A Rudimentary Treatise on the Locomotive Engine in All Its Phases: Popularly Described (Classic Reprint) - Softcover

Excerpt from A Rudimentary Treatise on the Locomotive Engine in All Its Phases: Popularly Described

A locomotive engine, followed by a train of carriages, always impresses the spectator as a remarkable exhibition of inanimate power. The familiar, but now ancient, spectacle of the mail coach, whirled along by its glowing team, was wont to excite admiration by its evidence of equestrian train ing and discipline; but the means of its movement were palpable, and reflection was scarcely prompted by the sight. Of two witnesses - one from the workshop, the other from the stable - the latter could probably the best appreciate the principles of the draught, and explain why the leaders and the wheelers were selected for their respective places; but the sight of a complicated and apparently cumbrous machine, moving itself under the mere direction of a human driver, forcibly overcoming not only its own inertia, but that of the many heavy carriages and trucks which helplessly follow in its chains, is a demonstration of mechanical agency which, however often it may be witnessed, arrests the atten tion in every instance, and leads the mind to contemplate the means employed, or to inquire what those means are.

Let us become such inquirers, and endeavour to ascertain those means. We have just seen a friend off by railway and, having had to wait some time on the platform of the station, glanced at the hissing leader of the train, which by brazen plate proclaimed itself to be a Hurricane, Thun derer, Meteor, or other symbol of speed and power. While) stationary, we noticed the engine had six wheels.

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This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.

Excerpt from A Rudimentary Treatise on the Locomotive Engine in All Its Phases: Popularly Described

Now-A-Days we are all railway travellers. Where-ever we may want to go, beyond the limited sphere of . that sociable vehicle commonly called the "'bus," we find we must take the "rail." A few years since, and it might be a matter of choice whether we would adopt the old and safe coach, or risk our bodies and limbs on the new fashioned railway. But this choice is no longer ours; and we can now select only between going by "rail" and stopping at home.

This limitation in our resources of travel, however, has not really detracted from its safety: railway statistics show how vastly the number of travellers has been augmented, while the dangers they incur have been reduced; and we may now commit ourselves to the express train, at forty miles per hour, with infinitely I far less risk of a broken neck than we could, forty years ago, mount the "Age" or the "Wonder," and £ follow its leaders at one fourth of that speed.

About the Publisher

Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com

This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.