Engineers and Mechanics Encyclopedia 1839: Railways: Liverpool and Manchester Railway
Of all the railways hitherto constructed, that which now connects Manchester with Liverpool is, beyond all comparison, the most perfect and the most extensively useful. The peculiar commercial connexion between those towns renders a cheap and rapid communication not merely of local, but of national interest.
Liverpool is the port whence Manchester receives all her raw materials, and to which she returns a large portion of manufactured goods for shipment to all parts of the world. By means of the railroad, the transit of goods is now effected in about two hours, which is about one-eighteenth part of the time previously occupied by the water carriage of fifty miles, besides a saving of fifty per cent. in the cost per ton of carriage; making an annual saving in carriage to the cotton manufacturers of £20,000; rendering it unnecessary for them to keep a stock on hand to meet sudden orders.
Manchester, we may observe, has now all the advantages of a sea-port, since a cargo may be delivered into a warehouse at Manchester on the same day that it is received at Liverpool. These towns are, by thirty-two miles of railway, as much connected for the purposes of business or pleasure, as the eastern and western extremities of London; the facilities of communication between the latter are, in fact, not so great as the former. The immense public advantages attending this great mechanical work, have, however, been in often and so ably set forth, in poetry as well as prose, that it will be quite needless to make any further remark on this head.
The undertaking was commenced in June 1826, under the direction of George Stephenson. It was proposed to lay the railway as nearly as possible in a straight line; but the nature rendered this work one of immense labour and difficulty. Upwards of £200,000 were expended in excavations and embankments; in bridges alone, over under the railway, upwards of £99,000; and out of a total expenditure, amounting to £820,000, only the sum of £67,932 for the railway itself, the particulars of which, as furnished by Mr. Booth, we subjoin; namely,
The following summary view of the working of the concern, during the first fifteen months of its existence, obtained from an Annual Report from the directors to the proprietors, we insert, as furnishing some important data to all persons interested in similar undertakings:-
to meet those contingencies to which the working of every extensive and new undertaking may be considered more or less liable.
The following general abstract of the expenditure of the railway, to the 31st of May, 1830, showing the cost of the different branches of the undertaking, may be of considerable use to those who shall hereinafter embark in similar adventures:-
The embankments included under this head consist of about 277,000 cubic yards of raw moss earth, in the formation of which, about 677,000 cubic yards of raw moss have been used; the difference in measurement being occasioned by the squeezing out of the superabundant water, and consequent consolidation of the moss. The expenditure on this part of the line has been less than the average expenditure.
Under this head is comprised the earth work on the whole line, exclusive of the Chat Moss district. The cuttings somewhat exceed the embankings; the surplus is principally deposited along the border of the Great Kenyon Cutting. The excavations consist of about 722,000 cubic yards of rock and shole, and about 2,006,000 cubic yards of marl, earth, and sand. This aggregate mass has been removed to various distances, from a few furlongs to between three and four miles; and no inconsiderable portion of it has been hoisted up by machinery, from a depth of thirty to sixty feet, to be deposited on the surface above, either to remain in permanent spoil banks, or to be afterwards carried to the next embankment.
By this is understood what is termed ballasting the road, - that is, depositing a layer of broken rock and sand, about two feet thick; viz. one foot below the blocks, and one foot distributed between them, serving to keep them firm in their places. Spiking down the iron chains to the blocks or sleepers, fastening the rails to the chains with iron keys, and adjusting the railway to the exact width, and curve, and level, come under this head of expenditure.
About £100,000 more were required to complete the work.
Since the period mentioned, we understand that the traffic on the railway has been constantly increasing. We have already described the nature and construction of the rail employed in this road, but it becomes necessary to a comprehension of the great effects produced upon it, to add some account of the levels and inclined planes of which it is formed; and this information is afforded in the annexed table.
The tunnel under Liverpool, which commences in Wapping, near the Queen's Dock, and ends at Edge Hill, outside the town, was constructed in seven or eight separate lengths, each communicating with the surface by means of perpendicular shafts. This tunnel is whitewashed throughout, and lighted with gas, and the effect produced is very singular and picturesque. The whitened roof and sides contiguous to each light are so strongly illumined, that the whole vista (observes Mr. Walker, in his "Description of the Railway,") appears like a succession of superb arches formed through massive parallel walls, the intervening spaces being left in comparative darkness.
About half a mile from the tunnel the railroad crosses Wavertree-lane. Half a mile to the north of Wavertree, at Olive Mount, there is an excavation through the solid rock, 70 feet below the surface, and two miles in length. The road is then carried by means of a great embankment, varying from 15 to 45 feet in height, and from 60 to 135 feet in breadth at the base, across a valley at Roby, or Broadgreen, two miles in length. It then crosses the Hayton turnpike road, a little past Roby; six miles and three quarters from Liverpool there is a junction railway for the conveyance of coals from the neighbouring mines; on the right, and at a distance of seven or eight miles from the Liverpool station, it comes to the Whiston inclined plane, which is one mile and a half long, and rises about 1 in 96. There is here a stationary engine to assist the carriages in their ascent.
