The substance of the following pages was written several months since,
and subsequently sent to the Institution of Civil Engineers, where it was
read in abstract on the 16th of February in the present session.
While our Engineering Literature contains several valuable Treatises on
the Theory and Construction of the Locomotive Engine, it has, as yet,
produced no work illustrating its Use. This circumstance, added to the
recommendation of several competent authorities, has induced the writer
to apply to the Council of the Institution of Civil Engineers for
permission to lay before the public these Practical Rules for the
Management of a Locomotive Engine, drawn up from individual experience,
in the hope that they may be acceptable, at a period when any subject
connected with the efficiency and safety of Railway travelling is
deservedly engaging attention.
At the end of the Paper will be found some Regulations for the first
appointment of Engine-men, adopted by the Directors of the London and
Croydon Railway, and framed by the writer in his official capacity as
their Resident Engineer. Also, a Table of Railway Velocities, indicated
by the time occupied in passing over given distances, which he has
frequently found to save him the trouble of calculation, and which he
hopes may be similarly useful to others.