On the Economy of Machinery and ManufacturesBabbage, Charles
ReligionComparative
On the Economy of Machinery and Manufactures
Babbage, Charles
Machinery; Manufactures
Injuries arising from; Fast coach; Heavy waggon
Atmospheric changes 20 20
Wheels 20 35.5
Horses' feet drawing 60 44.5
Total injury 100 100
Supposing it, therefore, to be ascertained that the wheels of
steam carriages do no more injury to roads than other carriages
of equal weight travelling with the same velocity, the committee
now possessed the means of approximating to a just rate of toll
for steam carriages.(1*)
302. As connected with this subject, and as affording most
valuable information upon points in which, previous to
experiment, widely different opinions have been entertained; the
following extract is inserted from Mr Telford's Report on the
State of the Holyhead and Liverpool Roads. The instrument
employed for the comparison was invented by Mr Macneill; and the
road between London and Shrewsbury was selected for the place of
experiment.
The general results, when a waggon weighing 21 cwt was used
on different sorts of roads, are as follows:
lbs
1. On well-made pavement, the draught is 33
2. On a broken stone surface, or old flint road 65
3. On a gravel road 147
4. On a broken stone road, upon a rough pavement foundation 46
5. On a broken stone surface, upon a bottoming of concrete,
formed of Parker's cement and gravel 46
The following statement relates to the force required to draw a
coach weighing 18 cwt. exclusive of seven passengers, up roads of
various inclinations:
Inclination; Force required at six miles per hour; Force at
eight miles per hour; Force at ten miles per hour
lbs lbs lbs
1 in 20 268 296 318
1 in 26 213 219 225
1 in 30 165 196 200
1 in 40 160 166 172
1 in 600 111 120 128
303. In establishing a new manufactory, the time in which the
goods produced can be brought to market and the returns be
realized, should be thoroughly considered, as well as the time
the new article will take to supersede those already in use. If
it is destroyed in using, the new produce will be much more
easily introduced. Steel pens readily took the place of quills;
and a new form of pen would, if it possessed any advantage, as
easily supersede the present one. A new lock, however secure, and
however cheap, would not so readily make its way. If less
expensive than the old, it would be employed in new work: but old
locks would rarely be removed to make way for it; and even if
perfectly secure, its advance would be slow.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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