Page:Report from the Select Committee on Steam Carriages.pdf/179



Mr. W. A. Summers. 19 August, 1831. Have you a drawing of this Carriage?—I have not; but I can explain the principle pretty clearly.

Have you abandoned the principle upon which this Carriage was formed?—Entirely; except that the boiler, with which it was furnished when we ran down to Basingstoke, was the same with which we travelled in the vehicle, of which Mr. Ogle has given a description.

When you were travelling with those ten persons, did you try to increase the speed?—Yes.

You were not able to do it?—We were not; because the size of our Engines would not consume the quantity of Steam generated by the boiler, and we were not able to go any faster, the Engines not being calculated for taking a sufficient quantity of Steam to produce greater speed.

What was the size of the cylinder with which you worked?—We had three cylinders, each four inches diameter, and the stroke of the piston twelve inches in each.

In the present Carriages which you run on the Southampton road, what is the size of the cylinders?—Seven inches and a half diameter each, and the stroke of each piston eighteen inches.

Do you apply your power immediately from the piston to the crank?—Through the medium of a connecting rod only.

You have witnessed the operation of Mr. Ogle's Carriage on the Southampton road?—I have always been with it.

He has stated that the weight of that is about three tons?—It is about three tons.

What is the greatest weight by actual experiments, exclusive of its own weight, that you have seen that Carriage draw?—We never weighed the present Carriage; but I remember nineteen persons being at one time on the vehicle.

To what distance did you carry the whole of those nineteen persons?—We carried those nineteen persons a distance of about three miles and a half.

Was that on a level road, or on a road with hills?