did not believe the tendency of telegraphic arrangements had produced that effect.

With regard to the electric telegraph, he had on previous occasions expressed his opinion of its great utility. It was adopted about the same time that railways were introduced; and to those who aided in its establishment, society at large owed a great deal. There was one point of view from which the telegraph became very important: whatever time might be saved by railways, the telegraph carried that reduction still further. Here the train-staff failed. If, for instance, A wanted something from B, by employing the telegraph, B could be instantaneously informed of this want; whereas without the telegraph a message must be sent by an engine to B, to bring back what A required. The same advantage would be conferred upon steam-boat communication by the electric telegraph. Whatever might be gained by the time saved in transit by steamers, the telegraph would double the saving. Merchants requiring goods could ask for them by telegraph, and the steamer could be loaded and dispatched at once. Without the telegraph, the steamer must go one way to announce the want, and return back again to supply it. Although it had not been proved, whether Mr. Tyer's, or Mr. Preece's, or Mr. Walker's system was the best, he believed that all were calculated to be of advantage to railways. The telegraph would be of great service, and must ultimately become essential in working railways, though clouds charged with electricity might occasionally demagnetise the needles; and he hoped those gentlemen who had undertaken that branch of science would continue their endeavours to eliminate, as far as possible, every source of error.

January 20 and 27, 1863.

JOHN HAWKSHAW, President,
in the Chair.

The discussion upon the Paper, No. 1,079, "On Railway Telegraphs, &c.," by Mr. W. H. Preece, was continued throughout these evenings, to the exclusion of any other subject.

RAILWAY BREAK,

After the Meeting a model of a Railway Break was exhibited by Mr. W. G. Creamer, of New York. This plan was stated to embrace, first, an arrangement of compensating, or balanced breaks, worked by one lever, and distributing the pressure equally on all the wheels, with a small expenditure of power. Secondly, an attachment of reserved power to the breaks of every carriage, in combination with a non-elastic signal rope, so as to enable the driver instantly to apply every break in case of danger; or on the separation of the train, or any part being thrown from the line, the breaks would apply themselves automatically, as each carriage was entirely independent of all the others, and the breaks were available wherever they were placed in the train.

February 3, 1863.

JOHN HAWKSHAW, President,

in the Chair.

The following Candidates were balloted for and duly elected :EDWARD FILLITER, and ARTHUR SIDNEY ORMSBY, as Members; THOMAS EDWARD DUNN, JAMES ROBERT FURNISS, Captain JAMES GRANTHAM, R.E., JOHN JACOB HOLTZAPFFEL, STEPHEN LANCELOT KOE, ALFRED STANSFIELD RAKE, LEONARD ROBERT ROBERTS, ROBERT OWEN WHITE, and HUGH WILSON, as Associates.

No. 1,048." On the Woods used for Sleepers on the Madras Railway." By BRYCE MCMASTER, M. Inst. C.E.

Of all the questions relating to the construction of railways in India, there is not one of greater importance, and few have of late years received more consideration, than that of the substructure of the permanent way; and most deservedly so, for it has a material influence on the cost of maintenance of the line. The native wood sleepers having hitherto been found, for the most part, deficient in durability, attention has been turned to an iron substructure for the permanent way; and as the resources of India seem inadequate to meet the demand, the question has arisen, whether sleepers of cast iron, or of creosoted timber, must not be sent from England? This is so important, that it is desirable to inquire into the causes of the failure of the native woods, with a view to ascertain whether these causes can be overcome, and the vast resources of the country be rendered available.

On the Madras Railway between 30 and 40 per cent. of the sleepers have annually required renewal. This has been due to two causes: first, to the employment of woods unfit for the purpose; and secondly, to the sleepers being cut from young trees, which would have been good if allowed to stand till old enough. With reference to the first of these, it was to determine which woods ought to be rejected as unfit for sleepers, at whatever age they might be cut, that the Author, in the year 1858, commenced a form of examination which should discover and record the annual deterioration of the sleepers. It may appear a simple matter to [1862-63. N.S.]

R

note the names of the woods as they were removed, and to discontinue the use of such as were found to be unsuitable; but experience showed that, in the majority of instances, the sleepers decayed so rapidly and so completely, that it was impossible to determine, with any degree of accuracy, the names of the woods. The nature and appearance of the woods were often entirely changed, and all brands, or other marks made on the sleepers when new, were effaced. In practice the Author prepared a list of upwards of thirteen hundred sleepers, on a portion of the line convenient for the purpose, and numbered these sleepers from certain fixed points. They were examined carefully twice, at an interval of twelve months, and the state of each sleeper, at the date of the examination, was recorded. When decayed sleepers were met with, it was easy, by reference to the list, to discover what the woods were. The Author's sudden departure from India prevented a third annual examination, and his observations are, therefore, less calculated to prove the length of time good sleepers will last, than to show those which should not be used at all in a plain state, a point on which, as far as he is aware, no system had previously been adopted, and the want of which information. had caused many woods to be used for sleepers, which were proved by the Author's first examination not to be capable of enduring a single year.

The sleepers examined were variously placed--some on embankments and some in cuttings. Advantage was also taken of the opportunity to test the effects of different forms of ballasting, regarding which there had been some discussion amongst the Engineers on the line. The system usually adopted on the Madras Railway was to cover the sleepers entirely with ballast; which, outside the rails, was on a level with the tops of the keys, and between the rails was about 4 inches over the sleepers. This was drained in the ordinary way, by cross drains at intervals. other system, which was adopted by the Author on the division under his charge, was to leave the sleepers as much as possible uncovered. In the middle, between the rails, the ballast was raised about 2 inches, and it was sloped off so as to throw the water under the rails; the sleepers from the rails to the outer ends being uncovered.

The

The annexed statement gives the Tamil and the botanical names of the woods which came more particularly under observation, with the state of the sleepers at the end of the second year :—