A history of the growth of the steam-engine . digested plans. Among these was the pneumatic systemof propulsion, already referred to as first proposed by Papin,in combination with his double-acting air-pump, in had been again proposed .in the early part of the presentcentury by Medhurst, who proposed a method of pneumatictransmission of small parcels and of letters, which is nowin use, and, 15 years later, a railroad to take the place ofthat of Stephenson and his coadjutors. The most success-ful of several attempts to introduce this method was thatof Clegg & Samuda, at West London, and
A history of the growth of the steam-engine . digested plans. Among these was the pneumatic systemof propulsion, already referred to as first proposed by Papin,in combination with his double-acting air-pump, in had been again proposed .in the early part of the presentcentury by Medhurst, who proposed a method of pneumatictransmission of small parcels and of letters, which is nowin use, and, 15 years later, a railroad to take the place ofthat of Stephenson and his coadjutors. The most success-ful of several attempts to introduce this method was thatof Clegg & Samuda, at West London, and on the London& Croydon road, and again in Ireland, between Kings-town and Dalkey. A line of pipe, ^ £, seen in Pig. 56,two feet in diameter, was laid between the rails, A A, of 202 THE MODERN STEAM-ENGINE. the road. TMs pipe was fitted with a nicely-packed piston,carrying a strong arm, which rose through a slit made alongthe top of the pipe, and covered by a flexible strip ofleather, E E. This arm was attached to the carriage, C G,. Fig. 56.—The Atmosptieric Bailroad. to be propelled. The pressure of the atmosphere being re-moved, by the action of a powerful pump, from the sidetoward which the train was to advance, the pressure of theatmosphere on the opposite side drove the piston forward,carrying the train with it. Stephenson was convinced,after examining the plans of the projectors, that the schemewould fail, and so expressed himself. Those who favoredit, however, had sufficient influence with capitalists to securerepeated trials, although each was followed by failure, andit was several years before the last was heard of this considerable portion of several of the later years ofStephensons life was spent in traveling in Europe, partlyon business and partly for pleasure. During a visit to Bel-giiim in 1845, he was received everywhere, and by all STEAM-LOCOMOTION ON RAILROADS. 203 classes, from the king down to the humblest of his subjects,with such distinction as
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Keywords: ., bookcentury1800, bookdecade1870, bookidc, booksubjectsteamengines