For nearly two miles the road is then on an exact level. It was on this part of the road that the contest of locomotive carriages, for the premium of R500, took place in October, 1830, the result of which determined the directors to make use of locomotive engines instead of stationary ones. About half a mile from the Whiston plane, at Rainhill, the Liverpool and Manchester turnpike-road crosses the railway, at an angle of thirty-four degrees. On leaving the level at Rainhill, the railway crosses the Sutton inclined plane, which is of the same extent as that at Whiston, and descends in the same proportion that the other rises. There is here another stationary engine. A little beyond Rainhill several collieries communicate with the road by means of railways, and the Runcorn Gap railway will here cross the line to St. Helen's.
The next object of interest is Parr Moss, the road over which is formed principally of the clay and stone dug out of the Sutton inclined plane, and extends about three quarters of a mile. The moss was originally about twenty feet deep, and the embankment across it is nearly twenty-five feet high, thought only four or five feet now appear above the surface, the rest having sunk below it. The road is then carried over the valley of Sanky, by means of a massive and handsome viaduct, consisting of nine arches, of fifty feet span each; the height of the parapet being seventy feet above the Sankey canal in the valley beneath. The viaduct is built principally of brick, with stone facings, and the foundations rest on piles of from twenty to thirty feet in length, driven into the ground. The breadth of the railway between the parapets is twenty-five feet. The viaduct is approached by a stupendous embankment, formed principally of the clay dug from the high lands surrounding the valley.
A little to the south of the town of Newton the railway crosses a narrow valley, by the short but lofty embankment of Sandy Mains, and a handsome bridge of four arches, each forty feet span, under one of which passes the Newton and Warrington turnpike road. The Wigan and Newton branch here enters the railway.
A few miles beyond Newton is the great Kenyon excavation, from which above eight thousand cubic yards of clay and sand were dung out. The Kenyon and Leigh Junction railway here joins the Liverpool and Manchester line, and, as it also joins the Bolton and Leigh line, brings into a direct communication Liverpool and Bolton.
The Liverpool and Manchester Railway then passes successively under three handsome bridges; and a little beyond Culcheth, over the Brosely embankment, which is about a mile and a half in length, and from eighteen to twenty feet in height. It then passes over Bury-lane, and the small river Gless, or Glazebrook, and a river at Chat Moss. This is a huge bog, comprising an area of about twelve square miles, so soft, that cattle cannot walk over it, and in many parts so fluid, that an iron rod laid upon the surface would sink to the bottom, by the effect of its own gravity. It is from ten to thirty-five feet deep, and the bottom is composed of clay and sand. It was accounted by some an impossibility to carry the road across this huge bog; but by ingenuity and perseverance the work has been effected, and a firm road is now carried across the moss. Hurdles of brushwood and heath arc placed under the wooden sleepers, supporting the rails over the greatest part of the moss, and the road may be said to float on the surface. The most difficult part was on the eastern border, extending about half a mile, where an embankment of twenty feet in height was made, and many thousand cubic feet of earth sank into the moss, and disappeared, before the line of road approached the proposed level. At length, however, it became consolidated; in 1829, one railway was laid over the whole moss, and on the 1st of January, 1830, the Rocket steam engine, with a carriage and passengers passed over it. The line extends across the moss, a distance of about four miles and three quarters, and the road is not inferior to any other part of the railway. The work was completed at an expense of £27,719-11s-10d.
On leaving Chat Moss, the road passes over the lowlands at Barton, extending about a mile between the Moss and Worsley canal, by means of an embankment; it is carried over the casual by a neat statue viaduct of two arches; it then proceeds through Eccles, and a portion of Salford, under six bridges; it is carried over the Irwell by a handsome stone bridge of sixty-three feet span, thirty feet from the water, and then over twenty-two brick arches, and a bridge over Water-street, to the Company's station in Water-street, Manchester, a distance of thirty-one miles from the Liverpool station.
The railway is there on a level with the second story of the Company's warehouses. On the line between Liverpool and Manchester, there are, besides culverts and foot bridges, sixty-three bridges, of which thirty pass under the turnpike-road, twenty-eight over it, four over brooks, &c., and one over the river Irwell. There are twenty-two of brick, seventeen of wood and brick, eleven of brick and stone, eleven of wood, and two of stone and wood, at a total expense of £99,065-11s-9d.
