, at the outset of my Glasgow and South-Western service, I
reviewed the public Acts of Parliament passed since the beginning of
railways down to the year 1875, and it may not be amiss to notice now the
further railway legislation enacted up to 1885.
The first measure of importance was the _Railway Returns (Continuous
Brakes) Act_, 1878. The travelling public had for some years been
sensitive regarding railway accidents which, though infrequent,
nevertheless occurred much oftener then than now, and were more serious
in their results. The matter of their reduction began to receive the
serious attention of railway engineers and inventors, and among many
appliances suggested was the system of continuous brakes. In June, 1875,
a great contest of brakes, extending over three days, in which trains of
the principal companies engaged, took place on the Midland railway
between Newark and Bleasby. A large number of brakes competed--the
Westinghouse, the Vacuum, Clarke's Hydraulic, Webb's Chain, and several
others. It is recorded that at the conclusion of the trial, each
patentee left the _refreshment tent_ satisfied that his own brake was the
best; but Time is the great arbiter, and _his_ decision has been in
favour of two--the Automatic Vacuum and the Westinghouse, and these are
the brakes the companies have adopted.
Pages:
139
140
141
142
143
144
145
146
147
148
149
150
151
152
153
154
155
156
157
158
159
160
161
162
163