Publisher's Synopsis
Excerpt from The Year-Book of Facts in Science and Art, 1848: Exhibiting the Most Important Discoveries and Improvements of the Past Year, in Mechanics and the Useful Arts, Natural Philosophy, Electricity, Chemistry, Zoology and Botany, Geology and Geography, Meteorology and Astronomy
When the speed of the locomotive was set beyond question, prejudice then took alarm about the safety, and a very strong stand has, from time to time, been made for a limitation of speed. Within the last seven years the London and Birmingham directors considered 20 miles an hour was enough, and had they been free from competition and supported by pub lic opinion, they would, no doubt, have adhered to that rate, from the conscientious conviction that a higher speed was incompatible with eco nomy and safety. The vigour of the broad-gauge advocates, and the ne cessity for proving the capabilities of their system, have led them to push on the march of improvement with energy, and the narrow gauge lines have been forced to follow. Thus the enterprise of directors and the inge nuity of engineers have been kept on the stretch to carry on the rivalry; and we consider the broad gauge as valuable, if on no other ground, that it has tripled the working-power of the locomotive, and given us 60 miles an hour, where we should have been lingering at 20. We recollect the simple unbelief, when it was announced that Brunel had run a locomotive at the rate of a mile a minute, and when at length it was known to be true, it was said that it was not safe, and would never do, and yet it has since then been made a working speed.
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