From the top of the Liverpool tunnel to Manchester, with the exception of two inclined planes at Parnhill, (one ascending and the other descending at an inclination of one in ninety-six, and where some assistant power must be used,) there is no greater inclination than in the ratio of about one in eight hundred and thirty; and since the advantage on the descending side will nearly counterbalance the disadvantage, in ascending so gradual a slope, the railway may be regarded for practical purposes, as nearly horizontal. The rails at the mouth of the tunnel, at Edge Hill, are forty-six feet above the rails at the Manchester end of the line.
In the formation of the railway, there have been dug out of the different excavations, upwards of three millions of cubic yards of stone, clay, and soil; which is equal to, at least, four millions of tons!
After mature consideration of the reports and calculations of various engineers, appointed to consider the most eligible description of power for the Manchester and Liverpool railroad, they determined upon preferring locomotive to fixed engines, provided the former could be made sufficiently powerful, and at the same time not of so great a weight as to injure the stability of time rails, and that would not emit smoke, which is one of the provisions of the Railway Act. With the view also to obtain, if possible, an engine of improved construction, a public reward was offered by the directors in April 1829, for the best locomotive engine, subject to certain stipulations and conditions, which may be thus briefly stated viz. to consume its own smoke: to be capable of drawing after three times its own weight, at ten miles an hour, and have not exceeding 501bs pressure upon the square inch on the boiler: two safety valves, one locked up: engine and boiler to be supported on springs, and rest on six wheels if it should exceed 4.5 tons: height to top of chimney not more than 15 feet: weight, including water in boiler, not to exceed 6 tons; but preferred if of less weight: boiler, &c., proved to bear three times its working pressure: pressure gauge provided: cost of machine to be not more than £550.
On the day appointed, the following engines were entered for trial for the prize and the judges appointed to decide were, Nicholas Wood, of Killingworth, (the eminent writer upon railways, to whose labours we stand much indebted in this article); Mr. Rastrick, of Stourbridge, and Mr. Kennedy, of Manchester, who made judicious arrangements.
- The Rocket: Steam locomotive by Robert Stephenson.
- The Novelty: Steam locomotive by John Braithwaite and John Ericsson.
- The Sans Pareil: Steam locomotive by Timothy Hackworth.
- The Perseverance: Steam locomotive by Timothy Burstall of Edinburgh.
- The Cyclopede: Horse locomotive by Thomas Shaw Brandreth.
The trial, as before mentioned, took place on the level at Rainfall. Several days were employed in getting them into the best working condition for the contest.
The rate of performance of this engine was found by the judges to be 70 miles in about five hours, or 14 miles per hour; with an evaporation of 114 galloons per hour, and a consumption of coke of 2171bs. per hour. The greatest velocity attained was on the last eastward trip, the 1.5 mile being accomplished in 3 minutes and 44 seconds which is at the rate of 24.16 miles per hour.
On the following day the next engine brought up to the starting post was the Sans Pareil, but on weighing, it was found to exceed the condition of 4.5 tons upon four wheels, therefore could not strictly compete for the prize. Nevertheless, it underwent a trial of its powers, in order that the Directors might be acquainted with its merits.
In making the eighth trip on the running ground, the pump that supplied the water to the boiler became disordered in its action, by which the level of the water in the boiler became reduced below the fire tube, and the leader plug, employed as a safety valve, was melted, and put an end to the experiment.
But as far as the experiment was conducted, which extended to 27.5 miles, the performance was creditable, being 19.5 tons conveyed at the rate of 15 miles per hour. The greatest velocity attained was in the fifth trip; the 1.5 mile being traversed in 3 minutes and 59 seconds, which is at the rate 22.6 miles per hour.
The consumption of the coke in this engine was enormous, being at the rate of 6921bs per hour, which was found to be owing to the draft through the fire-place being so powerful, as to blow red hot cinders out of the chimney shaft.
The Novelty, which was not tried until the 10th, owing to unavoidable circumstances, carried its own water and fuel; and, therefore, to place it on the same footing as the other engines, the same proportion of useful load was assigned to it when compared to the engine, as the useful loads taken by the other engines have to their weight. The power and its load were accordingly as follow:-
In the early part of the trial with this engine, the water supply-pipe burst, and put an end to the experiment for that day. Two or three days afterwards the trial was renewed, but another unfortunate accident (that of one of the joints of the boiler giving way) terminated the proceedings, at the desire of John Ericsson, who voluntarily withdrew his carriage from the contest. The performance of the engine, while it lasted, indicated very excellent results; the design, arrangement, and execution of the work, were likewise highly creditable to the genius and talent of the proprietors.
The Perseverance, after a short trial, was proved unsuited to the railway, and was immediately withdrawn by the proprietor. The course was thus left clear for Mr. Stevenson to receive the fairly won prize of £500, which was awarded to him by the judges.
