LOCOMOTIVES ON HIGHWAYS are the subject of three statutes known as the Locomotives Acts, 1861, 1865, 1898 and also the IIighways and Locomotives (Amendment) A.ct, 1878. The special legislation relating to motor cars and LIGHT LOCOMOTIVES is referred to in another article. Only those road locomotives which do not come within the definition of a light locomotive call for attention here. Construction .--lt is illegal to use a locomotive on a highway unless it is constructed in accordance with the provisions contained in the Act of 1878. These provisions are to the following effect :—(1) A locomotive not drawing a carriage, and not exceeding in_weight three tons, must have the tyres of its wheels not less than three inches in width, with an additional inch for every ton or fraction of a ton above the first three tons ; and (2) one drawing a, waggon or carriage must have the tyres of the driving-wheels thereof not less than two inches in width for every ton in weight of the locomotive, unless the diameter of the wheels exceeds five feet, when the width of the tyres may be reduced in the same proportion as the diameter of the wheels is fncreasecl, but in such case the width of the tyres is not to be less than fourteen inches; and (3) a locomotive must not exceed nine feet in width or fourteen tons in weight, except with the consent of the local borough or county authority ; and (4) the driving-wheels of a locoznotive should be cylindrical and smooth-soled, or shod with diagonal cross-bars of not less than three inches in width nor more than three-quarters of an inch in thickness, extending the full breadth of the tyre, and the space intervening between each cross-bar must not exceed three inches. The owner of a locomotive used contrary to the foregoing provisions is liable to a fine of 1)5 for each offence. lint if he only uses it contrary to provision (.2) he will not be guilty of the offence if he can prove that the locoinotive was constructed before the 16th Alienist 1878, and that the tyres of its wheels are not less than nine inches in N% ihdth.
Under a penalty of 15 a steam locomotive must be so constructed as to consume, so far as practicable, its oNsn smoke ; and, subject to another penalty, there must be conspicuously affixed to every locomotive its weight and the name and address of its owner.
Licences.—As a general rule every locomotive is required to be licensed by a county council. But agricultural locomotives are excluded from the operation of this rule ; and so also are locomotives not used for haulage purposes, steam rollers, and locomotives belonging to a road authority when used within their district. The licence is all annual one, from the date on which it is granted, and should be taken out in the county in which the locomotive is at the time ordinarily used or intended to be used. For granting a licence the council may charge a fee not exceeding if the weight of the locomotive (exclusive of water and coal) is not more than ten tons, with an addition not exceeding oe2 for every ton or fraction of a ton by which that weight exceeds ten tons. And on granting it the council must provide the licensee with a licence-plate, having marked on it the date and number of the licence and the name of the licensing council. This licence_must be conspicuously affixed to the locomotive and so kept whilst it remains in force. It may, with the consent of the licensing council, be transferred from one locomotive to another belonging to the same owner. An additional licence must be taken out for each county in m Inch the locomotive is used. A fee of 2s. 6d. per day is payable to the council of a county on the highway of which is used an unlicensed locomotive. A. fine of .£10 is pay-able, on summary conviction, by any one who (a) uses 011 a highway, a locomotive which is required to be, but is not, duly licensed ; or (b) uses a locomotive on a highway in a county in which the locomotive is not licensed without payment of the above-mentioned fee ; or (c) fails to duly affix the licence-plate to a locomotive, or removes it without the consent of the council.