American Railroad Journal And Mechanics Magazine 1840 Vol 10 Classic Reprint

Excerpt from American Railroad Journal, and Mechanics' Magazine, 1840, Vol. 10 An evil long existing with us will reappear with increased magnitude upon any revival of professional business. We refer to the want of organi sation and cooperation among engineers throughout our country. The benefits resulting from a proper esprit dc corps are entirely lost, and one of the most considerable of these is a greater respect and dignity for and in the profession as a profession. There is hardly a class of men in our country containing more respectable and better educated members, and yet as a class they may be said to have no character or standing other than in their individ ual capacity. The engineers of Europe take rank among'the men of sci ence of the day, while the profession with us, scattered over an immense extent of country, possessing a vast fund of experience and information, and enjoying allthe advantages of scientific education, have no mode of inter communication, and no method of giving to the world the results of their la bors. We have often endeavored to induce our professional friends to favor us with communications upon the subjects of their various experience - but with a small number of exceptions, we have found that distance, employ ment, or want of stimulus have prevented them from complying with our wishes. We however, will not let the present opportunity pass, without expressing our warmest thanks to such of our friends as have furnished as with many very excellent papers. We conceive that much, if not all, of this indifference to commit to paper, the valuable information known to exist, would disappear under the influ 'ence of a proper organization of the Profession in the most liberal manner, and witha strict regard to its scientific reputation. That we are not mistaken in the value and amount of matter that might be accumulated, we infer from the labors of the Chev. De Gerstner. It is understood that this distinguished gentleman has in his possession such a mass of detail, in regard to our public works, as would in itself, constitute a complete body of engineering. This has been entirely collected by the Chev. De Gerstner, or his assistant, who have in person visited every known railroad in the world. It appears that the impression made upon these gentlemen, by an inspection of our railroads, is most favorable, and far more satisfactory than had been anticipated. We have great faith in the confidence in our railroads, which this testimony will inspire both here and abroad - as well as in the respectable standing which it will give the Pro. Fession with those previously unacquainted with its labors. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.