John Tatam Stanesby, “Railways”

In Charles Knight (ed.), Knight’s Store of Knowledge, pages 65–80 (1841)

This article gives a detailed account of the railway system as it was in 1841. By that time the technology of railways was well developed, as the author describes; on the other hand, they had been operating on a large scale for only a few years, so that he is still unsure of their future importance.

The article is arranged under 13 heads, which in this Web version are grouped into 7 pages as shown below. Diagrams have been relettered for clarity.

J. T. Stanesby (1819–1886) made a living as a bookseller, and later in life as an actuary. He was also an engraver and a member of the Society of Arts. He contributed several articles to Knight’s publications such as the Penny Cyclopædia.

The digitized version contains the following Web pages:

TEXT
[Part 1]  History
[Part 2]  Designing a line of railway
[Part 3]  Obtaining an Act of Parliament • Formation of the road
[Part 4]  Ballasting and laying the rails, &c. • Rails and chairs • Railways on continuous bearings
[Part 5]  Gauge, width between tracks, &c. • Stations, passing-places, &c.
[Part 6]  Carriages • Locomotive engines • Stationary engines
[Part 7]  [Principal railways of Great Britain and Ireland]
IMAGES
Fig. 1 [Elevation and ground plan of primitive railway]
Fig. 2 [Elevation of railway with second set of rails]
Fig. 3 [Rail to be imbedded in ordinary road (1803)]
Fig. 4 [Cast-iron rail with upright flange]
Fig. 5 [Pair of wheels on rails of Fig. 4]
Fig. 6 [Tramroad rail with under-rib]
Fig. 7 [Edge rails with wheels (1801)]
Fig. 8 [Fish-bellied rails with wheels]
Fig. 9 [Joint for rails of Fig. 8]
Fig. 10 [Locomotive used at Merthyr Tydvil (1805)]
Fig. 11 [Stephenson’s Rocket (1829)]
Fig. 12 [Profile of imaginary railway line]
Fig. 13 [Use of stone blocks and wooden sleepers]
Fig. 14 [Various ways of fixing rails]
Fig. 15 [Fixing rails on continuous bearings]
Fig. 16 [Switch with one movable rail]
Fig. 17 [Switch with two movable rails]
Fig. 18 [Use of switches at passing-places and crossings]
Fig. 19 [Use of turntables]
Fig. 20 [Ground plan of passenger carriage]
Fig. 21 [Modern locomotive (1841): elevation]
Fig. 22 [Modern locomotive (1841): cross-section]