. Wonders and curiosities of the railway; or, Stories of the locomotive in every land; with an appendix, bringing the volume down to date . ^ from the Liverpool streetStation of the Great Eastern railroad, passing under thewarehouses and water-basin of tbe London docks, thencethrough the famous Thames tunnel to the New Crossstation of the South Eastern railway. This gigantic sub-terranean and subfluvial structure cost sixteen milliondollars, and is six miles in CHAPTER VII. A HANDFUL OF CURIOSITIES. rr^HE inventive genius of mechanicians has exercised itself-*- in the excogitation of


. Wonders and curiosities of the railway; or, Stories of the locomotive in every land; with an appendix, bringing the volume down to date . ^ from the Liverpool streetStation of the Great Eastern railroad, passing under thewarehouses and water-basin of tbe London docks, thencethrough the famous Thames tunnel to the New Crossstation of the South Eastern railway. This gigantic sub-terranean and subfluvial structure cost sixteen milliondollars, and is six miles in CHAPTER VII. A HANDFUL OF CURIOSITIES. rr^HE inventive genius of mechanicians has exercised itself-*- in the excogitation of a good many fantastic and dar-ing plans for railroads and locomotives. There have beennot only railroads under the ground and in the air, butrailroads in the clouds, railroads among the tree-tops, andrailroads on the ice, and the models of even a submarinerailway have been constructed and exhibited. And therehave been flying locomotives, locomotives with sails, locomo-tives on sled-runners, and bicycle (By permission of the Scientific American.)A LOCOMOTIVE ON SLED RUNNERS. Some years ago a Locomotive on Sled-Runners was con-structed by the Messrs. Neilson of Glasgow, was emplo3^ed in Russia for drawing passengers andfreight over the ice between Saint Petersburg and Cron-stadt. The two driving-wheels in the rear are studdedwith sharp spikes. The front part of the engine rests on asledge, which is swivelled, and is turned to the right or leftby the wheels working in connection with an endless screw A HANDFUL OF CURIOSITIES. 116 and a segment rack. The locomotive is said to have runeighteen miles an hour over the ice. From the Russianice locomotive, the transition is natural to Railroads on theIce. On February 12th, 1879, when the mercury stoodtwenty degrees below zero, the first train of the NorthernPacific railroad to cross the Missouri River passed over onice three feet deep. The track was laid on twelve-foot ties,and the cars carried over a number of


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