Page:Report from the Select Committee on Steam Carriages.pdf/48



Mr. G. Garney. 3 August, 1831. great expence to pave them. From Cheltenham to Gloucester, for instance, and in many other parts of England, this is the case. I would also call the attention of the Committee to some parts of London, where the horses and the wheels continue to pass over the same ground respectively, as in Wych-street; and I would submit the importance of the Committee referring to the expence of keeping the towing-paths of Canals in repair, where only horses, and comparatively few, travel over them. At this moment those are the only means enabling me to speak to the relative wear and tear.

Have you used your Carriages on pavements?—Yes; never to run continually on a pavement, but to run in and out of towns.

Do they run easier on pavements than on ordinary roads?—Yes; they only take about a quarter the power on a pitched pavement; that is, a quarter of the power they would over a gravelled road.

In the progress of this improvement, do you anticipate that it will be necessary to adapt some portion of the turnpike roads to Carriages of this description, or do you think they can be put into operation on the turnpike roads as they are now existing?—I think they can be put into operation on the turnpike roads as they are now existing; I have no doubt at all about it.

You do not anticipate the necessity of paved roads being made for the purposes of those Carriages?—As far as economy goes, in the expence of power, it may be desirable, but for the practical application of the steam it is not necessary.

Can any proportion be drawn between the friction occasioned by the horses' feet and the tire of the wheel?—I do not see how it is possible to do so, unless you take the loss or abrasion of the two metals respectively, in a given quantity of work or miles travelled over.

Have you any practical experience in the repair of turnpike roads?–I have had my attention turned to it, connected only with this subject; I have seen the great expence of keeping towing-paths and horse paths in repair; and I have seen the great expence