a more or less thick slice of the
hard metal, which curls up like a shaving of deal. So delicate is
the touch of some of these tools, so good the metal they are
employed to cut, that shavings are taken off three or more feet
long, curled up like a spiral spring, and which may be wound round
the hand like string. The interiors of the cylinders, the bearings,
those portions of the engines which slide one upon the other, and
require the most accurate fit, are here adjusted by unerring
machinery, which turns out the work with an ease and exactness which
the hand of man, delicate and wonderful organ as it is, cannot
reach. From the smallest fitting up to the great engine cranks, the
lathes smooth them all--reduce them to the precise size which they
were intended to be by the draughtsman. These cranks and larger
pieces of metal are conveyed to their lathes and placed in position
by a steam crane, which glides along upon a single rail at the will
of the driver, who rides on it, and which handles the massive metal
almost with the same facility that an elephant would move a log of
wood with his trunk. Most of us have an inherent idea that iron is
exceedingly hard, but the ease with which it is cut and smoothed by
these machines goes far to remove that impression.

The carriage department does not offer so much that will strike the
eye, yet it is of the highest importance. To the uninitiated it is
difficult to trace the connection between the various stages of the
carriage, as it is progressively built up, and finally painted and
gilded and fitted with cushions. Generally, the impression left from
an inspection is that the frames of the carriages are made in a way
calculated to secure great strength, the material being solid oak.
The brake-vans especially are made strong. The carriages made here
are for the narrow gauge, and are immensely superior in every way to
the old broad-gauge carriage, being much more roomy, although not so
wide. Over the department there lingers an odour of wood. It is
common to speak of the scented woods of the East and the South, but
even our English woods are not devoid of pleasant odour under the
carpenter's hands. Hidden away amongst the piles of wood there is
here a triumph of human ingenuity. It is an endless saw which
revolves around two wheels, much in the same way as a band revolves
around two drums. The wheels are perhaps three feet in diameter, and
two inches in thickness at the circumference