The Steam Engine Familiarly Explained and Illustrated: With an historical sketch of its invention and progressive improvement; its applications to navigation and railways; with plain axioms for railway speculatorsLardner, Dionysius
History
The Steam Engine Familiarly Explained and Illustrated: With an historical sketch of its invention and progressive improvement; its applications to navigation and railways; with plain axioms for railway speculators
Lardner, Dionysius
Steam-engines -- Early works to 1850
These boilers are constructed to bear a pressure of 400 or 500 lbs. on
the square inch; but the average pressure of the steam on the safety
valve is from 60 to 100. There are 100 square feet of surface in
contact with the water exposed to the fire. The stages which such an
engine performs are eight miles, at the end of which a fresh supply of
fuel and water are taken in. It requires about two bushels of coke for
each stage.
The steam carriage of Mr. _Hancock_ differs from that of Mr. _Gurney_
in this,--that in the former the passengers and engine are all placed
on the same carriage. The boiler is placed behind the carriage; and
there is an engine-house between the boiler and the passengers, who
are placed on the fore part of the vehicle; so that all the machinery
is behind them. The carriages are adapted to carry 14 passengers, and
weigh, exclusive of their load, about 3-1/2 tons, the tires of the
wheels being about 3-1/2 inches in breadth. Mr. _Hancock_ states, that
the construction of his boiler is of such a nature, that, even in the
case of bursting, no danger is to be apprehended, nor any other
inconvenience than the stoppage of the carriage. He states that, while
travelling about 9 miles an hour, and working with a pressure of
about 100 lbs. on the square inch, loaded with 13 passengers, the
carriage was suddenly stopped. At first the cause of the accident was
not apparent; but, on opening one of the cocks of the boiler, it was
found that it contained neither steam nor water. Further examination
proved that the boiler had burst. On unscrewing the bolts, it was
found there were several large holes in the plates of the
water-chamber, through which the water had flowed on the fire; but
neither noise nor explosion, nor any dangerous consequences ensued.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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