2-798-921 - The Print Collector/Heritage Images

Engine, tender, and carriage - side view, 1845. '...a System of Tram-ways composed entirely of Wood, which the inventor, Mr. William Prosser, maintains to be "equally expeditious, and more safe, more durable, and considerably more economical than the iron railway." The main feature of the invention is, however, a system of Guide wheels, which have been patented by Mr. Prosser, and which may be applied either to iron or wooden rails...The rails, or rather trams, of seven to eight inches scantling, are indurated and protected against fire, rot, and insects, by the injection, by successive exhaustion and pressure, of two solutions, mineral and alkaline...The friction and oscillation, and general wear and tear involved in the use of the conical tire and the flange, are thus obviated, and the friction of attrition is converted into a friction of rotation...'. From "Illustrated London News", 1845, Vol VII.