An Atmospheric Railway is a railway so called in consequence of the motive power being derived from the pressure of the atmosphere, or from compressed air. The idea of thus obtaining motion was first suggested by the French engineer Papin, about 1700. In 1810, and again in 1827, a Mr. Medhurst published a scheme for 'propelling carriages through a close-fitting air-tight tunnel by forcing in air behind them' and in 1825 a similar project was patented by a Mr. Yallance of Brighton. About 1835 a Mr. H. Pinkus, an American residing in England, patented a pneumatic railway. The carriages were to travel on an open line of rails, along which a cast-iron tube of between 3 and 4 feet diameter was to be laid, having a longitudinal slit from 1 to 2 inches wide and closed by a flexible valve along its upper side, through which a connection could be formed between the leading carriage and a piston working within the tube. This method was improved by Messrs. Clegg and Samuda, who in 1840 tried some experiments on a portion of the West London Railway with sufficient success to induce the government to advance a loan to the Dublin and KingstownRailway Company, for the construction of a pneumatic line from Kingstown to Dalkey. It was opened for passenger traffic at the end of 1843, and was worked for many months. The London and Croydon Company subsequently obtained powers for laying down an atmospheric railway by the side of their other line from London to Croydon, and in experimental trips in 1845 a speed of 30 miles an hour was obtained with sixteen carriages, and of 70 miles an hour with six carriages. But during the intense heat of the summer of 1846 the iron tube frequently became so hot as to melt the composition which sealed the valve, and the line had to be worked by locomotives. The mechanical difficulty of commanding a sufficient amount of rarefaction led to the abandonment of the system for railway purposes. It was revived, however, for the conveyance of letters and
arcels in towns by means of tubes of moderate diameter laid beneath the streets, but not proceeded with. Within offices, however, atmospheric railways or rather pneumatic despatch systems are used notably within the supermarket chain Sainsburys where cash from tills is put into a cylindrical container which is closed and inserted into a pressurised pipe system for conveyance to the cash office. Research Atmospheric Railway
Ballast is a term applied to heavy matter, such as stone, sand, iron, or water placed in the bottom of a sailing ship or other vessel to sink it in the water to such a depth as to enable it to carry sufficient sail without oversetting. The term ballast is also applied to the sand placed in bags in the car of a hot-air balloon to steady it and to enable the aeronaut to lighten the balloon by throwing part of it out. Ballast is also the name for the material used to fill up the space between the rails on a railway in order to make it firm and solid. Research Ballast
Bradshaw's Railway Guide was once a well-known English manual for travellers. It was first published in 1839 by George Bradshaw, a printer and engraver living in Manchester. For a time it was published each month and contained the arrangements of the railway and steamboat companies operating in Britain. Research Bradshaw's Railway Guide
A by-law (from the Scandinavian By meaning a town) is a law made by an incorporated or other body for the regulation of its own affairs, or the affairs entrusted to its care. Town councils, railway companies etc. enact by-laws which are binding upon all coming within the sphere of the operations of such bodies. Research By-Law
The Canadian Pacific Railway is a line of railway which traverses British North America from the St Lawrence to the Pacific. One of the conditions upon which the province of British Columbia in 1871 entered the Dominion of Canada was the construction of such a railway. Since that time more than one act had been passed empowering different companies to go on with the work. Eventually, however, it was completed, according to arrangement with the Canadian government, by a syndicate of London, Paris, and American capitalists, being opened for general traffic in June, 1886. Commencing at Montreal, the line goes on to Ottawa, thence round the north of the Great Lakes to Port Arthur at the head of Lake Superior, and thence to Winnipeg, Manitoba, thence to Stephen in the Rocky Mountains, then across British Columbia to Vancouver on the Pacific. Vancouver, now a thriving city, owes its existence to this railway. The line was of great importance not only as a means of communication between Europe and Eastern Asia and Australasia, but also as a military highway binding together the great masses of the British Empire during the late 19th century. Research Canadian Pacific Railway
The Clayton-Bulwer Treaty was a treaty drawn up between the USA and Great Britain in 1850, and named after the negotiators, John M Clayton and Sir H Lytton Bulwer, under the treaty neither power was to obtain exclusive control over any canal across the Central American Isthmus, but all such communications by canal or railway were to be neutral. The treaty was superseded by the 1901 Hay-Pauncefote Treaty. Research Clayton-Bulwer Treaty
A coupe was a small four-wheeled closed carriage for two persons, carrying a driver outside. The term has come to also describe a motor car with a single-compartment body containing two or three seats or a half-compartment in a railwaycoach. Research Coupe
An edge-railway is a kind of way in which the wheels of the carriages run on the edge of iron rails. The wheels are confined to their path by flanges which project about an inch beyond their periphery. Research Edge-Railway
Express was the American name for a system of railwaytransportation which was begun on March the 4th, 1839, by William F Harnden, who established express (railway) communication between New York and Boston. Alvan Adams and P B Burke started the Adams Express Company in 1840. The Wells Fargo Company was started in 1845, the United States Express Company in 1853. Research Express
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Abbreviations
Research Atmospheric Railway
