Page:Report from the Select Committee on Steam Carriages.pdf/51



Mr. G. Garney. 3 August, 1831. Practically horses drawing frequently draw a weight of 80 cwt.?—Yes, sometimes, but 15 cwt. a horse is the usual weight. I have always felt a great anxiety that the weight of the Steam Engine should not injure the road, and I have felt desirous of not introducing it until it was reduced; and I now cheerfully admit, that if the weight of the Locomotive exceeded 60 cwt., which is the weight of the present loaded stage coaches, with the passengers and their luggage, there should be a very heavy toll put on them. I would also propose that if my wheels are wider than four inches, the tolls should be less; if they are six inches, then they should be still less; but taking the principle of 10 cwt of iron and copper to do the work of one horse, and that it should pay the same tolls, and that no weight of Steam Carriage should be admitted above 60 cwt on the road, I certainly should myself be content, and as I cannot for a moment imagine that the 10 cwt, running on four wheels can do so much harm as 10 cwt carried on four feet, that the interests of Turnpike Trusts would be fairly preserved by such a scale of tolls.

What is the amount of toll charged between Gloucester and Cheltenham?—Five shillings and sixpence.

What would be charged on a four-horse coach?—Two shillings and eight-pence.

Your Steam Carriage, according to the last improvement, weighs 35 cwt. without the weight of persons to direct it?—Yes, and without the weight of the fuel.

Do you not consider that the Steam Carriages would be applicable not only to the moving Carriages at a rapid rate, but also to moving certain weights at a slower pace?—I think it is possible, but it would be very expensive, because I find that when you get below a rate of four miles an hour, the expence in fuel is greater than the expence in horses; if the rate exceeds four miles an hour, then it is cheaper, and it becomes cheaper geometrically over horses as you get up.

What is the greatest weight which you conceive your Steam Carriages could draw after them on a