The Times reports that Colonel Beaumont, R.E., has suc- ceeded,
after four years of experiment, in making a nearly per- fect compressed-air engine for locomotive purposes. The air is stored in a reservoir under a pressure of 1,000 lb. to the square inch, and delivered thence, first, into a small and afterwards into larger cylinders, whence, after giving out its force, it passes into the outer air. An ancient difficulty, that compressed air freezes the atmosphere, which condenses on the joints of the engines, has been overcome ; and the engine can now haul a gross load of twenty-two tons for eleven miles, or twelve tons for twenty miles, with one charge of air. This will make it by far the most useful form of engine for tramways, as there will be neither flame, smoke, nor noise to frighten the horses; and it will be at once applied to the Edinburgh and Portobello tramway. If it is found cheap in actual working, it will supersede for certain functions both steam and horses, and probably be applied to carriages ,traversing common roads, a long-sought desideratum.
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