Scientific American Supplement, No. 421 | Page 8

48.
Mr. Foxwell then proceeds to describe in detail the performances of the express trains of the leading English and Scottish railways--in Ireland there are no trains which come under his definition of "express"--giving the times of journey, the journey-speeds, minutes stopped on way, and running averages, with the gradients and other circumstances bearing on these performances. He sums up the results for the United Kingdom, omitting fractions, as follows:
========================================================================= Extent of| | | Average | | | System | | Distinct | Journey- | Running | Express | in Miles.| | Expresses.| speed. | Average.| Mileage.| ---------+-------------------+-----------+----------+---------+---------+ 1773 | North-Western | {54} 82 | 40 | 43 | 10,400 | | | {28} | | | | 1260 | Midland | 66 | 41 | 45 | 8,860 | 928 | Great Northern | {48} 67 | 43 | 46 | 6,780 | | | {19} | | | | 907 | Great Eastern | 34 | 41 | 43 | 3,040 | 2267 | Great Western | 18 | 42 | 46 | 2,600 | 1519 | North-Eastern | 19 | 40 | 43 | 2,110 | 290 | Manch., Sheffield,| 49 | 43 | 44 | 2,318 | | and Lincoln | | | | | 767 | Caledonian | 16 | 40 | 42 | 1,155 | 435 | Brighton | 13 | 41 | 41 | 1,155 | 382 | South-Eastern | 12 | 41 | 41 | 940 | 329 | Glasgow and | 8 | 41 | 43 | 920 | | South-Western | | | | | 796 | London and | 3 | 41 | 44 | 890 | | South-Western | | | | | 984 | North British | 11 | 39 | 41 | 830 | 153 | Chatham and Dover | 9 | 42 | 43 | 690 | +-----------+----------+---------+---------+ | 407 | 41 | 44 | 42,683 | =========================================================================
A total of 407 express trains, whose average journey-speed is 41.6, and which run 42,680 miles at an average "running average" of 44.3 miles per hour.
If we arrange the companies according to their speed instead of their mileage, the order is:
Average r.a. Miles Great Northern. 46 6,780 Great Western. 46 [2]2,600 Midland. 45 8,860 Manchester, Sheffield, and Lincoln 44 2,318 London and South-Western. 44 890 North-Western. 43 10,400 Glasgow and South-Western. 43 920 Great Eastern. 43 3,040 North-Eastern. 43 2,110 Chatham and Dover. 43 690 Caledonian. 42 1,155 South-Eastern. 41 940 Brighton. 41 1,155 North British. 31 825
[Footnote 2: Not reckoning mileage west of Exeter.]
EXPRESS ROUTES ARRANGED IN ORDER OF DIFFICULTY OF GRADIENTS, ETC.
North British, Caledonian, Manch., Sheffield & Lincoln, Midland, Glasgow and South-Western, Chatham and Dover, South-Eastern, Great Northern, South-Western, Great Eastern, Brighton, North-Western, North-Eastern, Great Western.
LONG RUNS IN ENGLAND.
======================================================================= | Number of | Average | Running | Trains. | Speed. | Averages. ------------------------------------+-----------+---------+------------ | | Miles. | Miles. Midland. | 104 | 53 | 46 (5,512) North-Western. | 98 | 60 | 45 (5,880) Great Northern. | 49 | 73 | 50 (3,616) Great Western. | 24 | 56 | 48 (1,344) Great Eastern. | 24 | 56 | 42 (1,362) Brighton. | 23 | 45 | 42 (1,047) North-Eastern. | 20 | 56 | 44 (1,120) South-Western. | 13 | 47 | 44 (615) South-Eastern. | 12 | 66 | 42 (795) Chatham and Dover. | 8 | 63 | 45 (504) Caledonian. | 8 | 59 | 45 (476) Glasgow and South-Western | 8 | 58 | 44 (468) Manchester, Sheffield, and Lincoln. | 8 | 48 | 43 (390) North British. | 7 | 60 | 40 (423) ------------------------------------+-----------+---------+------------ Total. | 406 | 58 | 45 (23,550) =======================================================================
From this it will be seen that the three great companies run 61 per cent. of the whole express mileage, and 62 per cent. of the whole number of long runs.
* * * * *

IMPROVED OIL MILL.
The old and cumbersome methods of crushing oil seeds by mechanical means have during the last few years undergone a complete revolution. By the old process, the seed, having been flattened between a pair of stones, was afterward ground by edge stones, weighing in some cases as much as 20 tons, and working at about eighteen revolutions per minute. Having been sufficiently ground, the seed was taken to a kettle or steam jacketed vessel, where it was heated, and thence drawn--in quantities sufficient for a cake--in woollen bags, which were placed in a hydraulic press. From four to six bags was the utmost that could be got into the press at one time, and the cakes were pressed between wrappers of horsehair on similar material. All this involved a good deal of manual labor, a cumberstone plant, and a considerable expense in the frequent replacing of the horsehair wrappers, each of