The Cyclopede, though included in the foregoing list of rival machines, not being propelled by the power mentioned in the "stipulations and conditions," it could not properly be considered as entering the lists for the prize therein proposed; it was, however, an inquiry well worth the investigation, what degree of power horses could exert in a locomotive machine of the kind, and thereby determine its comparative economy with that of steam. For these reasons a trial of the Cyclopede took place; but it only attained a speed of five or six miles an hour, owing, as we believe, to the horses not having sufficient power to exert themselves in their stalls, as well as to an injudicious construction of some parts.
Having now stated the results of this memorable contest, it becomes necessary to give some account of the machines engaged therein.
The Rocket, constructed by Mr. Stevenson, of which an external side elevation is given in the following figure, possesses many of the characteristics of those which were worked upon other railways, as already described. The furnace at A is a square box, about 3 feet wide, anal 2 feet deep. This furnace has external casing, between which and the fireplace there is a space of 3 inches filled with water, and communicating by a lateral pipe with the boiler. The heated air, &c. from the furnace passes through twenty-five copper tubes, 3 inches in diameter, arranged longitudinally on the lower half of the boiler, and then enters the chimney C.
D represents one of the two steam cylinders, which are placed in an inclined position on each side of the boiler, and then enters the chimney C. D represents one of the two steam cylinders, which are placed in an inclined position on each side of the boiler, and communicating by their piston rods, through the media of connecting rods E, motion to the running wheels. P-G are safety valves; E is one of two pipes on each side of the boiler, by which the eduction steam from the cylinders is thrown into the chimney, and, by the exhaustion thus caused in the latter, producing a rapid draft of air through the furnace. At M is exhibited part of the tender, which carries the fuel and water for the supply of the engine.
A little reflection upon the construction of this boiler will evidently show the great advantages it possesses of generating steam with rapidity, and hence the superior effects in propelling the carriage and its load. There are twenty square feet of heated metallic surface surrounding the furnace, the flames and heated matter from which infringe afterwards upon the twenty-five copper lashes lying immersed in the lower part of the boiler. These tubes contain 117 square feet of surface, making altogether 137 superficial feet of heated metal in contact with the water. We understand that Mr. Booth suggested the arrangement of the flue tubes leading from the furnace to the chimney; and we make no doubt that it was mainly owing to this contrivance that the prize was won by Mr. Stevenson's engine.
The Novelty, by Messrs. Braithwaite and Ericsson, is exhibited in the sub-joined sketch, representing a side elevation of the machine.
F is the carriage-frame; E, one end of a long horizontal cylinder, forming the principal part of the boiler, which extends to the large vertical vessel A, at the other end of the carriage, and contains forty-five gallons of water; L, a hopper to supply the fuel, (which is carried in small baskets placed on the carriage,) whence it is conducted by a tube in the centre of the steam-chamber A, into the furnace S, beneath.
At C is a blowing machine, the air from which is conducted by a pipe under the carriage, and proceeding by the tube K enters the ash-pit M, under the furnace; Q is a pipe for the escape of the heated gases after the combustion, and forms the only chimney used; B is the water-tank; at D-N are two working cylinders with their steam-pipes and valves; the cylinders are six inches in diameter, and have a twelve-inch stroke; O-G are connecting-rods, which impart the force of the engines to the running- wheels.
The axletrees are fixed to an iron rod, and slings are introduced to prevent the side action between the rod and the carriage frame; and to prevent the effect of the springs from counteracting the actions of the engine, the connecting-rods are placed as nearly as possible in a horizontal position, and the motion is communicated to them by bell-cranks on each side of the carriage, being connected by the slings to the piston rods.
The pistons used are the patent metallic of Barton; and the running wheels, the patent suspension kind, of Theodore Jones and Co. The second figure exhibits a section of the boiler introduced by Messrs. Braithwaite and Ericsson, into the Novelty steam-carriage, which we are induced to insert here, as it has been deemed, by some persons, to be the grand desideratum in this branch of practical mechanics. It is, therefore, desirable that its real merits should come under the consideration of the reader. S is the furnace, surrounded by water; and L the tube by which the fuel is supplied to feed the fire; M is the ash-pit, through which the air is forced by the pipe K from the bellows of the engine. The vessel containing the water that surrounds the furnace, and the long cylinder that proceeds horizontally from it, constitute the boiler, as shown at E-E-e.
The flames and heated air from the furnace, after ascending by the action of the bellows, enter a long tortuous flue, which makes three turns in the entire length of the horizontal boiler, escaping finally at the chimney. The fuel in the furnace has, therefore, a direct action upon the water surrounding it; and the water in the long cylinder is operated upon by the gases in the flue, which gradually tapers from the furnace to the chimney, and has a constant inclination downward. This part of the arrangement seems to be good, as affording convenient means of cleansing the flues of any soot that may deposit itself in them, which, it is presumed, may be performed at any time, by an energetic application of the blowing machine; and as the whole of the furnace and flue is surrounded by the water of the boiler, there can evidently be very little of the beat from the fuel misapplied.